Thrive

Ch. 2 : What You Thought You Knew

Cupcake patiently waited beside the closed bathroom door. She keeps herself still, fearing that she would accidentality stain Pinkamena's walls and floors if she were to get too comfortable. It is not long until Cupcake hears the sound of water, come to a stop.

The door opens. Pinkamena walks out of the shower, rinsed clean from the blood that coated her fur just an hour ago. She turns to Cupcake.

"You can use the bathroom now. By the time you're finished, I should have food ready for you. Twenty minutes or less."

Cupcake nods, "Thank you."

She then proceeds to walk into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Pinkamena walks downstairs and steps into the kitchen. She opens the fridge and leans in to see what to take out to prepare for supper. She gives a frown to the main missing ingredient she was looking for.

"Dammit. Out of meat already? Eh....I really don't feel like going over to Fluttershy's and stealing one of her chi-..."

She stops her thought and glances over to the basement door.

Her face curls into an evil, satisfied grin.

She closes the fridge and trots the basement door. She unlocks the two chains on  it, opens it, and descends down the basement stairs.

Meanwhile upstairs, Cupcake washes the blood off of her coat. Rinsing herself clean, she turns off the shower, steps out, and begins drying herself. She looks into the mirror and takes notice of herself.

She gives a smile at her reflection.

Back downstairs, Pinkamena emerges from the basement stairs with a cooler tub on her back. She kicks the door shut with her right back leg and locks the door again. She She leans to the side, allowing the cooler to slide off her back. She rolls the cooler over to the kitchen sink. Standing on two hooves, she opens it and takes out several raw, semi-frozen slices of meat, and places them in a separate plate to the side. Pushing the plate next to the sink, she gets back on all fours and walks over to the oven. She turns the knob to preheat it at 450 degrees F, before returning to the sink.

Cupcake walks out of the bathroom, and trots downstairs. She spots Pinkamena about to prepare some food.

"Need help with anything?" , she asks.

Pinkamena jumps a little.

"Oh! Whoa! Jeez Cupcake!" , she puts a hoof over her chest.

"Scared the living daylights out of me! And no thank you. Since you're here now, just lounge over there in the living room and wait."

"Got to let the food cook you know....."

Pinkamena gets back to standing on two hooves and returns to the sink. She begins to individually wash the choice cuts of meat. Upon finishing, she places them in a baking tray, carries them to the oven, places the tray in, and closes the oven door.

She turns away and walks over to the sofa next to her assistant.

"So......how's the flank....?"

Pinkamena's eyes travel down to Cupcake's cutie mark, where the three slits from the knife still remain.

Cupcake also looks down at her own flank.

"Looks like it'll scar cause of how I had cut it." .

She waves her hoof away at the matter.

"It didn't really hurt thought. Heh, I remember my first knife accident actually." .She laughs a little.

Unamussed, Pinkamena raises an eyebrow.

"Knife accident....? Define."

She adds as she puts a hoof to her chin, focusing her attention to her assistant as she listens in.

Cupcake then begins to explain.

"I was trying to cut a frozen bagel with a shark knife, and ended up cutting my hand open. Right near my finger. It actually scared me more than the pain itself. I was lucky I didn't hit any ner-..."

She stops, as she just realized the words she just used.

She tries changing the subject.

"Uh...so....heh, do you like...art?"

Pinkamena's eyes snap to attention at Cupcake.

"Stop."

She narrows her eyes as she leans her head in towards Cupcake.

"What....is a hand?"

Cupcake hesitates a little, "It's a....thingy that I....made up?" .

She gives the best smile can.

Pinkamena gives her a stare, that seemed to turn ten seconds, into ten minutes.

After moments of silence, she gives up her suspicion and waves the matter away.

"You have weird verbal labels for things. I guess I'm gonna have to get used to that from my assistant."

Cupcake quickly responds, "Yeah! That's me! I like making up words for things! It's fun! Makes things interesting you know!"

She forces out a laugh as an addition to that statement.

