CARAMEL TREAT, a Werewolf's Saga

Chapters

Brightmane's Foal
CARAMEL TREAT'S CHANGE
A Visit to Auntie Zecora
Caramel Treat's Lunch!
Caramel Treat's Sweets
The First Nightmare Night at Caramel Treat's Sweets!
Caramel Treat's Friend
WEREWOLVE'S WEDDING

Brightmane's Foal

Author's Note

As with almost any biography, Caramel Treat's Saga begins with the unique circumstances of her birth.

Brightmane's Foal

“Now, Mrs. Hackamore, be reasonable,” Doctor Red Mane said in a soothing tone of voice.

Brightmane's hind hoof bucked him in the gut hard enough to slam Doctor Red Mane against the wall across the room. Her teeth grinding in rage, she snarled at him, “My. Name. Is. Brightmane! Brightmane TREAT! Dray Hackamore and I have been divorced for three months! Now, that that vile, poisoning idiot wants to get control of my Lottery win!”

The doctor was picking himself up cautiously. The force of the somewhat awkwardly delivered blow, reminded him of one of Brightmane's chart notes. “Black Belt, second Dan : Han Fu.”

Before he could regain his hooves, the heavily pregnant Brightmane had come free of the bed in what could only be described a bound. Her landing stance was one that terrified Doctor Red Mane. He was a follower the Equestrian National Han Fu Championships.

He began to flee for the door. “Helping Hooves” sent him on his way, still rising as he went through the opening. The spectacular crash and thump as he hit the far wall of the hallway and fell to the floor brought two nurses on the run.

They found the doctor prostrate on the floor of the hall. Brightmane was standing astride him, one cunningly placed hoof holding him from any movement. The nurses were in time to hear, “Very good, Doctor Red Mane. You know about the back hoof bar. If you try to move from this spot or free yourself before we are done with this little chat, I will break your foreleg at the shoulder.

“Is that clear? You do not need to like it, just answer with a yes or no. Any other answer will be painful.”

Unwisely, Doctor Red Mane tried to say, “Be reasonable. Your addiction to Poison Joke potion has clouded your think - - - OUCH! Stop! My leg!”

Brightmane quietly repeated, “Yes or no, Doctor. No other words. DO YOU UNDERSTAND that I WILL break your shoulder unless you answer truthfully.”

“I, Yes. I understand. Now let me up!”

“No, Doctor. First question. My legal name. Not the one that you put on the false chart. What is my name?”

“You don't – Ow! It is Brightmane Treat!”

“Very good, Doctor. Now, what name is on the chart being used for me?”

“I, it is Brightmane Hackamore! It was demanded by your medical conservator!”

Almost sweetly, Brightmane stated, “Fascinating. I do not have a medical conservator. I would have to sign that or a court would have to impose it and serve me the papers. Neither has been done.

“Who is this so called Medical Conservator?”

“You don't need – OW! My shoulder!”

One of the nurse ponies had run for the chart and she held it out, open to a page. “Here, uh, Miss Treat. See, you have appointed Dray Hackamore and his wife Coalsmoke to handle your affairs, should there be any complications from the procedure.”

Brightmane glared down at the fallen doctor. “Procedure? I was here to have medical OBSERVATION of Zecora's treatment. I am Doctor Comarg's patient. What is this nonsense? What PROCEDURE?”

The nurse pony looked confused and said, “You were admitted as Doctor Red Mane's patent. The chart says that your foal has been so injured by your addiction to Poison Joke that it has to be aborted.”

“Find my REAL chart. Doctor Comarg's chart. I was poisoned by a single massive dose of Joke Potion administered by Dray Hackamore. That was the reason for the divorce. Dray remarried to Coalsmoke Emberling the same day that the divorce was final. Charges were brought against both of them but the case was not strong enough to prove attempted murder.

“In Doctor Comarg's chart is a copy of the Court Order preventing ANY form of contact between Dray and me. This claim of conservatorship is in CRIMINAL violation of the Order of the Ponyville Courts.”

Pausing only a second to let the revelation sink in, Brightmane went on, “It will be easy to double check it in any case. Just call the town hall and ask. It won't cost anything and it could save the hospital from criminal charges and massive financial losses. Charges that WILL be made if you don't check.”

One of the nurses at the back of the group put a hoof to her mouth in surprise and turned away down the corridor at a near gallop. It was not long before she returned. The hospital security guards, including a unicorn, were spreading out to surround Brightmane.

The nurse yelled, “STOP! The patient is right! Doctor Red Mane's chart is false! Security! Hold Doctor Red Mane, not the patient!”

The big unicorn stallion in charge turned to the nurse and said, “Why should we believe you? She is assaulting a well known doctor.”

The nurse replied, “I am nurse Fields. I have Doctor Comarg's chart here. Admitting said that Doctor Red Mane took it and left the chart that nurse Bay Leaf is holding.

“I recovered Doctor Comarg's chart for the patient Brightmane Treat from a pile of Doctor Red Mane's charts. They were charts of deceased patients. There was a shredding order on the pile. For deceased patients with no contest or legal reason to retain the records, all that we keep is the cover. It gets worse. Look at the cover yourself, Sir.”

She extended the chart. The security pony's horn bobbed down as he read out loud, for all to hear. “Deceased 4/18 due to abortion complications caused by Poison Joke addiction.” His brow furrowed. “That can't be! This is only the 17th!” He tapped a hoof on the floor thoughtfully and read, “Estate passed to Conservator as per documentation.”

He leafed expertly through the chart. “There is no statement of Conservatorship in here.”

Nurse Bay Leaf quietly handed over the chart of Doctor Red Mane. She offered, “The claim of conservatorship is in this chart, Sir. There are other irregularities as well, including a Do Not Resuscitate sticker on the cover. There is a partly filled out death certificate tucked in the back of the chart. It is already signed. By Doctor Red Mane.”

The Security Stallion made up his mind. “Ma'am. Miss Treat? Please let the doctor to his hooves. From what I have seen here, this pool is too deep for us to be wading in.

“What we will do is take you, Doctor Red Mane and both of these charts to the Town Hall. There, we will hoof you, the Doctor, nurse Fields as a witness, and both charts, to the Constables and the Town's Attorneys. Will that be satisfactory to you?”

Brightmane looked skeptically at the Security Guard and said, “I will let him up if that nurse Fields agrees to come with us. She has some real backbone to defy Doctor Red Mane this way.”

Nurse Fields promptly agreed, “Then come with us. If there has to be a fight, I am on your side. It will probably cost me my job. I can't just stand by let a pony be murdered like this. Especially for a profit.”

Shortly, the procession left the hospital. “You can't treat me like a common criminal!” doctor Red Mane protested. He was being led by a chain, while restrained in fore and hind leg hobbles.

District Attorney Dobbins only needed a few minutes of looking over the twin charts, with nurse Fields helping to point out the discrepancies. He looked up, fury written on his countenance, and sent an assistant to get Judge Coldheart.

Judge Coldheart was silently handed both charts, open to the pages concerning the protective order and the conservatorship. He leafed through the rest and found the partially filled out death certificate.

All that he said was, “Wait here. I will return shortly.”

True to his word, the Judge was back in only a few minutes. He handed DA Dobbins a small stack of papers.

Then he spoke coldly. “I expect these warrants to be served and the parties jailed within hours, Mr. Dobbins. Let me know if there are any complications. I will issue deadly force authorizations at once, if needed.”

Even Brightmane was taken aback. “Deadly force? Why?”

The judge gave her a long and thoughtful stare before replying, “Unless I have lost count, this makes three separate attempts to kill you outright. First, they tried and nearly succeeded with the Poison Joke potion. Second, by an interference with your hospital records that would have given you deadly doses of improper medications. Thirdly, if you survived the medications, you were not intended to survive the abortion procedure.

“These were all criminally motivated by a desire to lay hooves on your three and a half million bit fortune from the Lottery. Multiple attempts at murder for profit cannot be treated lightly.”

Brightmane, in spite of her pregnancy, managed a proper courtly bow to Judge Coldheart. “Thank you, your Honor. I was so focused on the immediate event that I had lost track of the whole picture. We of Ponyville are fortunate to have one such as you serving us.”

To everypony's surprise, Judge Coldheart bowed his head right back and said, “It is rare that those of us who serve the Law get such gracious thanks. Stay safe and I hope to see you another time under better circumstances.”

Doctor Red Mane unwisely snapped, “Neither Dray nor Coalsmoke have been convicted of anything!”

Judge Coldheart gave Doctor Red Mane a look as if were and interesting but very ugly bug. “It is true that they were acquitted. The requirements of the Law and the personal opinion of the Judge are two very different things.”

Turning to return to his chambers, Judge Coldheart said over his shoulder, “Do not release any of the prisoners before arraignment for any reason. I regard them as an ongoing danger to society. I will hear their bail arguments on Monday.”

Brightmane shook her head in amazement.

Soon she was trotting out of town, going deep into the Everfree Forest. The cleared space with Zecora's house came into sight soon.

The cheerful zebra greeted her, “Brightmane, dear//Why are you here?”

Smiling at Zecora's comfortable rhyming speech, she replied soberly, “I will not go back to that hospital at all. Dray and Coalsmoke tried to get Doctor Red Mane to kill me.”

Accepting that her visitor knew what she was saying, Zecora replied, “That Red Mane's involved is small surprise// He is a pony who is full of lies.”

Pausing, Zecora cocked her head at Brightmane's bulging saddle packs and pointed out, “You have more than you will need// unless your stay is long indeed.// If you plan to have your foal here// You can stay and need not fear.”

“Thank you, Zecora. I was going to ask exactly that.”

Soon Zecora and Brightmane had her visitor's stall ready and the saddle packs emptied. Everything was neatly in its place.

After Zecora looked her over and gave her a new tonic, Brightmane was happily frying up Chopped Clover Top burgers to go with buns that she had baking.

Zecora was sitting back, letting her guest cook with the supplies that she had brought. With a grin, she pronounced, “Having a maid and cook is good// Getting used to this I certainly could!”

The clover burgers were barely eaten and seconds in the pan when Brightmane told Zecora, “I may have been just in time, getting here. I think that I just had a contraction.”

There was a knock at the house door. A pony in a nurse's uniform stood outside. She was looking about nervously.

Brightmane smiled and said, “Nurse Fields! Come in! You are just in time for dinner! I made enough . . . Oh, that was a strong one!” She paused to breathe deeply for a few moments and asked, “What brings you here to the Everfree?”

Stepping nervously into Zecora's home, Nurse Fields replied, “Two things. I wanted to see how you are doing. It looks to me like early stage labor has recently begun.

“The other thing is to ask if you have any idea where I can get a job? I was right. Even in jail, Doctor Red Mane got me fired for 'violating procedure and the unauthorized release of confidential chart information.' If you can believe what they wrote on my discharge papers.”

Brightmane cheerfully said, “I was there, I can indeed.// You helped a patient in her need!” She grinned and added, “Zecora can be contagious!”

Zecora bared her teeth in a grin and said, “Indeed you must beware the rhyme// or you will do it all the time!”

Nurse Fields made the circle complete by saying, “I am glad that I came here,// of my welcome I had fear!”

Dropping the rhyming joke, Brightmane offered, “Pull up a place at the table. Fresh buns are almost done and the Clover Burgers are coming along nicely. We have lettuce, onion slices, tomato and cheese to go on them.”

“Thanks, Brightmane. I can use the meal. I still don't know what to do for a job but I am happy to find you in good hooves.”

Zecora and Brightmane exchanged a glance and Brightmane nodded.

Zecora served up the big platter of savory clover burgers and the piping hot buns. Looking directly at Nurse Fields, she said, “For a job, it is here you stay// Brightmane's fortune will assure your pay.// Evil to her has made me weep // So her secrets you must keep.”

Nurse Fields nodded seriously, “I can do that. I spoke out to save a patient's life, not to just blabber about an “interesting” case.”

“Great!” Brightmane enthused. “Unless this is a false labor, we have a foal on the way! Zecora is going to be in charge because she has experience with Poison Joke and the foal is contaminated in a way that can't be undone.”

Zecora nodded gravely and pointed out, “Undone it cannot be// Yet wise treatment is the key.”

Nurse Fields calmly nodded her acceptance and began to build herself a fine clover burger. She only used one onion slice but made up for it in lettuce and tomatoes.

Around carefully chewed and swallowed bites, she asked, “How sure are you that the foal is healthy? After that bit of a fuss at the hospital, we can hardly go back there for help if we need it.”

Brightmane replied, “The foal is really active, so we can be pretty sure that it is going to be healthy. What we do not know is what the Poison Joke has done to . . .” Brightmane winced as her next contraction hit.

Nurse Fields calmly looked at her nurse's watch, hung like a pendant around her neck. “Eight minutes. Not bad at all. Zecora, may I look over your arrangements and any equipment or medications? I want to be familiar with things so that I can help most effectively.”

Zecora got up from the table, saying,”Those were words I hoped to hear.// My birthing things are over here.”

The two had their heads together over Zecora's supplies and the way that the bed was arranged.

Nurse Fields was nodding over the contents of a locked shelf containing large bellied, narrow necked bottles of Poison Joke potions. Tapping thoughtfully at one, she said, “Deactivated Pollen extract. I have never heard of that one before.”

Zecora nodded, “Danger that one will evoke// If not poisoned by the Joke.// It is the pathway to our goal// It will be used to treat the foal.”

Nurse Fields nodded slowly, “So, the deactivated Joke pollen will help to counter what the active Joke in the foal's system is doing?”

Brightmane interrupted, “I hope that you will pardon me, but I think that I need that stall NOW!”

They made way as Brightmane practically dived into the birthing stall. “I think that I need to mop your floor, Zecora. My water broke and the contraction was really strong.” She paused to breathe deeply and added, “Another has already started!”

Zecora, with a bit of a grin, replied, “Worry about your foal more,// Waste no thought about my floor.”

From that time, on, Brightmane was busy following the orders of the more experienced ponies about breathing and pushing. Her world centered on working to bring her foal into the world.

Soon, or was it? She heard nurse Fields say, “Zecora, it is crowning!” There was a pause and she added, “Is this a problem? I have never seen anything like this before.”

Zecora left off holding Brightmane's hoof and went to see. “A problem this is not.// It is that Joke we will set to naught.”

To Brightmane she said, “Your foal is coming soon.// Another push would be a boon.”

Brightmane took a deep breath and pushed. She felt the foal slide free. She knew that there was more to do and pushed again. She heard, “There is now no thing to fear, // We have the afterbirth, my dear.”

Nurse Fields held a carefully wrapped bundle. It made a sound that was not the usual new-born's cry. It was more of an animal whine.

Zecora reassuringly told Brightmane, “We need the potion to start at once,//that is what your filly wants.// Do not fear for bad luck.// We will treat your breast and let her suck.”

Brightmane hesitantly asked, “How different is she?”

Nurse Fields exchanged a glance with Zecora, who nodded. “Show her truly the filly she's born.// Brightmane will not treat her with scorn.”

Nurse Fields took a deep breath and unswaddled the head of the infant. Brightmane looked at her new filly without any hesitation or fear. She held out her forelegs to take the huge wolf cub to her.

Zecora donned a hoof glove and put some of the potion from the bottle now held by Nurse Fields onto each nipple. Brightmane observed, “That tingles.”

Zecora advised, “Used to the feeling you must get.// This filly will need a lot of it.”

Brightmane held the gray furred filly/wolf-pup to her breast. Even with closed eyes, the cub had no trouble finding the nipple. As she sucked, she began to change slowly. Soon she was a normal looking young light tan filly trying her legs and eagerly seeking the breast of her mother.

Nurse Fields watched in fascination. Turning to Zecora, she said, “I can see why I need to keep this secret. What will happen at the full moons? Will Luna cause her to change?”

Calmly Zecora replied, “In this case I will say it nay.// Luna's grip will have no sway.// We've a filly-wolf ruled by the Poison Joke.// I wonder what powers be awoke.”

Brightmane was looking at her filly with pride. It was clear from the set of her ears that she had been listening. With a smile, she said, “Look at that wonderful color she has, Zecora! Just like a caramel candy. I will name her Caramel Treat!”

CARAMEL TREAT'S CHANGE

Under the dappled shade of the looming trees of the Everfree Forest, a neat cottage sat in the midst of a foal's tidily fenced play yard. There were also, inside the fence, a kitchen and herb garden.

Besides the quiet setting, there were four mean looking stallions at the door, led by the ugly brown earth pony, Sawnax. Brightmane opened the door with complete confidence. She was wearing her Han Fu black belt. She quietly dropped into a combat stance while asking in a polite voice, “What brings you and your lumber yard workers to the Everfree, Sawnax?”

Rudely, he attempted to shove his way into the cottage. He was met by an angled sweep kick followed by a punch to the side of the neck and a foreleg smash that slammed his head against the side of the door frame. That was followed by a simple double buck to kick him out of the doorway. The lower half of the double door was shut solidly and a bar dropped across it.

Leaning her head out of the door and looking down at the overweight but burly pony on the ground, Brightmane said in an utterly calm voice, “It is rude to try entering a home without invitation, Sawnax. You have never had any welcome here before. Be assured that you do not have any welcome here now, after trying to bully your way in.”

One of his workers, a blotched yellow in color, growled, “We just come out here to see your danged freak of a filly! What's your foal got, three eyes or something? Why you hide her out here in the Everfree? Can't answer that, can you?”

Brighmane smiled sweetly as she pointed out, “Now that your wind bag seems to have stopped blowing, I CAN answer that. I am out here because I WAS in town. Both Dray Hackamore and Doctor Red Mane tried to murder me for my money.

“Others, like your stupid lot, were making fun of me and my foal over the fact that because I was poisoned by poison joke potion during one of the murder attempts, my filly was too, before she was born. I came out here, where there are wild Everfree Ridgeback wolves for company in preference to your slimy behavior.

“Besides my yard and garden, you should know that you are trespassing in the hunting territory of the Everfree Stone Ridge Wolf Pack.”

Brightmane turned her head back to the cottage's interior. “Nurse Fields, is Caramel Treat safe in her room?”

The voice of Nurse Fields replied, “With the pack hunting so near, today, I did put her in her room. I made sure the window was shut.”

“Thank you, Nurse Fields.”

Turning to the four, she saw that Sawnax was getting shakily to his feet. Smiling widely, she suggested, “This was a bad day for you fools to come visit in any case, Sawnax. We saw one of the Stone Ridge Pack in the woods out back a little bit ago. We were just shutting up for safety.”

She shut the upper half of the double door and the four ponies heard the sound of a second bar dropping into place, securing the door solidly.

Sawnax thumped futilely on the barred door. He was just shouting, “We came to see your freak and we are gonna! If you don't open up, we can buck the door down!”

His tirade was interrupted by the low thunder of a growl. A big Everfree Ridgeback Wolf was slinking around the corner of the cottage. Its golden eyes were slitted, focused on ponies. Prey. Its tufted ears were laid back into a shaggy ruff, almost a mane, of black fur that stood out starkly from the dark gray of most of its coat. From the mane to the base of its tail was a dark black, almost spiky ridge of fur like a crest. Its tail, gray to a black tip,laid out menacingly low.

Its lips were curled back from a set of razor sharp teeth and huge canine fangs like daggers. It was creeping up, belly low, ready to spring.

Sawnax's three cohorts turned tail and ran, kicking up leaves in their flight! They left their boss behind for the wolf! Sawnax suddenly realized that he was facing the wolf alone! He screamed and ran, the wolf at his heels!

It leaped after him, claws leaving scrapes in his rear! His speed almost magically increased enormously!

The monster turned about, letting him flee. Its tongue lolled out in canine laughter. It trotted with a light, springy step, back to the cottage and pawed at the door. In the voice of a filly, it said, “It's OK, Mom! They're gone!”

The that was followed by the sound of door bars being lifted out of their braces. The upper half of the door opened. The big Everfree Ridgeback wolf leaped through the opening, and landed gracefully on the rug of the main room's floor.

Nurse Fields and Brightmane were waiting. Brightmane wrapped the wolf in a delighted hug! Nurse Fields, smiling widely at the prank, scritched the monster under the chin and then held out a small bright red dangerous potion bottle.

The wolf obediently opened its mouth for the dose of potion. Nurse Fields carefully poured it into the massive jaws. As she did, she commented, “This stuff makes me a lot more nervous to use now.”

After swallowing all of the dose, the wolf shivered all over, and began to change. In only a few moments, Brightmane's sweet caramel colored filly stood in its place.

Young Caramel Treat nodded. “Auntie Zecora says that it was their own fault. Those bad ponies from Manehatten Biomedical Laboratories should never have stolen that bottle of her potion. If they had not stolen it, no pony would have been hurt at all. They should never have tried to clean up that spilled potion by putting water on it. We know better.”

On the table lay the recent Ponyville Prancer Newspaper, the headline screaming,

26 Killed in Manehatten Disaster!
Manehatten Biomedical Laboratories destroyed by deadly fumes and fire.

A Visit to Auntie Zecora

Zecora was working in her herb garden. She was being extremely careful in the cultivation of one particular section. All of the plants there could be dangerous in one way or another. They all had important medicinal uses in some of the potions that Zecora was famous for making. A large Everfree Ridgeback wolf hidden in the brush was peering at her as she worked.

In the background a fire roared like a small dragon, heating Zecora’s big stone bread baking oven. When it was hot enough, the zebra would rake out the fire and begin baking her famous herb breads and some pies.

In the voice of a young filly, the wolf requested, “May I help you, Auntie Zecora? Poison Joke does not bother me at all and none of the rest of those will harm me, like they might harm you.”

Zecora looked up and smiled. “Caramel my dear // Does your mother know you are here?”

Caramel replied, “Mother knows but had to go to town. // Nurse Fields greeted the news with a frown // But if I came as a wolf, agreed // That seeing you would be safe indeed.”

Zecora smiled again and invited, “Your help is welcome indeed! // This patch is infested with a weed!”

Caramel Treat emerged entirely from the woods and inquired, “Neither form is a phony // Would you rather I was wolf or pony?”

“Neither form is a bother to me. // From before you were born I knew what you would be.”

Cocking an ear, Caramel dropped the rhyming speech that was so natural and comfortable around Zecora. “There are bad ponies coming. They tried to force Mom and Nurse Fields to show me to them like I was some sort of Freak at a fair. I ran them off but they did not know it was me.

“If it comes up, say that I am from the Stone Ridge Pack.”

Remaining a wolf, Caramel drew in a big sniff over the dangerous plants and herbs. She pointed with a paw.

“The Strangle Root’s taproot is right here. I can pry it out with a trowel. I will lift it slowly. That will let you free the tendrils from the plants that you want to save.”

Zecora simply offered the trowel.

Stepping carefully, Caramel went to the heart of the problem weed and dug delicately. Soon she took the root in her jaws and slowly lifted. Zecora set to releasing the grip of the weed’s many tendrils from her garden’s plants.

They had just finished the task when the big brown Earth Pony, Sawnax and two of his timber yard cronies came stomping up the trail to Zecora’s hut-like house.

Without preamble, Sawnax began, “Listen up, you striped weirdo! We needs a poison to put out in wolf baits! We gonna put them out around that there Brightmane’s place! They got a dangerous wolf there.

“It attack us without no cause! We barely fight it off and get away with our lives!”

The very observant Zecora chuckled, “The only evidence of a fight // Is claw marks as you took to flight // All the marks show us your fears // Because they are all in your rears!”

Caramel Treat, still as a monster Everfree Ridgeback Wolf, slunk around Zecora into their sight. Her yellow eyes with a thin ring of blue were slitted in rage, belly close to the earth, black tipped tail stiff and held low.

Forcing her voice down from its usual filly’s tones to a deep growl, she demanded, “How many times must the Stone Ridge Pack run you from the Everfree?”

Zecora, utterly calm, reached out and ruffled the ears of the huge wolf beside her. “You will get no poison from me // To harm my neighbors of the Everfree. // This friend is helping in my need // To free my garden of pest and weed.”

Sawnax sneered, “You wasn’t listening! Them monsters gonna run you out of the forest!”

Zecora smiled, “You, Sawnax, had too many beers! // Indeed I do use my ears. // It is you and you alone, // The coward with no backbone, // That from this forest would be wise to flee. // The Stone Ridge Pack is no danger to me.”

Caramel appeared to relax and start to sit. As her rear got lower, a slight tension spoke of her intent. Straightening her nearly folded rear legs, the big wolf lunged! She spanned the distance between Zecora and Sawnax in a single powerful bound!

