//------------------------------//
// What Makes A Cake? 
// Story: Swirl Cake 
// by The Local Rat Queen 
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Pumpkin Cake


“Dear Pumpkin,” The letter said in very ornate writing, “I would like to informally invite you to a slumber party! It’s going to be a girls night!!!! You, Dew, Luster, Cozy, and myself are staying the night at my aunt’s old castle tomorrow night, the one Sunburst lives in! (I know there is only one castle, but I miss Sunburst.) I hope to see you there!” 

The letter was signed Flurry Heart at the bottom. I was so pumped for tomorrow night! With permission from mom, I was able to go and was just re-reading the letter again and again. Flurry’s horn writing was perfect, especially compared to my own. Everything about her was perfect. Her long, triple-toned mane was so cute, and her little crown made her so-

“Hello, Sis, What did Flurry write to you?” Pound Cake, my twin brother, asked, setting down his saddle bag loaded with scrolls and tomes. 

Something to know about me and my brother is how different we are, especially being twins. I have a yellow coat with a bright orange mane, and my brother is cream-colored with a milk chocolate brown mane. Pound is shyer than me by a large amount; finally, he is a magically gifted pegasus. While I, the unicorn, struggle with anything more than telekinesis, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a tad jealous, but he is my brother, so I can cheer him on; moreover, how did he know who sent this?

“What, how did you know?” I said, a bit baffled, as Pound did his barely audible giggle. 

“I recognize the look you give her letters.” He said in his quiet voice, a small smile adorning his face, “You were also tracing the paper with a hoof.” 

My face lit up with heat in my cheeks. I will admit I had a slight crush on her, but who doesn’t? She is an alicorn princess. I shot Pumpkin a glare while concocting my revenge plan: "Yeah, well, at least my reading isn't as boring as your scrolls; like, bro, you are a total nerd.” I said, floating a random scroll over to me and looking at the runes like they made any sense to me, spoilers they didn't. 

“Hey,” he said sheepishly, “my scrolls are cool.” He sounded embarrassed; he was an easy card to fold in that regard. 

"Yeah, right, but it doesn't matter,” I said, flicking the scroll back with my magic as he flew over to catch it. “Flurry invited me to a sleepover with the girls! You can have the room for your nerdtivities.” 

When I said this, I saw a flash of sadness cross Pound’s face before he turned around to organize his desk. His body language said he was upset at that news. I sat up at this, but he spoke before I could.

“Oh, so I’m not invited.” He said, sounding so defeated, that he tried to hide it, but he sounded so crushed by that. 

"Yeah, bro, it's girls night. It’s what Flurry said.” I said I was climbing off the bed and trotting over to him. His face was buried in a book, but you could tell by his eyes not moving that he was not reading. He did not respond, but I could see a slight sadness in his eyes. One that I had seen a lot more recently.

“Hey Pound, it’s just one night. Besides, you can hang with Sail or our other dude friends.” I offered to try to make him feel somewhat better. The offer was met with what seemed like a cringe, but to his credit, he tried to keep himself level and responded this time. 

“That’s not the point, sis.” He was quieter than his usual whisper of a voice.

“Then tell me the point, you idiot; just tell me what's wrong.” I said with a grin, trying to make him smile a bit. It did not work. 

Pound looked over at me and said, “Promise you won’t call my point dumb?” His eyes were begging me to have an open mind. 

“When would I ever call you or your ideas dumb?” I reassured him; he just gave me a look, so I added, "Okay, I called you an idiot, but that does not count.” 

That made him giggle, but he did go back to his grave demeanor and say, “I have this weird feeling.”

“Are you sick?” I asked, concerned but not following his line of thought. 

“No, I mean a feeling in my head,” Pound said before pausing. 

“We call that a headache; are you sure you're okay?” I added worry-growing.

"Pumpkin, please just listen.” I was a bit stunned at the outburst, but I shut up and looked at my brother and said, “I don’t like feeling like...” He paused, took a breath, and said, “I don’t like feeling like a boy.” 

The silence after that was long. Pound was shaking a bit in his chair, and I stood there a little dumbfounded. I really did not know how to process this. My brother was telling me he did not like being a boy. What does that even mean? 

“Explain,” I said, trying to sound calm for him, but it was difficult. I was nervous and had no idea why, but I think I was just worried for Pound. 

He looked surprised but looked at me and continued, “I just don't like being a boy. Anytime I get called sir, he or... Or, brother, I get sick to my stomach. I-I- just I-” Pound started to get nervous and stuttered, He, should I call him he? They were in their own head, and that never ended well. 

"Pound breathe; you're not stupid for having feelings. Just relax and talk with me.” I chose my words very carefully. My first instinct was to call Pound Bro, but that may not have ended well. 

Pound sighed and hung their head. The look on their faces said they probably wanted to talk about this for a while. They didn't say anymore, so I decided to take action. 

I picked Pound up in my magic, a feat that was not easy by any means. I set him on the bed next to me and looked him in the eyes as I stood next to the bed. 

“Pound, I don't care if you want to be called my twin broth-b word.” The censor made them smile a bit as they looked at me in awe. “You are my twin, forever and always. Whether that's Bro, Sis, or something else, now you know I hate being all sappy, so know when I mean it, we are a team.” 

Pound didn't respond for a second, just looking at me. Tears well in the corners of their eyes, and a smile in the corners of their mouth. He then leaned forward and hugged me. I returned the hug.

After a bit of silence and the hug ending, Pound continued, “I learned that because of our friends. With the group being mostly all girls, it gets called such. I was so sad when people would call me one of the guys in the group, and I never understood why.” Pound’s tone was trailing off, thinking about their words. 

“So you want to be a girl?” I asked them a simple question to try to narrow it down. 

Their face said it was a terrible question, but he looked at me, then at the floor, and nodded. 

I smiled a bit. "Well, that's upsetting,” I said, pausing to let her look at me and see my grin before I continued. “I always thought if I had a sister, I'd be cooler than her, but here we are. My sister being the absolute coolest pony.” 

Her face went from horror to slightly sobbing with joy. It was nice to see so much emotion in my sister, as she had never shown much before. 

“Pumpkin?” Pound asked.

“What's up?” 

“I want to change my name.” She said it sheepishly.

“Sounds like you already have one in mind; hit me.” I said it with a grin.

“Swirl Cake,” she said, a little embarrassed.

“Pumpkin and Swirl against the world, sis.” I said now, my eyes are a bit wet. We could figure out the sleepover and tell Mom later. For now, I had a sister to catch up with. Because my new sister, Swirl Cake, is the coolest pony I know.