"I mean, hand? Finger? What's the deal with that? Right?"

Pinkamena tilts her head to the side, still in a bliss from Cupcake's sudden enthusiasm.

"That's the thing. I do not know what a "hand" , or "finger" is, Cupcake......just what are you talking about...? You're not making any sense to me."

Cupcake stays quiet, not wanting to answer the question, she shifts her eyes away from Pinkamena.

"Just silliness. Don't worry about it." , she responds. Still looking away.

Pinkamena on the other hand, keeps her eyes locked on her for a moment, studying her movements and facial language.

The silence grows more eerie by the second. Cupcake's hooves are shaking ever so slightly.

Out of nowhere, the time on the stove rings loudly.

Cupcake jumps a little at the sudden noise. Pinkamena dis-locks her stare upon Cupcake and immediately returns into a smile.

"Oh! Food's ready!" .

She gets up and happily trots over to the oven, as if the unannounced staring contest, never even happened.

Cupcake sighs in relief.

Pinkamena opens the oven and pulls out the fully cooked slices of meat, placing them onto he counter. She then grabs a few seasonings from the lower cabinet and sets them aside from the tray of food. She turns to the fridge and grabs a bowl of tossed salad, placing the bowl on the counter as well. She bends down further and pulls out two bottles of hard apple cider, closing the fridge. Setting the items on the counter, she grabs a couple plates from another cabinet and places them on the counter. She grabs the seasonings and lightly showers it over the cuts of meat.

Her eyes glance to the left, eyeing a steak knife holster set. Smirking, she extends her arm, to a length that completely defies logic of the forearm, grabs the knife set, and pulls it towards her.

She notices that there is a missing knife in the holder.

"Oh! That's right!" .

Pinkamena reaches behind her, digs in her flattened tail, and pulls out an 11 inch steak knife.

Cupcake slowly gets up from the sofa and walks into the kitchen.

"Want me to do anything? Set the table or something?"

Pinkamena stabs the knife into the counter.

"Nope. Have a seat my assistant."

Cupcake looks at the knife. Taking notice, she backs away slowly. She then walks to a side of the table and sits down.

Pinkamena wrenches the knife from the counter and lightly places it in the slit of the knife holder. She then proceeds to put a few slices of meat on Cupcake's plate and her own plate, while putting salad in each of their bowls. Carrying them all at once for some unexplained reason, she places Cupcake's food on her side, and walks over to the other side of the table, placing her food down as well. Returning to the counter, she grabs two streak knives and forks, along with the two bottles, placing one for Cupcake and for her as well.

She walks over and sits on the other side of the table, facing her assistant. She proceeds to eat in silence.

Cupcake looks down at her food and begins to eat. She eats about half of the slice of meat before stopping to attempt a conversation.

"So uh, you're really a good cook."

Pinkamena acknowledges her. "Sometimes you gotta learn how to feed yourself."

She wags a fork at Cupcake while locking eyes on her."

"....sometimes you gotta feed yourself.......real well."

She sticks her fork in the bowl of salad and proceeds eating.

Cupcake responds. "Yeaah...."

She looks at Pinkamena for a bit, then reaches to pick up the fork.

It slips out of her hoof.

"Shoot!" .

She tries again. It slips out.

"Come ooon!"

Pinkamena's eyes shift to her assistant. This makes her stop herself from putting the salad in her mouth.

She begs the question,

"W-...what....are you doing?"

Cupcake stops and looks at Pinkamena for a second, embarrassed.

"Just playing around. That's all! Heh....."

She tries to pick up the fork again, but it falls back onto the table.

"You....uh.......you know how forks work.....they're.....forky."

Pinkamena responds with confusion, "You are seriously starting to weird me out."

Shakes her head to forget about the matter.

"Just....eat your food."

Cupcake gives a nervous look to the left, "Yeah...sorry..." .

She looks down at the fork, and decides to eat some salad.

Instead, she eats it..........head first.

"Good salad too!"

