> Ponyville Discovers Coffee
>  by Soothing Stone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Big Mac
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The final panes of glass went back up on the Sugar Cube Corner, as Big Mac put the finishing touches on the repair. It had been two days since Twilight almost destroyed the Corner, and for reasons nopony knew she had disappeared with Pinkie Pie, with rumors there were plenty of craters in the Everfree Forest now.

That wasn't on his mind though, as he carefully aligned the glass inside, as the Cakes watched nervously from the outside. He almost dropped the expensive plate, but managed to keep it in his hooves as it clicked into place, signifying that it was good to go.

He climbed down from the ladder rung by rung, and looked back to examine his work. It looked just like it did before Twilight became a ball of energy, but he wasn't sure about that, he didn't come to this part of town much.

"How's that, Mr. and Mrs. Cake?" he asked them.

"Wonderful, it looks as if nothing ever happened!" Mrs. Cake complimented.

"Thank you so much, Big Mac," Mr. Cake added. "I'll pay the 200 bits as promised, but do you want to put up the new Starbits sign as well? We'll add another 50 bits to that."

"It's not a problem, sir," Big Mac said. "You don't need to use money for that, the job's reward enough."

He went inside the doors and found a cardboard box by a table, with the Starbits logo on the top. This was the one.

The box flaps came apart to reveal the brand new neon sign, all assembled beforehand and featuring a instruction manual on how to operate the sign. It was complicated, but he could just put it up and that would be all he needed to do.

And that's what he did. He went back and grabbed the ladder, and put it back against the window, aiming to place the sign near the top. The stallion got the sign out of the box and took it in his hooves, careful not to drop it, it was heavy and clearly expensive to purchase.

As he went up every rung, the sign rumbled within his hooves, almost ready to slip. The tension of the moment almost got to him, until he got to the final rung. Now all he had to do was hang it up.

The sign used a mixture of tiny screws and suction cups to stick to the wall, a method used to stay up on any glass, but also so it didn't need to be drilled inside. He found all the cups and pushed it on the wall slowly, and soon enough it was up.

"All done! Come have a good look at it!"

"We can see it just fine from here! I have to say, I think we made the right choice with you!" Mr. Cake shouted. They both came inside as Big Mac stepped down, wiping the sweat off his brow as the job was finished.

"Eeyup, looks like I'm done over here. That should last a while, the glass is a stronger build than what you had before, should be able to withstand what it was that destroyed the window the first time. Now that I'm thinking about it, what was it that did something like this?"

Mrs. Cake smiled and shrugged, wanting to keep the incident a secret as long as possible. "Just a stray animal from the Everfree Forest dear," she lied. "Don't worry about it, she went back to the wild and we won't see her again."

"That's good, I suppose. They have some nasty creatures down there. Hey, what is that on the counter?"

He pointed over at the coffee machine, the new Pandora's Box of Ponyville. The shiny box was nothing he had seen before, and certainly nothing like the rest of the instruments the Cakes used to make their snacks.

So in confusion, he walked over and tapped the top of it, and the box responded with gears whirling, steam pouring out, and just being loud in general. It took him by surprise, and he ran for cover behind the Cakes against the terrifying creature from the coffee ponies' lair.

Mr. Cake laughed and sidestepped, leaving the red stallion out in the open. "It's nothing you should be afraid of. It's a really great machine we just bought this week. You noticed the Starbits sign you put up recently?"

Big Mac nodded, still shivering in fear.

"Starbits is a really popular brand of coffee in Canterlot, and what this machine does is make some of the coffee they make in their stores."

Now this was making sense. Big Mac got up on his hooves, and watched as the machine continued to whirl some more, eventually coming out with a tall cup of black coffee.

"Speaking of which, I could really use one of these," Mrs. Cake said. She grabbed the cup and stuck a straw inside, drinking half of it in one go. She appeared really tired, her eyes bagging a little if you looked close. But once the coffee was downed, her face lit up and returned back to normal.

"So is it some kind of magic from one of those wizards or mages in Canterlot?" Big Mac asked.

"In a way," Mr. Cake smirked, "but it's all made from beans. Nothing too magical about this, or at least I don't think it does."

"Ah, doesn't seem all that bad. Sorry for acting like such a scaredly pony, I haven't seen something like that."

"That's fine," said Mrs. Cake, "we all have our first time for everything. How about you make this the first time you drink coffee?"

Big Mac nodded, and looked up the coffee drinks menu. There were many different kinds of coffee, more than he would guess. He scanned down the list, and realized how hot he was. Today was a warm summer day, and he was sweaty and probably smelly. First thing to do on the list at home: Take a good, long shower.

So when he saw the iced latte on the list, it sounded the most appealing to him. He could really use something to cool him down, and seeing vanilla on the list seemed really appealing.

"I'll take one vanilla iced latte, ma'am," he asked.

"Right! One iced latte on the way!"

With a series of button pushes, the machine went back to work. This wasn't like the previous two times, as the ice played a bigger part. The sound of ice being crushed and grounded was audible, and it lasted a good while. Later, it was being mixed all in, and made a weird sound not unlike a wave at the ocean.

Then the next step was up, mixing the coffee with the ice. Mrs. Cake opened the box's lid to see how it was coming along. Both the ice and the coffee were dumped into one big chamber and slushed together, enough for three customers to enjoy. It mixed for a good five minutes before being disposed within a small cup.

The cup was very cold to the touch, to the point where the plastic had a thin layer of ice, something that made Mr. Cake shiver as he grabbed it and delivered the goods on the counter.

"There you go! One vanilla iced latte, and your first real coffee drink!" he said, while putting 250 bits on the counter.

"Thank you, Carrot Cake," the big stallion said. "I appreciate this...wait a minute, is that 250 bits? I said I didn't need to be paid for hanging up the sign."

Mr. Cake was stunned. How could Macintosh tell how many bits there were without counting them? "It's no problem, but let's see how the coffee tastes now!"

Without warning, he grabbed the straw and stuck it in Big Mac's mouth, and the stallion accidentally swallowed some of it in the move.

"What the hay are you doin--hey..."

He shut his mouth and presses his hooves to his cheeks, not expecting the latte to be that cold. It felt like an iceberg found its way there, and he was at the South Pole. It did taste good, the vanilla taste leaving a good impression, but he had to swallow what was left so he could tolerate it.

When he did, something strange seemed to happen. His vision blacked out for a moment, and he couldn't sense anything that was going on around him. Now he was wondering if this was all a dream, but he pinched himself and felt plenty of pain, meaning this was really happening.

Soon after, his vision slowly came back. The tables, the window, the sign, the Pandora's Box, and the faces of the Cakes, filled with worry. For some reason he took another sip of the stuff, and he blacked out again.

This has to be magical, he thought. There is no drink that is not a potion that does this.

