Despite it being a Mini, Ben’s car could get going quite fast when he wanted it to. That was probably how he and Lucy made it to his house in a just under an hour when it had taken Ben more than two hours to get to the mountain the other way. He just wanted to get home faster than he had wanted to get to the mountain.
“Welcome to my humble abode Lucy.” Ben announced as he stepped out of the Mini.
“Why are you calling me Lucy you silly? My name is…Oh right! Oopsie Doopsie Whoopsie!” Lucy laughed as she realized her own ignorance. “Nice house you have here though. It’s almost to Pinkie standards.” Lucy finished, smiling first at the house and then at Ben himself.
“Thanks. Come on in. I’ll show you around the place.” Ben said as he held the door open for Lucy to come in.
Lucy was no longer able to hop like she did as Pinkie, but she still had an odd amount of bounce in each of the steps she took towards and into Ben’s house. Lucy stopped just a short ways into the first hallway of the house, not wanting to go a step farther without Ben showing her where to go.
“Follow me.” Ben spoke up as he closed the door and stepped around Lucy to lead her through the house.
The house had two levels, with the upper level being the living area and the lower area being the baking area. Ben often had to dedicate entire nights down in the lower floor to cooking for his upcoming events. That was why his bedroom was upstairs so he wouldn’t be tempted to just go to sleep anytime. Ben had 2 bathrooms though, due to the sometimes severe need of having one downstairs as well as upstairs.
Ben’s kitchen was twice as large as most living rooms, with half of the available space being dedicated to ovens. Another quarter of the available space was counters, fridges, and freezers. The rest of the open area was left as it was to allow fluid movement in the kitchen. All of the ingredients and utensils Ben ever needed were kept either in the fridges and freezers or in the overhead cupboards.
Ben’s bedroom was also quite large, actually having 2 king size beds in it. Ben rationalized this by saying that when he finally did decide to go to bed, he just wanted to come in the door and be able to already be near a bed.
Both of Ben’s bathrooms also had colossal walk in showers, due to Ben’s constant need to wash up before work wherever he may have fallen asleep. More than half the space in each bathroom was taken up by the showers, and everything else in the bathrooms and the house itself was really quite plain.
Ben had bought this house after three very successful consecutive events in which he had accidentally overloaded and destroyed two of the ovens at the Sugar Stop. It was then that his fellow employees recommended Ben get a secondary kitchen so that he would be able to do all the work he needed to without being overloaded in the tiny shop.
Ben explained all this to Lucy as he showed her around, glad to see her taking everything in and appearing to enjoy it at least. Her still couldn’t believe his luck in getting to have, what was for the most part, Pinkie Pie as his roommate.
“I think that’s pretty much everything I have to tell ya Lucy. Any questions?” Ben prepared himself for the onslaught of questions.
“Nope. You explained everything so super-duper well that I don’t have any questions.” Lucy told Ben, smiling at his shocked expression.
Ben couldn’t believe this. He had left Lucy, who was Pinkie Pie, without any questions at all. Surely this was a moment that should be recorded in history Ben thought.
“Alright then. Well, I have a large order due tomorrow, so I will probably be up all night. Feel free to have a shower or go to sleep or whatever you see fit. You can even watch me bake if you want.” Bent told Lucy, while moving to grab his apron to begin the long night of baking.
“Okie Dokie Lokie. I’ll have a shower and then come and watch you bake if that’s all righty.” Lucy told Ben, heading to the first floor’s bathroom around the corner.
“Sure thing. See ya soon Lucy.” Ben waved at Lucy as she entered the bathroom.
Ben then took his usual place in the center of his kitchen. He set about gathering the ingredients for his signature Popping Tarts, the treat on which Ben had built his entire reputation thus far. Ben had the recipe perfectly memorized, so he simply began the process of making them, letting himself get lost in the flow of his baking rhythm.
Ben didn’t even fully realize when Lucy re-entered the kitchen and took a seat at the far edge so as not to disturb him. For how long Lucy sat there and watched Ben bake, no one would ever know. A few hours in and only 26 Popping Tarts done, Ben felt himself start to slide mildly.
