> Making the Sun Shine
>  by The Fiery Joker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Needs Sugar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Today, class, we will be learning about percentages.”

A black pegasus hovered in place while holding a piece of yellow chalk. He dragged it against the chalkboard, drawing two circles with a diagonal line between them. The foals in the room regarded the strange symbol with either vague recognition or boredom.

“This is a percentage sign,” he explained, gesturing with a hoof. “It represents how much of something you have, usually represented out of one hundred, and that how much-” he tapped the board for emphasis, “-is a percent. Does everypony understand the concept?”

The teacher looked around the room. The colts and fillies in the classroom stared in utter silence, casting quick glances at each other. The teacher brought his hoof to his face and sighed.

“Of course… Alright, let me attempt an alternate method...” He put a hoof to his short brown beard in contemplation. “Let’s say… there were one hundred candy bars here in St. Ponysburg.”

“But Mr. Novel, there aren’t that many,” a colt in the front said. “There’s probably hundreds that-“

“I’m talking hypothetically!” the teacher groaned, losing his patience for a moment. All the children immediately flinched back in surprise. Novel Idea released a pained breath, and continued.

“Children, this is merely a make-believe example. Now… just pretend…” he shot a quick glare at the colt who spoke previously. “That there are one hundred Candy Bars in St. Ponysburg. Licketysplit, how many Candy Bars did you eat last week?”

The pink pony in the front perked her ears up at the mention of her name. She looked up and began to mouth numbers.

“Six,” she finally said.

“So six out of one hundred…" Novel went to the chalkboard and scribbled a flash of numbers and lines. "You opened six percent of one hundred Candy Bars. Does everypony understand now?”

The class began murmuring, some of them giving “oh’s” and “ah’s” of understanding, and some giving “eh’s” and “uh’s” of confusion. The teacher hummed to himself, glad he got through to at least some of them.

“All right, let’s try another one,” Novel Idea said. He scanned each foal in the room and gave a pensive hum as he searched for his next guinea pig. His instinct naturally was to pick the child that blended in the best, sort of as a joke to himself.

“Sunny Smile?” A yellow pegasus filly with a sky blue mane looked up from her notes. “How many Candy Bars did you eat last week?” Novel Idea asked, turning to the blackboard.

“Ummm…” the filly stuttered. “I… didn’t eat any last week.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Mr. Novel said. “How many did you eat last month?”

“I… didn’t eat any last month, either.”

The teacher's head tilted away from the board, giving the filly a raised eyebrow.

“Two months?”

“N-No...” Sunny stammered, tightening her legs against the chair.

Novel's eyes widened. “Three?”

“No…”

"Five?"

"No...."

“Good heavens, do you ever eat candy, child?”

“Yeah!” she chirped, brightening up. “I got one for my birthday last year!”

“Last year?” the teacher repeated, eyes comparable to saucers. The class quickly erupted into murmurs and gasps, leaning across their desks to comment on this development.

“One candy bar a year?”

“Man, it must suck to be her.”

“Do her parents hate her or something?”

“No, stupid, she lives on that rock farm.”

Sunny Smile shrunk into her seat, red flushing her frowning face as she pulled up a book to cover it.

Novel Idea's eyes widened. If he didn't do something quick, he would quickly lose control of the room. He walked over to his desk and brought his hoof down on a small bell, causing the classroom to go silent and put their hooves to their mouths. Like most teachers, Novel conditioned the class to become silent following some cue, in this case the sound of the bell.

“Now class, we will have none of that. Let's get back to the lesson at hoof, shall we?" The teacher released a pained breath as he glided over to the chalkboard and resumed his illustration. "Alright, since you ate… one Candy Bar…” he put a noticeable baffled emphasis on the last three words, making the poor filly up front wince in pain from behind her book. “You opened one percent. Now, if there are still some among you who don’t know the pattern, let’s try with a different base. Even though a percent is out of one hundred, the amount represented is not. If-“

Sunny Smile continued taking notes, but all around her she could feel the classroom’s gazes focused on her. She tried to focus on the teacher's words to blot out the eyes boring into her, but their accusing glances were too much. She pulled up her book closer to her flushing face and hid, wishing the day would be over as soon as possible.





“Class dismissed!”

The entire room erupted into cheers. Chaos reigned in the room as the tiny ponies rushed out the door, eager to get out of the educational prison.

“Oh, remember to take the remnants of your afternoon lunches home!” the teacher called after the stampeding children. “I detest having my classroom smell like egg salad after hours!”

The classroom fell into silence, other than the faint sound of giddy children stampeding through the halls. He flew back over to his desk and pulled out a stack of papers. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a yellow filly slowly trudging towards the door, her gaze glued to the ground.

“Sunny?”

“My family is poor, we can’t afford chocolate!” she screamed out loud before shoving her head down to the floor. A few seconds of awkward silence passed with Sunny in a tortoise-like state. She peeked her head up to see her teacher frozen in post-flinch and eyes blinking rapidly.

“A-are you alright?”

“Yes, sir,” Sunny replied on instinct. “I’m fine.”

“I am unconvinced,” Novel Idea stated, shaking his head but not letting his eyes leave her. “What the other children said to you earlier is bothering you, isn’t it?”

Sunny averted her gaze from the teacher, looking down and scraping the ground with a hoof. She wasn't bothered, she was downright mortified. She had been put in the spotlight and gotten a target painted on her forehead that would last for weeks. Her "relationship" with chocolate would surely be the topic of the more vindictive children's gossip and would prompt odd looks from the more reserved ones.

Something touched Sunny, causing her to shudder and look up. Her teacher's hoof was placed on her shoulder. Something inside her prompted her to lean into the leg, and a smile crept up onto her face.

“Sunny, I wish to apologize for embarrassing you earlier,” Novel said, giving her a gentle pat. “It was not my place to pry into something you’re so obviously sensitive about. As a teacher, it’s my duty to ensure a positive, uplifting learning environment, and I will assume the blame for what happened today.Do you forgive me?”

Sunny looked up and nodded.

“Excellent!” Novel Idea chirped, clapping his hooves together, “If any of the other children give you a hard time, let me know, okay?” He pulled out a lollipop from his pocket and handed it to Sunny. “Now have a pleasant evening. Be careful not to slip on the ice!”

Sunny Smile gasped as she beheld the sweet on a stick. “OH MY GOSH THANK YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH!” she squealed. She gave the teacher a quick yet powerful hug, making the teacher seize up in surprise. She then swiped the lollipop out of his hoof before dashing out the door, leaving a very stunned teacher alone in the empty classroom. It took Novel Idea a few seconds to register what just happened.

“What a sweet child.” He sighed, wearing a big smile as he walked over to his desk. “The world needs more children like her.”





Sunny took a scarf out of her saddlebags and wrapped it around her neck, then deposited her treasured lollipop into the bottom. She shivered as brisk wind blew through her thick sky blue mane. Her head tilted up to get a better view of the grey skies. With an innocent grin, Sunny stuck out her tongue and a snowflake landed on it.

“Needs sugar,” she thought as the water crystal melted in her mouth. An idea popped into her head, and with it an excited smile. She broke into a gallop and darted down the sidewalk, nearly slipping on the sleeted concrete.

A thick smell suddenly found its way to Sunny’s nose. She gave a deep inhale, taking in the sweet odor that permeated the air, and slowed to a trot. She recognized these smells all too well: The seductive smell of chocolate, the arousing aroma of vanilla, the sweet scent of sugar, and the friendly fragrance of mint. The sensory overload tickled every pleasure sensor of her brain, causing a small stream to flow from her mouth. Sunny’s eyes closed and fluttered as her mind was assaulted with images of what these smells could possibly belong to, and her being able to sink her teeth in one of those scrumptious-

“OOF!” Sunny Smile grunted as her face became acquainted with a hard metal object. She fell back onto her haunches and whimpered as she rubbed her poor muzzle. Her eyes slowly opened to find the offending object she’d accidentally bumped into.

A large silver gate loomed over Sunny, causing her to shrink back further to the ground. The black bars and wires ornately curved in all directions and ended with sharp points, almost as if they were threatening to stab her. The designs didn’t seem to have a rhyme or reason to them other than basic symmetry.

Taking a deep breath, the little yellow filly moved closer to the gate, suddenly filled with a sudden boldness to get closer than she ever had before. Her magenta eyes once again took in all the awe and glory of what lay behind it, but this time she had a better view.

A large gray building shot upwards, towering over the entire area. It was so high it was almost a beacon; one could maybe see it from the horizon. It resembled a Cathedral, or possibly the Canterlot Royal Palace considering how intimidating and ornate it looked. Three large cylinders stretched up towards the heavens, exhuming black smoke that contrasted greatly with the snowy white clouds.

A banging noise caused the filly to jump. The gate began to vibrate and move outwards, accompanied by a metal screech. Sunny galloped away to the other side of the street and hid herself behind a wall. Her bright eyes peeked out from behind the corner, full of both wonder and fear.

A mechanical hum resounded from inside the archway. The filly poked her head out more to get a better view of what was making the strange noise. A large mechanized red carriage slowly exited the gate, exuding gray smoke behind it. It was soon followed by another, then another. After the twentieth one, the gates closed quickly, leaving little, if any time at all for a pony to squeeze through.

Sunny looked at the last truck. It stopped almost immediately at the first intersection, right in front of a general candy store. She quickly ran across the street to the next corner, staying out of its line of sight.

The doors on the back of the truck opened up. A conveyor belt whirred with a mechanical hum as it extended outwards. Large boxes moved on the black conveyor and dropped unceremoniously on the ground.

“If I can just get a good look…” Sunny squinted her eyes and fluttered her tiny wings. It didn't have any effect, but it felt like it did. Desperate, she stretched her tiny neck up as high as it would go. In front of the automobile, she could make out two-

The doors slammed shut, snapping Sunny out of her concentration. The truck’s wheels screeched against the pavement and sped off. Sunny head drooped as the truck disappeared around the corner.

“Still din’t see, eh?”

Sunny turned around. A stocky dark green earth pony with a navy blue mane stood smiling at her.

“No mister," Sunny replied, slumping to her rump. "It always closes before I can get a good look.”

“Ha ha, well, ain’t dat one o’ life’s big mysteries. What's da meaning o’ life. Do aliens exist. What in Equestria is driving dose trucks?” the stallion chuckled loudly as he hoisted the boxes of chocolate onto his back. “Still… I can’t complain as long as I get my stock. Tings sell like crazy, lemme tell ya. Hey, would ya like ta buy one?”

“Ummm… no thank you, mister…”

“Rancher.” The earth pony smiled. “Jolly Rancher. Alright den. You run on home. Let me know if ya happen ta see what’s moving dem trucks; I’m dying ta know.”

“Alright, bye mister!” Sunny chirped as she continued down the road.

“Oh yeah, don’t talk ta strangers!” He quipped after her.

“I won’t!”

The buildings eventually vanished on both sides of her as she entered the outskirts of town. She trotted into a large clearing outside of the main square and coming off the sidewalk. Her hooves sank into the muck, making strange sloshy sounds as she stepped further into the vacant plot of land. Large half-excavated rocks surrounded her destination: a small wooden shack in the middle of a rock farm.

