Three whole days had been spent setting up. The mares now had beds, mostly unpacked things, and in a few minutes a mostly working bakery.

Twilight Sparkle, Big Macintosh, and Mr. Cake were checking to make sure the massive refrigerator was securely in place, and the old stove was perfectly flush. This was the most boring part, but everypony was still around for it. They were mostly Mr. and Mrs. Cakes' old machines, a few of the Apples, and even a couple from Rarity's old kitchen donated back by her parents... Rarity always had a thing for gourmet foods. All hand-me-downs, but still completely functional.

Pinkie stood by Mrs. Cake... watching and waiting. The older mare put a hoof on her excited protégé's shoulder:

"It's all yours, Pinkie," she said, calmly. "Every last bit of it."

Wringing her hooves, the pink mare was near tears from excitement. Rainbow Dash, who was on her other side, smiled at her. She gave a teary grin back.

"Okay, I think we're all set!" Yipped Twilight Sparkle, turning in the direction of her pink friend. "Pinkie, is there anything you want to say to christen your new bakery?"

Pinkie stood silently and stone-faced as everypony turned towards her and gathered around. Seven sets of pony eyes (and one baby dragon's) were on her. She opened her forelegs up and beamed a wide smile:

"Only that I couldn't have done any of this without my friends help!"

All ponies (and drakes) present grinned, then went in for the hug. It lasted a good long while.

Sentiments were shared about the new bakery over a small batch of cupcakes Mrs. Cake had baked, along with some Darjeeling to celebrate the life of the old owner of the building, a ninth cup and cake left out untouched. There wasn't one pony around who wasn't excited to see it in its finished glory... even in spirit.

Pinkie had a agenda now that she had a working bakery, a promise made a few days earlier she intended to keep. Turning towards her newly installed counter tops, Pinkie sprang forward with newfound enthusiasm:

"Now let's throw you and Scoots a party, Dashie! It's my way of saying thank-you for staying with me and welcome to the new bakery!"

Rainbow Dash grinned ear-to-ear. Even she had forgotten about Pinkie's party promise a few days before. Dash had been distracted, after all, but Pinkie remembered.... Pinkie never forgets a promise, and this wasn't even a Pinkie Promise.

Their work had gone from setting up the bakery to using it. Pinkie had a plan in mind, but having so many ponies around, she couldn't help but invite them to join in the fun:

"Apple Jack, I'd like to make some apple fritters to help celebrate!"

"Apple fritters, huh?" Apple Jack and Big Mac looked at each other, grinning. "If it's alright with you, Pinkie... me and Big Mac'll help you to speed things along. Ah think we've got the time now."

"Ee-yup," the stallion replied with a warm smile.

"Aww, that's so sweet! You don't have to..."

"We're happy to oblige, Pinkie." Apple Jack replied as her brother nodded in agreement. "We wanna make this gathering as big as you do. Big Mac, you mind makin' another trip?"

"Ee-nope. Ah could use the time to stretch ma legs. Haven't been out apple bucking in almost two days!"

"Then it's settled!"

Pinkie was touched. She and Big Macintosh hardly spoke, yet he was willing to help her even after the job was done.

Soon enough Big Mac was headed for the Acres on a mission -- a quick trip to get some of their best apples and his other little sister. He wouldn't be gone for longer than an hour at the most. In the mean time Apple Jack stepped in to provide Pinkie an extra set of hooves, able to help with more than just fritters.

Pinkie soon had all three mixers running along with her stove, microwave, cotton candy machine, and her "super-deep fryer." Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked at each other and nodded. Their young, pink protégé was having no trouble keeping up with all this organized chaos... and Apple Jack had no problem stepping in. The older Earth Ponies sighed in relief... Pinkie was going to be fine. Her hooves moved at lightening speed, perpetuated by own her mania, four years of practice, and desire to make her first meal in her own bakery. Soon they started helping, too, but... just with the mixing. This was Pinkie's moment, after all. Pinkie looked over and smiled at them, glad to have even more hooves to help.

Pinkie didn't have to ask her other friends to join in. Twilight found herself rationing out ingredients for cupcakes, brownies, donuts, éclairs, mousse and even a mini Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness. Pinkie knew it would take hours, but it would be worth it in the end. She wanted all of Ponyville to enjoy this party, too; that idea made her smile.

The Cakes now looked at each other with concern that Pinkie Pie might be going overboard. The pink mare turned towards them both and requested even more ingredients, giving them a long list written out on parchment paper neither of them had even seen her or any other pony write. Rather than saying something and risking bursting Pinkie's bubble, both of the the Cakes looked at each other and sighed. Mr. Cake left with Spike, who held the parchment high.

