Silva bid farewell to the leaving guests and sat down near the table.   She glanced at the colt, relaxing. "Do not eat too much now.  You will want your appetite for the party, after all."

"I'll be alright, m'lady!  My stomach is as iron as my resolve." Pipsqueak puffed his chest proudly, though it was really hard to take him at all seriously when he had a thick, frothy mustache of whipped cream on his face thanks to being too eager at his drink.

Upstairs, Diamond Tiara was able to make her way to Pinkie Pie's quarters without issue.  Thankfully it was easy to find even though the filly had never been that far inside the shop before.  It was the only room that was so brightly colored and had Pinkie's Cutie Mark emblazoned across the door.  Inside it looked like a combination between a party supply warehouse and an explosives factory.  All of Pinkie's furniture and living supplies were pushed off to one side of the room to make space for a giant, half-disassembled canon... the same one she'd set off at the Moon Raising, the filly would surely recall.  While the whole room sparkled with confetti and glitter in a festive display, it was thankfully some degree of organized as there were a number of large wooden crates stacked off to the side with plain labels printed on them.

One crate read "Party Hats 1 of 4".  Another listed as holding flags, one had springs, another had streamers... there were dozens of boxes of all shapes and sizes just laden with everything a pony would need to toss together a grand party in no time at all.  There were even a few spare Party Canons set off to the side.

However, as Diamond Tiara took in the sights and worked to figure out what she would need, she'd suddenly come to an odd realization... something felt odd... like she was being watched?

As Diamond Tiara collected the items she wanted, she glanced over her shoulder to see if somepony was keeping an eye on her.  It felt weird to be watched, but she understood her mission.  She wondered just how she was going to get one of those party cannons back downstairs without being seen, even as she worried about her uninvited guest...
This message was last updated by the GM at 19:03, Sun 14 July 2013.

Mrs Cake was healthy, wealthy, and wise enough to have some medicine on hand to ease sore stomachs.  After all, even Pinkie could work her stomach up into a mess given time...

"Then may your resolve be as steely as the sword of the Heroine Grifelda." Silva offered in benediction as she gulped down some water after finishing the milkshake she took up.

Pip canted his head to the side curiously at the mention of some unknown hero.  "Grifelda?  Who's that?"  he puzzled with wide, blinking eyes.  Well, at least it seemed like he was blinking... it was sort of hard to tell with that eye patch he had on.

----

As Diamond Tiara looked around to see if anyone else was there, she'd find nopony at all.  The coast was clear... though as she turned back around to return to her task, she'd find herself gazing directly into a pair of wide, unblinking reptilian eyes.  Pinkie's pet gator, Gummy, had suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere and gawped at Diamond Tiara dumbly.  The little gator was hardly what one could consider threatening, but standing nearly half the filly's stature made him considerably more of an obstruction for her than he would have been for a full-grown mare.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:04, Mon 12 Aug 2013.

"Well, it's just a story, but supposedly Grifelda was a soldier back in the first Griffon Wars, one who fought hard to ensure that peace could be found as quickly as possible, but she used a sword made by the finest smiths..." Silva smiled happily as she sank into the memories of the times when she could just sit and listen to her mother talk about anything at all...  "And she flew as high as the Wonderbolts, and just as fast as them when she dove from the sky to strike true at the enemies of justice."

Diamond Tiara looked at Gummy, gathering up the stuff she had stolen (or borrowed).  She did her best to edge around the little alligator, speaking softly, "shh, I'm just going to take this stuff and use it for a party.  I'll put it right back tomorrow..."

Pip listened to the story with a look of wide-eyed wonder on his face while distractedly sipping on his drink out the side of his mouth.  For an excitable little colt like him, hearing stories of daring and adventure was quite the treat, especially coming from far-off lands like the Griffon Kingdom!  However, he did scoff a little at one of the claims...

"What?  Nopony's as fast as the Wonderbolts!"  he piped in favor of the home team.