A large forepaw slammed to earth just past Sawnax’s forelegs, tripping him as the mass of the hurtling wolf smashed into his shoulder! Sawnax was down, squalling for his life! The wolf finished the plunge, landing across his neck, preventing him from rising!

She changed posture some to sit more comfortably on his neck and growled, “This is the last time that you will leave this forest alive! Do you understand? Leave. Never return. The Stone Ridge Pack is tired of your misbehavior. We will be watching.”

The other two were backing away, wide eyed with fear. Rage filled yellow eyes with a thin blue ring in them moved from the fallen Sawnax to the frightened ponies. They broke and ran back towards Ponyville!

Squalling, “Wait up! Don’t leave me!” Sawnax fled after them!

The change flowed like a big ripple down Caramel fro nose to tail as the gray and black wolf shifted back to a caramel tan filly. Caramel Treat continued to giggle for a little.

Finally, she managed to get out, “Are we done with the weeding?”

Zecora patted her tolerantly. “Indeed the worst of pests is gone. // Sawnax no longer befouls my lawn! // Inside my home is bread and pie to make. // Let us teach you to bake!”

Soon the clearing was filled with the wonderful aroma of fresh bread baking in Zecora’s big stone oven.

Caramel, her blue eyes with a narrow ring of yellow sparkling, enthused, “Thank you for teaching me this, Auntie Zecora! Cooking is so much fun!”

Zecora, spreading soft butter on another slice of fresh hot bread, smiled, “Talented at cooking you are true // And it is a pleasure to teach you!”

When the hot breads cooled enough to handle easily, Caramel and Zecora loaded up a saddle bag with loaves. She trotted serenely along the trail back to Brightmane’s cottage, two big Everfree Ridgeback wolves ambling along beside her.

~THE END~

Caramel Treat's Lunch!

Brightmane was fussing over the preparations for her filly’s first day at Miss Cherrilee’s school. She was packing Caramel Treat’s lunch with great care. There were the usual sandwiches of clover sprouts in spread and an apple from the famous Sweet Apple Acres farm. There was also a banana from Banana-Pie’s almost equally famous Banana Shop that sold the only bananas actually grown in Equestrian lands.

There were two other items. One was a small ordinary potion bottle of bright green, indicating a safe potion. The other was a small, narrow necked, bulbous potion bottle of bright, warning red. The filly smiled at her mother’s care. She offered, “I already know, Mom. Eat the lunch at noon with 10 ml of the emitic and then take 5 ml. of Zecora's Poison Joke potion. Do the same at afternoon recess. I will be careful. The School Board has required that I go to their school and just bring my medicines along. They don't seem to understand how dangerous my medicines can be.

“It would not do, to let the Poison Joke change me on my first day of school.”

Brightmane smiled at her filly. “I know, dear. I also know that you can control the change without the potion if anything should happen to it. It is an important precaution, that is all. I wish that the school board would let us continue your schooling at home.

“With Zecora and Nurse Fields supervising, you have been up to three days without changing. I am just a worry-wart. You are too precious to me to not be.”

Nurse Fields emerged from her room of the cottage. “Brightmane, you forgot to wake me up for breakfast. Besides, I wanted to see our little filly off to school.”

Fussing in her own way as much as Brightmane, Nurse Fields was checking Caramel’s shoulder bag. Again. “Let’s see, parchment, your reader, and that Rom writing kit that we got at the last fair from that nice old donkey …”

Caramel looked up with a grin and filled in, “Marchhare. That was his name. Some of the other Rom, called him the Ghost Who Guides. He knew what I am as soon as he saw me. When I asked him how he knew what I am, he said that he was a snoopy old donkey.” She giggled at the memory.

She added the lunch bag to her shoulder pack and, watched over by her mother and the nurse that had been with her since birth, she trotted confidently out the front door, past their garden and into the Everfree forest while they waived anxiously. This was, after all, Caramel Treat’s first trip alone into Ponyville.

They need not have worried. Even a small pony is far bigger than a wolf. Caramel’s very sharp senses, sharper than those of a wolf, actually, spotted the three wolves that were trying to stalk a lone filly almost at once.

She turned to face the three, bracing her forehooves. Her snout lengthened and got narrower as her mouth filled with huge fangs that had no place in any pony. Her ears had gone pointed with tufts at the tips. She gave a piercing stare at each of the wolves that thought themselves concealed. She curled her lips up to show her fangs and let out a thunderous growl of challenge.

The wolves sensibly ran. They wanted no part of whatever that monster might be. In the Everfree, wolves do not live long lives by challenging strange monsters.

Giggling at her prank, Caramel Treat swiftly changed back to an ordinary filly. In appearance.

She emerged from the forest and passed around the foot of the hill where the Duchess of Red Hoof had built again the Great Hall of Red Hoof after an absence of over three thousand years.

The Ponyville area had an interesting history for those who were interested, and Caramel Treat was.

Soon she was into the town proper, filled with many ponies going about their business or trades. Finally, she came to Miss Cherrilee’s schoolyard.

She bypassed the colts and fillies who were staying out of class as long as possible and entered the shady halls of the school proper. Finding the office, she went in without fear.

Miss Cherrilee looked up from a desk and smiled. “Hello, Caramel Treat. I have been expecting you. The reports that I have from your mother, Nurse Fields and Zecora are most favorable. Can you really read at your age?”

Caramel pointed to a book shelf and asked, “May I?”

Miss Cherrilee smiled again and replied, “Help yourself, dear.”

Caramel promptly took down a thick tome with the title, “Fortress Canterlot Days and the Knights of Justice.” She opened it and said, “I really like the tale of Sir Sunrise the Arrogant.”

She found her place and began, “The first snows of Winter were making small flurries as the Knights of Justice gathered to their places at the long table. The Twin Princesses of the Day and Night, Celestia and Luna, entered the hall with their foster father, the old blue unicorn, De Writer.

“As they were taking their places, Sir Sunrise whispered loudly enough to overheard, “That old pony has no place among us. We are the strength of the Princesses.”

Miss Cherrilee interrupted with a delighted smile. “That is wonderful! There aren’t even any pictures in that story. Most of my students have only read that tale to pass a test. Almost none read it for pleasure. It will be a delight to have you here!”

Caramel Treat smiled and replied, “I can add and subtract too. Mommy Brightmane and Auntie Fields are teaching me to multiply but I really don’t quite get how that works yet.

“I have memorized the tables but why they work the way that they do is what I don’t understand.”

Miss Cherrilee patted Caramel on the head as she reached for a hanging rope in the corner of the office. The teacher pulled the rope and three clear peals of the bell up in its tower announced the beginning of school.

Colts and fillies began to go to their classes with all of the grumbling that was expected of the young. Watching the youngsters file past, in the hallway, Miss Cherrilee asked politely, “I understand that you have a potion that you need regularly. Zecora was quite concerned about it falling into the wrong hooves because it can be quite unpleasant if taken by mistake.”

Caramel Treat looked up trustingly at Miss Cherrilee and said, “It certainly could be. It is based on Poison Joke. That means that it is very unpredictable and dangerous if you are not already afflicted with Joke, like I am.”

Miss Cherrilee nodded solemnly as she replied, “I remember the scandal. I think that you should let us keep it here in the office and come here to take it.”

Nodding, Caramel Treat gave the bright warning red potion bottle and the smaller green one to Miss Cherrilee who put them on a high shelf before going on, “I read the warning sheets that your mother sent the school. She was trying to get an exemption from the school board about special needs filly and colts ruling. They still ordered them all to come to school but with their medications if needed.

“We really do not need another Manehatten Biomedical Laboratories disaster here in Ponyville. The board, led by that mean Mister Sawnax, would not listen.

“I am sorry to say that there are some bullies who steal lunch-bits or bag lunches. With your medication that could be very bad. We try, but we can’t always stop them. I do not want any student of mine hurt, even one like Jaret.”

Caramel surprised Miss Cherrilee by asking, “You mean Sawnax’s colt? Daphne told me about him. He and his father are the only ones barred from the Starvation’s Night Feast at the Hall of Red Hoof. They are both trouble makers.”

Sourly, Miss Cherrilee agreed, “Rich trouble makers.”

Brightening, she said, “Let’s get to class. It would not do for us to be late.”

A good sized magenta colt stuck his head in the door and snickered, “I heard that shit. Trying to suck up to the teacher with a bit of memorized story and a brag. It ain’t gonna work, you yellow bellied blank flanked book worm. ‘Sides, you is bringing poison into the school! I seen it. That bottle is red!”

Caramel retorted, “How poison are you, Jaret? You are just a darker red, that is all! Lots of medicines are dangerous if they are taken wrong.”

The big colt shouldered his way into the office and curled a lip. “What did you call me, you blank flank yellow book worm?”

It did not have the desired effect. Caramel looked at him as if he were an interesting bug. An ugly but interesting bug. She calmly replied, “I was only wondering if you were too toxic to make good garden compost. That is why I asked how poisonous you are.”

Magenta or not, Jaret purpled in rage. He knew that, with Miss Cherrilee here, he had lost this round. He whirled about and left the office. Caramel and Miss Cherrilee followed more sedately.

A smiling Miss Cherrilee introduced, “Class, we have a new student. Her name is Caramel Treat. Caramel, please tell the class a little bit about yourself.”

Caramel stood up and confidently said, “I am Caramel Treat, Filly to Brightmane Treat. I enjoy reading, writing some, and playing in the woods near my home.”

Jaret sneered, “You live in the Everfree Forest. You like to play there? I knew it. You are nuts.”

Caramel looked at him patiently. Her stare went on and on.

The other students could see how uncomfortable Jaret was getting. Finally, squirming under her stare, he demanded, “What are you looking at, you blank flanked Bookworm?”

Caramel smiled. “I was waiting to see if you could manage to say anything intelligent at all. Apparently not.

“Now, as I was saying, I also like to help my Auntie Zecora in her herb garden. She has been teaching me how to dry and preserve herbs for both cooking and medicines. She even lets me help her to make her famous herb bread.”

She curtsied to the class and went to an empty desk.

Jaret promptly grabbed up his shoulder bag and took the empty desk next to Caramel. She looked up and smiled.

He rudely demanded, “What you got in your bag? Let me see it right now!”

Caramel, still smiling, replied serenely, “No. My bag is mine and you have no business in it at all. You are holding up the class. Miss Cherrilee has lessons for us.”

Jaret simply made a grab at her bag. Caramel appeared to simply put out a hoof to stop him. Jaret let out a groan of agony as his whole foreleg fell limply to his side.

Miss Cherrilee simply asked, “Is he hurt badly, Caramel?”

Caramel frowned as she said, “No. Should I? Hurt him, I mean? I thought that was against the rules.”

Miss Cherrilee actually smiled widely and nickered in amusement as she said, “You are right, it is against the rule. How badly did you hurt him?”

Caramel gave a shrug and said, “Not really at all. His leg will be fine in about five minutes. It was just a simple nerve point jab.”

Miss Cherrilee nodded and turned to chalk board and wrote across the top of it, “What you do not know CAN hurt you.”

She added, “Please take out your readers and turn to page 31. We will be reading a short tale that illustrates this exact point. It is the story of Sir Sunrise the Arrogant from the days of Fortress Canterlot when Equestria was a newly independent Principality.”

Among the slow dragging out of books and the dull, slow rustling of pages, one quick thump of book to desk and fast flutter of leaves stood out. Caramel’s book was open to the place.

Miss Cherrilee smiled brightly at the class and turned back to the board. She added three questions:

What was Sir Sunrise’s first mistake?

What was his second mistake?

Why should he have known better than to make either of the mistakes that he did?

She turned back to the class and asked Jaret, “I am sure that you follow the Equestrian National Han Fu championships, Jaret. How common a name is Treat? Brightmane Treat is the name of the only Second Dan Han Fu Black Belt in Ponyville. Caramel Treat is her filly.” She pointed again to the line at the top of the board.

Jaret curled a lip in frustration and pretended to read.

The whole class saw Caramel dig into her bag and remove her writing kit and a sheet of parchment. Her pen, a mounted quill tip in a neatly crafted holder, was quickly busy. Before any of the others had finished reading, Caramel had neatly cleaned her pen and and put away her writing kit.

Pointedly gathering the kit back into her bag, she shouldered her bag and stepped up to the teacher’s desk. Most of the colts and fillies could see that her writing was a neat cursive as she hoofed in her assignment. It was not the block printing used by the rest of the class.

Miss Cherrilee took the paper and said, “My goodness, that was quick!” Scanning it, she wrote neatly at the top of the page, folded it and handed it back. She added, “Please keep it folded until the others have given me their papers.” Eyeing the classroom clock, she asked, “It will be a while before the others are done. What would you like to do?”

Caramel considered and asked, “Do you have something that might help me to grasp WHY the multiplication table works like it does?”

Jaret made a rude noise, blowing through his lips and snorted, “Teacher’s Pet!”

Caramel turned to him and blew a raspberry of her own and said, “Better liked by those who know what you want to know than to be a friend to a fool who will just drag you down!”

Miss Cherrilee tapped Caramel’s flank to get her attention and said, “This book may help you, Caramel. Use your time wisely.”

Caramel went back to her desk with the book. She was starting at the beginning when Jaret made another grab. Not even appearing to look up, Caramel’s hoof popped out under his reaching hoof and flipped up, making Jaret miss his grab entirely. In a single smooth extension of her move, she shot her hoof directly into Jaret’s shoulder joint, not stopping for about six inches past contact. Jaret was blasted right over his desk seat and onto his side in the aisle.

From his sudden and unexpected vantage point on the boards of the floor, he squalled, “No fightin’! Fightin’s against the rules!”

Caramel looked up from the book for the first time and replied calmly, “Fight? What fight? How did you wind up on the floor like that? Why play at being Sir Sunrise and making foolish mistakes? Wouldn’t it be more sensible to simply sit at YOUR desk and keep your hooves to yourself?”

Jaret made a menacing whinny, deep in his chest.

Miss Cherrilee snapped, “Jaret! That will be quite enough! You started each of these events. Caramel finished each one and did not go beyond simply stopping you.”

She turned back to the board and pointed to each word as she pronounced it. “What. You. Do. Not. Know. CAN. Hurt. You. What you did not know about Caramel Treat should be obvious to you by now.

“Her mother, Brightmane Treat is a well known Second Dan Black Belt Master of Han Fu. She has trained Caramel, her filly, in Han Fu. You have experienced it twice. I let her deal with you because I have tired of trying to talk to you about your misbehavior.”

The bell rang. “Lunch recess!” exclaimed almost every filly or colt.

Miss Cherrilee went to her desk and said, “Those who have their assignments ready, please bring them here. Those of you who were distracted by the recent events, write the answers to the same questions, substituting Jaret for Sir Sunrise.

“Jaret, for trying to steal Caramel’s paper, you are failed.

“Do not bother with a paper.”

It was Caramel who looked up in surprise. “My paper? Oh. I thought that he was after my bag again.”

Jaret sneered, “What do the teacher gotta care about where the answers come from? All what matter is that they’s right!”

Caramel replied before Miss Cherrilee could. “That is not true, Jaret. The purpose of the questions is to see what you know and how well you can think.

“If you steal the answers, then the teacher can not help you properly. In the end, the only one that you cheat is yourself.”

Primly, Caramel packed her bag, shouldered it and walked out of the room while Miss Cherrilee looked after her in approval. She pointed out, “Some students do understand what we are here for, Jaret.”

He blew a raspberry at Miss Cherrilee. “Save it. It done be my lunch hour!” He stomped out.

Miss Cherrilee smiled secretively as she watched Jaret leave. Muttering, “You really should have paid attention to the lesson today, Jaret. I picked it just for you,” she slipped out to the play yard to watch things develop.

She was surprised to see Caramel Treat emerge from the office and go to sit quietly under a shady tree, laying out her lunch to eat. She was apparently ignoring Jaret and two of his sycophants approaching.

Miss Whinly, the teacher on playground duty was just about to intervene when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. Miss Cherrilee said softly, “Let it go, Whin. That little filly is full of surprises. She has already stopped Jaret twice and embarrassed him on three occasions.

“She did not even seem to notice him reaching for her bag, right there in class. She stopped him with a nerve jab the first time and the second time, knocked him right out of his desk without looking up from her book.”

Miss Whinly sighed and said, “Thanks, Cher. I was not looking forward to trying to stop the three of them.”

The two of them watched as the three toughs approached the helpless little filly under the tree.

Caramel looked up with a smile and said, “Jaret! I see that you have some friends. Spread your lunch cloths here and we can make a picnic of it! We could even share some of our lunches. I do have to warn you not to try my sandwich though.”

Jaret stood back, out of reach of her hooves and sneered, “You don’t get it, do you? You is sittin’, we is standin’. They is three of us, all bigger than you! We gone have our picnic with YOUR lunch! Got it now? Clear off!”

Casually beginning to peel her banana, Caramel replied, “If you are going to be rude, I shan’t share any of my lunch with you.”

Jaret snapped, “Thorny! Take that there banana from her for me! You kin have the apple. Frost! Grab her shoulder bag! I seen a writin’ kit in there what we kin sell! I gonna get the sanwich. It clover sprouts. I loves clover sprouts!”

The dun called Thorny started to reach for Caramel’s banana. Without leaving her sitting position, Caramel poked at the single foreleg bearing all of Thorny’s weight as he leaned forward. He landed, face in the dirt, with a shocked look and began to struggle to rise.

The pony called Frost, a silver tipped black, did grab her bag while she was dispatching Thorny. Caramel was after him on the instant. A leaping sweep kick took his hind legs out from under him. She landed on top of the fallen pony and began to box his ears, right, left, right, left.

She accompanied the very public trouncing with, “NEVER steal anything of MINE again! Got it?”

While she was dealing with Frost, Jaret took her sandwich and ran, gobbling it down on the fly.

Very uncharacteristically, Caramel simply watched him go. With a broad smile. Recovering her bag, she looked at the two fallen ponies and said mildly, “Oh, my. Jaret stole my sandwich. I told him not to do that.”

She finished off her fruit and gathered up her cloth and the peels. Sparing a glance for the still struggling Thorny, she said casually as she left, “Don’t keep trying to use your right foreleg. You can get up easily enough if you put your weight on the left instead.”

She strolled over to where the two teachers were watching. She glanced over across the play yard to where Jaret was sitting, polishing off the remains of her sandwich. Speaking to Miss Cherrilee, she said quietly, “I told him not to take my sandwich. I fear that before the day is out he will be needing some attention. The clover sprout sauce is part of my medication. Nothing serious or I would never have allowed him to get it. All that it does is help my potion to work faster. I will be fine without it.”

Miss Whinly said sternly, “Why didn’t you stop him if you could do it?”

Caramel replied, “I was teaching him the lesson of Sir Sunrise the Arrogant. He thought that he could pick on an old blue unicorn. He was wrong. So is Jaret. I hope that this teaches him something.”

Miss Cherrilee suddenly smiled. “Not serious, you said? What should we be prepared for?”

Caramel shrugged expressively. “If I was in your place, I would have some warm tea brewed. At least two big pots full. After the projectile vomiting is over, it will help to settle his stomach. That is what happens to me, if I don’t get my potion pretty quick after the sandwich.

“Speaking of which, may we go and get my potion? It is time for my noon dose.”

Miss Cherrilee lead Caramel away toward the office. “Caramel, I know that he broke the rules. At least out in the play yard, I also know that you set him up. Normally, I would never say such a thing, but that was well done. He has been a problem since he came here.”

She was surprised when Caramel replied, “He still will be for a while. We get ones like him in Mom’s dojo sometimes. They always need several lessons before they settle down. If they DO learn, they can wind up some of the best that you can get. If they don’t, well, they stay what they are.”

Miss Cherrilee looked back at her surprising student and asked, “Brightmane has a dojo? I did not know that.”

Shrugging as she reached up for her potion bottles, Caramel replied, “It is private. She has to teach to maintain her black belt. We have it set up in one of the Red Hoof barns.”

Reaching into her shoulder bag, Caramel produced a small burner, some matches, tongs and a small metal dose cup. First, she lit the burner and then carefully measured some from each potion bottle into her cup and stoppered the bottles.

Miss Cherrilee watched in concentration as Caramel followed what was obviously a routine. She took the whole dose, even licking out the inside of the cup. Then she clamped the cup in her tongs and held it in the flame of the burner.

The room filled with a sweetish flowery scent as the cup heated almost to red hot. Satisfied, Caramel waved the tongs and cup to cool them. Then she neatly capped the burner and packed everything away carefully.

Miss Cherrilee watched carefully all that Caramel was doing. She asked, “Wouldn’t it be easier to just wash out the cup?”

Caramel looked at the teacher and smiled. “Easier, yes. Very dangerous too. This IS Poison Joke that we are dealing with. This potion, even in quite dilute form, like the cup washings can still cause unpredictable, unpleasant and potentially dangerous effects. It can be inhaled, absorbed through skin or even the frogs of hooves.

“Burning it away is the best practice.”

Giving her teacher a carefully studied look, with some real respect, Caramel added, “How come you are asking me these things instead of trying to tell me how to do them?”

Miss Cherrilee did not even hesitate. “You have been doing this for years. You were taught by Zecora and Nurse Fields. I do not know anything about Poison Joke except to know it by sight and stay well away from it.

“I prefer to learn from others who already know what to do, rather than make an easily avoided mistake.”

A harsh voice from the office’s door snapped, “You already done made a severe mistake! Some worthless little filly done poisoned my Jaret. I was call here from putting up a big building timbers order!”

To the complete surprise of Caramel, Miss Cherrilee did not even miss a beat as she retorted, “Oh, really? Who were you cheating this time, Sawnax?”

“The Townshi … Ain’t none of your business who the order is for! I come because some brat of a filly done poisoned my Jaret!”

Miss Cherrilee, showing a side that students rarely if ever saw, replied instantly, “That is a lie, MISTER Sawnax! I saw the whole incident and had the message sent. Your colt Jaret was warned NOT to touch that sandwich. He STOLE the sandwich out of the filly’s lunch and ate it.

“By ignoring both school rules about theft AND the warning given him by the filly in question, your Jaret poisoned himself!”

The frustrated Sawnax stomped hard enough to rattle the office window in its frame. “That there is crazy talk. I just spoke to Jaret in your infirmary! He spewin’ his guts out and the nurse ain’t send him to the horsepital! He say that filly give him the sandwich! That make it a lock!”

Miss Cherrilee retorted, “Your colt is a liar and you know it. He has been suspended for it before! Besides, there were TWO teacher witnesses and most of the classes out for lunch recess saw it happen.

“Careful inquiry has shown that the sandwich contained a portion of her medication for a chronic condition. That is WHY he was warned not to steal it. We have not sent him to the horsepital because, other than a period of vomiting, he will suffer no ill effect from it.”

Writing quickly on a form, she handed it to Sawnax. He stared at it in disbelief. “You can’t do this! My colt Jaret was the victim here. Why he gettin’ a ten day suspension?”

Miss Cherrilee snorted, “If you could take the trouble to actually READ what you are given, IT IS FOR THEFT witnessed by TWO teachers! One more such infraction and he will be EXPELLED. Is that clear enough for you?”

The big and angry earth pony, nearly as large as Big Mac, glared about the tidy school office and at the frowning secretary unicorn who was pulling down a big loose leaf book from a shelf. His irritation at not getting his way led his eye fall on the green and red potion bottles. He made a wild grab, knocking over the red bottle and sending the green one flying. “Got it! Here the proof that my Jaret was poisoned! Red bottles is poison! Got no place in school at all!”

The secretary saw the red bottle go over and frantically shuffled pages of the book. Pressing open one, she read for only seconds. Her magic made a grab at the chain bell pull of the school’s big, deep emergency bell. The powerful peal of the emergency bell drowned out all else.

She paused the pulling and her magic sent out a call throughout the school’s buildings. “This is NOT A DRILL! EVACUATE THE SCHOOL! Teachers, count your students and report evacuation to me by Magic Net. I repeat, NOT A DRILL! EVACUATE THE SCHOOL! Get your students as far from the office as possible!” The deep powerful clangor of the Emergency Bell resumed.

Tears of fear in her eyes, the quivering secretary stayed by her desk, her pen recording the evacuation reports. Miss Cherrilee’s own shock was broken by Caramel pushing her toward the door. “Get your class out, Miss Cherrilee! That is my medicine. I know what to do. Go!”

Even Sawnax realized that something was terribly wrong. He was raising a hoof to smash the offending bottle when Caramel caught him with a hoof jab. His attempt missed, bouncing the bottle across the floor.