To say it was falling apart would be an understatement; it looked as if the slightest nudge would send the entire structure crumbling down. All the windows were boarded up, half the chimney was missing, and the entire house was leaning awkwardly to the side. How it didn't collapse under its own weight was a miracle in and of itself. The building itself wasn’t very large; when it was originally made, it probably housed maybe a family of three, but goodness knows how long ago that was. What’s worse was the giant hole in the side of the snow-covered roof, opening the entire house up to the elements.

Sunny Smile trotted over to the door. She prepared to open the door, and paused to take another look at her pathetic excuse for a house. Sunny looked down and sighed.

It wasn’t much, but it was home.
> Cabbage Soup
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sunny Smile placed her mouth on the doorknob and twisted. She was met with some resistance, so she craned her neck harder to get the stubborn round handle to twist. The knob refused to cooperate, making Sunny's cheeks turn red. Like a dog playing tug-o-war, she shook her tiny body left and right to get the stubborn doorknob to move, grunting in frustration. Her efforts paid off as she heard a small click. She proceeded to shove her side into the door, taking a little less effort than twisting the knob. A long, drawn-out creaking sound resounded as the door opened, as if the door wanted everypony in the area to know that somepony was entering. She stepped through the doorway and kicked the door closed.

Sunny looked around. The haggard exterior did nothing to betray the equally falling apart interior. All the walls were made of pieces of plywood that weren't put together very well, and it showed with tiny cracks easily letting the residents see what was going on outside. The walls were "decorated" with boards likely closing off the largest holes. The boards themselves were decorated with crayon scribbles and drawings of sunshine and rainbows, most of them made by Sunny with permission from her parents.

The main room was a mess to say the least, having to serve as the kitchen, dining room, living room, and by extension, her parent's bedroom. Due to a lack of cupboards, pots and pans scattered themselves across the tops of cabinets nestled against the walls. If the cabinets could even be called such; they didn't even have doors on their hinges. The windows were cracked, shattered, or nonexistant, but that didn't matter as they were boarded up as well. The room reeked with the smell of mold and old wood, but Sunny didn't care. To her, it smelled like home.

“I’m home!” Sunny yelled while placing her saddlebags on the dining table in the center of the room, careful not to budge the stack of newspapers replacing the missing fourth leg.

“Hey sweetie!” a high-pitched voice chirped, followed by the sound of metal clanking against the floor.

A bright pink mare with a long, straight mane appeared around the corner and hobbled towards Sunny. A leg brace on her left hind leg impeded her movement and dragged against the floor, making a sharp scratching sound similar to running one's hoof across a chalkboard. The mare acted like the brace wasn't even there as she yanked her own body towards her daughter like a puppy pulling on its leash.

Wanting to give her crippled mother an easier time, Sunny trotted over to her and hugged her leg. The pink mare grinned ear to ear and proceeded to scoop up the filly in a warm embrace. Sunny returned the gesture, giving her mother an equally loving squeeze to her neck.

“Mama Pinkie wants to hear all about your day!” Sunny's mother singsonged. "How was school?”

“School?" Sunny's grin disappeared, recalling the embarrassment from earlier. "It was… okay.”

“Okay?” Pinkie quoted. She lifted Sunny in front of her face and drilled her big questioning eyes into her, almost as if she were studying an animal.

“It... I… …" Sunny stuttered. "I don’t wanna talk about it.” She couldn't meet her mother's gaze and let her mouth curl into a frown.

Pinkie Pie's eyes narrowed. This was not going to fly with her. If there was anything Pinkie never liked to see, it was a pony frowning. And to have a frown that was coming from her own daughter? Unacceptable!  Pinkie's face scrunched up towards the center of her face, like she was accusing Sunny of a less-than-serious crime. With how ridiculous she looked, it was difficult to tell whether she was genuinely grumpy or trying to be silly.

Then again, Pinkie being Pinkie, it was always difficult to tell whether she was serious or not.

“Now you listen to me, Sundeep Artemis Smile!" Pinkie stated. She placed Sunny on the ground so she could properly talk down to her. "I will have no negativity from you! Your name is Sunny Smile, not Funeral Frown, so start acting like it!"

"Yes, mom..." Sunny replied, still looking at the floor with a glum face.

"Are you giving me a 'tude? You're giving me a 'tude, aren't you." Pinkie's glare shifted to something predatory. She moved closer to her daughter, her leg brace not making any noise, strangely enough.

"You're not smiling," Pinkie said without emphasis. "I don’t think I like that. I don't think I like that at all. Are you going to give me a smile or...” The corner of Pinkie's mouth curled up into a mischievous grin as her forelegs started sneaking around the unsuspecting filly. Her lips inches now inches away, Pinkie whispered into Sunny's ear.

"Am I going to have to make raspberries?"

Sunny’s face transformed into an expression of pure horror. Her mind reacted on instinct, legs attempting to propel her away to flee her mother. She immediately slammed into Pinkie's trap of legs, catching her off guard and giving Pinkie Pie the opening she needed. Pinkie squeezed her daughter close to her chest, careful not to give Sunny any leeway to break away. Sunny flailed her legs, fluttered her wings, and squirmed her body, desperately trying anything to break away but nothing could escape Pinkie's iron grip.

“You activated my trap card! Now, smile!” Pinkie pressed her face against Sunny’s chest and gave an airy blow. Wet flapping noises burst forth from Sunny's chest, perfectly mimicking the sound of flatulence. Sunny squealed as the freaky sensation pulsed throughout her, causing involuntary convulsions of her body. This worked to her advantage as she was finally broke free of the madmare’s embrace. Sunny darted through the house, giggling and screaming as the evil tickler pursued her.

“Mama’s gonna getcha!” Pinkie cried as she chased Sunny around the table. The entire room was filled with the sounds of a screaming filly and the metal dragging sound of Pinkie's leg. Despite her brace, Pinkie was able to match her daughter's speed, her body nearly within grabbing distance. In a last ditch effort, Sunny slid under the kitchen table, hoping to evade the tickle monster. Once she got up on the other side, her eyes darted around the room, looking for any possible means of escape.

Before Sunny could do anything, Pinkie used the weight of her brace to flip herself over the table. Sunny could do nothing but watch in awe as she was tackled to the ground. Now having her daughter right she wanted her, Pinkie gave a wicked grin and placed her center weight directly on the torso of Sunny’s body, preventing any chances of escape. Using her superior adult strength, Pinkie pinned both of Sunny’s legs above her head, exposing the most sensitive tickle area.

“Gootchie gootchie!” Pinkie ran her free hoof up and down Sunny’s body, poking anything that would get a reaction from Sunny. Sunny could do nothing but accept her cruel fate as her joints, tummy, and hooves were assaulted by swift pokes, the torturous joy causing her to spasm violently. Both fillies giggled as the act went on, though Pinkie was enjoying this much more than Sunny was.

“M-mommy! Hee ha Pa-please! S-st-stop!” Sunny pleaded though laughing fits, desperately trying to say anything to make the forced laughter stop.

“Not until I see your happy face!” Pinkie declared proudly, now sporting a silly-looking angry face.

“I’m-ha-happy!” Sunny screamed, her smile stretching to the corners of her head. “Tee hee hee hee! I-I’m happy!”

“Okie Dokie!” Pinkie Pie smirked and released her prisoner. Sunny fled her mother as soon as Pinkie loosened her grip. However, she was still discombobulated by the tickling and collapsed to the floor, her heavy breathing occasionally broken up by giggle fits. Pinkie slumped on her rump, slightly out of breath as well.

“Careful girls," a bright scratchy voice said. "Your happiness might destroy the house, or what's left of it anyway.”

The two fillies turned around. A yellow pegasus with a short scarlet mane turned the corner and walked up to the two females.

“You’re home a little late, Sunny,” he stated. “Why?"

“I was looking at the chocolate factory again, daddy,” Sunny answered. She tilted her head, confused by her father's almost accusatory tone.

“Well, can't say I'm too happy about that," he said. The stallion's eyes leveled, making Sunny's legs buckle and her ears fold back.

Pinkie stepped halfway between her daughter and husband. "Merry Way, why should she get in trouble for looking at a chocolate factory?" Pinkie asked.

"Why? I'll tell you why." Sunny's father said with a glare. He let the mood fester in silence, choosing not to answer Pinkie immediately. The awkward silence between the stern father, the defensive mother, and the scared filly made the tension between them almost palpable. Finally, Merry couldn't take it anymore and gave a Cheshire Cat grin.

"She was almost late for dinner!" he shouted in a pompous tone. "The nerve of her! Almost leaving a bowl of dinner without a filly around to eat it. It would've been incredibly tragic. Sacrilegious even!" Merry shook his hoof in the air and shouted to the heavens. "This unmitigated audacity must be punished!”

Pinkie chuckled at the obvious jest, but Sunny took a step back, worried she was going to get another tickle attack. Merry Way took note of Sunny's frightened reaction and realized his teasing probably went a little too far. He released a sigh, silently mourning his unappreciated joke.

"On second thought, I'd say your latest spout was punishment enough. Wasn't it, honey?" he snarked as he leaned over and nuzzled Pinkie Pie.

“Is it dinnertime already?” Sunny asked, beginning to stand up straight. On cue, an odd rubbery growling noise echoed through the room. All three ponies looked down in perfect sync and turned away from each other with sheepish expressions.

“I think our tummies are saying that’s a yes,” Merry Way said, not trying to hide a smirk.

“Ooh Ooh!” Pinkie bounced up and down in front of Sunny. “Guess what I made for dinner!”

“Cabbage soup?” Sunny asked. Pinkie’s eyes bugged out. She gave her trademark extended gasp and brought her hooves to her cheeks in horror.

“How did you know?!" Pinkie cried, whirling around to Sunny. "Are you psychic? Should we call you Madame Sunny? No seriously, how did you guess so easily?”

“That’s all we ever eat, numnuts,” a gruff voice growled, "Now will you all shut up and let me get back to my nap?"

Pinkie winced as if she had been physically struck. Her bottom lip curled as she looked back to the source of the voice. A tan earth pony with a grey beard and an old-fashioned hat lay on a small bed, half of his body covered in a patchwork quilt. He looked at the three ponies with half-lidded eyes, unamused by the conversation.

“Oi, Clyde!” Merry Way carped.

"It's true..." the elder quipped as he turned his head away.

“Still, that was uncalled for!”

“Oh, so you want me to lie about it?” The elder harrumphed. “Delude myself like other decrepit geezers my age? That seems like it'll make everything all fine and dandy.”

Merry Way stepped in front of his wife, shooting the elder stallion a glare. “Okay then, why don’t you make dinner if you know what’s so dang better for us? Why don’t you try supporting this family with your hard work?” His expression turned deadpan. “Oh wait, you can’t. You haven’t done a thing to help this family for years.”

Grandpa Clyde’s eye twitched at the cheap shot. A fire entered his eyes as he sat up in his bed. “You’re one to talk! I’ve worked on this rock farm all my life and I still made more than you! Quite the bright future you have screwing on caps at a toothpaste factory! How's that hefty salary working out?”

Merry Way walked over to the bedridden stallion and shoved his face in close. “Hey, at least I’m trying to do something to help and not poisoning the house with your negativity and leeching off our kindness! Or did you forget that you need us to actually eat!”

“Leeching?!” Clyde exclaimed, shoving his face into Merry’s. “Know your place, boy! This is MY house and I let you live here, not the other way around!”

“That doesn’t mean you get to be a crotchety old mule about it!”

“Maybe so, but you should still respect that I get to decide whether you live here or not!”

“Is that a threat?” Merry Way’s gaze intensified. “Are you threatening to throw me out?”

