Butter was going to die. From walking. He knew that his legs would give out and he would be left on his belly, buzzards swarming at him. Wait, do buzzards migrate around this area? I bet the weirdo had read hundreds of books about buzzards. She would know...he thought to himself.

Before he could go off any more tangents, Applebloom looked up at him and asked, "Butter, ya feelin' okay?"

He shook his head quickly to snap back to reality and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired from walking..."

All three of them looked at each other in concern. Scootaloo moved her eyes towards Butter in concern. "Um...we've only walkin' for a minute or two, Butter..."

Butter's eyes widened in astonishment. "You're kidding!"

They all shook their heads. A long silence occurred before Applebloom piped up. "Butter...how much do you weigh?"

Butter thought for a bit before answering. "Well...last time I checked I was about ninety or ninety fi-" Butter quickly stopped himself and leered at Applebloom, making her flinch. "Why?"

Applebloom stayed silent.

"Why?!" he repeated.

"..."

"Answer me, Applebloom!"

No response. Butter tried to pressure her again until he was interrupted by Scootaloo. "Butter..." The yellow colt glared at her. "D-Don't take this the wrong way but...we're worried that you may be..." Scootaloo coughed awkwardly. She gulped a bit and opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"May be what?"

"Well...just a little...over..." She mumbled the rest of the sentence, making her comment incoherent to Butter.

"Over...what...?"

"...Over-"

"OH MY GOSH!"

Butter flinched as he heard a loud female voice interrupt Scootaloo come from close by. He surveyed around the area in an attempt to find the source but was interrupted when he felt himself being lifted up and being held tight. "URK!" he grunted. He quickly glimpsed up at who or what was holding him against his will. Looking back at him was a pink mare with a curly pinker mane. However, the most prominent feature was her unsettling smile. She seemed a little too happy to be sane.

"Wh-Who are you?" Butter asked in slight fear.

The pony giggled at his question. "I'm Pinkie Pie! And you must be new because I'm never seen you around town before!"

Butter hesitated for a bit before nodded. "I-I am but...why are you holding me?"

Pinkie giggled again. "Because!" She nuzzled her cheek against her cheek against his own, making it squish a bit. "You're so adorable!"

Butter blushed a bit at her comment and protested, "No I'm not!"

Pinkie saw the little colt's cheeks turn redder as her smile widened. "Aww! You're so cute!" she exclaimed as she tightened her hug causing Butter to yelp and cough in response.

"Pl-Please...leggo...crushing...me to death..."

"But you're so fuzzy and soft!" she pouted.

"D-Don't care!" he coughed out weakly.

She stuck her tongue out at his overdramatic response. "Fiiiiine." She let go of the yellow colt and folded her arms as Butter plopped on his side, dizzy from the crushing strength of the mare's arms.

Trying not to laugh at Butter, Sweetie asked, "Um...Pinkie? Can we ask you for a favor?"

Pinkie quickly turned her attention toward the fillies and gave them an overzealous grin. "Sure! What do you need?"

"We're going to become Cutie Mark Crusader Professional Bakers!" exclaimed Scootaloo.

Applebloom rolled her eyes and added, "So, do ya mind if we can help ya with any bakin'?"

Pinkie put a hoof on her chin as she started to think. "Well...Rarity did come over here to order a few cupcakes. I guess you four can help me bake them!"

Butter's ears perked up as his eyes focused slowly. He rolled back on his hooves quickly, giving a small grin. "R-Really?"

Pinkie giggled. "Of course, Butterball!"

Butter's smile grew but quickly diminished as his eyes widened in shock. "H-How do you know my name?"

"It was just my Pinkie sense!" she said cheerfully.

Butter was about to open his mouth when Applebloom stopped him. "Don't ask...it's just Pinkie Pie logic..."

