Chapter 1
“Closing up!” Carrot Cake announced to the empty streets outside, half-expecting a complain as he pulled the doors to Sugarcube Corner shut, echoing with a vigorous roar as it slammed closed, much to his dismay.
“Carrot!” someone shouted harshly from above. “How many times have I told you to be careful with the door?! You are gonna wake the twins!”
“S-Sorry Honey bun!” Carrot shouted an apology, clearly for naught, his voice now drowned by infant cries. "As if the day hadn't been hard enough already," with a sigh, he returned to his tasks, remaining diligent and focused on what he had to do. He hoped to finish quick, ready for the work day to be over, giving him the free time he so desired.
“There!” Carrot finally said satisfied, putting the last of the dishes away. He wasted no more time, haphazardly tossing his apron off, and making his way upstairs. He followed the floor down the hall, only stopping near the door of his open room where his wife and kids slept peacefully inside, bringing a smile to his stoic face. “Aww, they look so— no! What are you doing?”
He moved on without another word, the darkness of the night now surrounding him as he continued further, keeping his sights on the door at the very end of the hall.
He arrived, and knocked three times. The door opened.
“I’m here,” he announced with the same goofy grin that was never missing in his nightly ritual. He felt his heart beat faster as the usual sweet smells invaded his senses, but nothing compared to the feeling that was brought up by the pink pony that sat in the nearby bed, giving him a very comforting smile.
“Hiya Mr. Cake,” answered one Pinkie Pie, patting the empty spot besides her, edging him closer with inviting eyes.
Carrot's grin faltered, replaced with a frown. “I'm sure I told you this before, but you don’t have to call me that when we are alone, Pinkie,” he sighed disappointed.
“This bed is really comfy,” Pinkie continued, ignoring his comment. “Coming?”
Carrot accepted the invitation without delay, taking a seat next to Pinkie. He proceeded to do nothing more but stare into her eyes, sitting together like statues looking into the depths of each other’s thoughts, as if sharing details that no one outside could possibly understand.
Without warning, Carrot felt a soft push, and saw Pinkie’s hoof before he fell down onto the bed, followed by Pinkie’s quiet snort. “Sorry! Just couldn’t resist! You are always so silent when you come in that I just had to!”
“I-It’s alright, Pinkie,” Carrot laughed amused. “I had that com- whoa!” he suddenly yelped, noticing a small cupcake that stood suddenly near his nose.
“Ta-da! As one very convenient apology, happy three month anniversary!” Pinkie said, grinning ear to ear while still holding the pastry. Carrot took notice of all the small details it bore, the multiple layers of frosting on top of even more frosting, equally adorned with hearts and balloon shapes forming a neat circle around it and making it a specially sugary treat. Over the multiple toppings, Carrot managed to read a carefully, albeit, misshapen ‘love you’ written with the slightest hints of icing. “You should totally grab it soon, by the way! My hooves are getting all tingly.”
“Thank you,” he smiled warmly, taking it off her hooves. Three months Carrot thought, putting the cupcake aside and shifting his focus in Pinkie once more. It hadn’t been that long since they had become an item, yet, he felt as if years had passed since then.
Then again, I did tell her about it a year before, didn’t I?
“Sugarplum, please,” Carrot sighed, turning his away from her and towards the giant cake they had prepared. It wasn’t particularly made, but its size was nothing to scoff at. “Are you sure that it’s a good idea I go alone?”
“Trust me Carrot, I would tag along, but with the kids as sick as they are, and with Pinkie being indisposed, I couldn’t really leave them with somepony else,” Cup Cake continued irritated. “And sorry to say this, but you aren’t that great at taking care of them solo. Besides, I know you can at least deliver the cake, right?”
Here we go again. “O-Of course! I’ll take care of it, you can count on me!” Carrot stated, puffing out his chest with faux pride.
“Great. Now get going. This is our first royal delivery to Canterlot! We can’t mess this up,” Cup Cake hurried him on. “Oh, and be sure to deliver it to the right pony! Wouldn’t want us to get more complaints like the time you gave it to that buffalo in Appleloosa.”
“Of course, dear, we wouldn’t want that,” Carrot groaned. “Well, wish me luck.”
The next few hours passed in a blur, with Carrot’s constant focus on the cake impeding any sightseeing. He wasn’t particularly upset about it, however; if there was something he could always pride himself in, it was his dedication to a job well done, at least until reaching the final stop for Canterlot.
