• Published 19th Aug 2015
  • 8,684 Views, 90 Comments

Twilight Sparkle Doesn't Do Anything - Twinkletail



Twilight Sparkle doesn't do anything.

  • ...
28
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 8,684

Not A Thing

The tables were set. That was the second-to-last part that needed doing, and it was done. Not only was it done, but it was done well. Not even well, actually. Super-well. Super amazingly awesomely fantastically welly-well-well, even. And Pinkie Pie only reserved that for the most welliest of the well.

This had to be the most welliest of the well, after all. Today was the first day that Pinkie had tried cooking a recipe from the book that she'd found at that really cool stand she'd found at the latest trade fair. It was the absolute coolest stand she'd ever seen there, full of really neat toys and trinkets and the like, and she knew when she found it that she had to get something from there. She'd nearly chosen a really cool bracelet that looked like a dragon, but then she stopped when she caught sight of an onyx tiara. After that came the bat earrings, the horn-rimmed glasses, and the book of spells. She didn't even know why she looked at the book of spells. She wasn't a unicorn, as far as she knew. If she was, her horn was taking a super-long time to grow in. She was pretty sure unicorns were usually born with horns, but maybe she was a special case. Probably not, though. But it was nice to dream.

It was then that she saw the other book. Not that the spellbook wasn't cool. It totally was. But this book was even cooler than ten of the other book combined. Though to be fair, having ten of the other book would have actually made it less cool because it wouldn't be unique. But the point still stood that this book was the coolest by far. It was a cookbook, which automatically made it that much more important to her. It was pink, which was especially cool because she could have sworn it wasn't pink when she saw it from farther away. And it had so many cool words all over it! She'd never seen that many apostrophes in a single word before. She thought she did one time, but it turned out she'd accidentally just spilled chocolate sprinkles on the book she'd been reading.

Needless to say, Pinkie went home with that book. The weirdest thing was that the pony barely wanted anything for it. All she asked for was a rutabaga. Pinkie knew that her insistence on always carrying a rutabaga around would come in handy one day. The weirdest thing, though—and it had to be weird if it was going to beat the thing that had just been called the weirdest thing a few moments ago—was that when she turned back around after leaving the stand to thank to pony running it again, the stand was nowhere to be found. It probably wasn't a problem, though. Some ponies just cleaned up really fast.

Pinkie's reminiscing was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Her friends were just on time for the last thing that needed to be done! She bounced cheerfully out of the kitchen, ready to greet her friends with the brightest smile she could muster.

"Hey girls!" Pinkie called out as she entered the shop proper. "Thanks so much for coming today!"

"Any time, Pinks!" Rainbow Dash responded. "You know we love your parties!" Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy nodded and murmured in agreement, making Pinkie giggle happily. She loved listening to ponies murmur. It was really fun to try and pick out specific phrases. One time she could have sworn she heard Minuette say something about bananas, and that was really funny because nopony else was even talking about bananas. She hadn't even seen Minuette eat a banana in months. That Minuette really was a card.

"So what's the big project today, Pinkie Pie?" Applejack asked. "Your invitations said something about some big thing you needed us for."

"Yuh-huh!" Pinkie said, nodding quickly. "I found this amazing cookbook and I wanted to make calzones from it, and the recipe said it needed five ponies to complete it!"

"Five ponies?" Rarity asked. "What kind of recipe requires five ponies?"

"It does sound a little odd..." Fluttershy chimed in.

"It sounds REALLY odd!" Pinkie corrected. "And that's why I wanted to make them! C'mon to the kitchen, we're ready for the final step!" With that, she turned tail and bounced cheerfully towards the kitchen, humming the whole way. The other four looked at each other uncomfortably. After a few moments, they finally decided to follow, Rainbow leading the way.

The sight in the kitchen was not at all what any of the four had expected to see. Sauce was strewn all over the place, smeared on the walls and even on the ceiling. The oven looked untouched, odd considering that Pinkie was allegedly making a calzone. Yet there, on a plate in the middle of the floor, was what at least held the appearance of a calzone.

