Pink Lick

“Now, Pinkie, are you sure you’re able to take care of the business while we’re away?” Mr. Cake asked the pink pony before him whilst he frantically paced without moving. The thought of what happened the last time he had let Pinkie Pie take care of Sugarcube Corner still made him a bit wary of her enthusiasm.

“Yes siree, Mr. Cake!” she muttered and gave a mock salute to the stallion whose only reply was to raise an eyebrow at her. Sighting wearily, the yellow stallion walked towards the door but stopped dead on his tracks and turned around to voice another one of his concerns to Pinkie Pie. He opened his mouth but the loud wails of Mrs. Cake were enough to make him change his mind, turn around and gallop towards the taxi carriage that was parked outside. Pinkie was quick to follow behind him and wave a goodbye at the carriage as it quickly distanced itself from her, making a beeline towards Ponyville Hospital.

Pinkie gingerly bounced towards the interior of Sugarcube Corner, ready to begin the morning properly by baking the delicious treats that the small shop was well known for. She made sure that the sign outside the establishment was displaying ‘Closed’ and walked to the kitchen, setting several bowls, trays and a multitude of sugary ingredients on the counter. She licked her lips and furrowed her brows in determination as the millions of recipes she had memorized — and many others she had just came up with — rushed to her mind.

“Let’s do this!”

* * *

“That’ll be five bits!” Pinkie exclaimed to an enthusiastic little colt whose attention was focused on the big cupcake with the slightly sour lemon frosting. He shook his head and gave the mare a small satchel with some bits in it. “Enjoy your cupcake!” she proclaimed and gave the little pony his cupcake, prompting his grin to widen even further as he levitated it and galloped outside. Without bothering to count the bits on the satchel, Pinkie Pie threw the contents inside the register, happy to be able to make other ponies happy with every small gesture of hers.

Even though Pinkie was beaming on the outside, she sighed wearily; handling the shop all by herself was a very hard chore. Even though she was always the energetic pony, she wasn’t able to bake fresh batches of sugary delights and tend to the customers at the same time and, now being past lunch hours, her stocks of baked goods were dwindling at an alarming rate. She looked around the shop, noticing the ponies happily munching away their treats; none of them seemed to notice the silent distress bubbling inside the pink party pony. Her ears perked up when she heard the oven’s timer clink two times, signaling that another batch was ready to be covered with frosting.

‘And maybe some sprinkles! Everypony loves sprinkles! But would they think it weird to have sprinkles somewhere that isn’t a doughnut? What would that even be called? Cup-oughnut? Oh! That’s a good one! I’ll have to remind myself to make one of those later!’ Pinkie thought, unaware that the Cakes already used sprinkles as something to decorate cupcakes. She turned around to walk into the kitchen when she heard the bell from the front door ringing and bit her lip. ‘It’s okay, Pinkie! You just have to take care of this order real quick and then you take the cupcakes out from the oven.’

“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! Where everything is sweet, neat and unique!” she proclaimed, happy that Rarity wasn’t around to bash her from stealing and modifying her Boutique’s usual greeting. The two fillies paid no heed to Pinkie’s greeting and kept on with the chatting they had dragged from outside. Pinkie bit her lip, looking frantically from the pink filly and her dark-gray friend to the kitchen, wondering if she should excuse herself and take the cupcakes out before the whole batch would be lost. Making up her mind, she opened her mouth to voice her excuse, but the fillies were quick to stop their chattering and turn to her.

“Cupcakes? How quaint-” the pink one with the violet mane proclaimed the word she had probably heard some fancy pony using, not even aware of its meaning. “Don’t you have, like, something more refined?” She shot Pinkie Pie a glare before looking at the few confections on display with disdain.

“I... well...”

“It’s no use, Diamond Tiara”, the dark-gray pony said, nudging her friend with a hoof. “I told you that this backwater establishment is not something worth our time.” She lifted her muzzle high in the air and let out a petulant harrumph, something that made Pinkie’s eyes go wide in astonishment. She stood still, looking as the two fillies giggled to each other as they walked outside, throwing piercing glances of malice at Pinkie and the shop.

“... excuse me!?” Pinkie was finally able to blurt out only when the duo was out from her line of sight. Her brain was fighting with her, not being able to comprehend why those two seemed to take joy in being big meanie grumpy mean-meanie-pants. Her train of thought suddenly derailed when her nose caught the scent of something burning from the kitchen. Her eyes widened once more in terror as she darted to the kitchen, trying desperately to save those poor cupcakes from the fiery pits of the big industrial oven.