Again, he was able to make out everything in time. But when he did, it was different from before. Everything seemed brighter, more vivid. And he seemed more aware of every action made around him.

He could see a fly hovering above him, he could see every little fraction of movement the Cakes made. Heck, he found out that he could hear what the ponies outside were saying, wondering how much damage Derpy Hooves made this time.

Overall, there was only one thing he could use to describe this: More aware of the world.

But it came at a cost. When this strange new ability came to light from the coffee, he felt like everything was watching him at once. Anything that could look at him did, and it was like being on a stage, with the common stage fright coming to him.

He shaked in terror, wondering why the hay was everypony looking at him and not the Cakes.

"Are you all right, Big Mac?" Mrs. Cake asked. "You seem ill. Maybe I could check your temperature and see if you need to see a doctor."

But starting then, he felt like everything was judging him, asking all about his secrets. He couldn't take it anymore, he had to tell the truth.

"I took Twilight's doll when nopony was looking!" he randomly shouted.

"What?" both the Cakes asked together.

"I couldn't help myself! Ms. Smartypants was so cute! She was the cutest thing I've seen in my life, and I thought I had to have ever after the hearts spell was over! And I've been sleeping with her in my hooves every night, I even bought a brush accessory for her in a garage sale"

The Cakes sighed, drooping their ears down. This was going to be an interesting day.

"And the whole reason why I loved her is because she reminds me of Fluttershy! I have a crush on Fluttershy!"

Mr. Cake looked over at Mrs. Cake with beady eyes. She mouthed the words "Not yet" with her lips.

"Yes, I've had a crush on Fluttershy ever since she bought that little cottage of hers! She is so shy, just like me, but I never had the courage to say anything about how I love her! So I practice what I want to say with Ms. Smartypants!"

Big Mac looked all around the room, spinning around in circles. It still felt like the world was watching him, criticizing him for not saying more. Then, as if to make this better, he ran outside for everypony to hear.

"I love Fluttershy! Why won't you leave me alone! What do you want me to do, tell her?"

Then, Mrs. Cake nodded. Mr. Cake opened the case below the counter, and pulled out the trusty tranquilizer gun, with the note "USE IN CASE PINKIE GOES EXTRA PINKIE" on it. This was going to get a special use today.

But as he left with the gun in his mouth, he saw that the red stallion had fled, and saw him running straight for Fluttershy's cottage, saying "I love Fluttershy" with every gallop.

It became a chase, as Mr. Cake tried to steady the shot to get Big Mac, but he kept changing direction to say his secret to another pony. He bumped into Applejack along the way.

"Easy there, brother," Applejack said. "What's with the hurry? You forgot something at the farm? I could get it for--"

"I have to tell Fluttershy I love her!" he screamed. He went back to galloping, leaving Applejack lost in confusion.

Then, Mr. Cake had lost where Big Mac was, before spotting Applejack. "Where did he go? I have to stop him!"

"He...he went over to Fluttershy's house...what just happened?"

Believing he had no time for an explanation, he remembered a shortcut to the cottage Big Mac didn't know about, and went straight for it. He hoped this would take him there before the secret came out, the coffee was screwing up the stallion's brain, obviously.

After much running, more than he thought he had in him, he arrived at Fluttershy's cottage, and there was no other horseshoe prints to suggest he was too late. Fluttershy would be inside, as hinted by her singing coming from inside, and he found a bush to hide in.

He waited inside for a while, hunched over like a poacher. But so much time had passed that he wondered if Big Mac even knew where Fluttershy's house even was.

However, Big Mac did arrive after a while, and rushed to the front door to knock his head furiously at the door. He shuffled around with his hooves as he waited, to hear Fluttershy stop singing and say, "Now who could that be?"

His heart was beating furiously as he could hear Fluttershy's hooves approach the door. A lot of words he could say to her came up, but he had nothing as the pegasus finally opened the door.

"Hi, Big Mac. What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Oh, Fluttershy," he said as he kissed one of her hooves, leaving her confused. "I have to say this to you, because it's a secret I've had for too long. Fluttershy, I love you--"

He had said all he wanted to say by the time he felt a dart hit his neck. The dart filled his veins with strong sleep medicine, strong enough to knock him out as soon as it hit him.

"Yes, I did it!" Mr. Cake shouted in victory, emerging from the bush. "I didn't know if I could do it, but I did it!"

"Wha--what's this all about?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh, about that. You see, I offered him to try out some of my new coffee, but it did a bunch of weird things to him. He said something about having a doll and crushing on you. But I don't know if that was all true or not. It did seem a little ridiculous to me."

"I...I hope it was true what he said to me...if you're OK with that."

"Wait," he asked, surprised, "what do you mean, you hope it's true?"

"I, I, I,' she stammered, looking around to make sure they were the only ones there. "I have a secret crush on him."

Mr. Cake was so shocked his hat flew off, and fell into the stream underneath the bridge. "I...I don't understand!"

"I thought he was kind of cute," Fluttershy said, leaving it all out there. "He was always brave, thoughtful, and he takes good care of his farm creatures. And then I hanged out with him, but I was afraid to say anything. And now that I know he likes me back..."

She shined a grin so wide, the sun reflected off it, and Mr. Cake shielded his eyes. "Well, this is out of my hooves. I apologize about this, I thought this would be uncomfortable for you."

"It's no problem. Now for Big Mac..."

She showed a strength never before seen and picked up Big Mac's body, taking him inside to rest on a sofa, all while giggling about it and shutting the door behind her.

Still stunned and dazed, Mr. Cake found his hat in the stream and picked it up. He shook off some of the water off, and put it back on his head.

-----------

"So what happened?" Mrs. Cake said as her husband came in through the door.

"I don't know how to explain it," he grumbled. "I don't want to talk about it for a while, if that's fine with you."

He fell to one of the chairs, and she got the message and gave him some black coffee.

"Was it that bad?"

"Not really. All that happened is that I found true love before my eyes, and I don't know what to say about it."

She gasped. "What do you mean, you found true love?"

"I didn't mean it like that! I meant Fluttershy loved him back!"

"Oh...well, this is weird."

"I was thinking on the way home, should we get rid of this?" He pointed over at the coffee machine.

"Why? You were the pony that made the final decision to get it!"

"But it's doing weird things to everypony who drinks it!"

"Expect you. You're the same pony when you have some coffee, so what's the problem?"

"I guess you're right. But I'm still not sure if this is a good idea."

"OK, how about we just keep it for a few weeks, so we can recoup costs, and see what happens?"

"I'm with you, sugar plum. Let's see what happens."
> Derpy Hooves
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The alarm clock buzzed harshly, signifying it was 7:00 in the morning. It kept going endlessly, until one familiar grey hoof came in to smash the snooze button, only to end up smashing the whole alarm broken.

