A Tale of TwiPieby AuthorQuillChaptersPink Party Pony Prepares Creative Culinary Confection for Pretty Purple PonyStep 1: Prepare Dry IngredientsStep 2: Add Wet IngredientsPink Party Pony Prepares Creative Culinary Confection for Pretty Purple Pony"Where is it?! WHERE IS IT?!" Pinkie Pie squeaked, throwing open as many cabinet doors within Sugar Cube Corner as she could. Strands of her mane were standing on end, as her bloodshot eyes flicked frantically from cabinet to cabinet. So consumed was Pinkie in her plight, that she didn't hear Mr. and Mrs. Cake or the Cake Twins appear to witness her freak out. The veteran bakers were well acquainted with their young ward's hyperactive methods, but this was different, they could tell. Pinkie Pie was in genuine distress. Cup Cake looked at Carrot Cake in worry, before Carrot cleared his throat. "Um...Pinkie? Is everything okay?" he asked. The pink mare spun around to see her concerned guardians, and gave a small giggle. "Oh yeah, I'm fine, Mr. Cake," she said, even as one of her eyes twitched. The two adult ponies sighed, before Mr. Cake approached. "Come on now. Tell Mrs. Cake and I what's going on," he said with a kind smile, placing a comforting hoof on Pinkie. The pink pony sighed, as she closed a cabinet. "I wanna make a special dessert for the pony I want to be my special somepony, but we're out of ingredients and none of the normal recipes will work! This needs to be super-duper extra special for them!" she said, her mane drooping. Mrs. Cake smiled sadly, as she slowly approached Pinkie. "Oh, dearie, don't worry," she said, tilting the pink mare's chin up gently. "I'm sure whatever it is you make for whoever this pony is, that it'll be perfect for them. Your special somepony will love it because it came from you." Pound and Pumpkin, even though they couldn't understand, nodded after their mother finished speaking. Pinkie giggled, nuzzling the baby Cakes, before she pulled back. "You're right, Mrs. Cake. You're right. I shouldn't be so worried about it." "That's the spirit, dearie," Mrs. Cake said with a smile. "I'm gonna head to the market to get more ingredients, then I'm gonna bake like there's no tomorrow!" the party pony stated, grabbing her saddlebags from where they lay on a chair, and rushing out of the bakery. Her mind was racing with the possibilities of what she would make, and how the pony she hoped to give the baked good to would react. Her saddlebags bulging with plenty of new ingredients, Pinkie began the trek back to Sugar Cube Corner, humming the Smile Song to herself, and bouncing. She couldn't wait to get started on her treat for her future special somepony. She bit her lip, imagining the reaction. With a playful knock at the library door, Pinkie shuffled in excitement. The tray balanced on her tail, cradling the culinary confection she'd slaved most of the day on. Ooh, she couldn't wait to see the look on Twilight's face when she saw the delicious treat that the pink mare had made her. Almost on cue, the mare in question opened the door with a smile. "Pinkie, hi!" she said. "What can I do for you?" "Hi Twilight. I brought this for you," Pinkie said, the tray on her tail moving into Twilight's line of sight. "Oh my! What is it?" "It's a special dessert I made for you. I spent all day working on it," the pink mare said, looking down at the ground sheepishly and rubbing the back of her forehoof. "Aww, Pinkie. You shouldn't have!" Twilight giggled. Pinkie flashed one of her big smiles, before lifting the lid of the tray with the tip of her mane, revealing the culinary confection she concocted. A triple-layer cake sat on the tray, the layers consisting of pink and purple. Magenta fondant, the same color of Pinkie's mane, rimmed the edge with multi-colored pieces of sugar dusted around a design of Twilight's cutiemark in the top left. The bottom right had Pinkie's cutiemark, and in between the two of them was the message, written in beautiful calligraphy with sparkly magenta frosting that seemed to resemble Twilight's magic, the message 'Twilight, you're as sweet as a piece of cake, and just as pretty. Would you be my special somepony?' Twilight's eyes widened at the message, then back up to pleading blue eyes. Pinkie's heart raced, as Twilight just stood there, looking at the cake, then back at Pinkie, then back at the cake. As her eyes turned back to Pinkie again, those beautiful purple orbs that the party pony always got lost in, they furrowed in anger. "Are you insane? Do you really think that I would ever want a special somepony like YOU?! You really show up to my door with your second-rate dessert and your pathetic attempt at courtship, and thought I would just fall all over you? You have NOTHING of substance that you could bring to a relationship, Pinkie! The only reason I've been tolerating you until now is because I was scientifically intrigued by you, and then I found out about your inane 'Pinkie Sense'! For the love of Celestia, the sheer fact that Ponyville basically considers you a town hero is almost comical. If you weren't the Element of Laughter, we wouldn't even BE in the same social or intellectual fields. You're a baker, Pinkie, and that's all you'll ever be." With every word, Pinkie's color drained. Her lower lip wobbled, as tears came to her eyes, her face in a look of absolute anguish. Twilight sneered. "Oh please, don't start with the tears, Pinkie. This was never going to go like you hoped it would, and you know it. Now please, take your cake and leave my doorstep. And consider our friendship reduced to acquaintance level at best," she said, her horn lighting up around the library door. "Good day, Ms. Pie." Then, without another word, the unicorn slammed the door. Pinkie was frozen, tears cascading down her cheeks, as her mane and tail completely deflated, the cake that she'd spent almost the entire day working on, that she'd put her heart into, clattered to the ground and turned into mush. Pinkie's bouncing had slowed, before coming to a stop just outside of Sugar Cube Corner. She wiped away her tears, trying to slow down her heartrate. Her mind was going to be a meanie today, it seemed. While she could never see Twilight actually being that needlessly cruel, the fear of rejection and disappointment resonated inside her mind like an echoing kettle drum. "I know Mr. and Mrs. Cake mean well, but...this is too important to me. I can't let Twilight down. This has to be the best dessert I've ever made, putting every other sweet I've ever made to shame!" she muttered to herself. "I just wish I had another cookbook! Something that was really unique!" As if on cue, a magic POP! came from behind Pinkie, and an all too familiar voice purred out, "Did somepony say 'unique'? That just so happens to be my specialty!" Pinkie sighed, turning her head slowly to regard the draconequus floating behind her. "Discord. What do you want?" "Pinkie, is that any way to speak to a friend? All I want is to help you, truly," the former Lord of Chaos said, holding up his paws in a placating manner. Pinkie's eyebrow rose, shooting him an extremely incredulous look. "I'm not as stupid as I seem, you know." Discord simply chuckled, popping away before reappearing right above Pinkie. Taking the end of her mane with his left paw, he began to stroke it slowly. "Oh, Pinkie, you needn't worry. I'm more than aware of your...paramour troubles! In all honesty, I have to commend you. Of all ponies, I never thought you'd fall for Twilight. Talk about opposites attract!" "If you're just gonna insult me, you can save your breath," Pinkie snapped, before giving a sigh. "I just got more than enough from my own mind." "Not an insult, Pinkie. I truly do want to help you win Twilight's heart," Discord replied. "Why?" "Consider it...a token of affection from one being of chaos to another. Also, Fluttershy would never let me hear the end of it." Pinkie had to giggle at that. He wasn't wrong. Flutters could be scary if she knew one of her friends was being mistreated. "Okay. What can you do? Do you actually have a cookbook?" "I don't own one, personally, but there are many different one's floating around the Chaos Realm. It all depends on what type of creation you're looking to make." "A dessert. The greatest, most perfect, most unbelievable dessert that anypony in Equestria has ever seen!" Pinkie grinned. "One cookbook containing a life-altering, completely unique, never before seen dessert coming up!" Discord proclaimed, snapping his fingers and disappearing again. Mr. and Mrs. Cake poked their heads from out of the doorway, taking in the sight of their ward. "Everything all right, sugar cookie?" Mrs. Cake asked. "Oh, yeah, Mrs. Cake. Everything's fine," Pinkie replied. With another POP! Discord reappeared, a red-leather bound, thick volume in his right paw. A