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A Second Chance

by Jay David

Chapter 80: A Call to Cake...and to Action

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To make something truly special, something that you have put your heart and soul into, something you know that everypony is going to be pleased to see, is something to be proud of. And so it was that Ponyville's local bakers, Mr and Mrs Cakes, created just such a thing; a cake, naturally, bigger than any other they had made in their respective careers, and that was saying something. It stood taller than anypony could reach, and was made from layer upon layer of carefully crafted and cooked round segments, doused in expertly-arranged decorations and frosting. It was, needless to say, a treat for the eyes, and, with any luck, one for the stomach soon enough. The happily-married couple looked to each other with pride as they saw their creation, with their nearby children, Pound and Pumpkin, giggling in a cheery manner at seeing the delicious and massive confectionary. But, by far the most excited about this was their employee, and tenant, Pinkie Pie. The energetic mare kept on darting around the thing, practically salivating at the mouth as she looked upon it. But, as tempting as it might have been, she did not partake, nor would anypony else until it reached its destination; the national cake championship, all the way in Canterlot. And that long journey, as one might expect, gave way to a rather interesting dilemma; how to get the cake to the train station.

It was quite the task, to say the last, and one which required a bit of muscle to get going. And so it was that Applejack's older brother, Big Macintosh, was brought on to help carry the colossal cake, resting carefully upon his back. Mac was, as all in Ponyville knew, perhaps the strongest stallion around, and yet, even he seemed to struggle with carrying this thing around, as evidenced by the massive strained expression upon his face, as well as the many beads of sweat that now rolled down his brow. Taking careful step after careful step, he began to make his way out of Sugar Cube Corner and down the main street of Ponyville, heading straight for the town's station. Pinkie, as well as Mr and Mrs Cakes, were escorting him, their eyes never straying from the cake as he walked. With every step he made, and thus every wobble that step caused in the cake, they winced, pre-emptively expecting the whole thing to come crashing down. So, they walked alongside him, each with one hoof outstretched to steady the cake as they made the slow journey. Pinkie, seeing that Mac's help alone would not be enough, scoured the town around her for somepony, with her face breaking out into a massive smile as she caught sight of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who were talking to each other and enjoying some tea at a nearby cafe.

Seeing the plight their friend was in, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash immediately leapt into action, flapping their wings and flying upwards, towards the top of the cake. And there they stayed, keeping an eye on the uppermost layers of the thing, making sure to steady it as Mac continued to walk forward. Eventually, even Applejack was drafted into this, both to lend Mac a hoof and carrying the thing upon her back, sharing the weight with her brother, with the stallion giving his sister a truly appreciative smile over it. And so, with all these ponies working together, it looked as if the cake would actually manage to reach its destination. And soon, it came into view, with many of the other ponies in the street politely stepping aside as this group-cake-carrying-effort passed by. The strain upon Mac and Applejack's face was growing more with every passing moment, but that expression soon gave way to hope as they looked upon an already-waiting train on the station's platform. The whole group broke into big smiles as they saw it, especially when the nearest door sprang open, as if to greet them after this long journey. However, just when Mac was about to take his first step into the train, they were all halted when a familiar voice began to call out to them. Turning, they saw that it was Twilight, galloping towards them as fast as her legs could carry her.

Seeing this, they stopped, much to Mac and Applejack's chagrin, and watched as Twilight ground to a halt before them, catching her breath as best she could before finally starting to explain herself.

"I just got word. The cake contest has been cancelled!"

As one might expect, this caused all of them to look at her with shock, none more so than Pinkie Pie, who now rushed forward and grabbed her by the face.

"WHAT?! Cancelled?! Why?! Why would they do something so mean and horrible like that?!"

As soon as Pinkie let go of her face, Twilight's expression became one of utter seriousness, with her words reflecting that.

"Because...Canterlot has just been attacked."

