//------------------------------// // Dashie // Story: The Perfect Baker // by Harmonator //------------------------------// When Pinkie Pie awoke she was in her bed, and as she gave time for her eyes to adjust, she noticed her mother sitting in a chair close beside. When Cloudy Quartz realized that her daughter was awake she broke down into tears. "Pinkamena!" she flung her arms around the small filly who was somewhat confused about the situation. Pinkie didn't really know what to think about all of this. "I'm so sorry sweetie. I won't ever hit you again I swear." Now Pinkie was even more puzzled. "Mom, what are you talking about?" "Pinkamena, I'm sorry but I lost my temper and you were acting so strange, it's just that...that..." Cloudy Quartz trailed off to notice Pinkie Pie's confused expression. "Mom, I'm sorry but I don't really understand what you're talking about." Pinkie said as she stared blankly at her mother. Cloudy Quartz became confused, but then she thought it over a little bit and pulled Pinkie closer to her as she said. "Don't worry about it Pinkamena, everything is alright now and nothing else matters. Would you like for me to bring you something to eat?" Pinkie Pie thought about it and then replied with a quick nod of her head. "Alright then. You just wait right here, and I'll bring it up to you." And with that Cloudy Quartz got up from her chair and left the room leaving Pinkie alone. Pinkie Pie could not wrap her head around it. What was her Mom talking about? Her face hurt a little but she didn't recall her mother ever hitting her. All Pinkie could remember was being in her room, and then...nothing. Afterwards she woke up tucked in her bed with her mother sitting beside her. It was all rather confusing. Maybe her Mom had a bad dream. Whatever the case was, her mother seemed to have forgotten about it, so Pinkie Pie figured that she should just forget about it too. Finally after several months of searching for the poor lost filly named Limestone Pie, the search for her had been called off and she was pronounced dead. Then there were arrangements made for the funeral and almost all of Ponyville came to the downhearted engagement. It was rare in that little village for a little filly to go missing, so everypony was rather depressed. Igneous Rock and his other two daughters came as well. They had traveled all the way to Ponyville for the melancholy arrangement. Out of everyone else in the Pie family, Igneous Rock seemed to be taking it the hardest. In the middle of the service, Pinkie Pie actually saw her father shed a tear as it rolled down his cheek. Pinkie could not believe it. She almost refused to believe it. She never once in her young life ever saw her father show any other kind of emotion that did not involve sternness or anger. Pinkie Pie then slowly began to realize that life for her and her family would never be the same. After the service, the Pie family returned to Sugar Cube Corner, the Ponyville bakery that had yet to open it's doors for business. Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz slowly walked in through the front door when the little bell above them rang; which seemed to give them a cheery welcome after such a long day. Pinkie Pie and her sisters followed closely behind them with their heads bowed. Igneous Rock then began to suspiciously study the inside of the bakery with disgust on his face as if he was inspecting a crime scene. Cloudy Quartz had begun to let the work slip away from her after Limestone's disappearance and it began to show. Cob webs had developed in every corner of the little shop and almost every surface was covered with dust. "So, you took my daughter away from the rock farm...for this?" Igneous Rock blatantly stated, with obvious sternness in his voice. Cloudy Quartz then sighed deeply within herself knowing what was about to happen. "Please Igneous, can we not do this now?" Cloudy Quartz replied, sounding defeated. "No seriously, I would like to know why you snatched up my eldest daughter, the most hard-working child I ever had, and brought her to some desolate bakery that hasn't even been opened yet!?" Igneous Rock said, pressing on the issue further. "I just wanted to give her a chance..." Cloudy Quartz replied. "Give her a chance at what?" Igneous Rock said, walking over closer to his ex-wife. "A chance for a better life!" Cloudy Quartz shouted. "Well because of you and your genius bakery scheme, our daughter will never have a life period!" Igneous Rock screamed, somehow raising his voice up an octave. "And what about Pinkamena?! Do you really think she would have been better off on the rock farm as well! With all of the abuse that she had to take from her own father! You really want to blame me for trying to make a better life for me and my daughters?! You broke this family Igneous, not me!" The two parents were now in each other's faces as they continued to argue, and Pinkie Pie and her sisters could see that it was getting worse. They then scurried upstairs to Pinkie's room and shut the door behind them. They could still hear the muffled screams from downstairs and all three of them tried their best to ignore it. The