*Author's note* I have good news and bad news. The good news is I think I may be getting better at including details. (maybe not though i am sure you will let me know.) The bad news is a am starting my new job tomorrow and so updates might be a little bit slower than they have been so far. Thank you all for reading and commenting. You are lovely and wonderful.
Chapter 3
Rainbow Dash was beginning to go stir crazy. It was her sixth day grounded and her leg was still a few weeks away from her being able to walk on it. Six days in bed might as well have been six months to an action pony like Rainbow Dash. Six days felt like six lifetimes, with no end in sight. She had taken to tossing a ball she had found at gummy and letting him bring it back. Toss, return, toss, return, toss, and return. The monotony was almost stifling. Rainbow could feel it pressing in on her. It was mind-numbingly boring, but at least she was moving her prized body just a little bit. That was the worst part about the whole thing. She felt like her pristine, athletic body was suffering. Her sleek and toned muscles were deteriorating from lack of use and her back was beginning to hurt from all the “rest” she was getting. Rainbow hated not being in the skies. She often had to look away from the window because it hurt too much to watch the clouds drifting lazily by, without her. The sky was her domain, not a feather bed on top of a bakery. She was meant for a life of danger and a life of daring stunts. Dash should be on those clouds. Corralling them, napping on them (although she wasn’t much in the mood for napping), or simply smelling them would be good enough. She missed the smell and feel of clouds under her. To just whiff the clean, crisp scent of a white puffy cloud was tantalizing. If she could, she would gather every cloud in the sky beneath her and fly through them until they were completely broken up. Dash closed her eyes and contemplated the cool blue skies full of clouds. She thought about the condensation they left on her skin when she flew through them. The puffy, white wonderland of blissful glory! Missing the clouds was nothing compared to missing the skies themselves. She daydreamed about zipping strait up, up climbing higher and higher until she could no longer see the ground and then dive bombing all the way back to earth. Her wings pressed against her body for maximum speed and then spreading them at the very last moment, pulling up just before she smashed into the ground.
Sigh.
Yes, Rainbow Dash missed the skies. She missed the adrenaline rushing through her body. She missed seeing everything below her, all the ponies looking like ants. That exhilaration, the blood pumping through her veins as her muscles rippled in the wind. That feeling could be obtained in only one way. But here she was sitting in bed.
Her friends had been by to visit almost every day and Scootaloo seemed to drop by at least once a day to talk to Rainbow about how awesome and daring and wonderful Rainbow was (Rainbow very much enjoyed these visits). Pinkie had been a great caretaker but Rainbow Dash had never spent this much time on the ground. As great as Pinkie was there was nothing she could do to help Rainbow Dash fly, and she could never understand what it was like for her to be stuck to the soil. To be tethered and lose that freedom that Dash so strongly craved. She longed to be unfettered and soar into the skies. Like a mouse caught in a glue trap. Like a bird in a cage. She tried to explain it to Pinkie as not being able to eat cake for 3 or 4 weeks.
“POOOOOR Dashie!! No cake for 3 weeks?!?! I would Die! Oh dash it is horrible to think about. I need to go eat some cake right now to forget that you ever even said such a terrible thing!!”
Dash thought she had probably gotten her point across. Pinkie loved cake as much as Dash loved flying if that was possible.
Pinkie was spending a lot more time with her lately though, and Rainbow Dash had to admit that she liked that. Time with Pinkie was infinitely more enjoyable than her time spent alone. One rainy day Pinkie was in the room blowing up balloons for a party while Rainbow Dash threw things at Gummy. Books, pillows, articles of clothing, whatever she could reach really. Gummy never seemed to mind. He just caught each item and tried to chew on it. She listened with great entertainment as Pinkie talked about her day.
