//------------------------------// // Pinkie Pie: Ratatat ch 3 // Story: L.I.P: Pinkie Pie- Ratatat // by PegasYs //------------------------------// I held the train ticket in my magic, and felt almost sick. I really wished it had the ability to magically catch on fire. Normally, I would look at something like this and feel really excited about getting on the road again. But now all I wanted to do was toss it out the window. I couldn’t face the facts. There was no way out of it. I had to leave Ponyville. I had to leave Pinkie Pie. And I only had one day left. How would I tell her? I don’t know if I could face her and tell her that I had to leave. The image of her smiling face turning for the worse as I delivered the news, a wave of tears streaming down her soft pink cheeks, was too much for me to think about. To have her first relationship torn away from her as soon as it had come, to take away from me my love, was too much to bear. I couldn’t imagine having to tell her after all that we had been through today. Wow. It’s only been one day. A whole twenty-four hours. It had seemed like the day had lasted a lifetime. I was tearing apart inside. I didn’t know what to do. There was so little time. I thought it over and over in my head. I would just have to tell her. I would spend all day with her tomorrow, and I would deliver the gut-wrenching news that evening. I didn’t want to have to do it. I really wished there was some other way. If I could just quit the band and stay in Ponyville. I lay in my bed in quiet anguish, hoping that I would just be able to fall asleep and it would all go away. But sleep wouldn’t come. I just stared at the ceiling as slow, hot tears flowing purposefully down my face. I closed my eyes, and willed for sleep to come, but was met only with images of Pinkie’s beautiful face, laughing and smiling, blue eyes filling my mind’s eye. I finally was given solace, and I fell into a fitful, dreamless slumber. I awoke in the late morning. I felt terrible from the restless sleep last night. Tear trails had dried into my coat, leaving two sticky lines in the fur on my face. I sat up in my bed, and fell back as a terrible headache pounded at my brain. Laying here was a lot better, and certainly hurt a lot less. I forced myself to rise. I clicked on the bedside lamp with my magic, and instantly regretted it as my brain protested with a sharp pound at my temples. I remembered that this would be the last day I would get to spend with my Pinkie Pie, and that gave me the strength to stand and make my way to the bathroom. I turned on the shower and stood under the cold water for a moment. The water running through my mane instantly had an effect on my condition. I stood there for a good long time, thinking about what this today meant. This would be the last day I would get to spend with her before leaving, and Celestia damn it if it isn’t going to be the best damn day of my life. I tried not to think of what would have to happen in the evening. Better not to have to think about that now. I got out and brushed my mane and coat. I felt excited about the day, and thought I should probably be heading over to Sugar Cube Corner right now. Pinkie Pie was undoubtedly awake already, given that I had overslept the night before. All the fear and worry I had felt had washed away in the shower. I packed up everything I would need for the day into my saddlebags, and absentmindedly threw the ticket along with the letter from Sunny in after I was done packing up my copy of the latest Daring Do book. I stepped out of my cozy apartment, and into what I hoped to be the best day ever! I arrived at Sugar Cube Corner, and was greeted by Mrs. Cake. “Good morning Ratamacue! Pinkie Pie just left to the market to pick up some ingredients, but she should be back in a few minutes! Make yourself comfortable! I can make you some breakfast if you want.” “Thanks Mrs. Cake, that would be great!” I took a seat at one of the tables close to the window, and set my saddlebags on the ground by the table. There were a few other ponies sitting in the little pastry shop, enjoying a nice midmorning brunch, or just socializing with their friends. There was a group of three adorable fillies sitting at one of the tables across the room from me. They were all wearing matching capes, as if they were in some sort of club, or secret society maybe. The White unicorn filly was waving her arms like a chicken and making clucking noises, much to the amusement of the light yellow earth pony I saw at the Summer Sun Celebration party. The other one, an orange pegasus filly, didn’t look nearly as amused as her companions, as if the joke was directed at her. It was really an amusing sight. Mrs. Cake came over with some of the most delicious looking pastries I had ever seen in my life. I enjoyed them and stared out the window into the dusty streets of Ponyville. This town was definitely a lot less crowded than the bustling streets of my home city, and a lot more pleasant. As Mrs. Cake had just demonstrated, most of the ponies in town are really nice. It would definitely be a fantastic place to settle down and make a family. I thought about the idea for a moment, and started wondering if Pinkie had ever thought about having fillies and colts before. I would happily supply her with the necessary equipment, if she were willing. That