three sisters sat silently for a moment, not knowing what to do or say. What could be said? What could be done? The family had suffered so much loss. First the divorce and now the death of their eldest sibling. Maud and Marble could not make sense of it. Maybe because there was no sense to it. There was nothing but madness at this point. Pure uncontrollable madness. "I think it'll be okay." Maud and Marble perked their heads up. "I know that things are bad right now, but things will get better you'll see." "Pinkie...don't you get it? The family is falling apart. Limestone's gone and our parents hate each other...I don't think things will ever be the same..." Maud sadly said, as she let a tear fall from her eye. Pinkie Pie knew that she couldn't deny the truth in her big sister's words. Things never would be the same again. Ever. Maybe their was no hope for the family. Maybe Pinkie had made a mistake in doing what she did to Limestone. Maybe the family would be no more if Limestone never came back. Maybe... Later that night, Pinkie laid wide awake in her bed. She was thinking. Thinking about what she had done. Thinking about the destruction she had brought upon her family. If only Pinkie Pie could bring Limestone back. Then everything would be fine. Things could go back to normal. But Pinkie Pie knew that would not be possible. She was buried in the ground. Pinkie Pie knew that this was all her fault. But what about her mother? Mother had told Pinkie Pie to do it. Mother knows best. So why didn't removing Limestone make things better? Pinkie Pie's head began to hurt. She could not understand anything. How could it have gone so wrong? This was not supposed to happen. She was supposed to become the perfect baker. Once Limestone was gone, Pinkie Pie would step up to the plate and win her Mother's love and respect. So why did it not happen? Now there's more misery and pain than what was there to begin with. All because of Pinkie Pie. Pinkamena Diane Pie was to blame for everything. She was the villain. Pinkie realized that now. "I was the one who should have been removed, not Limestone." Pinkie Pie whispered to herself. The next morning, Igneous Rock, Maud, and Marble Pie stood at the entrance of Sugar Cube Corner with their bags at their side, ready for the journey back to the rock farm. Cloudy Quartz was the only one there to see them off as Pinkie Pie had decided to sleep in. Cloudy Quartz bent her head down to kiss both Maud and Marble goodbye. "You'll come and visit us one day, right?" Marble said, feeling nervous about asking the question. "Maybe some day." Cloudy Quartz said as she lightly smiled to reassure them. She then turned towards her ex-husband, unsure of what to even say to him. "Igneous..." she finally managed to say. "Cloudy..." he spoke back, rather uncomfortably. "Come on girls, we've got a long ways ahead of us." And with that he motioned his two daughters towards the door and there they departed, leaving Cloudy Quartz standing there alone in the doorway as she watched them walk slowly down the dirt road. Cloudy Quartz felt as if she was about to cry, but she held back the urge and tried to remain strong. After a while, she finally shut the door and decided to head upstairs to wake Pinkie Pie. She had been sleeping all morning. Besides they had to get ready to start fixing the bakery up. Cloudy Quartz knew that she had been inactive long enough, now it was time to move on. Pinkie Pie and her couldn't sit around sulking in the bakery forever. When Cloudy Quartz finally reached Pinkie Pie's room she knocked rather softly. "Pinkamena dear, are you awake?" There was no answer. Cloudy Quartz then ventured to peek open the door when she saw that Pinkie was not in her bed. Cloudy Quartz then just happened to glance at the desk next to her bed. There was a note on top of it. Pinkie Pie trudged along awkwardly while trying to carry the big sack that was on her back. It was almost as bad as the rocks that she used to carry when she worked on the rock farm. Pinkie Pie thought about the possibility of going back to her old home, but then decided against it. She realized early on that she could never earn her father's love, no matter what she did. She didn't really know where she was going. All she knew was that she was leaving. Leaving the bakery. Leaving Mother. Leaving old dreams. Pinkie Pie didn't really have much time to prepare for the journey, she just grabbed all of her belongings and threw them in the sack. She had to be careful as to not wake the rest of the household. Pinkie wished that she could have said goodbye to her mother and sisters, but she couldn't risk them trying to stop her. Her decision had been made. The family would be better off without her. Getting rid of Limestone was a mistake, and she knew that now. And so, Pinkie Pie walked slowly down the dusty road that led outside of Ponyville, the quiet little town that had been her home for the past month or so. Pinkie's heart was troubled, but she had to keep going. She couldn't go back. There was nothing left for her back at the bakery. Pinkie knew that if she had stayed, she would have made things worse. Besides, she would find