The Steeden University of Culinary Arts

by Dee Pad

Chapter 10 - Spring Bake: Part 1

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 10: Spring Bake: Part 1

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"What do you think it is?" Fluttershy postulated to the others.

"No clue," Applejack answered, tipping her hat up to get a better look.

"Well, whatever it is, it must be something quite grandiose," Rarity speculated.

Everypony was quite curious when they'd all been invited to the Golden Oak Library by Twilight Sparkle. She had sent messages to her friends informing them that an important package had arrived from Steeden, and they knew it was important because it had a big sticker on the side that read "IMPORTANT!" in bold, rainbow-colored letters. It could only have been from Pinkie Pie. But what had the four mares and one dragon especially curious—not to mention outright astonished—was the package's sheer size. Contrary to any gifts Pinkie had sent in the past, which typically came in normal pastry boxes anypony could get at their local bakery, this one was a solid, wooden crate that towered over the ponies in the room. It must have been at least twelve feet tall. Everypony's first reaction to seeing the massive container upon arriving was a dropped jaw and a step backward. The first question they all had was how in the hay Twilight managed to get the thing into the library in the first place, the simple answer being that she teleported it inside. However, lugging the crate from the post office was a far more arduous task. Warping something of that size, as well as herself with it, such a distance would be extremely draining, she claimed. She had to settle on dragging it the whole way with her magic, then teleporting it into the library. It was one of very few occasions where she had actually contemplated taking advantage of her royal status and enlisting somepony to move it for her.

But that was behind her now. At the moment, the question on everypony's minds was: what was in the dang thing? So rather than stand around throwing out hypotheses, it was time to get an answer.

"Guess there's only one way to find out." Twilight produced a crowbar and levitated it up to the top of the enormous crate.

With a loud creak, the top panel of the box popped open. Carefully, Twilight pried up the other end and slowly lowered the panel to the floor and out of the way to make sure nopony hurt themselves on the nails.

"Uh, heads up, y'all."

At Applejack's warning, everypony looked up to see the sides of the box had begun to fall away of their own accord. They all quickly hopped backwards to avoid being flattened beneath the tall slabs of wood, and they each hit the floor with a loud whack.

With the crate out of the way, everypony—and dragon—now had a clear view of its contents. Much as they had when they saw the crate itself, their jaws all dropped collectively and they craned their necks up at a gargantuan, five-tiered cake. Pinkie Pie had baked some large cakes before, but this one took the... well, cake. Of course, Pinkie always had a flair for culinary design as well, and this cake was no exception. Each tier appeared to be decorated with Pinkie's friends used as a motif, depicting multiple images of their cutie marks around the side and their names spelled out in icing. The bottom tier was slathered in purple icing, representing Twilight, the second was Rarity's with white, vanilla icing, the third orange for Applejack, the fourth Fluttershy's with yellow, and the top green for Spike, but in loo of a cutie mark, it was adorned with various colored gemstones shaped from icing.

Applejack tipped up her hat and performed an impressed whistle. "Well, ain't that somethin'? Pinkie's definitely gone and outdone herself this time."

Fluttershy lifted off the floor and flew a few circles around the cake. As artistic as Pinkie could get with her pastries, she couldn't help but notice some imperfections here and there. "I'd hate to sound unappreciative of something this nice, but..." She took a closer look at one of the butterflies on her own tier, noting the asymmetrical size of the wings. "...it looks a little... sloppy for Pinkie."

Rarity eyed up the designs as well. Now that Fluttershy had pointed it out, she could spot multiple mistakes herself, such as the points of Twilight's starburst cutie mark not being of equal length or being lopsided. "That's certainly not like her. She usually has such attention to detail when designing her cakes. It's not like her to be so hasty and uncaring with her work like this."

"You have to consider that this cake came all the way from Steeden," Twilight pointed out. "Nine hours is a long time for a cake to sit out, unrefrigerated. The icing probably just started to warm up and lose its consistency. Not to mention there may have been some turbulence during the flight that shook it up."

Rarity nodded at Twilight's theory. "I suppose that's very likely."

"Now I feel guilty about calling it sloppy," Fluttershy admitted as she alighted on the floor. "I didn't mean to insult Pinkie."

"I don't think there's any reason to feel guilty," Rarity said. "After all, Pinkie went to Steeden to improve her skills. Were she here, she would probably just take our critiques and keep them in mind for next time, use them to continue improving herself."

"That's true," Twilight agreed. "Assuming that these imperfections were not a result of circumstance, Pinkie Pie would learn from her mistakes. And she'd learn nothing if we simply kept our mouths shut about it. As her friends, it's important that we tell her when and where she needs improvement. You know, if she were here."

"What does it matter anyway?" Spike asked with a raise of his eyebrow. "It's still a Pinkie Pie cake. That probably means it's delicious, and she sent it here for us to eat. The most insulting thing we could do right now is not eat it."

"Can't argue with that," Applejack said with a lick of her lips. "It sure does look tasty."

