//------------------------------//
// Creeping Suspicion 
// Story: Loyal to a fault 
// by Twidash fanatic 
//------------------------------//

	A short flight and a stylish landing later, Rainbow stood outside the entrance to Sugarcube Corner. Inside were all kinds of colorful and delectable foods, from cookies and cupcakes to the incredibly unique Cherry Chonga. The pegasus' mouth watered at the smell of freshly baked goods, but they were not the reason for her appearance today. Rainbow's reason for visiting the store was her friend and fellow prankster, a pink mare with more energy than everypony else in town combined.

Once inside the pastry shop, Rainbow was greeted warmly by the very pony she was looking for. "Dashie! I'm so glad you made it!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I've got an idea and every ingredient Mrs. Cake let me use. Ready to bake?"

"Baking?" Rainbow questioned. "Pinks, I thought you wanted to pull off a prank. How can we do that from the kitchen?"

The party mare smirked and ushered her friend over to a table. When Rainbow had sit down, Pinkie conjured a white board from seemingly nowhere. "See this? I spent all night drawing up this sketch, and now we can put it into action!" She pointed erratically to different shapes and numbers on the board, and after roughly two minutes of explaining the plan, Rainbow nodded with a smile.

"Y'know Pinkie, I think this might just work." 

***

The sun was almost ready to set when Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie left the bakery. The latter held a box containing their efforts on her back, quite a feat considering she bounced along rather than walked. The former, while initially on board with the planned hi jinks,  found herself having second thoughts.

"You don't think Rarity's gonna be mad, do you?" Rainbow Dash asked tentatively.

"No way, Dashie! The brilliant part about this prank is that it tastes so good, Rarity won't even think to be mad!" Pinkie responded confidently. The young pink earth pony beamed with happiness and a small amount of pride. With Rainbow's help, she had developed a doughnut that would explode into fluffy filling when bitten. It had taken the pair several hours to perfect the taste and assure that the explosion was harmless, but they could finally claim success. She adjusted the box balanced on her back and approached the front door of Carousel Boutique. With Rainbow a few steps behind, Pinkie knocked on the door and waited for their target to appear.

Just as planned, the door was opened by a white unicorn with three diamonds as a cutie mark. "Terribly sorry, but we're closed tod- Oh! Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash! What brings you two by?" Rarity's coat looked freshly washed and sparkling white, which would make the resulting mess even more hilarious.

Pinkie was already struggling to stop herself from giggling, leaving Rainbow to step in and save their prank. "Pinkie and I have been working on a new pastry, and we wanted our friends to taste it first! Interested?" She gestured to the box on Pinkie's back appealingly.

Rarity eyed the box with sudden intrigue. "Well... I am trying to watch my weight, but how could I pass up a new and mysterious creation of Pinkie's?" Rarity levitated the box off of Pinkie's back and opened the door wide. "Darlings, please come in!" She led her two friends back into the boutique, setting the box down on a coffee table and proceeding to her kitchen. "Sit down, I'll prepare some tea!"

Rainbow and Pinkie looked to each other and stifled laughs before following the fashionista. They sat down on Rarity's plush couch in the living room. 

"Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you two stopping by," Rarity called from the kitchen, "but Rainbow, didn't you have a date with Twilight today?"

"Uh, yeah, that's right." Rainbow responded. "We took a flight around town this morning."

"Well don't be shy, darling! Tell us how it went!" Rarity requested. Looking to Pinkie for help but finding her just as interested, Rainbow sighed. She had a hard enough time being all mushy around Twilight, but Rainbow knew Pinkie and Rarity wouldn't judge her.

"To be honest, it went great! Awesome, really. I met Twilight after breakfast and we spent the morning soaring above Ponyville. We didn't talk much, but out of nowhere Twilight told me how much I meant to her." Rainbow was growing redder than the streak in her hair, but felt giddy in reliving the moment. "We... well, we kissed. A lot. Then I saved Applebloom from crashing into a building, and left to meet Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner."

Rarity appeared from the kitchen with three mugs in her magical grip and a confused look on her face. "Saved Applebloom? Left for Sugarcube Corner? Wait, you mean you two were kissing and then you suddenly went to do something else?"

Rainbow responded with an equal level of confusion. "Well, of course. I had to go and help Pinkie. I'm sure Twilight understood, and I'm gonna see her tonight anyways."

Rarity sat down and gave Rainbow and Pinkie their tea. "I don't think you quite understand, darling. I remember talking to Twilight a few days ago, and she was lamenting over all the work you'd been doing to fix the weather troubles. She really misses you Rainbow, and I think she wanted to spend the entire day with you."

"But Twilight and I planned our date days ago, and I told her that I needed to visit the bakery." 

Pinkie finally spoke up. "Dashie, you know you could have just cancelled with me. I don't want our pranks to come in between you and Twilight. That would totally bum me out, and then there wouldn't even be a point to us pulling pranks together, cause I'd be all sad and you'd be all lonely."

Rainbow took a minute to process what her friends had told her. Still unsure of what to think, she looked about the boutique. Her eyes came to rest on Rarity's clock, which read 7:23. Rainbow gasped. Had her baking with Pinkie really taken that long? "Oh jeez, I was supposed to show up at Twilight's twenty minutes ago! Sorry guys, can't stay!" The cyan pegasus charged out a window of the boutique, nearly knocking over the couch as she flew off.

"Goodness, me!" Rarity cried. "Someday, that mare is going to hurt herself more than she can heal. I do hope she and Twilight aren't starting up a rough patch in their relationship. But enough worrying, let's share these treats you've brought, Pinkie dear." The unicorn levitated the cover off of the box and lifted a plain-looking doughnut to her lips. Upon sinking her teeth into the soft pastry, a gushing sound filled the room and white filled Rarity's vision. When she recovered her shock, the fashionista looked down to find her entire chest covered in a pale, puffy cream.

Pinkie erupted into laughter. "Oh wow, Rarity, you should see the look on your face! If only Rainbow had stuck around to AHHH!" The party mare screamed as Rarity hurled a doughnut her way. The tasty bomb blew up on contact, coloring Pinkie the same flour-white as her friend. Taking the counter prank in stride, Pinkie reached into the box and picked up two more doughnuts.

Rarity's eyes widened. "Oh no..."

"Food fight!"