Taking a chance on love

Chapters

A plan in motion.
The big night.
Facing her fear.
Standing up tall.
No regrets.
Epilogue: Master chef.

A plan in motion.

Major credit goes to "Bloopsy" for some proofreading and prereading

“Blueberry muffins up!”

a soft clang resonated through the kitchen as a tray filled with hot muffins landed on the cooling table. Pinkie spat her mouth mitt on the counter next to the sink just as a blue pony with a pink mane walked into the kitchen to claim the freshly baked goods with a warm smile.

“Splendid! That’s all the orders for today. If you will, be a dear and clean a few dishes before you go out please?” Mrs. Cake asked the pink mare.

“Woohoo! Consider it done Mrs. Cake!” The poofy tailed pony dashed through the kitchen grabbing the various pans, cups, bowls, and implements needed to bake the various goods the Cakes made their livelihood on. As usual, she didn't bother to fill the washing sink with water. Instead, she ran hot water and soap over each dish quickly scrubbing the filth off and rinsing them before dumping them into the sanitizer sink. Moving quickly through the stack she reached the final measuring cup. With a deft motion of her hoof she swiped the inside clean, her smile brightening instantly as the cup fell into the sanitizer solution to soak.

“Allllllright! Time to get outta here!” Pinkie bolted through the kitchen doors setting them swinging and blazed past the counter kicking open the front door in a mad rush to leave the sweetshop in the dust.

“Bye Pinkie! Have fun today!” Mrs. Cake called after her.

“FREEEEEEEDOOOOOOOM!” Rearing up on her hooves in front of the shop, she mentally set course for Rainbow’s afternoon napping spot hoping to entice the pegasus into some of their usual brand of craziness.

“Pinkie, wait!”

The party pony's hooves stopped just a few centimeters short of hitting the ground before turning to the pony trying to get her attention.

“Hey Twilight, what’s up?”

The purple unicorn wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead in relief. “I didn’t think you’d hear me in time. I kinda have a problem i need your help with. What are you doing tomorrow?”

The pink pony put her hoof to her chin in deep though “Hmmmm, tomorrow is my off day, I should be completely free. Is something bad happening tomorrow? Do you have some sort of Pinkie sense like me? I guess it would be called Twilight sense for you. Is the library going to explode?”

Twilight shook her front hooves frantically. “No,no,no, nothing like that. I just wanted to see if you could help me with some baking tomorrow night. I have a private party the next morning for uhh, a book club, and I could use a little help in the kitchen since….”

“Since you set your oven on fire the last time you tried to boil water?” Pinkie asked with a huge smile.

The purple mare blushed madly, “Yeah… that. Anyway, as I was saying, could you help me bake a few pies and turnovers?”

Pinkie clopped her hooves together noisily in glee, “Of course I can! You just pick the time and I’ll be there for sure!”

The unicorn furrowed her brow, “Uhhhh, how about eight?”

The pink mare nodded furiously, “Perfect timing! I’ll still be able to hang out with Fluttershy and make it to the library for eight. Hey, eight rhymes with date! That’s neato, maybe I’ll make a song about it.

“Heh, heh, heh… umm so it does. Anyway, I don’t want to keep you, have fun today!”

“You too Twilight!” the earth pony shouted bouncing away.

Twilight watched her excitable friend bounce away like some sort of wind-up toy gone mad. She breathed a slow sigh of relief and continued into town.

“Now why ya wanna go and lie like that ta her?”

The southern voice caused the purple mare’s ears to shoot straight up as if she had just been caught shoplifting. Looking to her left she saw a displeased cowpony glaring at her.

“You march yerself over now ya hear.”

Twilight obeyed, slowly moving to the applestand in a trot of shame. Applejack’s face softened at the dejected look plastered on the purple mare’s face.

“Ok now, ah might not be the smartest pony in Ponyville, but ah can tell something’s wrong. Why doncha try talkin bout it?”

The unicorn sighed in defeat, “Eh, why not. Everypony is going to know in a couple days anyway." Twilight shot a glance to her left and right noticing the ponies milling about the vendor stands," though there is still the chance somepony might overhear us….”

Applejack grabbed her friend and pulled her over the side and under the applestand. The blonde pony pressed a button above her head labeled “panic” and in the blink of an eye it folded up around them completely encasing them in their own world

“There, complete privacy, now out with it Twi.”

Despite her new cramped and dark surroundings, she felt safe in the panic room her southern friend somehow built into her applestand, safe enough to find her voice.

“I didn’t lie to her to hurt her, I lied because I want her to come over tomorrow.”

“Well, why do ya really want her ta come over then?”

Twilight’s eyes cut through the dark in determination, “You can't tell anypony about this.”

“No problem, ya’ll know how good I am with secrets.”

The unicorn breathed a sigh of relief. “I want to ask Pinkie on a date.”

“WHAT! OW!” Applejack shouted in pain as she hit her head on the roof of her panic room.

“Keep your voice down!” hissed Twilight.

The blonde pony rubbed her head gingerly where it impacted the ceiling, “You’re serious aren’t ya? Maybe we should finish this somewhere else.”

The front door of the library slammed, locked, bolted, and chained shut. Applejack stared at the security precautions incredulously.

“Uhhh alright, As you were sayin, ya wanna ask Pinkie on a date, right?”

Twilight nodded

“Well what in Ponyville brought that on Sugarcube?”

A book engulfed in magical aura hovered over to the orange pony who squinted at the fine print on the cover. “The signs of love and what it means to you.”

“I've read this book at least a hundred times when I noticed a special… Feeling… i started having around Pinkie. I’ve read and reread the chapter about warning signs over, and over, and over again and I’m sure I have feelings for her.”

Applejack pushed the book away slowly, “Well i have noticed ya actin funny around her lately. I just never woulda connected the dots in such a way.”

“I know, right? It started about a couple months ago. I found myself staring at her for no real reason. After a while I started looking for excuses to hang out together, and then one night while helping her clean up after a party, I wondered what … kissing her… would feel like.” Twilight poured her heart out with a furious blush on her face.

Applejack’s eyes widened at the sincerity of Twilight’s confession, “Well that’s some serious stuff alright. I think that’s just dandy! You two would make a cute couple. Is that why ya want her over here tomorrow?”

Twilight nodded slowly again.

“So ya get her to come over and then what? What happens next?”

“I… I don’t know. I don’t have a plan and it’s driving me crazy!” Twilight screamed as several hairs in her mane popped out of place.

Applejack put her hoof to her chin. “Well maybe you should ask the others. They’re mighty good at giving advice.”

Twilight hesitated, “I don’t know, the more ponies I tell, the better chance somepony else might find out.”

“Twi, ya said it yourself. In two days time it ain’t gonna be a secret. Just askem about it, what’ve ya got to lose?”

The unicorn stared at the ground silently considering her friend’s advice. She felt ironclad resolve rise in her chest until she finally stamped her hoof in determination upon the hardwood floor, “You’re right! If I want this to happen, I need everypony I can get on my side.”

The earth pony threw her arm around Twilight’s shoulder, “Maybe I should come with ya iffn ya don’t mind.”

The purple mare hugged her friend tight, “Thanks AJ, I need all the help I can get.”

The big night.