pair of horn-rimmed glasses appeared on top of his muzzle, opening the book and quickly flipping through the pages. "Ah-ha! Here we are!" Discord exclaimed, jamming his finger onto one of the pages. "Quadruple-layer Chocolate Rain and Stars cake, topped with Cotton Candy Cloud fondant. If this baby doesn't nab you Twilight, then nothing will." With an effortless flipping shut of the book, the former Lord of Chaos snapped his finger again, and Pinkie felt the cookbook appear in one of her saddlebags. "Hold on there, Pinkie. This feels awfully fishy," Mr. Cake said, approaching Discord. "How can we be sure that whatever that cookbook is that you just gave her isn't dangerous?" Discord gasped, placing a paw over his chest. "Mr. Cake, you wound me. Do you really think that I would give Pinkie Pie something that would purposefully harm her or Twilight?" Mr. Cake's eyes slightly narrowed. "You don't want me to actually answer that question, do you?" Pulling the cookbook from out of Pinkie's saddlebag, Mrs. Cake flipped through it quickly. "What kind of ingredients are these?" she asked, finding the entry for the Chocolate Rain cake. "One cup of stardust from the stream of the Palomino comet? Three tablespoons of the feeling of laughter and joy? How is she supposed to find those?" Discord sighed, rolling his eyes. "You ponies and your limited imaginations," he muttered under his breath. "Because the book comes from the Chaos Realm, that means it follows Chaos Realm rules. And Pinkie Pie has a biological connection to the Chaos Realm. Don't ask me how, even I haven't figured it out, but nonetheless, all Pinkie has to do is imagine the ingredients in the correct size and they'll appear in the endless void that is her mane." Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked back at their young charge, rummaging around in her mane, with her tongue poking up. "Exhibit A," Discord pointed out, as Pinkie procured a whisk from inside her mane. "Pinkie, dear. Are you sure you're up for this? I mean, I'm sure Mr. Cake and I can search through our old cookbooks for something else," Mrs. Cake said. Pinkie sighed, and finally looked at Mrs. Cake with those same tear-stained eyes she'd wiped away only a few minutes before. "I...I love her, Mrs. Cake. I do. So much, and I just...I can't let her down with this. I can't disappoint her and have her reject me. I need her to know how I feel, and this is the best way." She giggles sadly, flashing the mare who was like a second mother to her a small smile. "You know me, I'm not very good with big words. But, I AM good at baking, and I'm gonna use what I'm good at to tell Twilight how I feel about her, and what I bake has to be as...amazing and incredible and magical as she is." Mrs. Cake sniffled, and pulled Pinkie into a hug. The Cake matriarch had known their young ward long enough to know when she was serious about something. But, neither of them knew that Twilight Sparkle was the pony that Pinkie loved, until now. They suspected, sure, but Pinkie wasn't as forthcoming here as she was in every other circumstance. Now, though, well...the two were prepared to do anything they could to help Pinkie. If not actually end up in a relationship with Twilight, at the very least they could help her find closure and make sure that she and the purple librarian remained friends. "Oh, Sugar Cookie. I understand, I do. And you're absolutely right. You ARE good at baking, you're incredible at it. So, Mr. Cake and I are going to make a small run to restock the cupboards for tomorrow, then we'll take Pound and Pumpkin over to your friend Fluttershy's so you have the entire Corner to yourself," she said, pulling away, before pushing the Chaos cookbook against Pinkie's barrel. "You take this book, you cook this cake, and you go sweep Twilight off of her hooves. Because you. are. worth it, Pinkie Pie. And you deserve a special somepony like Twilight." Pinkie couldn't help how much she was crying. Ever since she'd left her sister's on the Rock Farm, she'd been longing for a familial connection again, especially since the relationship she had with her own parents was...lukewarm, to say the least. She couldn't remember the last time her mother had hugged her with this much warmth. Her parents weren't big on emotion. She missed her family, especially Maud, but in this moment, Mrs. Cup Cake of Sugar Cube Corner in Ponyville was every bit the mother she needed right now. "Thank you, Mrs. Cake," she whimpered against the older mare's neck. Mrs. Cake simply answered by placing a gentle kiss right on Pinkie's head. "You deserve everything, Pinkie Pie," she whispered again, before pulling away fully. "Carrot, dear, let's go get Pound and Pumpkin and take them on a little shopping trip. Pinkie's got a long rest of the day ahead of her." She returned to her husband's side, before looking at Discord one more time. "Discord, let me give you a word of warning. If the baked good that this book produces causes ANY harm to either Pinkie or Twilight, I will make all those years of you being trapped in stone look like a picnic. Are we clear?" she asked in her best 'mom' voice. Pinkie giggled silently as Discord paled and gulped at the fire he saw in Mrs. Cake's eyes. "Yes, Ma'am. Crystal clear, Ma'am," he said with a salute, before disappearing again. Pinkie pulled both Cakes into one more hug, before giving a sharp nod and reentering Sugar Cube Corner, rubbing the spine of the Chaos Cookbook. She was going to bake the ever-loving Tartarus out of this cake, because she deserved Twilight, and she was going to prove it. Step 1: Prepare Dry IngredientsHer apron wrapped tightly around her barrel, Pinkie laid out the weapons she would be wielding on this particular battlefield. The whisk would be her mighty sword, with which she would cut through the Chocolate Rain batter in the bowl. The cookbook laid on the counter, with the recipe open. Mrs. Cake hadn't exaggerated. Some of these ingredients were really, really strange. However, if what Discord said was true, Pinkie had just as much access to Chaos magic as he did. She'd always known there was something different about her. When she was young, she'd always wondered why it was that she was bright pink when the rest of her family were different shades of grey. Her Granny Pie, though, was the exception. She was pink as well, like Pinkie Pie, but she'd been a Pegasus. It was why she bounced around everywhere. Pegasus blood. Even still, Granny Pie, who possessed a special sense of her own, said that Pinkie was even more special than her. She had a stronger sense, making her almost omniscient in certain circumstances, and her ability to not only pull random objects from out of her mane or even from some form of negative space, but to also be able to seemingly break the laws of reality. Granny Pie hadn't disclosed much to her parents, but from what Pinkie could tell, most of those powers seemed to be possessed by Granny's Mother, Pinkie's Great-Grandmother. She'd never met them, but Granny had said that her Mom was an incredible being. "Am I gonna meet them at the end of the story?" Pinkie asked. Spoilers, Pinkie. I can't tell you that. "Aww. Party pooper." Taking a quick look at the top of the page, Pinkie read out the description of the Chocolate Rain and Stars cake. Any normal being can make an ordinary chocolate cake, but the Chocolate Rain and Stars cake is a testament to a baker's skills. Only the most gifted can properly prepare this gift from the heavens, and the result is a confection unlike any other. No one is sure where this cake was first created, from what layer of the Chaos Realm it came from, or from WHOM it could have been created by. Legend says, however, that a chosen baker who undertakes the creation of this dessert, will be gifted with the knowledge of the cake's origin. The party pony's blue eyes widened with every word. She loved puzzles, and for a puzzle to be attached to a baked good? That was perfect for Pinkie. "This is gonna be so fun. Okay, let's see what the ingredients list is," Pinkie giggled, jogging in place before laying out a number of bowls on the counter, half for the dry ingredients and half for the wet. That done, she returned to the cookbook to glance at the ingredients and proper measurements. 