Pinkamena's eyes grown wide in surprise. She drops her own fork.

"Uh.......Cupcake....?"

Cupcake lifts her head from the bowl. A few pieces of salad fall off her face.

"Yes, Miss Pinkamena?"

Pinkamena tries to come up with the simplest of questions to address the problem before her.

She fails to come up with anything. Shaking her head once again, this time, out of utter confusion.

She re-addresses the question.

"I know you do a lot of ridiculous things, but this is by far the most random thing I have ever seen any other pony do all week. Regardless, I know that's not how you eat and it shows no presentation for a mare like you."

"Now stop being stupid. Understood?"

Cupcake frowns a gives a deep sigh. She looks at the table for a second, then back to Pinkamena.

"Maybe I should tell you why I'm acting so.....weird."

Pinkamena widens her eyes for an emphasis on that statement alone.

"YES! Do please."

She puts her fork down and puts both hooves on her chin, unbeknownst making the situation more uncomfortable for Cupcake herself.

Cupcake swallows hard......and starts.

"I think you should know.....that I am not really from Equestria."

She pauses for a second, looking into Pinkamena's eyes.

"I was not born a pony....." , she continues, taking a deep breath, and admits.

"I'm a human."

.....

Pinkamena gapes her mouth open. ".....w-......what....?"

She shakes her head for a half second to re-confirm the last sentence.

"So....you're.....not a pony......you're some kind of.......creature....that is called, a human?"

She points her hoof at Cupcake, raising one eyebrow, trying to confirm what she just heard.

Cupcake only nods her head.

"Yes, I am a human being. I did not look anything like a pony or have an anatomy similar. Please do not be too alarmed.....I'm....not here to hurt you. All that matters is that I'm here."

Pinkamena's eye twitches.

She then closes her eyes, putting her hooves on the table gently.

She takes a deep breath.

.....

She flips the entire table over.

She gets up and charges at Cupcake, knocking her over the chair. Plates and glasses shatter everywhere along with the thud of a large wooden table. Pinkamena lands on top of her and cuffs her up by Cupcake's chest. She pulls out another large knife from her tail, the same knife she pulled out earlier, and places it towards her throat.

Pinkamena begins raging in shouts of recon and anger.

"WHO, IN THE LIVING, FUCK, DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!?! HUH?!? COMING INTO THIS WORLD, FROM A WORLD THAT YOU LEFT!! JUST TO SEE WHAT IT WAS LIKE ON THE OTHER SIDE!?!?!? AND SO YOU ARE HERE!!! IN MY LOCATION!! TO WHERE I DO NOT INVITE OUTSIDERS!! TO WHERE I DO NOT INVITE EVEN MY CLOSEST FRIENDS SOMETIMES!!! AND YOU COME HERE, TO THE WORLD, AND KILL A PONY!?!? YOU'RE NOT EVEN ONE OF US!!! AND YET YOU KILLLED ANOTHER EQUINE?!? WHO IN THE LIVING FUCK ARE YOU!?!"

"GIVE ME ONE REASON!!!"

Lifts Cupcake up a little, and slams her back to the ground.

"GIVE ME ONE,"

"FUCKING GOOD REASON!!!"

"WHY I SHOULD NOT WATCH YOU GURGLE IN YOUR OWN BLOOD RIGHT HERE!!!"

"RIGHT NOW!!"

"HUH?!?"

"HUH?!?!?!?"

Pinkamena pokes the knife at Cupcake's neck at an alarming rate. Extreme fires of anger are burning through her eyes as she glares hotly at Cupcake.

"WELL!?!?"

Pressure is applied to the knife being held at Cupcake's throat.

Hearing no response, Pinkamena brings the knife above her with both hooves. Reeling back, she prepares to strike down.

Cupcake has a surprised and terrified look on her face, before she relaxes herself. She speaks in the most calm and collective tone.

"I understand. Do away with me if you must. I deserve it for lying....about who I am. Though as you may have noticed I am not a very good liar, I hope you know that what I am about to say is from the bottom of my heart."