"Good morning, Equestria!" Derpy Hooves shouted randomly. "It's a beautiful morning in Ponyville, and...oh wait, that's Vinyl's job! My job is to deliver mail!"

She ripped the sheet with a picture of a muffin on it off of her, accidentally throwing it out the window. Two things to replace in five minutes, it was going to be one of those days.

Thankfully, Derpy was more coordinated after her double vision came back to her. She ruffled the pillows back into place and took care of her usual morning business, before coming into her daughter's bedroom, the little filly still sound asleep.

"Hi Dinky!" she shouted. "It's time to go to school!"

"Oh Mom, it's a three day weekend!" Dinky said, rubbing her eyes around as she stretched around. Her mane was scrunchy and messed up, and she appeared like she hadn't slept in days. "Can I sleep in?"

"A three day weekend? That means we can spend the whole day together, and do things like eating muffins, and--"

"OK!" Dinky shouted. She rushed into her respective bedroom, and just as fast came out, her mane combed over and her horn looking ready to go.

"Now that's the spirit!" her mother said. "It's 7 in the morning, what should we do first?"

The filly unicorn thought about it, before coming to an idea. "I know what! I heard the Cakes have this really good coffee now, and I wanna try it!"

Derpy shook her head, laughing. "Silly filly, that's for grown up ponies like me! You won't like it for a while, but how about I buy donuts for breakfast!"

That was all Dinky needed to know. She ran outside the house, hopping up and down for Derpy to join her. She smiled and grabbed her wallet with her, and closed the front door behind her.

"Hey Mom, is that your blanket on the ground?"

"Um...maybe it is. Let me look...oh yes it is. Are you a little cold?"

Dinky nodded, warming herself up with her front hooves. Derpy nodded, and grabbed the blanket in her mouth, wrapping it around Dinky.

"It's so comfy. Now let's go!"

She hopped down the street, with an energy saved for ponies like Pinkie. It was a little hard for Derpy to keep up, but she managed to do so and walked on down, waiting for that coffee she heard about.

It seemed like Dinky was more excited than ever these days. Having been admitted to the magical school down in Canterlot for next school year, and the excitement of going to a new town was all so thrilling to both of them. It was a little sad, as Derpy would have to move away from all of her friends, but Canterlot was so close she could travel a lot.

They turned to the street the Sugar Cube Corner was, plain old Main Street. Here, there were all kinds of attractions and important buildings around here, like the Corner itself, Mayor Mare's office, and a bunch of little shops dotting the area.

But that wasn't important to Dinky, dashing to the Corner's storefront window as soon as she saw it. "Oh boy, they just opened their doors! Blueberry muffins, long john donuts, spiced milk, can we go in now?"

"Yes, but don't go and eat that stuff on the window. It's not for sale yet."

Dinky groaned as they pushed the doors open and came in, greeted with the delicious smell of icing, milk, and freshly made dough around someplace. Dinky's stomach grumbled in delight, and it wanted to be fed right now.

But there was nopony here other than them, which was strange. They could hear somepony in the back kitchen making something. Curious, Derpy rang the bell at the counter, getting her wallet ready.

Even for a place as kooky as Pinkie's workstation, they didn't expect what they saw. Twilight Sparkle came out with a plate full of cupcakes, but in every sense she looked weird. All of her mane was up in the air, and her pupils had shrunk to almost nothing. And that smile...oh that smile. Her whole teeth were bearing, and somehow having them being pearl white made them scarier.

"Hello, girls," Twilight said. "Welcome to the Sugar Cube Corner, how can I serve you today?"

Derpy's eyes went extra crossed, confused. "Where's Mrs. Cake? Pinkie Pie? Are you the only one here?"

"Of course," Twilight answered. "Haven't you heard? Pinkie Pie is teaching me self control with caffeine, and this is one of the steps: Learning to work without your teacher around. And because I'm such a gooood teacher, she took the day off and I'm filling in for her now!"

Dinky hid behind her mother, terrified of the wide-grin monster on the counter. "She scares me, Mom!"

"It'll be fine," Derpy reassured. "Hey, is the whole Starbits coffee what I've been hearing about in Ponyville?"

"I wouldn't know, because I'm all about the COFFEE, BABY--I mean, yes, it probably is. Starbits has become a huge hit in Ponyville since we carried them."

"Oh, goody!" Derpy said. "I want some of your plain black coffee, a cinnamon milk, and a half dozen cherry cupcakes, all to go!"

"Yes, Derpy and Dinky Hooves! Coming right for your mouth!"

Twilight's weird way of saying things were soon forgotten, as she went and made everything in that order with a scary sense of speed. The whole area was populated, not by a unicorn, but a massive purple blue going from place to place, making things as it went.

Dinky emerged from her hiding to watch, mystified by this. Pinkie Pie had never gone this fast in her career, and she was pretty good on getting orders finished on time. "Mom, how is she doing this?"

"I just don't know where she learned this," Derpy admitted.

Soon enough, there was an order of coffee, milk, and a box full of cupcakes inside. Twilight didn't break a sweat, still with the same energy as before, but with a lot more control than before.

"Is that everything for 15 bits? Because I would hate to get something wrong, that would be SO FRUSTRATING--I'm sorry, it would be frustrating, as I don't like to make mistakes."

Derpy examined all the goodies on display, and nodded that it was what she wanted. She dropped 15 bits down for Twilight to scoop up, and handed Dinky her milk and grabbed her own treats.

"Thanks Twi, but next time, not so much crazy, OK?" Derpy asked.

"I can't guarantee anything, but I'll try."

The gray pegasus nodded, and closed the door behind her, not realizing she shattered all the glass when she shut it.

Dinky stayed close to Derpy, terrified over everything that happened inside. Her mother noticed, and asked, "Do you want to ride on my back on the way home?" She nodded, and got in, covering them both in a muffin-decorated blanket.

The rest of the trip went rather well. There were a few friends saying good morning to the mail pony, and Rainbow Dash making her usual joke about how Derpy destroys everything she touches. That's not true, Derpy would always replied. The last time she touched Rainbow's wing, it didn't break until after she had left!

They found themselves back in the house, seating in the middle of the living room. Dinky opened the cupcake box and was greeted by a whiff of delicious cherry icing, and she couldn't wait for Derpy's permission.

"Go ahead," Derpy said, seeing Dinky's hungry eyes. "It does look delicious."

Nothing holding her back anymore, Dinky grabbed the nearest cupcake and stuffed the whole thing in her mouth. Her lips were coated in red icing, and she didn't notice that as she went for her second.

"Dinky!" Derpy shouted. "You need to clean that up before you have another."

"Fine," Dinky sighed. She went for the kitchen, and found the drawer where the napkins were. There was so much icing it would take a while to get rid of it all, with all the icing ending up on her lip, gaining a red and gooey mustache.

