The Price of Failure

by Humanity

Chapter 11

Wakey wakey… Time to get up. Its time to bake some yummy goodies. Ugh, I felt so awful… Like I was a sack of gravel. Heh, rock jokes. I haven’t used one of those in a long time. Usually Maud is the one to make those.

What was wrong with me this morning? I just couldn’t get my mane and tail to look right. Wait… I know why. I just wish it didn’t happen… Why did it happen… I don’t even remember anymore… Wait… I do remember. But I wish I could forget.

I went downstairs into Sugarcube Corner’s storefront and bumped into Mr. Cake at the counter. He looked at me and tried to smile, but I think he stopped himself. “Hm? Oh, good morning, Pinkie. You feeling all right this morning?”

I told him everything that happened while me and my friends were away in Canterlot yesterday and the day before that. Only…there’s one friend missing in my circle of super special friends… “Good morning, Mr. Cake. Um… I think I’m feeling…a little better than yesterday?”

He looked me over for a few seconds. I guess he could see I wasn’t looking myself. “Are you sure you’re OK? If you want, you can take the day off. I know you’re probably still…upset.”

Figures. But I had to do something to make myself feel better and working in Sugarcube Corner puts a smile on my face. “No, it’s OK. I can work today. I’ll just go and punch in now. Is Mrs. Cake here?”

“All right, if you’re sure about that. And yes, she’s in the back checking inventory. You go ahead and punch in. I’ve got a list of things that need to be whipped up for the day. If you need help, just let us know.” He said before looking back under the front counter. I just went into the kitchen to get started.

Things went by OK at first. I made some cupcakes and muffins, even if I was kinda slow about it. “Three eggs, one teaspoon of vanilla… What else?” I kept almost getting my mane in the batter. I wish it would stop hanging so low, but I can’t do a thing about it.

I made a couple dozen trays of cupcakes. And then it was time for the chocolate drops. But after I baked the little round dough circles and topped one with a layer of chocolate… When did we even start making chocolate drops? Oh, right. The recipe came from where James… He’s the one who…

I don’t know what happened next. I just can’t remember. I can remember everything getting blurry and I heard a scream or wail. I think it came from me? When everything started to clear up, my face was wet. Those little dough circles were everywhere on the floor. My head hurt and my throat was sore. And Mrs. Cake was wiping me down with a little broom. I think I spilled some flour on me.

“Easy there, dearie. Are you OK now? No more crying?” She whispered to me quietly. I always loved her like a second mom. And she and Mr. Cake always look out for me.

I looked at the unfinished chocolate drops around me. They remind me of… I almost lost it again, but Mrs. Cake touched my shoulder while looking at me with that concerned motherly gaze of hers. “The drops… They… He… I can’t…” I couldn’t even talk. I… I just miss him so much…

Mrs. Cake shook her head and helped me stand up. “I know, Pinkie. I’m going to miss him too. He introduced some recipes that have become very popular since we started selling them. So soft-spoken and diligent with his work… But… I’m sorry, but I think you should take a few days off. You’re really in no condition to be working back here, dearie.”

I guess she was right. My head… So many thoughts and emotions. I felt so hurt, angry, sad, guilty… “OK, Mrs. Cake… I’ll just…go back upstairs… Sorry…”

I punched out and went back up to the loft. It was looking pretty sunny outside. It…really didn’t feel right. We had been getting a lot of rain lately. Why wasn’t it still raining?

It was so quiet up in my place. Maybe I would just go back to bed. But when I walked by my mirror… I saw myself. My coat was so dark. My mane and tail were smooth and straight. But it wasn’t my eyes playing tricks on me. It was how I really looked. My eyes… They didn’t have all that peppy energy they always do. It was like a part of me died inside…

“Why did this happen…?” I asked my reflection. I didn’t expect an answer. But I got one anyway.

“Oh, I dunno. Maybe you should ask yourself.” My reflection said back to me. At first, I thought I was the one who talked. But it wasn’t me. It was her…again.

I wasn’t going to listen to her, so I pulled a curtain over it. But I could still hear her. “Hey, I know you’re still out there! And I know what you were thinking! You felt really good when you saw him lying dead there. It felt awesome to know you did something that killed him. Way to go, killer.”

It was all a lie… I knew who she was. She is my doubt. Whenever I feel like I did something wrong. I mean really wrong… She stopped talking after that, but… She’s right. I did kill him. Maybe not directly, but… Wait…

Hang on. It’s coming back to me now. I know what happened. I Pinkie Promised… And nopony… NOPONY breaks a Pinkie Promise! Especially not Pinkie Pie! And we Pinkie Promised that we wouldn’t let Discord get to us again! So everything I heard and saw… It was all just an illusion! Something to mess with us!

I feel my mane and tail. They’re not being dragged down anymore. Nice and poofy! So yeah. We didn’t break that promise because we COULDN’T break it! Cross our hearts, hope to die, stick a cupcake in our eyes. That means…James is OK! And let’s see… Today’s a Monday. That means James should be coming into work in a little while. Well, now that I’m feeling better, I can get back to work. I’ll just stop here for now and finish this up when my shift ends. Oh, and I better feed Gummy before I head downstairs.

Well, everything went by OK today. Lots of sales, but the weird thing is James never showed up for work. I don’t think he’s ever had a sick day before. But I guess there’s a first time for everything. And whenever I asked if something was up with him, Mr. and Mrs. Cake kept giving me the weirdest looks.

I just wonder what was keeping him. I mean he’s showed up late, but he never missed a day. And I haven’t seen any of my other closest friends all day either. I wonder where they are. I can’t remember the last time I went through a whole day without seeing them. I’ll just have to fix that tomorrow! I’ll swing by the spa and say hi to James there and take a nice long soak in the hot tub. Maybe I’ll even see Rarity and Fluttershy there for their weekly spa visit.

Huh? What’s this feeling? I feel… My mane and tail are drooping… No, that’s a lie! That was all just a trick! Keep smiling, Pinkie! You know you would never break a Pinkie Promise! Everything’s OK. We stopped Discord again and we all came home. Everything’s fine! Just fine…

I really hate days where I don’t get to see my best friends. Now I feel just a little bit gloomy. Huh? Wait a minute. I got mail today. Almost forgot to open it. Let’s see… In loving memory? You are invited… Well, this is weird! Somepony’s playing a prank on me! James’ funeral? I don’t know what that’s all about, but I guess I’ll go. This Sunday? Hmm… I bet this is the Cutie Mark Crusaders doing something new. Maybe they asked James to help them see if their special talents are being undertakers?

Well, since they’re trying so hard, I guess I’ll go just to be a good sport! Now, time to get Gummy some dinner. He keeps chomping on my tail, so he must be really hungry.

Comments

[Dharkstaar]

And here I thought that only Scoots was floating along down that nice, long river. Guess Scoots will have a little company on that trip now.

[Humanity]

5065342 Hiro and Ruby. Lunar 2: Eternal Blue. Rare and valuable Playstation game. Engrossing and very long story, but too engrossing for me to ever go back to. Also limited replay value.

[Silentwoodfire]

Oh no....she did it again. This will not end well.