Chasing After You

by Munngojerrie

Rating: teen
Tags: Comedy, Pinkie Pie, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash
Length: 10971

Rainbow Dash hasn't hung out with Pinkie Pie for days and the pink mare is getting desperate. So when she hears that the Crusaders used a potion to bring Big Mac and Cheerille together, she decides to use it on Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash hasn't hung out with Pinkie Pie for days and the pink pony is getting worried, not to mention desperate. When she hears that the Cutie Mark Crusaders used a potion to get Big Mac and Cheerilee closer together, she decides to use it on Rainbow Dash.

Nothing can go wrong… right? 

My first finished story.

Thanks to LastBrunnenG, GeodesicDragon , and Chengar Qordath for proof reading and editing!

Published 2012-12-29 15:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-12-29 15:40:01 UTC

Chasing After You

"Rainbow Dash! Wait up! Let’s hang out together!" Pinkie Pie called to her cyan friend who was flying away at an incredible speed. Pinkie was managing to keep up with the blue Pegasus, but just barely.

"Pinkie Pie, I can't! I'm sorry! I've got stuff to do right now for the weather team! I've told you that already!" Rainbow called back with a slight pinch of irritation in her voice.

"That's what you said yesterday, and every other day this week! It’s been forever since we hung out! Can't we just at least go pranking or something?" Pinkie Pie called back with desperation in her voice. Her ears were starting to droop a little.

"I can't Pinkie! Please just leave me alone right now, I'm in a hurry! I'll talk to you later!" And with that, Rainbow started arching up towards the sky.

"Rainbow, wait!" Pinkie called, but before she could say anything else, she felt herself trip. She hadn't been watching where she was going and had struck a rock on the ground. Before she knew it, she found herself flying off the path and spinning down a hill for several seconds before finally falling into the freezing waters of the cold pond below. Her head popped up a few moments later from the water. She was covered in weeds and muck, and a frog was sitting on her muzzle with a distant look on its face.

"Ribbit."

Pinkie Pie shook her head, sending most of the muck and weeds flying off and making the frog leap off of her face. Her teeth chattered and she wrapped her hooves around herself in an attempt to keep warm. She then looked around for a few seconds before looking down with a sad look on her face.

"Pinkie Pie! Are you alright?" a voice called from above her.

Pinkie looked up to see a nervously concerned Rainbow Dash. Pinkie's face lit up as she felt a wave of relief go through her body.

"Rainbow Dash! Oh I'm alright! Just dirty and wet but it doesn't matter because now we can hang out and do all sorts of super fun things. We could go pranking, make cupcakes, and I've got a great idea for a new crazy trick that you could try out and..."

"Sorry Pinks, I can't stay. I saw you rolling down the hill and everything and just wanted to make sure you were okay. Besides, I'm late for work with the weather team. I'll catch you later!" Once again, she took off, leaving Pinkie Pie alone in the cold murky waters of the Pond.

Pinkie sat there in the icy water, watching Rainbow Dash flying away, then a popping sound was heard as her mane deflated and her skin suddenly became dark in despair.

"Th...That’s what you said last time," Pinkie stuttered to herself as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

-A Short Time Later-

"Twilight, what am I going to do?" asked a sad Pinkie Pie. She was in Twilight's library sitting in front of a roaring fire with a blanket around her shivering body. She had managed to clean off most of the muck from her body but she was still frozen from the chilling waters of the pond. Thanks to Twilight however, she was starting to warm up and the purple unicorn had even offered her a mug of hot chocolate, which she graciously accepted. However, even the wonderful taste of chocolate could not get rid of the depression that was setting in.

Pinkie Pie finished her hot cocoa and continued. "It’s been over a week now since we last hung out together! We used to hang out all the time, like every day! But it hasn’t been like that lately! What if she doesn't want to be my friend anymore, Twilight?"

Twilight came over to Pinkie and used her magic to levitate Pinkie's empty mug and set in on the counter behind her.

"Pinkie Pie, I really think that Rainbow Dash is just really busy right now. The weather teams have had a lot of jobs going on lately with winter approaching and she has had a lot of work to do." Twilight smiled and continued. "I'm sure that as soon as she is done, she will immediately want to hang out with you again."

"Yeah," Pinkie replied unconvinced. "But she has said that every day I ask her. She would tell me that as soon as she was done that day, she would come by Sugarcube Corner to hang out with me. But then she would never come by." Pinkie sniffed, "Twilight, I really think that Rainbow Dash is trying to avoid me. Heck, she just left me sitting there in the pond today like a big meany!" Pinkie lowered her head and started feeling another tear come down her face. "She's running away from me."

Twilight saw this and walked over to Pinkie. She put her hoof under Pinkie's muzzle and lifted it up to face her. "Pinkie, listen to me. I'm sure that she is not trying to ignore you. She just has a lot going on right now. After all, she is the fastest Pegasus in Ponyville. She is in high demand right now in the weather team. Also, I'm sure she didn't mean to leave you alone like that this morning. She was late to work today. I should know. Spike got a letter from Cloudkicker earlier today wondering where the hay she was. She could've gotten fired if she didn't go work right away." She then wrapped a hoof around Pinkie and gave her a small hug.

"Just have faith, Pinkie. As soon as her work with the weather team calms down, you two will be hanging out again before you know it."

Pinkie Pie nodded. She was still sad but Twilight’s words reassured her. Twilight then pulled away and headed back into the kitchen with Pinkie's empty mug.

"I wish that there was a way that I could have Rainbow Dash be closer with me. We could hang out every single day without any worries and just have fun!" Pinkie said before giving a small sigh.

Twilight was looking through the books in one of her shelves. As Pinkie spoke her eyes spotted a familiar brown book with a silver lace on the bind. She pulled it out and chuckled. "I think we all do at times whether it is to be with us or with others. I still remember that one time when the Cutie Mark Crusaders used this book to make a potion in order to try to bring Cheerilee and Big Mac closer together."

Pinkie's ears perked up and she raised her head at Twilight’s last statement. "Potion?" she asked curiously. She spotted the book in Twilight's hooves, a tad bit of hope in her eyes.

Twilight let out a small hesitant chuckle. "Well, it happened last year. Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle made a potion that was able to bring the two closer together. The formula was in this book that I was reading back then and they asked me if they could borrow it. However, the potion is pretty powerful and Big Mac and Cheerilee found themselves missing out on their work because they were so much in love with each other. Seriously, that potion is kinda dangerous if you think about it. Honestly, I don't know why I gave them that book, it was a big mistake and..."

At this point, Pinkie Pie had blocked out Twilight's voice and had only caught the very beginning of her speech. She was lost in deep thought, the only noise being her own voice inside her head.

