Ignorance is Bliss...

by TheUnknownPerson

VI: Cracking

Author's Note:

Hello. Thank you for your patience on this chapter. I apologize if this chapter isn't as well-written as the other one. One reason is because of a personal event in my life that has no business being here. I tried to write afterwords, but I couldn't get it out early enough on Saturday. Also, I'd like to thank you for sticking along so far in the story. And there may be a possible sequel to this . I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but whatever. Now, onto the story!
{P.S: I left a hint about the possible sequel in this chapter. Just thought you all should know that )

"Hello Mrs. Cake. I'm back from the party." Pinkie said as she entered Sugarcube Corner.

"Oh, hello Pinkie! How was it?" Mrs. Cake asked as she picked up a cup of frosting and a small, dull-bladed knife. Pinkie stared at the knife, a little bit scared of it. She knew that she was just using it to spread the frosting, but it still didn't help.

Super-duper-fun until that dream.

"It was okay. We played Truth or Dare and watched a scary movie." Pinkie said as she walked into the kitchen and sat the plate in the sink.

Mrs. Cake gave her a strange look at first, but then shook her head and continued to frost the cupcakes.

"Well, I'm going to start my work here." Pinkie said as she grabbed some cake mix from a cabinet.

"Actually Pinkie, would you watch the kids after you finish this shift? Me and Carrot will watch the shop for the rest of the day." Mrs. Cake said.

"Of course, Mrs. Cake." Pinkie said in agreement.

At least that'll distract me for awhile.

"Thank you, dear. Now, lets get back to work." Mrs. Cake said as she finished frosting the cupcakes and put them into a display case.

=================

Pinkie finished frosting the last batch of cupcakes for her shift. She then put them on a plate and left them on the counter at the entrance and then proceeded to trot back to the kitchen.

Who do I tell?

"Mr. Cake, I finished the last of the cupcakes." Pinkie said as she entered the kitchen again.

"Thank you Pinkie. Now, please go and watch the foals."

"Okay. Bye." Pinkie said as she walked towards out of the kitchen and up the stairs towards the Cake Twins' room.

Pinkie opened the door to the Twins' room. Immediately, she was greeted with a barrage of two foals jumping on her. Pound and Pumpkin laughed as they landed onto her.

"Hey you two!" Pinkie said, almost forgetting about the whole ordeal she was in. Almost.

As Pinkie looked down at Pumpkin Cake, she saw herself as a filly, tears rolling down her muzzle, hair deflated, and wings missing from her back. Her eyes were filled with grief and pain.

Pinkie jolted up, forgetting about Pound and Pumpkin for a moment, and rushed behind the door.

"Pinkie?"

Pinkie shivered from behind the door for a couple of seconds.

It's not real Pinkie. Calm down. It's just Pound and Pumpkin. Push it out of your mind...

Pinkie took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the door. She looked at two foals. They were both had a look of concern across their faces. She tried her best to not look scared in front of them.

"It's all right, you two. I was just playing..."-Pinkie tried to think of a game- "hide and seek! Yeah, that's what I was playing!" Pinkie said as she trotted to the foals.

The twins looked at each other for a moment and then looked back at Pinkie, who had a nervous smile across her face. They shrugged it off and began to go back to their usual mischief.

Pinkie sighed, relieved that she had fooled them for right now.

That was too close. And waayyy too freaky. I honestly should go tell one of the girls before this gets worse.

Pinkie looked over Pumpkin and Pound. Pumpkin had lifted up their toy box and Pound flew up to it and was taking out almost all the toys in the treasure chest box.

After I'm finished babysitting them, of course. They don't need to be worried by this.

=================

Mrs. Cake frosted one of the last cinnamon-swirl cakes for the day. The day hadn't been a very busy one, but it was certainly a strange one. There was little to no customers compared to yesterday.

"Hello Cup. I'm back with the stuff you asked me to get." Mr. Cake said as he sat a couple of bags of sugar and eggs.

"Hello. Thank you." Mrs. Cake said as she trotted over to him.

"Well, I'm going to finish up some cupcakes." Mr. Cake said as he turned and began to trot off.

Mrs. Cake grabbed him by the hoof and turned him towards her.

"I need to ask you something." Mrs. Cake said, looking directly into his eyes.

"Um... sure, Cup." he said in response.

"Does Pinkie seem a little bit... off today?"

"Now that you mention it, she seems a little less peppy."

"We should ask her what's wrong when she gets finished babysitting."

"Maybe something happened at that party. I swear, if those girls or someone did something to make Pinkie like this..." Mr. Cake said, balling up his hooves.

"Calm down. Those mares wouldn't hurt Pinkie for the World." Mrs. Cake said, gently grabbing one of his hooves.

Mr. Cake sighed and softened his hooves.

"I'm sorry, dear. It's just... you know. We've known her for so long. It's like she's our daughter."

"I know dear. I feel the same." Mrs. Cake said before she hugged Mr. Cake.

She let go a couple seconds later.