Twilight and Applejack stood outside the homely tree cottage gathering up the courage to announce her arrival. Twilight rapped her hoof on the heavy wooden door a few times before stepping back a few paces as Light hoofsteps echoed from within the home.

“Um, hello? Who is it?” Answered the soft voice muffled through the door.

“It’s just us Sugarcube.” Applejack replied.

The heavy wooden door cracked open a tiny bit revealing a pair of cerulean eyes which moved slowly from one visitor to the other. “Oh… Hello girls. Do come in, I’d love the company.” Fluttershy smiled opening the door wide to allow her visitors inside. “I was just starting some tea, would you two like some?”

The orange pony shook her head, “None fer me Sugarcube, Twi here needs some help with something.” She gestured to the blushing unicorn.

“Oh? Well I’m not sure how much help I can be, but I’ll do my best. What’s wrong?”

Twilight took in a deep breath and clenched her eyelids, “I want to ask Pinkie out.”

“Oh…oh! OH!” Fluttershy shouted excitedly. “Is it really true? You really mean it? Oh my, this is amazing!”

Applejack and Twilight stared as Fluttershy lifted off and flitted in circles around the room in glee.

“I can’t wait to hear about your first date with her, this is so wonderful!”

“Why are you so excited all of a sudden? Ya act like ya just got yer cutie mark or something?” The blonde pony asked in confusion.

The pegasus alighted on the ground in front of her friends with a huge smile on her face. “Pinkie is such a wonderful friend. She helps me a lot when I’m scared or need advice, even if it doesn’t make much sense. It’ll be great seeing her with somepony, especially you. In fact, Applejack and i have been wondering when you might ask somepony out.”

Twilight fired a glare at the very nervous looking farmer, “Is that right..."

“Heh, heh, umm… enough about that Fluttershy, it’s just a date, and she hasn’t even asked her out yet. T’aint nothing to get crazy over right now. ” The earth pony pointed out.

“Oh, yes, of course, when are you asking her out?”

The unicorn smiled sheepishly at her friend, “Tomorrow. I told her I needed some help with baking for a party the next morning.”

“So soon? Who else knows?” asked the pegasus.

“Yer the first Sugarcube, apart from me of course.”

“You haven’t told Rarity? What are you going to wear?”

The blonde pony stepped in, “Now hold on a minute, she’s just asking her out, she’s not actually going out on tha date tomorrow.”

“I might if she agrees.....” Chimed in Twilight.

Fluttershy pushed them both to the door, “But everything has to be perfect for Pinkie! We have to tell Rarity, she’ll know the perfect thing for you to wear!”

“Go on girl, tell her!”

The cool color tones of the boutique did nothing to calm the purple unicorn’s nerves.Twilight blushed deeply as Applejack and Fluttershy pushed her towards Rarity with huge grins painted on their faces.

“Well they seem awfully excited, don’t they?” Rarity intoned. “Perhaps you should just say whatever is on your mind to calm them down.”

Twilight swallowed hard, “I… I’m going to ask Pinkie out on a date.”

Rarity’s eyes lit up, “Why darling, I had no idea you felt that way about her! This is magnificent! I think you two would do wonderful together.”

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Fluttershy beamed.

“It sure is. Now, i don’t suppose you have an outfit for the occasion, do you?”

Twilight shook her head.

“Well, don’t you fret dear, I have your measurements and I’ll piece something up she’ll absolutely love. Do you have a plan for asking her out yet?”

Applejack shook her head. “She ain’t got that far. I don’t know about you two, but I think she should just tell her and be done with it.”

Rarity put her hoof to her chin, “It certainly isn’t a very elaborate plan, but for Pinkie that sounds perfectly reasonable.”

“Do you want us to be there when you ask her?” Offered Fluttershy.

“No offense Fluttershy, but I think she might wanna handle this own her own.” Applejack chimed in.

Twilight smiled back at the orange pony, “Actually I think I’d feel better if you girls were with me. Now all we need is Rainbow.”

Applejack glanced at Fluttershy, “Uhhh, maybe it’d be better if she didn’t come. Ya know how she is when it comes to feelings and mushy stuff.”

Fluttershy nodded, “She’s not very comfortable with these sorts of things.”

Twilight sighed, “Maybe you’re right. I can count on you gals to be there, can’t I?” she asked hopefully.

“I’d love to!”

“Yer darned right Sugarcube.”

“Of course, darling.”

The unicorn smiled broadly at her friends, “Great! Well, I’ll see you all tomorrow then!” Twilight said headed for the Boutique’s front door.

“Uggggghhhhh”

Bed clothes wrapped and tangled themselves around Twilight’s legs and neck as she fidgeted in bed. Uncertainty and insomnia remained constant companions anytime she contemplated something new, her latest plan proving to be the most disruptive thus far.

“What if she thinks I’m clingy? I wonder where we should go for our first date. There’s nothing better than spending the night with somepony, stargazing on… Wait a minute… How am I gonna get Pinkie of all ponies to sit still?”

She shifted to the other side of the bed, futilely trying to find some sort of sweet spot with which to drift off again.

“Maybe she’s already dating somepony! What if she knows I like her and she’s dating somepony else but hasn’t told us to avoid hurting my feelings!”

She shifted again, tangling her hooves even more in her bed clothes.

“I wish I had somepony else to talk about this with.”

Her half-lidded eyes shot open in stunned realization. Using her magic she pulled a quill and paper to her and set about staining the paper with the words that tortured her addled mind.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

Despite my reservations about being so new to friendship and the possible consequences of rejection, I have decided to explore a new level of friendship by asking my good friend, Pinkie Pie, out on a date. I know you remember her because you arranged for us to have my birthday in the ballroom, which was wonderful by the way. She took the time to decorate almost every square inch of the room even though it wasn’t really necessary considering it was just the six of us, not that anypony could tell from the cleanup she pulled off. I was so happy to see her go through so much trouble for my birthday and”

Twilight glanced down at the ramblings scrawled out on the parchment.

“I’m sorry princess, I went off topic for a moment there. It looks like my writing has taken a slight hit ever since the prospect of her being more than a friend became a real possibility. I know I won’t get a reply back until at least tomorrow since Spike is helping you with messaging in Canterlot and by then I’ll have already asked her out, but I simply had to tell you. I know this isn’t the safest thing to do, but I have to know if we might have a future as more than friends. Thank you for entertaining the thoughts of a young and foolish filly as you always have.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.”

The unicorn rolled up the precious scroll and placed a seal on the parchment. Reaching under her bed she pulled out one of the jars of dancing green fire she kept for emergencies. Carefully, she held the scroll above the jar as she popped the cork allowing the green fire to escape. She watched the fire engulf the scroll turning into smoke which swirled above her head. Her eyes fixated on the spectacle as it headed out the open window to her mentor. Despite the new questions in her head such as whether or not the princess would approve of her taking Pinkie’s friendship to the next level, she found herself drowsy. Closing her eyes she laid her head down, thoughts of her newest infatuation still dancing in her head.

“Whattya mean you’re busy?”

“Exactly what I said Rainbow.” Applejack replied, carrying a cart full of apples to the barn.

“I give you the honor of having Equestria’s most awesome pony over for a slumber party and you’re busy? What gives?”

