Pinkie Pie bounded along through the streets of Ponyville, in her trademark hyperactive style. The library was just to her right, and Twilight Sparkle was outside talking to Doctor Whooves.
"Rainbow! Rainbow Da-ash!" Pinkie called loudly. Spotting her friend, she bounced over to Twilight Sparkle. "Hey, Twilight, have you seen Rainbow Dash?" she asked, skipping in circles around her. The doctor looked slightly annoyed that their conversation had been interrupted.
"Pinkie Pie, stop. You're making me dizzy!" Twilight said.
"Sorry," said the pink pony, who quickly became still. "So, have you seen Rainbow Dash?"
"I think she's over at Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack said she needed some help on the farm."
"Oh. OK!" Pinkie said happily, bounding away.
She knew the way to Sweet Apple Acres like the back of her hoof, and bounded along the path merrily. It was uphill, but Pinkie didn't mind—she had an almost unlimited amount of energy, especially when it came to Rainbow Dash.
After a couple of minutes, she found herself outside the barn. She knocked on the door with her front hoof. "Oh, Dashie! Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow Dash's voice replied from behind her. "Yes?"
Pinkie turned around to face the light blue pegasus excitedly. "Rainbow Dash!" By her side was Applejack, and both were pulling carts full of ripe red apples. "Oh, hi, Applejack!"
"We're, uh, sorta busy right now, Pinkie," Applejack said, slightly annoyed, "Can you save it for some other time?"
"But Rainbow Dash said we could hang out today!" Pinkie protested, bending her legs and looking up at her blue friend with big, wide, eyes.
"Oh, so I did," said Rainbow Dash apologetically. She turned to Applejack. "You don't mind, do you, AJ?"
"Well, you—Ah suppose not…" Applejack sighed.
Rainbow Dash lugged her cart of apples into the barn, and reappeared a few moments later without it. "OK, Pinks, let's go!" She spread her elegant wings and took to the sky, her rainbow mane billowing behind her.
Pinkie watched her for a moment, before skipping along merrily below her. "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise," Rainbow Dash replied enigmatically.
"Ooh! I love surprises! Is it a nice surprise? Is it a cake? Ooh, are we going to Sugarcube Corner? Are you taking me to Sugarcube Corner? Are you? Are you?"
Rainbow giggled. "Wait and see, Pinks," she said flatly, before speeding off ahead. Moments later, Pinkie popped up from behind a bush, just ahead of her.
"So, where are we going?" Pinkie asked excitedly.
"It's a surprise! Just follow me!" Rainbow climbed up above the clouds and dived back to the ground with a loop, pulling up at the last minute to follow the land. Pinkie followed her, brimming with excited curiosity.
After a few minutes, Rainbow Dash turned around in the air, flapped her wings to bring herself to a halt, and landed. "Well, here we are!"
Pinkie looked around. "A boring old field?"
"It's not just a boring old field!"
"Oh. It sure looks like one… Ooh, are we gonna have a party? I bet you're throwing me a party! Are you? Yay, I love parties! Parties are fun!"
"No, I just wanted us to spend some time alone, Pinkie. Away from everyone else in Ponyville. Because… you make me smile."
"Oh, I know. I make everyone smile. I like making people smile. Because when people smile, that means they're happy, and when other people are happy, that makes me happy, and I like being happy!"
Rainbow Dash giggled, and looked down at her hooves. "I like hanging out with you, Pinkie. You're fun."
"Thanks! You're fun too, Rainbow Dash. Especially when you do all your tricks, and you're like 'whoosh!' and 'zoom!' and 'whee!'" Pinkie mimed various aerial stunts, and Rainbow laughed again. "Ooh, will you do some stunts for me?" Pinkie asked. "Pleeeaaase!"
"Well… I…"
"Pleeeeeaaaaase!" Pinkie made her blue eyes as big and wide as possible and looked up at Rainbow Dash sweetly.
"Well, OK." Rainbow didn't need to be asked twice to show off her moves, and she wouldn't have been able to say no to that face anyway. She whizzed into the air and did various twirls and loops and dives, while Pinkie Pie cheered and laughed excitedly, bouncing about on the ground below. Dash made one last dive to the ground, and knocked Pinkie off her feet.
Pinkie laid on her back, her hooves outstretched to the sides, with Rainbow Dash standing over her. They laughed together, and then Pinkie made a swipe with one of her forelegs that knocked Rainbow to the ground, and rolled on top of her. They continued to laugh, then they looked directly at each other and Rainbow Dash suddenly went quiet.
"Look, Pinkie, I have to go."
"Aww, why? I thought we were having fun!"
"We were. But I promised Twilight I'd help her with… something."
"Oh," Pinkie said sadly, stepping away from her friend.
"See you later, Pinks," Rainbow Dash said hesitantly.
"I know! We could walk back to Ponyville together!"
"I, uh, don't think that'd be a very good idea. Sorry, Pinkie. I'll see you around." Rainbow Dash took to the sky, beating her wings softly as she flew back to the town.
Pinkie looked down sadly and began to trot down the hill, feeling suddenly tired and lacking in her usual energy. After what felt like half an hour, but was probably more like ten minutes, she reached a lightly wooded area, where she could hear the sound of birdsong. She sighed and laid on the ground, with her hind legs stretched out behind her and her head resting on her folded fore legs. She closed her eyes.
"Um… Pinkie Pie?" said a quiet voice in her ear.
