I didn't have too much of a direction for this chapter. So we decided to just roll with whatever we could conjure up. Also, there's a bit of a timeskip for this one, so the kids are a little older than we last saw them. Specifically, Zach is about 12 or 13 now, and Sugar Plum about 10 or 11.
Hope ye enjoy!
The only reason Zach could see the School of Friendship being so bustling with activity was if someone important was over. So naturally, once he had gotten to the front of the crowd in front of the school doors for the beginning of the day, he was just as curious as everyone else. And seeing some familiar faces in the crowd, he chose to squeeze on through until he was near those familiar individuals.
Who so happened to be the Pie children.
"Hey Zach, took you long enough to get here," Sugar Plum ribbed playfully.
"I took the scenic route," the pegasus answered her, chuckling lightly.
"Do you know anything about this... chaos?" She asked as she gestured around the crowd. "I heard your mom's out today. But I can't imagine that'd cause a ruckus like this."
Zach started to say something, but then someone at the front of the crowd started speaking, and what caught their attention was that they knew *exactly* who it was. Their suspicions confirmed when the crowd ahead of them parted just enough to see the speaker.
"Okay, okay, everybody settle down!" TD shouted, raising his hands for emphasis. He had chosen to go for his human form, so he stood above the whole crowd quite easily. "Seriously, don't make me bring out a firehose or something! I don't wanna have to deal with even more paperwork today!"
"...That'll do it," Zach muttered aloud.
"Ah, that explains everything," Sugar Plum nodded, but then frowned. "Wait, does being married to the principal really make you qualified to sub? I mean, I couldn't see my dad teaching my mom's classes."
Sugar Plum, your mom teaches a class on "proper confetti handling." I'm sure Chuck could manage.
"Do you have a better suggestion?" Zach asked with bemusement, just as TD managed to settle the crowd down.
"Now then, I'm sure you're all wondering where my wife is on this fine day," he addressed. "Well, if you must know, she's come down with a... severe sore throat," he said after a short pause. "So until that gets sorted out, I'm standing in for her."
Someone must have raised their hoof, paw, or claw up front, because soon after someone asked, "How'd she get a sore throat? She looked fine to me yesterday..."
"How old are you?" TD questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh... nine?"
"Ask me again when you're sixteen," TD said bluntly. "I'm fairly certain that's around the age when they teach you these things."
Zach had to suppress a laugh. "He did *not* just say that aloud."
"Ohhh my God," Sugar Plum murmured, her face flushing red.
The one up front seemed to be a little more oblivious, but no less confused.
"What's that supposed to mean-?"
"ANYWAYS!" TD interrupted rather loudly. "I'm sure that y'all have classes to get to, and I'd prefer to not keep your teachers waiting any longer. So without further ado..." He turned around, and then spat on his hands before thrusting them forward, and saying with a Patrick Star impression, "Open, Sesame!"
With a creak, the front doors creaked open, and slowly opened up fully to accommodate the entirety of the students piling inside.
"Play nice. No running in the halls. And if I find even ONE toad in my desk, you're all paying for it. I'll be watching you," TD said in finality, and in a flash of light disappeared.
"The stage just got a little more interesting," Zach mumbled to himself, then turned to Sugar Plum with a cheeky smirk. "Should I try that puppet show trick again at recess? Or are you afraid I'll get in trouble this time, now that Dad's around?"
"Are you kidding? I think if there's any day for it, it's today," Sugar Plum snorted. "Of course, if it goes south, you and I never had this conversation." She added, and winked.
"Relaaaaaax," Zach said casually, waving a nonchalant hoof her way. "The only way I'd get in trouble is if I got caught. And I never get caught." He paused. "Well, except for that one time during Thanksgiving dinner..."
"Now that was an evening." Sugar Plum murmured, thinking back to the fateful event. "My dad thought it was funny at least. And he's got a very high standard for humor."
~Meanwhile, at Chuck's Tavern~
"Don't you get it? They're dogs and they're playing poker!" Chuck exclaimed, laughing hysterically at what all of his staff agreed was the dumbest painting they'd ever laid eyes on.
