What is love?

by nutcase4real

Rating: everyone
Tags: Romance, Pinkie Pie, Random, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash
Length: 3585

Pinkie Pie has a question stuck in her mind, and she wants an answer.

Pinkie Pie has a question stuck in her mind, and she wants an answer.

Published 2014-09-02 15:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-07 05:20:31 UTC

Pinkie's Question

Pinkie's face was screwed up in concentration. The day around her was beautiful and warm, but she wasn't paying any heed to it. She didn't notice the laughter of the foals down the road. She didn't notice the smiles and waves she was getting from passersby. She didn't even notice when Twilight Sparkle started approaching her.

All Pinkie Pie did was stare at the ground. She was lost in her thoughts. Well actually she was only lost in one thought. Her thought was a question. A question that had been stuck in her mind for a while now. She needed an answer to it, and she realized that a question this big could only be answered after some really, really, really deep thinking.

Twilight mentally noted that Pinkie had actually been in exact same spot from when she passed by over thirty minutes ago. Twilight began to wonder what in all of Equestria could make her hyperactive friend sit still for so long, and finally curiosity and a little bit of worry won out.

"Pinkie Pie?" Twilight called out to her friend as she approached her, to no avail. "Pinkie Pie is everything okay?"

Pinkie still didn't even acknowledge Twilight's presence. If she did, she didn't budge. Which, was odd for Pinkie Pie. Twilight walked over to her side and placed a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. Pinkie Pie emitted a little yelp of surprise from the sudden contact. She leapt from her seated position in a start. She looked into Twilight's curious eyes and smiled.

"Hiya Twilight, what's up?" Pinkie greeted with a smile.

"Pinkie Pie, is something wrong?" Twilight repeated.

"No. Why?" Pinkie asked as she stood up.

"Well you've been sitting in that spot for over half an hour without moving. That's not something I've ever seen you do before for no reason."

"Oh that," Pinkie said as she waved her hoof dismissively, "I was thinking about something really, really hard."

A smile crossed Twilight's lips, "Oh, what were you thinking about?" she asked Pinkie Pie.

"Well it's more of a question that I want to find an answer to. Would you mind if I asked you the question?" Pinkie asked happily as she bounced with the prospects of her new idea.

Twilight chuckled lightly, "Of course not Pinkie Pie," Twilight sat down on the ground and patted a grassy spot next to her, "sit and ask away."

Pinkie sat down and shifted around until she was comfortable. Once she had achieved that, she asked her question.

"Twilight, what is love?" Pinkie asked with a smile.

Twilight's mind froze. This definitely wasn't what she had expected. Twilight thought that Pinkie's question was going to be about cupcakes or something of the sort, but she wanted to know about love. Twilight had read many books on the subject and began to explain everything she could recall.

"Well Pinkie, love is an emotion that ponies have when they want to be with another pony. The pony feels like..." Twilight began looking around like she would find the answer somewhere near her, "like they can't do anything without the other, and..."

"I know that, but," Pinkie looked up into the sky and then back at Twilight, "what is love?" Pinkie asked again as she laid down on her stomach and supported her head with her hooves.

Twilight's mind went blank. She had just been over this, or at least she was trying to. She was going over the very definition of love and Pinkie Pie just stopped her and said that it wasn't what she wanted to know.

"Pinkie, I'm afraid I'm not following what you mean." Twilight said after a moment of silence.

Pinkie was absent mindedly blowing a tuff of her mane out of her face and rolled over onto her back. She placed her hooves behind her head and stared at the clouds rolling by.

"If you don't mind my asking," Pinkie looked back over to Twilight and smiled, "what made you think of this?" Twilight asked.

She watched Pinkie Pie's eyes divert to the sky once more, and Pinkie Pie sighed. The gears in Twilight's mind began turning once more. A knowing smile spread across her muzzle and she lightly shook her head.

"So Pinkie Pie," Twilight started as she laid down next to Pinkie, "how long has Rainbow Dash been away in Cloudsdale?"

"Three days, six hours, thirty five minutes, and ten seconds. Eleven seconds. Twelve seconds..." Pinkie answered without taking her eyes off of the sky before Twilight finally decided to end her counting with another question.

"Okay, and what is your favorite color?" Twilight asked with an even larger smile than before.

"The rainbow." Pinkie said as she turned over and looked to Twilight, "That's a color, right?" she asked quizzically.

Twilight stifled a giggle and shook her head. Pinkie arched her eyebrow.

"What's so funny? Is it a joke? I love jokes!" Pinkie said with a smile.

