Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Part 1: What's the Use of Crying?

by brokenimage321

Age 4

Rainbow Dash snorted into her soda, then coughed. “She did what?” she gasped.

“I know,” Rarity said to her. “I couldn’t believe it either, poor thing…”

“Poor thing?” Rainbow repeated. “Are you crazy—?”

“Rainbow, hush,” Fluttershy interjected, warningly. “You’ll wake up Merriweather.”

Rainbow glared at her, but closed her mouth. “I still don’t know what she’s thinking,” she muttered.

“No one does, dear,” Rarity assured her.

Twilight looked around the table and smiled. This was the first time in a long time that the six of them had managed to get together. Rainbow was so busy with her promotion in the Wonderbolts in Cloudsdale, and Rarity with her new boutique in Fillydelphia, that it was rare that either of them had a full weekend off—let alone at the same time. Twilight had managed to convince them both to come down to Ponyville, if only for lunch, and had invited the rest of the gang, too. Fluttershy had made it, though she had to bring newborn Merriweather with her. Applejack came too, sporting just the barest hint of a baby bump (her first; she tried to hide it, but Twilight had caught her more than once, when she thought no one was looking, absolutely beaming).

So much had changed in the past few years… they had all gotten busy—with work, with life, with weddings, with little ones—that they weren’t as close as they had once been. Though Twilight tried to make time for Fluttershy once or twice a month, Rarity was never home, and Rainbow so busy with the Wonderbolts—not to mention, Applejack had been away from home for so long—it was… hard.

And then, there was Pinkie Pie…

The bell over the door jingled. “I’m here! I’m here!” Pinkie cried, jogging over and sliding into the seat beside Rarity. She gave Rarity a quick side-hug, then grabbed the menu in front of her. “Sorry I’m late,” she said, already scanning the menu. “Everyone already order?”

Twilight nodded. “Sorry,” she said.

“No, I’m sorry,” she replied, putting the menu down. “I had to take the little boogers over so the Cakes could watch them—and they were being especially rowdy today.” She sighed. “I just hope the Cakes can last the hour... I mean, Waltzie—”

Rarity jerked her head up from where she’d been cooing at little Merriweather. “Whiskey?” she said, horrified. “You named her Whiskey?”

Pinkie giggled. “No, silly,” she said, “Waltzie. Her name’s Waltz, but she's not a fan, so we call her Waltzie.”

“Oh.” Rarity said, squirming a little lower into her seat.

Pinkie chuckled again. “But,” she added, “I think she’d like Whiskey better, anyways. She's a little fireball, that one.”

Rarity flashed a weak smile.

Rainbow sat up a little straighter. “So, uh… Waltz is the pegasus, right? Who’s giving her flying lessons?”

Pinkie smiled. “Fluttershy, actually.”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide. “F-Fluttershy?” she sputtered.

Fluttershy smiled. “Well,” she said, adjusting Merriweather. “Not recently.”

“B-but—”

“Waltzie seems to like it,” Pinkie cut in. “She’s still too young to be real good at it, but she’s trying.”

“And I’ve been teaching Foxie to use her magic,” Twilight added.

“I tried to start a garden with Tango last month,” muttered Applejack, “but it didn’t take.”

Rarity frowned. “The garden?” she asked. “Or Tango?”

Applejack sighed. “Both.”

Pinkie winced. “By the way,” she said, “sorry again about that window.”

Applejack shook her head with a faint smile. “Don’t worry,” she said. “That poor old barn’s been through worse.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “So, they’re still giving you a hard time?”

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Oh sweet Celestia, yes they are,” she said. “It’s what they were born for.” She threw out her chest a little. “But, of course, they’re up against the best prankster Ponyville has ever known—”

“So you’re getting what you deserve,” Rainbow cut in with a smile.

Pinkie giggled. “I guess so,” she said.

Just then, their waitress stepped up to their table. “Heya, Pinkie!” She beamed. “Long time, no see!”

“Hi Creamsicle!” Pinkie smiled back. “How’s school? Dream Valley Union, right?”

Creamsicle nodded, then shrugged. “Eh, you know… senior year and all…”

Pinkie gaped. “You’re a senior already?”

Creamsicle nodded. “Mh-hm… crazy, huh?”

“Yeah,” she sighed.

Creamsicle dug in her apron for her pad of paper. "By the way," she said, "My folks still talk about that Hearth's Warming party that one time."

Pinkie smiled wide. "That was a ton of fun, wasn't it?"