~Back at school~
"If you are going to do it, give me a warning so I can borrow a camcorder from the AV closet." Sugar Plum snickered as they approached their class.
"Deal," Zach agreed. "Best way to have it immortalized for generations to come."
"Precisely." Sugar Plum nodded with a grin.
"Well, that went about as badly as it could have," Zach grumbled some time later, as he and Sugar Plum both found themselves sitting in the office of their substitute principal, who seemed to be more interested in what were presumably report cards of sorts.
"Look at this. D, F, F, D-minus, another F... The kid who owns these is going very far in life," TD muttered with sarcasm as he sorted through things.
"At least we can probably send the video to Equestria's Funniest Home Videos," Sugar Plum whispered to Zach.
Zach perked up there, and silently made an air pump before TD finally brought his attention to bear on them.
"...The Thanksgiving puppet show," he said simply, surprisingly looking more amused himself than disappointed. "Honestly, if you're being sent to my office because of that, then you really need something more creative as a prank."
"See, you say that, but I think the reactions from the other students spoke for themselves," Sugar Plum spoke up.
"Frankly, I don't give a fuck what they think," TD remarked to her with a blunt expression.
"Uh, Dad... Is it really a good idea to curse around students?" Zach asked. "What if they write you up for that?"
"Oh, please," TD rolled his eyes. "Who are they gonna report me to? Count Not-Dracula?" He scoffed. "Besides, Chuck curses on a near-daily basis, so if anyone's to blame for her picking up such vocabulary, it's him."
"Can't argue with that," Zach mumbled.
"The question still remains: what am I going to do with you two?" TD pondered aloud, purposely making a bit of drama out of it, and even stroking his beard for emphasis.
"You know, I think this whole ordeal is more than enough of a learning experience. From now on, I'll make sure to sign the log book when I take a piece of AV equipment. My dearest apologies." Sugar Plum bowed slightly, with a slight sniffle in her tone, taught to her by her father as a means of avoiding trouble.
Unfortunately, all it earned from TD was an unimpressed raise of his eyebrow.
"Just for the record, you two, I honestly don't have time for this," he told them simply. "I think it's ridiculous you're here at all, but I can't just let you off the hook as that would be an unfair advantage over the other students, not to mention it'd be a show of favoritism." He folded his arms and sat back in Twilight's chair, which wasn't built for a human, and thus left his legs leaning atop the desk. "So, in an effort to kill two birds with one stone, I'm gonna give out a very special punishment for the two of you."
"Oh dear. I already am not liking the way you phrased that," Zach grumbled.
"I could always add onto it, if you don't shut your trap, son," TD warned with a false smile, to which Zach simply deadpanned.
"Please tell me the job isn't killing birds with stones," Sugar Plum gagged.
"Tempting, but no," TD replied, and grinned deviously. "You two are going to clean out the trash cans behind the school. You know, the ones which the staff haven't gotten around to doing for almost a year now, which has forced us to use those comically large trash bags in the cafeteria instead."
"What?!" Zach exclaimed.
"And no insta-clean spells or whatnot, Zachary," TD added firmly. "You're doing this the ol' fashioned way."
"This is the last time I participate in any of your pranks," Sugar Plum huffed. Of course, both knew it would, in fact, not be the last time.
"You could have walked away," Zach started, but was cut off by TD.
"Ah ah ah! Save it for when you're outside, you two. Assuming that the smell doesn't make you forget why you were arguing in the first place." TD turned around in the chair, which he had apparently given a swivel function to, and lifted up another series of reports. "But all things considered, good luck. I really mean it."
Zach glanced over at Sugar Plum, then to TD, and then back to Sugar Plum, and back to TD again. But their principal seemed to have chosen to ignore their presence altogether, and instead was mumbling over what he saw in his reports.
"Really? Who's idea was it to use all that money on a slushy machine? Why do we even need one? I swear, it's Union Colony all over again..."
