Sunset slowly picked herself up off of the floor. Taking a dive wasn’t the best thing to do at 2 o’clock in the morning, but she wouldn’t have done it if she could help it. Once she was fully upright, she looked down to see exactly what she had tripped on.
It was a thick book, half open, probably due to Sunset’s trip. She reached down and lifted it off the floor, before putting it on the tabletop in front of her. The faint light from outside shone right onto this part of the table and allowed Sunset to look over it.
It was a cookbook. It wasn’t signed and sure wasn’t professional. It looked more like a bunch of scribblings of a madman stuffed between a binding. The only way she could really tell it was a cookbook was the few words like “butter” and “milk” that she could make out among the madness.
It was fascinating though. She grabbed a banana and dug into the book. She wasn’t paying much attention to her surroundings and yelped when a small crash came from in front of her. She looked up at Pinkie, trying to stalk through her own house. When she realized she was found out, she offered Sunset a smile.
“Can’t sleep?” asked Pinkie, rubbing her leg. She must have bumped it against the coffee table, or something. “Yeah, food is always my go-to whenever I can’t sleep too.”
“What’s this book?” asked Sunset, lifting the thick text up so that Pinkie could see it correctly. “I found it lounging on the floor and I managed to trip myself up. What was it doing in the middle of the floor, anyway?”
“Ah! That’s Momma Pie’s old cookbook,” said Pinkie, approaching the table where Sunset was sitting. “Apparently, when she was a kid, the only things she liked to do was writing and cooking. She wanted her first book to be a cookbook. And as soon as she could, she hastily scribbled down all she knew.”
“I can barely understand it,” said Sunset. “But if it’s your family, there’s probably some genius contained within it.” Pinkie took the book from Sunset and flipped it upside down. When returned, the words were legible, but still pretty sloppy. She looked up at the top and read the page’s title.
“That’s Mom’s famous grilled cheese,” said Pinkie. “Well, famous to us, anyway.”
“But ‘cheddar cheese’ is upside down,” said Sunset. “And so is ‘olive oil’. Did she forget which way she was writing too?”
“No. Mom was just crazy like that sometimes.” Sunset chuckled. To think that Pinkie would call someone else crazy. “I don’t know why it was on the floor. I thought I’d packed it away in storage. Weird.” Sunset closed the book and slid it back over to Pinkie.
“Well, you wouldn’t want to forget it this time. Those recipes are important, right?” Pinkie shook her head.
“I’ve already memorized them all,” she said, tapping the side of her head. “If you want, you could have it! You should definitely try out the haggis. Yum!” Sunset stuck out her tongue in disgust.
“I can’t take it,” said Sunset. “The last time I cooked something, my oven burned down and I was mocked by my family for three weeks.” As she spoke, she ground her teeth just remembering. “Oh, mom had a good time yukking it up then.” Pinkie didn’t respond. She was glancing down at the book, that was pushed towards her. She gasped and stood up out of her chair.
“I could teach you!” said Pinkie.
“Um...why would you do that?” asked Sunset, skeptical.
“Well, you can’t cook, and Mom’s recipes are withering away up in my attic. It’s some way to get the message out. Plus, it’ll be super fun!” Pinkie pushed the book back towards Sunset, beaming from ear to ear about this plan she was brewing. Sunset looked down at the book being thrust at her, then back up at Pinkie.
“That could be fun, I suppose,” she said, taking the book up. “Alright, Pinkie. I’ll take you up on your offer.” Sunset took the book while Pinkie had a small celebration. “So, when do we start?”
“You could cook breakfast,” said Pinkie. “The rest of the girls are probably gonna be super hungry when they get up.”
“Then I guess I should get some sleep in,” said Sunset, leaving her seat. “We’ve got to be up before everyone else.” She left the book on the table, and crossed Pinkie's kitchen, pushing open the door. When she was gone, Pinkie looked back at the book and picked it up. Smiling, she hugged it close. She giggled and followed after Sunset, leaving the kitchen silent and empty.
“Uh, Sunset? What are you doing?”
Sunset looked over at Rainbow as she walked into the room. She was rubbing her eyes. Sunset was holding an egg in a spoon, high above the ground. Pinkie was sitting across from her, trying her hardest to stop chuckling as she watched.
“Well, uh, I boiled this egg, right?” Rainbow nodded, following so far. “I've been boiling it for twenty minutes, and I'm not sure if it's cooked all the way through.”
“That doesn't exactly explain why you look like you're casting a spell on it.” Sunset blushed and brought her spoon down. Pinkie broke out into a fit of giggles.
“What are you even doing up? Shouldn't you, of all the girls, be asleep by now?” asked Sunset. Rainbow pulled out her phone.
