Crossing Over

Part 2: Laughter and Loyalty - Chapter 5: Someday

"I can't believe they didn't want me!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, dropping herself into our hot air balloon. "I thought I did great!"

I couldn't respond right away, as I was clambering into the balloon, but luckily the others did it for me.

"You did do great," Lyra assured her, staring in the direction of the stadium with an intense dislike. "Extraordinary, even."

"You were perfect, Rainbow," Twilight inserted, using her magic to get the balloon moving again. Once she was done, she looked at Dash. "Don't let anyone tell you different."

Pinkie Pie nodded. "You're the best, Dashie!" Her demeanor had changed dramatically since Dash's rejection by the Wonderbolts. She was no longer panicky; instead, she was much more cheerful, though the cheerfulness had a slightly glum, slightly angry edge to it.

"I don't know," said Dash, sitting down and gazing glumly at the floor of the balloon basket. "If I had really been great, they'd have said yes. Maybe... maybe I'm actually not as good as I thought."

Finally settled in the balloon, I looked at her. "You want to know something? You are, factually, the greatest flier in all of Equestria." When Dash looked up at me, I continued, "I'm serious. The TV show this universe is based on continually says so. I guess the Wonderbolts are just too stupid to realize what they had in front of them."

Dash turned her gaze back to the floor. "I don't feel like the best flier in all of Equestria..."

I was about to continue trying to cheer her up when a very interesting idea popped into my head. Instantly, I changed tactics.

"Well, fine, go ahead and mope," I said, shrugging, "I mean, moping is certainly the best way to deal with rejection. Wallowing in it is a surefire way to move past it."

The others looked at me, shocked, all except for Rainbow Dash who continued to stare dejectedly at the floor. Good. That last part was part of the plan. As long as she stayed all mopey...

Once Lyra and Twilight looked away, I mouthed to Pinkie, I have a plan.

Her eyes widened. "Ooo, what plan? What plan!?"

The others, including Rainbow Dash, looked at her, then at me, in confusion.

I fought the urge to facehoof as I replied, "I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about Pinkie Pie." Inside, I was screaming at her to shut up.

My comment seemed to confuse her. "But... you just said-- er, mouthed to me that..." Suddenly, there was a glint of understanding in her eyes. She glanced at the others, and finding that they were watching us, she said, "Oh, um... silly me, I must have been imagining things!" She laughed a very fake, very nervous laugh.

I lost the fight with my urge and facehoofed. "Yeah, you must have."

Trotting over to the basket wall, I stared at Cloudsdale, which was now shrinking into the distance, trying not to imagine the confused, possibly suspicious, expressions on the others' faces.

Time passed very slowly on the trip back to Ponyville. This was probably due to the fact that we didn't really have much to talk about, though I did explain to them a little about the Green Bay Packers when they asked. Luckily for me (and Pinkie), whatever suspicion or confusion they might've had from Pinkie's idiot moment seemed to have gone away.

However, our discussion about the Packers didn't last very long as Twilight seemed to be the only one truly interested. She payed rapt attention to me during the entire discussion. Rainbow Dash was too busy moping in the corner of the balloon basket (which was good for my plan), Pinkie Pie was too busy looking through her picnic basket for something to eat, and Lyra had heard enough about humans the previous day, so she decided to ignore my Packers discussion entirely and quietly read the book she'd brought with her.

The rest of the time we... well, we really didn't do much of anything. After a couple hours, we ate; the others eating dandelion sandwiches while I ate my peanut butter sandwiches (Pinkie Pie even admitted that she'd brought peanut butter solely because her Pinkie Sense told her to). I continued to think about Vice Grip throughout the rest of the day and night. From what I had seen, he seemed to be exactly like Vince Lombardi, just in pony form. The greatest football coach of all time, in the absence of football, would become the world's greatest detective? That was an intriguing thought, and not entirely implausible. Both jobs required a similar amount of dedication, as well as a similar amount of cleverness and raw ability.

