The Steeden University of Culinary Arts

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Bonbon Voyage
Chapter 2 - Making Friend Fries
Chapter 3 - May the Best Flan Win
Chapter 4 - A Dish Best Served Cold
Chapter 6 - Baker's Dread
Chapter 7 - Party Thyme!
Chapter 8 - Familiar Flavor
Chapter 9 - Dough-crastination
Chapter 10 - Spring Bake: Part 1
Chapter 11 - Spring Bake: Part 2
Chapter 12 - Zest & Relaxation
Chapter 13 - The Way She Crumbles
Chapter 14 - The Great Cake-Off: Part 1
Chapter 15 - The Great Cake-Off: Part 2
Chapter 16 - Out of the Frying Pan...
Chapter 17 - Well Done
Chapter 5 - The Hotdogs of War

Chapter 1 - Bonbon Voyage

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 1: Bonbon Voyage

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"Check on those cupcakes would you, Pinkie Pie."

"Sure thing, Mrs. Cake!"

Pinkie Pie, holding a mixing bowl and whisk as she fervently mixed a batch of meringue, exuberantly bounded from one end of the kitchen to the other to carry out the task asked of her by her employer and landlady. Bending down to look through the window of the oven, she peered inside to assess the state of the pastries in question, her foreleg never once stopping from mixing the contents of the bowl.

"Still a few more minutes," she called back. Satisfied that she still had time, Pinkie bounced back to the counter to continue mixing the meringue.

Sugarcube Corner was in a rather messy state this fine morning. Flour peppered almost every surface, utensils and dishes of all sorts lay littered about having served their purpose, and even the shop's three hardworking bakers were covered head to hoof in flour, icing, and dried cake batter. It was a busy morning to say the least. They had received a huge order the day before requesting confectioneries of all sorts, from cupcakes and eclairs to soufflé and crème brûlée, all in preparation for the birthday of one Diamond Tiara. Of course, since the little filly's family was the richest family in Ponyville, this meant one lucrative morning for Sugarcube Corner should everything go well, but it also meant that everything had to be perfect as they were also the snootiest family in town. But, given their track record, Pinkie Pie and the Cakes were more than capable of handling such an order. It wouldn't be the first time.

Content that the meringue was sufficiently stiff, Pinkie Pie set down the bowl and hopped back over to the oven. She took one more look inside and grinned happily to see that they were ready to come out. Pulling open the door and donning a pair of oven mitts on her hooves, the pink, party pony removed the tray of cupcakes and placed them on top of the oven. Closing her eyes, she inhaled their aroma deeply. Perhaps the best part of huge orders like this was the plethora of scents that decorated Sugarcube Corner. The smell of freshly-baked goodies and sugary icing could be detected practically all over town. Folks would come into the shop just to smell the wares.

"Cupcakes are all done, Mrs. Cake," Pinkie Pie informed.

Mrs. Cake stepped away from the table where she had been rolling out dough, picking up a towel from nearby to wipe the sweat from her brow. "Goodness, this is tiring work," she exclaimed with a huff. "It's been a while since we've had an order this big. But I suppose all this hard work will help burn a few calories," she said with a hearty chuckle as she pat her pudgy belly.

"So what's left for us to do?" Pinkie Pie inquired, eager to move on to the next task.

"Well, first off I'm going to decorate those cupcakes, then..." She stepped over to the counter and picked up a notebook that had gotten caught in the crossfire and was slightly smeared with flour and batter. "...we still have two trays of chocolate chip cookies, one batch of bran muffins for the health-conscious party-goers, five miniature strawberry shortcakes, one lemon meringue pie—that you are currently working on—and we still have to finish the third layer of the main cake and decorate it as well."

"So almost done then, cool!" Pinkie Pie commented innocently.

The pink earth pony took another look at the nearby trolley upon which the main cake that her employer had mentioned was sitting: a large, three-tiered cake smothered in vanilla frosting, though lacking any distinct features as of yet, as well as it's third tier. When finished, it would be adorned with pink strawberry-flavored icing spread along it like ribbons and stand about the height of a full-grown stallion. Not the biggest cake they've ever made, but certainly one that would generate some buzz at the party.

A knock on the front door of the shop could be heard from the kitchen. However, this did not deter Pinkie Pie and Mrs. Cake from their work; they had their hooves full as it was. Thankfully, Mr. Cake, who had been busy constructing the final tier of the main cake until now, took a moment to greet whoever it was that was knocking. Just because they were busy didn't mean they weren't going to give other potential customers the time of day.

Pinkie Pie slathered a batch of meringue atop a lemon-filled pie crust and slipped it into the oven to bake for a short time. She flipped on a timer, setting it to five minutes to ensure she didn't forget about it and let the meringue burn, before hopping over to the table in the center of the kitchen and rolling out some chocolate chip cookie dough they had prepared earlier, distributing them onto a couple of baking sheets.

Mr. Cake stepped back into the kitchen, holding a small stack of envelopes in his hoof and flipping through them idly.

"Who was at the door, Carrot?" his wife asked.

"Just the mailmare, dear," he replied. "Good thing, too. I don't know if we could handle another order right now."

"Sure we could," Pinkie Pie chirped as the timer she had set chimed, prompting her to remove the pie from the oven. "We're the best bakers in Ponyville. We can do anything if we really tried."

Mr. Cake chuckled. "I appreciate you're enthusiasm, Pinkie Pie, but when you're as old as us, big workloads start taking their toll on you."

"Pfft, you're not that old," Pinkie scoffed.

"Any important mail there?" Mrs. Cake interjected.

Carrot Cake resumed flipping through the envelopes again. "Not really. Bills mostly, some random junk mail and—oh?"

That got the two mares' attention. "What is it?" Pinkie inquired.

He lifted one of the envelopes from the pile. "There's something here for you, Pinkie."

The pink pony looked surprised, yet intrigued at the same time. "For me?" Mr. Cake passed the letter to her and she looked it over without opening it.

No matter the situation, Mr. and Mrs. Cake could always see some hint of exuberance in Pinkie Pie's face; she was the kind of pony who could light up any room with her optimistic and carefree personality. So when her expression suddenly shifted and became completely unreadable as she stared at the envelope, they became concerned. Even more so when the normally chipper mare slowly and quietly sat down on the floor, never once removing her eyes from the letter. The Cakes shared worried glances.

"Pinkie Pie?" Mrs. Cake said, trying to sound comforting in case this was something bad. "What is it?"

Pinkie responded in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. "It's from Steeden."

The couple gasped in unison. "Really?!" Mr. Cake exclaimed.

"They finally got back to you?"

"I... I guess so." The pink mare seemed more than a little shaken by this.

Mr. Cake stepped forward curiously. "Well? Aren't you going to open it?"

After a moment of deliberation, Pinkie Pie rose to her hooves and tore open the envelope, removing the letter inside. She slowly unfolded the paper as if it were some sort of historical document and she was trying not to wrinkle or tear it. Mr. and Mrs. Cake watched in suspense as Pinkie's blue eyes scanned the letter, taking in every word. When she finished, she looked up and turned to her employers.

"I got in."

There was a moment of silence as the married couple waited for anything further, but there was nothing else said.

Mrs. Cake spoke up first. "You got in?"

"I got in," Pinkie repeated, adding no inflection to her tone.

Carrot Cake looked to his wife with a raised eyebrow, then back to Pinkie. "Uh, I know this might sound strange, but I was expecting a more significant reaction. Aren't you happy, Pinkie?"

"I-I don't know," she answered with mild confusion. "I'm not sure if I'm in shock, or I'm just so excited that there is no accurate way to express myself." A shaky smile crept across her lips. "But I'm gonna try anyway. Yahooooooooo!"

Pinkie Pie leapt into the air, practically bouncing off of every surface in the kitchen, yet somehow not knocking anything over, chanting and screaming at the top of her lungs. Mr. and Mrs. Cake simply laughed at the display. This wasn't an uncommon reaction to good news, especially news like this. They were willing to happily let her ride out her excitement.

When her bounding around finally came to a stop back on the kitchen floor, she let out an elated gasp. "I gotta tell everypony! They're gonna be so stoked!" She was about to bolt out the door, but paused as she looked at the smiling faces of her employers. "Uh, right after we finish up this order of course," she added with an embarrassed giggle.

Mr. Cake waved a hoof dismissively. "That's alright, Pinkie. Go tell you're friends. We can handle things from here."

Pinkie's eyes widened in gratitude. "You mean it?" They both nodded, but before another word could be said, a pink blur shot past them, leaving a cloud of flour and dried batter hanging in the air momentarily before plopping onto the floor where the mare used to be.

***** ***** *****

Pinkie Pie could barely contain her excitement. As soon as she was given permission, she made a beeline straight for the Golden Oaks Library, home of her good friend Twilight Sparkle and her dragon assistant Spike. The request was immediately made that all of her closest friends were to gather at the library so she could share her good news. At the moment, the library's own alicorn princess and her loyal, reptilian assistant were present alongside Fluttershy and Rarity as well. Pinkie Pie fidgeted impatiently as she awaited the arrival of the two remaining friends.

The door to the library swung open and Pinkie's face lit up with a grin. Finally, Applejack had arrived, Rainbow Dash by her side who had been sent to fetch her. The orange earth pony seemed a tad confused and even a little irritated at the unexpected summoning, perhaps having been pulled away from her duties at the farm. It was an expression shared amongst the group, as none of them had any idea what was going on.

"Alright, Ah'm here," Applejack announced in a slightly agitated tone. "Now, what's so important that y'all gotta drag me away in the middle of the day's harvest?"

"I must say, I'm more than a little curious myself," Rarity added. "Pinkie Pie has been absolutely restless since I got here. It must be something big."

Pinkie let out an eager giggle. "You bet it's big! Super big!"

"Then just spit it out already," commanded an impatient Rainbow Dash.

"Okay okay." Pinkie Pie took a deep breath in an attempt, though futile, to calm herself. She reached a hoof into her poofy mane and pulled out an unsealed envelope, displaying it to the group. "Ta da!"

The others shared uncomprehending glances. "It's an... envelope," Spike pointed out without fanfare.

"Not just any envelope," the party pony corrected. "It's only the biggest, most life-changing-est thing to ever happen to me!"

Applejack let out a groan. "That's all well and good, but wouldja just stop beating around the bush and tell us what's in it?"

Pinkie Pie continued as she waved the envelope around. "This, fillies and gentledragon, is a letter from the Steeden University of Culinary Arts."

While the others were still somewhat unsure of what she was going on about, Twilight gasped at the news. "You finally got a response?!"

Pinkie nodded excitedly. "Uh-huh."

Fluttershy decided to voice the question that was on everypony's mind. "So what does that mean exactly? Why is this big news?"

"Well, see, you guys may or may not know this," Pinkie Pie started, "but aside from making friends and throwing parties, I've had a lifelong dream of becoming a world-class pastry chef. Unfortunately, that meant I would need a college degree. So a few years ago, I sent an application to the Steeden University of Culinary Arts, one of the most prestigious culinary schools in the world."

"I helped her out with her application," Twilight added, "making it abundantly clear that she was already of a very high skill level and wished to join the advanced program they offered: a one year course that would help her take the skills she has and further improve them."

Applejack held out a hoof to stop them. "Wait, you sent this application a few years ago? And they're only just gettin' back to you?"

"Well, actually they sent a reply a few weeks later," Pinkie Pie explained. "Like I said, it's a big school and eeeeeeverypony who has a passion for pastries and baking wants in. They wrote me back to let me know that I was on the waiting list. But I didn't think it would take this long to finally get a proper answer."

Rarity leaned forward curiously. "And what was their answer?"

Pinkie put on a huge, toothy grin. "Can't you tell? Ladies—and little dragon buddy—you are now looking at a college girl!"

Finally, with the good news out in the open, Pinkie Pie's friends all gathered around the pink pony to offer proud smiles and congratulations.

"My my, this is wonderful news, darling!" exclaimed Rarity.

"Honestly, considerin' how good you're bakin' is, Ah suppose Ah ain't too surprised," Applejack said with a chuckle.

"Does anypony else think that Pinkie Pie going to college seems just a little odd?" Spike mentioned.

"Not just college, a university," Pinkie corrected.

"Regardless of how odd the concept may be, this is an amazing opportunity for her," Twilight commented. "This could very well be one of the best things to ever happen to her."

"But is it though?"

Everypony turned to Rainbow Dash, who had strangely not joined in to congratulate Pinkie Pie on her achievement. In fact, she looked upset.

"Twilight, you said this was a one year course, right?" Rainbow continued.

The lavender alicorn nodded her head. "Well, yeah."

"And the school is in Steeden. That's all the way across the ocean!" Now the pegasus was starting to sound worried about something. "Which means that Pinkie Pie would have to go to Steeden for a whole year!"

Suddenly, all enthusiasm was drained away from the pink earth pony as this realization dawned on her. "She's right. If I do this, then that means moving away from Ponyville—from my friends—for an entire year. I-I don't want to leave my friends."

Rarity shot an angry glare at the cyan mare. "Rainbow Dash, why would say something like that?"

"Because I don't want to lose my best friend!" she shot back.

"Nopony's going to lose any friends," Twilight stated confidently. She placed a hoof on Pinkie Pie's shoulder and looked her square in the eyes. "Pinkie, you said that this is a dream you've had your whole life, right?" She nodded solemnly. "Then there should be no doubt about whether or not you should do this. In order to achieve one's dreams, you have to be willing to make sacrifices. Do you want your friends to believe that they're the ones responsible for keeping you from achieving your dream?"

"Well... no."

"Then, if this is so important to you, you should do it."

"It's not like we couldn't stay in touch," Fluttershy added. "We can write letters to each other while you're over there, so it'll be like we're always together, no matter how far apart we are."

Pinkie Pie managed a small smile again. "Yeah, I guess that's true. But I don't want to go unless all of my friends want me to." She took another look a Rainbow Dash, who still looked unsure about the whole thing.

"Maybe it's best if you take some time to think about it," Twilight suggested. She turned to Rainbow Dash. "Both of you."

"This is a pretty big decision," Rarity noted. "It wouldn't be good if you went into this before you felt you were truly ready."

Pinkie nodded in agreement and slowly made her way to the door. She didn't even give a second glance to Rainbow Dash as she passed by, stirring up feelings of guilt in the pegasus. As the door closed behind her friend, Dash turned to face her other friends, their faces showing mixed feelings of concern for Pinkie Pie and scowls toward herself, only serving to fuel that guilt.

***** ***** *****

Sugarcube Corner was unusually quiet. Whereas normally the place would be bustling with activity, its residents busily and cheerfully whipping up delicious baked goods, it had become eerily still. Mr. and Mrs. Cake had, by now, finished with the remaining treats for Diamond Tiara's birthday party and had gone off to deliver them. They happened to bump into Pinkie Pie just as they were leaving, a somewhat sullen look upon her face. They thought it best to give the mare some time alone to think.

Now, Pinkie Pie sat in her bedroom, on the floor and leaning back against her bed, her eyes passively reading the acceptance letter she had received from the university over and over again. In a way, she was hoping that, by repeatedly skimming it, she'd find something within the lines that would help her make up her mind about this. No such luck, unfortunately.

The pink mare let out a sigh and let her head fall back against the mattress behind her. It wasn't often in her life she was faced with such a difficult decision. She likened it to the day she left home when she was a filly, leaving behind everything she held closely to pursue her dreams.

"Do I really want to go through that again?" she asked herself. "I mean, it's not like I ever regretted leaving home, but, at the time, it was a really hard thing to do, leaving my mom and dad and my sisters. And I know they were just as worried about it as me. I cried and they cried. We all cried. But it turned out okay in the end, right? I'm happy here in Ponyville, and I write home all the time. Would going to Steeden be much different? It's just for a year, but it's awfully far away. I could just take a train ride back home anytime I wanted, but it'd be a lot harder to book a ride on an airship to get all the way back here, not to mention expensive. I don't know if I could handle being away from my friends for that long. What do you think?"

Pinkie looked down to the pair of infant foals seated on the floor in front of her and staring back, the unicorn filly idly sucking on her pacifier while the pegasus colt simply tilted his head, unable to comprehend what the older pony was even saying.

Pinkie Pie managed a soft smile. "I guess it's not a big deal for you guys. You've got a few years ahead of you before you go off to college. The biggest decision you guys have to make is what toys you want to play with."

The earth pony picked up a toy carriage and passed it to Pound to play with, then gave Pumpkin a stuffed turtle. Though Pound was content to wheel the carriage around for all of five seconds, it didn't take long for him see how much his twin sister was enjoying the turtle and promptly wrenched it from her grip. The filly grunted angrily and attempted to take it back, as well as Pound's carriage, and the two began a tug of war over the two toys.

Pinkie Pie picked up the arguing foals, holding one in each foreleg. "No fighting, you two. You have to share. You have to make a decision over which one you want because you can't have both."

She put the two foals down again to give them another chance to work it out. They both looked up at Pinkie Pie who was watching them with crossed forelegs and a stern stare. Pumpkin picked up the stuffed turtle, contemplated for a moment, then held it out to Pound. Pinkie smiled when Pound took the turtle and then proceeded to give Pumpkin the carriage.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it? You came to an agreement and now you're both happy."

A knock was heard on Pinkie's bedroom door, distracting the mare from the two foals. The door slowly opened and the chromatic mane of Rainbow Dash peeked inside. "Uh, hey. Mind if I come in?"

Pinkie was a little surprised to see her, but stood up to greet her friend. "Sure."

Rainbow cautiously stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Pinkie Pie couldn't help but notice that she seemed nervous about something, as if something was on her mind. "Look, I-I wanna apologize about the way I acted earlier."

Pinkie sighed and smiled at her friend. "It's okay. I understand how you felt, Dash."

"No, it's not okay. I was being stubborn and selfish. I guess I was just worried that I was going to lose my best friend."

"Like Twilight said, nopony's going to lose any friends. You and me are best friends forever, no matter what," Pinkie affirmed with a smile.

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I know, and that's why I feel bad about it. What kind of friend am I to try and stop you from doing something that's so important to you?"

The earth pony's smile faded again. "It is a tough decision to make. I don't really want to leave all my friends."

"And you wouldn't have to make that decision if I didn't bring it up. You could've been happy that you were accepted and just go. Now I feel like I'm standing in the way of you achieving your dream."

Smiling once more, Pinkie Pie placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "Actually, I'm glad you did bring it up."

The pegasus quirked an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because if you hadn't, it wouldn't have dawned on me until I was already gone. Then I might have actually wound up regretting my decision. This way, I can get all my worries out beforehoof and have no reservations about leaving."

Rainbow Dash lowered her head slightly. "So does that mean you've made up your mind? You're going to Steeden?"

Pinkie shook her head. "No, I haven't made up my mind yet. I need to know if any of my friends don't want me to go. If even one of them wants me to stay, then I will."

Rainbow Dash fell silent for a moment, turning away from Pinkie as she thought. She knew that the others were perfectly fine with this and supported Pinkie one hundred percent, so the decision ultimately came down to her. Did she want Pinkie Pie to chase her dream and risk not seeing her for a whole year? She turned back to see the big, blue eyes and warm smile of her dear friend and couldn't help but smile herself. The answer was obvious. "Like I said, I don't want to stand in the way of your dreams. No matter how far away you are and no matter how long you're gone, you're still my best friend."

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash."

The two mares embraced in a caring hug, Rainbow Dash trying her best to fight back a tear knowing that Pinkie was going to be leaving soon.

"I guess this is goodbye, huh?" the cyan mare sniffled.

Pinkie Pie pulled back from the hug, giving Dash a quizzical look. "What, are you crazy? You think they're gonna send me an acceptance letter and not give me any time to get ready? Classes don't start for a month."

Dash stared back as if caught by surprise, fairly embarrassed that she had almost been caught crying. "What?! You mean we still have a month before you leave?! Why didn't you mention that earlier?! That woulda given me plenty of time to come to terms with all this."

Pinkie Pie giggled at Dash's reaction. "Yeah, but we got it out of the way early. Now you don't have to be all sulky for the next month and we can enjoy the time we have left together."

Rainbow Dash allowed her sudden shock to dissipate before laughing along with her pink friend. "Okay, you got a point. Let's make the most of this, alright?"

"You got it."

***** ***** *****

A month can pass by pretty fast. Time flies when you're having fun as they say, and Pinkie Pie made sure to squeeze in as much fun as she possibly could in such a comparatively short amount of time, knowing that this day was eventually coming. She divvied up what precious little time she had as evenly as she could between her friends. She sat with Twilight in the library, learning things that she would probably need to know about the foreign country she was going to be living in. She honed her baking skills with Applejack, whipping up numerous apple-related goodies and helping her sell them. She helped Fluttershy take care of sick animals, and Rarity with her dresses. She went on one last pranking spree with Rainbow Dash, nearly turning the town on its head. She even made a trip back home to see her family before she left. And, of course, it wouldn't have been a proper send off without a going-away party. All in all, even with how much fun Pinkie had had this month, it still seemed too short.

After a short, evening train ride, Pinkie Pie now found herself standing at the air docks in Canterlot, waiting for her ship to begin boarding. At her hooves were a few duffle bags packed with everything she would need for her trip. The ship she was to board was currently alight upon one of the landing platforms, the passengers from its previous flight in the process of disembarking. It was a rather enormous ship all things considered, though most of its size could be attributed to the colossal, violet balloon it was carried by. The ship itself was composed of a primarily aluminum hull, giving a bright, silver sheen and was large enough to easily transport one hundred ponies, plus cargo. The entire thing, envelope and ship both, was decorated with gold, not unlike much of the architecture of Canterlot's Royal Palace as the capitol was this particular ship's home. It was somewhat daunting to look at, especially since Pinkie Pie knew that, once she got on board, she would not see her friends for a long time.

With that thought, she turned away from the airship to look behind her. All of her friends were standing with her, waiting to see her off, including Spike, Mr. and Mrs. Cake and the twins, as well as one little alligator standing with Fluttershy. For once in her life, Pinkie Pie was at a loss for words. She felt as if anything she could say at this moment would only make leaving more difficult.

"This is a pretty big step, huh?" Twilight said, breaking the silence.

Pinkie simply nodded her head, glancing once more at the airship behind her. "Yeah."

Her friends took notice of her melancholy and Rarity stepped forward. "You shouldn't feel apprehensive about this, Pinkie Pie. We're all in support of your decision and want to see you succeed." The others nodded in agreement.

Pinkie managed a smile. "Thanks you, guys. It means a lot knowing that you're all cheering me on."

Applejack chuckled at the thought of what was actually happening right now. "Heh, ya know, ta be honest, I never thought I'd be seeing off Pinkie Pie as she left to head off ta college. If any of us were ta go to college, I'd a thought it'd be Twi."

"Well, actually, Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns is essentially a college," the alicorn explained. "As you might expect from the fact that the word 'Gifted' is in the name, you have to meet some pretty high requirements to get in. Getting accepted at my age was basically the equivalent of skipping several grades." Twilight glanced at the wings folded at her sides. "And I suppose my coronation also acted as my graduation."

"I reckon there ain't too many universities out there that would turn away Celestia's personal protégé," Applejack joked.

"I don't know about that," Twilight said modestly. "So none of you girls have ever had post-secondary education?"

Applejack shook her head. "Nope. After mah parents passed on, rest their souls, I wound up quittin' school so me and Big Mac could take care o' the farm and help raise Apple Bloom."

Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders. "I barely graduated from high school. By that time, I'd had enough of classrooms and textbooks. Forget that noise."

"Taking care of all the animals around Ponyville takes up a lot of my time," Fluttershy said. "I've never really had the time for it. Though I suppose it would be nice to get a veterinary license someday."

Rarity haughtily flicked her mane. "Well, I'm an entrepreneur. I have my own business already, so higher education is not really a necessity."

Mr. Cake chuckled and joined the conversation. "Cup Cake and I are in that same boat. I guess that means that Pinkie Pie is actually the only one here who's going to be attending a proper college. How about that?"

"Huh. I never really thought about that," Pinkie admitted with a giggle. "I guess it is pretty funny when you put it that way."

"Regardless, you're doing a great thing with your life, Pinkie Pie," Twilight commended. "Doing this is going to open so many doors for you."

"Oh, I don't care about that," Pinkie said with a dismissive wave. "I really just want to sharpen my baking skills so that all my friends in Ponyville can enjoy the best pastries this side of Equestria. I still plan on coming back to work at Sugarcube Corner."

"And we'll keep the position open for you, dear," Mrs. Cake assured with a grin.

The group heard the voice of an airship attendant calling out that they were preparing to board.

Pinkie Pie looked at her friends one last time, trying her best to fight back tears. "I guess this is it."

"Reckon it is," said Applejack with a proud smile.

The Cake twins ran over to Pinkie Pie and hugged her legs tightly. With a shaky smile, she leaned down and picked them up, giving them a big hug back. "Aww, I'm gonna miss you guys, too. Don't cause too much trouble for your mom and dad while I'm gone, okay?" They nuzzled her neck before she put them down again, their parents coming over to retrieve them.

Pinkie Pie walked over to Fluttershy, particularly to the small, glassy-eyed alligator next to her. She picked it up and rubbed her snout against his. "And you behave yourself while I'm gone, too, mister. Mommy loves you." As she put the reptile down, she turned to Fluttershy. "You'll take good care of Gummy, right?"

The pegasus smiled back. "Like he's one of my own."

"Thanks." She looked down at Gummy again. "Now, you make sure you listen to everything auntie Fluttershy tells you, 'kay? I don't want to come back and hear that you've been naughty." The gator blinked slowly in response and Pinkie Pie gave him a pat on the head. "Good boy."

The moment had come. Pinkie Pie was prepared to take her first step into the unknown. As she was turning around to head toward the airship, she briefly made eye contact with Rainbow Dash and stopped in her tracks. The other mare seemed quite somber. She slowly approached the cyan pegasus. "You're still okay with me leaving, right, Rainbow Dash?"

Dash managed a smile, which Pinkie took as a good sign. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's still... you know, a little sad to see you go." There was a catch in her voice. In an unusual display of affection from the normally cool mare, Rainbow Dash wrapped a hoof around Pinkie's neck and hugged her, which the earth pony gladly reciprocated. "I'm gonna miss you, Pinkie," she said with a sniffle.

"I'll miss you, too." Pinkie pulled back, observing the rare tears that welled up in Rainbow Dash's eyes. That normally would have made her second guess her decision, but the smile the pegasus was wearing alleviated any worry. Their hug broken off, Pinkie Pie took a step back, and looked at her friends. "I'll miss all of you."

"Good luck, darling," said Rarity, wiping her own tears with a handkerchief she had brought for just such a purpose.

"Give 'em heck!" Spike added with gusto.

As everypony bid her farewell, Pinkie Pie picked up her bags and finally made her way to the airship. Just as she was about to step inside, she looked back one more time to see all of her friends waving. With tearful eyes, she waved back, then entered the mighty ship, the door closing behind her.

Pinkie Pie breathed a forlorn sigh and she allowed herself to fall back onto her haunches, her head resting against the door that now separated her from her friends and her home.

"You need to take your seat, miss," informed the attendant that had called all the passengers aboard.

"Oh, sorry," Pinkie quietly apologized, her usual spunky personality noticeably subdued. She picked up her bags and made her way down the aisle of the airship. She felt the ship's weight shift as it began to gradually lift into the sky.

The inside of the vessel was not quite as luxurious as the exterior would have you believe. Though certainly not cramped or dirty, it was somewhat plain for a Canterlot airship. Of course, Pinkie could only afford to fly coach. First class must have been far more swanky, she imagined, not that it really mattered; there were going to be much more important things on her mind during this flight than her seating arrangements. She did make a note of the population within the ship as well. There weren't as many people on board as she had been expecting, though she couldn't imagine that too many ponies sought out Steeden as a vacation destination, especially not all at once. And, considering how expensive it was just to fly coach, she wasn't too surprised. In terms of numbers, there seemed to be somewhere close to fifteen or so ponies out of what looked like fifty seats. The place was pretty quiet.

After making a short trek down the aisle, Pinkie stopped at a pair of empty seats, four rows from the front. Rearing up onto her hind legs, she opened the overhead compartment, then reached down and hoisted one of her bags up inside it, then the second. The third, however, appeared to have had a big breakfast that morning and was too overstuffed to fit. With great strain, Pinkie attempted to jam the bag inside, hoping the lid of the compartment would be enough to hold it in until they landed in Steeden. After one more forceful push, Pinkie's hooves slipped, causing her to fall over in the aisle, shortly followed by her fat duffle bag as it landed with a whump on her head.

With a grunt, she heaved the bag off of herself and onto the window seat below the compartment. "Fine. Have it your way," she huffed at the stubborn bag as she plopped herself into the aisle seat.

Pinkie Pie found herself relaxing into the surprisingly plush seat, letting out a long breath. She glanced at the bag propped up in the seat beside her, creating a crude image of somepony accompanying her on her flight. "Would be nice to have some company," she muttered to herself.

She peeked out into the aisle and looked behind her. As much as she would like to start up a conversation with somepony, none of them looked like the chatty type, mostly business types skimming through newspapers, no doubt on their way to meet with foreign investors or some boring junk like that, she thought. They probably wouldn't appreciate being bothered.

Pinkie groaned in annoyance. This was a nine hour flight. That's a heck of a lot of time for doing nothing, especially for somepony as fidgety as Pinkie Pie. It did give her time to think, though her thoughts always seemed to gravitate toward her friends and how much she missed them already.

The pink pony clopped her hooves on her seat's armrests with resolution. "Come on, girl. You don't have to think about how sad you are to be leaving. Think about how excited you are about going to a new place. Think of all the potential new friends you can make—though they'll never replace your old friends," she made sure to remind herself. "And think of all the cool things you'll see there. And the food!" Pinkie gasped as she remembered exactly why she was going to Steeden in the first place. "The exotic recipes and flavors you've never tasted before. The rich aromas of foreign dishes." She was already beginning to drool at the mere thought of it, which reminded her that she would need to order an in-flight snack at some point. "And to think, I'm going there to learn how to make that stuff, then I can go home and share all of that with my friends! This is gonna be great!"

Pinkie Pie had rediscovered her excitement about all of this, the same excitement she had felt when she first received her acceptance letter. The mare giggled gleefully at the thought, kicking her hind legs like a giddy foal on a trip to the amusement park.

"Hey, do you mind?" came the grumpy voice of a mare seated in front of her, annoyed by the pink pony's hooves kicking the back of her seat.

The mare peered over the back of her seat, giving Pinkie Pie a clearer view of her red-and-white striped mane, coat of a darker shade of pink than her own, and bright, green eyes. The combination of features triggered something in Pinkie Pie's memory, and the sudden look of surprise on the other mare's face indicated that the same had occurred to her.

"Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie's mouth shot open in a long, exaggerated gasp as she recognized the face staring back at her. "Candy!"

A pleasantly surprised smile appeared on Candy's face. "Wow, long time no—ghk!" She was cut off by the constricting pressure of Pinkie's forelegs wrapping around her neck and squeezing her in a tight hug. When the elated party pony finally released her, Candy rubbed her neck and chuckled. "Good to see you, too."

"It's been forever!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed to her old friend with a smile as wide as the day is long.

Candy thought for a moment as she tallied up the span of time between their first, and only, encounter. "About a year or so now, right?"

Not content with having the plastic back of a chair between them, Pinkie Pie leap-frogged over the seats and plonked herself down into the empty window seat next to Candy Cane. "Is that all? It felt like eons! I would've written you letters to stay in touch, but I never got your address."

"So what are you doing here?" Candy inquired with a grin. "Doing some world traveling or something?"

Pinkie shook her head. "Nuh-uh." She answered with a haughty air of sophistication in her voice in mock superiority, placing a hoof to her chest and sticking her nose up. "I am to undergo the teachings of the world's finest pastry chefs to acuminate my artistry at a most prestigious academy."

Not requiring any effort to decipher her words, Candy stared at Pinkie for a moment, a expectant glint in her eye. "Wait, you're going to a pastry school?"

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically.

"It wouldn't happen to be the Steeden University of Culinary Arts, would it?"

"That's it! You got it! How'd you guess?"

Candy answered with an elated grin. "Because that's where I'm going!"

Pinkie blanked for a second, her mind trying to devise a proper reaction to this sudden revelation. She ultimately decided on: "WHAT?!"

"I'm going to study there, too!"

Once again, Pinkie found herself embracing her fellow pink earth pony in an ecstatic hug. "This is great!" she beamed as she released Candy. "To be honest, I was a little scared about going someplace so far away and so unfamiliar all by myself. But now I have somepony I know going with me! That's a huge load off my mind."

"Tell me about it," Candy giggled. "I was a little nervous myself. It's pretty relieving."

Pinkie Pie tapped her chin thoughtfully. "It's probably gonna be tough still. It's a foreign country. Even though I did some research before leaving, I'm don't know how easy things are gonna be there for us."

"From what I hear, the university is pretty culturally diverse and multilingual. Most of the staff there supposedly speak Ponish. We shouldn't have too much trouble."

"Well, that's good. I don't know a lick of Steedish."

"Me neither," Candy chuckled. "I brought a rough translation guide with me to skim through on the flight over, but considering that you're here, I doubt I'll get to it."

"Ain't distractions great?" Pinkie Pie giggled. Her smile dropped and she tilted her head for a moment, recalling something from her first time meeting Candy. "Wait, when we met back in Manehattan, you said you always wanted to go to a pastry school, but couldn't because you needed to stay home and help your dad run his business."

"Because my mom passed away, yeah," Candy replied with a nod.

"So... why are you going now?" Pinkie inquired.

Candy's mouth opened, but she hesitated to speak, turning away from Pinkie Pie. "Um... Well, see... It's because... of Ginger Snap."

Pinkie tilted her head more, holding it at a ninety degree angle. "Who's Ginger Snap?"

"Dad's new girlfriend."

Pinkie noticed the drastic shift of emotion in Candy Cane's voice. The other mare's hooves kneaded uncomfortably against the cushioned seat. Clearly, whatever was going on between her dad and this Ginger Snap mare, Candy was not pleased with it. "You don't like her?"

"It's not that I don't like her. In fact, if it weren't for her, I couldn't go to Steeden. She helps him out around the shop and she's great at making candy and cookies and stuff. Plus, I haven't seen Dad this happy in a long time. It's just... I don't know. She's not... She's not Mom..."

"Oh." Pinkie stayed silent. Even she could tell when a subject was a little too sensitive and knew not to butt into something that wasn't her business.

Candy shook her head and grinned at Pinkie Pie. "Look, let's not talk about that. It's not important right now. What is important is you and me in Steeden, right?"

Pinkie's smile returned as well. "That does sound pretty important. So important that it just may change our lives forever," she said with a sweep of her hoof through the air.

Candy let out an amused giggle. "So, we still have, like, eight and half hours until we get there. Wanna talk about stuff?"

"Do I?!"

An aggravated stallion called out from the back of the room. "Can you two quiet down?"

"Never!" Pinkie yelled back before turning her attention back to her friend. "Where do we start?"

"How about telling me what you've been up to since we last met?"

"Oooo, okay. First of all, didja know one of my best friends is a princess now?"

"What, you mean Princess Twilight Sparkle?" Candy said with some surprise.

"Yeppers. And being a princess's friend has it perks, let me tell you," Pinkie said with a sly grin.

"What kind of perks?"

Pinkie leaned over to Candy's ear, stopped to make sure nopony was eavesdropping, and whispered, "Like getting to tell people I'm friends with a princess."

Candy simply hiked up an eyebrow at that answer, the doofy grin on Pinkie's face suggesting that she genuinely believed that to be a perk. Candy chuckled at her. "Sounds like you're living the life now," she said sarcastically.

Pinkie rubbed her hoof against her chest, trying to act aloof. "Well, I don't like to brag."

"Except that 'perk' revolves entirely around bragging."

Pinkie let out a huff. "Well, if that's not good enough for ya, then I got a lot more stuff to share, so buckle up, sister."

Pinkie Pie and Candy Cane continued to exchange stories, letting the hours idle themselves away and turn what was supposed to be a long and uneventful flight into a chance to reestablish an old friendship. Now, instead of spending the whole trip worrying about what hardships they would have to endure once they landed, they could take their minds off it for a while and tackle any problems they ran into together.

Chapter 2 - Making Friend Fries

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 2: Making Friend Fries

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The door of the majestic, Canterlot airship swung open after touching down on one of the many stations at the foreign air dock. The crisp, cool air of the countryside immediately overpowered the stagnant atmosphere of the ship's interior, not having been exposed to the outside since taking off from Canterlot. The ship's passengers began to disembark, stepping out onto foreign land, two individuals in particular doing so for the first time in their lives.

Pinkie Pie and Candy Cane, with their luggage in tow, walked out onto the dock. The latter taking a moment to stretch her back and legs from being stuck in a seat for nine hours, and the former inhaling a deep breath through her nostrils, experiencing the freshness of the local air. Both stopped momentarily to take in their surroundings.

They had landed in Steeden's capitol city of Trotholm, a city that, according to the limited research Pinkie had done before leaving, was an impressive fusion of industry and nature. Such was evident by the landscape itself. Behind the pair of ponies and the airship they arrived on was a vast lake, the water as bright and blue as Pinkie's own glistening irises as she marveled in the country's natural beauty. The lake lay on a backdrop of a sprawling mountain range, so tall the peaks were capped with snow, and the land leading toward the lake, just beyond the boundaries of the air dock, was a vibrant, green meadow, decorated with countless flowers and tall, healthy trees here and there. How a pony-made area like the docks could be built so close to nature without disturbing it must have been some sort of miracle. Fluttershy might have liked this place, Pinkie figured.

Opposite the breathtaking natural scenery was its total contrast: the city of Trotholm itself, built upon a small archipelago a little ways inland from the sea. The many islands of the capitol were connected by bridges spanning the countless canals. It almost looked like the city was just floating on the water's surface. What was more impressive, however, was how Trotholm compared to a city like Manehattan. Manehattan, as Fluttershy had once put it, felt a little cold and sterile at first glance. But this new city, although perhaps just as bustling as Manehattan, felt much more inviting and almost beckoned to Pinkie and Candy to explore its wonders. The buildings were clean, colorful, and artistically designed, signifying a rich and deep culture.

Pinkie Pie finally exhaled the extra long breath she had taken, the cool, clean air flushing all apprehension out of her mind. She smiled contentedly. "Ahhh, Steeden. We're finally here."

Candy stared in awe at the beautiful city before them. "We're actually going to be living here for a whole year? It almost feels like we're just on vacation or something. This place is amazing."

"I know, right?" Pinkie agreed in a high-pitched tone. "Just think of the parties you can throw in a place like this. Oh! You think we're allowed to swim in the lakes? A lakeside party would be so cool!"

Candy chuckled at her friend's exuberance. "As fun as that sounds, I think we have more important things to deal with. First and foremost being getting to the university and getting our dorm rooms before nightfall. We don't want to wind up sleeping in the streets for the night."

Pinkie nodded resolutely. "Alrighty, then. Lemme just..." Pinkie jammed a hoof into one of her duffle bags and fished around for a few seconds before pulling out a folded piece of paper. She proceeded to unfold it time after time until it had revealed itself to be a map of Trotholm. Pinkie plonked herself down and started to analyze the map, her tongue protruding from the corner of her mouth as she sized it up.

"I think it's supposed to be somewhere on the east side of town. And I think we might already be on the east side," Candy mentioned, looking around for anything that would confirm her hypothesis.

"Um... Okay, here's the dock we're at," Pinkie said, pointing to the location of the air dock, verifying that they were indeed on the east side of the city. "Aaaaaaand weeeeeee haaaaaave to goooooooo... here." She tapped the paper where the name of the university was spelled out.

"Okay, that's not too far from here," Candy said with a touch of relief. "It's still pretty early. We can probably get there before orientation starts."

Pinkie lifted an eyebrow at Candy. She reached back into her bags and pulled out a small pocket watch to look at it, tilting her head in confusion. "No kidding. It's five a.m." She glanced up into the sky, noticing a distinct lack of the usual darkness that she associated with this hour. "Sky's kinda bright for five a.m., don'tcha think?"

Candy simply giggled at her ignorance. "We're in another time zone, Pinkie. You'll have to turn your clocks ahead six hours while you're here."

Pinkie gasped loudly. "You mean... we're in the future! Do you think they have teleporters over here? Or, like, pneumatic tubes that transport you to different parts of the city? Maybe their food is in pill form." Her face filled with panic and she grabbed Candy by the shoulders. "What if their food is in pill form?!"

Candy smiled and placed a hoof on Pinkie's foreleg reassuringly. "I don't think you have to worry about that," she said as she removed the other mare's legs from her shoulders. "Just set your time to eleven a.m. and let's get going, okay? Orientation starts at one o' clock."

After taking a deep breath to calm herself over such a horrific thought, Pinkie Pie turned back to the grand city and the two of them started towards it. They briefly crossed over a short bridge connecting the air dock to the city proper, spanning over a shallow stream that diverged from the main canals. Pinkie took a moment to peer over the railing of the bridge, delighted by the sight of several fresh water fish swimming upstream. It really was awe-inspiring to see the combination of natural and artificial beauty that this city exhibited.

Once they made it onto the city streets, it became increasingly obvious just how diverse things were on this side of the ocean. Given that the Griffon Empire was also located overseas, it should not have been surprising to see many of them in the surrounding countries. However, they hadn't quite expected the numbers that were now before them. Though, like their own homeland, Steeden appeared to be full of ponies—earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns all freely and happily intermingling—it appeared that the population of griffons was close, if not equal, to the pony populace. Pinkie had only met a couple of griffons in her life, and those individuals tended to be somewhat arrogant and a little pushy, but the griffons here were practically indiscernible from the ponies aside from how they looked. Many groups of people that were traveling together consisted of both species, chatting and going about life like normal. Clearly her perception of griffons may have been skewed slightly by personal experience. That, and living in a rural community like Ponyville didn't often bring in a lot of cultural diversity.

Reaching an intersection on the road, Pinkie pulled out her map once more, ascertained their location, and determined the route they needed to go using street names. That wasn't easy considering all the street names were in Steedish. While using the same basic alphabet, the written language over here may as well have been ancient hieroglyphs to the two foreigners. Even if they couldn't actually decipher it, all they really had to do was match up the words on the map to the appropriate street sign and follow it.

It certainly didn't help that everywhere they went there was nothing but Steedish plastered all over everything. Corner stores, office buildings, and restaurants were only recognizable because of how they looked rather than their labels. Although, much to Candy Cane's confusion, Pinkie managed to order a danish from a nearby food stall, perhaps her stomach knowing more about the language than her brain.

After about a half an hour of walking, the pair finally caught sight of the university, an absolutely gargantuan building located across a decadent bridge and sitting upon its own small island on the water. The school itself was a brick structure—or perhaps just designed to look that way—colored reddish-brown and looked far too fancy for a couple of average ponies like Pinkie and Candy. The building's size was attributed mostly to it's width, only being three stories tall, but judging by the amount of people mingling in the serene gardens of the courtyard, a lot of that space was likely for the students' dormitories. It was hard to believe this place was just a cooking school.

Despite the rather imposing elegance of the premises, the other people within the school grounds seemed pretty normal and even more culturally diverse than the rest of the city, with more than just ponies and griffons present. Judging from the fact that a lot of them were also carrying around large bags or suitcases, they must have also come a long way just to enroll here and were passing the time until orientation started, which would be another couple of hours yet.

"Well, we've got some time to kill. Any ideas?" asked Candy as she took in the splendor of the surrounding campus.

A loud gurgling noise grabbed the attention of not just Pinkie and Candy, but several other nearby ponies. Pinkie looked down at her stomach. "I could go for bite to eat," she answered with a giggle.

"That danish not enough for you?"

"It was good, but all I've had to eat since yesterday was that and some measly airline food. I need to get a proper meal in me."

Candy looked up at the large clock face above the main entrance of the university. "We probably have time, but I don't know if I want to risk it. There's always a possibility that we could get lost, even with a map."

"Pfft, you're starting to sound like Fluttershy," Pinkie scoffed. "Besides, I can get pretty irritable on an empty stomach. You wouldn't like me when I'm irritable."

"This place's got to have a cafeteria, right?" Candy suggested. "If it's open, we can grab a quick bite there."

Pinkie gawked at Candy. "Seriously? We're in a foreign country and you want to settle for cafeteria food? Where's your sense of adventure? We gotta sample the local cuisine!"

Candy gave the other mare an irritated look. "Need I remind you that neither one of us know any Steedish. Finding a restaurant, let alone ordering a meal, might prove problematic."

Pinkie wrapped a hoof around Candy's neck and pulled her close, an eager grin on her face. "That's the idea. Going to a restaurant and not knowing what you're going to get. Will it be a pleasant surprise for your palate, or will it kill off all your taste buds? It's a thrilling game of chance!"

Candy groaned, unsure if that was appealing or not. Taking another look around, she once again took note of the large population of griffons within the city. "Is that really a good idea? Considering how many griffons seem to live here, I'd guess that most menus probably contain a sizable selection for carnivores. I wouldn't want to accidentally order something that used to, you know, breathe."

"Ugh!" Pinkie groaned loudly and threw her hooves up. "Come on, Candy. Do you actually think they'd let a pony order that kind of stuff? They probably have separate menus for that. Stop being such a worrywart."

"Alright, alright, let's just go," Candy finally conceded with a huff. "All this talk about food is making me even hungrier anyway. At this point, I just want to eat something, doesn't really matter what."

"Great!" Pinkie exclaimed, jumping up onto her hind legs and pointing toward the city. "Then let us embark on a quest for food with which to satisfy our rumbly tummies!"

***** ***** *****

Having aimlessly wandered the streets of Trotholm for the better part of thirty minutes—though making sure not to wander too far from the university—Candy Cane and Pinkie Pie happened upon what appeared to be a restaurant district, conveniently enough. At least, that's what they assumed it was. They took a shot at asking around for directions or any clues they could possibly decipher, but nopony or griffon they stopped on the street seemed to speak Ponish. It came down to simply picking a place that looked like they could afford and throwing caution to the wind in regards to the food they wound up with.

"This place seems alright," Candy said as she peered into the window of one restaurant.

Inside, the place was rather quaint looking and had a "down-home" kind of atmosphere, the kind of place that likely served local specialties in order to draw in tourists. It also wasn't too crowded, which meant they could probably get their meals in a timely manner and make it back in time for orientation. Nothing on the outside of the establishment gave them any additional information or even so much as confirming any speculation. What they assumed was a menu of today's specials written on a chalkboard in the window was completely illegible for the two foreigners, apart from the prices.

"The prices are reasonable," Candy elaborated. She analyzed the chalkboard more closely. "Well, I assume they are. I have no idea what this stuff is supposed to be." Candy heard the sound of something rattling and looked over to see Pinkie Pie sitting on the sidewalk and shaking a small, plastic cup, then poured out the contents onto the cement: a pair of dice. "What are you doing?"

"Making a choice," Pinkie answered simply, her eyes looking back and forth between the dice and the chalkboard. With a satisfied grin she pointed to one of the listed items known apparently as "pitepalt". "'Kay. I'm getting that one."

"You don't even know what that is." Candy raised an eyebrow momentarily. "Uh, do you?"

Pinkie shook her head, her smile persisting. "Nope."

The other mare rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. Let's just hurry up and get our orders in."

Upon opening the door, the pair of foreigners were met by the tinkling sound of an entrance bell and the voices of the other patrons engaging in idle conversation. The first thing that Pinkie noticed, however, was the rich, earthy aroma that enveloped the restaurant. The party pony inhaled deeply through her nostrils, the scent of cooked vegetables pleasantly caressing her olfactory receptors. She responded to the stimulation with a content sigh and a gurgle from her belly.

Picking out an empty table for two, Pinkie and Candy took their seats and used the time they had waiting for menus to take a look around. The place looked pretty old, with most everything, including the tables and chairs, clearly hoof-crafted and with fine craftsmanship to boot. The walls appeared to be decorated with framed photos of picturesque locations and landscapes around Steeden. It was probably a family-run business if a guess had to be made, and it felt pretty comfortable and welcoming.

A unicorn stallion dressed in black approached their table with a smile, passing the two mares a pair of menus. As Candy flipped hers open, the waiter asked them a question, but they could only respond with blank stares, having no clue what it was he was saying.

"Heh, sorry. We're not from around here. We don't speak Steedish," Candy said with an embarrassed chuckle as if he would have understood her any better.

His smile staying where it was, the waiter made a slight gesture to the two as if to apologize, then turned to grab the attention of a waitress across the room, requesting that she come over. Once the other server arrived at the table—her smile just as friendly—the stallion departed to tend to another table. Their new server was a unicorn mare with a bright red coat and well-styled, light purple mane tied in a braid. Her cutie mark was currently obscured by the skirt of her uniform, but her most eye-catching feature was her... well, eyes. The mascara and eyeliner she had applied made her vibrant, pink irises stand out, almost forming a central focal point on her body, drawing the eyes of others to hers.

"Good morning," she greeted in a soothing tone, accompanied by a slight, yet noticeable, Steedish accent.

A wave of relief washed over Candy as soon as she heard the waitress's voice. "Oh, you speak Ponish?"

The waitress nodded. "Ya. This place gets a lot of tourists. It is always good to have at least one staff member who can speak Ponish." She performed a quick curtsy. "My name is Sugar Cookie and I will be your waitress today."

"Hiya, Sugar Cookie!" Pinkie greeted rather loudly, eliciting some irritation from the other customers. "I'm Pinkie Pie and this my friend Candy Cane. Nice to meetcha."

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Pie," Sugar Cookie returned in a soft, comforting voice.

"To set the record straight," Candy interjected, "we're not tourists. We came all the way here because we're taking a course at the Steeden University of Culinary Arts."

Sugar Cookie's face became awash with pleasant surprise. "Is that right? Well, that is a coincidence. I, too, am to attend that school."

Pinkie gasped at this news. "You are?! That's awesome! We might be classmates! And if we're gonna be classmates, we gotta be friends, too! Let's be friends!"

Sugar Cookie giggled at Pinkie's display of enthusiasm. "My my, you move quickly. But what kind of pony would I be to turn down a generous offer like that from such a nice, young mare?"

Pinkie clapped giddily at her answer.

"Ya know, to be honest, it would be pretty nice to have a friend who knows the area," Candy admitted. "It would help remove that whole 'fish-out-of-water' feeling." A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Wait, if you're going to the university, too, then what are you doing working here? Are you going to be able to make it to the orientation?"

"This is a part-time job," Sugar Cookie answered. "My shift is over in thirty minutes. I have plenty of time. I took this job to help pay my way through school. It is not much, but I can get by."

"Must be tough having to balance school and work like that," Candy commented. "My dad just saved up a bunch of money since I was born to help pay for my education."

"And I always put a few bits from my paycheck aside for the same reason," Pinkie added. "Little amounts really add up over time."

Sugar Cookie smiled fondly at Pinkie. "You seem very smart, Miss Pie."

The party pony waved a hoof and scoffed. "Oh, come on. Drop the formalities. We're friends. You can call me Pinkie. And you can call her Candy," she said, pointing across the table. "And we'll call you... Uh, do you prefer 'Sugar' or 'Cookie'?"

With a soft smile, she responded, "For you, Pinkie, either one will do."

Pinkie smiled at the prospect. "Oooo, choices. Maybe I'll call you 'Sugar' on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and 'Cookie' on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. And alternate between the two every Sunday. So today's Friday, that means today I'll call you 'Sugar.' That sound good?"

"Sounds great," Sugar replied with a giggle. "But as much as I have been enjoying our chat, I suppose I do have a job to do. So, can I take your orders?"

"Oh, right!" Pinkie blurted as she flipped open her menu. After scanning through it for a moment, she pointed to one particular item. "That's the one I want. The, um... pit-a-palt." She pursed her lips, starting to second guess whether or not it was really worth it to order something completely random. "So, uh... what is that anyway?"

"Pitepalt is simply boiled potatoes with barley flour and served with butter and lingonberry jam. It's one of the specialties here," Sugar happily answered.

"'Lingonberry jam?' What's that?" Candy asked curiously.

Sugar shrugged at the question. "Exactly as it sounds: jam made from lingonberries. They grow in abundance around here."

"Oooo." Suddenly, Pinkie's interest was piqued once more, her worries successfully quelled.

"That actually sounds pretty tasty," Candy admitted. "I'll have some of that too."

Sugar jotted their order onto a notepad and left to deliver it to the chefs. Some time later, she returned with their meals, each plate adorned with two potato balls coated in barley flour with a dollop of bright crimson jam on the side and a small plate of butter, accompanied by two glasses of milk. Even if the serving size wasn't too impressive, when they began digging in, they couldn't deny the distinct, local flavor. And if that weren't enough, Sugar surprised them after their meal by delivering dessert, courtesy of herself. She referred to it as "A gift to celebrate their new friendship." Their "gift" came in the form of what she called "ostkaka"; slices of firm Steedish cheesecake topped with fruit, ice cream, and more lingonberry jam. If this dessert was any indication of the stuff they'd be making at the university, they were in for a treat.

With their bellies full, Candy and Pinkie graciously said goodbye to Sugar—though they knew they would see her again pretty soon—and decided to make their way back to the school campus and wait out the remaining time there. There was still about a half an hour until orientation started, but the doors of the university were already open, giving the students a chance to take a look around while they waited. The pair of foreigners figured they should capitalize on the opportunity.

Passing through the grand, oak double doors of the university's entrance, the two found themselves within a rather plain-looking lobby. There wasn't really anything too interesting about it really. Opposite the door was a desk where a receptionist was sitting and busily leafing through some papers, and there were a few potted plants here and there, but overall it wasn't as elegant or majestic as either of them had envisioned, especially given the posh design of the building's exterior. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the lobby was the large painting just above the receptionist's desk depicting a mustachioed stallion wearing a chef's uniform, presumably the founder of the university.

Moving further into the building, Pinkie and Candy wandered down one of the school's corridors. To their left were tall windows looking out towards the beautiful courtyard, and to the right were doors leading to various classrooms. Pinkie curiously stuck her head into one of the doors. To her confusion, she saw not what she expected—which was large kitchens where many students could learn to cook. Instead she was looking at what appeared to be an ordinary classroom; just a blackboard, a teacher's desk, and many desks for students.

"Huh. This doesn't really look like a cooking school," Pinkie pointed out. "Are we in the right place? Did we accidentally go to a school that just so happens to look exactly like the Steeden University of Culinary Arts?"

"I don't think so," Candy replied from further down the hall. She was peering into a separate room.

Pinkie trotted over to have a peek for herself. Sure enough, this room was exactly what she had been expecting: a large kitchen with several ovens lining the walls and long tables for the students to do their prep work. Everything was state-of-the-art too. Pinkie walked into the room and toward one of the ovens, looking it over with awe.

"Whoa, a Burn Master," she breathed in disbelief. "These are, like, the best ovens in the world. Stainless steel, dual racks, digital timer, and, oh, baby, look at those induction burners." Pinkie began running her hooves along the edges, taking in its glory like an obsessed fangirl.

"I take it you know a lot about this stuff," Candy inferred.

"For a while I was considering dipping into my college money to buy one of these beasts for Sugarcube Corner. Just look at it!" Pinkie wrapped a hoof around Candy's shoulders, staring at the range and basking in its majesty. "Isn't that just the sexiest thing you've ever laid your peepers on?"

"Uh, sure," Candy muttered, admittedly finding Pinkie's current mood a touch creepy. "But maybe we shouldn't be messing around with it, you know? We could get in serious trouble if we broke something."

"You're probably right," Pinkie agreed as she turned for the door. "We've got more exploring to do anyway. Gotta see everything before orientation." Candy made to join her, and just as Pinkie was about to shut the door, she hesitated and peered back at the ovens once more, biting her lip and whispering, "Soon, my sweet."

Exploring further down the hall, the pair began to hear a commotion coming from up ahead. Soon enough, they came upon the doors to the student lounge where a large group of curious students like themselves had gathered and were waiting. The room essentially looked like a very large living room, with several couches, some bookshelves with a plethora of reading material, and there was even a small dining area with tables and a café where they could sit and have breakfast in the mornings or a light snack during the day. Anypony could tell that this was where students would be spending most of their free time if not out exploring the city. The room was fairly crowded even now, with ponies and griffons and zebras casually loitering and chatting.

With a smile, Pinkie hopped onto one of the couches, plopping herself down between a male griffon and a stallion that were conversing. She contentedly leaned back, draping her forelegs against the back of the couch and behind the two males whose conversation she had intruded upon, completely oblivious to how awkward and uncomfortable she was making them.

"Now, this is more like it," Pinkie said to Candy as if there weren't two sets of eyes glaring daggers at her from both sides. "For a while I was thinkin' this school would be all stuck up and formal, but this place is pretty cozy."

Seeing no sign that the obnoxious mare was going to return them to their privacy, the frustrated males stood up and left her sitting alone. Pinkie just sat there, still smiling as if she hadn't even noticed they were there in the first place. Candy took the opportunity to sit next to her. Pinkie glanced around the room, mentally sizing up its dimensions.

"Ya know, this room is pretty big. I could see us throwing some killer parties in here."

"In all seriousness, Pinkie, we're not here to throw parties. We're here to learn," Candy reminded her. "We could get in a lot of trouble if we just started throwing random parties."

"Random parties are the best parties," Pinkie said with a slight pout. "And 'impromptu' is one of my favorite words. Besides, parties are a great way to put your baking skills to the test. Cuz what's a good party without tasty snack cakes?"

Candy shrugged in response. "Hey, if you can get permission from the faculty, then I'm all for it."

Pinkie threw her head back in annoyance. "Ugh. You can be a real buzz kill sometimes, you know that?"

"Hey, I'm not getting kicked out of college just because of my association with you."

"Pfft. We're not gonna get kicked out," Pinkie scoffed. She let out a resigned sigh. "But if it makes you feel any better, I'll try to tone it down a bit, 'kay?"

Satisfied that she had pacified her friend's party muscle, Candy smiled. "That's all I'm asking. I do want to have fun while I'm here. I just don't want that fun to ruin our experience here, you know what I mean?"

Pinkie waved a hoof dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, I getcha."

The voice of an older woman suddenly filled the student lounge, echoing through a speaker in the wall and grabbing the attention of everyone present. "Your attention please. Orientation is about to begin. All students entering their second term are asked to report to Lecture Hall A immediately. All students enrolling in the advanced program, report to Lecture Hall B." The voice repeated her message several more times in other languages and the students made their way back into the hall to seek out the lecture halls, with Pinkie and Candy looking for Lecture Hall B.

It didn't take long to find the room in question. Many of the students already seemed to know where it was since they were given time to look around. Pinkie and Candy simply had to follow the crowd and check the plate on the door to ensure it was the right room. The lecture hall was by far the largest room they'd seen yet. All of the seats where the students were beginning to sit down were placed upon a pitched floor; the further back one sat, the higher up they would be, giving everyone a clear view of whomever was speaking at the bottom. There was enough space here for perhaps a couple hundred individuals, although it didn't appear that there were nearly that many present. The room itself was pretty much barren, with no real discernible features other than the many desks and the large, oak desk and blackboard that spanned almost the entire wall down in front where the speaker would be. Speaking of which, no instructor seemed to be present at the moment as the desk was empty and everyone else were students trying to find seats.

Pinkie scanned the whole room as she tried to decide where to sit. She paused momentarily as her line of sight met with a pair of pink eyes staring back at her, outlined by heavy mascara and eyeliner that made them clearly visible, even though she was sitting halfway up the enormous lecture hall. Sugar Cookie beckoned silently to Pinkie with her soft, inviting smile and Pinkie returned it gleefully. She tugged Candy's foreleg, pointing out Sugar, and dragged her up the steps, the pair seating themselves next to Sugar Cookie.

"Fancy meeting you here," Sugar joked with a light chuckle. Pinkie responded with a giggle of her own, excited to be spending time with a new friend. Now that she was out of uniform, Pinkie Pie could clearly see the image of a heart-shaped cookie with pink frosting that was her cutie mark.

"So any idea what exactly is going to happen here?" Candy asked.

Sugar simply shrugged. "Not really. I suppose we will just be given a brief outline of the course and what to expect throughout the year."

"Yeah, you know, get us orientated," Pinkie chirped with unusual sass. "I mean, it's an orientation, so duh."

Candy rolled her eyes and ignored her friend's quip. "What about the instructor? We didn't seem to run into any of the faculty when we were looking around."

Once again, Sugar replied with an uninformed shrug.

"I heard the staff are all vorld-reknowed chefs from all sorts of countries," came a voice from behind the three mares with a distinct Germane accent. Turning around, they were looking at a rather short, portly, earth pony mare with a tan coat and a blonde mane tied into short pig tails. Upon seeing the odd looks on their faces, the mare quickly shrunk back. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. I vas just answering your question since you didn't seem to know."

"That's okay," chirped Pinkie Pie. "And thank—"

"Per'aps zee little piggy should learn to keep 'er snout out of ozer people's business, non?" the female griffon sitting next to the short mare remarked. The griffon was eyeing the mare condescendingly with her piercing, golden eyes as she flicked the normally white feathers of her bangs with a claw, though the tips of the feathers appeared to be dyed black and red. Her black tail—matching the rest of the fur on her body—swished next to her, almost swatting the Germane mare. The mare shrunk back even more at the insensitive griffon's comment.

"Hey, it's not nice to call other people names!" Pinkie snapped.

The griffon simply sighed, leaning her head against her talons indifferently. "Why don't you turn around and mind your own business as well, hm? Some of us are 'ere to learn, not make friends."

"Well, I'm here to do both." Pinkie was about to stand up to confront the griffon, but was stopped by Candy's hoof on her shoulder.

"Pinkie, don't go getting into a fight already. It's our first day here. Just let it go, okay?" she whispered.

"I'm not gonna fight anypony—er, griffon. I'm just trying to stand up for the little pony."

"You may want to put that on hold," Sugar interrupted, pointing to the door as it was opening. "I think the orientation is starting."

Pinkie cast one last, glare to the mean griffon and reluctantly sat in her seat and faced forward. The griffon simply responded with a haughty "Hmph."

All of the chatting students fell silent and took their seats immediately once the supposed instructor stepped into the room. The instant Pinkie Pie got a look at him, though, her eyes flew wide and her mouth dropped open with a barely restrained gasp. Waltzing into the room with a confident gait was a griffon, his feathers off-white and his coat a dark, smokey grey. Around his neck he wore a red kerchief, and upon his head a ruffled, white chef's hat. But by far his most distinguishable trait was the long, thin mustache sprouting from his beak. The griffon stood before the room full of aspiring pastry chefs, his eyes closed as he cleared his throat and his claw placed against his chest as he prepared to speak.

"Bonjour, students. Je m'appelle—"

"Gustaaaaave!"

The griffon's eyes shot wide open and bloodshot at the sound of the loud, shrill, and frighteningly familiar voice that called out from somewhere in the room. Hesitantly, and perhaps against his better judgment, he allowed his eyes, as well as those of every other student present, to trace the voice to its source, ultimately to find that his suspicions were confirmed. Standing from her seat with a massive, toothy grin and flailing her hoof in the air to get his attention, as if her voice were not enough, was a pink, poofy-maned, earth pony mare. The griffon's eye twitched.

With a shake of his head, he laboriously attempted to ignore the familiar mare for the time being and continue with what he had come here to do. Once more, he cleared his throat, more loudly this time. "As I was saying," he started, prompting Pinkie Pie to take her seat again, who saw that she was being ignored. "Je m'appelle Gustave le Grand," he introduced with a flourish of his claw. "And I will be your 'ead chef for zee duration of zis course. As such, I 'ave made it mon objectif to mold you all into zee best of zee best."

Gustave paused for a moment, looking over the crowd of students. His beak curled into a somewhat disappointed frown, as if he had been expecting applause at his proclamation. He continued regardless. "Zat being said, I can guarantee zat only approximately 'alf of you will make it past zee first two weeks." He observed the uncertain expressions his words had elicited, taking no sadistic joy in their reaction. "And zat is not because I do not 'ave faith in you, it is because some of you may be in over vous tête. Zis is somezing I 'ave 'ad zee displeasure of seeing 'appen before; aspiring pastry chefs jumping straight into zee advanced courses because zey 'ave désabuse—disillusions—about zeir skills."

Gustave began to pace across the classroom as he continued. "'Aving applied for zis course, I will assume zat you all know zee basics of zee art of baking and will teach you as such. Zee first week will déterminer whezer or not you are ready to be 'ere and become a master baker."

The silence that had permeated the rows of students was suddenly broken by the stifled giggles of a certain pink pony. Looking around, Pinkie quickly noticed that she was the only one laughing and promptly quieted herself, straightening her face once more. Gustave simply raised an eyebrow in both confusion and mild irritation before clearing his throat and continuing.

"Our first class is Monday morning. Zat is when your skills will be put to zee test. Until zen, you 'ave zee weekend to familiarize yourselves wiz zee school and its facilities. I would suggest you use zee remainder of your time today to pick up your textbooks and schedules at zee student lounge and go to zee front desk to receive your room assignments if you 'ave not already done so. Rejeté—you are dismissed."

The group of students all began to stand up and make their way out the door, some of them heading to the student lounge for books, others to the lobby for the keys to their dormitories. Gustave himself gave a curt bow to his students before sitting down at his desk, sifting through his curriculum for the first week of classes. Glancing up briefly, he noticed that the pink earth pony from earlier had stood up, but was not moving and had the same toothy grin plastered on her bright-eyed face. Whenever a student would obstruct his line of sight with the mare, she seemed to appeared closer once he could see her again. Bit by bit, she warped ever closer to his desk, her goofy expression never shifting, until the crowd had finally thinned out and she was standing right at his desk, grinning widely.

Gustave let out a defeated groan; may as well get this over with, he thought. "Bonjour, Pinkie Pie," he greeted with monotony, though smiled slightly as well.

"Hiya, Gustave!" Pinkie shouted back, perhaps a little louder than was necessary for their proximity. "Wowzas, who'd a thought you of all people would be my teacher at this school?"

Gustave couldn't help but grin as well. "'Oo would 'ave zought you would be mon êtudiant?"

Pinkie giggled gleefully. "That's what you'd call a 'coinkey-dink,'"

"I suppose some people would," Gustave muttered under his breath. "But, more to zee point, what are you doing 'ere, Miss Pie? Are you not 'appy wiz your job at... what was it called? Sugarcube Corner?"

"Course I am. I looooove working at Sugarcube Corner."

"Zen why would you have need of zis course if you are satisfied by your current occupation?"

Pinkie Pie thumped her hoof against her chest proudly, her expression showing devote seriousness. "Because it has always been a dream of mine to become, as you put it, a 'master baker,'" She lost a little of her composure at the end, barely forcing back her laughter.

Gustave nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see. It is a matter of personal pride, is it? Zat is quite admirable."

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. However, she suddenly spoke with some worry in her voice. "So... what you said before about only half of the students making it. Do you think I have what it takes?"

Gustave clasped his claws together, closing his eyes in thought. "I suppose we will just 'ave to see. But, from personal expérience, I can say wiz beacoup confiance zat you 'ave natural talent in zee art of baking. I 'ave witnessed zis first claw."

Pinkie shuffled her hooves modestly. "Well, the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness was actually made by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. I mean, I helped of course, but it was their project."

Gustave shook his head. "Non, I am referring to zee way you combined our desserts togezer, forming an absolue chef-d'œuvre—a masterpiece. Zough I could 'ave done wizout all of zee shenanigans zat took place."

"You really think I have potential, Gustave?" Pinkie asked with pleading eyes.

The griffon nodded and rose from his seat, walking Pinkie toward the door. "Oui. 'Owever, from zis point on, you and your classmates must refer to me as 'Chef le Grand.' Do zat, and I will 'elp you become a master baker."

Once again, Pinkie stifled a giggle as they approached the door. "Snrk! Right, you got it, Chef le Grand! I won't disappoint you! Hehe!"

The griffon raised an eyebrow. "What in Equestria is so funny?"

"Nothin'. See you Monday!" With that, Pinkie slipped out the door and into the hall, leaving Gustave to sigh as he anticipated the coming headaches that this year promised.

The school's halls were now much more packed with students than they had been earlier, most of them trying to either find their way to where they could pick up their textbooks, heading to the lobby for their dorm keys or the dorms themselves, or had already done all that and were just having a look around, getting a feel for their new environment.

Once Pinkie exited the lecture hall, she was immediately greeted by Candy, who had been waiting for her. "Oh, there you are. I was starting to wonder if you wandered off without me. What were you still doing in there?"

With a smile, Pinkie responded, "Just catching up with Gustave—er, Chef le Grand."

Candy tilted her head curiously. "You know him?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yup. We met once when we were both going to the National Dessert Competition in Canterlot. He was entering his world-famous éclairs, and I was representing Mr. and Mrs. Cake and their Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness. Long story short: everypony won!"

"Wow. It's pretty cool that you actually know our instructor. Who knows, maybe that'll give you a leg up," Candy joked.

"Ahem."

A voice from behind them diverted the two ponies from their conversation. Standing there with a rather condescending gaze was the same griffon that Pinkie Pie had had the unpleasant exchange with earlier.

"Oh, it's you," Candy acknowledged flatly.

"Looking for trouble?" Pinkie asked with a crack of her neck. "Cuz you found it."

Candy rolled her eyes. "Would you stop?" She turned to the griffon. "Look, don't mind her. She's excitable."

The griffon didn't even bat an eye. "Hmph. I was simply curious as to what it was zat you were discussing wiz mon père."

Pinkie tilted her head. "Your 'pear?' I don't see any fruit anywhere?"

The griffon shook her head. "Non, not 'pear.' Mon papa."

"You're father?" Candy repeated. Her eyes widened slightly as she made the connection. "Wait, you mean Chef le Grand? He's your dad?!"

The griffon grinned proudly. "Oui. Je m'appelle Gwenivere le Grand. Zee pleasure is all yours."

"Ooooooh," Pinkie expressed in realization. "Ya know, I thought that fancy, Prench accent sounded familiar. It all makes sense now."

"Yeah, because only two griffons in the whole world have Prench accents," Candy said sarcastically.

Gwenivere glared at Pinkie, irritation showing in her features. "You 'ave not answered my question: why were you talking wiz mon père?"

Pinkie snapped back to attention. "Oh, right. It's because I know your dad."

"Why would mon papa associate wiz a nopony like you?"

Pinkie shrugged indifferently. "I dunno. We were on the same train, heading to the same place for the same reason. He's a nice guy once you get past his big ego."

Gwenivere's eyes narrowed. "Pardon moi?"

Candy, seeing the look in the griffon's eyes, glanced worriedly at Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie, maybe you should take that back."

The party pony raised an eyebrow. "Why? I'm just telling it like I see it. He went on and on about how his éclairs were, like, the best thing since sliced bread. And sliced bread is pretty sweet, let me tell you."

"It is not egotistical if it is zee truth," Gwenivere interjected. "Papa is zee best pastry chef in zee world and, as such, I am to follow in 'is paw prints. You can never 'ope to surpass my skill in zee art of baking."

"I never said I did," Pinkie replied with an innocent smile. "I'm here to be the best that I can be, not the best that you can be. It's not a competition."

Gwenivere paused, seemingly mulling something over. "Per'aps not, but do not zink zat you can coast through zis course by buttering up mon papa. You do not deserve 'is charity. See you Monday, little ponies."

The haughty griffon strolled past them and disappeared further down the hall. Candy grimaced at the whole exchange. "Did it seem like she was being a jerk for no reason?"

Pinkie shrugged. "Maybe it's a Prench thing. I dunno, I kinda like her."

Candy stared, befuddled by that statement. "What? She did nothing but talk down to you. Why would you like her?"

Pinkie glanced back, an odd smile on her face as if plotting something. "I like a challenge."

The other mare blinked uncomprehendingly. "A... challenge? Weren't you the one who said this wasn't a competition?"

She shook her head. "That's not what I mean. Anyway, we gotta stop wasting time and get our books and our keys. I wanna get in as much exploring around this place as I can before Monday."

Pinkie galloped ahead, leaving Candy behind. "Uh, Pinkie? The lobby's the other way."

***** ***** *****

Several students roamed the upper floors of the university where the dormitories were situated. The halls had a similar feel to that of a high class hotel, with plush, red carpeting spanning their entire length and ornate lamps hanging from the walls to illuminate the area. Many of the students wandering around were busy searching for their assigned rooms, amongst them two pink earth ponies burdened by their luggage.

Pinkie Pie stared begrudgingly at her key as she and Candy Cane arrived on the second floor of the building. She hadn't taken her eyes off of it—or rather, the tag that was attached to it—since they each picked theirs up from the receptionist at the lobby. Engraved upon the tag on Pinkie's key was "2-C"; her room number. However, it wasn't her number per se that was the source of her ire, but Candy's, which read "2-H."

Candy Cane, seeing the distress upon her friend's features, placed a hoof comfortingly upon her shoulder. "Come on, Pinkie, it's not that big a deal."

"It's a super big deal!" Pinkie whined. "We were supposed to be roomies! What am I gonna do now?!"

Candy sighed with a slight smile at the other mare's overreaction to the situation. "Calm down. It's not like we're living on opposite sides of the building or separate floors or anything. I'm right down the hall." She pointed down to the fourth door on the right. This didn't seem to quell Pinkie's worries though, as the normally optimistic pony stuck out her bottom lip in an exaggerated pout, her eyes already beginning to well up at the thought of them being separated.

Candy tapped her chin in thought for a moment, grinning as an idea came to her. "Think about it this way: if we live in separate rooms, that means we each get our own roommate, A.K.A. a new friend." Pinkie suddenly perked up, her ears standing to attention. "Then I can introduce you to my roomie, you can introduce me to yours, and we can introduce them to each other to a create an even bigger circle of friends. How's that sound?"

Pinkie's eyes widened at the prospect, her pupils twinkling. She bolted to her dorm—the second on the left—unlocked the door, and swung it open. "OkayIgottagomeetmyroommatenowbye!" The door slammed loudly behind her as she disappeared behind it.

Candy chuckled to herself and casually made her way to her own dorm.

After slamming the door shut behind her, Pinkie Pie threw down her bags, then gazed at the dorm, her jaw dropping in disbelief. If the halls were like those of a high-end hotel, then the rooms were luxury suites. In front of her was a posh living room, with a large, comfy-looking sofa seated in front of a rectangular, glass coffee table and a large, flat-screen television on the wall. There were several end tables near the couch and door with either reading lamps or potted plants placed upon them. The far wall was practically just a big window that overlooked the garden in front of the university, providing a breathtaking view.

To the right of the door was a chest-high partition jutting out from the far wall and extending almost the whole length of the living room. Through the gap that was left was the dorm's kitchen, which quickly sparked Pinkie's interest. There, a dining table was set up with four chairs, all clearly expertly hoof-carved and painted jet-black. But, more important were the kitchen appliances. Pinkie was practically chomping at the bit when she saw what the school had given her to work with in her spare time. An enormous, stainless-steel, double-door refrigerator; a high-performance microwave; a deluxe mixer; only the most state-of-the-art equipment an aspiring pastry chef like her could want. The pièce de résistance though, was the oven: the same model of Burn Master that Pinkie had been drooling over earlier.

At first the place made her feel more like she was on vacation than at school, but now it felt like heaven. She could only imagine how expensive it must have been to get all of this for every dorm in the school. It spoke volumes of the university's reputation as the best culinary school in the world.

Still though, her silent tour was not over. Past the kitchen was the bedroom, which, admittedly, was perhaps not as luxurious as the rest of the dorm. It was homey and comfortable, but lacking any real flair and occupied only by a pair of double beds and some side tables. Pinkie hopped into the air and belly-flopped onto one of the beds to test it. She landed with a fwump and slowly began to sink a few inches into it. She sighed contentedly.

"Yup, this'll do nicely."

Turning her head to her right, Pinkie noticed an open door leading into a bathroom. Not wanting to get up from the cozy embrace of the mattress, she simply looked it over from her current vantage point. Again, like the bedroom, it wasn't anything to write home about outside of the glaring, well-polished whiteness of... well, everything in there. A toilet; a sink; a shower. That was pretty much it, but that's all she needed really.

Pinkie Pie was suddenly distracted by the sound of the door to the dormitory opening. Curious, she sprang from the bed and cantered back to the living room. To her surprise, closing the door as she entered was the same portly mare with pigtails that Gwenivere had insulted back in the lecture hall. Now that Pinkie saw her standing up, she had a clear view of her cutie mark, which appeared to be a powdered, jelly-filled donut. The mare placed her bags on the floor and looked upon the dorm with the same awestruck expression that Pinkie had used a few minutes earlier. Her head turned toward the kitchen, only now noticing that she wasn't alone.

"Oh, I didn't see you there," she said, somewhat soft-spoken. After a moment, the mare recognized the pink pony. "Aren't you the mare I vas talking to earlier?"

With a smile, Pinkie chirped, "Yep. Fancy meeting you here." A sudden gasp escaped her lips. "Wait, does this mean you're my roomie?"

"This is 2-C, ya?" she asked, Pinkie affirming with a quick nod. "Then I guess so."

"Cool!" squealed Pinkie. "I can tell we're gonna be super good friends."

The Germane mare's lips curled into a small smile, her round cheeks dimpling. "Sounds like fun. You seem nice... um..."

Pinkie gasped again in realization. "Oh yeah! Duh. If we're gonna be friends, we gotta introduce ourselves. My name's Pinkie Pie!"

"It's nice to meet you, Pinkie Pie. Mein name is Poof."

"Poof? Well, it's nice to meet you, too, Poof."

The other mare seemed confused. "Nein, not 'Poof', Poof."

"That's what I said. Poof."

The Germane mare shook her head in mild frustration. "Nein, nein. Mein name is Poof. Poof Pastry."

Pinkie stared blankly for a moment before finally making sense of their exchange. "Oooooh, Puff Pastry." She giggled with slight embarrassment. "Heh, sorry about that. Guess your accent kinda threw me off."

Puff Pastry waved a hoof. "It's fine. Anyway, you can call me Poof."

Pinkie tilted her head in puzzlement. "But... I thought you just said—"

"Puff!" she interrupted, straining to suppress her accent to get the pronunciation across. "Call me... Puff."

"Alright-y then, Puff. Then you can call me Pinkie. Or Pinks. Or Pinkerton. Or Pinkie Pinkie Bo Binky. Or—"

"Can I just stick vith 'Pinkie'?"

"Hm? Oh, sure, if you want. Anywhozits, now that we've met, I gotta introduce you to my friend Candy! Her room's just down the hall. If you're gonna roll with me, you gotta roll with mah friends."

"Oh," Puff uttered, showing mild disappointment as she glanced around the apartment. "I vas kind of hoping to look around at the dorm first."

Pinkie placed a hoof on Puff's shoulder and turned her toward the door. "Pshaw. You got a whole year to look at this place—F.Y.I.: it's pretty sweet—but we need to make as many friends as possible while we're here to maximize our fun capacitors."

"Our vhat?"

"To Candy's!"

Pinkie Pie hastily dragged a reluctant Puff out into the hall and straight down to room 2-H, Candy's room. With an eager grin, she formed a short beat upon the door with her knocking. After a moment, the door was opened by the very mare they sought. At first, Candy seemed as if she was bothered by something, but put on a smile when she saw Pinkie's beaming face.

"Hey, there you are. It's been almost ten minutes. I was starting to wonder if something was wrong," Candy joked. She then took notice of the other mare standing beside her, immediately recognizing her. "Oh, it's you." Her tone sounded both pleasantly surprised, yet oddly concerned.

Pinkie nodded. "Yup! Candy, this is Puff Pastry, my new roomie!"

Puff smiled and gave a weak wave. "Guten tag."

Pinkie then turned to Puff. "And this is my friend Candy Cane."

"It's nice to meet you," Candy greeted.

Before Candy or Puff could say anything more, Pinkie continued. "Okay, now you've met my roommate. So it's time for me to meet yours! Are they here?"

Candy's smile faded and she rubbed the back of her head, glancing worriedly at Puff. "Well, see, about that..."

"And what do we 'ave 'ere?"

Puff's smile immediately vanished at the sound of the familiar, condescending, Prench accent. Sure enough, stepping into view behind Candy was Gwenivere le Grand, a haughty grin on her beak.

Candy let out a sigh, looking remorsefully at Pinkie. "Sorry."

The party pony, however, seemed undeterred by the griffon's presence. In fact, she looked pleasantly surprised. "Hiya, Gwen! Wow, this day is just full of coinkey-dinks, huh?"

Gwenivere's smirk faltered for a moment at Pinkie's unauthorized use of a nickname, but decided to let it go, looking instead at the pudgy mare standing next to her. "So zey put zee two of you in a room togezer, hm?" She chuckled, looking at Pinkie. "Better be careful. Zee little piggy might clean out your fridge."

Candy watched Puff hang her head down slightly and turn away. She rolled her eyes at her roommate's attitude.

"Actually, you might not be able to tell just looking at me, but I can really pack away the snacks, too," Pinkie argued.

Gwenivere simply grinned. "Zen I fear for you boz."

Candy simply shook her head. "Sorry, Pinkie. Maybe now's not a good time for introductions. Besides, we have unpacking to do, right?"

Pinkie blinked. "Huh? But we were supposed to complete our big circle of friends. That's what you said."

"Yeah, but that was before I found out who my roommate was," Candy said, casting a glare at the griffon. "Face it, it's a lost cause."

Pinkie Pie looked Gwenivere in the eyes. The griffon seemed confused to see the pink pony smile at her. "Nah. I'm sure we'll be great friends."

Gwenivere scoffed at the notion. "Hmph. As if. I may 'ave to tolerate 'er," she said, pointing at Candy, "but I 'ave no intention of being friends wiz a poofy, pink bubble and a little piglet." With a flick of her tail, she turned her back to the door and walked back into the apartment and out of sight.

Candy gave Pinkie a look, suggesting that she rethink her goals. Pinkie just continued to smile and shrugged. "She'll come around."

Once again, Candy sighed. "Just don't get your hopes up. And sorry about all the stuff she said and probably will say in the future, Puff. If it's any consolation, I'd still like to be your friend."

Puff smiled gratefully. "Thank you. Actually, I don't care that she makes fun of my veight. It's her attitude that bothers me."

Candy laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, tell me about. At least you don't have to live with her for the next year."

The two earth ponies shared a laugh together, prompting a big smile from Pinkie Pie to see them hitting it off so well. "Great! So I guess we should go unpack our stuff. Plus, I wanna write a letter to my friends back home and tell them all about my first day in Steeden."

"Alright. So I'll see you tomorrow then?" Candy asked with a grin.

"Yep! See ya!"

With that, Pinkie and Puff returned to their room to unpack their belongings and make themselves at home. After finishing up her letter to her friends, Pinkie flopped down in bed and curled up under the sheets, eager to dive head first into everything that this country and this school offered.

Author's Note

I apologize in advance if anything written in something other than English is incorrect. Feel free to correct me if you notice something wrong.

Chapter 3 - May the Best Flan Win

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 3: May the Best Flan Win

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The pink mare's blue eyes slowly creaked open, bloodshot and dull. The early morning rays of the sun effortlessly penetrated the curtains of the bedroom window. Luckily, her back was turned and her eyes were able to avoid the ultraviolet assault, also partially protected by her limp and deflated mane. Against her better judgment, Pinkie Pie rolled over to check the clock on the end table between her bed and her still-sleeping roommate's. Seven o' clock, as she expected. Despite her normally perky and optimistic personality, Pinkie, like many ponies, despised Monday morning like a plague.

With a reluctant groan, Pinkie Pie allowed herself to slither out of bed and onto the floor. She lay there on her stomach for a moment, staring through tired eyes at the bedroom door. It may as well have been a mile away. She began to squirm her way towards it like a lazy caterpillar, barely mustering up enough energy to reach up and turn the knob. She continued to slink out into the kitchen, stopping in front of the counter. Reaching up, she tapped her hoof around on the counter top until she found what she was looking for: the coffee maker. She clicked the machine on and lay motionless on the cold, tile floor while her beverage was brewing.

As soon as she heard the machine stop, she let out another groan and rose laboriously to her hooves, placing one hoof on the counter to prevent herself from getting any more personal with the floor than she already was. She reached up to the cupboard above and pulled out a coffee mug, one that she had brought from home, custom made with a picture of her and her friends on the side. She poured some of the black brew into the mug, then reached for the sugar bowl. Pinkie pulled a spoon out of a drawer and stared at it for a moment. She could see the upside-down reflection of her tired, bloodshot eyes in its well-polished steel. She set the spoon down and instead picked up the sugar bowl, pouring the entirety of its contents into her coffee. She then gingerly stirred it with the spoon, added some cream, then stirred some more. She inhaled deeply through her nose, allowing the strong scent and heat of the coffee to permeate her nostrils. Pinkie placed her lips on the rim and took a tiny sip. She paused as she let the brew dribble into her stomach, then shot the rest down her throat in one gulp.

She stood motionless for several seconds, allowing the coffee to settle in her belly. Her body suddenly began to vibrate, twitch, and rumble before her mane sprang out into its usual puffy style, her eyes shooting wide open and awake, and a big grin stretching across her face.

"Ahhh, nothin' like a good cup o' Joe first thing in the morning to get the ol' bod percolatin'."

With new-found energy, Pinkie Pie popped a couple of slices of bread into the toaster for breakfast. She was alerted to the presence of her roommate waking up by the sound of muffled hoofsteps on the carpeted bedroom floor. Puff Pastry stepped out into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Morning~" Pinkie chirped cheerily. Out of consideration for her new friend, she dropped two more slices of toast into the four-slot toaster.

"Good morning," Puff returned with much less energy.

"Want some coffee?"

Puff smiled weakly and nodded. "Ya. Thank you."

"Sugar?"

The sleepy mare shook her head. "Nein."

Pinkie tilted her head. "Nine? Wow, and I thought I was the only one who went overboard."

"Nein means 'no,'" Puff corrected. "I like mein coffee black und bitter."

"Oh," Pinkie giggled. "It's just as well anyway; I think we're out of sugar." She looked into the empty sugar bowl to confirm that theory, then passed a mug of dark brew to Puff.

Their toast popped up and they each applied their preferred spread, Pinkie going with blueberry jam, while Puff opted for peanut butter. The pair then took their simple breakfasts into the living room where they sat on the couch and Pinkie Pie turned on the television, flicking the channel over to some foreign cartoon she'd never heard of; it was colorful and lively though, and that's all she cared about.

After taking a bite of her toast, Pinkie glanced over at Puff who still seemed pretty sleepy. "Not a morning person, huh?"

Puff simply shrugged. "It's just been a vhile since I've graduated high school. I've gotten used to sleeping in."

Pinkie nodded in understanding. "I can understand that. Personally, I don't like to sleep in. It's wasted daylight hours that could be spent doing something fun and exciting. But to each their own I guess." She took another bite of her breakfast.

"So," Pinkie started again. "First day of classes. You excited as me?"

Puff smiled, some of the tiredness dissipating from her eyes. "Ya. But I guess 'nervous' might be more appropriate."

Pinkie waved a hoof dismissively. "Aw, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. As long as you've got confidence in your skills, you'll be fine. You're a good baker, right?"

Puff turned away and grinned modestly. "I like to think so. Mein family always enjoyed mein baking."

"Mine too!" Pinkie chirped. "It's always most fun to bake stuff for your friends and family, isn't it?"

Puff's smiled faded, looking uncertain. "I... suppose."

"Right!" Pinkie tossed the last bite of toast into her mouth and hopped off the couch. "Hey, once we get cleaned up and everything, wanna go visit Candy before class starts? Then we can all go to class together!"

Her smile returning, Puff replied, "Ya."

Having showered, brushed their teeth, and anything else they needed to do, Pinkie Pie and Puff Pastry trotted out into the hall. But as they were about to walk to Candy's room, the door across the hall from theirs opened and revealed another familiar face: Sugar Cookie. The unicorn, upon seeing Pinkie, smiled at her.

"We have to stop meeting like this," Sugar giggled softly.

Elated to see that another friend lived so close to her, Pinkie giggled gleefully, hopping up and down in place. "Why? I like randomly bumping into friends."

"So do I. Especially a happy, beaming face like yours. It is good to have a friend who can lift somepony's spirits in the morning." Sugar glanced to the chubby mare standing with Pinkie. "Speaking of friends..."

"Oh, right." Pinkie realized that Sugar and Puff hadn't been properly introduced. "This is my roomie, Puff Pastry. Puff, this is Sugar Cookie." The excitable pony could barely contain her enthusiasm at the thought of her friends making friends.

"Guten tag," Puff greeted with a friendly grin.

"Goddag," Sugar replied in kind, figuring that if one of them is going to say "hello" in their native tongue, they may as well both do so.

"So you wanna go say 'hi' to Candy? We were just gonna head over to her room," Pinkie offered.

"As much as I would like that, I do not have time," Sugar answered regretfully. "I am heading to the student lounge for breakfast. But I will see you in class, ya?" Giving Pinkie a wink, Sugar made her way to the stairwell.

"Okay, see you there!" Pinkie called out, paying no regard to any other students living nearby that she might inadvertently irritate.

"She seems very... friendly," Puff noted.

"Yeah, isn't she great?" Pinkie agreed.

With that, the pair returned to their objective of going to see Candy Cane. Once again, Pinkie tapped out a melody on the door. When it opened, she didn't see the smiling face of her friend like she had been expecting. It was still her friend, just looking very haggard and displeased.

"What's up, buttercup?" Pinkie chirped.

Candy groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Great, another early riser," she mumbled sarcastically.

Pinkie stifled an amused snort. "Sounds wike somepony hasn't had dere coffee yet," she patronized, patting the mare's head like a grumpy foal.

"Did you not get enough sleep last night?" Puff asked with slight concern.

Candy shrugged, turning to walk over to the couch, Pinkie and Puff following her inside. "I slept fine. It's her that's the problem." She pointed to the griffon in the kitchen busily dining on a breakfast of bacon and eggs. Gwenivere simply cast a sidelong glance to their company, but said nothing.

"I only just got out of bed," Candy elaborated. "I would have slept longer, but Gwenivere decided to rise with the sun and has been up for a couple of hours now. Doesn't help that the apartment's ripe with the smell of meat now either."

Gwenivere smirked and waved a strip of bacon at Puff. "'Ope it's not someone you knew." Puff simply rolled her eyes at the griffon, her insults gradually going from offensive to just plain annoying.

"Well, it's a good thing she was up," Pinkie said sternly.

Candy raised an irritated eyebrow at her. "And why's that?"

"Cuz it sounds like you woulda slept in on your first day of class."

The other pink mare groaned again. "Look, I'm not a morning person, alright? But I don't need two hours to get ready for my day. I can get all that stuff done in forty-five minutes, maybe less. It's not like taking a shower and making toast or a bowl of cereal is difficult." She let her face drop into one of the throw pillows on the couch.

"But don't you vant to give yourself some time to vake up?" Puff asked.

"That's what coffee's for," she replied, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Looks like you could use another cup," Pinkie giggled.

"If you three are done squawking, would you kindly remove yourselves from our dorm?" Gwenivere asked, stepping into the living room. "Some of us still 'ave to get ready for class."

"Don't let us stop you," Pinkie said with an oblivious smile.

Seeing that the ponies weren't budging, Gwenivere simply shook her head and made her way towards the bathroom, muttering something in Prench under her breath.

Candy lifted her face from the pillow and lazily got off the couch. "Just let me pour up another cup of coffee. Then we can get to class."

"Okie dokie then!" Pinkie chirped, planting herself on their couch and turning on some cartoons as she waited.

Puff looked at the child-like mare sitting on the couch, then to the tired mare who was pouring up her coffee in the kitchen. A question suddenly popped up in her mind and she walked over to Candy to voice it, sitting next to her as she sat at the table and stirred the cream into her cup. "How did you two meet?" she asked simply.

Candy looked up from her mug after taking a sip. "Hm?"

"It's just... you two seem to be very different people. I'm vondering vhat vould have to happen for two ponies like you to meet each other."

Candy stayed silent for a moment, staring out into the living room at the mare giggling loudly at foreign cartoons. A small smile creased her weary lips. "It's kind of a long story. Actually, when we ran into each other on the ship here, that was only the second time we met."

Puff's eyes widened in surprise. "Only the second time? But you seem to be such good friends."

Still smiling, Candy shrugged. "We are. It's kind of hard to explain, but I guess you've seen for yourself what kind of person she is. Once she makes a friend, it's like they've been friends for years." She laughed quietly at the thought. "It's funny when you think about it. She can be a little... overwhelming at first, but her enthusiasm just seems to rub off on you eventually. Well, on some people anyway," she said, glancing in the general direction of her roommate.

"But how did you actually meet the first time?" Puff asked again.

Candy recalled the fateful night with a sigh. "Like I said, it's a long story. Let's just say she saved my life. I feel like I owe her a debt of gratitude, and if being her friend is all she really wants, then I'm happy to oblige."

Puff looked over her shoulder at the laughing pony on the couch. It was hard to believe that such a strange individual could save somepony's life.

Candy downed the last drop of her coffee and stood up to drop the mug in the sink. "Come on, we should probably head to class."

***** ***** *****

Gustave sat at his desk, idly sifting through papers as he waited for the remainder of his students to arrive. Most of them had already shown up, including his daughter, as well as Pinkie Pie and her friends. There were just a few more stragglers left, though technically they weren't late as it was still a few minutes until nine.

For the final few minutes before he officially began his first lesson of the year, Gustave looked out over the relatively small crowd of students. They had gathered in one of the university's normal classrooms rather than one of the lecture halls, though it was still rather sizable compared to the typical grade school classroom. The mustachioed griffon was not surprised, though still somewhat disappointed, that the number of students had already dwindled over the weekend; apparently the sheer scope of the building and its facilities proved too intimidating for some, though he felt his words may have played a role as well, regretfully.

However, the students that remained seemed to display mixed expressions. Some showed signs of nervousness, anxiously twiddling their hooves or claws as they waited for class to begin, while others, like his own daughter, displayed unwavering confidence. Others still, such as the enigmatic Pinkie Pie, wasn't so much confident as she was excited, unable to sit still and with a big smile on her face, a smile he would no doubt be seeing a lot, much to Gustave's chagrin. But he was willing to teach so long as she was willing to learn.