The earth pony reached her hoof out, prepared to scoop up a bit of purple icing from the bottom tier. However, just before she could touch it, she saw something move, and she paused. From inside the cake protruded what appeared to be an open set of teeth that slowly extended out, enveloping a large chuck of the cake. With a quick movement, the teeth snapped shut, revealing a frosting-covered face wearing a happy grin as it chewed. As odd as the sight was, there was no mistaking those big, bright blue eyes.

"Wha—? Pinkie Pie?!"

At Applejack's reaction, the others turned in her direction, but the face immediately retreated back inside the cake. Suddenly, the whole thing began to wobble and shake, looking as though it were about to fall over. Everypony took a step back and waited for whatever was going to happen to happen. The jiggling of the giant dessert started to centralize at the top until only the top two layers shook. Then, the "Spike" tier of the cake exploded into a shower of frosting, and out from it emerged a mare covered in green icing with her hooves outstretched.

"Ta-daaaaaa—oof!"

Before the mare could finish her grand entrance, she was tackled from her elevated perch to the floor by the embrace of an affectionate, yellow pegasus, who had inadvertently gotten herself covered in icing, not that she minded.

Pinkie Pie smiled softly as she lay pinned on the floor and pat Fluttershy on the head. "Aww, I missed you too, Fluttershy." She eagerly returned the hug.

Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Spike all ran over to the floored ponies, standing over them in shock and complete incomprehension.

"Pinkie?!" gawked Twilight. "What are you doing here?!"

Fluttershy finally let go of her pink friend, allowing her to stand up and brush—and lick—the frosting off of herself. "What, you're not happy to see me?" Pinkie's mock hurt was belied by the big grin on her face, not doing a great job of concealing her own happiness at seeing her friends again.

Twilight stammered as she struggled to formulate a response, still reeling from the surprise of seeing Pinkie show up out of nowhere. "Well... I... Um..."

"Course we're glad to see ya, Pinkie!" Applejack answered for her, wasting no time giving Pinkie a big, tight hug. That was really all it took to get the rest of them to join in and make it a group hug.

"Oh, it's so good to see you again, darling," Rarity expressed, finding it difficult to hold back tears.

"But I really want to know what you're doing here," Twilight reiterated. "You're not supposed to graduate for another five months."

Spike let go of Pinkie and took a step back, looking worried. "You... You didn't quit, did you? You can't quit! There are so many pastries you need to make so I can taste 'em!"

Pinkie giggled amusedly. "I didn't quit, silly. It's spring break. I've got two weeks off, so I figured I'd surprise you guys by coming home for a visit."

"And that you did. For a moment I thought I may have been dreaming," Rarity admitted with a light chuckle. "One could hardly blame me, of course; it's not everyday you see one of your closest friends burst out of a giant cake."

"Oh, wow, that's right," said Twilight, her attention turning back to the cake. "Were you inside that thing the whole time?"

Pinkie nodded fervently. "Yup yup. And you must have gotten pretty frustrated trying to move it, huh? I heard you muttering under your breath. I didn't know you could be such a pottymouth, Twilight."

Twilight's cheeks lit up red under the gazes of her surprised friends. She looked up at the ceiling to avoid eye contact and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Oh, uh, you heard that, huh? Sorry..."

Applejack waved it off. "Forget about it, sugarcube. Ain't no big deal. What I really want to know is how in Equestria did you, you know, survive in that thing? Is there nine hours worth o' air in there?"

"It'd have to be more than nine hours," Twilight speculated. "She had to get inside it, get transported to the airship, not to mention the, um... short trip to the library." Her disconcerted blush returned for a moment. She looked up at the now disheveled cake. "Nevertheless, even a cake of that size would contain limited oxygen. Pinkie, you could have put yourself in serious danger."

Pinkie scoffed at Twilight's warning. "Oh, pish. You think I didn't think about that?" Pinkie stuffed a hoof back into the cake, fishing around for something. After a few moments, she pulled her hoof back, and with it a large, cylindrical oxygen tank and mask. "See? I'm not a complete airhead."

"Maybe you'll get there if you take a few more puffs from that thing," Spike joked.

"So, uh, anyway..." Pinkie continued. "You guys might not want to eat that cake."

"Really? Why not?" Fluttershy questioned, looking the cake over again. "It looks so tasty."

"Well, because I just spent, like, nine or more hours inside of it. I don't know if any of you have ever spent any amount of time inside of a giant pastry, but let me tell you it gets kinda humid."

Rarity blanched at the thought. "Eugh. On second thought, I'm going to pass on dessert."

"Come to think of it," Twilight spoke aloud, "if something that large had its insides completely hollowed out, shouldn't that have a drastic effect on its structural integrity?"

Just as Twilight finished her thought, the colossal pastry suddenly wobbled before collapsing in on itself, splattering icing and cake chunks all over the library's foyer. Twilight had the sense and reflexes to protect herself and her friends and the books on the shelves—like heck she was going to let them get ruined—from the onslaught with a barrier of magic, leaving them standing amidst what would appear to an outsider as a lake of molten sugar and food coloring.

Pinkie rolled her eyes at Twilight. "See, stuff like this wouldn't happen if you didn't keep pointing it out. But this is the whole reason why I didn't put much effort into decorating it in the first place."

