//------------------------------// // Is This Really Happening? // Story: The Reason I Love You // by Blue Dragon //------------------------------// “…Who am I talking about?” Twilight stared at Pinkie, feeling dread snake its way into her heart. She shouldn’t have said anything after all. “Yeah, is it somepony I know? Is she hurting you?” The pink pony’s gaze was locked on Twilight’s own shaky eyes. “Twilight, is somepony hurting you?” “N-No, of course not.” The unicorn scolded herself for stuttering and for being so stupid. She felt like an idiot for bumbling out something like this—something she cried over. And if Pinkie knew she was involved, it’d probably upset her a lot. “Please, Twilight, tell me what’s going on! I really don’t like seeing you like this, and we’re not getting anywhere! Who do I have to go talk to for hurting you? Should I bring pie?” Out of nowhere, she pulled out an apple pie. “No, Pinkie… It’s…” Twilight sighed with resignation, “It’s you.” The apple pie fell to the floor with a splat. “Me? I’ve been hurting you?” “No, you haven’t been hurting me, it’s just that look… Please don’t look at me like that!” Twilight shrunk away from Pinkie, cringing. "Huh?" The pink pony was confused—and that didn’t happen very often. Speechless, she walked over to her mirror and peered into it. She saw a pony she could barely recognize. The mare in the mirror had eyes that pierced through even Pinkie’s heart. She was frowning and her hair was still puffed out, but it didn’t have its normal bounciness. The look the mirror-Pinkie was giving her filled the pink pony with guilt and regret for doing something she didn't know of. Pinkie Pie looked back at her crush, whose mane was covering her face. Twilight was shaking a little. The pink pony felt like a terrible friend for causing it. In fact, it made her feel unworthy to have feelings for the mare. “Twilight,” the pink pony’s lip quivered, “I’m so, so, so sorry! I didn’t know I could look so scary! I mean—I just—Is that what’s giving you nightmares? Oh, please don’t un-friend me!” Pinkie dived at Twilight’s hooves with a pleading expression. “You don’t know how much you mean to me, Twilight! I wouldn’t be able to live without you! Twi, I... I...” Twilight had a small blush from what Pinkie had said. Her dreams weren't bothering her very much at the moment. “No, Pinkie, I’m not going to un-friend you. You’re my best friend, I’ve just... had some nightmares. It’s not your fault, Pinkie. I—“Pinkie put a hoof in Twilight’s mouth. She felt bravery swirl within her and she wasn’t going to let this chance slip by. She'd already started the confession. “No, Twilight, I need to say this first! I can’t keep myself from telling you, so don’t interrupt, okay?! I think I—no, I know I—“ “Pinkie—“She drowned out Twilight with a shout. “I love you, Twilight!” The earth pony watched the unicorn nervously, her heart beating faster. Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. “R-Really?” The unicorn blushed darkly, forgetting about her dreams entirely. She hadn't been expecting that to come out of Pinkie's mouth. Naturally, she was skeptical. “Yes, I’m super duper absolutely positively sure!” Pinkie Pie was nodding rapidly. Twilight wasn’t sure how to react—she wanted to say something, but was too tongue-tied. “I-I... Pinkie, I...” She gulped, “I love you, too.” Pinkie Pie lunged at Twilight, knocking her over. The pink pony felt happier than ever before as she beamed down at the unicorn. “Do you really, really, really feel that way?” Twilight did her best to nod from her spot on the ground. “Yes, Pinkie, it’s true.” Pinkie’s shiny teeth could’ve easily blinded Twilight. Even so, the unicorn couldn’t look away from the beautiful mare. Her huge smile was infectious. They stared at each other for a long time. Twilight found herself blushing after only a few seconds. Both ponies were wondering if this was real or not, and about how it had even happened. Pinkie couldn't believe her luck. “Does that mean I can finally kiss you?” Pinkie asked quietly, not expecting an answer. Slowly, she bent down towards Twilight, their lips mere centimeters apart, and then… “PINKIE PIE!!!” Mr. Cake’s voice rang throughout the entire house, causing both ponies to jump. “I’ll uh, be right back, Twilight. I gotta go see what Mr. Cake wants…” In a split second, an embarrassed Pinkie was out the door and trotting downstairs. She wondered why he sounded so upset, and couldn’t help but to feel just a little disappointed that she’d been interrupted. However, Pinkie was sure Mr. Cake had his reasons. Besides, there was no way she could be angry with anypony after what had just happened! “Yes, Mr. Cake?” Pinkie was beaming