'A potion that can bring me and Rainbow Dash closer together as friends?! Oh my gosh that would be so totally wonderful!' She could just imagine hanging out with Rainbow every day now. All she had to do was make the potion! It couldn't be that hard after all.

Her face suddenly lit up, her color returned in her coat and her mane inflated into full bloom once again. "Twilight! Can I borrow that book?" she asked cheerfully, hoping up and down in one place with a huge smile on her face.

Twilight jumped a little bit herself, surprised by Pinkie's sudden outburst. It took her a few moments to process what she had asked her.

"Wh...what? You want to make the potion? Pinkie, didn't you hear what I just said? It’s dangerous, you shouldn't try using it!"

Pinkie took in Twilight's words. At first, she was a little bit bummed out, lowering her head and letting a sigh of disappointment. Then, a light bulb appeared above her head as she got an idea. "Oh well! Thanks for helping me warm up Twilight! You’re such a super-dooper friend! Well, gotta go!"

Twilight didn't respond. "What the....Where did the light bulb come....?"

Pinkie didn't answer. She just proceeded to bounce out of Library, leaving the light bulb hovering in midair above the place where she last stood. Twilight stood staring at it for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what was going on. Eventually, she walked closer to it and reached a hoof up to touch it. She closed her eyes and turned her head away, expecting it to explode or do something else that was completely random. When her hoof touched it, the bulb went out and dropped to the floor, shattering into pieces.

Twilight stared at the pieces for a few long seconds. She finally closed her eyes again and shook her head, muttering to herself. “Just don't question it Twilight, just don't question it."

-That Evening-

It was a nice, peaceful evening in Ponyville. The moon was full and bright and the only sound that could be heard was the rustle of a light breeze. Twilight's library tree house was quiet for the most part aside from the sound of Spike's light snoring. Both he and the purple unicorn were sound asleep, curled up in their beds and dreaming pleasant dreams.

They were so deep in sleep, they could not hear the sound of a figure outside. It was darting in between the windows, moving swiftly from one to the other before finally stopping at or near the front entrance. After fiddling with it for a moment, the figure was able to pry the window open and crawled inside the tree house. After hitting the floor, the figure looked from left to right before crouching on the floor and crawling across the room. Moonlight was seeping in through another window upstairs, showering the center of the library with a glowing stream of light. As the figure moved into it, the moonlight revealed it to be an earth pony with a curly tail wearing a black mask and sneak suit.

As the pony reached the center of the library, she looked left and right again to make sure the coast was clear before darting to a nearby shelf. She then removed her mask, revealing Pinkie's face. She then began to scan over one of the shelves. Her face twisted in concentration and she stuck out her tongue as she looked for the book she so desired.

"Oh, where is it?" she whispered to herself. "I know I spotted it earlier today while visiting Twilight. I just couldn't take it away while she was still there, especially since she didn't want me to have it. Oh, where could it be?"

She scanned the shelves, glancing over all the covers quickly hoping to spot the silver bind of the book she wanted. She knew it was in this general area, she was sure of it. But as she continued looking, she started to lose hope. Did Twilight move it after she left? Maybe she hid it after hearing that she wanted it?

But just as she was about to give up, a book suddenly caught her eye. It was brown with a string of winding silver going down the bind. She pulled it out and looked at the cover. Her face went from one of worry and despair to pure joy.

"FOUND IT!" She screamed, then dropped the book and covered her mouth with her hooves. She looked around the tree house quickly, smacking herself inside her head for her silly mistake, hoping that neither Twilight nor Spike had heard her.

To her relief, neither of them stirred. She heard a groan from Twilight and Spike was mumbling to himself in his sleep but besides that, she was in the clear. Pinkie lowered her hooves and gave a sigh of relief, then picked the book up off of the floor and dropped it in a pouch on the side of her suit. She then turned around and started sneaking back to the door.

As she was creeping back, she could hear Spike mumbling in his sleep. As she perked up her ears, she was able to make out some of the dragon's mumbles. Most of them were about Rarity and how beautiful she was. She even heard something about marriage.

"Eep!" Pinkie Pie had to put a hoof up to her muzzle again to keep herself from laughing at Spike's antics. She reached the window and leapt back out into the darkness of the night, closing it behind her before running back to Sugarcube Corner.

Upon getting home, she got out of her sneak suit and placed the book on the table. She immediately started flipping through the pages at a rapid speed, looking for the potion she needed. She eventually found it as the page the potion was on had a big circle over the name of the potion, apparently still left there by the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Ah Yeah! This will be perfect!" Pinkie gleefully cheered to herself. She scanned over the potion. There was a description of the potion along with its history but she ignored it and skipped straight to the ingredients, scanning over them and making a small checklist on a piece of paper (somehow being able to hold a quill in her hoof).

"Let’s see, a tuft of cloud, a bright rainbow's glow, stir with a Pegasus feather....Oh this should be easy! I can just use my helicopter tomorrow morning to get the ingredients! She closed the book and set it on the table, then turned around and headed up to her room, preparing for a well-earned night's rest.

Tomorrow was going to be a great day!

-Next Morning-

Pinkie Pie woke up early the next day and after having a small breakfast (a small one consisting of an entire tray of cupcakes), she grabbed her saddlebag and a small portable vacuum, and jumped into her helicopter and traveled up in the sky to collect her ingredients. She had no problem finding a cloud for the potion and pulled out a tuft of it and stuffed it in her saddlebag. An hour later, she found a rainbow and used her vacuum to steal most of its vibrant colors for herself. She then returned to Sugarcube Corner and put the ingredients in together.

Things were going well so far, but as she looked back at the recipe, she ran into a problem. "Stir with a pegasus feather? How am I going to do that? I don't have any pegasus feathers on me." She was stumped.

"Hey Pinkie Pie! What’s up?"

Pinkie squeaked and jumped at the sound of the voice, nearly dropping the potion. She turned around to find Rainbow Dash standing behind her, who was trying to stifle a chuckle at Pinkie's reaction. "Sorry Pinkie Pie, I didn't mean to scare you. How have you been?"

Pinkie's face suddenly went into a huge grin. "Hey Dashie! Oh I've been great! Except my tummy is hurting me a little bit. Maybe I ate too many cupcakes this morning. I..."

She was silenced by a cyan hoof being placed on her mouth. Rainbow laughed nervously. "That’s nice, Pinkie. Hey, listen." she lowered her hoof and her face became a little bit more serious. "I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I was late for work and was trying to make up time. I didn't mean to leave you in the dust like that. I just didn't want to get fired or anything." Her ears flattened a little and she became a little hesitant. "Do you forgive me?"

