The Demon Bakers of Sweet Street VS Cupcake

Or, Cupcake VS Cupcakes
BG: flutterflyraptor.deviantart.co…
CUPCAKES UNIVERSE FANFOAL. THIS MEANS CUPCAKES. IF YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH CUPCAKES, THIS ISN'T FOR YOU.
I noticed that Shepherd's Pie, a Cupcakes Universe!Pinkiebloom foal, resembles Cupcake, 's Cheesepie foal. And that just led to a picture, which led to a 3,651 drabble about the harrowing escapade of Cupcake's venture into Cupcakes. I hope to Celestia and @Loppodity that I didn't fuck up Cupcake's character too much, or Pandora, although she was just a means to an end. The story has flaws, but I hope people like it. There are authors notes to write, but I'm tired and I wanted to give someone so awesome a gift.
...So..... Obviously; IT COMES WITH A STORY!~

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“I have the best idea ever, Cuppy!” Pandora grinned at her marefriend deviously, though Cupcake’s monotone expression didn't show any visible reaction. Despite this, the Demi-draconequus knew she had her attention. “It's something totally new, just thought it up.” She smugly examined her nails, smirking for effect, getting Cupcake to roll her eyes. “I call it ‘Spin The Bottle’!” A small bottle appeared in the air, strapped to a wheel of fortune.

“Pandora, spin the bottle is already a game. That you didn't make.” Cupcake said, unimpressed. “If you just want to kiss me, you don't have to invent a game.”

“No, this is totally different to that kind of spin the bottle. I can't believe you would think I'd lie about this...” Pandora mockingly pouted. “You know I'm way more creative than that. We'd be making out already if that was what I wanted.” She waggled her eyebrows again.

“So what do you want?” Cupcake asked, her flat tone tinted slightly with curiosity.

“To play this game! See, I just figured out; there's a whole multiverse out there!” Pandora looked like she expected a change of expression in the beige mare’s face. “I knew it already, but it just hit me that there's a completely unexplored opportunity here!”

“… And that is?” Cupcake prodded.

“I can actually access them and send you into them! You can be my guinea pig! I could actually send you into a universe where everypony is a guinea pig!” Pandora’s bottle started spinning, stopping on the image of Cupcake as a guinea pig.

“No.” Cupcake said frankly.

“Please? It doesn't have to be guinea pigs!” A halo appeared over Pandora and she stuck her lip out and gave Cupcake the puppy dog eyes.

“… How long are you going to do this?” Cupcake raised her eyebrow, still not showing an expression.

“However long it takes.” Pandora kept her manipulative face straight, her eyes watering. “Pwease?”

“If you stop making that face, I'll consider it.” Cupcake relented. “But I'm not going to be a guinea pig, and you need to pick a universe where you know only ponies live.” She set her terms. “And I can leave whenever I want.” She added.

“Deal!” Pandora grinned, pecking Cupcake on the cheek.”I'll just read the names and pick one where you'll fit in.”

“No tricks.” She insisted.

“I won't trick you….” Pandora paused. “About this specific circumstance right now.” She added a caveat. “Ooh, I know, this one will be perfect!” Pandora gave a devilish grin. “I haven't really read anything but the name, but that's just the element of surprise needed to make this fun!” She waffled a bit when she admitted her lack of research, but she clapped afterwards.

“What is it?” Cupcake asked her, looking suspicious.

“It's called Cupcakes!” Pandora grinned.

“.. And where does the name come from?” Cupcake once again looked apprehensive.

“It just says it on the wheel.” Pandora showed her the bottle, which had landed on ‘Cupcakes’. “I don't name these things, I just show you them.” She shrugged. “Come on, it could be a universe populated by just you!”

“I've got time to waste.” Cupcake admitted. “As long as I can come back whenever I want.” She insisted.

“Sure!” Pandora poofed a small button and handed it to Cupcake, pressing it onto her hairtie “Just press it and say ‘Beam me up, bridge'.” She explained, bemused. “It's a joke my dad used once. Said it reminds him of someone he knew... Somepony named Bridge?” She looked like she was curious as well.

