Acquiesce

by HoofBitingActionOverload

First published 20th of August, 2012

Rainbow Dash has been dating Pinkie Pie for nearly a month and, in spite of Pinkie’s objections, is keeping it a secret from the rest of their friends. Deciding she's had enough, Pinkie Pie throws a party announcing their relationship.

Rainbow Dash has been dating Pinkie Pie for nearly a month and, in spite of Pinkie’s objections, is keeping the affair a secret from the rest of their friends. Deciding she's had enough, Pinkie Pie throws a party announcing their relationship.

Part 1

The bed stood quietly by the wall, enticing her with its soft, inviting pillows. The blankets were slightly disheveled, leaving an opening just wide enough for the sleepy pegasus to slip into.

Maybe I could just close my eyes for a couple minutes…

Rainbow Dash shook her head fiercely and pressed her hooves against her forehead in an attempt to forcefully drive the fatigue out of her body. On any other day, she would still be in bed, comfortably dozing through the early morning hours. She had woken herself up far earlier than normal, even before Celestia herself, to clear the skies above Ponyville, getting all of her work out of the way ahead of time so she could take the rest of the day off.

A slow smile broke out across her face as she thought about what was held in store for later. The smile was short lived however, a frown returning as she remembered the task at hoof: a vicious contest of intellect, wits, and hoof-eye coordination. Looking down at the mess laid out before her, Rainbow Dash could feel the knot returning in her stomach. Hours of work, and all she had to show for it were several torn wads of wrapping paper, two ears tied down with ribbon, one conspicuously gift box shaped hole in the wall, and exactly zero successfully wrapped presents.

No matter how many different ways she tried folding it, the paper refused to match the contours of the box. And she still hadn’t figured out how she was supposed to accomplish tying the ribbon around anything using her hooves. Except, for reasons she would never fully understand, her ears.

Where’s a unicorn when you need one?

Dash briefly contemplated what her life would be like if she could use magic. Images of wowing the Wonderbolts by shooting fire from her eyes in midair swam through her head.

She sighed as she returned to reality. This wasn’t a job for a cool pegasus like her. She didn’t need to wrap any gifts. She was busy doing much more important things. She could if she wanted to, but it just wasn’t her style. What she needed was somepony more inclined to wasting their time with those types of finicky niceties.

Realization shot through Dash’s head like a bolt of lightning. She knew just the finicky unicorn for the job. She briskly gathered up the remains of her attempted gift wrapping and bolted out the door.

Meanwhile, at the local library, Twilight Sparkle groaned aloud as she examined the state of her home. The normally tidy main floor of the library had been transformed into a disorderly confusion of literature. Piles of books were strewn haphazardly across the room without any hint of organization. “This is a mess,” she complained, stating the obvious to no one in particular.

If it was rare for ponies to check out books from the library, it was downright unheard of for ponies to actually return them afterwards. After months of failed nagging and tracking down missing books, Twilight had decided enough was enough. She brought to bear the most powerful weapon in a librarian’s arsenal: threats of late fees. Fearful of that terrible monster, the few patrons of the library had returned every single checked out book. All on the same day.

Twilight rubbed her sore temple, hoping to assuage the headache that had been plaguing her all morning. Just when it seemed the pain in her head was beginning to clear, an angry voice shot out from somewhere in the labyrinth of books.

“This is ridiculous!” Spike yelled. “It’s going to take weeks to get this all cleaned up.”

Twilight groaned again as her headache returned at full force. “Spike, I already told you, Rarity and Fluttershy both promised they would come by and help. Between the four of us, we should be able to get it done today. Stop whining”

Spike muttered something angrily under his breath, too quiet to make out. Twilight thought she had a pretty good idea of what he was probably saying though.

She inspected the book pile beneath her with a sigh. Glancing at the title on the first cover, An Incredibly Interesting Study into the Flying Patterns of Migratory Ducks, she floated it in the general direction of the Non Fiction section and moved on to the next. Daring Do and the Dastardly Drafty Door went to Fiction, and I’m on a Boat but I Don’t Want to be on a Boat went to Self Help.

Twilight noted happily that she had reached the bottom of the pile. She looked down at the final book, The Progressive Mare Egghead’s Guide to Dating. She began levitating the book into the air when she was stopped by a sudden idea. Anytime was a good time do a little research. After checking to make sure Spike was still busy working, she laid the book back down and began reading the table of contents.

”For the guide to dating colts turn to page 1, for the guide to dating mares turn to page 64.” Twilight re-read the sentence and then looked at the title again to ensure it was indeed The Progressive Mare Egghead’s Guide to Dating.

That doesn’t make any sense, she thought to herself. Mares dating… mares?

Baffled, Twilight quickly flipped through pages, looking for the number “64” to appear in the corner. A gentle knock at the door broke her from her reverie. “Come in!” Twilight called, pushing the book aside.

She absently wondered when ponies would finally realize that it was a public library and that there was, in fact, no need to knock before entering. At that moment, two such ponies trotted into the room, one yellow coated pegasus and one pearly white unicorn.

Twilight felt a wave of relief wash over her at the sight of her friends. “Thank you two so much for coming. There’s no way Spike and I will ever be able to finish this by ourselves.”

Rarity winced as she looked over the library’s condition. “My word Twilight, I know you said there was a mess, but this,“ she said, theatrically waving a hoof through the air, “is a catastrophe.”

“It’s not that bad,” Twilight replied, rolling her eyes. “We’ve already gotten a lot of work done.”

The other unicorn snorted as she trotted towards the open book lying on the floor. “Work?” she asked sarcastically. “It looks to me like you were reading.”

Twilight opened her mouth to argue, but was cut short by a dramatic gasp from Rarity.

Fluttershy quickly flew to her side. “Oh no, what’s wrong?”

Rarity began excitedly giggling and bouncing in place. “Nothing’s wrong. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. This is fantastic!” she cried, letting loose another delighted shriek. “Twilight Sparkle, how could you keep this from me?” Rarity pursed her lips in a short pout before smiling again. “So, who is he? Do I know him? How did you meet? Tell me everything!”

Twilight, who was now truly and wholly dumbfounded, gave the only logical reply she could think of, “Huh?”

Rarity cocked her head and passed Twilight a sidelong glance. “Don’t play coy with me darling. It doesn’t suit you at all.”

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Twilight,” Fluttershy said softly after looking over the book on the ground herself.

Twilight blinked, it seemed her two friends had both just completely lost their minds at the same time, which was surprising because there were very few documented cases of simultaneous mental breakdowns in Ponyville. “I have no idea what you two are talking about.”

“Then explain this,” Rarity challenged, levitating the book in front of Twilight’s face, The Progressive Mare Egghead’s Guide to Dating stamped boldly on the cover.

Twilight felt her face begin to burn in embarrassment. “No, it’s not like that at all. I was just conducting research!”

“Oh yes, of course you were,” Rarity said with a sly smile.

“Listen to me!” Twilight’s voice was reaching a higher pitch than normal. “I was organizing the books when I noticed there was a section in that one about dating mares and—“

She was interrupted by yet another dramatic gasp from Rarity. “It’s a mare?! It isn’t Rainbow Dash, is it?”

“What?” Twilight cried, more of statement than a question. “No! Why would you even think that?”

“I’ve seen the way you look at her,” Rarity replied, pointing an accusing hoof.

Twilight’s face was now glowing a bright red hue. “No!” she screeched, her voice cracking slightly. “I just saw the section about mares and I was curious because I’d never heard of anything like that before!”

Rarity placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “Dear, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Fluttershy appeared on her other side with a wide smile. “Twilight, I think this is wonderful, and who ever she is, she’d be lucky to have you as a marefriend.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped but remained silent. She racked her brain, trying to figure out exactly at what point her day had taken such a horrifying turn. Straining to keep her voice steady, she began again, “Listen, I am not in a relationship with anypony, nor do I want to be.

“Also, I am not attracted to mares,” she explained adamantly, feeling her face grow warm again. “This is the first time I’ve ever heard anything about that. I was just doing research in the dating guide because I was curious. Nothing more. End of story.” With the last word she stamped her hoof on the ground, praying it would bring the matter to an end.

“Oh Twilight, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize,” Fluttershy said, drawing away.

“It’s okay, no harm done.” She looked to her other friend. “Rarity?”

Rarity eyed her suspiciously. “So you really don’t like Rainbow Dash then?”

“No, I really, really don’t.”

Rarity turned away, suddenly seeming very interested in a nearby stack of books. The silence stretched on for several long moments, until Twilight decided to move forward. She figured there would be no better time to obtain the information she wanted, especially now that the subject was already out on the table.

“So,” she started delicately, “that’s a common… er… situation then?”

Rarity turned to face her again. “What is?”

Twilight fought down another blush and continued on, “Mares who are attracted to other mares instead of stallions. It isn’t uncommon?”

Rarity’s mouth crumpled as she considered the question. “I suppose not.”

“Which are you attracted to then?” Twilight asked, watching as her friend’s eyes opened wide. She had learned long before that, as a researcher, it was best to be as direct as possible. Unfortunately, this directness tended to take other ponies by surprise.

“Stallions of course,” Rarity answered hastily.

Twilight looked towards Fluttershy, who had been moving farther and farther behind a nearby pile of books throughout the duration of the conversation. “And how about you?”

