//------------------------------// // Familiar Beginnings // Story: There Was Going To Be Cake // by MarkKB //------------------------------// Spike was a simple dragon, with simple tastes – or so he reasoned. Sure, somehow he'd get caught up in some crazy scheme or adventure on the account of Twilight Sparkle, but all he asked for in return is that his appetite be satisfied, his nights sheltered, and for him to be in one piece at the end of the day. Oh, and he wouldn't pass up any possibility for a meal of gems if it came around, either. It was for this last reason, or so he'd thought, that he had been sitting down to a table at Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie Pie, a plate of luscious rubies, delicious emeralds and scrumptious sapphires sparkling before him, just begging to be eaten. But that was before Pinkie had swung a lamp in his face. "NO, YOU'RE NOT UNDERSTANDING!" the pink poofy pony yelled at him, after several failed attempts to convey her intentions across. "I WANT YOU TO CONFESS!" Spike shrunk back into his chair – he'd never seen Pinkie Pie upset, and certainly not this angry. This new mood she was in – it was scary. Well, there was nothing else to it – he supposed he'd have to tell somepony sooner or later. "Alright!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm the one who spilt juice all over Twilight's copy of Magical Mysteries and Practical Potions!" He cowered in the chair, bracing himself for the swift punishment that was sure to follow. But it didn't come. Spike opened an eye. Pinkie was still glaring at him. "And?" she asked, hovering over him like a vulture. Oh, crud, she knows, doesn't she! "And I'm the one who used all the hot water in Ponyville yesterday when I took a seven-hour bubble-bath!" "Aaand?" 'And'? What else was there? Spike racked his mind, searching for what possibly Pinkie could be talking about. And then something popped into his head, and he shivered. If Pinkie knows about that, I might as well die of embarrassment right here. Oh well, he told himself. Might as well get it over and done with. "And sometimes, when no-one's around, I do this:" He grabbed a mirror that had been leaning against the wall and placed it on the floor in front of him so Pinkie could see his reflection. He then clenched his claws and bulged his arm muscles (which, as a diminutive dragon, didn't do very much.) "Lookin' good, Spike! Looking real good!" he said, attempting to appear as macho as he possibly could. Pinkie stared at him for a few moments, her eyes wide with incredulousness. And then she shook her head feverishly. "No, no, no, NO!" She slammed the mirror aside and rounded on the purple dragon, staring daggers directly into his eyes. Spike had absolutely no idea what was going on. As far as he was concerned, he was here for gems – and Pinkie was not making the conditions of that arrangement clear. Maybe if he asked her to clarify, he could get to the bottom of this thing. "Well, what do you want to hear? Tell me what you want me to say and I'll say it!" "Tell me," said Pinkie, glaring at him as if he was being purposely obtuse. "Tell me that my friends are all lying to me and avoiding me because they don't like me and that they don't want to come to my PARTIES because they don't want to be MY FRIENDS ANYMORE!" She panted slowly, staring at Spike with anticipation. Spike shrugged. That was easy enough – why didn't she just say so in the first place? "Uh- your friends are all lying to you and avoiding you because they don't like you and that they don't want to come to your parties because they don't want to be your friends anymore?" "HA! I KNEW IT!" she shouted triumphantly, jumping back about half a foot. In the glare of the light, Spike could not see Pinkie any more, and since their arrangement had been completed, he now turned his attention to the gems, which were even now glittering in the dim light. Actually, he should probably get confirmation first – if this experience had taught him anything, it was that Pinkie Pie could be incredibly flip-floppy. Pinkie was muttering something to herself, although what it was he couldn't hear. He sighed, waited for her to finish, and turned off the lamp. "Uh, so…" Pinkie pushed the plate towards Spike. "Sweet!" he exclaimed, and started digging in. Something nagging in his brain told him that Pinkie somehow looked… different. But he ignored those thoughts – after all, it was probably nothing. Pinkie sighed. Trust Spike to follow his stomach instead of his brain. And then she sighed again, but this was a sad, hollow sigh. Her friends didn't like her. Up unto