Pinkie Pie had bitten off more than she could chew. Never one to be daunted by such trivial obstructions to enjoying life, she simply allowed the red velvet cake with vanilla frosting and chocolate shavings sit on her tongue for a few moments before swallowing it whole and moving on to the mint ice cream cake with chocolate frosting. She picked up the cake and opened her mouth to shove it in, only to pause when she heard the oven timer go off, followed by Mr. Cake calling her name. Her blue eyes darted between the kitchen and the cake several times as she weighed her options. Deciding that giving herself a brain freeze by gulping down a cake made of ice cream wasn’t the best thing to do just before helping to extract hot cupcake pans from the oven, she set the cake back down, gave it a hard look to dissuade it from trying to escape, and then bounced cheerfully to the kitchen. Halfway across the room, she paused in mid-bounce to glance around the Sugar Cube Corner storefront. “Hmm, still needs more streamers,” she said, and then resumed her movement.
Ponyville’s premier pink party planner had taken a heavy load upon herself in preparation for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. Not only was she filling her usual role in helping the Cakes cook their share of the party food, she was also the Official Taste Tester – courtesy of Twilight’s incredibly smart role-giving of a few hours ago – of every kind of sweet, treat, and baked good that would be available for consumption over the next two days, and was in charge of setting up and coordinating all the party locations for the nighttime vigil. Besides Sugar Cube Corner, there would also be a party at the town pavilion, where everypony would eventually gather to count down to the dawn, an accelerated party at the schoolhouse for young ponies who couldn’t stay awake all night, and a super-special, not-really-a-surprise-but-we’ll-pretend-it-is party at Twilight’s house to mark the anniversary of her first day in Ponyville. Even for Pinkie Pie, the prospect of setting up and running so many parties all at the same time was a little overwhelming. If only there were more of me, she thought idly as she set a tray of cupcakes on the counter to cool. Her ears perked up to their maximum perkiness as she heard the tinkle of the bell by the front door. “Oh, customers!” she said, setting the pot holder aside before zipping out to the sales counter. “Hi! Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner! What can I-” she cut off her cheery greeting with a long dramatic gasp as her eyes finally managed to get a message through to her brain about what they were seeing.
Standing in the middle of the room, their attention shifting from the tables laden with food to the pink pony behind the counter, was a pair of greyscale earth ponies with matching straight mane styles. One was a dark purplish-grey in coat and light-grey in mane with brown eyes and a polished lapis lazuli for a cutie mark and the other was lighter in coat than mane with purple eyes and a bronze balance scale over a half-rolled scroll for a cutie mark. They both gave Pinkie nervous smiles as her eyes widened and began to sparkle and her mouth curled up in a huge smile. “And… brace,” the lighter-coated one muttered.
“Maggie!” Pinkie squealed, “Shoo Fly! You made it!” Over the counter she pounced, crossing the distance between her and the pair almost faster than the eye could see and caught them both up in a rib-straining hug. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you! Well, maybe you do because we’re sisters, and nopony knows you better than family. Oh, this is going to be great, getting to spend the Summer Sun Celebration with both my bestest friends and my bestest sisters. I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone; I wonder who we should start with?”
“Pinkamena,” the dark-coated mare said in a strained voice, “breathing issues.”
“Oh, sorry Shoo Fly,” Pinkie said, letting her sisters go. She looked past them at the door and asked, “Did Mother and Father come too?”
“No,” the lighter sister, Maggie, said, “Mother’s not feeling too well, and Father stayed home to care for her.”
“That’s too bad,” Pinkie said glumly.
“Pinkie? Is everything ok in here?” The sisters turned to see a motherly-looking blue earth pony entering the room from the kitchen. “Oh,” she said, “well, this is a pleasant surprise. Hello girls.”
“Good day to you Mrs. Cake,” Maggie said, “how’s business?”
