//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Pinkie's Bakery // Story: The Eagle Of Equestria // by Romes_FinestPony //------------------------------// Chapter 11: Pinkie's Bakery 'Is this it?' Silvanus muttered as he stood in front of a house decorated with many colours and, admittedly, looked very edible. His Segmentata made small clinks as he craned his neck towards the house. His Pugio hung in his leather belt, concealed under a small, green cloak that Fluttershy lent to him. He turned his head to see the wooden board that hung on a decorative pole that stretched towards the cobblestone streets of Ponyville. A cupcake was painted on the wooden board that acted as a sign. 'Looks like this is it.' He sighed. He took a step forward and stood on the first step of an outer stair. He leaned forward and extended his right hand to knock on the building's door. He hesitated as he remembered the crushing embrace of the pink blur. Or Pinkie Pie as the equestrians call her. He took a step back and looked around. 'Ah. That will do.' Silvanus muttered as he spotted a broom that was leaning on the wall of the building. He reached for it and grabbed the broom. 'Aye. This will do finely. Just finely.' He confirmed as he inspected the broom closely. He took a deep breath and extended the broom towards the door. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, bracing himself for whatever may come out to meet him. Tok! Tok! Silvanus waited for a few seconds before opening his eyes. He let out a sigh of relief. 'Nothing.' Silvanus muttered. 'I guess I should try again.' He braced himself once more as he knocked the door with the tip of the broomstick. 'Nothing again.' He tried for a couple more times. It was proven fruitless. This is embarrassing! Silvanus thought. If my comrades could see me now... 'Oh just answer already!' Silvanus forgot about his fear as irritation began to take over. He stepped forward and POLITELY knocked the door with his hand. Nopony came to answer. Silvanus gave up with a sigh. 'Oh Well.' He walked down the steps and went towards the wall to return the broom. 'Oh look. A window.' Silvanus muttered as he returned the broom to it's place. It was an apparently open window. 'Maybe I can look inside and call for Pinkie.' He decided. He looked through the window to check for any sign of life first. Nopony in sight. He leaned in, head first into the window. BONK! 'BY THE GODS!' Silvanus took a step back in surprise. He winced as he reached the top of his head with a hand. His head throbbed from the impact. 'What kind of sorcery is this?!' Silvanus winced as he warily watched the window. He crouched and stepped forward, tentatively reached a finger into the window. Tap! Silvanus' finger was suddenly stopped. Apparently in mid-air. Tap! Tap! Silvanus continually tapped the magical window, testing it's strength. His face showed nothing but pure confusion. He became oblivious of his surroundings as he continued on tapping with his index finger. Tap! Tap! Tap! 'Hey there Silly! Whatcha up to?' 'By the gods!' Silvanus leapt forward in surprise, crashing against the window and the wall. 'Were you trying to make tappety tap tap noises on the glass?' She asked. Glass? Is that the spell's name? Silvanus thought as he glanced at the window. 'Wow!' Pinkie continued. 'That's what I do too! You know, we could always make our own little band. How about we call it the "Window crashers" Or. Oooh! Oooh! How about t-' Pinkie ranted. Silvanus winced. How in Jupiter's name did she get here? He thought. 'Oh uh. Hey there Pinkie.' Pinkie stopped and looked at Silvanus. 'I heard some tapping and knocking and Celestia knows what other "ING" noises I heard! So that's when I came by and saw you in the-' Pinkie stopped as she exhaled and took another deep breath. What the- How did she know?! Silvanus looked at Pinkie in confusion. 'Oh yes! I forgot to tell you!' She said as she suddenly disappeared. 