//------------------------------// // Rainbow Dashilemma // Story: The Reason I Love You // by Blue Dragon //------------------------------// "Hey, Twilight..." Pinkie began slowly, trying to figure out what to say. Twilight pulled away from their snuggling to look into her eyes curiously. The pink pony didn't ever use that tone unless she was about to say something important. "Yes, Pinkie? Is something wrong?" The earth pony shook her head, but she seemed bothered by something. "No, nothing's wrong. I just... I gotta go soon..." She diverted her gaze to the ground, drawing circles in it with a hoof. Pinkie didn't want to leave so soon, but she knew she had to if she really did want to get the doll back. Plus, today was a work day for the Cakes, which meant she'd have to help out at least a little. Twilight's smile faltered. Had her silly heart really deluded her into thinking that they wouldn't have to be apart ever again? It felt like a betrayal that it could trick her into an illogical state of mind. Even so, she understood that they were busy ponies with lives other than each other. She'd have to open the library up today, too. But that didn't mean she liked it. "It's okay, Pinkie... I understand." She got up off the ground and trotted over to the door. Pinkie got up too, following the unicorn with sad eyes. The moment had been ruined. "Hey, come on, Twi... I'll be back! Why don't you turn that frown upside down for me?" The pink mare was suddenly right in front of Twilight with an encouraging smile, though her eyebrow was furrowed in a way that suggested she was paying attention to even the minor details. Pinkie's eyes were focused on Twilight's mouth, waiting in a hopeful manner for the edges to curve upward. The lavender mare watched, wondering how a pony could possibly care so much for another. Eventually, Twilight conceded and let a small smile grace her features, if only to keep one on Pinkie's face. "Wait... I'm about to be brilliant!" Pinkie exclaimed loudly, causing Twilight to jump. "You could come with me and we could both bake!" Twilight raised a hoof to her head, rubbing it. It was still early in the morning, and yelling something in a pony's face was a surefire way to give them a headache. Especially when that exclamation came from a high-pitched voice like Pinkie's. The unicorn shook her head. "Sorry, Pinkie, I have to take care of the library today. Since it's winter, ponies will want to curl up and read a book at home, and I don't want to leave Spike here by himself. You know how he has a hard time moving around when it's cold..." Twilight pointed out. Pinkie nodded slowly. "Oh... Well, that's fine! I understand; we don't want anypony to be sad without their books, right? I'll come back after work... Those same ponies will want their cupcakes while they read their books!" Pinkie smiled, pulling Twilight into a hug. "I'll see you in a while, okay?" Twilight returned the embrace and gave the party mare a kiss on the cheek. "See you later." The earth pony pulled away and opened the door, stepping outside. She literally had cold feet. "Bye-bye, Twilight! I love you!" "Me too, Pinkie." The pink pony stood there, staring at the unicorn expectantly. Twilight stared back, feeling increasingly awkward. "What?" "You just said 'me too,' which means you love yourself and not me!" Pinkie said, waiting for Twilight to tell her what she wanted to hear. The unicorn rolled her eyes playfully at her and pretended it was a hassle. "Okay, Pinkie... I love you too." The pink pony smiled before bouncing away. Twilight watched as Pinkie waved, and continued on her way. Huh... Didn't she say she was going to Sugarcube Corner? The unicorn thought, wondering why she was going the opposite direction. Almost... like she was going toward Sweet Apple Acres. Well, it's Pinkie. She's probably just taking some shortcut I've never seen. Or maybe she needs to get some sort of ingredients for the Cakes. Twilight figured, trotting back inside. "It's too bad she had to leave... Eh, she'll be back soon. Right." The lavender mare quickly prepared the library for any ponies that might wander in. Spike was still fast asleep, but Twilight decided to let him rest. She was feeling generous today, and besides, she didn't want him asking her questions about what they did all night. That would be embarrassing. Not long later, Twilight heard the telltale sound of the door opening. She turned away from the shelf she was at, hoping to see her marefriend again. Instead, a rainbow-maned pegasus walked in slowly. For some reason, the unicorn's still traitorous heart dropped in disappointment. She already knew that Pinkie wasn't