Cheer Up
All she wanted right now was for him to just shut up.
She didn’t know why this rude thought came to mind, but with every word penetrating the silence thanks to the unicorn across from her, Sugar Coat found herself tuning out, occasionally adding a nod or some acknowledging sound to make it seem as though she was paying attention. To be honest she didn’t care what Spot Light was going on about, be it a potential callback for a role he auditioned for or something food-related. He might as well be speaking a different language for all she cared. A pudding tsunami could engulf the entirety of Equestria and the pegasus still wouldn’t give a single flying feather at all. She was tired to put it simply; of what she had no clue.
She felt like a storm was brewing around her and she was having difficulty finding a way out. The wind whistled in her ears, thunder boomed in the distance. There wasn’t any shelter she could take refuge in. She was trapped.
“...and we could even go check out some puppies if you’d like. How does that sound?” Spot Light looked up from his meal to the opposite end of the small table. He was surprised to see her absent-mindedly twirling her fork around the mini pasta mountain on her plate. Strange. Usually she’d have seconds by now. Did she serve herself too much? he wondered.
“You okay?” The occasional scrapes of the fork became the sole source of sound in the room. He tried again.
“Sweetie, are you alright?” Nothing. She was far away in her own little world. Well, it was time to come back.
“Sugar Coat!”
“Huh?” She suddenly snapped to attention at the call, the fork slipping from her hold and clattering against the plate. Sugar Coat winced at the noise before fully meeting her gaze to him.
A sigh flowed from Spot Light’s lips. “You weren’t even paying any attention, were you?”
She swallowed as the guilt showered over her. There was no point in lying. There wasn’t a need for a vocal response. It was there plain as day. She looked down; the pasta had now become a new hot topic. The twirling had resumed, slowly.
Spot Light couldn’t help the small frown from forming. “You haven’t eaten,” he commented.
She glanced up from her plate to his. It was true . His dish was practically visible save for a couple mouthfuls while her heaping pile remained. She could just hear her grandmother’s scolding ringing in her ears now. No doubt that she would be disappointed if she were to see all the food going to waste. Right now though, Sugar Coat could care less about it. “Not very hungry,’ came the soft mutter.
“Really?” Spot Light asked. “But you love pasta.”
She simply shrugged. There was more silence that soon followed, save for the fork’s scraping here and there. Distant, barely responsive. To the stallion, this wasn’t her. She was energetic, her face always set with a bright smile and ready to greet whoever passed by. Give her a sweets recipe and she’ll be on board to give it a try, even if the end result didn’t come out as expected. She was an adorable and affectionate ball of energy that had a spring in her step. So what happened to that bubbly spirit? Where did it all go?
“Hey,” Spot Light called, hoping to break the tension. “Guess who I saw today?”
She looked at him, awaiting for the response.
“Everypony I saw.”
Oh. She had already heard that joke before and if she were honest, it lost its amusement after the fourth time. She continued to look at him, her head resting on her free hoof in a bored manner.
He made another attempt. “I tried to catch some fog earlier. I mist.”
Nothing. Not even a giggle or a twitch of her lips.
“What do you call a sheep with no legs? A cloud.”
Sugar Coat just stared. Was that really the best you could do?
Spot Light gulped down the rest of his pasta before returning his attention to her. “Yeah, I know, not the best one,” he admitted.
A single head shake, followed by a soft “No”. The twirling continued on.
A silly joke was not going to remedy this whatsoever, the unicorn realized. He leaned forward in his seat, staring her down worriedly. “What’s wrong? You’re being so quiet.”
Another head shake, followed by a mumbled, “It’s nothing.” It was such an obvious lie and they both knew it.
“It’s definitely something,” he countered. “What’s the matter?”
Will you stop asking questions already?! her mind screamed. Shut up! Just go away and leave me alone! The shower of guilt had become a heavy downpour. Sugar Coat was thankful that Spot Light didn’t know any mind reading spells. The last thing she wanted was to hurt the one pony she cared most by lashing out.
