A Lesson in Baking

It was a hot summer day, and Bab was glad to see Ponyville train station not far off in the distance. Not only did it mean that she would see her cousin once more, but she would be able to get off this giant oven that was slowly cooking her alive. Babs was all for a nice summer day which could be spent by the pool side but this was ridiculous. She was certain she lost half of her brain cells whilst on the 2-hour train ride.

As Bab got closer to the train station, she realized there were more than just her cousins on the train platform. Next to her cousin Applejack stood a purple alicorn who Bab knew as Princess Twilight Sparkle, a close friend of Applejack's. All of Bab's friends had been very jealous when they found out Bab's cousins were best friends with an alicorn princess. Standing next to Princess Twilight was a bright-pink coloured pony who Bab could only assume was Pinkie Pie, the element of laughter. Babs had briefly met her as she was leaving Ponyville last time. Pinkie Pie was bouncing in circles around the other ponies standing on the platform. There were two Pegasi, one had a butter-yellow coat and a long light-pink mane and the other bore a bright blue coat with a rainbow coloured mane. Babs had seen her flying around a few times during her last visit, but never properly met her. Then there was another mare. An earth pony, with a light-grey coat and a long light-pink mane similar to the yellow mare's.

As the train approached the platform Bab got up from her seat and walked towards the closest door, ready to get off and enter her new life in Ponyville.

"Aww, Sugarcube! You've grown so much!" was the first thing Bab heard after she walked onto the platform, said by her cousin, Applejack. "Heh he, thanks cous', I gotta say I wasn't expectin' this many ponies to be here", replied Bab. "Oh, shucks, sorry about that. Well, I suppose you'd like an introduction to everyone? Well, as I'm sure you know this is Princess Twilight, and this is Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. And that's Pinkie's half sister, Candy-stone Pie" Applejack finished. There were a lot of ponies there, all except the one Bab wanted to see the most.

"Hey, um, nice to meet ya and all, but where is Applebloom?" asked Bab, upset that her own cousin hadn't showed up to greet her. "Aw, don't worry Sugarcube", said Applejack, noticing the filly's face was not as joyous as it had been 30 seconds ago. "She's just back at the farm, said something about wanting to set up a welcome party". Bab's face was a bit happier now, knowing that her cousin hadn't ignored her like she thought.

"Ooh, if there's gonna be a party, then there HAS to be some of Applebloom's famous apple and blueberry cupcakes, those things are de-lish!" squealed Pinkie Pie, her voice just as shrill as Bab remembered. "Oh yeah, those things were pretty good", said Rainbow Dash," but I can only have a few since I have Wonderbolt training tomorrow". After that they all started talking about how good Applebloom's apple and blueberry cupcakes were. Bab couldn't really understand much of it since they were all talking over each other, they slowly started walking towards Sweet Apple Acres. The only ones not talking were the yellow Pegasus who Bab assumed was Fluttershy, and Pinkie's half-sister, Candy-stone.

As they reached the farm Bab would now be calling home, Bab saw a rather large banner reading WELCOME BACK, BABS hanging from the barn door. Bab excitedly ran towards it, and heard the others follow suit. Now it was a race, a race that Bab intended to win. As they were nearing the barn, Bab heard some-pony catching up to her. Bab expected it to be Rainbow Dash or Applejack, who she knew were quite competitive, but to her surprise it wasn't either of them. It was Candy-stone. She wasn't much older than Bab and Applebloom, but she clearly had a lot more endurance. Candy-stone's dull orange eyes seemed to light up with fire, but not the warm welcoming kind, the aggressive killing kind. Every time her hooves came in contact with the ground, she seemed to be punching it as if the dirt had done her wrong. Babs, though rather frightened, decided to focus on winning the race. Although, it was too late. Candy-stone had already won.

Every-pony was shocked. They had never seen this side of Candy-stone. She had run with anger and hatred, something they never would of expected in a mare like her. But as soon as it had appeared, it disappeared. She returned to her shy state, though she seemed a bit more comfortable around everyone.

"I call foul play!" said Rainbow, clearly upset she hadn't won. Everyone simply chuckled at her stubbornness, "Come on, Dashie, its okay you didn't win. Besides, my sis has always had a knack for running. She was the one who had to get the rocks from the mine and bring them up to us back at the rock farm" said Pinkie, giving her sister a bright and loving smile. Candy-stone returned it with a shy smile of her own, clearly glad to have her sister's support.

"Babs!!!!" cried out the unmistakable voice of Applebloom, "Ah'm so glad you're here!!". They all chuckled again,"Cous'!! I'm so glad I get to stay with you guys instead of that crummy apartment back in Manehatten" said Bab, a big smile upon her face. "Come into the barn and lets get this welcome party started!" said Applebloom, still smiling. They began to walk towards the barn and the celebration began. Babs would enjoy her new life in Ponyville, that was for sure. Though there was an unexpected lesson around the corner, and it was from some-pony you'd never except.

*End of Chapter 1*