a new life. Somewhere out there. "Hey you!" The voice startled Pinkie and she almost fell over under the weight of the sack. She turned around but there was no one there. She turned round and round searching for this mysterious voice. "Up here!" Pinkie Pie looked up to see a Pegasus filly with a light blue coat and a rainbow-colored mane flying above her head. "Who are you?" Pinkie Pie asked, rather stunned by the look of this new pony. The little filly flew swiftly down and landed on the ground in front of Pinkie Pie. "My name is Rainbow Dash. The fastest Pegasus to come out of Cloudsdale!" The rainbow-colored filly spoke with such confidence in her voice that Pinkie Pie began to feel a little nervous. "Well maybe I'm not the fastest now, but just wait until I've grown up. Then I'll be the fastest there is." Pinkie Pie didn't quite know what to say to this strange new filly, so she kept silent. "So anyway, what's your name kid?" Rainbow Dash asked nudging Pinkie Pie. "Um...my name is Pinkie Pie." Pinkie said, hesitating at first. Rainbow Dash then gave a confused look. "Sheesh, what's got you so down? I've never seen a pony as unhappy as you before." This last comment didn't exactly make Pinkie Pie feel any more comfortable so she remained silent. Rainbow Dash then noticed the big sack that Pinkie had on her back. "Are you going somewhere?" Pinkie Pie's head perked up when the question came. "Oh this?" Pinkie Pie said turning around to look at the sack. "I'm running away from home." "Oh...I see..." Rainbow Dash said, slowly realizing the situation. She thought for a bit and finally said. "Hey, you wanna go do something?" The sudden proposal shocked Pinkie and she hesitated. "Well, I don't know..." "Come on, it'll be fun!" Rainbow Dash said, excitedly as she quickly ran off into the large green field that was next to the road. Pinkie Pie thought for a bit, and then slowly removed the big sack on her back and followed after the rainbow-colored filly. It took a while before Pinkie Pie caught up to Rainbow Dash and was out of breath. "So...what are we gonna do?" Pinkie Pie asked, breathing heavily. "We're gonna go flying in the clouds!" Rainbow Dash shouted confidently. Pinkie Pie was stunned. "B-but...I can't fly." "No, no, I'll do the flying. You can ride on my back!" This confused Pinkie Pie and she became doubtful. "I don't know, won't I be too heavy for you?" "Hey, I'm stronger than I look. Now come on and have some fun for once!" Rainbow Dash then offered to let Pinkie Pie hop on her back. Pinkie hesitated, but then let her guard down and carefully climbed onto Rainbow's back. To Pinkie's surprise Rainbow did not falter under her weight. Pinkie then became excited. "You ready?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Yeah!" Pinkie Pie said, letting out a little giggle. And with that Rainbow Dash launched into the air with Pinkie Pie riding on her back. Pinkie Pie felt herself giggling and laughing, which was something that she rarely did anymore. Pinkie hadn't felt this happy in a very long time. Rainbow Dash soared through the clouds, and even went up above them for a moment, and then dove back down, which gave Pinkie Pie a rush. Rainbow Dash was so caught up in her flying that she was almost tempted to do some air tricks, but then remembered her friend on her back. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie flew around in the skies for quite sometime, until Rainbow Dash saw a little hill for them to rest on. When Rainbow Dash finally landed, she could still hear Pinkie Pie on her back laughing. Pinkie Pie rolled off of Rainbow Dash's back and wiggled on the ground giggling. It seemed as if she could not stop. When Rainbow Dash got another look at the dark pink filly, she noticed that her mane and tail, which had previously been straight and stringy, was now fluffy and bright pink like cotton candy. She also noticed that her friend's coat color had changed too. It was no longer dark and dreary, but was now bright light pink. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but to start laughing right along with Pinkie. They finally managed to calm down, and rest side by side on the little hill side. "Thank you so much for that ride Dashie! That was so much fun!" Pinkie said, smiling. "Dashie?" Rainbow Dash said, perking her head up. Pinkie Pie then felt nervous. "I'm sorry, do you not want to be called that?" Pinkie said, timidly. "Nah, its fine. Its just that's what my parents sometimes call me." Rainbow Dash said laying her head back down on the grass. The two fillies sat silent for a moment before Rainbow Dash broke the silence. "So Pinkie, why did you decide to run away from home?" Pinkie Pie then suddenly remembered all of the negative circumstances that brought her to this point, and she became more reserved. "Well, you see..." Pinkie Pie hesitated. "Its just that...I think my family would be better off without me..." Rainbow Dash's head shot up upon hearing the statement. "What? Are you crazy? Why would you think something like that." Pinkie Pie hung her head feeling slightly guilty about what she had just said. "I just seem to cause nothing but trouble for them. So