Zach sighed, and jumped down from his seat to head for the door. "Welp," he said, "Let's get this over with..."
"Yes, let's," Sugar Plum mumbled as she followed.
"Great Jiminy Cricket... Like, I know Timberwolves could stop a moose in its track with their stench, but this is bullshit."
A somewhat crude way to put it, but in fairness Zach had every right to complain. Not only were the four culprits to clean absolutely filthy, caked in dirt and mud, and God-knows-what-else both outside and inside, but the stench alone was *terrible!* Already, the pegasus's eyes were tearing up in reaction, and he was starting to wonder if perhaps it'd be more appropriate to call in some experts in dealing with hazardous waste.
Overexaggerating? Probably, but it was still pretty bad.
"Wow, that's nostril burning levels of bad," Sugar Plum griped. "My dad doesn't even let the trash cans at his bar get this bad," she remarked, inching closer to the reeking cans.
Zach didn't answer at first, but when she looked back at him, she saw a gas mask donning his face, and a second one being offered to her in his hoof.
"What? He didn't say I couldn't use these," the pegasus said in defense.
"Thanks." She took the mask and put it on. "My eyes aren't watering anymore, certainly an improvement." She looked back at the cans. "You know, my dad doesn't actually take care of the trash cans at his bar. He pays somepony else to do it," she mentioned. "Nothing magic about that."
"Guess we're that someone else this time," Zach grimaced, levitating a bucket full of soap and water, presumably mixed with bleach or something just as strong. "Alright... So which one should we start with first?"
"Whichever," she shrugged. "Let's just get this over with."
"As you wish," Zach said, and then brought up a soaked rag and began to scrub at the nearest of the trash cans, working on the interior first. "I'll get the inside, you get the outside."
"Got it." Sugar Plum nodded, going to work giving the outside a vigorous scrub.
Fifteen minutes later, and they had only just finished with one of the cans. Which looked so strikingly different from before, that it was impossible to tell that it had been absolutely filthy just moments ago.
"This is taking too long..." Zach muttered, giving a stretch of his wings and hearing a few cracks in them. "We need to go faster."
"Okay, hear me out," Sugar Plum spoke up. "Couldn't you just do something to make us move faster? I'm sure there's some sort of magical solve to this that isn't technically an instant clean up."
"Hmm... Hold on, let me try something." Zach's wings gave a glow, and then he looked down at the next trash can curiously. Holding one of the rags out, he levitated it towards the trash can... and then started scrubbing so quickly, he had to stop himself just to see how much progress he had done. To his delight, he had already gotten it to look sparkling clean, at the expense of the rag now needing to be rinsed off.
"Yes!" He exclaimed. "It work- aaaaaaaah!"
Unfortunately, he had not accounted for what the spell would do to him in other regards, so when he had attempted to jump about in excitement, he instead zipped right into the nearby wall and slammed into it with a loud THUD, accompanied by a muffled groan of pain.
"I think... I'm gonna need more... than an ice pack..." Zach groaned, managing to pry himself from the imprint he had made in the wall, and then collapsed onto his back.
"How about an ice pack and whatever you want from Sugar Cube Corner? My treat," she suggested.
"Deal... ow," he answered, grimacing as he made an effort to stand. "Just, uh, try not to do what I did..."
"I'll do my best," she snickered, and then said with a smirk, "Lean on me as we walk if you need to, hero."
An eyebrow was raised, and he smirked slightly. "Is that an offer?"
"It's an offer if you take me up on it," she shrugged with a grin.
"...Okay," he answered, then levitated up the bucket and rags. "Let's finish up here, then, and I'll take you up on that offer."
"Sounds good." She nodded in approval.
Even with Zach's spell helping them, the job still took a little over twenty minutes to complete. But at long last, the task had been completed, and the two ponies resumed their day as normal. The soreness Zach experienced was suppressed with some ice packs from the nurse's office, but by the time they had finished with their classes for the day, he was still more than a little stiff from it all.
