//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Long Distance Friendship // by Drag Orion //------------------------------// Inside Sugarcube Corner there was tons of hustle and bustle as Mr. Cake worked to fill a large muffin order while Mrs. Cake was upstairs, attempting to put the twins down for a nap. “Pound, Pumpkin, time for beddy bye,” she said trying to remain calm-voiced as she attempted to hold down the crib with one hoof as Pumpkin Cake was using her magic to levitate it while her other hoof was holding onto Pound Cake as he was airborne and attempted to fly downstairs to the kitchen. “Time to go to sleep. That order is for a customer.” “Is everything okay up there, honey?” called Mr. Cake from the stairs. “The twins are just being fussy,” she told him barely able to hold onto Pound and was now off the ground along with the crib. “They get like this every time we get this order.” “Hard to blame them,” admitted Mr. Cake holding up a muffin bigger than his head. “If I was a colt I’d want to get my hooves on a muffin this huge myself.” “It’s done?” asked Mrs. Cake as she, the twins and the crib neared the stairs. “Shouldn’t she be here to pick it up by now?” There was a knock at the door. “That must be her now,” cried Mr. Cake. “Come on in.” The door opened and Derpy Hooves entered into the bakery. “Oh, great you’re here,” he greeted her excitedly and quickly gave her the muffin. “Here you go. Thanks for choosing Sugarcube Corner for your baking needs.” “Dear!” warned Mrs. Cake. “I can’t hold them back any longer!” As she said that Pound finally slipped free causing her to slip into the crib and allowing Pumpkin to float it freely and both made their way straight for the oversized muffin. “If you value your muffin you’ll take it and run for your life!” warned Mr. Cake to a freaked out Derpy. Clutching her precious muffin tightly, she ran for the door and fled. Mr. Cake acted quick and closed the door before his children could reach it. With their goal out of reach, Pound and Pumpkin returned to the ground along with the crib and a slightly airsick Mrs. Cake. The two then pouted, upset that the giant muffin got away. “Baking and putting the twins down for a nap is always such a stressful combination,” panted Mr. Cake. “Least the baking is over and we can put Pound and Pumpkin down for their nap together,” said Mrs. Cake as she climbed out of the crib. “Un uh,” the twins grumbled definitely, not wanting to nap. “You two know very well that it is time for your nap,” lectured Mrs. Cake. “And you both know that muffin was not yours. Now, it is nap time, not time to eat treats.” At that moment, Pinkie Pie burst through the door with her usual overabundance of energy. In her hooves, he was dragging in a huge sack that was almost too wide to fit through the door. “Who wants leftover party treats?” she asked opening up the bag and showing it brimming with dozens of cupcakes, muffins, cookies, brownies and even a few pies. The twin’s eyes lit up excited for Pinkie’s offer. “There was that much leftover after the party?” wondered Mr. Cake looking at it all. “Turns out the party was for thirteen instead of thirty,” she answered. “But now we can have our own leftovers party!” Well, no way we’re going to be able to convince them to sleep now,” admitted Mr. Cake with a little smile and Mrs. Cake smiled back. One miniature party later, Pinkie relaxed with her second serving of confections looking quite content. Mr. Cake carried the crib back up the steps while Mrs. Cake held Pound and Pumpkin who had finally fallen asleep after tiring out from the party. Once the twins were finally put to bed in their room, their parents returned to join Pinkie at the table. “You still got a lot of extra treats leftover even after a second party,” noted Mr. Cake seeing the bag looked a bit smaller, but was still far from being empty. “Guess they are leftover leftover snacks now,” chuckled Pinkie Pie. “Should we have another party?” “I couldn’t think about eating another bite,” answered Mrs. Cake, her stomach groaning at the thought. “Why not share some of the extras with your friends?” “That’s a great idea,” she agreed. “I just hope they don’t mind leftover leftovers.” “Frankly, I’m amazed that you were able to put all this together so quickly,” commented Mr. Cake. “You’re a real whiz in the kitchen.” “Well, I do know my way about a spatula,” she bragged happily. “Hey, dear, remember when we were talking about trying to expand our little ma and pa business?” asked Mr. Cake. “Yeah, but that was ages ago,” she replied. “And we still can’t do it now.” “Why can’t you do what?” wondered Pinkie curiously. “A little while back, the Mrs. and I had planned to open a second Sugarcube Corner in Canterlot,” he reminisced. “We were so excited to find a location, hire some bakers and start making a name for ourselves beyond Ponyville, but then we found out Mrs. Cake was expecting and we had new priorities to focus on. I remember we even tried renting out a room upstairs to earn a little extra money.” “Oh, yeah, and that’s when I moved in,” giggled Pinkie. “Oh, good times.” “So, why are you bringing this up?” asked Mrs. Cake. “We’ve still got too much to do around here to focus on that.” “I know WE are, but Pinkie has been helping us out for a while now and knows Sugarcube Corner almost as well as we do. She’s proven herself responsible and very capable.” “What do you think, Pinkie? asked Mrs. Cake. “Do you think you’d be able to help us open another bakery in Canterlot?” “Oh, definitely!” she gasped with excitement. “My friend Rarity opened a couple other boutiques so I’m sure she could even help me with that.” “That’s right,” said Mrs. Cake. “This could work. Pinkie, are absolutely sure? Cause it’ll take more than just finding a building. You’d also have to take the time to hire some bakers teach them our recipes. You’d also be in charge of decorating the bakery. It’d take a lot of hard work and you would probably have to stay there for a while to make sure everything's running smoothly. “You could be away for quite a while. Are you okay with that?” “Of course!” answered Pinkie still bursting with excitement and enthusiasm. “I’ll get a second Sugarcube Corner open in Canterlot and it’ll be so successful we’ll open a third one somewhere else and that’ll be successful too and we’ll keep opening more and more till there is a Sugarcube Corner on every corner of Equestria!” “How about we focus on just trying to get a second one open?” suggested Mr. Cake trying to calm her down. “Right. First bakery,” nodded Pinkie with a determined look on her face. “I’m going to start brainstorming how I want it to look. To the Secret Party Planning Cave!” Pulling a secret lever, she activated a trap door in the floor with a slide. Hurrying down it, Pinkie entered her hidden den filled with her party supplies and filing cabinets bursting with all her files on every pony in Ponyville and many more, detailing all their party preferences. “Let’s see. I’ll want it to look very festive. So I’ll want it very colorful and let it have lots of balloons and streamers everywhere.” Mr. and Mrs. cake listened to Pinkie from the trap door. Then they heard a loud squeak and confetti flew out from the trap door. “Oh, and party cannons! Lots and lots of hidden party cannons to give our customers a fun surprise. Hmm… and maybe I should have the building decorated like a big cake covered in real frosting. But what flavor should it be? Maybe chocolate or is that too overdone? Vanilla? Is that too plain? Tutti fruity could be fun, but what if we’re not zoned for it? I know! I should ask Twilight. I bet she has a book on buildings covered in frosting.” Mr. and Mrs. Cake watched as Pinkie slid back up the slide and grabbed her leftover leftover baked goods. She then hurried out the door and over to Twilight’s place. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, dear,” Mr. Cake told his wife. “When did you agree to let Pinkie build that secret party planning cave of hers?” “I thought you were the one who let her build it,” Mrs. Cake replied.