Pinkie thanked Luna that the oven was programmed to shut down after the timer had struck, but still, the oven’s sealed interior would take much too long to cool down on its own, making Pinkie’s precious cupcakes too crunchy and not as sweet as she had hoped. Even though she could still enjoy those slightly burned cupcakes, she knew that the other residents from Ponyville were not as accepting as she was of these overcooked delicacies. For the second time, Pinkie sighed; she knew that she would either have to work double-time in order to refill her supply of cupcakes or close Sugarcube Corner earlier than she expected or wanted to.

The doorbell rang once more and Pinkie dejectedly made her way to the counter. She forced herself to smile to the customer who just entered her shop. A dark-gray stallion with a red mane approached the pink mare and placed his order rather too quickly. Pinkie found it to be a bit strange that the stallion kept his gaze fixed at her for prolonged periods of time, only to fix it upon the floor and blush whenever their eyes met, but she quickly shrugged it off when she noticed that she had to put another batch of cupcakes on her oven. Handing the gray pony his cappuccino, she headed towards the kitchen once more, unaware of the hooded stallion that shot a quick glance at her bouncing, slightly chubby haunches.

The stallion silently made his way towards an unoccupied seat at the shop and plopped down, slowly drinking his fuming beverage and stealing quick looks at the pink mare behind the counter.

* * *

The minutes slowly passed, taking some customers with them. But Pinkie knew that this was just the calm before the storm; soon enough Sugarcube Corner would be filled with ponies who desired her well-known baked goods. She internally cringed at this thought, eliciting a dismal sigh that picked the curiosity of the seated stallion.

“Excuse, Miss Pinkie?” Her ears quickly perked up at the mention of her name and she instantly appeared next to his side, bearing a wide, forced grin. The stallion paused for a moment, trying to figure out how exactly could an earth pony teleport without a horn or magical sparks before shrugging. “Pinkie, is something... bothering you?”

“Oh, Scarlet! You have no idea!”she said and allowed her face to droop; no need to keep her bouncy charade when that pony knew that she wasn’t actually radiating real happiness.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear tha-” the pony caught up with what the mare had just said and paused for a moment before continuing, “how did you know my name?” He asked, blushing slightly.

“Oh, I know everypony who lives here,” she answered, smiling slightly at him.

The stallion decided not to keep on inquiring about her abilities; it was well-known in Ponyville that Pinkie Pie was a very eccentric pony, one who didn’t seem to make sense sometimes. “What is wrong, Pinkie? You’re always so... energetic.”

“It’s just...” she trailed off. Some seconds passed in silence before Scarlet urged her on, prompting her to take a deep breath and continue without any pauses. “Mr. Cake left with Mrs. Cake and now they left me to take care of Sugarcube Corner all by myself and I told them that it wouldn’t be like last time so they are counting on me not to mess anything up but soon the shop will be filled with more customers and I simply can’t take care of both the kitchen and the counter at the same time but I really want to prove Mr. and Mrs. Cake that I’m a responsible pony but how can I be a responsible pony if I can’t even handle the shop on my own?!”

“Well...” Scarlet muttered after a brief pause. “It seems like you need some help to run the shop.”

“So you’re saying you’ll help me?” Pinkie Pie asked, eyes gleaming with joy.

“Hey, that’s not what I sai-”

“Oh, thank you thank you thank you thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!” she beamed whilst pushing the dumbstruck stallion towards the kitchen. He tried to protest, but every time he turned his head, his face was met with the pinkness that was her mane, muffling his sounds. When both ponies reached the kitchen, Pinkie stopped pushing Scarlet and darted towards the cabinets in which the Cakes stored their cookbooks. Scarlet gave his tail an annoyed flick, but his demeanor changed quickly when he saw the pink mare standing on her hind legs, trying to reach the book on the top shelf.

His eyes drank on every last inch of her beautiful form, from the way her back was slightly arched down to her haunches. He unconsciously began to salivate, wishing to just sneak up on her there and then. He instinctively bit his lower lip, already letting himself be taken by his primal instincts when he shook his head, trying to keep his focus. Feeling the warmth radiating from his cheeks, Scarlet looked down, trying to distract himself with the patterns of the floorboards. His gaze only left the wooden floor when he heard Pinkie’s triumphant exclamation upon finally having the book safely on her grasp.

