“You ready yet, Pinkie?” Twilight called to the bathroom. Already brushed up and ready for a good night’s sleep, she was snuggled down on her side of the bed near the window, enjoying the warm blankets wrapped around her.
“In a minute!” Pinkie called back as she flicked on another light and turned on the water. Twilight sighed as she laid her head down on her pillow. After a long day of studying, she was anticipating a restful evening. Spike was already asleep, snoring away in his little bed at the opposite end of the room. The library was completely dark, with the exception of the luminescent glow that seeped out of the bathroom and the occasional flash of lightning from outside.
Twilight stared up at the ceiling, listening to the rain as it fell upon the roof. While she had never been a big fan of storms, she had always enjoyed the pleasant sound of water drops during a quiet evening wrapped up in a warm blanket with a good book. It was a simple thing in life Twilight could never really get enough of. She felt her eyelids begin to close as the comforts of the bed began to claim her.
Rain. So calm, so peaceful, so--
“Gghhuuurrrrggghhh!” The pastoral peace of the library was suddenly shattered by the sound of gargling, ripping Twilight from her doze. A few seconds later, the sink was running again and Twilight could hear what sounded like a water balloon fight.
Twilight groaned as she rolled over to face the bathroom. From her angle she could only see Pinkie’s shadow, a wild crazy figure dancing along the walls.
“Pinkie Pie, what are you doing in there?”
A second later Pinkie poked her head through the doorway. Her mane and face were soaked and covered in soap suds and bubbles. She smiled waggishly.
“Getting ready for bed silly! What does it look like?” She giggled and then her head zipped back into the bathroom. A second later a huge splash resounded from the bathroom. If the mare had been taking a bath, Twilight would have sworn that Pinkie had done a full cannonball into the tub.
“Ugh,” Twilight groaned, pulling the pillow over her head in a desperate attempt to block out the raucous. It proved futile. She looked over at Spike who, despite all the racket, was still fast asleep. She let out a disgruntled sigh.
“How do you do it buddy?” Twilight whispered curiously, hoping for an answer, but the only response she got was a small snort from the baby dragon. Twilight smirked.
“Fine then. Be that way.” she giggled.
“AHHHH!” A scream suddenly sprang out of the bathroom, causing Twilight to gasp. A second later, she heard the sound of a towel being cracked and whipped. She saw Pinkie’s shadow swinging it around in her hoof like an angry gryphon.
“SPIDER! SPIDER! HELP! Oh wait, it was just a ball of lint. Sorry Twilight!”
Oh by the beard of Starswirl, what was I thinking? Twilight thought to herself. Why didn’t I just allow her to use the couch downstairs? She covered her face with a pillow.
Guess I just wanted to be nice and courteous.
“Ooooh! Minty!” Pinkie’s chirped from the bathroom, followed by the sound of a briskly moving toothbrush.
“Pinkie Pie, are you almost done in there?”
“In a moment Twiley! Hold your pantyhose!”
Twilight shook her head. “Okay, but please hurry up! You’ve been in there for ten minutes now! I don’t know what you’re doing that takes you so long to get ready for bed--”
Suddenly a blatant popping sound erupted from the bathroom, as if a giant balloon had burst. Twilight jumped at the sound, yipping like a toy poodle. She could hear Pinkie giggle.
“Teehee, that tickles! One down, one to go!”
Twilight heard Spike grumble, the baby dragon finally stirring from his sleep.
“Oh for pete’s sakes! Twilight, what the heck is she doing in there?”
Twilight couldn’t take it anymore. She rolled out of bed and ran over to the bathroom.
“Pinkamena Diane Pie! What in Equestria are you doing in....here...?”
She stopped in the doorway, her eyes wide as she discovered the scene before her. The bathroom was clean, not a drop of water could be seen. Pinkie Pie stood in the middle of the bathroom. Her mane was completely straight, its entire form hanging over her face like a draped cloth. Nonchalantly, she took what looked like a tack and poked the tip of it against her tail. Like a balloon, the entire tail popped and deflated, shrinking into the flat, draped form of its cousin. Pinkie grinned as she looked over herself in the mirror.
“Done! All cleaned up and ready to snuggle wuggle!” She looked back at Twilight, whose mouth was agape as her brain desperately tried to process what she’d just witnessed.
“What?” Pinkie Pie asked with a small frown on her face. “I’m just letting my hair down for the night! I started doing it a few weeks ago when I noticed that my mane was getting crooked! I got the tip from Rarity! Apparently it’s a good way to keep your mane clean and untangled! And besides, manes like to sleep too! They can’t be up all night trying to hold themselves together and...” She cocked her head. “Twilight, are you okay? Your eye is twitching a little bit.” She backed up nervously. “And now there’s steam coming out of your ears.”
A few minutes and one ice cold bucket of water later, both mares were finally getting into bed. Twilight, her mane once again a tangled mess, closed her eyes as she waited for the sweet embrace of sleep to take her over. She sighed as she allowed her head to sink into her pillow. She wiggled her hooves beneath the covers, releasing the tension that had just formed over the last few minutes.
Suddenly, Twilight felt the bed bouncing. She opened her eyes once again. She looked over at Pinkie Pie, using whatever energy she had left to dimly light up her horn. Even with the faint nightlight on however, she couldn’t decipher what on earth the crazy mare was doing.
Pinkie Pie was prancing around in circles on her side of the bed like a little puppy, her mane flopping around on the side of her face. Her eyes were closed and she had a cute little smile on her face as she bounced around, her head bobbing up and down in step.
Twilight felt herself beginning to crack. All of Pinkie’s bizarre actions that night were starting to get to her, yet surprisingly not in the wrong way. She covered her lips, but it did little to hold back her giggles.