Unfortunately, I never got the chance to tell Pinkie Pie my plan. Every time I thought about doing so, either Lyra or Twilight would be close enough to hear. Pinkie wasn't exactly helping things, though. It seemed like she was continually trying to strike up a conversation with one of the others. To make matters worse, she made multiple attempts to cheer Rainbow Dash up, though luckily these attempts all ended in failure.

My plan, in essence, was relatively simple. Keeping Rainbow Dash mopey all the way back to Ponyville was Step 1. Once there, she'd probably go straight to her cloud house to continue moping alone. Then, I'd send Pinkie Pie there to have a heart-to-heart, thus cheering up Rainbow Dash, and hopefully getting them together. If not that, it could at least start things rolling.

...

Yeah, it was a pretty bad plan. There were a ton of intangibles and plenty of ways things could go wrong. But it was the only plan I'd been able to come up with so far. There was a tiny, tiny chance this could actually succeed, and I was going to take that chance no matter what.

Despite almost no real experience in this stuff, I was taking one huge leap of faith.

After another (thankfully) dreamless sleep, we were nearly to Ponyville. Sleep seemed to have done nothing to change Rainbow Dash's mopeyness, and I still hadn't been able to tell Pinkie Pie about my (admittedly terrible) plan. This worried me; it added a whole new layer of ways this plan could go wrong. What worried Twilight and Pinkie was Rainbow Dash's continued mopeyness. What worried Lyra, on the other hand, was entirely different.

"Can you please tell me a little more about humans?" Lyra asked urgently, glancing in the direction of Ponyville.

I smirked. "I thought you learned enough about humans. Why weren't you paying attention yesterday when I was talking about the Packers?"

"I... I was," she mumbled, blushing. "I just... I didn't want you to see how interested I actually was."

"Oh really?" I questioned playfully. "Why are you so interested in such 'violent', 'bloodthirsty' creatures?"

The mint green unicorn sighed. "You were right about humans-- about me. From what you've told us, humans seem all right and... and the only reason I hated humans so much was because I was blinded by Bon-Bon's death." She sighed again. "It's not right to judge an entire people based on one person's actions."

I nodded calmly, though inside I was dancing a jig. I'd actually made good on a promise! It may have been a retracted promise, but that was beside the point. Maybe I was better at keeping promises than I thought!

"But you need to tell me as much as you can as quickly as much as you can as quickly as you can," Lyra said quietly. "We don't have much time left!"

"We have plenty of time!" I exclaimed, chuckling. "What, do you think I'm going to vanish as soon as we get back to Ponyville?"

She blushed again. "Well--"

"I'm not, you know," I said, interrupting her. "Until I can find a way back to my universe, I'll be staying with Twilight. At least, I think."

I glanced over at Twilight. Pinkie Pie was trying to talk to her, but the purple unicorn wasn't paying her any attention. She was staring at us weirdly, like she had a couple days before when Lyra first wanted to come with us. Why would she look at us like that? Did... did I have something on my face?

"What are you doing?" asked Lyra as I vigorously rubbed my face with my foreleg.

"Nothing," I replied, examining my foreleg for any blemishes. Quickly, I changed the subject, saying, "Anyway, you can come to me anytime... well, almost anytime, for your human knowledge needs."

Lyra beamed at me. "Thank... thank you!"

I shrugged. "It's nothing, really."

She pulled me into a quick hug and then trotted away, still beaming, leaving me surprised. I hadn't expected that hug. Of course, I also hadn't expected Pinkie's hug when I promised to help her with Rainbow Dash. I had never received so many hugs for helping people before. Then again, I'd never helped people like this before. Maybe, just maybe, this universe was changing me, making me a better person.

And maybe, just maybe, that would help give me a chance for success with Twilight Sparkle.

Less than half an hour later, we finally touched down in Ponyville. Without a word, Rainbow Dash flew off in what I assumed was the direction of her cloud house, just like I'd planned. The only reason I had thought of that was because I'd read a bunch of fanfictions where she'd done exactly that. And by a bunch, I mean a few. And by a few... I mean one.

But still.

Lyra watched Dash fly away sadly. "Wow. I've never seen her so... depressed."

