Special thanks to BrainLapse for an awesome editing job! This story wouldn't be half as good without him!
Rainbow Dash trotted through Ponyville, looking for someone to hang out with. Today was her day off from work, but nopony else seemed to be free. Rarity had just received an ridiculously large order of dresses for the Hearts and Hooves Day Ball in Canterlot, and Fluttershy had several sick animals. Applejack and Twilight were busy applebucking the south orchard and reorganizing the library, and Pinkie Pie was... Pinkie Pie had said she was... come to think of it, Pinkie Pie hadn’t even been around yesterday. That was odd. Oh well, maybe she was busy baking something. There was an idea; Pinkie loved having helpers in the kitchen. Deciding that there was nothing better to do with her day, Rainbow Dash lazily flew to Sugarcube Corner to find Pinkie
Rainbow Dash quickened her flight, heading towards Sugarcube Corner. The bell jingled as she entered the shop, alerting Mr. Cake that there was a customer.
“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner- Oh, it’s you, Rainbow Dash. Are you here to visit Pinkie, or do you have an order?”
“Actually, I didn’t have to work today, so I thought Pinkie might want some help in the kitchen. Is she working today?”
“Well… yes and no. Pinkie’s been acting a little strangely lately. I was actually meaning to call you to talk to her about it. She is in the kitchen, but she’s stress baking. Either she eats her emotions, or the food isn’t fit to sell. Maybe you could sort her out?” Mr. Cake suggested hopefully.
“Oh, no problem Mr.Cake! I’d hate to see Pinkie Pie in a state. I think helping her bake will cheer her right up!”
“Thank you, Rainbow. I’m glad Pinkie has such great friends.”
“Not at all, Mr. Cake.” Rainbow smiled as she walked to the back doors leading into the kitchen.
“Pinkie Pie?” she called to an apparantly empty kitchen.
“Hi there!” Pinkie said, popping up from seemingly nowhere, a splotch of flour on her nose.
“What’s up Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow asked, a little startled by her sudden entrance.
“Oh, you know. Baking stuff. What are you doing here?” Pinkie said at top speed. That’s funny, Rainbow thought; this Pinkie doesn’t fit Mr. Cake’s description at all. Oh well, she is the most random pony I know.
“I have work off today, and I was wondering-"
“What? What were you wondering? What do you want to do? Discover a secret society in a closet? Go to magic school and kill a big snake? Cut your real father's hoof off? Slay a Jabberwocky? What do you want to do?” Pinkie Pie interrupted, bouncing up and down.
“I was wondering… … …if you, I dunno, wanted to… make cupcakes?” she finished. Pinkie Pie emitted a scream as loud and high-pitched as only she could. “Oh boy! oh boy! oh boy! Rainbow Dash wants to make cupcakes with me! This is super-duper! Come on, Dashie!” Pinkie Bounced off to get the ingredients and cake pans. Rainbow smiled.
“So Pinkie, how was your week?” Rainbow asked offhandedly.
Pinkie’s face sank, but her voice was still a little upbeat. “Oh, you know. Good, I guess. We had a lot of orders around here, with Hearts and Hooves day being right around the corner and all. Bon-Bon said that she’s just a wreck. Two hundred and fifty chocolate orders on the first day! Can you believe it? Anyway, I’ve just been baking cakes all week.” Rainbow was sad that Pinkie was so upset, but wasn’t quite sure how to react. While smart Rainbow Dash was thinking of a proper response, blabbermouth Rainbow Dash had apparently taken the Hearts and Hooves Day idea and ran with it. And thus, for probably the millionth time in her short life, Rainbow Dash heard her mouth asking a question that she was sure hadn’t passed through any sort of approval or analyzing process in her head.
“Do you have a special somepony, Pinkie?” Rainbow asked, and immediately wished that she could shut her big fat mouth once in awhile. Rainbow wasn’t sure what kind of facial expression THAT was supposed to be, but she could tell that this was not going to be an easy subject for Pinkie Pie.
“Well, not really.” Pinkie mumbled.
“Umm… would you care to elaborate?”
“Well, I kind of have a… crush on somepony. Somepony I see a lot, but I’m not ‘seeing’. You know what I mean?” the earth pony said, looking at the floor.
“Oh yeah, I know exactly what you mean. So who is it?” Rainbow asked, more curious than cautious now.
Pinkie opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. Then she opened it a bit to mumble “Well, it’s well… I- I’d rather not talk about it, okay?”
