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Pinkie Pie bounces downtown on her way to Twilight's castle, a smile on her face and a basket full of freshly-baked muffins hooked onto her mane.
Twilight chose to bake the cupcakes for their monthly MuffinCake Castle Date this time around, which Pinkie's been beyond excited for. She's never had cupcakes baked by Twilight before, and what could be better than her favorite treat in the world baked by her favorite pony in the world? Just thinking about it adds an extra little spring in her step!
Which means it was Pinkie's turn to make the muffins, so she went with what she knows her partner likes: blueberry! It's simple, but Pinkie's found that simplicity is key when it comes to Twilight- a lesson she's learned after many an extravagant date attempt, all failures ending in a bit of a panic. She'd considered making sweet potato muffins instead, but the ones Twilight makes are already perfect! There's no way she could outdo perfection! So, blueberry it is. Simple and sweet. Just like Twilight.
Pinkie giggles to herself as she stops in front of the big doors of the crystal castle, rapping an excited hoof on the gold finish. Her whole being jitters with nervicited energy, tip-tapping her hooves on the pathway pavement.
The great door rumbles open after what feels like hours going on years, and instead of Twilight, Pinkie's gaze falls downward to a baby dragon. Not unusual. Maybe Twilight's a bit busy!
"Pinkie?" Spike blinks. Pinkie blinks back, grinning. Spike's eyes widen. "...Ohh, no, I totally forgot!"
"Forgot what, Spike?" Pinkie hops past him into the castle, his little dragon steps following frantically behind.
"I, uh, was supposed to see you today, actually! To tell you not to come…"
With Pinkie leading, they've made it to Twilight's bedroom door in no time. Pinkie puts a hoof on the wood. "Well, why's that?"
"Because, um-!"
Pinkie shoves her way in, ready to greet Twilight with the screamiest of joyful screams and a declaration of love and muffins, but there's a hand over her muzzle before she can even take a breath.
"Twilight's… a little under the weather."
To Pinkie's immediate impression, "a little under the weather" is a massive understatement.
Twilight looks absolutely miserable. The kind of miserable where she's lost days of sleep to something trivial and only realized it too late, only this isn't that. It's bone-deep, can't even get out of bed misery, which she would at least try to do if she were simply deprived of sleep.
She's sprawled, and dozing, but it's clearly not restful, if her totally scrunched face is anything to go by. Pinkie can practically see the heat radiating, discomfort rolling off of her in potent waves. The party pony's heart could break right here were it not so occupied pounding with worry.
"Oh, no!" Pinkie trots to the princess's bedside, setting the basket of muffins down on the nightstand. She strokes along one of Twilight's ears, pressed flat. "Twilight, what happened?"
Twilight groans and her eyes peel open, filling with shame as soon as hazy purple meets fretful sky blue. She looks away just as quickly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Pinkie…" Her voice croaks. It sounds painful. "I must've caught something from the foals at the hospital yesterday. If I thought I'd get sick, I wouldn't have agreed to the date today…" She frowns into her pillow, muffling her plight. "I didn't even get to make the cupcakes."
Pinkie smiles down at her. She slides her hoof down, lifting Twilight's head by her cheek. "Aw, silly. You think I care about cupcakes?"
Twilight's tired eyes glisten with guilt.
"Well, obviously, I do, but not as much as I care about you!" Pinkie assures, poking her partner's nose. "But don't worry! Spike and I will nurse you back to pretty purple pristine health in no time at all!" She plants a kiss on the alicorn's burning forehead.
Twilight makes an uncertain wail of a noise. "Pinkie, you don't have to do that… And don't kiss me, you might catch what I have."
"As if a little sick fit is gonna keep me from kissing the prettiest girl in Equestria!" Pinkie shakes her head, petting down strands of Twilight's damp and messy mane. "You're so funny, Twilight."
Pinkie can't quite tell if Twilight's blush is sickly or bashful.
Pinkie promptly showers her red face with kisses, hoping, if anything, she can draw out a smile to clear the raincloud over her head. Not literally, of course. That'd be a much bigger problem.
The series of giggles she earns tells Pinkie she's done her job; an exasperated shout of her name and the hoof pushing her away tells her that job is done. She loves hearing that laugh, no matter how rattled with coughs it may be.
"Here!" Pinkie pulls back to lift the lid off the basket, revealing a half-dozen blueberry muffins, still warm. "I still brought the muffins if you want a feel-good treat! And, I'm still willing to cuddle if you want some cuddle company."
Twilight stares at the muffins with all the longing in her heart, burdened by the fact that she may not be able to stomach them. "Blueberry…" She mumbles- Pinkie's brain lights up, she noticed!- and tears her gaze away with such difficulty Pinkie can see it on her face. Absolute torture.
The princess shies into her pillow case. "It may be selfish of me to take you up on that offer, but…"
"Not at all!" Pinkie Pie claps her hooves on the crystal floor, rearing up before jumping into bed next to Twilight, rolling over and nuzzling her chin. "I'll stay as long as you need me!"
Twilight, hesitant, nuzzles her back. "I don't deserve you, Pinkie."
Spike clears his throat- the two ponies, shamefully, had forgotten he was in the room- but he's smiling, pointing out toward the hallway. "I'll go make some soup!" He says, happily gliding his way to the kitchen with no further prompting.
"He's so sweet," Twilight remarks fondly, before she yawns. "I may not be awake to eat it, though…"
"That's okay," Pinkie says, nudging Twilight's side. "I can eat it for you!"
Twilight giggles, resting her head by Pinkie's and closing her eyes. "Yeah? You'd do that for me?"
"I'd do anything for you, and if anything includes eating some yummy sick-fighting soup in your sleepy stead, I will gladly accept that duty!" She gives a hearty salute, and though Twilight can't see it, she laughs again anyway.
She drapes a heavy wing over the pony beside her, humming in content. "Thanks, Pinkie. I really love you."
Pinkie kisses her cheek in lieu of a response. There's no such thing as too many "I love you"s, she firmly believes, but sometimes saying nothing at all means the most. Like when her girlfriend is trying to sleep off a sickness and likely doesn't want any disruptions. She's happy to assuage her bursting heart for that.
Indeed, when Spike returns with a bowl of freshly prepared soup- made with love- Twilight's long asleep, snuggled into pink fur, smiling blissfully in dream. (And, with luck, a kind visit from Princess Luna.)
And Pinkie, true to her word, happily eats the soup in Twilight's sleepy stead- much to the hovering baby dragon's delight. As he snacks on a blueberry muffin, of course. It's only fair.
Well, maybe it wasn't the MuffinCake Castle Date she was expecting. But at least she still gets to spend time with the pony she loves, sick or not. And that's all she really wanted, anyway.
The soup is a fun bonus, too.