“Fer starters, I won’t be here tonight. I don’t know if you’re aware or not, but ya can’t have a slumber party if yer not there to have it.”

Rainbow laughed in her face, “Yeah, like YOU have plans. You gonna spend the night with your apple trees?”

The earth pony snorted at the pegasus, “Ah can’t say where I’ll be, but I won’t be here.”

Annoyed at Applejack’s insistence Rainbow winged to the sky. “Fine, don’t come crying to me when you realize how boring apples are at a slumber party.”

“Ohhhhh, hurry up Rarity! You know how perfectly punctual Pinkie Pie prefers to be!” Twilight complained, prancing in place.

Rarity rolled her eyes at the unicorn's fidgeting dance. “Darling, alliteration does not become you, please just hold still. I only have a few more pieces to hem up and you’ll be ready.”

“I hope so, she should be here any minute!”

Soft hoof-falls echoed through the quiet Ponyville night. Though most ponies thought of her as more of a daytime mare Pinkie truly enjoyed the night, especially when it involved parties. The brilliant flash of lightning bugs sparked through the dark briefly illuminating the night around her.

“Hey there little guys. Sorry, but I can’t stop to play, I’ve gotta help a good friend out tonight!”

Pink curls bounced to and fro as she came across a home with the curtains open and light pouring out. She fired a quizzical glance into the open window spying Lyra and Bon-Bon staring into each others eyes. Giving a friendly wave to the couple, Pinkie caught their attention causing Bon-Bon to blush and Lyra to pale. Pinkie giggled at the spectacle as Curtains closed frantically in a mad rush for privacy from the mare peeking in. Moving away from the small house she finally made it to the library and knocked on the door. While impatiently bouncing in place in anticipation for the crazy night of baking ahead of her she spied a scroll with an Equestrian mail service stamp on the front step, she grabbed the parchment to bring with her inside.

“Come in!” .

Pinkie threw open the door tossing the scroll haphazardly into the room, “Mail call! Hey Twilight! This is gonna be so- woah…”

Pinkie found herself speechless. Twilight stood in the center of the room wearing a dark purple dress with frills and glitter. On her hooves she wore a nice contrasting set of pink slippers that looked like cotton candy she’d somehow put on her hooves. Her tail sparkled with copious amounts of glitter in the bright light of the library almost forcing Pinkie to look away.

“Oh…. Wow! You look amazing! I can’t believe you want to dress up so nice just to bake, in fact I could never even dream of you wearing anything like this!”

Twilight’s eyes widened, “Really? It is too much isn’t it? ohhhh! I knew it was! Now I just look like some sort of floozy! I knew this would be too much….“

Pinkie snorted, “Oh Twilight, you’re so adorable! You only need an apron for baking!

“Oh….. right. Anyway uhhh, I have something important to tell you.”

The pink pony beamed a smile back at her, "OK!”

“I lied about why I wanted you to come over. ‘I’m sorry.” Twilight admitted, hanging her head with her ears pulled back in shame.

“Lied? What do you mean?”

Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy came out of the kitchen together. Pinkie’s smile widened even more, “Oh! Hey girls! What are you doing here? Is this a surprise slumber party?”

Applejack put her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, “Go ahead Twi, ask her.”

“Huh? Ask me what?”

“Pinkie…I’ve been fighting something for awhile and keeping it hidden, but it’s time to put it out there. I really like you….. A lot. Will you go out with me?”

The words echoed in her head. Pinkie felt a stabbing pain in her heart, a harsh reminder from the past.

“I dunno, this is getting way out of hand”

She felt it once again, an endless continent of pain making its presence known to her.

“Pinkie, I don’t think we can do this. I don’t think it’s going to work out.”

She stared at her friends looking back at her expectantly, emotions bubbled up in her chest.

“NO! Y…you’re always buried in some book or cleaning up, or something else like that.” Pinkie spat at her in anger. Twilight cowered before the earth pony taking the verbal assault head on.

“You think you’re so much better than everypony else, “Look at me! I’m Twilight; I’ll just read a book to solve all my problems! Uh oh, I turned the town into a free for all, better call the princess and have her make everything better. Maybe I’ll have Pinkie over for a quick night in bed; I hear she’s pretty easy….” Well you’re wrong!” Pinkie yelled, stamping her hoof.

“B.b.b.but….” Twilight stammered through tears.

“No buts! I can’t believe you would just lie to me like that. I… I can’t stand being around you, all you do is….is…. ignore me! Well I’ll make it easy to ignore me, I’ll just disappear!” The pink pony ran back out the library slamming the door behind her. Standing outside in the cool weather her chest heaved with the anger she just spent the better part of a minute spewing out unrelentingly. The horrible angry feelings rapidly melted in her heart leaving her feeling like she’d swallowed a bowling ball and now it weighed her down dragging her closer to the ground..

“Hey Pinkie Pie, what are you doing here?”

The distraught pony looked up at the multi-colored pegasus peering down at her in curiosity.

“Wow, you don’t look too good. You eat some bad cupcakes?”

Pinkie’s head hung low coming to grips with the reality of what she just did. “Just leave me alone Dash.” Pinkie sighed walking away dejectedly, desperate to sleep the awful feelings away.

“I’m sorry sugar, I never woulda guessed that'd happened.”

Twilight sobbed into Applejack’s mane, soaking her blonde friend in sorrow and tears.

“I…I never should’ve done it. She hates me you guys. I’ve ruined everything because of some stupid crush!” the unicorn sobbed harder gripping her blonde friend with all her strength, which at this point seemed pitiful.

“This is our fault dear. We shouldn’t have pushed you into this, though I must admit I never saw this coming.” Rarity added.

The door of the library swung open, “Hey guys, what… what’s going on here?” asked Rainbow.

Fluttershy wiped a few tears out of her own eyes, “Oh Rainbow, it was absolutely horrible. Twilight asked Pinkie out on a date and she refused and..and then started saying all sorts of mean things!”

Rainbow’s jaw fell. “Our Pinkie Pie did this? No way. This must be some sort of prank!”

The multicolored mare ducked just in time to avoid a teacup launched at her head.

“Does this look like a prank?! Can it Rainbow!” Applejack scolded, holding the sobbing mare tight to her chest. “What are you even doing here anyway?”

“When you said you had plans tonight I thought I might see where you go. I saw you come in here with Fluttershy and I thought you planned a slumber party behind my back. So I waited for a few minutes and then Pinkie went inside too. I was going to crash the party, but I saw Pinkie leaving and she didn’t look too good so I thought I would see what happened.” Rainbow explained.

“Pinkie didn’t look good? I bet she’s doing pretty good compared to Twi here , that no good –“

“AJ, please….. No more fighting.” Interrupted Twilight between sobs.

“Sorry sugar. Listen, I’ve got work in the morning, is there anyway I can leave Fluttershy with you tonight so I can get a little rest?” the orange pony asked.

“No. you girls need your sleep and I think I need to be alone right now.” The unicorn replied, wiping the tears away. Pulling herself away from Applejack, she picked up the scroll thrown on the ground earlier with her magic. “I’ll just go lay down. I’ll be ok for the night, I’ll see you girls tomorrow.”

Four apologetic faces looked back at her.

