• Published 10th May 2014
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Pound and Pumpkin Tales 1 - Never2muchpinkie



Set a few years into the future, six year old Pound and Pumpkin have a lot of growing up to do. They fight and make up, make mistakes and learn lessons, and love and protect each other as much as they get on each other's nerves.

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8: Divorce???

Pound and Pumpkin were in their room, building a castle out of blocks. It was taller than the two of them. Pumpkin was holding a block, putting a piece on the top. “Careful!” said Pound. “Don’t knock it over. Gentle… gentle.”

With a frown she gave him a push. “Will you hush up? You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”

“Sorry.”

Pumpkin took a deep breath, slowly lowering the block on top, a bead of sweat coming down her face. Stupid Pound had made her nervous. Just as she put the block up top there was a bang from downstairs, making her jump. The whole tower collapsed.

“Come on, Pumpkin!” Pound said angrily. “This is why I told you to be careful!”

Pumpkin wasn’t worried about the castle. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Pound responded distractedly, then he strained his ears and he could hear it too.

“It sounds like Mom and Dad.”

“Let’s listen,” he whispered. The two of them opened their door a crack, and now they could hear it.

“That’s just stupid!” they heard their mom yelling. “I’m going, and that’s that!”

“And I say you’re not!” their dad yelled back.

“I’d like to see you stop me!”

“And just why are you going to hang out with another stallion?”

“And his GIRLFRIEND! Oh, what? Are you jealous? Someone has to be here to watch the twins. I just want to have a nice day out for a change. Is that a crime?

"Maybe if you stepped up to the plate once in a while and took me out I wouldn’t have to have someone ELSE do it.”

“Well, fine! Maybe I’ll just go hit up one of my ex-girlfriends and see how YOU like it!”

“FINE!”

“FINE!”

A few seconds later the front door slammed.

Pound and Pumpkin looked at each other, their eyes tearing up. Pumpkins lip was quivering as she grabbed her brother. “P-P-Pound!” she said, hiccupping. “D-did you hear that?”

Pound was shaking, trying not to break down, but he couldn’t help it. He grabbed his sister back and broke down crying. When she heard him start Pumpkin broke down right along with him. The two of them wailed and sobbed for a good while.

When they finally settled down a bit Pumpkin asked in a shaky voice, “W-what are we gonna do? I don’t like it when Mom and Dad fight. W-what if this was the last straw?” She gasped, shaking Pound hard. “What if they get a divorce and don’t want to live together anymore? W-what if… what if they split us apart too? It would be so sad if I didn’t get to play with you every day.”

Pound tensed up. His sister's questions weren’t doing anything to improve his mood. He had to calm himself down. He knew how much Pumpkin looked to him for strength. “Enough, Pumpkin!” he said sternly. “We can’t be thinking like that. It’s just one fight. They… they’ve had fights before. I mean, we fight all the time. But we always make up, right? Maybe they just need a little time apart.”

“And-and-and what if they decide they like it better apart and start spending more time away from each other and then they never wanna see each other again?”

“Well… we… we’ll just have to do something to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“L-like what?” Pumpkin asked, wiping some tears from her eyes.

“I’m thinking! Oh, I wish Auntie Pinkie was here. She’d know what to do.”

“Why did she have to go hang out with her friends TODAY?”

“Come on! I have an idea.” He took his sister by the hoof, and the two of them walked downstairs. They heard the sound of the shower going in the bathroom. “Good. Daddy is busy. That should give us some time."

“Time to do what?”

He went into the next room, going to the table. “We’re gonna set up a date for them.”

“A date?”

“Yeah. Mommy said that she was going out with some friends because they don’t have enough private time together. So I figure if we can just set up something really special for the two of them they’ll make-up and be all kissy and mushy and stuff and then neither of them will be angry anymore.”

Pumpkin’s face lit up. “Pound, you’re a genius!” She gave him a kiss, making him recoil.

“Ugh!” Pound moaned, rubbing his cheek hard. “How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?”

“Sorry,” she said with a big smile. “So now what about this date?”

“Hmmm. We should make them dinner. A romantic dinner. Go get the fancy tablecloth. I’ll go get the fine plates and silverware.”