It had been seconds after he had gotten off the train before someone got his attention: a shrill voice calling his name, one that he was familiar with, having heard it often working together with its owner: “Heya Mr. Cake!” he turned to meet his longtime friend Pinkie Pie, whose effortlessly bouncy mane skipped towards Carrot with her equally effortless smile.
He returned her a smile of his own, pleasantly surprised to see someone he actually cared about greeting him. “Hiya Pi—,” he stopped short, looking at a piece of wood she held. “Pinkie Pie? What’s that?”
“It’s you!” she answered without hesitation, turning the piece of wood over and looking at it carefully for a moment before turning it back around. “I think it is? Maybe it’s the mailpony. I don’t know! Your hats are very similar!” she shrugged, tossing the wood away. “Well, what are we waiting for? A castle awaits us!”
It didn’t take long after for them to come across a multitude of different ponies passing them in their trip. Carrot was entranced by not just the bigger crowds, but by the ponies dressed in lavish clothes that he had only come across in things like magazines. He felt a tinge of inadequacy as he turned to look at his own attire, ashamed he hadn’t dressed for the occasion.
“Oh, stop it, you! You look great!” Pinkie said after hearing his worries. “Besides, you can’t feel bad! This cake is like a million suits! It’s like you are wearing a reaaaaaaaally huge bowtie! So don’t let anypony tell you otherwise!”
Carrot smiled. “Thanks Pinkie, that actually makes me feel a lot better.”
“And if nothing works, you can always go in your birthday suit! I always do!”
“Right…” he stared at Pinkie thoughtful, one question in his mind. “Pinkie, I was wonderin-”
“Yeeeesss?” Pinkie asked, pushing her face onto a shocked Carrot’s.
“I was just wondering what you were all doing here!” he said quickly. “I mean, not that it’s bad or anything, I was just curious. You girls seem to be coming to Canterlot more often nowadays.”
“Well,” Pinkie looked around quickly, as if watching out for potential listeners. “The thing is that sometimes, we do talks with somepony who just asks us so many questions! It happens every week too! And I know Twilight always says this is a good experience for us but it gets reallyreallyreallyREALLY boring really fast! So I sometimes come up with plans to leave early!”
“Um… is that a good thing to do?” Carrot asked tentatively. “I appreciate the business this time around, but is it right?”
“It’s totally fine!” Pinkie answered nonchalantly. “Besides, I always do things that benefit everypony, so it totally balances out!”
“I don’t think that’s the point,” Carrot chortled, shaking his head amused at her negligence. Still, I guess sometimes I forget you are actually a huge deal, huh, Pinkie?
Canterlot Castle soon came into view, clearly towering over every building around much like its ruler does. Despite any attempts at ignoring it, Carrot was unable to hide his unease, looking every which way as they entered the building, walking through the various halls with aconstant fear of being thrown out for trespassing.
“Here we go!” Pinkie abruptly announced, pointing to one of the many doors around them. “At least I think it is…” opening it, Carrot was exposed to a giant space that at glance, was likely big enough to fit five hundred ponies with room to spare. “Yay! First try!”
“Whoa,” Carrot noted in amazement, looking at the ceiling over them likely large enough to fit an even bigger cake. “Right, um, where do you want me to leave the ca— oh,” he quickly caught on, staring at a pair of tables set up near the middle of the area, almost as a room of its own.
"The cake looks delicious! The girls are totally gonna love it!" Pinkie cheered, trying to stealthily steal a bite out of the cake, only to fail miserably when Carrot noticed her.
"You do know you ordered the cake, right," he laughed as he looked around the room. “You know, this place is even bigger than I imagined. What’s the rest of the space for?”
“Dancing! Duh, Mr. Cake!” Pinkie knowingly explained, jumping around the spacious area, letting her boundless energy carry her around without effort. “Don’t you think it’s great?” she asked, stopping right next to him with an expecting look.
“Y-Yeah!” he answered quickly, noticing Pinkie’s very close face, forcing him to look away. She does this every time! And I end up embarrassed regardless!
“Whatchu’ looking at?” Pinkie continued asking, pushing her face right against his increasingly reddish one.
“A-Ah,” he gasped, racking his brain for thoughts. “G-Goodness! Isn’t this place a bit too empty? Ahahaha…”
“You. Are. Right! We need some decorations!” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly, reaching for her mane and promptly taking out numerous party. “See? You are already helping more! Those snobby ponies have nothing on you!”
