The Argument

Chapter 5:  The Argument

“I’ve been waiting for my cupcakes for fifteen minutes!” a customer complained, and he wasn’t the only one.  The shop seemed to be filled with dozens of grumbling customers waiting for their orders.  Carrot Cake was manning the counter, and he had to wonder what his wife and Pinkie Pie were doing in the kitchen.

“Okay everyone, settle down!” Carrot Cake bellowed.  “I’m going back to the kitchen to find out what’s causing the delay.  If you could all just be patient, I’m sure we’ll have this straightened out in no time.”  The crowd began to grumble again, and Carrot Cake sheepishly left the counter and went into the kitchen.

He saw Cup Cake and Pinkie Pie working frantically on the orders.  Half of them were already done, but they hadn’t been brought up to the counter because the two ponies had been so busy with the rest of the orders.  Carrot Cake walked in awkwardly and cleared his throat, alerting the two mares to his presence.

“Is everything okay, back here?”

“Does it look okay?” Cup Cake spat, causing Carrot Cake to wince.

“We’re doing the best we can, but there are a lot of orders today!” Pinkie Pie said.

“Well, let me take up the ones that are already done so you can keep working on the others,” Carrot Cake said.

“Thank you, honey,” Cup Cake said, trying to make up for her snippiness.  Carrot Cake began taking out orders one by one.

“Who ordered the half dozen scones?” he asked.

“That was me,” a mare called from the front of the shop.  She awkwardly made her way to the counter, paid for the scones, and lifted them away from Carrot Cake.  She thanked him before walking out with the scones.

Carrot Cake continued to process the orders in this way until half of the crowd had dispersed.  The ponies who remained were starting to get more and more irritated.  Carrot Cake apologized for the wait and returned to the kitchen.

“Please tell me you have the rest of the orders done,” Carrot Cake pleaded.

“And…that should be all of them!” Pinkie Pie said, taking finishing off the frosting on the last of a dozen cupcakes.

“Thank you so much, you two,” Carrot Cake said.

“You’re welcome,” Cup Cake said, letting her husband leave with more orders.  The last order he handed out was that dozen cupcakes, which went to an irked stallion.

“I’ve never had to wait this long for a batch of cupcakes in my life,” he grumbled.

“Well, I’m sorry we were so busy when you came,” Carrot Cake said.

“Whatever.  Thanks for the cupcakes,” the stallion said, setting some bits on the counter and leaving with a humph.  Carrot Cake glared at him from behind his back before taking a deep breath.  It looked like the rush was over.  Cup Cake and Pinkie Pie extricated themselves from the kitchen, flour and frosting stuck in their coats.

“That was quite the crowd we had out here, huh?” Cup Cake asked.

“I haven’t seen anything like it in a while,” Carrot Cake said.

“But that’s good, isn’t it?” Pinkie Pie asked.  “We must have made a ton of money!”

“I suppose we did,” Carrot Cake said, but he felt weary.  Truth be told, he considered himself more of an artisan than a business pony.  He enjoyed making the confections and baked goods the shop was known for, and would rather see his customers satisfied than make a lot of money.  Cup Cake was really the more ambitious one, and she agreed with Pinkie Pie’s sentiment immediately.

“Well, we’re closing in two hours, so keep it up everypony,” Carrot Cake said.

“Will do, boss,” Pinkie Pie chirped, bounding back into the kitchen.

She really is full of endless energy, isn’t she? Carrot Cake thought.  He briefly lost himself to his daydreams.

“Are you all right, honey?” Cup Cake asked.

“What?” Carrot Cake said.  “Oh, I’m fine.  Just a bit tired.”

“All right,” Cup Cake said, eyeing him queerly.  She shrugged it off and returned to the kitchen.  Carrot Cake shuddered and busied himself wiping the counters.

The bell at the front of the shop rang, and Carrot Cake looked up to see Twilight Sparkle enter.  The unicorn occasionally stopped by to visit, and would order a batch of cupcakes once in a while to take home to Spike, who, by her account, adored them.  She didn’t look like she’d be making an order today, though, as she hadn’t brought a satchel with her.

“How’s it going, Twilight?” Carrot Cake asked.

“It’s fine, Mr. Cake,” Twilight said, looking around the shop.  “It looks like a tornado came through here.  Did you have a big rush earlier?”

“Right as usual,” Carrot Cake said.  “I had a lot of unhappy customers waiting quite a while for their goods.  You should have seen how many ponies were packed in here.”

“I can only imagine,” Twilight said, returning her gaze to Carrot Cake.

“So how’s Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked.  “I haven’t seen her in a while.”  Twilight knew she was lying, but she was digging for information.

“She’s just as cheery as ever,” Carrot Cake said.  “She never seems to run out of energy.”

“She is quite the remarkable pony, isn’t she?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah…” Carrot Cake said.  Twilight watched him carefully, looking for some sign to give away his emotional state.  He seemed happy thinking about Pinkie Pie, but not so happy that it would be alarming to her.

“And how are the wife and foals?” Twilight asked cheerily.

“Um…they’re okay,” Carrot Cake said.  There was definitely a downturn in his cheery disposition, which struck Twilight as odd.

“Well, I’m quite busy with an assignment from Princess Celestia, so I have to get going.  Tell Pinkie Pie I said hi!”  With that, Twilight left the shop.

That was a strange visit, Carrot Cake thought.  Pinkie Pie came bounding out of the kitchen.

“Did I hear Twilight out here just now?” she asked.

“Yes, she was asking about you,” Carrot Cake said.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Pinkie Pie asked.  “I wanted to say hi to her.”