Pinkie Pie logic...what the hay does that-

"Alright!" Pinkie interrupted. "Let's hurry inside and get started!" She giggle-snorted and quickly bolted inside the building behind her like a pink blur, leaving the other foals speechless in the dust. A little startled by the speed of the hyper pink pony, Butter looked up at the establishment that Pinkie just entered. It looked like a gingerbread house scaled to match the size of a real one. In awe by the construction, Pinkie called from inside, "Hey Butter, we need you!" Butter shook his head and noticed that the others were already inside. He quickly sprinted back over to the group and took a look inside. The interior matched the exterior, as the inside looked like it was made of candy as well. It looked good enough to eat. Too bad concrete is bad for the teeth though...

"Alright, you four. The Cakes are out of town going to an oven convention."

Butter tilted his head in confusion. "Is that code for something?"

"Nope, the people who run Sugarcube Corner normally really are at an oven convention, so they left me in charge of the store!" she answered cheerfully.

Butter sighed to himself. Why is every adult in this town so far a nut-job?

Pinkie continued, "Alright, we're going to make some cupcakes, so I should probably tell you how to make them!" She inhaled deeply and broke out into song. "All you have to do is take a-"

"No, no stop that!" Applebloom exclaimed as the music faded quickly. "Ah've had to put up with that song once and I ain't doin' it again!"

Pinkie blew a raspberry at her and pouted. "Don't be such a tone-aphobe, Applebloom!"

For Butter, this was the high point of confusion for him. "Um...so...do you just want us to follow the directions on the cookbook then?" he asked, still unsure of what just happened or where the music came from.

Pinkie's pouty expression turned into a confident smile. "Mhm! As long as you follow the book, you can't go wrong!"

Butter nodded in understandment. "O-Okay."

"Any other questions?" asked Pinkie. The Crusaders shook their heads simultaneously. "Alright, to the kitchen!" exclaimed the ecstatic pink pony as she quickly rushed to the kitchen. The four followed her as she suddenly fastened stereotypical cooking toque on all of their heads. "There, now you are all ready to cook!"

Sweetie Belle moved the toque up a bit as it was obstructing her view and asked, "Now where's the cookbook?"

Pinkie suddenly pulled out a book from seemingly nowhere and showed it to them. "Right here. But remember...!" Pinkie broke her typical happy expression and shifted into a more serious one. "Follow. The recipe. Exactly!" She emphasized exactly with a narrowing of her eyes. She gave them all a stare for a few seconds before suddenly grinning again. "Alright! I'll help get some supplies!" she stated merrily as she laid the book down on the table, opening it to a specific recipe. She bolted off again towards the kitchen, rummaging through it.

Butter gulped. I...I don't think she's well...

"Alright..." said Sweetie as she looked at the recipe "I'll go get the ingredients."

"Okay, I'll go get the bowls!" added Scootaloo.

"Ah'll put the ingredients in!"

Butter thought for a bit and shrugged. "I guess I could mix the batter."

"Alright then, Crusaders, to your positions!" ordered Applebloom. As Sweetie traveled towards the pantry and Scootaloo searched for some bowls, Butter turned his attention to Applebloom.

"Um...Applebloom?" he asked.

"Hm?"

Butter paused for a bit before asking, "What were you going to say before? The part were you said I was 'over something?'"

Applebloom's determined expression swiftly faded as her ears lowered. "Um...n-never mind that!"

Butter's temper rose a bit but he tried to remain calm. "Please tell me! I want to know what you think about me, alright?"

Applebloom looked into his eyes and sighed. "I...I was going to say...I'm worried that you might be a bit..." Applebloom's sentence turned into incoherent mumbling.

"What was that?"

"A...A bit over-"

"WAIT!"

Both foals quickly turned their attention towards the pantry as Sweetie was holding a big ripped bag with her mouth. Flour was slowly leaking out of the sack and onto the floor. "Turn the bag around! You're spilling flour everywhere!" Scootaloo exclaimed to her as she balanced some bowls on top of her head.

Sweetie quickly turned the bag on its side and closed the gap with her mouth. "Sthoree!" she muffled.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and placed the bowls on the table. Sweetie Belle quickly hurried and placed the bag next to the three. Pinkie Pie rejoined the group, carrying a sack of sugar, an egg carton, and some small containers of various liquids and powders. She also laid down a white box with the word "Brownies" marked across the side. "Alright, I need to deliver some brownies over from across town. Can I promise you four have the cupcakes under control?"

