As he arrived at the bakery, he noticed with a bit of a start just how whimsical the place was. It looked as if it had been built to replicate a gigantic birthday cake of some sort. He couldn't help but smile as memories of his own younger days washed over him. He remembered that his parents would always deliver a spectacular birthday cake for he and his friends to enjoy.

Surely this place can't be all bad, Maddock thought as he trudged towards the door, maybe it's not even run by a unicorn. Maybe there won't be a single one in here! But as he walked through the door, what should he see but a white coated unicorn standing there in front of him. He couldn't believe it. UGH! Why won't they just go away?!

Out of spite, he bumped into the young mare. She turned and regarded him with a bit of a snooty look. "Um…pardon me, sir," she said in a bit of an accented voice, "but I believe you bumped into me."

"Yeah," he replied unkindly, "what of it?"

"Well, I mean…I would assume you would apologize."

"Apologize? To a unicorn? Give me a break," he said before sneering at her, "I wouldn't apologize to a unicorn if they were the last pony in Equestria. Now, the line's moving, so your butt should be moving as well."

The white mare turned and huffed a bit before advancing in line. Once she made her purchase, she turned and huffed again before leaving the store. Finally, it was Maddock's turn. The mare working the counter was a pink pony, with a cutie mark of balloons. He couldn't figure out what that was supposed to be about, but she was an earth pony, so he was satisfied with her no matter what she did.

"Hi, there!" She said excitedly, "welcome to Sugar Cube Corner. Can I get you something?"

Maddock immediately took back all the nice thoughts he had about this pony. She was way, way too excited for his liking. "Um…well," he stammered, "yes, you can. See, I just arrived from Canterlot, and I'm awfully hungry, but I…," here he stopped and blushed, "…I really don't have any bits to pay for anything. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I was homeless in Canterlot and-"

"Say no more," the pink pony said with enthusiasm, "you wait right there and I'll be right back with a couple delicious treats!" With that, she bounced into the back room. Maddock stared at his surroundings. This must have been the sweetest place in all of Equestria. It certainly looked that way from the décor.

Soon, the pink pony returned with a tray full of cupcakes, fritters, and other assorted treats. "Here you go, compliments of myself and Mr. and Mrs. Cake!"

"Wow…thanks so much," he said before chewing on a fritter, "I'm so thankful there are still ponies like you in Equestria. After all, we earth ponies need to stick together. By the way, I was sent here by Princess Luna."

"Oh, really?! That's super-duper cool!"

"Um, yeah. Well, anyway, she sent me here to find a certain pony. I'm supposed to learn about true friendship from her. Do you know of anypony who does that kind of thing?"

"Do I know her?! I'm best friends with her!"

Maddock took a second to clear his ears after that outburst and then said, "that's great. Do you know where I could find her at this hour?" He then covered his ears and prepared for another outburst. But the pink pony settled down a bit.

"Sure," she said simply, "she's probably at her castle…either that, or she's working in her office at the School of Friendship."

"Wait-wait-wait," he said, "there's a school that teaches friendship?"

"Yep!" The pink one said, "I'm a teacher there, when I'm not busy here."

"Uh-huh," Maddock said in a bit of disbelief. How could this energetic pony teach other ponies about anything? She was much too bouncy. He remembered his teachers all having patience and working with students to make sure they understood a concept. The idea that this pink pony was a teacher of anything was very hard to swallow.

"That's neat," he said out loud, "so what's this pony's name."

"Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"Princess Twilight?" He said, "you mean THE Princess Twilight? The unicorn I've seen in newspapers around Canterlot?"

"Well, she's an Alicorn now, but…yeah."

At this point, he grumbled to himself. To be force taught friendship was bad enough, but to have it taught to him by a pony that was already corrupted by the forces of magic? He didn't mind Alicorns, but what he did mind was the magic they contained. That was what killed his parents. That was what destroyed his life at such a young age.

"Um…are you OK?" The pink pony asked. She had noticed him staring off into space. "You kinda checked out on me."

Maddock shook his head to clear his mind and then nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm OK. By the way, my name's Maddock."

"Cool!" The pink one said enthusiastically, "I love meeting new ponies. I'm Pinkie Pie!" With that, she bounced around the corner of the counter and threw her hooves around him in a friendly hug. "I can tell you and I are gonna be best friends!"

At that thought, Maddock wanted greatly to upchuck the contents of what had just been given to him. Me? Friends with this idiot? He thought, how in the hay could I ever be friends with someone so…out of it?! With these thoughts, he completely forgot her kindness in giving him food. He didn't realize that he still had much to learn about what being a true friend is all about…