“I’m seriously thinking about it!”

“Ungrateful old-”

“Naïve little-“

“BOYS!” Pinkie screamed, making the two stallions stop their argument and turn their heads. Pinkie’s eyes were watery on the edges, but she still looked positively furious.

“Please, I can’t stand it when you two argue!" Pinkie cried. "And especially with Sunny here!”

Both stallions flinched, and their eyes immediately looked over to the little yellow filly cowering behind Pinkie’s leg. Both their hearts plummeted in guilt. The elderly Clyde shrunk back into his covers, the fire disappearing from his eyes. Merry Way looked off to the side and rubbed his left leg uncomfortably.

“I'm ashamed of you!” Pinkie lectured, pointing at both stallions. “Both of you! Sunny shouldn’t have to come home to watch you two saying mean things to each other! Now both of you, say you’re sorry!”

Merry Way rubbed the bridge of his nose with a hoof. His gaze drifted to the floor in humiliation before he let out a pained breath.

“Sorry…” Merry mumbled.

“Hmph.” The curmudgeon turned his chin high and looked away.

A twitch took a hold on Merry Way’s face. He gritted his teeth, trying his best to keep his anger for his father-in-law under check. A soft nuzzle on his cheek from Pinkie made him flinch momentarily. Merry took a deep breath and leaned into the nuzzle, releasing the pent-up anger before it had a chance to let itself loose again.

“Hey, sweetie, don't worry about it," Pinkie whispered, "that's just his way of saying he's sorry.”

"That's a good as an apology as you're going to get," Merry Way's mind translated. The two glanced back at the confined elder pony, who began to mutter unpleasant things to himself.

“Meh, he’s just jealous because I have bladder control and he doesn’t,” Merry snarked under his breath.

Pinkie brought a hoof to her mouth and snorted. “Kinda sorta speaking of which…" Pinkie dashed over to the cupboard and grabbed the soup ladle out of the drawer. She then climbed onto the table, brandishing the ladle like a sword.

"Soup’s on, everypony!” Pinkie yelled in a mock Southern accent.

Dinner passed without incident. The meal was the same bland and revolting cabbage soup that the family ate every day. The household never ate at the dining table; that was reserved for room for Pinkie to cook and prepare meals. Instead, the family ate around the bed that confined Grandpa Clyde. It wasn't a bad substitute, but each member had to be especially careful they didn't spill and have to spend money washing the sheets. Merry would occupy his mealtime pumping the power lever for the television so the family could watch while they ate. Except for Clyde, who usually retreated to the newspaper.

“Well, I’m done!” Pinkie chirped, dragging her tongue around her lips in a circular motion. “I think I’ll go do the dishes!” Pinkie smiled as she took all four bowls and dragged herself to the sink.

“Daddy? Pappy?” Sunny asked, lifting up a small hardcover book. “Can you help me with this math problem?”

Merry Way perked up and moved towards his daughter. A flicker of movement grabbed his attention towards the bed. Clyde Pie looked up from his paper, just as eager to help Sunny with her homework. Once he caught the glance of his son-in-law, his expression changed into an irritated glare. Merry returned the spiteful look and soon the two were in a silent staring contest, emotions just waiting to explode. Before sparks could fly again, a loud humming reached their ears, prompting them to look at the source.

Both of them stiffened.

Off in the corner was Pinkie, washing the dishes and humming a bright tune to herself. Pinkie slowly turned her head, eyes drifting between the two ponies. She turned around and showed them she was scrubbing the steak knife she used to cut the cabbage. With a half-lidded smile, she wiped the knife with a rag and held it up for them to see, slowly waving it to and fro.

Suddenly, Pinkie brought the knife down and Merry could swear he saw her eyes flash red. The knife landed in the wood of the counter with a dull “thwack,” making both stallions flinch. Pinkie's smile now showed teeth, but they could easily tell she was less than happy. Words did not have to be spoken to get the message:

“Mess this up and I will END YOU.”

“Pappy? Daddy?” Sunny called, trying to get their attention. “Hello?” Sunny turned around to figure out just what made her paternal figures so scared. All she saw was her mother humming a bright tune to herself as she cleaned up dinner’s remnants.

Merry dipped his head; his wife defeated him again. Twice in one day. Tied her record as well.

“Truce?” Merry mumbled. Clyde didn’t meet his gaze, instead opting to stare at his bedspread. A few moments passed in silence before a sigh let Merry know his question was heard.

Clyde Pie looked up from the bedspread wondering how his own daughter had so much power over him. He flicked his gaze towards Merry.

“Truce.”

“Huh?” Sunny asked, now more lost than ever.

“Never you mind, Sunny,” Clyde said, patting the filly on the head. He scooted up on the back of his bed and sat up straight. “Now what seems to be the issue?”

“Yes, we’re both here to help you,” Merry continued, scooting next to Sunny. “So ask away.”

Pinkie’s evil grin disappeared, replaced by a content, genuine one. Such was the end of a typical day of her household. Their family was small and broken, their house was small and broken, but that didn't matter to them. They pushed through because deep down, they knew they needed each other. They needed Grampy Clyde to keep them down to earth and realistic. They needed Merry Way to support the family financially. They needed Sunny Smile to give them hope for the future. More often than not, they would butt heads like the buttheads they were, but in the end, they were still family and wanted the best for each other.

Pinkie just wished she had something to offer other than cabbage soup.







> An Orange Lollipop
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sunny Smile climbed into her bed, giving her wings a little flutter to give herself a boost. She scooted her tiny body under the quilted covers, letting the warm blanket sap away the numbness in her freezing limbs. Her innards were warm already, having been just filled with cabbage soup, so it didn’t take long for her entire body to immediately warm up. Sunny loved that about winter; it getting cold just so she could experience the comfort of being warmed up.

A large growling noise echoed in Sunny’s room. Sunny looked towards her stomach, and released a teary-eyed sigh. The little filly rolled over in bed and stared at her hole-filled wall. It disappointed her each day that she would have to go to bed every night with a non-full feeling in her tummy. She was a growing child; she needed food. But there was never enough at dinnertime for seconds. Sunny wished she had something, just something else to eat…

A revelation dawned on Sunny’s face. She ripped the covers off her body, and dove for her saddlebag in the corner of the room. She undid the buckle on the pouch and tore through her saddlebag, pulling out all of her books and papers and tossing them to the side. Sunny gasped as she finally found what she was searching for.

Afraid of damaging it in any way, Sunny grabbed the orange lollipop. Cradling it like a baby bird, she trotted over to her bed and placed it on her pillow.

She climbed back up onto her bed and just sat there, staring at the candy not two hooves away from her. She only permitted herself to look at it, relishing the moment. Slowly, she picked the lollipop up and unwrapped the plastic coating, trying her best not to damage the candy in any way possible. Sunny discarded the clear wrapper to her side and beheld her treat.

To normal, privileged children, this was a plain lollipop, nothing special. Sunny had other ideas. This small token of appreciation from her teacher was a GODSEND. Sunny brought the sweet closer to her face. Her bright, curious eyes took in every single detail of the sweet. It was a translucent orange hue and the stick was long and white plastic. The candy itself was shaped round and flat, almost like a bit. Same size too. She wondered how the thing was made and what made it look the way it did.

She brought the sucker up to her nose and gave a big whiff. Heaven. The sweetest smell of orange filled her nostrils and made her spine tingle. A waterfall flowed from her mouth, desperate to experience this wondrous combination of sucrose and corn syrup. She had no idea what those were, but didn’t care. All she longed to do was to just force the lollipop past her lips and overload the senses of her taste buds, to have the chance to taste something that she never had the chance to. Should she chomp the lollipop clean off and chew it until nothing remained? Should she just shove it into her mouth and slowly chip away at it with her tongue? The possibilities were endless!

No… she would not waste this treasure. After all, when was the next time she would get another chance to get another one? As much as she wished to act like other children with their candy, greedily chomping down on their enormous candy bars, she couldn’t. She had to savor every last bit of it. Exercising amazing self-control for a filly, Sunny brought the sweet to her mouth and stopped. She stuck her tongue out and poked the lollipop with the tip of it.

Sunny’s eyes rolled up into the back of her head, letting the sweet citrusy flavor spread out across her tongue. Her mouth was crying out in ecstasy! The elevating bliss she felt was incomparable! Her body began to shake, every pleasure sensor in her brain firing off in random directions. She leaned back against her pillow, a large smile spreading across her face. The taste was everything she dreamed, and much more welcome a flavor than the horrible gag-inducing cabbage soup she ate each day. 

The last remnants of the flavor disappeared down her throat. Still light-headed from the euphoric sensation, Sunny wobbled to and fro as she sat back up. She picked up her lollipop and brought it in front of her face again. Without willing it to, her mouth opened and her tongue stretched out towards the sweet, longing for that heavenly sensation again. Sunny closed her eyes and fought back against her own subconscious. By sheer force of will, she pulled the lollipop away from her mouth and dropped her hoof to her side.

What Sunny had was enough for one day. She took the wrapper and rewrapped it around the concentrated happiness on a stick, preserving it in all its orangey and sugary goodness. She then walked over to her shelf and pulled out a small wooden box, colorfully decorated with crayon scribbles of rainbows and sunshine. With a deep breath, she placed the lollipop in the box and put it back on the shelf. Tomorrow she would do the exact same thing; just let herself have a lick. If this candy was anything like the chocolate bar she got once a year for her birthday, she would be tasting this candy for at least the next four months. The thought of tasting the sucker every day for the next six or seven months filled her with excitement and hope.

The sound of scraping metal reached Sunny’s ears. Sunny shimmied herself back under the covers, wearing a grin of anticipation. Pinkie Pie appeared around the corner, dragging her leg across the floor. She gave her body a few good jerks before she was able to get herself beside her daughter.

“Alright, Sunny!” Pinkie sang, placing both hooves on the bed. “What do you want to hear tonight? I have a story about how about the small earth pony who learned magic to topple an evil principal? Or a diamond dog that outsmarted mean farmer ponies? OOH! OOH! I can tell you a story about a pony who traveled the world in a giant peach!”

Smile folded her legs and looked off into the corner. Which story would she like to hear next? The peach one sounded enticing, but she was still hungry and didn’t feel like getting tantalized. The earth pony learning magic seemed interesting, but given that she had nice teachers who gave her lollipops, it wouldn’t be in good taste to hear that one yet. The diamond dog one just sounded boring.

Sunny’s gaze drifted towards one of the numerous holes in her wall. There was one hole she asked her parents to never board up: the one with a great view. It allowed her to see directly down Mane Street and be able to see the city in its best light. Another thing Sunny loved about winter was the snowfall. To her, snowfall made everything more beautiful.

Most of the city was on a large hill, with the buildings getting larger as they got towards the top. And directly on the top of the hill, towering over every building next to it, was the Chocolate Factory. With the lights adorning the edges of the streets and the way the main road led straight up to the huge gates of the chocolate factory, it almost resembled a royal palace. Sunny had never seen a royal palace, but if her mother’s stories were anything to go by, then as far she knew the factory might as well be one.

Sunny’s eyes brightened. She knew exactly which story she wanted to hear.

“Mama… Can you tell me about Candy Mane?”
	





> Stallion of Sweets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“T’was a long time ago,

longer now than it seems,

in a place perhaps,

you’ve only seen in your drea-”


“Mommy, I don’t think that’s the right story,” Sunny interrupted, raising a hoof.