The door to the classroom opened and two more ponies walked in to take their seats. Gustave cast a glance to the clock above the door. Just in time. Seeing that all of his students had arrived, he rose from his desk and stood before the classroom of aspiring pastry chefs. "Bonjour. I am 'appy to see zat most of you 'ad zee motivation to go zrough wiz zis course après all. Très bon. I do 'ope you enjoyed your weekend and took zee time to familiarize yourselves wiz zis school, but today we begin our studies." A pink hoof shot into the air to grab Gustave's attention. With a sigh, Gustave acknowledged her. "Yes, Pinkie Pie?"

Lowering her hoof, Pinkie took a brief look around the room they were all in. "So, uh... how come we're in a boring, old classroom instead of the kitchen?"

As immature as she may have sounded, that was a question that Gustave had been expecting, though perhaps not so soon. "Zat is because zere is much more to baking zan just baking. Zere is much you all must learn if you wish to truly master zee art. Zat is zee purpose of zis establishment. We will be testing not just your skills, but also your créativité. So while we will be spending zee majorité of our time in zee kitchen, we will also be spending much time 'ere, in zee classroom. 'Ere you will learn everyzing you need to know, and in zee kitchen is where you will apply what you 'ave learned."

Pinkie responded with a satisfied smile. "'Kay."

Gustave wore a smile of his own. "'Aving mentioned créativité, I suppose now would be a good time to announce your assignment for zee week. I wish to see not just your skill, but 'ow creative you are. As such, between classes zroughout zee week, I expect you all to devise your own recipes—could be anyzing: cakes; pies; cookies; etcetera. As long as it is pastry. Zen, on Friday morning, you will demonstrate your skills and bake using your recipe, and I will judge zee finished product. Compris?"

The class acknowledged with nods, showing their understanding of the assignment. Gustave was proud to see that they were listening intently, or at least pretending to listen. The latter individuals would become apparent in due time.

"Bien. Zen wiz zat out of zee way, we can begin today's lesson. Après which we will déplacer to zee kitchen for some démonstrations et pratique."

***** ***** *****

With the first day of classes behind her, Candy Cane had returned to her dorm alongside Gwenivere. She dropped her books on the coffee table and immediately headed for the kitchen, fishing through cupboards and pulling out pans and cooking trays. Gwenivere cast her a vexed looked as she sat upon the couch and turned on the television.

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like? I'm preparing for the assignment," Candy replied, her head buried in the cupboards under the sink.

The griffon rolled her eyes. "Zat assignment is not until Friday. You plan to spend all of your free time getting ready for it?"

Candy began searching through the pantry for the ingredients she needed. "Well, no, but I'd like to get a jump on it to make sure I know what I'm doing."

All of a sudden, the door burst open, threatening to tear it off its hinges. Standing at the threshold, much to Gwenivere's annoyance, was a smiling, pink earth pony and her chubby roommate.

"Woo! Day one done!" Pinkie exclaimed with vigor. "Only three hundred and sixty four to go!" She paused and put a hoof to her chin. "Minus weekends. And holidays. And unforeseen circumstances. But still, woo!"

"You might want to hold onto some of that enthusiasm, Pinkie," Candy chuckled. "Save some for the rest of the year."

"Pfft, I got enthusiasm to spare," Pinkie scoffed. She and Puff walked into the kitchen with Candy, taking notice of all the stuff she had gathered onto the counter and table. "Whacha doin' here?"

Candy smiled as she spoke. "As I was just explaining to the grumpy gull over there, I'm testing out my recipe for Friday's assignment."

"You already have a recipe in mind?" Puff said incredulously.

"Well, actually, it's a recipe that I came up with a few years ago for my own homemade, chocolate malt balls. We sell them at my dad's shop, and they sell pretty well, so I'm kinda proud of them. I'm not sure if they're up to Chef le Grand's standards though, but I figured, since it's something I already know, I might as well."

"Is that allowed?" Puff asked. "Don't vee have to come up vith a new recipe for the assignment?"

Candy paused for a moment and thought about it. "He didn't specifically say that. He said we have to use a recipe of our own creation, and I created this recipe. I don't think I'm breaking any rules, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask him about it tomorrow. I can always alter the recipe for the assignment or something."

Puff Pastry scratched her head in thought. "In that case, I have a recipe for donuts that I could try. Vith lemon filling und chocolate drizzle."

Pinkie Pie's mouth visibly began watering.

Candy laughed. "I'm probably going to have to work out some sort of exercise regimen for the year. We're going to be eating so many calories."

"The doctor told me I have an 'impossible metabolism,'" Pinkie stated with an oblivious grin. "I dunno what that means, but I just don't seem to pack on the pounds." She pat her trim belly to punctuate the point."

"I vish I had that problem," Puff added with a hearty chuckle, rubbing her own round belly.

As the three friends shared a laugh, Candy looked over to Gwenivere, who was still sitting on the couch, seemingly ignoring the goings-on in their kitchen. "What about you, Gwenivere?"

"What about moi?" she replied without turning around.

Candy walked over to the couch to look the reclining griffon in the face. "You just seem so nonchalant about the assignment. I assume you have a recipe in mind too."

Gwenivere responded with a huff. "But of course. I am zee daughter of zee great Gustave le Grand. Anyzing I bake will be nozing short of amazing."

"So whatcha makin'?" Pinkie Pie asked, leaning over the back of the couch.

Gwenivere cast a glower at the pink pony. "Zat is none of your business. But I can assure you zat anyzing I make will eclipse whatever dredge you manage to concoct."

Candy Cane put on a devious grin, the griffon's words forming an idea in her mind. "I don't know about you, Pinkie, but that sounded like a challenge."

Pinkie's eyes lit up. "Ooooo, a challenge. I like a good challenge."

Gwenivere raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you going on about?"

"After all the smack you've been talking, I think it's about time that you put your pastries where your beak is," Candy challenged.

"That's where you normally put pastries," Pinkie made sure to point out.

"You are suggesting a wager?" Gwenivere inferred, a curious grin forming on her beak.

"That's right," Candy confirmed. "If you think you're better than Pinkie Pie, then prove it on Friday. Your dad can be the judge and tell us which one he thinks is better."

Gwenivere sat up, finally taking an interest in the conversation. "And what are zee stakes of zis bet?"

Candy looked at her two friends for a moment, the three of them pondering what would be gained and what would be lost. "How about this: if you lose, you have to be nice to Pinkie and Puff for the rest of the year. No more insults."

The griffon rolled her eyes. "Zen I may as well not speak at all."

"Then you'll be doing everypony a favor," Candy muttered under her breath.

"But vhat if Pinkie Pie loses?" inquired Puff.

Pinkie smiled and looked at Gwenivere. "I guess that's up to Gwen. Are you gonna make us do all your chores? Or make us do something embarrassing in front of the whole school?"

Gwenivere scratched her chin in thought. The prospect was very promising to her. "'Ow about... when I win, you 'ave to quit school and go back 'ome."

Suddenly, the entertainment value of the wager had been sucked dry, leaving Candy and Puff with their mouths agape.

"Don't you think that's a bit extreme? Pinkie came a long way and paid a lot of money to be here and you would force her to give all that up?" Candy said, expressing her concern.

With a smug smirk, Gwenivere shrugged. "What? You do not 'ave confidence in your friend?"

"I'm not saying that, it's just—"

"Done deal!" Pinkie said, holding her hoof out to Gwenivere. With an already-triumphant grin, the griffon took Pinkie's hoof in her talons and shook with her. The party pony hopped off the back of the couch and made for the door. "Alright-y then! Guess I should get back to my dorm and start practicing. See you later, Candy!"

The door shut loudly behind her. Puff glanced around awkwardly and shuffled her way to the door as well. "I suppose I'll get going, too. Goodbye."

With a satisfied smile, Gwenivere reclined onto the couch again and turned her attention back to the television. Candy glared at her harshly, a deep feeling in her gut telling her that this had turned out a little worse than she had expected.

***** ***** *****

"♪—A crust of lemon filling,

topped up with meringue!

A yummy, scrumptious lemon pie,

to share with the whole gang!♪"

As Pinkie Pie sang the final verse of the song she had just made up off the top of her head, she reached into the oven and pulled out the finished lemon meringue pie she had made. She inhaled the scent of the lemon filling deeply and placed the pie on the counter to cool, seemingly satisfied with the result.

Puff had been watching—and listening—curiously the whole time, looking at Pinkie Pie as if she were some sort of unknown anomaly. "Do you usually sing vhen you bake?"

"Sometimes. I find that a chipper tune makes baking even more fun than it already is!" Pinkie replied with her usual big smile. "What, you don't sing when you bake?"

Puff shook her head. "No. I don't really know any songs."

"Then make something up. Improvise! That's what I do."

"I don't think I could do that."

"You should just try it sometime. It'll be fun, I promise."

Puff simply shrugged, unsure if she wanted to do that. Pinkie certainly seemed to enjoy it; it might be worth trying at some point. When she had some privacy perhaps.

"Alright, let's give this a go," Pinkie said as she turned back to the fresh lemon pie. She eagerly cut out a slice and placed it on a small plate, bringing it over to the table with her. She stuck a fork into the pie and shoveled a bite into her mouth. Puff observed her wince a little. "Hoo, still hot," Pinkie breathed, fanning her tongue. Despite the residual heat of the pastry, Pinkie allowed the taste to settle on her tongue, analyzing the flavor.

Puff eyed her intently. "So?"

Pinkie crossed her forelegs and closed her eyes in thought. "I dunno. It's good, but it could be better. It's not as good as Mrs. Cake's recipe."

"So you don't think you can beat Gwenivere vith that?" asked Puff.

The pink pony sighed in resignation. "Nah. I'm gonna have to try something else." Pinkie hopped up from the table and began to fish around in the pantry again.

"Vhat are you going to try next?"

"Cupcakes!" Pinkie pulled a cupcake tin out of a cupboard. "Probably should have started with this; cupcakes are my specialty."

As Pinkie continued to round up the ingredients for her cupcake recipe, a knock on the door was heard. Seeing as how Pinkie was rather busy, Puff got up to answer it, revealing their visitor to be Candy Cane. She was holding a small bowl full of chocolate balls as well.

"Hallo, Candy," Puff greeted, her grin more a result of not seeing Gwenivere around than anything.

"Hey, Puff." Candy peeked inside to see Pinkie Pie busily mixing a bowl of batter. "She seems busy."

Puff quickly glanced over to Pinkie as well. "Ya, she's testing some new recipes." The tan earth pony stepped aside to allow her guest in.

Candy frowned slightly. "For the bet?"

Puff nodded.

Caught up in her baking, Pinkie didn't even notice Candy until she entered the kitchen. "Oh, hiya, Candy!" she greeted as she poured batter into the cupcake tin.

"Hi. What are you making there?" Candy asked as she leaned in for a peek.

"Cupcakes. If there's any pastry I know like the back of my hoof, it's cupcakes." Pinkie slid the tray into the oven and set the heat, then turned back to her company. "You hungry?"

The question seemed to catch Candy of guard. "Hm? Oh, well, I just had a sandwich for supper, but I suppose I wouldn't say I'm full."

Pinkie beamed. "Great! Here's your dessert!" She tossed the remainder of the lemon pie onto the table. "Dig in!"

Candy stared at the pie, noticing that a slice had been removed. Said slice could be seen sitting upon a plate nearby with a single bite taken out of it. It all came across as a little suspect. "Not that I don't trust you, but... is something wrong with it?"

Puff cut out a piece for herself and took a bite, a big smile spreading across her lips. "Mmm. Nein, it's delicious."

Any concerns successfully quelled, Candy took out her own piece.

"That was my first attempt at a recipe for the assignment," Pinkie explained. "It's good, but I don't think it's up to snuff."

Candy scooped a bite into her mouth. Her eyes widened when the tangy, lemon flavor and the softness of the meringue struck her palate. She was reluctant to swallow it, wanting to let the taste soak into her tongue as long as possible. "Pinkie, this is incredible. It's probably the best lemon pie I've ever tasted. This is not up to snuff?!"

Pinkie joined her friends at the table and shrugged. "Nah. Believe me, I know pie—it's in my name, for Celestia's sake—and this pie is sub-par for my standards.

Candy stared at Pinkie's dissatisfied expression incredulously. If this was sub-par, she couldn't even imagine what a good pie tasted like in Pinkie's world. After swallowing another bite, Candy responded, "Pinkie, I have no doubt that this pie would impress Chef le Grand. You've got a winning dessert right here. Why not go with it?"

"Because I can do better."

Candy looked at the expression on Pinkie's face. There was no hint of jest or humility, only utter seriousness and confidence.

"I'm even starting to think that my cupcakes aren't gonna be enough. If I wanna really blow Gustave's mind, I gotta pull out all the stops." Pinkie looked down at the bowl that Candy had brought with her and placed on the table. "Wuzzat?"

"Huh?" The sudden shift in topic shaking her from her stupor, Candy's gaze followed Pinkie's to the bowl. "Oh, those're my chocolate malt balls. I brought 'em over for you guys to try."

Without hesitation, Pinkie and Puff both picked one up and popped them in their mouths. They both moaned with delight as the rich, milky chocolate melted on their tongues, followed by the satisfying crunch of the malted milk inside.

"Oooh, that's tasty," Pinkie moaned.

Puff nodded in agreement, unable to resist tossing another into her mouth. "Ya. It vould give the big candy companies a run for their bits."

Candy blushed modestly. "Well, let's not go overboard. It's a pretty simple recipe, all things considered."

Pinkie flicked several more malt balls into the air, catching them in her open mouth. "Eifer way," she said with a full mouth, "you'll definitely pash de ashignment wid dese."

"Speaking of which, I really have to apologize, Pinkie," Candy stated with a remorseful frown.

Pinkie gulped down the mouthful of chocolate treats. "For what?"

"For suggesting that you and Gwenivere make a wager. I didn't think she would be that cruel about it. You have too much to lose now, maybe it would be best if we tried to call it off," Candy pleaded.

Pinkie simply shook her head. "Nope, can't do that. We shook on it. It's a legally bound agreement now."

"That's absolutely not true," Candy deadpanned.

"Well, think about it this way: if I win, I could earn Gwen's respect."

"But do you actually intend to keep your end of the deal and go home if you lose?" Candy asked worriedly.

Pinkie smiled and placed a hoof to her chest. "Of course. I'm a mare of my word."

"Und you're not vorried?" Puff asked.

Pinkie's smile faded and she nervously shuffled her hooves. "Well, yeah I'm worried. I don't want to leave after all the trouble I had to go through to get here." Her smile returned as she continued. "But that's why I'm trying for the best recipe I can make. I'm not just gonna win, I'm gonna blow Gwen out of the water." She confidently tossed another malt ball into her mouth.

The look of sheer determination and certainty in Pinkie's eyes managed to subdue some of the worries that plagued Candy, though there was still always a chance that she could lose the bet. "Just remember that you don't actually have to leave if you lose. It's just a silly bet. I'd hate to be the one responsible if you just quit like that." She stood up and picked up her now empty container, making her way to the door. "I'll be rooting for you."

"Thanks a bunch!" Pinkie said as Candy walked out of the dorm. "I'll bring over some cupcakes when they're done!"

The short walk back to her dorm gave Candy Cane plenty of time to mull over the situation she had gotten her friend into. Her intention was to put Gwenivere in her place, but not at such a high risk. She needed to shrug it off; it really wasn't a big deal. Like she had just told Pinkie, none of them actually had to take this bet seriously. Maybe if they had simply wagered money, she wouldn't be so concerned about Pinkie losing.

When Candy returned to her own dorm, she found Gwenivere lying in the same place she had been when she left, still idly flicking through channels on the television. For the moment, the earth pony decided to ignore the griffon and clean out her container in the sink. As she did, however, she found herself glancing back to Gwenivere more than once. There was no way she could get through the rest of this day without bringing it up to her.

After drying off the dish and putting it away, Candy trotted back to the living room and stared at the reclining griffon for a moment before speaking. "Can I ask you something, Gwenivere?"

"I suppose," she replied simply, not turning her eyes away from the television.

"Why would you make Pinkie Pie risk her entire education here, not to mention all the money she spent to get here?" Candy's tone was becoming increasingly upset the more she talked about the subject.

Gwenivere gave a lazy shrug. "If she is as skilled as you believe 'er to be, zen you 'ave nozing to worry about, non?"

"Look, this whole thing just went in a different direction than I was expecting," Candy sighed. "Is there any chance you guys can just call it off?"

"Why should I?" Gwenivere asked with a smirk. "It's not like I have much to lose."

Candy lowered her head in defeat. Clearly this thing was going to happen no matter how much she didn't want it to now. The only thing she could do now was hope. She took a seat next to Gwenivere on the couch. "What do you have against Pinkie Pie anyway? What did she ever do to you?"

"Nozing."

"Then why are you harassing her so much?"

Gwenivere sat up and finally looked Candy in the eyes. "Because if she zinks zat she can coast zrough zis course by getting friendly wiz mon papa, she should not be here in zee first place."

Candy raised an eyebrow in vexation. "And what makes you think that that's what she's doing?"

"I saw 'er speaking wiz him, acting as if zey were old friends."

"So what? Pinkie likes to make friends with everypony. We've only been here for a few days and she's already made two new friends. Plus, she already knew your dad. She was just saying 'hi' to him."

"She is pulling strings," Gwenivere accused with a furrowed brow. "And I intend to fix zat."

Candy cast a glance at the television. "And you intend to do that by sitting here and watching T.V.? Why don't you practice your recipe?"

Gwenivere turned her beak up at the suggestion. "Because I do not need practice. My recipe is somezing zat I 'ave 'ad years to master."

Candy rolled her eyes and hopped off the couch. "Whatever. I'm going to make more malt balls."

"'Ave fun," Gwenivere bid condescendingly.

***** ***** *****

All of Gustave's students stood at attention before him, donning their aprons and chef's hats. Each student had taken their posts next to one of the many Burn Master ovens that lined the walls of one of the university's kitchens. The tables around them were packed with an assortment of ingredients and threatening to spill over onto the floor. They had all gathered here this morning for the same purpose: to prove their worth and show their instructor that they deserved to learn at the Steeden University of Culinary Arts.

Gustave eyed the expressions on his students' faces. They were much the same as they had been on the first day; mixed expressions of excitement, confidence, and nervousness. While some stood with their chests puffed out proudly, others were adorned with drops of sweat rolling down their foreheads and necks. This past week had given him enough time to make an estimation as to just how many, and who specifically, would remain for the rest of the year, though there was always room for error. Perhaps many of these aspiring pastry chefs worked well under pressure. Either way, he was about to find out.

"Bonjour, class."

Gustave's voice finally breaking the silence prompted several of the students to tense up in anticipation.

"As you all well know, today we will be testing your skill as pastry chefs. I 'ave asked you all to devise your own recipes and demonstrate zem to me so zat I may determine wezer or not you really should be 'ere. I trust you 'ave all been practicing for zis zroughout zee week." Gustave paused to see his students' reactions. Most of them nodded, though his own daughter appeared to be too busy straightening the feathers of her bangs to listen. He then took a moment to size up the tables, more specifically the ingredients upon them. "Judging by zee variété I see before me, I am expecting a cornucopia of desserts today. I am looking forward to tasting zem all, zough not to zee impending stomachache for 'ow much I must eat."

His joke elicited some chuckles from his students, which, in turn, got a smile from him. Considering how nervous many of them were, he figured that the least he could do was lighten the mood a bit.

"I do not want you to feel pressured," he continued. "I wish for each and every one of you to pass zis test. As such, you may take as much time as you need to make your dish parfait. Vous pouvez commencer."

The class waited as silence once again fell over the kitchen, the students glancing around in confusion and waiting for their teacher to continue. Gustave simply raised an eyebrow, then sighed and gestured with his claw.

"You may begin."

Before any of the other students could take a step, Pinkie Pie eagerly lunged forward and grabbed all of the ingredients she had prepared, hauling them over to her station. Her friends, as well as the rest of her classmates, followed suit, though at a more steady pace.

It didn't take long for a plethora of mouth-watering aromas to fill the kitchen. Caramelized sugar, baking dough and batter, and melting chocolate were but a few of the scents that wafted about, creating an amalgamation of olfactory flavors. The kitchen was pretty quiet for the most part, the most prominent sounds being that of whirring mixers. Although there seemed to be a happy tune playing from somewhere, a quick assessment revealing that it was the humming of a cheery, pink earth pony.

As the minutes went by and each pastry came closer and closer to completion, Gustave slowly paced around the room, curiously watching as his students went to work. He felt a sense of pride beginning to well up within him; despite the worries they had, they all worked fervently and with utmost focus, working to the best of their ability. He was beginning to think that his early judgments may have been a tad hasty.

Finally, after much waiting and anticipation on Gustave's part, the student's were finishing up. He watched with eager curiosity as all manner of pastries were being pulled from the ovens, from cookies to cakes. Now came the moment of truth: the taste test.

Gustave approached Puff Pastry as she wiped the sweat from her brow. On her station was a plate of donuts, their tops coated with chocolate drizzle. Puff smiled nervously as her instructor picked one up and looked it over. She knew they weren't anything fancy; she put most of her effort into making them taste good rather than look good. The griffon bit into it and almost immediately his eyes widened at the sudden sensation of lemon on his tongue as the filling burst out.

"Sacre bleu. Zat is quite zee intense flavor," he remarked after swallowing a bite.

Puff gulped anxiously. "Is it too much?"

Gustave quelled her worry with a hearty smile. "Non, not at all. Zis is fantastique. Zee soft dough and zee sweet chocolate mixed wiz zee tangy lemon filling. It is not a combination I 'ave often seen, but you 'ave managed it well. Très bien, Puff."

Puff breathed a sigh of relief. "Vielen dank, Chef le Grand."

Moving along, Gustave made his way to Candy Cane's station, where she had prepared a bowl of chocolate malt balls. Pinkie Pie was standing at the station adjacent to her, fidgeting impatiently as she eyed the bowl herself, her lips smacking. Gustave held one of the treats between his talons.

"Zis is zee recipe zat you asked about?" Gustave asked, recollecting their conversation from earlier in the week.

Candy replied with a nod and a proud smile. "Yes. I've been making these malt balls and selling them at my dad's shop for a couple of years now. I'm interested to see what a professional pastry chef thinks of them, especially one as renowned as you, Chef."

Gustave chuckled quietly. "Flattery is all well and good, but 'ow about we let your recipe do zee talking." Gustave popped the chocolate treat into his mouth, taking a moment to analyze the taste before he crunched it between his teeth. "Mmm. Zee chocolate melts in your mouth and zee center gives zee crunch zat makes eating zese types of candy so satisfying. Excellent flavor and texture as well. Magnifique."

"I'm glad you like them," Candy said with a grin. She couldn't help but notice that Gustave was still eyeing the bowl. "Would you like another one?"

Without hesitation, the griffon obliged. "Don't mind if I do."

He reached in once more, only to find that his claw had collided with the bottom of the bowl. All but one ball had mysteriously vanished. Candy glanced over to the other pink mare standing nearby, attempting to whistle innocently, but with her cheeks packed full like a chipmunk, she found her efforts stymied.

Pinkie Pie chanced a look back, her eyes meeting with both Candy's and Gustave's. With a loud and elongated crunch, she bit down and swallowed the whole lot, then grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself."

With a roll of his eyes, Gustave ate the last malt ball. "I zink zat is a testament to zee... 'ow shall we say, addictive quality of your work. You simply cannot stop wiz just one. I zink I will 'ave to put myself on a strict diet when zee year is out."

"I think we all will," Candy giggled.

"Now zen," Gustave said with a deep sigh. He turned to the smiling mare at the station next to Candy's. "Madame Pie."

Pinkie nodded politely. "Mon sur le Grand."

Gustave looked around Pinkie's station, but found no sign of any pastries. With a raised eyebrow, he asked the mare, "Er, Pinkie Pie, where is your dish?"

"Still in the oven. It needs another minute." The loud ding of the oven timer went off at that moment. "Oops, nevermind. All done." After turning off the heat, Pinkie slipped on a pair of oven mitts, opened the oven, and reached inside. With a grand flourish, she whipped out her creation, standing on her hind legs and raising it above her head. In her mitted hooves she held a small, ceramic ramekin. Inside the dish was an overly-large, puffy, chocolate soufflé. "Behold! The very first Pinkie Soufflé Supreme!" She delicately placed the ramekin on one of the kitchen's prep tables, only for a hole to suddenly pop open in the soft surface of the pastry, causing the smile on her face to instantly deflate, much like her creation. "Uh oh."

Gustave shook his head at the pitiful sight of the deflated pastry. "Zat is unfortunate. Normally a soufflé would last longer zan zat."

Pinkie stared at it with utter dejection, devastated that her experiment had failed so miserably. "But... Did I not bake it long enough?"

Gustave leaned in to look over the fallen soufflé. "Are you experienced wiz soufflés, Pinkie Pie?"

The mare rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Um... no, not really. To be honest, I've been baking all sorts of stuff all week to try and find the best choice. I figured since soufflés are notoriously finicky, it would be pretty impressive to make my own. I only came up with this recipe late last night; I didn't have time to test it though."

Gwenivere stood at her station with a smug grin, watching triumphantly as her father scrutinized the competition for her.

The mustachioed griffon let out a regretful sigh. "Pinkie Pie, zis assignment was not about baking somezing zat would impress me, it was about displaying your créativité. Even zee most skilled chefs, myself included, occasionally bumble zee soufflé. I would 'ave been perfectly fine wiz something simple, such as cookies or cupcakes, as long as you could express your créativité."

Pinkie hung her head in defeat, her ears folding back and the luster fading from her eyes. Candy and Puff exchanged worried expressions.

Gustave picked up a fork and scooped a bite of the soufflé into his mouth. He chewed for a moment, turning his eyes up as he analyzed the taste. "Zat being said, zis recipe is très délicieux. Everyzing from zee flavor to zee texture is spot on."

Pinkie perked up at his words, her eyes widening anxiously. Gustave was smiling at her.

"Wiz proper instruction, I am sure zat I can help you perfect zis recipe."

The glint returned to Pinkie's eyes. "Does that mean...?"

The griffon nodded. "Oui, regardless of it's state, zis is passable. Très bon."

As Gustave moved past Pinkie to evaluate the next pastry, Pinkie let out a great sigh of relief. With smiles on their faces, Puff and Candy trotted up next to her, the latter giving Pinkie a quick hug.

"Way to go, Pinkie," Candy congratulated.

"Hoo, that was a close one," Pinkie sighed. "Next time I really should practice. When that thing popped, I thought my heart was gonna do the same."

"I don't vant to sound like the stick in the mud, but you only just passed," Puff pointed out. "Vhat does that mean for your bet?"

Candy turned her eyes over to Gwenivere and the other two earth ponies followed suit. The haughty smirk stretching across her beak was aggravating. Gustave was now stopped at his daughter's station as well. "Guess we're about to find out."

Gwenivere looked into her father's eyes, her beak curved with a self-important smile. Gustave did not smile back, instead focusing on the plate of éclairs on her station. Gwenivere picked one up and offered it to her dad.

"I am one hundred percent certain you will find zis quite satisfying, Papa," she proclaimed.

Gustave accepted the éclair, looking it over with interest. "Zen I am looking forward to it." He bit into the dessert, allowing the taste and texture to settle on his palate. With his eyes closed, he nodded, seemingly enjoying the taste just as Gwenivere had expected.

"Well? Is it not perfection? It is delectable, non?" Gwenivere asked with confidence.

Swallowing the bite, Gustave replied, "Oui, it most certainly is." He looked at his daughter, not with a proud and satisfied smile, but what appeared to be a stern glare. "But, of course, I knew zat when I created zis recipe."

"His recipe?" Candy whispered in confusion.

Gwenivere simply continued to smile victoriously. "Are you not proud, Papa? Zis is nozing short of a perfect re-creation of your world-famous éclairs."

Gustave was unyielding to her bravado. "Zat is true. You 'ave been practicing zis recipe for many years, so it is not surprising." His tone became somewhat more disciplinary as he spoke to his daughter. "'Owever, you 'ave entirely missed zee point of zis assignment."

In one fell swoop, all confidence drained from Gwenivere in an instant, her expression displaying shock. "Quelle?! But... I worked 'ard to make zese éclairs exactly as you do. I zought you would be proud..."

Gustave grimaced as he watched the positivity drain from his daughter's face. Pinkie Pie and her friends were amazed more than anything; they had not yet seen Gwenivere display anything resembling regret in the short time they'd known her.

"I am proud, Gwenivere," Gustave corrected. "Which is why I expected better of you."

She looked at him with utter confusion, as if the statement itself were absurd in notion. "But what is better zan your éclairs?"

Her father shook his head. "I mean zat I am disappointed zat you zink zat, because I am tu père, you could coast your way zrough zis course by flattering me wiz imitation. I did not zink I would 'ave to say zis so many times, but zee purpose of zis assignment was to display créativité. Zis..." he said, holding up the partially-eaten éclair, "...is not créativité. It is plagiarism."

Gwenivere hung her head in shame, barely able to look her father in the eye. "But... Papa..."

"Chef le Grand," Gustave corrected. "During class hours I am a teacher first, and you will address me as such. Do not zink for a moment zat just because you are mon fille zat you will receive special treatment. I wanted you to enroll 'ere so zat you could furzer your skills. Now it is quite clear zat zere is still much zat I need to teach you, and not just about baking."

"So is she gonna fail because of this?"

Gustave and Gwenivere both turned to Pinkie Pie. The notion brought no joy to Pinkie's face. Instead, she seemed worried for the griffon. Gustave let out a sigh.

"Non."

That one word implanted just a small amount of relief into Gwenivere's mind.

"But zat is only because I know zat Gwenivere 'as zee skill to be great." Gustave looked his daughter in the eyes, his stern expression softening. "I 'ave observed zis for many years. I do not want you to zink zat zis is an act of nepotism, I simply do not want such talent to go to waste. 'Ave I made myself perfectly clear, Gwenivere?"

Gwenivere nodded solemnly. "Oui, Papa." Gustave furrowed his brow at her response and she acted to correct herself. "Chef le Grand."

"Bien," he replied simply before moving on to the next student and the next pastry.

Concerned, Pinkie Pie cautiously approached Gwenivere. There was a small amount of relief in the griffon's eyes, but was encased by an aura of dejection. Both, however, were done away with when Gwenivere spotted the pink pony standing next to her and replaced by what Pinkie could only assume was resigned aggravation. The earth pony was expecting Gwenivere to say something, but, when she didn't, decided to start the conversation herself.

"So, uh... I guess that could have gone better for both of us, huh?" Pinkie said with an uncomfortable chuckle.

"'Ave you come to mock me?" Gwenivere asked flatly.

"Nopony's mocking anypony... or anygriffon either," Candy interjected as she and Puff walked over. "The way I see it, neither one of you is in any position to be bragging."

Gwenivere let out a sigh. "I suppose not. And I also suppose that you 'ave won our little wager."

"As much as I'd like to declare Pinkie the winner, we don't get to decide who won. We agreed that your dad would be the judge of that. So why don't we ask him?"

The griffon thought for a moment, the possibility of her father berating her further an unpleasant thought. "Very well. We may as well settle zis."

Currently, Gustave was preparing to judge Sugar Cookie's recipe, looking over the tray of cookies she had prepared with great interest. They were fairly basic oatmeal cookies, though with a shell of blue frosting over their tops for added flavor. However, one of them stood out; a larger cookie, shaped like a heart, and with pink frosting instead of blue. Curious, Gustave reached for that particular cookie only to have his claw suddenly pushed away by a crimson hoof. Surprised, he looked Sugar in the eye who was now only just realizing what she had done and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, but I am saving that one for a friend."

The mustachioed griffon seemed confused, but decided to shrug it off and take one of the others.

"Chef le Grand, can we ask you something?"

Pinkie's voice caused him to halt just as he was about to bite the cookie. "Can it wait? I am somewhat busy," he said, waving the cookie in the air.

"Or while you are here," Sugar interjected with a grin. With an aura of deep purple magic, she levitated the heart-shaped cookie over to Pinkie Pie. "This is for you."

"Oh, thanks!" Pinkie immediately chomped into the biscuit without removing it from Sugar's telekinetic grasp. "Mmm. Scrumptious."

Now even more curious, Gustave took the opportunity, while Pinkie's mouth was full, to sample the snack himself. "Vraiment. Zis is indeed quite tasty. Eye-catching as well."

Sugar smiled modestly. "I have been told that I know how to turn heads."

"And I can see why. Zey look as good as zey taste. Well done. Zough it is worrying zat zis is likely zee healthiest zing I will eat today." Wiping his beak with a napkin, Gustave turned to Pinkie and her friends. "Now zen, you wished to speak wiz me?"

"Yeah, we need you to settle something for us, Chef le Grand," Candy informed. "See, Pinkie and Gwenivere made a bet to see who could make the better pastry for this assignment."

Gustave gave his daughter a judgmental glare. "A bet?"

"Don't worry, we didn't put money on it or anything," Pinkie assured. "Just... pride more than anything."

"And we wanted you to decide who won, if that's okay," Candy continued.

Gustave stroked his chin. "I see. Zis certainly explains zee results of your work. I assume you two were more focused on winning zis bet zan actually doing what you are told."

Pinkie and Gwenivere both looked a touch embarrassed.

Gustave sighed and decided to move on. "And what was zee criteria for zis bet exactly? 'Ooever 'ad zee best recipe, or 'ooever performed zee best on zee assignment?"

"I think we agreed that whatever one you think was better overall would be the winner," Candy answered.

Gustave closed his eyes in thought. Both Pinkie and Gwenivere waited with bated breath for his answer. "As I said to boz of you before, neizer of you seemed to fully understand zee assignment. Wiz zat said, your recipes were still quite good. Boz were très délicieux. As such, I 'ave decided..."

Pinkie and Gwenivere leaned in anxiously.

"...a tie."

"A tie?!" the two echoed in unison.

"Oui. You boz 'ave much to learn, and because of zat, I cannot declare eizer one of you a winner. Ozerwise, I would 'ave nozing to teach you." With a sly grin, Gustave returned to his work to judge the work of the other students.

The two competitors shared surprised and confused looks with one another, unable to decide how they felt about this outcome.

"So I guess no one wins," Candy stated with a relieved smile. "And you've proven that you are both equals, so you can stop competing, Gwenivere."

The griffon shook off her stupor and thrust her beak up at the ponies. "Ha! 'Equals'? Très droll. Zee result of zis wager is 'ardly evidence of 'ow we compare. Until a victor can truly be decided, I will not accept such a... clown as my equal."

Pinkie waved modestly. "Aw, shucks, Gwen, that's nice of you to say, but I gave up trying to be a clown a long time ago. But it was fun going..." Pinkie reached into her mane and pulled out an Ponish-to-Prench translation guide, flipping through it quickly before stopping on one particular page. "...'tête à tête... avec tu.'"

Gwenivere scoffed, unimpressed and unfazed by Pinkie's nonsense. She turned her back to the ponies, uninterested in continuing the conversation further. With her out of the way, Sugar Cookie took the opportunity to take her place.

"If all of that ugliness is over, may I ask how you enjoyed my cookies, Pinkie Pie?"

"Tastacular! I'm more of a fan of chocolate chip cookies personally, but that was probably one of the best oatmeal cookies I've ever had! Thanks a bunch, Sugar!"

Sugar was satisfied by that reply, and passed a friendly smile to Candy and Puff. "Would you like to try one as well?"

Puff grinned eagerly and immediately took her up on her offer. "Ya, thank you."

"Hey, we should all share our recipes and give critiques," Candy suggested. "I bet if we work together, we can make some pretty unforgettable confections."

"Sounds like fun!" Pinkie chirped. "Here's to friends! And a whole year of fun, fun, fun!" She held another one of Sugar's cookies up in the air, and Candy, Puff, and Sugar all did likewise.

"To friends!"

Chapter 4 - A Dish Best Served Cold

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
=====================================================================

Chapter 4: A Dish Best Served Cold

=====================================================================

As the sun beamed in through the large living room windows of the university apartment, the tranquility of the early morning found itself restricted to the outdoors as, within the dormitory, the large—and perhaps excessively loud—television had forced all silence from the room. Not to mention the pink earth pony happily giggling at early morning cartoons as she munched away on her breakfast.

After a little over a month in Steeden, this had become routine for Pinkie Pie. Wake up; fix up some coffee; make breakfast; watch cartoons; brush teeth; shower; visit Candy; go to class. Considering her love of all things spontaneous, it came as a surprise to Pinkie's roommate how organized she could be. The explanation Puff Pastry got when she asked Pinkie about it was simply a want to get all the necessary stuff out of the way so she could get to doing... well, everything else. After all, she was in a foreign country; she wanted as much time to take it all in as she could, as well as spend time with her new friends. She was only going to be there for a year, she needed to make the most of it.

The question also eventually came up as to what would happen after the year was up, with Puff noting that it was unlikely that they would still be able to see each other when all was said and done, going their separate ways or back to their home countries. Pinkie, admittedly, was a little disheartened to think about it, but remained optimistic that they would stay in touch, just as how she was still writing letters to her friends back home while she was gone.

As the pair of earth ponies continued eating their breakfasts on the couch, Puff took notice of the picture on the other mare's coffee mug: a photo of Pinkie Pie with five other multi-colored mares and what appeared to be a baby dragon. "So those are your friends?" she asked, rekindling the conversation.

Pinkie peered at the photo and grinned, then passed the mug to Puff so she could get a better look at it. "Yup. That's what's waitin' for me back home."

Puff narrowed her eyes at the photo, noticing something now that she could look at it more closely. "Is that... Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

"Uh-huh. But I guess that picture's a little outdated; it was taken before she got her wings. Hmm. Maybe when I get back I should get a new mug with an updated photo."

Puff was amazed that somepony like Pinkie Pie would be acquainted with royalty. "You're actually friends vith Princess Twilight?"

"Yeah. Fun fact: I was the first person she met when she moved to Ponyville, which made me her first friend there."

Still a touch flabbergasted, Puff decided to focus her attention on the other four friends in the picture. "It looks like you're all very close."

"Like sisters! Uh, 'cept Spike," Pinkie noted, pointing out the purple dragon. "Cuz he's a boy. So he's more like a brother. Or maybe a nephew? Or cousin? Whatever. If nothing else, he's our favorite little dragon, and that's good enough."

"Can you tell me about them?" Puff asked with curiosity. "I've never had a lot of friends growing up. I don't really know vhat it's like to have a big group of friends to hang out vith."

Pinkie frowned slightly and gave Puff a quick hug. "Aww, that's so sad. But it's okay, because now you do have friends, right?"

Puff smiled sheepishly. "Ya. I suppose I do."

"So anyway," Pinkie continued, pointing back at the mug. "The one wearing the hat is Applejack. She owns a farm where she and her family grow the best apples in Equestria! Seriously, if you ever tasted them, your taste buds would be like, 'Wowza, that's good!' And she's a pretty good baker in her own right. Apple fritters; apple pie; apple turnovers; caramel apples. You name it, if it's got apples in it, she can bake it."

"Vhy didn't she come to Steeden vith you then? Sounds like she could have done vell here."

Pinkie shrugged and waved a hoof. "The farm is a full-time job, even with her brother, her sister, and her granny all helping out. It's her life really. She's not like me; Mr. and Mrs. Cake can take care of Sugarcube Corner without me, but Applejack's farm needs her, and you have to respect that kind of devotion."

Puff simply nodded in silence.

"Anywho, that one there," Pinkie said, pointing out the white unicorn in the group, "is Rarity. She makes fancy dresses and stuff and is probably the most sophisticated and generous pony I know. And that's Fluttershy," she went on, directing Puff's attention to the yellow pegasus. "She's really nice. Kinda quiet and timid, but super kind and helpful when you need her. She's taking care of my little Gummy for me while I'm away."

Puff raised an eyebrow. "Gummy?"

Pinkie nodded and pulled a photo out of her bouncy mane. The picture depicted a small, glassy-eyed alligator. "He's my special, little guy and I wuv 'im and miss 'im so much," Pinkie explained, hugging the photo tightly.

The other mare was taken aback by the picture. "Is that an alligator?! You keep that as a pet?! Isn't that dangerous?"

"What? Naw, Gummy's harmless. He's a toothless alligator. He does like to bite stuff, but that's just his way of saying he's happy. It doesn't hurt or anything."

Puff stared at Pinkie, unsure if she should take her word for it or not. She decided to shake it off and focus on the one remaining pony left to talk about. "Okay, vhat about her?" she asked, pointing to the rainbow-maned pegasus, who was, unsurprisingly, the most intriguing of the bunch—barring the princess, of course.

Pinkie's expression suddenly became a touch more sullen, though somewhat wistful as well, and it was reflected in her tone of voice. "Oh, that's Rainbow Dash," she explained with a soft smile. "She's my best-est best friend in the whole world!"

"Your best friend?"

"Uh-huh. I always felt kinda guilty for calling her my best friend; I didn't want my other friends to think I liked her better than them. But they all said it's okay to have a best friend. They weren't gonna get jealous or anything. Dash is always the first one to show up for one of my parties, and we really like to go around pranking everypony together," Pinkie said with a snicker, recalling many of the hilarious antics they've pulled. At that moment though, her voice became calm again. "Actually, she was the reason I almost didn't come to Steeden."

"Vhy not? Did something happen to her?"

Pinkie shook her head. "No, nothing like that. All of my other friends were really supportive and happy when I told them the news. But Rainbow Dash was pretty upset. Like I said, she's my best-est friend, and I'm her best-est friend. She was really torn up about me leaving for a whole year, and I didn't wanna leave knowing one of my friends didn't want me to."

Puff was hesitant to ask anything further, but took a chance anyway. "Is she mad at you for leaving?"

Pinkie put on a big grin in response. "Nope. We made sure there were no regrets before I left, and partied our patooties off to make the best of the time we had before leaving."

Puff gave a smile back at that news. "That's good then."

"Yup," nodded Pinkie. The pink mare glanced up at the clock on the wall and gasped. "Whoa! Is that the time?! Too much talking! Gotta get cleaned up and go to Candy's before class starts!"

Pinkie jumped up and bolted to the bathroom, dropping her plate and mug in the kitchen sink as she passed. Puff simply shrugged and leisurely followed her to brush her own teeth and get washed up.

***** ***** *****

Gwenivere lay reclined on the couch of her living room, enjoying a good book while her roommate was in the bathroom getting prepared for the day's classes. The griffon's eyes glanced up to the clock frequently. There was a slight smirk on her face that grew ever wider as the hands ticked forward. She had been waiting impatiently all morning, and pretty soon everything was about to fall into place. Just a little bit longer, she told herself.

As if on cue, she could hear a series of hoofsteps trotting down the hall and toward her dorm, just as she was expecting. Her eyes were trained on the partially open door, and she was doing her best not to lose her composure before her expected guest arrived. And with a loud slam, the door flung open.

"Gooooood morn—"

The silence had been broken, and subsequently returned just a few moments later following the sound of a torrent of water splashing to the floor and a bucket landing upon Pinkie Pie's head, effectively silencing the intruder.

Gwenivere's book fell to the floor, shortly followed by the griffon herself as she descended into a fit of laughter at the pink mare's predicament, who stood motionless in the doorway with her hoof extended and the bucket still on her head. Puff stood behind Pinkie in the hallway looking rather shocked and keeping her distance to avoid the water spilling out into the hall. The frantic sound of clambering hooves could be heard dashing into the room, and Candy arrived with a towel wrapped around her wet mane and a panicked expression.

"What the hay was that?!" It wasn't until then that Candy noticed her friend standing there with her new "accessory," and her roommate literally rolling on the floor with laughter. The look of panic and shock was quickly replaced by anger, directed firmly at the griffon. "Gwen, what did you do?"

The griffon barely managed to lift herself from the floor, leaning on the couch for support. Wiping a tear from her eye and fighting back further hysteria. "Ev—heh... Every morning she comes over 'ere to see you before class. She's become so prévisible zat I zought I'd 'ave a little fun. I 'ad to wait until you went to zee toilettes so zat I could set it up. But it was so worz it. Ha ha ha! Look at 'er!" Gwenivere pointed to the soaking wet earth pony—who remained silent and unmoving—and found it difficult to continue without giggling uncontrollably. "Is zat not zee funniest zing you have ever seen? Ha ha! My sides, zey 'urt!"

Candy just let out an aggravated groan and walked over to her friend, removing the bucket. "Honestly, I'm getting real sick of this inexplicable grudge you have with Pinkie Pie. Classes are about to start, and just look at her: soaked and... smiling?"

Sure enough, underneath that bucket, Pinkie Pie was grinning amusedly. Finally the party pony moved, turning to look at Candy.

With utter confusion, Candy asked, "Uh, why are you smiling like that? She just dropped a bucket of water on your head."

"I know! It's so old school!" Pinkie shook the water from herself like a wet dog, splattering it all over the place, but allowing her mane to spring back to it's usual poofiness. She then looked at Gwenivere, whose mirth had been subdued by the fact that Pinkie wasn't upset. "You know, Gwen, I've got a real soft spot for the classics; they're so obvious that nopony ever expects 'em! Why didn't you tell me you were a fellow conny-sir of practical jokes? That's even more reason for us to be friends!"

Gwenivere sat on the couch with a dissatisfied look. "I zink you just answered your own question. Besides, I am not a 'connoisseur' of practical jokes. I simply noticed a pattern, and took advantage of it."

Pinkie Pie happily hopped onto the couch and draped a hoof around Gwenivere's shoulder, much to the griffon's displeasure. "Well, it certainly seems like you have the makings of a fine prankster. Take it from me, I know funny, and that one, while perhaps a tad outdated, was still pretty good."

The other two earth ponies could only stand there in utter bafflement at what they were seeing. Anypony else would have been absolutely livid after something like that.

"You're not mad?" Puff asked Pinkie.

Pinkie Pie waved a hoof dismissively. "Nah. If anything, she gets my respect." In a sudden and unexpected turn, Pinkie grabbed Gwenivere's head and stared into her eyes with complete seriousness. The griffon was admittedly a little frightened by the dramatic shift in the pony's tone. "But you're messing with forces far beyond your comprehension. With every tit comes a tat, and, trust me, you will get your tat." Pinkie Pie slid off the couch and menacingly made her way to the door, her eyes never looking away from Gwenivere's. "You have no idea the wrath you have invoked this day. Sleep with one eye open, little birdie."

Pinkie Pie disappeared from sight, leaving the others in silence and quite unnerved, especially Gwenivere. Puff was the first to speak.

"Vell... that vas... unsettling. Vhat do you suppose she meant?"

"No clue," Candy answered. Her eyes fell to look at the floor around the doorway and the wet hoof prints in the surrounding area. "What I do know is that I am definitely not cleaning that up."

***** ***** *****

Gwenivere turned over in her bed. The dark of night had enveloped her, and sleep had come quickly afterward. However, her consciousness had inexplicably returned to her, though she did not open her eyes in hopes that she might doze off again. What was it about this night that would cause her to be so restless? Something was off, she just couldn't explain what it was. Whatever. It was probably nothing; she'd be back to sleep in a few minutes.

The griffon rolled over onto her right side, pulling her bedsheets tighter to herself in hopes that the added comfort would lull her. But now her eyes were offended by a faint, red glow that managed to permeate her eyelids. Finally, she gave in. Gwenivere's eyes opened slowly. The red glow was coming from the digital clock on the bedside table. It read "3:30 am." She was usually an early bird, but that was obscenely early, even by her standards. As she lay there wondering why sleep eluded her, her eyes couldn't help but glance over to the other bed where her roommate lay. Gwenivere's brow furrowed over her tired eyes. Candy was sleeping just fine. Why should she get a good night's sleep while she herself was doomed to lie awake in the darkness?

Looking at Candy, the sudden thought of the pony's friends came up for some reason, particularly that irksome, pink moron, Pinkie Pie. Gwenivere wanted to grin, the thought of her brilliant prank that morning returning to her, and the state it left the annoying pony in, but was instead bothered by the thought. Not particularly by the prank itself, but what happened afterward. Pinkie Pie had become a completely different person in the blink of an eye. Menacing; unnerving; downright scary even. And if that wasn't enough, all throughout the day she was met with much the same. Pinkie Pie would occasionally look over her shoulder at her during class, that same foreboding glare piercing straight through her. Could it be that she felt guilty? Did Pinkie's reaction trigger a sense of regret within her? No, of course not; it was hilarious. She hadn't laughed so hard in ages. Why would she feel guilty about something so amusing?

Gwenivere shrugged it off. After thinking about it a little, it didn't bother her as much, provided that was what was keeping her up in the first place. She rolled back onto her left side, ready to once again embrace the dream world. However, in place of the red glow of the clock she was met by on the other side of the bed, she was now staring at what appeared to be two blue spheres, barely visible through the curtain of night.

"I told you to sleep with one eye—"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Gwenivere shot up in horror at the sound of the whispering voice next to her bed, her frightened shriek piercing the darkness and causing Candy to jolt up in shock. The panicked and confused earth pony clumsily fumbled with the lamp on the bedside table, clicking it on and bathing the room in light. With the area now illuminated, she could see her roommate huddled up against the headboard of her bed, her chest heaving with panicked breaths. What she also saw was another pink earth pony standing next to Gwenivere's bed.

"Pinkie Pie?! What the heck are you doing here?!"

"I warned Gwen to sleep with one eye open," she answered nonchalantly. "I came by to see if she listened." Pinkie eyed Gwenivere sternly. "But she didn't."

Candy stared at Pinkie, mouth agape as if the words she was hearing were utter gibberish. "You broke into our apartment for that?! Are you insane?! How did you even get in here?!"

"Lock picking kit. I was saving it in case we ran into a spooky dungeon while we were here, but I already used the key now, soooo..."

Candy's gaze was incredulous. In her sleep addled state she was unable to formulate a retort, so she settled on the only thing that came to mind. "Get out."

"Okie dokie," Pinkie said with a smile as she turned to the door. She then looked back at Gwenivere as she was leaving. "But we still have a score to settle."

The bedroom door closed behind the intrusive pony, and Candy fell back onto her pillow with a weary sigh. Gwenivere remained in the exact same position she had been in the whole time, clutching her chest tightly.

"You okay there, Gwen?"

"I'll let you know when my 'eart starts beating again," she answered between breaths. "Why are you friends wiz zat lunatic?!"

Candy stared up at the ceiling. "I'll have to get back to you on that."

***** ***** *****

"All ready?" Pinkie Pie asked as Puff finished drying her mane.

"Almost." Puff stood in front of the bathroom mirror attempting to tie her hair into her usual pigtails. "You can go on ahead. I'll catch up."

"Right-o." Pinkie performed a quick salute and immediately bounded toward the door to head to Candy's dorm as she did every morning. However, when she opened the door, she was met by the very mare she was off to visit, brow furrowed and looking none too pleased. "Oh, hiya, Candy."

"What the hay, Pinkie?"

Her friend's accusatory tone immediately wiped the smile off Pinkie Pie's face. "Oh, right," she responded with a sharp inhale through clenched teeth. "Was kinda hoping you forgot about that."

"Forgot? It was last night, just a few hours ago! Seriously, what were you thinking?!"

"Vhat's vith the yelling?" Puff asked as she entered the living room.

"Were you aware that your roommate here broke into our bedroom last night?" Candy asked, stepping inside as she did.

Puff gawked at Pinkie Pie. "Vhat?! Vhy?!"

Once again, Candy turned her incensed glare at the culprit. "Yeah, Pinkie: why?"

Pinkie's ears folded back. Candy was certainly doing a good job of making it feel like she was on trial. "Look, I thought about it when I got back to bed, and I realized that it was kinda... weird. I would have went back and apologized last night, but I figured you'd be even madder if I did, so I'm sayin' it now: I'm sorry."

Candy clenched her eyes shut. As unpredictable as Pinkie Pie could be, she could tell she was being sincere. It was kind of hard to be mad at her, especially when she was staring at her with those puppy dog eyes. "I... I just want to know what was going through your head that made you do it."

Pinkie tilted her head, the question seemingly unnecessary. "I told you last night: to check if Gwen was sleeping with one eye open. She wasn't."

Candy pressed a hoof against her forehead in exasperation. "That's not a reason to break into somepony's bedroom. Okay, let me be more specific: why did you tell Gwenivere to sleep with one eye open?"

Pinkie's face straightened out with sheer seriousness. "Because she shot first."

Candy glanced at Puff for a moment. The other pony seemed just as confused by the reply. "You want to try answering that again? This time in a way that actually makes sense?"

Pinkie Pie began pacing around the living room, speaking with the tone and professionalism of a lawyer. "You were both there during the incident. Yesterday morning, one Gwenivere le Grand had, with all intention, placed a bucket of water above the entrance of her dormitory, the result of which would be an unexpected soaking for the first person to enter. A.K.A.: me." Pinkie turned around, positioning her face just centimeters away from Candy's. "By doing so, she unwittingly threw the first punch in what will become, shall we say, her undoing."

A sudden sense of concern and horror came over Candy, both from her friend's words, and the way she said them. "Pinkie... What are planning?"

Pinkie's seriousness was instantly replaced by her usual smile and perkiness. "Oh, you don't have to worry. It's nothing serious. Basically, she pulled a prank on me, so now I have to return the favor."

"You're going to prank her?" Puff inferred. "Hm. After the vay you vere talking yesterday, I vas expecting something more... sinister."

"Hold up," Candy interrupted, a touch of skepticism in her voice. "To what degree are you going to take this exactly?"

Pinkie shrugged. "I got something in mind. You'll see during class today." She received a stern glare from Candy. "It's harmless, promise."

Candy shook her head. "Whatever. Just, whatever you're doing, keep it out of our dorm, and don't get me involved any more than I already am."

Pinkie saluted her friend with a big grin. "You got it."

***** ***** *****

Gustave lifted a spoonful of chocolate pudding to his mouth. Puff watched in anticipation as her teacher evaluated her work. She wasn't nervous, she simply wanted his opinion. Gustave nodded and licked a speck of chocolate from his beak.

"Mmm. Bien. Zis is quite tasty," Gustave affirmed with a congratulatory smile. "Alzough, per'aps it could be a tad thicker."

Puff nodded. "Sure. Thank you, Chef."

"You 'ave natural talent, Puff," the griffon complemented. "I take it you 'ave had much practice over zee years."

Puff looked a touch unsure of herself. "Ya, I suppose. Not as much as vould have liked, though."

Gustave raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why is zat?"

Puff just shook her head, dismissing the topic. "It's nothing. You don't need to be concerned about it." She turned back to her station to try making another batch of pudding. No longer facing Gustave, she muttered under her breath, "Und hopefully I don't anymore either."

The griffon shrugged her answer off. If she felt it was something personal, then he had no right to butt in. Instead, he made his way around the room to check out what the other students were baking. It was a pretty laid back day, all things considered. Today's classes were all about just testing out some recipes, working on perfecting certain pastries, or learning how to bake entirely new ones. As much as Gustave enjoyed putting the pressure on, every now and then he felt it would be generous to just let his students work at their own pace, as if they were at home, baking for themselves or their families. It was plainly evident that each of them thoroughly enjoyed baking; when they weren't preparing for a test or assignment, their faces were lit up with smiles, and engaging themselves in idle conversation as they mixed batter, or while they had something in the oven.

"Hey."

Puff looked up at the feeling of somepony tapping her shoulder. Candy seemed to be giving her a concerned look.

"What did you mean by that?" Candy asked.

Puff inferred that she must have been talking about her brief chat with Chef le Grand, more specifically the comment she had just made to herself. "Oh. I didn't think anypony heard me."

"Is something bothering you? If you want, we could talk about it."

Puff smiled dismissively. "Nein, it's okay. It's not a big deal."

That answer didn't exactly ease Candy's mind. Obviously something was on Puff's mind, but perhaps class hours was not the best time to talk about personal issues anyway.

Candy's attention was diverted, however, when Pinkie Pie sauntered past, rocking her head to and fro as she hummed to herself. She was headed in Gustave's direction. A ding from Candy's oven let her know that the cake she was baking was ready, but she kept her ears perked up as she tended to it to see what Pinkie was up to.

"Ahem," Pinkie coughed into her hoof as she stood behind Gustave.

The griffon, who had been busy looking over a recipe in one of his books, turned to the mare. When he noticed who it was, he let out an involuntary sigh. He'd been doing that a lot since the school year started; it seemed like every day Pinkie Pie had some random or obtuse question for him. "What is it, Pinkie Pie? Can I 'elp wiz somezing?"

"Well, I just wanted to ask: does Gwen have any sort of heart condition or digestive problems. Ulcers or anything like that?"

And apparently today would be no different. That was perhaps the most random question she'd asked yet, as evidenced by Gustave's quirked eyebrow and confused silence. And the fact that she asked the question with an innocent smile was even more disconcerting. "Er... no. Why is zis important?"

"No reason," the pink mare responded in singsong, then immediately zipped back to her station.

Gustave simply shook his head and said to himself, "Don't ask. You don't want to know."

Candy kept her mouth shut while Pinkie passed by again. This must have had something to do with their conversation earlier that morning. Pinkie Pie was planning something, that was scary enough on its own, but to require that she ask that particular question was even more worrying. Candy was ready to step in and put a stop to it if she thought Pinkie was going too far. She just needed to watch closely.

Pinkie leaned down and reached into her saddlebags, rummaging around all of her text books and cook books. A smile suddenly creased her lips and she pulled out a very small bottle—practically a vial—of what appeared to be some bizarre, rainbow-colored substance. She also removed a tiny eye dropper. Tucking the pair of items into her apron pocket, she cantered over towards the griffon she had been inquiring about. Candy also noticed that Sugar Cookie was watching Pinkie as well from her station next to Gwenivere's, but, as opposed to the skeptical gaze that Candy was using, she had a sly smirk on her face. Candy Cane looked back at Pinkie just in time to catch her passing a wink to Sugar, which struck her as odd. The unicorn then immediately stepped over to Gwenivere.

"Excuse me, Gwenivere," Sugar said politely.

The griffon didn't look up from the batter she was mixing. "Oui?"

"I was wondering if I could get your opinion on this batch of cookies I have just made."

"Why do you ask moi?" Gwenivere asked, mild irritation in her voice.

The question caused Sugar's smile to grow just the slightest amount. "Because you are Chef le Grand's daughter. You are clearly the ideal choice for this request."

Gwenivere finally looked up from her work, that compliment sparking a small twinkle in her eye, but she attempted to remain aloof. "I cannot say you are wrong. Very well. Let me try zem."

Sugar gestured Gwenivere over to her station. Pinkie Pie then quickly sidled over to the griffon's now empty station and removed the bottle and eye dropper from her pocket. She popped the cork from the bottle, then, with the eye dropper between her teeth, siphoned out a small amount of the rainbow liquid. She paused for a moment to ensure that Gwenivere's back was still turned, then leaned over the bowl of batter the griffon had been mixing, and very carefully squeezed out two drops of the substance into the bowl. With her job done, she quickly bolted back to her own station and replaced the bottle and dropper back into her bag, returning to her own business as if she had done nothing, just in time for Gwenivere to do the same.

"Thank you for your input," Sugar said, though punctuated with a roll of her eyes and a hint of sarcasm. Clearly she wasn't pleased with Gwenivere's opinion of her baking.

Sugar then looked back to Pinkie Pie, and received yet another wink. Her unappreciative scowl was replaced with a smile, though somewhat more devious than it had been before. They were obviously in cahoots, and Candy needed to get some answers. She grabbed Pinkie by the shoulder and pulled her aside.

"What did you do?" Candy whispered to her conspiring friend.

"Why, I have no idea what you mean," Pinkie responded, batting her eyelashes innocently.

Candy narrowed her eyes. "You put something in Gwen's batter. You promised you weren't going to take this too far."

"Pfft. It's not like I laced her cake with poison. I'm mischievous, not evil." Pinkie reached into her apron pocket and removed the bottle of the strange substance. "It's just a little something to give her cake a little extra kick. It's gonna be awesome."

Not surprisingly, that didn't do much to alleviate Candy's skepticism. She trusted Pinkie, but she knew that things like this had a tendency to get out of hoof fast. And she was inadvertently caught in the middle of it, with one side being that of her friend, and the other her roommate. She had to live with Gwenivere and whatever anger Pinkie's antics incurred as a result. But she'd have to wait until Gwenivere's cake was actually done to see the result of Pinkie's plan. Admittedly, she was a little curious.

As time ticked by, the moment of truth had eventually arrived. Gwenivere, with oven mitts over her talons, pulled the perfectly baked cake out of the oven. Pinkie and Candy both watched from their respective stations as the griffon decorated, spreading vanilla icing across the top, and adorning it with dollops of cream and slices of various fruit. Pinkie Pie was eagerly biting her lip, fighting back preemptive giggles. Her impatience was amplified by the fact that Gwenivere never seemed pleased with the aesthetics of her creation, constantly repositioning her decorations and making the wait almost painful.

Finally, Gwenivere cut a slice and placed it on a plate, scrutinizing the soft, fluffy interior. Her eyes moved across the kitchen, falling upon her father. "Chef le Grand," she called to her dad. However, he was busy with another student and hadn't heard her. She started over toward him to get his attention.

Pinkie Pie's eyes immediately showed signs of panic, and she lunged forward and pulled Gwenivere back to her station, much to the griffon's irritation. "H-Hey, where're you going, Gwen?"

Considering the pony had not yet released her, Gwenivere figured that answering her question was the fastest way to get out of this and back to what she was doing. "Not zat it is any of your business, but I am simply requesting mon papa's opinion of mon gâteau."

"You don't need his opinion. You're of the same flock, right? Your sense of taste should be just as refined as his."

Gwenivere turned her eyes up in thought. She couldn't say Pinkie was wrong. "I suppose you 'ave a point."

The griffon pushed Pinkie back toward her own station. She then scooped a bite of her cake into her mouth and chewed. She paused momentarily, her expression showing confusion. She looked over her slice again, looking for something that may have been off. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a very slight, rainbow hue, practically unnoticeable if one weren't looking for it. Her gaze immediately shot back to Pinkie Pie, her behavior just now suddenly setting off alarms in her brain—as well as her tongue suddenly. The earth pony was looking rather victorious, and bounced her eyebrows at the griffon. But before Gwenivere had a chance to inquire about it, an intense heat suddenly covered her palate, like she had just shoveled a spoonful of hot soup in her mouth... Jalapeño soup... cooked over the fires of Tartarus.

Gwenivere's mouth shot open and a stream of hot flames burst forth, along with the griffon's panicked shriek. All of the students in the kitchen watched in confusion, shock, and amusement as Gwenivere scrambled frantically, knocking over bowls and utensils in her bid to reach the sink. She leaned her head under the faucet, and doused the flames with a torrent of cold water.

Pinkie Pie fell over, holding her sides during her raucous laughter as Gwenivere continued to guzzle down water in a vain attempt to stop the searing sensation in her tongue and throat.

"I take it you 'ad somezing to do wiz zis."

Pinkie looked up, wiping a tear from her eye to see Gustave standing over her. "Oh, h-heya, Chef. Hehe! Yeah, funny, huh?"

Gustave looked at his daughter again. She pulled her head away from the sink for just a split second before clenching her beak shut, another flame billowing forth from her nostrils, prompting her to return to the faucet.

"What did you do exactly?" Gustave inquired. He didn't sound mad; more curious than anything.

Pinkie Pie stood up on wobbly legs, still chuckling between breaths. "I just... put a little of this in her cake batter."

Gustave was given the bottle of rainbow-colored liquid. He looked it over, tilting and turning the bottle. "And what is zis?"

"Essence of rainbow."

Gustave looked surprised to hear that. "Vraiment? Where did you get zis?"

"A friend of mine got some from Cloudsdale. Have you ever tasted rainbow in liquid form, Chef?"

"Non, I 'ave not. I may be avian in nature, but I know little of wezer management. I was not aware zat rainbows 'ad a liquid form."

Pinkie smiled, welcoming the opportunity to teach the teacher. "Well, they do. And in their liquid form, they're suuuuper spicy. Even for somepony like me, who likes spicy foods—and sweet foods... and salty foods... and even some bitter foods—this stuff is pretty intense. Buuuuut I might have modified this batch a little."

"Modified 'ow?"

"A little wasabi, some habanero extract. Nothing much really."

Gustave stroked his chin as he looked the bottle over once more. "Hm. Fascinant. Do you 'ave any more of zis wiz you? Some zat is... not tainted?"

Pinkie nodded with a grin. "Sure. I like to use it as a condiment sometimes. Gives food a little extra fiya!"

"In petit concentrations, would you say zat zee average person could enjoy zis?"

"You bet. It's spicy, but also a little sweet." Pinkie glanced back to Gwenivere, still busy gargling. "She mostly got the spicy. Why? Do you want to borrow some for your dinner?"

Gustave smiled with interest. "Actually, I was zinking zat we could per'aps incorporate zis product into some recipes. Expérimentation is important for chefs après all. I am curious as to what we can do wiz zis. Per'aps we may dedicate a 'ole class to it."

"Wow, that sounds fun! Just let me know when you wanna try it and I can bring the stuff with me."

"You!"

Gwenivere, steam still leaking from her mouth, but the burning flame on her tongue otherwise doused, shot a glare consisting of icy daggers and venomous fire straight at Pinkie Pie. The feathers on her head and neck were absolutely drenched, and her eyes were bloodshot from the insanely hot spice and being inundated with gushing water, but the redness played well alongside the unbridled rage within them. She stomped over to the mare, pointing a sharp talon at her face. Had her father not been standing right there, the other students would have expected her to grab Pinkie by the throat.

"You... You..." Instead of words, Gwenivere simply let out a ear-piercing shriek, then continued to glare at the grinning, pink pony, and huffing steam from her nostrils.

"Hehe! Pretty good, huh?" Pinkie giggled, paying no mind to Gwenivere's anger. "Admit it: I got you."

Gwenivere clenched her claw into a tight fist, fighting back her predatory urge to inflict bodily harm onto her offender.

"So now that I got payback for your prank, I'd say we're even Stevens. See, this is what you get for messing with the queen of pranks," Pinkie stated with a smug grin. "Hopefully you've learned your lesson."

Gwenivere's eye twitched. "We are not 'even Stevens.' Zis game is far from over, little pony." A sinister smile played across her beak. "I will see to it zat zee 'queen of pranks' is dethroned." The griffon turned her back and stomped out of the kitchen in a huff.

Candy wandered over to Pinkie and Gustave, addressing the mustachioed griffon. "Are you just gonna let her walk out of class, Chef?"

Gustave, having watched the whole thing unfold and witnessed what very well may have been his daughter breaking mentally, answered with a sigh. "Given zee circumstances, I will allow it. I simply ask zat any more of zese shenanigans take place outside of zee classroom. Comprendre?" he requested of Pinkie Pie.

The pink mare shrugged. "I think I can do that, but I can't speak for Gwen."

Puff Pastry couldn't help but laugh at the entire situation. "I must admit, that vas pretty funny."

Candy giggled in agreement. "That's true. Even if her reaction doesn't bode well for you, Pinkie. You better watch your back."

Pinkie waved the warning off. "Psh. Like I said, I'm the queen of pranks. I can handle anything she can dish out."

"For everyone's sake, I 'ope you are right," Gustave said. "Gwenivere was never one to just let somezing like zis go. She knows 'ow to 'old a grudge."

Pinkie smiled confidently, never one to back down from a challenge, especially one involving pranks. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see, huh?"

***** ***** *****

"So vhere is Gwenivere this morning?" Puff asked Candy, having noticed the griffon's absence from her apartment.

The trio of earth pony friends were leaving Candy Cane's apartment and headed downstairs, ready for another day of classes and pastries. Pinkie Pie was her usual chipper self this morning. However, Candy was a touch on edge.

"No idea," she answered. "When I woke up, her bed was empty. I figured she just woke up early like she usually does, but she wasn't anywhere in the apartment at all."

"Do you think this has something to do vith vhat happened yesterday?"

"It definitely has something to do with that," she replied with a sigh. "Pinkie, I don't understand why you're not worried. After the way Gwen reacted yesterday, she obviously has something in store for you."

"I know, I can't wait!" Pinkie giggled. "I could barely sleep last night wondering what she's got in store. Who knows, maybe I might learn something from her. A prank I can try on my friends when I get back home. The anticipation is killing me!"

Candy could only give her a look of exasperated puzzlement. "You are one nutty pony."

Having reached the university's ground floor, the trio headed for Gustave's class and stepped inside, giving a friendly wave to their teacher seated at the head of the class. Once they were there, their earlier question was at least partially answered when they saw Gwenivere already seated amongst the few others that had shown up early. The griffon did nothing to conceal the sly grin on her face when she saw Pinkie Pie enter the room. Both Candy and Puff knew that something was going to happen before the day's end, they just hoped it wouldn't result in an all out war between the two. Pinkie gave an eager, unimposing grin back to Gwenivere before slipping off her saddlebags and dropping them beside her desk. The smile confused the griffon for a short moment, but her composure reset as she watched the pony preparing to sit down.

Pinkie Pie pulled out her chair from the desk just in front of Gwenivere's, swinging her rump around to plant it upon the seat. But she paused, eliciting an almost unnoticeable frown from the griffon. Pinkie Pie stepped away from her desk, glancing down at her seat. Gwenivere must have taken notice of Pinkie's tendency to keep her eyes everywhere but where she was going, illustrated by the completely unhidden, rubber, balloon-like object placed upon her chair. The pony raised an eyebrow, picking up the all too familiar object.

"A whoopee cushion?" she stated. Her voice displayed pride in her ability to out predict her rival, yet also contained a hint of disappointment. "That's your big revenge?"

Gwenivere sat quietly, unfazed with only a small smile.

"I know I said I have a soft spot for the classics, but if you wanna out prank me, you gotta try a little harder than that."

Gwenivere breathed an exaggerated sigh. "Per'aps you are right. I clearly am not, 'ow you say... 'on your level.' Oh well. I suppose zen zat I must concede to you, Pinkie Pie. You truly are zee 'queen of pranks.' I simply cannot pull zee wool over your eyes a second time."

"Aw, don't feel bad, Gwen," Pinkie said with a kind grin. "You tried, that's what matters. You didn't sit back and let it go, you at least attempted to get even. That's what pranking is all about. But if it makes you feel any better..." Pinkie dropped the whoopee cushion back onto her chair and immediately plopped herself down, the distinctive and comedic sound of the object deflating hitting everyone's ears and triggering amused giggles from the pink pony. It was particularly surprising for the last couple of students who had just walked in.

Gustave rubbed his eyes and sighed. "If you are quite done wiz your childishness, I would like to commencer wiz today's classes."

As their instructor went about the morning's lesson, Candy discretely leaned over to whisper to Pinkie Pie. "You don't actually believe that Gwenivere would give up just like that, do you? There's no way she's satisfied with that outcome."

"Candy, Candy, Candy," Pinkie tutted with a shake of her head. "There's so much about pranking you don't know. Unwritten rules, spoken vows, honor. Any prankster worth their salt knows that a verbal surrender is just as good as a written decree. Gwen threw in the towel. There's no shame in that, I think she knows that, and I respect her for it. I thought you'd be happy; I know you've been more on edge about this whole thing more than anypony."

"The reason I'm on edge is because you're my friend, and I don't want this thing to spiral out of control. Gwen isn't the type of person to just give up." Candy peered back at the griffon in question. Much to her surprise, she was looking straight back at her, and with a triumphant grin no less. She must have been listening in the whole time, and that only added credence to Candy's suspicions. "She's got something up her sleeve, I know it."

Pinkie turned around and looked at Gwenivere herself. The image she saw was a griffon with her eyes focused at the front of the class, listening intently to her father's teachings. Pinkie looked back at Candy. "She's doesn't have sleeves, silly."

"Pardon moi, mademoiselles," came the voice of their teacher, who had managed to sneak up on the two conversing ponies. "I was not aware zat my lessons were interrupting your chitchat. 'Ow rude of moi."

Pinkie responded with an oblivious smile. "That's okay, Chef. We don't min—mmph!"

Pinkie was prevented from saying anything further by Candy's hoof clamping over her mouth. "Sorry, Chef. Won't happen again."

Pinkie, her mouth covered, gave a silent nod in agreement.

Gustave simply rolled his eyes as he returned to the front of the room. "See to it zat it does not."

With that, the class resumed as usual with the rest of the morning passing by without much of anything out of the ordinary happening. After a couple of hours in the classroom, Gustave lead his students to the kitchen for another day of practice and experimentation.

Candy Cane kept an eye on Gwenivere the whole time, but the griffon had hardly cast a sidelong glance toward Pinkie Pie the whole time. Everyone had just reverted to their usual mannerisms, as if the goings-on of the last couple of days had never happened. Maybe Gwenivere really was giving up, content to just let this whole thing be over and done with. Part of Candy's mind had entertained the thought, but the rest of it was still suspicious. At least the supposed "calm before the storm" was giving her a chance to just relax and not worry about her friend for once. She seriously thought that that mare was going to take years off her life with all the hoopla she'd been pulling. Candy was starting to feel like a foalsitter watching a particularly troublesome child.

"Vell?"

"Hm?" Candy opened her eyes, forgetting what she was doing. Puff was staring at her with interest.

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's pretty good," Candy replied with a full mouth, still chewing the cupcake that Puff had asked her to taste test.

"Not too much butter? I have a tendency to overdo it vith the butter sometimes."

Swallowing the pastry, Candy answered with a satisfied grin, "It works in your favor. Really moist and flavorful. Seriously, Puff, you need to stop being so reliant on other people's opinions and trust your own judgment once in a while. You're your own worst critic."

Puff looked away for a moment, mumbling to herself. "I've had vorst critics."

Candy paid no mind to her friend's utterance, having not actually heard her say anything. What she did notice, however, was Pinkie Pie staring intently at Gwenivere. The griffon didn't seem to notice the pair of eyes fixated on her, but was instead caught up in some sort of predicament, at least that's what it looked like from the uncertain expression on her face as she bit into one of the muffins she had made. Perhaps they hadn't turned out how she expected, or not to her standards more likely.

"Something wrong, Gwen?"

"Hm?" The griffon's focus was redirected to the unassuming smile of the exuberant, pink pony standing a step or two too far within her personal space. Seeing Pinkie's face immediately invoked an involuntary grimace from Gwenivere, but she decided to set aside her personal feelings for a moment and addressed Pinkie with a question. "I was... just zinking zat zee flavor of my muffins is... off. Zere is somezing strange zat I cannot quite put my talon on." Gwenivere narrowed her eyes at Pinkie. "You did not do somezing again, did you?"

Pinkie shook her head, her smile persisting. "Nope. I wouldn't pull the same prank twice in a row; I'm not some one trick pony, ya know."

Gwenivere raised an eyebrow, unsure if she was being honest or not. With Pinkie, it was kind of hard to tell.

"Can I try one?" the earth pony suggested. "Maybe I can help you figure it out."

"I do not require your input," Gwenivere scoffed. However, she let out a reluctant sigh. "Mais... I suppose it would do no 'arm. 'Ere." Gwenivere picked up one of the muffins and passed it to Pinkie Pie, who gladly accepted.

"This is cool!" Pinkie blurted as she held the pastry. "I don't think I've ever actually tried your pastries. Does this mean we're friends now?!" She stared with an wide, eager grin, and bright, hopeful eyes.

The griffon shuddered at the thought. "Absolutely not."

"Oh. Alright then, but soon. Mark my words." Pinkie eyed the muffin, her grin growing wider. "Wow, after all the time you've been playing up your baking, I finally get to see what the fuss is about. Hope you weren't just blowing hot air, Gwen, or I'll be disappointed."

"Would you just eat zee pastry!" Gwenivere froze after her impatient outburst, accidentally garnering the attention of the other students, as well as her father. She calmly ran her claws through her feathers to unruffle them, and cleared her throat. "S'il vous plait."

"Okie doke!" Pinkie eagerly bit into the muffin and happily chewed. Her pace slowed however as she analyzed the taste.

Gwenivere leaned in expectantly. "You do not zink zee flavor is at all... fishy?"

Pinkie smiled as she continued to chew. "You silly. I'm a pony. I don't know what fish tastes like."

At that moment, a devious smirk stretched across Gwenivere's beak. "You do now."

The room went dead silent, the other students, mostly the ponies and zebras, appalled by what they had just heard. Pinkie stopped chewing, her smile disappearing, and her eyes wandering down to the half eaten muffin in her hoof, the other half of which was sitting in her mouth. And if what Gwenivere had just said was any indication... The bright pink coloration of Pinkie's face began to visibly turn a sickly green.

"Oog... I... Uh, I gotta... go..." Pinkie bolted to the door with her hoof over her mouth, and kept running.

The silence within the room persisted, not a soul knowing what to say. Gwenivere victoriously picked up the remainder of Pinkie's muffin and tossed it in her own mouth.

"Who is zee 'queen' now?"

***** ***** *****

The door to Pinkie and Puff's dormitory opened hastily with Candy hurrying in a moment later. Classes had just ended and, even though it had happened a couple of hours prior, Pinkie Pie had not returned, which worried Candy. Puff had already gotten back a few minutes before her and Candy rushed over to the closed bathroom door where she stood. The portly pony could only give a silent glance before looking back at the door.

"Is she okay?" Candy asked, her voice tense with concern.

"Bleugh!"

Candy flinched and stepped back at the disgusting noise that came from the bathroom. It didn't take a genius to figure out what it was.

"You can judge for yourself," Puff deadpanned.

"Wha—? Seriously?! She's been in there this whole time?! I figured she'd be in bed or something by now."

"I'm just as surprised as you. I don't even think there should be that much in her belly."

The pair jumped slightly when the bathroom door opened suddenly. Pinkie was leaning against the door frame, still a little green around the gills.

"I think... I'm okay now. Just hafta... lie down for a while." Instead of walking over to the bed, Pinkie simply slid down the wall and lay on the floor, letting out a relaxed sigh as she did. Candy and Puff could only stare in complete bewilderment.

"Okay, I know that was probably gross and all, but I'm starting to think that you're overreacting a bit," Candy said with an irritated grimace. "It's not like she poisoned you or anything."

"She made her sick," Puff argued. "Technically, that could be considered poisoning. Just... not severe."

"I didn't say it wasn't a big deal. She put fish in her food, then fed it to her. That's messed up." Candy looked back down at the pitiable pink mare lying on the floor in front of her. "I'm just saying that I think Pinkie is playing it up a smidge."

"My poor tummy," Pinkie whined as she grasped her stomach.

Candy rolled her eyes. "Can you get her some antacid or something?" she asked Puff. "I'm going to go interrogate our perpetrator."

Candy trotted to the door with a determined gait and left the apartment. Puff glanced back down at Pinkie Pie, unsure whether she should be worried for or annoyed at her friend.

When she opened the door to her own dorm, Candy immediately found the culprit lounging on the sofa and watching television as if nothing had ever happened. Candy was about to rectify that.

"Okay, I was mad at Pinkie the other night for sneaking into our bedroom, but now I'd like to ask why you thought it was a good idea to feed fish to my friend?!"

Gwenivere chuckled as she remembered the look on Pinkie's face. "Simple: she did it first."

Candy had to willingly prevent the veins in her forehead from popping out; why did these people seem to think that that was a acceptable excuse? She stood in front of Gwenivere, blocking the griffon's view of the television, much to her annoyance. "She put a little spice in your cake. She even had the decency to ask your dad if you had any medical conditions beforehoof. You knowingly caused her physical harm!"

"Oh, please," Gwenivere mocked with a roll of her eyes. "It did not do any 'arm. 'Er body is simply not accustomed to it, zat's all."

"You fed meat. To a herbivore. That's not cool."

Gwenivere sat up, the amusement she had been getting from this fading quicker the longer her roommate wouldn't shut up about it. "I was simply delivering zee coup de grâce in zis childish game, ending it before it could go any furzer."

"You started this whole thing with that damn bucket!" Candy shouted furiously. "You guys could have called it even after Pinkie's retaliation, but no, your stupid superiority complex means that you have to have the last laugh!" Candy pressed a hoof against her temple and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. "Seriously, we've only been here for a month, and I'm already tired of having to moderate this ridiculous rivalry between you two. I just want to bake without having to worry about my friends wringing each other's throats. Is that too much to ask?"

Gwenivere raised an eyebrow. "You zink I am your friend?"

"I'm using relative terms. Don't read into it. I tolerate you at best, though that's getting harder and harder to do with time."

"Hey."

Candy and Gwenivere's attention was turned to the door where the sickly Pinkie Pie was standing all of a sudden. Candy took a few steps toward her. "Pinkie? What are you doing here? You should be in bed."

"Then maybe you should consider closing your door when your arguing with your girlfriend. Hehe—ghk... Ugh. Laughing makes my belly feel weird."

Candy placed a sympathetic hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "Pinkie, go back to your room and get some rest."

"Hold on, I gotta tell Gwen something first." Pinkie weakly pushed past Candy and made it as far as the arm of the couch, which she used for support to keep herself standing. Gwenivere didn't seem amused by her decrepit state, but more curious and wary about what she wanted from her. Pinkie smiled sincerely, which only proved to further concern the griffon. However, what Pinkie said stirred up confusion more than anything. "You got me."

Gwenivere blinked. "Pardon moi?"

"You got me," Pinkie repeated. "I gotta admit, that was a pretty sneaky trick you pulled. Your first two, with the bucket and the whoopee cushion, were pretty amateurish admittedly, but you really amped it up for the finale. You've proved that you're willing to go above and beyond to prove yourself as the best prankster. I don't think I would have had the guts to pull something like that. Oog... Maybe should have worded that differently. Anyway, what I wanted to say was: congratulations."

"For what?" Gwenivere asked.

"For coming out on top. I hereby concede victory unto you. You really are the queen of pranks."

Pinkie extended her hoof as a show of sportsmanship. Although Gwenivere was cautious at first, she couldn't see any sign of danger, such as a joy buzzer or anything of the sort, so she reluctantly took Pinkie's offer and shook.

"So... zat's it? We are done wiz zis?" Gwenivere asked for clarification.

Pinkie nodded weakly, making herself slightly dizzy in the process. "Yup. Well, sort of. See, as a show of good faith, I wanna throw you a victory party at my apartment tomorrow in celebration. Whadda ya say?"

Gwenivere hesitated to answer. She looked to Candy in hopes of getting some sort of hint about the choice. She only responded with an uncertain shrug. The griffon, too, shrugged it off. "Very well. I will be zere. 'Oo am I to turn down such 'ospitality? A victory feast sounds très agréable."

"Great," Pinkie beamed as best she could. "I'll make a nice cake, and other assorted treats for the occasion." A loud gurgle resonated throughout the apartment suddenly, and Pinkie bent over in discomfort. "Ugh. In the meantime, I have other business to attend to. Bye." Hurriedly and clumsily, Pinkie dashed for the door as quickly as she could.

Gwenivere scratched the back of her neck, looking apologetically at Candy. "You would not know if zis is some sort of trick, would you?"

Candy sighed and sat down on the couch with her. "I don't know. She seemed pretty steadfast about the supposed 'unwritten rules' and 'code of honor' that comes with pranking. I think she's actually being serious about it."

That seemed to calm Gwenivere's nerves a bit. "Good. Zen I can enjoy my revelry. I look forward to it."

***** ***** *****

Gwenivere stood in the hallway, staring at the door in front of her. She turned her head to the right and looked down the hall. It was completely empty. Certainly somepony, -griffon, -zebra, or otherwise would find it strange to find her just standing there in the hall in contemplation, waiting by a door to an apartment that wasn't even hers. She reached her claw toward the doorknob, but hesitated and retracted it. She needed just a few more moments to think this over.

"Stop being so paranoid and open it."

Gwenivere jumped with a start at the voice of her roommate who was suddenly standing beside her. She was carrying what appeared to be a grocery bag of assorted pastries.

"I already told you, I think she's being sincere," Candy said, reiterating her point from the previous day. "Just go in. I'd think you of all people would be more than happy to have a party thrown for you in celebration of how 'amazing' you are."

Gwenivere scratched her neck. "I am not convinced. After what I did, she must be planning somezing."

"And, in my honest opinion, I wouldn't blame her. You deserve it. This party, you don't deserve. But Pinkie's my friend, and I'm looking forward to this. Whether or not you get your comeuppance, I couldn't care less. Now stop loitering and get inside."

Candy turned the knob and opened the door. Gwenivere took a step back, expecting something to befall Candy. However, when nothing did and the earth pony stepped inside, Gwenivere, though reluctantly, followed her.

"Heeeeey, look who finally showed up!" Pinkie called out with an excited wave from the kitchen. The pink, party pony was clad in a batter-stained apron, and had decorated the table with all manner of snacks. She skipped over to the entrance to greet her two guests, looking specifically at Gwenivere. "What took you so long? We were waiting for you."

Gwenivere played off the question coolly, pretending that she hadn't been standing outside the door for the last five minutes, and deciding whether or not to even come over in the first place before that. "Zee star is always fashionably late, n'est-ce pas?"

Candy rolled her eyes at her roommates blatantly transparent lie before speaking to Pinkie. "I got the stuff you asked for." She passed the paper bag to the hostess of the party.

"Oh, cool. Thanks. It's nice to have a little café just downstairs. Makes less work for me, not that I'm not having fun baking for Her Majesty mind you," Pinkie said, bowing slightly to Gwenivere. The griffon couldn't help but smile at the ego-stroking she was receiving. Pinkie threw off her apron and trotted toward the kitchen again, where Puff Pastry had already taken a seat, and had also already started sampling the treats. "Anyway, let's get started!"

Gwenivere looked over the spread laid out on the table. Cupcakes; cookies; pie; cake. Pinkie was really going all out for her; there was enough to feed their entire class and then some. And even she had to admit that it all looked rather tasty, though she would never say so aloud of course. Pinkie Pie pulled out a chair, inviting Gwenivere to sit down. She had to admit, despite her reservations, she was beginning to enjoy the royal treatment, especially since it was Pinkie Pie who was submitting herself to her leisure.

After Pinkie and Candy took their own seats, Gwenivere looked across the table at Puff. She had to fight back the urge to deprecate her on her eating habits; she had to be modest in victory after all. But seeing the chubby mare enjoying the spread so thoroughly, Gwenivere now noticed her own hunger and looked forward to treating herself to this victory feast. She picked up a cupcake, decorated with pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles. She cautiously took a bite. The taste was intriguing; an odd, yet tasty, spicy-sweet flavor.

"You like it?" Pinkie asked, watching Gwenivere intently. "I tried the rainbow essence again." Gwenivere's eyes shot wide, but before she could do or say anything, Pinkie continued. "Don't worry, I didn't mix it with anything. If anything, I had to dilute it a tad, make it a lot milder, but the flavor's still there, right?"

Gwenivere nodded. "I must admit, zis is... good. Per'aps a bizarre flavor for pastries, but good nonezeeless."

"A compliment from Gwenivere?" Candy pointed out with a mocking smirk. "I think Tartarus may have frozen over."

Gwenivere waved her comment off dismissively. "She 'as arranged zis party specifically for moi. Zee least I can do is not look a gift 'orse in zee mouth."

"Pony," Pinkie corrected.

"Whatever."

Over time the table became more and more barren, many of the set pieces replaced by empty plates with nothing but a few crumbs and smears of whipped cream left upon them. But even with how much they had eaten collectively, there was still quite a bit left over. Seeing that everypony's—and Gwenivere's—paces were slowing, Pinkie Pie took the opportunity to hop from her seat and run over to the fridge.

"Don't fill up just yet. I've got a special treat to finish with." Pinkie slapped another plate down in front of Gwenivere: a miniature strawberry shortcake, slathered with whipped cream and topped with plump, bright red strawberries. "It's all yours, 'Your Highness.'"

Gwenivere stared wide-eyed at the cake. It certainly looked delicious, and she did have a little room left. But something felt wrong about this. Why would Pinkie be saving this specific dessert for last? And why would she only allow her to eat it? The griffon glanced over at Pinkie, who bounced her eyebrows up and down at her.

"Well? Go ahead. Dig in!" Pinkie inserted a fork into Gwenivere's grasp, wrapping her talons around the utensil for her since she appeared to be too distracted by her own thoughts to do so herself.

Gwenivere gulped. This was it. This was what this whole thing was leading up to. But she was smarter than Pinkie. She could turn this in her favor. "I am feeling razer full as it is. Per'aps we could all share it."

Pinkie shook her head. "No no. This is your party, and this is a special gift from me to you in celebration of your victory."

Gwenivere quickly tried to put something else together in her head. "I... I would just feel so guilty if I were zee only one who could enjoy zis no doubt délicieux confiserie."

Pinkie put up her hoof. "No worries, I got you covered." She hopped over to the fridge again and returned with three more shortcakes, identical to the first, and placed them at everypony else's spots. "See? Now everypony, and everygriffon, gets some. So enjoy!"

A bead of sweat rolled down the feathers of Gwenivere's neck. She couldn't think of another excuse. She knew this was a trap, and she only had two options. Candy, Puff, and Pinkie all stared in eager anticipation to see what the griffon would do. But, finally, a choice was made. Gwenivere pushed her chair out and stood up hastily, gradually inching toward the door with a nervous smile.

"On second zought, I am too full. I cannot eat anozer bite. In any case, zis 'as been fun, but I must go. I 'ave... um..." She didn't bother to finish her thought before slipping out the door, leaving the three ponies sitting in the kitchen with varying expressions.

Candy seemed surprised by her roommates reaction, but, at the same time, amused. "Well, that's a good way to end any party I suppose."

Puff was indifferent to Gwenivere's behavior, not really caring as long as she wasn't insulted for the umpteenth time. "I'm just glad she's gone," she said as she continued digging into her own shortcake.

"I guess you must be disappointed, huh, Pinkie?" Candy inferred.

"Hm? Why would I be disappointed?"

"She saw your prank coming. You didn't have a chance to get even."

Pinkie waved her hoof back and forth. "Au contraire, ma chérie. That was exactly the reaction I was looking for." Pinkie began pacing around the kitchen. "After what Gwenivere pulled yesterday, any normal pony would vow revenge. But being all nice and gracious in defeat, I could lull Gwen into a false sense of security that started unraveling when I began insisting. Paranoia. The trump card in every prankster's bag of tricks."

Candy smiled at her friend's scheme. "That's pretty devious. But what if she had called your bluff?"

"What bluff?" Pinkie hopped onto the chair Gwenivere once occupied, picked up a fork, and poked the side of the untouched cake. With a cartoon-y sproing sound, the cake immediately leapt off the plate, propelled by a spring, and splattered all over Pinkie's smiling face. The pink pony then swirled her tongue in a circle to scoop all the cream and strawberries into her mouth. "I would have been satisfied either way."

Candy and Puff stared incredulously at their grinning friend. Candy spoke for the pair. "Forget devious, that's downright evil."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Puff added.

A thought came to Candy's mind. "Wait a minute. What happened to all that stuff about unwritten rules and honor?"

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "Oh, that? Yeah, I made all that junk up. I knew Gwen was listening in on us, so I was just laying the groundwork for my comeback. When it comes to prank wars, there are no rules, unwritten or otherwise. Now your run-of-the-mill, no-harm-no-foul pranks that are just for a good laugh do have rules. Like, don't play 'em on people who would take offense to it, or for the specific purpose of humiliating somepony. That's how prank wars start. Gwen lost because she was focused on getting even rather than making everypony laugh, cause that's what pranks are all about. Sure, her first one was funny, but you didn't seem to enjoy it, Candy. And if everypony's not laughing, then it's no good." Pinkie pursed her lips as she thought about something. "Come to think of it, I wonder why my Pinkie Sense didn't warn me about the door, or the bucket falling. Huh. Maybe being in a different part of the world is throwing it off."

Candy and Puff shared uncomprehending glances, neither brave enough to inquire about this "Pinkie Sense" thing.

"Whatever the reason, I'm just glad you were able to put Gwen in her place," Candy said with a chuckle.

"Ya. She got vhat she deserved."

Pinkie leaned back in her chair with her hooves behind her head, grinning triumphantly. "Hopefully she's learned that nopony—or griffon—messes with the queen of pranks."

"Just try not to let something like this happen again, please," Candy pleaded.

Pinkie Pie tossed another cupcake into her mouth. "No promishesh."

Chapter 6 - Baker's Dread

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
=====================================================================

Chapter 6: Baker's Dread

=====================================================================

"And when I stood up to pass in my assignment, I realized, to my horror and embarrassment, I wasn't wearing pants! Some dream, huh?"

Candy Cane simply raised an eyebrow at Pinkie Pie's regaling of the dream she had had last night. "Pinkie, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but you aren't wearing pants."

Pinkie's eyes widened and she looked down at her legs.

"In fact, you never wear pants. None of us do."

Pinkie gasped at the revelation. "Then it wasn't a dream, it was a premonition." She leaned over the dining room table and whispered to Candy. "I think I might be psychic."

Candy rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Right, just like last week when you were psychic because you knew it was gonna snow. When literally everyone knew a storm was coming."

Pinkie quickly glanced around, looking quite paranoid. "You think everyone is psychic?"

Candy sighed. "No, Pinkie. Just you."

Pinkie wiped her brow. "Good. I don't think I want anypony reading my mind, or predicting my future. 'Cept me, of course."

"Sounds logical," Candy said to play along and hopefully lay the subject to rest. She then hopped off of her chair and walked over to the counter. "Want another hot cocoa?"

Pinkie held out her near-empty mug and smiled. "Yes, please."

Hot cocoa was a welcomed delight on a day like this. The last few days had seen Trotholm surrounded by blowing snow and howling winds, the kind of day where you really don't want to open your front door. You'd rather just sit back with a nice, hot, chocolatey beverage. And good friends, of course. With the day's classes over, Candy had invited Pinkie Pie to hang out at her dorm. Luckily, Gwenivere hadn't returned with them as she apparently had plans with her father, so that was one thing off of their minds at least.

Candy sat back down at the table with two mugs of hot cocoa, and passed one to Pinkie Pie. Pinkie immediately reached for the bag of mini marshmallows they had on the table and dropped five or six into her drink... Then popped a few more into her mouth directly.

Pinkie took a quick sip of cocoa. "Soooooo..." she started coyly as if she figured Candy already knew where she was going.