"So have you told her?" Twilight asked.

"Told who what?" Pinkie asked.

Twilight chuckled and clarified "Have you told Rainbow Dash about your feelings?"

Pinkie Pie sighed and sat up again, "What are you talking about Twilight?"

"Well Pinkie Pie, thinking back on this now, you do spend more time with Rainbow Dash than with the rest of us, and more than once Rainbow has told me that you literally chase her down so you can do something with her. You've never done that with the rest of us." Twilight explained.

Pinkie Pie stared at Twilight with her signature smile and looked back up to the sky, "You know, I was afraid of that."

"Afraid of what?" Twilight asked.

"Admitting to myself that I have feelings for Dash." Pinkie said quietly as she shifted her gaze down to the ground.

"And why is that Pinkie?" Twilight continued.

"Because then everything changes." Pinkie said solemnly.

"That's not entirely true Pinkie. Being in love is a natural thing. It is the step after friendship, and like friendship it can be a very rewarding relationship when founded with trust, mutual respect, and understanding." Twilight said.

"But everything will be different." Pinkie stated.

Twilight nodded, "It's true that somethings will change, but for the most part, it will seem like everything is exactly the way it was before."

"It would be nice to finally have my own special somepony. Somepony I could rely on, somepony to hold me when I'm not feeling very Pinkie-ish, somepony to...," Pinkie Pie blushed a little, "kiss me and let me know they love me as much as I love them."

Twilight smiled and placed a comforting hoof on Pinkie's shoulder, "And that's natural. We all want to find love, and it could be that you have found the one for you. You'll won't know for sure until you tell her."

Pinkie looked over to Twilight and smiled, "You're right Twilight."

Twilight smiled, "So what are you going to do now?"

Pinkie Pie stood up and to gallop towards Sugar Cube Corner, "I'm going to tell my Dashie how I feel!"

For All to See

Author's Note

I decided to break the original up a little bit. As always please tell me of any grammatical errors you happen upon and let me know whether you liked the story or not. Thanks for reading

For All to See

Later that day in the Cloudsdale City Auditorium

'Oh dear Celestia! This pony's speech is even more boring than Twilight's!' Rainbow Dash thought to herself.

She slumped down in the chair she was sitting in and mentally debated the pros and cons of beating her head against the table multiple times.

"...and so in conclusion, be careful when operating with thunderstorms."

A large beaming smile appeared on Dash's face and she prepared to rocket off out of the room.

"Thank you Mr. Streak for that riveting four part speech on how to stay safe with lighting. Next on today's agenda we will have a three part safety breif on the dangers of handling snow clouds, given by Ms. Snow Flurry."

A modicum of applause came from the half awake crowd of weather ponies from all over Equestria. Rainbow Dash collapsed back into her chair and finally decided to slam her head off the table in front of her.

Dash quickly decided which option was most appropriate. Her head slammed into the desk and the sound she heard was deafening. She raised her head and rubbed it, 'I didn't think it would hurt so much, or make that much noise.' she thought to herself.

When she opened her eyes she saw the true source of the incredible sound. Something had smashed through the roof and had landed in the middle of the stage. A blue pegasus stared at the machine and was slowly backing away off the stage. A door opened on the machine, and a familiar pink pony poked her head out and was scanning the crowd.

"Pinkie Pie?" Dash asked over the fightened mummering of the other pegasi in the room.

"There you are Dashie! I've been looking all over for you!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly.

"Um... okay, but um... why?" Rain asked as she approached and eyed the thing Pinkie was in.

It was simular to the machine she was in the day Gilda visited Ponyville, but this one was larger and as far as she could tell, wasn't operated by pedals.

"I have something to tell you Dashie!" Pinkie said excitedly.

"It couldn't have waited?" Rainbow questioned.

"It could have waited, but I couldn't so here it goes!" Pinkie Pie cleared her throat, "I like you Dashie! I like you more than I like cupcakes and cakes and candy and all other sweets. I want to be with you. I want us to be more than friends. I want us to be special someponies. What I'm trying to say is I love you Dashie!" Pinkie Pie said in a single breath.

The pegasi in the crowd had gotten over the intial shock and had heard Pinkie's little speach. The entire crowd "aww'ed" at once and then shifted their focus to Rainbow Dash and awaited her responce.

"Do you love me?" Pinkie asked.

Dash froze. She hadn't expected this. She didn't know what to say or what to do, so she just stood there with her eyes wide, while Pinkie Pie just stared at her expectedly.