6 cups of all-purpose flour 6 tablespoons of sugar 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder 3 cups of baking powder 3 cups of baking soda 5 tablespoons of salt 4 cups of milk 2 cups of butter 4 eggs 4 teaspoons of vanilla extract Boiling water 1 cup of stardust from the stream of the Palomino comet 3 tablespoons of the feeling of laughter and joy Marshmallows Shortening 1 cup of Cotton Candy cloud puffs "Huh. Mrs. Cake wasn't kidding. Some of these ingredients are really weird. Okay, better get started with the ingredients I'm familiar with, then I'll tackle the more obscure ones after," the pink pony said to herself, trotting over to the cupboards and pulling out the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, salt, marshmallows and shortening, putting them all on the table close to the counter. Then, balancing the butter and vanilla on her tail, she began separating all the dry ingredients into the individual bowls. Sliding the butter and vanilla further back on the table, she grabbed the measuring cups and spoons with her tail, and began to pour the flour and sugar into them and dumping them into a large bowl. She did the same with the baking power, baking soda and salt, then grabbed her whisk and cranked like there was no tomorrow, before it was all properly mixed together as the recipe stated. Glancing back at the book, Pinkie saw an addendum below the first step. Addendum: Before moving on to add the wet ingredients into the mixture, the selected bowl must be passed through a rainbow spectrum, and the rainbow dust filtered and mixed in. "Rainbow dust? Really? Well, that's gonna be hard," Pinkie said, placing the bowl and whisk on the counter again, as her mind began to race as to how she could get that rainbow dust. She could use her Pinkie-Copter, of course, but it'd be hard to keep the bowl balanced while she pedaled. There was always her party balloons, that was how she got onto Cloudsdale so many other times, but she wasn't sure how she'd get into the factory to get the spectrum. "Pinkie Pie! What's up?!" Rainbow Dash asked, zooming into the Corner through one of the windows. Pinkie smiled, bounding over to her friend! "Dashie! Hi!" Pinkie giggled, hugging the blue pegasus. "What're you up to?" "Baking a cake." "Nice. Need any help?" Dash asked with a smirk, eyeing all the ingredients on the counter. "Actually, yeah, I do. The recipe I'm using calls for filtered dust from a rainbow spectrum, and well, I could definitely get UP to Cloudsdale, but my worry is how to get into the factory to get the dust, since I know only Pegasi are allowed in there," the pink mare said. "Ha! Don't worry, Pinkie, I can get up to the factory and have that dust filtered into your bowl in ten seconds flat," Rainbow Dash boasted with a grin. Pinkie squeed in response, rushing over to grab the bowl, before placing a mesh lining over the top. "What's that for?" "It's the filter, Dashie," Pinkie said, securing the mesh lining with a rubber band around the rim of the bowl. "Here you go." "No worries, Pinks, that dust is as good as gotten," she said with a grin as Pinkie hoofed her the bowl. Then, eyeing it with a wary eye, she took a deep breath. "Um...out of curiosity, how am I supposed to GET the dust?" Pinkie shrugged. "I don't know. All the recipe says is that the bowl needs to be 'passed through the spectrum' so that the rainbow dust can be filtered through and mixed in with the rest of the dry ingredients." "On it! Go ahead and time me!" Dash called, before blasting out of Sugar Cube Corner from the same window she'd come through, the bowl clutched tight in her hooves. Pinkie giggled, trotting back over to the counter while slowly counting. "1. 2. 3," she said, popping open the vanilla extract and scooping the butter into the measuring cup. "4. 5. 6," she continued, wiping some of the excess flour and sugar that had fallen on the counter away. "7. 8. 9," she carried on, grabbing the eggs. "10." Just as the number fell out of her mouth, Rainbow Dash zoomed back into the Corner, the bowl clutched under her foreleg. "Well? What'd I tell ya?" she grinned. "You were right, Dashie. 10 seconds flat," Pinkie giggled, as Rainbow hoofed the bowl back to her, placing it on the counter again. "Thanks for the help," she said with a smile, peeling the mesh lining off the top of the bowl. The lining was covered in the traces of the multi-colored spectrum, and within the bowl, Pinkie could see the shining rainbow dust within the previous dried ingredients. "Hey, did you mix this in?" she asked. Dash nodded, turning her head to relieve the crick in her neck. "Yeah. I thought, since I already had the bowl, might as well mix it in for you. I'm fast enough, after all. Just a simple 360 spin and it was perfectly mixed." "Thanks, Dashie. You were such a big help." "No problem, Pinks. Hey, what kind of cake is this gonna be anyway? I never heard of a cake that needed rainbow spectrum dust in it." Pinkie giggled. "A baker never reveals their secrets, Rainbow," she said. "Fine, be secretive. Just make sure you save me a slice, okay? It's gonna be a chocolate cake, right? I can't resist chocolate cake." "Hehe. I know. You'll get a slice, Dashie, I promise." "Thanks, Pinkie. I guess I'll get going, since you're busy with the cake. Let me know when that bad boy's done. See ya," Rainbow Dash called, before zooming out of the sweet shop again. "Typical Rainbow Dash," Pinkie said, shaking her head with a giggle as she turned back to the cookbook. "Okay, so wet ingredients next, right?" Once the spectrum dust is properly mixed into the dry ingredients, let the mixture rest in a sunbeam for precisely 30 minutes to properly absorb the spectrum's magic. "Aww. More waiting?" Pinkie whined, looking from the book to the bowl. 30 minutes was a good amount of time for her to get the frosting bag and crack the eggs into a separate bowl, ready to add it to the dry ingredients with the butter and the vanilla extract. So, with a flourish and a spin of the bowl on her frogs, she brought it over to the sunbeam hitting the table, and placed it right in the middle. Step 1 complete. Step 2, about to begin. Step 2: Add Wet IngredientsWhen a half-hour had passed, Pinkie finally dumped the butter, eggs and vanilla extract into the original mixture, pouring in the boiling water and whisking it all together until it became one homogenous lump of dough. Wiping away some sweat from her forehead, she placed the bowl back down on the counter, before turning the page of the cookbook. Once the dry and wet ingredients have been introduced together, the batter must be poured into the pans and placed in the oven for 30-35 minutes, no more than 40. Helpful tip: Before the pans are put in the oven, it would be a better idea to prepare the fondant instead of after. "They're not wrong," Pinkie said to herself, grabbing the marshmallows, shortening and powdered sugar, and placing them each in individual bowls. "Okay, what do they advise about the fondant?" The comet stream must be introduced into the fondant batter after everything has been whisked together, while the Cotton Candy Cloud puffs must be introduced BEFORE the batter is whisked together. It cannot be stressed enough, the stream from the Palomino comet must be introduced AFTER the Cotton Candy Cloud puffs. "Okay, comet stream after cloud puffs, got it," Pinkie nodded, sitting on her haunches. Now had come the moment for the two more eclectic ingredients. The Cotton Candy Clouds wouldn't be an issue, she remembered those well from when Discord tried to make Ponyville Chaos Capitol of Equestria. Sometimes she missed those chocolate rain clouds. The Palomino comet was another matter. She'd never seen the Palomino comet, and she doubted she ever would in her lifetime, as it only came around every 1000 years. Huh, thinking about it, the comet must have gone by while she and the girls were dealing with Nightmare Moon. With that thought in mind, she knew that some kind of encyclopedia or historic manuscript would probably have a picture and description of the comet that would aid her in her magic. She had to shake her head and smile at that. It still felt...odd calling what she had magic, given that she wasn't a unicorn, but really, there was no other word for it, Discord had even called it as such. Straightening up, Pinkie gulped. Encyclopedia's were books, and there was only ONE place in Ponyville that had books like that. The one place she hadn't wanted to visit with the one pony she didn't want to see until the cake was done. She could feel the tears coming on again from her conjured rejection fantasy, before shaking her head fast. No. No. Twilight wasn't like that. She had to keep repeating that to herself, as she removed her apron and hung it on one of the hooks on the wall. She had to keep repeating it as she covered the batter and the ingredients for the fondant to keep them all from spoiling. She had to keep repeating it as she exited Sugar Cube Corner and slowly walked to the Golden Oaks Library. Twilight wasn't like that. Twilight wasn't like that. The mantra repeated in her head again, as she knocked on the door of the library. As she was halfway through an additional repeat, making it to 'Twilight wasn't' the door to the library opened as Spike stood behind it. "Pinkie, hey! What's up?" the baby dragon