Azure Edge

by Leaf Blade

120. Cookies Part III: Cookies and Trauma

Twilight sniffed and wiped her eyes as she managed to finally grasp some modicum of control over her emotions. Pinkie Pie, for her part, had been an absolute sweetheart; happily munching on cookies and comforting Twilight while Twilight cried. It was very embarrassing.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight said, taking in deep breaths to try and get ahold of herself. “You didn’t deserve to see all of tha—”

“Bupbup!” Pinkie interjected, raising a hand up toward Twilight’s muzzle but she couldn’t quite reach. “I don’t wanna hear it, Twilight. You’re my friend, and sometimes part of being a good friend is letting your friends cry on you for a bit. No big deal.”

“I just,” Twilight groaned, “I don’t want you to have to be my therapist or anything.”

“I’m not your ‘therapist’,” Pinkie giggled, and Twilight couldn’t deny that sound did wonders for her mood, “I’m your friend!”

“A good friend wouldn’t force you to carry my burdens for me,” Twilight grumbled, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “I need to deal with my own problems, no one else needs to be burdened with sifting through my baggage.”

Pinkie blinked at Twilight and pursed her lips.

“Who hurt you, Twilight?” she asked flatly.

“Nobody ‘hurt’ me!” Twilight balked, admittedly caught off-guard by Pinkie’s response.

“You super sure about that?” Pinkie hummed, holding her index fingers together against her lips.

“Yeah! I mean—” Twilight thought about it for a second, thought about her parents back when they were still around, and about all of her old magic teachers besides Zecora, and even Shining Armor. She was forced to admit that Pinkie may have had a point. “Uhhhh, hm.”

“It’s okay, Twilight,” Pinkie patted Twilight’s thigh. “Dealing with hurt is really hard! It’s sticky and it’s complicated, and there’s no easy fixes! But there are-” Pinkie pulled a pair of cookies out of her cookie bag and beamed brightly “-cookies and friendship! And I think those things make dealing with the stickiness a lot easier!”

“Okay,” Twilight giggled and took one of the cookies Pinkie offered, “maybe you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right!” Pinkie nodded confidently, puffing up her chest. “If there’s two things I understand, it’s cookies and friendship! And actually, I know a lot about dealing with internalized trauma too, so you should listen to me!”

“Well that’s upsetting to think about,” Twilight nibbled on the cookie; she wasn’t really hungry, but Pinkie’s cookies were so good, and she knew the only reason she wasn’t hungry was just because she was anxious and her stomach was completely empty. “I don’t want you to have to deal with that kind of pain, Pinkie Pie.”

“Right back atcha!” Pinkie shrugged, taking a big bite out of a cookie. “But we all have demons, right? And the way I see it, friendship is about sharing, and sometimes that means sharing cookies, and sometimes it means sharing burdens! Both are important parts of friendship!”

“Hm,” Twilight took a slightly bigger bite out of the cookie, “I never really thought about it like that before.”

Twilight looked at the half-eaten cookie in her hand and pondered Pinkie’s words. It was tough to hear them, tough to think that Twilight’s method of dealing with her troubles all this time— by internalizing them and never letting anyone else see them ever— was not only not working, but actively hurting her relationships.

And it hurt even more because she knew it was true.

“I’m not—” Twilight croaked weakly, sinking her teeth into the cookie for a second but feeling too sick to take a bite. “I don’t think that I’m ready to share like that.”

“That’s okay!” Pinkie chirped, taking a big bite out of another cookie.

“It is?” Twilight cocked her head as she looked at Pinkie in bewilderment.

“Yeah, totally!” Pinkie nodded confidently. “Everyone deals with their stuff at their own pace, and it wouldn’t do for me to force you to share stuff you’re not comfortable with! That just wouldn’t be right at all! But I am here for you whenever you’re ready to share stuff.”

“Thanks, Pinkie,” Twilight felt a familiar heat creeping up against her cheeks, and it was actually quite a welcome reprieve from how garbagey she’d been feeling up until now.

“No problem!” Pinkie said, her mouth full of cookie. “Happy to do it!”

“I will admit,” Twilight took a big bite out of her cookie, relishing in how sweet it tasted and how the storm in her stomach was starting to quiet down a bit, “these cookies wouldn’t be nearly as good if I were eating them by myself.”

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

Comments

[ShadowLDrago]

“Bupbup!” Pinkie interjected, raising a hand up toward Twilight’s muzzle but she couldn’t quite reach. “I don’t wanna hear it, Twilight. You’re my friend, and sometimes part of being a good friend is letting your friends cry on you for a bit. No big deal.”

Goddammit, this is some good Pinkie.

[Leaf Blade]

10071328
i'm glad to hear that! pinkie's one of my Big Faves so it feels good to hear that i do her justice

[ShadowLDrago]

10071335

You do. It's easy to just write her as a bubbly ditz, forgetting that under those pink curls and behind those sky blue eyes is a very intelligently mind.