No Hugs for Sugar Crush

by FerociousCreation


A Busy Palace

The ground was never something Rarity admired unless something lovely, like a flower, came from it. But the streets of the Crystal Empire were strangely appealing to her. Every block had a different shade of color on the sidewalks. Not to mention, Rarity had a convenient mirror everywhere she stepped in case her mane needed to be adjusted, or to check if a stain may have found its way onto her outfit.

As Rarity continued to admire the kingdom’s varying colors along with her reflection, Pinkie Pie and Spike were enjoying their game of Let’s Find Everything Morganite Featured in Her Magazine Section; the game was named by Pinkie Pie.

“Ooo!” Pinkie beamed, “There’s the Topaz Diner!”

“What?” Spike flinched. “Where?”

A pink hoof jabbed at a building across the street. “See the sign?” Pinkie Pie giggled into her hoof, “That makes the score 3-0.”

Spike winced and pointed at the Bright Spotlight, “How do you even recognize everything without looking at the magazine?”

“I made sure I studied in case we played Let’s Find Everything Morganite Featured in Her Magazine Section. You just never know what pass time game will come your way, so you must always be prepared.” The mare gestured to Rarity who continued to admire herself. “Watch.”

“Hey, Rarity, want to play the If I Don’t Admire My Reflection, Pinkie Pie Pays for Rarity’s Order of Mineral’s Crystal Coat Game?”

Rarity shot an irritated glance at her friend, “I see you haven’t surrendered your eager will to make fun of me.”

“But I know you wouldn’t back down from such an easy challenge, then. Besides, how much did Roseluck say the Crystal Coat cost?”

“120 bits,” Rarity answered. She shoved her nose into the air, “I can afford such highly-priced products. There is no need to play your silly game.”

“But imagine what you could do with 120 bits and a free prize! You can get like, so many cupcakes and look good that the same time!”

“Please,” Spike rolled his eyes, “Rarity doesn’t need to play-”

“Fine! If I don’t look at my beautiful face for longer than two seconds for the rest of the day, I win!”

“-your game…”

Pinkie Pie beamed, “See, Spike? Rarity’s on a whole new level when it comes to playing spontaneous activities.” She whispered into his ear fin, “Maybe you should ask her for some advice.” Her head snapped around and exclaimed, “There’s the Chocolate Palace! One more point for me!”

Before Spike could throw down the magazine in frustration, Rarity tapped his shoulder. “Aww, don’t be so down, Spikey. How many crystal ponies have you won over and adored you? That has to be a lot of games won; much more games than Pinke could ever think of.”

“I don’t know...” Pinkie Pie said. “I mean, how many times have we saved Equestria-”

A hard bump on the shoulder stopped the earth pony from talking. “Pinkie,” Rarity hissed into Pinkie’s ear, “let him win for the moment.”

The small dragon flushed, “When you put it that way…” Spike puffed out his chest and exclaimed, “It goes to show how Great and Glorious I really am!” He walked over to the glass door and went to open it.

However, a red veil engulfed the door and opened on its own. A red mare with a white mane beamed, “Welcome to the Chocolate Palace!”

***

Sugar took a big whiff of the air. The smell of sweet grains tingled her senses. She looked down at the fresh batch of baked goods and saw a colt with a brown-sugar coat and creamy yellow mane and tail run around in her mind. “Mini Muffin…” Sugar hummed, hypnotized by the intense joy in her heart.

Raspberry walked passed her employee, briskly walking through the kitchen levitating a tray of wafer cookies. A slightly-gray filly with a mane nearly black, but just had the same blue as her father, fluttered above an imaginary Mineral. “Vanilla Bud…”

The boss paused for a moment and giggled a few times. “Sugar, follow me to the front of the store.” Like a moth attracted to light, the thestral pranced across the tile floor as she went after the red unicorn. Just as Sugar rounded exited the kitchen, she rammed herself into Raspberry, knocking Sugar out of her hypnotic stun. A few wafer cookies fell, but Raspberry was fast enough to only let one fall to its doom by grabbing the rest of them with her magic.

