Epilogue
In a hotel room, four ponies are having a terrible evening.
The white unicorn is devastated, sitting on a table and sobbing in silence. She buries her face in her hooves, the wails seeping through her forelegs. A Stetson wearing orange mare and a cream colored pegasus comfort her, keeping her close as they gently pat her back.
“Sssshh . . .” says the Pegasus. “Don’t worry Rarity. Everything will be fine . . . everything is alright . . .” Her voice is a soothing tone. Calm and sincere, even if the pegasus herself is shaking.
“Yep! Ah bet Rainbow’s already on her way ta get Pinkie!” She pats the unicorn shoulders with a broken smile. Inner fortitude forbids her from cracking; she has to remain strong for the others.
Rarity sniffles. “What if you’re wrong? What if she never found her? What if we lost our Pinkie forever?!” Her lips frantically tremble and she bursts into tears once more, howling with grief.
A purple unicorn, sitting in the corner of the room, is visibly annoyed as holds her temples between her hooves: “Please, Rarity! I can’t concentrate on my tracking spell if you cry like that! Spike, hold that book for me!"
She is enveloped in a purple hue that ignites tiny sparks of electricity in the air.
“Sure thing, Twilight!” The little dragon quickly complies and hold the book for her as she looks at another tome resting on the floor.
“Is that the one?” he asks, standing on his tiptoes in order to give her a better viewing angle.
“Yes, this is the one. It has all the variations of Starswirl the Bearded's spell to find lost things!” she says enthusiastically, turning some pages with her magic. “Ah-ha! I found it! How to locate everything that is pink!”
“Well, gee!” Says the orange mare, rolling her eyes. “And jus’ how many pink things are there in Canterlot?”
Twilight eyes glow weakly. “According to my calculations . . . 1.567.892 items. No, wait, 1.567.891. That last one was just faded magenta.”
“Isn't there a faster way?” asks the mare with the rose tinted mane.
“I wish there was,” replies Twilight. “Most of the tracking spells I know were crafted to find something that is already magical, like another spell or a particularly powerful unicorn. Pinkie is just an earth pony. We’re lucky I found this one.”
“Well, make it work!” Rarity suddenly shouts. “You have to find her! We can’t let this . . . this TRAGEDY go on!” She quickly stands on all fours; her tears evaporate at the sight of her inner strength. “We have to succeed! For our friends! And their love! True love will find a way!”
“Well, at least she’s not crying anymore . . .” Applejack whispers to Fluttershy. The pegasus nods, relieved.
Rarity turns her gaze toward Spike, who is still searching through the pile of books near Twilight.
“Spikey Wykey!” She lunges at him and locks Spike in a tight hug.”Please tell me you’ve never suffered the plights of unrequited love!”
“Can’t . . . breathe!” The dragon struggles between her forelegs, gasping for air.
“I know . . . I know! Loving somepony can make you feel like you can’t breathe! But you won’t have that from me anymore! Life is too short for this!” She strangles him even harder, pressing him against her chest with feral strength.
“Especially mine!” His body takes on a faint blue hue.
“Oh, Spikey Wakey! I’m so glad that you found the way to tell me about your feelings. I’ll never let you go!”
She smolders him, crushing the last of his breath.
“Ever.”
She gives the little dragon a soft peck on his cheek. Spike progresses from blue to fiery red. Her forelegs loosen, sparing the dragon from certain death. She gently turns the dragon toward her and stares in his eyes. Her snout brushes against his face. and Spike gulps nervously.
“Spike?” she asks.
“Yes, Rarity?"
The air in the room grows still, every pony anticipating the approaching words. Destiny was at hand, the master scheme of the cosmos at last coming to fruition.
Yet it was not meant to be.
“Wait, girls! Something is happening!” Twilight shouts with her eyes glowing more brightly. “The spell! The tracking spell is telling me that something pink is approaching! It’s getting closer by the second!”
All the girls look at the door anxiously. They dare not blink, a predatory gleam is in their eyes. The door blushes from all the attention, and every second stretches for an eternity.
The sound of hoofsteps approach . . . they cannot discern if it is a single pony or if there is a second.
“Gah! I can’t take this anymore!” Rarity runs to the door and rips it off.
A dumbfounded blue Pegasus stands there, just about to knock, her hoof still frozen in the act. A faded pink mare with a long silken mane is in her shadow. Rainbow’s wing is draped around her in a protective embrace.
“Hi, girls!” The blue mare chirps. She moves her gaze toward the purple unicorn, Twilight’s eyes still aglow from the spell. “Well, that explains it . . .”
“Hello…” says the pink pony wearing a timid smile.
The four ponies in the room lunge toward them in a wild hug, the force of their assault knocking them off their feet.
“You stupid . . . adorable . . . you! Why must you possess such a tender heart? Whaaaaaaaaa!” Rarity blubbers, a weeping disaster.
