Frosting

 act one chapter two

Telly nodded vigorously. “Oooh, you know we do! Can’t have a rookie out on the street unfrosted, now can we? S’bad luck!”

“Sir? What’s ‘frosting the rookie’?” A nervous note crept into Swift’s voice as she realized, correctly, that perhaps not all was well.

Turning I sighed and put a hoof over my eyes. “Sorry, kid. I did my best. Try to breathe through your mouth.”

The unicorn was almost bouncing on her hooves. “Goody!” Her horn flashed and Swift levitated off the ground with an alarmed squeak. Struggling for a moment she tried to beat her wings but ended up just hanging there flailing like a frightened goose. I almost felt sorry for her.

The office poines started chanting; Softly at first, then with growing volume.

“Frooosting... Frooosting... FROOOSTING!”

I reared up and gave her a gentle push, and she soared off over the cubicles as the cheering rose to a crescendo. A spray of chocolate syrup shot out of one of the cubes and spattered Swift’s police barding. That was the signal. Egg yolk started flying, then bottles of silly string. Half-way down the room somepony managed to land some powdered sugar on someone else’s desk and earned a ‘returned fire’ in the form of a water balloon. Everyone joined in; Grizzled old veterans who’d seen more bodies than gravediggers cackled as they tossed cupcakes alongside department accountants who'd never had a gun strapped to their foreleg.

There is no word for the kind of mess ponies with quick-clean spells can make when they have permission. Dignity aside, I was trying not to laugh as the pegasus dangled there over what was quickly turning into a melee almost as messy as the tornado. Telly was less restrained and rolled around on the floor, beating her hooves on the carpet as she giggled like a schoolfilly.

After about ten minutes of very tasty siege warfare, I reached down and gently whacked Telly’s blue-green horn with a hooftip. It let out an alarming noise like a struck bell as she winced; The magic around Swift evaporated, dropping the sodden rookie on one of the mail ponies with a wet splash.

I tried to look exasperated but couldn’t completely hide my smile. “Alright, satisfied?”

Telly wiped a stray splotch of syrup off her nose and peered out over the office which looked like an explosion in a candy shop.

“Heh...very. Somepony call the janitor.”