“It’s as good as ever,” Mrs. Cake said, “Thanks for-” She was interrupted as the front door flew open with a wild chiming of its bell. The four earth ponies turned as one to look and then pranced out of the path of the ash-grey unicorn who had come charging into the bakery with a manic grin on his face. Right behind him was a brown earth pony who looked to be quite irritated. With a strong leap, she closed the distance between her and the unicorn and caught his red and orange tail in her mouth, hitting the ground in a seated position and digging her hooves in to bring him to a stop near the middle of the room. Spitting the tail out of her mouth, the brown pony walked around to the unicorn’s front end.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she said, “It’s good to see you loosen up, but this is not normal for you Ash. You’re on something, aren’t you?”
“Hm, maybe I am,” Ashen Blaze said, cocking his head to one side, “Can you honestly argue with the results though? Pinkie Pie!” he changed the subject without missing a beat, “how are you this fine day?”
“Super-duper,” The pink pony replied, her own natural enthusiasm increasing slightly in response to Ash’s unusual cheerfulness, “This is turning into an unexpected visitors party.”
“You invited us here sister,” Shoo Fly pointed out.
“Yeah,” Pinkie said, rolling her eyes, “but I do that every year and this is only… the third time you’ve been able to make it, so I wasn’t exactly expecting you to show up. Oh, we need to do introductions.” She placed herself between Ash and Gale with a single bounce and threw her front legs around their necks. She was about to speak again when another oven timer went off in the kitchen and Mr. Cake stuck his head out of the kitchen.
“That’s the Summer Berry pie,” he announced, “and the cupcakes are ready for frosting Pinkie.”
“We can handle introductions on our own Pinkamena,” Shoo Fly said, seeing a conflict arising in Pinkie’s eyes, “Don’t let us stand in the way of your job.”
“Okie dokie lokie Shoo Fly,” Pinkie said, releasing Gale and Ash and bounding toward the kitchen.
“Shoo Fly Pie?” Ash asked, tilting his head slightly to the side with a smirk, “That’s cute.”
“I suppose,” the dark-grey pony said, rolling her eyes, “but Pinkamena is the only one I will tolerate using that nick-name. You may call me Susan, Susan Fidelity Pie.”
“I’m Margaret,” the lighter sister said, extending a hoof, “but Maggie’s fine if you want.”
“Carmil- er, Gale,” Gale said, extending a suddenly hesitant hoof to shake Maggie’s. She cast a glance at Ash, who returned it with a shrug and a raised eyebrow. “Sorry,” she said to the sisters, “Your names just… threw me off for a moment.”
“No offense taken,” Susan said, “Father’s side of the family has a tradition for unusual names.”
“And yet you don’t like to be called ‘Shoo Fly,’” Ash noted dryly.
“Just because my name makes little sense is no reason not to bear it with pride,” Susan said haughtily, “and you are?”
“Ashen Blaze,” the grey unicorn said, “Ash for short.” He held out a hoof to Susan, but before she could take it, Pinkie dropped in between them with a platter of cupcakes balanced on her head.
“I just remembered,” the pink pony said to Ash, ignoring the startled reactions to her entrance, “If you and Gale are here, does that mean Heart and Soul are too?”
“They aren’t with us,” Gale said, “The last I saw of them, they were standing guard outside Princess Celestia’s room. She might have plans for them, but I couldn’t begin to guess what.”
“Maybe the Princess is taking them with her,” Pinkie said, “She’s raising the sun from Fillydelphia this year you know. I’d be jealous if we weren’t doing so many awesome parties here.” She walked over to a table, slid the platter onto it, and then flipped a cupcake into her mouth. After giving it a contemplative chewing, she swallowed it and proceeded to the ice cream cake. Mr. and Mrs. Cake and Gale winced as the pink pony gulped down the slightly melty cake and then licked the frosting off her muzzle before putting a hoof to her head and wincing slightly. “Woo, glad I waited on that,” she said.
“Are you ok Pinkie?” Maggie Pie asked.
