"PARTY!" Pinkie Pie threw confetti from who knew where everywhere. The party was in full swing. Music played in the back, food was served. Plenty of ponies danced the hokie pokie and everything was okie dokie. The party went on for several hours. There was dancing, singing (on Pinkie's Part) and pin the tail on the donkey. There was even a pin the donkey on the tail, but that's for a whole other story.
Pinkie Pie loved parties. She loved hosting them. She loved going to them. She loved dancing at them. But most of all, she loved to see the smiles of the faces of the ponies she knew and loved.
But sometimes, it was too much, even for her. You wouldn't know it from looking at her, but sometimes, there had been just a little too much partying.
But how could you ever tell? You never heard Pinkie Pie say "Whoo boy! I'm all tired out, I think I'll take a break from partying for a while." Pinkie was the premier party pony, the one that was at every party, and was actually hosting most of them.
Some days, she just needed a break from partying. Of course, if anyone knew, it might change how ponies looked at her, and that wasn't something she wanted to change. Tonight was one such night.
She had waited almost a whole week before a storm was scheduled. This was something that she rarely had; a real, private moment to herself. She snuck out after 11pm, shortly before the storm would begin, and walked, not hopped, the two miles or so out to the edge of the Everfree.
Finally reaching the spot she was looking for, Pinkie Pie settled down into the grass and watched as the coming storm was built slowly upon by a team of Pegasi. It looked like Rainbow Dash had the night off, because Pinkie couldn't spot her friend.
Now that she had time to reflect on herself, Pinkie Pie lowered her muzzle into the grass, and softly began to cry. These moments that she had to herself were few and far between, and keeping pace with her job and her friends and her favorite hobby was so stressful. She just had to let it out sometimes, or she would explode, and more than twice.
As Pinkie Pie released her emotions, it began to rain. The raindrops were heavy but came slowly, making loud plops on the leaves of the trees over her. Once the rain had settled down to a nearly imperceptible drizzle, the cicadas began to sing. Pinkie opened her eyes and blinked away her tears as the fireflies began to dance around her. She smiled to herself. This was what she was waiting for.
Pinkie got to her hooves and closed her eyes. She began to sing. There was no rhyming, there were no words. She simply reached into her heart, and threw out whatever sound it felt like making. She twisted and turned, graceful and light. This went on for another ten to fifteen minutes until she finally stopped, her breath and heart quickly returning to their normal pacing.
Feeling a bit lazy, she settled back down into the grass and laid on her side, facing Ponyville. She rolled her eyes. Did he really think he was hiding from her? "You can come out now, Spark Storm." The only sound that permeated the silence was drops of rain-laden tree water. After a moment, however, there were sounds of movement as the tall, lean Pegasus emerged, perfectly camouflaged in the shadows. "Pinkie Pie...You know I wasn't spying, right?"
"Oh really?" Spark winced a bit at how miffed the party pony sounded. "Of all the places that I come to do this, by myself, which is like...almost never, and you're always here. Of course you're spying on me, and-" Pinkie Pie was cut off as she felt a hoof on her mouth. She looked up at Spark, surprised to see a tender, if not hurt look on his face.
"Pinkie Pie, I...all right. Fine. I know when you come out here, and I usually drop by to watch or listen to you." Pinkie Pie frowned and got up, preparing to leave. "I thought I knew you better than that, Sparky. This is my private time, it's the only time I ever get to myself!"
Spark Storm sighed and lowered his head with guilt. He'd dealt a blow to his friendship with Pinkie Pie. If only he could make her understand why. "Pinkie, I'm sorry. It's just...you remind me of my mom when you're out here."
Pinkie froze in her tracks. At the mention of his mother, Pinkie's memories of that terrible day came flooding back to her. She looked back at Spark, who stood there with guilt and pain threatening to spill over in his eyes. Finally understanding his actions, Pinkie Pie strode up to him and nuzzled her head under his chin. He let out a soft sigh, trying to settle the emotions that were slowly ebbing away.
There were so many times when he wished he weren't so emotional. He coped most of the time, but when it came to his mother, he almost always broke down. The two of them stayed huddled like that in the rain for a few moments. Then, Pinkie backed away from him and looked up into his big, gold eyes. "Pinkie, I'm sorry I've kept invading your special time alone. I won't do it anymore, I Pink-" It was his turn to take a hoof over the mouth for quiet time. He obeyed, watching her with surprised eyes.
"You know, I guess it's ok if you're here when i'm out here. You don't really like parties anyway, and I come here to get away from parties, you know?" Spark nodded with a light smile. "Yeah, I know." "Just...no more hiding. And if you have to talk about it, I don't mind, either. And I know you're not really 'allowed'" she twitched her hoofs up and down in the air, "to be in Ponyville, but if you really need to talk and I'm not there, just sneak in and talk to one of the girls!"
Spark Storm chuckled. Sneaking into Ponyville was actually one of his favorite hobbies. He was indeed not allowed to be back there, on account of what had happened. He supposed he had more Rainbow Dash in him than he realized, as it gave him a thrill to actually have the police ponies try to chase him out. Some of them even enjoyed the chase as well. It was kind of like a game of tag, and everypony else was it.
"I understand. And...thanks." He gave the pink mare a huge hug, which she reciprocated. The two of them had been friends for years, so their closeness came naturally. She gave him a final nuzzle, then headed back for home with a hop in her - well, hopped. She never did much walking.
Three weeks later, Spark Storm was running through the woods. He looked back with a laugh, watching Orea try to keep up with him. "Storm! Slow down!" She called. She never ran out of breath, no matter how long she ran. Her little frame wasn't meant for speed, though. "Your speed is most unfair!" Spark laughed and ran faster, soon losing the Nymph. He came to a stop when he heard sniffling coming from the edge of the woods.
Going to investigate, he found a little bundle of pink, splayed out on the grass. He sighed; he hated seeing Pinkie Pie so sad. Remembering their last encounter, he made to leave. "Wait!" She called. She had gotten to her hooves and trotted into the Everfree. He turned to her, and his heart ached at seeing her mane mostly flat, with just a few stray curls here and there.
"Don't go, I...I came looking for you. I could really use somepony to talk to about stuff that I can't tell anypony else and since you already know about it..." She looked up at him with sad, hopeful eyes. She gasped softly as she saw Orea come up to sit beside Spark Storm. "Oh, you already, I -" Spark held up a hoof, then looked down at little Orea.
She looked back into his eyes, and without a word she seemed to get the message. She turned away and walked back into the forest, disappearing from view. Spark turned back to Pinkie and held out a hoof. Needing no encouragement, Pinkie Pie settled against his side, and poured her heart out to him, revealing how she felt when she just couldn't be happy anymore.
It didn't happen often, of course. But playing the happy card all the time meant building up stress. She wasn't eternally happy like her friends believed she was. She needed release from pretending. She needed to bring her walls down for a couple hours and just let the sad come out. That night, she did. And when she was done pouring her heart out to Spark, she felt better than she had in years. That night, she went home and for a long, long time, didn't need to vent.
She still went to see Spark Storm when she could. When she did, it wasn't to be sad. She went to be happy with her friend he couldn't be happy in Ponyville.
Hope you all enjoyed :)
The first scene in the rain was inspired by Sir Gimp Of Baath's story Causality. 3