"Pinkie Pie, I don't know what to say." Dash said after a moment of thought.

Ponies from the crowd started voicing their opinions,

"She came all this way! The least you could do is give her an answer!"

"Yeah, give her an answer!"

"How is that thing sitting on the cloud?"

"I think I left my oven on..."

Dash continued to stare at Pinkie Pie for a few seconds. Sweat began streaming down her face as she tried to think of the words to say, but nothing was coming to mind. She looked up and saw the hole in the ceiling and did the only thing she could think of.

She flew through it as fast as she could, and bolted straight for home.

Pinkie Pie stared at the spot where Rainbow had been standing blankly. A smile was still on her face, but it soon turned wavey and after a few seconds morphed into something horrible, something tragic, something almost unheard of when it came to Pinkie Pie.

It became a frown.

Suddenly, there was a sound such as that as a balloon deflating resounding throughout the now silent auditorium. Pinkie's mane laid flat on her head and she buried her face in her hooves. Sounds of sniffling and sorrow filled the room and Pinkie's head reentered her contraption. The blades began to spin causing an influxe of wind inside the room, blowing the unaware pegasi against the walls, as Pinkie's machine rose up and exited through the same hole it had created.

A few moments after Pinkie had left; the pegasi began helping each other get up from the floor, and check each other for injuries.

"Seriously," came a voice, "how was that thing sitting in here?"

A One Sided Conversation

Author's Note

Sorry I haven't really updated this story in a while. I'm trying to get back into the groove of things now. Please leave a comment telling what you think of the story so far, and feel free to point out any errors you find. Thanks for reading.

A One Sided Conversation

Rainbow Dash sped through the sky as fast as she could, which at the moment wasn't fast enough to suit her. She had to put as much distance between herself and Pinkie as possible. Faster and faster she flew. To where, she didn't know anymore. After passing her house she just kept going. She couldn't stop.

The faster she went, the more of a blur the surrounding world became. Soon she couldn't even hear herself think over the roar of the air sweeping by. Then it happened. Colors exploded outwards in brilliant rings, one after another. Rainbow Dash kept pushing onwards. Her wings began to strain under the intensity of her desperate escape. She was miles away from anypony when she finally slowed down enough to survey her surroundings. She scanned to the left and then the right and realized something.

'I have no idea where I am right now,' Dash groaned inwardly, 'but I need to take a break and think.' Rainbow Dash landed in a field and sat down. 'Why would Pinkie Pie do that to me? I mean asking me that in front of all those other ponies! What got in her hay?'

Dash stood and began to pace back and forth, 'Why?' she thought again. Dash saw a nearby stream and quickly trotted over to it. She wasn't gping to get anywhere asking these questions in her mind. She decided that she would ask the only other pony she could trust with such a situation.

"Hey Reflecto-Dash." she said as she looked down into the water.

"What's on your mind RD?" Reflecto-Dash asked with a smile.

"Pinkie Pie did something today." Dash said quitely.

"She does things everyday Dash." Reflecto responded.

"She told me she loved me... and in front of all the other heads of weather teams of all of Equestria." Dash clarified.

"Whoa."

"Yeah whoa. Why would she do something like that to me? Why would she embarress me like that?" Dash asked more out of anger than sorrow.

"Embarress you?" Reflecto asked.

"Yeah! I mean that was so totally not cool!" Dash said with a hoof stomp.

"And what did you do?" Reflecto questioned with a look of concern.

"I..." Dash started before a realization sank in, "I flew away." she said quietly.

"But yet you're upset that she embarressed you? You bolted on her after she had the guts to stand up in front of hundreds and throw herself at you. Even if you didn't feel the same way,"

"I never said that I lo... lo..."

"Say it Dash. You and me both know that you do." Reflecto-Dash commanded.

Rainbow Dash kicked the water surface as hard as she could, "Shut up!" she kicked it again, "Shut up! I do not!" she kicked at it again but slipped in the mud instead and found herself lying on the ground.

"Some... of... the... water... must have... gotten... on my... face." Dash rationalized as drops began flowing down her cheeks. "I never said I loved her." Dash's sobs were now uncontrolable. She cried tears over the one thing she never had the courage to do.

"I... never... said... I... loved... her."

Aftermath

Smoke billowed up from a field on the eastern side of Ponyville. Everypony heard the explosion and a few brave souls were making their way to the place were the sound had come from. One of those souls was Twilight Sparkle.

Explosions meant evil. They meant terror. They meant that it was time to put down your very important research and go save the day.