Caramel, leaping for the bottle, yelled to the secretary, “GET OUT! NOW!” The secretary fled.

Caramel landed between Sawnax and the bottle. She was in a well known Han Fu defensive position.

Sawnax, feeling the pain of the full force hoof jab, paused long enough to demand, “Get out of my way! I just gonna empty that poison and take the bottle fer proof my Jaret be poisoned. Why you in my way? I just gonna pound you, you don’t move!”

Caramel replied as calmly as she could, “I am trying to save your life. I don’t really care about it, but not doing it will destroy the school.”

Outside, the different clangor of the bells of the Ponyville Fire Department Pumper Wagons could be heard. Even though holding her place to defend the red bottle, Caramel blanched. “Dear Celestia, Please! Not Water! Not on this!”

Sawnax finally realized that there were only the two of them left in the school. Outside, the calm voice of Battalion Chief Flashover could be heard saying, “We can’t see the fire, ma'am. Calm down and tell me where it is.”

There was a short pause and the pegasus’ voice called out for all to hear, “Clear the pumpers out of here! FULL Hazmat for everypony! We have a Special Procedures 26! I repeat, Special Procedures 26!

“Konik! Get ALL SCHOOL WATER SUPPLES SHUT DOWN NOW! We can’t allow any water near the spill!

“Morgan! Send back to the station for the backfire flame throwers!”

Sawnax shook his head. “What the heck they yappin’ about? Make no sense. That just a little bottle. I smash it or empty it out and take it. A little water and soap clean it all up. No big deal.”

Behind him the somewhat muffled voice of Battalion Chief Rainbow Flashover, speaking through her Hazmat suit’s helmet, said, “No, Sir. A VERY big deal.”

He turned and saw the almost surreal looking Fire Battalion Chief Flashover in her full Hazmat suit with the oxygen tank secured between her wings. She had a bare fire ax in her hooves, ready to strike.

As Sawnax saw the ax held in a combat stance he realized that he might be in far more difficulty than he thought. The safety suit clad Rainbow Flashover ordered, “You are safe now, filly, clear out. I won’t let him hold you hostage any longer.”

Caramel replied, “He’s not holding me. I am stopping him from killing a lot of ponies. He wants to smash the bottle behind me. It has 95 ml of concentrated Poison Joke pollen extracted with Joke root sap.

“The Manehatten Biomedical Laboratories disaster was caused by dropping about half this much of this potion while it was undergoing testing. It is medicine for me. Deadly dangerous for pretty much anypony else. You have to have chronic systemic Poison Joke affliction like I do to take it or handle it safely. I can. Not many others can. Right now, we only have a few drops spilled. I have the equipment here and know how to handle a small scale spill.”

Sawnax promptly made a menacing gesture at Caramel. The fire ax slamming into the floor boards in front of him stopped him in his tracks.

Wrenching the ax out of the floor, Rainbow Flashover stated bluntly, “One more step toward the filly OR that bottle and I will put this ax in YOU.

“Please step away from them. You are risking the lives of every pony around here except for those in protective suits. That means you, in particular. That potion is deadly unless we can clean up what you have already spilled.”

Sawnax did step back, eyeing the ax in the Battalion Chief’s competent hooves. “None of this make any sense. See, I just want that there bottle to prove she done poison my Jaret with it. He been spewin’ his guts out.

“That a red bottle. Poison. Jaret poisoned. That it right there. I just dump out the poison and keep the bottle. You slosh on a bucket of water and some soap. That what soap is for. Clean it right up.”

Chief Rainbow cocked her head and said, “Please be quiet a moment, Mister Sawnax.

“Magic Net! Battalion Chief Flashover here. How is the downwind evacuation going? We have a serious situation in here. So far only four drops have spilled. I am informed that this is containable at the moment.

“The perpetrator is threatening to empty the remaining 95 ml of toxic biomaterial. Worse, he is threatening to add water to the spill. This is over twice the amount released in the Manehatten Biomedical Laboratories disaster.

“On my authority, extend the downwind evacuation area all the way to the river and widen it to at least ten blocks.”

Outside, the big emergency bell in the town hall could be heard pealing its disaster call.

Hearing the Town Hall bell added to all the rest, Sawnax began to try sorting out the idea that something like half of Ponyville was being evacuated. Caramel Treat lunged forward.

Her trained hoof strike to the side of Sawnax’s neck dropped him like a sack of oats. She followed with a pair of further strikes at his forelegs. She stood over him, quivering.

“Forgive me for breaking the school’s rule, Ma'am. I couldn’t let him hurt that many ponies.”

Chief Flashover, looked at Caramel in puzzlement. “Hurt ponies? How do you mean, young lady?”

“The wind is changing, Chief. One effect of the Poison Joke on me is extremely heightened senses. I can hear the change happening. The wind shift will take any fumes right to the crowd out there.”

Chief Rainbow did not even hesitate. “Magic Net! Battalion Chief Flashover here. We have an emergency! Get pegasi up now! The wind is changing. We have to keep those spectators safe! Make sure that the pegasi hold the wind steady and stay upwind of the school!

“Get Coudsdale Emergency Response on the line and inform them of our SP 26 situation. They need to secure our weather pattern and make absolutely certain that we do not get ANY precipitation before we issue an all clear.”

Caramel was tugging frantically at the fallen Sawnax. Chief Rainbow came to help, saying, “Why such a flutter, youngster? You took him down, just about perfectly.”

Caramel looked up, trying to hold back tears. “I may have killed him by accident. He fell on one of the drops that he spilled!”

Rainbow’s actions and grip became sure. Voice calm but authoritative, she reached for a foreleg while saying, “Take his hind legs. Cross them to the right, toward the door. That’s it. When I tell you to, twist them so that he will roll over to the right. Doing fine, there.

“Now, twist his legs on the count of three. One. Two. Three!”

The big pony rolled over, toward the door. A largish red, raw area was revealed. The hair and hide around it were fuming slightly.

Seeing the ghastly effect of the potion just from contact, Rainbow promptly called again, “Magic Net! Battalion Chief Flashover here. Konik! We have a spill casualty! Prepare a victim pulling harness with a fifty foot pull rope and a victim transport bag. I will meet you at the front door.

“Do not touch my suit for any reason. My Hazmat fume sensor is reading 4.5 PPM. That is injury levels for this toxin.

“On my mark, have the victim pulled to the porch. Bag him for transport according to full isolation procedures. Then burn the harness and rope by flame thrower. Scorch the ground where it was. Do not delay that. It will be contaminated beyond safe cleanup.”

Done with the orders, she turned to Caramel and asked with more than simply professional concern, “Are you going to be OK there, Filly? I have to step out and get the harness. I will be right back.”

Still shuddering a little from seeing the extent of Sawnax’s injury, Caramel replied, “Yes, Chief. My name is Caramel. Caramel Treat.” She paused for a shaky breath and added, “I will set up my things for the small scale clean up while you are busy. Don’t worry about me. I can handle these vapors just fine.”

Taking the word of the filly, Chief Flashover walked out of the room. There was the sound of a fairly brief exchange of muffled voices out at the schoolhouse door.

She returned to the room,trailing a stout metal cable cored pulling rope and carrying the awkward bulk of the victim harness.

She saw that Caramel had set out her little burner and had got out her writing kit. It lay open, revealing a narrow metal tube that had a right angle bend in its end. Caramel was openly weeping.

“I am going to lose my writing kit and my book bag. It is all ruined with the Poison Joke fumes. I can smell it on them.”

Not pausing from carefully securing Sawnax into the harness, Chief Flashover said thoughtfully, “I think that the community can afford to buy you a new kit and book bag. If they won’t, I will. You have real guts, Little … Caramel.

“I am wondering a different thing though. How are we going to decontaminate YOU?”

Caramel gave the Chief a sideways smile and finished lighting the burner before answering, “You won’t have to. I have Joke in every part of me. I can’t live without it. All that I have to do is change and all of the Poison Joke on me will be absorbed.

“You just hit the spot where I was standing when I changed with a flame thrower and it will be done. It might be real hard to change back to a pony, though.”

Chief Flashover’s eyebrows could be seen rising behind the face mask of her Hazmat suit. Instead of saying anything further, she called, “Magic Net! Keep this call open until the victim is secured for transport to Ponyville General Horsepital. Be certain that they understand the protocols for an SP 26 isolation. We don’t want anymore casualties.

”Konik! Victim harness is secure. Begin removal. He is going to be heavy and we need to maneuver him through the office door. Should be a straight pull from there.

“What? The other civilian is presently safe. I am seeing to her continued security on my authority.”

The bulky form of the fallen Sawnax was levered through the door to the hall but it took both Battalion Chief Flashover and Caramel to manage it. Chief Rainbow followed to the front doors to be sure that all went as it should with the rescue.

When she returned, she saw that Caramel had stood the deadly red bottle up. “What are you doing, young … Caramel?”

Caramel looked up and chewed her upper lip before she answered worriedly. “We need a new 100 ml bottle, Chief Flashover. Sawnax has cracked this one. If I am careful, I can transfer this without losing more than a drop or two.

“If we don’t secure this potion in the bottle, it will be a horrible mess.”

“I see, Caramel. Call me Rainbow, by the way. How bad is the container situation, exactly?”

Caramel studied the bottle for a second time and looked at the floor boards around it. Then she watched the clock for a bit. “We are losing about one drop a minute, Chi … Rainbow. I tried different positions but it keeps on leaking. The crack is a sort of spiral around the bottle. The stopper is damaged too.”

Rainbow nodded and called again, “Magic Net! Battalion Chief Flashover here. We have a containment problem. We need a moderate sized ceramic bowl and a new 100 ml Dangerous Potion bottle with stopper system. The spill is continuing at a rate of about one drop per minute. My suit sensors are now reading over 6 PPM and climbing.”

She paused to listen and replied, “Yes, Sir. The civilian is safe. Among other things, she is an expert in Poison Joke decon.”

Turning to look at Caramel again she saw that the filly was wiping up spilled potion and the outside of the bottle with papers that had scattered when the secretary fled.

Caramel saw her watching and explained, “We can burn the paper easily and safely. I am keeping these leaking drops from getting into the floorboards.”

Chief Flashover thought for only a moment an sprang to her feet from where she had been intently watching. “Wait right here, Caramel! I have an idea! I will be right back!” She left the room so fast that, if her Hazmat suit permitted it, she would have been flying.

She returned the same way, the traction soles of the Hazmat suits boots skidding some on the bare floorboards as she rounded the doorframe, coming back into the room. She had a ceramic soup bowl from the school lunch room in hoof.

Caramel grinned when she saw what Chief Flashover was handing her. Indicating a place next to her on the floor, Caramel began crumpling papers to make a soft absorbent nest for the damaged bottle. Handling it very carefully, she set the cracked bottle safely into the papers.

Rainbow noticed that Caramel had taken the small bent metal tube from her writing kit and moved the now lit burner to the floor. It was next to the stain where the bottle had been laying on its side. She commented, “That is more than a couple of drops, Caramel. Can we take care of it?”

“Sure, Rainbow. These boards are pretty dry. That kept it from soaking in too deeply. Would you please tilt the burner over about a third of the way toward the stain and hold it there?”

Rainbow, taking care not to get in Caramel’s way, tilted the burner so that the flame was close to the stain. She watched intently as Caramel took a breath and blew through the long end of the tube. The smaller, bent end was next to the flame and pointed at the stain. The draft of air caused a small, narrow, precise jet of very hot blue flame to wash down on the stain. Wood charred. It glowed a little at the edges around the flame.

Caramel directed the flame all around the outside of the stain first. She then worked her way inward until all of the stained area was glowing char.

Looking up, she smiled and asked, “May I have your ax for a moment, Rainbow?”

Wordlessly, Chief Rainbow handed over the ax. Caramel industriously scraped the charred wood away, carefully gathering up the bits and adding them to the bowl. She sniffed deeply over the deep divot in the floorboards. Nodding to herself, she pronounced, that one is safe now. It was the worst, I think.”

They moved to the next spilled drop and repeated the procedure. It only took a few moments to be safe as well.

The third drop, up on the counter, went easiest of all.

Chief Rainbow was beginning to relax. They began working the drip that Sawnax had fallen on. It charred like the rest. Scraping and cleaning with the ax seemed routine. Caramel sniffed.

“We may have a problem here, Rainbow. It still smells strong.”

Chief Rainbow examined the boards herself. “No wonder. When he fell, he sprang the floorboards apart a little. Some must have gone between them. We are going to have to char all the way through about here.” She pointed with an expert hoof.

Caramel nodded and looked around the damaged office. The situation hit home and she shuddered, “My first day. What a mess. What will the teachers say?”

Rainbow had seen this sort of reaction before at fires and other bad situations. She stroked down Caramel’s mane to help calm her by contact. “What they are going to say is that you are a hero. I think you have saved the school building. We will know once we get through this floor. We have to find out how bad the situation is down there under it. Trust me, this is really minor damage.”

Taking a deep, steadying breath of air deadly to any ordinary pony, Caramel said, “I hope that you are right, Rainbow. Let’s get this done.”

Patting the filly one more time, Rainbow exclaimed, “That’s the spirit! Let’s get it done, Caramel!”

Using the burner and blowpipe, they chased the strong scent right through the boards. The charred hole was about three inches across. Putting her nose to the hole, Caramel said, “There is some down here. Not much. How do we get at it? It is a foot and a half to the ground.”

With a grin visible through her Hazmat mask, Rainbow said, “This is something that I know how to do really well!” She raised the ax and struck. It took a surprisingly short time to have a good sized hole in the floor.

Caramel watched with admiration at Rainbow’s obvious professional skill with the ax. “I think that is big enough, Chief.”

Curious, Rainbow asked, “What happened to Rainbow?”

With a return smile, though still a bit shaky, Caramel replied, “You are holding an ax!”

Giggling, they checked the ground under the hole. It took a few minutes of maneuvering to get a good position but they were able to char the musty soil to Caramel’s satisfaction.

Sitting on the edge of the hole in the floor, Rainbow called, “Magic Net! Battalion Chief Flashover here! Konik! Where is that bottle that we need?”

She listened carefully. “Did the reporter know that we have a deadly emergency going in here?” Listening only a moment, she added, I will be waiting at the front door for the bottle. Put that reporter under arrest for deliberately interfering with Public Safety during an ongoing emergency.”

Turning to Caramel, she said, “You going to be OK? I need to go get the new bottle. As a matter of curiosity, you said that you can change for personal decon but it might be hard to change back. What do you change into?”

“Yes, Ch … Rainbow. I will be all right. I usually switch to a wolf, a great big wolf. They call it an Everfree Ridgeback. I am safe. It is only my body that changes. Not me, if you get it.”

Thoughtfully Rainbow muttered, “The biggest kind of wolf that is known to exist. I do get it Caramel. Leave things to me.”

“Thanks, Rainbow. Go get the bottle. Leave my burner going. We will need it later, to do … you called it decon? On the old bottle and the bowl, not to mention burning the contaminated papers.”

“Got it, Caramel. I am on my way.”

There was a quiet exchange of voices at the front door.

When she returned, she had a new red potion bottle.

Caramel looked up, brow furrowed with worry. “What was that you were saying about volunteers, Rainbow?”

Chief Flashover startled a little and the replied, “Oh. Right. You heard the wind changing from in here. Greatly heightened senses indeed. What I was doing was arranging for you to do your change away from public view. I let Konik know what is going to happen and asked for volunteers to help us. Poison Joke levels on us will be dangerous for them.”

Caramel nodded, brow smoothing. She took the new bottle and expertly opened the stopper seal. She put her narrow metal tube into the new bottle so that it stood up several inches above the neck.

Working very carefully over the soup bowl, she lifted the cracked bottle and worked gently on the damaged stopper. It came free with a tiny “Ping!” Part of the bottle’s pouring lip fell into the bowl.

Biting her lip in concentration, Caramel touched the damaged pouring lip to the tube and began to tip the damaged bottle. Potion, thick as syrup, oozed out, touched the metal tube and flowed down the outside of it, disappearing into the new bottle.

When she could get no more, Caramel set the old bottle down in the bowl. With a tiny “plink!” it fell into three large pieces.

Chief Rainbow let out the breath that she did not realize that she had been holding.

Caramel held the metal tube by the safe upper end and heated it to near red in the burner flame. Then, as soon as it cooled enough, used it to direct and intensify the burner flame to burn the papers, scorch the inside of the bowel and carefully fire wash the broken bottle.

Thoughtfully, she hefted the now filled and sealed new bottle. “Rainbow, I think that this is light. It might just be me worrying though. It feels like we have a fair amount that is not here.”

In a matter of fact way, Rainbow nodded. “You are right. I have been getting reports over the Magic Net. Some was vaporizing from the cracks, I guess. We have an airborne plume of contamination downwind from the schoolhouse.

“We do have Hazmat suits that allow pegasi to fly. Their sensors are showing varying amounts of fumes from 0.5 to 2.1 PPM. If it helps, the level in here is falling pretty fast. We hit 8 PPM in here for a while. It is now down to 4.6.

“We have done all that we can here. Time to get you out and changed. OK?”

Trustingly touching a hoof to Rainbow’s, Caramel took one last look around the schoolhouse office. She saw the disarray of books and papers laying about, the dangling chain of the emergency bell, the scorched and scraped places where drops of her potion had fallen and the big pony-sized hole in the floor.

Rainbow saw her look and said with pride, “If you hadn’t kept your head when everyone else was panicking this would have been a disaster. The whole schoolhouse would have had to be burned down to keep the town safe. Ponies would have died. Maybe a lot of them. You are a heroine.”

“ I really don’t feel like one. I am afraid of what the other ponies will say.”

Rainbow, led the way out of the office and down a hallway lined with cork boards filled with student art and other projects pinned to them. Going toward the back of the school, she said over her shoulder, “Real heroes never do feel like heroes. They just do what is needed when it is needed and don’t take time to count the cost.

“Here we are. Back door. Steps are stone, easy to decontaminate and a gravel path, ditto. Konik has the volunteers out here with big fire blankets to screen us from the watchers and contain the possible contamination.”

Opening the door, they were met by a solid screen of large fire protective blankets designed for use in industrial fires. The hooves handling them were all in Hazmat gear.

As they were starting to emerge into the ring of blankets, they heard the sound of hooves charging their way. A deep voice called, “Equestria Daily! What are you up to? I heard that there is nopony left in there, so the emergency is over, if there ever was one!”

Before Chief Flashover could respond by ordering the reporter away, there was the sound of more hooves, in stout boots. That was followed by the thud of a pony being knocked to the ground. There was a crunch from something that broke as it hit the ground.

The deep voice called frantically, “My camera! You broke my camera!”

A section of blanket sagged slight as Konik let go of it. They heard him speaking to the reporter like he was a nearly newborn colt.

“Sir, you are under arrest for violation of a Public Safety Disaster Declaration signed by both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. That leaves no room for any appeal. You have entered a clearly marked Hazardous Material danger zone. It is a near certainty that you are now contaminated to the point of needing professional care.”

Caramel, speaking from behind the blankets directed, “Mister Konik? Would you give me a reading from your suit sensor, please?”

Sensing that his Chief had not stopped or contradicted the young filly, promptly replied, “1.25 PPM, Ma'am.”

“Now, Mister Konik, please hold your sensor about one inch from his nostrils and have him exhale on it. Force him to exhale if necessary.”

The somewhat grinning Caramel looked at Chief Rainbow, who nodded and whispered, “You are doing great!”

They were interrupted by Konik’s call of, “2.4 PPM, Ma'am!”

Caramel nodded to Battalion Chief Rainbow and said, “You know what to do from here, Chief.”

Grinning inside her Hazmat suit’s mask, she called, “I am Battalion Chief Rainbow Flashover. On the authority of a Joint Disaster Declaration by their Highnesses, the Princesses Celestia and Luna, Sir, you are being transferred to a Hazmat incident transport suit. You are contaminated with a nerve toxin derived from the contact of an already deadly Poison Joke potion with moisture.

“At Ponyville General Horsepital, you must follow orders exactly if you wish to live. That slight scent of flowers that you smell is the first symptom of your potentially lethal poisoning.”

In a very subdued voice the reporter asked, “Do I have the time to ask what happened here that a few drops of a filly’s potion could trigger such a massive response?”

Rainbow responded, “That will be up to our decontamination expert. She will be out in a moment. In the meantime, please cooperate with the Hazmat team in readying you for transport.”

Turning to face Caramel inside their near tent of silvery fire resistant blankets, Chief Rainbow said, “I have an idea about how to handle your changing. We WON”T hide it. We will say that your heightened wolf senses are what saved the school and a lot of Ponyville.

“No building or home can be moved into until you clear it in wolf form. That should help the situation a lot.”

Caramel smiled as she thought it through. “I like that. Ponies won’t be afraid of me that way.” She crouched and turned to the flame thrower ponies in their suits. “I will need a minute or two to change. Then I am going to spring right over your heads. Burn the spot where I was. Then fire bath the Chief and hit the insides of these blankets. Track us back to the school door and that should do it.”

Change completed, she leaped. The inside of the ring of fire resistant blankets flared up like a bowl of fire with Battalion Chief Rainbow Flashover still inside. It looked like a monster wolf arose from a cauldron of flame.

She landed neatly, next to the reporter. He was staring up at a wolf larger than any that was to be found in any Equestrian zoo. Its fur was dark gray tinged black at the tips. Its long pointed ears had tufts at the ends. It had a black ruff framing its head. There was a standing ridge of stiff black fur from ruff to tail. Its yellow eyes had a narrow ring of blue in them. Its huge jaws opened, revealing two and a half inch canines nested among razor sharp fangs.

It said in Caramel Treat’s little filly voice, “I am sorry that you got hurt but it was your own fault for breaking the rules.” Turning to the other members of the Ponyville Fire Department, she wagged her tail and said, “I need to sniff his breath. Would you please undo the hood for a moment?”

She sniffed deeply. Turning back to the suited Hazmat team she said, “Close him back up. We can give him about fifteen minutes if he signs off to take responsibility for the delay.”

Chief Rainbow strolled up in her now thoroughly toasted Hazmat suit and said, “I heard that. Konik, has he signed off?”

“Yes, Chief Flashover, he has. We are timing from the original assessment.”

From the answers to many keen and penetrating questions, the reporter actually developed a clear understanding of the whole event. He ended up by summarizing, “So, as head of the schoolboard, Sawnax required the special needs students to come and bring their medicines. He ignored warnings about yours, Caramel, from both your mom, your nurse, and the fire department’s Hazmat team.

“At the school, his colt got into a minor emetic, and Mister Sawnax jumped to a conclusion about him being poisoned. He then knocked over the dangerous bottle, damaging it and causing the direct incident. He still does not appear to grasp that this is the same potion that was the cause of the Manehatten Biomedical Laboratories disaster.”

He paused and looked up at the huge wolf towering over him and said, “It has been a pleasure to meet you Caramel. You are a heroine. Your quick thinking and fast action prevented a enormous disaster.

“I want to come back and spend some time to write up your remarkable story, if I live through my mistake here.”

Caramel laid a big paw on his shoulder and replied, “It would be an honor, sir. You should make it through the treatment just fine.”

As stretcher bearers carried away the reporter to a waiting ambulance, Battalion Chief Rainbow reached up to lay a hoof on Caramel’s tall shoulder and said, “Really well done. Now we have to go through the same drill with Mayor Mare and the Council. They need to meet the one who is going to be clearing over a fourth of Ponyville for re opening and moving back in.”

Two weeks later, the school bell rang to call the students to class. It broke up the game of Dodge Wolf on the playground.

Jaret took the same seat next to Caramel Treat that he had before. He leaned over and whispered, “I think that cutie mark is really sharp. Potion bottle and Joke flower?”

Caramel said, “Yes. We noticed it while I was talking to the town council with Chief Rainbow.”

Jaret hung his head. “I’m sorry about the way I treated you. I really screwed up.”

Caramel smiled at him and replied, “Yes, you did. I see that your reading and writing scores are way up now.” She took out her writing kit.

Jaret looked at it and said, “I thought that you lost that in the mess that my dad made.”

Caramel smiled softly and replied, “I did. I was more upset at that losing that writing kit than anything else. Two days ago, a Rom caravan wagon came through town. Old Marchhare was pulling it with his wife Hoof Dancer and his daughter Black Lotus. They stopped long enough for him to find me and give me this one.

“I asked how he knew that I needed it and he said that he was a snoopy old donkey.”

Caramel Treat's Sweets

“Really, Caramel, where did you get those candies?” Caramel’s unusually colored friend asked.