“G’nite sugarcube, I hope ya feel better tomorrow.” Applejack responded.

“I’m terribly sorry things turned out the way they did darling.” Rarity added

“Ummm, do get some rest tonight, if you can’t sleep, feel free to come to my cottage.” Fluttershy said with a small wave.

Rainbow remained silent, seemingly devoid of clever things to say.

Twilight closed the door to her room softly, trying to preserve the quiet of the library. Ten minutes ago she felt boundless energy rushing through her body in anticipation of what would surely be one of the happiest moments in her life. Now, her hooves felt like they were made of lead. Hopping onto her star patterned bed, she unwrapped the scroll, removing Celestia’s royal seal.

"My most faithful student,

Love is a much more potent feeling than friendship. While it delights me to hear that your heart is joyous in song for the love of another, I do have reservations about this plan. The heart in many ways can be like a wounded animal causing one to lash out at those who might threaten it even if they have the best of intentions. The greatest worry I have is rejection. You are the linchpin of the elements of harmony, if something causes a divide between you and your friends, I fear for the safety of your group and even Equestria. For your’s and Equestria’s sake, I hope she agrees.

Your mindful mentor,

Princess Celestia"

Twilight numbly rolled the scroll up and used her magic to place the parchment in her processing bin. Pulling another piece of paper and quill to the bed, she didn’t have to think hard about what to write.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

Love is stupid, overrated, and it sucks.

Your faithful student,

Twilight sparkle.”

she uncorked another bottle of green fire allowing it to engulf the letter. She stared as the smoke made its way out the window. Her head hung low on her bed as she drowned herself in self pity. The tears came again slowly wetting her bedspread. Closing her eyes, she cried loudly through the night until her exhausted mind forced her to sleep.

Facing her fear.

“Pinkie, I don’t think we can do this. I don’t think it’s going to work out.”

“What are you talking about? We always have fun together! What can’t we work out?”

“It just takes up a lot of time, hanging out with you.”

“But we always have fun….. don’t we?”

“I dunno, this is getting way out of hand. We should stop before one of us gets hurt.”

Pinkie’s eyes shot open, her heart fluttered wildly in her chest and her head pounded with an extremely powerful headache. The pink pony threw her covers to the side and hopped off the bed making for the window overlooking Ponyville. Looking out she could tell by the sun she woke up later than usual. All night she fought that dream of endless rejection in her head. No, not a dream, nightmare. She briefly pondered cleaning up for a moment taking a stray glance at the vacant bathroom, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about how she looked. Instead, she pushed open the door to her room and slowly trotted down the staircase into the sweetshop’s lobby.

“Pinkie, we need ta talk.”

At the counter stood Applejack and Fluttershy, neither of them looking very pleased at the moment.

The pink pony simply turned her nose into the air, “I really don’t have time for this right now, I have to get baking. I'm already late getting started so we’ll talk abo- WOAH! “

Pinkie never finished her sentence thanks to the lasso around her neck. “I already talked to tha Cakes, they’ll be fine for the day. Now I’m not takin no fer an answer, we’re goin for a walk!” Applejack snarled through the rope in her mouth.

The pink pony resisted against the farmers pull, intent on staying put, but the struggle was in vain thanks to the blonde pony’s superior strength. She reluctantly followed her friends out the door and into town. The uncomfortable silence and unwillingly roped pony caused passerbys to stare as the trio walked through town. Every few moments Fluttershy glanced back at Pinkie, an apologetic look plain on her face. A few minutes later they found themselves in the outskirts of the apple orchard. Applejack came to an abrupt stop and loosened the rope from Pinkie’s neck.

“Ok, now talk.” The farmer ordered.

“What about?” Pinkie asked turning her nose in the air. Her eyes filled with the unfortunate sight of Fluttershy staring her down. Her ears fell to the side of her head at the horrific gaze being administered to her.

“Don’t you dare lie to me or Applejack, Pinkamena Diane Pie! We both know there was something wrong about the way you acted last night!”

Stabbing pain entered her heart again. Though she wanted to keep up her facade, her face betrayed her.

“It wasn’t about Twilight last night, was it sugarcube?” questioned the blonde pony.

Pinkie looked toward Applejack, glad to have something other than the stare looking back at her. She sadly shook her head, “I don’t know where to begin.” She flinched as the earth pony softly touched her shoulders. Two sets of worried eyes stared back at her.

“Ummm, please tell us, we’re your friends.”

Pinkie sighed, “I can’t do it again.”

Applejack nodded, “This is about you and Dash isn’t it?”

The earth pony nodded again. “It still hurts.” Pinkie hesitated.

“Pleeeease?” begged Fluttershy.

The pink pony drew in a deep breath,”Ok. Before Twilight came here, Dash and I were kind of together and it was great. We would have slumber parties and I would visit her on her practice sessions, we had all sorts of fun together. Then, one day she… she broke up with me.” Pinkie strained through tears. “We stopped talking and even avoided each other. Then Twilight appeared and suddenly we couldn’t avoid each other. We both became friends again because we had to, but it still hurts.” Pinkie’s voice tightened, the tears coming on even stronger. “When…when Twilight asked me out I was happy, finally somepony else wanted to be with me again… But then I thought of Dash again. I can’t handle going through that… Not again.”

Fluttershy pulled Pinkie close to her chest giving the pink pony a warm shoulder to let it all out, “So those awful things you said to her?”

“I didn’t mean It.” she sobbed, “I just thought if she was mad at me she might give up and then we could have a fight, I could say I’m sorry, and just go back to being friends.”

Applejack shook her head, “Pinkie, you didn’t think about her did you? How she might feel when the one she cares about the most jus hauls off and insults her.”

“I'm sorry. I just couldn’t take going through that again.”

Applejack gave a soft smile, “Oh sugar, I know ya mean well, but we ain’t the ones ya need to go apologizing to.”

The pink pony lowered her head in shame. Fluttershy grabbed her face with her hooves looking into her blue eyes. “Do you regret dating rainbow?”

Pinkie shook her head slowly.

“Then why can’t you give Twilight a shot?”

“It…. it hurt so much when she broke up.”

“But you don’t regret it. That means the good has to outweigh the bad, right?”

Pinkie nodded.

Then I think you should give her a chance, no matter what though, you have to talk to her.”

The poofy tailed pony wiped the remaining tears away, clearing her vision. “I’ve been a really bad friend…. Haven’t I?”

Applejack threw a hoof over her shoulder, “We all are at some point or another, and its how we fix our mistakes that show tha real measure of a pony. C’mon, let’s go talk to her together.”

Standing up tall.

An empty piece of parchment lay flat on Twilight’s desk. The bottom right corner of the paper sported a series of tightly grouped dots where she had tapped the quill over and over again out of frustration. Her scholarly instincts screamed for her to write this new experience down, to archive the feelings in her heart. She oftentimes read sad stories of love unreturned, but she knew now how cheap words were in the face of reality. Sometimes she felt overwhelmed by joy when her friends cheered her up, or threw a party, or helped her with an extremely important job.

Insignificant.

It was the only word she could label the strongest feelings of joy in the face of her current sorrow. Being a scholar and a writer, she experienced writer’s block firsthand on many occasions.