asked. "Oh, hi, Spike. Is...um...Is Twilight home?" Pinkie asked, rubbing the back of her mane. She hadn't been expecting Spike to be there. She wasn't sure WHY she hadn't expected him to be there, after all, he lived in the library too. "Yeah, come on in. I'll go get her," Spike said, closing the door behind the pink mare as she entered into the library, her heart pounding. "Wait right here." Turning on his heel, Spike headed for the set of stairs in the doorway under Twilight's bed and descended down them. Pinkie could faintly hear the sounds of Twilight's science gadgets. She must have been in her lab. Taking a look at one of the shelves of books to her left, Pinkie's eyes glided past book spine after book spine, her face becoming redder and redder as she realized she was looking at the romance section. Why in the name of Celestia did Twilight NOT label these sections? A large red leather volume seemed to catch her eye. It had gold filigree at the top and bottom edges and the dark blue image of a heart printed in the middle of the spine. With a shaking forehoof, Pinkie pulled the book from the shelf to glimpse the cover. It was a beautifully painted image of two smiling ponies, two mares in fact, their heads pressed together in a romantic pose. Under the image of the ponies was a title scrawled in calligraphic script 'Crimson Heart and Slipstream: A Love Across Time.' Pinkie gave a dry gulp, turning the book around to look at the blurb (that's what Twilight said the words on the back of the book were called) on the back. 'Crimson Heart, a normal pony with a normal job, never believed she would fall in love. The Earth Pony was too career-focused to take the time for that. Until one stormy night when a horrific lightning bolt hit Crimson while she was scaling a Manehattan building for her job. But, instead of destroying her as would be the norm, Crimson was thrown back to almost 30 years in the past. It was there she met Slipstream, a unicorn who would change her life for the better.' "Oh...wow," Pinkie whispered, biting her lip. "I cried at the end of that, you know," Twilight's voice came from behind the pink pony. Pinkie gasped, the book slipping out of her foreleg. "Ah! Twilight!" Pinkie squeaked, scrambling to pick up the book. "I...I was just looking at it. I wasn't planning on borrowing it. The spine just looked pretty and I got curious," she said, placing the book back on the shelf. "There's nothing to be nervous about, Pinkie. This is a library after all, looking at books is kind of what the purpose is," Twilight said with a smile, standing at the top of the stairs leading to her basement lab. Pinkie gulped. Oh, sweet Celestia, she looked even more beautiful than she had in a while. It must have been the fumes from that book blurb. The party pony's blue eyes traced around Twilight's lilac forelegs, up past her barrel, then to the muzzle finally ending at those sparkling purple orbs that Pinkie couldn't get enough of. "So, what's up? Spike said you were looking for me." "Oh, right," Pinkie said, shaking herself out of her stupor, stopping herself from drooling. "Um...I was wondering if you had any encyclopedia's that included information about the Palomino comet. I...wanna put on a play for the Cake Twins, and I wanna have the Palomino comet as part of it." She hated lying to the Pony she loved, but she had to keep the cake a secret, at least until it was finished. Once it was, she'd tell her everything. "Wow! I'm impressed that not only are you looking for information about the comet, but that you used the word 'encyclopedia'!" Twilight said with a beaming smile that sent a pang to Pinkie's heart. "I should have an encyclopedia that has the comet included in the 'Reference' section. Over here," she said, motioning for Pinkie to follow her. "Say, how do you know which section's which? None of them are labeled," the pink mare said, coming to Twilight's side and trying desperately to NOT look at her flank. "Most of the time, I'm there to direct anypony who wants to take a book to the correct section, but on the off-chance that it has to be Spike, he has a catalogue that lists the shelf each book is on, separated by section," Twilight replied, ascending the ladder against the wall to the right. She scanned the book spines with a hum, before pulling one out with her magic. "Here we go! The 32nd Edition of the Encyclopedia of Equestria, printed by the Royal Postmaster of Canterlot. He's a really nice stallion, by the way." Opening the book, Twilight flipped through the pages with her magic, before stopping abruptly. "Right here! I knew this was the one! The Palomino Comet!" Snapping the book closed, Twilight descended the ladder with the book suspended in her magic and floated it to Pinkie. "Hope this helps, Pinkie," the purple unicorn said sweetly. "T...Thanks, Twilight," Pinkie said shakily, taking the book and moving to leave, before Twilight cleared her throat. "Hold on, I think you're forgetting something," she called, as Pinkie felt another book-like object be placed on top of the encyclopedia. "You can never go wrong with a good story." "R...Right. Thanks again, Twilight," Pinkie replied, before heading for the door and leaving the library. She didn't stop or glance at the two books held in her tail until she was back within the safety of Sugar Cube Corner. Once the door was closed, she finally glanced at the book on top of the encyclopedia and gave a sharp gasp at the sight of the two smiling ponies in a loving embrace. Crimson and Slipstream. She couldn't stop the tears this time. By Luna, she was a mess. What was she doing? Really? What chance did she think she had with a pony like Twilight? She was Princess Celestia's student, for Faust's sake! She could even be in line for the throne! Ponies like that didn't fall in love with simple baker's like her. And did she really think that some cookbook from the Chaos Realm was going to help? Discord was wrong. She didn't have magic. She hated to admit it, even her Granny Pie might have been wrong. Her 'Pinkie Sense' wasn't magic, it could barely be qualified as an ability. The more these thoughts ran through her mind, the more her mane deflated, returning to it's natural straight shape. Should she really delude herself because of the possibility that she inherited an ability from a relative that she never met? "Pinkamena Diane Pie! I am ashamed of you!" a voice rang out. Pinkie lifted her tear filled eyes up, but could see no one in the corner. "H-Hello? Who's there?" "Pinkamena. You know who I am," the voice said, gentler. Familiar. Pinkie's eyes widened. "G-Granny?!" Granny Pie's voice giggled. "That's right, honey. It's me. Now, what's all this nonsense about you not being magic? You know that's not true. You've known that since you were a little foal, and I've known that too." "But I'm not, Granny! Not like Twilight. She's a unicorn and was taught under the wing of Princess Celestia! She was born in Canterlot! Her parents are rich! I was born on a Rock Farm! What chance do I POSSIBLY have with her?!" Pinkie cried. Granny Pie was silent for a moment, before she sighed. "Pinkie, just because you're not a unicorn, doesn't mean you aren't as magical as Twilight. You know the history of Equestria, how the founders came together to form it. And you know the power that the Earth Ponies had. I mean, look at your friend Applejack, sweetheart, she's almost living proof. So are you and your siblings," the elderly pony's voice rang out. Pinkie giggled. "I did play Chancellor Pudding Head at one point," she said. "I know, sweetie. I saw," Granny Pie chuckled. "Do you really think I can do this, Granny? That...That I have a chance with Twilight?" Pinkie asked, finally lifting her head. Granny Pie's essence warmed Pinkie's face, wiping away her tears. "Of course, honey. You're not on the Rock Farm anymore, and even if they didn't say it much, your parents knew that you had more to offer the world than just staying on the farm. You're the Faust damned Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie! One of the Elements of Harmony! You were thinking about Twilight possibly being in line for throne, you're practically royalty yourself! And, honestly, I think that you and Twilight could be one of those relationships that they write stories about. Kind of like that book she loaned you," Granny Pie said. Pinkie smiled, as her mane slowly began to inflate again. "I really missed you, Granny. You always knew what to say." "I still do, honey. Now, don't you have a cake to finish for your special somepony?" "Absolutely, and I am gonna put EVERYTHING I have into it. For Twilight. And for you." "That's my girl. I love you, Pinkamena," Granny Pie said, her voice finally fading away. "I love you too, Granny," Pinkie's voice wobbled, before she rose back to her hooves. "Okay, Pinkie. Game face on! We're in crunch time!" Step 2 complete. Begin Step 3.
