“Mr. Cake! I know I can do it, just give me a chance!”
“Pinkie, I know you really want to start your own bakery, but I don’t think you’re ready. It’s a big responsibility. “
“But I babysit the twins when you and Mrs. Cake are busy! That’s a big responsibility too!”
Mr. Cake smiled as he put a hoof on the pink pony’s shoulder.
“You’re right Pinkie, babysitting is a big responsibility, but running a business is different. There are hundreds of laws and regulations you have to follow.”
“Can’t I just make the desserts and have somepony else do the hard stuff?”
"Well, you could” the baker said, placing a cooking sheet in the oven. “But the more money you spend on employees, you make even less money for yourself. That’s why Mrs. Cake and I share responsibilities.”
“Really?”
“Mrs. Cake pays the bills and handles the other bookwork, while I manage orders, inventory, and upkeep of the store.”
The effervescent pony sighed, taking a seat on a stool.
“I guess you’re right, running a business sounds a lot harder than babysitting.”
“Don’t worry Pinkie!” Mr. Cake said, taking his hoof off her shoulder and mussing her hair. “You are a great baker. You are destined for bigger and better things, but right now, you’re destined to deliver this cake. Now go.”
Grabbing the dessert, Pinkie bounced out the door, ready to fulfill her destiny for the time being.
***
“Hey Pinkie! Long time no see!”
Turning to see who had called her, Pinkie’s eyes lit up! It was her newest friend, Gray Shade. The stallion with light gray fur and a dark gray mane moved to Ponyville about a month ago, and the enthusiastic pink pony was the first one to introduce herself. From that moment on, Pinkie always felt a little extra happy when she was around him.
Gray Shade is most handsome stallion in Ponyville, too bad he’s dating Flitter…
“Hiya Gray Shade! What’s up?”
“Not much, I was just on my way to the salon to pick up Flitter when I saw you. I haven’t seen you around much, so I wanted to say hi.”
The stallion gave Pinkie a friendly hug, which made her melt a little inside.
“So, where have you been hiding?”
“I haven’t been hiding silly! I have been super duper busy at Sugar Cube Corner! There have been so many weddings and parties lately, I haven’t had a lot of time for fun!”
“Oh, I see… I should stop by the bakery next time I want to say hi.”
The part of the mare that didn’t melt when she received the hug, did after hearing those words.
“That’s so nice, but you don’t need to come visit me! Besides, won’t Flitter get mad?”
“You were the first pony to make me feel welcome. I don’t NEED to go visit you, I WANT to visit you.”
visit you. It’s what friends do.”
“GRAY SHADE!”
Before the pink earthpony could get another word in, two mares with light purple fur trotted over to Pinkie and Gray Shade.
“You were supposed to meet me at the salon so we could go out to dinner!”
“I know Flitter, but I haven’t seen Pinkie in so long. I wanted to say hi.”
The pegaus stared at the Pinkie Pie, then back at her boyfriend.
“Well, you said hi. Mission accomplished, can we go now?
The stallion rolled his eyes and began to walk towards the restaurant he would be taking his girlfriend.
“Bye Pinkie! Don’t be a stranger!”
The bouncy pony was interrupted for the second time in a matter of minutes when Flitter pulled her away.
“You know he’s my boyfriend right?”
Looking away from Flitter, she glanced at Cloud Chaser. The mare glared at Pinkie, cracking her hooves.
“Yep! I just wanted to say hello! We are friends after all, no worries Flitter!”
“Good…it better stay that way.”
The two mares strutted away, leaving the element of laughter alone with her thoughts.
It’s none of my business, but I think Gray Shade could do much better than Flitter. Oh well, as long as he’s happy, I’m happy…I think.
***
When Pinkie made it back to the bakery after her delivery, she was surprised to see the Cakes sitting at a table in front of the store, instead of in the back working. Mrs. Caked motioned for her to come join them at the table, where the married couple sat with another stallion sat.
“Pinkie dear, you know Filthy Rich, right?”
She looked at the business man sitting across from her.
“Sure do! You’re the richest pony in town! You also own Rich’s Barnyard Bargains!”
“That would be me.” The proud stallion remarked, patting the mare on the head. “This is one smart pony you have here Carrot. Let me ask you something Punky.”
“My name isn’t Punky, its Pinkie!”
The savvy businesspony ignored his mistake.
“What do you want to do with your life?”
“I want to open my own bakery someday.”
“Why wait? Why not open a bakery now?”
“Well, Mr. Cake said I have a lot to learn about business and responsibility first.”