“You take care of the baking and I’ll take care of the customers!” Scarlet was formulating his retort, but when he saw the genuine smile upon Pinkie’s muzzle and he thought about how gloomy she would look if he were to say no he resented, giving her a complying nod and an amicable smile. Scarlet positioned himself next to the many bowls and sacks of flour whilst Pinkie bounced back to the front counter, arriving just in time to greet and serve two customers who had just entered the shop.

The minutes passed quickly, Pinkie served the customers with a real grin whilst Scarlet worked his hard inside the kitchen. She had just given a slice of strawberry cake to a client when she heard a loud cacophony erupting from inside the kitchen. Giving the customer before her an embarrassed grin, Pinkie excused herself and galloped towards the kitchen. She stopped dead on her tracks when she noticed that the kitchen seemed more akin to a warzone than a kitchen. Pots lay scattered around the flour and dough-covered floorboards, cake frosting was spilling out from the top of some severely burned cupcakes and Scarlet was lying on the floor, covered in dough and a bit of chocolate powder.

“Pinkie!” he blurted out when he saw her frantic gaze analyzing every inch of the kitchen. “I’m so sorry! I- I tried to follow the recipe but...” he allowed his head to droop before finishing his sentence, “... I think I added too much baking soda.” Pinkie’s eyes fixed themselves on the stallion and she slowly walked towards him. He kept still, knowing that a reprimand from the pink pony was in order. “I’m so, so sorry, Pinkie Pie!”

She lowered her head and looked into his eyes. Scarlet felt something on his muzzle and it was with a bit of embarrassment that he acknowledged that Pinkie had just licked the dough covering his muzzle. He blushed furiously as the mare smacked her lips together, trying to analyze the flavor. “You added too much sugar, silly!” Her expression quickly changed to the one of glee Pinkie Pie was well known for. “Let me handle this! You just go right to the counter and wear your best cupcake-selling smile!” She pushed him again with her head, coating her mane with bits of flour, dough and sugar all the while.

She stopped when she had pushed Scarlet to the front counter of the shop, just to bounce towards the kitchen and begin cleaning it all up before starting anew.

* * *

With the roles of baking and client-handling reversed, Sugarcube Corner was back into business. Scarlet wasn’t any Pinkie Pie when greeting the customers, but he did his best to be polite with everypony that wanted something, going even as far as to give a particular small filly an extra cupcake on the condition that she wouldn’t tell the pink pony that was now baking about it. The most busy hours had come and went without any hitch and now they had a good three hours before the usual rush of customers would return.

“Phew! That was the last of them,” Scarlet announced to Pinkie Pie as the last customer on Sugarcube Corner had left.

“Wowzers! I thought it would never stop! Now we need to close the shop to bake more goodies for the evening rush.” Pinkie Pie bounced towards the door and flipped the lock with one hoof. Nearly a second after, she was next to Scarlet, hugging him tightly and muttering many “thank you”s.

“Pinkie... can’t... breathe...” he managed out, prompting Pinkie to release her bear-like grip on him. He gasped for air and instantly felt the blood rushing to his head and cheeks, coating them with a crimson tone.

“It’s just that I’m so happy that you were here today! If it weren’t for you,” GASP “, Sugarcube Corner could’ve gone bankrupt!” she exclaimed in an overly-dramatic tone. Scarlet rolled his eyes and smirked at her; he had always adored Pinkie’s silly thinking logic. Pinkie kept on blurting seemingly impossible fates that could’ve befallen Sugarcube Corner, seemingly oblivious of the world around her. With a genuine smile, Scarlet walked to the door, convinced that Pinkie would be able to handle herself for the rest of the day.

“HEY! Where are you going?” she asked him as he put his hoof on the brass doorknob.

“Well, I... I was-”

“Oh silly! You don’t think I’d let you go without giving you a present, would you?”

‘Oh fuck! This is it!’ Scarlet thought as Pinkie Pie gingerly walked towards her. His breath got caught up with each fleeting second as his heart began to race. Each step she took toward him seemed to make his spine tingle with anticipation. Scarlet swallowed the lump that was forming on his throat, but kept silent as her head inched closer and closer to his...

SMOOCH!

“I... I...” Scarlet was unable to coherently form sentences. First was the shock that Pinkie Pie was going to kiss him. Now, the clouds that surrounded his mind were made of confusion. All that anxiety, all his anticipation and desire literally melted away when all that he got was a light peck on his right cheek. Still blushing from embarrassment, Scarlet forced a smile. “That was... well, very different from what I expected, to be honest.” He chuckled.