"Uh...it looks like you're already done there, sugarcube," Applejack said, eyeing the odd scene.

"Noooooot yet!" Pinkie said with a smile. "The book says there's just this one last step left." She grabbed a bag of flour and opened it. "First we draw a circle on the ground..." She trotted in a neat, wide circle around the plate, sprinkling flour as she went.

"You're just supposed to dump it on the floor?" Rainbow asked, watching her with a clear degree of uncertainty.

"Yup!" came Pinkie's cheerful reply as she closed the circle. "Now we just have to draw a star in the middle..." She immediately set to this task, zipping this way and that, leaving trails of flour in her wake.

"This seems like an awful waste of flour..." Fluttershy said quietly, stepping out of the way of the excitable pink blur as she worked.

"It's not wasting!" Pinkie insisted. "Cause it's gonna lead to tasting!! Now you move here, and you go there..." Fluttershy found herself hastily nudged towards one point of the star that Pinkie had made, each of the others moved similarly.

"Are you sure you read this recipe right?" Applejack asked. "This seems mighty odd."

"Sure as sugar!" Pinkie said. "Now each of us has to hold one of these!" She placed a black candle in Applejack's front hooves, leaning in with a lighter to get the flame going. Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy were each given one in turn, the last one left for Pinkie. Fluttershy was visibly trembling by the time Pinkie shut the lights in the kitchen, leaving the room cast in a dull glow.

"Okay girls," Pinkie said, taking her place at the last remaining point of the star. "Now I just have to say the magic words!"

"Magic words...?" Rainbow asked. She already looked unsure about all of this, and the idea of Pinkie using any kind of magic only exacerbated that.

"Yuppers!" Pinkie responded. "And I've been practicing them so much, I know them by heart!" She took a breath, holding her candle close, then began to chant. "Yummy snack of dough and cheese, come to this land if you please. Beastliest treat ever to grace a pony's noggin! Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Calzossus R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"

The five ponies stood in silence, Pinkie's smiling face strongly contrasting the shocked looks on those of her friends.

"...What did she just say?" Applejack asked. However, no answer was able to be given as the ground started to rumble. All five ponies stared at the plate in the middle of the star as it began to shake violently.

"Um...maybe we should..." Fluttershy began. Nopony was really sure what word she was going for, but it was likely a synonym of "leave," if not "leave" itself. Whatever it was, it was interrupted by a loud growl from the shaking plate. Slowly, the calzone began to inflate, twisted limbs emerging from every side of it. Sauce dripped from disturbing cracks in the being's doughy flesh, for the thing that the ponies witnessed no longer had the right to be designated as a mere snack. It was truly a being now, growing and expanding at a terrifying rate. The thing let out an unearthly roar as it righted itself, the cheap plastic plate that it once called home shattering beneath one of its encrusted talons. Slowly it stood from its hunched position, the top of its gnarled head touching the kitchen ceiling. Even the typically-brave Applejack and Rainbow Dash were visibly shaking at the sight. Poor Fluttershy looked about ready to pass out.

"...Pinkie Pie?" Rarity said, beginning to inch away. "Where did you get that book?"

"A mysterious stand that seemed to vanish into thin air after I left?" Pinkie responded, smiling a very uncomfortable smile. Despite the smile, a certain fear was clearly visible in her eyes. "You should really duck, by the way."

Rarity had long since learned not to question Pinkie Pie when she said something like that, and quickly ducked just in time to avoid the swipe of a calorie-rich claw.

"What the hay is it?!" Rainbow screamed, diving for cover to avoid a jet of steaming sauce.

"It's the Calzossus!" Pinkie shouted back. "I didn't know this would happen! The book said it was out of this world!"

"It's from out of this world!" Applejack yelled as she dove to save Fluttershy from being grabbed by the beast. "How in the hay do we stop this thing?! We gotta take it down before it hurts anything other than our sanity!"

Pinkie gritted her teeth as she stared at the giant Calzossus's attempts to wreak havoc upon the kitchen. She knew that this was all her fault, and as such, she knew that she had to fix it. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

"Applejack!" Pinkie shouted. "Dodge towards the freezer!"

