Loving Pinkie Pie and afraid to be with a mare Rainbow Dash. Let the drama ensue! Title inspired by the movie World's End in that it has nothing to do with the end of the world, and is actually just the name of a place.
It started with a kiss. And you know how the rest of that cliché goes... Then a date. Then a few more dates that where more just hanging out really, but still definately dates! And now somehow Dashie's in love with Pinkie Pie. Too bad Rainbow Dash so afraid as being thought of as a filly-fooler that she'll throw away what she has with Pinkie out of fear. This story focuses heavily on Rainbow Dash over Pinkie Pie. Just letting you know.
New chapters every Saturday. Complete!
Title inspired by the movie World's End in that it has nothing to do with the end of the world, and is actually just the name of a place.
Extended and reworked version of a flashback chapter from Happy Anniversary Sug and was originally written back before season 3 had come out.
This story was heavily inspired by Where Your Heart Is, one of the very first fics I ever read. This is sorta the other side of Pinkie's story finding Dash up in 'World's End'. With a few creative liberties of course but I really feel this is a touching story none the less.
The night was growing old and everypony was completely exhausted after the events of that day. The guests at the royal wedding talked amongst themselves and slowly began to leave as the night went on. Twilight had gone off to catch up with her parents. Rarity, had gone off with that fancy-pantsed guy... whatever his name was. AJ was cleaning up after her catering, Fluttershy was smoothing some animals that had been scared by the fireworks and Spike... um... Spike had also gone off for some reason or another.
It just left Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash together after everything was said and done. Pinkie had done her job making sure everyone, including herself and a generous amount of cake, had had a good. And Dash found out that no amount of flirting was going to get her into the Wonderbolts any faster. Especially when Spitfire was around to keep Soarin' under on control. It had to be after midnight by this point and the two found themselves back inside, just sitting in front of the altar, idly talking.
“Hey Dashie, you know it’s tradition for the Mare of Honour and the Best Stallion to kiss right?” Pinkie chirped.
“Um, I think you’re getting your traditions mixed up. It’s the Best Stallion’s meant to kiss the Bride… I think.” the question had come out of nowhere but that was to be expected from this girl. trying to hold a coherent conversation with Pinkie for very long was nearly impossible. “Besides there’s no Best Stallion here, we’re both Mares of Honour.” Dash replied.
“Oh… well, can WE kiss instead? I mean, it’s tradition after all!” Pinkie said, smiling widely as always and not picking up on Rainbow Dash's instant reluctance. It's not that Dash had anything against gay ponies or anything like that. But of course that didn’t stop her from hating the idea of being gay herself. Ever since she was young ponies had always assumed she was ‘filly-fooler’’ just because of how she tended to be a be scruffy and how she behaved most the time: tomboyish and tough.
But, this was Pinkie Pie. And if Pinkie Pie was anything, it was random. Rainbow Dash doubted she even saw it as anything more than not breaking a tradition. Even if that tradition didn’t exist. Rainbow groaned and said “Fine. Bu…” Pinkie didn’t hesitated for a second after hearing that before she rushed in, kissing Dash softly, but for quite some time. Finally breaking away from Pinkie, when she needed some air, Dash took a breath and said “Alright Pinkie, you happy now?...” with an obvious tinge of annoyance in her voice.Though she had to admit it wasn’t exactly a bad kiss by any means.
“You know… Dashie, I really like you…”
“Yeah… I like you to Pinkie.” Dash replied. She knew what saying that had meant. She wasn’t quite sure Pinkie knew what it meant thought. She tended to say stuff with double meaning like that all the time after all.
“No Dashie… I mean…” now Dash was sure Pinkie knew what it meant and quickly put a hoof to her friend's mouth to silence her before she said more than Dash wanted to hear.
“Pinkie, I… I like you too, but… you know I’m… not like that…” Dash said, trying to stop this dead in it’s tracks before it got any further. The last thing she needed was another ‘AppleDash conspiracy’.
Pinkie hadn’t been involved on the gossiping of her other friends about the whole ‘AppleDash’ thing. She had only heard about it afterwards. Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy had somehow gotten it into their heads that she and Applejack were secretly in love with one another. Rainbow Dash however was as straight as a… a thing that’s really straight. She wasn’t too good with analogies.
The three had pestered her for nearly a full week before she’d had enough of it and completely flipped her lid and practically attacked most of them. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t stop, it was that no matter how much she told them she wasn’t a filly-fooler, they just didn’t believe her. It was like Flight School all over again, except she didn’t have Gilda to beat the snot out of anypony who said it. Irony abounds of course seems Gilda was half the reason ponies thought that of her. But that’s beside the point.
Right now though, Rainbow Dash had a close friend who had come this close to spilling her heart out to her, and now she had to turn her down gently. But before Dash could say anything further, Pinkie spoke up. “Oh, ok. I understand.” all the chipperness and cheer that Pinkie Pie normally exuded gone from her last words. “It’s just… I thought you and I could… go out somewhere sometime. I know you’re not, but I… could you… just give me a chance…?”
She seemed absolutely crushed. The look on her face... Dash couldn’t just refuse her friend. Pinkie looked heart-broken; even her mane wasn’t as puffy as normal. That's when an idea came to her: she’d let Pinkie take her on a date and she’d just break it to her slowly. Even if Dash said yes now, Pinkie had to know it was just so she didn’t hurt her. “Alright, Pinks.” Dash sighed. “I’ll go out with you. But!… I can’t promise anything. I’m not just gonna fall in love with you just like that.”
"Yippee!" Pinkie pie cried, all her usual energy instantly returning to her and Rainbow dash couldn't help but be a little happy about that too.
She just looked at her friend for a moment with a smile of her own, for a moment before adding “And if you tell anypony else!...”
The next day, mostly because Rainbow Dash just wanted to get it over and done with, Dash flew over to Sugercube Corner to pick Pinkie Pie up. She wasn’t quite sure why but she’d flown as fast as she possibly could to make sure no pony saw her heading there even though she knew none of them would think anything of it. They were friends after all.
Dash landed right in front of the door and walked in. “Morning Mrs. Cake.” she said, trying to act as if nothing was different, that this was just her usual self coming over to hang with their resident. “Is Pinkie Pie around?”
“Oh she’s been waiting for you.” Mrs. Cake replied as she turned and called back into the kitchen “Pinkie Pie, you're friend’s here. Is it ready yet?” and peered in to check on the girl. “She’ll be just a minute. Make yourself at home. And feel free to actually buy something this time.” she added as a joke. Possibly...
“Dashie!” Pinkie Pie piped as she came out of the kitchen, carrying a lidded tray on her back. “I’ve been waiting for you ALLL day, what took you so long?” she asked, walking right up to Rainbow's face, booping their noses together. Given the circumstances you can understand what Dash made of this, even if it was just normal Pinkie behaviour. Of course calling anything ‘normal Pinkie behavior’ was an oxymoron.
