"-as a reminder that Princess Sweetheart was always watching over them. The End…" Pinkie Pie closed the small pink book and looked down at the now-sleeping Cake foals. She has always wanted to read that story to children of her own but the Cake Twins will have to do for now. She let out a quiet sigh and set the book down on the table next to the crib. Princess Sweetheart was a story that pretty much any filly had heard at one time or another but to Pinkie, it was everything to her. Granny has told her the story many times and she loved her for it.
The pink pony headed downstairs to meet up with Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Who were packing several bags. "The babies are asleep Mr. and Mrs. Cake!"
"Wow that was fast. You're getting good at handling them Pinkie." Mrs. Cake was carefully setting a few clothes in her own bag. "I'm so thankful you agreed to watch over the twins while we are gone. This is a big opportunity for us and I'd hate to miss it."
"This business deal will may finally put us on the map." Mr. Cake added. "It will only be two days so we will be back right in time for your birthday."
"Hehe, yeah… And I'll make sure to not forget this time. Don't want a repeat of last year." Pinkie jumped behind the store counter rising up with an apron she got out of nowhere. "And don't you worry about the store. I'll make sure to keep business going while you're gone." She gave them a military salute.
Mrs. Cake finally finished putting away her clothes in the suitcase and closed it. "Ok, we are all set. Ready to go?"
"All packed up honey." Mr. Cake lifted a couple saddlebags over his back. "See you two days, Pinkie."
"See yah!" Pinkie waved to the Cakes as they were about to leave when another pony came in. He watched the Cakes walk away waving.
"Hello, is this Sugar Cube Corner?" He was a unicorn with a darkish red coat and a black mane spiked backward and a flaming ball as a cutie mark.
Pinkie suddenly jumped over the counter and came right up to the nervous pony's face. "Ohmygosh! I've never seen you around here before! Ooh, now I need to set up a welcome party for the new pony!"
"Woh, slow down there." He held his hooves up defensively. "I'm only passing through town…"
"But I can still throw you a party. I do for every new pony that comes to Ponyville."
"Well, I guess that is fine. So, do you run this place?"
"Naw, the owners were just leaving on a business trip as you were coming in. Were you hoping to talk to them?"
"Kind of... You see, my name is Fire Tongue. I design and craft my own sweets then I go around to different shops and sell them my recipe to produce."
Pinkie was bouncing up and down in excitement. "Ooh, what kind of candy!?"
"Hot stuff, you know, candy that would set your tongue ablaze if you so much as touched it." He reached into his saddle bags and pulled out a couple bright red spherical pieces of candy. "Want to try one?" Pinkie quickly swiped every piece from his hoof and shoved them into her mouth. "Oh no, wait!"
She chewed them all at once spreading out her cheeks. "Hmm, delicious. Not as spicy as I thought though…"
Fire Tongue was speechless. His bottom jaw nearly touched the floor. "That's… Impossible… A normal pony would have burst into flames eating so much at once. You must have one heck of an appetite for hot foods."
"Well, I do put hot sauce on everything. Even cupcakes."
The unicorn rubbed his shin. "Hmm, I wonder…?" Fire Tongue reached into his bags again and pulled out a gumball wrapped in fancy rainbow wrapping. "This is an experimental product of mine, the absolute spiciest thing I have ever created. So spicy in fact that only those who crave the pinnacle of heat can even taste its otherworldly flavor."
Pinkie's eyes went wider than they ever had before. She slowly unwrapped the rainbow ball, placed it on her tongue and pulled it into her mouth. She chewed it slowly for a few seconds before her eyes shot eyes shot with psychedelic rainbows in her eyes. "HOLY MOLY THAT IS DELICIOUS! I HAVE NEVER TASTED CANDY SO AMAZING IN MY LIFE!"
"Incredible… Out of every pony I have ever given that to, you are only the second to successfully taste its flavor as intended."
"Who's the first?" Pinkie spoke through the gum, before blowing a bubble.
"It was years ago and I was just starting out. She actually inspired me to make this a full-time career."
"Do you think I can get the recipe? I'd love to make more of these in the future."
"Sure, I'll pick up my recipe book from the room I'm staying in. I wasn't planning on staying here long but you have enticed me to extend my stay a bit."
"Great! Tomorrow we can hold your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party and then you can come to my birthday the next day!"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world!"
Just then, Pinkie's friends all came in through the door. "Hiya Pinkie." Rainbow called out. "We ran into the Cakes and they told us what's happening so we thought we would help you run the shop."
"Thanks girls, you would be a lot of help."
Fire Tongue scratched the back of his head. "Well, I should probably be going now. Was nice meeting you Pinkie. See you soon." He turned to the door and left quietly.
"Who was that?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, that was Fire Tongue. He is a Traveling Salespony."
"Tell me he is not like those annoying Flim Flam Brothers…" Applejack asked.
"Oh no, he was quite nice. I'm going to throw him a party tomorrow. I know he isn't staying long but everypony deserves a Pinkie Party at least once in their lives."
"Sounds good to me. So, what are we going to do first?"
"Let's make some CUPCAKES!"
Later that night over at Canterlot, Luna's night guards were all stationed outside the castle keeping watch. Two unicorn guards in particular were doing their routines as usual when…
*CRASH*
"What was that!?"
"That sounded like glass." The two guards ran towards the source of the crash. It sounded like it had come from the castle's royal treasury. It was a standalone building where the Princesses kept all the magical objects in their possession, aside from the Elements of Harmony. The guards entered through the door to see shattered glass on the floor with a rock close by. "You think somepony broken in?" They looked around but found nothing. Aside from the window, the glass casings around all the artifacts appeared to be untouched.
After some patrolling for a while, they seemingly couldn't find anything. "Must have been some kid pulling a prank…"
"I don't know… I'm going to make one more loop around…" The other guard agreed to stand by the entrance while he looked around. His patrol led to a large pony sized glass case. As he was about to turn back, something caught his attention. He snuffed a few times. "That's odd…" Continuing to sniff, he started to follow a strange smell. "Smells like…" It led him over to an old statue of Princess Celestia in the corner, where the smell was the strongest. After a moment to prepare himself, he quickly jumped behind it. "Gotcha!" But there was nothing… He scratched his head in confusion, not seeing the dark figure behind him.
Near the entrance, the other guard suddenly heard a loud crash in the back. "What was that!?" He quickly ran to the back and was shocked to see his partner unconscious on the floor. "Intruder! Intru-" A pair of hooves suddenly wrapped around his neck and quickly forced a wet cloth over his muzzle. Within seconds, the guard was also out cold on the floor. Satisfied with his work, the intruder approached the large display sized glass case in the center of the room. Inside was a mannequin commonly used by designers wearing an elegant blue dress with long sleeves on the front hooves. The intruder could only give off an evil smirk.