More Than She Could Dream Of

Chapters

Surprises
Hopefulness
Excitement
Introductions
Shattered
Apologies
Lovers
Invitations
Explanations
Epilogue: Make It Better

Surprises

Chapter 1

Surprises

Pinkie Pie was doomed. She knew that from the very instant the words left her mouth, the red rose clutched in the crook of her forehoof more a shield from scorn than a romantic gift. The object of Pinkie’s affection opened and closed her mouth, dropped her gaze to the ground and let out a shuddering sigh. Pinkie could feel her own hope come crashing down like a meteorite.

“P-Pinkie... um... this is really nice of you to ask, but, uh...” Rainbow Dash stammered. She squeezed her eyes shut briefly and continued, “I just... don’t... see you in that way, y’know?” Dash rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. “I’m sorry. I really wish I could, but I...” Her shoulders slumped, wings drooping.

Pinkie frowned and chewed her lip. Of all the possible outcomes of her proposition she’d entertained, she’d never expected this: weeping and apologising, as though Rainbow was the one being rejected. She dropped the rose to the floor and hugged Dash. “Nonono! It’s o-okay. I get it.” She blinked furiously, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes. Instead, she focused on the liquid rainbows cascading down the sides of Dash’s house. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts...

“I just... this isn’t gonna come between us, is it?” Rainbow asked in a quavering voice, pulling back and staring into Pinkie’s eyes. “I don’t love you in that way, but I do love you as a friend, Pinkie, and I don’t want to lose that.”

“O-of course not, silly!” Pinkie tried to put on a brave smile. “Why would I let that happen? You’re my b-bestest friend, right? R-remember the care package?”

“Y-yeah...” Dash sniffled, trying to surreptitiously wipe her eyes dry with a hoof. Pinkie pulled her closer, feeling her own façade crumble away, and the two mares cried quietly into one another’s manes.

Regaining her composure, Pinkie giggled quietly. “C’mon, Dashie, I thought you never cried! You said you’re not a sappy pony! What’s the matter?” She felt Rainbow’s forehooves tighten around her neck.

“I’m not. I just... I’d never try to hurt your feelings, but no matter what I do here, you’re gonna go away feeling like I’ve cheated you in some way.” Rainbow let out a sigh and moved away from Pinkie. “Some friend I am,” she grunted.

“You are a good friend!” Pinkie reassured her. “You weren’t all angry, and you weren’t all ‘Ewww, Pinkie, you like mares’ and you’re not ignoring me or—” She choked back a sob, her gaze falling to the ground. She swallowed and continued, “S-so, no, you’re just great! And... m-maybe we can get something at Sugarcube Corner or have a party together or play some pranks... just as friends, right?”

The offer brought a small smile to Rainbow’s face. “Yeah. I think I’d like that. Sometime.” She sniffed again. “Maybe later, okay? I need to get over to Sweet Apple Acres; we’ve got a rainstorm we need to set up for the next couple of days.”

Pinkie’s eyes widened. “Oh! Um... Sure. Whenever you want to, just swing by!” Dash nodded and waved, before taking off and flying quickly away. Pinkie waved back with a frozen grin until Rainbow was nothing more than a multi-coloured speck in the distance.

Once her friend was out of sight, Pinkie’s shoulders slumped, and her head hung down. With the sound of a dozen balloons deflating, her poofy mane and tail collapsed, the chaotic curls falling down into straight, flat hair that dangled miserably around her face and haunches. She let out a sad sigh and screwed her eyes shut, trying to hold back the tears.

Pinkie gave one last longing glance at the pegasus in the distance before turning and beginning to make the long walk back into Ponyville.

Alone.

Pinkie had slunk back into Sugarcube Corner undetected. While she was normally more than willing to be the centre of attention, when she didn’t want to be noticed she was as stealthy as a shadow. And right now, red-rimmed eyes, drooping mane and wobbling bottom lip meant she wanted to be completely alone.

She had promised herself she wouldn’t do this again, that it would hurt too much. But, even so, Pinkie found herself pulling open the drawer of her bedside table and withdrawing a journal. Her watery blue eyes regarded the cover: cloth as rosy as her coat, covered in hearts and smelling of all the confectionery of times gone by. She sniffled as she pushed open the cover.

Within, in photos and cuttings and scribblings in pink ink, was a compilation of every pony Pinkie had ever lusted after. Everything they liked, and everything the pink pony liked about them, she had noted down for reference. The mare had sometimes cuddled up to the book in bed, fantasizing over the day when one of the ponies she’d written about would finally say yes and become her special somepony.

But then—that dagger of ice—every last entry, all that hard work, was slashed through with angry red lines. Some were gentler scribbles, to match the more sensitive rejections she’d been offered. Others had furious slashes, nearly penetrating the parchment. Those ponies... those ponies were not her friends any more. With a wistful sigh, Pinkie flipped through the pages, gazing over all her lost chances, remembering the heartbreak from each and every one.

Finally, dreadfully, her hoof stopped on the entry she was looking for. A nice little action shot of Rainbow Dash in flight, quietly taken from the Foal Free Press office. A stub of a Wonderbolts performance ticket, a list of hobbies and interests, even a little cyan feather molted last spring. Pinkie bit her lip, then took out a red pen from the drawer.

Feeling as though the weight of the world was upon her shoulders, the pink pony took the implement and disconsolately struck a single, diagonal red line across the page. It slashed straight across Dash’s face, marring the rugged beauty of the athletic pegasus. Just enough to remind her that Rainbow didn’t reciprocate her feelings, nothing more. In a bizarre hope, Pinkie lifted the parchment, but there were no more entries beyond that. No more ponies she wanted.

Pinkie clutched the book to her chest with a quiet sob, and fell upon her bed. She tried—tried so hard—to always have a smile on her face and laughter in her heart. But ever since becoming a full-grown pony, there had always been something missing, no matter how many friends she made, no matter how parties she threw. She wanted somepony to love her, not just as a friend, but as a mare.

However, there had always been something in her way, be it barely disguised distaste from another mare to a sweet-hearted rejection like Rainbow’s. But now... there was nopony left in Ponyville she wanted. The loneliness came crashing down on her as she laid on her bed, blue eyes clenched tight.

After a moment of stillness, she heard a hiss, and felt a damp pressure upon her mane. The book fell to her side. Reaching back, Pinkie took Gummy up in her hooves and held him in front of her. The alligator gazed at her gormlessly, paddling his stumpy legs. “Oh, Gummy...” she murmured. “At least you’re always here for me.” Her eyes went to the discarded journal. “What do I do now? There’s nopony left for me to ask... I wanted Dashie, and she’s still my friend, but...” She sighed wistfully.

She held the alligator a while longer, before a quiet knock came at the door. Pinkie put Gummy to one side and furiously scrubbed at her mane and tail until they were halfway-curled again. “Come in!” she called, masking her anxiety behind a cheerful voice.

Mrs. Cake pushed open the door and walked in. “Oh! Pinkie. I wondered if you were back yet,” she said. Her gaze fell to the heart-covered journal on the bed. “Ah... I take it...?” Cup Cake’s question was left hanging, her blue cheeks flushed.

“It’s fine. Dashie and I are still friends, and we’re gonna do lots and lots of fun things together even though she doesn’t like me in that way!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Well, when she has time.”

Cup Cake nodded. “That’s good. As long as you’re still in good standing with one another, right?”

Pinkie waved a forehoof. “Yeah... I can get by. ‘Friends’ is much better than nothing, I guess.”

The older pony pursed her lips and began to frown. “Oh, Pinkie Pie... don’t be too hard on yourself. If it wasn’t meant to be, it wasn’t meant to be.”

“I... I know, but...” Pinkie sighed again. “I just don’t understand. Everypony wants to be my friend, but no matter what I try, no matter who I ask, nopony wants to be my special somepony! What did I do wrong?” Her shoulders slumped back down.

Cup Cake placed a comforting foreleg around Pinkie’s shoulders. “You didn’t do anything wrong! Love works in mysterious ways. It’s like a butterfly.”

Pinkie looked up at her, head tilted to one side. “It starts out as a caterpillar and makes a cocoon for itself?”

She pursed her lips and looked upwards thoughtfully. “Uh... no—”

“It has a really long tongue and a pair of pretty wings?” Pinkie spread her forehooves and poked her tongue out.

Cup Cake rubbed the back of her head in frustration. “No, but—”

“You can find it on Fluttershy’s flank?” Pinkie frowned deeply, scratching her head.

“I meant that it’s hard to capture!” Cup Cake exclaimed. “If you try too hard to catch it, and keep chasing it, it will just flutter away. It’s only when you calm down and live your life happily that it will come and land on your shoulder.” Mrs. Cake gave her charge a hopeful glance, but Pinkie merely raised an eyebrow. “What I’m trying to say, Pinkie, is that love tends to be a surprise.” She smiled, waiting for her words to sink in.

Pinkie looked down, scrunching her mouth as she thought. “It does? Oh...” She turned to her journal and nudged it away slightly.

“You know what? When I was a young mare in Ponyville, the stallions never paid much attention to me. Oh, I went on a couple of dates, but I’d resigned myself to being a spinster after one lonely Hearts and Hooves Day too many. And you know, not long after that, Carrot Cake moved here from Fillydelphia and practically swept me off my hooves!” Cup said with a smile. “I know you worry, Pinkie, but there is a special somepony out there for you, and I think you’ll meet them sooner rather than later.”

A smile began to appear on Pinkie face, and her mane started to curl up again in earnest. “Oh, I get it. Okay, I promise not to be a mopey-dopey, grumpypony about it! And I’m gonna make sure Dashie doesn’t feel super sad about saying no to me!”

The older pony reached out and rubbed Pinkie’s back. “That’s good to hear, Pinkie. That really is. Now then...” Cup Cake hopped off the bed. “I’m baking a big batch of quadruple-chocolate cookies right now. Would you like to help? Better than staying up in your room, right?”

Pinkie nodded vigorously. “Yepperoony, Mrs. Cake! Nothing like a bit of therapeutic baking!” She jumped off the bed as well, hopping along behind Cup, her journal forgotten, her heart feeling a little less heavy.

By the next day, Pinkie had returned to her usual sunny self, merrily bouncing around Sugarcube Corner, baking and selling the batches for the morning customers. The twins were given their daily helping of silly faces, and for the most part, the morning ticked past as though yesterday had never happened. On the outside.

Despite Mrs. Cake’s reassurances, Pinkie felt the tug of regret from her rejection the previous day. It was Thursday, and Dash would always come in for a muffin on Thursdays after her weather patrol. Yet there was a noticeable absence of Rainbow that day. By lunchtime, Pinkie was constantly staring at the door, rocking back and forth on her hooves and silently wishing her friend would come for her habitual confection.

Cup Cake sidled up to her. “She probably needs a little time apart, just to mull things over. She’s not abandoning you,” the older mare said quietly.

“Uh huh.” Pinkie’s reply was dismissive, her blue eyes never leaving the door.

Mrs. Cake sighed. “Pinkie, I really think you should take your mind off this for a while.” As she opened her mouth to reply, Cup cut her off. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell you if Rainbow Dash turns up while you’re out.” Pinkie to let out a breath and finally looked at her. Cup continued, “Could you be a dear and get some flowers for me? I need to decorate a wedding cake and I want to use some purple blooms for it. If I recall, there’s some growing in the park. Could you pick me some, please?”

Pinkie frowned slightly. “Well, I could... but doesn’t Roseluck sell flowers like that? I can just get those from her stall!” she said, gesturing out to the market.

“Nonono! Uh...” Cup Cake put on a smile. “I think these flowers are extra special and only grow in the park. Would you be a dear? It would really make the difference.”

Pinkie studied the older mare’s face for a moment, before exclaiming, “Oohhhhh! I get it! You’re making a super-duper special cake, so you only want the most super-special decorations, right?” She bounced up and down.

“Um, yes! Of course! Don’t worry if you don’t find them straightaway...” Cup Cake realised she was speaking to thin air, Pinkie having rushed off in a blur.

“‘Wedding cake’? ‘Purple flowers’?” said Carrot Cake, walking up to his wife. “What did you tell her that for?”

“You know Pinkie. She has a single-track mind.” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “I just wanted to give her something to concentrate on for now. I think she took being turned down by her friend harder than she’s letting on.”

“I’ll defer to your better judgement, then,” Mr. Cake said quietly. “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

Mrs. Cake merely gave a mirthless smile before walking back to the kitchen.

Pinkie quickly reached the Ponyville Park, which was sparsely populated with ponies enjoying the sunshine, having lunch and playing with one another. She exchanged greetings with a few ponies as she passed, but her eyes cast about for the purple flowers Mrs. Cake had asked for.

In truth, the whole town was in bloom for spring, and flowers of every colour decorated the park, carefully cultivated in bountiful borders and beds. Every colour, that was, except purple. The harder Pinkie looked, the more it seemed like there wasn’t any purple, anywhere in the park whatsoever!

The mare continued bouncing through the expanse of grass, soon coming to the conclusion that maybe the purple flowers had been overgrown by the other plants since Mrs. Cake had seen them. She began kneeling down, lifting up the verges of each flower bed, straining her eyes to try and see the elusive blooms.

After looking through what seemed like the entire park, Pinkie let out a huge high. “Maybe these flowers aren’t here at all... Maybe Mrs. Cake didn’t want me around because I was being such a grumpy-wumpy pony about Dashie...” she said to herself, shoulders drooping. The sound of laughter from a group of fillies playing nearby caught her attention, and her ears pricked up.

“Oh, Pinkie Pie, you silly filly...” she chided herself. “Of course! I just needed to cheer myself up! That’s what Mrs. Cake wanted me to do!” She smiled and began humming one of her songs to herself, bouncing along the path.

“My name is Pinkie Pie,

And I am here to say,

I’m gonna make you smile,

And I will brighten up your day,” she sang to herself. A few ponies turned to see what the sounds were, and their expressions brightened as they saw her bounce past.

“It doesn't matter now,

if you are sad or blue,

'cause cheering up my friends is just,

what Pinkie's here to do...” Pinkie cocked her head slightly. She swore she could hear somepony else singing along in harmony, but there was nopony around she could see joining in. The pink pony shrugged, figuring it was nothing but a weird echo.

Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile, yes I do,

it fills my heart with sunshine all the while, yes it does...” There it was again! That other voice... that other, very Pinkie-like, very happy voice. Pinkie had to test this out.

“'Cause all I really need's a smile, smile, smile...” she sang, then strained to hear the response.

“...from these happy friends of mine!” The other voice sang. There was another pony singing along! But where was she...? Pinkie looked all about herself, before realising she was standing in the shadow of a large, low cloud. She stared up at it with an eyebrow cocked.

The bottom of the cloud shifted slightly, before a white hoof broke through the vapour, moving around to create a small hole. Pinkie sat directly beneath the opening, and her eyes widened as a head poked its way through the cloud.

The head was a snowy white, with a pair of big, purple eyes, and framed by a poofy yellow mane almost as chaotic as Pinkie’s. The mare looked at Pinkie Pie for a moment, before breaking into a big grin. “Hi!” she exclaimed.

“Oh! Hi!” Pinkie replied. “Who are you? I haven’t seen you around before, and I know everypony in Ponyville, so you must be new!”

“I am new! I came here yesterday! I’m Surprise!” the other pony said excitedly. She wriggled about until she was almost completely through the hole, dangling upside down by her hind legs. A pair of wings unfolded once they were unobstructed by the cloud. The feathered appendages began to flap, and Surprise fell through completely, hovering inverted in front of Pinkie. Her tail, curled and coiled, hung down behind her.

“Ooooooohhhhh...” Pinkie said. “How’d you do that? Not even Dashie does that, and she’s, like, the best flyer ever!”

“Oh, it’s just something I do, y’know?” The white pegasus gave a shrug, still inverted. “I’m not really one for flying; I’m more of a party pony.” She turned her hindquarters to show off her cutie mark of three purple balloons.

Pinkie let out a loud gasp. “Waitwaitwaitwaitwait, you’re a party pony, too? And that’s your cutie mark?! Look at mine, look at mine!” She proudly showed off her own cutie mark, and Surprise suddenly landed with a loud thump, peering intently at the earth pony’s flank.

“Whoa... it’s almost exactly the same as mine! This is amazing!” the pegasus squeaked. “And you’re a party pony too?” Pinkie nodded vigorously. Surprise giggled. “I never thought I’d find a pony quite like me!”

“Me too! You even knew my songs!” Pinkie said. Surprise blushed and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof.

“Heh... actually, I just like singing along and improvising,” the pegasus admitted.

“So do I! And I like playing games!”

“Me too! And I like dancing!”

“Ooh, ooh! You know what I like the most?”

Surprise’s eyes lit up, and the pair of ponies said in unison, “PARTIES!”

Pinkie smacked her forehead. “In fact, I was so excited about meeting you, I completely forgot about giving you a welcome party! A big ol’, entire town’s invited, no-holds-barred party for another party pony, right?!” Surprise gave another embarrassed grin.

“Um, actually, that’s why I’m in Ponyville. I threw one of those parties up in Cloudsdale, and it may have gotten an eensy bit out-of-hoof. And I think the ponies I’m in trouble with will notice such a big party.” The white pony saw the slightly dejected look on Pinkie’s face and continued, “But hey, I’d love to have a party with you!” She motioned to the cloud above her. “I brought my little mobile cloud home with me, and it’s chock full of party supplies. We could have it right here!”

Pinkie nodded. “And I have my emergency party supplies stashed all over Ponyville! I bet there’s one around here somewhere...” She brightened up, bouncing happily on the spot. “Yeah! We can have the best party in the park ever!”

The two ponies jumped up and down together happily, and Surprise fluttered back up to her cloud to begin gathering up supplies. As Pinkie went to find her own secret stash, she began to feel the old lightness in her heart coming back. Dash’s rejection began to be eclipsed by the happiness of finding such a kindred spirit. With a happy giggle, Pinkie realised coming to the park was the best thing she possibly could have done that day.

Despite being organised by two ponies whose special talents were partying, the event in the park was a rather low-key affair. To her surprise, Pinkie found herself none too bothered about not inviting other ponies to the impromptu party. Instead, she was more than content to simply spend the afternoon with her new friend.

“Mmmmf! These muffins are good!” Surprise mumbled, speaking around a mouthful of the baked goods. “How’d these stay fresh?”

“Oh! Uh... To be honest, I have no idea! In fact, whenever anypony else makes them with my recipe, they taste really bad...” Pinkie scratched her head and shrugged. “Guess it’s just a little bit of magic!”

The white pegasus giggled. “You’re the most random pony I’ve ever met! And that’s totally a good thing. Most of the ponies who live near me are all ‘Gurrr, Surprise!’” She waved her forelegs about, adopted a gormless expression and spoke in a gravelly tone. “‘You have to be all boring and work in a weather factory! Aren’t clouds great? Who needs a stupid party?’”

“Awww! That sounds horrible!” Pinkie knitted her eyebrows, the corners of her mouth twitching downward. “Everypony in Ponyville loves to party! Even Cranky Doodle grew to love it, and he was a real crank when he turned up!” She looked around the park, noting there were no ponies about, the sun having sunk near the horizon. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a big, blow-out welcome party. I don’t know why everypony was so shy today!”

“It’s okay, Pinkie! I enjoyed it! A party isn’t better because it’s bigger; it’s better because you have friends there with you!” Surprise exclaimed, throwing her forelegs wide and flaring her wings.

Pinkie smiled, before letting out a startled gasp. “Waitwaitwait, ‘friends’?!”

Surprise nodded with a grin of her own. “How could we not be? We both have practically the same special talent, and you threw a welcome party for me despite having never met me before!” She beamed at her new friend. “I really like you, Pinkie! I wanna get to know you better.”

Pinkie gaped at her. “I wanna know you, too! I mean, I know everypony in Ponyville, and pretty much everypony I know here is my friend, but I really, really want to be your friend, y’know?” She realised she had mangled her words a little, but Surprise nodded in understanding nonetheless. Pinkie felt a deep warmth within her, and a grin spread across her face. Her eyes flicked past the other pony, and she jolted and let out a gasp as she saw the sun’s position. “Oh no! I’ve been out all afternoon!”

“Oh? Is there a problem?” Surprise looked at her with wide eyes, now hovering just off the ground.

“Well, I came out here to get some flowers somepony asked for, but I was sent out at lunchtime! Not that I mind spending time out here with you, but they’re probably wondering where I am...” Pinkie’s mouth twitched downward. To her surprise, the pegasus gave her a one-armed hug.

“Awwww, it’s okay! If you need to get back, then don’t worry about me. Although...” Surprise looked thoughtful. “Do you wanna meet up again tomorrow?”

Pinkie nodded vigorously. “You mean like, a d-date?” She mentally cursed herself for the abrupt question.

“Yeah... yeah! A date!” Surprise smiled and spread her wings slightly. “That’ll be nice! I saw a café in town when I was flying in. Wanna get lunch there? Tomorrow at noon?”

Pinkie hesitated, wondering whether to suggest Sugarcube Corner instead. She reasoned that neutral ground might be a better place to bring a new friend and said, “Sure! That sounds great!”

“Awesome!” The pegasus grinned at her. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, huh?” A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

“Yeah! I’ll... see you then!” Pinkie waved, before scurrying off into the distance, giggling in delight. A date!

By the time Pinkie crept into Sugarcube Corner, the sun had practically set, and the sky was awash with the reds and oranges of dusk. In her mouth were a few purple blooms she’d bought off of Roseluck just as the market closed up. Although they probably weren’t the flowers Mrs. Cake had seen in the park, the pink pony had figured they would do as a substitute.

She was hit by a wave of noise as she opened the door, and nearly half a dozen ponies rushed toward her. “Pinkie, where have you been?!” Mrs. Cake exclaimed.

The pink pony spat the flowers out into her hooves. “Oh! Here you go! I found them!”

“You’ve been gone all afternoon!” Twilight said. “Pinkie, you can’t just go running off like that!”

“‘Running off?’ But... Mr. and Mrs. Cake knew where I was going! It didn’t matter that much, right?” Pinkie blinked innocently at the group.

“You just have a tendency to be rather... um... drastic when upset, my dear,” Rarity explained, rubbing her chin with a hoof.

When Pinkie only gave a confused frown, Fluttershy piped up, “Um, Pinkie, we heard. A-about Rainbow Dash. I’m sorry.” Her cyan gaze met the floor. “We just thought you may have gotten a bit sad about it...”

“W-wait, Dashie told you all about yesterday?” Pinkie’s ears drooped.

Twilight frowned, and nodded. “Only after I asked her why she was acting so downcast and she almost burst into tears,” she said. “Rainbow told us you wanted to stay friends, but when you disappear for a few hours the very next day, it kinda makes everypony... worried, y’know?”

“O-oh. I think I get it. I’m sorry, guys.” Pinkie sighed. “Is Dashie around?”

“Rainbow and Applejack are out looking for you,” Fluttershy said. “They’ll be back soon,”

“Pinkie Pie, what were you doing out for so long?” Rarity asked.

“Oh! I met somepony new! She came here from Cloudsdale, and she’s a party pony, just like me! I spent all afternoon with her welcome party, and we’re going on a date tomorrow! She’s... she’s really cute!” Pinkie realised she was blushing slightly, and gave a giggle. She noticed the horrified looks on the faces of her friends, and turned around.

Behind her, forelegs folded, hovered Rainbow Dash. Beneath the pegasus, Applejack stood. Both mares looked weary and irritated.

“I’m glad you can get over it so quickly, Pinkie.” Rainbow said quietly. “A date already, and it only took you a day.” Before Pinkie could respond, she continued, “We were out looking for you all day. Did you not think about us? About your old friends?” She gave a snort and landed heavily.

“I-I’m sorry, Dashie...”

“It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re safe.” Dash rubbed her eyes with her forehooves. “But seriously, you sure move quick.”

“Ah have to agree, Pinkie... You seem to have gotten over all of this mighty fast,” Applejack conceded.

Pinkie’s eyes shot wide open. “Oh, nonono! I still want you, Dashie! It’s just this pegasus is just the right pony for me, and she likes me back! I didn’t want to lose that!” she exclaimed. Rainbow flinched and took a step back, clenching her eyes shut for a second. Applejack frowned and placed a foreleg around the pegasus, leading her away. “Did I... say something wrong?”

“Just... try to be a little more sensitive to Rainbow’s feelings, my dear,” Rarity said quietly. “None of us begrudge you for finding a special somepony, but... well, you did force her to hurt you with honesty yesterday, and now you’ve outright told her you’ve replaced her with somepony better in your affections...”

“O-oh...” Pinkie looked on at Rainbow’s retreating back.

“Just let her sleep it off, Pinkie,” Twilight said grimly. “You can apologise to her tomorrow.”

Pinkie felt the gazes of her friends burning into her. A sadness built up inside her, knowing she couldn’t fix her friendships till morning. As she said a desolate goodbye to her remaining friends, the only solace Pinkie could take was in the thought of the pretty white pegasus of her desires.

Author's Note

Thanks to SixRoller and Burraku_Pansa for pre-reading this, and Octane for giving me this idea in the first place.

Also, the awesome cover art is done by Scramjet747. Go and check him out!

Hopefulness

More Than She Could Dream Of

Chapter 2

Hopefulness

After a fretful night of anticipation for her date and roiling fear for her friendships, Pinkie found herself sitting on the outskirts of town beneath a cloud. Despite there being barely ten minutes before her meeting with Surprise, there was something more important for her to do first.

In truth, the pink pony had woken up early and had been out since just after dawn, searching for Rainbow Dash. However, once she’d found the pegasus’s prismatic tail dangling down from her perch atop a cloud, Pinkie had been struck by indecision. She had spent nearly an hour awkwardly sitting there, trying to come up with something to say.

“Um... D-Dashie?” she asked tentatively. When no reply was forthcoming, the earth pony sighed unhappily. “Rainbow Dash, I’m sorry...” A loud huff came from above, and eventually a cyan head poked its way over the edge of the cloud.

“Is that it?” Rainbow asked.

“N-no, um...” Pinkie tried to gather her thoughts. Rarity was right: she had been callous the day before, and she needed to pick her words carefully. “I know I said some bad things yesterday, and I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

There was another loud intake of breath. “I know you didn’t, Pinkie. That didn’t make it much better. Do... do you know how much it hurt to turn you down yesterday? And how much worse I felt when you practically said ‘Don’t worry, I found somepony so much better than you’? Or ‘I still want you’ like the only thing you asked me out for was...”

“I get it, Dashie. I’m sorry. I’m a nasty, meanie pony.” Pinkie’s head slumped down, and she screwed her blue eyes shut, trying not to burst into tears again. “I don’t know what I’m doing... I don’t deserve you as a friend...” She turned to leave, and heard a thump behind her. Her head whipped around.

“Hey, I didn’t say we can’t be friends,” Rainbow said. “Look, Pinkie, I don’t begrudge you finding a special somepony. And... I really wish I did see you as more than a friend. It’d make everyone so much happier, yeah?”

"So... you don’t hate me?”

The pegasus shook her head. “No, Pinkie, just... don’t forget about us, OK?”

Pinkie ran forward and threw her forelegs around Rainbow in a tight hug.

“Gaaahhhh... P’nkie... c’n br’th...!” Dash gulped in air as Pinkie released her.

“Oh, I’m sorry for making you feel so bad, Dashie! And don’t you worry, I’m going to make sure we stay the best of friends, no matter what happens!” Pinkie said with a fierce grin.

Rainbow gave a smile of her own and nodded. “Right. That’s good to hear. But... please don’t let this get out of hoof again, OK? I’m not sure how much more we can take of this. Running off without telling anypony where you’re going and such.”

“I promise, Dashie!” Pinkie brought her forehoof to the side of her head in a mock salute.

Rainbow jumped up and hovered in front of her. “So, when are you meeting up with this pony?”

“Oh! Today, at noon—” Pinkie stopped and her ears pricked up as she heard the tolls of the clock tower’s bell in the background. “Oh no! I’m gonna be late!”

“Go on, Pinkie, and have fun. I’ll talk to you later—” Rainbow realised she was talking to thin air as a pink blur vanished into the distance. “Just be careful,” she murmured.

By the time Pinkie had arrived in Ponyville’s centre, the town clock’s minute hand had already tilted slightly past twelve, and that meant she was late and Surprise had probably already left and her date was ruined forever...