Dash took a step back before defending herself with “I’m not late. I’m like, half an hour early.” she said before looking at the clock on the wall. She was early so Pinkie Pie was just being paranoid. But who could blame her. Even if she didn’t act it, Pinkie was likely just as nervous about this date as Rainbow Dash was.
“I know.” Pinkie replied. “But time just flies when you’re having fun. And you know the old saying. ‘A kitchen time serves nine. But I’m just serving two!” she said, swinging the plate on her back around and holding it in one hoof. She grabbed the lid in her mouth and removed it showing what she’d been working on all morning “Uh’ ii, oo’ ‘erry ‘mu’ins.”
“What?” Dash asked.
Pinkie removed the lid from her mouth and repeated “Choc-chip blueberry muffins. Your favourite!” she said with a smile.
“Uh, yeah… my favourite.” she said, pretending Pinkie was right. Choc-chip AND blueberry? Odd, but okay… there was two of them and before Dash could say anything more, Pinkie had grabbed one and shoved the other into Dash's chest, making her grab it., as she threw the tray away. Pinkie took a small, rather controlled bite out of hers and looked up at Rainbow Dash, waiting for her to do the same.
Not wanting to be rude, and also a little curious about this flavour-combo, Dash took a bite and chewed. It was good. Not really surprising seems Pinkie had made it herself. She took another bite and another and soon enough finished it. “So Dashie, what do you wanna do?” Pinkie asked.
“Uh… well…” Dash replied. She didn’t really have any plans for today. “I thought we could start with lunch but we kinda got that out of the way already. Normally we could go out and pull some pranks and stuff, but that doesn’t really sound like date material to me.”
“Why not?”
“Huh?”
“Why isn’t that a good idea for a date? It’s something we both like doing and I have a ton of ideas.” Pinkie cheered. Dash just stared for a second, mulling it over in her head before she nodded at the idea with a small smug smile. “Then it’s settled. To the prank-arium!”
“You mean your room?”
“Exactly! Transition!”
~ ~
The next thing you know, they were both upstairs in Pinkie’s room, looking over a chart detailing an overly elaborate plan to throw marshmallows at Rarity with a miniature long range catapult. “I’m telling you, the kinetic energy generated by the marshmallow's launch is greater than the resistance of the air between it’s origin and it’s destination.”
“And I’ll tell you again. I have no idea what any of that means.” Dash replied. only to get hit in the face with a marshmallow.
“It means the plan will work!”
“I don’t see why we don’t just throw them at her like you just did.”
“That’s a great Idea Dashie! Why didn’t we think of it sooner?” Dash just let her expression do the talking.”Transition!”
~ ~
A few hours, a packet of marshmallows and broken catapult later; the day was coming to an end. The sun had set a few minutes ago and twilight had fallen over the town. Both of them where walking back to Sugercube Corner, still laughing over the one marshmallow that had gotten stuck on Rarity’s horn.
It had actually been really fun. Dash had expected today to be about a quiet meal together, or a picnic by the lake, or some other romantic junk. Instead it was just like when the normally hung out together. It was a date but it didn't seem like one, and whatever you wanted to call this, she’d enjoyed it. In fact, she’d completely forgotten that this was anything other than just hanging out with one of her friends.
She couldn’t wait to do this again, and she voiced that thought. “Today was awesome! I can’t wait to do it again some time!”
“Really Dashie?” Pinkie asked, much more excitement in her voice than usual. Which Rainbow Dash didn’t know was possible.
“Yeah. Of course.”
“So… you wanna go on another date next week?” Pinkie replied. And Dash stopped dead in her tracks. She’d completely forgotten that this was a date. “Did you hear me Dashie? I said ‘you wanna go on another date next week?’ So… do you?”
They were facing each other, less than a couple inches away from one another. They stayed in silence for a few moments before Dash finally spoke up as she looked away. “Listen, Pinkie. I had fun today, I really did. But… I just don’t think, that we…” Dash paused and looked up at Pinkie, expecting her to be in her overly dramatic tears she sometimes burst into. Instead she was smiling same as always. “You’re not…?
“Sad? A little bit. But I understand Dashie. You don’t have to say anything more than that.” Pinkie said as she turned away. “Come on, let’s walk me home ok?” she added as she began to walk. Dash quickly caught up beside her. And soon enough they made it back to Pinkie’s house.
They walked up to the doorway of Sugercube Corner before and began their goodbyes for the night. “So, I guess I’ll see you… whenever.”
“Yeppers.” Pinkie replied.
“And well, when I do…” Dash began but didn't finish. She didn’t actually know what to say, or how to go about this. “You know, it’s um, tradition to end a date with…” she paused as she tried to avoid eye contact with her friend. She struggled to bring up the words, and struggled even more to even look at Pinkie. But eventually she found her courage and without finishing what she’d been saying, leant in and gave Pinkie a light kiss. Very light, and very quick.
But it meant more to Pinkie than any kiss she’d had before. Because she knew how much Dash didn’t want to do it. And yet she’d still done it just for her.
Four months had passed since that date and Pinkie hadn’t asked Rainbow Dash out since. She thought Pinkie had just dropped the whole idea. That was until nearly a month later she finally asked Rainbow Dash out on a second. And you know what? It was exactly the same: just two friends hanging out together. Maybe there was something romantic to it or maybe it was just a friendly meeting that happened to be just the two of them.
After that it became just a regular thing for the both of them, hanging out together once a week. Today was their twelfth ‘date’ now and even if Dash didn’t fully realise it, she had started to feel something for Pinkie Pie. And it scared her.
It wasn’t really in her head now but there had been a few times she’d had to keep telling herself over and over again that they were just friends. She was flying towards Sugercube Corner to meet her now, still trying to think of what they’d do today. Last week they’d run into Applejack. She joined them and unbeknowingly becoming a third wheel. So whatever they were going to do, Dash wanted it to be just the two of them.
That, and the fact she’d run out of prank ideas. Hopefully Pinkie Pie would have an idea. But if not, then they could always just head down to Stark’s Pond and go for a swim. She arrived at Sugercube Corner and as always, Pinkie was waiting out the front for her. “Hey Dashie!” she cheered as Rainbow Dash came to a very sudden stop right in front of her.
“Hey Pinkie Pie.” Dash replied after she practically plummeted from the sky, making a 60 to 0 in 3.5 landing. “So, what d’ya want to do today? Swimming, go for a walk, just find something that looks fun and do it…?” she said, thinking of the only things she could.
“All of that sounds super fun, especially the part about the fun stuff! But I’m a little hungry, you wanna have something to eat first?” she asked.
