Silk-Spider Anthologies: Nightmare Night

by PinkamenaPictures

[T] Nightmare Night

Author's Note:

Genre tags: MLP: FiM, romance, slice of life.
Character tags: Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie.
Synopsis: Pinkie Pie spends the holiday with an injured Twilight Sparkle.

For most ponies, not being able to move much without help would be a waking nightmare. However, Twilight Sparkle did not mind it as much as she had initially thought that she would. It gave her a chance to briefly forget about being the Princess of Friendship and the Element of Magic, and just read a book in a way she had really not been able to do since she was a unicorn.

It was not worth fracturing her left forehoof, breaking five ribs, and dislocating her left wing, but she was glad to find that something good had come from her crash.

Pinkie Pie had promised Twilight that she would be spending the holiday with her, but had not offered a specific time of arrival. While waiting, Twilight had decided to start reading the seasonally apt Nightmare Night: Origins by Autumn Bloom. The book was a history of the holiday, but presented the information as though it were a horror story. Although Princess Celestia had been unwilling to discuss the events that led to her sister being immortalised as a demon, Princess Luna had put her all into the project. She gave Autumn Bloom the entire story from her perspective, and then helped the author find other accounts. Twilight also suspected that it was the Princess’ idea to make it read as a novel.

Twilight was about to start the seventh chapter -The Eclipse -when she heard something outside the door to her bedroom. Guessing that it was Pinkie but not knowing what to expect, Twilight closed her book and put it aside. Her concern was proven worthwhile when the doors burst open and the room was showered in confetti of black, midnight blue, and orange as well as various candies, none of which were still wrapped.

Accompanying the colourful rain was an equally bright earth pony, who bounded into the room with a mighty, yet indecipherable, cry of cheer. Pinkie Pie somersaulted over Twilight’s bed, turning around in the air, and landed over the mare, but with a wide stance kept from actually touching her.

“Hello, Pinkie,” Twilight greeted calmly as she turned her head to look up at Pinkie, seeing little more than her wide smile.

“Hey, Twilight! Are you ready for dinner?” Pinkie said.

A grumble from Twilight’s stomach answered for her, but she still voiced her thoughts. “I am, and I believe that Spike made us something.”

“He did, I set it up before coming here,” Pinkie said as she hopped off of Twilight’s bed and landed gently in the centre of the room, somehow not crushing any candy under her hooves as she did so. When she turned back towards Twilight to offer her help getting out of bed, she noticed Twilight giving her an odd look. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, confused.

Pinkie Pie’s Nightmare Night costume was indeed of the Princess of the Sun. Her mane and tail were dyed in a pastel rainbow, and despite being still almost seemed to move in an unseen wind. She had fake wings tucked against her sides, and a fake horn on her forehead. She was wearing fake golden horseshoes, and a golden yoke and crown each with a magenta gem. To complete the impersonation, she dyed over her cutie marks with a fair approximation of the Princess’.

At Twilight’s tone more than her comment, Pinkie’s smile fell the smallest bit. A few months earlier Twilight would never have noticed the change, nor would she have worried about such a small change even if she had seen it.

“It's a good costume, I’m just surprised. You were so excited about your other idea, why did you change your mind?”

“I just thought it would be more fun,” Pinkie dismissed easily, as though her smile was not strained. “Anyway, dinner is in the Pillow Room. Do you need help getting up?”

“Sitting room,” Twilight corrected automatically and pointlessly. It was something that she often did around Pinkie, unaware that Pinkie deliberately misspoke around her for the reaction. “I should be fine, I only need help for prolonged motions.”

Twilight braced her upper body with her right forehoof, then carefully and slowly swung her back hooves off the bed. Twilight shifted her forehoof to follow, but failed to notice the hard candy before stepping on it. Her hoof slipped and she began to fall. Before she could realise what was happening, Pinkie caught Twilight with a hoof around her stomach and one on her shoulder.

“Thank you,” Twilight mumbled, embarrassed, as she found her stance and Pinkie let her go.

“Don’t worry about it! You know that I’ll always catch you no matter how many times you fall.” Pinkie grinned and Twilight could not help but smile, knowing that she was being honest.

“I’m more worried about the mess. You are going to clean it up, right?”

“Dinner calls!” Pinkie said as she carefully pulled Twilight forward. “We must answer its summons!”

Busy giggling at Pinkie’s silliness, Twilight let the matter drop. They walked at a reserved pace, and Pinkie kept a hoof over Twilight’s barrel to stabilise the mare. A short time later, they were seated at opposite sides of a round table in the Castle of Friendship’s sitting room.

The sitting room was a few doors down from the castle’s throne room with the Cutie Map, just across from the library. The room was reasonably small compared to most of the castle, but was still larger than the main room of the Golden Oak Library. Although the initial design of the room was done by Rarity, only a little of her influence remained: a tapestry on the west wall depicting a radiant sunrise, the table in the centre of the room with its four seats, and a couch in front of the large northern window. The rest of the room had been decorated mostly by chance.

