//------------------------------// // Peachy Pie // Story: Special Talents // by Elric of Melnipony //------------------------------// Peachy Pie Her parents were fighting again. She was young enough to be a stranger to the idea of sleeping in on the weekend, but the noise woke her up at a time that was early even by her standards. Here it was, first thing on Saddleday morning, and already she felt like she couldn't wait for Moonday so she could go back to school. Peachy Pie knew she could block out most of the sound by holding her ears down with her hooves, but that didn't exactly make it easy to go back to sleep. The yellow filly rolled out of bed, glanced at the mirror, decided she could live with the messiness of her two-tone orange mane, and quietly made her way out of the house. Now all she had to do was figure out where to go. It was very unlikely that other foals would be at any parks or playgrounds yet. She had heard that a new librarian had moved to town recently, but she didn't think that anypony normal would have opened it up yet. (Learning that Ponyville's new librarian wasn't exactly normal was still in Peachy's future.) After another moment of thought, she remembered the one business that always opened up as soon as Celestia raised the sun: the bakery. She didn't have any bits with her, but she knew that the owners of Sugarcube Corner would let her do a chore in exchange for a treat, or bring money by later, or make other arrangements. Peachy didn't see the point in even trying to think of other destinations, so she walked towards the bakery. As usual, the wonderful smells of the bakery met Peachy Pie long before she reached the source. As she got closer, she could see other ponies going in and out from time to time, which reassured her that she wouldn't stand out as much as she had feared. A unicorn mare she didn't know was exiting as she walked in; surprisingly, there was only one other customer still inside Sugarcube Corner by that point. The earth pony stallion soon had what he came for and left to resume his morning. He was given a farewell from the same source that gave Peachy a greeting: a barely-contained nuclear reaction masquerading as a pink mare. “Bye-bye, Dreamer! Enjoy! Come back and see us again soon! Hi, Peachy! What can your Auntie Pinkie do for you?” They weren't really related, but it tickled Pinkie Pie to be called “Auntie Pinkie”, and Peachy Pie was always happy to indulge the friendly baker. “Hi, Auntie Pinkie. I'm here for a... I mean, I want to order... I wanted...” She trailed off. Pinkie gave a sympathetic frown. “Trouble at home again, my little pony?” The filly nodded, so Pinkie continued. “You know what always cheers me up? Making yummy desserts! And it just so happens that the Cakes are out of town celebrating their anniversary, so I'm here all alone. I was going to need an assistant anyway.” Her visitor's face brightened, so Pinkie's tone did as well. “Do you maybe know somepony I could hire for a little while and pay in treats?” “Ooh! Me, me, me!” “You're hired! Welcome to the Sugarcube Corner organization, we're pleased to have you as a member of the team! I'm Pinkie Pie, head of the Pony Resources department, and I'll introduce you around.” She waved a hoof to her left and then zipped over to take the spot she had just indicated. “This is your supervisor, Pinkie Pie. She's tough, but fair.” Hoof wave, zip. “This is Pinkie Pie, she's in Maintenance. Call her if you have any problems.” Hoof wave, zip. “This is Pinkie Pie from R&D. It's probably best if you don't ask her anything about what she does here. There's also Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie, and Pinkie Pie,” she said, hopping into new positions each time she said her name, “but you'll get to know them later.” The little filly had the giggles by this point, but with some effort she managed to contain herself enough to ask a question. “What's my first assignment, boss?” Pinkie grinned; she loved it when she could make others laugh. “I actually have to make some pies for this afternoon. Why don't you start with some of those? You can make pumpkin, peach, lemon meringue, banana cream....” “Peach!” Peachy Pie was smiling. She knew that Pinkie knew what sort of pie she would choose; it wasn't just her name, it was her favorite dessert. She also knew that if she hadn't spoken up, Pinkie could (and would) have continued for several minutes. “You got it! Follow me, I've got some crusts ready to go!” There were indeed freshly-made crusts waiting to be filled, as well as standard every-pie ingredients available for use nearby. Pinkie opened one of the many pantry doors in the large kitchen. “You know, it's a good thing you came here today...” she said, her voice seemingly getting farther and farther away before trailing off, “...because I really need to make use of these before they go bad.” Pinkie stepped back out through the door; slung across her back was a string bag as big as she was. It was full of peaches. “Peachjack had a really good sale and I couldn't resist,” she explained, as she carefully eased her burden onto the counter. “I've never heard of anypony called Peachjack, Auntie Pinkie.” “You'd like her. She's nice.” Peachy wasn't sure if Pinkie was pulling a couple of her legs or not. She decided to concentrate on pies instead. “So I can do peach pies for all four of these crusts, then?” “Not only can you do it, I insist on it. You've made peach pies before, Peachy Pie?” The little filly nodded with a cheesy grin. Pinkie Pie looked off in the distance dramatically. “Bake up every pie! You know what you're doing. Move pie. For great justice.” She solemnly pronked her way to the front of the bakery to take care of sales. Peachy had no idea what justice had to do with pies, but like all Ponyville foals, she had learned to file certain things under “Pinkie being Pinkie” shortly after she had learned to speak. She got to work. She had never made four pies at the same time before, but she found it was actually quite easy. Everything she needed was close at hoof, and doing each task four times allowed her to follow one mini-routine with another. She concentrated on the peaches, their smell, their feel, their taste (she had set a couple aside for that); she thought about making the best pies she had ever made; she didn't think about her parents. Pinkie's timing was uncanny; she returned to the kitchen just as Peachy finished up. Pinkie took care of getting the pies in the oven, and gave her assistant a new assignment. “Hey, you know what would be good? Peach cobbler. We've got the peaches, and it's not something we have in the shop very often. Know how to make it? You do? Great!” Peachy Pie threw herself into her task. This is easy, she thought. I should come back more often. Maybe try to get a real job here when I'm older. She felt like she was done much too quickly, especially since she was making more cobbler than what she would at home. “What's next, Auntie Pinkie?” Once again, Pinkie had somehow appeared just in time to keep the young filly away from the oven. “Cake always sells well. Ever made a peach cake?” “Not yet, but I think I'm going to.” “You're right! I'll show you the basics, and then you can make a couple of peach cakes, and maybe some batches of peach cupcakes. Sound good?” “Sounds good!” Other ponies might have had trouble remembering the steps, but for Peachy, it wasn't difficult at all. Other ponies might have considered it work, but she was having fun. She even started humming tunes to herself as she mixed up the bowls of cake batter. This was actually turning out to be a pretty nice morning. She wondered what other sorts of desserts she could make with peaches. Maybe she could even make something nopony had ever made before. She was expecting it this time; when Pinkie showed up in the kitchen again, Peachy asked, “What are we going to do now, Auntie Pinkie?” “What are we going to do? I am going to sell those yummy peachy goodies you've been making. You are going to take a break and clean yourself up.” “But I don't feel dirty.” Peachy was, after all, still a foal. “You are, trust me. Would your Auntie Pinkie lie to you? You've got flour in your mane, you've got batter on your hooves, you've got sugar on your muzzle. For pony's sake, you've even got peaches on your flank!” “I do?” Peachy turned to look. “I DO!”