//------------------------------// // Baking with Pinkie Pie & Triple Threat // Story: Good Times In Equestria: Secrets of the Pillars // by GoebelTron //------------------------------// Meanwhile, at Sugarcube Corner, Mrs. Cake was giving their foals, Pumpkin and Pound Cake their bath. Pumpkin Cake was a baby unicorn filly with golden orange fur, a orange mane and tail with a blue bow, and blue eyes. Pound Cake was a baby pegasus colt with sandy tan fur, a brown mane and tail, and dark brown eyes. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie came downstairs looking all excited. “Oh, good morning, Pinkie. What’s gotten you so happy?” Mrs. Cake asked. “Oh, didn’t you hear?! My little cutie nephew’s coming over to bake with his Auntie Pinkie Pie! Woohoo!” Pinkie Pie replied with excitement, until the two foals made an exciting reaction while splashing with their hooves, and laughed. “Aww... Aren’t you cutie little foals excited to see my little cutie nephew?! Are you?! Oh, yes you are! Yes you are!” Pinkie Pie then kissed their foreheads. “Now, he should be appearing... right... *door opens and bell dings* NOW!” Thomas suddenly came in with his fire engine red jacket, safety yellow shirt, and bluish green athletic pants. “Hi, Aunt Pinkie Pie,” Thomas said, as he went over to his hyperactively auntie for a hug. “Hello, little cutie! How’s my little cutie of a nephew been?!” Pinkie Pie asked. “I’m a little tired, but doing good,” Thomas said. “Aww... that’s okay! Auntie Pinkie Pie’s going to take care of you for now!” she said. Thomas nodded, and then he saw the two foals making happy noises, when they were dried off. “Aww, they’re so cute!” Thomas said, as the Cake Twins were happy to see him until they crawled over to him and tapped their hooves on his feet. Thomas then leaned down and held them both against his chest. “They’re really cute, Mrs. Cake,” Thomas said. “Well, thank you, dearie,” Mrs. Cake said, as she walked over to greet the boy with a warm hug. “You’re still the same sweet little boy we’ve always known,” Mrs. Cake said. Thomas nodded and then the foals in his embrace fell asleep. “I think these belong to you,” Thomas said, as Mrs. Cake took her foals and placed then on her back. “Why don’t you and your auntie do some baking together? We’ll take care of the rest,” Mrs. Cake said. “Okay,” Thomas said, as he and his Auntie Pinkie Pie went to the kitchen and got some materials and ingredients to do some baking. “So, little cutie, what do you want to bake for fun?!” Pinkie Pie asked. “I wanna do cupcakes and cookies!” Thomas replied. “Cupcakes?! Cookies?! Woohoo! This is gonna be one special moment for baking some super yummy in the tummy sweets with my little cutie nephew!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Let’s get started! But we should put some music on first!” Pinkie Pie put in a cd into a boom box and then music started playing. They started off with making the cupcake batter by making several flavors of vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, apple flavored, and carrot flavored. When the cupcakes were being baked in the oven, they made several sugar cookies, snicker-doodles, chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate chip brownie cookies. Thomas even decorated his favorite type of sugar cookies with vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles on top. When the cupcakes were then baked and fluffy, they put the icing on top, and decorated it with sprinkles for the vanilla, chocolate and red velvet cupcakes, apple slices for the apple cupcakes, and a big carrot shaped sprinkle for the carrot cupcakes. “These look good, huh?” Thomas asked. “Yep! Now, all we need to do is give these to Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and then they’ll serve them to the customers!” Pinkie Pie said. “Well! These look amazing!” Mrs. Cake said. “With my little cutie nephew, he’s much more fun and a big help anytime!” Pinkie Pie replied. “By the way, Thomas sweetheart? You can take some of the treats you’ve made to go if you want. It’s on the house,” Mrs. Cake said. “Thank you, Mrs. Cake. I’ll stop by another time, too,” Thomas said, as he took some cookies and one cupcake to go. “Bye!” Thomas then left the shop, until he saw Spike decorating Town Hall with a banner. “Is the banner even? Are the