//------------------------------// // Pink Paradise // Story: Forever (And Ever) // by RarityEQM //------------------------------// The terrible allure of pastries, pies, cookies, cakes, and other tasty treats brought ponies far and wide to Ponyville's famous Sugar Cube Corner, and like usual, the place was packed with ponies. There was only one particular pony Rainbow Dash was looking for, however, and it was the girl behind the counter with the already permanent smile etched across her features. Somehow, it got even brighter, when Pinkie caught sight of Rainbow Dash, who was wearing a very similar sparkling grin. "Hi, Pinkie! Have you got a minute?!" Rainbow squealed. Her voice was loud, loud enough to carry over most of the idle chatter in the room. But she didn't care. Not that there was much Rainbow Dash could do about it in the first place. She was far, far too excited about the new prospects of her life that Applejack had revealed to her. Pinkie, however, did not seem to notice the intense lack of volume control Rainbow Dash exhibited, and instead greeted the pony with her ever present, cheerful demeanor. "For you, Rainbow?! Always! Whats up?" She asked, already feeling the tingles of excitement in the air. Whenever Rainbow Dash was this excited about something, it always promised to lead to something amazing. The Wonderbolt didn't seem capable of standing still today. She was idly trotting in place with an energy Pinkie could only describe as 'extremely familiar.' "I've been talkin' with Applejack, and she's been talkin' with Twilight. Pinkie, are you ready for this?! We, are, gonna, be, IMMORTAL! I mean, like alicorns! We'll be like Twilight!" Rainbow Dash squealed. Pinkie's powerful perfect, permanent smile only twitched slightly at this news and the pink pony threw her head back and giggle-snorted. "Oh, yeah, Dashie, we're totally gonna be Alicorns! After seven seasons, I can't imagine that's not where things are going," she explained. "I mean, after Faust left, I was sorta worried, but you know, we're really comin' along. And even if it isn't in the script, it's veeeery toyetic, so ya know, marketing will make it happen if Larson doesn't," said Pinkie Pie. Rainbow stared. "You...err...no. Pinkie, wait what? Who's Larson and Faust? No, no, Pinkie, are you listening to me? Immortal! We're gonna be immortal!" Rainbow Dash explained through the smile that was twisting across her features, which now actively starting to hurt. She couldn't get rid of it, though. There was a scene playing over and over in her head, like a scratched record. It was a cool summer evening, the air was fresh and clean, and Rainbow and Applejack were set to race each other through Ghastly Gorge. The rest of their friends- the alicorns were cheering them on from above, hooting and hollering with wild unchecked enthusiasm. A legendary race between two of the greatest legends Equestria would ever know... With an unprovoked squeal of happiness, Rainbow Dash suddenly leaped into the air in a skillful little backflip. She couldn't help herself. She couldn't stop herself. It all sounded like so much fun, and so exciting the little pegasus performed a second, perfectly executed backflip with a gleeful squee of happiness. The perfect 'ending' to an already perfect story. She would be the worlds fastest pegasus. She'd have all the tricks. She'd know all the moves. She'd spend her days off teaching other ponies to be just as cool as she was. Scootaloo, naturally, would get the bulk of her training. She'd mold that pony into her counterpart. A perfect student that would be able to perform every trick, stunt, and maneuver that she could!! Of course, Rainbow Dash would have Twilight's expertise when it came to teaching. Just in case, of course. If she needed it. Who was she kidding? Scootaloo would pick up on everything in ten seconds flat! She was the best little filly out there, and all of Rainbow Dash's considerable knowledge of tricks and skill would go to her. Her successor. Her protege. It would be nice to have a protege, she thought. Nicer, that it was her dear adopted little sister, Scootaloo. "Think about it, Pinkie! You'll be a princess, like Twilight! You'll get your own kingdom and everything! We can have sleep overs in each other's castles! We can spend years planning the absolute greatest prank Equestria has EVER known! Or even bake the biggest birthday cake ever!" Rainbow explained with quite the over abundance of energy. Needless to say, Pinkie Pie was feeding off of Rainbow Dash's endless happiness. She did not let it consume her, though, like the others. She