Hearts, Hoovsies, & Jealousy
“I’m so sorry, Pinkie Pie, I really can’t go. Cadence and my brother went through so much trouble to plan this, I can’t not go.” Twilight Sparkle sighed and glanced back at the fashionista pony, busily working on a pair of dresses. “Plus I already promised Rarity she could come, and she’s so excited…”
The pink Earth pony frowned for a moment, but regained her bubbly exterior after barely a second. It never ceased to surprise Twilight how quickly the other pony could change moods.
“That’s okay, Twilight! I get it! Even if you and Rarity can’t come, four is enough! I know how important your BBBFF and Princess Cadence are to you.” Pinkie widened her already brilliant grin to reassure the other pony.
Twilight smiled back awkwardly. “Even though I’m excited to see them, to be honest I would rather not go. It’s just too…weird. If it makes you feel better I would way rather go to your Hearts and Hooves Day party.”
As thanks for helping them stop Queen Chrysalis and save their marriage and all of Equestria - not to mention what she had done for them in the Crystal Empire - they had decided to hold something of an “eligible stallions” ball. Rarity, finally over the royal horrors of Prince Blueblood thought it would be a good time to start anew on her search for her own Prince Charming.
Pinkie understood, though she was a little sad that they wouldn’t all be able to spend Hearts and Hooves day together. However as another thought occurred to her she suddenly perked up tenfold, leaping into the air.
“Ooh! But that means if you come back with a super special somepony we can throw another party for you! Applejack can help me make a cute heartsy cake with lots and lots of pink frosting, and I can make heart-shaped confetti! And if he comes and lives here that means we can have another friend in ou-“ Pinkie Pie gasped. “And if Rarity finds a special somepony too…? That’s two new friends! And two more parties I can plan!”
By now Pinkie Pie was prancing about in circles, very excited about the plans she’d gone and made all by herself. Twilight held out a hoof to stop her, but Pinkie was lost in her own world of parties and…well, Pinkie Pie things. Whatever those things were; Twilight Sparkle had no idea.
Twilight finally managed to stop Pinkie’s tireless bouncing by catching her with a small, spherical force field mid-leap. The hyperactive pony struggled for a few more moments before she finally began to settle down.
“Are you going to stop bouncing if I put you down?” Twilight asked, amused.
Pinkie nodded vigorously and soon her hooves were back on the ground, force field disappearing as soon as she gained her bearings.
“Anyway, Pinkie, don’t get your hopes up about me coming back with a special somepony. I don’t really-“
“Twilight darling!” Rarity called from in the boutique. “Come try on this dress. I really think I’ve done it this time! Some of my finest work yet! Hurry up, I can’t wait to see you in it!” She squealed.
Twilight sighed, resigned to her fate, though she did look a bit pleased.
“Sorry, Pinkie Pie. Rarity won’t stop calling me if I don’t come soon. I really hope your party goes well though. I’m sure it will be great!” Twilight backed out of the doorway.
“Of course! Parties are always fun as long as friends are there! We’ll just have to have enough fun to make up for two missing friends.” Pinkie waved her off.
Twilight flashed her one last apologetic smile before the door closed behind her.
Pinkie Pie smiled at the thought of the welcome home party she could throw for her two friends when they returned from the Crystal Empire. For now she would just have to make the best out of her Hearts and Hooves Party.
And what better way than to invite more friends?
With that happy thought in mind, Pinkie sifted through her invitations to see which of her PFFs she should visit next.
/ / /
“Sorry, sugarcube, looks like ah won’t be makin’ it to your party either. Not with ‘em Cutie Mark Crusaders to look after.” Applejack gave her sister a pointed look, and Applebloom backed into the house sheepishly. “Ah made a promise to Cheerilee an’ Big Mac ah’d keep close eye on those silly fillies this year so they dun go pullin’ any stunts.”
“Well…I suppose that makes sense.” Pinkie giggled, thinking back on last year’s Hearts and Hooves Day. “Maybe they could help find you a special somepony, too? Wowie-zowie! If that happened I’d get to throw three more parties!” She jumped about as she thought of it.
