The Cakes' Special Treats

Chaining Pinkie up was more a formality and show of power than anything else. The Cakes knew she could get out, but they ignored it. Carrot Cake didn't even bother, but Cupcake did it every time she caught Pinkie out.

Recently Pinkie found a shelf that if she climbed up, nopony could get her down, which meant nopony could chain her up. She was light enough to not tip it. Without a ladder, the Cakes couldn't climb up.

"I'll come down when I'm ready," she yelled to an angry Cupcake.

Cupcake took a breath and then said, "Come on, Pinkie, you might hurt yourself. It's safer down here."

Is it Cupcake's attempt to get Pinkie to climb down? "You know I literally can’t get hurt, right? I've already been stabbed and decapitated. If I fall from the shelf, I wouldn't even get a bruise. I have a question for you, though."

Cupcake sighed, "What is it?"

"What's stopping me from getting out of here, alerting the local guard, and getting you and Carrot Cake arrested for torture, murder, and foalnapping?"

The reaction Cupcake gave Pinkie was unexpected. Cupcake just smiled. Eventually she said, "Carrot and I thought of that. If we go down, you'd go with us. There's plenty of evidence to show you took part, what with your photos and crafts. Your family would be horrified. You'd never see Maud, Limestone, or Marble again."

"Keep Inkie, Blinkie, and Maud out of this! They did nothing wrong. If it was one of them down here instead of me, they would already be dead. Your foals will be dead, too. Once they're introduced to this. Nopony would survive this unless they were messed up like you and me, or too terrified to disobey, like Carrot Cake,” she sighed. “I can't wait to go to Tartarus. Your entire family will be there, too. We'll meet up."

Cupcake let out another sigh. "You're right, you know. Carrot and I were thinking... if you could please come down, we can talk."

Pinkie was prepared for everything except that. "Wait, really? Umm... I mean, of course, I'm right. I'm always right."

She jumped down and cautiously approached Mrs. Cake.

"Just don't make me regret this," Mrs. Cake said in a whisper.

'Regret what?'

"Follow me, and please, please, don't run away."

So she did. Until Cupcake climbed the stairs. Pinkie waited at the bottom, just like she always did. Cupcake unlocked a panel that covered the usually exposed button for the door. She pressed it, then walked out.

'When did they change that? How long have they have trapped here me?'

"Well, come on," Cupcake said.

"Where? Like outside of the basement?"

Mrs. Cake nodded.

This day was full of surprises. Pinkie began the slow and cautious ascent upstairs. Each terrifying step felt like she was wading through molasses. Every part of her screamed to go back down, 'this is a trap, a test, they'll never trust you again.' She ignored those doubts and kept climbing. Eventually, she made it to the top. The door closed behind her, and she was free.

"This way," Cupcake said, leading Pinkie through the house.

Their home was eerie. It had a sugary theme like the store, but it was toned down compared to what Pinkie remembered from the only time she’d been in there. She hadn't even seen it in almost a year. She only saw the concrete walls of the basement. The walls in the hallway were light blue and sparsely decorated. There weren't pictures or shelves. The odd candy-themed decoration was the only thing making the walls seem slightly lived in. It looked boring, much different from the ponies she knew. Pinkie thought there would be more decorations to help make the house look normal, but right now, it just looked... off. It was too perfect; it was trying too hard to seem like a regular house filled with regular ponies. The night sky streaming through the windows didn't help either.

They led her up a flight of stairs, down a hallway, and to a room. Mr. Cake was standing outside. He was chewing his lip and was shifting his weight from hoof to hoof. They opened the door, which led to a room bigger than her family's entire house. It had the same sparsely decorated blue walls as the rest of the walls, but it kept going up. There was no furniture, not even a bare mattress like the basement, except a few curtains and a lamp. The stairs led to a second-floor alongside a balcony that looked like it showed the entirety of Ponyville. She stood behind the closed door and stared. Ponyville was so big, buildings spanned far and wide, only stopped by the Everfree Forest. She could see ponies walking around, living their happy, carefree lives. There was a market where ponies could buy groceries and have fun during the day. She wanted to have fun, but she doubted she ever would.

The moon was nowhere in sight, whether it was a new moon, or the Cake’s house was in the wrong position to view it. She didn’t know, but she wanted to tell the Mare on the Moon hello.

Carrot Cake put a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. She slowly turned to look at him. He gestured around the room and said, "This room is all for you. Cupcake and I realized you were right. It isn't fair to keep a filly locked up. If you promise to be good, we can start over."

She didn't know what to think of that. Start over and try to pretend the worst year of her life didn't happen?

"No," Pinkie said, "We will not start over," she said, stony gaze locked onto Carrot.

"You two don't get to pretend it didn't happen when I'm going to have to live through the trauma for the rest of my life. That’s never going to happen, and it will never happen. You two will have to live with the knowledge of what you did, just like I'll have to. What does 'promise to be good' even mean?"

She smiled and shook her head, "I should have known leaving would have a catch," her smile soon changed into a frown, "I don't want to go back there, though. It's boring, scary, and sad. I don't want to pretend it didn't happen either. I'll be a good filly if you let me stay here. Don’t worry, I won't tell anypony, I can stay only in this room if that's what you want." Pinkie looked at Carrot and Cupcake with desperate, pleading eyes. "I don't know what to do."

Cupcake knelt next to her and began stroking her mane. Pinkie received no comfort from it, though. How could she? She didn't move away either.

"That was unfair of us to ask of you. We won't make you pretend. This is your room, and you can decorate it however you choose. You don't have to go back down there."

"Of course, I don't." Pinkie said, all sadness twisted to rage.

Carrot seemed like he noticed her rage, but Cupcake kept talking.

"We're going to have some rules, of course. First, you're allowed to be anywhere in the house, aside from the first floor, since that’s where the shop is. You can't go down there. Second, if we tell you to go to your room, then you will go. No excuses. You won't sneak outside, you won't reveal yourself to anypony, and most of all, you won't tell anypony about our activities, especially not the local guard. Understood?"

It took a large amount of effort, but Pinkie suppressed her rage. She answered with a sharp nod. She hoped that would be enough, and she would be okay. Pinkie doubted it, but she could hope.