“Yeah, sure.” Dash answered as she took a few steps towards the door Pinkie was standing in. “What ya got cookin’ today?” but Pikie put up a hoof and blocked her from entering Sugarcube Corner.
“Mostly cupcakes but i’m not in the mood for those right now. How about a scrumptious sandwich instead? I know a great place for that not to far from here.” Pinkie said, just as infused as ever.
This should’ve been Dash’s first hint that something was up. since when was Pinkie ever not in the mood for sweets? But Dash simply replied in her usual demeanor “You mean the only sandwich place in Ponyville? Sure, let’s go.” and the two set off.
The walk was short but Pinkie kept oddly quiet. And oddly close her Dash as they walked. Which should’ve been Dash’s second hint, but no, she was oblivious as ever. Soon enough the arrived at The Knuckle. Dash had no idea why a sandwich shop would be called that, most the ponies in Ponyville, herself included, had no idea what a ‘knuckle’ even was.
The two of them found a table and took a seat each. Dash picked up the menu and asked “So what d'ya want? On me.” then remembered offering to pay for one of Pinkie’s meals was going to be VERY expensive. Too late now…
“I can’t choose, it all looks sooo good, don’t you think?” Pinkie said, salivating over her options. And over the menu. She has a bit of a drooling problem sometimes. But that didn’t bother Rainbow Dash, she simply chuckled form the sight. It was going to cost her but it was worth it.
A waiter came by and the two ordered, and to Dash’s surprise, Pinkie’s meal was actually reasonable. Pinkie Pie finished her sandwich in about half a second whereas Dash took her time, bite by bite. For once, Dash was the slow one, something she wasn’t used to. This wasn’t a competition though so she put her competitive nature aside and just enjoyed her sandwich and company.
Eventually, she finished her food and waved for the check. “So, what you wanna do know Pinkie? Head off somewhere, plan some pranks, I’m up for anything.”
“Oh geez, I don’t know Dashie. We’ve had so much fun already today.” Pinkie replied with a smile as always.
“Really?” Dash question. “This was fun?”
“Well… yeah. Just hanging out with you, that’s always fun.” she answered with just as big of a smile but a much quieter tone. That being said, it was still a normal pony’s full speaking voice in volume. And it should’ve been Rainbow Dash’s third, fourth and Fifth hint that something was different about today. “You know Dashie, it’s been four months since the wedding.”
“Has it?” Dash replied. She didn’t usually keep track of those thing. Actually, she let Pinkie do it for her. Four months isn’t exactly a huge milestone but Dash suspected Pinkie wanted to throw them a one-third anniversary party. Before either could say any more though, the waiter arrived and placed a bill on the table. Dash picked it up and took a look at how much they owed.
“So what’s the bill?” Pinkie asked.
“Don’t worry about it Pinkie, I said it’s on me remember?” Dash said reaching into… um… and pulling out 13 bits. Quite a generous 3 bit tip too. She was just in a good mood today for some reason. “Thanks for that.” she said to the waiter before he left.
“No, thank you miss.” he replied.
“No, thank you Dashie!” Pinkie copied, reaching across the table and hugging her friend. Dash was taken aback at first but slowly accepted it and even gave Pinkie a slight hug back. maybe she knew why she was in such a good mood today. Todays was going to be great, just like it always was with her and Pinkie. She began to pull away her when...
Pinkie kissed her.
It was quick, just a peck on the lips, but she quickly pulled away and said “I’m sorry.” both happy and ashamed at what she’d just done. Pinkie hadn’t been talking about it being four months since the wedding. What she meant was, it had been four months since their first kiss.
“Na, no it’s... cool.” Dash replied, unable to hide her sudden nervousness at the situation. She liked Pinkie… maybe she was in love with her. But... how could she be with another mare? And an earth pony at that? Dash’s entire life was about flying, she even lived in a house made out of clouds! Her entire family lived in Cloudsdale and without unicorn magic and some way of getting up there Pinkie couldn’t even exist up there!
Pinkie Pie however didn’t pick up on Dash’s nervousness and just heard her say 'it‘s cool.’ She planted another kiss on her, this one much longer than the last. Dash didn’t resist, she enjoyed it. It felt right… yet wrong. She didn’t know what she could do. She had to tell Pinkie it couldn’t be, but she also wanted it to be. She wanted to do something, anything! And as was often her first response; she flew away.
Leaving Pinkie standing there, still staring at Dash as she drew further away into the distance.
Dash always tried to act brave but deep down she was always terrified of everything she did. Her aerial displays were so precise but every time she performed them she felt scared. But that was natural, moving so fast, so high up, coming so close to the ground all the time. This however was different. Even though she was terrified of those moves she performed, she still did them. Now though; she wasn’t in danger in anyway, she had just fled.
She couldn’t go home, Pinkie would find her. She couldn’t hide in the mountains, Pinkie would find her. Cantalot?... Pinkie. Cloudsdale…? Pinkie… no, she had to go somewhere nopony could possibly find her, not even Pinkie Pie. Especially Pinkie Pie! But there wasn't anywhere like that.
Actually… there was one spot. One spot she’d only ever been once in her life, and had almost died getting there in the first place. A small set of clouds, so high up that there were fewer than one-hundred recorded cases of pegasi getting there. It was called ‘World’s End.’
She flew for hours straight before she arrived in the small cloud town. It was just before dark when she finally got to the point below the far-off clouds above, they weren't even visible from already this high up to begin with. Dash booked a night at at the first place she came across, the End’s Beginning Inn, and she sat at its small tavern, ordered a drink and just started talking to the others sitting around her. A small, old radio was set to an easy listening station and a pony was playing piano alongside with it.
A short time passed and Dash had already had a few drinks, with everything going on right now how couldn’t she? She needed a distraction to just stop thinking about it. And soon enough, she got one. “Rainbow Dash?” a voice came from behind her. She turned to see who’d called her name. “It is you. I haven’t seen you since you got kicked out of flight school.” the guy chuckled.
It was somepony she didn’t expect to be there, an old friend. The yellow coated, pink maned pegasus she knew was Fluttershy’s brother: Butterscotch. “I didn’t get kicked out. I dropped out to enroll in uni. Incase you forgot, you need a degree to be the the town weather patrol captain. So what have you been doing with YOUR life, hmm?”
Butterscotch took a seat down beside Dash at the bar and called for the patron. “Two more of whatever this one’s drinking!” he then turned to face her. “Oh you know, just bumming drinks of people. Your shout right?”
“How about no.”
“How about you still owe me for last time.” he said as he began to mock her voice. "‘I must’ve left my wallet at home’. Didn’t leave it again did you?”