Applejack simply looked confused. “Uh…three parties fur what now?” She shook her head. There was no use trying to understand Pinkie’s logic. “There’s no way ah’m lettin’ those fillies meddle in anypony’s love lives. ‘Specially not mine!”
“Aw, I guess I’ll just have to bake two extra special cakes to make up for the third one!” Pinkie leapt up into the air, smacking her back hooves together, while Applejack just looked on in confusion. “Anyway, I should get going. If Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy hear about my party before I get to tell them they might think I didn’t invite them, and then they’ll be all sad, and I don’t want any of my friends to have a frowny face. See you later, AJ!”
“See ya, Pinkie.”
Pinkie began to skip away and Applejack simply waved, feeling suddenly concerned for reasons she couldn’t explain. Normally AJ would trust her gut, but a crash from the kitchen reminded her of her own responsibilities.
“Oops…”
“Applebloom!”
Taking one last glance back at the pink pony, who now looked more like a lively, pink speck on the skyline, Applejack turned away to go clean the mess she was sure to find behind her. She decided to ignore the one her stomach told her was brewing elsewhere.
Pinkie Pie can handle herself…I hope.
/ / /
Pinkie stood under a billowy mass of clouds looking up at it as she contemplated on the best way to make her way up there. Her bicycopter was the fastest solution, but could be quite tiring after a while, and remembering how tiring some of her last invitations had been she decided against it.
In the end she chose to one of the giant balloons she kept stashed all over Ponyville in case of party emergency. And this was an emergency. She couldn’t let her friend feel like she had forgotten about her!
It was time consuming to have to blow the huge thing up and carefully tie the ribbon around her waist with her clumsy hooves without letting it fly away, but it was the best option besides sprouting wings. She had tried this a few times before and none of the attempts had succeeded quite as she had Pinkie planned.
As she floated up towards Rainbow Dash’s cloud home she swung her legs merrily, directing the path of her makeshift hot air balloon. She loved the feel of air under her hooves. Sometimes she had recurring dreams that she was free to soar the skies as a white pegasus pony with a golden mane like the color of freshly baked corncakes and purple eyes like gumdrops.
Pinkie licked her lips as she thought of cupcakes and sweet treats and candies, quickly forgetting about her strange dreams of flying. She wiped her drool on the back of her hoof, making a mental note to make a new recipe combining her love of corncakes and gumdrops when she got back to Sugarcube Corner. It would be great for her party!
As she reached the door, she took a deep breath, expanding her cheeks out to the size of bowling balls as she prepared to yell out to her friend. Knocking wasn’t really an option for Pinkie Pie, as her Earth pony hooves went right through the clouds – but a bout of laughter from around the side of the home stopped her.
A hiss, not unlike the sound of a balloon deflating, escaped Pinkie as she let the air she held in her inflated cheeks leave her. She began kicking her legs, drawn in by the sound of mirth to be had around the side of the house. A big grin stretched across her face, as she propelled herself towards the noise.
Pinkie was near a window around the left side of the home when she heard a soft voice speak:
“Can you promise to keep it a secret Rainbow? I-I would really dislike if this were to…get-get out…or something.”
Pinkie clamped her hooves over her mouth to stifle a gasp. A secret? She kicked her hind legs in excitement, but froze out of guilt a moment later. A good friend shouldn’t be listening in on another friend’s conversation. She was Pinkie Pie not Pinkie Spy! But somehow she couldn’t bring herself to move away from the window.
She reasoned that even a good pony, such as herself did bad things sometimes, and made a silent Pinkie Promise to herself not to reveal any of what she heard.
“Oh please, Fluttershy.” Pinkie stifled another gasp, the owner of the timid voice revealed. “Has the Dash ever let you down?”
“W-well, I guess not.” Fluttershy conceded. “Except maybe that time you – ”
“Exactly!” Rainbow Dash interrupted.
There was a short moment of silence during which Pinkie Pie peeked up through the window to see her two friends sitting at a table in the kitchen. Rainbow Dash raised a teacup, which likely belonged to Fluttershy, to her mouth and took a sip of the liquid inside. She grimaced, and set the floral–patterned porcelain aside.
