//------------------------------//
// Departure 
// Story: Popping her balloons. 
// by FinnPony 
//------------------------------//


Popping her balloons, Chapter 3
By FinnPony


The whole town was coated with a thick coat of snow, making Ponyville look like a set from a Hearth’s Warming Eve play. It was also snowing a little, making everything look even more winterly.
Many residents from the town were spending time outside in the clear white day. They played in the snow with their families and foals across the street were engaged in a fierce snowball fight.

Pink pony with blue tassel beanie and a scarf watched the foals play. She turned her head towards a blue unicorn who was next to her and tapped him on the shoulder. The blue unicorn had a pink scarf around his neck. He turned to look at her and started to smile.
“That looks fun! Wanna have a round?” Pinkie Pie asked from Pokey Pierce, who frowned at her, but still smiled at her.
“Pinkie, that’s third time you want to have a snow fight,” Pokey said, sounding amused. Pinkie had already rolled a snowball and held it in her hoof. She looked at pokey and asked, “So why haven’t we already had one?”

Pokey chuckled a little, but it ended with a sad sigh.
“You know we don’t have time for that,” he said to the smiling mare, who’s smile too faded away from her face. She dropped the snowball to the ground and sighed quietly, “Yeah..”

They watched the foals play for a minute, before they continued walking towards Ponyville’s train station. They both walked in silence for a while, before Pinkie spoke, “Can’t you go after the Heart’s Warming Eve?”
“We already talked about this..” Pokey said and looked at her with grave expression on his face. Pinkie nodded slowly and said, “You need that job and they won’t give you another offer..”
She then sighed and said, “I know.”

Pokey had his saddlebag with him and a large duffle bag hanging from around his neck. He had all his private stuff with him and a bag full of bits.
Pokey had been looking for a job for a while. He and Pinkie Pie had been trying to get a job for him from Ponyville, but nothing had worked out for him. 
Mail delivering, office work, construction sites, nothing was his thing. Pinkie had asked her friends if Pokey could help them in any way, but none of them needed any help, nor had any additional bits to spare.
It was then when Pokey started to get interested in photographing. He was amateur in it, but it was something that he enjoyed doing.

Pokey looked quickly at the mare next to him and smiled to himself. He hadn’t thought himself as a good photographer, but Pinkie had thought otherwise. It was her idea to send some of the pictures he had taken to one of newspapers that was looking for a new photographer.

To his surprise, the paper had sent him positive feedback and had asked him to have a tryouts at their office..
In Manehattan. Of course he couldn’t let that slip away from him.

“I’m going to miss you,” Pinkie Pie said with glum voice. Pokey looked at her and said, “I’m only away for a week, if I don’t get the job.”
Pinkie Pie frowned and said to him, “But then you wouldn’t have a job and I don’t want that to happen.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m going to miss you too,” Pokey said and gave her a smile. Pinkie returned it and then looked forward.

They were almost at the trainstation, she could see the building’s figure through the snowfall.
She glanced at Pokey, who had a blank stare on his face. Pinkie sighed and started to think about her past with Pokey.

After the balloon incident, they had become really good friends. Pokey had been helping her arrange some of her parties and he had been in every single party she had held. They also liked to hang out in general.
Pinkie smiled to herself, while remembering all the funny things they had done together during the last four months. Pokey shared the same taste of humor with her and Pinkie though that he was one of her best friends.
Even thinking about him leaving Ponyville made her feel sad. 

“Promise me that you will write to me every week,” Pinkie said and looked at Pokey with a stern look. Pokey smiled warmly at her and said, “I’ll write you every day if you want to.”
“Really!?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Ooh! Then it would be like you never even left!”
Pokey chuckled and had a bit amused smile on his lips. 
“Something like that,” he said and gave Pinkie a small smile, which she quickly returned. 

They reached the train station and Pokey quickly bought a ticket for next train to Manehattan. It would be arriving to the station in five minutes or less. The pair walked to the pier, where they stood side by side.

After a minute of silence, Pinkie Pie cleared her throat to get Pokey’s attention. He turned his head towards Pinkie Pie, who looked at his eyes and had a sad smile on her lips.
“I bought you these,” she said and pulled a small cardboard box from under her beanie. Pokey looked at the box, which the smiling pink pony presented at him.
“Go on, take it!” Pinkie said with cheery voice. Pokey took the box from her and looked at
Pinkie with suspicious eyes.
“It’s not a prank this time,” Pinkie Pie said and giggled a little. Pokey decided to trust her, but still opened the box carefully. It wouldn’t be the first time for Pinkie to play a prank on him with  ‘snake cans’.