Today had clearly exhausted Ben more than he thought. Ben was determined to finish his order though. Ben had never failed to deliver before now, and he was a man of his word. Unfortunately, Ben’s body was not made of the same material as his will. Two and half hours after first feeling tired, Ben collapsed in the middle of his kitchen, with only 50 of the 120 Popping Tarts he needed to finish done.
It was at this point that another figure entered the kitchen, put on an apron, and began to work unlike anything else that kitchen had ever witnessed.
***
Ben awoke with a shock, now horribly aware that he had passed out with only just over a third of his Popping Tarts completed. As Ben scrambled about, desperate to make up for the time he had missed, he began to notice something about the kitchen was different.
After calming down somewhat, Ben was able to realize what was different in his kitchen. It was what was on the counters that was new. Everywhere Ben turned to look, there were trays of Popping Tarts, totaling far more overall than the mere 50 Ben himself had completed before passing out.
Ben estimated that there were approximately 240 Popping Tarts on his counters, with absolutely no idea how they had come to be there. Just as Ben fully woke up and began to fully wonder where all the Tarts had come from, Lucy came down the stairs still wearing an apron.
“Morning sleepy head. You must have sure been exhausted to fall asleep while baking.” Lucy told Ben, setting about taking off her apron and hanging it on the hook next to the one that usually held Ben’s apron.
“You Lucy? You did all these why I was asleep?” Ben asked Lucy, not daring to believe that anybody was capable of doing so much in such a short time.
“Yep. You were asleep for about six hours, and I took over making those super yummy Popping Tarts for you.” Lucy explained, shocking Ben even further.
Ben had only managed 70 Popping Tarts in an hour as his personal best. Lucy had more than doubled that without even trying very hard, as was apparent of her demeanor. Then what Lucy had said sunk fully into Ben’s mind.
“Wait? How do you know they’re ‘yummy’? You didn’t eat any of these did you?” Ben asked frantically, scrambling about to make sure he still had the 120 base order amount.
Lucy giggled behind Ben as he scrambled about checking how many tarts he still had left.
“Oh Ben. I wouldn’t eat any of those ones. I knew they were for a super-duper important event, so I just made a few extra trays for myself and you to have.” Lucy explained, moving to bring out two plates that were loaded to the brim with extra Popping Tarts.
Ben couldn’t speak. Ben had never believed, even in his wildest dreams, that such rapidity in baking was possible. Then Ben realized that perhaps some quality had been lost to make such a vast quantity. He knew he had to see if this was true.
“Can I try one Lucy?” Ben asked, finding it absolutely necessary to taste test Lucy’s baking before drawing a final opinion on her skills, no matter how simply scrumptious it looked.
“Sure. Here you go.” Lucy said, offering Ben one of the Tarts from the top of the plates.
Ben surveyed the Tart for a moment before biting it. It certainly did at least look and smell similar to the ones he made. Upon biting the Tart, Ben nearly fainted again. It was the single most delicious thing he had ever tasted. This was Eons from Ben’s own Popping Tarts, which were already raved about as one of the most delicious desserts around.
“Oh my god. You really made these Lucy?” Ben asked Lucy, needing justification that the beautiful girl in front of him really had made these delicious treats.
“If I hadn’t, who would have silly?” Lucy answered Ben, giggling all the while as she did.
Ben had no idea what to say to Lucy. He had never met a girl like Lucy before. No girl Ben had ever dated had ever been able to even match him, let alone best him, in baking talent and energy. Lucy had done far more than that. Compared to her, Ben was nothing more than a novice imitating the master.
“F-Fair point Lucy. Would you mind helping me load these? I have a truck the shop lets me use to make deliveries parked out front, but loading all these alone would be a real bummer.” Ben asked Lucy, hoping to coerce her into spending more time with him.
“Sure thing.” Lucy answered Ben, somehow still managing to have the energy of a maniac as she came over to help Ben with the Popping Tarts.
Loading the Popping Tarts with help from Lucy felt like an entirely different experience to Ben. In no time at all, with great thanks towards Lucy’s own energy and ideas, all the Popping Tarts were safely loaded in the Sugar Stop Truck. Ben turned towards Lucy.
“Well Lucy, I have no idea what to say. Thanks isn’t good enough on its own. Without your help, I wouldn’t even be done the Tarts yet, let alone finished loading them for delivery.” Ben told Lucy, giving her the largest smile he had ever given anyone.
