The Ward

They say that when a pony is dreaming, he or she immediately wakes up upon the realization that they are dreaming. They also say that dreams are a subconscious vision of one’s innermost desires and weaknesses…

…I can confirm that one of these is false…

I was in Ponyville! I was in the town square! Sugarcube Corner was just down the road, and I could smell the wonderful pastries all the way from where I was. The air was warm, and a gentle breeze blew through my mane. I looked around and saw a dozen ponies out enjoying the wonderful day. I could hear fillies and colts laughing and singing. I heard the local merchants advertising their wares. The atmosphere of the town square was wonderful.

I looked up at the sky, my true home. I saw Pegasus ponies soaring across the vast blue ocean of air. The clouds were few and far between, but made the view all the more wonderful. My favorite part about the sky is the clouds; they’re cooler than the other side of the pillow and softer than the highest grade cotton.

I turned my head, squinted, and was able to see my hometown, Cloudsdale. I moved to Ponyville shortly after deciding to go into banking. As a lender, the pay was good enough for me to not have to work much. I was able to spend my off time playing with my kids or relaxing with my wife.

I met my wife in Ponyville after a few months. She happened to be one of my clients. When we met, she was already dating a different stallion, but from what I heard and saw during their appointments it seemed to not be going well. I’ve always felt kind of sleazy for listening in on the conversations; but when they split up I didn’t hesitate in asking her out.

Our first date was a disaster. We met up in front of town hall in the afternoon. She was wearing a beautiful sunhat with a lily nestled in it and carried a small hoofbag on her side. We decided to do lunch; I tried taking her to a nice restaurant outdoors, but it ended up raining cats and dogs shortly after being served. Our food was ruined and we scurried under an awning at a nearby building. After a few moments of drying off, I noticed the building was Sugarcube Corner. We could smell all of the delicious baked goods, which only made our stomachs growl even more. We couldn’t resist it, and stepped inside. As we approached the counter, we observed that there were no other ponies in the store, not even at the front desk. I saw a bell sitting on the counter-top and rung it. A few silent moments passed, but then we heard the sound of hoof-steps and a yellow stallion with a white hat descended the stairs.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, we’re closed for today,” He apologized. He had a badge on his cap that read ‘Carrot Cake.’ “How exactly did you folks get in?” He suddenly asked.

I opened my mouth, but my date cut me off. It didn’t bother me, but I didn’t know I’d have to get used to it at the time.

“The door was open, and it was raining,” she answered. “No offense, but that’s a pretty dumb thing to do, ya know.”

“Oh dear,” he said, and then began to mumble a bit. I couldn’t catch all of it. All I overheard was “...that girl… never remembers to… been… obsessed… some ticket… what are we gonna do about her? Probably… for a few days-”

“Excuse me, I know you’re not open, but can we please have something to eat. Our lunch was ruined because those Pegasus Ponies decided to make it rain,” She interrupted. Then she immediately looked at me, “Oh! No offense, hun. I meant those other Pegasi.” She turned back at Carrot Cake and repeated herself, “but ya, can we please get something to eat I’m starving!”

Before he could answer, somepony else interrupted him.

“Who’s there, deary?” came a shout from upstairs.

“Just a couple that just escaped the downpour, Cupcake!” He turned around and shouted back, “They said they’re hungry but you know we’re not open.”

“Well why haven’t you fed them already? Get those ponies something to eat.”

“Alright, honey!” He then turned back to us, “For the record, we’re more of a catering company than a restaurant. We mostly just have cake and other sweets. But I guarantee they’re the best in town!”

“What do ya have that’s filling?” my date asked, “I’ll eat anything really!”

“Nothing satisfies more than my special Carrot Cake,” said Carrot Cake.

“That sounds amazing right now,” she replied, “What do ya think, hun?”

I merely nodded my head in agreement.

“That’s settled then. How much is it?”

“8 bits a slice. 30 bits gets you the whole cake.”

She seemed to have forgotten that we already paid for lunch.

“We’ll take the whole cake; I’m so hungry I could eat a house!” She said.

“Alrighty then, you two can go and sit over there if you want.” Carrot Cake pointed a hoof over at a table. We walked over to it; and almost as soon as we got there, he stood behind us with the cake. It looked mouthwatering and smelled like it was just baked that morning.

“Here you are, you two lovebirds,” he teased as he set the cake on the table.

“Oh no, this is only our first date. We met only a few days ago.”

“Really now, from a first glance it didn’t look that way. You seem happy together. I remember somepony telling Cupcake and I that when we first began dating. Wouldn’t you know it; we’re now happily married. Guess what else,” He leaned in close, his eyes were ecstatic.

“We’re going to be parents!” he exclaimed.

“Oh, wow! That’s wonderful! Congratulations; really!” She replied. I smiled at him too.

“Thank you very much. We’ve wanted kids since we were married.”

“I love kids; but only when they don’t smell and chew and everything. Oh, no offense!”

Carrot Cake laughed, “Oh, it’s quite alright. If you’ll please excuse me, I need to go back upstairs to my wife. We just found out the news before you two arrived. I guess that means you’re the first to know, huh.” He started for the stairs from which he descended earlier; but before he made it to the base of the staircase, he turned around and spoke again.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about the cake. It’ll be on the house. But I never caught your name, miss.”

“My name? I coulda swore I told ya. My name’s Plum Pudding!” She answered.

“What a lovely name for such a lovely unicorn as yourself,” he beamed and strolled up the stairs.

“Thanks again, bye!” she called back. Then, looking at me, she said, “Hmm, kinda weird that he didn’t ask your name, huh. Musta forgot or something.”

I didn’t mind; I had a mouthful of cake, so I wouldn’t have been able to answer him pleasantly.

We finished our “meal” in silence, but it was more of a romantic silence than an awkward one.

I don’t know which I enjoyed more, that scrumptious cake or Plum Pudding’s company.

Maybe it was her presence that made the cake so good…