Are What Make Up Great Things
Mr. Cake...
With a name like that...with a family like that it was no surprise to anypony what his special talent turned out to be.
Still, at least his parents never forced it on him. He had never felt any pressure from them to follow the family's line of work, they had readily sent him to school, encouraging him to try out as many possibilities as he could. He had happily taken up the offer, merely seeing it as an opportunity to goof around with his friends outside of the cake shop.
But not matter what misadventure he would find himself wrapped up in, from exploring the Everfree Forest to climbing to the top of the town hall for an impromptu attempt at hang gliding, he would always be drawn back to the shop. He'd slowly step through the front doors and check to see if any orders awaited him.
Even without any orders, he would pull out an assortment of ingredients and try his hoof at making a new type of cake. It was always in those moments when the world seemed to melt away from him, when he felt completely at peace.
He thought it was maybe the seventh or eighth time this had happened when right after putting the finishing touches on a triple tiered wedding carrot wedding cake, a very specific order he'd spent days on to assure perfection, when his cutie mark had appeared.
It was so simple, just three slices of frosted carrot cake, yet he couldn't have been more proud to see it appear on his flank.
Now anypony that looked at him would know that he was the resident master of baking in the town, but as he watched a familiar pick blur rush around his home, he couldn't help but wonder if maybe...maybe he could be much more than that.
"Can you think of anything else I might need?" Pinkie Pie finally slowed down, a packed saddlebag hanging from her sis. "I've got balloons and streamers and noise makers and extra cake and anything else you need to make a good party, but it still doesn't feel like it'll be enough!"
"Well what does the Princess want you to do this time?" he asked her, gently going around the store and rearranging all the odds and ends in the store Pinkie had knocked out of place.
"No idea what-so-ever!" Pinkie replied with a silly grin. "Twilight sent us all a message about how we were needed again back at the Crystal Empire and while she also said it should be a boring routine visit things never really seem to work out that way. Remember what happened at the wedding in Canterlot?"
"Well I guess that's a good point," he said. He didn't think there was anypony who hadn't heard of the changeling invasion. "But I don't think it's possible for you to prepare for everything. Just take what you have and I'm sure your friends can cover the rest." He offered after pausing for a moment.
"You're right! You know what, I bet you're one of the smartest ponies in Ponyville," Pinkie rushed over and gave him a quick hug. "I just some last things to grab from room and I'll be out of your hair. If everything goes right I should be back in a day or two. If not, well...either Equestria will end or I'll send you a letter, we'll see."
With that she started up the stair and he found his eyes drawn to her cuties mark.
Three separate balloons, the symbol for parties.
An earth pony who knew the best way to make others smile, and the Princess relied on her to handle things that could alter the fate of Equestria.
He wondered what that felt like...
His eyes close and slowly, he found himself picturing it...
The Princess would send a letter directly to him, sent discreetly with the use of her magic fire, and with trembling hooves he would read the message.
It was written in code of course, but after years of being in her majesty's service he knew the exact way to draw out the true meaning. Celestia was asking for him personally for a matter so secret she could not speak of it in the letter, he would have to head directly to Canterlot.
The Princess had arranged for a sky carriage to carry him up to the city where he would...
No no, a carriage would be far too obvious for such a mission. Instead she had purchased him a ticket for a train to the city. Before leaving he would exchange his distinctive hat, apron, and bow-tie for a more subdued gray jacket with matching hat. Stealthily, he boarded the train, settling down in the back to avoid as much attention as possible.
Luckily the trip went without a hitch and soon he saw the magnificent city of Canterlot rise up in the distance. He eagerly stepped off train and headed for the castle. Not directly of course, he made it seem as if he was simply enjoying the sights while moving closer and closer towards Celestia's home.
Finally he edged into the main entryway with a large tour group, sliding along with them until he was able to slip away into the throne room.
Celestia awaited him with a smile on her face, appearing almost as beautiful as his own wife. Quickly she began to outline what sort of mission awaited him.
A massive collection of pastry chefs were gathering in Manehatten for a dessert competition the likes of which Equestria had never seen before.
Only, she had reason to believe one of that chefs had been captured and replaced by a changeling! Obvious she could not reveal this for fear of causing a panic so she was relying on him to sniff out the spy.
He would go to the competition as the representative of Ponyville and while making it look like he was there to win, he would find the changeling and prevent it from pulling off whatever dastardly plan it had in store.
He was the only Pony he could count on.He was the only pony with the skills, the ingenuity, the strength, and the plain old luck need to-
"Dear, I think Pound and Pumpkin just woke up from their naps," the soothing tones of Mrs. Cake pulled him out of his daydream, which were quickly followed by the shrieking yells of his two children.
"I've got you covered sugarpie," he smiled at his wife and trotted up the stairs to his children's bedroom. Raising those two young foals was probably the greatest challenge he'd ever have to face in his life and yet...
He stepped into their room where they immediately switched from their shrieking to happy jabbering upon seeing him. Quickly, he pulled them out of their cribs and set them on the ground, letting them cheerfully wander about the floor.
Looking down at them he could not stop himself from smiling. Being a father...there was really nothing like it in the entire world.
Of course he wouldn't have gotten anywhere without the help of his wife. She was always so ready for anything and everything the kids could, and would, throw at them.
Plus, they had Pinkie Pie to help them as well. When she wasn't baking or off helping her friends save the world she always had time to spare for the kids. She would bounce around and play with them keeping them entertained for hours at a time. They even trusted her to take care of them when they had to leave the house.
Still...even with all that help, being a father was a full time job. Him and his wife had been so surprised to hear Pinkie Pie's stories about Pound's first experience with flight and Pumpkin's first usage of her magic, but luckily it seemed that those surges had died down...for now.