Pinkie opened her eyes and looked up. It had been early afternoon when she had closed her eyes a moment ago, but the sun was suddenly much lower in the sky. Fluttershy was standing in front of her, drawing small circles in the dirt with her hoof.
"Pinkie Pie, are you… are you okay?" Fluttershy asked timidly.
"I'm okay! I'm better than okay! I'm great!" Pinkie sprang up and started bouncing around again.
"Oh. Good. It's just that you were asleep in the middle of the afternoon, and that's not like you."
"I was just playing with Rainbow Dash. And we were jumping and running and rolling around, and it was tiring. But I'm OK now!" Pinkie bounded off at full speed back down the hill towards Ponyville. Fluttershy smiled weakly and went to join her animal friends in the wood.
Pinkie bounced all the way back to Sugarcube Corner, where Mrs Cake was waiting. "Pinkie Pie, where have you been?"
"I'm sorry, Mrs Cake, I was up on a big hill with Rainbow Dash and she was flying around and it was all like, 'whoosh'! And then we were both laughing and then she had to go and help Twilight but I found a nice little woody thing and I sorta… fell asleep… But then Fluttershy woke me up and I came straight here!"
Mrs Cake looked concerned for a moment, then smiled. "Well, we got a big cake order this morning, and we need you to help us to fill it. So get to work."
Pinkie cantered inside and spent the rest of the afternoon singing and making cupcakes. Engrossed in the task, she had time to think.
By the time the order had been filled, she had come to what seemed, to her, the most reasonable conclusion: Rainbow Dash didn't want to be her friend any more. She nudged the tray piled up with cupcakes over to Mr Cake with her nose, turned around, and galloped upstairs to bed. She wanted to be alone.
She had never gone to bed without being told before, and she ended up lying awake thinking about all the fun she used to have with Rainbow Dash. Like the time she was practising her moves to impress the Wonderbolts at the Grand Galloping Gala, when she crashed into the tree and Pinkie had to help her down. And the time she cleared the whole sky just before a thunderstorm at one of Pinkie's parties and everypony thanked her. And the time she did that Sonic Rainboom at the Best Young Flyer Competition, just in time to save Rarity. Pinkie Pie was going to miss having Rainbow Dash as a friend.
They had been best friends.
"Pinkie Pie! Your friend Rainbow Dash is here to see you!"
Pinkie woke up, bleary-eyed, to Mrs Cake's voice, although unaware of what was said, and lumbered out of bed. She trotted over to the mirror, and looked at herself. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her straight hair was draped over her left eye.
"Pinkie Pie! Are you awake?" Mrs Cake said again from behind the closed door, sounding somewhat irritated.
"Oh, yes! Did you want something?" she called, sounding as bubbly as she could.
"I said your friend Rainbow Dash is here!"
Pinkie gasped. "I don't want to see her."
"Why not? Is something wrong?"
"She's only here to tell me she doesn't want to be my friend any more."
Rainbow Dash's voice took over from Mrs Cake's. "What in Equestria makes you think that?"
"Well, I…"
"Oh, Pinkie, I'm not having this conversation through a wall. Open the door and let me in!"
Pinkie looked at herself in the mirror again; her hair was still flat and deflated. She didn't want Rainbow Dash to see her like this.
"Come on, Pinkie. I'm your friend. Let me in."
"I… I can't."
"Why not? Do you… do you hate me?"
"Of course I don't hate you, silly! I just—"
"Then let me in."
Pinkie sighed and cantered over to the door. She reluctantly unlocked it and nudged it open.
"Finally!" Rainbow Dash said as she walked into the room and closed the door with her hind leg. She stopped and let out a light gasp at the sight of Pinkie Pie. "Pinks… what happened to your hair?"
"I thought you didn't want to be my friend any more," Pinkie replied timidly. "I thought I'd done something to upset you."
"Oh, Pinkie, you've never done anything to upset me. Honestly… you make me happier than anyone else." The last part was said so quietly and hesitantly that it sounded more like Fluttershy than Rainbow Dash.
"What do you mean?"
"Please don't make me say it," said Rainbow, looking down at the floor and moving her right fore hoof in little circles. She felt her face get suddenly warmer, and was thankful that her coat covered the redness in her cheeks.
"It's OK, Dashie, I understand. I feel the same way!"
"You do?"
"Yes! You're my best friend too!"
"Oh… yeah, that's what I meant," muttered Rainbow Dash, still not looking away from her hooves. "Say, Pinkie, do you want to… do something today?"
"Oh, Dashie, I'd love to!" Pinkie said, feeling her hair puff up as she said so.
"How… does your hair do that?"
"Oh. I dunno. Maybe it's to do with Pixies! Ooh, let's go search for pixies!"
Rainbow Dash giggled. "Oh, Pinkie Pie, you're so random!"
"Yup! That's me! So, what do you want to do? We could… bake cupcakes!"
"We could… or we could go play some wicked pranks!"
"Yeah! Let's do that! I love pranks! Pranks are fun, and fun is good. I like fun!"
Rainbow Dash laughed, placed a hoof on Pinkie Pie's back, and said, "This is going to be awesome!"
First, they went to the library where Twilight lived. Peering through the window, they saw her working with Spike to practise her magic, stopping occasionally to take a drink or write notes on a pad.
"Invisible ink?" suggested Pinkie quietly.
"Nah, we've done that before… I've got it! Wait here!" Rainbow dashed out of the bushes and over the horizon, and returned less than a minute later with a bottle of hot sauce. "Let's switch her drink with this!" They both sniggered.