Fluttershy lowered her body close to the ground, apparently attempting to meld into the flooring. “Oh, w-well,” she stammered, “…I don’t really… it’s not…”

“Twilight, this is not a polite topic of conversation,” Rarity said, coming to the flustered pony’s rescue. She looked at Twilight disapprovingly. “You should never interrogate others about their private—“

“What in Celestia’s name are you guys talking about?” The interrupting voice was emanating from a swaying stack of books that had just indignantly marched in among the group. “And why am I the only one working?” The load finally toppled over, revealing an angry baby dragon.

“Spike, this is no time for playing with dusty books,” Rarity exclaimed. “Twilight is in love!”

Spike snorted. “What, did the newest edition of Encyclopedia Equestria come out or something?"

Twilight shot her assistant a quick glare before addressing Rarity. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not in love with anypony!” She brought her voice back down to a more neutral level. “And besides, I just dusted the library’s entire collection two days ago.” Nopony could ever say Twilight Sparkle didn’t take her job as librarian seriously. Since she had moved in, she’d worked nonstop to keep the library in superb condition.

Rarity began to speak when she was interrupted yet again, this time by a loud pounding at the door. “It’s open,” Twilight called. “Like always.”

The door blasted open and a tired looking pegasus swooped in, holding what appeared to be a heap of trash between her hooves. “Twilight have you seen—“ Rainbow Dash’s face suddenly brightened as she recognized the other unicorn in the room, “Rarity! I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” She threw the mass of garbage down on the floor. “I need your help with this.”

Rarity cautiously prodded the pile with a hoof. “What is this?”

“Well duh, it’s a present,” Dash answered, rolling her eyes. “I need you to wrap it.”

Spike burst into a laugh so violent he had to clutch his stomach to keep from falling over. “The amazing Rainbow Dash doesn’t know how to wrap a present?”

“I could wrap the coolest present ever if I wanted,” she declared, hovering towards him.

“Then why don’t you?” Spike asked.

“I’m busy,” Dash responded importantly. “Awesome ponies like me have lots of stuff they have to do.”

“Yeah? Like wh—“

Rarity cleared her throat loudly to draw their attention. “Of course, anything you need Rainbow Dash. I’m always happy to help you.” She beamed an animated smile. “I’ll have this finished in mere moments.”

She began organizing the mess of paper and ribbons, levitating them into neat piles. “I must say, the design on this box is quite fetching and it matches the paper and ribbons perfectly. I always knew you had an aesthetic eye.“ She winked at Dash playfully. “Who is to be the recipient?”

Rainbow Dash’s face went blank. “The who is the what now?”

“Who are you giving the present to?” Rarity asked, still looking down at the box as she perfectly centered it onto a sheet of wrapping paper.

“Oh well it’s…” Dash’s voice wavered.

Fluttershy and Spike leaned past Rarity’s shoulders on either side, examining the gift. “This says ‘To Pinkie Pie’ ” Spike commented, reading a gift tag.

“Oh… uh…” Dash nervously looked around the room, as if the answer lay somewhere among the mess of books surrounding her. “It’s for her birthday!” she said abruptly.

“But Pinkie’s birthday is months away,” Twilight pointed out.

Dash rubbed a thoughtful hoof against her chin. “No, I’m pretty sure it’s today.”

Fluttershy spoke for the first time since the other pegasus had arrived. “Rainbow, it really isn’t. That isn’t what tonight’s party is for.”

“What party?” Rainbow Dash asked, dropping her hoof.

“Spike!” Rarity exclaimed. “It isn’t proper to rummage through other ponies’ things!”

Spike, who either hadn’t heard or didn’t care, pulled an elongated paper tube out of the box. “What is this?” he asked, balancing it in his hands.

Fluttershy examined the paper closely. “Is that one of your Wonderbolts posters?”

“Yup, I got it signed by the whole team,” Dash replied, puffing out her chest.

“What would Pinkie Pie want with that?” Spike questioned, a quizzical expression on his face.

Dash’s chest deflated. “What do you mean? Anypony would kill to get a present like that.”

“Well, gifts are supposed to be things the other pony would want, not things that you want,” Twilight answered. “Pinkie Pie isn’t nearly as big a fan of the Wonderbolts as you are.”

“You really don’t think she’ll like it?”

“I know I would fully appreciate any gift from you, dear,” Rarity responded distractedly, still absorbed in her work.

“I think she’ll love it,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “Just knowing that you cared enough to give her a present should be enough.”

Dash still looked worried. “But I want to give her something she’ll actually like.”

“Why are you giving her anything in the first place?” Spike asked.

Dash’s expression changed from worried to annoyed. “I told you already, it’s her birthday.”

“And I told you already, it isn’t,” Twilight interjected.

“Whatever!” Dash cried, “I already got her the present, I might as well give it to her.”

“Fiiiiniiished!” Rarity called. “There you are, all ready for tonight’s soiree.” She levitated the now extravagantly wrapped and ribboned box through the air.

Rainbow Dash held the gift up in her hooves excitedly. “Rarity, this is perfect! Thank you so much.”

“No problem at all.” Rarity smiled lavishly. “Just remember, anytime you need help with anything, I’ll be delighted to help.” Dash didn’t seem to notice what her friend was saying, her attention consumed by the newly decorated box.

“Were we all supposed to bring gifts?” Fluttershy asked, raising a hoof to her mouth. “Oh no, I didn’t get one.”

Twilight reflected on the letter she had received earlier that morning. It had arrived tied to a balloon and, in typical Pinkie Pie fashion, played an impressively elaborate musical number when opened. “My invitation didn’t say anything about presents.”

“What’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked, finally becoming aware of the conversation taking place around her. “Presents for what?”

“Pinkie Pie’s throwing a party tonight,” Spike responded. “Weren’t you invited?”

“What?!” Dash practically shouted. “How could Pinks throw a party today of all days?”

Spike passed her a puzzled expression. “Why? What’s today?”

“Did you just call her Pinks?” Rarity asked in a startled voice.

“What’s the party for?” Dash demanded.

“The invitation said that it’s supposed to be a surprise. Pinkie will tell us when we get there,” Twilight answered.

“Hmmm…” Dash turned away, staring absently at the wall.

The silence stretched on for over a minute as the four waited for their friend to explain. When it became apparent that no such explanation would be coming, Twilight decided to move on. She had learned from experience that it was fruitless to attempt to find out what was going on in Rainbow Dash’s head if she wasn’t being forthcoming.

“So,” she began, once again trying to be as delicate as possible, “I was doing some research with Rarity and Fluttershy, and was wondering if you could answer a question for me.”

Rarity threw her a displeased look. “Twilight, what did I just finish telli—“

Twilight pressed forward before she could object further. “Are you attracted to stallions, or mares?”

“What?!” The outburst came from Spike. “That’s what you guys were talking about while I was working? Gag, I’m out of here,” he said, trudging away and making a face.

“What did you just say?” This time, the question came from Rainbow Dash.

“I asked if you were attra—“

Dash narrowed her eyes. “That is not funny!”

“I didn’t mean it as a joke,” Twilight responded, talking as civilly as possible.

Rainbow Dash began to advance towards the surprised unicorn, her face contorting with anger. Twilight struggled to understand what was happening. Moments ago her friend had been acting normally, now she appeared to be on the verge of exploding.

Dash stood face to face with Twilight, their snouts nearly touching. “I am not a fillyfooler!”

“A what?” Twilight asked, still attempting to make sense of the situation.

Rainbow Dash let out a mock laugh. “Yeah, you’re so funny.”

“I really wasn’t jok—”

“Egghead!” Dash shot. “See? I can do it too.”

“Rainbow Dash, that’s enough!” At some point Fluttershy had managed to come in between them. “You need to calm down.”

“You too?!” Dash shouted angrily.

“No, Twilight is your friend,” Fluttershy said calmly, “and so am I. You know neither of us would ever say anything like that.”

“I can’t beli—“

“Rainbow Dash, please!” Fluttershy pleaded.

Just as quickly as it had come, the anger left Rainbow Dash’s face. She backed away slowly, her legs quivering. Reaching down quickly, she picked up the wrapped present. “Th-thanks for wrapping this,” she said, looking towards Rarity, her voice shaking as she spoke. “I… uh… I gotta go.” With that, Dash jumped into the air and dove out a nearby window.

Fluttershy sighed and turned to examine her friend. “Are you okay Twilight?”

“Yeah, but what in the world was that about?” Twilight rubbed her temple with a hoof. Her headache had returned with a vengeance.

“I told you that wasn’t a polite topic of conversation,” Rarity chided. “Some ponies are offended by that sort of talk.”

“I don’t know, that was pretty extreme,” Twilight responded. “Something’s up with her.” Rainbow Dash could become competitive and even annoyed with her friends at times, but Twilight had never seen her so angry before.

“It’s a shame how close minded some ponies can be,” Rarity said, a wistful expression on her face.

Fluttershy looked thoughtfully out the open window. “I think you’re right, Twilight. I wonder… ” Her voice trailed away.

“You wonder what?” Twilight asked impatiently.

Fluttershy jumped. “Oh, I’m sorry, I really don’t know,” she said, looking down at her hooves. “But, I think I should go talk to her, if that’s alright with you, Twilight.”

“Of course it is. I really need to get back to work anyway.”

“Thanks,” Fluttershy said, walking towards the window. She nodded towards Rarity. “I’ll be back soon.” She followed her friend out of the library window and into the open sky.

Rainbow Dash flew toward the cloud she’d spotted near the library, positioning herself high above it. When it was directly below her, she folded her wings against her sides. Her stomach lurched at the sudden feeling of free fall until she hit the cottony surface with a poomf. Lying face down on the cloud, Dash played the scene over in her mind again.

