• Published 2nd Nov 2014
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Twilight Manages to Screw Up More Than Usual - Fire Gazer the Alchemist



Twilight has to find the Elements of Harmony to stop Nightmare Moon... and she screws it up.

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The Baker

Twilight pushed open the doors to Bon Bon’s sweet shop and was delighted to find that it wasn’t nearly as crowded as it had been the last time she had visited. In fact, the shoulder-to-shoulder sandwiching of her last visit was the exact opposite of today’s crowd, or rather, lack thereof.

Blinking in mild confusion, Twilight briefly wondered if Bon Bon was closed for the day. The lights were on, the display case bursting with goods, but absolutely nopony was inside. No line stood between Twilight and the counter, no seats were filled, and even Bon Bon herself was missing.

Her stomach moaned, not caring at all for the mystery before her and instead demanding nourishment. Twilight patted it gently, then winced as she realized she’d put too much weight on her splinted hoof.

Gah, I can’t wait till I can take this stupid thing off, she thought in passing, her attention more towards figuring out what was going on.

“Hello?” she softly asked the empty room. Twilight frowned when there was no answer. She took a few steps in, letting the door shut behind her. “Bon Bon?”

Still nothing.

“Hmm.” Twilight walked up to the counter and looked over. Bon Bon wasn’t anywhere on the other side, but she did notice an open door near the back. Her ears perked up as a soft stirring noise hit them, originating from behind the door. “Bon Bon, are you there?”

After waiting a few seconds, Twilight sighed. Great, I guess I’ll just wait for her.

That plan didn’t last long, as Twilight’s stomach rumbled, reminding her of her mission: lunch.

Deciding that she needed to find her acquaintance as soon as possible, Twilight looked for a way to get over the counter. She spotted a gap with only a tiny door obstructing her way in. She would have scoffed at the measly challenge if offered, but her eyes fell upon the two painted words marking the door: EMPLOYEES ONLY.

Darn it. Twilight huffed, now bound by her personal honor code to follow the rules and not cross the counter.

Her stomach however, did not have those restrictions and was confused why she wasn’t spending every waking second trying to fill it with food, so it did the only thing it could do in this situation: moan like a beached whale.

It only took twenty seconds of continuous rumbling before Twilight was annoyed.

“Bon Bon, seriously, come out already!”

The repetitive stirring noise only persisted. In fact, it seemed to be growing louder, as if Bon Bon was intentionally trying to drown out all other noise.

Twilight huffed again, irritated. She glanced back over at the sign, then towards the door in the back.

“Bon Bon?” she tried one last time. Nothing.

Twilight approached the interstice in the counter, her moral code cracking slightly from the hunger. She sighed. So much for the sanctity of signs.

Brushing through, Twilight felt a twinge of guilt, but it was battered away by the empty feeling in her stomach. She walked to the open door, and peaked through.

Inside was a maelstrom of baked disaster. Twilight’s jaw hit the floor as she took it all in, the cake batter-stained walls and ceiling, the eggshells scattered across the floor, and the unhealthy coating of flour that made the room almost too white to look at.

In her moment of shocked short-circuitry, Twilight saw Bon Bon standing in the back of the room. At least, she thought it was Bon Bon. Through the batter and flour coating nearly every inch of her, it was hard to tell.

She was bent over a mixing bowl, her fetlocks whipping back and forth as she tore a whisk through some batter. Splotches of the mix flew out of the bowl, landing on her coat and the floor below.

Shaking her head, Twilight recovered and took a step in. “Bon Bon?”

The whisk scraped against the sides of the mixing bowl, its owner not even turning around.

Twilight exhaled slowly. This is getting ridiculous.

She trotted over to Bon Bon, leaving hoofprints in the flour below. As she came side-to-side with her acquaintance, her horn sparked to life. She gave Bon Bon a brief moment of pause, hoping she would notice her. Wayward batter ended up hitting her in the face.

Groaning internally, Twilight wrapped the whisk and bowl in a purple aura, and yanked them from Bon Bon’s grasp.

“What? Wait!” Bon Bon reached up to reach her baking equipment, but they danced out of range. Forced back to reality, Bon Bon caught sight of Twilight a few inches away, and flinched.

“Good morning, Bon Bon,” Twilight said, keeping her voice level.

“Uh… morning?” Bon Bon’s mouth hung open, and her pupils shrunk. “It’s… morning?”

“Yes.” Twilight narrowed her eyes. Was she up all night? Doing what? A quick glance around the room gave her the answer.

“I… guess I didn’t go to sleep. To busy, I guess.” Bon Bon chuckled slightly. “It’s weird, I thought that was your thing.”

