> Feelings Within > by TheCloudtop > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Slumbering Feelings > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pinkie was pronking along the street, on her way to Twilight’s. Earlier that day, Twilight had asked Pinkie if she wanted to have a sleepover, and Pinkie, being Pinkie, had happily agreed. She had wanted to bring a bunch of party items for the sleepover, which Twilight had acquiesced to, albeit reluctantly.         So she pronked along, sleepover items in tow, happy to spend some time with her book-loving friend. In fact, unbeknownst to anypony else, Pinkie had something of a crush on Twilight, although it wasn’t anything serious. She enjoyed time with Twilight more than she did anypony else. For her, being around Twilight calmed her, allowed her to relax. Twilight’s cool demeanor was a breath of fresh air for Pinkie. Needless to say, Pinkie had been finding more and more reasons to be around Twilight; going to the library to check out the books, and more importantly the mare that worked there. It had become an almost daily thing for Pinkie. “I hope she likes the cupcakes I made,” Pinkie said to nopony in particular as she looked into her bag. The cupcakes were purple, with a pink streak in the middle. The icing was much the same. “I didn’t really mean to make them like her mane, but oh well.” With a shrug of her shoulders, Pinkie pronked along the path. Twilight sat in the library, waiting for Pinkie Pie to show up. “Ohhhh, what I am going to do when Pinkie gets here? The last time I had a slumber party, I wound up having a tree come through my window. I really don’t want a repeat of that.” Twilight looked around the room. Pillows, cushions and blankets covered the floor. Milk and other ingredients for s'mores were placed on a table with a book-patterned tablecloth. Twilight stretched as she got up, checking the layout for the fourth time. “I hope I got everything just right. Everything needs to be perfect.” A scroll levitated in front of her, coated in a lavender magical aura. “Pillows? Check. Blankets? Check. Cushions? Check. S’mores? Check. Milk? Check.” Her head turned as she looked around the room, lips turned up in a smile, “Quadruple check the checklist? Check.” Hooves clicking on the floor, she gave one last look over the room. Satisfied, she settled down on one of the cushions positioned on the floor. Twilight had wanted to have another sleepover ever since her first one with Rarity and Applejack, and Pinkie had seemed the natural choice as the party pony. Intrigued by Pinkie’s increased time at the library, Twilight had asked the pink pony to have a sleepover. Pinkie had always fascinated Twilight, but with the onset of her daily visits, the inquisitive librarian found herself curious as to the reason. So, the sleepover had an ulterior motive, but just a small one.         Pinkie came to the front door of the library. Putting the party items down, a solid thumping sound coming from the contact of hoof on wood as Pinkie made her presence known. The door opened, revealing Twilight standing in the doorway. “Hiya, Twilight! Are you ready for the best slumber party you’ve ever had?!” Pinkie asked, pronking into the library, smiling from ear to ear.         Twilight grabbed the party items in her magical grip, as she turned back inside, closing the door in the process. The lavender mare took a quick peek in the basket. After taking a moment to distribute the contents throughout the room to complement her own endeavors, she turned back to her sugar-powered friend with a grin. “Sure. What do you think of the library?”         Pinkie’s head turned as she looked around the room. Smiling, she said, “Everything looks superific! I couldn’t have done better myself!”         Blushing and smiling, Twilight’s head turned down and away. “Thanks, Pinkie. You always know how to make me smile.” Twilight scuffed her hoof on the floor. “So, what do you want to do first?”         Beaming, Pinkie started rummaging through the bag of party items. “Nope, that’s not it, get out of the way, rubber ducky, I don’t need you yet... Aha! Here it is!” Grinning, she turned back to Twilight. Held in her hooves was a box that read: Ponyopoly. ‘A funtastic game of Ponyopoly is a surefire way to get a good sleepover going!’”         Shaking her head, Twilight laughed. “Oh, Pinkie. You always know how to make things fun. Lets get started then.”         Pinkie grinned. “Okie dokie lokie!”         “Just a little bit more... almost there... reach, reach...”         “I can’t keep this up... this is too much...”         “There! Yes!”         Pinkie stretched, her hoof just barely reaching over to the opposite side of the board. “There! I didn’t think my hoof could stretch that far. That was a doozy.” Pinkie wiped her forehead with the back of her hoof. “Your turn, Twilight!” Pinkie looked up at Twilight, handing her the dice as she did.         Lifting the dice in a magical grip, the purple pony threw the dice onto the board. They rolled across the board, landing in boxcars. “Yes! Double sixes! I needed those!” She lit up her horn, moving her piece on the board. “Your move, Pinkie.”         “Twilight?”         “Yes, Pinkie? What is it?” Twilight looked up from the game.         Pinkie got up, and walked around to Twilight. “Could we take a quick break? I brought something I wanted to share with you.” Pinkie went to the bag she had brought with her. Bringing it over to Twilight, she sat down next to her. “Close your eyes.”         