Why, of all things, did Twilight have to make a joke about that, she wondered. In all the time she had known the unicorn, Dash had never seen Twilight tell a joke at another’s expense. It had to have been some sort of misunderstanding. She thought back to her own reaction.

She probably thinks I’m an idiot now, she mused sullenly.

She heard a gentle flutter of wings in the air above her. “Are you feeling okay, Rainbow Dash?”

Dash looked up at the pegasus who had just landed beside her. Fluttershy, of course she would be the one they’d send to talk to her. “Can you tell Twilight that I’m sorry? I didn’t mean to act like such a foal.”

“Of course I will,” Fluttershy said as she lay down on the soft cloud, curling her forelegs beneath her chest. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Dash replied, rolling onto her back. She could guess the question her friend was going to ask. Should have just wrapped it myself…

“Why are you giving Pinkie Pie a present?”

Dash held the gift box up in the air, rolling it between her hooves. At some point, a large dent had appeared in the corner and one of the ribbons was torn. “I’m not, you know, like that.”

“I know,” Fluttershy responded, frowning. “And no pony ever said you were.”

Rainbow Dash merely grunted in reply. Her soft-spoken friend had always supported her, but even her kindness had to have limits. “Did you mean it when you said she’ll like it?” Dash noticed a puzzled expression on Fluttershy’s face. “The present,” she clarified.

“I’m certain she will,” Fluttershy answered. “It’s very thoughtful of you.”

Dash lay in silence for several moments. “Thanks.”

“So are you fee—“

“Well, I’ve gotta get going,” Dash said abruptly, standing up. “See you later.” It would be best to end the conversation as soon as possible.

“Oh, okay then.” Fluttershy grimaced, clearly disappointed by her friend’s standoffishness.

Rainbow Dash raised herself into the air with one powerful flap of her wings.

Fluttershy looked up at her. “You know, you can always talk to me if something’s wrong.” She looked down again. “That is, if you want to.”

Dash began climbing higher into the sky. “Yeah, I know.” With another beat of her wings, she was speeding away again, this time in the direction of the town’s bakery.

Part 2

As Sugarcube Corner came into view, Rainbow Dash was no longer left with any doubt as to whether or not Pinkie Pie was hosting another party. So many pink and blue streamers and balloons had been placed outside the building that the walls were no longer visible. She rocketed into the jungle of party decorations, forcing her way through to the door. Dash yelped as her snout slammed into something hard. In her haste, she had run head first into the wall.

She began circling around the bakery, searching for an entrance. The balloons rubbed against her wings, pricking her feathers with occasional jolts of static electricity and making flying difficult. She couldn’t even tell which floor she was flying by, much less if she was anywhere near the front door. After several minutes of arduous trekking, all she found was a second story window.

Close enough, Dash thought to herself, knocking on the glass pane.

She turned around to look over the decorations once more. “What could that crazy fuzz ball be thinking?” she asked a pink balloon floating by her head. The balloon remained silent, bobbing slowly back and forth in the air. Apparently it didn’t have any idea either. Turning back around, Dash found herself face to face with a bouncing mass of pink and a pair of shining, blue eyes. Startled, she moved to jump backwards, but was caught in a vice-like grip. The wildly giggling pink blob pulled her in through the window and onto the floor.

“Dashie, you’re finally here!” Pinkie Pie cried, still wrapping her hooves around her friend in a tight hug.

Rainbow Dash allowed herself to be swallowed up in the embrace, burying her head in Pinkie’s soft, cushiony mane. She breathed deeply, her nostrils filling with the overpoweringly sugary scent of countless sweets. The pink menace ate so many confectioneries, sometimes it almost seemed like her body was actually transforming into a giant cup cake.

Dash felt Pinkie’s voice wash over her like a torrent of water as she rambled away. “I heard a sound at the window and I thought ‘Must be a tree’ but then I remembered that there are no trees by that window. So then I thought ‘Somepony must be throwing rocks’ but then I realized there’s no way anypony could have gotten a rock past all those balloons unless they had some sort of rock blasting cannon, but I definitely would have heard something like that and I definitely didn’t hear anything like that. So then I thought…”

Rainbow Dash stopped attempting to decipher what Pinkie was saying, instead opting to just enjoy the melodic quality of her voice. In the past, she had found Pinkie's constant talking and absurd rants annoying. Over time, she’d grown to tolerate them, and then had even become fond of them. The excited, high pitched voice was strangely calming. As long as Pinkie Pie was still nonsensically chattering on, everything must have been alright.

To Dash’s disappointment, Pinkie abruptly broke the hug to look her in the eyes. “So then I thought ‘Somepony must be knocking on the window’ and then I realized that the only type of pony who could be knocking on a window way up here is a pegasus pony, and then I realized that it must be my pegasus pony. So I ran all the way up here and now here you are!” she finished, pointing a hoof at Dash.

Her blue eyes widened, noticing the gift in the Dash's hooves. “Rainbow Dash, you got me a present!”

Dash frowned and reluctantly held out the gift. “It’s okay if you don’t like it, I can get you something else.” Here it was, the moment of truth. When she had gone searching through her house, Dash was certain she had found the ultimate present. But after the conversation at the library, she wasn’t so sure.

Pinkie excitedly ripped the box out of her hooves and threw it down onto the ground. She drew her hooves in, lowering her belly close to the floor. After several terrifying moments of wiggling her tail high in the air in preparation, she launched herself upon her helpless victim. Using her teeth, she viciously slashed the paper and ribbons apart. With the box now bare, Pinkie tore the lid off the top and peered eagerly into its depths. Rainbow Dash held her breath, waiting for the worst possible reaction.

“Is this a Wonderbolts poster?” she asked, pulling the gift out of the box.

Dash hung her head in defeat. “I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

“What are you talking about?” Pinkie unrolled the poster to examine it. “I love it!”

Dash looked up in surprise. “You really like it?”

Pinkie bounced in place. “I really, really, really like it!”

Unable to contain her relief, Dash spread her wings and jumped into the air. She had known all along it was a great present. There had never been a doubt in her mind. What did those dorks at the library know about presents anyway? Obviously nothing.

Suddenly, Pinkie stopped bouncing. “Oh no, I didn’t get you anything.”

Rainbow Dash threw the idea off with a wave of her hoof. “Don’t sweat it. There’s no way you could have gotten anything as good as mine.”

Pinkie’s smile returned. “You’re right.” She began bouncing again. “Besides I’m throwing this great party!”

“Yeah, about that…” Dash considered how to approach the subject. She’d never seen anything good come from stepping between Pinkie Pie and a party. “Could we maybe skip the party?” she asked hopefully. “I was thinking we could spend today together. You know, just you and me.”

Pinkie gasped melodramatically. “Of course not! You can’t skip your own party.”

“My party?” Dash asked, lowering herself to the ground.

Pinkie Pie began heaving hoof loads of streamers out of a nearby box. “You silly, it’s a party for you and me.”

“Why are we having a party?”

Pinkie Pie tapped the tip of Dash’s snout with a playful hoof. “Jee whiz, you really are being silly today.” She began waving her hooves in circles above her head. “Hello! It’s our anniversary today. We’ve been together for a whole month!” With that, she turned back around to hang more streamers as if the matter had been settled.

Dash raised a questioning hoof. “But, what does that have to do with a party?”

Pinkie shot her a look like she’d just turned into a dancing circus panda. “Well duh, how else do you celebrate an anniversary?”

“But, then why did you invite all of our friends?” Dash asked, still not understanding the situation.

Pinkie gave her another bewildered stare. “Holy guacamole Dashie, you’re being, like, quadruple silly right now. It’s our coming out party, you silly, silly, silly, silly,” she said cheerfully, punctuating each ‘silly’ with another tap on the pegasus’s snout.

Rainbow Dash froze, letting her marefriend’s word sink in. Finally realizing exactly what the party was going to entail, she felt a surge of panic rush through her body. “No!” she yelled, flying in front of Pinkie, “Have you lost your mind?”

“What?” Pinkie asked, dropping her streamers.

Dash felt her wings tremble from the sudden rush of adrenaline. “Do you have any idea what they’ll do to us?”

Pinkie paused momentarily before adopting an exaggerated country accent, “Well, Applejack will be like, Darn tootin’ ya’ll—“

“They’ll kick us out of the group!” Dash yelled, cutting off her impersonations.

Pinkie snickered at her good-humoredly. “Dashie, I really don’t—“

“I’ve seen it happen before!” Her wings were flapping energetically, sending the dropped streamers flying in all directions.

“I’ve had enough silliness,” Pinkie declared, stamping a hoof on the ground. “Parties are serious business. Besides, the Cakes were so excited about this party that they closed Sugarcube Corner all day to let me prepare.”

Dash’s stomach felt like it was performing somersaults for a live audience. “The Cakes know?!”

“Well duh, you sleep over like every night,” Pinkie responded, rolling her eyes.

The walls began to close down on Rainbow Dash and the floor was spinning in circles beneath her. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh…” The Cakes knew. Mrs. Cake was a notorious gossiper. If she knew, everypony knew.

Dash’s hooves began to grow numb. Am I getting enough air? she thought in alarm. She gasped quickly, attempting to bring in more oxygen, but the growing numbness remained.

“I’m not getting enough air!” she cried, breathing more and more quickly. The quicker she breathed the number she felt. A tingling sensation was slowly traveling up her legs. Her vision blurred as she felt herself begin to fall backwards.

