Pinkie wrinkled her face in an attempt to shut her eyes tighter against the first few beams of sunlight flaring through her bedroom window. She started to roll over to bury her face into one of the pillows, but was stopped by a strange feeling around her back. It took a few soft rubs of her hooves to open her eyes, but what she saw made her breath hitch slightly. Silver was fast asleep next to her, with her face tucked in towards her body and her hooves resting gently around Pinkie’s chest. Pinkie let out a quiet giggle and very carefully turned back to her previous position in an attempt to avoid disturbing Silver. Pinkie smiled when Silver reacted by nuzzling her face back into Pinkie’s neck and chest.

Pinkie kept beaming at Silver as she silently watched the sleeping pegasus next to her for some time and thought about their position. They hadn’t actually gotten around to talking about their relationship, both of them having been too tired to really get into a serious discussion after returning home from that ordeal. So instead, Pinkie had led Silver up to bed and they had settled down for sleep. Pinkie had been forced to playfully admonish Silver when she tried to curl up at the hoof of the bed again. She had let it slide the first time, but especially after the words left unspoken in the cell, she had no problem with Silver sleeping up next to her.

Still, Pinkie hadn’t quite expected to wake up with Silver cuddling her so affectionately, even after the way that Silver had behaved in the cell. At the very least, Silver’s reaction to being told to sleep up next to her made more sense now. Pinkie had been a little surprised by how fast the bright smile spread across her friend’s face when it was offered, and then Silver had nearly bounded up the bed and wriggled under the covers next to Pinkie. They definitely had not been this close when she had fallen asleep, but Pinkie didn’t really care. It hardly even really matter to her if Silver had done so on purpose. Silver looked happy, and that was enough to make the smile on Pinkie’s face broaden considerably.

Pinkie found herself rubbing her face into into Silver’s mane as she thought and took a few deep breaths. She still couldn’t figure out why Silver’s scent was so nice. The scent itself was difficult to describe as it was barely there. It almost smelled like the lingering smell of roses, but it was as if they were sitting in a well ventilated room so only the barest hints of the smell reached her nose. Something about the sensation did a lot to soothe Pinkie. Pinkie found her eyes fluttering slightly as she laid there and took it in. She struggled for a moment to try and keep them open, but eventually gave in. Pinkie wrapped her own forelegs around Silver and nuzzled the purple mane closer.

A more sedate smile spread across Pinkie’s face as she felt Silver react again and nuzzle back a little bit more. She started to relax and let herself drift away with a contented sigh when she felt Silver start to stir in her grasp. Silver gave a few slow wriggles as she pulled herself out of Pinkie’s grasp with a confused look on her face.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Pinkie whispered with an airy giggle that masked her disappointment.

Silver let out a silent yawn and wriggled again as she struggled to free her hooves to rub at her eyes, and then suddenly stopped. Her eyes shot open and she glanced down at the position that they were in. Her face immediately flushed as she observed her own legs wrapped around Pinkie’s midsection, with Pinkie’s hooves still resting on her sides. Silver immediately tucked her face in towards her chest and tried to hide it in the soft fuzzy hairs on Pinkie’s chest.

Pinkie merely laughed and waited for Silver to peek back up only to see Pinkie wearing a serene smile. Silver’s blush eventually faded and she started to mirror the smile. Pinkie let out a quiet giggle, and smiled even brighter when Silver put her hooves back around her chest and went back to gently rubbing her face into Pinkie’s neck.

A swell of happiness surged from deep within Pinkie when Silver willingly returned to the tender embrace. She wrapped her hooves back around the pegasus as she rested her head gently on the top of Silver’s and shut her eyes. The sleepiness didn’t seem to be threatening to overtake her this time. She was able to lay there silently with Silver for a long time before she cracked her eyes open again.

“Are you ready to face the day now, sweetie?” Pinkie asked with a little hesitation. Silver buried her face deeper into Pinkie’s neck and shook her head, causing Pinkie to laugh quietly. She nuzzled Silver a little bit more tenderly, turning her face down to rub her mouth across the top of Silver’s head before she responded.

“Don’t worry, everything will be okay. They’re sorting it all out, remember?” Pinkie whispered into the purple mane and gently kissed it. Silver shook her head again in response and tightened her grip around Pinkie’s midsection.

“We can stay here a little bit longer if you want, but you’re going to have to get up eventually,” Pinkie said with a slight grin. Silver shook her head again vehemently, and Pinkie giggled as the motion made the purple mane lightly whip across her face.

“Oh? You’re going to stay in bed all day?” Pinkie teased with a slight grin and received a nod in response.

“Well, you know that at least I have to get up eventually, right?” Pinkie asked through a quiet giggle. Silver shook her head again and pulled Pinkie even closer in response, causing Pinkie to outright laugh.

“What? You’re not going to let me?” Pinkie asked incredulously and gently ran her hooves across Silver’s back. Silver didn’t respond as clearly this time, instead choosing to entangle her rear legs with Pinkie’s and placing a light kiss on Pinkie’s neck as she refused to let up her tight grip.

“Fine,” Pinkie said after a quiet sigh. “You win for now, but you are going to have to get out of bed eventually. Okay?”

