Pinkie's eyes fluttered open the next morning. She let out a huge yawn as she sat up in the bed. As she did, she realized that she wasn't extremely depressed like she was the day before. She was still down, but not enough for her to start crying. She briefly wondered if that was good or bad, then she began to glance around the room again. The fallen tray was back on the bedside table, albeit without any muffins on it. The puddles and crumbs on the floor were all cleaned up. Pinkie looked at the table to get her journal, but something else caught her eye.
There was a box of Pinkie's favorite chocolate on the table. There was also a rather large bouquet of flowers, all in differing shades of pink, next to the box as well. Pinkie wondered why she didn't notice them before. Then, she realized that they were new. The price was still on the box, and it wasn't cheap. Pinkie heard a light snore come from the corner. She whipped around to see who it was, winced from the unexpected pain, and looked. Fluttershy had moved a chair into the corner, and somepony was sleeping on it.
That somepony was, of course, Rainbow Dash. She had a large bruise on her face and bandages on her right foreleg. She was lying down on the chair, her legs underneath her, and her wings forming a makeshift blanket that kept her warm. She was smiling peacefully as she slept.
-Even...even after everything that I did to her...she still wants to be friends? asked Pinkie to herself as she looked at Rainbow Dash and the things that she brought for her.
~I'm starting to think that she's as bent on hurting herself as you are, remarked the voice inside. Pinkie ignored her as she continued to watch Rainbow Dash. It was as if her negative feelings were slowly disappearing as she watched her. Rainbow Dash began fidgeting slightly. Her legs moved underneath her to try and find a more comfortable spot. Unfortunately, the movement of her legs caused her to lose her balance and subsequently fall off of the chair.
"Augh!" yelled Rainbow Dash as she hit the floor with a loud crash. Pinkie winced. "That...wasn't fun..." said Rainbow Dash as she rubbed her head to alleviate the pain. Rainbow Dash looked up and saw that Pinkie was awake.
"Oh! Pinkie! You're awake! Um, hi! Are you doing better?" asked Rainbow Dash nervously. Pinkie just stared at Rainbow Dash, which did nothing to help her nervousness. "Oh! I...um...I got you some stuff..." said Rainbow Dash as she trotted over to the bedside table. She put the box of chocolates in front of Pinkie. "I got you some chocolate...your favorite...and I got you these!" she said, pointing a hoof at the flowers. Pinkie looked at the flowers and then at Rainbow Dash, whose smile faltered for a second. "Did...was that my fault?" asked Pinkie as she pointed to the bruise on Rainbow Dash's face.
"Oh...yeah...but, it's okay! I hardly even feel it!" said Rainbow Dash, beating her chest with a hoof. She beat her hoof too close to her injured leg, and fell to the ground in pain. "Ow..." she muttered. "That was my fault too...wasn't it...?" asked Pinkie sadly. "Well...I guess...It was mostly MY fault...I didn't watch my step while I was, um, running away from you..." said Rainbow Dash. Pinkie's eyes began watering. If she didn't feel like sobbing before, she did now.
-Dashie's hurt...and it's my fault...
~Why do you care? I can't believe you...
"I...I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash..." said Pinkie, her voice breaking. Rainbow Dash rushed over next to Pinkie.
"No, you're not the one that should be sorry. If anyone should be, it's me..." said Rainbow Dash. "Please don't cry..." Pinkie sniffled, and she held back the tears. "Okay..." she said quietly. "I...I have something to say..." said Rainbow Dash. Pinkie looked up at her, listening. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath before starting.
"Pinkie...listen...I want to tell you that I'm sorry. Again. Everything that I've done that has hurt you, starting with that look that I gave you, I'm sorry about those things. I wish that I could take them back, but I can't," said Rainbow Dash. She hopped into the air, and her wings carried her on top of the bed. She was sitting directly in front of Pinkie now. Pinkie gave her a confused look.
"I told you yesterday that...I was building up courage to talk to you...Well, that's part of the truth...I also...I...I needed the courage for something else too..." said Rainbow Dash quietly, looking away from Pinkie.
"Wh-what...what did you need it for?" asked Pinkie.
"This," said Rainbow Dash. She slowly lifted her good hoof into the air.
~She's going to hit you. She's going to punch you. Slap you. Hurt you.
-I trust her...She wouldn't hurt me on purpose...