Pinkie looked at Dash, a slight look of despair in her face. "Yeah I do, I guess. It’s just been a long time since we hung out and all and, well." A small frown crept into her expression. "I was worried that you were trying to avoid me and, well, hated me or something." Her lower lip started to quiver a little.

Rainbow frowned. "Pinkie, I don't hate you. I've just been really busy lately and just haven’t had time to hang out with you, or any pony for that matter. You're one of my best buddies, Pinkie." At that moment, she went up to the Pink mare and pulled her into a hug.

"We're still friends, Pinks," Rainbow stated. Pinkie took it in and smiled, closing her eyes for a moment. She was still a little bit upset, but was happy that Rainbow had forgiven her. At least she still had their friendship.

But she could still make it better.

As she opened her eyes, she noticed Rainbow's cyan blue wings in front of her. She got an idea.

"Anyways Pinks, I need to head back home. I’m worn out from work yesterday and I need to OW!" Rainbow screamed as Pinkie suddenly reached behind her and yanked out one of her feathers, catching the pegasus by complete surprise. Rainbow jumped back from Pinkie, fluttering her wings.

"Pinkie! What the hay was that all about!?"

Pinkie grinned. "I just thought I needed something from you since we haven’t been hanging out a lot lately! Heh heh." She was hoping that silly excuse would be enough.

"Pinkie I....Oh never mind." Rainbow shook her head and looked back at Pinkie. "Well anyways, I’m heading out for the day. I’ll see you around!”

“Wait!” Pinkie's face lit up and she almost shot through the roof in excitement. “I have something to give you! I'll be right back!" She then grabbed the potion and book and zipped out of the kitchen and up to her room, leaving a pink trail and a confused Rainbow Dash behind her.

"Uhhhhh, okay then."

Pinkie was up in her room. She was furiously stirring the potion with the pegasus feather! She had made up her mind. She was going to give it to Rainbow now! She had some grape juice downstairs in the kitchen. She could mix it up with the potion and then give the drink to Rainbow. She would never know! Then, they would be best friends forever. She was so excited that she almost knocked some of the potion out with her stirring.

After a lot of stirring, she finished the potion. She put the pegasus feather down and picked up the potion in her hooves, rotating the jar around with a huge grin on her face. She was excited! Now all she had to do was go back downstairs and sneak. There was a knock at her bedroom door.

"Hey Pinkie! Are you alright? Can I come in?" Rainbow's voice came in from the hallway. Pinkie had found her chance.

She zipped out of her room, flinging the door open and zooming by Rainbow, sending the cyan pegasus spinning in place like a top. She eventually managed to grab the door in order to gain some support but her eyes continued to jump around. Pinkie meanwhile was downstairs; she quickly got the grape juice and two glasses out. She poured the potion into one of them, filling about a 3rd of the cup before filling the rest of it with the juice. She then took the other glass and poured herself a full glass. She took the rest of the potion and poured it down the sink before setting the jar in it.

She turned around in time to see Rainbow Dash stumbling into the room, still a little bit dazed from Pinkie zipping by her.

"P...Pinks? What’s going one?" she questioned while trying to maintain her balance.

Pinkie grinned. "I'm just so happy that we're going to be hanging out this morning, I thought we could celebrate with a quick drink!" She started in place in excitement, thinking to herself 'please take the drink, please take drink, and please take the drink!’

Rainbow finally retained her balance and walked up to the table where the two glasses were sitting. Pinkie stopped bouncing and slid the one that had the potion towards Rainbow. Rainbow stopped and eyed the glass with a tad bit of caution. Needless to say, she was a little bit uncertain. Pinkie had been acting pretty crazy for the last few days and her actions this morning had definitely taken the cake. She almost wanted to refuse the drink.

Pinkie noticed Rainbow being timid. "Is she going to take it? What is she waiting for? It’s not like I'm going to knock her out and torture her, why would I do a stupid thing like that anyways?" She stopped bouncing and looked at Rainbow, a nervous look on her face.

"Please?" she whimpered, giving the cyan pegasus a pair of big, sad, puppy dog eyes.

Rainbow's defenses caved in at the sight of Pinkie's expression. "Oh all right. Sure Pinkie, lets drink!" Pinkie's smile returned and the two ponies picked up their glasses and started to drink. Pinkie gulped hers down almost immediately, set the glass down on the table, and watched Rainbow with a look of eager hope on her face.

Rainbow drank more slowly, taking her time to enjoy every drop of the drink before finally bringing the glass away from her lips. She put the glass and smacked her lips. "Ahhh, that was great Pinkie, although I'll admit, it tasted a little bit off and....."

She suddenly stopped and started staring at Pinkie Her mouth dropped open a little bit as a look of slight awe came across her face. As she stared at Pinkie, the earth pony began to sweat as thoughts rushed through her head. 'Did the potion work? Why was she staring at her? Oh, don't tell me it didn't work!'

Finally after a few seconds, Rainbow spoke. "So uhh Pinkie, what do you want to do today?" As she asked the question, a big dopey smile came across her face.

Upon hearing the question, Pinkie went ecstatic. "Oh I've got a lot planned Rainbow! Oh we're going to have so much fun! I was thinking we could go pranking today! I've got a couple good ones that think we should pull! You interested?" As she talked, she started bouncing up and down again as her trail of thought raced. 'It worked! It actually worked! We're actually going to hang out! Oh this was the best plan ever!'

Rainbow responded, her dopey smile still present. "Okay Pinkie Winky, Let’s do it!"

Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing. "Pinkie Winky? That's a new one Dashie! I like it!"

Rainbow just stood there smiling. "Dashie? Awwww I like that nickname Pinkie!"

Pinkie Pie giggled but was a little taken back by Rainbow's statement. "Uh...yeah Dashie. That's what I call you all the time! You should know that by now!"

Rainbow didn't respond. She just looked at a Pinkie, a dreamy look on her face which Pinkie was oblivious to.

"Okay Dashie! Let’s go, I thinking we could...” Before she got a chance to finish however, Rainbow suddenly went up to Pinkie and gave her a huge, cuddly hug. Pinkie was caught surprised by Rainbow's sudden move. Her mind went racing again,

'Hugs? Old Rainbow Dash never gave me hugs like this before! Wow, the potion must have worked better than I thought it would.' She grinned. From her point of view, things were going better than expected.

'This is going to be great!'

-Later that day-

Pinkie and Dash had a great time pranking. They pulled several pranks on the pony folk around town. They managed to replace Applejack's harvest in the barn with oranges, swapped Rarity's new line of dresses with old knick knacks and torn up rags and Pinkie even found a way to make Lyra think that she had grown hands, which put the teal unicorn in ecstatic joy till she found out it was all a joke. Pinkie and Rainbow were now returning to Sugarcube Corner after escaping Lyra's wrath which included having a harp thrown their way.

