Chapter One - Pinkie's New Invention

Author's Note:

This is meant to take place during Season 4, so Twilight still has her tree library.
More Chapters will ensue. Next we will meet Diamond Tiara's cousin properly.

Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like.
(Lemony Snicket)

‘Pinkie Pie!’ Mrs Cake called into the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner. The tone of her voice stated that she had good news, but that she was also in a hurry. For a moment, it looked as if the pink Earth Pony was not in the kitchen until a second passed and she rose her head from the oven. In her mouth, protected by an oven mit, was a tray of freshly baked gingerbread-mares. The Cake family always let Pinkie make these kinds of cookies, it was her way of mixing all the spices together before putting them in the mix that made them so desired. ‘Good news,’ said Mrs Cake, balancing a box on her back, ‘I just rushed to the Apple farm and got my hooves on some jars of Zap Apple Jam. Would you believe that Filthy Rich bought up an extra ten jars after getting his usual hundred?’

‘Why is that?’ asked Pinkie, placing the tray down.

‘Something about his niece visiting from Manehattan who hasn’t tried it before.’

‘At least, now Applebloom’s in on the secret, they can make more jam for Ponyville,’ said Pinkie, giving a bright side.

‘Yes, well I need to watch the twins this afternoon, so can I trust you to do something creative with it? Probably some tarts and dumplings. I managed to get twenty jars, but this has got to last us, remember? Don’t waste it.’

‘Pinkie promise,’ she vowed. ‘Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.’ As she was once again left in the kitchen to her own devices, young Pinkie Pie started looking in the nearest recipe book for how to make dumplings. Hm, she thought, The dough for the dumplings seems awfully plain. At this rate, everypony will just suck out the jam with a straw and forget about the outside. Not only did that seem like an awful waste to her, but she would feel sorry for a home cooked pastry that never had the chance to be enjoyed. The gingerbread-mares caught her eye once more and it occurred to her that they might be the perfect solution.

She made prototype dumplings first, using ordinary raspberry jelly for the centre, just in case she wasn’t satisfied. After twenty minutes of baking them in the oven, twelve dumplings the size of an apple were removed from the oven. Instead of a golden-brown outside, they were now tinted into a dark orangey brown, just like the said cookies. Pinkie took a slow bite into one of them, careful not to scald herself with the boiling jelly within. The cooked dough was perfectly moist, and as she swallowed she felt the same spicy burn you’d receive from gingerbread. The jelly added sweetness which created the perfect balance between sweet and spicy. Now that she knew the dough was fine, Pinkie broke off a bit, slithered some Zap Apple Jam onto it and popped it in her mouth.

By Celestia, it was the best thing she had ever tasted! Why in Equestria had she never tried this before? After the prototype dumplings had properly cooled, she hastily iced the gingerbread-mares and put her most recent creations out for Mr Cake to sell to Ponyville before she was back in the kitchen and making her Ginger Zap Dumplings. All in all, she had two batches ready by two o’clock, and she had only used most of one jar. They didn’t need much jam within them, two teaspoons each was enough to send a sweet surprise through the consumer. Mr Cake and the present customer, Lyra Heartstrings, were the first to try these new treats which they loved right from the off. ‘How did you make these, Pinkie?’ asked the latter.

‘It was easy, just a ginger cake with Zap Apple jam in it.’

‘They’re amazing,’ complimented the former. ‘Pinkie Pie, you’re a genius.’ The pink pony blushed. But she was so touched that she wished all of Equestria could be given this treat. Twilight could deliver some of them to Princess Celestia and then they could become the most popular thing. Though, if only they could be so frequent. If only Zap Apples were as common as your average fruit.

Near three o’clock, Applejack came into Sugarcube Corner, looking for Pinkie Pie specifically. By this time word was spreading throughout Ponyville of the amazing new treat she had come up with. ‘Hey, Pinkie,’ said the honest pony, ‘Can I ask you a favour?’

‘I’m not allowed to give you free dumplings, Applejack,’ Pinkie said matter-of-factly. ‘Even if they have Zap Apple Jam in them.’

Applejack shook her head. ‘No, it’s not that. I was just wondering if you could pick up Applebloom from school.’

‘Aren’t she, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo going to Twilight’s?’