“I’m going to make this the most awesome date of your life!”
Pinkie Pie stifled yet another gasp into her hooves, nearly swallowing them as she shoved them further into her mouth to keep from alerting them to her presence.
She could see Fluttershy blush from her vantage point in the window, still careful to make sure they couldn’t see her peeping in. “Are you really sure you w-want to do th-this? I-I don’t really need a-a…” Her blush deepened. “…date. I could just – ”
Rainbow threw a foreleg around her bashful companion and the mare made a sound like that of a mouse squeaking.
“Don’t sweat it! It’s the least I can do after…you know…last week.” Rainbow’s face reddened, almost seeming to dare the tint of Fluttershy’s cheeks to outshine her own flush. Of course, everything about Rainbow Dash seemed like a dare with her cheeky demeanor and pinched brow, always searching for the next challenge.
Fluttershy giggled, the color fading a bit from her face, as she seemed to relax. “It was my pleasure, Rainbow.”
“Still, I should make it up to you. I don’t want this to get out any more than you do.”
Pinkie felt a pang of remorse deep in her pink tummy at those words. She felt like she was betraying her friends by listening in on their conversation, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. A million thoughts flew through her head at once, like a bunch of mini Rainbow Dashes got loose in there and the little Pinkie who normally collected her thoughts couldn’t catch a single one.
Namely, she felt sick. Like when she ate too many cupcakes and Mr. and Mrs. Cake got angry with her. Fluttershy and Dashie are going on a date? She should be happy! Her two friends found their special somepony with each other. Why hadn’t they told her? Had they told anypony?
She shook her head, ducking back behind the cloud wall, and listened back in on the conversation happening before her.
“—head over to Sugarcube Corner. I could really go for chocolate croissant after all that tea.”
“You didn’t like it?”
Rainbow blew a raspberry in response, and Pinkie giggled as quietly as she could manage.
“Besides, I haven’t seen Pinkie all day. I figured she would be handing out invitations for her annual Hearts and Hooves Day party by now.” There was a sound of chairs being moved and hooves shuffling as the two pegasi prepared to leave the house. “It’s totally weird, I mean, the day is tomorrow and I still haven’t heard a thing about it.”
Pinkie stopped giggling at this, her already rumbling tummy freezing over.
Oh no! If they go to Sugarcube Corner and I’m not there, they’re going to be like:
“Oh, hey Mrs. Cake, have you seen Pinkie Pie?”
And Mrs. Cake will be all: “Nope, I haven’t seen a Pinkie Pie around here! No siree!”
And then if I show up they’ll be all: “Hey Pinkie Pie, where have you been?”
But I won’t have an excuse! And then they’ll know I was spying on them and they won’t want to come to my party! Even worse, they won’t even want to be my friends anymore!
Pinkie pushed herself between a pair of large, fluffy clouds to hide herself as the pegasi exited the house, chatting as they began floating down towards Ponyville. Towards Sugarcube Corner!
There was no other choice. She had to make it there before they did; she just had to! It would crush her little Pinkie heart into a million pieces if they found out she had been being a meanie Pinkie Spy instead of a goodie Pinkie Pie, and then she’d be as sad as a itty-bitty Twinkie Pie. Then she’d have to Pinkie Sigh, or even worse, Pinkie Cry!
Just thinking about it made her head hurt!
When the ponies got far enough away, Pinkie swung out from behind the clouds. Narrowing her eyes, she sought out Sugarcube Corner, finding the flamboyant little building quickly enough. This would be a difficult maneuver, but if she could pull it off she just knew it would be worth it!
Pinkie paddled herself to the left until she got a good view of the window to her little apartment above the shop. Jerking herself from side to side, she twisted until the knot of the ribbon was on her belly and she was facing her balloon, her back towards Ponyville. She wrapped the ribbon around her front hooves and planted her hind hooves on the balloon to maintain her balance.
Pinkie tilted her head back and stuck her tongue out, locking in on her target. She glimpsed back at her friends, taking their time to get to the bakery, but still dangerously close. She would only have one chance, and if her wobbling limbs were any indication, this was about to be a doozy of a stunt!