“I’m sorry,” Carrot Cake said, frowning.  Pinkie Pie watched his entire body seem to deflate.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad,” Pinkie Pie said.  “Don’t worry about it.”

“I feel fine,” Carrot Cake said.  I’ve got to start hiding my emotions better.  If I don’t watch out, she might find out what I think about her…

“Well, we’re still busy cleaning up the kitchen, so I guess I’ll see you later,” Pinkie Pie said, smiling and hopping back into the kitchen.  Carrot Cake watched her leave without even thinking about it.

Damn it, don’t stare at her! he chastised himself.  He returned to wiping the counter down, and knew that he would have to tidy up the front of the shop.  Twilight had been right; it did look like it had been hit by some natural disaster.

Very few customers stopped by in the remaining two hours the shop was open, so Carrot Cake had time to clean up the front end.  Cup Cake and Pinkie Pie left the kitchen to help him close, and they were impressed by how neat the storefront looked.

“Great job, honey,” Cup Cake said.  “Maybe we should make you the custodian!”

“Very funny,” Carrot Cake said.

“Oh, can I go check on the twins?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Um…if you want to,” Carrot Cake said.

“Oh boy!  Pound and Pumpkin Cake, here comes Aunt Pinkie!”  With that, Pinkie Pie took off up the stairs faster than the blink of an eye.  Carrot Cake blinked a few times to clear his vision of the pink blur that had just shot past.  He took a deep breath and slumped down at one of the tables.

“You look beat,” Cup Cake said.  “Long day?”

“You try manning the counter when there’s an angry mob up here,” Carrot Cake said.

“You don’t have to get snippy with me.  I’m just trying to help.”

“Honey, you know I’d rather be back there making the treats.  That’s what got me into this business.  That’s how I earned my cutie mark when I was a colt.”

“Trust me, it was no prize working the kitchen today,” Cup Cake said.  “I’ve never seen so many orders come in at the same time.”

“Well, I’m tired of dealing with the customers,” Carrot Cake said.  “I know that’s a terrible thing to say when you’re the owner of a shop, but being around so many ponies just wears me out.”

“So you’d be willing to just let things go to hell in the kitchen?” Cup Cake asked.

“What are you implying?”

“Nothing.  I’m just saying, today’s orders may have been too much for you to handle.”

“Are you saying you’re better at making treats than I am?”

“I’m not trying to—”

“But that is what you’re implying, right?” Carrot Cake asked, his anger beginning to simmer.

“No, honey, not at all—”

“Well, maybe I should just say you’re terrible at helping the customers and taking down orders.  Now how does that make you feel?”

“We don’t have to resort to petty insults,” Cup Cake complained.

“You know, sometimes I just don’t believe you,” Carrot Cake said, now standing up and pacing around the storefront.

“I’m unbelievable?  You’re being a baby.”

“Don’t even mention babies, please.”

“Why not?  Oh, don’t tell me…”

“I know those foals aren’t mine!”

“We weren’t even arguing about this.”

“Well, it’s still sore enough for me to bring it up.”

“We’ve already been through this a million times.  Your great-great-great-grandfather—”

“That’s a load of garbage and you know it!  I was saying that to cover your hide!”

“Swear to Celestia, I’ve been with you and only you.”

“Then explain how two Earth ponies give birth to a pegasus and a unicorn, and see if you can convince me it’s true.”

“I…” Cup Cake said, thinking.  “The doctor said it was a miracle…”

“And do you really believe in that sort of thing?” Carrot Cake asked.

“Who are we to understand how life works?” Cup Cake suggested.

“You cheating liar!”

“You paranoid insecure excuse of a stallion!”  Somepony cleared their throat.  Carrot Cake and Cup Cake looked up at the stairs and saw Pinkie Pie staring at them through the railing.

“I think I’m interrupting something important, so I should just go and pretend I didn’t hear anything…”

“What did you want to tell us, Pinkie Pie?” Cup Cake asked.

“I was just going to say I put the twins to bed for you, if that’s okay.”

“That’s fine,” Carrot Cake said.

“You were having that argument again.”

“What,” Carrot Cake said, “about the twins?  Pinkie Pie, we just got mad.  It doesn’t mean anything.”

“It sure sounded like it meant something,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Don’t mind him,” Cup Cake said.  “He’s always thought I was one to sleep around.”

“Excuse me!  Can we not bring Pinkie Pie into this?”

“Why not?  She heard the whole thing anyway.”

“I really don’t want to get involved.  I’m just going to leave…”  With tears in her eyes, the pink pony ran up the stairs, trying her best not to cry audibly.  Carrot Cake felt like he’d shrunk about three sizes.

“Look what you’ve done,” Cup Cake said.  “You’ve upset the poor girl, and she didn’t even have anything to do with this.”

“And your remark certainly helped that, thank you very much.”

“I can’t even deal with you right now.  I’m going to bed.”

“Fine!  I’ll have a talk with Pinkie Pie, to see if I can sort out the damage.”

“Of course you will.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.  Nothing.  I guess I’ll see you later.”  Cup Cake headed upstairs without another word, leaving Carrot Cake fuming.  He waited until he was sure she was in bed and then walked up to Pinkie Pie’s room.  He knocked on the door and listened.  He could hear sniffling from inside the room.

“What do you want?” Pinkie Pie’s muffled voice asked.

“It’s me,” Carrot Cake said.  “I want to talk to you about what happened.”

“Sure, whatever,” Pinkie Pie said.  Carrot Cake entered the room and shut the door behind him.  Pinkie Pie’s eyes were already red, and she had in front of her a box of tissues.  Carrot Cake felt like he’d just shrunk another two sizes.

Let’s see if you can fix this mess, he told himself.