‘Sure, but she’s got some studying to do first. So if you could keep ‘em occupied until she’s ready for ‘em?’

Pinkie Pie shrugged and agreed without a thought. Within minutes, she was trotting her way to the school with three special dumplings in her saddlebags. The day was sunny, all right, but it was chilly. Two minutes into the journey and she had goose bumps. Was it because she had spent most of the day in a hot kitchen? Or was her Pinkie Sense kicking in? Either way, the feeling served as a reminder of Filthy Rich having a niece coming from Manehattan. In that case, a party was definitely coming up.

At the school house, the bell rang to signify the end of the day, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders walked outside sluggishly. ‘Ugh,’ sighed Scootaloo, ‘If I have to sit through another Show & Tell with Diamond Tiara ever again…’

‘She doesn’t get it’s Show & Tell, not Tell don’t Show,’ joked Applebloom. ‘Nopony cares about why she has a tiara.’

‘Rarity’s tiaras are nicer anyway,’ agreed Sweetie Belle. They were glad Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon didn’t hear them. Instead, their two bullies were saying something sycophantic to Cheerilee. Most likely, they were trying to talk themselves out of extra credit activities that meant getting your hooves dirty. Their teacher didn’t seem to be buying it, however. ‘Those two think everything is easy to get.’

‘They’re lucky they have Cheerilee,’ said Applebloom.

Suddenly the three of them dodged out of the way of a mint green Earth Pony with a pink mane and tail. She looked to be the same age as Applejack and Rarity. She had a cutie mark of three Bits, one heads, one tails, and one on its side. The new pony also had sunglasses, and a red coat, both of which looked quite expensive. ‘She’s new,’ commented Sweetie Belle. The new pony looked through the door to the school and called Diamond Tiara’s name before progressing inside.

The CMC shrugged off the appearance of the new pony. They turned their heads and suddenly recognised Pinkie Pie coming around the corner. She waved to them frantically and they approached her. ‘Hi, girls,’ she said. ‘I’ve been told to watch over you before you see Twilight.’

‘We can get there on our own,’ said Applebloom humbly, though secretly knowing her sister had something to do with this.

‘Just until she’s finished studying. Here, I brought you a snack. Made just this morning.’ Pinkie Pie fished out the three dumplings wrapped in a small box each. The CMC might have been surprised to see their older friend greeting them at school, but they were never going to turn down a free snack. All three of them sat on the bench just outside the school as they enjoyed their dumplings. They released the endorphins that the girls were looking for, as the long school day had drained them of energy. ‘Glad you enjoy them,’ said their escort. ‘These will probably be Ponyville’s resident snack for the next few weeks.’

‘Oh, because of the Zap Apple Jam,’ said Applebloom. Pinkie nodded. ‘Aw, that’s a darn shame. If you were our age, these would be your cutie mark.’

Pinkie nodded and looked up at the school building. ‘I love Ponyville,’ she said reminiscently. ‘I wish I had always lived here.

‘Don’t you ever think about where you came from?’ asked Sweetie Belle.

‘Not particularly. Why would I leave this place?’ And she playfully ruffled the little unicorn’s mane. ‘Home is where your party cannon is.’

Scootaloo hopped off of the bench and readied her scooter. ‘Well, you better not leave Ponyville anytime soon, not if you can make more of those Zap Apple dumplings.’

Pinkie Pie was about to respond as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle also dismounted the bench, but that was when Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and the mysterious new pony exited the school and into the yard. Cheerilee followed them out. ‘I’m afraid if your cousin wants her A in public speaking, she will need to bring in something for Show & Tell that isn’t her tiara or her Cutie Mark,’ she said to the mint green pony.

‘Duly noted,’ said the pony. ‘I’m very sure she can get something creative to come up with by next week.’ Suddenly the CMC noticed something was off about Pinkie. She was staring wide-eyed at Diamond Tiara’s cousin, almost as if she knew who she was. The pony turned away from Cheerilee just then and saw Pinkie. Her head twitched to one side until the two superfluous fillies beckoned to the pony.

Suddenly, Pinkie turned to the CMC and said, ‘How about we race to Twilight’s?’ The three fillies were not in the mood for running, but they had no time to argue. ‘Three, two, one, GO!’ And Pinkie sped off round the corner, leaving them to follow.

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