even more than usual. The stallion did look mad, but upon seeing her he seemed to cool a little. “Pinkie… You’ve cleaned out our supply of cotton candy again. Please, whatever it is you keep making, don’t make so much of it… But now that we’re out, we need you to go pick some up. Mrs. Cake and I will be very busy while you’re out, so don’t hurry back. Okay? Consider this a day off.” “But Mr. Cake, didn’t you say you wanted me to stay inside ‘cause it’s snowing so much?” Pinkie tilted her head in confusion. The older pony blushed a little. “Er, the situation’s changed. Why don’t you take Twilight and go do something fun? And maybe, say, around five you could pick up the cotton candy and come back. Does that sound okay?” Pinkie jumped up and down with glee. “Sure does, Mr. Cake! I’ll be back later!” She zoomed back up to her room. “Hey, Twilight! Let’s go have some fun!” Pinkie Pie bounced through the door happily. No response. “Twilight?” The party mare scanned the room closely, but there was no hint of purple. Pinkie felt panic rise within her—where was Twilight? Was she scared by her advances, thinking that they were moving too fast? “Where are you?” Frantically, Pinkie looked everywhere she could think of—under the bed, buried beneath the pillows, in the closet, and even under the rug. The pink mare rushed towards her pet alligator with an anxious expression. “Gummy! Where did Twilight go? Do you know who ponynapped her?!” He blinked. “What? You don’t know? But you were here the whole time, Gummy!” The alligator blinked again. “G-Gummy!” “…Pinkie?” The party pony’s ears perked at the sound of her voice. She rushed towards the bedroom door where the lavender mare had emerged. “Twilight!” Pinkie Pie hugged the unicorn, “Where did you go? I thought you were ponynapped!” The unicorn blushed, but returned the embrace. “Geez, Pinkie… I just went to the bathroom.” The earth pony giggled at herself with a blush, too. “Oh…Hehe, my bad…” “So… Pinkie…” Twilight Sparkle shuffled her hooves nervously, “Were you serious?” Pinkie Pie smiled toothily. “About what?” The unicorn started rubbing one foreleg with the other and her eyes never stayed in one place for more than a second. “Er… Um… You know… Loving me. You weren’t just humoring me, were you?” “Of course I mean it! Why would I say it if I didn’t actually love you? That’d be silly!” Pinkie Pie giggled, "Come on, let's go have fun!" "Huh?" Twilight didn't get a chance to ask what she was talking about before being dragged downstairs by her scarf. Pinkie let go when they reached the door. "We're going out now, Mr. Cake! I'll be back later!" The pink pony led the unicorn back out into the cold with a smile. Twilight wasn't too happy to be going out into the snow after only just getting warm. "P-Pinkie," she shivered, "Where are we going?" The other mare continued to pull Twilight along. "I don't know!" She giggled. "You don't know? But we have to be organized, or we won't get to do anything, and then we won't have any fun! L-Let's just make a quick checklist, and then we can get started with whatever it is we need to do," Twilight rummaged through her saddlebags. Pinkie's smile widened. "No, Twilight, fun isn't planned! The most fun is the stuff that doesn't go the way you thought it would. Trust me, Twi, no plans, and we'll have a blast!" Twilight stared at Pinkie for a long time, but didn't say anything. When she was in the bathroom, she'd been reflecting this whole situation, and she still was. The last few minutes felt so unreal. And, upon further thought, it seemed like Pinkie was just doing all of this to make her happy. It almost felt like the pink pony was trying to make up for the bad dreams. In fact, wouldn't that make sense? Pinkie Pie's main goal in life was to make other ponies smile. The unicorn didn't want to end this fantasy so soon, but it was all too perfect. It didn't feel right. "Pinkie... You don't have to do this anymore. Pretending to love somepony can only keep them happy for so long. I can't believe you were able to fool me for so long--I should've known from the start. After all, what reason could somepony have to love me?" Pinkie Pie wasn't sure how the conversation had turned so sour. How did talking about fun lead to Twilight saying something like that? The earth pony was very aware of the cold biting at her, but almost couldn't sense it over the hollow feeling in her chest. Had she not been clear enough in confessing her feelings? She'd been the one who confessed first! But, Pinkie thought, Maybe she needs me to explain to know I'm serious! "Twilight..." She said quietly, "Follow me. I'll prove my feelings to be true, and then you'll know the reason I love you!"