This pain went above and beyond description, trying to tell anyone else what this felt like would be like describing a symphony to a deaf pony, like telling a blind pony about a sunrise. She sighed heavily in defeat, lowering her quill.

Thump, thump, thump

Knocking echoed throughout the quiet library reaching the unicorn’s ears, however, she made no effort to move. She sat quietly at her desk, her eyes still trained on the empty scroll.

“Twi? Are ya in here?”The southern drawl gave away the intruder’s identity. The purple mare became agitated at the very idea of her friend letting herself in uninvited.

“Twilight, please come on out girl, we’re all really worried about ya.”

Sorrow rose in her heart at the concern in her friend's voice replacing the anger as she trudged over to the door to the main part of the library, her hoof hesitated on the knob. Bolstering her courage, she opened the door and Looked into the lobby. She saw soft smiles mixed with concern from Fluttershy and Applejack shining back at her.

“Hey.”

Fluttershy hid behind her mane, clearly feeling awkward by the cold greeting, “Umm, Twilight? I know this is probably not a good question, but are you OK?”

“I’m OK now.” She lied.

Applejack stepped forward holding her hat to her chest, “Twi, somepony needs to say something, but I have to know ahead of time its safe first.”

The unicorn sighed looking away from her blonde haired friend, “I don’t think I’m up to hurting anypony right now.”

“Good.”

Fluttershy flitted outside waving another pony in.

Rage filled Twilight’s heart again as Pinkie walked through the door. “What is she doing here?!”

“Now hold on a minute Twi….”

“NO! This is her fault! I can’t believe you would bring her here after last night!”

“Twilight please, just calm down a litt-“

“Applejack, Fluttershy, you should leave.” Pinkie spoke up.

“You don’t want them to go…” Twilight threatened

“I’m not sure that’s a goo-“ Applejack started

“I need to do this…please?” pleaded the curly haired pony.

Fluttershy and Applejack shared nervous glances with each other, uncertainty plain on their face, “We’ll see ya’ll later then.”

The library door slammed shut leaving the unicorn and earth pony staring at each other in silence.

Pinkie turned her cheek to Twilight and closed her eyes. “I’m ready.”

Confusion mixed with the anger in the purple mare’s head. “Ready? Ready for what?”

“Hit me, hurt me, use your magic.”

The pink pony’s straightforward response froze Twilight in place. Earlier she imagined using her magic to enact all sorts of punishment on the one responsible for her pain. Now her friend sat in front of her with that same pain in those deep blue eyes.

Twilight sighed in defeat, “I’m not gonna hit you.”

“You should, I… I deserve it.”

Twilight just stood there, unsure if she should even talk about the tirade last night, “Did you mean it?”

Pinkie looked into her eyes, “Of course I didn’t. I just wanted to get away, I thought if I made you mad you would just forget about it, we’d have a fight, make up, and move on being best friends. It didn’t work out though because… I really was excited when you asked me out.”

The unicorn's eyes began to water, “Then why…. Why turn me down?”

Pinkie turned her head in shame. “I couldn’t handle losing somepony again.”

“Again?”

The pink pony nodded her head slowly. “I dated somepony else for awhile, we played and hung out a lot and it was awesome having another pony that wanted to be with me because I’m me and not just because I threw great parties.”

Twilight sat patiently waiting for her friend to finish. She never thought that there may have been something more to their fight last night than a wild mood swing, looking back now she realized how obvious it was and how much her affection for the party pony seemed to have dulled her scholarly senses. “Do I know them?”

Pinkie nodded again.

“Who?”

Pinkie bit her lip, “I’m not sure I should say.” The pink pony twitched as Twilight wrapped her hoof around her shoulder.

“You can’t keep running away. I’m your friend, you can tell me anything.”

Silence reigned as the pink pony sat deep in thought for a time. Suddenly, Pinkie’s voice returned, barely a whisper. “It was Rainbow.”

Twilight pulled her friend in close hugging her loosely on her shoulder. All of the animosity and anger she bore toward her friend had now vanished. “Tell me about it…. please?”

Pinkie drew in a deep breath and pulled away from her friend slightly, “Rainbow and I have always been friends since we met, I would always go to her practice sessions and cheer her on. One day, after one of her flying sessions she asked if I wanted to grab a bite with her and before I knew it, we started eating out together every weekend. One of those nights she kept staring at me like I had something in my teeth because that happens to me a lot, do you know how often I end up with a piece of hay stuck in my teeth? It happens all the time. I wonder if I need braces or some-

“Pinkie…..”

The pink pony’s eyes met hers and an apologetic smile followed,”Opps. Anyway, she kept staring at me and I asked her what was wrong. Out of nowhere she asked me out on a date, a REAL date. Not the lunch dates we had on the weekends… a real date. I was so happy I nearly screamed, the coolest pony in Ponyville asked ME out of all ponies!”

“How did it go?”

Pinkie maintained a small smile, “it was a disaster. We went to some fancy restaurant and didn’t like anything on the menu so we asked for waffles and sometime during the night something happened with a lampshade and a bottle of wine and we both got kicked out covered in syrup.”

Twilight stifled a giggle, “Somehow, I think that’s a fitting end to a date with you.”

“I know… So we got kicked out and I noticed a bit of syrup dangling off Rainbow’s chin and without thinking I licked it off. I thought she would be upset at me or something, but she sat there just staring at me with the cutest smile and before I knew it she kissed me!”

Twilight shook her head hardly believing the pony being described could be the Rainbow Dash she knew, “It sounds like you two had fun together. If you got along so well, why did you break up?”

Pinkie’s face fell again, “Rainbow was worried about being in the Wonderbolts. It was fine when we first started dating, but as we went out more and more, she stopped practicing as much as she usually did. One day she just stopped talking to me altogether. I looked all over town and couldn’t find her anywhere! So I asked another pegasus to look for her. As it turned out she was hiding in a cloud the whole time!”

“Rainbow is one of the bravest ponies we know, why would she hide from you?”

“That’s what I asked her… she said I took up too much of her time, that if she stayed with me she could never make her dream come true.” Twilight pulled her back on her shoulder as the tears returned to the earth pony’s eyes.
“She… she said I was a waste of time!” Pinkie lost control sobbing into the unicorn’s mane soaking her with fresh tears.

“I’m sorry, Pinkie…”

Pinkie squeezed Twilight’s neck even tighter, “No, I’M sorry! I was being stupid last night! I’m so sorry!”

Twilight sat patiently as Pinkie cried out her sorrow. Somehow this wasn’t quite what she imagined would happen the next time she saw the party pony, but she played her part waiting for the sobbing to slow down. “I don’t get it. You and Rainbow hang out all the time. You weren’t mad at her for breaking up with you?”

The pink pony pulled away from her friend again wiping tears from her eyes. “Of course I was mad, but I can’t stay mad forever. Eventually you showed up and before we knew it, we were the elements of harmony. We both knew we’d have to move on and leave it behind us, so we went back to being friends. To tell the truth I missed having her at my parties.” Pinkie stared deep into Twilight’s eyes, “Please, just tell me we can at least be friends after this.”

Twilight smiled back at her, “Of course we’re still friends… but just to be clear, did you mean anything you said last night?”