~You should trust ME, not her! She's going to hurt you...just watch... Pinkie held her breath as Rainbow Dash began moving her hoof towards Pinkie. She put her hoof on Pinkie's face, and held it slightly. Rainbow Dash quickly leaned in closer to Pinkie's face. Pinkie began to blush furiously. She wanted to ask Rainbow Dash what she was doing, because her mind couldn't concentrate enough to try and think of it herself. Rainbow Dash waited for a couple of seconds.
~What...what is she doing...?
Pinkie soon found out. Rainbow Dash closed the gap between them and pressed her lips against Pinkie's. Pinkie's eyes widened in surprise, then they closed. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie kissed for what felt like ten minutes(but was really only ten seconds), then Rainbow Dash pulled away, waiting for Pinkie's reaction.
~Wh-what just happened?! Why did she kiss you?! This...I don't understand! wailed the voice inside. Pinkie didn't respond. She looked at Rainbow Dash with surprise in her eyes. There were a few seconds of awkward silence. Then, Pinkie broke said silence.
"Rainbow Dash...wh-what...why?" asked Pinkie. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, then began to speak.
"Pinkie...I don't know exactly when it happened...maybe after I got to know you better after we started pranking...Maybe before then, maybe after...Like I said, I don't know. But...I realized a while back. I couldn't stop staring at you sometimes. Like, I would try to focus on something else, but my eyes kept getting drawn back to you. And, I started having dreams about you. Dreams of you and me being together...I realized that...I love you, Pinkie," said Rainbow Dash. Pinkie's eyes widened. "I wanted to act on those feelings for the longest time. But...I was scared. I wondered what you would think of me. I wondered how you would feel about me. I didn't know if you thought of me as only a friend, or if you could think of me as something more...At the picnic, I wanted to tell you, but I was waiting for the right time. Then, when Derpy nearly dropped the box on me and you saved me, I was thinking about how I could tell you...then you caught me completely off guard by kissing me...
"I thought that I was dreaming when you kissed me. But...the dream soon turned into a nightmare for both of us, but mainly you. That look that I gave you was because I couldn't believe that we felt the same way about each other... And, I couldn't go after you when you ran because I was trying to help Derpy calm down. The next few days, I really WAS swamped at work. I also kept trying to figure out the best way to tell you about my feelings while I was working... When I went to visit you, I didn't know if you would be happy or sad. Either way, I decided that I was going to tell you then, but things didn't really go according to plan...
"So, I decided that today was the day no matter what. You would know about my feelings...and, now you do...I know that you said that you loved me, but...a lot can change in a single day...so...Pinkie. I'm sorry about what I did...And I love you. I want to be with you...so...will you, um...do me the honor of...being my marefriend?" asked Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie had barely finished processing all of the information that Rainbow Dash gave her, and didn't have much time to think about the question.
~She...she's asking you to be her marefriend...I still don't understand...She wants to hurt you...how would this hurt you...? asked the voice inside, confused. The voice seemed faint, for some reason.
-She's not trying to hurt me...she loves me! But...she still hurt me before...I don't know what I should say!
Pinkie pondered the question for a couple more questions. Rainbow Dash waited, then her expression saddened as she interpreted the silence as a no.
"Okay, Pinkie...I understand...I hope that we can still be friends...I guess...I guess I'll see you around," said Rainbow Dash quietly, a single tear running down her face. Pinkie finally snapped out of her stupor.
"Dashie, wait!" said Pinkie. Rainbow Dash turned around to look at Pinkie. A pink blur tackled her to the ground and squeezed her tightly.
"Gah, Pinkie!" said Rainbow Dash. Pinkie looked up at Rainbow Dash with tears of joy in her eyes.
"Yes, Dashie...I will...I want to be your marefriend!" grinned Pinkie. Her coat brightened, and her hair puffed up into its usual poofy glory. Rainbow Dash gave Pinkie a large smile, then returned the hug as she kissed Pinkie.
~What's going on...? asked the voice inside, completely bewildered. She sounded very faint. Pinkie could barely hear her. I don't understand...she didn't hurt you, but...she always does...why is this time different...This...doesn't...make...sense...
-This is love...I would be surprised if it did, thought Pinkie as she continued to kiss Rainbow Dash.
Things were going to turn out all right after all.
Hooray for happiness! I am really sorry for the long wait. I honestly have no idea what I was doing when I could've been editing this. I would say schoolwork, but that would be blatant lies. Anyway, next chapter will probably be the last one, so look forward to that. I'll have it up soon. Hopefully.