Cupcake time!

Cage gave Iris a half stern look, poking the cake slice he took. "That," He said, ever so quietly, "Doesn't count as stealing. And besides, she's got a whole cake left, right Cloudy?" He asked, nudging her slightly. In a start, Cloud jolted out of her daydream, looking from Iris, to Cage, to Cage's plate and then to her own plate. "You took a cake." She said distantly, then shook her head. "I mean, you took one of my cake slices."

Iris let out a short laugh, her eyes sparkling.
The fork she had been toying with fell to the floor and she bent down to pick it up. When she stood up again, she chuckled a bit.
"So Cloud, what were you daydreaming about?" she asked with another laugh.

Cloud's cheeks seemed to brighten, causing Cage to giver her a humoured look. "N-nothing!" She cried, cramming cake into her mouth to stop herself from having to answer any further. Cage laughed, instantly noticing that the mare's were distracted, and his eyes flicked back to the top of the cake. However, this time the mini Cloudwing drifted up to the top and planted herself back where she came from. Although she had returned, there was something different about her. She had little saddlebags on and carried the sweet scent of cherries. Cage picked up the pinched cake slice and took a bite. "Ah! Second best wedding cake I've tasted!" He exclaimed gleefully.

Iris closed her eyes and imagined how her friend's wedding would go. She hoped it would be perfect, and that she wouldn't mess anything up. She reopened her eyes and looked at the remains of the cake. She took the knife and sliced herself another piece, suddenly hungry again. She remembered dropping her fork and went to get a new one from the counter pony. She returned with the utensil and plopped down. Iris dug in quickly to the slice.

"You sure Cloud? You're blushing pretty hard."

Cloud shook her head again, "It was nothing, really!" She cried, her ear flapping in agitation. Cage, on the other hand, was wolfing down cake, taking another three slices and stacking them on his plate.

Iris chuckled.
"Hey Cloud, I've never gotten around to asking, but why does your ear keep flapping?" Iris asked, suddenly remembering.

"Oh!" Cloud exclaimed, "I have a nerve in my ear that's always ticking, so sometimes it gets out of control and my ear starts going crazy. It also kind of pulls my eye open, for some reason. That's all I know about it." She smiled and took another bite of cake. All while she was talking, Cage was staying uncharacteristically quiet, looking quite melancholy, for such a hot-headed stallion.

"Ah. That's interesting." said Iris.

Well at least she finally knew. She eyed Cage, even she knew he wasn't usually this quiet.
"What's up with you?" she asked, turning to him.

"Nothin'" He mumbled, taking the tiniest nibble from a cake slice. Cloud sighed. "He still feels responsible for the nerve in my ear." She said, using her wing to scoop up some of Cage's cake and shove it in his mouth, making him laugh, but having to hold erupting because of the cake.

Iris raised an eyebrow in question.
"What?" she asked, confused, hoping they would explain. She sat up in her chair, awaiting the answer eagerly.

Cloud smiled gently. "I was just a filly. I'd gone to a coffee shop in manehatten when a colt from the class above me ripped my bag off me and started taking the things out of it. I ran at him to try and get it back but he grabbed my ear in his mouth and pulled, which snapped something in it. A few minutes later, Cage showed up. He saved me, but he blames himself for not getting to me faster, even though he stumbled across us accidentally." She shook her head. "He shouldn't blame himself."

"Wow. I'm sorry about your ear....At least you saved her." Iris said, turning to Cage.
"Well then. Everypony seems to have a story 'cept me." Iris added, smirking.

Both Cloud and Cage seemed to move forward together, leaving on the table. "How about you tell us how you got your cutie mark? I must say, I'm curious." Cloud suggested, Cage nodding as she spoke.

Iris's ears flattened and her cheeks reddened in embarrassment.
"Well it's sorta confusing and to tell you the truth I don't know exactly." she said shyly, running her hoof against her leg.

Cloud looked confused, "What do you mean? She asked, hoping she wasn't being rude. Cage, on the other hand, tilted his head, "What do mean, you can't remember?" He cried, practically repeating what Cloud said.