Suddenly, she was surrounded on all sides by something warm and soft. It encapsulated her body and held her firmly in place. Dash slowed her breath, allowing feeling to return to her legs. She heard a frightened voice emanate from somewhere near her ear, “Dashie! Please don’t be dead! You can’t be dead, there’s a party today!”

Dash opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by a sea of pink fur.

“Oh, you’re not dead!” Pinkie’s eyes were nearly bulging out of her skull. “Are you okay? Do you need something? Do you need a cupcake? I’ll go get you a cupcake!” the panicking pony yelled, dropping Dash back onto the floor and galloping out of the room.

Dash pushed herself up off of the ground, steadying herself on her hooves. So not cool…

“What are you doing?!” Pinkie charged into the room and knocked Dash back onto her side. “Lay back down or you’re gonna hurt yourself!”

“You’re the one who’s gonna hurt—“ Dash was abruptly cut off as a cupcake was shoved into her mouth.

“Hurry up and eat it!” Pinkie cried, forcing the entire cupcake into Dash’s muzzle. “Cupcakes always make ponies feel better!”

Dash swallowed, not even having any time to chew. The cupcake traveled down her throat slowly and painfully, barely making it to the bottom.

“Are you feeling better?,” Pinkie asked worriedly. “Do you want another one?”

“No!” Dash held up her hooves in defense of another cupcake assault. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. You just passed out!”

“I did not,” Dash declared. “I just… uh… wanted to take quick nap is all.”

Pinkie eyed her suspiciously for several seconds before adopting her signature grin. “Oh, you should have just said so.”

Dash stared at her marefriend in disbelief. Wow, she’s really gullible…

“If you really want me to, I’ll tell everypony the party is for something else. There are always plenty of reasons to party!” Pinkie said amiably.

“Thanks Pinks,” Dash replied, standing back up. “I can help you set up now, if you want.”

“That’d be super!” Pinkie chirped. “But...”

“But what?” Dash asked, beginning to pick up the streamers lying about the room.

When she finally answered, Pinkie’s voice was much quieter than Dash was used to. “Why don’t you want anypony to know about us?

Dash dropped the pile of streamers she’d been collecting. “It’s just... I just...” Pinkie would never understand, she was too naive. Dash took a deep breath and began again, “I’m just not ready.”

“But it’s been a whole month, and you said I could tell our friends eventually.”

Dash sighed deeply. “Can we talk about this after the party? I promise we’ll work something out then, okay?”

“Well...” Pinkie didn’t look happy about the arrangement. “Okay.”

“Good,” Dash said with a smile. “Now help me pick up these streamers.”

Upon entering the loft above Sugarcube Corner, Twilight observed that its interior was just as manically decorated as its exterior. Multicolored streamers lined every wall and so many balloons had traveled up to the ceiling some part of her mind worried that they might pick up the building and carry it away.

“Hiya Twilight!” Applejack waved her over.

Walking towards her friend, Twilight noticed that she had been the last to arrive; Pinkie Pie was happily chatting with Fluttershy and Rarity, while Rainbow Dash was rummaging around the snack table. Upbeat music was wafting through air, seemingly from nowhere.

“Hey Applejack,” Twilight greeted, “Pinkie really went all out with the streamers this time, huh?”

“Aren’t they great?” Rainbow Dash asked, appearing beside her with a plate full of donuts. “I helped put them up myself.”

“Well, they certainly are…” Twilight wondered how polite it would be to say ‘atrocious’. The decorations were truly hideous. They had been scattered across the walls and floors without any thought to aesthetics or design.

“Colorful,” Applejack suggested with a wink.

“Uh… yeah, colorful,” Twilight agreed.

“You bet they are,” Dash proudly exclaimed, downing another donut. She held out the plate towards Twilight. “So did Fluttershy talk to you about uh... you know…”

Twilight’s mouth watered as she levitated a blueberry glazed donut off the plate. “About what?”

“You know.” Dash shuffled her hooves. “About what happened at the library this morning.”

The unicorn’s mind went blank as she bit into the fluffy confectionery, briefly losing herself in its sweet taste before realizing what her friend was referring to. “Oh, yeah, she did. It’s no problem. We all get a little out of control sometimes.” Actually, Twilight prided herself on rarely, if ever, losing her self control, but it seemed like the right thing to say.

“So, we’re cool then?’ Dash asked, peaking at her out of the corner of her eye.

“Yeah, of course,” Twilight answered, chewing the last of her donut.

Applejack looked between the two of them conspicuously. “What happened?”

“Oh, nothing important.” Twilight eyed the remaining donuts on Dash’s plate eagerly, a saccharine aftertaste lingering on her tongue “So, what’s this party for anyhow?”

Applejack burst into a fit of laughter. “Why don’t you ask Miss Interior Decorator over here,” she said between laughs, pointing to Rainbow Dash.

“Oh grow up,” Dash replied irritably, crossing her hooves.

Twilight regarded her friends curiously. “Why, what’s so funny?”

“Does it matter?” Dash interjected, clearly annoyed.

“Well, yeah. It’s hard to celebrate at a party when I don’t know what I’m celebrating.”

“Go ask Pinkie Pie then,” Applejack said, still laughing as she pointed to where the host was standing, scooping an alligator out of a punch bowl. “Ah’m sure she’ll be happy to tell you all about it.”

Well, alright then, Twilight thought to herself as she crossed the room. Whatever it was, if her friends were being this secretive, it must have been something eccentric. Though, considering it was a Pinkie Pie party, that was no surprise.

“Hey Pinkie, thanks for inviting me tonight.”

Pinkie dropped the alligator back in the bowl with a plop before turning around. “Hey, no problem, Twilight. Want some punch?”

Twilight eyed the alligator infested bowl warily. “No thanks, it looks... uh… really tasty though.”

“Where’s Spike? I sent him an invitation too,” Pinkie asked, scanning the room.

“He’s already asleep,” Twilight replied. “It was a busy day at the library.” In spite of her assistant’s skepticism, she had successfully managed to sort every single book that had been returned that morning.

“So, I was just wondering,“ she continued, “what exactly is this party celebrating?”

Pinkie looked at her as if she’d just asked what color the sky was, “Duh,” she responded, waving a hoof around to indicate the multicolored streamers, “isn’t it obvious?”

Twilight examined the room again, searching for the answer to her question. But whatever Pinkie Pie was seeing in the mess of decorations was lost on her. However, she did notice that the other four ponies were all watching in anticipation of her reaction. “No, it isn’t,” she said, giving up.

Pinkie threw her hooves into the air. “We’re having a party for Rainbow Dash!”

“Why?” Twilight asked. She noticed Rarity and Fluttershy holding their hooves to their mouths, stifling giggles. As far as she could remember Dash hadn’t done anything particularly worthy of celebration recently.

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “She’s the cutesiest, cutie, cute pony in all of Ponyville!”

Twilight deadpanned. “What?”

“Oh wait, you’re right!” Pinkie cried, realizing her mistake. “She’s the cutesiest, cutie, cute pony in all of Equestria!”

Twilight spent several moments processing Pinkie’s answer before replying. “So, we’re having a party to celebrate how cute Rainbow Dash is?” She heard Applejack burst out into another fit of laughter, followed by a groan from Dash.

“Yepperdoodles!” Pinkie confirmed, nodding her head rapidly.

Twilight turned to look at the pegasus in question, appraising her as she would a new telescope. “She is pretty cute, I guess,” she concluded, shrugging. There was no denying it, her friend was rather attractive.

“She does have a fine figure,” Rarity chimed.

Fluttershy giggled again. “Oh yes, I agree.”

Rainbow Dash blushed a deep crimson, apparently unsure how to respond to the sudden onslaught of compliments. “Eh… thanks…”

Rarity began trotting towards her excitedly. “You simply must allow me to design you an outfit from my new autumn line. They’ll suit your coat perfectly.”

Dash raised her hooves in protest. “Oh no, I don’t—“

“I won’t take no for an answer.” Rarity looked over Dash’s mane and tail carefully. “Fluttershy, could you come over here?” she called. “I need your opinion on this. Do you think a chemise or a basque would be more appropriate?”

“I don’t know, let me get a closer look,” Fluttershy responded, gliding towards them.

Twilight couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s antics. It was then that she noticed a familiar Wonderbolts poster hanging on a nearby wall. “Is this Rainbow Dash’s?” she asked, examining it closely.

“Uh huh,” Pinkie answered. “She gave it to me this morning. It’s even signed!”

“So you actually liked it then?” Twilight was surprised, she had thought for certain it was the wrong gift for Pinkie Pie. “I didn’t know you were such a big fan of the Wonderbolts.”

“Well actually…” She looked towards Dash, who still had her hooves full fending off the possibility of a dress fitting, before continuing in a lower voice, “I don’t care about the Wonderbolts or the poster so much, but I know she really liked it, and it was extra sweet of her to give it to me.”

“Pinkie,” Twilight exclaimed, taken aback by her friend’s sensitivity. Pinkie usually seemed almost completely oblivious to her surroundings. “That’s so thou—“

Abruptly, Pinkie violently gasped. “You have to Pinkie promise you won’t tell Dashie!”

“Of course I won’t,” Twilight affirmed, feeling somewhat insulted. She already knew the importance of keeping a friend’s trust.

“Pinkie promise!” Pinkie barked. Twilight sighed as she acted out the childish gestures. She had never understood Pinkie’s obsession with her ‘Pinkie promises’.

“Good,” Pinkie said happily, gazing towards where Rainbow Dash was standing. Twilight noticed that her usual goofy grin had been replaced by one much softer than she was used to seeing on the ordinarily giddy pony’s face. There was something odd about the look in her eyes too. Twilight looked between the two of them, remembering the conversation she’d had with her friends at the library that morning. Any time was a good time to do a little research.