“I'll do it. Just send me to Ponyville.” Cupcake nodded. “They do have Ponyville, don't they?”

“Yep!” Pandora nodded. “This one is close to our universe, so it has most of the same things… I think. Again, the thrill of discovery, am I right?” She elbowed her marefriend mischievously.

“I'm positively enthralled.” Cupcake deadpanned. “Are you going to send me or just stand there?”

“Technically, I'm floating.” Pandora corrected smugly. “...Buuut I'll send you now.” She snapped her fingers and Cupcake was enveloped in a shimmering light.

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“Remember the button!” Pandora’s voice echoed as Cupcake felt herself being tossed into another universe, ignoring the swirling pattern, she remained steadfastly emotionless. When the swirling, hurling whirlwind subsided, she opened her eyes to find herself in Ponyville square.

“Well, this is thrilling.” Cupcake said, rolling her eyes before she decided to inspect her surroundings. “So what's this place like?” Cupcake thought to herself. She scanned the square for signs of activity, and noticed that she was surrounded by familiar faces. She felt relieved, but kept herself on edge, not wanting to end up caught off guard. The square was still bustling, but there was something off. “What's wrong with this picture?” She stared at everypony, looking for something that could explain her uneasy feeling.

“Hey, miss, are you ok?” Cupcake tried to not jump as she heard a pony approach. Turning around, she saw the mint green coat and mixed mint and white mane parted around her horn. She didn't know her personally, but she immediately recognized her as Lyra Heartstrings. “Miss?” Lyra looked worried at her silence, and Cupcake shook her head.

"I'm fine." Cupcake affirmed, earning a smile from Lyra. "I just got a bit distracted.... I haven't been here in a while." She lied. "Well, I was here yesterday, in a way." She mused.

"You've been here before?" Lyra looked surprised. "Well, welcome back! I hope I haven't forgotten you." She extended her hoof and Cupcake warily took it. "Did we ever talk?"

"I think I saw you around before." Cupcake said evasively, though her deadpan tone kept her unease under wraps. "Where's your wife?" Cupcake asked. "I always saw you walking together." She added, before noticing Lyra's reaction to her words. Her lip trembled, eyes watering and ears folded back, pawing the ground with her hoof nervously. "Did they break up?" Cupcake wondered, looking concerned.

"Bonnie...." Lyra's voice cracked as she said her wife's name. "Bonnie isn't... with us... anymore." She gulped and closed her eyes to wipe the tears away. Cupcake looked at her with a comforting expression, but  made no moves.

"How did it happen?" Cupcake asked her, managing to keep her voice calm. "Why does this feel so wrong?" She felt her hackles raise up slightly, the atmosphere giving her goosebumps, but she still had no idea what it was that was so suspicious about the situation.

"She... She just...." Lyra paused. "We... we didn't find a body." She admitted. "But she went out to pick berries near the Everfree for her candy, left me a note that she would be back in an hour or so..." Lyra choked slightly. "She didn't come back."

"I'm sorry." Cupcake said sincerely, but felt the unease reach a fever pitch as she felt something itching in her brain about the story. There was little reason to pick berries in the Everfree forest; most were poisonous. But she could see that Lyra wasn't lying. She tried to convince herself that it was a reasonable accident, but the military mare in her felt the suspicion full force. Looking at the square, she saw that while she saw many familiar faces, just as many were missing. Shoeshine and Cherry Berry were always shopping together, but Shoeshine walked alone; the same could be said for many pairs she often saw walking together back home.

"Thanks... I'm sorry you had to come back to sad news." Lyra smiled in a weak way. "I hope you enjoy your visit again. I'm sure Pinkie would love to see you." She added, her smile a bit brighter.

