Raising Cakes

>"Anon! Wakey wakey!"

>What fresh horror is this.

>You pull your head out from under your pillow just in time to see a pink hoof slamming your door open

>"Day's a wasting!"

>Pinkie Pie bounds into the room

>Pinkie Pie, bane of your existence

"Pinkamena, get the hell out of my room!"

>She hates it when you call her that. Not that she'd ever show it. Instead she just grins.

>You figure that when you get to hell, the devil will flash you the same grin.

>"Sure thing Anon! See you downstairs!"

>She bounds out of your room.

>You hated living one room over from her, but you'd never ask the Cakes for anything. Not considering all they'd done for you.

>When you first arrived in Equestria, Pinkie was the first pony you met.

>Her overzealous greeting had panicked you, and had you trying to escape there and then

>This involved running into what you now knew to be the Everfree Forest.

>Unfortunately, before you could make it very far, you were cracked around the head by a tree branch.

>You secretly maintain to this day that Pinkie had something to do with it.

>You had woken up in some sort of bakery.

>Apparently Pinkie had followed you and, upon seeing your accident, fetched Mr and Mrs Cake. Taking pity on your unconscious form, they'd taken it upon themselves to carry you back to Sugarcube Corner

>Your current home

>You could never repay the Cakes for their kindness towards you

>Even in the early days, they showed you no suspicion. Just generosity and trust

>You promised yourself you would attempt to make it up to them somehow

>Even if that meant working alongside Pinkie Pie

>You sure do reminisce a lot in the mornings

>After getting cleaned up, you make your way down to the breakfast table

>Mr Cake looks up from his morning newspaper

>"Morning Anon. Sleep well?"

>You smile back

"Very well, thank you. I'll make the twins breakfast."

>He nods cheerily

>You turn to the kitchen counter and begin making breakfast for Pound and Pumpkin

>You figure it gives Mr and Mrs Cake a bit of respite in the mornings

>"Whatcha doing Anon?"

>You flinch at the loud voice in your ear

>Doesn't she have anything better to do than follow you around all morning?

"As you've just heard me say, Pinkamena, I'm making breakfast for Pound and Pumpkin. Don't you have anything productive to do?"

>She places her hoof underneath her chin and adopts a puzzled look.

>After a moment, her face brightens up

>"Nope!"

>You sigh

>Taking the finished food over to the twins, you grin as their faces light up upon seeing you

>You'd become attached to the two little foals

>However, this was Pinkie's territory

>"Who wants to play their favourite game in the world?"

>The twins disregard your slavishly prepared food and wiggle their hooves in the air with joy

>Ah well, such is life

>You sit down at the table and grab a slice of toast while Pinkie shoves her head in and out of the saloon doors in between the front of the shop and the back

>As much as you disliked her, you enjoyed watching the foals smile and laugh

>By this time, Mrs Cake had arrived at the table. She smiled, but it looked like she had something important to say

>"Anon, today is the day me and Mr Cake make that big delivery to Canterlot. Can we count on you to run the shop and babysit?"

>Of course! The delivery!

>The four of you had been working day and night for a fortnight now to get it ready

"Don't worry, you can count on me to look after the twins."

>She leans in conspiratorially

>"It isn't the foals I'm worried about"

>You both turn to look at Pinkie, still playing the door game

>You chuckle

"Her too, Mrs Cake, her too."

 

>After breakfast, you and Pinkie help load up the huge amount of confectionery onto the Cakes carriage.

>"So Anon, what's the plans for today?"

>You look at her incredulously

"Pinkie, we're supposed to be running the shop."

>She smiles

>"I know that silly. I meant how?" She looks at the floor suddenly. "The Cakes have never left me to keep the shop open AND take care of the twins."

>You decide to throw her a bone

"Well, why don't we split the work equally? Then we'll both be in charge. Just make sure you stay focused."

>Her smile gives you a sickly feeling at the back of your throat

>You don't hate Pinkie Pie, far from it. You're just too different

>You're like a spongecake with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, whilst Pinkie

>Pinkie is the whole damn bakery on one plate

>Still, you've come to think of her as an annoying little sister (Even though she could very well be older then you)

>Or maybe a household pet

>"Well Anon, we'll see you tonight."

>Mr Cake is harnessed up to the cart, with Mrs Cake standing beside him all set to go

"See you when you get back! And don't worry about anything, me and Pinkie have this covered."

>They trot off down the road. You wave until they're out of sight.

