> Sprinkles on Top > by Rapplejack > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Ch0: Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sprinkles on Top Rapplejack ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Extra sprinkles with those please!" Pinkie Pie was visiting Canterlot with her five best friends to do a little Hearth's Warming Eve gift shopping for their friends back home. As the rest of the crew made their way towards the gift shops, Pinkie Pie decided to take a detour to a very famous sweet's shop in Canterlot: Joe's Doughtnut Shop. "And I would like 10.. No wait, make that 20... Wait... 100 of them!" "Pinkie, don't you think that's a bit too much?" Donut Joe said with a concerned expression. Pinkie Pie gave no response, as she was out of the door to catch up with her friends almost immediately. "Better get started, I guess..." He mumbled to himself as he started making batches of doughnuts for the eccentric mare. Donut Joe was a relatively laid back and nice stallion. His doughnut shop was famous around Canterlot, attracting many tourist ponies from other places on Equestria. Although many ponies come through and out his doors every day, Pinkie Pie was always his number one customer. Every time she would visit Canterlot, it seemed like she would order 10 times what a normal pony would order. I wonder how she always seems to finish all of these doughnuts by herself... Joe thought, scratching the back of his head with his hoof. He cranked the stove to medium and let it sit there, baking 20 doughnuts at a time. Sitting down to wait for the doughnuts to bake, he looked out at the snow-filled sky. It was only the mid-afternoon, yet a very dark shade of blue took over the sky. As each snowflake fell, he felt as though something was missing. What could it have been? He was content with his job, the amount of bits that were coming in, and the friendly ponies that lived in Canterlot. Thinking hard about what could have been missing, a voice from the other room interrupted his thoughts. "Excuse me, may I order some doughnuts?" He heard the voice say. "Yes! Of course, I'll be there in a second!" Joe said, getting out of his seat to fulfill the needs of the hungry ponies outside. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I would like the Glazed Donut with Whipped Cream please!" "I would like the Chocolate Filled Caramel Glazed Donut please!" "I would like a Bagel with Strawberry Jelly!" Donut Joe started to scramble around as he tried to fulfill all the needy ponies' orders. It always got busy this time of year, but with one of his ovens reserved solely for Pinkie Pie's gargantuan order, more ponies had to wait impatiently for their donuts to be ready. He kept running to the kitchen and back out to the cashier to multitask as much as he could. "A cup of hot coffee please!" A cold looking mare said, trying to push her way through the crowd of eager ponies. "You got it!" Joe exclaimed, running to the coffee machine and started to add coffee beans into it. As he was doing so, he saw smoke coming out of one of the doughnut machines from the corner of his eye. "AHH!" Joe yelled, running to turn off the machine. "Where's my doughnuts!" "Where's my coffee, it's freezing out here!" All he could do was endure the complaints of the customers and simply apologize every two seconds. "I'm sorry, it'll be up in a second!" Joe lied, not knowing if he could handle all of these ponies at once. It was exceptionally busy tonight; letting the cashier that usually worked here take the day off was a mistake that he was regretting. Oh Celestia, somepony help me! Joe pleaded as he fixed the machine. Like a hero from a children's book, Pinkie Pie jumped through the crowd and into the kitchen where Joe was having trouble keeping his balance. "Did somepony call for help?" Pinkie Pie said with a smile, already operating the machinery. Joe stared blankly at Pinkie Pie as she worked as fast as lightning, operating 2 machines at the same time. "How do you know how to operate the doughnut machines?" Joe questioned, taking a moment to catch his breath. He chose to ask questions like where she came from and what she was doing here later. "I see you do it all the time, it's pretty easy if you ask me!" Pinkie Pie said as she continued to control the machines. "Shouldn't you be at the front taking orders? I got everything handled back here!" "R-right!" Joe stuttered, making his way towards the growing crowd of cold ponies. "Make an orderly line so I can take your orders one at a time!" The ponies slowly formed a line, if you could call it one. Joe smiled as he got his shop under control again. He glanced back at Pinkie Pie who was working the machinery like she was born to do it. She never seemed like a reliable pony to him; seeing her work made Joe feel... What exactly did Joe feel? He couldn't think too hard about it, the pony in the front of the line began ordering immediately. "I would like one hot coffee and the Vanilla Cream Doughnut with Strawberries." The stallion said, putting down the appropriate number of bits to pay for the meal. Joe gave a friendly nod, punching the order into the register and watching Pinkie Pie fulfill it in record time. The stallion took his ticket and went to the back of the shop to await his order. Joe smiled; with Pinkie Pie's help, he could definitely pull this off. A new found confidence emerged as Joe confidently said, "Next!