He sat behind his heavy oak desk, the cushioned bolsters of his chair swallowing him up. The stallion pulled at his dark blue necktie, trying to find air. His office felt to him like a prison, something unusually cold and unhappy. His name was Vanilla Swirl, a young corporate giant in the world of confection, a proprietor of large ice cream company with six establishments all through Equestria. He turned to the large windows behind him, looking out at the city of Baltimare from his factory office. He was so high up in his large grey tower, but felt low and rotten, spoiled by the spotlight he'd worked so hard to aim perfectly on his business.

He looked down at his navy blue business pony jacket, seeing the uniform that had condemned him and had hidden his true self, the stallion that loved his job and loved bringing joy to others was suppressed, suffocating in expense reports and financial statements. Vanilla Swirl ran his hoof through his brown mane, a mane with streaks of strawberry pink woven in. He looked down the the city streets, seeing all the life and vigor he wished he could have once again.

There was a knock at the door behind him, soft. Vanilla Swirl looked over his shoulder, considering whether or not he wanted to respond. The stallion sighed, knowing he had to: it was his job. "Come in, come in." He stood up slightly, resting his hooves on top of his cluttered yet organized desk.

At the door, stood another stallion, a calculating face, a guard. "Mr. Swirl, sir, the board is prepared to receive your quarterly presentation." Vanilla looked to his desk, grabbing the folder he had prepared and nodding his head weakly. He flipped through it, seeing the white sheets of paper, riddled with facts and numbers. He licked his lips, pushing the chair out, walking around his desk and exiting his office. The door glided closed, clicking behind him.
The two made their way down the long ice cream decored hallway. It was adorned with a baroque style cream wall, peppermint painted floor molding, chocolate colored carpet, and bronze waffle cone light fixtures every few feet.
"So Mr. Swirl, how's profits this quarter?"
"Oh uh, very well as usual." Mr. Swirl replied cheerlessly. They made the rest of the way to the board room in silence, Vanilla looked at the ponies as he walked through the offices, their blank faces, emotionless smiles, their stiffness all brought him a melancholy feeling. They got to the board room, Mr. Swirl put on a fake smile and said "Good day everypony" as he took his place in the big chair at the head of the table amongst the executives. Their meeting went like every other meeting, presenters would go up and display their efficiency boards, show where the finances laid that quarter, and new products. Swirl was barely there, his mind just floated through the meeting. When his time to present profits came, he groaned as he got out of his seat, set up his charts and graph, "As you can see everypony profits are doing well this quarter..." and began the usual tripe... as he had... for the last six years. "...and I believe the profits of the next quarter could be higher, if the morale could be higher: remember H. H. P. Happier Healthier Ponies make better workers..." He paused at this saying, walking over to the big window in the room and stared out it blankly. The ponies of the board looked at him dubiously as their boss just looked out of the board room window. He then turned, looking melancholily at them and asked "Are you happy with your jobs?" They all stared at him confusedly.
"Uh, what exactly do you mean sir?" One of the board members asked
"You know... "
"I'm afraid we don't. Sir what does this have to do with profits?"
"I-I don't know. What does anything have to do with profits or, or this meeting? I mean sure without this meeting the business would fall apart, but what does it matter if the employees- every LAST one- aren't happy! I m-mean I'm not happy, Hay I KNOW that I hate coming into work EVERYDAY!" He stood there chuckling and gasping, the board looked at Vanilla Swirl with concern and fear, at that moment his number two spoke up

"Okay everypony, um meeting adjured." the room was quick to clear, Vanilla Swirl silently packed up his things and headed back to his office. When he got back to his cell he walked behind his desk, sat down, plopped his head on its hard oak surface and massaged his head from his neck to the tips of his ears. Then, somepony came rapping on his door.
"Sir may I come in?" Vanilla Swirl groaned as it was his second in command, Cake Slice.
"Yes, you may enter" he muttered into his desk. The room was silent, the stallion spoke.
"Um sir... Y-you know that uh being majority partner of this company, you don't have to come in everyday." He chuckled nervously. Vanilla raised his eyes off the desk, he got up sluggishly, then he pacing slowly about his desk. Cake Slice quietly watched as his boss circled his desk, Vanilla ceased his pace and walked to his window and sighed.
"No." Vanilla said sternly.
"No to what sir?" his number two asked.
"No to everything, Slice!" Vanilla exclaimed, his executive backed up, Vanilla Swirl inhaled deeply to collect himself. "I'm sorry for that, I just... I need to keep busy. I need to be doing something... something more fulfilling than monitoring profit lines and... budgeting, and, and, I don't know." Swirl sat back down at his desk and looked cheerlessly at its polished surface. "I mean... I mean I want to be out there. This isn't where I belong, I need fresh air and a scooper in my hoof. I feel... underutilized. I've gotten us this far, but... I-I... I left my true calling behind long ago."
"But Mr. Swirl..." Vanilla cut him off.
"C'mon Slice! You know what this place does to us, you know how these suits tear us away from our creativity! When... when's the last time you baked a cake? Huh? When? Do you even remember how to do it anymore?"
"Of coarse I do! I know who I am! Look, Vanilla, we all made sacrifices to make this dream come true. You've done your part, you can... if you want to go and pursue happiness, I can stay here and keep things in line. Who knows, maybe we'll be churning some new flavors with cake pieces in them before the next quarter's out."
"You're right." Vanilla Swirl had an epiphany. In his ladder climb to the top he'd forgotten what was truly important to him. Vanilla Swirl had lost sight of what made him happy, leaving it behind for a reason he didn't understand. "Slice get my, dart"
"What're you planning now, Mr. Swirl, sir?"

"Put my map on the wall, over the board. Yeah, like that."

"Are you..."

"Slice, have I ever been wrong? Slice shook his head no.
"Then just do it!" Cake Slice stepped back, Vanilla closing his eyes, and with a blind precision threw the dart at the map. When the dart landed, Swirl opened his eyes and walked up to the map. He smiled, turning to his partner and asking "Do we have a shop in Ponyville?

"What're you planning, sir?" Vanilla smiled, winking his eye before standing back up. He walked over to his office closet, pulled out an old photo album, opened it and showed it to Cake Slice an old picture of him smiling big in his first store.

"See that Slice? I need to be that pony again, I need to go back to simpler times. I want to..." He paused, biting his lip and tapping his hoof impatiently against his large desk. "I want to make ponies smile, push the cart and get back out there." He stopped, watching his protégé flip through the album, looking at all the smiling pictures of Vanilla Swirl from days gone by. "Best of luck to you, I'll be here for you if y-you need anything... anything at all." Cake Slice smiled brightly, nodding knowingly to his superior.

"Thanks Slice, it has been a pleasure working with you." Cake Slice reached out his hoof, Swirl extended his shook Slice's of then pulled him in for a hug, to which was responded with a semi-awkward pat on the back.