This story is a sequel to The Crystal Ball
On the night of the Crystal Ball, Pinkie Pie has a surprise for Rainbow Dash that changes her life. In the wake of one crazy night, Rainbow Dash searches for answers to her friend's actions: what did it mean, what does she want it to mean, and will anything ever be the same again?
The third installment in the continuity that began at Single Point of Failure.
Rated T for discussion of physical intimacy. Credit to Meta Four and God of Awesome for proofreading.
Chapters (5)
I always enjoy Pinkie and Dash together though this time it is a bit different in that Dash seems to be getting attached and Pinkie is thinking it is just a fling. I hope Pinkie will give Dash a chance at the real deal. I think they could work quite well but it will require some communication from Dash.
Heh. I wondered about these two after the last story, but I tried not to get shipping goggles stuck on.
Well, then. I don't want to say it's exactly lower stakes than the rest, but it's a relief that (so far) the main problem is basically Rainbow leading herself on (well, and Pinkie being Pinkie).
As ever, so much interesting with Rarity. She started to sound like she was speaking from experience at the end there.
Certainly that crack about how they've "all done it" was interesting (presumably Fluttershy was implicitly excepted
). And that repeated line
8075698 Yes, Fluttershy was meant to be implicitly excepted. I probably could have made that clearer. She politely excluded herself back in "The Crystal Ball" when Rarity was talking about everypony knowing what being in love for the first time feels like.
It is also interesting that Pinkie was not able to bring herself to ask for a date for the party but has little problem hooking up with somebody for fun. You would think if it was so easy that she could have just found somebody beforehand to go with her. Granted I like her better with Dash but I thought that was interesting all the same.
8076417 The impression I get is that Tobias's version of Pinkie has her identity so tied up in making other ponies happy that she doesn't really want much for her own sake. So she's asexual/aromantic, but also totally cool with a casual roll in the hay if that's what a friend wants. Her problem in the last story was basically the perfectionist's trap: Pinkie got into her head that the Crystal Ball was supposed to be a SERIOUS romance, not a casual date. And since she couldn't think of anypony she liked romantically, she froze and didn't invite anyone.
Well, the shoe's on the other hoof now.
Pinkie's panic mode thoughts were suited for her, but at the same time seemed like part of a less serious story.
Sweet Jiminy Crickets on my shoulder and called my conscious, this is rolling on into a goddamn mess.
inb4 Dash is a lost changeling
But no, then she wouldn't be this oblivious.
I don't know why I thought it was just a gag when Twijack found something else to argue about, you've never played that sort of thing for laughs.
8118627 Funny thing is, it actually was just supposed to be a gag.
But fleshing it out gave me the opportunity to put the bit about, "Do you want to be happy or right?" into the story. It's one of my favorite pieces of romance advice and I've been looking for a place to fit it, but the conflicts of the previous arcs were too big for it. It's sage advice for when a couple's bickering, not for things that matter.
It also provided a useful segue into the roleplaying scene that Rainbow interrupts. So, all in all, I saw merit in expanding it.
Rarity stole every scene she was in.
Rainbow really was getting awful (again) there- good to see her come back up out of it and reach some sort of equilibrium with Pinkie (and the world, really), even if things aren't totally resolved (but then, are they ever?).
Had to get in one last twist of the knife... well, at least they're all friends again.
So the lighthearted part of the series is done?
The Crystal Ball takes place in the the Crystal Empire, right?
8182401 That's correct.
I cried multiple times while reading this final chapter, if I'm being honest. I love the way you've written Pinkie, and not just because her position feels so familiar and relatable to me. A the way a lot of fics write about sex feels kinda bolted on, but the way Rainbow and Pinkie interact in this feel so natural and in character. The scenes with Twilight had me absolutely cracking up too, basically giving me emotional whiplash. Overall this was a really stellar story, thank you so much for sharing it with us!
8186665
I couldn't have said it better myself! And i cried as well
8096889
If you want her to act in character then you have to accept how her mind works.
May the 3rd
You need to be more subtle Twilight
8515595
If Twilight was subtle she wouldn't really be Twilight anymore.
8076417
Actually... it makes perfect sense, in a way. But if that's it, then Pinkie Pie is seriously broken inside - I mean, what would you call it if you couldn't consider yourself for a serious relationship but had no issue with casual sex?
There are some people, and ponies I guess, who can much more easily share their bodies than their hearts, and it's typically because of some serious, fifth-degree damage in that area. Not always, but typically.
Now the question is... is Pinkie one of them? Or is she just being Pinkie? The end of the chapter seems to suggest the latter... but judging by the general vibe the series is giving off so far, I'd put my bits on her not being fully aware of it, or outright repressing it.
You know, that one sentence right there - it killed me, and I adore it. If ya ever thought AJ was a 'bumpkin head' or something, you might want to hide. She's in no hurry, but she's by no means slow.
What I really love about the SPF-verse is how openly it tries to discuss all sorts of issues that crop up in these relationships. It's a bit of the good-old "reality ensues", a dash of deconstruction: how would it likely come down if these weren't two-dimensional ponies many authors make them out to be? One thing's clearly certain: not all of it's parties and rainbooms. Deep-reaching motivations, emotional scars, baggage that tends to drag back for years... it's all in there, and it all has a place. There are even a few suprises here and there - Pinkie's personal approach to sex was something I didn't see coming, for example. Does it make it any less valid? Nope. Exactly what AJ said - not my life, so it don't need to make sense to me.
I really enjoyed these, and perhaps this one in particular - a lot of dry humor in it (SPF!Rares is stellar I tell you, but SPF!Twi gets a few good points in, too), and a genuinely fresh approach to a topic you'd think's been finely ground down around here...
... and the worst part is, this was, I feel, the last moment she truly had to nip this in the proverbial bud. Had she been up-front about it, explained things... Dash would've been heartbroken immediately, and probably wouldn't stick around for much of the explanation, but at least they'd have something to build out from.
Instead, she panicked... and... well, the rest, as they say, is history.