“Me too.” Twilight pressed her lips together in thought.

“Well I can tell at least one of us had a good night sleep,” Bon Bon remarked, glancing over Twilight.

“How’d you know?”

She giggled. “There are only three layers of bags under your eyes instead of four.”

“Ha ha.” Twilight didn’t break eye contact. “What were you baking, Bon Bon?”

“Hm?” She tried playing innocent, but half of her lip was already in her mouth. Dead giveaway.

“Was it something important? Like, a really big order?”

“No, it’s—” she turned to the counter, and blinked when her baking supplies wasn’t there. She glanced up and back to Twilight. “Can you stop holding my stuff hostage?”

“Oh, right… sorry.” Twilight set the bowl and whisk down before flicking her horn off.

Satisfied, Bon Bon folded her ears down and turned back to the counter. “Anyways it’s… no, it’s just stupid.”

Twilight’s eyes darted to the left, the hole in her stomach growing. She wasn’t desperate enough to lick the cake batter from the walls, but the fact that she considered it an option was disconcerting. “Okay… well, if that’s out of the way—”

“It’s just,” Bon Bon cut her off. Twilight groaned internally, but watched as Bon Bon retrieved a book from the counter that had been camouflaged under a layer of flour. “I found a recipe for a really complicated cake in this book I borrowed from the library, and I’ve kind of fixated on trying to bake it.”

A… cake? That’s it? She almost spat the words out, but caught them when she realized how insensitive it probably would sound. “Uh, that’s… nice?”

“Not really,” Bon Bon mumbled glumly, tossing the book off to the side. Before Twilight could even raise her eyebrow, a smile whipped onto Bon Bon’s face. “So, what brings you to my bakery?”

Twilight pressed her lips together, but decided to let the subject drop, for now. “Breakfast,” she answered, smiling slightly. “Spike refused to let me get to work until I had something to eat.”

“Well let’s take care of that then, shall we?” She nodded her head toward the door, causing some batter clinging to her hair to fall onto the floor.

Twilight glanced over Bon Bon. Her coat looked ghostly pale from all of the flour, and her hair looked peppered with snow. The splotches of batter didn’t really help the matter either. Twilight giggled at the sight. “You sure you don’t want to get cleaned up really quick?”

“Hm?” Bon Bon looked down, just now taking notice of the mess she was. Her eyes drifted, observing the room around her as well, her pupils dilating. “Huh… I guess this got a tiny bit out of hoof.”

“Yeah. I’ll just wait outside for you to get cleaned up.” Bon Bon nodded, and Twilight backed out, rounding the corner of the door. She exited from behind the counter, the not-so-distant sound of a faucet turning on following her. As she took a seat on a nearby stool, she heard water begin splashing.

Twilight surveyed the room, noticing it was still bare of customers. “Hey,” she called back. “Where is everypony?”

“Probably starting to rebuild after the whole Ursa attack,” Bon Bon answered over the sound of running water. “I heard it happening before I started baking last night; it sounded pretty bad.”

“That makes sense.” Twilight recalled the havoc it had left in its wake. Thankfully it could have been much worse, but even so a good four or five houses were completely demolished, and a few others were damaged. “You know, even with everypony else gone, I kinda expected Lyra to be here.” I was hoping to hear her play a little, at least.

Bon Bon shut the faucet and wandered into view. She wasn’t… clean, but she was about as presentable as she could get after a few seconds with a sink. “Oh, Lyra? Octavia’s probably dragged her to Music-ade practice… again.”

Twilight’s ears flicked. So, they’re really doing it then. “Oh, that’s nice.”

“Not for Lyra. Poor filly’s more nervous than I’ve ever seen her, even with weeks to go. But it will be good for her to perform a little. Thanks for getting her to open up some.”

“No problem. Maybe I’ll stop by wherever they’re practicing and listen in while I eat.” She looked over the display case, hoof tapping her chin as she decided what to get. “Two raspberry tarts, please.”

“Sure thing.” Bon Bon grabbed a napkin and reached into the case.

“So, uh, what was that cake you were trying to make?” Twilight asked.

“It’s called the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness,” Bon Bon said, wrapping the napkin around the tarts. “The book said it was one of the most complicated recipes ever, and that only a master baker could ever hope to complete it.” Her jaw clenched visibly. “But I’ll prove it wrong.”

Knitting her eyebrows together, Twilight cocked her head to the side. “What?”

With a blink, Bon Bon’s demeanor changed again. A smile wiggled onto her face and she held out the tarts. “Nothing. Four bits please.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. Right… Four bits fell on the counter and she scooped up the tarts with her magic. “Well, thanks.”