Fluttershy soon joined the others, taking out pots and pans. She knew exactly where everything was, naturally, as she had filled the cabinets just a day before. Rainbow Dash rushed in to catch a few eggs that nearly rolled off the counter, and Twilight was grateful for that. After just twenty-five minutes of mixing all this from scratch, most of it was almost ready for cooking. Pinkie still needed to make the icing and mix a few ingredients together... the later of which would be brought shortly.

She turned on one final mixer as she added the sugary goodness to the bowl and her entire bakery went pitch black.

In the darkness, a high-pitched voice rang out:

"Umm.... what just happened?"

"You just blew a fuse, dear," replied Mrs. Cake, in a comforting tone. "We'll get this place up and running again in no time!"

Twilight lit up her horn like a candle and sighed. At least the ponies could see now... well, not really, but at least it saved Fluttershy from banging her head on the.counter.

"We were almost done!" Grumbled Rainbow Dash, accidentally dropping an egg to the floor now that she couldn't see very well from her side.

"That's not true, Rainbow..." Mrs. Cake said in a motherly tone. "Cooking takes time and careful planning... We were about done with the prep work, though."

Dash glared at the older mare for making her feel foalish, but it was too dark for it to be appreciated by any pony other than herself.

Twilight spoke up:

"I'm going to go try to replace the fuse. It's in the cellar, right?"

Mrs. Cake answered, opening the blinds to let the sunshine in:

"Yes, that's right. You're going to be okay just by yourself?"

"I'll be fine," replied the Unicorn, leaving Rarity's old Inspiration room to go to the main entrance, then to the basement.

"Well, at least we can at least see now!" Mrs. Cake exclaimed, looking out at the sunlight beaming in.

The rest of the room, including Pinkie, murmured in agreement. They hoped power would be back on soon... this was not the way any of them wanted to spend their afternoon.

Everypony heard the sound of shuffling outside the room. It was too early for Twilight to be back up, she'd hardly been gone thirty seconds. The knob at the front entrance turned, and the door opened.

"Um... hello?" Mr. Cake's voice echoed through the dark establishment. "Cupcake? The lights are out."

"I know that," grumbled Mrs. Cake as both Carrot and Spike drifted inside.

"What happened?" Asked Spike, as they both followed the only source of light to the old Inspiration Room.

"Um... I blew a fuse!" Pinkie exclaimed, blushing.

The two entered the room, Spike setting an armload of small boxes down on the counter.

"It's good to know this, Pinkie," said Mr. Cake. "Just remember not to have too many things running at once, and you should be fine."

"Aww... but we can do all this back at your bakery with no problem!"

"Not quite," Mrs. Cake said hesitantly. "We're careful not to have four mixers, the stove, and our fryers running all at the same time. I let you go too far, dear."

Hearing this, Mr. Cake cast his wife a disapproving glare, much more intimidating in the faint light. Mr. Cake seldom got angry, but when he did it could get ugly. The older mare blushed in response and his face softened... he couldn't stay mad at her.

"Oh... Oops!" Said Pinkie.

Apple Jack had about heard enough of this:

"I'm gunna go play look out for Twilight... tell her when the lights come back on."

Everypony made way as Apple Jack came through, mildly annoyed by the banter and lack of communication (normally the Cakes were pretty square on that). She was a bit amused at the same time... but she made sure to smile after she was past both the Cakes, so she wouldn't offend them. The farm pony walked into the main room, then to the door where the cellar stairs stretched downwards into the unknown.

"Y'all right, Twi?" Her voice echoed down the stairs. "Need an extra hoof?"

At first it was quiet in the basement... Apple Jack tried to look deep and saw the reflected light emanating off Twilight's horn against the wall and that was it. The Unicorn finally spoke:

"Uh, Apple Jack? Could you come down here please?"

"Sure thing," Apple Jack said, descending the stairs. She expected this to be over with quick... it was not.

The mares were left to pass the time in the kitchen. A few minutes later Big Macintosh showed up with the apples and supplies, and his little sister on the cart who had enjoyed the late afternoon ride courtesy of chauffeur Big Mac. The stallion was greeted by the same darkness when he opened the door that Mr. Cake had come into, but rather than shouting into it that the lights were out, he and his little sister followed the sound and faint light to the Inspiration Room where everything was explained to them by the waiting ponies.

Apple Bloom couldn't help getting ahead of herself, once she saw the crowd:

"Why're the lights out? Are we gunna throw another surprise party for Scootaloo?" He face lit up. "Is she finally coming home?"

"Not exactly." Said Mrs. Cake, taking a deep breath to explain what had happened.

It had been almost thirty minutes since Twilight went downstairs. Mr. Cake shouted down into the dark cellar:

"Is everything alright girls?"

"We're having trouble finding the right fuse!" Twilight exclaimed in a frustrated tone. "It's almost like there's no power at all in the whole building."

