Love Life (or Pinkie Pie's Heartbreak Repair Service)

You open the fridge, bathing its contents with the little light from the top of it. A variety of vegetables, all forms of fruit and other assorted goods and cheeses decorate the interior.

A couple of old bottles remain huddled in the fridge’s corner. You’ve stopped with the nightly bingeing through Pinkie’s advice, and learnt to save them for celebration, not self-mourning. Most of the supplies wound up being donated to your friend as thanks for her helping you. You decide that they’re better off bringing happiness to others in parties than being wasted on your wallowing.

Honestly, nopony is stopping you from drinking them right here and now, but for some reason, you just don’t… need to drink right now. Not any more. That’s got to be a good thing.

With a smile, you take the ingredients you need and shut the fridge door. It’s been four whole weeks since you fell off a balcony and into Pinkie Pie’s life, and every day has been a small improvement. On most days, these improvements were so tiny that you hadn’t noticed them until looking back and seeing how far you’d come.

The house itself is cleaner too. Heck, if there’s a pretty mare coming here on a regular basis, it’s best to keep the place presentable.

Wait. Did you just call Pinkie Pie ‘pretty’?

Yes. Yes you did. And you have every right to! You’re single, you’re allowed to have an eye for the cute mares without fear of being chastised by…

Your eyes drift towards the drawer, and the envelope that lies under it, gathering dust day by day. No. You still don’t have the heart to stand that.

After a hearty omelette for breakfast (it’s a good job Pinkie’s given you a few tips for a quick and easy meal) you set off for the Sugarcube Corner. You’ve recently taken to helping your friend though her morning shift (voluntarily, of course, with no money spent on the Cake’s behalf). It just gave you a reason to get up in the morning.

Plus, she doesn’t mind the company.

Whoa, not like that. As in, she’s just really happy when she has somepony to talk to while the Cakes are preoccupied with their foals. Yeah.

*******

She gives you a usual, cheery greeting; a quick, feel-good hug. She asks you how you’re feeling. A lot better, honestly.

“That’s great to hear,” she chirps, “C’mon, I’m helping Mrs Cake with baking duty today, covering for Mr Cake while he’s taking the twins to the doctors.”

“Are they going for their injections?”

“Injections and lollipops by the end of it!” she beams.

Pinkie Pie. The eternal optimist.

The day ticks on, accompanied by the pleasant scent of baking. As midday approaches, you both discuss what step to take next on your road to recovery.

“I’ve gotta be honest,” she mumbles, nervously scratching the back of her head, “I’m not too sure about how to get over the heartbreak part. I’ve been sad, sure, but I’ve never been heartbroken before, so I can’t really say I know how that feels like, nor how to deal with it.”

“You’ve never been dumped before?” you ask casually, “Always the dumper, never the dumpee?”

“Nah, I’ve just never been in a relationship.”

“What!?” It’s hard to imagine that such a happy, bubbly personality like Pinkie Pie has gone through her whole life without a special somepony, “Really? But what do you do on days like Heart and Hooves Day?”

“This past one? I got my friend Twilight to cast a glimmer-wing spell on me, then I flew around the town wearing a diaper, firing foam heart-shaped arrows at happy couples! They weren’t mad.”

Trust Pinkie to say something like that. Before you could inquire more into it, Mrs Cake pokes her head through the door to the baking area.

“Sorry to bother you, dearie,” she says, “but I’m a little behind on orders, could you whip up a couple of milkshakes for Twilight and her friend while I‘m tending to other customers?”

“Twilight and who?” Pinkie muses, before gasping in realisation, “Say no more, Mrs Cake, I’ll get right on it! Better yet, I’ll pay for on their behalf too.”

“Are you sure, dearie? It’ll be four bits.”

“Sure I’m sure! Tell ‘em it’s on the house!”

Later after the two lucky ponies who got free milkshakes came and went, you’re left wondering what would cause Pinkie Pie to do that. To be who she is, to do what she does. By the end of the shift, you think you’ve had it figured out.

“I’ve got it. You don’t live for yourself.” you say suddenly as you help her pack away the baking utensils.

