Don't Judge a Fic by its Cover Image
Boredom.
Upon the kitchen's countertop was a pink mare, completely bored out of her mind as she awaited for a certain cyan pegasus. The only thing at this moment that kept her spirits up... and physically, her tilted head, was her hooves. Dragging her right hoof along the countertop, the revolutions she made seemed to be endless. As for her left hoof, its only job was to support her from under the chin.
"What's taking Dashie so long!" Pinkie Pie sighed, allowing her head to slip from her hoof's grasp, banging it against the table. "...owie."
It was hard to believe that at the beginning of the day, her enthusiasm was at its peak. I mean, come on! It was finally the day she has been waiting for. The day the two bestest friends in the whooole Equestria can make cupcakes, together. "Rainbow Dash told me that today was her day off... what's taking her so long?" the pink mare asked herself, glancing at the clock upon the wall and back to the pink doors of the bakery.
Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours. Two to be precise. As those very two hours passed, Pinkie grew impatient and as for her once poofy, cotton candy mane... deflated. She was sick and tired of Dashie's problem with punctuality and promises... this was not the first time, but maybe, it would be the last.
An abrupt knocking was heard from Sugarcube Corner's entrance, disrupting the pink mare's trail of thought. "Who is it?" the darker tone of pink said through gritted teeth.
"It's me! Rainbow!" a raspy voice said from behind the entrance, or to Pinkie, the exit where Rainbow Dash had belonged... but, since she had different plans in store, Pinkamena allowed her spectrum maned friend to barge in. "Urhm Pinkie? Is everything alright?"
"DASHIE! YOU MADE IT!" Pinkie exclaimed with delight, her mane poofing back up to its original state. "Yup! I just waited hours and hours and hours and hours, but you're finally here! I knew you would've come! Oh my gosh, you're finally here! That means we can finally start baking!"
"Okay, okay, Pinkie, can you please calm down and tell me what we are actually baking?" Rainbow Dash begged with a trot, putting a halt to the mare's continuous rambling.
"CUPCAKES!" The cotton candied mare jubilantly exclaimed, reaching into her mane as she pulled out a cyan colored, rainbow sprinkled, strawberry icing cupcake and placed it on the counter top. "Here! I made this especially for you!" she quickly pushed the cupcake closer and closer to Dash on the opposite side of the table.
"Uhmm, thanks," Rainbow Dash said, a bit unsure of the mare's random act of kindness. It was Pinkie though, it was to be expected. "I'll save it for later."
"Nononononono! You need to try it now! These are what we are going to bake, silly!" Pinkie Pie begged for her friend to taste her hardwork.
Unsure of the cupcake, Rainbow Dash glanced between it and Pinkie's slowly dying smile. She possibly couldn't live with another sad Pinkie, it was once enough a difficult task the first time during her own birthday. "Hmph, pretty good," Rainbow Dash said, taking a bite with the food still in her mouth, and ending with a yawn.
"Nonono, now is not the time for sleep, Rainbow...that comes later," Pinkie said. "But right now, we need to make cupcakes! You Pinkie Pie promised!"
"Yeah yeah, I know. I'm just a bit tired from practice, that's all," Rainbow yawned once more. "So, watcha need help with, Pinks?"
"Oh, just follow meee!" Pinkie chimed as she happily skipped towards the side of the staircase. "First, we need to go into secret, super duper scary, spooky basement and get ingredients!" the mare then gave the door a slight push as it opened with an eerie creak. "You first, Dashie!'
Without a response, Rainbow gulped and walked down the basement's staircase, only staring into the dark abyss before her as the light from where Pinkie stood gave her that sense of sight to find said ingredients. "What exactly are we looking for, again?"
"Just my friends..." Pinkie Pie closed the door after her entrance into the room. "We love to play hide and seek," she said, her voice trailing off and echoing throughout the enclosed darkness. Rainbow's only sense of hearing guided her throughout the basement as she instinctively retreated from Pinkie's voice and laughter. "Hehehe, you must be somewhere around here!" Dash's heart rate increased with the sound of laughter and every clop upon the concrete surface. "Oh, I found you..." Rainbow began to hyperventilate as her retreat had come to an end...a trapped corner. "PEEKABOO! I FOUND YOU!" Pinkie Pie suddenly burst out, appearing inches before Rainbow Dash and laughed. And somehow with that laughter came light as it magically filled the room, everything becoming visible once more to Rainbow Dash. "Hahahaha, I win! I win!"
"Whew," the cyan mare sighed out of relief, wiping off the beads of sweat from her brow. "Pinkie Pie, you almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Hahaha, I'm sorry, Rainbow! I couldn't resist!" Pinkie Pie continued her fit of laughter as she rolled on her back. "Got you good, didn't I! That'll sure teach you to never be late again!"