Candy's eyes shifted from left to right. "What?"

Pinkie grinned widely and eagerly. "It's almost Hearth's Warming~!"

Her fellow pink earth pony then smiled as she remembered. "Oh, right! We were gonna have a party, right?"

Pinkie shot a hoof into the air. "Yes! And it's gonna be awesome! Look, I was thinking..."

"That doesn't sound good," Candy giggled.

"I know we wanted it to just be a small gathering of close friends in my dorm, buuuuuuut I had the idea that we could get the whole university involved and have a big shindig in the student lounge. Whadda ya think?"

Candy seemed skeptical of the idea. "I don't know about that, Pinkie. We're still on probation. I don't think it's a good idea."

Pinkie shook her head. "No no, see, I was gonna ask for permission. Hearth's Warming is a special occasion. Everyone should get involved and be a part of it, right?"

Candy hummed in thought. "Well, if you could get permission then I guess it'd be fine. You just have to promise that, if they say no, you won't go ahead and do it anyway. We'll just have a small party at your place then. Okay?"

Pinkie Pie waved her warning off. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Nopony's gonna get in trouble... This time."

Candy took a sip of her cocoa. "Come to think of it, Hearth's Warming is about the unification of the three pony races. Do griffons or zebras actually celebrate it?"

Pinkie shrugged. "Who cares? It's an excuse to let loose and have fun. Doesn't matter 'bout who you are or where you come from."

"Can't argue with that. No reason why anyone should be left out."

"Which is why I wanna invite Gwen!"

Candy groaned. "Pinkie, seriously, just give it up. She's not worth it."

"She doesn't have to come if she doesn't want to, but I'm-a still invite her anyway."

Candy didn't bother continuing the argument. More than likely Gwenivere would say no anyway, so there wasn't really any reason to press the issue. However, the conversation brought something to her attention. "Hey, speaking of roomies, where's yours?"

Pinkie widened her eyes a little at the realization that Puff Pastry hadn't shown up. "Huh. I dunno. She said she was just gonna drop by the lobby to pick up our mail, then come up and join us."

"I wonder what's taking her so long. Think we should go check on her?" suggested Candy.

Pinkie agreed and gulped down the rest of her hot cocoa. The two of them left the apartment to seek out their absent friend, Candy opting to check the lobby while Pinkie was going to take a quick peek into her own dorm. The search was quickly cut short when Pinkie immediately noticed that Puff was, in fact, seated at the table in the kitchen.

Pinkie shouted down the hall at Candy before she could make it to the stairwell. "Nevermind! She's in here!"

Candy hurried back to Pinkie's side and they both entered Pinkie and Puff's dormitory. When they got to the kitchen, they noticed that Puff had indeed retrieved their mail from the lobby as there were a few unopened envelopes on the table. Pinkie took particular notice of the one with Twilight Sparkle's address on it, knowing it was a letter from her friends. Only one of the envelopes was actually open, likely the one from which Puff had taken the letter she was currently reading.

"Whatcha doin' back here, Puff?" Pinkie inquired with a grin. "We were waiting for you over at Candy's place."

Puff didn't respond, she just continued to stare silently at the letter in her hooves. It was only now that her friends began to notice the distraught expression on her face.

"Is something wrong, Puff?" Candy asked with concern in her voice.

Puff didn't look up, but passed the letter over to Candy with a defeated sigh. Candy raised an eyebrow at Puff's unusually sullen attitude before looking over the letter. Strangely, the piece of paper wasn't any kind of special stationary, but rather just a simple, blank page. In addition, it had little written on it other than two short sentences.

"Pack your things. I'm coming to bring you home. Puff, what is this?"

Puff finally looked her friends in the eyes. "It's from my mom."

Pinkie peered over Candy's shoulder and scanned the letter herself. "Oh, is your mom bringing you home for Hearth's Warming then? Aw, that's too bad. I mean, it's great that you'll get to spend Hearth's Warming with your family, but I guess that means you're gonna miss out on our party."

"Pinkie, look at her."

Pinkie did as Candy asked and looked at Puff's expression. Sure, anypony would be disappointed to miss out on one of Pinkie Pie's parties, but if she were going home to spend Hearth's Warming with her family, certainly she wouldn't be this upset.

"Puff, what's going on?" The impersonal way that the letter was written caused a horrible thought to come to mind. "Is... Is your mom pulling you out of school?"

Pinkie gawked at the thought. "What?!"

Puff nodded solemnly. "That's exactly vhat she's doing."

"Well... How do you know for sure?" Candy asked, trying to remain somewhat optimistic. "I mean, this letter's pretty vague. It could mean anything really."

"Because I know my mom," Puff answered simply. "But mostly because I didn't tell her I vas going to Steeden."

Pinkie tilted her head in confusion. "You didn't tell her you were leaving the country to go to university? Why not?"

Something was starting to click in Candy's brain, as if the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle were beginning to fit together. In the time that she'd known Puff, she had heard her mention things about her life back home, but never elaborated on them when Candy would ask her about it. Not to mention when she outright refused to talk about her family when the subject was brought up once a few weeks ago. Whatever was happening now, it seemed like they might finally get some answers.

"I've avoided talking about my family as much as possible," Puff said with a sigh. "But I guess there's no point in that anymore."

Candy placed a sympathetic hoof on Puff's shoulder. "Look, if it's really as serious as that, then you don't have to—"

"Nein. You're my friends. Maybe telling you about it vill make me feel better." Puff took a deep breath as she prepared to explain. "First off, you need to know that my mom is a feminist."

"Well, that doesn't exactly seem like something to be upset about," Candy commented. "It's admirable to stand up for women's rights."

"Ya, but my mom is a feminist to the extreme."

"Like, she's a surfer babe who rides gnarly waves?" said Pinkie.

Puff stared at Pinkie with confusion for a moment, the blank eyes staring back at her indicating that that was a genuine question. "Nein. It means she believes that vomen should not exhibit any traditional female roles vithin society. She feels that doing so undermines our credibility as individuals."

"So by 'traditional female roles' you mean things like cooking and housecleaning, right?" Candy inferred.

Puff nodded with another sigh. "Ya..."

Pinkie pursed her lips in thought. "But... You want to be a baker. Does your mom like that?"

"Nein, that's the problem. See, I'm the middle child in my family; I have an older sister und a younger brother. Vhen my sister vas born, Mom did everything in her power to ensure that she followed in her hoofsteps. Mom is a lawyer, und my sister also became a lawyer because of her. But because I vas the second child, Mom und Dad had to divide their attention between the two of us, so vhen Mom und my sister vere out of the house, I vould spend my time after school at home vith Dad."

"I guess he was a stay-at-home dad, if I had to guess based on what you've told us about your mom," Candy assumed.

Puff nodded and continued. "My dad didn't have any problem vith me helping him around the house. I especially loved cooking vith him." Puff finally managed a smile. "It vas fun. I enjoyed cooking und baking. But Mom vould get upset if she came home and found out about it. Sometimes I vould even go to my aunt und uncle's house so I could bake vithout getting caught."

"Geez, you wouldn't think baking would warrant the same punishment as, like, staying up past you're bedtime, or not eating your lima beans. Bleugh!" Pinkie gagged.

"So what about now?" Candy asked. "If you didn't tell her you were coming to Steeden, then where did she think you were?"

"The whole thing vas actually my sister's idea. She suggested I move in vith her on the other side of the country und pretend she vas going to show me some law schools. I stayed vith her for a vhile, making a little bit of money vorking at a small bakery nearby. She didn't vant me to vind up going down the same path as her. She vanted me to have a choice in vhat I vanted to do, unlike her. She paid for most of my tuition, und promised not to tell anypony I vas here." Puff leaned back in her chair and sighed. "But I guess the cat's out of the bag now."

Pinkie and Candy took a moment to let that all sink in. It sounded like she was miserable at home.

"So what are you going to do?" Candy asked.

"You're not actually going to quit and go home, are you?" Pinkie asked with pleading eyes.

Puff shook her head, but there was a noticeable lack of resolve. "Of course not. I vent through a lot of trouble to come here. I actually got accepted into the best culinary school in the vorld. I'm not going to throw that avay."

"So what are you going to do when your mom gets here?" Pinkie inquired.

Puff thought for a moment. "I don't really know. She's going to be very mad, und very stubborn. I doubt she'll be villing to leave vithout me."

"So either you cave, or she does. Is that how it is?" said Candy.

Puff shrugged weakly. "Pretty much. I guess vee'll find out vhen she gets here."

Pinkie shifted in her chair anxiously. "And when is she going to get here?"

Puff picked up the envelope on the table and looked it over. "Probably sometime vithin the next few days. She could have been here faster than she could send a letter, so she probably vanted to give me time to pack before she arrived so vee could get home as soon as possible."

Pinkie and Candy both looked to one another with determination, then gave that same look to their distraught friend.

"Well, whatever happens, we'll be right behind you, Puff," Candy assured with a resolute grin.

"Yeah!" cheered Pinkie. "I know you probably love your mom and all, but you also love baking. And it would be downright mean to take that away from you."

Puff smiled at her friends' support. "Thank you."

***** ***** *****

The front door of the university opened, letting in the cold air from outside and causing the mare working the reception counter to shiver. Even though the poor weather Trotholm had been experiencing as of late had died down significantly, it was still an extremely cold Saturday, despite the clear skies and beaming sun.

The receptionist looked up from her paperwork to see who had just come in; there were no meetings or appointments made for the weekend at all. An earth pony mare briskly trotted over to her desk. Her attire caused the receptionist to lift an eyebrow as she was only wearing a black pantsuit. How she tolerated the stinging cold outside in that was baffling. The only other thing she was wearing was a rather terse expression, indicating that this mare was going to be all business and few, if any, pleasantries.

"Can I help you, Ma'am?" the receptionist greeted with slightly forced enthusiasm.

The mare responded with brevity, getting right to the point. "I am looking for the dormitory of vun of your students: Poof Pastry. Vhich room is she in?"

The receptionist leafed through some papers quickly, looking a tad confused. "Um... I'm sorry, but there are no students enrolled here by that name. There's a Puff Pastry, but no Poof." She glanced back up at the mare who was staring icy daggers back at her, making her more than a little nervous. "But, judging by your expression, that's probably what you said."

"Ya. Now, vhich room is she in," the mare reiterated.

The receptionist gave an apologetic look. "I'm not allowed to reveal that information. Privacy concerns. Sorry."

That answer didn't seem to faze the mare. "I am her mother," she stated simply.

The receptionist shrugged. "And I'm a member of the Sapphire Shores Official Fan Club. Doesn't mean I get to go to her concerts for free."

Her sarcasm elicited another harsh glare from the mare. "You realize your job is demeaning to mares everyvhere, don't you?"

The receptionist stayed silent for a moment. She hadn't really expected that. "Beg pardon?"

"You could have any job you like, but instead you choose to embarrass yourself by being somepony's servant."

"Servant? Lady, I'll be honest with you, I only took this job because it's a weekly paycheck that doesn't really involve a lot of work."

The mare seemed to suddenly lose interest entirely, her head turning to the door to the right of the desk. "I suppose I vill have to locate my daughter myself." She started towards the door, completely ignoring the receptionist.

The receptionist rose from her chair. "Hey, wait! You can't go in without permis—" The door shut behind the mare before she could finish. "—sion..." She sat back in her seat and groaned, waving a hoof dismissively in the direction of the door. "They don't pay me enough."

***** ***** *****

Pinkie Pie leaned over the tray of cupcakes that Puff had just removed from the oven, inhaling deeply through her nose to enjoy the scent of the freshly baked treats. There was nothing like the smell of baked goods in the morning, but the fun part was yet to come: decorating. Pinkie Pie had some icing and several piping bags ready to go. She wanted to test out some decorating designs she'd recently come up with, and Puff was more than happy to provide the canvas for her creativity.

"What do you think I should try first? Strawberry or Blueberry?" Pinkie asked her roommate.

"Vhy not chocolate?" Puff suggested.

Pinkie smacked her lips. "Chocolate sounds good. But, then again, it all sounds good. It's so hard to choose!"

"You're trying all of them anyvay, so vhat difference does it make?"

"Cuz we gotta save the best for last!" Pinkie insisted.

"Und how do you know vhich is best until you've made all of them?" Puff argued.

Pinkie stared at the undecorated cupcakes in thought. "You make a valid point. Random time!" Pinkie Pie covered her eyes and swirled her hoof around in the air before finally bringing it down onto one of the piping bags. Pinkie opened her eyes to see that a small amount of pink frosting had oozed out of the bag she hit. "Strawberry it is!"

As Pinkie lifted the piping bag of strawberry frosting and prepared to start decorating, there was a knock at the door. The excitement they had felt about baking and decorating had suddenly vanished, replaced by pensiveness and concern, especially for Puff.

Pinkie looked toward the door, then to Puff, noticing her roommates hesitation to answer it. "Is that her?"

Puff rubbed her leg nervously. "Probably."

"Should I answer it?" Pinkie offered, knowing how much Puff was dreading this moment.

Puff shook her head. "Nein. I need to face this. It's my problem, not yours."

Puff walked over to the door, trepidation in every step. She placed a hoof on the doorknob, pausing to take a deep breath. Finally, she worked up the courage to open it. Pinkie Pie kept a respectful distance, knowing that it would be more appropriate to allow Puff to speak with her mom, but out of curiosity took a peek through the open door.

Standing in the hall just beyond the threshold was a lime green, earth pony mare with a baby blue mane. She was wearing a black pantsuit that made it impossible to see her cutie mark. Looking at her, one would have never guessed that this mare was related to Puff. Where Puff was somewhat short and chubby, her mother was tall and lean. Although her suit covered much of her body, it didn't obscure the fact that she clearly took close care of herself. Her body was well toned, though not really muscular, but it was quite obvious that she exercised regularly. Among all else, her most noticeable attribute at this given moment was the expression on her face. One would think that a mother would be happy to see her daughter after having not seen one another for several months, but instead she seemed to be glaring sternly. All in all, she was not at all what Pinkie had pictured in her head.

"Hi, Mom," Puff deadpanned. Somehow she had managed to make a simple, two-word greeting sound sarcastic.

Puff's mother, instead of returning her greeting, peered into the dormitory, looking around as if she were expecting something, but couldn't find it. "Vhere are your bags?"

"I didn't pack any bags," her daughter responded, attempting to maintain a steadfast expression.

"I gave you ample time to prepare. Now, pack your things quickly. If vee hurry, vee may be able to catch the next flight home."

Puff stood her ground, her brow furrowing at her mother's insensitivity. She spoke slowly and calmly, though it was clearly visible that she was fighting back some anger. "I'm not going home, Mom."

Her mother shook her head at her daughter's response. "Nonsense. You're coming home vith me right now. I do not vant any daughter of mine to degrade herself in a place like this."

Puff grit her teeth behind tight lips. "This is a vell respected school. Some of the best chefs in the vorld vent to this school! I'm not going to sit here und listen to you insult this place und my friends!"

Pinkie Pie had never seen Puff act like this before. She'd seen her irritated or annoyed, but never outright angry. It was hard to imagine that the one person who could cause Puff to behave this way was her own mother. Even after everything Puff had told her about her mom, Pinkie didn't want to watch the two of them yelling at one another. It was time to play interference.

"Ooookay!" Pinkie interjected with a nervous laugh, throwing her hoof over Puff's shoulder. "I can see there's some tension here, but is this really an appropriate time and place to be arguing? What we should do is all sit down with a nice cup of tea and talk this over calmly and quietly. Whadda ya say?"

Puff's mother stared somewhat blankly at the pink mare, then at her daughter. "This matter is none of your business, Miss..."

"Pie. Pinkie Pie."

"Miss Pie. Und I vould appreciate it if you vere to stay out of it."

As if Pinkie had never heard that before. "Still, I think you two need to discuss this in a... uh, less hostile manner.

Puff's mother looked back to her daughter, electing to completely ignore Pinkie Pie's interruption. "You vill come home."

"I vill not," Puff snapped back. "I am an adult, Mom. You cannot tell me vhat to do anymore."

The taller mare knit her brow tighter. "I see. But I am not returning home vithout you. This," she said, sweeping her hoof around to indicate the university as a whole, "is not your place. You vill be coming home vith me vun vay or another."

With that, Puff's mother turned around and started back towards the stairwell. Pinkie Pie stuck her head out the door, trying to comprehend how such a mare could exist. Pinkie closed the door and watched Puff walk over to the couch and lay down with a groan.

"Wow. That was... something," Pinkie remarked. "Your mom's really... Um..."

"Aggravating?"

"I was gonna go with 'abrasive.' You weren't kidding about her. How could a mom treat her own little filly that way? Your childhood must've sucked."

Puff sat up with a sigh. "Vee don't hate each other. Vhen she's not going overboard vith her ideals, she's actually really supportive. Mom vould alvays help me vith my homevork. She planned big birthday parties for us. Outside of anything... 'girly,' she usually let us do vhatever. Growing up vasn't too difficult, it's just the last few years that have been... intolerable."

Pinkie Pie sat down next to her, offering a sympathetic look. "That didn't look like the kind of relationship a mom should have with her daughter. Moms are supposed to be role models for their daughters."

"Vell, my mom is less a 'role model' und more a control-model."

"Ha!" Pinkie slapped her hooves over her mouth to stifle her laughter, realizing that it was inappropriate. "Sorry. So you're really, really not going to leave?"

Puff nodded. "I'm not going, no matter vhat she says."

"Think she'll back off?"

Puff shook her head this time. "Not likely. But I just have to hold out hope. I don't vant to give all this up simply because my mother doesn't approve."

"'Kay." Pinkie looked down at the floor is silence. "I know she said it's none of my business, but I want you to know that if you want my help or something, you just need to ask."

Puff smiled weakly, finding the thought of her friends' support comforting. "I know, und I appreciate that, but I think this is my battle to fight."

***** ***** *****

Being the weekend, the university's student lounge was fairly populated. Though most of the students—specifically those from out of the country—liked to spend their down time sightseeing and making memories; who knows when they'd get another chance to spend time in the beautiful land of Steeden? However, the bitter chill of winter was effective enough at keeping people indoors, not that many of them were complaining. The hot chocolate they were selling at the small coffee shop within the lounge was pretty tasty, in addition to the cinnamon buns and other delectable pastries on display.

Everyone was pretty wrapped up in their own things, whether that be reading a good book, playing cards or board games, or just engaging in idle chitchat. No one really noticed the unfamiliar pony ordering a coffee at the counter. One would think that her perfectly ironed pantsuit would look out of place in the laid back environment of the student lounge and elicit some raised eyebrows.

But another face soon entered the room, one whom the students did indeed recognize as one of the well respected instructors at their school, though it was uncommon for him to pay a visit to the student lounge. The Prench griffon, sans his usual white chef's hat, twirled his well-groomed mustache as he approached the counter to order a coffee from the barista. After placing his order, he, unlike the preoccupied students, took notice of the tall, lime green mare sitting alone at a nearby table as she mentally critiqued the coffee she had been served.

"Pardon moi," Gustave said to get the mare's attention. When she looked toward him, he continued. "I do not believe I 'ave ever seen you around 'ere before. Are you a student or per'aps a new member of zee faculty?"

"Neither," the mare answered. "I am here to see my daughter." She sized up the griffon for a moment. "You are... Gustave le Grand, is that right?"

Gustave smiled proudly. "Oui."

The mare extended her hoof to the griffon. "Minty Crush. I have heard great things about your culinary skills. You have my respect," she complimented.

Although Gustave always enjoyed having his ego reenforced, her manner of speech almost sounded condescending. He decided it would be best to let it go in case that was unintentional. "Merci. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle Crush. You said you were 'ere to visit your daughter, n'est-ce pas? I, too, am meeting my daughter 'ere so zat we may spend some quality time togezer."

"You're mistaken. I'm not here to 'visit' my daughter," Minty Crush corrected. "I've come to take her home."

Gustave raised an eyebrow. "Is zat so? Mais, zee university does not close for 'Earth's Warming until zee end of next week. You intend to 'ave 'er miss a week of classes?"

"I intend to have her miss more than just a veek. I am removing her from this school entirely so that she can pursue a more fitting career."

Gustave briefly wished he hadn't chosen that moment to sip his coffee, her response causing him to choke briefly on the hot liquid. "Pardon moi? What do you mean 'a more fitting career'? You do not zink zat becoming a baker is a worzwhile career?"

"I mean no disrespect to you or your field. I simply believe that any self-respecting mare vould not degrade herself by adhering to vhat society expects of her."

Gustave stayed silent, mouth agape as if he wished to say something but was simply appalled by what he had just heard.

"Papa."

Gustave was shaken from his stupor by the voice of his daughter walking up beside him. Gwenivere's attention quickly went from her father to the serious-looking mare he had been talking with.

"Is zis a friend of yours, Papa?"

"We just met," Gustave answered. "I was merely engaging in idle conversation while waiting for you."

Minty Crush stared at Gwenivere silently for a few moments, making the female griffon a tad uncomfortable. "This is your daughter?" she asked Gustave, though not removing her eyes from the younger griffon.

Gustave smiled proudly and placed his claw upon his daughter's shoulder. "Oui. Zis is Gwenivere, ma joie et fierté"

Minty Crush gave the prideful Gustave a judgmental glare. "Und you allow her to insult herself by coming to this school?"

Gwenivere was taken aback by her bluntness. "What?! 'Ow exactly am I insulting myself? It 'as been my lifelong goal to follow in mon papa's pawprints and become a world-class baker. Zis university is zee finest culinary school in zee world. You would dare speak of it in such a way?!" Gwenivere was poised to close the gap between herself and this infuriating mare. However, she stopped when Gustave held his claw in front of her.

"Calm down, Gwenivere. We do not want to cause any trouble." He turned back to the suited mare. "Mademoiselle Crush, I know it is not our place to decide what your daughter does or needs, but might I just ask 'oo your daughter is?"

"If you must know, it is Puff Pastry," she responded as she took another sip of coffee.

"Zat little piggie?" Gwenivere quickly silenced herself, simply thinking aloud at the surprise that this rather fit-looking mare was Puff's mother. Thankfully, neither she nor her father seemed to hear her.

"Mademoiselle Crush, your daughter Puff is quite a talented baker," Gustave explained. "You would really pull 'er out of school when zere is little doubt she could do great zings in zis field?"

Aggravated by their insistence, Minty Crush let out a groan. "A voman should not demean herself by seeking a career that society deems is fitting for their gender. By following this path, my daughter—as vell as yours—are perpetuating a negative stereotype."

"Actually, zee culinary field is predominately male," Gustave corrected.

"But baking is still largely considered to be an act performed mostly by females, especially in the home. I vish to remove my daughter from that stigma." Minty Crush finished off her coffee and stood from her seat. "Now, if you vill excuse me, I have to visit a local hotel to reserve a room. It may prove troublesome to convince my daughter to return home."

With that, the unpleasant mare trotted past the pair of griffons, looking as if she had taken none of what they said with any seriousness. Gustave was baffled that an individual with such an extreme opinion of gender roles actually existed. Gwenivere, however, was less confused and more enraged by the mare.

"I certainly 'ope zey manage to work zis out," Gustave said with a sigh. "I would 'ate to see such talent go to waste."

Gwenivere didn't respond to her father's statement, but instead had a thought of her own. "Papa, may we postpone zis meeting until later? Zere is somezing zat I must do."

"Hm? Er, I suppose. Shall we meet 'ere in une heure zen?"

"Zat is fine." Gwenivere made her way to the door, leaving her father to think about the situation he had just learned about.

***** ***** *****

"So how long do you think your mom will keep hounding you before she decides to leave you alone?"

Puff could only sigh in response to Candy's question. There really was no answer to that. She, of all people, knew how persistent and stubborn her mother could be. "All I can really hope for at this point is 'eventually.'"

Candy hated seeing her friend in such dire straits. Once Pinkie Pie had told her that Puff's mother had arrived, she came straight over to comfort her. She had yet to meet the mare, but if what Puff had told her was any indication, that was a good thing.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about," Pinkie Pie said with a optimistic grin as she brought her two friends some lemonade. She passed them their glasses, then sat down with one of her own. "She's your mom. No matter what happens I'm sure she'll come around. She wouldn't let your relationship fall apart over something like this."

"I vish I could say you vere right, but I don't think it'll go like that," Puff said with a defeated sigh. "I know I said I vasn't going to go home, but like you said, Pinkie, I don't vant to compromise my relationship vith her over this. Maybe I should get this over vith und just go."

Pinkie gasped in shock. "What?! No way!" She leapt down onto her knees and looked up at Puff with pleading eyes. "You can't leave. If you go, our circle of friends will just be a square. A square! The lamest of shapes!"

Candy tapped the table in thought. "Hypothetically speaking, if you did go home and, Celestia forbid, actually gave up your dream of becoming a pastry chef..."

"No-oo-oo! You caaaan't!" Pinkie bawled into Puff's lap.

"...would your mom let you stay in contact with us? I mean, even if you were to leave, that doesn't mean we'd stop being friends."

Puff took a moment to think, then shrugged. "She probably vouldn't care for you guys much, but I suppose she'd have no real problem vith it. But vee'd probably never get a chance to actually see each other again."

"I'd come visit you," Pinkie said as she stared up with big, tearful eyes.

"Pinkie, get up," Candy order with a roll of her eyes.

"Okey doke." The melodramatic mare hopped back onto her chair, putting on her usual smile once more.

Puff managed a weak smile. Even in this serious time, Pinkie's exuberant nonsense was enough to at least cheer her up a little. "That's nice of you to say, Pinkie, but I don't think it'd be that easy, not to mention expensive."

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. The three mares exchanged concerned looks, especially towards Puff, who looked particularly upset. They all knew who was behind that door.

"I'll get it," Pinkie volunteered, hopping from her seat.

Pinkie stood in front of the door, but hesitated to open it. As much as she would like to help mend the rifts in Puff's relationship with her mother, she didn't really want to see her any more than Puff did. But, reluctantly, she opened the door anyway, only to be pleasantly surprised by a face she hadn't been expecting.

"Oh, hi, Gwen. Wasn't expecting you," Pinkie greeted, her discomfort replaced with a cheery grin.

Pinkie's greeting garnered the attention of her two friends, surprised—though not necessarily pleased—to hear that it was Gwenivere and not Puff's mother. Puff in particular let out an exasperated groan.

"I'm not in the mood for this today."

Candy got up from her seat and walked to the door, looking Gwenivere in the eye. She paused before speaking, noting that something about Gwenivere's face seemed different somehow, though she couldn't place exactly what it was. "Look, Gwenivere, now's not a good time for... whatever it is you want. Could you just, you know, give us some privacy?"

The griffon was undeterred by the accusation. "I met Puff's mozer."

Pinkie's and Candy's ears perked up and they shared a quick glance. Candy stepped aside and gestured to Gwenivere. "Then you might as well come in."

Gwenivere accepted the invitation and stepped inside. After a brief glance toward the kitchen she immediately noticed the distraught Puff Pastry sitting at the table. Puff met her gaze, clearly none too pleased to see the one person that has shown her nothing but disrespect since she came to this school, but then just silently turned back to her cooling cup of tea.

"I 'ave 'eard zat your mozer wishes to pull you out of school and bring you back 'ome to Germaney," Gwenivere addressed Puff as she entered the kitchen.

Puff cocked an eyebrow. For once it seemed as if Gwenivere was at least making an attempt to be sympathetic, though Puff was no stranger to the griffon's veiled condescension at this point and chose not to take her words to heart. "Vhy do you care? I thought you'd be happy that I vas leaving."

Gwenivere grimaced. What she was about to say was not something she had ever really planned on saying, but at this moment in time she felt that her opinion needed to be made clear. "Zere appears to a misconception on zee part of you and your friends, Puff."

Puff looked up at the griffon, mild surprise on her face; that may have been the first time Gwenivere had ever called her by name in the few months that they've known each other.

"I 'ave never once said zat you were not a skilled baker. Not as skilled as moi, mind you, but I do believe zat you 'ave every right to be 'ere."

Puff continued to stare at Gwenivere in disbelief, astounded that she was actually acknowledging her ability. Pinkie and Candy reacted in much the same way, though the latter was not about to let that be that.

"Then why have you done nothing but insult her since you both got here? She never did anything to earn that kind of treatment."

Gwenivere deflated a little at the accusation. "I suppose... you are right. Puff 'as never done moi or mon père any wrong. Per'aps... I 'ave never 'ad any reason to speak to 'er zat way."

Pinkie stepped forward, wrapping a hoof around Gwenivere's neck. "I think what we have here is nothing more than natural, animal instincts kicking in. As in the wild, Gwenivere was simply asserting herself as the dominant member of the pack to any potential rivals, attacking what she perceived to be a weakness. In this case, Puff's weight. Gwen's part lioness. Lions do that kinda stuff."

The griffon gave the pink mare invading her personal space an annoyed glare. "'Er, on zee ozer claw, I find incredibly irritating." She lifted Pinkie's hoof off of her shoulder and turned back to Puff. "In any case, I suppose I owe you an apology, so... je suis désolé."

Puff carefully analyzed Gwenivere's expression. For once, the griffon's face was genuinely apologetic. "It's okay. I never really took any of that stuff to heart anyvay. It vas more annoying than anything."

Gwenivere couldn't help but feel that Puff still felt a little sour, but she had apologized, and Puff had accepted it. That was enough for her. "Getting back to why I'm 'ere, are you actually intending to leave zee university and return 'ome?"

"You said you met my mom, right? Does she seem like the kind of pony to let things like this go?"

"My conversation wiz 'er was razer brief, but in zat short time she 'ad managed to infuriate me to no end." Gwenivere clenched her talons as she remembered the insults to both her and the university she respected that Puff's mother had issued.

"To be fair, that's not difficult to do," Candy quipped. "Pinkie does that on a daily basis."

"But you're the only one here that hasn't actually met her," Pinkie argued with unusual seriousness. "If you had, I think you'd be with Gwen on this."

"Zat mare truly believes zat women should not bake? What sort of logic is she going by?"

"She believes that vomen should not exhibit stereotypical female roles, like cooking und cleaning. She feels that our entire gender loses respect as a result," explained Puff.

"Oui, I gazered zat much. Mais, zat seems to be a razer clouded way to view our society. 'As no one spoken to 'er about zis before?"

"She's too stubborn to listen. I've told Pinkie und Candy that she's not that bad. She's a good mom, really. She took good care of me und my brother und sister. She helped vith homevork, read bedtime stories, took us to the playground. I have a lot of fond memories of her, und I don't think that's going to change."

"Zen what 'appened? Zat mare I met was intolerable."

"The only thing she ever really scolded me for vas vhen I vould bake vith my dad. I've alvays just found it hard to deal vith the fact that she tried to prevent me from doing something I loved doing."

"And you're a grown mare," Candy said. "She has no right to force you to do anything you don't want to, or give up something you're passionate about."

"You even said your sister was on your side," Pinkie added. "What if your family had, like, an intervention or something? Let her know that everypony disagrees with her."

"You think vee haven't done that already? You heard me mention how stubborn she is, right?" Puff let her chin rest on the table. "Vhy bother? It's a lost cause. Even if she can't force me to go home, she's not going to stop trying. That's just going to take all of the enjoyment out of being here." Puff stood from her chair and shuffled toward the bedroom looking quite crestfallen. "I give up. I'm going home."

The bedroom door shut behind her, leaving her three classmates in shocked silence. Gwenivere looked at Pinkie and Candy. They could tell that she was just as upset about this as they were.

"Maybe... Maybe she just needs to sleep on it," Pinkie suggested, though her hopeful optimism was belied by the lack of confidence in her tone. She stared at the closed bedroom door, her ears flattening against her head.

***** ***** *****

The bedroom of Pinkie and Puff's dormitory was dead silent. The sun beamed through the window, the light made even brighter by it's reflection off the pure, white snow. It was perhaps the most beautiful winter's day they had seen yet, but the mood within the dorm couldn't be any more gloomy.

Pinkie was joined by Candy this morning, both of them watching in depressed silence as Puff slowly and begrudgingly packed her bags. They knew that Puff's mother was just out in the living room, waiting for her daughter. Puff looked extremely tired, evident by the bags under her eyes. It was obvious that she didn't get any sleep the previous night. Of course, Pinkie was the same way. Both of them didn't want to go to sleep knowing that when they woke may very well be the last time they ever see each other.

"Isn't there anything we can say to change your mind?" Candy asked, her voice quiet, but shattering the silence like glass.

Puff tucked away one of her cookbooks—although she couldn't imagine she'd ever get another chance to use it—and stopped packing to look at her friends. "Please, I don't vant this to be any harder than it already is. If I stay here, my mom is only going to make the experience miserable. I'd rather just go home und hope that I can earn her respect again."

"So you'd rather be miserable at home doing something you don't care about?"

Puff didn't answer. She simply returned to packing her things.

"What are you gonna do when you get home?" Pinkie asked.

Puff zipped up the last of her bags and threw them over her back, ready to leave, yet not ready at all. "I don't know. Hopefully something that vill help improve my relationship vith my mom. Maybe even try to convince her to be more open-minded."

Puff opened the bedroom door, and the three mares were immediately met by the gaze of Puff's mother from the living room. They hadn't known her long, but just looking at her elicited scowls from Pinkie and Candy. Pinkie was never the judgmental type. She never believed it was possible for her to hate somepony. She still didn't believe that. "Hate" may have been a bit too strong a word, but she definitely did not like this mare.

"Are you ready?" the lime green mare asked her daughter.

Puff let out a long sigh as she approached. "As ready as I'm going to be."

"Good. Then let's go."

"Mom, can I have a minute? Please?"

Puff's mother looked at her daughter, as well as the two sad mares standing behind her. "Fine."

Puff turned back to her friends, her eyes looking on the verge of tears. "I guess this is it," Puff started shakily. She managed to smile for the first time that morning. "I know vee haven't really known each other for too long, but I can say confidently that you girls are the best friends I've ever had. Und you guys made my short time here more than vorth it."

Pinkie Pie began to tear up, her lip quivering. "A few months is a long time. I feel like we've known each other for ages. And..." She paused to rub her eyes. "And I don't wanna say goodbye..."

"It was fun hanging out with you, Puff," Candy said with a soft smile. "And Pinkie's right. Regardless of how long we've known each other, we couldn't be better friends than we are now."

Puff gave Candy a short hug, then Pinkie, who almost broke down into tears during the embrace.

"I'll come visit if I ever get the chance, okay?" Pinkie assured.

Puff smiled at Pinkie's offer. "I know you vill. Und I look forward to it." She returned to her mother, more hesitant now than ever.

As Puff and her mother entered the hall, Pinkie Pie ran out behind them. "Wait! I-I can't just leave it at that. I'll... I'll walk with you down to the lobby."

Puff looked at her mother, seeing no sign of objection towards the idea. With a smile, Puff nodded, and Pinkie followed behind them to the stairwell.

Candy watched as they disappeared from sight, sighing deeply at the thought of losing a friend just like that. She turned to look down to the other end of the hall, noticing that Gwenivere was standing at the threshold of their dorm. She didn't say anything. She simply stood there with a look of meloncholy, much akin to the one Candy was wearing.

As Pinkie Pie walked down the stairs with Puff and her mother, she couldn't help but feel a rather dense bubble of tension around them. It was understandable, of course, but now Pinkie was wondering if prolonging their goodbye was just making it all the more difficult for both of them. Part of her was just hoping that any additional time they could spend together would result in Puff changing her mind, or, if not, then at least extending her memories of her friend.

As the three of them reached the bottom of the stairwell, they continued walking down one of the school's halls toward the lobby, utterly silent. Pinkie had seen awkward situations before. In a lot of cases, she would be pretty good at removing an awkward silence with a well-placed joke or something completely off-the-wall random, though in other cases she would only manage to make the moment more awkward. In this particular instance, she suspected that the latter result would be the most likely to occur, so she kept her mouth shut, content with simply going over the memories she had cataloged in the short time she'd known Puff. That was enough to keep a smile on her face.

But no matter how good those memories were, it didn't dispute the fact that Puff was leaving, a fact that the pig-tailed mare was clearly hung up on if her disheartened expression was any indication. Puff was not happy. But she was more than just unhappy, she looked depressed. Pinkie wanted to say something, anything to at the very least cheer her up.

The three of them entered the lobby. The room was illuminated by the morning sun shining brightly through the glass double doors, in stark contrast to the tension that the three mares brought with them. Puff stared out through the doors at the snow-covered courtyard outside, knowing that once she stepped beyond the threshold, she would never be coming back.

Puff's mother stopped in the middle of the lobby and addressed her daughter, though with her eyes facing forward. "Vhen vee return home und unpack your things, I am taking you out to look at some law schools."

"Mom, I don't know anything about that stuff," Puff argued half-heartedly.

"I can teach you the basics, und your sister can help as vell." She turned toward Puff. "Und I vant you to forget about all of this pastry nonsense. Forget about this school, und forget about these mares who have no self-respect." She looked directly at Pinkie when she said that. She turned back toward the door and started toward it, ready to leave. "Now, come along."

Puff's mother halted when she heard something fall to the floor with a low whump. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Puff's bags lying on the ground and the mare herself scowling harshly back.

"Vhat are you doing? Pick up your bags."

"I'm. Not. Leaving," Puff said slowly and in a low tone.

A hopeful grin appeared on Pinkie's face.

"Nonsense. Pick them up und let's go."

"Nein!" Puff's sudden outburst caused the receptionist at the front desk to jump with a start. "It vasn't bad enough that you insult this school, but Pinkie Pie und Candy are my friends, und I'm not going to stand here und listen to you talk about them like that!"

"They are holding you back," her mother insisted, eliciting a low growl from Puff. "You vould rather adhere to gender stereotypes than choose a career vhere you vould be respected."

"Pastry chefs, male or female, are respected," Puff argued. "I respect everyvun at this school, vhich is more than I can say about you! Besides, I'd rather choose a degrading career than vun that involves lying und protecting criminals!"

Puff's mother narrowed her eyes at her daughter, then raised her hoof and brought it across her face in a firm slap. Pinkie gasped at the sight as Puff reeled back. After a moment, Puff turned back to her mother, her expression fierce and enraged, but contrasted by the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm never going home!"

Puff grabbed her bags, turning her back to her mother and stomping back toward her dorm. The lime green mare seemed almost unfazed by her daughter's reaction, but Pinkie could tell that something bothered her. Whether that be the fact that Puff insulted her profession or the fact that she had struck her own daughter, Pinkie couldn't tell; this mare was difficult to read. But Pinkie would be lying if she said she didn't understand why Puff had reacted that way. It was completely reasonable that she was upset, though "upset" may have been an understatement.

Puff's mother began to take a step in order to follow her daughter, intent on convincing her to return home. However, she was stopped when Pinkie Pie obstructed her path. The pink mare glowered at her, not deterred at all by the similar glower the older mare was giving her.

"Move aside," Puff's mother demanded. "I already told you, this is none of your business."

"Puff is my friend, and she's upset. So I'm making it my business," Pinkie insisted, refusing to back down.

"Listen, Miss Pie, I'm going to talk to my—"

"No, you listen!" Pinkie snapped, pointing a hoof at her chest defiantly. This mare may have been pretty intimidating up until now, but after seeing what had just transpired, she felt the need to finally confront her and say what she needed to say. "What kind of mother hits her own daughter? You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Puff's mother frowned slightly. "Admittedly, it vas a sort of... knee-jerk reaction. I intend to apologize for that."

"And what else are you going to apologize for?"

The older mare raised an eyebrow quizzically. "I have nothing else to apologize for."

"Oh, you don't?" Pinkie responded in an accusatory tone. Her voice became more sombre. "You might not notice it, but even though she doesn't want to follow in your hoofsteps, Puff respects you. That's the only reason she agreed to go home at all. You're her mom. Moms are supposed to nurture their foals and support them no matter what. You know, I grew up on a rock farm where I lived with my mom, my dad and my three sisters."

Puff's mother suddenly seemed interested in what Pinkie was saying. "A family business?"

"Yeah. But I didn't like working there. I felt trapped, like my life was going nowhere and I had no idea what my purpose was. But one faithful day, everything came to me in a flash of rainbows. For once, I was happy, and I knew what I could do to spread that happiness, but that meant leaving behind the farm and my family. Do you know how my mom reacted when I told her that?" Puff's mother remained silent, recognizing the question as a rhetoric. "She smiled and said, 'Good luck, sweetie. We'll miss you.' They knew I was unhappy there, and all they wanted was for me to do only what I wanted. They didn't care what it was, as long as I was happy, they were happy for me."

Judging by the expression on the green mare's face, it seemed like Pinkie was managing to invoke some thought. "Your parents vere fine vith you abandoning them und their livelihood?"

Pinkie shook her head. "I didn't abandon them. I still visit them whenever I get the chance, and I even help out when I'm there. Even though we lived farther apart, that didn't mean we weren't still close."

Puff's mother stayed silent again, seemingly thinking about something. Pinkie took the opportunity to continue her lecture.

"You claim to be a feminist, somepony who believes that women should have all the same rights and respect as men. But from what I've seen, you're the one who's not showing women, like me and even your own daughter, the respect they deserve. And you believe that society shouldn't tell them what they should and shouldn't do, when you're doing just that. Instead of supporting Puff with what she wants to do, you're telling her what she wants. You're not giving her the freedom you believe all women should have. You're controlling her. Isn't that exactly the opposite of what you stand for?"

Puff's mother broke eye contact with Pinkie Pie, letting her gaze fall to the floor. Pinkie hadn't yet seen the mare with an expression of guilt or remorse, but it was quite clear that what she had said was being taken to heart. After a few moments of silence, Puff's mother looked up at Pinkie again.

"Excuse me," she said quietly, as she briskly trotted past Pinkie Pie.

From this point on, there was nothing else Pinkie could do. She could only hope that everything she had said took effect. Pinkie began making her way back as well, eager to see the result of her meddling.

***** ***** *****

Puff flicked on the oven light and peered inside. The cookies she was baking were coming along nicely, but they needed a few more minutes. While she was waiting she rolled out another tray of cookie dough. They weren't being well cared for, however. Puff roughly rolled them and slapped them onto the tray without much thought; her mind was too preoccupied to put the proper care and attention into her baking. But she wasn't baking because she wanted practice, but rather as an attempt to cool her head.

Needless to say, it wasn't working.

She was furious. Never in her life had she been so angry, and at her own mother no less. This was the final straw, she told herself. From this day forward she intended to cut all ties with her mother so she'd never have to worry about her butting into her life ever again. Maybe when all was said and done at the university, she'd travel overseas with Pinkie and Candy, perhaps even work with them. She had always heard that running away from your problems wouldn't solve anything, but she was tempted to try.

Puff was momentarily distracted by the sound of the apartment door opening. She was hoping to see Pinkie Pie; although she wasn't in any mood for talking, having some company might help alleviate her stress. However, much to her displeasure, it was not the face of her friend that peered inside, but that of the one person she definitely did not want to see right now. Puff glared harshly at her mother for a moment, then promptly ignored her—or at least tried to—and returned to her cookies, removing the tray that was in the oven, replacing it with the one she had just done up and haphazardly dropping the finished tray on the counter with a loud clang. She also didn't hesitate to snatch up one of her own cookies and scarf it down in a hurry, not paying any mind to how hot it was still.

Minty Crush could plainly see just how upset her daughter was. It had always been her intent to guide Puff in what she believed to be the right direction. She had never considered that what she was doing was more akin to forceful manipulation. And to think, she had already done this with one of her daughters.

After a rather long and awkward silence, she finally entered the room proper and carefully closed the door behind her. What was she supposed to say, 'Sorry I made your life miserable?' What would a normal mother do in this situation? Minty Crush glanced around, looking for something that might help her get started. She noticed the cookies that her daughter was baking. Under any other circumstances she would have lectured her daughter about that, but with the guilt that plagued her currently, she decided to try a different approach.

"You're... baking?"

Puff was rolling another tray of dough, but had to pause when her mother spoke. She cocked an eyebrow. For the most part she expected her to say something derogative, but the expression on her mother's face was foreign to her. Almost like... regret.

"Ya..." she answered cautiously. "Cookies. Is there a problem vith that?"

Minty Crush felt a sudden sting from the sharpness in Puff's question. It was not a feeling she was too familiar with, something she had been experiencing quite a bit today. "Vhat kind?" she asked, attempting to continue with her roundabout apology.

Puff stared at her mother, more confused now than anything at her sudden shift in attitude. "Chocolate chip."

Her mother hesitated as she prepared to ask her next question. "May I... May I try vun?"

Puff's anger suddenly subsided momentarily, looking utterly shocked at the question. In all her life, with how many times her mother had scolded her when she was caught baking with her father, Puff could not recall a single instance where her mother actually tasted what she had made. Out of morbid curiosity, she stepped aside. "S-Sure. They're still hot though."

Minty Crush picked up one of the cookies. It certainly smelled good. She pensively took a bite. The dough was still soft, having not had time to cool and harden, and the chocolate chips were melted and gooey. A thought crossed her mind as she chewed. It was so tasty despite having actively prevented her daughter from practicing. She could only imagine how good she might be had she been more... supportive of Puff's interests.

"It's... delicious," the older mare said, looking her daughter in the eyes.

Puff was taken aback by the compliment.

"You... have a real talent for this sort of thing, don't you?"

Puff was still in minor shock. Was this mare even her mother? "Vhat exactly happened down there after I left?"

"I had a small chat vith your friend. Or rather, she did the talking," Minty Crush admitted. "She's a strange mare, but she is surprisingly good at putting things in perspective. Und that's vhy I came back here: to apologize for my behavior. Not only that I... struck you, but for all of the years that I have cost you. I have been trying to treat you like a respectable voman vhen I should have been treating you like a daughter. Like my daughter. I'm sorry, Puff."

Puff didn't know how to react. She remembered seeing the nurturing side of her mother when she was a filly, but she had thought that that side of her had been abandoned. She almost felt like a filly again. "You... really mean that?" Puff asked with a slight hint of skepticism.

Her mother nodded. "I do. Und I do not expect you to forgive me, but I vant you to know that, from this moment on, I vill support you in any endeavor you choose to pursue. Because that's vhat a good mother does, ya?"

Puff couldn't recall the last time she had actually smiled at her mother, but the next time she tried, she would refer to this particular moment. Puff leaned in and did something else she hadn't done towards her mother in a long time: she hugged her.

Minty Crush seemed caught off guard by her daughter's sudden display of affection, but at the same time that feeling of guilt in her heart was soon replaced by the warm feeling of love from her daughter, something she wasn't sure she had felt in a long time.

"I forgive you, Mom."

With that acknowledgement, she hugged her daughter back, wrapping her hoof gently around her and tightening the embrace.

The heartfelt moment was brought to an abrupt end by the loud bang of the door bursting open. The pair of Germane mares spun around to find Pinkie Pie and Candy Cane standing there, the former wearing a stethoscope around her neck.

Pinkie directed Candy to the reconciled mares with an ecstatic grin. "You see that?! I did that! That was me!"

Candy rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "Pinkie told me she may have had a hoof in getting you two to make up. I had to see that for myself. Sorry for eavesdropping by the way."

Puff walked over to Pinkie, looking happy, but at a loss for words. "You just keep finding new vays to surprise me," Puff said, giving Pinkie a grateful hug.

"Aww, it's my pleasure. I'll happily patch up any holes in a treasured family quilt. Though maybe I should actually learn to sew before I do that too much." Pinkie gasped with a wide grin. "Hey! Now that you and your mom are all made up—and since she's here in Steeden anyway—what if she joins us for our little Hearth's Warming party?"

Puff turned to her mother with a smile. "Vhat do you think, Mom? Vould you like to spend Hearth's Warming vith my friends und I?"

Minty Crush was touched by the invitation, giving her daughter the warm, caring smile she deserved. "I vould like that very much."

Chapter 7 - Party Thyme!

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 7: Party Thyme!

=====================================================================

"Looks like everypony's here," Twilight Sparkle announced, looking around the library to confirm that.

Ponyville's resident princess had invited all of her friends over this day for a purpose. In the past when Twilight would call a meeting, her friends would assume that there was some sort of crisis, or Princess Celestia had an important task for them. But when they had all arrived, they all immediately noticed a group of small packages set out on the table, six in total, and the return address was more than enough to get them excited.

It was coming up on nearly half a year since Pinkie Pie had left for Steeden in pursuit of her dreams, leaving the small town of Ponyville noticeably quieter. In the time that she'd been gone, she managed to stay in touch with her friends via letters that she sent on a weekly basis. She had promised to write every day, but informed them that she might wind up spending too much money on stationary and envelopes, so she reluctantly cut it down to one a week. But the strangest thing about her letters was their contents. Her friends had braced themselves for what was probably going to be a novel's worth of reading, with Pinkie Pie regaling everything that happened, every minute of every day that week and then some. However, she was surprisingly brief in her writings, mentioning only notable events and, most baffling, saying little about the new friends she had made over there. Twilight and the others would have thought that her friends would be the thing Pinkie would want to talk about most.

But that was neither here nor there. Right now, they were much more interested in what was in the packages Pinkie Pie had sent them. This was the first time Pinkie had actually sent gifts, so they were all pretty excited about it.

"Maybe they're souvenirs of Steeden," Fluttershy guessed. "Like snow globes, or cute sweaters with pictures of little birdies on them."

"Well, unless any of you guys have x-ray vision, we're not gonna find out by just staring at them," Rainbow Dash said impatiently. "Can we just open 'em already?" She placed her hooves upon the small box addressed to her, ready to tear it open on Twilight's mark.

"Now, hang on, Rainbow Dash," Twilight requested. "I think we'd just wind up making a mess if we all opened them at the same time. We should do this in an orderly fashion."

"I wholeheartedly agree," Rarity chimed in. "Pinkie Pie has sent a gift to each of us, it would be unfair if we all focused solely on our own. I'm just as curious to see what she sent you girls as well."

"So who's gonna start?" asked Spike.

Twilight tapped her chin as she contemplated. "Well, we could open them according to size, though they're all roughly the same in that regard. Or perhaps by weight would be more appropriate. We could also go from youngest to oldest or vice versa..."

"Or we could just pick somepony at random," Rainbow Dash suggested, her impatience growing by the second.

Twilight gave the notion some thought. "I suppose we could use some sort of random number exercise to determine who goes first, then simply proceed clockwise around the table."

Rainbow Dash tapped the table to interrupt Twilight. "Great. I'm thinking of a number between one and ten. Fluttershy, go."

"Huh? Me? Oh, well, um... Seven?"

"You got it. Fluttershy's first."

"Oh. Well, that was rather simple," Twilight noted with a grin.

"Yeah, imagine that. Now hurry up and get to openin', Fluttershy."

"Alright." Fluttershy gingerly unwrapped her package, removing the white string tying it together and carefully peeling away the brown paper. Inside was a simple, white box, like one would get at a bakery to bring pastries home. It was appropriate if nothing else. Flipping open the top, Fluttershy peered inside and let out a quiet gasp, accompanied by a smile. "Oh my! How nice!"

"Don't leave us in the dark, darling," Rarity said with eager curiosity. "What is it?"

Fluttershy removed what appeared to be a two-tiered cake, small enough to hold in your hooves as the pegasus was currently demonstrating. The cake was coated in white icing with orange frosting decorating the fringe. Sticking out of the top of the miniscule pastry was a short, fat carrot, as if a small animal had attempted to pull it out but gave up halfway through. Upon closer examination, however, the carrot appeared to be made of gummy candy.

Fluttershy inhaled the scent of the cake. "Mmm. It smells like carrots. I think it's a carrot cake."

"Gee, ya think?" Spike quipped with a chuckle.

"And look." Fluttershy reached into the box once more and removed another, identical cake. "There's one for Angel Bunny too. I'm sure he'll love it. He'll be more than willing to eat his dinner if he knows this is waiting for his dessert."

"Y'think we all got some sorta pastry?" Applejack asked as she eyed up her parcel.

"Given that Pinkie Pie is studying to become a pastry chef, I think that's the most logical conclusion," Twilight assured.

"Only one way to find out for sure," Rainbow Dash pointed out eagerly. "You're up, AJ."

Needing no further instruction, Applejack bit onto the package's string, severing it with her teeth before tearing away the paper. When she opened up the box, she grinned and laughed. "Well, lookit that. A plateful-a apple fritters." She removed one of the pastries and looked it over. The lighting in the room practically reflected off of its well-glazed surface. "Say what ya want about Pinkie Pie, but she knows us pretty dang well."

"Yeah, get the apple farmer something with apples in it. Takes a real genius to come up with that," joked Rainbow Dash with a chuckle.

Applejack gave a roll of her eyes. "Apple fritters are mah favorite food, has been since Ah was a young'un. Ah was just pointin' out that Pinkie knew that."

"It is quite thoughtful, but aren't you going to try it, Applejack?" Rarity asked.

"You bet." Applejack tossed the small pastry into the air, catching the whole thing in her mouth. Her eyes widened when the taste and texture of the filling hit her tongue and she chewed with a satisfied moan. "Well, if that don't beat all. Ah always thought that our Sweet Apple Acres apples were the best in the world—an' Ah still believe that mind you—but these here Steedish apples are certainly somethin'. Not t' mention the recipe itself ain't like nothin' we've ever made before. Might have to enlist Pinkie's help for caterin' the next family reunion."

"I suppose it's my turn next," Rarity announced, using her magic to expertly untie the string and neatly unfold the paper. When she opened the box, the white unicorn gasped. "Goodness me! Are those...?" Rarity removed a small, round confection that glittered like gold.

"The hay is that?" Applejack pondered. "It don't look edible."

Rarity held the small ball in the air with her magic, rotating and analyzing it with excitement. "This, my dear Applejack, if I am not mistaken, is a gilded truffle. A chocolatey delight coated in edible gold dust, a very special type of seasoning that is quite sweet and cannot be acquired easily. Typically these need to be imported from overseas and are produced by only the highest quality candy manufacturers."

"All of that essentially means they are very expensive," Twilight added. "It's surprising that Pinkie Pie has access to edible gold dust, even at the Steeden University of Culinary Arts. That stuff is pretty difficult to get a hold of as its creation process is a closely kept trade secret."

Rarity daintily took a bite out of one of the truffles, her expression melting with delight. "Oh my, absolutely divine! You can certainly tell that these are a Pinkie Pie creation by how sweet and rich the chocolate is. Those big candy companies may have some severe competition."

Rainbow Dash shrugged dismissively at Rarity's gushing. "Seems a bit too fancy if you ask me. Since when did candy get so high-end?"

Rarity pursed her lips. "Perhaps you should reserve judgment for when you open your package, Rainbow Dash. You'll be eating those words if she sent you something similar. Quite literally, in fact."

"I like to think Pinkie knows me better than that," Rainbow Dash said confidently. Eager to prove her point, she haphazardly tore open the parcel and flipped the box open. Her eyes widened and she removed a rather large, but otherwise normal-looking, éclair.

Applejack whistled and pushed up the brim of her hat. "Boy howdy, that is one fat éclair. Ah think Pinkie might-a gone a touch overboard on the fillin'."

"Do you expect any less of her?" Twilight giggled.

"Well, no sense just starin' at it." Rainbow Dash opened her mouth wide and chomped down on one end of the packed pastry.

Under the pressure of the pegasus' jaw, a dollop of filling squirted out from the opposite end and splattered on the table. Everypony leaned in to stare at the spilled filling. Strangely, it didn't look anything like what they expected. It was brightly rainbow colored.

"Huh. That's kinda weird," Spike noted, scooping some up on his claw.

"I guess it's appropriate though, right?" Fluttershy said. "I mean, it is for Rainbow Dash after all. It makes sense that she would color it like that for her."

"Whoa."

Everypony turned to Rainbow Dash, whose lips were smeared with the rainbow filling to match her mane.

"What is it?" Twilight inquired.

"It's... spicy."

Applejack cocked an eyebrow. "Spicy? What kinda pastry is spicy? Do you think she messed somethin' up in the recipe, cuz that don't seem right."

A pleasantly surprised smile stretched across Rainbow Dash's face. "No, I think she made this with actual rainbows!"

Twilight's eyes widened. "Really? I wasn't aware that rainbows could be used as a cooking ingredient."

"Neither was I," Dash admitted, staring at the oozing éclair in disbelief.

"That's some ingenuity," Applejack remarked.

"It's creativity like that that allows people to make a name for themselves in the world of business," Rarity explained. "Pinkie Pie is going to go places, no doubt about it."

"Rainbow Dash?"

"Huh?" The cyan pegasus raised her head when Twilight addressed her. She'd been staring at the éclair ever since she bite into it. She had completely zoned out.

"You okay? You look like you were thinking about something."

"Oh, no, nothing. Just..." She placed the partially-consumed pastry back in its box and closed it. "...it's a bit much to eat all at one time, even though it is really tasty. I'll probably save the rest for later. Gotta savor it, right?" she said with a noticeably forced grin.

Twilight responded with a soft smile of her own. She knew that something was on Dash's mind, and she had a pretty good idea what, but decided to leave it alone for now.

"Whoa! Awesome!" Spike shouted, having already impatiently ripped open his package and removed its contents. In his claws he held a colossal cupcake the size of his scaly head, slathered in blueberry icing and decorated by a random assortment of colorful gemstones that gleamed and sparkled in the light. Without any more hesitation, he took a big bite out of it, the jewels crunching loudly between his teeth. "Oh yeah, that's the good stuff," he said with a blissful smile.

"Looks like we've gotten to the last one," Fluttershy pointed out, looking at Twilight's parcel.

"I guess so," replied the alicorn with a smile. With a quick flourish of her magic, the string and the wrapping paper came undone in one fluid motion, not a single tear damaging the paper. When Twilight opened the box within, she stared at the contents for a moment before removing it. A large, chocolate chip cookie. "It's... a cookie."

"There's gotta be somethin' special about it," Applejack surmised. "I mean, this is Pinkie Pie we're talkin' about."

Curiously, Twilight bit into the cookie, attempting to decipher the mystery hidden within; some unexpected flavor, or even a hidden meaning behind it. But even with her analytical mind, she couldn't quite figure it out. "It's good. But it's just a big, chocolate chip cookie. It's just like pretty much any other cookie she's made... but bigger."

"Wait a minute, there's something else in the box," Spike said, pointing to the object in question.

Sure enough, underneath the paper towel that the cookie had been resting on, exposed by a folded corner, was another object. Twilight lifted it out of the box and looked at it. It was a book. Twilight read the name on the cover out loud. "'The Rich and Storied Culture of Steeden'?"

Rarity giggled amusedly. "Oh-ho, brain food! How clever."

Twilight smiled at the gift. "That's very thoughtful of her. And best of all, I don't have this one, so I can add it to the library's catalog for everypony to enjoy." Twilight flipped through a few pages quickly to get an idea of what she was in for when she read it later. As the pages turned, something fell out from between the pages and landed on the table. The alicorn put the book down and picked up the new object. "A photo?"

Of course, the image staring back was the beaming face of their dear, pink friend. This was actually the first they'd seen of her in almost half a year. However, she was hardly alone in the photo. Pinkie Pie had her hooves wrapped around the shoulders of two other earth pony mares, one of a slightly darker shade of pink with a red and white striped mane, and the other a short, chubby, tan-colored mare with blonde pigtails. Also standing with them was a crimson-coated unicorn with a deep purple mane, as well as a pair of griffons, one male and one female. The female one looked as though she wanted nothing to do with the group photo, while the male was actually a familiar face to all of them.

Rarity and Applejack stood on either side of Twilight to take a look at the photo. "Is that... Gustave le Grand?" Rarity asked with astonishment.

"Well, would ya lookit that," Applejack chuckled. "It really is a small world, huh?"

Fluttershy flapped her wings and hovered behind Twilight, looking over her shoulder. She immediately gasped. "Rainbow Dash, look! It's Candy Cane!"

Dash's ears shot to attention and she pushed Rarity aside to see for herself, much to the unicorn's annoyance. "You're right, that is her! Holy crap!"

"You know that mare?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah. We met her during a trip to Manehattan last year. Did we not tell that story?"

Twilight stared up at the ceiling as she thought back. "You mean when you went to see The Wonderbolts? No, you told me all about that when you got back. You said the show was, and I quote, 'Totally awesome.'"

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "No no no, before that. We went to Manehattan, then came back the next day, but we forgot to actually go to the show, so we went back. We met her during the first trip."

"Now, how did you, self-proclaimed Equestria's biggest Wonderbolts fan, forget to go to their show when that was why ya'll went there in the first place?" Applejack asked, finding that very hard to believe.

"It's... kind of a long story," Rainbow Dash said with shrug.

"Oh, it's not that long," Fluttershy said, touching down onto the floor. "Only about forty-five thousand words." Everypony stared at the yellow pegasus with confounded looks. Fluttershy shifted her hooves under her friends' confused gazes. "Sorry. I figured that's how Pinkie would have described it."

"Well, serendipity aside, she certainly appears happy," Rarity noted, looking at Pinkie's enormous grin.

Spike took the picture in his claws. "She sure does. I guess she wasn't kidding when she said she made a bunch of new friends."

"I wonder why she didn't tell us she was with Gustave and Candy," Fluttershy pondered. "Seems like something she would have been pretty excited to tell us about."

"She never really told us anythin' about these new friends o' hers," said Applejack, recalling all of the letters Pinkie had sent them over the months. "That ain't really like her."

"Maybe she just doesn't want us to be jealous."

Everyone turned to Rainbow Dash, who was looking a tad sullen.

"Jealous?" Rarity echoed. "Why ever would we be jealous?"

Rainbow Dash took the photo from Spike and pointed to it. "Just look at her. Spike said it himself, she's got a bunch of new friends now."

"Rainbow Dash, there's no law that dictates that a pony can only have a limited number of friends," Twilight argued.

Applejack nodded in agreement. "Yeah, an' if there were, Pinkie probably would-a started a petition against it."

Rainbow Dash pensively tapped her hoof on the table. "I-I know, but... why else wouldn't she tell us anything about them? It's like she's trying to hide them from us or something. And the only reason I can think of for why she would do that is because she—"

"Now, stop right there, young lady," Rarity commanded sternly. "Do not suggest that she intends to replace us. Pinkie Pie would never do such a thing."

"I know she wouldn't, but... I can't help it," Rainbow Dash said, throwing her hooves up in frustration. "Ever since she left, my mind has been going to weird places. 'What if she doesn't come back?' 'What if she doesn't need us anymore?' I know she'd never do anything like that, but I can't help but think about what if she did."

"She's been like this for awhile," Twilight explained to the group. "I know we all miss her deeply, but Rainbow Dash has been like a completely different person since Pinkie left. Her departure seems to have affected her more than any of us."

"Bein' separated from yer best friend for a long time can have that effect, Ah reckon," Applejack commented. "I kinda thought somethin' was up with her awhile back. Never heard her say no to tearin' down an old shed before."

Rainbow Dash's ears folded back, both due to missing Pinkie Pie as well as the embarrassment of the conversation; it wasn't often her friends got a chance to see her emotional side. She looked at the photo again, her eyes traveling back and forth between Pinkie's smile and her new friends. "I don't think I'd mind so much if she didn't look like she was enjoying herself so much. And I know how crappy that sounds, but we're her friends. If she's having fun, we should be having fun with her."

"But it's not like we can all just put everything aside and go visit Pinkie in Steeden," Twilight said. "That's just unrealistic. Besides, I'm confident that Pinkie thinks about us everyday."

"Twilight's right," Fluttershy agreed. "I don't think Pinkie would ever forget about us."

"Yeah. After everything you girls have been through together, you guys are basically family," Spike added.

Twilight gently placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "Just hang in there. She'll be back before you know it."

Rainbow Dash didn't tear her eyes away from the photo, specifically from Pinkie Pie's smiling face. As much as she knew her friends were right, it didn't do much to take the weight off of her shoulders. She never thought she'd miss her this much. At this point, she'd be willing to do anything to see her best friend again.

***** ***** *****

Pinkie Pie bounced out of her dorm room with a cheery smile, humming an upbeat tune to accompany her lighthearted mood on this lovely Saturday morning. With another week of studies and baking classes behind her, she was eager to jump straight into the weekend. She had nothing planned in particular, but she was confident that something would come up.

In anticipation of the fun weekend ahead, Pinkie skipped down the hall to Candy Cane's room, and rapped on the door in a rhythmic, though somewhat obnoxious, beat. It wasn't long until she heard hoofsteps on the other side, so she put on the cheeriest smile she could, knowing Candy wasn't much of a morning person and hoping her own enthusiasm would prove contagious. When the door finally opened, she was met with the face of her friend. As expected, she looked pretty tired; she probably woke up only recently. However, it seemed Pinkie's attempt to spread her smiles wasn't necessary as Candy was already wearing her own, albeit somewhat weakly.

"Good morning, Candy!" Pinkie chirped.

"Back at ya," Candy greeted as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"So... Got any plans for the weekend?" Pinkie asked, fluttering her eyelashes in hopes of weaseling her way into anything her friend had planned.

Candy scratched the back of her head. "Um, no, not really. I was thinking of just staying in. You know, just make it a lazy day or something."

Pinkie gawked at her. "What? But that's boooooooring. You're not really gonna waste a perfectly good weekend just being a couch potato, are you?" Pinkie stared at Candy for a moment. For such a boring plan, Candy seemed pretty content. Her small smile persisted. "Wait a minute."

Pinkie leaned in close to Candy, forcing the other pink mare to back away slightly. "What are you—?"

"Something's up..." Pinkie interrupted.

Candy shifted her eyes in confusion. "W-What does that mean?"

"Why would somepony be happy about wasting free time like that? No, there's something going on with you."

"I don't know what—"

Pinkie grabbed Candy's face, tilting and turning it as she thoroughly analyzed the expression that wasn't really even there anymore. She continued her thought after releasing her. "Today is something special. You're happy about something. You look kind of... wistful, like today's a day you'd rather spend with loved one's, probably your dad. If that's the case, then it's something worth celebrating. But you're blushing a little too, so it's something you're either embarrassed about, or don't want people to make a big deal over." Pinkie gasped loudly, her smile returning wider than ever. "Oh my gosh! It's your birthday!"

Candy's mouth fell open in awe. "Wha—? How'd you do that?"

Pinkie shrugged. "I have a sense for these kinds of things. Oh, hey, maybe my Pinkie Sense has finally calibrated now too." Pinkie went silent for a few seconds, looking around as if she were waiting for something. "Hmm... Kinda hard to tell. Guess we'll have to wait and see on that. Anyway, you!"

Candy flinched at the sudden increase in volume.

"How could you not tell me it was your birthday?! You know I love parties, and birthday's are the best excuse to throw a party! How dare you keep this from me!"

Candy stammered in an attempt to defend herself. "W-Well, you said it yourself, I don't want to make a big deal of it."

"Nonsense. We gotta do something. Name something, anything, and we'll do it. I'm am not letting you waste this once-a-year opportunity."

Candy sighed in resignation. Even if she insisted that she wanted to keep this low key, no doubt Pinkie Pie would wind up dragging her somewhere anyway. So if she was going to be forced into doing something, it may as well be something she wants to do. "Well, we are in Steeden. It would be nice to learn a little about the culture here."

"Culture, huh?" Pinkie mused. "That sounds pretty dull, but hey, you're the birthday girl. Oh! And I think I know exactly who can help with that!"

Pinkie quickly zipped down the hall to the door across from her own dormitory, and knocked without a moment's thought. Candy shrugged, knowing now what Pinkie was referring to, and it was actually a pretty good idea. The door opened, and Pinkie gave a friendly greeting to the crimson unicorn on the other side.

"Good morning, Cookie!" Pinkie chirped cheerily.

Sugar Cookie smiled gently, being pleasantly surprised by Pinkie's arrival. "And to you as well, Pinkie. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

In the blink of an eye, Pinkie dashed down the hall and back, pulling Candy Cane back with her. Candy greeted Sugar with an awkward grin and a wave. "It's Candy's birthday, and she wants to celebrate by learning a bit about Steedish culture. Personally, I think that's suuuuper boring, but it's her day, so it's her choice. And I thought that maybe you could help us find someplace where we can get our culture on."

Sugar pursed her lips in thought, though something about her expression read of disappointment, as if she had expected something else. "Trotholm is a big city. There are plenty of places where you could learn a little more about this country and its heritage."

"Think you could narrow it down?" Candy requested.

The unicorn thought a moment longer. "I believe there is an art gallery not far from the university that features works by local artists. I do not know how much you will learn about our culture there, but it is a start I suppose."

"That actually sounds fun," Candy said with a grin.

Pinkie quirked an eyebrow. "It does? I mean, sure thing! Let's do it!"

"If you wish, I could guide you there. The more the merrier, ya?" Sugar offered to Candy, though she seemed to be looking more at Pinkie Pie when she said it.

"Took the words right out of my mouth!" Pinkie agreed. "Speaking of which..." She pivoted on the spot and opened her own dorm. Before entering, however, she turned to face Sugar again. "I'll be needing those words back, though. I'll probably want to use 'em again in the future." Without waiting for a response. she disappeared into her dorm room, only to emerge just a few moments later with her pig-tailed roommate, who looked more than a little confused. "Just one more sec," Pinkie said again, running down the hall to Candy's dorm.

Puff Pastry looked around with a puzzled expression before looking to Candy. "So... Vhat's going on? Pinkie just dragged me out here vithout a vord."

Candy sighed with an a slightly embarrassed smile. "It's... my birthday, and we were just about to head to a nearby art gallery to just, you know, do something."

Puff widened her eyes. "Really? Vell, happy birthday. So I guess Pinkie vants me to come vith you."

Candy nodded, though there was really no guessing necessary.

Pinkie Pie returned a moment later with a slightly disappointed, yet still cheery, smile. "Gwen doesn't wanna come with us."

"Big surprise there," Candy said with a roll of her eyes.

"So I guess it's the four of us then. Saddle up, ladies, we're hittin' the town!"

***** ***** *****

A nice, quiet stroll through the streets of Trotholm was quite welcome. Even though it was still winter, the weather was nice and calm. No wind, skies clear enough for the sun to shine through, and a very light snowfall. It was a picturesque winter's day. Of course, having lived there for almost half a year, Pinkie, Candy, and Puff have had ample time to take in their surroundings, but they were always willing to walk a road they haven't been down before. The particular road they had been led down today was one such road, despite being relatively close to the university.

Even though it was a weekend, the people roaming the streets were surprisingly sparse. It was mostly young ponies and griffons that they recognized from the university; students like themselves, dressed in warm scarves and wool hats. But there was something about such a large city with less-than-bustling streets that made the place feel more... homely.

But they weren't simply out for a leisurely stroll. Sugar Cookie had brought them directly to the art gallery she had told them about, and the four ponies had gone inside to have a look around. The gallery itself was just one wing of a much larger building; a youth recreation center, Sugar had told them. The gallery was quite a spacious area; wide and open with high ceilings. The walls were all a blinding white, putting the clean snow outside to shame. Oddly, the four of them alone outnumbered the rest of the population in the gallery. As far as they could see, there were only about three other ponies present, quietly contemplating the deeper meaning of the art around them.

In terms of the art within the gallery, they were almost as scarce as the people looking at them. Apparently the place had only opened recently and there wasn't much on display just yet, mostly just some paintings and one bizarre-looking sculpture in the middle of the room that none of them could really make any sense of.

The four friends spent some time looking at the paintings, none of them really saying much of anything. Candy stared at one painting in particular, what seemed to be a mosaic of... something? There appeared to be an outline of what she assumed was a pony, but she wasn't one hundred percent certain. She tried tilting her head to view it from a different angle, but that only served to make it even more baffling. She looked around at her friends, noticing distinct looks of boredom.

Candy let out a sigh. "Okay, this isn't quite as enlightening as I was hoping."

Sugar shrugged her shoulders. "I was just making a suggestion."

"I know. I'm not blaming you. I just thought that maybe I'd find something thought-provoking here. Turns out, I don't really understand any of this stuff. I guess Pinkie was right."

"I don't know," Pinkie said, not taking her eyes off the fixture in front of her. "I kinda like this one. It's like... a representation of our will to survive, and the lengths we'll go for self-satisfaction, no matter how brief. But I feel like it's also an allegory of our capitalist society, and how much we rely on money to live our lives day by day."

Candy walked over beside her, looking at the piece that Pinkie Pie was fixating on. "Pinkie... That's a vending machine."

"Huh?" Pinkie took another look, this time recognizing the device filled with bags of potato chips and candy bars. "Oh. Or maybe I'm just hungry." She began fishing into her winter saddle's pocket and pulled out a few bits, dropping them into the machine and punching in an order for a chocolate bar.

Puff looked up at the clock on the wall. "It's almost supper time. If nopony really vants to be here, vhy don't vee just go out for something to eat?"

Candy smiled at the suggestion. "That sounds like an idea. I could go for a bite. You, Pinkie?"

Pinkie looked at her with a mouthful of chocolate. "Hm? Yeah, sounds good. I'm starving."

"Actually," Sugar interjected, "I have to work for a few hours during supper, so I will not be able to join you."

Pinkie put a hoof around the unicorn's shoulder. "Unless we eat where you work, right?"

"We do know for a fact that the food there is really good," Candy added.

Puff tapped her chin in thought. "I don't think I've been there yet."

"Then you're in for a treat," Pinkie exclaimed. "Both with the food, and the super service, courtesy of this gal right here." Pinkie prodded Sugar in the shoulder.

"Then let's not waste anymore time here," suggested Candy, leading the others toward the exit.

Pinkie Pie stopped, hopping back to the vending machine. "Just a sec." She popped a couple more bits into the machine and pulled out another chocolate bar. "These things are delicious!"

***** ***** *****

Pinkie, Puff, and Candy sat quietly at a table within the restaurant where Sugar Cookie worked. It was fairly busy today, but that made sense for a Saturday. The trio of mares paid no attention to the other patrons, though not because they were engaged in their own conversation, but rather due to them being preoccupied by their thoughts.

So far, the day wasn't going quite as Candy had expected. She woke up wishing she were home to spend her birthday with her dad. She could only imagine how broken up he must have been. Then, at Pinkie Pie's behest, she came up with something she thought she wanted to do, but ended up being a bit dull. As she continued to contemplate possible activities, she reached for one of the complementary bread rolls Sugar had brought to their table and cut it in half.

"So..." Pinkie started, taking a bite out of one of the rolls. "What else do you want to do for your birthday, Candy?"

Candy sighed as she spread some butter onto her roll. "I don't know. I thought I knew what I wanted to do, but we all saw how that went. I kind of just want to do something that all of us can enjoy together, but nothing's coming to mind."

"Vhat's wrong vith just heading back to the university und just having a small party at our dorm?" Puff suggested with a mouthful of bread. "Vee could bake you a cake und just, you know, hang out."

Candy grinned at the idea. "You know, as much as I was trying to avoid making a big deal of my birthday, that sounds like fun."

"Are you kidding?" Pinkie blurted. "A 'nice, quiet get-together' is not my idea of a great birthday. No no no, we have to do something... extravagant!"

Candy leaned back in her chair and groaned. "Pinkie, please, I keep telling you not to blow this out of proportion."

Pinkie shook her head defiantly. "Nuh uh. The faculty didn't let us host a big Hearth's Warming bash in the student lounge, so you don't really know the true scale of a Pinkie Pie Birthday Blowout, registered trademark. If anypony deserves it, it's you."

Candy shrugged apprehensively. "I don't know, Pinkie. I just—"

Pinkie slammed the table with her hooves, rising from her seat and startling the other customers. "No! No more doubts!" she shouted, her eye twitching. "If I don't throw a big shindig soon, I'm gonna go bonkers! These itty bitty parties I've been throwing have barely been holding me over. I'm going through withdrawal here! Let me party my plot off, dang it!"

Candy drew back in shock from Pinkie's increasing mania, feeling a touch concerned for both her friend and herself. "Okay, okay! If you're that desperate, you can throw a party for me. Just promise you'll calm down."

The craziness in Pinkie's face vanished in an instant, replaced with her usual enthusiastic smile, and she plopped herself back in her chair. "Great! Thank you!"

"The question now is, where do we hold it? We already know the university is not going to agree to anything you have in mind."

Candy noticed a plate of food being placed in front of her and looked up to see Sugar with two more plates held within her silky, purple aura. "If I may interject, I have a suggestion." Candy gave her a skeptical look, and Sugar chuckled awkwardly. "I know my first suggestion did not go over very well, but I think you will like this one. I know of a place downtown where we could party the night away."

Pinkie's eyes lit up with curious wonder. "You do?! Spill it, girl!"

Sugar grinned confidently. "A night club."

Candy raised an eyebrow, looking a touch pensive. "A night club?"

Sugar nodded. "Ya. I sometimes visit to unwind after a long day. There is music, dancing, lots of people, drinks—"

"Drinks, as in alcohol?" Candy inquired.

"Of course." Sugar looked between the three other mares, noticing some apprehension. "Have you... never had alcohol before?"

"I've had vine on occasion," Puff answered. "Not much though."

"I haven't," Candy admitted with a bit of embarrassment.

"Me neither," Pinkie chimed in, though feeling no shame in it. "But I know a lot of ponies like to have beer and stuff at parties."

"You do not have to drink if you do not want to," Sugar assured them. "You can have just as much fun without it."

Pinkie, Puff, and Sugar all stared eagerly at Candy, awaiting her answer. She felt a little on the spot right now, but it's not like she wasn't open to trying new things, so she shrugged dismissively. "Why not? It'll probably be more fun than just sitting at home all night."

Pinkie shot up in her chair, thrusting a hoof into the air. "Woo! Saddle up, girls! Again! We're hittin' the town! Again!" She paused and glanced down to the full plate of food sitting in front of her, as well as her friends. She sat herself back in her chair and picked up a fork. "Right after we eat."

***** ***** *****

"Soooo... This is the place, huh?"

Candy stared across the snow-covered street to the building on the opposite side. The outward design of the structure was almost as artsy as the gallery they had visited earlier, with a roof that slanted down and to the right ever so slightly, and smooth, narrow columns near the entrance. For a minute, Candy thought that Sugar had dragged them to another art gallery, though the bright, colorful lights and loud music that permeated the veil of the night quickly debunked that theory. There was a bright purple, neon sign above the entrance spelling out the name of the club, though it was in Steedish, and nopony other than Sugar could decipher it; they didn't really care to have her interpret anyway. The music playing inside was plenty audible as well. Not only could the four mares hear the music, they could practically feel the sidewalk vibrating under their hooves to the rhythmic beat of the bass. If that weren't enough to grab the attention of any passersby, the crowd of people flooding into it was. The sidewalk outside was packed with ponies and griffons looking for a good time. One could only imagine how crowded the inside was.

"It is," Sugar answered with a nod. "Looks fun, ya?"

"Are we going to have trouble getting in?" Candy inquired.

Sugar chuckled at the question. "It is not an exclusive club, Candy. Anyone is welcome."

"Man, this place is poppin'!" Pinkie exclaimed, her body bobbing up and down in time with the music. "It's the perfect locale for a kick-flank birthday celebration!"

"Then what are we doing standing around out here?" Sugar started across the street toward the club, soon followed by Candy, Pinkie, and Puff.

With Sugar Cookie leading them, the four mares carefully pushed through the crowd of people loitering outside. For just a moment they wondered why all of these people would wait out here rather than get out of the cold and party down with everyone else. It didn't take much evidence to venture a guess about some of them, whether they came out for a cigarette, or maybe they sought the cold air; if there were as many people inside as they thought, the atmosphere within would likely be at least a little humid, especially with all of the dancing.

Stepping through the door of the club felt like entering an entirely different realm of reality, one where the stresses and responsibilities of everyday life were cast to the wayside for a night of carefree fun. And the sight of the club's interior reflected that. The entire place had a rather post-modern aesthetic, which they sort of expected based off of the exterior. Although the room was dimly lit, the crowd was inundated with flashing and undulating lights of every color imaginable, accompanied by the beat of the music. The most notable feature, of course, was the crowded dance floor in the very center of the room. Despite how packed it was, no one really seemed bothered and just let loose. Tables, booths, and chairs were placed all around the perimeter of the room, surrounding and giving a good view of those on the dance floor. At the back of the room was an elevated platform where the featured DJ was busy at his mix table, just as into the music as everyone else. There was even a second floor above them where people could look out over the railing at the rest of the room below them.

However, it was the large fixture at the left side of the room that Sugar led them to; a bar being tended by a well-dressed, unicorn stallion, hundreds of bottles of all sorts of beverages decorating the shelves behind him. Sugar sat herself down on one of the stools at the bar and Pinkie, Candy, and Puff followed suit. The unicorn hailed the bartender and ordered a drink in Steedish. The stallion passed her a bottle of beer of a brand that was unfamiliar to the foreigners.

"Anything for you, ladies?" she asked her companions.

"Do they have cranberry vine?" Puff inquired.

Sugar kindly asked the bartender, who responded with a silent nod, pulling a bottle from the shelf behind him with his magic, and pouring a glass for Puff, who promptly thanked him.

Sugar looked to Candy next, who shrugged her shoulders and pointed to Puff's drink. "What the hell, same as her, I guess." After Sugar relayed the message, Candy was offered the glass of cranberry wine and took a sip. "Mmm. That's not bad."

"Barkeep! I'll have some of that, too, pretty please!" Pinkie requested loudly and with a big smile. The bartender gave her a confused look before turning to Sugar, who translated for her, then passed Pinkie her glass. The pink pony swirled the red liquid around, eyeing it up like a scrutinous socialite at a wine tasting, though having no actual idea what she was looking for. She took a short sip of the drink and sloshed it around in her mouth for a moment before swallowing. "Wow-wee, that's really somethin'! The strong taste of cranberries with the biting sting of alcohol. I like it!" She downed the rest of the drink lickety-split, and immediately ordered a refill.

"You might wanna slow down there, Pinkie," warned Candy. "You've never had alcohol before. I doubt you have a tolerance for it just yet."

Pinkie waved her hoof dismissively. "Pfft, stop worrying. I've been told I have an iron stomach, so I probably have an iron liver too."

Sugar pat Candy on the shoulder. "We are here to celebrate your birthday, ya? Let her have some fun. Besides, if she gets a little tipsy, we can always bring her back to the university and put her to bed."

Candy chuckled amusedly. "When you put it like that, it makes her sound like a child." She turned to watch Pinkie bring her glass to her mouth again making airship noises. "Which is not exactly a stretch, I guess."

Pinkie shot down another glass of wine, and spun around on her seat until she was facing the dance floor. "Oh! I've got an idea! We should dance! Who's with me?!"

Sugar giggled playfully. "I cannot very well turn down an offer like that."

Pinkie hopped off of her stool and, with a courteous bow, offered her hoof to Sugar, who gladly accepted and allowed the excitable mare to lead her to the dance floor.

When the pair disappeared into the crowd, Candy looked over at Puff and offered a friendly smile. "So are you enjoying yourself, Puff?"

Puff looked up from her glass. "Hm? Oh, ya, sure. Vhy?"

Candy shrugged. "Just asking. I'd hate to see this night go to waste after you girls went to so much trouble just for me."

Puff flashed a dimply grin. "Vee really didn't go to any trouble. If vee veren't out vith you, vee'd just be back at our dorms doing a whole lot of nothing. Maybe baking, or vatching T.V. To be honest, it's kind of nice to go out for vunce. Vee've been in Steeden for almost half a year und haven't really done too much sightseeing yet." She observed the somewhat melancholy expression on Candy's face. "Vhy? Is something on your mind?"

Candy was hesitant to say anything. Up until now, she thought she'd been doing a good job of keeping up a cheerful disposition, but it seemed somepony had finally seen through it. She let out a sigh, figuring it was just as well to speak her mind. "Well, it's not like I'm not having fun; hanging out with you girls is all I really needed to make this day enjoyable. But, it's just... this is the first birthday I've been unable to celebrate with my dad."

Puff nodded solemnly. "Oh. I see."

"I already told Pinkie about my relationship with my dad, but ever since my mom passed away a few years ago, I've been the center of his world. Everything he did, he did for me." She smiled wistfully as she recollected. "And he'd always go overboard on my birthday. I guess the reason why I've been against having a big birthday bash is because I don't really want to have too much fun without him, you know?"

"Your dad must miss you quite a lot," Puff inferred.

"I guess."

The pig-tailed mare tilted her head at that response. "You 'guess'?"

"I mean, yeah, he definitely misses me, I know that. But he's got a new girlfriend now. Since he's met her, he's spent a lot of his time with her. I've kind of felt..."

As Candy trailed off, Puff attempted to fill the blank. "Jealous?"

Candy didn't look at Puff, but felt surprised by her guess. Even she wasn't sure what word she was trying to think of, but after hearing that, it sounded pretty accurate to how she was feeling. "Yeah, I suppose. At the very least I was expecting him to send me something, as selfish as that sounds," she admitted with a sigh. She looked down into her glass of cranberry wine. "All things considered, I guess this is a good place to be, given what's on my mind." She downed the drink and gestured to the bartender for another. "'Drown your sorrows.' That's the expression, right?"

Puff placed a hoof on Candy's leg, preventing her from raising her glass. "If that's vhat you're here for, then maybe it vould be better to just go back to the university now."

Candy thought silently for a moment, looking down at her glass, then to Puff. Her friend had an expression of deep concern. Candy let go of the glass. "Sorry. I was in a weird place there. I guess if anypony knows a thing or two about family problems, it's you."

Puff chuckled heartily. "Und I got through it just fine. Maybe you should just put it out of your mind. I'm sure you can vork this all out vhen you see your dad again."

"Yeah, probably. Maybe I'm just a little homesick." She raised her glass to Puff. "This one's for focusing on the good, and not worrying about the bad."

Puff raised her glass with a grin, clinked it against Candy's, and the pair enjoyed the taste of cranberries together.

"Excuse me, ladies."

Puff and Candy spun around to see Sugar with a sweaty and wobbly Pinkie Pie leaning on her shoulder.

"What happened to her?" Candy asked, baffled as to how just ten minutes on the dance floor could put her into such a state.

"She partied pretty hard out there," Sugar explained with an amused grin. "She turned quite a few heads with her... er, unorthodox technique. And every time I looked away she had another glass of wine in her hoof. I have no idea where she kept getting them, but suffice to say she is a little exhausted and inebriated."

"You're eggs-dusted and ineb... inebru... That other thing you said," Pinkie slurred as she teetered in place.

"I think it might be a good idea if I brought her back to the university," Sugar suggested.

"Do you need some help?" Candy offered, preparing to hop off of her stool.

Sugar raised a hoof to stop her. "No, no. This is your night, Candy, you should enjoy it to the fullest. I will escort her home. You two stay here and enjoy yourselves."

Candy looked to Puff, who gave her a shrug and a smile. "Alright then. As long as we know she's in good hooves."

"She is, trust me," Sugar giggled, looking at the comically disoriented mare on her shoulder. "I suppose we will see you girls tomorrow."

"Good night. And be careful on your way there."

Sugar gave an affirmative nod and escorted Pinkie to the exit.

"Nighty-night, party peoples!" Pinkie bellowed before disappearing from sight.

"You think vee should be vorried about her?" Puff asked.

"Nah. From what she's told me, she's been in worse states than this. At least she seems to be a friendly drunk," Candy laughed. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Why don't we hang out here a little longer, have a few more drinks?"

Puff nodded with a friendly grin, gesturing to the bartender to refill their glasses.

***** ***** *****

The door at the top of the stairwell swung open, making way for a wobbly pink pony who couldn't keep up with it as it opened, resulting in her getting a much closer look at the hallway's carpet.

"Whoopsie," Pinkie Pie giggled as she lay on the floor.

Sugar Cookie bent down to pick her up again, regretting listening to her when she said she'd be fine walking on her own. "Are you okay?"

Pinkie flicked her hoof lazily. "Yuppers. Just forgot to move my legs, that's all."

Sugar couldn't help but smile at how Pinkie could remain so giggly when she could have hurt herself. She simply adored Pinkie's endless, contagious optimism.

As Sugar dragged a practically limp Pinkie Pie to her apartment door, the pink mare let out a whine. "I dun wanna go to bed yet. We're supposed-a have a party for Candy. I gotta bake her a cake or somethin'. An' presents. We gotta buy her presents."

Sugar sighed with an amused grin. "It is late, Pinkie, all of the stores are closed now. And I am not going to let you bake under the influence. You might burn yourself." Pinkie let out a disapproving groan, further expressing her reluctance to call it a night. Sugar glanced behind herself to the door on the opposite side of the hall, smiling as an idea came to her. "If you really want to stay up a while longer, how about you spend some time with me in my dorm?"

Pinkie gasped, looking at Sugar with a twinkle in her eye. "Ya mean it?" She received an affirming nod, and Sugar removed her key from her saddle to unlock the door, carefully guiding Pinkie Pie in alongside her.

In the current state Pinkie was in, she couldn't confidently tell exactly whose apartment they had entered as, like she'd seen with Candy's, all of the dorm's looked identical. They could very well have gone into her own apartment and she would have been none the wiser. Sugar removed her winter clothes, hanging them on the rack beside the door. Seeing how Pinkie Pie was having difficulty just standing up straight, she kindly helped her friend remove hers as well before escorting her charge to the couch. Pinkie, no longer needing to actively maintain her equilibrium, allowed herself to flop over and lay her head on one of the throw pillows, stretching her rubbery limbs.

"Mmm... Your couch is so sooooooft," Pinkie moaned with a cozy grin.

"It is exactly the same as your couch," Sugar giggled. The unicorn got up from the couch and headed toward the kitchen. "Would you like something to drink? Water, or coffee, perhaps?"

"You got any of that cranberry wine? That stuff is delish!"

Sugar rolled her eyes at Pinkie's stubbornness, but chuckled to herself regardless. Despite how much Pinkie had drank tonight, she couldn't bring herself to deny her request. It was a good thing she always kept a bottle tucked away in case she had company. Sugar returned to the couch carrying the bottle of wine and two wine glasses in her velvety, purple aura. She poured up a glass of the red nectar for Pinkie, and one for herself. Pinkie laboriously pulled herself to a sitting position, grabbing the glass with both hooves so as to at least reduce the chance of her spilling or dropping it.

Pinkie chugged down half the glass in one gulp, then turned to Sugar. The unicorn was looking back at her fondly, a soft smile on her crimson lips. "Ya know, I don't think we've ever really hung out before, jus' the two of us. How come?"

Sugar took a short sip of wine. "I do have a part-time job. With that and classes we do not get many chances to spend time together, especially the two of us. Alone. It is nice though, is it not?"

"Jus' me 'n' you? Yeah, it is pretty nice," Pinkie agreed. She teetered to the side a bit, leaning towards Sugar. "You're always smiling. It's real nice to think I can spread a smile to you just by bein' in your presence. Candy's always tryin' to tell me 'Don't do this. Don't do that. You'll get us in trouble. Put that down, it's not done yet.' And Puff was real passive an' stuff 'til she made up with her mom." She looked Sugar dead in the eye, seriousness and concern in her face. "Do you think people build up a tolerance to my optimism the more they hang around me?"

Sugar chuckled and shook her head. "I do not think so. They say laughter is like medicine, ya? If anything, I would think people would become reliant on it. I know I always crave a bit of your enthusiasm when you are not around."

Pinkie breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh good. You know, I'm really happy you're my friend, Cookie. Knowing that I put a smile on your face, puts a smile on my face."

Sugar swirled the wine in her glass, glancing coyly at Pinkie from the corner of her eye. "Well... If you enjoy it so much, what if I were to suggest that we could be more than just friends."

Pinkie's eyes widened with interest. "You mean, like, super-ultra-mega-friends-deluxe? Turbo edition?"

Sugar chuckled at Pinkie's naiveté. "Not quite." She took another sip of her wine, placed the glass on the coffee table, and turned her entire body in Pinkie's direction. "Pinkie Pie, I want to give you something. A present."

"Oooo, a present? For me?" Pinkie squeaked, wagging her tail excitedly. She paused for a moment and quirked an eyebrow. "But it's not my birthday, it's Candy's. Maybe you should give your present to her."

"No. I do not think she would appreciate it. I want to give it to you. But... you have to close your eyes, okay?"

Pinkie nodded eagerly and shut her eyes tight, squirming with excitement. "Oh boy, I love surprises!"

Pinkie Pie waited impatiently for her gift, fighting the urge to take a peek before Sugar was ready to present it. She didn't feel Sugar getting up from the couch, so she assumed that the present was hidden on the floor on the opposite side of the couch. As she thought more about it, though, that didn't really make sense. Sugar had brought Pinkie back to the university to put her to bed. How could she have prepared this present beforehoof, unless she had originally intended to give it to her tomorrow? That was always a possibility. Now that she was on the subject, Pinkie remembered that tomorrow was Sunday, meaning they had another whole day to celebrate Candy's birthday. Sure, it was a bit belated, but it would give her an opportunity to actually bake a birthday cake for her and—

Pinkie was suddenly jostled from her thoughts when she felt something press against her lips. She had no idea what, but whatever it was felt warm and soft, tender even. It was a little confusing, but it wasn't unpleasant. And she swore she could taste a slight hint of cranberry...

Pinkie's eyes shot open, her booze-addled mind experiencing a sudden, onset state of sobriety. Taking up almost the entirety of her line of sight was the deep blue eye shadow on Sugar Cookie's closed eyelids, outlined by her crimson coat and violet mane. Pinkie's brain was overrun with panic at the unexpected situation, and her first reaction was to push Sugar away and hastily scuttle backward until her back hit the arm of the couch.

"W-What are you doing?!" Pinkie stammered in her panic.

Sugar giggled at Pinkie's amusing reaction, crawling seductively towards her. "What does it look like? I am trying to make us more than 'just friends.'"

"T-That's not what I thought you meant! I thought you meant hang out more, and do more fun stuff together! Not... that!"

"Was that not fun? I, for one, was enjoying it," Sugar chuckled.

Pinkie waved her hooves discouragingly. "No no, you got the wrong idea! I'm not gay! I like guys!"

Pinkie's excuse didn't seem to deter Sugar much, if at all. "So?" she said simply. "We are adults, and this is college. College is a place for experimentation, ya?"

With each word Sugar uttered in her uncomfortably sultry voice, Pinkie's panic only escalated. "Th-The only experimenting I want to do is with recipes!"