“Yep,” Pinkie said, recovering, “That wasn’t so much a brain freeze as it was a brain chill. Anypony want a cupcake?” She picked the cupcake platter up in her mouth and held it out to her guests enticingly.
“Yes please,” Maggie said as she and Susan each took a cupcake.
“Now Pinkie dearie,” Mrs. Cake said, “be sure not to hand out all the treats too quickly. Or eat them all,” she added in a murmur. Pinkie smiled at the older pony with her eyes, which did little to address her concern.
“I’ll pass for now,” Ash said, “but I wonder if I could ask a favor of you.”
“What’cha need Ash?” Pinkie asked after setting the platter down. In answer, the ash-grey unicorn’s horn began to glow with magic, followed quickly by the gemstones he wore around his neck and the flap of his right saddlebag. The bag opened and a smaller, clear plastic bag filled with sticks of tightly rolled bark which looked like cinnamon at first glance but upon closer inspection turned out to have thin white stripes breaking up the warm brown coloring.
“Ash,” Gale said, giving the bag a scrutinizing, incredulous look, “is that... what I think it is?” Ash opened the back and pulled out a stick, and Gale covered her nose with a hoof as she caught the spicy and unpleasantly pungent scent it was giving off.
“Dear heavens,” Susan said, her nose curling, “what is that? And has it gone bad?”
Ash frowned slightly as he looked around and saw similar looks of mild disgust on everypony’s face, Pinkie’s included. “I guess it truly is an acquired preference then,” he said with a sigh, but then smiled and brandished the stick dramatically. “Friends and new acquaintances, I present you with what is arguably the greatest spice ever: stinim.”
“Very arguably,” Gale said, taking one deliberate step away from Ash, “How in blazes did you get that? Isn’t it technically extinct?”
“The trees grew on only one planet, under the light of a Shadowstar,” Ash replied with a nod, “However, it’s similar enough to cinnamon that, with a little help from PC on the chemical changes required, I have been able to create a spell to synthesize it.”
“It’s supposed to smell like that?” Susan asked.
“It’s a delicacy where I’m from,” Ash said, putting the stinim stick back in the plastic bag and giving Gale a sideways look, “and I’m told the ‘stench’ is less offensive when it’s mixed with other things. And that brings me to the favor. Pinkie, Cakes, I would like to make some stinim sweet rolls; can I make use of your kitchen?” Seeing the doubtful looks being exchanged between the bakery owners, he added, “It’ll take twenty minutes in the oven, tops, and I should be able to keep out of the way of your work.”
“Well, I was going to call for a break in a few minutes anyway,” Mr. Cake said, “So I guess it would be ok.”
“Wonderful. Thank you,” Ash said, bowing his head. He then turned to Gale and held out an expectant hoof. “You brought PC like I asked, right?” he asked her.
“What do you need him for?” Gale responded, raising an eyebrow.
“He has the recipe,” Ash answered, gesturing for Gale to fulfill his request. Gale looked Ash in the eyes for a few seconds, and then reached into a saddlebag and pulled out a device that resembled a cross between a microphone head-set and half of a helmet. “Thank ye,” the unicorn said, taking the head-mounted computer and settling it onto his head. Grinning with excitement, he all but galloped past the counter and into the kitchen.
The silence that hung while everypony stared at the kitchen doorway was broken by Susan, who leaned her head to the side in curiosity and said, “He’s a strange one.”
“That might be from the stinim,” Gale said, “I’ve often suspected it has a drug-like effect on his mind.”
“Not that,” Susan said, “not his behavior. I mean his aura; something about it is very… alien.” She turned toward Gale and leaned in close, closing one eye. “Yours is a little strange as well, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
Gale leaned away slightly from the grey earth pony, but gave her face conveyed intrigue rather than discomfort. “You can read personal auras?” she asked.
“Well, ‘read’ might be the best word for it, but yes,” Susan said, “I assume you’re aware of Pinkie Sense?”
“The predictive twitches?” the brown earth pony said, “Yep. Are you saying your ability’s similar?”
