A Dinky Love Story

by Cryptid-Kid

Friends (With Benefits)

Hazel eyes glowing with anger bored a hole into her heart. Directly across from him, only a few feet away was a pair of equally mirrored eyes, exactly copying his very emotions into her own.

"What do you want?" Dinky almost hissed, exhausted after having him follow her around for the whole tiring day until she finally caved in and gave him what he wanted: a chance to speak to her.

"I want to know why you think Rumble is better than me," Pipsqueak spat back.

She didn't answer. Instead she turned away from him, her attitude icy as it was, shaking her head in disapproval of him. Placing one cold hoof over the other, her eyes traced the straight path she would follow up in till she reached the outside.

He met her pace, falling in a slow trot next to her. Although she did not look at him she could tell he was glaring at her through the corner of her eye. He quickly became impatient.

"Talk to me," he commanded, straining at the leash to hear her annoyed response. There was none. "Dinky. Don't be a jerk! You know you're still in love with me!"

She didn't mutter a word. The only thing she did was shake her head once, eyes narrowed in the form of betrayal and unspoken anger clearly being shown.

Pipsqueak's voice strained and a feeling of desperation emanated from the emotional depths of his character that Dinky could sense. "Come on, Dinky! What I did with Sweetie Belle was a one-time thing! It's not like I went around kissing all the mares in school!"

Light and heartfelt tears were brought to her cloudy eyes by fury, not out of sadness. Gritting her teeth but still not bothering to shoot him a worthless glance, the pony hissed lowly, "How can you think that what you did was acceptable?"

The unicorn rose to a gallop, reaching her top speed easily with tears running down the bridge of her snout. Leaving the small pony as a shadow in the back of the hallway, Dinky felt relieved when she realized that he had not followed her. He could have caught up to her if he wanted to. He was about three times faster.

Slowing to a trot, the angry pony winced when the light of day, something she hadn't seen at all that morning, flooded her vision and felt as if it would nearly blind her at first. It took a second for her eyes to adjust to the amount of pure brightness that surrounded her, and when they did, she continued her path to nowhere.

She didn't even know where she was going. She just allowed her hooves to take her in no particular direction. The only idea of where she wanted to be was that it had to be someplace, anyplace without ponies.

And hours later she found herself sitting on the cold stone bridge listening to the rush of the raging water beneath her in its furious ways. She hadn't been thinking of Pipsqueak, nor Rumble. She hadn't been thinking of anyone, actually. No, she had been thinking of random thoughts. Unimportant, brief daydreams that served to help her forget everything negative on her mind. She had gotten so lost in her thoughts that through the sound of the rapids beneath her she didn't bother to listen for footsteps. She didn't even know he had sat down next to her till she looked up.

Startled, and with a jolt of realization the pony almost had a heart attack when she noticed there was someone in her presence. When she quickly recognized him as Rumble, she began to relax, letting out a quick, heavy sigh.

"I didn't even see you," she whispered. It was like he had materialized next to her out of thin air.

He tilted his head, eyes narrowing to reach her gaze. "What?" He was unable to hear her through the rapids blazing by.

She spoke louder: "I said, 'I didn't see you!'"

"Speak up! I can't hear you!" He nearly shouted.

Frustrated, the pony waved it off as a signal for him to forget about it. She didn't want to have to deal with this nonsense right then. Frankly, she didn't want to see him after the amount of awkwardness she had been put through with him.

"I didn't know you still came here," he muttered, with her being able to just make out the gist of his sentence through the rage of the rapids.

Glancing at Rumble with curious eyes, the pony raised an eyebrow and responded with, "Sometimes. I didn't know you still came here."

"It's a good place to be alone. Helps me think," he explained and shrugged, his furry shoulders sliding up to rest back down after a brief moment.

"Yeah. I come here when I've got nothing else to do or when I'm really depressed, I guess." She narrowed an eye, staring at him sharply now with her neck craned towards him. "Have you been following me?"

"Wha-- no!" He nearly hissed back, face reddening. "No, I wasn't. Honest!"

"Stalker," she growled playfully, punching him lightly in the arm. He retaliated with a slight shove that barely moved her.

"Shut up," he teased, his lip quivering up in a small smile.

The subject normally wouldn't sound like something that would ease the tension between them, but for some reason, it did. Both ponies erupted in waves of soft, friendly laughter.

Soon their elation died down, and neither golden nor violet eyes met each other. Silence filled the air besides the sound of raging water, but delicate smiles blossomed over their blushed faces, which were the color of roses in moonlight.

Finally he broke the silence. "Dinky?"

"Yeah?" She turned towards him, tilting her head so that his face blocked the sun and its rays that assaulted her eyes.

