"Revenge is a dish best served after letting it chill overnight."
A meager glimpse of the sun graced the landscape outside Sweetie Belle’s window. She laid in her bed, barely awake, and admired the view. Her sister drew upon it for inspiration often, and on such a delightful morning, it was easy to see why. After several minutes, she stole a glance at the clock that sat on her dresser at the other side of her room. Another minute passed – or so the clock said – before she remembered why she cared: the time had come for her to pull herself out of bed, lest she be late for school.
Sweetie Belle tried to stifle a yawn, but gave up when it was clear she wouldn’t succeed. As she slid off the side of her bed, her hooves clunked on the floor. She tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes, and turned back towards her bed. Rarity had set a “few basic rules” for her to follow whenever she stayed in the Carousel Boutique. The very first one decreed that she was not to leave her bed unmade. She had learned some time ago that leaving her blankets in a near-wad state did not make for a pleased sister.
She closed her eyes and recalled the steps for levitation. When her confidence had been built, she opened them and focused her magic on the offending bed; her covers flattened, and promptly tucked themselves in. Sweetie Belle smiled, grateful for all of Twilight’s help; making her bed that way was significantly easier than doing it with hooves and mouth. She let out another yawn as she ambled towards her dresser – a frazzled mane greeted her in the mirror.
Sweetie Belle retrieved a brush from one of the dresser’s drawers. Levitating objects had become easier for her, but she still had to look at them for best results. She started stroking her brush through her mane, and hummed her newest revision of theCutie Mark Crusaders’ theme song. The mirror made her levitation far safer than if she used it blindly, but it was confusing enough that the brush would often move in the opposite direction she desired. When her brush became tangled up in her mane, she made a mental note to ask Twilight for tips later, at Twilight Time.
Any frustration the brush gave her was balanced out by the anticipation of another session of Twilight Time. Neither, however, registered on the scale of what she felt the moment she remembered her encounter with Twilight the day before.
Sweetie Belle’s brush continued seemingly of its own accord now. Her eyes focused on the images conjured by her mind more so than anything in her room.
At Sweetie Belle’s suggestion, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had decided to make Twilight a gift in thanks for her continuation of Twilight Time. Apple Bloom suggested a dessert, and Scootaloo advised that they ask Spike which was Twilight’s favorite. Yesterday, they had worked hard after school to bake a lemon pie – as per Spike’s recommendation. When they presented it to Twilight, however, she had not taken to the dessert nearly as well as Spike had told them she would.
Twilight didn’t like lemons. This they found out on her doorstep, when they presented their lemon-based efforts. The only explanation that made any sense was that Spike had lied to them, which had surprised them, because Spike usually didn’t lie like that.
She stroked her mane a few more times, then stowed the brush back into its drawer. She grabbed her school bag and made for the stairs in a brisk walk. A familiar voice broke her reverie with a phrase the likes of which she had grown up hearing.
“Sweetie, dear! Whatever has happened to your mane?”
Sweetie Belle jumped. “Rarity?” She turned to see her big sister’s head poking out from the kitchen. “You said you were going to sleep in after all the work you were doing last night.”
Rarity trotted a half-dozen steps towards her little sister, and replied while she examined Sweetie Belle’s mane. “My client sent a note informing me of a mistake, and that the deadline is a week from today. I wrapped up early so I could get up at a reasonable time.” She now vigorously fought with Sweetie Belle’s mane, which appeared quite content with being as uncooperative as possible. “And I’m quite glad I did; you simply can’t go to school with this…” – she paused, her face askew as she searched for a decent word – “thing on your head. Really, did you even look in a mirror?”
Sweetie Belle lost a fight against the urge to roll her eyes. She did have a dresser in her room, after all. “Yes, and I brushed it.”
Rarity paused again and raised an eyebrow.
“I had a few things on my mind...”
“I can see that, dear. You really should pay more attention and take a moment to make sure you at least look presentable; your crusading plans can wait that long.” Rarity’s struggle with her little sister’s hair came to an end; despite its best attempts otherwise, Sweetie Belle’s mane had now been styled to Rarity’s standards. “There you go. Now, if you want some breakfast, I’ve made up some oatmeal.”
