Whispers and Wishes

I stare blankly into the darkness of Pinkie's ceiling above. My mind wanders. My friends are asleep all around me, but I continue to lay awake, and continue to think of her.

I hear a rustle and try to look to see if anyone had awoken, but don't see anything. I lay my head back down.

I sigh, closing my eyes and resolve to get some sleep.

I whisper to her, "Goodnight, Pinkie…"

Pinkie speaks up. "Fluttershy?"

My eyes shoot open. "Pinkie?"

Pinkie asks with a concerned tone, "Can't sleep?"

I gently move my hand, trying to find hers. "No, I can't stop thinking."

"Oh, about what?"

About you.

I find her hand and hold it. "About what I wish for…"

Pinkie holds my hand in return. "Ooh, what do you wish for? I'll tell you my wish if you tell me yours!"

I hesitate for a moment, but relent. "Deal… but can you go first?"

"Sure. I wish for your wish to come true! And for all my friends to be happy!"

I try to speak, but don't know what to say. All that comes out in a squeak.

Pinkie asks, worried, "Are you alright? You're squeezing my hand a lot all of a sudden."

I falter. "I… I'm… I'm sorry."

Her voice softens. "It's okay. We can talk about something else."

"Like what?"

Pinkie asks with optimism, "Are you enjoying the sleepover so far?"

"Yes, I had a lot of fun, but I couldn't stop thinking about…"

"Am I helping by holding your hand?"

"Yes."

She's squeezing my hand, what do I do?

"Thank you…"

"You're welcome!"

The room goes unusually quiet as I can hear my heart beating in my chest.

What do I say? Can she hear my rapid heartbeat?

Pinkie says in a gentle tone, "This is nice."

I don't answer, paralyzed by my anxieties.

I squeeze her hand a bit tighter and calm down.

I eventually say, "Yes."

Pinkie squeezes back. "I know I'm not the most serious of people usually, but I'm always here for you if you need anything."

I don't need to look at her to see her genuine smile. I can hear it.

What should I say?

"Thank you… thank you."

We just lie there in silence. Eventually I get comfortable enough and start playing little hand games with her. The room stays silent, except for the occasional outburst of muffled giggles coming mostly from Pinkie Pie.

I stop fiddling around as I feel her scooting closer.

I wait a minute before asking, "Do you ever feel lonely?"

"I think everybody does sometimes. Is that why you held my hand?"

"Kinda… I've been feeling different lately, and I don't know what to do…"

"I'm glad you held my hand, it kept me from being lonely, too. Maybe I can help you somehow?"

"Do you ever feel a connection to someone you can't explain?"

"Hmm, yes, actually."

"That's why I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about… you… I feel different around you… and I didn't understand why for the longest time. I really like being around you, a lot."

I can feel a blush forming as I wait for her reply.

"That's very nice of you to think of me. I love thinking about my friends."

I giggle slightly. "Pinkie…"

"What?"

I sigh and squeeze her hand. "I… like you."

"Oh."

"I've wanted to tell you for a while," I whisper, my voice softening. "But I've been too shy…"

She squeezes my hand. "Well, you told me now, and that's great!"

I say, with hope in my heart and voice, "Does that mean… you like me?"

Pinkie speaks in a quiet but rushed voice, "Earlier, before we started talking, I felt my Pinkie Sense, and it told me that someone was going to hold my hand tonight. I didn't know what to think of it, I thought something bad might happen! And I noticed, before all that, that you were acting differently around me, and I was sorta acting differently around you too. In a differently-er kinda way. I didn't know what it meant, but when I saw you couldn't sleep, I realized it was you who I was going to hold hands with. And it made me happy! Like super-duper happy! I knew that it could only mean one thing, especially when you asked about being lonely and having a connection to someone."

I hesitantly ask, "What did it mean?"

Pinkie shouts at a whisper's volume, "That I like you too!"

"You do?!"

"Yes!"

"Yay!"

My heart flutters as the reality of the situation hits me.

Pinkie Pie likes me back!

"Fluttershy?"

"Yes?"

"Will you go out with me?"

I squeeze her hand and smile wide. "Yes!"

"Yay!"

We go silent and after a few moments of taking in this moment, Pinkie asks, "Was that your wish?"

"Yes, I really like you and wanted to date you."

"I'm glad I could make your wish a reality. And I'm glad I discovered I had the same wish as you!"

"Thank you, I'm glad too."

I see Pinkie's silhouette rise, and she uses my hand to pull me up with her.

Moments later, I'm wrapped in a tight Pinkie Pie hug. I return the hug and sink into it.

I hear her squee as I tighten my hold on her.

A few tears escape my eyes as we linger in the loving embrace.

We let go after a bit and stared at each other with big smiles on our faces.

I yawn and Pinkie follows suit.

Pinkie speaks up, "We should probably get some sleep. We have a lot of dating to do tomorrow."

We lay back down, not holding hands anymore.

I speak up and ask, "Sounds fun, but… can we hold hands while we fall asleep?"

"Absolutely," Pinkie says with enthusiasm.

Pinkie grabs my hand and holds it gently.

I giggle. "Goodnight, Pinkie."

She squeezes my hand. "Goodnight, Fluttershy."

All our friends say in unison, "Goodnight Pinkie, goodnight Fluttershy."