Applejack found this to be an odd request, but was in no position to argue. She did just as Pinkie asked, zipping just past the freezer. The Calzossus's claw swiped at her. The beast stopped short before hitting the freezer, seeming to almost cower in fear of the idea of touching something so cold. The five ponies quickly took note of this, then grinned and nodded to each other.

"Applejack! Fluttershy! Keep it occupied!" Pinkie quickly shouted, trying to dart around the beast.

"Me?!" Fluttershy whimpered. Unable to figure out another option, she leapt in front of the beast, making sure to stick close to Applejack as she did so.

"Over here, you ugly entree!" Applejack shouted, throwing the discarded bag of flour at it. The Calzossus slowly began to turn in their direction.

"Wh-what now?" Fluttershy asked.

"You run one way, I run the other," Applejack said.

"What else now??" Fluttershy begged.

"Trust me!" Applejack yelled. She darted off, leaving Fluttershy to do the same. The beast attempted to swipe at both of them, but the two smaller ponies were too fast for the lumbering monstrosity to keep tabs on.

"Rarity! The freezer! Open it!" Pinkie demanded. "Dashie, spread the cold!"

Rarity and Rainbow looked at each other and gave a resolute nod. Rarity lit her horn up and flipped the freezer open, and Rainbow flew over to it, positioning herself by the door. She began flapping her wings vigorously, blowing the cold air from the device over to the Calzossus. The beast began to shake slightly, its movements beginning to slow down.

"Doing great!" Pinkie called out. "Rarity, use that spell you showed me the other day?"

"Spell?" Rarity asked. Realization came quickly, and she nodded with a smile. Her horn lit up and began intensifying the cold around the beast. She'd used this spell in Pinkie's presence to cool her iron just before Pinkie was about to grab it with her bare hooves, and thankfully it was proving to be quite useful in this situation as well. The colder the air got, the more the Calzossus's movements slowed.

"Applejack! Fluttershy! Criss-cross!" Pinkie barked, waving her forelegs in the air. The two gave each other a look from either side of the room, then dashed at each other, Applejack leaping over Fluttershy just before they would have made contact. The Calzossus's arms, already slowing and hardening, tried to get both ponies, but ended up crashing into each other. The arms shattered, splintering into tiny bite-sized chunks as they crashed to the ground. The monster's gaze, somehow appearing worried despite how indescript its features were, settled on Pinkie, who by this point had equipped herself with the biggest, most solid cooking tray she could find.

"Calzossus?" Pinkie asked sweetly. She didn't even wait for an answer, whether or not the creature could give one.

"Chill out."

With a mighty leap, the pink party pony took to the air, raising the tray above her head before bringing it crashing down on the beast's head. The creature's crunchy cranium shattered instantly, chunks of cold sauce splattering onto the floor as the beast slumped to the ground, lifeless.

The five ponies gathered together, staring over the defeated form of the monster.

"Pinkie Pie?" Applejack said.

"Yes, Applejack?" Pinkie asked.

"You're going to throw that book out, right?"

"Yes, Applejack."

"Good."

The five friends gathered together, feeling their fear subside, replaced with the satisfaction of felling a monstrous foe. They shared a few moments of silent appreciation for their success, before Rarity broke the silence.

"By the way, where is Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"Oh, she told me she wasn't coming," Pinkie replied. "She didn't want to do anything today."

"Ah," Rarity responded.

Author's Note:

Yeah, I don't know.

Comments ( 90 )
Majin Syeekoh
Moderator

I heartily recommend reading this work of fanfiction.

I will never look at calzones the same way again.

Also, your Pinkie Pie is a delight to read. :twilightsmile:

... Oh, you son of a bitch. :heart:

I can see this wouldn't have happened if Pinkie Pie had simply purchased the monkey's paw like __most__ people who visit that particular gift shop. For pete's sake, you have an ability shop that puts Curious Goods, Warehouse 13, Spells R' Us, and Lyra's Lost and Found emporium to shame; and the only thing anyone ever picks up is the mummified monkey paws. I don't even think they belong to actual monkeys. I think Discord makes them in his basement using paper clips and plastiscine.