Sweetie Belle gave her big sister a quick hug. “Thanks, sis.” She took off for the kitchen; the aroma of food tantalized her before she even made it that far. Not a minute later, she sat at the table with a still-steaming bowl of oatmeal before her. While she blew on her first spoonful, she heard Rarity climb the stairs and close a door. Her sister never seemed to take time off when there was a client to satisfy.
* * *
Sweetie Belle charged for the schoolhouse; the aftertaste of oatmeal still present in her mouth, along with a few sore spots that she probably burnt. She wasn't afraid of being late, though – she just hoped to get there with a few minutes to spare so that she and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders could consult about yesterday's events, and how they would get back at Spike for them.
Several long minutes passed as she pushed through the cool morning air. Her efforts seemed worthwhile when the schoolhouse became visible. Apple Bloom waved and called out when she drew near enough. "Hey, Sweetie Belle!”
Sweetie Belle put on another burst of speed. By the time she made it to her friend, she had little breath to speak of, or with. “Hi… Apple… Bloom...” When she was just about to ask exactly how long they had before school started, Apple Bloom answered her question.
“We’ve got five or six minutes. I came early, in case we wanted to discuss our options.” Even that small buffer of time qualified as ‘early’ for the crusaders, who had made it a habit to appear mere moments before the bell rang.
Sweetie Belle nodded. “Have you seen Scootaloo?”
Apple Bloom shook her head, and glanced down the road. “Nope. I sure hope she gets here quick, else we won’t have a moment for ourselves.”
Unfortunately, Scootaloo did not get there “quick”. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle moved to a spot of the schoolyard that wasn’t populated with other foals, and waited. Scootaloo arrived several minutes later; Sweetie Belle’s internal clock was telling her that school would start any second.
As Scootaloo dismounted her scooter, she greeted her friends. “Hey guys.”
Apple Bloom begun the reprimand before Sweetie Belle even inhaled. “Scoots, I got here fifteen minutes early, and you just show up seconds before—” right on queue, the school bell rang, “—before that. You didn’t think we could’a used this time to figure out what we’re gonna do about Spike?”
“Nope!” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom both glared at Scootaloo. She took her helmet off and continued. “I know, I know; but I was doing research!”
Apple Bloom fell to the ground in a fit of laughter. “Ha! You don’t even like doin’ your homework!”
Sweetie Belle tried desperately not to join in on the contagious laughter. “What… What did you find out?”
“I picked up an old copy of the Foal Free Press. This one’s got a list of pranks that 'any foal can pull off'.” Sure enough, Scootaloo pulled out from her helmet a newspaper that identified as the Foal Free Press. It was also considerably wrinkled, and slightly discolored.
Apple Bloom stuffed a hoof into her mouth to keep from laughing again; her eyes watered anyway. Sweetie Belle asked the question both of them were wondering. “Did you… find that in a trashcan?”
Scootaloo nodded. “It had to come from somewhere.”
Sweetie Belle briefly thought about it; a list of pranks would almost certainly help them decide how to get back at Spike, though she wasn’t quite sure a prank was the direction they needed to take. Also, she didn’t have any idea from who’s trashcan Scootaloo had obtained a week-old newspaper that none of the crusaders bothered reading anymore, despite Featherweight’s assurances that only high quality content ever made it in, and that it was gossip-free most of the time – not that the source of the newspaper really carried that much importance.
“Girls!” Cheerilee’s voice got the attention of all three of them. “We’re waiting on you!”
After agreeing to continue their discussion during recess, the crusaders made their way sheepishly into the schoolhouse.
* * *
As per rules established soon after the Cutie Mark Crusaders formed, Sweetie Belle took the seat she was directed to, separate from her friends. This wasn’t the first time they had gotten carried away when the school bell rang. Cheerilee had tried several different approaches to improve their behavior in the long run, but in the end, she had settled on making sure they didn’t get into any more trouble for the rest of the day. After obtaining support from Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight, Cheerilee had finally gotten them to agree to abide by her new rules to the best of their ability, and today, that meant that Sweetie Belle was to sit separately from her friends, and not disrupt class by attempting to communicate with them.
