Pinkie was waiting, patiently waiting, her eyes staring intently and expectantly at the candy-themed doorway that was the only barrier between herself and the busy Ponyville streets, save for the sales counter, the chairs, the tables and maybe even a doormat labeled with the word “Welcome!”, but that didn't matter to her at all. Only one thing mattered right now, and buzzing in anticipation, she remained vigilant in her watch, her anxiety actually causing her to visibly shake in place out of pure excitement.
It was coming! There was no doubt about it; it had to happen eventually! It was guaranteed! There was no escaping it, but the only question was when it would happen. That was what was driving her absolutely nuts, the painful seconds stretching into agonizing minutes which morphed into a bundle of burdensome minutes and even further still. It usually didn't take this long! Pinkie Pie was starting to lose her patience!
The pink, party pony gazed at the candy-cane clock hanging above her, watching the thinnest candy, the second-hand, move from tick to tick with its persistent rhythm, never changing...Tick....Tock....Tick....Tock....
Pinkie groaned hopelessly, gritting her teeth and fiddling with her hooves in anticipation, the brief wait already starting to overwhelm her. This was taking far too long! If it didn't happen soon, she would have a downright fit!
Suddenly, it happened, and Pinkie was at the door in a nanosecond as the entry bell rang lightly, her biggest and widest smile on display.
“GOOD MORNING! WELCOME! YOU'RE OUR FIRST CUSTOMER OF THE DAY!” the Element of Laughter cheered with a high-pitched squeal of happiness as multicolored streamers and sparkles erupted from seemingly nowhere, joining Pinkie in her ritual “first customer” celebration greeting.
The pink mare finally got a good look at who her special, first customer was, and to her great surprise and delight, it turned out to actually be “customers”.
“Omigosh! It's double first customers, and they are both friends! Wooooo! Wait...does that mean I have two first customers? But how does that work? There can't be two firsts....unless you both entered at the same time! But if not, that would make one of you one and the other one, two. Wait! Please, don't be sad. You're both equal in my book. Omigosh! I'm so excited,” Pinkie began, bouncing around the room with glee. “I've never had two first customers before!...Well....Except for Derpy and Dinky.....Lyra and Bon Bon....Fluttershy and Rarity....and that nice bear who lives in that house who brought his wife one time BUT! This is the first time I've ever had a princess in a double visit. This is the best first customer visit ever!” she exclaimed with a shining smile, zipping right back behind the counter as if nothing had happened after finishing, much to Luna's disbelief.
The lunar princess still wasn't quite used to the party pony yet, unable to really compute how the eccentric mare did many things which should be not only physically impossible but also magically impossible as well.
As for Twilight, she laughed, her day always brightened by the pink pony and her jubilant attitude. Plus, watching Luna's reaction and expression throughout the whole event had been amusing.
“Good morning to you too Pinkie,” Twilight answered with an equally happy smile, telling Luna to take a seat for a few minutes while she ordered some snacks for them.
“So what can I get ya, my first customer and awesome friend?” Pinkie asked, whipping out a large notepad and pencil, “On the house!”
“Oh, I really couldn't Pinkie,” the purple mare attempted, only to be shut down by Pinkie's biggest begging face, complete with wide, watered eyes and quivering lips. How could Twilight even resist? “Oh fine. If you really want too....All I need are some snacks for later.”
“What kind of snacks? I got cookies, cakes, crepes, pancakes, muffins, donuts, gummy candies, hard candies, ice cream, time sorbet...” Pinkie began to rattle off before Twilight could stop her. The lavender mare knew that if she let her friend continue, she would go through her entire menu which would take hours if not the entire day.
“Haha. Look Pinkie. How about you just come up with something okay? Surprise me,” Twilight said, earning a squeal from the mare behind the counter. If there was one thing Pinkie did best and loved, it was surprises.
“Okie Dokie Lokie! I'll be back in a few Twilight! I'll make sure to make the best surprise batch of treats ever, one fit for a princess and her bride!” Pinkie Pie declared, dashing to the back room where all the treats were made and stored, unaware of her friend's blush and of the other surprise waiting for her in the back.
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Moments Earlier
Diana could feel it, three pairs of vigilant eyes watching her every move as she walked down the bustling Ponyville streets after her mistress who had surely walked into the Sugarcube Corner by now. It didn't really bother her, considering that there were only two, possibly three, entities that could even pose a threat to her.
One was currently in Canterlot, busy at work running Equestria, and one was, at the moment, on a date with her mistress. The last one wouldn't be bothering her for a long time; he was quite stoned at the moment, literally.
So, Nightmare Moon wasn't worried in the slightest. Still, she was rather curious as to who was following her. Using her superior hearing, she listened, chuckling as three voices, distinctly filly-like, came to her.
“Shh! Sweetie Bell! We're supposed to be silently observing,” a hushed and frantic voice chided, “This isn't the time to be admiring Twilight's cousin.”
“But she's soooooo pretty!” the pony who Nightmare could only assume was Sweetie Bell said, “How did she get that pretty? She's looks like a goddess or something...” The disguised alicorn giggled at that, deciding that her three observers definitely weren't hostile. “Besides...We're only spying because you suggested we try to get our spying cutie marks before we talk to her Scootaloo.”