They were growing so fast now, soon they'd be off to school to see Ms. Cheerilee, and after that they'd need to go to flight school or magic school.
Which meant that he'd have to work much harder to ensure they could afford all of that.
Why did things always have to move so quickly?
He lifted Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake up onto his back to bring them downstairs, his daydream of working for Celestia seeming so silly now.
He didn't have time for such a job, he was a father, he was Mr. Cake.
And that's all he could ever be.
"Now say hi to mommy," he told his children, reaching the bottom of the stairs. They quickly jumped off of his back, running over to their mother who wrapped them up in a loving embrace.
"I hope you two had a good nap, and you better get ready to say goodbye to Pinkie Pie. Is she almost ready honey?" she looked up at him.
"Almost, she should be down here any minute," as if on cue Pinkie rushed back downstairs, her saddlebags nearly bursting with an assortment of party goods.
"Okay, I think I have everything that I need, and a few extra just in case," a smile lit up her face when she saw the Cake family all standing together. "Now are you all going to be okay while I'm gone?"
"Pinkie, I think we're the one's who should be asking you that," Mrs. Cake said with a smile of her own.
"Oh everypony knows that even if this turns into a big adventure everything will work out in the end. That's just how stories go! The important, unsure things are always back home. Make sure that Pound Cake and Pumpkin cake get plenty of rest, but they have a lot of time to play too. But be careful they don't play too much or they'll get cranky and start fighting with each other and also remember-"
"Pinkie Pie," he cut her off with a raised hoof. "Don't worry, we'll make sure they both get the perfect amount of fun and sleep while you're gone."
"I know I shouldn't worry but...you're practically family, and if there's one thing Pinkie cares about, its her family!" Pinkie paused for a moment, resting a hoof against her chin. "But I should trust you, you did a great job with me after all!"
"Well I hardly think that's the same thing Pinkie Pie," Mrs. Cake replied, pulling Pound Cake away from a counter the young Pegasus had been intent on scaling, "you were quite a bit older than Pound or Pumpkin when you first came to Ponyville."
"Yeah, but you two were my first friends in Ponyville. You gave a place to stay with one of the super-bestest jobs I could have wished for! Thanks to you I was able to meet everypony in town and make even more friends. I don't think I could have picked a better place to live in Ponyville, or two better ponies to live with," he and his wife could only stand in stunned silence.
"Well...thank you Pinkie Pie. Personally, I don't think we could have hired a better pony," he finally managed to say.
"Okay! Enough of being nostalgic, I've got to go help the Princess! So long everypony!" and then she was gone, running out the front door.
"You know...I'm not sure we're ever going to get used to her," Mrs. Cake said, staring out after Pinkie Pie.
"I think that's just the way things were meant to be dear," he said to her, though his thoughts were focused elsewhere. Him and his wife had been a part of Pinkie's life, they had worked to make her life better, a pony who the Princess herself relied on.
They had been a part of something great...
Suddenly he was a foal again, standing before his father in their massive kitchen with an assortment of ingredients laid out in front of him.
"Now son, tell me what you see," his father had softly said to him.
"I see.." his eyes had scanned the various bowls. There were some diced carrots in one, by the smell that other had to be crushed walnuts. There were some powders too, some white and one brown. He was sure at least one of them was sugar, but had no idea about the others. Next to it was some margarine, eggs, and flour. He had no idea what he was supposed to be looking at. "A really weird lunch?" His father had laughed at that.
"Not quite, exactly how many of these would you actually want to eat?" his father had asked next.
"Um, probably the carrots. And if you told me which was which I'd eat the sugar too."
"Well that's not really a surprise. Well how about this then?" his father had stepped over to the fridge and pulled out a single slice of cake. But not just any cake, carrot cake!
"I'll eat that dad! No problem!" whatever his dad was trying to teach him, he liked it.
"Of course you will, but what if I told you that all of this," he waved his hoof at the counter. "Went into making this?"
"What? But that doesn't make any sense. Cake is sweet and yummy, most of things on the counter...aren't..." he replied.
"Well, that's just how cooking works. Honestly, it's how the world works too," his father said with a shrug.
"What do you mean?" he'd asked, very confused.
"Everything we make in here is made up of other things, sometimes things you would never expect. And in the real world if you look at something great like...like the Princess, you may realize there is much more to her. While she is powerful do you think she can rule this land all on her own? She needs other ponies to help her, and where do you think she learned to rule?" his dad had paused dramatically, and he knew better to interrupt. "She had to be taught by her parents or other teachers. All things in Equestria, no matter how great, are made up of smaller things, things you might never expect. Do you understand?"
"Yeah! Now...can I have that cake?" he had understood a little, but all his mind could focus on was that slice of cake.
"Sure, here you go son. Just try and remember what I told you, okay?" his dad passed the cake over, a proud grin on his face.
"Sure thing dad..."
He was back now, waving goodbye to Pinkie Pie.
"Dear, what do you think about closing the store a bit early today and taking the kids to the park?" he offered.
"Oh that sounds lovely! We don't have that many orders to fill anyway. I'll grab the twin's things," she walked off leaving him alone Pound and Pumpkin who stared up expectantly at him.
He was a part of Pinkie Pie's life, a truly great pony.
And he was also a part of his children's lives, and there was no telling what they might accomplish.
He was Mr. Cake...and he was also so much more, thanks to those whose lives he shared.
Author's Note
Writing about the Cake family always makes me rather hungry. Also, it would be really nice if the family got at least one episode next season.
I really hope you enjoyed this story. Leave a comment if you can.