They formulated their plan (a difficult feat, given how excited Pinkie was): Pinkie was to enter the library and distract Twilight with some of her trademark nonsense, while Rainbow crept silently through the window and switched the contents of the cup.
"Foolproof!" whispered Rainbow Dash. "Let's do this!"
Pinkie nudged open the front door and hopped inside. "Hey, Twilight!"
"Mm-hm, mm hmm mm-hm mm-hm," muttered Twilight, with a quill in her mouth, not looking up from her books.
"Silly, I can't hear you with that quill in your mouth!"
Twilight dropped the quill and looked up irritably. "What do you want, Pinkie? I'm kind of busy right now."
"I just wanted to hang out with my bestest pal… well, maybe not my bestest, but you're in the top two… no, three… no, six… no, seventeen and two thirds! Wait, was was I talking about again?"
"I don't have time for this, Pinkie," growled Twilight, rolling her eyes as she returned to her work.
"Oh, you're no fun, you… no fun meany-pants! I just wanted to spend some time with you."
"Can't you see she's busy?" Spike butted in.
"Oh, hiya Spike! Will you play with me?" Pinkie turned her attention to the baby dragon.
Rainbow popped her head up from outside the window, looking impatient. Pinkie remembered what she was supposed to be doing.
"Twiii-light!"
"WHAT?"
"Just let me show you this one little thing. Pleeeaaase?" Pinkie Pie looked as sweet as she could, giving the purple unicorn the same wide-eyed look she always used on Rainbow Dash when she wanted something.
"Oh, fine! But make it quick."
"OK, but you have to come over here." Pinkie bounced over to an alcove at the other side of the room.
Twilight sighed and reluctantly followed. "This had better be good."
Pinkie suddenly realised that she hadn't prepared anything, and stopped bouncing for a moment to think. She scrunched her face up in concentration, keeping one eye on Rainbow Dash, who was currently making her way across the room in complete silence, her legs bent and her body only a couple of inches from the ground. Pinkie couldn't help but giggle at the sight.
"Hurry up, Pinkie!" said Twilight.
"Oh, right, yeah, sorry! I, um, I… wrote you a song!"
"You did?"
"Yes! A special one, just for you!"
Twilight smiled. "Oh, Pinkie, that's so nice! You didn't have to do that!"
"I wanted to. Do you want to hear it? Do you?"
"Yes, of course I do."
"Okay, here goes… oh, darn it, I forgot my tuba!"
"Do you really need your tuba?"
"I guess not. I'll just sing it. You can imagine the tuba! Okie dokie lokie, here goes:
"Twilight Sparkle is a… really great pony,
"She's got a horn and she can do magic!
"And she's really nice and a really great friend,
"And… she's purple!"
"That's… it?" asked Twilight, tilting her head to the side curiously.
"Oh my god, you don't like it. I knew you wouldn't like it. I knew I needed the tuba. I knew it!"
"No, it was… interesting."
"You liked it?"
"Um… yeah."
"Yay!" Pinkie looked over at Rainbow Dash, whose tail was just disappearing out of the window. "Oh, well, I've… gotta go, Twilight. I'll see you later!" She bounded out of the room.
"What was all that about?" Twilight asked Spike, who just shrugged and went back to hauling books around. She returned to her books and took a sip of her drink. For a moment, nothing happened, and then all of a sudden her mouth exploded in a burning sensation. She jumped up, her mouth wide open and her eyes watering. Her voice was hoarse. "Hot hot hot hot hot hot hot! Spike! Water!"
Outside the window, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow dash looked at Twilight, then at each other, and burst out into laughter.
Rainbow Dash stopped laughing. "Do you think we took it too far?"
Pinkie closed her mouth and started to regret her part in the prank. "Do you think we should apologise?"
Twilight gulped down a vase full of water, and turned to face the ponies in her window. "You two?" They nodded slightly, and opened their mouths to apologise, but were interrupted when Twilight burst out into laughter. "I should have known!"
"You're not mad?" asked Rainbow Dash, relieved.
"Of course not. It's just a prank!"
Rainbow and Pinkie smiled, bumped their fore hooves together, and started laughing again.
Next, they went to the Carousel Bouique, where they replaced Rarity's needle with a fake rubber one, followed by Sweet Apple Acres, where they hid in the trees and stole every apple Applejack bucked (until they were caught and made to return the whole lot).
Rainbow Dash let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm all pranked out for today."
"No, don't go yet! I've got an idea for one more prank! I promise it will be the bestest most wonderfullest most awesomest prank you've ever seen!"
"Well… maybe one more." They both laughed, and Pinkie skipped away.
"Where are we going, Pinks?"
"The Everfree Forest."
"Oh… awesome."
Rainbow followed her, more apprehensive about entering the forest than her pride would let her admit, but curious about what this awesome prank could be. "So, exactly what is this wicked prank?"
"We're going to play a prank on Zecora! And it'll be so awesome and fun and—"
"Oh. Um, are you sure that's a good idea?" Rainbow stopped and hovered in mid-air.
"Why wouldn't it be? Come on, let's go! What's the worst that can happen? It'll be fun! And I like fun! Fun is good."
Before Rainbow Dash could protest, Pinkie galloped into the forest, singing as she went.
"Hey, Pinkie! Stop! Don't…!" Rainbow was concerned for her friend, and after a few moments shrugged, sighed, and followed at speed. "Wait up!"