“Ponyfeathers, why I-“
*AHEM*
Filthy Rich and Pinkie Pie turned to Mr. Cake, who had cleared his throat for some reason.
“…I mean Mr. Cake is correct, young lady. It’s best to learn now in order to avoid mistakes later.”
Finishing his talk with the pink pony, he resumed his conversation with the Cakes.
“Are you sure you aren’t interested Carrot? This is a mighty generous offer I am giving you.”
Wrapping a frontleg around his wife, he told Filthy Rich he was sure.
“Now is not the right time to uproot our family, as a father yourself, I’m sure you understand.
Plus, this place has a lot of sentimental value to us. I’m sorry Mr. Rich, but no deal.”
Nodding, the business pony stuck out a hoof and shook with the baker.
“I understand. If anything ever changes, make sure that I am the first to know.”
As the disappointed stallion left the building, Pinkie asked what that was all about.
“Well Pinkie, Mr. Rich asked us if we would be interested in selling this building to him.
Apparently, it’s a good location because we get a of hoof traffic.”
“How much money did he offer you?! WAS IT A BILLION BITS?”
Mr. Cake told her to see for herself, as he slid the proposal across the table. Looking up from the paper, she wasn’t impressed.
“That’s it? No wonder why you didn’t accept his offer, I though Filthy Rich was…well…filthy rich.”
“It’s actually a generous offer, Pinkie. Compared to what we paid for this house, we would make out like bandits.”
The perplex pony began rubbing her chin, trying to discover the meaning behind her mentors words.
“What does kissing have to do with selling the bakery?”
Both Cakes placed their heads in their hooves.
“That’s…never mind. If I sold the bakery, ponies would have to make their own treats or travel all the way to Canterlot. Ponies in this town depend on us whether you realize it or not.
“I think I get it now! It’s your responsibility to keep the bakery open, so you can keep Ponyville happy!”
“That’s right, Pinkie!”
“I hope that one day, I can become as important as you, Mr. Cake.”
Feeling moved, the stallion walked over to the young mare and wrapped his hooves around her.
“You are very important Pinkie. Not a day goes by without somepony telling Mrs. Cake or myself that you cheered them up, made them laugh, or gave them a moment of your time. It takes a very special pony to have that much power.”
Breaking the hug, but still keeping his hooves on her shoulders, Mr. Cake asked Pinkie to recite his motto.
“Why do I have to say it if? Don’t you know it already?”
“Pinkie…”
Feeling very annoyed, she rolled her eyes as she recited the saying with a monotonous tone.
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
“That’s my girl!” The proud baker pulled Pinkie in for a kiss on the top of her head, and told her to get some sleep. “We have a big day ahead of us.”
***
“Pinkie dear, are you finished with that order?”
“Yes Mrs. Cake! Half a dozen cupcakes ready to be delivered to…where exactly are these cupcakes going?”
Picking up the order sheet, Mrs. Cake informed the delivery mare Twilight Sparkle had ordered them.
What would Twilight need six cupcakes for...I hope my friends aren’t having a party without me!
Wondering if she still had Madame Leflour’s address, Pinkie Pie made her way to the library. During the trip, she became lost in her own little world, as she often did.
La la la la, boy it is such a wonderful day! Everypony is so happy, I love it! Wait a minute!
That pony over there isn’t happy! Sorry Twilight, unhappy ponies always come first!
“Hey Mr. Frowny Face, why you so-“
The upset stallion turned around. It was Gray Shade.
“Hiya Gray Shade! What’s wrong?”
The gray pony proceeded to tell his pink friend he just broke up with Flitter.
“She was insanely jealous of every other mare in town. Can you believe that?”
Pinkie thought about her interaction with Flitter and Cloud Chaser the day before.
“Nope, that sounds very unlike her! She is usually so nice.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, until this morning. My mom stopped by to see me, and Flitter thought she was just another mare, so she had Cloud Chaser tell her a thing or two. They made her feel very uncomfortable, and I don’t think that’s right.”
Looking at the clock tower in the distance, the perturbed pony climbed to his hooves.
“I’m sorry, but I have to get to work, shelves aren’t going to stock themselves.”
Knowing her best friend wouldn’t mind, the bubbly earthpony reached into the cupcake box and offered one to Gray Shade.
“Cupcakes usually make me feel better when I am sad!”
Taking a bite of the chocolate dessert, he began to smile.
“I feel better already, thank you Pinkie.”
“No problem! Glad I could help!”
Before she could resume her delivery job, Gray Shade grabbed her hoof.
“I was wondering Pinkie…would you like to go out to eat sometime?”