Silver withdrew and looked up at Pinkie with a triumphant grin plastered across her face. Pinkie couldn’t stop another laugh from escaping her lips and then shook her head as Silver relaxed her grip and they nuzzled back into a comfortable position together. Pinkie tilted her head up a little as Silver went to put her face back into the pink neck, and then gently rested her head on top of Silver’s once more. She blinked a few times, trying to fight back the weariness with a yawn, but had a hard time keeping it out. Giving up for now, she tilted her head down and placed another soft kiss on top of Silver’s head before she pulled the pegasus so close that their hind legs had to entangle once again to not get in each other's way. With that, Pinkie let her eyes flutter shut and she slipped back to sleep.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Pinkie softly called out to the mare in her grasp a few hours later. Silver stirred slightly, but shook her head stubbornly once again. She clutched tightly onto Pinkie and burrowed her face deeper into the pink coat. Pinkie laughed, gently placing a hoof under Silver’s chin to lift the gray face up towards her. A curious expression flitted across Silver’s face and she blinked a few times as her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“If you don’t get up, I’ll have to use my secret weapon…” Pinkie softly called out with a teasing grin. Silver stubbornly shook her head again, flicking her mane across Pinkie’s face again before she tried to bury her face back into Pinkie’s neck. Pinkie gently pulled Silver’s face back up to meet hers and smiled.

“Okay, well don’t say that I didn’t warn you…” she said in her best attempt an ominous voice.

Silver’s face started to noticeably flush, and her breath fluttered as Pinkie leaned in closer. Pinkie could feel Silver’s breath lightly brushing across her face as she drew herself almost nose to nose with the pegasus. Silver’s eyes slowly shut and Pinkie swore that she could hear the heartbeat echoing up Silver’s throat. Silver’s face drew in closer, with her lips spreading slightly in anticipation.

Pinkie let her face twist into a slight grin that she knew Silver couldn’t see, and then swooped her face down past Silver’s and right into the gray neck. She immediately started to blow into it loudly, making Silver squirm wildly and let out a series of silent yet frantic giggles. Pinkie repeated her actions several times, and then slowly drew her face back up level with Silver’s with a grin.

“What? All’s fair in love and cupcakes, sweetheart,” Pinkie said as her devious grin widened in response to the look of utter shock on Silver’s face. Finally, after a long moment of letting her mouth hang wide open, and her lower lip trembling slightly, Silver stuck her tongue out at Pinkie and pouted like a school filly.

“Come on, let’s get up. We’ve lounged around enough,” Pinkie said as she leaned forward and playfully planted a soft kiss on Silver’s nose. She let out a quiet giggle at the way it made Silver’s nose twitch and her face crinkle up in irritation.

Silver gave a reluctant nod, though, only after squeezing Pinkie tighter for a long moment and rubbing her face into the pink fur. Pinkie smiled and tightened her embrace around Silver one last time, and then slipped herself out of the pegasus’ grasp. She reached down and suddenly tugged the covers out from over Silver and giggled at the reaction that it caused. Silver shivered for a second and scrunched her face into a gigantic pout. She curled herself up into the closest approximation of a ball that she could and then tried to snuggle into the warm spot in the bed left by Pinkie.

“Come on! Get up!’ Pinkie exclaimed happily and then bounced around the bed. She tugged at Silver with a hoof, but she refused to budge. Pinkie had to nearly drag Silver off the bed, and the two of them landed in a jumbled heap on the floor, laughing the entire way.

“Oof! It’s not going to be like this every day, is it, Silver?” Pinkie teased playfully. She did her best to wriggle away from Silver who had taken this as an excuse to try and go back to cuddling Pinkie.

The question was enough to get Silver to relax her grasp for a moment, allowing Pinkie to extract herself. Pinkie stood up and Silver rolled onto her back, tilting her head upwards to look at Pinkie upside-down with her head turned to the side. When Pinkie didn’t say anything, she eventually stood up face to face with Pinkie and kept the curious expression on her face.

“What? Did you honestly think I was going to let you go back to sleeping outside after what happened? No way Jose!” Pinkie exclaimed happily, and grinned mischievously at Silver. She blinked a few times with a blank expression on her face and just stared at Pinkie.

“I’m not taking no for an answer, Silver. You’re staying with me,” Pinkie said more seriously and leaned in closer. Silver lightly nodded after a moment’s hesitation, and then apparently realized the way she had been reacting as she shook her head a few times. She looked back up at Pinkie with a smile slowly spreading across her face and got up gently to throw her hooves around Pinkie’s neck.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I caught you off guard. Are you ready to face the day now? I promise everything will be fine,” Pinkie said gently and nuzzled her face into Silver’s to emphasize the statement. Silver took a long deep breath, and then slowly nodded again in response. She eventually let go of Pinkie, but had the slightest hints of a smile creeping across her face as the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. The happy look was soon replaced with another look of worry as Silver went back in and hugged Pinkie tightly, and then withdrew with a questioning look on her face.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay with you. We’ll get through this together; I promise. Come on, let’s go,” Pinkie concluded and trotted over towards the door. She stopped on the top step to make sure she still had Silver with her, and then they descended into Sugarcube Corner together. Once they finally made their way towards the front, they were met by yet another knowing grin and a wink from Mrs. Cake.

