Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction; all characters & settings remain property of the copyright owners.
This story involves disciplinary spanking in a non-sexual context. If this is objectionable to you please take responsibility and stop reading now.
"She's late again, isn't she?"
Carrot Cake cringed at the sharp note in his wife's voice. He'd covered for their one employee and she'd left him hanging...again. "Well, Pinkie said she needed some time to work on her lettuce float for the Summer Harvest Parade. I'm sure she just lost track of time." Again She walked past him without saying a word; Carrot defenseless against her passive-aggressive assault. "It's really not that big a deal, honey bun. We're not very busy."
"It is a big deal" snapped Cup Cake. "Now I'm going to have to start all the baking for Moon Star & Swallow Tail's reception by myself because you need to stay at the counter...which is Pinkie Pie's job."
"I'll help you with the baking" Carrot argued, "we're not that busy. I'll hear the bell if somepony comes in."
Cup shook her head. "And who's going to watch the twins? You need to be out here. I'll start the baking...by myself."
Carrot sighed. He'd trusted Pinkie. She'd assured him she would be on time to cover her shift. Yet once again she'd screwed him over and now he looked like an idiot in front of his wife. It was hard to blame Pinkie...this was just her nature. Barely out of her teens she couldn't be expected to be the most responsible pony in all Equestria. But at the same time Cup had a point. She was being paid a salary to do a job, and Pinkie Pie was about the worst employee in all Ponyville.
From the kitchen Carrot could hear the banging of pots and steel mixing bowls. When his wife was in a good mood she was so gentle with the equipment that their foals could nap right in the kitchen while she worked. This afternoon she was obviously not in a good mood. With the twins happily playing in their playpen Carrot left the counter for a minute to speak with her. He stood in the doorway between the kitchen & the shop so he could keep an eye on the twins & their few customers...yet still have a word with his wife. "Cup...dear...leave the baking. We can do it together tonight, after closing. We won't get behind schedule."
"I need something to focus my frustration on" she muttered, measuring out flour & sugar for a batch of cookies. "Something to take my mind off how angry I am at her."
"You mean Pinke Pie?"
"Of course I mean Pinkie, damn it!" she snapped, slamming her measuring cups down onto the counter. Carrot stole a glance out into the shop, but neither the babies nor their few customers had noticed her outburst. Taking a deep breath, Cup calmed herself. "Carrot we need to talk about her."
"I'll have a talk with her when she gets back" he assured her.
"No. You and I need to talk" answered Cup Cake, "this nonsense can't go on forever. We have to make a decision about Pinkie. She's never on time for her shifts...she leaves without warning...she goofs off on the job...half the time I have to go behind her and clean up what she's missed...she poisoned two dozen ponies with those muffins she baked...she's neck deep in debt to us with pay advances you've given her...and she eats half our inventory!"
"Now, sweetie...it's not half."
"You know what I mean, Carrot! We're paying her to do a job. If she was any other pony we would have replaced her ages ago. If she had any other job she'd have been fired ages ago. We can't go on like this!"
Dismayed by the direction she was heading, Carrot Cake tried to focus on the positive. "She's so good with the twins...that Chimicherrychanga she invented is a really good seller...and plenty of ponies come in just to visit her. Hoof-traffic, honey bun...that leads to lots of sales."
"Oh Carrot," she sighed "I'm not implying that we should get rid of her. We both love Pinkie like family. It would break my heart to see her go. And don't forget that if we fired her we'd be pariahs in this town. Plus, she utterly depends on us. If she didn't eat dinner with us every night...which isn't part of her rent agreement, remember...Pinkie would never get anything nutritious into her, she'd live on sweets and junk food. If we were to throw her out she'd wind up homeless. No...that's not the solution I'm looking for." Carrot cocked his head sideways and she knew he did not understand. Lowering her voice, Cup leaned forward and replied "If she won't exercise any self-discipline then we need to impose some on her ourselves. You need to impose some discipline."
Confused, Carrot asked "Well what? We've already garnished her wages. What more can we do?"