Applebloom eyes sparkled a bit as she saluted her. "Can do, Miss Pie! The Cutie Mark Crusaders Bakers/Responsible Ponies Who Can Take Care Of Recipes While Pinkie Pie Is Gone have got your back!"

"Well...alright. I'll be back in a few minutes!" Smiling, she grabbed the box with her mouth and trotted out of the kitchen and out the door.

Applebloom looked over and stated, "Alright, we're in charge of making these cupcakes. So let's give it our all, girls!"

"Yeah!" cheered Scootaloo. "For the cutie mark!"

"Cutie Mark Crusaders forever!" exclaimed Sweetie. All three of them gave each other a hoof-five, leaving Butter in an awkward position.

Well, I guess I'm the fourth wheel in this group...

The fillies disbanded the hoof-five and looked back at the recipe. "Alright, the recipe calls for two and a half cups of flour," stated Scootaloo.

"We got the flour!" said Sweetie as she scooped up the flour from the bag with a measuring cup. She put it on in the bowl and looked back at the recipe. "One teaspoon of vanilla..."

Scootaloo searched through the bottles carefully. "Baking soda...salt...drain cleaner...Ha!" She grabbed a bottle marked "vanilla" and gently poured in the bowl.

"Scootaloo! Ya didn't use the measurin' spoons!" remarked Applebloom.

"So?"

"We need ta follow the recipe EXACTLY."

"Pfftbh..." she blew her a raspberry. "It's close enough. There's not going to be a difference."

While the two were arguing, Sweetie sniffed the air. "Um...girls?"

"Pinkie said ta 'follow the recipe exactly!'"

"Oh, so if Pinkie jumped off a cliff does that mean you would?"

"Of course not! I mean...I guess if Ah had a bungee cord attached to my leg or somethi-"

"Girls!" Sweetie cried out. The two fillies and Butter glanced at her. "I think there's something burning in the oven!"

The three fillies' eyes widened as they exchanged looks. Quickly, they opened up the oven and saw a black, flaming funnel cake inside. All four of them shrieked in fear as Butter yelled, "Oh my Celestia, where's the extinguisher?!"

"A-Ah think it's in the pantry!" responded Applebloom as she bolted inside. She came back out, carrying a fire extinguisher and pointed the nozzle towards the cake with her hoof. She squeezed the lever with her mouth as the relieving sight of white chemicals doused the flame.

All four of them let out a sigh of relief before Applebloom spoke up. "Oh no!"

"What?" asked Sweetie.

"Pinkie's cake pan is ruined!" The foals took note of the state of the pan and it did indeed looked ruined. The pan was almost completely melted and resembled more of an abstract clay model than an actual cookware. "We need ta buy 'er a new one right now before she comes back!"

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. "Why before she comes back?"

"Because," Applebloom explained, "if we don't, then she'd know there was a fire here, and then she'd know we aren't responsible, and then she's not gonna let us have the cupcakes we make delivered!"

Sweetie gasped. "And then we won't get our baking cutie marks!"

"Exactly! We need to get 'er a new pan right away!"

The three of them nodded in agreement and took off to leave before Butter spoke up. "Hey wait, what should I do?!"

The fillies looked towards him quickly as Applebloom stated, "Y'all stay here and try ta finish the cupcakes!"

Butter's eyes widened. "Wait...j-just me? Alone?"

"Yes! We're counting on you, so please try your best and don't let us down!" begged Scootaloo.

Butter gulped nervously and started to sweat. He looked towards the bowl full of flour and vanilla. The pressure was all on him. He couldn't mess up this time. Not when ponies counted on him. With a nod, Butter turned back towards the fillies and said softly, "O-Okay. You go get the pan and I'll make the cupcakes!"

The three of them breathed out a sigh of relief. "Alright, we'll be back as soon as we can!" noted Applebloom. The Crusaders turned back around and quickly hurried out the door, leaving Butter alone to his thoughts.

