Anxiety & Comfortby JoeTheBronyChaptersChapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Down at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was slouching behind the front desk, bored. There hadn’t been much activity at the bakery that day and it was a little too quiet for her personal liking. Then, there was a knock at the door. Pinkie snapped to attention and sat up straight. “Come in!” she called cheerily. Aria pushed the door open and walked in, with P.J glued to his side like a puppy. Pinkie Pie, being the romance fanatic that she was, was extra happy to help couples with their orders. “Heya, Aria! Hey there, P.J! What can I get you two lovely stallions today?” Pinkie said, smiling from ear to ear. “A strawberry muffin for me please Pinkie, and a pear muffin for this one.” Aria replied, playfully nudging P.J. “He’s not feeling 100% so I thought a trip to Sugarcube Corner and something sweet would be a nice way to cheer him up a bit.” Aria nuzzled his partner gently. “Oh? What happened?” Pinkie asked. “I uh… had an anxiety attack…” P.J mumbled, not wanting to bring too much attention to himself. Pinkie Pie frowned, clearly sad that one of her friends was hurting. “Aw, I’m so sorry to hear…” She leaned over the counter and took P.J’s hoof comfortingly into hers. “It’s okay, ya know. Your friends understand that’s just a part of who you are. Maybe a balloon ride would cheer you up?” P.J smiled at Pinkie. “It’s a sweet offer Pinkie, but no thanks. Not today, I just want to get my muffin and go…” Pinkie smiled back and hugged P.J tightly over the counter. “Ack… Pinkie! Can’t… breathe…” P.J exclaimed. Pinkie let go. “Whoops, sorry!” She giggled before turning back to Aria, smiling at him. “So one strawberry and one pear muffin! You got it!” She beamed, before carefully picking out and packaging the muffins Aria requested. “That’ll be a total of 10 bits, please!” Aria pulled 10 bits out of his wallet and slid them across the counter to Pinkie Pie. “Thanks so much, Pinkie.” “Of course! Have a wonderful day, you two!” Pinkie Pie waved goodbye to the couple as they left the bakery and headed home. Chapter 4Back at P.J’s home, Aria and P.J sat on his bed and started nibbling away at their muffins. When they finished, Aria gazed at P.J, smiling warmly. “Did that cheer you up, sweetie?” P.J smiled back at his partner. “It really did, thank you baby. Thank you for being here when I needed you most.” “No worries, sweetheart. I’ll always be there for you, you know that.” Aria replied, booping his partner’s snoot affectionately. P.J giggled and leaned into Aria’s side. “Could you… stay here tonight? I don’t really want to be alone.” Aria smiled. “Of course, baby, whatever you need.” P.J smiled happily and cuddled up to his partner more, as they lay down together on his bed. Aria wrapped his wing round P.J, pulling him in closer as they nuzzled each other, happy to be in each other’s company. P.J cushioned himself against his partner’s soft wings, his eyelids growing heavier with each second that passed the two lovers by. Aria looked down at his drowsy partner, smiling at him. “Getting sleepy?” He asked softly. P.J replied with a very sleepy, “Mmhmm…” Aria kissed his lover’s head tenderly. “Go to sleep, honey. I’ll keep you safe all night long. I love you so much.” Aria’s response was met with soft snoring coming from his side. He gave his darling a final kiss goodnight as he drifted off too, the two tired ponies embraced in each other’s love. Chapter 1It was a heavily rainy day in Ponyville, Equestria. Pear Jam (or P.J, as he was known to his friends) sat in his bedroom, gazing at the rain plastered to his window, feeling sorry for himself and down in the dumps. He often felt this way when he wasn’t in good company; he didn’t like to be alone. When left alone, he became more trapped in his own head, causing an undesired panic attack at the worst of times. His family genetics were a real curse on a bad day like today. Suddenly, P.J’s heart began to beat irregularly, he started breathing rapidly, taking short bursts of breaths, sweating profusely. “No, no, no, not again…” He tried to take slow, deep breaths, like his therapist had advised him. When that failed to work, he thought of the only other pony who could help