"Do I need to spell it out for you?" groaned Cup, tossing down a wad of bread dough and rolling it out. "If she's going to behave like an irresponsible child she needs to be punished like a child."
"Cup...sweetie...what are you saying?"
"Stop dancing around the topic like you don't know what I'm talking about, dear" she snapped. "Take some responsibility. Be a stallion. Give her a spanking."
Carrot Cake felt as if all the air had been knocked out of his lungs. He had never expected his wife to suggest such a course of action. Oh, in moments of frustration he'd daydreamed about taking Pinkie Pie across his lap and giving her a few good whacks on the rump. During Princess Celestia's visit he'd almost yanked her into the back room and gone through with it. But to this day Carrot had brushed off those feelings and felt ashamed of them...as if he was some kind of pervert for thinking that way. He'd been sure his wife would divorce him and take the foals if she ever found out he'd had such thoughts about their bubbly young employee. But now... "Sugar plum, are you serious? I don't know if I could..."
"We already discussed this" argued Cup "and you agreed that corporal punishment was an option..."
"We were talking about the foals! And only when they're older!" Carrot interrupted. "Honey Bun, spanking Pinkie Pie is completely different! For one she's a grown mare!"
"Could have fooled me" muttered Cup Cake.
Carrot continued; "They'd probably lock me up and throw away the key!"
"Oh who would lock you up?" Mrs. Cake retorted. "You know the Mayor herself wanted to have Pinkie Pie bent over and horsewhipped after that ridiculous incident with all those duplicates...and I think she'd have gone through with it if Twilight Sparkle hadn't talked her out of it!"
He was losing the argument and Carrot knew it. "Well...why am I automatically the one who has to do it? You know I'm not some macho-misogynist-sexist stallion who would hit a female just because he's bigger! She's a mare...wouldn't it be more appropriate if you punished her?"
"Carrot, be serious, she's as big as I am" his wife answered, shaking her head. "It has to be you. Darling, it's for her own good. She has to learn some self-restraint...and since we're responsible for her now we have to help her learn it. We can't depend on her parents for that, they're old and they were barely able to contain her as a filly. Please, Carrot. I know it's a terrible burden, but I don't see any other way. You have to do this, not to her but for her. For her own good."
"Ugh" muttered the stallion, "this is not going to be easy."
"I know, dear" said Cup, putting her arms around her husband's neck and smearing a little flour on his cheek in the process, "but I'll be right by your side."
Almost on cue the front door slammed open and the bell rang. Pinkie Pie was back...two hours late for her shift. "OhmygoshI'msorryI'msolatebutIwasbuildingmylettucefloat&it'ssoamazinglyawesomeit'sthebestlettucefloatI'veeverseenactuallyit'stheonlylettucefloatI'veeverseenbutI'msureit'sgoingtobethebiggestfloatattheSummerHarvestParadeand..."
"Pinkie Pie, be quiet."
"...arethereanycookiesleftyouknowtheoneswithraisinsand...huh?"
"You heard Mrs. Cake, be quiet Pinkie, you're over two hours late for work after you gave me your word you'd be on time today!" Carrot felt awkward raising his voice to her, especially in front of customers, but an approving nod from his wife steeled his resolve.
Confused, the pink filly cocked her head sideways. "Um, I'm sorry...are you mad at me?"
"Yes and we ought to be!" snapped Cup Cake, "You are paid to do a job and instead you're off working on some silly parade float."
"But...it's the Summer Harvest Parade!" protested Pinkie, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You have plenty of free time to do your own projects" Carrot Cake answered, "but as long as you work here Mrs. Cake and I expect you to keep your promises and fulfill your responsibilities."
But I'm late all the time, thought Pinkie Pie, oooooohh, maybe that's the problem. "I'm really sorry! I'll get to work right away, what do you need me to do?"
"Go to your room" growled Mrs. Cake.
"Huh?" Pinkie muttered "What do you want me to do up there?"
"Well it could use some cleaning up that's beside the point" Cup replied "you go straight to your room. Mr. Cake & I will be up to speak with you when we're ready."
