"Sorry, girls, it's getting late. I should be going. Happy twenty-third, Dash!"

The party had definitely run on far too long; even for one of Pinkie's infamous birthday bashes, it started crossing the line when the sun went down. And stayed that way for an hour. Then two.

Either way, only Rosebud, Brushstroke, Snowcap, and Maple Shades were left besides Rainbow Dash and her favourite party planner Pinkie Pie. The floaties and noodles and inflatable rafts were floating around by their lonely selves in the lake, and the few remaining ponies were getting out one by one, saying their goodbyes and taking off.

Twilight had left first, as was to be expected; all work and no play makes Twilight extremely excited - she wanted to get back to her 'duties' around six-thirty, right after dinner. Fluttershy followed, probably something having to do with animals and/or crowds, and Rarity and Applejack stayed a bit later into the evening before going as well. The thirty-odd others dropped away whenever.

Pinkie waved them goodbye, and Dash followed up with a rather awkward 'g'night' herself, until eventually the last of the guests was heard trotting back to town with quiet hoofsteps.

Dash and Pinkie had been joking around near an edge of the lake, leaning against the side, talking about whatever had come to their minds for the last hour or so (ever since things started cooling down).

"Ha! Like cabbages work like that. I call shenanigans." She paused and glanced over at where she thought was still at least one or two ponies. "... Pinkie?"

"What?" Pinkie asked, trying to suppress a giggle.

"Everypony's gone." Rainbow motioned out into the lake with a hoof.

"... Yeah, that sounds about right," Pinkie replied. "I mean, if there's nopony here, they must be gone."

"That usually how that works, yeah," Dash replied flatly to another giggle.

"Well," Pinkie said quietly and sighed, leaning back against the soft, grassy bank. "I'm comfortable."

"It's still muddy and stuff. I was only leaning against the bank to hang with you. It's still gross."

"It's mud."

Dash snorted. "Yeah - but it's - like, it's lake mud. The squelchy kind."

Pinkie laughed, leading Dash to laugh along with her. "Just come on the other side, there's more grass. Less mud."

"Right," Dash said, and pulled herself from the bank (which provided quite a resistance) to move over to Pinkie's left.

She sighed as well as she leaned back against the bank. The water was still clear as ever, even in the moonlight; in fact, the moonlight gave a near-mystifying sparkle to it, like quicksilver. Flowing molten metal. It shone through the clear tablecloths, flapping lazily on the breeze on the little six-foot tables nearby, and on the bright tye-dyed balloons bouncing about on their strings.

It was quiet out of town at night. The harping of the cicadas and chirping of the crickets was a lot louder out near the woods than in the city. It was rather obvious, but she couldn't say she'd thought of it before.

"It... um..."

"What?" Pinkie asked, looking over.

Dash stared out at the water, and promptly lost her train of thought. "Um... I'm not -"

"You are getting sleeeepy," Pinkie interrupted, and burst into contagious giggles.

"I - I have no idea what I was going to say," Dash replied, badly holding back a laugh.

"Well, it probably wasn't anything direly important to the fate of the world or anything," Pinkie said, slowly turning her head to Dash.

"... No."

"Oh, good."

Dash chuckled and looked back out at the lake. She kicked her hooves a bit, watching the ripples trip over each other racing to reach the other edge. She felt her heartbeat slow, and didn't mind. It was too relaxing to think about anything.

After a day like that, after one of Pinkie's ultimate parties with the waterslide she rented but forgot was due back at six so a crew had to come in and dismantle it but Pinkie invited them for a slice of cake so they stayed for an hour and partied anyways... after a day like that, it was just good to relax. Pinkie's parties always seemed to have those kinds of stories behind them.

There was almost a mystic feel to it - Pinkie had a knack for making Dash's life interesting, and it was always just fun to be around her. Especially during a party. Her forte. Sometimes Dash wished her talent could be something nopony could dislike like that, but... well, take it as it comes.

She could hear Pinkie breathing by this point. It was kind of strange, to see her sit still for so long, but maybe she was just getting tired. One way or another, Dash could feel a palpable awkwardness rising, and decided it was about time to head home.

But... maybe not just yet.

The voice in the back of her head confused her for a moment, but she found the idea oddly acceptable. So she didn't move.

She felt a sudden pressure on her right hoof, and for a moment, all kinds of unpleasant things entered her mind, and she moved a bit, checking for a reaction.

To her surprise, Pinkie pulled her hoof back to her lap and looked away a bit. Dash glanced over to see a bit of red on her cheek, only illuminated by the moonlight. When she saw Pinkie look over, though, she quickly turned her head away, feeling a warmth on her own face as well.

But... she didn't want to leave quite yet.

Out of a mix of some kinds of thoughts, maybe curiosity or an odd uncertainty, she moved over a bit closer, still not really looking over. The warmth on her face grew a bit when she felt the pressure return to her hoof.

But... it was kind of nice.

She smacked herself mentally. No. It's weird. And awkward. And you should leave.

And for some reason, that thought never got all the way through to her. For some reason, she felt herself move closer until their forearms were touching, and she felt her breathing shallow again.

There was still quiet. There were still only the sounds of the cicadas and the crickets and the water around them.

A tingle slowly ran up her spine as she felt a hoof move along her back and rest on her opposite side, just underneath her wing. Dash. Another small shudder as the blood rushed to her face. Dash, don't.

She felt a softness, a gentleness, against her jaw, and then against her cheek. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, it was great, despite the lack of warning. She would swear to herself that the small moan was involuntary.

But... she couldn't lie to herself. And her eyes closed.