him calm down – his partner, Aria Crown. P.J frantically grabbed a quill and scroll, in the process messing up his desk, and scribbled a message to his partner. “Aria, I’m having a panic attack again… I need you here… please, I can’t manage this alone…” P.J, shaking and sweating, stuffed the scroll haphazardly into the magic letterbox he had at his bedside. He paced around his room, heart racing, hoping his partner would get to him quickly enough before things got worse. Chapter 22 minutes later, Aria burst through the door to P.J’s room, using the spare key he kept for situations like this. Inside, he found his partner sweating and shaking while pacing, muttering frantically, hyperventilating. Aria came up behind P.J and embraced him in a warm comforting hug. “I’m here hun, I’m here…” he said softly, stroking his partner’s mane with a hoof. Aria slid on to the end of P.J’s bed with his boyfriend still in his embrace, rubbing his back tenderly with his free hoof. “I’m here, I’m here, shhhh, it’s okay, shhhh. Take deep breaths, deep breaths now hun…” He muttered into his partner’s mane, knowing what to say to calm him down. Aria kept rocking P.J gently, shushing him and trying his best to calm down his frazzled partner, breathing in and out deeply and trying his best to get P.J to do the same. P.J started relaxing in the caring hold of his partner, mimicking Aria’s breaths, in and out, alongside him. After a few long deep breaths, he relaxed fully, and motioned for Aria to let him go as he sat up, still shaking a little. “There we go, does that feel better hun?” asked Aria. P.J nodded and replied with a nonchalant, “Mhm.” An idea popped into Aria’s head. “I know, how about we go down to Sugarcube Corner and ask Pinkie Pie to whip us up some muffins? Would that cheer you up?” P.J nodded and smiled softly. “That would be nice, yes. Thank you honey.” He leaned into Aria’s side. The pegasi’s orange fur felt so warm. Aria chuckled endearingly at how affectionate his stallion was. “Of course, darling. Shall we go?” Aria stood up and P.J followed suit, heading out of his bedroom, down the stairs and out the front door. They started the short trek to Sugarcube Corner, P.J staying close by his partner’s side.
Chapter 3Down at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was slouching behind the front desk, bored. There hadn’t been much activity at the bakery that day and it was a little too quiet for her personal liking. Then, there was a knock at the door. Pinkie snapped to attention and sat up straight. “Come in!” she called cheerily. Aria pushed the door open and walked in, with P.J glued to his side like a puppy. Pinkie Pie, being the romance fanatic that she was, was extra happy to help couples with their orders. “Heya, Aria! Hey there, P.J! What can I get you two lovely stallions today?” Pinkie said, smiling from ear to ear. “A strawberry muffin for me please Pinkie, and a pear muffin for this one.” Aria replied, playfully nudging P.J. “He’s not feeling 100% so I thought a trip to Sugarcube Corner and something sweet would be a nice way to cheer him up a bit.” Aria nuzzled his partner gently. “Oh? What happened?” Pinkie asked. “I uh… had an anxiety attack…” P.J mumbled, not wanting to bring too much attention to himself. Pinkie Pie frowned, clearly sad that one of her friends was hurting. “Aw, I’m so sorry to hear…” She leaned over the counter and took P.J’s hoof comfortingly into hers. “It’s okay, ya know. Your friends understand that’s just a part of who you are. Maybe a balloon ride would cheer you up?” P.J smiled at Pinkie. “It’s a sweet offer Pinkie, but no thanks. Not today, I just want to get my muffin and go…” Pinkie smiled back and hugged P.J tightly over the counter. “Ack… Pinkie! Can’t… breathe…” P.J exclaimed. Pinkie let go. “Whoops, sorry!” She giggled before turning back to Aria, smiling at him. “So one strawberry and one pear muffin! You got it!” She beamed, before carefully picking out and packaging the muffins Aria requested. “That’ll be a total of 10 bits, please!” Aria pulled 10 bits out of his wallet and slid them across the counter to Pinkie Pie. “Thanks so much, Pinkie.” “Of course! Have a wonderful day, you two!” Pinkie Pie waved goodbye to the couple as they left the bakery and headed home.