For Pinkie, it was a wonderful morning. She had never had so much fun with Rainbow. But she had to admit, she was acting a bit....different. For one thing, she had spent a lot of time...looking at her. Even when they were in the middle of a prank, Pinkie would sometimes look up to find Rainbow just staring her...dreamily. She also seemed to act closer to her as well. She found her nuzzling her a lot more that morning, and even now, she was walking close to her down the street, really close.

Nonetheless, she still had a great time that morning, despite the awkwardness. They arrived at Sugarcube Corner and Pinkie turned around to face Rainbow. "Oh I had so much fun Rainbow! We pulled some good ones today, don't ya think?"

"Yeah." Rainbow responded. The cyan pegasus was lost in her own world watching the pink mare.

"Heh heh yeah." Pinkie said, realizing that her words weren't getting through to the pegasus. "Well, I guess this is it for today. I know you have your weather duty stuff to do today! Besides, the cakes wanted me to get some baking done for them today while they were out of town so, I'll see you later Dashie."

Rainbow had a look of worry come across her face. "Weather duty?"

Pinkie giggled nervously. "Uh yeah silly. Didn't you say this morning that you had to do some stuff for your job? You know, all that work that you had to do before we could hang out?"

Rainbow's smile dropped. "I have to go to work? Aww man that's lame! Can't we just hang out?"

"Well duuuhhhhh! Everypony has to work, including me. I was about to go bake for the Cakes. Maybe when we out of work we can hang out again!"

A huge smile came across Rainbow's face. "That's an awesome idea Pinky Winky! I'll come by later when I get out today!"

"Great!" Pinkie responded. There was that nickname again. Rainbow had been using that a lot lately as well. She didn't mind it but....it just wasn't something that she would have expected her to. It was kinda....scary.

"Well, I'll see you later Rainbow!" As Pinkie started to turn around, Rainbow suddenly rushed up to her and gave her another cuddling hug which caught her by surprise. She returned it with a big grin and her mind started to run again.

'Boy, Dashie has been giving me a lot more hugs since I gave her the potion. She used to hate them in the past. Wow, this has got to be the best thing I ever....'

Her train of thought however was cut off by Rainbow nuzzling her and sighing in her mane.

Pinkie was a little bit startled. Rainbow was not known to be the cuddly type. It wasn't like she didn't mind it though, she liked cuddling. But, this wasn't her. It kinda scared her.

"Uh Rainbow, could you let me go?" she hesitantly said.

Rainbow didn't answer. Instead, she tightened her hug, squeezing the pink pony like a snake. Pinkie started to gasp.

"D...Dashie. Pl... Please let me go. I can't breathe!" she gasped.

When Rainbow didn't respond, Pinkie started struggling to get out of her grasp. She wiggled and squirmed until finally she broke out of Rainbow's hug and tumbled backwards onto the ground. She got up and turned back to Rainbow, struggling to get her breath.

"Well uh, heh heh. I think I should get to work, and you need to get going. I'll see you around?"

Rainbow didn't respond. She just continued staring at Pinkie with that....look.

Pinkie dripped sweat and let out a hesitant giggle. "Well uh, bye bye." Then she turned tail and dashed off into Sugarcube Corner, slamming the door behind her.

-20 minutes later-

Pinkie was busy preparing the cupcake batter she had been asked to make for the Cakes. She had just finished making the batter and was now filling the cupcake trays with it. As she did, she found herself thinking back to the events that had taken place earlier that day. She soon found herself talking to herself.

"Rainbow certainly has been acting differently since I gave her that potion. I don't mind her giving hugs and all and the little nick name is funny but..." She sighed. "It’s just not like her. I feel like I'm hanging out with a different pony. Also why was she looking at me so much today? She just kept on staring at me more than anything else." She shuddered then looked down at the floor.

"Did I make a mistake?"

She remained silent for a few seconds, thinking about the whole thing to herself. Eventually she shook her head and a small feeling of pride came over her as she stood tall. "No Pinkie Pie! You made the right decision! Now Rainbow Dash is going to be your best friend forever! And best of all, nothing is going to go wrong!"

"Hey Pinkie Winky!"

Pinkie screamed and jumped, her hoof hitting the tray of cupcakes and sending it into the air. Cupcake dough flew out of the tray and splattered all over the kitchen. Pinkie whirled around to find Rainbow Dash sitting in the window above the kitchen sink.

"Rainbow Dash! Don't scare me like that! Besides, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be helping the weather team right now?"

"Not anymore. I just quit!"

Pinkie's eyes went wide. "What? Dashie, why did you quit?"

Rainbow started climbing into the house. As she did, she knocked flower pots, knick knacks and cooking utensils all over the place as she crawled over the counter. One of her hooves became misplaced and causing her to slip, falling into the sink and splashing water all over the floor and counter. "I wanted to spend more time with you and I decided that if I didn't have a job, I would have the entire day to spend with you!"

Pinkie was speechless. Between Rainbow's sudden decision and the mess in the kitchen, she was at a loss of words.

"Rainbow, please! You’re making a mess! And seriously, you need a job, Dashie! You can't go through life without one! We all need one!"

Rainbow jumped onto the floor and started walking up towards Pinkie. "I don't need a job, Pinky Winky. Not if I have you. You’re all I need in my life."

"Wha...I..." Pinkie was stunned! Sure, she had wanted Rainbow Dash to spend more time with her but not at the expense of her job, not at the expense of everything else. Her face grew tense and she snorted.

"Rainbow Dash! I love it when you spend time with me, but this is crazy! You can't just ignore the rest of your life just to spend time with me. Even I'm not that crazy!" She pushed past Rainbow, a scowl on her face. "And on top of that, you've made a mess here in the kitchen!"

She started picking up the pilled kitchen tools from off of the floor. As she did though, she felt a pair of forelegs wrap around her torso. She looked back to see Rainbow Dash behind her, eyes closed and nuzzling her cheek. "I know I'm crazy Pinkie, for you." Pinkie stopped. As much as she liked hugs she had to admit, this was getting pretty weird.

"Rainbow, please let me go. This is getting strange."

Rainbow didn't let go. "But Pinky Winky, that’s what couples do."

Pinkie's eyes widened. 'Couples!' She wheeled around, throwing off the cyan pegasus. "Okay Rainbow listen, I like hugs and all, but this is just getting weird! I'm not use to this from you! You’re not acting like yourself! And also we're friends, not a couple! Have you lost it?"

