Author's Note

Any recipe stated in this story is not real, and has not been tested. Do not attempt to make it!

"That dress is absolutely gorgeous!" Natalie Cracker sighed, looking through the shop window of Storyton's Fine Outfitters. It was white, red, and gold, with a column of buttons down the front. In spirit of Thronecoming, it even came with a red and gold mask.

"Eh, I don't do fancy dresses." Pixie Pan said, leaning against the wall. "You think Papa Pan would go flying around wearing a tuxedo? I don't." It was understandable for the daughter of Peter Pan to not dress fancy, but Thronecoming should have been an exception.

"Why do dresses have to be so pricey?" Natalie wondered. She was the daughter of The Nutcracker, and she loved dressing fancy, but not at a high price. She mainly decorated plain shirts to make them look more elegant.

A woman put up another mannequin in the window. As she did, the price tag of the other dress swished around. Natalie caught a glimpse and gasped.

"Two hundred dollars?" she whisper-shrieked. "That's hexsane!"

"Never get attached to a dress you don't own." Pixie smiled. "Actually, don't get attached to a dress, period." She yawned and smoothed out her green shirt. "Can we go now?"

"No." Natalie frowned. "There has to be some way to get the money for this dress."

"Raise it." Pixie said matter-of-factly. "If there's anything I've learned from Papa Pan, it's that people aren't going to hand you a bill and say, 'Buy yourself something nice' in the real Ever After."

Natalie gave her friend a funny face. "What would we sell?"

"Think." Pixie said. "What do people want this time of year?"

Natalie went over a list in her head. It was exceptionally warm in this late September, like summer didn't want to leave quite yet. That mixed with odd fall rainstorms, and you had yourself what happens when Mother Nature skips her morning coffee. Let's see, she thought. Raincoats? Hex no. Watermelons? Why? A sweet treat... "That's it!" she shouted. "The classic fall favorite, fairy crumbles!"

"Good idea." Pixie smiled. Fairy crumbles were famous in Bookend for their magical taste. "Well, let's get baking, shall we?"

Back at Pixie's dorm, the friends looked over the recipe Natalie had printed at the bakery when they went shopping for supplies. Natalie wore a red apron across her sun dress, and Pixie donned a pair of green gloves and a matching chef's hat.

"Alright, what have we got?" Pixie said, leaning over to read the recipe.

Fairy Crumbles

You will need:

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 cup of flour

3 teaspoons of chocolate crown cake mix

Chocolate melts

1 bowl

1 beater

1 bag of fairy dust

"Oh, godmother." Natalie groaned. "The bakery didn't sell fairy dust!"

"Don't worry," Pixie grinned. "I know just who to ask. Start baking!"

Natalie sighed and started towards Pixie's oven and microwave, reading at the same time.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave.

She peeled the lid off the container of melts and popped them in the microwave as instructed.

While they melt, prepare the crown cake mix, but do not stir yet.

Natalie placed a big bowl on the counter and poured the mix into it. She added a bottle of water and some salt. Suddenly, Pixie burst through the door.

"Got it!" She shouted happily. Pinched between her fingers was a velvet bag of purple dust.

"How-" Natalie started to say, but Pixie threw the bag towards her. She just barely caught it between her pinkie and ring finger. "Come help me." She sighed, and began to read out loud.

Take your fairy dust and add small sprinkles to the mix as you stir. Add the sugar and flour, then stir once more and beat.

Pixie grabbed the spoon and began to stir while Natalie sprinkled dust into the now delicious-looking mixture. She switched to the other ingredients once her friend stopped stirring, then took the spoon herself and twirled it with surprising ease through the batter. After the two beat the mix, they placed it in pieces on a tray. Pixie slid it into the oven and sighed as she pushed the door closed.

"Baking is NOT a job I'm taking up," She moaned. After a second or two, she had whipped up a pitcher of hexingade for her and Natalie.

"This tastes good," She nodded as she sipped from her cup.

Finally, the crumbles were done, and it was time to sell them. The two girls set up a stand outside of Ever After High on Monday after school. Almost everyone who walked by wanted one, and sales were going good. Not amazing, but good. Pixie's hexingade kept the duo refreshed for the whole time. Half way through their time, Faybelle Thorn walked over to examine their booth.

"What's this?" She shouted, taking a whiff of the crumbles. She picked one up and glared at it in disgust. "Such a horrible waste of good fairy dust." Suddenly, her expression turned to shock as little bits of purple dust fell off the treat. She gasped in horror. "My fairy dust!" She shrieked, and turned an accusing eye towards Pixie. "This is supposed to make my wings lighter, not your food lighter, you scoundrel!"

Natalie suddenly understood why she could stir the mix so easily. "You took it from her?" She asked.

"I was just borrowing it," Pixie grumbled, her arms tight across her chest.

"Doesn't look like it." Faybelle shouted. Just then, a wicked grin spread across her face. "You know, I should be profiting from this." She sneered. "I gave you half of your recipe, I want half of your sales."

"What?!" Natalie shrieked, and looked over at Pixie.

"Sorry, Nat." Pixie sighed, and handed a 50 dollar bill to Faybelle.

"This is it?" She laughed. "Wow, I should've let you keep it. It wouldn't have helped much at all." With that, she flew off to her dorm.

"There goes any chance of getting my dress." Natalie sighed, looking down at the crate of hexingade they had brought. She plopped it onto the table and pulled the pitcher and glasses out. "Let me just drown my sorrow in sugary goodness."

A few minutes later, Paris Gypsy and her mother strode out of the building. Her mom was muttering to herself.

"That man should be happy I told him what I did," She complained. "Instead, he's moaning and groaning about this whole deal, and barely letting me pass with the rig. Why, if he won't make up his mind, I'll go and get him fired for attempted future connection."

Natalie had no idea what this woman was talking about, but it didn't matter when Paris walked up to the stand.

"How much for the hexingade?" She asked.

Natalie was about to say that it wasn't for sale, but Pixie pinched her and smiled. "Five dollars, because it's guaranteed the finest you may ever have." The two had walked away with 2 glasses, and the friends had just made ten dollars off an unofficial sale.

"What was that?" Natalie asked.

Pixie gave her a grin. "Some people aren't ready for fall and just want one more moment of summer." Natalie instantly understood and gave her a grin back.

At the end of Tuesday, Natalie and Pixie had raised two hundred and thirty four dollars selling Pan's High Quality Hexingade. Pixie had made pitcher after pitcher to sell, and she was true to her word that it was all high quality. Natalie had already planned the shopping she would do tomorrow before Thronecoming. She let her friend keep the other thirty four dollars, and she finally caved in and found herself a dress. It was a great day indeed.

Something else had happened, though. Something they didn't even consider. Neither knew just what Mrs. Gypsy meant by what she had said, but that was going to be important. It would change Thronecoming possibly forever, and not for the greater good.