“And at the rate we're going, we'll never get em,” Applebloom lamented, knowing that being silent and stealthy were traits that none of them possessed in spades, especially when they were all together.
“You know...Spying doesn't usually include loudly arguing behind a tree within earshot of your target,” Nightmare called behind her back with a smile, chuckling to herself as she trotted back to the tree mentioned.
“I know right? That's what I've been trying to tell these two silly fillies Miss Diana!” Scootaloo agree without noticing, until she reviewed what she had said and realized that their target was standing there right in front of them, completely aware of their presence. “AHHH! Miss Diana! We didn't see you there. We weren't spying on your or anything!” Similarly, the other two ponies spazzed out, realizing that they had failed miserably in their mission and latest cutie mark test. “Well there goes that cutie mark....”
Nightmare laughed, amused by the mischievous nature of the three fillies, “Oh don't worry about it. I'm not upset at all. I'm more curious than anything else. What are you three fillies doing? You said something about cutie marks?”
“Yup! We're the CMC! The Cutie Mark Crusaders! And our mission is to acquire our cutie marks through exploration and testing through any means necessary!” all three of the girls chimed happily, while introducing or re-introducing themselves to Nightmare. The dream goddess grinned; this kind of club that chased after their dreams without a care made her smile. She quite liked the idea.
“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of meeting with the prestigious CMC?” Nightmare played along, unaware of the potential chaos that could follow any interaction with the trio of trouble.
“Well! Applejack was worried that you wouldn't know your way around Miss Diana, and that you might walk into the Everfree Forest or something even worse. So, she stationed us to observe you and make sure you were safe,” Applebloom explained truthfully, “And she said to try and help you out if you needed it.”
The dream goddess' eyebrow rose in surprise. It was an interesting development, and she wondered why Applejack would be so concerned in the first place. It was a bit suspect, but she put it out of her mind.
Regardless, she now had three girls here who seemed to be eager to do anything to earn their cutie marks and that included helping her at the moment. She chuckled as an idea came to her.
“Hmmm...In fact, I would like a bit of help,” Nightmare said absentmindedly to nopony in particular, putting just enough concern into it to make her voice sound desperate and the issue important, “Though...I just don't know who to turn to.”
“Ooo! Ooo! Us! Us! We can help you Miss Diana!” the CMC happily chirped, causing the disguised alicorn to smile at the eagerness of the three girls.
“I don't know...It's a bit tough. Maybe even too tough for three precocious fillies to handle,” she continued, wanting to make sure all three of the girls would follow her completely.
“We can do it! We promise to put one hundred thousand percent in,” the three of them declared, always eager to help....perhaps too eager.
“Hmm...Perhaps you girls will be perfect for the job. You just have to make sure you keep this a secret though okay?” Nightmare said with a trusting smile, getting three happy and excited nods from her new minions, “Wonderful! Now, lets go! And call me Diana okay? 'Miss Diana' makes me feel so old.” And with that, the three fillies emerged from behind the tree, happily joining their newest friend.
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Pinkie was suspicious; she could hear voices, many voices, in the back room. They seemed to be having fun, and she hated it when she was being left out of fun!
The pink pony was wondering who was back there though. She hadn't seen any other ponies besides Luna and Twilight enter, and that could only mean they had either entered through the backdoor or through a time-space portal created from forbidden gypsy magic. Of course, she was banking on the former, but the idea of the latter gave her the giggles.
Entering the kitchen, she was surprised and delighted to find four ponies, all of whom she recognized, the CMC and Diana. They were covered from head to hoof in flour and sugar, and there were assorted pots and pans all over the place scattered on the floor. It was an absolute mess.
“Oh hiya Pinkie!” Applebloom greeted nervously, remembering they hadn't exactly asked for permission to use the kitchen, “Um...I hope you don't mind. Mis...I mean, Diana wanted to make some treats for her cousin, but she didn't know how. So we thought we might use the bakery for a little bit....Sorry 'bout the mess.”
Nightmare waved meekly from the corner, her coat covered in the powdered flour, finding that baking was definitely not her forte. She didn't have the slightest clue as to how to make even the simplest cupcakes; she hadn't needed to cook for a few thousand years after all.
“Oh silly fillies. Of course, you're welcome to use the kitchen any time you like. Just remember to clean up afterward,” Pinkie answered with a smile, unable to get mad at any of them. She never got upset at ponies trying to make surprises for other ponies. In fact, now that she had heard of Diana's plans, she wanted in! “I was actually about to make some special treats for Twilight and Luna myself. So why don't we all band together and make the awesomest and most amazing batch of treats ever!?”
“Yeah!” all of them said as Diana cast a small spell to remove the layer of flour coating herself and the girls.
Without a second though, Pinkie began instructing the CMC on how to prepare a proper cupcake batter and then saddled up right next to Nightmare, wanting to learn more about Twilight's enigmatic cousin, a sneaky smile on her face.