"Seriously, though. Why're you depressed?"

She sighed, jerking her head back away from him in a frustrated fashion. Narrowing her gaze to the white pools of jetting water beneath them, thoughts of the certain brown-haired runt of a colt invading her tired mind.

The beginning of small crystal tears formed under her eyes, which were rimmed with dark circles due to a lack of sleep. The pony voiced the only thing on her mind: He had asked her, and she was going to be honest.

In a shaky voice she cried, "I just want a normal life!"

Rumble stared at her, blinking in confusion. "What?"

"I said I want a normal life!" She threw her hooves in the air to stress her frustration and glanced sharply back at the pegasus, who rubbed his neck in disappointment.

"I know, I heard you," he explained, eyes meeting the stone they were sitting on. "It's just... I don't really know what you mean by having a 'normal' life..."

She let out a grunt of anger. "I just don't want any drama! I wish I had a life where ponies were actually nice to me for a change! I wish I didn't live in that ratty old house on the corner and that I knew everyone in my family and that we weren't such a... strange family." She kicked her leg out in front of her as if an imaginary pebble was planted there and she was shoving it off the bridge. It swung back when she grumbled and turned away soon after. She continued in a hoarse voice, "It's not just that... I wish I had a life like everyone else. I wish I had someone who actually loved me." Almost sobbing, Dinky's face was taken by her hooves, which blocked her eyesight, smothered in tears.

Rumble said nothing, but she could tell he was staring at her in confusion and pity when she felt his wing curl around her shoulder blades. After a while, one of them finally spoke when she had stopped most of her crying and his wing had retreated from around her shoulders to the side of his body.

"Normal is boring," Rumble spoke, hoof poking at the hard, cold stone by his feet.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she replied hoarsely.

"I dunno, I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you had a life with no drama whatsoever, it wouldn't be as interesting."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, and a life free of drama would be sooo much worse than my life, which is full of it." Dinky laughed sarcastically in a weak tone, almost mocking him. "What do you know? Your life is perfect."

"Okay, that is not true," he protested, but was cut off by his wailing friend.

"Well at least you don't have any drama with ponies at school," she hissed, aggression unnecessarily began rising in the depths of her eyes.

Now he seemed almost ticked off, but if it weren't for his calm and laid-back nature he would have been. "That's not true either. Pipsqueak and his squad of minions have been giving me nothing but all of Tartarus ever since the dance. He'd bring all the stupid kids who follow him around like he was a god to make fun of me." He shivered at the very memories, seeming put off by the thoughts, but returned to his own stern state of mind. "And if that wasn't enough, ponies have been giving me a hard time claiming that I 'stole' you away from Pipsqueak." Tears began to form in the older colt's eyes, and she could tell he was getting choked up. "And... and I've been getting in really horrible fights with my brother lately. He says I can't seem to keep myself away from school drama." Looking away, it was his turn to do the crying. "I haven't gotten into any of the colleges I've applied to yet. And it's the middle of April! I guess I just feel like... like a loser with no future ahead of him..." He covered his face with his hooves.

Feeling a rush of sympathy, the purple unicorn held him in her hooves, whispering comforting words that were not heard to the sobbing colt. It was unusual for her to see him so... distraught and emotional. She didn't even know all this was going on in his life. Not knowing anything else to do or say, the pony simply said, "No, shh, it's okay... You'll get into a college, you're not a loser..."

Breaking the hug, he wiped a tear out of his eye. "You think so?"

"Yeah," she responded, "You're a smart pony Rumble. Some college has got to accept you. It's not like you have any bad records, right?"

He shook his head in distress. "I just thought I would have gotten into one by now. I guess it's scary not knowing where you'll be by fall..."

"Don't stress about it," she advised, eyeing him closely. "You've got to get into at least one, right?"

"You'd think," he grumbled.

"Aren't you still waiting to hear from a few?"

"Yeah. Maybe they've heard of what a loser I am too. I'm not even worth telling."

"You're not a loser, and you're bound to get into one of those schools. You know, there's a lot of ponies applying and these things take time."

"Yeah, just great!" he nearly snarled in a tone that frightened her. "I'm going up against a million other ponies for a spot in some stupid school! They're never gonna pick me over them... they'd be stupid to do so..."

She didn't even realize how much low self-esteem had Rumble had been displaying, all of it staying under her nose for this long until now. She kicked herself mentally. You sorry excuse for a friend! You're so selfish you didn't even notice your best friend's issues because you were too involved in your own!

Guilt chilled her heart as she thought of the dumbest response ever. "Sorry..." She shook herself. "Uh, no, it isn't true. You'll get into a college. I honestly think they would be stupid not to pick you. You're the best around!"