Rarity looked out over the multicolored ocean of gunk. "So who exactly is going to clean up this mess?"

"Not it!" Spike exclaimed quickly.

Twilight let out a disgruntled groan. "I got it, don't worry." With a flourish of her magic, the entire mess was scooped up into a ball and encased in a magical barrier. Then the whole thing vanished with a flash and a pop, and she removed the fallen panels of the crate while she was at it. "I'll just keep it in the basement for the time being and figure out the best way to dispose of it later. Right now our attention should be focused on Pinkie Pie," she stated with a smile.

"You'll wanna throw some kinda party while yer here, Ah reckon," Applejack assumed.

"You betcha!" Pinkie confirmed with an excited grin. "We're gonna have the best welcome-home-but-only-temporarily-because-spring-break-is-only-two-weeks-long-then-I-have-to-go-back-to-Steeden party!"

"I've never been to one of those parties before," Fluttershy said. "It sounds like fun."

"It doesn't matter what kind of party it is, if it's a Pinkie Pie party, it's worth going to," Spike pointed out with zeal.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Twilight said. "As much as we'd all like to 'get the party started,' so to speak, I'm sure Pinkie needs to handle her arrangements."

Pinkie waved her hoof dismissively. "Oh, I've got all that stuff taken care of. I wanted to surprise you guys, sure, but I sent Mr. and Mrs. Cake a letter in advance telling them I was coming so they could get everything ready for when I got here. And I made sure to tell them not to tell you guys I was coming. Didn't want to ruin the surprise~!"

Twilight was pleasantly surprised by the amount of forethought Pinkie had put into this. "Oh, well, that's great then."

"Then I suppose you'll want to head over there immediately to get everything ready for the party," Rarity surmised.

Just as Pinkie was about to answer her, their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the library's door, followed by a voice that was unfamiliar to all but two of the ponies present.

"Pinkie, are you done with your big entrance yet? We're getting a little tired of waiting out here."

Fluttershy's eyes widened when she recognized the voice. "Wait, is that...?"

"Oh, right! Yeah, you girls can come in now!" Pinkie shouted.

The door opened and in stepped three mares; two earth ponies and one pegasus. Fluttershy's face lit up when she recognized one of them as Candy Cane.

"Candy!" Fluttershy flapped over to her, giving her an enthusiastic hug. "It's been such a long time."

"Yeah. I've been looking forward to seeing you again, not to mention meeting the rest of your friends."

"Right! Introduction time!" Pinkie proclaimed. She wrapped a hoof around Candy's shoulder. "Everypony, this is Candy Cane. Candy, this is Spike, Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight."

Rarity stepped forward to greet her, her face expressing sympathy. "Fluttershy told us the whole story. You've certainly been through quite a lot. But I suppose that's one of the largest benefits of having a friend like Pinkie Pie."

"Is that a touchy subject at all?" Applejack asked cautiously, hoping to avoid saying anything that might make the mare uncomfortable.

Candy shook her head. "It's fine. I've put that behind me now."

Rarity nodded with a soft smile. "That's good to hear." The unicorn's gaze turned to the other mare with them; a portly, tan-coated mare with blonde pigtails that they only recognized from the photo Pinkie sent them. "And you're... Oh, my apologies, I can't seem to recall your name."

"It's Poof. Poof Pastry," she answered with a friendly smile.

Applejack approached to greet the foreign mare. "Poof, huh? Well, it's nice to meetcha."

"I believe it's Puff, Applejack," Rarity corrected. "Do I detect a Germane accent?"

Puff nodded. "Ya. I vas born und raised in Marelin."

"Oh, I've heard that it's such a lovely country," Rarity said with an envious look. "I've always wished to visit foreign places like that. Partly for inspiration for my dresses, but mostly just to say I was there."

"Well, it's certainly nice to meet both of you," Twilight greeted, offering her hoof to shake with the two new faces.

Both Candy and Puff hesitated, looking a bit awestruck. Instead of shaking Twilight's hoof, they both bowed to her, surprising the lavender mare.

"It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness," Candy said as politely as possible.

Twilight paused, looking between the two of them with confusion. Then she suddenly realized why they were bowing. For a moment she had forgotten she was a princess. She shook her head hastily. "Oh, no no no, I won't have any of that." She gestured for the two of them to stand, and they complied. Candy and Puff seemed worried, as if they thought they had somehow insulted the princess. Twilight offered them a friendly smile. "You're Pinkie's friends. And Pinkie's friends are my friends. And my friends call me Twilight."

Puff looked a little uneasy, but smiled and greeted the alicorn. "It's nice to meet you... Twilight."

"See? That wasn't so bad, right?" Twilight giggled.

Pinkie Pie squealed gleefully at the sight of her old friends and her new friends getting acquainted. "Isn't this awesome?! We have soooo many friends now! This is gonna be the best welcome-home-but-only-temporarily-because-spring-break-is-only-two-weeks-long-then-I-have-to-go-back-to-Steeden party ever!"

