//------------------------------// // Cooking Drama! (Part One) // Story: Canterlot Cooking Calamity! // by MythrilMoth //------------------------------// Two dozen modular kitchen stations had been set up in the gym. Big orange electric cables snaked across the floor; the ventilation system was running double time as intermingled steam and smoke filled the air above the various stoves, ovens, and grills the students participating in the contest were using. On the floor, loud chatter and the sound of chopping, mixing, and sizzling overtook the gym. In the bleachers, conversation buzzed as the spectators—of which there were quite a few—watched the mayhem. "Welcome to our first annual Canterlot High Cooking Contest!" Principal Celestia said into a microphone at the judge's table which had been set up on the south end of the gym, beneath the LCD scoreboard. "Our aspiring young student chefs will be graded on preparation, presentation, creativity, and taste. In the preliminary round, the top eight contestants will move on to this afternoon's quarterfinals. "And now, let me introduce our panel of judges. I, of course, am one of the judges. To my left is Ms. Harshwhinny, who I'm sure many of you know." The orange-skinned woman with short blond hair and a dour expression seated beside Celestia nodded once. "To my right is Dean Cadance from Crystal Prep Academy, who agreed to join our panel of judges because she enjoyed her time here during the Friendship Games." With a smirk, she added, "and because she's a foodie." The pink-skinned woman with three-colored pastel hair seated on Celestia's right gave a nervous laugh and waved; a huge cheer went up from the stands, mostly from the male portion of the audience. "And to her right, representing the student body of CHS and providing a peer perspective on today's proceedings, Canterlot High's most celebrated athlete and spirit captain, Rainbow Dash." Rainbow Dash waved to the stands with a cheeky grin. "Judging for the preliminary round will be performed as each entrant's dishes are ready to be plated," Celestia continued. "Contestants, when you're ready for your food to be judged, bring it to the judging table on the service cart provided." Sunset Shimmer looked around the gym as she sliced a small ham. "Wow, looks like there might be some fierce competition here," she said. "I can't believe Dean Cadance is one of the judges!" Twilight said excitedly as she pounded chicken breasts flat. "I had no idea she was going to be here!" "My goodness, are my sister and her little friends making fried chicken?" Rarity asked, craning her neck to look at the Crusaders' prep station. "Sure looks like it," Sunset said. "If they're using the Apple family's chicken recipe, that'll guarantee them a spot in the quarterfinals." "I see Saffron Masala is here today," Rarity commented. "That's a little unfair, given her family runs a restaurant and I know for a fact she cooks there on weekends." The others followed her gaze to see an orange-skinned girl with reddish-purple eyes and long, thick raven hair, who was busy unloading bowls of pre-prepared ingredients from her cooler while a Dutch oven heated up on her stove. "Well, the rules didn't say anything about being disqualified if you're a professional," Twilight said. "Even though that's pretty much why Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy stayed out of this." "Well, more because after the Friendship Games it'd be really unfair for them to enter a cooking contest," Sunset pointed out. Frowning, she added, "Although...looking around, I don't see much dessert making going on." She snorted. "Flash and his friends are barbecuing. Why am I not surprised." "Hey, check out Mr. Intensity over there," Rarity said quietly as she worked on assembling chicken cordon bleu. The others followed her gaze to a male student who looked a couple of years older than everyone else, though that largely had to do with his shaved head, gold wire-rimmed glasses, and scrubby rust-red goatee. He had light blue skin and dark grey eyes, and wore dark trousers, heavy brown work shoes, and a royal blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His face was set in a studious frown as he tossed something in a sizzling skillet. A stack of blue corn tortillas sat off to the side next to a stack of Supperware containers. "I don't think I've seen him before," Twilight said. "That's Negra Arroyo," Sunset said with a slight frown. "Wasn't expecting him to be here." "That bothers you?" Rarity asked. Sunset shook her head. "Just surprises me," she said. "I mean, he keeps to himself and doesn't get involved in school activities." Her forehead crinkled. "Honestly? He does intimidate me a little. He's the only guy in this entire school I was never able to dig up anything on back when