More to the point, throwing out the book would cause more problems. I wouldn't accuse any of the CMC's of being dumpster divers, but has anyone considered the ramifications of Scootaloo playing street angel or parasprite, coming across this thing, and thinking "Gee, this looks fun!" My understanding is you can't un-fire a gun, so why would you put a loaded weapon in trash can when you could hand it over to the authorities. You know, like maybe an expert on magic or something.

This wins all the everythings. XD

You have won the Fimfiction.net award for most bester story I've readed in a while.

The title was in no way misleading. Have a thumbs up.

Well, technically Twilight didn't do anything, but I was expecting it to be a story about how Twilight wasn't doing anything. Not this. I liked it, but still... not this.

6336611 Just one problem: It's Pinkie.

Boo. We have no reason to believe your assertion of Twilight's inactivity is accurate in any way, shape, or form.

I....

Huh.

Yup.

She really didn't do anything. ....I guess?

:twilightoops:

Still, upvoted. Nice to see an original idea.

I read this at lunch today, sooo... thanks for that. :facehoof: A clever bit of silliness.

If she was, her horn was taking a super-long time to grow in. She was pretty sure unicorns were usually born with horns, but maybe she was a special case. Probably not, though. But it was nice to dream.

Glim reference? If so, :pinkiehappy:

Well, it certainly doesn't even approach deserving that "Dark" tag. But it was cute.

B-but if she stayed at home, didn't she do something?

Amazing way to name a story.

And what a fun story it was! The moment you said it had many apostrophes I knew you were referring the Cthulhu mythos :rainbowlaugh:

Yeah, I'm with 6338731 on the not needing the Dark tag bit.

That cookbook must have come from Garth's kitchen. (Obscure reference go!)

A fun little story, worth the read.

6338731
6339379

I get a little overly cautious with my tags sometimes :twilightblush: I figured a bit of the imagery might have been a little unsettling. This story actually originally had a gore tag because of the ending, but I got some second opinions from my prereaders about that.

6339393
Summoning nameless things from the beyond might be unsettling, but not worth the Dark tag.

Frozen dismemberment of a pony, or any of the other sapient species that abound on Equrestia, would warrant a Dark, and probably Gore, tag.
Frozen dismemberment of a shambling calzone monster is comedy. Hay, it's probably something they could get away with on the actual show without having to change ratings.

As for the girls being attacked by said monster, that is something they've done on the show. Worse even, since we've seen the girls get hurt before and here they dodged everything and delt with the monster in sort order.

What I'm saying here is that after I read the story and thought "Wait, wasn't there a Dark tag?" I don't think it warrants a Dark tag.

6339521
Yeah, you're probably right about that. Just my trigger-happiness with my tags, I s'pose :raritywink:

6339521 But it does have a name!

May I do a reading on this?

6339797
Sure! Good luck with the pronunciation of a certain part though :raritywink:

6339680
I actually went back and looked again for what Pinkie said to summon the thing and you are correct, it does indeed have a name.

For me "summoning nameless things" is sort of a catch-all terms, regardless of if what is being summoned has or lacks a name.
If you can not pronounce or think the word does it really count as a name?

6339546
<<Insert Weird-Al "Trigger Happy" video link here>>

Nothing wrong with over tagging something to be safe before people look at it. The Dark tag turns some people away though, which is understandable, that is what it is for after all. But this should be read by a lot of people.

This was funny and interesting. And unexpected. I figured it would be Twilight insisting that she doesn't do anything, so her friends keep trying to get her to do something. :twilightsmile:


That satanic ritual caught me by surprise.

6339800
Oh, joy. =_= :P

Thanks you, Twinkletail! :D

6339810 Well, for someone to be able to name something, said someone must be able to think it. If SOMEONE can think it, then it is a name.

6339832

No problem! Thank YOU for wanting to do a reading!