With a rare moment to herself, Derpy turned to the black coffee sitting on the table in front of her. The steam came out in one big whiff, swaying in the breeze the filly would make every time she moved. It didn't look anything out of the ordinary, and Derpy was starting to feel tired.

She grabbed the coffee in her hooves, grabbed the straw poking out, and took a good sip of it. "Yuck!" she replied. It tasted awful to her taste buds, like somepony grounded a bunch of beans but forgot to add any flavor.

And yet she took another drink. And another. It was a drug to her system, rewarding tasting that awful mix in exchange for gaining a little more energy with every sip. Strangely, she enjoyed it more over time, with a little hazelnut scent to the black tar.

It was all gone in minutes, and Dinky had finally got the final traces of the icing off her face. "There, all better now," her mother noted. "Now you can get your second, good job!"

Dinky buried her face in another one, while Derpy sat back in her sofa. Yep, that might have been the worst twenty ounces of anything she ever had, but she was ready for a full day with her daughter without dozing off now.

She picked up her first cherry cupcake, her sweet tooth wanting SOMETHING now after waiting all that time with those red jewels in front of it. She brought it up to her lips...

...and dropped it to the floor, staining the carpet below. Her stomach was rumbling in every angle, and it was starting to hurt.

"Mommy, what's wrong? Do you need to see a white coat pony?" Dinky asked.

"I don't know what's wrong with me! Stay back!"

Her lips felt like two beams of fire, and it felt like something was coming out of her throat. She ran to the bathroom, only for it to come out in the kitchen. She gasped as she was greeted by...

...a bubble from her lips. It floated around in the air, not moving up or down. It wasn't disgusting or anything, in fact it looked like something you would see after blowing into a bubble wand, clean and spotless.

"Wow, how did you do that?" Dinky marveled.

"I wouldn't have the slightest idea. What happens when you pop it?"

Encouraged by Derpy's curiosity, Dinky hopped up and reached for the bubble, popping it with her horn. And when it popped, for some odd reason, a muffin came from within and fell to the floor.

They jumped back in surprise, there wasn't any hint a muffin was inside until Dinky popped it. Derpy hid behind the counter, afraid it might move or something. But that didn't stop Dinky, and she slowly got closer to the delicacy.

"Don't do it Dinky, it might crumble its crumbs all over you!" Derpy warned.

"What's the big deal? Muffins are awesome. Right, Mom?"

She sniffed around it, and took a big bite. "Ooh, it's banana!"

"Banana? That's almost my favorite--" She hiccuped again, and another bubble came out. She popped this one, and a blueberry muffin emerged from within. "Now that's my favorite!" She grabbed it and munched it down.

"How are you doing this, Mom?"

"I don't know, but this is the best muffin I ever tasted!"

It only got better after that. A bunch more bubbles came out of Derpy, and the mother and daughter worked together to guide them to hover over a table, and popped them all. More than a dozen muffins emerged, and they had them for breakfast. They were some of the best the mother obsessed with muffins had, and Dinky thought it was the best thing ever.

"Can you make more bubbles?" she asked.

"Let me see..."

On demand, more and more muffins came out like clockwork, and it flooded the kitchen with crumbly goodness.

"I don't think we can eat them all!" Derpy said.

"Yeah, I'll get sick if I eat another muffin today," groaned Dinky.

"Then what should we do about them?"

"How about we open a stand?"

"That's a brilliant idea! But that's going to take some work..."

---------------

Within the next month, a new stand opened up in the Ponyville Marketplace, operated exclusively by Derpy and Dinky Hooves. Selling nothing but muffins would be a difficult task in such a competitive atmosphere.

Yet the business had amazing sales, thanks to the reputation of the quality of muffins available. Since Dinky was still in school and Derpy loved her mail service job, they had a rule of only being open during weekends.

However, this caused so much demand on the open days, in addition to the profitability, that Derpy and Dinky decided to make it a business and hire employees. It became Twilight's next side job after the Cakes found a destroyed oven inside, and Fluttershy was willing to give this "retail" job a try. It worked better than she thought it would.

But in the end, no matter how ludicrous the magical muffin business went the first year, the two grey ponies would always be there for the weekends, the mother trying her best not to destroy the stand by just sitting on it, and both greeting the customers with warm smiles, always.




> Rainbow Dash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One day, it was a calm and nice day, free from anypony going insane after another douse of coffee. For the most part, the skies were clear of anything. allowing the sun to shine through unhindered.

Except for one small area. There were a group of five clouds above one of the parks, the only ones out there. In fact, they almost seemed to be arranged like a trail, just like some blue pony liked it.

From down on the ground, Fluttershy watched the trail closely, wondering when the attempt would start. She didn't get to speak with her friend at all that day, she was just there because she was told to. Oh, how she hoped she didn't get the date wrong...

But she didn't as she saw Rainbow Dash fly by and land on the first cloud, rowdy and ready to do something today.

"Hi Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy greeted. "Are you going for the 500 meter attempt today? I hope I didn't miss anything."

"You betcha!" Rainbow Dash shot back. "You brought that stopwatch with you?"

Fluttershy picked up the device hanging around her neck and brought it up for the blue pegasus to see.

"Good, I'm going to crush that record Spitfire set! Now keep in mind it's exactly forty seven point oh-four seconds. If I can beat it just by a hair it'll get me in the Wonderbolts for sure! Ready?"

The yellow pegasus put her hoof right on the button to start. "Ready! Good luck!"

"Good luck are my middle names! Now let's crush some records!"

She narrowed down on the starting cloud, focusing on the next four she would have to dodge on the way. They moved a little with the breeze, and she took a deep huff of air before shutting her eyes.

"3, 2, 1, GO!" Fluttershy counted down.

Rainbow took off after the first cloud, off a few meters from the start. She flew off the left side, leaving it to spin, feeling good about the pace she was setting.

Then came the second one, where she would have to come off the right side. Undeterred, she adjusted the path and just barely avoided clipping some of it off, going on record pace.

The last two would be the hardest. The second-to-last required the flyer to dive below it, and then go to the last and soar above that, while they were extremely close to each other. There was a reason this was the exercise used to recruit Wonderbolts, it was difficult at the end and only the best could pull it off.

But Rainbow was one of the best. She made the necessary dive underneath the third one, and ducked her head to avoid crashing into it. Rainbow could feel the moisture on her mane as she had just enough leeway to pass. To her, the greats made the "almost made it"s to "just barely made it"s.

Now came the grand finale. There would be just around five second to get into position, and for Rainbow Dash that was too much time. The pegasus pulled up far above what was necessary and soared up into the sky, right above the cloud to end the run.

Feeling confident about the result, she kept soaring into the air, circling her body as she enjoyed her performance. She never expected anything but the best from herself, yet this one felt like she aced it in spades.