Rainbow got up and started walking towards Pinkie, who started to back up slowly. "Oh come on Pinky Winky, can't you see that we're meant to be together?"

"Stop calling me Pinky Winky!"

Rainbow stopped advancing. She looked at Pinkie Pie with a face of mixed hurt and confusion. "But I thought you liked Pinky Winky?"

"No I don't! Not anymore! I liked Pinks better! You know, the one you used before I....I..!" She stopped herself before she said too much.

Rainbow cocked her head, and then continued. "Well, how about lovey bear, or snoogle woogle, or....?" She started moving towards Pinkie again, her dopey grin returning to her face.

"What? Why are you... ?" Pinkie continued to back up. She felt her flank hit something and upon turning her head, she found that she had backed up into a corner of the kitchen. Now she was stuck between a kitchen and an insane Rainbow Dash. She turned back to Rainbow Dash. "Dashie, is this a prank? Because if it is, it really isn't that funny! Please, stop!"

Dashie continued until she was standing right in front of Pinkie. "Pinkie Pie, you’re my snoogle woogle boogle bear! I want to be with you for the rest of my life! Wo...Would you be my special somepony?"

Pinkie was speechless. She closed her eyes and shook her head hoping that the cyan pegasus would disappear but to no avail. Her mind raced again. 'Did she just ask me to be her special somepony? Why would she ask me that? Why is she acting like this?'

Pinkie screamed. Acting like a pink missile, she flew under Rainbow Dash, sending the love-struck pegasus into topspin for several seconds. Pinkie grabbed the book she had been reading and threw it into her saddlebag before dashing out the door the bakery leaving the dazed pegasus inside. She zoomed out of Ponyville, leaving a blazing pink trail behind her. Eventually, she came to a stop at a large oak tree on top of a grassy hill on the outskirts of town. She came to a stop, panting like a dog and crashed onto the ground, dropping her saddlebag in the process and spilling its contents all over the ground. She spent a minute or two catching her breath.

"What in Celestia is going on?" she screamed at the top of her lungs, causing the nearby trees to shake violently. "All I wanted was for Rainbow Dash to spend more time with me, not become some love-struck dodo!"

She grumbled and smacked her head onto the ground, trying to figure out what was going on. Eventually she pulled her head up and looked at her saddlebag and its contents which were strewn all over the ground. As she scanned over them, she saw that the book was open to the first page. As she looked at it more closely, she found that it had the book's title on the inside. As she read the title, she felt her heart drop. "The...gulp History of Hearts and Hooves D...Day?" Feeling a wave of panic come over body, she grabbed the book and franticly flipped the pages over till she found the potion. For the first time, she read the description and history of the potion.

"A very old brew, this potion will cause any pony that drinks it to fall in love with the first pony they see... LOVE?"

Pinkie dropped the book, her eyes growing wide in shock.

"I gave a love potion to Rainbow Dash! No wonder she's been acting strange!" She smacked her forehead with a hoof and shook her head. "Oh what have I done!? Now Rainbow is going to be chasing after me for the rest of my life!"

She grabbed the book and started hitting her face with it, insulting herself with each strike.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!" She dropped the book again. "Why didn't I read the description in the book? Then I would have known what would have happened! Oh heck, why didn't I just listen to Twilight yesterday and just be patient? Rainbow even came by this morning to apologize and I still used the potion on her! What is wrong with me?"

She sniffed and fell to the ground in defeat.

"What am I going to do now?" she asked herself. She fell to the ground and started to tear up a bit. She didn't know what to do.

"I know!" she suddenly exclaimed. Another light bulb appeared above her head. "I'll go to Twilight’s! She's read the book before so she should know everything about it! Maybe there is a cure for the potion or something! That’s it!" Feeling a new form of strength in her, Pinkie leapt up a picked up the contents of her saddlebag and prepared to go to Twilight's. As started to leave however, she stopped as a thought came across her.

"Wait! What am I doing? I can't go to Twilight's for help! I stole the book from her last night, not to mention ignoring her advice. If I go back there with it, she'll know that I stole it! Then she would get mad at me and I might lose her as a friend! Even if she is able to cure Rainbow Dash, she'll probably tell her what I did! Then Rainbow will get mad at me and I'll lose another friend!" As she lowered her head, the light bulb behind her went out and fell, smashing itself on a rock on the ground.

"Think Pinkie, think! There's got to be something I can do!" Then her eyes fell on the saddlebag. "Maybe there's a cure in the book!" She took off the saddlebag and dumped its contents on the ground. When the book fell out, she grabbed it a turned back to the potion.

"Oh Celestia please let there be a cure, let there be a cure, let there...!" She found something. A wave of joyful relief came over her. "Here it is!" She read it carefully. "In order to break the spell, I need to make sure that Rainbow doesn't look me in the eyes for at least one hour. Then the spell will fade and Rainbow will be back to normal."

A smile across Pinkie's face. "Oh that sounds easy! I just need to stay away from Rainbow Dash until then. Better yet, it’s already been about 15 minutes already." She said looking at the clock that had toppled out of her bag. "Now I just need to wait 45 more minutes! I can do this!"

And so she did just that. She hid in the shadow of the tree, hoping that Rainbow would not come along. She wasn't too worried though. She was outside of Ponyville after all and no pony usually came this way anyways. While she waited, she spent time filling her saddlebag, drawing images in the dirt with her hooves and keeping the eye out for any shade of blue besides that of the sky above her. Later, she looked back at the clock.

"Only 5 more minutes to go." she said to herself.

She felt something tap her shoulder.

"Eep!" she jumped and spun around. "Hey what do you wa...AHHHHHHHH!!!"

"Hey Pinkie! I've been looking everywhere for you!" said a love-struck Rainbow Dash. "Wanna hang out again? We could go out for dinner and watch the sunset! It would be so romantic!"

Pinkie didn't answer. She grabbed her bag and sped off back towards Ponyville.

"Oh phooey! She looked at me! Now I have to start all over again! I've got to get away from her!"

"Pinkie Poo!"

She turned her head a gasped. Rainbow was chasing after her, leaving a trail of vibrant colors behind her. "Wait for me!"

"What the hay!" Pinkie screamed. She tried running faster as hard as her hooves could take her but without much luck. After all, she was trying to outrun Rainbow Dash, the fastest pegasus in Equestria! Even her awesome Pinkie powers were going to have trouble outrunning her.

'I have to outsmart her! That's the only way I'm going to get away from her!' Pinkie thought to herself. As she reached Ponyville, she turned a tight corner and hid in a bush. She peeked out of the bush, hoping that Rainbow didn't see her and would just pass by. A moment later, a blaze of cyan color zoomed by her. She sighed a deep breath. She had lost her.