Slightly irritated at her palomino friend, Caramel Treat replied, “I told you that. I made them. I cooked the rest of my lunch, too.

“Mommy Brightmane had to go into town early, on business. Nurse Fields was not feeling well, so I made her a breakfast in bed and made up some things for my lunch.

“What is the problem, Peanut? Cooking is EASY!”

Sitting at the edge of Caramel’s checkered picnic cloth, spread in the shade of the big tree on the school’s playground, Peanut Brittle nodded with a slightly bemused expression. “For you, maybe. I tried to make some of that popped barley candy that you brought last week!” She shivered at the memory. “It was an awful mess. Didn’t taste that good, either!”

A solid shadow filled in some of the dappled shade under the tree. Jaret, who used to be a bully before he ran into Caramel’s Han Fu training and cleverness, stood quietly by.

There were several other ponies behind him, including Miss Cherrilee, the principal and a well respected teacher.

When Caramel looked up, she smiled and asked, “Jaret! What do you want?”

Hesitantly, he said, “Would you sell me one or two of those candies? I would like to get one of the almond slivered popped barly bars and one of those sweet honeyed apple things.”

Caramel nodded slowly. “You want to buy my candies? Why not? Would four coppers be too much?”

While Peanut Brittle watched in surprise, Caramel sold most of the candies that she had made that morning. Miss Cherrilee bought FOUR. She walked away happily chewing on one and sharing one to Miss Whinly, one of the other teachers.

Two fillies and three colts waited restlessly for Caramel to finish her lunch. “Can we play dodge-wolf, Caramel?”

“Sure, Daphne! I just need to put away my lunch basket and take my noon potion dose!” Caramel folded her picnic cloth and stowed everything neatly. Getting up, she trotted to the office.

In the door to the office, Caramel heard two strange rough voices. “Look here, Cherrilee, we knows that there is a ferocious werewolf loose here in Ponyville! We has heard that it lurks around the school here, just looking for the chance to snatch some helpless filly to devour!”

Miss Cherrilee, seeing Caramel behind them, retorted in a tart voice, “I rather think not! The so called ferocious werewolf has three Joint Royal Citations for Courage shown in rescues from burning structures. She has two Joint Royal Citations for Courage in Hazardous Material containment, including one for saving, not only this school but near to a third of the town as well!

“She is a formal part of the Ponyville Fire Department’s Hazmat Team. She has tracked down and recovered four lost foals. Some rampaging monster!”

Caramel had heard enough. She silently shifted, her cute little pony snout growing longer and leaner, with jaws full of fangs. Her whole body was shifting from a small pony to Huge Everfree Ridgeback Wolf. She had gone from fur the light brown color of a caramel candy to dark gray fur tinged with black. A black ruff surrounded her neck and stiff black fur formed a ridge from ruff to the base of her black tufted tail.

In her quiet filly’s voice she said, “You should be glad that the werewolf is better civilized than you. If she was not, you could be in serious danger, trapped here in this office like you are.”

One of the two, a pastel green often called ‘gangrene’ by the unkind, blew a short raspberry as he pulled a big knife. “We ain’t in no danger! Show 'em, Stort!”

The other pony, an off bluish white, pulled a similar knife.

They had barely got their knives out before a powerful paw slapped hard between them, knocking their knives away. At the same time, a sweep kick by a hard driven gray furred leg took the rear legs out from under them both.

The huge Everfree ridgeback wolf that was Caramel Treat’s were form, stepped delicately past the two and spoke in Caramel’s filly voice, “It is time for my noon potion dose, Miss Cherrilee.” She sat across the necks of both of the fallen ponies, preventing them from getting up.

A grinning Miss Trake, the school’s nearly golden unicorn secretary gathered up the knives with the acid comment, “It is against the school’s rules, Ponyville ordinance, and kingdom law to have knives like these in a school.

“The Werewolf that you were so eager to hunt down follows the rules and behaves herself.”

The one called Stort spoke in a muffled voice due to an enormous wolf sitting on his head, “We was showed pictures of it in a deadly rampage right out there in the school yard!”

Caramel was looking down at him, a puzzled expression on her face. Just then a filly and a colt came running up to the office door.

“Caramel! What’s taking so long? We want to play dodge-wolf!”

Stort made an incredulous noise! “Dodge-wolf! A game? I think that Sawnax got something a bit wrong!”

Miss Trake nearly dropped their knives, she was laughing so hard! “Sawnax! He CAUSED the Ponyville Potion Disaster! I was here when he knocked over Caramel’s potion and cracked the bottle! Caramel saved us all.

“She spent over a week with the Fire Department Hazmat Team making sure that the parts of Ponyville that were downwind from the school were safe.”

The gangrenous colored one asked, “What about that big Werewolf bite scar on Sawnax’s shoulder?”

The mauve colt, Jaret, snorted with suppressed giggles. “Dad told you THAT? He got less than a drop of Caramel’s potion on his skin when he spilled it! It is really dangerous stuff if you don’t know how to handle it!”

“Wait. Dad? Sawnax is your dad?”

Jaret hung his head in shame. “Yes, he is. After the mess he made here, I was alone for weeks while he was in the horspital.

“I began to find out how big a liar and sneak he is. He even kept records of a lot of it. I went to Miss Cherrilee, here and she found me a foster family to stay with. Judge Coldheart made it permanent. I don’t want to ever stay with dad again.

“What he pulled on you was just dad being dad.”

The gangrenous one asked, “If we promise to be good, will you get off of us, Caramel, uh, Miss Treat?”

Lolling her tongue out in canine amusement, Caramel simply got up.

She pointed to the cabinet where her potion was being kept. Miss Trake opened it with her magic and lifted out two potion bottles, one the red of a dangerous potion, the other the green of safety. She also got out a heat discolored metal dose cup, a set of tongs, an alcohol burner and matches. She set them all out on the counter for Caramel’s use.

She then herded all of the others from the room, leaving only Caramel, herself and Miss Cherrilee. Smiling, she told the two newcomers what the foals already knew. “To prevent any future problems like Sawnax caused, we don’t allow any ponies but us here while she takes her potion. It can be dangerous in the wrong hooves. The Manehatten Biomedical Disaster demonstrated just how bad it can be.”

Sure that every pony was out, she locked the door. As Caramel heard the lock click, she lit the burner. Pouring with care, she first added a little of the green potion to her dose cup. Then she added a precisely measured amount from the red bottle, restoppering it securely as soon as she had poured its part into the cup. She quickly drank the whole dose, even licking out the cup. Taking the tongs, she gripped the cup and heated it in the flame of the alcohol burner until it was nearly red hot. After waving the cup to cool it, she let Miss Trake put it all away.

She emerged from the office, only to be met by a member of the Ponyville Police Department. He had Stort and the green pony in chains. Miss Cherrilee came out and began to confer with the officer. She made shooing gestures at the foals and wolf. “Go play! I will give you an extra fifteen minutes because of this silliness.”

The youngsters vanished like magic. Soon there was a very active game of dodge-wolf going on! Fillies and colts were laughing and calling as they played.

Staying carefully beyond the boundaries of the Protective Order of Judge Coldheart, Sawnax watched, with satisfaction, as he saw a police pony enter the school.

Later the ugly brown pony with the big ridged and knotted scar on his shoulder glowered and ground his teeth in irritation as he saw the wolf and foals come out to the playground. He stayed long enough to see the police pony leading away the two that he’d set up. Sawnax turned tail and returned to his business.

He took out his sour mood by calling to an employee, “Lyle! I catch you putting up another load of timbers that way, you’re fired!”

Back at the school, the bell rang, as promised, fifteen minutes late. Colts and fillies returned to classes, grumbling like students everywhere, throughout time.

Miss Cherrilee was putting up the day’s arithmetic lesson. “Barley costs two silver, four bits for five kilos. Honey costs eight bits for a half liter. Cooking oil costs six bits per liter. Slivered almonds cost four silver per half kilo.

“Now, if this recipe is followed,” Miss Cherrilee chalked a quick recipe up on the board, “how much will it cost to make it up? If it is divided into fifteen popped barley/almond bars, how much does each bar cost? Also, as an extra credit question, How many batches can you make out of the total ingredients listed?”

Miss Cherrilee had the rare pleasure for most teachers, of seeing Caramel Treat’s face light up as she worked through the problem. As a teacher, she loved seeing a student understand the principle behind a problem.

Caramel was actually slow to hand in her paper but it was three sheets long! Besides the questions on the board, she had posed several other related questions and attempted to find answers or the approaches to answers.

Except for the nasty scene in the office, it was a wonderful day to be a teacher!

Only a few months later, Caramel graduated early from the Ponyville School. Brightmane, her mother, and Nurse Fields, her life-long nurse/companion hugged her after Miss Cherrilee gave her the diploma.

“Dinner at the Pink Note!” exclaimed Brightmane.

While they were happily ordering, to the background of soft live jazz that the Pink Note was famous for, Caramel was studying the menu itself. “Mom, I have an idea. Cooking is so easy for me. I would like to start a restaurant. I could specialize in my candies and such things.”

Brightmane paused. “You want me to buy you a restaurant? That is a pretty big graduation gift, dear.”

“No, Mom. I would want a loan to do it. I have talked to Miss Cherrilee about it. She has offered to help me to put together a business plan. Then we could do it properly, as a business. That way, you will make money and so will I.”

Nurse Fields faked crying. “Our little Caramel is all grown up!” Then she grinned hugely. “If Brightmane won’t back you, I will! I do have some savings put aside.”

Brightmane regarded her friend and long time employee with lively curiosity. “Why so eager, Nurse Fields?”

“Caramel has cooked for me before! Mostly when I was under the weather. It is always good!” Grinning at Caramel, she added, “I have seriously thought about faking it to get her to cook for me some more!

“She always leaves the kitchen neat and tidy, too.”

Brightmane nodded quietly. “If you bring me a sound business plan, Caramel, I will see about that loan.”

The rest of the meal was the celebration that it was supposed to be.

They gave Cherry Mocha, the Pink Note’s owner and waitress, a really good tip. They were strolling home through the edge of the Everfree Forest in the dusk.

Suddenly Caramel ordered, “Stop! Mom! Nurse Fields! Get back! There are ponies in the brush up ahead. They have weapons.”

With no sound at all, Caramel changed. It was like a ripple running from nose to tail. Caramel tan pony was swallowed by dark gray and black wolf. The wolf that was Caramel Treat vanished into the brush alongside the trail with ghost like silence.

In mere seconds, a clump of brush down the trail a little, erupted in pony! “Run, Stort! The Wolf’s gonna kill us!”

The gangrenous green pony shot up the trail toward town! Stort, the pale blue pony was on his heels! Watching them go, Brightmane observed, “I thought ponies had to have wings to fly!”

Nurse Fields chortled, “Apparently, fear can replace wings! Look at them go!”

The wolf came out of the same thicket, bouncing happily. “Did you see that, Mom?”

Brightmane whickered laughter. “I sure did! What were they doing here?”

With casual nonchalance, Caramel replied, as she changed back to a pony, “Nothing much. Just trying to kill me.”

Brightmane sobered at once. “Trying to kill MY DAUGHTER is not a nothing!”

The next day Caramel went into Ponyville by herself. Her first stop was the school where she no longer a student. She and Miss Trake, the secretary were chatting happily, while waiting for Miss Cherrilee to be done with the class that she was teaching.

A dark brown pony with an angry, raw looking scar on his shoulder barged into the office and demanded, “Get out of the school, you monster! You done graduate! Got no more business here!”

Caramel turned to face the bigger pony with a smile on her face. “Sawnax! What are YOU doing here? Isn’t there a Judge’s Protective Order requiring you to stay away from the school? Seems to me that it was caused by some tiny incident involving you and a student’s dangerous medicines! Only a third of the town had to be evacuated as a result!”

While Caramel was speaking and distracting Sawnax, Miss Trake was on the Magic Net mirror. “Emergency Services, please! Police. Sawnax is inside the school, in violation of the Protective Order of Judge Coldheart. He is harassing a pony with legitimate reason to be here.

“An officer is on the way? Thank you, Emergency Services!”

Sawnax, responding to Caramel’s remark snapped, “Order is done and over now that you ain’t going here no more! Now, get out!”

In a severe voice, Miss Trake returned, “That is not true! You were removed from the School Board and the Order was made permanent when it was found that, besides harassing Caramel, here, you were bothering Jaret and got caught destroying his homework!”

Sawnax growled, “Jaret is MY colt! He had no right to leave me, just because I was in the Horspital!”

Caramel looked askance at Sawnax and pointed out, “He had to have temporary fosterage while you were in the Horspital. At his age, he cannot live on his own.

“The family that took him in were good parents. HE made the decision to petition the Courts to make it permanent.

“He is doing really well in school now.”

Sawnax curled a lip and laid his ears back as he snarled, “School ain’t everything!”

A third voice joined the conversation. “Perhaps not, Sawnax. However, the fact that you are here is unfortunate. I am Constable Crager, of the Ponyville Police Department. You are under arrest for violating a Protective Order.

“Will you come with me quietly, or must I use whatever force is needful?”

Sawnax responed, “You don’t get it! I is trying to deal with a matter of HIGHER LAW! This here innocent looking pony is a WEREWOLF! A DEADLY MONSTER! At any moment the thin vernier of civilization could crack off! When it goes, she will explode into a murderous rampage!”

Constable Crager simply asked, “Will you come or not? I am authorized to use ANY force necessary.”

“I TOLD YOU! This is a matter of HIGHER LA …”

Sawnax’s retort was cut off by meaty THUMP! Constable Crager’s expertly wielded truncheon rebounded from the back of Sawnax’s head as the brown pony collapsed.

The Constable had him in manacles in mere moments. As Sawnax groggily awakened, Constable Crager informed him, “Unfortunately, Sir, neither the Crowns Law nor the Local Law recognizes your so-called Higher Law. As this Werewolf is a creature with reason, she is covered under the Edict of Equality, which you have directly violated and will be charged with, in addition to the breach of the Order of Protection.”

Protesting bitterly, Sawnax was dragged away to jail.

Miss Cherrilee was watching from the hallway outside the office. “What put a burr under his tail?” she asked with curiosity.

“I think that it is the fact that I graduated from the school faster than any pony but one,” Caramel replied. “He was going around saying what a dummy I was, being home schooled and all. Along with the Potion Disaster, my early graduation destroyed his chance to ever get back on the school board. He had political plans that needed the school board to get started.

“Besides graduating early, I turned out to be a Royally Recognized Student!”

Miss Cherrilee nodded as she entered the office, “Yes, I can see how that embarrassed him. Are you going to take up the Canterlot University scholarship?”

“I hope that I won’t disappoint you, but I don’t think so. You spoke to me about how to make a business plan?

“I think that I know what I want to do. I love cooking, you know that. I want to set up a restaurant. I have an offer of a sound business loan to do it but I need a proper business plan to get the loan.”

Miss Cherrilee smiled and nodded. “No, dear. I am not disappointed. You are a truly talented cook. I suspect that your really keen werewolf senses have a lot to do with how well you can cook.” She reared up to get a book from a high shelf.

“Here, Caramel. This book should help you a lot. Please feel free to ask me anything after you have read it.”

Caramel thanked Miss Cherrilee and left with the book. Two days later, she returned the book.

“Thank you, Miss Cherrilee. It was a great help! Here. Would you please look this over and see if I have missed anything?”

Miss Cherrilee took the thin sheaf of papers in hoof and said, “I would be happy to, Caramel.”

Caramel noticed that Miss Cherrilee had a big pile of student papers to grade. “If you are going to look over my work, would you mind me helping you with yours? I can help you to grade these papers!”

The two mares sat happily at the desk, each looking over the other’s work.

The next day, Brightmane and Caramel sat in the spacious lobby of the Equestrian National Bank. A business suited pony unctuously invited them, “Brightmane, please come into my office. We can discuss whatever business you have. I am sure that Equestrian National can meet your needs.”

Seated in his office, Brightmane smiled and handed over a paper. “All that I want is for you to notarize this loan that I am making.”

Without even looking at her paper he said in a prim voice, “Without the other principal to the loan present, I cannot do that.”

Brightmane’s smile froze. “If you could be bothered to look at the paper, you would see that she is here. I am making my daughter Caramel Treat a business loan.”

He pulled back in irritation. “Equestrian National cannot underwrite a business loan to a minor.”

Brighmane stopped smiling altogether. In a flat voice, she stated, “We are NOT asking Equestrian National to underwrite the loan. It is from MY funds and being made to my daughter. I am cosigning for her as she is a minor. Just notarize our signatures!”

Forced into a corner by his previous refusals, he pushed the paper back. “A personal loan in the family does not require a Notary stamp.”

Brightmane, now furious, demanded, “HERE! You cannot legally refuse this!” She wrote briefly in her checkbook and hoofed over the slip.

He blanched as he saw it. “You can’t be serious! A withdrawal of this magnitude, in coin!”

Brighmane curled her lip in a snarl that would have done credit to a wolf. “BY EQUESTRIAN LAW YOU HAVE 72 HOURS TO PRODUCE MY SEVEN MILLION, EIGHT HUNDRED FIFTY TWO THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY ONE GOLD, NINE SILVER AND THREE.

“According to the bank’s last quarterly report, you have in the entire Equestrian National Bank, all branches included, cash reserves of only five million golden bits. How you raise the other more than two and a half MILLION golden bits is entirely YOUR problem!”

Caramel spoke quietly, “Mother, destroying the whole bank over this is not wise. We will simply go to Ponyville Trust and Loan. There, you can simply write a check for my one hundred and fifty thousand golden bits loan. I KNOW that they will notarize our agreement as a free service. They can simply present your check on a secure gold asset transfer.

“That will kick this specific pony in the rear and not wreck the whole bank. Losing this much business will tarnish HIS career and not do much other harm.”

Brightmane did smile at Caramel. “Well thought out, dear. Come, let us do that. We can move our assets in an orderly fashion. You are right. There is no need to wreck a bank, simply because one branch manager is an idiot.” She picked up the loan agreement and her check as they left.

Sitting together in Sugar Cube Corner, a bit later, sipping milkshakes and nibbling frosted oat cakes, Caramel observed, “That did not take long at all. The Trust and Loan really wanted our business.” She was admiring her new check book with the Ponyville Trust and Loan logo.

Together, they began to canvass the side of Ponyville closest to Brightmane’s cottage in the fringes of the Everfree Forest. They found a dilapidated house for sale on a lot just across from a nice smallish park.

Brightmane watched with pride as Caramel checked out the structure and the condition of the property in general.

The Realtor from Shadyside Realty leaned back from his desk with a phony smile pasted onto his face and pointed out, “While that is a fine property, the house needing only a little work to be first rate, you, as a minor, cannot get a mortgage for it.”

Caramel, gestured her mother to silence and returned, “I do not need a mortgage. I can buy it with a single payment. The only real issue here is that you just lied about the condition of the house.

“It has a serious infestation of termites and several of the main supporting timbers have sufficient rot that the whole house needs to be torn down. That is a cost to set against the listed price of six thousand golden bits.

“Four would be about right under the circumstance. The demolition and removal will cost around two. I have the estimates right here.” She hoofed over several sheets for the agent.

The Realtor looked like he had just bit into an orange and discovered it was a lemon in disguise. He countered, “I have an appraisal right here and it says nothing about those so called defects.”

Caramel looked over the appraisal sheet and dropped it disdainfully back on his desk. “This is almost FOUR years old! Under Crowns Law it is worthless. If you do not have a more recent one, we are done here.”

Turning to Brightmane, Caramel said quietly, “Come, Mother. This pony is a good deal less than honest. He is right down there with Sawnax!”

Brightmane followed her daughter out of the Shadyside Real Estate office. Once outside, she asked, “How are we going to get the property if we don’t deal with the Realtor, Caramel?”

Caramel, leading the way back toward downtown Ponyville, replied with a grin, “The appraisal was prepared for the Ponyville Trust and Loan! They are the actual OWNERS of the property.

“I think that they might be willing to sell it without having to pay a Realtor a commission and get a good chunk of cash at the same time.”

Brightmane regarded her daughter proudly as their hooves clopped quietly on the cobbled street. A few clouds floated in an otherwise clear sky.

Turning into the Ponyville Trust and Loan, they were greeted by a nice gray pony who informed them, “Mister Morgan is with another customer just now. Can I get you a warm drink while you wait? Rom black tea, perhaps?”

When it was their turn, they sat in Mister Morgan’s office while Caramel explained the situation. He frowned as he heard about the assessment.

“You are sure that he did not have a more recent one? Just a moment.”

Mister Morgan left his office and returned with a modestly thick file. He rummaged through the assorted papers, some in the various colors of legal foreclosure warning notices. He pulled out a thin sheaf. He held it out for Caramel to see.

“This is the latest assessment. It is only two months old. As you can see from the notes, Shadyside Realty was given and signed for a copy. This assessment shows substantially the same situation that you described. I fear that the structure will have to be demolished.”

He sighed. “Our foreclosure lien is for 3500 gold. If you are to bear the cost of demolishing, that only leaves about 1500 plus some unavoidable legal costs. I suppose that we could let you have it as is for around 2000 plus closing costs.”

Caramel’s brows pulled down in concentration. “You do all of your investing right here in Ponyville, right?”

Mister Morgan nodded seriously. “We founded our Trust and Loan to help the local community rather than a Board of Bankers that sits in Canterlot.”

Caramel smiled at that, nodding happily. “That was my understanding. I was prepared to give Shadyside Realtors 4000 gold bits, plus closing. Since this money will be going into the community rather than private pockets, let’s go ahead and do it for that price.

“In spite of being higher than you were offering, it is less than I was prepared to pay. We both win. It does not hurt that Ponyville wins too. Shall I make it a check or do you want to simply debit my account?”

Walking home in the luminous evening, Brightmane told Caramel, “I could not be prouder of my sweet filly than I am today. You showed both good business sense and wisdom.”

Caramel smiled and rechecked her saddlebags as they reached the gate to their cottage. “Remember, Mother, tonight, I am cooking our dinner!”

Nurse Fields’ happy voice came from the door opened in welcome, “I heard that! Brightmane, don’t you dare try to stop her!”

It did take several days to get through the legal hoops to ownership of the lot. Caramel spent much of that time in conference with Houser, the architect and builder. Drawings and plans for her new restaurant got made.

Arrangements were made to remove the dilapidated old house on the lot.

Caramel was watching the crew that Houser had hired. The unicorns were working together to grab and rip off parts of the roof. Instead of simply dropping the pieces, they were loading them into a wagon for prompt removal. As quick as they uncovered structural parts like rafter beams, they pulled them out of their old place and set them out in neat piles for later sorting.

Another of the crew was dismantling the chimney. He was working with care and setting aside the stone, brick and expensive flue tiles in sorted piles.

The workers all took off to go get lunch at Sugar Cube Corner. In only a few minutes, a red pony with a yellow mane pulled up with a wagon and started to load up the chimney tiles.

Caramel asked, “What are you doing with my flue tiles? Those are valuable and we are saving them.”

He snorted, “Don’t know much about it, do you, kid? I have bought all of this salvage from Sawnax. Paid good bits for it and I am just picking it up.”

Caramel got between him and the tiles. Still mild, she explained, “The problem is that my builder is Houser and the salvage is not for sale. Sawnax has cheated you. You should go to him and get your coin back.”

He made the mistake of pushing Caramel aside as he snapped, “I paid for them and I am going to have them!”

Her return sweep kick had his hind legs out from under him! She followed up by a nerve jab that paralyzed one of is front legs. He was struggling to rise when Caramel blew a police whistle.

Constable Crager came on the run. “What is it, Caramel?”

Ignoring the constable’s asking Caramel, the fallen pony demanded, “Arrest her! She attacked me for no reason! I bought the whole salvage of this lot! I have a receipt and everything!”

Constable Crager listened and then demanded, “I must see that receipt. I already know that this lot and all on it belongs the this young mare.”

“That is crazy talk! Sawnax showed me the exact lot from that park over there!” He dug in his saddlebag and produced a somewhat wrinkled receipt. “See? It says right on it, all salvageable masonry and usable timbers, including chimney tiles!”

Examining the receipt, Constable Crager nodded, “It does say that. There is one small problem. The listed address is 421 Blackberry Lane. This lot is 318 Mane street.”

Caramel quietly pointed across the way, to the park. Sawnax was sitting where he could watch the whole mess. He was laughing.

Constable Crager trotted across to the park and spoke to Sawnax at length. He gave Sawnax a paper, which Sawnax took petulantly.

