Chapter Three
Recycled
Sleepy eyes fluttered open as a noise from somewhere roused Pinkie from her sleep. Consciousness came to her as a warm hug that spread through her body until she was ready to finally face the day.
Now, where the heck am I?
Pinkie was having trouble seeing, in part due to her own bleariness and also in part to the darkness of the room, which was her first clue that she wasn’t in her own bedroom. No, if that were the case, the light up stars on her ceiling would be giving off a soft glow for her to see by. She was definitely somewhere else.
That thought didn’t bother her much, however, conditioned as she was by sleepovers in her youth. Besides, there were a limited number of places she could be nowadays.
Pinkie took a deep breath into her pillow, a huge smile growing as she took in the flowery scent of Trixie’s shampoo.
Ah, right, Pinkie thought, burying her head deeper into the pillow. I did come over last night. I must have spent the night.
Still sleepy and more than a little groggy, Pinkie decided to let Trixie sleep in some more as she savored the morning. Something wasn’t right though, and that ever awakening part of Pinkie was starting to take notice. For starters, Pinkie felt uncomfortably hot under the covers and, as she shifted, she could feel her shirt and her jeans from the previous day.
Why are my clothes still on? she wondered. It’s not like we fool around every time I come over, but I always at least get into her nightgowns because of how flustered she gets and how soft they are. Why didn’t— Right… The talk...
Memories from her drive over began to form, flashes from the past week filling in gaps she had forgotten in her sleep.
Right… that makes sense… But it’s fine because—Sunset!
Like a splash of cold water, Pinkie found herself completely awake. The rest of the night came back to her. The conversation, getting Sunset, driving back, crying to sleep, each segment pieced together before her, filling her with dread.
She listened for the sound of breathing coming next to her. For any sound. For any movement. For anything to let her know that she wasn’t in this room alone.
When she found none, her eyes began to water.
However, it wasn’t until a minute later, when she finally gathered the strength to look and found an empty spot where Trixie had been, that she allowed a proper whine to cross her lips. Sunset wasn’t at her chair either, of course. And that made sense. They’d left together. To a better life.
Without her.
“S-So it’s d-done then” Pinkie said to herself, staring at the closed bedroom door. She’d heard somewhere that hearing something out loud made it easier to believe. She really hoped it was true. “I’m s-so happy for th-them.”
Pinkie sat up on the bed and grabbed Trixie’s pillow, the one Trixie had been using that night, holding it up to her face. She hugged it tightly, sobbing into it, but refusing to make a sound.
You’re supposed to be happy, Pinkie scolded herself. She’s going to be okay now. She’ll be alive in a world of magic. She’s going to have a life much better than anything she could have ever had here… with you.
The tears would not stop and it was getting hard to breathe. She blew her nose into the covers to clear her airway. After all, it wasn’t like Trixie would be around to care anymore. She wouldn’t be around when Pinkie was upset either. Or to send her a good morning text. Or to call her every night and check in. Or to listen to her vent about her friends. She wouldn't be around for a lot of things.
Stop it! Stop it! Pinkie cried. You gave this to her. A gift. You helped her. Stop being sad! Don’t make this about you!
But she couldn’t stop. Even now she was already thinking about the coming week and the many events she’d have to reschedule. The events she would straight up cancel. No more visits to the record shop. No more visits to the park. No more outings downtown. No more magic shows and metal concerts. After all, what was the point if Trixie wasn’t going to be there? It wasn’t like Caramel enjoyed any of that. If anything, she could just do more of the stuff he liked now instead, at least until he too found somewhere better to be.
Stop! Pinkie growled at herself one final time. You’ve done this before. You’ll be fine. You always are. What’s one more friend that leaves?
They all do in the end.
Pinkie had more to say to herself, or so she thought. But at that moment there was a sound. A metal bang coming from the kitchen, which startled her train of thought to a standstill.
What was that?
Quietly getting off the bed and still holding the pillow, Pinkie made her way to the door and pressed her ear against it. She heard...something. There was definitely movement. And a voice? No two voices…
Pinkie swung the door open and rushed into the kitchen, screeching to a halt in front of a very startled Trixie and Sunset, both of whom were in the middle of preparing breakfast.
“Good morning, girls!” Pinkie cheered, a bright smile on her face as she frantically wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt. The other two continued to stare in disbelief, the hissing of batter filling the silence.
Sunset recovered first. “Fuck, Pinkie. Are you okay?”
“Yeah! Why do you ask?”
“Um…” Trixie exchanged a glance with Sunset. “You kind of look like you’ve been crying. A lot.”
“Oh that,” Pinkie giggled, waving them off. “I had a nightmare, is all. Nothing you two need to worry about. I’ll definitely feel better after some breakfast. What are we having?”
Trixie and Sunset exchanged another look but seemed to agree on dropping the issue, their smiles returning as Trixie went over their vegetarian breakfast options, while Sunset went back to cooking pancakes, adding a comment here and there as talks moved from food onto other topics. Pinkie meanwhile smiled and nodded, putting up an act of normalcy, at least until a break in the conversation where Trixie held on to her hand. The warmth sent shivers through Pinkie’s body.
“You sure you’re ok?” Trixie mouthed at her, causing Pinkie to smile again.
“Yeah, Trix,” Pinkie whispered. “I promise that everything is fine.”
Trixie stared at her for a few seconds with a searching gaze before smiling, satisfied with the answer, and Pinkie could not find it in herself to feel guilty at the deception. After all, even if it was a lie, it was a tiny one and not too far from the truth.
Because, in reality, she was fine. Trixie was still here for now, after all. And so, for as long as that lasted, she had at least one reason to keep smiling.