//------------------------------//
// Cake is Cake, Pinkie. 
// Story: The Usual. 
// by molly wormdirt 
//------------------------------//

Faithful as ever to their promises, the weather ponies had already cleared every threatening cloud out of Ponyville's brilliant summer sky, and Pinkie Pie was only just rolling out from between the lemondrop yellow sheets of her bed. With a fancy flourish - or more like a flighty flail - of her four hooves, the sleepy filly tumbled and soon found herself sprawled out on the chilly hardwood floor. A dazed smile curled her lips as she just caught a glimpse of the gleaming sunshine outside her window, before her blanket fluttered down over her tired eyes, concealing her under its sugary smell and fuzzy cotton. In the muted light and on the cool ground, she felt even more comfortable, but caught herself after only a single snore had managed to escape her mouth. Even in sleep she was one of the noisiest ponies around. Struggling to straighten out her legs, Pinkie shook her head free from the bedsheet, taking in a fresh breath of the new morning. Finally, she set her hooves against the floor and sprung up. Her bubbling eyes banished their fatigued haze and shined their bright and sparkling azure, eager to get out into that sunshine and fill another day with smiles.

`

"Good morning, Mrs. Cake!" Pinkie bounced on her words, which were delivered with enough buoyancy to support her great energy, the amount of which was quite impressive considering she had just woken up. Other ponies, like lazy Rainbow Dash, would have real difficulty even summoning a comprehensible greeting after just falling out of bed. But Pinkie Pie never ran low on energy, no matter the weather or time of day. She would always be prepared to give everything she had to her mood, and being Optimism Incarnate, she was very nearly always obscenely joyous.

Her employer, on the other hand, seemed to always be on the last leg of marathon. Mrs. Cake was a very enthusiastic baker - just like Pinkie - yet the young pony had an unrivaled vitality that was both beneficial to the always anxious and busy older pony and yet, a tad exhausting. "Oh, good morning to you, Pinkie Pie. How did you-"

"I slept super wonderfully, thanks! Would you like to hear about my dreams? I had one...two...three a-mazing dreams! In the first one, I was Pirate Pinkie again, and-"

"Pinkie Pie, please wait." The two mares would frequently interrupt each other in this way, Mrs. Cake speaking because there were things that needed to be said, and Pinkie Pie speaking simply because it felt so good. Despite this and plenty of other differences, the two got along together well enough to run the most successful sweets shop in all of Ponyville. Right now, though Mrs. Cake had about her her usual unnerved demeanor, Pinkie could see that she was exhibiting an additional behavioral quirk of hers. The sweet blue mare was hopping quickly from hoof to hoof, and this could only mean one thing. "We received a special order by the early morning owl. A cake for a wedding in Manehatten. Carrot has already gone out to find some necessary ingredients we were missing, but he needs to hurry - the wedding isn't until the day after tomorrow, but the couple apparently needs the cake delivered to the venue by tomorrow afternoon!"

Pinkie's eyes lit up and the tip of her tail flicked from side to side - not in a "twitchy tail" kind of fashion. The psychic pony felt secure from any falling objects. "A delivery?!" she squeaked, eagerly. "This is just like my other dream! In that one, I was an astropony, and the maretians needed me to bring the king of the galaxy of-"

"Pinkie Pie! That sounds lovely, dear, but right now, I need you to grease up the tins so that we can start as soon as Carrot returns." Mrs. Cake skipped anxiously over to the split front door and pressed a forehoof against its top half, swinging it open. The sun seemed grateful for this welcome and accepted it by splashing its warm light over the nervous baker. Seeking through the brightness, Mrs. Cake's heart unhealthily skipped several beats as she failed to spot her husband. She trotted back to the kitchen.

In Sugarcube Corner's most important room, Pinkie was beginning to collect the basic ingredients for the Cakes' renowned wedding cake recipe. She gripped the flour package between her large, flat teeth and carried it to the counter, careful not to slobber on it. Or on anything. While Pinkie was spending more and more time preparing the wedding cake, her mind had been automatically shutting down every other possible sentiment except: "Uncontrollable drooly and lustful hunger". The apprentice couldn't control her desires, but she still couldn't risk upsetting her masters. When Mrs. Cake saw the filly working so determinedly, however, she only shook her head and went to nudge Pinkie out of the way.

"I'm sorry, Pinkie. But this is a new recipe that requires completely unique ingredients. It doesn't even use flour." She took the powder between her own jaws and set to returning it to the sweet-filled pantry.

"No flour? What is this cake?! It sounds like an abomination to me!" Pinkie slapped her hoof against the clean counter. "A cake-tastrophe, I tell you! A giant, no-good, dessert-ster!" She ground her teeth together and mourned the loss of her expected delicious order.

Mrs. Cake rolled her eyes, subtly. "This cake will surely be just as good," she shook her pink mane, which in her anxiety was becoming as frazzled as Pinkie's. "Not that it matters how it tastes to you, dear. It's for the customer, of course." she brushed a hoof over her forehead and right cheek, coming back with sour smelling sweat. "Oh, where is Carrot?" she warbled, fearful.

Stuck in bitter disappointment, Pinkie watched her employer with vague sympathy. Of course, she was accustomed to this kind of behavior from her, so it was nothing for Pinkie to get worked up over. After all, she couldn't think of a single time that they failed to deliver an exceptionally delectable dessert to the customer. This would all work itself out, she was positive.

Nodding her head to reassure herself, the spry pony hopped around the kitchen and Mrs. Cake, who clearly could use a nap, though it was only seven o' clock in the morning. Pinkie was about to ask what she should do, if this cake was so special, but then she recalled that Twilight had told Fluttershy who had told Rainbow Dash who had gleefully told Pinkie that a dear friend of the famous author A.K. Yearling was releasing their first book, and that Twilight's magic castle tree library thing was to receive a special pre-order, which would arrive precisely at seven o' clock, this morning!

"Well, Mrs. Cake," she spat out her next words as quickly as she could in order to escape the kitchen and the strange cake order. "It sounds like you won't be needing me around for this one. I'd be happy to do the delivery for you, though! Just call Astropony Pinkie, and she will be on the job!" Without waiting for a response, Pinkie leaped out into the shop's foyer and through the open half of the door. The sunshine spilled over her, flowing through the short hairs of her coat and warming the rosy flesh beneath. She skipped toward Twilight's castle thing, already forgetting about the disappointing cake.

Back in the kitchen, Mrs. Cake held her twitching cheeks between her two front hooves and sat on the wooden floor, scooting up against the cold refrigerator for comfort. Without Pinkie Pie there, constantly talking, she was able to relax and just focus on her horrible, agonizing agitation.