Pink Party Pony Prepares Creative Culinary Confection for Pretty Purple Pony"Where is it?! WHERE IS IT?!" Pinkie Pie squeaked, throwing open as many cabinet doors within Sugar Cube Corner as she could. Strands of her mane were standing on end, as her bloodshot eyes flicked frantically from cabinet to cabinet. So consumed was Pinkie in her plight, that she didn't hear Mr. and Mrs. Cake or the Cake Twins appear to witness her freak out. The veteran bakers were well acquainted with their young ward's hyperactive methods, but this was different, they could tell. Pinkie Pie was in genuine distress. Cup Cake looked at Carrot Cake in worry, before Carrot cleared his throat. "Um...Pinkie? Is everything okay?" he asked. The pink mare spun around to see her concerned guardians, and gave a small giggle. "Oh yeah, I'm fine, Mr. Cake," she said, even as one of her eyes twitched. The two adult ponies sighed, before Mr. Cake approached. "Come on now. Tell Mrs. Cake and I what's going on," he said with a kind smile, placing a comforting hoof on Pinkie. The pink pony sighed, as she closed a cabinet. "I wanna make a special dessert for the pony I want to be my special somepony, but we're out of ingredients and none of the normal recipes will work! This needs to be super-duper extra special for them!" she said, her mane drooping. Mrs. Cake smiled sadly, as she slowly approached Pinkie. "Oh, dearie, don't worry," she said, tilting the pink mare's chin up gently. "I'm sure whatever it is you make for whoever this pony is, that it'll be perfect for them. Your special somepony will love it because it came from you." Pound and Pumpkin, even though they couldn't understand, nodded after their mother finished speaking. Pinkie giggled, nuzzling the baby Cakes, before she pulled back. "You're right, Mrs. Cake. You're right. I shouldn't be so worried about it." "That's the spirit, dearie," Mrs. Cake said with a smile. "I'm gonna head to the market to get more ingredients, then I'm gonna bake like there's no tomorrow!" the party pony stated, grabbing her saddlebags from where they lay on a chair, and rushing out of the bakery. Her mind was racing with the possibilities of what she would make, and how the pony she hoped to give the baked good to would react. Her saddlebags bulging with plenty of new ingredients, Pinkie began the trek back to Sugar Cube Corner, humming the Smile Song to herself, and bouncing. She couldn't wait to get started on her treat for her future special somepony. She bit her lip, imagining the reaction. With a playful knock at the library door, Pinkie shuffled in excitement. The tray balanced on her tail, cradling the culinary confection she'd slaved most of the day on. Ooh, she couldn't wait to see the look on Twilight's face when she saw the delicious treat that the pink mare had made her. Almost on cue, the mare in question opened the door with a smile. "Pinkie, hi!" she said. "What can I do for you?" "Hi Twilight. I brought this for you," Pinkie said, the tray on her tail moving into Twilight's line of sight. "Oh my! What is it?" "It's a special dessert I made for you. I spent all day working on it," the pink mare said, looking down at the ground sheepishly and rubbing the back of her forehoof. "Aww, Pinkie. You shouldn't have!" Twilight giggled. Pinkie flashed one of her big smiles, before lifting the lid of the tray with the tip of her mane, revealing the culinary confection she concocted. A triple-layer cake sat on the tray, the layers consisting of pink and purple. Magenta fondant, the same color of Pinkie's mane, rimmed the edge with multi-colored pieces of sugar dusted around a design of Twilight's cutiemark in the top left. The bottom right had Pinkie's cutiemark, and in between the two of them was the message, written in beautiful calligraphy with sparkly magenta frosting that seemed to resemble Twilight's magic, the message 'Twilight, you're as sweet as a piece of cake, and just as pretty. Would you be my special somepony?' Twilight's eyes widened at the message, then back up to pleading blue eyes. Pinkie's heart raced, as Twilight just stood there, looking at the cake, then back at Pinkie, then back at the cake. As her eyes turned back to Pinkie again, those beautiful purple orbs that the party pony always got lost in, they furrowed in anger. "Are you insane? Do you really think that I would ever want a special somepony like YOU?! You really show up to my door with your second-rate dessert and your pathetic attempt at courtship, and thought I would just fall all over you? You have NOTHING of substance that you could bring to a relationship, Pinkie! The only reason I've been tolerating you until now is because I was scientifically intrigued by you, and then I found out about your inane 'Pinkie Sense'! For the love of Celestia, the sheer fact that Ponyville basically considers you a town hero is almost comical. If you weren't the Element of Laughter, we wouldn't even BE in the same social or intellectual fields. You're a baker, Pinkie, and that's all you'll ever be." With every word, Pinkie's color drained. Her lower lip wobbled, as tears came to her eyes, her face in a look of absolute anguish. Twilight sneered. "Oh please, don't start with the tears, Pinkie. This was never going to go like you hoped it would, and you know it. Now please, take your cake and leave my doorstep. And consider our friendship reduced to acquaintance level at best," she said, her horn lighting up around the library door. "Good day, Ms. Pie." Then, without another word, the unicorn slammed the door. Pinkie was frozen, tears cascading down her cheeks, as her mane and tail completely deflated, the cake that she'd spent almost the entire day working on, that she'd put her heart into, clattered to the ground and turned into mush. Pinkie's bouncing had slowed, before coming to a stop just outside of Sugar Cube Corner. She wiped away her tears, trying to slow down her heartrate. Her mind was going to be a meanie today, it seemed. While she could never see Twilight actually being that needlessly cruel, the fear of rejection and disappointment resonated inside her mind like an echoing kettle drum. "I know Mr. and Mrs. Cake mean well, but...this is too important to me. I can't let Twilight down. This has to be the best dessert I've ever made, putting every other sweet I've ever made to shame!" she muttered to herself. "I just wish I had another cookbook! Something that was really unique!" As if on cue, a magic POP! came from behind Pinkie, and an all too familiar voice purred out, "Did somepony say 'unique'? That just so happens to be my specialty!" Pinkie sighed, turning her head slowly to regard the draconequus floating behind her. "Discord. What do you want?" "Pinkie, is that any way to speak to a friend? All I want is to help you, truly," the former Lord of Chaos said, holding up his paws in a placating manner. Pinkie's eyebrow rose, shooting him an extremely incredulous look. "I'm not as stupid as I seem, you know." Discord simply chuckled, popping away before reappearing right above Pinkie. Taking the end of her mane with his left paw, he began to stroke it slowly. "Oh, Pinkie, you needn't worry. I'm more than aware of your...paramour troubles! In all honesty, I have to commend you. Of all ponies, I never thought you'd fall for Twilight. Talk about opposites attract!" "If you're just gonna insult me, you can save your breath," Pinkie snapped, before giving a sigh. "I just got more than enough from my own mind." "Not an insult, Pinkie. I truly do want to help you win Twilight's heart," Discord replied. "Why?" "Consider it...a token of affection from one being of chaos to another. Also, Fluttershy would never let me hear the end of it." Pinkie had to giggle at that. He wasn't wrong. Flutters could be scary if she knew one of her friends was being mistreated. "Okay. What can you do? Do you actually have a cookbook?" "I don't own one, personally, but there are many different one's floating around the Chaos Realm. It all depends on what type of creation you're looking to make." "A dessert. The greatest, most perfect, most unbelievable dessert that anypony in Equestria has ever seen!" Pinkie grinned. "One cookbook containing a life-altering, completely unique, never before seen dessert coming up!" Discord proclaimed, snapping his fingers and disappearing again. Mr. and Mrs. Cake poked their heads from out of the doorway, taking in the sight of their ward. "Everything all right, sugar cookie?" Mrs. Cake asked. "Oh, yeah, Mrs. Cake. Everything's fine," Pinkie replied. With another POP! Discord reappeared, a red-leather bound, thick volume in his right paw. A pair of horn-rimmed glasses appeared on top of his muzzle, opening the book and quickly