And thus, he ended up taking Sugar Plum's offer wholeheartedly, leaning on her for some support (even though he theoretically could have walked there just fine) as they made their way to Sugarcube Corner.
"You know, if your Dad knew that I technically don't need your support right now, I'll bet he'd be scolding me for taking advantage of your kindness," the pegasus joked lightheartedly.
"Oh my dad's like a lazy old dog. All bark, no bite," Sugar Plum scoffed playfully. "Besides, I'm pretty sure he thinks your dad would kick his ass if he gave you any lip."
"Hey, Dad's not above letting me be scolded by others... Just as long as I don't hurt them in the process," Zach protested with a chuckle.
"Well hey, your dad scolded me so I'd say the playing field is at least due for a leveling," Sugar Plum teased.
"Can't argue with that," Zach agreed. By then, they had reached Sugar Cube Corner, and he chose then to stop leaning on her. "So, have you decided on what you're getting?"
"What else? A big box of cinnamon rolls," She answered, practically drooling as if she were a little equine Homer Simpson.
He couldn't help but giggle at her expression, then frowned in thought.
"Hmm... I'm gonna see if they still have that chocolate-banana deal," he said at length.
"I have a feeling you're in luck, that is unless my mom beat us here," Sugar Plum laughed as they approached the steps of the confectionery.
Inside, it seemed like there weren't any other customers around save for the two of them, and so it was a very quiet and serene atmosphere. And from the kitchen, they could smell some tasty pastries being baked up for some lucky soul who might be buying them in the near future, if they hadn't already pre-ordered them.
"Mmm mmm mmm!" Zach breathed in satisfaction. "Something smells delicious!"
"Well hello there kids!" Mrs. Cake smiled from behind the counter, "What brings you two in here today?"
"Their hooves, dear," Mr. Cake joked, poking his head out from the kitchen window.
"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" Zach called cheerfully. "Do you still have that chocolate-banana muffin sale going on today?"
"You're in luck, dear. There's one batch left," Mrs. Cake nodded.
"We just get slammed after school gets out," Mr. Cake noted.
"Lot of kids come here?" Sugar Plum asked.
"No no, just your mother," Mrs. Cake answered sweetly. "She actually picked up a box of cinnamon rolls for you, dear. Don't tell her I told you."
"Oh, no way!" Sugar Plum grinned. "In that case, I will also pick up a box for me."
"At the rate your family goes through cinnamon rolls, I'm surprised that hasn't become a rare find in Ponyville," Zach joked, then to Mrs. Cake, "I'll take the last batch of chocolate-banana muffins, then. How much do we owe you?"
"How much do I owe you?" Sugar Plum spoke up.
"That'll be 8 bits, dear," Mrs. Cake answered. "I'll make it 6 since you were sweet enough to pay for Zach too."
"And here you are." Sugar Plum fished the coins out of a little change purse.
Zach glanced at her. "Are you sure you still want to pay for mine too? I can always pay for it-"
"Oh no, of course," Sugar Plum insisted.
"If you insist," he shrugged, and didn't say anything more on the subject. Once they'd made it out, Sugar Plum made herself comfortable on a park bench in the town square, and not ten seconds after sitting down was the first cinnamon roll nearly gone.
"Ohhhh my ger thifif gud," She slurred through the food in her mouth, sighing with ecstasy as she swallowed it. "How's your muffins?" She asked.
Zach didn't answer right away, as his own mouth was full of muffin, but he quickly swallowed the large lump that he had shoved into his mouth, and grinned.
"Mmrfect!" he replied, one of his wings even making a sort of thumbs-up gesture.
"Finally received our just deserts, so to speak." Sugar Plum joked, before quickly grabbing another sticky roll and taking a big bite out of it.
"Please don't ever become a comedian," Zach pleaded, and bit into another muffin.
"Oh boo," she replied. "Anypony else in town would have been floored by that."
That's just called having low standards, dear.
Zach just rolled his eyes in amusement, and swallowed down the rest of his muffin. The rest he had stored away for later, though how he did it was anyone's guess. Especially when he had no pockets whatsoever.