----

Despite Gummy's presence, he didn't seem intent on bothering Diamond Tiara at all.  He simply stood where he was as she sidled around him, still just absently blinking while she made off with his owner's things.  However, no sooner would the filly get past him than she'd suddenly find her path obscured again.

Standing in her way was a little tan Pegasus colt wearing a diaper.  Somehow he'd managed to pop in out of nowhere just like the gator had.  "Bah?"  the baby asked as he looked up at the older girl wonderingly.  Before she'd have a chance to answer, however, Diamond Tiara would feel a sharp yank as her tail was suddenly pulled in two different directions.  Behind her was Gummy with a portion of her tail in his toothless jaws, and beside him was another baby -- Pumpkin Cake -- with the other part of Diamond's tail clamped in her drooling jaws.

Diamond Tiara thought herself so slick until she was caught up in the trap.  The alligator was just a distraction for the babies, and they were all some sort of bizarre ninja team!

Still, she had been about to walk around the one foal before she felt her tail be pulled away.  Wincing, she tried to give it a few sharp tugs to separate it from its aggressors.  It was not painful yet, but she knew that it would take far too much time to get it fixed if they chewed pieces off of it.

Still, she could not bring herself to be mad at a baby.  The alligator she could get a little peeved at, but he knew that she was going to return everything.  She whispered back to them as she gives another hard pull, "let go of that...that's not yours!"

Silva smiled, doing her best to let the boy go with the facts and some of the truth. "I assure you, if Grifelda was still around, the Wonderbolts would count her as a peer, but I love the Wonderbolts just the same.  I was born in Cloudsdale, after all.  Still, I would bet that the Wonderbolts would be better at tricks, but Grifelda would be faster."

Pip gave Silva a long, wary sort of look as he mulled over her words.  She was being quite reasonable and gracious with her statements... but as was expected of a child, the little colt just huffed stubbornly.  "I still think they Wonderbolts would be faster."  he stated with a self-assured cross of his forelegs over his chest.

--

While Diamond Tiara struggled to keep her tail from being devoured by the seemingly ravenous pair behind her, she made the mistake of taking her eyes off Pound Cake.  The little colt regarded her and the stuff she was carrying curiously before drawing back his tiny hooves and dealing her a solid shove!  He was remarkably strong for a baby and had not yet taken to heart his parents' lessons about not hitting.  His hooves struck one of the packaged items Diamond Tiara had snatched up and it burst open in a giant cloud of confetti and sparkles, coating the lot of them under a sheen of the stuff.  Between the drool in her tail and the glitter in her mane, that mess was never going to come out!

"Well, maybe you'll get to see the Wonderbolts and a griffon athlete race, one day," Silva replied with a small amount of amusement.  She would have better luck trying to convince her family that what she had done was a good idea than she would to get Pip to admit that much.  Besides, even if the Wonderbolts were a little faster, Grifelda would always be the best.

Diamond Tiara was many things.  Unfortunately, she was not trained to handle this crack defense team's coordinated assault upon her sanity.  Frantically, she tried to shove her tagalongs off and to slip away with the borrowed goods.

Getting rid of two tail-eating antagonists was no easy task, though all the drool they were putting out did make things plenty slippery.  With enough yanking and tugging Diamond Tiara was eventually able to pull her tail free... though at the cost of a few bits of hair and the absolute destruction of its styling.  Pumpkin and Gummy both went tumbling backward head over tail as they lost their grip.  The baby gator turned out to be quite dynamic as he curled up tightly, becoming a scaled ball that bumped into one of the many boxes of supplies... which then began to rattle ominously...