“Thank you Ben. It was really no big deal.” Lucy told Ben, moving to attempt to hide her growing blush with her hair.
“No, it was a big deal. It’s the single nicest and greatest thing anyone has ever done for me. I have to go deliver these right now, but I promise I will be right back to repay you in kind for all this.” Ben explained to Lucy, catching Lucy begin to comb her fingers through her hair.
“I-If you insist. I can’t wait for you to come back in that case.” Lucy told Ben, smiling up at him with the most beautiful smile Ben had ever seen.
Ben nodded to Lucy, smiling back at her brightly, and then proceeded to head to the truck. Ben did have a schedule to keep after all. Plus, Ben had the added joy of thinking how to repay Lucy for all she had done while he set about his job for the week.
Everyone Ben met during the rest of that day got a huge hit of the energy he was exuding. Everyone asked him what had happened, but Ben casually refused to answer. In what felt like minutes, Ben was done not only all his deliveries for the next two weeks, but his baking for the Sugar Stop for the next month as well, due to all the excess Popping Tarts Lucy had helped him make. The Tarts happened to keep for a very long time if frozen or refrigerated, which is another reason why they were so requested.
On his drive back to the house, Ben finally came up with the perfect way to repay Lucy for all her help while still fulfilling his own wishes for the night as well. He would make his special ‘Pinkie Pie.’
The ‘Pinkie Pie’ was a dish that Ben had created for his personal enjoyment back when he first discovered who his favorite pony was. Ben was still quite proud of it, but unwilling to reveal it to the world yet for fear of being mocked.
The ‘Pinkie Pie’ consisted of a pie shell sweetened by adding whip cream into the base ingredients, then filled with all sorts of different desserts, from Popping Tarts to Bombardment Brownies, who were then covered in icing themselves before being sealed into the ‘Pinkie Pie’ itself. The ‘Pinkie Pie’ was then carefully watched as it baked, to make sure just the proper amount of caramelization was achieved. This guaranteed the melting and mixing off all the other desserts within the ‘Pinkie Pie’, as well as the perfect amount of sweetness.
One removed from the oven and left to stand for a little while, the ‘Pinkie Pie’ would be decorated, making it stand out even more amongst other pies. Ben would cover the pie in pink icing and pink whip cream, and then place three special balloon shaped lollipops in the center to represent Pinkie’s Cutie Mark properly.
Ben made careful note that Lucy was asleep when he returned home, and then set about making the ‘Pinkie Pie.’ The making of the ‘Pinkie Pie’ crust alone would take two hours, due to it needing to be constantly reshaped due to the addition of the whip cream into the crust ingredients.
Four hours after Ben returned home, the ‘Pinkie Pie’ was entering its final stage of decoration. Just as Ben finished placing the final lollipop in place, Lucy descended the stairs, no doubt awakened from her sleep by the amazingly sweet scent of the ‘Pinkie Pie.’
“Welcome back Ben. Whatcha making there?” Lucy asked Ben, taking a whiff of the air as she scrubbed the few remainders of sleep out of her eyes.
“This is your payment for all the help you gave me today.” Ben told her, seeing Lucy instantly spring to attention.
“Really? Wow. This is so super-duper uber nice of you Ben. What is it?” Lucy questioned Ben as she surveyed the wonderful dessert.
“This is my special ‘Pinkie Pie.’ I based it off of you, to be entirely honest.” Ben explained, feeling himself grow embarrassed as he finally revealed the inspiration behind this amazing dessert.
Lucy stood aghast for a few minutes, unsure of how to respond to what Ben had just said. No one, pony or otherwise, had ever thought about Lucy so much as to design a dessert after her. Not even the Cakes themselves.
“B-Ben. I-I don’t know what to say. That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” Lucy finally replied to Ben, still amazed at what he had done for her.
“You deserve to be treated like a Queen. Both as Lucy and as Pinkie. I’m not saying your friends don’t appreciate all you do, but I doubt that they would ever do something like this for you. You’re an amazing girl. And…I think I love you.” Ben felt shocked as he heard himself say such things to Pinkie.
