One Week...
It was one week until Rarity's birthday. And this birthday was special - this year Rarity had consented to Sweetie Belle's request to bake the cake. Consented after much pleading that is. Rarity was rightfully concerned about the possible outcome of such a venture, but after Sweetie Belle had promised to practice several times before the real thing, Rarity had finally agreed. (Though she may have had a chat with the Ponyville fire department, just in case.)
"Oh boy! This is going to be the best birthday Rarity's ever had!" Sweetie Belle practically bounced around the kitchen. She had exiled Rarity from the room entirely and marked it with an "off limits" sign scrawled on a napkin. For seven entire days Rarity would avoid the kitchen proper and relegate herself to the contents of the dining area and pantry (and a great deal of take-out).
"Whatcha up to Sweetie Belle?" A voice floated through the window. An yellow head poked above the window sill before rapidly dropping out of view.
"Oof. Watch it Scootaloo- that hurt!" Apple Blooms mutters wafted through the window.
"Well next time you try to be on the bottom!"
Sweetie Belle scampered up on the the counter, making use of an open drawer. "Hey guys! I'm practicing my baking!"
When Sweetie Belle managed to poke her head through the window, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were sharing horrified glances. "Baking? That can't be a good idea. You've lit everything you've tried to cook on fire!"
"I hate to say it, but Scootaloo's right, ain't that a bit dangerous Sweetie Belle?"
Sweetie Belle frowned down at her prone friends. "I'll have you know I am going to be practicing a lot. Rarity's birthday is coming up and I am going to make a birthday cake like none she's ever seen!"
"That's for sure..." Scootaloo muttered under her breath.
Apple Bloom shoved Scootaloo and stood up, bracing her forelegs on the side of the boutique. "Well, together I'm sure we can make a great cake!"
Sweetie Belle sighed, "Well that's the thing. I have to do this myself. If I get you guys to help, Rarity won't see that I really can handle things!"
Apple Bloom looked skeptical. "Are you sure you can handle it yerself Sweetie Belle?"
Sweetie Belle nodded firmly, "Yes, I have to show her that I can do it by myself."
Scootaloo waved as Sweetie Belle disappeared, "You'll do fine!"
The two shared a glance, "We hope."
~~~~
"Making a cake can't be that difficult. Pinkie Pie does it all the time and she isn't exactly focused. I'm sure I can figure this out."
Levitating a baking book down from the shelf Sweetie Belle lounged against the lower cupboards and leafed through the pages with her magic until she reached the basic cake recipe.
"Eggs, milk, sugar... There aren't that many ingredients. And I know how to measure them. This shouldn't be too hard!" Eggs from the fridge, sugar, flour, salt from the cupboard, measuring utensils from the drawers. Each item gently floated down the the center of the kitchen floor, where Sweetie Belle waited with grim determination.
~~~~
"Do you think she's been in there all this time?" Apple Bloom asked worriedly. "It's been days since we have seen her!"
"She can't have been. Nopony could stay cooped up for that long. Not even Fluttershy! Here- pass me the binoculars."
Apple Bloom relinquished the binoculars and sighed again. "I sure wish she'd let us help. At least she hasn't burned down the Boutique yet!"
"I kind of wish she would. It'd be more interesting than looking at an empty kitchen with binoculars. Where is she even making the cake? I can see almost all of the counters are empty!"
"A cake? What cake?!" Pinkie's head erupted out of the nearby foliage.
"Aggggh!" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo yelped and would have dropped from their perch had Gummy not latched on to their tails. A brief hoist of the petards later, and the two crusaders were right side up again. "What cake?" Pinkie reiterated, vibrating slightly on the branch.
"Sweetie Belle is making a birthday cake for Rarity!"
"A birthday cake!? Wow, do you think she needs help? I have a bit of cake making experience under my belt." Pinkie pointed to he belt-less midriff, "And a fair bit of cake under my belt too!" She whispered conspiratorially, winking.
Scootaloo and Apple bloom slumped in unison, "She won't let anyone help because she's tryin' to prove herself ta Rarity."
The frequency of Pinkie's vibrations slowed slightly. "Oh fudge. I was hoping to get to lick the bowl. Of batter. Not fudge that is. Oh batter."
Scootaloo grimaced as she held on to the wobbling branch, "I can tell you from past experience- that might be a bad idea with Sweetie Belle's baking..."
~~~~
There was only one day left. One measly day.
Plenty of time to bake a cake of course. Cakes didn't take long to bake.
Sweetie Belle glared at the 'estimated preparation time' listed in the cook book. The author must have had a speed-baking cutie mark. There was no other way is was possible to prepare this horrible culinary spell in that time.
Sweetie Belle surveyed the kitchen. Each cupboard was open, more in a search for solace than utility- the ingredients really only came from two or three of them. The floor near the center of the kitchen was the epicenter of the disaster, and similar to the eye of a storm, was one of the few un-ravaged portions of the room. A single bowl stood primly next to a line of spoons and measuring utensils.
The rest of the room had fared worse and was coated in various combinations of raw ingredients and blackened detritus from previous attempts.