However, to Pinkie’s immense relief, Surprise was still there, hovering near the entrance to the café’s outdoor seating area. The pegasus was looking around anxiously, and her purple eyes lit up when she saw Pinkie.

“Heeeeeeey!” Surprise squealed, flying up to Pinkie and landing, giving the earth pony a hug. “I was wondering where you got to! How are ya?”

Pinkie returned the hug, thinking about the tension she’d encountered yesterday, and the still-hurt tone in Rainbow Dash’s voice. “I’m great! Really great! You excited?”

“Yeah!” Surprise leapt up into the air again, flapping her wings rapidly. “I’ve never been on a date before!”

“Me neither!” Pinkie said, giggling and hopping from hoof to hoof. “C’mon, let’s go! This is gonna be the best first date for both of us ever!” She bounced to the waiter at the café’s entrance, who stared on at the pair.

“Ah... madame... you have a reservation...?” he said uncertainly.

“Yepperoony! Table for Pinkie Pie!”

“A table for two?” he asked, looking up from the reservation list with a cocked eyebrow.

“That’s right! C’mon, I’m starved!” the mare exclaimed. The waiter gulped and nodded, leading Pinkie to her table in the outdoor seating area. He placed a menu down and moved away.

Pinkie jumped into her seat, with Surprise taking her place on the opposite side of the table. The earth pony began reading the menu, looking for the yummiest item listed, before a sudden realisation hit her.

“Hey, wait, he didn’t give you a menu! What kinda crummy service is this?”

Surprise smiled and waved a hoof. “It’s OK. I always order the same thing from places like this, anyway.”

“Really? What is it?” asked Pinkie, cocking her head to the side.

The pegasus rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, a daisy sandwich with a side of hay fries, all washed down with sarsaparilla.”

Pinkie gasped, her eyes wide in astonishment. “Really?! That’s like, one of my favourite things to eat ever!” She beamed at Surprise and giggled. “We have so much in common!”

Surprise smiled back at her. “I know! It’s so great! I never thought I’d find anypony quite like myself!” Her bright expression faltered slightly as she noticed Pinkie pouting. “What’s the matter?”

“You’ve never met anypony like yourself?” Pinkie asked. “I mean, nopony wants to party more than I do in Ponyville, but pretty much everypony here wants to party and have fun at some point. Are you saying you’re the only pony in Cloudsdale who likes to throw parties?”

Surprise blushed slightly. “Well, not exactly, but Cloudsdale’s a pretty heavy-duty city. Most pegasi either work for the Weather Factory or the weather patrols... or maybe the Wonderbolts,” she said, adding the last item with a giggle. “So, they’re not always understanding about parties. Hence me coming down to Ponyville for a bit of an... extended holiday.”

“Wow... I wish I could throw a party so good it got me thrown out of town...” Pinkie said dreamily. “Well, as long as I could come back at some point! Twilight got thrown out of Ponyville by Trixie when she got that amulet and went all evil and powerful and stuff, and that was no fun at all!”

“And I wish I lived in a place like Ponyville...” Surprise replied.

“You should! We can be party buddies, and learn all kinds of things from each other!” Pinkie said, gesticulating with her forelegs and smiling widely.

The pegasus gave her a wry smile. “Maybe. We’ll see.”

The two ponies spent a moment staring into one another’s eyes contentedly. Surprise then turned to see where the waiter was, and twitched uncomfortably. “Um... Pinkie... could you order for me? I kinda need to use the little filly’s room. Pleeease?” She looked at Pinkie with big, watery eyes.

“Uh, sure! Go right ahead!” Pinkie said. The pegasus nodded gratefully and zipped off into the café. Left alone, she tapped her hind hooves impatiently against the floor, until the waiter walked over to her table.

“Are you ready to order, madame?” he asked.

“Uh huh! I’ll have two daisy sandwiches, each with hay fries, and two bottles of sarsaparilla, please!” Pinkie said.

“Double portions? Feeling hungry, eh?” the waiter said with a small grin.

“What?! No... we’re both having the same thing!” she exclaimed.

“Who—”

“My date, silly!” Pinkie cut in. Her voice dropped to a quiet whisper. “She’s in the bathroom.”

“Ah! My mistake, madame. I’ll bring them along as soon as I can.” The waiter gave a small bow. He scampered away and brought over the sarsaparilla at once. Pinkie sipped at her bottle, waiting on her partner. Surprise re-appeared after a few minutes, fluttering out of café’s door.

“I ordered! Food should be here soon!” Pinkie sang.

“Great!” The pegasus dumped herself down in the chair, just as the waiter returned with two plates, each with a daisy sandwich and stacked with hay fries. He placed the plates down, and Pinkie nodded her thanks, pushing Surprise’s plate over to the other side of the table and pulling hers toward herself as the waiter walked off. The pegasus looked down eagerly at her lunch, before saying, “So! What do you get up to when you’re not partying?”

“Oh! I work in Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie pointed to the garish building. “I’m a baker! We make all kinds of things there: muffins and cupcakes and eclairs and cookies and doughnuts and buns and croissants and pies and brownies”—she took a great gasp of breath—“and cakes, of course! It’s funny, because the whole place is run by Cakes!”

“Uh... huh?” Cakes?” Surprise raised her eyebrows. “How do cakes run a bakery?”

Pinkie giggled. “I mean Mr. and Mrs. Cake. They’re my bosses...eses.” Her face scrunched up, before she shook her head and grinned. “They’ve got, like the best bakery in all of Equestria! I mean, I like baking, but they put me to shame! They make just the best baked goods ever! Like the MMMM!” She paused and tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Although it was more like a MMMMash up by the time we reached Canterlot...”

Surprise beamed at her. “Wow! That sounds like really cool job to have!”

“It is!” Pinkie spread her forehooves. “What about you?”

Surprise shrugged her shoulders, and scooped up a mouthful of hay fries. “Oh, stuff here and there... I just take anything that keeps the bits coming in. Mostly errands around the Weather Factory,” she said around the food she was chewing. “Although I got to help keep the cloud integrity in the Cloudiseum last summer. That was pretty cool; I even got to see the Wonderbolts training a couple of times.”

“Wow! Seriously?!” Pinkie exclaimed, wide-eyed. “That’s... awesome! Y’know, Rainbow Dash’s obsessed with the Wonderbolts; she would do anything for that! In fact, she came back from their Academy just the other day!” Her expression faltered slightly, although to her relief, Surprise didn’t seem to notice.

“Is Rainbow Dash a friend of yours?” Surprise asked.

“Y-yeah... just a friend...” Pinkie struggled to maintain her sunny disposition. She was over Dashie. She was!

“Y’know, the name rings a bell...” Surprise had rested her cheek on a raised hoof, staring up into the air in thought.

Pinkie leapt on the new conversation topic hastily. “Um... well, she won the Best Young Flier’s competition a couple of years ago! Remember the Sonic Rainboom? That was her!” The pegasus’ eyes lit up, and she gave an excited squeal.

“You know the pegasus who did that?!” Surprise exclaimed, and Pinkie nodded. “Whoa... you weren’t kidding when you said you knew everypony, were you?”

Pinkie felt a faint blush rise to her cheeks. “Well, not everypony, but I try,” she said with a shrug. “Because if you do that, you get to meet some really nice ponies, right?”

Surprise raised her eyebrows and smiled. “Awwww... you know all the right things to say, don’t you?” Her amethyst eyes crinkled in happiness, and she reached forward to hold Pinkie’s hooves.

“Uh... mmm.” Pinkie was lost for words, for once. She compromised by squeezing Surprise’s hooves in turn.

The two ponies stared into one another’s eyes a while longer, until the pegasus looked down and giggled. “Oh, look at us! We’re so busy being lovey-dovey we completely forgot about lunch!” she said.

“Heh... yeah...” Pinkie let go of the pair of white hooves and turned her attention to her food, grateful for the interruption. She could have stayed holding Surprise’s hooves and looking into her pretty purple eyes for as long as she wanted, but there was a strange, warm, prickly feeling bubbling up inside her, and it flared up even more every time she looked at the pegasus.

For the first time in her life, Pinkie felt just a little bit frightened by her infatuation for another pony.

Thankfully, Surprise didn’t seem to register Pinkie’s trepidation, instead munching happily at her daisy sandwich. As she put her half-eaten sandwich down, Pinkie took a bite of her own. Surprise took a bite once she had finished, catching her eye. The pair continued in their impromptu little rhythm, until both plates were clean.

The two ponies laughed. “We’re so... connected! Completely in tune!” Surprise said through snorts of mirth.

“Yep, totally.” Pinkie looked down, realising she’d began to hold the pegasus’s hooves once more. Surprise tilted her head down and fluttered her eyelashes, looking up at Pinkie.

“Y’know, I... I really like you, Pinkie Pie...” Surprise breathed. “I’m so glad I met you.”

“M-me too...” Pinkie realised she was drifting ever closer to the pretty pegasus. Their noses were almost touching, when...

“Uh... madame?” Pinkie’s head jerked backward, and for a moment she drifted in a daze, lost between her entrancement with Surprise and the shock of being disturbed. She shook her head.

“Yeah?” She blinked and put on an innocent smile.

The waiter seemed extremely uncomfortable, not knowing where to look. “I’m so sorry, madame, but we have a rather large group of ponies waiting to be seated, and, um, if you’ve finished your meal...” He flapped a hoof.

Pinkie turned to Surprise, who simply shrugged. “Well, I guess so...” The two ponies left their seats, and the waiter began hurriedly cleaning up the table behind them. As they walked out of the café and past the sizeable queue, Pinkie’s head began to droop.

“Pinkie? What’s the matter? Didn’t you have fun?” Surprise asked, her tone anxious.

The earth pony sighed. “No! I had loads of fun. I just wish we could have stayed a little longer...” She turned her head to look down the road at Sugarcube Corner. “And I did promise Mrs. Cake I’d be back in time to deal with the lunch rush.” As she turned back to Surprise, she was startled as the pegasus swiftly leaned forward and rubbed noses with her.

Pinkie gave a happy giggle and returned the sign of affection. As they broke apart, Surprise grinned again, a rosy blush upon her cheeks. “It’s OK. If you have a job to do, then don’t let me get in the way, Pinkie. And don’t worry; I really, really want to go on another date with you.”

“Y-you do?!” Pinkie squeaked. “Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!” She grabbed Surprise and hugged her tightly. “Just drop in any time, OK? You can have a muffin on the house! Nonono, two muffins! No, three cookies! Whatever you want!”

Surprise gave a good-natured laugh, hugging her partner back before releasing her. “I will, Pinkie. See ya real soon!” She took off, back towards the park, turning around to wave as she did so. Pinkie waved too, until the pegasus was just another white speck amongst the clouds.

“Um, Pinkie Pie, who’re ya wavin’ to?” Big Mac asked. The stallion had a large cart full of apples hitched to himself, presumably going to the Apple family’s market stall.

“Oh! My marefriend!” Pinkie felt a thrill run through her as she spoke the word. Yes, she had a marefriend.

“Found a special somepony, huh? Well, congratulations,” Big Mac said. He peered up the street at the crowd spilling out of Sugarcube Corner’s doors. “Looks like the Corner’s doin’ a brisk trade.”

Pinkie Pie’s head whipped around, and her eyes went wide as she saw the multitude of ponies. “Oh my gosh, the bakery!” she exclaimed. “ByeBigMacintoshseeyoulater—” A pink blur zoomed to the garish building.

Big Mac stared after the wake of the hyperactive pony. He chewed contemplatively on his piece of straw, and looked up into the sky again.

“Jus’ Pinkie bein’ Pinkie,” he muttered with a shrug.

High above Ponyville, Rainbow Dash was not happy. Having found herself at a loose end, she’d decided to fly into town and ponywatch from atop a cloud. Normally, she would have been amused enough watching the crowds move to and fro in the market, but today, she’d been disturbed by something.

It had been the sight of Pinkie in the town square, hopping up to the café. Rainbow was hardly a nosy pony, but she couldn’t help but try to take a peek at the mare who had so suddenly captured her friend’s attention. She’d been careful not to intrude too much, only taking the occasional glance back at the café, but the pegasus felt her intrinsic loyalty tugging inside her. Something just didn’t seem right, and Dash couldn’t help but feel like she needed to protect her friend.

She’d told herself that she was imagining it, but now, Rainbow was perched upon her cloud, staring into the same distance that Pinkie had been waving at. Her lips pursed as the mare conversed briefly with Big Mac before zipping off to Sugarcube Corner.

“Pinkie Pie, what have you gotten yourself into?” Rainbow muttered quietly.

Author's Note

Thanks to Burraku_Pansa and Raisingthesound for pre-reading this chapter.

Excitement

More Than She Could Dream Of

Chapter 3

Excitement

Pinkie cracked her eyes open and smiled. For the first time in a long time, she had awoken without any worries or doubts, her dreams having been filled only with the pretty white pegasus she had begun to court.

She still had her heart-stamped journal clutched in her hooves, and had spent the previous night writing in an entry for Surprise. Well, at least, she’d tried. The page was mostly filled with doodled hearts containing the names of the two ponies and a fetching little sketch of the pegasus.

The pink pony took a deep breath and sighed contentedly. She felt like there was nothing more she could wish for right now. Pinkie set the journal down and hopped out of bed, humming happily to herself. She pulled open the curtains and shoved the window open, surveying the sunny morning. After taking in a deep, satisfied breath, she turned and exited her room, bouncing merrily down the stairs.

In the main part of the bakery, the day’s work had already begun, the Cakes busily rolling out dough for the latest batch of cookies. Pinkie grabbed a croissant from the table as a simple breakfast. “Good morning!” she sang.

“Mornin’, Pinkie,” Mr. Cake muttered, his eyes remaining focused on the dough.

“Oh, good morning, Pinkie Pie,” Mrs. Cake said, turning to the younger mare. “How are you?”

“I’m super duper great, Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie said merrily, around a mouthful of flaky pastry. “Did I tell you—”

“About your date? Yes, you told us... quite a few times, actually.” Cup Cake smiled. “See? I told you somepony would come along and catch your eye eventually. It sounds like you and... Surprise, was it?” Pinkie nodded vigorously. “You and Surprise are getting on very well!”

“Yeah! We totally hit it off!” Pinkie said happily. “In fact, we might go on another date soon! Maybe even today!”

“Pinkie...” Mr. Cake said carefully. “You’re not forgetting somepony, are you?” When Pinkie only frowned in confusion, he continued, “Your friends, that is. They didn’t seem all that impressed the other day.”

“Um... no. At least, I don’t think I’m forgetting about them. They haven’t met Surprise yet, but I made sure to go and say sorry to Dashie yesterday. We’re made up. Honest.” Pinkie’s mouth twitched downward slightly. “I know I said some horrible things, but my friends are all still important to me. I don’t want to lose them.”

Carrot Cake nodded in appreciation. “Well, at least that’s cleared up, then. So, are you seeing Surprise again soon?”

Pinkie nodded. “Definitely! We didn’t really agree on a time, but she said she’d swing by Sugarcube Corner when she was free.”

“Well, that’s good to hear!” Mrs. Cake said. “Maybe we’ll get to meet her, eh? Anyway, in the meantime, Pinkie, could you start up a new batch of cupcakes? You know how quickly they fly off the shelves around lunchtime.”

“Okie dokie, Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie bounced over and began her task. While she was anxious to see her new marefriend again, she was easily able to lose herself in the various errands around the bakery. She hopped to and fro, adding ingredients, stirring batter, grabbing hot trays out of the ovens and applying icing.

It seemed like time had barely been passing at all until the lunch rush began for the day, a deluge of ponies pouring through the doors to refresh themselves. Pinkie took the crowding in her stride, retaining her sunny composition as she moved from kitchen to counter, serving ponies from all walks of Ponyville life. However, every smile she greeted new customers with was punctuated with a nervous little glance around the room. As time wore on, she found her heart sinking slightly as a white coat and curly yellow mane failed to materialise.

It wasn’t until the town clock was striking two that the queues finally subsided to midmorning levels, the last few sandwich-hungry stragglers clearing out to make way for those looking for a sweet afternoon treat.

Mr. Cake let out a phew, mopping down the flour-streaked counter with a cloth. “Like the Battle of Canterlot, every lunch time.” He chuckled to himself.

Pinkie let out a weak laugh herself, leaning against the cookie stand and chewing her lip. She felt disappointed that her marefriend hadn’t turned up, although in truth, she knew it was a silly wish. Had Surprise tried to ask her out during lunch time, the pegasus probably would have spent over an hour crushed against a wall while Pinkie stayed on top of the crowds.

Her eyes widened slightly as a white shape caught her eye. Outside, across the other side of the street, Surprise hovered upside down. Her purple eyes fixed on Pinkie’s, and she smiled and waved.

Pinkie waved in return, and turned to Mr. Cake, who was still wiping down the counter. “Um, Mr. Cake, would it be alright if I went out with Surprise? Like, now?”

“Now? Well, I guess we’ve got the busiest part of the day over and done with...” he mused. “Alright, Pinkie. Go and have fun with her.”

“Okay, I’ll do that! See ya later!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Is she waiting for you outside?” Mr. Cake asked, receiving a nod from Pinkie. “Not to be nosey, but I’d like to know who’s dating my surrogate daughter,” he added with a smile, squinting out of the window. “Is she... the blue pony?”

“Nope!” Pinkie giggled and shook her head. “Guess again!”

“The... red one?” Another shake. “The brown unicorn?”

“Nuh uh! Your eyes must be really bad, Mr. Cake!” she teased.

Carrot Cake sighed. “The... white mare? Right?” he said with a wink.

Pinkie nodded vigorously. “Got it in the end! Can I go now?”

“Go right ahead—” Mr. Cake’s mane whipped around his face from the turbulence caused by Pinkie’s passage.

Outside, Pinkie skidded to a halt in front of the inverted pegasus, who smiled widely and gave her an affectionate nuzzle.

“Hey, Pinkie!” Surprise exclaimed. She flipped herself over and landed in front of the earth pony. “How are you?”

“I’m fine! Just a little bit worn out. I know I eat a lot of sugar, but have you seen how many customers we get each lunchtime?” Pinkie replied, pointing at the bakery.

“Oh, I know! I figured you’d be super-duper busy, so I held off until after you were done.” Surprise put a wing around Pinkie and hugged her. “So, you wanna go out on another date?”

Pinkie grinned. “Do I ever!” she said. “What d’you wanna do? We could go bowling, or zip-lining, or dancing, or singing, or skydiving, or—” She stopped as a white forehoof gently pressed against her lips.

“Actually Pinkie, I was hoping you could... show me around the town?” She gave a sheepish smile. “I guess I’m gonna be staying here a while, and I figured if you know everypony in Ponyville, you should know pretty much everywhere in Ponyville too, right?”

“A tour?” Pinkie bounced up and down. “Oooooh! Good idea! Okay, okay, uh... where do you wanna go? I mean, you already know where the park is, ‘cause you’re living there, and the cafe, and you must know what Sugarcube Corner is, and—”

Surprise shrugged and smiled. “I just wanna get the lay of the land. We don’t really need to go inside anywhere. Let’s just go for a walkabout.” She flared her wings. “Or flyabout, in my case.”

Pinkie smiled, already having come up with half a dozen places to go in the time Surprise had spent talking. “Alright! Let’s go!” She grabbed the pegasus by the forehoof and dragged her off at breakneck speed.

A short while later, Pinkie began taking Surprise on her second circuit of the town. While the pegasus agreed that she’d seen the entirety of the town remarkably quickly the first time around, she had to point out that ten minutes barely gave her a chance to actually register what they had gone past. Happy to spend more time with her, Pinkie had agreed to tour Ponyville again, at a more sedate pace.

“So, this is Bon Bon’s sweet shop. She does some pretty good candies!” Pinkie said, pointing to a green, glass-fronted building. She looked around furtively, and leaned into Surprise. “Although Sugarcube Corner does better taffy. Don’t believe the hype!” she whispered.

The pegasus giggled. “I don’t doubt that, Pinkie.” She pointed to a large building with ornately carved wooden railings and adorned with pennants. “Oooh! What’s that place? It looks pretty, but I didn’t quite get a chance to ask about it last time...”

Pinkie stopped and smiled at the hovering pegasus. “That’s the Town Hall! In fact, that’s where pretty much where I started out with my friends! Twilight had turned up that day and was all ‘Oooooh, there’s a big evil pony coming to ruin the Summer Sun Celebration!’ and then BAM! Nightmare Moon appeared. So me and the others went into the Everfree Forest, and, well, that was how Equestria was saved!”

She was startled to find that Surprise was looking at her with admiration. “You really make saving the world sound easy, don’t you?” the pegasus murmured appreciatively.

Pinkie gave a dismissive shrug. “Anything’s easy when you’ve got friends backing you up!” she said, gently poking Surprise on the nose. “And even better when you’ve got a date.”

“‘Your date’, huh?” Surprise asked quietly, blushing. When Pinkie nodded, the pegasus giggled and nuzzled her. “I like the sound of that.” The two ponies spent a little while longer staring into one another’s eyes, until the white mare flicked her purple gaze upward. “So, wanna keep on walking?”

“Uh, sure!” Pinkie said hesitantly. She began to walk, and perked up again as Surprise landed and placed a wing over her back. “So, where d’you wanna go next?”

“Well...” Surprise scanned the town around her, before seeing the stalls further down the road. “How about the market? The ones in Cloudsdale always have the weirdest things from all over!”

Pinkie tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I don’t think we’ve got anything that strange... but there’s a lot of good stuff there! Ever eaten an apple from Sweet Apple Acres? Or smelled one of Roseluck’s roses? Or had some honey from Bonnet’s bees?”

Surprise shook her head. “Nope! But I’d just love to find out what they’re like...” she said with a half-lidded smile. Pinkie nodded and led her to the market street, retrieving a small bag of bits from her pink mane as she did so. Surprise’s eyes widened as she saw the pouch. “Oh, Pinkie, you don’t have to do that!”

“Nope! I’m taking you out on a date, least I can do is show you ‘round without you worrying about money!” Pinkie said, bouncing up and down excitedly.

Surprise giggled and gave the earth pony another nuzzle. “You’re just the greatest, Pinkie,” she crooned affectionately. “C’mon, then. You choose where to go. I’ll follow.”

For most ponies, the town market was place for commerce, and maybe a little socialising. However, Pinkie was not most ponies, and anyone listening in on her would be forgiven for thinking she was guiding Surprise through a funfair.

Pinkie’s bag of bits had barely lightened, with most of the stall owners happy to give a free sample or two to one of their favourite customers. So far, they’d each had a breadstick dunked in honey from Bonnet, a hoofful of cotton candy and an apple each from Sweet Apple Acres (although the pink pony had insisted on paying Big Mac for the fruit). They’d sniffed at perfumes, looked over fragrant spices from faraway lands, and swung past the flower carts to see Roseluck’s famous roses.

Surprise fluttered back from the flower cart, a red bloom tucked behind her ear, and a smiling Roseluck waving to the the two mares. The pegasus had taken a ribbon from a discarded bouquet to tie back her blonde mane into a ponytail. Pinkie looked over her shoulder at Surprise, and couldn’t help but blush at how fetching her partner looked.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Featherweight making his way through the market, his beloved camera slung around his neck. Pinkie’s face lit up as she had an idea. “Hey, Featherweight?” she called.

The colt turned his head toward her. “Yeah?”

“Could you, um, take a photo, please?” Pinkie asked, motioning to Surprise. Featherweight smiled and nodded, positioning himself with his camera. The shutter clicked noisily just as Surprise slipped a foreleg around Pinkie.

Featherweight took the photograph from the slot in his instant camera, waving it in his hoof to allow it to develop. He grimaced slightly at it. “Sorry, Pinkie. Not one of my best shots,” he admitted. “Want me to take another?”

Pinkie looked at the proffered photograph. It showed Surprise and herself, both smiling, a white foreleg around her shoulders. She wasn’t all that experienced in photography, but whatever fault Featherweight could see in the picture was invisible to her. She grinned at him. “No, no! It’s great! Thanks, Featherweight!”

“Anytime!” He flittered off into the crowd.

Surprise craned her neck over to look at the photo. “Awww! I love it!” she said. “You should keep it.”

“Don’t you want it?” Pinkie asked.

“I want you to have a keepsake too. You’ve already given me plenty today.” A smile of pure contentment crossed Surprise’s face as she looked around the market. “I mean, just look at this place! I’ve never seen anywhere like this!”

“Oh, well, it’s just a market, y’know? It’s the ponies who work there who really make it!” Pinkie replied happily.

“Well, one of those ponies, anyway,” Surprise said, hugging Pinkie around the neck. She frowned slightly as the earth pony froze on the spot, then sat down. “What’s the matter?”

“Uh, nothing!” Pinkie was staring into the middle distance, specifically at a pale yellow pegasus. The mare stood in front of a stall, haggling over the price of half a dozen different kinds of vegetables, her long pink mane swaying back and forth. Pinkie chewed her lip contemplatively.

Surprise noticed the pony Pinkie was looking at. “Oh, is she a friend of yours?” She giggled. “Actually, silly question. You know practically everypony in this town, right?”

Pinkie nodded. “Well, I do, but that’s Fluttershy! She’s one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world!” She turned to Surprise. “D’ya wanna meet her?” To her dismay, the pegasus pursed her lips and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

“Maybe later...” When Pinkie began to interject, Surprise cut her off. “Look, Pinkie, I’d love to meet them at some point. And I understand they’re very important to you.” She took up Pinkie’s forehooves into her own and clutched them to her chest. “But, right now, I want to get to know you. You’re really special to me, and I want to spend today with you.”

Pinkie held her gaze, before her blue eyes slipped to the side. She let out a tiny sigh. “Sure. It’s no problem! Where next?” she said.

“I guess we could keep going down the street...” Surprise suggested, looking in the direction she referred to. Suddenly, her eyes went wide and she took a step back.

Pinkie didn’t have a chance to ask what Surprise was doing as she felt another pony bump into her back. “Oh goodness, I’m sorry!” came a squeak from behind her. She turned around to see Fluttershy flat on her back, a bag of carrots next to her and a list half-covering her face. “I-I was just looking at my list, and—” Her apology was cut off as Pinkie pulled her to her hooves.

“It’s OK, Fluttershy! Are you OK?” Pinkie asked, ears drooping in concern.

Fluttershy gave a nod. “Just a little knock, that’s all...” She looked at Pinkie. “Um, what brings you here, Pinkie? I don’t usually see you at the market on a Saturday.”

“Oh! I’m here on a date!” Pinkie exclaimed. When her friend began to hide her eyes behind her mane, she piped up, “It’s fine, Fluttershy! I went to Dashie and said how sorry I was, and she said she was totally fine with it!”

“Um... I see. That’s, um, nice.” Fluttershy snatched up her list from the floor. “L-look, don’t let me get in your way. You have a nice date. I have a lot of animals to feed.” She began to move, but Pinkie jumped in the way.

“Wait! Don’t you want to meet her? She’s right here!” Pinkie flapped her hoof at Surprise. To her shock, there was almost a... hardness to Fluttershy’s cyan eyes as she met Pinkie’s gaze.

“Not really, Pinkie. Maybe some other time...” Her eyes flicked over to the side, where Surprise was standing. Fluttershy frowned slightly, before turning back to her friend. “Now, I really have to go.” She scurried off, leaving Pinkie gaping after her. Surprise, who had stepped to one side, came over to her partner, placing a comforting foreleg around her shoulders.

“She... I... Fluttershy’s never...” Pinkie stammered.

“Hey, she just looked a bit busy. And stressed out,” Surprise said, looking at the retreating back of the pegasus.

Pinkie’s mouth drooped slightly. “She sounded angry with me...” The foreleg squeezed a little tighter.

“Nah, I’m just as crabby as that on a bad day,” Surprise said cheerfully. “Hey, c’mon, don’t be a big mopey-pants!” She nuzzled Pinkie’s cheek, and the earth pony murred happily.

“I’m sorry, Surprise...” Pinkie sighed and hugged her in return. “I didn’t mean to ruin our date.”

Surprise pulled her head back and poked her tongue out. “Since when does your friend walking into you ruin a date? It’s really no problem!” Her eyes alighted upon a nearby stall, where hampers of food were being sold. “Y’know, it’s a nice day. Want to go and have a picnic in the park? Get away from the bustle?”

Pinkie nodded vigorously. All her excitement at showing Surprise the market had suddenly evaporated after meeting Fluttershy. The market’s buzz had gone from being invigorating to oppressive, and there was nothing she wanted more than to get away from it all with Surprise.