“Dude, it’s half past noon.” Sunset pulled out her own phone and sure enough, it was around 12:30. “I check out. What have you been doing this whole time?”
“Uh… making breakfast?” She extended the spoon out to Rainbow who looked at the egg for a bit then took it from her. She walked over to the sink and cracked the egg open, letting the insides spill into the sink. She looked over at Sunset, who was trying her hardest to hide her shame behind her hand.
“It’s a work in progress, you know?” she said.
“Right…” Rainbow left the shells in the sink. “Yeah, you work on that. I’m gonna go grab a burger or something.” She left the kitchen leaving a hysteric Pinkie and a flustered Sunset in her wake. Sunset sat down and leaned on her palm. Pinkie wiped a tear from her eye, before catching Sunset’s discomfort. She placed her hands on Sunset’s.
“Oh, come on, Sunset! Not everyone is gonna be good right off the bat!” She shook her hands around a bit, trying to rouse her. “Ah! I can’t tie my shoes! See, everyone is bad at—”
“Wait,” said Sunset. “You can’t… tie your shoes?” Pinkie shook her head.
“Mrs. Cake gets them for me every morning.” She lifted her foot up to show her sneakers. “That or velcro. You should try it out sometime.”
“You know, that almost makes me feel bad for not being able to cook,” said Sunset. She chuckled a bit, then realized her hands were still being cradled by Pinkie. Before she could take them back, Pinkie thrust them both into the air.
“Then let’s get cooking!” said Pinkie. She beamed again, from ear to ear. Sunset couldn’t help but smile along with her.
“Uh, sorry to interrupt,” said Dash, reaching through the little pyramid that Pinkie and Sunset had created with their arms. She withdrew with a pair of keys. “Forgot my keys. I’m outtie.” She left again, this time leaving the two laughing at themselves.
In her kitchen, with a carefree grin on her face, Sunset carried out small tasks. She used a knife to slice her ingredients and kept an eye on the butter she’d left melting in her pot. It only took about a minute before all the ingredients were in, and her soup was on its way to completion. She wiped her forehead with her apron, then tossed it aside. She sat down to relax, waiting for her soup to cook.
Winter had come in full force, and snow blanketed basically everywhere outside of her apartment. The heaters by the wall kept her small place toasty.
The doorbell rang, and Sunset got up to check who it was. The door was in the same room as the kitchen, so she wouldn't have to take her eyes off of the food for too long. Once she opened the door, she could feel Rainbow Dash suck up all the delicious smell in the kitchen.
“Hey, Sunny. What's cooking?” she let herself in, going over to the pot. “Not eggs, I'll tell you that.”
“Dashie, that was three months ago!” Pinkie came from the side of the door. Like Rainbow, she had a heavy jacket on. “Plus, she's better than you now. You're just here to mooch.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Dash went over and patted Sunset on the back. “I can't keep sleeping on you, I guess.”
“I'm more concerned as to why you're in my house,” she said to the duo. Pinkie hugged Sunset sporadically around the waist almost making her topple over.
“I can't keep away from my student for too long,” she said, releasing her. “Dash is just freeloading, though.”
“I’m not freeloading,” said Dash after placing the lid back on the pot of soup bubbling in the corner. “I'm capitalizing on an opportunity. Completely different.” Sunset rolled her eyes before shooing Dash away.
“Out. Both of you, at least until I'm done with the cooking.”
“Aw, but I want a taste!” Pinkie whined. Sunset sighed before grabbing a small bowl out of her cabinet.
“Alright, but it's not done yet.” She filled the bowl with a bit of soup. “It’s still got a good 15 or so—” Pinkie walked up to her side and licked her cheek. It took about a second for Sunset to return from limbo before she regained her sense of self.
“The soup is a little salty, but it'll do!” She smiled and made no mention of her act. “I'll be waiting in the dining room!” She skipped past Dash and past the door that separated the kitchen from the dining room, closing it behind her.
“So… is that like a new handshake?” asked Dash. “Or… maybe a new thing going around? The licking craze? Lick and you’re safe?”
“I don't know.” Sunset put her spoon down on the side. And put the bowl on the countertop. She pressed her hand to her cheek.
“It's probably just Pinkie being Pinkie,” said Dash, shrugging her shoulders. “I wouldn't be super surprised if Pinkie did it to me when I walk in there.” Sunset thought it over, then came to the same conclusion. “In the meantime, I'll just take this…” Dash slid over and took the bowl from Sunset's countertop. She left the room, leaving Sunset to deal with herself.
“Just Pinkie being Pinkie,” said Sunset, assuring herself. She picked up her spoon and finished stirring the broth. She filled enough for three, then entered the dining room.