Why or how Ben had finally come to terms with just what his feelings for Pinkie were, he would never know. Ben lost all rational thought processes as Pinkie proceeded to rush forward and kiss him at this news, surprising them both greatly.
Neither Ben nor Pinkie had ever experienced a kiss like this before from anyone. The whole world, time itself even, appeared to just stop for them and wait until they would break apart to resume. This was the kiss that represented a lifetime of unknown longing. The kiss itself lasted only a few minutes, but Ben and Pinkie were both locked within the feeling of it forever.
As Ben and Pinkie separated from the kiss, each of them looked into the other’s eyes. It was there that they saw the other half of their souls. Ben and Pinkie were meant for each other. They knew that now, and would never ever forget it.
Ben and Pinkie proceeded to head upstairs to talk about what to do now and sleep away the stress of the last couple of days, leaving the ‘Pinkie Pie’ forgotten below. It was what the ‘Pinkie Pie’ had represented that really mattered to them, and not the Pie itself.
Ben and Pinkie talked for hours about anything and everything they could think of. Pinkie was the first to fall into sleep, cuddled up against Ben as she was. Ben stayed awake a while longer, simply loving the fact that he was in love with Pinkie Pie, and that she was in love with him too.
Eventually, sleep overtook Ben too as the days caught up with him, granting him an odd dream. In this dream, all he did was bake. Bake, bake, and then bake more. What Ben was trying to accomplish in this dream with all the baking, or even what it was he was trying to bake, he could not say definitely. He was only aware that the dream confused him greatly.
If only Ben had known that it was not a just a dream that he was seeing now. If he had indeed known that, Ben might never have fallen asleep again while Pinkie was there.
***
Ben was a very happy man in comparison to a lot of the others around him. The reason for Ben’s happiness was a girl named Lucy who he had been dating for two months now. She was not employed at Sugar Stop like Ben was, but Lucy constantly helped Ben with the baking he needed to do at home on his own time.
Ben had spent every day since the day he met Lucy near two months ago in a near euphoric state of mind. Today was no exception, but today Ben was a tad closer to full euphoria than he usually was when he went out and about to do his deliveries and duties.
Today, Ben hoped Lucy might become more than just his girlfriend. Ben had met with Noah and Antonio the other day to get a scholar’s opinion on what the perfect gem was for an engagement ring. Noah was an advocate of the emerald, and Antonio favoured the sapphire. Both of them had their fair points in the argument, but near the end of the day Ben had come to decide upon a pink diamond. It was his favorite color after all.
Ben had gone to the jewellers the next day to place his order. Today Ben would be picking up the ring after he finished his deliveries, and then going home to enjoy an anniversary with Lucy. Today also happened to be their official two month anniversary, an event Lucy was sure to make a big deal over.
Ben pulled up in his driveway and set about making sure to unload all the excess cargo he was carrying. This time of year was always a bad time to hold a wedding, and Ben always got stuck with some of the cancelled affair’s food. For today though, Ben was glad to have it all. This meant an easy dinner for Lucy and Ben, and that they could still enjoy the special dessert Lucy had promised earlier in the day.
“I’m home Lucy.” Ben called out as he came in the front door carrying the Crudités platter that no one else had wanted for some strange reason.
“Welcome back Ben. I hope you had a super day.” Lucy called back to Ben from the direction of the kitchen.
“Was pretty tame. Today was mostly spent on clean up. Three weddings cancelled in two days means a lot of excess food for the caterers, like me.” Ben explained, coming in to the kitchen and catching full view of Lucy.
Lucy was always beautiful when Ben saw her, but today was extra special. Ben promised himself back when he met her that he’d never get tired of seeing Lucy in her apron, making some absolutely delicious and unique dessert or simply going around the house in it because that’s what she felt like doing today.
“I see you got dinner for us.” Lucy turned to face Ben, planting a kiss firmly on his lips before returning to the dish she was supervising.
“I hope you don’t mind. I hope this doesn’t spoil anything you’re making.” Ben quickly apologized, worried he’d thought too much ahead in this regard.
“I don’t mind at all. As long as you still end up having room for my special dessert.” Lucy told Ben explicitly, poking him on the nose as she did so.
“I’ve always got room for anything you make Lucy.” Ben told Lucy, bending down to kiss her on the top of her head.