When Rainbow Dash caught up, Pinkie Pie turned around and bounced backwards for just longe enough to say, "Hurry up, Rainslow Dash!" She then turned back around and bounced forward again, picking up speed.
"Hey! Maybe we should turn back…"
"Why? Is the great and powerful Rainbow Dash scared of a measly little forest?" Pinkie didn't even look over her shoulder.
"What? Me, scared? Don't make me laugh!" Rainbow dashed deeper into the forest, ahead of Pinkie, as fast as she could. Pinkie bounded along behind and resumed her merry singing.
"This way!" said Pinkie after some time, turning left down a winding trail.
"Um… isn't Zecora's house that way?" Rainbow enquired, but Pinkie couldn't hear her over the sound of her own singing, and Rainbow just assumed that they were going to collect some stuff for the prank first and followed without protesting further.
Pinkie led her down a long, winding route. After about half an hour, she stopped. "This doesn't look like the right way," she said.
"Well, duh! That's what I tried to tell you half an hour ago!"
"Oh… I didn't hear you. You should have spoken louder."
"Well, what are we going to do now? It's getting late."
"We'll just have to turn back," Pinkie suggested cheerily.
"Can you remember the way? I sure can't."
"Of course I can remember the way, silly! Follow me!" Pinkie bounded off back in the direction from which they came. Rainbow Dash followed, hoping Pinkie's confidence was well-founded.
Pinkie cantered along merrily, her face creased with concentration. Every so often she made little sounds, or stopped for a moment to think.
"This way!" she said. "No, this way… No, that way!"
"Um…" Rainbow Dash followed uneasily.
After some time, they reached a clearing. Looking up, the sky was dark and starless, and the full moon was invisible, hidden behind clouds.
"This doesn't look like the right way," Pinkie said in her usual sing-song tone.
"Well, duh!" Rainbow retorted, "We're even more lost now than we were before!"
"Oh." Pinkie sounded deflated. "What are we going to do now?"
"I'll see if I can get above the trees and see anything," Rainbow said, stretching her elegant wings, "But I'm not too hopeful—it looks pretty dark."
She took off vertically and Pinkie watched transfixed as she soared gracefully across the black sky. She swooped back down to the floor of the clearing a minute or two later.
"Do you want the bad news, or the bad news?" she asked.
"Oh, um…" Pinkie contorted her face with indecision, waving her fore hooves as she considered the options. "Well, I don't like bad news, but I like bad news even less, so I'll have the bad news… No, wait, the bad news!"
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but let out a little chuckle. "The bad news is that I couldn't see anything—it's too dark, and the trees go on for miles. The other bad news is that it looks like there's a storm brewing."
Without another word, she flexed her wings and accelerated upwards again. Pinkie laid on her back and admired the swiftness of her friend's movements as she disappeared into the clouds, leaving a hole that closed up a moment later. She made another hole and reappeared, but it too closed up again. She dashed at the clouds again and again, faster and more viciously each time, but her efforts remained futile. She returned, deflated, after ten minutes of fighting a losing battle against the elements, and stood, panting, next to Pinkie.
"It's no use, Pinks. There's nothing I can do," Rainbow Dash said miserably, her breaths ragged and harsh.
"You can do it, Dashie! You're the great and powerful Rainbow Dash! If you can't do it, no-one can! Now you go up there and show those silly little clouds who's boss!"
"No, Pinkie. I… I can't do it." The pegasus looked down at the muddy ground miserably. "We're going to have to take shelter and wait until morning."
"What about the trees? Trees are shelter!"
Rainbow shrugged. "It's better than nothing, I guess."
So they galloped into the forest as fast as they could—although for Rainbow Dash this was not very fast at all, and when they got there she collapsed with exhaustion. And not a moment too soon, for just as she nestled against the trunk of the large tree Pinkie had picked out, the downpour started. The intertwined branches of various trees in the canopy above their heads did little to stop the rain, but the ponies were thankful for the shelter they did provide. With the last of her strength, Rainbow Dash lifted her wings and laid them over Pinkie Pie's shivering form.
"Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie whispered.
"Yes?"
"Do you hate me?"
"Why would I hate you?"
"Because I led you here. It's all my fault we're stuck here." There were tears in the pink pony's eyes.
"Oh, Pinkie, it's not your fault. Of course I don't hate you. I… I…" Rainbow Dash trailed off.
They laid there together in silence, Rainbow Dash sheltering her friend from the pouring rain as they listened to each other breathe. After a while, Rainbow was unable to distinguish her own breaths from Pinkie's, and her awareness of her surroundings slowly faded away. The sound of the torrential rain, and the roaring thunder that occasionally interrupted it, gave way to nothingness, and the blackness of the night was replaced by thoughts of Pinkie Pie.
Without really thinking, she whispered, "I love you, Pinkie Pie."
"I love you too, Rainbow Dash," replied Pinkie, but her friend was too busy sleeping to hear her.
Pinkie Pie rolled over, yawned, and rubbed her eyes with her hooves. She was lying in something wet. "Eww, this is mud! Icky mud!"
"Yeah, Pinks. That's usually what happens when it rains."
"Rainbow Dash? Oh, right, I remember now! We're in the Everfree Forest!"
"Yes, we are. And you're a heavy sleeper—I've been trying to wake you for the last fifteen minutes!"
"What time is it?"
"I'm not sure. Believe it or not, Pinkie, there aren't that many clocks in the middle of the Everfree Forest!"
"Oh, right. So, what now?"
