Pinkie Pie hummed as she stirred the mix in the bowl, the faint melody resonated through the empty room. She used her tail to turn the dial on the oven, and moved a bit closer to it, so its warmth would help her stave off the cold of the snowy night.

“Cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes!” she sang. And she would have kept singing had it not been for the jingle of a bell that came from the front door.

“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! We’re about to close for the day, so I will swiftly satiate your yearning for yummies as soon—Oh, Twilight, hi,” Pinkie Pie said as she walked towards her friend.

“Hello, Pinkie,” Twilight said as she entered the room, shaking the snow from her boots. Twilight made a moved forward, towards the pink mare, but stopped herself halfway through. She cleared her throat and removed her scarf, “How are you?”

“I’m fine, Sugarcube Corner is going to close early, though. The Cakes took the twins out for a walk in town,” Pinkie Pie said.

“I assume they went to the new Plaza they inaugurated near the castle,” Twilight said.

“Yupperooni!” Pinkie Pie said, nodding with energy.

“I wish they didn’t make such a fuss about it,” Twilight said as a light blush spread over her cheeks.

“You can’t blame them, Twi, everypony wants to be close to the house of Ponyville’s best Princess,” the pink mare added.

“Yeah, maybe that’s it…” Twilight trailed off as she stared at Pinkie Pie, “Anyway, I didn’t come here to buy pastries, Pinkie.”

The baker cocked her head in confusion, “Why, then?”

“I…” Twilight fluttered her wings, “I came to see you.”

Pinkie Pie blinked a couple of times before smiling. It wasn’t her usual cheerful smile, no. This was a more subdued smile. It was an understanding, kind smile.

“Sure, Twi. Come to the kitchen, I’m baking the pastries for tomorrow,” she said as she turned around and headed for the kitchen.

“Alright!” Twilight said.

The alicorn followed the earth pony into the kitchen. Twilight’s eyes wandered around the room, scanning every surface. Everything in the room was sparkling clean, save for the spot near the oven where a bowl of batter laid on its side.

“I’m making cupcakes,” Pinkie Pie said as she grabbed the bowl and started stirring again.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve baked together, you know? I can recognise a cupcake in the making when I see it,” Twilight said as she took out a mold of the cabinets.

“I know that, silly,” Pinkie said as she giggled, “I just wanted you to know how long this will take, so you don’t arrive late at your appointment with Applejack.”

Twilight let out a surprised yelp, and the contents of the cabin came crashing down on her.

“Twilight! Are you okay?” Pinkie Pie said, hurrying to Twilight’s side.

“I’m… I’m alright,” Twilight said as she stood up, “How did you know about that?”

“Huh?” Pinkie Pie said as she put the spilled utensils back on their place.

“About… Applejack inviting me over to the farm tonight,” Twilight asked. She wasn’t looking at Pinkie Pie, instead, her eyes were facing down, staring at the light blue tiles of the kitchen.

“Oh, that,” Pinkie said, waving a hoof, “Applejack came the other day and she seemed very uncomfortable, so I asked her if she was alright, so she said she wanted to ask me something, so I told her ‘of course you can, silly!’ so she asked me if I was ok with her asking you to come to her house tonight and then I asked her why shouldn’t I be ok with that, and then she said I knew why, even though I really didn’t, so I told her that, and I told her that she should be asking you if you were alright with going to AJ’s house because you were the one she was inviting and not me, so I that’s why I didn’t understand why she was asking me instead of you.”

Twilight blinked. Her mouth opened and closed several times, but she didn’t say anything. After a few moments, she took the cupcake mold and walked to the kitchen counter in silence. Pinkie Pie stared at her, smiling in silence.

“I was singing the cupcakes song before you came, Twilight. Do you wanna sing the cupcakes song?” Pinkie Pie asked as she opened a bag of flour.

“I… I’m fine listening to you sing, Pinkie, the cold weather isn’t too kind on my throat,” Twilight said.

“Alright then,” Pinkie said as she started to pour the flour on the bowl, “La-lara-lala~.”

The mares worked together; Pinkie Pie going back and forth around the kitchen as she moved to the rhythm of her tune, and Twilight assisting the mare in everything she told her. However, the baker could tell that something felt odd in the room.