Mr. Cake looked at the group of gathered ponies standing by the door frame. He noticed Big Mac's taller silhouette standing out among the group.

"Big Mac... you and Apple Jack know a thing or two about electricity, right?"

"Ee-yup." Replied the stallion confidently.

"So do me and Cupcake." Mr. Cake chuckled hesitantly. "Since there are two down there already, I think it might be best we go together. I'm also thinking it might be the breaker at this point... this little problem has them both scratching their heads, after all. It shouldn't be too hard if it's just a matter of finding the right panel and set of switches... right?"

"Ee-yup."

Big Macintosh was already walking in the direction of the cellar door. Mr. Cake leaned against the wall. He would have said he was thinking out loud:

"Well, I do remember reading about the breaker being an older model... Maybe it'll just take a little extra TLC?"

"Ee-yup," replied the farm pony, now rolling his eyes before disappearing down into the basement.

Mr. Cake wasn't far behind him. They both followed the light down the stairs.

The stallions were gone for another ten minutes. Even Fluttershy started to get bored. Apple Bloom rolled some eggs by the edge of the counter, but fortunately none of them dropped. Dash's eyes started to close by themselves as she lay on top the massive refrigerator curled up like Opalescence, while Mrs. Cake comforted Pinkie.

"Everything is going to be just fine," she whispered confidently, patting her older protégé on the back. "This is just... oh, a minor setback."

Pinkie looked up at her and smiled.

When the group finally came trudging back upstairs, most of them looked quite frustrated. Twilight was the last one up, rubbing her temples as her horn dimmed. The ponies in the kitchen came to greet them the moment the first one came up.

"Were you able to fix it?" Asked Mrs. Cake.

"Ee-nope," replied Big Mac, shaking his head.

"It's not the fuse box or the breaker," said Mr. Cake, emerging from the cellar. "We tried every single one... it's not getting power at all."

"I'm not sure what it is." Twilight sighed. "I think it's something electrical."

"Are we sure the power's just not out in all of Ponyville?" Apple Jack asked. "We're gunna feel mighty silly if that's all that's been goin' on."

"Aww, all that food will go to waste..." Pinkie grumbled, her mane falling limp as she slowly cantered through the door back into her new kitchen. "Please, please have power," she quietly wished to herself as she looked out the window to see Lyra across the street. The green Unicorn was playing her harp, reading music in her home by the electric light, not candle. The pink mare's mane immediately perked back up. "Hey! Lyra's got power!"

"Then it's got to be something here," said Mr. Cake, solemnly. "And that means we need an electrician. That's going to take a day or two. Sorry, Pinkie... I know you were excited."

Pinkie's mane deflated again on those words, this time not to go right back up. Her lower lip quivered as she looked around at the semi-visible mess she would have to clean up. At least she had her friends here, but she couldn't ask them to help again. They'd already helped more than she ever could ever have asked, and she was super-duper grateful for that.

"Okay," Pinkie said quietly, forcing a smile at the ponies around her. "Guess I'll have this all cleaned up a bit after dark. It's not going to be a whole lot of fun, so I guess I'll see you girls tommo-"

"Oh, nonesense, Pinkie!" Mrs. Cake exclaimed, putting a foreleg around the sad mare's shoulders. The older pony looked at her protégé's friends, who were all looking at Pinkie with compassion in their eyes. She knew how to answer for them. "We're going to help you clean up. After all, it's our mess, too, when you think about it."

Nopony objected. Instead they all surrounded Pinkie and smiled. She looked up and smiled back as her mane regained some of its frizz.

"Thank you." She whispered quietly, the mare's blue eyes shining in the faint light.

A number of ponies throughout Ponyville would have tried to guilt-trip their friends into helping the same way, just by looking around the room with a sad expression. That wasn't how Pinkie Pie rolled and they all knew that... which is why they stayed to help.

Clean up took a bit longer than expected, especially without indoor lights. They all knew what they were getting into. Twilight lit up her horn again, though it added little extra light. The ponies went to work in the semi-darkness.

It took over an hour to clean up. The Cakes set aside what batter was still good and helped stack the dishes. Twilight and the Cakes then designated jobs, and for the most part each job fit each pony. Rainbow Dash quickly got frustrated with mopping in the dim light and tried to sneak back up on the refrigerator to catch some quick Zs. Not that she'd tell any pony this, but her shoulder still ached, and so did her tummy now... she'd had enough stress for one week, that was for sure. All it took was one look from Mrs. Cake, who just mouthed the word please in her direction, and Rainbow Dash stayed on the floor. There wasn't much for a fast mare like herself to do, but in the end they would still have some fun.

It was approaching dusk outside when the last pot was put away, but Celestia's sun was still high above the treetops. There were at least couple hours of daylight left to enjoy.