“Hey, I was just talking to Fluttershy and Rarity about something I’d read earlier today and was curious as to what your opinion was. Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

Pinkie’s expression became somber as she gave a mock salute. “Ask away, Ma’am.”

“Do you find yourself more attracted to stallions or mares?” Hearing a commotion, Twilight turned just in time to see Rainbow Dash spit up an entire mouthful of punch directly into Rarity’s face.

Pinkie Pie placed a hoof to her jaw, and continued thoughtfully rubbing her chin through a blood curdling scream from Rarity. “I’ve never really thought about it, I guess mares,” she concluded, dropping her hoof.

Twilight’s eyes lit up in surprise. How did I miss that? She had known Pinkie Pie for over two years and considered herself to be a very observant pony.

“Have you ever… been with a mare?” she asked curiously. She noticed Fluttershy and Applejack still attempting to console the drenched unicorn in the corner without success, unaware of the startling revelation Pinkie had just disclosed.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash appeared at her side, as if from nowhere. She grabbed Pinkie by the shoulders. “Can I talk to you for a sec?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, if you give me one sec,” Pinkie said, turning to Twilight. “Just one,” she answered.

“Really?” Twilight asked. This conversation was getting more interesting by the minute.

Dash was now forcefully pulling Pinkie Pie away. “I really need to talk to you.”

“Yup,” Pinkie chirped, “just Rainbow Dash here.”

The room quieted as Dash collapsed back on her haunches like she’d been bucked in the chest. Even Rarity, punch dripping from her meticulously styled mane, had fallen silent. The only sound was the music wafting through the background. Twilight’s face froze as her brain worked furiously to decipher what her friend had just announced.

Pinkie Pie turned to where Dash was sitting dazed on the floor. “I can give you all the secs you need now, Dashie!” She began laughing far louder than such a bad joke deserved, falling onto her back and kicking her legs in the air. She was, apparently, oblivious to the stunned silence of her friends.

Rainbow Dash, her face still blank, muttered an incoherent reply.

Applejack was the first to react. “What’d she just say?”

Fluttershy covered her mouth with her hooves. “Oh my.”

Finally coming back to her senses, Dash erupted. “Pinkie Pie, what the hay is wrong with you?!” she yelled, leaping into the air and hovering above the pony lying on the floor.

Pinkie stopped laughing. “You never said I couldn’t tell them that,” she said innocently.

“Are you kidding me!?” Dash shouted, near hysterics. “I definitely specifically told you not to tell them that at least a thousand times!”

“Y-you two are in a r-relationship?” Rarity stammered in a bewildered voice.

Pinkie jumped to her hooves. “Yup, we’re in love,” she declared.

“No, we’re not, you moron!” Dash said, stamping a hoof.

Pinkie looked hurt. “Dashie, I know you’re upset right now, but you do—“

“I do not!” the infuriated pegasus screamed, pushing Pinkie away from her. “I’m not a disgusting fillyfooler! Not like you!” she yelled, sending Pinkie sprawling across the floor.

Applejack ran between the two. “Rainbow Dash, you need to calm yerself, right now!”

“This is none of your business,” Dash sneered, easily jumping over the farm pony and landing next to Pinkie.

“Why can’t you ever keep your mouth shut? I told you so many times not to say anything, but still, you just won’t shut up!”

Pinkie’s eyes began to water. “I thought you’d be happy,” she said softly.

“Happy?!” Dash cried incredulously. “Why would I be—“

She was cut off as Applejack yanked her backwards by the tail.

“That’s enough!” Applejack declared, dragging Dash across the floor. “Go calm down. Now,” she commanded, pointing to the far wall. Rainbow Dash begrudgingly complied, hovering away.

Twilight’s mind finally caught up to the present. Applejack and Fluttershy were slowly helping Pinkie back to her hooves, while Rarity was still standing in the same spot where she had been drenched in punch, staring dully at the floor.

“So…” she began, looking where Rainbow Dash was stalking along the wall, “you slept with Pinkie Pie?”

Dash’s nostrils flared. “I am not a fillyfooler!” she yelled, tearing open a window and bolting into the night.

Twilight heard Rarity’s voice behind her, sounding very faint. “What just happened?”

“I’m not, I’m not, I’m not, I’m not!” Rainbow Dash yelled to no one. She flew over the darkened houses and vacant streets of Ponyville, not altogether certain which direction she was going. Against the horizon to her side, she recognized the dark outline of her cloud home. Angling herself towards it, she soared across the dim sky.

How could Pinks act so stupid? she asked herself. Images of her marefriend’s tear stricken face flashed in her mind. Of all ponies, she’d made Pinkie Pie cry. Infinitely happy, giggly, bouncing, smiling Pinkie Pie was crying and it was all her fault.

Not that it matters anymore, she thought, remembering Applejack’s angry reaction to Pinkie’s announcement. It had already begun. In a single night, she’d managed to ruin everything; all the friends she’d made, whatever it was she’d had with Pinkie Pie, her whole life in Ponyville. She felt a stinging sensation in her eyes and something wet slip down her face.

Must’ve run through a rain cloud without noticing, she lied to herself.

Part 3

Rainbow Dash laid wide eyed in bed, holding her pet tortoise tightly against her chest. The room was dark and outlines of furniture loomed in the shadows, like predatory monsters appraising their next meal. The restless pegasus had just awoken from yet another feverish dream. This time, she’d relived one her final days at flight school. She could still hear the biting sounds of pointed laughter and cries of fillyf—

“No!” Dash yelled, quickly rising out of bed and sending a cascade of blankets to the floor.

She had left because she was too good for the school; she had gone above and beyond all of her classmates. Rainbow Dash didn’t need flight school. She was already the fastest pegasus in Cloudsdale. That was why she left and that was the end of the story.

Dash rubbed her tired, swollen eyes. She had spent the entire night flitting between bouts of insomnia and decidedly un-cool dreams. Once or twice, she thought she heard knocking and somepony calling to her from the other side of the door, but those apparitions had passed into silence after a time. A crisp breeze floated in through her bedroom window and around her legs, rustling her fur. It was as if the morning sky, pure and unspoiled by the rising sun, was beckoning her.

After laying the sleeping tortoise onto her blankets, Dash slumped out of bed. She stretched her legs and back, reveling in the feeling of her muscles coming back to life. She extended her wings broadly to examine them. There were multiple feathers out of line, sticking out at odd angles from the rest. She would have to preen them. Dash groaned at the thought; she hated preening. That could wait though. She flapped her wings twice in preparation, working out the early morning stiffness, and then leaped out the open window and into the cool air.

Rainbow Dash lost herself in the feeling of wind tearing through her mane and past her head as she looped through the sky. She flared her wings outwards, catching the wind and decelerating into a tight turn. She’d lost track of time, but the sun had risen many hours earlier, tracing an arc across the sky. She bent her wings inward again, towards her sides, accelerating up and out of the turn into a wide spiral. Her muscles were on fire, but she continued on, pumping her wings harder and moving faster.

She was flying inside a small clearing outside of the town proper. Dash had been there all morning, practicing her stunts and maneuvers over and over again. She kept her mind solely on the flight and off of everything else. She focused on ensuring she was at just the right speed, her body was at just the right angle, and that she beat her wings at just the right moment. Whatever problems she might have had, they would have to wait until she was finished. Right at that moment, all she wanted to do was fly alone and free without worry.

Racing through another curve, Rainbow Dash noticed a yellow and pink blur standing out among the scenery below. What could Fluttershy possibly want now? she asked herself. Her problems had found her, and were now sitting obstinately in the grass below. She had hoped to avoid all of her friends to delay the inevitable, but it appeared that was no longer an option. Dash began her descent, tightening her stomach in preparation for the coming confrontation.

She almost immediately collapsed on the ground after landing next to the other pegasus, her legs sprawled out around her. Now that they were no longer working, her muscles informed her just how exhausted they were. Dash breathed quickly and shallowly, resting for the first time since she’d gotten out of bed.

Fluttershy flashed her a wide smile. “That was really good. You’ll be a Wonderbolt in no time if you keep flying like that.”

Dash smiled despite herself at the compliment, but it didn’t last long. She had played this game before, pretending to be nice. “What do you want?” she asked curtly.

Fluttershy shrunk back as her own smile dissolved. “I thought, maybe, you’d want to talk now?”

Dash broodingly wondered how long her “friend” was planning on keeping up the charade. She felt a wave of anger crest in her stomach. She was not in the mood for playing games. “You know what? I get it,” she said, standing up. “I’m gross and ugly and terrible, and you don’t want me hanging around you or being your friend anymore.”

“See?” Dash asked angrily. “I already know it all. Now go away, and just leave me alone.” She turned away, praying silently that the other pony would just walk away.

Instead, a foreleg wrapped around her shoulders. “Pinkie was right, you really are acting silly.”

Dash moved to get away, but Fluttershy tightened her hold, twisting her back around so they were face to face. “First of all, nothing you do could ever make me not want to be your friend.” She smiled gently. “We’ll be friends forever, no matter what.”

“B- but I’m a…” Dash’s voice trailed away, unable to finish the sentence.

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy cooed softly, “I’ve always known, and I never cared.”

Dash felt her jaw drop. “What? How?” she sputtered. She had always been so careful to make sure no pony found out. There was no way she could have known.

Fluttershy shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ve known each other for so long; it’s always been pretty obvious. You never really seemed interested in colts. When all the other fillies were off trying to get coltfriends, you were just talking about how cool Spitfire was.”