“What?” Pinkie blinked, removing her hooves from her cheeks. “Oh, oopsie! Sorry, Burton tends to bleed together in my head sometimes.”

“Ber-tin?” Sunny inquired.

“Oh, don’t worry your cute little head about that,” Pinkie quipped as she ruffled her daughter’s yellow mane.

“Anyways… It wasn’t too long ago. Probably about a year or two before you were born. Give or take.” Pinkie gazed upwards. "Candy Mane began with a single store on Cherry Street, but even then, all of Equestria wanted his candy…”



~10 YEARS AGO~



“Hmmm..." 

A light tan earth pony leaned forward in his chair, staring at a sheet of paper and humming to himself. 

"No... no that won't work..." he mumbled. "Blast it, why can't inspiration come whenever it's convenient for me?"

The chair gave a soft moan as the pony leaned backwards and sighed. He stared at the ceiling, scanning it for some sort of answer to his creative exhaustion. Suddenly, his mouth began to taste bitter, like metal.

“Blech! Why did I have to be born an earth pony?!" the stallion whined, spitting the pencil out from his mouth. "Disgusting! I'd be be perfectly fine with pencils if they just tasted decent, but noooooo, rubber and lead have taste like sh-” 

The pony froze. He shot the pencil up to his muzzle, slowly waving it to and fro across his face. His eyes and smile grew in size as the seconds passed.

“A pencil... that tastes good...” His eyes twinkled in epiphany and he thrust the pencil towards the sky like a saber.

“I think I'm about to be brilliant!” he sung.

He ripped off the squibbly sheet of paper on his desk and placed it on a side table next to him labelled “To Do Later.” Now with a clear head and a blank slate, he began scribbling on the blank sheet, drawing elaborate chemical diagrams and physics equations.

“Oh goodness the children will loooove it...” he mused to himself. “Now if I can just figure out a good lead or graphite substitute...” After a pregnant pause, he snorted and erased half the page. “Nah, that would make it too brittle... Hmm, maybe if I neutralize the sugar during the gestation period, perhaps the chemical structure would remain stable enough...”

The door slammed open, shocking the candymaker out of his focused passion. The stallion recoiled and fell backwards out of his chair, and yelping in pain. A mare burst through the door, the wind blowing the sheets off of the desk and burying the stallion in paper.

"Mister Mane!?" the mare squeaked. "Are you okay?"

Mr. Mane threw a hoof back onto the desk and hoisted himself up with a hoof. With the other, he straightened out his ebony black top hat.

“I asked you to stop calling me that, Pinkie!” the earth pony whined, quickly gathering the scattered pieces of paper. “You’ve more than warranted informality with the way you work! Oh, never mind! Continue!”

"Okie dokie artichokie Candy!" Pinkie Pie beamed. "It's a good thing you're okay though because it would be super duper bad if you weren't around to fix today's problem! We’re out of Whipplescrumptious Fudgemallow Delights! They flew off the shelves a minute after we opened up!

“A minute?” The earth pony scratched his curly black mane. “Hmm. Slow day. Golly, Tuesday’s are the worst...”

“What are we going to do!?” Pinkie cried, rolling her head back while swinging a hoof to her head. “There are a lot of ponies out there that really really really really want to eat some yummy chocolate and we can't do anything about it! I've tried giving them the Nutty Nutsomaniacaliscious bars but they said nooooooooo! One wanted Whipplescrumptious and another wanted a Carouselamel Sweet Treat, another wanted Mintal-"

Candy Mane smiled as Pinkie continued her theatrics. He always enjoyed listening to Pinkie ramble, partly because he was one of the few ponies that could keep up with whatever she was saying.

"-another wanted a puppy, and another wanted a Red Rider BB Gun! And that's when they asked me to come down here and make you make more and I just don't know what to do!"

“Well..." Candy Mane stared at his desk and put his hoof to his chin, contemplating this latest development. There were a lot of hungry and apparently crazy ponies wanting more of his candy as usual. And as usual, he could barely keep up with demand. As much as a shortage was a good problem to have, it benefits no one. There had to be some way he could speed up production...

His eye twinkled and a mad grin spread across his face. He flipped a sheet over and shot his pencil across the paper, as if he were a pretentious artist painting a picture with exaggerated brushstrokes.

“Well, we’ll just have to make some more!”



~PRESENT DAY~



“Candy Mane reminds me a lot of Mommy...” Sunny thought to herself.

“It was the best job ever!" Pinkie continued. "Eventually he got so much money, he opened the biggest, most fantabulous chocolate factory in the whole universe!"

Sunny glanced out the hole in the wall. Sure enough, there was Candy Mane's enormous factory in all its splendor and glory. To think that the small shop on the street grew to be that kingdom of confectioneries and sweets. That large palace-like building brought such visions to her mind, visions of magical treats and candies too wonderful to comprehend.

She had to know more.

"What was it like in there?" Sunny asked, scooting up closer to her mother.

"Oh, there was a hugermoungous ton of stuff that Candy Mane made! He was such a super smart smarty pants candymaker that he made ice cream cake that never melts, even on a hot day! Or or or the time he made jawbreakers that kept all the yummy flavor and time, but you could chew them and your teeth wouldn't break! Althooooough…” Pinkie leaned in closer to her daughter. “I did pitch him some ideas every now and again, like candy balloons, edible candle wax in case you want to eat a whole cake in one bite, and bags of chocolate chips that were actually pieces of chocolate in the shape of potato chips!"

"Those were your idea?!" Sunny gasped.

“Yepperooni!” Pinkie beamed. “Though he was a bigger smarty pants than me. And I mean extra large super chubby fat sized pants! Oh but he wasn’t fat, he’s actually kinda skinny, which is weird because he’s a candy maker, and you would think he would be fat! But that doesn't matter because he was such a super duper awesome friend and boss!"

Sunny leaned in closer. "Was he nice?" she asked.

“No... he was super DUPER nice!" Pinkie smiled, looking up. "He was a fun friend, unlike some snooty sticks-in-the-mud. He’d always find time to spend with us.”

Sunny grinned. Candy Mane's factory sounded... perfect. There was no other word for it. A nice, smart pony who cared about others running the largest and most amazing candy factory in the world? It was perfect in every way. Sunny would give anything to see inside that factory in which her mother used to work.

Used to work? A curious thought entered her head.

“Why aren’t you still working for him?” Sunny asked.

Pinkie’s smile faltered, and the normally radiant look in her eyes vanished. Pinkie grunted and began to rub her brace, hissing in pain. Sunny immediately regretted asking the question, wondering whether or not it was her question that caused her pain.

“M-mommy?” Sunny peeped, scooting away and pulling the covers up to her mouth.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong, sweetie!" Pinkie chirped. "It's just sometimes my leg acts up! These metal bars aren't really the comfiest thing in the world!"

Sunny lowered the covers, giving off a hesitant smile. She stole a glance at her mother's leg and sat, waiting for her to continue. Pinkie stopped rubbing her brace and continued.

“Candy Mane was a great chocolatier.” Pinkie’s tone dropped in pitch, further unnerving Sunny. “Too great, so much that other candy makers became big mean jealousy jealous pants of him. They began sending in spies to steal his super secret recipes.”

“Spies?” Sunny asked, wide-eyed.

“Eeyup,” Pinkie said deeply. “Not like the spies with nice manecuts and black suits; they looked like normal ponies but really deep down they were just mean and greedy ol' spies.”

Sunny couldn't believe it. Why would anypony be so mean to a pony who just made good candy? All Candy Mane did was make children happy. It made no sense to her. And ponies that looked normal but were really spies? Sunny shuddered at the thought that maybe some of her classmates might even be spies.

“Wouldn’t Mr. Mane notice?" Sunny asked. "I mean, doesn’t he know all of his workers?”

“It’s the biggest chocolate factory in the world.” Pinkie shrugged. “Big factory means big number of ponies need to work there, and that’s a looooot of ponies to keep track of. I mean, I was friends with everypony in Ponyville, but even then I wasn’t FRIEND friends."

Pinkie looked down. Her gaze drifted towards the metal bars binding her leg and remained there for an awkward amount of time. Pinkie let out a deep sigh and rested her head on her hooves.

“Besides, Candy Mane loved other ponies." Pinkie said, a small smile creeping back onto her face. "He was very generous and trusting, always believing in the best of other ponies... so the spies had a really easy time doing their dirty thieving. The other mean candymakers kept stealing and stealing and stealing and stealing some more from Candy Mane. It got so bad that one day, he… he…"



~9 YEARS AGO~



“WHY DID YOU STEAL MY RECIPIES, PINKIE???”

“I didn’t, Candy!”

“You will address me as Mister Mane!” he snapped. Pinkie shrunk in her chair, horrified at her friend’s outburst. “And you really expect me to believe that? My security camera shows that you let a green unicorn in yesterday!"

“Oh yeah! That nice pony!” Pinkie squealed. “He said he forgot his I.D. and gave me a piece of candy to not tell you about it because he would’ve been so embarrassed to-"

“Traitor!” Candy Mane screamed, slamming a hoof down on his table. “What else did he bribe you? More candy? Cash? An executive position? How much have they paid you to steal my life’s work?! How much have those parasitic copycats paid you, huh?! ANSWER ME!"

“No, Can-Mr. Mane! I wasn’t paid anything! I promise! Cross my heart, hope to fly-“

“No, Miss Pie!" Candy Mane interrupted. "You’re fired! You’re all fired! Everypony now who works here is fired! If I can't trust you, then I can’t trust anypony anymore!"

Pinkie's heart stopped. “B-but… Candy…”

“I don’t want to hear another word of it!" Candy Mane slammed his hooves on the table, "Pack your things Miss Pie and get out of my factory!”

“Please… don't-”

The desk in front of Pinkie upturned, wood coming apart with loud snaps as it crashed into the floor. Papers danced across the room, bright yellow squares obscuring Pinkie's eyesight. In the midst of it all, Candy Mane stood behind the shattered desk, his murderous eyes aflame with anger and tears.

“GET… OOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Pinkie wasn't sure what happened next, as her body began galloping out the door, barely dodging papers and pencils being thrown at her. Pinkie didn't care that she bumped into Snickerdoodle or trampled Cream Whip; her body and mind reacted on pure instinct, just telling her to run away. Other workers dived out of the speeding mare’s path, trying their best to escape the same fate.

Pinkie closed her eyes and began releasing choked sobs, forgetting that she had to look where she was going. She burst out the front door into the cold city air. Her hooves slid across the ground, no longer making stable contact with the ground. Realizing she had no balance, she flailed her hooves around trying to catch herself. Her front hoof met air followed by her face meeting concrete.

“Ooww!” Pinkie yelped when she landed on the street. Icy asphalt stung her skin as she slid across the ground. Pinkie lay there, still dazed and trying to process what just happened. The floodgates reopened as she remembered what happened. Candy Mane-

"Look out!" she heard someone cry. Pinkie tilted her head towards the sound, wondering what it could possibly be. She lost her breath as her eyes made out a large wooden carriage headed by two frantic-looking drivers. Pinkie willed her legs to move, but they wouldn't respond. The carriage-pullers began to swerve, horrid wooden grinding sounds scratching Pinkie's ears and quickly getting louder. Pinkie closed her eyes, silently hoping that she wouldn't die.

