“No, no, not again!” inside of the Sugar Cube Corner kitchen, Cotton Candy- eldest daughter of Pinkie Pie- opened the oven letting out a thick black cloud of smoke. Caught off guard by it she accidentally breathed some of it in and began to cough. After a few seconds of fanning out the smoke she put on some oven mitts and reached inside. What she pulled out looked like it was a large black brick with several cracks running through it.
“Oh no, this is the worse one yet!” she cried as she stared down at the blackened object that seemed to be mocking her just by existing. Candy looked over to the clock to the wall, it was an hour to six, and if she didn't hurry she would be late. “I have time for one more try,” she said placing the rock hard object on the floor “And this time I’ll make it perfect!” she said with a stern look and a clenched hoof. She turned her sights to the refrigerator and began to march forward with an unbending determination.
“Silly girl, you’ll never make it in time.” Candy stopped mid step and squinted her eyes.
“I dare you to say that again!” she said turning back to face her mocker, the dreaded black brick.
“Oh I’m sorry, did I stutter?” the cursed object laughed “I said you’ll never make it in time!” it repeated loudly. Quickly Candy galloped forward until she was face to brick with the object that dared to question her resolve.
“Just you wait, this time it’ll come out so great everypony will be talking about it for months!” she yelled.
“No it won’t…” it said dryly.
“Yes it will!”
“No it woooon’t”
“Yes. It. Will!”
“Ahem…” Candy blinked before looking away from her mortal enemy to see that somepony was standing at the door to the kitchen. He was an earth pony not much older than her, his eyes were light blue and he wore a red ascot. He had an orange coat and his mane and tail were brown with golden highlights.
“G-Goldie!” Candy said with a light blush on her face.
“Uh, is this a bad time?” Gold asked after having walked into to what seemed to be a shouting match between Candy and whatever it was that was on the floor.
“No not at all!” she said taking a step close to him “I was just, um…” while Candy tried to think up a million explanations at once Gold was able to walk up to the object she had yelled at. Still unable to determine what the heck it was he took some curious taps of his hoof on it. With each tap making a hard thumping sound.
“Yelling at a brick?” he asked arching his brow at it. From behind him he could hear Candy groan and flop to her back.
“It’s supposed to be a cake!” she cried as she covered her face with her hooves. Gold blinked at the so-called ‘cake’ with high levels of skepticism. It was clearly burned to the point where it could probably be considered a chemical weapon now.
“Why were you bakin’ a cake?” he asked her.
“Duh!” she said tossing her hooves into the air “Don’t you know what today is!?” she asked sitting of and glaring over to Gold.
“It’s-“
“It’s my moms’ birthday!” she yelled cutting him off.
“Ah know that, that’s why everypony is gettin’ the party ready at Mrs. Rarity’s place.” He said “What ah mean is why are you bakin’ one when we already have a cake?” he clarified.
“That’s store bought!”
“Ah know that, it was baked here.”
“But not by me.” Candy got up from the floor and patted off some flour from her back. “Every year my mom makes me these super delicious cakes for my birthday, she says that anypony can buy one, but a cake made with the love of your own hooves makes taste even better.”
“Every year I try to make her one but it always comes out wrong, just once I want to show her how much I love her through my baking.” Gold watched as Candy picked up her latest failed cake attempt and dump it into the overfilled trash bin. Gold was surprised as to how many times she had tried; most other ponies would have probably given up a long time ago. He also noticed that the kitchen was particularly messy with batter and a wide assortment of ingredients all around the floor and walls.
“Oh well,” Candy said with a small, almost defeated sigh “There’s always next year, right?” she said trying to force a smile, but it couldn't hide the disappointment she felt in herself. Gold bit his lower lip at the sight; he hated seeing her like this. He looked over to the clock on the wall, there was a little over forty-five minutes left before the party, it would be close but…
“There’s still time.” said Gold causing Candy to stop.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Ah aint gonna let you wait a whole ‘nother year to try again.” He said “You’re gonna make that cake for you mom, and Ah’m gonna help you.” Candy turned around fully as tears seemed to form at the base of her eyes.
“Really?” she asked with a wide smile on her face. Gold walked up to Candy and sat down on the floor with a smile on his face.