Wiping away a straying tear, the pony glanced back at her, his eyes big and violet, showing depth of sensitivity and insecurity. She loved that pair of familiar purple eyes. Soft and wild shades of lavender and grayish violet always gleamed with confidence, but now they just looked downright sad, and that hurt her. She wanted to see those beautiful eyes sparkle with happiness again, to watch them accompany a wide smile that displayed his interest and enthusiasm as he usually did. She wanted the real Rumble back.

"You really mean that?" His posture straightened a bit.

"Yeah," she assured him, warmth fluttering over her when she watched the edge of his lip curl upwards slightly. "Besides, you're the best. There's absolutely, positively no way someone as awesome as you couldn't get into at least one college!"

Maybe it was from all the crying or her compliments, but his face flushed red as tears continued to roll down it. A crooked smile formed from the downward shape of his lips, and before long she was found cradling him in a warm embrace and a hug, holding him tightly, just sitting there on the bridge pressed against him for a long time.

He whispered his thanks, something that was barely heard through the water speeding and splashing below, but his hushed tone in her ear was received still. Letting all feelings for him aside, she simply held him close to her in a platonic spell, his head pressed into her shoulder, seeking the warmth and comfort she offered naturally.

For what seemed like centuries the pair remained snuggled against each other, just sitting there in silence listening to the rapids' rushing pulses. Really it had only been ten minutes, but in the soft and gentle company of each other it felt like forever. When the last tear evaporated and a breeze stirred the fur on their pelts, Rumble pulled away to look into his friend's eyes.

She was about to smile, her lips quivering up into the action, but she didn't know how to react and it was hard to smile when she had been so shocked by what happened next.

In a sudden move that released pent-up feelings and shattered ideas of friendship, Rumble's soft, chapped lips found their way to Dinky's. The kiss made her jolt in surprise, and a barely audible squeak of shock could not be suppressed as the feelings startled to settle in.

She wanted to shove him off. She wanted to run away and hide or possibly throw herself off the bridge into the hazardous river of death below. But she was just so startled with the gesture of her friend that she froze in position, eyes dropping to the size of pebbles as a blush spread across her face.

It was a soft, short kiss, but it impacted the unsuspecting pony in strong measures. His lips moved against her own for a second, taking in the sweet taste of the unicorn, before the kiss was deepened for a split second. He then pulled away, his hoof straying to cup the side of her red, warm face that all the blood in her body had seemingly rushed to. His forehead rested against her own for a brief moment till he drew back his face inches from hers now. Violet eyes fluttered open to stare into the minimized golden eyes Dinky displayed.

Lost in the extremity of the moment, Dinky couldn't find the words. She had no idea of what just happened. Not even a clue. She was still so shocked and dizzy, and the earth began to spin beneath her. Still trying to process what the heck had just happened, Dinky opened her mouth for a moment before instantly snapping it shut.

"Dinky?" Her name being whispered was lost under the current.

She barely noticed his expression morph into a confused and mildly upset frown. Blinking the shock out of her eyes, the pony just stared at him. Without a clue on what to say or do next.

"I..." She began, wanting to disappear into the forest's shadowy evergreen depths. She couldn't bring herself to say anything else; all she could do at the moment was stutter and stumble over her own tongue.

Rumble drew back, his face becoming more and more cold and emanating rays of disappointment. "Dinky... say something." His eyes were starting to become paler and grayer with every passing second, the color of happiness being demanded away with every second spent in silence due to her refusing to say anything.

She attempted to speak again in a hoarse, croaky voice: "I... I-I..." She swallowed, not knowing what to do.

"Dinky," he whispered loudly, nearly hissing in his desperate attempts to reach the mare that had seemingly stopped in time.

No response was given.

He shook his head, stumbling on his way down from his position on the edge of the cold stone bridge. "Sorry," he muttered, before bolting out into the growing shade of the forest.

Her shrill call to him was not heard through the pony's heartache and regret, the sound of his hooves shuffling dying away with time.

Dinky stared off into the dense green forest of oblivion. What the hay just happened?! She shook her head rapidly. To calm herself, she tried to remember everything that had happened....

She had ran off into the forest, then Rumble came, and she comforted him, and then... And then he had kissed her... She guessed. It had all happened so fast and she really wasn't expecting any of this. Groaning in distress, her stomach churned at the thought of their friendship's state. This was it. One more awkward shove was finally given to them into the direction of a weird, slightly creepy relationship. In other words, the platonic friendship between them had been demolished completely now.

Holding her head in her hooves and let out a deep, painful sigh. Why did her life have to be full of so much drama?! As if she didn't have enough going on in her life! Now she had the problem with her best friend becoming slightly more than her best friend to deal with. Great.