Once she sang the last verse of the song, and Twilight had finished filling the molds with the cupcake mix, Pinkie Pie took the tray with her mouth and placed it in the oven. Closing it with a flick of her tail, she turned around and faced the alicorn.

Pinkie Pie’s cheerful expression quickly turned into a frown when she looked at her friend.

“Wha— what is it?” Twilight said.

“You have some batter on your cheek,” Pinkie Pie said, grabbing a towel from the counter and giving it a lick to dampen it, “Here, just let me…”

Twilight’s eyes grew and seemed to be about to step backwards when Pinkie Pie grabbed her by the back of her head and started rubbing the moist towel against her fur. The alicorn’s cheeks turned red as Pinkie Pie cleaned her.
“P-pinkie…” Twilight whispered.

Pinkie Pie gave her an apologetic look as she withdrew her hooves, “Heh, sorry, you probably want to do that yourself.”

“No! That’s… Ah, I mean...” Twilight’s blush deepened as she stumbled with her words.

The pink mare extended her hoof, and offered the alicorn the towel. Twilight stared at it for a moment before taking it with her magic.

“Thanks, Pinkie,” she said in a murmur as she cleaned the remainders of the batter from her face.

“There, much better,” Pinkie Pie said, beaming.

Twilight finished cleaning herself off and threw the towel on the counter. She then remained silent, not looking at Pinkie.

“Well, now we just have to wait for the cupcakes to be baked,” Pinkie Pie said, looking at the clock on the wall and squinted at it as she calculated the time in her mind. After that she twisted a timer and laid it on top of the oven.

“They should be done in about twenty minutes, what time did you tell Applejack you’ll be at Sweet Apple Acres?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I... I actually haven’t answered Applejack,” Twilight said in a low voice.

Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened as she let out a surprised yelp, “What!?”

“Pinkie…” Twilight whispered as she grimaced.

“But she was looking forward to this night. You can’t just leave her hanging like this!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, throwing her hooves in the air.

“Pinkie,”Twilight said, slightly louder now.

“You have to go, Twilight, How could you not have told her that you’re going?” Pinkie said, taking a step forward.

“Because I’m not sure if I’ll go!” Twilight yelled, making the earth pony flich.

Silence followed the mare’s outburst. Twilight kept her eyes fixated on the ground, not daring to look at Pinkie. Pinkie Pie, for her part, was raising her right hoof to her chest, backing away from Twilight a bit.

“What do you mean, Twi? AJ told me she really wanted you to go, why won’t you go?” Pinkie Pie asked, her concern was clear in her voice.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t go, I just said I wasn’t sure, because… because...” Twilight said.

“Because?” Pinkie Pie prodded her.

Twilight sighed and looked down, “You… you said you were alright with me going, right?” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Pinkie Pie blinked a couple of times in confusion, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You know why…” Twilight said, still looking everywhere except at Pinkie.

Pinkie Pie giggled, “You asked me the same thing that AJ did, you two must think alike.”

“So, you’re ok with it?” Twilight asked.

“I already told you that I—”

“Just say it,” Twilight cut her off, “say that you don’t mind.”

Pinkie Pie looked at the alicorn, she could see that Twilight was very serious.

“Please... for us? For what we had?” Twilight pleaded.

The pink mare smiled. Again, it wasn’t a cheerful smile, it wasn’t her usual party smile, nor was it her “I hope you have a good night with Applejack” smile. It was a soft, almost sad, smile.

“You can go to Applejack’s farm tonight, Twilight, I really won’t mind,” Pinkie Pie said, gently shaking her head.

Twilight closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, “Thank you, Pinkie.”

“No problem, Twi,” Pinkie Pie said, smiling a smile as wide as her face would let her.

“I… I guess I’ll be leaving now,” Twilight said, shifting awkwardly in place.

“Alright, Twi!” Pinkie Pie said as she opened the door of the kitchen and walked out.

They walked to the door of Sugarcube Corner in silence. Despite their talk, Twilight still avoided Pinkie’s eyes, but the earth pony paid no mind to that. She waited patiently as Twilight put on her scarf and walked to the door.