They're counting on me...they really believe I can do this. He smiled a bit, wiping some sweat off his forehead. "I won't let you down!" he said enthusiastically. He looked around and sighed, feeling a bit embarrassed. Great...I'm talking to myself...I've caught the crazy...

~~~

Butter read the recipe on the table and started thinking to himself. Okay...one and a half teaspoons of baking powder. He grabbed the measuring spoon with his mouth and quickly poured it in the mixture. Two eggs... He carefully cracked some eggs into the bowl, being careful not to drop eggshells into the mixture. One cup of...sugar? Butter looked on the table, trying to find a bag of sugar. Seeing that it wasn't there, he walked inside the pantry. To his dismay though, there wasn't any sugar in sight. Butter started to panic a bit as he starting screaming in his mind. Ponyfeathers! I can't make cupcakes without sugar!

He sat down on his rump and started rubbing his temples, formulating up a plan. Okay let's see...I don't have any bits, so buying sugar is out of the question. I can't ask Pinkie because then she'd ask where the other three are. So... he thought for a little while longer before sighing. I guess I'm going have to substitute sugar with something. He didn't want it to come to this, but it was only choice. He couldn't let his new friends down just because there wasn't any stupid sugar!

Feeling a bit more confident, Butter started rummaging the shelves of the pantry, trying to find a worthy substitute for sugar. After a few minutes of searching and searching, he started to lose hope. He looked up at the clock and realized it had been fifteen minutes. Pinkie should be coming through that door any minute now. He sighed and walked out of the pantry, head hanging low and ears flat against his head. When he reached the table, he shivered a bit. Did it just colder in here?

Searching around the room he suddenly noticed that freezer was open. Oh Celestia, how did I miss THAT? Groaning loudly to himself, Butter walked towards the freezer. But instead of closing it, he glimpsed inside as he froze in place. Ice pops. A lightbulb went off in his head as he quickly grabbed some ice pops, which were now thawed out, and closed the freezer with his back hoof. He laid the ice pops on the table and bit the end of the plastic wrap one of them off, causing it to open. He poured the liquid remains into a spare bowl and repeated with the other ice pops. Please let this work!

When all the sugary liquid was inside the bowl, Butter slowly poured it inside the measuring cup until it reached the brim. When it did, he set the bowl down and poured the cup inside the bowl. He looked at the recipe and breathed out a sigh of relief that sugar was the last ingredient. Okay, just need to stir it and-

He heard the door open as Butter jumped a bit, eyes wide. With haste, he quickly poured the batter into the cupcake pan and practically tossed it into the open oven. He shut the oven quickly, set the timer for a few minutes, and ran out towards the front, expecting Pinkie. Instead, he saw Sweetie Belle holding a pan with her mouth, a slightly relieved Scootaloo, and a rather angry Applebloom.

"Wh-What's wrong, Applebloom?" Butter asked.

Applebloom growled, "That pan cost me ten bits! Ah had to use my birthday money!"

Ouch...rough.

"But more importantly, are the cupcakes done?" asked Scootaloo.

"Well..." Butter hesitated. "Not yet...but they're in the oven!"

All three fillies exhaled loudly. "Oh thank Celestia..."

"...But...um..." stuttered the colt.

"But what?" interrogated Scootaloo.

"...There was a complication...you could sa-"

Butter was interrupted as he felt the orange pegasus hold onto his shoulders. "What...complication...?" she demanded.

"...Well...um..."

She started shaking him rapidly. "WHAT COMPLICATION?"

Butter yelped in surprise as his eyes crossed a bit. "W-We were out of sugar so I used melted ice pops as a substitute!"

Scootaloo stopped shaking him as her eyes widened. The other two just stared at him with open mouths, Sweetie dropping the pan onto the floor.

"You...WHAT?" yelled Applebloom.

"I'm sorry, okay! I didn't know what to do!"