is, if she ever wanted to see me again… I shook off those thoughts as soon as they had surfaced. Mrs. Cake stopped cleaning off the empty tables, and came and sat at the table with me, “You know, ever since last night, Pinkie has been absolutely ecstatic. I almost couldn’t get her to go to her room; she was bouncing of the walls. Pinkie has never been a sad pony, but you have definitely made her happier than she has ever been. You gave her a new kind of happiness she had never felt before, she said, and she wanted everyone she knew to feel it too. She didn’t know what to call it, but with the way I described it, it sounds like love.” She turned to Mr. Cake and gave him a wink, he smiled warmly back to her, then turned to me, and gave me a long distance brohoof when she turned to look out the window. She stood up and continued to the kitchen. I gave thought to what she had said, and took a deep breath of satisfaction. I know I’ve said this a lot lately, but I am definitely the luckiest pony in the world. Just as I had finished the last of my late breakfast, I saw Pinkie Pie’s pink head break over the crest of the hill, as she made her way to the shop. My heart fluttered, and I couldn’t help but smirk at the extremely cute way she decided to make her way around. I still didn’t understand how she did it. I didn’t need it to be explained, I knew Pinkie Pie was just being Pinkie Pie. She burst through the door of Sugar Cube Corner and shouted rather unnecessarily loud, “GOODMORNING EVERYPONY!” much to the distaste of Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Mr. Cake looked at her and nudged his head in my direction. She swiveled in my direction and, after looking around trying to find what he was motioning towards, locked her eyes onto me. The innocent gaze did more to me than I would like to go into detail about. She seemed surprised, but overjoyed by my impromptu visit. She rushed over to me at unprecedented speed and wrapped her forelegs around me. I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek; an older stallion gave a disapproving grunt from the table next to mine. She looked up at me and widened her eyes, “Hey Ratatat! Whatcha been up to?” THAT was the kind of nickname I could get into! I pulled her in closer and just held her for a minute. I breathed in deeply the cotton candy scent of her mane, felt her soft coat on my own fur. I’m gonna miss this… STOP THAT! “Sleeping, actually. I had a lot to think about last night and I couldn’t get to sleep.” I gave her a wink as we broke the embrace. She giggled quietly, and still found the capacity to blush. “I know whatcha mean… I was just about to leave for lunch, maybe you can hang out here for a little bit, and help me bake cupcakes!” I was an absolute terrible cook, but I decided I couldn’t decline her offer. “Sure, sounds like… fun.” I shuffled my hooves and my left foreleg caught on the strap of my saddlebag on the ground. The bag tipped over and spilled the contents on the ground. On the top of the pile were the train ticket and the letter from Sunny. …Buck! She went to help pick it up, and before I could say anything she was holding the ticket and the note in her hooves. “What’s this?” notgoodnotgoodnotgood. “Pinkie, I…” She looked at the ticket and the note with deep concentration. She read the letter to the end, and visibly sagged. Her ever-present smile disappeared from her face. Then something strange happened. Her curly, messy hair... Deflated… that was the best way to describe it. It fell flat around her head, and hung in front of her face in sadness. It didn’t suit her well. She didn’t look right. I wanted to explain myself, but couldn’t. She shouldn’t have seen this yet. “…Y-you’re leaving?” It was all she was able to say. She looked at me with deep despair in her eyes. I wasn’t ready for this. I wanted to get through this day without her knowing. She shouldn’t have seen this until tonight. “Pinkie, I didn’t want you to see this yet…” She cut me off, “Oh, so when were you gonna tell me?” She started to look angry with me. “I was going to tell you at the end of the day today, I wanted to spend the last day in Ponyville with you.” “So you planned on spending the day with me, and then telling me you were leaving? You wanted to get what you wanted and leave town?” This was a bad idea, but there was nothing I could do. I had no choice, but she didn’t see it that way. She thought I was taking advantage of her. I moved to speak, but no words came out of my mouth. She was tearing up. The rest of the shop had gone silent. Ponies’ eyes were drilling into me from every direction. She was making me look like the bad guy, and I deserved it. I didn’t want to leave her. I didn’t want to lose her. She closed her eyes shut as tears started to run down her face. I stuttered again, trying to find the words to say to make things better, but I couldn’t think straight. She turned away with a sour look on her face, and ran for the back room of the shop. I just stood there in a desperate stupor. Mr. Cake gave me a look of shame, and shook his head. “Look, son. Maybe it’s time you left Sugar Cube Corner.” I hung my head, and headed slowly out the door. Ponies who had been watching the scene fold out in front of them returned to their meals. The fillies at the table in the back of the shop were whispering quietly at