The Constable returned and gave a second paper to the pony who had been stopped from taking Caramel’s salvage.

Staring at the sheet incredulously, he asked, “I got to go to court?”

“Yes, Sir. You do. You and Sawnax will dispute your case before Judge Coldheart. He will decide which of you owes whom and how much.

“The alternative is that I simply arrest you for attempted theft. The court is cheaper and will not give you a criminal record.”

As he was glumly leaving, Houser and his crew showed up.

After explaining to Houser about the happenings while his crew was away, they got back to work. The old house’s basement proved to be both large and dry, showing no sign of any moisture damage at all.

Caramel consulted with Houser about incorporating the basement into the new shop’s design. She pointed out, “This will greatly improve my storage area for provisions. It will be cool, too. That will help things to last.”

Houser nodded and pointed to his plan drawings. “We did not know the condition of the basement when I made these. I was figuring to fill it in and use support blocks here and here. We simply make them into pillars footed on the basement floor, which is solid. There should be a loading ramp cut in at the back so that you can have carts unload into the basement easily. A stair case over here, and that will be all that there is to it.

“It will only add about a thousand bits to the overall cost and you will have total access to it, from both inside and out.”

Caramel nodded as she worked it out in her head and then examined the drawings again. “Can we put the staircase over here, instead? That will make it handier to the kitchen area.”

Houser agreed at once. “I see what you mean. For such a young mare, you are very sharp. I like the idea of a smaller kitchen for experimenting with new recipes. It will allow the development of new dishes without disrupting the main kitchen.”

Caramel smiled brightly as she replied, “That is the idea!”

Houser returned her smile, thinking of both the good idea and the addition to his profits. “I will get right on the modifications! I will have working drawings for your approval tomorrow. If you like them, I will do the detailed plans at once.”

“That will be fine, Mister Houser. I will not be free until noon at the earliest. I have two issues of civil business to bring before Judge Coldheart.”

“I see, Caramel. Good luck to you on them.”

Smiling broadly, Caramel replied, “Luck favors the well prepared. I will leave you to finish this salvage work. I need to prepare the information that I am going to need for tomorrow.”

The somewhat puzzled Houser watched Caramel trot off in the direction of the Ponyville town hall.

The next morning, Caramel packed her saddlebags carefully, being sure to organize the many papers that she had accumulated the day before.

Brightmane asked anxiously, “Are you sure that you don’t want me to come to court with you, dear?”

Nurse Fields wiped her lips with a napkin and replied for Caramel, “Yes, Brightmane, she is sure. She has only told you so three times, so far.

“Caramel, the breakfast was lovely. Thank you.”

Caramel set out into the early predawn light that made the Everfree Forest seem so lovely and serene. She had an escort of five big, full grown Everfree Ridgeback wolves. Over the years, the Stone Ridge Pack had grown used to her presence and accepted her, not exactly as one of their own, but as one who belonged and could be counted on to help the hunt.

They knew that, though she was going into Ponyville, where they would not go, that she was on a hunt of her own. They were offering her their assistance, as she had assisted them in the past. Caramel appreciated the support.

She took her leave of the pack, with the usual friendly butt sniffing and light roughhousing. Going around the hill of Red Hoof, she went straight into town.

Arriving at the Town Hall, she went inside, and took a place in Judge Coldheart’s courtroom. A little later, the big red pony came in, followed by Sawnax.

Sawnax immediately began, “What are you doin’ here, Brat? Get out now! You got no reason to be here!”

He was hauling back to give her the back of his hoof, when he saw her smile of anticipation. He had run into her Han Fu skills before. Growling, he lowered his hoof.

They heard, “All rise for His Honor, Judge Coldheart!”

They did, and Judge Coldheart, in his formal robes of office, took his place at the bench. He struck a gavel and declared, “Order, in this court!”

Sawnax reluctantly settled down. He had been here enough in the past that he knew the routine, and the cash cost of disobedience.

“We shall hear Petty Criminal maters first.

“Sawnax, you stand accused of violations of the Protective Order granted to Miss Cherrilee’s School. During the course of that violation, you further broke the Edict of Equality by verbal outburst in the hearing of the Constable.

“How do you plead? You may plead only guilty or not guilty. Silence will be taken as a guilty plea.”

Sullenly, Sawnax replied, “Guilty, I guess. I thought that the Order was over, once the Brat, there was out of the school! I went in to get her out of the School, where she had no business at all!

“As for Edict of Equality, I have tried to warn you and the town, once she is turned, that Werewolf will lose all reason and become a ravening, murderous monster! The Edict won’t apply but it will be too late for her victims!”

The judge curled a lip disdainfully. “Guilty on all counts! You are fully aware that you have just lied! You have seen Caramel Treat changed to a wolf on many occasions. She, unlike some Werewolves, does retain her reason and emotional control.

“You are fined one hundred golden bits! This is added to the sum of four thousand gold, twenty two and seven that are presently outstanding debits to this court! You may not leave the court until payment arrangements have been made.”

Sawnax ground his teeth in rage as he returned to his place.

The judge called out, “Now we will hear civil actions.

“Those whose things have no dispute may come forth to be heard and dealt with.”

Caramel stepped up to the bench. She laid a small sheaf of papers on the counter before Judge Coldheart. “I have passed my civil cart handling license. Because I am still legally a minor, it needs your signature.

“Under that, Your Honor will find my wholesale provision purchase license for the restaurant that I am now having built. It is formally granted already. That also needs your signature.

“The rest, Houser sent along with me. They are the permits needed to erect the structure and link it to Ponyville’s utilities. Again, all have the approval of the inspectors involved and simply need your signature to complete them.”

Nodding, the judge hoofed through the stack and signed where needed, returning copies to Caramel.

He commented, “It is good to see one so young, getting such a fine start in life.”

“I do have one more thing, Your Honor. I want a protective order to keep both Sawnax and the members of the Celestian Church away from my establishment. Here is why.

“This is an 'assessment of a freely given donation’ of 100 gold a month to the Church to purchase Celestia’s Blessing, without which, disaster is sure to follow. Members of the Celestian congregation to be allowed to dine for free.”

Examining the 'assessment’, Judge Coldheart nodded, “Against the Church and its members, no problem. The order, with a delivery receipt, will be delivered to you as soon as service has been made.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. What about Sawnax? He continues to slander me and has as a part of the next case, tried to sell my salvage materials to mister Red Clyde for the sum of 150 golden bits.

“His fraud garnered gold from mister Clyde, and was intended to make me a victim through the loss of my building materials.”

Sawnax promptly brayed, “She don’t know that! Red and me was in the park across the street! No way could she hear us.”

Caramel tapped an ear. “Werewolf, remember? Hyperacute senses. Hearing especially. I heard the whole scam.

“Besides, you put the 421 Blackberry Lane address on the receipt. You neither own the lot nor the salvage rights. The lot is owned by Ponyville Trust and Loan. I have here their written statement that they would not sell you salvage rights due to past misconduct.

“Here, Judge Coldheart. See for yourself.”

The judge did look everything over and smiled. “I see why you want a protective order against Sawnax. Granted. Wait a few moments.” He took out a form and began filling it in.

Hoofing it to the bailiff, he instructed, “Serve this at once on Sawnax. He must sign the service receipt or I will sign it for him.

“Remand Mister Sawnax to the Jail until a bail hearing. This business has gone far past a mere civil case. This is a criminal fraud.”

Caramel took all of her papers, thanked the judge, and left.

At the building site, Houser looked about at his busy crew. The old building was almost gone. He hoofed through his permits and smiled, “Didn’t take you too long, Caramel. Thanks. Everything is in order, I see.”

Caramel invited, “Let’s all go over to the park. I brought you all lunch!”

Seated around a table, Caramel hoofed out big wrapped submarine sandwiches and cups. She added a big flagon of tea. “I got you Rom black tea on ice. The subs are just sprouts, tomato, onion, green peppers and my secret sauce.”

The whole crew fell to. One stared at Caramel and stated, “That sauce is something else! I never had a sub that good before!”

Caramel nodded happily and hoofed out popped barley and almond bars as a desert. “I will be having these and the subs in my restaurant.”

The worker’s buddy just grabbed him and hauled toward the work site. “Come on, guys! We have a restaurant to build!”

Houser observed, “That is the most enthusiasm I have seen in one of my work crews in a long time! If you keep supplying lunches like this, I will be needing to beat away would be workers with a club!” He chuckled.

By early afternoon the old building was totally cleared away. The ground of the entire lot was being probed by unicorns with pest control certification to locate and destroy problems like termite nests and ant hills. They found only a little to deal with.

Soon the batter boards were up and the string layouts for the building to come were being set.

An ill favored unicorn with blotchy pastel blue fur and a stringy purple mane strode arrogantly up. He had a large so-called “Celestian” medallion on and wore scarf like cloth called a stole, richly ornamented with “solar” designs.

Lifting his nose as if he smelled something foul, he demanded, “I am Junior Priest of Celestia’s Holy Truth, Hillbury. You are late with your freely given good will donation of 100 golden bits to our Church. You were instructed to deliver the payment in coin to the Church no later than noon!

“You are in serious danger of having Celestia’s Blessing on your enterprise withdrawn! Disaster is sure to follow!”

Caramel smiled as she pulled out her police whistle. “Really? We must put that to the test.

“You do know that you are violating the protective order of Judge Coldheart. I am sure that you also know that your demands and threats make your so called freely given gifts extortion. That is a felony.” She blew a shrill, warbling blast on the whistle!

Junior Priest Hillbury snorted, “The orders of a Lesser Being have no authority over a True Unicorn!”

He reared impressively, gathering his dirty yellow magic about his horn. He lashed out at the work site, snapping the carefully set strings and knocking over two of the batter boards!

Caramel reared too! Her right hoof slashed out in a straight punch to the side of Hillbury’s neck!

He was driven from his legs, falling heavily! Caramel leaped in gracefully and struck a light blow up high on Hillbury’s neck, just under the skull! She followed with two quick taps beside his horn, one on each side of it!

The Junior Priest was struggling in vain to rise. Caramel slapped his head! “Now that I have your attention, LISTEN! Your LIFE depends on it! If you try to use your magic at all, you will die!

“I have temporarily disabled your horn! If you try to use it, the magic backblast will destroy your brain. You can feel it, like a horn tangle. This cannot be undone like a tangle can.

“Quit wasting your effort to get up too. I partially paralyzed you with a nerve strike.”

“You cannot do this to me! I am a True Unicorn and you are a mere Lesser Being!”

Constable Crager came up on the run! He snapped, “I heard that! You are charged with violation of the Edict of Equality!” Staring at the ruined work, he asked, “Did he do this?”

Caramel replied, “Yes, Sir, he did. The damage is about fifty bits. Not a lot, but the vandalism is part of a larger scheme. Here is their demand complete with the threat of damage. The original is in my file entered by Judge Coldheart.

“Besides that, he was violating this protective order issued by Judge Coldheart. If you look to section three, you will find the authority to charge felony extortion in such a case as this.”

Constable Crager replied sourly, “I see it. Wish that I could call a tumbrel to haul him away. These so called Celestians are becoming a real nuisance.

“They have been stirring up anti goat problems too. Had three mobs in the last two months. One of them actually killed a goat. Goats may not be the best sorts but they are covered by the Edict of Equality and deserve better than these unicorn supremacists are giving them.”

Caramel was watching the fallen Junior Priest. “Umm, Constable, it would be a good idea to get a horn cap on the prisoner and get him into manacles. He won’t stay paralyzed forever, unfortunately.”

Caramel paused, thinking back to what the constable said earlier. “You can call ahead, Sir. I had this lot equipped for Magic Net so that Houser could order supplies if he needed them. I have a mirror right here.”

She fished the Magic Net mirror out of her saddlebag and hoofed it over to the constable. Constable Crager smiled as he tapped the necessary codes into the mirror.

He briefly filled in the police station on the situation and requested, “Right. 318 Mane Street. An open tumbrel. The prisoner has been temporarily disabled by a known Han Fu expert.”

Soon the prison wagon arrived and Houser’s unicorns from his work crew helped to load Hillbury and secure him for transport through the center of town to the jail.

They were just getting ready to quit for the evening when a black and blotchy pink pinto pony in a suit and carrying a briefcase showed up.

He offered a card. “I am Partin Cumpny. I have been retained by the Celestian Church to represent them. I have been instructed to require you to pay your agreed upon freewill gift to the Church and further to drop all charges against Junior Priest Hillbury.”

Caramel smiled but only with her mouth. “Apparently they forgot to mention a few things and misrepresented another.

“First, I have a protective order against the Church and its membership for direct threats to the business that I am starting.

“Secondly, in the protective order, in part three, the so-called freewill gift of 100 golden bits a month to be given for the purpose of “preventing certain disaster” is specifically defined by Judge Coldheart as criminal extortion.

“Thirdly, the junior priest in question, not only made the same criminal demand that you just did, he committed direct vandalism of my work site when he was refused. Along with that, he violated the protective order, and the Edict of Equality.”

Mister Cumpny took the time to look over Caramel’s paperwork. Sourly, he tried, “You caused the junior priest paralysis, incapacitated his horn, and caused major embarrassment to both him and his Church.”

Caramel reminded him, “He reared up and used his magic to vandalize my new shop’s layout work. I used a Han Fu cross punch to knock him off his feet, a high nerve pressure thrust to temporarily paralyze his legs, and a pair of nerve pokes that are specific to unicorns. Those paralyze the nerves controlling the magic flow in the horn.

“Those actions were all in specific defense of both my work site and my contractor’s work crew.

“The removal by tumbrel was the work of and at the request of the officer in charge of the case.”

Frustrated, he demanded, “Why didn’t you change into a wolf and rend him?”

Caramel sat and put a hoof over her eyes. “Are you really that stupid? This is Equestria. It is a land ruled by mostly just laws. There are always idiots who try one way or another to end the rule of honest law. Most of them are lawyers. Ones like you.

“I did not turn into a wolf and rend him because we have laws that will do it far better and without giving anypony the excuse to try harming another.

“You know. Laws. Supposedly what you make your living by upholding. Go away. You make me ill to my stomach. And I AM a werewolf.”

Mister Cumpny, having done his legal duty, left.

Caramel serenely trotted towards home. She was greeted at the Everfree Forest edge by members of the Stone Ridge wolf pack. There followed the usual bit of butt sniffing and other greetings. She indicated her saddlebags and ran swiftly for home!

She got to the door before any of the pack. Inside, she shed the saddlebags and called, “Going to play, Mom! Back after full dark!”

She returned to the front yard and joyfully joined the waiting pack. They ran through the underbrush in almost ghostly silence, seeking the scent of prey.

Totally refreshed by her outing, Caramel returned to the cottage that had been her home for all of her young life. The front door was broken in. She overheard the ugly gangrenous green pony demanding, “You just keep your hooves to yourself, Ma'am! That crossbow across the room will take you down along with your precious deadly monster of a daughter.

“We are going to destroy the beast and collect the reward for its head!”

Caramel waited silently to see if they would say more. She already had everypony in the cottage located by the sound of heartbeats and breathing.

Stort snorted, “Hortimer gonna reward us royal for the brute’s head! We got it this time. It gotta come in through that door and that is when we takes it out!”

Caramel skulked in utter silence around to the back of the house. Her room window was open, as usual. Sniffing carefully, she spotted the scent of gang green, whoever, he was. Then she saw it. A thread was stretched across the open window. Checking carefully, she found the crossbow that it was attached to the trigger of.

She returned to the front, where the nervous and trigger happy ponies were holding her mom and Nurse Fields. Sitting out of sight of the damaged door, she leaned back and aimed her muzzle to the sky. The long howl that she let out had an almost unearthly timbre. It shivered and slid up and down a scale that no pony voice could hope to match.

Her call was replied to from several directions by the wolves of the Stone Ridge pack. They all converged on her. She signaled them to silence and led them to the cottage. She let them know of the dangers inside and gestured to the only path leading to Ponyville and safety. The wolves fanned out silently to lay their hunting trap.

Caramel lunged in, nearly flat to the floor! Hitting a brace with her forepaws she vaulted upward to strike the cottage wall, up high and rebound down from above and behind the green pony!

Her strike carried him from his feet! His crossbow went off as it hit the floor! The wildly flying bolt grazed Stort, leaving a bleeding wound!

In a panic, the blue pony dropped his weapon for greater speed as he fled up the trail! In only moments they heard the ghastly scream of a pony in mortal agony! It stopped abruptly.

The green pony, laying on the floor could not rise. Caramel had nerve punched him to keep him down. He did weep.

“You killed Stort! He was my brother! You murdered him!”

Caramel put a huge paw on his head. “No, we did not. You and your schemes to kill me for some imaginary reward got him killed.

“If he had stayed here, he would be, like you, still alive. He ran, like the coward that he was, abandoning you to the so called monster that has spared your life. Twice now, unless I have missed my count. That does not count your stupid business at the School.

“This time, I am afraid that I cannot overlook your plans to kill my mother and Nurse Fields, to silence the witnesses, along with the attempt to murder me. I will press charges. Mom will press charges and so will Nurse Fields. I want you to go down hard!”

Out of the darkness came the flickering flare of torches. “Halloo the house! Is aught well here? We ha’ seen a blue pony dead by the trail. Wolves, it wa’ seem, took him down.”

Caramel stepped to the door and replied, “We are all alive and uninjured. The house has been damaged and will need professional repair of door, frame and some connected masonry.

“The green pony inside, and the blue one that you found, broke into the house. They took Brightmane and Nurse Fields prisoner. Their plan, which they whispered and I overheard, was to murder me and take my head while making mother watch. Then they were going to rape and murder mom and Nurse Fields to get rid of the witnesses.

“According to what I heard, High Priest Hortimer of the Celestian Church has put a bounty on my head but only to be paid if I am dead.”

Grimly, Heather Bloom, Duchess of Red Hoof, replied, “We did wonder at the fallen. Fer he wa’ taken by the wolves but nay preyed upon beyond the killin’ o him.”

Caramel nodded her head, framed by her shaggy black ruff. “That is what they agreed to do, Your Ladyship. It was the assistance given to a friend and neighbor.

“If any of you have knife or sword, it would be good to free my mother Brightmane and Nurse Fields. They were bound by the criminals.”

Baron Dran Dale, a tan unicorn in the garb of the Far Northern Dales stepped in through the broken door, a big dirk floating in the firm grip of his magic. In a trice, the ropes were cut by his razor sharp blade.

Heather Bloom examined the broken door and pronounced, “It is unsafe that this be. Ye shall all three come up to the Hall o Red Hoof and there abide until yer home be proper repaired.”

The green pony curled a lip and sneered, “Afraid of the deadly wolves, aren’t you?”

Brightmane answered him, “Not at all. The Stone Ridge Pack have been excellent neighbors. With the door broken so badly, it is more rotten ponies like you that we want to avoid. You are not the first, though you are by far the worst.”

Shortly, the party was joined by Daphne Crager in her livery as a carlene of Red Hoof! She was panting as she led her father, Constable Crager, to the house.

Heather Bloom turned her head to speak to her. “There ye be, Daph. We did wonder wha ha became o ye. Got yer father to carry out the arrest. That be fine thinking. Wha led ye to do it wi'oot orders?”

Daphne pointed to Caramel, still in wolf form. “As soon as I heard her emergency howl, your Ladyship, I knew that something bad was happening here. Dad was the closest constable who could deal with whatever the problem is.”

Duchess Heather Bloom quickly filled in Constable Crager on the happenings of the night.

He efficiently manacled the green pony and they all left. Heather Bloom detailed one of her House’s Guard to watch the cottage and another was left to protect the scene where Stort had been killed.

The green pony looked on, face set with anger and sorrow. “Aren’t you afraid that the wolves will pull you down too?”

The guard shrugged, “Not really. I would be more worried if you and your brother were on the loose armed with toothpicks. Ever since Caramel was born, we have lived as neighbors to the Stone Ridge wolf pack. They have turned out to be pretty good neighbors.”

The next day, as Caramel was watching and assisting the work on her new shop where she could, Sawnax came barging up waving the latest edition of the Ponyville Prancer and carrying a broadax!

He was loudly demanding, “The Monster has gone too far! An innocent pony has been murdered and she did it! It is right here on the front page of the Prancer! I have brought an ax to take the head of rampaging beast!”

Houser, seeing Caramel pull her Magic Net mirror from her saddlebag, returned, “Some rampage! She is helping us to set foundation stones for this project!

“Are you sure that you can read at all? The story says nothing about Caramel killing anypony.”

Sawnax waved the paper dramatically, exclaiming, “He was killed by a wolf in the Everfree, right on the path to the Murdering Monster’s Lair!

“We must destroy her before any more fall victim to her bloodthirsty rampage of murder!”

Houser snatched the flailing paper from Sawnax’s hooves! He read out loud for all to hear, “Stort Greene, the victim of the wolf attack, was fleeing the scene of a failed attempt at MASS MURDER FOR PERSONAL GAIN. He appears to have been killed by the joint attack of least three Everfree Ridgeback wolves.

“All witnesses agree that Caramel Treat was in her well known wolf form and INSIDE the cabin of Brightmane Treat when the killing happened.

“It is worthy of note that Caramel Treat, in wolf form, not only captured one of the attempted killers without inflicting any actual injury to him, she rescued her mother, Brightmane Treat and the family’s long time companion, Nurse Fields.”

Sawnax tapped his temple as he replied, “She done the killing by using her mind to control the attacking wolves!”

A police pony, who had approached while Houser was reading the paper, said, “Sawnax, you are under arrest. The charges are violation of the protective order of Judge Coldheart, violation of the Edict of Equality, and while carrying a weapon, threatening to murder a Citizen of Equestria.”

Caramel, speaking into her Magic Net mirror, said, “Thank you, Emergency Services, the officer is now here!” Smiling grimly, she put the mirror away in her saddlebag.

As Sawnax was led away, protesting bitterly, Caramel told Houser, “It looks as though I will be going to the courthouse sooner than I had planned!”

She turned at the sound of a new voice. “Perhaps I can help. My name is Grumpeter. Grumpy for short.”

A black, brown and white piebald goat with full curl horns stood there. He smiled and offered, “I know that my kind are not popular but one place where we are listened to is the courtroom. Edict of Equality and all of that.

“I not only saw and heard this whole thing, I saw Sawnax come out of a conference in Hortimer’s Rectory, next to their detestable church. He went straight to his lumber yard and got that ax. Then he came here. The rest, you know.”

Houser eyed the goat askance and asked, “How did you happen to see all this?”

The goat nodded, making his ears flop comically, as he agreed, “Fair question. The Celestian Church fronts on a park down on the other side of the Town Hall. I live about three blocks from the park, luckily, on the side AWAY from those jerks.

“I was taking the air in the park and, I admit, snacking on a bush or two. Broke student and all that. Had a clear view of the rectory.

“Being a curious sort, I tagged along after Sawnax because HE is an Earth pony and they are Unicorn Supremacists. I wondered what was up. When he got here, I found out.”

Caramel looked thoughtfully at the goat for a few moments and offered, “If you are willing to go and give Judge Coldheart a sworn statement on this, come back after my restaurant is open.

“I will give you special low prices or even free if you need it. I am a werewolf. I know what it is like to have nutcases after me. Has to be bad for you, too.

“Broke student? Let me get my place started and maybe I can find a way to help you out.”

The goat flipped his tail happily. “I am on my way! It is great to meet somepony besides Reverend Smallflower who is nice to goats!”

Grumpy trotted away down Mane St. toward the town hall.

Houser and his crew returned to work. Caramel went back to assisting where she could. It was not long before the foundation was all laid and the cut for the outside loading ramp into the basement was well underway.

It was time for lunch!

The workers all looked expectantly at Caramel.

She patted a fat saddle bag, grinned and offered, “Clover burgers and fries with Rom black tea to wash it down?”

There was a near stampede for the shady park tables!

As Caramel was starting to pass out the wrapped sandwiches and open the package of fries with dipping sauce, several of the work crew turned their backs and snapped, “Get out of here, Goat! This is for decent ponies!”

Caramel quietly closed the fries package and retrieved most of the wrapped burgers. She left the table and chose a vacant one. She invited, “Want some lunch, Grumpy? I seem to have plenty. How did the deposition go?”

The piebald goat looked troubled. “Miss Caramel, I did not mean to cause you any trouble. I just wanted to tell you that my deposition has been copied and added to both your Celestian Church case and to your Sawnax case. Because of it, they have been linked.”