But she was hurting him by remaining silent, she knew for a fact. Frustration was slowly nibbling away at her. She was at a loss. She let a sigh leave her before lifting the fork up and finally taking a bite, as well as chugging a glass of water to chase it down. At least the mare could cross eating cold noodles off of her list. Setting the fork down Sugar Coat stood and mumbled, “I’m tired.” It wasn’t technically a lie; she really was fatigued.
He was skeptical but he let it go. No need for an unnecessary argument to ensue. He sighed. “Alright. Are you going to bed now?” A nod served as his response. He then watched her sluggishly make her way out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. “I love you,” he called out.
She didn’t stop or even turn back. “Mm-hm. Love you too.” Her voice was so faint that the stallion could barely catch it. The soft click of the bedroom door soon greeted his ears. He stared at the abandoned pasta across from him before stealing a glance at the clock on the wall beside him.
It was only 7:30.
***
The birds had already begun to greet the new day with their songs from what Spot Light could hear. Green eyes fluttered open sleepily. He could barely make out the mop of green and white beside him in his dreary daze. Out of affectionate habit, he gently pulled her body closer and proceeded to nuzzle, being mindful to not disturb the mare’s slumber.
I hope you’re feeling better today.
Worry was consuming the stallion to pieces. This wasn’t her at all; the behavior displayed yesterday was all the proof he needed. Where was the adorable smile? What happened to the little bouncy glides she would take when they were out for a stroll through town? He was certain those brown eyes of hers were missing a hint of their usual spark when he caught her staring into nothing the night before.
Please be okay. With a gentle brush of her mane, Spot Light placed a quick kiss to her neck, his hold on her form unrelenting.
“Hey.”
The soft greeting startled him slightly. He didn’t anticipate the pegasus had already awoken. He was usually the first one up and ready to take on the day while she was snuggled up, far away in her dreams.
“Morning, sweetie,” he replied. He pulled her even closer, the nuzzling having already resumed on his part. He suddenly heard the pegasus ask, “Did you sleep okay?”
“Yeah, did you?”
A curtain of silence swept throughout the bedroom. Sugar Coat lay still with her gaze fixated on the window, her mind debating on whether to speak or not before settling with a shake of her head. A soft whimper followed. The nuzzling ceased, much to her disappointment, and before she could register what was happening she found herself being gently turned over and looking back into Spot Light’s concerned gaze.
“You okay?” he asked.
She felt cornered. She could feel that worried stare pierce through her from beneath the tousled gray locks of his mane. She felt guilty for the unnecessity of all this, foolish even. There was absolutely no reason for this behavior so what was wrong with her? What was the problem? Was there even one to begin with?
Denial kept pushing through her mind but the need for comfort soon won the battle. In a flash Sugar Coat had pulled Spot Light into a tight embrace, burying her face into the warmth of his red fur. A shaky breath left her, a simple sign of tears wanting to escape. In a quiet and strained voice she croaked out, “I’m sorry.”
Spot Light didn’t hesitate in returning the hug for even a moment. He rubbed her back soothingly, whispered comforting words into a pinned yellow ear. He sat themselves upright, the blanket having fallen away from them as they moved. He tightened his hold on her.
“For what?” he asked, confusion all over his tone. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“It’s about yesterday,” she confessed. “I’ve been feeling… I don’t know, empty? Lost? I’m not exactly sure how to put it.”
As much as he wanted to respond he backed down. Honestly, he had no clue on what to say. All he could do for now was hold her and hear her out.
“It feels… almost like there’s a storm, I guess. And I’m stuck in it.” Describing it was a little odd but it was the best she could come up with. “Maybe… maybe this is just… some sort of slump or something? I don’t know.” she concluded.
That might as well have been the sole possible solution. Wasn’t it normal to have a sudden burst of emotion that just needed some form of release? It was unexplainable sure, but did it really need one? Neither of them had a straight answer.