“Thanks! I-I suppose,” Carrot laughed, unable to help himself to a smile of his own as he watched Pinkie Pie start off with decorations without delay. “Well, that’s my cue, then! My work here is done! I'm sure you can bring the dishes with you back home, so I’ll be heading ou—“
“You can’t go!” Pinkie jumped in front of him, looking clearly unhappy. “You are here, and my friends will be here, so you can’t miss the party! You brought the cake and all!”
“Pinkie, it’s my job. Besides, I can’t stay. I need to go back for the kids. If I don't, then my wife woul-” he stopped short, feeling a wave of dread and anger wash over him at the mere thought of returning home to Cup Cake. Wait, why am I thinking like this? That’s not very nice of me.
“Mr. Cake? Helloooo?”
“Sorry! Got a little lost in my thoughts,” he apologized, laughing uncomfortably. “B-But you know what?” he continued hesitantly. “I’m sure the kids will be okay without me for one day, and honestly, I don’t think Cup Cake will mind too much. I’m sure it’ll be okay.”
"You sure? You mentioned the twins were sick!" Pinkie asked concerned. "Are they alright?"
"It's nothing major!" Carrot quickly waved off, feeling a pang of guilt after saying it. "Besides, Cup Cake knows I'd be late."
“Well, if you are really sure then you are gonna have so much fun! We’ll have cake, and songs, and games, and cake for the twins when they are better! And for Mrs. cake did I mention cak-...”
Hours passed, and the floor had being set. The nightfall signaled the start of the party, as Pinkie’s friends entered the room one-by-one, looking in awe at the decorations she had worked so hard on, quickly joining the host who awaited them with open hooves, giving them her popular hug as Carrot watched.
I wouldn’t mind one of those myself.
“Mr. Cake?”
“Ah! I’m sorry Pudding!” Carrot yelped, looking to none other than Rarity, who addressed him with her well known dignified smile. “Oh, Rarity.”
“Well, it is you!” Rarity said surprised. “I wasn’t expecting to you see you here! Did Pinkie Pie invite you as well? I imagined it would only be the six of us here.”
“H-Huh? I was a bit of an impromptu invite! I was just here to deliver a cake, and, well, Pinkie asked me to stay, so I did!” he said quickly, looking down and away from Rarity’s curious gaze.
“That’s strange, where are Mrs. Cake and the twins? I’m surprised you didn’t bring them along to a Pinkie party,” Rarity asked, creeping closer to Carrot who nearly stumbled back just by the smell of Rarity's perfume.
“S-She h-h-had to stay to take care of the t-twins, is all!” he answered in his panic.
“Really, now?” Rarity hummed, turning towards the rest of their friends who seemed distracted by each other’s company. “If I didn’t know you any better, I would have guesssed you just wanted to stick around because Pinkie is here. You seem quite eager to join their hug."
“Huh?” Carrot mumbled, stunned by the implication of Rarity’s words. He watched her, expecting to say something akin to a joke, but when it never came, he finally said: “I-I mean, I don’t know what you mean! Whatev—“
“I suppose it’s only natural to want to be around Pinkie Pie, she can be the light of the party after all,” Rarity finally interrupted to his relief. “Well, I suppose that hanging around Canterlot isn’t exactly a terrible experience either, hmm?”
“Yes! That’s right! That’s why I stayed here! I mean, obviously!” Carrot stated defensively. “Who would want to miss a Pinkie Pie party anyway, am I right?”
“Right, of course,” Rarity chuckled. “In any case, I’ll be excusing myself. I do hope you join us soon,” Rarity said, waving him goodbye.
“Of course, I’ll be there!”
“Oh, but if you don’t mind me, one more thing.”
“Huh?”
“Please, do be careful about getting a bit too ‘friendly’ with Pinkie Pie,” she whispered. “I’m not sure if a married pony like you should be thinking of something so outrageous,” her piece said, Rarity continued ahead, leaving Carrot behind to his thoughts.
The get-together continued without a hitch, letting the ponies enjoy their night without issue. Most of them did, at least, since Carrot stood awkwardly to the side, looking into his half-eaten plate of cake, his thoughts running wild.
What did she mean by ‘something outrageous’? He wondered, stealing glances to the ponies who danced away without a care in the world, enjoying each other’s company.
Enjoying Pinkie’s company.
“What could she have meant by that?” he whispered to himself, watching Pinkie lead a conga line, smiling as she always did. “Could she have actually meant I have a thing for… no, that’s ridiculous,” he laughed at the mere thoughts, turning back to the smiling group.
They were laughing.
They were having fun.
Pinkie Pie was there, happy.
Making all happy.
You wish you were happy.
Enjoying their company.