Finally, she felt it. She knew it was coming, but her mind still couldn't comprehend exactly what was happening - it was so unrealistic, like a dream or an illusion. By then, there wasn't even a thought in her mind along the lines of who it was. She turned slightly to make it easier, and let out a quiet sigh when she felt a hoof on her cheek, drawing her closer.

Maybe you just want it, Dash.

No, I - I can't. It's...

She gasped briefly, and leaned in closer, the warmth returning to her in waves. Her head was thumping as she reached a hoof around to her back, drawing it up slowly, bringing her closer into an embrace.

It wasn't her first kiss, but it might as well have been. Her first real kiss, perhaps. She pulled away and leaned back in, savouring it. It was so gentle. Her head swam with raw feelings, each more confusing and distorted than the last.

Her other hoof moved up to Pinkie's side - and hesitated, darting back and forth briefly in midair. Before too long, though, she'd dipped her hoof back into the lake and reached around her once more, her hoof held tightly against the small of her back just above the base of the tail.

She felt Pinkie move and squirm, trying to get more comfortable, and she pushed her backwards onto the bank in one smooth movement, breaking away for a moment and climbing over her. For a moment, everything was still again; Pinkie was lying underneath Dash, her forelegs wrapped around her back, both their eyes shut, their muzzles touching softly. Then Dash leaned forwards for another kiss, even deeper, even more passionate.

Pinkie sighed, and pulled away for a moment. "D-Dashie..." she gasped, holding her tighter.

For a moment, Dash froze. It's actually Pinkie. She stared down at one of her best friends, soaking wet, blushing heavily, eyes closed, and her train of thought absolutely crashed. All of a sudden, for the very first time in her life, she had no idea what to do. She didn't know how she felt, or how to react, or what she could even say. Instead, she simply stared down numbly, hoping that maybe she could just leave and forget about everything.

Of course it wasn't that simple. It couldn't be that simple. Pinkie opened her eyes and looked up at her, mild confusion (mixed with worry) on her face. "H -... Dash?" she asked quietly, her voice reawakening Dash again.

"P- I - um -" she began, still not moving.

"Dash, don't. Please. Just... keep going."

"B- but - no, I - I can't - couldn't, I couldn't, no," she stuttered, glancing to her left and right just in case anyone was watching. Her mouth couldn't even form Pinkie's name. "I - I think - I think I have to go and - and think, um, about things before -"

"Dash, no," Pinkie interrupted, a pleading tone becoming evident. "J-just stay here for a while and... don't leave, Dash."

Dash shook her head. "I - I can't. I don't know why I even - I mean, I think I, um, I think I should, uh, think about things, and, um, I'm gonna..." she stuttered, tripping over her words as her mind strained to work. She pushed herself to leave, jumping to her legs and stumbling over Pinkie.

She only heard a soft, choked sigh as she took off into the inky night sky.

Her mind was numb. All she could register was the freezing wind whipping at her face. There wasn't a clear thought able to form, what with the odd emotions running through her. It wasn't the kiss. It wasn't even really that it was with somepony she knew so well. It's that she didn't know what to think. And that scared her.

"I'm done with you. You arrogant bitch. Who gave you the right? Think you're better than me -"

Her eyes closed for a moment, almost subconsciously - and she suddenly felt a mass of wetness and moistness, and swung her forehooves in front of her. The shock of running into a cloud had tucked her memories into a pocket in her mind for a few moments, and she sighed quietly in relief.

Clambering to the top of the cloud, she saw the edge of her valley in the distance. I wonder whether I'm sleeping tonight, she thought simply, and took off for home.

It'd begun to get cold, lying on the lowlands with the breeze sweeping through. She was still soaked, too. She sighed again into her hooves, slightly shorter, trying to interrupt her own thoughts than anything else.

That was a terrible idea. Why did you do it. You stupid pony. You couldn't control yourself if you tried. Not that you would try.

She felt a burning behind her eyes but ignored it, and rose to her hooves, casting a glance around the grounds. There were two or three tables up, and a few floaties left, and some plates and bowls, and three empty trash bags, but... she couldn't remember what to do with them. Past events had simply blocked up her mind, for lack of a better word.

She'd get them in the morning.

A few minutes later, she was knocking tiredly on Sugarcube Corner's back door, shivering slightly and still shaking herself off a bit. Even when she heard the door creak open, she couldn't summon the energy to pick her head up.

"Pinkie!" Mrs. Cake exclaimed, albeit in angry whisper. "Where have you been? Is anypony helping you bring in your supplies?"

"I'm... I'm going to go get them early tomorrow morning," she replied quietly.

She could almost taste the shock that Mrs. Cake was feeling in the few seconds of silence that followed. "Pinkie, are - are you okay, dear?"

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Come on in, warm up, dry off," she said hurriedly, stepping aside before running off to go get some towels.

Pinkie sat down slowly on the floor. So much for that one chance in a million, she thought to herself, a bit of the pain she'd been trying to suppress rising from the pit of her stomach.

By the time Mrs. Cake returned, she'd already started rubbing at her eyes. Mrs. Cake left the towels on a counter and trotted over to her. Pinkie doesn't cry. Like, ever. "Honey, you can tell me whatever happened. You know that."

"It's - I'm sorry, it's nothing, Mrs. Cake," she responded again, looking up with a forced smile. "I just need to sleep on something."

There was a moment of quiet in the darkness of the hallway, as Mrs. Cake thought for a moment. "... Okay. If something's really the matter, you... just come talk to me, alright?"

"Of course. Thanks."

Don't be too angry, Dashie.

Author's Notes:

I would recommend picking only one ending, as they're very similar, just from different perspectives. Chapter 2 is Dash's perspective, and Chapter 3 is Pinkie's.

I will be writing a short epilogue if people want it.