//------------------------------// // Clearing the Air // Story: The Donors // by GoesKaboom //------------------------------// Chapter Nine: Clearing the Air Immediately, both the bakers froze, previous argument completely forgotten. Pinkie Pie was there- they had overlooked the fact that the fight had been witnessed by somepony who didn't have the full story. Of course she would be confused. Cup and Carrot glanced at their employee, expecting her to be completely befuddled, maybe bemused, waiting for an explanation. Instead, they both nearly jumped back in alarm. Pinkie was glaring at Mrs. Cake, mane flattened and a hard look in her eyes. “You broke your marriage vows?” she said, any trace of her usual happy attitude utterly obliterated. “That's not very nice.” “Pinkie, we can explain-” “What is there to explain?” Pinkie asked. “If you cheated, you cheated. How can you possibly have an excuse for that? And you know I hate excuses.” “Pinkie-” “I heard everything! So Mr. Cake can't have foals? But Mrs. Cake is pregnant? It sounds to me like somepony lied. That's not nice, you know.” “Pinkie Pie,” Mr. Cake said firmly. “I know that what we're saying sounds bad, but I promise you that Mrs. Cake did not cheat on me. We can explain what happened, but first you have to promise us that what we tell you today will not leave this room. Can you do that for us?” Pinkie Pie looked at him, clearly insulted. “Of course I can! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Unlike some ponies, I always keep my promises.” Ignoring Pinkie's comment, clearly meant to insult her, Cup spoke up. “Everything you heard is true, Pinkie. Mr. Cake cannot father foals, and the foal I am carrying is not biologically his. But I swear to you, Pinkie Pie, that I never slept with anypony else. I did not break my vows. Mr. Cake had full knowledfge of everything from the beginning.” It was obvious that the pink mare didn't buy this at all. “If that's the case, how are you pregnant?” she accused. “I know everypony thinks I'm too naïve to know this, but I actually do know where foals come from. A stork doesn't bring them, I'll tell you that much.” She shot a disgusted glance at her employer. “You really think I'm going to believe you?” “Pinkie, you know that we were trying to conceive for quite some time. Do you remember a few months ago, when I disappeared for a few days?” Carrot asked. The pink mare nodded slowly. “That was right after we found out I wasn't able to have foals. I had gone to see if there was any way around this. You have to understand, we really wanted to be parents- this was something we've wanted since before we got married. I found out that there was no way for my... problem to ever be fixed. But we still didn't want to give up, and I did learn that while I wouldn't be able to have foals of my own, Cup still could, and we would raise it as though it was both of ours, and not only biologically related to Cup.” “I.... don't understand,,” Pinkie Pie said, after a very heavy pause. “Mrs. Cake could have a foal, but it wouldn't be your foal? I don't understand how that could happen without somepony cheating on their spouse. And it sounds like an excuse to me! Mr. Cake, if she hurt you, you should say something! Nopony should be able to walk all over you!” Not letting Pinkie's not-so-subtle jabs rile him, Mr. Cake continued. “In Manehattan, there is an ongoing research project on the topic of equine reproduction- it's actually called the Equine Reproductive Project. Ponies will donate their... uh... well, you know-” the orange stallion really didn't want to put it so bluntly- firstly, he didn't know exactly how Pinkie would react, and secondly, the whole thing was just so awkward to say aloud. He didn't want to explain anything in detail, even if it was for science. “Oh, you know what I mean!” he finally exclaimed. “And ponies who can't conceive on their own can go and get the genetic materials so that they can have foals, just not necessarily foals that are biologically theirs.” Pinkie Pie considered this, although she remained unconvinced. “But what's the point to it” she asked. “Why would anypony want to carry a foal that isn't theirs?” This time, it was Mrs. Cake who provided the explanation. “Well, usually it would be related to at least one of the parents. If it's the stallion that's infertile, the foal would still be related to the mare. If it''s the other way around, the stallion would be the biological father, the mother having gotten pregnant from the donated egg.” “Why would anypony go to all that trouble just to have a foal?” Pinkie queried, although she seemed to be accepting the explanation. At the very least, her mane had begun to reinflate and she was no longer glaring at Mrs. Cake as though she was an enemy combatant. “What's the point?” This, at least, was a much easier question to answer. “Well, for one, there are ponies like us, where we want to be parents but only one is capable of it naturally,” Mrs. Cake replied, “and then there are some other situations. Couples like Lyra and Bon-Bon might want to have foals, you know.” “But that doesn't make sense at all! Mares can't get other mares.... oooooohhh...” the bakres could practically see the lightbulb illuminate over their employee's head. “I get it now!” With a “whoosh” sound, Pinkie's mane was back to its normal volume, and a wide grin broke out on her face. Microseconds later, she was right up next to Mrs. Cake's hospital bed, throwing her hooves around her employer for a hug. “I'm sooooo sorry I doubted you! I should have known you'd never cheat on Mr. Cake, you're not a big meanie liar! Can you ever forgive me?” “Of course I can, Pinkie,” Cup replied, twitching a bit in the other mare's grasp. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate Pinkie changing her mind and not thinking poorly of her, it was just that she wasn't comfortable with the spontaneous hug. But that was Pinkie Pie for you- a more tactile pony you'd be hard-pressed to find. Fortunately, Pinkie let go quickly, and then turned back to face Cup and Carrot, her expression sobering again. “But Dr. Flatline said your foal is a unicorn. How are you going to explain that?” “Both Dr. Flatline and the doctors at the Equine Reproductive Project told us that foals aren't always the same type of pony as their parents,” Cup replied. “And I guess it makes sense, Dinky Doo is a unicorn even though Derpy is a pegasus.” “But nopony knows who Dinky's dad is,” Pinkie Pie pointed out in a remarkably clear manner. “He probably was a unicorn too.” The pink mare shook her head resolutely. “But don't worry! Nopony will question you. You're important pillars of the community! I know I got the wrong idea, but that was because I heard something I wasn't supposed to hear! As long as you don't talk about it in public, nopony will know anything and you can just say that you have unicorn relatives!” Startled, Carrot turned to his wife. “She's right- we were careless. I was upset and said too much, and Pinkie got the wrong idea about what happened. We will need to be more careful.” “In a way, this may have been a good thing,” Cup agreed. “Since it was Pinkie who found out, at least we can trust her to keep what she knows to herself.” “You can count on me!” Pinkie exclaimed, nodding. “I Pinkie Promised that whatever you told me would stay in this room, and that's what it's going to do! Nopony can make me say ANYTHING about what happened in here today!” “I know that we can trust you, dear,” Cup said. “I just worry that other ponies may not be able to be trusted as much. It's not that I think anypony in Ponyville would be purposefully malicious, it's just that this whole treatment is so experimental. Not very many ponies know about it, and I don't want anypony to misunderstand or get the wrong idea. And most of all... I want our foal to know that we love him or her no matter what.” Carrot nodded. “I don't care that I'm technically not this foal's father,” he added. “As far as I'm concerned, it is my son or daughter.” “Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed cheerily. “I know you'll be great parents! And don't let anypony tell you differently!” TBC Author's Comments: I know it's quite a bit shorter than usual, but this chapter really couldn't be extended all that much, since it's really just sort of a bridge. That, and I wanted to get this out quickly because I won't have time to write for the next couple of weeks, since I've got exams coming up and a major deadline looming at work. Even though it is quite short, I hope you enjoyed it anyway. -Kaboom