"Then I have a recipe for you." Sugar crawled over Pinkie, hovering above her and gazing down at her with half-lidded eyes. She leaned in close to Pinkie's face, forcing the earth pony's heart rate to climb ever higher, and whispered seductively. "Add a dash of me, a pinch of you, and let sit overnight for an unforgettable memory."

Sugar leaned even closer, looking to reconnect their lips, but Pinkie's panic jumped into overdrive and she clumsily wriggled out from under the unicorn, crawled over the arm of the couch, and stumbled hurriedly to the door with just enough sense to grab her winter saddle. "I-Igottagoit'sgettinglateseeyabye!"

The door slammed shut even more quickly than it had opened, the pink pony disappearing behind it and followed by the sound of the door on the opposite side of the hall slamming shut as well. Sugar dropped her head onto the arm of the couch with a disappointed sigh, touching her lips with her hoof.

"Shoot. So close."

Pinkie Pie slumped back against her door, her chest heaving, her heart racing, and her head pounding. Even though she had managed to get out of there, her mind was now plagued with uncomfortable thoughts and the return of the alcohol to punish her for her overindulgence.

"What the hay was that?" she muttered quietly to herself as she rose to her hooves.

She managed to make it to the couch where she flopped down onto her back, draping a hoof over her sweaty forehead as she waited for her heavy breathing to wind down. She was rattled. Pinkie had never experienced anything like that before. She felt... violated, and a little betrayed. She had blatantly said no, yet Sugar persisted with no sign of backing down. Pinkie tried to tell herself that Sugar was simply intoxicated, her judgment being controlled by the alcohol, but as far as she could tell, Sugar had not had that much to drink, certainly not as much as she herself had drank. That was the other thought that came to mind, that maybe the alcohol would prove to be a blessing in disguise and by morning she will have forgotten about the whole thing. She could only hope.

Pinkie laid still for several moments, trying not to think of anything in an effort to try and ignore what had just happened. Clearly Puff and Candy hadn't returned yet, otherwise Puff would have come out wondering why she slammed the door so loudly, and also to ask why she was just arriving. Should she tell them about this? Is this something she wants to confide in her friends about? She'd rather forget that it ever happened, never bring it up and hope that Sugar wouldn't either. And what about Sugar? They were classmates, neighbors even. They were going to see each other everyday, whether she liked it or not. Pinkie could only imagine how uncomfortable things were going to be from here on out.

Pinkie jumped with a start when she heard a knock at the door. She clenched her eyes shut and groaned to herself. "Please don't let it be her. Please don't let it be her."

Had it been Candy or Puff, they likely would have just come in without knocking; it's not like Pinkie had bothered to lock the door in her hurry to distance herself from the mare across the hall. On the other hoof, perhaps Sugar had come to apologize for her inappropriate behavior. That would be very welcome. At least if she were to admit that what she did was wrong, Pinkie's mind would be put more at ease.

With that in mind, Pinkie rose from the couch and shambled towards the door, placing her hoof upon the knob. She took a deep breath and cautiously opened the door. However, her jaw practically dropped to the floor when she was met not with the guilt-stricken face of the crimson unicorn, but rather the sweat-soaked, panting—yet smiling—face of a familiar, rainbow-maned pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash?!"

The pegasus chuckled between labored breaths. "Heya, Pinks. *huff* What's... up...?" The pegasus' eyes drifted shut and she fell forward into the dorm.

Pinkie managed to catch her before she hit the floor. She stared in utter disbelief at the friend she hadn't seen in half a year as she lay unconscious against her, no words, or even thoughts, to express herself.

As if this night couldn't get any weirder...

Chapter 8 - Familiar Flavor

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 8: Familiar Flavor

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The cyan pegasus's magenta eyes cracked open, a laborious effort that felt as if she were trying to pry open a stuck elevator door. But once they were open, she remained motionless and confused. She stared straight up at the ceiling. That wasn't the ceiling of her bedroom. Where were her countless Wonderbolts posters? Rainbow Dash rubbed her heavy, tired eyes. It was only now that she realized that she wasn't even in a bed, but rather a white couch, and covered by a single wool blanket.

That's right, she wasn't at home. It was starting to come back to her now. She was in Steeden. The last thing she remembered was seeing the surprised look on Pinkie Pie's face when she showed up at her door out of the blue. Then... nothing. She must have blacked out.

Rainbow Dash massaged her temple, a very noticeable discomfort in various parts of her body, primarily her wings and her chest. She rolled her tongue around in her mouth, noting a distinct lack of moisture; it felt like sandpaper when she dragged her tongue along the roof of her mouth, and her throat felt as though she had just swallowed a tablespoon of salt. She needed a drink. Badly. Dash was about to lift herself from the couch, but turning her head, she immediately caught sight of a full glass of water on the coffee table, perfectly within hoof's reach. The pegasus propped herself up and leaned out to grab the glass, but stopped.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a mass of pink. Rainbow Dash stared down at the object—or rather, the person—lying there. Pinkie Pie lay sleeping on the floor, curled up like a loyal dog waiting for her owner to awaken. Dash didn't bother to fight back her smile. She was just glad to see how concerned Pinkie must have been to be willing to sleep on the floor, but more so to see her best friend for the first time in six months. A part of her was wondering if last night was just a lucid dream, but she was very pleased to see that that wasn't the case after all. She was, in fact, in Steeden, and Pinkie was, in fact, right in front of her.

Satisfied with her current situation, Rainbow Dash once again reached for the glass of water, sitting up against the arm of the couch, and chugging down the liquid. She sloshed it around a bit to moisturize her dry mouth and tongue, not paying any mind to the fact that the water was warm, likely having been put there by Pinkie Pie last night for when Rainbow Dash woke up.

Dash took a moment to finally survey her surroundings. The dorm room wasn't anything too fancy, though certainly more well-maintained than her own house; she never was one for boring, household chores, and she lived alone anyway, so who would she be trying to impress? She glanced over her shoulder to the source of the light that filled the room: a large window that looked out over the snow-covered courtyard of the university. She hadn't bothered to look around on the way there, as she was much too intent on seeing Pinkie Pie. It was a pretty breathtaking view. But what was even more breathtaking was the enormous, flat-screen television on the wall. She'd always wanted something like that in her house, but they cost a fortune. You could probably see every individual hair of a pony's mane on that thing.

The snoozing form of Pinkie Pie began to stretch herself out in her sleep, letting out a long yawn before her bright, blue eyes fluttered open. Rainbow Dash smiled down on the sleepy mare.

"Morning, sleepy head," Dash chuckled.

"Morning, Rainbow Dash," Pinkie replied as she rubbed her tired eyes. But those tired eyes shot open the instant she realized what she had just said. Pinkie flipped over onto her hooves with an enormous smile and tackled Rainbow Dash with a tight hug. "Dashie! Thank goodness you're awake you passed out and I thought something was wrong are you hurt hungry thirsty do you need anything at all just tell—"

Rainbow Dash plugged Pinkie's running mouth with her hoof. "Take it easy, I'm fine."

Pinkie released her grip on the pegasus, allowing her some room to breath, and taking a deep breath herself. "I was worried about you, Rainbow Dash. You just zonked out right in front of me. Are you sure you're okay?"

Rainbow waved off Pinkie's concerns with a shrug. "Like I said, I'm fine."

Pinkie held a hoof to her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. So I guess I can get right to my next question: WHAT?!" she shrieked, throwing her hooves up in the air.

Rainbow Dash scratched her head with a nervous grin. "Heh heh, yeah, I guess I owe you an explanation, huh?" She tossed the blanket off of herself and sat up on the couch, stretching her back. "The short version is, I..." She shifted in place, blushing slightly. "...missed you."

As touched as she was that Rainbow Dash was willing to go to such lengths to see her, even Pinkie knew that she was being impractical. "I missed you, too, Dashie, but coming all the way to Steeden just to say 'hi'?"

Rainbow Dash let out a deep sigh. "I-I know, but I was going stir crazy. Do you know how boring Ponyville is without you around? Now I know how you felt when I went to the Wonderbolt Academy."

"Yeah, but the academy was just a short balloon ride away. Steeden's on the other side of the ocean. That's a long way away."

"But it was worth it," Dash said with a self-validated grin. "But I'm here now, right? So we might as well make the most of it."

"Speaking of which, how come the other girls didn't come with you? If I'm gonna get to see you, I'd like to see all of you."

Rainbow Dash broke eye contact, her eyes drifting up to the ceiling. "Yeeeeaaaah, see, that's the thing: I didn't tell them I was coming."

Pinkie's eyes widened in shock. "What?! Why not?!"

"Obviously because they would have tried to stop me. Twilight was pretty convinced that getting all of us to Steeden would be more trouble than it was worth, even if it meant getting to see you. Clearly I've got a little more motivation than them."

"Geez, Dash, airship tickets are pretty pricey. Are you sure that's not gonna come back to bite you?"

Rainbow Dash scoffed at the notion. "Pfft, are you kidding? You think I'd blow all my cash on that?" She flapped her wings proudly. "These babies can outrun any airship," she stated matter-of-factly.

Pinkie blinked in stunned silence. Her mouth drifted open to speak, but it took a moment for the words to coalesce. "You... You what?!"

Dash leaned back, holding her hooves behind her head. "What? You sound surprised."

"But that's a nine hour flight?!" Pinkie gawked.

"For one of those over-sized balloons maybe." Dash shifted her eyes for a moment. "Um... Admittedly, it was a bit of a bigger endeavor than I expected. I might be the best flier in Equestria, but that was still a pretty long flight. I mean, you saw me last night. It was quite a workout."

"Flying across the ocean nonstop with no food, no water, and nopony knowing where you are is stupid reckless. What if you just passed out from exhaustion mid-flight? You could have died!"

"Hey, give me some credit. I might not be the smartest pony in the world, but I'm not an idiot. I had a fifteen minute break on a small island along the way. Well, I say 'small island,' but it was really more like a big rock. A big rock covered in turtles. Like, a lot of turtles. Like, a stupid amount of turtles. Seriously, why were there so many turtles?"

Pinkie was conflicted. On the one hoof, she wanted to slap Rainbow Dash silly for being so nonchalant about putting her life at risk. On the other hoof, however, she missed Rainbow Dash just as much as the pegasus missed her, and she was overjoyed to see her best friend again. Looking at the situation from her current perspective, she should just be happy that Rainbow Dash is okay now, and she's been reunited with her after six month's apart. Might as well make the best of it.

Pinkie Pie wrapped her hooves around Dash's neck and hugged her tightly. She leaned back and gave her cyan friend her signature smile. "It's so good to see you again, Dashie."

Rainbow Dash pat Pinkie on the shoulder and returned her smile. "Ditto."

Pinkie noticed Dash's expression change quickly, now looking over Pinkie's shoulder to the kitchen. Peeking back herself, the pink mare saw that her roommate was awake and preparing a pot of coffee. Oddly, she seemed to make no fuss about the presence of a strange pegasus in their dorm. Surely she had to have noticed them, especially considering they had done nothing to control the volume of their voices. That suspicion was confirmed when they saw her fill three mugs with black brew, placed them upon a breakfast tray alongside a bowl of sugar and small pitcher of cream, and delivered it with a hospitable smile to the coffee table.

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash exchanged confused glances before Pinkie spoke up to the grinning, tan mare. "Soooooo... Any questions?"

Puff chuckled in response. "A few, ya."

"Okay," Pinkie started, hopping off the couch and coaxing Rainbow Dash to do the same. "First off, Puff, this is Rainbow Dash, my best friend in the whooooole world. Dashie, this is Puff Pastry, my roommate."

"Nice to meet you," Dash greeted with a friendly grin, offering her hoof.

"You, too. I've heard a lot about you from Pinkie Pie."

"You're not surprised to see her at all?" Pinkie interjected.

"I vas very surprised actually. Imagine coming back to see a rainbow-maned pegasus sleeping on our couch, vith my roommate sleeping on the floor in front of her. I vas a bit tipsy by the time Candy und I got back, so I vasn't even sure if vhat I vas seeing vas real. Eventually, I did recognize her from the picture on your coffee mug." Puff pointed out Pinkie's mug on the tray with the group photo of the pink pony and her friends back home. "It's a nice surprise, but I vish I had a little heads up first."

"You and me both," Pinkie laughed. "She just randomly showed up at the door last night." She gave a stern scowl to the pegasus. "Apparently, she thought it was necessary to fly all the way across the ocean, like a loony."

"I'm avare," Puff chuckled. "Your conversation vas plenty audible. In any case, I don't mind having her around if she's your friend."

"My best friend," Pinkie corrected, flinging her hooves around Dash's neck. "And if she's gonna be here for awhile, you two should become friends, too!"

"I've got no problem with that," Rainbow Dash shrugged with a grin. "I think it'll be pretty cool to have a Steedish friend. But your accent doesn't really sound the way I thought it would."

"Um, I'm from Germaney."

"Oh. Heh, sorry. Guess I'm not very good with accents," Dash apologized with an embarrassed blush.

"You're gonna hear all sorts of accents around here, Rainbow Dash," Pinkie chirped. "People come from all over the world to come to this school. But if you wanna hear a bona fide Steedish accent, you should talk to—" She stopped suddenly, a look of sudden realization coming over her, and her ears folded back in discomfort. "N-Nevermind..."

Rainbow Dash noticed the distressed look in her friend's eyes. "You okay, Pinkie?"

Pinkie put her smile back on immediately, attempting to push aside any unpleasant thoughts. "Yeah, fine. It's nothing."

Dash raised an eyebrow at Pinkie's behavior. She had never known Pinkie to bottle up her feelings. She was always very vocal about what was on her mind, good or bad. Even though something seemed off with Pinkie, Rainbow Dash figured she was over-thinking it. But now that she thought about it, something that Puff had said suddenly stuck out, and she wondered if that had anything to do with it.

"Did you say before that you were 'tipsy'?" the pegasus asked Puff. She looked at Pinkie in surprise. "Were you guys drinking last night?"

"Don't get the wrong idea, Dash," Pinkie answered defensively. "It was just a one time thing cuz it was a special occasion."

"What occasion? Was yesterday some sort of Steedish holiday or something?"

Pinkie shook her head. "Nope. It was Candy's birthday, so we went out for a few drinks."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. "Oh, right! Candy's here with you! Man, Fluttershy 'n' me were blown away when we saw her in that picture you sent. How crazy is it that you'd meet up with her in Steeden of all places?"

"Actually, she was on the airship when I left. I ran into her literally minutes after I said goodbye to you guys. Seeing her definitely made me a little less uneasy about leaving."

Rainbow Dash glanced around the apartment. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

"It's two to a dorm. Puff's my roommate, so Candy's in another room. Just down the hall actually."

An eager smile crossed Dash's lips. "Really? Then why don't we go say hi?"

"Um, I did just make three cups of coffee," Puff reminded them. "I'd rather they didn't go cold."

Pinkie looked down at the untouched tray, having forgotten it was even there despite the strong scent wafting up from the mugs. "Right. Coffee first, Candy second."

Just as the three mares were fixing their respective drinks the way they liked them, there was a knock at the door. Pinkie Pie smiled knowingly.

"There's only one person who'd bother coming over here this early in the morning. Guess we get to say hi after all."

Rainbow Dash took a quick sip of her coffee and waited eagerly, catching Pinkie's meaning.

Pinkie Pie opened the door, making sure to adequately block the visitor's view of the dorm. Sure enough, as expected, the morning's visitor was indeed Candy Cane, though she looked a tad disgruntled. If the shadows around her eyes were any indication, she didn't get much sleep.

"Good morning, Candy," Pinkie greeted with a chipper grin.

Candy rubbed her temple in response to Pinkie's high-pitched voice. "Could be better actually. Like, if you were to turn the volume down over here. Seriously, I think everyone on this floor can hear you. It doesn't help that I have a mild hangover. And considering how plastered you were when I last saw you, I figured you'd still be passed out in bed... Or on the bathroom floor. What exactly were you yelling about earlier?"

Pinkie maintained her grin and stuck her nose up at Candy. "Well, Little Miss Grumpy Pants, you're gonna feel like a real jerk when I show you." Pinkie sidestepped away from the door, sweeping her hoof toward the cyan pegasus behind her. "Ta-da!"

Candy widened her tired eyes as much as she could allow, not knowing exactly how to respond to the familiar face before her. "Rainbow Dash?!"

Pinkie flinched and flicked her own ear. "Now who's being loud?"

Candy stepped into the apartment, trotting over to the pegasus incredulously.

"Long time no see, Candy. What's up?" Dash greeted.

"Wha... What are you doing here?" Candy asked with mouth agape.

Pinkie hopped over to them and interrupted. "Okay, this conversation has already taken place once. So for the sake of everypony, I'll keep it brief." She cleared her throat loudly and inhaled deeply. "She missed me. She flew across the ocean without an airship. Didn't tell anypony she was coming. Didn't bring any supplies. Showed up at my door last night and passed out from exhaustion." Pinkie stood motionless for a moment, then let out the remaining air in her lungs. "Guess I didn't need such a deep breath. But, yeah, that's the gist of it. Oh, and something about turtles."

Candy's expression didn't change much, still just as baffled as before, perhaps more so. "What?! That's—"

"Stupid? Reckless? Crazy? All of the above? Yes. Yes it is," Pinkie finished, once again throwing a stern glower in Rainbow Dash's direction, to which the pegasus reacted by nervously scratching her head. "Anywho, that doesn't matter now. What does matter is that she's here and I get to hang out with my bestie again!"

Candy was still quite taken aback at the whole situation, but all things considered it was still a pleasant surprise nonetheless. But she was still plagued with questions based on Pinkie's hasty synopsis. "So your friends have no idea she's here?"

Pinkie shook her head, looking a touch irate. "No, they do not. But I'm going to write them a letter and send it as soon as possible. Hopefully, they'll get it before they need to send out search parties to find her. And those aren't the kind of parties I like."

"Okay, I get it, you don't approve of my actions," Rainbow Dash groaned. "How many times do I need to apologize?"

"At least once would be nice," Pinkie answered flatly.

"I... didn't apologize? Oops. Well, uh... sorry that I, you know... worried you..."

Pinkie gave Rainbow Dash a grateful smile and pat her on the head.

"Okay," Candy interjected, intent on proceeding with her queries, "And she didn't bring anything with her, or make any plans with you?"

Once again, Pinkie shook her head.

"So what's she going to do here?"

"She'll stay with us," Pinkie stated with an optimistic grin.

"She's not a student here, Pinkie. Only students are allowed to live in the dorms. How did she even get into the university last night?"

"I watched a lot of spy movies," Rainbow Dash said as if that were enough to explain it.

"Did anypony see you when you got here?" Pinkie asked.

Rainbow Dash tilted her head as she thought. "Can't say for sure. I was pretty exhausted, plus I was focused on just finding you. I guess if anypony saw me they would have stopped me, right?"

"If they didn't recognize you as a student, then ya," Puff confirmed. "You probably vould have been escorted off the premises if you didn't have any business here."

"So we're expected to keep her presence here a secret?" Candy's tone was becoming increasingly upset. "If the faculty finds out, we could get in serious trouble. You promised you weren't going to jeopardize our education any more."

"What am I supposed to do?" Pinkie argued. "I'm not going to let her fly back and put her life in danger again, and I don't want her living out on the streets. I'm just trying to look after my friend. And I'll take the rap if anyone finds out. There's no reason you guys should get in trouble because my best friend did something stupid."

Rainbow Dash let out groan. "I'm never going to live this down."

"And besides," Pinkie continued, "keeping this a secret is the least you can do for the pony who saved your life."

Candy's eyes widened slightly. She honestly hadn't expected Pinkie to play that card. She breathed a defeated sigh. "I... guess you have point. Fine, but if this comes back to bite us, it's all on you."

"That's what I said," Pinkie said with an affirmative salute.

"But I think we may have a bit of a problem: Gwenivere."

Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow. "Who's Gwenivere?"

"My roommate," explained Candy.

"She's Gustave le Grand's daughter," Pinkie added. "She was in the picture I sent you guys."

An eager grin stretched across Dash's face. "The griffon? Cool! When do I get to meet her?"

"That's the problem," Candy interrupted. "See, she doesn't exactly get along with Pinkie, so if she found out that Pinkie was harboring somepony who isn't supposed to be here, she probably wouldn't hesitate to tell her dad."

"Gustave's our teacher," Pinkie quickly explained.

"Why doesn't she like Pinkie?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"She thinks she's annoying."

Rainbow Dash looked at Pinkie for moment, the pink mare giving a wide, toothy grin in return. Dash shrugged. "Yeah, that makes sense. So does that mean I don't get to meet her?" she asked with a touch of disappointment.

"If you want to stay here and not get Pinkie in trouble, then yeah, it's probably best to avoid her," Candy said.

"And that just gives me more reason to win her over," Pinkie stated with gusto. "I earn her friendship, and then we can introduce her to Rainbow Dash!"

"How hard could that be?" Dash asked with optimism, eager to meet the griffon.

"Considering Pinkie has been trying for half a year now? I vouldn't get your hopes up," Puff told her.

"You know, speaking of friends..." Rainbow Dash looked Pinkie straight in the eye. "There's something me and the other girls were wondering: you mentioned you had friends over here in your letters, but you never said anything about them. I would have thought you'd at least tell us about Gustave and Candy."

"Oh, that." Pinkie scratched the back of her head. "Well, I wanted to tell you, but I wanted to do it in a special way. That's why I sent that photo. I can only imagine the looks on your faces when you saw it! Hee hee! I was gonna talk more about them in my next letter."

"Okay, I guess that makes some sense... in a 'Pinkie Pie' sorta way," Dash said, accepting Pinkie's unorthodox reasoning. The pegasus rubbed the back of her head, hesitant to speak what was on her mind. "But I was kinda starting to think that they were, you know... our... replacements."

"Replacements?!" Pinkie blurted in utter shock. "Are you nutso?! I could never replace you guys! Besides, why replace you when I can just have even more friends? I have a list of all my friends right here." Pinkie pulled a scroll out of her poofy, pink mane and let it unfurl to the floor... and across the apartment. It would have continued rolling had the wall not gotten in the way. "And this is just page one. I left the rest home because I needed to save room." She rolled the scroll back up and replaced it into her mane, fluffing the curly mass of hair as she did. "Despite what you may think, there is a limit to what this do can do."

"You vere... jealous of us?" Puff inferred.

Rainbow Dash turned away with a slight blush. "L-Look, I'm over that now. Yeah, I may have been worried before, but now that I'm here I can see that that's not the case. I mean, I kinda knew that wasn't the case, but, you know, there's always that one little part of your brain that thinks about it anyway."

Pinkie's ears folded back with guilt. "Gosh, if I'd known, I would have told you about them sooner. I'm sorry I made you feel that way, especially knowing how hard it was for you to say goodbye." Pinkie gave Rainbow Dash an apologetic hug, not her usual trachea-crushing hug, but a gentle, caring embrace, like the one they shared at the air dock when Pinkie left. Dash didn't even mind that there were two other people observing her display of affection.

After the hug had ended, Rainbow Dash's eyes happened to fall on Candy Cane for a moment, and she suddenly remembered something. "Oh yeah! Pinkie said it was your birthday yesterday, right? Well, happy, uh... belated birthday, Candy."

Candy giggled with a slight amount of embarrassment. "Oh, thanks. Honestly, it was pretty fun. I kinda wish you were here to celebrate with us."

"She still can!" Pinkie corrected. "We may have had a fun night on the town last night, but you still haven't had an actual party!"

Candy seemed off-put by the idea. "Pinkie, how many times—"

"No no, don't worry, it's just gonna be a small, little thing here in our dorm," Pinkie assured. "And it'll be even more fun now that Rainbow Dash is here! Puff!" Pinkie pointed commandingly toward the chubby mare. "Grab the cake mix! We're gettin' our bake on!"

Puff gave an affirmative salute and made for the kitchen immediately.

"Should I go across the hall and invite Sugar?" Candy asked, already making her way to the door.

Pinkie's ears stood at attention, the smile draining from her face. "No!" The three other mares stared at her in confusion. Pinkie shifted her eyes around nervously, fishing for an excuse to explain her reaction. "Um, sh-she told me she usually likes to sleep in after a night of drinking. Bad hangovers, I guess, ha ha. Uhhh... Oh! And the fewer people who know about Rainbow Dash, the better, right? Wouldn't... Wouldn't want her to accidentally blab about her."

Candy shrugged in response. "I'm sure Sugar can be trusted..."

Pinkie gulped, both at the prospect of seeing Sugar again, and the unseen irony of Candy's statement.

"...but if my hangover is any indication, I can't say I blame her for wanting to stay in bed." Candy rubbed her temple again. The pain had subsided somewhat, but there was no ignoring the rhythmic throbbing in her head.

Pinkie breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing she needed was to have an awkward and uncomfortable air hanging over her all day when she was trying to have a party. But she put that out of her mind for now to focus on the party, making a quick trip to the bedroom to bring out a big box of party favors to decorate the apartment.

Rainbow Dash sniffed the air with a pleased smile. "That's already starting to smell good," she said, commenting on the cake that Puff had started on. The pegasus went to the kitchen to observe the progress, watching as Puff was preparing a chocolate glaze, cream, and decorations while the cake was in the oven. Dash bent down to peer inside the oven. "What kind is it?"

"Chocolate mousse cake," Puff answered with a proud grin.

"That your specialty?"

"Anything chocolate is mein specialty," Puff joked with a hearty chuckle.

"Pinkie's specialty has always been her cupcakes," Dash mentioned. "Ponies line up by the dozens for her cupcakes. Have you had them? I tell you, if you could eat dreams, they'd taste like Pinkie's cupcakes."

Puff nodded. "I have had them, und you're not lying."

"You know, I don't think Pinkie ever needed to come to this school," the pegasus said offhandedly.

In the living room, Pinkie Pie glanced over her shoulder when she heard Rainbow Dash speak. She didn't interrupt, but simply listened as she and Candy unpacked the box of streamers and balloons.

"As far as I'm concerned, she's already the best baker in Equestria. She doesn't need a fancy diploma to prove that."

Puff raised an eyebrow, unsure how she felt about that way of thinking. "You don't think she could improve?"

"No."

Dash's quick, and shockingly blunt response surprised Pinkie.

"Like I said she's already the best she can be. She doesn't need to put herself through all this."

"Through all what?"

Rainbow Dash only now noticed that Pinkie had been listening in. What was more is that she looked like she had been insulted. "Uh, well, I just meant you're already the best, so—"

"So you think I should quit and go home?"

Rainbow Dash's mouth fell open. Maybe she should have put more thought into how she worded her sentences. "I-I didn't say that. I was just telling Puff how I felt when I found out you were leaving."

Pinkie still seemed a little hurt, but also looked a touch hopeful. "Do you still feel that way?"

Dash hesitated for a moment, breaking eye contact. Really, that was all the response Pinkie needed. "I... I guess a little, but like I said back then, what kind of friend would I be if I stood in your way?"

It did make Pinkie feel a little better to hear Rainbow Dash reiterate that. "You know, I didn't just come here to improve my skills—which can be improved, by the way; I'm not perfect. I only came because this is something I've always wanted to do since I was little. And even if I don't improve, it won't be a waste." Pinkie pulled Puff closer and gave her a friendly hug. "I've made new friends, got to visit a foreign country, and have made some pretty unforgettable memories. And I still have half a year to do even more. This whole thing is really just an experience for me. You get it?"

Rainbow Dash nodded with a smile, feeling a little silly now. "Yeah, I get it. Even if you are the best, bringing all of this home with you is... pretty sweet, all things considered. I was wrong anyway."

"Wrong about what?" Pinkie inquired with a tilt of her head.

"When I said you couldn't improve, I was wrong. Just because you're the best doesn't mean you can't be even better. You proved that in spades with those pastries you sent us. An éclair with rainbow filling? Like... how did you even do that?"

"Oh, that." Pinkie put on a modest smile. "Do you remember when I asked you to get me some bottles of rainbow essence from the Cloudsdale weather factory?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. "That's what you wanted it for?! I thought you just wanted to use it as hot sauce or something."

"Well, yeah, originally. But I got inspired when I gave Gwenivere a sample." Pinkie snickered into her hoof, accompanied by a couple of titters from Candy and Puff as well.

Dash felt like she was missing something, but didn't think anything of it. This was Pinkie Pie after all. "Well, keep it up. That éclair was awesome. And the stuff you made for the other girls blew their minds."

"Oh, did Twilight like the book?" Pinkie asked eagerly. "She got the joke, right?"

Dash chuckled amusedly. "Yeah, she got it."

A loud ding from the oven signaled to the group that the cake was done, and Puff proceeded to pull it out and let it cool on the counter.

"Right, the cake!" Pinkie chirped excitedly. "Puff, you decorate. Candy, help me find the candles in this box." She turned back to Rainbow Dash. "Get ready for your first party in Steeden, Dashie!"

Rainbow Dash smiled in anticipation. "I don't think anything could fully prepare me for one of your parties, but I'm definitely looking forward to it."

***** ***** *****

"I think you just used too much yeast," Candy commented with an amused giggle as she, Puff, and Pinkie ascended the stairwell on their way back from class.

"I didn't even know that was possible, even vith that much yeast," Puff added.

Candy and Puff stepped through the door at the top of the stairs, waiting in the hall for Pinkie to catch up. As the pink mare passed through the threshold, she once again pried her mane away from her eyes. Pinkie was covered head to hoof in thick, sticky dough. Her mane was so full of the under-baked dough that her mane was made heavy and drooped in front of her face, sticking stubbornly to her forehead and muzzle. It was no wonder why she had been lagging behind her friends; there was about ten pounds of dough weighing her down. Even so, Pinkie's trademark smile was ever present, not letting her predicament put a damper on her day.

"I think we've all learned something today," Pinkie admitted.

"Follow the recipe as it's written?" Puff said with a chuckle.

Pinkie shrugged. "Well, that, and don't eyeball your measurements. I could have sworn that was only two teaspoons."

"It was two cups, Pinkie," Candy deadpanned, though she couldn't really hide her amusement.

Pinkie waved off Candy's correction. "Whatever. At least we're done. I thought we'd never get out of there."

Pinkie's impatience would normally be considered uncharacteristic, all things considered. Although the party pony always wanted to occupy herself with something and couldn't stand the dull and boring, their classes were not among those. She greatly enjoyed any time she got to bake with her friends and classmates, and learn new things from the great Gustave le Grand. But today was different. Today, Pinkie had something—or rather, somepony—waiting for her back at her dorm, and she was eager to spend more time with her. However, Pinkie was forced to remain after class to clean up the results of her miscalculation, much to her chagrin. It was made only slightly more tolerable by the fact that her friends offered to help in order to speed up the process. But now, there was nothing to stand in her way, with perhaps the exception of a much needed shower, or maybe a full hosing down given her state.

Pinkie enthusiastically threw open her apartment door, forelegs outstretched as much as the sticky dough would allow. "Dashie~, I'm hooooome!"

Pinkie stood motionless for several moments, but when she was not met by a greeting from her rainbow-maned pal, she let her hooves clomp to the floor. She glanced around the dorm, looking for the cyan pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash?"

Puff squeezed in from behind her, taking care not to get any dough in her coat. Like Pinkie, she briefly surveyed the apartment, even checking the bedroom and bathroom. "She's not here."

"W-Well, where is she?"

Puff only shrugged, just as puzzled as her roommate.

The slightest hint of panic started to form in the back of Pinkie's mind. Where could Rainbow Dash have gone? Why would she leave? What if she was caught by the faculty and forced off the premises? Or worse, what if she decided to fly back home, once again putting her life in danger?

"W-We've gotta find her!" Pinkie panicked. Not wanting it to slow her down, Pinkie shook off the sticky bread dough like a wet dog, and bolted out the door. "Puff! You check the student lounge, I'll check the lobby! Go, go, go!"

"Um, Pinkie?"

The worried mare skidded to a halt at the sound of Candy's voice from down the hall. The other pink pony was standing at her own dorm and gestured Pinkie over. Curious, Pinkie put her search on hold, hoping that Candy had some information that might help her locate Rainbow Dash.

Candy simply pointed towards her open apartment door, a notable look of concern in her eyes. Pinkie Pie poked her head in cautiously and was both shocked and confused by what she saw. First and foremost, her search had ended as Rainbow Dash was seated at the kitchen table. The shocking part was that she was talking with Gwenivere despite having been explicitly told otherwise. The confusing part was that the griffon was smiling, and not a smug, self-important smirk, or a conniving sneer, but perhaps the most genuine smile Pinkie had seen on her since they met.

"...and I woke up to find 'er staring me straight in zee eye. I almost 'ad une attaque cardiaque."

Rainbow Dash simply chuckled at Gwenivere's recounting of the unpleasant event. "That's all you got?" Dash leaned forward onto the table, preparing to one-up the griffon's story. "I woke up one morning and found she had decorated my whole house for my birthday in the middle of the night. It was weird enough that she managed to do all that without waking me up, let alone in a house made entirely of clouds."

Pinkie Pie decided it was best to interject and find out exactly what was going on. "Rainbow Dash."

Dash turned her head, having no clue that Pinkie and Candy had even been standing there, with Puff now walking in behind them as well.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, umm..." Rainbow Dash felt like a foal who was caught with her hoof in the cookie jar. "Well, I was bored while you guys were off in class and heard someone in the hall. I thought it was you guys, but it was actually a griffon, so I just figured it was that Gwenivere chick you guys were talking about. Sorry, I couldn't resist, I just had to meet her. You know how much I respect the griffons. I always thought that if I could be any race other than a pegasus, I'd be a griffon."

"And I can't say I blame you. Zere are many avantages to being a griffon," Gwenivere boasted, proving her point by picking up a brownie from the plate on the table with her talons.

"I don't know why you guys thought I shouldn't meet her. We've just been chatting about some of the weird stuff Pinkie's done for the past half an hour. It's fun."

Gwenivere gave an accusatory glare to the two pink ponies. "And pourquoi would you tell 'er zat we shouldn't meet?"

Candy rubbed her foreleg, feeling a bit guilty. "Well, to be honest, we figured that if you knew she was here, you would tell your dad about her."

The griffon raised an eyebrow. "What does mon père 'ave to do wiz 'er?"

Both Candy and Pinkie were hesitant to respond, but neither one had to as Rainbow Dash filled the blank for them.

"I'm going to be staying with Pinkie for a while, and apparently that's against the rules. So they were worried that you'd tattle to get Pinkie in trouble."

"Rainbow Dash!" Candy yelped, scolding the pegasus for possibly planting ideas into Gwenivere's head.

"I would never do zat."

Pinkie and Candy stood in silence for a moment, noting the seriousness in Gwenivere's expression. "You... You wouldn't?" Candy asked, confused.

The griffon shook her head. "Of course not. Do you zink zat I would 'ave zee only pony in zis building zat I can relate to kicked out?"

"'Relate to'?" Candy echoed.

"Oui," Gwenivere responded with a slight chuckle. "Pinkie Pie grinds on 'er nerves just as much as mine, if not more so. 'Earing 'er stories makes me feel a touch better about zee zings she's done to moi. Honestly, why are you even friends wiz such an irritating mare?" she asked Rainbow Dash.

Dash just shrugged. "I know she can be annoying, believe me, but she kinda grows on you after a while." She looked at Pinkie for a moment. "Like a pink fungus."

"I put the 'fun' in fungus!" Pinkie chirped.

"So... you two have just been exchanging stories?" Candy asked, some skepticism still in her voice.

"Zat's right, and frankly I am insulted zat you zink I would take avantage of such a delightful mare just to take a jab at Pinkie Pie. She and I just 'ave so much in common."

"Narcissistic and arrogant. Yeah, can't imagine why you two managed to hit it off," Candy said with a roll of her eyes.

Pinkie leaned in towards the two, a hint of excitement in her big, blue eyes. "Does this mean you two are friends now?"

Rainbow Dash glanced across the table, waiting for Gwenivere to make that call. The griffon gave an unsure shrug. "Per'aps I wouldn't go zat far. We just met. 'Owever, she is significantly more tolerable zan you," she said, pointing at Pinkie.

"I vould have thought that you vould decline any pleasantries based on her association vith Pinkie," Puff commented.

"I admit, when she said she was Pinkie Pie's friend, I was 'esitant to even allow 'er into zee apartment. But before I knew it, we were deep in conversation."

"I'm just glad that you guys are getting along," Pinkie said with a big grin. "And maybe Rainbow Dash can convince you to be my friend, too."

Dash noticed Gwenivere roll her eyes and groan under her breath. "I can try, but I'm not making any promises," she laughed.

Candy let out a relieved sigh at what she was hearing. The moment she saw Rainbow Dash talking to Gwenivere, she immediately thought the worst. The thought that Pinkie—and possibly Puff, by association—might actually be kicked out of school for harboring somepony in their apartment crossed her mind. It was a great source of relief to discover that not only was the biggest hurdle regarding Rainbow Dash's presence rendered moot, but that the pegasus and the griffon would actually become friends, or at least acquaintances. But she still felt the need to make sure, just for her peace of mind.

"So, to clarify, Gwenivere," Candy started. "We can trust you to keep Rainbow's presence here a secret, right? You won't tell anyone, even your dad?"

Gwenivere raised one claw whilst placing the other upon her chest. "You 'ave mon voeu solennel. After all, it is nice to 'ave somepony around 'ere zat I can actually speak wiz." She turned to Rainbow Dash with an uncharacteristically friendly and inviting smile. "And feel free to visit whenever you wish, as long as she doesn't come wiz you." She tilted her head in Pinkie's direction, as if it wasn't obvious about whom she was talking.

"Well, I'd hate to interrupt this blossoming friendship..." Pinkie chimed in.

"Clearly," Gwenivere muttered sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

"...but now that classes are over, I figured we could give Rainbow Dash a tour of Trotholm, maybe get her to try out the local cuisine."

Dash sat up straight, preparing to hop off of her chair. "That's sounds awesome. I didn't really get a good look at the place when I got here, what with it being the middle of the night and all, and spending all of yesterday partying in Pinkie's apartment." She jumped down to stand next to Pinkie, an eager look in her eyes. "I've never been to a foreign country before. This should be fun. Hey, wanna come with, Gwen?"

Strangely enough, Gwenivere made no complaints, verbal or otherwise, about the nickname, unlike all the times Pinkie had referred to her as such. But the griffon let out a conflicted sigh. "As much as I would like to, I'm afraid I must decline. I 'ave a prior engagement wiz mon papa. But do not worry, I will mention nozing of zis."

"Oh, too bad. Maybe another time then. Okay, let's go."

Dash gave a wave goodbye to Gwenivere as the four mares exited the apartment, Candy grabbing her winter's clothes on the way. Pinkie wanted to stop off at her dorm to pick up her saddlebags and clothes as well, so Dash, Puff, and Candy waited for her at the door.

While they were waiting, Puff gave Rainbow Dash a skeptical look while taking her saddle and hat down from the rack by the door. "Do you actually like her?" she asked, referring to Gwenivere.

Rainbow Dash responded with a chuckle. "Trust me, I can tell she's a bit prickly. Actually, I used to be friends with a griffon that was... kinda like her."

Candy raised an eyebrow. "'Used to?'"

Dash rubbed the back of her head. "Yeeeah... See, when Gilda—that's her name by the way—met Pinkie, she didn't much care for her. Like, at all. She even went so far as to try and keep Pinkie away from me, like she didn't want me to be friends with her. Thankfully, though, Pinkie helped me see just what kind of person my 'friend' really was. Gilda was great when we would hang out, but apparently when my back was turned, she was nothing but a jerk and a thief. I can't be friends with someone like that."

Rainbow Dash's explanation only served to confuse the other two mares. "But... if you felt that vay about your old friend, then vhy are you trying to be friends vith Gwen?" Puff asked.

Dash shrugged, not entirely sure how to put it. "I'll be the first to admit, I'm not the greatest judge of character, but the way I see it, Pinkie's the whole reason we started talking at all. I don't know how, but I think I can get along with her just fine. Believe me though, if she tries to separate me and Pinkie, she's getting the boot. I'm not letting anyone stand between me and my best friend."

"'Kay, all set!" Pinkie called out, bounding from the bedroom to the door and grabbing her clothes from the rack. "We don't have a whole lot of time, so we better get crackin'!" She slapped a spare toque onto Rainbow Dash's head as they stepped out into the hall and headed for the stairwell.

"Candy."

Candy Cane halted in her tracks, but her friends continued onward, apparently oblivious to the whisper that she had heard. She turned around and saw the violet mane of her unicorn neighbor peeking out from behind her door. "Oh, Sugar, hi. What's up?"

Judging by the earth pony's friendly response, it was clear Pinkie hadn't said anything about the events of the other night. Sugar looked past Candy at the trio of ponies heading for the stairs, particularly the unfamiliar cyan pegasus. "Who is that mare with Pinkie Pie?"

"Huh?" Candy looked over her shoulder. "Oh, that's..." Candy stopped and let out a groan. "Ah, crap. Well, you may as well know now. That's Rainbow Dash, Pinkie's friend from back home. Look, long story short, she came here without telling anypony, and now she's staying with Pinkie. Please promise that you won't tell anypony. The only ones who know are us and Gwenivere, and Pinkie could get in serious trouble if anyone found out she was here."

Sugar stayed silent for a moment, looking once more toward Pinkie and the pegasus before they disappeared past the stairwell door. "I see."

Sugar didn't even notice the way Candy was staring at her. Something about the unicorn was off. Normally, she was always wearing a friendly smile brimming with confidence. But today she looked like there was something bothering her. Her smile was replaced with an unsure grimace. She did notice that she was much less outgoing during classes today. Maybe she was dealing with some personal stuff.

"Well, I've gotta catch up with them," Candy stated, taking a few steps backward, but she stopped when she thought of something. "Hey, we're going out to give Rainbow Dash a tour of the city. As our resident Steed, did you want to come with? I'm sure Dash would like to meet you."

Sugar hesitated before shaking her head. "No, thank you."

Candy cocked an eyebrow. That was a rather brief answer. "Oh, alright. Then I guess we'll see you later."

Sugar watched from her doorway as Candy trotted briskly to catch up with the others. She remained there for a few minutes, thinking to herself about what she had just learned.

"Rainbow Dash, hm?"

Chapter 9 - Dough-crastination

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 9: Dough-crastination

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Another day, another disaster.

As good a baker as Pinkie Pie was, for every delectable, undeniably delicious pastry she produced, she made just as many bombs. Literally. In the six months or so that she's been studying at the Steeden University of Culinary Arts, she's gone overboard with her recipes or her measurements more times than Gustave was willing to count. Thankfully, no harm ever came of her explosive miscalculations, just a big mess of dough, batter, or icing; in some cases, all three. She was always happy to clean up afterward, though. If there was one redeeming quality that Pinkie had that was of great relief to Gustave, it was her willingness to take responsibility.

Today's incident in particular involved a project about creative presentation. Pinkie Pie decided to present her creativity in the form of a chocolate fountain, or rather a chocolate volcano. The situation was rather self-explanatory. Suffice to say Pinkie's volcano made any foal's third grade science fair projects look like a simple shaken can of soda. Pinkie's project would have sent the villagers at the bottom of the mountain running for high ground. And happenings such as that are why Gustave has adopted the policy of always saving Pinkie's work for last. That way she wouldn't compromise the other students' work.

By this point, Pinkie must have spent a good day of her life staying behind to clean up her messes. It certainly would have been more if it weren't for her friends, who were always kind enough to lend a helping hoof. But now that the current mess was cleaned up, the trio were ready to head back to their dorms to unwind.

As they stepped out into the halls, Candy started in the opposite direction of the dorms. "I'm gonna head over to the student lounge for a cup of coffee. You girls wanna come with?"

Pinkie offered a chipper grin and spun around to join her. "Sure! I do have a hankering for a nice, buttery bagel."

Puff shrugged and also altered her direction. It was just as well to go with them rather than go back to the dorm by herself where she'd just be waiting for them to get back anyway. Although, now Rainbow Dash was there. She would have somepony to keep her company, even if just for a few minutes until they returned.

Rainbow Dash had been staying with them for over a week at this point. So far, there haven't really been any issues. As long as she remained in the dorm when Pinkie and Puff were in class, she was fine. However, there's only so much foreign television one pony could watch before they started getting bored. It was clearly an aspect of Dash's plan that she hadn't quite thought through before making the trip. The only thing keeping her from a case of cabin fever was their frequent outings into the city, but even that has gotten a bit risky. After a close call in the lobby, it was evident that Rainbow Dash would need an alternate route out of the university to avoid being caught, so now she had to fly out of the window and meet up with them at the school's gate. For somepony whose ego needed to be fed regularly, being all covert and avoiding the spotlight was starting to grind on Rainbow Dash's nerves.

As the trio arrived at the student lounge, they immediately halted in their tracks. It appeared that all of that boredom that had been building up had finally reached a tipping point because they could swear that there was a rainbow-maned pegasus seated on a couch in the middle of the room. None of them said anything; they were rendered speechless at Rainbow Dash's reckless abandon. To not only wander around the school by herself, but to mingle with the students was simply... not thinking. She wasn't so much interacting with the students as she was observing them over a banana bread muffin and a cup of orange juice. Oddly, she also seemed to have a set of Pinkie Pie's spare saddlebags and stuffed them with books.

Dash's eyes drifted toward the door where Pinkie, Candy, and Puff we standing with their mouths agape. She grinned at them and waved them over. "Hey, guys! Over here!" she called, as if they hadn't been staring straight at her this whole time.

Pinkie briskly hurried over to the couch, glancing side to side to see if anyone was looking at them suspiciously, and leaned over the arm to get in Rainbow Dash's face. "What are you doing down here?!" she managed to whisper in her panic, still looking around to ensure she hadn't drawn any attention.

Rainbow Dash immediately dismissed Pinkie's scolding with a carefree scoff. "Relax. It's cool."

"What's cool?" Candy asked rhetorically. "That you're jeopardizing yourself by coming down here without telling anypony?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and chugged down the last of her orange juice. "Geez, you guys are such worrywarts. Look, I've been down here for the last hour and a half and no one's looked at me like I'm not supposed to be here. I've got this under control."

"How exactly do you have this under control?" Puff asked. "If somepony does raise questions, vhat are you going to do?"

"Same thing I did with the last teacher I met just twenty minutes ago."

"What?!" Pinkie bellowed, inadvertently earning a few raised eyebrows from the other students.

Dash took a bite of her muffin and gestured for Pinkie to calm down. "Didn't I tell you to chill? There's, like, a thousand students in this school. Do you think that all of the instructors know and recognize every single student?" She pat the saddlebags sitting next to her. "Turns out, if you just walk around with a bag full of textbooks, people just assume you're a student. When the teacher didn't recognize me, she just asked who I was, and I told her I was with a different instructor and that I was between classes right now. And she bought it. Trust me, I used to do this in junior high. I managed to pass myself off as a high school sophomore for four years. Guess they must've thought I was a late bloomer, too, cuz I was one short sophomore. Heh heh."

"And what if you ran into Gustave?" Pinkie postulated. "You'd be outta here faster than... well... you."

"Gustave's your teacher, right? So as long as you're in class, he's in class. No worries."

Puff cast a glance at Candy and Pinkie, who still seemed skeptical of Dash's reasoning. "She has a point."

Pinkie scratched her chin, trying to devise a counter-argument, but came up empty. "Well, uhhhh... Hm. I guess when you put it that way..."

Dash leaned back against the couch triumphantly. "See? No biggie. This way I don't have to be cooped up all day while I'm waiting for you guys. You don't cage Rainbow 'Danger' Dash."

Candy raised an eyebrow at Pinkie. "'Danger'?"

"It's her middle name," Pinkie explained with a grin.

"For some reason, I don't believe that."

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, we can head back to the apartment now in case Gustave shows up," the pegasus suggested. She took one final bite of her muffin, threw on "her" saddlebags, and hopped off the couch with a smile.

Pinkie seemed pleased with that suggestion, and considering nothing bad had happened, decided not to get on Rainbow Dash's case any further. "Right-y then! Let's move it!"

As they were leaving, Candy glanced down at the books in Dash's saddlebags. "Where'd you even get those books?"

Dash simply shrugged. "Somepony just left them on the table back there. Can you believe how careless some people can be?"

Candy rolled her eyes, but Puff had a hard time holding back her amusement at the irony of the pegasus's words.

***** ***** *****

Rainbow Dash picked up the remote and flicked off the television. With a deep sigh of boredom, she lounged back on the couch, resting her hooves behind her head and crossing her hind legs. She just stared up at the ceiling for a minute. Normally, when Rainbow Dash was bored she would just fly up into sky, pull aside a nice, fluffy cloud, and settle in for a nap. She figured there would be nothing wrong with doing that here in terms of being caught; she'd be off the university's property and nopony would recognize her anyway. The only reason she didn't is because she felt she was out of her jurisdiction, so to speak. Back in Ponyville she was the weather manager, which meant that she was in charge of cloud control for the most part. But in Steeden, those weren't her clouds, and she felt she had no right to tamper with them. Still, though, she was kind of craving the unique comfort of a cushy cloud, but she had to settle for Pinkie's couch. Not that the couch was uncomfortable, quite the contrary actually, it was very comfy. It just couldn't compare to a good altocumulus.

Rainbow Dash tilted her head back against the arm of the couch, giving herself a view of the large living room window, albeit an upside-down view. Perhaps this time of year wasn't so great for lounging on clouds anyway. She had a pretty high tolerance for cold—she had to if she was going to be dealing with stormy or cold weather—but sleeping on a cloud in sub-zero temperatures was not only uncomfortable, but dangerous. It might be fine if the sun was beaming down on her from above, fighting off the slight chill that would be beneath her, but on an overcast day like today, it wasn't preferable.

But thinking about the time of year brought up an interesting thought: it was almost time for Winter Wrap Up. Dash frowned slightly as she thought about it. This was probably going to be the first time she hadn't participated with the Winter Wrap Up since she moved to Ponyville, and that goes back to her position as Ponyville's weather manager. Who's going to be in charge of clearing the skies with her gone? She didn't consider finding somepony to fill in for her while she was gone. She was sure Twilight could find somepony to do at least a half decent job, but now she felt guilty for leaving her colleagues to figure things out for themselves.

Maybe Pinkie was right; she really wasn't thinking when she left.

Rainbow Dash groaned quietly as she settled back into the couch. It wasn't worth thinking about it. She was just here to spend time with her best friend. She'd deal with the ramifications when she got back home. Right now, she just wanted a quick nap. But after a few minutes, her eyes slowly opened again. Something wasn't right. It was too... quiet. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem. Although Rainbow Dash was accustomed to a little ambiance when she'd take a cloud nap, having some peace and quiet was definitely still conducive to getting some shuteye. But this was Pinkie's dormitory. Nopony ever assumes that silence and Pinkie Pie can co-exist, and whenever it actually happened, it usually meant Pinkie was up to something, like she was preparing a surprise party or an elaborate prank. That thought made it difficult for Rainbow Dash to pursue sleep.

The pegasus stretched out her legs and rolled off of the couch, deciding to investigate Pinkie's unexplained absence. She knew even before she got up that Pinkie wasn't in the kitchen; there was no distinct aroma of pastries or sweets in the apartment. That alone greatly narrowed down her search options. Either she had left to go visit Candy and Dash somehow hadn't noticed, or she was in the bedroom. Obviously, her first choice was the bedroom since it was right there anyway.

Sure enough, when Rainbow Dash opened the door, there was Pinkie Pie, lying on her bed and skimming the pages of one of her textbooks, with several others piled in a stack beside her. Puff was there as well, lying on her own bed and doing exactly the same thing Pinkie was doing.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at how well-behaved Pinkie was being. It wasn't like her to let silence take over the space around her. "What are you guys doing?"

Pinkie looked up from her book with a bright smile. "We're studying."

That answer only served to puzzle Dash further. "Studying? I thought the equivalent of studying here was just baking cakes 'n' stuff. You're looking like Twilight with the way your nose was buried in that book."

"Vee have a test tomorrow, so vee have to prepare," Puff explained.

"A test? Like, a written test?"

Pinkie nodded rapidly. "Yup. So we gotta study, study, study."

Rainbow Dash walked over beside Pinkie Pie, picking out a few books and looking over their covers. She tilted her head, her confusion escalating still. "Math? Geography? History? What the hay does this stuff have to do with baking?"

"Math is important," Puff answered. "Vee need to be able to convert measurements und such."

"Yeah," Pinkie agreed. She tapped the covers of the geography and history texts. "And geography and history help us learn about other cultures and their cuisine. This school is super in-depth. I've already learned a lot more than I ever thought I would."

"I'm sure you could have learned all of this stuff from Twilight's books," Rainbow Dash pointed out. The look that Pinkie gave her at that moment made her wish she had worded that differently. She didn't want to open that can of worms again. "Look, I'm just trying to ask why all of this is really necessary," she clarified, gesturing to the books. "Why do you need some grade on a piece of paper to tell you that you're good when your work can speak for you?"

Pinkie Pie let out a sigh and shrugged. "It's just... We gotta do it, that's all. It's part of the curriculum. I can't get my diploma if I fail all of my tests."

"You're not gonna fail," Dash said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. "You're the best baker I know. You know this stuff. There's really no question that you're gonna ace it."

Pinkie blushed slightly at her friend's encouragement and turned to Puff, who gave her a nod in agreement.

"You certainly are a good baker," Puff complimented. "Maybe a little... eccentric, but good. Und at least a written test von't explode in a mess of batter und icing."

"Don't be so sure, this is Pinkie Pie we're talking about. When you've been friend's with her as long as I have, you learn to expect the unexpected, and even then you still get caught off guard most of the time," Dash laughed. "But she's right. You probably don't even need to study. All of that stuff you've learned probably stuck to your brain like caramel."

"I have eaten a lot of caramel over the years," Pinkie giggled. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of it made it to my brain."

"Exactly," Rainbow Dash said with an enthusiastic grin. "Why strain yourself with this stuff that you've already got down pat when you could be out enjoying yourself and unwinding? Don't a lot of people do bad on tests because they burn themselves out studying the night before? You don't want that to happen, do you?"

A look of worry, yet slight eagerness, suddenly overcame Pinkie. "No, of course not."

Rainbow Dash grabbed Pinkie by the hoof and coaxed her off the bed. "Then let's go out and have some fun, get you loosened up for that test."

Pinkie Pie hesitated for a moment. She turned to get Puff's opinion on the matter. The look that the pig-tailed mare gave her suggested that she didn't quite agree with the pegasus's logic, but when Pinkie looked back at Rainbow Dash's smiling face, her decision became a little more clear. This was a mare she had spent the best years of her life with. There was no question that whatever time they spent together would be enjoyable. Besides, she'd been studying for this test for the past few days. What difference would one book-free day make?

Pinkie put on her signature smile. "Okay, what the hay? Let's go find something fun to do!"

Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof in triumph. "Great! Come on, I want to see more of this city. Wanna come with us, Puff?"

The chubby mare shook her head. "Nien. I'd rather just study."

Dash shrugged. "Your loss. Later."

Puff waved farewell to the pair as they headed out. When she heard the door close, the apartment's previous air of silence returned, but now that she was alone, Puff found the quiet atmosphere oddly distracting. She groaned and picked up her books, climbing off the bed and heading for the door herself. "Maybe Candy could use a study partner."

***** ***** *****

The spring months were fast approaching, the warmer temperatures of the past few weeks were a testament to that. Pinkie Pie was a tad disappointed about that. Winter had always been a beautiful season no matter where you were, but Steeden was unique. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash weren't used to the longer nights, and even Dash's natural tolerance to cold wasn't too much help in the noticeably chillier atmosphere. But even if winter was a touch more extreme than they were used to, they couldn't deny just how beautiful this country looked under a blanket of pure, white crystal snow. Even today, although the bright, beaming sun had began gradually melting the powder, the rays still reflected off of its surface, making the ground sparkle like thousands of flickering lights.

The mountains on the horizon looked like giant snow cones in the distance, covered foot to summit with whiteness. They looked simply majestic sitting at the edge of this country's great lakes of fresh water. Those lakes were mostly clear and pristine, just as they were when Pinkie had first arrived at the beginning of autumn. The only difference was the presence of slabs of ice floating about. The slowly rising temperatures had recently melted their frozen surfaces, leaving few remnants of its previously solid state.

The rivers that ran through Trotholm were much the same. The crisp, clear water ran gently beneath the city's many connecting bridges. Despite their ever-flowing nature, there was nary a ripple to be seen upon their surfaces. Unfortunately, there was not much to look at beneath the water. No fish could be seen swimming about. The only things visible within the aqueous mirror was the reflection of the sun and sky, and the faces of the two mares staring down into it.

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash leaned against the railing of the stone bridge, gazing thoughtfully into the water. Neither one of them knew exactly why they had come to this spot specifically, but it was within sight of the air dock where Pinkie had taken her first step into this foreign land. Perhaps their presence here was a subconscious decision.

Rainbow turned away from the shimmering river and watched as a large, commercial airship took off from the dock, taking to the sky and making for the horizon. She turned back to Pinkie Pie. Her best friend was still staring down at the water, wearing a chipper smile and humming a cheery tune to herself as she kept her peepers peeled for any fish that might swim by. Even seeing the grin on her optimistic face, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.

"Do you ever think about going home, Pinkie?"

The pink pony lifted her head, her smile vanishing when she was caught off guard by the sudden question. "Home? I think about home all the time. Like, every day."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I said, do you ever think about going home? Like, has there been a point since you've been here that you just... wished you were back in your own town, in your own house, and with your friends again?" There was another moment when Rainbow Dash had thought that Pinkie would take her question as just another selfish comment about how she wished Pinkie would come home, but in reality, she was just asking a simple question, and all she wanted was to hear Pinkie's thoughts.

"Sure."

Rainbow Dash looked Pinkie in the eye. She hadn't quite expected that answer. The pegasus had anticipated a response reiterating her desire for higher education and improvement of her skills, or an accusation that Rainbow was thinking only of herself. But to hear Pinkie admit that she wanted to go home was surprising. Her bright, blue eyes and the straight expression on her face relayed the seriousness of her answer. This wasn't just a simple 'Sure, sometimes' answer.

"I always want to go home. I miss you guys a ton. I miss Mr. and Mrs. Cake and the twins. I miss Mom, and Dad, and my sisters. I never knew it would be this tough being away from everypony I love for so long." Pinkie slumped against the railing of the bridge, her eyes wandering down to the clear water once more. She didn't even blink when a small fish leapt from the river with a quiet splash. "At least if I was home I could visit my family whenever I wanted. If I wanna see anypony now, I have to get an airship ticket and take a nine hour flight, then do the same to come back. It's not practical, and I hate that. I wish I had more free time so I could do that sort of stuff, but two days off a week isn't enough to justify a trip like that."

Rainbow Dash stayed silent. It was rare to hear Pinkie Pie pour her heart out like this without some modicum of whimsy or an enthusiastic smile. Rainbow was beginning to feel a little guilty. Had she inadvertently made Pinkie contemplate actually going home? Was she willing to quit right now to go back to Ponyville, abandoning her dream based solely on Rainbow Dash's selfish feelings?

"But that's the best thing about having friends here," she continued, her smile returning as she looked Rainbow Dash in the eyes. "Candy, Puff, and even Gwenivere have made my stay here so much more tolerable. They take my mind off of the things I miss—not that I don't want to think about you guys, I just don't want those thoughts to get me down, you know? I know that, no matter how this ends up, I'll always come back home."

Pinkie sidled up next to Rainbow Dash, nuzzling her friend with a soft smile. The pegasus let out a breath through her nose and wore a similar smile. She was just glad that her presence here wasn't having a negative effect on Pinkie. Having to keep a low profile most of the time was dull as all heck, but any time she got to spend with her best friend was well worth the price. As much as Pinkie Pie had dedicated herself to making others smile, Rainbow felt an obligation to do the same for Pinkie.

"Soooooo... Reminiscing is nice and all, but I was kinda hoping that when Rainbow Dash invited me to hang out we'd be doing something a little more exciting." Pinkie batted her eyelashes at the pegasus, hoping to coax her into picking a fun activity for them to do together.

Rainbow Dash stroked her chin for a moment. "Um, I think I saw a laser tag place on the way over here."

"Laser tag?! Why didn't you say so sooner?! What, were you waiting for the apocalypse or something?! Let's go!"

"Wha—hey!"

Pinkie grabbed Rainbow Dash by the hoof and began dragging her back into the city proper, excited by the prospect of living out scenes from her favorite action movies with lasers and flashing lights.

***** ***** *****

There was a tense air within the classroom today. All of the students sat at their desks quietly, fidgeting nervously like kids who had been dragged to the dentist, awaiting the dreadful moment when the doctor pulled out the excessively large drill that no dentist actually had.

Most of the students had grown comfortable over the six months they'd been enrolled at The Steeden University of Culinary Arts. Gustave, although he is quite an intimidating individual upon one's first impression, was a very accommodating teacher. He was always willing to provide advice to those that sought it. Many of the students saw him as somewhat of a mentor rather than a teacher.

However, the intimidation he put forward when meeting him had a purpose. He did not wish his students or colleagues to think him a softy, letting large mistakes or negligence go unnoticed and unpunished. Gustave was a difficult man to please; it was fortuitous that his students happened to be gifted bakers. But when it came to tests, that's were his scrutiny reached its peak. Any sort of fault or imperfection was subject to his critical judgment.

And that was the reason for the current atmosphere of tension. The class had taken a written test the day prior, and today they would learn how well they did. There had been days over the past six months where Gustave had given them all heated lectures about their sub-par performance, though those days were few and far between thankfully. Still, that didn't alleviate the tension. It also didn't help that they were forced to sit through a whole day of classes before they learned how they did. But as Gustave patrolled the room, walking by each desk and returning to the students their graded tests, there was a sequence of relieved sighs as each student's mind was put at ease by the satisfactory marks on their papers.

Candy Cane tapped her desk nervously as she waited for Gustave to make his way to her. Thankfully, she wasn't alone in her worry. Puff, too, was visibly wound, a few beads of sweat noticeable upon her forehead. However, in stark contrast to the two of them, Pinkie Pie sat up straight, her hooves placed neatly on her desk as she waited patiently with a carefree smile. It made sense that Gwenivere would be confident about her results, her posture much the same as the pink mare in front of her, save for the smug grin as opposed to the happy smile, but Candy expected Pinkie to at least be a little fidgety about this.

"How can you be so calm?" Candy whispered to Pinkie.

Pinkie shrugged, but continued smiling. "I dunno. I just feel... good, that's all."

"Are you kidding? That test was brutal. I wasn't one hundred percent sure about any of my answers."

"Huh. I thought it was kinda easy. I just looked at the question, wrote down an answer, and moved on to the next one. It wasn't so bad."

Candy stared at Pinkie incredulously. "You are one wacky mare. I don't think I've ever been more sure of that."

Their short conversation was cut off when a stack of papers hit Candy's desk with a fwap, startling the mare. Gustave was staring at her with a stern eye, visually expressing his displeasure that his students were chitchatting during class, something that they'd been scolded for before. Candy offered an apologetic grin, which Gustave reluctantly accepted and continued making his rounds, passing Pinkie and Puff their tests as well.

With great trepidation, Candy took a deep breath and glanced down at her graded test. The breath passed back through her lips and she relaxed against her seat when she spotted the bold, red "A" at the top of the paper. She felt as though the bubbling feeling in her gut had finally settled down to a steady simmer. In light of how nervous she was, an "A" was surprising. Even if she felt she was going to pass, the most she had been expecting was a "B."

Candy heard a similar sigh of relief next to her. Puff reacted much as she had; leaning back in her chair and gazing up at the ceiling as if to thank some higher power for her grade. She wiped the sweat that had formed on her brow and gave Candy a smile that relayed relief, pride, as well as congratulations when she noticed the similar expression on Candy's face.

"Guess that's a load off, huh?" Candy said with a chuckle.

Puff nodded. "Ya. I think vee can safely enjoy the rest of our day now."

"Tell me about it. I would have been kicking myself pretty hard if I had failed this test."

"I don't think you vould have failed at all. You're smart. You know this stuff back to front."

Candy scratched her head. "If that were true, I wouldn't have been so nervous about it."

Puff giggled. "You're just being modest."

Candy shrugged. She probably was just being modest. She hadn't failed any of her tests so far. In fact, she hadn't gotten anything below a "B" yet. Being modest was fine and dandy, but maybe it was time to start having a little more self-confidence. Not Gwenivere-level self-confidence—see also: arrogance—but some degree of certainty towards her own aptitude. Kind of like Pinkie Pie. Speaking of whom...

"How'd you do, Pinkie?"

Pinkie didn't respond. She simply sat in silence, staring blankly at her paper, as if there were something about it that she couldn't comprehend.

Candy raised an eyebrow. "Pinkie? What's the matter?"

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth, but it took a moment for the words to form. "I... failed..."

"What?!" Candy couldn't believe what she was hearing. As eccentric and air-headed as Pinkie Pie could be sometimes, she was a genius when it came to baking. It never occurred to her for a minute that Pinkie would fail a test, even a written one.

Gustave, having given back all of the tests, returned to his desk at the front of the class. "I 'ope you are all satisfied wiz your grades. I must admit, I was agréablement surpris wiz most of your work."

Pinkie glanced up from her paper. The word "most" was less like a word to her and more like a knife being plunged into her stomach.

"Now zen," Gustave continued, "vous êtes rejeté."

Having heard that phrase many times over the months, the students knew they were free to leave and return to their dorms. Candy and Puff were ready to stay behind, expecting Pinkie to remain seated as she attempted to wrap her head around what had just happened to her. But they were a little relieved to see her lift her saddlebags onto her back and stand up, although looking quite disheartened. That was a very alien expression to see on her face. The three mares were about to follow the other students out of the room, but were stopped by the voice of their teacher.

"Pinkie Pie, may I 'ave un moment, s'il vous plait?"

A strong chill ran down Pinkie's spine. Her friends waited at the door looking concerned for her. Pinkie gestured for them to go on without her, and they listened, closing the door to give the two remaining individuals some privacy. With a defeated groan, Pinkie sauntered over to Gustave's desk with her head hung low.

Gustave looked Pinkie dead in the eye. His expression reeked of disappointment, but with a hint of concern. "I trust you know what zis is about."

Pinkie simply lifted the paper she was still holding, the bold, red "F" mocking her. Perhaps this is how Twilight felt whenever she made even a single mistake on a test, if such a thing could happen.

"I must say, I am sorely disappointed in you, Pinkie Pie. I 'ave come to expect more from you."

"I don't know how this happened," Pinkie said quietly, almost to herself more than Gustave.

"Nor do I. I 'ave seen zat you know zis material. You 'ave demonstrated zat many times. You are a skilled baker, Mademoiselle Pie, but if you lack zis sort of knowledge, zen zat puts a limit on where you can take zose skills."

"But..." Pinkie glanced at her paper once more. "I had such an easy time with it. I didn't have to think twice on any of the questions."

"Per'aps zat is zee problem," Gustave suggested. "You did not put enough zought into your answers, and you did not properly proof your work. Zis is a common issue for students zat do not comprendre zee material. But, as I said, I know you do comprendre zee material."

Pinkie was starting to feel worse and worse about herself as the seconds passed. But she was also confused. If she really knew this stuff like Gustave believed she did, why did she fail her test? Lost in her own thoughts, Pinkie hadn't noticed that Gustave was eyeing her rather strongly, as if he were contemplating something.

"In most cases such as zis, zee problem stems not from zee student's intelligence, but from zeir environment."

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "My environment?"

"Oui," Gustave affirmed with a nod. "Per'aps you did not give your exam proper attention because zere was somezing else on your mind, somezing you would razer be doing. Like somezing was distracting you from your studies per'aps, affecting your concentration. Is zere anyzing zat would meet zat description? Somezing zat could be distracting you?"

Pinkie thought for a moment. Was she being distracted by something? "No, I don't think so."

Gustave stared at her in silence for a moment, narrowing his eyes skeptically. "I see. Zen I suppose we cannot truly get to zee root of zis problem until we can figure out from where it stems."

Pinkie stared down at the floor dejectedly. She wished she knew what the problem was. If she did, she'd address it right away.

"'Owever, because I 'ave faith in your potential, and I want to see you succeed in your endeavors, I will allow you to fix zis mistake."

Pinkie's eyes widened with hope. "You will?"

"Oui. I will prepare a make-up test for you to take. 'Opefully zis will prove zat zis one time was simply malchance. Meet me 'ere Saturday morning at nine o' clock and I will 'ave a new test for you to take." He looked into Pinkie's eyes, the compassion in his own eyes showing that he cared very much about her, more than he was willing to let on. "I do not want to see your talent go to waste, Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie finally managed a grateful smile, elated that she was getting this second chance. "Thank you, Chef! I won't disappoint you this time!"

"I should 'ope not. You may go."

Gustave watched as Pinkie hurried out of the classroom, no doubt eager to share the good news with her friends. The door closed behind her, leaving Gustave alone, with the exception of his own thoughts. His beak curled into a disappointed frown and he shook his head.

"Why does she insist on making zis more difficult on 'erself?"

***** ***** *****

"She failed?"

Candy nodded to reconfirm what she had just told Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was thoroughly surprised to hear from Candy and Puff when they had returned to the apartment that Pinkie had failed the test. She had seen how dedicated Pinkie was to her studies at this school. Even after she had assured her best friend that she knew this stuff like the back of her hoof, she still somehow failed her test. That thought had never even occurred to Rainbow Dash.

"She's pretty broken up about it, too," Candy added. "I've never seen her like that before."

Dash's eyes were filled with concern for her friend. "Really? Geez, that's not like her. She usually likes to see the good in everything, even bad stuff. Maybe she cares about this more than I thought."

"Of course she cares about it," Puff said. "She came all the vay here to learn from the best of the best. It's probably heartbreaking for her to get any sort of hint that she might not succeed."

As concerned as she was about how this was going to affect Pinkie's mood, Dash was confident that she'd buck up eventually. She's seen her friend bounce back from worse. "Look, she's not gonna flunk out, if that's what you're worried about. It's just one test. It's not that big a deal anyway."

"It's a bigger deal than you think, Rainbow Dash," Candy corrected with a stern tone. "This school is meant to determine who's the cream of the crop. Every grade we get is going to be taken into account when graduation approaches. One bad mark could be the difference between getting a diploma or not."

Rainbow Dash waved off Candy's warning with a scoff. "You worry too much."

"Says the mare who flew across the ocean because she was afraid her friend was replacing her."

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to retort, but was interrupted when the door opened, revealing the mare around which their conversation was centered. The three mares already present turned to Pinkie Pie, concern upon all of their faces. They suspected she would be in need of consoling after her no doubt disheartening chat with Gustave. However, they had not expected her to be smiling upon arrival.

"Hi," she greeted simply with a chipper grin.

They were all troubled about what Gustave had said to her, but seeing her return with a smile made them even more curious. Candy took a few steps toward her, ready to offer a sympathetic hoof if she needed it. "What did Chef le Grand say?"

"It's good news actually. He's gonna let me take a make-up test."

A relieved smile graced the lips of both Candy and Puff.

"That really is good news," Puff exclaimed.

"It's amazing is what it is," Candy added. "And I know you deserve this second chance more than anypony."

"Yeah, it was a huuuuge relief to hear him say that," Pinkie said with a relieved sigh. "I just have to meet him on Saturday morning and I can take a new test."

Candy couldn't suppress a lighthearted chuckle. "You really are one lucky loony, you know that? I'm not sure Chef le Grand would give even Gwenivere a chance like this."

"Wait, Saturday?"

The other three mares turned to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus appeared upset.

"Yeah. What's the big deal?" Pinkie asked, curious about Dash's vexation.

Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow. "The big deal is that that's on the weekend. That's your free time."

Candy stepped in to speak for Pinkie, astounded by Rainbow Dash's ignorance. "What are you talking about? He's giving Pinkie an opportunity to turn an 'F' into an 'A.'"

"So, what, she's just expected to give up a perfectly good Saturday just to take another test? Not only that, but now she's got to do even more studying? He's completely eating away her free time. How is that fair?"

Now it was Candy's turn to be vexed. She glared at Rainbow Dash with mouth agape. "Do you even hear yourself? Pinkie should be nothing but grateful for this opportunity. If you failed a test and the teacher gave you a chance to fix that, wouldn't you take it?"

"And waste my time with another test? Are you kidding? I've got better things to do."

Candy couldn't believe what she was hearing. "How can you possibly say something like that?"

"Hey, I'm just saying that if he's going to make Pinkie take another test, it should be on his time, not hers. That's time she could be spending with her best friend."

Candy grit her teeth, anger boiling at the pegasus's words. "I can't believe how selfish you're being! And you know what? I think that you're the reason she failed that test in the first place!"

A tense silence fell over the apartment, with Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Puff Pastry gawking at Candy's harsh accusation.

Dash narrowed her eyes, stepping defiantly into Candy's pointing hoof. She responded in a low, threatening tone. "You wanna say that again?"

Candy didn't back down. She didn't doubt that, in a fight, Rainbow Dash would overpower her, but like hell she was going to stand by and let the pegasus's blind, selfish ignorance go unrebuked. "You heard me. Puff told me that you pulled Pinkie away from her studies the night before the test. I wasn't going to say anything because I thought Pinkie was smart enough to do well regardless of your interference, but apparently I was wrong. Not about Pinkie being smart, but about just how much of an impact you'd have on her."

"You saying I'm distracting her from her studies?!" Dash snapped.

"That's exactly what I'm saying! Even Pinkie is smart enough to know that not every second of her free time has to be dedicated to goofing off!"

"That's a real nice way to talk to the person who saved your life!"

"Don't pull that crap! This isn't about me and you, it's about you and Pinkie!"

"Then maybe you should butt out!"

"Girls, stop!" Pinkie shouted, visibly distraught from watching her friends argue.

Instead of listening to Pinkie's plea, Rainbow Dash decided to use her interjection as an opportunity. She looked at Pinkie with a friendly smile, belying the frustration welling within her. "Pinkie, you're on my side, right? Tell her I'm not just a distraction."

Pinkie flinched at the request. She wasn't expecting Rainbow Dash to try and make her choose sides. Pinkie's eyes shifted between her two fighting friends, unsure how to respond now that she was being dragged into the argument.

For each second that ticked by without an answer, Dash's smile faded further and further. "Come on, tell her." Her tone was starting to sound worried. That silence wasn't too encouraging. She stared at Pinkie Pie with pleading eyes. "Pinkie?"

Pinkie looked away, afraid to look her best friend in the eye with what thoughts were currently occupying her mind. Was Gustave right? Was Rainbow Dash just a distraction? She couldn't just accept that. This was her best friend they were talking about. She finally managed to find some words, though perhaps not the ones she wanted to say, but the best she could come up with at the moment to avoid hurting Dash's feelings. "It's... It's not your fault, Rainbow Dash. It's mine."

Dash's ears folded back. That answer wasn't the one she was looking for.

"It was my choice to hang out with you instead of study. I failed because I was irresponsible."

Rainbow Dash's gaze fell to the floor. The dejected look in her eyes was heartbreaking for Pinkie. "Oh. So that's how it is. I'm an irresponsible choice, am I?"

"T-That's not what I meant," Pinkie backpedaled. "I meant—"

"I know what you meant," Dash interrupted, her frustration returning in force. "It's what you've been telling me since I got here: I wasted my time coming here."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. I get that me being here is kinda inconvenient and might wind up getting you guys in trouble, but I thought it would be worth it if we could just spend this important time of your life together. Apparently, I was wrong."

Rainbow Dash started heading for the door. Pinkie reached out to her, afraid of what she was planning to do. "Wait! Where are you going?"

Dash stopped at the threshold, turning back briefly to answer the question. "To hang out with someone who doesn't mind me being here." With that, she slammed the door shut behind her.

Pinkie let her ears fall back. She wanted to go after Rainbow Dash, but seeing how upset she was, she figured maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea.

"That vas... unpleasant," commented Puff, specifically noting the fuming expression on Candy's face.

"I don't care if she saved my life or not, there's no excuse for being that self-centered. Does she ever think of anypony but herself?" Candy asked in disbelief of Rainbow Dash's attitude.

Pinkie let out a deep, sullen sigh and sauntered over to the couch, flopping limply into its cushions. "I... I know she can be stubborn, but she does care about her friends. A lot. I mean, she came all this way just to see me after all."

"She came to see you because she felt insecure. It wasn't about surprising you, or making you happy. It was for her own peace of mind, that's it."

Pinkie frowned at Candy's theory. It hurt her to hear one of her friends talk that way about another one of her friends, especially her best friend. "I can't believe that. She's my best friend."

Candy stepped toward Pinkie, pointing at her commandingly. "Then maybe its high time for you to reevaluate who should be your friends."

In that second, Pinkie's depression transitioned to uncharacteristic anger. She furrowed her brow and leaned toward Candy. "I know she's not perfect, but that's no reason to stop being her friend. If anything it gives me more reason to be her friend! I don't expect my friends to be perfect. Friendship is all about bringing out the good in people, and I like bringing out the good in Rainbow Dash. And she's got a lot of good, I'll have you know!"

Candy was skeptical of her reasoning. To her, it sounded like she was grasping at straws. Just like Rainbow Dash had done with her old griffon friend she told them about, Pinkie appeared to be in denial about her close friend. It wasn't like Candy wanted Pinkie to break things off with somepony she clearly cared so much about, but something had to be done. Before Candy could continue her argument, Pinkie hopped off of the couch and made for the door, a determined look in her normally-sparkling eyes.

"Where are you going?"

Pinkie didn't even bother to look back, just answering as she walked through the door. "To prove how strong true friendship can be."

***** ***** *****

Rainbow Dash grabbed another biscuit and tore into it like an vicious badger, spraying crumbs all over the table in the process. "And she says I'm being a distraction now! Seriously, is that any way to talk about your best friend, who risked her life to see her, might I add?"

Gwenivere simply watched with a displeased grimace as her unexpected guest made a crumby mess of her kitchen. She was certainly surprised to see the pegasus show up out of nowhere, barging into her dorm in a tiff and slamming the door loudly behind her. Out of all of the ponies that would normally come over, she had the least objections about Rainbow Dash. However, she'd prefer it if her guests didn't simply invite themselves in as one particular pink pony possessed a propensity for. Still, the pegasus's reason for being here was to complain about said pony, so who was she to turn her away? It might make for a nice bonding moment.

"It sounds like you are beginning to see zings from my point of view," Gwenivere commented, wiping up some of Dash's crumbs with a napkin.

"I just can't believe she'd be so ungrateful!" Dash stuffed another biscuit into her mouth. "An' can you belief dat Candy shaid she failed dat tesht becaushe of me?" She gulped down the cookie. "Did it ever occur to her that the test was, you know, hard? I remember that she herself was on edge about it, but she has the gall to blame me for Pinkie failing it!"

Gwenivere took a biscuit for herself, taking only a small bite. She shrugged at Rainbow's assumption about the test. "I, for one, 'ad no trouble wiz it. Mais, I suppose I am zee exception in zis case. Zis is moi we are speaking of," she said with a smug grin. The griffon started to notice that Rainbow Dash didn't really seem to be paying much attention to what she was saying, just staring off at the wall as she demolished biscuit after biscuit in her frustration. It was becoming evident that she only came over to vent her anger rather than engage in a reasonable conversation that would ultimately lead to some sort of moral epiphany.

Rainbow Dash finally turned her eyes up higher than the plate of cookies on the table, meeting Gwenivere's gaze for the first time since she arrived unannounced. "Do you know how it feels to go to the kind of lengths I have to see your friends, only to have 'em tell you that you're in the way?"

Gwenivere assumed that to be a rhetorical question, but Dash's silent stare seemed to indicate otherwise. The griffon shook her head. "I cannot say zat I do."

"Yeah, well, it sucks."

"What do you plan to do about it zen?"

Dash opened her mouth in preparation to say something scathing, but her words faltered, instead finding nothing of that sort. "I... I don't know. I could fly home I guess, but, admittedly, that is pretty dangerous. And I don't have any money for a ship back home."

"So you will sit 'ere in Steeden and stew in your anger, avoiding contact wiz your friends?"

Rainbow Dash let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, no. I don't know. If I'm gonna keep staying here, then it'll be hard to avoid them, not to mention I'd be out a place to sleep." She gave a hopeful look to Gwenivere, but the griffon quickly shot down her wordless request with a stern shake of her head. Dash groaned and leaned against her hoof, unsure where she was supposed to go from here.

She wasn't thinking long before she heard the door of Gwenivere's dorm open. Out of simple, morbid curiosity, Rainbow Dash turned her head to see who was there. She scowled when she saw the poofy, pink mane of Pinkie Pie poke inside, the mare's face expressing caution, and for good reason. As soon as Dash saw who it was, she turned away with a low grunt, giving Pinkie the cold shoulder.

"Can I come in?" Pinkie peeped from the door.

Under normal circumstances, Gwenivere would have been ecstatic that Pinkie had even bothered to ask the question, giving her a welcomed opportunity to give the party pony a resounding "No." Instead, however, the griffon took a moment to mull over Pinkie's request, her hesitation surprising even herself. Of course, it only took one look across the table at the grumpy pegasus seated with her to determine why she was hesitant. As little as she actually cared about the problems of others, including Rainbow Dash, and especially Pinkie Pie, considering the pegasus had chosen her ear as the outlet for her frustration, it had inadvertently become her problem as well.

With some reluctance, Gwenivere gestured for Pinkie to enter. "Fine. Just make it quick."

Having gained admittance, Pinkie slowly walked to the kitchen. She stopped a few feet away from Rainbow Dash, wanting to keep a respectful distance knowing that her friend wasn't in a good mood right now. She fished around for the words she wanted to start with, but, unfortunately, hadn't exactly thought of anything on the way over like she was hoping she would. Might as well wing it.

"Rainbow Dash... I want you to know that I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"Too late. Damage is done," Dash huffed, continuing to avoid eye contact.

Pinkie bit her lip. Dash's tone hurt. They've had arguments before, but this time Pinkie really felt like she was the bad guy. "Well, I don't know how much it's worth, but I'm sorry."

Rainbow Dash finally looked at Pinkie out of the corner of her eye. When she took notice of the hurt look on Pinkie's face, she turned to face her fully. Contrary to most arguments she wound up in, Dash felt she was the victim in this situation, yet Pinkie's expression said the opposite. But that didn't change how upset she was. "After all the trouble I went to, you guys go and make me feel like I'm being a burden. I know I'm a pretty tough pony, but that doesn't mean your words don't still sting a little."

"I know."

Rainbow Dash's expression became more somber. "I came all this way to hang out with you, and you and Candy talk like I shouldn't be here."

"Zat's because you're not," Gwenivere chimed in as she bit into another biscuit.

"But I never said that," Pinkie reiterated. "I love that you're here, Rainbow Dash. Having my best friend by my side during this important time in my life makes me so happy. But..."

Rainbow Dash waited for Pinkie to continue her thought, reestablishing that she was just a distraction like Candy said.

"...you said you came here to see me. You're here for me."

Rainbow Dash felt her heart sink a little. "Yeah... But I came so we could hang out, because I missed you."

Gwenivere interjected once more. "If you truly cared about 'er, zen you would step aside when she 'as more important zings to do, like study."

"We can still hang out," Pinkie said. "Even when I'm studying. You can even help if you want, like asking me some questions to test me or something."

Dash's ears folded back, and she turned away from Pinkie. "So I am just a distraction then."

"Maybe," Pinkie admitted. "But that doesn't mean I want you to leave. I want you here, whether you're supposed to be here or not. And I don't want us to stop being friends because of a stupid argument."

Rainbow Dash sighed and hopped off of her chair. "We're not going to stop being friends, Pinkie. We're best friends."

Pinkie put on a hopeful smile. "Forever?"

Rainbow Dash matched Pinkie's grin, leaning in to give her a hug. "Forever." Dash pulled back, looking at Pinkie in hopes of finding some justification for her actions. "But is it really so wrong to want to hang out with you as much as possible?"

"Only if it interferes with my studies. That stuff's pretty important."

The pegasus scratched her head, regretful and somewhat embarrassed. "Yeah, guess you're right. Look, you have nothing to apologize for. I acted like a bit of a jackass back there. And I suppose Candy was right: I was being selfish. Think you can find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Pinkie gave her a heartwarming smile and went in for another hug. "I'm sure I can manage that."

Gwenivere gave a roll of her eyes at the disgusting display of affection. "If you do not mind, would you kindly take zis to your own apartment, s'il vous plait? I 'ave better zings to do zan be zee mediator in your quarrels."

"Sure thing, Gwen," Pinkie chirped with a smile. "Besides, Rainbow Dash needs to apologize to Candy too."

"What?! I know I said she was right about me being selfish 'n' all, but is that any excuse for tearing into me the way she did? If anything, she should be the one apologizing!"

Pinkie lifted her nose up at Rainbow Dash. "Well then, maybe apologies are due all around."

"But—"

Pinkie scolded Rainbow Dash with a stern tone, pointing her toward the door. "No buts. Move, missy."

Dash threw her head back in protest, but obeyed. "Ugh, fine. But we're going out for ice cream after this."

"No ice cream before supper, young lady."

"Aw, come on..."

Chapter 10 - Spring Bake: Part 1

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 10: Spring Bake: Part 1

=====================================================================

"What do you think it is?" Fluttershy postulated to the others.

"No clue," Applejack answered, tipping her hat up to get a better look.

"Well, whatever it is, it must be something quite grandiose," Rarity speculated.

Everypony was quite curious when they'd all been invited to the Golden Oak Library by Twilight Sparkle. She had sent messages to her friends informing them that an important package had arrived from Steeden, and they knew it was important because it had a big sticker on the side that read "IMPORTANT!" in bold, rainbow-colored letters. It could only have been from Pinkie Pie. But what had the four mares and one dragon especially curious—not to mention outright astonished—was the package's sheer size. Contrary to any gifts Pinkie had sent in the past, which typically came in normal pastry boxes anypony could get at their local bakery, this one was a solid, wooden crate that towered over the ponies in the room. It must have been at least twelve feet tall. Everypony's first reaction to seeing the massive container upon arriving was a dropped jaw and a step backward. The first question they all had was how in the hay Twilight managed to get the thing into the library in the first place, the simple answer being that she teleported it inside. However, lugging the crate from the post office was a far more arduous task. Warping something of that size, as well as herself with it, such a distance would be extremely draining, she claimed. She had to settle on dragging it the whole way with her magic, then teleporting it into the library. It was one of very few occasions where she had actually contemplated taking advantage of her royal status and enlisting somepony to move it for her.

But that was behind her now. At the moment, the question on everypony's minds was: what was in the dang thing? So rather than stand around throwing out hypotheses, it was time to get an answer.

"Guess there's only one way to find out." Twilight produced a crowbar and levitated it up to the top of the enormous crate.

With a loud creak, the top panel of the box popped open. Carefully, Twilight pried up the other end and slowly lowered the panel to the floor and out of the way to make sure nopony hurt themselves on the nails.

"Uh, heads up, y'all."

At Applejack's warning, everypony looked up to see the sides of the box had begun to fall away of their own accord. They all quickly hopped backwards to avoid being flattened beneath the tall slabs of wood, and they each hit the floor with a loud whack.

With the crate out of the way, everypony—and dragon—now had a clear view of its contents. Much as they had when they saw the crate itself, their jaws all dropped collectively and they craned their necks up at a gargantuan, five-tiered cake. Pinkie Pie had baked some large cakes before, but this one took the... well, cake. Of course, Pinkie always had a flair for culinary design as well, and this cake was no exception. Each tier appeared to be decorated with Pinkie's friends used as a motif, depicting multiple images of their cutie marks around the side and their names spelled out in icing. The bottom tier was slathered in purple icing, representing Twilight, the second was Rarity's with white, vanilla icing, the third orange for Applejack, the fourth Fluttershy's with yellow, and the top green for Spike, but in loo of a cutie mark, it was adorned with various colored gemstones shaped from icing.

Applejack tipped up her hat and performed an impressed whistle. "Well, ain't that somethin'? Pinkie's definitely gone and outdone herself this time."

Fluttershy lifted off the floor and flew a few circles around the cake. As artistic as Pinkie could get with her pastries, she couldn't help but notice some imperfections here and there. "I'd hate to sound unappreciative of something this nice, but..." She took a closer look at one of the butterflies on her own tier, noting the asymmetrical size of the wings. "...it looks a little... sloppy for Pinkie."

Rarity eyed up the designs as well. Now that Fluttershy had pointed it out, she could spot multiple mistakes herself, such as the points of Twilight's starburst cutie mark not being of equal length or being lopsided. "That's certainly not like her. She usually has such attention to detail when designing her cakes. It's not like her to be so hasty and uncaring with her work like this."

"You have to consider that this cake came all the way from Steeden," Twilight pointed out. "Nine hours is a long time for a cake to sit out, unrefrigerated. The icing probably just started to warm up and lose its consistency. Not to mention there may have been some turbulence during the flight that shook it up."

Rarity nodded at Twilight's theory. "I suppose that's very likely."

"Now I feel guilty about calling it sloppy," Fluttershy admitted as she alighted on the floor. "I didn't mean to insult Pinkie."

"I don't think there's any reason to feel guilty," Rarity said. "After all, Pinkie went to Steeden to improve her skills. Were she here, she would probably just take our critiques and keep them in mind for next time, use them to continue improving herself."

"That's true," Twilight agreed. "Assuming that these imperfections were not a result of circumstance, Pinkie Pie would learn from her mistakes. And she'd learn nothing if we simply kept our mouths shut about it. As her friends, it's important that we tell her when and where she needs improvement. You know, if she were here."

"What does it matter anyway?" Spike asked with a raise of his eyebrow. "It's still a Pinkie Pie cake. That probably means it's delicious, and she sent it here for us to eat. The most insulting thing we could do right now is not eat it."

"Can't argue with that," Applejack said with a lick of her lips. "It sure does look tasty."

The earth pony reached her hoof out, prepared to scoop up a bit of purple icing from the bottom tier. However, just before she could touch it, she saw something move, and she paused. From inside the cake protruded what appeared to be an open set of teeth that slowly extended out, enveloping a large chuck of the cake. With a quick movement, the teeth snapped shut, revealing a frosting-covered face wearing a happy grin as it chewed. As odd as the sight was, there was no mistaking those big, bright blue eyes.

"Wha—? Pinkie Pie?!"

At Applejack's reaction, the others turned in her direction, but the face immediately retreated back inside the cake. Suddenly, the whole thing began to wobble and shake, looking as though it were about to fall over. Everypony took a step back and waited for whatever was going to happen to happen. The jiggling of the giant dessert started to centralize at the top until only the top two layers shook. Then, the "Spike" tier of the cake exploded into a shower of frosting, and out from it emerged a mare covered in green icing with her hooves outstretched.

"Ta-daaaaaa—oof!"

Before the mare could finish her grand entrance, she was tackled from her elevated perch to the floor by the embrace of an affectionate, yellow pegasus, who had inadvertently gotten herself covered in icing, not that she minded.

Pinkie Pie smiled softly as she lay pinned on the floor and pat Fluttershy on the head. "Aww, I missed you too, Fluttershy." She eagerly returned the hug.

Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Spike all ran over to the floored ponies, standing over them in shock and complete incomprehension.

"Pinkie?!" gawked Twilight. "What are you doing here?!"

Fluttershy finally let go of her pink friend, allowing her to stand up and brush—and lick—the frosting off of herself. "What, you're not happy to see me?" Pinkie's mock hurt was belied by the big grin on her face, not doing a great job of concealing her own happiness at seeing her friends again.

Twilight stammered as she struggled to formulate a response, still reeling from the surprise of seeing Pinkie show up out of nowhere. "Well... I... Um..."

"Course we're glad to see ya, Pinkie!" Applejack answered for her, wasting no time giving Pinkie a big, tight hug. That was really all it took to get the rest of them to join in and make it a group hug.

"Oh, it's so good to see you again, darling," Rarity expressed, finding it difficult to hold back tears.

"But I really want to know what you're doing here," Twilight reiterated. "You're not supposed to graduate for another five months."

Spike let go of Pinkie and took a step back, looking worried. "You... You didn't quit, did you? You can't quit! There are so many pastries you need to make so I can taste 'em!"

Pinkie giggled amusedly. "I didn't quit, silly. It's spring break. I've got two weeks off, so I figured I'd surprise you guys by coming home for a visit."

"And that you did. For a moment I thought I may have been dreaming," Rarity admitted with a light chuckle. "One could hardly blame me, of course; it's not everyday you see one of your closest friends burst out of a giant cake."

"Oh, wow, that's right," said Twilight, her attention turning back to the cake. "Were you inside that thing the whole time?"

Pinkie nodded fervently. "Yup yup. And you must have gotten pretty frustrated trying to move it, huh? I heard you muttering under your breath. I didn't know you could be such a pottymouth, Twilight."

Twilight's cheeks lit up red under the gazes of her surprised friends. She looked up at the ceiling to avoid eye contact and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Oh, uh, you heard that, huh? Sorry..."

Applejack waved it off. "Forget about it, sugarcube. Ain't no big deal. What I really want to know is how in Equestria did you, you know, survive in that thing? Is there nine hours worth o' air in there?"

"It'd have to be more than nine hours," Twilight speculated. "She had to get inside it, get transported to the airship, not to mention the, um... short trip to the library." Her disconcerted blush returned for a moment. She looked up at the now disheveled cake. "Nevertheless, even a cake of that size would contain limited oxygen. Pinkie, you could have put yourself in serious danger."

Pinkie scoffed at Twilight's warning. "Oh, pish. You think I didn't think about that?" Pinkie stuffed a hoof back into the cake, fishing around for something. After a few moments, she pulled her hoof back, and with it a large, cylindrical oxygen tank and mask. "See? I'm not a complete airhead."

"Maybe you'll get there if you take a few more puffs from that thing," Spike joked.

"So, uh, anyway..." Pinkie continued. "You guys might not want to eat that cake."

"Really? Why not?" Fluttershy questioned, looking the cake over again. "It looks so tasty."

"Well, because I just spent, like, nine or more hours inside of it. I don't know if any of you have ever spent any amount of time inside of a giant pastry, but let me tell you it gets kinda humid."