"I came here, not to escape from my world, but to come here to find you. And I mean it when I say that I came here for you. Because I gave up everything to find you!! I had to figure out so much on how to actually get here! ALIVE!!! I could have died in the process of traveling here. But I risked it all for you. I want to help you out as much as I can. I want to get to know you. I want you to know me. I want to share my world's stories with you. I want you to share your world's stories with me. I understand if you just want to kill me, but I think you should know what my intentions were first. There may be no point in them, but at least I got to be in the same world as you, Pinkamena Diane Pie. I know it's frightening to meet somebody that is....different, but you got to look past it. Whether that be by how they look or who they once were. I for one, accept others for who they are. Not by what they once looked like. I admire you greatly, and maybe even......love you, Pinkamena. No...not maybe.....I do love you, Pinkamena."

Just like that, the knife slips out of Pinkamena's hooves.

The knife itself, lands behind Pinkamena, sticking right through Cupcake's trail, pinning her to the ground by her tail.

Dumbfounded, stupefied, and confused, she drops her shoulders and looks down.

She goes into deep thought, verifying what her assistant had just told her. The humans, another world in turmoil, portals, being in love with Pinkamena.

She sits there, wide eyed. Too emotionally confused to take it in all at once. So within a moment's notice, she asks the question that stuck out the most.

"....y-you're.....in love with me.....? C-Cupcake.....if that's your real name.....I'm a horse......you're a human....."

Pinkamena's eyes are no longer seen as furious, but confused....and a hint of fear.

Cupcake responds.

"I don't see you as what you are. I see you for who you are. I don't care if someone's extremely ugly. If I can speak to them and get to know them, it doesn't matter to me."

"I love them for who they are inside here."

Cupcake places a hoof against her own chest, then to Pinkamena's, gesturing a heart.

"Though there are others who don't look on the inside, but just from what they see on their physical appearance. You cannot pay attention to that. If they cannot take the time to ask you what's wrong, then they are not worth the time."

She finishes, not breaking her contact from Pinkamena's eyes.

Pinkamena looks into her assistant's eyes.....deeply.

Four different tones of pink and magenta, shine around the circumference of Pinkamena's irises for a brief second.

She shakes her head out of it and gets up off her, immediately tending to her assistant's side.

"I-I'm sorry.....I didn't mean to hurt you....I-I....I-....I didn't know what to think a-and....you know...."

Cupcake gives her a  reassuring smile. "It's alright. It's not your fault. You didn't know, and I don't blame you for reacting that way."

Pinkamena responds with the primary question.

"...I know, but it's just that.......why are you here.....meaning, at my house....?"

Her voice drops drowns down into an assertive tone.

"You know what I do here, Cupcake Slash."

"You just killed somepony not too long ago, simply because I told you to do so. What in the right mind would make you avoid the psychological damage and trauma, of ending somepony's life? Only to find pleasure and satisfaction in return?"

Pinkamena grabs the knife that has Cupcake's tail pinned to the floor, but doesn't lift it up until she gets an answer.

Cupcake reminds her, "Because I Pinkie Promised you to you."

She winks and points a hoof to her slashes on her cutie mark.

"Not exactly a Pinkie Promise, but well.....it was pretty damn close enough I guess. Also, I kinda see the thought of killing, as if I was watching a movie."

"I have a weird mind."

A grace of warmness caresses Pinkamena's stomach. A small smile reappears on her face. She lifts the knife from the floor, releasing Cupcake's tail.

Pinkamena puts the knife behind her. The knife disappears within her tail.

Cupcake smiles back as she watches Pinkamena put the knife in her tail.

"Hmm....clever."

Pinkamena then looks around at the massive mess in the dinning room. She swears under her breath.

"Ah......fuck......I think I broke about four plates under that table."

Cupcake responds flatly to her.

"You. Flipped. A table."

"Sorry, but you don't know how much I've always wanted to do something like that."