Nervous beads of sweat beginning to form on her forehead, Pinkie Pie stammered "Am I in t-t-trouble or s-something?"
Mr. Cake stomped his hoof down with authority and barked "Pinkie, go to your room this instant!" Her legs felt like they had turned to jelly, but Pinkie Pie was off in a flash, up the stairs and straight to the bedroom she rented.
The Cakes took a look around. Their twin foals had stopped playing, and looked at their parents with confused fascination. The customers looked away or hid behind newspapers, pretending they hadn't been watching the awkward scene.
"Well" sighed Carrot, "I guess we'll talk to her at closing time."
_________________________________
Pinkie paced the floor of her bedroom like a worried cat. "Ohmygosh OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh...Mr. & Mrs. Cake are really mad at me this time. They're gonna dock my whole paycheck this week, I just know it! What am I gonna do? I really need to pay Rainbow Dash back those 30 bits I borrowed from her, and how am I gonna do that with no pay? OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh what am I gonna do?"
The pink pony alternated between staring out her window, trying to take her mind off the trouble she was in...and pressing her ear to the door, hoping to gather any clue as to how angry her employers were. Neither strategy did much to ease her anxiety. She even took Mrs. Cake's words to heart and cleaned up her rented room a bit (but that was really boring)...anything to take her mind off the fix she was in. She began to brood in self pity. All the other ponies, her friends every one, were outside enjoying a warm summer evening and here she was, stuck in her room like a naughty foal. "It's not fair...I'm a grown mare! Hey, that rhymes!" Pinkie Pie wished she had the courage to walk downstairs and demand that the Cakes treat her like an adult, but alas she did not.
Hours passed slowly. Pinkie flopped down on her bed and thought about how she got herself into this pickle. Mr. & Mrs. Cake were angry about her not getting to work on time...and that happened a lot. But was that all? No, Pinkie admitted to herself. Sometimes she didn't do the best job she could. Sometimes she didn't concentrate or act responsibly. Sometimes she couldn't help herself, and snacked on the merchandise she was supposed to be selling. Sometimes the things she thought were fun created a whole lot more work for other ponies. She sighed. "If the Cakes wanna take away my whole paycheck this week I totally deserve it."
The sound of hoof-steps on the stairs sent a bolt of fright down her spine. Pinkie sprang to her hooves and stood by the door. The wait had been terrible, but now she wished she had a few more hours to wait. Slowly the door opened, and her employers looked just as angry as she feared. "Mr. & Mrs. Cake...I've had a lot of time to think about it and you're totally right! I'm so sorry I've been a bad employee...I promise I'll do better! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cup..."
"Pinkie, stop the silliness this instant," snapped Mrs. Cake, "for once you're going to listen. It's good that you've been thinking about what's wrong, so I don't think we need to go over it bit by bit. You're being paid to do a job and you're not taking it seriously. What are we supposed to do, Pinkie? We're running out of normal options and we don't know how to deal with you."
"I know...and I'm sorry! If you want to take away my whole paycheck this week I deserve it."
Mr. Cake shook his head. "Pinkie Pie, we're past that point I'm afraid. What's going to happen is much worse."
A look of confusion took over the pink pony's face. What was worse than losing her entire paycheck? A few seconds later a terrifying thought entered Pinkie's mind; something she had not even considered up to this instant. "Oh my gosh...no" she gasped as tears began to pour from her eyes. "You can't fire me! Oh please oh please oh please give me another chance! I don't know what I would do if I couldn't work here at Sugar Cube Corner!" She fell at her employers' feet crying openly. "I'll do anything...I'll work for free...please, please don't send me away!"
Mrs. Cake had walked into the room ready to verbally assault her errant clerk but seeing the emotionally fragile filly reduced to this panicked condition softened her heart. She knelt down and picked Pinkie up to her hooves. "Pinkie dear, we have never even considered sending you away. You're part of our family...that will never change." She tenderly wiped the younger mare's tears away with a gentle hoof.
Still racked with fearful sobs, Pinkie stammered "R-r-really? Honest you w-wouldn't?"