"So when do I get my big welcome back?" the pegasus still standing by the door piped up. Rainbow Dash had stood by quietly, waiting for her friends to give her the same welcoming smiles and greetings they had given Pinkie, as well as Puff and Candy. However, the instant she spoke up, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity all looked in her direction with the iciest of icy glares. Dash shifted uneasily as her friends stared harshly. "What?"

"You know very well 'what,'" Rarity scolded, turning her nose up at the pegasus.

Rainbow Dash winced at Rarity's reprimanding tone, taking a step back.

"What the hay is the matter with you?!" snapped Applejack. "Takin' off like that without tellin' anypony? That's just plum stupid!"

"We were worried sick about you," added Fluttershy, her tone consisting more of concern rather than anger like the others, though it wasn't without authority.

Rainbow Dash let out an annoyed groan. "Ugh, come on. I got enough of this from Pinkie Pie already."

"Do you realize that we spent almost a week looking for you?" Twilight pointed out. "We thought something horrible had happened. Luckily, Pinkie sent an express letter to let us know where you were and that you were okay, but that doesn't excuse your reckless abandon."

Dash was in no mood for this lecture again, so in an effort to fast forward the conversation, she put on her best remorseful face, turning her head down with an exaggerated frown. However, as tired as she was of getting stern talking-tos from her friends, she's certainly had enough time to realize that, in retrospect, her decision was pretty haphazard. She knew she owed her friends an apology. "Look, I know it was stupid. Pinkie and Candy told me that a bunch. And if I could go back in time, I'd stop myself from doing it. Not saying I'd be successful though. I mean, you know, once I put my mind to something..."

"In other words, you're too stubborn to even listen to yerself," Applejack deadpanned.

"Uh... Yeah, I guess. Point is, I kinda regret doing it, but I also don't regret it."

"What are you talking about?" Rarity asked with a vexed look. "You should regret it wholly. It took me ages to rid myself of those awful worry lines."

"Well, see, I regret it because I know you guys were worried about me and I should've at least left a note or something..."

"You shouldn't have gone at all," Twilight reiterated.

Rainbow Dash chose to ignore that and continue her explanation. "But. I don't regret it because, not only did I get to visit an awesome country and meet some cool, new people..." She shot a grin to Puff, but she, Candy, and Pinkie knew she was also referring to Gwenivere. "...I got to spend that time with my best friend. And I'm looking forward to more of that." She gave Pinkie a soft smile, which the pink mare returned.

Twilight blinked, as if she hadn't quite understood what she had just heard. "I'm sorry, did you just imply that we were planning on going back to Steeden?"

"Yeah. And don't worry, I plan on buying a ticket this time. It's slower, but if it'll make you guys stop worrying..."

"Whoa there, missy. You ain't serious, are ya?" asked Applejack.

Dash raised an eyebrow, unsure what was confusing them about her plans. "Well, yeah. Why not?"

"First of all," Rarity started, "do you have accommodations? Supplies? Money? There's a lot to take into account."

Dash dismissed her concerns with a shrug. "That's the great thing about coming home for a visit. I can take care of all that stuff before I go back."

"I think expenses are your main concern," Twilight pointed out. "Can you afford to buy a round trip flight and a hotel room for the next five months, not to mention food?"

"Not a problem," the pegasus assured with confidence. "I'll just stay at the university with Pinkie like I've been doing."

Rarity looked at her with skepticism. "Is that allowed? I find it hard to believe that a school as posh as The Steeden University of Culinary Arts would allow some random pony to occupy their dorms."

Pinkie raised her hoof. "Actually—Mmph!"

Rainbow Dash slapped a hoof over the loose-lipped mare's mouth. "Yeah, it's totally cool. I talked to Gustave and everything. I'm set. And I plan to give Pinkie a big present to thank her for letting me stay with her." She gave Pinkie a discreet wink. Dash felt her lips curl into a smile underneath her hoof, and the party pony nodded in agreement, excited by the prospect of a surprise gift in return for her silence.

Twilight closed her eyes in thought. She wasn't too keen about the idea; allowing Rainbow Dash to return to Steeden without proper reprimanding may simply encourage her reckless behavior. However, the pegasus certainly seemed to accept that what she did was wrong and looked at least a little guilty about it. "Well... I suppose if you've made proper arrangements this time, there shouldn't be any issues."

"Just as long as you never do anything like that again," Rarity commanded sternly.

"Geez, you guys are acting like she's some little filly," claimed Spike. "She's an adult, you know? I don't think it's your place to tell her what she can and can't do."

Seeing that at least one of her friends was willing to defend her, a small grin played across Rainbow Dash's face.

"Spike has a point," Fluttershy admitted.

"I suppose," Rarity reluctantly agreed. "And to be quite honest, I don't really wish to spend all day scolding Rainbow Dash anyway. After all, Pinkie Pie is here," she reminded everypony with a friendly smile, placing a hoof on the pink mare's shoulders. Her eyes then drifted toward the other two mares that had arrived with Pinkie. "And, of course, we have these two lovely ladies as well. I think we should all get properly acquainted, hm?"