"Being a Wonderbolt was her dream, " Twilight replied, looking after Dash as well. "It's only natural for her to feel this way. Though... I haven't ever seen her this sad, either."

I glanced at Pinkie Pie, who was also looking at Rainbow Dash, but unlike the other two, she was wearing a look of utter devastation; she wanted to help her love, she just didn't know how. Luckily for her, I had a way, and this was my last chance to tell her.

"Go after her now! Follow her home!" I whispered urgently in Pinkie's ear. "Try to cheer her up!"

She looked at me, shocked. "What--"

"Go!" I shouted, pushing her out of the balloon basket and onto the ground.

"Are y-you sure this'll work?" the pink mare asked me, eyes wide.

"Not in the slightest," I admitted, shaking my head. "But it's the only plan I've gotten, so GO! Now!"

She stared at me for another moment. Then, her face set in determination, she nodded and galloped off after Rainbow Dash.

Once she was out of sight, I turned slowly to face Lyra and Twilight. They wore the same expressions of confusion they'd worn the previous day during Pinkie's idiot moment.

I sighed. "C'mon, let's go back home, Twilight. I've got some explaining to do."

"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie shouted up at the cloud house floating over 20 feet above her head. "Come out-- I need to talk to you!"

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash's head popped into view over the edge of the cloud house. The cyan pegasus's eyes were red and puffy, as if she had just been crying, and her hair was disheveled. She stared down at Pinkie angrily.

"Go away, Pinkie!" she yelled at the pink mare. "You can't cheer me up, so don't even try!"

"Come down here and talk to me!" Pinkie insisted, feeling horrible inside for her love's distress and pain. "There's something I need to tell you!"

"No, Pinkie!" Dash shouted. "If I wanted to talk to anypony, it most certainly wouldn't be you, Pinkie Pie, no matter what you have to tell me!"

"But Dashie!" Pinkie shouted back, but Rainbow Dash had already disappeared back into her floating home.

Pinkie fell back onto her haunches and felt hot, wet tears make their way down her face. Dash's words were like a sword to Pinkie's heart. She was within inches of breaking down, of crying her heart out right there beneath Rainbow Dash's home. Maybe Jordan's plan wouldn't work. Maybe she should just give up. Maybe her Pinkie Sense had been wrong...

No.

No, that was impossible. Her Pinkie Sense was never wrong. Someway, somehow, she needed to follow Jordan's plan through until the end; her throbbing hoof was telling her that this plan would work. She had to talk to Rainbow Dash, her happiness depended on it.

Pinkie Pie wasn't giving up, not by a long shot. If anything, she was now more determined to see this plan through. Staring up at the floating cloud house, the home of her true love, Pinkie decided on a new course of action:

If Rainbow Dash wasn't going to come down to her, she was going to have to go up to Rainbow Dash.

"Pinkie Pie is in love with Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked me skeptically as she magicked open the front door of the Ponyville library and we walked in.

I nodded. "Yep."

She bit her lower lip. "Wow. I never thought... of course, this explains a lot of things, especially all the clingyness... I-- I can barely believe it!"

"Well, you better believe it," I said, looking out the window and into town. "If everything goes according to plan, everyone should know by tomorrow and Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie will be together."

"I'm guessing this is why Pinkie took you to go set up the balloon so fast a couple days ago?" Twilight questioned. "And that this is what you wanted to talk to her about your first night here?"

"Yeah, for the most part," I confirmed, glancing around the library. For some strange reason, it felt like something was missing. "Remember when Rainbow Dash snapped at her for being so clingy? That's when I figured it out. The pain in Pinkie's eyes looked very... familiar. Too familiar for my liking, so I decided to help her in order to save her from that pain."

"You really did that?" Twilight asked incredulously. "That's... that's so nice!"

I shrugged. "It's this pony universe. It's making me a better person."

"I don't think so," she replied, shaking her head. "I think you're just a nice guy."

I pretended to ponder that for a moment. "Hmmmm... nope. It's the pony universe."

Twilight frowned. "I've seen into your soul, remember? I know what I'm talking about. You are a nice guy."