An infernal pain stabbed her knee and seared up her left side. Pinkie wanted to scream, but not a second later, another painful stab assaulted her leg accompanied by a sickening snap. Pinkie threw her forelegs around her leg, but quickly pulled away after a phantom pain shot up her leg again. Her instincts fought for dominance, only causing Pinkie more anguish. Unable to do anything, Pinkie spasmed and jerked on the icy ground, each spasm moving her broken leg and sending more fiery pain up her body. The snow began to eat away at her skin, numbing the feelings of everything around her. Her mind entered a bleary trance, the crushing mental and physical pain sapping all of her strength.

Through gritted teeth, Pinkie mustered the strength to open her eyes. Her tears blotted out the gray silhouette of the giant gray factory. Her strength ebbed, and the factory faded out of her sights leaving nothing but black. Pinkie hiccuped and sobbed, the crushing reality of her situation beginning to sink in.

Pinkie had lost one of her friends. No matter what she tried to say, he wouldn't believe her innocence. The job she loved and wouldn't trade for any other was now forcefully ripped from her because of the bleak, jealous, and greedy world around her. She had nothing left...

She was alone… alone and broken...
	
> Let's Try Again
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	

Sunny looked down at her quilted blanket. She could scarcely believe that someone who made such wonderful sweets could be so mean to her mother. Didn't good ponies do good things?

“So what did he do afterwards?” Sunny asked.

“He closed down,” Pinkie stated. This surprised Sunny even further. 

“Did you get your job back?” Sunny asked, moving closer to her mother.

Pinkie looked down, the memory flashing by her eyes once again.  “No… Nopony did...” Sunny began to wonder whether or not asking these questions was a smart thing to do, seeing as each one she asked made her mother more depressed. Every time her mother spoke, the colors seemed to drain from her body. Sunny sunk a few inches down into the covers; she wasn't sure she liked this version of mommy.

“But there was no way I could!” Pinkie cheered,her wide chaotic smile popping out of nowhere. “Though I really really wanted to!”

“Why not?” Sunny asked, her fears of saddening her mother vanishing.

“Do you really wanna know?” Pinkie smirked.

“Yes.”

“Do you reeeealllly wanna know?” Pinkie cooed, glancing towards the ceiling and trying to make herself look difficult to persuade.

“Yes!” Sunny cried.

Pinkie paused, trying her best to stifle her laughing. She knew it wasn’t nice to tease her daughter like that, but she was having way too much fun. She kept up the facade and scrunched up her lips in mock contemplation.

“Do you reeeeeee-”

“YES!” Sunny pleaded.

“Okey dokey lokey artichockey!” Pinkie surrendered. “I tell you why…”




~9 YEARS AGO~
	


Black.



Then gray.



Bloom transition to white.



Now back to gray.



...



Still gray.



“Whaa?” Pinkie mumbled.

“Oh, you’re finally avake.”

Pinkie's eyes fluttered under their lids. She couldn’t make out much, as her eyes refused to open any more than a slit to protect themselves from the blinding light that threatened to assault them with soreness most uncomfortable. The first thing she noticed was a warm, toasty blanket covering her body. Except for one of her legs, which felt as if it were elevated.

“If you are confused, zat is normal,” the strange voice said again. “Just give your eyes a minute or two and they should recover.”

“Wh-Where am I?” Pinkie shook her head, trying to get some semblance of a grasp on her senses. She followed the voice with her head.

With some effort, she focused her eyes on the blurry figure in front of her. A yellow unicorn with a smoky black mane alternated between staring at her and a clipboard held in a red aura.

“You are een St. Ponysburg General Hospital, Fräulein… ah… Pie, ja?”

“Hospital? But how am I…”

“You vere pazzed out on ze street next to zee shocolate factory,” the unicorn explained, “and you almost didn’t make it. The shock from your injuries caused you to pass out in ze snow; you almost died of hypothermia. Any longer and ve vould've had to amputate limbs.” A pencil scribbled itself furiously all over the keyboard. “Sankfully, ein passerby vas kind enough to bring you ‘ere.”

Pinkie really only paid attention to half the words that were spoken; her mind was focused purely on the large white block covering her leg. She tried to move it, but her leg wouldn’t respond.

“What… what’s this doohickey around my leg?” Pinkie asked, probing it with her hoof.

“Zat is a cast, fräulein,” Doctor Angel said. “You broke your leg.”

Pinkie paused, the words not registering. “I what?”

“You broke your leg,” he repeated. “Or to be more specific, you destroyed it.” He pointed to an x-ray of Pinkie’s leg, making large gestures with his hooves. “Your leg broke like zees. Ze femur will repair itself, but ze joint here is completely shattered. Unfortunately, you vill haf to vear zat brace for a long time. Quite possibly zee rest of your life."

Pinkie’s eyes broadened in disbelief.

“I get to ride in a wheelchair and use crutches???” Pinkie exclaimed. “This is the most fantabulous day ever! I’ve always wanted to use one of those but the fun-spoiling doctors in Ponyville would never let me! Even booted me out a couple times!”

The doctor’s eyes moved from the x-rays and studied his patient with an arched eyebrow. He had prepared a speech of how her life wasn't over and she could still make the best of her situation despite her handicap. He’d even brought several pamphlets detailing all the various career options and help she could get despite her disability. Said speech and pamphlets were now rendered useless. Slightly disappointing the more he thought about it; he was not expecting such optimism.

“Vell... zat’s good,” he started. “You inspire me, fräulein.”

“What’s your nametag say? Words still look funny,” Pinkie said, squinting her eyes.

“Oh, my name is Doctor Todesengel,” he said with a bow. 

“Doctor Toads Angel?” Pinkie repeated. “But you said you were a doctor, not a vet.”

"How large a dosage did I give her, again?" The doctor mused to himself. "It’z a foreign name. You may call me Dr. Angel, Herr Angel, or just Angel if you so desire, fräulein."

“Okay Angie, but I gotta ask, why do you keep calling me “‘Fro Line?” I guess my mane does kinda look like an afro, but my name is Pinkie Pie!”

"Vhat?" the doctor asked. "I do not... Excuse my mein forvardness, but your mane does not rezemble an afro. It more rezembles... a veeping villow."

"What's that taste like?"

The unicorn sputtered, nearly dropping his clipboard. He put a hoof to his mouth to stifle his chuckles. "Such innocence!" he cried. "I vish more of my patients vere as hopeful as you!"

“So Angie, when do I get my wheelchair and crutches?”

“In due time, Miss Pie. I still need to make sure you’re veady to leave,” Angel placed his clipboard down and began looking over Pinkie’s leg, humming a bright march tune to himself.

Pinkie leaned back, letting her head sink into the soft, fluffy pillow. She then pulled the thick white blanket up to her chin and gave an airy sigh. Whether it was from the medicine or the comfortable fabrics, she almost felt like one of the pampered Canterlot Elite.

But something was gnawing at her mind that she couldn’t put her hoof on. The feeling kept growing stronger the more she looked around the room she was (willingly) confined in. Her eyes drifted over all the priceless electronic equipment, over the emptied blood bags and anesthesia syringes, and over the clear plastic packaging that she assumed once held her cast.

“Huh… how am I going to pay for this?”

Then it clicked.

“Wait, how am I going to pay for this!?” Pinkie’s leg shot forward, clipping the doctor on the side of his face.

“Scheiße!” the doctor sputtered, collapsing to the floor and rubbing his cheek.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Angie!” Pinkie cried, twisting around to see if he was alright. “I didn’t mean to hurt you! Can I kiss it all better?”

Doctor Angel immediately caught himself and moved to try and console Pinkie before she threw herself out of bed. “Calm down, fräulein! I'm alright,” he insisted, still rubbing his snout. “It doesn’t hurt zat bad. After all, this is not the vorst injury I have suffered in my line of vork.”

Pinkie hesitated as she saw a small cut above the doctor’s lip. However, it was above a friendly, forgiving smile, and that was good enough for Pinkie to relax a little.

“And as for your question about ze cost of ze room,” Doctor Angel continued, “You do not need to worry as everysing has been taken care of. You don’t have to pay a single bit.”

“Really?” Pinkie’s limbs froze. The seconds ticked by as neither she or the doctor moved a muscle. “Whew… that’s a relief.” Pinkie let herself sink back into the inviting comfort of the blankets and pillow.

The doctor also released a sigh and took the time to straighten out his white coat. “As I was saying, your savior has paid for all expenses that vould expedite your recovery.”

Pinkie’s face turned from one of comfort and relief to one of shock and disbelief. “He paid the entire thing? How?"

The doctor nodded. “He is in ze vaiting room. You can ask him yourself, if you so desire, fräulein.”

“Super duperrific! Can I meet him now? I want to throw him a party for saving me!”

“Oh, zat reminds me, Pinkie, now zat you're avake, there vas someting I vanted to ask you…”

His horn glowed, and a small tray holding tiny sugary red pastries landed the blanket covering Pinkie’s chest. 

“Do you like cupcakes?”


~5 minutes later~


“WHEEEEEEE!”

Doctors and patients alike turned around. A pink pony in a wheelchair zoomed through the hallways in large strides, all the while licking rainbow frosting off the sides of her lips. A couple doctors huddled closer to their patients, unsure if the approaching pony was hostile or not. The patients on the contrary began to giggle, especially the younger foals.

Pinkie Pie burst through the doorway to the main lobby, grinning madly at her new play vehicle. She spun around on the wheels, squealing with delight as she moved faster and faster.

“Whoa. How much morphine did they give you?"

Pinkie's wheelchair came to an abrubt stop. Pinkie turned her head towards the voice and found a grinning yellow pegasus sitting casually on a plastic chair and holding a steaming paper cup of complimentary coffee.

"I mean, sure you looked pretty bad, but I didn't think they'd let you out while you were still high off your plot," he joked.

“You were the nice pony who found me?” Pinkie asked, scooting her wheelchair towards him.

The stallion brushed his loose red mane behind his ears. “Guilty as charged.”

Pinkie propelled herself at the pegasus and engulfed him with her forelegs. With the trademark strength of an earth pony, she lifted him up screaming, “Thank you so very very very so very very so so very very so much!"

“Erg! Hey, it… was n-nothing.” He grunted under the pink bearhug, trying to form coherent sentences. keep balance on two legs with his wings pinned “If I was more of a white knight, I’d be Captain of the Royal Guard.”

Pinkie laughed and set him down. She soon realized she wasn't completely used to her cast yet and began to wobble in place.

“Whoa! Hey!” the stallion said, sliding himself in between Pinkie and the floor before said mare became acquainted with the floor. Pinkie squirmed in his grip a little, still startled from the effects of gravity.

“Hey, hey, calm down, I gotcha,” the stallion consoled her.

It was more to himself, as he was having difficulty trying to righten her up. Still, his chivalrous nature would not allow him to look weak in front of a lady. After all, she viewed him as her savior and to Tartarus with him if he was going to look like a pathetic savior. Tucking his front legs under hers, he hoisted her up until they were both eye level.

And three inches from each other’s faces.

Merry hadn’t noticed how pretty Pinkie’s eyes until they were up close. Her bright blue irises exuded such a gentle, friendly aura. He could almost get lost staring into those- “FOCUS MERRY! LADY NEEDS HER WHEELCHAIR!” he screamed in his head, oh so painfully breaking the stare and settling Pinkie back down in the seat.