Chapter 4Back at P.J’s home, Aria and P.J sat on his bed and started nibbling away at their muffins. When they finished, Aria gazed at P.J, smiling warmly. “Did that cheer you up, sweetie?” P.J smiled back at his partner. “It really did, thank you baby. Thank you for being here when I needed you most.” “No worries, sweetheart. I’ll always be there for you, you know that.” Aria replied, booping his partner’s snoot affectionately. P.J giggled and leaned into Aria’s side. “Could you… stay here tonight? I don’t really want to be alone.” Aria smiled. “Of course, baby, whatever you need.” P.J smiled happily and cuddled up to his partner more, as they lay down together on his bed. Aria wrapped his wing round P.J, pulling him in closer as they nuzzled each other, happy to be in each other’s company. P.J cushioned himself against his partner’s soft wings, his eyelids growing heavier with each second that passed the two lovers by. Aria looked down at his drowsy partner, smiling at him. “Getting sleepy?” He asked softly. P.J replied with a very sleepy, “Mmhmm…” Aria kissed his lover’s head tenderly. “Go to sleep, honey. I’ll keep you safe all night long. I love you so much.” Aria’s response was met with soft snoring coming from his side. He gave his darling a final kiss goodnight as he drifted off too, the two tired ponies embraced in each other’s love.
Chapter 1It was a heavily rainy day in Ponyville, Equestria. Pear Jam (or P.J, as he was known to his friends) sat in his bedroom, gazing at the rain plastered to his window, feeling sorry for himself and down in the dumps. He often felt this way when he wasn’t in good company; he didn’t like to be alone. When left alone, he became more trapped in his own head, causing an undesired panic attack at the worst of times. His family genetics were a real curse on a bad day like today. Suddenly, P.J’s heart began to beat irregularly, he started breathing rapidly, taking short bursts of breaths, sweating profusely. “No, no, no, not again…” He tried to take slow, deep breaths, like his therapist had advised him. When that failed to work, he thought of the only other pony who could help him calm down – his partner, Aria Crown. P.J frantically grabbed a quill and scroll, in the process messing up his desk, and scribbled a message to his partner. “Aria, I’m having a panic attack again… I need you here… please, I can’t manage this alone…” P.J, shaking and sweating, stuffed the scroll haphazardly into the magic letterbox he had at his bedside. He paced around his room, heart racing, hoping his partner would get to him quickly enough before things got worse.
Chapter 22 minutes later, Aria burst through the door to P.J’s room, using the spare key he kept for situations like this. Inside, he found his partner sweating and shaking while pacing, muttering frantically, hyperventilating. Aria came up behind P.J and embraced him in a warm comforting hug. “I’m here hun, I’m here…” he said softly, stroking his partner’s mane with a hoof. Aria slid on to the end of P.J’s bed with his boyfriend still in his embrace, rubbing his back tenderly with his free hoof. “I’m here, I’m here, shhhh, it’s okay, shhhh. Take deep breaths, deep breaths now hun…” He muttered into his partner’s mane, knowing what to say to calm him down. Aria kept rocking P.J gently, shushing him and trying his best to calm down his frazzled partner, breathing in and out deeply and trying his best to get P.J to do the same. P.J started relaxing in the caring hold of his partner, mimicking Aria’s breaths, in and out, alongside him. After a few long deep breaths, he relaxed fully, and motioned for Aria to let him go as he sat up, still shaking a little. “There we go, does that feel better hun?” asked Aria. P.J nodded and replied with a nonchalant, “Mhm.” An idea popped into Aria’s head. “I know, how about we go down to Sugarcube Corner and ask Pinkie Pie to whip us up some muffins? Would that cheer you up?” P.J nodded and smiled softly. “That would be nice, yes. Thank you honey.” He leaned into Aria’s side. The pegasi’s orange fur felt so warm. Aria chuckled endearingly at how affectionate his stallion was. “Of course, darling. Shall we go?” Aria stood up and P.J followed suit, heading out of his bedroom, down the stairs and out the front door. They started the short trek to Sugarcube Corner, P.J staying close by his partner’s side.