Downstairs, the various displays of sweets and the hanging fixtures in the bakery wobbled as a thunderous BOOM sounded out and a cloud of confetti burst from all the upper story windows of the building.  Despite how dire it sounded, it wouldn't come as a surprise to either of The Cakes.  Carrot Cake stuck his head out from the kitchen door with a weary sigh.  "Sounds like the babies got into Pinkie's party canons again.  I'll go check on them.  Can you sweep up outside, honey biscuit?"  the stallion grumbled as he trotted over to the stairs.  Leave the kids for a nap and they go blow up part of the house... again.  Locking doors was fairly useless when their daughter could walk through walls.

"Sure thing, Sugar Snap." Mrs Cake had to wonder why Pinkie Pie did not just keep all of her party cannons with her.  Still, she knew better than to think twice about going to sweep up outside.  She had been the one stuck with the last cannon related cleanup, and this one sounded like a bit of a doozy!

She grabbed the broom on the way out, smiling at her guests.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:21, Wed 09 Oct 2013.

Diamond Tiara had not had time to duck and cover when the explosion happened.  With ringing ears and a mane style that just became a casualty of the day, the little pink filly dispensed completely with stealth and hurried for the exit!

This message was last edited by the GM at 03:03, Tue 23 June 2015.

A brown stallion sat at one of the patio-style tables outside Sugarcube Corner, enjoying one of Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s legendary Scones.  Clotted cream, jams, and lemon curd sat to one side with a pot of tea and all its accoutrements sitting to the other, completing the set to form what a well-cultured pony might call a “proper tea.”

”Mmmm…” the stallion mused.  ”I do so love a good scone, and I dare say the Cakes’ have the some of best scones I think I’ve ever tasted!”  He spoke to nopony in particular, which was nothing out of the ordinary for him, truthfully.

He took a generous sip of the tea before him.  ”Oh…. That pairs so well!  The earthy, robust base.  The sweet, almost caramel undertones!”  It was fair to say that he genuinely appreciated a good cup of tea.  ”No wonder the Trottish are always on about it…”

Ironically, he spoke with a heavy, unmistakable Trottish accent.

He picked up the scone again, lathered a rather generous amount of lemon curd  and clotted cream on a sizeable piece and made ready to pop the delicacy in his mouth, but stopped short as something caught his attention.

Something wasn’t right.  Something was odd.  Something had changed…

Holding the scone mere inches from his mouth, the Stallion cocked his head sideways, as if trying to listen for the difference, only narrowly missing an earful of lemon curd.

”Something Is different…. Something… familiar….. “  He sniffed the air and squinted his eyes as he got a real serious look on his face.

”The wind has shifted to the east…. And there’s a mist coming in….   He lowered the scone and put his forehoof to his chin, tapping it thoughtfully.  ”Something is brewing…. Something’s about to begin… I can’t put my hoof on it; I don’t know what lies in store… but--“ he rose from his seat, ”I feel like I felt, whatever this is, I’ve seen this before….”

His eyes suddenly shot wide, ”Great Wickering Stallions!  I have to get back to the shop!”  Without another word he turned and bolted down the street.

Only to return a moment later and toss a few bits on the table, before bolting away again….

-- and returning a moment later to stuff the whole remnant of the scone into his mouth shamelessly and chug the rest of his tea.

==> Next Post:  The TARDIS ==>
This message was last edited by the player at 03:47, Thu 02 July 2015.

<-- Twilight and Sunset enter from Harmony Castle

One part of life that Twilight never could quite get used to was how far her castle was from Sugarcube Corner.  The library had been a fair distance from the center of town, but it didn't take more than a few minutes trot to get herself something sweet for a pick-me-up.  But Harmony Castle was much further outside of the town's general border amid the low hills; flying and teleporting weren't options either.  Still, it gave Twilight plenty of time to point out where things were and give Sunset a better lay of the land while they walked.  By the time they finally arrived at the colorful bakery, a chilled malt or some other cold confection sounded pretty darn good to her.

"And here's Sugarcube Corner!  Not quite like the coffee shop you're used to, but you won't find a better bakery this side of Manehattan."  Twilight had been a little baffled at how sleek and sedate the decor of Sugarcube Corner back in the other world was.  The contrast just made her native version seem so much more colorful and bombastic, even if the proprietors were pretty much the same regardless.