“No problem. Oh, and I think Lyra and Octavia are practicing at Town Hall today, if you still wanted to listen in.”

“Thanks again.” With a smile Twilight moved to leave.

“Wish her good luck for me,” Bon Bon asked.

“Will do,” Twilight shot back. Trotting toward the door she paused and glanced back, just in time to see the swish of Bon Bon’s tail as it disappeared behind into her kitchen, shutting the door behind her..

“Hm…” Twilight felt like she should go back and make sure Bon Bon wouldn’t get too carried away again. She almost did, too. Unfortunately, the combination of her rumbling stomach and her own need to work outweighed her concern. She pushed the door back open and walked out.


One of Twilight’s raspberry tarts did not survive her journey to Town Hall. A persistent need to eat had been its downfall, but luckily her self-control had left her with one to nibble away at while she listened.

Town Hall looked really dull without any of the decorations from the Summer Sun Celebration, all of the bright, colorful streamers and ribbons had long been replaced by old, brown walls. Her observation brought back a slew of memories from the previous week, none of which she particularly wanted to recall.

In the center of the main room, several ponies had gathered with stringed instruments of varying sizes. The ponies toting said instruments were slowly getting comfortable in their seats, which arched around the room.

Twilight all but hugged the wall, trying to be as little of an interruption as possible. Her eyes diligently scanned for the few faces she would recognize: Octavia and Lyra.

Octavia was easy to spot, actually. She was one of the few ponies standing against an instrument larger than themselves. Towards the end of one of the seating rows, Twilight saw her fiddling with the knobs atop her instrument. For a moment, their eyes met and Octavia nodded a hello to her, which Twilight didn’t hesitate to return.

Lyra was another matter entirely. After a few minutes, and several bites of raspberry tart, Twilight caught sight of her in the middle row surrounded by chatting ponies. Her head was lowered, her pupils shrunk and her lyre pressed firmly against her body.

She’s not looking too good, Twilight noted. The anxiety of playing in front of so many was likely already getting to her.

Eventually, Octavia broke away from her cello and addressed the group. “All right, everypony, listen up.” Silence descended upon the group and even Lyra looked up. “I hope you all are ready; we have quite a number of songs to perfect today. We’ll start with The Ballad of the Three Tribes, so everypony get ready and follow my lead.”

A ripple went through the orchestra as ponies adjusted themselves. Most sat up in their seats, instruments at the ready. Even Lyra managed to bring her lyre into playing position.

There was a pause and Octavia raised her bow. It gently slid across the strings of her cello, producing a deep, low note. The rest of the orchestra gradually joined in, the song gaining depth and spirit with each addition.

Twilight smiled as the music washed over her, nibbling away at what remained of her breakfast. Her eyes drifted over to Lyra, curious how she was handling everything. A faint frown formed on her face when Twilight realized Lyra had yet to lift a hoof to play so much as a single note.

She just sat with her ears folded down, a tight-lipped frown on her face, unable to muster up the courage to play.

The song died down, and another came and went. Still Lyra refused to even move. Twilight grew a little impatient, having polished off the last of her tart a while back.

As the song ended, the fading echoes still reverberating through the room, Octavia set her bow down, glancing at Lyra.

“All right, everypony, let’s take a short break for now.”

A collective sigh of relief came from the ponies of the orchestra and they quickly took advantage of the time. Instruments were set to rest in their cases while their owners got up and stretched. Most walked about, forming tight circles to talk in, or beelining for the bathroom. Lyra stayed put.

As if reading each other’s minds, Octavia and Twilight walked over to her. Lyra looked up, taking notice of their approach.

“Everything all right, Lyra?” Octavia inquired.

“What? No, everything’s fine. Dandy. Hunky-dory.” Lyra forced out a smile. “Peachy, even.”

Octavia pursed her lips; no amount of synonyms was going to convince her that Lyra was doing okay. “You, uh, do know that you missed a lot of your cues, right?”

The smile dropped. “Yeah…”

Twilight frowned slightly. “Still too afraid to play in public?”

“I’m not afraid!” Lyra snapped. “I just… I could do without so many ponies being here is all.”

Octavia sighed, but gave Lyra a well-meaning nudge. “Well, at least you had a little progress today.”

Twilight cocked her head. Not playing anything is… progress?

Lyra gave a short laugh. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Interesting...” Twilight mumbled under her breath. “Oh, and Lyra, Bon Bon wanted me to wish you good luck.”

A smile etched it's way onto her lips. “Oh, thanks. Kinda surprised she didn’t want to say it to me in person though.”

“She’s just busy baking. I’m sure she’d be here if that wasn’t the case,” Twilight assured her.

“Must be a huge order.”