“Huh?”

“Those two ponies who walked in here a while ago. They were a couple, weren’t they?”

Your pink friend nods cheerfully. “If they weren’t before, they are now!”

“Exactly. You work so hard to make other ponies happy, but I’ve never seen you make time for yourself.”

“Oh, I treat myself well enough, trust me,” she smirks, thinking back to the cupcake she had recently treated herself with, “It’s just that I’m happiest just to see everypony else happy too. It doesn’t matter if I’m missing out on anything as a result.”

“But that’s not what living’s all about,” you reply, “It’s how to live the life you want, not anypony else’s. You told me that in your song.”

Pinkie opens her mouth to explain how that wouldn‘t apply to her, but she ultimately fails to find the right words.

“I’ll tell you what,” you continue, “Since you’ve been helping me all this time with my life - well, the remains of it - I’ll help you right back with yours. I’m sure somepony in this town would love to date a cute girl like you.”

Pinkie’s response is something between a giggle, a daw and a swoon.

“Are you alright?”

“Y- yeah, it’s just that I didn’t know you thought I was cute.”

Those words alone pluck at your heartstrings. Deep down, you know it’s a shame that you can’t offer yourself forward. Heck, she’s already helping you get over one heartbreak, if you risk losing Pinkie too, who could possibly help you recover from that? You wouldn’t survive a second love-loss.

“Well, you are cute,” you say, pretending not to notice her rosy-red blush, “And I think you should find a special somepony for yourself out there and make them happy. It’s what you like to do best, after all.”

When you finish clearing up, you bid Pinkie a fond farewell, complete with a friendly, parting hug.

Unbeknownst to you, as soon as the door shuts behind you, Pinkie Pie takes a long, uneasy sigh of uncertainty, and trots through to the living room of the Cake family…

*******

You drift through your thoughts on the walk home. Okay, so you’ve turned down the chance to date the nice party girl. That’s okay. Considering the past few weeks with Pinkie, compared to all of those months you were with your ex, it’s obvious that friendship has helped more than courtship. No biggie.

But maybe comparing Pinkie to your ex isn’t really the way to go. After all, they’re both so different from each other. Your ex? She was self-centred. Her upper class connections in Canterlot was more important than the emotions of somepony she supposedly loved. The fact that she dumped you just for the sake of hooking up with somepony ‘more important’ proved that.

Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, is the opposite of self-centred. Utterly selfless, in fact. Her main objective in life is putting others before her, helping others, making them happy, throwing parties… because that’s where her key to happiness lies. And looking back, Pinkie herself is a happier pony than she-who-must-not-be-named despite not having all the bits in the world and having no connection to the upper class, as far as you know.

It goes to show, money isn’t everything. It certainly shouldn’t play a big part in romance, at least. Expensive champagne, lavish flowers, posh meals by candlelight while a classical band serenades you both throughout the evening… what good is all of that when the love isn’t genuine?

And yet, a cheap, hearty meal. A large box of tasty chocolates. Something, anything, to drink around the table as you gab and chatter and laugh the evening away. If the love’s real, it’s a million times better than the higher price tag. Screw the money you wasted. Your ex can keep it. You’re well enough off with happiness, thank you very much.

The more you think about it, the more you’re starting to regret having Pinkie Pie as just a friend. You wish you could go further. Of course you wish that. Stick with somepony who gives you all the happiness in the world without a second thought. But the consequences of it all… no. Maybe you wouldn’t be able to make the jump from friends to lovers. Either you’ve left it too late already, or you’re jumping into it too early. You’re not sure which excuse to use. Either way, it’s safer to just not try. Can’t have your heart broken if you never leave it vulnerable in the first place.

Soon, your thoughts guide you to the door to your abode. You turn the key in the lock, only to find it jamming. Not wanting to turn. A moment later, you discover that’s because it’s already unlocked.

Could it be that you’re walking into your own home being robbed? Could it be that you’ve been broken into!?

You push the door open, and feel an icy jolt of panic and dread runs through your heart and veins when you see-

“Y- you!”

“Hello, my dear ex-fiancé. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”