With the door wide open to invite business in, it was just a quick stroll on inside.  The bakery was occupied by a few Ponies who milled about, perusing the shelves of delicious sweets or enjoying their snacks at the few tables the shop had to offer.  Just like on the way, Twilight and Sunset both received plenty of friendly smiles, waves, and greetings from the locals.  Sure seemed like a welcoming sort of town.  Of course, the Alicorn had been expecting a rather different kind of welcome as soon as they set hoof into the shop, yet was left waiting for the other horseshoe to drop.

"Mornin' Princess!  And hello to your friend, too!  What can I get you?" Mr. Cake chimed on over to the pair just as he finished cashing out another customer.

"Good morning Mr. Cake.  Um... is Pinkie Pie not here?  I was sort of expecting her to have popped up by now." Twilight couldn't help but look around for her hyperactive friend.  A new Pony had been in town for more than five minutes and there wasn't already a party being held?  "She's not down sick or something, is she?"

"Nah, she's just in the back covering kitchen duty.  I'll let her know you're here when I call in your orders."

In with Twilight from Harmony Castle

Sunset had a lot to think about on the trip over - all of Twilight's directions and advice and guidance, but also some of what Twilight had already said to her. She was right. This wasn't so much a second chance as it was a chance to start over. That, at least, felt very odd. But Sunset wasn't complaining.

Smiling, she trotted along under Twilight's wing, and before she knew it  Twilight had banished the slight anxiousness with her friendly and helpful advice. They passed through the Business District together, and sooner rather than later, they'd reached Sugar Cube Corner. Sunset hadn't quite been fully prepared for how lively the place seemed to be, but she had been anticipating Pinkie Pie. She knew the Other Pinkie well enough to fully expect some sort of welcoming ambush. That Twilight had to ask confirmed it for her.

She exchanged a brief glance with the Princess, before stepping forward, a slight blush on her face as she indicated herself with her right forehoof. "It's... Nice to meet you, Mr. Cake. I'm Sunset Shimmer." She swept her hoof out lightly, and put it forward as if expecting... some gesture from him. After a moment, Sunset put her hoof down, and widened her smile awkwardly.

"I'm... in from... out of town. I'm going to be staying here in Ponyville, for a while." She glanced to Twilight for a moment, then looked back to Mr. Cake, feeling a little more confident as she got past the first hurdle. "So... you'll be seeing more of me around town from now on." Sunset's awkward smile shifted again, into a more honest and optimistic one.

"Your shop smells amazing~" She  added, turning her attention to all the pastries and treats on offer. It was a lot to sort through. "I'm in the mood for maybe a muffin of some sort, do you have anything to recommend? There are so many to pick from, maybe I should start working on trying them all, as I visit more?"

Twilight could likely tell that Sunset was perhaps trying just a little too hard...

"Well, it's good to have you then, Miss Shimmer.  Any friend of Princess Twilight is a friend of ours." Mr. Cake returned the greeting with a toothy smile.  He seemed a bit confused over the offered gesture but made no mention of it, assuming it was just some out-of-towner custom he didn't recognize.  Which, frankly, was quite accurate.

Sunset's praise over the shop had the lanky stallion puffed up a bit with pride.  "You'd have to eat quick to sample our whole inventory - we cycle out the menu every week to keep things exciting.  Pinkie Pie's the only one who can honestly say she's eaten everything we've made... despite our best efforts sometimes." he had to add that last part as a muttered aside.  The baker gestured to the colorful walls and their well-stocked shelves, utterly brimming with an alluring variety of baked goods still warm from the oven.  "We've got plenty of muffins to choose from.  Over here are your straight flour-base, these ones are oat bran, this batch are made with cornmeal, these ones use rice flour ever since Sweet Apple Acres planted those local rice paddies - they're pretty popular with fancy Ponies out of Canterlot looking to watch their weight."