“Nah, she’s just been spending all her time on this one cake.” Twilight waved off the thought. “Anyway, about your ly—”

“Bon Bon’s doing what?” Lyra shot up, grabbing Twilight’s shoulders.

“Uh… she’s just baking a cake. She even spent the whole night working on it. Why?”

Lyra’s pupils shrunk. “Oh no, not again!” She grabbed her lyre and pushed her way past Twilight. “Octavia, I’m sorry, but I have to go!”

“Wait, what?” Octavia shot Twilight a glance, who responded with a confused shrug of her shoulders. Unsatisfied, Octavia took off after her. “Lyra, wait!”

Twilight groaned internally, forcing her legs into a gallop. Whatever was going on, she knew it was going to be a hinderance to her research. Keeping that in the front of her mind, she followed after Octavia anyway, fueled by curiosity alone.

They managed to catch up to Lyra, who was practically flying through the streets of Ponyville. Her jaw was clenched with determination, and a hard, worried look was in her eye.

“Lyra, wait a second,” Octavia demanded.

“I can’t. Bon Bon, she…” Lyra faced the road in front of them, narrowing her eyes.

Twilight groaned internally with frustration. Lyra was starting to gain distance from them and given her lack of any physical exercise Twilight knew she wouldn’t be able to catch up. In fact, the already burning feeling spreading through her splinted hoof suggested she wouldn’t even be able to keep running for much longer.

Racking her brain for ideas, Twilight suddenly felt a light bulb go off in her head.

Well, I was looking for an opportunity to test this out.

Her horn sparked to life. Within seconds it flooded with magical energy, shining brightly even against the light of the sun. Her features scrunched together as she concentrated, but at the very last second Twilight cracked open a single eye to determine the spot where she’d land. A grassy patch against the horizon appeared to be the safest distance.

She shut her eye, and every neuron in her brain fired at once. Her magic exploded from her horn and the spell was cast.

An instant later, she was standing still, despite being in mid-run earlier. Her horn ached from the strain of the spell, but every muscle in her body felt relief. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was standing in the very spot she had selected a moment ago. Joy zapped through her.

I did it! I successfully teleported!

Then Lyra crashed into her.

The force of the impact knocked the breath out of Twilight, but that was the least of her worries. She and Lyra toppled to the ground, rolling over in a somersault of pain a few times before flopping onto the grass in a battered heap.

Twilight groaned as she felt Lyra suddenly disentangle and get back up. Luckily Octavia caught up and blocked her path before she could take off running.

“Will you slow down for just a second!” Octavia demanded.

“I can’t, Bon Bon... she has to be stopped.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight groaned, grass rubbing against her cheek.

Lyra bit her lip, her good nature getting the better of her as she reached down to help Twilight up. “Look, I don’t have time to stand around and explain it all to you two, I have to stop Bon Bon.”

“From what? Baking?”

“Yes!” Lyra cried, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Octavia and Twilight shared a look.

“I’m serious! You guys just don’t understand.”

“Then tell us,” Twilight said.

“But—”

“We can walk and talk, Lyra,” Octavia assured her. “Just tell us what’s going on.”

Lyra’s eyes darted between the two. Eventually, she bowed her head in defeat, knowing her options were limited.

They made an opening for her to walk through while they stuck to her sides. Lyra swallowed and paused. She seemed reluctant to talk about the issue, likely because it was personal.

“It’s kind of a long story. When Bon Bon first got her Cutie Mark, it was sort of a bittersweet moment. She loved baking sweets and making candy, but at the same time her family was really poor. They couldn’t afford to send her to a culinary school, and she was too young at the time to become somepony’s apprentice.”

“So, what did she do?” Octavia asked.

“She taught herself. Everything she can do now was through hours of trial and error. She tore through borrowed textbooks, saved every bit she could to buy supplies, and basically turned her room into a cooking studio.”

Twilight lips hummed with the flavor of the raspberry tart. “That’s… incredible. She got that good without any formal schooling?”

“She’s remarkable,” Octavia remarked.

Lyra smiled fondly. “Yeah, she did. But… no matter how much I tell her that, she never believes it. No matter what anypony tells her she won’t believe it. In her eyes she’s not as good as somepony who got a formal education on the stuff. She… she feels she has to prove herself, so whenever she comes across a recipe that she’s never heard of…”

“She throws herself into trying to make it,” Twilight realized, thinking back to what Bon Bon said.

“The book said it was one of the most complicated recipes ever, and that only a master baker could ever hope to complete it, but I’ll prove it wrong.”