“Right!” Pumpkin nodded, going off to the closet.

Pound moved a chair to get up onto the counter. Opening it he pulled out a few plates and glasses. He hopped off the counter. He landed on the chair, but the impact made his knees buckle and the plates went flying out of his hooves, smashing onto the floor. “Oh, no!” he cried out. “This is terrible!” Tears came down his eyes.

Pumpkin came running in. “Are you alright?” she asked in concern.

“No!” he said with a small sob. “I broke the plates into a million bajillion pieces.”

“Don’t cry, Pound. It was just an accident. We still have the table… cloth...” Giving him an awkward smile she lifted it up, showing a big hole running down the bottom. “I… kinda ruined the tablecloth. It must have got stuck on a nail or something on the ground, and it ripped when I came running in here.”

“Oh, great! What else can go wrong?” He sniffed. “This is the stupidest idea ever! Just forget it. I’m such an idiot.” He sat on the floor and curled himself up into a ball, muffled sobbing coming from him.

Pumpkin put a hoof on his head, pulling it up. “Come on, Pound. Stop crying! We can still do something special for them.”

“No! You’re right! They’re gonna get divorced and we’re never gonna see each other again! I can’t stand it. Just leave me alone.”

Pumpkin started feeling discouraged, but then she got an idea. Giving him a devious smile she said, “You’re gonna get up and help me, or else.”

“Or else wha-YUCK!”

Pumpkin planted a kiss on his cheek. “Kissy, kissy, kissy.”

Pound tried to fight her off, but she just kept kissing every open area on his head, completely distracting him. “Alright, alright! I give up! You win!”

“That’s better. Now get up.”

“Fine,” he said, standing up.

As they worked they heard the shower stop, and their dad went upstairs.

“Hurry up!” Pound said. “We don’t want him to come in here and ruin the surprise.”

“Oops!”

“Whoa!”

“Sorry!”

“Ugh!”

Try as they might, the two children kept making mistakes. They put their heart into in though, and they hoped it would be enough for their parents.

They were a mess by the time they were done. Wiping his face with his hoof he said, “Let’s go wash up. And then we should clean up the kitchen to make it look nicer."

While the two of them were in the bathroom Cup Cake came home. Hearing the sound of the door Carrot Cake came downstairs. The two of them glared at each other for a few seconds as their pride flared up, but then their faces softened. “I’m sorry I got so jealous,” said Carrot Cake. “I should have trusted you more.”

“And I’m sorry for being so nasty about it,” responded Cup Cake. “Having to care for the twins and the bakery doesn’t give us a whole lot of time to just have a nice night together. It can be exhausting to do nothing but work and be a caretaker.”

“I understand,” he responded, a tear coming to his eye. “I really do. I thought a lot about it while you were gone. You are more precious to me than anything, and I just want you to be happy. You deserve the best and to have some time for yourself.” Putting a hoof around her he gave her a peck on the lips.

She let out a little giggle. “I forgive you, my favorite stallion. You’re irreplaceable to me, too.”

As Pound and Pumpkin left the bathroom they heard the voices and the two of them began to panic. Although quiet, they could clearly make out the voices of their parents. “Oh, no!”

“Mom’s back!”

“This is bad!”

“Hurry! Before they start fighting again!”

The two of them ran through the kitchen, pushing open the swing doors. “Wait!” screamed Pound.

“Stop!” yelled Pumpkin.

Cup Cake and Carrot Cake looked toward their children. “Hello, you two,” said Cup Cake.

Pound ran up to Carrot Cake, while Pumpkin ran up to Cup Cake. “Close your eyes and don’t say anything!” said Pound.

“We have a surprise for you!” said Pumpkin.

The two looked at each other and shrugged, closing their eyes, letting their children drag them.

Pound gave a worried look to Pumpkin, whispering, “The kitchen is still a huge mess.”

Pumpkin winced. “Too late now,” she whispered back. “Maybe they’ll work together to yell at us at least.”

The two of them pushed open the swivel doors, and then they said, “Okay. You can open your eyes.”

As Cup Cake and Carrot Cake opened their eyes they both gasped. There was mushy food all over the floor, as well as broken dishes and silverware. “What is all this?” snapped Cup Cake. “THIS is the surprise?”