"Vell, Pinkie's already told us so much about all of you," informed Puff.

"Then you wouldn't mind if we ask you a few questions about yourselves?" Twilight requested.

"Of course, Prin—" Candy stopped herself, hoping that her near slip-up didn't offend the alicorn. "Oh, sorry. I-I mean Twilight."

Twilight smiled, allowing Candy to breath a sigh of relief. "Great. Spike, would you prepare some tea for our guests, please?" Spike gave a silent salute before hurrying to the kitchen. "Now then..." she continued, leading everypony to the large, round table in the foyer, gesturing for them all to make themselves comfortable. "My first question is: why exactly did you choose to come to Ponyville rather than your hometowns? Certainly you'd want to see your own families during your free time."

"Well, the ship landed in Canterlot. I'm just passing through Ponyville on my way to Manehattan," Candy explained. "But my cousin lives here, so I'll probably spend the night at her place then take the train home tomorrow, if only because I want to see what a true Pinkie Pie party looks like."

"They have some strict rules about parties at that school," Pinkie explained with some exasperation. "Probably the only complaint I have about the place."

"And what about you, Puff?" Rarity inquired with earnest.

"Yeah, why would you come all the way out here for two weeks instead o' goin' to visit yer family in Germaney?" asked Applejack.

Puff shrugged slightly. "Mein family isn't very far from Steeden like Pinkie's und Candy's. I can pretty much visit them on any veekend. I thought this vould be a good opportunity to visit another country und meet the friends that Pinkie can't stop talking about," she chuckled heartily.

"And it's certainly nice to meet you as well," Fluttershy said with a cute smile.

"I'm sure we'll all get to know each other quite well, especially at Pinkie's party," Rarity added.

Pinkie jumped up from where she was sitting. "Oh, right! I gotta go get everything ready! Uh, you gals keep chitchatting. I just gotta get over to Sugarcube Corner and make the necessary preparations. See you guys later tonight!" With that, Pinkie hurried out the door.

Fluttershy also stood up and started toward the door as well. "Actually, that reminds me, I have something I need to do, too. Um, excuse me."

Twilight gave her a quick wave. "Alright. We'll see you later then."

Once the two mares had left the room, Spike had reentered carrying a tray with a steaming teapot, sugar, milk, and two cups too many. Everypony took a cup and Twilight kindly filled each one.

Rarity took a quick sip of her hot beverage, then leaned onto the table, looking interestedly at Puff and Candy. "Now then, do tell us more about yourselves and your time at the university."

***** ***** *****

The front door of Sugarcube Corner burst open, making way for Pinkie Pie as she skid with a loud screech of her hooves across the floorboards. The smell of freshly baked pastries and sugary icing invaded her nostrils. It wasn't quite the same as the sugar and pastries she smelled everyday in Steeden. Here, it smelled like home. She missed that smell.

"Guess who's back~!" Pinkie sang, excited to be home again.

Immediately, a pair of ponies rushed out from the bakery's kitchen at the sound of their favorite employee's voice. The faces of Mr. and Mrs. Cake lit up when they saw the big, toothy grin staring back at them.

"Pinkie Pie! You're here!" Mrs. Cake shouted with delight, running over to give her a big hug.

Pinkie hugged the blue mare right back with an extra tight embrace. "Uh-huh. I would've come over sooner, but—"

"But you wanted to see your friends again. Yes, we completely understand," Mr. Cake finished for her. "We've certainly missed you around here, Pinkie."

"And I missed being here," Pinkie said, giving Mr. Cake a quick hug as well.

"It's certainly been quiet around here without you," Mrs. Cake told her. "And that's not necessarily a good thing."

Mr. Cake nodded in agreement. "I never realized how dull things were without you here, Pinkie Pie. Not to mention just how much help you were to us. I'd forgotten how much of a difference three ponies make to the workload over just two."

Pinkie smiled proudly. "Then I guess you're extra glad I'm back, huh? I'm really looking forward to working with you guys again after all this time."

Mrs. Cake gave Pinkie a remorseful frown. "Oh my. Pinkie, I'm afraid you can't work here now."

Pinkie's face suddenly filled with dread. "W-What?! W-Why not? Am I fired? Did you hire somepony else to replace me? You can't! You said my job would be waiting for me when I got back!"

Mr. Cake laughed heartily at Pinkie's overactive imagination. "Yes, when you graduate. You're on vacation. We can't very well let you work during your time off."

A sigh of relief slipped from Pinkie's mouth and she wiped the nervous sweat from her forehead. "Oh, thank Celestia. I was worried for a second there. But you'll still let me use the kitchen, right? I've got a party planned for my friends tonight and I'm gonna show off some of the new stuff I learned."

"Of course," Mrs. Cake chuckled. "Our kitchen is always open to you, Pinkie."

"Great! And you guys are invited, too. We are having the party here after all. That's okay, right?"

"We wouldn't have any other way," Mr. Cake confirmed. "I'm sure your friends are all looking forward to spending this precious time with you."