their table, and one of them pointed a hoof in my direction. I felt humiliated, defeated, and ultimately heart broken. So much for the best day ever… I headed to a cider pub on the outskirts of town. It was an extremely depressing looking establishment that only mirrored the feelings that were weighing down my head and heart. The only ponies around were wallowing in shame, or whatever it is that ponies wallow in when they take a visit to the pub in the afternoon. Probably heart break. That’s why one pony seemed to be heading there at the moment. I walked inside the bat wing doors into a dark musty room. The smell of smoke was heavy in the atmosphere. At the end of the room there appeared to be a small wooden stage. Seated in the middle of the platform there sat a lone chair. There were a couple other stallions sitting at the bar. I took a seat on a stool at the end of the bar. The tender came up to me, and I ordered the heaviest glass of cider they had to offer. I couldn’t stop thinking about the situation I had put myself into. I loved that mare, and now I’ve lost her, and she thinks I was leading her on. I didn’t hesitate to finish my cider, and swiftly ordered another, in hopes that I could drown my sorrow. The stallion sitting down the table from me slid over and took a seat next to me. He was a stark white earth pony, with a red and black mane. I looked at his flank and saw emblazoned on it the four suits of standard playing cards arranged in a diamond. He whispered something about winning it big in Las Pegasus and then proceeded to lay his head his head on the table. His breath smelled heavily of alcohol and smoke. I felt discouraged about being in such a disheartening place and decided I should get out of that place. I had stood up to head toward the door when a spotlight trained itself on the chair on the stage. I light grey unicorn with a beamed eighth note cutie mark walked onto the stage and sat at the chair. She was holding a guitar in her magic. She floated it into her arms. Her rosy red eyes were staring intimately at the instrument as she began to strum the strings with her right hoof. The ponies at the tables closest to the stage started whooping and hollering at her, trying to reach over the edge and grab a quick touch at the mare. Vinyl ignored the stallions and kept playing her guitar. She began singing, a soft, melodic voice echoing from her throat. She was quite talented with her voice, and her hooves. She finished the number and I gave her a loud cheer, momentarily forgetting the reason I had stepped into the pub in the first place. She spotted me and gave a smile of appreciation. She got off the stage as another mare got into the spotlight. Vinyl came around to the back of the pub and took a seat at the bar next to me. “What are you doing at a place like this at such an early hour?” I was a little dizzy from the two mugs of hard cider I had just downed, “I could ask you the same thing.” “Being a radio DJ doesn’t pay a lot. I get pretty good tips from the stallions who come to see my show. A mare’s gotta pay the bills somehow.” She was obviously ashamed and embarrassed by the situation I had found her in, “What’s your story, Rattie? Nopony comes to a bar at one p.m. for no reason, what’s gotcha down big colt?” “I bucked it up with Pinkie Pie. She saw something that I didn’t want her to see, and now she’s upset and probably doesn’t want to see me again.” A returning wave of despair washed over me as her hurt, teary face flashed in my mind’s eye. “She seemed pretty happy a few hours ago in the market… Look man, I don’t claim to know a whole lot about being all lovey-dovey, but if she doesn’t want you, she’s missing out.” She turned to look about the pub, “But you need to get out of this place, this atmosphere isn’t good for anypony.” I realized that she was right, and felt only a little better. I gave her an appreciative smile and headed out of the bar. I was still in a terrible mood, and decided I should just go back to my apartment. The afternoon air was warm and the sun shone brightly on the summer day. It made me sick. This would have been a fantastic day to spend with Pinkie Pie. I was starting to feel like the unluckiest pony in all of Equestria. I was hanging my head and staring at the ground, so I didn’t see the mare coming. I crashed into her and her field of magic broke. She dropped her books she had been holding in the field of levitation. I offered to help her, but she just cast her magic out and picked them up neatly into a stack floating in midair. It was the nerdy-cute unicorn from the party. She seemed to recognize me and gave a toothy smile. “Sorry about that, I really need to pay attention to where I’m going.” I wanted to get out of there and hide myself away in my room. She had other plans. “You’re that unicorn Pinkie Pie was talking about after the Summer Sun Celebration! I’m Twilight Sparkle.” She gave a kind of curtsy with her forelegs. “I’m Ratamacue.” “Nice to meet you! From what I’ve heard about you, you seem like a really nice stallion. Pinkie was extremely excited to finally have a date… She was in an overly ecstatic mood when she came over to the library this morning to borrow a cook book. She was talking really fast, but I picked up something about a unicorn stallion that she… well anyway she was in a great mood and she came and