"Well, now the clouds have cleared and the sun's out, I took another look, and we need to be that way." Rainbow dash raised a hoof and pointed down a narrow trail to the right.
"Right!" said Pinkie, jumping up. "Let's go!"
They followed the track, staying as close to the correct direction as they possibly could. Every so often, they stopped for a rest and ate whatever fruit they could find, and Rainbow Dash flew above the treetops to check that they were going the right way.
"Judging by the position of the sun, it looks like early afternoon," she said after she returned from one such mission.
"Oh, wow, it's getting late. We have to hurry up! What if our friends have got a party planned for us? I don't want to miss the party!"
"I'm more worried about a search party," Rainbow Dash replied solemnly. "Come on, let's keep going."
"Okie dokie lokie!"
They carried on, Pinkie Pie bounding on ahead while Rainbow Dash trotted along behind. She wasn't entirely sure where the earth pony got all her energy.
"Uh, say, Pinkie, about last night…"
"What about it?"
"You know, what I said."
"What did you say?"
"Oh, um… never mind."
"Do you mean when you said you love me?"
"Yes." Rainbow Dash said quietly as she looked down at the undergrowth and wiggled her fore hoof nervously.
"And I love you too! What's the problem?"
"I mean… as more than just friends, Pinkie." Rainbow couldn't remember being this nervous since the Best Young Flyer Competition.
"So do I, silly!"
"As more than… best friends?"
"Of course!" Pinkie kissed Rainbow Dash on the mouth.
At first, Rainbow was taken by surprise, and resisted the kiss. Then she realised what was happening and joined in. The two ponies stood there in the forest, alone, their lips locked passionately as their tongues performed an intricate dance together. Pinkie pulled away and smiled a little half-smile. Rainbow moaned lightly and resumed the kiss. When she would later try to recall the kiss's duration, she would realise that she was unable—the two ponies were all that existed in that moment, and even time was irrelevant. The world around them was little more than a blur.
Their unawareness of their surroundings meant that they didn't notice the rather large search party approaching them. Twilight Sparkle was at the head of the group.
"Uh… Pinkie Pie? Rainbow Dash?"
Hearing their names was enough to snap them out of their trance.
"Oh, uh… hi, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, blushing under her coat again.
"Are we interrupting something?"
"Oh, no, nothing at all!" Pinkie said cheerily. "Dashie and I were just kissing, weren't we, Dashie?"
Everyone looked at Rainbow Dash, then back to Pinkie Pie. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Twilight smiled. "Is there something going on between you two now?"
"Um… maybe," said Rainbow Dash timidly. Right now, she just wanted to curl up somewhere away from everypony. Why did her friends have to pick now to find them.
"Maybe? It's sort of a yes or no thing…"
"Yes, OK, I love Pinkie Pie! Are you happy now?"
The search party gasped, then cheered. One or two ponies sniggered. Applejack, who had been silent up to this point, whispered some excuse to Twilight and left.
"How did you find us, anyway?" Rainbow asked.
"Well," Twilight replied, "We noticed that you weren't around all morning, so we started asking around, and Derpy said she'd seen you going into the Everfree Forest yeserday, so we got worried something had happened to you." The grey Pegasus with googly eyes and a bubble cutie mark smiled, and Twilight continued. "What have you been doing anyway?"
"We were, uh, looking for Zecora, and we got lost, and then it got dark and there was a storm and… I'm glad you found us," Rainbow said with a smile, giving up on trying to explain everything that had gone on in the last 24 hours. "Now, let's go home."
Everypony trotted back to Ponyville, relieved that the missing ponies had been found.
"So, how long were you searching for us?" Pinkie asked Twilight.
"About three or four hours."
"Oh, wow, that's a long time! I'm reeeaaally sorry for making you worry about us so much. I really didn't mean to, I swear! I just wanted to play an awesome prank with Rainbow Dash, but we got lost and then everypony got worried and it's all my fault and I'm really really sorry. I'm more sorry than… someone who's really sorry. I—"
"It's OK, Pinkie. I know it wasn't your fault."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Yay! Anyway, where did Applejack go?"
"She said she heard her apple pie calling," Twilight replied skeptically.
"Can they do that?"
"Not last time I checked."
"Maybe she meant her cousin, Apple Pie?"
"Not unless she left her cousin in the oven…"
By the time the group reached Ponyville, it was 6:34pm. They split up and returned to their daily business. When there were far fewer people around, Rainbow Dash moved closer to Pinkie Pie and gently nuzzled her. Pinkie giggled.
"Anyway, Pinkie, I've got to go. I'll see you later!" Rainbow gave Pinkie a quick peck on the cheek, stretched her wings, and flew away over the rooftops.
She touched down at Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack was outside and saw Rainbow Dash, but went inside the barn without acknowledging her presence. Rainbow cantered over to the barn and rapped on the door with a hoof. There was no response.
"Applejack!" She waited a few moments for a response, and—when none was forthcoming—nudged the door open with her snout. "Applejack?"
The orange earth pony was standing at the opposite end of the barn, looking the other way. As Rainbow Dash approached her, Applejack turned around. Her eyes were slightly red.
"Applejack, have you… have you been crying?"
"What? Me? Nah, of course not!"
"Yes, you have," Rainbow Dash said, her voice quiet with concern. "What's wrong?"
"Nothin'. Ah just wanna be left alone."
"But—"
"No buts, Rainbow. Just leave me."