"AH SPENT MY BIRTHDAY MONEY ON A PAN FOR NOTHIN'?!" She practically had steam coming out of her nose.

"Well...I..." he stammered.

"Applebloom, relax! We could still pull this off!" said Sweetie, reassuring the angry little filly. Applebloom started taking deeper breaths as her anger subsided slowly. "Now," she added, "these cupcakes may not taste as good as we wanted them to...but think of it this way, if we don't get our cutie marks in baking, we can still try for a gift-giving cutie mark!" Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at Sweetie, unsure of her logic.

There was a moment of silence before Applebloom sighed. "Ah'm...sorry fer yellin' at ya because ya messed up, Butter..."

"Apology...accepted...I guess..." Butter hesitantly said. Not the best apology I've received...but I think that's the best I'll get from her.

Suddenly, he heard a beeping sound from the kitchen. He saw a pink blur rush past him and heard Pinkie's voice come from the kitchen. "CUPCAKES ARE DONE!"

Butter was about to question how she knew exactly when the cupcakes would be done, but he quickly dismissed it. He knew he wouldn't get a clear answer from her.

Pinkie came back out from the kitchen, holding the cupcakes that Butter had just made. She gave it a smell as her smile grew. "I knew I could trust you four!"

Scootaloo smiled sheepishly. "Heh...yeah right..."

Butter wanted to come clean to her that the cupcakes weren't as good as they should be, but before he could he saw the door open next to him as a white unicorn with a purple mane and sunglasses waltzed inside in a rather...fashionable manner, to say the least.

"Oh, Rarity!" exclaimed Pinkie. "Your order just came out of the oven!"

The unicorn moved the shades off of her face and smiled. "Oh Pinkie, I can't thank you enough for this free order!"

Pinkie giggled. "Oh, anything for the pony who buys the most ice cream in Ponyville from u-"

Rarity's eyes widened as she shut the blabbering pink mare's mouth with magic. "Hehe...I thought we said we wouldn't talk about that..."

Pinkie just shrugged. "Mmmmfffmmfff mmmmf mffffff!"

Rolling her eyes and wanting to change the subject, Rarity shifted her gaze towards the foals, noticing that there was an unfamiliar little colt in the room. "Oh my! I haven't seen you around here, little one!"

Butter uncomfortably waved a bit and introduced himself. "I'm Butter...ma'am."

"My, what manners!" the unicorn said as she smiled, her magic fading away from Pinkie's lips.

Realizing she could talk again, Pinkie quickly added, "And he also helped the fillies make these cupcakes!"

Rarity's smile faded a bit. "O-Oh they did?"

Pinkie nodded ecstatically. "Try one!"

Rarity hesitated a bit before taking one slowly with her magic. She bit into it slowly as her eyes widened. She swallowed quickly and looked at the foals. "Did you four make these cupcakes?!"

Butter felt really guilty. He looked at the three fillies and noticed that they were looking away or looking at the floor. He didn't want them to be labeled as "irresponsible" because he messed up the order. Butter let out a deep sigh and without thinking yelled, "OKAY IT WAS ME!"

Rarity jumped back a bit in surprise. "P-Pardon moi?"

"I'M THE REASON WHY THE CUPCAKES TASTE SO BAD! THERE WASN'T ANY SUGAR AND I HAD TO USE MELTED ICE POPS AS SUBSTITUTES AND I THINK THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME EGGSHELLS INSIDE THE BATTER BUT I COULDN'T TELL!"

"Butter...I-"

Butter lept on his knees and begs at Rarity's hooves. "PLEASE DON'T GET THEM IN TROUBLE, I DON'T WANT TO LOSE MY FRIENDS BECAUSE OF THIS! IT WAS ALL MY FAULT!"

"Butter!" Rarity exclaimed, almost screaming.

Butter looked up at her quickly. "Wh-What?"

"These cupcakes are delicious! Possibly the best ones I've ever had in my life!"

Butter stood silent for a bit. "...What?"

"I mean, it's a bit unorthodox that you used ice pops instead of sugar...but I couldn't even tell the difference! These don't even have icing on them yet and they are simply divine!"

There was another short silence before the fillies piped up. "WHAT?" they asked in unison.