"Pinkie!"

Pinkie gasped and jumped out of the bush, rolling on the ground. She quickly got up and zipped away. A moment later, Dashie leaped out of the bush. "Pinkie Poo, wait for me! Let’s cuddle!"

Pinkie didn't answer. She continued running, breathing in panic as she desperately tried to get away. She dashed into Carousel Boutique, not even bothering to knock. As she barged again, she startled the white unicorn inside who was busy working on one of her new dresses. She shrieked and her magic was thrown out of balance, causing her to drop all sort of fabric materials and knock over one of her mannequins.

"Pinkie Pie, goodness gracious! Haven’t you learned to knock before entering? What is the meaning of barging in here anyways?"

"Rarity, I need to hide!" Pinkie exclaimed. She looked around the boutique franticly before diving into a pile of fabric on the floor, concealing herself under the heap.

"Now Pinkie Pie! What is the meaning of this, seriously!?"

Just then, Rainbow crashed through the door, sending it off of its hinges. "Pinkie! Pinkie where are you?"

"Rainbow Dash! Seriously, doesn't anypony know to knock these days? This is ridiculous!"

Rainbow ignored her as she started flying around the boutique looking for Pinkie, like a predator searching for its prey. After some searching in the air, she landed on the floor and trotted over the Rarity.

"Have you seen Pinkie Pie? I thought I saw her come in woah!" She tripped over the pile of fabric that Pinkie was hiding in, causing her to fall to the floor. She shook her head and looked back to see a pink tail sticking out of the fabric.

"Pinkie! I found you!"

"Eeek!" Pinkie leaped into the air and starting running in place above the ground before zipping off again out of the boutique, crashing through one of Rarity's windows.

"By Celestia! Pinkie Pie this is most absurd!" screamed Rarity.

Pinkie didn't know where else to run. She had a pretty good lead on Rainbow but it wouldn't take her long to catch up.

"Oh why do I have to be such a dumbo? Why did this have to happen to me?"

She continued running till she was out of town, out of Ponyville. She continued running to a small mountain in the distance and quickly climbed to the very top. As she started reaching the peak, she quickly grew tired. She panted as she climbed the last few steps up the mountain. She stopped for a moment, gasping and wheezing as she struggled to breathe. A cyan hoof reached out to her.

"Need a hoof Pinkie?"

She coughed, "Oh, thank you Rainbow DaaaaASSSSHHHH!" she spun around to run down the mountain but Rainbow grabbed her in a tight hug that threatened to crush her lungs. Pinkie struggled to get out of her tight embrace but with no such luck.

"Oh I'm glad to have found you Pinkie Dinkie. Look, now we can watch the sunset together my little snuggle cake! It’s gorgeous, like you!" She closed her eyes and began to snuggle Pinkie, nuzzling her cheek and tightening her hug around her. Pinkie felt like her ribs were getting crushed in her grip. She felt her eyes bulge and she struggled to breathe.

"Rainbow please! Y...You're....hurting me!" She fought as hard as she could to get out of Rainbow's grip. She could feel her air escaping from her lungs. Finally after much struggle, she broke out of Rainbow's embrace and toppled to the ground.

"Oh Pinkie, this is got to be the best day of my life! I love you so much! Do you want to be my special somepony?"

"NO!" Pinkie screamed. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out her party cannon. She grabbed Rainbow and threw her into the cannon before firing her up into the air towards Cloudsdale. Not bothering to pack it in her bag again, she dashed back to Ponyville and flew into Sugarcube Corner, slamming the door behind.

"I've gotta hold out in here for an hour!" she screamed. She ran around the bakery, closing all the windows and covering them up so no pony could look in. Then she ran to the door, locked it, and started throwing everything she could get her hooves on in front of it: chairs, tables, cupboards, a couch, desks, lamps, cooking supplies, cupcakes, Gummy, the kitchen sink, everything. Finally, she stopped. She panted heavily as she admired her work with a proud grin on her face. "There's no way she can get in here now!"

CRASH!

Pinkie's heart fell into her stomach as she heard something smash through the roof and into the bakery behind her. Her ears dropped and she shook in fear.

"Oh no."

She turned around to face the inevitable. When she saw Rainbow, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, stretching in the process and hitting the floor with a smack.

Rainbow was standing before her with a flower bouquet in her mouth and a box of chocolates on her back. On the box was a card with a red heart on the front of it. She took the flowers out of her mouth and held them in her right hoof towards Pinkie Pie, a dopey love-struck smile on her face.

"Pinkie Pie, I'm sorry I made you upset earlier. I...I just can't help it." She started walking towards Pinkie. "I just love you so much. You're my little cutie patootie lovie dovie honey bunny pony." She walked up to Pinkie and gave the Pink mare yet another hug, nuzzling her cheek. "We're meant to be together Pinky Winky. I want you to be my special somepony. I...I love you."

Pinkie was still speechless. She didn't try to get away this time. She was lost in thought. She couldn't believe this was happening. That her little plan on getting Rainbow to be a better friend had backfired the way it did. She wasn't a friend anymore, just a lovey dovey dumbbell. But just as she thought Rainbow couldn't lose it anymore more, the unthinkable happened.

She kissed her.

It was a small one but it caught her completely by surprise. Her eyes widened in shock.

'She's lost it! She's completely lost it!'

Rainbow backed away. "So Pinkie, will you be my special somepony?"

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

Pinkie shot past Rainbow Dash once again. She grabbed her saddlebag and with an unbelievable force, crashed through the barricade and front door. She sent furniture and knick knacks flying all over the bakery and a pony shaped hole in the door. She zoomed through Ponyville. She had lost all hope. At this point, there was no way she could stay away from Rainbow at this pace. She was too fast, too crazy right now, too... unpredictable. She had only one option left.

She needed Twilight's help.

She zipped into the library, smashing the door open. She saw Twilight standing in the middle of the treehouse with her back to her. She had a book levitated in front of her eyes.

"Twilight! Twilight I need your help!"

Twilight didn't turn around. "Oh you don't say." She spoke in a slow, almost sarcastic drone. "Funny you should bring that up. You see, I need a little bit of help too. I was looking through my inventory this morning and I noticed that one of my books was missing."

Pinkie froze. 'Oh no. She didn't know, did she?' she thought to herself.

Twilight continued. "Also, Cloudkicker came by earlier today. She was worried about Rainbow. Apparently she had come by the weather team earlier today to let them know that she was quitting. According to Cloudkicker, she said that Rainbow had mentioned being deeply in love with another pony."