She opened the door to see Rainbow Dash fending off a prone Pinkie Pie. They’d both taken off their coats, leaving Dash in a sweater and Pinkie in her tank top. Pinkie had her tongue out and at the ready, and Rainbow was holding a pillow up. So far, Rainbow was backed into a corner and had a look of pure confusion on her face.
“Sunset! Get your girl!” Sunset laid the food out on her table then pulled Pinkie out of her animalistic position.
“Keep your tongue in the soup, Pinkie,” said Sunset with a smile. Pinkie walked away defeated but turned around to tell Dash to keep her eyes open. “What happened to not being super surprised? You looked pretty surprised.”
“I thought she’d do the same thing to me that she did to you,” she said. “So I asked her if you two had something going on, and she took that as an okay to pounce on me to stab me to death!”
“Well she’s done now,” said Sunset. She looked over to Pinkie. Pinkie gave her a thumbs up. Rainbow looked over and lowered her pillow. They all went to their bowls and dug in.
“This is pretty good,” said Rainbow. “Is this Pinkie’s Ma’s recipe?” Sunset nodded before trying it herself. She didn’t taste anything wrong with the soup, but apparently, it was too salty. She looked over at Pinkie, who was slurping it up like there was no tomorrow. She smiled at the sight, although she wasn’t sure why.
Dinner went by, with Pinkie telling her stories of how her mom’s recipes got her through life, and Rainbow Dash kept going back in forth between the kitchen to fill up her small bowl. The accomplishment was so good, it harkened back to her days with Celestia. She found herself wondering if Celestia could cook.
But dinner had to end sometime. When Rainbow and Sunset were full, and Pinkie claimed the last of the soup, Sunset picked up their bowls and excused herself to the kitchen to wash them.
“Hey, Sunny?” called Rainbow Dash. Sunset looked over in the middle of washing the big pot. “Yeah, I’m gonna bounce. Maybe we should invite the rest next time. It was pretty good!” Sunset thought about how the soup was supposed to be leftovers for a few days and chuckled.
“Call next time, maybe?” said Sunset, fist bumping Dash on her way out. “Pinkie’s not going with you?”
“Nope,” said Rainbow. “She’s still in there… doing something.” Rainbow put on her coat and waved her goodbyes. When she was outside, Sunset postponed her pot washing and went into the dining room.
Her table wasn’t that big, yet Pinkie still seemed to sprawl herself all over it. Her stomach was partially out, and she managed to still at least look comfortable while lying there. Sunset realized Pinkie's slightly chubby figure, wondering if that’s why she loved cooking so much. She chuckled a bit before walking over and looking down at her.
“Sunset…” moaned Pinkie, looking up at Sunset. “I ate too much…”
“Clearly,” said Sunset, smiling.
“Sunset…” said Pinkie again. “Rub my tummy.” Sunset rolled her eyes before rubbing on Pinkie’s belly slowly. Pinkie began to purr slightly. She must have felt really good, having her stomach rubbed.
“It’s pretty late. You should head home.” Pinkie closed her eyes and didn’t respond for a while. She finally reopened her eyes after a while.
“Or… I could stay here!” said Pinkie, sitting up with her normal vigor. “We could have a little slumber party!”
“My apartment isn’t that big,” said Sunset. “And don’t you normally plan these things at your house? It’s much bigger than the thing I’ve got here.” Pinkie thought it over for a moment then shook her head.
“It’ll be a special kind of party. There’s no school tomorrow, and I don’t have anything to do…” She clasped her hands together and pushed herself close to Sunset. “Pleeeease?” Sunset rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.
“I can’t say no that smile, and you know it,” said Sunset. “Let me finish getting the dishes cleaned and… I guess we’ll watch a movie or something.” Pinkie all but squealed, as she grabbed Sunset in a vice hug. As Sunset thought about where she was going to find a chiropractor, Pinkie let her go and made her way deeper into Sunset’s house.
After the dishes were done, Sunset walked down the small hallway past her dining room. It was sparsely decorated, with only a few things here and there. At the end of the hallway was a single door, partially open. She pushed it in, where Pinkie was hanging upside of from the foot of her bed. She rolled over and faced Sunset upright.
Sunset’s room wasn’t small, but it wasn’t as big as Pinkie’s. There was one window, behind the bed’s head. The bed itself was a mess, and not just because Pinkie threw herself onto it. There was a sizable TV in the corner hanging up on the wall with a DVD player underneath it with a bunch of movies in a piled next to it. Sunset kneeled down next to her DVD player and looked through the movies.
“What kind of movies do you like?” said Sunset, looking through her collection. “I’ve got a lot here.” Pinkie hummed in thought.
“How about something like this?” Pinkie pointed to a movie and pulled it from the stack. Sunset looked it over and frowned.