flowers in place? By which I mean "completely out of view". I'm pretty sure dragons don't like flowers. And what about the Ceremonial Dragon Fire Flame of Friendship? Is it still flaming?” Spike asked. Thomas suddenly came over and saw a lot of decorations set up as well, until he bumped into a lavender colored foreleg. “Oh, I am so sorry, bug,” said a voice. Thomas looked up and saw Twilight helping him up. “What’s going on here, Aunt Twilight?” Thomas asked. “Spike’s been working really hard for a little something he’s expecting,” Starlight replied. “Hey, honey.” “Hi, Aunt Starlight,” Thomas said. “So, who’s he expecting?” “It’s Ember,” Spike said. “Reason one - I invited Dragon Lord Ember to Ponyville today. Reason two – the Dragon Lord is a dragon. Reason three – she's coming here to learn more about friendship.” “EMBER’S COMING?! I MISSED HER TOO!” Thomas said. “That’s right, sweetie. And maybe she might be able to hang out with you as well,” Twilight said. “Cool!” Thomas said. “According to Ember's letters, the dragons are trying to be friends, but competing is in their nature, and it's leading to more and more fights,” Twilight explained. “Oh...” Thomas said. “Which brings me to to reason number four. The Dragon Lord wants my advice, and as the new official Equestrian friendship ambassador to the dragons, I can't let her down,” Spike said. “Don’t worry, Spike. I’m sure you’ll figure out something,” Thomas said. “Thanks, bud,” Spike said. Suddenly, they heard wings fluttering, and they turned around and saw a tall changeling with beetle mandibles on his head. It was Thorax, the new ruler of the reformed Changelings. “Thorax?! You’re in Ponyville!” Spike said. “Hey, Spike. You invited me, remember?” Thorax said. “Oh, right,” Spike said. “Um, but since I’m in a middle of something right now... I’d like to spend a few minutes before my other guest arrives.” “Oh, okay,” Thorax said. “Thorax!” Thomas said. “Hey, little guy. Glad you’re still alive,” Thorax said. “Yeah, and I’m glad you help my Momma save my life,” Thomas said. “Hey, just be glad you’re still breathing and still loved by your family,” Thorax said. Thomas nodded, and then gave the Changeling a hug. “Wasn’t expecting that, but okay,” Thorax said. “Sorry. He kinda missed you since you and the other changelings saved him from Chrysalis,” Starlight said. “Oh,” Thorax said. “Well, I’m glad you’re getting to know the changelings since they apologized for what they did. Oooh! I can't believe you did all this for me! Great banner! Love the stage! What's this flame thingy? Oh, it's pretty!” “You invited Thorax over to Ponyville on the same day as Ember?!” Twilight asked while whispering to Spike. “Apparently,” Spike said. “That doesn't seem like a good idea. How are you gonna entertain them both?” Starlight asked. “I don’t know. I completely forgot! Thorax wrote and said he needed to talk, and I told him to come over. I didn't realize it was the same day I invited Ember! What am I gonna do?!” Spike panicked “Well, maybe they'll like each other,” Thomas said. “Probably not. Ember is tough and self-assured and intimidating. And Thorax is...” Spike was cut off by Thorax. “Spike, I'm so glad you invited me! You are one of my closest, nicest, most caring, most understanding friends ever! Ooh! Is that ice in the shape of a dragon?” “Yeah, I see your point. They might not get each other,” Starlight said. “But maybe with a little reasonable conversation with each other?” Thomas suggested. “Or worse – they'll hate each other!” Spike said. “And if the leader of the changelings and the Dragon Lord get into a fight... [gulps] I could be responsible for starting a war that could ruin Equestria as we know it!” Spike started hyperventilating. “I'm sure that won't happen. Now pull it together,” Twilight said. “So, heh, Thorax, heh, everything good with you?” Spike nervously asked. Thorax sighed sadly, “Well, honestly, no. Not really. I have indigestion. Not sure if it's the new diet or stress. Or maybe it's both.” “Wow. I’m sorry you feel that way,” Thomas said. “Yeah, it really could be both. And it might be affecting my sleeping, too. I'm a real tosser and turner.” “Uh-oh!” Twilight whimpered. “Sounds like you really need to unwind.” Spike said. “Uh, how about a, uh... a trip to the castle? Heh. You can't miss that view.” “Yes, the