You want her company.
Living her life.
And you wish you were part of it.
“Ah!” Carrot yelped, realizing his thoughts, leading to a loud crash as the plate he had held hit the floor, spreading the remains of his cake all over, and causing the girls to turn towards him surprised.
“Careful there!” Pinkie quickly called being the first to notice, reaching him with a broom and dustpan that seemed to have come out of nowhere.. “You could cut yourself, Mr. Cake!”
“Sorry Pinkie, I,” he breathed heavily, looking at Pinkie with a myriad of thoughts, overwhelming him with emotions that he had only come to realize. “I…”
“Mr. Cake?” Pinkie asked, slowly inching towards him with worried glances. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? You seem to be shaking a lot.”
“Nothing! I just wanna tell you th- no, I don’t! But I do! But I can’t! A-And…” he shook his head, breathing heavily, backing away horrified. “I’m sorry, I-I have to use the bathroom!”
He ran without thinking, opening any door in his path, crashing into any pony who was in his way. He didn’t care what was happening, as all he thought was to keep running away, leaving his findings behind.
You can’t.
“Aaah!” he stopped suddenly, the feeling of a gentle breeze bringing him back to his senses. Confused, he scanned the area, observing foliage all over the place, a gargantuan garden if the amount of visible plants were enough to tell him of its scope, almost purposefully intimidating as the strange trees weaved shadows around him.
Carrot began walking, focusing on the sounds of his own hoofsteps, trying to hide his thoughts behind the sounds of the open garden, immersing himself in the unknown environment. Away from her.
“Mr. Cake?” a voice called to him, effortlessly catching his attention.
“Pinkie Pie,” he answered without turning, realizing who it had been without effort.
“Um,” Pinkie mumbled at a loss of words. “Mr. Cake, I know this is probably super dumb to ask, but, are you alright?”
“No,” Carrot shook his head without turning. “I don’t think I am, Pinkie.”
“I-I se-…” she trailed off, unable to finish that thought. “T-Tell me, please! Is there something I can do to help? Anything at all?”
A few seconds passed before Carrot answered, but he soon said: “No. Probably not.”
Silence.
“Sorry, that wasn’t what you wanted to hear, was it?” he apologized.
“Was it something I sa-”
“Pinkie Pie, it’s not your fault.”
“But the-”
“I love you, Pinkie,” before he realized what he had said, the words had come out, nearly making him panic on the spot, but it was only a minor detail compared to his relief at letting out the words. As if I just let a huge weight off of me. I'm the worst—just how long have I felt this way?
“Aww, that’s sweet, I love you too!”
“H-Huh?”
“You know I love EVERYPONY!”
“No, Pinkie! I mean that I love-love you! The way one would love their very special somepony, the one pony who was to spend the rest of their life with those they care,” he couldn’t help but chuckle at the way everything was turning out. It’s only appropriate.
“Oh,” Pinkie simply mumbled, surprising Carrot in her lack of emotion towards the explanation. “Okay, I get it now. So that’s why Rarity said I had to find you alone. That’s so mean of her.”
“Pinkie Pie?” Carrotcalled to her, unable to register the tone in her voice. Uncertain, he turned around slowly, expecting to see some extreme reaction in her features.
It never came.
“What happened?” she asked, looking at him with tears already forming in her eyes. “What did Mrs. Cake do—“
“We should have a seat,” Carrot suggested, pointing to a nearby bench, expecting Pinkie to want some time to digest what had transpired before they could talk. I know I need a few minutes myself.
“What did Mrs. Cake do?” Pinkie unexpectedly asked the moment they had taken seat. “Why are you doing this to her?”
“Um,” Carrot mumbled, unprepared by her eagerness to dive in. “Wow Pinkie, I mean, how can I even explain something like this to you? It’s almost the polar opposite of trying to explain someone what love is, but,” he took a deep breath, letting his thoughts settle. “To put it as simple as possible, it just isn’t working out with me and Cup Cake. It hasn’t for a while, actually.”
“That’s it?” Pinkie asked, seemingly confused. “That’s not a good reason!”
“Sometimes it’s just how it is! You can’t control how you feel!” Carrot argued, frustrated that he had to have such a conversation with Pinkie Pie of all ponies. How did I get to this point?
“Well, um, I-I bet I can help! If we put our heads together, I’m sure we can think of something, right? I can even ask Twilight for adv—“
“Stop!” Carrot shouted, feeling his heart sink as Pinkie shrunk back, taken aback by his shout. “Please, Pinkie. I know what you are trying to do, I really do and I appreciate it, but I mea-” he sighed, looking away, taking a moment to breathe before continuing. “You know, when I married Cup, I thought we’d be happy forever. Together, we were equals in our union, and honestly, it was that way for a while.”