“Some gentlestallion you are…”
“Some lady you are.” he stated back and got a death-glare for it. They then both just burst into laughter. “Oh thank Celestia, I thought you were actually mad at me for a moment. So how’ve you been?”
“Pretty good. Fluttershy’s pretty good too. How about you, what’re you doing here?”
“I’m up here on a small holiday. Week off work, I thought I’d come here.” he asked as the bartender placed the two drinks in front of them. “What brings you here? It’s pretty far from Ponyville and Cloudsdale.
“Uh.. just, you know.” Dash replied. She wanted to quickly get off the topic of why. She reached for her drink and took a sip. What she’d been drinking was far weaker than the Sweet Apple Cider she was used to but it helped her nonetheless.
Butterscotch reached for his drink too, but before taking a sip he asked “You are paying right?” jokingly but also seriously.
“Only if you can keep up!” Dash emphasised her point by pounding her mug as fast as she could. She then placed a hoof her to mouth and tried to quiet her burp as much as possible. It didn’t work.
Butterscotch chuckled for a second before “You’re on.” as he skulled his drink too. Though not as fast. He slammed the mug down on the counter and let out a loud refreshed gasp. He called out “Another two!”
“Haha, oh you are so screwed pal!” she said. And it kept up like this for another hour or so. They didn’t chug their drinks like they had the first two but they’d managed to match each other drink for drink. Of course Dash had already drunk a few already, not to mention she was smaller so it hit her harder than it did him. Luckily for her, he was a light weight.
It wasn’t that late, but it was approaching the end of the night for the two of them. “I take it a future Wonderbolts going to be heading up to Worlds End?” he both asked and complimented.
“Yeah, I’m heading up there… again. I’ve been up there once before. As the youngest to ever make it there I might add.” she bragged as she slapped Butterscotch in the shoulder. But she leant over too far though and nearly fell out of her seat in the process.
“Heh, not bad. But I think you’ve had enough.” he said as he stood and pushed her back into her seat before falling back into his own. “I think I may’ve too.” he laughed and so did she. “You got the tab right?”
“Yeah sheesh... I got it ya dead beat.” she said, waving for the bar tender. He came over and she asked “How much we owe ya?” he told her, she paid, she then asked “How much do we owe you?” he stared for a moment before she realised “Oh wait, I already paid didn’t I? What’s the deal tryin’ ta make us pay twice, huh!?”
“Hey, calm down Rainbow.” Butterscotch said, pulling her away from being half over the counter in the barkeep’s face. “Let’s just head off for the night a’ight?” he then pulled her from the seat and pointed themselves towards the rooms. “Right, you lean on me and I lean on you.”
“Won’t we just both fall if we do that?” she said from experience.
“Well there’s only one way to find out mac.”
“Big Mac’s here?”
“No, it’s an expre… nevermind.” he said as he started walking and tugged her along with him. By some miracle, don’t ask how, they managed to make it up the stair to the a hallway full of room. “So where’s yours?” he asked.
“Don’t know. I think I was room 13… I think.” she said, trying to remember. She’d booked the room and just went right to the pub instead of checking it out or anything.
“Well, my room’s right here.” he said, pointing a few steps away from them. Which was probably half a minute away in their state but still a lot closer than room 13 sounded. “You wanna come in, spend the night.”
Dash knew what he meant. Butterscotch was nothing like his sister. He was strong, brave and broad-chested: exactly Dash’s type of stallion. She gave him a look up and down. Of course, he actually hadn’t meant it that way but he saw her checking him out and the idea came to his head. Rainbow Dash surprised herself though when she said “No.”
“Is it because I made you pay for the drinks? Because I...
“look, I… I’m not looking for a fling. I’ll just find my room. Goodnight.”
“Rainbow?”
“I said goodnight.” she stated, slightly pissed off that he would try something like this when she was drunk. Butterscotch didn’t press the issue, despite what Dash though of him right now he was still just as kind as his sister in a few ways. He hadn’t planned to do anything at all. It had all been in her own head.
Dash walked off and shortly later, heard a door close behind her. Soon enough she found her own room and went on it. Dash collapsed onto her bed and ran through what had just happened in her head. She knew Butterscotch was a good guy and the whole conversation had left Dash more confused than ever. She loved flings, so why did she want something more serious now? A stunning stallion like him, how tipsy she was, normally she’d be in his room in a moment.
Yet all she could think about right now was Pinkie Pie.
Dash woke just before dawn the next morning, she didn’t like getting up this early, let alone hungover. But the flight was over fifteen hours long, if she didn’t leave before 6am it would be dark before she got there, even with the fact that the higher up you are, the longer the sun shines. At that height of World’s End the sun would be visible just after 3am and disappear slightly after 9pm. She got out of bed, ate a light breakfast and prepared for the flight up to World’s End. Three raw eggs, blended wheat grass and a shot of vinegar: the perfect hangover cure. It didn't actually cure it, it just tasted so bad you forgot all about the headache.
As she walked past his room, she thought about saying goodbye to Butterscotch but thought better of waking him so early. To her surprise though, she heard sounds coming from there so she knocked on the door guessing he was already awake. Unfortunately that’s when she remembered last night… this was going to be awkward. “Just a sec!” he called from inside.
A moment later the door opened and Butterscotch stepped out, closing it behind him. “Trying to sneak off without saying goodbye?” Dash asked with a smirk, seeing he had a saddlebag on. Why else would he be packing up and leaving so early? Yeah it was going to be awkward… but mostly for him now. Or so she thought.
“Goodbye? I thought we were heading to World’s End together?” he answered/questioned, leaving Dash completely confused.
“You’re going to World’s End? You are following me to World’s End? To the highest place in all Equestria?..." Dash paused for a moment before "BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!...” she laughed. She had barely made it there herself years ago. This nancy boy didn’t stand a chance!
“I’m not following you. If anything you’re following me.” he replied.
“Oh, yeah. ‘Cause I’m the one who’s going to be slowing YOU down. Look pal, I know you wanna impress me after you struck out last night. But be serious. There’s no way you can make it to World’s End on a whim. I mean I can. But you? Not a hope.”
“You… really think?...” he asked. Sounding completely deflated. He knew he would never make it, but to be so blatantly told to his face. Not to mention comparing it to his masculinity by a girl who’d denied him last night. His face showed exactly what he was thinking to Rainbow Dash.
“Uh, geez. Listen. I didn’t mean it that way. I just mean…” she was cut off.
“You have no idea what today is do you?” he asked, most of his confidence returning to his voice. Dash stayed quiet and just shook her head. “It’s Summit Plummit. The annual competition to make it to World’s End.”
“The what now?” Dash asked.
“Why do you think I’m spending my vacation here? This place is a hole.” Butterscotch laughed. “Wait. Telling me not to fly up there n a whim? If you didn’t know that, then what are you doing here?"