"I....I..." Pinkie was at a loss of words. They just got choked in her throat.

"And if that wasn't enough trouble today, Rarity just came by to let me know that a crazy cyan pegasus and a desperate pink earth pony came by and trashed her boutique."

Before Pinkie could answer, the door opened again and another pony walked in. Pinkie heard an all too familiar voice behind her.

"There you are Pinkie!"

"Eek! Twilight please, I'm sorry! I need your help. She's gone crazy and...”

"Oh is that so?" Twilight turned around. She had a smirky grin on her face and continued talking in her sarcastic drone. "And I wonder why that is? Do you have any idea why?"

"I..." Pinkie was caught off by Rainbow throwing her forelegs around her from behind, cutting off her speech. After a few seconds of struggling, she managed to get her words out. "Twilight please! She's been chasing me all day! I can't get away from her! I need help!"

"I would love to help Pinkie but I'm busy myself. I need to find that book after all. I just have no idea where it went."

"Twilight!" Pinkie Pie was panicking. It was obvious that Twilight knew had happened and was now torturing her for her selfishness. She started feeling herself being lifted above the ground. She realized that Rainbow Dash was starting to hover above the ground, carrying her with her. She started flying backwards out of the library, still nuzzling her all the way.

"Twilight please! Help me!" Pinkie screamed, grabbing a bookshelf in a desperate attempt to stay in the library.

"Sorry Pinkie, no can do. I'm too busy right now." Twilight droned. She turned around back to her book, flicking her tail in the process.

"Twilight!" Pinkie felt some tears into her eyes. She gave up. She closed her eyes tight and when she opened them, she spilled the beans.

"Okay! It was me! I stole the book from you last night while you and Spike were asleep! I made that potion that you had talked about in the book and tricked Rainbow into drinking it! It started out fun and all, we had a good time! But then she started acting weird and creepy! I didn't know it was love potion, I didn't! I read about the cure and tried to run away from her, but she just kept chasing me and chasing me! I couldn't get away!"

She finally escaped from Rainbow's grasp and fell to the floor. "I've got the book with me!" She immediately pulled the book out of her saddlebag and threw it towards Twilight. "Take it! I don't want it anymore! I just want things to be back to normal! I want my old friend back! I just want it to end! Please Twilight! Help me oh please just help me!" Pinkie Pie was practically on her knees pleading to Twilight.

Twilight turned back around. She looked at the book on the floor and then back to Pinkie who was yet again being engulfed by another love hug. After a few moments, her evil little smirk turned into a much gentler smile and she nodded. Her horn lit up and a magical bubble formed around Rainbow, pulling her off Pinkie and lifting her into the air.

"Whoa, what? What’s going on? Pinky Winky, what's happening?"

Using her magic, Twilight moved the pegasus into a wardrobe and closed the door behind her. Her horn shined brighter as she started casting spells over the wardrobe. Inside, Rainbow started to kick and thrash, rocking the wardrobe back and forth but she could not get out. She wasn't going anywhere.

Pinkie walked up beside Twilight. "Tw...Twilight, what did you do?" she asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure how the purple unicorn would respond.

Twilight turned to her and answered. "I placed a force field on the wardrobe. She won't be getting out any time soon. An hour from now, we'll let her out and it will all be over, almost."

Pinkie gave a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness. You have no idea how long I've been trying to get away from her. It’s been a nightmare!" She gave Twilight a nervous chuckle as she backed up to the door. "Well, I'd better get going. Thanks for the help!" She turned around and started running out the door only to run into what appeared to be a magical wall placed over the door.

"Ow!" She rubbed her face and looked back at Twilight whose face had become more serious.

"Pinkie, I want you stay here till she gets out. I put a force field over the library so you won't be able to leave." With that statement, she picked up the book with her magic and trotted over the bookcase to put it back in its right place.

Pinkie lowered her head and walked back into the center of the library. She sat in front of the wardrobe and started thinking about what she had done. As she did, she could hear Rainbow inside. She was confused, scared, and lonely.

"Pinkie! Pinkie what’s going on! I'm scared! I don't know what’s going on! Where are you? I just to be with you Pinkie I...I..."

Then Pinkie heard Rainbow doing something that she never heard her do before. She started to cry. She could hear the cyan pegasus sobbing inside the wardrobe. It hurt.

Pinkie Pie felt her emotions get torn in half. She lowered her head and felt some tears emerging from her eyes. Rainbow was crying. She was alone right now, confused, tortured, sad, all because she had been so selfish. This was all her fault.

"I'm a terrible friend." she spoke. She closed her eyes as the tears started to flow out of her eyes. "Th...this is all my fault. She doesn't deserve this. I should be the one locked up in that wardrobe. I deserve it." In a pop, her mane lost its poof and the color in her mane drastically faded away.

She felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked to her side to see Twilight standing there. "Pinkie Pie, I know you didn't mean to put Rainbow through this. I know you were worried about your friendship with her and wanted to save it. But, you took it too far this time. You took advantage of her and now she's suffering for it."

As Pinkie took in Twilight's words, she felt her emotions crumble some more. She wished it wasn't true but Twilight was right. She had taken advantage of her, treating her like a prize instead of a real pony. She felt a new stream of tears coming on.

"I....I know. I just wa...wanted to help our friendship. But I never knew it would turn out like this." she looked at Twilight. "I just want things to go back to normal."

"Pinkie, things are going to go back to normal soon. When she's ready, we'll let her out of the wardrobe and she'll be back to normal, but...." Her face took a more serious look as she looked Pinkie in the eyes. "I want you to tell her what happened."

Pinkie's eyes widened. "What? Twilight! I can't tell her! She'll get mad at me! Wh...what if she gets so mad she doesn't want to be friends with me anymore afterwards?"

"Pinkie, I don't know what's going to happen. I have no idea how she is going to react. But you have to go through with this. She deserves to know what happened." She placed a hoof under Pinkie's cheek and raised it, so Pinkie was looking at her. "Listen, I'm going to stay here with you the whole time, but it’s going to be up to you to tell her."

"Twilight please, I can't."

"Yes you can, Pinkie. I know it’s not going to be easy but you can do this, and you need to."

Pinkie lost complete control of her emotions. She lowered her head and started to sob uncontrollably. It wasn't like a fountain like she cried during the babysitting incident but a serious sob, like something Fluttershy could go through.

Twilight noticed that Pinkie was struggling. While she may not have been the best with emotions, she knew that Pinkie was having trouble coping with the situation. Her face turned over into a gentler smile and she pulled the Pink pony into a comforting hug, allowing her to cry in her chest. Pinkie didn't resist. She returned the hug and continued sobbing, letting her emotions spill out. They remained like that for a few minutes as Twilight allowed the pink pony to have a good cry.

