The Alleys of Ponyville: Short Stories from the Noireverse

by PonyJosiah13

Late Night Laughs

A scream resounded through the upper halls of the Apple Pie in Your Eye. Pinkie Pie jolted awake, the blankets of her bed tumbling off her form. She tumbled off her bed and sped towards the door, pushing it open and nearly knocking the framed photograph of herself with Mister and Mrs. Cake off the wall. She emerged into the hallway of the second floor of the tavern. Moonlight streamed into the hallway from the window to her left, casting everything in a silvery glow. Right across from her was another door, from behind which Pinkie could hear crying.

She opened the door and entered a guest bedroom, though the term guest had not applied for a long time. It was decorated fairly simply: there was a stack of records in one corner near the shaded windows, and another corner held a music stand with sheet music from musicals and operas scattered about it. The bed was in the middle of the room, its sheets a dark blue color.

Steamed Carrot sat in the bed, hugging her knees and sniffling. Her tear tracks shone in what little moonlight was allowed to filter through the drawn curtains.

“Steamed?” Pinkie Pie asked.

The pegasus gasped and started, grabbing a pillow as though attempting to use it as a shield. It took a moment for her to recognize Pinkie. She let out a breath and slowly relaxed, fresh tears trickling from her eyes.

“Did you have another nightmare?” Pinkie asked, approaching slowly.

Steamed nodded. “I thought they’d go away…”

Pinkie Pie gently climbed up onto the bed and hugged Steamed. Her friend laid her face against her shoulder, her tears staining Pinkie’s unkempt mane and coat.

“It’s been months since...that happened,” Steamed whispered. “I’ve been getting therapy, I’m getting more confident going out on my own...why do I still have dreams?”

“Steamed, when I was a filly, I was scared of the dark,” Pinkie said, still hugging her. “Granny Pie taught me how to be brave in the dark, to face my fears, but I still felt scared sometimes at night.” She squeezed Steamed gently. “It takes time, but it’ll get better.”

They remained in a silent embrace for several moments longer, until Steamed Carrot’s tears finally subsided. “Pinkie?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Tell me a joke,” Steamed asked. “Something stupid and corny. Make me laugh.”

Pinkie thought for a moment, then smiled. “You know that new can opener where we bought for the kitchen?”

“Yeah,” Steamed nodded.

“It doesn’t work,” Pinkie said. “I guess it’s a can’t opener!”

Steamed snorted and began to quiver with laughter.

“I had to sell my vacuum cleaner last week,” Pinkie continued. “All it was doing was collecting dust. And do you know the difference between a rabbit and a radish? Both are purple except for the rabbit.”

Steamed giggled and chortled, still hugging Pinkie. She finally sighed and laid back down. “Thank you, Pinkie,” she smiled.

“You’re welcome!” Pinkie chirped, hopping off the bed and tucking Steamed back into the covers. With a quick nuzzle, she turned to go. “You’ll feel better in the morning. Good ni—”

“Pinkie?” Steamed asked.

Pinkie paused at the door, turning back. “Yeah?”

Steamed Carrot’s face glowed faintly with a blush in the dark of the room. “Would you...stay with me? At least until I fall asleep?” she asked hesitatingly.

Pinkie smiled and walked back, climbing up on top of the bed, hugging Steamed to her. Steamed gently nuzzled Pinkie’s coat: she smelled of flour, chocolate, and sugar. It was a comforting smell, reminding her of her foalhood, baking cookies and bread with her mother in the bare wood floor kitchen.

“Thank you,” she whispered, already feeling sleep pulling her into the depths.

“Of course,” Pinkie whispered.

They lay in silence for a while longer. The curtains shivered faintly in the wind, allowing the moonlight to pass through the window, casting the two mares in a silvery glow. Aside from a quiet wind that whispered past the house, the only sounds were two soft rhythms of breath.

“I like elephants,” Pinkie Pie whispered. “Everything else is irrelephant.”

Steamed giggled in her sleep.

Author's Note:

Originally, Steamed Carrot was supposed to be a willing minion of the drug gangs along with Silver Polish and Soap Sud. However, my proofreader at the time, Magic Step, convinced me otherwise to lighten the tone a little bit and give Phil and Daring an innocent to save.

The sad thing with her is that I don't have a lot of time to spare to show her growth and development as she tries to deal with the trauma of what she went through. She is getting better, I can assure you, but her road to recovery is a long one. Thankfully, she has the mare of endless laughter and optimism to help her with that.

Comments

[Piemaster128]

Puns solve everything magic can’t

[BirdsBooksBrownies]

Pinkie might be a mite more energetic than I could handle (especially early mornings or late at night) but dang if I don't respect her.

[TheLegendaryBillCipher]

All the hugs for the Steamed Carrot. That's why Pinkie's my favorite.