“Well, look who decided to rejoin society. Welcome back to the land of the living, you two,” she teased with her grin widening.

“Good morning Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie piped up happily.

“There was a guardpony here earlier. He wanted to know where the two of you where. I told him that you were still asleep, so he requested that you stop by town hall when you had a chance,” Mrs. Cake said seriously, her grin dropping away as she looked at them with concern.

Pinkie took in a sharp breath and felt Silver draw right up against her side with a noticeable shiver. Pinkie managed to recover herself after a quick moment and turned to gently nuzzle Silver’s mane. She ignored the fact that a few of the ponies in the shop were watching them, including Mrs. Cake. After a long moment, she pulled away and smiled at Silver.

“Don’t worry. They probably just want to tell us that you’re being let off. I told you that everything is going to be okay. We’ll get through this together, okay?” Pinkie said, trying her best to keep her own worry from seeping into her voice.

“Come on, let’s go,” Pinkie gently urged and started to walk towards the door. She turned halfway there to make sure Silver was still behind her and saw the pegasus hesitating. Silver gulped as she stared out the doorway. Her ears drooped close to the sides of her head, but she eventually trudged forward at a slow pace. Pinkie fell in step beside Silver as they passed out the doorway and Pinkie just walked next to Silver instead of bouncing along as per usual.

As they neared town center, Pinkie nervously gazed over towards Silver to see how she was holding up. Silver’s pace had been steadily slowing the closer they got to town hall, and now it seemed like she was about to come to a full stop. Pinkie could just see the entrance, but Silver shook her head vehemently as she stood firm. She blinked her eyes several times, forcing out a few tears before they could fully form and caused them to bud at the edges of her eyes.

“Come on, sweetheart. It’ll be fine; I promise,” Pinkie tried to say calmly, but Silver remained adamant. She shook her head again and backed away slowly with her eyes open wide.

“Silver…” Pinkie started gently. “If we don’t do this now, then they’ll just come back tomorrow. And if they do that, then they won’t be as nice about it. I know it’s tough to go back in there, but how much worse would it be if the guards dragged you here?”

“It’s fine. We can wait a few minutes. We do need to go in eventually, though. Okay?” Pinkie tried, but Silver was still stubbornly shaking her head. She sank to the ground and covered her head in her hooves as the look of panic seemed to be nowhere near abating. Pinkie let out a quiet sigh as she walked over next to Silver and dropped to the ground next to her. Pinkie attempted to comfort Silver by just being there next to her and nuzzled Silver’s neck gently. When that failed, Pinkie withdrew and thought about it for a moment.

“I have the bestest idea! You just need to… SMILE!” Pinkie exclaimed happily and buried her face into Silver’s neck again so she could blow loudly into it. Silver immediately shuddered away and tried to wriggle free, but Pinkie didn’t relent. Pinkie laughed and wrestled with Silver to hold her in place as she repeated the assault several times. She didn’t care that several ponies were staring at them. Pinkie decided to add in a tickling hoof at Silver’s side when just the blowing didn't seem to be doing the trick on its own. Silver’s sides heaved with silent laughter until she finally managed to push Pinkie off with an exhausted smile on her face.

“Ready now?” Pinkie asked brightly, as she stood and offered Silver a hoof up. Silver glared at her for a moment, but wasn’t able to hold it for long as she broke back into a smile with a silent giggle. She accepted Pinkie’s assistance, and then took a few slow, deep breaths. Finally, she nodded her head grimly and closed her eyes to gather herself for what was to come.

“Tell me when you’re ready…”

"Okay then!” Pinkie exclaimed when Silver stepped up next to her and directed her gaze towards town hall.

The two of them strode forward, as Pinkie beamed over at Silver. She was so proud of Silver right now; there was no possible way she could get her smile to fade. She kept happily glancing over at Silver, ready to finally end this silly fiasco. She drew a little closer as they walked up to the entrance. Silver hesitated for a moment, but started walking forward again with the help of a soft nuzzle to her face from Pinkie. With that, they finally stepped through the doorway together.

When two of them stepped into the entryway, Pinkie noticed a few things immediately. Firstly, Mayor was standing at the far end of the grand hall talking to a farmpony. Secondly, there were more guards around than usual. Most of all, there was a strange tension in the room. She looked around and observed for a moment how any worker who had to pass through the lobby rushed to their objective as if they were afraid they were going to get caught up in something. She also noticed how several of the guards kept shifting on their hooves and glancing around more often than usual.

After a few moments of watching this curiously and stepping a little bit closer with Silver, the farmpony turned towards them. His eyes opened wide, and his jaw dropped slightly before he did anything. His next action, though, caused Pinkie’s mouth to widen with shock.

“That’s her…” he growled just loud enough that it could be heard through the entire chamber. Pinkie glanced around nervously, her breath sticking in her throat. There had to be some explanation, he couldn’t possibly mean them. When she looked back towards the farmpony, she was shocked to see him lift a hoof up and point it in their direction.