“They’re both unusual gifts, especially for an earth pony,” Susan said, “and I apologize again if I’ve made you uncomfortable.”
Gale blew a short raspberry and rolled her eyes. “No worries Susan,” she said, “I’ve seen my share of quasi-magical talents, and sensing auras is pretty normal by comparison. Pretty dang useful too.”
“Quasi-magical?” Maggie asked, giving Gale a confused look.
“It’s something that could be confused for magic, but really isn’t,” Gale explained, “At least, not according to Ash’s definition of magic.” She smirked and raised her voice so she could be heard in the kitchen, calling out, “Right Ash?” Her smile faded and was replaced by concern and annoyance when Ash didn’t respond. “Ash,” she called again, but got only silence in return. “He can’t be that caught up with baking,” she said, walking toward the kitchen. She poked her head through the door and was quickly joined by Pinkie, Mr. Cake, and Susan. The kitchen showed all the signs of being in use: cakes, cookies, pies, and other treats were set out to cool while others waited for their turn in the ovens, the sink was filled with used mixing bowls that needed to be washed before being used again, and the air was filled with the hot fragrance of baked goods. It was also lacking the presence of one ash-grey unicorn stallion. “Ash?” Gale said, growing more concerned. Pinkie slipped past her to check inside the pantry and the cellar while Gale and the others looked around for any sign of Ashen Blaze.
“I can’t find him anywhere,” Pinkie reported when she returned from the cellar, “But I found Gummy.” She turned her head to display the small toothless alligator attached to her mane.
“The back door’s ajar,” Susan noted.
“We cracked it open to get some cool air in here,” Pinkie said.
“So he could have walked out without anyone noticing,” Gale mused, and then spotted a plastic bag on the counter next to an empty mixing bowl. She walked over for a closer look, and her frown deepened. “Ok, this is troublesome,” she said, “He’s wandered off somewhere.”
“Is that unusual for him?” Susan asked, “Or something he’s prone to?”
“He’ll go off on his own every now and then,” Gale said, “but he normally has a good reason to, and he would never leave in the middle of making stinim buns unless there’s an emergency. If there was an emergency, he’d come and get me. And under no circumstances would he just leave his stinim behind.” She grabbed the bag off the counter and stuffed it into her bag. “Sorry to run off,” she said, her nose still in the bag as she searched for something, “But I need to… oh.” She pulled her head out of the saddlebag and face-hoofed. “He’s got PC!” she said, “Dang it. He could be anywhere and I have no way to track him down. This is not how I wanted to spend my day.” She heaved a huge sigh and started toward the back door.
“Would you like some help?” Susan asked.
Gale paused and looked at the dark-grey earth pony. “I’d appreciate help,” she said, “but I wouldn’t want to take any of you away from your work.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Pinkie said, sidling up next to her sister, “We’re all friends, and friends help each other. I need to head out and get started on setting up parties around town anyway, so I can keep an eye out for Ash.”
“Maggie and I are just visiting town,” Susan said, “And since the festivities don’t really start until this evening, I wouldn’t mind spending a few hours tracking down a pony. I’ve seen his aura, so it will be easy to locate him once we get close enough.”
“Yep,” Pinkie said, “Shoo Fly’s the world champ at hide-and-seek. You two will find Ashy in no time!” She pushed Susan and Gale closer together and then bounced toward the door to the front room, finding her other sister standing just inside it. “Want to come with me Maggie?” the pink pony asked, “We’ll head to the pavilion first to see if Rarity’s ready for the snack tables.” She looked back at Gale and said, “Be sure to introduce Shoo Fly to anypony you recognize Gale, ok?”
“Got it,” Gale said with a smile and a salute. She turned to Susan and motioned for her to lead the way. “Thanks,” she said as they left the bakery.
“Don’t mention it,” Susan said, “you can repay me by telling me where you come from, where sensing auras is not considered unusual.” Gale chuckled nervously and shook her head slowly.
“It’s a looong, crazy story,” she said.