"Well, I'll let you get back to it."

"Yes, dear."

=================

Pinkie heaved as she leaned against Pumpkin's crib. She had just managed to get them to sleep.

Finally... now I can rest...

Pinkie took a minute or two to rest. They had really worked her out.

Before she could get that rest, there was a knock at the Twins' door. Then a whisper.

"Pinkie, are you still in here dearie?"

"Yes Mrs. Cake. I just put them into their cribs." Pinkie whispered back.

"Come downstairs. Me and Carrot needs to talk to you." Mrs. Cake whisper-yelled in response.

Uh oh. Do they know? I don't want to worry them with this!

"Um... y-yes Mrs. Cake." Pinkie whispered in response.

She heard quiet hoofsteps going down the hallway and creaking of a wooden staircase. Pinkie reluctantly followed behind, trying not to wake up the foals.

=================

Fluttershy had sat down on her living room couch. She had done everything around the house that needed to be done; she had fed the animals, swept the kitchen, fixed a bird's broken wings, got some fruits and vegetables from the market, and knitted Angel Bunny a small sweater for Winter(which he proceeded to throw under his small bed).

Fluttershy closed her eyes. She had almost fell asleep until she felt a small gust of wind hit one of her back-hooves. Fluttershy opened her eyes and was greeted with a small, white bunny.

"Hello, Angel. Anything I can do for you?"

Angel Bunny shook his head and grabbed her hoof and pulled her off the couch. He then lead her towards the kitchen.

"Are you hungry?"

Angel continued to lead her towards the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He then opened the bottom drawer where she kept the vegetables. Everything was there the way she had arranged it earlier in the day; celery at the side, broccoli in the middle, and lettuce at the right. There was just one thing out of place.

There were no carrots.

"Angel. What did I tell you about eating so many carrots in one day?" Fluttershy said in a motherly tone.

Angel looked down at the ground with a guilty stare. Fluttershy nuzzled him and then said, "Its alright. We can go back up to the market and by some more. But I'm not letting you have more than three for dinner."

Angel protested about only three carrots for dinner. Fluttershy gave him the stare. At that moment, Angel reluctantly hopped onto Fluttershy's back. She trotted to her bedroom and pulled out a small pouch with a couple of bits in it.

"Should be enough..." Fluttershy said as she trotted out of her bedroom and out of the cottage. She then started to head towards the market.

=================

Pinkie pulled up a chair and sat down at the kitchen counter.

I really hope they don't ask me about last night. I don't want to even think about it!

Mr. and Mrs. Cake sat down at the opposite side of the counter. They looked directly at her.

Silence ruled over the room for a couple of seconds. Finally, Mr. Cake spoke up.

"Pinkie, are you alright? You seem distant."

"Yes sir. Everything ok." Pinkie said, her voice missing her usual upbeat tone.

"Really? You're not acting like your usual self."

Pinkie tapped her hoof nervously on the ground.

"It's nothing. Really."

"But that's the thing, dearie. It's something."

Tell them.

Pinkie did no such thing. She just sat there, staring at the counter.

"Pinkie?"

Pinkie felt tears come to her eyes as she recalled the horrific events that she had seen.

"Pinkie Pie? Please tell us what's wrong."

Pinkie wiped her eyes.

"I..." Pinkie trailed. Every fiber of her body willing her to tell them.

"I need to go outside for awhile!" Pinkie said as she jumped out of her seat and rushed out off Sugarcube Corner.

"Pinkie! Where are you going?" Mrs. Cake said as she went after her. Mr. Cake wasn't far behind.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake rushed to the door, but by the time they got to the door, Pinkie was long gone.

"Oh no... should we call somepony?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen Pinkie like this since that time her friend Rainbow Dash told her about that, 'Headless Horse' thing." Mrs. Cake said as she leaned outside of the door to look for Pinkie.

"If she isn't back by dusk, then we'll go look for her." Mr. Cake said.

"All right. I'm still worried about her though..." Mrs. Cake said.

"Me too dear; me too..." Mr. Cake said as he looked at the near-setting sun.

=================

"Alright, Angel. Be patient. We're almost to Applejack's stand." Fluttershy said as Angel impatiently tapped his leg on her back.

Fluttershy walked through the Farmers' Market, searching for Applejack's stand. After 10 minutes of searching. she finally found the Apple's stand. As she walked up to it, she was greeted with a deep voice.

"Howdy."

"Oh... h-hello Big Macintosh. H-how are you?"

Big Macintosh looked at her in his usual stoic manner.

"O-ok well... c-could I have some of those carrots? I-I have the bits to pay for them." Fluttershy said in a quiet manner.

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh said as he reached over and a hoof-full of them.

"Oh, t-thank you. Um..." Fluttershy said in her trademark whisper. She put the bits on the counter and Angel Bunny grabbed them out of Macintosh's hoof. Fluttershy once again thanked him and turned to leave. But before she could move, she was greeted with pink-colored pony, rushing through the seemingly endless crowds at the farmers market. The way that Pinkie ran seemed frightened. Frantic even.