Caramel patted the bench. “Go ahead and have a seat, Grumpy. That was a huge favor that you did for me.

“Here, have some tea. That is a clover burger with onions, lettuce, tomato, and sauteed mushrooms. The big box has fries and dipping sauce.”

Having seen to Grumpy, she returned to the table with the work crew. “Lunch is over there.” She pointed.

“A lot of ponies don’t like him because he is a goat. That is something that he can’t do anything about. A lot of ponies, including Sawnax, this morning, don’t like me because I am a werewolf. That is something that I can’t do anything about, either.

“Share a table with us, the social outcasts and eat for free, or go BUY your lunch somewhere else.”

She turned her back on the crew and went back to sit by Grumpy. Shortly Houser came over and sat with them. Caramel smiled and hoofed him a burger, tea and a portion of fries.

The workers saw their boss at the table with the goat. More importantly, he was eating his sandwich with gusto! One by one, they joined in.

To their surprise, the goat turned out to actually be pleasant company and had a great sense of humor. When one of them thoughtlessly told a goat joke, he laughed right along with the rest of them.

One of the workers paused in mid laugh to ask, “Didn’t that bother you, Mister Goat?”

Grumpy’s floppy ears lifted a bit and he smiled. “Yes, it did a bit. It was also a classical situation that would have been funny regardless of who it was told about. I have found that it is easier to laugh than try telling off every pony in Equestria.”

Caramel asked him, “What are you studying and where? Ponyville does not have any school but Miss Cherrilee’s that I know of.”

Grumpy smiled as he answered, “Non Equine University is open to all, regardless of kind. Princess Luna is the Chancellor and all classes are by mail at the student’s own pace. We even get our textbooks by mail. Unfortunately, it isn’t free! Hence, me being a broke student!”

The whole table laughed at that.

Soon, lunch was over. The crew went back to work. By the end of the day the timber framing was started.

Houser told her, “If nothing happens, we should be ready to begin installing the kitchens and pantries the day after tomorrow.

The next morning, Caramel showed up early. The Ponyville Fire Department was there first.

Concerned, Caramel picked her way past the hoses from the pumper wagon to ask, “What happened, Battalion Chief? My place seems to be standing.”

The Battalion Chief pushed back her helmet to wipe sweat from her brow as she replied, “It is, thanks to an early tip. You have one timber that got fairly badly scorched. It was attempted arson.

“Between the tipster and forensic magic, we already have APB out on a suspect.” She chuckled. “He did everything without using any magic. Soaked the timber in lamp oil, laid a wick, and put a candle on it for a timer, so that he could be far away when the fire started.”

Now very interested, Caramel inquired, “How did forensic magic trip him up if he didn’t use any magic?”

The chief’s face lit with a grin. “He tried to use matches but he was not used to using them. Unicorns like to use their magic for candle lighting. He broke all of the matches! Between the broken matches and his finally lighting the candle by magic, we got a really good signature on him.

“He has been in trouble with the law before this, so the station had a copy of his magic signature on file! His name is Pect. Disre Pect. The beat cops have been notified already.”

Houser and his work crew showed up. The Battalion Chief quickly filled in Houser on the problem.

He looked over the damage and pronounced, “Still sound. We will need to do a little cosmetic work to the timber. Nothing major.

“Not really surprised that Pect did this. He used to be a pretty good worker. Got tied up with that Celestian Church that Celestia herself dislikes so much. Went bad real quick. He pushed the other workers around. Called them Lesser Sorts. I had to fire him after I caught him stealing from work sites.”

Caramel asked, “Are any of the things that Disre handled still here, Battalion Chief? I would like to get his scent.”

The Chief pointed. “Don’t know if they will do you much good, Caramel. Those broken matches got pretty well soaked while stopping the fire.”

Caramel shifted, the change running down her body from nose to tail. The caramel color of her pony form turning to the gray of the wolf. It looked like she got bigger, but that was actually just the change from fuller barreled pony to the leaner body and proportionately longer legs, of the wolf. Her tail changed from the long flowing hair of a pony to the wolf’s brush-like gray with a black tip. Her mane changed to a black ruff framing her head and protecting her neck. From ruff to tail a ridge of stiff black hair stood up. Her ears became the black tufted cones of the wolf. Her snout and jaw grew longer and filled with huge razor sharp fangs.

She turned her head to the chief and asked, “Have you got my Fire Helmet and Department ID badge, Chief?”

“I do, Caramel. Why?”

“Because I want to underline a point and make any action that I take part of an official investigation. I already have his scent from the scene, here. I am pretty sure that he is in that crowd of spectators, just over there in the park.”

With a grin, the Chief hoofed over Caramel’s famous Volunteer Fire Fighter and Hazmat Team badge on its fireproof sash. As soon as it was settled, she donned her helmet, securing it into place.

She turned at once and trotted over to the spectators in the park. Several unicorns among them moved to block her way but she simply sat.

In her disarmingly innocent filly voice, she addressed the group. “I am assisting in the investigation of the small fire over there. Do any of you happen to have a Magic Net mirror?”

Several chuckled, “We ain’t doing anything for you, werewolf!”

Sullenly an indigo unicorn among them replied, “I do. What do you want it for?”

Caramel smiled a wolf’s smile full of fangs. “We want to check the current listing of Wants and Warrants. Would you please open that posting for us?”

Curling a lip in irritation, he pulled out his mirror and tapped the codes. His eyes widened at what he saw. Eyes barely flicking back to see, he snapped, “Not helping you, Wolf!”

His magic gathered about his horn and lashed out!

Disre Pect, near the back of the crowd, fell heavily! His feet were yanked out from under him by the indigo unicorn’s magic!

The indigo unicorn crowed, “Easiest five hundred bits I ever made!”

Shouldering through the rest, Caramel reached the fallen Disre Pect and gave two quick jabs at his forehead. She informed him, “Mister Pect, you must not use your magic, or you will die. I have given you a temporary horn tangle.

“You are under arrest for attempted arson by the authority of the Ponyville Fire Department and the Ponyville Police.”

She sat on his neck to keep him down. She told the indigo unicorn, “Sir, for your assistance in this arrest, you will be paid one hundred and fifty bits at the police department when the suspect is booked. You will get the remaining three hundred and fifty bits of the reward after his first hearing.

“I see the police arriving now. Shall we accompany them to assure your reward?”

Just to remind ponies of the part that she already played in the Fire Department, Caramel, in wolf form, trotted back from the police department to the construction site, wearing her badge and fire helmet.

There, she was in time to assist with stowing the fire equipment back into the pumper cart and return her helmet and badge to the Chief.

Houser, watching her careful work setting the stone masonry in the half timbered front of the building, commented, “I wish that all of my help was as quick and careful as you are.”

Seeing that some of his workers had overheard the remark, Caramel replied, “Being a werewolf helps a lot. I have faster reflexes and am stronger than most. Your workers showed me not only how to do it, but what made for the best work. They are a fine crew.” They overheard her reply too, just as Caramel meant for them to.

Caramel found a calm satisfaction in setting and mortaring the stones into place. The others of the crew were doing mostly carpentry on the interior spaces, side and back walls. Two were putting the finishing touches on the back stairs to the basement.

They were sitting to lunch in the park and talking over how fast the work was going, ”We will be ready for the interior finish work and plastering in only another day if the roofers get their work done on time!”

Houser nodded, reaching for one of the covered boxes that Caramel had set out, “They will be. It is all set up. They should arrive this afternoon.”

Glancing over to the park’s bushes, Houser noticed the piebald goat from the other day. Rather than wait for Caramel’s OK, Houser gestured welcomingly, “Come on over, Grumpy! I see that Caramel either planned on you or she miscounted boxes!”

Caramel grinned, “I didn’t! How do you like Sea Grass Puffs and Alfalfa patties, Grumpy? I have three different dipping sauces for the puffs!”

There was a goat at the table that fast! “Sea Grass puffs?
Really? I only had Sea Grass at the Fair before this!”

The whole crew laughed, but also agreed, “It is pretty unusual, all right! We never see it in the markets here in Ponyville. Did you try the sweet/sour sorrel sauce?”

The roofers arrived before lunch was over, actually.

The shingles were going on rapidly. A pile of shingles started to slip on the pitched roof. A roofer, trying to stop it began to slide for the edge of the roof!

The whole crew watched aghast as the potentially fatal accident developed. Caramel bunched and started her spring as a pony. It was the huge wolf who landed in the path of the sliding pony!

Wide braced, she caught him! As his mass hit her, she started to slide, herself! Sliding shingles cascading from the roof made regular footing impossible! She slammed a forepaw right through the new shingle work and used the grip that created to stop them both!

The last of the shingles clattered to the stone patio below.

Concerned, she asked the roofer, “Are you OK? Did I hurt you?”

He replied, “No, Ma'am! You did not hurt me! That is a stone patio down there. I would likely have at least broken bones when I hit it. Maybe could have died. I can sure see why the Fire Department values you so high.”

Chuckling with relief, he joked, “You put a big leak in the roof, though! Gonna have to charge extra for fixing that!”

Caramel made sure that he was OK and that he had his footing as she retorted, “Some ponies will do anything to get a few extra bits!” She bounded lightly down from the roof and gave the heap of fallen shingles a long sniff.

She waived Houser and his workers away from the shingles and ordered, “Houser! Call the Police! We need a forensic magic expert to get a signature off these shingles! This was no accident! Some pony has tried to murder your worker!”

That brought everything to an instant stand-still! They all looked at each other in worry. Caramel added, “It was nopony on this crew. See? The bundle tie is still up on the roof. We know that it was tied securely when it was put up there. Charl still has the half bundle that he was working on and it is still up there. It did not slip, even though he was working with it.

“My nose verified that nopony has handled the fallen shingle bundle except those of our crew who had proper business handling it. The answer is magic. Unicorn magic, specifically.

“That is why we need the forensic magic expert. He or she can sort out the magical signature of whoever did this and it can be compared to those of known criminals. There is a good chance that the signature is already on file.”

Soon two uniformed police arrived, the iron shod wheels of the Forensic Investigation cart making a clatter on the street cobbles as they pulled up. One of them was opening lockers on the cart while the other began to speak to Houser.

They carefully gathered their evidence, including the shingle tie and several of the shingles themselves. The expert, who was an Earth pony, ran his tests, using Non-Equine magic to avoid contamination of the magical traces left on the tie and shingles.

He turned to his partner, face grave. “Confirmed, Jeral. Got a weak but really clear signature. Worse, we have a match. Those three recent industrial accident cases? Four injuries and one death? Same unicorn. Call it in and put out an All Points. This is another attempted murder charge on this individual.

Caramel looked over to the park, brows furrowed in puzzlement. Then she glanced down the street, where the piebald black, brown and white goat was trotting up, announcing his presence with clip clopping hooves.

He politely spoke to the officers, “Sirs, my name is Grumpeter. I know how it looks like I came here. I was in the park. I sneaked out of the park and down two blocks to come back and give you my information. I did that to mislead your suspect.

“He is the gray unicorn with dirty pink mane and tail, right over there in the park. His cutie mark is a broken ruler.

“I came here because Caramel Treat had a lunch for me, which I ate along with the work crew. I stayed in the park afterwards. The gray and a buddy ran me off, so I hid in the bushes and watched.

“The gray pulled up his magic, really thin like. Near invisible to a pony. Goats, and you can check this, see unicorn magic more clearly than ponies do. He sneaked it across to the roof work that was going on. I could not see what he did, but I saw the result. When the shingles started to slide, Charl tried to stop them. He lost his footing. He almost went off the roof but Caramel leaped up and stopped his slide by slamming a hole in the roof for a grip.”

The Earth pony forensic expert took careful notes and asked Grumpeter for his address and other basic information.

Across the street, in the park, the two unicorns started to quietly sneak away.

The other member of the forensic team noticed them trying to leave! He blew his whistle and yelled, “You two in the park! Halt in the name of the Law!”

They broke into a flat out run! Caramel changed as she charged! By the time that she had crossed the street, the two were being pursued by a giant of an Everfree Ridgeback Wolf!

Ignoring the other one, she homed in on the gray unicorn with the broken ruler cutie mark! An educated, low, nearly flat, leap caused her shoulder to slam his right hind leg at the hip while her massive paw and foreleg tangled his lower leg! They fell in a wild tumble of wolf and pony!

Rolling free, Caramel struck the unicorn’s forehead just at the base of the horn, on both sides. As she did, she demanded, “Do not try to use your magic! You can feel the horn tangle!”

She followed by simply putting her full weight on his neck to keep him from rising! The officer arrived on the scene and efficiently horn capped and manacled the prisoner.

Caramel changed back to her normal pony self, slowly, so that she would not alarm any watchers.

The forensic expert watched her change and asked, “Do you have a magical profile in our files, Miss Treat?”

She nodded, “When I was inducted into the Fire Department’s Hazmat team. They took one then. They did say that it was really distinctive.”

That was when the police department’s open tumbrel arrived to transport the prisoner. He was informed, “Sir, you are under arrest. The charges are vandalism of a work site, four cases of injury great enough to require Horspital treatment, two counts of attempted murder and one count of murder.”

Police unicorns lifted him into the tumbrel for the “free ride” through town to the jail.

As he was being pulled off, and they were walking through the leafy shade of the park, Caramel asked, “Murder? Attempted murder? Injuries? That is way more than happened here. What happened?”

In the uncomfortable silence that followed, Grumpeter filled in, “They can’t talk about it now, Caramel. It might prejudice the case against this jerk. I can tell you this.” He pointed a hoof at the expert. “He took signatures off Charl’s hocks. Got at least two positives that I saw. Charl did not slip and that was a stone patio that you saved him from falling onto.”

Caramel put that together slowly. “I do not know if it will mean anything to a court. Broken Rule, there, practically stank of that 'Celestian Incense’ that Hortimer and his Church are so fond of.”

The Forensic Expert nodded. “No clue what it will mean, Miss Treat. I will note it in the report. That is all that I can do.”

Caramel returned to working with the crew and thinking. Approaching Houser, she asked, “Can we find some work for Grumpeter? He has been really helpful to us, already. I don’t know, maybe he could be a go-fer or something? We know that he is poor and we know that he is responsible.”

Houser thought it over carefully. “I really don’t know, Caramel. It is unfortunate but there are other considerations. Hiring a goat can have other consequences. Many, in total violation of both law and rightness, will not allow a goat to work on their projects.”

Caramel hung her head. “What of those, like me, who do want to hire one? I like Grumpy.”

Houser thought some more. Suddenly he smiled. “We can use him on interior finishing! There are lots of tight corners and such places where smaller hooves could be a blessing. If you want to, invite him over.”

Caramel nodded, face thoughtful. “I will do that.”

She went across to the park to look for Grumpy. He was backed into a corner with two unicorns facing him. One, an off green, was starting to gather his magic, the glow around his horn a brownish yellow, to match his mean eyes.

The other, a greenish blue, noticed her and snapped, “Buzz off! You seen nothing if you values your health!”

Caramel’s sweep kick took both hind legs out from under greenie, sending him tumbling into the blue one. His horn full of magic shorted across the back of the blue, causing them both to scream in pain.

Caramel, not waiting, followed through with her horn tangling forehead punches! Not bothering with a warning to them about not using their magic, she asked, “Grumpy! Just the goat that I was looking for! Come with me. I have some paying work for you.”

Bluebell, trying to rise, snarled, “You don’t get it! That is a mere goat! He is trying to get our friend Broken Rule in trouble with the police! We was just going to teach him a lesson about messing in the business of his betters!”

Caramel nerve punched the inside of his hind leg joint, causing him to flop back to the ground. She gave his buddy a nerve punch to a foreleg.

That done, she pointed out, “I do not see ANY pony here that is better than this goat. As for Broken Rule, he was already in trouble. One count of murder, two of attempted murder, and four cases of assault leading to serious injury. The goat here, had nothing to do with him being in trouble. The police were already looking for him.”

Bypassing Broken Rule’s problems, the greenish one griped, “We are UNICORNS! That makes us better than any creature of Luna, like that goat!”

Caramel flipped her tail derisively as she pointed out, “You claim to worship Celestia! Celestia herself says that you are WRONG! The Edict of Equality was specifically drawn to protect goats and other non pony kinds from idiots like you!”

Turning her tail to them, she offered, “Come, my friend. We have some real work for a goat. You are first in line for it!”

To Caramel’s surprise, Houser had gathered the whole work crew. To Grumpy’s surprise, the work crew all said, “Welcome aboard, Grumpy! Come on into the shop, here. We will show you what needs doing!”

Houser shrugged, “When I suggested it, THEY pointed out that Grumpy saved our framing work from arson and suggested to the forensic expert that Charl be checked for Magical signatures. That is how the police got the final evidence to make the attack on him attempted murder.”

Caramel’s eyebrows rose at that little revelation. “I did not know that, Houser. Hiring him feels even better, now.”

Houser agreed, “One other thing. They have met him over lunch and they like him. That helps a lot, too.”

Caramel watched the progress of the interior with joy.

“Easy, Charl, up at your end just a spot. Perfect! Hold it while we get the screws in to hold that cabinet.”

“Thanks, Grumpy! Your eye for this finish work is near perfect!”

The piebald goat wagged his tail in pleasure at the compliment.

Caramel’s admiration of the finish work was interrupted by a familiar voice, “Caramel, are you busy? I would like to ask you something.”

Caramel spun about, delight on her face! “Peanut! I heard that you are going to graduate in another week!”

Peanut smiled and looked down, lightly pawing the floor with a hoof in uncertainty. “I am. I, well, I was wondering if maybe I could get a job from you? You know that I will do the best that I can.”

Caramel gave Peanut Brittle a big hug! “Yes! I am going to need somepony to handle the front while I do the cooking in the back! You just saved me a lot of money hunting for a good waitress and hostess. Thanks.”

Peanut gave a relieved smile. “I never really thought that I would find work so easily after I graduated from school! It is a real load off my mind!”

Puzzled, Caramel asked, “Why, Peanut? Most fillies want to go for a summer or two, staying at home, maybe paying with chores or the like.”

Grim of face and voice, Peanut answered, “That won’t happen for me! Dad told mom that he would come back to her if she dumped me! Being a golden palomino is great except that the colors are not pastels. Dad abandoned mom for being unfaithful.

“Lately, digging in genealogy, mom found TWO golden palominos in dad’s line, about three hundred years after the last Nightmare War. She found one in her line too, about the same time back. Modern genealogy calls my pattern “recessive.” That seems to be the modern way to say really rare and BOTH parents need to have it in their background.”

Puzzled, Caramel asked, “Didn’t that end it, then?”

Sour voiced, Peanut answered, “Not for Dad! Now it is MY fault that he left mom! Oh, and HERS for not finding out about their ancestors sooner! BUT, he will be GENEROUS and come back to her as soon as I, the cause of his leaving, am gone!”

Grumpeter wandered over and suggested, “If the input of a goat is welcome, I have an idea.”

Peanut sort of pulled back a tiny bit but Caramel smiled and offered, “What is your idea, Grumpy? I have noticed that you do have a lot of good suggestions about our work here!”

He brightened up and suggested, “Go see Reverend Smallflower. He is a really good pony. He is white, a spare build even for a pegasus, and wears a flat black hat. Knows more than he says. His Assembly is open to all, even goats like me.

“If there is a place that you will be able to afford, he likely knows of it.”

Caramel brightened at once. She turned to Houser and told him, “Can we do without Grumpy for a bit? My friend Peanut Brittle needs a place to stay and Grumpy can show us a pony who will help us out.

“Peanut is going to be a waitress for me when I open up the store.”

Houser nodded, and replied, “Sure, Caramel. We will manage. Take care of your friend.

“Clance! Not there! That one goes over here!”

Turning back to the little group, he said, “Better hurry, though! Grumpy is really good at keeping the crew organized! Things are already starting to be almost NORMAL!” He grinned and made shooing motions.

Soon the trio found themselves facing the Assembly Hall. It was a simple building. Reverend Smallflower was a simple, sparely built white pegasus who gallantly swept off his plain flat black hat.

“Grumpy, my friend! Who are the lovely young mares with you?”

Grumpy made the introductions, outlined the problem and added, “So, Reverend, do you know of any apartment or small house that Peanut could move into?”

The Reverend smiled, lighting up his office as he did so. “I do know of several places that could meet your needs, Miss Peanut Brittle. They will require deposits and both a first and last month’s rent to be paid but that is normal for any better places.

“Will the Assembly need to assist you with the finances?”

Caramel shook her head. “No, Reverend Smallflower. To open my business, I have a very substantial loan. I can cover it for her, since she will be working for me.

“Turing your question around, Reverend, can your Assembly use some help with its finances? A donation, perhaps?”

The Reverend smiled with delight and said, “We never turn down free food! That applies to more than mere food. We would be honored to accept whatever you see fit to give.”

Caramel took out her checkbook and wrote briefly.

The reverend’s eyes widened as he looked at the amount. In return, he wrote both a tax note for Caramel and several addresses for Peanut.

As they emerged from the Assembly, they were faced with a pair of unicorns wearing “Solar” pendants. The orange one turned to the dusty yellow and said, “See, Eustace? I told you that I saw a vile creature of Luna go in there to House of Worship for the Lesser Sorts. Let’s teach that goat a lesson!”

Caramel managed to look totally surprised! “Grumpy? I thought that you meant ME!”

As they were rearing and gathering magic impressively about their horns, Caramel charged! She blasted between the two, her shoulders taking the inside hind leg of each one! They fell in an undignified heap of ponies!

Caramel bounced to a stop and leaped back, striking the gut of Eustace with all four hooves pulled together to a near point! As his breath was whoofing out, she bounced across and did the same for the orange one! At her next bounce, she landed on both of her hind legs, jabbing nerve points in both unicorns’ necks! They stopped moving at all, except for labored breathing.

The whole thing took only seconds! Looking up brightly, Caramel said, “Reverend, it appears that some pony left a heap of trash on your lawn. Perhaps you should call the garbage service to remove it!”

Turning to the still surprised Grumpy and Peanut, she chirped in a cheerful voice, “Come on, guys! We have an apartment or house to find for Peanut!”

The first place that they looked at was a small cottage. The landlord, a chubby reddish earth pony, let them in to look it over.

Grumpy made a bee-line for the back door. He opened it and examined the frame at the lock level. Then he took a close look at the door itself. Lastly, he gave the burglar chain his scrutiny.

He gathered up Caramel and Peanut, escorting them out as he explained, “He did a fine job of patching the holes in the plaster of the walls. That could have been just one bad tenant.

“The back door says that this place is some other pony’s private bank. The door itself was replaced. Since then, the burglar chain has been torn out twice. The door frame at lock level has been broken at least four times. The repairs are not really well done, either. I think that, as small as I am, I could buck it in.”

Caramel replied, “Thanks, Grumpy. I would have missed that, except for the plastering. I just learned something new.”

Peanut nodded slowly as she worked it through her mind. “I agree. Thanks, Grumpy. I am beginning to see why Caramel likes you so much.”

The second place was a ground floor flat. It looked a bit shabby. Grumpy gave it his once over. He tested the water flow in the faucets and poured a big bucket of water down the drains.

He pronounced, “Good place. Needs some paint and a little basic housework. Tell the rental agent that it needs paint and floor needs refinishing. Either bargain for a reduction in rent or get a written promise to have it done by a deadline.”

Peanut asked, “Why don’t you bargain for us, Grumpy?”

“I am a goat. They won’t listen to me. Pro tip. If you get that rent reduction? Hire me and a few of my friends to do the work. We will do it cheap!”

They did get the reduction in rent. As they came out of the office, Peanut commented, “Thanks for everything, Grumpy. You too, Caramel! My new place is going to be really convenient to the shop, too.”

“Only two blocks to walk and you are at work! For me!” snickered Caramel.

The two block stroll, under the shady trees lining Ponyville’s cobbled streets, was a pleasant one.

The surprise that awaited them at Caramel’s new shop was a pleasant one, too. Houser proudly showed them through the whole place. Gesturing proudly, he declared, “Tomorrow the paint will be dry and you can install the stoves and other equipment. Once the sign is up, you will be in business!”

Caramel looked over everything with the utmost care. Down in the basement, she checked out the expensive cool storage rooms.

Grumpy commented with delight, “With the weather outside, I could get used to this!”

Caramel gave him a sideways look and shifted her gaze to Houser. “How much would it cost to fit cooling like this into the interior public dining area?”

He paused. He took out his plans and studied them with care. “I don’t know if we can, Caramel. I will have to study this back at my office. There are references there that I need. This is not a simple structural problem, like the stairs to the basement.”