"Hehe, yeah yeah... you got me good. Nice prank, Pinkie," Rainbow admitted defeat. "And, I really am sorry for being late, I promise it won't ever happen again."
Still feeling a bit sour from Rainbow Dash's late arrival, Pinkie Pie had come up with a solution. "Do you Pinkie Pie promise to never be late for me again?"
"Haha... yes, Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash smiled, agreeing to her sugar rushed friend's deal. "Cross my heart and hope to fly." Rainbow Dash crossed her chest with both her hooves, soon fluttering them. "Stick a cupcake in my eye." She closed her left eye, poking it with a hoof, singing the contract alongside her friend as they both promised never to be late again.
"Thank you, Dashie. This means a lot," Pinkie Pie thanked and hoped that Element of Loyalty will live up to her promise.
Or else.
...this was not the first time, but maybe, it would be the last.
(Shorts start here) Alternate ending part one: The Obvious
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Don't Judge a Fic by its Cover Image
(Shorts start here) Alternate ending part one: The Obvious
Pinkie Pie was left to wait once more. Rainbow Dash hadn't shown up. The Pinkie Pie Promise had been broken.
Throughout the streets of Ponyville, Pinkie Pie was in desperate search for the spectrum pegasus. Every nook and cranny, inch and block had been thoroughly in search, growing more worrisome with each passing attempt.
From the nature derived bookcase called Twilight's treehouse, to Rarity's fine, unique Carousel Boutique, and passing Fluttershy's cottage, it was time to ask Applejack of Rainbow's whereabouts. With each negative answer from her friends, Pinkie's mane deflated, losing its cheerful poof and color.
Pinkie could have only hoped she had made it in time to see Applejack. With a balanced gallop on her three hooves, the pink mare checked her watch, the minute hand five clicks away due lunchtime. She could have only prayed to Celestia Rainbow Dash was safe, and with that prayer, came the vexatious mood, knowing that if she was safe, she had broken their promise.
Galloping through the town, Pinkie arrived at the seller's market, where ponies gathered on a daily basis to sell their fine goods, and mostly food: carrots, bananas, cherries, tomatoes, lettuce... apples.
"Applebloom! It's so good to see you, where's Applejack?" Pinkamena greeted, slowing down to a trot as she approached the filly by her family's apple stall.
"Oh, I told AJ I was ol' enough to be one of you bigger ponies, tryin' to sell apples like she does! Why'd ya need her? I can help ya'! What do ya' need?" Applebloom excitedly offered her assistance to the saddened mare. "Urm, Pinkie? Are you alright?"
"Oh, urhm, yeah, I'm fine," Pinkamena waved off the filly's question with a quick gesture of her hooves. "By chance, have you seen Rainbow Dash, today?"
"Oh yeah! She said told Applejack she had one of them Wonderbolts performances tuh go to!"
Pinkamena knew Pinkamena was right.
Pinkamena knew Rainbow Dash would hoof her off, just for a day to see the Wonderbolts.
Pinkamena snapped.
Pinkamena wanted revenge.
"Applebloom? Why are you here if you're trying to get your cutiemark?" Pinkamena asked the younger apple sibling, curious as to why she would continue doing so. "Do you know what they call, repeating the same action, but expecting the same result?"
"Urhm, no?" The blank-flanked filly answered with uncertainty.
"Hehehehe, it's called insanity!" Pinkamena chimed, sitting on her haunches, clopping her hooves together. "Like when you expect one of your friends, to keep a promise!" She then smiled, staring into blank space. "Oh, I know! Do you want to become my super-duper, secret assistant?"
"Assistant? Fer what?" The filly asked. "Didn't we already try baking cupcakes? That didn't work so well... Ah gave the entire town food poisoning!" she admitted.
"Oh nononono, this is a different kind of cupcakes! Something that I'm sure if you're good at, you will definitely get a cutie mark so super special awesome, that everypony in town will be jealous of you!" Pinkamena promised.
"Really?! Alright, ah'll do it!" Applebloom agreed to the psychotic mares conditions and terms with a hopeful glee in her eyes.
"Yay! But, you must Pinkie Pie Promise, that you'd never, ever, ever, ever tell anypony. Do you?" Pinkamena asked, ensuring there was no space for loopholes within this promise.
"Cross muh heart, an' hope to fly! Stick a cupcake in muh eye!" Applebloom sang, signing Pinkamena's contract.
"Good! And guess what? Our first customer's number came up!"
The taste of getting her cutie mark was so close, the young Apple sibling could have tasted it! Curiosity, as well as, her soon to be cutie mark had driven her to ask, "Who is it?"
"Rainbow Dash."