going to be coming back until much later, so why did she expect to see her? Hay, why did she even hope for it? Sweet Celestia, this pony was messing with her head. "You're up early, Rainbow..." Twilight commented, walking toward her friend. Dash had a bashful smile. "I was up late finishing that Daring Do book. It was at a really good part, and I kinda forgot to sleep... I just finished it, and was hoping to get the next one." The circles around her eyes became more prominent after she mentioned her lack of sleep. The pegasus stared at Twilight's own eyes for a minute, too. "You look like you haven't slept either, Twilight. So... what did you and Pinkie do last night?" "W-What?! W-What are you talking about?" "Come on, Twi, I saw you two on my way here. It's a little early for a friendly visit." Dash waggled her eyebrows suggestively. Twilight blushed. How could something like this happen? Forget Spike asking questions, this was embarrassing! And there was no way Rainbow Dash knew how to keep a secret like this. Twilight was a terrible liar, too. Why did Rainbow have to be the pony to walk in?! Pinkie continued on her trot to Sweet Apple Acres. She was going to get the Smarty Pants doll before going to Sugarcube Corner so she wouldn't be thinking about it all day. Besides, the bakery didn't open for another hour. She was glad Twilight didn't realize that. I wonder if Big Mac is awake! Oooh, and Applejack, too. Maybe I could talk to them after I ask for the Smarty Pants doll. I haven't seen either of them since last week at Fluttershy's birthday party! That won't do! She thought, surprised that she hadn't seen either of her friends for so long. A few minutes later, Pinkie was trotting up the path to the Apple's home. She was pretty cold, but it didn't bother her as much as it did for Twilight. Gosh, that pony got cold fast! Maybe it was just a unicorn thing. Rarity always bundled up at this time of year, with probably about ten thousand different scarves. Pinkie giggled to herself at the thought of Twilight with that many scarves! A pony could make an entire castle out of them! Pinkie would be the knight in shining armor, and Twilight would be the princess! How much fun would that be? Pinkie could barely contain her enthusiasm when she knocked. She could just imagine Twilight refusing to do it in the cutest way possible, with a blush and stuttering, and then she'd probably also be shuffling her feet-- "Pinkie Pie? What're you doin' here so early?" Applejack squinted at the pink pony, bringing the mare out of her daydream. "Oh! I didn't see you there, Applejack! Is Big Mac in there?" She smiled, glad that her fellow earth pony couldn't read her thoughts and that her fur color could cover up the small blush on her cheeks. "'Course he is. Why don't you come in? It must be freezin' out there." AJ pulled Pinkie in before closing the door. "Now what's gotcha comin' here so early just t' see my brother? Don't tell me you like him!" Pinkie couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd never so much as heard Applejack talk about anything like that! "No, silly," she bounced in place with a smile, "I like somepony else!" Absent-mindedly, AJ replied, "Hm... Okay... So what did you come for? We were just eatin' breakfast. Do you... want some?" The orange pony hesitated, not sure of the reason her friend had visited. She and Pinkie usually didn't have any one-on-one time, so it was a little strange. "Sorry, but I'm in a hurry! I just need to talk with Big Mac for a sec. Is that alright?" Before Applejack got the chance to reply, the stallion himself trotted from the dining room to the front door. He must've heard what they were talking about, because he stood their with an eyebrow raised expectantly. "Uh, Ah guess..." Applejack said in reply, turning toward her brother, "Pinkie Pie wants to talk to ya, Big Mac. I'll just mosey on over and eat my breakfast... You don't need anything else, do ya, sugarcube?" Pinkie shook her head, and AJ trotted back to the rest of her family. Big Mac hadn't said anything just yet. "...Big Mac?" "Eeyup?" Pinkie took a deep breath before speaking so quickly that nopony in all of Equestria could understand. "I was just wondering if you still have Twilight's doll from that one time, you know the one called Smarty Pants? I really really really really really really really need it if you don't mind!" Big Mac blinked, but said nothing. Pinkie tried a different method. "So, do you have it?" He blinked again. "The doll. Come on, Big Mac, you know what I'm talking about!" The red stallion only stared. Pinkie sighed in exasperation. "I know you have it, Big Mac! Don't lie!" "What