She did her best to pay attention to Cheerilee's lecture. When she spared a glance towards the other crusaders, it was evident that they were not. Usually, between her and Apple Bloom, they could fill in anything that Scootaloo had missed, but this time it looked like she was going to have to carry both of them along. Sweetie Belle didn't mind, though, because the other crusaders were doing their best to plan revenge.
Hours passed like days, except without any sleep. Finally, Cheerilee released the class to recess. Somehow, the average school-age foal seemed in more of a hurry then the crusaders were; Sweetie Belle figured it was because they had been thinking about recess all day, whereas the crusaders had been mentally occupied with less immediate matters. Regardless of the why, she was still happy to stand back and meet up with her friends after the restless stampede of her classmates cleared the building.
Once outside, they held their meeting under a nearby tree for shade, privacy, and a picnic table. To Sweetie Belle’s relief, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon did not appear to have any desire to interrupt them, or even brag to the school yard’s general populace. She addressed the other crusaders as she turned back from her exploratory glance. “Did you two come up with anything?”
Apple bloom returned a shrug. “Nah.”
She and Sweetie Belle turned to Scootaloo, who turned to the side and coughed. When she saw that the two other crusaders weren’t relenting, she responded in a defeated tone, “No.”
“Alrighty, Scoots; what’s that newspaper you fetched from Rainbow’s trashcan got to say?”
“How did you know it was Rainbow’s?”
“We certainly don’t bother with it no more, and neither does anyone outside of the school… unless, of course, it’s about prankin’. I figured Rainbow would at least give it a look-over, and who else's trashcan would you know the contents of?"
“Yeah, Featherweight mentioned it to me, so I told her about it; that's how I know she had a copy.” Scootaloo cleared her throat, hoping to move on. “Anyway…” She opened up the aforementioned newspaper and laid it out on the table.
Sweetie Belle’s hope for this lead dropped to near-zero when she read the title of the article. “The list was compiled by Snips and Snails?”
“Yeah...” Apple Bloom didn’t look impressed either. “All they’re good at when it comes to pranking is how to be a target.” This elicited a small chuckle from Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
“We should at least give it a shot,” Scootaloo said. “But it did come from Rainbow’s trashcan.”
Apple Bloom concurred. “Okay; it looks like there’s about a dozen. Not a lot to choose from, but at least it won’t take long.” After mere seconds of reading, the level of bias and detail became apparent. “Somehow it doesn’t surprise me that ‘The Many Uses of Bubblegum’ is the first on their list.”
The list looked like it was a compilation of a number of pranks that either Snips or Snails had been on the receiving end of. Most of them the crusaders could even recall, though a couple of them were new.
“What’s a laxative?”
Scootaloo’s question prompted a hearty guffaw from Apple Bloom, who fell backwards off of her seat, and Sweetie Belle tried to hide her blush as best she could by turning away. When several of their classmates paused their horseplay to glance at them, Apple Bloom collected herself. “Well, um… You really don’t know?”
Scootaloo shook her head.
“Well, I don't know the specifics, but I remember Granny talkin' 'bout them one time. I think Big Mac was havin' trouble usin' the bathroom." Apple Bloom put a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. "He was mighty embarrassed; it might work."
The gears inside of Scootaloo’s head started turning visibly. Once she figured out out, her face scrunched into an expression of disgust. "I think we'll pass... I don't want to find out what Snips and Snails mean by 'bathroom duty' afterwards."
Now that the conversation was leaving dangerous territory, Sweetie Belle turned back and rejoined. "So, Spike doesn't have a binder for us to shuffle, or a chair he uses regularly enough to glue down, or even hair that bubblegum would get stuck in. Not to mention that all of these pranks are too mean; I don't think we want to hurt him... we just want to embarrass him, like he did to us, right?"
Her friends both agreed. "Yeah."
Scootaloo crumpled up the newspaper for good. "So... any other ideas?"