“Ah pinkie promise.” He said before doing the required motions needed to make a pinkie promise. As soon as he finished Candy wrapped her hooves around his neck and gave him a tight hug.
“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” she said nuzzling Gold’s check, his face was probably turning red due to a blush, but it could also be a result to the fact that there wasn’t any air rushing to his lungs anymore.
“Candy,” he wheezed “Can’t…breathe!” he said with the last of his breath before Candy released her viper like grip from around his neck.
“Whoops!” she said with a small giggle while Gold tried to catch his breath.
“Okay, first we’ll need the ingredients, eggs, milk, flour, bu-“
“Done!” said Candy appearing behind Gold balancing all the ingredients they’d need on her back. Gold looked towards Candy then back to where he could have sworn she was standing a second ago.
“How did you…” Gold stopped himself, he’d known Candy long enough to learn that it was best not to question things like that. As Candy placed the ingredients on the table Gold started to take stock in what she had lined up.
“Is there a specific recipe you’re tryin' to make?” he asked.
“Ahuh, this one!” she said holding out a piece of paper in her hooves. “This is the recipe of the first cake my mom ever made me.” Gold saw the smile that spread across Candy’s face as she looked over the paper, it was so infectious that he couldn't help but smile himself.
“Well alright then, let’s get bakin’” he said grabbing on to the recipe. On cue Candy produced a mixing bowl and stood next to Gold. “Okay first let’s add the eggs, says here we need four.” He said putting the recipe down on the table.
“Okie dokie, four eggs.” said Candy as she grabbed one egg in her hoof. She held the egg over the mixing bowl and then reached for a wooden spoon. Sticking her tongue out, Candy stared at the egg with high levels of concentration. After several tense seconds of waiting, Candy swung the spoon striking the egg with it. But it seems she put too much swing into it and the egg completely shattered causing pieces of the shell to fall into the bowl along with the yolk.
With an annoyed groan Candy let her head drop making contact with the table, the resulting sound causing Gold to cringe slightly. “Every, single, time.” she said, her hooves still held over the bowl.
“You've got to be delicate with things like that,” said Gold as he took the bowl and washed up the yolk and egg shells. “Here, let me show you.” Gold reach towards the table and grabbed another egg from the pile and holding it out so Candy could take it. Once she had a firm hold of the egg Gold placed his hoof over hers and gently moved it to the corner of the table.
“You just need to crack it slightly.” Still guiding her hoof Gold had her strike the side of the table softly, yet still hard enough that the sound of the egg cracking could be heard. “Now you grab it with both hooves.” Gold reached for Candy’s other hoof and moved it to the other side of the egg. He then moved her hooves so that they were just over the bowl.
“And now you just…” rather than explain it Gold simply moved Candy’s hooves apart while it was still holding on to the egg. The crack circled around the shell from the force of the pull and split in two. Once the opening was big enough the yolk began to seep through eventually falling into the bowl completely shell free.
“See, just like that.” Because Gold was a bit taller than Candy he needed to look town to see her from the position he stood. However as soon as he looked down he saw that she had looked back up to him, as a result their muzzles were only inches apart. The two of them stood there for a moment, and while Candy had a big smile on her face, Gold’s face was turning red.
“Ah, uh…” finally able to get his wits about him, Gold cleared his throat and let go of Candy’s hooves and took a step back. “N-now let’s see you try.” He stammered trying to get his heart to stop beating so quickly.
“Okay!” Candy said with a nod, she then turned back to the table and reached for another egg. Just like Gold showed her she grabbed the egg with one hoof and moved it to the edge of the table. She stuck out her tongue as she moved the egg closer to the table, and after a second she gave the table a weak little tap with the egg. This time however the egg didn't crack like when Gold was holding her hoof, but not wanting to give up she gave the table another tap, this time a little harder.
As if music to her ears Candy heard the shell crack, this time without having to see the whole thing crumble in her hoof. Next she moved the egg over the mixer and grabbed on to both ends, once she had a firm grip she spread her hooves apart. Candy watched as the shell opened and the yolk fell into the mixer, not a single trace of shell to be seen.