ya talkin' about?" The Apple questioned with confusion. He didn't understand how Pinkie was getting the idea that he was somehow replying without saying anything, and was having a conversation based on it. "Smarty Pants. You said you didn't have it anymore, but I'm sure you have it somewhere! Remember when Twilight cast that spell on the doll and you took taked taken it? I really need it." His expression turned into one of thought. He then walked toward the stairs, and Pinkie bounced after him. He was apparently headed to his room. How exciting! She was going to get Twilight's doll, and it was going to solve the nightmares, and then they'd have a perfect relationship without any problems, and after that they'd get to have fun and sleep together without worrying about anything-- Big Mac placed Smarty Pants on Pinkie's outstretched hoof, pulling her out of her daydream. That was the second time that'd happened today! The party pony played it off, inspecting the doll. It was certainly the right one. "Oh, thanks, Big Mac! I'll just go and--"Before Pinkie could get away, the stallion stopped her by the tail. "Wait one second, Miss Pinkie. Before I go givin' it to you I need ta make sure it's in good hooves." Pinkie could see a faint blush on him in his embarrassment. "It's kinda like a treasure." "Oh, I understand. It's just that... well, I didn't Pinkie Promise to not say anything, did I?" She muttered to herself quietly, "I still don't think Twilight wants anypony else to know... So you gotta Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony!" Big Mac nodded simply, and Pinkie explained about Twilight's nightmares and about her theory with the doll, accidentally giving him a little too much detail. "You an' Twilight are special someponies?" Pinkie's eyes widened and she tried her best to play innocent. She was actually pretty good at it. "What? When did I say that, silly?" Big Mac just stared at her, and she tried to think of what she'd said that clued him in. He obviously was one hundred percent positive, and wasn't yielding at all. Pinkie gave in with a sigh. "Okay, we are, but you can't tell anypony yet! We only just got together yesterday, and I don't want to overwhelm her with the thought of telling everypony so soon--that's what the party I'm already planning is for--and that will be later. See, I even got the banner already!" Seemingly out of nowhere, Pinkie pulled out a long banner that read, 'Let's Be Twinkies Forever!' Pinkie folded it back up with a precarious glance toward the door as if to make sure nopony had come in. She coughed. "It's supposed to be a surprise to everypony. I just have to make sure Twilight doesn't mind telling everypony, but she won't know about the party! I think I'm going to do it on the night of Winter Wrap-Up, so all the ponies can relax after a hard day's work and we can celebrate doing it on time! That's a good idea, right, Big Mac?" The red stallion wasn't sure when he'd become some sort of accomplice to this. All he asked for was a nod, not a life story. Though he'd shown no sort of acknowledgement to her question, Pinkie continued. "Good, I thought so too. Anyway, I should probably be going soon... Can I please keep the Smarty Pants doll? You know, for Twilight?" Big Mac nodded. "Great! And... you Pinkie Promised, remember? Don't tell anypony about anything I said here! At least, not until after the party, okay?" "Two months? Eeyup." He said, falling back on the easiest way to get a mare out of his business. Which was agreeing to everything one said. That was obviously the only way to get them to calm down and go away. "Cool!" Pinkie chirped, "See you later, Big Mac! Thanks for all the help!" With that, the pink mare disappeared out the door, leaving a very confused stallion in her wake. She trusted him to keep her promise--after all, he was quiet about everything. Pinkie held the Smarty Pants doll gingerly in her mouth so she could walk, making sure not to bite on it on accident. When she passed the dining room, she waved at the rest of the Apples. Granny Smith, not a morning pony by any means, glared, while Apple Bloom waved exuberantly. AJ smiled sheepishly, nodding in her direction. Pinkie took that as her cue to leave. So, she trotted out of the Apple family's home and toward her own. She hadn't seen the Cakes for a whole day! That wouldn't work. They were like, her second set of parents! Pinkie rushed to her home with a smile, thinking about telling Mrs. Cake about her marefriend. She would tell her later, after her Winter Wrap-Up/Twinkie party. In the mean time, she was going to bake the best baked goods ever--the ones that looked like Twilight.