left almost immediately.” My curiosity to the bit of information Twilight had skipped nipped at the back at my mind. Not that it mattered anymore anyway. I was broadcasting my emotions a little too freely, and the lavender mare seemed to pick up on them. She gave me a look of puzzlement. “What’s wrong?” “I… I have some things I need to take care of. If you see Pinkie Pie again, tell her… tell her I’m sorry. I didn’t want for this to happen, but I had no choice.” I walked around Twilight with my head hung low and continued the direction of my apartment. She stood there, frozen and confused, with a frown on her face. No words came out of her mouth. I didn’t look back at her, but I heard the distinct sound of galloping getting more distant in the other direction. Clouds were starting to fill the sky. I guess Ponyville was in need of a rainstorm. Or maybe the pegasi were just playing a cruel trick with me as the receiving end of the joke. Within minutes, curtains of rain draped over the dusty streets. The cool water ran down my mane and back as I trudged through the shallow mud towards my cold empty apartment. It was the next morning. I stood on the platform, ready to board the train to Canterlot that would be leaving in the next half hour. Puddles riddled the streets and the air was moist with the after effects of the storm yesterday. I had spent the rest of the day in my apartment, packing for the train ride and just generally feeling sorry for myself. It wasn’t healthy for me to stay in Ponyville anymore. I was actually starting to look forward to being back on the road. I took a seat on one of the benches, and looked over my ticket and letter. After reading it for the hundredth time I turned to look at the terminal entrance. No… It couldn’t be… She was standing in the gate. Her mane was still down. She looked at me, and walked slowly in my direction. I felt like I was about to get chastised by a teacher for doing something wrong in class. I looked down at the wet ground, unable to meet her gaze. She came up to me, and sat on the pavement. I met her eyes, wet with tears and… it looked almost like pleading. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to make it right. “Pinkie, I’m s-so sorry for what happened. I wanted to tell you that I had no choice, but the words caught in my throat. You had every right to be upset with me. I should have told you that I would have to leave before we became… what we are now. When I was with you… the world didn’t matter to me. I had forgotten every single responsibility and duty I had. All that mattered to me was you. I… I l-love you, Pinkie Pie. “I made a huge mistake. Now I have to leave, and I wish there was something I could do to stay, but nopony can spend their life in a d-dream.” I was sobbing, just hoping that she would forgive me. She gave me a small smile, and looked down at her hooves; tears started flowing out of her own blue orbs as well. “I’m sorry too, Ratatat. I overreacted and… my insecurity got the better of me. I was mad at you for something I made up in my own mind. I stormed out and started crying in room. I was really mad and sad because of what you did. But then, after you left, my left leg started to twitch. When my left leg twitches, it means somepony is really sorry. I felt really really sorry for what I did. I tried to go out and find you, but you were nowhere in town. I went back home, I thought I would never get to see you again. Then Twilight came to the shop. She said she was looking for me. She said she met you and told me what you said. I knew I had to find you before you left, and the only place I knew you would be is at the train station. I’m so sorry, Ratatat. I don’t know what love feels like, but I know I would be sad for a really long time if I didn’t say I was sorry.” I felt instantly relieved. I stopped sobbing and gave her a long embrace. Her straight mane was soft and damp. All the sadness of the last day had melted away from my soul. Her body warmed my frosted over heart. I wanted to hold her forever and never let her go… “…All aboaaaard for Canterloooooot!” The train’s whistle sounded throughout the terminal. “I have to go now, but I promise as soon as I get the chance I will take the rest of the guys through Ponyville. And when the tour is over, I’m coming straight back here. Promise me you’ll wait for me?” Her hair Returned to its cotton candy-esque splendor. “No promises!” She joked, “Come into town as soon as you can. I listen to you on the radio every day. I’ll be here when you get back.” She gave me one last smile, and I took a mental picture of it so I would have it with me when I left. The train whistled one last time. We just looked into each other’s eyes. Kissing would have ruined the moment we were sharing right now, and I wanted to take her in before I left. Our hooves touched. It was all I wanted to stay here in this moment forever. I’m sure it was such a nice looking scene. When you see two ponies with our kind of synergy, you can’t help but wonder the circumstances in which they meet, and what the story is behind their love. It’s something that I had always wanted, and I finally had it for myself. I got on the train and looked out the car window. The train started to pull forward. She was bouncing next to me, waving her hoof in the air. “Have a nice trip! See ya next fall!”