Rarity blanched at the thought. "Eugh. On second thought, I'm going to pass on dessert."

"Come to think of it," Twilight spoke aloud, "if something that large had its insides completely hollowed out, shouldn't that have a drastic effect on its structural integrity?"

Just as Twilight finished her thought, the colossal pastry suddenly wobbled before collapsing in on itself, splattering icing and cake chunks all over the library's foyer. Twilight had the sense and reflexes to protect herself and her friends and the books on the shelves—like heck she was going to let them get ruined—from the onslaught with a barrier of magic, leaving them standing amidst what would appear to an outsider as a lake of molten sugar and food coloring.

Pinkie rolled her eyes at Twilight. "See, stuff like this wouldn't happen if you didn't keep pointing it out. But this is the whole reason why I didn't put much effort into decorating it in the first place."

Rarity looked out over the multicolored ocean of gunk. "So who exactly is going to clean up this mess?"

"Not it!" Spike exclaimed quickly.

Twilight let out a disgruntled groan. "I got it, don't worry." With a flourish of her magic, the entire mess was scooped up into a ball and encased in a magical barrier. Then the whole thing vanished with a flash and a pop, and she removed the fallen panels of the crate while she was at it. "I'll just keep it in the basement for the time being and figure out the best way to dispose of it later. Right now our attention should be focused on Pinkie Pie," she stated with a smile.

"You'll wanna throw some kinda party while yer here, Ah reckon," Applejack assumed.

"You betcha!" Pinkie confirmed with an excited grin. "We're gonna have the best welcome-home-but-only-temporarily-because-spring-break-is-only-two-weeks-long-then-I-have-to-go-back-to-Steeden party!"

"I've never been to one of those parties before," Fluttershy said. "It sounds like fun."

"It doesn't matter what kind of party it is, if it's a Pinkie Pie party, it's worth going to," Spike pointed out with zeal.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Twilight said. "As much as we'd all like to 'get the party started,' so to speak, I'm sure Pinkie needs to handle her arrangements."

Pinkie waved her hoof dismissively. "Oh, I've got all that stuff taken care of. I wanted to surprise you guys, sure, but I sent Mr. and Mrs. Cake a letter in advance telling them I was coming so they could get everything ready for when I got here. And I made sure to tell them not to tell you guys I was coming. Didn't want to ruin the surprise~!"

Twilight was pleasantly surprised by the amount of forethought Pinkie had put into this. "Oh, well, that's great then."

"Then I suppose you'll want to head over there immediately to get everything ready for the party," Rarity surmised.

Just as Pinkie was about to answer her, their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the library's door, followed by a voice that was unfamiliar to all but two of the ponies present.

"Pinkie, are you done with your big entrance yet? We're getting a little tired of waiting out here."

Fluttershy's eyes widened when she recognized the voice. "Wait, is that...?"

"Oh, right! Yeah, you girls can come in now!" Pinkie shouted.

The door opened and in stepped three mares; two earth ponies and one pegasus. Fluttershy's face lit up when she recognized one of them as Candy Cane.

"Candy!" Fluttershy flapped over to her, giving her an enthusiastic hug. "It's been such a long time."

"Yeah. I've been looking forward to seeing you again, not to mention meeting the rest of your friends."

"Right! Introduction time!" Pinkie proclaimed. She wrapped a hoof around Candy's shoulder. "Everypony, this is Candy Cane. Candy, this is Spike, Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight."

Rarity stepped forward to greet her, her face expressing sympathy. "Fluttershy told us the whole story. You've certainly been through quite a lot. But I suppose that's one of the largest benefits of having a friend like Pinkie Pie."

"Is that a touchy subject at all?" Applejack asked cautiously, hoping to avoid saying anything that might make the mare uncomfortable.

Candy shook her head. "It's fine. I've put that behind me now."

Rarity nodded with a soft smile. "That's good to hear." The unicorn's gaze turned to the other mare with them; a portly, tan-coated mare with blonde pigtails that they only recognized from the photo Pinkie sent them. "And you're... Oh, my apologies, I can't seem to recall your name."

"It's Poof. Poof Pastry," she answered with a friendly smile.

Applejack approached to greet the foreign mare. "Poof, huh? Well, it's nice to meetcha."

"I believe it's Puff, Applejack," Rarity corrected. "Do I detect a Germane accent?"

Puff nodded. "Ya. I vas born und raised in Marelin."

"Oh, I've heard that it's such a lovely country," Rarity said with an envious look. "I've always wished to visit foreign places like that. Partly for inspiration for my dresses, but mostly just to say I was there."

"Well, it's certainly nice to meet both of you," Twilight greeted, offering her hoof to shake with the two new faces.

Both Candy and Puff hesitated, looking a bit awestruck. Instead of shaking Twilight's hoof, they both bowed to her, surprising the lavender mare.

"It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness," Candy said as politely as possible.

Twilight paused, looking between the two of them with confusion. Then she suddenly realized why they were bowing. For a moment she had forgotten she was a princess. She shook her head hastily. "Oh, no no no, I won't have any of that." She gestured for the two of them to stand, and they complied. Candy and Puff seemed worried, as if they thought they had somehow insulted the princess. Twilight offered them a friendly smile. "You're Pinkie's friends. And Pinkie's friends are my friends. And my friends call me Twilight."

Puff looked a little uneasy, but smiled and greeted the alicorn. "It's nice to meet you... Twilight."

"See? That wasn't so bad, right?" Twilight giggled.

Pinkie Pie squealed gleefully at the sight of her old friends and her new friends getting acquainted. "Isn't this awesome?! We have soooo many friends now! This is gonna be the best welcome-home-but-only-temporarily-because-spring-break-is-only-two-weeks-long-then-I-have-to-go-back-to-Steeden party ever!"

"So when do I get my big welcome back?" the pegasus still standing by the door piped up. Rainbow Dash had stood by quietly, waiting for her friends to give her the same welcoming smiles and greetings they had given Pinkie, as well as Puff and Candy. However, the instant she spoke up, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity all looked in her direction with the iciest of icy glares. Dash shifted uneasily as her friends stared harshly. "What?"

"You know very well 'what,'" Rarity scolded, turning her nose up at the pegasus.

Rainbow Dash winced at Rarity's reprimanding tone, taking a step back.

"What the hay is the matter with you?!" snapped Applejack. "Takin' off like that without tellin' anypony? That's just plum stupid!"

"We were worried sick about you," added Fluttershy, her tone consisting more of concern rather than anger like the others, though it wasn't without authority.

Rainbow Dash let out an annoyed groan. "Ugh, come on. I got enough of this from Pinkie Pie already."

"Do you realize that we spent almost a week looking for you?" Twilight pointed out. "We thought something horrible had happened. Luckily, Pinkie sent an express letter to let us know where you were and that you were okay, but that doesn't excuse your reckless abandon."

Dash was in no mood for this lecture again, so in an effort to fast forward the conversation, she put on her best remorseful face, turning her head down with an exaggerated frown. However, as tired as she was of getting stern talking-tos from her friends, she's certainly had enough time to realize that, in retrospect, her decision was pretty haphazard. She knew she owed her friends an apology. "Look, I know it was stupid. Pinkie and Candy told me that a bunch. And if I could go back in time, I'd stop myself from doing it. Not saying I'd be successful though. I mean, you know, once I put my mind to something..."

"In other words, you're too stubborn to even listen to yerself," Applejack deadpanned.

"Uh... Yeah, I guess. Point is, I kinda regret doing it, but I also don't regret it."

"What are you talking about?" Rarity asked with a vexed look. "You should regret it wholly. It took me ages to rid myself of those awful worry lines."

"Well, see, I regret it because I know you guys were worried about me and I should've at least left a note or something..."

"You shouldn't have gone at all," Twilight reiterated.

Rainbow Dash chose to ignore that and continue her explanation. "But. I don't regret it because, not only did I get to visit an awesome country and meet some cool, new people..." She shot a grin to Puff, but she, Candy, and Pinkie knew she was also referring to Gwenivere. "...I got to spend that time with my best friend. And I'm looking forward to more of that." She gave Pinkie a soft smile, which the pink mare returned.

Twilight blinked, as if she hadn't quite understood what she had just heard. "I'm sorry, did you just imply that we were planning on going back to Steeden?"

"Yeah. And don't worry, I plan on buying a ticket this time. It's slower, but if it'll make you guys stop worrying..."

"Whoa there, missy. You ain't serious, are ya?" asked Applejack.

Dash raised an eyebrow, unsure what was confusing them about her plans. "Well, yeah. Why not?"

"First of all," Rarity started, "do you have accommodations? Supplies? Money? There's a lot to take into account."

Dash dismissed her concerns with a shrug. "That's the great thing about coming home for a visit. I can take care of all that stuff before I go back."

"I think expenses are your main concern," Twilight pointed out. "Can you afford to buy a round trip flight and a hotel room for the next five months, not to mention food?"

"Not a problem," the pegasus assured with confidence. "I'll just stay at the university with Pinkie like I've been doing."

Rarity looked at her with skepticism. "Is that allowed? I find it hard to believe that a school as posh as The Steeden University of Culinary Arts would allow some random pony to occupy their dorms."

Pinkie raised her hoof. "Actually—Mmph!"

Rainbow Dash slapped a hoof over the loose-lipped mare's mouth. "Yeah, it's totally cool. I talked to Gustave and everything. I'm set. And I plan to give Pinkie a big present to thank her for letting me stay with her." She gave Pinkie a discreet wink. Dash felt her lips curl into a smile underneath her hoof, and the party pony nodded in agreement, excited by the prospect of a surprise gift in return for her silence.

Twilight closed her eyes in thought. She wasn't too keen about the idea; allowing Rainbow Dash to return to Steeden without proper reprimanding may simply encourage her reckless behavior. However, the pegasus certainly seemed to accept that what she did was wrong and looked at least a little guilty about it. "Well... I suppose if you've made proper arrangements this time, there shouldn't be any issues."

"Just as long as you never do anything like that again," Rarity commanded sternly.

"Geez, you guys are acting like she's some little filly," claimed Spike. "She's an adult, you know? I don't think it's your place to tell her what she can and can't do."

Seeing that at least one of her friends was willing to defend her, a small grin played across Rainbow Dash's face.

"Spike has a point," Fluttershy admitted.

"I suppose," Rarity reluctantly agreed. "And to be quite honest, I don't really wish to spend all day scolding Rainbow Dash anyway. After all, Pinkie Pie is here," she reminded everypony with a friendly smile, placing a hoof on the pink mare's shoulders. Her eyes then drifted toward the other two mares that had arrived with Pinkie. "And, of course, we have these two lovely ladies as well. I think we should all get properly acquainted, hm?"

"Vell, Pinkie's already told us so much about all of you," informed Puff.

"Then you wouldn't mind if we ask you a few questions about yourselves?" Twilight requested.

"Of course, Prin—" Candy stopped herself, hoping that her near slip-up didn't offend the alicorn. "Oh, sorry. I-I mean Twilight."

Twilight smiled, allowing Candy to breath a sigh of relief. "Great. Spike, would you prepare some tea for our guests, please?" Spike gave a silent salute before hurrying to the kitchen. "Now then..." she continued, leading everypony to the large, round table in the foyer, gesturing for them all to make themselves comfortable. "My first question is: why exactly did you choose to come to Ponyville rather than your hometowns? Certainly you'd want to see your own families during your free time."

"Well, the ship landed in Canterlot. I'm just passing through Ponyville on my way to Manehattan," Candy explained. "But my cousin lives here, so I'll probably spend the night at her place then take the train home tomorrow, if only because I want to see what a true Pinkie Pie party looks like."

"They have some strict rules about parties at that school," Pinkie explained with some exasperation. "Probably the only complaint I have about the place."

"And what about you, Puff?" Rarity inquired with earnest.

"Yeah, why would you come all the way out here for two weeks instead o' goin' to visit yer family in Germaney?" asked Applejack.

Puff shrugged slightly. "Mein family isn't very far from Steeden like Pinkie's und Candy's. I can pretty much visit them on any veekend. I thought this vould be a good opportunity to visit another country und meet the friends that Pinkie can't stop talking about," she chuckled heartily.

"And it's certainly nice to meet you as well," Fluttershy said with a cute smile.

"I'm sure we'll all get to know each other quite well, especially at Pinkie's party," Rarity added.

Pinkie jumped up from where she was sitting. "Oh, right! I gotta go get everything ready! Uh, you gals keep chitchatting. I just gotta get over to Sugarcube Corner and make the necessary preparations. See you guys later tonight!" With that, Pinkie hurried out the door.

Fluttershy also stood up and started toward the door as well. "Actually, that reminds me, I have something I need to do, too. Um, excuse me."

Twilight gave her a quick wave. "Alright. We'll see you later then."

Once the two mares had left the room, Spike had reentered carrying a tray with a steaming teapot, sugar, milk, and two cups too many. Everypony took a cup and Twilight kindly filled each one.

Rarity took a quick sip of her hot beverage, then leaned onto the table, looking interestedly at Puff and Candy. "Now then, do tell us more about yourselves and your time at the university."

***** ***** *****

The front door of Sugarcube Corner burst open, making way for Pinkie Pie as she skid with a loud screech of her hooves across the floorboards. The smell of freshly baked pastries and sugary icing invaded her nostrils. It wasn't quite the same as the sugar and pastries she smelled everyday in Steeden. Here, it smelled like home. She missed that smell.

"Guess who's back~!" Pinkie sang, excited to be home again.

Immediately, a pair of ponies rushed out from the bakery's kitchen at the sound of their favorite employee's voice. The faces of Mr. and Mrs. Cake lit up when they saw the big, toothy grin staring back at them.

"Pinkie Pie! You're here!" Mrs. Cake shouted with delight, running over to give her a big hug.

Pinkie hugged the blue mare right back with an extra tight embrace. "Uh-huh. I would've come over sooner, but—"

"But you wanted to see your friends again. Yes, we completely understand," Mr. Cake finished for her. "We've certainly missed you around here, Pinkie."

"And I missed being here," Pinkie said, giving Mr. Cake a quick hug as well.

"It's certainly been quiet around here without you," Mrs. Cake told her. "And that's not necessarily a good thing."

Mr. Cake nodded in agreement. "I never realized how dull things were without you here, Pinkie Pie. Not to mention just how much help you were to us. I'd forgotten how much of a difference three ponies make to the workload over just two."

Pinkie smiled proudly. "Then I guess you're extra glad I'm back, huh? I'm really looking forward to working with you guys again after all this time."

Mrs. Cake gave Pinkie a remorseful frown. "Oh my. Pinkie, I'm afraid you can't work here now."

Pinkie's face suddenly filled with dread. "W-What?! W-Why not? Am I fired? Did you hire somepony else to replace me? You can't! You said my job would be waiting for me when I got back!"

Mr. Cake laughed heartily at Pinkie's overactive imagination. "Yes, when you graduate. You're on vacation. We can't very well let you work during your time off."

A sigh of relief slipped from Pinkie's mouth and she wiped the nervous sweat from her forehead. "Oh, thank Celestia. I was worried for a second there. But you'll still let me use the kitchen, right? I've got a party planned for my friends tonight and I'm gonna show off some of the new stuff I learned."

"Of course," Mrs. Cake chuckled. "Our kitchen is always open to you, Pinkie."

"Great! And you guys are invited, too. We are having the party here after all. That's okay, right?"

"We wouldn't have any other way," Mr. Cake confirmed. "I'm sure your friends are all looking forward to spending this precious time with you."

"Speaking of friends you haven't seen in a long time..." Mrs. Cake hurried upstairs, only to return a minute later with a pair of foals whose faces lit up with glee upon seeing Pinkie's face. Pinkie's face did much the same. As soon as their mother passed the pegasus colt and the unicorn filly to Pinkie Pie, they buried their faces in her neck, reaching their tiny hooves around her as much as they could.

"Oooooh, I missed you kiddies so much. And look at you!" Pinkie looked into their adorable, smiling faces. "You guys feel like you're getting bigger. Are you growing up without me?"

"They were absolutely inconsolable the day you left, Pinkie," Mr. Cake explained with fondness as he recalled it. "I think you leaving hit them harder than anypony else. They just can't stand being without their Auntie Pinkie Pie."

"Aw, why'd you tell me that? Now I'm not gonna want to leave again," Pinkie moaned, though her persisting smile implied she was joking. She looked back at Pound and Pumpkin. "But I'm gonna make sure we have enough fun to last the next five months until I come home to stay."

"Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie stood up and turned to the door at the sound of Fluttershy's voice, letting the twins down as she did. The pink mare gasped, raising her hooves to her mouth and trying, and failing, to fight back tears. Standing at the threshold, beside the softly smiling pegasus, was a small, glassy-eyed alligator. Although the little reptile's face was as blank as ever, his tail wagged rhythmically when his big, purple eyes set their sights on Pinkie.

Pinkie bit her lip to try and hinder the emotional quivering. "There's my special little guy," she expressed with a surprisingly quiet voice, but with no lack of pure happiness in her eyes. She rushed over and picked up Gummy, giving him a tight hug and a kiss on his scaly snout. "Did you miss Mommy?" The gator responded by lightly nipping her nose with his toothless gums. His reaction elicited yet another emotional hug from the mare. "Ooooh, I missed you too, buddy. Did you behave yourself for Auntie Fluttershy while I was gone?"

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy answered with a grin. "He was a delight. I did everything you told me. I gave him dessert if he ate all of his dinner, he had a bubble bath every night with his favorite rubber ducky, and I read him a story every night before bed. He's a very good boy. Although, I think Angel Bunny might be getting a bit jealous of how much attention I'm giving Gummy. I tried letting Angel join Gummy for his bubble bath, but that only seemed to make him more upset."

Pinkie smiled gratefully. "Thank you soooooo much, Fluttershy. I knew you'd take good care of him. Oh, I mean I know you'll keep taking good care of him. I guess I forgot for a second there that I'm only here for a couple of weeks." She looked lovingly into Gummy's, shiny, blank eyes. "Hoo boy, between the twins and seeing my little man again, leaving is gonna be even harder the second time." She plopped Gummy on top of her poofy mane, letting the little gator nestle into its cotton-like embrace. "But that's why tonight's party needs to kick all the flank!"

"Do you need help?" Fluttershy offered.

"Sure! The more the merrier! There's a box of party favors up in my room in my wardrobe. Go get it and blow up as many balloons as you can and start streaming streamers."

"Aye aye," the yellow pegasus responded with an eager grin, trotting up the stairs to fetch the box.

"Great! Decorations are being handled, now for the catering. Mrs. Cake! Preheat the oven! Things are gonna get pastry up in here!"

***** ***** *****

Ponyville was beginning to bask in the soft, orange glow of the setting sun as night gradually approached the small town. It was a beautiful night as well. No wind, no weather, just a peaceful, spring evening. The town wasn't necessarily quiet, per se, as many of the townsfolk were out enjoying the still, calming atmosphere, perhaps heading home after a hard day's work, or just taking advantage of the opportunity to take an evening walk.

After a long-winded conversation with their new visitors, Twilight Sparkle and Spike had taken it upon themselves to show Candy Cane and Puff Pastry around their little town to kill time until Pinkie's party. The others had already gone ahead to prepare themselves for the festivities. Rainbow Dash in particular was quite excited to finally attend one of Pinkie's parties at Sugarcube Corner for the first time in months.

"Ponyville really is a pretty quaint, little place, isn't it?" Candy commented, looking around at the town's humble homes.

"You've never visited before?" Twilight inquired.

Candy shook her head. "No, I'd never really been anywhere other than Manehattan before I enrolled at the university. It's a big city. Anything I need I could probably find there."

"Didn't you say you have a cousin here?" asked Spike, riding on Twilight's back.

"Yeah, but her parents live in Manehattan, so she usually comes to visit us." Candy looked around once more. It was interesting to see a town of thatched roofs and dirt roads, rather than one composed almost entirely of concrete and steel.

"What about you, Puff?" Twilight asked, turning to the pig-tailed mare. "Have you ever been somewhere away from home?"

"Avay from home, ya. I have family all over Germaney. Out of the country? Nein, not until Steeden." Puff glanced around, comparing the rural community to her own home much like Candy did. "You have a lovely home here, Twilight. It must have been interesting to grow up here."

"Oh, I didn't grow up here," the alicorn corrected. "I was born and raised in Canterlot. I've only lived in Ponyville for about four years."

Puff was surprised by that. Twilight Sparkle was a princess, sure, but hadn't been for very long, so Puff hadn't really heard too much about her. "Really? Vhy vould you vant to leave the capitol of Equestria—the home of Princess Celestia und Princess Luna—to come to this small town? Er, not to sound offensive."

"It was actually a request from Princess Celestia," Twilight informed her. "It's a long story. You probably don't want to waste your time listening to me ramble about it."

"Yeah, because the story of how you and your friends defeated Nightmare Moon and reunited Celestia with her sister after a thousand years is totally boring," Spike said sarcastically. "Seriously, Twilight, the whole modesty thing kinda falls flat when you battle super villains practically every year."

Twilight's cheeks lit up red. "Come on, Spike, let's not open this can of worms again."

Candy and Puff were doing their best not to appear starstruck in the princess's presence, but this entire time they'd forgotten that this mare was not only royalty, but was responsible for saving all of Equestria on multiple occasions. As a matter of fact, both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were as well. They were friends with renowned heroes. It was a surreal feeling knowing that these mares, who have saved Equestria from the brink of ruin time and time again, were just normal people. "Normal" being used in a relative sense, of course.

The two visitors were removed from these thoughts when their stroll through Ponyville had suddenly come to its end at Sugarcube Corner. Had they not been engaged in conversation, the four of them would have certainly noticed how close they were as the establishment—which, to the surprise of Puff and Candy, resembled a life-size, gingerbread house—as it was decorated with lights along the eaves that spelled out "Party Tonight!" In addition to that, their was a sign on the door explaining that the shop was closed due to the party. It was clearly written by Pinkie herself as it had the full-blown, excessively long title she had come up with, requiring her to tape several pages together to fit the entire message upon it because of her large print and erratic writing pattern, not to mention the random doodles.

Twilight opened the door for Candy and Puff to enter, but as soon as she did the group was bombarded by the sound of obnoxiously loud party horns and a shower of colorful confetti. As the four stood flabbergasted, Pinkie Pie popped out to offer a welcoming grin.

"Hey! Glad you guys could finally make it. We were about to start without you."

"Sorry about that," Twilight apologized with a chuckle. "I got a little caught up talking about the town's history."

"Well, you're here now, so get your butts inside and help yourself to the spread! Oh, and I'm gonna need that back."

"Need what back?" asked Twilight quizzically.

"My confetti," Pinkie answered, gesturing to the colorful flakes scattered within the three mares' manes.

"Oh." Twilight was a touch confused by the request, but, with a quick flourish of her magic, she gathered up the tiny squares and passed them to Pinkie. "Why do you need them back?"

With a slightly annoyed groan, Pinkie leaned down and began scooping up the stray pieces from the ground. "I didn't restock my confetti supply after my going-away party, so I gotta make use of what I have left. Should be all good now though. By my count, everypony's here, so I guess we can get started!" Pinkie ushered her four friends inside to join the others already present.

Like with many of the parties Pinkie Pie has thrown at Sugarcube Corner, the bakery was filled with tables covered with all manner of pastries, filling the building with a strong, sugary scent, stronger than usual. There was everything from cookies to cake, and from muffins to banana cream pie. If anypony had a favorite dessert, chances were they could find it there. If the food wasn't enough to tip one off that there was a party going on, the bakery was decorated with dozens of balloons and streamers. And just as Pinkie had said, all of her other friends had already arrived. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity were already helping themselves to the food and chatting idly. There was also a pair of older ponies—one mare and one stallion—that Candy and Puff didn't recognize with a couple of young foals, though, based on what Pinkie had told them, they assumed them to be Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the owners of the bakery, and their twins.

Candy and Puff took in the sight of the party, impressed by how well put together everything was. In Steeden, Pinkie's parties were clearly very watered down versions of what was apparently the norm due to campus regulations. But here in Ponyville, she was given freedom to go all out. Still, though, after everything Pinkie had said to build up what a "true Pinkie Pie party" could be, it was a tad underwhelming compared to their expectations.

Puff trotted over to a nearby table, looking intently at a plate full of powdered donuts. However, Candy stuck near Pinkie to ask a question.

"So this is a bona fide Pinkie party, huh?" She was a little hesitant to ask her question for fear of insulting her. "Is this it then? I mean, after the way you've been going on about this, I guess I was expecting a little more."

Pinkie scratched her head with a disappointed sigh. "Yeah, I know. But it's the best I could do in just one day. I'm usually super prepared for parties, but after being away for so long, I didn't have time to gather up all the essentials. Thankfully, Mr. and Mrs. Cake are always stocked up on baking supplies, so at least we've got lots of eats!"

"Can't complain about that," Candy said with a grin, looking over the spread. "It all looks and smells delicious."

"And I've even laid out some of my new recipes for my friends to try."

"And they're dang tasty too," Applejack complimented, walking over to the pair. She held in her hoof a slice of half-eaten apple pie. "This here apple pie might be the best darn apple pie Ah've ever tasted. You gotta give me this recipe."

Pinkie glanced around shiftily, pulling Applejack in close and whispering to her. "Not here. It's a secret. I'll give it to you later."

Applejack lifted an eyebrow. "Why so secretive? It's just an apple pie recipe."

"The best apple pie recipe," she corrected sternly. "You want everypony else to have this, or do you wanna save the good stuff for your family events?" Pinkie gave the orange mare a wink and a nudge.

Applejack chuckled. "Well, when ya put it like that..."

Pinkie turned back to Candy with her signature smile. "Now, are you gonna stand around observing my party, or are you gonna get involved?"

Candy laughed at the question. "You kidding? After all this time, you think I'm just going to stand around and do nothing?"

"Then go! Eat, drink, and be merry!"

Pinkie needed not say another word as Candy was more than happy to participate. She immediately chose to head in the direction of the table with a big plate of brownies upon it, which also happened to be where Mr. and Mrs. Cake were with the twins. After everything Pinkie had told them about Sugarcube Corner and the fine ponies who owned and operated it, she was eager to finally meet and chat with them.

Pinkie watched as her friends busily enjoyed themselves, a sight that she sorely missed. It felt good to not only once again throw a party for her closest friends, but to also watch her old friends and her new friends hitting it off so well. It was a high she didn't experience often, but when she did, it was exceptionally gratifying, even if the party wasn't quite up to her usual standards. Perhaps she'd need to throw another one before she went back to Steeden, after she had had time to properly prepare and accrue the required amenities.

"This is nice, isn't it?"

Pinkie was snapped from her thoughts when Fluttershy addressed her, her soft voice barely audible amongst the several conversations taking place between the rest of her friends as they ate cake and drank punch.

Pinkie nodded to the yellow pegasus. "Uh-huh. You have no idea how big a relief it is to finally party with you gals again."

Fluttershy offered a cute smile and a giggle. "I can imagine. We missed this just as much as you. We might get a little burned out on your parties sometimes, but when you haven't been around for half a year we start to, you know, crave it a little."

Pinkie giggled into her hoof. "I try to make my parties as addictive as possible. Smell that?"

Fluttershy sniffed the air curiously, but couldn't smell anything that she didn't normally smell at one of Pinkie Pie's fiestas.

Pinkie leaned in to whisper slyly into Fluttershy's ear. "I spray coffee around at all my parties to get people hooked."

Fluttershy blinked, unsure how to respond to that. "Spray... coffee?"

Pinkie discreetly pulled a spray can from her mane, making sure nopony was looking their way. The can had a simple label that Pinkie probably slapped on there herself that just said "Coffee" in brown marker. The pink mare giggled again. "And this stuff doesn't come in decaf."

The pegasus raised an eyebrow skeptically. "For some reason, I don't think it works like that. But that does explain why your parties always have a slight java-y scent."

Pinkie stuffed the can back where she got it and shrugged at her friend's skepticism. "I like to believe it works."

Fluttershy's grin returned. "Anyway," she started, looking to change the subject, "I wanted to ask you what exactly your plans were while you're home."

"Oh, well, actually, I've got everything planned out."

Fluttershy was mildly surprised by that answer. "Oh. Well, that's certainly not like you," she giggled jokingly, knowing all about Pinkie's preference for spontaneity.

There was a slight amount of remorse in Pinkie's eyes as she spoke. "I know I just got home, and I wanna spend as much time with you girls as possible while I'm here, but me and Rainbow Dash were actually planning on going with Candy to Manehattan tomorrow to say hi to her dad."

"There's nothing wrong with that. We haven't seen him in such a long time, and considering how grateful he was to us for saving Candy, he'd probably be happy to see you again, too."

"That's what I was thinking," Pinkie affirmed with an enthusiastic nod. The pink mare widened her eyes as a thought came to her, brought on by the way Fluttershy had worded her statement. "Hey, you helped saved Candy, too. Why don't you come with us?"

"Really? Oh, I wouldn't want to impose..."

Pinkie threw a hoof over the bashful mare's shoulder. "Don't be silly. It'll be just like the last time the three of us visited Manehattan."

"Our last visit wasn't exactly pleasant... But why not? It'd be nice to see him again, and still spend time with you, Pinkie."

"Then that's settled. Ooh! Wait! We should invite everypony! A big trip for all of us to spend time together!"

"That sounds nice," Fluttershy agreed. "So what about the rest of your break? What else do you plan to do?"

Pinkie just shrugged. "Well, that, and I definitely wanna make a trip back to the rock farm to see Mom, Dad, and my sisters. But, umm... Hmm, I guess that's it."

For some reason, that response didn't surprise Fluttershy. When Pinkie said she had a plan, she basically meant she had a short list of things she wanted to do, but not so much the time frame in which she wanted to do it, leaving her with pretty much a week and half to do whatever she wanted.

"But that stuff'll come later. For now, we party!" Pinkie bounded back into the thick of things, eager to shoehorn herself into a conversation. Fluttershy calmly followed with a cheery grin, looking forward to spending more time with Pinkie during her short time home.

Chapter 11 - Spring Bake: Part 2

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 11: Spring Bake: Part 2

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The city of Manehattan was bathed in the soft, orange rays of the morning sun, reflecting brightly off of the many windows of the office buildings and making the city appear to shine and sparkle. The sun had positioned itself perfectly behind the head of the enormous, green, copper statue of a regal-looking mare standing upon Manehattan's expansive harbor, giving it an almost angelic appearance; one would think Celestia had placed it there on purpose to give the people of the great city a spectacular view to wake up to.

Despite the early hour, the city was already bustling with ponies traveling up and down the streets, whether by hoof or by taxi carriage, to get to work, or, given how active a city Manehattan was, still stumbling about after a long night. Either way, the concrete garden of skyscrapers was always a busy place. It was rare to hear complete silence for more than a couple of seconds at a time.

To join the chorus of hooves and wagon wheels upon the cement was the sound of the Friendship Express making its way across the silver suspension bridge to the city. The train pulled up to the station, coming to a gradual stop with a loud hiss of steam, and the whistle blew to signal for the passengers to disembark. The first to do so was an excited, pink mare, overflowing with more energy than one would expect from somepony at this hour.

Pinkie Pie inhaled deeply through her nose, taking in the scent of the city air, not particularly bothered by how stale it was compared to that of Ponyville or even Trotholm. She let out her breath with an eager grin. "Ahh, there's nothin' quite like the smell of the big city."

Rainbow Dash stepped out of the train behind her. "Pinkie, we've been here before. There's no need to make a big deal out of it."

Fluttershy walked out next, standing alongside Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. As she stared out at the tall, grey buildings, she was overcome by a sense of déjà vu. "This feels awfully familiar, doesn't it? The three of us arriving in Manehattan on the morning train."

Pinkie nodded her head as she reminisced with a wistful sigh. "Yup. Good times."

"'Good times'? You're joking, right?" said Candy Cane as she, too, exited the train car with a large duffel bag, closely followed by Puff Pastry. "I don't think I should have to remind you what exactly happened the last time you were here."

Pinkie looked Candy straight in the eye, her grin persisting. "You mean getting a criminal arrested, reuniting a bunch of ponies with their families, and making some great, new friends?"

Candy's irate expression suddenly fell, caught off guard by Pinkie's response. "Uh... Well..."

Rainbow Dash let out an amused chuckle at Candy's bewildered reaction. "You have to admit it, Candy, as bad as things were for you, the three of us coming to Manehattan was a stroke of good luck for you and everypony else trapped with you."

"And Pinkie likes to look for the good in things," Fluttershy added. "No matter how bad a situation may be, Pinkie always manages to stay optimistic."

Candy hung her head slightly. Seeing the smiles on their faces made her realize just how pessimistic she could be sometimes. As traumatic as the whole experience was for her, she had to admit that a lot of good did come from it, including making some good, reliable friends. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be a downer or anything. It's just... a little difficult to forget the bad stuff sometimes, y'know?"

"Oh, I know how you feel," Fluttershy said with a comforting smile. "I can be the same way occasionally. But when you have good friends by your side, the bad things tend to fall by the wayside."

"I can attest to that," Candy agreed with a chuckle.

"This place is amazing," Puff stated, a look of awe on her face. Since they all got off the train, Puff had remained silent, opting out of her friends' conversation in order to take in the sight of the sprawling metropolis they currently stood in. "Germaney has some large cities, but I've never seen anything like this."

"Well, Manehattan is the industrial and economic capitol of Equestria," Candy explained to her foreign friend. "Some of the largest businesses in the country have their headquarters based here. The only city I know of that could rival Manehattan is Las Pegasus, but that's mostly because of all the casinos."

"Und your dad runs a business here, ya?"

"Yes, that's right!" Pinkie shouted, her demeanor becoming noticeably more impatient as she started jogging in place. "What're we doin' just standing around this boring, old train station?! There's a candy store out there with my name on it!"

Candy adjusted her duffel bag and started making her way off the train platform. "Actually, it has my dad's name on it, but he did promise you free candy last time you met."

Clearly Pinkie needed no reminding of that fact. She quickly caught up to Candy, bounding up and down, zigging and zagging with a giddy grin and an excited giggle. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Puff Pastry followed close behind, making their way into the city and starting down its busy streets.

Although Pinkie Pie was incredibly enthusiastic about this trip, she had been a little disappointed when they first boarded the train. She was hoping that all of her friends would join them to visit Manehattan, but, unfortunately, Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity all respectfully declined her offer. When asked why, they simply explained that they felt it wasn't their place to come along unannounced when it was Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie that were originally invited. They argued that three more ponies showing up out of the blue would be unfair to Candy's father, forcing him to make additional accommodations for them. But they assured Pinkie that they'd pay Candy and her father a visit at some point in the future.

Pinkie herself was certainly looking forward to this visit. The further into Manehattan they walked, the more her excitement grew and the more impatient she became. Like Candy said, her dad, Lolly Pop, promised her all the candy she could eat to show his gratitude to her for rescuing his daughter. And after everything Candy had told Pinkie about her dad and his store, she was giddy to actually be paying a visit. Just thinking about all of the sweets she would be sampling made her tummy rumble with anticipation.

The five mares rounded another street corner, what seemed like the hundredth. Manehattan was starting to feel even bigger than they gave it credit for, even for the three Ponyville residents who had all been to the city before. But Candy assured them that that was the final corner and it was a straight shot to her place from there, albeit still a lengthy trot away.

But as they had approached the last corner, the other mares noticed a look of unease appear on Candy's face. And when they made the turn, they discovered why.

Standing tall on the opposite side of the street, taking up an entire city block all by itself, was the gargantuan complex known as Manehattan Mall. It was almost two years ago that Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy had helped Candy and nineteen other ponies escape from their captivity in the mall's basement. Despite the changes in management made since the previous proprietor was jailed, the mall looked basically the same as it had on their last visit, and still as busy as ever if the hoards of ponies flooding in and out of its doors was any indication.

"This is the place you told us about?" Puff surmised, tipped off by the enormous sign spelling out the establishment's name quite clearly.

Candy breathed an exasperated sigh as she stared at the building. "Yup." Without another word, she simply started back on her intended path to her home.

Rainbow Dash trotted quickly to catch up with her, raising her eyebrow at her behavior. "That's it? That's your reaction to seeing this place again?"

"Dash, I still lived in this city after I got out of there. I see this place pretty much everyday. It's not a big deal."

"I can't claim to know how you're feeling, but the way you're acting makes it seem like it might be a big deal," Fluttershy speculated, taking notice of Candy's uneasy expression.

Candy shrugged slightly. "It's... not really. Yeah, sure, I have some bad memories, and it's true that I haven't set hoof in there since then, but I'm fine. Seriously."

As defensive as she sounded, the smile that she put on seemed genuine enough. This was meant to be an enjoyable trip, so trying to dredge up bad memories in the pursuit of some sort of psychological healing probably wasn't appropriate.

"It wasn't all bad, though, right?" Pinkie said with an optimistic chirp. "Like I said, you made some new friends from the whole experience. Me, Fluttershy, Dashie, Patchwork..."

"Patchvork?" Puff repeated curiously. "Who's that?"

"He's another pony who was stuck there with us," Candy explained. "He was there even longer than me. Actually, to be honest, I don't think I would have handled being there as well as I did without him."

The fondness in Candy's voice elicited a sly smirk from Puff. "Really? Is he somepony 'special' then?"

Candy laughed at the question, knowing full well what the chubby mare was insinuated. "Don't get the wrong idea. He's just a friend. And even if I was interested, he's spoken for."

"How are Patchwork and Zenadine doing?" Fluttershy asked. "Do you stay in touch at all?"

"Well, I guess we don't really see one another as often as I'd expected after how much time we spent together in the mall, but we still meet up for coffee from time to time. They even invited me to their wedding."

"They got married?!" Pinkie bellowed in shock, her jaw hanging in disbelief.

Rainbow Dash blinked at Pinkie's confusing reaction. "Why not? They were engaged when we met them. It kinda makes sense that they'd get married eventually."

"Without telling us?! Or inviting us?! I was really looking forward to planning the whole thing for them! I've never planned a wedding party before! It's on my bucket list and everything!"

"After being separated for two years, they wanted to get married as soon as possible, so they just had a small wedding to get it done quickly. I was one of the few people to actually be invited. Maid of Honor actually," Candy boasted.

Pinkie pouted enviously. "Lucky duck."

"Hey, here's an idea: maybe we could visit them while we're in Manehattan," Rainbow Dash suggested.

"Hmm..." Candy hummed in thought. "I don't know if we can. I talked to them before I left for Steeden and apparently they made some big plans for a vacation to Girafrica for a few weeks around this time of the year. We could check for them, but they're probably out of the country by now."

Pinkie was noticeably disappointed by the news. "Oh, poop. Talk about bad timing."

"Ya, it vould have been nice to meet another vun of your friends," said Puff.

"Maybe some other time," Candy reassured. "But right now, we have other business."

As their conversation came to its end, Candy pointed ahead to a modestly sized building on the street corner across from where they currently stood. They had reached their destination. The building looked quite out of place in a city of skyscrapers; even the other buildings adjacent to it towered over the humble, two-storied establishment, akin to a lone robin amongst a flock of ostriches. Despite its stature, the small building still managed to be eye-catching. As Candy had explained long ago, her home was a candy store run by she and her father, and that fact was more evident now than ever. The windows bordering the front door were lined with displays that showed off the many varieties of sweets they produced and sold, and above the entryway was the store's title, simply called "Pop's," with smaller letters below saying "Candy Shop." It all gave the place a real homely feel somehow, contrasting the somewhat impersonal atmosphere of Manehattan.

After checking to make sure the coast was clear of carriages, Candy led her friends across the crosswalk to the store. She stopped in front of the store, taking a moment to take a deep breath to suppress her excitement at being home again. She pushed the door open, a small bell above the entrance ringing to signal that a potential customer had entered, and stepped inside, her friends close behind.

"One moment!" the chipper voice of a stallion called out from another room.

The sound of hurried hooves against the tile floor could be heard as the stallion entered from a door on the far side of the room. He was a rather portly gentlecolt with a thick, bushy mustache, a bright yellow coat, and thinning, light brown mane. Although to Puff Pastry he was a stranger, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy knew him as Lolly Pop, or simply Pop. But Candy knew him as Dad.

The stallion halted immediately when he laid eyes on the small crowd of mares standing in his shop, his gaze fixated on the mare with the red-and-white stripped mane. An enormous, trembling smile stretched across his face and his eyes instantly began to well up. Candy smiled as well, though hers was a soft, affectionate smile rather than her father's exaggerated beaming.

Candy opened her hooves, waiting for what she knew was coming, but to accelerate the process, she said in a quiet, loving tone, "Hi, Dad."

She was immediately tackled by the rotund stallion, who wrapped his hooves firmly around her shoulders and began drenching her neck in his joyous tears. "Oh, my little gumdrop is finally home!" he bawled loudly.

Rainbow Dash had to stifle her laughter at the comical sight of a grown stallion breaking down into affectionate tears, for which she received a firm, reprimanding nudge from Fluttershy. The three Ponyville mares were already well aware of how emotional Candy's dad could get, especially in regards to his daughter; they learned as much when they first met him after rescuing her.

Pop finally released Candy from his grip, taking a step back and looking her over as if she had been gone for years and he had expected her to grow in the time she'd been gone. "I've missed you so much, sweetie," he said with a wavering voice, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"I missed you too, Dad. And, you know, I gave you a heads up that I was coming so you wouldn't act like this when I got back."

"I just can't help it," Pop exclaimed. "You've been gone for six months. You've never been away from home that long before. You've never been away from home at all! And it's just heartbreaking that you have to leave again in two weeks."

"I know, Dad, but that's why I want to make the most of this trip."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that," he responded, wiping away another stray tear. He then peered over his daughter's shoulder to the other four mares standing behind her. Fluttershy offered a silent wave and a friendly smile. Pop grinned with elation at the sight of the familiar mares. "Oh, look who it is! You brought the lovely, young ladies that brought you back to me! What a pleasant surprise!"

The stallion approached them and Fluttershy extended her hoof to greet him. "It's so nice to see you again—ghk!" Without warning, Pop had trapped Fluttershy in a crushing embrace, cutting off the pegasus's air supply. Instead of finishing her sentence, all she could manage was a sharp wheeze.

Pop released the mare, allowing her to refill her lungs with much needed oxygen, her cheeks returning to their usual, yellow hue. "I must thank you again for saving my darling daughter's life. I've just been so riddled with guilt that I haven't been able to properly pay you back for what you've done for me."

He was about to give Rainbow Dash the same spine-cracking gesture he had given Fluttershy, but Dash kept him at leg's length with an awkward chuckle. "H-Hey, your thanks is enough for us. No need to get too mushy about it."

Pop chortled with slight embarrassment. "Er, yes, my apologies. I simply can't thank you enough, though."

Fluttershy swallowed to make sure that her esophagus still worked, then smiled kindly. "We never expect a reward for our deeds. We're always happy to help ponies in need."

"You can say that all you want, I absolutely insist that I give something in return to the lovely mares that saved my pride and joy." At that moment, Pop finally noticed that there was one unfamiliar face amongst the group. He stared quizzically, yet with a friendly smile, at Puff. "Speaking of lovely mares, who is this?"

Puff blushed slightly at the compliment. She wasn't really accustomed to people complimenting her looks of all things. She offered a hoof to Pop. "Mein name is Puff Pastry. It's nice to meet you, sir."

Instead of shaking her hoof as Puff had intended, he held it tenderly and kissed it gently, the act eliciting a roll of Candy's eyes. "The pleasure is all mine. And call me Pop."

Candy cleared her throat loudly, a sign that was used quite often to signal to her father that he may have been overstepping slightly.

Pop stood up straight once more, clearing his own throat as he attempted to compose himself. "Erm, sorry about that. Force of habit. So you are the mare that Candy has told me about in her letters then? The one from Germaney?"

Puff nodded. "Ya, that's right."

Pop clapped his hooves together. "Wonderful. You know, Germane chocolates are my absolute favorite. I would go so far as to say they are mostly responsible for this." He pat his round belly with a hearty laugh.

Puff laughed with him, tapping her own stomach. "Ya, I know vhat you mean."

The two of them shared amused chuckles, respecting their mutual attraction to all things delicious and sweet. However, it was only now that Pop realized that one of the four friends that Candy had brought with her had remained completely silent since they had arrived. And given everything that his daughter had told him about her, that was quite out of the ordinary.

Pinkie Pie had been overcome with awe and wonderment the instant she stepped hoof inside the store, her eyes wide and sparkling. The whole store was filled with the sweet scent of sugar, but was somehow different from what she was used to at Sugarcube Corner, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. However, in a similar fashion to how Sugarcube Corner had many cakes and other pastries on display, Pop's place had shelves, displays, jars, and tubs lined and filled with all manner of sugary confections. Gumdrops, licorice, bubble gum, taffy, jawbreakers, wine candy, chocolates of all shapes, sizes, and color, and too many more to count within the hours of the day. This was Pinkie's paradise; her land of milk and honey, so to speak.

"Pinkie, uh, you okay?" Rainbow asked, though her concern was accompanied by a tiny smile. She was pretty sure she had an idea of what was going through Pinkie's head.

Fluttershy stared at Pinkie's awestruck expression, but the earth pony's gaze was still transfixed by the treasure trove of sweets surrounding her. Fluttershy giggled. "She's like a foal in a... well, a candy store."

"It's just... so beautiful," Pinkie finally said, barely managing anything more than a whisper. Her lips curled up into a blissful smile and her tongue lolled out of her mouth. Her entire body shivered with delight. "All this candy... Just thinking about it is making me wet," she claimed as saliva began to run from the corner of her mouth, accompanied by a pleasured moan.

Pop laughed loudly at Pinkie's reaction to his work. "Well now, here's a mare that certainly appreciates the sweeter things in life. And I do believe I made a promise to you the last time we met. As thanks for bringing my darling daughter back to me, you can help yourself to as much as you want. Be my guest!"

Pinkie treated his words like the starting gun at a marathon, leaning down to get a running start at all of that sweet candy. But before she could leap into it headfirst, she felt a firm hoof land upon her shoulder with Rainbow Dash staring back at her. Pinkie stared quizzically at the cyan pegasus, the pain in her face from forcibly holding herself back made evident by the beads of sweat forming on her temple.

"Pinkie," Dash started, her tone sounding of authority. "Remember, this guy has a business to run here. Don't go overboard, okay?"

Pinkie grinned and nodded. "Right." She took a brief moment to compose herself, taking a deep breath. "Gotta pace myself. One thing at a time. I gotta... I gotta..." Pinkie's whole body began trembling. It was like the candy was screaming to be consumed, screaming her name. It was getting much too difficult to ignore their pleas. Pinkie's mane noticeably twitched, as though something inside her skull had snapped, and her mouth widened into an enormous and rather unsettling grin. "Nope! Can't do it! I'm going in!" Pinkie Pie leapt into the air, grabbing several jars and containers as she landed and pouring their contents into her open, drooling maw, like a shark attacking a school of helpless minnows.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy could only stand by and watch the carnage ensue, too afraid to stick their hooves into the lion's cage and stop her. However, in contrast to their worries, Pop could only laugh as he watched the ravenous mare devour his wares.

"My, my, she is quite the enthusiastic eater, isn't she? Does my heart good to see somepony enjoying my candy so... voraciously. Although, I'm worried that it won't do her heart much good."

"I wouldn't be too concerned about that," said Candy. "I've seen some weird stuff when it comes to this mare and her dietary habits. She'll be fine, trust me."

"The question is: are you gonna be fine?" Rainbow Dash asked Pop. "She could very well eat you out of house and home."

The mustachioed stallion waved her warning off with another chuckle. "Oh, that's nothing to worry about. We have plenty of extra stock."

"Well, just to be sure, if she does eat just a little too much, we'll reimburse you," Fluttershy offered.

"Actually, you're all more than welcome to join her," Pop informed them, gesturing to the assortment of sweets within the shop. "You all had a hoof in saving my sweetie pie after all."

Rainbow Dash looked out over the selection. Now that the offer was on the table, her curiosity was piqued. It all certainly looked enticing. "Well, I guess a few candies wouldn't hurt." The pegasus gravitated toward a container of gumdrops, popping a red one into her mouth. The moment she bit into it, her tongue was overcome with the flavor of cherry, more intense than any cherry-flavored candy she'd ever had. "Damn, that's good stuff," she exclaimed with a grin. She reached for another, wanting to sample the flavor of each color.

Fluttershy had her eye on a rack of candy bars, particularly one made of pure white chocolate. However, she shied away slightly, biting her lip. "Oh, I really shouldn't. If Angel Bunny smells chocolate on me, he's going to want some, and he won't eat his dinner until I get him some."

"You shouldn't deny yourself something you desire, my dear." Pop picked up the bar she had been eyeing, unwrapped it, and offered it to her. "It's perfectly alright to indulge yourself from time to time. And why don't you bring one home for your bunny friend?"

Fluttershy hesitantly took the bar, the sweet smell of that off-white delicacy making it difficult to resist the temptation. She took a teeny tiny bite off the corner and let the little chunk melt on her tongue. Her teal eyes rolled up in bliss. "Oh my," she sighed shakily. "That's so good." That was all the convincing she needed to take another, much larger, bite of the bar. Followed by another, then several more before moving on to a second bar.

Candy Cane watched her friends devour her father's hard work with a sigh, though she was admittedly amused by the sight as well. "Congratulations, Dad. Now you've got them hooked. Hope you're proud of yourself."

"I can't help it if I'm just a naturally good businessman. It speaks volumes of the quality of my work."

"Yeah, the addictive quality," Candy laughed.

Pop noticed that Puff had not joined the others in their sugary feast, noting the look of restraint on her face. "What's the matter? Aren't you going to try some, too?"

Puff smiled humbly. "Oh, no. I had nothing to do vith Candy's rescue. I'd feel bad if I shared in their revard."

Pop chuckled and pat Puff firmly on the back. "Nonsense. You're my little moon pie's friend. You're more than welcome to—" Before he could even finish, Puff had already vanished, reappearing with her hoof in a jar of chocolate malt balls. "Oh. Well, alright then."

"Fank you!" Puff said to him with a mouthful of chocolate.

"Well, aside from you giving all of my friends diabetes, it's good to be home," Candy said, giving her dad another hug. She took another look around the shop, finding it a little strange that her dad was the only person around when they arrived. It raised a question, one that she was a little hesitant to ask. "So, uh... Where's Ginger? She not around today?"

Puff's chewing of the malt balls slowed when she overheard Candy's question. Given the information she'd shared with her about this Ginger character, however little it was, Puff was a tad concerned about where Candy was going to bring her conversation.

"No, she's been running some errands all morning," Pop replied. "She'll probably be stopping by eventually, though. I guess you missed her, too, huh?"

Candy chuckled halfheartedly. "Yeah..."

Pinkie Pie popped over suddenly, her mouth scrunched up uncomfortably after having found where Pop kept the lemon candies. "Oooooo, are oo guyph gonna ged all wovey-dovey?"

Pop let out a loud guffaw. "Ha ha! During work hours? As much as I'd like to, I don't think I have the guts to take that risk."

"That's a great mental image. Thanks, Dad," Candy groaned.

"Who'sh Ginger?" Rainbow Dash asked with a mouthful of marshmallows.

"She's Pop's girlfriend," Pinkie chirped.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I've never mentioned her while you were around," Candy noted.

"So we're gonna get to meet her for sure, right?" Pinkie asked eagerly. "I've been looking forward to it for ages."

"Is that so?" Pop replied with genuine surprise. "I guess you've really been talking her up then, Candy."

His daughter shrugged. "Not really. I've just mentioned her once or twice, and even then I didn't really say too much about her."

"About who now?"

A new voice had interjected into the conversation, accompanied by the ringing of the bell above the front door. Entering the building was an earth pony mare with a dark brown coat, a mane, striped with white and yellow, tied into a ponytail, and a cutie mark depicting a simple-looking gingerbread house. She was wearing a white sunhat decorated with plastic flowers and carrying several shopping bags full of groceries on her back. Candy's friends were able to immediately infer that this mare was probably Ginger Snap, and although they could only offer an estimate of Pop's age, this mare appeared to be noticeably younger, though still exhibiting some signs of age and experience, such as small wrinkles around her eyes. She was, however, slightly shorter than the other mares present, which perhaps made determining her age a touch more difficult. That said, she was still a very pretty mare.

A big, happy smile stretched across Pop's face upon seeing the mare. "Ah, there you are, Ginger." He gave her a tender kiss on her cheek. "What good timing, we were just talking about you. And look who's home." He gestured to Candy.

Ginger smiled softly at Candy, offering her a greeting in a kind, quiet voice. "Oh, Candy, it's so good to see you again after all this time." The older mare wrapped Candy in a quick, gentle hug. "How have things been in Steeden so far?"

Finally, Candy managed a smile; Puff in particular had noticed that she didn't seem very enthusiastic to see Ginger, but now that the topic had shifted to something else, she appeared more than happy to actually share her overseas experience.

"It's been great. I had no idea I'd learn so much so quickly. Not to mention my friends have made the experience all the more memorable, for better or worse," Candy laughed.

Ginger looked past Candy at the four smiling faces behind her, passing them a smile of her own. "Yes, you've mentioned your friends in your letters. It's nice to finally meet you all." She stared at Pinkie Pie for a moment, as if trying to deduce something. "You're... Pinkie Pie? Is that right?"

"Bingo!" the chipper mare chimed. "How'd you know?"

Ginger giggled quietly. "Call it a hunch. And you must be Puff Pastry," she continued, turning to the pig-tailed mare.

"Ya. It's nice to meet you."

Ginger then turned to the pair of pegasi. "And you two are... Oh, I'm sorry, I can't seem to recall."

"That's because we're not students at the university," Fluttershy explained.

Pop stepped in to elaborate. "These two lovely, young mares, along with Pinkie Pie, are the ones responsible for rescuing Candy from her captivity."

Ginger's eyes widened slightly, her surprise belied by her still quiet voice. "Oh, is that right? Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet the ponies responsible for saving this little family."

"Aw, it was nothin'," Dash said with a modest wave, though there was no missing the proud smile on her face. "All in a day's work for us."

Ginger nodded with a grateful smile. At that moment, she took a second to finally notice the mess that the shop was in. Containers were overturned and stray candies were scattered all over the floor, posing quite the safety hazard. "Did a tornado run through here earlier? What happened?" She gasped with worry. "Lolly, were you robbed?!"

Pop let out that loud, guttural laughter that Pinkie and her friends had come to expect from him. "Tornado's aren't this destructive, ha ha! And no, I wasn't robbed."

"He said we can have as much as we want!" Pinkie exclaimed with an enthusiastic hop. "And it's all so yummy!"

"Oh, I see," Ginger giggled. "He's repaying favors with candy again. That's really a bad habit, Lolly."

"What? Everypony loves candy," he argued.

"Speaking of Candy..." Ginger segued, glancing at her boyfriend's daughter. She reached into one of the bags she was carrying, removing a small, ornate box and offering it to Candy. "I saw this in the window of an antique store on the way over. I thought it would be a nice, belated birthday gift."

Candy, with some surprise on her face, took the small box, unhooked the clasp on the front, and opened it. Suddenly, a calm, melancholy tune began to play, and in the center of the box was a tiny, gold-colored pony spinning slowly with the music. "A music box?"

Ginger shrugged bashfully. "Honestly, I didn't really put much thought into it. I just thought it was cute. If you don't want it, I still have the receipt, so you can return it and just keep the money if you want."

"It's beautiful, sweetheart," Pop commented.

Candy stayed silent, simply watching the gold pony twirl. Puff stared at Candy's expression intently, trying to figure out how she felt about this. Her expression was difficult to read. She seemed surprised, but at the same time frustrated.

"Lolly, can you help me with these," Ginger asked, referring to the grocery bags. He happily relieved the load from her back, helping her bring them to the kitchen at the back of the building. Ginger carefully stepped around the stray gumballs and wads of taffy covering the floor. "And it looks like you may need a hoof cleaning up this mess as well."

"I suppose I do. Candy, why don't you go unpack while we straighten everything away down here?"

"Yeah, sure." Candy snapped the music box shut rather roughly and picked up her bag that she'd left by the door. She gestured for her friends to follow her, guiding them to a hallway off to the side of the store that led to a stairway up to the second floor.

After they had all disappeared into the hallway, Pinkie Pie poked back out, grabbed several candy bars that had fallen to the floor in the chaos, and stuffed them in her mane for later before trotting off to catch up with the other girls.

Candy led the group to the second floor, where she and her father's actual living space was located. At the top of the stairs was a doorway leading into a spacious living room. The room was immaculately clean; the wooden coffee table shined, the plush, white couch pristine with little sign of wear, and the windows were polished so well that one would swear they were open. In terms of decoration, there were a few tall, potted plants here and there that were in rather good health, and there was a large entertainment center against the wall that housed a decent sized television; based on the cases stacked on a shelf next to it, it appeared Pop and Ginger enjoyed a sappy, romantic movie from time to time. Branching away from the living room was a short hallway with a few doors. Guests could safely assume those to be the bedrooms and bathroom.

But perhaps the most noticeable feature one would probably notice is the abundance of framed pictures on the end tables and across the walls. A lot of them depicted Pop and Candy, but there were also a few of Ginger as well. If Candy's friends hadn't realized just how much Pop loved his daughter yet, one look at this room would remove all doubt. Out of curiosity, Puff had wandered over to the window where one particular picture was sitting on the windowsill. She picked it up and silently looked it over.

Candy put the music box on the coffee table, dropped herself onto the couch, and let out an exasperated sigh. Rainbow Dash gave a puzzled raise of her eyebrow at the way Candy was acting.

"Okay, I can't be the only one who felt a little bit of tension back there, right?"

"The atmosphere did seem just a teensy bit uncomfortable when Ginger arrived," Fluttershy agreed. "Is there something going on between you two, Candy?"

"Look, no offense, but it's really none of your business," Candy informed brusquely.

"That didn't stop you from telling Pinkie und I about it," Puff chimed in.

Fluttershy noticed the photo Puff was holding. "What's that?"

"Something I think might shed a little light on vhy Candy is acting like that."

She displayed the photo to the other three mares. It was another picture of Pop and Candy. However, there was a third pony with them; a mare, but it wasn't Ginger. In contrast to Ginger's brown coat, this mare's coat was a very light shade of pink with a white mane that bore a striking resemblance to soft serve ice cream the way it was done up. Also in contrast to Ginger's soft, gentle smile, hers was a big, toothy grin, not unlike Pop's.

Pinkie took the picture to get a closer look. "Is that your mom?"

Candy didn't even bother to look in their direction. "Yeah..."

Fluttershy looked around at all of the pictures of Ginger, comparing them to the mare in this photo. "She seems like a far cry from Ginger. Ginger is so quiet and mellow, but your mom looks like a very outgoing and energetic person."

"So basically your dad went from dating Pinkie Pie to Fluttershy. That's quite the turnaround," Rainbow Dash joked, though nopony laughed. She just received a corrective glower from Fluttershy.

"Can you believe her?" Candy suddenly said, her voice louder than they would have expected.

Her four friends shared confused glances.

"Believe what?" asked Pinkie.

Candy picked up the music box again, though she did not open it. "Why would she get me this?"

"She said it was a belated birthday gift," Fluttershy answered, repeating what Ginger had said.

"A music box? Really? I've never expressed any interest in music." Candy's voice was becoming increasingly irate. "This is the kind of thing that people usually grow attached to sentimentally. It's like she's trying to buy my love."

"Don't you think you're reading a little too much into this?" Puff inquired.

"Do you have some kinda beef with Ginger or something?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"She seemed like a perfectly nice person to me," Fluttershy noted.

Candy shrugged, attempting to defend her argument. "Well, yeah, she's nice and everything, but she's just... She's..."

"Not your mom," Pinkie said for her with a compassionate tone.

"Is that the problem?" asked Fluttershy. "You think she's trying to replace your mom?"

"Why else would she act all kind and caring and buy me stuff?" Candy griped with frustration.

"Maybe because she actually cares about you. Did that ever occur to you?" Rainbow Dash imposed.

"You've shared this problem vith both me und Pinkie, Candy," Puff stated. "There vasn't really anything vee could do or say to help you then, but now that vee're here, in your home, you have a chance to actually do something about this."

"Oh! I have an idea!" Pinkie shouted with zeal. She hopped onto the couch alongside Candy, her excited grin contrasting Candy's frustrated grimace. "I helped Puff and her mom patch things up. Maybe I can help you and Ginger! Pleeeeeease, can I help?"

Candy didn't bother to try and shake Pinkie off of her leg as she begged. In actuality, she was contemplating accepting the offer, if only because she wanted to avoid having that conversation with Ginger herself. But would she really feel better having her friend do the work for her?

"Instead of making accusations, maybe you should talk to Ginger about how you feel and actually learn how she feels," Fluttershy suggested.

"I can do that!" Pinkie agreed, jumping off the couch and heading for the stairs.

"Oh, actually, Pinkie, I meant that Candy should do it herself," the yellow pegasus elaborated.

Pinkie halted with her hoof on the doorknob, looking a touch disappointed. "Oh... Well, okay." She sat back down on the couch, placing her hoof upon Candy's shoulder. "But if you want my help, just ask."

Candy looked at the faces of her friends, three of them staring at her as if waiting for her to make a decision, while the fourth simply grinned obliviously. She'd look like a right jackass if she said she wouldn't talk to her, not to mention making it seem as though she didn't want to at least make an attempt to improve their relationship. Plus, Pinkie had a point. If Puff and her mom could pull a complete one-eighty on their relationship, then how difficult could it be to just tell Ginger how she felt?

Candy didn't say a word. She just stood up, trotted to the door, and went downstairs. For a moment, the other mares weren't sure what to do. Of course, they'd like to be there to help out, but this was certainly a situation where it was probably best to give them some privacy. But that didn't mean they weren't going to be impatient about discovering the result.

Pinkie Pie picked up the television remote and flicked on the T.V. "No sense being all antsy. Let's see if there's anything good on."

Rainbow Dash shrugged, taking a place next to Pinkie on the couch. She let out a relieved sigh as she stared at the screen. "Man, it's nice to finally be able to watch something in a language I can actually understand again. We really do take some things for granted."

"Do you think they'll be able to work this out?" Fluttershy asked Puff, the two of them more concerned about Candy to pay attention to the television.

"I hope so. I know I felt much better after Pinkie helped me und my mom. I don't think this is as serious as that, though. After today, I think Candy is grasping at something that isn't actually there. As long as they can talk about this calmly, they should be fine."

"I hope you're right. I'd hate for there to be conflict in their family."

***** ***** *****

"So did I miss the waterworks when Candy arrived?" Ginger joked quietly to Pop as she put a bag of carrots in the fridge.

Pop chuckled at her mild teasing. "Unfortunately, yes. Thankfully I was able to compose myself before you got here. Saved me the ridicule." He looked at her with mock hurt.

Ginger giggled cutely. "Darn. I'm sorry I missed that." She gently draped a hoof over his shoulders, leaning in for a tender kiss. "I do like a stallion who's not afraid to show his emotions."

"Is that right?" he replied with a coy grin. "Then would you pass me some onions so I can start chopping?"

Ginger snickered at his joke and gave him a light slap on the shoulder before returning to the groceries, putting them away in their proper places.

"No, seriously, can you pass the onions? I was thinking sub sandwiches for lunch."

With a joking roll of her eyes, Ginger did as he asked and passed Pop a few onions, as well as some lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and a jar of mayonnaise. Pop got right to work fixing up seven sandwiches for his family and his guests while Ginger continued sorting away groceries.

A light knock on the kitchen door distracted the couple from their current tasks. Pop saw his beloved daughter poking her head into the room looking like a nervous child who had done something wrong.

Pop let out a quiet chuckle. "Sweetie, I know you've been living in Steeden for a while, but this is still your home. You don't have to knock on the kitchen door of all things."

Candy entered the room fully, both her face and her posture showing great apprehension. "Dad, I... I want to—"

"Oh, since you're here," her father interrupted, "could you get some buns from the breadbox? I'm making some sandwiches for us and your friends."

"Actually, Dad, can we just—"

"Do you want mayonnaise on yours, Candy?"

"No, look, I just need to—"

"How about tomatoes?"

"Dad!"

Pop and Ginger fell silent, shocked by Candy's sudden jump in tone. Her cheeks were red with frustration.

"Listen, I need to talk to you guys. It's really important."

Pop could see just how serious she was by looking into her eyes. It wasn't an expression he saw from her often. He'd always done everything he could to keep her happy; it was his duty as a father. Of course, another of his paternal duties was to help his pride and joy when she had a problem or needed advice. He may have been a jolly fellow, but now it seemed appropriate to set aside any mirth or childish behavior.

"What is it, dear? Is this about the school?"

Candy took a long, deep breath. She was still hesitant about whether or not she wanted to actually do this. However, at this point could she really back out? If she turned around and said "nevermind" now, she'd only concern her father, and chances are, he'd just try and pry it out of her anyway. She had nowhere to go but forward.

"Dad, can I talk to Ginger in private for a few minutes?"

Ginger pointed to herself in confusion, wondering if she had done something wrong. "Me?"

Pop hesitated to respond. There was a part of him that wanted to say no, that whatever she had to say to Ginger, she could say in front of him. But, knowing how serious Candy was being about this, he figured it'd be better to let her do what she needed to do. He gave his daughter a slow nod, gave Ginger a worried glance, then silently exited the room, leaving the two mares alone.

"What's this about, Candy? Did I do something to upset you?" Ginger asked, feeling guilty despite not knowing what she'd done.

"Look, I'm just going to cut to the chase," Candy stated, aiming to get right to the point. "You're not my mom."

Ginger raised an eyebrow. "Er, yes, I know that."

"And you know you can never be my mom, right?"

Ginger looked into Candy's eyes. There was both worry and a little disdain hidden behind her gaze. The older mare sighed at the realization of what Candy was getting at. "Is that what this is about? You think I'm trying to replace your mother?"

Candy didn't say anything. She broke eye contact, starting to feel a touch guilty about the way she felt towards this mare, even if she couldn't help it.

"Have you felt this way the whole time I've known your father?"

"Well... kind of. I just know I've never really felt comfortable with your relationship. It wasn't until you suggested that I go to school in Steeden that I really began to understand why."

Ginger closed her eyes. "I see." She stepped over to the kitchen table, taking a seat. She gestured to one of the other chairs. "Sit down, Candy. I think it's time we cleared the air."

Candy reluctantly agreed and took a seat for herself. This was already feeling like it wasn't going in the direction she thought it would. She had come down here expecting to be the one doing the talking, but the instant her dad left the room, it was like Ginger had taken control away from her. She was starting to feel like a child being sat down by their parent, which, all things considered, may have been a step in the right direction.

"I've sort of suspected that you've felt this way for a while."

Candy's eyes widened. "You... You have?"

Ginger nodded with a slight smile, staring down at the tabletop. "I'm not totally oblivious. It's not hard to sense the tension in the air when we're together. You may not have noticed it yourself, but you have occasionally looked at me oddly, to the point where I thought you may have been angry at me. It's not uncommon for a child who has lost a parent to feel spiteful towards anypony who takes the eye of their remaining parent. It's an indication that they're unable to accept their loss."

Ginger looked up to gauge Candy's reaction to her hypothesis. The pink mare looked stupefied, blinking in confusion over what she'd just heard.

"What...? Where did...?" Candy stammered with a raised eyebrow.

Ginger chuckled softly with a light shrug. "I have a minor in child psychology. But I suppose you didn't know that. We don't really talk much, you and I, do we?"

Candy felt her stomach tighten. She was starting to question who the victim in this situation really was.

"I'm not trying to make your father forget about your mother. I would never ask him, or you, to do such a thing. She's still just as important to both of you as she was when she was alive. I don't know if Lolly talks much about our dates with you, but did you know that during our first date he thought I'd never say yes to a second?"

"Why's that?" Candy asked curiously.

"Because all he could talk about was his daughter and his late wife. He thought he was being too overemotional and that that was putting me off. But as I've told him on multiple occasions, I like a stallion who's not afraid to express how he feels, especially when he feels so strongly about something as he does about his family."

"You didn't think he wasn't willing to accept his loss?"

"The fact that he had even asked me out to begin with shows that he was at least willing to move on with his life and not let his loss weigh him down. But I could certainly tell that her death left an enormous void in his life."

"So you thought you could fill that void?" Candy inquired, her accusatory tone returning.

"Candy, you have to understand that there is a difference between filling a void and replacing somepony entirely. I cannot replace your mother, even if I wanted to. My purpose in this relationship is to provide a source of happiness for your father so that he doesn't let his life be controlled by his grief."

Candy stood up, her chair scraping against the tiled floor and her hooves pounding the table in anger. "I'm his source of happiness! I'm the only thing he has left to remember her! And what do you do when you step into the equation? Tell me to fly off to Steeden for a year! Is it any wonder why I've never liked you?! You just want him to yourself! He doesn't even think about me anymore! He couldn't even be bothered to send me a card on my damn birthday!"

Ginger could see the sparkle of moisture beginning to well up in Candy's eyes. At this point, Candy was just lashing out, venting her anger and frustration without really thinking about what she was saying. Ginger took no offense. She was just glad that Candy could finally get all of this off her chest.

"Do you feel better?"

"Huh?"

Ginger smiled calmly at Candy, and the younger mare slowly lowered herself back onto her seat, her face red both from her furious outburst, as well as embarrassment and guilt that she had just tore into her out of nowhere.

"I'm sorry," Candy apologized quietly. "I didn't mean to yell at you."

"It's alright," Ginger assured with a friendly grin. "Better to get everything out in the open rather than keep it bottled up."

Candy sighed deeply, turning away in shame of her behavior. "You must think I'm pretty immature, huh?"

"Do you know why I suggested you go to Steeden, Candy? The real reason?"

"Huh? Real reason?"

"It was because of your father. He told me all about the circumstances surrounding your mother's death and why you had to stay home and help him out around here after graduating high school. Do you know how guilty he felt about that? He blamed himself that you could not chase your dreams. And he blames himself for you getting kidnapped."

"What?!" Candy gawked. "Why would he blame himself for that?"

"Because if you had gone to university after high school, it wouldn't have happened."

"It was a wake up call really."

Candy jumped with a start, turning around quickly to see her father standing at the door. He chuckled with embarrassment.

"Sorry. I've been eavesdropping. I couldn't help myself." Pop sat himself down at the table with them, letting out a deep sigh. "When you disappeared, I thought I had lost the only thing in the world that I still cared about. I thank Celestia everyday for those three wonderful friends of yours. Even though I was so happy to have you back, I didn't want to keep you cooped up at home where you weren't able to tap into your potential. But I needed an opportunity to send you out into the world. And opportunity, in this case, was named Ginger."

"After he told me about all of that," Ginger continued, "I suggested that you go to Steeden while I stayed back here to help out at the shop."

"Oh, by the way, I did send you a birthday card," Pop corrected.

"You did? I never received one," Candy told him.

Ginger groaned, placing her hoof upon her forehead. "What address did you use, Lolly?"

"Um... The university's address, of course."

"Dad, the student dorms have their own addresses. If you address it to the university itself, they assume it's for the admission's office or something. Any junk mail or misdirected mail gets thrown out."

"Oh." Pop rubbed his neck, his cheeks red with embarrassment. "Well, somepony could have told me that." He shook his head. "Anyway... Candy, I don't want you to feel like Ginger is intruding on our family. As far as I'm concerned, she's a part of our family now, and if you can't live with that... Well, I don't know what I can do. I love you, sweetums, but I love her, too."

"And I care about you as well, Candy," Ginger added. "That's part of the reason I treasure this relationship so much. I'm here not just for your father, but for you as well. You're the most important thing in his life, and that means you're just as important to me, whether you feel the same way or not."

"A child shouldn't have to grow up without two loving parents," Pop said, placing a hoof on Candy's shoulder. "She may not be your mother, but that doesn't mean she doesn't love you."

Candy looked her father in the eye, then to Ginger. She knew they were right. The deeper this conversation went, the more and more selfish she felt. What would her mother think if she saw her daughter acting the way she was?

Candy slowly rose from her chair and stepped over to Ginger, looking her straight in the eye. After a few silent moments, her guilt manifested in the form of watery tears welling up and running down her cheeks. She leaned in and wrapped her hooves around Ginger's neck, sobbing quietly.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I've been a complete jerk for no reason."

Ginger smiled, returning the remorseful hug and patting Candy on the back. "It's okay. You don't have to be afraid of telling people how you feel."

Candy clenched her teeth, trying her best to force back her tears, but ultimately failing. "I don't want to think like this, but I can't help it. I just miss her so much."

Ginger ran her hoof through Candy's mane comfortingly, letting her get it all out of her system. Pop was admittedly a little shocked to see his baby's strength and willpower surrounding her mother's passing suddenly fall apart, the concrete dam that had been holding back her grief crumbling like flimsy drywall.

Candy pulled back, wiping her tears into the dark pink fur of her foreleg. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to go to Steeden, and for being there for my dad. We both owe you so much."

"That we do," Pop agreed, discreetly wiping away a tear of his own.

Ginger laughed softly, holding Candy's hoof in her own. "Like your father said, I might not be your mother, and I know I never will be, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying to be a part of your family. But I suppose I should ask how you feel first. Is that okay with you, Candy?"

Candy sniffed one more time, finally managing a weak smile. "As long as you're keeping my dad happy, that's fine by me."

A loud thud suddenly penetrated the emotional atmosphere of the kitchen, causing the three earth ponies to jump, startled. The door had swung open, rendered ajar by the four-pony pile sprawled out on the floor. While Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Puff Pastry put on nervous grins to accompany their embarrassed blushes at being caught, Pinkie Pie—on the top of the pile and likely the cause of their unexpected intrusion—grinned widely and unapologetically.

"Come ooooon," she goaded eagerly. The family of three just stared in surprise and confusion, requiring Pinkie to elaborate. "Group hug. Do it."

They didn't budge. With a groan, Pinkie rolled off of the pile and stood up. "Here, like this..." She took both of Pop's hooves, putting one around Candy's shoulder and the other around Ginger's, then did the same for the two mares and forced them into a tight embrace. "See? Like that. That feels nice, right?"

"Were you guys eavesdropping, too?" Candy asked, disgruntled.

"It was Pinkie's idea!" Rainbow Dash blurted immediately from the floor with an accusing point of her hoof.

"Rainbow," Fluttershy wheezed from the bottom of the pile, "You're crushing my ribs."

"Sorry, but we had to eavesdrop," Pinkie asserted. "How else were we supposed to know if it went well?"

"You ask afterwards," Candy deadpanned.

Pinkie shrugged. "My way's faster."

"Does it really matter, dear?" Pop said to his daughter with a happy smile. "The important thing is that the air's been cleared."

Candy sighed, letting her friends' invasion of her privacy slide given the circumstances. She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. Alright, you girls are off the hook. This time."

Puff helped Fluttershy up off the floor, both dusting themselves off. Puff sniffed the air, something catching her attention. "Is that... mayonnaise?"

"Ah, yes!" Pop chirped as he remembered. "I was in the middle of making sandwiches for everypony!" He returned his attention to the assorted ingredients and half made meals on the counter. "What say we make this a celebratory lunch, hm?"

"Oh! If we're celebrating, we'll need cake!" Pinkie bellowed excitedly. "And you've got three super-awesome pastry-chefs-in-the-making to get the job done!"

"You know what? That sounds like fun," Candy said with enthusiasm. "Plus, this'll be a great opportunity to show my dad the stuff I've learned." She turned to Ginger, putting her hoof around her shoulder and pulling her close. "And maybe you can help us out, Ginger. It might make for a good bonding opportunity."

Ginger nuzzled Candy's cheek. "I'd like that very much."

***** ***** *****

Candy Cane dropped her duffel bag on the ground, taking a moment to stretch out the kink in her back from lugging it around. She let out a long, tired yawn and rubbed her eyes; the rays of the early-morning sun weren't exactly appreciated, but they beckoned her nonetheless. This morning was very reminiscent of the day she left for Steeden six months prior, waiting at the air dock, staring up at the gargantuan airship that was going to be transporting her there.

But this time was a little different.

Another loud yawn droned out from beside her. Pinkie Pie was just as sleepy as Candy, but wore a cheerful grin in spite of it. Like the first time she'd left, she was a little hesitant to leave her friends behind. But, given that this was not the first time, it wasn't quite as difficult, mainly because she had good friends by her side this time.

Both Puff Pastry and Rainbow Dash were with them as well, the latter of which being adequately prepared for the journey with supplies of her own, unlike her last trip. The former of the two, while just as somnolent as the rest, was taking the time until their ship began boarding to observe the majesty of Equestria's capitol as it glowed beneath the effervescent, orange light of Celestia's sun. She hadn't had much of a chance when they first arrived in Canterlot two weeks ago; they had to hightail it to Ponyville to meet Pinkie Pie for her grand entrance. It really was a sight to behold. The capitol of the kingdom; home of Princesses Celestia and Luna. To somepony like Puff, just knowing that she was currently in the same city as the princesses was surreal, nevermind that there was currently another princess standing behind them.

"Well, I guess this is it. Again," Twilight stated with a smile.

Pinkie turned around to look at her friends. Just like her original departure, all of them had come to see her off, including the Cakes. The biggest difference—aside from the presence of Candy and Puff, and the fact that Rainbow Dash was going with them this time—was that Lolly Pop and Ginger Snap had accompanied them to the docks as well. Of course, it was Pinkie's idea that they come with them so that Candy could board with her friends in Canterlot instead of by herself in Manehattan, an idea that they happily agreed to, if only because they had never visited the capitol themselves.

"Yup," Pinkie replied to the alicorn. "Back to Steeden we go." Although she was clearly excited to get back to the university, her tone was noticeably wistful.

Rarity produced a handkerchief to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Oh, it just doesn't get any easier the second time." She gave Pinkie a hug farewell. "Do take care of yourself, darling."

"You betcha," the pink pony assured.

"And Rainbow Dash," the white unicorn added a touch more sternly.

"She's in good hooves."

Twilight looked the cyan pegasus in the eyes. "I'm going to ask you once more, Rainbow Dash: are you sure we can't dissuade you from going?"

Dash shook her head adamantly. "Nope. Sorry, Twi. Nothing you say is gonna change my mind."

Twilight nodded, having expected as much. "Alright. But let the record show that I tried to stop you, so if you wind up getting Pinkie in trouble I can preemptively say I told you so."

"Let's face it, if Rainbow Dash were going to get Pinkie in trouble, she would-a done it already," Applejack chuckled.

"Nice to know my friends think so highly of me," Rainbow Dash groaned with a sarcastic deadpan.

"At least we know where she's going to be," Fluttershy said in her defense. "I don't think we need to worry."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence," Rainbow Dash said, giving her other friends a spiteful look, though they could sense that her expression was meant to be facetious.

"Your friend was right, it really doesn't get any easier," Pop sniveled to his daughter. He wiped the moisture from his eyes, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. "Sorry, dear. I know you don't want me to get all emotional and concerned over you. And I promise not to send you a letter every other day. I know I can get on your nerves sometimes with my overprotective nature."

Candy smiled lovingly, giving her dad an affectionate embrace. "It's okay, Dad. Send as many letters as you want. I want to hear from you." She glanced over to Ginger, who was smiling back at her. "Both of you."

Ginger was next to receive an embrace from Candy. The older mare was slightly surprised to see no hesitation from her to show such affection.

"I'm going to miss you," Candy said, tightening the hug.

"I'll miss you, too."

"I'm gonna miss everyponyyyyyy!" Pinkie bawled loudly, streams of tears flowing from her eyes like fountains.

Puff leaned over to Fluttershy. "I can only imagine how emotional she vas the first time she left."

"Actually, she wasn't this emotional. I have no idea why she'd be more broken up now."

A stallion called out from the airship, informing the crowd on the dock that it was time to board. The traveling mares picked up their bags, making their way to the ship.

"Well, see you guys in six months," Rainbow Dash bid her friends with a wave. She grabbed the blubbering Pinkie Pie by the tail, dragging her to the ship. "Come on, ya big crybaby."

"It vas nice meeting you all," Puff said with a friendly grin, shaking hooves with Twilight in particular.

"Don't be a stranger now," Applejack called out as Puff began boarding.

Candy gave her dad a quick kiss on the cheek, backing up toward the ship. "Goodbye, Dad. Ginger."

"Goodbye, sweetie," Pop sniffled, his tears welling up again.

"Good luck, Candy," Ginger bid her.

Candy disappeared inside the ship and the door shut behind her. Several minutes later, the group of ponies watched as the ship departed, lifting high into the air and making for the horizon. Pinkie Pie could be seen pressing her face against the window, waving down at them and, of course, they waved back, knowing that it was going to be a long six months until they saw one another again.

Chapter 12 - Zest & Relaxation

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 12: Zest & Relaxation

=====================================================================

Rainbow Dash flopped herself down on the couch, picking up the T.V. remote to flick on the television. She let out a somewhat remorseful sigh. "Ugh, I know we were only home for two weeks, but I always forget how much I missed Ponish T.V."

Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Candy Cane, and Puff Pastry had been back in Steeden for a little less than a week after returning from spring break, enough time for the students to get back into the swing of things in their respective classes. Rainbow Dash, however, not actually being a student, was still confined to the dormitory all day everyday. She was starting to see some merit to Twilight's argument against her returning to Steeden. As much as she wanted to spend quality time with her best friend, she had forgotten just how boring it could be while Pinkie was busy with classes.

On the bright side, though, Steeden's winter had thoroughly wrapped up. It wasn't until they returned that Rainbow Dash actually had a chance to see the country without the blanket of snow covering it, and she had to admit that it was a pretty breathtaking place to look at.

Breathtaking, but still boring.

Having surfed through every available channel in hopes of finding a show or movie that was at least visually stimulating, Rainbow Dash finally turned the television off, having decided that there was nothing on that caught her interest. She rolled over onto her back, throwing her hooves behind her head and idly staring up at the ceiling. Even though she had actually brought her own stuff with her this time, she regretted not packing something to keep herself entertained; some movies, or comic books, or something. She did bring a few of her Daring Do books with her, but since a new book hadn't been released in recent months, they wouldn't exactly provide any surprises.

"If you're bored, you could help me cook dinner," Pinkie called from the kitchen.

"And how exactly is that going to relieve my boredom?" Dash quipped.

"Vhat do you mean? Cooking is great fun," Puff chimed in, having overheard from the bedroom.

Dash hoisted herself up to look over the back of the couch at Puff. "Yeah, for you maybe. Honestly, it's more like a chore to me."

"You don't get any enjoyment out of it?" asked Puff.

The pegasus flicked her hoof dismissively and fell back onto the couch cushions. "Bah. Too much work. Work's no fun."

Puff peeked over the back of the couch at the lounging mare with a quirked eyebrow. "You don't enjoy managing the veather then?"

"Heh. You kidding?" Dash chuckled. "I get to make lightning and storms and stuff. How could that not be fun?"

"Then is it so hard to believe that some people enjoy cooking?"

"Hey, I didn't say that nopony could enjoy it. It's just that I don't enjoy it. And that's the beauty of it: other people get to have fun making the food, while I get to enjoy eating it. It's win-win."

Pinkie Pie trotted around the couch, her face decorated with authority. She picked the lazy pegasus up off of the couch and stood her up, ushering her toward the kitchen.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Dash demanded in vexation.

Pinkie stopped Dash in front of the kitchen counter, placing a ruffled, white chef's hat on her head and tying an apron around her front. "I'm going to teach you how to cook."

Puff giggled in amusement at Pinkie's idea, already enjoying the sight of Rainbow Dash dressing the part despite the pegasus's bemused grimace.

"Why do I need to learn how to cook?" Dash grumbled.

"Because we're not always going to be here to cook for you. We might be busy doing some extra work after class, or studying in the student lounge..."

"Or cleaning up vun of Pinkie's messes," Puff added with a chortle.

"This way, if we're not around, you can just whip something up yourself," Pinkie explained with a grin.

Rainbow Dash groaned, pulling off the chef's hat and dropping it on the counter. "Pinkie, I don't know if you've noticed or not, but I'm perfectly capable of cooking for myself. I live by myself back home after all."

Pinkie stared at Dash, disgruntled. "Instant noodles and takeout do not count as cooking."

"Since when?"

"Now then..." Pinkie opened the pantry, perusing its contents for ideas. "We're gonna try a few different dishes. Oh!" She reached in and pulled out a box of spaghetti noodles. "Spaghetti should be easy."

"I do like spaghetti," Rainbow Dash stated in agreement to the suggestion.

"Plus, you already kinda have some 'experience,'" Pinkie punctuated with sarcastic air quotes, "with noodles, so you shouldn't have too much trouble with this." She returned to the pantry. "But let's try some other stuff, too, just in case. Fill a pot with water and boil it while I look for something."

"Okay." Rainbow Dash did as she was told and started filling the pot in the kitchen sink.

Out of the corner of her eye, Pinkie saw Puff wandering around the living room, as if looking for something. "Hey, Puff! You wanna help teach Dashie how to cook with us?"

Puff shook her head, finding her saddlebags behind the couch and throwing them on her back. "Nein, thank you, but I have plans. Candy und I are going down to the student lounge for some coffee. Vould you two like to join us?"

Rainbow Dash turned to Pinkie, hoping that she'd agree so she wouldn't be forced to stay and cook all day.

Pinkie gave a friendly grin, but waved her offer off. "I'd love to, but we're a little busy. Rainbow Dash, the pot's overflowing."

"Huh? Oh, whoops." Dash turned off the faucet and poured out the excess water, breathing a disappointed sigh as she did knowing that she was going to be stuck here for awhile.

"Okay. Then I'll see you later." Puff bid them farewell, then stepped out the door. The moment she closed it behind her, she spotted Candy down the hall exiting her apartment as well. "Good morning. That vas good timing," Puff chuckled as Candy approached.

"And good morning to you." Candy couldn't help but notice that Puff was alone. "Huh. I figured you would've invited Pinkie and Rainbow Dash to come with us."

"I did, but—"

"Gaaahhhh!"

Candy jumped slightly at the sudden scream that was accompanied by what sounded like a splash and a metallic clank, her eyes shooting to the door behind Puff from where the shout originated.

"Geez, relax. It's not even lukewarm yet, butterhooves."

Puff gave Candy a shrug. "—they're in the middle of something."

"Alllllright-y then," Candy deferred, though with a somewhat befuddled expression. She returned her attention towards the stairwell as she and Puff made their way downstairs and through the school's halls until they arrived at their destination.

Being a weekend, it wasn't surprising to see that there weren't too many other students gathered at the student lounge. Typically, most students enjoyed spending their off time out and about in the bustling and beautiful city of Trotholm. Although, there were still a fair number of students who preferred to spend their free time lounging about and relaxing, and those individuals tended to gravitate towards the student lounge. Thankfully, it wasn't so crowded as to be uncomfortable, or to force anyone to talk above their usual speaking volume. It was actually kind of homey, and the smell of fresh coffee and bagels was particularly inviting.

Puff and Candy approached the counter to get their breakfast. Puff inhaled deeply through her nose, letting her breath out in a pleasant sigh. "It smells vonderful, doesn't it?"

Candy nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I've gotta admit, they know how to bake their breakfast breads down here."

"Is that really a surprise? I mean, think about vhere vee are."

"Oh, right. Heh, I guess it slipped my mind for a minute there."

The two mares received their orders, a cup of coffee and a bagel—two bagels for Puff—and went to sit down on the unoccupied couch in the middle of the room. Puff grabbed some packets of sugar and cream for their coffee on the way, as well as some butter, which she spread liberally on her first bagel before taking a big, hungry bite out of it.

"This is kinda weird, isn't it?" Candy pointed out to Puff.

The Germane mare swallowed her mouthful of bagel and looked at Candy in confusion. "Vhat's veird?"

Candy gestured to the two of them sitting on the couch. "This. Just you and me, hanging out. Not weird in an awkward way or anything, just... Well, it's not often that just the two of us hang out like this. You know, without Pinkie Pie."

Puff chuckled, knowing now exactly what she was talking about. "Ya, I get vhat you mean. It's a little unusual for her to not be around. Or at least vithin earshot."

"You'd almost think she was the focal point of our little group," Candy joked, taking a sip of her coffee.

Puff turned her eyes up in thought about Candy's comment. "Actually, in a vay, she kind of is."

"Hm? How do you figure?"

"Vell, Rainbow Dash is here because she's Pinkie's best friend, und you're her friend because they rescued you. Und I'm really only hanging out vith you girls because I'm her roommate."

"Hey, you can't think like that. We still would have been in the same class. Who's to say we wouldn't have become friends even if you lived in a different dorm?"

Puff shook her head, smiling a little at Candy's misinterpretation of her statement. "I'm not complaining. I'm thankful that things turned out this vay. I'm just saying that things vouldn't be the vay they are vithout Pinkie."

Candy thought about that for a moment, conceding the point with a nod. "Yeah, I guess you have a point. Honestly, I don't know if I'd be enjoying my stay here quite as much without her."

"Without who?"

Puff and Candy both turned to the grinning face of their respected instructor Gustave le Grand standing nearby with his own cup of piping hot coffee.

"Oh, good morning, Chef," Candy greeted with an amicable smile. "We were just talking about how different our experience at this school may have been without Pinkie Pie."

"Less eventful, certainly," the griffon joked. Candy gestured for Gustave to take a seat on the chair adjacent to the couch and join them, an offer that he happily accepted. "I must admit, 'er presence 'ere 'as made my experience quite mémorable."

"Vee meant that vee think vee may not have enjoyed our stay here as much vithout her," Puff clarified.

"Yeah, I can't help but feel like things would have been a bit more... lonely," Candy added.

Gustave twirled his mustache idly. "I suppose we will never know now. Zere is little reason to dwell on it."

"I just thought it was interesting," Candy said. "I don't think I would prefer my experience here to be any different than it is. I almost feel like we owe Pinkie something."

Gustave only now realized that the mare in question wasn't actually present. "And... where is Mademoiselle Pie ce matin?"

Puff chimed in to answer his question. "Oh, she's still back at the dorm. She's busy teaching—" Puff stopped herself before she said too much, earning a cautious look from Candy. "Um, teaching... herself... about cooking. From her books."

"Which is basically a long-winded way of saying she's studying," Candy laughed nervously.

Gustave raised an eyebrow at their odd behavior, but let it go with a sip of his coffee.

"So anyway..." Candy said, hoping to change the subject. "We don't have to talk about what's going on with us. Why don't you we talk more about you, Chef."

"About moi?" Gustave repeated, surprised by the suggestion, although more than willing to talk himself up. "I suppose it isn't often zat I get zee chance to sit and chat avec mes étudiants. Very well, do you 'ave any questions in particular?"

"I vas actually vondering vhat you vere doing during spring break," Puff inquired curiously.

Gustave chuckled at the question. "Well, I was enjoying a brief trip back to Prance wiz Gwenivere."

"It's nice to visit home after being away for a long time, huh?" Candy commented.

"Vraiment," the griffon responded with a fond grin.

"Do you und Gwen spend a lot of time together outside of school, Chef?" Puff asked.

"But of course. She is ma fierté et joie. I spend as much time wiz 'er as I possibly can."

While Candy couldn't imagine someone wanting to willingly spend time with Gwenivere, she figured that her father could be one of the few exceptions. "So what exactly did you two do while you were in Prance?"

Gustave cleared his throat, breaking eye contact with the two mares. He looked like he was embarrassed. "Well... Gwenivere and I 'ave a tradition. We 'ave a lake house away from everyzing zat we visit once a year, just zee two of us. We 'ike, fish, camp. Zose sorts of zings."

Candy widened her eyes, having not expected that. "Really? Wow. You know, Gwen never really struck me as the type of person to enjoy roughing it."

"She doesn't," Gustave was quick to confirm. "Nor do I, in truz. But, as I said, it is our tradition. Besides, it is not about, as you say, 'roughing it.' It is about spending quality time avec ma fille, sans distractions."

"That sounds nice," Puff commented with a friendly, albeit somewhat surprised smile.

Gustave nodded. "It is. I look forward to it every year. It is wonderful bonding time for zee two of us. Er, and if you would not mind, could you not mention zis to Gwenivere. If she discovered zat I told somepony, she would be très contrarié."

"Our lips are sealed," Candy assured, making a zipping motion over her mouth with her hoof.

Gustave looked at the clock on the wall of the student lounge, the current time alerting him. "Is zat zee time? Zut alors. Pardon moi, Mademoiselles, I 'ave work zat demands mon attention. It was lovely speaking wiz you." He finished off his coffee and stood from his seat, making for the door.

"See you on Monday, Chef," Candy bid him farewell, with Puff offering a wave. By now, the two mares had also finished their breakfasts, so they, too, stood up to leave. "Guess it's about time for us to head back, too, huh?"

Puff took the final bite of her second butter-smeared bagel. "Right behind you."

The pair returned to the second floor to go back to their dorms. When Puff reached her room, she prepared to turn the knob, but turned back to Candy as she made her way further down the hall to her own dorm.

"Do you vant to come in? Hang out vith us for a vhile?"

Candy respectfully declined the offer with a shake of her head. "Nah. I think I'm just gonna take a nap or something. Today kinda feels like a lazy day."

"Then the coffee seems counterproductive," Puff laughed.

Candy shrugged, laughing a little herself. "It doesn't rule out the 'or something.'"

Puff opened the door to her apartment. "Vell, I'll see you later then."

"Yup, see ya." Candy gave a wave, then continued on to her own dorm.

Puff walked into her place, closing the door behind her. However, even before she entered she caught a whiff of something, but wasn't sure what. It smelled like food, but what it was exactly eluded her olfactory senses. It wasn't until she was inside that she was able to formulate some idea as to what it was.

Unfortunately, the smell was the least of her concerns.

Looking to the kitchen, Puff's jaw dropped open in utter shock. The kitchen was a complete wreck. Dishes were piled up in the sink, filthy as all get out, and the floor, counter, and cupboards were caked with all manner of foodstuffs, from what appeared to be flour to what she hoped was ketchup. And in the middle of it all were Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, just as dirty as their surroundings; one couldn't even tell that Dash's apron was white anymore.

"Vha...?" Puff took a cautious step forward, her face overcome with disbelief. "I vas only gone for twenty minutes! Vhat have you two been making?!"