"I'm sure I will." Cupcake lied once more. It felt like she was doing it far too much for a pony she knew, even barely. "She has a point. I should probably start with someplace I know. And I know Mom pretty well." She trotted away from Lyra after exchanging parting words, and looked around the square as she made her way down Sweet Street. She passed by the mailmare, Ditzy Doo, and her daughters Dizzy and Dinky Doo, but paused when she realized that Sparkler wasn't there. The unease crept back in, but she shook her head, Dinky happily waving to her. "Sparkler was probably foalsitting." She insisted, but she wasn't buying it. Every pony she passed seemed to raise the sense of unease, and she knew that she had to keep her guard up. The town's activity seemed to settle down when she arrived at Sugarcube Corner, which didn't give her much hope for the state of the town or bakery. She felt something wet on her back and she tensed up, whipping around to see what it was, but found that it was simply beginning to drizzle. Which, considering it was July, was odd. She suddenly realized that it had been cloudy all over. It seemed like there should be somepony doing something, whoever was in charge of the weather was slacking off. "Or gone." The nagging voice in her head suggested, and she felt another drop of rain on her shoulder, and quickly made her way into Sugarcube Corner right before it started raining harder. "I hate the rain." She muttered.

"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner." Cupcake's training kept her from jumping at the sound of the mare's voice, but there was something about her rough deadpan voice, and the small country accent in it, that made Cupcake uneasy even if she kept up the solid appearance. She turned around to look at her, and looked at the mare at the counter. "She looks a little like me." Cupcake noted. And indeed, the mare's tan coat was close to her own, though darker. She was a stocky Earth Pony in a cloak obscuring most of her body, her hair falling straight down over one half of her face and the other half tied up in a pink bow. It wasn't at the top of her mane or large like her own, but it was oddly familiar. Her mane was a ruddy red that was a lighter shade similar to hers. Her eyelashes were thick like hers and the shadows around her eyes mirrored just as much. But her eyes were different, and she felt the fur at her neck prickle as she stared into them. She had dark pink eyeshadow and thick eyelashes, pointed and sharp. But what set Cupcake off was the look in her dark blue eyes, they were dulled and lifeless. There wasn't a shine in them at all. After a few tense seconds as they looked at each other, Cupcake decided to speak.

"I just came in to escape the rain." Cupcake said, finding the silence unnerving.

"You're still welcome." The mare said, and Cupcake could see her hide a dark look. "Ah'm Shep-" She began, but was cut off by a very familiar voice.

"Have we got visitors? Sheepy, you need to tell me about these things!~" A bright giggling voice came in from upstairs, and Cupcake found herself surprised as a pink mare bounced down the stairs. "It's Mom... but... something's... off."  She wasn't sure what was wrong until she looked at Pinkie's smile. It was wide. Far, far too wide, pushing her cheeks up and showing almost all of her teeth. And looking into her eyes almost broke her strong and silent stance. Just like her smile, they were wider than they should be. Unlike the other mare, Pinkie's eyes shone bright, but they sent a shiver down Cupcake's spine. Her iris's were wide, but her pupils were pinpricks in comparison, shaking slightly. Cupcake could swear she saw her eye twitch, but it was gone as soon as it came. "Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! I'm Pinkie Pie, and this here is my darling little Sheepy!" Pinkie shook her hoof at the mare, now Sheepy. "She doesn't look particularly sheepish." Cupcake was growing more and more suspicious by the second, but hid it. "What's your name?" Pinkie prodded Cupcake's chest, and Cupcake steeled her body to keep from flinching.

"I'm Cupcake." Cupcake said, keeping her face straight. Suddenly, she felt a cold chill go down her spine as the room went absolutely quiet. "What is wrong with this? Why does my name bother them?" She kept her face straight as her interdimensional sister and her mother exchanged glances, Pinkie's eyes twitched unhidden. "Is there something wrong?" She tried to break the silence, and they snapped back to staring at her and she tried to swallow her fear, like back when she was in the guard. But even getting kicked in the face felt less dangerous than this, somehow. She looked at the button stuck to her hair tie, just in view, and felt slightly reassured. "I can leave whenever I want." She smiled internally

"That's just a splendiferous super duper name!" Pinkie giggled, and Cupcake felt her vision of her step away from the mare she called mother. There was something off about the joke. She hadn't heard her mother say anything like that without occasion. This Pinkie was like if her mother was nothing but a giggling joking ditz, but... still, she felt something horribly wrong, further than just that.