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~ After Joe finished the last of the orders, he immediately collapsed. "This day has just been crazy..." He mumbled, making his way towards the kitchen. Much to his surprise, Pinkie Pie was fast asleep on the floor. "C-chocolate donut? Okay..." She yawned, still asleep. Joe smiled, it wasn't everyday you could see some pony like Pinkie Pie in such a tired, vulnerable state. "Good work Pinkie," Joe began to say, lifting her up and taking her to his guest room upstairs, "You deserve a good night's rest." Joe made a mental note to thank her tomorrow for helping him on literally no notice at all. I should probably finish up on Pinkie's order now... Joe thought, tucking the sleeping pony to bed. Before he left, he took a moment to look at Pinkie Pie. Joe was surprised; usually he couldn't tell because she was bouncing everywhere while she was awake, but she was surprisingly beautiful. He had never seen her in this kind of light; as a mare that is actually beautiful. Before he could react, he felt his cheeks flush. Maybe... I could watch over her a few more minutes, then get started on her order... Joe wistfully thought. He just couldn't get his eyes off the pink mare for some reason. "Extra Sp...rinkles..." Pinkie Pie said, turning over in her sleep. Joe sighed and gave her a weak smile. "Alright, alright." Joe said, moving away from the bed. He turned off the lights and softly shut the door. He made his way downstairs and into the kitchen, where half of Pinkie Pie's order laid. "50 more to go, huh..." Joe whispered to himself, not able to wipe the smile off his face. Donut Joe wasn't dense, but he wasn't irrational either. He was the type of pony to know if he fell in love or not, so why was he being so indecisive? I'm not... Am I? He thought, trying to get Pinkie Pie off of his mind. I can't be in love with that crazy mare, can I? He turned on the oven and started baking a new batch of fresh doughnuts for Pinkie Pie. He looked out the window as the dough was baking in the oven. It was pitch black out; the only light source coming from the street lights. The snowflakes continued to fall softly onto the blanket of snow below. He noticed something as the snowflakes fell; there wasn't anything missing. The anxiety he felt earlier was totally gone, like a snowflake that melted before it could reach the rest of the snow on the ground. He decided that it was better not to think about it and let things go the way they were intended to. He started to decorate the naked doughnuts with icing and toppings. Pinkie Pie's fluffy mane and soft expression never left his mind the entire night. "Extra Sprinkles, huh..." > Ch1: Vanilla Icing > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sprinkles on Top Rapplejack ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The sound of mares entering his store woke Donut Joe from his slumber. He had fallen asleep on the counter while baking Pinkie Pie's order the previous night. He quickly wiped the drool from his mouth and tidied his mane up. As he opened the door, he was met with a familiar group of ponies. "Mornin' Princess Twilight, what can I do for you?" Joe yawned, stretching his hooves out in front of him. "Good Morning Donut Joe. By any chance have you seen Pinkie Pie? She was with us last night, but then she just suddenly disappeared; we've been searching everywhere for her!" Twilight exclaimed as the other mares behind her gave nods of agreement. For a second, Joe had totally forgotten that Pinkie Pie was sleeping just upstairs. Without warning, Pinkie Pie popped up from behind Twilight with a playful smile. "Morning Twilight! Morning Rainbow Dash! Morning Rarity! Morning Fluttershy! Morning Applejack! Morning Joe!" Pinkie Pie breathed, jumping up and down. Everypony started to laugh as Pinkie Pie continued to hop around the shop. "Pinkie, we've been lookin' everywhere for ya. Where did ya run off to?" Applejack asked. Pinkie Pie stopped jumping for a second and took a moment to think. "Oh, I was just looking around in other shops all night! You know how much stuff Gummy needs!" Pinkie Pie finally said, giving them a cheerful smile. Joe was confused as he listened to Pinkie Pie's response. Why didn't she tell them the truth? Joe thought, curious as to why Pinkie Pie chose to lie to her best friends. Joe started to critical think; after all, he was pretty keen at figuring things out. "Well, it's good that you're safe..." Fluttershy whispered, giving a weak smile towards the once again bouncing Pinkie Pie. Joe stared at the floor tiles hard, thinking as much as he could. Is it possible... Is it possible that she likes me?! Joe concluded as his eyes shot wide open. He refocused his gaze towards the pink mare who was jumping around his shop. A blush crept along his face as slideshows of their wedding, their first foal, and many other events formed in his mind. The group of mares almost made their way out the shop unnoticed until Joe snapped out of his fantasy. "W-wait!" Joe interrupted, gaining looks on confusion from the group. "Uh, Pinkie, your order is ready!" Joe stuttered, trying to avoid eye contact with the pink mare. "Oh! I almost forgot!" Pinkie Pie said," You girls go on ahead and meet me at the train station!" Pinkie said as she hopped into the