Pinkie Pie swung her head forward, biting hard into the inflated latex keeping her afloat. With a satisfying pop the pressurized air burst forth, thrusting her towards, what was hopefully, her destination, in a pink flurry.
Pinkie Pie giggled, stretching her forelegs out in front of her as she rocketed through the air at breakneck speeds, feeling like a superhero, racing to save her friendships. It was impossible to see where she was headed, as everything around her became a blur.
Soon after, she landed, or rather crashed noisily, luckily landing on something semi-soft. Her head spun from the impact, and she was blinded as something scaly plopped onto her face, further obscuring her vision. She lifted what ever it was with her hooves; taking a moment for her vision to focus before she was met with a pair of lifeless, purple eyes.
“Gummi!”
By some chance, or maybe it was simply because she was the wonder: Miss Pinkamena Diane Pie, she had landed exactly where she had intended, and was now laying upon the now toppled over recliner in her bedroom.
“I’m so so so happy!” Pinkie squeezed her pet toothless alligator to her chest and the creature made a sound like a croak. Though whether this meant he was pleased or irritated was anypony’s guess.
The sound of a bell downstairs in the bakery, signaling the arrival of a customer, reminded Pinkie of why she had launched herself here to begin with. She gasped, sitting up in a hurry as her pet scampered down her chest and lazily waddled to his food bowl, completely ignorant of his owner’s distress.
Muffles voices drifted up the stairs:
“Hey, Mrs. Cake, have you seen Pinkie Pie around?”
“Oh hello, dears! Why, no, I don’t think she – ”
Pinkie Pie galloped noisily down the stairway and burst through the door from the apartment space upstairs and into the pastry shop.
“I’m here!” Pinkie shouted, ignorant of the shocked gazes of the other occupants of the room. “Pinkie Pie is in the building! Yep, been here all day. Just sitting in my room, twiddling my thumbs.”
“What thumbs?” Rainbow Dash muttered, raising a brow.
Fluttershy shrugged.
Mrs. Cake was simply mystified. “But…I thought I saw you go out earlier to deliver invitations to your little Hearts and Hooves Day par – ”
“Nope!” Pinkie interrupted, leaping into the air and landing between Mrs. Cake and her friends. “Not me! Must’ve been some other Pinkie. Or some other pie! Like the yummy-in-my-tummy jello, strawberry pie I had the other day! That’s pink, too. I can see how you might get confused.” She licked her foreleg out to her hoof.
“Tasth totathy dithenth.” Pinkie Pie blabbered, her tongue still stuck out.
She snapped the now fur-covered tongue back into her mouth. “Wanna taste?” Pinkie held out her foreleg to her boss.
The older mare shook her head, disgust clear on her face as she looked at the appendage, coated almost completely in slobber. “That’s quite alright, dear. I’ll take your word for it.”
Pinkie turned towards her friends to offer them a taste, but they both declined immediately, Rainbow Dash with open revulsion, and Fluttershy trying as politely as she could to distance herself from the spit-soaked leg.
“Ugh, no thanks, Pinks, I think I’ll just stick with a croissant.” Rainbow glanced at Mrs. Cake who was still shaking her head as she gazed at her apprentice. “Got any chocolate ones?”
“Oh!” Mrs. Cake snapped out of her daze. “You’re in luck! I’m actually making a batch right now. If you wouldn’t mind waiting a few moments…”
“No problem!” Rainbow waved her off. “I could wait hours for a fresh-baked pastry from the Cake’s place.”
Mrs. Cake gave a genuine smile and then turned to face Fluttershy. “Would you like anything, dear?”
Fluttershy shook her head, her light pink mane falling over an eye. “N-no thank you. I’m quite alright.”
Mrs. Cake nodded, then turned her attention towards her assistant. Pinkie Pie wore a large grin and was doing some odd, very Pinkie-like jig, never a pony for standing still. She shook her head, smiling fondly, and headed back towards the kitchen.