After a long moment of thinking, they had yet to come up with anything. An exasperated Sweetie Belle broke the silence. "At this rate we won't have anything by Twilight Time."
"At least we'll have Twilight Time. Plus, anything I think of sounds as mean as anything on Snips' and Snails' list." Scootaloo turned to Apple Bloom. "Unless you can brew a—"
"No, Scoots." Apple Bloom's eyes rolled. They had been over this before. "I can't make a potion for that. I know how to make one potion that affects, like, six plants."
"Oh, right." Scootaloo turned sidewards out of embarrassment. "It wasn't that good of an idea anyway."
Sweetie Belle concluded their discussion, since she knew that recess was nearly over. "Okay… Equestria won't end because we can't get back at Spike today. We should do our best to enjoy ourselves at Twilight Time."
The other two concurred as the school bell called them back to the classroom.
* * *
For all school-age foals, the Friday afternoon session was easily the most tedious. Cheerilee was a capable teacher, but everypony in the classroom could hardly wait to get out for the week with the freedom to execute their plans.
Sweetie Belle chuckled to herself when she noticed the teacher's attention wavering. It also made her feel better about having trouble focusing herself. Eventually, to the delight of the class, Cheerilee wrapped up the afternoon session – several minutes early, even. Normally, Sweetie Belle would have spent a moment pondering what plans her teacher might have that were worth dismissing early over, but she was too excited about Twilight Time to bother.
The general mood of the foals increased sharply when the last school day of the week let out. Several of them headed for their homes, a few escorted by their parents or siblings, though many of them lingered for a few minutes more, and nearly every one of them excitedly chattered about their weekend plans.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were no exception. As soon as they had gathered in front of the schoolhouse, their thoughts, and subsequent conversation, turned to Twilight Time. Scootaloo had just confirmed that none of them had a practical or appropriate idea for revenge, when Pip Squeak’s voice cut through their circle… sort of.
“Um… Hello, Cutiemarkcrusaders?”
Apple Bloom, who was already nearly facing him, took notice first. “Oh, hey there, Pip.”
Scootaloo turned and followed suit. “What’s up?”
Sweetie Belle turned too; Pip Squeak shrunk back briefly, then stood as tall as he could.
“Oh, er, Sunny Daze’s birthday party is today, and she’s inviting the entire school. You guys are coming, right?” He gestured to all three of them, but his eyes locked onto Sweetie Belle. As soon as she noticed, he looked away. His face looked a little redder then she remembered it, too.
“Sorry, Pip,” Scootaloo started, “we’ve got Twi—” She received a hoof in her mouth from Apple Bloom, who in turn gave Sweetie Belle a desperate look.
Sweetie Belle returned a look of confusion. After just a moment it dawned on her what Apple Bloom meant. “Oh, uh...” She cleared her throat and used her polite-voice. “We’d love to, we really would, but…” She racked her brain for anything she could use as a believable alibi, but with little success, as her mind seemed to have gone completely blank. The first thing that did come to mind was Rarity. “We’ve got to help Rarity. She needs models for some new outfits she’s working on.” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo nodded their agreement.
Pip Squeak’s expression became one of dejection. “Oh, okay. I’ll see you later, then.”
As Pip Squeak turned and walked off, the crusaders politely waved. After several seconds, they resumed conversation.
Scootaloo’s posture dropped in relief. “That was close.”
Apple Bloom snorted. “And who’s fault was that?”
Scootaloo, however, did not accept the blame. “Diamond Tiara’s. We wouldn’t have to be secretive at all if it weren’t for her.”
Apple Bloom accepted the explanation. “Touché.”
Sweetie Belle turned the conversation towards their next impending task. “We have an hour before Twilight Time, so we should get ready. I know I need to go back to Rarity’s shop, since I can’t fit the book Twilight lent me into my bag with my schoolbooks.”
“Okay then,” Apple Bloom concluded. “We’ll meet at the library in an hour.”