Pinkie drew in a deep breath, “I was just scared. That’s why I said those things. I know you don’t rely on the princess for everything, you hate asking her for anything.”

“What about my studies?”

Pinkie gave a soft smile to her purple friend, “Sometimes it’s really funny watching you read through all those dusty old books.”

Twilight frowned. “So you do think I spend too much time with my books…”

“Maybe a little, but remember the fire at Sugarcube corner? I panicked and almost threw water into a grease fire. You stopped me just in time and grabbed the fire extinguisher. If you hadn’t read that book about fire forensics and fire procedure, the whole place would’ve burned down and it would’ve been my fault.”

Twilight’s face softened a bit, the beginnings of a smile forming at the corner of her mouth.

“And, if it wasn’t for you, I’d still be fighting with one of my best friends. You coming here is one of the best things to ever happen to Ponyville. I know you’re still mad and that it still hurts, but I’m sorry for what I said, and if you still want to, I’d love to go out with you.”

Happiness, anger, and sorrow roiled in Twilight’s heart, Pinkie had finally accepted her feelings, but the hurt was still there, “I forgive you… but I’m not sure I can go out with you, not after last night.”

The pink pony nodded slowly, “I understand. I’m just glad I didn’t ruin our friendship. Thanks Twilight, for listening to me. I’m going back to Sugarcube Corner. I hope to see you later.” With that the party pony turned and headed for the door, her head still a little low to the ground.

Twilight stared as the pink pony walked away. she felt proud of herself for forgiving her and that she was able to help her with such a sad point in her life, and yet she couldn’t help but think she was making a mistake. All the anger left her when she saw the pain in Pinkie’s eyes, so why was she holding back now? The front door creaked open slowly as Pinkie walked through it. Twilight took to her hooves and galloped across the library floor.

“Pinkie! Wait!”

Twilight jumped into the air leaping straight for her pink friend.

“Huh? WOAAAAAH!” Pinkie screamed as they collided and tumbled end over end in the street before coming to a stop.

“Twilight? What are you doing?” The pink pony lay on her back staring up into her friend’s eyes beaming down on her burning fiercely with resolve.

“I am NOT letting you get away, not like that! I went through a lot of trouble to ask you out and by Celestia, we’re going out!”

Pinkie’s eyes glanced all around at the ponies gathering around them. “Uhhhhh, maybe you should wait till we’re alone.”

“I DON’T CARE!” Twilight locked lips with the pony beneath her putting the entire world away. She felt the surprise in Pinkie melt away only to be replaced by acceptance. Though she had never kissed anypony before, Twilight guessed she was doing a pretty decent job at it if her friend’s reaction was any indication. Reluctantly she pulled away slowly and peered down into Pinkie’s eyes which were half-lidded and twitching in bliss. Grabbing her friend’s hooves she slowly pulled Pinkie up and steadied her on her hooves as a huge smile spread across her Face.”

“Let’s do that again!”

No regrets.

Music echoed through Sugarcube Corner adding to the upbeat party atmosphere of the sweetshop while ponies danced and played various party games tirelessly. Twilight sat at a table catching her breath from the festive activities, across from her sat a pink pony with an indomitable smile.

“Wow Pinkie, this might be the best party you’ve thrown so far. I don’t think the Cake’s are going to appreciate the mess though.”

The party pony simply giggled, “It doesn't matter how messy the shop gets, it’s totally worth it for Fluttershy’s birthday. Besides, we always open a little later the next day after parties. I mean who wants to clean up the party right afterwards? Nopony, that’s who!”

“Wait, you open later after parties?” Twilight cocked her head sideways, “I wonder why I never noticed…”

“Of course you never notice silly! You’re always at my parties and it’s SO hard to get you up the next day! Sometimes I try to wake you up, but it’s way too funny watching you sleep, you drool all over the place you know!” Pinkie laughed with a snort. Twilight blushed deeply, she remembered the princess telling her the same thing on several different occasions.

“Well, YOU snore like a chainsaw. I’m surprised the Cakes can even keep their foals asleep with the racket you make!” The unicorn fired back with a smile.

“What can I say? I party hard, and I sleep hard!” The pink pony said returning the smile.

“Pinkie! We need a new set of apples for dunking!” Yelled a green unicorn from across the room.

The party pony hopped up from her seat, “Comiiiiing! Just give me two shakes of a Pinkie’s tail! Be right back, Twilight.”

The unicorn watched her pink friend disappear into the kitchen.

“Hey egghead, what’s going on?”

Looking back at the table she saw Rainbow scooping up another cup of punch. “Pinkie tells me you two are going on a date soon.”

Twilight smiled, “Yeah, tomorrow night in fact. We’re going to watch a comet that ‘s coming close to the atmosphere, it may even skip off if it gets too close!”

“That sounds…. Ummm kinda boring actually. Pinkie’s OK with that?”

Twilight rolled her eyes, “Of course she is, she says she wants to start studying with me, I never would’ve guessed it, but she is actually much smarter than I gave her credit for and she asks so many question, maybe a few too many now that i think about it.....”

Rainbow rolled her eyes as well, “Tell me about it, sometimes it’s hard to keep her quiet long enough to hear yourself think.” Rainbow laughed nervously. “So uhhh did she tell you about ummm well…”

Twilight’s smile faded, ”Yeah, she told me. I don’t know a lot about it, and I don’t know if I should even talk about it.”

The Pegasus slumped into the chair across from Twilight, “No, no. It’s OK, I was the jerk there.”

Both ponies sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments, “Why? She told me you two were such good friends, what happened?” Twilight stared as Rainbow swirled her drink.

“I don’t know. I guess I was afraid of…. I don’t know. I just couldn’t see my dream of being a Wonderbolt coming true with her.”

“But Rainbow, You never tried. I mean who's to say you both couldn’t just travel together?”

The multicolored mare filled her glass again, “I know, I know. Look, I wasn’t a very good friend, I don’t like to admit it, but it’s true. Maybe i should've given her more of a chance before we split.”

“So you both cut ties and abandoned your friendship too, just like that?” Twilight asked sadly.

Rainbow shook her hooves, “No, no, no. I cut ties. Pinkie never gave up.” The Pegasus pulled out a piece of paper, slightly worn but still legible and placed it on the table. Using her magic, Twilight opened it and poured over the words.

“This is an invitation….”

“Yeah…. Even after I told her off she invited me to all of her parties. I just threw away the invitations and never went.”

The unicorn shook her head, “Why keep this one then… Ohhhhh, This is when I first came to Ponyville.”

Rainbow scratched the back of her head with her hoof nervously, ”Yeah, hey look. I’m not good at this mushy stuff so just uhhhh… Take care of her ok? At least do a better job than me.”

Twilight nodded solemnly sliding the invitation back to her friend, “I will. Just a quick question if you don’t mind, do you regret your time with her?”

“If anything I regret giving up. We had a lot of fun together ya know?”

“Hey there you two!” Pinkie bounded over to the table, her usual energetic self “Who wants to play some limbo?”

Rainbow and Twilight fired glances at each other, competitive smiles crossing their faces.

“You’re going down egghead!”

“Not if I have anything to say about it, Rainbow Crash!”

