The Blessed

by RarityEQM

4

The next evening, Twilight found Pinkie sitting in one of the booths in Sugar Cube Corner. It was nearly 9:40, well after the shop had closed for the night. Only, she was sitting in the dark. To her left, a large, messy pile of candy wrappers kept her company, and to her right, a large uneaten pile of chocolates sat patiently awaiting their turn. Twilight grimaced. There was definitely something strange going on.

Quietly, the mage entered the shop with the most calming smile she could muster. Pinkie didn't move a muscle, remaining where she was sitting. Her expression was passive, save for wildly jerking, jittery eyes. For a brief second, they stopped on Twilight. Twilight shivered. Somehow, she was getting the distinct impression that Pinkie had been waiting for her. That didn't make any sense, of course, but Pinkie had chosen to sit in an open booth, not one of the many chairs scattered about the room. She had the chocolates and the wrappers piled on her side of the booth, as if she'd left room specifically for Twilight to sit.

"Pinkie?" Twilight asked quietly. Pinkie immediately smiled, but it was clear her concentration was divided between looking at the clock and the chocolates next to her. The clock. The chocolates. The clock. The chocolates. Why was the clock so important? Twilight made a mental note.

"YES?!" she screamed. Twilight wrinkled her nose as she got closer. It smelled like she'd taken a bath in coffee. There were bits of candy in her mane and her mouth was smeared with chocolate like she'd tried to put on brown lipstick during an earthquake.

"Hey. Hey Pinkie, How are you?" Twilight asked softly, setting herself down opposite of where Pinkie sat. The pink pony flashed a wide, wide, wide grin and shoveled another chocolate bar into her mouth. An entire bar. She breathed heavily through her nose, chewing until her cheeks bulged out obscenely, before finally swallowing and offering Twilight another jittery smile.

"FINE! EVERYTHING IS FINE! THANK YOU FOR ASKING, TWILIGHT! WHY ARE YOU HERE? IS THIS REAL? WOULD YOU LIKE SOME CHOCOLATE?!" Pinkie hollered, grabbing a candy bar and shoving it firmly into Twilight's grasp. Twilight cocked her head slightly to the side, holding the candy bar in her hooves. She didn't look at it. She had her eyes trained on Pinkie, the same way Pinkie had eyes trained on her. But only for a second. The pattern had changed. The clock. The chocolates. Twilight. The clock. The chocolates. Twilight. The clock. The chocolates. Twilight.

"That's...a...strange question. Yes, as far as I'm aware this is real. Pinkie, Mrs. Cake is, getting a little worried about you, and I have to say, you seem to be acting a little strange. Is there anything you'd like to talk with me about? You know you can tell me anything, right? Is there something bothering you, Pinkie?" Twilight cooed. Her voice was affectionate and friendly. Calming and quiet. Soothing was a good word for it, and for a second, it looked like Pinkie wanted to cry. She swallowed, glancing at the clock again, the chocolates, the clock and then back to Twilight. She opened her mouth, paused, closed it, and shook her head. She climbed to her hooves and pulled herself out of the booth. Quietly, she moved towards the window, where she stared out into the ebon evening at ponyville's glowing lights.

"Sometimes it feels like I can't wake up, Twilight," she said softly. Twilight nodded her head slowly, even though Pinkie wasn't looking at her. There was something definitely going on.

"Pinkie, what does that mean?" Twilight asked. Pinkie's back was still turned to her. She was still staring out the window. Silently, subtly, Twilight stole a glance at the front door. Silently, subtly, the lock slid shut, with only the barest hint of a purple aura giving away Twilight's magic. Pinkie didn't notice. Pinkie was still staring out the window. Her frame jerked. She hiccuped. Was she crying? Twilight winced.

"It's all a bad dream, Twilight. That's all it is," Pinkie sputtered, her voice choked and strained. Twilight frowned.

"Pinkie?" she asked at Pinkie's cryptic response. Pinkie didn't answer. Twilight tilted her head. Pinkie was fiddling with something in her hooves. No, she was fiddling with the window. Wait, was she- Twilight immediately stood up and Pinkie instantly glanced over her shoulder. NO!

"Pinkie! Pinkie, wait!" Twilight squeaked, but it was too late. The pink pony had opened the window and was climbing out of it before Twilight could stop her.

"SORRY, TWILIGHT! GOTTA RUN! GOTTA GO GO GO GO! GOTTA GO!!" Pinkie shrieked, tearing down the road as fast as she could and disappeared into the darkness of the night. Twilight stared quietly after her. Idly, she unraveled the chocolate bar she was holding, and began to nibble on one of the corners, while her mind raced as fast as Pinkie's hooves.

She'd gone east. Towards housing. Kept looking at the clock. Time has something to do with this. What time is it? 9:49. Why is time important to her? Why the chocolate? How many chocolates? 86 bars. That's 34916 calories. No. Scratch that. She gave me a chocolate bar. That's 34510 calories. No. Calories not important. That's 5950 mgs of caffeine. Why so much? Where is she going? Can't wake up? How did she know I'd locked the door? Did she see me? No. Back was turned. I made no sound. Did she see magic in reflection of the window? Unlikely. Magic hardly visible. Made sure to mask horn aura. More questions. Need notebook. Need leads. Talk with Mrs. Cake tomorrow.

Comments

[Rainb0w Dashie]

I am confused

[RarityEQM]

9627132
by what, dear?

[Gyro Pony]

I'm not sure if you are going to finish this '3am story' (I can understand starting something as a pressure release and not always needing to finish it) but I have Favourited it anyway.

Struggles... And pushing oneself.... Aye.