Twilight winded her way through Ponyville and soon saw the smoke rising up from the field she commonly would visit to bask in the sun and read a good book. Sweat began making its way down her brow and tried to flow into her eyes. Her legs stung like they were being attacked by angry hornets. Her breath was exploding from her lungs in great gasps. In other words, she needed to exercise more.

The purple alicorn had finally made her way out of the town proper and had entered the more vacant part of the village. Another great explosion was heard, but this one sounded like it was further away from Ponyville.

'Another one? It must be a two pronged attack.' Twilight reasoned in her mind.

Finally she was able to see the field where the first explosion originated from. In the middle of the field was a small crater, with smoke snaking its way into the sky. Twilight galloped towards it and slowed as she began to realize that she had no idea what this thing could be. She slowly trotted up to the hole and glanced down into it with a curious glare.

All she saw was the remains of some type of machine, that was mangled beyond recognition. Twilight sat back on her haunches to think. 'What is this machine? What does it do? How did it get here? Did I leave the oven on?', was all she could think of until the sound of sobs caught her attention.

"Hello? Is... is somepony there?" Twilight asked the open air.

"Hiya Twilight." came a slightly familar voice followed by sobs.

"Who's there? Come out so I can see you." Twilight said.

From out of a nearby bush came a shadowy figure. Twilight swiveled around to greet her mysterious voice. She stared in horror at the uncharismatic flat mane, frown toting, teary eyed,

"Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked in a confused voice.

"Hey... Twilight." Pinkie sobbed as she tried to put on a fake smile.

"Pinkie what's wrong?" Twilight asked as she made her way towards her friend.

Pinkie backed away from her and wiped her eyes quickly, "Noth... nothing at all. Why would you ask that? It's like Rainbow just left me there like a big, dumb, pink idiot!" Pinkie said as even more tears welled up in her eyes until they overflowed like a flood, "Not at all!"

Twilight ran up to her friend and embraced her in the biggest, warmest hug she could manage, "Oh my Celestia! I'm so sorry Pinkie Pie!" Twilight said as she squeezed her more and more.

Pinkie Pie just collapsed in Twilight's embrace and cried. She hadn't cried like that since her Nanna Pie passed away. Pinkie cried and cried, and then she cried somemore. She let it all out. She let out all the pain she was feeling and then some. At one point Pinkie even wondered if she could cry anymore, but more tears fell soon after.

"Pinkie?" Twilight asked when the pink mess of a pon had calmed down enough, "Do you want me to take you home so we can talk?"

Pinkie Pie wiped away another tear and nodded her head slowly. Twilight put on as comforting of a smile as she possibly could and started walking towards Sugarcube Corner, beckoning her friend to follow.

"Come on Pinkie, let's get you home." Twilight said as she walked.

"So what was that second explosion anyway?" Twilight asked as casually as she could.

"What second explosion?" Pinkie asked.

Suddenly both mares heard screaming coming from above them. They looked up and all they saw was a blue blur followed by a stream of colors zoom by over head. They watched as the object crashed into the earth at quite an impressive speed, forming a rather large crater.

"Ohmygosh!" Pinkie shouted as she and Twilight started running towards the crash site.

"You can say that again!" Twilight said.

"Okay! Ohmygosh!" Pinkie exclaimed once more.

The two mares finally came upon the crash site and gazed into the crater.

Both gasped and said in unision, "Rainbow Dash!"

The pegasus moaned in response and barely moved an inch.

"Pinkie, we need to get her to a hospital!" Twilight said as she turned to her friend.

Or rather to where her friend was. The area that was occupied by Pinkie was now empty, and before it could even register in Twilight's mind, she heard Pinkie's panicked voice.

"What are you waiting for Twilight?"

Twilight turned towards the voice to find Pinkie Pie carrying Rainbow Dash. She was galloping as fast as her legs could carry her and Twilight knew she couldn't keep up with Pinkie's pace. She teleported ahead of her and grabbed Dash and Pinkie both with her magic, lifting them into the air.

Pinkie Pie was still frantically running when she cried out, "Twilight! What are you doing? Let me go so I can carry Dashie to the hospital!"

Twilight said nothing in reply. Instead her horn began to shine brighter and brighter until it flashed a blinding light. Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash appeared in front of the Ponyville Hospital. Twilight sat Pinkie down on the ground and began to head inside with Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie trotted up beside Twilight and said, "I kinda forgot you could do that. Sorry for yelling at you Twilight."

"It's perfectly fine Pinkie. Now lets get Dash seen by a doctor." Twilight said with a remorseful smile.