Ben and Lucy stayed quiet for only a few minutes, each of them being quite accomplished at doing very much in a short span of time. By the time they each turned to talk to each other again, Ben had already set the table with décor, dishes, and the food and Lucy had not only finished cooking but also preparing her dessert, which turned out to be a flan caramel.
“Wow. That looks amazing Lucy.” Ben told Lucy, pointing to the flan Lucy was placing in the middle of the counter behind her.
“Thanks. Your setup looks quite magical for tonight too.” Lucy replied, turning to take off her apron and join Ben at the table for their anniversary dinner.
Ben and Lucy sat down to dinner and talked about each other’s day, enjoying simply the company of each other more than the true points of the conversation. Eventually all the vegetables and appetizers Ben had brought home with him were finished, and Ben and Lucy moved on to the amazing flan that had been created by the latter of the two. Once the flan too was done, Ben and Lucy cleaned up before heading upstairs to talk more.
As Ben set aside the now clean dishes from the meal, he decided that perhaps the kitchen where he had realized his love for Lucy was the best place to propose. It was an important area to him, and he was quite certain it was also special to Lucy. As Ben placed the last plate on the pile he turned towards Lucy and cleared his throat.
“Lucy, I have something important to ask you and I want you to know how important it is that I ask you. So first of all, I’d like to tell you I’ll be calling you Pinkie from here on.” Ben began, seeing Lucy look confused as to why exactly Ben wanted to use her real name.
“Sure. What do you need to ask me?” Pinkie replied to Ben with a question of her own.
“I’m getting to it. Well here goes nothing.” Ben announced, clearing his throat again.
“Pinkie, it was here in this kitchen two months ago that I told you I loved you. You have been the greatest and largest part of my life ever since then, and I never want that to stop. Will you be my wife and stay with me forever?” Ben asked Pinkie, kneeling down and taking out the ring he had picked up that very afternoon.
Pinkie was shocked. Sure, she was used to being lovey-dovey with Ben all the time by now, but she still wasn’t used to the occasional bit of true and pure romance that he sometimes used. This situation shocked Pinkie, but it almost made her heart swell like it was full of hot air.
“Yes! I will be your wife and stay with you! Oh Ben!” Pinkie yelled, throwing herself at Ben much the same way she had two months ago when Ben had made her the ‘Pinkie Pie.’
Ben held Pinkie tight for a very long time, happier than he could ever remember himself being, even during these last two magnificent months. Eventually, Ben let go of Pinkie so that he could put the ring he had specially designed for her on her finger.
“Oh Ben. It’s beautiful.” Pinkie whispered, seeing the shape and color of the ring Ben had now given her.
The ring was full of pink diamonds, arranged into the shape of a cupcake on the face of the ring. Having the ring designed this way had been very expensive, but no price mattered to Ben when it came to making Pinkie happier.
“I had it designed just for you Pinkie. I’m so glad you like it.” Ben told Pinkie, pulling her into yet another embrace.
“You’re wrong Ben. I would have liked it anyway. But the fact that you gave it to me in this way makes me love it so much more.” Pinkie replied, holding onto Ben as tight as she could.
Ben and Pinkie did eventually go upstairs to bed like they always did at night, but this time they did it as each other’s fiancée. This made the whole action that much more special to each of them, the immense happiness they felt even transferring over to their dreams.
In their dreams was where Ben and Pinkie each saw their perfect wedding taking place, and both of them only held tighter to each other as the night’s dreams went on.
***
Ben often told himself that he could live everyday with Lucy for a thousand long years and never once get tired or bored of a single thing about her. Ben earnestly believed this too, the last six months of his life holding true testament to that statement.
Two months after proposing to Lucy and having her accept, Ben had taken her to Las Vegas with him so that they could officially become a married couple on Earth. They both agreed to have a full ceremony later on, either in a few years on Earth or in a few months on Equestria.
Ben knew Lucy would not be around forever, for she was Pinkie Pie, earth pony baker of the town of Ponyville in the world of Equestria. Ben also knew that it would take more than that mere differentiation to keep him from finding a way to Equestria to be with Pinkie when she did finally have to return home.