flipping through the pages. "Ah-ha! Here we are!" Discord exclaimed, jamming his finger onto one of the pages. "Quadruple-layer Chocolate Rain and Stars cake, topped with Cotton Candy Cloud fondant. If this baby doesn't nab you Twilight, then nothing will." With an effortless flipping shut of the book, the former Lord of Chaos snapped his finger again, and Pinkie felt the cookbook appear in one of her saddlebags. "Hold on there, Pinkie. This feels awfully fishy," Mr. Cake said, approaching Discord. "How can we be sure that whatever that cookbook is that you just gave her isn't dangerous?" Discord gasped, placing a paw over his chest. "Mr. Cake, you wound me. Do you really think that I would give Pinkie Pie something that would purposefully harm her or Twilight?" Mr. Cake's eyes slightly narrowed. "You don't want me to actually answer that question, do you?" Pulling the cookbook from out of Pinkie's saddlebag, Mrs. Cake flipped through it quickly. "What kind of ingredients are these?" she asked, finding the entry for the Chocolate Rain cake. "One cup of stardust from the stream of the Palomino comet? Three tablespoons of the feeling of laughter and joy? How is she supposed to find those?" Discord sighed, rolling his eyes. "You ponies and your limited imaginations," he muttered under his breath. "Because the book comes from the Chaos Realm, that means it follows Chaos Realm rules. And Pinkie Pie has a biological connection to the Chaos Realm. Don't ask me how, even I haven't figured it out, but nonetheless, all Pinkie has to do is imagine the ingredients in the correct size and they'll appear in the endless void that is her mane." Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked back at their young charge, rummaging around in her mane, with her tongue poking up. "Exhibit A," Discord pointed out, as Pinkie procured a whisk from inside her mane. "Pinkie, dear. Are you sure you're up for this? I mean, I'm sure Mr. Cake and I can search through our old cookbooks for something else," Mrs. Cake said. Pinkie sighed, and finally looked at Mrs. Cake with those same tear-stained eyes she'd wiped away only a few minutes before. "I...I love her, Mrs. Cake. I do. So much, and I just...I can't let her down with this. I can't disappoint her and have her reject me. I need her to know how I feel, and this is the best way." She giggles sadly, flashing the mare who was like a second mother to her a small smile. "You know me, I'm not very good with big words. But, I AM good at baking, and I'm gonna use what I'm good at to tell Twilight how I feel about her, and what I bake has to be as...amazing and incredible and magical as she is." Mrs. Cake sniffled, and pulled Pinkie into a hug. The Cake matriarch had known their young ward long enough to know when she was serious about something. But, neither of them knew that Twilight Sparkle was the pony that Pinkie loved, until now. They suspected, sure, but Pinkie wasn't as forthcoming here as she was in every other circumstance. Now, though, well...the two were prepared to do anything they could to help Pinkie. If not actually end up in a relationship with Twilight, at the very least they could help her find closure and make sure that she and the purple librarian remained friends. "Oh, Sugar Cookie. I understand, I do. And you're absolutely right. You ARE good at baking, you're incredible at it. So, Mr. Cake and I are going to make a small run to restock the cupboards for tomorrow, then we'll take Pound and Pumpkin over to your friend Fluttershy's so you have the entire Corner to yourself," she said, pulling away, before pushing the Chaos cookbook against Pinkie's barrel. "You take this book, you cook this cake, and you go sweep Twilight off of her hooves. Because you. are. worth it, Pinkie Pie. And you deserve a special somepony like Twilight." Pinkie couldn't help how much she was crying. Ever since she'd left her sister's on the Rock Farm, she'd been longing for a familial connection again, especially since the relationship she had with her own parents was...lukewarm, to say the least. She couldn't remember the last time her mother had hugged her with this much warmth. Her parents weren't big on emotion. She missed her family, especially Maud, but in this moment, Mrs. Cup Cake of Sugar Cube Corner in Ponyville was every bit the mother she needed right now. "Thank you, Mrs. Cake," she whimpered against the older mare's neck. Mrs. Cake simply answered by placing a gentle kiss right on Pinkie's head. "You deserve everything, Pinkie Pie," she whispered again, before pulling away fully. "Carrot, dear, let's go get Pound and Pumpkin and take them on a little shopping trip. Pinkie's got a long rest of the day ahead of her." She returned to her husband's side, before looking at Discord one more time. "Discord, let me give you a word of warning. If the baked good that this book produces causes ANY harm to either Pinkie or Twilight, I will make all those years of you being trapped in stone look like a picnic. Are we clear?" she asked in her best 'mom' voice. Pinkie giggled silently as Discord paled and gulped at the fire he saw in Mrs. Cake's eyes. "Yes, Ma'am. Crystal clear, Ma'am," he said with a salute, before disappearing again. Pinkie pulled both Cakes into one more hug, before giving a sharp nod and reentering Sugar Cube Corner, rubbing the spine of the Chaos Cookbook. She was going to bake the ever-loving Tartarus out of this cake, because she deserved Twilight, and she was going to prove it.
Step 1: Prepare Dry IngredientsHer apron wrapped tightly around her barrel, Pinkie laid out the weapons she would be wielding on this particular battlefield. The whisk would be her mighty sword, with which she would cut through the Chocolate Rain batter in the bowl. The cookbook laid on the counter, with the recipe open. Mrs. Cake hadn't exaggerated. Some of these ingredients were really, really strange. However, if what Discord said was true, Pinkie had just as much access to Chaos magic as he did. She'd always known there was something different about her. When she was young, she'd always wondered why it was that she was bright pink when the rest of her family were different shades of grey. Her Granny Pie, though, was the exception. She was pink as well, like Pinkie Pie, but she'd been a Pegasus. It was why she bounced around everywhere. Pegasus blood. Even still, Granny Pie, who possessed a special sense of her own, said that Pinkie was even more special than her. She had a stronger sense, making her almost omniscient in certain circumstances, and her ability to not only pull random objects from out of her mane or even from some form of negative space, but to also be able to seemingly break the laws of reality. Granny Pie hadn't disclosed much to her parents, but from what Pinkie could tell, most of those powers seemed to be possessed by Granny's Mother, Pinkie's Great-Grandmother. She'd never met them, but Granny had said that her Mom was an incredible being. "Am I gonna meet them at the end of the story?" Pinkie asked. Spoilers, Pinkie. I can't tell you that. "Aww. Party pooper." Taking a quick look at the top of the page, Pinkie read out the description of the Chocolate Rain and Stars cake. Any normal being can make an ordinary chocolate cake, but the Chocolate Rain and Stars cake is a testament to a baker's skills. Only the most gifted can properly prepare this gift from the heavens, and the result is a confection unlike any other. No one is sure where this cake was first created, from what layer of the Chaos Realm it came from, or from WHOM it could have been created by. Legend says, however, that a chosen baker who undertakes the creation of this dessert, will be gifted with the knowledge of the cake's origin. The party pony's blue eyes widened with every word. She loved puzzles, and for a puzzle to be attached to a baked good? That was perfect for Pinkie. "This is gonna be so fun. Okay, let's see what the ingredients list is," Pinkie giggled, jogging in place before laying out a number of bowls on the counter, half for the dry ingredients and half for the wet. That done, she returned to the cookbook to glance at the ingredients and proper measurements. 