//------------------------------//
// Acceptance 
// Story: The Stranger Among Friends 
// by PhycoKrusk 
//------------------------------//

	The reactions when Driftwood and Twilight left the conference room were mixed, but he focused solely on Rarity, her smile glowing as much then as it had before. Without a word, she stepped up to him and nuzzled his cheek. “You see?” she asked.

Everyone that was present, ponies and changeling alike, jumped suddenly when the tree, root bulb and soil in one of the planters along the wall suddenly rose into the air, resting atop of Pinkie Pie’s head.

“I’m back!” she exclaimed.

“Pinkie?! Goodness, you… where have you been?” Rarity stammered as Pinkie extricated herself from the planter and dropped the soil, root bulb and tree back into it.

“Baking, silly!” Pinkie answered happily. “It wouldn’t have taken me nearly so long but I needed ingredients and ovens and aprons and the bakery here really has an unreasonable level of security. Cupcake!”

She held out both hooves in front of Driftwood’s face, a chocolate cupcake with a dollop of orange, buttercream frosting and rainbow sprinkles held gingerly between them. Seeming to have no words, Driftwood lifted up one tarsus and accepted the treat, before staring at it blankly.

“Oooh, not a chocolate fan? Darnnit, I can usually get that spot on! Does this mean my Pinkie Sense is slipping? Oh, I hope it doesn’t mean that because that’s going to really really really complicate things tomorrow!” Pinkie said, not really paying any attention to the looks she was receiving.

“N-no, I’m sure it’s delicious! It’s just that, well…,” Driftwood fell silent for a moment. “The truth is that I’ve never had cake before, not even cupcakes.”

Pinkie blinked owlishly. “Ever?” she asked. “In your whole life? From now and back and back and back and back and back until the beginning of time?”

“Erm, yes?” Driftwood replied, fidgeting a bit. “I’ve always been poor, even when I’ve been doing well. And for the cost of one stone of sugar, I can get almost two stones of rice, and flour costs almost as much as beans or millet and cake is so much more expensive than bread. Cake was just… never….” Driftwood stared at his empty tarsus, the cupcake nothing more than a memory.

“Cupcakes are amazing!” Pinkie said. “So amazing that there’s a whole world of cupcakes and coffee cakes and patty cakes!” She threw an arm around Driftwood’s shoulders and pulled him against her. “A whole world, Driftwood!” She lifted her other hoof and slowly swept it across the space in front of them to emphasize her point. “Driftwood! A whole world!”

Suddenly, she dropped to the ground, and Driftwood looked at the empty floor next to him. “But it’s better to take it slow at the start.” His head spun around to look in the opposite direction, where Pinkie was standing as if she’d always been there. “I’ll make you a sampler when we get to Ponyville, and then you can start your mystical magical journey into the incredibly unbelievably incredible unbelievable world of cakes-es-es! Sound good?”

Driftwood stared at Pinkie, and after a few moments, Rarity shifted her weight from one side to the other and back again. “Pinkie, darling, do you think that you might be….” She trailed off, her question unfinished when Driftwood leaned towards Pinkie and embraced her.

“Thank you, Pinkie Pie. Thank you,” he said with a slight hitch in his voice.

Smiling a warm smile, Pinkie embraced him right back and asked plainly, “What’re friends for?”