The grin that was spread across her face was so massive, it made speaking impossible. Luckily, a nod was a suitable answer for the stallion.
“I’ll stop by Sugarcube Corner when this mess with Flitter is worked out.”
With a little extra spring in her bounce, she made it to the library in no time. Twilight answered the door on the first knock.
“Hiya Twilight, I have cupcakes!”
“Thank you Pinkie! For some reason, I have been craving cupcakes all day!”
Taking the box, the unicorn opened it and peeked inside.
“I thought I ordered six cupcakes...”
Claiming to have no idea what she was talking about, Pinkie changed the subject.
“Twilight, what are you doing inside on such a beautiful day?”
“I am doing important research for the princess.”
“Oooo! What kind of research?”
“There is a science lab in Canterlot that claims that their waste has no harm on the environment. I am the only pony that Princess Celestia trusts to discover whether the claim is true.”
“Neat! Are those ponies telling the truth?”
“Take a look for yourself.”
Twilight lead her friend to the basement. In the corner was a barrel with a strange glowing liquid inside. The unicorn carefully took a drop of the waste material and placed on a flower. After a few moments, the flower began to whither, and then burst into flames.
Pinkie thought it was the funniest thing in the world.
“Do it again, do it again!”
“Pinkie, don’t you realize what this means!”
The pink mare’s eyes slowly started to glaze over.
“If this lab continues to dump this waste into the wild, wildlife in Equestria is in serious trouble!”
“Twilight, you’re overreacting. So what if one flower doesn’t like the waste, other plants might!”
Twilight considered explaining the odds of that actually happening, but she didn’t waste her breath. She knew Pinkie wouldn’t understand anyway.
“Look, I tested many other forms of life from around Ponyville and Canterlot. They all react the same way.”
Looking at the samples Twilight had on her desk, she noticed some of them were moving.
“What’s in that case over there?”
Taking a look in the direction Pinkie was referencing, she told her friend they were spiders that she caught earlier that morning.
“Uh oh…you better not tell Fluttershy you’re using live creatures.”
“Pinkie, they are just spiders. I don’t think-“
“Remember the time Sweet Apple Acres had a fruit fly problem? Remember how Fluttershy reacted when Applejack tried disposing of them?
Taking a moment to think, the lavender unicorn sighed heavily.
“She chained herself to Big Mac’s plow…”
“Yep, and she refused to move until Applejack stopped killing those poor flies.”
“Maybe I should get rid of them before Fluttershy finds out, but I am not sure how…”
Pinkie grabbed the case by the lid, but was unaware that it wasn’t fastened to the container. It fell to the floor, giving the contents a chance to escape.
“PINKIE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”
“Aw, I’m sorry Twilight. Let me help!”
“NO! I don’t want you getting hurt, I’ll take care of it.
Using her magic, Twilight began picking up the spiders one by one. After a few minutes of searching, she counted the ones she collected.
“One, two, three, four…there is only one left. We need to find it.”
“Okie Doki Loki!”
Watching the floor around her, Pinkie blindly grabbed a cupcake. Without as much as a second though, she took a bite.
*CRUNCH*
What was that?! I didn’t add any nuts...
Closely examining, she saw what looked like a spider leg, clearly visible on the white frosting.
“Uhh…Twilight, I think I found the last Spider.
“Great! Where is it?”
The nervous mare showed her friend the cupcake. Twilight placed a hoof on her forehead.
“Pinkie…please don’t tell me you ate it.”
“Ok, I won’t tell you I ate it.”
The unicorn grabbed the earthpony and pulled her close.
“HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING? Do you have any idea how dangerous this waste is?!
“It’s not like I ate it on purpose!”
The panicked pony quickly used her magic to grab a quill and some parchment.
“Ok, tell me how you feeling right now?”
“Well, I feel…I feel…”
Pinkie fell to the floor, her legs began to twitch.
“PINKIE!”
Twilight ran over to her friend, willing to do anything to help her friend!
“Is there anything I can do?!”
“I need…I need…”
Grabbing the sick earthpony’s shoulders, Twilight desperately started to shake her.
“WHAT DO YOU NEED!?”
“I need…a…cupcake.”
That was not the answer the unicorn expected to here.
“How is a cupcake going to help?
“Because…I’m hungry.”
The pink pony suddenly sat up, scaring the daylights of her friend.
“Gotcha! Well, gotcha about feeling sick. I really do want a cupcake.”
Twilight shook her head, using magic to grab a cupcake from the box.
“Pinkie, I need you to be serious! Are you feeling alright?”
“I feel fine!”
Almost immediately after saying she felt fine, dizziness began to set in.
