//------------------------------// // A Bit of a Pickle // Story: Flurry Heart and Sombra’s Little Misadventures in Babysitting // by Badguy400 //------------------------------// The group are all eating their breakfast at Sugarcube Corner. Sombra and Flurry Heart are eating pancakes and fruit. Rainbow and Apple are eating fruit salads; since unfortunately they’re gonna compete against each other again soon… . And finally, the Cake Twins are eating oatmeal. They would’ve eaten something else, but since they’re still both young, the Cake parents don’t wanna overdue it with their breakfast just in case it has too much sugar, or something else… . Either way, everyone’s having a good time this morning! Well… for now at least. “Everypony okay?” Mrs Cake asked from behind the counter. “We’re fine Mrs Cake, don’t worry.” Sombra said before continuing to eat his breakfast. However, this didn’t satisfy Mrs Cake in the slightest. And so, she responded with; “Ooh I know that everypony is alright… . But I just can’t help it if I get so worked up about things! You know… ? I am a mother after all!” Sombra snickered, then responded; “I guess… . But then again… I’m a ex con… or something… . I’m sure your kids will be fine with me watching over them! So long as they don’t get into trouble themselves that is… “ Sombra started to trail off. “But no worries!” He continued. “I’m sure they’ll be in great hands… ! Or hooves.” Mrs Cake grew uneasy, but eventually shrugged and walked to check on the twins. Few hours later… . “So… . How’re things?” Sombra asked while looking at the two competitors, trying his best to contain his laughter. Now… . Anypony would’ve simply asked why he’s trying not to laugh. Let alone what for… . Well… here’s what happened… . Hours before Sombra asked them this question… . “You ready Applejack???” Rainbow called from afar. “Ready Rainbow!” Replied Applejack. “Here we go!” Rainbow began before tossing something into the air and whacking it. Rainbow Dash and Applejack are apparently playing a game of air ball. Basically, the British ponies from trottingham would’ve called it keepy uppy. But since this is Equestria (the pony version of America), the game’s called air ball. Or catch. Or whatever name involves a game that involves keeping the ball in the air without it touching the ground. Anyways, Rainbow Dash and Applejack are having a pretty good time considering their competitive nature. And it would’ve been better too… haven’t it been for one thing… . “Look out… !” Was all Bulk Biceps could say before the ball hit the nut cart, and it exploded. How did it explode? Well… remember those crystals that Maud used to make that fireplace… ? Well… as it turned out, Equestria’s “Amber Crystals”; (as I the writer am calling them), are surprisingly combustible if hit really hard with a greater force… . To make it less confusing, the reaction to hitting an Amber Crystal would be like putting out a grease fire with water… . With that in mind, the nut cart blew up, and what’s left was a burned out cartoon explosion symbol on the ground. Luckily, no one got hurt. Bad news… . “So that’s what happened… “ Sombra said as he’s trying not to laugh at Rainbow and Apple, who are covered in burn marks head to hoof. Not to mention covered in scorched nuts as well. “Don’t… talk about it!” Both of them said in unison before Sombra just fell backwards laughing. With that, the two ponies left the table to go to the counter, leaving Sombra in hysterics over the situation that transpired a while back. Meanwhile, in the kitchen of the bakery… . “Oh no oh no oh no oh no… . Nooo!” Pinkie Pie said as she’s trying her best to prevent the oven from smoking anymore… . Usually Pinkie’s never known for ever burning a single sweet treat when baking them in the oven… . But ever since her capture in the bandit fortress, her skills have gotten rusted. And right now, it’s starting to take a toll… . “Everything okay deary?” Mrs Cake asked. Pinkie sighs, before replying; “no… “ and sat down with her ears down with a pout before continuing with; “I’m not okay… . Everything is not fair… .” Mrs Cake then sat down next to her, wrapped one hoof around Pinkie’s shoulder, and then responded with; “ now now… . Those mean bandits can’t hurt us no more… . It’s alright… . King Sombra and the others made sure of that… .” Pinkie Pie giggled softly, yet weakly due to still feeling