Ben pulled up to his driveway, and immediately noticed that something was wrong. The front door was wide open, blowing in the nearby breezes. Ben also saw a large amount of black smoke coming from the ventilation duct above the kitchen. Ben immediately parked the truck and hurried inside, needing to make sure his wife was fine.
“Lucy? Pinkie? Are you okay? What’s happened?” Ben yelled as he came into the house and noticed the large amount of disorder around.
Everything was out of place. Ingredients from the kitchen were strewn everywhere around the house, as though some great force had moved them all at once from their normal places. Ben went immediately towards the kitchen, certain that was where he would find Lucy if she were still there in the house.
Ben was not disappointed as he came around the corner and saw Lucy sitting in a chair in the middle of the kitchen. Lucy looked like quite a mess, with her hair all over the place and her apron being now shifted to the side of her body. Ben was glad to see that Lucy was safe, but was also quite distressed to see her in such a state.
“Lucy? What’s wrong? What happened here?” Ben asked Lucy, moving closer to her to look Lucy right in the eyes.
“Twilight…Twilight came by to see me.” Lucy began, looking away from Ben as she did.
“You mean Meghan came by?” Ben asked, confused as to why Lucy would be in this state merely because one of her friends had come by earlier.
“No. I mean Twilight came by to see Pinkie.” Lucy explained, the words finally clicking in Ben’s mind.
Was this it then? Did Pinkie finally have to go back to Equestria now? Ben couldn’t think straight as this all bombarded him. Ben hadn’t had time to plan how to get to Equestria within such a short timeline.
“She said…she said Equestria’s in really big trouble.” Pinkie continued, feeling her own tears begin as she explained all this to Ben.
“And…and you have to go back to save it. Right?” Ben questioned Pinkie, seeing her only nod her head as she continued to cry.
Ben couldn’t believe any of this. He had expected that when Pinkie had to leave for Equestria again that it would be anything like this. He had expected to get notice and be able to give her a proper farewell. Ben wasn’t ready, and Pinkie wasn’t either.
“When?” Ben asked Pinkie, the one word hanging in the air above them both.
“Twilight said I can go home when I feel like myself again. I decided to make my special Laughter Cupcakes to feel like myself again after Twilight left. I couldn’t focus while I tried and I ruined a few batches. The last and only batch I got right is baking now. They should be done in about 10 minutes.” Pinkie told Ben, looking down at her feet and just letting every tear in her body flow out.
Ben stared at the girl he loved, knowing he should console her, but unable to do so properly. Five of Ben and Pinkie’s last minutes together passed before anything else was spoken.
“I’ll find you. I’ll find a way to get to Equestria. I know the Elements can’t bring me there, but there’s got to be some other way. And I promise I’ll find it. I love you Pinkie, and nothing will keep us apart for long.” Ben told Pinkie, lifting her up off the chair to give her one last kiss as a human.
Pinkie returned the kiss with all the feeling she could muster, still feeling as though it weren’t enough when she broke the kiss. At the moment they broke the kiss, a kitchen timer went off in the background noise of the house.
At that exact same moment, a strong wind also picked up throughout the house. Ben recognized it as the same wind that had given him the girl called Lucy, and his love named Pinkie, before him. Ben knew this was it as he looked at Pinkie one last time before she would go away from Earth forever.
“They’re done now. I hope you love them like you love me. Goodbye.” Pinkie told Ben, the last of her tears leaving her eyes before she was gone with the wind itself.
Ben knew he needed to think, to be alone with his thoughts. But first Ben had to remove the Laughter Cupcakes Pinkie had worked so hard to make and leave for him. As Ben went over to the only oven that was on and removed the Laughter Cupcakes from them, he felt a sudden indescribable urge to throw them to the ground and destroy them.
Ben also knew he couldn’t do that to the Cupcakes. They were a reminder of his pain and what he had just now lost, but they were also the last piece of Pinkie Pie Ben had left in this world. Ben set them down carefully on a cooling rack, and took the empty seat Pinkie had left mere minutes ago.
Ben never moved nor said anything for three days and nights. Ben never even slept in that time. When Ben did rise from the chair at last, he was filled with a mad determination. He felt that he at last knew the path to Equestria, and to Pinkie, and he would not stop until he was there.