Incoming Outgoing

by Werdna

It's Rude to Stare

Now normally your morning routine consists of waking up, getting ready, and then having breakfast before you leave. Today, however, you forgo having breakfast and decide to leave for work a bit early, throwing your work apron over your back and exiting your home. After locking the door behind you, you stand on your doorstep for a moment to survey your surroundings, taking a breath of the crisp morning air as you observe the beautiful landscape before you. Over the silhouetted horizon, the glow of Celestia's golden sun emanates, turning the sky into a blend of blue, pink, and orange hues. Off in the direction of the Everfree Forest, you observe a formation of birds; small black dots situated against the backdrop of an endless sky. It's all so peaceful to look at; nature in the early morning going about its business, just as you would eventually have to be going about yours. As you start your walk into town, you observe the occasional early morning jogger here or there, going along their routes as usual. One of them sees you and nods his head in acknowledgement of your presence, continuing on with his jog as you continue on with your walk. Ponyville is a fairly quiet town in general, but without a doubt early mornings proved to be the quietest of times during the day. With the markets and shops closed and school not yet in session, the whole of the town is very still. As much as you didn't like waking up early, you certainly had no qualms with the early morning atmosphere that came with an early morning rousing.

As you near the centre of town, about the only other pony you see is a young papercolt going about his duties, tossing copies of the local newspaper onto doorsteps -or in the case of this young fellow, the lawn, the bushes, as well as a rooftop, even. Odds are that he hadn't fully woken up yet, though as long as he doesn't send a paper through a window, you suppose it's okay if his aim is a bit poor.

Soon enough, you arrive at the front doorstep of the cafe and give the door a quick knock to alert whoever was inside to your presence. You wait a few moments before the door opens up to reveal the owner and manager of the establishment, albeit with a look of curiosity upon his face. Nevertheless, he proceeds to greet you before welcoming you inside.

"Well good morning there!" He chirps. “You’re in rather early!”

"Morning to you too, Mr. Grenlef. Hope you don’t me being here a tad bit ahead of schedule."

He chuckles a bit as he lets you inside, walking over towards the register that sits at the front counter; a large bag of bits sprawled out next to it. With an audible *click*, he opens the register before piping back up.

“Oh that's no problem at all. I always admire an employee who rises up early to come into work.”

Speaking of rising, maybe if I show up to work early from now on I could eventually earn a pay raise...

You log that away in your memory to give you something to think about, though knowing how fond you were of your bed, you figure yourself to be opening up a big box of internal conflict.

"Speaking of which, what prompted you to come in early anyway?"

"Well, I usually wake up early and make my myself breakfast before coming in, but I wasn't feeling hungry this morning. Probably a result of eating later than usual last night."

"Ah, I hear you. Just make sure you do eat something come break time. Don't want you falling over from a lack of proper nutrition while in the middle of serving someone!"

The two of you share a laugh before you decide to ask if there is anything you can do around the place. After all, showing up for work early is a bit meaningless if you don't actually work on something.

"So is there anything you'd like for me to do as long as I'm here early?"

Having voiced your inquiry, you remember the apron still draped over your back, and begin to take it off so you could formally put it on. Before you do so though, you hear Mr.Grenlef speaking back to you.

"Actually…"

He pauses his speech for a moment to finish the knot on a small bag of bits, leaving you to take your own pause in putting on your apron.

"Seeing as how you’re here early, I’d like for you to pick up an order at Sugarcube corner. I was going to pick it up myself, but I might as well make use of your labour.”

"Well I'm happy to help.” You reply, setting your apron down on a bench beside you. “Might I ask what it is I'll be picking up?"

"A couple dozen cupcakes for the cafe here. I spoke with the Cakes from Sugarcube Corner the other day about expanding our dessert menu with some of their product, so today we'll be running a 'test batch' of sorts to see how well they sell. Anyhow, I'll let you get on with the pickup. Be careful with 'em now!"

---------------------

Shortly after your conversation with your boss, you find yourself knocking on the door of Sugarcube Corner. While waiting for it to open, you glance over your shoulder, noting the still empty streets behind you. Soon enough though, you turn your head back to the door as you hear it unlocking, and are met with the sight of a slightly plump pastel blue mare with a pink mane looking back at you with an inquisitive look upon her face.

“Oh, um, good morning ma’am” you politely speak.

“Good morning to you too. I take it you’re from the café?” she replies, to which you simply nod in agreement. “Pinkie should just about be pulling the last batch of cupcakes from the oven. Do come inside.”

You step inside and are immediately greeted by what you can only describe as the sweetest smell your nostrils had ever encountered. Taking a deep breath, you relish the sweet scent for a moment before the blue mare speaks once again.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I have to check on my young ones upstairs. Just make your way over to the kitchen and Pinkie will be with you, alright?”

Pointing with her hoof and giving you a pleasant smile, the mare proceeds to make her way up the stairs to go take care of her foals, leaving you to once again bask in the wondrous smell that fills the room. Realising though that you had come here on account of work and didn’t want to spend more time than necessary, you decide to head on over to where you would pick up your order of cupcakes, following the blue mare's direction as well as your nose. As you round the corner to the kitchen, your eyes are met with the sight of a bright pink mare. More specifically though, her backside, as she had just opened up the oven and was starting to take a batch of cupcakes out of it.

Woah...

You can't help but stare at her for a moment as she goes about her work, completely oblivious to your presence in the doorway.

“It’s rude to stare, you know.”

... Or so you had thought.

