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Park wide sales like these were always great, Diamond Dust thought. They were humble and the proceeds always went to something meaningful, either some repairs the park desperately needed or some fundraising for other worthy causes. Bake sales in particular were great to her though because of one thing - cookies.

DiDi didn't know what could have been better on a nice day in autumn than a warm cookie and a cold glass of milk. She went from booth to booth, making single cookie purchases to taste them all before she made her decision on which to bring home with her while still giving everyone their fair share of business.

Her next stop was a table another little filly had just made a purchase from. Diamond Dust smiled as she bought her cookie and turned to walk away as she bit into it. The outer layer of dough was crisp but the rest was delightfully chewy, the chocolate chips were melted just right, but something.... was off... it wasn't the chips, they were milk chocolate not semi-sweet, but... oh no. A second bite confirmed everything. DiDi's face scrunched up and she stopped walking immediately. There wasn't any sugar in these cookies at all!

At the sound of the other filly's protest, DiDi turned to face her with wide eyes and a large frown. She scrunched her face as she forced down the salty mess rather than spit it out but couldn't hide the cough that slipped out afterwards.

The taste had made her eyes water. She didn't realize just who the other filly was until she came closer and DiDi huffed with only mild relief that it was someone she knew. It took another swallow or two to get the taste off of her tongue and in that time all she could do was nod to confirm Iron Chef's worry.

"It's awful..." she whispered. How could a cookie so otherwise well crafted, so good looking with an excellent texture, turn out so horrible? For a brief moment, she considered dragging her tongue along a patch of grass nearby. "Poor thing looks so proud of himself, he doesn't even know."

"What?" DiDi recoiled. She looked horrified as Iron Chef explained her previous encounter. "You've got to be kidding..." That must have been months and months ago! Mixing up salt and sugar once was an unfortunately easy mistake to make, if one weren't paying attention, but a repeat offender?

She glanced back at the line, at all of the other unsuspecting customers. Many of them didn't open their bags and would only discover the mishap when they returned home while others had the same reaction as them. Yet, no one complained. They winced and grimaced and gagged, some stealthily tossed the bags into the nearest bin, but none returned to the stall.

"We have to tell him."

"Oh no," Diamond Dust took another pitying glance toward the stall of botched cookies. She could see herself in Iron Chef's horse shoes, in any of these customer's places, wanting to be kind -- but there was a limit to the positive effect white lies held. "It is possible to be... too nice," she grimaced with a look back at Iron.

They had to tell him something. This couldn't keep going on. At the same time, coming abruptly to kick the poor stallion's enthusiasm and self respect right out from under him sounded just as bad as letting the charade continue. "What would you say... we play a little Good Cop, Bad Cop? Hit him with a compliment sandwich. Maybe it won't sting so bad..."

Diamond Dust was pleasantly surprised at Iron Chef's sense of responsibility toward the situation. If it was true she had encouraged this before, well meaning as it was, then it spoke a lot to the filly's integrity to make things right.

"If you're sure," DiDi nodded her approval and began the approach alongside her.

Helter Skelter's genial greeting was returned by DiDi herself despite the apprehension (and the salty dough) bubbling in her stomach. She smiled pleasantly, her dark eyes shining in the autumn sun. "Actually, we had something we wanted to talk to you about. It's important. You see, these cookies are gorgeous. Really professional looking. It's just that..." she trailed off, leaving the floor open for one Bad Cop Iron Chef to take the plunge.

With Iron Chef's exclamation, what line was till formed toward Helter Skelter's stall had paused. Their eyes bugged first at her volume and then at her words. Everyone nearby that had just purchased some were frozen as well, unable to take another step until they understood what they had just bought. Diamond Dust, too, had tensed with the filly's initial shout but the more she explained the more DiDi eased herself. She wracked her brain for a follow up, another compliment to bookend this drastic complaint.

Helter Skelter's startled apology pulled harder at DiDi's heart strings; it was all too easy to see why telling him the truth had been such a daunting task for Iron and every one of his other customers.

"Please don't be too upset," she prefaced with a grimacing smile, "we're telling you this because we want you to succeed. Your cause and dedication and presentation, they're all amazing. You're getting so much traffic in spite of how they taste! Everyone wants to help and everything else is so impressive... You just need to make sure to actually put sugar into them. Like... at all. Then they'll be the best."

DiDi's heart raced as their compliment sandwich settled into place. Iron Chef even went the extra mile -- much to the honor of her namesake -- and added a lovely garnish to it with her charitable offer. Diamond Dust's eyes lit up as others in line came forward, negating the handful of others that left the line. It was no surprise some would have no stake in this predicament but the number of those who stayed far outweighed them.

Diamond Dust nodded, her smile serene -- even tickled. "You can do this. We're sorry it took so long for you to know, but you know now. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. At least there's a lot of publicity, now." She couldn't help but laugh, even sympathetically. "You've got a following. And we'll all be here to see you improve!"

One hoof gently reached over to Iron Chef. DiDi gave the filly a friendly tap on the shoulder with it, a gesture of encouragement. For as difficult as it had been, as reluctant as anyone was, this was for the best; it was the right thing to do.