Of Hikes, Friendships and Love

Side Story 5: Of Hikes, Friendships and Love

“So, it’s everycreature here and ready?” asked Foggy Bismuth, trying to keep every detail on check before they all could start with the little activity they have been planning for a while.

“Let me check. You, Buggy, Zweet, June…”

“GUYS I’m here I’m sorry!!”

They all looked up as the lavender pegasus was flying as fast as she could towards them, somehow managing to stop before colliding into them.

“I’m so so sorry I kept you all waiting!” said Sunrise while trying to regain her breath.

“Don’t worry, hun,” replied June. “We were still checking some things before going anyways.”

“let me guess, you were on your way here until you saw a cute little creature and had to stop and pet it, didn’t you?”

“How in the world did you know??”

The other pegasus chuckled.

“because it’s not the first time you do that”

The entire group shared a laugh.

“It was soft and fluffy. Can you blame me?”

“Okay everycreature,” said Foggy to set the attention on her again. “Now that we are all here, I think we should stablish who will be who’s partner during the hike, as a way to not get lost and put a little more of an order for the entire thing.”

“I'M GOING WITH YOU!” said (or practically yelled) Darky with a cute grin, as she raised one of her wings.

“That’s fine with me,” replied the mare nonchalantly, trying to hide the little smile forming in her face, but failing at it.

“I’ll go with Zweet!” claimed Buggy while smiling at his friend.

“oh damn yeah!” she said while giving him a hug with her wing.

“I think that just leave the two of us, huh?”

“That’s perfect for me!” she pranced of excitement. “This is going to be so much fun guys!”

“Where are we heading anyways?”

“Mount Hooffall.”

“The one all the way over there?”

“Yes.”

“oh shit. this is gonna be a long walk then”

“What? Thinking about it already made you tired?”

“shup up, you sucker”

Buggy giggled. They all knew already since the moment the 2 got paired they were going to be picking on each other at every chance they could get.

While Sunrise was distracted, Zweet took the opportunity and approached June.

“psst! girl!”

“Yeah?” she whispered as low as she could.

“you chill?”

“Yes, I think.”

“You remember what to say?” joined Buggy.

“Yeah, I’m just a little nervous.”

“relax, J. everything will be fine. you just don’t freak out and leave the rest to us”

“Yeah!”

“SHHHHH!”

Zweet Beatz put her hoof over Buggy’s mouth and quickly checked if Sunrise heard them, then looked back at June.

The griffon closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Thank you, guys.”

“Don’t even mention it.”

“so,” said Zweet no longer whispering as she walked away from June, “we be going or what?”

“Yes, that’s a good plan. Everycreature, follow us, please.”

Darky and Foggy turned from the group and started walking towards the hills and rocks for the rest to follow them. Since Foggy was the one who already knew pretty well the area, she was the one leading the hike alongside Darky; Buggy and Zweet following after to purposely leave June and Sunrise at the end, so they could share some time together without getting left behind.

It was a sunny day, but despite that, it wasn’t that warm. That and the soft, refreshing breeze from the hills made for a more than perfect ambience. Being some minutes away from Canterlot, there was no noise to be heard aside from the wind and their hoofsteps. Just a calm, beautiful day away from everything for them to enjoy some quality bonding time. It felt like if Princess Celestia decided to gift them with such perfect environment for them to have the time of their lives (and who knows? Probably she actually did thanks to somepony’s request.)

“I was missing this, you know?”

“Missing what?”

“Having some time together like this.”

“As in all of us going to Tia knows where for no particular reason?”

“No, you silly! I mean, yeah, I also missed that of course, but I meant having some time with you.”

The griffon turned her gaze from the road and looked at the mare, who was looking at her with her typical innocent eyes.

“What do you mean, hun?”

“What do I mean? June, we have been barely spending any time together lately.”

“Oh.”

“It feels like forever since the last time we had some you and me time.”

June looked down in shame. She was well aware of that, even if she was trying to avoid acknowledging it.

“Is there something wrong, sweetheart?” she said as she delicately placed her wing under her partner’s chin to raise her gaze.

“No, there’s not.” -She looked at her- “I’m sorry sweetiepie. I just have been busy with some stuff.”

“I understand. It’s just that you got me worried. It’s not like you to just go silent and disappear like that for so long.”

The two of them went quiet for a moment. Sunrise looked away.

“I was a little scared that maybe… things between you and me…”

June’s eyes opened wide as she stopped on her tracks and turned to her.