“Listen… I… I don’t wanna talk about it.” Dash said, mirroring the emotions she'd’ thought he’d had just moments ago.
“Dash?” he asked, picking up on it as easily as she had him. “What ARE you doing here?”
“I’m here for the contest, duh. I, I was just pulling ya leg, giving you a hard time over last night.” she said, trying to keep herself composed as much as possible, hoping Butterscotch would buy it. Luckily for her, he did. Or he dropped it at the least.
“Yeah. Well… I’m not doing this on a whim.” he said, reaching back for his saddlebag, flipping it open. He’d packed a saddlebag filled with energy bars and Red Bysen energy drinks. Dash on the otherhoof didn’t pack anything, last time she made it there she’d just ended up dropping the bag not even halfway there as it had just dragged her down. “Packed and rearing to do. So let’s go. Starts in about half an hour.” he said, walking past her towards the staircase.
But once just past her, his face contorted into a frown. He knew something was up with her. It was brief but she had clearly said ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ He knew for fact the way she sounded last night, even when turning him down wasn’t her usual self. And despite what she’d said, she had no idea this was happening today. His face returned to normal as he saw her catching up along side him, following him to the starting line that she clearly had no idea where it was.
The two of them flew in silence for about five minutes. Dash had tried to outpace him on the way but that didn’t work out to well when you have no idea where you’re going. She covered it up by saying she just didn’t know the area that well. Not that Butterscotch knew it either. Soon enough came to a long flat cloud with a small old, and I mean very old, made out of clood [cloud-wood] cabin.
Dash remembered it from the last time she was here. It was the house of the first pony to ever reach World’s End over sixty years ago. Of course it’s heritage only went as far as it had since been turned into a small sport pub. They weren't the first to arrive, and they weren't the last either.
Amongst those who were trying to reach the clouds high above were about thirty pegasi, four gryphons, a few changelinga and two other creatures Dash couldn’t even identify. She was sure Twilight would know what they were but she had no idea. What surprised her most though: ahippogryph. She’d never seen one before and had rarely even heard of them. The offspring of a pegasus and a gryphon. It made her wonder how such different creatures could exist together.
There was also something different about this hippogryph that wasn’t what she had heard. He looked very different to what she had pictured a hippogryph looking like but still all the characteristics were right. His lower pony half was dark blue furred that extended from his rear legs, that ended in hooves, to just past his hips. From there, dark green-blue feathers ran all the way up to his head, along his folded wings and down his front, clawed legs, stopping at his wrists that lead into black leathery claws. His head was that of a pony but finishing with a beak that looked more like a muzzle. His face was also covered in fathers, though much they were finer than the ones covering his body. Most spectacular though was his tail: that of a normal dark-green pony's tail but to each side was an even longer single feather that each had a red swirling pattern on them, almost like peacock feathers.
All of that was normal, though she’d pictured it differently in the rare times she’d thought about hippogryphs. There was one thing however that was out of place. He had a horn. She’d never been told, or even thought they could have horns. He then turned to her and just started looking at her. Why was he staring? Then Dash realised… she was the one staring at him. She quickly looked away, embarrassed a little.
She remembered that Gilda, a gryphon, was a rarity in Equestria and often got stared at. He must get it even more. Sure enough, Dash looked around, she wasn’t the only pony who had been staring… wait no, they weren’t staring at him, but the line just near him… they were watching the pillar’s shadow creep its way over the line marking 6am and as it touched the line, all as one, the nearly forty fliers took off in unison.
The race had begun! She doubted most of, if any of them would even make it. Flying straight up for more than half a day. Most of them were here with a partner and most likely just trying to see how far up they could get and had no intention of actually making it. “So how many you think are going to make it up there?” Butterscotch asked as if reading her mind.
“Hmm…” she thought for a second, impressed that he was keeping up with her. Not that she was anywhere near top speed, this was an endurance test, not a sprint after all. “Of this lot? One. Me.” she stated with a smug smirk.
“What, you don’t think I’ll make it?” he asked, with mock insult.
“Sorry ta tell you this, but na. Maybe you’re more prepared than I thought you were. But let’s be honest here. I may not even make it. And that’s saying something.” to admit that she, Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria, future Wonderbolt and all round best pony may not be able to do it, was more of a statement to her than anything she could think of.
Of course to him, she was just being narcissistic. Even if he knew it was true. “Yeah, I doubt I’ll make it.” he said honestly, but without a hint of regret behind his words. “I’m just here to have some fun and see how far I can make it. Push myself to my limits and do the best I can!” he didn’t think he could make it but just wanted to try. And that gave Dash more admiration for Butterscotch than if he had said he was going to make it.
They‘d been flying straight upwards for four, maybe five hours now. “Rainbow Dash, hold up a second.” Butterscotch called out to her. She was starting to get some distance ahead of him once more. She looked down and saw him; clearly struggling to keep flying. Dash came to a complete stop. “What are you doing? I just wanted you to slow down a bit.” he called out as he quickly caught up to her.
The race didn’t matter to either of them. They were coming about twentieth from what Butterscotch could tell and they had seen a few ponies heading back down already. And one gryphon.
“You need a break. No need to push yourself harder than you have to!” Dash said, and Butterscotch couldn’t deny it. He’d gotten further than he had planned and yet they were still only about a third of the way there, if that.
“C’mon Rainbow Dash, we both know I’m not making it all the way there. All I want to do is get as far as I can. And that’s not much further now.” his determination had faltered dramatically from when they’d begun. Sure he still wanted to keep going, he was just being realistic about how much further that would be.
“You can’t come this far and just quit, we’re almost there, look!” Dash said, pointing skyward. It was barely visible but amongst the spicks and specks of the other fliers up above, far beyond them, the tiniest dot could be seen. At least… she could see it.
“I don’t see anything Rainbow Dash, you sure it’s not just another racer?” Dash had forgotten she had much better eyesight than most ponies, one of the reasons she was hired by the Ponyville Weather Control.
“Well, it’s there. Trust me!”
“If you say so… I’m going to have a break.” he said, shuffling his saddlebag around to his front, pulling out two energy bars and a Red Bysen. “You want one?” he said, waving a bar. Dash nodded and he chucked it over to her.
The two stayed there, hovering for a few minutes. They couldn’t tell if they were staying level, going up or going down, so far off the ground it was impossible to really tell. But Dash always seemed to be drifting above Butterscotch. Whether that meant she was going up or he was going down wasn’t quite clear, either way she always kept flying down to meet him. Eventually they finished their bars and he finished his drink. He’d offered her one of the drinks as well but Dash declined. She always thought those things just tasted like orange flavoured coke and didn’t really like them.