Pinkie took out her bits and bought a hamper for two from the smiling vendor, but even as she looked into Surprise’s happy purple eyes, she could still see the flinty remnants of that cold, judgemental cyan glare.

The two mares reached the park soon after, Pinkie holding the handle of the hamper in her mouth and bouncing along, with Surprise hovering in tow. They settled themselves down on the grass near the pegasus’ cloud, and the earth pony placed their picnic on the ground.

“Let’s see... daisy sandwiches, lemonade, carrot chips, a cupcake...” Pinkie said, rummaging through the container. “Hope you’re hungry!”

“Well, I’m sure I can fit it in around the cotton candy,” Surprise said with a giggle. She reached into the hamper as well, and her forehooves bumped against Pinkie’s. The pegasus held them in the crooks of her ankles and stared into Pinkie’s eyes, smiling. They moved closer, rubbing noses. “Or maybe it can wait a little bit longer...” she crooned.

They extracted their forelegs from the hamper and Pinkie shoved it to one side. The earth pony scooted closer to sit next to the pegasus and hugged her. Surprise placed a wing around her partner, resting her head on Pinkie’s shoulder.

Pinkie buried her head in the yellow, poofy mane, and the two mares nuzzled one another, murring deeply. She was intrigued to find that the pegasus’ mane smelled surprisingly sweet, although more like fresh fruit than the sugary confectionary she was used to. She let out a contented sigh.

“Oh, Pinkie...” Surprise murmured. They simply embraced in the sunshine, the pink pony content for once to remain still and quiet, listening to her partner’s gentle breathing. Eventually, the pegasus laid back, pulling Pinkie down with her, and pointed at the sky. “You ever just sit and cloudwatch?” she asked.

“Huh? Not really... why?” Pinkie replied quietly.

“It’s just very... calming.” Surprise turned her head to the earth pony, her purple eyes crinkling in a smile. “I’ve always seen you being so energetic, but y’know, I like to slow down sometimes and just... watch.”

“Mmmm... yeah.” Pinkie giggled and pointed upwards. “Hey, that one looks like a balloon!”

“Or maybe a tortoiseshell...” the pegasus offered.

“Yeah! What about that one? A... buffalo stuck in an apple tree?” Pinkie’s comment was met with a snort of laughter from the white mare.

“What are you talking about? It’s totally a giant lollipop stuck out of a hill!” Surprise said, giggling. The two ponies continued pointing out cloud shapes, their suggestions becoming more and nonsensical as time went on.

Pinkie found herself growing wonderfully drowsy in the sunny heat of the afternoon and the embrace of her partner. Her eyelids drooped, and she suddenly awoke as she rolled sideways. Her heart did a little leap as she realised that Surprise was gone. Gone. She sat up with a gasp, looking about frantically. A white rabbit scampered past her, startled by her sudden movement.

Surprise hadn’t abandoned her, she couldn’t have! Pinkie’s heart began to thunder in her chest, and her breaths came in short, tiny gasps. Where did she go? Had she done something wrong? Had Surprise gotten bored, or gone off to see somepony else, or decided they wouldn’t be right together and gone back to Cloudsdale and left forever, or—

“Hey. Up here.” Pinkie looked up and gaped at what she saw. Above her, Surprise poked her head over a heart-shaped cloud. “What d’ya think this one looks like?” the pegasus said with a cocky grin.

“I... I...” For once, Pinkie found herself lost for words. A blush appeared on her cheeks, and a wide smile gradually appeared on her face.

“You like it, huh?” Pinkie nodded happily, and Surprise flew down from the cloud, before hovering in front of her, upside down. “Knew ya would.” The pegasus leaned her head forward and gave Pinkie the lightest of kisses on her nose.

“S-Surprise... are we really...?” When the pegasus simply cocked an eyebrow, she swallowed and continued, “Can I call you my special somepony now?” Pinkie was trembling with anticipation, and inside, a maelstrom of doubt raged. She knew she’d overstepped the mark, suggested it way too soon. And yet... Surprise couldn’t look happier. A flush had appeared on her white cheeks, and she leaned in again to give another light kiss.

“Y’know what? You can. I’d really like that.” Surprise took a deep breath and let it out in a little sigh. “I... I don’t know what it is about you, Pinkie, but you really make me feel special. I know it’s early days, but I really want to keep this going,” she said, her purple eyes sparkling with happiness.

Surprise landed, and they hugged again on the ground, finally turning to the hamper they’d forgotten. The two ponies watched the clouds in the sky, and eventually the glorious orange glow of sunset. As night began to fall over Ponyville, the pair finally bade one another goodbye.

“Would you be up for another date soon?” Pinkie asked quietly.

“Would I ever!” Surprise said happily. “When d’you wanna go out?”

“Well, it’s Sunday tomorrow, so the bakery’s pretty quiet... but Mr. and Mrs. Cake are taking me and the twins out for the day. I guess Monday? At midday again?” the pink pony said. When Surprise nodded, Pinkie ground her hoof in the dirt awkwardly. “Um, Surprise, seeing as we’re kinda special someponies now, I was kinda maybe wondering, uh...”

“...your friends?” Surprise finished for her. Pinkie nodded tentatively. “Well... I don’t see the harm in that. Although... could we make it a low-key thing? I mean, y’know, not paraded out like a pony at a fashion show, huh?” she said with a frozen grin.

“Sure! I guess we could visit them at home...” Pinkie looked thoughtful, and brightened up. “Oh, yeah! If you liked Ponyville, you’ll love my friends’ houses! There’s a dress shop that looks like a carousel, a library made out of a tree, a cloud house with liquid rainbowfalls...”

The white mare giggled and gave Pinkie one last hug. “That sounds awesome! I’ll look forward to it! See ya soon!”

“Bye!” Pinkie waved to Surprise as the pegasus flew back to her cloud. The earth pony then turned and bounced toward Sugarcube Corner. Mrs. Cake was right: love did sneak up on you when you least expected it! Smiling to herself, Pinkie felt happier than she could ever remember, even more than the day the Sonic Rainboom had blasted away the clouds over her farm and led to her cutie mark, and that was an incredibly happy day! Everything was going to be just fine.

“Juuuuust fine.”

Author's Note

Thanks to Burraku_Pansa and Raisingthesound for pre-reading this chapter.

Introductions

More Than She Could Dream Of

Chapter 4

Introductions

Pinkie trotted through the streets of Ponyville, on her way to the park. The previous day with the Cakes had been fun, and the twins were always a joy to be around. However, her mind had been elsewhere the entire time, instead planning the next date with Surprise.

Despite having been away from the pegasus for only two days, Pinkie had found herself pining for Surprise soon after they had parted, the words of her new marefriend’s confession burning in her chest. Even after all her fantasising, Pinkie was taken aback by how deep her feelings ran for Surprise.

Sure, Pinkie had admired the pegasus on their dates and enjoyed the time spent with her, but it hadn’t been until that wonderful conclusion to their previous date that she had really begun to see Surprise as a pony she genuinely could be together with. And, if there was a chance Surprise was going to be a part of Pinkie’s life, then all the better that she was introduced to the other most important ponies to Pinkie.

Still, Pinkie found herself swallowing a certain amount of anxiety. She was still reeling from Fluttershy’s chilly reaction at the marketplace, and she was uncertain whether bringing Surprise to Rainbow Dash would open up the wound that’d barely healed. Not to mention how everypony else had reacted when she’d first mentioned she had a date...

No! Nonono. Everything was fine: Dashie had forgiven her, Fluttershy was probably just busy, and everypony had been worried sick about her when she’d arrived in Sugarcube Corner. Now that things were cleared up, there was no reason for her special somepony not to meet her best friends.

Surprise was waiting for her, sitting in the shadow of her cloud home, and smiled when she saw Pinkie approaching. “Heeey~!” she called, fluttering over to Pinkie and hugging her. “How are you?”

“I’m good! Mr. and Mrs. Cake had been planning to take a daytrip to Canterlot, and they asked me to come as well! They figured I’d been there enough to guide them around it.” Pinkie tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Although, it looks so much different when there’s not changelings running around everywhere, trying to take over Equestria.”

The pegasus giggled. “Yeah, I guess a changeling invasion would make sightseeing a bit difficult.” She looked at Pinkie expectantly. “So! You’re introducing me to your friends today?”

“Yeah...” Pinkie rubbed the back of her head, thinking about where to take Surprise first. She settled upon the mare who had brought her friends together in the first place. “I’ll take you to Twilight! She’s the town librarian; the one who lives inside a tree!” She giggled at the pegasus’ incredulous face. “She’s also Princess Celestia’s personal student!”

“Okay, now you gotta be kidding me,” Surprise said, following Pinkie as she began to walk toward the town centre. When Pinkie grinned and shook her head, the white mare poked her tongue out. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

The pair of ponies arrived in the town centre shortly after, Pinkie bouncing along happily, with Surprise in tow, flying with slow, lazy flaps of her white wings. The pegasus’ eyes widened slightly as she saw the library.

“Whoa, it actually is a tree? How does it stay alive if the inside’s been carved out?” she asked, pointing to the bright green leaves atop the branches.

“Magic,” Pinkie said with a shrug. “You’re gonna like Twilight, I’m sure! She’s basically the calmest, most level-headed, rational pony I know! And really smart!”

“‘Rational’? I guess opposites attract, huh?” Surprise said, nudging Pinkie’s shoulder.

“She’s not boring...” Pinkie replied. She knocked vigorously upon the door. When there was no answer, Pinkie laid an ear to the wood. She could hear some commotion from within, some muffled shouting and a weird swirling noise. “Well, I guess this is a public library.” She pushed the door open.

In the centre of the room, with her back to them, was Twilight. She looked distressed, her eyes bloodshot, her horn blazing and a multitude of books flying around her in a tornado of literature. Her head whipped back and forth as she inspected the books. “Oh, no no no... it has to be here somewhere! Spike!”

“I’m right here!” Spike called from atop a ladder. He was pushing books apart, peering intently amongst the shelves.

“Uh... hey, Twilight!” Pinkie called, poking her head though the crack in the door. Twilight spun around, staring hard, her disheveled mane falling about her face. “I have my special somepony here and I wanted you to see her...”

“Pinkie? Now’s really, really not a good time for you two to be here,” Twilight said in a weary tone.

“But... but...” Pinkie realised Twilight had already returned to her frantic searching, tuning out her comments. She carried on awkwardly waiting at the door, in case the errant book was found, and the panic averted.

“Can you remember where you last left it?” Spike asked. He cringed as Twilight’s furious gaze locked onto him.

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be doing this!” she screeched.

“Okay! Okay! It’s just a book—” Spike stopped as Twilight slammed her forehooves into the first rung of the ladder.

“‘Just a book’? Just. A. Book?!” She began to climb the ladder, mounting a rung with every staccato word she spoke. “This is a first edition print of Supernatural Spirits, on loan from the Royal Canterlot Library!”

“What’s it about? Maybe we can help!” Pinkie piped up.

“It’s about curses that can trap ponies’ souls,” Twilight said without turning around. “Genies, Djinn, Love Spirits, Elementals...” She nosed through a bookcase. “Celestia wanted me to study how King Sombra came to be.”

Surprise nudged Pinkie. “That sounds like a scary book...” she murmured.

“Probably best if you come back later once we’ve cleaned up,” Spike said. “All this mess for a book, huh?”

“Spike, this book is incredibly rare, incredibly valuable, and I’ve lost it! Do you realise what this means?” Twilight snapped.

“You might be overreacting a bit, Twi...” Spike gasped as the books fell to the floor and he was seized up in the magical aura instead.

“Spike... if I’ve lost this book, I am finished,” she said quietly, levitating him in front of her.

The little dragon spread his arms in a pacifying gesture. “Twilight, Celestia’s not gonna kill you. I mean, she was pretty reasonable, even after the Smarty Pants Incident!”

Twilight gave a stressed sigh. “Not Celestia. The Royal Archivist! She’s merciless! I’m doomed!”

All the while, Pinkie and Surprise had been watching, horrified, through the half-open door. “Calm and level-headed, huh?” the pegasus murmured.

“She’s not always like this...” Pinkie replied.

“What’s the Smarty Pants Incident, anyway?”

“Oh! That was the time Twilight was panicking over not having a friendship report to give to Princess Celestia, so she tried to make a friendship problem to solve!” Pinkie explained cheerfully. “Except everypony was just fine that day, so she got more and more desperate and eventually accidentally hypnotised half the town into wanting her raggedy old Smarty Pants doll more than anything else in the whole wide world! Then Celestia had to come and sort the whole thing out!”

Surprise looked at Pinkie in horror. “She... did that?” she said uncertainly.

“Yep! She’s basically the most powerful unicorn in the whole world!”

“Ah...” Surprise peeked through the door again at the chaotic scene. “Um, no offence, Pinkie, but could we come back at a less... crazy time?”

“Aw... I really wanted to introduce you.” Her blue eyes swiveled to the side, seeing Twilight accidentally sweep the ladder to the floor, burying Spike beneath an avalanche of books.

“I’m okay! I think,” the dragon called out, as Twilight seized up the books, apologising.

“Yeah... maybe you’re right. She’s a little stressed.” Pinkie quietly closed the door. A regretful look crossed her face. “I guess we’re going to need to do a bit of backtracking later.”

“Why’s that a bad thing? I get to spend more time with you!” Surprise said happily, hugging the earth pony.

“Great! And don’t you worry! My next friend will be much less stressed out and crazy!”

“Ooh! Fancy!” Surprise’s eyes lit up as she saw the heavily stylised architecture of the Carousel Boutique. “Wow! You really have some amazing buildings down in Ponyville, Pinkie.”

Pinkie turned back to the pegasus. “But... you come from a city made of clouds! With liquid rainbows!”

Surprise flapped her hoof in a dismissive gesture. “Pfft. Exactly. All clouds, all the time. Only so much you can do with them. Earth ponies have it way better for buildings.”

Pinkie nodded. “I guess so. Anyway! This is the Carousel Boutique, and my friend Rarity lives here. She’s a dressmaker!” She rolled her eyes upward in thought. “Oh, um, if she suddenly starts saying ‘Oh my! What grace!’ or something like that, and starts dressing you up, just submit and accept it. It’ll all be over soon enough!”

“Wait, what—” Loud knocking on the boutique’s door cut Surprise off.

“Hey, Rarity!” Pinkie called.

“What? Oh, um, give me a moment, please!” came a muffled cry from inside. “Actually, several moments!”

Pinkie looked at Surprise, who shrugged in response. “Busy as well?” the pegasus asked.

“Well, Rarity makes her dresses in the front room, and it sounds like she’s upstairs...” Pinkie said thoughtfully. “She must be up to something else!”

“Let’s see...” Surprise flapped her wings, flying up to the second storey.

Pinkie’s eyes widened as she looked up. “Wait, Surprise! Don’t look through the windows, that’s super rude!”

“Okay, fine... I’ll just look at the carvings,” the white mare said, pointing at the building.

“Oh! Okay, then.” Pinkie figured there was no harm in indulging her special somepony a closer look at the boutique. Surprise flew around the top spire of the building, cooing in delight at intervals.

After a minute, the door opened to show a flustered Rarity, her usually pristine mane tangled up and full of bows, ribbons and gems. A comb was also hanging from the indigo strands, caught in a particularly bad snarl. Behind her stood a beaming Sweetie Belle, with her own curly two-tone mane in a similar state of disarray. “Ah! Hello, Pinkie Pie!” Rarity said.

“Hi, Rarity! And Sweetie Belle!” Pinkie replied. “How are you?”

“Just great!” Sweetie exclaimed. “I was just trying my hoof at mane styling again with Rarity! I was trying to go for a Crystal Empire style, like in one of her magazines. What do you think?” she asked, pointing at the disaster zone atop the older unicorn’s head.

“Well...” Pinkie gazed intently at Rarity’s mane. She grimaced and flicked her blue eyes frantically toward Sweetie. “It looks great! You’ve totally put a new twist on it!”

Sweetie Belle giggled and bounced up and down. “I knew it!” A sudden, astonished look appeared on her face. “Wait, can you smell something? Maybe I should go check on the salad we were making...” The filly dashed off into the Boutique.

“Oh, the sacrifices I make for a little sisterly bonding,” Rarity said, her tone cheerful, but exhausted. “So, what brings you here, Pinkie?” She gave a reproachful glance to the ‘Closed’ sign on the door.

“I came to introduce you to my special somepony!”

Rarity’s eyes sprang wide open, and she jumped backwards. “Introduce me? Like this?!” She pushed a forehoof through her mane, scattering a few gems upon the floor. “No no no! Pinkie, I beg you, don’t do this to me!”

“I’m sure she won’t mind...” Pinkie said, crossing one foreleg over the other.

“Well, I’d have to clean up my mane, but that should be the work of a moment, I suppose.” Rarity’s eyes lit up. “So, the date was a success, then?”

“Yepperoony! We hit it off really well! I wanted you to meet her!” Pinkie craned her head upward and called, “Surprise!” The pegasus poked her head out from around the spire of the building, with an expectant expression on her face. She began to fly down from the roof.

“Uh... hi,” Surprise said, landing just behind Pinkie. Her greeting was lost as a sudden commotion caused Rarity’s head to whip around.

“Rarityyy! We have a problem!” cried Sweetie Belle. Thick black smoke was beginning to pour through the doorway.

“How in Celestia’s name did she burn a salad?!” Rarity cried. She began to trot briskly toward the kitchen, saying, “Pinkie, I do appreciate this, but could you possibly come back later?”

Pinkie nodded reluctantly. “Um... sure!” she called after the fleeing unicorn.

“Thank you!” Rarity flicked her head back to the pair. “So sorry I’m busy right now, you two!” She closed the door telekinetically, and the sound of thrumming hoofsteps came from inside as she dashed to fix her sister’s latest culinary disaster.

Pinkie’s shoulders drooped slightly, and she let out a small sigh. A white hoof rubbed across her back. “Did she have a bit too much on her plate, too?” Surprise asked.

“Yeah... something like that,” Pinkie said. Her head jerked back as a crash and a wail came from inside, along with a few wisps of smoke from an open window. She turned back to her special somepony. “I’m sorry, Surprise! I didn’t realise my friends would be so busy today... Normally, they’re kinda open to me just turning up!”

Surprise wrapped her forelegs around Pinkie’s neck. “Really, Pinkie, you don’t have to insist on doing this today. I mean, if your friends are busy, then why don’t we spend some time together, instead? Meet up with them another day?”

Pinkie shook her head. “C’mon! I can introduce you to at least one friend today, can’t I?”

Surprise frowned. “I guess... Just so long as we’re not distracting them too much. I hate being a bother; I learned the hard way not to disturb ponies who don’t want disturbing.”

Pinkie giggled. “Don’t you worry! I’m gonna take you to Applejack next; she’s always happy to see visitors!”

A little while later, the pair stood at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, staring out onto the sea of green leaves before them. Surprise’s eyes were as wide as dishes as she looked around.

“Whoa... How far does this go on for?” she asked breathlessly.

“Well, pretty much as far as the eye can see aaaaall across here...” Pinkie swept her forehoof in an arc in front of her. “But you must’ve seen all this from up above, right?”

Surprise scrubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “Kinda. I mean, sure, you can see the farms and the forests from the clouds. But when you spend all your time up there, it’s easy to forget this is more than just green fuzz. Most fresh fruit and vegetables are delicacies up in Cloudsdale, apart from the few adapted to grow in clouds.” She gestured to one of the apple trees. “Can I, um...” She hopped from hoof to hoof, inching herself forward, gaze fixed on the trees.

“Wait, Surprise, don’t take an apple, they’re—”

With a mirthful giggle, the white mare dashed past Pinkie and leapt up, flying to the nearest tree and landing amongst the branches with a happy squeal. Perching on a woody limb, Surprise nuzzled the leaves and sniffed at the apples in the boughs.

The pink pony walked up to the tree and laughed. “What are you doing, you silly filly?”

“Just... experiencing it! I’m sorry, it’s just that apples are my favourite fruit, and you usually can’t find them anywhere back home. At least not for the money I have,” Surprise explained. She looked hungrily at one of the round red fruits. “Could I...”

“Surprise! No! These apples belong to the Apple family—you need to ask one of them first!” Pinkie said, frantically waving a hoof.

The pegasus shrank back slightly. “Oh, yeah... sorry. So, wanna go looking for your friend?”

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Pinkie turned around and began to walk away. As she did so, she heard a loud crunch behind her. Her head whipped around to see Surprise still perched in the tree, her cheeks bulging, juice running down her cheeks, and a shiny red apple clutching in her forehoof, a large lump missing out of it.

“Surprise!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“M’m s’rry...” The pegasus swallowed her mouthful. “I’m sorry, it just looked so amazing and smelled so delicious and I hadn’t had an apple in so long and—”

“It’s fine, I’ll just owe Applejack a cookie next time she’s in town,” Pinkie said with a shrug. “Just don’t do it again, okay? It’s not fair to keep eating their crop!”

“Sure.” Surprise flapped along behind her, munching on her filched apple. “So, where is everypony?”

Pinkie bounced along the path. “Applejack and Big Mac—he’s her big brother—are probably out applebucking, but Granny Smith should be around and know where they are.”

Even as they walked the winding path to the farmhouse, Pinkie could sense the distance growing between her and Surprise, the pegasus hanging back to check out more of the apple trees.

Contrary to Pinkie’s statement, they found the oldest Apple sibling before reaching the house. Big Mac was pulling a large cart full of cut timber, thatch, nails and tools. Despite the apparent weight of the cargo, the red stallion pulled the vehicle without visible strain.

“Hey, Big Mac!” Pinkie said, bouncing up to him and smiling. “How ya doing?”

“Just fine, Pinkie Pie,” he grunted. “What brings you to the Acres?”

“Oh! I have a special somepony now, and I was showing her ‘round the town and introducing her to my friends!” Pinkie replied.

“Ah, your ‘special somepony’, huh?” Big Mac nodded in appreciation. “Where is she, then?”

“Uh...” Pinkie cast her eyes about the trees behind her. She couldn’t see the white pegasus for a moment, before one of the apple trees rustled, and Surprise poked her head out. Another, green apple was clutched in her hooves, a big bite taken out of it. Her purple eyes went wide as she realised that Pinkie was glaring at the stolen fruit. “She’s a pegasus, so she’s kinda never seen a farm like this before. She’s, um, checking it out!” Pinkie said quickly.

“Ah! Well, that’s good to hear.” The short sentence carried a good deal of sincerity, causing Pinkie to smile slightly. Worried Big Mac was going to turn around and see Surprise’s theft, she whipped her head around and made throat-cutting motions with her hoof. The pegasus waved a hoof dismissively and shrugged. When Pinkie shook her head vehemently, Surprise frowned and rolled her eyes. She dropped the apple and ducked into the tree just as the stallion turned his head to see what was going on. “Somethin’ the matter?”

“Nope! Nothing! Just waving to her!” Pinkie said desperately.

“Really? Ah don’t see her...” he said uncertainly.

“She’s, um, really getting back to nature!” Pinkie exclaimed. She couldn’t let him know about the apples! She didn’t want anypony to hate Surprise; maybe she could just slip Applebloom a few free cupcakes... Pinkie realised she was standing still, and scampered back to the side of the cart. “S-so, where is Applejack, anyway?”

“‘S what the supplies are for,” Big Mac said, nodding his head back to the cart. “We’re fixin’ a hole in the barn, ready for the big Apple Family Reunion next week. Mighty busy with the preparations.”

“Oh! Okay! Well, I’ll just go and get Surprise, and I guess we—”

“Ah’m sorry, Pinkie Pie, but we’re up t’ the eyeballs in work... Ah mean, we certainly don’t begrudge you droppin’ by, but Ah doubt yer gonna get more th’n a ‘Hello’ outta AJ,” the stallion said.

“Well, well... I could help!” Pinkie piped up. “Maybe we could—”

“Pretty back-breakin’ work, Pinkie Pie,” Big Mac said with a rare smile. “And really, we got ev’rything on schedule. Ah’d rather have it done slow and proper, rather than rush it and have the barn come down in t’ middle of t’ reunion.” He nodded to himself, chewing upon his straw.

“Awww... but I wanna help out you and AJ, and introduce you to Surprise!” Pinkie pleaded.

“Spend some time with yer love, Pinkie. We’ll do alright.” Pinkie sat down, startled at the gentle rejection of her help and company. She opened her mouth to respond as the cart trundled away, when a pair of white forelegs wrapped around her torso, and a pair of lips nuzzled her neck. Big Mac looked back at the pair, giving them a nod and a smile.

“He’s right. C’mon, we’re not gonna spend the whole day working on a barn!” Surprise said.

Pinkie turned her head back to make eye contact. “You stole how many apples?!” she whispered. “You don’t wanna give something back?”

“Um... four?” Surprise said. “I’m sorry! I just couldn’t resist! I can repay them, right?”

“Sure...” Pinkie sighed, pulled herself out of the hug, and turned around. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Pinkie, you weren’t serious about the working on our date, were you? You know I don’t like disturbing ponies when they’re happy left to themselves,” Surprise said reproachfully.

“I just thought you’d like Applejack if you met her,” Pinkie explained. She looked at the apple juice staining the fur around Surprise’s mouth and forehooves. “You liked her apples enough!” she said with a small giggle.

Surprise flinched back slightly, looking hurt. “I thought you said not to worry about it!”

“Oh, I meant it as a...” Pinkie realised her jape had gone awry, and swiftly abandoned it. “Never mind. I’m sure Fluttershy will be happy to see us.”

“Can we just...not?” Surprise asked awkwardly. “Not today? I’m getting a little worn out, going from place to place, then it turns out we can’t see your friends anyway. I mean... the last two dates were so much fun, because I was with you, and only you. Can’t we just make the most of today?”

Pinkie looked contemplative. “Really? Is that what you think? Didn’t you have fun coming here, or looking at Rarity’s boutique?”

“Well...”

“Just one more friend? I promise Fluttershy will be in a better mood than at the market. She’s always so nice. J-just a cup of tea, then we can go away together?” Pinkie pleaded.

Surprise gave her a little apple-scented kiss on the cheek. “Okay, Miss Persuadey-Pants. One more. Lead the way!”

The pair of ponies bounced along the path leading from Sweet Apple Acres to the edge of the Everfree Forest, a shortcut to Fluttershy’s cottage. Even in the middle of the afternoon, the sunlight barely penetrated the gloom of the forest, giving the thoroughfare a dark, ominous backdrop. Pinkie could see her special somepony giving the wooded area a nervous glance every time the wind caused the leaves to rustle, or a denizen of the forest gave a cry.

“Something the matter?” Pinkie asked cheerfully.

“This place just feels a bit... wrong,” Surprise said. “It’s like it’s threatening us.” She peered up into the sky. “Also, the clouds are all messed up over the forest.”

“Oh, come on! You’ve heard all the stories about the Everfree Forest, haven’t you?”

“Doesn’t mean they were completely believeable,” the pegasus said uncertainly.

“Well, there are timberwolves and cockatrices and manticores in there, not to mention the old castle where Nightmare Moon used to live...” Pinkie stopped as Surprise squeaked.

The pegasus wrapped her forelegs around Pinkie, placing her between the forest and herself. “And you’re crazy enough to build a town right next to it?!”

Pinkie giggled, giving Surprise a reassuring nuzzle and removing her from the tight hug. “It’s okay, you silly filly! All those things stay inside the forest, anyway!” She looked up thoughtfully. “Well, most of the time, anyway.”

“If you say so...” Surprise looked unconvinced. “I think I’m starting to remember why I live up in the clouds.”

“Awwww, c’mon! You liked Sweet Apple Acres, didn’t you?” Pinkie asked. “It’s pretty much the same thing!”

“Except the out-of-control weather, the dangerous creatures, the kooky plants, the whole place running without anypony to control it, and the fact there’s no apples there,” the pegasus deadpanned. “Why does one of your friends live so near here, anyway?”

“Well, Fluttershy takes care of a lot of animals, so she can’t really live in the centre of town. When we bumped into her at the market, she was probably buying all the supplies she needed. she just prefers being out in the wild!” Pinkie waved a hoof at the overgrown forest.

“I hope she’s a bit more cheerful than at the market.” Surprise looked a little remorseful. “I mean, if Fluttershy’s the one friend of yours I do meet today, I’d rather not cause another falling out.”