Mr. Cake joined in comforting her, putting an arm around her withers. "Honest, Pinkie Pie. Cross our heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eye...you'll always have a place in our home & our hearts."
"Oh my gosh thank you!"
Before they got too far sidetracked Cup Cake steered them back to the original intent of their visit. "Now Pinkie, just because we're not firing you doesn't mean you're going to skate away without consequences again. Mr. Cake & I have discussed this and you're going to be punished."
Pinkie Pie did not like the sound of that word at all. "P-p-punished? How?"
Cup gave her husband a nod, and he solemnly drew from the large pocket of his apron a wooden cutting board with a handle. "Pinkie, this is not something any of us are going to enjoy...least of all you. Please bend over the side of your bed."
Mouth agape with shock, the young mare could not take her eyes off the menacing paddle. "Wh-what are you going to do w-with that?" she asked, although the intent was clear. Back home on the rock farm the wooden cutting board paddle had been one of her own mother's favorite tools for dealing with a naughty filly; Pinkie & her sisters knew from painful experience what a stinging impression it made on a young pony's rump.
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be" answered Mrs. Cake, "bend over the bed like Mr. Cake told you to and it will all be over soon."
But instead Pinkie panicked and leapt to the top of her dresser. "No! Please...you can't! I'm not a little filly anymore! I'm too old for a s-s-spanking!"
"Pinkie," growled Mr. Cake, "get down here right now." The young mare just shook her head in terror. "If I have to come get you it's going to be worse...do you want that?"
"Okay, okay, I'm coming down!" sobbed Pinkie, "But please, can't we do something else? I'll scrub out all the ovens! I'll wash all the dishes! I'll..."
"Pinkie, those things are already your job" groaned Mrs. Cake, "the fact that you don't do them is a big reason you're in trouble...and you are about to get a paddling whether you like it or not!" Knowing how difficult & scary this was for her young employee Cup Cake walked over and took Pinkie firmly but gently in hoof. She led the whimpering pink pony to the bed and maneuvered her into position.
Pinkie tried to beg some more but the words only came out as terrified sobs. As Mr. Cake pulled her tail up out of the way and placed a hoof on the small of her back to discourage struggling she pressed a pillow to her face and cried. Rump in the air, awaiting the first painful smack; this was a position she remembered well and thought she was done with years ago. Right before that first dreaded spank fell she heard Mr. Cake's kind voice in her ear. "Pinkie, this is going to hurt terribly but be a brave girl and take this as well as you can manage. In just a few minutes it will be all over and we can start with a clean slate." She was too choked up to answer him so Pinkie just nodded in acknowledgment and tensed up in anticipation of the first awful spank.
She did not have to wait long. With his wife looking on approvingly, Carrot Cake drew back the cutting board paddle and brought it down with a crack that sounded like the world's biggest and most painful party-popper. Poor Pinkie let out a grunt as the pain shot through her rear-end and bounced around in every part of her body. With some hesitation Mr. Cake delivered the second and third smacks to her trembling rump, but by the fourth spank he was finding his rhythm. Already Pinkie was in full tears, her cries muffled by the pillow she hugged close to her chest. He pitied her, squirming and shaking in agony, but Carrot knew this was for her own good and concentrated on the task in spite of the pain it was causing his young charge. On a personal level he was finding it unexpectedly cathartic...the frustrations of the last few years poured out as he disciplined Pinkie; every time he'd had to work late cleaning up her messes, every time he'd missed out on time with his foals because he had to cover for her lateness, every time he'd lost money because of her insatiable sweet tooth, they all contributed to the rapidly reddening masterpiece he was painting on Pinkie Pie's backside.
It wasn't long before the pillow in Pinkie's arms was soaked with tears. As a wild and free spirited filly she'd evoked the anger of her dour, conservative parents many times & endured plenty of spankings as a result, so she knew that no matter how bad her rump felt at the moment it would only get worse in a few seconds. "Please! Please no more! I'm sorry! I promise to be good! I promise to be on time and do my best! Whhhhhhaaaaahhhh!" Those promises never shortened her spankings as a young filly and they seemed equally ineffective on Mr. Cake, but all Pinkie could do was cry her eyes out and beg for mercy. In a few more minutes she couldn't even do that...the burning in her bottom was so bad that all she could do was bawl in sorrow & agony.