She had recently kicked her boyfriend out of their exclusive relationship, and now.... More drama involving love. She didn't know if she even wanted to date Rumble. She was still working out and carefully dissecting her feelings for him. And then the kiss made everything a whole lot more complicated, even if it had just happened moments ago.

Sure, they had danced together and almost kissed once, but those two events just made her feel... weird. Like there was an unsettling feeling rising in her stomach that could easily be compared to a piece of her lunch left undigested. But now he had actually done it. He had actually kissed her. It was pointless to wonder if everything was a dream. The pounding in her head alongside the irritable sound of rushing rapids assured her so.

But the kiss... She still had no idea how she felt about it. The pressure of his soft lips on hers - it made her heart skip. He had always smelled like fruit - sweet citrus, maybe, or strawberries, but she could actually taste the flavor of fruit on his lips. In fact, they still tingled under the strong sensation of fruit that faded away with time. She took a minute to wonder why he had always smelled of fruit anyway - maybe it was because he had always lived next to a fruit orchard or something - but the wandering thought never really occurred to her until she was left savoring the scent that lingered in the air.

Shaking herself, she knew she couldn't stay there for too long. Her mother and sister were probably expecting her home by now, if not impatiently pacing the hallways waiting for her return, and she didn't think she heard her phone ring over the rapids if it did ring at all.

The pony clumsily stumbled off the edge and slipped off her hooves. Trying to catch herself but ultimately failing, lying flat on her stomach with her hooves outstretched, she groaned uncomfortably. Sometimes she wished she didn't inherit her mother's klutziness. But Dinky didn't even feel the will to get up. If anything, she just wanted to sit there... on the stone hard bridge, cold to the touch... thinking about Rumble and her life...

But she knew that she could not.

Her aching hooves lifted her off the bridge. With a glance around to restore her memory as to which way she had come here from, the pony began her short trek through the comforting yet mysterious levels of the green jungle.

A creak sounded through the long and empty halls of Dinky's sad little house. Slowly the wooden door slid quietly, falling back to reveal more of her living room bit by bit. The sound of the door opening attracted a certain eccentric pegasus, who came bursting through the halls to smother her daughter in kisses as she always did, and she was cut off of her thoughts as to why the house smelled like a bonfire suddenly.

But the thought of kisses in any form, whether it be cute and familial or passionate and romantic, made her stomach flip over. Gently pushing her mom off her, she tried her best to display a small smile. "Hi, Mom. I can tell you're happy to see me, and I feel the same way, but I'm-" she paused in mid-sentence to let out a yawn before continuing- "really tired and I'm just gonna head up to bed. I'll see you in the morning." Embracing her mother in a quick hug for a second, the pony made her way up each creaky, delicate wooden stair on the staircase.

"Okay, muffin," her mom called after her. "Let me know if you need anything!"

Dinky was quick to get to her room, nearly slamming the door in anticipation to go to sleep. She had gotten home later than she had expected, but judging by the thick smell of smoke she could sense when she walked in and the way all the windows were open she guessed that her mother was most likely too busy trying to put out a fire or something to worry about the safety of her daughter. Figures.

Her eyes fell to rest on the darkened room with little to no light emanating from its shady depths. Her hoof stretched to grasp the air where she thought the light switch was located, promptly after the pony had to feel around till she found the pointed edge of the switch. Flipping it up to the ceiling, a bright light swarmed over her at the very moment. Squinting from the harsh sudden rays, the pony had to blink the surprise from her tired eyes.

What a day. Her mind began racing through all the memories of that day as she slid under the comfort of her warm, messy bedspread. When it came to rest upon the particular memory regarding her best friend kissing her, a shiver ran down her spine. She hoped it was from the cold caused by the faulty heating company her family was in debt to.

Taking a deep breath when the lights faded from the order of her magic glow, a soft silence came to fall over the deep, dark room. Eyes shutting tight, the pony tossed and turned for hours before she could drift quietly off to sleep.

The only thing that was on her mind was the hopes that they would simply remain friends. We're just friends. Nothing more to it than that. Just friends.

Friends with benefits.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the late publishing date, as I said before, I've been sort of depressed lately and I've been busy with school projects, middle school graduation, guitar, sports, spending time with my family, etc. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed/will enjoy the latest chapter of my story!

Comments

[The Derpy Doctor]

Nice chapter. You never cease to keep this story scream with romantic comfort. Good job. I really enjoyed it.

[Cryptid-Kid]

5970498 Thank you c:

[Cryptid-Kid]

5976174 LOL, I felt that way writing the story

[Rye Snoot]

The romance was so good and there were sad parts too but this was really emotional story... The Story is good...

[Cryptid-Kid]

5991187 Thank you