castle! I'll give you a personal tour!” Twilight exclaimed. “I’d like that,” Thorax said. “Aunt Twilight? Can I stay with Spike?” Thomas asked. “Go right ahead, sweetie. Starlight, could you watch over him?” Twilight asked. “Sure thing,” Starlight said, and then after the alicorn and the changeling went to the castle, Spike was being calmed down by Thomas as he rubbed the drake’s back and then Spike took some deep breaths. They then heard something coming, and then it landed on the ground with a boom, until trumpets played a welcoming fanfare as they saw Ember stand up. “Hey, Ember!” Spike said, as he gave her a hug around her waist and laid his head on her belly. “Oh, right. The hug thing,” Ember chuckled. “EMBER!” Thomas exclaimed. “Hey, little guy! Long time, no see!” Ember said, until Thomas ran over to the blue female dragon for a hug, as she held him with both her arms. “I know. I missed you too,” she said. “Wow! This place has a lot of colors. In the Dragon Lands, everything's just rocks or the color of ash,” Ember said. “Yep. That’s why it’s called Ponyville,” Thomas said. “So, where is Twilight?” Ember asked. “She’s at the castle. Why?” Thomas asked. “Because I haven’t seen her in a while,” Ember said. “Oh...” Thomas replied. “We should go visit her then. Part of friendship is saying "hi" to your friends, right?” Ember asked. “Yeah, it is,” Starlight said. “But she’s a little busy right now.” “Okay, well at least I can wait, right?” Ember asked. “Yeah! Wait for her!” Spike said nervously. They then went to the castle, and as they entered, Twilight and Thorax weren’t there. “I’m sure Twilight’s doing something important right now, so we should wait for her,” Spike said. “Good choice,” Starlight said. “Uh, you must be hungry from your travels. Please, I'd love to present you with an official friendship welcome banquet,” Spike suggested. There was suddenly a loud crunching noise, and they saw Ember eating some of the crystals from the walls, “So this is something friends do? I could get used to this.” She then resumed chomping on the wall, until Thomas laughed since he thought she was being silly. “Actually, that's not food,” Starlight said. “Those are walls!” Thomas laughed. “Dragons love gems!” Spike said. “Fine, but you're telling Twilight what happened to her wall,” Starlight said. Ember then continued chomping on the wall. “Just keep her here,” Spike said to Thomas and Starlight, then he turned to Ember. “Okay, yeah!” He suddenly chuckled nervously, “Enjoy all the, uh... crystal... things!” “Where are you going? I thought this was an official friendship banquet,” Ember asked with her mouth full. “Just gotta use the little dragons' room!” Spike replied as he zoomed away. Ember then chomped on a crystal bowl, until Thomas continued laughing. “What’s so funny?” Ember asked. “He’s laughing because he thinks you’re being funny,” Starlight said. “Hmm, no kidding,” Ember said, as she continued eating. “So this is my comfy chair for fictional reads,” Twilight said, while showing Thorax the tour. “This is my studying chair because the hard back keeps me awake.” The door opened and Spike appeared. “Oh, Spike! I'm so glad you're here!” Thorax exclaimed, until he leaned over to him and whispered. “This castle visit is getting weird. Twilight really likes chairs. Oh, what happened to the ice cream?” “What? Oh, right! Uh, they ran out. Heh. Hey, I'm really sorry, but I gotta borrow Twilight quickly,” Spike said, as he took Twilight out of the room and appeared again. “Be right back!” “But we didn't get to talk yet!” Thorax said, until he groaned. Twilight and Spike were in the map table room. “What now?” Twilight asked. “Ember's here!” Spike said. “I know. I saw you coming and had to distract Thorax by showing him chairs,” Twilight said. “Why did you bring Ember to the castle of all places?” “I don't know! Ember was asking for you, Thorax wants to talk with me,” Spike panicked nervously. “We need to switch places! They might be getting suspicious.” Twilight comforted Spike with a hug, “All we have to do is make both Thorax and Ember feel special and keep them apart for a few more hours. We can do this.” Spike then sighed, “You’re right, Twilight. I’m just gonna... go get some air for a little bit.” Spike then walked out of the room, and then walked out to Ponyville for a calming