I thought it would be best if I ran away and started over somewhere else." Rainbow Dash studied the bright pink filly with curious eyes and then finally spoke up. "Let me ask you this Pinkie Pie, do you have any dreams?" This statement from her new friend puzzled Pinkie. "What do you mean?" "You know a dream. Something that you strive to be or something you wish to do. Kinda like your highest goal. For example, my dream is to one day be the fastest Pegasus in all of Equestria." Pinkie Pie then began to see the sparkle in Rainbow Dash's eyes as she spoke. "And when I grow up, I want to get the opportunity to join the Wonderbolts, the fastest flyers in all of Equestria, and then I'll be able to soar above the heavens with my heroes!" Rainbow Dash had to stand up for the sheer magnitude of this final proclamation, and she sat back down in the grass after she was finished. "Now it's your turn. What is your dream?" Pinkie pondered the question for a minute, and then remembered something that she had forgotten. She had forgotten the promise that she had made to herself about becoming the perfect baker. She had forgotten the whole reason why she wanted to be a perfect baker. She wanted to gain her Mother's love and trust. "I guess...if I had to choose a dream, it would be to become a perfect baker..." Immediately after Pinkie Pie let the words out, Rainbow Dash nudged her. "Well there you go! Now you know where you want to go and who you want to be! Come to think of it, I think a new family just recently moved into the old Ponyville bakery. Maybe you can learn how to bake there." "Well actually..." Pinkie Pie hesitated. "That's actually my family. They bought the bakery..." Rainbow Dash was shocked. "Wait, so you're running away from the one place where you can actually make your dream come true?" Pinkie Pie blushed in embarrassment. Rainbow Dash then sighed with frustration. "I just don't understand why you just can't work things out with your family and go back home. Because trust me Pinkie, running away is not the option." Rainbow Dash was now lying back down on the grass again as she spoke. "Yes, but I can't go back home...I just can't..." Pinkie Pie sighed as she said this. Rainbow Dash perked back up again. "Look, I don't know what happened to make you run away from home okay, but I do know this..." Rainbow Dash paused to make direct eye contact with Pinkie. "Nothing ever good happens to those who run away from their problems. More than likely those problems will just follow you wherever you go. I learned that the best way to deal with your problems is to just confront them head on." Pinkie Pie then quickly began to feel comforted and relieved by Rainbow Dash's words. "Listen Pinkie Pie, if your dream is to become a perfect baker, then you've gotta tackle the problems that come with that dream; whether you like it or not. You gotta ask yourself: 'Is dealing with all of these troubles worth going through to get to my dream?' I would say: Yes." Pinkie Pie listened carefully and then sat silent for a moment to process everything that she was just told. Dashie was right. She couldn't just run away from her problems anymore. Pinkie Pie knew what she had to do now. "Thank you Dashie, you have no idea how much you've helped me." Pinkie Pie then gave a warm hug as she wrapped her arms around Rainbow Dash. "Alright, alright, that's enough." Rainbow Dash jokingly said as she let go of Pinkie Pie. Before Pinkie ran off to go back home, she stopped herself and turned around to face Rainbow Dash. "Hey Dashie! When we open up the bakery, stop by and see me okay!" Rainbow Dash nodded and said. "You can count on it!" And with that, Pinkie Pie ran down the hill as fast as she could, with the wind blowing through her freshly puffed up mane. Pinkie Pie didn't even bother to pick up the sack she had left on the road. She just kept running as fast as she could to get back home. Back to the bakery. Back to her Mother. Back to her dreams. Cloudy Quartz in a great panic had searched frantically around Ponyville to find Pinkamena. She couldn't stand the thought of losing another daughter. She refused to let it happen again. After she had searched the whole village, Cloudy Quartz finally went back to the bakery in sorrow, and just as she opened the front door to step inside, their was Pinkamena Diane Pie, standing in the middle of the bakery. Cloudy Quartz rushed to her and began to hug her while crying profusely. "Pinkamena Diane Pie! How could you do this to me!" Pinkie Pie felt great shame and regret of causing her Mother so much grief and pain. But now was the time to stop causing trouble. Now was the time to except her dream and to face her problems head on. "Mom..." Cloudy Quartz stopped hugging Pinkie to look at her. "I'm sorry about what happened to Limestone. I just want to make things better for me and you..." Pinkie Pie then began to sob as Cloudy Quartz held her youngest daughter tight to her bosom. "Don't you worry Pinkamena, everything is going to be fine now. You're home safe and that's all that matters." And there the two of them sat. Mother and daughter together. Holding on tight to one another, not letting go.