"I saw my soul as well, and I saw nothing to suggest I've been such a nice guy before coming here," I retorted.

"Why are you so determined to make yourself seem worse than you are!?" she snapped.

"And why do you seem so determined to make me seem better than I am!?" I snapped back.

"Because... because..." She stared into my eyes sadly. She looked like she was trying to say something important, but instead, she glanced at the ground and said, "Because that's what friends do sometimes."

The sun was beginning to set as Pinkie Pie gazed at the huge trampoline in front of her and smiled. Not only would this bounce her up to Rainbow Dash, it would also be fun!

She backed away from the trampoline and prepared herself. Then, after a deep breath, Pinkie galloped at the trampoline and jumped onto it. It launched her high up into the air, more than enough for her to land in Rainbow Dash's house. For a fleeting second while she was still in the air, she was afraid that Twilight's spell had worn off. However, those fears were dispelled seconds later with a nearly soundless 'thud' in the cloud house's entrance.

After quietly thanking Celestia, Pinkie rushed through the house straight to Rainbow Dash's room. Just before entering, she heard the faint sounds of someone crying, and it very nearly broke her heart. Quietly, and with tears in her eyes, Pinkie entered the room.

Rainbow Dash was curled up on her fluffy cloud bed, sobbing into her even fluffier cloud pillow. She looked broken, plain and simple. This sight really did break Pinkie's heart. Tears now flowed freely out of her eyes and onto the cloud floor she was standing on. Seeing Rainbow Dash like this caused Pinkie almost unbearable pain. She had to make Dash stop this; she had to make her smile again. Only then would this pain subside.

"D-dashie?" called Pinkie tentatively.

Instantly, Rainbow Dash's head snapped up and turned to look at her. Surprise was dominant on her face, but that was quickly replaced by rage.

"Go away, Pinkie!" Dash screamed. "I don't know how you got up here, but you need to just leave me alone!"

"No," Pinkie responded quietly, staring determinedly through her tears at Dash's tear-stained, rage-filled face. "I have something to tell you."

"Yeah? Well, I don't care!" shouted Dash, turning her body completely to face Pinkie. "Nopony can cheer me up, not even Ponyville's premiere party pony. Don't even try!"

Pinkie shook her head. "You can't stay like this, Dashie. This isn't you."

"I CAN STAY LIKE THIS IF I WANT TO!"

"Moping doesn't help the pain!" Pinkie said fiercely. "Stop moping and smile, Dashie. Smiling helps more than moping. Trust me on this."

"I CAN'T!" Dash cried, covering her wet rose eyes with her hooves. "Being a Wonderbolt was my dream! Everyday since I was a little filly I've dreamed about it! And now-- now I can't!"

"Let me help you, Dashie," said Pinkie softly, walking over to the cyan pegasus and sitting down on the bed next to her.

"But you can't, Pinkie!" replied Dash, shaking her head. "You can't!"

"Then let me try!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I can't stand to see you this way! It breaks my heart, Dashie!"

"But... why?" asked Dash, removing the hooves from her eyes and staring up at the pink pony beside her. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because I'm your friend and because... because..." Pinkie's heart skipped a beat as she realized what she was about to say. "Because I love you, Rainbow Dash."

Dash just stared at her for a few seconds, astonished. "Are you seriously trying to make a joke right now!?"

That confused Pinkie for a moment before she realized Dash was remembering the last time she'd said that. "No, I mean it! I love you more than parties, cupcakes, balloons, rainbows-- more than anything!"

"R-really?"

Pinkie nodded. "You keep the party inside me going even when nothing else does, Dashie." Pulling Rainbow Dash's face closer to her's, she added, "I love you."

With that, she leaned in and kissed the cyan pegasus full on the mouth.

"I'm sorry, but that's a bad plan," Twilight observed after I told her about my plan.

"I know, I know," I said, nodding, "but it's the only plan I've gotten so..." I shrugged. "If it works, it works, no matter how bad the plan behind it is."

"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "So, if your plan involved killing hundreds of ponies, it would be okay as long as Pinkie and Rainbow got together?"