walk to relief his stress. “Spike, are you here? Ember's eaten all of Twilight's decorations, and—oh! Hey, Twilight! ” Starlight said. “Where’s Spike?” “He’s taking a walk. He’s under a lot of pressure right now, so he needs to calm himself for now,” Twilight said. “Oh,” Starlight said. “By the way... we also brought Thomas over.” “Where is he?” Twilight asked. “With Ember in the dining hall,” Starlight said. Twilight then went to go take a look. Meanwhile, Ember laid down on the couch feeling bored, and Thomas suddenly laid on her chest as she held him with both arms. The door opened, and Twilight saw Ember resting on the couch, “Ember, there you are!” As Thomas woke up, Twilight then hugged Ember, “Okay, right. More pony hugs.” Twilight made a squee and an apologetic smile. “How's your trip to Ponyville so far?” Twilight asked. “Well, I'm certainly learning a lot about friendship. I had no idea it was polite to decorate your walls in your friends' favorite foods!” Twilight Sparkle laughed nervously after seeing her walls eating and her decorations chewed on, “Oh, my.” “Where'd Spike and Starlight go? I feel like I'm being avoided,” Ember asked, before she snorted. “Nooooo. They're just making sure everything is perfect for your welcome party later. In the meantime, how about I show you around town?” Twilight asked. “Sounds good. I can't exactly learn about friendship if I don't make new friends,” Ember said. Twilight then sighed, and then Ember walked out with Twilight. Meanwhile, in the library room, Thorax felt stiff as he stretched his exoskeleton to make him comfortable on the chair. Starlight suddenly walked in, “Uh, hey, Thorax. Um, Twilight and Spike had some boring official paperwork to deal with, so looks like you and I get to hang out. What would you like to do?” “But I wanted to talk with Spike. He said he'd be right back,” Thorax said. “Don’t worry, you will. Why don’t we... go grab a bite to eat?” Starlight suggested. “Yeah, I guess I’m a little bit hungry,” Thorax said. “Okay, since the dining room’s occupied, we’ll go out together until Twilight and Spike come back,” Starlight said, as she and Thorax left the castle. Meanwhile, Spike was sitting on a bench feeling stressed out about Ember and Thorax meeting in a fighting situation, but he tried to get some help, until he heard a familiar voice. “Spike! There you are! Uh, done with your boring paperwork, I see.” Starlight laughed nervously, “Uh-huh. Uh-huh.” “Yep,” Spike laughed nervously. “I am done with whatever Starlight says I was doing.” “Thorax wanted to get out of the castle. I thought coming to town was a really, really great idea,” Starlight said. “Well, maybe now we can talk,” Thorax said. “Uh, sssssure,” Spike said. Starlight then let Thomas climb off her back, and he went to Thorax and Spike, I'll leave you guys to it.” “First of all, I want to say thank you for having me over. I'm in a bit of a leadership pickle, and I could use some advice,” Thorax said. “Well, I definitely want to help you out as quickly as possible,” Spike said. “Here's my problem. There's this renegade group of changelings who still feed off of love. Even though I said, "Hey let's not do that anymore," they say, "Hey, this is how we've been doing things for hundreds of years..."” Thorax then crossfaded. “...but it's like they don't want to, even though I'm the leader and I have to...” Thomas suddenly went to go check on Ember and Twilight. Ember suddenly saw some ponies chatting with each other, and then went to introduce herself, “Hello, I am Ember, daughter of Torch, winner of the Gauntlet of Fire, and lord of all dragons!” The ponies screamed and ran away after Ember roared at them. “Usually when I do that, the dragons are eager to meet me,” she said. “That's not how ponies make friends,” Twilight said. “Ah, I get it.” Starlight suddenly walked over, “Uh, you guys are in town, too?” “What are you talking about? You've been with me this whole time,” Ember said. “No. I'm Starlight,” she said. Ember was suddenly beat, “Riiiight. I'm sorry, but you can't blame me. You both look and act so much alike.” “WHAT?!” Twilight and Starlight asked in unison. Thorax continued with his story with Spike, “...and they said to me they just keep saying the same thing. You know, I think my leadership problem started in childhood. I must've been