Business began to pick up at Sugarcube Corner in the afternoon. The mares and stallions of Ponyville came in to buy cakes and pastries for after-work snacks, or perhaps something to take home for supper.

Pinkie Pie worked at the bakery. She was the number one party pony in town, and always wanted to make sure others were having a good time. When she wasn’t partying, she was either selling baked goods or making them.

Pinkie enjoyed mixing batter and dough. She liked watching the treats rise in the oven. She especially relished decorating the finished delicacies. Sugarcube Corner was adorned with bright colors and resembled a highly decorated cake itself, but a good portion of the atmosphere came from Pinkie’s bubbly personality. Her bright pink coat and frizzy magenta mane didn’t hurt, either.

This day, Pinkie was at the cash register exchanging sweets for bits. She had a genuine smile and greeting for every customer, but her mind was somewhere else. That evening, her coltfriend was supposed to stop by. She couldn’t wait.

“Hello Mr. Breezy! The usual?” Pinkie asked.

“Yes, please,” said the stallion. The pink pony fetched a piece of cherry pie and gave it to him on a paper plate. The cash register dinged cheerfully as she deposited his bits inside.

Pinkie couldn’t wait to see her coltfriend. No other pony brought her such happiness just being around. Waiting for him was nearly unbearable.

She hid her distress beneath a grin for another customer. “Hi Lyra! What can I get you?”

“Just some chocolate cake,” said the mare. She smiled mischievously. “I’m getting tired of Bon Bon’s hard candy.” Pinkie giggled and cut a slice of the rich frosted cake. Lyra paid and left with her confection.

Pinkie sighed inwardly. The clock had barely moved since she’d last checked it. What if it was broken?

“Hey there, girls!” said Pinkie, addressing three fillies who had just walked in.

“Hi Pinkie,” said Apple Bloom.

“We came to get a snack,” explained Sweetie Belle.

“But we can’t decide what we want!” added Scootaloo.

“I know just the thing!” said Pinkie. She pulled a box from under the counter. “It’s a dozen donuts! There’s four different flavors so you don’t have to decide!”

“Yay!” cried the fillies. They pooled their allowance money and paid for the donuts. Pinkie saw them off and glanced at the clock again. The hands had moved, but not very much. Maybe it was just running slowly?

“Hello Pinkie,” said a voice.

The party pony turned away from her examination of the clock. “Oh, hey Twilight and Spike!”

“We’d each like a cupcake,” said the pony.

“Can I have gems on mine?” asked the small dragon sitting on her back.

“Coming right up!” sang Pinkie. She dished out the requested pastries and collected payment. The two customers walked away, eating their treats happily.

Pinkie turned to the radio that sat on a shelf beside the counter. Maybe if the songs ran normally, she might be able to prove that the clocks were running too slow! She switched it on and twisted the dial. An old song by the Guess Whooves came on.

No sugar tonight in my coffee

No sugar tonight in my tea

No sugar to stand beside me

No sugar to run with me

Pinkie’s usually bright smile dimmed slightly. Oh, where could my sugar be? she thought. The pink pony spun around from the radio as another customer came up to the counter.

“Good afternoon Mayor!” said Pinkie. “What can I get you?”

“I’d like some shortbread rounds with extra sprinkles,” said the mare.

“Okie dokie loki!” exclaimed Pinkie, fetching the cookies. She dropped them on a plate and added some colorful garnish.

The Mayor was quite happy to get her sweets, and dropped her change into the tip jar beside the cash register. Pinkie gave her an extra big smile for that. She didn’t forget, however, that she was waiting on somepony.

Did something happen? Ohmygosh, what if something happened to him? Calm down, Pinkie. We don’t know that. Wait, we? I mean I. I don’t know that. Whew, keep talking to yourself in your head like this an ponies will think you’re crazy!

A stallion standing at the counter cleared his throat to get the pink mare’s attention.

“Oh! Hi, Doctor. What would you like?” Pinkie inquired.

“Do you have any treacle tarts?” he asked.

“We sure do!” called Pinkie over her shoulder as she turned to retrieve the tray of pastries.

“Fantastic,” said the pony, dropping some bits on the counter. “Thank you.”

After he departed, Pinkie looked around worriedly. She’d seen nothing to indicate that a disaster might have happened. Maybe her coltfriend was just running late? Well, with the silly clocks, would she even know?

“Hi Mrs. Cake!” said Pinkie to the mare that had just exited the kitchen.

“Hello dearie, why are you still here?” asked the older mare.

“Huh?” said Pinkie.

“Did you get confused about the time again?” asked Mrs. Cake. “You don’t have to stay here all day, Pinkie.”

The pink pony grinned. “That must be. I just got so caught up in things that I forgot.”

Mrs. Cake rolled her eyes as if this sort of thing had happened before, which it had. “Have a nice day, dearie.”

Pinkie skipped out the door, encountering a stallion that was waiting outside.

“Ohmygosh, there you are!” she said, throwing her hooves around his neck.

“Hey sugar,” he said, chuckling. “Did you miss me?”

“You have no idea!”

Author note:

This is just a little something I wrote in an hour after listening to too much Canadian rock. Maybe it’ll help me work towards writing real romance so I’ll finally finish Battleshipping is Magic.

Speaking of finishing stuff, I posted this story to take a break from the NCIS / MLP crossover I’m working on. That should go up in the next day or two.

Thanks for reading.