"Speaking of friends you haven't seen in a long time..." Mrs. Cake hurried upstairs, only to return a minute later with a pair of foals whose faces lit up with glee upon seeing Pinkie's face. Pinkie's face did much the same. As soon as their mother passed the pegasus colt and the unicorn filly to Pinkie Pie, they buried their faces in her neck, reaching their tiny hooves around her as much as they could.

"Oooooh, I missed you kiddies so much. And look at you!" Pinkie looked into their adorable, smiling faces. "You guys feel like you're getting bigger. Are you growing up without me?"

"They were absolutely inconsolable the day you left, Pinkie," Mr. Cake explained with fondness as he recalled it. "I think you leaving hit them harder than anypony else. They just can't stand being without their Auntie Pinkie Pie."

"Aw, why'd you tell me that? Now I'm not gonna want to leave again," Pinkie moaned, though her persisting smile implied she was joking. She looked back at Pound and Pumpkin. "But I'm gonna make sure we have enough fun to last the next five months until I come home to stay."

"Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie stood up and turned to the door at the sound of Fluttershy's voice, letting the twins down as she did. The pink mare gasped, raising her hooves to her mouth and trying, and failing, to fight back tears. Standing at the threshold, beside the softly smiling pegasus, was a small, glassy-eyed alligator. Although the little reptile's face was as blank as ever, his tail wagged rhythmically when his big, purple eyes set their sights on Pinkie.

Pinkie bit her lip to try and hinder the emotional quivering. "There's my special little guy," she expressed with a surprisingly quiet voice, but with no lack of pure happiness in her eyes. She rushed over and picked up Gummy, giving him a tight hug and a kiss on his scaly snout. "Did you miss Mommy?" The gator responded by lightly nipping her nose with his toothless gums. His reaction elicited yet another emotional hug from the mare. "Ooooh, I missed you too, buddy. Did you behave yourself for Auntie Fluttershy while I was gone?"

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy answered with a grin. "He was a delight. I did everything you told me. I gave him dessert if he ate all of his dinner, he had a bubble bath every night with his favorite rubber ducky, and I read him a story every night before bed. He's a very good boy. Although, I think Angel Bunny might be getting a bit jealous of how much attention I'm giving Gummy. I tried letting Angel join Gummy for his bubble bath, but that only seemed to make him more upset."

Pinkie smiled gratefully. "Thank you soooooo much, Fluttershy. I knew you'd take good care of him. Oh, I mean I know you'll keep taking good care of him. I guess I forgot for a second there that I'm only here for a couple of weeks." She looked lovingly into Gummy's, shiny, blank eyes. "Hoo boy, between the twins and seeing my little man again, leaving is gonna be even harder the second time." She plopped Gummy on top of her poofy mane, letting the little gator nestle into its cotton-like embrace. "But that's why tonight's party needs to kick all the flank!"

"Do you need help?" Fluttershy offered.

"Sure! The more the merrier! There's a box of party favors up in my room in my wardrobe. Go get it and blow up as many balloons as you can and start streaming streamers."

"Aye aye," the yellow pegasus responded with an eager grin, trotting up the stairs to fetch the box.

"Great! Decorations are being handled, now for the catering. Mrs. Cake! Preheat the oven! Things are gonna get pastry up in here!"

***** ***** *****

Ponyville was beginning to bask in the soft, orange glow of the setting sun as night gradually approached the small town. It was a beautiful night as well. No wind, no weather, just a peaceful, spring evening. The town wasn't necessarily quiet, per se, as many of the townsfolk were out enjoying the still, calming atmosphere, perhaps heading home after a hard day's work, or just taking advantage of the opportunity to take an evening walk.

After a long-winded conversation with their new visitors, Twilight Sparkle and Spike had taken it upon themselves to show Candy Cane and Puff Pastry around their little town to kill time until Pinkie's party. The others had already gone ahead to prepare themselves for the festivities. Rainbow Dash in particular was quite excited to finally attend one of Pinkie's parties at Sugarcube Corner for the first time in months.

"Ponyville really is a pretty quaint, little place, isn't it?" Candy commented, looking around at the town's humble homes.

"You've never visited before?" Twilight inquired.

Candy shook her head. "No, I'd never really been anywhere other than Manehattan before I enrolled at the university. It's a big city. Anything I need I could probably find there."

"Didn't you say you have a cousin here?" asked Spike, riding on Twilight's back.

"Yeah, but her parents live in Manehattan, so she usually comes to visit us." Candy looked around once more. It was interesting to see a town of thatched roofs and dirt roads, rather than one composed almost entirely of concrete and steel.

"What about you, Puff?" Twilight asked, turning to the pig-tailed mare. "Have you ever been somewhere away from home?"

"Avay from home, ya. I have family all over Germaney. Out of the country? Nein, not until Steeden." Puff glanced around, comparing the rural community to her own home much like Candy did. "You have a lovely home here, Twilight. It must have been interesting to grow up here."

"Oh, I didn't grow up here," the alicorn corrected. "I was born and raised in Canterlot. I've only lived in Ponyville for about four years."