* * *
An hour and twelve minutes later, Sweetie Belle could finally see the library; it relieved her to know that she had nearly completed her long trek. She realized her sister was going to have a fit over how much sweat was pouring into cream-colored dress she wore. If she had thought about it earlier, she would have asked Scootaloo to come by with her wagon. This book was heavy, and levitating it the entire way was still beyond her capacity; not to mention that weight factored into levitation too – or so said the book that she carried.
As she finally drew near the door, she saw two more ponies dressed up and wearing sunglasses just as absurd as her own.
“Are you alright?” It was Apple Bloom’s voice, though the pony it came from was unrecognizable in all but size.
After she caught her breath, she replied. “I’ll be fine.” A glance to the other pony lifted her spirits. “You look good in a moustache, Scootaloo.”
The coat she wore was definitely too big for her, but little orange wings still poked out of Scootaloo’s disguise. She beamed at the compliment. “Thanks.”
Apple Bloom knocked on the door. Seconds passed, then the door opened.
It was Spike. To make matters worse, he had to stifle a chuckle at their appearance. Sweetie Belle scowled behind sunglasses that hid everything.
“Hey guys, come on in.” He stepped out of the way and gestured inwards with a claw.
Twilight greeted them once they all made it through the door. “My little ponies, it’s great to see you. How has your week been?”
Apple Bloom removed as much of her disguise as she could before replying. “Pretty good, actually.”
“I hope you realize we’re skipping out on free cake because of this.”
Sweetie Belle glared at the source of the remark. “Scootaloo…”
Fortunately, Twilight didn’t seem to mind. “I still have that pie, if you want dessert later.”
Given her willingness to call it food, Sweetie Belle wasn’t convinced she had even opened the box. Her sense of humor wasn’t that developed.
Scootaloo did her best to dodge the obligation of eating any part of the pie. “Not that we really wanted it. We really enjoy our time here, you know.”
The sincerity of Twilight’s smile doubled. “That’s great! I’ve got some really exciting things for you this week.”
* * *
The crusaders had to agree that Twilight’s instruction was sufficiently exciting.
She explained aspects, their ratios, and the importance of both in potion making to Apple Bloom, who had been tasked with safely mixing several volatile brews; even failure resulted in a somewhat satisfying micro-explosion. Apple Bloom’s most successful attempt sat for two whole minutes before succumbing to spontaneous combustion.
Twilight explained many aspects of magic theory to Sweetie Belle. They were pretty boring, but when she put the information to use, she noticed improvements. When she posed her question about levitating while looking through a mirror, Twilight’s best advice was to practice: a suggestion that lead to a mock sword fight with rolled up parchment.
Scootaloo’s endeavors with the unicycle prompted a lecture in physics about the idea of a center of mass. Twilight almost managed to hold her attention for an entire minute. She regained it promptly when she explained that it would help her get better at riding the unicycle, riding her scooter, or even flying; she also let slip that Rainbow Dash didn’t even fully understand the concept, and that the pegasus might have a chance to teach her idol something if she put in the effort. For the remainder of Twilight Time, Scootaloo devoted as much of her attention to Twilight as she was capable.
At the end of it all, Spike brought out a pile of cheesy hay-fries. They talked while they snacked and, fortunately, nopony mentioned the pie.
Several loud knocks interrupted one of Twilight’s many “I’m so proud of you all” speeches. Applejack’s voice followed.
“Twilight?”
Twilight stopped mid-sentence. Then she shrugged, and left for the front room, leaving a big, awkward silence. Shortly thereafter, the sounds of a conversation between the two drifted faintly through the door.
Sweetie Belle paid it no attention; instead, she considered her options regarding Spike. They had an opportunity, yet no plans to act on. Additionally, Spike had been awfully polite throughout Twilight Time, almost as though he wanted to make up for yesterday’s events. He still had not apologized, though.
Twilight interrupted her thoughts before they could proceed to determine a course of action.
“Sorry, girls; I have to go – Fluttershy needs some assistance organizing the breezies’ passage through Ponyville.”
Spike jumped off of his chair, perhaps eagerly. “Do you need any help?”
“No need to worry yourself, Spike. Why don’t you stay and be a good host for the crusaders? I’m sure you can find something to do.”