Rainbow Dash responded with absolutely no jest in her voice. "Salad."

Puff took a moment to process that, not entirely sure if she heard correctly. "Salad?"

Pinkie Pie nodded to affirm.

The chubby mare took another look at the kitchen. "Und... vhat did you make before that?"

"Spaghetti," Pinkie answered with an oblivious grin.

That response only served to further baffle Puff. So they hadn't made anything else in between. Half the stuff on the floor and the walls wasn't at all necessary to make spaghetti, and definitely were not necessary for salad, let alone just how many dishes they'd wound up soiling. However, as Puff had learned in the half a year or so she'd known Pinkie, she learned it was better not to question certain things. Apparently that rule was beginning to extend to Rainbow Dash as well.

Puff shook her head and gave a dismissive wave. She elected to ignore the carnage in their kitchen and had no intention of cleaning it up. However, she noticed something sitting on the table; a small bottle of rainbow-colored liquid, although there was only a very miniscule amount remaining. She immediately recognized it as rainbow essence. After the last time she'd seen that stuff, she wasn't likely to forget it.

"Vhat are doing vith this?" Puff asked cautiously, picking up the bottle.

"Oh, we're making a pie!" Pinkie chirped excitedly.

"Vith rainbow essence? That seems... peculiar."

"It's actually not bad. Spicy pastries kinda work," Rainbow Dash said. Puff gave the pegasus a skeptical look. "Well, I like 'em anyway."

"I thought since Rainbow Dash likes this stuff so much, I'd teach her how to cook with it," Pinkie explained. "You should try some when it's done, Puff."

Puff chuckled nervously, waving her hoof to decline. "N-Nein, thank you. I'm don't do vell vith spicy food." Hoping to avoid being coaxed into taste testing, she opted out of the conversation at that point to sit on the couch and watch some television.

Pinkie shrugged indifferently. "Suit yourself." At that moment, the oven's timer went off with a ding. Pinkie jumped with anticipation to the oven. "Ooo, speaking of which..." She slipped on an oven mitt, reached in, and pulled out the fully cooked pie topped with lightly browned meringue, holding it out as if presenting it to a crowd of onlookers. "Ta-da! One Rainbow Meringue Pie, patent pending."

Pinkie laid the pie on the stove to let it cool. Rainbow Dash leaned over to smell it. While she was used to Pinkie's pastries smelling overwhelmingly sweet, this one smelled spicy—which was to be expected—yet oddly minty for some reason. Admittedly, Rainbow Dash had never really taken the time to analyze how a rainbow actually smelled, and certainly had never thought how they'd smell when baked.

Pinkie, too impatient to wait for it to cool, cut out a pair of slices, placed them on a couple of plates, and delivered them to the table where she and Dash sat across from one another. She passed a fork to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus took a moment to look over the slice of pie in front of her. Underneath the meringue was the soft, gooey, and rather psychedelic-looking filling, a swirl of mixed colors that looked like something out of a fever dream.

"Are you sure it's safe to eat this?" Rainbow Dash asked pensively. "It looks like you'd go on a 'trip' if you ingested this stuff."

"'Course it's safe. You ate my éclairs, didn't you? It's the same stuff."

"Huh. Yeah, I guess you have a point there. How much did you use exactly?"

Pinkie tilted her head, trying to remember when she made those éclairs. "Um... For those, I only used a few drops for the whole batch."

Rainbow Dash's eyes shifted to the practically empty bottle of rainbow essence sitting on the table, staring at it a touch nervously.

"But for this pie we used pretty much a whole bottle."

"You don't think that may have been a bit excessive?" Dash asked cautiously.

"Well, I know how much you like spicy food..." Pinkie answered with a grin.

Dash gazed down at the pie with a gulp. "Riiiiight..."

Pinkie picked up her fork, cutting off a small piece of her slice of the pie. "Well? Aren't you gonna have some? This is the first pastry you've ever made! I even named it after you! It's your pie! You've gotta at least sample it."

Rainbow Dash's eyes rose to look across at Pinkie. It was as if she was deliberately trying to force her to eat it. If she didn't, she'd hurt Pinkie's feelings. But if she did... Well, that probably wouldn't be pretty either.

Reluctantly, she opted for the second choice, cutting off a small bite with her fork. At the very least, she'd be able to look back at this moment and laugh. She scooped it into her mouth and began to chew, clenching her eyes shut in anticipation for the searing pain she was undoubtedly putting her tongue through. However, after a few moments of chewing, Dash's eyes opened in surprise. Pleasant surprise.

"Hey, that's tasty stuff," she exclaimed, eagerly taking another bite. "A strong, spicy taste, yet sweet at the same time. And a lot more intense than the éclairs, for sure. Mmm..." Dash happily shoveled more into her mouth, satisfied that her previous worries had been abated. Sure, she liked spicy food, but she'd never really tested the limits of her tolerance. She was glad to see that even a high concentration of super-spicy rainbow essence didn't really bother her.

"I'm so glad you like it," Pinkie said with a gracious smile. "I guess that means I can add this to my répertoire. With your blessing, of course."

Dash nodded. "Go nuts."

With an eager grin, Pinkie slipped a bite into her own mouth, curious to try it for herself. She swirled it around in her mouth for a moment before swallowing.

Rainbow Dash watched her curiously, noticing that the pink in her face was quickly shifting to a red hue.

"Whew, that is pretty spicy," Pinkie commented, fanning her tongue with her hoof. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. "Actually, really spicy. Like, mega spicy. Like, holy crap, that's spicy!"

The sweat now pouring down like rain on a window, Pinkie's face and tongue grew steadily redder, almost seeming to glow from the intense heat surging through her nerves. The earth pony's eyes were filled with panic as she desperately panted and attempted to cool her mouth with her hoof, not only fanning it, but actually rubbing it in an attempt to forcibly scrape the spiciness from her taste buds.

"You okay there, Pinks?" Dash asked with both amusement and concern.

"Hot! Too hot! Can't take it! AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Pinkie stumbled off of her chair in a panicked bout to find relief, making a beeline for the door of the apartment and running out into the hall.

Rainbow Dash, as well as Puff, stared at the door for a moment, bewildered, then Dash looked to the kitchen sink. Sure, there were all manner of dishes piled up there, but Dash could see no logical reason for Pinkie's first reaction to be bolting out the door. There was probably milk in the fridge as well. Then again, Pinkie Pie and "logical reasoning" never did go hoof in hoof, so Dash just shrugged it off, grabbed Pinkie's plate, and helped herself to a second slice of pie.

***** ***** *****

"Vell, I'll see you later then."

"Yup, see ya." Candy waved farewell to Puff as the Germane mare entered her apartment, then made her way to her own.

Candy shut the door behind her, letting out a yawn and stretching her back. Despite feeling well rested when she woke up this morning, plus the coffee she'd had with Puff just now, Candy felt like all she wanted to do today was, well, nothing. On any normal day off from classes, she would be enthused to spend her free time exploring Trotholm and its culture. Sure, she'd lived in Steeden for six months, but it always seemed like there was something else to see.

Not today, though. Today was a lazy day; a day of lounging about, maybe letting herself get caught up in random daydreams, or perhaps regular dreams if she managed to drift off to sleep at some point. It did seem a shame to waste a perfectly good Saturday, but the body wants what the body wants, and who was she to argue with her body?

However, as much as she was looking forward to flopping on the couch and letting herself sink into its plush cushions, the spot was currently occupied. Gwenivere was busy lounging herself, laying on the sofa with her beak buried in a book; not a textbook or a cookbook, but a novel of some sort. It wasn't the first time Candy had seen the griffon curled up with a book, but what really surprised her was that they appeared to be romance novels. Candy couldn't exactly figure out what they were about in terms of plot and character, due to them all being written in Prench, though she could certainly venture a guess based on the rather suggestive cover art. The point was that these kinds of books weren't exactly what she'd expected from a person like Gwenivere.

Actually, it seemed like she was learning a lot about her roommate lately, which gave Candy an idea. Maybe today wouldn't be such an uneventful day after all.

"No plans today, Gwen?" Candy asked to strike up a conversation.

The griffon breathed an almost inaudible groan, a touch annoyed that Candy had picked up a certain pony's penchant for using that nickname. "Not zat it's any of your business, mais non, I 'ave no plans."

"Actually, when you think about it, it is kinda my business. You having plans determines whether or not I'm going to be alone in the dorm."

Gwenivere lifted her eyes from her book, giving Candy a questionable stare. "Dare I ask what it is you plan to do aujourd'hui?"

Candy gave a shrug. "Nothing in particular. But now that I know you don't have plans, I think I have a suggestion."

"And what would zat be?"

Candy sat herself on the couch next to Gwenivere with a friendly smile on her face. "We've been roommates for half a year now, but we barely ever just, you know, talk. You'd think if two people were forced to spend that kind of time together, they'd get to know each other a little better."

Gwenivere sat up straight with a reluctant groan, closing her novel. "Are you saying you wish to 'chat' wiz moi?"

Candy nodded, noting that Gwenivere did not immediately shoot down the idea.

"And what would you suggest we talk about?"

Candy tilted her head in thought. "How about we talk about what we did during spring break? I know you went to back to Prance, but what exactly did you do while you were home?"

Gwenivere shrugged indifferently, showing little to no emotional sentiment. "Zere is not much to tell. Papa and I went back 'ome for two weeks. It was nice to be 'ome for certain, but nozing of particular interest 'appened."

"Uh-huh..." Candy tried her hardest to stifle a smirk. She found it interesting, but not out of character, that Gwenivere's story didn't match that of her father's. Of course, she made a promise to Gustave not to mention anything, so she chose to keep her knowledge of the subject under wraps out of respect. She knew what really happened, so it mattered not if Gwenivere wanted to talk about it in detail. Although, that wasn't going to stop her from attempting to coax the information from her. To hear about something like that from Gwenivere herself could be considered a great stride in their relationship. "You know, I'd have figured you'd be more than happy to talk about yourself. You've never been shy about it before."

The griffon's tone became slightly more irritated. "As I said, nozing interesting 'appened."

"Come on. There's gotta be something worth talking about," Candy prodded.

"Are you writing a mémoire? Why are you so interested in me all of a sudden?"

"I'm just trying to get to know you a little better. What's wrong with that?"

Gwenivere narrowed her eyes at Candy. "Did Pinkie Pie set you up to zis? Is zis some ploy to use you to get me to be 'er friend?"

Candy raised an eyebrow. "What? No. Pinkie's got nothing to do with this. Seriously, what's your problem with her? She never did anything to you."

"She is an incessant mare wiz cotton for brains. What more reason do I need?"

Candy rolled her eyes, not at all surprised by that answer. "You're just not giving her a fair shake. I'm sure if you sat down and got to know her a little better, you'd find she's not all that bad."

"I'm finding it un peu difficile to just sit and talk wiz you. You zink I could tolerate one minute wiz 'er?"

Candy just sighed in resignation. "You know, you're not such a peach yourself. You're arrogant, self-centered, rude, and overly competitive. If I had to sum you up in one word, it'd be 'jerk.' In my opinion, that's far worse than being a little annoying."

Gwenivere looked unfazed by her rather unflattering point of view. "Yet you are perfectly alright wiz zat pegasus she is 'arboring. Alzough I 'aven't spent as much time wiz 'er as you, I believe zat zee words you used to describe moi could also apply to 'er."

Candy had to concede that point to Gwenivere, but certainly wasn't going to forfeit the game to her. "Maybe, but at least Rainbow Dash is willing to make new friends."

"I've said zis before, but I will repeat myself once more: I did not come to zis school to make friends."

"Something that becomes more and more apparent with each passing day," Candy said, leaning against the arm of the couch. It was looking like she wasn't going to get anywhere with this conversation. And just when she was starting to get her hopes up. Candy was about to get up off of the couch, ready to give up on the conversation.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Candy halted at Gwenivere's request, noting the curiosity in the griffon's voice. She lowered herself back onto the couch. "Uh, sure."

Gwenivere mulled over her question for a moment. "'Ow did you come to be friends wiz 'er? From mon expérience, she gives a very... cloying first impression."

Candy widened her eyes a little in realization. Had she never actually mentioned this to Gwenivere before? It seemed like something that would have come up at some point or another. "Oh. Well, I suppose my circumstances are a little different compared to most people she knows. The long and short of it is she saved my life."

Gwenivere was caught off guard by that answer. "Vraiment? I... cannot say I was expecting zat."

"Neither can I, now that I think about. I just kinda feel like I'm indebted to her for it."

"Zat's understandable zen," the griffon admitted. "I suppose I would feel much zee same if somepony 'ad saved ma vie."

"Then what would be so hard about making friends with her now?" Candy posed the question.

"If," Gwenivere reiterated. "Fortunately, I am not indebted to 'er, so I 'ave no obligation to be 'er friend."

"Ugh," Candy scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "It's useless to talk to you; you're just too stubborn." She hopped off the couch, making her way to the kitchen for a snack. "You talk about how overbearing Pinkie is, but I can only imagine how much of a hoofful—er, clawful you were for your parents."

"Parent."

Candy stopped in her tracks, turning her head back to look at Gwenivere, although the griffon wasn't looking back at her. The earth pony blinked silently, unsure if she may have misheard her. "What?"

"Parent," Gwenivere repeated a little louder. "Singular."

And suddenly she had Candy's undivided attention again. The pink mare trotted back to the couch with a slightly hurried pace, not wasting any time sitting back down. "Wait, so you mean Gustave's... a single dad?"

Gwenivere nodded, still not making eye contact.

Candy stayed quiet for a moment to think about this. She had to admit, it certainly did make a lot of sense, like how much Gwenivere took after her father. Candy didn't even think about how Gustave made no mention of her mother, or why she wasn't a part of their annual tradition. As it turns out, she just wasn't there to be a part of it.

Candy was about to ask if Gwenivere wanted to talk about it, but hesitated. Was it inappropriate? Was it a sensitive subject for her? Having lost her mother herself, Candy knew the pain that came with such a loss. But maybe that was just what she needed right now.

"I... I guess you and I have more common ground than we thought," Candy said with an empathetic smile.

Her roommate looked up at her. Her expression didn't quite read of pain or heartbreak like Candy had expected. "'Ow so?"

"Well... A few years ago, I lost my mom, leaving my dad a single parent."

Gwenivere raised a curious eyebrow. "Is zat so? You 'ave my sympathies."

"Thanks. So I know what it's like to lose somepony who was closer to you than most others could ever be. Actually, I didn't even realize how hung up on it I was until my dad starting dating another mare. I started treating her like an intruder or something. Thankfully that's behind me now, though. We managed to work things out. Point is, we've both had this painful experience. Don't you feel like this could be something that, I don't know, maybe could bring us closer?"

Gwenivere seemed bemused by the implication. "At no point did I say zat I lost ma mère. En vérité, I 'ave never met 'er."

Candy's hopeful expression was quickly replaced by surprise, and slight embarrassment that she had made such a rash assumption. "You haven't? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to assume, I just... Wait, so what did happen to your mom?"

Gwenivere let out a sigh; not one of pain, but rather exasperation, as though speaking of it was more an annoyance than anything, but that was in keeping with her personality, certainly. "If you must know, ma mère abandoned moi before I 'ad 'atched. Left me on Papa's doorstep and disappeared wizout a trace."

Candy was flabbergasted. Being abandoned by your own mother? In many ways, that may have been even worse than losing her. "That's horrible. Why would she do something like that?"

Gwenivere shrugged slightly. "As I said, she vanished wizout even saying goodbye. We never got a reason. Papa suspects zat perhaps she was not ready to be a parent and, in a panic, did what she zought was zee best zing for me."

"Leaving you with your dad."

"Oui. And per'aps it was for zee best. Ma vie 'as been just fine wizout 'er. I 'ave mon père, and zat is all I need. Besides, 'oo wants a mozer zat does not want you? I am better off wizout 'er. I turned out just fine après all."

"That's open for interpretation," Candy joked. "But you're sure you're okay with not having a mom around? Take it from me, having a mom is pretty great."

"And zat is just it. I 'ave never 'ad a mom, zerefore, I cannot know zee pain of losing one, as you 'ave."

"Huh. I guess in that respect I envy you a little."

Gwenivere examined her claw with a haughty smirk. "You 'ave more reason zan zat to be envious of moi."

Candy let that statement slide. Whether Gwenivere liked or even noticed it, she had gotten the arrogant griffon to open up to her a little, even if the subject wasn't a particularly emotional one for her. It was a step in the right direction at least.

Suddenly, their conversation was brought to an abrupt end when their door burst open. The dorm's two residents jumped slightly, their eyes darting to the entrance where a hysterical Pinkie Pie was standing, panting heavily with her face dripping with sweat and burning red.

"I just tasted Rainbow's pie and it was hot!" was all she said before she rushed inside and raided their fridge for a carton of milk, which she quickly chugged down in its entirety, then promptly left without another word.

Candy and Gwenivere sat in utter bewilderment, unsure what to make of what had just happened. Gwenivere slowly stood up from the couch and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Candy asked.

The griffon stopped with her claw on the doorknob, looking back at Candy for a moment with a confounded, yet curious, expression. "I need... clarification." She then exited the apartment, closing the door behind her.

Gwenivere traipsed down the hall to Pinkie's apartment, preparing to open the door, but not at all prepared for what she might find on the other side. It was only her morbid curiosity that had brought her there and the need to hopefully clear up some unwanted mental images. When she opened the door, she was relieved to see Rainbow Dash and Puff Pastry sitting on the couch, nothing seeming out of the ordinary.

That is, until she peered into the kitchen. Beyond Pinkie Pie, who had stopped at her own fridge to guzzle down another carton of milk, was a mess of dishes and unidentifiable foodstuffs smattered about. But that wasn't what was on her mind at the moment.

"Pinkie Pie," Gwenivere beckoned. She wasn't used to actually addressing Pinkie by name. It felt a little strange to her. But, regardless, she had questions to ask. "What was all zat about just now?"

Pinkie wiped the milk mustache from her lip, tossing the empty carton in the trash and shooting her signature, doofy grin to the griffon. "What was what? Oh, right. Like I said, I had a taste Rainbow Dash's pie. At first, she was a little nervous because she didn't know if she was gonna like it. Admittedly, I was bit nervous too. But once she tried it, she said it was good, so I had to have a taste too."

Rainbow Dash's face had suddenly become completely flush. "Uh, Pinkie, maybe you should—"

"But, as it turned out, it was waaaay too intense for me," the oblivious, pink mare continued, ignoring Dash's plea. "I've never tasted anything like it. It was crazy hot! I needed to wash it out. It was like—"

Gwenivere held up her claw to silence the mare. "Non, zat's quite enough information. More zan enough, in fact. If you'll excusez-moi..." The griffon then made to leave.

"Leaving so soon? You can stay longer, ya know? Hey, would you like some of Dashie's pie, too? Who knows, you might like it."

Gwenivere's tail twitched uncomfortably, a shiver running up her spine. She didn't say a word, but just left as quickly as possible.

As soon as the door shut, Puff burst into a fit a laughter, falling over onto her side. Rainbow Dash, however, was absolutely mortified, the most unpleasant of grimaces on her face.

"You really don't screen your thoughts before you say them out loud, do you?" Dash said in an aggravated tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Pinkie replied obliviously. She hopped onto the couch with another plate of pie. "But, whatever, more pie for me."

Back at Candy and Gwenivere's apartment, Candy waited patiently for her roommate's return, admittedly curious herself as to what Pinkie Pie was on about this time. The door finally opened again, Gwenivere entering with a rather uneasy look on her face.

"So? What's up?" Candy asked.

The griffon paused, shuddering at the images Pinkie Pie had inadvertently implanted into her mental photo album. "Nozing..."

Candy quirked an eyebrow. "Nothing? Really?"

"Oui. Now, if you'll excusez-moi, I'm going to take a cold shower and scrub my brain."

"Come on, something must have happened over there."

Gwenivere let out a groan. "Let's just say, I've been put off pie for a while."

Chapter 13 - The Way She Crumbles

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 13: The Way She Crumbles

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"I'm just saying, if the university had a swimming pool, we could extensively test the effects of pastries on the buoyancy of a pony's body."

"And you're perfectly okay with being responsible for people nearly drowning from cramps?"

"Pfft. Like I'd be irresponsible enough to make other people do it. I'd do the tests myself."

"So this is just another excuse for you to gorge yourself on desserts."

"For science!"

Candy rolled her eyes at Pinkie Pie. It seemed like at least once a week, if not more, that Pinkie came up with some cockamamie idea that was completely unfeasible and entirely impractical, yet she seemed to convince herself that they were somehow good ideas and actually believed she could carry them out despite their ludicrousness. Thankfully she had the attention span of a goldfish, so she'd often find something to distract her before she attempted anything stupid, though, more often than not, she'd simply fixate on something else; something less crazy hopefully. Fortunately, they were about to head off for their morning classes, so that would effectively divert her attention.

"Take it from me," Puff chimed in. "Pastries do not make ponies float. I speak from experience."

"Pinkie's also forgetting to take into account Fluttershy's last birthday party," Rainbow Dash added as she lounged on the couch. "She plans a shindig for her at the park, shovels about two dozen of the brownies she made into her gut, then thought it'd be a good idea to go for a dip in the pond. I had to jump in and drag her bloated butt out of there."

"That's because they were chocolate!" Pinkie argued. "Everypony knows chocolate is heavy! Plus, we have to consider the chlorine in a pool as a variable. Who knows what might happen?"

"It doesn't matter!" Candy barked in annoyance, the conversation finally grating on her nerves. "They're not gonna install a pool for your ridiculous experiments."

"We'll see about that!" Pinkie Pie threw on her saddlebags containing her books and marched toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Candy asked in vexation.

"To class. I'm gonna bring it up to Gustave, and he can pass the idea on to the higher-ups."

Candy couldn't help but smirk at the thought. "Oh, really? Well, wait up while I go grab my bags from my dorm. I've gotta be there for this."

Puff followed the other mares' lead and picked up her own bags, heading for the door as well while Candy trotted down the hall to her own apartment. As Puff was about to shut the door behind her, Rainbow Dash suddenly jumped up off the couch and chased them down.

"Whoa whoa, hold up, Pinkie!"

Pinkie Pie turned around. "Hm? What's up, Dashie?"

Dash fidgeted a bit, like a child asking her mother for candy before dinner. "Hey, you think you can bring me back a little bit of whatever you guys make today? Usually your classmates eat everything before the day's over, so I just want you to put a little somethin' aside for me. Please?"

Pinkie flashed a smile. "Sure. I can do that."

Pinkie was about to continue on her way, but was stopped by Dash again.

"What are you guys making today?"

Pinkie tilted her head. "Um... I don't know."

"You think you could bake a cake or something?"

"Well, I guess I could, but it depends on what Gustave has planned."

"Okay, so if he lets you bake a cake, can you make it black forest?"

"Sure."

"With lots of cherries."

"You got it."

"And tons of whipped cream. And—"

Pinkie planted her hoof against Rainbow Dash's mouth. It was an odd feeling to her to be on the opposite end of that exchange; usually it was her mouth that was being silenced. But Dash was rambling, and she needed to get to class. "Whatever I bake, I'll bring back an extra big piece for you. Okay?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, keeping her mouth shut to let Pinkie and Puff be on their way. Once they disappeared into the stairwell, the pegasus went back into the dorm.

The hallway wasn't empty for long, however, as the door right across from Pinkie and Puff's apartment creaked open. Sugar Cookie's crimson-coated face peeked out into the hall cautiously. Seeing that nopony was around, she stepped out with her books in tow, prepared to head off to class herself.

Further down the hall, Candy Cane reemerged from her dorm with her books as well. Once she closed the door, she immediately noticed her unicorn neighbor ahead of her.

"Hey, Sugar!"

Sugar Cookie halted in her tracks, silently cursing to herself that she wasn't more attentive. She turned around with a painted smile as Candy hurriedly trotted to catch up to her. "Good morning, Candy," she greeted.

"Hi," Candy responded amicably. "Wow, it feels like we haven't really talked in ages."

"Ya. Sorry, I have been busy lately," Sugar said.

That certainly seemed to be her go-to excuse. It's not like Candy hadn't spoken with her at all, but Sugar had been much more distant lately. Until fairly recently, Sugar had been a very sociable individual. Now, she was practically a recluse, rarely being seen outside her dorm except during class, and even then she kept to herself. Candy had noticed in particular that Sugar's smile, that she had come to associate with the mare as if it were her permanent facial expression, was strangely absent, and even when she did smile, like just now, it looked almost disingenuous. Candy had to wonder if perhaps something had happened to her at some point that would cause her to act so differently from what they were used to.

Sugar glanced back at the door to Pinkie's apartment. "Was that Rainbow Dash I heard back there in Pinkie's dorm?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Candy thought for a moment. Had Sugar even met Rainbow Dash yet?

"I am surprised she is still here."

Candy quirked an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Oh, um... I just thought that maybe... when you all went back home for spring break, that she would not be coming back."

"Oh, that," Candy chuckled. "Yeah, I kinda thought that at first, too, but she's just too stubborn. She absolutely insisted on coming back to Steeden with us. If we said no, she'd probably just fly across the ocean again, so we just gave in and let her stay here. You, uh... haven't mentioned her to anypony, have you? Her being here is still kinda against the rules."

Sugar gave Candy a smile; the same smile as before. "Of course not."

Candy sighed with relief. "Okay, good. Well, I guess we should probably get going, huh? Don't wanna be late."

Sugar nodded in agreement. She looked back at the closed door of Pinkie's apartment once more, then made for the stairwell with Candy.

***** ***** *****

Pinkie Pie sized up her project, analyzing it from every angle possible. She eyed it with professional scrutiny, searching for any imperfections or spots that needed touching up. She held up her artist's palette, choosing a little more red with her paintbrush to apply it to her work, then stood back to look it over once more. She was relatively pleased with what she saw.

Gustave le Grand peeked over her shoulder, in addition to several other students casting quick glances every now and then, fascinated by the display. On the table was a simple cheesecake, but what was not simple was how Pinkie Pie chose to decorate it; using a paintbrush to apply the various toppings, such as whipped cream, strawberry sauce, and chocolate syrup, all laid out on a wooden palette. He's seen Pinkie Pie do some strange things, but this was definitely in the top five at least.

"I know some people consider cooking and baking to be art, mais I 'ave never seen somepony take zat philosophy quite so literally," Gustave complimented as he studied the finished product. It was evident that Pinkie had attempted to "paint" a picture, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was. "It is un peu sloppy, 'owever. I am unsure of what exactly I am looking at."

"Of course it's sloppy," Pinkie Pie admitted. "Have you ever tried decorating a cake with a paintbrush? It's not as easy as it looks."

It didn't even look that easy, admittedly, Gustave thought. "'Ave you... used zis mezod before?"

"A couple of times. And, I gotta say, I think I'm really improving," Pinkie boasted as she looked proudly upon what she'd created.

Gustave raised an eyebrow before glancing back down at the cheesecake. This was an improvement? "Do you prefer zis mode of decorating zen?"

Pinkie stared at the cake. The longer she looked at it, the closer her proud smile came to an uncertain grimace. She glanced at her paintbrush and palette. "Nah. I think I still like it better the traditional way." She tossed the two items over her shoulder, then set about looking through her work station. "Now, where's my piping bag and rubber spatula?"

With Pinkie now occupied elsewhere, Gustave took the opportunity to cut a slice out of the cheesecake for a taste test. He had to admit, as messy as it looked on the outside, it tasted absolutely divine. The texture, consistency, and, most importantly, the taste itself were exquisite. Yet another example of how baffling it was that somepony as... improbable as Pinkie Pie could be so talented.

"How is it?"

Gustave looked over his shoulder to see Candy Cane standing behind him, watching intently as Gustave sampled the cheesecake. The griffon swallowed his bite. "Magnifique." He cut another slice out of it and passed it to Candy. "Try for yourself."

Candy took the plate and grabbed a fork. "Okay." She scooped a little into her mouth. "Mmm... That's tasty stuff."

Gustave thought for a moment, a question coming to his mind. "Mademoiselle Pie works at a bakery back in Equestria, oui?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, she does. I actually got to visit during spring break. It's a nice place. The owners are just as good at baking as Pinkie."

Gustave nodded. He was well aware of the quality of their work, though he hadn't gotten the opportunity to actually meet them, regrettably. "And she is comfortable working zere? She enjoys working in a small, family-owned bakery?"

Candy raised an eyebrow at all the questions. Was he trying to get at something in particular? "Based on what I saw, yeah, she does. Actually, from what she's told me, even if—or rather, when—she graduates, she plans on going right back to Ponyville to keep working there. I think she just wants her diploma just for the sake of having it."

"I see... Zat's... interesting."

Candy stared at Gustave skeptically, but didn't say anything. Was something going on? Did he perhaps know something about Pinkie that her friends didn't? Was she actually in danger of possibly failing the course? How could that be? Despite how unorthodox she and her methods were, Pinkie was by and large one of the most talented students at the whole school. How could she be in danger of failing? Perhaps she should just ask for clarification.

"Chef, is there—"

Before Candy could finish her question, the class bell rang, signaling that the day's classes had come to an end.

Gustave addressed the class. "Well zen, everyone clean your stations. We are done for zee day."

The griffon didn't waste much time exiting the room, leaving the students to tidy up any mess they've made. Once everyone was nearly finished, Puff Pastry approached Pinkie Pie.

"I'm going to go grab our mail. I'll meet you back at the dorm."

"Sure," Pinkie acknowledged as she washed out a bowl she'd used for cake mix. "Oh, hey, does anyone want some of the cake I made?" she asked, addressing the whole class. Accepting her generous offer, several of the other students cut themselves a slice of Pinkie's cheesecake. In the rush, she was sure to get a piece for herself; she did make a promise to somepony.

Candy Cane finished cleaning up and made for the door. When she stepped out into the hall, she immediately noticed that Gustave was standing there. He didn't appear to be doing anything other than idly glancing out the window. He did turn back to look when Candy walked out, but said nothing, only returning his gaze to the gardens outside the window. He seemed to be waiting for something.

Candy reentered the kitchen, quickly trotting over to Pinkie Pie, who had just finished cleaning up and was about to leave. "Pinkie, I need to talk to you."

"Okey doke. We can talk on our way back to our dorms."

Pinkie grabbed the slice of cake she'd set aside and walked towards the door, but was stopped in her tracks when Candy grabbed her tail. Pinkie turned back with a look of confusion.

"I think you might be in trouble," Candy warned.

"Trouble? Why would I be in trouble?" She looked back to her station, but saw nothing out of place. "I cleaned up. I should be fine."

"No, I think it's something else. Gustave said something to me that seemed... off. And I don't want to make assumptions, but I think he's waiting for you out in the hall."

Pinkie scratched her chin. "Huh, that's weird. I don't think I've done anything too outlandish lately. And I've been doing pretty well on my work. Maybe it's not bad. Ooo, maybe he wants to tell me how great I've been doing! Maybe he thinks I can be class valedictorian!"

Candy frowned slightly. "Based on the way he was talking, I don't think that's it."

"Why don't I just talk to him and find out?"

Candy wanted to say something reassuring, but found herself at a loss for words. "I guess you don't really have a choice. Just remember: I got your back."

Pinkie nodded with a grin. With that, the two of them exited into the hallway. Sure enough, Gustave was still standing there, and upon seeing Pinkie Pie, he turned away from the window fully, confirming Candy's suspicion.

Gustave stared at the piece of cake that Pinkie was holding, noting to himself that this was not the first time he'd seen her bringing leftovers back to her apartment. "Mademoiselle Pie, may I 'ave un moment, s'il vous plaît?" he asked, his expression unreadable. He glanced at Candy, then back to Pinkie. "In private."

"Oh, okay." Pinkie cast an unsure look at Candy. Apparently she wouldn't have her back as expected. Candy simply gave a look that said "be careful" before heading on her way back to her dorm. "So should we go somewhere in particular, or what?"

Gustave tapped his beak in thought for a moment. "'Ow about your dormitory?"

An alarm suddenly went off in Pinkie's brain. "M-My dorm?" she gulped. "Umm... I, uh... I can't think of any reason why not." Gustave was about to head off, but was stopped when Pinkie grabbed his leg. "Wait." She stared up at the ceiling desperately before sighing in defeat. "Nope, can't think of anything."

The griffon wrenched his claw from Pinkie's grip and the two of them made their way upstairs to Pinkie's dorm.

The trek through the halls may as well have been the equivalent of walking the green mile. Pinkie was doing her damnedest to not start sweating bullets. What was she going to do? If she let Gustave into her apartment, he'd find Rainbow Dash, and then they'd both be in some seriously hot water. Whatever it was he wanted to talk to her about couldn't possibly be worse than discovering that she'd been harboring another pony for a couple of months, especially when the final stretch of her course was just on the horizon. She needed to think of something, and fast.

Pinkie had barely noticed that they'd already arrived at the top of the stairs and were mere seconds away from reaching her dorm. She prepared to reach out for the doorknob, her movements quite obviously trepidant. She pulled her hoof back, positioning herself between Gustave and the door, much to the griffon's annoyance. "So!" Pinkie chirped, a nervous crack in her voice that belied her forcibly cheery grin. "What, uh... What did you wanna talk to me about, Chef?"

Gustave rolled his eyes slightly. "Could we per'aps wait until we are inside before discussing zis?" he responded, gesturing toward the door.

"Alllllright-y then. It would certainly be an honor to host the great Gustave le Grand in my apartment!" Pinkie said loudly, leaning slightly towards the door.

Gustave raised an eyebrow at the mare. Her smile clearly didn't look genuine, and the beads of sweat rolling down her forehead were definitely cause for suspicion. "Mademoiselle Pie, you seem très nerveux. Zere wouldn't be anyzing in your dormitory zat you wouldn't want me to see, is zere?"

"What?!" Pinkie bellowed much louder than she intended. "Don't be silly, heh heh. Of course I have nothing to hide! When I open this door, I'm sure you'll find that there is nothing out of the ordinary! At all!"

"Well zen..." Once again, Gustave gestured to the door, his agitation visibly rising.

"Ooookay." Pinkie turned back to the door, her nervousness rising with each passing second. "Here we go. I'm reaching for the doorknob. My hoof is now on the doorknob. I am turning the doorknob. And in a moment, I'll open the door and we'll be going inside. Me and Chef le—"

Fed up with Pinkie's stalling, Gustave pushed the door open himself. Pinkie's iron grip on the knob forced her to jerk forward with it until she fell to the floor, barely able to keep the slice of cheesecake from joining her. The griffon stepped over the prone mare to enter, glancing around as if looking for something. Once Pinkie returned to her hooves, she, too, poked around discreetly in search of Rainbow Dash. She breathed a silent sigh of relief when she saw no sign of her. She must have caught on to Pinkie's less-than-subtle warning.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Pinkie dropped the cake off in the fridge and looked to Gustave with a smile that was actually sincere this time. "So what did you wanna talk about, Chef? Is there some problem we need to address?"

The griffon still had a skeptical look in his eye, his gaze trained toward the open bedroom door. "Un moment."

Gustave casually sauntered to the bedroom. Although the room, like the rest of the apartment, was empty at first glance, his gaze fell to the floor at the foot of Pinkie's bed. Pinkie peered in from the doorway curiously. The chef leaned down, grabbed the bed sheet, pulled it up, and peered underneath. Staring back at Gustave with a shaky grin were a pair of magenta eyes under a short, chromatic mane. Pinkie's hoof smacked audibly against her face.

"Oh, uh, hey there," Rainbow Dash said with a nervous chuckle. "Fancy meeting you here, Gustave. Long time no see."

With a disappointed shake of his head, Gustave returned to the dorm's living room, gesturing for Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash to follow. The pegasus crawled out from under the bed with her ears folded back, disappointed in herself for failing her best friend.

"Under the bed?" Pinkie said in a hushed, but aggravated, tone as they went to join Gustave for their talking to. "You have wings! Why didn't you just go out the window?"

"I panicked, okay. I had to think fast." Dash breathed a defeated sigh. "I'm sorry, Pinkie."

The earth pony placed her hoof on her friend's shoulder, showing no hard feelings.

"Now zen," Gustave began when the two ashamed ponies stood before him with their heads down, "I would like an explanation."

"Well, you see—"

"Look, Gustave," Rainbow Dash interrupted Pinkie. "Don't blame Pinkie for this. I kinda forced myself into this situation. I didn't give her much choice. I flew here myself, no supplies, no money, and had no way to get back home safely. Pinkie let me stay here because she didn't want something to happen to me."

Gustave stroked his mustache, not seeming at all surprised with Rainbow Dash's defense of her friend. "I am aware of zee situation. To be truzful, I 'ave been made aware of your presence by anozer student some weeks ago, before spring break even."

The two ponies widened their eyes with surprise. "You did?" Pinkie gawked. "But then why did you wait until now to say something?"

"Because I assumed you would do zee right zing and bring your friend 'ome when you left for your break. No 'arm, no foul. 'Owever, I am disappointed to see zat she 'as returned wiz you, and I am disappointed zat you would disregard zee rules of zis school so blatantly."

Pinkie's ears folded back, ashamed and not knowing what she could say to defend herself.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Rainbow Dash asked with worry.

Again, Gustave stroked his mustache, staying silent for a moment. He was not one who enjoyed seeing good talent go to waste, but under normal circumstances, such a transgression would be punishable by expulsion. Although, there was another option, though he suspected it wasn't the one they wanted to hear. "Zee way I see it, you 'ave two options, Miss Pie: eizer you accept responsibility for breaking zee rules and your education at zis establishment comes to its end—which I assume you do not want..."

"Don't kick her out! She's worked too hard to let it end like this! I don't want to be the one responsible for ruining this for her!" Rainbow Dash begged desperately.

"Zen per'aps you should 'ave zought of zat before coming 'ere."

Dash shrunk back. How many times had she heard that now? She was really starting to wish she had thought about it.

"'Owever, zere is still your second option."

Pinkie and Dash lifted their eyes from the floor, looking at Gustave with a slight glimmer of hope.

"Seeing as Miss Dash's presence 'as not been made known to zee rest of zee faculty, and she 'as caused no issues as far as I am aware, I am willing to let zis ordeal slide..."

Pinkie's mouth widened into a relieved and grateful smile.

"...under zee condition zat Miss Dash returns 'ome as soon as possible."

And Pinkie's grin immediately fell once more. Everything she went through to keep Rainbow Dash's presence a secret had finally come back to bite her. Given the situation, this course of action was the least severe, certainly, but that didn't make it sting any less.

Pinkie felt Dash's hoof on her shoulder. Turning to her friend, she saw a soft smile on the pegasus's face.

"It's not a big deal, Pinkie. I have a return ticket now, right? I can just catch a ride back home. Besides, there's not that much time left in your course. I'm sure I can wait for you this time."

Pinkie managed to return her smile. "I guess you're right. I mean, we still got to spend a lot of time together. You got to see a foreign country, make some new friends..."

"And be here for you during such an important part of your life. That's enough for me."

The pair embraced in a hug, knowing that they had little time left in each others company until Pinkie returned home.

"You made zee right decision, Pinkie Pie," Gustave said with a nod. "I wish you 'ad made it sooner, but I suppose zis will do."

The conversation was interrupted when the door opened, Puff entering the apartment while browsing a hoofful of envelopes.

"Hey, Pinkie, you have something here from—" The pig-tailed mare cut herself off when she finally looked up to see Gustave standing in front of her. Her eyes then glanced past him to Rainbow Dash, the combined image of the two of them together suddenly stirring up a little concern. "Oh, um... W-Who is this? I... I don't believe vee've met," Puff said with a shaky smile, attempting to deny any involvement with the pegasus.

Pinkie breathed a sigh of resignation. "Don't bother, Puff. The jig is up."

Gustave raised an eyebrow. "She was aware of Miss Dash's presence as well? Hm. I suppose it would be déraisonnable to assume zat you could keep zis a secret from your roommate. Is zere anypony else zat may be in on zis little fonctionnement may'aps?" he asked Pinkie with a stern glower.

Pinkie Pie hesitated to respond, a reaction which, in and of itself, was all the evidence Gustave needed. She was in trouble as it was; it was probably for the best to just be truthful. "Candy knows, too. And... Gwen."

He wasn't surprised to hear of Candy's involvement, but what he was surprised to hear was that his own daughter knew of this as well. "Gwenivere? Vraiment? I wonder why she would not mention information like zis to moi?"

"Because Gwen likes Rainbow Dash," Pinkie clarified. "She wanted her to stick around. Don't be mad at her. She actually made a friend. You can't punish her for that."

Gustave was starting to have mixed feelings about this whole situation. Of course, this was a violation of the university's rules, and to learn that not one but four of his students would willingly involve themselves was both disappointing and aggravating. However, as he said, Rainbow Dash's presence hasn't actually caused any immediately noticeable problems. Would it be wise—ethical even—to let such a transgression slide? But the two Ponyville mares already seemed to be at peace with their decision to send Rainbow Dash home, so he decided to just keep his beak shut so as not to compromise himself as well. He didn't want to sully his reputation with the school by ignoring this violation.

"I suppose zee 'igher-ups at zee university do not need to know about zis, so long as Rainbow Dash returns 'ome soon," Gustave said. "I will be 'aving a little chat wiz Gwenivere about zis regardless. I won't punish 'er as 'er teacher, but most certainly will punish 'er as 'er fazer."

"So that's it? Rainbow Dash is leaving?" Puff said, some sadness in her voice. Her eyes met with the pegasus's. "Vell then... I'll miss you. It vas fun to have you around vhile it lasted." Puff laid their mail on the coffee table to offer to hug Rainbow Dash, which she was happy to see her accept.

"Yeah, I'll miss you, too, Puff. But, hey, after you graduate, make a trip to Ponyville sometime so we can hang out."

"I vill."

Gustave's golden eyes idly fell upon the envelopes that Puff had laid aside, one in particular catching his attention. It was a white envelope with gold and purple trim, and a wax seal with an ornate imprint. "Is zat... zee royal seal on zat letter?"

"Hm?" Puff looked down at the envelope in question. "Oh, ya. It's for Pinkie from Twilight."

Gustave nodded in realization, stroking his chin as he remembered. "Ah, oui. I often forget zat Mademoiselle Sparkle—or razer, Princess Sparkle—was not yet royalty when I first met 'er. And zat she is a close friend of zee two of you as well." He took notice that, despite being the topic the conversation had turned to, Pinkie Pie had not yet picked up the letter. "Well? Aren't you going to open it?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Well, not right now. I've kinda got other things on my mind," Pinkie answered, passing a saddened look to Rainbow Dash.

Gustave shook his head as if to reprimand Pinkie for her decision. "Non non, zat will not do. Zis is a letter from royalty. You cannot simply ignore it."

"It's just Twilight," Rainbow Dash argued, eliciting a shocked look from Gustave at her disrespect. "She's not sending a letter as a princess, she's sending it as a friend. It's not royal business or anything."

Pinkie finally picked up the letter. She looked over the fancy design of the envelope with a quizzical gaze. "Actually, she's never sent a letter in an envelope like this before."

"So? Maybe she just ran out of normal envelopes," Dash suggested.

Pinkie stared at the pegasus. "Have you met Twilight? Maybe I should introduce you sometime. She has the most complex organizational system ever. She would never just use whatever envelope was just lying around. She has different envelopes for mailing within Ponyville and out of Ponyville. Heck, she has different envelopes for just mailing to the north and south sides of Ponyville."

"Is the vord 'envelope' starting to sound veird to anypony else?" asked Puff.

"So basically what you're saying is that this letter is royal business?" Dash inferred.

Pinkie simply shrugged. "Guess so."

Finally, Pinkie Pie tore the letter open. While normally Gustave would have been on his way, not wanting to invade his students privacy, he was far too curious as to what sort of royal decree Princess Twilight had sent.

The pink mare removed the letter, unfolded it, and quickly skimmed the topic sentence. She tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Huh. It's addressed to you." She passed the letter to Rainbow Dash.

Gustave was more than a little surprised to hear that, and, admittedly, somewhat displeased. "Zut alors. Even zee princess knows of zis? Is zere no end to zis charade?"

"What's it say, Dashie?" Pinkie asked curiously, leaning closer to look at the paper.

"Let's see...

Dear Rainbow Dash,

I know we discussed this at length while you were home, but I can't stop worrying that your presence in Steeden may cause issues for Pinkie Pie. That's not to say that I don't trust you, I just know how stubborn and reckless you can be. Again, I am not going to ask you to return home, but I suppose the least I can ask is for you to behave yourself.

That being said, I have taken it upon myself to make some arrangements. Even though Gustave and the rest of the university's staff have given you the okay to stay there..."

Rainbow Dash paused, she and Pinkie Pie looking up slowly at Gustave. The griffon certainly looked none too pleased.

"You lied to zee princess?"

"Maybe a little," Pinkie admitted. "But it was only to make our friends stop worrying."

"A lot of good that did," Puff commented with a roll of her eyes.

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. "A-Anyway...

Even though Gustave and the rest of the university's staff have given you the okay to stay there, I personally think you are being a burden on Pinkie, as well as Puff Pastry. Therefore, after doing some research, I have included a formal request with this letter that I want you to deliver to a hotel near the university (the address is included). The request should allow you to stay at the hotel for the remainder of your time in Trotholm, at my expense. You should count yourself lucky that you're friends with a princess. I'm not going to make a habit of using my status to bail you out of trouble.

With that said, I hope you two enjoy the rest of your time in Steeden. Give my regards to Pinkie Pie.

Your friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Once Rainbow Dash had finished reading out the letter, Puff blinked, her face decorated with surprise. "Vell... That's convenient. Talk about good timing."

"That's Twilight for ya," Pinkie said, her voice suddenly very cheery and her smile as wide as the horizon. "That pony is the very definition of punctual."

"Indeed," Gustave agreed with a twirl of his mustache. "Zat was very fortuitous timing. I suppose zis is one of zose instances zat you would describe as a 'coinkey-dink,' n'est-ce pas?"

"The dinkiest of coinkeys."

"So does this mean I can stay?" said Dash, looking to Gustave for approval.

"Oui, I suppose it does," Gustave confirmed with a slight nod. "And zere are no rules against students 'aving visitors during zee day. Just make sure zat you aren't around après nightfall and zere should be no problems. Now zen..." Gustave headed towards the door. "I will take my leave. Enjoy zee rest of your day, Mademoiselles."

"You, too! Bye, Chef!" Pinkie bid with a wave goodbye as the griffon left the apartment.

But the moment the door closed behind Gustave, it opened again, this time Candy Cane entering, her expression fraught with concern. "So? What happened?"

Pinkie gave a dismissive wave. "Chill out, it's all good."

"Basically, I don't have to go home, but from now on I'm gonna be staying at a hotel," Rainbow Dash explained.

"Oh, okay." Candy breathed a sigh of relief. "I've been pacing back and forth in my dorm for the past ten minutes worrying about you two. Uh, you didn't tell him that I was involved in all this, did you?"

"I had to," Pinkie admitted with a touch of guilt. "I was afraid of getting in even deeper doodoo if I kept lying to him."

"Oh. Well, that's understandable, I guess. You don't think I'm gonna get in trouble now though, do you?"

"I don't think so," Puff answered. "Seemed like it didn't really bother him too much vunce vee read Twilight's letter."

"Speaking of people who knew about this..." Pinkie segued. "Chef le Grand said that one of the other students told him about Rainbow Dash. That's how he found out."

"That's not really surprising," Candy said with a roll of her eyes. "It's her own fault for wandering around all haphazard."

"No way!" Dash disagreed. "Nopony suspected a thing. I had everypony fooled. And I know Gwen wouldn't rat me out."

"But it was just us that knew, right?" Pinkie said. "I mean, nopony told anypony else, did they?"

Candy's eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Oh, no."

The other three mares stared at the worried look on her face. "What's wrong?" Dash inquired.

She made a sharp inhale through her teeth. "I... might have told somepony."

Pinkie's jaw dropped open. "What?! Who?!"

Candy, hanging her head slightly in regret, pointed in the general direction of the individual in question. "Sugar Cookie."

At the mention of that name, Pinkie's expression fell, her ears folding back.

"What? You mean that chick living across the hall?" Rainbow Dash asked. Candy nodded to confirm. "I've never even met her! What reason would she have to tattle on me? I thought she was friends with you guys."

"She is!" Candy attempted to defend. "Although, she has been acting pretty oddly for a while. Come to think of it, she starting acting weird around the time you showed up, Dash."

The pegasus quirked an eyebrow in vexation. "Seriously? Like I said, I've never met her. What could she have against me?"

The other three mares simply shared unknowing glances and shrugged.

"Well, I know one way we can find out." With a furrowed brow, Rainbow Dash stomped toward the door.

Alarms went off in Pinkie Pie's head. "No, wait! I don't know if that's—" Unfortunately, her warning went unheeded, with Rainbow Dash disappearing behind the door.

Fortunately, it wasn't far to march to get where she was going. Rainbow Dash had basically started pounding on the door before she had even come to a stop. She couldn't believe that somepony who claimed to be Pinkie's friend would willing try to get her sent back home, and worse, possibly get Pinkie expelled. The pegasus wanted answers, and she wanted them now.

The door finally opened, a crimson-coated unicorn peeking out. She appeared taken aback to see Rainbow Dash.

"C-Can I help you?" Sugar stuttered, attempting to feign ignorance.

"Yeah, I'd like to know what your beef is with me," Dash demanded.

"'Beef'?" the unicorn echoed.

"Yeah, beef. You know, your problem. With me. Why'd you rat me out?"

Sugar looked past the pegasus, noticing that Puff and Candy were watching from across the hall. They seemed equally curious about the question. It was pretty evident that she'd been found out. With a defeated sigh, Sugar stepped out into the hallway to confront Rainbow Dash, closing the door behind her.

"I trusted you with that information, Sugar," Candy chimed in.

"I know, and I am sorry," Sugar apologized, a slight hint of remorse in her tone. She then turned back to Rainbow Dash with a furrowed brow. "But you are not supposed to be here. I was simply doing my duty as a student and reporting a violation. And if you were to stay here, you would no doubt cause trouble for Pinkie Pie."

"But then why would you bother making that promise?" Candy inquired, her voice sounding increasingly upset.

Sugar hesitated to answer, biting her lip. "Well... I do not know why I did it."

"I have a hard time believing that," Rainbow Dash insisted, leaning closer to intimidate her.

Sugar glared back at the pegasus. "The fact of the matter is that you do not belong here. Why I did what I did is not important, but it was the right thing to do. And Pinkie Pie will be better off when you return home."

"Actually, she's staying," Candy informed her matter-of-factly.

Sugar was surprised to hear that. "Sh-She is? But... how?"

Puff held up the letter Dash had received from Twilight. "Royal decree."

"See that?" Rainbow said, pointing to the letter. "Whatever the real reason is you want me to leave, it means nothing. I don't even know why Pinkie wanted to be your friend in the first place."

Pinkie Pie shoved her way past Candy and Puff and tried to pull Rainbow Dash away from Sugar. "That's enough, Rainbow Dash. Just let it go before you say something you'll regret. Please?"

Dash jerked her leg out of Pinkie's grasp. "Are you kidding? Don't protect her. She tried to get you kicked out! You should be mad at her, too!"

"Just... come back inside, okay?" Pinkie pleaded.

Sugar watched as Pinkie gently grabbed the pegasus's hoof, trying to coax her back into the apartment. The unicorn narrowed her eyes.

Dash looked into Pinkie's eyes. It wasn't often she saw her looking this upset. Either this whole situation was harder on her than Dash first thought, or something else was bothering her. She let out a sigh. "Alright, fine. No point wasting my energy on her when things turned out okay anyway."

A sly smirk played across Sugar's lips. "It is just as well; I do not want to associate with somepony with drinking problems anyway."

Rainbow Dash halted in her tracks, peering back at Sugar with a raised eyebrow. "What? Drinking problem? What are talking about?"

Candy and Puff seemed just as confused as the pegasus. Pinkie, however, was mortified.

Sugar wore a triumphant grin. "What? Did she not tell you about the night we all went out for Candy's birthday?"

Rainbow Dash seemed to recall hearing something like that when she first arrived. "Well, yeah. But, come on, she doesn't have a drinking problem. That was her first time drinking."

"Perhaps. But I think it is a problem when alcohol makes somepony act as sleazy as she did."

Candy, Puff, and especially Pinkie Pie were aghast at her accusation. Rainbow Dash, however, narrowed her eyes, her tone becoming icy and venomous.

"What did you just say?"

"I am just describing it as it happened. She got drunk, and I brought her back home to put her to bed, but she suggested that we 'hang out' at my place for a little while. It did not take long for her to start flirting rather aggressively. Do not get me wrong, I am flattered, but I am just not into sluts."

Rainbow Dash grit her teeth, letting out a low growl. Without warning, and to the shock of her friends, the pegasus aggressively leapt at the crimson unicorn, tackling her to the ground with a rage-fueled grunt. Sugar let out a frightened shriek as Dash pinned her to the carpeted floor of the hallway, pressing her hooves down on the Steedish mare's forelegs and straddling her to prevent her from moving. Pinkie, Candy, and Puff were rendered speechless by Dash's actions, almost too shocked to move and do anything to intervene.

"Don't you dare talk about her like that!" Dash bellowed, an intense fire burning in her eyes. "Take it back!"

Rainbow Dash's yelling may as well have been the snarling of a blood-thristy monster, as Sugar was far too terrified by the beams of hot anger shooting down upon her. All the unicorn could do was cower helplessly.

Dash stomped a hoof violently on the floor just an inch from Sugar's head. "I said take it back! Now!"

With one hoof now free, Sugar did the first thing that her fight or flight instincts instructed. Her hoof shot up, connecting firmly—and audibly—with her attacker's jaw, eliciting pained gasps from the three onlookers. The impact of the punch caused Rainbow Dash to stagger backward and off of Sugar, allowing the prone mare to shakily rise to her hooves once more. The unicorn stared at Dash, who was still reeling from the unexpected blow and having turned her back to her. Sugar was still slightly in shock, unsure what she had even just done.

Rainbow Dash rubbed her jaw, then leered over her shoulder at her offender. But before she could retaliate, her eyes widened a bit. She rolled her tongue around in her mouth for a moment, then lifted her hoof, spitting onto it. A small portion of her cyan hoof was stained red with a splotch of blood, and in that small pool of blood and saliva was one of Rainbow Dash's teeth.

Sugar's pupils shrank in terror at the realization of what she'd done. And that fear only escalated further when Dash's gaze turned back on her with a rage so intense she thought she was staring into the very gates of Tartarus, but she was too frightened to move. Dash bared her teeth and growled furiously, a growl that quickly built to a snarl, then a scream of pure rage as once more she leapt forward. Sugar's only reaction was to cover her face with her hooves and brace herself for whatever harm was about to befall her.

However, instead of the pain she had been expecting, she heard a loud thud. Removing her hooves from her face, she saw Rainbow Dash on the floor struggling to get up, that incensed fury still alive in her magenta eyes. But she was kept pinned to the floor by a pink pony with her legs wrapped around the pegasus's waist.

"Stop it, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie pleaded, fighting to hold her furious friend down.

"Let me go, Pinkie!" Dash huffed. "She's gotta get what's comin' to her!"

"No! You have to stop!" Pinkie flipped Dash onto her back, straddling her much like the pegasus had done to Sugar moments before. "You're not gonna solve anything acting like this! Just please stop before you do something you'll regret!"

Candy took the opportunity to cast a judgmental glare at Sugar. "If I were you, I'd run while you have the chance."

Not needing to be told a second time, Sugar bolted back into her dorm, slamming the door and locking it behind her.

Now that Sugar was out of harm's way, Pinkie let up on Rainbow Dash, allowing her to wriggle free. The pegasus let out an aggravated snort through her nostrils. "Augh! Why'd you do that, Pinkie?! I was just about to—ah!" She lifted a hoof to her jaw again. Now that her adrenaline was winding down, the pain in her gums came in full force, accompanied by a small trickle of blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.

Concerned, Pinkie led Dash to her dorm. "Come on. We should get something for that."

Reluctantly, Rainbow Dash conceded, the pain in her mouth too difficult to ignore. Candy and Puff simply stood back, letting the pair go inside without them.

Candy made a gesture to Puff with her hoof. "Let's head over to my place for a while. I have a feeling those two are going to need some time alone."

***** ***** *****

Pinkie Pie stood at the kitchen sink, running some cold water over a washcloth. Satisfied that it was sufficiently damp, she shut off the water, wrung out the cloth, and returned to the living room. She passed the wet cloth to Rainbow Dash, who was sitting on the couch with a rather sour expression.

"Just bite down on this for a few minutes," Pinkie ordered.

Dash did as she was told and chomped down on the washcloth, letting it soak up the blood from her wound. "Fanksh," she mumbled, still a touch miffed about what had happened.

Pinkie Pie hopped up onto the couch next to her. She was still a little shocked about the way Rainbow Dash had acted back there. Perhaps even more disconcerting was why Sugar Cookie would outright lie like that.

"How are you feeling?" Pinkie decided to ask her friend.

Dash simply shrugged. "I'm fine. I've had worshe injuriesh. 'Ish ish nuffin'."

The pink mare figured as much. Dash was tough. She could take pretty much any amount of punishment and give just as much if need be, which is exactly what she tried to do, unfortunately. As upset as she was about what Sugar had said about her, she wasn't about to let Dash hurt her. She couldn't condone that sort of thing.

"Um... Just to clarify, all that stuff Sugar Cookie said about me wasn't true," Pinkie explained. "Yes, I got a little tipsy... Okay, really tipsy, but she came on to me."

Dash glanced at Pinkie through the corner of her eye. "Yeah, I know. You'd never do somefing like 'at. You're better 'n fat. But I washn't about to shtand by and let her talk crap about you."

"I appreciate that you're willing to stand up for me like that, but I'd rather you didn't do it so aggressively." Pinkie lowered her gaze to the floor. "I just can't believe she would say something like that."

"Forget about her. She'sh a bish."

"Language."

"Shorry." Tired of her speech being slurred, Rainbow Dash removed the cloth from her mouth, only seeing a small blood stain. Looked like the bleeding had slowed down enough not to need it anymore anyway. "Why are you friends with her anyway? What kind of friend talks like that about their friends?"

"She was nice enough when we met. I sorta assumed she came on to me because we were both drunk at the time, but I guess that doesn't explain why she would be so mean now."

Rainbow Dash leaned back against the couch with a small, cocky smirk. "Whatever. I doubt she'll do it again after this anyway. I might not have gotten to give her what she deserved, but I definitely put a scare into her."

"Why did you do that?"

"Huh?" Dash was caught off guard by the question. "Whadda ya talkin' about? I was sticking up for you. Why else?"

"You don't have to try and hurt somepony to stick up for me. In fact, I'd prefer if you didn't. You've defended me before, but never like that." Pinkie's ears folded back and she turned away from her friend. "I... I didn't like seeing you do that. It was... kinda scary."

Rainbow Dash frowned. She didn't like hearing that, but she couldn't help it. When Sugar said what she said, Dash just snapped. It was the first reaction that came to mind.

"There's something else going on with you, Dashie," Pinkie inferred, gazing into the pegasus's eyes with deep concern. "You've never acted like that before. What's going on?"

Dash stared back into Pinkie's bright blue irises, attempting to formulate some sort of explanation for her actions. But the longer she stared, the more obvious the truth became. There was only one reason she could think of why she would react in such an extreme manner.

The pegasus turned her eyes downward, shuffling her hooves awkwardly. "I... I think I like you."

Pinkie Pie tilted her head in confusion. "Well, I like you, too, Rainbow Dash, but that's not really any reason to—"

"No. I mean, I think I... like you, like you. You know?"

Pinkie just sat in silence as she allowed that to sink in. Had she not understood yet, the deepening blush on her dear friend's face might have tipped her off. "Oh," was all she could say in response.

The apartment was quickly filled with a thick, awkward silence, neither mare looking at the other. It was Pinkie Pie who decided to pop that bubble and speak after a minute or so.

"So, um... H-How long have you felt that way?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I don't know. A long time probably. I just don't think I realized just how much I cared about you until you left. It was like... a part of me was missing without you. Those kinds of feelings can make a person do crazy things."

"Like fly all the way across the ocean?"

Dash nodded with a sigh. "Yeah... And I guess Sugar was the last straw." She looked Pinkie in the eye once more, this time with passionate determination. "I'll never let anypony treat you like that. Ever. You didn't do anything to deserve that."

Amidst the awkward atmosphere centered around the whole conversation, Pinkie Pie finally managed a smile. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

The silence hit again, neither of them knowing where to take the topic from here. Rainbow Dash felt like she'd just been humiliated in public. Her face was burning red, and the silence wasn't helping matters. She never handled mushy stuff like this very well. It was embarrassing for somepony who normally puts up a tough front to be so open with her feelings, especially to this extent. Although, she still hadn't really gotten Pinkie's thoughts on the matter. It's not like things could be any more awkward anyway.

"Uhh..." Dash started nervously, speaking slowly. "So... I don't suppose there's any chance that you might, you know... feel the same way about me, is there?"

Pinkie frowned slightly, looking at Dash with a touch of remorse. "Sorry. I'm not... I don't..."

Rainbow Dash lifted her hoof to stop Pinkie, nodding knowingly. "Yeah, yeah... I figured. I guess I already knew the answer to that. Just... thought I'd ask."

Pinkie could see the disappointment in Rainbow Dash's expression. She definitely felt bad that she couldn't reciprocate Dash's feelings, but what was she supposed to do? She liked Rainbow Dash, just not in that way. Which begged the question...

"Why didn't you say anything until now?"

"Because of this!" Dash exclaimed, pointing out the weird tension in the room. "I knew you wouldn't—or couldn't—feel the same way. So if I had told you how I felt, it would have made things awkward between us. And look where we are now. You can't tell me this isn't awkward knowing that your best friend has a... a crush on you." Dash's cheeks reddened again, having accidentally worded it in a way that made her sound like a hormonal teenager.

She was right; Pinkie couldn't deny that. She did feel a little weird. But that didn't necessarily mean their relationship had to change. Did it?

"Well, there's no reason we can't still be friends or anything. You'll always be my best friend, Dashie, and nothing's gonna change that. We can get past this."

"Maybe you can," Dash argued, feeling increasingly frustrated by her own emotions. "I'm the one who's got these feelings to deal with. I've never felt this way about somepony before. I don't know how long it'll take to get over it, or if I'll get over it at all."

Pinkie let out a silent sigh. It seemed like no matter what she said, she couldn't convince Rainbow Dash that everything could just go back to normal. So if words weren't going to do the trick, then she would just have to rely on the old adage of actions speaking louder than words.

Rainbow Dash felt a pair of hooves wrap around her shoulders. Pinkie Pie softly hugged her friend, resting her head against Dash's neck. "What are you doing?"

"Cheering you up," Pinkie replied simply with her trademark grin.

The cyan mare rolled her eyes and groaned. "A hug is not going to magically fix this, Pinkie."

"Maybe not a normal hug. But this is a best-friends-forever-never-forget-it-as-long-as-we-live hug. It doesn't matter how you feel, we'll always be besties, no matter what. Plus, nopony's ever told me that they had a crush on me before. It's flattering really. Huh. Now that I think about it, that's two people who've been attracted to me since I came to Steeden. Maybe this country's just naturally more romantic or something."

Pinkie Pie had obviously gotten past the awkwardness of the scenario, evidenced by the fact that her thoughts were beginning to go off on a tangent. And Rainbow Dash had to concede that she had now found herself smiling again. That must have been a good sign. Dash placed her hoof gently on top of one of Pinkie's, not because of her feelings toward her, but to let her friend know that things were going to be okay between them.

"I couldn't ask for a better friend," Dash said quietly with a fond smile.

Pinkie finally released Rainbow Dash from her hug, taking up her previous position on the couch, the difference now was that they were both smiling at one another. But then Pinkie gave Dash a coy look, confusing the pegasus slightly.

"Sooooo... You're attracted to me, huh?"

Rainbow Dash found her blush returning. She desperately hoped that this information was not something Pinkie was intending to take advantage of for her own devices. "Y-Yeah, I guess..."

The pink pony leaned closer, bouncing her eyebrows at the pegasus. "So, uh... What is it about me that you like so much?"

Dash tried to inch away slightly, but found that Pinkie matched every shuffle she made. She pensively turned her eyes up, trying to find the least incriminating answer. "Well, uh... We just have so much fun when we're together. I just like being around you."

Pinkie pulled back, returning Rainbow's personal space to her. The earth pony pouted, a little disappointed by that answer. "Oh. Well, that's nice to hear. I like spending time with you, too, Dashie. But, I mean, there's gotta be something about me that you like besides my personality, right? Do I have any outstanding features?"

Dash cast a glance at Pinkie, her embarrassed blush still in full force. She looked Pinkie over as she thought. It's not something she'd put much thought into admittedly. But the more she stared at Pinkie, the more she realized that Pinkie really was an attractive mare. At least to her. She couldn't speak for anypony else.

"Well?" Pinkie asked, batting her eyelashes as she awaited a response.

Dash tilted her head as she scrounged up the right words. "I guess if I was trying to be romantic, I'd say your eyes."

"My eyes?"

"Yeah. They're just always so bright and... full of optimism. It's hard to stare into your eyes without smiling." Rainbow Dash surprised herself with how well she had managed to say that without feeling embarrassed or stammering awkwardly.

"Aw, thank you," Pinkie said with a grateful grin, a blush of her own forming. "But what about if you weren't being romantic?"

Dash chuckled at the question. She was a teeny, tiny bit ashamed of herself for already knowing the answer to that, but figured she could play it off as a joke. "If I were being a little more shallow, then I guess I'd say your butt."

Pinkie looked down at her own flank. "Really?"

Dash shrugged. "Yeah. You have a nice butt. What, is there something wrong with that?"

Pinkie hummed to herself, unsure how to feel. "So, like, you think it's big? Or small? Or what?"

"It's round. Like a bubble."

"I have a bubble butt?! Seriously?" Pinkie got up off of the couch, hurrying to the bathroom in order to find a mirror to determine it for herself.

Dash leaned over the back of the couch, laughing at Pinkie's reaction. "Come on, it's cute. There's nothing wrong with having a bubble butt!" She sat back down, letting her mirth settle for a moment. "Now I feel better. I think we can get past this just fine."

Chapter 14 - The Great Cake-Off: Part 1

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 14: The Great Cake-Off: Part 1

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It wasn't often that Gustave would call his students to one of the university's lecture halls. Aside from their first day when they arrived for orientation, there were very few instances where they all found themselves gathered there. And if they were, chances were it was for something important. Considering there was now less than one month left before the course came to its conclusion after a whole year, every student assumed that Gustave had called them there to discuss their coming graduation, or perhaps more worryingly, their final exam.

It was hard to believe that an entire year had come and gone. To many of them, it had only felt like half a year at most. The time had simply passed them by, a testament to just how much they were enjoying their time at the university. But now that their time there was winding down, the students were getting a little antsy. Some were eager to finally get their diplomas, something that would open practically the entire world for them when it comes to employment opportunities; a diploma from The Steeden University of Culinary Arts was one of the most prestigious honors there was for a chef, and would relay their astounding skills to any potential employers.

On the other hoof, if this gathering in the lecture hall were to discuss the upcoming final exam, the students would be more than a little nervous. This one exam could mean the difference between graduating and returning home in failure, and everything they've done at the university was leading up to this. This was the moment where they would be applying everything they've learned up to this point. Of course, there may not have been any reason for concern at all. Had their skills not been up to snuff, they wouldn't be there right now. But that didn't necessarily mean that they were guaranteed to succeed, otherwise what would be the point of a final exam in the first place?

Gustave looked up from the papers on his desk, scanning the lecture hall thoroughly. It appeared that all of his students were present now. Good news for him, he thought. He was getting a tad impatient. Not that he was grouchy, but rather excited. Gustave had been awaiting this moment all morning. He wouldn't have been surprised if one of the students had caught a glimpse of a small grin on his beak at some point. A part of him wanted to just come out and say what it was that had him so anxious, but he needed to explain the situation first and foremost. At least that would provide some suspenseful buildup.

Gustave rose from his seat and stepped out in front of his desk. His students, who had been quietly chatting and discussing what they thought this meeting might be about, went silent and sat at attention when they saw their instructor move. The griffon cleared his throat.

"Bonjour, everyone. I am sure you are all wondering why I 'ave asked you all to come to zee lecture 'all aujourd'hui. And I am sure you 'ave all deduced zee raison for yourselves by now." Gustave could practically hear several of the students gulping nervously, their worries realized. The griffon nodded with a quiet chuckle. "Oui. As we are approaching zee end of our course rapidement, we are 'ere to discuss your final exam."

Gustave noticed some of the students shift about in their seats. It seemed that with every minute that passed, they became more and more uneasy about this whole thing. It was time to quell those fears.

"I know zat final exams can be très stressant; believe moi, I know from experience. 'Owever, I assure you zat it is not quite as bad as you all are zinking." Gustave began to pace back and forth, looking each of his students in the eye as he began his explanation. "'Ere at Zee Steeden University of Culinary Arts, we pastry chefs 'ave un tradition honorables, what we call Zee Great Cake-Off."

Pinkie Pie's curiosity was piqued. She turned back to the seat behind her where Gwenivere was sitting and whispered to her. "What's 'Zee Great Cake-Off?'"

"Keep quiet and listen and maybe you will find out," the griffon scolded.

"Zee Great Cake-Off," Gustave continued, his voice rising in intensity in order to excite his students, "is a test in zee form of a competition where each student bakes zee most délicieux et extravagant cake zat zey can using everyzing zey 'ave learned 'ere. Design and présentation are just as important as flavor. And bigger is better. Your cakes must wow all 'oo see it!" He placed a claw upon his chest proudly. "I, too, 'ave taken part in zis time-honored tradition when I was younger. Let me assure you, zee apprehension you feel now is unfounded. Zee Great Cake-Off is a spectacle. I still remember 'ow much fun it was."

As strange as the image of Gustave "having fun" was, the students had to admit that his excitement regarding the subject was beginning to alleviate their concerns.

Pinkie Pie stood up eagerly, raising her hoof in the air. Although normally Gustave would be irritated by an interruption from the pink mare, today he wanted his students to get hyped up, and welcomed any amount of involvement. He gave Pinkie a smile. "Oui, Mademoiselle Pie?"

"When can we start?!" she blurted impatiently with a wide, toothy grin.

Gustave laughed at her enthusiasm. "Zee competition itself is not until zee end of zee month. 'Owever, you may begin preparation après today's classes. And I would suggest you do so. As I said, zee more attention to detail you put into your cake, zee more likely you are to win. Mais, do not zink zat losing means zat you fail zee course. Zee Great Cake-Off is meant to inspire zee spirit of competition in all of you and bring out your very best, which is why it so enjoyable to be a part of it."

"This is starting to sound pretty fun," Candy Cane commented.

"Oui," Gwenivere agreed. "I 'ave been looking forward to zis since Papa first told me about it."

"Mais!" Gustave continued, raising his claw. "Zis year will be en peu différents. Normally, each student submits zeir own cake for zee competition. 'Owever, zis year you will all be competing... in teams."

Gwenivere's eyes widened in surprise, and slight frustration. "Quelle? Papa—er, Chef le Grand, you did not mention zis to moi."

Gustave chuckled in response to her reaction. "But of course. I did not want to ruin all of zee surprises for you. Non, zis year you will be working in teams. Pairs to be more precise."

Pinkie Pie shot her hoof up immediately. "Oh! I call Gwen!"

Candy, Puff, and especially Gwenivere looked at her with shocked expressions. "What?!" they all exclaimed simultaneously.

"Actually, I intended to choose zee teams myself," Gustave clarified, picking up a sheet of paper from his desk.

Gwenivere breathed a sigh of relief, while Pinkie slumped back with a groan. "Zank goodness," the female griffon said under her breath.

A sly smirk creased Gustave's beak. "Mais, as it turns out, I 'ave already paired zee two of you togezer."

Pinkie's disappointment was quickly replaced with an elated gasp, while Gwenivere's relief was destroyed by her father's cruel joke. Gustave specifically pointed out the expressions on their faces. "And zis is why zis change was made. Zee spirit of competition is all well and good, but I want zis to also be an exercise in building teamwork skills. If you cannot cooperate, you cannot win."

Gwenivere scowled at her father. "You're doing zis specifically because of moi, aren't you?"

Gustave shrugged her accusation off. "My raisons are my own. As for zee rest of zee teams..." He held up the piece of paper again. "I will post zis outside in zee 'all so you can find out 'oo your partners are. I would recommend you get togezer wiz your partner frequently between now and zee date of the competition to plan everyzing out and get as much practice in as possible."

"Geez, it's gonna be hard to concentrate in class with something like this on my mind," Candy commented with an eager grin. "I just wanna get started for the Cake-Off right now."

Gustave pointed to the mare with gusto. "And zat's 'ow you should be feeling. It pleases me to 'ear you say zat. 'Owever, it may be more difficile to concentrate zan you realize, for I 'ave one more grand supris pour vous."

The class broke out into curious murmurs, wondering what else he could possibly have in store for them.

Pinkie Pie turned back to Gwenivere. "Well?"

The griffon simply shrugged in confusion. "Do not look at moi. I 'ave no idea what 'ee is talking about."

Gustave began pacing again as he elaborated. "As you are no doubt aware, every good competition needs a judge. And as much as I would like to be your judge, I'm afraid zee position 'as already been filled.

"I bet this school could convince any celebrity chef to be a judge for something like this, huh?" Pinkie surmised.

"Correct. And it is part of our tradition to enlist only zee best to judge Zee Great Cake-Off. 'Owever, you are only 'alf right in your assumption, Mademoiselle Pie. Our judge is a celebrity, mais she is not a chef."

The students all raised puzzled eyebrows. Puff Pastry voiced the question on everyone's minds. "That doesn't really make much sense. Vouldn't it be better to hire someone who knows more about baking?"

Gustave waved a talon at her question. "I did not say she does not know about baking. I simply said she is not a chef 'erself."

"I can't take the suspense!" Pinkie Pie blurted, bouncing in her seat with impatient excitement. "Just tell us already!"

Gustave laughed, the enthusiasm on his own face showing that he may have been just as impatient himself. "Oui, I suppose I 'ave beaten around zee bush long enough. Class, it is my honor to introduce you to your celebrity judge for Zee Great Cake-Off zis year..." He gestured toward the door of the lecture hall, and the moment he did, it swung open.

One could practically hear the class's collective jaws dropping.

Entering the room, with a coat and grand wings of pure, pristine white, a mane like that of an aurora that billowed even in the absence of wind, her form tall, beautiful, graceful, and decorated in golden regalia was none other than the ruler of Equestria herself.

Princess Celestia.

The pure shock and awe on his students' faces as the princess took her place at the front of the room were absolutely priceless. Just the reaction Gustave had been hoping for.

Entering behind the princess was a pair of pegasus guards in golden armor who took post next to the door while their charge addressed the class of aspiring pastry chefs. "Good morning, everyone," Celestia greeted in her pleasant and comforting voice.

She received no response other than the flabbergasted gawking expressions they wore when she entered, with the exception of one cheery "Hi, Princess!" from a certain pink pony.

Gustave chuckled to himself. "I can see you are all awestruck by zis news, and per'aps a touch confused. Mais, rest assured, Princess Celestia is a fine choice to judge our competition. You may or may not know zis, but she is quite zee connoisseur of fine pastries."

"Well, I'd just say I have a bit of a sweet tooth, to be honest," Celestia admitted with a giggle. "But having tasted countless pastries over the course of thousands of years, I have learned to appreciate the finer points of a good confection. It's one of the few pleasures I've come to enjoy when I'm not swamped with royal or political matters, so I'm more than happy to act as your judge."

"I 'ave no doubt zat 'Er Majesty will be able to judge each of your works fairly and decisively," said Gustave. "Après all, zis is not 'er first foray as a judge of fine pastries. I 'ave 'ad zee honor of 'aving my work judged by 'er in zee past," he stated proudly, yet humbly, giving the princess a courteous nod.

Amidst the silence surrounding the pitched floor of desks, one student dared slowly raise her hoof to ask the princess a question. Gustave acknowledged Candy's hoof and gestured for her to speak.

"Um..." she started nervously, still a tad starstruck. "The, uh, competition isn't until the end of the month, right?"

Gustave nodded his head. "Oui, zat is correct."

"Then..." Candy turned her gaze to the princess, the alicorn's warm, welcoming smile doing its job of calming her nerves a little. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you here now? The competition's still a ways off yet."

"Because I wish to meet the people whose pastries I will be judging," Celestia answered as if she'd been expecting the question. "Over the next month, I hope to get to know each of you personally so that I may evaluate your work more accurately. Every chef puts a little bit of their own personality into their dishes, and it's important to be familiar with those personalities in order to fully enjoy the food you create."

Gustave chuckled heartily. "I'm sure you can see now zat she is quite well versed in zee art of baking. It's a shame zat you do not apply zat skill for yourself. I can only imagine zee amazing pastries you could produce, Your 'Ighness."

Celestia breathed a wistful sigh. "Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to, I simply don't have that sort of time, what with my royal duties and all."

"And speaking of duties..." Gustave said, clearing his throat. "I 'ave my own to perform. Everyone to zee kitchen, s'il vous plaît."

The student's were almost tempted to ignore Gustave's order. After all, there was an even higher authority present now; the highest authority, in fact. Most of them wanted to wait for the princess to give them leave before getting out of their seats. However, they did as Gustave said, each of them making their way to the door and offering Celestia a respectful bow as they passed, to which she gave a kind nod in return.

As the crowd of students thinned out, Gwenivere approached the princess, bowing to her like the others. "It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty."

"And you as well," the alicorn greeted. She paused for a moment, looking the griffon over. "You're Gwenivere, right? Chef le Grand's daughter?"

Gwenivere's head shot up in surprise. "Y-You know of me?" she stammered, feeling shocked, yet honored.

"Of course," Celestia answered with a soft grin. "Your father spoke highly of you when we first met at the National Dessert Competition back in Canterlot."

"I 'ad 'oped zat I would one day get to introduce you to 'er, Gwenivere," Gustave added.

"And after everything he's said about you and your natural skills, I look forward to tasting whatever you create," the princess said.

Gwenivere bowed humbly. "Zank you, Your 'Ighness. I will not disappoint you."

"I think she meant whatever we create. Right, partner?" a high-pitched and cheery voice chimed in. Pinkie Pie bounded down from her seat, stopping next to Gwenivere. The pink pony smiled up at Princess Celestia. "Hiya, Princess. What's up?"

Gwenivere glared at the earth pony in shock and disgust. "You insolent ninny! Zis is Princess Celestia! 'Ow dare you speak to 'er so nonchalantly! You must address 'er wiz zee utmost respect!"

Pinkie tilted her head in confusion. "I thought greeting a friend with a smile was respectful."

"It is," Celestia assured. "Hello, Pinkie Pie. Twilight mentioned I'd run into you here. It's good to see you again."

Gwenivere's beak fell open, glancing between the two equines. "'Again'? You... You 'ave met zee princess?"

"Gwenivere, Pinkie Pie was at zee National Dessert Competition as well," Gustave explained. "If you recall, we submitted an entry togezer. And won."

"Oh, we've known each other longer than that," Pinkie elaborated. "Me and the princess go waaaaay back."

"'Way back' is relative, of course. What you consider a long time is much different than what I consider a long time. Pinkie Pie and I have known one another for a few years now," Celestia said.

"Five years, one hundred and eighty-five days, six hours, and twenty-seven minutes. Soon to be twenty-eight," Pinkie corrected. "Uh, I think. I might be getting you mixed up with Rarity."

Celestia giggled at Pinkie. "Regardless, it's good to see you again. However, I'd hate to be the one to hold you up. I believe you have a class to attend."

"Oh, right! Guess we gotta skedaddle. Hey, you gotta stop by our dorm later. We can have a little get-together for you. And you can meet all my friends, too."

"I'd like that," Celestia accepted with a friendly smile.

"Right! Then I'll see you later. Come on, Gwen, we gotta get to class!"

As much as she didn't want to take an order from Pinkie Pie, she also didn't want to argue in front of royalty. So she made her way to the door as well. "Oui. It was an honor meeting you, Your Majesty." She offered one final bow before exiting.

Not wanting to leave his students unattended for too long, Gustave prepared to head off as well. He offered a respectful bow to the princess as he did, but stopped in his tracks when she addressed him.

"You have a colorful group under your tutelage, don't you, Chef le Grand?"

"Oui, I suppose I do. A clawful to be sure, but it 'as been a pleasure teaching zem regardless. I look forward to speaking wiz you again, Your 'Ighness. Please feel free to tour our facilities in zee meantime."

She offered a curt nod in response. "Of course."

***** ***** *****

Candy Cane stared out the window of Pinkie and Puff's apartment. It was certainly a beautiful day, absurdly so even. It made her wonder if Princess Celestia's presence had anything to do with that. Not that she had done it herself, of course; she simply controls the sun, not the weather, although she probably could if she so wished. No, it was more likely that Trotholm's weather team shifted the forecast schedule a little in celebration of the princess's visit. Would it be insulting to blot out the sun with clouds on a day where you play host for Princess Celestia? There were so many questions Candy had about the princess, but lucky her, they were about to play host for Princess Celestia. The look on Candy's face when Pinkie told her during class that the princess was going to be stopping by for a visit later was quite priceless. But that's why Pinkie was putting together a little shindig in preparation for her arrival. Nothing too extravagant, just some balloons, streamers, welcome banners, and an assortment of pastries for their guest.

Candy was snapped from her thoughts by the abrupt sound of compressed gas filling yet another balloon. Pinkie Pie let the balloon fill until it was nice and round, then let it float up to the ceiling with the rest. All fifty-seven of them. And counting.

"I still can't believe that you actually packed a helium tank for your trip here," Candy said as she stared up at the airborne sea of latex.

"Two actually," Pinkie corrected. She frowned slightly in disappointment. "I figured I'd be throwing more parties while I was here, so I packed an extra tank. Haven't really had a chance to use them much though. Oh, but there's an even better use for helium than blowing up balloons!" Despite her statement, she filled another balloon, but passed this one to Candy. "Here. Inhale."

Candy grinned slightly, catching her meaning. "Oh, I get it. You know, I've never actually tried that," she giggled. Candy then took the balloon and inhaled about half of the trapped gas. She paused, holding her breath as she tried to come up with something funny to say. Finally, she decided on, "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie!" The heightened pitch of her voice made her sound remarkably similar to Pinkie Pie, causing the pony she was impersonating to burst out into laughter.

"Ha ha ha! Hey, that's pretty good!" Pinkie managed to say between amused titters.

"Why don't you try it?" Candy asked, her voice gradually returning to her usual pitch as she spoke. "I can only imagine what you sound like after a huff of this stuff."

Pinkie filled another balloon for herself. "Actually, I haven't done this myself in a long time. Gotta ration it so I don't run out in case of emergency parties. But let's give it a go!" She sucked down some of the helium in the balloon. She was practically laughing before she had even heard herself. "Hi, Pinkie Pie. I'm also Pinkie Pie! Huh?"

Pinkie and Candy both raised confused eyebrows. Pinkie's voice didn't change at all. It sounded exactly the same.

"That's kinda weird," Candy commented. "Why didn't it work?"

Pinkie stared at the half-deflated balloon she was holding, tilting her head as she tried to understand. "I don't know. I know I've done this before, and I remember it working."

"Maybe... it's just not physically possible for your voice to go any higher," Candy suggested.

"Ya think? That's kinda disappointing."

"Or... Maybe you've used this stuff so much over the years that your voice has become permanently high-pitched."

Pinkie gasped at Candy's theory. "You think so?! Wow, I've just gotten so used to this voice that I thought it was normal. So this might not even be my real voice? Oh! Maybe I'm actually a sultry baritone, or a throaty soprano."

"I very much doubt that," Candy chuckled. "I was just making a joke. Still though, it's bizarre that it doesn't affect you at all."

"Maybe I just didn't inhale enough."

Pinkie refilled her balloon. Overfilled, in fact. It expanded to easily twice the size of the other balloons, looking on the verge of bursting. Pinkie eagerly sucked down every square inch of helium. Candy took a step back, afraid that Pinkie might start floating away at any moment. She could have sworn that her eyes were beginning to bulge out of her skull.

Finally, with her cheeks puffed out, Pinkie opened her mouth to speak. Although she mouthed the words "Hi, Candy", no sound escaped her throat, but the moment her mouth opened, a web of fine cracks appeared on the window beside them, startling the two mares. Pinkie clapped a hoof over her mouth immediately, afraid to try and say anything else.

Candy pulled the helium tank away from Pinkie. "Okay, I'm going to handle the rest of these balloons. You should go help Puff with the baking." Instinctively, Pinkie was about to respond, but Candy lifted a hoof to stop her. "Ah ah! You probably shouldn't talk for a few minutes. Give that stuff a chance to wear off. Don't want to cause any more damage."

Pinkie simply nodded and headed for the kitchen to join Puff, making sure to keep her mouth shut tight.

Candy looked back to the cracked window with a grimace, then turned her head to the ceiling where Rainbow Dash was attempting to string up a banner to welcome Princess Celestia, having to brush aside many helium-filled balloons to do so. "Is she known to cause property damage like this back home?"

"Honestly, with all the weird stuff that goes on back in Ponyville, any damage Pinkie does isn't really worth noting. The town practically gets rebuilt every few months. It's not really a big deal at this point," Rainbow Dash explained, not even batting an eye at the broken window.

Having finished pinning up the banner, the pegasus alighted on the couch to have a seat now that her job was done. Candy decided to put off inflating any more balloons—she was sure that they had plenty already anyway—and joined Rainbow Dash on the couch, giving the cyan mare a sly grin.

"So..." she started, the tone behind that one word raising suspicion from the pegasus. "Pinkie Pie told me something interesting recently. About you."

Dash's cheeks immediately turned red. She already knew what this was about. "Ugh, she told you that?"

Candy nodded with a giggle. "Yup. I knew you guys were close, but I didn't know it went that far."

"It doesn't," Rainbow Dash was quick to clarify. "It's... one-sided. She's not... that way. You know?"

"You mean gay."

Dash sighed, her blush deepening. "Yeah..."

"It must've been weird for you to come out like that, huh?" Candy assumed.

"I didn't come out to Pinkie," the pegasus corrected. "I mean, it's not like I was trying to hide it or anything; I don't like anything girly or sappy stuff, like romantic movies. It's just... not something I've ever discussed with anypony before, that's all. I figure my friends probably figured it out for themselves by now. Pinkie didn't seem too surprised."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with it. It's perfectly normal in this day and age," Candy reassured her.

"Look, I didn't say I was worried about what people would think of me. I was just worried about what Pinkie would think if told her I had feelings for her. I didn't want things to be weird between us."

Candy glanced over the back of the couch toward the kitchen. Pinkie Pie still had her mouth clamped tight and was frantically trying to signal instructions to Puff, which the tan mare was not comprehending in the slightest. "It doesn't look like things are weird to me. She's been going about everything like normal lately."

"Yeah, I know. She said this is something we can probably get past. She doesn't mind that I like her that way, but... I don't think she really understands how this whole situation makes me feel."

"And how do you feel?" Candy inquired.

Dash raised an eyebrow at the earth pony. "What are you, my psychiatrist?"

Candy raised her hooves defensively. "I'm just trying to help here. If you don't wanna talk about it, that's fine."

Dash crossed her hooves over her chest grouchily, though her blush was still visible. "Right, I don't wanna talk about it. Me and Pinkie already discussed it. Like she said, I'll probably get over it. I..." She let out a sigh. "I just need some time. Besides, I'm not good at talking about... feelings and junk."

Candy decided to just let the topic go so as not to aggravate the pegasus further. "Whatever you say. Consider the subject dropped."

"Thank you."

A knock could be heard on the apartment's door, catching the attention of the four mares. Pinkie immediately jumped to answer it. "I'll—" She stopped herself, but having actually heard her own voice exiting her mouth, was relieved to find that the helium had worn off. "—get it!"

Pinkie Pie threw open the door and was greeted by two stern-looking stallions in golden armor. "Miss Pinkie Pie?" one of them inquired gruffly.

Pinkie flashed a friendly grin. "Yeppers."

The pair of guards stepped aside, allowing the tall, graceful form of Princess Celestia to trot between them. Candy and Puff stood motionless, with mouths agape. Even though they had been expecting her, it was still a rather surreal experience to see her up close like this.

"Hiya, Princess," Pinkie greeted. "We've been waiting for you. Come on in." Pinkie stepped aside and gestured for the alicorn to enter.

Celestia graciously accepted the invitation and walked inside, having to duck down slightly to avoid striking her long horn on the top of the door frame. Her two guards remained out in the hall, taking up their posts on either side of the door to ensure that no shady individuals attempted to bother the princess.

Puff and Candy stopped what they were doing to approach Celestia, bowing respectfully. "Velcome, Your Highness," Puff greeted. "It's an honor to have you as a guest."

Celestia smiled softly at them. "Thank you very much for having me." She looked around at all of the decorations strung up around the dormitory. "You really didn't have to go through all this trouble for me."

"Oh, pish," Pinkie said dismissively. "It's no trouble. I've got plenty more decorations than this. I'm trying to get through it all before heading back home after graduation. You know, less luggage to bring back."

"Still, this is just a leisurely visit. I'm hoping to get some one on one time with each of you before the competition. There was really no need to decorate." The princess jumped suddenly at the sound of a loud pop, noticing the remains of a purple balloon falling to the floor. She had noticed the plethora of balloons floating above her when she entered, but hadn't noticed that they were just within range of her pointy horn.

"I guess these dorms are a little smaller than what you're used to, huh?" Rainbow Dash chuckled.

With the golden glow of her horn, Princess Celestia produced a plush, red cushion with gold trim and placed it on the floor next to the coffee table, taking a seat upon it. "Yes, I suppose you're right. As homely as these dormitories are, they simple aren't designed for somepony with my frame."

"Vould you like some tea, Your Highness?" Puff offered, already making her way to the kitchen.

Celestia nodded with a grateful smile. "Yes, thank you."

"Oh, right! We still have cupcakes in the oven!" Pinkie remembered, hopping off to join Puff in the kitchen.

Rainbow Dash leaned forward on the couch, looking at Celestia. "Can't say I was expecting to see you here, Princess. It's a nice surprise."

"Indeed. And Twilight mentioned I'd see you here as well."

Seeming a little out of character, Celestia's tone sounded somewhat judgmental, a suspicion that Rainbow Dash realized wasn't just her hearing things when she noticed the slight, half-lidded glare directed at her.

Dash rubbed the back of her head. "I take it you're on her side on this."

Celestia closed her eyes, shrugging lightly. "I didn't come here to lecture you, Rainbow Dash. I'm sure Twilight could do a much better job of that than I."

"You're not kidding," the pegasus grumbled under her breath.

"The important thing is that you're here to support your friend," Celestia smiled. "And that is something I can condone. And I'm willing to ignore the circumstances behind it."

Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing against the couch. She was just glad that at least one person wasn't going to give her a hard time about it.

Puff and Pinkie Pie returned from the kitchen, the former with a tray containing teacups, sugar, milk, and a steaming teapot, the latter with a few plates of assorted snack cakes balanced precariously on her head and back. Thankfully, Pinkie managed to set them all down on the coffee table safely while Puff poured out tea for the princess.

"Thank you." Celestia took her cup and dropped two teaspoons of sugar into it, then stirred in some milk. She took a short, dainty sip. "Mmm, that's quite good. Do I taste a hint of mint?"

Puff nodded. "Ya, I decided to try mint tea. That's alright, isn't it?" she asked, slightly worried about making the addition without consulting the princess.

"Yes, of course," the alicorn assured. "As I said, it's very tasty, thank you."

Puff grinned at the praise she had received. "You're velcome, Your Highness."

Candy watched as Celestia took another sip of her tea, something striking her as interesting. "You don't mind all the formalities when people talk to you, Princess?"

Celestia looked up from her cup with a quizzical expression. "Hm? Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just that, when we met Princess Twilight, she insisted that we not, uh... do what I just did: refer to her as 'Princess' or 'Your Highness.' She didn't really care for it."

"Oh, well, I can't say that I enjoy people acting so formal in my presence all the time, but when you've been ruling for as long I have, you tire of telling everypony that it's simply unnecessary and let them do as they please. It does no harm, and they're just being respectful. Twilight is simply not used to that sort of treatment. Give her a few years and she'll probably see things the same way that I do."

Pinkie Pie hopped up onto the couch. "So what made you wanna come over here to judge the Cake-Off, Princess?"

"Yeah, I would've figured you'd be too busy with princess-y stuff to do this," Rainbow Dash added.

Celestia took a small bite from one of Pinkie's cupcakes. "Actually, this school has sent me requests to act as a judge for many years now, but as you said, Rainbow Dash, I've always been far too busy with my royal duties. I feel just awful about having to turn them down year after year."

"So what's different about this year?" Candy inquired.

Celestia grinned. "The difference is that Equestria recently crowned a new princess. I brought up the requests sent to me asking me to come here with Twilight and slyly mentioned how guilty I felt about having to deny them. She practically ordered me to make the trip and happily offered to handle some of my work while I'm gone."

"Wow, that's pretty sneaky of you, Princess," Dash chuckled. "But don't you think you're dropping a lot of responsibility on Twilight all at once? I mean, the stuff you do can't be easy."

"Oh, I'll still handle raising the sun, of course, and I asked Luna to help take care of the more delicate matters. I made sure that Twilight wasn't in over her head. Plus, this is good experience for her; she's going to need to learn this stuff eventually now that she's royalty. And I was her teacher for most of her life; I'm sure she's more than familiar with my usual duties." Celestia took another bite of her cupcake, breathing a relaxed sigh after swallowing it. "You have no idea how happy I am to actually be here. Truth be told, I sort of took this opportunity as an excuse to get away from the hassles of royal life and take a much needed vacation. The fact that my business here involves sampling all manner of delicious pastries is just the... well, the icing on the cake, so to speak," the princess giggled. "Though my dietitian nearly had an episode when I told him about this. But what's he going to do, say no to the princess?"

"Well, if anypony deserves a little vay-cay, it's you, Princess," Pinkie said with a chipper grin.

