//------------------------------// // Chapter 100: Sugar Belle: The Bitter Baker // Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// Double Diamond led the six stallions through town, pointing various areas of interest to them. All the while, various villagers kept saying, "Welcome." over and over again. "Something's definitely going on here," Shining commented to the others. "Cutie marks are a representation of who you are and make up the foundation of Equestrian society. They're also not something you can just remove at will. How is it possible to-" But just then, Fancy Pants interrupted with a gasp, as he looked across to a chestnut colored stallion and exclaimed. "What in the name of Equestria is that?!" The stallion apparently didn't mind the comment, he just politely replied. "Welcome! Care to sample some of the local fashion? I'm the only clothes salespony in town, and this month we're carrying cloaks!" Fancy Pants turned away and seemed to gag, before he politely said to the stallion. "Ooh, er, perhaps another time, good sir, thank you," When he was certain he was out of ear range he commented. "Well, no wonder nopony's wearing anything aside from that Party Favor guy. Those cloaks look tacky and probably itchy too. I should know, they look like my first sewing attempts. The results weren't pretty." "Maybe, but that's not a reason to get on their case," Thunderlane replied in a hushed tone. "Even if it's weird that they've given up their cutie marks, who are we to tell them they've made the wrong choice? For all we know, they chose to give them up of their own free will. And if so, that's no reason to be rude." "Trust me, that's not what I'm worried about," Soarin commented. "Just look around, Thunderlane. They're all staring at us! Not sure about you, but last I checked it was considered impolite to stare at others for no good reason!" "Do you need something?" Double Diamond asked, turning around to face the stallions. "Oh no no no, we're fine." Shining quickly responded, opting to defuse any possible tensions. "Very well then, but if you need anything at all be sure to let me know," Double Diamond smiled. "Now please, have a seat. Our baker will be with you shortly." And he trotted off. "I think I'm starting to see why the map may have called us here," Shining commented to his friends, as they sat around a table outside one of the cottages. "And I have a funny feeling that Starlight Glimmer is connected to all this, somehow. Did you notice that she was the only one who didn't have her coat dulled and had her mane and tail styled differently than the others?" "Maybe, but that could just be a coincidence. Or she may have chosen to do that to solidify her position as leader of this village," Big Macintosh grumbled. "Not sure 'bout you, Shinin', but I'm startin' to think we rushed off to the end of Equestria before we even knew what we were gettin' ourselves into!" Braeburn chuckled. "Come on, guys. We're not at the end of Equestria! If we were, we'd be sitting on a big old 'A'! Get it?!" "Braeburn, while I usually don't mind your jokes, this is hardly the time for them," Fancy Pants remarked. "We've come all this way here, and for what?!" "Perhaps, but we're here now, and it sure feels like something's wrong," Shining commented in a whisper. "I can't put my hoof on it, but something about this place feels off." "That and two bits'll get you a cup of cider. It'd be nice if we knew just what we're supposed to be lookin' for." Big Macintosh grumbled in reply. The stallions were too busy arguing to take notice of a light gray coated unicorn mare with a dark gray mane and tail, wearing a white smock tied together by a rope, and moderate purple eyes. "Excuse me, is this a bad time?" The mare politely asked, but her words went unnoticed. "Look, we shouldn't be bickering in front of the villagers. Especially not when we know nothing about this situation," Thunderlane protested. "Honestly, Big Mac, you're almost as bad as Soarin!" "Hey, don't be dragging me into this!" Soarin protested. "Sorry to interrupt. Is your friendship ending?" The unicorn mare asked, finally commanding attention. "Now what would give you that idea?" Braeburn commented, looking at the mare. "Who are you, anyway?" "Uh, well, my name is Sugar Belle and I'm this village's baker," Sugar Belle smiled, introducing herself. As she used her strong cyan colored magic to hold up a note pad. "Now, what can I bring you? We have: muffins..." "And?" Shining asked, as Sugar Belle took a long pause. "And nothing, just muffins," Sugar Belle replied. "We don't get a lot of visitors." Shining sighed. "Okay then, guess we'll take half a dozen muffins." "No, make it a dozen!" Braeburn protested, and when everyone looked at him he protested. "What? I'm hungry. I didn't exactly have time to eat before we left and I didn't pack any snacks." "Braeburn, you didn't need permission to bring snacks!" Shining remarked, face hoofing. Sugar Belle didn't mind. "Twelve muffins it is, I'll be right back." And she slipped away to retrieve the aforementioned items. Once Sugar Belle had left, Shining said to his friends. "Look, guys. We've got to stick together. It doesn't matter what happened before, we're here now. We'll get to the bottom of this soon enough." "Guess you're right," Big Macintosh replied in an optimistic tone. "And the sooner we figure out why we were called here, the sooner we can go home." Everyone nodded in agreement. Just then, Sugar Belle returned with the muffins and with a confused look on her face she commented. "Forgive me for overhearing, but just a moment ago you were disagreeing, and now it sounds like you're... agreeing. " "That's exactly what just happened. Is there a problem?" Big Macintosh asked. "Well, it's just... you had such differing opinions – and cutie marks." Sugar Belle commented, eyeing the six stallions carefully. "You make it sound like a bad thing. We have differing opinions all the time, Sugar Belle." Fancy Pants replied. "Yet, you look like you're friends? I don't get it." Sugar Belle remarked, her tone of voice indicating hints of curiosity and confusion. "That's because we are friends," Shining announced in an affirmative tone. "A simple disagreement wouldn't change that. Not after everything we've been through." Sugar Belle seemed to shrink for a moment, as she apologized and explained. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just having a hard time understanding it all. Starlight always says: 'Different talents lead to different opinions, which lead to bitterness and misery.' So... why aren't you bitter and...?" But just then, Braeburn (having taken a bite of one of the muffins), gagged and dramatically spit out what he'd just eaten. "Blech!" He remarked, a bit too loudly. Hoping to save face he quickly and sheepishly added with a smile. "I mean... Mmmm... good..." But surprisingly, Sugar Belle only replied. "It's all right. I know I'm not a very good baker. But at least, I know I'm not any better than anypony else in the village," She seemed to suddenly become filled with fright as she looked at Double Diamond and saw him slam down a newspaper in dramatic fashion. Hastily, she backed away and added. "Well, I... hope you enjoy our little village, for as long as you choose to stay!" Braeburn continued to hack and cough at the bitter taste of the crusty old muffins, despite his best efforts to make it seem like he enjoyed them. Just before she disappeared back into her hut, Sugar Belle hastily whispered to the stallions. "Come inside before you go! Meet me downstairs! And make sure nopony follows you!" "Well now, that was definitely weird," Soarin commented. "What do you suppose that was all about?" "I don't know," Shining replied in a hushed tone. "But let's just sit here, eat these muffins, and act normal. I think we're being watched." "You think?" Soarin remarked, eyeing the villagers who had all seemed to be observing the commotion earlier and hadn't turned away since. Shining shook his head. "No, not like that!" He protested in a whisper. "I mean, somepony probably doesn't want us talking to Sugar Belle." He pointed a hoof at Double Diamond, who ominously took a bite of his muffin, then went back to reading his newspaper. "Right, so we gotta make sure we don't draw attention to ourselves," Big Macintosh realized, then a light bulb went off in his head. "I have an idea on how we can do it," He whispered. "But you're gonna have to eat all of them muffins, Braeburn." "What?! Me?! Why me?!" Braeburn complained, barely able to keep his voice down to a whisper. "You're the one who said he was hungry, and let's be honest, you've got a pretty strong stomach," Big Macintosh said to his cousin. "Stronger than just about anypony I've met, besides Pinkie Pie. That mare in there just might be our best chance at findin' out what the hay is goin' on round here." "Come on, Braeburn! You can do it!" Thunderlane encouraged. Braeburn eyed the muffins skeptically, they tasted pretty bad from what little he'd sampled of them. But if Sugar Belle really knew something about the village, then eating those muffins was probably the best way to go inside and talk to her without attracting unwanted attention. With a reluctant sigh, he whispered. "Fine, I'll do it. But you guys owe me BIG for this!" Braeburn found it hard to force himself to stuff the foul tasting muffins down his throat, but somehow he managed to do so. By the time he was done, his face was turning green around the gills. "Ugh, never again!" He mentally vowed. "I can't believe you ate all our muffins, Braeburn!" Big Macintosh exclaimed, trying to sound surprised. "Guess we'd better go inside and order more!" The six stallions then slowly got up from the table, and after making sure that Double Diamond was occupied, they slipped inside Sugar Belle's hut and made their way down the stairs. "Nice work, Braeburn. You took one for the team." Shining encouraged. "Thanks, but those muffins tasted horrible!" Braeburn gagged. "They're gonna stick with me for a while! Guess it could be worse though, Pinkie told me she once ate cardboard by accident, the results weren't pretty to say the least." "Here, let me help you with that," Fancy Pants replied, as he took out a bottle of water from his saddle bag. "Drink up. It'll at least hopefully wash out the taste." Braeburn accepted the drink without question, the water helped to force the muffins down his throat and into his stomach. He felt much better now, though he was pretty sure his appetite wouldn't come back anytime soon. "Hello? Sugar Belle? You down here?" Shining called out to the inky darkness of the basement. Sure enough, Sugar Belle emerged into the dim light. "Thank you for coming! I'm glad you're here! You weren't followed, were you?!" She asked the stallions. Shining shook his head. "Nope, we made sure of that. But why did you ask us to meet you down here?" "So nopony could see what's about to happen of course," Sugar Belle said seriously, as she suddenly turned back to the darkness and called out. "Okay, you can come out now, the coast is clear!" "You sure, Sugar Belle? Can we really trust these strangers?" A male voice asked with worry. "What if this is all a ruse by Double Diamond to catch us redhoofed and rat us out to Starlight?" A raspy female voice added. "It's okay, we're not with Double Diamond, or Starlight Glimmer," Shining reassured the