He's partly a being of chaos. Just accept it.
"You know, I've got a box of these waiting for me at home. I think I might take the rest of these ones to my dad at work." She thought aloud. "You wanna come?"
"A chance to visit your dad's tavern again?" The pegasus gave a grin. "How could I say no?"
"Then c'mon," Sugar Plum hopped off the bench. "Allons-y!" She declared before trotting off towards her father's place of business.
"Oi! You can't just quote Doctor Who, and run off like that!" Zach protested in light cheek, and followed after her. "I didn't even get a chance to get into character!"
"Alright guys," Chuck addressed his three employees, Quibble Pants, Cheese Sandwich, and piano maestro Ivory Keys from behind the bar. "Try these," He instructed as he lifted the top off a serving dish. Under the dish was an array of typical pub appetizers, loaded potato skins, jalapeƱo poppers, mozza sticks, and more, but they were all homemade; freezer foods these were not. "From now on, Quibble, I'm going to be sticking you on the bar. I'm going to be working the kitchen, until I can hire a chef," he explained.
"Wow, Chuck." Ivory was the first to speak up, carefully making sure she didn't make a fool of herself by getting the long strand of cheese all stuck in her coat from the mozza stick she'd just sampled. "Look at you, you're really trying to bougie the place up huh?"
"Hey, 'dank pit' was a fun business model for a while, but I had a creative itch that needed scratching." Chuck shrugged.
Just then, the front doors swung open and in came Sugar Plum, with Zach not far behind.
"Hi dad!" Sugar Plum called. "Hi Ivory, hi Quibble, hi Cheese!" She added.
"Hello Mr. Pie! Miss Ivory! Quibble! And who could forget good ol' Cheese?" Zach greeted each pony in turn, nodding his head with each greeting.
"Well hey there kids, what are you two doing here? Still on the lam from what happened at school today?" Chuck asked with a breathy snort.
You heard about that?" Sugar Plum asked.
"I hear everything, kiddo," Chuck answered. "By which of course, I mean I'm married to somepony who can talk and talk ad nauseum."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Zach said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Didn't mean for Sugar Plum to get in trouble, too..."
"Pfff," Chuck shrugged, dismissing the whole thing. "The only problem I have with it is that you didn't pull off that little stunt while your mom was in, Zach." He laughed. "Really though, what brings you two minors to this house of inebriation?" He asked.
"I thought you guys might like some cinnamon rolls from Sugar Cube Corner!" Sugar Plum held up the box of pastry.
"Now that's my favorite unicorn daughter," Chuck grinned, eagerly helping himself, "Oh m'frkin grd eez are gud," he groaned as he stuffed his face, like father like (albeit adopted) daughter.
Zach smiled a bit as he watched the display, finding it to be a rather wholesome interaction between them. But his thoughts were soon directed elsewhere, when he noticed the lack of customers in the area.
"Hey, Mr. Pie?" he spoke up. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there usually more ponies around at this hour of the day?"
Ith abut ow-" Chuck stopped, swallowed his bite of the desert, and carried on. "Its about how it always is at this time of day actually. Most ponies in this town aren't nearly downtrodden enough to be regular day drinkers, and the one that was I gave a job here." He gestured to Quibble. "Which is actually why I'm doing some slight restructuring," he explained, offering the dish of appetizer samples down to the children's reach. "I'm gutting the booths out of the back to make room for more games in the space, and we've got an all new food menu, all concocted and hoof crafted by yours truly."
"Ah," Zach nodded, seeming to understand the soundness in that. But then he asked with curiosity, and some awkwardness, "You, uh... wouldn't happen to be in need of some... extra assistance, would you?"
"Huh?" Sugar Plum tilted her head.
"I mean, kind of," Chuck shrugged. "I don't really have the time to manage the place and work the kitchen independently," He clued in then, to what Zach was eluding to, and sighed. "Look, we're still a tavern. It would be a legal nightmare if I employed a minor."
At that, Zach made a small deadpan expression, though there was a hint of bemusement in his eyes.