“Oh, she’ll be just fine! Just... don’t be too loud, okay? She’s really shy, and if you startle her, she gets scared and won’t talk,” Pinkie said, grimacing slightly.

“You shouldn’t startle her? But Pinkie, aren’t you bringing a big Surprise to her door?”

The earth pony looked up at Surprise, who was grinning and biting her lip. She sniggered, and then both mares burst out laughing. “Oh, that was awful!” Pinkie was still giggling, wiping tears of laughter out of her eyes.

“Admit it, you’d never be able to come up with a pun that bad, that fast!” Surprise was smiling widely, all traces of anxiety gone. She hopped up and began hovering, floating over to plant a sweet little kiss upon Pinkie’s cheek. “Now come on. Let’s get going before we end up getting eaten up by a timberwolf or something.”

Pinkie grabbed Surprise’s forehoof and bounced along on three legs, tugging the pegasus like a living balloon.

Surprise piped up, “Hey, Pinkie, what kind of animals does Fluttershy take care of? Are they all, like, her pets or something?”

“No, not exactly... I mean, her cutie mark talent is caring for animals, and I swear Fluttershy can talk to the animals, sort of, but most critters just rely on her for food and care. They come and go. Except—” Pinkie looked about furtively. “Angel.”

Surprise raised her eyebrows. “What’s so bad about Angel?” she asked. “And what is he, for that matter? A snake?”

“No, he’s a bunny, but he’s completely evil!” Pinkie waved her forehooves above her head. “He hurts her and is mean to her and she takes care of everything for him! He’s such an ungrateful little... ugh...”

“Riiight...” The pegasus rolled her eyes. “Evil bunny.” They carried on down the path, until Fluttershy’s cottage came into view. Surprise was stopped as her foreleg tugged against Pinkie’s. The earth pony had stopped stock still. “Uh, Pinkie?”

“Shhh!”

“Pinkie, is something the matter?” Surprise asked anxiously. “It’s not a timberwolf or something, is it?”

“No, look there!” She pointed forward. On the path in front of them stood Angel, an angry look on his face and a carrot in his paws, held like a Royal Guard would hold a spear.

Surprise rolled her eyes. “What, behind the rabbit?” She flew up a little higher, theatrically craning her head to see.

“It is the rabbit!” Pinkie hissed.

There was a pregnant pause as Surprise puffed out her cheeks, before she burst out laughing. Once she’d calmed down, she said, in a voice heavy with sarcasm, “You silly filly! You got me all worked up!”

“That’s no ordinary rabbit! That’s the most foul, cruel and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!” Pinkie insisted. “That’s... Angel.”

“Oh come on, I’m sure he’s harmless.” As Surprise spoke, Angel pointed his carrot at her, waving it like a sword and squeaking angrily. He began thumping his foot against the ground, and then used the carrot to draw a line in the dirt.

“Look! He’s not gonna let us by!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Surprise gave her marefriend a withering glance through half-lidded eyes. “Pinkie, it’s a rabbit. What’s the worst he can do? Poke us with the carrot?” She sighed. “C’mon, you insisted on bringing me to your friends, and we’re zero for three so far. You’re not gonna let one critter make that four, are you?”

Pinkie ground her hoof in the dirt awkwardly. “Well, I guess not...” She took a couple of steps forward, and got a carrot bouncing off her nose for her trouble. “Ow! See?”

“Ah, he must be grumpy.” A glint appeared in Surprise’s eyes, and she let go of Pinkie to spread her forelegs wide. “C’mon, do you need a hug? You look like you need a hug,” she said to Angel.

He took a step back, adopting a defensive stance. As the pegasus came closer, his aggressive expression turned to one of fear. Just before Surprise swept him up, Angel squealed and fled, scampering back to the cottage. “Eh, all bark and no bite,” she said dismissively. “Or whatever the rabbit equivalent is.” She turned back to Pinkie, smiling. “Coming?”

Pinkie blinked a couple of times, before following Surprise across the little bridge in front of the cottage. Normally, Fluttershy’s house was a place of tranquility and peace, but today, the various sounds of the creatures seemed foreboding to the earth pony, not calming. She wondered how welcoming they would be after scaring off Fluttershy’s beloved rabbit.

Pinkie knocked upon the wooden door, with Surprise hovering not far behind. The door opened an inch, and a single cyan eye looked out through the crack. “Hey, Fluttershy!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Pinkie.” Fluttershy’s tone was neutral. “What brings you here?”

“W-well...” The coolness of her friend’s voice threw Pinkie off-kilter. “I just thought you might want to meet my new special somepony! You know, the one I was showing around the market the other day?”

“Oh, I see.” Fluttershy looked behind her at the various animals in the cottage. “Well, I’m very, um, flattered you brought her here, Pinkie, but I’m really rather busy right now and—”

“But you’d be fine with a break, right?” Pinkie’s voice carried a hint of desperation, and she shifted a hoof to stop Fluttershy shutting the door. “Maybe just a cup of tea?”

“That’s... not really possible right now.” Fluttershy gazed down to where Angel was clinging to her rear hoof. “Also, something spooked Angel. The poor dear’s terrified! You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“I... I... he was trying to stop us! And Surprise just tried to hug him, and he got scared and ran away!” Pinkie protested. She looked down, unsure what to say.

“Oh, Pinkie, you didn’t! Your special somepony scared him!” The pegasus gathered up Angel with her forelegs. “Pinkie, now’s really not a good time.”

“No!” The exclamation caused Fluttershy to squeak and jump backward, her wings unfurling. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” Pinkie reached her forehoof through the door to the retreating pegasus. “It’s just that I’ve tried showing Surprise to Twilight and Rarity and Applejack and they’ve all been too busy and I didn’t want to waste her entire day if she hasn’t met any of my friends and... and...”

Fluttershy stared at the pink forehoof reaching through the door. “Pinkie, please don’t shout like that again,” she said reproachfully. “I understand you haven’t had much luck meeting the others today, but that doesn’t mean I can just drop everything.” She let out a remorseful sigh. “Look, I’m sorry I can’t do today either, but there’s a lot of animals that need my help right now.”

“But I...” Pinkie’s mouth drooped downward.

Fluttershy carefully pushed Pinkie’s forehoof back through the doorway. “L-look, you could try Rainbow Dash, couldn’t you?”

“Rainbow Dash? But she... I... we’re... that’s...” Pinkie suddenly had a brainwave. She was over Dashie, right? And what better way to show that than showing off that she had a marefriend now? She could make sure Dashie was clear they were just friends, Pinkie would no longer look like a lonely, mopey-dopey pony, and Surprise would get to meet the pegasus who made the Sonic Rainboom! Everypony wins! “That’s a great idea! Thanks, Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy smiled timidly. “Um... no problem, Pinkie. You have fun, now.” She moved to close the door.

“Wait! Fluttershy! When are you free to meet Surprise?” Pinkie suddenly exclaimed.

“Well... how about a week’s time? I-I mean, you should probably see how things go... it’s going to be a bit unpredictable...” She blushed and hid behind her mane.

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie bounced away as the door closed.

“Well, that was a bust,” Surprise said morosely, landing beside her. “Another busy friend, huh?”

“Yeah...” Pinkie caught Surprise’s eye, but the pegasus looked away. “But, y’know, we could try—”

“No.” The force of the statement made Pinkie flinch. “You said one more friend, we tried one more friend, and she couldn’t see us.” Surprise huffed, and ground her hoof into the dirt. “Why are you so desperate for everypony to see me today?”

“I... I was just excited to show you to them,” Pinkie said uncertainly. “They’re my friends, Surprise! They’re the most important ponies in my life, and, well... I wanted them to get to be your friends too. I mean, if we are going to b-be special someponies...” She began to blush.

“Yeah, I get that, Pinkie. But it isn’t the end of the world if I don’t see them today, is it?” Surprise said with a sigh. “I mean, I did ask you not to parade me around like I was in a fashion show, but I can’t help but feel that’s exactly what you’re doing.”

Pinkie’s shoulders slumped, and she gave Surprise a hug. “I’m not! I’m really, really not! Please, Surprise, I didn’t mean to hurt you!”

Surprise returned the hug, and nuzzled Pinkie gently. “I never thought you did mean to hurt me. And I’ll admit, it’s been fun seeing more of the town, and being around you.” She broke away and stared into Pinkie’s eyes. “It’s just... I don’t know if you feel the same way about me now. Like you prefer being seen with me than actually, y’know, being with me.”

“T-that’s not true, Surprise! Don’t say that!” Pinkie blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears of hurt prickling at her eyes. “I was going to show you to my friends because I wanted them to know I really like you, because they’re special to me too.” Her head drooped. “Don’t make me choose between you and them.”

She let out a startled snort as Surprise took her forehooves up and clutched them against her chest. She looked up into the purple eyes again. “Pinkie... There’s nothing I would hate more than to make you have to choose between me and your friends,” Surprise said with a small smile. “I was just afraid you were losing sight of what was important.” She leaned in, and gave Pinkie a little kiss upon the lips. “I just want to make this work.”

“Me too!” Pinkie smiled again. “Do you wanna do something else today? I mean... if I’m making you mad, maybe you should tell me what to do.”

“Oh, don’t be like that, Pinkie! I didn’t mean you’re not allowed to suggest anything!” Surprise shook her head, smiling morosely. “I think I’m being a bit unfair here, too,” she said quietly.

Pinkie’s eyes lit up, and she smiled. “S-so, one more friend?” As the purple eyes flashed slightly, Pinkie began to talk faster. “She’s the last one, I promise, and you’ll love her, it’s Rainbow Dash!” Surprise bit her lip. “I mean, you said a-about the whole Sonic Rainboom thing, and she’s really special to me and... and... well, she’s usually in the park anyway about now, and if she’s not there, we can just play in the park, and how about it?” She let out a short gasp as she finished her tsunami of words, looking at Surprise expectantly.

“I... I guess? I mean, ‘last friend’, huh?” Surprise’s mouth twitched downward. “I dunno, Pinkie...”

“Pleeease?” Pinkie leaned toward her, but Surprise backed away slightly. “I promise, I promise, I promise, if this doesn’t work out, I won’t do it ever again!”

Surprise looked at her with a frown. “Pinkie...”

“You said you wouldn’t make me choose!”

The pegasus blinked a couple of times, and then stared at her coolly. “You’re seriously gonna pull that on me?”

Pinkie nodded, a confused frown upon her face. “Well, yeah, silly! I mean, you wouldn’t say that if you didn’t mean it, would you?” She squeezed on Surprise’s forehooves. “C-can’t you see? There’s nothing more important to me than friends, I’ve kept telling you that!”

Surprise opened her mouth, before closing it again, and shook her head. “I don’t doubt that, Pinkie... But how important am I?” Before Pinkie could reply, Surprise let go of the pink forehooves, and hovered in the air, flapping the very tips of her wings. She turned her head back to look at Pinkie. “C’mon, then. Let’s go.”

Pinkie hopped along behind Surprise, uncertainty and fear roiling in her stomach. “L-look, I didn’t mean to force you into doing this!” The pegasus stopped again. “I guess you’re not feeling so super-duper special right now... I’m sorry, I don’t know how having a special somepony is really meant to work. I thought your special somepony was your friend as well, and I know I’ve messed up trying to make new friends before, and...” She sat down, and sighed wretchedly.

“Pinkie.” Surprise was hovering in front of her. “You are my friend as well. And I think we both understand one another now. I’m not mad at you.” She gave a weak smile. “Let’s just go to the park, and what happens, happens, okay?” She reached out with a hoof.

Pinkie smiled, and held the proffered hoof. “Okie dokie lokie!” she said happily. The pair moved off again down the path. Whatever happens, happens. She liked the sound of that. Because with her special somepony, nothing bad could happen at all.

Shattered

More Than She Could Dream Of

Chapter 5

Shattered

Pinkie kept her eye on the sky as she neared the park. She was slightly anxious as to how their meeting with Rainbow would go—if they met her at all. Given her luck with her other friends that day, she didn’t hold high hopes that Dash would be anywhere near the park.

Still, if they did meet her, Pinkie wanted to make sure it was amiable. The last thing she wanted was for Rainbow to think that showing off Surprise was intended to hurt her. Her mind whirled with what she might say to her friend.

“Well, here we are,” Surprise said, breaking Pinkie out of her pondering. The cloud home was just ahead. The pegasus turned to her marefriend. “Hey, I’m sorry if I was a bit of a pain back there. I guess I can get pretty grumpy too.” She hugged Pinkie briefly.

“It’s okay! I knew you weren’t trying to be nasty!” Pinkie reassured her. In the distance, she saw a cyan shape upon a cloud, with a tiny rainbow curled next to it. There was only one pony that could be. “Hey, look! Rainbow Dash is here!” she exclaimed.

Surprise turned and peered into the distance. “Oh yeah,” she said. She scuffed at the ground with a hoof. “Uh... Pinkie, I was gonna get a couple of things out of my house. Party things, you know? D’you wanna go and see if she wants to talk?”

“...Sure!” Pinkie said. “I’ll be right back!” Surprise fluttered up to her home, and Pinkie bounced away toward the cloud in the distance. As she closed in, she looked up at the fluffy mass. “Hey, Rainbow Dash!”

“Huh?” Rainbow poked her head over the side of the cloud. “Oh, hey Pinkie! What’s up?”

“A lot of things are up! Like the clouds, or the sky, or...”

Dash rubbed the side of her head. “I meant ‘how are you?’” she said with a half-grin. “How did your date go the other day?”

“Really well!” Pinkie said with a gasp. “We liked each other loads! And then we went out for another date the day after, and one today! You should really meet Surprise!”

Rainbow frowned suddenly. “‘Surprise’? Wait, wait, wait, what does this pony look like, Pinkie?”

“She’s a pegasus! She’s white and has a mane just like mine—except it’s yellow—and a cutie mark like mine, too!” Pinkie exclaimed. The corners of her mouth drooped slightly at Dash’s startled expression. “Why? What’s the matter?”

Rainbow scratched the back of her head. “I... used to know a pony just like that in Flight School.”

“You did?! Were you best buddies or something?” Pinkie asked excitedly.

“Eh, no. She was just an acquaintance,” Dash replied slowly. “But... she used to be a bit of a prankster. And not like you or me. She was kind of a troublemaker, always using some magical trick or another. She wasn’t an especially nice pony back then.”

Pinkie’s head shot back, and her eyes went wide. “She is too a nice pony!”

Rainbow shrugged. “I’m not saying she’s not now. I mean, if I met myself at the age I was at Flight School now, I’d probably hate her,” she said with a faint smile. “Ponies change over time. I’m just telling you what I know. She just up and vanished from Flight School one day; I’d be interested to see where she’s been all these years. The story was she got expelled, but a couple of ponies said that one of her magic pranks had gone really wrong for her somehow.”

Pinkie gasped. “You wanna see where she’s been? Well, today’s your lucky day!”

Dash’s jaw dropped. She clenched her eyes shut, and opened them again. “You’re going to introduce her to me?”

The earth pony took a step back. “W-well, yeah, I mean, I’ve shown her to everypony else today! At least, I tried. Would you believe that Twilight and Rarity and Applejack and Fluttershy were all busy when we went to them? And that Fluttershy was too busy to stop and talk to her in the market the other day? Worst luck ever, right?” She let out a nervous giggle.

“Uh huh.”

“At least you’re around, right?” Pinkie asked.

“Yeah...” Rainbow twisted her mouth. “Pinkie, how long have you been seeing this pony?”

“Well, we went out on our first date ooon... Friday!” Pinkie said.

“And it’s Monday,” Rainbow deadpanned.

Pinkie tilted her head to one side and frowned. “Uh... so? I know my days of the week too!”

“Ugh...” Rainbow jumped down from the cloud, landing in front of her. “Pinkie, you’ve been ‘dating’ her for all of four days! And you’re already introducing her to the others?”

“Well, yeah, they’re my friends! Why wouldn’t I want them to know her?” Pinkie said slowly.

Dash took a deep breath, and let it out in a short sigh. “Pinkie, you don’t really know much about relationships, do you?” Pinkie flinched. “I don’t mean it in a nasty way, just... not much in the way of experience, huh?”

“Well, no, but I know plenty about being friends with somepony, and I figured I could just make up the rest as I went along! I mean, your special somepony is your friend, you just smooch them a lot too, right?” A shake of the head from Dash gave her her answer. “Well, what do you mean?”

Rainbow frowned. “Um... look, no offense, Pinkie, but I’m probably the worst pony right now to give you relationship advice.”

Pinkie paused and shrugged, motioning for Rainbow to continue.

Rainbow sighed. “Look, Pinkie, it’s way too soon to be doing this,” she explained. “It’s really early days. You should be spending the time getting to know Surprise and deciding if you really are right for one another.”

Pinkie giggled. “Oh Dashie, you silly filly! We already told each other we want to be special somep—” She frowned suddenly. “Wait, how do you know all this? I thought you said you were the worst pony to give me advice right now!”

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. “Let’s just say I made that same mistake in the past.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, what I’m saying is, ‘special somepony’ doesn’t mean too much when you’ve only known that pony for a few days.”

“Y-you don’t think that this is going to work out?” Pinkie asked quietly. She bit her lip nervously, frowning.

“I’m not saying it won’t, just that you don’t start up a relationship that quickly. It’s some advice, that’s all. Take it slow! Don’t overwhelm her with affection. We can get to meet her once you two are good and ready.” Rainbow smiled slightly.

Pinkie thought back to Surprise’s reluctance to meet her friends. Was that why? Had she been forcing something on her special somepony without even realising it? “I thought I learned my lesson with Cranky Doodle...” She sighed.

Rainbow put a comforting hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “Hey, look, relationships can be hard. Nopony’s expecting you to know exactly what to do.”

“But... why are there all these rules? And why do I have to lie and tell Surprise that I don’t feel she’s super special until later if I think she’s super special right now?” Pinkie stared at the ground. “I don’t get it! Surprise might hate me just because I said something too soon?”

“No, Pinkie. Just... try to understand, this isn’t gonna be like you making friends. It’ll take a long time, and a bit of work, but it’ll all be worth it in the end.”

“‘Time’? ‘A lot of work’?” Pinkie felt her shoulders slump. “Nopony ever said anything about that! I thought the hardest part was asking them if they felt the same way about you! But that’s just the beginning?”

“Well, yeah, but actually having a marefriend more than makes up for it.” Dash’s eyes widened. “Wait, Pinkie, why are you dating Surprise, if thinking about settling down with her is making you sad?”

“She makes me happy!” Pinkie replied.

“And why does she make you happy?” Rainbow asked. Pinkie merely tilted her head. “I mean, is it because you like her, or is it the fact you can say that you have a marefriend now?”

Surprise’s words from earlier rang out in Pinkie’s head. ‘I don’t know if you feel the same way about me now. Like you prefer being seen with me than actually, y’know, being with me.’ “N-no! T-that’s not it at all! Honest!” Her eyes began to well up. “I like her! I do! I-it’s not just because I have a marefriend!”

Rainbow’s eyes flickered downward, and the hoof slid of off her friend’s shoulder. “Pinkie...”

“Y-you’re just jealous, aren’t you? You turned me down, and now some other pony’s dating me, and you don’t like that, do you?” Pinkie said, grinding her hoof in the dirt.

“Is that what this is about? It was all meant to make me feel jealous?” Rainbow asked incredulously. “Do you want me to feel jealous?”

Pinkie remained silent for a moment, before replying, “W-well, no, I didn’t... I mean, you’re my friend, but... but...” She gulped and looked up at Dash wretchedly. “M-maybe there’s a part of me that likes sh-showing off that I have a special somepony...”

Dash rolled her eyes upward in thought, letting out a deep sigh. “Pinkie, maybe... maybe you should tell Surprise about this. I mean, if you’re just dating her for the sake of having a special somepony, it’s not fair on her, is it?”

Pinkie clenched her eyes shut, her head drooping. “But... I thought having a marefriend would make me happy.” She sniffed. “I thought I was happy, until now.”

Rainbow once again placed a foreleg around Pinkie’s shoulders. “Hey, c’mon, this isn’t the Pinkie I know.” She bit her lip. “I’m not saying a marefriend can’t make you happy, and I’m not saying you and Surprise can’t be together. It’s just bad luck that you met her so soon after asking me.”

Pinkie nuzzled Rainbow lightly, and wrapped her own foreleg around the pegasus. “I know... I guess I still have feelings for you. I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“Pinkie, you don’t have to be sorry, just... content with yourself. That’s the most important thing.” Rainbow broke away from the hug to make eye contact. “You shouldn’t use your marefriend to make you happy about yourself.”

Pinkie shook her head. “What? So, she should make me feel sad or something?”

“Uh, no. Bad wording. Um...” Dash paused a moment. “I dunno. Imagine if you thought it was more important to have lots of friends, rather than who those friends were. The ponies you called your ‘friends’ would just think they were making up numbers, right? They wouldn’t feel that special, would they?”

“Oh! Uh... I guess not...” Pinkie admitted.

“Same thing here. You shouldn’t date somepony just so you can say ‘I have a marefriend’.” Rainbow placed a hoof on each of Pinkie’s shoulders. “So, go on back to Surprise. And talk it out with her.” She grimaced slightly. “Look, I can’t guarantee she’ll take it well. I know it sucks, but like I said, relationships are hard. If you need to talk, I’ll be around for you, ‘kay?” She jumped up, hovering just above the ground.

“Uh... um, sure! I’ll do that! But don’t worry, we’ll make it work! I know we will!” Pinkie scampered off before Dash could say anything else. She didn’t want to hear any more ‘advice’.

“Surprise?” Pinkie paced about nervously beneath her marefriend’s cloud. “Um, Rainbow Dash is busy, so it’s just us, now! That’s good, huh?” She frowned, a pang of anxiety running through her at the lack of response. “Surprise?”

There was a thump behind her, and Pinkie turned around. Surprise had a look of thunder upon her face, purple eyes flashing with anger. Pinkie shuddered at the sight, and the pegasus let out a snort. “‘Busy’, huh?” Surprise growled.

“Y-yeah...” Pinkie took a step back, trembling at the simmering animosity in Surprise. “Um, Surprise, what’s the matter? Y-you’re scaring me...”

“I was wondering what was taking you so long. So, I followed along, and caught you two together.” The pegasus took a step toward Pinkie. “Rainbow Dash isn’t just a friend, is she?”

“What? Of course she is!” Pinkie’s eyes were wide, and she was shaking slightly. What had gotten into Surprise?

“You were hugging her! You said you still had feelings for her!” Surprise raised a hoof angrily. “What the hay, Pinkie?! I thought you said I was your special somepony?”

“You are, Surprise! Rainbow is just a friend!” Pinkie sat upon her haunches, raising her own forehooves in a pacifying gesture.

Surprise frowned, and swished her tail. “Then why did you say that?”

“W-well...” Pinkie rubbed the back of her head. “I asked R-Rainbow if she wanted to be my special somepony, and she said no, that’s all. And then I met you.”

“Hang on. When was this?” Surprise’s expression had softened a little.

“L-last week... the day before I met you...” Pinkie’s heart sank as tears welled up in Surprise’s eyes.

“T-the day a-after?” Surprise stammered out. “P-Pinkie, I thought you really cared... H-how could you?”

“How could I what?” Pinkie asked, aghast. She felt a horrible knot build within her stomach.

“I-I’m just a rebound, aren’t I?” Surprise whispered. “You were feeling lonely, so you jumped on the first pony who would take you, didn’t you?”

Pinkie shook her head rapidly and moved forward, trying to hug Surprise. The pegasus shied away from her, tears streaming down her face. “Surprise, it’s not true! It’s not! I didn’t want to lose my chance with you, so I asked you out on a date! That’s all!”

“P-Pinkie, you didn’t have to ask me on a date there and then...” Surprise muttered. “I could have waited.” She crossed her forehooves. “But no, you just h-happened to ask me right after you met me.”

“That... that’s not right, Surprise! Why would I do that? I wouldn’t hurt you!” Pinkie sank back down, burying her head in her hooves. When she had scrubbed at her eyes, she looked back up at Surprise, who was still staring at the ground, distraught. “I do want to be with you! That’s why I asked you out, and that’s why I took you on dates!” The pegasus stayed silent, causing Pinkie to flap her mouth, trying to think of something else to say. “I... I know it seems wrong, and I’m sorry if I did hurt you. I d-don’t know much about relationships... but I know I wanna be with you.”

Surprise sobbed, and looked up at her with red-rimmed eyes. “You keep saying that, but you don’t act like you mean it!” She sniffed loudly, swinging her gaze away from Pinkie. “You tried to show me off to your friend in the market at the first opportunity, and I’ve spent all day trailing around from one botched introduction to another!” Her wings slumped to her sides, and she let out a huge sigh. “And now I find out you asked out one of your best friends the day before you asked me.”

Pinkie took a step forward, tears streaming down her face. “Surprise... what are you saying?”

Her partner clenched her eyes shut a moment, before making eye contact once more. “I’m saying I wanted to date you because I genuinely liked you. I... I’ve been made fun of all my life, and had to fit myself around other ponies. I thought I’d finally found a kindred spirit, somepony who really liked me for being me...” She sobbed again. “But you? You even admitted—to Rainbow—that a part of you was just happy to show off you had a marefriend... like it didn’t matter which pony it was...”

The earth pony flinched back. Her ears drooped as she felt the reality of the situation crash down upon her. “Surprise... no...”

“This was a mistake. I-I knew it would be...” Surprise let out a remorseful snort, her purple eyes obscured by her tears. “P-Pinkie... I want to believe you. I really do. But I need to think about this. I-I need to take some time... Alone.”

“No... please, Surprise... I want you, I do,” Pinkie reached out with a hoof, but the pegasus shied away.

“L-look... Please, just leave me. I’ll come back. If I can forgive you.”

“If?” Pinkie gave a start as Surprise took off and began to fly away. “Surprise, please! Come back! C-come back...” She trailed off into sobs.

The pegasus turned back as she flew into the distance. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed.

Pinkie ran through the streets of Ponyville, tears streaming down her face. She didn’t care what she shoved out of the way or who asked what was the matter as she dashed past. She wanted nothing more than the sanctuary of her own room right now.

She burst through the door of Sugarcube Corner, running headlong into Mrs. Cake. The portly mare took one look at the sobbing pony in her forehooves, her face scrunching up in concern. “Pinkie! Whatever’s the matter?”

Pinkie blubbered uncontrollably. “She... I... Surprise... we...”

“Oh... oh dear. I’m sorry, Pinkie.” Mrs. Cake smoothed Pinkie’s mane to comfort her.

But Pinkie shoved her away, mortified she was crying in the middle of the bakery. “I wanna be alone!” she cried. She galloped up the stairs, ignoring the protests of Mrs. Cake, and ran through her bedroom door. As soon as she was inside, she bucked the door shut, locked it, and pushed a trunk in front of it for good measure.

She collapsed to her haunches, snivelling, tears and snot running down her muzzle. Her gaze alighted upon the drawer containing her journal. Pinkie walked over and pulled it out. She tossed it down on the bed, and it fell open upon the page for Surprise.

Pinkie glared at it through a veil of tears. She would have slashed it through with a red pen, but a darker feeling burned within her. She’d had enough—all of these secrets and lies a pony apparently needed just to be loved. Why did it matter, as long as she loved that pony back?

She grabbed the journal up and snarled as she tore a lump of pages out of it. “Stupid! Love! Rules!” Pinkie shredded more and more of the paper, photographs and artifacts flying through the air. “Stupid! Ponies!” She stomped on the cover, breaking the spine. “I hate you!” Pinkie caught the remnants of the book in her mouth, ripping it into confetti with her teeth. “I hate all of you!”

Panting heavily, sat in the ruins of her love journal, Pinkie looked down. On the floor, still intact, was the crossed-out photo of Rainbow Dash, and the picture of Surprise and herself. Everything that had gone wrong today. She sobbed once, and her mane and tail collapsed into depressed straightness. She swept the pictures back into the drawer and burst into tears, still unable to believe quite what had befallen her.

Pinkie fell across her bed and curled up into a ball, shutting out her surroundings to cry herself to sleep. She was alone.

Completely alone.

Apologies

More Than She Could Dream Of

Chapter 6

Apologies

Pinkie awoke with a snort, and rolled over. For a moment she lay there in oblivious bliss, before her face scrunched up in sorrow, memory coming back to her. She gave a quiet sob and rubbed at her eyes, surveying the dim room.