sad, and then gave off a weak smile before replying with; “yeah… hehe… . They really gave them the old what for huh??? Hehe… . They were running scared… .” Mrs Cake giggled, and replied back; “indeed they were… . Now, honey… . There’s no need to get worked up over something so minor… okay??? Go have a chat with Sombra. I’ll can take it from here.” Pinkie began to look reluctant at first, but even sighed and nodded before walking to him. Seeing one his former enemies all sad looking, Sombra looked up at Pinkie, and asked her; “you okay… ? Heh… . What’s the matter?” In Pinkie like fashion, she responded by hugging Sombra while also sitting on his lap for some reason, and then replying with; “I burned too many cupcakes and now I’m sad about it… .” Sombra chuckled to this, and replied back; “that it??? Hehe… . I was expecting something a bit more… serious… .” Pinkie glared at him, and replied with an angry sarcastic expression; “oh sure, if you’re not worried about burning things down over and over again because of your mistakes!” Sombra then put his forehooves up; (to appear less threatening), and then replied with; “woah woah woah… easy there kid… . It’s fine… .” Sombra sighs, then says; “look; I may not be like a professional cook or anything… . But even I make mistakes.. . And I still make them too! Even just by burning them too because I didn’t keep close watch over what I was cooking at the time… . You know?!” Pinkie began to nuzzle up to Sombra’s shoulder a little so she could get comfy, and then replied with; “I get that, sure… . But it’s just that I’m known for never ‘ever’ burning out anything I’ve baked… . You know… ?” Pinkie’s voice is slowly becoming more high pitched due to the fact that she’s gonna cry any second, and that her eyes are slowly forming tears, and are just about to burst; (metaphorically), with her crying. “A-a-and since I’m never known for burning down things I’m baking… I just feel like my skills aren’t up to par no more and that I’m becoming a bad baker now, and then I feel like I’m gonna cry and cry and cry… . And then I just feel like all hope is lost and then I just think that if it wasn’t for those bandits then none of this would’ve happened… .” And this is the part where Pinkie is about to cry. “Aand I just don’t want that and I… . I… .” Pinkie then takes in a deep breath before losing her sentence, and then is about to cry out loud. However, before that happened, Sombra covered Pinkie’s mouth with his shadow hand, and then responded with; “eh so what right??? We’ve scared off those bandits and I’m sure that they’re never coming back… .” Sombra then started to chuckle before continuing with; “and if they were still here… then I don’t think your crying would do us any good… . Partially because it’s my job to scare ponies, not you… . Right… ?” Pinkie Pie uncovered her mouth and started to sniffle a bit… before seeing the funny side of it and started chuckling whilst sniffling, before replying back; “yeah.. hehe… . That wouldn’t be good… .” And then Pinkie began to softly laugh and cry at the same time… . After finishing his chuckle, Sombra then went to pick up Pinkie Pie, and then laid her head down on his shoulder before replying with; “exactly… “ before patting her back. “Now how about we go see if the Cake Twins are doing okay.. and of course not fighting each other again… . Is that alright?” Pinkie then wiggles in his grip, before replying back with; “goo goo gaa gaa.” And then began to giggle. Sombra snickered at that, and then responded with; “you’re so silly… “ before giving Pinkie a hug, and then walked with her to the Twin’s play area while still carrying her. “Yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay. Yay!” Flurry Heart repeated over and over again while bouncing up and down. Mommy and daddy are coming back home tomorrow! Look!” Flurry then shoved a letter that she red at Sombra’s face. Sombra then took a hold of the letter to read it, his eyes then widen, and finally he replied; “finally… . I thought he’d never been able to afford those tickets… . It’s about time!” Flurry Heart then squealed with joy while bouncing; (like her aunt Pinkie Pie), and then began to hug Sombra a little too tightly. “Ack! Too… tight!” He said through really tight hugging. Flurry released and blushed while saying; “sowwy sombwa… “ while swaying with her forehooves behind her back. Sombra then