“I’m so sorry!” Sugar said and scrambled a few steps back.

Raspberry smirked at her employee, “I’m glad I got your attention back.” An embarrassed tail curled around Sugar’s legs. Raspberry placed the tray of cookies in the display case without looking; her authoritative gaze refused to look away from Sugar. The smile Sugar received gave her mixed feelings, but she did not dare to look elsewhere.

“It does make me happy to see you overjoyed about Mineral asking you on a date.” Sugar’s face lit up, but she didn’t care. “To be honest, I was wondering when you two would make things official. Your sister, Morganite, and I almost threw bits down because of how long you two would take before a real date happened.”

“I wouldn’t put it past Nightshade to partake in embarrassing me…” Sugar rolled her eyes.

“She just loves you. You should have seen what my sister did to me when I had a stallionfriend once. Hohoho! Redberry would never stop talking about him, even though I was the one in the relationship. Even when I broke up with my stallion because of complications, she still wouldn’t stop talking about him; mostly because Redberry was angry at me for cutting ties with him.”

Sugar’s ears fell back, “Did the breakup have a bad fallout?”

Raspberry shook her head, “No. We were spellbound to puppy-love and realized a while later that we weren’t really in love.”

A nasty barb clung to Sugar’s brain. “Do you think Mini and I have puppy-love for each other?”

“That is only for you to decide, Sugar,” Raspberry said. “To be honest, you two look like you both would become a cute couple. However…” The mare tilted her muzzle downward, and a slight shadow fell over her eyes. “...I want you to think about that when your shift is over. Don’t distract yourself with your eventual date.” Raspberry rose her head and smiled, “But use that happiness for the customers.” She walked into the dining area and scanned over the treats, then Sugar’s Hug n’ Sweet deal on the chalkboard.

“Umm… maybe you shouldn’t use all of your happiness for the customers…” Raspberry muttered. Curious, Sugar looked at the board to see why her boss was unamused with what she had written. When the thestral caught the error she created, Raspberry added, “Again, put your romantic thoughts aside or you might do something like what you just did.”

Sugar’s eyes were wide when she read, “Sugar’s Hug n’ Sweet Deal of the Day: One order of anything on the menu will grant a free hug and one-dozen free mini-cinnamon buns. Her face went red when she recalled why she wrote down her deal; Sugar was thinking about her possible children with Mineral and wanted at least twelve little foals at her ankles. At once, Sugar took the board and ran into the kitchen to correct the error.

She returned to the front with “dozen” removed from the sentence and rearranged the last few words to properly hide the previous mistake. Raspberry smiled, “That’s the work I like to see when you are on the clock, Sugar.” Sugar made no input as she placed the chalkboard back to its proper place. “Remember, stay focused. And keep your joy in check.”

Three figures approached the front of the shop, two of them ponies and one of them was… “A dragon?” Sugar said with a tilt of her head.

A smile that was sweeter than the Chocolate Palace’s custard-filled donut lifted Raspberry’s cheeks. Her magic captured the door, and Raspberry leaned into Sugar. “Get behind the counter now!” Before the thestral could react to the command, the door swung open. “Welcome to the Chocolate Palace!”

The proud cry jolted Sugar into action, and she quickly made her way to the cash register. The three customers entered with the little dragon at the front while the two mares followed him. Something pricked at the back of her brain as Sugar recognized the white and pink ponies. Even the purple dragon looked familiar as well.

“Wassup!” the dragon waved to Raspberry.

The employer bowed her head, “G-Good morning, Spike, the Great and Glorious!”

Sugar’s ears twitched as the information seeped into her mind. “That means…” She looked at Rarity and Pinkie Pie, suddenly remembering the glass murals in Canterlot Castle. It wasn’t as intense as Raspberry’s grin, but Sugar couldn’t resist smiling as well.

“I see you recognize us,” Rarity said as she stopped in front of the cash register.