She’d been holed up in her room for the past three days, unwilling to show her face to anypony, let alone her friends. Mrs. Cake had brought her food and words of comfort at intervals throughout each day, content to leave Pinkie in peace. She sat up on her bed, hugging herself.

Pinkie knew that she had barely known Surprise for a week, and that barely anything had happened before they’d broken up, so on reflection her heart shouldn’t have felt like it had been shattered into a million tiny pieces. But that was beside the point. It cut her to the quick that her own actions had driven Surprise away. She was supposed to be the friendliest pony in all of Ponyville, but it was her own selfishness that had hurt her former special somepony, nothing else.

She chewed her lip and snivelled a couple of times. She’d finally found a special somepony, something Pinkie had been looking for for so long, and she’d let Surprise slip straight through her hooves.

A knock at her door broke her introspection. “Huh? Come in...” she said quietly.

The door was pushed open slightly, and Mrs. Cake poked her head in, a sympathetic smile upon her face. “Hello, Pinkie. Are you feeling alright today?”

Pinkie looked around her room, at the dirty crockery, at the curtains that hadn’t been opened for three days, at the confettied remains of her journal, and the straggly mess of her mane. Mrs. Cake’s nose was wrinkled slightly at the airless funk of the room. “I’ve been better,” Pinkie said. She sniffed, rubbing her nose. “I-I’m sorry for being so mopey-dopey again...”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Pinkie,” Cup Cake said primly. “Although, you might want to clean yourself up; one of your friends is here to see you.”

“They are? But...” She stared at the older mare. “Did you tell them about me and...?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Cake admitted, looking at the ground. “I hope you don’t mind, Pinkie, but they were getting worried about where you were... I told them you probably needed some time to yourself first. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, no, they probably worked out that much anyway.” Pinkie sighed and hopped off her bed. “Um, I guess I’d better get cleaned up, first, huh?” Mrs. Cake nodded, withdrawing from the door. Pinkie walked over and pulled the curtains open, scowling in pain as the bright sun shone through the window. She shaded her eyes with a hoof, squinting at the scenes outside. The marketplace. Not exactly something she wanted to be reminded of. Pinkie looked away quickly and trotted to the bathroom.

Once she’d had a shower, Pinkie began to brighten up a little. She was clean for the first time in days, and it felt as though some of her sorrow had been washed away along with the dirt. She rubbed a towel over her coat and through her mane, which had returned to its usual curliness. Dried off, Pinkie exited the room and walked downstairs to the bakery.

At one of the tables sat Rarity, who looked up from the book she was reading as Pinkie walked in. “Oh! Hello, Pinkie Pie,” she said.

“Um... hey,” Pinkie replied, staring at her forehooves. “Y-you heard, huh?”

“I’m so sorry, my dear.” Rarity got up from her seat and embraced Pinkie. “I know you needed some time to yourself, but I couldn’t leave you any longer. I’m your friend, and I’m supposed to be there for you.”

“N-no,” Pinkie said, returning the hug and tightening her forelegs around Rarity’s neck. “It’s okay. You don’t need to do this. I mean, I barely dated Surprise at all before... b-before...” She buried her head in the indigo mane, quivering.

Rarity sighed, smoothing Pinkie’s mane gently. “And that’s absolutely why I should do this, Pinkie.” She looked about at the ponies scattered around the bakery. “How about we go and talk about this somewhere more private? Would you like a cup of tea at the Boutique?” Pinkie nodded, face still pressed against Rarity’s neck. “Come along, then.” The unicorn waved to Mrs. Cake and led Pinkie out into the street.

Pinkie kept her head down as they trotted through town, eager not to be seen in her depressed state. She let out a sigh as they reached the door of the Carousel Boutique. Not half a week ago, she’d been here with Surprise, coming to meet Rarity. She had been happy...

Rarity’s head whipped around as Pinkie let out a sob. “Oh, Pinkie Pie... come here.” She hugged her crying friend.

“I’m s-sorry... I’m just making a big fuss out of nothing...” Pinkie said.

A white hoof traced along Pinkie’s cheek, capturing a tear. “Look at this,” Rarity said quietly. “It’s not nothing, Pinkie, and you shouldn’t think it is.”

“B-but, we were dating for less than a week! And... and R-Rainbow was right! I was taking it way too fast, I expected too mu—” Pinkie was cut off as the hoof drifted over her lips.

“Pinkie, I know you’ve strived for romance for a long time. And... I can sympathise.” She sighed, stroking Pinkie’s cheek. “Regardless of how long it lasted, I don’t think you should be ashamed of feeling sad about what happened.” Rarity gave her a little smile. “Now, how about that cup of tea, hmmm?”

A few minutes later, Pinkie was sitting opposite Rarity at the boutique’s kitchen table, both ponies provided with cups of tea.

“Did Mrs. Cake tell you what happened?” Pinkie piped up, breaking the momentary silence.

“Only that Surprise and you were... no longer an item,” Rarity replied. She looked across the table at her subdued friend, deep blue eyes shaded with concern. “I just don’t understand what happened, Pinkie.”

“I happened,” Pinkie muttered, staring into her cup.

Rarity let out an exasperated sigh. “No, Pinkie! Please, stop blaming yourself for this.” She frowned. “What in Equestria did Rainbow say to you?”

“She...” Pinkie frowned, trying to dredge up the memories of that day, the ones she’d blotted out till now. “She said there were ‘rules’... Like, I’d taken Surprise to meet you all too soon. I didn’t know about any of this! It’s all my fault...”

“Pinkie?” Rarity reached over and placed a hoof over Pinkie’s. “I know as well as anypony that romance can be complicated, but they’re more like guidelines than actual ‘rules’.” Her mouth twitched. “I can imagine Rainbow would suggest that... She’s not entirely wrong to abide by them, but if love was really that formulaic, nopony would ever struggle to find it, would they?”

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Whadda ya mean? ‘Formulaic’?”

“I mean that everypony’s different, Pinkie. You can’t just assume every relationship is the same,” Rarity explained. “I thought there was nothing wrong with you bringing Surprise to meet us; after all, you’re the most sociable pony in town! Really, how long could you keep your special somepony and us seperate?” She began to smile. “Look, I don’t think you give yourself enough credit here, Pinkie Pie. Do you think somepony would date you because you followed a bunch of nebulous ‘rules’, or because they liked the pony you presented to them?”

“Well, I... I guess that’s not quite why she broke up with me,” Pinkie muttered. “Although that was still my fault...” She looked up into Rarity’s eyes. The unicorn nodded, motioning with a hoof for Pinkie to continue. “Surprise overheard me and Dashie talking in the park. She heard about Dashie rejecting me... and she accused me of being making her a rebound.” Pinkie stared down into her cup again, feeling tears welling up again. “I don’t understand. She made me happy, and I thought I made her happy—that’s why I wanted to date her.” She snivelled miserably. “I just don’t get it.” There was a moment’s silence, and when Pinkie looked up again, Rarity’s eyes were flashing with anger, and a scowl marred her features.

“Then that’s her problem, Pinkie, not yours,” Rarity insisted. “Granted, it wasn’t the best time to start dating her straight after a rejection, but there’s never a ‘right’ time to start dating. Besides, you and Rainbow were reconciled, and that’s all that should matter.” She let out a harsh tsk. “It is completely unacceptable of Surprise to say that!”

Pinkie shied away a little, both cowed and reassured by Rarity’s defensiveness of her. “Maybe... L-look, Rarity, I like talking with you, but I don’t like talking about this, y’know?”

Rarity let out a deep breath through her nostrils, smiling sheepishly. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Pinkie. It’s just that this pony made one of my best friends hide away in her room for days, thinking it was all her own fault for how the relationship turned out. And she had the audacity to accuse you of using her as a ‘rebound’. I’d hope you understand I’m more than a little bit cross about this.”

Pinkie’s mouth twitched, and she gazed past Rarity. “That’s not why I hid away... I was just sad. I thought I’d finally made it... I’d gotten a special somepony and could be truly happy... and it all went wrong so quickly.” She rubbed her prickling eyes. “That’s all. I didn’t want anypony to see.”

Rarity nodded. “I can quite understand, my dear,” she said, rubbing Pinkie’s forehoof. “But don’t beat yourself up over this. You’ll find somepony who really respects you soon enough.”

“Well, I...” Pinkie frowned, before swallowing and looking Rarity straight in the eye. “It’s not quite over, y’know?”

“No!” Rarity frowned and shook her head. “Don’t let yourself fall into that way of thinking, Pinkie! I’ve trapped myself like that, too.” She sighed, looking down into her own teacup. “Waiting for a pony who was never coming back.”

“But she might be! She’d said she would think about it and—” The expression on Rarity’s face gave Pinkie little hope that that was the reality. “I’m just supposed to leave her?!”

Rarity huffed and looked at her. “Well, ask yourself this, Pinkie: do you want to get back together with Surprise? After all she’s done and said?”

“I...” Pinkie closed her eyes for a moment, contemplating. “What if she’s the same as me? Maybe she doesn’t know any better than me...” She squeezed her eyelids a little tighter, then opened them. “I would want her to give me a second chance if I did something wrong, Rarity. Why shouldn’t she do the same for me?”

There was a moment’s silence, Rarity blinking at her in mild shock. “You... honestly mean that, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah!” Pinkie grinned suddenly. “I mean, you were there when Princess Celestia forgave Luna! She turned into a nasty, evil mare who tried to take over the world, and we forgave her anyway!” She gripped Rarity’s forehooves in the crooks of her ankles. “Don’t you see what I’m saying? If we gave her a second chance, why shouldn’t I give Surprise a second chance?”

Rarity smiled slightly. “I suppose when you put it that way... Pinkie, I have to say, you’re a better pony than I am.”

“No I’m not, silly!” Pinkie pulled her friend closer and hugged her. “You’re just great, too!” She pulled back and stared straight into Rarity’s eyes. “And, if I’m going to stop being sad about what happened because it wasn’t my fault, you should stop feeling sad and blaming yourself about things as well!”

“Heh...” Rarity leaned her head on her hoof. “And I thought I was supposed to be consoling you.”

“No, no! It’s fine, I feel better now! I don’t feel nearly so mopey-dopey after talking to you!” Pinkie reassured her. “Thanks, Rarity!”

“I’m... I’m glad I could help, Pinkie,” Rarity said quietly. “Although, if Surprise does come back to you, you do not let her make you the guilty party, you understand?” Her eyes grew a little harder. “To strive for romance is one thing, but to let somepony poison your life for it is quite another.”

“I... I won’t let that happen. I promise,” Pinkie said.

Rarity smiled, and looked back down. “Now, I suppose we should drink this tea before it gets cold.”

A few hours later, Pinkie was feeling the spring leach out of her step once again. After bidding farewell to Rarity, she had gone to the park, more out of a desperate hope that Surprise remained there than any real certainty. But the cloud home was gone. Every place they had visited as a couple was bereft of her special somepony, and not a single pegasus she asked could recall seeing Surprise since the day of their break-up.

“I guess it was a long shot...” Pinkie sighed to herself as she approached Sugarcube Corner. “No reason for her to hang around...” Her shoulders drooped with disappointment, although her heart felt less heavy than it had the previous day. She was still nursing the hurt of the break-up, but the raw heartbreak from before had been replaced with a begrudging contentment after her talk with Rarity. Pinkie wasn’t happy, but neither was she particularly sad.

She pushed open the door to the bakery and walked in. Mrs. Cake looked up from the cash register she was checking, smiling. “Hello, Pinkie!” she said. “How are you feeling, now?”

“I’m... better, thanks,” Pinkie replied. “Rarity talked with me, and y’know, I realise it’s not all my fault. I’m gonna see what happens now. If Surprise comes back, I’ll give her another chance, but... if she doesn’t, it’s not the end of the world. I get it now. There’s no ‘rules’ to follow.”

“Well, that’s good to hear, Pinkie,” Mrs. Cake said with a sincere smile. “Wise words, indeed.”

“Heh, Rarity said them first. I just couldn’t come up with better way to say them,” Pinkie admitted. “But she’s right.” She looked down and scuffed a hoof against the floor. “I tore up my journal. The one with all the ponies I liked in it. I was in a really nasty mood when I did it, but... I’m glad I did. It was just making me feel worse.”

“Oh, Pinkie... I’m so glad you’re feeling better. I really have worried about you these past couple of days.” Mrs. Cake walked over and hugged her. “It’s so good to have you back.”

“I’ve only been out for a couple of hours!” Pinkie replied with a giggle.

Mrs. Cake smiled. “I meant the smiling Pinkie. I hate to see you like you were yesterday.” She rubbed at her chin thoughtfully. “Now, would you like to do anything special today?”

Pinkie looked upward thoughtfully. “Um, honestly, I’d just like to get back to normal. That feels pretty special itself!”

“Ah, very well then,” Mrs. Cake said. “I’ll appreciate the help.” She let go of Pinkie and began walking to the kitchen. “Now, will you be alright by yourself tomorrow, Pinkie? Carrot and I are taking the twins to a cousin of mine in Fillydelphia. We’re keeping the bakery closed, but we’ll be spending the night in Filly, so... you’ll be by your lonesome.” She paused, looking expectantly at Pinkie. “I was going to tell them it might be not be the best time, but...”

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine!” Pinkie reassured her. “Really. You can go out any time, Mrs. Cake! I can find something to do!”

“Well, thank you for being so understanding, Pinkie,” Mrs. Cake said. “Now, let’s get back into the swing of things, shall we?”

Once the last of that day’s batches had been baked, Pinkie went back upstairs to her room. She scrubbed the dirt and detritus of the day from herself in the bathroom, the last beams of dusk glowing through the window. Rubbing her face clean with a towel, she looked at herself in the mirror and gave a satisfied nod. After the gloom of the past three days, something as simple as a cup of tea with a friend and a return to normality had worked wonders to lift her spirits.

Pinkie put the towel aside and walked back into her room. The curtains had already been drawn, and the chamber was in darkness until she tapped a firefly lantern on the wall. She smiled at the room’s state; Mrs. Cake, to her credit, had cleaned up the mess left by Pinkie’s depressive episode.

She jumped up on the bed, lay down, and sighed happily. Back to normal. Maybe a little disappointing, but to Pinkie, normal felt fantastic.

Pinkie gave a start as she heard a series of knocks at the door. “Come in!” she called. There was silence, and a notable lack of the door opening. “Come in!” Still no answer. “Um... hello?” There was another set of knocks, and Pinkie realised they weren’t the woody sort, but more of a glassy bonk, bonk, bonk. Glass... the window? Somepony was knocking on her window?

Pinkie jolted as she realised her room was on the first floor, and therefore off the ground, and therefore only a pegasus could be knocking on the window and who could be knocking but—

She scampered across the room and ripped open the curtains. And there, hovering, staring back at her in shock, was Surprise. The two ponies looked at each other in silence for a moment, before Pinkie pushed open the window cautiously. “S-Surprise?”

“Y-yeah. It’s me. You’re not hallucinating,” Surprise said, a faint smile on her lips.

“You came back...” Pinkie murmured. “You said you’d think about it.”

“I did,” Surprise said. “And, well, I came back.” Tears began to well up in her eyes. “I missed you, Pinkie.”

“I... I missed you too!” Pinkie let out a sob, pulling Surprise into an embrace as the pegasus climbed through the window. The pair hugged tightly on the floor, crying with happiness, calling one another’s name. After a few minutes, the smile faded from Pinkie’s face, and she pushed Surprise away slightly. “Surprise... y-you hurt me.”

Surprise’s face fell, and she looked to the floor, ashamed. “I know,” she admitted. “I shouldn’t have been so abrupt...” She stepped back, trembling. “L-look, maybe this was a mistake...”

“No it’s not.” Pinkie said, cupping Surprise’s chin with a hoof. “We both said some things we shouldn’t have said, and if you’re giving me a second chance, then I’ll give you a second chance too. Deal?”

Surprise began to smile again, and she held Pinkie’s hoof. “D-deal.” She sighed briefly. “I’m so sorry I hurt you, Pinkie...”

“I know. I mean, I didn’t think you were a nasty, mean pony,” Pinkie said. “But... maybe we should clear some things up first, huh?”

“Yeah.” Surprise rubbed the back of her neck, then looked at Pinkie levelly. “Do you wanna go first, or...?”

“You go first,” Pinkie said.

Surprise took in a deep breath, letting it out in a brief sigh. “Okay... well, what’s going on between you and Rainbow Dash?”

Pinkie took a step back. “I already told you there wasn’t anything going on, didn’t I?”

“I need to know, Pinkie.” Surprise placed a hoof on either of Pinkie’s shoulder, staring into her eyes. “If you’d take Rainbow over me if you had the chance... if you still want her in some way...”

“No.” Pinkie surprised herself with her own assertiveness. “Maybe before I met you, but now? No. There’s nopony I’d rather have than you. I mean it.” She rubbed noses with Surprise. “You don’t need to worry, Surprise. I’m gonna stay with you, no matter what.”

Tears welled up in Surprise’s eyes, and she looked away again. “Oh, Pinkie... you really mean that, don’t you?”

“Sure I do!” Pinkie pulled the pegasus into a tight hug. “I’m never gonna give you up!” Her smile fell slightly as she looked into Surprise’s eyes. “Besides, I let you down, too. I shouldn’t have forced you to come with me, and I shouldn’t have said those things to Rainbow. I was just... worried I’d lose you. I've never had a special somepony before, and I didn’t know what I was doing. But I never meant to hurt you.”

“I believe you, Pinkie. I wish I could say the same...” Surprise squeezed her eyes shut for a second. “I can be a very jealous pony, Pinkie. And a selfish one. That’s why I lashed out at you when I heard you talking with Rainbow Dash... Are you really sure about this?”

“Sure!” Pinkie said. “I know ponies, and I know you, and I know you’re a good pony!” She beamed at Surprise, who smiled shyly herself.

“Th-thanks, Pinkie...” She wiped her eyes dry. “Now, what did you want to say?”

Pinkie sat back and rubbed her chin thoughtfully, eyes rolled upward at the ceiling. “Well, about my friends... Rarity spoke to me today, and she told me that all the rules and stuff about relationships are kinda... guidelines?” She cocked her head slightly at Surprise, who had raised an eyebrow of her own. “So, all that running around and stuff? I was wrong to do that... I make you happy by being me, right?”

Surprise nodded. “Right. Yeah, there wasn’t a checklist or anything.” She giggled, nuzzling Pinkie gently. “So, what are you trying to say?”

“I mean, I know you weren’t happy when I dragged you around town to see my friends,” Pinkie said carefully. “But, the thing is, Surprise, my friends are really important to me. There’s nothing lovey-dovey going on between me and Dashie, but there’s a lot going on between me and her, and all the others; we’re really, really close.” She paused momentarily, her mouth twitching in thought. “S-so, what I’m saying, is I won’t put them before you, but I won’t put you before them, either.”

Surprise’s gaze raked the floor. “I see...”

Pinkie grimaced, but continued. “So, I want you to be my special somepony, Surprise. I really do. But, please, don’t make me choose between you and my friends. I don’t want you to be separate from my friends, okay?”

Surprise nodded slowly, pulling back from the embrace. She looked down at herself, and over her shoulder at her back. She ran a hoof through her mane and turned to a full-length mirror upon the wall, surveying herself with her wings half-spread. A small smile twitched upon her mouth as she rubbed her chin. “Me and your friends, huh?” She looked over her shoulder at Pinkie, sighing happily. “Okay... for you, Pinkie. I’m sure we can make this work somehow.”

Pinkie smiled and walked closer to Surprise. The pegasus turned around and kissed her on the lips, murring happily. “Thank you, Surprise,” Pinkie whispered.

“And thank you, Pinkie, for forgiving me,” Surprise replied, smiling and blushing.

“No problem! Um...” Pinkie paused for a second. “I, uh, didn’t really have the chance to ask you earlier, but Rainbow Dash said something about knowing you from Flight School. Is that true?”

“Eh... sort of. I mean, we weren’t really friends, I just knew her as the filly who allegedly pulled off a Sonic Rainboom,” Surprise answered. “Did she remember me, then?”

Pinkie frowned, trying to recall what Dash had said. “Yeah, she knew what you looked like anyway. And that you used to be a prankster!” She giggled. “She thinks that one of your pranks got you in trouble at Flight School!” She looked at Surprise in concern, the pegasus’s face having fallen. “What’s the matter?”

“The Flight School pranks, huh?” Surprise scratched the back of neck and sighed. “Yeah, that day... I’d r-rather not talk about that right now, o-okay?”

“Sure!” Pinkie wrapped her forelegs around her marefriend. “No more hurt feelings.”

“I appreciate that.” Surprise rubbed noses with her and smiled again. “Now, on that note... I guess we should have a make-up date, huh?”

Pinkie grinned and nodded. “Yeah! We should totally... um...” Her eyes suddenly went wide. “Ohmigosh! I know! Mr. and Mrs. Cake are away tomorrow! You should totally come on over!”

Surprise’s head tilted back slightly. She raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth for a second before replying, her wings half-extended. “Uh... what are you getting at, Pinkie?”

“We should have dinner together! Like, proper, fancy-pants dinner! I can make all kinds of things!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Oh!” Surprise’s wings slumped down, and she gave a relieved giggle. “I see.” She gave Pinkie a smile with half-lidded eyes. “I’d like that a lot.” Taking Pinkie’s hoof, she lead her to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, wrapping her forelegs around the earth pony. “Although right now, I really just want to hug.”

After a while of cuddling and affectionate nuzzling, the two ponies found themselves having to part ways—Surprise to return home before night proper fell, and Pinkie to answer the call for dinner.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Surprise asked, hovering by the window. She gave Pinkie one last kiss on the nose once the earth pony had nodded. “I’ll be looking forward to it.” She flew out the window, Pinkie waving to her.

Once Surprise was out of sight, Pinkie gave an excited squeal and scampered down the stairs, giggling happily. She collided with Mrs. Cake at the bottom, who had until then been calling Pinkie in vain.

“Pinkie! What’s gotten into you?!” Mrs. Cake exclaimed, as Pinkie helped her off the floor.

“Sorry, Mrs. Cake! It’s just, I’m... she... we’re back together!” Pinkie near-shouted.

“‘Together’? Whatever do you me—oh.” Mrs. Cake’s eyebrows raised suddenly. “You and Surprise?” Pinkie nodded vigorously. “I didn’t see her come in...”

“She knocked on my window!” Pinkie said with a giggle. “And we’re all made up now!”

“Well, that’s... good...” Cup Cake said unsteadily.

The reaction elicited a frown from Pinkie. “What’s the matter?”

Cup Cake looked at her, shaking her head. “Nothing, Pinkie. It’s nice to hear you’ve made up.”

“Um... I invited her over for dinner tomorrow, when you’re out. Is that okay?” Pinkie asked hesitantly.

Cup Cake smiled. “As long as you clean up after yourselves, I’m perfectly happy with it, Pinkie. I’ll leave out a cookbook or two, hmmm?”

Pinkie grinned and following Mrs. Cake to the dinner table, where Mr. Cake and the twins already sat in front of their plates. In her mind’s eye, she’d already planned out what the table settings would be for the following night.

It was going to be perfect.

Lovers

More Than She Could Dream Of

Chapter 7

Lovers

The next day, Pinkie stood on the platform of the train station, bidding farewell to the Cake family, who were getting ready to board the train. “Bye, Mr. and Mrs. Cake! Bye Pound and Pumpkin! Have fun!” she said.

“Goodbye, Pinkie. Have fun with Surprise, now,” Mrs. Cake said, giving her a farewell hug. The twins gurgled happily, each one held in a foal carrier draped over Cup Cake’s back.

“We’ll be sure to bring you back a present,” Mr. Cake added. He looked up as the cry of ‘all aboard’ went up, and the family of four boarded the train car, waving to Pinkie as the locomotive whistled and moved off.

Once the Cakes were out of sight, Pinkie turned and bounced away, back into town toward the market. She pulled a list out of her saddlebag, frowning. She had been quickly talked out of her original plan for dinner by Mrs. Cake, who had gently informed her that while cupcakes and eclairs were delicious, they didn’t really constitute a proper meal, per se.

So, it was time to go shopping. Pinkie bought spices and pasta, having settled upon spaghetti and wheatballs for the main meal, with practically every sweet delicacy Sugarcube Corner could offer for dessert... well, desserts.

“Finally getting something healthy in you, eh?” the stall owner quipped, handing a bag of her tomatoes over to Pinkie in exchange for a couple of bits.

“Oh, no, I’m just cooking dinner for my marefriend!” Pinkie replied with a giggle. “I’m not making fruit and vegetables a habit!”

“A pony can live in hope...” the other mare said wistfully. “Well, have fun with your date, Pinkie. Do come back if you need any other healthy ingredients!”

“Will do!” Pinkie trotted away from the market stall and headed back to Sugarcube Corner. The bakery was eerily quiet with the lack of both customers and Cakes, but the kitchen was quickly filled with the clanging of cookware as she dragged out pots, pans, measuring scales and utensils. Once everything was in place, she brought over the great tome of a cookbook that Mrs. Cake had introduced to her the previous evening.

“Hmmm... Sunflower Toasties... Supernatural Souffles...” Pinkie muttered to herself, flicking through the list. “Spaghetti... ah!” She tapped a hoof on the page and narrowed her eyes in concentration. “Okay, doesn’t look too complicated...” She began humming to herself, tapping out a rhythm as she read. A song gradually came to her.

“This meal is going to be perfect,

The kind of meal that would make anypony drool,

I’ll be sure to season well,

Quality that you can tell,

And these wheatballs I will make will surely rule!” she sang, bouncing around the kitchen and gathering ingredients. A fumble with a bag of flour sent out a puff that turned her coat white, and Pinkie looked down at herself with a mischievous giggle. She altered her voice slightly in an imitation of Surprise.

“This meal is absolutelyperfect,

The kind of dish I never thought I would be served,

But never mind what’s on my plate,

As long as we’re out on a date,

Then I’ll give Pinkie all the love that she deserves!” Pinkie struck a dramatic pose, then quickly scrubbed off the flour and returned to her own voice.

“I will be sure to cook it perfect,

Make her wowed with my prowess,

Then, it’ll be a great success,

So special I’ll make her feel,

And our rifts will surely heal,

Then we’ll be truly special someponies!

For I so adore Surprise,

There’s no equal in my eyes,

And I cannot wait for tonight’s date!” She laughed, dunking her hooves in the flour and dousing herself in the powder once more.

“I should get there before it’s too late,

Maybe dress up to the nines,

She, sends a shiver down my spine,

I don’t want any more heartbreak,

I’ll be good for Pinkie’s sake,

And then we can be happy once again!

Yes, I want to be with her,

And go back to what we were,

Oh Pinkie Pie, I’ll be seeing you tonight!” With a giggle, Pinkie wiped off half the flour, leaving her half-pink, half-white. She began to stride around the kitchen.

“Finally the future’s looking bright,

And this will be one awesome night!” She transitioned back to the Surprise imitaiton.

“I’ll be together once more,

With the pony I adore,

And our date will be—”

“Absolutely perfect!” Pinkie yelled. She looked around at the scattered flour and the hoofprints left in it and burst out laughing. “Yeah, it’ll be perfect...”

Two hours later, Pinkie sat in the centre of a disaster zone, flour strewn about her, innumerable failed iterations of wheatballs on the counter in front of her. “It’s just special dough!” she wailed to herself. “How can this be so difficult?!” She prodded the latest batch of wheatballs, which were dense enough to serve better as slingshot ammunition than food. “Great,” she muttered, looking up at the clock. Three hours until Surprise was supposed to arrive.

She measured out a new set of ingredients, making sure to meticulously measure each morsel as it went in the bowl. Pinkie seized up the bowl and mixed vigorously, producing a new batch of dough. Now then... if it had been made just right, the mixture would be light and fluffy, and stick to the bottom of the bowl, just like meringue. The best way to test that was to tip it upside down...

Pinkie tipped the bowl over her head and the dough fell straight onto her mane with a gentle splort. She clenched her eyes shut and let out an irritated growl, wiping the failed batch from her brow. “Why does this keep happening?” she asked herself. “I can always make a recipe work! Even if it doesn’t make any sense!” She let out a sigh. Maybe it was just nerves; her best baking had always come when she was completely at ease, after all. Now that she was on edge, nothing seemed to be going right.

There was a knock at the door, causing her head to shoot round. Who could that be? Surely not Surprise? Pinkie trotted out from the kitchen to the front door and opened it to reveal Applejack.