took in a series of deep breaths before replying; “it’s nothing… “ before sitting down on the ground so he could recover some more. After that, both him and Flurry Heart went to the counter to order something to drink. Meanwhile, at the Twin’s play area… . “I’m bored… .” Pumpkin Cake said with a whine. “Me too!” Her brother Poundcake replied before he continued with; “we should look for something else to do… .” Pumpkin Cake then began looking around before seeing both Sombra and Flurry Heart sitting at the counter drinking some milkshakes. Getting an idea, she then began with; “wanna see if Flurry and Sombra can give us some milkshakes to drink?” Not liking his sister’s idea one bit, Poundcake then replied with; “I don’t know… What would our mom say if she found out… . Let alone… what would Flurry and Sombra say if we asked?” “We would say ‘nice try’, and ‘better luck next time’… .” Sombra said while carrying both his and Flurry’s milkshake. Both Cake Twins yelped on fright since they didn’t expect the two ponies to have overheard their plan to get a free milkshake. Flurry Heart just giggled in response, and says; “you can let your mommy and daddy get you some! You know they wiww… .” Both of the Twins blushed, and Pumpkin Cake replied with; “we tried that already and got in trouble for it… ?” Confused, Sombra asked; “wha- how? How can you get in trouble for that??? It’s ridiculous!” Mrs Cake frowned while behind the counter for overhearing what’s being said, and replied from afar; “not if your kids are known to take things before asking for them!” Sombra then said; “oooohhhhhh…. .” and then proceeded with; “that’s fair.” Seeing the Twins looking depressed, Flurry Heart walked up close to them, and then says; “it’s owkay… . You can share with me if you want.” Sombra chuckled, then says; “it’s nice to do that and all… . But I also don’t think it’s a good idea to give them something you already drank out of… you know… ?” Flurry Heart blushed to this, and then replied while shuffling, “I know… . But I just wanna be friendly.. .” Sombra chuckles, then says; “true… but there are other ways of being friendly that doesn’t involve someone getting potentially sick accidentally… you know?” Flurry giggled to that, and replied; “I know… “ while playfully jabbing her friend. “But can you give me back my smoothie? I’m thirsty… .” Sombra obliged and gave Flurry her smoothie. After that he turned to the Cake Twins, and asked; “what kind of smoothies do you two want?” The Twins looked to be thinking of something, before both of them nodded their heads with a smile together, and then both responded in unison; “chocolate cake!” Both Sombra and Flurry snickered, and then Sombra replied with; “I don’t think your parents would’ve wanted you two to have that kind of smoothie though… . You two are already sweet enough as is.” This made Poundcake laugh due to the pun, but it also unfortunately made his sister Pumpkin Cake blush and look down at her hooves in embarrassment. Seeing this, Flurry got close to her, and then knelt down before replying; “it’s okay…. . You’ll get used to being called that… . Trust me… .” Pumpkin looked up, nodded a bit with a weak smile, and then replied with; “t-thanks Flurry… . You’re the best… .” Flurry Heart smiled at that, and replied with; “happy to help!” Before getting up to stand besides Sombra. After a few minutes, Mrs Cake came by with a tray that has two smoothies in them, and looked to her kids before asking; “now then… . Since Sombra was right about the whole smoothie fiasco… . I’ve decided to give you kids something equally sweet, and healthy. Now then… “ she trailed off as she lowers the tray. “Who wants a strawberry, blueberry, and banana smoothie?” The Cake Twins’ eyes both widened, and then both of them replied in unison; “we do!” Before grabbing their smoothies and started slurping from them; albeit a little too fast. Seeing this, Sombra snickered, and replied; “easy there kids… . It’s not a race after all… . Take it easy… . You two aren’t exactly Rainbow Dash and Applejack now are you… ?” Both of the Twins blushed to this and whined; “heeey?!” While looking at him with baby eyes; despite not being babies anymore. Sombra snickered, and replied; “just kidding…” before laughing. Then he continued with; “but in all seriousness, don’t. Those smoothies are cold… . Cold enough to freeze your brains if and when you’re