"Applejack, you're my friend! If there's something wrong, I want to know what it is."
"you really want to know?"
"Yes, I do."
"Ah'll tell you what's wrong!" Applejack shouted angrily. "You're what's wrong!"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you!" Applejack was crying again.
"What have I done?"
"You and Pinkie Pie, tongue wrestlin'!"
"You mean when we kissed? But why—"
"Oh, don't act like you don't know!"
"Don't know what?"
"Ah like you, darn it! I mean, Ah really like you. And she doesn't deserve you."
"AJ, I had no idea…"
"Well, now you do, and there's nothin' either of us can do about it. Ah think it'd be best if you left now."
Without another word, Rainbow Dash lowered her head and slowly walked out of the barn. She liked Applejack. They were good friends, and had known each other even before Twilight had come to Ponyville. And Applejack was certainly attractive, she couldn't deny that, but she couldn't really see them as anything more than friends. They had always had something special, but Rainbow just assumed it was that they got on well and had things in common—they were friends, after all. But what if it was something more? What if they had a special bond? Everything seemed so much simpler with Pinkie. But maybe that was just because her feelings for Pinkie weren't what she thought they were. She wasn't quite sure what to think.
On the way back to Ponyville, Rainbow passed the post office, and dropped in to thank Derpy Hooves for helping the search party to find her and Pinkie.
"Remind me to get you some muffins as a thank you gift," Rainbow said with a grin as she left. "I know how much you like them."
She deliberately avoided walking past Sugarcube Corner—the last thing she wanted right now was to bump into Pinkie—and took the long route instead. When she reached her cloud home, she flew up to it slowly, not feeling quite so at home in the air as she usually did.
When she couldn't find anything to entertain herself, she went to bed. It was still light outside. She really wasn't feeling like her usual self.
Twilight Sparkle was sat reading through her copy of The Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astrology for the seventeenth time, when she heard a very quiet knock on the door.
"Spike, get the door," she said.
Spike sighed and went over to answer the door, muttering something about the word "please"; he looked over his shoulder at Twilight, and she grinned. Spike opened the door, and Fluttershy entered the room quietly.
"Uh, hello, Twilight," she said timidly. "I'm so, so, sorry to interrupt, and I really hope you don't mind, but I just wondered if maybe we could talk? That is, if you aren't too busy, I mean."
"Of course I'm not too busy! I'm never too busy to talk to my friends. What did you want to talk about?" Twilight closed her book and looked up at the yellow pegasus, smiling.
"Well, it's just… I wondered if maybe we could talk about Rainbow Dash, if that's alright with you."
"Okay… What about Rainbow Dash?"
"Well, I… never mind." Fluttershy turned to leave.
"You what? Fluttershy, is something wrong?"
"No, no, nothing's wrong. It's just that I… sort of like her." Fluttershy said the last part even more quietly and timidly than usual, and Twilight could barely hear her.
"You… 'like' Rainbow Dash?"
"She's just so brave, and she's such a good flyer, and she's always been nice to me and protected me from things… You don't think I'm weird, do you?"
"Oh, no, not at all! I just didn't think she was your type."
"Oh, she isn't. But she's just so wonderful, I can't help myself. And now she's going out with Pinkie Pie. I knew I should have said something sooner, but I was just too shy."
"Oh, Fluttershy!" Twilight gave her friend a hug. "I'm sure Rainbow Dash loves you too… but as a friend."
"Oh, yes, I know she's never going to feel the same way, but I thought she deserved to know. But now I can't tell her without hurting Pinkie's feelings, and I don't want to do that."
"I wish I could tell you what to do, Fluttershy, I really do. But I've never been in this sort of situation before."
"I don't expect you to offer advice. I just needed someone to talk to. I would have spoken to Angel, but she ate a bad carrot so she isn't feeling very well at the moment." She turned to leave again. "Thank you so much for listening to me, Twilight. I won't take up any more of your time."
"If you ever need anything, you know where I am," Twilight said with a small smile. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of Fluttershy's revelation, but thought it was sweet.
After Fluttershy had left, Twilight swore Spike to secrecy—not an easy feat—and returned to her book, although she found it difficult to concentrate. She gave up after a while and had an early night.
Rainbow Dash woke up and rolled out of bed at about 11am. She felt terrible. She had thought being with Pinkie would have made her happy, but since Applejack's revelation she had just felt confused. She missed her old self. Maybe visiting Pinkie would help—she always made Rainbow happy.
So she trotted to Sugarcube Corner, and Mr Cake let her in. "Are you here to talk to Pinkie Pie?"
Rainbow nodded, already feeling terrible about what she was about to do.
"I heard about you two. I just wanted you to know that Mrs Cake and I are very happy for you. Pinkie's just upstairs. It took us a while to get her there—she was bouncing around even more than usual last night." Mr Cake laughed, and returned to his baking.
Rainbow Dash stopped on the top step, and took a deep breath. She considered turning back. Maybe it could wait. Maybe she'd feel different later. Or the next day. Steeling herself, she rapped lightly on Pinkie's door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me."
"Dashie!" Pinkie opened the door immediately, her face contorted into a giant grin as she bounced up and down happily. "Come in!"
"Look, Pinkie, we need to talk," Rainbow Dash said, not really sharing Pinkie's enthusiasm.
"Okie dokie lokie! Come on in!"
"I… Well, you… No… Look, Pinkie, it's… it's not working out."
"What isn't? Are you trying to bake me some cookies? You know you're no good at that, silly!"
