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// Pinkie's Pastries 
// Story: Stepping Stones 
// by DylanDragon 
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Stepping Stones


Chapter 4—Pinkie’s Pastries


 

                Fluttershy rang the bell on the counter. “Um…Mr. Cake? Mrs. Cake? Is Pinkie here? Is anypony here?”
                Nopony answered. She rang again. “Hello? Pinkie?”
                “Yes?” called a voice behind her.
                The pegasus jumped up and gripped the red and yellow ceiling lights.
                “Silly Fluttershy! Those lights aren’t real candy! They’re just plastic. Believe me, I’ve tried!”
                Fluttershy could feel the teeth marks with her hooves. “How do I get down?” she whimpered.
                “Maybe your wings? I mean, if I had wings, that’s how I’d get down from anywhere!”
                “You said to come here today?” she said cautiously once her four hooves were on the ground.
                “Yup! We’re going to make you some yummy stuff for when you come out to Applejack tonight!”
                “How did you know…?” I’m getting tired of asking this…
                “Pinkie knows all,” she said mysteriously.
                “Oh…” Forgot about that.
                “I’m just kidding, Fluttershy! You should have seen the look on your face! I actually saw it in my Mystical Orb of Fate’s Destiny.”
                “Oh, um…obviously…”
                In the next room over, Pinkie had set up all sorts of baking equipment, as well as ingredients. On the left of the long, pink counter, there was flour, sugar, spices, and sugar. There was also a bag of sugar next to the sugar. And next to that second bag of sugar, another bowl of sugar sat. How is Pinkie not made of candy yet? To the right were all the bowls and baking pans and muffin tins. On the floor were bags of fruit—apples, mostly. Finally, the two ovens were set to two different temperatures, and each was making clicking sounds as it adjusted the internal heat to the specified level.
                “Okay, Fluttershy! We’re going to make some super duper yummy stuff!” She giggled girlishly. “So here are my rules for today: One, you have to make everything yourself. I’m just here to supervise (whatever that means). Two, let me read your story when everything is done. Three, don’t forget to have fun!”
                “Oh…um…how do I…?” I don’t even know the first thing about baking…how does she expect me to—
                Her thoughts were interrupted by another Pinkie Verbal Vortex™.
                “So, I was thinking…or really, you need to think of two things to make for her. I can help you make anything your heart desires. Just name it!”
                “Um…do you have any examples?”
                “Sure. Hrm…got it! So last year, remember that birthday party for Rarity? I made her a cake in the shape of one of her dresses! Or maybe a week ago, when I made muffins for Derpy!”
                “Um…how about a cake?”
                “With…?”
                “With…her name on it? And my name on it? Oh, and a heart between them!”
                “Yes! Perfect!” Pinkie leapt up into the air and danced. Pinkie…you broke gravity…
                “How do I…?”
                “Two cups of flour!” She stopped smiling and became very serious. “I mean flour. Flour. The white stuff. Not lemons, not limes, and definitely not vinegar. Flour.”
                Fluttershy backed away half a step. “Got it, Pinkie. Flour.”
                “Just making sure!” she giggled.
                Fluttershy struggled with the baking. Her animals at home demanded excellence in cooking salad and nuts, not deluxe cakes and cupcakes. The flour—somehow—stained the wall, the floor, and Pinkie. She encountered a myriad of problems, but the pink pony never lost her patience. She sat through the screams when the fastest speed on the mixer was used. She guided the pouring and aliquotting of the batter. She demonstrated proper egg-cracking techniques for physical-law-obeying ponies.
 