Twilight turned her head, curiosity coloring her face. “What for?”         Pinkie smiled. “Just do it. Trust me.” Twilight closed her eyes, a little nervous. Withdrawing a cupcake from her satchel, she put it in front of Twilight’s mouth. “Open up.” She placed the cupcake in Twilight’s open mouth. Slowly chewing the cupcake, Twilight’s eyes shot open, her face full of surprise.         “Pinkie, that was delicious! Did you make that?” The lavender unicorn’s tongue ran over her lips, searching for crumbs. “Do you have any more?” She looked around, in hopes of another treat.         The poofy-maned pony reached into her bag, offering another cupcake. Twilight cocked her head. “Any specific reason they look just like my mane?”         Pinkie looked away, her already pink cheeks darkening a tad. “Well, I don’t really know. I just wanted to bake you some cupcakes, and this is kinda how they turned out.” Twirling her mane with a hoof, Pinkie looked back up at her friend. “So, you really like ‘em?         Twilight smiled. “I really do. Those are the best cupcakes I have ever had, and I think it’s cute that they look like my mane. Though, if I didn’t know any better, I would think you had a crush on me or something.” Taking the cupcake out of her pink friend’s hoof, she unceremoniously shoved the whole thing in her mouth. “Mmmmmmm, dese ur rly gud.” Swallowing the cupcake, Twilight looked at her friend, cocking her head. “Pinkie, are you okay? You got really quiet all of a sudden. I was just joking about the whole ‘you having a crush on me’ thing, you know.” Pinkie just stared at her friend. “Pinkie, are you alright?”         The earth pony shook her head. “Oh, sorry, I was just thinking, I’m fine. I’m really glad you like them, Twilight.” Glancing over at their game, Pinkie walked back over to the board. “Wanna continue?”         Twilight shook her head. “As long as we are taking a break, how about some s’mores and milk? I have just the right ratio of marshmallow to chocolate to graham cracker to milk. I put them together myself.” Twilight beamed. “Making treats for my sleepover guest is the least I could do.” Pinkie bounced up from the board, landing squarely next to Twilight.         “Sounds good to me! You’re such a good friend, Twilight.” Nuzzling her, Pinkie turned to the s’mores. “These look really good! Thanks!” Twilight just stared in amazement as one of the s’mores disappeared at an alarming rate as Pinkie ate it, followed quickly by a guzzled glass of milk, complete with small streams running down her face. Turning back to Twilight, she said, “You really did have the right ratio. The marshmallow should never overwhelm the chocolate, and the chocolate should always complement the graham cracker. Come to think of it, how did you manage to do these just right? I didn’t think you were into making treats.”         Twilight blushed slightly. “Well, it all has to do with the first--and only--sleepover I had. Rarity showed me how to make them, and you know Rarity, she had to make them just right. I took notes on what she told me so I could make them if I ever needed to.” A s’more glowed as Twilight lifted it to her mouth. “Mmmmmm, these really are good. I’m not so bad with food after all. I wish Spike were here, so I could show him these.”         Pinkie’s head did a one eighty. “Now that you mention it, where is Spike? WAIT! Was he dragonnapped? Do we need to form a search party?!” Pinkie zipped around the room, turning into a pink blur. Sticking her head into the bread box, the pink blur zoomed around to the the broom closet, then reappeared by the sink. She rushed to a bookshelf, pulling out the largest tome and skimming it before slamming it back. She came bounding back to her face hoofing friend in a cloud of pink.         Pulling a megaphone out of nowhere, the hyper pink pony yelled into it, “SPIIIIIIIIIIKE! WHERE ARE YOUUUUUUUUUUU!?”         Twilight quickly covered her ears with her hooves. “He’s over at Rarity’s!” she shouted. Taking her hooves away from her ears, “And could you please put the megaphone away? There are ponies sleeping.”         Stowing her megaphone, Pinkie giggled. “Sorry, I got a little carried away. You said he’s over at Rarity’s?”         Twilight nodded. “Yes. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo wanted to have a sleepover at Rarity’s. When Spike heard about it, he wanted to go too. I figured he doesn’t get out much, and it would free us to have our sleepover as well. It’s a win-win situation for everypony.”         Pinkie nodded her head enthusiastically. “Yep! Spike does spend way too much time in the library. Ya know, sometimes I half expect him to be transformed into a book or something.”         Twilight just shook her head. “Is that why you were looking for him in the bookshelves?”         Pinkie’s head bounced up and down, resembling a bobblehead. “Yeah! I mean, what better place to find a dragon-turned-book than a bookcase?”         The purple pony smiled. “Even though the chances of Spike transforming into a book are practically zero, I suppose if he had been turned into a book, that would be the best place to look.” Twilight looked back at Ponyopoly. “You up to finishing our game?”         Pinkie bounced over to board. “Sure!”         Twilight turned to Pinkie. “How in Equestria did you manage to make a comeback from that, Pinkie? I had three corners of the board!”         