"No! I just... I mean... that's not what I meant!" I sputtered, glaring at the purple unicorn.

Twilight laughed. "I know; it was just a joke."

I turned and glanced out the window at the darkening sky for what seemed like the millionth time, hoping to see something to signify that my plan had been a success... or a failure, either one. This anxiety was killing me. The squirming in my stomach was making me feel like sitting her in the library's main room talking to Twilight wasn't enough, like I needed to get up and do something. Not only that, but the feeling that something was missing was getting stronger and more annoying. It wasn't anything super important, but not knowing what was missing frustrated me to no end.

Suddenly, a question popped into my head that I'd been pondering since the night before we'd left Cloudsdale.

"Twilight?" I questioned, turning to look at her again. "The night before last night, I woke up and saw you sleeping beside my bed. Can you tell me, uh, why you were doing that?"

"Oh!" exclaimed Twilight, blushing. "Well, um, you were jerking around in your sleep, mumbling too. You woke me up and I noticed you didn't have your blanket on, so I went over and put it on you. You stopped jerking around almost immediately, but I stayed by your bed just in case. I... I must have fallen asleep at that point." Her blush deepened.

I started blushing too. "Well, that... that explains it. I've been wondering about that."

There were a few moments of awkward silence before the entrance to the library swung open to reveal Spike. Instantly, my feeling of something missing vanished. Spike had been missing! How had I forgotten about Spike?

"Where have you been?" asked Twilight as Spike closed the door and walked in.

"Well, since nothing was happening here, I decided to visit Rarity yesterday," explained Spike, not looking in my direction. This would've annoyed me, but I was too busy thinking of Rarity and Spike's crush on her. Maybe if I got Rarity to like him, he'd be less hostile towards me. "I helped her with her project and she told me I could continue helping her today, which I did."

Twilight nodded. "Oh, okay."

"So... how did Rainbow Dash do!?" asked Spike excitedly. "Is she finally a Wonderbolt!?"

Both Twilight and I grimaced at the same time.

"Not quite," answered Twilight.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash found herself being kissed by Pinkie Pie.

Dash's first instinct was to resist and pull away. She wasn't in love with Pinkie Pie, plus this didn't seem like the right time to be kissing anypony. Her dream to be a Wonderbolt had crashed and burned and her life now seemed like a shell of its former self, as if it had lost all of its substance.

At the same time, however, it felt so right. Out of everyone she knew, there were none she'd rather be kissing. Pinkie was a beacon of joy that she realized now she could cling to even in her deepest despair. Pinkie was so full of life, so full of energy, something that Dash envied about her. She was cute, funny, random. As for her dream... well, as hard as it was to imagine her life without being a Wonderbolt, it was much harder to imagine her life without Pinkie Pie.

Yes, she wasn't in love with Pinkie, but it could happen. In fact, it would be more than easy to fall for the pink mare. Especially now, when she needed love and acceptance and joy more than ever before. Pinkie would be able to give her all of those things and more-- this pink bundle of life kissing her could be hers and hers alone. That thought, more than anything else caused Dash's wounded heart to soar. Warm, happy emotions flooded into her quickly overwhelming the somber, depressing emotions she'd just been dealing with.

With happiness and love in her heart, Dash kissed Pinkie back, feeling as if she were glowing as bright as the brightest star in the night sky. She pulled Pinkie closer to herself and wrapped her in a tight embrace. At this moment, Dash no longer cared about anything other than the pink pony in her forelegs.

Then, breaking the kiss, and the hug, Dash pulled back until she was staring straight into Pinkie's beautiful, cautious blue eyes.

"I... I love you too, Pinkie Pie," whispered Rainbow Dash, emotion coloring every word.

Pinkie Pie's eyes widened, and then she smiled the most amazing smile Dash had ever seen. The caution drained out of her eyes and was quickly replaced with nearly overwhelming joy.

"Oh, Dashie!" Pinkie exclaimed, throwing her forelegs around Dash's neck.

And, just like that, they were kissing again, both feeling the happiest they had felt in a long, long time.

END OF PART 2