“Oh no, oh no, oh no...” Dash’s head began to feel dizzy.

“What’s wrong,” Fluttershy asked, sounding worried.

“What’s wrong?!” Dash cried in disbelief. “You know, the Cakes know, who doesn’t know? You may be fine with it, but what about everypony else? What about Rarity, and Applejack, and—“

“They’ll support you, we all will.” Fluttershy said, cutting her hysterics short. “What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t?”

Rainbow Dash remained silent.

Fluttershy pressed on, “You know, all those ponies at flight school, Lillie Breeze and the others, they were never your friends.”

“They weren’t?”

“No,” Fluttershy responded, shaking her head. “They were just bullies. We’re your friends. Who you like won’t change that.”

Looking back, she had never had as much fun with her old friends as she did with her new ones. They had never been as nice or supportive of her either.

“Do you promise?” Dash asked quietly.

“I promise,” her friend answered, embracing her closely again. “So, you and Pinkie are together, right?”

“N—“ Dash began denying it out of habit before catching herself, “…yeah.” There didn’t seem to be any point in lying about it anymore. “Or, at least, we were.”

“Are you in love with her?” Fluttershy asked bluntly.

“I don’t know,“ Dash said, throwing her hooves into the air in exasperation. “How are you even supposed to know something like that?” Dash had had crushes in the past, and even a couple other fillyfriends, but nothing that could have been considered “love”, whatever that was.

Fluttershy paused to consider the question for a moment. “Well, what do think of her?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just talk about Pinkie Pie,” she explained, “whatever comes to mind.”

“Whatever comes to mind, huh?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes pointed up, as if they could find the answer somewhere in the sky above them.

“I guess… she’s cool. Not like Wonderbolts cool, but more of a…” Dash searched for a better comparison, but her mind was drawing a blank. Nothing really compared to Pinkie Pie. “A Pinkie cool,” she concluded. “She’s her own kind of cool.”

With the ice broken, a torrent of memories and emotions flowed through her head. “And she’s the best cheering section I’ve ever had,“ Dash continued, reminiscing. “Every time I practice and she’s watching, I always do a hundred times better. She gets so excited, even when I do the simplest tricks.” Dash closed her eyes, imagining she was flying through the air again, watching the excitable pony bounce up and down beneath her.

“Even when I mess up, she looks so happy, like I actually did really well.” She paused momentarily. “You remember when I won the Best Young Flyer’s Competition? And that whole stadium was cheering and clapping for me? Pinkie’s just like that.” Even when she was all alone, Pinkie sounded like an entire marching band. “Every time she cheers for me, it feels like that whole stadium is cheering for me again.

“And she’s so much fun to be with. Other ponies are so serious all the time,“ Dash made a face and lowered her voice, “like ‘all we do is work and no fun allowed, ever!’ But Pinks isn’t like that.”

Rainbow Dash was no longer thinking about what to say next. The words came to her almost as if by instinct. “Anytime I want to hang out, or pull a prank, or a play a game, or just take a break; she’s there too. I can always count on her. Even when I’m doing something boring, like work, it’s fun if she’s around.

“A lot of ponies think she’s always off the walls, jumping around like crazy, and knocking over buildings and stuff. But she’s not like that at all,” Dash explained, shaking her head.

“There’ve been tons of times when we’ve just sat around, you know, hanging out or taking a nap,” Dash finished, her thoughts floating back to just a week prior.

It had been after a scheduled storm when she was supposed to go out and clear the clouds to stop the rain. Instead, she had just lazed around with Pinkie all day. They both curled up underneath a mountain of blankets, eating cupcakes, while Rainbow Dash read aloud from the newest Daring Do novel. Occasionally, they would act out a scene together, Dash as Daring and Pinkie as the villain. They’d wrestled and jumped around the bed, sending sheets and cupcakes flying around the room.

Dash had received dozens of complaints from angry street vendors and shoppers about the rain. She’d even received a full lecture from Mayor Mare, something about “punctuality” and “reliability”. Dash hadn’t minded any of that though. It was all worth it.

“Are you sure don’t know?” Fluttershy’s voice tore through her memories, dragging her back to the present.

“Don’t know what?”

“Well, you’ve been standing there with that goofy smile on your face for a couple minutes now,” Fluttershy replied with a smirk. “It seems pretty clear to me how you feel about her.”

Dash snorted. “How do I feel then?”

“You love her,” Fluttershy said simply.

Rainbow Dash was taken aback. She was certain she liked Pinkie, she liked her a lot. But love?

“Yeah, I guess I do,” she answered her own question. She was surprised by the answer, but it was true. Now that she had said it out loud, there wasn’t any doubt.

“I am. I totally am!” Dash said, her voice rising as her excitement grew. “Fluttershy, you’re so right!” she cried, giving the startled pegasus a quick hug before jumping into the air. “I’m in love with Pinkie Pie!”

“I’ve gotta go!’ With one strong flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash was speeding back in the direction of Ponyville.

Mr. Cake smiled and nodded to the teal unicorn blathering away before him. He had been actively feigning keen interest in the state of the older stallion’s cousin’s housing affairs (which he now knew far more about than anypony could possibly care to know) for some odd twenty minutes.

“Oh, yes of course,” he replied absent mindedly to a question he could no longer remember, distractedly counting the number of sprinkles on the cupcakes in the front display.

One hundred fifty-eight. One hundred fifty-nine. One hundred sixty. One hundred sixt—

By some merciful act of Celestia, Mr. Cake heard the words, “Well, I really must be going now,” emanate from the chatty unicorn’s mouth. He silently praised the heavens as the customer walked towards the door.

To his horror, the unicorn abruptly turned back around just before reaching the door. “Oh, did I tell you about—“

“Didn’t you say you had somewhere you needed to be going?” Mr. Cake asked politely.

“Aww peanut brittle, you’re right!” the customer answered, trotting through the door.

“Have a nice day!” Carrot Cake called after him. He waited several more moments to make sure the nightmare shopper wasn’t returning before relaxing his face. His mouth creased in a frown. The truth was, he didn’t much care whether or not the unicorn had a nice day. In fact, a little part of him hoped he wouldn’t.

Mr. Cake sighed, noticing that the cake he had just boxed was still lying on the counter. The unicorn had forgotten his order, guaranteeing that he would be returning later. And he would almost certainly be bringing the latest details about his cousin’s new condo along with him.

On any other day, Mr. Cake would have been happy to deal with the customers of Sugarcube Corner. But somewhere between having to clean up the previous night’s mess of party decorations all by himself and Pinkie Pie’s emotional breakdown, he had decided he was having a bad day.

Hearing the door open, he pasted on his fake smile again, but immediately scowled when he saw who it was. It was her. Rainbow Dash was flying right past him, in the direction of the stairwell leading up to the second floor.

“Excuse me miss”, he called, stopping her mid-flight. ”Just where do you think you’re going?”

She anxiously hovered towards him. “I need to see Pinkie Pie,” Dash answered, out of breath and breathing heavily.

The mare looked almost as bad as Pinkie had that morning. Her mane was frazzled, jutting out in all directions and her red rimmed eyes appeared puffy. Her legs dragged dully against the ground as she flew, as if she was about to collapse from exhaustion. Good, Mr. Cake thought to himself. She was getting what she deserved. There was some justice in the universe.

“Pinkie Pie isn’t here,” he announced coldly.

“Where is—“

“I seriously doubt that she wants to see you after what you did.” The comment had the desired effect, Rainbow Dash looked genuinely hurt and her eyes were watering.

Uh oh. He silently scolded himself. She appeared to actually be on the verge of tears. The last thing he wanted to do was make a filly cry.

“But I know I can fix this is if I—“

“Fix this?” he replied incredulously. “You broke her heart. How are you going to fix that?”

Mr. Cake watched a sole droplet of moisture slide down her face.

Oh no…

“Because I... I…” her voice trailed away.

“You what?” Carrot Cake asked impatiently. The sooner this situation was over and he could move on with his day the better.

“I love her!” Rainbow Dash cried suddenly, standing up taller.

Mr. Cake was taken aback by the sudden outburst, but he wasn’t one to be easily fooled. “If you really loved her, you wouldn’t have left her crying and embarrassed in front of all her friends last night.”

“I know I messed up, and I acted like a jerk,“ she admitted, her voice steady. “But I love Pinkie Pie, and I know I can make this right, if you’ll just give me the chance.”

Carrot Cake searched her face intently, looking for some sign of deceit. She seemed sincere. “How?” he asked. “What will you do?”

She paused momentarily before answering, “I don’t know yet, but I’ll think of something.” She must have noticed the look of skepticism on Mr. Cake’s face. “But it doesn’t matter if you tell me where she is,“ she declared confidently. “I’ll find her no matter what, no matter how long it takes. I will find her.”

This time, there was no doubt, she was telling the truth. “Fine.” Mr. Cake sighed, already regretting his decision. “She’s at Sweet Apple Acres.”

Rainbow Dash turned to leave. “Wait!” Mr. Caked marched up to her, standing up straight, trying to appear as big as possible.

“If you ever hurt my dau— uh… Pinkie Pie ever again, I’ll… I’ll…” Carrot Cake racked his brain. What could he do? “I’ll make you wish you hadn’t!” he said threateningly.

Dash nodded solemnly before bolting out of the bakery. In a flash, she was gone. The only evidence she had ever been there was a rapidly dissolving rainbow trail leading out the door.