backroom, not waiting for a reply. Joe bid them all farewell as he followed Pinkie Pie into the back room. "S-so, Pinkie..." Joe started to say, " Is there any reason why you told them a lie earlier?" Joe took no time with small talk and went straight towards the point. He expected to see Pinkie Pie's face redden like in all those romance shows he watched, but all he got was a reply like any other. "Oh, I just didn't want them to think I liked you or anything, cause I don't and I don't like misunderstandings and I'm not the Element of Harmony like Applejack is but I read this theory on the My Little Pony Wiki Page that Applejack's element should be switched with Rainbo-" Pinkie breathed. She got interrupted by a look of distraught on Joe's face. In just a matter of seconds, the fantasies of them being together shattered in Joe's mind. He hadn't even confessed and he was already rejected! He clenched his face so he could avoid showing any emotion to Pinkie Pie. He realized he must have looked pretty stupid, so he quickly tried to switch topics and get this out of his mind.. "So Pinkie, are these doughnuts made how you wanted?" Joe choked, trying his best not to shed manly stallion tears. Pinkie Pie looked through the boxes thoroughly, as if her life depended on it. Joe knew he shouldn't have assumed something like that so quickly. While he was fantasizing earlier, he felt those hibernating feelings towards the pink mare suddenly burst out. Joe never felt a connection between Pinkie Pie and himself in this manner before; he only saw her as a friend and customer. Maybe he just never noticed how beautiful she was; maybe he was too busy worrying about his business rather than finding a special somepony. The thoughts swarmed Joe's mind like a fierce pestilence. I should've realized my feelings earlier.. Maybe her opinion of me would've changed... "Joe, you feeling okey dokey lokey?" Pinkie Pie asked, interrupting his dreadful thoughts. Joe's head shot up, only to be greeted with Pinkie Pie's extremely close-for-comfort face. "Wh-!" Joe said, jumping backwards. Pinkie Pie tilted her head in confusion as Joe stumbled for words. "I-I'm fine, Pinkie." Joe lied, giving her a convincing smile. Buying his lie, Pinkie Pie's confused face turned back into a cheerful one. "Okay!" Pinkie said. Without warning, she then proceeded to shove doughnuts one by one into her mouth. "What are you doing!?" Joe exclaimed," Weren't you going to save those till you got back?" "Whyth inth Equestwiath wouldth I do that?" Pinkie said, her mouth stuffed full of doughnuts. Joe shook his head; Pinkie Pie's actions were always questioned by everypony anyways, so he chose to ignore it this time. He couldn't help but smile at the quickly ended crush he had on Pinkie Pie. It almost seemed ridiculous to Joe now that he thought about it. He knew it couldn't have been true love; after all, it ended so quickly. He felt no trace of any feelings towards Pinkie Pie now. Pinkie swallowed hard as she finished the last of her order. "Those were great, Joe! I'm so glad you remembered the extra sprinkles because I love sprinkles more than anything! Can you imagine life without sprinkles, cause I know I sure can't!" Pinkie Pie breathed. "I guess I couldn't." Joe agreed, smiling at the ecstatic mare. He felt calmer, as if he was never in love with Pinkie Pie. After thinking about it, he knew it would never work out; the distance and the rare visits would be a major problem if they ended up together. He silently thanked himself that his feelings were only temporary, for he wouldn't know what to do if that situation were to occur. He decided he would spoil himself and grabbed a doughnut off the counter, a chocolate base with vanilla icing. Joe took a large bite as he watched Pinkie Pie ready her saddle to regroup with her friends. "Well, it was really fun seeing you again Joe! Next time I'll order 10... No.. 20... No, 30 times as many!!" Pinkie decided, happily hopping up and down once again. "Haha, I really don't think that's possible, Pinkie." Joe laughed, finishing the rest of his doughnut. "It was nice seeing you as well." Joe finished, giving her a wave goodbye as she started heading towards the door. Pinkie Pie stopped as she was opening the door and turned around, staring at Joe. Eye contact. He felt a nervous tingle in his stomach as Pinkie Pie slowly re approached Joe. "What's the matter, Pi-" Standing on the tips of her hooves to match Joe's height, Pinkie Pie licked the corner of Joe's lips, where some vanilla icing had managed to escape. Joe felt his heart stop as his cheeked burned a deep scarlet. "Wh-!" Joe exclaimed, backing away as he felt his heart thumping against his chest. He saw Pinkie Pie look down and blush. "See you next time..." Pinkie Pie whispered as she quickly fled the scene. Joe's face was still a deep red as he stood motionless in the middle of his shop. W-What just happened... Joe thought. He thought that he was dreaming, but the hint of saliva from Pinkie Pie's tongue reminded him otherwise. He put a hoof to his head as the feelings he thought had vanished, reappeared in record time. Whatever Pinkie Pie was thinking, Joe had no clue. Her actions were like an unsolvable paradox, always contradicting itself. Joe was left confused and infatuated. He didn't know what Pinkie Pie was thinking, but he knew one thing. He was in love.