Pinkie Pie yawned and stretched out and glanced about. The sun in her eyes told her it was another fine morning in Ponyville, and Pinkie had another wonderful weekend of partying under her belt. Well, under her fur, maybe? Pinkie Pie wondered whether Pinkie Pie should start wearing a belt to put things under.
The silly pink pony shook her head, getting rid of the thought. The intoxicating smell downstairs made her nose twitch. She emerged from bed with another yawn and drifted down the stairs.
"Mmm…morning, Mr. and Mrs. Cake," she said, stepping out with less bouncing and prancing than usual.
"Good morning Pinkie Pie," Mrs. Cake responded, a warm smile on that muzzle of hers as she wandered over, setting down an extra plate of food.
Pinkie sat with a gentle flomp and just stared at the table for a few seconds. It felt like all sorts of things and… nothing at all was going through her head, at the same time. She scrunched and leaned down to eat the pancakes and tried to not get too much syrup on her nose.
Mrs. Cake sat across from Pinkie and looked over her. She saw the slightly-less-poofy-than-usual hair and the pony munching away almost on autopilot. "How are you feeling, dearie?" she asked, head tilted.
Pinkie glanced up, muzzle almost coated in syrup and half-full of pancake. "I'm…" – trailing off for a couple seconds and swallowed her food – "-um, fiiii…" The word 'fine' hung on Pinkie's mind for a few moments and her eyes unfocused, looking a million miles away.
Pinkie shook her head and looked back across the table. "I-I'm sorry Mrs. Cake, this morning I'm, just," Pinkie raised her muzzle up towards the ceiling and trailed off again.
Mrs. Cake knew this Pinkie pretty well. The morning after the Mirror Pool incident, after Dash off went to Wonderbolt camp one time, and… well, Pinkie was just like this now and then. She was never the best at getting Pinkie to open up, but she knew what usually helped.
Mrs. Cake leaned in, voice just louder than a whisper. "You know, dearie? Turns out we're fine in the shop this morning, you don't need to open up with us," she said, a warm smile on her muzzle.
Pinkie looked over. "Are you-?" her eyes scanned the pony's face for a few moments. "Thanks, Mrs. Cake," she said with a weak smile.
"Would you like me to send your friends up, if any drop in?"
"Yes please," Pinkie said without hesitation, and looked down her pancakes.
And just like that, breakfast was over. Pinkie thanked Mrs. Cake and went back upstairs, to… ruminate. And think. And ruminate in the room she went to think in.
Pinkie shook her head again. She stepped over to the foot of her bed, muzzle scrunched. She sat on the ground and dragged the blanket over herself in a little Pinkie cocoon. Laying in bed, or bouncing around, or going outside didn't feel right this morning.
Pinkie let her thoughts wander. Her friends, her little town, her life here with the Cakes. Who she was letting down because her head was all fuzzy and weird today. Or maybe not fuzzy enough, maybe too un-fuzzy and too un-soft. She let out a soft sigh.
"Am I worth it?"
"Are you worth what?" a mare's voice from the stairs asked, causing Pinkie to look up and squeak. She smacked her head on the wooden foot of the bed she was leaned against.
Pinkie shuddered a little. "O-ow," she said, and was quickly engulfed by a concerned Starlight.
"O-oh no! Are you okay, Pinkie? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, I just…" she trailed off as her eyes met Pinkie's.
Pinkie gave her head a shake. A 'clearing your head' sort of shake, not a 'no' shake. And then she looked to Starlight, the unicorn all leaned-down and close, with a hoof on Pinkie's blanket.
"Are you okay, Pinkie?" Starlight asked, and that head of hers tilted.
"I'm… not," Pinkie said, glancing towards the stairs. "Is anyone with you, or?"
"No, it's just me this morning. I decided to come get some treats for everyone, but, well. Mrs. Cake told me you wanted to see me?"
"Well, not exactly," she said, trailing off a little. "If you want to go that's fine, I'm just, mh –" Pinkie glanced to the side "– I'm sorry Starlight, I'm just not having a good day."
Starlight perked up and grinned. "Oh, well, if you'd like we can go out and-"
Pinkie Pie shook her head.
"– stay right here?"
Pinkie Pie nodded.
Starlight paused for a moment, taking a glance around Pinkie's loft. "Would you like to do something in here, or?" she asked, looking back to the bundle of blanket with a soft pony centre.
The blankets opened a little and stayed open. Starlight joined the blanket-pile, nestling next to Pinkie.
The two just kept close to each other for a while. Pinkie shifted her head over and nuzzled into her friend's neck.
"So…" Starlight broke the silence, and nuzzled right back. "You asked… 'Am I worth it'?"
Pinkie gave a gentle nod. "Mhm."
"Worth what?"
Pinkie shrugged and stayed quiet for a few seconds. "…Well, y'know when you start thinking, and you keep thinking, and you can't really stop it and, well, you start thinking about your friends and your amazing family and your whole… life, and you just, y'know," she trailed off. A few moments later, she sighed and leaned against Starlight. "I feel like I'm thinking about a little bit and a lotta bit and all sorts of different things. And then, words just come out before I can think about them and I don't really know what they mean," she said and scrunched for what felt like the hundredth time today.
Starlight leaned away. Pinkie felt two hooves surround her and squeeeeze in a close cuddle. "I think you're worth it," Starlight said, nuzzling in against her friend's cheek.
"But you don't know what it means-"
Starlight giggled and gave her friend another little nuzzle. "Well, sometimes words just come out before I have a chance to think about them, and I know they're true. Whatever it is, you're worth it," she said, and gave a warm squeeze.
Pinkie softened a little and leaned into the cuddle. She bit the blanket and tugged it up over the two of them some more, before laying her head against Starlight's.
Starlight's a nice pony. And a good cuddler. That little voice in Pinkie's head went quiet for a while as they kept close and nuzzled the morning away.
Author's Note
Been a while since I've written some pony fiction, hope it's an alright read~