three when...” “...three's a different story, a-and you've definitely gotta hear it. But the story about my brother was when I was two... or was I one?” Spike was suddenly confused, “And your point is?” Thorax sighed, “So what do you think I should do?” “Uh, actually, I, uh... need a minute... alone... to, uh, really come up with great advice! I'll be right back,” Spike said as he ran over somewhere else. Thorax sighed, “Great. No problem. Leave me again. It's fine.” “I'm just saying you're both purple ponies with purple hair. You both have cutie marks with sparkly things,” Ember said. Starlight chuckled, “Mine's more of a glimmer. Heh.” “And my mane’s more of a navy blue,” Twilight said. “How is that different? Oh, good. Spike. Can you please tell these two I'm right? They look very similar,” Ember asked, while Twilight and Starlight gave Ember a angrily stern look. “Uh... Well, y'know, one thing friends do is let something go when it's upsetting somepony else,” Spike said. “But I'm right! Besides, who are you to be telling me about friendship? I've barely seen you all day!” Ember argued. “Uh, well, I've seen you,” Spike said. Ember suddenly got offended, “Are you calling me a liar?!” Spike chattered nervously. “Hey! No one yells at my friend!” Thorax yelled, as he then transformed into a bear, and growled like a bear. “Spike, get away from the bear!” Ember yelled. “Actually, the bear is a changeling. And he's quite gentle,” Twilight said. “Not anymore! Thorax said, as he roared like a bear, and then ran towards Ember. Spike screamed, “My worst fears are happening!” “No!” Thomas said, as he and Spike stood in the way. Thorax panted, “Back away, guys! I'm not gonna let this dragon harm a single strand of hair or scale on your back!” “You back away! I'm not gonna let you harm them!” Ember shouted, until she got confused. “Wait. Did you say you're not gonna let me harm them?” “Yeah!” Thorax said. “But that's what I'm doing!” Ember said. Thorax suddenly changed back to normal. “Uh, what?” he asked. “Yeah, what?” Ember asked. Spike somehow panicked, “Equestria as we know it is over! The war that pits changeling against dragon is about to begin! And it's all my fault! My title of Equestria's friendship ambassador is a lie—!” Thomas suddenly calmed him down. “Easy, Spike. It’s gonna be okay. Just take a deep breath and calm down,” Thomas said, and then Spike took a few deep breaths. “Oh. Hey. You guys aren't fighting?” “Why would we be fighting?” Ember asked. “Because he accidentally invited you both over to Ponyville on the same day?” Thomas replied. “So what?” Ember and Thorax asked in unison. “So I... was trying to keep you apart because I didn't think you'd get along,” Spike explained. “But he was afraid you might start a war on Equestria that might doom us all,” Thomas said. “Oh. I get it. You thought he wouldn't like me just because I'm a dragon and I'm bad at friendship?” Ember asked angrily. “No, no, of course not! But— Wait. Isn't that why you're here?” Spike asked. “I can say I'm bad at friendship. You can't say it about me! You know what? I don't wanna talk about it,” Ember said, as she flew away in frustration. “Wait, please!” Spike sighed, and then turned to Thorax. “I'm sorry.” “No, no, it's cool. You thought I would be too soft, and someone like Ember would never respect me. Just like my own changelings!” Thorax said, as he went away in sadness. “No, that's not it! Thorax, wait! Oh, no... What have I done?” Spike asked, as he began to cry, but Twilight came over to comfort him. “Shhhhhh... It’s okay, Spike. It’s okay,” she said. Thomas then went to go look for Ember and Thorax. Thorax was at Saddle Lake skipping rocks feeling sad. Thomas suddenly found him, and walked over to the changeling, “Thorax?” “Oh, hey, Thomas. Why aren’t you at Ponyville?” Thorax asked. “I just wanted to make sure if you and Ember were doing okay,” Thomas replied, as he sat next to Thorax. “Why are you still here?” Ember asked. Thorax sighed, “Because I'm having trouble leading my pack, so I don't really wanna go home.” Ember was shocked, “Wait, you're in charge?” Ember chuckled. “Oh, boy. You need to be more assertive.” “Well, that's my problem,” Thorax said. “I don't know how! I tried asking them to please follow my directions. I even offered a prize, and then—“ Ember put a clawed finger