“WHAT?? NO NO NO NO NO NO! It has nothing to do with that!”

Sunrise turned to see her marefriend, her face lacking her upbeat smile.

“I’m really sorry. I swear it was never my intention to make you think that.”

“It’s fine. I am sorry for thinking that way.”

“Don’t feel sorry for that. I was the one who went quiet without explanation, I can’t blame you for thinking that.”

June swept a tear from Sunrise’s eye with her feather.

“You’re my everything, Sunsun, you hear? I’d never leave you. I could never be happy again if I leave you.”

The mare giggled as a gentle smile came back and, sweeping another tear, put her head against her lover’s feathers.

“You are my everything too, cinnamon bun. I love you <3”

“I love you too <3”

“Are you two dorks done making out over there?” said Foggy teasingly as the rest of them turned to see them. The two girls blushed looking at each other.

“Leave them alone, want you? And stop acting like you don’t think that’s cute,” Darky said back to her while pocking her with her wing.

“Hey! I never said it wasn’t!” she replied looking at her. “Yet one thing is being cute and other is being cheesy.”

“Like if you weren’t cheesy.”

“I’m not.”

“Oh, maybe I should remind you then of that one time when I went to your house.”

“DARKY.”

“You, me, the crime show, cuddling together…”

“QUIT IT!”

Foggy’s face turned completely red at being called out like that.

“And erase that smug smile of your face this instant!”

Darky couldn’t hold the laughter and neither did the rest. Even Foggy herself gave in eventually.

Once at the very bottom of the mountain, they came across a road made with rocks. Being Mount Hooffall a well known mountain, it had some roads and signs to guide whoever could want to climb it. The climb didn’t seem particularly hard, being the mountain not that much higher than the others throughout the area.

They had only been walking for some minutes, yet Buggy was already out of breath.

“what? that little walk already made you tired?”

“Shut up.”

“ha! and to think you were the one making fun of me. you want me to carry you to the top of the mountain, little one?” she asked him in a mocking tone.

“Ha ha, very funny, you idiot.”

She giggled a little to herself.

“for real tho, you good? wanna stop for a sec to catch your breath?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Maybe just slowing down the pace a little.”

“that’s fine by me”

“Hey, you ok back there?

The daemonequus turned once she noticed the rest were staying behind.

“Yeah! Just out of breath. Don’t worry, just keep going.”

“Alright then.”

She turned to her companion.

“Maybe we should go a little slower.”

“Do you want to reach the top of this before midnight hits?

“What’s even so special at the top of the mountain that you seem so excited about?”

“Trust me, you will understand once we reach the top of it.” -She bent the little map she had been levitating in front of her and looked at Darky- “It will be one of the most beautiful sights your eyes will ever see.”

“If you say so.”

She looked back at her map.

“Uuh…”

“What?”

“Your map is… kind of nonsense.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why do you even need a map to climb a touristic mountain? Shouldn’t the only indication be ‘follow the road at any moment’ and that’s it?

“It’s not that easy, Spell.”

She levitated the map away from her so Darky couldn’t see it.

“You’re just carrying it to seem more interesting, aren’t you?”

“How dare you say such a thing? I’m not!” she claimed insulted, despite knowing she actually wasn’t fooling her at all.

Darky just kept staring at her with a blank expression.

“M- maybe, ok? But you don’t have to say out loud for every soul in this place to know!”

She just smiled pleased with herself.

“Keep acting like this and I’m pushing you out of this mountain.”

“Good luck pretending it was an accident afterwards.”

“Thank you. I’ve been practicing for years for this kind of situations. I’m sure I’ve got it all covered.”

The little banter between the two provoked another little smile from Foggy that she tried her best to hide, again with unsuccessful results.

“Heh, don’t worry about the map thing, by the way. My lips are sealed.”

“Thanks.”

“are you two talking about that fake map thing? because in all honesty in was pretty obvious that it was fake”

“What.”

“Yeah, I was waiting for somepony to bring it up, actually.”

“Fuck.”

“If it makes you feel better, I didn’t know it was fake.”

“Thank you, Sunrise. I appreciate it.”

“wait please. timeout, i need to- *huff*”

“Well well, looks who is out of b-“

“shut up, you douchebag. you and i both know you’re out of breath too”

“Ok, you got me there.”

With two of them unable to keep going, it was time for them to take a break. They were planning to stop for a moment anyways soon since, even if she wasn’t planning on admitting it, Foggy was running out of stamina too.