                An hour later, their sugar supply was cut in half. A good portion went into the cake, but much more went into Pinkie’s stomach. Part of the cake batter was set aside on contingency for the cupcakes.
                I still think muffins are better, but who am I to argue with Pinkie Pie? She mentally giggled. “So how are we going to decorate the cupcakes?” This is really fun!
                “Easy! With…” she took out a bag of apples and continued, “apple slices and frosting!”
                “Yay…” Applejack will love these. Is it just me, or does everypony in her family only eat apple products? Hrm…anyways. I hope this makes her say yes! A sudden wave of worry and panic flooded her for a moment. It was the dread and fear that the love of her life would reject her—just like Cloudchaser. But it passed quickly. She had already learned that it was impossible to worry or feel sad when one is with Pinkie Pie. She’s such a good friend. All my friends are such great friends: Rarity, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. They’re the best I could ever wish for.
                Fluttershy carefully frosted each cupcake with green frosting. It was tricky getting the shape right. She had to hold the spatula in her mouth (while making sure none of her oral fluids dripped down and tainted the pastries) and swirl it firmly around the mound of cake.
Pinkie watched with fascination. She was the master—the expert. Her oral skills had been trained for years, and she could frost every single cupcake there in less than a three minutes. She was patient, however, and forgave any errors that she would normally berate herself for making.
“Done!” Fluttershy said. “Is there anything else?”
“Cake’s done, cupcakes are done. So nope! Just package them and let me read your story!”
“Okay.” Out came the pink cardboard boxes with yellow ribbon and orange twine. Around the boxes they wrapped, the two twisting together and tying the boxes shut. Yellow for me, and orange for Jackie. Wait a minute…How did Pinkie Pie know I was writing a…oh, never mind…
After a quick cleanup, Fluttershy fetched her story from her saddlebags. “Please be careful with these, Pinkie. I spent all morning writing them nicely.”
“No problem!” She very punctiliously laid out the papers one by one on the desk (right after making sure there was no liquid on the surface). She used her hooves to adjust each one so the rectangular pages aligned perfectly. Finally, she slammed her face onto the table so that no distance separated her eyes and the words. She slid across the surface, reading every word (at least it looked like it).
                She periodically let out little whines of adorability or sniffles. When she was done, she cheered. “This is really good, Fluttershy! I mean, this is so you! Well, I know you had Twilight’s help, but that doesn’t count!”
                “How…?” Fluttershy started.
                “Mystical Orb of Fate’s Destiny,” Pinkie answered quickly.
                Fluttershy giggled. I should have known.
                “Hey, Fluttershy?”
                “Oh. Yes, Pinkie Pie?”
                “You really love her, don’t you?”
                “I…Yes, I do. I do love her.”
                “Wait here.”
                She disappeared, but reappeared in two seconds, with another box—this one light pink. She set it down on the table next to the story, which the pegasus was gently putting back in order.
                Pinkie’s voice was very quiet. It was her “serious” voice. “Fluttershy,” she said, “In this box is the Heart of Fates.”
                “The…Heart of Fates?”
                “Yes. It’s something really special among pastry chefs.”
                “What is it?”
                “It’s a cookie, basically.” She opened the box. It was heart-shaped, and had raised edges. In the middle was a pink liquid that rippled in the shape of smaller hearts that started in the center and expanded until they hit the edge. She closed it. “It’s only for those who truly desire true love.”
                “Why is it so special?”
                “The cookie itself isn’t that special. It’s just regular old cookie dough. But see the pink goopy stuff in the middle? That takes a long time to make. And it’s super duper complex. I didn’t get it right until my third try. This is the first one that’s actually successful. It lasts forever, and it’s very special.”
                “What does it do?” She was a bit intimidated.
                “Er…to be honest…I don’t think it really does anything. But it’s cool, isn’t it? It’s mostly…symbolic. It’s just supposed to be really romantic thing. It comes from this old Earth Pony legend my Granny used to tell me. I can tell you someday.
                “Oh…th—thank you…”
                “So basically, according to tradition, you’re supposed to each eat half at sunset. But really, I think any time works. It took a long time to make, and I think I really want you to have it. I would be so honored if my friends would be together forever!”
                “Wow, Pinkie…th—thank you…” She sniffled with happiness and gratitude.
                “Aww, no problem!” Her serious face disappeared. “Good luck with AJ!”
                “Bye Pinkie Pie, thank you so much!” she said as she walked out.
                Heart of Fates…sounds nice…I wonder what it tastes like. She couldn’t wonder for too much, however. The grand majority of her capacity was taken up by worrying on the way to Sweet Apple Acres.