Lyra nodded as Octavia eyes grew wide. “Bon Bon goes crazy trying to get the recipe right, even secluding herself in the kitchen for days. She doesn’t eat, she doesn’t sleep, she just… loses herself by trying too hard.” Lyra shot Twilight a glance. “She’s kinda like you, but with more cake.”

Twilight couldn’t help but lower her eyelids at that remark. Surely she wasn’t that crazy.

Right?

“So that’s why you were so frantic to stop her,” Octavia said.

Lyra nodded. “Now can we pick up the pace?”

Octavia frowned. “I don’t know. If Bon Bon really is like Twilight in this regard, we may need some assistance.”

Oh come on! Twilight fumed internally. Am I really that bad?

Lyra huffed. “Octavia, we have to hurry! We can’t waste time trying to get some other ponies to help. Besides, it’s not like somepony who can help us is just going to interrupt me mid-sen—”

“And that’s when the Ursa started rampaging through the town, and let me tell you Derpy, that thing was like twenty stories tall.”

The three of them whipped their heads in direction of the voice, only to catch an eyeful of an electric blue mane. Vinyl, Trixie and Derpy were standing off to the side and judging by the big gestures Vinyl was making, they seemed to be recounting the events of last night.

“Wow!” Derpy grinned excitedly, flapping her one good wing. She turned to Trixie. “Is that true?”

With a proud nod, she cleared her throat. “The Great and Powerful Trixie can indeed confirm this to be true. And if it weren’t for her quick thinking and heroism, the beast would have delivered much more damage to Ponyville.”

“Wow… I can’t believe I slept through all of that. I miss the coolest stuff.”

“You can’t be serious,” Lyra grumbled to herself.

“I’m with Lyra on this one,” Twilight said.

“Vinyl, Derpy,” Octavia called out as she walked over, getting their heads to turn.

“‘Sup Tavi?”

“Hey girls!”

“I’m afraid there isn’t much time to socialize,” Octavia told them. “We need your assistance.”

As Lyra trotted up to explain the situation, Trixie saw Twilight and walked towards her.

“What are you still doing in town?” Twilight asked her.

Trixie tossed her head back, whipping her hair with it. “Is it wrong for Trixie to want to bask in the glory of her fans for a little while?”

Twilight lowered her eyelids.

“My cart was broken in the Ursa attack,” Trixie admitted with a sigh.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s no big deal. All the Ursa’s stomping just made the axles pop out of the wheels; it’s an easy fix.” Trixie puffed her chest out and stood tall. “So, erhem, The Great and Powerful Trixie shall take her time in Ponyville, and if she happens to be heralded as a savior it is no skin off her bones.”

Twilight smiled and shook her head slightly. “Well, I guess that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Trixie turned back to the group, eyebrow raised. “She is curious though, what is with this gathering of your plebeian friends?”

“Friends? Oh, no, we’re just acquaintances.”

“Could’ve fooled Trixie.”

“Whatever. And we’re just here because another one of my acquaintances needs some help.” Twilight looked away, letting her attention focus back to the other girls.

Lyra was just finishing retelling Bon Bon’s story. “So, will you help us?”

Vinyl nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

“Absolutely.”

“Great, but we have to go now. We’ve already wasted too much time just standing around.”

“Why didn’t you walk and talk then?” Derpy asked.

Lyra groaned. “Let’s just hurry, okay?”

Twilight waved goodbye to Trixie as they headed off. Lyra took the lead, turning their once brisk walk into a canter. Twilight fell behind quickly, not wanting to put any more strain on her injury. Luckily they were near enough to Bon Bon’s shop that she didn’t get left in the dust.

When they arrived, Lyra threw open the door, greeted by the stark emptiness inside.

“Bon Bon?” Lyra called out, head swiveling around.

“She’s in the back,” Twilight told her when she caught up.

Lyra nodded and trotted over, hopping the counter. Everypony else followed, though the only one opting to hop the counter like Lyra was Vinyl.

The door to the kitchen was still closed and as Lyra approached it she wrapped the doorknob in a golden aura and turned. It didn’t budge.

“She locked it,” Lyra grimly noted. She beat her hooves against the door. “Bon Bon, are you in there?”

After a beat they heard a muffled noise from inside. “Hey Lyra, I’m a little busy right now. Can you come back later?”

Lyra’s lip tightened and she pounded on the door some more. “Bon Bon, get out here!”

“Can’t Lyra. Like I said, busy busy busy!” Through the door they could hear the beating of the whisk against the bowl. “I still have at least three layers to go.”

Lyra bit her lip this time. “Bon Bon I’m serious, get out here right now!” She grabbed the door knob with her hooves and turned, only to get the frustrating click of locked tumblers.

“This is going nowhere fast,” Vinyl remarked.