“Feel free to get comfortable. It shouldn’t be too long now.” The older mare said, and then disappeared into the adjacent room, filled with the wafting scent of sugary delights.
Rainbow’s stomach growled at the sweet aroma, and she smiled sheepishly.
Pinkie Pie giggled. “I think your tummy’s talking to you, Dashie!”
She led the other two ponies into a connecting sitting room to relax, bouncing as she went. The three friends plopped down on some plush cushions, Pinkie wiggling her bum to get comfortable.
“Isn’t it just a super-duper, fantastic day? Not that I would know! I’ve been in my room all day! Yep, just sitting in my room.” Her voice took on a sing-song tone. “Sitting, sitting, sitting.” Now that she was alone with her friends she felt the adrenaline wear off and the anxiety set in again. They couldn’t know she had been spying. She wouldn’t allow it!
Rainbow snorted. “Please, I don’t think you’ve ever just sat around a day in your life.” She stretched out on her cushion, yawning as she rolled onto her side languidly.
Fluttershy gave a small smile, sitting neatly in the center of her own cushion, like a small bird perched in a carefully constructed nest. “Th-that’s true. You’re always so energetic.”
“What are you ponies talking about? I’m always sitting! I’m sitting right now, see?” Pinkie gestured desperately to herself, her forelegs waving wildly about. “See?”
Rainbow shook her head. “But never still, see?” She pointed back at Pinkie Pie.
The pony looked down at herself. Her hind legs were swinging back and forth, and her forelegs were still flapping like she was trying to take off. She pulled them down to her sides, though her back legs continued to kick happily to the air like little pink rockets. They shot up fast and hit the floor slow, not making a sound, despite their rapid movement.
Fluttershy stifled a little laugh, which sounded more like a light breeze was struggling to escape her.
It was so delicate. So sweet.
Pinkie felt her stomach twist with an unfamiliar emotion. She had felt it earlier, watching Dash and Fluttershy so comfortable in Rainbow’s home. A place she never invited me.
She didn’t like this emotion, whatever it was. It felt like her heart had dropped into her belly and was trying to eat its way out. Which wasn’t right, because stomachs were meant to stuff with yummy, delicious food, not to be food!
The feeling only grew as she watched Dash and Fluttershy speaking to one another, sharing secret smiles that she wasn’t in on.
“Isn’t that right, Pinks?” Rainbow focus went back to her.
Pinkie perked up at the sound of her name, her tail popping up behind her in attention. The two ponies sitting on either side of her were looking at her expectantly.
“Can you repeat that, Dashie?” She asked, grinning full-force. “My belly is being super distracting right now.”
“Are you h-hungry?” Fluttershy asked worriedly. “Do you want me to a-ask Mrs. Cake to bring you something?”
She wasn’t sure why, but Fluttershy’s concern for her made her tummy have that weird feeling again. She looked back towards Rainbow and felt her heart rise out of her stomach and into her throat as the other mare’s amaranth gaze scrutinized her. This feeling was different. It wasn’t sad, but it wasn’t happy either. It was like being hot and cold at the same time.
Maybe she was getting a cold?
“Nopey-dopey!” Pinkie rubbed her belly. “I think he’s just confused!”
“Your stomach is a he?” Rainbow Dash questioned, looking amused.
The two pegusi shared a look with one another and then just shrugged, neither fully understanding Pinkie’s meaning. It was like she started her sentences mid-thought, leaving those around her without a key piece of the puzzle.
Rainbow shook her head. “Anyway, we were just wondering about your Hearts and Hooves Day party. We haven’t heard anything and it is tomorrow!”
“Th-that is if you are throwing a party. There’s no pressure if you’re busy…we understand.” Fluttershy added.
Rainbow scoffed. “As if Ponyville’s premiere party pony would miss the chance to throw a party for one of the biggest days of the year. It’s going to be totally awesome! Right, Pinks?”
Pinkie was once again thrown in the spotlight. “Absolutely! Best party ever! Except no. It would be so amazing incredible-tastic! But everypony is so super busy!”
“They are?” Rainbow lifted her head from its resting place on her folded forelegs. “I thought it was just Twilight cause she has to go to that stupid ball or whatever in the Crystal Empire?”