drinking them too fast… . Understand?” Understanding what a brain freeze is, both of the Twins slowed their pace down, and are now drinking their smoothies normally; albeit with scrunched up faces since their brains were almost frozen. Sombra and Flurry snickered to this, and then Sombra replied; “told ya… “ before he and Flurry walked away to leave them alone… . Eventually the Twin’s faces went back to normal, and they continued sipping their drinks while also playing with their toys a bit. “So… . What happened here… ?” Sombra began to ask while looking at what appears to be a warzone throughout the entire bakery. “I… don’t… know… .” Flurry Heart replied while looking around with him. Apparently, Sombra and Flurry Heart went outside for a bit to do some grocery shopping. Reason? The Cakes were running out of groceries, and that they needed some help to buy some as the Cake Parents are a little busy with two things… . Cleaning up the house, and organizing the baking supplies in their kitchen. So with that, Sombra and Flurry went grocery shopping for an errand. And also to make sure that their boredom is satisfied. Looking sheepish, Pinkie smiled with her cheeks all red from blushing, and then she replied with; “I tried creating a new recipe to honor and celebrate our new found friendship… . But it ultimately backfired… which was rather unfortunate… .” Pinkie then finished her sentence with a sigh and a frown. Sombra saw this, and replied with; “it’s fine… . After all… you’re Pinkie Pie! You can just do whatever you think is best in order to celebrate our friendship! It doesn’t always have to be baking… . Use your imagination.” Pinkie chuckled to that, and responded with; “thanks Sombra… . I just kinda wished that we were friends back then… you know… ? Because to me you honestly seem like a nice guy! Despite not admitting it, hehe… .” Sombra took a deep breath, chuckled as well, and replied with; “you’re right on that.. hehe… . I do seem like a nice guy at times… . Even when I never show it much… hahaha… .” Sombra then got a glaring expression to his face, and then began with; “and if you think about telling anyone that, I’ll deny it, and make you hurt so badly… you’d wish that it was all but a nightmare… .” Hearing this, Pinkie replied; “got it!” And made a gesture of zipping her lips. Sombra then replied with; “that’s good.” And then began smiling again before looking at all the mess before him… . “So how’re we gonna clean this up???” “I have no idea… “ Pinkie responded. With that, Sombra groaned, and then slumped to the floor in defeat. Nighttime in Sugarcube Corner… . “So um… wanna talk about what happened back at the kitchen, or… ” Sombra trailed off. “Eh… maybe tomorrow. I’m sleepy.” Pinkie Pie replied while laying in her bed. Technically speaking, it was one of the Cake Twins’ bed, because Sombra is sharing one of the beds with Flurry Heart; (due to her either having fear of the dark, or nightmares). So with that, Pinkie had decided to sleep with them. Not because of nightmares too. She’s too old for that… . Unfortunately though, it was because Rainbow Dash and Applejack waited too long to leave the bakery to get back to their homes. So because of that reason, it’s too dark now, and they can’t get back home! Luckily for the two of them, Pinkie gave them her bed while she goes to sleep with Sombra and Flurry in the Cake Twins’ bedroom. Much to their dismay since they’re still mad at each other about another fight they once had. Which also means, much to the Twin’s dismay and embarrassment, they had no choice but to sleep in their parents’ bed. The parents don’t mind one bit and are happy with it! The Twins however do mind, and are annoyed/embarrassed by it. Reason being because they’re too old; (in their opinion), to sleep with their parents. So because of that, they’re not liking the decision… . Despite not having a choice. “Everypony okay now… ?” Sombra asked while getting into the bed covers. Both Pinkie and Flurry nodded and laid down on their beds. With that, Sombra nodded with a smile, and laid down as well… . But not before Flurry got up to warn Sombra that she had another accident. So because of that, Sombra sighed again, got up to carry Flurry Heart to the bathroom. And then tucked her and himself back into bed to go back to sleep. Plus to turn off the lights. And make sure that nothing is opened. That’s all… .