Butter quickly reached over a grabbed a cupcake with his mouth. He took a big bite and found his suspicions to be true. These were fantastic! The best he's ever had! ...Maybe just one more to make sure they're really tasty.

Meanwhile, Rarity looked over at the fillies and asked, "Now, what did he mean by 'getting in trouble?'"

The fillies looked at each other and sighed, knowing that they had to come clean. "We...set Pinkie's pan on fire by accident," admitted Sweetie.

Rarity instantly gasped and grabbed the fillies in a tight hug. "Oh my Celestia! Are you okay?"

"Aghck! Y-Yes, we're fine! But w-we got another pan for her, so you wouldn't think that we were being irresponsible!"

Rarity broke the hug and looked at them. "You...bought her a pan after you set fire to hers?"

The fillies nodded and Applebloom spoke up, "We had ta use MA birthday money though!"

Rarity thought for a bit before looking back at them.

"A-Are we still responsible?" inquired Sweetie.

"Of course you are. In fact, you three proved that you can be even more responsible than most adults!"

The Crusaders did not expect that answer. "Huh?"

"Some adults would not admit to making a mistake that destroys other properties...and the fact that you used your own money to buy your friend a new pan is..." she stopped for a second and gave them another hug. "I'm so proud of you three!"

Sweetie smiled and hugged back when Rarity added, "And yes Applebloom, I'll give you however much birthday money you had left back." Applebloom's grimace turned into a pleased grin as she hugged back as well.

Their hug was interrupted with a hiccup from close by. Curious, Rarity let go and looked for the source, noticing that Butter had an empty tray full of crumbs in front of him. Rarity opened her mouth a bit in shock. "Butter, did you...just eat an ENTIRE tray of cupcakes?"

Butter held his head down in shame and nodded. Curse these cupcakes for being so good... "I-I'm sorry...I just-"

Scootaloo interrupted him in surprise, "Butter, your flank!"

Startled, Butter quickly turned his head towards his flank. His eyes widened in surprise. "Is that my cutie mark?!"

Pinkie giggled. "I think it is!"

Butter smiled big and asked, "What is it?"

Rarity looked at his flank carefully. "It's a...big brown bag of sugar." She smiled a bit and chuckled to herself. "I guess that WOULD be fitting, seeing how good you are at baking and because of your structure!"

Butter's eyebrow rose a bit. "My structure?"

"Now come on, darling. You must know that you're a big more heavyset than most colts your age!"

Butter's ears lowered a bit. "I-I've already said I'm big boned!"

The Crusaders panicked a bit as Applebloom added, "Y-Yeah! He's big boned guys!"

Pinkie giggled. "I've seen big boned colts before, and I know for certain that you're just squishy!" she said as she pulled Butter in for a tight hug.

Butter didn't react to how tight her embrace was. He just stared off into space thinking to himself. N-No...I'm big boned. I'm not squishy or heavyset...just big boned! His thoughts were interrupted when he caught sight of his stomach being squished against Pinkie's arms. He noted for the first time that it really was more prominent now that he got a good look of it. He looked down and his heart sank when he saw that he couldn't see his back hooves.

I am fat...

Butter's lip quivered as he started to tear up. Noticing this, Rarity asked in a gentle tone, "Butter? Are you alright, darling?"

Butter looked away from her and quickly broke Pinkie's grasp. All the ponies gasped as he bolted out of the door quickly and ran away, crying as he did so. Ugly...stupid...fatty!

Author's Note

Longest chapter yet! Also this will be the next-to-last chapter for this story. But don't worry, I'm sure I'll bring Butterball back for a sequel in the future!

And a minor note: I'm working on an adventure story which I don't want to reveal just yet. All I can say is that it has something to do with a pony, a changeling, and a griffon. So stay tuned for that!

oh and I may or may not be contributing with some short one-offs and other nonsense but that's not important *wink wink*

Anywho, thanks again for support of this story! I love you all!