When the stare broke, Pinkie could’ve sworn she forgot something. She noticed she was doing that a lot lately. Maybe she should ask this friendly colt she didn’t know the name o- “Oh my gosh! I completely forgot! I’m Pinkie Pie!”

“Pleased to meet'cha. The name’s Merry Way.”

“I know I already said thank you, but I still need to tell you thank you because one thank you isn’t enough to show how much thank you I want to give you! OH I KNOW! I can throw you a party! A “Random Nice Pony Saved Me And This Is My Way Of Saying Thank You Very Very Very Very Very Very Much” Party!”

The stallion let his jaw unhinge itself, wondering how in Equestria she didn’t pass out from rapid-firing the marathon of words that exited her shrilling maw. In a few seconds, his head began debating several dozen thought-provoking and ground-breaking theories of what could possibly allow this mare to break the laws of physics so casually and couldn’t help but wonder what kind of scientific and magical breakthroughs ponykind would be able to accomplish should they be able to tap into this mare’s absurd power and use it for the good of all.

He decided it ultimately didn’t matter and opted to lightly place his hoof to his head and chuckle.

“Oh Pinkie, you are such a treat.”

“A treat? But how am I candy?” Pinkie babbled. “I know some ponies tell me I look like cotton candy, but I’m not! I’ve tasted myself! And my name isn’t Candy either! But I do know I guy named Candy he… fired… me…”

Pinkie froze, all the memories coming back to her in a rush. That heartbroken and furious voice reverberated throughout her mind. "I can't trust you, Pinkie! You're fired! Get out of my factory!" Her eyes began to water and redden around the edges. Suddenly, a jolt of pain shot up Pinkie's leg, making her scream in agony.

“Hey, what’s wrong?!” Merry cried,

Pinkie grabbed her leg with both hooves and fell backwards in her chair, wailing on the way down. Merry Way, at the ready, dove towards her. The chair landed on his back, which he took like a cushion. With a grunt, he pushed his legs towards the floor and righted the wheelchair.

Pinkie barely registered the mild peril she was saved from. All she could do was stare at the floor, all the delayed post-traumatic shock hitting her full force, along with the sharp phantom pain of her injury.

“Hey, hey, Pinkie, calm down, I gotcha," Merry tutted. "Are you okay?”

“No…” Pinkie mumbled, her voice quivering.

"You… need to talk about it?"

A pause. “I don't want to... but... yes…” she replied, not looking up.

“Well… I’m not going anywhere. Not with you like this.” Merry Way stated, placing a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. Like a true gentlecolt, he carefully guided Pinkie to the plastic chairs nestled against the walls. Once he was sure she was balanced on the chair, he released his grip and took his place next to her.

“Tell me everything,” Merry asked.

Pinkie sat and recounted the entire tale, from leaving Ponyville, to employing at Candy Mane's factory, her eventual expulsion from said factory, and arriving at the hospital. Merry Way’s eyes grew wider with each minute that passed.

“Yeesh. Brain, remind me not to say the word “Candy” around her. Never thought that would ever make somepony depressed.” Merry snarked to himself. “I’m surprised she hasn’t thought of suing him yet… Heck, I would’ve. Then again, from what I've seen of her, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. She does seem a little too nice for her own good.”

“And  I guess... that’s how I ended up here. But at least I got new toys and a new friend!”

A gigglesnort blew past Pinkie’s face. As that happened, Merry thought he saw a little bit of color began to return to Pinkie’s features. She shot up from the floor, which was very surprising considering her brace, and held a bright and cheerful smile. Merry saw this and chuckled.

“Nothing really gets you down, does it?”

Pinkie shook her head. “Nope. Whenever I get down, I just think of something really really happy to turn my frown upside down. And that’s your party!

Merry Way recoiled at the mare’s proposition. From a quick glance to her leg, he deduced it probably wasn’t a good idea to let her throw him a party. “Whoa whoa whoa, hang on, don’t you that’s a bit extreme?” he stammered. “I don’t think a party’s really all that necessary for just the two of us.”

“Okay, then let’s just have lunch! Or Brunch! Or Linner? I dunno, what time is it? I hope it’s linner! Linner’s my favorite! It’s sounds the funniest!” Pinkie’s face was beaming, and her stomach more than empty. "You're buying!"

“Wait, what?!” A bead of sweat dropped down Merry’s face. “But I… Ahhhhh… I don’t have any bits on me at the moment.”

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re just not trying to get out of paying?" she accused.

An ethereal blade forged of guilt pierced Merry’s soul, shattering his stallionhood into thousands of pieces. “Oh, that’s just cruel!” he thought dejectedly. “No I kinda... Spent it all on something else.”

Pinkie’s head cocked, becoming curious. “Like what?”

Merry Way waved a hoof at the pink pony, trying to disarm the bomb he accidentally planted. “Never mind, it's not important.”

“Well, don't you have any money saved?” Pinkie still had suspicions that this stallion was trying to be a cheapskate on her. She was going to get to the bottom of this sooner or later.

Merry’s head drooped down, shame being a cloak. “Not anymore…” he mumbled.

Pinkie now was more curious than a toddler in front of jingling keys. “Well, what did you spend it on?”

“A…” Merry paused, trying to find the best way to articulate this. He couldn’t tell her he spent it all on her; that was unbecoming of a gentlecolt and just plain rude. Plus, he didn’t want to have her feel guilty or indebted to him in any way. At the end of his mental strategery, he ended up with answering, “A good cause.”

Pinkie nodded her head, suspicions being held at the ready like a rifle. “Okay, I can overlook your un-knightly behavior just this once! But as punishment, you must push me there!” Pinkie turned her chin up in the air and gave Merry a pompous gleam from the corner of her eye, actually gaining some semblance of regality despite her status.

Merry rolled his eyes. “Let’s just have lunch..." he groaned., placing his hooves on the wheelchair bars.

Pushing the bubbly pink pony past the hospital and onto the cobblestone was rather simple, the only real threat being when Merry Way misplaced a hoof on the ice and found himself on the ground with Pinkie giggling like a mad mare. The only challenge they had to face was picking a place to eat. For Merry Way, he didn’t exactly want to go to any place that was extremely pricey, but not to a place the two would regret either. It seemed like an eternity with misplaced hoofs and searching until they spotted a place that looked good to both of them and not too pricey either. Very carefully and slowly, Merry Way pushed Pinkie Pie to the entrance of the restaurant.

With all the food critics and normal ponies alike, Burger und Pommes was a pretty good joint, albeit a little run down. Even though the wallpaper seemed to have been hit with acid in some spots, and the grease stains on the tables that never went away, the food was good enough to kill all sensory nerves and keep your taste buds alive.

Pinkie Pie and Merry Way opted to get a booth, as the stools were notorious to give ponies splinters where the sun don’t shine, and took their orders. Pinkie decided to have the Oktoberfest Burger, which had the excellent taste of root beer and pretzels, and a small vanilla shake. Merry Way, still feeling bad, got a burger and fries from the value menu. If he needed water, there was a fountain nearby.

When their food arrived, they spared the pleasantries and dug right into their burgers. When the first swallow dispelled Merry’s sensory overload, he began to think that Pinkie looked familiar.

"So Pinkie, where did you say you lived before here?" he asked. "Ponyville, right?"

"Yeperooni!" Pinkie answered.

"Interesting. So what brings small town girl like you up to the frozen north?"

"I moved here after learning about the factory," Pinkie answered. "I heard so many great things about it that I just had to work there."

"Huh... that means she moved here within the past few years..." After a minute of deep contemplation, the discovery of it all hit him like a ton of bricks. 

“Oh my gosh!”

Pinkie tilted her head and swallowed what chunk of burger she had in her mouth, curious as to what her newfound friend was so surprised about. 	

“I finally remember you!”

“You forgot me already?” Pinkie said with a hint of hurt. “Thanks a lot…”

“What? No!” Merry stammered. “Nononono, I mean before that! You were that mare who tried to throw a party for everypony in Stalliongrad, and broke into people’s houses trying to get to know everypony. I think I still have the paper.”

“Yeah, the ponies here aren’t very nice…” Pinkie grumbled, retreating into her shake.

Merry Way faltered. He couldn’t leave this mare like this. Here was an innocent little girl from some sun-shiny happy land who was now thrust into a dark, uncaring world that she didn't know a thing about. There was no way she was going to survive out here, what with scoundrels who would gladly capitalize on her naivete and take advantage of her in ways best not described in a children’s novel.

He had to help.

“Well, the lunch was great, but I think it’s time I helped you home. Where is it?” 

"Don’t have one!” Pinkie chirped.

Merry blinked. He couldn’t help but notice the complete lack of worry in Pinkie’s voice. “Umm… you know that’s a bad thing, right?”

“Of course I do!” Pinkie said. “But it shouldn’t be too hard to find a new home, right?”

“Wait a minute, that means… you lived in the factory?” Merry questioned, his eyes widening.

Pinkie replied with a happy nod.

"And Candy Mane just threw her out?" he thought, grinding his teeth behind his closed mouth. "By all that is good, if I ever meet that son of a diamond dog…” he exhaled and closed his eyes. “Grah, focus Merry. She needs a place to stay, justice fantasies can come later. I can’t board her because my room only has one bed. I guess I could give her a cot, or she could take the bed and I could take the cot… Unless… Do you have parents you can maybe mooch off of?”

“Mooch??” Pinkie smiled. “That’s a funny word! Mooch. Mooch! Mooooooooooch."

“STOP MAKING ME LAUGH, CELESTIA DARNIT, YOU’RE MAKING MY CHEST SORE,” Merry Way screamed in his head. He shook his head to regain his composure, “In all seriousness, do you know anyone that has a place here you could maybe stay at?”

“Yeah, but they live on a rock farm out of town, and it was NOT fun there,” Pinkie replied.

Merry Way blinked. “A rock... farm?” he quoted. “That’s pretty… ghetto.”

Pinkie let out a little giggle. “Yeah, my Mom and Dad are REAL old timers.”

Merry Way placed his hooves together on the table and rested his head on them, resigning himself into deep thought. "I don’t think you really have a choice. If you want to get back up on your hooves-” he flinched, “-no pun intended, you're going to have to move back in with them."

Pinkie lowered her head, “Well… can you come with me Merry? I think I’ll have more fun if you're there with me.”

Merry Way blushed, “I don't know, I mean-”  

She was now making the dreaded puppy dog eyes. "Pretty please with sugar on top?" She pleaded.

Merry Way sighed and smiled, "Sure... okay... if there's sugar on top."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And that’s how I met your daddy!”

Sunny giggled. She always enjoyed hearing stories about her parents before she was born, bonus points if they were able to embarrass the other. She occasionally had doubts that her mother stretched the truth at points, because some of them did seem to fantastic to be true. She found the one where Pinkie was a flashy superhero a little hard to believe.

“If you couldn’t get your old job back, why couldn't you just get a new job?” Sunny Smile asked.

“Wellll…” Pinkie drolled, tilting her head to the side and looking up. “It’s pretty tough to compete for a job when you don’t have all four of your hoofsies all up and working. But I could still cook and clean for my mommy and daddy! So that’s… something?”

Sunny's eyes moved towards Pinkie’s brace. Using her powers of elementary school reasoning, she figured her mother’s leg never recovered completely, but she was still able to walk.  “But you got out of the wheelchair?” Sunny pressed, scooting closer to her mother. “You could’ve found a job then, right?”