Puff was surprised by that. Twilight Sparkle was a princess, sure, but hadn't been for very long, so Puff hadn't really heard too much about her. "Really? Vhy vould you vant to leave the capitol of Equestria—the home of Princess Celestia und Princess Luna—to come to this small town? Er, not to sound offensive."

"It was actually a request from Princess Celestia," Twilight informed her. "It's a long story. You probably don't want to waste your time listening to me ramble about it."

"Yeah, because the story of how you and your friends defeated Nightmare Moon and reunited Celestia with her sister after a thousand years is totally boring," Spike said sarcastically. "Seriously, Twilight, the whole modesty thing kinda falls flat when you battle super villains practically every year."

Twilight's cheeks lit up red. "Come on, Spike, let's not open this can of worms again."

Candy and Puff were doing their best not to appear starstruck in the princess's presence, but this entire time they'd forgotten that this mare was not only royalty, but was responsible for saving all of Equestria on multiple occasions. As a matter of fact, both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were as well. They were friends with renowned heroes. It was a surreal feeling knowing that these mares, who have saved Equestria from the brink of ruin time and time again, were just normal people. "Normal" being used in a relative sense, of course.

The two visitors were removed from these thoughts when their stroll through Ponyville had suddenly come to its end at Sugarcube Corner. Had they not been engaged in conversation, the four of them would have certainly noticed how close they were as the establishment—which, to the surprise of Puff and Candy, resembled a life-size, gingerbread house—as it was decorated with lights along the eaves that spelled out "Party Tonight!" In addition to that, their was a sign on the door explaining that the shop was closed due to the party. It was clearly written by Pinkie herself as it had the full-blown, excessively long title she had come up with, requiring her to tape several pages together to fit the entire message upon it because of her large print and erratic writing pattern, not to mention the random doodles.

Twilight opened the door for Candy and Puff to enter, but as soon as she did the group was bombarded by the sound of obnoxiously loud party horns and a shower of colorful confetti. As the four stood flabbergasted, Pinkie Pie popped out to offer a welcoming grin.

"Hey! Glad you guys could finally make it. We were about to start without you."

"Sorry about that," Twilight apologized with a chuckle. "I got a little caught up talking about the town's history."

"Well, you're here now, so get your butts inside and help yourself to the spread! Oh, and I'm gonna need that back."

"Need what back?" asked Twilight quizzically.

"My confetti," Pinkie answered, gesturing to the colorful flakes scattered within the three mares' manes.

"Oh." Twilight was a touch confused by the request, but, with a quick flourish of her magic, she gathered up the tiny squares and passed them to Pinkie. "Why do you need them back?"

With a slightly annoyed groan, Pinkie leaned down and began scooping up the stray pieces from the ground. "I didn't restock my confetti supply after my going-away party, so I gotta make use of what I have left. Should be all good now though. By my count, everypony's here, so I guess we can get started!" Pinkie ushered her four friends inside to join the others already present.

Like with many of the parties Pinkie Pie has thrown at Sugarcube Corner, the bakery was filled with tables covered with all manner of pastries, filling the building with a strong, sugary scent, stronger than usual. There was everything from cookies to cake, and from muffins to banana cream pie. If anypony had a favorite dessert, chances were they could find it there. If the food wasn't enough to tip one off that there was a party going on, the bakery was decorated with dozens of balloons and streamers. And just as Pinkie had said, all of her other friends had already arrived. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity were already helping themselves to the food and chatting idly. There was also a pair of older ponies—one mare and one stallion—that Candy and Puff didn't recognize with a couple of young foals, though, based on what Pinkie had told them, they assumed them to be Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the owners of the bakery, and their twins.

Candy and Puff took in the sight of the party, impressed by how well put together everything was. In Steeden, Pinkie's parties were clearly very watered down versions of what was apparently the norm due to campus regulations. But here in Ponyville, she was given freedom to go all out. Still, though, after everything Pinkie had said to build up what a "true Pinkie Pie party" could be, it was a tad underwhelming compared to their expectations.

Puff trotted over to a nearby table, looking intently at a plate full of powdered donuts. However, Candy stuck near Pinkie to ask a question.

"So this is a bona fide Pinkie party, huh?" She was a little hesitant to ask her question for fear of insulting her. "Is this it then? I mean, after the way you've been going on about this, I guess I was expecting a little more."

Pinkie scratched her head with a disappointed sigh. "Yeah, I know. But it's the best I could do in just one day. I'm usually super prepared for parties, but after being away for so long, I didn't have time to gather up all the essentials. Thankfully, Mr. and Mrs. Cake are always stocked up on baking supplies, so at least we've got lots of eats!"

"Can't complain about that," Candy said with a grin, looking over the spread. "It all looks and smells delicious."

"And I've even laid out some of my new recipes for my friends to try."

"And they're dang tasty too," Applejack complimented, walking over to the pair. She held in her hoof a slice of half-eaten apple pie. "This here apple pie might be the best darn apple pie Ah've ever tasted. You gotta give me this recipe."

Pinkie glanced around shiftily, pulling Applejack in close and whispering to her. "Not here. It's a secret. I'll give it to you later."