When her castle appeared, nopony in Equestria stayed ignorant to the fourth princess for long. In an effort to gain her favour, many nobles sent her furniture for her new home. A nice gesture, but pointless as her friends had already decorated for her. After filling a store room, Twilight began to throw the extra pillows, couches, and various pieces of bedding into the seldom used sitting room. Twilight had found that the room served very little use to her since she tended to use the throne room, dining room, or library with guests, so she had no issue filling it with meaningless gifts.

A little over a year prior, Pinkie had come over to talk to Twilight but could not find her. Instead, she found a room of unprecedented softness. Twilight came back later that night to find Pinkie sleeping with nearly forty pillows. Since then, Pinkie had insisted that they go there while hanging out just the two of them in the castle, and she took to calling it the Pillow Room. The room was more organised than it was when Pinkie found it, but it still had five couches, seven blankets, and thirty-seven pillows.

Spike had made them a meal of ratatouille before leaving the castle, all that Pinkie had needed to do to set it up was cut it into portions and plate it. Alongside the meal was a hearty bread and, mostly for Pinkie, a couple bottles of soda. They ate in a comfortable silence, enjoying Spike’s dinner and each other’s company.

Once their meal was finished, Pinkie took care of the dishes and brought back a bowl of candy. This time the candy was wrapped as it should have been. They sat down together on a couch designed for only two ponies. Twilight leaned against Pinkie’s left side, her right wing across Pinkie’s back.

“Are you certain that you’re alright with this? Missing your party, I mean.” Twilight said as she laid her head on Pinkie’s shoulder. “There’s still time to go back to Sugarcube Corner, enjoy the holiday.”

Pinkie answered easily, smiling brightly. “I’m having fun being with you.”

“You don’t have to stay, I know how much you love Nightmare Night. The free candy, the costumes, and all the ponies just having fun. You shouldn’t feel like you have to-”

Pinkie cut Twilight off by pressing their lips together. As the gentle kiss ended, Pinkie spoke softly. “I am absolutely, positively sure. You’re all the company I need, holiday or not.”

Twilight smiled as her muzzle burned. “What if they get suspicious of us?”

“Why would they?” Pinkie asked as she unwrapped a piece of chocolate. “They know that I promised to spend Nightmare Night with you, even before your crash. For once, we have nothing to worry about. So let’s enjoy it.”

Twilight could not deny, Pinkie made a compelling argument. One that she was glad to agree with.

“Alright. What did you have planned?” After a few seconds of silence, Twilight raised her head. “You do have a plan, right?”

Pinkie kept her eyes on the candy bowl as she spoke, slightly embarrassed. “I, um, thought you would?”

For a moment, Twilight just stared. Then she shook her head with a sigh and a smile. “How about we tell stories? I know of a few Nightmare Night legends.”

Pinkie jumped on the idea. “I know some good ghost stories!”

“We’ll take turns, why don’t you go first?”

Their impromptu storytime lasted quite a long time, with Pinkie telling four stories and Twilight recounting three legends. Pinkie’s final story was about a ghost in Canterlot Castle, it stalked the halls in the hour of dawn before the sun had fully risen. This ‘ghost’ had turned out to be Princess Luna, who had been trying to avoid her sister while setting up a birthday surprise for her. While Twilight was curious as to how Pinkie knew the tale, mostly it just reminded her of Pinkie’s costume.

Twilight looked over the costume again, and was struck by the same confusion she felt when she first saw it. Why did Pinkie decide to change her costume at the last second? Spontaneity was well within the expected behaviours for Pinkie, but she had been talking about her idea since just after the previous Nightmare Night and had put a lot of effort into making it on her own. Twilight waited until Pinkie’s story was over, and then repeated her earlier question.

“Why did you decide to dress as Princess Celestia tonight?” Twilight paused. Receiving no response, she continued. “You do not have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I know it wasn’t just because it seemed ‘more fun’ than your previous idea.”

Pinkie avoided meeting Twilight’s eyes, and after a couple moments the alicorn was ready to change the subject. Before she could, however, Pinkie spoke.

“Princess Celestia is a great mare,” Pinkie’s voice was subdued, almost sad. It sounded wrong to Twilight. “She is refined and elegant, and I’m… not. Nopony would even call her silly or dismiss her as just Celestia, she is the Princess of the Sun and everypony loves her. I chose her because she is slender and beautiful, and I’m just a baker. I’m just-”

“Breathtaking.” Twilight interrupted, no longer willing to let Pinkie go on. “Pinkie, you are a great mare. You may not be a refined noble or a slender model, but you are beautiful. You are not Princess Celestia or just Pinkie, you are Pinkamena Diane Pie: one of the greatest ponies I have ever met. I care about you, Pinkie. But even when we were just friends, I still thought that you were beautiful.”

Twilight pulled Pinkie into the tightest hug her ribs and forehoof would allow. “Don’t ever think that you are less than anypony else because of who you are. You are the perfect Pinkie Pie.”

After a few moments wrapped in Twilight’s embrace, Pinkie pulled back. Her eyes were wet when she met Twilight’s gaze. “Thank you, Twilight.”

“I am always here for you Pinkie, whenever you need me,” Twilight said. Pinkie moved closer, but it was together that they bridged the gap between their muzzles. It was not a deep and passionate kiss, nor was it a gentle kiss like they had shared hours before. It was a pure and simple display of the emotions they felt for one another.

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