Rainbow made her way back to the ground, and found Fluttershy with the stopwatch. This one would tick with every second passed, and it was quiet. Her dropped jaw fueled Rainbow's confidence, and she questioned by how much did she shred Spitfire's score.

"You...you..." Fluttershy stuttered. "How did you..."

"Just show me."

Fluttershy turned the watch to where Rainbow could see it. 45.98 seconds. This beat Spitfire's record by over a second.

"YES! I did it! I finally broke that record!" she grinned, flying back into the air holding Fluttershy in her hooves. "This is the best day ever!"

Fluttershy tried not to scream as they flew off for a victory lap around the improvised track, Rainbow not display as much caution as their manes hit every single cloud in their way.

Meanwhile, Rainbow had the biggest grin on her face, like it was Christmas for that month. She seemed to go faster that time than before, feeling like she was on top of the world at that moment.

"Now all I have to do is take that performance to the Wonderbolts tryout next week, and they'll make me a Wonderbolt, guaranteed! There's no way they can say no!"

"I'm really proud of you," Fluttershy said, as they came to a stop. "Should we be celebrating this? That's a record that's been around for years."

"Hay yeah I am! Do you know what it's like to not only beat an unbeatable record, but the biggest one set by your idol? I have to party hard some way!"

"Maybe Pinkie Pie could throw you a party? She likes any excuse to throw a party, and this is pretty big."

"That's a great idea! I should go to the Corner and tell her to throw a party tonight at Twilight's house."

"That is, if she doesn't mind..."

Before Rainbow could consider it, she was already dashing off for Ponyville, and Fluttershy had to play catch-up most of the way there.

But eventually she caught up with Rainbow, as her friend had parked right in front of the Corner, her attention to the weird looking neon sign on the window.

It looked strange to her as well, with the logo of Celestia doing an arty poise foriegn to her as well. And was that clothing she was wearing in that picture?

"'Starbits Coffee.' You ever heard of that before?" Rainbow said.

"No, not until now. Is it any good?" Fluttershy responded.

"Well I'm interested. I'm going to tell Pinkie to throw that party, and then I'll have some of that coffee! It does look cool, and I'm getting exhausted," she yawned.

Fluttershy held the door open for her friends as they came inside, the bell ringing to inform the cashier somepony was coming in.

When Pinkie Pie heard it, her ears perked up as she saw two of her friends come in.

"Hi Rainbow Dash, hi Fluttershy!" she greeted them. "What awesome new record are you breaking this time, RD?"

"I just beat Spitfire's 500 meter cloud heat record, and that could be enough to get me a Wonderbolts spot!" Rainbow reported cheerfully. "Can you believe it? After so many years of hard work, I'll finally be able to fly with the best fliers in Equestria!"

"This calls for a party! 'Rainbow's going to be a Wonderbolt party!' How about we do it--"

"Actually, she was hoping you could it tonight," Fluttershy whispered. She ducked underneath the counter in fear she made Pinkie angry by interrupting her.

"OK, that works too! I don't know why, but everypony that I ever threw a night party for, always went a little more nuts. In fact, I had a night party for Big Mac, and somepony lit a tree on fire! How about that?"

Rainbow smiled, trying to hide the fact that she was very guilty of that very thing throughout Flight School. She and Gilda made an interesting party duo there...

"I saw that big glowing Starbits sign out there. Did you guys just get that in?"

"Yep. The Cakes brought that in to boost how much money they were making, and everypony really likes that. But it does weird things to a few, I'm sure it's nothing!"

Undeterred, Rainbow took a sniff of the coffee within the silver machine, and the sugary goodness of Starbits was amazing. It wasn't too sweet even though she barely ate anything with sugar inside, and it was balanced with what seemed like a more natural flavor, like what she would taste eating plant life.

"What's that inside the machine right now?"

"That? It's what's left from a morning batch of iced lattes! There was a big rush at sunrise, but I overdid the amount to make. You want some?"

Both of them nodded, and Pinkie took two cups for the order. Thankfully it was already made, so the machine didn't have to make that weird whirrling noise when it was making something. It dropped the iced slush down to one cup at a time, and Pinkie shivered as she grabbed them to deliver.

"I don't know if it's still any good, but it's on the house! Can't wait for the real party to begin, newest Wonderbolt!' she gleamed.

"Thanks Pinkie," said Fluttershy. "That was really kind of you.

"Are you kidding? I make so much money off of this that I don't need to worry about doing this for my best friends!"

Rainbow laughed at that. Pinkie always knew how to make her smile. They left the Corner and and took off for the forest, careful not to spill any of the coffee on the way.

Once they got there, Fluttershy put her iced drink on the ground, breathing heat onto her cold hooves. Rainbow was used to it, having spent months at a time creating snow clouds in Cloudsdale before this, so coldness wasn't a problem for her anymore.

"So what do you think of this coffee stuff?" Rainbow asked.

In response, Fluttershy took a ship of the stuff and downed it through her throat. After she tasted it she stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Yuck, this is awful! I can't have anymore, do you think Pinkie will be mad at me?"

"Eh, to each her own taste," Rainbow shrugged. "I'll have yours if I like this."

Fluttershy pushed the cup closer to her friend, and Rainbow looked back at her own. The straw was out for her to try, and she was certain it couldn't have been that bad. She hadn't had coffee before, but she heard it gave ponies a lot of energy, which she wanted more than anything.

So without further adue, she took the straw and had some for herself. It splashed down around her tongue, a caramel flavor this time. Immediately she loved the taste, and took another sip. And another. And another. It wasn't long before the whole cup was gone, and she went for Fluttershy's.

"Are you sure you don't like this?" she asked. "I can't believe I haven't had this before, it is that good!"

"Go ahead, I'm fine," Fluttershy squeaked.

"If you say so."

Rainbow started to drink the second iced coffee dry, not taking her lips off the straw until it was halfway gone. Then she pulled off and took a deep breath of satisfaction. That was one of the best drinks she ever had in her life, and she had been to Canterlot twice!

After she was finished, she experienced a rush of energy, and even though she got off beating a record, there was more for her to do.

"Hey, do you mind if I go flying around for a bit?" she asked.

"OK. Tell Pinkie Pie I'm really sorry about the coffee."

"Fine by me!"

Spreading her wings out, Rainbow took off and sped right back into the sky. The wind currents had picked up while they were out, traveling in a northeast direction which would lead to Ponyville.

Thinking it wouldn't be bad for the newest Wonderbolt to show off just a little bit, she went with the current and flew to the town. It seemed like everything was going her way, as she skirted around the buildings at a gentle speed.

Then, at that moment, everything became a blur. Suddenly she went from barely flying at all to rushing forward at the speed of light, as wind sheers formed around her. She didn't understand it as she kept going faster and faster, the windows of buildings exploding around her as she ultimately arrived at the Everfree Forest.

She turned around and made out a small rainbow trail marking her way over here. Did she...no way, she couldn't have. To do something like that, she would have to be skydiving practically.