“Sooooo. Diana, how's life in Ponyville treating ya? You like it here?” Pinkie asked as she opened up a fresh bag of flour and dumped it in a mixing bowl.
“Yes. So far, I've had tons of fun here. Twilight's been doing a lot to make sure I'm comfortable,” Nightmare answered automatically, not wanting to give anything about her true origins away, “And everypony in the town is nice too. It's been a while since I've interacted with such wonderful and earnest ponies really.”
“Well that's great! Everything is always better when there are nice ponies around,” Pinkie agreed, beating the eggs expertly as she slowly maneuvered to the topic she wanted to discuss, making sure the girls were either out of earshot or too busy to pay attention, “So how are you related to Twilight? None of us ever knew she had a cousin.”
“Well I'm sort of her cousin,” Diana answered cautiously, trying to come up with something, “Her aunt adopted me when I was little. Found me on the street.” Nightmare didn't want to create a story that could be easily debunked, so she went for something a little bit more far-fetched.
“Wow. That sure is nice of her, and that's so sad. Someone left you out there all by yourself,” Pinkie said, as her hair slightly deflated, but then reflated as her eyes brightened, “Well! Everything is okay though and turned out great. You must be really close to Twilight though.”
“Why do you say that?” the disguised alicorn asked, handing Pinkie a glass of milk for the batter. The pink party pony double checked to make sure the girls were busy, and satisfied that they were, she leaned in.
“Wellllll most cousins don't call their cousins 'mistress',” Pinkie whispered in a conspiratory tone, a wide grin on her face as she giggled.
“Huh!?” Nightmare balked, her eyes growing wide as she dropped an egg, horror filtering across her face. It was impossible! Somepony had found out!? “I...I don't have any idea about what you're talking about Pinkie. You must have misheard.” The Element of Laughter continued giggling, winking at Diana.
“Oh don't worry Diana. I won't tell anypony. I Pinkie promise! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! But I want to know all about it!” Pinkie began, “Because I never imagined Twilight to be into sexy games and parties!”
The dream goddess blinked, reviewing what Pinkie had just said. That was what the pink pony thought “Mistress” had meant?
Nightmare smirked; this she could deal with.
“Hehe....wellllll I don't want to embarrass Twilight too much,” Diana began, putting on a shy face, making it look believable. Nightmare giggled, earning an intrigued cry from Pinkie who wanted to know more, though the disguised alicorn resisted. She didn't want Pinkie Pie to be getting the wrong idea about Twilight after all.
“Aww c'mon tell me! I don't judge,” Pinkie begged, but she wasn't getting anything out of Diana, who simply gave her another wolfish grin, “Aww now I really, really, really want to know!”
“Sorry Pinkie. A girl's got to have her secrets after all,” Diana said with a smile, earning an understanding nod from Pinkie, “And please don't mention any of this to Twilight. You know how she is.” As much as Nightmare wanted to say something, the dream goddess wouldn't do anything to hurt Twilight, especially by talking about her behind her back. Though, she would have to alert her mistress to the fact that somepony knew about her calling her “Mistress.”
Meanwhile, the girls were dealing with the semi-finished batter.
“So wait...what do we do now once we have the butter, flour, milk and eggs mixed in. Aren't we supposed to add some kind of sweetener or something?” Scootaloo asked, deducing that their cupcake batter was not yet complete. Unfortunately, Pinkie was too busy trying to coax the secret out of Nightmare that she couldn't answer. “Hmmm....There has to be something around here we can use.”
“Let's look around!” Applebloom suggested, “It's only one ingredient. We can't possibly get it wrong.” They began to poke around the shelves, unnoticed by Nightmare and Pinkie, not really finding anything that they deemed was worthy of their mix.
“How about this?” Sweetie Bell asked suddenly, pulling out a large glass bottle from the top cabinet, carefully levitating the container down, “I think this would work.”
“'Hard Applefarm Applejack Cider',” Applebloom read off from the bottle, immediately recognizing the golden liquid inside as a product of their farm, “This should be perfect! We cook treats with cider all the time at the farm. Though, I wonder why it says “hard”. Oh well, all the cider we make is delicious. So it should be a perfect sweetener.”
“How much should we put in?” Scootaloo asked as she floated above the mixture, uncapping the top and taking a whiff. It was sharp, the smells of sweet apples and some other weird bitter smell burning her nose. It was really strong, and it made her sneeze, causing her to lose control of the bottle, accidentally tipping the entire thing into the medium-sized mixing bowl. “Uh....oops?”
“That's alright Scoots! A little too much cider never hurt anypony,” Applebloom cheered, “In fact, I think we should do this with all the batches we're making! How many bottles do we got up there Sweetie Bell?”
“Hmm about three,” Sweetie Bell concluded, taking down the glass bottles full of cider for later use and the next mixture from Pinkie who was still talking to Diana about something she couldn't hear. Regardless, there was just no way for them to mess this up.
“Alright! Let's make the best cupcakes ever!” Scootaloo cheered, opening up the next bottle of cider and dumping the entire thing in, the sweet, tangy and bitter smells of cupcakes rising in the air. Twilight and Luna were in for one heck of a treat.