Chapter 1
The front door of the small cottage swung open, and Fluttershy drug in the large brown grocery bag. As soon as she stumbles into her house, A posse of animals, from ferret to bear, rush to her and make various noises of joy. Her favorite pet, a white grumpy rabbit by the name of Angel, scurries up her leg and on her back, nestling in Fluttershy’s wings. It just so happened to be Angel’s birthday and to celebrate, Fluttershy planned to make gourmet snacks for everyone and a cake!
“Happy birthday, Angel!” She lets out a small giggle and she continues to drag the bag of food to her kitchen, throwing it up on the table. A flock of birds flies over to the top of the bag, peeking in and trying to sneakily take off with a set of seeds without Fluttershy noticing. But before they could even open the bag of bird feed, Fluttershy swatted them away and they all flew off to their perches.
Fluttershy slowly took out the food and sorted it on the table. Carrots and lettuce for rabbits, cheese for the mice, various seeds for the birds and chickens, salmon for the bear, and a large collection of other vegetables and fruit for everyone else. She looked up to see the empty food bowls and the hungry animals eyeing the table as she worked. Fluttershy turned around and reached up to her cabinets, taking out a few mixing bowls, and then went over to her utensil drawer, taking out an assortment of spoons and spatulas.
She grabbed a carrot and placed it on a chopping board, slowly slicing the vegetables into thin matchstick-thick wedges. She swiftly turned around after she finished cutting up about four carrots and opened her pantry, taking out bags of flour, sugar, and oil. She then tossed the cups and chopped-up ingredients into the bowl and mixed vigorously, flicking the oven on to preheat. As the hot air hushed out of the oven and the cake batter was shoved in a pan and into the oven, She sat back in triumph as she watched it slowly bake.
Fluttershy then went back to the rest of the food and heartily prepared the other set of personal meals for each animal. She seared the salmon, mixed the lettuce, and portioned the cheese into meticulous slivers. She plated each spread in the animal bowls and checked the cake. The batter bubbled and rose, cooked to perfection. She took it out with some oven muffs, and put it on her counter, turning to get a tub of frosting from her fridge But, as Fluttershy looked back at her kitchen counter, the animal bowls were empty and licked clean. She stared, aghast, and mentally panicked looking for where the food could have possibly gone. In the corner of her eye, she saw the bear slink away with a burp, a freshly-filled stomach. Fluttershy beat her wings in frustration, puzzled at what she could do to fix this problem. Her animals were starving, she couldn't just leave to get new groceries, and she definitely couldn't cook a cake in time… She sat, pondering and freaking out.
Before she could even think of a lick of an idea and solution to this terrible accident that was sprung onto her, a knock rang from her door. Fluttershy quickly galloped over to the tall cottage door and slowly opened it, breathing in and out to slow down and hide the mini panic attack she was experiencing. Her friends suddenly crashed the door open, yelling joyously.
“Happy birthday, Angel!!!” Pinkie Pie screamed, a cannon of confetti exploding in front of Fluttershy’s face, painting her yellow coat spackled with multi-colored spots. Angel ran off at the sound of the loud boom, hiding in another room. Rarity picked off a confetti piece that drifted onto her mane with a slight look of disgust as Twilight Sparkle pushed through them and into Fluttershy’s house.
“Pinkie.. You really need to keep that cannon for outside use only. Now we have to clean up all this confetti later..” Twilight mumbled, kicking a flake of confetti with her hoof. She watched as it floated into the air, made a loop-de-loop, and then silently drifted back onto the hardwood floor. Pinkie Pie laughed at Twilight’s remark and jumped happily into the house, bouncing like a ball. As the first three friends came in, Rainbow Dash and Applejack followed right after, AJ tipping her hat courtiously and R.D. flying in at high speed into the house, spinning Fluttershy around and whipping her hair into herself in a tight coil.
The six friends all walked over to the kitchen as Fluttershy explained her crisis.
“Well, you’re in luck,” Applejack scoffed, setting a gift bag on the counter. She tipped it over and out rolled a large sum of apples, carrots, heads of lettuce, and other various vegetables. “We had some left-over produce from this season’s harvest that we ended up not selling, and I thought I’d give it all to Angel for his birthday,” Fluttershy ran to her farmer friend and embraced her graciously.
“Thank you so much, AJ!” She piped, releasing her hug and looking at all the food with bright eyes. They all huddled around the kitchen counter, each pony contributing in some way to the task - Rainbow Dash utilized her speed to cut the vegetables as quickly as possible, Pinkie Pie used her baking skills to throw together a grand and tall carrot cake, Twilight Sparkle used her magic to quickly bake the cake instead of the slow oven, Apple Jack pressed her apples into cider, and Rarity plated the food on the bowls with her amazing design skills. Fluttershy watched her friends work together and smiled, grateful to have such amazing friends. Angel slowly hopped into the room, glancing at the commotion.
“Happy birthday, Angel!” They all yelled, the cake and food all finished and spread on the table in a beautiful cornucopia of a party.