“It’s hard to forget the ponies who saved Princess Luna from her torment,” Sugar said.

Pinkie Pie sprung forward and leaned over the counter. “Ooo! Nice wings!”

As Rarity shoved her friend away, Sugar nodded her head, “I want to thank you for your duties, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.”

Rarity fanned a hoof through her mane, “I wasn’t expecting to be complimented unlike Spike over there, but the compliment was well appreciated.” Sugar looked over the purple dragon as Raspberry admired him with wide eyes. So much for keeping your joy in check. Sugar knew how to stand before royalty and important figures. Chest out. Wings to the side and straightened. And nod when appropriate. It was a routine she was used to when Nightmare Moon ruled. If she was able to manage to stand before the once evil Mare on the Moon, standing before Rarity and Pinkie Pie shouldn’t be any trouble.

“What brings you three here to my humble store?” Raspberry asked.

Spike unrolled the magazine in his claw. “We are here for a few reasons, actually. One of them may involve you, Ms. Raspberry.” Sugar had to fight the urge to laugh when her boss let out a squeak of delight. Spike fanned through the issue and revealed the page that featured Sugar and Mineral Water. “We are here because of her,” he said as a sharp claw pointed at the thestral.

Sugar flushed and her stature started to shake and crumble. Remember how to stand before important figures. But Raspberry’s proud voice shook the mare to the core. “You must mean my most prized employee!”

“Yup!” Pinkie Pie nodded. “When I read about her invention of the Mineral Milk Cookie, fate brought us here. I want to see the magic for myself.” She darted over to the counter and slammed several bits on the counter. “Impress me with your creation…”

It was hard to not become overwhelmed by the pink pony. Sugar felt that she was being tested, and more of her composure flaked away. “Pinkie Pie,” Rarity growled, “give her some space. We just got here. You don’t see me flustering her with questions about her friend, Mineral Water.” But Rarity did exactly what she was trying to avoid, and Sugar didn’t know how to respond to either ponies. “Oh dear… I didn’t mean to-”

Spike cleared his throat, bringing all eyes to him. “Maybe we should talk about why we are here instead of crowding over Sugar.”

“I agree,” Sugar squeaked. Rarity and Pinkie Pie stepped aside and waited for the dragon to speak. Sugar looked at her boss who didn’t give her any dirty looks for not impressing the popular guests thankfully. But Sugar was at least relieved Spike, the Great and Glorious, was also Aware and In Charge. She could understand why the crystal ponies looked up to him. And the mare was quick to like him.

Spike held up a claw. “First, I would like to ask if you,” he said to Sugar, then turned toward Raspberry, “or you know anything about the Crystal Fayre.”

“I don’t know all that much, sadly,” Sugar said.

“Don’t worry that you don’t,” Spike said and pointed back at Rarity and Pinkie Pie. “They’ve got plenty to say to you.” The moment in the spotlight burned her back, but the Great and Glorious was quick to shove her out of it. “Do you, Ms. Raspberry, know anything about the Crystal Fayre?”

Raspberry flushed, but unlike her easily shaken employee, she remained collected. “Absolutely! What do you need to know?”

The dragon looked around the store, specifically at the sweets. “What unique fayre food is prepared for the Crystal Fayre?”

“Oh, so many! I’d have to pull out my recipe book to show you the sweets and desserts I prepare.”

Spike clapped his claws, “Then allow me to extend an invitation to you.”

“An invitation?”

“Correct. You see, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor are in need of assistance.”

Raspberry’s mouth parted, stunned by the statement. “Oh dear… Please inform me of their struggles.”

He gestured to Rarity and Pinkie Pie. “Oh!” Rarity flinched. “You wish for us to speak, Spike?”

“Of course. This is a team effort.”

The unicorn stepped over to Spike and pulled him close. “Aren’t you being the polite little dragon?” A few nervous laughs escaped the Great and Flustered hero. Sugar smiled herself as she admired the cute moment. “Ms. Raspberry, your leaders are in need of assistance in setting up the Crystal Fayre. They told me and my friends that last year’s festivities were… below par.”

