Comfort is Magic

One dark, warm night in Ponyville, at the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, near Fluttershy's cottage, a blue stallion with a fiery like hairdo was walking further and further away from the central town. He was very upset, but did not cry. He was just about to travel into the forest when he was stopped by a bubbly, yet unusually concerned voice;

"Adamant Blaze, wait!" The voice called out. The voice's physical source was a pink mare. "Where are you going?" She knew, but couldn't believe it.

"Leave me alone!" Blaze replied with a combination of anger and shutter in his voice. He sounded like he was holding back tears. "I'm going to go into the Everfree Forest and just find some timber wolves, so they can end my miserable life!"

The pink mare gasped at these words, and rushed over to the already progressing stallion. "No! Don't!" She said with even more concern in her voice. She quickly held her right hoof tightly on Blaze's shoulder.

"Pinkie, I don't want your help! I've been having the worst time ever in Ponyville! I don't need you to interv..." Blaze's anger started to fade as the other pony wrapped her forelegs around his body. He was almost immediately reminded of the great times he had with Pinkie Pie. After collecting his thoughts, he returned the hug. The stress was draining out of him as he experienced the feeling of close contact. He never wanted to let go. It was almost too good to be true.

"Thanks, Pinkie." He said in a much calmer voice than before.

"That's what I'm here for." She responded.

Blaze was confused about how formally and seriously Pinkie was handling this situation. She's usually very up beat and usually helps friends by playing with them, or telling them to "turn that frownie upside downie". Here, she seemed to be on full sympathy mode.

He thought it might be rude to ask, but he also thought Pinkie wouldn't mind too much. "Umm... Pinkie? Why are you being so nice to me?"

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You're not usually this... concerned." Blaze's nerves were wracked at the thoughts of how Pinkie could respond to this.

"Umm..." She began. "Uhh... well, I guess I've learned my lesson from the Cranky Doodle Donkey incident; when a pony needs actual help, playing around and asking them to smile isn't enough. Why do you ask?"

Adamant Blaze was impressed by this answer, coming from Pinkie. However his emotion on matters quickly changed to embarrassment from not thinking of that. "Oh, I don't know... I just... never mind."

Pinkie uncoiled her hooves. Blaze had forgotten they were hugging, but once Pinkie let go, he instantly realized the lack of comfort that he was feeling just a few seconds ago. "Alright, I'm glad I was able to help." Pinkie said as she started trotting back to Sugar Cube Corner.

Blaze started to feel lonely as Pinkie started to walk away. He didn't want this moment to die, and he still had a lot to talk about with her. He hadn't even talked about what was going on. "Wait!" He called out.

The pink mare turned around. "Yes, blazey?" She said in a sweet, heartwarming tone.

"Could I talk to you about somethings?" He looked like he was on the verge of tears again.

"Oh, alright." She started walking back towards the blue pony. "What's up? Just tell your auntie Pinkie Pie what's bothering you." She said with a smile on her face. She seemed a little more like herself now.

"Today some ponies were excluding me from a social group again. I just want to socialize with somepony, but every teenager in town just doesn't want to have anything to do with me! I guess I made a poor first impression, and now my reputation is stuck as it is. I just want to..." he trailed off again, doing everything in his power to avoid shedding tears at all costs.

Pinkie noticed this, but ignored it for the time being. "Hey, Blazey, on many occasions, my friends found me really annoying because of my excitement. I didn't realize at the time, but they told me afterwards, or I asked them. You should have seen Rainbow Dash flying away from me back when we first got our joke relationship. She was trying to escape from me at full speed."

Blaze opened his eyes at this. "Really?"

"Yeah, everyone has their own quirks, don't worry too much about it. It's just that some may be more accepted than others."

"But everyone hates me, and I don't think that's going to change." Now it was really evident that he was trying really hard not to cry.

Pinkie's smile faded at this comment. "I don't hate you." She reassured him.

"I know, but one friend isn't enough, especially when everyone else hates you!"

Pinkie almost felt teary eyed herself now. She felt so bad for him "Blaze, you're right that everyone hating you must suck. I can't imagine what it would be like to be in your position. But I'm here for you, and one friend is all you need."

Blaze's mind was a mess of emotions. He was upset, but felt touched by these words. He didn't know what to say. If he cried at this point, he wouldn't be able to tell if they were tears of joy, or of stress.

"Blaze, why are you trying so hard not to cry?" Pinkie asked, though she kind of knew the answer. He didn't want to be embarrassed. Adamant Blaze was a very tough pony, and almost never cried for any reason. Just hearing him talk in a shaky voice in itself is very unusual. This had to be the first time Pinkie had ever seen any signs of Blaze getting anywhere close to crying, much less being barely above the surface of the overwhelming water that is tears.