“Oh, okay.” Spike pulled himself back onto his chair.
Twilight departed, again, leaving them in silence.
The crusaders now had a perfect opportunity to extract an apology from Spike, and Sweetie Belle planned on taking it, even if she had to get creative.
With a nod to the others, who responded in kind, she opened the conversation. “So, Spike.”
Spike stopped kicking his feet in the air. “What?”
“Do you remember when you told us Twilight would like a lemon dessert?”
Spike’s cheeks turned red. Very red. The crusaders could barely hear his reply. “Ummm… maybe?”
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow in response; Apple Bloom coughed, though Sweetie Belle couldn’t quite make out what she tried to cover up, but it didn’t sound like her go-to “horse apples”; and Scootaloo simply glared at Spike.
Spike sighed, but it was definitely reluctant. “Alright, yes, I remember. So?”
Scootaloo opened fire before Sweetie Belle could continue. “So? So we got to find out after all the work we did that Twilight doesn’t like lemons at all! You didn’t think it would be embarrassing for us to find out the only dessert Twilight doesn’t like by giving it to her?” Her hooves were on the table by the end.
Sweetie Belle recalled several instances of her sister reprimanding her for various things; most often, it was for ‘unintended consequences’, which definitely seemed applicable here. She made sure to cut in before Spike could respond. “And Twilight didn’t get a dessert she liked! You didn’t think of that, did you?”
Spike’s expression switched from displaying mild anger and embarrassment to complete shame as fast as anypony could blink.
A long, heavy silence followed. Sweetie Belle looked at him; she might be the one learning magic, but he looked like the one trying to master teleportation.
Just as things started to feel really awkward, Scootaloo pressed on. “Well?” All three crusaders – with all three sets of hooves on the table now – leaned in towards him.
That was all Spike needed to snap. “I’m sorry!” He climbed fully onto his chair and kneeled. “I didn’t mean to keep Twilight from getting a dessert, and I felt bad about lying to you guys, too. I tried reading comics last night, but I couldn’t enjoy any of them. I just got carried away; Rarity probably hates me now.” He turned to Sweetie Belle; his eyes watering. “How do you think I felt when I found out that Rarity doesn’t like wasabi ice cream. You told me it was her favorite!”
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom both glanced at her in surprise. All Sweetie Belle could do in response was raise a hoof to her forehead, and plant it there firmly.
After she trusted herself enough to speak, she explained. “You do know what sarcasm is, right?”
Spike replied with a flat tone. “No.”
“I thought so; how did you think I was serious? Nopony in town likes Pinkie’s new flavor of ice cream, so why would Rarity? Besides, she doesn’t like spicy foods, and you know that much.” It was all so obvious, and she had even used a sarcastic tone. How could he not have picked up on it? “I was just making a joke.”
Again, if Spike were capable of teleporting, Sweetie Belle was pretty sure he would have mastered it. As it was, if he tried shrinking down any further, the floor beneath the table would be in his way.
“I dunno; I guess I wasn’t really thinking about it.”
Apple Bloom rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Well, if your dragon code thing with Applejack is anythin’ to go by, you stop thinkin’ ‘bout how you’re doin’ things when you get excited.”
Scootaloo finally retreated from the tabletop. “That sounds like something Applejack would say.”
Apple Bloom shrugged. “I might’ve paraphrased Big Mac a bit.”
They fell into silence again, briefly.
Sweetie Belle sighed, and addressed Spike. “I’m sorry, Spike. And if I may ask, what did Rarity do when she tried the ice cream?”
Spike looked up; so did his expression, but only until he replied. “Well… she spat it out all over the dress she was working on and ran to the bathroom. Screaming. I uh… didn’t really stick around after that.”
Over the snickers of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, she voiced her realization. “Oh... that explains why she was planning to work so late last night.”
Eager to move the conversation forwards, Spike silenced the two with a quick glare. “So, what do we do now?”
Apple Bloom responded first. “I reckon we could solve both our problems now that we understand each other. Not that I mind watchin’ you fight.”
