//------------------------------// // Sonic Rainboom Chili Part Two // Story: Recipes For Friendship // by Mr Merritt //------------------------------// Peppermill was, by nature, a tidy colt. Even if he hadn’t been born to a cook who was notorious for throwing a fit if he couldn’t eat off the counters of his kitchen, the colt would still willingly follow in his father’s hoofsteps. Of course, that didn’t mean that the colt wasn’t prone to the occasional lapse especially when it came to making his bed. But all in all Peppermill preferred order over its counterpart. The same, it became painfully clear to the colt, could not be said for Rainbow Dash. Upon stepping into the large living room, Peppermill immediately witnessed more clutter and disarray than he had ever seen in his young life. Take out containers, CD and DVD cases, articles of clothing and all sorts of random junk and Wonderbolt memorabilia was strewn all over the place. Other than the stereo and the TV, everything else seemed to have a thin layer of dust on it. And to top it all off, the colt was convinced he could smell stale food from everywhere. “I hope you don’t mind the mess. I don’t really entertain that much…” admitted the mare with a sheepish smile. She then made the mistake of facing the colt, to discover a look of horror and disgust on his face. “Rainbow…how in Celestia’s name…can you live like this?!” “Well, you got to understand that my house is around more for a place to hang and crash between jobs than anything else. A lot of my friends don’t realize just all of the responsibilities I actually have. Between the weather team and my Wonderbolts training I’m usually just barely able to flop into bed and scrounge for something to eat before I’m at it again.” “This…urgh…gah…” Rainbow gazed with a mix of concern and shock at the colt that appeared to be having some sort of mental breakdown. She then found herself stunned by a look of pure disgust being aimed at her with dark blazing eyes. “I absolutely…refuse to take…another step in…this disaster area until…you clean it up!” “Oh come on! It’s not that bad…” “No!” “Look, just…ignore it so we can get to the kitchen to…” “No clean…no cook!” The mare’s face twisted into a dark scowl, and she attempted to glare the colt into submission. Peppermill met Rainbow’s glare with one of his own, and it wasn’t long before she realized that was not going to get her anywhere. Finally tearing her eyes off his dark ones, Peppermill was buffeted by a gust of wind as Rainbow Dash raced around the living room. All of the clutter was scooped up in her forelegs as she circled the room so quickly it made Peppermill dizzy. When she had a full load, she would dive through a nearby open window to return seconds later ready for another load. After only a minute, Rainbow stood before the colt in triumph. Behind her, the living room was now clutter free and looking far better than it had moments earlier. Peppermill pursed his lips tightly as he scanned the room, then sighed in resignation. “That’s…so much better…” “Good. Now can we get cooking?” asked Rainbow. Peppermill gave a nod, and made his way to where he assumed the kitchen sat. Before he could take another step, Rainbow suddenly cleared her throat. “Um…just a sec, ok?” Once again, the mare raced by the colt into the other room. He heard the unmistakable sound of dishes clattering and take-out boxes being pushed out of the window, which caused him to roll his eyes. Soon, Rainbow stuck her head back into the living room with a sheepish smile. “Ok, now we can get started…” *** Once Peppermill was satisfied that Rainbow’s surprisingly large kitchen was in an acceptable state, he began to unpack his bags onto the counter. Rainbow Dash watched with interest as he produced several different types of pepper, tomatoes, corn kernels and mushrooms. He also lifted out a few large jars of various liquids, a large zucchini and some smaller containers full of various spices. “Geeze, that seems like an awful lot of stuff Peppermill. I was hoping for something a little…less complicated.” Rainbow remarked. “Well…I admit I had…to think a bit to…come up with a good dish…for you. I then had a…brainwave. This dish might…take a little longer to make…but you can make…a lot of it at once…and store the rest for later. I figured re-heating…would be fast enough for you.” “So, what the hay can you make with all this?” questioned the mare, nudging a yellow onion the colt placed before her. “Well…I figured you might…appreciate something hearty and…maybe a bit on the…spicy side.” “Spicy? Spicy is cool.” “How does…chili sound?” The mare flashed him a grin. “Now you’re talking!” “Of course…how spicy it ends up…is up to you. It’s all…in how many chilies we…put into it…” “Just hold up a second,” remarked Rainbow, a sudden frown on her face. “Are you implying I can’t handle a little fire in my food?” “N-no…” squirmed Peppermill, taken back by the sudden change in mood in the mare. A sudden memory of Applejack speaking with him before he left for the skies came to mind. And a piece of advice sugarcube: Dash will make a competition outta anything she can, and she don’t lahk to lose… “I’ll have you know I have all of the food delivery ponies that come around here knowing exactly what I want: as much hot sauce or whatever stuff they like to put on their food they can stuff in the bag. Here, I’ll prove it.” Rainbow Dash went to her refrigerator and opened it up, motioning to the door. Sure enough, Peppermill recognized the logos of at least half a dozen or more fast food franchises on dozens upon dozens of packets of condiments almost falling out of every available space. And he noted more than a few of said packets were hot sauces of various degrees of heat. “If you like…that stuff so much…why is it you…have so many…unopened packets?” queried Peppermill innocently. “Never mind about that…” answered Rainbow gruffly, slamming the fridge door. “Are we making chili or not?” “Ok…ok…” Rather relieved that the tense situation was over, the colt produced his now famous knife from his bag. Rainbow Dash, like a lot of the ponies who knew the colt, was very familiar with the skill the colt had with it. She even went so far as to give an appreciative whistle as he pulled out the blade from its cover. “You might be able…to clear