Part 4

Rainbow Dash peered into the window, her gaze darting back and forth across the dark room inside. Nothing, she thought to herself in disappointment. She glided towards the next, still not entirely sure what it was that she was looking for. She had spent all afternoon searching the apple farm without success. She had spotted Big Mac plowing a field when she first arrived, but the rest of the Apple family seemed to have disappeared. Dash began to suspect that Mr. Cake had lied to her.

Spying in another window, Dash noticed an ancient looking mare napping soundly in a rocking chair. She didn’t know Granny Smith well, or anything about her really, besides that she was Applejack’s grandmother. But if Pinkie Pie was around the farm, she would probably know. In the very least, she could tell Dash where Applejack was hiding. After breaking a few hinges, the pegasus forced her way through the window and into the room.

“Hey, Granny Smith, have you seen Pinkie Pie anywhere?” she asked, talking casually as possible.

The old mare muttered a reply too quiet for Dash to hear, apparently still lost somewhere in her dreams. Dash wondered absently what old ponies’ dreams were about. Pickle juice, perhaps?

She grabbed Granny in both hooves and shook her roughly. “Hey, wake up!” she shouted.

Granny’s eyes flashed open wildly. “Whozits, bandits?!”

“No.” Dash shook her head. “Have you seen Pinkie Pie?”

“A pink what now?” Granny asked perplexedly before waving her away with a hoof. “Just shoo it off with the broomstick.” She dropped her eyelids again, grumbling something about ‘youngins never knowing how to get things done on their own.’

“No, Pinkie Pie,” Dash said slowly, drawing out each consonant. “The pony. Have you seen her?”

“Can’t say that I have,” Granny answered, opening her eyelids. The old mare eyes lit up as if she was seeing Rainbow Dash for the first time. “Well, my, my, my, ya’ sure are a mighty fine specimen of a stallion, now ain’t ya?” She looked Dash over approvingly.

“Thanks, but I…” Dash paused, replaying what she’d just heard over in her mind. “Wait, did you just call me a stallion?”

Granny Smith eyed her coquettishly. “You oughta’ be put to work. Ya’d make a fine farm colt.” She leaned her head forward, dropping her voice, “And good lookin’ to boot. Why, if I was only a few years younger…”

Rainbow Dash began backing away nervously. “Uh… yeah…” Clearly, Granny Smith had gone senile many years ago.

“There you are,” she heard a familiar voice call from behind her.“ Macintosh said he saw you flyin’ around the farm.”

Applejack trotted up to her side. “Ah assume you’re here for Pinkie?”

“She’s here?” Dash asked in disbelief. “I looked everywhere.”

“Yup, she’s sitting down in the barn right now,” Applejack answered with a nod. Of course, the one place she hadn’t looked. “I’ll walk with ya.”

As they turned to leave, Rainbow Dash heard the crazed mare behind them yell out again. “This one here sure is handsome Applejack. Ya’ should git a ring on ‘im before he takes off!”

“No problem Granny,” Applejack called back, winking at the blushing pegasus.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack walked along the path to the barn silently. Dash had never had any trouble talking with her friend in the past. The farm pony always seemed willing to hear about her latest stunt or prank, but now it felt like there was some kind of wall in between them. It seemed like she was supposed to say something, but Dash wasn’t sure what that something was.

“So what took ya’ so long?” Applejack asked, shattering the quiet. “We’ve been waiting for you all day.”

The question hung in the air for several long moments while Dash considered how to answer. “I… I needed to figure some stuff out.”

Silence fell over the two friends once again. Dash opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again when Applejack abruptly stopped walking. “Listen, there’re some things I need ta’ say.”

So here it was, the lecture. The Dash briefly considered making a break for it and flying to safety before the other pony could begin talking.

“Ah’m disappointed in you Rainbow Dash,” she said sternly. “Ah understand you were upset, getting outed like that. Ah probably would’ve been angry too if somepony had given away a secret of mine in front of everypony.”

Dash absent-mindedly folded and extended her wings, waiting for the reproach to end. “Yeah, it’s—"

“But that ain’t how you should’ve handled it,” Applejack continued. Dash flicked her tail in annoyance. She hated being interrupted.

“Don’t get me wrong, what Pinkie did wasn’t right either, but yellin’ at her and calling her names was not the right way to deal with it. And then ya’ just flew off, not giving anypony a chance to speak. What you did was immature and inconsiderate.”

“Immature?” Dash cried, angrily. “That’s a load of—“

“Let me finish.” Applejack’s voice softened as she placed a hoof on Dash’s shoulder. “We’re your friends, whenever there’s a problem, we can sit down an’ work it out with ya’.” She flashed a small smile. “Next time, I expect you to stay and talk, no more shoutin’ and flyin’ off, ya’ hear?”

Rainbow Dash nodded and looked away, unable to meet her friend’s eyes. “I’m sorry you know.”

“Ah know,” Applejack said, starting to walk again. “And you’re here now. That’s what’s important.”

“So, you’re okay with this?” Dash questioned apprehensively, but Applejack only gave her a puzzled look in reply. “You know… me and Pinkie Pie… together…”

Applejack laughed. “’Course Ah am, Ah’m happy for you. Can’t say Ah’m surprised actually, Pinkie always was sweet on you.”

Dash sighed inwardly, another pony who apparently already knew. She was beginning to wonder if there was ever any point in trying to keep it a secret in the first place. “So you don’t mind that we’re both… mares?”

“Shucks, why would I?” Applejack asked, looking somewhat offended. “And if you find anypony who does, just send em’ on over to me, I’ll straighten em’ out.”

Dash grabbed her in a quick hug. “Thank you.”

Applejack blushed, embarrassed by the sudden display of affection. “Whoa now, it’s no big deal, Sugarcube.”

“It’s a big deal to me,” Dash replied, letting go. She found herself standing in front of the barn door. “Do you think she’ll forgive me?”

“Ah’m sure she already has.”

Dash faced the barn. Pinkie Pie was in there, right on the other side of the door. A sharp chill ran down the course of her spine as she reached a hoof out towards the handle. It was the same feeling she had whenever she stood on a cloud, high above the ground, readying to dive off into the abyss. A familiar mix of excitement and tension washed through her body. Something was different about this though. Her stomach was tightening and a hard dry lump was forming in her throat, making breathing difficult.

Applejack must have sensed what she was going on in her head. “Just go talk to her, everything’ll be fine.”

Applejack had never been one to lie. Besides, she was Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow Dash wasn’t afraid of anything. With one final gulp, she pushed the barn door open.

Rarity’s voice wafted towards her through the open door. “I told you already, you have to wait for her to come to you.”

The inside of the barn was typical of what Rainbow Dash figured the inside of a barn should look like. There were piles of hay in the corners, a variety of farming equipment littered the floor, and several groups of stalls lined the walls. What struck her as odd was how lifeless the barn was. She had expected to at least find some cows or chickens milling about, but instead the barn was completely devoid of life. All save for two ponies sitting on a bench in the corner.

Pinkie Pie’s face immediately brightened when she saw who had entered the barn. “Dashie!” she yelled, running up to the pegasus and wrapping her forelegs around her. Dash returned the embrace wordlessly. She held on tight, trying to stretch the moment on for as long as possible.

Rarity trotted up to them with a snort. “Don’t you know that it’s impolite to keep a lady waiting?”

"I’m sorry Pinks,” Dash said, finally pulling out of the hug.

“I wasn’t talking about her,” Rarity interjected. “She wanted to stay. But do you know how long I’ve been sitting in this distasteful barn?” she asked with a look of deep revulsion. “It’ll take weeks to wash this stench off.”

Dash rolled her eyes. “How terrible for you.”

Rarity held an offended hoof to her chest. “I need to smell my best, I’ll be dating again soon.”

Dash groaned. The last thing she was worrying about at that particular moment was Rarity’s love life, but she needed to be polite. “Oh yeah?”

“Oh yes,” Rarity answered. “I was holding out for a certain pony, but...” She looked away dejectedly. “Well, it’s beginning to look like that isn’t going to work out. I was really certain it would too. I’ve never met anypony more driven or ambitious…”

Ugh, she looks pretty down. Dash knew she was good at a lot of things, but words weren’t one of them. That was Twilight’s territory. Unfortunately, she wasn’t there, and Pinkie didn’t seem to have anything to say, so the task of cheering up their friend fell to her. Great...

“Yeah but you’re, you know, pretty and stuff,” Dash said, waving a hoof. “I’m sure you’ll be able to get any stallion you want.”

Rarity’s face flushed. “You really think so?”

“Why would I lie about that?” Dash had to fight to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

“Thank you so much, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity cried, smiling extravagantly.

“Uh huh.” Dash waited for the unicorn to say something else, but she just kept smiling and staring at her. Dash cleared her throat loudly. “So, maybe Pinkie and I could get a minute alone?”

“Oh yes, of course,” Rarity replied, walking towards the door. Abruptly, she stopped and turned around.

“Rainbow Dash, if you and Pinkie ever…” She seemed to think better of whatever it was she was going to say and shook her head. “Just know that I’m always here for you,” she said with a smile that almost looked sad.

Dash nodded. “Yeah, sure thing.”

Rarity walked up to the door, pausing to look back one final time before exiting the barn.

When they were finally alone, Dash turned to face Pinkie Pie. She was smiling her usual goofy grin, almost as if nothing had ever happened, but there was something missing. The constant excited melody of the hyper pony’s voice was gone. For the first time since Dash had known her, Pinkie was remaining quiet.