Sweetie Belle and Spike both agreed, and the idea of fighting it out until the end of days was quickly forgotten.
“Now; you’re gonna help us out first, Spike. When we get workin’ on Twilight’s dessert, Sweetie can tell you all you’ll need to know.”
Spike sighed. “Okay.” He proceeded to tell them exactly how much jelly desserts fascinated Twilight during their time in Canterlot.
* * *
The journey to Sugarcube Corner hardly qualified as difficult, but after the crusaders’ last visit, Sweetie Belle wasn’t sure how well they would be received; they had made quite the mess the first time they had tried to bake a dessert for Twilight. As a result, neither the crusaders nor Spike, who had chosen to tag along and help, were in any hurry to get there. On the other hoof, Spike had confirmed that Twilight had nothing scheduled for lunchtime, Saturday, so they planned to have their dessert completed by then. None of them expected it to be difficult, though; all they had to do was mix it up and chill it this time, so there was almost no chance it could get burnt.
For the time being, Sweetie Belle brought Spike up to speed on Rarity’s food preferences.
“...and since all we have is Vanilla Oat Swirl in the freezer, I’d say that’s definitely her favorite.”
Spike scribbled everything down on a notepad he had brought along. “Awesome!”
“Oh, and don’t give her anything you wouldn’t eat yourself.”
Apple Bloom brought their conversation to an end. “We’re here.”
All four of them stopped; as cheerful as it looked, inside they knew they would face adversity, but they needed to use both its facilities and some of its ingredients – Spike had scrounged up several of them, but Twilight didn’t keep a wide selection of foodstuffs in the library.
“It’s only Pinkie Pie; we’ll be fine.” Scootaloo marched onwards, taking the lead.
As they filed through the main door, Pinkie Pie bounced in from the kitchen. “Hey guys, what’s up? I’ll give you a hint: It’s not down!” She and Spike burst into laughter.
“Well...” Scootaloo ignored the joke, opting to instead rub her one foreleg with the other nervously. “We were hoping to use the kitchen again.” All three of the crusaders lined up side-by-side and gave Pinkie what they considered a hopeful look.
Pinkie Pie leaned against the main counter, a hoof tapping her chin. “You know the rules; a one week suspension is to follow every ginormous mess you make in the kitchen.”
Sweetie Belle’s heart sank like the newspaper boats they had crafted just last spring. “Was it really that bad?”
“The Cakes thought so.” A moment passed, then Pinkie Pie glanced at the crusaders; a change in her expression suggested that their own expressions had an impact, though they couldn’t be sure if it was their intentional attempt at harmlessness, or if Pinkie Pie just took pity on them. “Well, I could let you use the kitchen again.”
“Really?” Scootaloo’s wings buzzed as she asked.
“But...”
“Awww…” This was exactly what they had been afraid of. Regardless, Scootaloo pressed onwards. “What?”
“I purchased a case of every-flavor gumdrops, and I need several ponies to try them out and record their favorites.” When she observed the look on the crusader’s faces, Pinkie Pie warned, “It’s either that or no kitchen.”
Spike had only been observing their interaction with Pinkie Pie until this moment. “When you say every flavor…?”
“Yep. I didn’t want anypony to feel left out! I’m sure you’ll find plenty of tasty ones.” With that, she bounced out the back before any of them could respond. Seconds later, she returned with a small crate in tow; the contents were promptly and unceremoniously dumped onto the counter. “And here are the papers you can record your preferences on. Have fun!”
She bounced away again, leaving Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Spike with a large pile of gumdrops to sample.
* * *
“I never want to see another gumdrop again.”
Scootaloo did her best to comfort the small dragon. “Don’t worry Spike, the aftertaste of tree bark doesn’t last that long. Trust me. Besides, Apple Bloom got ‘Moldy Carrot’. Speaking of, how long do you think she’ll be in the bathroom?”
“I dunno.” Spike crossed his arms. “And easy for you to say; the worst flavor you got was cardboard.”
Scootaloo shrugged. “At least Pinkie Pie agreed to let us use the kitchen; but I don’t think your ‘supervision’ is going to change much.”