Nothing exploded onto his face though and amused smile spread on his face when he saw the content of the box Pinkie had given him.
It was filled with deflated balloons of different color and shapes.
“I think that they sell balloons in Manehattan too,” Pokey said, chuckling a little. Pinkie Pie just giggled and punched him on the shoulder playfully.
“It’s not that you silly!” she said and still giggled a little. Then her tone changed into a bit more timid and she said, “I bought them for you, so you can pop them every time you miss me.”
Pokey got moved when she said that and closed the box.
“You need to send me more balloons soon,” Pokey said.
“Why?” Pinkie Pie asked, blinking. Pokey looked at the box again and then turned to see Pinkie Pie. They stared at each other for a second, before Pokey said quietly, “Because I’m going to miss you everyday.”
Pinkie felt tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes.

“Pokey..”

CHOO CHOO

Both ponies turned towards the sound and saw the train arriving to the pier. It slowly rolled to stop and doors opened. There were couple of ponies coming out from the train and a conductor jumped down to the pier from the the locomotive’s cab.

Pokey turned towards Pinkie Pie, whose eyes were wet.
“I need to go now,” he said and stared at Pinkie’s watery eyes. It made his heart ache when he saw her crying and he almost changed his mind about leaving Ponyville.
“Yeah. You don’t want to miss your train,” Pinkie said and sniffed. She then swept her muzzle with her hoof and looked at the floor.

Pokey started to feel his eyes getting wetter too and he sighed. He looked at the box Pinkie Pie had given her and placed it into his duffle bag, next to his camera.
When Pokey saw his camera, he got an idea. He looked at Pinkie Pie, who carefully looked back at him, with a sad look on her face.
“Pinkie,” he said and levitated the camera from his bag with his magic. Pinkie looked at him with confused look on her face and Pokey started to explain, “You gave me these balloons, so I decided that I should give you something too.”

He then walked next to the Pink mare and threw his hoof over her shoulder. Pinkie giggled and did the same to him. Then Pokey adjusted the camera a little and turned to see Pinkie Pie who smiled at him sweetly. 
“Say cheese!” he said and turned towards the camera again. 

Instead of hearing Pinkie Pie say ‘cheese’, he felt something soft and wet press against his cheeks. 
Just then the camera flashed.
Confused Pokey turned to See Pinkie Pie, who giggled and smiled at him. Pokey looked at her with his mouth slightly open.
“Did she just..” he thought and quickly grabbed the photo from his Ponaroid camera. He waved it in the air for couple of times, so it would develop faster. When he saw the picture, his jaw dropped and eyes went wide.

In the picture they had their hooves over each other’s shoulders and Pokey smiled at the camera. Pinkie wasn’t smiling thought. She was kissing Pokey’s cheeks gently, with her eyes closed.
Pokey turned towards Pinkie Pie, who was blushing a little and rubbing her front leg against her other one. She chuckled nervously and said, “Heh.. Just wanted to make sure that you write me often.”
Pokey chuckled too and gave the picture to Pinkie. She took it into her hoof and watched it with a broad smile on her face.

“All aboard!” the conductor shouted from the locomotive and watched as the last ponies from the pier started to move inside the train. Pokey too looked at the train behind him and levitated his camera back to his bag. Pinkie stuffed the picture under her beanie and stared at Pokey right into his golden eyes.
“Promise to come visit me someday,” she said quietly, without breaking eye contact with Pokey. He smiled and leaned a bit closer to Pinkie.
“I promise,” he said, reaching his hoof towards Pinkie. 

They close each other into a tight hug quickly.
“Pinkie promise,” Pinkie said, sounding serious.
“Cross My Heart, Hope to Fly, Stick a Cupcake in my Eye!” Pokey said, while he was still being hugged by Pinkie Pie. She giggled happily and then sighed.
They said their goodbyes and Pokey started to walk towards the train. He was the last one to enter. When the conductor saw him enter the train, he started to close the doors of each wagon. Pokey still stood right behind the door and looked at Pinkie behind the glass.
Pinkie stood on the pier, waving at Pokey sadly. Pokey returned the wave and tried to look as happy as he could. Pinkie tried too, but she couldn’t hold off small tears that started to form in the corner of her eyes again. 

  CHOO CHOO

The train nudged into motion. It started to move slowly forward, with Pokey in it. Pinkie watched him wave at her again, with more sad expression on his face this time. She walked next to the train until the pier came to an end. Then she dropped onto her haunches and looked at the quickly moving train, that started to disappear from her sight.
Pinkie Pie sniffed couple of times and swept couple of tears away from her eyes.
She then dug the picture Pokey had given her a moment earlier and looked at it.
“I really started to like that colt,” she thought sadly and drew couple of small circles to the snow with her hoof.