'By the go-' Silvanus felt himself being dragged back to the front of the building all of a sudden. He turned and saw Pinkie holding his hand, ranting all the way. Next thing Silvanus knew, he stood in front of the edible-looking building's front door. Silvanus looked to his side and saw that Pinkie was nowhere to be seen. Silvanus leapt back in surprise as the door suddenly burst open. 'WELCOME TO THE SUGARCUBE CORNER!' Silvanus froze. He was covered in colourful papyrus of some sort from head to toe. Pinkie had just reappeared in front of Silvanus. She had one hoof pointed dramatically towards the "Sugarcube Corner" Shop or something, while the other was resting on top of a blue pipe with wheels. Silvanus still stared at Pinkie in confusion. 'What's that?' He finally asked. 'It's a bakery silly!' Pinkie answered, giggling at Silvanus. 'Pinkie, that's not-' Pinkie motioned for Silvanus to enter. She wore an impossibly wide grin on her face. 'What in-' Every time she motioned, Silvanus looked more and more confused. Finally, in exasperation, Pinkie Pie threw her forehooves into the air and rolled her eyes. 'I am now telling you to go on in. Well. I didn't really tell you. Hihihih. I was MOTIONING. Ooooh! I like that word.' She giggled. 'I knew that.' Silvanus mumbled. Pinkie then entered the bakery with a few small bounces. 'H-Hey! Wait up!' Silvanus called after her as he started to move after her. Pinkie pushed the door open, much to Silvanus' amazement. 'I thought that was locked!' He muttered under his breath. 'What was that?' Pinkie asked Silvanus as he passed her by. Silvanus looked down at Pinkie Pie and hurriedly said. 'Oh nothing.' 'Did you try to break in?' Pinkie asked. Suddenly losing her big grin. 'Er. No.' Silvanus said, hoping that he was looking as innocent as possible. Now that she put it that way, Silvanus did look like he tried to break into the shop. This is bad. He thought. Pinkie squinted her eyes in suspicion at Silvanus. 'Hmmmmm...' She hummed as she looked closely at Silvanus' face. At the sight of Pinkie becoming suspicious, sweat began to bead Silvanus' face. 'Oh please great Jupiter! Don't let her crush me to death!' He silently prayed to whatever god/s he can think about. 'Oh. It's nothing really. It's not really important! I-I... Yeah. Not important.' Silvanus started to blabber in fear, dreading the Pink pony's death hug. Pinkie still stared at him in suspicion. She stared at him in this way for quite a while before she suddenly brightened up and say: 'Okie Dokie Lokie!' 'Wanna see our latest cupcake specials? It's in the counter. We also make muffins, pie, cakes and all other pastries!' Pinkie Pie said, motioning towards a transparent-looking counter. Probably more of this glass. Silvanus thought. It was then that Pinkie Pie, unpredictable as always, suddenly zoomed up the stairs to the second floor of the bakery. 'Great.' Silvanus muttered under his breath. His eyes started to dart from one corner of the room to the other. The interior of the bakery was wooden. Tables and chairs were arranged in order. Some were strategically placed near the windows, some were placed in the far end of the feeding chamber and a few were placed in the middle of the feeding chamber. Just like a normal tavern. Silvanus noted as he remembered compared Sugarcube corner with the great towering marble palaces, temples, restaurants, villas and buildings of Rome. 'Eh. I guess the this bakery is better than a lot of other places I've been to.' Silvanus shrugged. On the walls and wooden beams, there were carvings of swirly lines that may have symbolised plant life. Silvanus looked up. Silvanus' head spun as the bright colours seem to blind him as he gazed at the ceiling. A bronze torch bearer hung in the middle of the ceiling. The fire in the torches seemed to have frozen in time while still emitting light. Silvanus stared at the chandelier for a long time, trying to find a plausible cause for such a phenomenon. Finally, Silvanus gave up and looked down. His eyes seemed to be burning. Silvanus blinked furiously, trying to douse the flame in his eyes with the tears that gathered in the corners of his dry eyes. Silvanus decided to close his eyes for a while. Moments later, when the stinging sensation was gone, Silvanus opened his eyes. He was half-expecting to see the pink pony stare at him right in the face with her signature giant grin. He opened his eyes to discover Pinkie Pie was not there. 