Octavia nodded. “We need a way to get her out.”

Derpy tapped her chin. “Bon Bon, your shop’s on fire!” she suddenly shouted.

“That’s nice, Lyra,” was her hasty reply.

Vinyl snickered while Derpy blinked in confusion. “Uh…”

“Yeah, that won’t work, trust me,” Lyra told them. “We have to get her away from the kitchen, otherwise she’ll just shrug off whatever we say.”

“Really?” Vinyl asked. She turned to the door. “Bon Bon, a bunch of Saddle Arabian swimsuit models are here to make out with you!”

“I said I’m busy, Lyra.”

Vinyl snickered. “Hey Bon Bon, there’s a bugbear attacking Ponyville.”

“Sorry Lyra, baking up a storm in here.”

“Hey Bon Bon—”

“Stop that!” Lyra cut her off. “This is serious.”

“Sorry.”

Lyra banged on the door again, her magic ripping at the lock. “We have to — er — find a way in!”

Octavia pursed her lips in thought. “Could one of you pick the lock with your magic?”

Twilight frowned. “I don’t even think I could do it. It requires too much precision on small objects that aren’t visible.”

“We could just blast it down right?” Vinyl offered, her horn igniting. “Or rip it off its hinges.”

“Let’s save property damage for a last resort,” Lyra recommended. “I want Bonnie out of there, but I don’t want to wreck her shop in the process.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes, horn dimming. “Ergh, fine. But unless you can teleport I don’t see you getting in there otherwise.”

Lyra’s eyes widened and she turned to Twilight. “I can’t teleport, but you can!”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Me?”

Octavia’s face brightened. “That’s right, you were able to teleport when we were chasing Lyra!”

“Well, yeah, it’s a spell I’ve been studying for a few months before coming to Ponyville, but aside from today I haven’t practiced it a lot. Earlier was just a ‘heat of the moment’ kind of thing.” Twilight bit her lip.

“Come on, Twilight, please?” Lyra shot the widest eyes she could her way. “We really need your help.”

A groan nearly escaped her lips. Twilight mentally backpedalled and chose a more suitable response. “I… guess I could try.”

“Thank you.” Lyra gave her a sudden squeeze around the neck before backing up to give her space. Everypony else followed suit.

Twilight took a deep breath as she began building up magic in her horn. Much like her last attempt, she had to pour a good chunk of her power to kickstart the spell, but like most magic it would get easier with time. Unlike her last attempt, however, she had more time to chose where she’d end up. Since she couldn’t see where she was going, she didn’t want to run the risk of teleporting into Bon Bon. Celestia knew that room was already messy enough without that to deal with.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to just put herself as close to the door as possible, doubting Bon Bon would be anywhere near it. Her features compressed as she cast the spell, feeling her brain light up like a firecracker. An instant later she was on the other side of the door.

A sigh escaped her, and her knees wobbled. Teleporting alone took a good deal of energy, and to use it twice in one day wasn’t exactly doing her any favors.

As she steadied herself, she looked around. Bon Bon was in nearly the same position she’d been when Twilight had last been here, though her surroundings had changed. On the counter near the oven, a fresh layer of cake sat on a cooling rack, with three buttresses sticking into the air, likely to support the next layer. There were a few more cakes, but they were broken and stained as they rested in the trashcan. Aside from the ever present flour and batter stains, some whipped cream and icing had joined them.

Twilight surveyed the partially formed cake on the counter. That must be her newest attempt at the Marzipan Mascarpone… thing.

“Twilight, did you get in?” Lyra’s voice called to her.

She turned back to the door. “Yeah, I’m in.”

“Can you unlock from where you are?”

Twilight looked down and saw a slot in the door knob. “No, it needs a key.”

“Dang it.” Twilight could almost hear Lyra’s frown. “Well, just do your best to talk to her, okay? Maybe you can convince her to stop.”

Twilight bit her lip. “I… I’ll do my best.”

“Thanks.”

“We got total confidence in you, Smart Mare,” Vinyl called out. “But… on a completely unrelated note, if you happen to find that key don’t hesitate to unlock the door, okay?”

Twilight groaned. Thanks for the pep talk, Vinyl.

She chose not to dignify the “completely unrelated note” with a response, and turned back to Bon Bon. The mare was pouring some batter in a pan while she simultaneously flicked the oven door open.

Twilight took a deep breath of preparation before trotting over. As Bon Bon gently slid the unbaked concoction into her oven Twilight tapped her shoulder.

Bon Bon went stiff.

“Uh… hi,” Twilight said slowly.

Bon Bon flipped the oven door closed and turned around, her face neutral. “Hey, Twilight. I really don’t have time to chat at the moment. If you want more raspberry tarts then just take them and leave the money on the counter, okay?”