The pegasus slowly pulled back, the tell-tale lines of tears evident on her cheeks. She wiped them away, embarrassed to have displayed such vulnerability. A tear or two would end up slipping away from her no matter how many she tried to catch. She looked around the bed, her target having been found lying not too far from the edge. She reached towards the blue fabric, only for a green aura to take hold and lift it into the air and out of reach. Sugar Coat turned, pleading with her brown orbs to pass the blanket over.
Spot Light shook his head. “You’re not sleeping the day away.”
Please? her eyes begged.
There was no way he was going to let her snooze until the moon rose. His focus shifted between them in thought. There had to be something he could come up with. Anything to help.
“Hold still for a second,” he ordered.
Sugar Coat blinked in confusion. “Okay…?” She felt drained to retort with a classic sarcastic comment. She did as was requested, keeping still to the best of her ability. When curiosity began to bubble to the surface she opened her mouth to let it be heard, only for her voice to instantly die the moment she found herself being magically lifted into the air.
What is he up to? she pondered. She held her tongue as she watched Spot Light literally work his magic. Down went the blanket neatly on the bed, accompanied by the confused pegasus who now rested on top of it. Her tail swished anxiously, her mind now reeling with even more questions. What is going on? Just what was this unicorn planning?
“Now, you might end up feeling a bit dizzy afterwards.”
A dizziness warning? What did that have to do with anything? But before any acknowledgement could even be made her vision had gone completely upside down. A squeaky yelp echoed in the room as Sugar Coat was magically being rolled along with the blanket.
“EEEEEEEEEEP!”
Her mind was scrambling for some context. Just what kind of convoluted plan even was this? She could feel her head and stomach swimming with each roll until the sensation ceased as quickly as it came. Her vision was swirling, unfocused from the sudden rolling. Slowly, she blinked the dizziness away and a sudden realization hit her like a pie to the face. Every inch of her body was now in contact with the soft, comfy fleece. Her muzzle dug straight into the material. It felt… really nice.
“Aaaaannnd… done!” Once the lump had been settled upright Spot Light stepped back to marvel at his work. The blanket covered the mare from head to tail, her face being the only thing visible. This had to work. He was hopeful. He would do anything to see that smile again, whatever it takes. This seemed like a suitable first step.
“So, how do you feel?” he asked.
The mare glanced down at the rest of her then back up. “Like a burrito.”
Spot Light smiled. “Well, you make a cute burrito.”
Dual splotches of red dusted Sugar Coat’s cheeks. This didn’t go unnoticed, as Spot Light walked back towards the bed and hopped up, sitting beside her. With a tender smile he replied, “You are so adorable. Especially all bundled up like this.”
There was a giggle. A pure, happy giggle coming straight from her. Her lips were no longer carrying a frown. In its place instead was a shy, tiny smile.
Spot Light was practically beaming. “There’s that little smile!” He nuzzled her fondly. He really did miss that smile of hers after having seeing it completely absent. She was slowly coming around, bit by bit.
“Uh, Spot Light, could you do me a favor?” The bundled pony looked up at him, brown eyes wide with a single plea. “Can I have a hug please?” she asked shyly.
“Of course.” He pulled her into his embrace just as she began to lean in his direction. The nuzzling session resumed, this time with both participants. He gave her forehead a quick peck before stealing another from her lips. The tiny smile grew and Sugar Coat could feel her face turning as red as his coat.
“So… does this make me your little burrito now?”
He chuckled. “Yes. Yes it does. You’re my little sugary burrito.”
“I’m a sugarrito!” she exclaimed, a broad smile now resting on her face. Spot Light couldn’t help himself from bursting into laughter. It didn’t take long for Sugar Coat to soon join in. She could feel her spirits lifting, the ugly storm clouds breaking away. The sunshine was here. Time to start a new day.
Thank you.