'By the gods! What's taking her so long?' Silvanus muttered, looking up. He tried to hear even the slightest sound of a hoof on wood. Nothing. Silvanus looked back down. Sighing, he walked over to the nearest chair. He suddenly stopped in his tracks as he saw a huge platter of the delicious "Cupcakes" resting on one of the tables in the far end. He felt the urge to walk right up to the platter and take one of the cupcakes for a snack. He moved forward until he finally stood in front of the silver platter that was heaped with the colourful cupcakes. 'No. I am a Roman and it is not honourable to take mere knick-knacks from other individual's dwelling places.' Silvanus said to himself as he hesitated and tried to turn away. He stared at the platter. His mouth was now watering. Without thinking, he extended a hand and took one of the cupcakes. 'Silvanus. No. This is just so... Unhonourable!' Silvanus said to himself while trying looking away from the tempting treat. His stomach gurgled in protest. But Silvanus still resisted. His mind could not think of anything else except for the cupcake. Silvanus' vigilant spirit began to wane. His nose began to sniff at the sweet aroma of newly baked cupcakes. Finally, Silvanus gave up. He slowly turned back to look at the cupcake that he held in his hand. 'By the gods.' Silvanus muttered as he inspected the cupcake up close. 'Eh. What the heck. I'll only eat one.' Silvanus finally decided, quickly letting it close to his open mouth. He stopped as he remembered something vital. He withdrew the cupcake and carefully peeled off the paper that was wrapped in the bottom of the cupcake. Once he was finished, he took a bite from the cupcake. He chewed slowly, enjoying the sweetness of the cupcake. It was then followed by another, and another, and was quickly followed by another. The cupcake dwindled until it all disappeared into his mouth. 'Now THAT was good.' Silvanus said rather contentedly. His eyes started to stray towards the tray once again. Oh gods. Not again. Silvanus thought. 'Eh. Just one more.' Silvanus decided as he reached for another cupcake. 'Besides, no-one will noti-' 'Silvanus! What are you doing?!' Pinkie cried from behind him. Silvanus flinched and hurriedly put the cupcake back down into the silver platter. 'Nothing.' Silvanus said, rather too suspiciously as he turned to face Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie wore a tall, whit hat and a matching apron. She was also comically wearing a fake, black moustache. She was staring at Silvanus curiously. Oh gods. Please no. Silvanus turned to the gods once again. She gave Silvanus a long stare before saying: 'Okay! I can let you taste some of those cupcakes behind you. The Cakes have already left with their little ones on a holiday, leaving me behind as the-' Pinkie Pie paused for effect, grinning proudly. 'Leaving me behind as the Top Chef of the House!' She said out loud. 'Uh. Glorious?' Silvanus nervously said, choosing his words carefully. 'Do you know how to laugh?' She suddenly said, beaming at Silvanus. Her fake moustache wiggled and looked as if it might fall off her face. 'Yes! Uh. Yes I do!' Silvanus said in a rush. 'Then demonstrate!' 'Oh. Okay?' Silvanus hesitantly said. He wore and anxious grin. Staring at the Pink pony as if she might explode any second. 'Go on...' Pinkie Pie said slowly. Losing her wide grin and giving Silvanus a cheerful smile. Silvanus swallowed before bursting into a fit of hesitant laughter. 'Ha Ha Ha Ha!' 'No Silly! Put more energy into it! It's more like this! Ha! Ha! Ha! Hihihihiihh! Ho! Ho! Ho! Hehehehe!' Pinkie advised. Silvanus flinched and stopped as Pinkie joined in laughter with him. Pinkie laughed all by herself for a time before she noticed that Silvanus had stopped laughing. She stopped and looked at Silvanus curiously and asked. 