The front doors of the Boutique opened and everypony stepped out into the late afternoon sun. As a group they walked through the streets of Ponyville, chatting and laughing, as the first of the fireflies came out above their heads. They were happy to be outside, no longer standing around in the dark bakery. Their voices rang out in joy as they spoke of good things, each having something special to work towards now. Though they were feeling a bit tired and a tad restless, Mr. and Ms. Cake were determined to see that they would still be able to enjoy the day... if cooking was still even in the cards:

"Let's go bake little a cake at our place," said Mr. Cake tenderly. "Entirely on us."

Those words were all it took to restore Pinkie's frizz. A little promise of cake and her head went up, then she was bouncing around the ponies with newly found zest. As ponies passing through town raised their eyebrows in wonder, the older bakers and her friends grinned at each other, happy to see that Pinkie Pie was back to her normal self again... well, normal for Pinkie Pie, that is.

They headed towards the Sugar Cube Corner, not far off from the old Boutique. It was clear that this cake was going to be a much smaller, much quicker cake to make... but that didn't matter. They had enough time during their stroll to come up with a plan along the way. This plan included everypony, and even though it was small, it kept growing bigger and bigger... everypony had an idea to make it better, even Big Mac, who suggested an apple cinnamon sweetener to add an extra layer of goodness.

When the group finally got to their destination, each pony went to work, having a solid idea of what he or she was doing. Their plans were elaborate, not one moment was wasted... the only ponies to sit back were the Cakes themselves. Even Spike helped by pulling out some hard to reach packets of seasoning, at the back of the shelf. Though it was much less than Pinkie Pie had first planned, one thing didn't change -- they all really enjoyed making that cake. They each took turns mixing, pouring, and checking on it. Apple Bloom and Pinkie enjoyed the spatula and bowl, but not before both the Master Bakers each got a taste:

"This is going to be perfect!" Declared Mrs. Cake, as Mr. Cake nodded in agreement beside her.

This cake was going to one special filly. After it was out of the oven, they let Pinkie look at it closely as it cooled. She pondered all the possibilities now that it was cooked, rubbing her chin...

"How are we going to decorate it?" Asked Twilight Sparkle. "Should we use Scootaloo's favorite color?" She turned to Rainbow Dash, who was leaning up against the wall. "What is her favorite color?"

Rainbow smiled, tapping her mane... she liked purple, the same as her own mane, but that gesture was misinterpreted by more than just Twilight.

Pinkie stood isolated for a moment. She remained quiet, focused on the cake. The mare had been asked a question, but she didn't answer it at first... instead she nodded and smiled, furrowing her brow. The pink Earth Pony suddenly turned to her friends, still grinning as she spoke:

"I've got it!"

"What?" Apple Jack asked.

"I can't decide!" Replied Pinkie Pie with a smile, "and that's what makes my idea so totally fantastic. I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier!"

All ponies -- the Cakes and Spike included -- cocked their heads... that was, until they saw Pinkie turn around and go into a cabinet, coming back not with a single tube of food coloring, but an entire case of eight colors. She required all the colors and suddenly it made sense.

Half an hour later, after the cake was through steaming, they made sure to decorate it so she would know it was from them all. Like before, they each took a turn, but Pinkie added the final touches... moving at a snail's pace, so she could get it just right. No pony had been around to see her working quite like this, except for the Cakes. In the end it looked so perfect and everypony was smiling over the job they'd done. It was too good to put in a box.

The sun had begun to set as they set off cantering towards the hospital. Their pace was brisk, their mood was light, and even Big Macintosh giggled like a colt along the way. It was just a shame they'd be so late, but might as well make the best of the time they had.

Pinkie was at the head of the group, holding the cake high. Even without her new bakery up and running, she was still grinning ear-to-ear. She had the magic in her to always bounce back from the ugliest of situations, and make the best of her surroundings. She could change anything, brighten up anypony's day. Mr. Cake had once joked about it being a curse when they first adopted her, but now he understood her. It was Pinkie Pie that had made the new bakery what it was; her family and friends simply provided the tools and horsepower to do so. She filled something that was dead with so much life and promise. They were so very proud of her for it, and even on the way with her mood so high, the Cakes and all of Pinkie's friends knew in their hearts that what she'd learned about friendship today she would hold dear for a long time. She was Pinkie Pie, after all, and they loved her for it.

Author's Notes:

This particular segment gave me a lot of trouble, so I'm pleased to finally be able to release it.

I almost cut it completely. I was going to open with the next chapter, but decided to include it. . It underwent a good amount of editing, but ultimately I'm happy with it... a lot happier than when I started

If anybody has any critique or thoughts, as always I'm open to suggestions. While I write for myself primarily, I also write to make the best stories I can, so I very much enjoy feedback.

Hope you enjoyed this section as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you.

Peace