Buck. Rainbow didn’t want to upset Pinkie. But from the look on Pinkie’s face –those watery sapphire eyes, the slight frown, the awkward breathing, the way she looked at the ground- she had brought up a subject that her dear friend was very sensitive about. She wrapped her best friend in a tight embrace.
“It’s okay, Pinkie. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m sorry I brought it up.” Pinkie nuzzled Rainbow’s chest with her face.
“Thanks, Dashie. Hugs make everything better. I guess I’m just a little stressed out.” Dash’s heart skipped a few beats when she heard Pinkie’s affectionate nickname for her. What the heck was that? We’ll have to see ole’ Doc Caramel about that one.
“No problem, Pinks. You make everypony smile so much, I’m glad I can do the same for you once in awhile. If you ever have any problems, I’m right here.” Dash comforted, glad she wouldn’t have to deal with negative emotions anymore; knowing what to say wasn’t her forte.
Pinkie enjoyed the tender hug for a few seconds longer. “Thanks, Dashie. I’m glad you’re my friend.” she said. Then she broke the contact and bounced up and down, her normal self again. “Let’s make those cupcakes!”
They managed to mix up the cupcakes without another meltdown. Dash, however, had a problem. She couldn’t stop looking at her friend. Those sparkly eyes, the way her curls occasionally fell in her face, the way those soft lips parted to reveal that pearly white smile. She looked at those tender hooves, her curvy flank, that balloon cutie mark…
“I’ll just put these in the oven.” Pinkie said, reaching for the cupcake pans that Rainbow was organizing, trying not to look up. Their hooves touched briefly. Pinkie pretended not to notice, but Rainbow Dash withdrew her hoof sharply, as if Pinkie’s hoof was white-hot. A twinge of sadness appeared in Pinkie’s eyes, which Rainbow Dash tried to ignore, making her feel guiltier than ever.
“So Dashie…” Pinkie started as she leaned against the kitchen counter.
There it was again. That jump that made Rainbow want to tear her heart out just to finish the job. “Yes, Pinkie?” she said tentatively.
“Do YOU have a special somepony?” the pink pony asked.
Rainbow paused for a moment, taken aback at the abrupt question. Then she let slip another unchecked answer. “Well, I kinda have a crush on somepony too.”
“Oh. Is it a mare, or a stallion?” Pinkie asked, looking a little surprised.
“A mare. A cute, sweet, funny mare.” For the love of Celestia, shut your bucking mouth, Rainbow Dash!
“Oh. Well I hope everything works out for you two.” the pink pony said sadly.
“I have a feeling it will.” Rainbow said, with no inkling of what part of her brain that reply had come from.
Pinkie’s mane deflated when Dash finished her sentence. The party pony’s façade of happiness shattering at the implications of that sentence.
The next few minutes were filled with an awkward silence punctuated only by Pinkie Pie’s sighs.
The cupcakes were done, but neither pony was hungry. Pinkie put them in the fridge in case Rainbow came to visit her later that week. Rainbow looked out the window and saw the fading light of Celestia’s sun as it descended out of the sky to make way for Luna’s night, and decided to go home.
“Rainbow?”
“Yes, Pinkie Pie?”
“Do you want to sleepover, maybe?” Pinkie asked, and Rainbow Dash made a rash decision that she would come to regret.
“No Pinkie, I’d better not. There’s a tornado coming through, and I won’t be able to tell if the weather patrol will need me to come in early tomorrow morning.”
“Oh. Okay, Dashie. G’night.” Pinkie’s ears drooped, her nose inches from the ground.
She had used that name again. Seeing Pinkie so depressed made Rainbow felt like she was bleeding on the inside. It took all of her strength to not cry.
“Good night, Pinkie Pie.” she said.
Rainbow Dash tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. She felt like she wanted to throw up. Her insides were being squeezed tight. A stray thought popped into her head.
Pinkie Pie. Her body, her laugh, the way that she loved to spend time with her friends. She loved it. She loved HER. Rainbow now knew exactly why she had said the things she did at Sugarcube Corner. She understood her weird feelings, and the looks she gave Pinkie Pie. She knew the mare she had told Pinkie she had a crush on. She was in love with Pinkie Pie.
And she had to tell her.
Pinkie Pie looked in the mirror.
“Look at you. Pathetic.”
Pinkie Pie scanned her surroundings, panicked.
“Who’s there?” she asked.
“It’s me.” Her reflection turned straight haired and muted, with a wicked smile.
“Oh. Hi Pinkamena.” Pinkie said, changing back from scared to sad.
“I know what you’re thi-inking!” Pinkamena said in a sing-song voice.
“Of course you do. You’re me.” Pinkie replied glumly.
