Sugar Coated
Chapter One
Diabetes. An illness that is designated with two separate types and comes with no cure in our world. In the realm of Equestria, it is no different. Though a rarer disease, what with magical ponies having a higher resistance to sweets, Diabetes is still a present thing, and a cure has yet to be found.
~~
Pound Cake’s eyes fluttered open. He heard the sigh of relief before the blurred images made sense. His mother and Father and sister were beside him, and he found himself on a rather uncomfortable bed that was in a room that was too white and clean. Steral. The hospital.
“Why am I in the hospital?” He asked as he sat up, leaning back on the pillows. A dull discomfort came from his arm, and he found a needle connected to a tube and IV drip.
“You passed out from gorging yourself with all that cake. Well, not right away, but that still did it. I told you! You shouldn’t have eaten the entire red velvet cake but you—”
“Pumpkin!” Mr. Cake said, his voice much sterner than usual.
The orange filly blinked, taken aback by her father’s tone, and shrunk back.
“We’re glad you’re okay, sweetheart.” Mrs. Cake added, wiping the wetness from her cheeks.
“But I’ve eaten tons of cake before…” Pound said, his groggy mind grasping the air for answers. “Why am I in the hospital this time?”
He remembered winning the bet with Pip that he could eat the entire cake and then going upstairs to do his homework, despite the expected pain in his stomach, only to stumble down the stairs into the bakery an hour or so later when his entire body betrayed him. He felt horrible. Cranky. Light-headed. Nauseus. Had he really passed out?
“What’s this?” He asked, pointing a hoof to the IV drip connected to his arm.
“Insulin.” A unicornian doctor said, stepping into the room, holding a pen and clipboard with his blue magic. “Your blood sugar was incredibly high, dear boy. It’s a good thing you were gotten here so fast. What did you eat?”
Pound Cake looked guiltily to his parents, then down at his hooves. “A whole red velvet cake with cream cheese icing…”
The doctor nodded, writing something on his clipboard, “And this is the first time you’ve gotten sick over eating sweets heavily?”
“I get the usual stomachache.” Pound said, his parents sighing as he continued to look at his hooves. He would be in trouble later. He could feel it. “And sometimes I have to pee a lot after.”
More notes. “Has your breath smelled fruity?”
His parents looked at each other in confusion as Poundcake shrugged.
“It has.” Pumpkin Cake chimed in, “I can smell it when we sleep. Is he going to be okay, Doctor? My brother isn’t going to have to stay in the hospital forever will he?”
“No no my dear.” The unicorn said with a smile, putting his pen in his pocket. “He can leave this afternoon.” He ripped off a few sheets, giving them to Mr. and Mrs. Cake.
“What’s this?” Mr. Cake asked, taking the papers from the magic.
“A list of what he is going to need from now on. Some will be supplied to you by the hospital to start you off. I’ll be sending the prescriptions to Nurse RedHeart’s pharmacy.”
Panic suddenly rose in Pondcake, “Perscriptions for what? I’m not going to die, am I?”
The doctor laughed, “No, of course not. But you can’t eat so many sweets anymore. In fact, you’ll have to cut back quite a lot. I’m very sorry.”
“Why?”
Mr. and Mrs. Cake, reading the list, seemed to become heavy, unmoving from their spots as they read through the supplies.
“Poundcake, you have diabetes.”
Silence overtook the room. It was as if all motion was sucked from it. Mr. and Mrs. Cakes gave each other solemn looks as Pumpkin gave the doctor a confused look. Poundcake's heart sank as the doctor explained exactly what that meant. Diabetes. No more cake or ice cream or candy. Having to prick yourself to draw blood and inject yourself with this weird liquid and make sure that your body won't implode on itself. After a while, his words and the words of his own parents blurred together into nothing but white noise.
No more sweets.
No more eating contests.
No more normal meals.
No more cake.
He was trapped.
Sugar Coated
Chapter Two
He was being taunted. It was as if the cakes on the other side of the glass were laughing at him. “We’d be awful good wouldn’t we, Poundcake? Too bad we’d spike your sugar!”
He hated it.
With an exasperated sigh, the pale colt dawned his saddlebag and went into the kitchen. His parents were finishing a cake as Pumpkincake was kneading dough with her hooves.
“Where are the cupcakes going?” Poundcake asked.
“They’re going to Roseluck, Daisy, and Lily’s garden party. The muffins go to Dinky’s house.” Pumpkin said simply.
Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked over to their son. “Have you checked your sugar?” Mrs. Cake asked as she packed Poundcake’s saddlebags with a box of cupcakes and a box of muffins, checking a side pocket to find his glucometer and insulin pens.
“Yes mother…It’s at 92.”
“Better bring a snack.” Mr. Cake said, bringing out a bag of peanuts and slipping it into a pocket of a saddlebag. “Hurry back. You need to eat in two hours.”
“Yes sir I will…”
It had been like this ever since he’d gotten back from the hospital. He’d been getting bombarded with nothing but questions like that from his parents. They barely asked him about school or how he was anymore. It was all about his blood sugar and his meals and his insulin. Even Pumpkincake didn’t look at him like se used to. He has no idea what he was going to do. His only means of escape was his daily deliveries away from the bakery. Even though his insulin and meter were constant reminder of his newfound condition, at least his family wasn’t there to bear down on him.
Ponyville was bustling with its usual morning routine, ponies opening their stalls and shops for the day, while others got ready for shopping or just a relaxing day in town. It was nice to be able to say hello to those around Ponyville without getting weird looks or bombarded with questions.
“Poundcake!” A voice called. Pound turned to see Pipsqueak approaching him, his Trottingham accent prominent. “I just heard.”
Oh great. “About what?”
“You bloody well know what. I feel like such a wanker. I’m sorry for daring you to eat all that cake.”
“It’s okay, Pip. It was bound to happen eventually.” Poundcake said, the two of them now on their way to the home of the flower trio. “Anyway, I gotta get going alright? I have two deliveries to make.”
“Right. Maybe we can hang out tonight?”
“Sure.” Poundcake didn’t think twice about leaving him behind. He didn’t need any more reminders, and he was already being taunted enough by the smells of the delicious apple pies and Fritters from the Apple Family’s stall.
His two deliveries went without a hitch, and it only disheartened him even more when he had to turn down a free muffin from Ditzy Doo. Now he just needed a quiet place to rest for a while, away from the sweet smells of cherries and apples and yummies of Ponyville. But, he didn’t exactly know where he could go.
Maybe he was better off at home after all.