"No, Pinkie. I really want to be your friend, and I love you, but as a friend… and Applejack said—"
"Dashie, are you… are you breaking up with me?"
"I'm so, so, sorry. I really didn't want to have to do this, but I just don't feel the way I thought I did… I'm really, really, sorry."
Pinkie's hair deflated. At first she was quiet and tearful, but it quickly turned to anger. "You're breaking up with me? Already? Why? Why would you do this to me?"
"I don't know. I just have something special with Applejack, and she's—"
"Applejack‽ You're dumping me for Applejack‽"
"I'm so sorry, Pinkie. I don't want to hurt you, and I really, really, hope we can still be friends. I'd hate to lose your friendship over this, but I just don't… I can't. It's not you, it's me."
"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that. Besides, what you meant to say is, 'It's not you, it's Applejack.'"
"Please, Pinkie, don't get mad, I really didn't want to hurt you. Applejack's just… special."
"Whatever. I don't want to talk to you right now."
"But—"
"No buts. Get out. I don't want to see you." Pinkie's eyes were full of tears, and the coat on her face was wet.
Rainbow Dash left, muttering about how sorry she was, and as soon as she was gone Pinkie flopped down onto her bed and cried herself to sleep. Rainbow muttered a hasty goodbye to Mr and Mrs Cake, flew home, and broke down into tears the moment her feet touched those familiar clouds. She had hurt Pinkie, and lost her friend forever.
When she had stopped crying and the redness in her eyes had subsided a little, Rainbow took off and glided to Sweet Apple Acres. She touched down outside, while Applejack was bucking trees nearby.
"What d'you want, Rainbow?"
"You."
Applejack stopped for a moment. "What d'you mean?"
"I mean I want you. What I'm asking is, will you go out with me?"
"Are you havin' me on? Did Big Macintosh put you up to this?"
"No, AJ. I mean it. I like you." Rainbow found this easier than when she had tried to admit her feelings for Pinkie Pie—but she wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.
Applejack smiled, ran over to Rainbow Dash, and kissed her. She was a great kisser. After a half-hour of kissing, talking, and generally fooling around in the barn, they raced each other back to town. They spotted Twilight and Rarity talking in the town centre.
"Hey, Twilight!" Applejack shouted, "Guess what!"
"What?"
"Ah'm datin' Rainbow Dash!"
As the couple ran off together, Twilight turned back to Rarity. "Is there anypony who doesn't want Rainbow Dash?"
"What do you mean?" Rarity asked.
"Oh, never mind. She just seems quite… popular."
"Well, do you want Rainbow Dash?"
"Of course not! I don't swing that way."
"Oh, I know. Don't you think I haven't seen you and that doctor."
"Oh, shut up! I hardly know him, and he's way too old for me."
"Riiiight…"
Twilight playfully punched Rarity with a hoof. "Anyway, I hope Rainbow Dash has made the right decision."
"Me too."
By the time the spring came around, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had been together for almost six months, and they were happy. Pinkie still hadn't spoken to Rainbow Dash, except when they had to, such as when they were arranging the Winter Wrap-Up, and the time Rainbow Dash decided to follow through on her promise of Derpy's muffins and had to place an order at Sugarcube Corner. She did miss her friend.
"Ah love you, sugarcube," Applejack drawled.
Rainbow Dash rolled over to face the pony lying in the hay next to her. "You too."
Rainbow looked into her lover's green eyes. They were pretty, but they didn't quite sparkle. Not in the same way as some ponies' did. The earth pony was attractive, and she was good at what they did, but there was something missing from their relationship. A spark Rainbow Dash hadn't felt since that night in the forest, six months ago.
"I think there's a storm coming," she said to her partner. "I should go clear it before it rains."
"Alrighty, sugarcube. Ah'll see you when you get back!"
"Yeah, OK. I look forward to it."
"Are y'alright, Rainbow? you seem a little… off lately."
"I'm fine. It's nothing… I'm fine."
"Well, alrighty, then…"
Rainbow flew away from Sweet Apple Acres and into the clear blue sky. She felt bad about lying to Applejack, and she knew she was probably going to get caught sooner or later, but she needed some time to herself. She decided to head to Froggy Bottom Bog, where she knew of a nice secluded spot.
Beating her wings rhythmically, she flew around the bright blue sky. She felt at home in the air—more at home than she had felt anywhere else for the last six months. Maybe she would just have to admit that she had made a mistake. Maybe Applejack wasn't right for her after all. But she didn't know why that would be the case. Applejack was beautiful, and fun, and certainly knew what she was doing. But she was as stubborn as a mule! They argued a lot, but that was bound to happen when two stubborn people spent so much time together.
And, while everything felt good, it just didn't feel right.
She touched down gently in a secluded grove by the bog, and laid down, confident that nobody would find her.
"Rainbow Dash?" That sounded like Fluttershy's voice.
Rainbow turned her head to face Fluttershy and tried to hide the redness in her eyes. "Oh, hi."
"Are you… are you okay, Rainbow Dash?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
"It's nothing. I'm fine. It's just Applejack—"
"Are you having problems?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"You know," Fluttershy said quietly, "There's a certain pony who wants you, and she'd never let you get hurt."
"I know, I know, but I just… Oh, I really don't know what to think, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy gave Rainbow a slight sympathetic smile, and left to return to her animals.