Creamsicle nodded. "Do y'know when you'll be doing another one?"

Pinkie sighed. "I don't know," she said. "I mean, Hearthswarming's one of our busiest seasons..."

"I feel ya," Creamsicle said, finally surfacing with her pad. “So, what can I get you?” she asked.

“Let’s start with…” She glanced at the menu again. “Could I get, uh… an amarecano, with two ounces of cream, and a shot of hazelnut?” She scanned the menu again. “Then, uh… let’s do the dandelion sandwich, please, hold the mustard.”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Pinkie shot a glance at her. "And separate checks, please," she cut in. Twilight sighed to herself.

“Sure thing!” Creamsicle made a note on her pad, then scampered off. Pinkie sighed, then leaned back in her seat.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Pinkie," she said, "did I hear that right? You don't do parties anymore?"

Pinkie shook her head. "Not as much, anyways. With the boogers, and the bakery, I don't have the time like I used to..."

"Though Aurora always loves when you host her birthdays," Twilight cut in quickly.

Pinkie nodded. "Me too. Birthdays are the best..."

Pinkie glanced over at Applejack and smiled. "Speaking of," she added, "How was your tour? I heard you had quite the adventure..."

Applejack giggled a little. "You could say that," she said. "Rara was fantastic, as always, and I kinda liked travellin' all over the place, seein' all those different ponies--" she smirked "--not to mention, the paycheck was nice... but..." She suddenly hesitated, then turned to look out the window. "I just wish I could be out there again... spendin' time with him." She sighed. "It was long, hard work, managin' all those ponies... but, havin' a shoulder to rest your head on at the end of the day... well, it made things a mite easier." She paused again, then glanced down at her swollen belly. "But, y'know," she shrugged, "all them concerts aren't good for a little one..." She swallowed, suddenly nervous. "...A-and I want to have my family around, for w-when it's time to... time to..." She swallowed again, then fell silent.

For a while, no one spoke. Finally, Pinkie sighed.

“You know, AJ,” Pinkie said quietly, making her glance over. “I’m happy for you. This is gonna be the hardest, scariest, time of your life…” she smiled. “And there’s nothing else in the world like it…”

Applejack hesitated. “Thank ya kindly,” she murmured, unsure how to respond.

Rainbow Dash looked back and forth between the two of them, then leaned forward. “Y’know, I’ve been meaning to ask,” she said suddenly, “who’s the daddy?”

Applejack looked up eyes wide. “Who’s the daddy—?” She repeated. “How dare you. You know damn well—”

Rainbow shook her head. “No,” she said, “I wasn’t asking you—I was asking Pinkie.”

“Me?” Pinkie yelped, jerking back as if she’d been struck.

The table fell silent. Pinkie stared at Rainbow Dash, eyes wide; Rainbow glanced nervously around the group, her expression frozen. For a long moment, no one moved.

Suddenly, Pinkie chuckled. She leaned forward and rested her chin jauntily on a hoof. “Oh, come on, Dashie,” she said. “A lady doesn’t kiss and te-e-ell!” she sing-songed.

No one spoke. Pinkie said it with a smile, but she was trembling. Everyone at the table knew—despite the smile, despite the snark—that having to say that was killing her inside.

After a moment of silence, Twilight cleared her throat. “So, Rarity,” she said carefully, “How’s things in Fillydelphia?”

Her eyes grew wide. “O-oh!” she squeaked. “Fillydelphia—”

“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy said urgently. “Tell us about Fillydelphia.”

A chorus of Yes, pleases sounded from around the table.

Rarity sighed. “Well, there’s not much to tell…” she said, with a faint smile, “But, now that you ask…”

Twilight glanced at Pinkie. As everyone else listened to Rarity, Pinkie stayed frozen. Slowly, she took her arm off the table, then leaned back. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath—and, when she opened them again, all was well. She forced a smile on her face, then turned to listen attentively to Rarity.

Twilight swallowed. Pinkie was good—very good—at what she did.

But Twilight could still see in her eye, no matter how deep she tried to bury it, a burning spark of nameless heartache.

Comments

[Dragon Turtle]

So Applejack took a job as Ra-Ra’s manager? Because when Pinkie first brought up a tour, I thought you were making a reference to AJ’s secret folk musician career from Sparkle’s Seven. But then I remembered “Oh wait, this was written in 2016.”

[brokenimage321]

9664161
Yeah, that's right--AJ took a job as Rara's manager. I never even thought about the AJ's singing career!