“…And I’M really, really happy because we just got a new shipment of special sprinkles in from Canterlot, but they just came through Canterlot and they are really from somewhere far away that I have never heard of and they are all the different colors of the rainbow, hmm kind of like your mane! They are really big and kind of sour, I think the package calls them Skitless or Skitlays I’m not sure how to pronounce it but every time I eat them I think OOOh I need to give these to Rainbow Dash she might like some! But I put them on a cake today and it was so so so delicious and I want to eat them every single day forever but the cakes will only let me eat some because “those are for the customers Pinkie Pie, you cant eat all of them”…” She finished with a spot-on impression of Mr. Cake’s stern voice.
Rainbow couldn’t help but smile as Pinkie Pie babbled on. This was Pinkie Pie where she belonged. In her element. Pinkie with a captive audience was like Rainbow Dash in the sky. She was always so happy about everything and made everything seem so fresh and new. Rainbow was glad to provide the audience for Pinkie's crazy little theater production she called a life, but she saw a golden opportunity for a little competition, just to keep my body on its toes, she told herself.
“Hey Pinkie, throw a few of those over here I’ll help you.”
“OKAY!!”
Rainbow Dash started blowing up balloons. “Hey Pinkie, lets make this a contest. First pony to blow up 20 balloons wins!”
“READY, SET, GO!!”
Rainbow Dash blew up her first one in 10 seconds flat. She didn’t expect to win but she was starting to think she could hold her own. The contest, as small and meaningless as it was, was exhilarating to Rainbow Dash. The sky was where she was most at home but competition made her thrive. She hadn’t done anything like this in a long time. Her lungs burned as she blew as hard as she could. She looked over at pinkie who was already on her seventh balloon. How does she do that?! Rainbow Dash wondered. She wasn’t even short of breath. I guess they don’t call her Ponyville’s premier party pony for nothing, Dash thought. After only another few seconds Pinkie had blown up her last balloon, and she had even blown up the final one and twisted it into the shape of a giant cake with candles on top.
“I win!!! What’s my prize?!” Pinkie was bouncing around the room kicking ballons everywhere as Gummy tried desperately to pop them in his toothless mouth. Dash had to concede defeat as Pinky pumped a hoof in the air to signify her victory.
“I guess I’m no match for you Pinkie the pink party pony.” Dash said her name with gusto as if she were an announcer at a Wonderbolt’s show.
“That’s right you aren’t!” Pinkie screamed whilst jumping across the room now nose to nose with Dash.
“Sooooooo what’s my prize Dashie?! Contests always have prizes you know.”
“Umm I don’t know Pinks, how about a hug??”
Pinkie obviously liked that idea because she threw her forelegs around Rainbow Dash. Rainbow could feel her breath on her neck and the heat of her body pressed firmly against hers. After a few seconds (much too short for Rainbow Dash) Pinkie Pie broke away. As she did this Rainbow caught a reflection of her mane in Pinkie’s eye and her heart wheeled. It was like taking flight as she watched her multi-colored mane dance across the backdrop of purest blue in Pinkie’s eye. Pinkie Pie seemed to notice and shifted her eyes to the floor, now refusing to meet Rainbow’s hypnotized gaze.
“What are you staring at Dashie?” Pinkie asked with caution.
“It’s just that your eyes, I never noticed it before.”
“Noticed what, Dashie?” Pinkie said nervously as she shifted her body about.
They are so blue, so bright. They look just like the sky, it is like you filled your eyes with freedom and beauty and everything that makes life wonderful and I see myself reflected in those pools of deepest blue. When I look into them I feel like I am flying again,Rainbow thought.
Her heart started pounding as she stared into Pinkie’s eyes. The words Rainbow thought and the ones she actually stammered out were very different though.
“They are..perfect..just like the sky. I feel like I am flying when I see them.” Rainbow kicked herself for acting so sappy, but Pinkie’s eyes had mesmerized her. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. No, that wasn’t true. It was like nothing she had ever seen before from the ground.
Suddenly those same eyes Rainbow had been admiring were brimming with tears. They looked at the ground and back up at Rainbow Dash.
“Please, Don’t Rainbow. Just...please…stop” Pinkie was almost whimpering. She was pleading, as if Rainbow Dash were physically torturing her.
“Pinkie what is the matter? What did I do? I am not trying to upset you? I…I…that is just how I feel.”