With the utterance of those words, it was as if all of time had stopped. Everypony within earshot, the Cakes, Rainbow, Mac, Fluttershy, Applejack and even Pinkie all looked to her with shocked expressions. Not only that, but many of the passers-by on the platform, who had managed to hear those words, also stood aghast at this revelation. So silent was this place that you could probably have heard a pin drop, it was that silent. Twilight’s friends all looked to her, seeing the look in her eyes, and they saw that this was no joke. She'd meant every word of it. Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when she saw that there were a couple of new arrivals suddenly charging out onto the platform to join them; Rarity and Spike. From the looks on their faces, it was clear that Twilight had already told both of them the bad news. Applejack, after finally shaking herself out of her trance-like state of shock, immediately moved out from under the cake to meet with Twilight, which was a particularly bad thing for Mac, as all of the weight of that cake was now upon his shoulders alone once more, with even more strain in his face than before. However, ignoring her brother's plight, the farm mare simply looked to Twilight, her expression one of disbelief, and spoke in a hushed manner.

"Wha...what do ya mean Canterlot was attacked?!"

Twilight's expression became one of sadness as she looked to the ground.

"It's true. I received a letter from Princess Celestia. She's called for me to go there immediately."

Twilight's friends, and everypony else, all looked to each other with worry and concern. Rainbow, frowning at all this, finally landed herself on the ground and stepped forward, placing a hoof upon her shoulder.

"If you’re going, then we're coming with you!"

There was a general call of approval amongst the other mares at hearing that. However, Twilight simply frowned at that, shaking her head.

"No...I need you to stay here."

The mares all stood there, quite taken aback at hearing that. But Twilight, with a look of determination upon her face, continued speaking.

"Look...I...I don't know what's going to happen by the time I arrive in Canterlot. I don't know how dangerous it's going to be. If there's even a chance that you could..."

Her voice was wobbling, and the earlier resolve she had was beginning to falter. In her face, her friends saw a look they had rarely, if ever, seen in her; doubt. It was clear at this point that, no matter what Twilight was professing, she was worried about what she would find over at Canterlot. She opened her mouth to continue, but, this time, she was stopped, when Rainbow raised a hoof and placed it over her mouth. Needless to say, Twilight was rather shocked by this, but even more so when she saw the equally determined look upon Rainbow's face.

"Twilight...I know that going off and being the hero is what you do. Heck, it's what you've always done, ever since you arrived in Ponyville! You told us to stay behind once before. You took the burden of protecting ponies all by yourself on that day. But...we're your friends...and we're here to help you. Just...please...for once...let us. That's what friends do."

As Rainbow dropped her hoof, Twilight looked to each of them, seeing the sentiment now shared amongst them. The camaraderie, the united agreement to come with her. Deep down, she knew that nothing she said was going to dissuade them from coming with her. Silence fell upon her when she realised that, and she looked to the ground. When she finally looked up, her friends looked on with surprise that there were actually tears in her eyes, the result of just how overwhelmed she was with this display of loyalty that her friends were showing. Without warning, she leapt forward, embracing Rainbow in a hug. Although taken aback by this, the cyan pegasus then chuckled nervously as she returned the embrace, which, naturally, led to all of them getting together in a group hug. When they eventually parted from one another, Twilight wiped a tear from her eye before looking to the train beside her. It was still open and waiting for them, and she turned to her friends and gave a single smile and a nod, which was promptly returned by all of them. And so, steeling herself, Twilight soon got on board the train, with her friends not far behind her. All that, is, except Spike, whom Twilight halted with that same motherly look of concern she always wore around him. Although somewhat annoyed by this, the young dragon eventually relented, sighing and giving her a nod.

And so it was that Twilight and the others boarded the train, with the massive locomotive soon departing the station. As it moved, with a huge billow of steam emerging form its top, Twilight's eyes never left her adopted son, who watched with worry as she got further and further away from him. Eventually, the train had travelled so far away that nopony could see them, leading to an eerie silence on the platform. However, that silence was interrupted with the sound of a laboured grunt, causing all of the remaining ponies to turn towards it. Sure enough, there was Mac, still struggling to cold that gigantic cake on his back all by himself. Looking guilty about having forgotten about him, the Cakes both looked to each other before Mrs Cakes spoke to him sweetly.

"Um...dear? I think you can drop that now."

Next Chapter: The Fallen Queen Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 57 Minutes
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