Twilight sat quietly in the dark, the moonlit sky beamed down softly upon her and her pink friend. Food wrappers and juice boxes glowed with magical auras as the unicorn cleaned up the mess they left on the ground. Being careful not to rustle the plastic too much she pushed all the trash into one of her saddlebags to throw away later. With their stargazing spot cleaned up she turned her attention to the telescope, folding up the tripod she tucked it away along with her notebook which she used to document the comet’s trajectory.

Casting her glance to the pony beside her she saw Pinkie gently scratch the back of her head with her rear hoof much like a dog causing Twilight to giggle softly,

“Such a weirdo.”

With a quick glance at the moon’s position she calculated the time to be just a little after midnight. Using her magic she reached into her other saddlebag pulling out a blanket, a quill and a sheet of parchment. She slowly scooted close to Pinkie and pulled the blanket over them both. Feeling her friend’s pleasant body heat radiating next to hear in the cool night air, she pulled the quill and parchment closer and lit up the ground in front of her with her horn.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

Much like friendship, love is not easy. No matter how hard you try to plan for every possible problem, obstacles can pop out of nowhere, sometimes even from the very target of our affection. When Pinkie pushed me away I never imagined the depth or extent to which she had been hurt in the past and when I finally saw it firsthoof. I myself began to question if I could take that chance too. However, if there is one thing I learned through this entire ordeal though, it’s that you should always live your life without regrets because you never know what you might miss out on.

Your Faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.”

The unicorn rolled the scroll up and placed it into her saddlebags for sending in the morning. Twilight’s eyes widened as a loud steady nose resounded through the night air. Looking down at the source of the disturbance she saw the pink pony now on her back, mouth wide open snoring away loudly. Smiling broadly at her friend she carefully put a quick kiss on the mare’s forehead before resting her head on her hooves. Twilight slowly closed her eyes pleased that the last thing she would see for the night would be a wide smile on her very special somepony’s face.

Epilogue: Master chef.

“I don’t know about this Pinkie….”

Twilight’s breath hitched as her gaze moved between an incredibly intimidating pile of ingredients and a picture on a recipe card. A delicious chocolate cake featured prominently flanked by a pair of appropriately dressed baker ponies proudly beaming upon their magnum opus.

Pinkie dashed to and from the pantry pulling out the pans and utensils needed for their project, “Don’t worry Twilight! It’s not as hard as it looks, you just take your time and follow the recipe and we’ll have a very special cake for our friends tonight in no time!”

Thump!

The unicorn’s head hit the table, her heart pounded in her chest like a wild animal desperate for escape and every fiber of her being wanted to run far and away, her legs twitched involuntarily begging her rational mind to follow suit.

“But, but, but….. Pinkie…..”

Pinkie rolled her eyes, “But, but, but, there’s so many buts in here it’s like an ass convention.” The pink pony ran over to the kitchen window and threw it open.

“NO OFFEEEEEEENSE!” Pinkie put her hoof to her ear.

“None taken.” echoed quietly from outside the sweet shop. Pinkie giggled and slammed the window shut resuming her hunt for the remaining tools of her trade.

“But Pinkie, I’ve only baked once before and the princess’s taste tester was in the hospital for a week! What makes you think I can do it now?” Twilight asked holding her hooves to the sky in frustration. Before she could react, the party pony appeared behind her very close to the purple mare’s ears, her sweet smelling perfume reached her nose addling the unicorn’s mind.

“Because you have me now, that’s why.” The pink pony spoke quietly in her ears. Just as Twilight adjusted to the bubble gum scent drowning her sensibilities, Pinkie pulled away continuing her jaunt through the kitchen. The unicorn smiled broadly at her friend and rolled her eyes skyward.

“Ok, ok, you win. I’m still confused how we even get this started to begin with.” Twilight stared as her pink friend rubbed her chin apparently deep in thought.

“Well, how about the same way you setup a telescope?” Pinkie announced seemingly proud of herself. The unicorn just shot her an angry glare.

“That doesn’t make any sense! Baking and stargazing are two different things!”

The pink pony just giggled in response, “So how do you setup your telescope?”

“Well, I setup my telescope and identify the coordinates that-“

“No, no, no, I mean how do you set it up from the BEGINNING?” Pinkie interrupted.

Twilight looked taken aback, “Wha, well, there is a precise step by step set of instructions you have to follow first, you can’t even use your telescope until you identify a good vantage spot, and don’t get me started on co-ordinates…”

“A specific set of instructions huh…. You mean like THIS?” Pinkie asked thrusting the recipe card in her face.

The unicorn blushed a strong crimson underneath her purple coat, “Ok, I get it, so just one step at a time from the beginning huh?”

The pink pony broke into a giggling fit and petted her purple friend’s head, “Oh you’re so adorkable. Of course you start at the beginning. You don’t start singing a song halfway through do you? How about this, you take the lead and I’ll be your assistant. If you do something that might make the kitchen explode, I’ll just step in!”

“Fine fine,” Twilight said brushing Pinkie’s hoof away, “The recipe says we need our oven at three hundred and fifty degrees.” Turning her eyes to the oven, the unicorn’s horn lit up with a red glow as well as the ovens knob until the proper number clicked into place. “Done, so now it says….”

“AHEM!”

Twilight’s purple eye’s tore away from the recipe meeting Pinkie’s across the room.

“And what do you want ME to do miss super smarty pants pony?” the hyperactive mare asked Fluttering her eyes.

Twilight’s eyes shot back down to the card, “Well, it says here we sift together two cups of flour, two cups of white sugar, and one teaspoon of baking soda. While you do that, I’ll……” her eyes glanced back down to the card, “I’ll grease and flour an eleven by seventeen inch sheet cake pan.” Twilight’s eyes fell back to the table, using her horn she grabbed one of the pieces laid out for their task.

“Ummm, Twilight?”

“Shouldn’t you be sifting the flour and stuff Pinkie?” The purple pony asked with a smug grin.

“I will in just a moment….I just couldn’t help but notice that you’re greasing a measuring cup….” The pink pony remarked hesitantly.”

“Oh, right, measuring cup…. Of course.” Her face blushed deeply again, she placed the cup and stick of butter gently down on the table and glared at the remaining utensils. Nervousness washed over her as she pointed to another pan.

Pinkie shook her head, “That’s a bundt cake pan.”

Sweat ran down the unicorn’s face in nervous anticipation as she pointed to another pan.

The pink pony shook her head again, “That’s a cookie sheet…..”

Twilight’s eyes danced all over the table, frustrated and out of patience she pointed to another pan.

“That’s the one! I knew you’d get it eventually!” With a smile Pinkie turned her back and resumed her sifting duties. Twilight’s horn glowed again pulling a stick of butter and bowl of flour to her side of the table. Carefully she spread the stick evenly across the pan making sure to cover every square inch.

“All done over here, what’s next for me master chef?”

Looking up Twilight burst into laughter, “Oh Pinkie, your face! The flour goes in the bowl, not in your mane!” The party pony’s face was covered in a fine mist of flour. She trotted over to the window and looked at herself.

“AIEEEEE! IT’S A GHOST!” Pinkie scrambled through the kitchen as if cartoon shotguns were firing in the distance.

“Hold still goofball!” A washcloth with a red aura levitated over to the panicking pony and wiped the flour off. Pinkie glared into the window once again, a smile crossed her face as she seemed happy with the results.

