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.