"Uncle Chuck," he began, noticeably keeping his tone as respectful as possible, "I had to fight Sombra Loyalists when I was barely three years old. And I helped Aunt Rainbow Dash stop a tornado when I was five, and embarked on a search-and-rescue for Sugar Plum when she went missing - which, I'm fairly certain, no other pony my age would have been allowed to do..."
He stopped himself, and slightly blushed as if realizing it sounded like he was bragging, and cleared his throat. A soft "sorry" was muttered, and then he continued.
"I understand your concern, but... well, Dad's been saying that I need to find something to do with my free time, and I just figured... helping out a friend of the family would be a good start." He shrugged again, glancing at the floor a bit. "Plus, I'm already pretty good with mixing things and all, thanks to my Cutie Mark, and- and, this wouldn't be anything I haven't technically done before..." The pegasus sighed, and glanced up at Chuck. "I guess, what I'm trying to ask is... Would you at least be willing to give me a chance?"
"Easy, easy Zach." Chuck replied with a little bit of a grin. "I know you'd be a fine fit for the job, but if the wrong pony comes in here and sees I've got a minor on payroll, we're all on permanent sabbatical. However, there wouldn't be any issue if that minor was apprenticing the trade, not an employee," he elaborated. "So, as long as you're content with your pay being culinary education from myself, and the odd sack of bits that the ERS doesn't have to know about, then I'm happy to give you a shot."
...
"I think I can live with that," Zach replied after a pause. "I get paid more than I feel is fair in allowance anyways by doing fuck-all..." He blinked, and then said, "Uh... sorry about the cursing... I can cut back on that, if you need me to."
"Ha!" Quibble let out a burst of laughter at that last part. The other adults, Chuck included, shared similar reactions.
"You've got a lot to learn about the kitchen if you think having a clean vocabulary's got anything to do with it," Chuck shook his head with a slight chuckle. "That is to say, I don't give a flying fuck what you say."
Zach visibly relaxed then. "Well, that's a relief."
"Come in next Thursday after school, the kitchen renos will be done by then," Chuck instructed. "You'll be in till 8. Come ready to learn."
"Will do!" Zach saluted with his wing, and then he glanced at Sugar Plum sheepishly. "Well... Guess you'll know where to find me next Thursday now..."
"No you don't." Chuck looked to his daughter. "The kitchen is a distraction free zone. One errant glance and you or someone near you is maimed with a kitchen knife," He said grimly. "Isn't that right, Cheese?" He turned with a sharp glare.
"I didn't get you, it was just close," Cheese defended himself sheepishly.
Zach rolled his eyes slightly, then glanced outside and blinked a few times in realization.
"Oh darn... I should probably get going," he exclaimed. "I promised Diana I'd show her how to improve her teleportation spells, and she'll be disappointed if I don't show up."
"I'll come with you," Sugar Plum spoke up. "My house is on the way. See you later tonight, Dad!" She called as the two headed for the door.
Zach didn't object to the company, and gladly let her trot along with him as they made their way down the street. Every now and then, however, he glanced over at her as if wanting to say something, then second-guessing himself and choosing to remain silent. It wasn't long before Sugar Plum took notice.
"What? I got something on my face?" She asked.
"Huh? Oh, no. Not at all," he said, smiling a bit more as a light, bashful blush formed in his cheeks. "Just realizing how lucky I am to have you as my friend..."
Sugar Plum blushed beet red. "Awww.. thanks. I feel the same."
He seemed to glow a bit in his cheeks, and remained silent for the rest of their walk, until they found themselves at her house.
"Well, here we are," he said. "I guess I'll... uh, see you tomorrow?"
"See you tomorrow," She nodded with a grin, before turning away and trotting over to her front door.
Zach shared her grin, and then turned himself and began to trot for home. But as he did so, there was a noticeably lighter step to his pace, and he couldn't keep himself from smiling the whole way.
Idk about you guys, but I thought that was a cute chapter. And it holds much promise for the two of them later down the line.
Next stop, drama! XD