did not burst into unstoppable, raving laughter. She did not let her mind wander into endless stretches of questions. She had far, far to much practice with insanity to succumb to those pitfalls of madness. No, she simply held her perfect smile across her face and nodded while Rainbow Dash rattled on and on about all the wonderful things they could do without the boundaries of time. Really, it was adorable watching Rainbow Dash dance with madness for the first time. Adorable and extremely comforting. Finally, Pinkie would no longer be alone in the secret knowledge she held. Of course, they were immortal. There was no other way things could go. She had seen this coming for years now, and now, finally, NOW her friends were finally starting to see the bigger picture. It was then, that Pinkie realized something extremely important: she wasn't alone anymore. Goodness, she'd never be alone again! They understood her! They really understood her! As alicorns, they would all see what she could see and it was a thought that wrapped around her soul like a warm and loving hug. She'd never be alone in her knowledge again!! "Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked when she noticed the pink pony suddenly sobbing in silence. Tears of joy freely rolling down her cheeks, and the earth pony looked up with a brilliant smile. "Y-Yes? Yes, Rainbow?" she asked voice choked with emotion. Rainbow didn't know why her friend was suddenly crying, but immediately she leaped over the barricade of the counter and wrapped Pinkie in a comforting hug. "Hey? Hey, it's gonna be alright, Pinkie. It's gonna be okay! We're okay! We're really okay! We're immortal. We're gonna be okay! And if it's not okay, we can make it okay! We've got the time, Pinkie, we've got the time to fix everything." Rainbow squeaked. She was crying too, suddenly. She didn't know why, but it wasn't sadness. It was a level of joy she'd never felt before. This very concept was sweeping over her and drawing out emotions she wasn't sure out to process. Pinkie didn't seem sad, but Rainbow felt the need to offer a hug anyway. A hug Pinkie greedily accepted, squeezing her best friend back with a loving sigh. "Y-yeah...Yeah, Dashie. It's gonna be okay now! It's gonna be okay!! T-Thank you so much!!" Pinkie squeaked. A weight had been lifted off her shoulders. No longer would she face this world alone with the knowledge that nopony else had. She had tried to explain to others, before, but everypony wrote her off. Just Pinkie being random they would say. But not now. Never again. She was no longer exiled into solitude by this world view she alone suffered with. Her friends were there with her like they always had been but now it was different. Now everything had changed for the better. "Dashie...Dashie...thank you, Dashie...Thank you so much," Pinkie blubbered into Rainbow Dash's shoulder. The cyan flier didn't know why Pinkie was crying, but she could sense the relief radiating from her. The sense of comfort and happiness that had been a long time coming for the poor element of Laughter. Rainbow Dash squeezed tightly before she took a step back, and held her friend at forelegs length and smiled brightly through her tears. They would be okay. Everything was going to be okay. It was going to be so okay, Pinkie clutched her stomach, threw her head back and let out a tremendous laugh. Her knee-jerk reaction to the flood of emotions that burst through her. Her mind was racing, suddenly, now that it no longer registered that she was alone in the world. It was as if some magical door of happiness opened up for her! She could spend years coming up with the biggest party ever! After all, a year would pass in the blink of an eye to her. She had the time to set everything up and make sure everything was perfect. She had the time to create the ultimate party! Teary-eyed and beside herself with relief, Pinkie found she was embraced by Rainbow Dash, again, before she could embrace her. Rainy squeezed Pinkie hard and held her tightly for a long few seconds. When she finally let go, Pinkie was beaming ear to ear. "Every hundred years, we'll have a party. A huge party!! The six of us. We can talk about all the ponies we helped and celebrate all of our achievements and accomplishments, and we'll never be alone again! I'll never be alone again...I...I..." Pinkie stammered, finding her voice fading away, replaced with fresh sobs of emotional relief. She found herself lost in Rainbow's embrace again, and a quiet whispered dipped into her ear. A whisper that made all the difference. "Yeah. Never again, Pinkie. Never again. "