“Well, howdy, Pinkie!” Applejack said.

“Oh! Um, hey, Applejack!” Pinkie replied. “What’re you doing here?”

“Ah heard the bakery was closed today, and that Mr. ‘n’ Mrs. Cake were away,” AJ explained. “Ah was passin’ by on mah way back from the market and figured you might want some company for a bit.”

Pinkie smiled. “Of course! C’mon in! I’ve got a few hours to fill until Surprise gets here!”

Applejack laughed and walked into the bakery. “Thank ya, kindly, Pinkie. Ah promise Ah won’t get in yer mane if yer busy gettin’ ready fer Surprise—” Her grin suddenly froze. “Wait, what?”

Pinkie blinked and cocked her head, smiling. “What?”

“Uh... Ah think Ah musta misheard ya, sugarcube,” AJ said, still with a frozen grin. “Ah heard ya say Surprise...? No offense, Pinkie, but last I heard, that mare had you holed up in your room fer three days, and Ah never got to meet the varmint.” A frown appeared on her face. “You need me to give her a piece a’ mah mind?”

Pinkie shook her head. “Oh, no, Applejack, it’s not like that! We had a fight and we broke up, but she came back yesterday and said sorry.” She rubbed the back of her head. “So, she’s coming ‘round for dinner tonight. We made up and we wanna give this another go. I think we’re both amateurs at the whole lovey-dovey thing,” she said with an awkward grin.

Applejack let out a faint snort, her mouth twisting. “You sure this mare’s not messin’ ya about, Pinkie? First ya show up t’ the farm all excited—least, from what Big Macintosh tells me—next, yer locked up in yer room and she’s left ya.” She scratched the side of her head. “And now yer back together with her?”

“Yeah.” Pinkie gave Applejack an even look and nodded. “Surprise came to my window and talked to me. We both said what we thought had gone wrong and that we’d try another date. I don’t hate her, Applejack! I want to be her special somepony!” She raised an eyebrow. “Besides, isn’t that what friends do, too? Make up after a fight?”

“That’s... true, Ah suppose.” Applejack shook her head and smiled slightly. “Well, if yer happy enough with her after making up and Ah haven’t even met this Surprise, then who am Ah to tell you what to do?”

Pinkie giggled and gave Applejack a brief hug. “Thanks, AJ! Don’t worry; I’m sure you two will get to meet soon.”

Once they had released one another, Applejack gave a quizzical look at Pinkie’s mane. “Ya seem to’ve got yerself in a terrible mess, Pinkie. What exactly are ya making for dinner?”

“Oh! I just picked out a recipe that sounded nice, but it’s trickier than I thought it’d be,” Pinkie replied. “It’s spaghetti and wheatballs.”

“Good choice!” Applejack exclaimed. “Ah got quite a taste fer those when Ah was a filly in Manehatten. Ah brought a copy o’ the recipe back with me. Still make ‘em now and again. You findin’ them a bit of a hoofful?”

Pinkie nodded remorsefully. “I just don’t get it! I can bake practically anything without even looking at the recipe, but I just can’t get the wheatball dough right!”

Applejack grinned. “Well, if ya don’t mind me intrudin’, perhaps Ah can offer mah expertise?” Pinkie cocked her head, and she continued, “These wheatballs are mighty hard to get right fer a beginner.”

“Beginner? Beginner?!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I’ve been baking half my life, Applejack!”

The farmmare chuckled. “Maybe, Pinkie, but Manehattenites are known fer their lil’ tricks in the kitchen. Ah’ll bet that recipe doesn’t have half the details ya need to get ‘em just right.” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “How about Ah show ya and you make the tomato sauce? Maybe y’all can fill me on you and Surprise in the meantime.”

Pinkie nodded happily. “Okie dokie lokie! C’mon in the kitchen and grab an apron. Let’s get started!”

A couple of hours later, Applejack and Pinkie sat back in satisfaction, passing an upside-down bowl between them, both grinning at the dough suspended within.

Applejack exhaled a relieved breath. “We finally did it!” she said, putting the bowl down on the counter. “If Ah didn’t know better, Pinkie, Ah’d say you must’ve had Poison Joke workin’ its wiles on ya. Still, that recipe book really didn’t help.” She glared at the tome sitting on the sideboard. “Nothin’ like the Manehattenite way.”

“But we got it right in the end!” Pinkie said happily. She bounced over to the stove, where a pan full of rich, red sauce simmered away. “And this sauce looks super-duper delicious!”

“Eh, heh... yeah. Just gotta cook the pasta and you’re all done.” Applejack nudged the side of her hat, looking as though she was mulling something over. “Pinkie, you sure yer gonna be okay tonight?”

Pinkie turned her head back from the saucepan, a wooden spoon in the crook of her forehoof. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, y’know, after all that’s gone on in the past week...” Applejack’s mouth twisted. “You were holed up in yer room for three days, Pinkie! You weren’t even that bad that time you thought we’d all stopped being yer friends!” Her face contorted in concern. “Ya spooked us somethin’ fierce, Pinkie, and Ah’m just worried this mare’s got a few too many puppet strings on ya.”

“But I told you, we made up! You were okay with that.” Pinkie said with a frown. “And I’m not a puppet, silly!”

“Ah know, sugarcube. Ah just worry that this is gonna keep happenin’: Surprise hurtin’ you, runnin’ off, then coming back just after ya got over her,” Applejack said quietly, looking at Pinkie. “And you bein’ mah friend, Pinkie, it hurts me to see you hurt.”

Pinkie sighed, putting down the spoon. “So, what? I just say ‘Oh, sorry Surprise, I know we made up and everything, but I’m scared you might hurt me again, so let’s just break up now’?” Her gaze raked the floor, before meeting Applejack’s again. “Look, I know that things might go bad again. Rarity already told me that. But... I’ve wanted a special somepony for so long, it’s silly for me to run away the first time I fall out with Surprise!”

“Yeah... that’s true,” Applejack said, pursing her lips. “But, just ‘cause she says ‘sorry’ and asks fer a second chance, doesn’t mean yer obligated to give it. It’s just... Ah dunno. Relationships are all about learning, sure. But Ah don’t want to see ya suffer unduly, Pinkie. Not for any pony.”

“I know you don’t, Applejack, but...” Pinkie said slowly. “I think Surprise was just as lonely as I was, and I think she doesn’t know anything more about having a special somepony than I do. I mean, it was pretty silly of me to ask her out just after Dashie turned me down.” She sat down and spread her forelegs. “It’s not all her fault. And that’s what we talked about yesterday. How we hurt each other, and how we wanted to make up. And I trust her not to hurt me like that again.”

There was silence for a moment, before Applejack let out a low whistle. “Wow, you’re serious, ain’tcha?” Pinkie nodded. “Well, what else can Ah say? You sound like ya’ve thought this through and... Ah guess that’s good enough fer me.” She let out a quiet oof as Pinkie hugged her tightly.

“Thanks, Applejack. I know I’ve been all kinds of crazy this week. And I’m sorry for scaring you all,” Pinkie said. “Can you forgive me?”

“Sure Ah forgive ya!” Applejack said happily. “Just as long as yer doin’ okay, Ah’m happy, Pinkie.” She held the hug, before separating from her friend. She glanced up at the clock. “So, when’s Surprise turnin’ up?”

“Oh! Um... about a quarter of an hour,” Pinkie said, looking up at the clock also, before turning back to the pots on the stove. “Guess I should get the table set soon! And the front room! Ooh! And the desserts!”

“You need any more help, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“Nope! Don’t worry; the desserts will be done in a flash,” Pinkie said happily.

“Well, in that case, Pinkie, Ah guess Ah should be gettin’ back to the farm. You have a great dinner, now.” Applejack turned to leave.

“Will do!” Pinkie said.

“Oh, and Pinkie?” Applejack turned back and winked. “Tell me how it goes, okay? Maybe we can all meet Surprise at some point after all.”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkie’s eyes went wide. “Oh, Applejack! One last thing! Do you think I should dress up all fancy-pants? I mean, is that what most ponies do?”

“Shucks, Pinkie, you’d be better off askin’ Rares,” Applejack said with an awkward grin. She shrugged. “Y’know what? Why not? Ah’m sure Surprise would appreciate you lookin’ pretty.”

“Yeah... yeah!” Pinkie nodded vigorously. “I’ll do that! Thanks for all your help, AJ!”

“Anytime, Pinkie.” Applejack walked over and opened the door. As she did, a shocked squeak came from the other side of the portal. Pinkie craned her head to see what was going on.

At the door in a prim, eggshell-blue dress, was Surprise. Her purple eyes were wide, flickering back and forth between the two earth ponies. She took a step back, leaning away from the entrance and raising her wings slightly. “Uh... h-hey,” she stammered.

“Oh, Surprise! You’re early!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Y-yeah, I was just passing through and th-thought I might as well come over...” Surprise stared at Applejack, shrinking back. “I thought you were gonna be alone?”

Pinkie smiled. “Well, Applejack was passing through, too!” She gasped suddenly. “Wait! You never got to meet her, did you? This is Applejack!”

Applejack’s smile froze, and she fixed Surprise with an intense stare. After a lengthy pause, AJ spoke up. “Well, howdy. So you’re the pony Ah’ve heard so much about, huh?” She waved a friendly hoof to the pegasus, who stared at it and shied away as though it were a poisonous snake.

“Uh, you can—I mean, you’re... Um, h-hi.” Surprise bit her lip, her gaze grazing the ground.

“Something the matter, sugarcube?” Applejack asked with a frown, withdrawing her hoof.

“Yeah! C’mon, Surprise, Applejack doesn’t bite!” Pinkie giggled. “Don’t be shy!”

Surprise merely pursed her lips, eyes flickering back up to Applejack.

Applejack cleared her throat awkwardly. “Well, Ah guess Ah should leave y’all to it, Pinkie.” By this point, the pegasus had almost vanished from the doorway.

“S-sorry... you just caught me by surprise.” Surprise paused, grinning sheepishly. “Pardon the pun.”

Pinkie smiled at the explanation. “Heh, sorry if Applejack scared you, Surprise. She’s a nice pony, really! Aren’t you, Applejack?”

The other earth pony rubbed the back of her head. “Well, that’s awful kind of ya to say, Pinkie. And Ah’m sure the special somepony of a friend is a friend of mine, too.” She narrowed her eyes slightly. “That is, if there ain’t any shenanigans goin’ on to upset ya.” Surprise shrank back again at the assertion. “Now, Ah really should get goin’ back to the farm and leave ya to it, Pinkie. Sorry to keep ya.”

Pinkie shook her head. “It’s okay, Applejack! Come by anytime!” The farmmare nodded to her and walked out the door.

Surprise stared after the departing pony for a moment, before crossing the threshold and giving Pinkie a hug.

“Well hey, you!” Pinkie said, hugging Surprise back and nuzzling her.

“Hey.” Surprise seemed to melt into Pinkie’s hooves, closing her eyes momentarily and letting out a deep sigh. Her wings stretched out slightly, and she smiled at Pinkie.

“Something the matter?” Pinkie asked. “You looked really nervous just then!”

“Heh heh...” Surprise rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting anypony else at the door. Sorry if I kinda shut down when she was talking. I’ve not been all that social since leaving Cloudsdale, and after what happened the other day, well... you know. I thought she might be really mad at me.”

“No no no! It’s fine! I totally understand. But you really don’t need to worry, Surprise. I’ve talked it out with her; Applejack’s fine about us dating!” Pinkie reassured her.

“Unless I’ve got any shenanigans goin’ on to upset ya’!” Surprise said with a grin, her voice slipping into a halfway-decent impression of Applejack’s accent. “Anyway, tonight’s all about you and me,” she continued, leaning forward and nuzzling Pinkie.

“Yeah! Of course it is.” Pinkie looked over Surprise’s dress, before her eyes went wide. “Ohmigosh! I should dress up too!”

“Really, Pinkie, it’s no big”—Pinkie vanished in a puff of dust—“deal.” Surprise rolled her eyes as her marefriend rushed upstairs, making a racket enough to wake the dead. After a moment, the earth pony bounced downstairs in a luxuriant pink dress, shoes and a candy-striped saddle, all detailed with sweet-shaped ornaments. She quickly adjusted the little blue hat as Surprise’s jaw fell open.

“So, uh, good enough?” Pinkie asked.

Surprise shook her head to break her stupour. “Where in Equestria did you get a get-up like that?!”

“Oh! Rarity made it for me when we went to the Grand Galloping Gala a couple of years ago. She repaired it for me afterwards. It was pretty much a toss-up between this and the one I wore at the Royal Wedding...” Pinkie said matter-of-factly.

“As you do,” Surprise deadpanned. “You really are the most amazing pony I’ve ever met. You know that, right?” She stepped forward and planted a kiss on Pinkie’s nose before the earth pony could respond. “So, I guess we’re dressed up enough for dinner now.”

“Dinner? Oh yeah...” Pinkie looked behind her to the still-bare table. “I’m sorry, Surprise! I got so caught up talking to Applejack, I didn’t get the chance to prepare everything!”

Surprise giggled. “It’s fine, Pinkie! Honestly, I would have gotten a bit weirded out if you’d done everything for me. It’s a date, not a restaurant! Tell you what—you sort the food out, I’ll do the table.”

“Okie dokie lokie! Hope you like wheatballs!” Pinkie said, bouncing away to the kitchen.

“I do! I’ll be looking forward to it!” Surprise called.

Having cooked up the pasta and finished off the wheatballs, Pinkie carried the entire meal in a huge bowl upon her back. The proximity of the tomato sauce to the dress would probably have given Rarity a heart attack had she seen it, but Pinkie had figured what she didn’t see couldn’t harm her.

Pinkie’s eyes went wide as she exited the kitchen. The curtains in the dining room had been drawn, the chamber softly lit by several candles placed on the table, with a rose in a small vase in the centre. Forks and spoons had been laid out, and Surprise sat in a chair facing her, a half-lidded smile on her face. “I’ve been expecting you, Miss Pie,” she said in a seductive drawl, resting her head on a white forehoof.

“Oh, have you now?” Pinkie replied, aping Surprise’s expression and tone.

The pegasus’s eyes suddenly went wide as the bowl began to slip from Pinkie’s back. “Pinkie, watch out!” she cried. She went silent as Pinkie stuck her hindleg out and caught the crockery, hoofing it up onto the table. It rocked from side to side on its edge until finally coming to rest. There was an awkward pause, until Surprise said, “Okay then.”

Pinkie slid into her seat, smiling across the table at her marefriend. “C’mon, then! Dig in!” she said, gesturing to the mound of steaming pasta. Surprise gathered up her cutlery, only to back off slightly in disgust as Pinkie faceplanted the wheatballs, chewing loudly and sending flecks of tomato sauce everywhere. After a moment, the earth pony slowed down and leaned back from the pasta. She met Surprise’s horrified gaze, quickly wiping her mouth with a napkin.

“Pffff—hahahaha!” Surprise bit down on her forehoof in a futile attempt to halt her gales of laughter. “Okay, okay... whew...” She wiped away a tear of mirth. “Yeah, we’ve definitely lost all pretence now.”

“I’m sorry! I was really hungry and forgot mys—” Pinkie was stopped by a wave of Surprise’s forehoof.

“Honestly, Pinkie, eat how you want. You don’t need to impress me.” She looked down at herself. “Although, maybe watch the sauce. Stains are awful to get out of a white coat, let me tell you. Let alone this dress.”

Pinkie nodded, picking up her own fork and spoon. The pair smiled at one another and began their meal in earnest, taking turns to scoop up mouthfuls. As Surprise speared a wheatball with her fork, the earth pony piped up, “This is just like one of the books Rarity reads! It’s like someone’s reading us right now!”

Surprise raised her eyebrows as she chewed and swallowed. “Oh? Is somepony a fan of trashy romance novels?” she asked playfully, resting her head on a hoof.

“Nn mph!” Pinkie tried to say through a huge mouthful of spaghetti. “I mean, nuh uh! Rarity gave me one once and it was so boring! All about ‘stolen kisses’ and ‘oooh, forbidden love!’ and stuff! I prefer exciting stuff; explorers and pirates and things like that!”

“Sky pirates?” Surprise asked excitedly.

“No, just regular ones.”

“Aww. Too bad.” They carried on eating for a while, smiling and blushing each time they looked into one another’s eyes. Eventually, they emptied the bowl down to the last few morsels. Pinkie noticed that an especially long piece of spaghetti she was slurping into her mouth was the same strand that Surprise had just picked up. Evidently, the pegasus had picked up on it too, as she had started sucking it in as well.

Pinkie’s eyes went wide as their faces came closer. If they kept this up, they’d bump noses! She bit down on the spaghetti. Suddenly deprived of the tension pulling them together, Surprise fell back with a surprised squeak, nearly falling backward off her chair. She barely missed the floor and returned to a sitting position with a few desperate flaps of her wings, panting in shock. “Pinkie! What did you do that for?!” she asked indignantly.

“We were about to push our mouths together! That’s really icky!” Pinkie protested.

Surprise’s wings slumped down slightly. “You think that’s icky?” she said in a slightly disappointed tone.

“It is when there’s pasta in there, too!”

“Oh.” Surprise looked down at the bowl and sighed theatrically. “Well, we’re fresh out of pasta, it seems...”

Pinkie hopped up from her chair. “Don’t worry, I’ve got just the dessert for us!” She was stopped halfway to the door by a pair of forelegs wrapping around her shoulders. Her head turned to see Surprise hovering behind her.

“Actually, I think dessert can wait,” Surprise murmured. She landed behind Pinkie and the earth pony turned around to face her fully. “Oh, and Pinkie?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you tell me if this is icky?” Pinkie didn’t have a chance to reply as Surprise leaned in and kissed her fully on the lips. To the earth pony’s bewilderment, rather than pulling away after a few seconds as she had done before, her marefriend instead closed her eyes and wrapped her forelegs around Pinkie’s neck, pulling her closer.

The earth pony let out a muffled squeak as Surprise gently pushed her tongue into Pinkie’s mouth, crooning faintly. Unsure of what else to do, Pinkie reciprocated, embracing the pegasus and kissing her back. Pinkie’s affections were rewarded as Surprise let out a murr, spreading her wings. A sensation like Pinkie had never felt flowed through her body—something weird and hot and tingly, like being in the middle of a vibrant party and alone with Surprise all at the same time, but much, much stronger.

Just as it threatened to overwhelm Pinkie, Surprise broke the kiss, pulling back with a grin before nuzzling the earth pony. “So, how did you find that?” she asked quietly, her purple eyes flashing with mirth.

“It was good!” Pinkie exclaimed. “But I’ve never done that with another pony before! Is it normal? I’ve never heard of kissing like this! Can y—” She was cut off as Surprise kissed her again, pressing against her and pushing her to the floor. Pinkie’s forehooves wandered down her marefriend’s back until they rubbed the area between her wings. The pegasus arched her back and let out a faint moan.

Surprise’s eyes flckered open momentarily. “Don’t stop,” she murmured. Pinkie obliged, continuing to massage the spot of her marefriend’s back. After a few minutes, though, the earth pony began to shift uncomfortably. While kissing felt amazing, the floor was really hard and her back was starting to hurt.

“Um, Surprise?”

“Mmmm?” Surprise pulled herself to standing over Pinkie, gazing down at her and licking her lips.

“Did—did you want dessert, or did you really want to skip it?” Pinkie asked. “‘Cause, y’know, I’d really like to keep doing this.”

Surprise beamed at her. “I’d much rather keep doing this, too.” She cocked her head slightly. “Although, let’s go somewhere more comfortable. Your back must be killing you.” She reached out with a forehoof and pulled Pinkie to her hooves.

“Sure! I... I mean, dessert, heh, um... you wanna, uh...” Pinkie shut up as she realised her brain was only supplying her mouth with a stream of gibberish.

Fortunately, Surprise had managed to retain her coherency, giving her a sultry, half-lidded smile. “How about your bed? That seemed soft enough.” Pinkie nodded dumbly. “C’mon, then.” The pegasus hovered in front of her and led her upstairs by the hoof.

Surprise frowned as they reached the upper landing. “Oh, hang on. Which door is your bedroom?”

“It’s this one!” Pinkie said, pushing open the relevant door. The two ponies looked at one another as they walked into the room, giggled and leapt onto the bed together, cuddling and kissing.

As Pinkie felt wings wrapping around her and saw purple eyes blazing with affection gazing down at her, she knew that there was nowhere else she would rather be than with this wonderful mare, who had been more than she could have ever dreamt of.

Later, much later, so late it was probably early again, Pinkie snuggled up against Surprise beneath the covers. The dresses were long since discarded on the floor; nopony wanted creases in their clothes, after all. The earth pony sighed in contentment, burying her face in the poofy blonde mane beneath her.

“Oh, Pinkie...” Surprise murmured.

“Yeah...”

A giggle came from below. “I guess we’re a bit beyond words, huh?”

“Well, there’s one thing...” Purple eyes looked up at her expectantly. Pinkie felt nervousness burn within her. She didn’t want to drive Surprise away now, after all that had happened that night, but Rarity had said there were no hard rules, right? “Surprise... I...”

“Yeah?”

“I... I love you.” Pinkie bit her lip as soon as the words had left her mouth. There was asking somepony out and then there was that. What if she’d scared Surprise off? Then suddenly, all of her insecurity died away as she felt the pegasus’s embrace tighten, what sounded like a half-choked sob coming from beneath her.

“Y-you do? Oh, Pinkie... I love you too.” Surprise suddenly blinked, as though she’d just realised what she’d said. “I love you too!”

They hugged tighter, tears of happiness flowing from their eyes. “I never thought I’d find somepony like you,” Pinkie murmured.

“M-me neither,” Surprise admitted. She pulled back, eyes still brimming with tears. “Pinkie, I want this to last. I want to meet your friends. I want to do everything with you, come what may.”

A jolt ran through Pinkie. “My friends? Everything? You... you really mean that?!”

Surprise nodded vehemently. “Yes, Pinkie. You’ve had more than enough of my selfishness; it’s time for me to give something back to you. I want to make you happy.”

“Me too!” Pinkie said excitedly. “We can throw a party! A proper one, with balloons and games and cakes an—” She was cut off by an unexpectedly huge yawn.

Surprise giggled. “And we can start tomorrow morning,” she said in amusement, snuggling up against Pinkie’s chest once more. “Goodnight, Pinkie.”

“Goodnight, Surprise.”

Invitations

More Than She Could Dream Of

Chapter 8

Invitations

Pinkie woke up to a face full of hair. She gave a faint snort of confusion, before realising that Surprise was snuggled up against her chest, poofy yellow mane acting as a impromptu pillow.

The pegasus was still snoring gently, one of her wings laid over and her forelegs wrapped tightly around Pinkie’s torso. The earth pony looked down at her sleeping marefriend, a faint smile adorning her face. Despite pining for a special somepony for so long, she’d never really paid much mind to the physical intimacy a relationship would bring. Now, though, she couldn’t believe she’d never thought about how wonderful it would be to wake up next to her lover.

Pinkie squeezed a little harder, eliciting a murmur from Surprise, who opened her eyes and stared up at the earth pony.

“Oh... good morning,” Surprise said, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

“Morning!” Pinkie replied cheerfully. “Did you sleep well?”

Surprise murred happily and nuzzled beneath Pinkie’s chin. “Never better. And you?”

“Great! Besides, I’ve never slept like this before! I mean, of course I’ve been to slumber parties and stuff, but I haven’t ever slept with anoth—” Pinkie’s happy rambling stopped as Surprise placed a hoof against her mouth and frowned.

“Hey, can you hear that?” the pegasus said. “Sounds like hoofsteps...”

Pinkie nodded happily as Surprise removed her hoof. “Oh yeah! The Cakes are probably back from Fillydelphia.” She looked at the alarm clock on the table. “I mean, we’ve slept in till the middle of the afternoon, after all!”

A look of panic crossed Surprise’s face. “The Cakes? You mean, the ponies who own this place? And look after you?!”

“Well, yeah, who else would it be?” Pinkie giggled, then noticed her marefriend’s expression. “You’re not worried about meeting them, are you? You seemed okay with Applejack.”

Surprise gave Pinkie a baleful glance. “Pinkie, when I met Applejack, it wasn’t the morning after we’d had a date, I wasn’t snuggled up in bed next to you, and Applejack wasn’t your surrogate mother!” she hissed. “If they were to walk through the door right now, would you not find that awkward in the slightest?”

Pinkie shrugged. “Eh, I’m sure they’ll understand.” Surprise’s retort was lost as a knock came at the door.

“Oh, Pinkie Pie?” Mrs. Cake called. “Are you up, dear?” She pushed open the door and stuck her head in just as Surprise’s eyes went wide in shock, the pegasus ducking beneath the covers. The portly mare blushed as she looked at Pinkie. “Oh, I’m sorry Pinkie! I didn’t realise you were... still in bed.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Pinkie reassured her. She rubbed a comforting hoof through Surprise’s mane, the pegasus now cowering beneath the sheets.

Cup Cake opened her mouth uncertainly, taking a step back. “A-are you alright, dear? I’ve never known you to be in bed this late!”

“Oh, I’m just great, Mrs. Cake! Besides, we stayed up really late last night!” Pinkie said, resting her head on a forehoof.

Mrs. Cake nodded. “So, you had fun on your date?” she asked.

“Yeah! We got up to all kinds of things!” There was a reproachful prod to her belly from Surprise. “Even a sleepover!”

Cup Cake gazed at the bed and nodded mechanically. “I... well, I suppose you’re a full-grown mare now. Um, is Surprise still around?” Pinkie nodded and patted the lump underneath the covers. Cup blushed deeply as the cover slid away slightly, revealing an equally flushed Surprise.

“Um... h-hey,” the pegasus murmured, waving slightly.

The revelation blew a fuse somewhere in Cup Cake’s mind, as one of her eyelids twitched, and a slightly strangled noise came from her throat. After a moment, she snapped out of her stupour. “L-look, um, I suppose this is a bad time, Pinkie. Just come downstairs and clean up your dinner dishes once you’re, uh, done,” she said. With that, she turned and fled down the stairs.

After an awkward silence, Surprise piped up, “Well, that went as well as could be expected.”

“What do you mean?” Pinkie asked. “I think Mrs. Cake liked you!”

“I guess if you count going catatonic as ‘liking’ me,” Surprise deadpanned. She struggled out of the sheets she was tangled in and crawled up the bed towards Pinkie, lavishing her marefriend’s cheeks with light kisses. “So... what do you want to do today?”

“Well...” Pinkie rolled her eyes upwards in thought. “Why don’t we throw the party tonight? I mean, now that you wanna meet all my friends, we can give you a proper welcome! A real shindig!” she exclaimed.

Surprise nodded. “Okay. So, planning it out and giving out invitations? That sounds like a good idea!” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Although...”

“What’s the matter?” Pinkie asked, looking up at her.

“Considering the reaction I got, maybe I shouldn’t come parading downstairs with you. Might make somepony flip a table, y’know?” Surprise said with a grin. “I tell you what. I’ll go grab all of my party supplies from my house and bring ‘em back here. You go and give out the invites. Deal?”

Pinkie hesitated for a moment. “Well...”

Surprise frowned. “Something on your mind?”

“I don’t wanna have to leave you now! I-I mean, after last night and all.” Pinkie let out a nervous giggle. “Can’t we do this together?”

“It isn’t much of an introduction if I’m tagging along with you to invite your friends now, is it?” Surprise replied. She rubbed noses with the earth pony, smiling. “Look, it’ll be a couple of hours, tops. You get your invites out, I’ll get my extra party gear, and we’ll meet back here this evening. Then, it’ll be party time. Deal?”

“Deal!” Pinkie exclaimed, wrapping her forelegs around Surprise and pulling her into a tight hug.

Surprise bent down slightly to whisper in Pinkie’s ear. “Annnd... after everypony’s gone, we can have a little party of our own.”

“You mean like an after-part—ohhh!” Pinkie flushed slightly as Surprise bent back and fixed her with a wicked grin. “Totally.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” The pegasus gave Pinkie one last, sloppy kiss and wriggled out of the embrace. She trotted to the window and pushed it open, before turning her head back to face the earth pony. “I’ll see you in a bit, then,” she said with a wink. Surprise spread her wings and flew out into the afternoon sky.

After a moment spent in a contented daze, Pinkie stretched and hopped out of bed, bouncing downstairs to meet the Cakes. She was greeted by an excited pair of gurgles from the twins as she entered the kitchen. “Heya, guys! How was Fillydelphia? Didja have fun?” she asked them, receiving happy giggles in reply.