6 cups of all-purpose flour 6 tablespoons of sugar 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder 3 cups of baking powder 3 cups of baking soda 5 tablespoons of salt 4 cups of milk 2 cups of butter 4 eggs 4 teaspoons of vanilla extract Boiling water 1 cup of stardust from the stream of the Palomino comet 3 tablespoons of the feeling of laughter and joy Marshmallows Shortening 1 cup of Cotton Candy cloud puffs "Huh. Mrs. Cake wasn't kidding. Some of these ingredients are really weird. Okay, better get started with the ingredients I'm familiar with, then I'll tackle the more obscure ones after," the pink pony said to herself, trotting over to the cupboards and pulling out the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, salt, marshmallows and shortening, putting them all on the table close to the counter. Then, balancing the butter and vanilla on her tail, she began separating all the dry ingredients into the individual bowls. Sliding the butter and vanilla further back on the table, she grabbed the measuring cups and spoons with her tail, and began to pour the flour and sugar into them and dumping them into a large bowl. She did the same with the baking power, baking soda and salt, then grabbed her whisk and cranked like there was no tomorrow, before it was all properly mixed together as the recipe stated. Glancing back at the book, Pinkie saw an addendum below the first step. Addendum: Before moving on to add the wet ingredients into the mixture, the selected bowl must be passed through a rainbow spectrum, and the rainbow dust filtered and mixed in. "Rainbow dust? Really? Well, that's gonna be hard," Pinkie said, placing the bowl and whisk on the counter again, as her mind began to race as to how she could get that rainbow dust. She could use her Pinkie-Copter, of course, but it'd be hard to keep the bowl balanced while she pedaled. There was always her party balloons, that was how she got onto Cloudsdale so many other times, but she wasn't sure how she'd get into the factory to get the spectrum. "Pinkie Pie! What's up?!" Rainbow Dash asked, zooming into the Corner through one of the windows. Pinkie smiled, bounding over to her friend! "Dashie! Hi!" Pinkie giggled, hugging the blue pegasus. "What're you up to?" "Baking a cake." "Nice. Need any help?" Dash asked with a smirk, eyeing all the ingredients on the counter. "Actually, yeah, I do. The recipe I'm using calls for filtered dust from a rainbow spectrum, and well, I could definitely get UP to Cloudsdale, but my worry is how to get into the factory to get the dust, since I know only Pegasi are allowed in there," the pink mare said. "Ha! Don't worry, Pinkie, I can get up to the factory and have that dust filtered into your bowl in ten seconds flat," Rainbow Dash boasted with a grin. Pinkie squeed in response, rushing over to grab the bowl, before placing a mesh lining over the top. "What's that for?" "It's the filter, Dashie," Pinkie said, securing the mesh lining with a rubber band around the rim of the bowl. "Here you go." "No worries, Pinks, that dust is as good as gotten," she said with a grin as Pinkie hoofed her the bowl. Then, eyeing it with a wary eye, she took a deep breath. "Um...out of curiosity, how am I supposed to GET the dust?" Pinkie shrugged. "I don't know. All the recipe says is that the bowl needs to be 'passed through the spectrum' so that the rainbow dust can be filtered through and mixed in with the rest of the dry ingredients." "On it! Go ahead and time me!" Dash called, before blasting out of Sugar Cube Corner from the same window she'd come through, the bowl clutched tight in her hooves. Pinkie giggled, trotting back over to the counter while slowly counting. "1. 2. 3," she said, popping open the vanilla extract and scooping the butter into the measuring cup. "4. 5. 6," she continued, wiping some of the excess flour and sugar that had fallen on the counter away. "7. 8. 9," she carried on, grabbing the eggs. "10." Just as the number fell out of her mouth, Rainbow Dash zoomed back into the Corner, the bowl clutched under her foreleg. "Well? What'd I tell ya?" she grinned. "You were right, Dashie. 10 seconds flat," Pinkie giggled, as Rainbow hoofed the bowl back to her, placing it on the counter again. "Thanks for the help," she said with a smile, peeling the mesh lining off the top of the bowl. The lining was covered in the traces of the multi-colored spectrum, and within the bowl, Pinkie could see the shining rainbow dust within the previous dried ingredients. "Hey, did you mix this in?" she asked. Dash nodded, turning her head to relieve the crick in her neck. "Yeah. I thought, since I already had the bowl, might as well mix it in for you. I'm fast enough, after all. Just a simple 360 spin and it was perfectly mixed." "Thanks, Dashie. You were such a big help." "No problem, Pinks. Hey, what kind of cake is this gonna be anyway? I never heard of a cake that needed rainbow spectrum dust in it." Pinkie giggled. "A baker never reveals their secrets, Rainbow," she said. "Fine, be secretive. Just make sure you save me a slice, okay? It's gonna be a chocolate cake, right? I can't resist chocolate cake." "Hehe. I know. You'll get a slice, Dashie, I promise." "Thanks, Pinkie. I guess I'll get going, since you're busy with the cake. Let me know when that bad boy's done. See ya," Rainbow Dash called, before zooming out of the sweet shop again. "Typical Rainbow Dash," Pinkie said, shaking her head with a giggle as she turned back to the cookbook. "Okay, so wet ingredients next, right?" Once the spectrum dust is properly mixed into the dry ingredients, let the mixture rest in a sunbeam for precisely 30 minutes to properly absorb the spectrum's magic. "Aww. More waiting?" Pinkie whined, looking from the book to the bowl. 30 minutes was a good amount of time for her to get the frosting bag and crack the eggs into a separate bowl, ready to add it to the dry ingredients with the butter and the vanilla extract. So, with a flourish and a spin of the bowl on her frogs, she brought it over to the sunbeam hitting the table, and placed it right in the middle. Step 1 complete. Step 2, about to begin.
Step 2: Add Wet IngredientsWhen a half-hour had passed, Pinkie finally dumped the butter, eggs and vanilla extract into the original mixture, pouring in the boiling water and whisking it all together until it became one homogenous lump of dough. Wiping away some sweat from her forehead, she placed the bowl back down on the counter, before turning the page of the cookbook. Once the dry and wet ingredients have been introduced together, the batter must be poured into the pans and placed in the oven for 30-35 minutes, no more than 40. Helpful tip: Before the pans are put in the oven, it would be a better idea to prepare the fondant instead of after. "They're not wrong," Pinkie said to herself, grabbing the marshmallows, shortening and powdered sugar, and placing them each in individual bowls. "Okay, what do they advise about the fondant?" The comet stream must be introduced into the fondant batter after everything has been whisked together, while the Cotton Candy Cloud puffs must be introduced BEFORE the batter is whisked together. It cannot be stressed enough, the stream from the Palomino comet must be introduced AFTER the Cotton Candy Cloud puffs. "Okay, comet stream after cloud puffs, got it," Pinkie nodded, sitting on her haunches. Now had come the moment for the two more eclectic ingredients. The Cotton Candy Clouds wouldn't be an issue, she remembered those well from when Discord tried to make Ponyville Chaos Capitol of Equestria. Sometimes she missed those chocolate rain clouds. The Palomino comet was another matter. She'd never seen the Palomino comet, and she doubted she ever would in her lifetime, as it only came around every 1000 years. Huh, thinking about it, the comet must have gone by while she and the girls were dealing with Nightmare Moon. With that thought in mind, she knew that some kind of encyclopedia or historic manuscript would probably have a picture and description of the comet that would aid her in her magic. She had to shake her head and smile at that. It still felt...odd calling what she had magic, given that she wasn't a unicorn, but really, there was no other word for it, Discord had even called it as such. Straightening up, Pinkie gulped. Encyclopedia's were books, and there was only ONE place in Ponyville that had books like that. The one place she hadn't wanted to visit with the one pony she didn't want to see until the cake was done. She could feel the tears coming on again from her conjured rejection fantasy, before shaking her head fast. No. No. Twilight wasn't like that. She had to keep repeating that to herself, as she removed her apron and hung it on one of the hooks on the wall. She had to keep repeating it as she covered the batter and the ingredients for the fondant to keep them all from spoiling. She had to keep repeating it as she exited Sugar Cube Corner and slowly walked to the Golden Oaks Library. Twilight wasn't like that. Twilight wasn't like that. The mantra repeated in her head again, as she knocked on the door of the library. As she was halfway through an additional repeat, making it to 'Twilight wasn't' the door to the library opened as Spike stood behind it. "Pinkie, hey! What's up?" the baby dragon asked. "Oh, hi, Spike. Is...um...Is Twilight home?" Pinkie asked, rubbing the back of her