Even getting through a portion of the stock was a daunting prospect.  Sweet muffins loaded with berries, savory muffins filled with finely tempered veggies, muffins with fruit, muffins with cream... and that wasn't even beginning to approach the breads, rolls, or buns!

"I'll just have a chocolate egg cream, when you get the time, Mr. Cake." Twilight couldn't help but giggle as the baker got all caught up in his own pitch.  She made herself unobtrusive and got a table to wait at in the meantime.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:08, Thu 09 July 2015.

"O-oh!" Sunset exclaimed, at the news regarding how frequently the menu shuffled about. That was - at once kind of exciting, but then, maybe she'd never get to try it all! It seemed she'd just have to pick something and run with it! Still, she seemed tohave a little bit of decision paralysis as she stared at the admittedly huge selection. The other Sugar Cube Corner was certainly not this... lively.

She put a hoof to her chin for a moment as  Mr. Cake explaiend about the rice flour muffins being popular with visitors from Canterlot. Technically, that was where she was from... and she'd worked pretty hard on her figure - and was pleased that much of that work transferred over through the portal, so... She pointed with a hoof, eying a vanilla rice muffin, speckled with tempting raisins throughout... "How about that one? It looks good~" Sunset finally said, giving a little shake of her head, fiery mane lightly swaying a bit.

She stepped back over toward Twilight, and took a seat opposite her, fussing a hoof back into her ane, as she watched Mr. Cake get their order together. She cracked a smile. "You weren't kidding. Ponyville is known for its cooking - and I've only seen the sweets-shop." She laughed a little. "I guess this went pretty well for my first meeting with somebody new?"

She blinked. "Somepony~ It's minor to the ear, but people will notice. Oh,  believe me, they'll notice. I think maybe it was a bigger deal going from Equestria to... ah..." Sunset trailed off, once Mr. Cake was on his way with their muffins.

"Just relax, Sunset.  You're home again and Ponyville is probably the most welcoming town in all of Equestria.  You should fit right in just fine.  I mean, look how much good it did for me!" the Alicorn giggled.  Thinking back on how she used to be before moving to Ponyville always made her feel both silly and more than a little hard on herself.

Twilight always found it a little odd how deeply Sunset had acclimated herself to the other world and its strange, bipedal creatures.  She had grown up her entire life in Equestria and only spent a few years on the other side of the portal, yet it almost seemed like she'd gone native in a manner of speaking.  Of course, Twilight herself had only spent a few days in that world each time she visited, so she didn't exactly have the same ground to stand on when comparing experiences.  It left her wondering what Sunset's life had been like living in such a strange place, having to re-learn everything on such a fundamental level... the Princess herself had only gotten a glimpse of it and it had been exhausting!  If she hadn't met that world's version of her Pony friends, she wasn't sure what she would have done...

"Well, the school's mascot and theme was "Wondercolts".  You could have just passed the term off as some sort of school-spirit-slang thing." Twilight offered.  Those fake tails and ears had gone over pretty well with the campus, after all.  Plus the campus had accepted the whole thing about Twilight actually being a Pony princess from another dimension pretty well... come to think of it, that place was really weird in general.

"Here you go girls!  If you need anything else, just give me a holler." Mr. Cake had to interrupt briefly as he brought over their orders - a warm muffin with a side of fresh fig jam for Sunset, along with a refreshing glass of ice water to boot.  Twilight was relieved to get her chocolate egg cream - a tall, fizzy chilled drink with a frothed head that contained neither cream nor egg despite its name.

"Thanks!" Twilight chirped before she immediately took a long pull of the sweet beverage through its charming bendy straw.  Just what she needed after a long walk!  "Mmn... the Summer Song Cafe is the best place for tea and coffee, but there's no beating the sweet drinks here."