Behind them there was a small crash; a couple of pots rolled by.
Sweetie Belle’s voice followed. “Uh, Scootaloo, can you give me a hoof here? My eyes are still watering.”
Before making her way over to help her friend, Scootaloo called back, “I told you not to trust the lemon flavored ones.”
* * *
The following morning, the crusaders prepared the dessert for delivery. Getting it out of the refrigerator would be the hardest part. Scootaloo had brought her scooter and wagon, though the recently established “no wheels” rule required the dessert to be carried outside by Apple Bloom first.
Scootaloo pulled the door open, and Sweetie Belle strained her magic to lift a large grape-flavored jelly dome out onto Apple Bloom’s back. Beads of sweat started to form as she struggled not to drop it onto her friend.
“I… got it. It’s actually not that heavy.”
Sweetie Belle glared in response.
Apple Bloom made her way out the back door, where Scootaloo and her wagon waited. “If it makes you feel better, I haul buckets of apples when the others get applebuckin’ all the time. This ain’t much different.”
It did make Sweetie Belle feel a bit better. “Yeah, I guess I just need more practice.”
They loaded the dessert successfully onto Scootaloo’s wagon, and before long, they were en route to the library. Sweetie Belle’s worries felt like a hoof to the gut; though Spike had alleviated some of her concerns. Twilight didn’t like citrus fruit in general, not just lemons – this did suggest that if they were excluded, the dessert would be much more likely to be a success. That and a quick tale of Twilight’s first encounter – that Spike knew of – with the strange and wobbly dessert, Sweetie Belle felt reasonably confident that they did indeed have a treat for Twilight in tow... this time.
It was nearly noon when the crusaders came upon the door to the library. Perfect timing, as far as they were concerned. Apple Bloom knocked.
Seconds passed. Nothing happened.
Sweetie Belle thought she heard someone speaking inside, but it was too faint to understand, until, just barely loud enough for all three crusaders to make out, came Spike’s voice.
“I’m in the bathroom!”
Sweetie Belle couldn’t stop herself from laughing; neither could either of her friends. Twilight’s hoofsteps approached from the inside, and the crusaders did their best to collect themselves before the door opened fully.
“Hello again, girls, what—” Twilight’s eyes landed on the wagon behind them. “Is that…?” Her expression resembled a foal that had just learnt that they never had to go to bed again. “You know you really didn’t need to—”
“Because you enjoy Twilight Time, too,” Sweetie Belle cut in. “We know, Twilight.”
Scootaloo continued. “But after we messed up Twilight Time, and you still decided to continue, we decided to thank you with your favorite dessert.”
“And what’d you think we were gonna do, quit just ‘cause the first attempt went sour?” Apple Bloom concluded; she smirked a little at her own joke.
“Honestly, I thought you were going to listen; you don’t need to give me anything to express your gratitude, and you don’t need to thank me for Twilight Time. I guess by now I should know better. And it is sweet of you. I guess we’ll just have to eat it!” The entire time, Twilight’s eyes remained locked onto the grape jelly dome. She smiled and stepped back for them to enter. Before Sweetie Belle could try to lift the dessert again, she offered, “I’ll get it.”
As they sat down at Twilight’s kitchen table, she happily shared the first of many unwanted facts about the composition and source of the food they were about to partake of. In between words longer than even Sweetie Belle’s internal dictionary was capable of holding, the crusaders picked up that the ingredient responsible for the gel-like consistency of the jelly was derived from seaweed.
Evidently finished with the bathroom, Spike entered the room moments after they had started eating the purple blob that now sat on the table.
Twilight held up the spoon she had been using to serve with her magic. “Do you want some, Spike?”
Spike shook his head. “No way; that stuff’s gross. I’ll get myself something from Sugarcube Corner.”
Twilight shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Sweetie Belle belle guessed that “something” probably meant two cones of Vanilla Oat Swirl. Before Spike left the room, she mouthed “good luck”. He winked in return, and as soon as he passed out of Twilight’s view, started skipping down the stairs.