The hovering had given Butterscotch time to recover, he could hover all day without effort so it was practically like they had been sitting down for the last few minutes. “Alright Dash let’s get going, I wanna make at least half way.” he said, trying to boast... only to remember that that wouldn’t work with Rainbow Dash as she’d actually made it there once before. Which became abundantly clear when she let out a small snicker. “Gee thanks for the encouragement…”
“Hehe, sorry. Let me just get one thing first.” she said as she flew over to him, reaching into his bag and grabbing out an energy bar. She unwrapped it took a single bite before just dropping it. “There, that’ll do...” she said, still chewing the bite. She then flipped a latch and sent Butterscotch’s bag, letting it slip from his back, falling just behind the half-eaten bar.
“What the hay Rainbow Dash!?”
Dash put her hoof to his face and pulled him from looking down at the falling bag to meet her gaze. “You want encouragement? That thing is just weighing you down and destroying your aerodynamics.”
“Yeah but…” he said, turning to look down at the falling supplies once more.
Dash turned his head to her again and added “I believe you can make it all the way to World’s End.” she said smiling, not noticing how close she was to his face. She pulled away and slowly started flying upwards again “So… you gonna let a filly beat you there?” and slowly picked up her speed.
It was clearly insight now, much bigger than he had expected it to be. The stories always said World’s End was a tiny bunch of clouds right at the edge of the atmosphere. Then again, always seeming so far away, it had been visible for hours now and for so long it looked miniscule. Guess it just got that reputation for being so small off in the distance. But now it was clear that it was big enough to hold a large house or two on it, though apparently the only things that were up there were a few flags. And very small ones at that.
It didn’t help that it was not only getting cold but also that the sun was setting, making it dark and even colder still. The air this high was thin and it took nearly five flaps to cover their own height in distance, making the final stretch take so much longer than it should have. Butterscotch would’ve fallen out of the sky a few times already if it wasn’t for Rainbow Dash. She’d started flying behind him just for that reason: in case she needed to stop him again. He was a little embarrassed having to be saved by her so many times but it was better than the alternative.
He was this close now! Not ten minutes away, even at this slow pace. He was about to accomplish something he’d never thought he would be able to do. He’d wanted to stop so many times but each time Rainbow Dash had convinced him to continue. He couldn’t stop. All the ponies they had passed, or seen turning back, all that Rainbow Dash had done for him! They had to be the only ones left even making it this far. He had to make it! He had to... but he couldn’t.
Dash caught him for the um-teenth time now. “Butterscotch, we’re this close! You can do it!”
“I can’t Dash…" he gasped between every few words. "Just drop me… I can glide down… I just can’t make… it any further…” he’d pushed himself past his limits more times than he thought possible. He didn’t even think he could stay aloft anymore, even if the air had been normal here.
“No! I said I believe you can make it and I still do!”
“I can barely breathe… I can barely see… I…” he was cut off.
“If, if you can’t make it… then I guess…” Dash’s words were forced and hard. He knew she was going to drop him. Still, he’d come this far. He could boast all he wanted when he was done. “I guess I’ll have to carry you…”
Before he could even say 'what?' they suddenly shot upwards as Rainbow Dash flapped her wings much harder and faster than she had been, and in this thin air they had already been buzzing just to hold herself and him aloft. Now they were a blur, fading into the dark blue sky behind her. It was clear she was in pain, more than he had been. She was doing this for him but he couldn’t even help in this position on his back, in her front hooves.
He tried to move but she always stopped him. He’d heard from Fluttershy how stubborn this filly could be but never imagined she would, or even COULD, do something like this. They were flying faster than he had been before and what would’ve taken him ten minutes took her only three. They were just at the apex of the clouds edge and… he was here. Even if he had been carried the last stretch, he was still here. Never in his life did he expect this.
Dash’s hind legs touched down, balanced up on them with her wings still buzzing. She slowly released Butterscotch from her arms as he slid onto his hooves. Dash collapse onto the soft clouds. So comforting… her thoughts of sleep were cut short by a very loud, very happy “We did it Rainbow Dash! WE DID IT!!!”
It was amazing. He was at World’s End! It was all because of her. There was no way any of this would’ve been possible if it wasn’t for her. Nopony had ever done something like this for him. She’d encouraged him, she’d saved him so many times and she’d destroyed herself helping him get here. Where less than a hundred ponies had ever been! Dash was about to try and speak up, before they heard another voice. It was deep, with a slight Graustralian accent.
“Well congratulation! I didn’t expect to see any others getting here.” Dash looked up from her head being buried in the clouds and saw the hippogryph from before. The hippogryph spoke again “I ‘specially didn’t expect to see you two, the stallion bringing a saddlebag… and a slender little filly…” he was clearly just as exhausted as these two as he could barely stand.
Dash looked at him giving him a glare. Butterscotch didn’t react, still just amazed that he was even here.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to disparage you… in fact, one of you is the ninety-ninth, and the other is the one-hundredth being to ever set hoof here!”
Butterscotch took notice of this. Dash had to be the one, not him. “Rainbow Dash, that’s you! You’re in the record books!”
“Na… I…” she was still panting from carrying him. “I wasn’t… you touched down… after I did… looks like… you’re famous…”
He was beyond flabbergasted! Dash had declined such a monumental feat for him. He didn’t deserve it, she did! “No Rainbow Dash, you did… trust me… this award is yours…” he said, nearly at tears from her selflessness towards him.
“Thanks…” was the last thing she said before she lay her head back into the clouds and fell asleep.
She awoke the next morning. The light around her was weird. It was light out but it was still dark… then she remembered where she was and what she was seeing. She was ABOVE the sun as it had only just crested the horizon. Dash felt a weight over her chest, it was Butterscotch's arm. He was curled up beside her; it was funny how much he looked like Fluttershy right now.
She tried to move “Argh!” and yelped as her... everything hurt… of course it did. But that was the price of getting here. Butterscotch awoke to the noise. He pulled his hoof away from over her chest, he felt a bit awkward having had it there.
“Hey…” he said, tiredly, likely just as saw as she was.
“Hey, yourself…” Dash replied.
“Rainbow Dash… there’s something I want to ask.”
“Sure.” she said, still too tired to notice the passion in his voice “What is it?”
“Rainbow Dash, it’s amazing up here. I could never have gotten here without you. You helped me, you saved me, you even carried me!” he was embarrassed by that last part but it didn’t matter. “All of this is because of you; and I wanna thank you… and, what I wanted to ask…” he didn’t have the words to express it. He just leant in and kissed her.
Dash didn’t flinch. He was kissing her. He was a perfect stallion for her, but… “No.” she said as she pulled away. “I told you before, I didn’t want a fling.”