>The rest of the day goes by with little in the way of surprises

>A couple of customers come in, you and Pinkie taking turns to serve them

>At lunchtime you feed the foals and put them down for the afternoon

>Pinkie insists on singing to them, much to your displeasure. It works though, so you shut up

>As the sun begins to set over the horizon, you take the open sign down from the door

>"Anon?"

>Pinkie is standing behind you with a worried look on her face

>"It's getting late. Shouldn't Mr and Mrs Cake be back by now?"

>You'd been wondering this for a while

"Pinkie, I'm sure they just had... cart trouble I guess?"

>She doesn't look convinced

>"I guess..."

>She was making you feel worse about the situation too

>Still, It's Canterlot and back. What's the worst that could happen?

>The moon was well in the sky, and you and Pinkie were sitting on the couch. The twins had been put to bed long ago, and you two had been sitting in relative silence ever since.

>"Ohh, Anon I can't take it anymore! They should have been back HOURS ago! What do we do?"

>Her distress was clear. You had to calm her down somehow

"Shh, Pinkie. You'll wake the foals. I'm sure they probably stayed in Canterlot overnight."

>Your words calm her down slightly

>To be honest, they were for your own benefit too

"Try to get some sleep. I'll stay here in case they come back tonight."

>She yawns and nods sleepily

>Sliding off the couch, she leaves the room

>You turn over and close your eyes, trying to get some shut eye on the lumpy couch

>You suddenly feel a weight against your side

>Opening one eye you see a pink mass curled up against you

>Okay Pinkie, just for tonight

 

>The sun hits your closed eyes far too early

>Pinkie is still beside you

>The foals are still sleeping

>All is right with the world

>....Wait!

>The Cakes are still gone

>What do you do Anon? What do you do?!

>This is no time to get hysterical

>Calm down

>Beside you Pinkie stirs, whimpering in her sleep

"Pinkie, wake up."

>She blearily opens her eyes

>"Morning Anon..."

>Her eyes snap open as her train of thoughts match yours

>"Are Mr and Mrs Cake back?"

>You shake your head

"Unfortunately not. Don't worry, it's still early. If they stayed in Canterlot they wouldn't be back until later"

>She nods and trots into the kitchen

>"I'm making waffles, m'kay?"

"Fine, Pinkie. Fine."

>Waffles, delicious though they may be, will not sooth your worries

>They should be back by now. They said they would

>The rest of the day passes in somewhat of a daze

>Get foals up, fed, washed etc.

>Even they knew something was wrong

>They cried and fussed all day, putting you and Pinkie even more on edge

>Clean shop, serve customers

>You kept one eye on the door at all times

>Every ring of the bell had both you and Pinkie running for the counter, hoping to catch a glimpse of their faces

>As another day drew to a close, terrible thoughts crossed your mind

>By the time you closed again this evening, you'd gotten into contact with the local authorities

>Taking up your place on the couch yet again, you told Pinkie it would be better if she got some sleep

>She looked awful

>She protested

>"What if they come back and I'm asleep? What if... What if they don't come back?"

>Her eyes were filling with tears

>You had to do something to console her

"Pinkie, I promise to wake you up as soon as I hear anything"

>Your words were hollow even to you

>They didn't help

>Pinkie was eventually coaxed up to her room

>You sat, waiting

>Your eyelids drooped

>And were instantly snapped awake by a banging on the door

>You practically flew to the handle, smiling in relief

>Opening the door, you come face to face with a Pegasi guard

>Not the one you spoke to earlier

>"Sir, may I come in? There have been developments in the issue you asked my colleagues to look into earlier today"

>You didn't know what to expect, but your stomach was doing backflips

>"A cart was found overturned little over an hour ago at the bottom of a a cliffside road ten miles outside Ponyville. We would... We would like you to come down and identify two bodies."

>Oh God

>No, no, this wasn't real, this couldn't be happning

>"I can understand this is very..."

>The guard was still talking, but you couldn't hear him

>The ponies that had taken you in, saved you, given you a new life here

>They were gone

>You turned your face away from the guard

>To face... Pinkie

>You'd never seen her like this

>Her eyes were dull, tearless

>Her mane was staight

>What could you even say to her?

"Pinkie..."

>Pinkie flinched at the sound of her own name

>She began to shake uncontrollably

>"..Which is why we'll need you to come with us now, sir. Sir?"

>You weren't paying attention

>You walked unsteadily over to where Pinkie was shaking and wrapped your arms clumsily around her

>The guard had seen this too many times

>This, playing out in front of him, was a family being ripped apart