mane. She hadn't been expecting Spike to be there. She wasn't sure WHY she hadn't expected him to be there, after all, he lived in the library too. "Yeah, come on in. I'll go get her," Spike said, closing the door behind the pink mare as she entered into the library, her heart pounding. "Wait right here." Turning on his heel, Spike headed for the set of stairs in the doorway under Twilight's bed and descended down them. Pinkie could faintly hear the sounds of Twilight's science gadgets. She must have been in her lab. Taking a look at one of the shelves of books to her left, Pinkie's eyes glided past book spine after book spine, her face becoming redder and redder as she realized she was looking at the romance section. Why in the name of Celestia did Twilight NOT label these sections? A large red leather volume seemed to catch her eye. It had gold filigree at the top and bottom edges and the dark blue image of a heart printed in the middle of the spine. With a shaking forehoof, Pinkie pulled the book from the shelf to glimpse the cover. It was a beautifully painted image of two smiling ponies, two mares in fact, their heads pressed together in a romantic pose. Under the image of the ponies was a title scrawled in calligraphic script 'Crimson Heart and Slipstream: A Love Across Time.' Pinkie gave a dry gulp, turning the book around to look at the blurb (that's what Twilight said the words on the back of the book were called) on the back. 'Crimson Heart, a normal pony with a normal job, never believed she would fall in love. The Earth Pony was too career-focused to take the time for that. Until one stormy night when a horrific lightning bolt hit Crimson while she was scaling a Manehattan building for her job. But, instead of destroying her as would be the norm, Crimson was thrown back to almost 30 years in the past. It was there she met Slipstream, a unicorn who would change her life for the better.' "Oh...wow," Pinkie whispered, biting her lip. "I cried at the end of that, you know," Twilight's voice came from behind the pink pony. Pinkie gasped, the book slipping out of her foreleg. "Ah! Twilight!" Pinkie squeaked, scrambling to pick up the book. "I...I was just looking at it. I wasn't planning on borrowing it. The spine just looked pretty and I got curious," she said, placing the book back on the shelf. "There's nothing to be nervous about, Pinkie. This is a library after all, looking at books is kind of what the purpose is," Twilight said with a smile, standing at the top of the stairs leading to her basement lab. Pinkie gulped. Oh, sweet Celestia, she looked even more beautiful than she had in a while. It must have been the fumes from that book blurb. The party pony's blue eyes traced around Twilight's lilac forelegs, up past her barrel, then to the muzzle finally ending at those sparkling purple orbs that Pinkie couldn't get enough of. "So, what's up? Spike said you were looking for me." "Oh, right," Pinkie said, shaking herself out of her stupor, stopping herself from drooling. "Um...I was wondering if you had any encyclopedia's that included information about the Palomino comet. I...wanna put on a play for the Cake Twins, and I wanna have the Palomino comet as part of it." She hated lying to the Pony she loved, but she had to keep the cake a secret, at least until it was finished. Once it was, she'd tell her everything. "Wow! I'm impressed that not only are you looking for information about the comet, but that you used the word 'encyclopedia'!" Twilight said with a beaming smile that sent a pang to Pinkie's heart. "I should have an encyclopedia that has the comet included in the 'Reference' section. Over here," she said, motioning for Pinkie to follow her. "Say, how do you know which section's which? None of them are labeled," the pink mare said, coming to Twilight's side and trying desperately to NOT look at her flank. "Most of the time, I'm there to direct anypony who wants to take a book to the correct section, but on the off-chance that it has to be Spike, he has a catalogue that lists the shelf each book is on, separated by section," Twilight replied, ascending the ladder against the wall to the right. She scanned the book spines with a hum, before pulling one out with her magic. "Here we go! The 32nd Edition of the Encyclopedia of Equestria, printed by the Royal Postmaster of Canterlot. He's a really nice stallion, by the way." Opening the book, Twilight flipped through the pages with her magic, before stopping abruptly. "Right here! I knew this was the one! The Palomino Comet!" Snapping the book closed, Twilight descended the ladder with the book suspended in her magic and floated it to Pinkie. "Hope this helps, Pinkie," the purple unicorn said sweetly. "T...Thanks, Twilight," Pinkie said shakily, taking the book and moving to leave, before Twilight cleared her throat. "Hold on, I think you're forgetting something," she called, as Pinkie felt another book-like object be placed on top of the encyclopedia. "You can never go wrong with a good story." "R...Right. Thanks again, Twilight," Pinkie replied, before heading for the door and leaving the library. She didn't stop or glance at the two books held in her tail until she was back within the safety of Sugar Cube Corner. Once the door was closed, she finally glanced at the book on top of the encyclopedia and gave a sharp gasp at the sight of the two smiling ponies in a loving embrace. Crimson and Slipstream. She couldn't stop the tears this time. By Luna, she was a mess. What was she doing? Really? What chance did she think she had with a pony like Twilight? She was Princess Celestia's student, for Faust's sake! She could even be in line for the throne! Ponies like that didn't fall in love with simple baker's like her. And did she really think that some cookbook from the Chaos Realm was going to help? Discord was wrong. She didn't have magic. She hated to admit it, even her Granny Pie might have been wrong. Her 'Pinkie Sense' wasn't magic, it could barely be qualified as an ability. The more these thoughts ran through her mind, the more her mane deflated, returning to it's natural straight shape. Should she really delude herself because of the possibility that she inherited an ability from a relative that she never met? "Pinkamena Diane Pie! I am ashamed of you!" a voice rang out. Pinkie lifted her tear filled eyes up, but could see no one in the corner. "H-Hello? Who's there?" "Pinkamena. You know who I am," the voice said, gentler. Familiar. Pinkie's eyes widened. "G-Granny?!" Granny Pie's voice giggled. "That's right, honey. It's me. Now, what's all this nonsense about you not being magic? You know that's not true. You've known that since you were a little foal, and I've known that too." "But I'm not, Granny! Not like Twilight. She's a unicorn and was taught under the wing of Princess Celestia! She was born in Canterlot! Her parents are rich! I was born on a Rock Farm! What chance do I POSSIBLY have with her?!" Pinkie cried. Granny Pie was silent for a moment, before she sighed. "Pinkie, just because you're not a unicorn, doesn't mean you aren't as magical as Twilight. You know the history of Equestria, how the founders came together to form it. And you know the power that the Earth Ponies had. I mean, look at your friend Applejack, sweetheart, she's almost living proof. So are you and your siblings," the elderly pony's voice rang out. Pinkie giggled. "I did play Chancellor Pudding Head at one point," she said. "I know, sweetie. I saw," Granny Pie chuckled. "Do you really think I can do this, Granny? That...That I have a chance with Twilight?" Pinkie asked, finally lifting her head. Granny Pie's essence warmed Pinkie's face, wiping away her tears. "Of course, honey. You're not on the Rock Farm anymore, and even if they didn't say it much, your parents knew that you had more to offer the world than just staying on the farm. You're the Faust damned Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie! One of the Elements of Harmony! You were thinking about Twilight possibly being in line for throne, you're practically royalty yourself! And, honestly, I think that you and Twilight could be one of those relationships that they write stories about. Kind of like that book she loaned you," Granny Pie said. Pinkie smiled, as her mane slowly began to inflate again. "I really missed you, Granny. You always knew what to say." "I still do, honey. Now, don't you have a cake to finish for your special somepony?" "Absolutely, and I am gonna put EVERYTHING I have into it. For Twilight. And for you." "That's my girl. I love you, Pinkamena," Granny Pie said, her voice finally fading away. "I love you too, Granny," Pinkie's voice wobbled, before she rose back to her hooves. "Okay, Pinkie. Game face on! We're in crunch time!" Step 2 complete. Begin Step 3.