Her tone of voice has the sound of playful irritation. The playfulness more than likely stemming from some self-satisfaction knowing that you would be embarrassed from being caught in the act –to which you are- and the irritation because of the obvious fact that staring at a mare’s backside is rather rude. Caught off guard, your eyes widen and your cheeks work themselves into a noticeable shade of crimson as you nervously stand at attention, frozen in place. Your situation isn't at all helped by the mare deciding to turn and face you, her eyes slightly cocked and a grin upon her -rather attractive- face.

Well this is awkward...

While your mind desires to say something, your mouth isn't exactly willing to cooperate, resulting in the first thing to come out of your mouth a slightly less than intelligent:

"... Dwuauaua???...?"

Your language teachers would all be very proud of you at this moment, that's for sure. The mare before you however pays it little attention, simply offering a short giggle and reply in return.

“It’s my Pinkie sense.”

You shoot her a confused glance as she continues, one of her back legs closing the door of the oven.

“My left ear twitched twice, and when it does, it tells me that somepony is behind me! And that somepony was you!”

You let out a nervous chuckle before she speaks once again, giggling a bit as she does.

“You look so silly right now!”

She grabs a reflective pie pan from a counter and holds it in front of your face, revealing in its faint reflection your embarrassed complexion. Not that you really needed to know what you looked like embarrassed, but for better or worse, there your reflection stands anyways.

“Heh, I guess I do look a bit silly.”

As she sets the pan back on the counter, you take the time to apologise for your behaviour. Much to your relief though, she takes it in stride, surprisingly free of any hard feelings. Perhaps the fact that there was an order that needed to be taken care of has something to do with it.

“So you’re here to pick up some cupcakes, right? Ms. Cake told me that somepony would be coming by early this morning to pick up a batch, so that somepony must be you!”

You nod your head in response, along with a small “mhmm” to go with it.

“Okie dokie!” She cheerfully replies. “Let me just put the frosting on top of the last tray and they’ll be good to go!”

"Heh, can't have a cupcake without frosting, I suppose". You reply jokingly, hoping to turn the air of awkwardness surrounding you into something more pleasant.

It didn't really do you much good though.

"Well DUH!" She exclaims, turning around to meet your startled gaze. "Of course you can’t, silly! Because if you did it wouldn’t be a cupcake and it would just be a plain old muffin and nopony likes muffins. Well, except for Derpy. She likes muffins but cupcakes are better because they have frosting and are sweeter and much more fun than just a boring old muffin don’t you think?”

Her final sentence was punctuated by her body extending towards you, her head mere inches away from yours with an expectant smile adorning her face. It was like being under a spotlight, except for the fact that an actual spotlight would probably be more comfortable to be under at the moment.

"Umm... Y-yeah...?"

Truth be told, you actually prefer muffins to cupcakes. Not like she needs to know that though, as your answer is apparently satisfactory enough for her to pull her head back away from yours and return to frosting the last of the cupcakes that lie on the counter. Looking over her shoulder, you can see there's only a few left to go, which she proceeds to quickly finish up in no time at all.

"Welp, that's the last of 'em! Mind giving me that box over there?"

You oblige, picking up the large pink box that sits on the opposing counter and give it to her so she can put the cupcakes inside. Soon thereafter you find yourself with a large box full of cupcakes resting atop your back, ready for the short trip back to work. With everything in order, you proceed to thank the pink mare, and tell her to extend the thanks to Ms. Cake while making your way out the door. Before you can get too far, however, the sound of her voice stops you in your tracks.

“Wait!”

You wince, muttering to yourself a “so close” before turning your head back towards the bakery. In doing so, you see the pink mare approaching you, and notice on her back a small white paper bag.

“I forgot to give this to you. It's just a little something for yourself.” She says, hoofing the bag over to you with a smile.

You peer inside of it, seeing the picture-perfect coating of white frosting that tops the treat, which admittedly looks quite delicious. Once again, you proceed to thank her.

“I… well… uh… thanks, for this. It looks quite good.”

She giggles as you stand there, still staring into the bag.

“It’ll be the bestest best cupcake you’ll ever have, because Pinkie Pie’s my name, and baking cupcakes is my game!”

Another giggle escapes her before she changes her tone and appearance to a more inquisitive look, putting her left foreleg up to her chin to signify thoughtful process.

“Which reminds me. I’m Pinkie Pie! Who are you? I know everypony in Ponyville, but I haven’t met you before. Or at least I don’t think I have... Have I?

"Um, no, I've lived here for quite a while. I just don't get out too much, heh. Nice meeting you though, Pinkie Pie. And thanks again for the cupcake."

With the flash of a smile, you then turn around to once again leave, eager to get back to work. Just as you do though, your attention is called once again, and you turn back toward her.

"Yes?"

“You still haven’t given me your name, silly!”

Oh, right...

You give her your name to which she recites once more, adding a “hope to see you soon!” to the end of it before heading back inside the building to continue on with her day. As the door shuts, you go about doing just the same.

Author's Note:

Toooooooootally didn't realise that the last update was back in March. Kinda screws up my whole 'one chapter a month' thing I had going on...

Anyhow, have an update, and know that I'm still working on this story. I'll try to get chapter 3 out sooner to make up for the absence of updates. Ciao for now!

Comments

[chrismonteith]

mmm, not bad

[Brony Parasite]

coooooool!

[Radicrane]

Update! -clap -clap- Update! -clap -clap- Update! -clap -clap- Update! -clap -clap-