“Fine. This is actually quite the spot to stop as well.” -She looked beyond the edge- “It may not be as half as beautiful as the top, but the view of the mountains and the horizon from here is pretty beautiful too.”

They all looked at the side and Foggy was right. Even if some of the high mountains were covering their vision, they still had a good sight of the horizon in front of them. Darky quickly reached in Foggy’s pouch to take her camera and took a photo of the view.

“And we are not even that high up yet, huh?”

“Exactly!”

“If it looks this nice from over here, I can’t imagine how it might be from the top!”

“Yes! You get it!” -she turned at Darky while gesturing at the purple unicorn with both her front hooves- “You see? He gets it!”

The daemonequus rolled her eyes in response while smiling at her friend's cute enthusiasm.

“so once we get all the way up there, what we doing next? are we just gonna, like, look at the view and that’s it? we come down again?”

“We are going to delight ourselves with the view, appreciate the beauty of the horizon as the sun hides leaving Equestria in a calm, sweet darkness, maybe have a nocturnal picnic under the precious moonlight.”

“And take a lot of photos.”

“And take a shit ton of photos.”

June pulled her partner closer to her with her wing, her gaze turning away from the horizon to her eyes.

“That sounds lovely, doesn’t it?”

“It sounds perfect! We’ve never had a nocturnal picnic before, even less at the top of a mountain. This is going to be amazing!!”

“it does sound pretty sweet tbh”

Foggy felt happy that all of her friends liked her plan, not trying to hide her happiness this time and smiling at them.

“Are you two feeling better now? The sooner we go back to climbing, the sooner we will get there.”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“same”

“Ok then.”

They resumed their hike. Despite everycreature’s excitement to reach to the top now, they decided to go a little slower this time so nocreature ran out of breath. They remained in silence for some minutes, just appreciating the view and listening to the breeze, occasionally making some comments about random things going through their heads or things they could view at the distance.

Darky sighed.

“It's everything ok, dear?”

“Yes, it’s just that…” -she looked at the distance- “I love doing this kind of stuff with all of you.”

The entire group looked at the daemonequus.

“I don’t want to get all sappy out of nowhere, but whenever we six are doing something, whatever it is, it just feels so… magical. It’s one of the best things in the world for me and I really love it.”

She turned her head to look at the rest of her friends behind her.

“I love you guys.”

“Darky!” said Sunrise with teary eyes.

“We all love you too, girl.”

“Yeah, we all do!”

“stop! you’re gonna make me tear up!”

Zweet looked to the ground to avoid her friends’ looks.

“you all are like a family to me. shit, you are my actual family, so doing these things with you also mean everything to me”

They all stopped walking again and looked at each other.

“tiadamn it, Foggy! your mountain is making us emotional! we didn’t sign up for this!”

“It’s part of the experience, Zweet Beatz. I’m glad you’re all enjoying it just like me.”

“Group hug!” yelled Sunrise with a huge toothy smile in her face before pulling everycreature in a tight hug.

“Geez girl, you’re crushing my bones!”

“Sorry!”

They stayed like that for a moment. Something as simple as a hike together could mean so much for them. They haven’t had many moments like those in a good while, and the nostalgia, the view, and that “magic” really made the moment that much special.

“Well, we’re halfway, I think, and the sun is starting to set.”

“Oh, right. Sorry for the interruption.”

“It was a pleasant interruption, so apology accepted.”

After some more minutes of climbing up, they were almost at the very top of the mountain. There was a little resting area with a wooden bench placed just behind a railing to appreciate the horizon. It was the perfect place to appreciate the beautiful sunset taking place. It was simple, yet so magical. It was perfect. It was time to do it. She shot Zweet a meaningful glance that she instantly understood, subtly nodding to her as a response.

“Hey babe, come here for a moment. I want to show you something.”

“Sure. I’m coming.”

“You guys keep climbing. We are going to be with you in a minute.”

“don’t worry, take your time,” replied Zweet while winking an eye at her.

June sat on the bench and, looking at the pegasus, patted the spot next to her. Sunrise calmly walked towards her and sat at her side. The griffon smiled at her before turning her sight to the horizon, inviting her lover to do the same. The view was simply delightful.

“Woow”

“I know, right?”

“This have to be one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

“It really makes the climb all the way up here worth it.”

“Yeah. No wonder why Foggy was so excited about this place.”

Sunrise gently hugged her with a wing.

“This day has really been the best.”

