Chapter 3 - Popcorn
Rainbow Dash sat down beside Twilight at the table as Pinkie Pie and the Chef walked back over to their places behind the counter. Dash looked at Twilight and grinned. “So, they’ve been cooking this entire afternoon?”
“Yes, they have,” said Twilight. “They’ve even been making quite a presentation of the recipes they’ve been cooking. But,” said Twilight as she shook her head, “the results of their cooking have been...unusual, to say the least.”
Rainbow Dash tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Unusual? How so? I mean, aren’t things normally unusual when Pinkie is involved?”
Twilight sighed. “Yes, but this has been even stranger than usual. Take for example, the corn pone you just ate.”
Dash smiled and nodded. “Yep, that was really good! Making it on the wall was unusual, but it tasted fine.”
“Um, Dash, that corn pone almost robbed the bakery and nearly attacked Pinkie Pie with her own knife.” Twilight sighed. “You actually stopped the robbery when you opened the door.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes slowly widened as her mouth opened halfway. She quickly looked down at her stomach and then looked back at Twilight. She blinked twice and the corner of her mouth slightly raised. “Do you...think I should worry about getting sick?”
“I don’t know...I don’t think so, but I really don’t know,” said Twilight.
“Well,” said Dash, “I’ve heard that you can get sick by eating food that has gone bad.” Dash sat still for three seconds as she watched Twilight process what was said. Seeing Twilight’s eyebrows start to lower, Dash was unable to hold back her laughter.
“What shall we make next?” asked Pinkie from over at the counter.
“Corn Pone vin der badden, ya. Popcorn vernne de gud, ya ya,” said the Chef.
Rainbow Dash leaned over towards Twilight. “Um, what is he saying?” she whispered.
“I actually have no idea what he is saying,” whispered Twilight. “But somehow Pinkie understands him.”
“Popcorn!” Pinkie yelled as she started bouncing. “What a great idea!”
Rainbow Dash watched as Pinkie Pie and the Chef performed their song and dance routine. “Ok, this might be interesting,” she said as the wooden spoons flew in an arc behind Pinkie and the Chef.
“I love popcorn,” Pinkie said to their audience in the bakery, “and make it any time I can. First, we need the very best and freshest corn.” She reached under the counter and pulled out an ear of freshly picked sweet corn. “Mmm-mmm! You can smell the freshness and sweetness in this ear,” she said as she removed the husk and silk from the corn. Once the corn was cleaned, she put it under her nose and breathed deeply. “Ah, yes...this was a very good year for growing corn in Ponyville.”
Rainbow Dash looked out the window at the snow falling, and then to Twilight. “Um...how...” she started to ask, and then just shook her head to continue watching the show.
Pinkie Pie pulled a baking pan closer to her on the counter and then placed the ear of corn onto it. “Heya Chef, could you toss me some salt?”
“Ya, salt incommen!” said the Chef as he grabbed a large mallet and pounded the counter with it. The salt shaker flew up into the air and spun end over end in an arc above the baking pan, and then fell to the counter in front of Pinkie with a perfect landing.
“Neato!” yelled Pinkie Pie. “Let me try that!” she yelled as she bounced excitedly.
The Chef nodded and passed the mallet to Pinkie Pie, and then reached under the counter to get another ear of corn. He quickly prepared the ear of corn and placed it onto the pan for Pinkie. Grinning from ear to ear, Pinkie Pie grasped the mallet and swung it in an arc above her head to hit the counter. The salt shaker flew in an arc above the baking pan, spinning around to sprinkle salt onto the ear of corn, and then landed on the counter on the other side of the Chef.
Pinkie Pie set the mallet down again under the counter. “Heeheehee! That was fun! Now, we just need to put the corn into the oven for fifteen minutes. Chef, would you do the honors?”
The Chef nodded and picked up the baking pan. He twirled the pan in his hand as he opened the door, and then put the corn into the oven. “Corn in ze ooffee!”
Pinkie Pie brushed her front hooves together to clean the excess salt from them. “And now, a word from our sponsors while we wait!” She leaned forward onto the counter and bounced her head to the rhythm of the music played by a marching band that started marching down the street in front of Sugar Cube Corner. She lifted a hoof to her ear and listened as somepony in the marching band loudly announced how wonderful their new scrubbing brushes were and how fast they would clean a kitchen. Pinkie smiled and nodded. “And now, we’re back!”
Pinkie opened the oven door and removed the tray of corn. She carefully placed it on top of a cooling rack on the counter. She then looked over at the Chef and watched as he opened a drawer under the counter and pulled out an air hose.
The Chef quickly stuck the end of the hose into an ear of corn and pressed a large button that mysteriously appeared on the counter.
“Hee hee hee,” Pinkie giggled as she watched each of the kernels on the corn cob inflate to twice their size.
The Chef removed the air hose from the corn cob and placed the hose onto the counter. Lifting the corn cob into the air with his right hand, he proudly announced “Pop Corn!” Slowly, he moved his left index finger towards a kernel on the corn cob. Immediately after poking the kernel, a very loud popping noise exploded from it. An unexplainable amount of wind blew came from the popped kernel and knocked the Chef’s hat off of his head towards the back of the kitchen.
“Oooh! Let me try!” yelled Pinkie as she reached for the air hose and another corn cob. Once it was properly inflated to the recommended PSI, she reached under the counter and put a chef hat onto her head. She quickly popped one of the kernels and giggle-snorted as her chef hat was also blown off of her head by the kernel popping. “Dashie, catch!” she yelled as she tossed the corn cob to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash caught the corn cob, looked at it closely, and slowly grinned mischievously. “Thanks Pinkie!” she said as she tucked the cob under her left wing and walked towards the door of Sugar Cube Corner. She looked back towards her friends and said, “I’ll be back later...I just need to go see Scootaloo for a moment.” She then chuckled and exited the bakery.