“Why, yes we did,” said Mr. Cake, who was busy rolling out dough while keeping an eye on his children. “And I heard you had a good time last night?” He motioned to the pile of dishes that had been piled by the sink.

Pinkie’s eyes went wide in guilt, and she scurried over to the sink, scrubbing at the dirty dishes. “It was totally amazing!” she began. As the mountain of dirty crockery shrank, she chattered away, recounting the events of the night before. The last plate clattered into the drying rack as she finished, “...and then Surprise was all ‘we don’t need dessert!’ and then we went upstairs and—”

“That’s, um, great to hear, Pinkie,” Mr. Cake said, waving a hoof to cease Pinkie’s verbal tsunami with a worried look at the twins, who were obliviously playing in the corner.

“Yes... wonderful, dear.” Pinkie spun around from her position at the sink to see Mrs. Cake, who had briefly walked back into the kitchen from the main counter. “Thank you for cleaning up after yourself, Pinkie.”

“No problem, Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie exclaimed. She put on a big, innocent smile. “Would you guys be alright with me holding a party here tonight?”

Mr. Cake smiled. “Well, of course! You know the party room’s always available for you.”

“Goody! Because I was gonna introduce Surprise to all my friends tonight, and what better way is there than to throw a proper fiesta?” she said excitedly, pulling a sombrero seemingly from the ether and planting it atop her head.

“Uh...” Cup Cake pursed her lips for a second, giving a nervous glance to her husband, who was staring in perplextion at Pinkie’s new headgear. “Are you sure about that?” she asked.

Pinkie nodded vigorously. “Well, yeah! I mean, Surprise asked me to throw the party! Why wouldn’t I be sure?”

“I guess I just... I mean, after I came to your room this morning, uh...” Mrs. Cake’s cheeks flushed slightly. “Never mind. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Just fine! As long as you aren’t up too late.” She waved a forehoof by way of vague explanation. “You know.”

Mr. Cake looked from one mare to the other, a confused frown on his face. “Is there something I’m missing here?” he asked uncertainly. Pinkie just shrugged, while Cup Cake raised an eyebrow at her oblivious husband. “Fair enough, then.” He returned to rolling out the dough.

Cup sighed quietly. “Well, if you’re going to be going out inviting everypony to the party, Rarity and Fluttershy have just come in for a refreshment,” she told Pinkie. “Why don’t you go and tell them all about it, while I go fill in Carrot Cake on”—she fixed her husband with an irritated glare—“things.”

Pinkie nodded, flipping the sombrero off of her head. She bounced through the doors and into the front room of Sugarcube Corner, looking around for Rarity and Fluttershy. She saw the pair sat at a table near the corner, sipping at cups of tea. “Hi, Rarity! Hi, Fluttershy!” she called.

“Oh, hello, Pinkie Pie!” Rarity replied, turning her head to look Pinkie’s way. “I was hoping we’d see you. We just got back from the spa.” She gestured to her and Fluttershy’s freshly cleaned manes. She smiled at the earth pony. “Well, you’re looking rather... radiant yourself, I must say.”

“Like, all glowy?” Pinkie looked at a stretched-out foreleg in confusion.

The unicorn waved a forehoof, giggling softly. “Oh no, I just meant... well, looking better.” She smiled at Pinkie. “So, I heard from Mrs. Cake that there’s been a sea change with Surprise?”

Pinkie gave a snort of laughter. “Oh, no! We haven’t been to the beach yet, silly! We just had a dinner date last night!”

Rarity raised an eyebrow, before saying, “Ah, yes. Well, I’m very glad that you two have made up. I must admit, Pinkie, if you can get over a row like that amicably, then I’m sure you and Surprise will be able to build a very strong relationship.”

The earth pony said nothing for a moment, taken aback by the growing warmth inside her, sparked by Rarity’s comment. “Um... thanks!” she said eventually.

“I’m glad, too,” Fluttershy piped up, cradling the tea cup in her forehooves. “I mean, I heard all kinds of things from everypony... I was so worried about you.” Her gaze dropped from Pinkie, focusing on the tea instead. “I’m sorry if I caused any trouble between you and Surprise when you came to visit. I mean, that was all I heard, and then I found out you’d broken up an—” she terminated her own speech with a guilty squeak, her ears flattening against her head.

“No, no! It’s fine,” Pinkie reassured her. “Better than fine, actually! Surprise and I want to throw you all a party so you can meet her properly tonight. So, you’re both invited!”

Fluttershy gave her a tiny smile. “Oh! That’d be nice.”

“Indeed!” Rarity agreed. “I’ll look forward to finally meeting this mysterious mare.”

Pinkie grinned. “Then get your glad rags on, because this is going to be the better-late-than-never welcome-and-introduce-all-my-friends-to-my-special-somepony-combined party to end all”—she paused to take a huge breath—“better-late-than-never welcome-and-introduce-all-my-friends-to-my-special-somepony-combined parties ever!” She looked over her shoulder at the front door. “Now I’d better get going! I need to send out the invites and get the party ready! See ya later!” She barely saw the nods of approval before rushing out through the door. Time was going to be tight.

Before going to find Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who could be anywhere in the sky or the orchards respectively, Pinkie decided to find the one friend who could be reliably found in one place.

She poked her head around the door of the library, to see Twilight arranging a few books on the shelves with her magic. “Hey, Twilight!” Pinkie called.

Twilight turned her head to look at Pinkie, and smiled. “Oh, hi, Pinkie! What’s up?” She frowned slightly. “Are you alright? You seem quite... cheerful.”

“When am I not cheerful?” Pinkie asked, giggling.

“Well, for starters, when you spend three whole days cooped up in your room.” Twilight’s voice carried an edge of concern. “I mean, what’s happened between then and now?”

The earth pony filled her lungs with air. “Okay, Surprise came back to me and we apologised to one another and said we’d make up and then the Cakes went to Fillydelphia yesterday so I had Sugarcube Corner to myself so I invited Surprise over for a date and we had dinner together and then we kinda snuggled a lot all night and now I’m throwing a party this evening for her and you’re invited!”

Twilight blinked, stunned slightly by the verbal deluge. “I... see. Well, that’s good to hear. Much better than seeing you upset,” she admitted. “But you’re throwing a party for Surprise? Tonight?”

“Can’t you come?” A note of disappointment entered Pinkie’s voice, and her ears drooped slightly.

The unicorn shook her head. “No, no. Of course I can come! It’s just that... you’re throwing the party for Surprise. Is she okay with that?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed. “She asked me to throw it!”

“Oh. Well, that’s alright, then,” Twilight said. “I guess it’ll be nice to meet her after I missed her the other day.”

Pinkie suddenly perked up. “Oooh! Did you find that book in the end? You seemed super worried when you thought you’d lost it!”

Twilight gave a slight sigh and smiled remorsefully. “Well, yes, I did. But in a way, I think I did the world a disservice by finding it again. It was so awful.”

“What?!” Pinkie took a step back, before sitting down on her haunches in shock. “You’ve never hated a book before!”

“This one was different,” Twilight said with a shrug. “Written by a pony who kept getting his facts wrong and changing the writing without going back to earlier chapters to edit. Genies always live in a bottle, but then he says they can also live in jars or oil lamps! Love spirits are parasites, but then, no, they’re entirely benign!” She let out a huff. “And they can only be seen by the pony they’re attracted to. Halfway through the book, that changes to the spirits being able to project themselves into the perception of others, if they’re sufficiently charged with love. Then, back to just the one pony. It read more like somepony’s rantings in their personal journal than actual hypotheses.”

“That sounds like a fun book!” Pinkie piped up. Twilight gave her a perplexed look, which prompted her to continue, “Well, most science-y books are all ‘No, this is the truth! You must think this!’ But this one keeps you on your hooves because you have to make your own mind up. I mean, remember that time you went crazy trying to figure out my Pinkie Sense? Or when you came back from the future? All because it didn’t match up with what you’d already read?”

Twilight opened her mouth, staying silent for a moment as she frowned. “I suppose you have a point,” she conceded. “Challenging previous conventions and being willing to discard your pre-conceived notions in the face of new evidence are the basis of scientific research. But a book should be consistent in arguing its point. After all the back-and-forthing, the conclusion simply stated the author thought all of these encounters with genies and such were simply imagined by those who had seen the ‘spirits’, rendering the whole volume pretty much pointless.” She let out a huff and gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Pinkie. You only came here to give me an invitation, and I’ve ended up ranting at you!”

Pinkie shrugged and smiled back. “It’s okay! You got it out of your system! But you’re able to come tonight?”

“Sure!” Twilight walked over and hugged her friend. “And I’m really glad this worked out for you, Pinkie. It’s so great to see you this happy.”

“Thanks! And you’ll be able to tell Surprise that tonight,” Pinkie replied. They broke the hug and nodded to one another. “She’s really excited to meet you guys, too!” She looked at the clock on the wall and gasped. Time really flew when she was having fun! “Sorry Twilight, but I gotta go! I still have to find and invite Dashie and Applejack and get back to Sugarcube Corner to meet Surprise.”

“That’s okay! You go and”—Twilight blinked at the cloud of dust she was now speaking to—“...do that.”

Pinkie scurried through Ponyville in search of her next two friends, eventually turning up outside the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. She perked her ears up to listen for the sound of hooves meeting tree bark; presumably, Applejack would have to be around here somewhere. However, what she heard instead were two raised voices, apparently in argument. She crept closer to eavesdrop.

“...All Ah’m sayin’ is she seemed perfectly nice! Ah don’t know what you’ve got against this mare!” said Applejack.

“What, you mean other than the fact that she made Pinkie hide away for half a week?!” came the angry retort from Rainbow.

“And what caused that ta happen, huh? Didn’t ya say ya were the last pony Pinkie talked to before Surprise ran off?” Applejack said. By now, Pinkie had crept close enough to see them; AJ stood by an apple tree, Rainbow hovering in front of her. The two mares were scowling at one another, their necks craned so that their noses were almost touching.

“I just said I thought she was taking the relationship too fast!” Rainbow exclaimed. Her expression faltered slightly. “What, are you blaming me for what Surprise did?”

“Ah’m just sayin’ ya ain’t the greatest authority on relationships in Ponyville, Rainbow. And that ain’t yer fault, after all. It’s just after... y’know.” Applejack scuffed at the ground awkwardly.

Dash let out a lengthy sigh. “Well, thanks for bringing that up, AJ,” she said bitterly. “Look, Pinkie’s back with Surprise, and I don’t see what good it’ll do being nasty to her. Just... I dunno, keep an eye on her? Because if she breaks my friend’s heart again, she won’t be getting off lightly.” She smacked one forehoof into the other with a grimace.

Applejack smiled grimly. “Heh, ya won’t be alone there, sugarcube.” She raised her forehoof. “Sorry if ah got a bit too aggressive, Rainbow. Ah know we’re both only looking out for Pinkie.”

Rainbow bumped her forehoof against Applejack’s. “No hard feelings,” she said with a small smile.

With her friends’ argument apparently resolved, Pinkie decided to make herself known. “Hey, guys!” she exclaimed, bouncing into the clearing.

Applejack turned to her. “Well howdy, Pinkie! How did yer date go last night?”

Pinkie grinned. “Really, really great! We had dinner, and then Surprise stayed the night—”

“Uh...” Rainbow interjected, a blush rising on her cheeks.

“—and now we’re throwing a party tonight so you can all get to know her!” Pinkie finished.

Rainbow and Applejack glanced to one another, frozen grins on both their faces. After a pregnant pause, the farmer offered, “Well, ain’t that lovely?” The pegasus nudged her, but she ignored it. “Ah’d love ta meet Surprise. Properly, this time. Without scaring the livin’ daylights outta her,” she said with a nervous chuckle.

“Um... Pinkie, is this a good idea?” Rainbow asked. “Not about you and Surprise,” she added quickly, rubbing the back of her neck. “I mean about... well, us. I know there’s some baggage, and I probably gave you some pretty cruddy advice the other day.” She let out a sigh. “I’m supposed to be loyal, and instead I’ve basically been undermining you all week and been a terrible frien—oof!” She was cut off from her self-deprecation as Pinkie grabbed her out of the air and pulled her into a tight hug.

“You’ve been a great friend!” Pinkie reassured her. “It was me who was being all mopey-dopey and doing things wrong!” She released Rainbow from the embrace. “But everything’s better now, right? You and me, me and Surprise, you and Applej—” she clapped a hoof over her mouth. To her surprise, Dash grinned sheepishly and looked back at AJ.

“Don’t worry about overhearing us, Pinkie. We weren’t exactly being quiet,” Rainbow said. “And you’re right; everypony’s made up. I guess we could all do with a nice party to unwind.”

Applejack nodded, walking closer. “Rainbow’s got the long and short of it. We’ve all had a difficult few days, and Ah can’t think of a better way ta get to know Surprise properly than at one of your parties, Pinkie!”

“Awww, you guys...” Pinkie grabbed both of her friends in a group hug. “But it’s not till tonight, okay? And I’m gonna need to run to meet Surprise so we can set up the party! Is that okay? Sorry to have go so soon!”

“It’s fine, Pinkie,” Applejack replied, pulling back. “‘Sides, Ah’m sure Rainbow and Ah will be able to occupy ourselves.” She nudged Rainbow, who nodded and blushed slightly, before staring at the ground. “Y’all go on and enjoy yourself with Surprise.”

Pinkie nodded vigorously. “Okie dokie lokie! You guys have fun bucking trees, or clouds, or whatever!” She skipped away merrily from the scene, already formulating a plan for the party.

Pinkie sat on the floor of the party room, immobile. Normally, she would be a pink blur as she zoomed around with preparations, but Surprise hadn’t yet returned to Sugarcube Corner. The earth pony found herself at an impasse. She settled for simply planning out the decorations in her head, but even that was difficult. For all their sharing a cutie mark talent, Pinkie had no idea how her marefriend set up her own parties.

She scuffed a hoof at the floor, idly wondering what Surprise would do in here. Would she hang up the banners the way Pinkie did—across the back of the room—or would she prefer corner-to-corner? Would she have bunches of balloons matching her cutie mark? A bowl of punch? What about the cake? Maybe she preferred different party games... and music! You couldn’t forget the music!

Pinkie’s train of thought was rudely derailed by the sound of hoofsteps behind her. She turned her head to see Mrs. Cake, who had walked into the room with an apologetic look on her face.

“Oh, Pinkie!” Cup Cake said. “I thought you would’ve begun by now. I was wondering why you were so quiet! Are you alright?”

Pinkie smiled and nodded. “I’m just waiting for Surprise! I thought it’d be rude to start without her, so I was just planning out everything in my head.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Y’know, I’ve never really met another pony who has throwing parties as part of their special talent before! I really don’t know whether Surprise will want to do things differently, and it’s her party, really.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you.” The older earth pony walked over and gave her charge a one-legged hug. “I’m so proud of you, Pinkie. I really think you’ve dealt with this situation maturely. Much more so than most ponies would, anyway.”

Pinkie giggled and blushed slightly. “Aww... um, thanks, Mrs. Cake! I guess it just came naturally. I mean, most of it was other ponies talking to me.”

“Well, regardless, I th—” Mrs. Cake stopped as Pinkie suddenly hiccupped loudly, before her eyes crossed briefly and both ears flopped down. “Something the matter?”

“Just my Pinkie Sense!” the younger pony said. She rubbed her chin. “Hmm... hiccup, crossed eyes, ear flops. I think that means something unexpected is going to happen!” She felt a sudden pang of worry, her face falling slightly.

“Oh, don’t fret, Pinkie! You know better than anypony that could mean anything!” Cup Cake reassured her.

“Yeah... anything. L-like, Gummy falling in the punch bowl, or a bowl of petunias suddenly appearing! Heh.” Pinkie pulled herself out of the hug. “Um... I think Surprise might be getting here soon. I guess I’ll make a start, at least.” Her gaze fell to the ground.

“Then I’ll get myself out of your way,” Cup said, beginning to walk away. “And Pinkie?” The earth pony looked up at her. “Don’t worry. Everything will be just fine. I know it.”

“Y-yeah,” Pinkie said as Mrs. Cake left the room. Her shoulders tensed as she heard a glassy bonk bonk at the window. “J-just fine.”

Explanations

More Than She Could Dream Of

Chapter 9

Explanations

Pinkie hopped around the party room, anxiously making last-minute checks to the venue. In the end, Surprise had ceded to her judgement, letting her decorate the room as she saw fit.

She had done so, but in the process, a few of the touches Pinkie had imagined Surprise would add had found their way in nonetheless. The banner was hung from corner to corner and bunches of three balloons were strewn about, some groups of yellow and blue and some of purple alone. As with any other party, punch and games were laying about and a record chock full of cheerful music was ready in the gramophone.

A faint sigh left her lips. Right now, Pinkie wanted nothing more than for her marefriend to be beside her, but Surprise had talked her into making the event a... well, a surprise party. The pegasus would hide away in the clouds until all of the invitees had arrived, then fly down and knock on the door to make her entrance. She had to admit, it would be rather spectacular and would save awkwardly introducing her marefriend to each of the others individually.

Still, the enforced isolation was causing the seed of anxiety planted by her Pinkie Sense to sprout yet further, leaving the earth pony on edge. Nothing could really go wrong, could it? Not now... Pinkie was jolted out of her introspection by a sudden knock at the door. She walked over and opened it, to see Applejack and Fluttershy.

“Oh! Hey, guys. You came a little early!” Pinkie said.

Applejack grinned, rubbing the back of her neck. “Yeah, Flutters and Ah were passin’ through town together. We figured we’d turn up now.” She craned her neck around Pinkie, looking into the room. “So, is Surprise around, or...?”

Pinkie shook her head. “She’ll be coming once everypony’s here! She wanted it to be a surprise!” She giggled nervously. “Besides, you two have met Surprise before!”

Fluttershy and Applejack shared a glance with frozen grins. “Well, y’know...” AJ said.

“Just in passing,” Fluttershy offered.

“We don’t really know her yet, hun,” Applejack continued. “Ah’m lookin’ forward to meetin’ her properly, though.” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Is there anythin’ we can help with, sugarcube? While we’re here?”

Fluttershy nodded. “If there was something I could do to make up for being rude at the market...” She grimaced slightly. “I’m sorry; I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s fine, Fluttershy! Really,” Pinkie replied. She relented as the pegasus hid her face behind her long pink mane. “Well, if it’d make you feel any better, there’s some snacks in the kitchen I was gonna bring in...”

“Then leave it to us!” Applejack said. Pinkie stood aside and the other two ponies walked through into the kitchen. She paced about awkwardly, listening to her friends moving about in the other room. She pressed her ear against the door.

For a moment, there came nothing but the clinking of crockery. Then, Fluttershy murmured, “I just don’t know how to deal with this, Applejack.”

“Look, it’ll be fine, sugarcube. Just put on a brave face! It wasn’t so bad when Ah talked to her yesterday,” AJ said, trying her best to sound reassuring.

“I just hope I didn’t cause too much trouble when we were at the market...”

“‘Course not!” Applejack reassured her. Pinkie pulled away from the door. Fluttershy was nervous about being introduced to Surprise? All because of that one little meeting? She didn’t need to worry! Pinkie was about to push open the door to reassure her friend, when she realised she shouldn’t have been listening in the first place. Never mind; she would make extra sure that Fluttershy would have a good time!

Her ears perked up as the door creaked behind her. Pinkie turned around to see Rarity, Twilight and Rainbow all poking their heads through the frame. “Hey, Pinkie!” said Dash. “The party hasn’t started without us, has it?”

“Nope! Applejack and Fluttershy are already here and Surprise will be here soon,” Pinkie replied. “C’mon in!”

“Oh... where is Surprise, then?” Twilight asked as the trio entered the room.

“Well, she wanted to meet you all at once!” Pinkie said. “Now that you’re all here, she’ll be here any moment.”

Her friends pacified, Pinkie set about being a good host, as always. Applejack and Fluttershy brought out the snacks from the kitchen, much to the delight of everypony there. After a couple of minutes, Pinkie nudged the needle into position onto the gramophone, starting up the music. “Anypony wanna dance?” They obliged, but a set of frozen half-smiles told her this wasn’t quite what the others had thought the party was going to be like.

A few moments became five minutes, then a quarter of an hour. Pinkie stood by the table of cakes, but her appetite had vanished as her stomach twisted itself into a burning knot of anxiety. This couldn’t be it, could it? The unexpected thing being Surprise not turning up? No... Her marefriend would never betray her like that!

“...Hey, Pinkie?” She shook herself out of her stupour as Rainbow nudged her. “You alright? You kinda zoned out for a moment there.”

“I’m fine! Just fine! Everything’s fine,” Pinkie reassured her. Her eyes flickered to the clock. “Don’t you worry about a thing.”

“I... wasn’t,” Rainbow said, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t sweat it about Surprise, okay? I’m sure she’s got her reasons for being a bit late.”

“But she—I mean, why would—”

“Look at it this way. Surprise would be crazy to pass up a pony as awesome as you!” Dash said, placing a forehoof around Pinkie’s shoulders. “I know all kinds of nasty ideas go through your head when somepony you know is acting strange,” she continued in a quieter tone. “But—listen—don’t take this the wrong way. You’ll go crazy with worry and then it’ll turn out to be nothing!”

Pinkie hesitated for a moment, before the corners of her mouth curled upward. “Y-yeah! Sure. It’s probably nothing to worry about. Heh. Thanks, Dashie.” She returned to the party proper, wearing a mask and going through the motions of any of her other festivities while she gradually curled up and withered inside.

After the clock counted off the fiftieth agonising minute since the last of the guests had arrived, Rarity finally turned to Pinkie and asked her the question she’d been dreading. “Um... darling, not meaning to be rude, but when do you suppose Surprise will be arriving?” The unicorn bit her lip. “We can’t wait to meet her, you see!”

“She... she’ll be here soon,” Pinkie said, doubting the words the second they left her mouth. “I mean, she has to come, right? This is her party...” She trembled slightly as she looked into the dubious gazes of her friends.

“Pinkie... we wouldn't blame you if that’s the case,” Twilight said quietly.

“‘Blaming me’?” Oh, no no no. There’s no need for that!” Pinkie babbled, a nervous giggle escaping her lips. “It’s not like Surprise would cancel on me like this, at a party I threw for her, right when we just made up!”

Twilight bit her bottom lip. “I meant you—”

“She’s real, Twilight! What, do you think I’ve made this all up because I was lonely and really, really, really wanted a marefriend?!” Pinkie snapped. Her gaze whipped up to Applejack and Fluttershy, who were by the punch bowl. “You guys saw Surprise, didn’t you?” the pink pony demanded. She pointed at Twilight. “Tell her!”

The other two ponies blinked in shock, before Fluttershy stammered out a response. “W-well, y-you know I was very busy in the market that day...” Her ears flattened against her head. “B-but I’m sure I saw her! And you looked very happy!”

Pinkie shook her head and stared at Applejack. “Come on, Applejack! You saw Surprise—you talked to her and everything!”

Applejack sighed and took her hat in the crook of her ankle. “Look, Pinkie, Ah don’t appreciate bein’ used this way...” She stared straight into Pinkie’s eyes. “And, for what it’s worth—” She was cut off by an exasperated sigh from the pink pony.

“Never mind! I have a photograph of me and Surprise upstairs! You’ll see.” Pinkie dashed up the stairs to her bedroom before Twilight could reply. She yanked open the drawer and began rooting through the various scraps within. Her hoof found the picture of Rainbow Dash from her journal first, still slashed through with a line of red ink. Pinkie regarded it in silence for a second, pursing her lips. Then, with a small sigh, she set it aside, continuing her search.

After a moment, Pinkie gave a cry of triumph as she found the photo Featherweight had taken in the market. There she was: Surprise, hugging her, the two of them beaming out of the picture. She grinned fiercely and skipped back down the steps, clutching it in the crook of her ankle. “Found it!” she sang.

By now, the rest of her friends were looking rather uncomfortable, with Twilight’s cheeks flushed a deep red. “L-look, Pinkie, I wasn’t accusing you of making Surprise up, I jus—”

Pinkie waved her forehoof. “It’s okay! I wanted you to see this photo anyway. Here!” She thrust the picture under Twilight’s nose.

Twilight took a step back, her head recoiling slightly as she regarded the photograph. Her eyes widened as she gazed at it. “Oh, Pinkie...” She trailed off as a knock came at the door.

Pinkie gasped and jumped a foot into the air. “She’s here!” the earth pony exclaimed. She dashed out of the party room and to the front door and yanked it open to reveal Surprise.

“Hey, Pinki—guggh!” Surprise’s greeting was terminated by Pinkie flinging her forelegs around her and hugging her extemely tightly.

“Where have you been?!” Pinkie squeaked. “I was so worried...” She felt a kiss against her forehead and looked up at her marefriend.

“I was... well...” Surprise blushed slightly. “I needed to get something. Between me leaving and coming back, the last of your friends must’ve arrived. I waited a while, but I came down after I figured they must have turned up by now.” She sighed quietly. “I’m so sorry if I made you worry. I’m here now.”

Pinkie paused for a moment, then shook her head. “No, no, it’s okay. It’s not your fault. Although, what was so super-duper important you had to go and get it just now?”

Surprise smiled and reached back to pull out a small box she had secreted under her wing. “Well, I thought I would thank you for everything so far, Pinkie,” she said. “Your enthusiasm, your forgiveness... everything. You’ve been wonderful. I wanted to get you a gift to show how much I appreciate you.” The pegasus gave her marefriend the container.

Pinkie pushed open the box and gasped as she saw what was inside: a necklace of fine silver chain. Dangling from the centre were two charms, each shaped like a bunch of balloons. Pieces of coloured glass has been set in them, so that one matched Surprise’s cutie mark and the other Pinkie’s. “Oh... oh, Surprise...” she murmured.

“Do you like it?” Surprise asked, raising herself up onto the tips of her hooves, fluttering the tips of her wings to stay upright.

A pink hoof prodded at the necklace. “I love it,” Pinkie said quietly. She looked up into Surprise’s anxious gaze and kissed her. “Thank you so much! It’s amazing!” the earth pony exclaimed. She pulled the piece of jewellery out of the box and put it around her neck, gazing down at the cutie mark gems in pride. “Now, c’mon inside. I’ve got a lot of introducing to do.”

Surprise grinned at her. “Sure thing! I’m so excited for this,” she said, kissing Pinkie back on the cheek.

“Uh... Pinkie? You okay?” Rainbow asked. The five friends had walked through from the party room back to the front parlour and were gathered in a group behind Pinkie.

The earth pony turned around to face her friends and smiled. “Oh! Right on cue. This is Surprise, everypony!” she said, stepping to one side and pointing to her marefriend. Her grin faded slightly as the other five ponies gave her a blank look. “C’mon, guys, what’s the matter?”

“Uh...” Rarity said.

“Um...” Fluttershy offered.

“Wh... where is she?” Rainbow asked.

A halting giggle left Pinkie’s mouth, her face frozen in a smile. “Are you playing a prank on me, Dashie?” she asked jovially. When the faces in front of her refused to change their expressions, the earth pony began to frown. “This isn’t funny, guys! Look, she’s right here!” She flapped a hoof at the doorway. There was only silence behind her. “Surprise?”

“Oh... oh, no...” Surprise whimpered. Tears sprang up in her eyes and she took a step back. “P-please don’t look at me, Pinkie!” she exclaimed.

Pinkie squeezed her eyes shut. “I won’t!” she promised, confusion roiling in her stomach. She turned her head back to her friends and opened her eyes once more. Tears blurred her vision as she looked at the gathered ponies. “Guys... please, stop it. This prank isn’t funny any more! You’re scaring me!” the earth pony begged them.

“Pinkie, we’re not pranking you. I promise you,” Twilight reassured her. “We’re just really, really confused right now.” She took a step forward, concern in her eyes. “What’s going on?”

“I... I-I don’t know...” Pinkie whimpered. She scrunched her eyes shut again. “Surprise... I don’t understand.”

“N-No, I wouldn’t expect you to...” came the voice of Surprise from behind her. The pegasus let out a huge sigh as Pinkie gazed up at her, tears flowing from her purple eyes. “I’m so sorry, Pinkie. This is all my fault... I shouldn’t have lied to you, and I shouldn’t have assumed this would work...”