“What?” Twilight blinked. “No, Bon Bon, you’ve gotta stop baking for a moment."

“Can’t.” Bon Bon was on the move, returning to a flour-coated counter with a mixing bowl resting on top. “I have about twenty-six minutes before the next layer is ready, and I need to have another one prepped to go in the oven when it comes out.”

Twilight moved with her. “Bon Bon, you can’t stay fixated on this one recipe.”

“Fixated?” She giggled. “Oh, that’s cute, Twilight. I’m not fixated on the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness.” She cracked an egg against the mixing bowl and spilled the yolk inside, her tone sharpening. “I’m just focusing one hundred and ten percent of my attention, time, and resources into perfecting it.”

Her eyelids lowered. “That is fixating, Bon Bon. Actually, that might be obsessing.”

“So?” Another egg split open over the bowl. “It’s no different than what you’re doing with the Elements.”

“No, it is different!” Twilight stamped her hoof, fed up with her acquaintances not respecting her work. “What I’m doing is actually important—”

They both froze. Twilight bit her tongue, realizing how awful that sounded. Bon Bon put down the eggshells she was holding.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight began. “That’s not what I mea—”

She froze again as a sniffle escaped Bon Bon. It was ragged and soft, but definitely a sniffle.

Twilight was taken aback, having braced herself for rage, not dismay. “Bon Bon…”

“You don’t understand, Twilight.” Bon Bon’s voice was strangled as she suppressed further sniffling. “This is important, to me.”

Twilight winced. “Again, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking when I said… Look, Lyra told me about what it was like for you growing up and I know it must’ve been hard, but—”

“Yeah, it was hard.” Bon Bon turned around, tears welling up in her eyes. “Do you have any idea how hard though? I couldn’t find work when I first started out; nopony wanted to hire me because I was self-taught. I had to build my own shop from the ground up and fight tooth and nail to earn my customers' respect.” Her eyes darted over to her trashcan, which overflowed with her past failed attempts. “And if I can’t even make one stupid cake right… then what was the point of everything I went through? I’m just a failure.”

She pushed her mixing bowl away, falling to the floor in defeat.

Twilight was speechless. Even with all the experience she’d accrued lately that involved dealing with her acquaintances problems, she had no idea what to say to make Bon Bon feel better. She mentally flipped through a rolodex of things to say in her mind, but none of them seemed appropriate.

Eventually a sob escaped Bon Bon and Twilight knew she had to say something. Taking a seat next to her on the flour-covered floor, she took a deep breath.

“I… I know it’s not easy, Bon Bon. Putting so much time and effort into something and not thinking you’re getting anywhere is… almost heartbreaking. But you are getting somewhere.”

Bon Bon glanced up, prodding Twilight to continue.

“I had no idea you were self-taught until Lyra told me, and if she hadn’t then I never would have guessed. Your pastries rival ones that I’ve eaten in Canterlot and what’s more you did it all by yourself. You’re not a failure, Bon Bon, you’re amazing. You don’t need to be able to bake a Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness to prove it, okay?”

Bon Bon sniffled again, but it was much softer this time. The dam that had been holding back her tears had yet to burst, luckily. “You… you really think so?”

“I know so. Besides, it’s not healthy to obsess over something this much.” Twilight blinked. “It’s… huh…”

Bon Bon rubbed her eye, her next intake of breath failing to send sobs throughout her body. “T-thanks Twilight. Nopony’s ever really said something like that to me before, besides Lyra.”

“Yeah? Well, you’re welcome.” Twilight pushed herself up and offered a hoof to Bon Bon, who gratefully took it. “What do you say we let the other girls in, huh? They’ve been pretty worried about you.”

She nodded. “Sure…” Trotting over to a nearby drawer, Bon Bon removed a key from inside and proceeded to shove it in the door. After a brief turn, it flew open as four ponies toppled through. Bon Bon narrowly avoided getting crushed as Lyra, Vinyl, Derpy, and Octavia formed a pile on the floor.

As they groaned and disentangled themselves, Bon Bon tilted her head. “Uh…”

Derpy gave a sheepish grin. “We were listening in the whole time.”

“You weren’t supposed to tell her that,” Vinyl grumbled.

“Sorry.”

Lyra made it off the floor first, a good deal of flour and cake batter clinging to her coat. “Are you… going to be all right?”

Bon Bon offered her a smile. “Yeah. Sorry for losing my marbles for a while.”

“I’m just glad you didn’t threaten anypony with a frying pan this time around.”

Twilight furrowed her brows. “You did that?”