'Why did you stop laughing?' Her smile slowly disappeared from her face. Silvanus just stared at Pinkie. Pinkie stared back. They both stared at each other for a long time. It was such a long time that Silvanus began to feel very awkward and self conscious. He started to fidget and look around the room, unable to look at Pinkie in the eye. 'Oooohhhh. I think I know you seem like you are out of energy! You must be hungry!' Pinkie suddenly suggested. Silvanus was too surprised to answer. Pinkie Pie suddenly disappeared from Silvanus' view. Silvanus looked around, searching for the pink pony. 'Heeeey!' Pinkie Pie said from behind him. Oh gods no! Silvanus screamed inwardly as he realized what was going to happen. He slowly turned around to face Pinkie Pie. 'Did you eat some of my special-made cupcakes?!' Pinkie asked, pointing at the silver platter. How would she know? I only ate one! Silvanus thought as he looked at Pinkie Pie's curious face. 'I know because I baked 15 cupcakes and now there are only 14!' Pinkie said, much to Silvanus' amazement. 'So. Did you eat the cupcake?' Pinkie asked as she looked into Silvanus' face, looking very smug. Silvanus tried to look as innocent as possible. Pinkie smiled. 'Did it taste good?' Silvanus tried to maintain his charade. The longer Silvanus did this, the wider Pinkie Pie's smile became. Finally, Silvanus gave up and face palmed. 'Great. Just like a street urchin who got caught with his hand in an old lady's basket.' Silvanus mumbled. 'Uh. I think you mean "Just like a filly who got caught with her hoof in a cookie jar."' Pinkie Pie suggested. How does she do that! Silvanus thought to himself as he looked at Pinkie Pie in amazement. 'Oh. It's my Pinkie sense! Pretty cool huh?' Pinkie said once again. Silvanus did not know what to say. He looked at Pinkie as if she was crazy. 'It works like this. When my tail gets twitchy, something or- hihihih- somepony will fall from the sky! And when my back is itchy, It's my lucky day! And Ooh! There was this time where Twilight would not really believe-' And so. Pinkie Pie told the tale of "The Doozy." She would occasionally pause to explain to the confused Legionary more meanings of Twitches and Itches and all other "tches". At least she forgot about the cupcakes. Silvanus thought. Oh gods n- 'Heeey! I soooo did not forget about the cupcakes!' Pinkie stopped narrating her story and launching into another rant about the cupcakes and her thoughts about it from the past few minutes. 'Hmmm... Though I did kinda forgot about them for a while.' Pinkie said, comically stroking her fake moustache. 'Thanks for reminding me!' She beamed at Silvanus. 'Now. About those cupcakes. I made those specia-' Great. And you had to think about it. Silvanus inwardly winced. Gah! Just stop thinking! Silvanus tried to stop talking to himself, but his confused mind would always think of something. Fluttershy, Cupcakes, Racing, Rainbows, Elements, Teutoburg- 'Wait a minute! Why am I thinking about Fluttershy?' Silvanus muttered irritably. Pinkie Pie just giggled. Oh gods. Please no. Silvanus thought as he stared at Pinkie Pie in horror. Pinkie Pie jumped and brought Silvanus to his knees by putting a hoof across his shoulder bringing him close to the ground with her. 'What the-?' The surprised Legionary gasped. Pinkie Pie leaned towards Silvanus' ear and whispered. 'It's alright Silly, I got ya covered.' Her fake moustache wriggled at every syllable. 'Pinkie! Your facial hair!' Silvanus drew away and scratched his ear. 'Tee Hee!' Pinkie giggled and bounced towards the kitchen. Silvanus looked down at the ground. Too unsure and confused to know what to do. 'Hey. Aren't you coming?' Pinkie poked her head out from the kitchen and looked at Silvanus with wide grin. 'Oh. Uh. Sure?' Silvanus said as he started moving towards the kitchen with Pinkie Pie. 'Yay! Today-' Pinkie exclaimed as she leapt towards Silvanus with her arms open wide. Oh gods. Here it comes! Silvanus braced himself for Pinkie's embrace and closed his eyes. He held out his arms and tried to tell Pinkie to stop. '-I am going to teach you how to bake!' 'Pinkie! Wait! Noo- Ooomf!'