All of my wats :rainbowhuh:

Original to the extreme, I would say :pinkiehappy::moustache:

She'd never seen that many apostrophes in a single word before.

I facepalmed at this point thinking I know where this is going but then I thought "Hold on, this is Pinkie ! Even in a Pinkie Pie Vs Yog-Sothoth title fight the bookies would only give you even odds."

One for the Favourites shelf.

Well... that certainly was a story!

Not bad, either. While I don't subscribe to the interpretation that Pinkie's so oblivious as to go through all that without at least questioning it, it does work for comedy. Moreover, it was a delight to see her take charge of the situation, as well as them working together to defeat the villain du jour. Carried out perfectly. Mad props to you.

And the title was fairly accurate, as Twilight didn't show up to solve everything on her own, or even show up at all. In fact, it would probably be even better if they didn't mention her absence either, so as to completely remove her presence from the story. Although then readers might get the idea that she was there and they just missed her lines. Hmm... yeah, whatever.

Well that was amazing, haha. xD An absolute treat to read, and played with my expectations wonderfully!

A fascinating foray into the psychology behind the human's ability to develop senses of expectation and entitlement, all with a humorous (sub...?)plot that strengthens the arguments you are making. Well-written, well-thought-out, and well-executed. You have my respect.
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A fantastical story overall. 8 out of 10 pointy-butt glam badges/glitter biscuits. :twilightsmile:

:moustache: Aw I'm late for the pizza!

:raritywink: Spikey dear it's a calzone , Are you going to eat that?

:pinkiegasp: It's a hard top pizza

:moustache: hard top or convertible I got no complaints

:raritystarry: Is that baked ziti?

:moustache: Mmmmmmmmmmmm brains I'm a zombie!

:raritystarry::fluttercry::rainbowlaugh::pinkiegasp::ajbemused:

Beautiful, beautiful piece of work. Twilight has completely embodied Spike's role.

Quite the funny MLP:FiM story with Cthulhu-lian overtones. Excellent way to take the overpowered magic user out of the equation, too. I can imagine Twilight coming by Sugarcube Corner later and dropping a Luna-esque, "Hello, everypony. Did I miss anything?"

I must say, I was really expecting "Hasta la vista, baby," instead of, "Chill out," at the end. I also expected the Calzossus to melt and reform like the T-1000 did.

I've been watching T2 too much.

That was very fun to read. My favorite part was the part where ponies other than Twilight did things.

i enjoyed this story, but i found this hard to read, and skimmed over it without digesting any of the words. I think you could organize your paragraphs better by giving character speaking roles their own paragraph instead of squishing it together. Most stories do that and it works surprisingly well.
For a short 2k word story, it was very well paced, with a very good build up and correctly matched climax. However, i didn't really get a layout of the room, no picture came into my head about what is going on. When i was picturing things, it was very vague, characters interacting on a white plane at best. I think you do need to work on scenery, and painting a vivid picture of what is going on.
On a lighter note, i did enjoy the mane five's interactions with each other. though the dialogue wasn't spread out enough for me to get a genuine picture of what character is like. It felt that the character fit slightly into their assigned roles with minimal screen time, very resourceful.

I really liked Twilight's pivotal role in this story, she fulfilled her leadership role and was characterized very well by the author
:rainbowlaugh:
7.6/10 very well executed, with few to moderate revisions needed.

pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw6117_medium.jpg

15/10 would recommend because of Twilight's intense story contribution.

Also, your punny pun was very punny.

-Sanity is overrated

6339962 i always wanted to do a story about Pinki Pie drinking a monster drink but idk how i would set it up any ideas? Also that was a great story :twilightsheepish:

6339200
there's a rule 63 version of this song.

I had a story up a year back called "Twilight does a thing". I like to believe this is that fic's long lost cousin. It's at least it's antithesis.

:twilightoops:

...that was a thing that happened.

...well played. :rainbowwild:

I just came here to read about Twilight Sparkle doing things

very disappointed

but it doesn't do, it doesn't do anything

Definitely not what I was expecting, but such a well-executed action sequence is far from disappointing. Loved the rutabaga bit, too.

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