//------------------------------// // The Return // Story: Late Night Encounters At The Gas Station // by Barracuda cyborg //------------------------------// Another day had gone by, and the clerks were absentmindedly looking around the store; everything seemed to be going perfectly fine, that was until they picked up on the most distinctive scent. “Is that… cotton candy?” Derrick asked. Mark’s eyes grew wide, he knew what was coming, “We gotta barricade the doors!” He exclaimed. The two began to run about, trying their best to fortify the establishment. A sudden bang had hit one of the doors, the clerks began to lean against the door. However their attempts were in vain as the door flew open. The two cowered in fear at the force breached their defenses, this dark force looked over them. A creature so horrendous that it’s very voice could render the skies, and its name could make the bravest cower in fear. Pinkie Pie had returned. “Hiya guys!” Pinkie exclaimed with joy and pep, she hopped around the store as if she had won the lottery. The two clerks looked at each other, they sighed knowing this was going to be a long night. “Hi Pinkie.” Derrick said in a deadpan tone. Pinkie stopped in her tracks, “Aw, why the long face?” She asked, concerned for the young man. “Oh nothing.” Derrick replied, “Just getting over the first hurdle of the night shift.” “Well look on the bright side, you guys don’t have to stay here all night.” Pinkie said. “Any particular reason why you’re here tonight?” Mark asked. “Well after you guys gave me that idea for putting those candies in cookies, I wanted to see what other kind of sweets I could use in my baking.” “Well that sounds easy enough.” Derrick said, “Let’s go to the candy section.” Pinkie hopped with joy, the clerks sighed as they knew there wasn’t going to be a single chase or the store being destroyed in the process. The trio looked at the various candies, to Pinkie it is an untapped wonderland of possibilities to extend her culinary reach by combining any of these items; she had reached a new level of nirvana and she wished the night would never end. “Oh my goodness, I don’t know where to start!” She exclaimed with unbridled joy. “Well that depends on what you’re gonna do.” Mark said, “Some of these can be mixed into cookies, some of them can be mixed into ice cream, or some random combination of the two.” Pinkie looked at the young boy and her eyes grew larger than they already had, “You can put these candies into ice cream?” The excitement that Pinkie had at that very moment could make anyone become terrified at the implications of what was going on. The amount of energy she had could very well be used as an alternative energy source, and keep an entire city functional for up to three months; the catalyst was set and the reaction was soon to come. “I see my mistake.” Mark said. “Oh DO YA?!” Derrick shouted, soon enough Pinkie started to run bounce around the store in a ball of pure excitement. It was a strong sense of deja vu as Pinkie jumped about, however the two clerks had learned from the last time and did not try to catch Pinkie, and simply waited for her to wear herself out. This lasted for some time as Pinkie began to slow down, soon enough she collapsed onto the floor. “Did you get all the crazy out of your system?” Pinkie sprung back up, as if nothing had happened, “Sorry, I’m just not sure how to properly react to this.” Pinkie replied, “I’m so used to eating candies and baked goods separate; I can plan parties decades in advance, but I never thought of combining my two favorite things together.” The clerks laugh, “You actually plan parties in advance that far?”  “Well yeah.” Pinkie answered, “I also have a list for all my friends preferences, and their fears so I can plan their parties accordingly.” She pulled out a list with crudely drawn portraits of ponies that Mark and Derrick had encountered since they started to take the night shift, “For instance, my friend Twilight likes vanilla ice cream and red balloons, and she’s afraid of ladybugs and quesadillas.” The clerks looked at each other and started to giggle like a pair of school girls. After their laughing fit, they proceeded to list off which candy would fit best with what kind of treat; they might have slipped the idea of ice cream cakes, but Pinkie oddly enough had thought of the idea beforehand so no real outburst was needed. By the time they were done choosing candies, Pinkie had a bag that any kid during Halloween would consider a night well done. They started to scan the items and quietly thanked the store for having a multi item scanning system, otherwise they would be there all night scanning the candy they had picked out. By the time they were done, the total cost was about forty dollars, just from candy alone. Needless to say, the guys were surprised, “I’m guessing they don’t have these back where you’re from?” “Well not the way this place has it.” Pinkie replied, “They normally sell them in bulkier sizes, but these tiny versions work just as good, plus all the various kinds are better since I can fit so many in our supply closet.” The two had been to one of those bulk item shopping centers and they could agree with Pinkie. As cool as the bulk items are, the small things are better to keep around. After she paid she bounced out of the store, happy with her bag of sweets and the knowledge of some new recipes to try out. “Okay… now let's get this place cleaned up.” Derrick said as he walked over to the supply closet.  Mark sighed as he grabbed one of the mops and a bottle of glass cleaner, “Yeah, at least this wasn’t before we closed up.” And With that, the two began to clean up the shop.