"Und it's an honor to have you here," Puff made sure to reiterate.

"Oh! I have an idea!" Pinkie blurted, jumping up from the couch and dragging Candy and Puff into the kitchen. "Since Princess Celestia is only here to taste our cakes at the Cake-Off, you two should make you're signature snacks for her to try right now."

Celestia peeked toward the kitchen, her curiosity—and her sweet tooth—piqued. "Signature snacks?"

"Yeah! Puff makes some awesome jelly-filled donuts, and Candy's chocolate malt balls are just to die for! You gotta try 'em, Princess!"

The alicorn was practically licking her lips already. "That sounds delightful," she said with a smile, attempting to conceal just how eager she was to try them.

Both Candy and Puff were suddenly struck with a case of stage fright, Pinkie having thrust them unwittingly into baking their signature desserts for Princess Celestia. Needless to say, they were pretty nervous. To have Princess Celestia herself tasting the recipes that they themselves created instilled untold worry. What if she didn't care for them? And if she didn't, what if people found out she didn't like them? They might never be able to bake them again.

The pair of unsure earth ponies shared glances that aptly informed both of them that they felt the same way about this. Candy pulled Pinkie aside and whispered, "Pinkie, you can't just make a declaration like that. Baking for the princess? I-I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of judgment!"

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "Whachu talkin' 'bout? She's out there right now eating the snacks we made. And she's gonna be judging our cakes at the end of the month. Relax would ya? Here, I'll even help you gals out."

Pinkie went ahead and pulled out everything they were going to need. Reluctantly, Candy and Puff took deep breaths, attempting to remember, amongst the flurry of negative thoughts, what their recipes even were.

***** ***** *****

The door to Gwenivere's dorm creaked open slowly, and the griffon poked her head out cautiously. She had thought she heard a voice in the hallway a short time ago and had a feeling she knew who it was. Sure enough, her suspicions were confirmed when she spotted the two armored stallions standing vigilantly by the door to Pinkie and Puff's apartment.

Even though she had heard straight from the horse's mouth that Pinkie and the princess were previously acquainted, she still couldn't believe it. How did a loony imbecile like her come to befriend Princess Celestia? But now that she thought about it, Pinkie was actually rather close friends with Princess Twilight, or so she'd heard. Was it possible that the pink pony was also acquainted with the other alicorn princesses as well? Gwenivere simply couldn't wrap her head around it.

But an opportunity had presented itself to her. Princess Celestia was currently in a room just mere seconds from where she currently stood. And her roommate happened to be there as well. Certainly that gave her some sort of right to invite herself in, right? With some trepidation, feeling slightly intimidated by the pair of guards stationed outside the door, Gwenivere straightened the feathers on her head and stepped out into the hall. She took in a deep breath to calm her nerves, doing her best to put on her usual expression of self-confidence, then approached the guards.

"Bonjour, gentlecolts," she greeted, her tone showing no sign of her previous apprehension. "Would you stand aside, s'il vous plaît? I wish to enter." Just as she was about to brush past them and open the door, the two pegasi outstretched their wings to block her path, causing the griffon to step back.

One of the guards addressed her gruffly. "For her own safety, nopony—or griffon—is permitted to enter without the princess's consent."

As ruffled as she was by that, Gwenivere wasn't about to give up. She cleared her throat and attempted to negotiate with them. "Non, non, you do not understand. I am, er... acquainted wiz zee residents of zis dormitory. And my roommate is wiz zem as well. I am sure I am welcome."

"Whether you are welcome or not is no concern to us," the other stallion informed. "If you wish to enter, you need the princess's permission."

Gwenivere had only one last play to gain entry. "Zen could you ask 'er?"

The pair of stallions shared a glance with one another, and one of them opened the door. With the door now open, Gwenivere had a clear view into the apartment, and Princess Celestia was sitting right there at the coffee table with Pinkie Pie and her friends, sipping from a cup of tea and eating snack cakes. When she heard the door open, Celestia looked over her shoulder to see her guard standing there.

"Your Majesty, there's a young, griffon lady who wishes to enter," he informed her.

Pinkie hopped off the couch with a toothy grin. "Oh! That must be Gwen! Send her in."

The stallion didn't respond. He didn't even acknowledge Pinkie in the slightest and continued to wait for the princess's order.

Celestia tilted her head in Pinkie's direction. "This is her dormitory. Do as she says."

The guard bowed his head. "At once, Your Highness." He backed out of the apartment and he and his partner parted to allow Gwenivere to enter, closing the door behind her.

Despite having met the princess earlier that morning, Gwenivere was still quite starstruck in her presence. For a moment she had forgotten that she herself was even there, but quickly composed herself and bowed. "Good afternoon, Your 'Ighness."

"And good afternoon to you, Gwenivere," the princess replied with a kind smile.

"Have a seat, Gwen," Pinkie offered, gesturing to the couch. "Candy and Puff just made their signature snacks." She pointed out the plate of jelly donuts and a bowl of chocolate malt balls on the coffee table.

"And they just got the royal seal of approval," Rainbow Dash added, eliciting bashful blushes from the two earth ponies.

"Indeed," the princess said. She took another bite of one of Puff's donuts, picking up a napkin to wipe up the little bit of raspberry filling that got smeared on her muzzle. "If every student here is as talented as all of you, I feel like my stay here is going to be rather unforgettable. Though going back to my rather strict diet when I return home is going to be especially difficult. I fear I may suffer from sugar withdrawal," she laughed.

Celestia glanced up to the clock on the wall, her smile fading slightly. "Oh my, is that the time? I'm afraid I'll have to cut my visit short," she said, standing up and putting her cushion away with a quick flash of magic.

Although they were all disappointed to hear that, none were more disappointed than the griffon who had just arrived specifically to see the princess. "You are leaving?" Gwenivere said, hoping that the disappointment in her tone would convince the alicorn to stay longer.

With a regretful sigh, Celestia responded, "Yes, I'm afraid so. I have to meet with the faculty to discuss my stay and the duties that are expected of me as your judge. But there will be plenty of time for us all to spend some one on one time together. And I'm especially looking forward to getting to know you a little better, Gwenivere."

An incredibly rare, bashful blush burned through Gwenivere's feathers. "Y-You are?"

Celestia smiled softly. "Of course. After everything your father has told me about you, I'm expecting big things from you. Now, if you'll excuse me..." The princess opened the door, gave the girls a wave goodbye, and disappeared out into the hall with her two guards.

Gwenivere's beak turned down in a slight frown. She began wishing she hadn't been so hesitant to come over. She barely had a chance to talk with the princess. But as she said, that opportunity would come in the near future.

"Well, we still got some snacks left. Wanna help finish 'em off, Gwen?" Pinkie asked, holding out a blueberry scone for the griffon.

Gwenivere grimaced at the offer. Considering the entire reason she had come over had just left the dorm, she really didn't have any motivation to stay any longer. But it's not like she had anything better to do back at her own room, so she decided to take the scone and accept Pinkie's offer, though reluctantly.

Pinkie shoved one into her own mouth, chewing up the entire thing and not bothering to wait until she swallowed it to continue speaking. "Sho what bringsh you to our neck of the woodsh?" she inquired, spraying crumbs everywhere.

"Don't flatter yourself, Pinkie," Candy said with a roll of her eyes. "She came here to suck up to Princess Celestia."

Gwenivere acted hurt at the accusation. "Please. I do not need to 'suck up.' Zee competition is mine regardless of my status wiz zee princess."

"I wasn't just talking about the competition, but since the subject has been brought up, now might be a good time to discuss it since we're all here."

"Oh yeah, you two got paired up, didn't you?" Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle, pointing to Pinkie and Gwenivere. "That oughta be fun to watch. Speaking of which, who did Gustave put you guys with?" she asked Candy and Puff.

"Each other," Puff answered simply.

"Huh. That's a weird coincidence," Dash noted.

"I highly doubt it's a coincidence," Candy said. "As it turns out, Gustave paired everyone with their roommates. The four of us are the only exceptions. Well, us and anyone who doesn't have a roommate."

"Yet more evidence zat Papa did zis just to spite moi," Gwenivere groaned. She waved her claw in an effort to dismiss the thought. "Mais it does not matter. I 'ave no quarrels wiz sharing a victory, even if it is wiz 'er," she said, pointing a mildly annoyed talon at Pinkie Pie. "As long as I come out on top, it makes no difference."

"The competition's not really about vinning," Puff reminded her. "You don't have to vin to graduate or anything."

"I will not accept anyzing short of perfection," the griffon argued. "I will win."

"We," Pinkie corrected with an optimistic grin.

Gwenivere let out a groan. "Whatever. And speaking of winning, I 'ave devised some recipes zat will allow me to crush zee opposition."

"Us."

"Stop zat."

"Whoa whoa, hold up there, Gwen. Did you already forget about the changes your dad made?" Candy interjected. "It's a team exercise. You can't just plan stuff out without discussing it with your partner. Pinkie needs to add her input, too."

"Why waste time? My recipes are flawless. I—"

Pinkie cleared her throat loudly.

"We will win regardless."

"Gwen, you're completely missing the entire point," Candy scolded. "You said it yourself, your dad did this to make you work with Pinkie Pie. Are you just gonna blatantly ignore the rules?"

"I am not ignoring zee rules. I am proving my own point, zat I do not need to rely on ozers to achieve greatness. I will stand in victory on my own merits."

Candy was about to continue to argue against the griffon, but was stopped when Pinkie held out her hoof.

"That's fine," the party pony said with a grin. "Honestly, coming up with a recipe is probably the hardest part. At least this way we can get right to the good part." Pinkie rubbed her hooves together in eager anticipation.

"Fine, but zese are my recipes. I will not 'ave you tampering wiz perfection."

"Okey doke! Let's go!" Without another word, Pinkie bounded over to the door and hopped out into the hallway.

Gwenivere was a touch bewildered by the pink pony's unprompted reaction. "Wait, we're starting now? Er, well zen, I suppose I'll be going." Still a little confused, Gwenivere went to join Pinkie, assuming she had gone back to the griffon's dorm.

With the two of them gone, Puff began carrying empty plates back to the kitchen, munching on a few leftovers as she did so. "You know, vee might as vell get started on our recipes, too, Candy."

Candy grabbed a couple of empty teacups and joined Puff in the kitchen. "That's not a bad idea."

Rainbow Dash trotted in behind them. "So whaddya think?" she asked Candy. "Is this whole thing gonna make them closer, or what?"

Candy shrugged with a sigh. "No idea. It's either that or they'll be at each others throats by the end of the month."

"Or by the end of the veek," Puff laughed.

Candy joined in with a chuckle of her own. "Either way, it'll be pretty entertaining."

Chapter 15 - The Great Cake-Off: Part 2

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 15: The Great Cake-Off: Part 2

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Gwenivere went through her recipe once more, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. She looked at everything she had gathered on the counter already. Everything seemed to be in order, she was pretty much ready to start.

All except for one thing.

The griffon let out an irritated groan. With an irate glower, she glanced over her shoulder at the pair of bright blue eyes and the blindingly-white, toothy grin just mere inches from her face.

"Do you mind?" Gwenivere snipped.

Pinkie Pie backed up a smidge at the griffon's request. "Sorry. I'm just excited. We've never baked anything together before. This'll be fun!"

"So long as you do not interfere," Gwenivere grumbled under her breath.

Pinkie reached over to the counter and picked up the stack of papers that were Gwenivere's recipes. "You mind if I have a look through these?"

The griffon gave a dismissive flick of her claw, too busy preparing her ingredients to really care what Pinkie did, which the earth pony obviously interpreted as a no.

Pinkie began leafing through the papers, looking them over with curious zeal. They all looked incredibly good, not to mention ambitious. Each recipe was accompanied by a detailed drawing of what Gwenivere expected the final product to look like. Pinkie had no idea her partner had such artistic flair. Up until now, Gwenivere had proven herself to be a very accomplished baker; everything she made was absolutely delicious—well, everything that she allowed Pinkie to taste was delicious, aside from one obvious exception. Even so, Gwenivere didn't usually put nearly as much effort into the aesthetics of her pastries that Pinkie did, but these designs were really impressive. If they actually managed to make a cake that matched these pictures, they'd be a shoe-in to win the Cake-Off for sure.

Out of curiosity, Pinkie flipped to the recipe that Gwenivere was currently working on. It was a large, three-tiered lemon cake, covered in vanilla frosting. It looked like an edible castle, even having spires made from white chocolate. As a matter of fact, it shared a similar motif with Canterlot Castle. Perhaps an effort to condition Princess Celestia's judgment, but Pinkie had to admit that it looked good. But something about the recipe itself seemed off...

"Gwen, have you ever made a cake this big before?"

Gwenivere looked up from the batter she was mixing. "Not quite zat big, but I've 'eard zat you make cakes like zis on a regular basis, so it mustn't be zat difficile."

Pinkie frowned slightly as she looked at the recipe again. "Yeah, I do bake cakes like this from time to time, and I'm pretty sure your measurements are off here."

Gwenivere stopped mixing to cast an insulted glare at the presumptuous, pink pony. "Beg your pardon?"

"Well, for a cake like this, you'll need more flour. And at least another half a dozen eggs. Not to mention—"

The griffon prodded Pinkie's chest with a talon. "Did I not say zat you were not to tamper wiz my recipes? Do you not zink zat I know what it is I'm doing? Zee recipe's fine. Now, sit down and let a master work."

Pinkie shrunk back from her agitated partner. "But—"

"No buts! I am busy, and you are not to interrupt."

Not wanting to anger her further, Pinkie sat down on one of the chairs at the dining table, and to the griffon's surprise, actually managed to stay quiet for more than five seconds.

"Bon. Now, stay zere and let me finish zis."

Gwenivere got back to what she was doing, relishing the silence as she did. However, that didn't last long. After just a minute or so, her concentration was broken by the sound of antsy shuffling. Barely another thirty seconds went by before the loud clomping of the wooden legs of a chair joined in as somepony rocked back and forth in her seat. And if that weren't distracting enough, a high-pitched whistle began to ring through Gwenivere's ears, but not even any particular tune; just random notes. A sure sign of pure, unadulterated boredom.

Gwenivere grit her teeth in annoyance before twirling around to the source of her agitation. Her sharp glare caused Pinkie to cease her whistling and plant all four legs of her chair firmly on the floor. "Can't you find somezing to occupy yourself?" the griffon snapped.

"I would help you bake, but you won't let me," Pinkie answered simply.

"Zen zere really isn't any reason for you to be 'ere. I can 'andle zis myself."

Pinkie hopped off her chair and started for the door with a disappointed sigh. "Alright. Let me know how it turns out." Her voice was uncharacteristically spiteful. Of course, if Gwenivere didn't fix the errors in her recipe, she knew very well how it was going to turn out. Maybe when Gwenivere finally happened upon that realization she'd actually let Pinkie help out. That was as good a reason as any to give the griffon a little space. She could probably find something to preoccupy herself until then.

***** ***** *****

Rainbow Dash dropped a couple of bits on the counter of the student lounge's coffee shop, taking her cup with a disgruntled groan and sitting down at an empty table. Normally, she'd get a cookie or cinnamon bun or something to go with it, but she didn't want to shell out the extra cash. She honestly hadn't been planning to spend much money when she came back to Steeden. She had been posing as a student when she first showed up, but, unfortunately, circumstances have changed. Students didn't have to pay for anything at the university's coffee shop, but visitors did. And Rainbow Dash was now considered a visitor.

All things considered, having to pay for a cup of coffee or a light snack every now and then when she had to wait for her friends to finish classes wasn't really a big deal. She was basically staying in Steeden free of charge thanks to Twilight. She didn't have much room to complain. A swanky hotel, being able to see her best friend pretty much whenever she wanted, and eating most of her meals at Pinkie's so she really didn't have to pay for anything. Kind of made her feel like a lazy mooch, but nopony else seemed to mind. And at least now she was at no risk of getting Pinkie in hot water.

Still though, she couldn't help but feel a little ire for having to pay for a simple cup of coffee. All because a certain unicorn couldn't keep her mouth shut.

It still bugged her to no end. What was Sugar's problem? What reason did she have to do what she did? Rainbow Dash wasn't an inherently violent person, but she still wished she had gotten at least one shot in before Pinkie interfered. Dash placed a hoof on her cheek, feeling the gap near the back of her jaw where one of her teeth used to be. A little payback would be gratifying right about now.

"What's up, pouty puss?"

Dash jumped with surprise at the sound of Pinkie Pie's voice. The pink pony was sat at the other side of the table, looking at her with a chipper grin. Rainbow Dash had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed Pinkie sit down, much less order a coffee of her own and two big, chocolate chip cookies. Pinkie kindly passed one of the cookies to her, as if she had been reading her mind or something. Pinkie Pie's perceptiveness had always been pretty inconsistent, but based on what she had said, she must have noticed the dour expression on Dash's face.

Rainbow Dash remedied her mood with a smile of her own. "Hey, Pinkie. What're you doing down here? I thought you were baking stuff with Gwen?"

Pinkie shrugged her shoulders. "Eh. She said she's got it covered. It's kinda lame, but she's about to learn a lesson. Trust me, she'll be asking for my help pretty soon. What about you? Why aren't you back at my place? Nothin' good on T.V.?"

"Nah, it's just that Candy and Puff are busy practicing for that Cake-Off thing, too. I didn't wanna get in the way. So how you feeling about this whole thing anyway? Do you actually want to work with Gwen?"

"Course I do. What better way for us to become closer and finally make friends than to be forced to work together on such an important project?"

Dash was skeptical of Pinkie's reasoning. "I don't know. Seems more like you guys might spend more time fighting than working. Your plans might wind up backfiring."

Pinkie giggled. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Rainbow Dash took a bite out of her cookie and watched Pinkie take one out of her own. Now that the two of them were alone—the random students in the lounge notwithstanding—it might be a good time for Dash to get some thoughts off her chest.

"Hey, Pinkie, can we talk?"

"We're already talking, silly," Pinkie joked.

"No, I mean about... recent events."

Judging by the look on Dash's face, Pinkie could deduce to what she was referring. The earth pony swallowed nervously. "You mean about... Sugar?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. She knew it wasn't something Pinkie wanted to talk about, but she really needed to figure this out. "Yeah... Just tell me: what's her deal?"

Pinkie simply shook her head. "I already told you, I don't know. She was so nice to me until you showed up."

"I just don't get it. I didn't even meet her until that day. Did I do anything that might've ticked her off somehow?"

Pinkie scrunched up her mouth as she thought back, searching for something in her memories that might offer some sort of explanation. "I don't think so. It just doesn't make sense."

"I guess it's not all bad," Dash said with a shrug.

Pinkie blinked in confusion. "It's not? You got punched in the face. That sounds pretty bad to me."

"I said it's not all bad. I mean, if that stuff didn't happen, then..." Dash blushed slightly, turning her gaze away from Pinkie.

But she didn't have to finish her thought. Pinkie caught her meaning and smiled softly. "Yeah. I guess every cloud has a silver lining, huh?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it a silver lining. Maybe if you..." She stopped herself and let out a sigh. "Nevermind."

Pinkie's smile faded. "Are you mad at me?"

Dash was quick to rectify her friend's worries. "Of course not. It's not your fault. You just don't feel the same way, I get that. And I can't force you to. I guess I'm just having a hard time dealing with it. I still don't think it'll be easy to get past this."

Pinkie gingerly placed her hoof over Dash's and stared into the pegasus's magenta eyes with a comforting smile. "I never said it was gonna be easy. But it's gonna take time. Trust me, when this is all over, we'll be even better friends than we ever were before."

Rainbow Dash quirked an eyebrow. "Since when were you an expert on love and relationships?"

Pinkie let out a groan. "Rarity sometimes calls me over to watch sappy movies with her. She needs somepony's shoulder to cry on in case she gets emotional, and I'm her go-to when Fluttershy is busy."

"Well, the thought of us being even better friends is pretty nice," Dash said with a grin. "I'll try to stop worrying about it."

"If you want, I can try and set you up with somepony when we get back home. That might take your mind off me," Pinkie suggested.

Rainbow Dash grimaced at the idea. "I don't think that's—"

"Oh! Maybe my sister Limestone would be interested! I think she's into girls. I don't know, it's kinda hard to tell since she doesn't really date much either. Hey! That's something you have in common! Maybe I can use that to get her interested!"

"Don't you dare," Dash ordered. "Just because you and eventually everypony else back home knows I'm gay, doesn't mean I want you guys setting me up on dates. I'm perfectly capable of running my own love life."

"No playing matchmaker. Gotcha. But have you ever actually been on a date?"

The pegasus blushed lightly with embarrassment. "Uh, well... No. I guess if I ever have, you guys would've figured me out a lot sooner. Look, I've said it before, but I'm not the romantic type. I might be attracted to mares, but that doesn't mean I'm actively looking for a girlfriend. Between trying to get in The Wonderbolts, being Ponyville's weather manager, and saving Equestria from all manner of evil crap, who's got time to be going on dates, am I right?"

Despite everything she's said, Pinkie knew that Dash was making up excuses. She may not have been looking for a girlfriend, but Rainbow Dash still has a crush her, meaning she was definitely interested in being in a relationship. Perhaps in time she'd be willing to let Pinkie help her find a date.

Pinkie gave a smile and a nod, deciding not to call her out on her excuses. "Okey doke. Whatever you say."

Rainbow Dash took the final bite of her cookie and downed the last of her coffee. "Well, wanna head back up to the dorm to see how Candy and Puff are doing with their project."

"Actually, I need to check on Gwen. I have a sneaking suspicion that she's begging for my help right about now," Pinkie said with a knowing smirk.

With that, the two friends made their way back up to the dorms, Rainbow Dash going back to Pinkie's place while Pinkie herself went further down the hall to Gwenivere and Candy's apartment.

The pink pony casually swung the door open, stepping inside with a self-satisfied gait and confident grin. She immediately noticed a grouchy-looking griffon sitting at the table and eyeing up her recipes while grumbling under her breath. On top of the oven was a cake pan. The cake itself looking fine, but Pinkie noticed that there was only the one when she recalled Gwenivere's recipe calling for three. And just as Pinkie expected, there was a distinct lack of remaining ingredients; only a few unbroken eggs and not nearly enough flour.

"What's the matter, Gwen?" Pinkie asked as she pulled up a chair, unable to hide her victorious smile. In a way, it felt oddly cathartic to have the roles reversed like this. It wasn't something she was gonna let go to her head, but maybe now Gwenivere would be willing to let her help.

"Zere's no problem," Gwenivere mumbled, not looking up from her recipes.

Pinkie grinned knowingly and noticed that several of the measurements on Gwen's recipes had been scratched out with pencil, but hadn't been reevaluated yet. Pinkie was already getting a little tired of playing with Gwenivere and wanted to jump straight to the point. "See? I told you your measurements were off. Will you let me help now?"

The griffon looked up from the papers with an irate glower. "I made some slight miscalculations. It is not so big a deal zat I require assistance."

The earth pony frowned. Pinkie hadn't anticipated that. She figured Gwenivere would be willing, though reluctant, to accept her help when she realized Pinkie was right. Stubborn as always.

"Seriously? Come on, Gwen. You know things'll go a lot quicker and smoother if you let me help. I wanna win this competition, too, you know."

"And you will. So long as you let me 'andle it."

Pinkie went from disappointment to frustration rather quickly, but she didn't want to get mad at Gwenivere; that wouldn't do much towards making friends with her. "What if... What if I come up with some recipes of my own? I can give 'em to you, and if you like one of 'em you can use it and make any changes you want to it."

"You do zat, see what 'appens," Gwenivere said as she turned her attention back to her recipes.

Pinkie finally smiled again and hopped off her chair. "Alright-y! Then I'm gonna head back to my place to do some concocting!"

Gwenivere also got up from her seat to head for the door. "In zee meantime, I must 'ead to zee grocery store to restock on ingredients. I may also need un peu more space..." she mumbled to herself as she stepped out.

Pinkie eagerly bounded out behind her to head back to her own place. However, she barely made it a few feet down the hall before she came to a halt, all exuberance draining away immediately. Exiting the stairwell at the end of the hall was a certain crimson unicorn that Pinkie had been actively avoiding where possible. Gwenivere brushed past Sugar Cookie and entered the stairwell without so much as a second glance—or first for that matter. As far as Pinkie was aware, the griffon still had no idea what had gone down between the two ponies. And even if she did, would she even consider it any of her business? Probably not.

The moment Sugar's eyes met Pinkie's, the unicorn also stopped in her tracks. If things had been uncomfortable between them before Sugar's altercation with Rainbow Dash, how could they possibly describe the atmosphere now? There was almost a latent fear in her eyes, as if seeing Pinkie Pie meant that Rainbow Dash was nearby, ready to pounce at any moment.

Pinkie decided to just do what she'd been doing everyday up until now: attempt to avoid Sugar. Maybe it wasn't healthy to ignore the problem, but she honestly didn't know how to handle the situation and would prefer to simply get back to her day-to-day until she could come up with some sort of solution. Pinkie hurried down the hall, keeping her head down and making sure to reach her door before Sugar did.

"Pinkie Pie, wait!"

Sugar's voice sent an uncomfortable shiver down Pinkie's spine. As pleasant as her voice normally was, Pinkie could only associate it with bad memories right now. She was so close to getting away; her hoof was on the doorknob, all she had to do was ignore Sugar, turn the knob, and go inside.

But she didn't. Pinkie looked up from her hoof. Sugar cautiously trotted up to her, looking hesitant to approach. She certainly didn't look like the same mare that had insulted her just a week prior.

Pinkie Pie didn't say anything. Since Sugar was the one who beckoned to her, she waited for her to speak first.

"Can we talk?" Sugar asked meekly.

To Pinkie's mind, the question was presented as an opportunity. She could simply say no and escape this no doubt uncomfortable situation. But curiosity got the better of her. Sugar wished to talk to her and her tone didn't imply any animosity. Still though...

"I don't know if I want to talk right now," Pinkie answered quietly.

"Please, I want to explain myself," the unicorn pleaded. She gestured toward her apartment. Pinkie simply gave her an icy glare. Sugar recognized her mistake immediately. "Or... maybe not. Listen, I want to apologize for the way I behaved last week. I was not in my right mind."

"An apology's not gonna make it better," Pinkie stated bluntly. "I can't look at you without thinking about the stuff you did. You got me drunk, then tried to have your way with me. You tried to get Rainbow Dash kicked out. You make up horrible lies about me to my friends. We were supposed to be friends, Sugar. I trusted you. You were the first friend we made when we got here. I don't know if you realize this, but I've never felt so betrayed before. I've never said this to anypony before, but..." The light in Pinkie's eyes had faded. She looked at Sugar with deep hurt and sadness. "I don't think we can be friends anymore."

Sugar's ears folded back. Having gotten to know Pinkie over the months, hearing her say that cut pretty deep.

"Why would you do those things, Sugar?" Pinkie inquired, her voice sounding as if she were on the verge of tears.

"I-I just—"

Sugar was interrupted when the door to Pinkie's dorm opened up. The unicorn shrunk back when Rainbow Dash poked her head out.

"Oh, hey, I thought I heard you out here, Pinkie," Dash said when she immediately spotted the earth pony standing in the hall. "What're you—" As soon as her eyes fell upon the other mare in the hallway, her brow knit tightly and she stepped out in front of Pinkie as if to defend her. "What do you think you're doing?" the pegasus snapped.

Sugar stood at the ready, preparing to bolt into own apartment the moment she noticed any danger. "W-We were just talking. I wanted to apologize to her."

"Yeah, I bet," Dash snipped skeptically. "Listen, I didn't think I'd have to tell you to stay the hell away from Pinkie. You think I'm gonna just let you do whatever after you tried to rape my friend?"

Sugar's mouth dropped at the accusation. "W-What?! I did not try to—"

"Save it! You are just the worst kind of scum, you know that? If I see you anywhere near Pinkie again, I'll—"

"Rainbow Dash!"

Dash turned back to Pinkie. The stern expression on her face surprised her.

"We were just talking," Pinkie said calmly, yet authoritatively. "I asked her a question and she hasn't answered me yet. Can you give us some time please?"

Rainbow Dash was about to outright deny that request, but the look on Pinkie's face told her that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. Reluctantly, the pegasus went back into the dorm. "Fine. But if I hear anything that I don't like, I'm coming back out." She locked eyes with Sugar as she closed the door, glaring harshly at her.

Now that they were alone again, Pinkie turned back to Sugar, awaiting the answer to her question. Not surprisingly, however, the unicorn looked a little on edge knowing that Rainbow Dash might barge back out at any moment. Sugar tried her best to compose herself, looking Pinkie in the eye and attempting to find the right words to explain her heinous actions.

Sugar took a deep breath. "To answer your question, the reason I did all those things is because I like you."

Pinkie was confused by that response. "That doesn't seem like the sort of thing you do to somepony you like."

Sugar turned her eyes down in shame. "I know. But from the moment I met you, I could not stop thinking about you. Your enthusiasm is just so adorable."

Given everything that was on her mind, Pinkie didn't really acknowledge the compliment. "But if you liked me that way, then why didn't you just say so?"

"I made so many gestures to let you know I was interested. Did you not recognize any of them?"

Pinkie pursed her lips as she thought back. "Um, I guess not. Sorry, I just thought they were kind gestures between friends. I'm not really great at reading into things like that."

"And to clarify, it was not my intention to get you drunk. We were just celebrating. I did not plan things to go the way they did, I just... saw it as an opportunity."

Pinkie was hurt to hear that. "An opportunity?"

"Not like that!" Sugar quickly backpedaled. "I figured, since we were alone, it was a beautiful night, I wanted to see if anything could come of that." She sighed remorsefully. "But I crossed the line. I wish I could blame it on the alcohol, but I had hardly had any. And I am so terribly sorry."

"But that doesn't really explain why you acted the way you did last week," Pinkie pointed out. "Why did you try to get Rainbow Dash kicked out? And why did you tell my friends that I was an alcoholic?"

Sugar's shame only deepened. "Because I was jealous."

"Jealous?" Pinkie repeated with a tilt of her head.

"Of Rainbow Dash. When I saw you two together, I could not help but think, 'What does she have that I do not?' I thought that if could get rid of her... I could have you to myself." Sugar just felt even worse having to say that.

"But me and Rainbow Dash are just friends. I didn't even know she had feelings for me until after your fight," Pinkie explained.

"Ya, I know that now. I acted irrationally. I am sorry. Actually, perhaps I should thank Rainbow Dash. After she attacked me, I started to realize the horrible mistakes I had made. And that is why I am asking for your forgiveness now."

Pinkie looked away from her. "I-I don't know if can forgive you. I want to. I really want to, but I can't just forget about the stuff that happened. Every time I look into your eyes, I just remember that night and how traumatic it was for me."

"Please," Sugar begged. "I do not think I could live with myself knowing that you hated me. I just want your forgiveness. I will understand it if do not want me around anymore."

Pinkie closed her eyes in contemplation and hummed as she deliberated. "Hmm..." She let out a sigh. "I still don't know." Pinkie turned around and opened the door to her apartment, surprising the three mares standing behind it who've suddenly been caught listening in. "What do you guys think?"

Having been caught off guard, Candy, Puff, and Rainbow Dash struggled for a response. Candy was first to speak.

"Um, well, admittedly, her apology does sound genuine. But I guess she could just be a good actor. Honestly, I can't quite figure out if she's really sorry, or just sorry she got called out on her mistakes."

"If you ask me, it's not unheard of for people to do the wrong thing but think vhat they're doing is right," Puff argued. "I think vee've all known somepony like that at some point in our lives." She looked at Candy when she said that.

Candy could tell she was referring to the way she had treated Ginger Snap in the past, and conceded the point. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"What about you, Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie asked.

Dash pointed to herself. "What? Me? I think you know full well how I feel about this," she said with glare in Sugar's direction.

"Please," Sugar pleaded with Rainbow Dash. "I did not mean anything that I did. I was not myself. I will do anything to earn your forgiveness as well, Rainbow Dash."

Dash stared at the unicorn skeptically.

"Come on, Dash," Candy said. "I think she's actually really sorry about everything."

Dash was hesitant to admit anything. Maybe she wasn't the greatest judge of character, but Sugar did look absolutely heartbroken by the prospect of not being forgiven. Rainbow Dash sighed reluctantly. "I guess... we do have similar taste in mares."

Pinkie Pie finally managed a smile. "Does that mean...?"

Dash's expression became stern. "But I'm keeping my eye on you," she said, pointing to Sugar. "You try anything with my best friend and you have to answer to me."

"I promise there will be no more funny business," Sugar assured with a relieved grin.

Pinkie breathed a deep sigh of relief. "I guess if Dashie can forgive you, so can I." Pinkie gave Sugar a light hug. She surprised herself that she was so quick to do that. She had thought that any sort of affectionate interaction with the unicorn would dredge up those awful memories again, but she was relieved to find that that wasn't the case. This mare was her friend again first and foremost. Any bad memories would have to fall by the wayside.

"I'm just glad I don't have to cross a name off my friends list," Pinkie said as she pulled back from the hug. "I know they say there's a first time for everything, but I think I'll be better off if I never have to do that ever."

"So would you like to hang out for a while?" Candy offered Sugar. "Puff and I were just practicing a recipe for the Cake-Off."

"I would like to see that," Sugar accepted with a nod.

"Oh! Speaking of which..." Pinkie chirped. She ran off to the bedroom and quickly returned with a stack of blank papers and sat on the couch. "Gwen tasked me with making a few recipes of my own so we can test 'em out, so I better get crack-a-lackin'."

Puff gave Pinkie an incredulous look. "So she actually agreed to let you help?"

"Well, I offered to make the recipes, and she's gonna look 'em over."

Rainbow Dash sat next to Pinkie. "I don't know, Pinkie. Kinda sounds like she's just trying to keep you busy while she does all the work."

Pinkie scoffed at Dash's theory. "Pfft. As if. We're a team, and we're gonna work as a team, whether she likes it or not."

Dash rolled her eyes at Pinkie's naïve optimism. "Whatever you say, Pinkie. Anyway, do you have something in mind?"

Pinkie tapped her chin in thought. "Hmm... No, not really. I know I want this cake to be the biggest and most awesome-est cake I've ever made, but I haven't really worked out the specifics just yet. What I need is inspiration."

"And do you think you'll get that?"

The earth pony shrugged. "Dunno, but I'm sure it'll come to me. Always does," she said with a sure grin.

Rainbow Dash got up from the couch. "Well, this looks like the kinda thing you really need to focus on, so I guess I'll leave you to it."

Pinkie nodded gratefully. It's not that she didn't want Rainbow Dash around, or that she thought she'd be a distraction, she just appreciated that her best friend wanted to give her the space she needed. Pinkie knew that if she wanted to blow away all expectations, she was going to have to pull out all the stops.

Leaving Pinkie to her work, Rainbow Dash headed to the kitchen, where the other three mares were. The pegasus took a seat at the table. There were still a few cookies that Puff and Candy had made earlier still sitting on a plate there, so she helped herself to one. She didn't really want to interrupt them; they were just as busy as Pinkie was. Dash was content just observing.

Sugar Cookie, however, had gotten a little more involved. She was standing at the counter with them, chatting, asking questions, and occasionally fetching something they needed from the pantry for them.

The pegasus took another bite of her cookie. A part of her still felt like Sugar didn't belong here, that she should still be as far away from Pinkie as she could get. She felt justified in thinking that. After all, they had only just made up. Rainbow Dash knew better than anypony at this point that you don't just get over feelings that strong right away. It was going to take some time before she was really able to call the unicorn a friend, especially considering she was the only one in the room that hadn't been friends with her prior.

Still, Dash couldn't shake the feeling that Sugar's motives for apologizing to Pinkie were entirely self-serving. This mare had similar feelings for the pink pony that she did. She couldn't really consider her a romantic rival as Pinkie wasn't interested in dating either of them, and even if she was, Dash would be the front runner, bar none. But that didn't stop the pegasus from worrying that Sugar might one day try something again since she obviously still had feelings for Pinkie, not to mention her jealousy.

Maybe it was best if she try and lay these concerns to rest sooner rather than later.

"Hey, Sugar."

The crimson unicorn turned to face the pegasus with a quizzical look. "Ya?"

"Can we talk for minute?" Dash gestured to another chair at the table.

Sugar glanced back at the other two mares still busy with their work. Saying nothing, they both made gestures of their own suggesting that she listen to Dash. Considering how strained their relationship had been up until this point, it was probably a good idea to sit down and actually talk to Rainbow Dash for the first time. "Sure." Sugar took a seat next to Rainbow Dash. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I wanna talk about you and all the stuff you've put us through," she stated frankly.

"Uh, should we give you two some privacy?" Candy inquired, sensing the tension in the kitchen.

Dash shook her head. "Nah, it's cool. We're just talking."

Somehow that made Sugar's muscles relax a bit. Admittedly, she was a little concerned that the cyan mare was going to chew her out about the things she's done and the way she'd acted. Hopefully this conversation could remain civil.

Rainbow Dash looked Sugar straight in the eye. "Listen, I'm not gonna sugarcoat this. You did a lot of crappy things. After all that, I find it hard to believe that you'd just change like that."

Sugar nodded, breaking eye contact with the pegasus. "That is... understandable. As I said to Pinkie, your aggression towards me—for lack of a better term—is what helped me realize how crumby I have been acting."

"Right. I guess I should apologize for that, huh?"

Sugar shook her head. "No, there is no need for that. You were protecting your friend. Had I been in your position, I probably would have done the same."

Dash raised an eyebrow. "Really? You would've jumped me and tried to hurt me?"

The unicorn chuckled lightly. "I did not try, I succeeded."

"Oh, right," Dash said as she raised her hoof to her cheek in realization.

"So, really, I should be apologizing to you. Hopefully you understand that I was simply defending myself."

Rainbow Dash waved her hoof dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, I get that. I guess I had it coming."

"But I would like to reiterate that I want to thank you for opening my eyes. Had it not been for you, I would still be holed up in my room and harboring an unwarranted grudge against you."

"Well, I'm gonna say sorry anyway," Dash said. "If I didn't, Pinkie'd probably make me anyway."

"I'm just glad we can put all of this behind us," Sugar said with a soft grin.

"I wouldn't go that far."

Sugar's smile vanished. "I-I thought that was what this talk was about."

"This talk was about the stuff you did," Dash reminded her. "Pinkie might be willing to forgive you, but I haven't seen you do anything to earn that other than spout apologies and excuses. Like Pinkie, I want to forgive you, for her sake, but after what you did, how exactly do we know we can trust you?"

Sugar shied away for a moment. "I suppose you do not. But that is what I want to do: earn your trust. Anything I could possibly do to truly earn your trust and forgiveness, I will do it."

Dash was still a mite skeptical. "I don't know. I still can't help but think you have an ulterior motive here."

"Can I interject?" Candy chimed in as she mixed more cake batter.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

"We've known Sugar a lot longer than you, Dash, and we noticed it when she started acting differently. The Sugar that you've been exposed to isn't the same pony we knew when we first arrived here."

Sugar smiled at Candy's support, happy that at least one pony was willing to step in to defend her.

Candy continued. "Granted, I can't help but think her attraction to Pinkie may have been the main reason she wanted to be friends with us. That'd explain a lot, now that I think about it."

Sugar looked a little ashamed. "As much as I would hate to admit it, you may be right. I have always had a thing for party girls. Although, Pinkie is not exactly the typical definition of a party girl. Even so, I still enjoyed spending time with you all. I do treasure your friendships. And now that I know Pinkie is not interested, I do not have to vie for her affection. It would be unfair of me to put that sort of pressure on her, knowing that somepony had feelings for her but she could not reciprocate."

Candy grinned coyly. "Hear that, Dash? It would be unfair to put that sort of pressure on Pinkie."

Dash shot a glance toward Candy. How had this conversation turned against her all of a sudden? Regardless, both Candy and Sugar had a point. Rainbow Dash looked out into the living room. Pinkie Pie was busily scrawling notes and sketches on paper, seemingly having paid no attention to the conversation happening just a few feet away. Dash sighed internally. She had been so concerned about how her feelings for Pinkie affected herself, she hadn't even considered how Pinkie must feel. Even though she insisted that she was okay with it and managed to keep up appearances, maybe she was only putting up a tough front for Dash's sake. Perhaps she was just as confused and uncomfortable as Dash was.

"Okay, I get it," the pegasus said with a sigh. She looked Sugar in the eye again. "Maybe my first impression of you wasn't great."

"That's understating it a tad," Puff said.

"I guess it's only fair to give you a chance to show me the real you."

"I greatly appreciate that," Sugar said with a grateful smile.

"You guys done making up now?" Pinkie called out from the living room.

Rainbow Dash was a little surprised by Pinkie's interjection. "Oh, I didn't know you were listening."

Pinkie turned around, leaning over the back of the couch. "Course I was. You think I'm gonna tune out when my friends are trying to reconcile? As if. That being said, your conversation was kinda distracting." She held up one of the papers she had been scribbling on. Instead of measurements and cake designs, the sheet had a rather childish drawing of what appeared to be Sugar and Rainbow Dash with big, goofy smiles and sharing a hug.

"Hey, now that the air's been cleared, maybe we should all go out for a while. You know, do something fun," Candy suggested. "I think it's high time that Rainbow Dash and Sugar actually got to know one another. I mean, we've got a whole month to practice for the Cake-Off. There's no need to spend every waking hour working on it."

"That sounds like fun," Sugar approved. "But no night clubs. I have learned my lesson."

"How's laser tag sound?" Rainbow Dash suggested. "Me and Pinkie found a place a few months ago."

"Um, that might be a little more high octane than I'd like," said Puff. "I don't think I'm really built for activity like that."

"How about we just walk around until we find something that interests us?" Sugar proposed.

"I guess that gives you two plenty of time to chat," Candy added.

Dash nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good." She turned in Pinkie Pie's direction. "What do you think, Pinks? You up for a night out?"

Pinkie shook her head with a respectful grin. "As much as I'd like to, I really wanna come up with a recipe that'll knock Gwen's socks off. Oh, but while you're out, can you pick up a pair of socks so I can give 'em to Gwen to make sure she has some to knock off?"

Rainbow Dash got off her chair and the four mares made their way to the door. "Sure thing, Pinkie. But I'm not sure when we'll be back."

"That's fine. Take all the time you need and have lotsa fun!"

Candy made sure all of the appliances in the kitchen were off and all dirty dishes were in the sink. "Alright. See you later, Pinkie," Candy bid her as she joined the group as they stepped out.

"Bye bye!"

Now that she was alone, Pinkie could finally devote all of her attention to her work. She straightened up, cracked her neck, and rolled her shoulders as she prepared to get right into it.

"Come on, brain, let's see what we can do."

***** ***** *****

Pinkie Pie ran a hoof through her frazzled mane, letting out a somewhat frustrated groan. The apartment was bathed in the dull glow of a lamp that had been brought out from the bedroom and placed on the coffee table. The light, as limited as it may be, was necessary as the incandescent light of the sun was no longer being provided. Why she didn't just turn on the light switch by the door was anypony's guess. Regardless, it had gotten pretty late. It was quite dark outside now, although the city was still adequately lit up by streetlamps, not to mention the soft glow of the white moon. But those didn't provide enough light on their own.

Pinkie Pie threw her head back, leaning into the couch and stretching her back. She'd been hunched over the coffee table scribbling on her papers for what felt like hours now. She glanced up at the clock on the wall, her eyes widening a bit. Apparently it had been hours; it was almost midnight. She stared back down at the papers, most of them either crumpled up into a ball and tossed aside, or completely blank. Here she was, toiling away to come up with a cake idea for the Cake-Off, but had yet to figure out even one recipe. Normally, she didn't have any problem coming up with recipes. It was always about making something that fit the circumstances. But what sort of design would be appropriate for The Great Cake-Off? The theme was, well, cake. What was she supposed to do, bake a cake... cake? How would that work?

The exhausted earth pony let out a long yawn. How could she be so tired when she hadn't even managed to get anything done? Maybe it was just as well to give it a rest for the night. Perhaps she was just having an off day. Maybe she would have a dream that gave her some idea of what to do.

Pinkie took one more look at the clock to make sure she wasn't seeing things the first time. It was still midnight. She found it a little strange that her friends had not yet returned, or perhaps she was just so involved in her work that she didn't notice them come back. Probably not, she told herself. They were probably just having so much fun out there that they'd simply lost track of time. She managed a small, tired smile at the thought of her friends enjoying themselves and each others company, especially Rainbow Dash and Sugar. She was just so happy that they managed to work things out. Now she didn't have to feel uncomfortable every time she looked at Sugar. Unfortunately, she was missing out on Dash's reconciliation with her. A part of her wished that she'd gone with them, and seeing how she'd gotten nothing done tonight, now she would have felt justified in that choice had she made it. She was just wasting her time here when she could be out having fun with her best friend, the friend whose life she helped saved, the friend whose relationship with her mother she helped repair, and the friend who apologized for her past transgressions.

"Huh. We've been through a lot, haven't we?" Pinkie noted to herself.

Pinkie's eyes widened suddenly. A spark went off in her mind, as if a puzzle she'd been trying to solve suddenly had all of its pieces fall into place.

"That's it!"

She shot up in her seat, grabbed her pencil and paper, and began frantically writing and drawing with an expression of sheer determination.

With each thing she wrote down, she nodded as if to agree with herself. "Yup, that's looking good," she said to herself, trying to hold back her growing excitement as everything started coming together on the paper. "Why didn't I think of this until now?"

She couldn't believe it had taken her this long to get the inspiration she needed. She almost wanted to drop the pencil and start baking right now, but she remembered that this wasn't just her cake, it was Gwenivere's, too.

"Oh, right! Can't forget Gwen!" She flipped over her pencil to erase something and readjust some ingredient measurements to accommodate her realization.

She was scribbling up a storm. The graphite of her pencil was practically smoking from how quickly this was piecing together. She'd never been this excited about a recipe before. This idea could very well be her magnum opus, the greatest cake she's ever made.

After several more minutes of making notes and adding extra little details here and there, Pinkie finally leaned back to take a breather. She lifted the paper and thoroughly analyzed it, her smile growing wider with each passing second. She nodded at her work.

"Ya-huh. This'll do nicely," she said with satisfaction. She let out a giddy squeak, holding the recipe tightly to her chest. "Hehe! I can't wait to show Gwen!"

Pinkie's ears perked up. She heard the sound of a door opening out in the hall. At first, she thought that it might be her friends coming back, but the sound of steps getting closer to her dorm was coming from the opposite direction from the stairwell. In fact, whoever it was must have been heading for the stairs as they walked right past Pinkie's place. The earth pony got up to see who it was. She opened the door and peeked out towards the stairwell. Unfortunately, the individual had just disappeared behind the stairway door. However, Pinkie did manage to get a brief glimpse of a slender tail with a tuft of black fur on the end.

Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Gwen? What's she doing out this late?" She glanced down at the paper she was still holding, a smile suddenly stretching across her face. "Oh! This might be a good opportunity to share my idea!"

With that idea in her head, Pinkie started off after Gwen. She needed to catch up so she didn't lose track of her.

***** ***** *****

Gwenivere carefully worked her way down the near-pitch black hallway of the university. It was difficult to see, but she knew exactly where her destination was; she'd been there almost every day since she had arrived at the school. Once she found the door she was looking for, she placed her claw upon the knob. However, she paused and looked over her shoulder. She was admittedly a little paranoid, but that was only because she knew that what she was doing was risky. She just had to get it done quickly.

Gwenivere opened the door and quickly slipped inside, closing the door behind her. She pulled off the bags she had slung over her back and removed a small, portable lamp, placing it on a table in the middle of the room and turning it on. What little light it provided managed to illuminate the ovens and workstations of the class kitchen, still as pristine as they had left it after they had cleaned up after classes today. Gwenivere thought it'd be too risky to turn on the kitchen's light switch; it may cast too much light underneath the door, and anyone who passed by—however unlikely that was at this hour—would catch her.

The griffon let out a sigh and ran her talons through the red and black dyed feathers of her bangs. She knew she needed to work fast, but at the same time, this wasn't something she could rush. She may very well be there for most of the night.

Gwenivere pulled out everything she needed: baking pans, bowls, whisks, rubber spatulas, etcetera. She picked up her lamp and brought it with her to the kitchen's pantry. She had brought some of the things she'd need with her, but there was no way she could lug everything she needed from her dorm down to the class kitchen. Thankfully, the kitchen pantry was always stocked enough for an entire class of students to work with, so there was little doubt she'd have everything she needed. But then there was the issue of her father discovering that some of their baking supplies were missing. She just had to hope he figured that someone had forgotten to restock it.

Having gotten all of her ingredients together, Gwenivere went back to her bags, pulling out a silver thermos. She unscrewed the cap, letting the strong aroma of dark coffee waft up into the room; if she was going to be here all night, she was going to have to stay awake. She took a quick sip, satisfied that the thermos had done its job of keeping it piping hot, just the way she liked it.

Coffee wasn't the only thing she brought with her either. Gwenivere also removed a small, plastic container holding at least a dozen bacon strips. She figured she'd probably want something to snack on as the night went on. Honestly, this was a bit of a luxury for her now. Her roommate wasn't too comfortable with her eating meat in her presence and as pleasant as the smell of sizzling bacon was to the griffon, Candy found it quite off-putting. Gwenivere located a frying pan and placed it on one of the stove tops, letting it heat up as she placed a few strips into it. It had been a while since she'd had a chance to bite into a crispy piece of fried meat. She was looking forward to this.

Next, Gwenivere removed several sheets of paper from her bags. She looked them over, isolating one of them and laying the rest on the counter top. She may as well get to work while she was waiting for her snack to cook. She took another sip of her coffee.

"Gwen?"

The voice, accompanied by the kitchen lights switching on, caused the griffon to immediately spray the coffee in her mouth all over the stove top, inadvertently getting some in the pan and on her bacon. That was less concerning, however, than having been caught red-clawed. Gwenivere swiveled around to face the person who had busted her, seeing the quizzical expression of her Cake-Off partner standing at the door.

Gwenivere clutched her chest, breathing a deep sigh. "Oh, it's just you," she groaned in aggravation. In a way, she was thankful to see Pinkie for once. Not that she wanted to see her, but out of all the people who could have caught her, Pinkie was the one least likely to rat her out. Still though, she was getting a little tired of just how many times Pinkie had crept up on her and scared the feathers off of her in the last year. "What are you doing 'ere?" Gwenivere asked with a scowl, grabbing a roll of paper towels to clean the coffee off of the stove.

"I think I should be asking you that," Pinkie countered. The earth pony took note of all the ingredients and utensils Gwenivere had prepared. "Are you baking? Gwen, you know we're not allowed to use this kitchen after class hours. It's against the rules."

Gwenivere rolled her eyes, dropping a ball of coffee-soaked paper towels in a nearby trash can. "I am well aware. I simply needed more space to work wiz my recipes. One oven can only do so much."

"And so can one griffon," Pinkie argued. "It would go a lot more smoothly if you just let me help."

Gwenivere groaned loudly, running her claw over her face in annoyance. She stomped up to Pinkie Pie, prodding her in the chest. "When are you going to get zis zrough your zick skull: I. Do not. Need. Your 'elp. I am zee daughter of zee great Gustave le Grand. I am perfectly capable of winning zis competition on my own merits."

"And what would the great Gustave le Grand think if he knew you were breaking the rules like this?"

The griffon narrowed her eyes. "Are you zreatening to tattle on me?"

Pinkie gulped worriedly. She didn't really want to do anything to make Gwenivere dislike her more than she already did, and telling on her certainly wouldn't help that. "Um, no?"

"'No'? Wiz a question mark?"

"How about, uh..." An idea struck Pinkie. Maybe it was a little risky, but some risks were worth taking. "How about this: if you let me help, I'll keep my lips zipped." She punctuated the offer by making a zipping motion across her mouth.

Gwenivere mulled that over for a moment. She breathed a defeated sigh. As much as she would hate to admit it, Pinkie had her backed into a corner. She couldn't really afford to say no now. "I suppose... I 'ave no choice. Mais, may I ask you a question?"

Pinkie raised a cautious eyebrow. "Um, I guess?"

"Why do you insist on 'elping me? I am willingly taking on all of zee responsabilité for zis competition. You do not 'ave to do anyzing. You can just sit back and win wiz no effort."

Pinkie's expression became serious, a face that Gwenivere didn't see on her often. "There's a few reasons actually. For one, you said it yourself that your dad changed the rules of the Cake-Off to make us work together. He knows how much I want to be friends with you, and he clearly wants you to accept my friendship."

Gwenivere was about to interject, but Pinkie continued before she could.

"Secondly, you've proven that giant cakes aren't exactly your forté, but I have tons of experience with big pastries. Literally tons. But I feel like you have a flair for design, so I figured with your designs and my expertise, we could make something awesome."

Once again, Gwenivere attempted to step in to correct a few things, but, once again, Pinkie kept going.

"And finally, I didn't come to Steeden to not bake. I came here to learn and make stuff I never could have made before. I love baking. It's fun, it's stress-relieving, it's tasty, and I don't want to miss out on something as big as the Cake-Off. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Gwenivere opened her mouth to talk, but, yet again, she couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"Look, I know what you're like, Gwen. I know this all has to do with your pride and making your dad proud, but I think what would make your dad proud is for you to make a friend for once instead of competing with everyone. What's so bad about making a friend?"

Gwenivere drew back, biting her lip. Pinkie had a point. She knew that. It was the whole reason they were being forced to work together. If her dad found out that she made Pinkie sit on the bench while she did all the work herself, would he really be proud of her? Gwenivere looked Pinkie in the eye. Her silence indicated that her last question was not rhetorical. She was waiting for an answer. Gwenivere stayed quiet for a moment longer, trying to think of what to say.

"Did... Did you come up wiz any recipes?"

A smile creased Pinkie's lips. It wasn't exactly an acknowledgement that Gwenivere had been acting like a jerk, but it was a start. "I sure did." Pinkie pulled a piece of paper out of her poofy mane, straightened out the wrinkles, and showed it to the griffon. "It's only the one, and I don't expect you to choose this one over any of yours. I just wanna feel like I contributed something. I still wanna try out some of your recipes though. Those cakes you drew look delicious. Honestly, I'm just happy that your letting me—FIRE!"

Pinkie's hoof shot out, pointing over Gwenivere's shoulder in panic. The griffon spun around toward the stove. The frying pan her bacon had been cooking in was engulfed in flame. The roll of paper towels she had used to clean up her coffee had fallen over onto the pan and caught fire, allowing the grease in the pan to go up with it.

"W-Whadda we do?!" Pinkie panicked, trotting in place nervously.

"Stay calm. We just need to find a way to put it out."

"Got it!"

Apparently, Pinkie Pie had somehow already managed to fill a bowl with water and prepared to douse the flames.

Gwenivere's eyes shot wide open. "Wait! Pinkie zat's—!"

Before Gwenivere could finish, Pinkie had already tossed the water. The instant the liquid made contact with the pan, the flames, instead of dying out with a loud sizzle, burst upward with a roaring whoosh, the orange fire now glowing a dull red and reaching even higher than before.

"That's bad!" Pinkie screamed in terror.

"It's a grease fire! Water only makes it worse!" Gwenivere snapped. However, given the situation they were in, she had no time to scold Pinkie. They needed to act fast. "Quickly, extincteur d'incendie!"

Pinkie simply stared blankly at her.

"Zee fire extinguisher, you dolt!" she reiterated, pointing to the red canister on the wall behind the pony.

"Oh, right!" Pinkie dashed over, picked up the fire extinguisher, and proceeded to toss it into the fire with a loud clank. Gwenivere could only stare in utter disbelief at Pinkie's complete ineptitude. "Whoops. Sorry. I panicked."

The flames only continued to billow and burn, dark smoke rising to the ceiling. The fire had already grown too big to attempt to do anything with the pan itself, and if they didn't do something fast, the flames would only wind up spreading. Gwenivere looked around frantically, searching for anything that she could use. Her eyes eventually fell upon the switch for the fire alarm on the wall. She surprised even herself when she hesitated. She knew that if she pulled it, it would basically be an admission that she had broken the rules and used the kitchen after class hours. However, the alternative of letting the fire burn was ultimately a worse scenario. Gwenivere scrambled to the switch and pulled it. The entire university was immediately assaulted by the loud blaring of the fire alarm, no doubt waking everyone from their slumbers.

"Pinkie Pie! We need to leave! Now!" Gwenivere made for the door, but stopped when she realized the pony hadn't moved. Pinkie just stood there, staring at the blaze like a deer in the headlights. "What are you doing?! Rapidement!" But the earth pony didn't budge.

Gwenivere dashed back and forcefully grabbed Pinkie Pie by the hoof, dragging her out of the kitchen herself. All they could do now was get to safety and hope for the best.

Chapter 16 - Out of the Frying Pan...

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 16: Out of the Frying Pan...

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The night air over Trotholm was cool and mild, making for a nice night to take a walk or go jogging. It wasn't exactly warm, as autumn was just around the corner, and there was a brisk breeze that may elicit shivers from somepony who wasn't accustomed to such temperatures or dressed appropriately. Perhaps if it were midday, the sun would make the weather a tad warmer, to the point where additional clothing might not be necessary. But it was quite late now—past midnight in fact—closing in on one o' clock.

Of course, that didn't stop four particular ponies from enjoying a refreshing breath of crisp, Steedish air. Rainbow Dash, Candy Cane, Puff Pastry, and Sugar Cookie had been out and about for several hours now, but none of them would have guessed that. As they made their way back to the university after their night on the town, the quartet of mares walked with chipper smiles on their faces, continuing their friendly conversations as they went.

It was a long night for them, but it certainly didn't feel like it. Aside from aimlessly wandering the city, they had made a few stops during their outing. They found a nice little restaurant shortly after stepping out and decided to grab a bite to eat; it might be one of the last times they had a chance to do so with the end of their course and graduation fast approaching. But as the night went on, there were fewer and fewer places for them to go, with most places of business closing as the sun went down. Pretty much the only places left open were various twenty-four hour corner stores, and they didn't really have any reason to visit one of those, aside from perhaps grabbing a small, late night snack.

"This has been pretty fun," Puff noted as she took another bite of the chocolate bar she'd purchased from that last convenience store.

"Yeah, it has," Candy agreed with a yawn. "But it's getting pretty late, huh? Honestly wasn't expecting us to be out this long."

"I am not going to complain," Sugar said with a grin. "It is just nice to be able to hang out with you girls again. I have missed this."

Rainbow Dash nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, this was pretty fun. And, look, I'm sorry about all the crap I said to you, Sugar. I guess I should actually say that it's nice to meet you. No hard feelings?"

The unicorn waved her hoof dismissively. "Of course. The way I acted was unacceptable. As I said, I will make it up to you and Pinkie in any way I can."

"Sure. But speaking of which, I really wish Pinkie was here."

"Yeah, it feels kinda weird to be doing something as a group without Pinkie," said Candy. "She's usually the one dragging us around like she's walking a dog."

"Considering how excitable Pinkie is, are you sure she's not the dog?" Dash joked with a chuckle.

Candy shrugged with an amused grin. "Guess you've got a point."

"I've known Pinkie a long time. I know I've got a point."

Sugar let out a wistful sigh. "I really envy you, Rainbow Dash."

The pegasus lifted an eyebrow. "Uh, well, I guess anypony would envy me. I am me after all. But, uh, I'm guessing that's not exactly what you mean."

"I envy how close you and Pinkie Pie are," Sugar explained.

"Um, Sugar..." Candy interjected. "You guys just made up. Are you sure it's a good idea to bring up your jealousy again?"

Sugar shook her head. "There is a difference between jealousy and envy. I am simply worried that my actions, despite my apologies, may have had an irreversible effect on my friendship with Pinkie. I am afraid that we may never really get back to the same point as before I... assaulted her." Her ears folded back in remorse.

Rainbow Dash saw that look on her face. It looked familiar to her. "You really like her, huh?"

Sugar breathed a guilty sigh. "I do."

"I know that feeling."

The unicorn looked up at Dash, slightly confused. She had expected her to be at least a little defensive.

Rainbow Dash looked Sugar in the eye with a grin. "Her enthusiasm's pretty infectious, isn't it?"

Sugar nodded. "Ya. I feel like I was sort of drawn in by her optimism."

"I can understand that, but take it from me, it is possible—and very likely—to get burned out on her when you've known her as long as me," Dash informed with a laugh.

Puff watched as the pegasus and unicorn shared in their interest for Pinkie, noticing just how well the two of them had been getting along when, less than twelve hours ago, Rainbow Dash would've been willing to throw down with her at the drop of a hat. Puff giggled to herself. "You know vhat vould be funny? If you two tried going out together."

Rainbow Dash grimaced slightly at the notion. "What?"

Candy also found the thought amusing. "Actually, when you think about it, two ponies brought together by how much they care about somepony else; it's kinda cute."

"Yeah, no," the cyan mare deadpanned.

"I have to agree with Rainbow Dash," Sugar said with a blush. "She is really not my type."

Candy nodded as she recalled what Sugar had told them earlier. "Right, you like party girls."

The crimson unicorn shrugged lightly. "It is not so much that as it is I am just not into tomboys. Honestly, it would not kill you to put on a little makeup every now and then, would it?"

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Dash scoffed. "Believe me, Rarity's tried, but every time she's tried to come at me with one of those powder puff thingies, I got the hell outta there. I guess I'm on another boat all together; I think you wear too much makeup. If I'm gonna kiss somepony, I don't wanna get gunk all over my face."

"It is funny to hear that from somepony who dyes her mane like that," Sugar laughed playfully.

Candy and Puff both raised their eyebrows. Rainbow Dash stared, aghast, her cheeks a deep red. "W-What!? W-Where'd you hear that?" she chuckled nervously. She tried to straighten her expression and play it off coolly, running her hoof through her chromatic mane. "I don't know who told you that, but this mane is one hundred percent natural rainbow."

Sugar held a hoof over her mouth to stifle a giggle at the pegasus's reaction. "Right, right, whatever you say."

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat and tried to force her face back to it's usual cyan. She turned to Puff and Candy, waving a hoof defensively. "I don't dye my mane."

"Okay, we believe you," Candy said, not wanting to instigate.

Puff decided it best to change the subject slightly, tossing out another question. "Out of curiosity, vhat's your type, Rainbow Dash?"

"I'd think that'd be obvious," Candy tittered. "Pinkie. Duh."

"Well, yeah, that's about right," Dash admitted. "Pinkie's really the only mare I've ever been interested in. Besides her, I don't really think I have a type. I'm not particularly attracted to party girls like Sugar is. Just Pinkie."

"Do you plan on looking for a date when you get back home?" Sugar inquired.

Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head. "Actually, Pinkie seems to have got it in her head that I need to be fixed up with somepony, and maybe she's got the right idea. I guess it might help get my mind off her. I'll put some feelers out, I suppose, but I'm not going to any singles' bars looking to hook up or anything like that. I'm fine being single for now. I'm also getting a little tired of people thinking I need relationship advice," she said with some slight agitation.

"We're just trying to help," Candy said in their defense.

"And I appreciate it, I do. But if I really need your help with something, I'll ask."

"Fair enough."

"What the—?"

The four of them had stopped walking. They had finally made it back to the university and were standing at the bridge leading them to the courtyard. However, Sugar's sudden confusion directed their attention to what was in the courtyard: several bright red carriages with flashing lights on top and an enormous crowd of people standing around.

"Why is the fire department here?" Sugar asked with concern, being the only one of the four capable of reading the text on the side of the red carriages.

Candy's eyes widened with fright. "Fire department?! There was a fire?!"

"Maybe. I do not know."

"That must be vhy all of the students und faculty are outside," Puff postulated.

"Well, we're not going to get any answers standing around here. Let's find out what's going on!" Rainbow Dash took to the air, flying ahead of her friends and over the front gate into the courtyard.

Out of the crowd of hundreds, Rainbow Dash looked for someone who'd be able to fill her in on what was going on. Thankfully, there was one particular pony that stuck out from the crowd, mostly due to her height and a mane that glowed like an aurora in the moonlight.

"Princess Celestia!"

The alicorn, still wearing her plush, purple night robes, turned towards the voice, seeing Rainbow Dash touch down next to her and her two guards. It didn't take long for the pegasus's three friends to catch up.

"Oh, thank goodness," Celestia said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was worried when I didn't see you around. I thought you all might still be inside."

"What happened?" Candy asked, the distress in her voice increasing by the minute.

"I don't know all the details. The fire alarm went off, and then everyone was rushed outside," the princess explained. "Apparently, a fire somehow started in one of the class kitchens, but that's as much as I know."

"You don't think somepony forgot to turn off the oven after class, do you?" Puff speculated to her friends.

"I think that's very unlikely," Candy argued. "We triple-check that stuff everyday, and I'm sure all of the other classes do, too."

"Then the only remaining explanation is that someone was using the kitchen," Sugar deduced.

"Isn't that against regulations?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah. But I don't know who'd be dumb enough to do something like that," said Candy. "I mean, we have the same ovens in our dorms. Why would someone even need to use the downstairs kitchen?"

"Oh, crap!" Rainbow Dash blurted in panic. "Where's Pinkie!? Is she okay!?"

Her friends showed similar concern when Pinkie was mentioned. However, Celestia was quick to quell their worries.

"Don't worry, I saw she and Gwenivere just a few minutes ago. As far as I am aware, everyone got out of the building just fine; no one was hurt."

Dash breathed a deep sigh. "Thank goodness. So where is she now?"

Princess Celestia used her superior height to look around the crowd until she managed to spot a pink earth pony and a black-furred griffon standing off by themselves. "Oh, I think that's them over there." She pointed Dash and her friends in that direction.

"Okay, thanks." Rainbow Dash had barely finished talking before she was already in the air and headed off to meet up with Pinkie. Candy, Puff, and Sugar followed close behind.

When they made it there, they noticed a distinct look of dread on both their faces. Gwenivere especially looked to be in dire straits, her eyes bloodshot and her feathers ruffled. Pinkie looked like she was in shock.

"Pinkie!"

Before the earth pony could even turn to see who it was, a pair of cyan hooves grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"R-Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie said shakily.

Dash pulled back, her hooves still on Pinkie's shoulders. "The princess told us what happened. You okay?"

Pinkie opened her mouth to talk, but no words came out. Instead, her lips quivered slightly and she pulled Dash in to continue the hug, more for comfort than anything else.

Rainbow Dash, concerned by her best friends behavior, looked up to the griffon. "Gwen? Are you guys okay?"

Gwenivere rubbed one of her forelegs nervously. It was only now that the pegasus noticed that she had been clutching a piece of paper in her talons, but couldn't make out what it was. "We're in trouble, Rainbow Dash. Big trouble."

"It was an accident!" Pinkie blurted in panic. "We were just talking, and then we were gonna work together, but then..." She looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Candy approached them worriedly. "Pinkie, did you two... start the fire?"

"Zis is my fault," Gwenivere said in shame. "I should not 'ave been so stubborn."

"This is serious," Puff said with unease. "You two could be in some deep trouble for this."

A commotion suddenly started up from the giant crowd of people. A group of firefighters were exiting the front door of the university, rolling up their fire hoses as they went. It seemed as though the situation had been abated, which likely meant they could all go back inside soon. The firefighters hitched up their carriages and left the courtyard.

The faculty were all beginning to gather at the entrance, ushering the students back inside. However, one instructor looked in the direction of Pinkie Pie and Gwenivere. Gustave walked over towards them, the stern glower on his face perhaps more intense than any of them had seen on him before. He gestured to Pinkie and his daughter.

"You two. Come wiz me. Now!"

The pair gulped, too afraid to say anything in response. They simply followed him back and went inside with their heads hung low. Pinkie cast a defeated glance back at her friends, seeing the worry on Rainbow Dash's face in particular.

***** ***** *****

Both Pinkie and Gwenivere fidgeted nervously. Gustave had brought them to one of the lecture halls, but left them there by themselves for a few minutes as he needed to consult the higher ups about the situation. That gave the two students more than enough time to think about what they've done and what repercussions would result from it.

Pinkie Pie had gotten in trouble before, sure, but never like this. Any past mishaps that she had caused were easily cleaned up and ultimately harmless. But this was different. She could have been hurt. Gwenivere could have been hurt. Somepony else could have been hurt. She knew that no amount of owning up and taking responsibility was going to get her out of this.

Pinkie glanced over to Gwenivere. The griffon was clearly upset by this turn of events, even more so than Pinkie. The look that her dad had given both of them was enough to instill that sense of looming dread. Gwenivere knew something bad was about to happen to them, it was just a matter of how bad. And because Gwenivere had been so preoccupied by how disappointed her father must be, she hadn't said a word since he brought them in. Admittedly, Pinkie thought that she might try to blame this on her in order to regain some favor from her father. But as much as the griffon has said on numerous occasions that she does not like Pinkie, she was more noble than that; she would not attempt to shift the blame.

However, considering they had some time, Pinkie figured now might be a good time to get something off her chest.

"Thanks."

Gwenivere looked up from the floor, having briefly forgotten that she wasn't the only one who was in trouble. "Why are you zanking moi?"

"I froze up back there. I panicked. I did everything wrong. It was like I forgot everything about workplace safety and what to do in an emergency. We were supposed to know that stuff, but I just blanked. If you weren't so level-headed, one of us could've been hurt. You... kinda saved my life."

Gwenivere sighed. "You are exaggerating. You would 'ave run if zings got too bad. Mais, I do not zink I could tolerate it if I let you come to 'arm."

Pinkie smiled at Gwenivere's compassion. "Aw, Gwen. You do care."

The griffon straightened up, clearing her throat, but unable to hide the redness in her cheeks. "Do not read into it too much. You are ma partenaire for zee Cake-Off après all. Also, I dislike you, mais zat does not mean I want to see you get 'urt."

Pinkie just nodded. "Okay. But I still want to thank you though. I owe you one."

"Zink nozing of it," Gwenivere said apathetically, too busy thinking about what was coming to them to really pay much attention to Pinkie's expression of gratitude.

The pair's attention was diverted from their brief conversation when they heard the door open. As expected—but no less disconcerting—Gustave had returned. As he made his way over to the desk at the head of the room, Pinkie and Gwenivere made note of the expression on his face. They weren't surprised to detect any amount of disappointment and even anger in the way his brow was furrowed and beak was curled after what they'd done, but what was strange—unsettling even—was the presence of what seemed like remorse in his eyes; he barely made eye contact with them until he sat down, and even then not for several moments of awkward, uncomfortable silence.

"What were you zinking?" he asked the two, his voice unnervingly quiet.

Gwenivere spoke, hoping she could talk her father down from whatever furious rage he was clearly attempting to suppress. "Papa, we—"

But she was unable to speak her piece as Gustave ignored her and continued. "It is strictly against zee rules to make use of zee class kitchens après class hours. It is incroyablement dangereux not only to you, but to zee ozer students as well. And Princess Celestia is 'ere as well. By ignoring zee rules, you put even 'er life in danger! And do not try and convince moi zat it was not you; your belongings were found in zee kitchen, albeit significantly burned. Now zen..." Gustave clasped his claws together, took a deep breath, and looked the pair straight in the eyes. "What do you 'ave to say for yourselves?"

Despite having wanted to speak up before, Gwenivere opened her mouth, only to have nothing but a guilty sigh escape her lungs. No excuse she could come up with to justify her actions would ever be acceptable under their current circumstances.

Pinkie looked at Gwenivere, seeing the utter defeat in her eyes as their gaze trailed towards the floor and away from her father. She wanted to speak in her stead, but like the griffon, no words came to her mind that could soften the blow they were about to receive.

Gustave waited, but having gotten no response from either of them, assumed that they were willing to accept their punishment. The real question was: could they handle it?

"You 'ave been responsible for a few incidents in zee past," he said, looking at both of them, but particularly directing his attention to Pinkie Pie. "Mais zose incidents were paltry compared to zis. Offering to 'elp clean up zee mess you made is not enough to acquit you of zee offense. Not zis time."

Pinkie and Gwenivere became more worried by the second. The earth pony even noticed that Gwenivere was beginning to shake slightly.

Gustave let out a regretful sigh, running his claw over his forehead before looking back at his two students. "As you know, I stepped out pour un moment to speak wiz zee ozer members of zee faculty about zee situation. And we came to a... razer unfortunate conclusion. Zough zee university was willing to overlook past transgressions, we 'ave a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to endangering zee lives of zee ozer students. As a result, I am afraid zat zee only course of action zat could be agreed upon was to 'ave zee boz of you... expelled from zee university."

The pair's jaws dropped in utter shock, unable to formulate a response to this bombshell. All they could do was wait and hope that there was a "but" that followed.

However, when Gustave continued, his total lack of optimism and his sympathetic tone did not inspire confidence. "I fought in your favor, I tried to urge zem to go easy on you, but in zee end, zere was nozing I could do. I am très, très désolé."

Pinkie Pie finally managed to speak, despite her shock. "So... that's it then? We're done, just like that?"

Gustave nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so. I wish zere was anozer way, but my claws are tied." He breathed another sigh of disappointment. "And so close to zee end as well. 'Ow unfortunate," he said quietly.

Pinkie went silent once more. She had no idea how she was supposed to react. This was never an outcome she had ever really considered before, at least not under these circumstances. Was she supposed to be sad? Angry? She couldn't say she was either really. She was mostly in the same boat as Gustave: disappointed.

Pinkie turned her head at the sound of a quiet sniffle. Turning her head, she saw Gwenivere staring down at the floor, eyes clenched shut, fighting back tears. Pinkie had never seen Gwenivere cry before, or anything even close to that. It was unsettling to the pony. Gustave couldn't even bare to look at her in such a state. It clearly hurt him deeply to have to do this to his own daughter, especially knowing how important this entire endeavor was to her.

"You two should return to your dorms," Gustave suggested softly, not making eye contact. "You are expected to leave tomorrow, so you may want to pack your zings tonight before you go 'ome."

"Wait."

Gustave looked up at Pinkie, a pleading look in her eyes. Gwenivere, too, finally opening her eyes again, waited for Pinkie to speak.

"Gwen doesn't deserve this."

Gustave raised an eyebrow curiously. "'Ow so?"

"I suggested that we use the class kitchen to practice for the Cake-Off," Pinkie claimed. "The fire was all my fault."

Gwenivere stared incredulously at the pink pony, but before she could correct her, Pinkie glanced back at her, her eyes seeming to signal to her to play along. Gwenivere didn't know how to feel about this. Her pride coaxed her to take her punishment, but at the same time, she most definitely did not want to get kicked out when her life-long goal was within reach.

Gustave shook his head. "Taking responsabilité again, Mademoiselle Pie? Admirable as it may be, you cannot continue taking zee bullet for your friends. We found Gwenivere's bags at zee scene."

"So? I told her to take them. We needed some way to get my stuff down there."

"Your stuff?" Gustave questioned.

"Yeah. See, Gwen didn't wanna come because she knew it was against the rules, but, you know me, I like to throw caution to the wind."

"You aren't going to suggest zat zee charred bacon zat was found was yours as well?"

"Uh, no. I told Gwen to take a snack since we were gonna be there for a awhile."

Gustave mulled this information over for a moment silently. "As commendable as zis is, I am 'aving difficulty believing you. As much as I 'ate to admit it, zee evidence points to Gwenivere as the primary suspect, wiz you as zee accomplice."

Gwenivere lowered her head in resignation. She appreciated Pinkie's help, but it was ultimately hopeless.

Pinkie, too, had a hard time trying to find something else to latch onto, and Gwenivere's somber expression just made it harder for her.

As Pinkie's eyes fell to the floor as well, ready to accept her fate, something caught her eye. Clutched in Gwenivere's claw was a piece of paper, and she had a feeling she knew what it was.

"Wait!" Pinkie grabbed Gwenivere's claw, taking the paper from her. She laid the paper on Gustave's desk and smoothed out the wrinkles. It was just as she had thought. She tapped the paper excitedly. "See? This is my recipe! This is proof that it was my idea to use the kitchen!"

Gustave picked up the piece of paper and looked it over. It looked like it was written by a three year old. Definitely Pinkie Pie's hoofwriting.

For once there seemed to be some modicum of hope that Pinkie's ploy could work. If there were ever a time for Gwenivere to begin playing along, it was now.

"It is true, Papa. Pinkie came to moi earlier, 'er 'ooves full of supplies, and asked moi to accompany 'er to zee class kitchen. Mais in 'er 'aste, she 'ad forgotten 'er own bags, so she borrowed mine."

Pinkie smiled, relieved that Gwenivere was willing to go along, even if it meant lying to her dad.

"She 'ad ozer recipes, as well," the female griffon continued. "Mais zey were left next to zee stove where zee fire broke out and were incinerated."

"See now, Chef? This whole thing is my fault. I just wound up getting Gwen involved. Actually, all things considered, if she hadn't been there, I don't know what would've happened to me. I panicked when the fire started. Gwen was the one who pulled the alarm and got me out of there safely. She saved my life." Pinkie smiled gratefully at Gwenivere.

Gustave was surprised to hear that. "Saved your life? Hm. Zen I suppose zis situation could 'ave been much worse. Gwenivere, were you truly roped into zis by Pinkie Pie?"

For a moment, Gwenivere considered coming clean rather than continue lying to her father. But at this point, doing so would only make Pinkie's efforts to help her save face pointless. "Oui. I just wish I 'ad been adamant wiz mes protestations. Zen perhaps zis entire zing could 'ave been avoided."

"Zere is no guarantee zat even wizout you Pinkie would not have still put her life in danger," Gustave explained, giving the pink mare a corrective glare. "She should be zankful zat you are a responsible friend."

Pinkie grinned. He might have been reprimanding her, but everything he was saying seemed to suggest that her ploy was working.

Gustave rubbed his forehead as he deliberated all of this. Pinkie and Gwenivere waited in eager anticipation for his thoughts on the matter. "Given zis information, per'aps it is possible to lessen zee gravité of your punishment, Gwenivere. I will see what I can do."

Pinkie clapped and giggled with glee, ecstatic that her plan may have worked. And for what Pinkie was sure was the first time ever, Gwenivere smiled at her, her face full of gratitude.

However, Gustave was quick to put a damper on Pinkie's celebration. "Mais, since you are claiming responsabilité, I am afraid zat you must still be expelled, Pinkie Pie. I am sorry."

Pinkie took a deep breath. It was a painful blow, but in the end she managed to save Gwenivere from the same fate. She gave Gustave a satisfied smile. "I understand. I'm just happy that Gwen didn't get in too much trouble for something I did."

"I 'ave not actually spoken to anyone about it yet. Do not get your 'opes up just yet," Gustave corrected. "Mais, I suppose zat is all we can do as of now. I will try and get a verdict for you tonight, but until zen, you two should return to your dorms and get some rest. Pinkie, you, at zee very least, 'ave a long flight 'ome tomorrow."

Pinkie nodded. Despite her situation, her smile still persisted. "Yup. And I just wanna say thanks, Chef. It was fun having you for a teacher, and I definitely learned a lot. I'll never forget how much fun being here was."

"I am glad to 'ear zat," Gustave said, finally managing a smile himself.

With that, Pinkie made her way to the door. Gwenivere, however, didn't move. Having a moment to herself allowed her to reflect on what had just happened, and the bullet she had just dodged. All thanks to Pinkie Pie. She turned back to the desk, the piece of paper she had unconsciously been clutching since the fire still laying there. She picked it up again, taking it with her as she made her way back to her dorm.

***** ***** *****

It was an unusually nice morning; the sun shining through the windows, and birds outside singing a soothing song to the early risers. While this would normally be very welcome weather, the reason it was unusual was because it didn't match the atmosphere in the dorm of two particular earth ponies this morning.

Or perhaps it was the dorm of just one earth pony as of today.

Pinkie Pie attempted to stuff yet another cookbook into one of her duffle bags, but found that rather difficult what with how many others were in there. She hadn't realized just how many she'd bought since arriving in Steeden, but it was certainly more than she'd brought with her. She may have to leave one or two behind if she wanted to get her bags on the ship.

Unable to properly fit the book into the bag, Pinkie gave up and placed the book on the bed with two others for which she hadn't been able to find room. She turned to her roommate, the pig-tailed mare looking depressed, almost as if she were about to start crying.

"I can't seem to get these in my bags," Pinkie said, a smile on her face in spite of her predicament. "I guess you can keep these, Puff."

"I can't believe you're actually leaving," Puff said, not at all concerned with Pinkie's luggage problem.

Candy Cane, who had come over to see Pinkie off, wore an expression much the same as Puff. "This is such a waste."

Pinkie looked at her books with confusion. "It's not a waste if you can still use 'em. Consider it a gift."

"I'm not talking about the books. I'm talking about... this." Candy pointed to Pinkie's packed bags. "You put all this time and effort—not to mention money—into coming here only to get sent home less than a month before graduation. All because of a freak accident. I get that you two broke the rules and everything, but you'd think they'd at least let you finish what little of the course is left, especially considering how talented you are. And they know how talented you are, too! They have to know what they're losing here, and they're still doing this. It's not fair. It's not fair that you get sent home while Gwen gets to stay."

Candy had mentioned that when she came over. Gustave stopped by their dorm late last night to deliver the news to his daughter that the decision had been made that she would be allowed to stay, though not unpunished for her involvement. As to what her punishment was exactly, they haven't decided yet. It was unlikely that Pinkie would be around long enough to find out anyway.

What was odd, however, was what Candy had told her about Gwenivere. Apparently the griffon had been awake all night, just sitting on the couch and never once even attempting to lay down in her bed. Of course, Pinkie did much the same, not being able to find the peace of mind to doze off, but what reason did Gwenivere have to be restless? She was off the hook for the most part.

Pinkie zipped up her last duffle bag. "It's like I told Gustave: I got her roped into it. She shouldn't have to suffer for my mistake."

"And I refuse to believe that," Candy said in disagreement. "You might've done some... questionable stuff in regards to the rules before, but I don't believe that you suggested to use the class kitchens when I've seen you bake some pretty crazy stuff with just one oven and the limited stock in your pantry."

Pinkie lifted her duffle bags onto her back, the weight of them not bothering her in the slightest. "You believe want you want. At least this is better than both of us getting expelled."

Candy followed Pinkie Pie out into the living room, intent on continuing her argument. "At least she would deserve it. She couldn't even be bothered to come over to see you off, or at the very least say thank you. I would have expected you to be a little spiteful that she gets to stay and you don't."

"Then obviously you don't know her as well as you think you do."

The three mares turned to the living room window, which had been opened to the morning air. Standing on the windowsill, with bags of her own slung over her shoulder, was Rainbow Dash.

The cyan pegasus hopped down onto the floor. "Pinkie has never done anything that wasn't for somepony else's benefit. Everything she does, she does to put smiles on people's faces. Honestly, I'd be upset if Pinkie was mad at Gwen, cuz that wouldn't be the Pinkie I know." Rainbow Dash wrapped a hoof around Pinkie's shoulder and pulled her close with a grin. "But I don't think she's really missing out on much by leaving now. I'm proud of her for making it this far anyway."

"Says the pony who didn't want her to leave in the first place," Candy deadpanned.

Dash shrugged that off. "I've changed my stance since then."

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. The door crept open and in poked the violet mane of their unicorn neighbor. When Sugar Cookie saw that Pinkie was still here, she stepped inside.

"Oh, good morning, Sugar," Pinkie said with a chipper grin.

"I am glad I am not too late to say goodbye," Sugar said with relief, but there was no hiding the sadness in her eyes. "It is just so unfortunate that this would happen right after we made up. I was hoping we could have more time together."

"Yeah, me too," said Pinkie remorsefully.

"Excuse me."

Once again, the attention of the dorm's residents were diverted to the door, this time by the soft, soothing voice of Princess Celestia herself as she stood at the threshold.

"Hi, Princess," Pinkie greeted. "I guess you heard, huh?"

Celestia stepped inside with a sympathetic nod. "Yes, Gustave informed me this morning. I'm so sorry this happened, Pinkie Pie. I know how much this school meant to you. And I was really looking forward to the cake that you and Gwenivere were going to make for the Cake-Off."

"So was I. But I guess that's not gonna happen now," Pinkie said with a sigh.

"Whatever it woulda been, it'd probably be awesome," Dash declared with confidence.

Princess Celestia only now noticed that Rainbow Dash was also packed up. "Oh, Rainbow Dash, are you returning home with Pinkie Pie as well?"

The pegasus lifted an eyebrow. "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

"I just thought, this being such a lovely country and that you still have friends here, that you'd want to stay a little longer. Twilight does have you all set up here."

Dash shrugged. "Yeah, I know, but the whole reason I came over here was to support Pinkie. If she's not here, there's not really any reason for me to be either. Uh, no offense, guys," she said to her other friends.

"Don't worry about it," Candy dismissed with a wave of her hoof. "We know you just wanna be close to your 'best friend.'" The coyness in Candy's voice elicited a light blush of embarrassment from Rainbow Dash, although the reference appeared to go right over a puzzled Celestia's head.

"In any case, I'm sure your friends and family will be happy to have you home and will be proud of you regardless," Celestia assured with a comforting smile.

Pinkie nodded in agreement. "Yup. And I'm definitely still looking forward to seeing everypony again. And I'm especially looking forward to getting back to work at Sugarcube Corner. I've really missed that place."

Rainbow Dash glanced up at the clock, noting the time. "Hey, Pinkie, we should get going. Don't wanna be late."

Pinkie looked up to confirm the time. "Oh, right." She turned back to her friends, their soft, yet disheartened smiles making leaving more difficult, not unlike when she left home to embark on this journey. Pinkie made her rounds, giving each of her friends a hug and saying goodbye, even receiving a light embrace from the princess. "I'm gonna miss you guys," Pinkie said, teary-eyed.

"Don't," Candy insisted. "We're gonna come visit you when we finish up here. I promise."

"I vould feel awful if I couldn't see you again after this," Puff said, wiping her eyes. "I'll do vhatever it takes to get to Equestria to see you again."

"I as well," Sugar agreed.

Pinkie's smile began to quiver at her friends' kind determination. "You guys..."

"Pinkie." Rainbow Dash stood at the doorway, tapping her fetlock as if she were wearing a watch.

Pinkie Pie held back her tears and skipped over to Dash's side. "Sorry." For one last time, she stopped to look at her friends, trying her hardest to not make this any more emotional than it already was. "Bye, everypony."

They all bid their friends a fond, albeit bittersweet, farewell as they stepped out the door, officially ending Pinkie's stay at The Steeden University of Culinary Arts.

The two best friends made their way to the front entrance of the school. As Pinkie Pie stepped outside into the courtyard, she was hit with the realization that she'd never be walking through those doors again. Yet she was not overwhelmed by her emotions. She was sad and disappointed, to be sure, but at the same time, satisfied and excited. She may have been closing this chapter of her life, but that only meant that she was starting the next chapter.

Despite how Rainbow Dash had been trying to get Pinkie moving so they could catch their ship, their pace as they walked through the courtyard was less than hurried. They were upon the tail end of summer, and it seemed like Trotholm's weather team were intent on making summer last as long as possible before they had to usher in the chilly winds of autumn. Rainbow Dash was just relishing the fair weather and unique air of Steeden one last time before she left.

Pinkie, however, was more focused on the other students wandering around the courtyard. It was strange to think the people around them really had no idea that these two ponies were leaving, never to return, or that the pink one was partially responsible for last night's fire. They were just going about their day like any other, perhaps discussing the events of the previous night, but, seeing as there wasn't too much damage, didn't really think much of it other than being a freak accident.

As the pair approached the bridge leading to the city streets, Rainbow Dash cast a small smile to Pinkie. "Sorry if I caused you any trouble since I got here. It really wasn't my intention to distract you from your work, or try and convince you to come home, or anything."

Pinkie smiled back. "I know. But I can't help but wonder what my stay would've been like if you hadn't shown up."

Dash let out a sigh. "Yeah, I should've just stayed home and not risk getting you in trouble. It probably woulda made your stay a lot smoother at least."

"Hm? Oh, I didn't say I would've rathered you stay home. It's the opposite actually. I'm super-glad you came."

"Seriously?" Dash said in disbelief. "It certainly didn't seem that way when I first got here."

"That's just because I was worried about you. If you had told me you were coming and actually got a ship over here, I wouldn't have given you such a hard time about it."

"So you're saying that, if things were the other way around, you would have gotten an airship to come see me? That doesn't sound very Pinkie Pie. I expect more of a surprise entrance from you, like you did when we went back for spring break."

"I didn't say that. If anything, I mighta done something even more stupid, then you'd be mad at me for doing something risky."

Dash laughed at Pinkie's hypothetical. "Guess there's a reason why you 'n' me are so close, huh? Or maybe I'm just a bad influence."

Pinkie nuzzled up against Rainbow Dash's cheek. "You can be a bad influence all you want, you'll still always be my best-est friend." Pinkie pulled away again, her tone becoming oddly sheepish. "But if I'm being honest, the best part about you being here was finding out how you really feel about me."

The pegasus groaned. "That's not so great for me. I know I'll get over it, but it was still pretty hard for me to admit that knowing that you had to reject me."

"I didn't reject you. As a matter of fact, if I was into girls, I'd go out with you in a heartbeat. I'm just happy that you care about me that much. I know how special I am to you, and I know the lengths you're willing to go to make me happy, and just knowing that makes me happy. Maybe I'm the one who likes to spread smiles, but you're the one who puts a smile on my face, Dashie."

Dash grinned slightly. "I guess that does make me feel a little better." Out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie gave Rainbow Dash a quick peck on the cheek, causing the pegasus to blush and cast a confused glance over to her. Seeing the innocent smile on her face made Dash feel a touch annoyed. "Okay, now you're just being a tease."

Pinkie winked and stuck her tongue out playfully at her flustered friend.

"Pinkie Pie!"

The pink pony turned around to see who had called out and was pleasantly surprised to see Gwenivere flying across the courtyard to catch up to them. The griffon touched down next to them, an expression of guilt on her face.

"Hey, Gwen," Rainbow Dash greeted with a smile. "I was starting to worry you weren't gonna say goodbye."

Gwenivere didn't even acknowledge the pegasus; she was too focused on the earth pony. Pinkie tilted her head as Gwenivere went silent, having expected her to say something. She noticed how dark the area around Gwenivere's eyes were, likely a result of her lack of sleep last night.

"You okay, Gwen? You look like something's bothering you," Pinkie inquired.

"Why did you lie to mon papa?"

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. Pinkie hadn't mentioned anything about a lie.

Pinkie herself was rather caught off guard by Gwenivere's guilt-stricken tone. "So you wouldn't get expelled. I thought that was obvious."

"Mais... why?"

Pinkie simply shrugged. "I was just trying to see if I could convince him to let at least one of us stay. It'd be pretty bad if we both got kicked out."

"Zen why not just tell zee truz? You willingly incriminated yourself even zough it was all my fault."

"Wait, you're the reason Pinkie got kicked out?" Dash snapped at Gwenivere. "And you just stood there and let her lie about it?"

Gwenivere turned away in shame. "I admit I was too shocked to really say anyzing. I saw an out and I took it." She turned back to Pinkie. "I just cannot figure out why you would do such a zing. I have been nozing but a jerk to you all year, and yet you would lie to mon papa in order to take ma punition while I get off lightly. I do not understand."

"It's because I know how important this school is to you," Pinkie said simply with a grin.

Gwenivere was confused by that answer. "Mais... is it not important to you?"

"Well, sure. I've been saving my money for years to come here. But this is more like a bucket list thing for me than anything. You, though. From the day I met you I could tell just how important this was to you. Your dad went to this school and you just want to follow in his hoof—er, pawprints. Clawprints? Anyway, I saw how disappointed both of you were last night when he was talking to us. For me, this school is just something I want to do for the sake of doing it. I always planned to go back to Ponyville and work at Sugarcube Corner regardless of if I graduated or not. For you, this school means so much more. It's about your respect for your dad and how all you want to do is make him proud. I'd hate to see him so let down by having to kick his own daughter out. You stood to lose more out of this, so I stepped in to fix it."

Gwenivere stood motionless and silent, stunned by Pinkie's show of selflessness. After the way she's treated her, after all of the insults and all of the disrespect she'd shown her, she would so willingly lie to take the fall in her place. After all of this, Gwenivere felt as though she owed Pinkie something, a thought that, just yesterday, she would have never considered.

Gwenivere lifted her claws shakily. Pinkie immediately noticed a sparkle of moisture forming in her eyes, but before she could ask about it, the griffon wrapped her forelegs around Pinkie's shoulders, pulling herself in for a tight and grateful embrace. Pinkie could feel Gwenivere's remorseful tears against her neck, a bit surprised by her unexpected display of emotion.

"Zank you. Zank you so much," Gwenivere sobbed quietly into Pinkie's neck.

The pink pony smiled softly, giving the emotional griffon a light pat on the back.

Gwenivere pulled away, a grateful smile on her face as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "If zere is anyzing I can do to make zis up to you, just name it. I will gladly repay you for what you've done."

Pinkie gasped quietly as she made a realization. "Wait, does this mean what I think it means?" she said, trying to contain her excitement.

Gwenivere sighed, but still smiled. "Oui, Pinkie Pie. I am 'appy to call you ma amie."

Pinkie shot up onto her hind legs, her bags falling onto the ground with a hefty fwump, and thrust her front legs into the air triumphantly. "Yes! Finally!" Pinkie began to dance in a ridiculous fashion, garnering some puzzled looks from the other people in the courtyard. Gwenivere and Rainbow Dash just watched in slight amusement and embarrassment until she was finished. Once she was done, she picked her bags up again, her smile wider than ever. "I know I came to this school to improve myself as a baker, but my real goal, after seeing how abrasive you were, was to befriend you. I saw a challenge and I pursued it, and now I've finally done it! You know, there were points where I was starting to think it was a lost cause, but now I don't care that I don't get my diploma; hearing you say that has made this entire journey worth everything!"

Rainbow Dash let out a chuckle. "Congratulations, Gwen. You're officially one of us. May Celestia have mercy on your soul."

"I suppose you need to get going," Gwenivere reminded them. "I just needed to get zis off moi poitrine. Per'aps we'll see one anozer again someday."

"I'm looking forward to it," Pinkie said with a nod.

