Upper Crust

Monday rolled around.

It was early as per usual. No problem for the bakers as they were used to early starts. Pinny was inspecting the wagon.

Whilst it was a sturdy wagon (he mused on the somewhat contradiction, wagons were always sturdy. They were built to take immense weights of produce) he had still erred on the side of caution and taken some precaution to reinforce it. Extra struts under the main body and stronger beams to hold the sides up had been some of the small modifications he had managed to find time for in the week. This was along with laying down a rather plush carpet and a number of soft pillows around the edge for Clipsy to lean against. He figured that if she was to be spending most the day, five days a week riding around on this thing she may as well be comfortable. Softer suspension was also part of the upgrades, but for that the wagon had gone away to a wainwright as it was beyond his expertise.

He heard a small cough behind him, it was the hired ponies who were to pull the cart. Of course they had made it there before Clipsy.

“Morning all of you.” Pinny said. It was a mixed bunch. Two stallions and two mares. All of them were unicorns. They were smartly dressed and sported the clothing that had been hoof-made with the upper crust name and logo on. That had been another expense.

“Morning Rolling Pin.” one of the stallions said. “Well, she’s a fine looking wagon.” the stallion continued, observing the wagon overall, the decorative paintwork that advertised the bakery as well as the plush area on the back. They had yet to be informed of their cargo.

“Indeed, well we thought we had better go all out for it.” Pinny replied. He noticed one of the mares reading the signage.

“Excuse me mister Rolling Pin?” she began to say “But I can’t help but notice the slogan ‘At this size, there must be something keeping this mare coming! Upper Crust Bakery.’ she asked with a bemused look on her face. “Nopony has actually told us yet what we’re hauling.”

“Well um. Yes, so…” Pinny started to say, but from a distance he heard a familiar wheezing. He also saw the eyes of the four cart ponies go rather wide. He stopped talking as the question had been answered without him needing to say more. Clipsy had arrived.

“Good...huff...morning.” she managed. Her sunken eyes observed the four ponies staring at her and she smiled. “Hope you...puff...four are up to this.”

“Yes...well. Uhm, mister Rolling Pin. A moment please?” one of the stallions said, smiling the biggest fake grin Pinny had ever seen.

“Of course. Clipsy just wait here...uhm not that request is going to be a problem. Be right back.” he said, the four trotted around the corner away and out of earshot of her.

“The deal's off.” the same stallion said.

“Wait, what!? Look fellas...and ladies. I know you weren’t informed of your cargo but I was assured you’d take the job on.” Pinny replied.

“We thought you wanted baking supplies hauling, or maybe even a delivery of your products. That’s usually what bakeries want moving.” the stallion continued with a low, slightly distressed growl. “But now we’ve seen the wagon and her it makes sense. No wonder your route didn’t feature any stops!”

“Yes. The idea is it’s to advertise our bakery. She’s our best customer.” Pinny explained.

“Well it doesn’t take a fool to see that! The size of her!” the other stallion butted in. “She’s got to be the biggest pony in Manehattan! Even larger than some of the bigwigs we’ve worked for!”

“Look, I think you’re all missing the point.” Pinny said, getting a little annoyed. “All you four have to do is get her on the cart and haul her around town for the morning and afternoon. You don’t have to say anything to anypony, stop to speak to anypony. Apart from the physical aspect you four are here for, she’s going to do all the work just by sitting on the cart.” Pinny said. “This is easy money for you.”

“If the cart will take her weight, do you even know how much she weighs? Even with the four of us we’re going to struggle.” one of the mares said.

“And what do you mean get her on the cart? That’s our job?” the other mare interjected.

“Why do you think I requested four unicorns? I’m sure the four of you have enough combined levitation magic to get her on and off. The cart can’t be lowered and there is no way she is getting on herself. I’d have made a ramp on the street but the city forbids it.” Pinny said. “Look...try it, today. I know we have a contract for a year but if you struggle and it doesn’t work we’ll call the whole thing off with no repercussions.” Pinny said, holding a hoof out to shake with one of them.

“Fine, deal.” one of the stallions begrudgingly said. “One day, a trial. We’ll carry on if it’s manageable.”

“That’s all I ask. Now, time is wasting. Let's get going.” Pinny said. The five ponies returned to the cart and Clipsy, who was idly munching on the final bag of her treats from yesterday.

“All sorted. Now then Clipsy, these four unicorns are here to get you on and off the cart and pull you around town okay?” Pinny said.

“Okay.”

“I’ll let them do that. I’ll just go get your payment.” Pinny said, vanishing inside the bakery to get the bags from Cookie who was inside getting ready for the day. It had been agreed to give Clipsy four bags for her to eat as they pulled her around town and four bags once she returned in the evening for her to take home.

“Alright everypony. Let's do this…”

The four unicorns combined their levitation spells to lift Clipsy off the ground. It was a struggle but not as bad as they were expecting. In what should have seemed like an amazingly impossible task, the mare started to rise as a good few thousand pounds of fat gently started to lift up. The four had to compensate for the sudden sag of the blubber which was a victim to gravity as Clipsy felt herself slowly move towards the cart, eventually squishing down onto the plush surface. Through her folds, she smiled. It was a nice soft space to sit. The sides of the cart gently pushed against her immense size and the unicorns closed the rear up which softly squished her rump.

“Phew...well, not so bad.” one said, wiping away a small bead of sweat from his forehead. At that moment, Pinny returned, seeing Clipsy now planted on top of the wagon.

“Oh good. Here you are Clipsy.” Pinny said, passing the four bags upwards magically to her. The mare just took them in, already starting to eat. “Wagon looks sturdy too...no audible creaks or wood cracking.” Pinny said. It seemed the modifications had worked.

“Yeah. So far.” one of the unicorns replied. They got themselves hitched up.

“Now you know the route yes?” Pinny asked. “By the time you get to the first landmark ponies should be starting their day.”

“Yeah, it’s easy enough. You basically want us to pass all the biggest areas of the city so ponies are gonna see her right?” one of the mares replied.

“Exactly.” was all Pinny said. “Good luck.”

It was a struggle to get going, he could see the four of the ponies (despite the fact they had bodies built for pulling) struggle somewhat to start off. But once the flab started to roll, they seemed to settle down into a standard pulling motion. Hmmm, might have to hire two more at some point should Clipsy get too much for them. At least even if they disagreed to continue pulling her, they’d get a day's worth of advertising out of it.

Pinny watched them go, wondering how the day was going to be for the five of them and just how effective this advertising was going to be.