Rainbow Dash didn't think there was any chance Pinkie would take her back, after what she put her through, despite what Fluttershy said. That was why she hadn't spoken to her for six months. Rainbow Dash had made excuses, like the Winter Wrap-Up and Derpy's muffins, but Pinkie had always been evasive. She sighed, and began to watch the frogs in the bog hopping from lily-pad to lily-pad.
At the other side of the bog, she could see Fluttershy talking to the animals, but she couldn't hear what she was saying.
"Oh, Angel, do you think Rainbow Dash got my hint? I tried to tell her how I feel… Why am I so shy?"
"The fact that she's happy should make me happy," Pinkie Pie said. "Why doesn't it make me happy? I always get happy when other people are happy."
"Because you want to be the pony who makes her happy," Twilight Sparkle replied. "What you're feeling is perfectly normal—everypony would feel bad in your situation."
"But we went out for one day, and that was six months ago!"
"It doesn't matter. You still love her, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."
"Then what should I do?" Pinkie had recovered from the break-up five months ago, but she still missed Rainbow Dash, and she wasn't quite back to her old self.
"I think you should talk to her."
"But I don't know what to say."
"Say something random, Pinkie. That's what you're good at!"
"I guess…"
"And it what she loves the most about you."
"Do you really think so, Twi?"
"Of course. You two were really good friends, and you can be again."
Pinkie thanked Twilight profusely, feeling somewhat more bubbly all of a sudden, and bounded out of the room.
"Rainbow! Rainbow Da-ash!" she called loudly as she bounced through the town.
"Um, Pinkie?" said a very quiet voice behind her.
Pinkie turned to face it. "Oh, hi, Fluttershy!"
"Are you looking for Rainbow Dash?"
"Yes, have you seen her?"
"I think she's down at Froggy Bottom Bog."
"Okie dokie lokie! Thanks, Fluttershy!" Pinkie bounded off towards the bog.
If only Pinkie were here now, Rainbow Dash thought.
"Hiya, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie said, popping up from behind a bush.
"Pinkie…?"
"Hi! Do you want to hang out?"
"I—I'd love to."
"Great! Come on, let's go! I thought you could show me some more of your awesome tricks. I bet you've come up with a few in the last six months!"
It was true—Rainbow had been taking to the air a lot in the last six months. She felt happier there. There was only one place she had ever felt happier, and she was probably never going to feel that again. So she stood up and flew high above the bog.
Pinkie cheered. "Yay! Go, Rainbow Dash! You're the bestest! Even better than fudge! Well, maybe not better than fudge, but about as good…"
Dash somersaulted, then dived as steeply as she possibly could and pulled up at the last possible moment. She twirled around in the air, then went in for a Buccaneer Blaze. It started off well, and she pulled the moves off flawlessly, but then she splashed down into the mud. Apparently, she hadn't started high enough.
"Rainbow Dash! Are you OK?" Pinkie asked.
Crawling out of the bog and shaking herself off, Rainbow replied, "Yeah. I'm… fine. Just a bit wet." They laughed together. "I've missed you, Pinkie Pie."
"I've missed you too, Rainbow Dash!"
They talked about the last six months while Rainbow dried off. She ended up telling Pinkie all about her arguments with Applejack, and how she thought she might have been making a mistake. "I mean, it feels great, don't get me wrong. But it just doesn't feel right… And why am I telling you this?"
"I don't know. But I like the fact that you are."
"I guess what I'm trying to say is—"
"You still love me? And you think I'm sixty-three point seven percent better than she is?"
"I'd say twenty percent… but, yeah."
Pinkie couldn't help but think Rainbow Dash looked really cute at that moment. "I still love you too, silly!"
"Really? Even after everything I put you through?"
"Yup! I love you! You're my little pony!"
"And you're my little pony too." Rainbow Dash smiled. "But what am I supposed to tell Applejack?"
"You could tell her what you told me."
"Yeah, but that didn't work out so well."
The two ponies giggled again, and nuzzled up to one another. They kissed, and memories of that night in the forest came flooding back to both of them. They were finally happy again. Neither of them had felt quite like this for six months.
"I love you, Pinkie. I'm sorry it took me so long to realise it, but I really do."
"And I love you too, Dashie."
They laid there together, their limbs interwoven and their snouts touching, as they stared into each others eyes. There was that sparkle Rainbow dash had missed so much when she was with Applejack. She softly kissed Pinkie Pie on the nose, and Pinkie responded in kind.
After an hour or so of lying there together in the glade, Rainbow Dash lifted her head sadly. "I guess I'd better go talk to Applejack."
"Okie dokie lokie! Hurry back, Dashie!"
With a grin, Rainbow gave Pinkie another peck on the cheek and took wing, soaring to Applejack's orchard.
"Applejack, we need to talk," Rainbow said sincerely.
"Yeah, there's, uh, somethin' Ah've been wanting to talk to you about, too."
"Oh. Right. You go first."
"No, you go first. Ah insist."
Rainbow Dash stood there in awkward silence. She muttered something, stuttered for a bit, then gave up. "You go first."
"Look, Rainbow Dash, Ah'm really sorry, but Ah just don't think this is workin' out. Ah don't want to hurt you, and Ah really am sorry, but Ah just… it don't feel right, y'know?"
"I was… going to say the exact same thing."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
The two ponies stood there in an awkward silence that seemed to stretch on for hours.
"It's been fun," Applejack said at last.
"Yeah, it has."
"Friends?"
"Friends."
They both smiled. Their friendship was stronger than ever, and, for the first time in six months, everypony was happy.
THE END