“I’m with you there.”

“I really missed doing this kind of things with all of you.”

“Me too.”

“But especially with you.”

She tickled her playfully with her wing causing June to giggle.

“I missed doing these things with you too.”

The remained embraced looking at the sunset in silence for some moments until Sunrise broke the ice.

“We probably should go back with the guys now before they reach the top.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure they are going to wait for us. Besides, the view isn’t exactly the reason why I brought you here.”

“It isn’t?”

She shook her head slightly to say no.

“Oh, then why was it?” she asked with an innocent smile.

“Well Sunrise, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you since quite some time by now.”

“Yeah?”

June took a deep breath, then took her lover’s hooves between her claws. She was ready.

“Sunrise Goldhearts, you and I have known each other since you were a little filly and I just young griffon. We have been best friends for most of our lives, partners in crime, soulmates; and I’ve enjoyed every single second of it.”

Sunrise’s smile grew more and more as her eyes started tearing up.

“Sweetiepie, you’re going to make me cry.”

“Waking up every morning knowing I’m marefriend of the most wonderful and beautiful mare in all of Equestria really makes me the happiest griffon to ever live. As I told you earlier, you are my everything, hun. I know you will always be there for me and you can be sure I’ll also always be there for you for when you need me.”

June paused for a moment to clean the pegasus’ tears with her wing.

“I love you more than I think I’ve loved anycreature in my entire life.”

She stood up from the bench and got down on one knee. Sunrise, finally realizing what was going on stood up as well and covered her mouth with both her wings in shock as her eyes opened wide.

“You’re my happiness, my little ray of sunshine, my main motivation to keep going forwards, and I’ve been meaning to ask you…”

She took out the little blue box she had been saving for months and opened it in front of her.

“Sunrise Goldhearts, would you marry me?”

The mare, with even more tears falling down her cheeks, only managed to say one single word.

“Yes.”

She was no longer able to keep it in and started crying audibly as she jumped into her future wife’s arms, she taking care of not letting the ring fall down. June started crying as well with the hugest smile she ever had. It really was the best moment of her life, of both their lives. They hugged pretty tightly for a while until both of them loosened their grip a little, looked at each other and kissed. Their friends couldn’t remain silent anymore and started clapping. They were watching the whole scene from a little above to not disturb them. Sunrise had noticed them already, but she didn’t mind. This moment was just for the two of them, and it was as perfect as either of them could have ever dreamt.

“You have just made me the happiest pony to ever live, you know that?”

“And you have just made me the happiest griffon to ever live.”

They both sit again, not looking at the horizon this time, but at each other’s eyes.

“Thank you, June, for making my entire life infinitely better.”

While they were engaging into another warm hug, their friends walked towards them. They both looked at them with shining smiles.

“Zweet, Buggy, what’s wrong with you two? You look like you have cried even more than us!”

Darky giggled, sweeping a tear of her own.

“You should have seen Foggy if you think these two were crying hard.”

“TIADAMN IT, DARKY SPELL! SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

The couple couldn’t help but laugh a little at the unicorn’s reaction as she was doing her best to hide her completely damp face from all the never-ending tears. Darky walked towards her, hugged her with her wing and planted a kiss on her cheek, which she replied by smiling gently and leaning her head towards the daemonequus’. Zweet and Buggy meanwhile stood next to Sunrise and June respectively.

“So?”

“So what?”

“When’s the wedding?”

“yeah! we wanna know every. single. one of your plans for the wedding!”

“We might even help with the preparations if you want!”

“oh my Tia this is gonna be so fucking amazing!”

“Ok ok you both, calm down a little.”

“Yeah guys. She just said yes some moments ago. Leave us at least some time to plan something before we can tell you”

“You’re right, you’re right.”

“we are sorry. we are just excited”

“It’s fine.”

“Thank you so much for helping me plan this.”

“hey dude, don’t worry”

“It was a pleasure.”

After a few moments, Foggy managed to compose herself with Darky’s help and both of them walked towards the group again.

“Well? Should we keep going up? We are almost at the very top, but I guarantee you, the sight over there will definitely not surpass this.”

Sunrise and June exchanged looks before answering.

“Nah, I think we are good.”

“Yeah. Besides, that way we all have an excuse to come back here again in the future.”

They all smiled at each other. This day had been perfect for everypony, they didn’t really need anything else to top it all. All they could have possibly wanted out of this trip was already there.

“The view really is beautiful.”

“I told you.”