“I did it!” she said gleefully as she raised her hooves into the air.
“Ah knew you could do it.” Gold ended with a small grunt as Candy latched on to him for a ‘thank you’ hug.
“Thanks for showing me how.” she said.
“Anytime, but how about we save the hugs for when we’ve finished. We don’t have a lot of time to waste here.” said Gold motioning to the clock. Candy looked at the time, Gold was right; there would be time for hugs later. Right now she needed to focus on finishing the cake before the party starts.
“Okay, serious time!” said Candy as she squinted her eyes and holding her hooves up to the sides of her head as she moved them forward and back to the mixer bowl. Gold couldn’t help but chuckle at Candy’s antics; she somehow found a way to make taking things seriously amusing.
“Alright, the let’s get the rest of those eggs in there.” Candy saluted before reaching for the eggs, one by one cracking them open and dropping the yolks into the bowl without error. Once all the eggs were in she took a moment to enjoy the fact that she had done it right this time.
“Perfect, now for the rest of the ingredients.” Gold coached Candy through how the add the rest of the ingredients, never having to do much more than make sure her measurements were accurate. “And the last ingredient is a teaspoon of vanilla.” Candy was already way ahead of Gold as she held the bottle of vanilla extract in her mouth and poured it into the spoon.
“Okay, now we have to mix it.”
“Oh, I love this part!” said Candy as she fetched the mixer. Once she plugged it in and made sure the spinners were locked in place she placed it in the bowl and turned it on.
“Just be careful with the speed or it’ll make a-“ before Gold’s sentence was cut short when something wet slapped him on the face. “Mess…” he said finally as the batter from the bowl dripping down his chin. Candy couldn’t help but giggle a little at the sight of batter covering Gold’s face. If his eyes were open he would have rolled them.
“Here.” said Candy as she gave him a towel.
“Thanks.” before Gold used the towel to cleanse his face of the batter he took a curious lick of his lips for a taste.
“Not bad.” He thought to himself and after two or three more test licks he finally used the towel to clean off the batter.
“Sorry about that.” She said with a sheepish smile.
“It’s okay,” he said tossing the towel to the side “Let’s try that again, but try using a slower speed this time.” Candy nodded and turned her sight back at the mixer. She looked at the speed setting and saw that it was set to the highest speed.
“Well if that’s too fast then let’s try…” Candy placed her hoof on the speed dial and turned it so that it was just below medium speed. Once again she placed the spinners into the bowl and turned it on, the spinners spun around like before, only this time there was no mess to be had. With a smile on her face Candy continued to mix the ingredients letting them blend into a rich and creamy batter.
“Ah think that should do it.” Candy gave Gold a quick nod and turned off the mixer placing it on the table. She then grabbed on to the bowl and poured its contents into a round cake pan using a plastic cake knife to smooth out the top.
“And now it’s ready for the oven.” Candy picked up the pan and placed it on her back as she made her way to the oven.
“Eyup, looks like it.” Said Gold looking over the recipe.
“Bake for thirty minutes at three thousand and five hundred degrees.” She said turning the dial.
“Three thousand what now?” asked Gold looking back at the recipe that Candy had given him. “That doesn’t sound right, Candy.”
“But it’s what the recipe says.” Candy moved next to Gold and pointed at the last step of the list. “See, three, five, and two zeroes.” Gold looked at the instructions carefully, and it wasn’t until he saw the last zero that he noticed something.
“Uh, Candy…I don’t think that’s a zero.”
“It isn’t?” she asked looking closer at the numbers written on the paper. “Then what is that?” she asked pointing at what she thought was a second zero.
“Ah think that’s a faded smiley face.” Candy took the paper opened one of her eyes widely as she stared at the numbers. It didn’t take long for her to see what Gold had said, what she thought was a zero really was a smiley face that had probably faded over the years.
“Oh…” though she smiled sheepishly that didn’t hide that she was blushing slightly in embarrassment.
“Honest mistake, let’s just turn down the oven.” Gold reassured her as he walked up to the oven and turned the dial back down to the appropriate temperature. Once the cake was no longer in danger of burning he took a kitchen timer and turned it to time limit. “Now we wait.”