Still, the Forest was spooking her out, so she made a U turn and came back to Ponyville. When she looked around, there was damage everywhere. Pieces of glass coated the ground, everypony's mane was in all directions, and in general it looked like a big mess.

No...there was no way. No way.

But it happened again. Her body decided to skyrocket again and she exploded out of there. This time, she looked behind her to discover she had just performed a Sonic Rainboom. In the middle of Ponyville. Without trying.

She panicked and tried to get out of the powerful move, but she couldn't stop herself. "SOMEPONY! PLEASE HELP ME! I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!"

For a while, she did manage to slow down. She sighed as she landed onto one of the parks. That must have been a freak accident, she thought. Surely it won't happen--

Nope. Even though she was on the ground, she managed to do a Sonic Rainboom again. She tried her hardest not to scrape her hooves on the road as she flew around, everypony seeing her coming and ducking in hopes of not dying.

But as she was flying around, one pony did crash into her. This one didn't try to get away, instead she launched straight at Rainbow and managed to tackle her, with all her Sonic Rainboom might, to the floor.

"Hi again, Rainbow Dash! Why are you going around like this? Everypony is terrified you'll explode!"

Rainbow Dash blinked her eyes, not believing what she was seeing. Pinkie Pie was the one tackling her, and somehow she had managed to overpower the pegasus. Might be that earth pony might.

"Pinkie Pie? You gotta help me out!" she gasped. "I don't know why, but after you left I keep doing Sonic Rainbooms and I'm not even trying! What is going on?"

"Oh, so you're one of the ponies that gets side effects?"

"What do you mean, side effects?"

Again her body decided to go full throttle, and she launched straight into the air. However, Pinkie Pie held onto the pegasus' shoulders like it was something everypony could do.

"Simple!" she replied, shouting loud enough to overcome the wind in their ears. "I put 2 and 2 together and realized that someponies get these weird side effects when they drink coffee! And for you, the side effect is--"

Another Sonic Rainboom. This time Rainbow flew past Canterlot and into places she had never seen before.

"--you can't stop doing Sonic Rainbooms!"

"HOW IS THAT SUPPOSED TO HELP ME?" Rainbow yelled, turning around so she would know the place she was going. "I KNOW THE PROBLEM, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!"

As if in an attempt to make things even worse, she went one direction and did three Sonic Rainbooms, back to back to back. Her body felt like it was on fire, and the intense wind currents seemed to be scarring her fur.

"PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP!" she pleaded.

"Oh, I don't have to do anything!" Pinkie smiled.

"WHAT? I COULD DESTROY PONYVILLE AND YOU WON'T LIFT A HOOF TO HELP ME?"

"Sillyhead, I slipped something inside the drink! You see, I was really concerned the coffee could do something to you, because you're such a strong flier, so I slipped a sleeping pill! And the best thing is, it only works for five hours, so you'll wake up just in time for the party! Well, have fun until then!"

Pinkie waited until they were above the lake, and let go of Rainbow to take a swim inside. She splashed down into the water and waved back to the pegasus as she surfaced.

"PINKIE! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WHEN I CRAS...crash..."

She started to snore while she was flying, as the sleeping pill took effect. It was when she had returned to Ponyville that the drug took hold, and her eyes shut as her brain and body shut down.

Like a bullet she went down, and ultimately crashed right into the water fountain, smacking hard into the statue. The statue broke together into many pieces, and Rainbow landed roughly into the water, her body limp.

--------------

Rainbow Dash had no idea how long she was out for. Maybe it was all part of a coma or something. But the instant she opened her eyes she felt searing pain everywhere, especially her chest area. She could feel what felt like cloth hugging her frame, as well as some other cloth draped around her belly.

When her eyes opened, she realized they were a hospital gown and blanket, with tape wrapped around nearly every part of her body except her head. She groaned as she came to terms of what that meant: she had injured herself flying. Again.

But then she saw what was in front of her in the hospital room. The whole place had turned into a party area, with a banner stating "Future Wonderbolt, Rainbow Dash!" There was cake and ice cream everywhere, further adding to the sting that she got injured.

Yet the record player going off with a ditzy tune couldn't help but put a smile in her face. All according to plan.

As she couldn't help but marvel at the festivities, a familiar pink pony came in the room, leading the rest of her friends inside. They looked both thrilled and sad when she saw them, but overall they were going to keep it on the "thrilled side" if they could help it.

"Hi, new Wonderbolt!" Pinkie Pie greeted. "Sorry about that whole crash landing, when I gave you that sleeping medicine I didn't think that would happen with the Sonic Rainbooms. Apology accepted?"

"What...wait a minute, where's the doctor here?" Rainbow responded.

"So you must have woken up," Twilight announced. "The doctor said you really took a beating, there's some broken bones and wings, but you're supposed to make a full recovery in a few weeks. Don't worry about it."

"Wait...that sucks!" Rainbow brushed off. "I was going to perform for the Wonderbolts tryout, and now it's over!"

"That's the bad news, but I think Fluttershy wants to give you the good news herself," Twilight mentioned.

"What? What's the 'good news'?"

Fluttershy came closer to Rainbow's bed, right on her left side with a bag on her back. "I found Spitfire in Ponyville after that nasty crash, and I told her about your record breaking, about how you broke it with a second. And after that she found out about how you were in the hospital, and she felt bad about it. So when you get all better, she wants you to do something."

She opened the bag with her wing, and Rainbow's eyes started to water when she saw the blue suit inside she idolized for so many years.

"When you make a full recovery, she wants you to try out at the next Wonderbolts performance. If you do great there, you're on the team."


> Sweetie Belle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Carousal Boutique, Ponyville's premiere fashion shop, was known as a classy place to find the newest fashions of Equestria. The owner and sole employee of the store, Rarity, was not only gathering a reputation for her tasteful use of gems, but for always being on time with requests, and as long as you were reasonable with timetables, she would always deliver your shipment on time.

But occasionally, there's one day where we all let things slip out of our hooves. Today was that day for her.

The workroom was in shambles everywhere: Ribbons were lying across the floor, gems were in every nook and cranny like they were thrown around, and many other things were moved hastily through magic. And there wasn't one dress that looked close to finished.

"Oh, whatever shall I do?" Rarity cried, exhausted as she collapsed into her sofa. "Photo Finish gives me a chance to design five dresses for a photo shoot, and I cannot even design one that will match her exquisite tastes! What should I do now?

"No. I will not flounder around while there's a delivery to be made! I must create!"

She rose up and pushed the sofa away, put her red glasses on, and got back to work.

Photo Finish had given a few suggestions and some basic sketches to start with. One of the notes simply said "NO GEMS!" underlined a few times for emphasis. No matter, even if Rarity's despair started all because she couldn't help herself at the first attempts.