“Ya made me worry so much! Ya made all of us worry so much” Applejack’s smile is genuine this time. Tears of joy are rolling down her cheeks.
“You should have told me! Why you didn’t tell me?! I could’ve helped you! I have books about everything!” Twilight is in tears too.
Fluttershy is crying softly, grateful to be hugging her friend once again.
“I knew you would come back!” Spike joins in, latching onto the only part of Pinkie his friends aren’t hugging: her head.
Pinkie stands, swamped in affection that was unimaginable only hours before. She loses herself in the grinning faces that surround her, her soul brightening with every passing second. Yet there is one face she does not see.
Dash stand off to the side, an idle smile on her face. She locks eyes with Pinkie for a moment, and unspoken words pass between them. Rainbow is the last to join the group hug, yet no one else’s hug comes close to the crushing embrace with which she smolders Pinkie.
The latter is overcome with joy, tears pouring freely. There is no need to worry anymore.
“Wait a sec!” She cries. Her friends back off, confused. “You mean that everypony knew? Of my letter?”
“I told you, Pinkie. I went searching for you immediately after reading it. I didn’t tell anypony!” Dash glances about the bedroom. “Wait a second, this is my room. How did you girls . . .?”
Twilight steps forward. “Rainbow it’s not what you think. It’s true we know of the letter, we know of what Pinkie feels for you, but I swear we didn’t read it!”
“Oh yeah?” Dash flaps her wings and levitates a few inches. “Then how do you explain it? And don’t say magic! It’s too easy.”
Twilight bites her lip. “The truth is…”
“Ya read it out loud!” Applejack blurts out. Twilight sighs in relief and silently thanks the Element of Honesty.
“Pardon?” Dash stares, unblinking.
“Yep! You were jus’ one step away from screaming the whole thing!”
“It’s true, darling.” Rarity intervenes. “I don’t know if this is a bad habit of yours or maybe the letter was so touching . . .” A sob escapes her throat. “And believe me dear, it was . . . but whatever the reason is, it doesn’t change the truth.”
“And . . . uh . . .” Fluttershy looks from behind her mane, avoiding Dash’s gaze. “The walls are pretty thin.”
Dash cheeks glow in embarrassment. “Well, I was surprised by all this . . . and terrified when I got to the part that said she was leaving Ponyville . . .”
Rainbow’s facade cracks and she chokes back a sob.
Pinkie gently nuzzles against her neck. “Hush, there’s no need for that silly. I’m here now, thanks to you!”
Twilight steps forward. “I’m sorry we invaded your privacy so much, but we just couldn’t help it. And I believe I’m speaking for all of us when I say we would have helped you search for Pinkie had you hadn’t taken off so quickly.”
The other girls slowly nod.
Pinkie grimaces. “Everypony knows? Like, this whole floor?”
Perfect.
Just perfect…
“Well, not everypony, just us four,” Twilight assures.
Applejack clears her throat. “Ah think these two need some alone time. Right girls?” She flashes the pair a sultry wink.
“Well yes they should be, but why bring this up right now . . .” Rarity blushes a little, at last understanding the deadpan stare Applejack is shooting her. “Oh . . . Oh! I mean . . .yes we should go! Alone time. By themselves. To do things.”
She backs up towards the door. “Yes.”
Relieved and happy to see that everything is as it should be, the girls give one last exchange before heading out the door.
Rarity hugs Pinkie with tears in her eyes. “I wish you both all happiness in the world! And you!” she turns to Rainbow, “Don’t you dare break this poor filly’s heart again or I will find you.”
Rainbow gulps, a sizeable drop of cold sweat rolls down her forehead: “The thought never crossed my mind.” Her words are sincere, yet spoken in fear. Rarity smiles, pacified. "Good! Now let’s go Spikey Wykey, we need some time to ourselves too!”
“Yeah, I hear you- wait, ourselves . . . ourselves?! Sure thing!” Spike gives Pinkie one last hug before floating after the divinely sculpted unicorn.
Fluttershy is next, pulling the two into yet another one embrace. “Please don’t ever leave me you two.”
“Oh don’t worry Shy!” Rainbow returns the hug. “We’re too cool for doing that again! Right, Pinkie?” She prods her friend.
“Yes, indeed-y, Fluttershy!”
The timid Pegasus takes her leave, smiling at them through eyes brimming with joy.
Applejack offers only a small nod to the pair. “Ah hope y’all are happy now, both of ya. Life i-is too short for . . . for wasting it li-like that. It’s not- oh horseapples!” The earth pony finally lets herself go and runs away in tears.
Dash and Pinkie are taken aback by her philosophical ramblings, both rendered speechless.
Their whole world had flipped upside down, it seemed. For once Flutershy had been the strong one while the headstrong farmer had been reduced to a quivering pile of nerves. This fact wasn’t lost to Twilight either.