Pinkie ran out of the room sobbing. Dash could not understand what had gone wrong. Looking into Pinkie’s eyes for that moment had touched her heart and had made her feel like she was soaring through the clouds, the wind in her mane. But she had somehow hurt Pinkie. Pinkie could be so random sometimes, but maybe that was why Dash loved her. Wait, what? You didn’t just think that. You don’t love her? Do you? Dash had never thought about another mare in that way, especially not one of her friends. But could she? Would that be a bad thing? Maybe she did. She knew that she had had feelings like this towards Pinkie before but she had never really connected them to love. She had only thought of Pinkie Pie as a friend. Her reactions to Pinkie over the past week told Dash that maybe deep down she did feel something deeper for Pinkie. In retrospect it seemed very clear that these feelings ran deeper in her heart than friendship. Over the past few years of their friendship Rainbow couldn’t help but remember how many good times she had had with Pinkie. She thought back to the time Pinkie had saved Ponyville from the Parasprites. All day long as she and the other girls had tried every trick they knew to get rid of them Pinkie had just kept asking for instruments. “You are so random!” Dash had said, meaning it in not the nicest of ways. But later on Pinkie proved to know exactly what she was doing as she led the problematic pests out of the city. There was always a method to Pinkie’s madness and once you got to know her well enough you could usually figure it out by the end. Rainbow, of course, felt she understood Pinkie Pie better than anyone but whatever was going on right now was beyond her. That didn’t matter though, because just like with the Parasprites in the end everything would be clear and Dash would understand what was going on. She hoped. Perhaps this was what she loved most about Pinkie. Everyday with her was a mystery, every moment a new challenge, but one worth taking. It made her exciting. No pony ever knew what Pinkie was going to do next. No matter how Dash looked at it she could come up with only one conclusion.
“I love Pinkie Pie.” She said the words out loud.
She was very surprised to find that she wasn’t surprised at all. Maybe she had known it all along but would only now admit it to herself. She had spent more time with Pinkie than any of her other friends so it only made sense. Or maybe they were brand new feelings and she was just projecting them on to the past. She had no idea. The only thing she now knew for sure was that she loved Pinkamena Diane Pie and that she wanted to be with her more than anything. Dash had very little experience with relationships. She had once had a summer fling with a wild, young Pegasus colt from flight camp. When she thought about it though, she couldn’t even remember his name. She had never been too interested in him; maybe she should have known then that she would fall for a mare. He had meant very little to her and she had definitely not initiated it. After thinking for some time Dash realized that that was her main problem. How DID she initiate something like that with Pinkie Pie? She supposed that is what she had been doing when she asked Pinkie for a hug..maybe..But not the eyes thing, that was all truly spur of the moment and strait from Dash’s heart (which was quite big despite what she would have you believe). Dash realized with a shudder that she had been flirting with Pinkie. Any other time asking for a hug would have been entirely normal, but Dash knew she had had entirely different motives. Dash knew of only one way to let Pinkie know how she felt.
She had to tell her. She didn’t know exactly how, but she knew that she had to let Pinkie know. The last time she had tried to tell Pinkie something nice Pinkie had run from the room crying. She decided the best thing to do would be to face that chance and just tell her. No point in beating around the bush. Pinkie didn’t much understand figurative language and subtleties anyway Rainbow thought with a grin. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were not ponies to hint around, they were ponies of action. She couldn't do it now though. Not right after what had just happened. She needed to give Pinkie time to calm down (and probably herself as well). Rainbow Dash decided to take a nap to try to get her mind off of things for a little while. She closed her eyes as she realized just how tired she really was. Rainbow Dash past into a restless sleep. As she tossed and turned her dreams became nightmares.
She was in a sterilized and white hospital room. It was blindingly white, devoid of any color besides that of her own mane and coat. The doctor walked into the room and shook his head with a sigh.
"I am sorry Rainbow Dash, but you will never fly again."
"NO!!!! Doctor there's gotta be something I can do!?!" Dash pleaded with him as she choked back her tears.