An embarrassed tint of red grew on Bon Bon’s face. “Kinda…”

“A frying pan though?” Vinyl narrowed her eyes with confusion.

“Hey, they’re dangerous weapons in the right hooves,” Bon Bon defensively replied.

“Whatever.”

Lyra and Bon Bon shared an eyeroll.

“So what are you going to do now?” Derpy asked.

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Derpy shrugged. “Well it’s just that… you kinda have half a cake already. Are you just going to stop making it or something?”

“Derpy.” Lyra’s tone was a stern warning not to continue.

Bon Bon chewed the inside of her cheek. Her eyes darted back over to the half-formed cake. The oven hummed slightly as it cooked the next layer.

“Well, I suppose I have to make one last attempt to finish it then.”

“Bon Bon.” Lyra’s tone had increased in intensity.

A smile flashed on her face. “But… I’d like it if your girls stuck around to help.” There was a pause. “What do you say, want to give it a go with me?”

Another pause.

“Whelp,” Vinyl clapped her hooves together. “I’m in.”

Derpy nodded. “I could go for some cake.”

Lyra frowned. “I don’t know. Bonnie, I’m worried you might get sucked back into this.”

“All the more reason for you to stick around then, Lyra.” Bon Bon nudged her friend. “You’ll just have to keep me out of trouble.”

“I still don’t know.”

Octavia gave a sly grin. “Well, we could always go back to orchestra practice if you want.”

Lyra’s eye bulged and she rushed over to the mixing bowl, grabbing the whisk. “Hey, what are we standing around for? We’ve got a cake to bake!”

Bon Bon turned to Twilight, asking a silent question.

“Uh… I don’t know.” Twilight retreated toward the door. “I mean, I still have a lot of research to do and—” She was interrupted by the disappointed look looming over Bon Bon’s face. A quick glance around and she saw four identical looks. Suddenly, she recalled her own words from earlier.

It’s not healthy to obsess over something this much.

“Actually,” she amended, catching everypony’s attention. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to stay for a while.”

“Really?” Bon Bon’s smile returned in full force.

“Yeah, who knows? It could even be fun.”

“Well then what are we waiting for?” Bon Bon grabbed her hoof and pulled her toward the emerging chaos of everypony getting started. “We’ve got work to do.”


An hour later Twilight, Lyra, and Vinyl were executing a three-way levitation spell on the final layer of the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness.

“All right, a little to the left,” Bon Bon told them.

“My left or Twilight’s left?” Lyra asked as the cake descended.

“No, my left,” Vinyl clarified, dragging it to her right. Twilight was barely able to keep her third in sync, and nearly split the layer in half by accident. She began tugging slightly in her direction to try and rectify the problem.

“Careful!” Octavia reprimanded as she ducked. Her teeth squeezed too hard on the tube of icing she was holding, sending a line of glaze into Derpy’s face.

“Hey!” Derpy fell back, the chopped fruit she was holding sailed through the air. “Oh…”

Bon Bon flailed her hooves. “There! Set it down now!”

Vinyl dropped her portion immediately, causing Lyra and Twilight to feel the resulting flop. They both brought their ends down slower, just as a series of sliced strawberries and peaches fell on top of it. Derpy breathed a sigh of relief that the flung fruit hadn't caused a fire or broken a window and Bon Bon finished the last of the icing with a flourish.

Everypony took a collective step back to admire their work.

Actually… admire was too strong a word.

Twilight winced slightly as she saw the sight before her. The cake was by far one of the worst she’d ever seen. It was stacked limply and titled on its side. Globs of icing sporadically placed around each of the three layers couldn’t even cover most of the cracks in the baked part. The fruit at the top was scattered and random, though surprisingly the most pleasant part to look at. It was a good reflection of the baking talent of five of its six chefs.

“Well Bon Bon,” Lyra said, her worried tone implying she’d reached the same conclusion as Twilight. “Uh… what do you think?”

“Girls…” Bon Bon smiled, looking over all of them and then back to the cake. “It’s perfect.”

“But it sucks,” Vinyl aptly observed. A glob of icing rolled off the side and hit the counter top.

Bon Bon giggled. “Yeah… but, we all worked on it together, and that’s what makes this cake special. Way more special than it would have been if I’d just made it myself. That’s why it’s perfect.” She nudged Twilight. “And thanks by the way for sticking around. It meant a lot.”

Twilight sighed with content as everypony around her smiled. She allowed herself a rare moment of relaxation. All of her stress melted away and she simply took the opportunity to not care about all her troubles for a while. Heck, another one of the Elements of Harmony may have just sparked to life and she couldn’t care less.

“So,” Vinyl pondered. “Are we going to have to eat this thing or... what?”