now, her life had been joyful, full of cheer and glee. Heck, she'd been happy so long she'd almost forgotten what it was like to be miserable. But here it was again – the same old sad feeling. The feeling she had felt almost constantly in her youth. The feeling of emptiness and despair, of hopelessness and sorrow. And of terrible, terrible loneliness. She slowly walked down the stairwell to the bakery. As she entered, she caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror, her hair, far from being its usual poofy self, now long and straight. She didn't care. She couldn't be bothered to try and poof it up again. Her friends didn't want to come to her parties. A row of cupcakes, freshly baked, sat on the kitchen bench – Mrs. Cake had most likely left them there to sit while she attended to some grocery shopping or something. Pinkie briefly entertained the thought of eating one, but realised that there was probably no point – it wouldn't make her happy, nor would it fill the gaping hole in her heart where her friends had been. She wandered out of the shop and into Main Street; as she walked, ponies of all descriptions bustled about her, doing whatever it was they did all day, all of them with smiles on their faces. How could the world be so happy, so blissfully unaware? How could there be sunshine and laughter and goodness when she felt so miserable? Her friends didn't want to be her friends anymore. Had it all been a lie? Had they been pretending to get along with her, only because of social obligation? Maybe they all hated her! Perhaps all the smiles were just masks that they all wore to hide the fact that deep down inside, they hated everything about her! Suddenly, she stopped. If her friends didn't want to be her friends anymore, then there was no reason for her to be in Ponyville. If they didn't like her, there was no reason she should stay and cause them any more pain. And if they didn't like her parties, then what was the use in throwing them? Pinkie slammed her hoof to the ground. It was decided, then. She'd take Gummi and a few belongings and she'd- She galloped as fast as she could, pushing through the bustling crowd as she made her way back to the shop, and then bounded up the stairway. At the top of the stair, Spike was still munching on gemstones, the plate about halfway finished. Pinkie stared at him for a moment, glaring at his deceitful smile, his faked laidback position. He probably hated her too – he probably couldn't stand being in the same room as her! Look at how, even with the secret exposed, he can't stop lying! And it was all the same with the other ponies, Pinkie thought angrily. They'd pretend it was all okay, that she was being silly, but she knew the truth. The truth that not even 'honest' Applejack could tell her, not even 'kind' Fluttershy could bring herself to say, not even 'generous' Rarity could give to her, and not even 'loyal' Rainbow Dash could spit out at her. The truth that not even the magic of Twilight Sparkle was able to hide. The truth that tore her apart from the inside out. Well, fine then! Let them think that way! She didn't need them! If anything, they needed her! She collected a handkerchief and tied it to a stick, and placed in it a couple of bits, a bit of the cake she'd been planning to give her fair-weather friends, and- Her eyes moved over a perfectly-stacked pile of rocks. To anyone else, they would seem uninteresting, and even odd – who'd own a pile of rocks? But these rocks were special; they were her prized rock collection – her only reminded of home. She stowed them away in her bag, making sure they didn't smoosh the cake, and then glanced around the room, looking for the one being that remained her loyal friend. Gummy sat on the windowsill, blinking his eyes. "Come on, Gummy," she said. "It's time to go." Gummy looked at her for a moment, then leapt into her mane. "Uh- did I hear you were going somewhere?" Pinkie looked sideways – Spike had stopped eating and was now staring at her with curiosity. Yeah, curiosity at her pain and suffering. "Oh, what do you care?" she said, glaring at him. "I- uh- I mean- no?" He had said it! He didn't care! None of them cared! Well, even if they had said they cared, they'd still be lying. Oh, they were good liars, all of them, but she could see through them all now. She walked back outside with kerchief in mouth, and took one last look around. This town didn't need her – it was doing perfectly fine without her. And if that was true, and her friends all hated her then she should just- She should just- Leave, she told herself resolutely. Leave, and never come back.