"Pinkie?!" Fluttershy said, caught off-guard by her.

I've got to go check on her.

Fluttershy decided to follow Pinkie in a calmer manner.

=================

Pinkie was running from her problems. She couldn't stand the fact that her family had done that to her. Especially Maud. At first, she tried to forget it, but thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Cakes' questions and her mind messing with her by making Pound look like Pinky, she was now on the brink of a breakdown.

.Why would they do that to me? Why would mom, dad, hay! Why would anyone?!

Tears were leaking out of her eyes. She kept muttering to herself, "Why?"

Her whole world around her family was beginning to crumble. She just couldn't believe it.

She felt something tug at her tail. Pinkie bucked back, She felt a force hit the ground with a small, "Ow."

Pinkie finally stopped and looked back. Her vision was clouded by the tears, but she could vaguely make out a small, yellow figure on the ground. She then heard a small snivel. Pinkie wiped her eyes and looked down at Fluttershy, lying on the ground, blood oozing out of her snout

"P-pinkie?"

Pinkie trotted over to Fluttershy.

"I'm sorry Fluttershy. I was just... distracted." Pinkie said as she helped Fluttershy up.

"It's okay, Pinkie." Fluttershy said as she held her snout.

Pinkie felt small, pushing on one of her back hooves. She looked back and saw Angel Bunny punching her. Pinkie gently gently pushed him back.

"What were you doing running through the Farmers' Market? I mean, if you don't mind me asking of course." Fluttershy asked, her voice nasally since she was holding her slowly-bleeding nose.

"Oh, I was..." -Pinkie stopped for a moment to think of an excuse- "I was trying to find something for Mrs. Cake." Pinkie finished.

Just don't think about it... just don't think about it.

"A-are you sure?"

Pinkie once again felt the familiar pushing on her back-hooves. That's when she snapped. She bucked back at Angel Bunny as hard as she could, sending him careening into a nearby bush.

"Pinkie!" Fluttershy scolded.

"What!? What do you want?! Why can't everypony leave me alone!?" Pinkie scolded back at Fluttershy in a harsher tone.

Fluttershy stepped back, scared.

"You have no idea what I've been through over the last day! I've seen stuff that would make Shining Armor faint!" Pinkie said, now in Fluttershy's face, nearly touching her snout..

"I saw my own sister-!" Pinkie stopped herself, seeing that Fluttershy was on the verge of tears.

Pinkie angrily sighed and stomped her hoof on the ground.

"P-pinkie?" Fluttershy said in a whisper.

"What..." Pinkie said, still annoyed.

"I-I'm sorry. I'll... I'll grab Angel and-" Fluttershy sniveled quietly as she trotted over to the bush Angel was in. "And go." She finished, picking up Angel and putting him on her back.

"B-bye Pinkie." Fluttershy said in a scared voice.

"Fluttershy, wait..." Pinkie said remorsefully, extending her left fore-hoof. Fluttershy kept trotting.

Pinkie, filled with remorse and regret, trotted to Sugarcube Corner.

=================

Comments

[rogueunicorn]

Is this the last chapter? It seems like you said it was in the A/N, but the story is still marked as incomplete.

[TheUnknownPerson]

5800639 Nope. There'll probably be another 2 to 3 chapters.

[Honeypelt945]

I can't believe Pinkie hurt Fluttershy and Angel?! I know she's upset about what her family did to her, but hurting your friends is a big no-no!

Btw, I found a few mistakes:

Once again you said hands not hooves.

Pound Cake is a colt, not a filly.

I know you said this chapter wasn't going to be as well-written as the last one, but I just had to point out those errors.

[TheUnknownPerson]

5804367 Yep. Pinkie's mentally unstable at this point. Haunted by the nightmare and her friends constant worrying is just making her think of it instead of forgetting it.

I fixed the problem with the hand thing, but I think I called Pound Cake a filly when he was Pinky(to the older Pinkie at least). Regardless, thanks for pointing those out.

[Clocklike]

Haven't read the rest, just popped open a chapter. Three things:

1. Putting author notes in the middle of your story is a bad move. There's a reason why it's never done, and that's because of the most important part of any story; creating immersion. This suddenly sucks you out of the story, and makes you realize "oh yeah, this is just a fanfic". You must find a way to describe your thoughts implicitly, or not do it at all.

2. Interesting usage of colors, and actually pretty effective. It works well, but not for all characters; some don't have a main character (like light blue, that's more Rainbow IMO), but most do so whatever. I was confused at first, thinking it meant that Pinkie was having auditory hallucinations or something.

3. Show, don't tell. That's the 101 for any writer, and is one of the most important habits to have. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look it up; it's that important. At least keep that in mind for future writings.

[Drifting Heart]

5804367
Angel is a jackass we dont like him remember?

[TheUnknownPerson]

6106763 Don't worry. He becomes a jackass in the sequel(where Fluttershy is seen more so I have more of a chance to actually make him act like one).