Gwenivere extended her claw to offer a friendly claw/hoof shake. "Au revoir, Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie grabbed her claw, but pulled the griffon in for another embrace. "You silly. Friends don't shake; they hug."

The griffon, surprised by the sudden embrace, locked eyes with Rainbow Dash, who was giving her an "I told you so" look. Regardless, Gwenivere hugged back before letting her go so they could be on their way.

"Bye, Gwen," Pinkie bid her, feeling a little apprehensive to leave now that they were officially friends.

"Later," added Dash.

The pair finally crossed the bridge, leaving the university behind. Pinkie turned back one last time, seeing Gwenivere giving her a wave. Of course, she waved back.

The rest of the walk to the docks mostly consisted of Pinkie and Rainbow Dash using this one last chance to take in the scenery. The vast lakes and rivers; the sprawling mountain range in the distance; the soft, fluffy clouds floating gently on the cool, Steedish breeze. It was a good time for taking mental pictures—or actual pictures in Pinkie's case, as she had pulled a camera out of one of her bags and was fervently snapping shots for a photo album she was no doubt going to put together when she got home. This may have been their last few moments in the country, but Pinkie was intent on making those moments last forever.

Before long, the airship docks were in sight, looking as busy as usual. The two foreigners could already see the decadent Canterlot airship that was going to be taking them home. Luckily, it seemed their lollygagging hadn't cost them as it appeared the ship had yet to board, evident by the large crowd sitting around on their luggage and chitchatting. They probably had some time to kill, which made Dash feel a touch guilty for rushing Pinkie earlier. When they walked out onto the dock's waiting platform, the pair did as the crowd did and used their bags as cushions while they waited.

"Guess this is it then," Dash commented as she stared at the airship.

Pinkie simply nodded with a grin, tucking her camera away.

"Any regrets at all?"

This time, Pinkie shook her head. "Not really. I guess things could've ended better, but all things considered, I'm pretty happy with how things turned out. Do wish I could've been in the Cake-Off though; that sounded like a heckuva lot of fun."

"And you're really okay with not getting your diploma?"

Pinkie grinned happily at Rainbow Dash. "Wasn't it you who said that I don't need a piece of paper to tell me I'm a good baker? Diploma or no diploma, I learned a lot since I got here, and they can expel me all they want, but they can't take all that stuff away from me."

Dash chuckled quietly. "And let me guess: the best thing about this trip was all the great friends you made, right?"

With a wide grin, Pinkie gave Rainbow Dash a tight hug. "That's why you're my bestie: you can read me like a book."

A speaker on the waiting platform sounded, followed by the voice of a mare telling everypony to board the airship to Canterlot, then repeating the message in Steedish. The people around them each began to stand up and make their way to the ship. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie followed suit, hoisting their bags onto their backs again.

Dash gave Pinkie a proud smile. "You ready?"

Pinkie nodded resolutely. "You bet. Let's go home, Dashie."

Chapter 17 - Well Done

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 17: Well Done

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Rainbow Dash stared out the window with her face leaning against her hoof. Her eyes gazed, half-lidded, toward the horizon, or at least they would have had the mountains not shown up to get in the way about fifteen minutes ago. With the cloudy overcast blotting out the bright blue sky, it all made for a pretty drab view; there wasn't even any grass or trees, just rocks and more rocks. The pegasus let out a sigh, the only sound that was made aside from the clickety-clack of the train wheels against the iron tracks.

She was bored out of her mind.

It had been a little over two months since she and Pinkie Pie had returned from Steeden. All things considered, life had gotten back to normal, as if they'd never even left. Pinkie had told everypony all of the stories of her little venture, and in turn, they shared all of the interesting things that had happened since she'd left, so there wasn't really much left to talk about in regards to that. Even Rainbow Dash's crush on Pinkie didn't seem like a big deal to her anymore, although she got a bit a teasing from her friends when they found out, not that she hadn't been expecting that. Still, as much as she enjoyed hanging out with her best friend and being there to support her during such an important time in her life, she was happy to be home again.

Dash tore her face away from the window, letting her head fall back against her cushioned seat; she couldn't bear to stare at that colorless backdrop any longer. As fun as their time in Steeden was, that didn't stop her from being bored now. Hopefully the trip wouldn't be too much longer. Pinkie had gone back to her parents' farm for her monthly weekend visit and Dash was on her way to pick her up now that the weekend was over. Oddly, the weather was rather beautiful when she had left Ponyville. Was the landscape around the Pie Rock Farm always this... grey? It was hard to believe that this is where Pinkie Pie was born and raised.

As close as they were, Rainbow Dash had never been to Pinkie's home before. She had never even met Pinkie's family, save for her older sister Maud. Pinkie talked about them every now and then, but Maud wasn't anything like she had described her, so Dash had no idea what to expect from the rest of Pinkie's family.

Of course, Pinkie wasn't actually expecting her. She'd never needed somepony to pick her up before, but given the circumstances, this time was an exception. That thought was the only thing right now that managed to make the pegasus smile on an otherwise dull and dreary morning. It would have been much quicker if she could just fly there, but getting Pinkie back would have posed an issue.

Thankfully, from what she could see out the train window, it looked like they had almost arrived at their destination; "they" referring to herself and the conductor, as nopony else aside from Pinkie Pie would have a reason to take a train all the way out here. When she heard the sound of the wheels screeching against the tracks and felt the steady decrease in speed, Dash stood up, ready to disembark. At least there was no crowd to hold her up; she should be able to get Pinkie and be back at the station in time to catch a ride back to Ponyville.

The train's whistle blew as the locomotive came to a halt, letting out a loud hiss of steam. The conductor showed up in Dash's cabin to open the door and allow her to disembark, offering her a friendly tip of his hat as she exited.

Rainbow Dash stepped out onto the train platform, which, oddly, was not built out of wood like most stations, but rather comprised completely of solid, chiseled rock, like something built by cave ponies millions of years ago. Ignoring that, she was finally given a clear view of the Pie Family Rock Farm not far from the station. It pretty much consisted of just three noteworthy structures: the two-story farmhouse where the family lived; a windpump, likely the source of the house's water; and a very tall silo, although the "farm" didn't appear to have any fields of crops, so Dash couldn't really think of what they kept inside it. Her best guess was simply rocks, or perhaps gemstones. Aside from those, another noteworthy fixture was a boulder that resembled an enormous egg and was perched near the edge of a small quarry. With only a small, wooden fence between it and the quarry, not to mention that the stone "egg" was balanced precariously on it's end, it looked like an accident waiting to happen.

As Rainbow Dash approached the property, she spotted somepony walking up out of the quarry dragging a wooden cart full of rocks and pink gemstones. It was Maud, clearly recognizable by her straight mane, dull blue frock, and complete lack of any discernible facial expression. Out of the six ponies who were currently on the farm, it was a little relieving to the pegasus that the first face she ran into was a familiar one.

Rainbow Dash called out to Maud, waving her hoof to get her attention. "Hey, Maud!"

The stoic earth pony glanced in Dash's direction. Had it been anypony else, they might have been surprised to see the cyan pegasus, but given that this was Maud, that was up for debate. "Oh. Rainbow Dash. Good to see you," she greeted in the monotonous tone Rainbow Dash had come to associate with her. "Pinkie didn't mention that you were coming to visit."

"That's because she doesn't know either," Dash explained. "But I know she's supposed to be coming back to Ponyville today, so I just figured I'd meet her halfway. You know, give her some company for the train ride home."

"That's very thoughtful of you. But I'd expect nothing less from you."

The way she'd said that—as flat as her voice may have been—sounded strange to Rainbow Dash, but it didn't take long for her to decipher what she meant. Breathing a quiet groan, Dash inferred her meaning. "I guess Pinkie told you about that, huh?"

Maud nodded. "Of course. Pinkie tells us everything about her friends, especially you. She refers to you as her 'bestie.'"

"Well, don't worry. I'm not putting the moves on your little sister."

"Hm. Too bad."

Dash quirked an eyebrow, staring at Maud in confusion.

"I think you two would be good together, but Pinkie's not homosexual, so I guess it doesn't matter."

Rainbow Dash was, admittedly, a little surprised to hear that. "Oh. Uh, well, thanks... I guess. So where is Pinkie anyway? The house?" Dash guessed, pointing to the cozy farmhouse.

Maud nodded. But before Dash could start making her way there, Maud spoke to her again. "I just want to say, if my sister ever does reciprocate your feelings, I hope you will not take her for granite."

The pegasus paused for a moment, slightly puzzled. "Uh, don't you mean 'take her for granted?'"

"No. It's a joke."

Dash blinked. "A... joke."

"Yes. I was thinking about working something like that into my comedy routine. Do you get it? Because granite is a type of rock, and we live on a—"

"On a rock farm, yeah, I get it." Rainbow Dash, not wanting to upset the poor mare who was clearly trying her hardest, forced a smile. "That's, uh... That's funny." Dash backed away towards the farmhouse, still grinning awkwardly as she attempted to remove herself from the conversation.

Maud called out once more. "If you want to get Pinkie a present, it doesn't really matter what it is. She'll appreciate the sediment."

Hopefully, Maud was too far away by now to hear the exaggerated, pained groan.

Rainbow Dash trotted up to the front door, giving it a firm knock. She waited patiently for a few moments before the door finally opened. Honestly, she had been hoping that Pinkie would answer the door if only because she wanted to see the look on her face when she saw that she had an unexpected visitor. Admittedly, though, it probably wouldn't be as surprising as having your friend show up when you're in another country altogether.

Instead of Pinkie, or even Pinkie's parents, another mare opened the door, one she didn't quite recognize. She had a blue-grey coat with a light grey mane. But more interestingly was her lime green eyes that seemed to pierce like sharp stones. The way she was staring at Dash, looking her up and down as if she was trying to figure out what she was looking at, came off as annoyed and kind of judgmental, which was only made more evident when she spoke.

"What?" the mare said in a gruff voice.

Whatever this mare's problem was—if indeed she had a problem—it really wasn't any of Dash's concern; she had other business to attend to.

"Uh, is Pinkie around?" the pegasus asked, peering over the mare's shoulder to see if the mare in question might be within sight.

The mare seemed like she was reluctant to answer, still staring at Dash with those judgmental eyes. "Just a sec," was all she said before going back into the house and heading for the stairs.

Meanwhile, on the second floor of the house, Pinkie Pie was busy helping her younger sister Marble clean their shared bedroom. The two sisters threw a freshly-cleaned bed sheet over the mattress, each of them taking two corners and tucking them under.

"I mean, it was fun and everything, but if I ever went back, I don't think it'd be the same," Pinkie said to Marble, recounting her thoughts on her trip to Steeden. "You can't just recreate something like that. It wouldn't be as fun the second time around. Or maybe it would. I dunno. Either way, I don't need a diploma or anything; I'm a pretty good baker without it. It's not like diploma's are items that give you a plus five to your cooking stat, right?"

Marble brushed her long, dark grey mane aside slightly, responding only with a smile and a quiet, "Mm-hm."

Pinkie suddenly hopped up onto the bed, leaning in close to Marble's face and causing the shy mare to take an uncomfortable step back.

"What I did I did for the sake of someone else, even though I had to lie. But you would've done the same thing I did, wouldn't you, Sis?"

Marble opened her mouth to answer, but their conversation was interrupted when the bedroom door opened and their older sister walked in.

Pinkie grinned, completely ignorant of the somewhat annoyed expression on the other mare's face as she usually was. "Hey, Limestone. Change your mind about helpin' us out up here?"

"You got a visitor," Limestone said tersely.

Pinkie straightened up, surprised by this news. "A visitor? Who is it?"

Limestone shrugged. "A friend of yours I guess."

"Yeah, that narrows it down," Pinkie deadpanned. "Which one?"

"The one with the ugly, rainbow hair."

The pink pony gasped in glee. "Rainbow Dash?!"

Without waiting another moment, Pinkie took off, brushing past Limestone and hurrying down the stairs. As she reached the bottom of the staircase, her excitement got the better of her and she hopped down the last few steps, causing her to lose her footing and tumble comically into the foyer, coming to a stop near the front door with her face down on the wooden floor.

Rainbow Dash stared down at the prone pony with a quirked eyebrow. Before she had a chance to ask if she was okay, Pinkie pulled her face up from the floor with a big, toothy grin.

"Dashie!" Pinkie leapt up and gave Rainbow Dash a hug.

Dash returned her hug with an amused smile and a pat on the back. "Hey, Pinkie."

"What brings you all the way out to our neck of the woods?" Pinkie inquired, happy to see Rainbow Dash regardless of what her answer may be.

"I just thought I'd come by to give you some company on your way back to Ponyville. You are coming home today, right?"

"Aww, that's so sweet. Yeah, I'm coming home today, I just wanted to help my sisters clean up before I left since Mom and Dad and Maud are all busy in the quarry."

"So you ready to go now, or should I just hang out for a bit?"

Pinkie tapped her chin. "Um, I'm not sure." She turned around, seeing Limestone and Marble coming down the stairs. "Hey, Limestone, is there anything else you girls need help with? Dashie wants to take me back to Ponyville, so is it alright if I head off?"

Marble thought for a moment before replying with a soft smile and a quiet, "Mm-hm."

"If you wanna leave, go ahead. We're not stopping you," Limestone said apathetically as she headed toward the kitchen.

Pinkie suddenly realized that she had made a grave error, giving herself a firm tap on the forehead. "Oh! I'm such a ninny! I forgot to introduce you to my sisters, Dashie!"

"Thaaaaat's not really necessary," Rainbow Dash assured.

"Don't be silly," Pinkie insisted, slipping behind Dash and pushing her inside until she was face to face with the bashful Marble. She then intercepted Limestone on her way to the kitchen, redirecting her back to the foyer, much to the older sister's chagrin.

Pinkie placed her hooves around her sisters' shoulders, pulling them in close to present them to Rainbow Dash. "Dashie, these are my sisters, Marble Pie and Limestone Pie. And this..." Pinkie hopped over to Dash. "...is my best-est best friend, Rainbow Dash."

Limestone let out an annoyed groan. "Nice to meet you," she muttered halfheartedly with a roll of her eyes.

"Mm-hm," agreed Marble with a friendly smile and a nod, managing to sound more genuine than her abrasive sister.

"Uh, yeah, nice to meet you, too," Dash said, almost sounding as halfhearted as Limestone.

"If you're done, can you just go already?" Limestone said, the annoyance in her tone rising. "I've got work to do."

Pinkie was about to just do as her sister said, but she turned to Rainbow Dash, then back to Limestone as she once again headed for the kitchen. Pinkie gasped as another realization hit her. "Wait! Limestone!"

"What now?!" the aggravated Pie sister snapped.

Pinkie didn't bat an eye at her sister's frustration, instead continuing to grin obliviously. "Limestone, you're into mares, right? Like, in a..." She bounced her eyebrows up and down suggestively. "...sort of way?"

Rainbow Dash immediately saw what Pinkie was trying to do, and she needed to put a stop to it. "Pinkie!" But her angry plea was ignored.

Limestone raised an eyebrow in suspicion at her sister's inquiry. "Yeeeeah... What of it?" she asked cautiously.

Pinkie shuffled back to Rainbow Dash, oblivious to the pegasus's aggravated groan. "Weeeell, so is Rainbow Dash. I know I told you girls that she's got a little crush on me, but since I don't swing that way and I feel bad for her, I wanted to try and set her up with somepony else. And who better than my own sister? So? You interested?" She grinned widely, hoping her pleading smile would help sway her sister's decision.

Oddly, there was a brief look of interest in Limestone's eyes. The grey mare turned to face Dash fully, taking a moment to look the pegasus up and down carefully. It was quite evident that Rainbow Dash herself was against this, her face lacking any discernible amusement. After a short silence, Limestone smirked, snickering a little. "Heh heh. You're kidding, right? That's a good one." And with that, she went on her way, laughing to herself as she disappeared into the kitchen.

Rainbow Dash lifted her head slightly, tilting it in confusion. She looked to Pinkie for an explanation. "What'd she mean by that?"

With her question answered, Pinkie ushered Dash to the door, eager to be on her way back to Ponyville. "Well, can't say we didn't try. Guess we should get going now. Bye, Marble. See you soon."

Marble smiled and waved goodbye as her sister closed the door behind her.

"No, seriously, what's her deal?" Rainbow Dash insisted angrily as they started toward the train station.

"I thought you weren't interested," Pinkie said with a coy smirk.

"I'm not, it's just... What, am I not good enough for her or something? I'm Rainbow freaking Dash. I'm one hundred percent pure, concentrated awesome."

"No argument here," Pinkie agreed. "Maybe you're just not her type."

"Perhaps you should buy her diamonds," Maud chimed in, having overheard their conversation as she headed back to the quarry. "I hear they're the best way to get a girl into bedrock."

Pinkie burst out into laughter. "Ha! Good one, Maud!"

"Thank you."

Rainbow Dash scoffed, waving her hoof dismissively. "Whatever. It's her loss."

"That's the spirit," Pinkie encouraged. "Don't let one little rejection get you down."

"I mean, it's not like I wanted go out with her anyway," Dash continued to defend herself unnecessarily. "She's not my type either." The pegasus thought silently for a moment. "Although... that other sister of yours, Marble... She's pretty cute." Dash felt Pinkie's hoof flick her ear sharply. "Ow!"

"No," Pinkie denied with a stern, reprimanding tone. "She's not for you."

"What? But you just tried to set me up with one of your sisters."

"With my older sister. Marble's my little sister, and it's a big sister's job to protect her little sister."

"Protect her from what? You don't trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, but an older sibling isn't supposed to approve of anypony dating their younger sister. Nopony will ever be good enough for my baby sister."

Rainbow Dash stared bemusedly as she rubbed her ear. "Been hanging out with Rarity lately?"

"I don't make the rules. That's just how it is."

The conversation having run its course, the two friends soon arrived at the train station with time to spare. The conductor had looped around the tracks in order to turn the train around in the meantime, so they were all set to head off to Ponyville. The kind conductor ushered the two mares onto the train, guiding them to one of the empty passenger cars—although they were all empty, so it didn't really matter which one they chose. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash picked a couple of seats, sitting across from one another. Within a few minutes, they heard the train whistle blow, and shortly after that the locomotive began to move.

The first few minutes of the ride were strangely quiet. Rainbow Dash more than expected Pinkie to strike up another conversation to pass the time, but the perky pony seemed content to simply stare out the window and watch the scenery pass by as she hummed happily to herself. Dash couldn't imagine what she found so interesting about the view, but this was her home; maybe, despite the lack of color, it was comforting for her. An odd thought, considering who it was.

If they were going to just sit in silence for the whole trip, now seemed like a good time to take a nap. Rainbow Dash laid down on her seat, rolled over onto her back, placed her front hooves behind her head, and crossed her hind legs. It wasn't as cushy as a cloud, but it would do for this relatively short trip.

"So I guess you missed me, huh?"

Dash had only barely closed her eyes when the silence in the passenger car was broken by Pinkie's sudden question. It was like she was waiting for her to get comfortable before speaking. But the pegasus didn't get up, only opening her eyes again to look at Pinkie.

"What?"

"You missed me," Pinkie repeated. "That's the only reason I can think of for why you'd come all the way out here to 'pick me up,' even though I was coming back today anyway. You just couldn't wait to see me, huh?"

Dash suppressed a slightly annoyed groan. Despite how Pinkie had been repeatedly trying to convince Rainbow Dash that she'll get over her feelings towards her, she had really started making a habit of teasing her about. Whether that was on purpose or not was unclear, though. Either way, Pinkie seemed to be enjoying it despite her own sexual preferences.

"Well, not exactly," Rainbow Dash answered. "I mean, yeah, I missed you, but it's not like you're on the other side of the ocean this time. If I wanted to, I could come visit you anytime you're off with your family."

Pinkie tilted her head in confusion. "Then why don't you?"

"Hm?" Dash wasn't really expecting that sort of reaction. Had she hurt her feelings? "Uh... Well, I guess it's because it's your family bonding time, or whatever it is you do while you're out here. I don't wanna be a third wheel—er, seventh... wheel... Whatever. You know what I mean. I don't wanna get in the way."

"Who said you'd be in the way? I'd love for you to get to know my family, and all my other friends, too, for that matter. Besides, that didn't stop you from coming out here today, did it?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened slightly, and she gulped nervously.

"You must've had some reason to come see me today. What's up?"

A small bead of sweat formed on Dash's forehead and she sat upright, fabricating a smile. "What? I need a specific reason to see my best friend? I just wanted to be nice and give you some company for the trip home. There's nothing suspicious about that!" Dash spouted defensively, the volume of her voice unnecessarily high.

Pinkie slowly raised an eyebrow at her friend's odd behavior. It wasn't often that Rainbow Dash would just lose her cool like that out of nowhere. Something was up...

"Okaaaay..." Pinkie muttered, still suspicious, but willing to give Dash the benefit of the doubt if only to prevent the train ride home from becoming awkward.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll come visit your family more often. I'll even see if any of the others'll come with me. How's that sound?"

Pinkie's suspicion quickly lifted, replaced by a pleased grin. She liked the sound of that. "Okey doke. That sounds like fun. I'll be sure to tell 'em that they might have to expect company next time I go home."

With that, the conversation wound down. Rainbow Dash didn't want to risk saying anything else she might regret, so she tried to get back to her nap, with some amount of success this time around. It was nice to be able to rest her eyes for a bit considering she had to wake up early that morning to catch the train, but the trip was really too short to actually doze off. It didn't really help that Pinkie was pretty fidgety, rocking back and forth in her seat and whistling and humming mindlessly. Plus, Dash herself was looking forward to getting back to Ponyville as well, and she was getting a little impatient admittedly.

Before long, the wait was over. The moment Rainbow Dash felt the train begin to slow down, she opened her eyes, sat up, and stretched her legs, ready to disembark. Pinkie hopped up with her as the train came to a gradual stop, and the two exited the train, giving the conductor their regards.

"Well, that was fun," Pinkie commented cheerily. "I guess having company on the trip is more enjoyable."

Dash simply nodded. Had it been anypony else, that comment might have sounded sarcastic or disingenuous. Rainbow Dash was fully aware that it was completely unnecessary for her to meet Pinkie halfway, but given the circumstances, she felt it'd be better this way; she needed to point Pinkie in the right direction after all.

"Guess you're looking forward to getting back to Sugarcube Corner, huh?" Dash said as they began trotting into town.

"Mm-hm," Pinkie responded with a nod. But before the conversation could continue further, Pinkie's stomach let out a loud grumble. "Huh. Kinda hungry, though. It is about lunchtime, right? Wanna stop for a bite to eat with me?"

Rainbow Dash balked. "Uh, I think we should just head to Sugarcube Corner first. You know, let Mr. and Mrs. Cake know you're home. We can get something to eat after."

Pinkie frowned, holding her stomach and whining in an exaggerated fashion. "But I'm hun'gyyyyyyy."

Dash scratched herself behind her ear as she tried to think of some way to get Pinkie to go along with her. "Look, um... If we just stop off at Sugarcube Corner first... I'll buy you an extra dessert after lunch, okay?"

Pinkie's ears perked up, her eyes widening. "Extra dessert? Yay! You're the best mommy ever!" Pinkie hugged Rainbow Dash like a spoiled brat who had just gotten her way, eliciting a groan, an eye roll, and even a slight blush from the pegasus.

"Please don't call me that."

Pinkie released Rainbow Dash, then bounded a few feet ahead impatiently. "Okay, let's get to Sugarcube Corner, say hi real quick to Mr. and Mrs. Cake—oh, and the twins—and go get some lunch! I'm in the mood for Hayburger!"

Rainbow Dash chuckled at Pinkie's enthusiasm, but was mostly just relieved that she had gotten her to listen. "Sure thing."

"And Hayburger's got the best banana splits on the dessert menu. So guess what I'm getting two of~."

"Yeah, yeah. A promise is a promise."

By now, they had almost made it to Sugarcube Corner anyway; the three glowing candles atop the giant synthetic cupcake that topped the roof almost beckoned to them, like a lighthouse guiding a ship ashore.

When the pair stepped up to the front door, Pinkie placed her hoof on the knob, but stopped abruptly. Rainbow Dash gave her a confused glance, noticing the concentration that had suddenly adorned her face. Pinkie hummed thoughtfully to herself, as if she were trying to figure something out. Her ears swiveled about like radar dishes trying to lock on to a signal. She leaned in to the door, sniffing the doorknob. Rainbow Dash could only stare, bewildered, at Pinkie's odd behavior. She had done some weird things in the time that Rainbow Dash had known her, but this is not something she's ever seen Pinkie do.

"What, uh... What are you doing?" Dash asked curiously.

Pinkie turned to the pegasus, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed in suspicion. "Pinkie Sense."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, though with slight worry. "Pinkie Sense?"

Pinkie nodded seriously. "I wasn't sure at first, but I'm pretty sure I'm picking something up."

Rainbow Dash took a cautious step back from the door.

"No, no, not the door," Pinkie corrected. Despite that, she stared at the door anyway. "It's something else. I know I've felt this before, but only once. I wasn't even sure if it was my Pinkie Sense back then, but now that I'm feeling it again..." Pinkie's eyes widened and she turned to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus gulped. "It's a party, isn't it?"

Dash's jaw dropped. How could she have figured that out by just smelling the doorknob? "U-Uh... Um..."

Pinkie smiled a little. "It is a party. I knew it!" Her smile suddenly vanished and her ears folded back. "Oh, but now I've ruined the surprise. I'm sorry. Darn my Pinkie Sense! It is a curse as much as it is a blessing!"

Dash sighed quietly. The cat was out of the bag now. Even if she lied and said there was no party, the moment they opened that door, she'd find out anyway. No point in continuing the ruse. "Yeah, okay, you got us. We were planning a party for you. In case you haven't figured it out yet, that's why I went to pick you up at your parents' place."

"And why you were acting so weird on the train."

"That too. But seriously, how'd you know it was a party?"

"I didn't at first, but like I said, I've had this feeling once before. I didn't know I had a warning for when my friends were gonna throw me a party. Probably because I'm the one who usually throws the parties, even when they're for me."

"But I thought ear flops meant somepony was gonna need a bath."

"Huh? Oh, no, that was just me scanning for potential danger. This particular Pinkie Sense was more of a... feeling... I guess. But I'm still really sorry that I spoiled the surprise. And after my friends went to all the effort of planning this for me, too..."

Dash could see how disappointed Pinkie was now that she had robbed herself of the surprise. But as her best friend, she wasn't about to let Pinkie beat herself up about it. Besides, she said she knew there was a party; she didn't say anything about the party's purpose. "Hey, who cares if there's no surprise left," Rainbow Dash said with a reassuring grin, placing a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "A party's a party, right? Just because you know about it doesn't mean we can't still have some fun."

Pinkie looked back up at her best friend with a tiny smile of her own. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She stood up straight, the spring returning to her step. "And I can still act surprised if you want. Watch!" Pinkie gasped in an exaggerated fashion, her face contorting in an odd way and freezing like that for several seconds.

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "That's okay, Pinkie. Don't worry about it."

Pinkie placed her hoof on the doorknob, readying herself mentally. "Okay. Party time!"

Pinkie Pie burst through the door excitedly, sliding a few feet across the hardwood floor with a loud screech from her hooves and a giant grin on her face. Just as expected, Sugarcube Corner was decorated with balloons and streamers, and tables with various assorted snacks and drinks had been laid out for the surprise party. All of Pinkie's friends were gathered there as well: Twilight; Rarity; Applejack; Fluttershy; Mr. and Mrs. Cake and the twins; and, of course, Gummy. Even Princess Celestia had shown up. But before any of them could shout "Surprise," the pink pony gasped loudly, just as she had demonstrated to Rainbow Dash a few moments prior.

"Omigosh! A surprise party?! For me?! You shouldn't have!"

Her friends were slightly caught off guard by her premature reaction, glancing around at one another in confusion. Applejack cast an annoyed glare at Rainbow Dash.

"You spilled the beans, didn't you?"

Dash rubbed the back of her head, her face red with embarrassment. "Heh heh... Well, not really, but she kinda... figured it out at the last second because of her Pinkie Sense."

Pinkie had already begun her assault on the snack tables, packing cookies and brownies into her mouth like a chipmunk. Twilight approached Rainbow Dash, shaking her head with an amused smile.

"It doesn't matter. Besides, I doubt she knows about the real surprise," Twilight said, making sure to speak loudly enough so that Pinkie would hear.

The gluttonous mare's ears perked up, her head snapping towards Twilight with stuffed cheeks. "Hm?"

"Alright, come on out, everypony!" Twilight called out.

Everypony's attention was directed to the doorway to the bakery's kitchen, and after a few moments, three more mares walked into the room. Three very familiar mares that Pinkie hadn't seen in nearly two months.

Pinkie's eyes went wide and she nearly choked on all the food in her mouth. "Candy! Puff! Sugar! Oh muh gosh!" She swallowed her mouthful in a single gulp, leaving her cheeks free enough to smile as wide as her face would allow, then tackled her three friends to the ground and picking them up in an ecstatic hug.

"Uh, good to see you, too, Pinkie," Candy managed to gasp from within Pinkie's crushing embrace.

The party pony finally released them, but her smile hadn't shrunk in the slightest. "What are you guys doing here?!"

"Vee're just keeping our promise," Puff answered with a grin.

"We did say we would come visit you after graduation," added Sugar.

Mr. Cake trotted up next to Pinkie. "Your friends here gave us a heads up that they were coming. Of course, we were more than happy to help set up this little surprise."

"We've actually known they were coming for a few weeks now," Fluttershy explained. "It was awfully difficult to keep that a secret from you."

"Course, we never told Dash about it 'til yesterday," Applejack said with a chuckle. "Probably a good choice on our part."

"Hey, I told you it wasn't my fault she found out!" Rainbow Dash argued defensively. "It was her dang Pinkie Sense! How am I supposed to fool that?"

Pinkie paid little attention to the minor argument, choosing instead to focus on her former classmates. "So?" she inquired, bouncing up and down excitedly. "How'd it go? You all graduated, right?"

Candy nodded with a proud grin. "Yup. We've all got our diplomas."

Pinkie clapped her hooves gleefully. "Eeeee! I'm so happy for you guys! Congrats!"

Sugar giggled gratefully. "Thank you."

"Oh! And how was the Cake-Off? Was it fun?"

"It was a blast!" Candy laughed. "Honestly, I just feel so bad that you couldn't be there for it."

"So who won?" Rainbow Dash inquired curiously.

Candy placed a hoof on Puff's shoulder, eliciting a bashful blush from the pig-tailed pony. "Our Germane friend here."

Pinkie gasped with a giant grin. "Really?! That's awesome! Congrats, Puff!" She paused, pursing her lips curiously as she glanced between Puff and Candy. "Wait, weren't you supposed to be in teams? How could Puff win on her own?"

"Oh, Gustave only put that rule in place to force you and Gwen to work together," Candy explained. "After you got expelled, he just did away with that rule. We could still work together if we wanted, but, admittedly, we wanted to try competing with each other." She gave Puff a congratulatory smile. "And she whupped my tush."

"It helps that I had a good roommate to learn from," Puff said modestly.

Pinkie waved her hoof dismissively. "Oh, pish. I'm sure it was all you, girl."

"Regardless, everypony's cakes were absolutely delectable," Princess Celestia said. "And they were all so unique. I had such a difficult time deciding a winner."

"Well, I think Puff definitely deserves the win," Pinkie commented. "Although, I will admit that I thought Gwen would probably win, even if she doesn't have a lot of experience with giant cakes. She's one talented little birdie."

"And perhaps she would be willing to explain why," said Sugar.

"I'm a little busy at zee moment."

Pinkie's ears stood at attention, looking past her friends to the kitchen door where the familiar, Prench voice had come from. Pinkie grinned from ear to ear. "She's here, too?! Gwen! Get out here!" she bellowed excitedly.

An audible groan came from the kitchen, but after a moment, the griffon emerged. Oddly, her white feathers and even some of her black fur were stained with flour and frosting. But right now, that was the least of Pinkie's concerns. Gwenivere braced herself and inhaled a quick breath as the exuberant mare grabbed her and hugged her tightly.

"I was starting to worry that you weren't gonna come," Pinkie exclaimed, tightening her grip.

"We... We are friends now," Gwenivere wheezed. "And after what you did for me, I suppose I owe you."

Pinkie released the griffon, looking around the room quickly in panic before pulling Gwenivere into a private huddle and whispering to her. "Shh! They don't know about that. I never told them that I lied. Do you wanna get busted?"

"Zere is no need to keep secrets anymore, Mademoiselle Pie."

Pinkie glanced up from her huddle. Standing directly in front of her was Gustave le Grand, also caked with flour and frosting just like his daughter. "Gustave? Geez, how many people you guys hiding back there? Uh, wait, what did you say just now?"

Gwenivere shied away guiltily, rubbing one of her forelegs. "Je suis désolé, Pinkie Pie."

"Huh?"

"Gwenivere came clean, I'm afraid," Gustave explained. "Apparently she was so wracked wiz guilt zat she felt zee need to tell me 'ow you honorably took zee fall in 'er stead."

Pinkie's ears flattened against her head, looking at Gwenivere as though she had been betrayed. "Gwen, what did you do that for? I was trying to help you."

"I know, but I could not allow myself to go zrough wiz it. I did not deserve it."

"In light of zis information, we 'ad no choice but to expel Gwenivere," Gustave informed Pinkie.

Pinkie Pie was aghast at this news. "What?! No!"

"Pinkie Pie." The shame had left Gwenivere's voice, replaced by her pride and assurance, grabbing Pinkie's full attention. "I greatly appreciate what you are willing to do for my sake, but it is not necessary." Pinkie was about to retort, but Gwenivere raised her claw to cut her off. "I 'ave zee opportunity and zee resources to attend zee university again, and I will. I will complete zee course no matter what. You do not 'ave zat luxury, which is why I am so grateful to 'ave you as ma amie. Zis was a great sacrifice pour vous, and I intend to zank you for it." She turned to her father, only nodding to him.

Gustave, understanding the signal, returned to the kitchen. Pinkie waited curiously, staring at the entryway to the kitchen for what felt like eternity. After a minute or so, everypony heard the sound of wheels rolling across the tiled floor, and then Gustave reemerged from the kitchen.

But it was what he had brought with him that caused Pinkie's eyes to widen in wonder and her jaw to drop nearly to the floor.

Gustave pushed a trolley out to the shop's lobby, struggling to keep it moving due to the heavy load upon it. That heavy load was an enormous, five-tiered cake, towering almost all the way to the ceiling. But it wasn't the size that was eye-catching, but the design. Each tier of the cake—all of them elevated by plastic, pink columns, making the whole thing look like a miniature, edible castle—was completely different; it was practically five different cakes stacked atop one another.

The bottom and largest tier, somehow supporting the entirety of the rest of the cake above it, was a fluffy chiffon cake slathered with pink and white whipped cream, perfectly shaped in diagonal stripes around the cakes perimeter, making it look like a giant, peppermint candy. Uniquely, there were even some green-and-white striped candy canes sticking up from the top of that tier, angled so that they crossed in pairs. It looked as though the entire thing would taste fresh and minty.

The second tier up appeared to be a cremeschnitte, filled with tasty custard and whipped cream. Even more whipped cream decorated the circumference of the tier like fluffy, white ribbons. The standout feature of this tier, however, was the half-donuts positioned all along the edge like a fence of glazed goodness and giving it a look that was vaguely similar to the cake that Pinkie and Gustave once collaborated on. It looked extremely fattening, but also irresistibly sweet and flavorful. No doubt the texture was heavenly as well, the custard alone looking very soft and smooth.

It took no time to identify the middle tier as a red velvet cake, the layers inside as bright as a rose. The perfectly white roux covering was sprinkled with bright purple sugar crystals, sparkling in the light like gemstones. Like the two tiers below it, the top of the red velvet cake was decorated quite uniquely, with heart-shaped cookies sticking upright in the roux, each cookie having it's own pink frosting on it as well. It gave everypony toothaches just looking at it, but there was no way any of them would pass up a slice of that; it looked far too sweet not to have some.

The fourth and second-to-last tier was a dark, rich black forest cake, the deep red cherry filling practically oozing from between the dark chocolate layers. The top of this cake was covered in vanilla icing and topped with even more cherries, freshly picked from the look of them. If that weren't enough, it appeared to have thin slivers of shaved dark chocolate sticking out from its edge, carefully cut and shaped so that they resembled dark brown feathers. It looked as though it might just take off if it weren't pinned down by the top and final tier.

Speaking of which, the top tier, although the smallest of the five, was perhaps the most outstanding piece in the whole cake. It practically glowed with all the colors of the rainbow. It was obviously baked with rainbow essence, but was not in chaotic, uncontrolled swirls. Rather, great care was put into ensuring that the colors were stacked neatly atop one another, from red at the top, to violet at the bottom. Such a process must have been beyond tedious and only possible for the most skilled of pastry chefs. The whole tier looked like an edible embodiment of the sky, with the rainbow cake itself topped with bright blue icing and large dollops of whipped cream that resembled fluffy clouds.

To top everything else off—quite literally, in fact—floating up from the top of the cake, practically brushing against the ceiling, were three balloons; two powder blue, and one bright yellow.

Pinkie Pie lifted her hooves to her mouth, unable to express the emotions running through her and doing her hardest to fight back tears. "T-That's my cake..." she murmured quietly as she stared in disbelief. "B-But... I don't... How?"

"It was zee only recipe zat survived zee fire," Gwenivere explained with a soft smile. "I zought it may be my last chance to win Zee Great Cake-Off. But it was zis very recipe zat made me realize zat..." Once again, she turned away, feeling ashamed. "...I did not deserve to win. Zee guilt I felt as I stared at zis recipe was far too great. I 'ad no choice but to do zee right zing. You said it yourself, Pinkie, zat I value ma fierté, and it was ma fierté—my pride—zat told me zat I could not, in all good conscience, allow you to take zee blame for my mistake."

Pinkie Pie was speechless. How could she be mad at Gwenivere for wasting her last chance after that?

"'Owever, zis did mean I would not be entering zee Cake-Off as I 'ad wished, but such is zee price I pay."

"A shame as well," Celestia commented. "It's such a beautiful cake. Truly a representation of you and what you treasure most, Pinkie Pie."

Gustave grimaced slightly at the princess's comment. "Per'aps if you perceive it in a metaphorical sense. Personally, I zink it is an eyesore."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing you weren't judging the competition," Celestia joked. "Additionally, was your entry into the National Dessert Competition not a similar amalgamation, as well as a collaboration with the very mare who designed this cake?"

The question simply elicited a huffy, dismissive grunt from the griffon.

"As I said, I was planning to enter zis gâteau in zee competition, mais I zought it would be—for lack of a better term—disrespectful not to do somezing wiz zis recipe," Gwenivere admitted. "So consider it a show of ma remerciements—my gratitude."

Pinkie Pie sniffled, wiping a tear from her eye with a shaky smile. "Aww, Gwen, stop. You're gonna make me cry."

Expecting what was next, Gwenivere opened her forelegs with a reluctant sigh, and Pinkie gave the griffon a hug, though much less bone-crushing than she had anticipated.

"Chef le Grand," Celestia said, addressing Gustave. "I believe you also had something to give Pinkie Pie, didn't you?"

The mustachioed griffon nodded, then tapped Pinkie on the shoulder, interrupting her hug with his daughter. "Mademoiselle Pie, in light of zee circumstances, I and the zee rest of zee staff at Zee Steeden University of Culinary Arts 'ave agreed zat your expulsion from zee school may 'ave been unjust."

"Does that mean you're going to let her take the course again?" Candy asked.

Gustave shook his head. "Unfortunately, zere are complicated raisons why we cannot do zat. 'Owever, we 'ave come to what I believe to be a much more pratique et méritant solution."

Gustave removed his chef's hat, reached inside, removed a rolled up piece of paper tied with a red ribbon, and presented it to Pinkie Pie. Pinkie could only stare in disbelief, having a strong feeling of what exactly it was.

"Considering zat you were wrongly punished, 'ow close you were to graduation, and 'ow skilled a baker you truly are, it seemed only fair zat we present to you zat which you 'ave most certainly earned."

Slightly in shock, Pinkie reached out with a shaky hoof, taking the piece of paper, untying it and unfurling it. Just as she expected, but no less unbelievable, it was a decorated piece of parchment with her name written on it in large print signifying her graduation from The Steeden University of Culinary Arts: her diploma.

Pinkie looked up at Gustave with no end to the disbelief in her eyes. "Really?"

With a proud grin, Gustave nodded. "Oui, zis is real. If you so choose, you may accept zis diploma as physical proof of your status as a world-class pastry chef. Mais I feel I 'ave come to know you quite well over zee past year. I 'ave a suspicion zat you, personally, may not feel you 'ave earned zis, which is why I offer you zee choice of accepting it, if you so please."

Pinkie let out a sigh, though she smiled through it. "I guess you do know me pretty well, huh?" She rolled the diploma up again, retied it, and passed it back to Gustave. Everypony else was shocked to see her do that, but the griffon continued smiling, having expected as much. "Maybe I did earn this, but at the same time, I didn't get to take part in the Cake-Off, so I don't feel like I got the full experience of the course. But who knows? Maybe one day I'll save up enough money to take the course all over again. Spend some more time in Steeden; learn even more and create some new recipes; maybe even make some new friends. For now, though, I think I can live without it."

The sound of a single pair of clapping hooves could be heard. Princess Celestia was happily applauding Pinkie Pie, not only on her achievement, but also her choice. It didn't take long for the rest of Pinkie's friends to join in on the congratulations.

Pinkie blushed bashfully and giggled. "Oh, you guys. Stop it, you're embarrassing me."

Gwenivere placed a claw on Pinkie's shoulder, offering a congratulatory smile. "Pinkie Pie, you are truly a bigger person zan I. I do not zink I could turn done such an offer."

"Speaking of you, Gwen, what are planning to do now?" Pinkie asked curiously. "I know how important graduating was to you."

Gwenivere waved Pinkie's concern off dismissively. "You need not worry about moi. I plan to re-enroll next year and truly earn mon diplôme. Until zen, I will be traveling zee world wiz Papa to 'one my skills in many different countries. I will ensure zat my success is unparalleled."

"Well then, good luck. I'm sure you'll do great," Pinkie assured her.

Gwenivere straightened up confidently. "As if zere is any doubt."

Rainbow Dash stepped forward impatiently. "Yeah, yeah, this is all really heartwarming and inspiring and junk, but there's a giant cake sitting right there, just waiting to be eaten."

"Yes, I must agree that I've found my eyes glancing towards it for quite some time now," Celestia admitted.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Twilight said. She produced a cake knife from thin air with her magic and offered it to Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie, will you do the honors?"

Pinkie gladly took the knife, turning towards the towering temptation. "You bet! Buuuuut, I think I might need some help."

Pinkie gestured for Candy, Puff, Sugar, Gwenivere, and Rainbow Dash to join her as she readied the knife over the bottom tier of the cake. With proud smiles, her five friends placed their hooves—and claw—on Pinkie's, and the six of them slid the knife down into the cake together, cutting out the first slice. Gwenivere was the one who took up a plate, laid the slice upon it, and respectfully offered it to Pinkie Pie.

"No matter how things turned out, we're all proud of you, Pinkie Pie," Twilight assured her with a grin.

Applejack nodded in agreement. "Sure are. An' Ah can't wait to learn about some o' them recipes you cooked up. Havin' a world-class pastry chef helpin' out next family reunion'll be somethin' ta brag about."

"I must admit, I'm quite jealous," Rarity added. "Getting to spend a year in Steeden with good friends and good food. Oh my, it sounds simply heavenly. We should all go together some time in the future."

"I'm just glad everything turned out okay," Fluttershy said. "After Rainbow Dash took off, and now that scary business with the fire, who knows what horrible things could have happened? But I'm relieved that everypony turned out happy in the end."

"And even if you don't have a diploma, you're still the best pastry chef we could ask for," said Mrs. Cake.

Mr. Cake nodded. "Yup. Sugarcube Corner's always been a better place with you around, Pinkie."

"I feel I must ask once more: are you certain zat you will not accept your diploma?" Gustave repeated. "You 'ave truly earned it, and just 'aving it will open an entire world of opportunities pour vous."

Pinkie bit her lip as she reconsidered the offer. "It would look pretty cool hanging on the wall. You know, with a nice frame, right above my bed. That'd be sweeeeeet." Gustave was prepared to hand her the diploma once more, but Pinkie shook her head. "But I can't. It just wouldn't feel right. Besides, I can't imagine working anywhere but here." She swung a hoof around gesturing to the building they were in. "This is where I wanna be, with my friends..." She reached down with her free hoof to pick up the small alligator on the floor, nuzzling him lovingly. "...and my family. This is my home."

Gustave put the diploma away again. "I can respect zat."

Rainbow Dash proudly tousled Pinkie's mane, the pink mare putting her hoof over her best friend's shoulder.

Gwenivere held out a fork to Pinkie Pie, who let Gummy climb onto her head and nestle into her poofy mane. Pinkie took the fork with a smile, and Gwenivere smiled back.

"'Ear's to friends."

Pinkie quickly cut out five more slices of cake, giving one to each of them before raising her fork into the air in celebration.

"To great friends, new and old!"

With that, there was a round of enthusiastic cheers, and Pinkie and her friends partook in the cake that their friendship made, celebrating her accomplishment and especially the great memories they had all forged together, memories that none of them would soon forget.

The End

Chapter 5 - The Hotdogs of War

The Steeden University of Culinary Arts
By Dee Pad
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Chapter 5: The Hotdogs of War

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It was a bright, sunny day in Trotholm, the kind of day where you just can't stand to stay inside because it feels like you're somehow wasting your life if you aren't outside. Also the kind of day where the sun causes glare on the television no matter what time it is, so you may as well be outside anyway. However, despite the beaming sun high in the sky on this cloudless day, their was a distinct nip in the air; a frosty chill that induces immediate shivers as soon as you open the door.

Sugar Cookie had mentioned to Pinkie Pie and her friends that Steeden, being significantly further north than any of their homes, was probably going to be decidedly more cold than they were perhaps used to in winter, not to mention the much longer nights. Thankfully, they had all prepared for the season. Since they were going to be there a whole year, they had to pack for a whole year, which included winter clothing. Not that it was winter quite yet. It was still November, but the temperature was certainly dropping fast over time. At the moment, it was only chilly enough to warrant throwing on a scarf or a wool hat, both of which Candy Cane had decided were necessary. Pinkie Pie had wrapped herself up in a striped, pink scarf to match her natural colors, and Puff Pastry had done the same, but with a navy blue scarf instead. Sugar Cookie herself, being native to the country and more accustomed to the cold weather than her foreign friends, opted to simply wear a pair of earmuffs.

The four aspiring pastry chefs had decided to take advantage of this beautiful Saturday afternoon to refill the fridges and pantries back at their dorms, so they had set out to a local supermarket suggested to them by their local, Steedish compadre. It was certainly a lot bigger than what Pinkie Pie was used to back home, with its high ceiling, long aisles, salad bars, and some such. She'd usually have to make a trip to the city to shop at a place like this. The best part was just the enormous variety of everything on the shelves. If there was ever anything food related that they were craving, chances are they'd find it here. As a matter of fact, Pinkie had already filled a shopping cart nearly to the brim and showed no signs of slowing down any time soon, although she relied mostly on Sugar Cookie to point out the best brands as she herself was not familiar with any of the foreign product names.

But as much as Pinkie Pie was enjoying herself and her shopping spree, Candy was feeling the exact opposite way, wanting nothing more than to just get what they needed and get out as quickly as possible. Pinkie didn't notice this, though. It was Puff who had noticed the begrudging frown on her friend's face.

"Is something wrong, Candy?" the portly mare asked her distraught friend.

Candy answered rather quickly, almost as if she were waiting for somepony to ask. "I'm not comfortable here. I just want to get back to the university and... do something else."

Sugar Cookie looked over her shoulder as she led her three friends down another aisle. "Why are you not comfortable?"

"Yeah, the air's all crisp and fresh in here, and it smells fantastic!" Pinkie added.

"It's just... bringing back bad memories, that's all," she mumbled.

"What kind of memories exactly?" Sugar asked curiously.

Candy didn't answer, choosing not to go into detail about what was bothering her. Pinkie, however, managed to deduce what was on her mind. "Oh, I think I get it. This big supermarket reminds her of Manehattan Mall. Is that right, Candy?"

"...Yeah," Candy grumbled.

"Vhat's Manehattan Mall?" Puff asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Only the biggest and most extravagant-est shopping mall in Equestria!" Pinkie bellowed. "They have everything there. A food court; sport's stadium; play room..."

"Slave labor."

Puff and Sugar looked at Candy with uncomprehending stares. "Slave labor?" Sugar echoed.

Candy looked at Puff. "Remember how I told you that Pinkie saved my life once? Well, she saved me from Manehattan Mall, where the mall's greedy owner kidnapped people and forced them to fix broken or defective items that customers had returned. I was locked up in there for about eight months before Pinkie and her friends rescued us. That was just last year."

Puff and Sugar didn't know how to respond to that, opting to just offer looks of sympathy for their friend.

"It was a little more traumatizing than I thought it'd be. Ever since, I haven't been able to bring myself to go into anyplace larger than a corner store. I'm honestly surprised that I worked up the courage to come in here."

"But this is a supermarket, not a super-mall. It's different," Pinkie tried to assure her.

Candy shook her head. "Not to me it's not. But I guess it's not that bad," she admitted as she looked around. "This place isn't even a tenth as big as Manehattan Mall. I'm just glad that bastard's behind bars now."

"Whoa! Language, young lady!" Pinkie scolded.

Candy rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. After what I've been through, I think I have a right to use a little colorful language."

Sugar offered a soothing smile as she placed a bag of flour into Pinkie's cart. "Well, you do not have to be worried about this place. I know the owner, he is my uncle."

Candy's distasteful grimace at her unpleasant memories was subdued and replaced by surprise and relief. "Really? Huh. You know, that actually does make me feel a little better."

Pinkie leaned in close to Sugar and wore a sly grin. "Think you can convince your uncle to give us a friends and family discount?" she requested with an eyebrow wiggle.

Sugar giggled in response. "I will see what I can do."

"Hm."

Pinkie slowed down until the musing Candy had caught up with her. "Somethin' on your mind?"

"Nothing serious, if that's what you're assuming. I just realized that my family is in the food service industry, and Sugar's family is in the food service industry. I was wondering if maybe we all come from culinary backgrounds. What about you, Pinkie? You haven't really told me anything about your family. What do they do? Wait, wait, let me guess. Some sort of... pie related business perhaps?"

Pinkie laughed and shook her head. "Nope, way off. My family owns and operates a rock farm."

Puff raised an eyebrow. "A rock farm? Vhat's a rock farm?"

"A place where you farm rocks. Duh," Pinkie answered.

"How does one 'farm' rocks exactly?" Candy inquired, a part of her believing that she was making this up.

"Easy. You just, you know, farm the rocks."

The three other mares looked between one another, uncomprehending. She had to be messing with them.

"So you... plant the rocks und they grow?" Puff questioned.

Pinkie blinked, looking at Puff as if her question was one of the dumbest things she'd ever heard. "What? No. Rocks aren't plants, silly. We faaaaarm them," she repeated, hoping that speaking more slowly and clearly would somehow help them to understand better.

"That's not answering our question," Candy groaned with exasperation. "So is there, like, harvesting involved or anything like that?"

"Course. Wouldn't really be a farm if we didn't do any harvesting, would it?"

Candy nodded. "Okay. Now, I'm going to rephrase my other question: how do you harvest rocks?"

"With pickaxes," Pinkie answered with an innocent smile.

Candy paused for a moment. Finally, something about this conversation that sounded normal. "Okay, that actually makes sense."

"But what do you do with the rocks then?" Sugar inquired.

Pinkie turned her gaze upward as she thought back to her days on the rock farm, trying to recall the exact process. "Well, we chip the rocks apart. We don't really do anything with the rocks, but sometimes we find gemstones inside them. Mom and Dad usually sell 'em."

Candy stared at Pinkie Pie for a moment, feeling a slightly irritated twitch in her eye. "So... it's a mine."

This time Pinkie was the one who groaned. "No, it's a farm. Mine's are underground."

And with that, Candy had officially had enough. "Right, I'm done with this conversation."

"The purpose of this conversation was to ask about your family, ya?" Sugar interjected. "You mentioned your mother and father. Do you have any siblings?"

Pinkie grinned widely. "Yup. Three sisters. Marble, Limestone, and Maud. Marble's the youngest, then me, then Maud, and Limestone's the oldest."

"And all of you used to work at the mi—er, farm together?" asked Candy.

"Actually, they all still work there. I'm the only one who left."

Candy's eyes widened slightly, surprised by her answer. "Really? Were you not happy there?"

Pinkie thought back to a particularly fateful day, one that may very well have changed her life and made her the mare she was today. "At first, not really. But once I got my cutie mark, I realized my true calling was not farming rocks, but spreading smiles and laughter! And my family was really supportive of that. Our farm is pretty secluded; there's not really anypony else around for miles. They knew I couldn't achieve my goals and dreams by sticking around there. It was their idea that I go out on my own and do what I really wanted to do."

Sugar gave a soft smile. "That is nice. Your family must really love you."

"Whose family wouldn't? Love their kids I mean. Not love me specifically. Although, I don't see any reason why they can't love me, too. Have you met me? I'm adorable!" Pinkie placed her hooves on her cheeks, giving the cutest look she could muster up to punctuate that.

"No arguments here," Sugar giggled.

"You've been awfully quiet, Puff," Candy pointed out as she turned to the pig-tailed pony.

Puff snapped to attention as if having been shaken from her own thoughts. "Huh? Oh, sorry. I just... have nothing to contribute to the conversation." She turned away from her friends.

"Sure you do," Candy insisted. "We haven't really heard anything about your family either. Why don't you tell us a little about them?"

"I'd rather not."

None of them had expected that answer.

"Why not?" Sugar asked with added sensitivity in her tone.

"I just... don't vant to talk about my family, that's all. Can vee please drop the subject?"

They could all hear the seriousness in her voice. Whatever was up with Puff's family must have been a very sensitive subject for her, something that Candy certainly would have liked to help her with if at all possible, but, out of respect for her, figured she'd better leave it for another time.

By now, the quartet of mares had made their way to the checkout counter to pay for their groceries, and were preparing to leave when Pinkie spoke up. "Right, I've got a new topic: lunch! What say we all grab a bite to eat?"

"I could go for some food," Candy agreed. "Any suggestions on a specific restaurant, Sugar?"

Before Sugar could answer, Pinkie immediately cut her off. "Oh, actually, I was just thinking we could head back to university and just have lunch there." Pinkie received odd stares from her three friends. "What?"

"That's... kinda boring, don't you think?" said Candy. "Certainly not what we've come to expect from you, Pinkie."

"Ya, are you sure that you do not want to go somewhere more... exotic? I know a nice place that makes an excellent vegetarian Janssons frestelse. I am sure you would love it," Sugar suggested.

Pinkie dismissed it with a flick of her hoof. "That sounds good and everything, but I was in the cafeteria earlier today, and saw that they had a scrumptious looking black forest cake that they're serving for dessert. I want as much of that as I can get before everypony else can get to it. We can go to your place tomorrow. Is that okay with you guys? I don't wanna seem like I'm the only one whose opinion matters here."

Candy looked at Puff, who shrugged, then at Sugar, who also shrugged. "I guess there's nothing wrong with that. To be fair, we have plenty of time to check out local restaurants anyway; we've only been here for a few months yet."

Pinkie hopped out of the checkout line, shoving Puff next to her cart before bouncing toward the door. "Okay cool. I'm-a get a head start and get back there now. Puff, I'll pay my share when we get back to the dorm. See you guys there bye!" And with that, Pinkie Pie zipped out the front door of the supermarket.

Puff looked awkwardly at Candy and Sugar, blushing slightly with a nervous chuckle. "I... don't think I brought enough money to pay for all of this myself. Could one of you...?"

Candy rolled her eyes—more so at Pinkie Pie's abrupt exit than Puff's request—and tossed her a small bag of extra bits.

***** ***** *****

The cafeteria of the university was surprisingly crowded for a Saturday. The chilled air outside was likely a deterrent to the students who would rather just stay indoors and keep warm. It was days like this that they were all glad that the cafeteria remained available all week, even on weekends when there were no classes.

Of course, Pinkie Pie was none too pleased by the sizable population, a fact that was made quite clear as she grumpily prodded a small slice of black forest cake with her fork. She was hoping to get a little more, but apparently they needed to divvy up smaller portions to ensure that everyone could get some. Her slice was more of an appetizer than a dessert. She didn't even get one of the cherries that had decorated the top, and the cherry filling barely oozed from within it at all. If that weren't enough, her actual lunch was simply a boring pile of mashed potatoes and other assorted bits of vegetable. All in all, she was a touch disappointed. Perhaps she would have been better off going to that place that Sugar had suggested.

Pinkie, still scowling at her mundane meal, looked up at the sound of the cafeteria doors opening; anything was more entertaining than what was on the table in front of her. But, as if it were a gift sent from the heavens, the three friends she had run ahead of had finally caught up with her. Pinkie straightened up and put on a genuine smile, her mood visibly elevated by the presence of her friends. She raised her hoof up and gestured them over to her table. Candy Cane made a gesture back, informing her to wait a moment as the three of them went to get some food for themselves. After waiting patiently for a few minutes, they joined Pinkie with trays of food of their own, just as bland as her own unfortunately.

"Thanks for helping us carry the groceries back," Candy remarked sarcastically.

"Und you owe me twenty bits," Puff added.

"Actually, you owe Candy twenty bits," corrected Sugar.

Pinkie went back to leaning on her hoof and staring at her food. "Yeah, sorry about that. Turns out it wasn't really worth rushing back here after all," she said as she poked her cake again. Admittedly, it was still the most appetizing item in front of her.

"So do you girls have anything you vant to do after dinner?" Puff asked as she ate, undeterred by how boring her meal was. "I heard it's supposed to snow later, und I'd like to see vhat Steeden looks like under a blanket of snow."

"Is this country just as beautiful in winter as the rest of the year, Sugar?" Candy asked the local.

"Perhaps more so. Though, I suppose that depends on who you ask. I am partial to springtime myself, but I still think winter is lovely here."

"Oh! Do you guys celebrate Hearth's Warming here too?" Pinkie asked.

Sugar nodded. "Ya, of course."

Pinkie giggled gleefully and clapped her hooves together, no doubt already making plans for a Hearth's Warming party of some description.

"I did a little asking around a while back and found out that we're not really getting much time off for Hearth's Warming. Just a few days, that's all," Candy noted, particularly to Pinkie Pie.

"Awww," Pinkie moaned in disappointment. "You mean we don't have any time to go back home and spend the holidays with our families?"

Candy shrugged. "Guess not. It's easier for Puff or Sugar; their homes are just a relatively short trip from here. We have to take into consideration the nine hour flights both ways, then the time differences. Add everything up and we might barely get one day out of it. Not worth the cost of a round trip ticket if you ask me, as much as I'd like to see my dad."

"What is wrong with spending Hearth's Warming here?" Sugar asked. "Just a small group of friends celebrating the holidays together."

Pinkie smiled widely at the prospect. "Hey, yeah! Good friends are just the same as family! Oh, but you don't want to go see your own family, Cookie?"

Sugar flicked her bangs casually. "It is like Candy said: my family lives not far from here. I can spend Hearth's Warming with them, then come back to the university and spend the rest of my time off with you."

"That sounds nice," Candy said with a soft smile. She then turned to Puff. "What about you? I know you live a little farther away than Sugar does, but would you be able to make it back in time to spend a day with us?"

"Actually, I don't plan to go back home for Hearth's Varming," Puff replied blandly between bites.

Candy's smile faltered. "You don't want to see your family?"

Puff hesitated for a moment before answering. "Like you said, it's not vorth the trouble for such a short time."

"Then it's settled!" Pinkie exclaimed, clomping her hooves on the table. "We'll have a big Hearth's Warming party at our dorm. I'll make some fruitcake, and gingerbread, and a whole bunch of other holiday-related fooditries."

"We should all pitch in with the cooking," Candy suggested. "That'll save time and it gives us practice at the same time."

"Potluck! Awesome! And you can bring Gwen with you!"

"That vould be unfair if vee both brought nice things and Candy just brought a grumpy goose," Puff chuckled, relishing any opportunity to throw an insult back at the griffon, even if not to her face.

Candy's eyes moved toward the cafeteria door, and her amused grin suddenly shifted to a grimace. "Speak of the devil..."

As if on cue, Gwenivere herself had stepped into the room, mostly unnoticed by the other students with the exception of Pinkie and her friends. Unlike them, however, Gwenivere had no intention of partaking in the cafeteria's food. Instead, she seemed to have brought a bagged lunch with her. Why she had decided to bring it here and join the "plebeians" as opposed to dining in her dorm in silence was beyond them. She didn't even seem to notice that she was being watched by the ponies that she got so much enjoyment out of berating, which was when Pinkie Pie did what her friends were hoping she wouldn't.

"Gwen! Over here!" Pinkie beckoned, waving to the griffon. Both Puff and Candy breathed heavy groans at Pinkie's invitation. They wished that she'd just give up on trying to befriend her. It was causing more problems than anything.

Gwenivere paused at Pinkie's voice calling out to her. She contemplated simply ignoring them, but she was in a good mood today and decided to humor the incessant filly. "Oui? Do you need somezing?" she asked as she stepped over to their table. She had no intention to actually join them, but figured there was little harm in seeing what it was she wanted this time.

"We were just planning our Hearth's Warming party," Pinkie explained with a friendly, inviting grin. "Do you wanna come? Oh, you can bring some of your dad's éclairs! They're awesome!"

An invitation to a party? Was that all? Gwenivere had been expecting something a touch more... vexatious. At least it was easy to devise an answer.

"Non."

"Aw, c'mon," Pinkie insisted with a pout. "It'll be fun. There'll be lotsa food, singing, storytelling, presents..."

"Nopony said anything about singing," Puff interrupted, hoping to discourage the topic.

"As... tantalizing as zat sounds," Gwenivere noted sarcastically, "once again, I must baisse. I 'ave more important zings to occupy myself wiz for zee 'olidays. Certainly préférable to whatever drivel you 'ave planned."

Pinkie shrugged. "Well, if you already have plans... But if something changes, you're always welcome to hang out with us."

"Speak for yourself," Puff muttered under her breath. Judging by the look on Candy's face, she wasn't the only one thinking it.

Gwenivere leaned closer to Pinkie Pie. "Get it straight, little pony. I do not want to be your friend. So let me put it zis way: I would not go to your party even if it were an order from Princess Celestia 'erself." To add insult to injury, Gwenivere scooped up some icing from Pinkie's slice of cake with a talon, then smeared the cream down the pony's cheek.

The griffon received a trio of glowers from Pinkie's friends. However, Pinkie herself simply sat there, and touched the cream that stained her cheek. She clenched her eyes shut. For once in the time that Candy, Puff, and Sugar had known her, Pinkie actually looked like she was getting angry. To further that thought, Pinkie slammed her hooves onto the table, effectively silencing any conversations the other students in the cafeteria may have been having. Everyone present watched as the pink pony slowly rose from her seat, the sound of the chair's legs scrapping against the tile floor now the only thing audible in the room. Through narrowed eyelids, Pinkie glared at Gwenivere. The griffon had seen that look before, and it worried her. Whatever was now going through her mind, Gwenivere wished to back out if at all possible. She even considered actually apologizing. But before she could say anything, Pinkie leaned in, her nose pressing against Gwenivere's beak.

Pinkie spoke, her tone low and dark. "I have been waiting my whole life for an opportunity to say these two, special words."

She reached down and picked up the paper plate that her slice of cake was sitting on. Then, she smiled.

"Food fight!"

Gwenivere was instantly met by a messy slice of black forest cake splattering against her face, the force and shock of which caused her to lose her balance and fall over. Without hesitation, Pinkie Pie, an elated grin spreading across her lips, scooped up her mashed potatoes with her hoof and tossed it indiscriminately across the room, smacking a random stallion in the face. The stallion's friends quickly jumped to his aid by returning in kind with their own meals.

Pinkie watched as the weaponized food careened toward her. "It has begun."

She grabbed Candy and leapt over the table with Puff and Sugar, then flipped the table onto its side and pulled her friends down. The impact of sloppy food stuffs could be heard as their impromptu bunker absorbed the projectiles. A loud ruckus had now kicked up, each instance of collateral damage inviting more people to join the crossfire, quickly turning the cafeteria into a battlefield.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about! All out, culinary warfare!" Pinkie exclaimed. "C'mon, girls, grab a hoofful and start chuckin'!" She popped her head up over the table for a brief moment and tossed a messy glob of pudding across the room.

Puff was in an absolute panic over what was happening. "Pinkie, vhat the hay are you doing?! Do you know how much trouble you could get in for this?!"

Pinkie grabbed Puff by the shoulders. "I'll tell you what I'm doing." She inhaled deeply through her nose. "You smell that? That's the smell of combat, Puff."

Puff, despite her concern, did as Pinkie requested and sniffed. The cafeteria smelled like an amalgamation of every food item they offered. Mixed together, it wasn't really too appealing; it was mostly boiled or mashed vegetables being tossed about, and the occasional slice of cake or pie, which helped add a slightly sugary scent, but only barely noticeable.

"All my life I've wanted to take part in a food fight, even if just once," Pinkie explained. "It's something you see in cartoons all the time, and I wanted to do it for realsies. So I saw an opportunity, and I took it. Now don't just sit there like cannon fodder, fight back!"

Pinkie returned to once again pick up and throw any food that was within reach, which was mostly what she and her friends were going to have for lunch, but had wound up on the floor once the table was overturned. Puff didn't find any solace in Pinkie's explanation. If anything, it worried her more. Starting a food fight for the heck of it? What kind of a reason was that? Not to mention all the wasted food.

Puff turned to talk to Candy, who, oddly enough, didn't appear too concerned by Pinkie's actions. "Candy, vhat do vee do? Can't you talk some sense into her?"

Candy watched as Pinkie continued to bombard the other students. "You know what? I'm sick of being the voice of reason. I'm always the one who tries to talk Pinkie out of her stupid shenanigans, pulling my hair out because I'm worried about the consequences of her actions. But not this time. When Pinkie and I first arrived in Steeden, she put the idea in my head that we would have a lot of fun while we were here. And that's exactly what I'm going to do today: not worry about it and have fun. Pass me that bowl of jelly!"

Puff, taken aback by Candy's attitude toward the situation, slowly passed a half-spilled bowl of lime jelly to Candy who proceeded to dump the contents onto her hoof and hurl it over the table.

"Heads up!" Candy shouted with an uncharacteristically carefree smile.

"You don't warn your enemies that you're firing at them," Pinkie lectured her. "But you've got the enthusiasm, and that's what counts." She turned a stern, commanding gaze to Puff and Sugar. "As for you two, unless you want to go cryin' home to Mama, I suggest you lace up yer boots and get to fightin'!"

Puff and Sugar stared at one another for a moment, silently deciding whether or not to take part. The unicorn shrugged her shoulders. "I see no harm in it. What do you need me to do, Pinkie Pie?"

The party pony glanced around their immediate surroundings, noticing that she and Candy had already burned through most of their available ammunition. "We need more artillery." She chanced a peek over the table, quickly ducking back down for a split second to avoid an errant cupcake, and scanned the room through the chaos and the hail of food. She spotted the glass display counter a short distance away, stained with splattered food, but still filled with untouched edibles. She popped back down and pulled Sugar closer. "The counter by the kitchen is still stocked up. If you can get over there and bring back as much ammo as you can, we'll be in good shape to hold out for a while."

Sugar nodded. "Understood. Wish me luck."

"Right. Good luck. And Cookie..." Pinkie gently placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Be careful. It's hell out there."

Sugar held her own hoof against Pinkie's for a moment, and smiled warmly. With confidence and little hesitation, she set out for her objective, keeping low to the ground to avoid enemy fire.

Candy and Puff watched as she expertly weaved her way around, taking cover behind overturned chairs and tables for brief moments before continuing. Admittedly, they were pretty impressed.

"I've gotta admire her courage. I don't think I'd have the guts to go out there," Candy commended.

Pinkie nodded in agreement. "Yup. She's a fine soldier alright."

Sugar finally reached the counter, quickly and deftly hopping over to the other side to access the snacks on display. She hastily began harvesting the unclaimed munitions, taking as much as she could carry in her forelegs.

"Look out!" she heard Pinkie shout from across the room.

Sugar turned around just in time to see another mare behind her preparing to nail her with a slice of apple pie. Reacting quickly she reached down to pick up a paper plate that had fallen to the floor, raising it like a shield to block the incoming pastry projectile. And immediately, in one continuous motion, tossed the plate—and by extension the pie—right back into her attacker's face.

Puff, Candy, and even Pinkie were thoroughly astounded by her reflexes.

"Damn," was all Candy could think to say.

Unfazed by the surprise encounter, Sugar made her way back across the battlefield as she had the first time, this time with forelegs full of food. She did drop a few pastries here and there, but she was carrying enough to give the four of them enough ammunition to possibly outlast the competition... Or have a light snack between volleys.

Sugar ducked down behind a table very near where her friends were hunkered down. Just one more quick sprint and she'd rejoin them. But as she leapt out of cover to traverse the final, open gap, a stray, airborne cupcake struck her in the withers, and she dropped her payload, collapsing into it with a loud splat. Pinkie gasped and lunged forward into danger, grabbing Sugar and pulling her to safety, paying no mind to their wasted munitions. Pinkie turned her unicorn friend over onto her back. Her chest, stomach, and face were smeared with all manner of messy food, from icing to caramel.

Pinkie looked over her fallen comrade in shock. "Cookie! Are you okay?! Come on, talk to me!"

Sugar opened her pink eyes slowly. A soft smile creased her lips as she gently placed a crimson hoof over Pinkie's. "You came to save me. You are a true friend, Pinkie Pie."

"Don't talk," Pinkie said on the verge of tears, despite her previous insistence. "You gotta save your strength. It's just a flesh wound, we'll fix you up, good as new, don't worry."

There was a hopeful glint in Sugar's eyes. "My lungs feel short of air. Perhaps some... C.P.R. will help."

Pinkie nodded. "Right. Puff, can you do mouth-to-mouth?"

The tan earth pony looked around for a moment, slightly confused and surprised. "Me? Um, vell, I suppose."

"Then hurry! She needs help!" Pinkie ordered, pointing to Sugar. "I've gotta recover our supplies." She hopped out into the open to hurriedly scoop up the food that Sugar had dropped.

Puff looked down at Sugar, who was suddenly much less inclined to continue role-playing.

"That is okay," Sugar said, sitting up and wiping herself off. "I am sure I can shake it off."

Candy simply rolled her eyes at all of the melodrama unfolding around her, and continued pelting her foes.

"Alright!" Pinkie angrily blurted across the cafeteria. "You jerks hurt my friend, and nopony hurts my friends and gets away with it! Just remember: you asked for this!"

"Asked for... vhat?" Puff stammered, unsure if she really wanted to know.

Pinkie, now donning a green, metal helmet, stood up on her hind legs, lifting one of them onto a miniature, powder blue cannon with floral-patterned wheels—which Candy, Puff, and Sugar could not, for the life of them, figure out where it came from. Pinkie turned back to face her friends with a sinister, toothy grin. "My secret weapon."

***** ***** *****

The morning sun slowly rose into the sky, bathing Ponyville with a bright orange glow, and barely hovering above the horizon yet. Most of the small town's residents had yet to rise from their beds, but soon many of them would be awake and preparing for the day ahead of them. Though, being a Saturday, the foals of the town would be enjoying an extra few hours of sleep, unless they noticed that the first light snowfall of the season had occurred just that morning, covering Ponyville in a thin sheet of sparkling powder. Were the children to open their eyes and turn for the windows for even a moment, their parents would likely be rudely roused from their slumbers by the excited foals.

One resident, however, had already risen, not due to the snow, but due to routine. Twilight Sparkle sipped lightly on her morning cup of tea as she perused a new book about botany that she had recently added to the library's collection. She was no stranger to the morning sun. Having been the personal protégé of Princess Celestia—the very individual responsible for raising the sun every morning—she was accustomed to waking up alongside her teacher's iridescent, celestial orb. Her internal clock was practically hardwired to wake her up when it rose.

But she wasn't the only one awake at the moment. Normally, she wouldn't disturb her sleeping, reptilian assistant at this hour, preferring to let him get a little more rest as he was still rather young, but he did, on occasion, wake up when she did. Of course, she'd tell him get more sleep if he wanted, but sometimes he didn't bother and just prepared for the day ahead as she did. However, Spike was not present at this exact moment, but that would be remedied when the front door opened and the baby dragon returned from outside.

"Got 'em!" Spike announced, waving a handful of letters that he had retrieved from the mailbox outside.

After taking another sip of tea, Twilight rose with her usual cheery grin, and trotted over to receive the envelopes. "Thank you, Spike. Let's see here..." The alicorn flipped through the letters as she and her assistant walked back to the round table in the middle of the foyer. "Bill... Bill... Invitation..." Twilight paid little mind to these. Ever since she was crowned a princess she'd receive invitations to various events, like social gatherings in Canterlot, or ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new businesses. She'd attend if she could schedule it, but the sheer amount she's received in the short time she had been a princess was starting to become a tad aggravating, as if she were somehow more important now that she was royalty.

Twilight placed the second-to-last letter on the table, then paused as she looked over the final envelope. Her smile widened at the sight of the bright pink envelope decorated with pictures of yellow and blue balloons. She knew exactly what this one was. She had received letters sealed in these same, flamboyant envelopes fairly regularly for the past few months. And just as she was about to open it, Twilight and Spike both winced at a loud crash from behind them.

"Hey, Twilight! Did you get it?"

Twilight looked over her shoulder to see a smiling Rainbow Dash, dressed up in a wool hat and scarf, draped over the windowsill by the entrance, her front half leaning into the inside, while her backside remained out in the cold.

"We have a door, you know," Twilight deadpanned, though she found herself unable to be upset seeing the good mood her friend was in.

"Yeah yeah, no time for that," Dash said hastily as she struggled to pull herself the rest of the way through the window. She tumbled ungracefully to the floor, landing with her hind legs in the air before allowing herself to fall over onto her back.

"You're up surprisingly early," Twilight commented, noting that she would usually never see Rainbow Dash out and about before noon without reason.

The cyan pegasus rose to a sitting position on the floor. "Who do ya think is responsible for all that snow out there?"

"What, you did that all by yourself?" Spike said with a touch of surprise, though it sounded like an impressive feat.

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head and rocked gently from side to side. "Well, no. But I was in charge, so I guess I get most of the credit... Maybe." She shook her head and stood up, walking over to Twilight. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question."

Twilight chuckled at her friend's impatience and raised the pink envelope with her magic, waving it back and forth. "Don't worry, it's right here."

Rainbow Dash's face lit up with an eager grin. "Well? Are you just gonna sit there, or are ya gonna open it?"

The pegasus made an attempt to snatch the envelope out of the air, but Twilight pulled it out of the way. "Whoa, calm down. Don't you think we should wait until we're all together before we read it? I'm sure everypony is eager to hear what Pinkie Pie is up to."

"What's the rush anyway?" Spike asked. "It probably just says the same thing as her other letters: she misses us, but she's really enjoying herself in Steeden. That's basically what she tells us every time."

"That's not the point," Rainbow Dash groaned. She placed her forelegs on the table, leaning her head against them with a sigh. "Haven't you guys noticed how much different Ponyville feels lately?"

Twilight curled her mouth in thought. "It has been awfully quiet for the past few months. I guess you don't really notice how much of a presence Pinkie Pie has around here until she's gone."

"Yeah, we haven't been to a single party since she left," Spike noted. "It's kinda... boring around here now."

"That's what I'm saying. I used to think she could be a little annoying sometimes... Or really annoying other times. But I'd rather have her jibber-jabberin' in my ears than this... silence." Rainbow Dash's ears flattened against her head as she sunk further into her hooves.

Twilight and Spike shared knowing glances, but before either of them could chime in, Rainbow Dash said exactly what they were preparing to say.

"I miss her."

"We all miss her, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, placing a comforting hoof on her friend's shoulder.

"But she's my best friend. I'm starting to think that telling her to go was a... a mistake. And I feel like a selfish jerk for saying that. But now she's only been gone a few months, and I miss her like she's been gone forever. I hate thinking about the fact that she's gonna be gone for, like, another nine months or something. It might as well be an eternity."

Twilight stayed silent for a minute. It wasn't often the rough and tumble Rainbow Dash got emotional, but at this juncture she felt that she should say something to comfort her. "Rainbow Dash... I feel like the best thing to do in order to cope with this is to not think about what life is like without her, but to imagine how happy you'll be when you see each other again. Based on her letters, it doesn't seem like she's very down about this. Like Spike said, she's enjoying herself, learning all sorts of new recipes, making new friends."

"Yeah, imagine how she'd feel if she knew you were just mopin' around about her all the time," Spike added. "She'd probably tell you to turn that frown upside-down."

Rainbow Dash cracked a small smile. "Yeah, that does sound like her. Still though, I can't help but think that she's embroidering a little in her letters."

"Embellishing," Twilight corrected.

"Whatever."

"Whadda ya mean? You think she's lying to us?" Spike questioned.

"I mean, she's in school," Dash elaborated. "How much fun can she possibly be having?"

"She's in a baking school. She's doing what she loves, and learning new things about it. It's the same reason I read all of these books," Twilight explained.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "I'll never understand you eggheads. No matter how much you try and convince me, I don't think I can picture anypony having that much fun in school. If you ask me, she's probably sitting around, listening to a dull, slow-talking instructor, bored out of her skull. What's the most exciting thing that could possibly happen?"

***** ***** *****

"Fire in the hole!"

Pinkie Pie's Party Cannon unleashed another salvo upon the unprepared enemy, coating the walls and several students with whatever foodstuffs she could jam into the weapon. Food wasn't the only weapon in her arsenal though. She had to discharge some ordnance from a previous occasion, mostly consisting of chromatic balloons, streamers, and confetti, decorating the cafeteria to look like a party that had gotten way out of hoof. However, Pinkie Pie's bombardment did little to deter the other students, who continued their unrelenting assault on one another. On the up side, every shot fired in Pinkie's direction gave she and her friends more ammo to cram into the Party Cannon and launch right back into their faces.

"Is this ever going to end?" Puff asked with astonishment as food flew over their heads nonstop.

Pinkie Pie sat down next to her, rolling a lollipop around in her mouth. "There are no sure things in war, soldier. One day you're sittin' around, eatin' lunch with your friends, then BAM! Muffins outta nowhere!"

Puff raised an eyebrow. "You started th—"

"Yup, can't let your guard down for a minute," added the pink mare, ignoring the accusation.

"Rechercher plus ici, tu rose simplette!"

Curious about the familiar-sounding, Prench taunt, Pinkie Pie peeked over the upturned table only to immediately be struck by an airborne slice of banana cream pie. Pinkie was sent reeling backward onto her back. Her friends gathered around to see if she was okay, their concern placated when Pinkie swirled her long tongue around to scoop up the splattered cream and crust on her face. But before they could help her up, a figure leapt over their barricade and stood over the prone mare, staring down at her with incensed rage.

Pinkie grinned at the familiar face huffing and puffing above her. "Heya, Gwen. I thought you flew the coop already. Glad to see you didn't chicken out." She couldn't help but giggle at her own puns.

"I would 'ave, but I could not live wiz myself if I let you get away wiz zis insult!" Gwenivere explained, drawing attention to the few specks of chocolate and cherry that she hadn't managed to clean off.

Pinkie cocked her head to the side, slight disappointment in her eyes. "Does that mean you're not on our side?"

The griffon grit her teeth at the thick-headed mare's question. "I will never be on your side! 'Ow many times must I say it?!" Gwenivere grabbed a smooshed muffin off the floor, holding it tightly in her talons above her head.

"Eep!" Pinkie Pie slipped out from under her, scurrying away before the muffin wound up occupying the space where her head had been. Pinkie vaulted over another nearby table to shield herself from her new enemy.

"You cannot 'ide!" Gwenivere shrieked as she pursued her prey, flushing her out of hiding and chasing her around the cafeteria.

Candy, Puff, and Sugar could only watch as the pink pony and the livid griffon bounded, ducked, dodged, tossed, spun, flipped, and twirled in their frantic game of cat and mouse, paying no mind to the other students whose war was still waging.

"I think Pinkie might have finally broken her," Candy said to her friends.

"I do not know about that," said Sugar. "She seems to be favoring the food as her weapon of choice. I think she might actually be having fun."

"That's a bit of a stretch if you ask me," Puff commented. "She looks pretty mad."

"She always looks mad," Candy said with a roll her eyes. "And if not, she either looks annoyed, or self-important. Still though, the fact that she's even participating either means she's actually enjoying herself, or she plans to smother Pinkie Pie in icing and mashed potatoes. Either way, it's pretty entertaining," she added with a giggle.

The trio of ponies suddenly needed to move out of the way as Pinkie Pie bounded over their barricade, grabbed her Party Cannon, and swiveled it around. Gwenivere immediately followed her, stopping mere feet away from the powder blue artillery that was now trained straight at her. A look of shock replaced the anger on Gwenivere's face, and she took a step back.

"That's right," Pinkie threatened, though her tone and her smile were still pretty playful. "Who's got the upper hoof now? One wrong move and you'll be buried under a mountain of sugary delight. Surrender!"

Gwenivere remained completely silent, lowering the claw that was poised to toss another glob of food at the incessant pony. Pinkie nodded to acknowledge her surrender. However, it was only now that Pinkie noticed how quiet it was. Not just Gwenivere, but the entire cafeteria. She glanced around, being careful not to drop her guard and let Gwenivere get the jump on her. Sure enough, everyone had stopped what they were doing, and were all looking toward Pinkie, their expressions very reminiscent of Gwenivere's.

"What's wrong?" Pinkie asked the crowd. "Come on, I thought you were having fun. You don't have to stop on account of us." Pinkie Pie noticed Candy making a silent, yet panicked, gesture toward her. "What's up, Candy?"

Pinkie suddenly felt something clasp the top of her head, and she was spun around on the spot by the unseen force. Pinkie was now staring straight into the bloodshot, golden eyes of one infuriated, mustachioed griffon.

"Oh! Hi, Chef le Grand!" Pinkie shouted, her sudden, onset nervousness making her response much louder than she had intended. "Heh heh. Imagine running into you here. Ha ha... I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

Gustave released Pinkie's head from his grip and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. He looked Pinkie straight in the eyes, then her friends', and, finally, his daughter's. "You five. Come wiz me. Now."

The group collectively gulped, not liking the sound of his tone one bit. They did as they were told and started toward the door, their heads hanging low. Whatever was coming their way, it wasn't good.

***** ***** *****

The five of them stood silently, their faces clearly exhibiting the guilt and regret of their actions. Was a half an hour of fun worth the amount of trouble they were no doubt in? If Gustave's reaction was any indication, their punishment could range from bad to really, really, really bad.

Everything was made worse by the deafening silence that filled their homeroom class, where their fuming instructor had led them. Gustave had seated himself at his desk, glaring long and hard at the five troublemakers before him. Part of him was waiting for one of them to speak up and attempt to explain themselves, although, more than likely, none of them had the courage to say anything at the moment, nor could they devise a reasonable argument to defend what they had done.

Not wanting to be in this situation any more than they did, Gustave inhaled a long breath through his nostrils and broke the silence. "I suppose I do not 'ave to tell you what you 'ave done wrong, do I?"

They all silently shook their heads.

Gustave looked over their ashamed faces systematically. "I was informed by a couple of concerned étudiants 'oo 'ad managed to escape zee carnage of what was 'appening. Zey said zat some, and I quote, 'crazy, pink mare' 'ad started a 'food fight' in zee cafeteria." Of course, his eyes trained on Pinkie Pie.

A nervous grin managed to make it's way onto Pinkie's face. "I-I don't suppose they were talking about Candy, were they?"

Gustave's stern gaze never faltered. "I do not zink zey were. I zink zey were referring to you, Mademoiselle Pie. Am I wrong?"

Pinkie's smile fell and she sighed in defeat. "No, sir."

Gustave leaned back in his chair, turning his gaze up to the ceiling for a moment, then back to his students. "I am very disappointed in you all."

Gwenivere raised her claw slowly. "Even moi, Papa?"

"Especially you, Gwenivere!"

His daughter winced at his sudden outburst. Gustave clenched his eyes shut, and took a deep breath to calm himself. He hadn't meant to shout at her, but the thought that his own daughter would involve herself in such wanton defamation of school property angered him. He had raised her better than that.

"Zis is not somezing zat can be overlooked. When you were all accepted to zis université, you were expected to be'ave in a mature manner and respect zese premises. Instead, you 'ave vandalized it, possibly damaging zee schools very reputation, as well as zose zat work 'ere." Gustave made sure that the five of them were paying heed to his every word and allowing them to sink in. "Normally, a minor infraction would result in un avertissement. 'Owever, zis is no minor infraction. You will all be punished accordingly for your be'avior."

In their minds, Pinkie and her friends had hoped because this was their first real offense that they might get off with a scolding and a warning. Apparently, that was not the case. It was evident that no display of remorse or puppy dog eyes was going to get them off the hook.

Gustave leaned back in his chair. "Now, I must decide what zee most fitting punishment is for you."

Pinkie Pie slowly and pensively raised her hoof. Gustave raised an eyebrow, unsure if his nerves could handle anymore of her hijinx. But considering the guilty look on her face, he highly doubted that she'd risk doing anything to dig herself deeper than she already was.

"Oui?"

Pinkie lowered her hoof and took a single step forward. "Um... Chef le Grand. I'd like to request that I receive punishment for what happened, not anyone else."

Her friends all turned to her with shocked expressions.

Gustave leaned forward against his desk. "Mademoiselle Pie, your friends were involved just as much as you were. Zey are just as deserving of punishment as you."

"That's not true," Pinkie argued. "They wouldn't have been involved at all if I didn't start the food fight. I'm the one who egged them into taking part."

"By that logic, Gwenivere should be the one who gets punished since she instigated Pinkie," Candy commented, earning a sneer from the griffon.

Pinkie shook her head. "No, I should have been the bigger mare and backed off. Instead, I chose to retaliate. And I'm sorry that that mistake might have gotten you all in trouble."

Puff stepped forward to address Gustave. "Don't listen to her, Chef. Vee all had the option to opt out und didn't."

Pinkie ignored Puff and continued to plead her case. "I don't care what you have in store, I just don't want my friends, or any of the other students punished for my actions."

Gustave tented his talons and closed his eyes in thought. "You are willing to take full responsabilité for zis mess?"

Pinkie nodded resolutely.

Gustave inhaled deeply through his nostrils, then slowly released his breath. "If you feel as zough you are zee sole party responsible for zis, zen I suppose I could zink of somezing."

His response caused a relieved smile to crease Pinkie's lips.

"'Owever," he continued, wiping the smile off of her face, "I 'ighly doubt zat zee université would allow all zose involved to get off scot-free, so it is very likely zat you all will be put on probation for a time."

Candy put a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "Are you sure about this? You don't have to take full blame here."

Pinkie offered a strong-willed smile. "I feel bad about you guys getting in trouble just because I wanted to have a little fun. Don't worry about it, okay?"

"If everyone is in agreement to zese terms, zen I suppose we are done 'ere. You are all dismissed. Alzough, I may wish to continue zis chat wiz you later, Gwenivere."

Gwenivere nodded, knowing that her father wasn't going to let her off that easily. "Oui, Papa."

Gwenivere, Pinkie, Puff, Candy, and Sugar all made their way to the door, eager to get back to their dorms and put this whole mess behind them.

"Mademoiselle Pie."

Pinkie stopped and turned back around to face Gustave.

"May I 'ave anozer moment of your time?"

Pinkie looked back to her friends, who had stopped at the door for her. She gestured for them to go on without her and not wait up. They did as she said and left, although Gwenivere turned back for a moment and gave Pinkie a look that she couldn't quite decipher before exiting herself and shutting the door behind her. Now alone with Gustave, Pinkie stepped back over to his desk.

"Pinkie Pie, I feel as zough I must ask you a question: how important is zis course to you?"

The query caught Pinkie off guard. "Huh? Well, it's pretty important, I guess. I've been saving up for a long time to pay for my tuition, and I just want to be the best baker that I can be."

"I see," Gustave responded quietly. "Zen why are you sabotaging your own éducation?"

Pinkie tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Gustave stood up from his chair and walked around to stand next to Pinkie. "I 'ave said zis in zee past, but I 'ave seen just 'ow talented you are. It baffles me zat you would risk your éducation just to 'ave a little fun. I zink it is time zat you decide what is more important to you: your éducation, or 'aving fun wiz your friends."

Pinkie's face showed more confidence and resolution than Gustave had ever seen in her before. "In any scenario where my friends are one of my choices, I will always choose my friends without question."

Gustave hummed to himself, the answer disappointing him somewhat. "Zen per'aps you should reevaluate your priorities. If zis be'avior continues, you may be expelled."

Pinkie shook her head. "Chef le Grand, my friends are exactly why I asked that I take all the blame. When I realized how much trouble we might have been in, the first thing I thought of was my friends being punished for something I did. My friends are more important to me than anything. You can expel me if you want, but I'm more concerned about them than myself. Which is why I can promise you that nothing like this will ever happen again. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I got my friends kicked out of university."

Gustave's disappointment began to lift, a small, proud grin playing across his beak. "Zat is very responsible of you. Très bien. And you will not be expelled. 'Owever, I do zink I can devise a fitting punishment for you. Meet me in zee cafeteria in une heure."

Pinkie saluted to her teacher. "Roger dodger."

***** ***** *****

Pinkie Pie was alone, surrounded by nothing other than dead silence and the sloshing of her wet mop against the floor. The university's cafeteria had been closed down for the remainder of the day due to the day's earlier events. Currently, the room's tables and chairs, which had been overturned and strewn about in the chaos, were now lined up along the walls, any mess that had covered them already cleaned up. Their new position left the center of the room wide open and empty, save the food stuffs staining the floor, as well as the pink earth pony wearing a custodian's uniform, and her mop and bucket.

Pinkie wrung out her mop for what must have been the hundredth time so far, wiped her brow, and let out an exhausted breath. She glanced around the room with a hint of an optimistic smile. Although the floor was looking much cleaner now, the walls were still plastered with Celestia-knows-what. She was likely to be here for a few more hours, but such was her punishment.

Her attention was diverted by the sound of the cafeteria doors opening. Much to Pinkie's pleasure and relief, the faces of her three friends gave some color to the monotonous, white cafeteria. "Oh, heya, girls!" Pinkie called out with an enthusiastic wave.

Candy, Puff, and Sugar Cookie all walked over to her with pleasant smiles, careful not to step in anything along the way. They were all dressed up in their winter clothes again as well. Somewhat to Pinkie's surprise, Gwenivere also walked in behind them, but stayed near the entrance.

"Hey, Pinkie," Candy greeted with a friendly grin. Pinkie could see a hint of gratefulness in her smile as well. "We were about to head out to that place Sugar was talking about earlier for supper." She looked around at the mess that still remained. Although she had cleaned up a fair amount already, it was evident Pinkie wasn't near done. "We were gonna ask you to come along if you were done, but I guess you're not."

Pinkie let out an exasperated sigh, but maintained her cheerful smile. "Nope. Sorry. Wish I could, but can you imagine how much trouble I'd be in if I blew this off? Chef le Grand would blow a gasket."

"I know you vant to take responsibility, but vee could help you if you really vanted," Puff offered.

Pinkie waved the kind offer away. "Thanks, but I think I can handle it. It seemed pretty intimidating at first, but I eventually made a game of it, and now it's not so bad. I just pretend that the food and stains are messy space aliens from the planet Goopitron looking to contaminate Equestria, and the only thing that can destroy them is a little H2O. Wha-bam!" Pinkie slapped the wet mop with a splat onto a nearby icing stain and wiped it clean.

Candy couldn't help but giggle at her child-like enthusiasm. "Well, as long as you're having fun. We'll see you later, I guess." The three of them waved goodbye and made their way to the exit.

"See ya!"

Once they were gone, Pinkie noticed immediately that Gwenivere was still standing at the door. Once Candy, Puff, and Sugar had gotten far enough, the griffon made her way over to Pinkie, albeit a little hesitantly.

"What's up, Gwen?" Pinkie chirped.

Normally, Pinkie would be scolded for her use of that nickname, but Gwenivere seemed to ignore it this time. In fact, she looked as if she was a little embarrassed. "I simply wish to... to zank you. Alzough mon papa was quite upset wiz me, 'ad you not stepped in, I may 'ave been scolded plus gravement. Coming to zis school 'as been my goal since I was a chick. My deepest fear is disappointing mon papa. What you did for moi, was... 'elpful in zat respect. Alzough, it 'as made me feel somewhat guilty for provoking you."

"Psh. It's not your fault," Pinkie responded. "I probably overreacted a little. For once in my life I saw an opportunity to have a rip-roarin' food fight. I couldn't resist the urge to take it."

Astonishingly, Gwenivere actually smiled at Pinkie; a genuine, grateful smile. "Regardless, merci beaucoup."

"Don't mention it. That's what friends are for."

The griffon grimaced at that remark. "I did not say we were friends. I am simply giving zanks where zanks is due. Do not read too much into zat."

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say," Pinkie replied, though, secretly, she didn't believe that for a second.

"May I make one request of you?" Gwenivere asked.

Pinkie perked up her ears. "Hm? Oh, sure. What is it?"

"Could you not mention to anyone zat we 'ad zis little chat?"

Pinkie giggled knowingly. "I can do that."

Gwenivere nodded, attempting to reapply her usual look of indifference. "Zen I will take my leave. You still 'ave much work to do, and mon papa would be very upset if 'e were to learn zat you were goofing off."

Like Pinkie's friends, Gwenivere left the cafeteria, leaving Pinkie Pie alone once again. The egotistical griffon may think otherwise, but Pinkie was sure that the two of them were growing closer. It was only a matter of time.

Pinkie turned her attention back to the task at hand, dunking her mop into the bucket again and aggressively attacking the mess that still remained.

"Take that, alien scum!"