“Thanks Twilight, what’s next?” She asked firing a winning smile back at the amused mare.

“Hmmmm, it says here we stir in two eggs, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, and one half cup of buttermilk.”

Pinkie bounced away again, “Okey dokey, consider it done!”
Twilight steeled herself and continued reading the recipe. Using her magic she pulled over what she assumed was the saucepan and prepared the next set of ingredients, “Now I just mix one half cup of butter, one half cup of oil, one half cup of cocoa powder, and one cup of milk and bring it to a boil and then stir.” She placed the load of ingredients in the pan and marched over to the stovetop setting the fire to high before placing the saucepan on top. “Now all we have to do is wait.” The purple mare stared intently at the pot watching for any sign of movement.

“Ummmmm, Twilight? A watched pot never boils!”

The unicorn glanced across at her friend, “Right, let’s see what else we can do for now.” Her eyes scanned down the card reading carefully their next task, “Let’s see, let’s go ahead and put the two mixtures we have together.” She watched as Pinkie Bounded over to the flour mixture, grabbed the bowl, and dumped it into the bowl eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Using a nearby spoon she set to work stirring the goopy concoction until it was nice and even. Seemingly satisfied with the result, she put the bowl down on the table and pointed over Twilight’s shoulder

“Better check your mix!”

Twilight’s eye bugged out. She dashed over to the stove and removed the saucepan from the fire just before the whole mess overflowed. “Whew, that was close….” Stirring the mixture gently she watched as the various ingredients mixed until the colors and textures evened out. Satisfied with the result she brought the pan over to the mixing bowl, “Stir away faithful assistant!”

With a cheerful nod Pinkie stirred frenetically making sure every last bit was properly mixed together. “All done! Now what my master chef?”

Twilight’s eyes fell onto the card once more, “Now we pour it in the pan and bake for fifteen to twenty minutes.” With her horn aglow, the purple pony poured the mixture into the pan using the spoon to get as much as she could out of the bowl. Pinkie took the spoon and evened the mixture out until it was level and passed it to her friend with a smile. Cake pan in tow, Twilight marched over to the oven, and opened the door. Her mind reeled as a wave of hot air hit her in the face sending her backwards. Her magic faltered releasing the pan.

“Gotcha!” In one hoof the pink pony held the cake pan, in the other Twilight. “Always, always, ALWAYS, take a step back when you open the oven.”

It was a suitably new feeling having someone catch her before she fell. The purple pony reveled in it, absorbed in her friend’s soft touch. “Thanks Pinkie, Let’s try that again.” Steadying herself she walked back over to the oven and placed the cake inside carefully on the center rack. “Now what do we do?”

“Now we wait!” The cotton candy colored pony announced proudly.

Twilight’s face fell visibly, “But, what’ll we do for fifteen minutes?”

“I have some ideas…….”

Twilight groaned in frustration, her eyes rolled in the back of her head. Pinkie was playing with her, she had to be. She just knew it! She twitched involuntarily in anticipation of the party pony’s next move. Would she hit the right spot this time? Could she walk away happy before the timer went off? Pinkie’s hoof moved deftly with skill and expertise sealing Twilight’s fate.

“WOOOO!!! I win again! Diagonals baby! Read ‘em and weep!”

Twilight’s face hit the table in frustration erasing her latest defeat. “Ok, Ok, you win miss tic-tac-toe champion! Out of twenty-two games you’d think I could win one of them….”

DING!

Both ponies rushed over to the oven. Careful to keep a little distance she opened the oven door slowly only to be greeted by a bare, yet still delicious looking cake. “Sooooo it’s done?” Twilight asked hopefully.

“Here!”

Using her magic the unicorn caught the object in mid-air, “A toothpick?”

“Uh-huh! It’s an old baker’s trick. You push the toothpick in and pull it out and if it comes out clean the cake is done!” Pinkie said with a smile, clearly happy to impart such arcane knowledge onto the new baker.

Following the party pony’s guidance she did as instructed and pulled the toothpick out carefully inspecting it for any cake bits. “Clean as a whistle, now what?”

“Noooooow we wait again for the cake to cool, and then it’s frosting time!”

“Ughhhhh, more waiting? Can’t we speed it up somehow?”

Pinkie shook her head, “Not if you want it done right. Waiting is part of the experience of baking. You don’t ask the stars to move faster when you look in your telescope do you? “

Twilight started to raise her hoof in objection, “But that…. Well…stop making sense, you’re scaring me!”

Staring down at the finished product left Twilight in a state of shock. Fully frosted and suitably delicious looking, pride filled the unicorn’s heart. “It looks incredible. I can’t even believe we made it!”

“I told you it’d be easy with me by your side!” Pinkie said nudging her friend in her ribs.

“This is so amazing! I’m gonna put it on display for everyone to see until the party tonight.” Twilight picked up the pan carefully with her magic marching the cake towards the door leading to the front part of the shop.

“Wait, Twilight!”

Twilight glanced back at Pinkie. Several parts of the mare’s body started to twitch, “Ear flop, eye flutter, knee twitch….. That doesn’t even make sense! There’s not gonna be a rainbow today, there isn’t even a cloud in the sky!” The right side of the swinging door flew open sending the cake flying back into the unicorn’s face. Frosting and bits of fluffy cake fell to the ground along with the purple mare who crumpled to the ground in pain.

“Uhhh, Twilight, that combo meant-“

“Yes, yes, opening doors, I figured that out.” She glared at the open door staring back at Mrs. Cake who bore an apologetic look on her face. Twilight’s heart sank a little bit staring at the mess covering her belly. “All that work and we didn’t even get to eat it….” Suddenly she looked up to see Pinkie staring at her with a strange look in her eyes. “No, wait Pinkie, NOOOOO!” Twilight laughed uncontrollably as the pink pony dug in eating the bits of cake directly off of her stomach. Giggling madly Twilight feebly tried to push her friend away. “Oh Celestia! I can’t breathe! At least let me catch my breath!”

“Party pooper!” The pony said sticking out her tongue while the purple mare recovered from the laughter fit.

Looking back at Pinkie’s chocolate covered face, Twilight couldn’t think of a more honorable sacrifice of a cake. She reached up and pulled Pinkie’s lips to hers. The unicorn’s mind reeled at the taste of the leftover chocolate cake mixed with her pink friend’s natural flavor. Her partner offered no resistance to her exploring tongue and simply melted into the glorious moment. After what felt like an eternity, their lips separated beaming at each other in half lidded eyes. Twilight pulled Pinkie’s ears close to her lips.

“You realize we have to make another one don’t you?” She whispered softly, taking in the heady scents of sweetness swirling about her.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing…but first we have to finish cleaning this one up…..” Pinkie pulled away flashing a devious smile at the mare beneath her.

“Oh Celestia, no, please, NOT AGAIN!!!” Twilight fell back into a fit of uncontrollable laughter as Pinkie finished the job she started so earnestly.

This story, is now complete for the time being. this last chapter is a little bit of me trying to be more descriptive and improve myself a bit. please tell me how you feel about it. Also, it took every fiber of my being and will not to throw a super mario rpg reference in here. hope you enjoyed it.