Waiting was easier said than done for Candy, especially because she was not known for being able to sit still for very long. As the timer ticked away Gold watched as she paced the floor in front of the oven on occasion looking through the mirror of the door to make sure the cake wasn't burning.
“Candy, maybe you should sit down?” Gold recommended, Candy gave the cake one last look before letting out a sigh.
“I’m sorry, I’m just a little nervous.” She said walking up to him “What if I did it wrong again?” she asked looking into Gold eyes. Gold smiled at Candy and placed his hooves on her shoulders.
“You made it perfect, trust me, you’re a fast learner.” He assured her; Candy smiled back with a light blush on her face.
“That’s because I had a great teacher.” Candy leaned in and rested her head on Gold’s chest and let out a relaxing sigh. At first Gold looked confused as Candy stayed there, but eventually he smiled, content with knowing that she didn’t doubt herself anymore.
The two sat there for a while without saying much of anything, the only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the kitchen timer. Their wait seemed to go on forever, but that soon came to an end when the sound of a bell chimed around them. Candy raised her head from Gold’s chest and looked at the timer, the arrow was pointing at the zero mark.
“It’s done!” she said walking up to the oven and giving it a kick to open it. Gold was ready with mitts and pulled out the cake. He could already smell the scent of vanilla that it was emitting, and he could see that it was baked to a perfect golden brown. Gold shot Candy a smile before moving towards the table where he had a plate ready. Candy watched as turned the pan over the plat and tapped the bottom, and she braced herself as Gold lifted the pan.
The sight that she was met with made her want to cry tears of joy, for the first time since she started baking, the cake came out perfectly. There were no burns, no places where the batter hadn't fully cooked, and it smelled of vanilla goodness rather than burning coal. She wanted to jump for joy, but the cake wasn't finished yet.
“Now we need to add the frosting.” Candy walked up to the fridge and pulled out a freshly made bag of strawberry frosting. Baking may not have been her strong suit, but when it came to making sweets and sugary toppings there was nopony better. “Stand back!” she said cheerfully as she took aim at the cake with the bag. Before Gold could even respond Candy squeezed the bag shooting out the frosting, the resulting splatter landing on both of them. Eventually the bag ran dry and the sugary onslaught came to an end.
“Perfect!” Candy said as she stared at the now frosted cake. Gold didn't know how she managed evenly frost it the way she had, but he wasn't going to question it. The two of them took a moment to stare at the cake, both with a smile.
“Ya did great.” said Gold playfully pumping Candy’s shoulder.
“You know, I think it needs one more little thing.”
“Oh, and what’s what?”
“Sprinkles!” Candy yelled throwing her hooves into the air causing a rain of sprinkles to fall back down to the cake. Gold let out a chuckle as the sprinkles fell into Candy’s mane; strangely enough she seemed to pull it off rather nicely.
“Hey, Goldie…”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for helping me.” said Candy as she leaned over on Gold shoulder. Gold smiled at Candle and nuzzled her just over her head. This however was only until something finally hit him; quickly he looked over to the clock and saw the time.
“Uh oh, Candy we got to go, we got five minutes.” He said getting up from the floor which caused Candy to fall over. Candy recovered from the fall quickly and put the cake inside of an empty white box tying it with a pink bow.
“Okay let’s go, but maybe you should clean that frosting off your face first.” Gold placed his hooves on his face but found no trace of the said frosting.
“Where?”
“Riiiiight, here!” said Candy before licking the frosting off of Gold’s nose causing him to freeze in place. Candy giggled at his reaction and the shade of red he was turning that matched his uncle’s fur color. “Come on Goldie, we won’t want to be late.” Said Candy as the turned and slowly made her way to the kitchen door. Gold blinked as he watched Candy walk away, part of him wondering if she really just did what he thinks she did.
“Y-you know,” said Gold snapping out of his moment of shock “My mom’s birthday is in a couple of months…” Candy turned around to face Gold again.
“Yeah?”
“M-maybe we could, you know, do this again?” he said “For her birthday ah mean.” He added quickly. Candy seemed surprised for a moment, but that quickly turned into a bubbly smile as she walked up to Gold and wrapped a foreleg around him.
“I’d like that.”