"Ah like it." Cupcake's ear twitched when Sheepy spoke up again, this time much quieter.

"...Thank you." Cupcake said curtly, completely unflattered.

"Ooh, she likes you!" Pinkie clapped her hooves. "Sheepy is so shy around new ponies, that's why we call her Sheepy instead of Shepherd's Pie!" She added, Cupcake not buying it. "She's normally all like 'business, business, business'." Pinkie made an exaggerated frowny face. "But she likes you!" Sheepy nodded slowly, not giving Cupcake much encouragement. "Sheepy doesn't have her cutie mark yet, the poor filly, she's got this silly little problem with keeping friends, it's just so super to see her opening up to ponies!" Pinkie giggled and put a distressing emphasis on those two words.

"....Opening up?" Cupcake let her internal question slip out, and placed a hoof backwards away from the two. Sheepy's ear twitched, but Pinkie simply giggled lightly again. She was starting to hate the noise.

"Just being a punnerific girl, don't worry! I just like making ponies happy!" Pinkie said, quickly and chipper as she was for the entire conversation. It was as if she didn't have any other traits.

"Yah look like somepony Ah knew." Shepherd's Pie said, and Cupcake could swear she heard a similar emphasis on the word 'knew' as her mother. But it was too faint and dull to tell.

"Funny, you two look like you're sisters!" Pinkie pulled the two together, Cupcake completely unwilling, fur bristling as she was in the embrace of the one she wanted to be as far away from as possible. But she had to give this Pinkie credit, her pull was just as strong as Cupcake's own mother. She found Shepherd's Pie's gaze, and quickly avoided it, before both were released from Pinkie's embrace.

"I suppose so."  Cupcake flattened her hair, ruffled up by the grip Pinkie had on her. "I'd rather not be hugged." She added, but felt regret in saying it as the silence fell down again.

"That's ok!" Pinkie smiled even wider, so far that she was escaping what ponies should be able to do, gritting her teeth. "Not everypony likes the huggeriffic welcome hug!" She brushed it off, and Cupcake finally recognized the apron that Pinkie was wearing.

"Where did you get that apron?" Cupcake tried to look impressed, but it earned another eyetwitch.

"Oh, it's Mrs. Cake's!" Pinkie pulled at the frills of the apron.

"Did she give it to you as a gift?" Cupcake felt like she knew the answer, but she was hoping to hear otherwise.

"Oh no, she's dead!" Pinkie laughed, and Cupcake immediately took a step back. "Nopony reacts like that to somepony dying!" Cupcake tried not to look like she was backing away, genuinely afraid at this point.  "Mom would never say that." She felt her hackles rise as she started to piece something together; the missing ponies, the odd circumstances of purported death, the looks that Pinkie and her daughter were giving her. She didn't know everything, but she didn't want to know. At all.

"They had heart attacks." Shepherd's Pie spoke up again. "It was hard for Mother." She added, as an afterthought.

"I was making frowny faces all day for months." Pinkie made another sickeningly over exaggerated expression, and Cupcake glared, letting her deadpan slip. "Well, we have to write a number first~" Pinkie winked at Shepherd's Pie, who had a gleam in her eyes for the first time.

"....Number?" Cupcake took another hoofstep back, ready to bolt. Even a military mare knew when to stand down.

"You're going to order something to eat, right? That's why ponies come in, silly! It wouldn't be a bakery if we didn't bake anything!" Pinkie quickly caught herself, or at least, it seemed to be the case, with her haste to move forward. She laughed even more, and Cupcake knew it was about time to leave.

"I just came in to get out of the rain." Cupcake tried to find the easy way out, backing up. "I'm pretty sure it stopped raining." She looked outside to confirm her excuse was valid. The rain had stopped pouring, but it was still drizzling. "I can put up with the rain, I need to get out, now."

"It's still raining." Shepherd's Pie raised her eyebrow, narrowing her already almost glaring expression.

"It's not raining too bad...." Cupcake coughed and flattened her ears.

"Your bow will be ruined." Shepherd's Pie insisted. "I know." She made a show of her bow. "Mom taught me how to keep it up when she gave it to me."

