//------------------------------// // Short: "Confusion" // Story: Domain of Friendship // by Cold Bolt //------------------------------// Pinkie Pie grinned as she watched the latest batch of cupcakes through the oven window. “Uh… shouldn’t we be working on the frosting?” Tank Buster chuckled quietly at Pinkie’s excitement. “I promise they’re not gonna run off while you’re not looking.” Pinkie giggled as she trotted back over to the counter. “Thanks again for helping out. Baking is super duper fun, but it’s even more fun with a friend!” Tank shrugged. “I wasn’t expecting Applejack to give me the day off, so I didn’t have any plans or anything.” Pinkie hefted a large mixing bowl out of a nearby cupboard and quirked an eyebrow at Tank. “Yeah, but I figured you’d wanna spend it with Scarlet and Waterwing.” “I mean… I did, but it didn’t exactly pan out.” Tank sat back for a moment, letting his gaze drift around Sugarcube Corner’s kitchen. “Scarlet is testing spells with Twilight, and Miri’s getting flying lessons from Rainbow Dash. Since I can’t really participate in either of those, well…” Pinkie blinked as Tank’s voice trailed off. “Well okie dokie then! Let’s tackle that frosting!” Without further ado, she unceremoniously dumped the contents of a small paper bag into the mixing bowl. “Here, you can read off the ingredients from the recipe there! I already got the powdered sugar.” Joining Pinkie at the counter, Tank glanced over the cookbook lying open in front of him and cleared his throat. “Right, let’s see… Two tablespoons of milk.” In a flash, Pinkie filled a nearby measuring spoon with milk and splashed it into the bowl. “Okay, got it!” “A teaspoon and a half of vanilla extract,” Tank continued. “One and a half…” Pinkie spent the next several seconds very gently pouring the vanilla into the measuring spoon before carefully dribbling it into the bowl with the rest. “Okay, next!” “Now we need…” Tank paused, staring quizzically at the recipe. “Wait, what does this mean? It just says the next ingredient is… a cup of rainbows.” Pinkie giggled once again. “Oh, silly me! How could I forget about the rainbows for the rainbow frosting? There’s a jar on the second shelf in the cabinet to your left.” Following the given instructions, Tank soon produced a jar containing a viscous syrup that shined a vibrant gradient of colors from every conceivable angle, at which he stared incredulously for several long seconds. “You can’t possibly be telling me that these are literal rainbows. This is not how rainbows work.” “Of course they are!” Pinkie’s tail swished happily. “Now, these are boiled down a bit, so you kinda wanna mix them with something instead of using them straight, but here!” With that, she deftly unscrewed the lid and dipped a spoon inside, which she then offered to Tank. “Try it! They’re pretty spicy!” Tank spent several more seconds staring at the rainbow-covered spoon before giving it a tentative lick. “Oh! Uh… wow, that is pretty spicy.” “Right?” Satisfied, Pinkie scooped up some of the jar’s contents with a small measuring cup and dumped it in with the rest of the ingredients. “Rainbow get! Okay, now what?” To her confusion, instead of responding, Tank doubled over in a fit of giggles. “Hehehehee!” Pinkie giggled along for a moment, but quickly stopped. “Wait, what are we laughing at?” “Spicy rainbows!” Tank threw his forehooves in the air. “Every time I think a magical land of talking ponies can’t possibly get any sillier, it manages to throw me a curveball. This place is an absolute delight!” After a deep breath and a few more giggles, he managed to calm his laughter. “Anyway… that was the last ingredient. Now it just needs to be beaten with a whisk.” “Okie doke!” Pinkie grinned at her baking companion. “You wanna give it a try? There’s one on the counter behind you.” Tank blinked, glancing over his shoulder at the implement in question. “Oh, uh, sure. Just one quick thing first…” At this, he held up his forehooves and gave Pinkie a sheepish grin. “Any chance you could… remind me how to grasp objects with these again?”