“So… I guess this is it, right?” Twilight said, stopping at the doorway.

“Yup! I’ve got to close Sugarcube Corner in about fifteen minutes anyway,” Pinkie Pie said, nodding.

“That’s not what I… Ah, nevermind,” Twilight said as she shook her head. She lingered next to Pinkie Pie, immobile, almost as if the snow had froze her in place.

Pinkie was about to say something when Twilight turned around and threw her forearms around the pink pony, and nestled her head against Pinkie’s neck. This took Pinkie Pie by surprise, but after a few seconds, she returned the hug, and didn’t let go.

That is the first rule of hugging, if somepony hugs you, never be the first person to let go, because you never know how much can that pony need a hug.

Still, Pinkie Pie wondered if Twilight would let her go in time for her to take the cupcakes out of the oven.

It had been several minutes since Twilight had hugged Pinkie, and she still hadn’t said a word. Neither of them had, and Pinkie Pie didn’t know is she should say something. In the end, she didn’t have to, because Twilight spoke first.

“Pinkie…?” She said, her voice muffled by the earth pony’s coat.

“Yes, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked as she stroked the alicorn’s mane.

“Is… Is there anything you want to tell me?” Twilight asked her, “Anything at all?”

Pinkie Pie rested her head on top of Twilight’s, and kept stroking her mane.

“Pinkie?” Twilight pleaded.

“Have fun at Applejack’s house, Twi,” Pinkie Pie said, and as she said this, she could feel Twilight squeezing harder.

Twilight didn’t let go, even after a full minute had passed since Pinkie Pie had talked. And once she could feel the dampness in her neck, Pinkie didn’t want to deprive her friend from whatever comfort she could give her. Whether it was the right thing to do at that moment, Pinkie didn’t know, she just knew that it was the best she could do for her friend.

“Thanks, Pinkie,” Twilight said as she finally let go. Pinkie Pie could see the wet spots that Twilight’s tears had made on her cheeks, but she didn’t mention it.

“No problem, Twi. Say hi to Applejack for me,” Pinkie Pie said, still holding Twilight by her shoulders.

Twilight gave her a small smile before turning around and headed to Sweet Apple Acres, “Goodbye, Pinkie.”

“Goodbye, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie whispered as she leaned on the doorframe.

---

“I did the right thing, didn’t I, Gummy?” Pinkie Pie said between munches of a vanilla cupcake.

The baby alligator looked at his master from deep inside of the large crystal cage he lived in during winter. His large open eyes reflected the orange light of the incandescent light-bulbs

“I mean, Twilight is going to be happy now, and so will AJ…”

Despite what she had said, Pinkie Pie did know why AJ had been so nervous when she came to Sugarcube Corner. She also knew why Twilight had been acting so awkwardly this evening

“She’s gonna be happier than she was with me.”

Gummy blinked, with a speed that would rival Tank.

“Ugh… We’ve been through this already, Gummy,” Pinkie Pie said, looking at her pet alligator with an annoyed look.

“Twilight and I broke up because things between us didn’t work, and I accepted that. I cried and cried and cried, but I accepted it.”

Gummy’s left eye opened, slowly.

“But it didn’t, Gummy! It was nice while it lasted, but it’s over now,” Pinkie Pie said, burying her face in her pillows.

Gummy opened his right eye, just as slowly.

“We agreed that it was over, and we agreed to move on,” Pinkie Pie said.

Gummy closed his eyes.

“No, Gummy, I don’t think Twilight came here tonight because she wanted us to get back together, I don’t she’d do something like that,” Pinkie Pie said as she turned around to face the little alligator.

Pinkie’s eyes moistened, but she didn’t cry.

“I don’t know… Maybe she just wanted to be sure everything was done between us before she moved on,” Pinkie Pie said as she looked through the window at the falling snowflakes.

“That’s a part of my life that has already passed, Gummy, and now...” Pinkie Pie paused as she took a deep breath, “now it’s time I close that chapter and move on.”

She then took another bite off the cupcake she was eating, and she licked the pink and purple frosting from her lips.