“Neither do I. I want to be with you. I want you to be with me… everything you’ve done for me. Everything that you are, Rainbow Dash! I love you!”
“No. no…” she began to cry.
“I’m sorry…” Butterscotch said, trying to… something... he didn’t exactly know what was happening. But his words only made it worse. They were the same words Pinkie Pie had said to her. The last words Pinkie Pie had said to her.
“No… I came here to get away from all of this… I just wanted to… escape. To get as far away from it as possible… and now…”
Butterscotch put his hoof on her face and pulled her towards him, he didn’t know what was wrong and wanted to help “Please… tell me what’s wrong.”
“I can’t be with you… there’s… there’s somepony else for me… but I…”
“I see…” he was hurt but it didn’t matter, she was in so much more pain than he was. “What’s his name?” he said with genuine concern for her.
“Her name…”
“Oh…”
“That’s it right there!” she yelled through her tears, it would be just the same as when her friends had said it about her and Applejack. Ponies judging her. Even her own friends. “I don’t… I’m not… I am… I love her… but I love her, and I left her… why do ponies think I’m like that?”
“Rainbow Dash. I don’t care. Even if we can’t be together, I want to be your friend and I will never judge you for what your heart wants.”
“How you said ‘oh’ I know you don’t mean it!” Dash wasn’t good at picking up tones but even she could feel the coldness in his voice when he had said it.
“You’re wrong, I don’t care.” he said before pausing for a moment. “My sister used to have the biggest crush on you. And don’t tell me you didn't know that. But I never stopped loving her and I would never hold it against her. I don’t care who you love. I just care about you…”
“You mean it?” Dash asked, though she knew fully well that he did. She didn’t need an answer as he leaned his head against her. “Thank you…” she said, resting her head against his. “And I’m sorry I couldn’t… be with you…” she didn’t get a reply but she felt a tear rolling from his face onto her neck. If he felt so much for her from so little…
Dash could only imagine how Pinkie Pie must be feeling right now…
Dash had been at World’s End for two days now and it was almost night once more. She planned departing the next morning with Butterscotch and the hippogryph. None of them had eaten in days now which didn’t help them recover from the journey they’d all taken getting here. Also as it turned out she wasn’t the one-hundredth pony... err, being up here after all. She’d been here before so it didn’t count. Butterscotch was the ninety-ninth being here which as a feat in itself, but aside from his name in a book he wouldn’t get much fame out of it.
It was twilight now but it was twilight here for all but four hours of the day between 10 and 2. Any other time and they were higher than the sun in the sky. Still, it was clearly getting to what would be about 8pm and dark on the ground. She’d learnt the hippogryphs name, it was Razor Talon and she’d given him the nickname ‘Tally’. She’d talked to him a few times about various things but hadn't asked about his horn though. She wanted to know, seems it was the only thing about a hippogryph that wasn't how she'd heard of them, and tonight would be the last chance she’d have to ask him before they all left and likely never saw each other again.
“So the first robot said ‘01101000 01100101 01100001 01110100 01100101 01110010’ and the second robot replied ‘01101000 01100101 01100001 01110100 her? I barely know her!’” Tally said, getting a slight laugh from Dash but it seemed to go right over Butterscotch’s head, like most of his jokes.
“Haha… yeah. Been there…” Dash said. The guy was kinda nerdy but thanks to Twilight, she actually understood most of his jokes. “So Tally, I’ve been meaning to ask something. I’ve heard about hippogryphs before, I’ve never seen one up until you.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot; even in Graustralia we’re rare. You know how we come about right?”
“Yeah, one of your parents is a gryphon and the other one's a pegasus. But what I want to ask is, I’d heard about you people…”
“What do you mean ‘you people’?” Butterscotch asked.
“What do YOU mean ‘you people’?” Tally replied with a stern voice.
“I… I’m just gonna go over here.” Butterscotch said and walked away.
Dash and Tally stayed silent for a moment before he just started laughing. Not loud enough for Butterscotch to hear it though. Dash joined in and laughed about the little prank. “So anyway, I never heard that ‘you people’ have horns.” and she really hopped he wasn’t just covering up that he was actually insulted by that before.
He wasn’t. “Well, you’re half right, my father was gryphon, but my mother wasn’t a pegasus, she was a unicorn. So I was born with a horn. I guess I’m even rarer than the average hippogryph because of it.” he said with a smile. He'd grown up as some-what of an outcast but had learnt to embrace it. Didn't hurt that it was a top notch, well respected athlete now too.
Dash didn’t know what to think about it. A gryphon and a pegasus were rare enough, most of them lived in cloud cities. But a unicorn though? It just seemed so unlikely, so impossible. That's when Dash realised the comparison to herself and Pinkie. “How did… your parents meet?”
“I don’t really know. They’ve just always been together. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just… there’s somepony… an earth pony and, I’m scared. I don’t want to be weighed down. I mean, look where I am! There’s no way I could ever share this with her. I mean…” Dash had used the word ‘her’ and saw the look on Tally’s face when she had. He clearly had an opinion on it. “Yeah, I said ‘her’! So what?!” she added, angrily.
“What, you think I care?” he replied nonchalantly. “I was just surprised. I thought you were with him.” he indicated towards a now sleeping Butterscotch. “I really doubt many beings even care either way. Do what you want, it’s not my thing but to each their own.”
“Thanks, and sorry… I just, don’t know what to do.”
“Hey, I don’t wanna give you the whole ‘How do you feel when you’re with her’ and ‘What’s it like when you think of her’ ‘You’re in love’ speech but just do what you feel is right. I’m sure my father felt the same way at one point. Nervous about loving somebeing who couldn’t fly. But here I am.” he said with a reassuring smile.
She was glad she hadn’t been lectured. Well she had sorta, but it could’ve been much worse. She had to think about what she was going to do. Tomorrow they where heading back to Ponyville and she’d have to see Pinkie. She couldn’t run any longer, but she just didn’t know what she was going to do.
“Well, it’s getting late and seeing him over there is making me tired too.” Tally said as he stood and went off to get some sleep, he was going to be leaving tomorrow as well.
“Yeah, me too I guess. Good night.” Dash replied but stayed seated after he left, thinking she’d just sleep where she was now. She lay down but tossed and turned for a far too long before standing up and heading off to find a better spot to sleep. It would be nice to sleep next to Butterscotch. It got quite cold up here at night but she thought against it, even though she’d done so the last few days. Eventually she found herself walking up a rather steep hill that overlooked a drop-off. From there she could see as far as the world curved.
It was literally the highest point in the world, if you fell, you would fall for ages before even coming close to the ground. It was truly World’s End. She lay down and drifted to sleep. Wishing she knew what to do the next day.