“W-What changed?” Pinkie gulped, barely able to hold herself together to ask.
“Cup Cake stopped seeing me as her equal. Simple as that,” he snarled, his anger not towards her, but towards the simplified explanation. A true one, however. “I mean, I can tell you that we tried to make it work, but no matter how long we did, it always went back to her being the head, and me being the lackey. The grunt. The one who messed up. So, I stopped caring… and she did too.”
“I-I’m sorry, I had no idea,” Pinkie lamented, looking down in defeat. “If only I had noticed, maybe I could have helped you guys!”
“Trust me, we tried professional help. As hard as it may sound, it just wasn’t meant to be. Honestly, the only reason we remained together was probably because of the kids. I couldn’t bear to abandon them,” he sighed frustrated, feeling the tears forming in his eyes. "I'm sorry Pinkie, it was only today that I figured out how I felt, and just, I mean, I just couldn't handle that I was thinking like this! I wasn't really thinking at all!"
“We should really go back to the others,” Pinkie sighed, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I managed to stop the guard ponies, but Twilight will probably freak out if she finds out we made it into the Princess’ garden.”
“Is that where we are? Guess I didn't notice,” Carrot half-laughed, getting on his hooves. “I’ll have to apologize to them, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m probably making up a story for them.”
“It’s probably for the best,” Pinkie replied.
“R-Really?” Carrot asked astonished.
“Yeah,” Pinkie sighed, looking away dejectedly. “Rarity probably knows, but I really don’t want the others to worry about it. I don’t want to upset them with something like this.”
In a miserable march, Pinkie led Carrot to the exit, revealing a pair of beautiful double doors, clearly signaling the sight of a royal-looking area of the castle. Something that only served to make Carrot feel even more terrible about the whole thing.
“Mr. Cake, wait,” Pinkie stopped, turning to face Carrot again. “Before we go, I really need to make something super-duper clear,” she said softly, placing a hoof over Carrot’s shoulder, giving him a sad smile. “I wish I could help you make it all better, and I will really try my darnedest, but I’m really sorry—I-I just don’t think I feel the same way about you, Mr. Cake.”
Carrot knew the words were coming, and yet, he felt them burning him like an open oven. “Right, of course! It’s only natural given what you just learned. And you are too nice and good, and a very important pony to boot! Somepony that I ju-”
"Mr. Cake," she interrupted him, shoving a hoof into his mouth. "Please listen."
"Sorry..."
“BUT,” she continued, suddenly looking away: “B-But, if you wanted to make me change my mind, y-you are totally welcome to try convincing me.”
“Wait, hold on,” Carrot said, feeling his heart beating faster, noticing a faint blush on Pinkie's face. “Pinkie Pie, did you just say what I think you said?”
“I-I did!” Pinkie replied quickly, nearly tripping in place as she tried to stand straight. “You have been so good to me for so long, and I mean, you are super nice, and I really feel you deserve a chance to be happy and if I can at least help you by giving you a chance, I’m okay with doing it!”
“Pinkie Pie, but what abou-” Carrot realized he stumbled into his words, unable to finish what he had to say, caught up in his own thoughts once again. Come on, Carrot! Just say it! She is just being nice—far too nice! This is clearly a misguided attempt at helping me. I would just be taking advantage of her! What will everypony think of her? I can’t make her do this! I can’t! I… “Alright. Okay. If you are serious about it, you better prepare, because I’ll be taking you on that offer.”
As they returned to the party hall, the same thought ran through Carrot’s mind over and over.
As shameful as it is, if this is my chance at finding happiness again, I’ll take it. I’m really sorry, Pinkie Pie.
Carrot opened his eyes, finding himself sitting comfortably on Pinkie’s bed once again. “Wow, I’d completely forgotten about that.”
“Forgotten about what?” Pinkie asked, standing uncomfortably close to Carrot’s face.
“Ah! Pinkie!” Carrot jumped back, caught by surprise. Before being able to catch himself, his hoof slipped off the edge of the bed, and he fell back with a thud. “Argh!”
“Mr. Cake!” Pinkie nearly yelled, barely managing to cover her snout. “Mr. Cake, are you okay?” she whispered concerned.
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” groggily, Carrot got on his hooves, nursing his pained behind. “Sorry about that, I was just, er, thinking.”
