Over the years the citizens of Ponyville had developed a keen sense for trouble and always kept an ear on the ground and a weather eye on the horizon. Quite soon the more sensible ones noticed the unusual absence of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash in town. They only showed up to do their jobs and disappeared into a shack on the outskirts of Ponyville.
“Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash,” Lyra whispered to Caramel. “They are bad enough apart, but together... I don’t even want to think about it. Bon Bon is just checking our insurance policies and then we’ll hightail it to Canterlot. You should too, if you know what’s good for you.” She didn’t even wait for the stallion to answer and sprinted to her mare friend when she saw her rounding the corner with two big suitcases. Both looked around the station square one last time, then they turned and left town on the next train.
Twilight Sparkle and her friends were usually at the center of the chaos that befell Ponyville more or less periodically so their instincts for trouble had been dulled to near apathy. But as the town emptied more and more, and stories about strange sounds around the old shack by the Everfree rose from rumors to the only thing ponies talked about, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity decided to consult with Twilight Sparkle.
“Pinkie and RD have been hanging together in that shack for more than a month now. I know they are up to something, I tell you.” Applejack put her hoof on the table to underline her statement. “I don’t care what it is, but if those two are preparin’ a prank for so long, I can’t blame any of those who left town, chickens that the are.”
Fluttershy’s timid voice was even smaller than usual, “The animals don’t go near that shack anymore. They only talk about the annoying smells, the strange laughter and the screams all the time. It’s really creepy, I would like to have some peace again, please!”
“Well, I don’t care that much what those two do in their freetime,” Rarity crossed her fore legs in front of her, “but scaring away my customers and threatening us with one of their uncouth pranks? That will not stand.”
“I just think there is something fishy going on here,” Twilight Sparkle said. ”All in favour of checking out the old shed?”
Four hooves rose.
“All opposed?”
Three hooves.
“I see. Now, I hate to break it too you Scootaloo, but even if your vote counted here, you’re still overruled. And when did you come in here anyway?”
The orange filly pointed a hoof at Spike. “He let us in through the back.”
“Don’t look at me, Twilight,” the dragon defended himself. “Sweetie Bell said she had to talk to Rarity.”
Rarity ruffled her sister’s mane. “So young, but so sawy already. I’m not sure if I should be proud or horrified.”
“Why don’t you want us to go to the shack?” Fluttershy looked at Scootaloo and measured the filly in her eyes.
Scootaloo withered under the look of the four mares. “We can’t tell you.”
“It doesn’t change anything, we’re going to this shed and we’re going to figure this out. Right now. You can run along, girls.”
Just as the crusaders were about to sprint off, a white magical aura lifted them from the floor. “You’re not going to warn Pinkie and Rainbow, are you?” Rarity put the fillies down when they stopped struggling, three fillies were a bit much for one pony.
The crusaders gave her their best smiles. And tried to dash out the door again.
This time they were caught in Twilight Sparkles magic, and this unicorn could hold them indefinitely if she wanted to. They floated back into the room.
“So, Pinkie thinks she has thought this through, hm,” Twilight assessed the situation. “A Pinkie Promise not to tell us, a Pinkie Promise to warn them and a Pinkie Promise not to talk about these Pinkie Promises. Am I right?”
Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell only looked at their hooves dangling in the air and nodded.
“Well, let’s go, girls. Spike, would you please guard these three? They are not to leave until we’re back.” Twilight did not put the crusaders back down. When they left the library Applejack could hear the dragon as he talked to the crusaders.
“So, you girls hang here often?”
A short walk later the four of them arrived at the shed and managed to hide just in time as Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash opened the door and left. Twilight could hardly recognize her friends: Rainbow was covered in a sticky, slimy substance, green, red, yellow, blue all over her body. She tried to fly, but the stuff was even stuck in her feathers and so she had to walk. Pinkie Pie didn’t stop laughing, but she didn’t help her friend. Pinkie looked even stranger than Rainbow: Her mane hung limp from her head and her eyes were sunken in and had deep, black rings under them.
After the two had left, Twilight shared a look with her friends and they walked up to the shed. The door was not locked and so the four of them entered. Inside they found a monstrous construction, pipes and conveyors, something that looked like a strange oven. And a workbench filled with baked goods: Cupcakes in all color of the rainbow. Before Twilight could say anything, Applejack had snatched one and taken a bite.
The earthpony’s face contorted like she had just bitten into a lemon. Tears ran from her eyes and her tongue was burning red. “So spicy!” she wheezed.
“That’s what you get for sneaking into our secret laboratory!” Rainbow Dash crowed from the door. Both her and Pinkie Pie had returned and looked normal again. The smell of soap drifted through the room.
Pinkie Pie was grinning like the proverbial cat that caught the canary. ”How do you like our special rainbow cupcakes? Made with 100% pure rainbow!”
“Terrible! Inedible!” Applejack replied, her voice still strained. “I wouldn’t eat one if you payed me to!”
“Yeah, the last batch was a bit strong on the stuff. We’re still working the kinks out of the recipe,” Rainbow Dash took the baking tray and put them away. “We’ll give those to Spike later.”
“Try one of these,” Pinkie Pie had opened a basket and offered it to her friends. Seeing that they were quite reluctant, Pinkie took one and happily munched away at it. "See!?"
“Pinkie, you eat them with hot sauce,” Twilight said unimpressed. “I’ll try them if Rainbow eats one.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Rainbow Dash snatched one from of the basket. “Delish!”
Now Twilight had no excuse and took a bite out of a bright red cupcake. “Strawberry, with a piquant aftertaste. Not quite my style, but good.”
The other ponies took some too and soon the shed was filled with the sound of chatter. “But what about the noise, the screams and the laughter? And why did you two look so strange when you left?” Fluttershy asked.
Pinkie tapped a hoof at the strange contraption. “My invention. Fully automated, but a bit loud,” she said proudly. “We had a major icing explosion yesterday, broken blow-off valve in the upper frosting duct. Almost took the roof out, I worked all night to get it fixed. That stuff is worse than superglue. Touch a pony covered in it and you’re stuck together until you can wash it of. I had a bucket of water left, but Rainbow had to hop down to the river. So funny!.”
“And the screams, well some of the early batches were even too spicy for Spike to eat, but Pinkie tried them all.” Rainbow added.
Twilight swallowed the rest of a green cupcake that tasted like fresh lemon-grass. “Wait, wait, so Spike is in on this, too?”
Pinkie looked at her with astonishment. “Of course he is. The crusaders taste the normal batches and he gets the … more extreme ones.” She stepped right up to Twilight and pressed her face against her friend’s. “Or do you suggest I should throw away a perfectly good cupcake!?”
“Uhm, no?”
“Excellent,” Pinkie stepped back again and smiled. “But you all must promise not to tell anyone about this,” Pinkie drew herself up and stood on her hind legs, “because these cupcakes and the fully automated Cupcake-O-Mat 1000 will revolutionize the world of baking,” she struck her right fore hoof towards the sky, “and make me the queen of all the ovens.”
When the wave of mad laughter finally subsided Rainbow Dash just shrugged. “She gets like this sometimes. You know, she’s just being Pinkie Pie.”