“Pinkie Pie...pbbt...what are you doing?” she asked curiously.
Pinkie finally calmed down and slipped under the covers on her side of the bed. “I was just getting comfortable, Twilight! It’s a new bed for me! I’ve got to find my perfect spot!” She snuggled her head into her pillow. “Oooh, squishy!” She looked over at Twilight. “What’s so funny?”
Twilight pressed her face down into her pillow as she tried to hide her laughter. Oh dear Celestia! I’m going crazy! I’m losing it!
Pinkie joined Twilight onboard the giggle train. “Oh Twilight you’re such a crack-up! You know, it’s been fun staying with you tonight! We should do this again sometime! You’re so funny! You’ve been doing the weirdest things while I’ve been here.”
“PAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Twilight threw her pillow up in the air and burst out into a fit of laughter.
“What is wrong with you, silly?” Pinkie asked through giggles.
“What’s wrong with me!” Twilight gasped as she struggled for breath. “What’s wrong with me! That’s a good one! Oh it never ends does it? Hahaha!” Tears began streaming down her cheeks.
“Twilight?” Pinkie asked, her voice showing a tad bit of concern. Twilight sat up in her bed and placed a shaky hoof on Pinkie’s lips. She looked her in the eyes.
“Please...let me slee-ee-eeeep!”
Pinkie grinned, gently pushing Twilight’s hoof out of the way. “Then sleep Twilight! No pony’s stopping you! If you want to sleep, then just sleep!”
“It’s...teehee...not that easy at this point!” Twilight gasped.
“What? Of course it is! Here, I’ll show you!” Pinkie flopped back on her side of the bed and closed her eyes. A few seconds later Twilight could hear a light snoring coming from Pinkie’s side of the bed.
Twilight wiped her eyes as she sat up. “Right. And I’m sure you’re not just doing a fake out on me, am I right?”
No response.
“Pinkie?” Twilight scooted over closer to Pinkie and saw Pinkie's covers moving with her rhythmic breathing as she snored away. Within a few split seconds, the energized mare had fallen into a deep sleep. Twilight stared at her, a look of plain disbelief on her face.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Twilight groaned as she quietly shuffled back to her side of the bed. “Really? Just like that?”
She flopped herself down onto bed and sighed, her body riveting with newfound energy after dealing with Pinkie for the last few minutes. She stared up at the ceiling, her mind now flowing like a racing river. Outside the storm continued to roar, the rain getting heavier and the thunder more cacophonous.
Great. Pinkie Pie is out like a light, there is a loud obnoxious storm outside, and now I’m all riled up for the night. It’s going to take forever for me to fall asleep now!
She looked over at Pinkie Pie who was no doubt far off in her own world at this point. Surprisingly, Twilight couldn’t help but watch the sleeping diva. Even in slumber, Pinkie still managed to keep a smile on her face. She looked so peaceful, and Twilight found it hard to imagine that this pony was swinging a towel around like a hooligan just a few minutes earlier.
That smile. There really is no way to remove it, is there? Twilight thought to herself, chuckling.
It was at that moment that Twilight had a small realization, something that didn’t strike her earlier that day. This was the first time one of her closest friends was sleeping in her bed, next to her. Twilight’s mind prowled as she found herself storming over the subject. She didn’t know why either. There was technically nothing wrong with it.
Rarity and Applejack did it during our sleepover a few years back and they had no problem with it. Well, once they got over each other’s differences.
So, why does it feel strange sleeping with Pinkie Pie next to me? She’s just one of my friends, one that I’m allowing to stay over for the next few days, nothing else. Yet, I have this feeling, this feeling of comfort when I think about it. She sighed as she watched Pinkie shuffle in her sleep, burying her head deeper into her pillow, mumbling cutely as she did.
Twilight snickered and shook her head. I must be tired. I’m overanalyzing things again. I can save this for tomorrow.
Twilight was just about to roll over when she felt a concern suddenly bite at her mind. She had to check something. She lit up her horn and produced a faint glow from the tip. She took her foreleg and as gentle and quiet as a mouse, lifted the blanket off of Pinkie’s bandaged hoof. The bleeding had stopped a while ago by now, but that wasn’t what bothered her.
Pinkie Pie, that is a nasty injury you have there girl. Why did you try to keep it a secret from me?
She gently covered up the hoof again, tucking it in under the blanket before dropping her magic. She stared at the sleeping mare, puzzled. Twilight had known Pinkie Pie for several years now, learned to cope with her antics most of the time, and discovered how to appreciate her joy and freewill. Yet of all of Twilight’s friends, Pinkie Pie was the one that still remained an enigma to her. A mystery. There were so many things she still didn’t know about her.
Or understand.
Twilight’s eyes swayed away from Pinkie’s face and veered over to her mane, its smooth locks draped over the side of her face. She rarely saw Pinkie with this hairstyle, and the few times she did were not fond memories. They often involved depression and confusion, not joy and blithe. It was as if Twilight was looking at a completely different mare, a whole new pony. But now, watching her slumber with it, she didn’t feel any alarms in her mind going off. It was the same Pinkie Pie she had come to know throughout the years, just with a different hairstyle.
She looked good with it.
Twilight smiled to herself. Perhaps this is for the best after all. Maybe I can finally learn something about her.
As a powerful yawn forced itself out of Twilight’s system, the librarian finally decided to turn in for the night. She rolled over till she was facing the window, the rain running down the window in streams across the glass. Despite the fury outside the treehouse, Twilight felt warm and secure this evening.
It’s going to be a good night, she thought to herself. Then she closed her eyes and prepared for serene sleep to overtake her.
It’s going to be a good night.