“Nope! Still couldn’t!” Pinkie said. “Even if I did, there was no way I could work because by that time I had already married your dad and was pre-”

Pinkie stopped and looked at Sunny. Her stared at Pinkie with big curious eyes and an innocent smile. She hanging on to every word she said. A small smile crept onto Pinkie’s face. She was incredibly lucky to have a daughter that turned out the way Sunny did. She giggled and ruffled Sunny’s mane. “I just couldn’t work,” she explained. “Simple as that.”

Sunny seemed to accept the answer, but something else was still troubling her. “But if nopony got their job back, who’s running the machines at Candy Mane’s factory?”

“Noooooobody knooooooows….” Pinkie cooed eerily, waving her hooves around.

“But that doesn’t make any sense! Somepony has to be working there," Sunny insisted, thinking back towards the truck from earlier. “There just has to be…”

Pinkie chuckled. Her daughter was growing remarkably perceptive, yet still she still ignored simple logic. “Think about it, silly filly,” she teased. “Have you ever seen anypony going in, or coming out of that factory?”

“No…” Sunny said, thinking back to the trucks. “Not yet…”

“The only thing that ever leaves Candy Mane’s factory is the Candy… and the trucks. But they have candy in them,” Pinkie added quickly, thinking she might have confused her daughter.

Sunny nodded and wanted to ask another question, which was promptly ambushed by a large yawn. Her lids started to gain weight, along with the bed becoming comfier by the second. Sunny shook her head to get back some control of her body. There was no way she was going to fall asleep before the last part of their evening ritual.

“Mommy, can you sing a song to me?” Sunny mumbled, valiantly fighting the oncoming sleep.

“Sure, sweetie!” Pinkie answered. “Which one do you want to hear?”

“Sing me one about Candy Mane!”

“About Candy Mane?” Pinkie hummed. “Weird, I don’t think I know any about him. Darn. I’m probably going to have to improvise from another song I know… I got it!”

Pinkie hummed a small jingle, and started bobbing her head back and forth in a light bounce.

“Who can take a red sunrise, (A what?)
and sprinkle it with dew? (That’s amazing!)
Then cover it with chocolate and 
a miracle or two~,
Who can take the rainbow stream (Pretty!)
and wrap it in a sigh? (Oh wow!)
Then soak it in the sun and make
A groovy lemon pie~,

It's Candy Mane he mixes it with love, love, love,
Yes he does!
His candy tastes like it’s from above!
Yes it does!
It's Candy Mane he mixes it with love, love, love,
And he makes the world taste good!

Oh, who can take tomorrow, (He can!)
And dip it in a dream? (Don’t wake up!)
Who separates the sorrow and
collects up all the cream? (Each drop!)
He’s the one and only Candy Mane,
come to spread all the good cheer!
And the only place you can taste it is,
from this magic pony here!!

It's cause he makes it all with joy, joy, joy,
Yes he does!
He makes it special for all to enjoy!
He fills everything he makes with joy, joy, joy,
And he makes the world taste fine!

Yes, life can make unexpecting turns,
And the whole world can seem black,
But a simple nibble of his goodies will bounce you right back!
In each bar’s a little magic, a little something wonderful;
It’s the meaning of joy that will make you full!

Chocolate with marshmallows, 
along with peanuts and whipped cream!
Impossible combinations more far than the eyes can see!!

It's Candy Mane he mixes it with glee, glee, glee,
Yes he does!
It tastes the best, everyone agrees!
Yes they do!
It's Candy Mane he mixes it with glee, glee, glee,
And he makes the world taste greeeeeat!

Come on everypony, gather round and,
Ask Ol' Candy Mane about sweets and candy!
Come on everypony, gather round and,
He'll give you anything you want!

Come on everypony, gather round and,
Ask Ol' Candy Mane about sweets and candy!
Come on everypony, gather round and,
He'll give you anything you want!

There's nothing he can't do!
You'll win all you can imagine!
And he'll make it just for you!

Candy, Candy, Candy, Candy, Candy Mane!~

It's Candy Mane!

It's Candy Mane!
> The Snowball Effect
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	

Sunny Smile awoke to the smell of boiled vegetables permeating the air. Her eyes blinked open, the gentle yellow rays of sunlight peeking through the hole in the wall and crawling across her blanket. It gave her a little more warmth at the very least, much more than last night’s ice cream weather. In fact, it made want to stay in the snug confines of her bed like an immovable colossus. If she did, however, she would surely feel the wrath of a stern talking to by her mother. She slowly crawled out of her warm cornucopia and onto the chilly wooden floor. 

Sunny and her parents sat at the breakfast table in their usual spots. Merry Way scanned the newspaper he usually retrieved from the nearest trash can, occasionally taking a sip from his bowl. Pinkie, carrying a tray holding another bowl of soup in her mouth, dragged herself over to Grandpa Clyde’s bed. After delivering breakfast, Pinkie then proceeded to switch on the radio, hoping to hear some decent news.

After a bland breakfast consisting of just boiled lettuce and water, Sunny started to get her saddlebag and other essentials ready for the school day ahead of her. Seeing the sun’s light through the cracks in the window, she debated whether or not she should take her favorite blue scarf with her as it was likely to warm up later.

“Take the scarf, Sunny,” Grandpa Clyde called from the bed. “Better safe than sorry. You can just put it in your bags if it gets too warm.”

“Okay, pappy,” Sunny replied, whipping the scarf around her neck and trotting out the door.

It wasn’t as frigid as yesterday, but it was a lot windier. Some of the cold still broke through her coat considering it was still morning. Shuddering and ruffling her feathers, she set off towards school. She didn’t bother taking the scenic route, as she was feeling a little cold and wanted to get inside a warm building as soon as possible. She quickly joined up with a couple of other students after the collective recommendation of parents saying the children should travel in groups.

When Sunny got inside the red, warm schoolhouse she was a bit early, much like at breakfast. There were a few fellow students already there, most likely because of parents who had to take their children to school and juggle getting to work on time. In fact, most of the fillies and colts here right now were hugging their desks with their faces, in full-on snore mode with drool accessory. She trotted to her oak desk and sat on her small, wooden stool.

It didn’t take long for the rest of the class to materialize into the room, the chime of the steel bell telling the students that class was about to begin. Slowly they began to file in, each of them giving happy “Good Mornings” or mumbles to each other depending on their alertness levels. Sunny also participated in this morning ritual, giving small “Hi’s” to other kids that happened to pass her desk. Half the time she got replies, sometimes she just got an acknowledging glance, and other times she was downright ignored.

Class didn’t truly begin until their teacher arrived, most likely due to the urge of staying in his own bed with a cup of coffee and the new crossword puzzle. However, as a teacher, sacrifices had to be made. The black pegasus didn’t look all too happy to be here, bundled up with more coats than the ground with snow, but he was a rather good actor in his time. Novel Idea plopped his bag on his desk and pulled out three items, a thermos of piping hot coffee, an excess amount of chalk, and a notebook that was most likely their planner for the day.

Novel placed a hoof to his mouth and coughed, a signal for the rambunctious children to be quiet and to settle down. The signal was well received and the volume of the room could rival a doctor’s office.

“All right class, we’ll taking another look at fractions and percentages out of the blue book.” After saying that, he was met with a horde of groans. He continued, “And we’ll also read a little bit of Dashing Mr. Diamond Dog, maybe answer some questions along with it. Any questions?”

Nopony dared speak up.

“Good!” exclaimed Mr. Novel, opening his teacher version of the blue book. “Now who can tell me…”

Hours passed without significant event, at least as far as the children were concerned. Occasionally a child would be asked for a question, usually getting the answer correct. However, one filly had to be woken up by the teacher via jockey whip to the desk and was subsequently disciplined with extra homework.

The sound of a ringing bell signaled the start every child’s favorite part of school: recess. The competition was on as students leapt from their seats, bumping into each other trying to be the first ones out the door.

“Children!” Novel Idea snapped, halting every child in their tracks. “You will line up like civilized ponies and we will walk to the playground area without anypony hurting themselves. Is that clear?!”

“Yes, Mr. Novel,” the class intoned in unison.

“Good,” the teacher affirmed, a smile appearing on his face. “Now line up and enjoy your recess.”

Sunny ended up towards the back of the line, but didn’t end up dead last due to some children being both overly drowsy and sitting in the back of the classroom. Lucky for her; no doubt the kids in the back would be the butt of a quick and cheap joke or two. She tried not to indulge in such spite, but some days it was fun to throw some teasing out, and nopony seemed too bothered by the teasing. She didn’t care too much either when she was laughed at for sometimes ending up dead last.

After all, it was just a joke.

The children cheered as they charged towards the playground like soldiers ordered to assault a building. Sunny darted for the slide, hoping to get a few rounds in before the line got too long. Sure enough, other kids had the same idea. She ended up towards the front of the line at least, so the wait wasn’t too deathly slow. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting on the steps, Sunny finally made it to the top of the slide.

Even though it slightly annoyed her that other kids would take too long at the top of the slide to enjoy the view, she couldn't blame them. After all, it was a nice view and you could see every single sparkling attraction and child in the entire playground. Today’s view was especially interesting considering it was covered in a thin layer of snow, yet the sun was still out which caused some pretty shines off anything metal.

Deciding she had enough of the view and trying to be courteous, Sunny was scooted herself closer to the edge. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a group of ponies in trenchcoats and trilbies sprinting down Main Street, some carrying notepads and flash-photography equipment. Sunny dismissed it as them just finding another cool story and proceeded down the slide.

Sunny reached the bottom, enjoying the pleasant jolt of adrenaline but feeling unfulfilled. She quickly stepped back into line. The wait wasn't as long as the last time since others decided to play elsewhere after their first trip down the slide. To her delight, Sunny made it to the top rather quickly.

Sunny took her position, ready to slide down again. Taking another glance around the area, Sunny saw two more groups of heavily dressed ponies darting down the main road again. Their eyes were wide and panicky, seeming to ignore the traffic around them as they sped on.

“What’s with all the newsponies everywhere?” Sunny wondered. “Did something serious happen?”

“Hey, get going!” a colt behind her yelled.

Sunny meeped and started down the slide. In a moment of panic, she realized the colt behind her had started too early and was closing in on her poor behind fast. After reaching the ground, she fluttered her wings and dived out of the way. Sunny landed face-first into the snow, immediately becoming soaked.

Growling to herself, she shook off the snow and looked towards the city. Curiosity overtook her and she headed towards the fence. She saw a group of reporters huddled next to a lamppost, either snapping pictures or furiously scribbling on their notepads.

Sunny placed a hoof against the fence, stricken with curiosity and wonder. She stretched her tiny body as high as it would go, her wings involuntarily buzzing to get lift.

"Hey, what's going on, Sunny?" a voice asked from behind her. "What are you trying to look at?"

Sunny turned around. A trio of colts that usually hung together appeared, looking inquisitive.

"There's newsponies over there," Sunny pointed. "Something big happened next to that lamppost and I can't see what." She returned her gaze towards the fence. The three colts huddled next to her, their eyes widening as they viewed the spectacle.

"Did somepony die?" one colt asked.

"I don't know," Sunny answered.

"Can't see a dang thing," another colt muttered.

"Hey Sunny," the biggest colt said, tapping said filly on the shoulder. "If we give you a boost, do you think you could get a better look?"

"Maybe," Sunny answered, tilting her head at the reporters again.

"Why does she get the boost?" the smallest colt whined.

"Because she's a filly, and a pegasus," The biggest colt noted. "That means she won't be heavy. Now come on."