“Applejack says she’s too busy cause she has to keep her eye on the tiny-teeny silly fillies. And Rarity’s going with Twilight to the sparkly stallion ball.” Pinkie explained. “And you two are – ” Pinkie bit her tongue, quite literally.
“We’re what?” Rainbow Dash asked, raising her brow.
“Um…Well, I’m sure you ponies are busy. With…your special someponies?” Pinkie hinted, leaning her head in as if offering them to whisper their secret into her begging ears.
Fluttershy flushed a deep, delightful shade of red. “A-a special somepony? N-no, that’s not…” She squeaked and shifted her eyes away from Pinkie.
That’s a liar face! Liar, liar, tail on fire!
Rainbow Dash snorted. “Yeah, right. Like I’ve been hiding a special somepony from you guys.” Pinkie’s chest was strained. Somehow Rainbow lying to her hurt worse than Fluttershy’s lie.
Why won’t they tell me? I won’t tell anypony! I Pinkie Promise! I double Pinkie Promise! She tried to channel her thoughts to her guilty looking friends.
“But we are…busy.” Dash rubbed the back of her neck, avoiding Pinkie’s gaze. “We’ve got to help the weather ponies with tomorrow’s forecast. Apparently they’ve got something special planned, so they need all the help they can get.”
Fluttershy hurriedly nodded in agreement.
“Something about dying the clouds pink or making hearts with them.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Totally lame. I was hoping we would have time to stop by your party for some cake.” She licked her lips, her stomach growling at the thought of food.
As if the sound of a hungry belly were a call, Mrs. Cake stepped in a moment later, Rainbow’s chocolate croissant steaming from the plate it sat upon, carefully balanced on the bakery pony’s head.
“Sorry for the wait, girls.”
“No problem! But actually, we’ve got a lot of –uh- planning…to do. So you think I could get that to go?” Rainbow Dash stood from her cushion, and Fluttershy followed suit, her hide still painted a pleasant red with embarrassment.
“Sure, I know it must be busy, a young pony on the move, always in demand.” Mrs. Cake said wistfully, turning to lead the mares into the next room where she could package Rainbow’s pastry to go.
Rainbow turned back to Pinkie as she left the room. “See you later, alright, Pinks?”
“Yeah, see you later!” Pinkie smiled, for the first time in a while not really feeling it.
Then they were gone. There was a short moment of chatting from the other room and the sound of Mrs. Cake packaging the treat, and then the door closing as the pegusi left.
She could hear Mrs. Cake head back into the kitchen to continue working on her baked goods. She hummed as she worked, a sound that normally made Pinkie happy, but did nothing to soothe her now.
She had expected this sad feeling to go away once she knew she was in the clear. So, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were marefriends, and were planning a lovey-dovey date for Hearts and Hooves day. She should be happy for them!
Instead she felt icky-sicky in her belly.
She sighed. Her whole demeanor fell, her curly hair slumping a bit to match.
The feeling felt somehow similar to when she had seen Rainbow with Gilda. But that wasn’t right. Fluttershy was her friend! So sweet and kind. The kindest pony in all of Ponyville. Somehow this thought only made it worse.
When she saw them together she just wanted to yell at Fluttershy to get away. Pinkie wanted to throw her out of Sugarcube Corner onto her cute little bum and lock Dashie away in her room so she couldn't ever ever see her anymore. She had never had such a mean thought in her whole life! Especially not about cute, little Fluttershy!
Fluttershy is perfect. Perfect for Dashie! And I’m happy! So happy for them…
She slumped further into the cushion she was still fixed upon. An actual frown appeared on her ever-cheerful face.
Maybe it was that…
It couldn’t possibly be…
But it was…
Jealousy.
Author's Note
This is mostly an experiment with writing Pinkie Pie, as she is BEST PONY! Any advice would be good, as she can be surprisingly hard to write for :/
Anyway, THIS WILL BE A TWO-SHOT!
Just letting you know ahead of time...it was originally going to a oneshot, but it really won't extend beyond two chapters...
