"If my calculations are correct, when this cake hits 88 degrees, we're going to see some serious stuff," said Pinkie Pie as she shifted around the beads on an abacus with a look of serious contemplation.

"Uh," replied Twilight, "what kind of stuff. It's...just a cake, right?"

"This is no ordinary cake, my comrade," said Pinkie Pie as she put a hoof around her quizzical friend. "This cake is unlike any other cake that I have ever baked. It's got a whole slew of exotic ingredients that I've been spending weeks trying to gather..."

"So that's where you've been?" said Twilight with a slight twinge of irritation in her voice. "You missed Fluttershy's birthday tea party!" Twilight paused. "And mine!"

Pinkie Pie had a sad but serious look on her face. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but my duties were fully booked elsewhere. Besides, I gave Cheese Sandwich a call and he said he'd fill in for me!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Twilight sighed. "He's alright, but he's no Pinkie Pie."

"Darn, tootin'," she replied. "But now, you're about to experience the most amazing, most spectacular, most incredible, most stupendous, most fantastical, most aweso--"

"PINKIE," interjected Twilight. "What is it you've got to show me?"

Pinkie Pie became dead silent and shifted her eyes back and forth nervously. "Okay," she whispered. "but you have to promise not to tell anypony."

Twilight shot her a bemused look. "Alright, I promise."

"Pinkie promise."

Twilight sighed. "I Pinkie promise..."

"...say the words..."

"I cross my heart and hope to fly...stick a cupcake in my eye." Twilight shoved her hoof into her face, adhering to the strict rules of the Pinkie Pie Swear.

"Good," she replied. "Now, what I'm about to show you may surprise you."

"Pinkie Pie, most things you show me always surprise me. I'm kind of used to it by now. What is so special about this cake?"

"Watch, and be amazed," said Pinkie Pie as she turned on the oven with a single loud click. "The oven is set to maximum heat. The baking pan has been fluxed, and it's heating up. Now, we wait..."

Twilight and Pinkie Pie stood in front of Pinkie Pie's oven, staring at the sludgy batter at rest inside the metal pan within the oven. Several seconds passed.

"Um...has it happened yet?" asked Twilight.

"Just wait..." said Pinkie Pie. Several more seconds passed.

"So...what's in it?"

"Lots of stuff."

"Okay...what kind stuff?"

"Lots," she replied without breaking her gaze on the cake. For the next couple of minutes, Pinkie Pie stared intently at the oven with Twilight beside her, who was growing more confused by the second.

"Any moment now..." said Pinkie Pie, not taking her eye off the cake. "It just needs to hit 88 degrees and then..."

The cake disappeared from within the oven, leaving the pan it was in completely unfilled. Twilight had a look of utter shock on her face as she stared intently at where the cake once was, then back to Pinkie Pie, and then back to the oven.

"Where did it go?" asked Twilight.

"The more appropriate question is...when did it go? You see, I sent the cake into the future. One minute into the future to be exact. And at precisely 1:21 PM, we will catch up to it!"

"Pinkie Pie, you can't be serious. Are you trying to tell me you built a cake that travels through time?"

"Precisely."

Twilight was impressed. Was it possible for earth ponies to accomplish such high-tier magic as time travel? How did Pinkie Pie figure out how to do it...and to a cake? There were so many questions she had for her bright pink friend, but at the moment, all that came out of her mouth was "Whoa...this is heavy."

"Weight has nothing to do with it, Twilight. It's all about the ratios and consistency."

"So, does it really work? Is it really travelling through time right now?"

"You bet your flank it works," replied Pinkie Pie, gesturing towards the oven. Moments later, the cake appeared within the pan exactly where it had left one minute ago.

"Voila!" said Pinkie Pie as she opened the oven and took out the cake, which had somehow become fully baked in its journey through time.

"...why is it baked?" asked Twilight.

"It's a weird quirk with time travel. Something about lots of radiation."

"Radiation?" exclaimed Twilight, "are you telling me this cake is nuclear?"

"Absolutely not," said Pinkie Pie. "It's totally safe to eat, I'm positive."

Pinkie Pie carved out two slices of the cake and handed one to Twilight. "Go on, let's try it together!"

"Have you tested this before?" Twilight asked nervously.

"Nope!" Pinkie Pie squeaked.

"Well...okay..." said Twilight as she eyed the slice of cake in her hoof. It did look pretty tasty. What was the harm in eating a simple slice of cake? She trusted her friend.

At the same time, Pinkie Pie and Twilight each took a bite out of the cake, and it tasted absolutely delicious. There was something tangy and electrifying about it that gave it a shocking flavor. Twilight found herself enjoying it very much and closed her eyes in ecstasy, but when she opened them, she was surprised to see that they were no longer in Sugarcube Corner. No, they were, but a cloud of darkness enveloped them as lightning flashed all around.

"PINKIE PIE!?"

"YEAH TWILIGHT?"

"WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

"WHAT!? I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE LIGHTNING!"

"WHY IS THERE LIGHTNING?"

"OH, IS THAT HAPPENING TO YOU, TOO? BECAUSE SOMETIMES I GET THESE KINDS OF HALLUCINATIONS. I THINK IT'S BECAUSE I EAT TOO MUCH SUGAR!"

"I'M SCARED, PINKIE!"

"WHEEEEEEEEE!"

In a singular moment, the storm ended instantly with Twilight and Pinkie Pie back in Sugarcube Corner in exactly the same place they were. Twilight looked around nervously. "Are we back? Are we okay?"

A voice answered her from upstairs. "Who's down there? And what are you doing in my home?"

An elderly pony who the voice belonged to came down the stairs armed with a broomstick. "Get outta here, ya hooligans!"

Chasing after them like some sort of madpony, Twilight and Pinkie Pie galloped outside immediately but stopped dead in their tracks as soon as they saw Ponyville. The streets were paved with asphalt and motorized vehicles sped past at breakneck speeds. The buildings around them towered high into the air and were mostly solid shades of silver and black, with handfuls of flying vehicles soaring above them high in the sky.

With mouth agape, Twilight could only say two words. "Great Celestia..."