The two biggest colts knelt down next to the fence, giving Sunny ample room to climb onto. The other colt assisted Sunny with her balance in getting on. Soon Sunny was on top of the two colts, almost being high enough to climb over the fence. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see. Her wings fluttered again, trying to get even higher.

"What do you see?" one of the colts grunted.

"It doesn't look like trouble," Sunny replied. "But I think I see-"

"Ahem."

Sunny heart jumped twice. Once from hearing the school's voice of authority, and the second time from the surprise of being dropped.

"I certainly hope this isn't what it looks like-" Novel Idea's eyes narrowed, "-because what it looks like is a few naughty children were caught trying to escape my school."

Sunny took in a sharp breath. This did look pretty bad out of context. She began to protest, "No, Mr. Novel, this isn't what it-"

"Calm down, Sunny. I am sure none of you would try to play hooky," Novel tutted. "But I must ask, why does it seem so?"

"We're trying to see what's going on over there," one of the colts said, gesturing.

Novel Idea's eyes moved up from the foals. His eyebrows furrowed as he beheld the mass of ponies gathered down the street.

"Tell you what, I'll go see what the all the commotion is about," Novel stated. "In the meantime, can I trust you four to not hop any fences?" The four children nodded. "Good. If you need anything, ask one of the other teachers." Novel Idea flared his wings and propelled himself over the fence.

Sunny and the colts remained at the wired wall, watching with wide eyes as their teacher landed next to the herd outside. A duo of fillies walked up, curious as to what the group at the fence was doing. Another group soon joined them. Before long the entire playground was empty, assimilated into the gathering at the fence. 

Novel Idea was speaking with one of the ponies nearby. The kids gasped as they saw their teacher's eyes expand out of shock. The newspony handed Novel a piece of paper, which he proceeded to read. They all pressed against the wiring, desperate to hear something. Sunny began to feel crushed under the weight of all the pushing, but couldn't muster the breath to voice her complaint.

The kids retreated from the fence as Novel Idea began his return to the schoolyard. Novel landed next to the group of children, where he was briefly surprised by the size of the group. The crowd began to pepper him with questions.

"So what happened?"

"Why are the reporters there?"

"Did somepony die?"

"Calm down. Your teachers will inform you once class restarts," Novel Idea chided. "For now, just enjoy the rest of your recess."

Some kids gave disappointed groans, but they all dispersed across the playground. Sunny lowered her head in bemusement, but soon headed off to play some more. Maybe the swings would be open, or the jungle gym. The see-saws were definitely out of the question, as they likely had large puddles where the seat touches the ground. She opted to go to the carousel, where she was greeted with cheers as pegasi could make the carousel continuously and quickly spin using their wings.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sunny noticed Mr. Novel speaking with the other teachers. Their eyes also widened as Novel showed them a sheet of notebook paper. The need to know what happened burned within her, but her teacher's command to wait prevented her from asking.

Another bell chime signaled the end of recess. The children gathered around the front doors and filed themselves inside. Wordlessly, the children trotted to their classrooms at sat down at their desks.

With their teacher nowhere in sight.

"What's taking Mr. Novel so long?" Sunny wondered.

On cue, Novel Idea opened the door at took his seat at the front of the room.

“I assume everyone wants to know what happened?” Novel Idea asked. The entire classroom nodded. “I didn't want to tell you all of this because I feared you would hop the fences in excitement,” he explained, shooting an amused glance towards the colts and Sunny. They returned sheepish smiles. "I'm sure you're all familiar with Candy Mane?"

"Did he die?" Licketysplit asked.

The room erupted into gasps. 

"No! No one is dead!" Novel insisted, causing the classroom to visibly lighten up. "I've actually got very, very good news. What was the subject of so much attention outside was a large flyer, made by Candy Mane himself, giving this announcement."

Novel Idea pulled out a piece of notebook paper from his trenchcoat and cleared his throat.

“Dear Ponies of Equestria," Novel recited.

"I, Candy Mane, have an important announcement. I have decided to allow six children to visit my factory this year. I have hidden six golden tickets under the ordinary wrapping paper of six ordinary chocolate bars. These candy bars can be in any shop in any town in Equestria."

"The lucky finders of these golden tickets will be given a tour of my humble factory. I, Candy Mane, will conduct you around the factory myself, showing you everything there is to see. Afterwards when it is time to leave, you will be escorted home by a procession of large trucks; each one filled with all the chocolate you could ever eat! In addition, one of these children will receive a special prize, beyond their wildest imagination! I eagerly await the ponies lucky enough to find a ticket."

Novel looked up from the sheet of paper. As he expected, the entire classroom was struck dumb. Most of their eyes glossed over, some were drooling, some were hyperventilating, but all had their mouths hanging open.

Novel Idea smiled, then raised an eyebrow as the classroom's gazes seemed to be drifting to his left. He turned his head to see what the children were looking at. The only things there were the disciplinary chart, the calendar, and... the door.

"Perhaps I should have locked that..."
	
> The First Ticket
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Daily life for the Pie family and the rest of the world changed that day.

The day Candy Mane decided to let six lucky foals into his legendary factory, all of Equestria was set ablaze with activity (and one unfortunate candy shop quite literally). Newspapers worked overtime for any shred of news concerning the prized tickets, but the only events they could report on were how ponies reacted to the ticket news.

A pony couldn’t set one hoof outside in Stalliongrad without being engulfed by a monstrous crowd of ponies, pushing and shoving their way to get to the nearest candy store. The city was seeing more activity from the locals in those few weeks than it had in years.

“Hey, watch it!”

“S-sorry!”

Sunny Smile looked away from the pony she had almost bumped into, quickly facing the crowd so she could avoid the next pony. With the streets as crowded as they were now, even trying to get back home was like walking in a blizzard. She pushed onward, weaving between and under as many ponies as she could. It got especially bad near the candy stores, where foals and adults alike clawed their way into the doors.

She caught a break when she managed to push out of the flood of ponies. The torrent of bodies was less intense now that she was near the outskirts, and without the presence of other ponies crowding her, she could now see her house in the distance.

Sunny made a made a mad dash for her home, running along the dirt path. Her eyes fixated upon the front door, blocking everything else out.

Including a small dip in the dirt which she happened to place her hoof on incorrectly.

She tripped and her snout sunk into a deep patch of snow, the freezing slush biting at her nose. Her scarf and coat became increasingly soaked.

“Sunny!” 

She heard a voice calling out. She squinted above her and her mother came into sharp focus. Pinkie scooped Sunny off the freezing ground and placed her back on her hooves.

“Wow, that looked like a doozy!” Pinkie exclaimed, scanning Sunny’s face. “How’s your poor nosey? Does it hurt too bad? You want me put some ice on it?”

“...I fell into snow,” Sunny replied.

“What’s your point?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head.

Sunny opened her mouth to respond, then decided to just forget it.

“It’s mom. Don’t question it,” she reasoned.

“You’ll catch flies Sunny, what do I keep telling you?” Pinkie said with a grin, putting a hoof under Sunny’s chin. “Now come inside and get your homework done. Cabbage soup will be ready in about twenty minutes.”

“Can’t wait!” Sunny grinned. That was more than enough time to finish her homework, and Celestia knows she was STARVING.

The two of them trotted merrily back up to the house and entered. The house welcomed them with its warm air, with Grandpa Clyde waving as the two ponies entered. Pinkie went towards the kitchen, while Sunny placed her saddlebags down and sat at the table. She undid the straps on her bag and pulled out a small note pad and pencil. She laid her homework out on the table–

–And jumped as the door banged open.

“Hey, turn on the television!” Merry Way said in the doorway. “Somepony found the first golden ticket! Hurry!”

All heads in the room looked toward him. Sunny Smile looked up from her homework. Grandpa Clyde glared from his bed with a raised eyebrow. Pinkie stood in the kitchen, trying to hide her chuckles behind her cabbage-coated cooking knife.

"...Okay, I got it." Merry sighed, sheepishly walking over to the wind-up television and cranking it. The television screen blinked and crackled to life, the sounds of static and muffled voices reverberating throughout the room. 

“–has been found in the small town of Ponyville. Credit for the find goes to a small colt named “Jupiter Apple.””

The screen then shifted, the noir palette showcasing a crowd of ponies surrounding a trio, one of them being the notorious reporter that went by the name of Ice Scoop, her magic levitating her microphone in front of her.

The camera centered on a large, scratch that, obese colt. Great flabby folds of fat bulged out from every part of his body. It was a wonder he was able to walk with the short, stubby legs sticking out from the amorphous mass. His face was like a monstrous pumpkin with two small eyes peering out upon the world, just waiting to feast.

“Jupiter Apple, tell us how you found the golden ticket!” Ice Scoop shouted in a thick Manehatten accent, moving the mic very close to a rather stout colt.

“Uhhhh…. I dunno...” the pudgy pony replied, mouth full and covered in chocolate. He reacher over to a side table and grabbed another chocolate bar. He began to unwrap it as he continued, “I jus’ ate whole buncha lotta chocolate and there it was.”

“Ah believe ah can answer that,” a voice said. The camera panned upward to a freckled, well-built mare standing behind him. However, due to the monochrome screen, it was impossible to detect her colors.

“L’il Jupiter here spends all of his allowance money on chocolate,” the mare said, looking down at the colt. “But he don’t jus’ eat them, oh no. He actually judges them. You should see summa the stuff he writes, hoo boy. Half the stuff he talks about I never woulda even noticed when eatin’ chocolate. I reckon he’s gonna be a right great candymaker one day.”

The mare then reached behind her and pulled out a stetson. She placed it on her head and said, “My boy’s made his mama so proud. He’s made all of Sweet Apple Acres proud.”

“Applejack???” Pinkie cried, leaning forward, her eyes widening to the size of side plates. “That’s Applejack’s kid?”

“This young’un’s got quite the hearty appetite fer sweets and the like,” Applejack continued, ruffling the little colt’s mane. “He reminds me of a certain pink rock farmer that Ah’m good friends with and consider an honorary family member.”

“Awwww…” Pinkie swooned.

“Make sure y’all buy some apples from Sweet Apple Acres!” Applejack called out to the crowd, who proceeded to cheer and throw various items in the air. The television transitioned to a commercial, though it cut off to pitch black before it could dig its slimy, bandwagon hooks into them. 

“Perfect timing” 

“Wow…” Pinkie cooed, staring off into space. “Never thought Applejack would raise a kid so… so…”

“Fat? Repulsive?” Grandpa Clyde suggested, raising an eyebrow. “A complete porker who wouldn’t know a hard day’s work if it bit ‘im in the flank?”

“That doesn’t make sense. Applejack is very serious serious-pants, especially when it comes to her family and farm. Why would she let her child get like that?”

“Slow metabolism?” Merry Way suggested.

“Then why does she feed him chocolate, genius?” Clyde sniped.

Merry Way gave him a short glare but he knew he was beaten. He sighed and looked at the now dormant television. What struck him as strange was the amount of ponies that turned up at Sweet Apple Acres, and the odd accent of the reporter.

You didn’t have to be a detective to figure out there were more there than just Ponyvillilians.

“I worry for Equestria...” he said to himself, shaking his head. “Now that they’ve found one, things will really get insane.”

“Oh, come on sweetie,” Pinkie giggled, waving a hoof of dismissal. “How bad could it be?”

A siren blared outside.

“...that could be anything.