The pony in question giggled. “Easy peasy, Twilight. I only had to avoid landing on your squares, and have you land on mine. Nothing to it!”         “But... but... HOW? The only property you had was Appleloosa and the Buffalo Camps. Those are the worst properties in the game! Just... HOW?”         Pinkie giggled even more. “Hee hee. I already told you, Twilight. I just had to make sure I didn’t land on your spaces. It’s not that hard.”         Twilight’s hooves made solid contact with her face. Rubbing her face in her hooves, she sighed. “This is going to be one of those 'Pinkie Sense' things, isn’t it?”         Pinkie smiled, a wide, knowing grin on her face. “Probably.”         Twilight looked around the room. Her face lit up as her gaze fell upon the giant telescope in the upper corner of the room. “I know! Pinkie, have you ever fallen asleep while stargazing? It is really relaxing.”         Pinkie shook her head. “No, at least, not from inside a tree. Sounds like fun!”         The sound of hooves click-clacking on the floor echoed throughout the tree, as the two ponies made their way over to the glass covered ceiling of the viewing area by the telescope. Twilight levitated a comforter and two pillows over, and spread them out on the floor. Patting the comforter with a hoof, “Come on, Pinkie. Get comfortable. You’re in for a real treat!” Twilight settled in, her pink friend joining her.         Looking up into the night sky, Twilight motioned with her hoof, pointing out the various constellations. “See that one? That’s the Big Dipper! That one over there? That’s the Ursa Minor.” Twilight turned to face Pinkie. “Isn’t this fun and relaxing all at the same time? I do this every chance I get.”         Pinkie giggled softly. “This really is a treat. You were right, Twilight. This is fun.” Pinkie’s mouth stretched open, as a yawn escaped her lips. “And relaxing.”         Twilight leaned back into her pillow. “Thanks for tonight, Pinkie. To be honest, I was really nervous about having another sleepover. With how my first one was, I wasn’t in a hurry to have another. I am glad that I invited you over here tonight, though. You are a really great friend.”         Pinkie fidgeted, growing silent as she did. “Twilight?”         “Yes, Pinkie?”         Pinkie fidgeted some more. “Would you... would you ever consider...”         Twilight turned over to look Pinkie in the eye. “Would I ever consider what, Pinkie?”         Pinkie took a deep breath, twisting her hooves together in circles, “Would you ever consider being... more than friends with me?”         “I already am, Pinkie. I consider you one of my best and closest friends.”         Pinkie moved back and forth, as she fidgeted even more. “No, I mean... would you... would you ever consider being my marefriend?”         Twilight stared dumbly, too shocked to speak. Her mouth worked up and down, looking like a fish as she tried to form words. “I... I guess, Pinkie, but...” Twilight swallowed. “The thing is... I... I... I already have feelings for somepony else.”         Pinkie just gave a sad little smile. Turning her head, her voice quiet and knowing, “I figured as much. I kinda already knew that you were interested in somepony else, but I had to ask.”         Twilight looked sharply at her friend. “What do you mean, you already knew? I haven’t told anypony about my feelings, besides you, and that was just a minute ago.”         Pinkie looked back at her crush. “Because of the way that you look at her. I can tell. You really do like her, don’t you?”         Twilight smiled briefly. “Yeah, I really do. You won’t tell anypony about this, will you?”         Pinkie shook her head from side to side. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” She smiled softly, sadness still tinting her eyes and voice. “When did you realize you had feelings for her?”         Turning aside, Twilight sighed. “It was right after Spitfire came to oversee the pegasi funneling the water up to Cloudsdale. Seeing her determination to do what she did, even in the face of what they had to deal with really inspired me. It was after that that I noticed my feelings turn from platonic love to a more romantic one.” She turned back to Pinkie. “Is it really that obvious?”         The pink mare shook her head. “No. I just tend to see these kind of things. I pay a lot more attention than ponies give me credit for.” Pinkie’s head drooped. “I just wish I had somepony that could see me as well as I see other ponies.”         Twilight lifted her friend’s head with a hoof. “I think there might be somepony that sees you a lot better than you think.”         “What do you mean, Twilight?” The first rays of hope filtered through her voice.         Twilight smiled and shook her head. “It isn’t my place to say. Lets just say you are not the only pony with hidden feelings. There is somepony out there for you. You just have to wait.”         Pinkie sat up. “You really think so?”         Twilight sat up and wrapped Pinkie in a hug. “I really do.” Squeezing Pinkie for just a second, she settled back down in the comforter. “Are you up for more stargazing?”         Wiping tears from her eyes, and blowing her nose into a handkerchief, Pinkie plopped back down in the comforter. With a small, but genuine smile, she snuggled up against her friend. “Sure.”         And so, the two friends layed there, gazing up at the expansive night sky, the wonders of which held their attention long into the night.