The reference sketches were put next to the mannequins and a whole host of material were levitated around them. After much cutting and sewing, the basic structures were laid on top of them, each various shades of green in a "color of envy" lineup.

After that basic outline, the sketches let her do things the way she saw best. The green color encouraged experimentation, so she gave each a different design, from one full of ribbons to one flowing like a gown. On the last, she even embedded one gem underneath all the layers. What Photo doesn't know won't kill her.

In a surprisingly short timespan, Rarity suddenly had her order finished in front of her. Now all she had to do what write a letter to confirm it was finished, and ship them off to the photographer's residence. All she had to do was check the time, and make sure the postal service was still--

"FOUR O'CLOCK? How can it be four o'clock already?" Rarity gasped when she looked at the clock on the wall. "I must have gotten caught up in getting it right, and I forgot all about Sweetie Belle! She must be worried I forgot about her? I'm coming for you, sister!"

She charged out of the workstation and past the front door of the Boutique, going straight for the school. How could she forget it was her turn to pick her little sister up after all this time?

Nevertheless, the unicorn kept rushing to the school. When she arrived, the few ponies that were there were all on the playground, and after looking carefully Sweetie Belle was the only Crusader left, enjoying herself on the swings.

"I'm so sorry, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said as she got inside the area. "I didn't mean to leave you here, it completely slipped my mind."

"It's OK, sis," the little filly said. "Didn't you say something this morning that you might be late because of some order?"

Rarity slapped a hoof on her forehead. She had forgotten a lot of things today.

"That's correct, but it is no excuse for forgetting you were even here. I have to do something for you to compensate."

"No, you really don't have to. I'm not mad or anything."

"I have to do something. Please?"

"But--"

"Please?" She gave a begging look to seal the deal.

"Oh, alright. You can do something."

Rarity hopped around the playground, feeling at that moment she was the best sister ever. "So what do you want to do this afternoon? You don't have a lot of homework, do you?"

"Nope, did it all while I was waiting. Pinkie Pie told me all about this new coffee they have at Sugar Cube Corner, and it sounds really delicious."

"Are you sure you should be drinking coffee? You are still a filly after all."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"Well, coffee is something that energizes a pony, and since you're so young you have a lot of energy already."

"That doesn't sound bad. Can I still have some?"

Rarity sighed, and nodded. It couldn't make Sweetie Belle too hyper, right?

Cheerful, Sweetie Belle followed Rarity over to the Sugar Cube Corner. It was in the middle of autumn, so the sun was starting to get low and in their faces. They shielded their eyes as they arrived inside the Corner.

Unlike previous visits, there were quite a few ponies inside. Nearly every table was fun of characters who had just got off work, and a few others were typing stories out on their typewriters, their constant clacking on the paper making noise echoing across the room.

One thing Sweetie Belle noticed was the strong scene of coffee in the room. There wasn't a table with a coffee cup on it, and while some of the scents smelled like grounded beans, the caramel ones were promising.

After a wait in line, they both arrived at the front desk, and a stranger was on one of the registers.

"Hello, who are you?" Rarity said to the stallion with a mohawk mane and a dark coat. "And why isn't Pinkie here?"

"I'm Thunderlane. They've been getting so busy that they needed some help at peak hours, so I said what the hay, and signed up. For here or to go?"

She saw there wasn't an empty table in the cafe. "To go. What do you want, Sweetie?"

Sweetie Belle hopped up and down to get her head over the counter, able to say only a few words at a time. "I want. A really sweet. Caramel drink. Really cold. With a lot of. Whipped cream. A lot. Please."

Thunderlane shrugged. "Sounds like you want a caramel iced latte. Give me a few minutes and I'll have one on the way."

Sweetie Belle squeaked and waited by the window, the only open place she could find. She couldn't wait for the delicious flavors to arrive, even though she didn't really know what it would taste like.

Meanwhile, Rarity glanced at the ponies that were in here. They were from all walks of life, and she even found a few here and there in expensive dresses. Maybe she should ask Pinkie Pie if she could advertise somewhere around here for the Boutique.

Within time, Thunderlane called out for a caramel iced latte, and Rarity picked it up with her magic from the counter. Yet she wouldn't give it to Sweetie Belle, keeping it close to herself.

"Hey, why can't I have it now?" Sweetie demanded.

"Manners, dear. Can you wait until we get back home before you try it? I wouldn't want to make a big commotion just yet."

"Are you afraid I'll get Pinkie Pie hyper if I drink it?"

"No deary," Rarity lied through her teeth. "But wouldn't you want to have it in private away from all these older ponies?"

"I guess..."

Smiling she stopped a public disaster, Rarity escorted Sweetie home to their house. Sweetie was staring at the cup, just wanting to grab it now It was a clear one, and her mouth watered at the delicious looking stuff the whole trip.

Rarity pushed the door open and went inside. Sweetie grinned as her big sister placed it on the kitchen table, intentionally where she could reach for it.

"Now sister, I'll be in my workstation if you need me. Photo Finish must know I have completed all the dresses on time," said Rarity.

"OK, you go do that," Sweetie replied, ignoring everything in favor of the mysterious drink. She heard Rarity's trotting behind her, followed by the sound of a door being shut. The time had come at last.

Thunderlane forgetting entirely to place a straw inside, she got one herself from a shelf and put it inside the cup. She looked around to make sure nopony was here, and only Opal was present, cleaning herself on a kitchen counter. Finally.

She took the straw with her hooves and drank half of it in one go. The freezing stuff froze her cheeks, but man was it worth the pain. The whole mixture was as delicious as she had hoped, with the caramel taste strong as she liked and the whole amount of sugar inside really making it taste sweet to Sweetie.

So she kept on, drinking it and drinking it. Every drink was fantastic, unlike anything she had before. Heck, she wanted more when she found it was empty. Even a medium sized beverage was too small. So she went to the workstation's entrance and pushed it open to find Rarity on her desk, still writing a letter to the photographer.

"Oh, you're here sooner than I thought," Rarity commented. "What's the matter? How was the coffee?"

"That's what I want to talk about," said Sweetie Belle. "You think I could have a second one? It was really good."

"I'm happy you liked it so much, but you simply can't expect me to go back to the cafe so soon. It will have to wait until Friday."

"But I really liked it a--wait a minute. I feel funny..."

The filly felt dizzy all the sudden, her hooves barely aligning and going all over the floor. Her stomach felt like somepony was pinching it from the inside, and she wanted to lie down anywhere if it helped.

"Sweetie? You don't look so well." The designer rushed to her sister's aid, but was awestruck when she realized Sweetie's hooves were somehow a few inches off the floor. Her horn was glowing with a faint pink color, and suddenly she found herself hovering into the air, her whole body covered in a magical glow.

"Sweetie Belle? What are you doing?"

