The Day of Love

by Rose Quill

Deeply: Pinkie and Aria

I was just drying my hands from the dinner dishes when Pinkie came back from putting Rhapsody down for the night, blowing one of her bangs from her face.

“That kid is a handful,” she sighed as she came over for a hug before we collapsed on the couch. “She had to hear two bedtime stories tonight.”

Smiling, I leaned over to my wife and whispered to her. “You know she only does that because she knows you’ll put up with it, right?”

“Well, duh,” came the response. “But that doesn’t change the truth of my comment.”

I wrapped my arms around her as we sank into the comfortable embrace of our couch. Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day, and despite having been on this side of the portal for some time, I never did understand the holiday until Pinkie had become a staple in my life.

I felt her thumb start rubbing my wrist and she was uncharacteristically quiet. I glanced down at her.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

She didn’t say anything for a moment, staring at our hands. Then, softly like she didn’t want anyone to hear, a single question came out.

“Why did you hurt yourself once upon a time?”

I blinked for a second, not comprehending her meaning until it clicked.

“Oh,” I whispered. “I don’t know.”

Despite the time that had passed, the overflowing love that Pinkie instilled in me and the fact that we had a two year old bundle of energy for a daughter, the memories came back in a flash. Living in what barely passed for an apartment, the gnawing hunger from the loss of my Song, and the depressive spiral I had fallen into...

And the cold feel of steel on my thighs. I shivered at the memory, both haunting and familiar at the same time.

“Back then, nothing seemed real to me.” Words tended to flow from my mouth much more easily now than they used to, at least when talking to Pinks. “We has lost our old Song, and that brought with it a cold, festering pit inside. We were always hungry, and not in a way food could satisfy.”

I felt her hands grip my arms a little tighter as I spoke. “There were a lot of things I tried to fill the void, but nothing helped for more than a few minutes at a time except that. For some reason, feeling the sharp pain from the cut helped keep the hunger at bay for a while, especially during certain acts.”

She looked up at me, her eyes filled more with curiosity than anything else. “You weren’t afraid you’d cut too deep?”

I shook my head. “I knew where not to cut and it was never too deep,” I told her, eyes drifting back into the mists of time. “But I hated everything about myself back then, and I’m fairly sure I wouldn’t have cared much if I had done it in a way to have scarred. We heal pretty quickly even without magic.” I leaned my head against hers and breathed in the smell that was comforting about her, a faint vanilla and sugar air.

“You don’t donit any more, right?”

I grunted an assent. “I don’t think I’ve done it outside of an accident in the kitchen since Fluttershy helped us move into the old apartment.” I moved my mouth down to her ear. “Or since a certain hyperactive girl started hanging around.”

She giggled, some of the heavy air lifting from around us. I leaned back, feeling the warm love flowing between us in a silent exchange. “Why did you want to know?” I asked after a moment. “It’s been years since that had a place in my life.”

“I couldn’t understand why anyone would do that to themselves,” she answered. “How anyone could be so sad or angry that the only option was to hurt themselves more.”

“That’s the thing of it, Pinkie,” I breathed. “Sometimes, people are so used to feeling pain that it becomes all we know. And we become accustomed to it, like a shadow that follows us. It affects you deeply, like a chill that never quite goes away until you feel like there isn’t another way.”

I kissed her just behind her ear, causing her to giggle. “I’ve found something to replace that chill, though, and it runs a lot deeper than any pain. And I don’t know how to ever completely express my thanks to you for that. “

She shifted until she was leaning towards me, her eyes slightly hooded.

“I could think of a few things,” she whispered, head tilted invitingly. I leaned forward and smiled.

“I’m sure you could,” I agreed before kissing her.

---

“What time are they supposed to be here?” I called from the bathroom as I finished getting ready.

“Any minute now,” Pinkie called out over Rhapsody’s giggiling.

I put the handful of makeup bits back into the drawer that we kept them in and went out to see my wife and child in a staring contest with their breath held. They both blinked and then laughed at the same time, causing me to chuckle too.

A knocking at the door brought me out of my drinking in the sight of the two most important people in my life playing. On the other side were a pair of women I knew pretty well, one of which held a slightly kinder look as of late.

“Aunt Limestone! Aunt Maud!” Rhapsody squealed, rushing over and fairly swarming up into Limestone’s arms.

“Hey, squirt,” she laughed, hoisting her into a more comfortable position.

“I am not a squirt!” Rhapsody protested, crossing her arms.

“Thanks for watching her, you guys,” I said as Pinkie slipped her shoes on. “She won’t sit still for anyone else.”

“Well, she is my favorite niece,” Limestone said as she set Rhapsody down. The toddler grabbed Maud’s hand and pulled the woman over to her rock collection. “Wish I could make it down more often, actually.”

I smiled. The years had cooled Limey’s anger and I’m almost positive being an aunt had something to do with that.

“We should be back around nine thirty,” Pinkie told them as I gathered up coats and purses. “You’re welcome to anything in the kitchen, but she’s due in bed before we get back.” She pointed a finger at our daughter. “You behave for your aunts, ok?”

Rhapsody gave us a thumbs up and a grin. She was so much Pinkies kid.

As we drove to meet Marble and Macintosh at the restaurant, I glanced over at my wife.

“You do know I love you, right?” I asked rhetorically.

She nodded.

“Deeply.” I emphasized.

She grinned and looked at me from the corner of her eye. “Uh huh,” she giggled.

“Just wanted to make sure.” I leaned back a little in the seat. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Pinkie.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Ari,” she responded.

“Let’s just hope Rhapsody doesn’t eat Limey and Maud while we’re gone.” I chuckled as we pulled into the parking lot, seeing the old pickup Mac drove already there.

“We’re only going to be gone five hours,” she responded. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Comments

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

“Back then, nothing seemed real to me.” Words tended to flow from my mouth much more easily now than they used to, at least when talking to Pinks. “We has lost our old Song, and that brought with it a cold, festering pit inside. We were always hungry, and not in a way food could satisfy.”

We had*

Glad to see Limestone has accepted Aria as a part of the family.