As soon as she opened her mouth, the overflow of words that had been building up in Dash’s head began to spill out. “I’m so sorry Pinkie. I didn’t mean to say any of that stuff. You’re not disgusting, you’re amazing, and I love you. You know me, I never think, and I say the dumb—“ Dash’s voice began to falter but she forced herself to go on, “dumbest things, I’m so sorr—“

Suddenly, Pinkie stuck a hoof in her mouth. Dash blinked furiously, fighting back the urge to cry. The situation was uncool enough already.

Pinkie beamed her a smile that could have fragmented a brick wall. ”Dashie, there’s no reason to cry when No-Cry Pinkie Pie is around,” she said softly. “Sometimes you act silly and say silly things, but I can handle silliness better than anypony. So I forgive you.”

A wave of relief crashed over Rainbow Dash’s chest. “Thank you,” she said, bending her head down and nuzzling her marefriend’s neck affectionately, causing her to giggle.

“Sometimes, I act silly too you know,” Pinkie admitted. “Like last night, you asked me not to say anything, and I shouldn’t have. From now on, nopony else will know.”

Dash drew back to look her in the face. “No, that’s fine. It’s better now that our friends know. We should have told them way sooner.” She leaned forward until their snouts were nearly touching. ”Actually, I want everypony to know I have the coolest, funnest, most awesome marefriend in the whole world.” Dash tipped her head forward, pressing their muzzles and lips together.

Pinkie’s mouth flew open in a dramatic gasp that sent the unsuspecting pegasus tumbling backwards. “Oh! We have to tell everypony then!” she cried excitedly. “I’ve been waiting soooo long for this!”

“Yeah…” Dash replied, an idea forming in her head.

Her mind drifted back to a sappy romance novel Rarity had lent her recently. During the climax, after the two lovers had declared their feelings for each other, they soared across the rooftops of Canterlot, proclaiming their love to the ponies in the streets below. “Let’s do it right now!” she shouted, grabbing Pinkie up in her forelegs and shooting out the door as quickly as her wings would take her.

Ah-ah-ah-AH CHOO! Dash had been sneezing since she’d left Sweet Apple Acres. While she couldn’t be certain, she suspected it had something to with the bushy pink tail in her face that had been tickling her nose the whole way.

“Pinkie, why are you upside down?” she asked the pony dangling in her hooves. Indeed, Pinkie was upside down. Her forelegs and bouncy mane were waving wildly in the wind beneath the pegasus, while her legs and tail wiggled in the air above her head.

“Why aren’t you upside down?” Pinkie asked, pointing a hoof up at her courier.

Dash carefully considered the question. Now that she thought about it, there was no particularly good reason for her to be right side up. “Fair enough.”

She looked back to the barn and Sweet Apple Acres. Rarity and Applejack were still standing outside, though they looked much smaller now. Dash noticed that they appeared to be standing unusually close to each other.

Are they… hugging?

“Wheeee!” Pinkie yelled, rocking back and forth and causing Dash to sway dangerously.

“Pinkie!” Dash shouted, “Don’t swing like that, I’m gonna drop you!”

Rainbow Dash grunted from exertion, her wings were struggling to keep the two ponies in the air. Surprising considering she’d once carried four ponies at once. “Jeez, you need to lay off the cupcakes for a while, Pinks. You’re almost too heavy for me to carry.”

Pinkie let out an insulted gasp. “You take that back!”

“Only if you promise to go on a diet,” Dash said with a smirk. “Could you climb up onto my back? It’d be a lot easier to fly with you that way.”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkie reached her forelegs up, gripping onto her marefriend’s shoulders and scrabbling over her head. Pinkie then laid herself out on the Dash’s back with a contented sigh, her head resting near Dash’s cutie mark.

Dash peered up at the tail now resting on her head. “That isn’t what I meant,” she muttered under her breath.

She felt a sudden tug on her own tail. “Hey, don’t mess with my tail!”

“Sorry,” Pinkie replied, spitting the prismatic tail out of her mouth. “It’s sooo colorful, I couldn’t resist.”

Dash continued to fly without interruption until a question popped into her head. “Hey Pinks,” she called back. “What were you doing in that barn all day?”

“I was waiting for the cows,” Pinkie answered. “I thought they would cheer me up. I love those sounds they make."

"Moooo!” Pinkie’s cow impersonation was surprisingly accurate. Dash couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with her recent increase in size.

“Well, you’d fit right in— OW!” she cried out, feeling a stinging pain on her hind quarters. “Did you just bite me?!”

“Mm hmm,” Pinkie chirped. “Your flank tastes a lot different than your tail. The tail was really bland, but this was salty!”

Rainbow Dash scanned the ground for a suitable spot to land. As incredible as her physical endurance could be, even she had her limits. Fortunately, she was nearing one of Ponyville’s many parks. Angling herself down, she began her descent.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t properly taken into account the extra weight added by Pinkie (and the tail in her face hadn’t helped either), resulting in a not-so-spectacular crash. However, she’d managed to keep the number of smashed park benches down to two, which counted as a success in Dash’s book.

Popping briskly out of the wreckage, Rainbow Dash inspected her surroundings. A small crowd of passersby had already gathered, attracted by the fizzled landing, but it wasn’t nearly large enough to suit her purposes. An event as big as this one needed an appropriate audience to match. Dash excitedly flew laps around the park, waving her hooves in the air and shouting to nearby ponies, “Everypony gather round, I have an extremely important announcement to make!”

After she had the attention of a sizable assembly of park-goers, Dash took her place beside Pinkie Pie on the wrecked bench. “This is Pinkie Pie,” she called out to the gathered ponies in the most impressive voice she could muster, “and she is the most amazing, coolest, awesomest pony I’ve ever met.”

She turned to look Pinkie in the eyes, ignoring the crowd’s confused stares. “And I love her!” she announced, turning back to the onlookers. “And I’m proud of that.”

Then silence. For several moments, not a word was spoken among the gathering of ponies. Even Pinkie was being uncharacteristically quiet. Soon, a low murmuring began to develop. Dash had rushed through Rarity’s novel (she was almost as fast a reader as she was flyer) so her memory was somewhat vague on its ending, but it definitely hadn’t been like this. From what she could remember, there had been cheering and congratulations all around.

“Are you kidding me?” a dark coated pegasus near the front she recognized as Thunderlane cried. “That was your ‘extremely important announcement’?” A general rumble of discontent was moving through the crowd.

“What, did you think we were going to clap for you or something?” Thunderlane continued angrily.

“Well…” Dash’s voice died in her throat. Actually, that was exactly what she thought was going to happen.

“I thought there some big emergency going on!” he shouted, pointing a hoof towards her. “You had me really worried.”

Dash felt a wave of anger swell in her stomach. She’d bared her soul in front of a mass of ponies. The least they could have given her was a courtesy cheer and a little ‘Nice work Rainbow Dash, you’re such a radically wicked pony, can I get your autograph?’ But no, instead all she got was criticism.

“Oh, buzz off Thunderlane! This could have been a big special moment, but now you’ve ruined it.” He looked away embarrassingly.

“You can all go now, thanks for nothing,” she yelled to the crowd, bucking a piece of broken wood lying by her hoof.

Rarity and her stupid novels...

With the spectacle over, the crowd began to disperse, leaving Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie alone with the broken benches. “Well, I thought it was sweet,” Pinkie said warmly, speaking for the first time since they had crashed. “You know,” she said, putting a hoof to her chin, “if you and a cupcake were trapped in a giant toaster, and I had a giant pair of tongs and I could only save one of you, I’d probably pick you. I’m like ninety-nine point nine percent certain. Well actually…”

Dash felt a tapping at her shoulder and turned around to see that one of the other pegasi from the weather team, Blossomforth, had returned. “Ugh,” she groaned. “What do you want?”

Blossomforth smiled sheepishly. “Hey, I’m sorry about that, Thunderlane can be a bit of an idiot sometimes. I wanted to congratulate you,” she said, holding out a hoof.

Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up. Apparently the show hadn’t been a complete bust after all. “Thanks,” she replied, shaking her hoof.

“Yeah,“ Blossomforth continued, a smirk appearing on her face, “you finally came out of the closet, good for you!”

“Yeah, yeah…” Dash responded with a scowl, her ears drooping as the cheeky pegasus flew away. Was there anypony who didn’t already know? Turning back to Pinkie, she found that her marefriend was still debating whether to save her or a cupcake from the imaginary death toaster.

“…there's a lot of variables. Like, since it’s a giant toaster, is it a giant cupcake? Is it a giant Rainbow Dash?!” Her blue eyes opened wide at the newly discovered possibilities.

Dash thought about the sappy novel’s ending again. After their roof top announcement, the two lovers had shared a passionate kiss, concluding the story. Dash leaned forward to press her muzzle against Pinkie’s. Even if there announcement hadn’t gone as planned, at least she could end it right. To her surprise, the chatty pony didn’t seem to notice her advance and was still rambling away.

“…I think I might actually like to try a toasted cupcake sometime, but not so much a toasted Rain—“

“Pinkie!” Dash interrupted. “Could you shut up? I’m kind of trying to kiss you here.”

“Oh, that’s what you were doing,” Pinkie said with a giggle. She puckered her lips as far out as possible, in what Dash could only assume was her best imitation of a goldfish. “I’m ready!”

Dash facehoofed with a groan. “Never mind, let’s go get something to eat.”

Rarity and her stupid novels...

Spike watched his two friends trot out of the park together, side by side. “Man, that was really cheesy and cliché, huh Twilight?” he asked, looking up at her.

“Yeah,” she answered with a sigh. “It sure was cute though.”