Suddenly the doctor transformed into a grey, colorless version of Pinkie Pie.
"I am sorry Rainbow Dash, but you can't fly and I don't love you. I can barely be in the same room with you." Pinkie then
twisted her face into one of the worst pain and hurt.
Rainbow Dash awoke with a start and wiped her tears from her cheeks. What a terrible nightmare. She was shaking with panic at what Nightmare Pinkie had said, and she felt that if she didn't tell her pink friend how she felt soon she was going to explode. She knew that now was not the best time, but she couldn't wait any more. It was now or never.
“PINKIE P-“ Rainbow yelled and the Pink earth pony seemed to materialize in the doorway the moment she started to scream her name. That’s Pinkie for you thought Dash.
“Yepparoony Dashie? What can I do for you?” She was much more cheery at this point than she had been earlier in the day. It was startling to Dash how Pinkie could go from crying to jovial within a few hours. She showed no signs of the lachrymose displays of earlier. Dash considered her improved mood to be a good omen and decided to proceed.
“How did you get up here so fast?” Rainbow’s curiosity was distracting her.
“I was done working so I was already on my way up to see if you need anything.” Pinkie chirped.
“Well Pinks I have something I kind of want to talk to you about.”
“Yep Dashie?!”
“Well Pinkie I have been thinking a lot lately.” Rainbow stopped and considered what she was going to say. “I realized that I really love you. Like not in a friendship is magic kind of way but like an I want to kiss you kind of way and it has taken me so long to realize it but now I finally know and I think that I have probably felt this way about you for some time. You are just so Random and fun and you are the only pony I have ever met who can keep up with me. I don’t know how you feel about it but I would really like it if maybe we could go on a date sometime or something maybe I don’t know if you wanted to or something…”
Rainbow Dash spit out the whole paragraph without breathing. It proved to be a lot more difficult than she thought it was going to be. All the while she was talking she was staring down at her feet; she could not bear to look at Pinkie while she said these things. She looked at Pinkie Pie for some sign that she had heard her. She hoped for a smile but wanted to see anything, just some recognition of some kind.
All at once huge streams of tears gushed from Pinkie’s Eyes. A small puddle was forming in the floor and Pinkie looked horror struck. The look that had crossed Pinkie’s face was like something directly from Dash’s worst nightmare. Not any nightmare from a scary movie, but one in which she hurts the pony that means the world to her. The nightmare where she makes the mare that she loves cry and hurts her heart. That look tattooed itself onto Dash’s brain and refused removal. Dash felt numb. Her arms fell limply to her sides as her eyes welled with tears. This was not going as well as she had hoped. Pinkie bolted from the room. A few minutes later Dash watched out the window as a streak of Pink vanished over the hill away from Ponyville. Where was she going?
She had just told Pinkie Pie how much she loved her, and Pinkie had cried and run away. The thought sunk in as she blinked away tears.
“Rainbow?” Mr. Cake ascended the stairs. “Rainbow, Pinkie has left and she left this note. She seemed really upset. You can continue to stay here as long as you need to. I hope everything is okay, but she didn't tell me where she was going or when she would be back.”
“Rainbow? Rainbow? Can you hear me?”
Rainbow Dash slowly came to at the sound of Mr. Cakes voice. She opened her eyes and saw him staring down at her concernedly.
“Rainbow are you OK? You passed out when I started talking.”
“Yeah Mr. Cake I am fine, I just, I guess I am just really upset. Let me see that note please.”
Dashie…I don’t know what to do. I am leaving until you can get better and go back home. I have done something terrible. If you found out you would never want to see me again. I just can’t be near you right now. Please don’t come look for me. I’m sure Scootaloo will be more than happy to take care of you. Good bye, Dashie. The note was nearly unreadable as Pinkie had scrawled it in only a few seconds and the ink was smudged with tears.
So Pinkie Pie was feeling…? Guilty? Maybe she did love Dash! Maybe if Dash could find her she could still fix this!
She had to go to her…but how?