a sky in…five seconds flat…but how is…your skill in…chopping some veggies?” “Hmm…even I know there are some races I can’t win. I’m more than happy to consider you the champ in that.” “Well…even so…we have a lot of veg…to go through. If you could…start with the peppers…I’ll get the pot…ready to go.” “Cool. Hey, is that that fancy magic stuff Pinkie was going on about?” asked the mare as the colt produced a bottle from the bag. “No, not quite…but canola oil…can be just as…useful as olive oil.” Peppermill admitted. The grey colt began to pour a small quantity of the oil onto the pot. “If you could…put this on your stove at…a medium high heat…I’ll help finish the prep. Once the vegetables…are chopped most…of the hard work…is over. Letting the…chili simmer afterwards…shouldn’t try your…patience too much.” “Great.” Colt and mare continued to slice and add their ingredients to the pot, along with all the proper spices. As Peppermill carefully worked on the chilies, Rainbow looked on thoughtfully. “Is there a reason why you’re getting rid of most of that white stuff from those peppers?” “This is where…most of the heat…from these Serrano peppers…comes from.” Peppermill explained. “How much heat…the end product has…depends on how much…of the pepper we use.” “Really? Huh, I would never have guessed that something like that could be so hot. Doesn’t look like much to me…” And then, to the colt’s horror, Rainbow Dash popped one of the spare chilies he had not cut up whole into her mouth. Even…Silver Spoon…wouldn’t dare that… grimaced the colt to himself. Peppermill found he didn’t dare blink less he miss what was sure enough to be an impressive display of…something. At first, he was impressed that Rainbow seemed unfazed by her action, chewing thoughtfully. Then, ever so slowly, it began. It started as a slight change in her expression, and her eyes took on a look he had only saw on a particular mailmare. A slow blush of color, darkening her blue coat to a purple started on her neck and rose up into her cheeks. Those same cheeks began to bulge ominously as trickles of sweat began to pour from her forehead. And to cap it all off, a sound not unlike a whistling kettle could be heard through the kitchen. ”YEARGH!!" howled Rainbow, diving for the sink. “Not water! It will…make it worse. Milk…or bread!” cried out Peppermill. The mare performed a pin-point midair turn and proceeded to drive her head through a nearby cupboard door. Peppermill had to pull his jaw off of the floor, amazed at how fast the mare had been moving. He trotted over to the counter below the cupboard where Rainbow was, her hind legs trying to gain purchase on the counter. He grabbed a hold of her many hued tail in his mouth and tugged with all his might. CRACK! The cupboard door released its grip with a splintering sound as Peppermill and Rainbow Dash tumbled backwards. Peppermill picked himself off of the floor and hurried over to examine his friend. The mare appeared to have at least half a loaf of bread stuffed in her mouth. “What in Equestria…possessed you to…eat a whole pepper like that?” demanded the colt crossly. “Mmmph mm mmmph…” came the muffled response. Rainbow gave a large swallow, and she spoke, her voice even raspier than usual. “I didn’t think it was going to be that hot…geeze. You could kill a pony with one of those…” “I though you said…you liked spicy food.” “I do. Just…not that spicy…” “Please warn me…if you decide…to do something like…that again. You…scared me…” “I did?” “Yes!” stammered the colt. “…Sorry kid. I didn’t mean to.” “You know…Applejack warned me…you might try something…like this. Trying to impress me…I mean.” Rainbow remained silent as the colt continued. “Believe me…the last thing…you would ever…have to do…is to try and…show me how cool…you are. I’ve seen enough…of your stunts to...understand why…Scootaloo thinks so…highly of you. Heck…you invited me…an Earth colt…into your house. How many Pegasi…would do that?” Rainbow digested these words, along with the bread she had crammed down her throat. She gave a large swallow, and then gave a sigh as she pushed herself into a sitting position. She ruffled the colt’s mane with a forehoof, and flashed him a grin. “I am pretty cool, aren’t I?” “Yes…yes you are.” sighed Peppermill, shaking his head and chuckling. “Now…enough talk…we have some chili…to make.” “Right on. And, maybe we’ll hold off on the peppers this time. At least, not until I get a little better at handling my heat.” “Deal…” “Oh, and one more thing kid…” “Hmmm?” “Let’s just keep this whole ‘cupboard’ thing between us. Applejack would never let me live it down if she heard about it.” “I’ll…think about it.” Rainbow’s face fell at this, but when she saw the mischievous glint in the colt’s dark eyes she threw her head back and laughed. “You know, you’re pretty cool yourself.” “I’ve…been told that…” agreed Peppermill with a laugh of his own. Sonic Rainboom Chili Recipe compliments of foodnetwork.com 2 tablespoons canola oil 1 ½ cups chopped yellow onion 1 chopped red bell pepper 2 tablespoons minced garlic 2 to 3 Serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced, according to taste 1 medium zucchini, stem ends trimmed and cut into small dice 2 cups fresh corn kernels, approx. 3 ears worth 1 ½ pounds Portobello mushrooms, wiped clean, stemmed and cubed 2 tablespoons chili powder 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 ¼ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon cayenne 4 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped 3 cups cooked black beans, or canned beans rinsed and drained 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 1 cup vegetable stock or water ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves In a large, heavy pot heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, red pepper, garlic and Serrano peppers and cook, stirring for three minutes until soft. Add zucchini, corn, mushrooms, and cook, stirring until soft and the vegetables give off their liquid and start to brown around the edges. Add chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne and cook stirring until fragrant. Add tomatoes and stir. Add tomato sauce, stock/water and beans, then stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro. Adjust to seasoning and taste. Garnish as you like and enjoy!