Eventually, she finally pulled away, still sobbing a little bit but having released most of her tears. She wiped them away with her hoof and looked back at Twilight. "I really goofed up this time didn't I?" Twilight just smiled gave a slight nod.

"Twilight, I...I know what I did was wrong and...I should never have broken into the library last night. It was wrong of me. Do....do you forgive me Twilight?"

Twilight's smile faded slightly but she still kept a gentle composed face. "No Pinkie, it was not right of you. You should know better than to do something like that. But, considering that you have told the truth and apologized, I think I can forgive you. All I want now is for you to tell Rainbow what happened.

Pinkie nodded, a small smile finally returning to her face. "Thanks Twilight. I thought….”

Twilight put a hoof up, cutting her off. "Don't worry Pinkie. We're still friends." She looked back at the wardrobe. "Okay, we have only a few more minutes left before I let her out. I gotta take care of a few things quickly. I'll be right back." She left the room and headed upstairs. Pinkie didn't know what she was doing. She just sat in the middle of the library, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Rainbow had since then calmed down inside the wardrobe. She had spent the last few minutes sobbing inside. Now she was quiet, every once in a while mumbling Pinkie's name in hope to at least hear her voice. Pinkie didn't respond. She just sat in front of the wardrobe silent, dreading the events to come.

Finally, the hour was up. Twilight came down from the bedroom and walked up to the wardrobe. She looked at Pinkie. "You ready?" Pinkie didn't say anything. She just sniffed and nodded her head. Twilight turned back to the wardrobe and lit her horn, dropping the force field and opening the door. A confused Rainbow Dash tumbled out onto the library's floor. She struggled to get her balance as she stood up, dazed from the after effects of the potion.

"Wh...what the hay just happened. What’s going on? "She found her balance and looked at Twilight. “Why was I locked up in your wardrobe, Twilight? As a matter of fact, I don't remember much about what's happened today. Last thing I remember, I was at Pinkie's house and....." She stopped and looked at Pinkie whose ears drooped and she lowered her head in shame.

Pinkie turned to Twilight, giving her a face that said 'do I have to do this'. Twilight saw the expression and nodded to her. "Go ahead, Pinkie."

Pinkie sighed and turned back Rainbow. "Dashie, I made a boo boo."

Then she told her everything. She told her about how she had been feeling about their friendship, how she was worried that it was breaking up. She told her about the potion, about breaking into Twilight's, about tricking her that morning into drinking, about how she had quit her job, how she had started acting so strange around her, everything. As she did, she tried her best to choke back tears. She barely made eye contact with the cyan pegasus. She was too scared to see her reactions.

"It was fun at first. We had a great time hanging out. But then, you started acting weird. You wouldn’t leave me alone. I was scared, scared because I thought I had lost my friend, the old Rainbow Dash. I found a cure that told me to stay away from you for an hour, but you kept chasing after me! I couldn’t get away from you! So I ran over here to Twilight's for help. She locked you in the wardrobe and...and...."

She sniffed. "You were crying in there, and it was my fault. I should never have hurt you like that Rainbow. I...I'm so sorry." She closed her eyes again, trying to stifle a new wave of tears. Rainbow looked at Twilight, giving her a look that said 'is she serious?’ Twilight simply nodded.

"I know you’re probably mad at me Rainbow, and I'm sorry. I...I can understand if you don't want to hang out anymore. I deserve it."

She braced herself for Rainbow's insult, expecting her to start yelling at her and calling her a terrible friend. But it never came. Instead, she felt something raise her head up. She opened her eyes to find Rainbow looking her in eyes.

"Now why would I want to do that? Look Pinkie, I know you made a mistake but you were desperate. Do you really think that I'm going to drop you as a friend you just because you turned me into a romantic idiot?" She chuckled. "Yeah, it was a dumb mistake Pinkie and you never should have done it, but I'm not going to hate you for it. Come here." She grabbed Pinkie and pulled her into a hug. Thankfully for Pinkie, it wasn't one of Rainbow's awkward hugs that she was having trouble getting use to all day long. It was relaxed and compassionate. Pinkie returned it, gasping out a couple of sobs as she started to realize that things were going to be okay.

They broke away and Rainbow continued. "Pinkie listen, I know I haven’t been hanging out lately and, I'm really sorry about that. I've just been so busy lately that I haven't had the time. I know you like to hang out with me, Pinkie, and I like to hang out with you too. But you have to be patient! I can't be there for you all the time. Do you think you can do that?"

For the first time in an hour, Pinkie smiled and a tiny chuckle escaped her lips. "Yes, I...I think I can. Thank you for forgiving me, Rainbow. I honestly thought I wasn't worth it."

Rainbow's ears dropped. "Yeah well, that is probably my fault as well. I've just been so tired these days from all my work that I've just needed some downtime alone. But, I shouldn't have blown you off like that so many times. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. So I'm sorry too. Tell you what, when I finally get some free time, I'll spend an entire day with you, does that sound like a plan?"

Pinkie's smile grew wide and her mane and coat blossomed back into true from. "That sounds great Rainbow! I'm so looking forward to it!" She bounced in place for a few seconds before stopping for a moment. She gave a nervous laugh. "But, take your time. Get your work done first, heh heh."

Rainbow smiled. "No problem Pinks!"

Pinkie let out a sigh. "I'm just glad everything is back to normal."

Rainbow laughed but then her smile faded. "Yeah, except I don't have a job anymore. Didn't you say that I quit my job with the weather team?"

Twilight gave Rainbow a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, you still have your job, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow and Pinkie looked at Twilight in astonishment and spoke at the same time. "What? How?"

"I sent a message to Celestia explaining to her what was happening. She assured me that you were going to keep your job Rainbow. Between the book missing and Cloudkicker coming by my place, it didn't take that long to put the pieces together."

Rainbow was stunned. "Really, it was that easy?"

Twilight laughed. "Yeah, pretty much. Celestia just wants one thing." She looked at Pinkie. "Do you think you can send her a letter telling her what you learned from this?"

Pinkie smiled and stood on her hind legs, giving the purple unicorn a silly little salute. "No problem Twilight!"

Rainbow laughed and stretched her wings out. "Well, I'd better get back to the weather team. They're probably expecting me. See ya later Pinks!" With that, she rose off the ground and zipped out the door into the blue sky above.

Pinkie watched her leave. For the first time in a week, she didn't give chase. She didn't feel sad that her best friend was leaving her behind. She was just happy that her best friend was back to normal. She wasn't a love-struck dodo mare anymore. She was her Dashie, her very best friend.