Twilight shoots them a quick smile. “Sorry, girls! I’m happy for you but now we have to go take care of Applejack! AJ wait up!” She gallops off after her friend.
The pegasus and the earth pony find themselves alone in the room, with only a bed to keep them company. A king sized bed, comfortable like few others. Very much needed for both of them.
They glanced at each other; no words were necessary.
Longest days of our lives.
“Do you want me beside you all night long?” Pinkie whispers as Dash strokes her mane, leaning back against the cyan chest.
“Yep. I bet this is the only place you don’t want to leave,” Dash cooes in her ear. She plants a small kiss on her forehead.
Pinkie blushes; this is the first kind of kiss Dash ever gave her.
From now on, each little kiss will only remind her of this night . . .
“Besides,” she continues, “I almost lost you tonight. If you think I’m going to let you out of my sight, you’re wrong.”
“I was wrong. I don’t want to leave you anymore, not now, not ever.” She gently rubs her snout against Dash’s.
“Why Pinkie? Why did you feel . . . forced to do this?” Dash speaks with a hurt voice, but holds a patient gaze.
“I don’t know Dashie. I felt so hopeless, so confused, so . . . small. It was like the world didn’t care for me anymore. Like you wouldn’t care for me anymore . . .”
“Oh, Pinkie . . .” She gives her another kiss, this time on the lips. “I think I know what happened. Stop me if you think I’m crazy, but I think that deep down inside you take everything seriously. You may seem silly and easy going but you care so much for everything and everypony that . . . I don’t know, when you fell in love with me it seemed so big to you that you didn’t want to screw up anything. When I told you I’ve joined the Wonderbolts I guess it just got worse. Oh, by the way . . .” She reaches for the drawer and takes out a scroll.
“I’m still wondering how did you manage to write everything on just one page.” The Pegasus holds up the letter, chuckling.
“I have my secrets . . .” Pinkie replies with a sly smile.
“I wouldn’t call it a secret; you just write freakishly small when you want to…”
“Or maybe it’s the scroll that is bigger and nopony noticed! Boo!” She waggles her hooves and puts on the best scary impression she can muster. It is highly ineffective; Dash can only snicker.
“Hahaha! I didn’t know a pony so funny could also be so . . .” she pauses, searching for the right word.
“Sappy?” Pinkie guesses, giggling.
Rainbow slides an arm around her.
“Nah, sappy is something stupid. Nothing you’ve ever told me is stupid.” She tightens her hug. “Why did you think you weren’t good enough for me? You’re adorable!”
Pinkie glances off to the side.
“I don’t know Dashie, I just don’t know. I want to stay here, in your embrace, like I always wanted. I don’t want to be afraid anymore. Not of loving you.”
Dash remains silent, pondering. “And if that ever happens, what would you do?”
Pinkie’s eyes gravitate back to Dash’s.
“Smile!” Her mouth parts into a grin of monstrous proportions.
“Yes, you would! And you’re not in the background Pinkie . . .”
“Huh?”
“You’re not a pink blur in the background. You’re far better than that. If I am your Sun, then you’re my flowers.”
“Flowers?” Pinkie tilts her head.
“Yes, flowers! They stay on the ground and they grow because of the light of the Sun . . . and some of them of them are so beautiful that they make a better world just by being there.”
Without warning, the pink pony bursts into tender tears, her blue eyes fixated upon Dash.
Dash panics. “What’s wrong? Was it too sappy? Or maybe you didn’t like-”
“It was perfect, Dashie!” She cuts the Pegasus off with an intense kiss. A kiss filled to the brim of everything she has ever felt for the mare, the blue angel that visited her in her dreams.
The day after that made only of joy and laughter, a day so glorious and beautiful that it washed away the sorrow that had preceded it.
Sadly, some of Pinkie fears came true.
Dash’s career forced her to leave Ponyville . . . but the pink mare never left her side. Not even for a moment, as she had promised. With time, all her other friends departed and Pinkie alone remained in Ponyville.
Yet Dash, with the pink pony by her side, never forgot the place where she met her love and her dearest friends. Even while so distant, Pinkie managed to keep in touch with all of them. And, of course, she threw a party whenever they could...
And Pinkie was loved.
Loved more than she could ever imagine, and certainly as much as she deserved
The old feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness vanished because all the little quirks that made her unique were the aspects that Dash loved about her. Even the small things, like her laugh or a silly joke, were enough for Dash. Those were the moments she felt so lucky to have her.
Of course, it also helped that Pinkie had arranged her meeting with the Wonderbolts in the first place. Thanks to her, their most memorable shows came after Dash’s membership.
That fateful night she knew she had found her place. And with the love of her life and a brilliant future ahead of her, Pinkie was finally complete.
She was the flower that made Dash’s world better.
And at the end of the darkest of days, the pegasus would always find Pinkie's warm smile waiting for her.
And Dash was sure that the pony that loved her the most was everything she needed.