“I know! I know!” said Pound. “We promise we’ll clean it all up later. Can’t you just look at the table?”

Carrot Cake glanced over, and his eyebrow went up. There, on their kitchen table, were two plates of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and two bowls of cereal. Underneath it was a tablecloth with a bunch of baby animals that they had used when Pound and Pumpkin were babies, plastic cups with apple juice in them, some crumpled up napkins, and a set of a fork, spoon, and a knife arranged in a haphazard manner.

“What is all this?” asked Carrot Cake.

“Um… well… it’s a date.”

“Yeah,” Pumpkin said sheepishly. “We just want you two to have a good time together.”

Cup Cake walked up, picking up a drawing in the middle of the table leaning against a vase. “What’s this?” she asked, looking at a white blob with a red one up top.

Pumpkin looked awkwardly at the floor. “Well… we know you’re supposed to light candles for a fancy dinner, but you always tell us not to mess with fire. So, um… I just decided to draw a candle instead. I mean, I know it’s not as good as the real thing, but I did my best…” Pumpkins face was red hot as she blushed.

Pound sniffed, tears brimming his eyes. “We know! We stink at making things romantic, but each of us tried our hardest for you! B-because we heard you two arguing!”

Pumpkin sniffed too, also beginning to cry. “We just wanted to do something special so you won’t hate each other, and then you won’t get divorced and then I’ll never see Pound again!” Her eyes clenched tight as she grabbed Pound.

“We tried!” Pound said emotionally, before he grabbed onto his sister and broke down too.

Cup Cake and Carrot Cake both started to cry right along with their children. Each of them walked up and grabbed one of them, sitting down at the table. “Oh, Pumpkin… Pound,” said Cup Cake. “Where did you ever get the idea we were going to get divorced?”

“W-we heard you arguing!” responded Pound. “You were going out with a guy. And-and-and Dad said he was going to go out with a girl!”

“Listen to me, you two,” said Carrot Cake. “The two of us were both just angry. We’re a couple. We’re married. We fight just like the two of you fight with each other. But don’t you always forgive each other and become friends again with a little time? Your mother is the only one for me, and she always will be. Nobody can replace her. Right before the two of you burst in we had already made up.”

“R-really?” Pumpkin asked hopefully.

“Yes, sweetheart,” said Cup Cake, giving her daughter a hug. “Do you want to know the most important part of being a parent is?”

“What?” asked Pound.

“That your children always come first. Even if me and your father hated each other and wanted nothing to do with each other we would still stay together for your sake. We know how much the two of you love each other, and it would be wrong to force you to lose your twin because of our selfishness. It would be even more wrong to force you to choose between the two of us. We would never put you through that.”

“That’s right!” said Carrot Cake, giving Pound a kiss on the forehead. “We would never hurt you like that.

“Thank you, Pound… Pumpkin. Thank you for going through all this trouble to set up something special for us. Its true that we don’t often have time to spend together, just the two of us. I’d like to change that.”

“So you’re really okay?” asked Pumpkin. “You’re not mad at each other anymore?”

“No,” their parents replied in unison.

“Great!” said Pound happily, hopping off his dads lap. “Come on, Pumpkin.”

“Right!” she responded joyfully. “Enjoy your date. We promise to be super quiet so you can have a really special night together!”

The two of them ran off, hopping and skipping and cheering all the way until they got back to their room.

Cup Cake and Carrot Cake looked with some amusement at their “romantic” dinner. Lifting up her cup of juice Cup Cake said, “To our children.”

“To our children,” he replied, meeting her cup. “Messy peanut butter and jelly and a bowl of Oatio’s. Yummy.” Picking up Pumpkin’s drawing he asked with a laugh, “Would you like me to get a real candle?”

“No,” she responded, her eyes getting moist. “We already have two things that make our hearts burn brighter than a candle ever could.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” He put the picture back in the middle of the table, smiling warmly at it. “We certainly do.”

Author's Note:

Credit for this chapter idea goes to powerpony. Thanks, buddy.

Hey! Leave me YOUR ideas for the next tale of Pound and Pumpkin. I'll credit you if it becomes a chapter.

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