Caramel nodded her understanding. “Let me know tomorrow, if you can or not. I will go ahead and have my cooking equipment delivered for set up tomorrow.”

In Gabe’s Furniture and Appliances, she was met by an apologetic, “I am afraid that there was a slight mix up in our warehouse. Your whole order was sold to somepony else. Of course, we can place the order again. It will only take two weeks to get those stoves and other things. We will get them for you at cost, of course.”

Caramel looked him in the eye and demanded, “No. You will deliver my whole PREPAID order tomorrow, as specified in the contract. If you have to replace it, you will bear the whole cost, including freight and local haulage. No other equipment than what I ordered will be acceptable.”

He gave her a condescending smile as the gray sales pony said, “You just don’t get it, do you? Business realities. If you want it tomorrow, just buy some replacements from our stock in the warehouse.”

Caramel gave him a slitted eye glare. “I did not buy that garbage because it will not do what I need it to. I will not pay you any more for any goods at all. I have ALREADY paid you for my whole order. Delivery will be tomorrow at my new shop by noon or else.”

Totally irritated that his ploy had failed, the sales pony demanded, “You have no choice! If you need it that badly, you will have to pay us for our recovery costs!”

Caramel paused, glared at him and snapped, “What part of NO is unclear? The N or the O!? My order is FULLY PREPAID! Noon tomorrow or face the consequences.”

She turned her tail to him and left.

Just then, Gabe, a brown pony with yellow mane, came out of his office. He was looking perplexed. “Snarker, why did Miss Treat leave like that? She seemed quite angry. I mean, we have her whole order in the warehouse, ready to deliver as soon as she wants it.”

The gray sales pony glared at the floor and scraped his hoof as he replied, “She wants it by noon tomorrow. That kind of rush gotta cost a few bits extra. Didn’t want to pay it, that’s all.”

Gabe pulled his head back in surprise. “What? That delivery is all set up with Hackamore Hauling. We just let them know when to have it at the destination. It is all prepaid.”

Snarker muttered, “FINE! You handle it! You ain’t paying me enough for this menial job!”

Nodding to himself, Gabe turned about. “Come to my office, Snarker. We need to talk.”

In Gabe’s office, Snarker sat. He could see the letterheads of several letters on Gabe’s desk. Nervously, he tried, “Um, Sir, I got an appointment. Gotta go. It’s important.”

Gabe looked up and tilted his head, ears set skeptically. “I daresay that it is, to you. Unfortunately, you have an appointment right here, too.”

He hit his intercom and asked, “Mellisen, did you make the call that I asked you to do?”

The scratchy intercom voice replied, “Yes Sir, I did. Is there anything else?”

“Yes. Snarker is leaving our employ. Please make out his final payment and bring it in.”

Snarker slumped. “Look, it was an emergency. That Caramel Treat, she isn’t even a pony, not really. We can work this out. I mean, we can deliver on time so she has no beef with us.

“You don’t have to fire me.”

Laying his hoof on the letters on his desk, Gabe replied sadly, “If it was just one customer, I could give you another chance. It is not.”

There was a light tapping at the office door. Mellisen, a light blue mare with a soft magenta mane entered. She laid Snarker’s file, the pay packet, and the final accounting on Gabe’s desk.

Gabe examined everything closely and signed the account. He wrote briefly in the file and closed it. He put the letters into another file and closed it.

“Please, Snarker, check the account and the pay packet.”

Sourly, he did, and signed it.

A solid hoof was laid on his shoulder. “Mister Snarker, I must inform you that you are under arrest for customer embezzlement.”

Turning angrily, he was facing a large orange pony in a Ponyville Police uniform. He was led out in manacles.

Gabe picked up a Magic Net mirror and made a quick call. “Miss Treat, Gabe of Gabe’s Furnishings here. I am calling about your order. I fear that Snarker lied to you about it. It is still in our warehouse, all on the rail pallets and ready to deliver.”

He listened.

His reply was, “Before noon tomorrow. No problem.

“I have found out that what Snarker tried on you was not his first offense. We not only fired him, we had him arrested. Are you willing to provide testimony in the case against him?”

After listening again, he nodded. “In spite of Snarker’s interference, it was a pleasure doing business with you.”

The next day, Caramel’s stoves and other restaurant equipment was delivered on two wagons from Hackamore Hauling. At first, Caramel’s hackles arose at the sight of the truly lovely all black mare who was directing the delivery.

From pictures that Caramel had seen, the mare looked exactly like Coalsmoke Hackamore, one of those tried for the attempt to murder Brightmane, her mother. She decided to be direct.

“Pardon me, Miss. You look just like somepony that I have seen pictures of. Are you Coalsmoke Hackamore?”

All of the black mare’s lights went out at once. She slumped. “Yes, Miss Treat, I am. We will get your loads done as carefully as we can and not bother you more.”

Shocked at the change, Caramel began to think back on things that she knew. “Um, Coalsmoke? Please wait a moment. I just realized that Dray Hackamore and Doctor Red Mane were both convicted of the attempt to kill Mom. Judge Coldheart, in acquitting you, said that your only crime was being married to a criminal.”

Coalsmoke looked up, hope in her eyes. “So many remember that I was tried. So few remember that I was acquitted of all charges. Tell me, how is Brightmane doing? I have been afraid to ask.”

Caramel smiled sadly. “I was almost one of those remembering that you were tried. I am sorry about that.

“Mom is doing fine. We and Nurse Fields have a nice cottage out in the Everfree, not far from Zecora’s place.

“I did not make the connection between you and Hackamore Hauling until just now. Every business pony that I asked about getting deliveries done said your company was the best. What I am seeing bears that out.”

Coalsmoke’s head lifted with real pride. “As Dray’s widow, I got his company when he was killed in a prison brawl. It was worth almost nothing then. I have built it into the best there is!”

Her workers, true to her word, unloaded the wagons expertly.

The watching Caramel nodded. “It shows!”

Houser’s crew began to ponyhandle the big stoves and other equipment into the new building. Before the afternoon was out, Caramel had got the inspectors to approve everything.

She stayed late, delightedly testing the new specialized steam kettle candy making equipment with batches of sweet sorrel fudge, barley nut bars and assorted chocolate dipped fruits. Her new candy wrapping equipment got a workout too.

Alongside them, the Alfalfa Press ™ got a separate “test.” She put up fifty quarter kilo round Clover top patties with a dash of sweet sorrel for extra flavor and twenty five one kilo “steaks” of alfalfa, clover and chopped wheat kernels.

After everything was put away and the kitchen properly cleaned, it was nearly ten pm. Somewhat tired, but very happy, Caramel emerged from her shop to lock up.

It was not to be. Gathered at her outdoor tables, were Brightmane, Nurse Fields, Daphne Crager, carlene of Red Hoof, Heather Bloom, Duchess of Red Hoof, and her consort, Tam O’ Canter, Baron Drandale.

Her mother called cheerfully, “When you did not come to the Great Hall in a reasonable time, we came to see what was happening! Just in time, too! We could smell your cooking, so we waited!

Peanut was close by too. The whole party had frosty tumblers of cold water already served to them. Bemused, Caramel beckoned Peanut to come inside. She pointed. “That is the time clock, Peanut. Clock in. Instead of tomorrow, you are starting right away. As soon as you clock in, get into the crisper and set them all up a light salad for starters.

“Come down to the cool room and get a look at what we have so that you can tell them. Our menus are not due here until tomorrow. Get their orders. I will start the stoves.”

Peanut clocked in, grinning. “I could not sleep, thinking about tomorrow being my first day of real work!” She snickerd, “I was wrong! It is starting already!”

Peanut did come down and do a fast assessment of everything, including the contents of the cool and cold rooms. Nodding to herself, she scooted upstairs.

Caramel came up to see that Peanut had put out the yellow evening lights on the dining patio, already had most of the salads served and was putting up the last two. That was not all. The orders were on neat tickets stuck to the springs of the order carousel.

Caramel gathered the ingredients and called for and began to cook! She mused, “Who would have thought that I would need snowstar sauce even before I opened?” As steaks cooked, she stirred the sauce and put a vegetable medley in the steamer.

While things were all coming to a head, Peanut clattered down the stairs. Caramel heard the cold room door close. Peanut darted past. Out front, at the waitress back table, Caramel heard the quiet roar of her brand new milkshake machine!

With satisfaction, she put all the orders up on the service shelf almost at once. She flopped two more steaks on. That snowstar sauce smelled heavenly! She set up fried onions and mushrooms in butter sauce to go alongside the steaks.

She brought them out so that she and Peanut could join the party! Peanut saw what she was being served and made a dash for the waitress back table and returned with a pair of salads.

She made a second fast dash, punctuated by the soft roar of the milkshake machine. She returned with shakes for them both.

In spite of eating and joining into the banter about the tables, Peanut was right there, every time that a drink needed a refill or a plate needed to be removed.

At last, everypony was well filled.

Heather Bloom requested, “Our check, please, my lady Peanut. All wa far better than merely good. Yer service wa excellent as well. We ha all come fro Red Hoof’s Hall, sa cover ’t all, I shall.”

To Caramel’s surprise, Peanut took the assorted order checks and swiftly totaled them all up. Seeing Caramel’s look, Peanut explained, “Our menus may not be here, but I helped to put them together. I remember what we sent to the printer.”

She presented the check on a small tray. Heather Bloom returned it with golden coins, to which Tam had added some as well.

Peanut stammered, “This, this is far too much! We have no change to give you.”

Heather Bloom replied, “Nay, lass. T'is correct. We ha given to ye wha such fine food and service be due.”

Tam cast a practiced eye to the street and commented, “As soon as all be cleaned, tidied and stored away, we shall escort ye to yer home, lass. There appear to be some as might be unpleasant to ye awaitin in the dark.”

Peanut and Caramel cleaned up and put things away. Last to go were the lights, tables and seating on the patio. Caramel locked up.

Aside from the clatter of retreating hooves fleeing the large party, the two block walk to Peanut’s new apartment was uneventful.

Like Peanut, earlier, Caramel could not really sleep. Her dreams when she did were of hunting with the Stone Ridge wolf pack. When they cornered the prey, it was a great golden bit!

Her fangs were just seizing it when she was gently shaken awake. Nurse Fields was smiling down at her. “It was a good dream, Caramel. I can tell. You became a happy wolf in your sleep. Hunting again?”

Caramel nodded as her change to a pony flowed over her. Stretching luxuriously, she acknowledged, “Hunting with my friends. We were bringing down a big golden bit!”

They both chuckled at the image.

Breakfast was an informal affair. One of Heather Bloom’s house carls was making sure that the buffet stayed well supplied. The whole household, Lady, Laird, carls, carlenes and guests alike filled plates and choose places to eat.

A small stack of breaded and fried patties caught Caramel by the nose! They smelled heavenly. Taste bore out the scent.

“What are these, your Ladyship? I have never had anything quite like them!”

Heather Bloom looked up from her own breakfast, surprise on her features. “They be but Northern Dales oatmeal. It be cooked wi diced dates, raisins, diced apple, any other diced fruits handy, some honey and a touch o molasses. When it cool ye but slice it to portions, batter dip an fry.”

Caramel was nodding slowly as she listened.

Back at her restaurant, while impatiently awaiting the arrival of her sign, Caramel began grabbing oatmeal, and an assortment of dried fruits. As it began to cook, she added the honey and molasses a little at a time until it smelled right. Unable to resist experimenting, she added a healthy lot of butter, too. She poured it into a sheet cake pan and let it set. While it was setting, she heated the oil and made up a sweetened batter.

She wound up with a substantial pile of the golden brown slices on a platter.

Peanut entered and clocked in, then took a whiff of the breaded oatmeal. “Is it an experiment, Caramel? I think that I know exactly what to do with them!”

Caramel raised her eyebrows at that and offered, “I thought that they were pretty good the way that they are.”

Nibbling one and swallowing before answering, Peanut nodded, “That they are! Let’s try this!”

She set two of the slices on plates and carefully scooped two perfect balls of ice cream onto them. She added sweet cherries on top and very carefully drizzled chocolate sauce in spirals down the sides.

Caramel’s indrawn breath at the beautiful effect made Peanut smile broadly. She ceremoniously served her employer one and took the other for herself.

Caramel looked up from the new dish with eyes that looked like her mouth had found heaven. “Besides being beautiful, this is a fantastic taste, Peanut! Make a note to add five golden bits to your first pay packet!

“You always were better than I in art classes and this really shows it!”

“What does, Caramel?” bleated a familiar voice from the front door.

Caramel smiled happily and exclaimed, “Grumpy! You are just in time to taste test our newest treat!”

Turning to Peanut, she said, “Please set up one of these for Grumpy! Without his help, this place would not be almost ready to open.”

While Peanut was setting up the treat, she commented, “I bet that he came to get paid! His team fixed up my place in jig time! It looks great now! You would not recognize it for the place that we rented!”

Grumpy nodded, proud of the work and happy with the good words that he was hearing. “That I did, Miss Peanut. Looks like my timing was pretty good too!

“We figured up the bill, Caramel. It comes to two gold, four and six.”

Nodding, Caramel replied, “Most reasonable. You enjoy your snack while I get your money. Since I expect to open today, I have a change bank.”

Shortly, Caramel returned and placed four gold bits on the table for Grumpy. “No, Grumpy. Not a mistake. I am paying you and your team what you are worth, not what you charged.”

It was nearly ten before the sign painters showed up with the new roof sign. They used a crane to lift it up to the roof, where they anchored it expertly.

A crowd had gathered to watch. As the crane and other dangerous equipment was cleared away, several trotted over and took seats on the outdoor plaza.

Peanut brought them all some of the new treats and announced loudly enough to be heard by all of them, “Free Northern Dale snack for the first ten customers who place orders!”

There was a mostly orderly stampede to the dining tables! Peanut happily took orders and delivered the Northern Dale snacks. The sight of ponies being served brought in more customers to dine under the new sign’s beautifully scrolled letters spelling,

CARAMEL TREAT’S SWEETS!

The First Nightmare Night at Caramel Treat's Sweets!

Author's Note

This latest tale in the Caramel Treat Saga fits in shortly after the founding of her restaurant.

The First Nightmare Night at Caramel Treat's Sweets!

“We need a gimick, Peanut,” Caramel Treat said plaintively to her friend and waitress, Peanut Brittle.

“I mean, it is almost Nightmare Night and I haven’t even got up any decorations yet!”

Peanut pointed out to her friend and employer, “Caramel, you ARE a Nightmare Night Decoration! Just be yourself! Be a WOLF! All that I have is a witch costume from last year!

Caramel softened at once. “I keep forgetting that being a werewolf can be fun, Peanut. Thanks. As for your witch costume, it should be fine. Aside from the foal bowl sweets I doubt that we will have much business.”

Peanut looked about and suggested, “See if the Prancer has any ad space left. We could advertise a Nightmare Night Party Special! We could put red or green food dye in all the milk shakes and, Oh! We could do deviled eggs with green stuffing and put up the fries with a red brown color to sort of look like guts! What could we do for eyeballs?”

Caramel stared at her palomino friend as if she had never seen her before. She grinned, allowing wolf fangs to show in her otherwise innocent pony grin! “You are having too much fun with this, Peanut! Go for it! Call it in and book the advert if we can. I will leave the details to you. Just let me know what we are doing!

“I will try to scare up our decorations! You hop to it!”

Peanut sat and started to make some notes.

Caramel began a round of Magic Net mirror calls.

She was ready to give up in disgust. “Nobody seems to have anything left, Peanut! I couldn’t even get crepe streamers!”

A sparely built white pegasus in a flat black hat was passing by and overheard.

“We at the Assembly do have some old decorations that we will not be using this year, Miss Treat. There are some black and orange streamers that are a bit tattered but usable. I have an old blank banner that you may use, if you can get some paint for it.”

He paused, hoof to muzzle for a moment and offered, “I also have an old phony cauldron with a tripod support. I don’t know if you would want it, though. It has a pretty big crack in the side of it.”

Caramel immediately pushed him into a place at a table. “Peanut! Get Reverend Smallflower’s order! If he tries to pay for it, gently and with the love of Celestia and Luna, hit him on the head for me!

“I am hitting the kitchen now!”

The bemused Reverend Smallflower studied the menu and as he was trying to choose the cheapest things, Peanut pointed, “The Alfalfa Steak with onion and mushroom sauce is lovely. This batter dipped vegetable medley comes with your choice of these three dipping sauces. What would you like to drink?”

He looked up and asked diffidently, “Perhaps some tea? A Rom Black, if you have any. And I would like the honey dipping sauce.”

Quite soon, with both Caramel and Peanut watching, Reverend Smallflower was finishing up his meal. Caramel turned to watch the ever attentive Peanut Brittle trotting into the restaurant. She returned with a slice of Three Berry Pie a la mode.

The surprised Reverend asked, “This is lovely, my dear, but what have I done to deserve all of this?”

Caramel answered, “First, you have offered us decorations for Nightmare Night when we could not find any, saving our Nightmare Night celebration. Second, you helped my friend Peanut to find her apartment and followers of yours fixed it up far less expensively than I would have thought possible. Last, you have spent most of your life doing nothing but good for others. It is time to let others do YOU some small good in return!”

As the Reverend was just finishing up, Caramel came around to the front of her shop, pulling a small two wheeled cart with Caramel Treat’s Sweets emblazoned on each side in nicely scrolled lettering. She cheerfully called, “Let’s go and get those decorations, Reverend Smallflower!”

The Assembly was not far away, up pleasantly tree lined cobblestone streets. It was set back from the street by a nice lawn and some shrubs. Two goats were consulting a trimming diagram for a bush and carefully nibbling leaves and branches to give the bush shape.

As they saw Caramel they started to turn towards the Assembly. Suddenly one pointed! “Look, Garrth! This is the good pony that Grumpy told us about!”

Turning back to Caramel, they asked eagerly, “What can we do for you, Miss Treat?”

In the shade of the building’s interior, Caramel replied, “The Reverend has some Nightmare Night decorations that he is going to loan us, at my restaurant.

“There will be work with pay and food in it for every being of the Assembly. You goats will be the easiest. A pair of costume fangs, a fake pitch fork and a cloak will do it for you as “beings of the UNDERWORLD.”

A pair of voices spoke from the back room, one heavily accented, “What about us? I bet that you don’t have anything for us!”

A pair of donkeys came out, flanking a Thestral, like a pegasus with bat wings, and a gryphoness.

Caramel grinned hugely. She slowly changed to her Everfree Ridgeback Wolf form. Still speaking in her mare’s voice, she stated, “You are so wrong! I did not even know that there was a gryphon or a Thestral in Ponyville! I keep four kinds of fish and two kinds of meat in my coolers for when I am in wolf form and hungry! There will be meals and pay for both of you!

“I have work for you two donkeys too!

“Now all that we need are those decorations that I originally came for!”

The goats and the Thestral dove into the storage room like a herd of controlled excavators! They turned up a good deal more than Caramel expected.

Reverend Smallflower smiled ruefully, “I forgot that we had that box of assorted rubber spiders! Those capes were for part of the Hearthwarming Pageant. Are you sure that you want that old fake coffin? It was vandalized years ago.”

Caramel’s cart was filled to overflowing as the procession made its way back to her shop. Peanut greeted them, already in her witch costume, complete with broomstick.

She was exclaiming, “That is a great Thestral costu … You are a REAL Thestral! That is so neat!

“Since we are getting a cauldron, I cleared away the tables in the center of the dining plaza for it.”

Eager goats descended on the cart and began unloading Caramel’s loot of decorations. They closed off the interior dining area and stretched out the blank banner where no stray breeze could interfere with the painting of it.

With an embarrassed set to her crest, the gryphoness Grakkan, explained, “I have been studying Equestrian calligraphy. I am really quite good at it!”

Setting brush to cloth, she made good on her claim. The banner was beautifully lettered. It said:

WELCOME TO CARAMEL TREAT’S UNDERWORLD!
ENTER IF YOU DARE!
Or if you want goodies.

By the time that it was ready to hang, tables had been arranged to create a single entrance to the outdoor dining plaza. The Cauldron was boiling mist over the lip of it and some out the crack in the side! The foal bowl was hidden inside it, under the swirling mists.

The old fake coffin was standing like a guard house at the entrance. The Thestral lurked inside, practicing opening it to greet guests. “Velcome to ze Garden of ze Damned! If ye dare tread ze unhallowed ground, secret reward awaits for ze Nightmare Night chant!”

Streamers, webs and dangling spiders were everywhere.

It took both Grakkan the gryphoness and Caramel in her wolf form to get the banner up.

Caramel, not bothering to change form, gathered the whole crew together. Smiling a Wolf’s smile, full of fangs, she exclaimed, “This has been terrific! We are all ready for tomorrow! Costume up, all of you! This dinner is on me! I did not expect such a fantastic piece of work from you.

“Grakkan, you, Squeak, and I will dine together separately. I do not wish to upset the sensibilities of the rest.”

The Thestral snickered. “Squeak! I like it! Even your werewolf hearing can only hear about half of my name, I do need a nickname!”

Caramel smiled and retorted, “Oh, I CAN hear it. I just can’t say it!”

She got busy in her kitchen. When she emerged, the now costumed vegetarian staff, out front were well into their assorted meals.

Caramel signaled Grakkan and Squeak. They followed her. Squeak’s costume was like Caramel’s. He was himself. Grakkan was dyed black with orange highlights. Quite striking.

She said, as she sat to a steak like Caramel’s, “I hope that Peanut was right about this dye being washable.”

It was Squeak who replied, “It is. I have used it myself.” He was happily working his way through a fair sized trout.

Their meals were nearly history when Peanut put her head out the back door. “We need you guys! We have a committee here! They are from the Ponyville Prancer!”

Caramel and the others emerged. Seeing that the rest of the crew were already in their places, Caramel struck a pose by the fuming cauldron. Squeak entered the “coffin” with its old vandalism. A big stake driven part way through the lid.

The committee was two Prancer reporters, one a photographer, and five foals in Nightmare Night costumes.

As soon as everypony was ready, the foals approached. The coffin creaked open and the Thestral stepped out. “Velcome to ze Garden of ze Damned! If ye dare tread ze unhallowed ground, secret reward awaits for ze Nightmare Night chant!”

Grakkan, all black dyed, gathered the nearly (but not quite) frightened foals and escorted them past menacing trident bearing creatures of the underworld to the cauldron.

There, they halted before the witch who was stirring the mist flowing from the cauldron. She demanded, “What is it that you seek of the Night Wolf?”

Remembering why they were there, the foals chanted, “Nightmare Night! What a Fright! Give us something sweet to bite!”

The “Night Wolf” pointed her furry paw at the cauldron. “If you dare it, what you seek is hid within!”

Giggling some, but a little nervous, the foals reached into the mists boiling from the cauldron and pulled out some of Caramel’s well known treats!

The green camera mare was having a field day! Her flash was a nearly continuous backdrop to the whole event. The foals were led to an apple bobbing barrel next. After each had managed to grab an apple, the Dark Gryphon led the group back out and struck a menacing, wings half lifted, pose.

As the reporters and foals were about to leave, an ugly brown earth pony wandered past, sneering, “Look at that junk! Not a true pony in the entire lot! That stupid palomino is the closest and she is crazy off color!”

Caramel was about to say something when Peanut, still in her witch costume charged out! She whipped her broomstick like a combat staff! Striking between his hind legs, she tripped him! As he fell, she pulled the broomstick back and whipped it around hard, striking Sawnax in the joint just below the shoulder, effectively paralyzing his leg!

As he was struggling to rise, a large reddish, ridged and knotted scar showed on his left shoulder. Caramel pushed him back down and sat on his neck to keep him from rising.

She stated, “Mister Sawnax, you know that you are violating the protective order of Judge Coldheart. You will be spending your Nightmare Night in jail. If you are ever free of the Court Order, and you do not like any of my staff or patrons because of their coloring, species, race or belief, PLEASE LEAVE. I BITE! HARD!”

Grakkan’s crest flipped up in inspiration and she spontaneously touched her beak with a wing tip! She turned and dashed for the interior of Caramel’s restaurant!

While Grakkan was busy inside, a Ponyville Police officer came by to collect the fallen Sawnax and lead him off to await a hearing on his violation of the Court Order.

When the big gryphoness returned, she bore a big sign card that had a fine sketch of Caramel’s head as a wolf. Under it were the words:

If you have any problem with my staff or patrons for any reason,
be it species, race, coloration, belief or any other thing at all,
PLEASE LEAVE. I BITE! ~ HARD!