“Actually, my head kinda hurts. Maybe I should go home and lie down.”
“I should probably take you to the hospital!”
“Aw, come on Twilight! It’s nothing a nap can’t cure!”
Reluctantly, Twilight let her friend leave without seeing a doctor.
“I will be checking on you tomorrow, just to make sure you’re ok.”
Making her way into the fresh air, Pinkie’s headache subsided a bit. She still felt dizzy, so walking back to the bakery was proving to be a bit of a challenge.
“HEY! STINKY PIE!”
Turning around, the earthpony saw Flitter and Cloud Chaser fly toward her.
“Word on the street is that Gray Shade has already asked you out!”
Pinkie looked at the ground beneath her hooves.
“I don’t see words in the street...are you sure you aren’t seeing things, Flitter?
Both pegasi ponies began to move closer to the defenseless pink mare. She had one way out of this mess, and she was going to take it.
“LOOK BEHIND YOU!”
Flitter and Cloud Chaser didn’t see anything behind them, but they did see Pinkie sprinting down the street in front of them.
I am no match for the two of them! I know, I will lose them in the alley up there!
She ran into the alley hoping to evade the ponies chasing her, but the wall blocking her escape made those hopes disappear.
Great...out of all the alleys in Ponyville, I run into the one with a dead end. How am i going to get out?”
With Flitter and Cloud Chaser closing in, she decided her only hope was to get over the wall somehow.
I know, I’ll use a hop, skip and jump!
Taking a few steps back, she planned on leaping over the barrier.
It’s not very high, just move my little rump, I can make it if I try with a HOP, SKIP AND JUMP!
After her skip, she jumped high into the air...and hit the wall with a dull thud.
Too much skip, not enough hop.
Pinkie climbed to her hooves and had another idea. She began stack trash cans on top of each other, creating a makeshift step ladder.
“Come on Cloud Chaser, she ran down this way!”
Once the earthpony was at the top of the cans, she was still a few hooves short.
Ugh...I am so close to the tippy top!
The unstable structure started to crumble under her, so she knew what she had to do. She made one last lunge toward the top, hoping that she would grab it.
NO! Wait, What’s happening?
Instead of managing to hang on to the edge, she was sticking to the wall. She took this opportunity to finish her task, finally throwing herself over the wall before the pegasus ponies could catch her.
“I thought she went down this way!”
“She did! I saw her!”
“Whatever Flitter, maybe Pinkie is right. I think you are seeing things.”
Pinkie sat with her back against the wall she just climbed over. Trying to piece together what just happened.
How did I stick to the wall? That was weird...
She walked over to a nearby building and placed one hoof on the wall. To her surprise, it stick once again.
How in Equestria am I doing this? Actually, I don’t really care...WHEEE!
After climbing to the top of the building, the mare looked at her hooves, trying to find an explanation for her new abilities. She couldn’t see anything, but she did hear something. It was her tummy rumbling.
Man, I’m starving! I haven’t eaten since...
At that moment, Pinkie figured out the origin of her skills.
I wonder if the spider I ate had anything to do with this. I need to get back to the bakery.
Opting to run along the rooftops instead of the ground, the pink pony was having the time of her life! She enjoyed the thrill of jumping over the small gaps between buildings, but her fun came to a halt when she ran out of roof to run on. There, across the street, sat Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie thought about climbing down, but she another idea.
I wonder if I can jump all the way across the street...
Running toward the edge, she took a chance and leaped off the side of the building. To her surprise, she made the jump quite easily. She jumped off the roof and ran inside.
“Pinkie, where have you been?”
“I’m sorry Mrs. Cake, I was delivering Twilight’s cupcakes, then I started feeling sick.”
Mrs. Cake placed her hoof against Pinkie’s forehead.
“Oh my, you are feeling warm! You were feeling sick when you left, I wonder what could have happened.”
“I don’t know Mrs. Cake, maybe I caught a bug.
“Well, you should get some sleep. A good nights rest can do wonders for a sick pony.”
Going to bed, Pinkie walked into the living room. She wanted some reading material to help her sleep.
Q...R...S! Here is it! The encyclopedia for things starting with S!
Once in her room with the door shut, she climbed into bed. She found the entry on spiders and started to read.
...hmm. This book says that spiders can lift objects that are bigger and heavier than they are...I wonder if I can do that...
Waiting for the Cakes to fall asleep, Pinkie quietly trotted to the kitchen. Stopping in front of the oven, she placed a hoof on each side and attempted to lift the heavy object. To her surprise, she lifted the object with ease.
I can’t believe I have super spider powers! Life just became a lot more interesting.