on Thorax’s lips, “Shhh! Stop talking.” Thorax was beat. “That's how you do it,” Ember said. “Whoa! That just gave me chills,” Thorax said. “Yeah, me too,” Thomas said. “Oh. Thomas. I didn’t see you here,” Ember said, as she lifted him up and gently brought him in for a hug. “I know you have it in you. You turned into a bear to defend both Spike and Thomas, who’re like friends I’ve never had.” “Huh, I guess I can be tough when I'm defending my friends, but when I'm just enforcing my rules, I-I feel unsure of myself,” Thorax said. “There's nothing to be unsure of. You're the leader for a reason. Make a decision and let it be known that the decision is final. And if that doesn't work, turn into a bear, or whatever it is your species does,” Ember said. “Oh, well, that's good advice,” Thorax said. “I know it is,” Ember said. “So what's your deal? Why do you think you're so bad at friendship?” Thomas asked, as he was still held by Ember. “I don't want to talk about it,” Ember said. “Oh, you have to! How else are you gonna solve your problems?” Thorax asked. Ember lifted up a rock, “Through feats of strength and fire duels, of course. [grunted as she threw the rock into the air, and roared as she breathed fire at it, until the big boulder exploded. “Uh, how does that help?” Thomas asked. “Crushing another dragon in competition establishes my dominance and makes me feel great,” Ember replied. “Right, but, uh, how do you think they feel?” Thomas asked. “Humiliated! Ashamed! They'd probably wanna run away and bury themselves under a rock and... never come out. They're probably sad. Kinda low. Definitely not happy,” Ember said. “That's because that kind of competition can divide you. And it doesn't get to the heart of the issue. Talking about your feelings does,” Thorax said. Ember suddenly sneezed fire, “Ugh! I think I'm allergic to feelings.” Thomas suddenly laughed, until Ember smirked, “Oh, you think that’s funny, huh? Well... how about this for a change?!” Ember suddenly ticked Thomas’s sides with her claws gently, and it caused the boy to laugh and scream. “You know you don't have to be sappy or huggy-feely about it. But you should let your friends know how you feel,” Thorax said. Ember saw Thomas resting himself against her scaly chest, “Uh, I know where we can start.” Thorax then realized who she meant, “Where? Ohhhh. Spike. Hah. I got there.” Back in Ponyville, Twilight, Spike and Starlight were cleaning up the mess and taking down the banner. “I think they're gone. They probably never want to see me again,” Spike said. Spike suddenly saw Thorax and Ember land on the ground. “Or they want to see you now,” Starlight said. Spike gulped, “Uh.. Hehehehe... Hey, you guys.” “Guess what, Spike,” Ember said. “I know. I'm so sorry,” Spike said. “Let me talk about this!” Ember said. “Spike,... I... feel... mad.” She then sighed.“Okaaaay... That's a good first attempt. Now maybe try to be more specific? Ember cracked her limbs, and then breathed deeply, “I'm...” She sighed. “upset!” “I know. You have every right to be,” Spike said. “He was trying to make sure nothing bad would happen,” Thomas said. “I know I do! And I know I need to tell you how I feel because my friend Thorax said it would make me feel better. And it does!” Ember said. “Yeah! And I have no problem telling you what you did was wrong because my friend Ember is helping me be more assertive!” Thorax said. “I think you’re scaring him,” Thomas said. “Thorax? Ember?” “Yeah?” Ember and Thorax asked in unison. “I was a part of it, too. But I was only doing it to help avoid a war happening,” Thomas said. “You guys should be mad at me, not him. I was so worried about how it could go wrong, I didn't even think about how it could go right,” Spike said. “Can you forgive me?” “I really do feel better. So, yeah. I'm good,” Ember said. “Hah. Me, too,” Thorax said, and then Spike and Thomas were brought into a group hug by Thorax, as Ember joined in. Ember groaned, “Again?” Spike and Thomas started laughing. Spike then through loudspeaker, “So, as a show of unity, I present the Dragon Fire Flame of Friendship to both Dragon Lord Ember and Thorax, leader of the changeling pack! May the flame of friendship burn for eternity.” The ponies then started cheering, and then Thorax and Ember lifted both Spike and Thomas up in the air for thanks.