Pinkie frowned, grinding her forehoof into the floor in anxiety. “W-What do you mean? You lied to me? What isn’t working?” Her head swung back and forth between her marefriend and her friends. “Why can’t they see you?”

Surprise just cringed and shook her head. “Pinkie, I’m sorry,” was all she seemed able to say.

Giving up on getting an explanation out of Surprise for now, Pinkie turned to the one pony who could offer her solace. “Applejack, you must know what’s going on!” she pleaded. “Why can’t you see her now? You talked to Surprise just yesterday!” The farmer’s eyes widened and her ears flattened against her head. “Tell them! Tell them you saw her. I’m not crazy! I’m NOT!” She huffed, taking great, ragged breaths to try and calm herself down. “I’m not...”

Applejack blinked, shrinking away slightly from the curious gazes of her friends. She clutched her hat against her chest, mouth twisting as she stared at the floor. “Sugarcube, Ah don’t know what Ah saw...” She looked up at Pinkie’s tearful face and her expression softened. “Look, Pinkie, Ah can’t see Surprise now. If she’s there, only you can see her. But Ah do know Ah talked to her the other day. She was there, plain as can be. Ah don’t know what kinda doo-hickery’s goin’ on here, but Ah believe ya. Ah don’t think there’s anythin’ wrong with yer head.”

There was a momentary pause, then the other four ponies nodded, a chorus of “Yeah,” and “I believe you, too,” emanating from them.

Pinkie smiled weakly. “Th-thanks, guys,” she murmured. She looked back to Surprise, who was biting her bottom lip almost hard enough to draw blood. “But, I still don’t get it. What’s going on?”

“I... I suppose this was going to happen eventually,” Surprise said bitterly. “It’s happened every other time. I shouldn’t have thought this would be any different.”

The earth pony’s ears perked up. “‘Every other time’? You mean you’re real? Y-you’re not just in my head?” Pinkie wiped away her tears. “B-Because if you’re Madame le Flour, or... or Rocky, but different, just tell me.”

“No. I’m real, Pinkie. I’m real and I love you,” Surprise said firmly. “I’ve known so many ponies and I’ve said ‘I love you’ more times than I can count. But last night? Last night was the first time I’ve said it and meant it. I promise you.”

Pinkie blinked rapidly, trying to process the confession. “W-well, I...” Despite the situation, she couldn’t help but smile at Surprise’s adamant expression. She was loved, no matter what. “What’s the matter, then? Why can’t my friends see you? What’s gone wrong?”

Surprise looked at the floor, her wings slumping. There was a pregnant pause. “I’m real, b-but I’m not really here.” She frowned, struggling to articulate her explanation. “I’m... connected to you; that’s why you can see me. But only you; it’s the love we share. I’m not a pony; I’m some kind of... spirit, I guess.”

“A spirit? And I can see you because of love?” Pinkie asked. Her marefriend nodded miserably and the earth pony felt a pang of realisation as she remembered Twilight’s rant. “A love spirit?”

“Love spirit?” Twilight asked. Pinkie turned back to her friend, who now looked more curious than worried. “That’s... interesting.” The earth pony nodded and then blanched as Twilight raised a hoof to her lips.

“Twilight? What’s wrong? What did the book say?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight shook her head. “Pinkie, I told you, the book was so vague, it was useless as a referen—”

“What. Did. The book. Say?” Pinkie demanded.

“The book said... well...” Twilight bit her lip, pausing for a moment to find the words she needed. “It said spirits need a... suspension of disbelief. Isolation from reality. And now we’re all here...”

Pinkie felt her knees go weak. “No! No no no. I’m not disbelieving! Surprise is real. She’s right here!” She gestured at the door. “It’s fine! I know she’s real, so everything’s fine. Right?” she babbled. She looked back and forth between her marefriend and her. “Right?!” The earth pony jumped as she felt a hoof touch her shoulder.

“She’s right, Pinkie,” Surprise whispered, her face wet with tears. “Every time this happens... My lover realises I’m not really there, and then I’m torn away from them, to somepony else.”

“But... but...” Pinkie’s mouth flapped as she desperately sought a solution. “You love me. And I love you! Isn’t that all you need? Why would you leave me?” She let out a single sob. “Why can’t you come back to me?”

“They... they reset,” Twilight murmured. “After each iteration.” Her eyes shone with horror and pain, the look of a pony committed to giving the truth, no matter how bad it hurt.

“Yeah,” Surprise said sadly. “Every time... eventually, the pony I was with would find out what I was.” She sighed and dropped her gaze to the floor. “And I couldn’t come back to them. Every time, I was... erased. Nearly everything about me—my memories, my personality, my appearance—was destroyed and replaced by something else. I became a new pony every time I moved on. And then I was moulded to the ideal form of the pony I was next drawn to.”

Pinkie’s head jerked back. “What? I didn’t ‘mould’ you; I didn’t do anything! You were just there in the park!” she insisted.

Surprise nodded. “I know. You weren’t to blame. I’m just drawn to ponies who are lonely and looking for love,” she explained. “And you? You were crying out for it... I was drawn to you like a moth to a flame.” The pegasus’ mouth twitched in sympathy. “And I came to you. But something happened this time that’s never happened before.”

“R-Really?” Pinkie asked. “I’m... special to you? Even if there’s been heaps and heaps of ponies you’ve gone to?”

“Yeah...” The pegasus looked up, beyond Pinkie to Rainbow Dash, who was simply staring in confusion. “Way back when, I was at Flight School at the same as Rainbow. And I was a prankster.” She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. “I just wanted attention... I never made many friends, and the idea of getting a date for the passing-out prom, heh...” Surprise grimaced. “I got my hooves on some magical artifact, guaranteed to cause a commotion. I thought I could get popular off of the back of it... But then, when I used it, I passed out. When I woke up, nopony could see me, or hear me. Then I was dragged away to somewhere that should have been unfamiliar. But it wasn’t! Somehow I knew Manehatten like the back of my hoof... Then I realised I was somepony else. ‘Surprise’ was gone. And I’ve been changing myself for others ever since, trying to cling on to one identity.”

Tears welled up in Pinkie’s eyes. She tried to imagine being torn away from her friends, time and again, rootless and lonely. “Surprise... I’m so sorry. I never realised,” she murmured. “B-but, how am I any different?”

“Don’t you get it, Pinkie?” Surprise said, smiling even as tears streamed down her face. “Your perfect partner, the one you would match perfectly with... was me. The real me.” She walked forward, raising a hoof and gently stroking Pinkie’s cheek. “We’re made for one another.”

Pinkie smiled back weakly, before pulling back slightly with a frown. “Then why did you leave so soon?” she asked. “I mean, you knew you were right for me, right? Because you... you appeared as you and not somepony else,” the earth pony said slowly, keeping track of what had been revealed so far. “But then you shouted at me and left me when you saw me with Dashie the other day.” The frown deepened. “If I was that super-special to you, why did you leave? How do I know I can believe you?”

Surprise’s face flushed and she looked at the floor, grinding her forehoof against it. “I don’t know what to say, Pinkie. I’m so sorry. I’ve spent so many years being blown to and fro, trying to hold onto something... I’d become jealous, selfish, clingy, even. It’s why I didn’t want see your friends to begin with. I didn’t want to lose you so soon; your friends wouldn’t see me, and I would be gone.” She huffed and rubbed the back of her neck. “But more than that, I wanted you to myself, regardless of what you wanted.” The pegasus cringed and then gave a surprised snort as Pinkie nuzzled her.

“It’s okay!” the earth pony said. “I mean, I wasn’t exactly great at this whole dating thing myself!”

Surprise gently pushed her away, regarding Pinkie with red-rimmed eyes. “No, you don’t understand! When I appeared as myself, I thought that this was it; my one chance to make things right. For the first time, I wasn’t just perfect to the pony I’d appeared to; she was perfect for me, too. So, I was even more motivated to stay together with you than usual.” She paused, blinking rapidly and swallowing.

Pinkie cocked her head to one side, frowning. “How is that a bad thing?” she asked.

“‘A bad thing’?” Surprise exclaimed. A bitter laugh escaped her lips. “Pinkie, can’t you see the damage I’ve done? I slipped into your life without thinking about what would happen if—no, when—I was found out. I tried to drive you apart from your friends. And when I finally woke up and saw the danger I posed to your happiness, I resolved to slip away again.” Her wings slumped down. “But what did I do instead? I caught you talking to Rainbow Dash and twisted it in my head to you two meeting up and going behind my back.” The pegasus sniffed miserably. “I told myself it was for your own good and that it was better for me to leave, but boy did I ever make sure I left in a way that cut you to shreds, Pinkie.”

The earth pony hesitantly held Surprise as she broke down, sobbing miserably. “It’s okay... I forgive you,” Pinkie murmured, smoothing the poofy yellow mane. “You came back and made things right, and that’s all that matters.”

“B-but that was because I thought I would dissipate and I didn’t and I waited three whole days and I was still here and”—Surprise cut into her rant to suck in another breath through her nose—“how could I ignore that? You still wanted me and waited for me and I pounced on the opportunity—”

“...And I would have done the same,” Pinkie answered. “When you came along, I would have done anything for a marefriend—and I mean anything—so you shouldn’t feel so bad.” She sighed, feeling oddly calm for such an extrordinary situation. “Maybe I asked you out and you stayed with me for all the wrong reasons. I don’t know. But we both said ‘I love you’ and we meant it, right?”

Surprise nodded and sniffed again. “Yeah... At least one thing I was able to be sincere about.”

“Well, there you go, then!” Pinkie exclaimed. “We both did things wrong before, yeah, but we both learned from it. And now we’re made up.” She took Surprise’s head in her hooves and kissed her gently on the forehead. “So, even if you think you think you’ve been a meany-weany pony, it doesn’t matter to me. We love one another, and you’ve shown me what it means to have a special somepony. That’s more than I could have asked for. More than I could have hoped for.” The earth pony bit her lip to suppress her own sob. Her ears perked up as she heard a sniffle behind her; she turned back to see Rarity dabbing at her eyes with a napkin.

“Oh my... that was beautiful,” Rarity murmured. Her eyes went wide as she realised Pinkie was staring at her. “I-I’m sorry, my dear. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“It’s fine,” Pinkie said. She pulled Surprise closer, cuddling and kissing her as the pegasus quivered in the embrace. She was acutely aware that, if the others couldn’t see her marefriend, she would appear to be being affectionate to thin air. But she had been assured by Surprise that she was real and, moreover, Surprise felt real. That was good enough for her.

The pegasus snivelled, nuzzling Pinkie gently. “Then I’m glad I could do that much for you,” she said queitly. Surprise looked up at the earth pony with watery purple eyes. “Though, you deserve so much better than me.”

Pinkie shook her head. “It doesn’t matter what I deserve; it matters what I have. And I have you, and you make me happy. And I’m gonna stick by you for”—she paused and gulped, beginning to tremble—“...for as long as we have left.” She bit her lip. “But I don’t know what to do now, Surprise.”

“There’s... there’s nothing you can do, Pinkie,” Surprise whispered. “I’m so sorry.” She looked down at her hind leg, Pinkie following her gaze. The earth pony felt sick to the pit of her stomach as she realised she could see through the white foreleg to the floorboards behind it, the translucency gradually moving up the limb. “I’m already unravelling,” the pegasus said sadly. “I guess this is it.”

“No!” Pinkie’s calm façade disintergrated as she broke down into frantic weeping, clinging to her marefriend. “This can’t be happening! This isn’t right; this isn’t fair!” she exclaimed through sobs. “W-we’ve found each other and we’re j-just right for each other! Isn’t that enough? Isn’t that all a... a... love spirit needs?”

Surprise gave a sob of her own and pressed her head against Pinkie’s chest. “I-I know. I thought this was it, too... I found my soulmate, and I could l-love her back. Then my... curse, I guess, would be lifted.” She gave another glance to her fading body. “I s-suppose that was just wishful thinking,” she said bitterly.

Pinkie turned her head back to her friends. By now, each of them had lost their expressions of confusion and instead looked at her with deep sadness. Rarity and Fluttershy were both tearful, the latter hiding her face behind her long pink mane. “Twilight,” Pinkie whispered. “Please... help me. There must be something?” She stared at her friend, who met her gaze for a moment, before looking down at the floor. “Right?”

Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it again, grinding a forehoof against the floor. “Nothing that I’d really say was certain...” she began quietly, before meeting Pinkie’s hard gaze and sighing. “There was a passage about spirits being a soul bereft of a body,” she continued, more assertive now. “They’re blown about by the lack of a physical presence; hence genies residing in a lamp and such. There was a very experimental spell that could tie a soul to a new body... in theory, you could stop the dissipation by tying Surprise to you.”

“NO!” Pinkie’s head whipped around as Surprise cried out. By now, she was almost entirely translucent, only the parts of her body in contact with Pinkie still solid. “Don’t do this to yourself,” the pegasus pleaded. “Please. I’m not worth that.”

“Why? What’s the matter? You can stay with me! It’ll all be fine!” Pinkie said, smiling through her tears.

“It won’t.” Surprise clenched her eyes shut for a moment. “I’ve tried this once before. I know I have, it’s one of the few things I remember from my past selves...” She rubbed the side of her head and stared straight into Pinkie’s eyes. “So I remember not to do it again.”

“Wh-why?” Pinkie felt a shard of ice stab her in the stomach.

Surprise sighed and looked at the floor. “It was spring... I think. A unicorn mare studying in Canterlot. She was called... she... I don’t even remember her name.” Pinkie held her a little closer as the pegasus gave a little sob. “I came to her when she was lonely. She was studying the same book as your friend... or close enough. So, when I was found out, instead of letting me go, my partner had me cast the spell upon her, binding me to her. And, for once, I was like a normal pony. Remember Applejack seeing me? It worked... on everypony.”

“S-so what’s so bad about that?” Pinkie said, a nervous giggle escaping her lips. She shuddered as Surprise gazed at her with haggard eyes, a truly haunted look upon her face.

“It only worked while the love was alive,” Surprise said in a low voice. “When we fell out...” By now, she was shaking, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. “I dissipated. And I took her with me.”

Pinkie’s forelegs tightened around Surprise. “Y-you mean...”

“I s-still remember her screaming as she faded away, begging for somepony, anypony, to save her,” the pegasus whispered. She made eye contact with Pinkie again. “That will ultimately be your fate too, Pinkie, if you go through with this. Once the love runs out...” Surprise shook her head. “Please, Pinkie, don’t do this for me. Nopony is worth becoming a love spirit. Let me go. Find somepony else, one who can stay by your side. Don’t sacrifice it all for me...”

Pinkie stayed silent for a moment, holding Surprise close, keeping her from unravelling. She thought and thought; harder than she’d ever thought before, harder even than the time she believed her friends had abandoned her. The earth pony tried to weigh up what Surprise had told her.

Maybe she would lose everything if she fell out with Surprise. And maybe that could happen again. But then, they were made for each other, weren’t they? Not like the unfortunate mare in Canterlot. Even if they had an argument, Pinkie couldn’t see her love for Surprise fading away any time soon...

And besides, regardless of what horrible things might happen to her, Pinkie couldn’t help but think of Surprise. Sure, Pinkie could go back to her friends and be fine, in the end. There’d be heartbreak, but it would heal in time. Surprise, on the other hoof... she would be condemned to repeating this again and again, forever, only now she would have to go through with it, knowing her special somepony had slipped away once and for all. If Pinkie really did love Surprise, how could she ever abandon her like that?

“I’ll do it,” Pinkie said confidently. “Cast the spell on me.”

“No.” Surprise shook her head over and over again, pleading. “No no no no no. Pinkie, don’t do this! You’ll lose everything; you’ll never see your friends and family again! You won’t see me again!” She choked on her own words, nearly hyperventilating. “You’ll be doomed to wear a mask, be blown about for the rest of time. I wouldn’t wish this existence on my worst enemy! Don’t do this to me. Don’t do this to your friends.” The pegasus cradled Pinkie’s head in her hooves. “Don’t do this to yourself.”

“But I want you to be happy, too,” Pinkie insisted.

“That’s my concern, Pinkie. I made a stupid mistake and I paid for it. I won’t have you do the same.” Surprise backed away across the threshold, stretching out her forelegs to stay connected to Pinkie. The earth pony clung to the white limbs ever tighter. “I’m going to let go now, okay? I’ll just g-give a little tug, and I’ll be gone. You can move on and... so can I, I guess.” She cast her gaze to the floor. “I am truly sorry I have to do this to you, Pinkie. I love you.”

“And wh-what if I pull back, huh?” Pinkie said, blinking to keep the tears out of her own eyes. “What if I don’t let go?”

Surprise sighed. “Then, you’ll bind yourself to me. I can’t stop it; not if that’s what you truly want.” She stared at Pinkie, then looked past her and nodded at the group of friends behind them. “But think of them. Think of all the ponies who’ll suffer if you vanish one day. What will Ponyville be like with a Pinkie-shaped hole? I’m telling you: I’m. Not. Worth. It,” she insisted.

Pinkie shook her head at Surprise. “Don’t tell me what you’re worth to me,” the earth pony whispered. “It’s a whole lot more than what you think it is,” she said with a small smile.

“Just... please, make the right choice,” Surprise pleaded.

Pinkie looked back at her friends one last time, then back at Surprise. She nodded, and made her decision.

Author's Note

Aaaaand that's all, folks!

I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have; it's been a hell of a ride watching you all speculate and debate. I feel truly privileged to have piqued the curiosity of so many people, so thank you all sticking around to the end.

I'd like to thank Burraku_Pansa for being an awesome and diligent editor, and HighOctaneWildebeest for being my co-author, continuously ~~cracking the whip~~ motivating me and for giving me this idea in the first place.

Thanks for reading!

Epilogue: Make It Better

“Pinkie, why are you so keen on going to the library? And right now? It’s barely eleven in the morning!” Surprise exclaimed. The pegasus looked awful: bags under her eyes, her wings fluttering arrhythmically. “Ugh, I thought it would be easier to start having a normal sleep cycle...”

“It’s a surprise!” Pinkie said, giggling at her own joke. Her face fell a little as Surprise merely reacted with a half-smile. “I’m sorry...”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Surprise said, landing beside her and giving her a one-legged hug. “I know these have been a difficult few months...”

Pinkie sighed. “Yeah. I didn’t think this would be so hard,” she admitted.

“I did warn you,” Surprise said quietly.

Pinkie bit her lip in frustration. “I know that...” She frowned. “I mean, you remind me of it every day,” she said forcefully, a thread of animosity woven into her voice.

The pegasus’s eyes widened, and she took a step back, before scowling. “Yeah, I do remind you of it every day! I told you this was a mistake,” she hissed.

“What? And I was just gonna let go of you?” Pinkie retorted. “Let you go forever? What kind of pony would do that?” She shook her head. “I don’t care if you wanted me to be alone; I wanted to stay with you!”

“But that’s exactly it, Pinkie!” Surprise backed down a little, a sad look in her eyes. “Do you know how terrifying it is, to wake up next to the mare you love and think, ‘What if the spell fails today?’” She sniffled. “To keep having nightmares about watching you fade away?” A white foreleg waved away an attempted hug by Pinkie. “That’s what’s wrong here. This isn’t some foal’s tale where you get a happy ending. And you put me here.”

Tears prickled in Pinkie’s eyes. Am I really that selfish? She let out a snort. No, I’m not! I did the right thing! Why won’t she see that? “Well, it’s alright for you!” she snapped. “You would just go away, and find somepony straight away, and have a clean slate. I would be lonely, I would’ve lost you forever, and all my friends would think I was crazy!” She ground a hoof into the dirt in annoyance. “What, you think I don’t care that we might fade away? I did this for you! I didn’t want you to be sad any more, and I never would’ve forgiven myself if I’d let you go.” The earth pony let out a loud sob. “I knew this would be hard. But you don’t have to make it even harder.”

“I...” Surprise stared at the ground, tears in her own eyes. Her wings slumped down. “I try not to.” She bit her lip, then sighed. “I’m just thinking of you, Pinkie. I don’t like having your fate resting on my shoulders. And I’m not sure this is really better than being let go.”

Pinkie nearly fell over her own hooves as her knees went weak. Her eyes prickled with bitter tears. “This is worse than... being nothing at all?” she murmured.

“I didn’t mean... Aw, no, Pinkie...” Surprise pleaded.

“I thought we loved one another,” Pinkie insisted, twisting her mouth.

“Well, we do! We’re still here, aren’t we?” the pegasus said, wrapping her forelegs around her marefriend. “One argument isn’t—”

“Lots of arguments,” Pinkie corrected her.

“...Yeah, lots of arguments, then. It doesn’t mean we don’t love one another,” Surprise reassured her. “But, it’s not like in stories. We’re gonna have rocky patches. I don’t really mean what I said, I just... have a lot pent up. And I guess you do, too.”

Pinkie nodded. “We were so happy at the beginning. I thought it would just last, and that would be that,” she said.

“Heh.” Surprise stroked her mane. “We knew each other barely a week before you bound me, Pinkie. We were right for one another, but we rushed it good and proper.”

“I know.” Pinkie pulled away from her. “I guess I was just silly thinking being in love would solve my problems.”

“Yeah.” The pegasus giggled. “Take it from a former love spirit; love’ll just take your existing problems and compound them, then trample you in the dust. And you’ll still feel like doing it again,” she said with a smile.

Pinkie smiled back at her. “I’m sorry I was so mean, Surprise.”

“Nah, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have set you off,” Surprise said, regarding her with an even expression. “Now, let’s get to the library before we have another argument...”

Pinkie continued leading her through the town, greeting various ponies as she passed. Her heart ached slightly as she saw Surprise shy away from them, still unused to being greeted personally. After a few moments, they reached the great hollow tree, the earth pony reaching up to knock on the door.

A mauve haze surrounded it and pulled it open, revealing the main chamber of the library. Standing before them was Twilight, surrounded by open books, the tiara of the Element of Magic atop her head. She smiled at them. “Hello, you two!” she said jovially.

“Hi, Twilight! Or, is it ‘Your High—’” Pinkie was cut off as Twilight shook her head rapidly and rustled her new wings in annoyance.

“No! Not to anypony in this town, and certainly not you, Pinkie,” Twilight asserted. She looked to the pegasus. “And hello, Surprise. Nice to see you again!”

“Yeah...” Surprise rubbed the back of her head, and looked from Pinkie to Twilight and back again. “What exactly’s going on here?”

Pinkie waved a hoof at one of the tomes on the floor. “You know that spell, right? The one in the spirits book?” she said.

Surprise nodded uncertainly. “The... binding spell?” Pinkie nodded. “Well, yeah, but isn’t that a bit pointless now? I mean, I’m bound already.” She gestured to herself. “You can see me and everything.”

“It’s not pointless at all!” Twilight said with a smile. “Since I completed Star Swirl’s spell, I’ve had a much greater understanding of how to put together incomplete enchantments—and a boost in magical power, to boot. I’ve devised a spell that should be able to remove the link between you and Pinkie.”

“Wh...” The pegasus’s eyes suddenly shot open. “You’re kidding me. This is just some cruel practical joke, right?” She let out a disbelieving laugh.

Pinkie giggled. “We wouldn’t lie to you like that, Surprise!” she said happily.

“I know, but...” Surprise paused for a moment, mulling over her words. “I... I wouldn’t have to be around you any more.”

Pinkie nodded slowly. “I know.” She looked to Twilight. “I love you, Surprise, but... I don’t want to have to make you love me any more.” She walked forward and took Surprise’s forehooves in the crooks of her ankles. “That’s why I asked Twilight to give you this chance.”

“‘Make me love you’? What do you mean?” Surprise asked. “I do love you. I told you that five minutes ago.”

“Well, I mean that... you’ve got your life back, but not really,” Pinkie said. When the pegasus gave her a confused frown, she rubbed the side of the head in thought. “I bound you to me because I couldn’t bear letting you go. I didn’t want you to have to be a love spirit forever. But now... you’re not happy, are you?”

Surprise flushed. “I-I... It’s taken some getting used to, Pinkie, but I dunno...” She met Pinkie’s gaze and sighed.

“Look.” Pinkie placed a hoof under Surprise’s chin and gently raised her head until their eyes met. “We’re made for one another. We love one another. I know that. But right now, we’re both burning up, because we have to love one another, for our own sakes.”

“A-and what about after this spell gets cast?” Surprise asked.

“You’ll have your life back,” Twilight said. “Your own body, not a surrogate vessel.” She looked at the couple briefly. “I’ll just head outside for a minute. I don’t want to intrude on you two.” The alicorn walked away into the kitchen, leaving the pair alone.

“Then you can do all the things you missed out on,” Pinkie said. “Making your own friends, making a living... You won’t have to do everything because of me any more.”

Surprise gave a confused snort. “You’re getting rid of me?”

Pinkie shook her head vehemently. “Nonononononono. But this life? It isn’t fair for you. I’ve trapped you like a bird in a cage. Or a butterfly in a jar. Or a draconequus in a quantum-locked stone prison. Or—”

“Okay, I get that!” Surprise said with a small laugh.

“So, everything you’re doing, you’re doing for me. And that’s not right,” Pinkie continued. “I want to let you be your own pony, not just my marefriend.”

The pegasus gaped at her for a second, and then twisted her mouth. “I... I can’t believe you’d do this for me...” she admitted. “You’re really okay with doing this?”

Pinkie walked forward and hugged Surprise tightly. “Yes. I am. We’ve both made love the reason we’re happy, and that’s just made us unhappy. It was...” She took a deep breath and sighed heavily. “It was selfish of me to bind you. ‘If you love something, let it go’, right?”

“R-right...” The pegasus gave a little sniffle. “You’re right. I... I guess I felt the same way. I was just too scared to admit it...” She looked up into Pinkie’s equally tearful eyes. “But what will you do once I’m gone?”

Pinkie stayed silent for a moment. “I’ll find a way to be happy in my own way again.” She paused. “M-maybe that’s something I never realised; loving somepony can make you happy, but you shouldn’t make them the only reason you’re happy. But I’ve done that to you.”

“So... so we take a break,” Surprise said assertively, wiping her eyes. “Go our own ways.”

“For now,” Pinkie said. “And then, someday when we’re happy with ourselves, then maybe we can come back and be happy with one another.” She smiled. “Because we are made for one another, Surprise, and I’ll always love you. But I don’t wanna suffocate you by doing that. You shouldn’t have to feel like you have to make me happy.”

“Yeah.” The two ponies parted, and smiled and nodded at one another. “I think that’ll be for the best.” Surprise trotted to the kitchen. “I think I’m ready,” she said.

Twilight nodded, walking out and levitating up a sheaf of notes. “Okay then.” She looked at Pinkie with an apologetic expression. “Pinkie, would you be able to wait outside? This magic is very powerful and a lengthy procedure, and I don’t want you to get caught in any flare-ups that might happen.”

“Okie dokie.” Pinkie looked at Surprise regretfully. “I guess this is goodbye, then,” she said sadly.

The pegasus walked over and hugged her fiercely. “Just for now, Pinkie.” Her watery purple eyes met Pinkie’s gaze. “And, someday, once we’ve got ourselves worked out, we can come back and try again.” She leaned into Pinkie’s ear. “I promise,” she whispered.

Pinkie nodded. “Yeah. Someday soon, I hope.” She looked at her marefriend one last time. “I love you, Surprise.”

“I love you, too, Pinkie.”

The earth pony trotted to the front door, gave one last lingering look at Surprise, and walked out. She gave a sad sigh as she heard the beginnings of Twilight’s magic behind her.

For a moment, she faltered, wondering if she was making the right decision. But then, she looked around at Ponyville. Everywhere, there were smiling faces and laughter. Ponies of every description, every temperament and profession. In collapsing her world to the one pony who meant the most to her, Pinkie realised she’d neglected so much more around her. Love was wonderful, but it wasn’t the only thing she could rely on to make her happy.

She felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, even as she felt downcast over separating with Surprise. They were made for one another, but they’d nearly driven themselves to ruin over Pinkie’s hasty decision. There was still love there, but for the first time in her life, Pinkie realised she had so much more she could make of her life than simply findng another one to share it with. Right now, there was more out there for her than Surprise, and more for Surprise than there was her.

More than they could dream of.

Author's Note

Okay, now we're done. :rainbowwild: I do apologise to everyone who was disappointed with the original 'ending'; I hope that this one is a more satisfactory end to this tale. Thank you to everyone who has commented on and/or favourited this story! It's always a pleasure to entertain.