"It's not that I don't remember" she snapped automatically, "I just don't know. It's strange. When I was little, I ran away. I flew down from Cloudsdale and into the Everfree forest. My wings got tangled in the vines hanging down and I couldn't move. I heard a snapping sound and looked up, the vines were breaking. I knew I would fall straight to the ground, and I panicked. But flailing my arms didn't help at all, I fell out of the trees and onto the forest floor.
Growling came from all around me, I quickly stood up but I was already surrounded. I couldn't fly away, the tree canopy was too thick, plus, my wing was sprained from the fall. As the timberwolves enveloped me and prepared to attack, a stallion came in. He scared them away and I ran to him. 'Thank you! Thank you!' I shouted. The stallion nodded and simply walked away. I turned to go home, when I turned back, he was gone. I've been trying to find him ever since.
While I was traveling, my cutie mark appeared. So I knew I was supposed to find him." Iris finished, her cheeks still red.

"Wow..." Cloud whispered, slightly awe-struck. Cage nodded, for once looking fairly serious. "That's pretty intense." He commented. "How long have you been searching?"

"I've been searching since I was 15, when my parents actually allowed me to leave home alone. But I didn't completely leave home until I was 17." Iris finished, amazed at how strange the story sounded coming from her mouth. She'd only ever told two ponies that story. She was too afraid they would call her crazy and such. She blushed and looked down.
"What about you Cage? How'd you earn you mark?" she asked suddenly, glancing up.

Cloud laughed as Cage got comfortable in his chair. "The story that cloud told you, about her ear being 'broken'. I got my cutie mark then. I guess you could say I' the cherry mare's cage." He chuckled. "She was never bullied after I took care of that colt. I wouldn't let them touch her." Cloud blushed slightly and looked at her cake while Cage continued to stuff himself.

"Awe how sweet!" Iris said, "so are you guys like, together?"

Iris looked wistfully out the window, wishing the right pony would come along for her.

Cloud nodded and Cage rested his head on hers. "My special somepony." He said and they both giggled.

Iris tilted her head
"Awe! Why didn't you tell me about this earlier Cloud!" she shouted with mock anger. "You guys are so sweet together," she put her hoof to her mouth and whispered to Cloud, "he seems a bit conceited doesn't he?"

Cloud grinned, " I guess he is, but it's just the way he is." She whispered, then added, "And sooorry I didn't tell you sooner." She stuck her tongue out and turned to face Cage, who had taken it upon himself to cut into another layer of the cake.

(Thanks, butters)

Calla Lily pulled open the door to the all-too-familiar bakery to buy a sweet for her super-special-somepony, Brawny.

"One of your fantabulous rainbow cupcakes, please," she asked the attending baker, a fushia pony with a cotton-candy mane.

"Right away!" squealed the earth pony, scurrying back to search the refrigerator.

"Here you go, Calla!" she said, setting a brown paper bag down in front of the tall blue unicorn.

Slightly surprised that the pony knew her name, Calla smiled and thanked her.

"That's for Brawny, isn't it?" the earth pony asked, jumping up and down.

"Yeah," said Calla, shocked. "How did you know?"

"Aw, Brawny drops by all the time to taste-test them! They're my secret recipe," the pony whispered. "Oki-doki-loki! That'll be three bits."

Calla levitated a book she was studying, reading it while she dug through her newest self-made saddle-bag, a gold-embroidered thing that clung tightly to her thin form. Finding the bits, she placed them in the counter, still reading the book.

"Pleasure meeting you," she said from behind the pages.

"No probs! Tell Brawny Pinkie sends all her sugar!" squealed the pony. She startled Calla, who dropped the book on the bits. One fell off the counter, rolling over to where the other ponies were sitting...

"Hey, Iris!" she called, realizing one of them was her best friend. "Pass the bit!"

"It's okay Cloud." she said, giggling to herself.
Just then, she saw a blue unicorn stroll in and order rainbow cupcakes. As she was giving her bits to the bouncy counter-pony, one of them fell and began rolling towards her.
Iris laughed and caught the rolling bit mid-roll.
"Hey Calla! What're you doing here?" she called, tossing the bit towards the blue unicorn.