“I always give my friends a big Pinkie Pie smooch to thank them!” she yelped happily. But then, the meaning and the weight of his words made sense inside of her. Pinkie instinctively blushed as well and looked at the floor. “You... I...”

A few minutes of awkward silence passed without a single distraction to take both minds away from what had just happened. “Look, Pinkie, I’m sorry. I am a silly stallion and... I know you didn’t mean-” he stopped when he acknowledged that the mare was trying her best not to look at him. “I... I should go.”

Scarlet unlocked the door and opened it slowly. He was able to give one step on the afternoon sun before Pinkie spoke up once more, “it’s not that... I...” she trailed off, prompting Scarlet to turn around and face her. He looked at her dejected face as she sat up on her haunches, feeling a slight oppression upon his heart from seeing Pinkie as something less than the jubilant mare she actually was. His brain had almost zero time to formulate a motor response when the mare threw herself at him, pressing her lips against his.

After the sudden shock had clearly dissipated, Scarlet felt himself instinctively embracing the mare before him. His cheeks reddened as a jolt of pleasure shot up his spine, prompting him to open his mouth and nudge Pinkie’s tender, soft lips with his tongue. The mare instantly complied, gently massaging his tongue in an excitable dance as the outside world seemed to disappear for a moment. Scarlet couldn’t resist it any longer and pressed his chest against her, feeling the warmth that irradiated from her and the rhythmic beats of her heart against his own.

His hooves massaged her back in a circular pattern, sometimes trailing down her spine up to the base of her tail. Pinkie moaned lightly, but kept her lips wrapped around his as Scarlet’s hooves began to slowly trail down south. For him, it was too good to be true; the one he had always had his eyes upon was now within his grasp, melting with lust as their kisses dissolved into more kisses.

Minutes were spent with both ponies nearing bliss, but Scarlet felt something more. Something primal was now burning within him; a thirst that coordinated his actions and his thinking into giving the pink mare before him his all. They broke the kiss, a thin trail of saliva glistened in the sunlight as pinkie opened her big, round azure eyes and gazed into Scarlet’s rubies. Without breaking their embrace, he closed the front door and locked it. His eyes met with hers once more before he inched his head forward and gently bit her neck, eliciting a very feminine moan from Pinkie Pie, who shivered in delight. Whilst massaging her back, his bites became less frequent as he started to lick her neck and collarbone, slowly but steadily going down to her chest. She also inched forward and Scarlet felt her puffy locks brushing against his crimson mane as he sensually bit his ear. Letting out a pleasant gasp, Scarlet shivered the slightest before continuing on, nibbling her chest and allowing his hooves to feel her rich haunches.

“No... not here...” Pinkie Pie half moaned in-between breaths. “Somepony... somepony could see us!” Scarlet slowed his teasing and looked up to her eyes. He nodded and rose to his four hooves as Pinkie slowly but sensually walked towards the kitchen, swinging her tail from side to side seductively. He took his time in admiring her round, well-shaped flanks before pacing after her.

Both ponies were nearing the front counter when they both heard a loud bang at the door. Pinkie nearly yelped in surprise and looked wide-eyed at Scarlet, who felt the panic of being caught replacing the tender sensations that were flooding him. He shrugged and Pinkie walked to the front door and unlocked it. A cyan pony with a full-spectrum mane was standing outside, panting a bit and looking anxious.

“Pinkie! You gotta come, quick!” she exclaimed and Scarlet instantly frowned, mentally cursing Rainbow Dash in the most deplorable of ways. “The new Cakes were born! We need you at the hospital!”

“OMIGOSH!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed and quickly turned around to face Scarlet. He could tell by her frantic and anxious look that every ounce of desire in her body was completely gone, replaced by the frantic, over-the-top and super-hyper mannerisms she was known for. “ScarletIgottagososorrypleaselocktheshopwhenyouleaveokaybye!” she blurted out and galloped outside, following her cyan friend that was already soaring high in the sky. “Rainbow Dash, wait for me!”

Scarlet could not believe his luck — or the lack of — and cursed the cyan mare with every fiber of his being. His heart was now boiling hot in anger and frustration as he stomped multiple times onto the wooden floor in a childish way. He stopped and looked out the window, seeing the pegasus making a beeline towards the hospital with a pink blur following close behind.

“Fuck you, Rainbow Dash... Fuck. You.”