Panting from the exertion, Carrot Cake finally slowed the paddling. He took a few deep breaths and finished strong, delivering 10 of the hardest whacks to the young mare's crimson rump before stepping away. He set the paddle down and spoke softly in her ear "It's over now, sweetie, you can get up."
Pinkie Pie jumped to her feet. She was exhausted from squirming & crying, but at the same time charged up with adrenaline...and the burning fire in her hindquarters had not died down one bit. "OwOwOwOwOwOwOwiiiieeee!" she cried, doing a frantic dance in the middle of the room. Inexplicably she grabbed a block of ice out of thin air and sat down on it until it evaporated away in a cloud of steam, depositing her sore backside on the wooden floor with a thump.
The Cakes gave her a few minutes to compose herself before Cup finally spoke; "We're very sorry it had to come to this, Pinkemena, but we hope you'll remember this lesson & learn from it."
"Yowwie zowwie, you bet I'm gonna remember this!" exclaimed Pinkie, standing on her hind legs and feverishly rubbing her butt. "I promise I'm gonna be the best employee in Ponyville from now on...the best employee in all Equestria! I'll always be on time, and never goof off, and be super-responsible, and work extra shifts, and I'll never touch another cupcake unless I can pay for it!"
"Pinkie Pie," chuckled Cup Cake, "don't make promises you can't keep. We don't expect you to change overnight...and it would break our hearts if you stopped being you. As long as you can show us you're trying, and doing your best that's enough. If Mr. Cake and I see that happening then there's no reason why we should ever have to repeat this lesson."
"Oh heck no! I'll do anything it takes to avoid another paddling like that!" promised Pinkie. She calmed down a little and stopped dancing in place. "I'm so sorry I let things get so bad. You must really love me to put up with all the nonsense I put you through."
Now it was the Cake's turn to weep. "We do love you, Pinkie" answered Carrot, giving her a big hug. Cup joined in, and even though her rump still felt like it was on fire Pinkie Pie felt warm & blissfully happy in their embrace.
After a while the sound of the twins mewling in their nursery broke up the hug. Sniffling and wiping away a tear, Pinkie said "I'll be alright now...you better go check on them."
"Why don't you go see what they need?" suggested Cup with a kindly smile.
Pinkie's face lit up...to know that she was still loved and trusted with the Cakes' most precious possessions made her heart swell with joy. "Really?"
"They probably just need to be tucked in and read a bedtime story" said Carrot. "After you're done come on downstairs. I'll brew a pot of cocoa and we'll cut a few pieces of your favorite bunt-cake, how does that sound?"
Their kindness and trust in her drew tears from Pinkie's eyes again. "I really don't deserve to have ponies who love me as much as you do."
"You're wrong" Cup Cake assured her, "you absolutely do."
As the Cakes went downstairs to prepare dessert Pinkie Pie tended to the twins. Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake sat up in their cribs, babbling happily when they saw Pinkie. As she gently tucked them in she said "Sorry I don't have a better story ready to tell you tonight...but your Auntie Pinkie has been a bad little pony lately. It's okay though, because your Mom & Dad love me enough to get me pointed back in the right direction...even if it meant I'm not gonna be able to sit down comfortably for like...a month! Sorry to say you're gonna learn all about that when you get older. You won't like it one bit but remember your parents love you so much even when you need a reminder to be a good, responsible pony. And remember your Auntie Pinkie will always be there to help too...and that I'm going to work hard to be a better mare because your folks love me so much."
Of course, the foals did not understand a word of this...to them it was the same as if their favorite Aunt had been reading them nursery rhymes. In minutes they were asleep and Pinkie Pie closed the door gently before going downstairs for cocoa & cake with her loving second family.
THE END