voices. "Please, just step into the light so we can see you. We come in peace." The owners of the voices did so, the stallions recognizing the unicorn that emerged as Party Favor. But the identity of the pegasus mare with light blue eyes, a white and light gray mane and tail, and a grayish blue coat, remained unknown. "You all know Party Favor, don't you?" Sugar Belle smiled, then pointed to the pegasus mare. "And this is Night Glider, a friend of ours." "But isn't Party Favor working with Double Diamond as one of Starlight's servants?" Shining asked, eyeing Party Favor suspiciously. "Only when the situation calls for it, which is usually only if we get visitors," Party Favor explained. "I've been pretty good at keeping both Starlight and Double D as I like to call Double Diamond, in the dark." Immediately, the three villagers started asking the visitors a ton of questions. "Are you actually the Prince of Friendship?" Party Favor asked Shining. "Do you know Princess Celestia?" Night Glider chimed in. Sugar Belle grabbed Braeburn's flank and exclaimed. "I love your cutie mark! It's so beautiful!" "But how can you even be friends with such different talents? Don't you ever end up hating each other?" Night Glider asked, clearly sounding confused. Sugar Belle, meanwhile, looked at the cutie marks of all of Shining's friends and made comments such as, "Oh, look at this one!" and. "This one's great too!" She then longingly sighed. "I'd love to have my special talent back even just for one day! Make something besides those disgusting muffins..." "Then's what stopping you? Go get your cutie marks back!" Soarin encouraged. "Well, daydreaming is one thing," Party Favor nervously protested. "But you mean actually having it put back on? That seems kind of extreme." "Why? If you really miss your cutie marks so badly, then why don't you take them back?" Soarin suggested. Sugar Belle's lips seemed to quiver briefly, as she nervously commented. "I'm not sure Starlight would like that. She wants us all to be happy in our sameness. After all, that's why she founded this village in the first place." "Just how do you take somepony's cutie mark away anyway?" Shining wondered outloud. "I thought that was impossible." Night Glider shook her head. "It's possible, alright. The cutie unmarking is a beautiful experience! Starlight uses the Staff of Sameness to magically take them away and replace them with these." She and her friends pointed to the black equal signs on their flanks. "It's actually not as painful as you might think," Party Favor commented. "For me at least it kind of tickled, but don't tell Starlight I said that." Shining was most concerned by all of this! "But nopony should keep you from your cutie mark. It represents such an essential part of who you are. Besides, cutie marks are like magic, you can't just make them disappear!" "And indeed they don't, in fact we're never kept from our marks at all," Night Glider explained. "They're stored in a big vault up in the cave nearby. And we can visit them any time we like to remind us of the heartache of a life with special talents. It's Starlight's hope, that one day ponies from all over Equestria will make a pilgrimage here and have their cutie marks removed as well." "Could we possibly have a tour of this cave? I'd like to get a closer look at that vault." Shining commented. "You'd have to run requests by Starlight first, and she'd surely ask what your interest in that vault is if you're not gonna have your cutie mark removed," Party Favor warned. "However, from what Double Diamond tells me, Starlight goes up to the vault every day on her own. And she keeps the Staff of Sameness there too." That night, as the six stallions settled in at the hut provided for them, Shining discussed his plans. "That vault of cutie marks and that mysterious staff sound very suspicious. I'll tail Starlight from a distance when she goes up to the cave tomorrow, then once she leaves I'll see if there's any way to inspect the staff or the vault and find out what Starlight's intentions are." "You think maybe she could be a threat?" Thunderlane asked with concern. "I mean, it does seem like she could have something to hide. But for the most part it seems like everypony's satisfied with their life without cutie marks." "Yet Sugar Belle, Party Favor, and Night Glider asked to meet us in secret. And they specifically warned us not to tell Starlight where we heard about the vault," Shining replied. "Look, when I first joined the royal guard, I was on the bottom of the totem pole. But Captain Gleaming Shield saw potential in me and took me under her wing. She was a hard task master, and she really put me through the wringer, but I learned a lot from her. One of the most important things she taught me, was to trust my instincts. And my instincts are telling me that Starlight Glimmer is at the center of whatever it is that the map called us here for." "Then, we'll go with you!" Soarin offered. "Heck, we could probably keep Starlight distracted and give you some time to examine everything in that cave." Shining only shook his head. "No, that's too dangerous, Starlight would surely suspect something. We can't let her know we're possibly onto her, or there's no telling what she might do. She could even kick us out of the village! I will go alone. The rest of you will stay in the village to talk to the villagers, there could be more that are not satisfied with their lives as they are. If any of them ask why I'm not with you, tell them I left in the middle of the night. But aside from Sugar Belle, Party Favor, and Night Glider, trust nopony. It's very likely that Double Diamond isn't the only one serving as Starlight's eyes and ears."