“Hoodwinked?” asked Sunset. “That makes a lot of sense actually. You seem like you’d watch ‘The Emoji Movie’ unironically.” Before Pinkie could argue, Sunset plucked the case from her hands and popped the movie into the player. She wasn’t really upset that she was going to watch a kids movie with Pinkie. Honestly, anything could be fun with Pinkie around.
Pinkie’s head was at the foot of the bed while Sunset was at the head. The movie came on like normal, and the two spent a few minutes talking about it. After the halfway mark, Pinkie sat mesmerized by the screen while Sunset started to nod off. First, it was heavy eyelids, then whole parts of the movie’s plot that she missed. Then, somewhere during the movie, Sunset fell asleep.
She dreamt that she was sitting out in the cold, in full winter clothing. All around her was an endless plane of snow. She was sitting on this bench alone. When she looked down, a hand was outstretched, hot chocolate in hand. Pinkie’s body appeared and her smile hurt to look at. She took the hot chocolate and let Pinkie sit next to her. Suddenly, it wasn’t as cold. She took a sip with Pinkie, and the snow began to give way. The endless white background was now painted with blues and greens and yellows. It was warm.
Her clothes were replaced to fit the temperature. A gentle breeze tickled her skin and felt pleasant. Pinkie was still sitting next to her, still smiling, still harming Sunset. But she wasn’t holding her drink anymore. She leaned over to Sunset and whispered in her ear. Sunset blushed, and her heart hammered in her chest. Suddenly it was really, really hot.
Sunset opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. She was sweating and breathing heavy. She moved her arms, allowing some cool air to pass between her and the thing she was cuddling.
Pinkie’s head was resting comfortably on her chest. The two were close enough that Sunset could feel Pinkie’s heartbeat. Steady and strong as she slept. Sunset got up out of bed and groggily yawned and stretched. She left her bed and went to the bathroom. After she washed her face, brushed her teeth and made up her hair, she returned to her bedroom to see Pinkie immediately sprawled out over the entire thing. Sunset smiled and left the room.
“Okay. Are you ready?” Sunset called from the kitchen. Pinkie sat with a plate in front of her, excited to see what Sunset woke her up to give her. She took off her clothes from before and wore a pair of pajamas that Sunset had lent her. They were a little tight, but they worked. While she waited, she thought about Sunset.
How was she going to tell her? It was hard enough to keep her thoughts straight last night when she’d snuggled up close with Sunset, but now Sunset didn’t even acknowledge that it happened. She told herself if Sunset didn’t bring it up, she couldn’t bring it up either.
“And, done.” Pinkie wasn’t paying attention until Sunset placed the plate down in front of her. It was an omelet, beautifully made with ham chunks, cheese, and green peppers. It looked fluffy, succulent, and delicious.
But most importantly, it was made in the shape of a heart. It was trimmed with a red sauce and words were spelled out on top of the egg. Pinkie stared at it for a bit before looking back up at Sunset.
“It’s kinda sloppily written,” she explained, looking down at it. “But I think it’s legible. You should try it.” Pinkie looked back down at the egg, taking her knife and fork and cutting a piece off. She put it into her mouth and felt the familiar spice of hot sauce, sending a chill through her body.
“This is really good,” said Pinkie, chewing on the egg. “I… like it. A lot.”
“I guess I can make eggs, huh?” said Sunset, flipping the spatula into the air and catching it. “Point: Sunset.”
“Do you mean this?” asked Pinkie, looking down at the words. “Do you really like me?” Sunset rolled her eyes then sat down next to Pinkie. She leaned over and whispered in her ear, mocking what she saw in her dream.
“I like you lots,” she said. Pinkie didn't give her even a moment to react before she pounced onto Sunset, sending both crashing to the floor. Sunset sure didn't expect it, being on the receiving end of Pinkie’s body splash.
“I like you too, Sunny!” Pinkie nestled Sunset with all her energy, much to Sunset's dismay.
“Pinkie…” groaned Sunset. “How am I supposed to like you if I'm dead?” Pinkie let her go and allowed her to breathe.
“Sorry!” She got off of Sunset. “I'm just… really, really, happy. To think that I can finally say that! It feels like a mountain was lifted off of my shoulders. I feel like I can finally just… gah!” She hugged Sunset again, this time not toppling her.
“I'm happy too,” said Sunset, hugging her back. Pinkie gasped and let go of Sunset.
“I can sleep here now!” exclaimed Pinkie, jumping up and down. “I can live here, now, right?”
“What?” Sunset watched as Pinkie waltzed over to her room. “Pinkie, that's not—”
“I call the left of the bed!” Sunset chased after her, leaving the dining room empty. The omelet sat there, while the two played, with the phrase “I heart you”, clearly written on top of it.
And Pinkie loved it.