"Bloomie is such a darling!~" Pinkie clapped again, "That's... That means..." Cupcake's nose wrinkled in disgust. She should have recognized the bow, but she still felt caught off guard by the implications.

"Bloomie?" Cupcake resisted her urge to scowl, and found herself stalling in spite of her urge to run.

"My wifey for lifey!" Pinkie giggled. "Apple Bloom! I've been baking up so much fun for so many ponies with her for years!" She confirmed Cupcake's theory, and she felt like scowling, but gulped it down. "She should be back soon, if you want to meet her!"

"No, I really have to go." Cupcake backed up, but found her nose covered in frosting from the cupcake that was being shoved in her face.
"Hey, I know, you can have a cupcake, just like your name!" Pinkie tried to give an enticing grin, which only gave Cupcake more reason to back up, but she couldn't take her eyes off the psychotic pink mare.

"I'll get Mom." Shepherd's Pie said darkly, Pinkie nodding.

"She's working, Sheepy!" Pinkie said helpfully, Sheepy nodded as well and trotted off. "Have a cupcake!" Pinkie insisted, sternly.

"Uh, I don't really-" Cupcake kept her mouth as far from the pastry as she could; the chances this was on the level were lower than the depths of Tartarus.

"It's ok if you don't have the bits for it, it's on the house!" Pinkie looked desperate in her grin, voice getting higher pitched as she forced the cupcake closer.

"I said NO!" Cupcake stomped her hoof, shouting. She suddenly flattened her ears and widened her eyes. "...Fuck." She internally swore, as her composure was crumbling. She didn't want to resort to violence, but she would.

"...You play nice." Pinkie's voice turned sharp, just as there was a creaking noise of a door opening. Pinkie's cupcake was close enough to touch her mouth; if Cupcake spoke, she'd have it shoved in her face. And suddenly, she smelled something... horrible. She got out of Pinkie's grasp, only to have the sound of two ponies trotting upstairs come up. And the smell intensified, as she suddenly recognized the smell of rotting meat. She immediately recoiled and smacked the cupcake out of her face, sending Pinkie reeling. This came with the arrival of a sickly smelling farce of Applebloom; her eyes sharing Pinkie's maniacal look, her apron covered in blood, Shepherd's Pie holding a cleaver. She was paralyzed with fear, when suddenly, a relieving familiar voice came from the buzzing hair tie. The words, not so much.

"CUPCAKE, I GOT BORED AND I READ UP ON THE UNIVERSE! YOU NEED TO GET OUT NOW!" Pandora screamed, frantic. "PINKIE IS A SERIAL KILLER WHO DISEMBOWELS PONIES AND BAKES THEM INTO CUPCAKES! PRESS THE BUTTON PRESS THE BUTTON PRESS THE BUTTON!" She heard her boss scream into her ears, the noise ringing and hurting her head, but the message was clear. All three of her pursuers looked murderous.

"No shit, Sherclop." Cupcake deadpanned, staring at the bloody mare, meat cleaver bearing daughter, and grinning Pinkie Pie.

"NO TIME FOR SNARK! THIS IS TIME FOR NOT BECOMING YOUR CUTIE MARK AND EATEN BY CANNIBALS!" Pandora screamed, terrified for her marefriend, the hairtie glowing. "GET OUT NOW!"

"Got it, boss. Beam me up, bridge." Cupcake pressed the button, and smirked, shimmering with a glowing light as she vanished from the universe.

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"Cupcake!" The second that Cupcake materialized, she found herself buried in Pandora's fur collar in a tight embrace. "You're alive!" She looked like she was about to cry. "That was the stupidest thing I ever did, I am so so sorry!" The draconequus's ears drooped down, sincere. "I didn't mean to put you in danger! I had no idea what it was, it just sounded like it would be ironic! How was I supposed to know it was a universe where your mom cuts ponies up and bakes them into cupcakes!?" She looked frantic. "Please tell me she didn't hurt you!"

"I'm fine, boss. I'm just.. not eating cupcakes... for a while." Cupcake said.

 

 

 

"And never send me to an alternate dimension again."