//------------------------------// // Party // Story: Kiwe's Journey // by Mocha Star //------------------------------// Violet sniffed loudly. “Woah, it smells really good in here; are those turnovers?!” she broke from her friends to a display case and pressed her eyes to the glass. “They’re, beautiful,” she sniffled. “Hey! No crying on the glass,” the shop proprietor said sternly. “Blue, did you bring this one with you?” “Heh, you know me, Mister J, always helping the new townsponies.” “That’s all well and good, but what’s with the others? Ya planning another party?” he held his forehoof up and shook his head at the blue stallion, “because you owe me for the last one still.” “Psh,” Bluey said cartwheeling beside the baker, “it’s in the bag,” he dropped a bag of bits on the counter as he passed behind and to the display, grabbed a tray of treats and hoofed them over to Violet. “Have at it! It’s on me,” he winked. Violet giggled and pranced in a large circle, gathering her friends together as she took four different kinds of fried pastries and gave them out. “I do like to eat sweets on many an occasion,” Kiwe managed to say just as the chocolate donut crammed into his mouth and he ate it all in a bite, a very long chew that was worth every second, even after he swallowed it. “That is the first thing I have eaten in two days that is not reminiscent of old hay.” “That’s something again you can say,” Jade said, licking his lips. “Hey! I just rhymed, too!” “You did that on purpose, doofus,” Mist added while licking her forehoof. “That was so yummy in my tummy I wannanother, please?” she asked Blue who wasn’t where he was a split second ago. She eeped and hopped an inch when he shouted behind her. “You don’t even need to ask, I’ve got everything on my tab and there’s not a thing I wouldn’t do to complete my task, who wants to eat food by the slab?!” The room was vacant besides the seven, but it sounded like a full house with the excited six’s excited screams. “Hushup! Sheesh, you’ll make the dough fall at that volume, Bluey.” “Sorry Mister J,” everypony chorused, then broke into giggles. Bluey spent several seconds distracting the others to look outside at a passing bird and when they looked back at him the room, which was a simple three table dining room with rustic appeal, was now decorated in streamers, balloons, three flavors of chocolate fountains, two several tier cakes with each of the four travelers’ silhouettes as cake toppers; dancing and holding hooves. “PFUH?! Bluey! What’d I tell you about doing… that? How much product did you use? My inventory’s gonna be messed up for days!” “Mister J, look at those stunned faces?” Bluey pointed to the five gawking at the room and looking around at the innumerable treats ready to be dipped, bitten, eaten; mascarated by hungry maws drooling for sustenance. “I don’t care about that unless I get-” a bag of bits clattered onto the counter, several rolling from the bag onto the floor where the baker lunged to catch them before they hit the floor. A record scratched starting a song. “C’mon, everypony! Let’s shake those hoof-things!” The five seperated and began to gorge on candy sweets and breaded delights, only Kiwe stopped wolfing down snacks to notice the baker pouting at the bag of money. He took several treats in his yellow magic and trotted to the older stallion. “Want some?” “Nah, you go enjoy. It’s your party.” “But, you are not enjoying yourself as we are. Why?” Kiwe brushed his mane from his face, cocked his head slightly and widened his eyes, pleadingly. “Stop that look, kid,” Mister J narrowed his eyes. “What are ya, anyway? Some kinda body paint? A disguise? You on the lamb from someone,” he accused. “N-no, I am a zony on a search for my father. He went missing and I will find him,” there was a loud pop and party horn behind him that he startled from but kept his attention on the stallion. “A ‘zony’, huh? Zebra-pony?” Kiwe nodded once. Mister J quietly muttered to himself, “What’s the world coming to? Anyway, it’s not a problem for a child; but I have to bake a lot of stuff tonight to make up for what Bluey’s just used. That means I have to rush to get ingredients from all over town and then stay up late and maybe through the night until tomorrow afternoon,” he sighed, placing an elbow on the counter and resting his cheek against his forehoof. “Long days are just rough.” The stallion didn’t feel good talking about his feelings to a child, but he couldn’t bring himself to be upset at such a cute colt chewing a gummy worm. When’d I ever get the stuff to make those? “Maybe my friends and I can help, after our party, that is. We can clean up and,” Kiwe ate a cream puff in a bite, “help somehow. It would feel better to know we’re helping and not just taking from everypony in town here.” “I’ll think about it, now go dip that creampuff in the chocolate fountain. It’ll change your life,” he chuckled. Kiwe grinned and showed his messy teeth in thanks. … “Okay, ya sure you wanna help?” Mist hopped on her hooves, nearly pronking in place. “Yeah! It’s totally worth it after all those sweets, did you know my mom’s don’t let me have that many sweets? I mean I can’t understand why since I totally don’t really have any reason to not have them, like when I have my birthdays and Hearths Warming or Hearts and Hooves, or Winter Wrap Up, or-” Kiwe leaned to Violet, whispering, “Wow, she hasn’t breathed yet. How long can she go?” “I dunno, but my dad said too much sugar can make some ponies really hyper, then sleepy,” they snickered and watched Mist still rambling, now prancing back to the decimated desserts and pointing to some with a story to tell. “Mister J, we’d like to help any way we can.” “Well, I don’t need all of you here so I’ll divide the work. I need supplies from around town, purple and pink can go for that.” “I’m Violet and she’s Mist. The sleeping colt is Jade and this’ Kiwe… Where’re Flitter and Bluey?” The stallion looked up and smirked. “I think they’re an item now, that stallion moves fast and she kept up with him all afternoon, might not see her for a couple hours while he romances her up for the next couple nights.” Kiwe and Violet shared a curious yet knowing look. “Very well, they will gather the needed supply. What do you need from I?” “‘From I?’ Grammar isn’t yer strong point, is it kid? Anyway, you can stay with me and finish some prep for the next batch of bread and rolls. It’s about seven now, so sunset’s in a couple hours; you fillies can get back by then, right?” “I know I can because I was the fastest runner and jumper at the junior rodeo picnic last year and I won two blue ribbons and my moms were so happy they gave me a soda and I don’t remember much after that but that’s okay because I woke up the next day with paint on my face that made me look like a bunny! Bunnies are so cute, did you know I want a bunny and I’ll name it Hoppers because-” Mister J passed Violet a slip of paper and  waved her to the door and Mist followed, speed talking her friend’s ear off out of the bakery. “Well, that’s two down and one to go. C’mon, lemme show you the kitchen; where the magic happens.” “I’m getting better with magic, so I can be a good help.” He chuckled. “Not that kind, at least not much,” he led Kiwe around the back of the counter and through a door with a fake knob that was easily pushed open and into a kitchen much more professional than the ones he’d seen, except for Jade’s mothers’. Several stainless steel tables with can openers attached to them, two mixers that were larger than he was, refrigerators on the left wall and on the right wall were two very large ovens. The remaining wall opposite their entry were shelves of toppings, toppers, crumbled treats to put into other treats, a veritable endless delight that he’d never imagined existed in one place outside a market. His dreams were cut short by a loud, sharp clatter in front of him. He looked down at the smoothed wood and followed it to a long hay brush. “A broom?” “You’re gonna clean up the party mess, right?” Mister J winked. “Then, I’ll show ya how to do some baking, if you’re up to it.” Kiwe nodded sternly. “I will do this and learn all you can teach me.” He picked up the broom and dustpan in his magic and turned, rushing into the door with a thud. Mister J burst into laughter and fell to his side while Kiwe rubbed his nose then tapped the base of his horn. He felt magic flowing through the protruding bone on his head and wrapped around the handle, opening the door and moving through quickly, shutting it behind him and muffling the laughter. Then he winced as he realized he’d left the broom inside. … “Well, Doors, I see you have a knack for cleaning,” the stallion said with a firm shoulder bump that sent the sleepy colt stumbling aside.” “Yes,” Kiwe yawned, “sir. Can I cook now?” The stallion looked at his much cleaner dining room, to the green colt that seemed to be walking in his dream, and then the striped pony teetering beside him. “No, sorry kid, this’ gonna be a long night and you’re crashing from a sugar high,” he looked at the display window showing the low sun, “I wonder how the other two are doing. Maybe I shouldn’t have sent them on the job, the pink one’s gonna be trouble.” “Mist? Nah, she’s-” he yawned loudly and lowered himself to his belly, “-tough girl. I’m not sleepy,” he rubbed his eyes with the back of his foreleg several times, “I’m ready to cook, Simster J.” He grinned at the colt fighting sleep. “My name’s Jelly Roll, call me Jelly. I’m not too fond of Mister J, makes me sound like a clown of some sort.” Kiwe’s eyes blinked unevenly with another yawn. “I c’n do that,” he turned his gaze to the door to the kitchen. “After some rest, little one. C’mon, I’ll take you back to your hotel room.” “But, I’m not sleepy.” “Of course you’re not,” Jelly said nosing under the colt and getting him onto his back then doing the same for his friend. “Sheesh, you’re a heavy duo. C’mon, let’s you under some covers,” he groaned quietly every few paces from the weight of two adolescent colts at the brink of stallionhood on his back. Nearly ten minutes later he’d walked them up the stairs and into their room, taking note of the two unoccupied beds. He picked the one with a nicely folded cloak and with earth pony skill hopped them from his back onto the bed, where they curled around each other in an adorable bundle of d’aww that even sent warm fuzzy feelings into the baker, that stayed until he left and saw Violet. “That poor mare…” he moved quickly down the street to take the pink pony off of Violet’s back. “How’d shopping go?” he mused. “Fine,” Violet said with a stern look at her friend and then yawned. “Got everything, then she falls asleep while hopping over me and lands on her belly, puking up grossness that I thankfully got help with from a vender. Then I picked her up and there was a nice mare selling plastic disks; she said she’d bring the stuff to your bakery.” He groaned and rolled his neck. “Great, I’ll get a half dozen copies of her dubstep-mixtape-demo CD’s.” He looked at Violet and turned back to the hotel. “Forget about it, they make a nice ornament and burn nicely in camp fires. Follow me, I’ll get ya to yer beds.” Violet followed the stallion with heavy hooves and didn’t notice she’d gotten to her room until she was being guided onto her bed, Mist landing beside her a moment before she snuggled into her friend. “Night, kids. See ya in the morning.”