“I must admit that they were,” the baker’s ears fell back. “Sugar knows how disappointed I was last year.”

The mention of her name didn’t make Sugar shrivel like a sun-baked worm, so she managed to muster up the will to speak. “I do. Everything was a scrambled mess from what Raspberry told me her displeasure.”

“Sugar,” Raspberry said, “did Saradiamond ever express her frustration when the jousting tournament was canceled?”

The thestral shook her head, “No, she hasn’t. And I am surprised she hasn’t.”

Pinkie Pie gasped, “You know Saradiamond! The Vampony jouster! Wow! We need to ask you about her!”

Sugar flinched, not sure how to respond to the boisterous mare. “I uh-”

“Pinkie Pie, calm down,” Rarity said. “Just because you are on your friendship problem hunch, doesn’t mean she holds all the answers.”

Friendship problem? What- What does she mean by that!?

Rarity smiled at Sugar, “You have to forgive her, dear. There is a lot more to why we are here in the Crystal Empire but don’t stress yourself.”

However, Pinkie Pie was not willing to be pushed aside. “But we have a friendship problem to tend to! And we have conveniently walked in on somepony who knows one of the ponies I am on a hunch on!” She pointed a very sharp hoof at Rarity. “Be glad this story is progressing without needless filler and giving us what we need.”

“Uh…” Rarity stuttered.

Spike once again cleared his throat. “One subject at a time, please.”

“Yes…” Sugar shivered. “One topic at a time…” Sugar looked between the three guests, curious and worried why she was somehow pulled into a scenario she was clearly unprepared for. There were so many questions to be asked. But she remembered Spike’s words: “One subject at a time.” At least Sugar would be able to attempt to collect herself to prepare for Pinkie Pie and her colorful nature.

“Pinkie Pie,” Spike said, “Why don’t you talk about the Crystal Fayre issue?”

“I can do that,” Pinkie nodded. But before she could stay on subject, Pinkie’s ears fell back as she looked at Sugar. “Sorry for being such a hasty pants… I’ve had a bit of a long week, and I want to make up for my errors.”

“Oh. It’s okay.” At least she is aware of what she is doing.

Just like her bouncy character, Pinkie Pie was quick to rebound her mood and smiled at Raspberry. “Alright! Crystal Fayre stuff! Let’s see… Shining Armor and Princess Cadence are worried about disappointing the Crystal Empire again because they want this year’s fayre to be super-duper fun. And they need ponies like you, Raspberry, to help them.”

“Which is why I inviting you to the castle to help set up for the Crystal Fayre,” Spike added. “Your Prince, Princess, and Great and Glorious hero would love for you to help uphold the many traditions held here in the Crystal Empire.”

Raspberry’s eyes lit up. But instead of losing her composure, the mare nodded, “I would be more than happy to aid my home.”

“Excellent!” Spike looked at everypony as they waited for him to talk. “What?" he shrugged. "That’s all I got.”

Raspberry took one step forward. “Is there a specific time I will be requested to the castle?”

Rarity tapped at her chin, “Actually, we have not planned for a specific meeting time.” She looked at her friends. “We should return to the castle and ask Shining Armor and Princess Cadence if there is a meeting room we can use tomorrow. We should also make sure they aren’t busy with any royal businesses so they can talk with their citizens.”

“I object,” Pinkie Pie said, shaking her head. “I think we should first seek out crystal ponies who want to help us first. Then, we can set up a time that is convenient for everypony.”

“Hmm…” Spike hummed. “I like your idea more, Pinkie.” He quickly looked at Rarity and stuttered, “N-No offense to your idea!”

“Hehe, it’s alright, Spiky.”

Sugar giggled a lot louder than she wished and brought everypony’s attention onto herself. With all eyes on her, the thestral expected to be hammered by questions from both Rarity and Pinkie Pie; specifically more from Pinkie Pie.

Princess Luna, please aid me!