The delighted Caramel was just posting the sign card when there was a flash from behind her. The Ponyville Prancer’s photographer had gotten a good shot of Caramel, as a wolf, putting up the sign!

The next morning, just at Caramel’s opening time, Reverend Smallflower led the entire crew to Caramel’s. They were all in costumes and ready to begin.

Peanut grinned through her green makeup and divided the group sending half of them to the inside of the restaurant where she took breakfast orders for them.

Reverend Smallflower tried to say, “Really, I simply did this out of the goodness of the Twins! You do not need to treat me specially.”

One of the goats, in his Underworld demon costume pulled the Reverend to a place at the table. “They are not treating you in some special way, Reverend. They have just included you, like they did us, or are you too proud to eat at the same table as goats?”

Stung, the Reverend sat. A smiling Peanut made sure that he got a plenteous breakfast and all the Rom black tea that he wanted!

Peanut escorted both Grakkan and Squeak to eat with Caramel, who, to make her guests welcome was sharing a breakfast of meats with them in her wolf form.

Things had not got going yet when they emerged.

A colt trotted up the way with a bundle of newly printed Ponyville Prancers and started hawking his wares just across the street, in the park.

Curious, Peanut popped across to buy a paper. She came back, slightly bug-eyed! “Caramel! Look! We made the front page of the Prancer!”

Besides Caramel, all of the goats, Squeak and Grakkan crowded about to stare! There they were, in many photos, headlined, “BEST NIGHTMARE NIGHT BUSINESS DISPLAY!” The sub headline stated, “Caramel Treat’s newly opened restaurant shows the true spirit of Nightmare Night!”

Soon after, a crowd began to form out in front. Peanut cleverly sent the big, dark dyed, menacing gryphoness to organize the crowd into an orderly line.

The air filled with the voices of foals chanting, “Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!”

Squeak, now playing his Baron Night Wing part to the hilt, was admitting the foals and their escorts in manageable numbers. Grakkan was keeping order both in the line outside and with the foals inside.

One of the escorts noticed the card sign with the drawing of Caramel. She turned to the gryphoness and asked, “You did this? Can you draw me one posing with Caramel?”

Caramel nodded eagerly. “If you can do it, go for it Grakkan! Charge a whole silver bit for each one! What you earn like that is yours to keep!”

Clearing a table, Grakkan laid out her drawing supplies and began. In only a few minutes, she had done a swift but fine drawing. She carefully blotted it dry and took the silver bit. There were two more customers lined up!

Caramel was reminded of the passing time by the growling of her stomach. One of the goats pulled gently at her leg. “Caramel, ma'am, if you help me to set up and show me where supplies are, I can cook up the crew lunch. Nopony is going to miss one of the demons from the lot of us.”

Caramel led him back to the kitchen and they set up the fires. “Here, Graymak. Just flop out the burgers from this box. We need to do …”

Graymak finished, “Six in the first batch, five in the second. Where are the fries? I see that the fryer is heating.”

Caramel watched as he very professionally organized his cooking space and had buns toasting alongside clover burgers cooking.

He looked up, “What, still here? Shoo! Cooking is in good hooves! Actually, some of those in the line are saying that they are hungry too. Mora knows how to do shakes. Just show her where the supplies are.

“Once we get the crew fed, we can start taking orders from the line and feeding our customers!”

Caramel watched only a few more moments and commented, “You are well organized Graymak.”

“I was a military cook for the Equestrian Gryphon Volunteers.”

Caramel got. Soon all of her regular crew were fed. Mora Quietly brought out a ham slice for each of the three carnivores.

As soon as they were fed, she took Peanut’s order book and started to work her way down the waiting line. It was not long before another of the “Demons” was pushing a cart down the line, exchanging tickets for meals.

Caramel truly admired the efficiency of the goats working with her.

The day wore on to evening and the line only got longer. The word had got out in the mid day edition of the Prancer that they were serving simple meals to the waiting line for very reasonable prices!

The sunset was a spectacular welter of red, gold, and purple clouds.

That brought out even more Nightmare Nighting foals and their watchful parents or escorts.

They stayed busy right up to closing. Caramel allowed those already in the line to go through before the final closing.

Counting up, she found that, in spite of the costs of the treats and the hire and food for the Nightmare Night staff, she was looking at a PROFIT of over a hundred golden bits!

She embraced the lot of them, goats, donkeys, Thestral, gryphon and Peanut Brittle.

“You guys have made this the best sort of Nightmare Night! I could never have had this much fun and made so much money all at the same time without you!

“If any of you is in need, come here, to my business. I will do my best for you, the same as you did for me!”

~THE END~

Caramel Treat's Friend

In the kitchen of her candy shop, Caramel Treat was humming to herself as she carefully added a few drops of a liquid that almost seemed to smoke to a small batch of her famous candy bubbling in a small pot. She stirred it with care and added dried clover blooms, popped wheat and barley to the candy. She poured the finished mass into a small rectangular mold to set.

While the candy was cooling, Caramel Treat put the tightly stoppered potion bottle onto the topmost shelf of a stout locked cabinet holding a surprising number of other bottles similar to it. Then she took the pan, stirring spoon and a few other implements and carefully heated them all to nearly red heat over with flame from the stove's burner. That done, she put them into the sink to soak.

The candy was cool. She removed it from the greased mold and wrapped it in edible paper. The mold was treated just as the pan and spoon were.

Caramel Treat nickered happily to herself as she packed the result of her morning's handiwork. She put her head out the kitchen door and told her assistant, Peanut Brittle, “I am going out for the day, Peanut. You may have to open in the morning too.”

Peanut Brittle's palomino forelock lifted in surprise. “All day? Maybe all night?” With a knowing leer, she asked, “Really hot date? Hummm . . . I might use it for blackmail later, Boss!”

With a grin, Caramel Treat retorted, “You could try! You would fail! I actually do hope that it will be a hot date but it probably won't be. I need to visit old friends in the Everfree and there is no way that I will try to come back through that place after dark.”

Her eyes wide, Peanut Brittle asked, “Who lives in the Everfree, besides Zecora, I mean?”

With a sly grin, Caramel Treat retorted, “Wolves, among others. Not telling, got it?”

Peanut Brittle replied, “Got it. Be ready to manage tomorrow's opening, just in case. See you later, Caramel.”

Caramel Treat marveled once again at how, even on a warm day, the Everfree Forest could manage to feel so cool. In only a little time she veered away from the path to Zecora's house. Her hooves made almost no sound on the moss of the forest floor. Soon she came to the ridge of tall rock and broken stone that she was looking for. Staying in the shade, she stopped short of the open sunlight on the broken granite of the ridge.

The sun was shining brightly on the forest canopy above. Shadows ruled the forest floor below, with only tiny intrusions of the light above. Caramel Treat called out in a quiet but carrying voice, “Show yourself, Fangrin. I know that you are here.”

Slinking around a large boulder, a gray wolf with black tips to his ears, his ruff and down his back to and including his tail, crept toward her. His jaws were slightly open and his fangs showed clearly.

One small shaft of sunlight piercing the gloom of the forest trees lit the hoof of Caramel Treat as she held out the nicely shaped mixed oat, wheat, and dried clover bloom caramel candy that she had just made that morning.

The wolf before her crouched low, his forelegs extended toward the little Earth pony, his hind legs compressed to spring. Caramel did not even flinch. She smiled serenely and said, “It is OK, Fangrin, I know your secret. I have not told anypony or any wolf. I promise that you are safe. With your wolf senses, you can tell that I am not lying.”

The shaggy head bobbed a few millimeters in agreement. Fangrin's tail gave a small wag and went back to still. A voice that was hoarse and deep emerged from him. “I know that you are telling the truth. Truth does not answer why you are offering me THAT?”

Caramel Treat responded, “I told you that I know what your secret is, Fangrin. Think for a moment. How do I know that you HAVE a secret? How do I even know your name? The Pack does not let such things out lightly. Even the names of the Banished, like you are, are still kept secret. Yet I know your name.”

The wolf cringed down as if about to be struck a blow from an invisible foe. He covered his eyes with his forepaws and asked with outright fear, “How could you know that I was Banished? How can you possibly know what my secret is? Not even the Pack knew for certain. They cast me out because the wrongness that they could sense was incurable.

“Not the Pack Healer nor the Zebra Witch Zecora can heal me of the wrongness. Not even I Know why I have the wrongness in me.”

Confidently, Caramel Treat replied, “I can not heal you either. I do know what the wrongness is. You have been afflicted with a potion of Poison Joke.”

Now Fangrin sat up and snapped, “That cannot be! The Zebra Witch Zecora or the Pack Healer would have discovered that and cured it!”

Caramel Treat nickered her agreement, “If it was you who were exposed to the Poison Joke, you are right. They would have found it and cured it.

“It was your mother who was given a potion of Poison Joke by a jealous rival for your father's affection. Your mother WAS healed as soon as it was known.”

Sadly, she continued, “It was not quite soon enough. Some of that poisonous potion reached her unborn pups. With the capriciousness of Poison Joke, it all went to a single pup. You.

“You cannot be healed because you were born with it and without it you will die.”

Fangrin curled a lip, baring fangs and demanded, “If I cannot be healed, then why do you taunt me? What will that silly pony candy do for me?”

Caramel Treat said bluntly, “Which of us is larger? Pony or wolf? The magic of Poison Joke potion can do many things but it cannot turn you into a giant or shrink you to an ant.

“It does make you change forms. Your pony form is like a foal in size. It weighs no more than you do now.”

Openly hostile, Fangrin snarled, “My wolf form has fangs to rend you!”

Caramel Treat retorted primly, “And my pony form has hooves that can kick you into the middle of the next moon if you try anything so foolish. Without a Pack to back you, those fangs of yours are only good if I flee. If I fight, you will lose!

“Change to your small pony form and take the treat. I have put a potion in it but it will not harm you.

“Think. You were born a wolf. The Pack has cast you out. There is no reason to stay a wolf. Become a pony. Grow big. Grow strong. Then, when you change, What will you be?”

Fangrin's jaw dropped. “A monster wolf. Bigger than any other wolf in the Everfree!”

His jubilation stopped suddenly. Suspiciously he asked, “How do you know so much that no other knows?”

Casually, Carmel Treat answered, “Jealousy and Poison Joke potions are neither new nor restricted to wolves.”

Her smile grew and changed, fangs springing forth from her jaws. Her fur darkened, becoming shaggy gray with black tips. Her limbs changed. Her eyes went feral. Her tail changed. The biggest wolf that Fangrin had ever seen stood before him, still offering the treat.

“The same thing happened to me too. The humorous part of it all is that, as a pony, I have all of the sharpness of senses that any wolf has.” Curling lips away from huge fangs, she added, “Sharper, really. As a wolf they are sharper yet.

“I was back in the brush listening and watching while you were cast out. There is more but if you want to learn it, you must change to a pony. Take that treat and come with me.

“As I told you, the treat does contain a potion of my brewing. Instead of shunning the potion that nearly destroyed me, I embraced it. I have found and made many more. Using them showed me the nature of your secret. This potion will free you from forced changes under the rule of Luna. It will give you the control that you now lack.”

Her tongue lolling with the jest of it, Caramel Treat demanded, “Change. Eat. Join me. Learn to own and control your changes instead of letting them rule you.”

Giving the huge wolf in front of him a wondering look, Fangrin said, “It happened to you too? I am not alone?”

The huge shaggy head nodded in agreement. “You are not alone. Come with me. Hide safely among the other ponies while you grow.”

Drawing a deep breath and concentrating fiercely, Fangrin struggled to force himself to change. It was a slow and obviously painful process that twisted the wolf into a small, foal sized pony.

The monster wolf that was Caramel Treat smiled as she watched the tiny pony gobble up the candy. Her huge tail sweeping aside leaves and moss as she wagged it, she said, “We will be the best of friends, Fangrin. If things go well, we will be married by pony custom.

“Our foals will be like no others!”

WEREWOLVE'S WEDDING

Nightmare Night was fast approaching. Blue Bell and her mother Shooting Star were busy preparing for their celebration, two days before that special night. They were not alone in their preparations, either. Ponyville’s open thestrals, Sugar Maple and her Grandmare had come to their cottage in the edge of the Everfree, just past the banks of Falmire creek. They did not bother with using the stepping stones, though. They simply glided down into the yard and folded their bat like wings.

As they entered the cottage they called happily, “We brought spreads and preserves for your breads and buns!”

Sugar Maple joked, “It was easy to find your cottage! We just followed the wonderful scent of baking breads and pies!”

She looked about and asked, “I thought that there were going to be more here. Where are they?”

Shooting Star replied indulgently, “There will be! I had word by Magic Net that Caramel and Fangrin are bringing ice cream and some other treats! They may be bringing some other guests, too! If rumor is right, they have got the Stone Ridge Pack to accept Fangrin back and they may be here for the wedding! In any case, they are bringing Grumpeter Goat!”

True to her prediction, the huge Everfree Ridgeback wolf that was Caramel Treat and a second, only slightly smaller one, that was Fangrin, came trotting up the path from Ponyville. Each had bulging saddlebags! They also did not bother with the stepping stones. They simply leaped across the creek!

The rest of the party goers gleefully stripped them of the panniers and started laying out the contents along big trestle tables, to join all the rest of the assorted goodies already there!

Caramel, in high good spirits, told the others, “They are coming! The Stone Ridge pack is just waiting for our howl. Fangrin and I have been looking forward to this day since we met! Shooting Star, I am so happy that you have agreed to officiate our wedding. I know that Reverend Smallflower would have been happy to do it, because I asked him.

“With all of those fool Celestian Church idiots around bothering everypony, and accusing us of being vile creatures of Luna and worse, I just could not resist having you do it. I mean, you are a direct descendant in unbroken line from General Dark Star of the Nightmare’s Witch brigade! I had that Rom donkey, Marchhare, look it up. His library has original documents from the Fortress of Nightmare!”

“I am more than happy to do it for you. I do have Princess Luna’s formal commission as a Nightmare’s Witch Brigade officer. Please invite your guests.”

Caramel and Fangrin sat and, tails wagging, lifted their muzzles to the sky and set free a melodious howl. The howl was answered from different points all about the cleared area around the cottage. That was followed by a nearly continuous soft rustle of leaves as big Everfree Ridgeback wolves converged on the clearing openly, not attempting to be stealthy.

From across the stream came a polite call of, “I heard that there was a wedding here. Am I welcome?” All eyes turned to the spare white pegasus in a flat black hat.

Caramel replied, “Of course, Reverend Smallflower, but the ceremony is to be officiated by Lieutenant Major Shooting Star, of the Nightmare’s Witch Brigade.”

He nodded agreeably, “Such was my understanding. I came to watch, congratulate the happy couple and partake of the feast. I brought a small contribution. I have two substantial slices of cured ham for the celebrants and a pair of frostberry pies for the rest.”

Shooting Star invited, “Be welcome, Reverend! Are you afraid of the wolves?”

“Should I be? None of the rest of you seem to be.”

“Not really. Most ponies are anyway.”

With that, Reverend Smallflower simply walked across on the stepping stones and surveyed the table. He set two packages at one end and a large package at the other.

A second late comer called out, “Hi, Caramel! Hi, Fangrin! Sorry that I’m late. Ran into three Celestian priests on the road. That’s where I left them. On the road, I mean. I had to dodge into the brush and work my way around them. They were spewing their usual garbage about me being a Lesser Sort, and a Vile Creature of the Accursed Evil Twin.

“Anyway, I brought a big clover top scramble for us and a big omelet. Hope that it will do for the carnivore side of this feast.”

Fangrin romped over to the piebald black, tan, and white goat. “Grumpy! We were waiting for you! Did the Celestians give you some more trouble? How are your studies going? Can we have another checkers tournament soon?”

Grumpy giggled under the physical and verbal assault! Gently pushing away the big werewolf, he replied, “No, the Celestians really didn’t give me much trouble. Just blocked the road so that I had to go into the brush to get around them. Other than that it was just the usual verbal idiocy that their so called faith requires of them.

“As for my studies, they are going great! I finally qualified for Abnormal Psych 666! Only one more semester to go and I have my degree! I can’t wait for the Non-Equine University to send me my text books.

“Is Wednesday next good for you? I can have the checker board and refreshments out.”

Fangrin happily helped Grumpy to set out his dishes. “This all looks so good, Grumpy! I can’t wait for our wedding to be over and the party starts!”

Shooting Star emerged from her cottage, wearing a dark blue uniform with a polished silver emblem of a thestral with spread wings clutching a pair of bars mounted to each shoulder. Floating in air to the right of her head was a stout and intricately carved wand of dark wood with silver tips. It was being casually held at the moment.

Grumpy blinked about three times when he saw her. Turning to Caramel, disbelief in his voice, he asked, “A Lieutenant-Major in Nightmare’s Witch Brigade? Really? In this day and age? I thought that they were disbanded at the end of the Second Nightmare War.”

With a twinkle in her eye, Caramel replied, “Yes she is, and a direct descendant of General Dark Star of the Nightmare’s Council and battle leader of the Witch Brigade. As for being disbanded, they turned in false wands for destruction and went right on meeting and training in secret.”

Grumpy chuckled at the thought and then pointed excitedly. “She is starting!”

Indeed, Shooting Star had gone to a formal parade stance and her wand was now being held at a still and formal position, tilted slightly toward her guests. She paced forward and stopped halfway to Falmire Creek. She raised her wand and, chanting, swept it in a circle three times. As it swept about, it trailed a tenuous looking glowing sheet the color of thin cirrus clouds lit by moonlight. The sheets settled into a visible circle, encompassing the house and the party, reaching across the creek at the stepping stones. The circle faded from visibility.

She ended by pronouncing, “The Circle of the Moon protects all within from any harm by deed or intent. The wedding parties will now take their places.”

Caramel took a place to the right end of the feasting table, Fangrin to the left. The Stone Ridge pack formed two rows parallel to the table, with Shooting Star at the center. They added another aisle from her down to the creek. The rest of the guests were divided into two groups by the formation.

Loud stomping announced the arrival of the same three Celestian priests that Grumpy had run into earlier. The one in the lead bawled, “This blasphemous gathering of the vile creatures of the Evil Luna must disperse at once, by the order of High Priest Hortimer!”

Shooting Star sauntered insultingly slowly down the aisle of wolves toward the creek. At the bank, by her stepping stones, she replied, “No. We will not disburse.

“Equestria is not a theocracy run by that worthless high priest Hortimer or any other. Our gathering is specifically allowed by the same religious freedom law that allows your so called church to exist. You claim to worship Celestia but you ignore what she herself writes about you and your church. She detests you and all that you stand for, especially your vile doctrine of Unicorn Supremacy.

“You are trespassing on my property. It is properly fenced and posted private, so you know that you are trespassing. Go.”

They responded by rearing up, gathering magic about their horns impressively. Shooting Star casually covered her yawn with a hoof as they let fly.

Their powerful magic hit the presently invisible ward! There was a flare of light from each place that the ward was hit! Their magic rebounded straight back at each of them, knocking them from their hind hooves, right onto their backs and shoving them about five meters across the ground in a wild tangle of hooves and priestly robes!

As they scrambled to their hooves, their leader demanded, “What did you do to us!? Just for that insolence, we are going to use far greater force!”

Shooting Star replied mildly, “I did nothing to you. According to the law of WHATSO YOU DO COMES BACK TO YOU, your own evil returned to you. What you gave, you got. I repeat, you are trespassing. Go. Leave my land, home and guests.”

Grumpy confided his worry to Grandmare, the black thestral, “Shouldn’t she be doing something to run them off?”

Grandmare replied with some humor, “She is. She is being a focus to draw their attacks. That invisible ward? Not weak at all and carefully tuned to unicorn magic. Right now, she is trying to get rid of them by using non-equine magic to turn their own magic against them. She does not want bloodshed to mar the wedding.”

“Non-equine magic? I thought that the secret of that was lost when Baratted the Goat disappeared at the end of the Second Nightmare War.”

“No, Grumpy. There are many kinds of magic in the world besides the Equine magic of unicorns. That is what they are learning right now, if they are smart enough to learn, that is.”

A large flash of light from another frustrated attack interrupted their conversation! Excited, Grumpy exclaimed, “Look at them flop back! That must have been a real strong try!”

Chuckling, Grandmare pointed out, “Their pretty white robes are getting all stained and torn! They need to quit while they are still able to walk!”

They heard Shooting Star say, “You have been repeatedly told to leave. Your persistent attacks leave me no choice. Go, or I shall be violent to you.”

Scrambling to his feet, one of the junior priests demanded, “Violent? What do you call this? You have been striking us down! Our robes are ruined!”

She sighed. “If you listened at all, you know why that all happened. Your own evil has been returning to you, that is all. Now, GO.”

Their leader reared up defiant. Before he could do anything, Shooting Star’s wand leveled at him! His big priest’s Celestian medallion suddenly glowed red and fell from the ornate chain, a molten glob of metal! The chain, no longer a loop, slithered off his neck and fell in an untidy heap beside the congealing remains of the medallion.

While he was screaming his pain at the burned fur and skin on his chest, the same happened to the other two! Their screams joined his! One of them panicked and started to run for the gate! That triggered the stampede! In only moments, all that was left of their presence was trampled and torn sod and the remains of their necklaces.

Shooting Star paced quietly back up the aisle of wolves to her place. Glancing about to be sure that all were where they needed to be, she began in a calm voice, “We are here to wed two excellent Werewolf ponies, Fangrin and Caramel Treat.

“In Ponyville, mostly as ponies, they run a well received restaurant. Rarely turning away any in need, they are a refuge for the needy and hungry. More, they defend any who come to them from all sorts of persecution. They feed all sorts, whether vegetarian, omnivore or carnivore.

“Besides this goodness, they also hunt with the Stone Ridge pack of Everfree Ridgeback wolves. By helping the hunt and freely sharing the kill, they assist their friends of the forest. Through their good offices, peace and friendship have grown between those who live in or close to the Everfree forest and the Stone Ridge pack.

“In that regard, the Duchess of Red Hoof and her heart kept husband the Baron of Drandale, send their warmest regards but Royal obligations have required their presence in Canterlot.

“Caramel and Fangrin now seek to complete a long standing promise and, as the culmination of their goodness and generosity, marry each other and live mated for life.

“Caramel, Fangrin, come before me now.”

As Ponies, both came forward through an aisle of wolves, and met in front of Shooting Star. “If you both still wish to be joined in marriage, mated for life, please raise your left forehooves so that they touch side by side, neither one higher than the other.”

Fangrin’s gray and black hoof was raised beside Caramel’s candy tan one. Shooting Star’s wand, acting like it had a life of its own, laid across both hooves. The same moonlight colored magic that had created such a solid defensive circle, flowed from its tip and enmeshed both hooves.

Leaving her wand in place, Shooting Star quietly commanded, “Now, leaving your feet together, transform before us all to show that no matter the form, you twain are together as one.”

The wand balanced between the two did not move in the slightest as the couple transformed into the physically largest wolves there.

Shooting Star recovered her wand to what Grumpy now recognized as a formal parade rest position. “Now, side by side, neither leading or following, go to the pool of the stream and there drink the water of life together.”

They paced down the aisle of their friends, the Stone Ridge pack, to the pool and, lowering their heads together, lapped up some of the water. Shooting Star’s wand shot up a big starburst of moonlike light. Joyously, she called, “By the authority granted me by Luna, the Nightmare, I pronounce you mated for life!”

Caramel and Fangrin made their way back to the table, surrounded by cavorting wolves. They lifted a sheet off of a large haunch that still had coarse yellow fur on part of it. The haunch ended in a heavily clawed paw. Each of them took one end of the big hindquarter and lifted it down to the ground for the pack! While the wolves closed in on it, they did no fighting or squabbling, but took turns grabbing a chunk and making room for the next.

Caramel and Fangrin opened the box that Reverand Smallflower had brought and helped themselves to the ham slices in it. Grumpy, watching the carnivores go for their part of the feast, was a bit green around the gills, as they say. Nevertheless, he was pleased to see Grandmare and Sugar Maple, the thestrals, happily eating up his big omelet.

Blue Bell, Shooting Star’s filly, noticed his condition and suggested, “Just come down here, Mister Goat, and concentrate on the pies, cakes and that lovely clover top scramble that you made.”

As he was nibbling up his second slice, Grumpy commented, “Thanks, Blue Bell. Got to admit that this is the first wedding done by witch ponies that I have ever been to. It has been fascinating. And you are right, frostberry pie seems to cure almost anything!