“Thinking?” Pinkie asked, curiously tilting her head. “What about?”
Carrot mulled over the answer for a second, wondering what he would have to do. However, it wasn’t a long line of thought. “This is a little awkward to bring up, but do you remember the day I confessed to you?”
Pinkie listened in silence, taking in Carrot’s minced words as he struggled through his recap, finding it a less manageable task when voiced out loud. Pinkie’s lack of emotion as he continued didn’t help his confidence. I can’t hide it from her forever, though. She needs to know.
“Hmm, I seeeee,” Pinkie said simply once Carrot had finished.
“That’s it?” Carrot ask confused.
“That’s it!” Pinkie copied, grabbing Carrot’s cupcake from the bed and taking a bite out of it.
“Hey! I thought that was mine!” he complained, swiping it away from Pinkie.
“It is, but that’s your punishment, mister!” she answered, mouth still half full.
“This is my punishment for taking advantage of you like I did?” he said out loud, recoiling in shame from his own words. “Gosh, it sounds even worse when I say that out loud.”
“Not that!” Pinkie strangely corrected. “But if I’m being super-duper honest, I did think that for a while.”
“Then wh-”
“It's okay, it was just the first month!” she continued. “Besides, I can’t feel too angry when I went and decided to be your special somepony anyway!”
“That you did,” Carrot noted, bringing out a thought. “Speaking of, why did you? I mean, why did you give me a chance? You never told me about that at all. You just sort of said 'yes' and we started dating. Thinking about it it just kind of happened."
Pinkie’s face seemed thoughtful, overly so in Carrot’s eyes. She seemed to have reached a conclusion moments later, jumping off the bed to face him, only serving to aid his worrying.
“I saw what you meant, with Mrs. Cake, I mean,” she started, fidgeting uncomfortably. “I tried really hard to ignore it, but she was just so mean to you! And I saw you try to work with her but it didn’t work at all and I got really angry!”
“I appreciate that,” Carrot said with a smile. “But I still don’t get why that was enough for you to give me a chance.”
“I’m getting there! And I thought I was impatient!” she cleared her throat, continuing. “All the time Mrs. Cake was being a real meanie, you were still one of the nicest, most friendly ponies during that time,” she faltered for a moment, blushing faintly. “Before I knew, it was like I had fallen into a pit, and you were there! As if faces of you all over the walls! There were also strawberry pies, but that was just a bonus!”
“Thank… you?” Carrot nearly choked, trying to hold his laugh back. “Seriously Pinkie Pie, that really means a lot to me.”
“I’m glad you think so, C-C-Carrot Cake!” she said quickly, turning away instantly. “Oh no, I actually did it!”
“I think that’s the first time you’ve ever called me by my name directly,” Carrot pointed out, barely able to hide his giddiness.
“W-Well, I totally shouldn’t have!” Pinkie complained.
“Why is that?”
Without a word, Pinkie jumped back on the bed, nearly crushing Carrot’s half=eaten cupcake in the process. “I promised myself I wasn’t gonna tell you,” she huffed, pouting with palpable disappointment. “I said that I wasn’t going to call you that until we are able to be together without worrying about Mrs. Cake finding out.”
Carrot joined Pinkie on the bed, grabbing the cupcake and observing it closely, noticing layers of different flavors stacked on top of one another. “I’m pretty sure it goes without saying, but you don’t really have to do that.”
“But I do!” Pinkie argued, barely turning to look at him. “I feel awful just lying to not just everypony, but to the poor twins as well,” she explained, clearly expressing the regret in her tone, grabbing a pillow and hiding behind it.
“Then why do this?” Carrot asked, fully understanding what Pinkie meant. Feeling the guilt of lying to his own kids had been something he had to learn to cope with. “I’d understand if you don’t want to do this anymore. It makes me happy knowing that you gave me a chance at all.”
Without warning, Pinkie tossed the pillow in his direction. Before he was able to realize what was going on, the pillow fell, revealing Pinkie herself, planting a direct kiss on the unsuspecting Carrot. “Does this answer your question?” she asked, cutely fluttering her eyes.
“Yes it did!” Carrot replied stunned. “I have to say, this is totally different from the Pinkie who always tried to make everypony happy and not just some poor sap like me.”
“Heeey, I still try to help make everypony happy,” Pinkie narrowed her eyes, looking as if she had just been insulted. “The big thing is that there is somepony I just love-love a teensy little more than others!”
Carrot smiled, and simply said in return: “I love-love you too, Pinkie.”