Dash awoke the next morning, her head hang over the edge of the cloud, she could see everything from here. It probably would’ve scared her if she had been able to think of anything other than Pinkie. She’d even had some weird dream that Pinkie had met her mother in a mansion in Cloudsdale. It didn’t matter though; she just left her head hanging off the cloud-cliff, staring at the world below. She had no idea what to do when she got back to Ponyville.
Would Pinkie forgive her for what she’d done. Then again, did Pinkie even know that she had run away? It had only been four days since she left, even if she had left in the middle of one of their dates. She’d have to say something but she just didn’t know what. Maybe she wouldn’t head back to Ponyville at all. She’d go to Cloudsdale or that place in Graustralia that Tally was from.
The idea was stupid… she had to go back to Ponyville. She turned to look down to see if Butterscotch or Tally where up yet. When she turned however, she saw Pinkie, curled up asleep beside her, giving Dash a hug. “You’re not here...” she muttered, closing her eyes and the hopes of washing away the drowsiness. She couldn’t stop thinking about Pinkie and now she was even seeing her.
She opened her eyes once more and Pinkie was still there. In fact, she was snoring. Pinkie was really there. Pinkie was really... HERE!!! How was this possible? It wasn’t! Nothing made sense to her in the moment. “You’re kidding me…” was all that she could think to say. She gave Pinkie a small poke. “Pinkie, wake up!”
Pinkie stretch and yawned. She sat up as Dash did too, sitting on their haunches Pinkie exclaimed “Hi Dashie!” before taking a look around “Oh yeah, we’re here and all that… uh, hi again!”
“Pinkie I… I’m sorry I ran, I didn’t know what else to do.” Dash said, tears already bursting from her eyes.
“Its ok Dashie, I forgive you. I’m here for you now, even if you don’t want me to be… I’m here.”
That was just it though… she was here. HERE!!! At World’s End. The highest place in Equestia. An earth pony! Where in the last however-many-years, only so many pegusi had been, and so many hundreds of thousands had tried. This flightless earth pony had made it here... for her! Dash had been afraid Pinkie would hold her back? It almost seemed stupid now. Pinkie wouldn’t hold her back, if anything she would drag her forward. Pinkie could do anything. It wasn’t just an exaggeration, Pinkie could literally do ANYTHING!!!
Dash didn’t reply. Pinkie had done all this for her. Dash put her arms around her friend... her marefriend, and gave her a small kiss before leaning her head onto Pinkie’s shoulder and closed her eyes. Pinkie did the same, wrapping her arms around Dash. They stayed like this for what seemed like an eternity which to Dash didn’t seem long enough. Dash finally opened her eyes and pulled away.
They sun had moved from down on the horizon to directly behind Pinkie. It was beautiful. The sun was caught in every one of her pink, curly locks and her head perfectly covered the most of the sun leaving just the golden glow that surrounded Pinkie’s face. While Dash was perfectly fine with just letting the moment last forever, Pinkie broke the silence. “Dashie. What would you do if I fell through the clouds right now?”
Rainbow Dash instantly unfurled her wings to the question, ready to dive at less than a second's notice. But it didn’t come to that. “Don’t joke about that Pinkie! I would’ve… I would dive after you and stop you from falling. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“Well that’s good because Twilight’s windwalker spell should’ve wore off hours ago. I don’t know how I’m still up here.”
Dash just looked at her, fully aware why she wasn’t falling and what it meant. Which meant so much to her. “You’re not falling because something that belongs to a pegasus won’t fall through clouds. And Pinkie, what you are…”
The big rush from the race had died down and the old clood cabin wouldn’t see much traffic for some time now. The radio was tuned into a station playing a slow pop song. The light-brown furred, dark-brown maned, former prospector, bar-keep with one gold tooth was a little surprised to hear the doorbell jingle. Even more surprised to see who it was. "Food. Now!" Dash proclaimed as she entered.
“Welcome back, Was startin' ta think yous'll hadn't made it ta World's End 'n had just flown off. It’s about time you got back here, gotta add your names to the record book.” he stated as they all plopped down onto the stools in front of the counter.
Tally took the lead saying “Well, we’ve got three names for you then.”
“Three names aye? So who got there first? Go figure that fourth place is the real winner though, hehe.”
“I was there first, my name is ‘Razor Talon’.”
“Then I got there. ‘Butter Leopold Scotch’.”
“Mhm… got it, so I guess that make you the hundredth, little mare.” he said, raising a hoof towards Rainbow Dash as she and Pinkie stood behind the two guys eager to get their names recorded.
“Na, sorry old timer, I’m already in that book, as the youngest to ever make there I might add.” Dash said, full of pride and back to her normal self.
"Strange... coulda sworn all the racers came back by now. So the hundredth still up there I take it."
“Nope, I’m right here!” Pinkie chirped.
The bar-keep just stared, giving Pinkie an eye up and down before saying “I beggen your pardon missy but, how did an earth pony get to World’s End exactly, you mind telling me?”
“Well it’s simple really.” Pinkie said. Dash was just as eager to hear this, as was everypony else. “I have no idea!” Dash practically prat-fell from her response… but hay, it seemed about right for Pinkie.
Butterscotch and Tally both spent the next few hours trying to convince the bar-keep that it was true but he wasn’t buying it. “Alright, but whether you write it down or not, it happened.” Tally said and eventually they got him to add Pinkamena Diane Pie to the register. And of course Pinkie had to add her own little touch to it as well, drawing her Cutie Mark next to her name.
The day was starting to get dark; something that Dash had to re-adjust to now that the day wasn’t eighteen hours long like it was up there. The others where a bit buzzed, having had a few drinks by now but Dash and Pinkie didn’t need anything to enjoy this moment together. Well, except one thing. “Oh, I love this song!” Pinkie said as the previous song ended and the next one began. How Pinkie Pie knew any slow songs Dash didn’t know, but nothing could surprised her about Pinkie anymore.
“Pinkie, do… do you wanna dance?” Dash asked. She didn’t like dancing but for Pinkie she’d do anything. She didn’t need a response as she stood up from the counter, with Pinkie’s hoof in her own, she pulled her to the open floor. The bar-keep saw it and turned the music up for them. They stood there for a moment before Dash leaned in and put her neck against Pinkie’s. And just listened to the music play.
Slowly the two started swaying back and forth to the music. Unfortunately it didn’t last too long; the song was only about two minutes long. Even if Dash didn’t like dancing, she had enjoyed this moment, and was sad to see it gone. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash stayed together, just swaying as the next song began.
“That's always been my favourite song…” Pinkie said with her head draped over Rainbow Dash's shoulder.
Dash just kept Pinkie in her arms. “It’s my favourite song too…” she said. Then, resting her head against Pinkie’s, she added “No, actually it’s not my favourite song...”