While she was still eager to chat, the young Princess lingered a few moments with her drink to give Sunset a chance to start eating without distraction.  The food over in the other world had been okay, but it always left her aching for the familiar tastes of home even on her short visits.  The cafeteria food at Canterlot High just didn't compare to the native, local-grown ingredients from around Ponyville.  Heck, she even found herself dearly missing simple hay after a few days.  Part of her was curious to see how Sunset responded since she'd been living on that other world's food for so many years.

The firemane let out a sigh as Twilight encouraged her to relax and calm down a bit. A grin crossed her face, shifting smoothly into an awkward slant as she stared across the table at the young Alicorn... "Ponyville does seem really inviting." She confessed, shifting a little as she tried to shrug her shoulders. It just looked weird. Her smile remained a little ambivalent as she regarded Twilight, and how much good the town and her time in it had done her. Sunset had never known Twilight before she was a Princess, but she knew that in the years she'd been gone, Twilight had gone from being Celestia's new student, (my...  replacement...), to becoming the Princess of Friendship...

Regret was a very funny thing... Fortunately, Twilight seemed to naturally break those dark clouds before they could start looming. Sunset's expression became a bit of a smile, and as she started to answer, Mr. Cake delivered their order. She turned her focus to him, nodding her head lightly. "Thank you, Mr. Cake~" Sunset smiled earnestly, and lightly gave a tip of her head.

As Sunset gently fumbled with her telekinesis, getting a handle on using a proper telekinetic grip for actual precise tasks again, she continued addressing Twilight's rather belated advice. "A-actually, that was people's initial response. It just tends to be received differently when when you don't have a whole herd of friends backing you up and making it 'cool'."  Sunset put on a bit of a teasing grin at that. She'd felt so furious back then, the entire cafeteria erupting into song for Twilight...

"That...  reminds me. Flash Sentry." She said, looking to Twilight. She lightly blushed, and brought her hoof up to her hair to mess with it, though, without fingers it was a bit of a pointless endeavor. Still, awkward..."I just thought I should mention... He's kinda moved on. I mean... pretty much everyone there, has. I know you two had... some sort of thing going on? It was never  really my place to pry, but he asked about you all the time..." Sunset bit her lip. "I think he finally realized that you're out of his league - and his world." There was just a little of the old Sunset in those words, maybe - not hurtful or spiteful, just... blunt. And honest, as far as she was concerned.

Managing to get the dull knife to slice open a little pocket from the top of her muffin, sunset added a few more items to the mix, trying to work the jam up and into the muffin like a filling, painting the excess over the top like frosting on a cupcake. She was getting her precision back pretty quickly. Then again, apparently Telekinesis was like riding a bicycle - once you learned how, you could always get back into the swing of it pretty quickly.

It was as Sunset was doing this that a realization dawned on her - just how dramatically different typical pony fare was going to be from the food she'd grown to love... To be sure, the high point of her culinary experience was most certainly not the time she'd tried grazing as a human...

A brief look of dawning distress crossed Sunset's face, and Twilight could rightly assume  it was food-related. Still, Sunset brought the muffin to her lips, closed her eyes, and took a bite. "Mmh-hmmm~" Sunset chewed her gentle bite, licked her lips, grinning to Twilight for the moment.

"Mhm, best muffin ever~" Sunset took another little bite, then sipped her water, before continuing. "... So... ah - food, now that I think about it.  That's going to be a thing. I didn't think of it, earlier, but.. you know, when I first went to the other side, I actually tried grazing. It was disgusting." She made a bit of a face. "Though.. I've found a lot of flavors over there that might turn heads here... If I can even get them at all..." Sunset pouted a little bit.

It hadn't exactly been a secret - Sunset had become a bit of a carnivore, in the other-world. "... Any thoughts on that? I know I don't just want to give it up, but I don't want to creep anypony out, either..." She kept at the muffin lightly, clearly pleased with it, though. Pony-pastries really were just as good - if not better- than human ones.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:54, Fri 10 July 2015.