Blaze flinched at Pinkie's question. Was it really that obvious? "I... I have to, I have a reputation to keep up here. Real men don't cry, right?"

Pinkie shook her head gracefully. "There's no shame in crying. It helps to get your emotions out. If it makes you feel better afterwards, why would you avoid it? It's the most healthy thing to do." She says as she puts a hoof on his shoulder.

Blaze turned away from her. "No! It's not worth the horrible feeling of shame I have afterwards! I wouldn't forgive myself... I must man up..." as he says this, he starts wavering in his voice again. He couldn't hold it back much longer.

"Blaze, come on now." Pinkie whispered in a compassionately rich voice, but still had a smile on her face. "It's alright. I won't tell anyone." She extended her hooves outward from her body.

Blaze was hesitant at first, but then remembered the incomparable feeling of physical contact from a mare, and took the opportunity preciously. He rushed over to her, and put his hooves around her, and Pinkie immediately closed her hooves around the poor stallion. The previous hug felt good, but now, he thought there was no better feeling in the universe. All the stress was draining out slowly from his body. This feeling was so great, that he never wanted it to end. He lay his head down into Pinkie's chest. The tears that built up in his eyes were finally coming out, but he didn't care anymore. All he cared about was the indescribable sensation of the mare's grasp. It probably wasn't anything too special for Pinkie, because girls have a thing with hugging each other, but to Adamant Blaze, it was unreal! Surely a moment he will never forget.

Pinkie could feel his cold tears rubbing against her coat, which added a balance to the heat of the warm hug. She started stroking his back, thinking it would help him stop crying.

Blaze was almost overwhelmed by this. He felt like his entire body was going to ignite in flames. But it somehow was bearable. The sheer fact of it being bearable made it the most amazing feeling in the world. He started to smile. He built up the courage to return the massage. He knew she wasn't the one who was upset, but it felt good to feel her coat. His stress was still fading, as he drifted off into his thoughts.

The hug went on for a long time. Adamant Blaze was slowly, but surely regaining his mental composure. He was in the moment, and time started to speed up. Before he knew it, a minute went by, and then a few minutes. Minutes became hours. He became aware of his surroundings again at about 3:00 AM. Pinkie started to release her grasp of Blaze, but waited for a confirmation if he was ready, which was given when he also started to let go. The release was disorienting, because they had been so immobile, and very comfortable, but it was about time for the moment to end. "Th-thank you so much, Pinkie!" Blaze whispered. He was having trouble articulating himself after such an emotional experience.

"No problem!" She replied.

"I feel so much better now. Now I am going to stand proud and tall, and nothing will stop m..." he let out a big yawn. "Except for my sleepiness. It's really late now, and we still haven't gotten any sleep tonight.

Pinkie's stomach growled. She looked embarrassed. "Heh heh, thanks for reminding me. I don't know about you, but I get really hungry if I stay up for too long..."

"Don't we all... well, we can eat in the morning. For now, let's just get some sleep." A thought sprang through Blaze's head. "Say, Pinkie, would you be interested in getting together with me tomorrow morning at Sugar Cube Corner for breakfast?"

Pinkie's eyes widened. "That would be great! I'll see you then." Pinkie started walking back towards Sugar Cube Corner, but started to feel sapped of energy after a few steps.

"Um, Pinkie, I don't know about you, but I'm dead tired, and I just haven't the energy to walk back to my house."

Pinkie turned around. "Me neither, actually. I seem to be lacking energy as well." Her eyelids were drooping.

"I say we just go to sleep right here." Blaze stated, pointing to the grass below them.

Pinkie wanted to laugh, but she seemed to be lacking the energy for even that at the moment, and somehow felt like that wasn't such a ridiculous idea. After these thoughts flew through her head, she found herself collapsed on the ground, lying on her back.

It was starting to get cold and Blaze didn't have a blanket. I guess it's cuddle time. He thought to himself. He sat down next to Pinkie, and lay his head down on her stomach. It made a surprisingly good pillow.

Pinkie woke up just long enough to take a glance at the figure laying down on her. After regaining enough consciousness to process the image, she smiled and went back to sleep. The warmth of Pinkie's body heat emanating from her stomach against Blaze's head kept him warm from the cold night in both a physical way, and sensational way. He had never felt so much physical contact from the opposite sex in his life than he did on that one night. Is this a sign that things are going to get better? Is he going to make new friends? Maybe. But he didn't really care, because he had Pinkie, and that's all he needs.

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