Applejack lifted an eyebrow. "Why so secretive? It's just an apple pie recipe."

"The best apple pie recipe," she corrected sternly. "You want everypony else to have this, or do you wanna save the good stuff for your family events?" Pinkie gave the orange mare a wink and a nudge.

Applejack chuckled. "Well, when ya put it like that..."

Pinkie turned back to Candy with her signature smile. "Now, are you gonna stand around observing my party, or are you gonna get involved?"

Candy laughed at the question. "You kidding? After all this time, you think I'm just going to stand around and do nothing?"

"Then go! Eat, drink, and be merry!"

Pinkie needed not say another word as Candy was more than happy to participate. She immediately chose to head in the direction of the table with a big plate of brownies upon it, which also happened to be where Mr. and Mrs. Cake were with the twins. After everything Pinkie had told them about Sugarcube Corner and the fine ponies who owned and operated it, she was eager to finally meet and chat with them.

Pinkie watched as her friends busily enjoyed themselves, a sight that she sorely missed. It felt good to not only once again throw a party for her closest friends, but to also watch her old friends and her new friends hitting it off so well. It was a high she didn't experience often, but when she did, it was exceptionally gratifying, even if the party wasn't quite up to her usual standards. Perhaps she'd need to throw another one before she went back to Steeden, after she had had time to properly prepare and accrue the required amenities.

"This is nice, isn't it?"

Pinkie was snapped from her thoughts when Fluttershy addressed her, her soft voice barely audible amongst the several conversations taking place between the rest of her friends as they ate cake and drank punch.

Pinkie nodded to the yellow pegasus. "Uh-huh. You have no idea how big a relief it is to finally party with you gals again."

Fluttershy offered a cute smile and a giggle. "I can imagine. We missed this just as much as you. We might get a little burned out on your parties sometimes, but when you haven't been around for half a year we start to, you know, crave it a little."

Pinkie giggled into her hoof. "I try to make my parties as addictive as possible. Smell that?"

Fluttershy sniffed the air curiously, but couldn't smell anything that she didn't normally smell at one of Pinkie Pie's fiestas.

Pinkie leaned in to whisper slyly into Fluttershy's ear. "I spray coffee around at all my parties to get people hooked."

Fluttershy blinked, unsure how to respond to that. "Spray... coffee?"

Pinkie discreetly pulled a spray can from her mane, making sure nopony was looking their way. The can had a simple label that Pinkie probably slapped on there herself that just said "Coffee" in brown marker. The pink mare giggled again. "And this stuff doesn't come in decaf."

The pegasus raised an eyebrow skeptically. "For some reason, I don't think it works like that. But that does explain why your parties always have a slight java-y scent."

Pinkie stuffed the can back where she got it and shrugged at her friend's skepticism. "I like to believe it works."

Fluttershy's grin returned. "Anyway," she started, looking to change the subject, "I wanted to ask you what exactly your plans were while you're home."

"Oh, well, actually, I've got everything planned out."

Fluttershy was mildly surprised by that answer. "Oh. Well, that's certainly not like you," she giggled jokingly, knowing all about Pinkie's preference for spontaneity.

There was a slight amount of remorse in Pinkie's eyes as she spoke. "I know I just got home, and I wanna spend as much time with you girls as possible while I'm here, but me and Rainbow Dash were actually planning on going with Candy to Manehattan tomorrow to say hi to her dad."

"There's nothing wrong with that. We haven't seen him in such a long time, and considering how grateful he was to us for saving Candy, he'd probably be happy to see you again, too."

"That's what I was thinking," Pinkie affirmed with an enthusiastic nod. The pink mare widened her eyes as a thought came to her, brought on by the way Fluttershy had worded her statement. "Hey, you helped saved Candy, too. Why don't you come with us?"

"Really? Oh, I wouldn't want to impose..."

Pinkie threw a hoof over the bashful mare's shoulder. "Don't be silly. It'll be just like the last time the three of us visited Manehattan."

"Our last visit wasn't exactly pleasant... But why not? It'd be nice to see him again, and still spend time with you, Pinkie."

"Then that's settled. Ooh! Wait! We should invite everypony! A big trip for all of us to spend time together!"

"That sounds nice," Fluttershy agreed. "So what about the rest of your break? What else do you plan to do?"

Pinkie just shrugged. "Well, that, and I definitely wanna make a trip back to the rock farm to see Mom, Dad, and my sisters. But, umm... Hmm, I guess that's it."

For some reason, that response didn't surprise Fluttershy. When Pinkie said she had a plan, she basically meant she had a short list of things she wanted to do, but not so much the time frame in which she wanted to do it, leaving her with pretty much a week and half to do whatever she wanted.

"But that stuff'll come later. For now, we party!" Pinkie bounded back into the thick of things, eager to shoehorn herself into a conversation. Fluttershy calmly followed with a cheery grin, looking forward to spending more time with Pinkie during her short time home.

Comments

[HiddenMaster]

So, aside from light scolding from her friends, Rainbow's not being punished for impulsive and frankly stupid actions in earlier chapters?

Disappointing.