Chapter 2

"Who in Ponyville might be able to help me?" Twilight said aloud as she trotted through the town square. Then she caught sight of Mayor Mare walking on the opposite side of the courtyard, heading into the town hall with a group of important-looking ponies. The mayor would be a good choice. She ran their whole town! She would definitely know a thing or two about leadership. It was a good place to start.

But by the time she reached the steps of the town hall, the mayor was already behind closed doors. "Sorry, Princess Twilight," Senior Mint, the tall green guard pony said. "Ms. Mayor Mare is in an important meeting about next year's Summer Sun Celebration and won't be out for some time."

Twilight slumped in defeat. "Oh well. That's all right! But you don't have to call me, um, Princess. Just Twilight will do," she advised. Senior Mint nodded, embarrassed.

"Will you tell her I stopped by?" Twilight asked. Maybe they could talk about being a leader later.

"Yes, of course, Princess Twilight." He cupped a hoof over his mouth. "Oops, I mean Just Twilight." He was clearly a bit nervous around her.

"Thanks!" She flashed her shiny white smile, turned on her hoof, and headed back to square one—wandering around the town square trying to come up with her next move. Suddenly, she smelled the scent of something sweet and scrumptious. Her tummy rumbled in response.

"Fresh cupcakes! Extra icing!" shouted Carrot Cake, the town baker. He pulled a pink-and- yellow cart filled with sugary delicacies of every flavor and color. Maybe it was time for a snack!

"Hello, Mr. Cake!" Twilight said, trotting up to the cart, which had begun to draw a sizable crowd of hungry ponies hoping to snag one of the fragrant delights. Twilight hadn't seen such a commotion since the last cider sale at Sweet Apple Acres.

Mr. Cake nodded in response. "Hiya there, Twilight Sparkle!"

"Is this your new treat cart?" she asked. "What a wonderful idea!"

"Mrs. Cake and I are always trying to come up with new ways to share our desserts with the ponies of Ponyville." Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake, twin foals, giggled and trotted alongside their father. Pound Cake, who was a Pegasus, beat his little wings until he was hovering near a tray of pink and purple pastries. When his father wasn't watching, he sneakily snatched one and ate it in a single greedy bite. His sister, Pumpkin Cake, jumped as high as she could to grab one, but she couldn't quite reach. She finally used her Unicorn magic to steal a blue cupcake and deliver it gently to her mouth. She licked her lips with a satisfied smile. Then she burped.

"Plus, the babies love to get out of the shop," Mr. Cake continued, oblivious to his little foals' devious actions. He was too busy dishing out baked goods to the crowd of hungry townsponies. "Fresh air sure does them good!"

Twilight watched as Pumpkin and Pound chased each other. They ran in circles and through the legs of a nearby gray Pegasus pony. The pony wobbled helplessly before toppling over into a nearby rosebush. When she popped her head out, her lemon-yellow mane was adorned with prickly thorns. "Mr. Cake! Do you have any muffins today?" she called as she tried to climb out. Her hoof got caught on a branch, and she tumbled onto the soft grass.

"Fresh out of muffins, unfortunately," Carrot replied, looking concerned.

"Well, I'll take one cupcake please." Twilight licked her lips in anticipation. Mr. Cake reached

inside the glass display case, but all that was left were crumbs. "Oh dear, we seem to be out of everything!" He frowned. His business venture was more successful than he'd expected.

"Why don't you trot back to SugarCube Corner with us?" Carrot offered. "Mrs. Cake is sure to have whipped up some more by now."

Twilight hesitated. She was supposed to be on a fact-finding mission, not lounging around Ponyville eating sweets. Her stomach rumbled again and Pumpkin Cake giggled.

"I guess that's my answer," Twilight said ruefully. "Just for a few minutes, though. Then I have to get back to my quest."

The twins cheered and hopped on Twilight's back for a ride to the bakery. "Giddyup!" they chorused.

---

"Mrs. Cake, this rainbow chip… mmmf… delight is… mmmf… delicious," Twilight said with a full mouth. A dollop of pink icing made its way down her chin. Rarity would have been appalled at her bad mane-ers. "Excuse me," she said as she cleaned her face. "I don't mean to eat and run like this, but I really must be on my way."

"Of course, Princess," Mrs. Cake said, bowing quickly. She stood up and continued to pipe a tube of icing onto a strawberry layer cake, creating a beautiful border of plump roses in the process.

Twilight blushed with embarrassment. "You really don't have to call me that," Twilight replied. This princess business was tricky. Maybe she should put up a banner in the town square telling everypony to treat her as they normally would. "I'm just the same old Twilight, really."

She caught sight of her reflection in the shiny cake display case. Other than the new wings, she still looked the same. She wasn't even wearing her tiara. "In fact, I don't really know how to be a princess at all. That's what I'm doing today. I'm trying to ask some older ponies what it means to be a leader, but I don't want to ask Princess Celestia—that would be embarrassing—and when I tried to go see Mayor Mare, she was busy and…" Everything seemed to spill out at once.

Mrs. Cake furrowed her brow in motherly concern. "My goodness, that sounds like quite the sticky situation. Why don't you visit your big brother and Princess Cadance?"

Twilight brightened at the suggestion. What a great idea! Her BBBFF (Big Brother Best Friend Forever) Shining Armor and new Pegasister-in-law had much more royal experience than she did. Older siblings were practically made for giving guidance. "You're a genius! They are bound to have some royal advice!"

Carrot Cake popped his head in from the storeroom. "We're not out of royal icing! We have a whole carriage full back here, my dear!"

"No, Carrot," Mrs. Cake shouted back. "Royal advice. For Twilight!" She shook her head and then sighed. "Stallions. They never listen."

Twilight chuckled as she made her way out the door. "In that case, maybe I'd better talk to Cadance and not Shining Armor." She was feeling much more confident now that she had a real plan. "Thanks for the terrific tips and treats, Mrs. Cake! Bye, Pumpkin! Bye, Pound!" And then the young monarch was off to the Crystal Empire to find out exactly what made a royal pony tick. Or at least talk.