“You’re thinking about Dashie-Washie, aren’t you?”
“You know I am. You’re me.” Pinkie sighed at the mirror.
“You like her, don’t you?” the grayish pony teased.
“You know I LOVE her. You’re me.” She responded half-heartedly.
“Did you see the way she pulled back her hoof when you touched her?”
“Yes. I was there. So were you. You’re me.”
“She doesn’t want to even be near you. And guess what? She has another mare in mind!” her reflection cackled.
“I wish them the best.” she said.
“I know you do. And that’s what’s so sickening about you, Pinkie Pie. You’re a bleeding-heart. You can’t even stand up for your love.”
“I know. Neither can you. You’re me.”
“What’s you’re deal?” Pinkamena pouted.
“You don’t get it, do you? You’re ME. You can’t torment me, or drag me down to your level anymore. You ARE my level. YOU are ME.” Pinkie explained with finality.
“Oh? Oh!” Pinkamena said, her eyes widening as she suddenly realized the meaning behind the words. “You know, you’re no fun anymore, Pinkie Pie. Even I don’t like you anymore.” Her reflection returned to normal, a sad-looking curly-haired pink mare.
“I know.”
Pinkie turned to the window, gazing down on the street below. One little hop. It would be easy. Just a little bounce, like she used to do when she was happy. A split-second motion, and it would all be over. She stood on the window sill, contemplating her last few seconds.
But she couldn’t do it. No matter how much she hurt and wanted to do it, she just couldn’t. She was too chicken to throw herself out. Maybe she would use drugs, or eat herself to death, or hang herself. She wasn’t going to jump, but as she shifted her weight, her left hoof slipped. She tried to hang on to the edges of the window, but she was caught off guard, and she couldn’t keep her grip. Well, at least it’ll be quick. Good-bye, Dashie.
Rainbow could see a pink dot falling at Sugarcube Corner. Her mind automatically assumed the worst.
No, No, NO! Celestia NO! She had to get to her friend. There was no time to think strategy, no time to be cautious; this was a time for action! Rainbow flew so fast that she achieved a sonic rainboom. It wouldn’t be fast enough, though. Pinkie was fighting gravity, and Rainbow Dash was still at the edge of town. She pushed, harder and harder to gain speed.
“PINKIE PIE!” she yelled, looking her friend in the eyes.
“Oh, Dashie!” Pinkie cried, and started to bawl. Rainbow Dash held her close, letting the stream of tears flow into her coat. “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash! I just didn’t see the point! I just wanted to go! I didn’t figure anypony would care!” she choked, her head resting on Rainbow’s chest.
“Why in the world would you even come close to thinking that? Why in the world would you ever think that nopony cared?” Rainbow was stunned at her words, feeling guiltier than ever.
“I just, I- I- Rainbow, I love you! I just don’t want to get in your way!” she said, her sobs renewing.
“Oh Pinkie Pie, you could never get in my way.” the prismatic pony said.
“What about that mare you said you liked?” Pinkie sniffed.
“It’s you, Pinkie! It was always you! I was just too stupid to see it! And when I finally did, I couldn’t tell you! I love you, Pinkie Pie! I love every bit of you!” she said, bursting into tears herself. “I’m sorry, Pinkie! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry!”
The two ponies sat there on the floor for some time, crying into each other’s shoulders in a tight embrace. Rainbow was sure that she had seen Mr. Cake walk in at some point, which was later confirmed when she saw that the window had been shut and padlocked.
“I’m sorry, Pinkie Pie. This is all my fault.” Rainbow said.
“Dashie?” That name. HER name. She hoped she got to hear Pinkie call her that name for the rest of her life. She hoped that she would hear that sweet sound every day until the end of time.
“Yes, Pinkie?” she said.
“We shouldn’t be sad. I’m done feeling sorry for myself. You should stop being sorry for me. We’re happy now. We’re in love, and ponies in love shouldn’t have frownies. Okie dokie?”
“Okie dokie lokie.” Rainbow smiled, giving Pinkie a squeeze. Pinkie brought her face close to Rainbow’s, their noses almost touching.
“Dashie…” Pinkie began.
Rainbow Dash threw her right arm around Pinkie’s waist, and the left around her neck, pulling her in for a passionate kiss. She could feel Pinkie’s warm body against hers, and she never wanted to let her go.
“Dashie?” Pinkie asked, breaking the kiss.
“Yes, Pinkie?”
“I love you more than cupcakes.” And with that, she fell asleep with her head on Rainbow’s chest.
Rainbow sighed. Even her sleep habits were random. “Me too, Pinkie. Me too.”