"I don't know, but this is weird!" Sweetie said, her voice echoing with an unnatural echo. "What's going on?"

"Oh my, Sweetie! You're having a magical charge! Anything can happen now!"

And it did. A lightning strike from Sweetie's horn struck the fan above, causing it to look like it was reflecting the night sky. Opal came in to see what all the ruckus was coming from, only for the lightning to strike her, causing the kitty to shrink to half her size.

Fearing for her safety, Rarity turned over a table and hid behind it, only for that to get next and dissolve into a bushel of sunflowers.

"HOW DO I STOP THIS?" Sweetie screamed.

"I don't know, but don't panic! I'm sure there's something I can--"

Suddenly the filly's horn struck at the dresses, causing green and blue gems to grow out of them. To make it even more impossible, the dresses changed color rapidly, through all the shades of the color wheel without warning, ending up all navy blue.

"Do you know how long it took me to make--no, I will not think about it. I have to save my sister from destroying my house!"

She lunged for Sweetie, but another charge caused the little unicorn to teleport to the other side of the room for no reason.

Sweetie looked genuinely terrified, flicking her horn in hopes it would stop its terror. But it didn't, and the glow only seemed to grow.

"HOW DO YOU STOP THIS? I DON'T LIKE SHRINKING CATS OR CHANGING FANS! PLEASE, I'LL EVEN GIVE YOU MY LUNCH MONEY IF YOU CAN STOP ME!"

"That will not be necessary! I'll figure something out!"

Rarity ran out with the tiny cat on her back and shut the door behind her. She could hear more zapping inside, but she wasn't thinking about her order now. She hurriedly looked around the Boutique for anything she could find. Then she remembered she had a book that told just what to do when a filly lost control of her horn in her bedroom.

Once she was inside and found the book "So You Have A Future Magician For A Filly: What To Do In Times Of Magical Crisis" on her shelf, she flipped through the pages and found the chapter on Sweetie's condition.

While rare in numbers, there have been recorded instances, where the first time a unicorn filly uses magic becomes a horrific encounter in which he or she looses control of her powers. The last known case was Twilight Sparkle, a Canterlot pony that later went on to become Princess Celestia's protege.

Most of these cases have been solved through the presence of a more experienced magician, but in the dilemma that you do not have one, the best thing you can do is get close enough to flick the horn. This might cause a bigger magical surge the first time, but rest assured that if you can do it twice, you're guaranteed to stop this without a sweat, assuming you can get close without getting hit by the magic at all.

Finally, she knew what to do to save her sister. She shut the book and went to the kitchen for a few supplies.

Meanwhile, the workstation had further descended into chaos. An indoor thunderstorm had formed, raining down on everything in the place. Sweetie's eyes were completely white with power, and she felt then that she could have destroyed Ponyville if this continued.

"RARITY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? PLEASE HURRY!"

She saw the door kicked open, and a very weird looking pony walked inside. Her entire body was covered in pots and pans in a makeshift armor, and a series of plates had been glued together into a shield. Through it all, Sweetie could see the knight's purple mane, messed up with the armor.

"RARITY! PLEASE HURRY! I FEEL LIKE I'M GETTING STRONGER BY THE SECOND!"

"Never fear, Sweetie! Rarity is here for you!"

She inched forward towards her target without fear. The horn zapped one plate and it became a wheel of cheese, falling to the floor. Another plate on the shield was transformed into the shape of a balloon, floating to the cloud on the ceiling.

"PLEASE HURRY! I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU!"

Rarity nodded and kept inching closer. This time the horn zapped the top on her head, and it became a golden crown with gems. An improvement, if she said so herself.

Sweetie's eyes darkened to black as the horn glowed brighter. Suddenly the shield was gone, into little bubbles that popped instantly with the rain. It was do or die.

All the fear going away for that brief moment, Rarity lunged again at Sweetie Belle, and this time the horn just zapped all the armor off, thinking it would have time for a second attack. The pots and pans disappeared but Rarity didn't.

In one sweeping movement, the designer had the filly pinned on the ground, and flicked at the horn with a hoof.

Suddenly, everything was quiet again. The thunderstorm had left, the water evaporated, and Sweetie's eyes were back to normal. Rarity got off and helped her get back up. The room was messy with material all over the place, but for the most part it was something they could fix. And best of all, save for the color and gem change, the dresses were in one piece.

Sweetie looked down on the floor, moaning about the experience.

"What's wrong, sister?" Rarity asked. "There was no way you could have seen that coming. That happens once in a generation."

"I know," Sweetie sighed. "But I almost ruined everything. And I couldn't do anything about it."

"It doesn't matter. You didn't do any permanent damage, though it will require some cleaning up--"

"Wait a minute! I didn't know I could do magic, maybe this is my special talent!"

She glanced at her flank, expecting a cutie mark to form around there at any moment. Yet, there was nothing there at all. She waited longer, only to frown when there wasn't.

"But...I thought...why didn't I get a cutie mark? I can be good at magic, and when this happened to Twilight she got hers. So why didn't it happen to me?"

Rarity brought Sweetie Belle to her, hugging the filly. "I know. You could be a good magician in the future after today, you do have a lot of talent. But cutie marks are for a pony's special talent. And sometimes, you can be good at something and not have it be THE special talent."

"What does that mean?"

"You might be good at magic, but whatever your special talent is, you'll be even better."

Sweetie gave a small smile, and hugged Rarity back. "OK, I guess. I just really thought I found my special talent, but I can keep searching for it."

"Yes, along with your other friends. And don't worry about the dresses, they look fabulous this way. Go downstairs and I'll start making dinner soon."

The filly grinned and ran down the stairs. With time alone again, Rarity went to the desk and threw the original letter to Photo Finish away, and started on a new one.

Dear Photo Finish,

I know when you placed your order, you said not to include gems in the dresses. However, after some recent developments, I think you'll find this fresh new lineup, which I'll call "The Glow Of The Ocean", to exceed your expectations even with gems included.

Expect these to arrive within the next week, and hopefully you will find these exquisite enough to use them for your next photo shoot. One rule: NO FLUTTERSHY!

Signed,
Rarity

She put it in an envelope, wrote out the destination address, and put it away. It was so late the postal service closed ten minutes ago.

Afterward, she went downstairs and saw Sweetie Belle looking confused as all the cabinet drawers were open wide. "Sweetie, what are you doing? I don't mind you helping with cooking, but I'd rather have you wait until I'm down there with you."

"No, it's not that," Sweetie giggled. "I think I zapped away all the pots and pans in your room. I think we need to buy some more at the marketplace..."

AUTHOR'S NOTE; This is a very rough draft, I'll be honest. However, because of recent developments I might not be able to work on editing it for a while, I don't know yet. I believed I owed you guys this chapter after such a long wait, and it will get revised soon, hopefully. So if you have a problem with grammar or sentence structure, this is why.