The oven itself still worked, but it was a testament to Ponyville's Gentercolt Electric Company that it did after the punishment it had received. It's warrenty was certainly void, and there was a solid chance that it would never smell of anything but burnt cake again.
Sweetie Belle slumped. There was only enough ingredients for one more try, and Rarity's birthday was tomorrow. Her deadline was upon her, and the only success she had to her name at the moment was not having the fire pony's called to the Boutique, yet.
"I will do this! I have to do this. Rarity will have a perfect cake."
The final eggs rose like synchronized swimmers and dove towards the edge of the bowl.
~~~~
It was a disaster.
Though there had been less smoke, the final attempt was no more edible than the charred remains of its previous brethren.
"Horse feathers."
Sweetie Belle had already cried herself out, even refusing to let Rarity in when he sister had heard her exclamations of dissatisfaction. Sweetie Belle munched sadly on a plate of celery that Rarity had slid under the door and contemplated the lack of confection in her life. The future looked bleak. Rarity's birthday would come and go, unappreciated, and Sweetie Belle would never demonstrate her ability to do things correctly. She would live a life of misery, perhaps joining an order of nuns. Maybe even take a vow of silence. Sweetie dropped her head to her hooves, crushed by the prospect of never speaking or singing again.
As she stared at the floor, her eyes slowly focused on a violet dollop of frosting. Next to it lay a single purple button that must have rolled in unnoticed from Rarity's workshop.
"Hmmmmm..." Maybe she wouldn't have to take a vow of silence after all.
Sweetie Belle crept to the kitchen door, and finding it quiet, peeked through. Rarity seemed to have given up her vigil and moved to bed. Sweetie Belle glanced at the clock. She still had nearly eight hours to make a cake for her big sister.
~~~~
The sun shone, birds chirped, and somewhere in the distance pony's voices were raised in an impromptu musical number. Who knows how those things got started. Though Rarity typically rose early, today was her birthday, and she luxuriated in forgoing her more fastidious habits. "Everything in moderation Dear!" She thought happily to herself.
Rarity rose and stepped softly to the window. The morning air was crisp and fresh, as it always was on her birthday. The weather ponies seemed to have designed it for her alone. Taking a deep breath Rarity savoured the day. Though she didn't enjoy the thought of growing old, aging gracefully was one of the things she considered a particular art.
Her reverie was interrupted by a quiet snore from beneath her. Glancing down in confusion Rarity noticed the open window beneath her second-story bed chambers. She smiled fondly, wondering if Sweetie Belle had succeeded in her confectionary aspirations. Then her brow wrinkled in confusion. The window directly below her lead to her workshop- not the kitchen or Sweetie Belle's bedroom. Why would her sister be sleeping there of all places?
Rarity shrugged and levitated a silk dressing gown towards her at she padded to the hall. She would find out soon enough what Sweetie Belle had been up to.
~~~~
"Good morning Sweetie Belle!" Rarity's voice meandered through the dreamy haze of Sweetie Belle's mind, drawing her from the depths of a frosted maze in which she was running endlessly, unable to shout for help.
"Agh! I don't wanna be a nun!" Sweetie Belle woke with a start.
"A nun darling? Why ever would the thought cross your mind Sweetie Belle?" Rarity paused to muse, "Though the habits they wear do have a certain... austere aesthetic to them."
"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle sprung up to prance around her older sibling. "Happy birthday big sister! I made you a cake after all!"
Rarity didn't have to feign surprise, though she covered her subsequent grin behind a well-groomed fetlock. She began to turn towards the kitchen before Sweetie Belle stopped her. "Let's not go in there for a while, okay? Come over here!"
Sweetie Belle rushed to one of the many curtained alcoves in Rarity's showroom, the shadows of which lay on a cart that Rarity usually reserved for moving many bolts of fabric from place to place.
As Sweetie Belle tugged the cart into view, Rarity gasped at the size of the shrouded cake. It towered over her, the cake itself as tall as Sweetie Belle herself. Taking the edge of the sheet in her muzzle, Sweetie Belle grunted, "Are wou weady?"
Rarity paused for a moment to compose herself before nodding in affirmation. Nopony could guess what cthullian horror waited beneath that sheet. She would bolster her resolve, smile, and praise her sister for the effort she had put int-
The sheet slid of gently. Beneath it lay a shimmering feast for the eyes. It was a layer cake, three tiers high, each tier made of a different cake- vanilla, chocolate, red velvet. Wait.
Rarity moved closer, entranced. That wasn't red velvet cake, dyed red by copious food-safe dye. That was fine red velvet; scraps of the fabric she had used several days ago on a fetching halter.
And the vanilla. Pale cream tulle fluffed gently to mimic the texture of icing at the base. And the frosted edges were trim and button and and gems, each subtly placed to mimic marzipan or frosted flowers.
"It. It is lovely Sweetie Belle. More beautiful than I could have imagined. A perfect facsimile of a cake in fabric. It is fabulous."
Sweetie Belle swelled with pride. "Happy birthday big sis!"
Rarity swept Sweetie Belle into a tight hug. "I love you Sweetie Belle. Thank you."
"I love you too Rarity." Sweetie Belle smiled, then frowned slightly, "Just don't go in the kitchen today, okay sis?"