I was, y'know...a terrible person." "Well, he certainly seems to know what he's doing," Rarity said as she watched Negra Arroyo work. "And so do we, so let's do our best," Sunset said, and the girls returned their attention to their chicken cordon bleu. * * * * * Pinkie Pie watched Fluttershy worriedly out of the corner of her eye even as she made change for a customer. "Hey AJ?" she asked. "Yeah?" "Is it me, or is Fluttershy a little...off today?" Applejack followed Pinkie's gaze to where Fluttershy was wandering around the Bake Sale, a somewhat glassy look in her eyes and a dreamy expression on her face. Every time she bumped into somebody, she giggled, played with her hair, and started flirting with them—whether they were a guy or a girl, no matter how old they were. Sales were doubling at every table where she flirted with the male customers—and even some of the female customers. The older female customers were leaving in disgust, however, and a few parents with younger children were steering their families away from Fluttershy. "Huh," Applejack said. "Yeah, she's actin' funnier'n a rodeo clown." She shrugged. "Must be from bein' up all night and not gittin' enough sleep. That can do mighty odd things to ya." "Maybe," Pinkie said slowly, frowning. "I'm not sure that's—" "Heeey party people," Sugar Sprinkles said as she walked up to the table, licking her fingers. "That dude with the green dreads? He's got some righteous space cakes over there." "Space cakes?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head. "I've never heard of those. I've heard of spice cakes, I've heard of cosmic brownies..." She blinked. "Wait, you mean Sandalwood? He brought brownies, didn't he?" "Oh yeah, he brought brownies alright," Sugar Sprinkles said with a sly giggle. "The best kind." Applejack's eyes narrowed. "Ah'm gittin' one'a them bad feelins," she said. "Whut's so dang-falutin' special 'bout them brownies? 'Cuz Ah'm pretty sure Fluttershy ate like, a half dozen of 'em while we was settin' up." "Whoa, Miss Soft and Sweet partakes? Righteous," Sugar Sprinkles said. She craned her neck to look around, then giggled. "Looks like she's having fun." Pinkie and Applejack followed her gaze; Fluttershy had found Big Macintosh, who was sitting in a steel folding chair out of the flow of foot traffic, and was now perched on his lap with her arms around his shoulders. Applejack's jaw dropped. "Whuuuuuuuuuuuuh..." Pinkie frowned. "Partakes? What do you—" She broke off, glancing back at Sugar Sprinkles. Her eyes widened. "Wait, you mean...?" She suddenly rushed over to the table where Sandalwood and Ditzy Doo were selling muffins and brownies. She grabbed Sandalwood by the hair, dragged him off to the side, and hissed into his ear, "Dude. Are those pot brownies?!" "Well yeah, brah, they're my own special recipe." Pinkie Pie dropped him, jaw slack with disbelief. She threw her hands in the air. "Are you insane?!" she hissed. "You can't sell pot brownies at a school bake sale!!" Sandalwood frowned. "You can't?" he asked, scratching his head. "Didn't see nothin' in the rules about it, dude." Pinkie stared incredulously at him. "Uh, DUH!" she cried. "Because it's common sense!" "Oh. Huh. Wow." Sandalwood shrugged. "My bad." Pinkie scowled. "How many of those have you sold?" she demanded. "Uhh...I dunno. A lot?" "A lot...?" Pinkie echoed. "Oh no, this is a disaster!" "Sorry, brah," Sandalwood said. Pinkie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just...get the rest of them off the table, don't sell any more." She shook her head. "I just hope you don't wind up getting the school sued or anything." Sandalwood scratched his head. "If you say so..." Pinkie Pie stalked back over to her own table. At Applejack's questioning expression, she sighed. "Yeah, so Fluttershy's kinda stoned," she said. "Those brownies she ate? Marijuana." Applejack stared at her. "You gotta be kiddin' me." "Nope," Pinkie said in an uncharacteristically flat, sour tone. "I mean, really, who brings pot brownies to a bake sale?!" "Somebody who knows what the people really want?" Sugar Sprinkles suggested as she munched on a brownie. "Oy," Pinkie groaned, blowing on her curly forelock. Off to the side, Big Macintosh toppled over backwards, and Fluttershy landed on him with a flirty giggle. * * * * * The very first contestants ready to be judged were Snips and Snails. Rainbow Dash tilted her head as she studied the two flattened mini pizzas on a plate in front of her. "Biscuit pizzas?" she asked. Snips grinned. "Not biscuits. Hawaiian sweet rolls." The judges looked at each other. Cadance raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's different," she said. "Still, they're just mini-pizzas. Not exactly hard to make." "It's not how hard it is to make, it's how it tastes, eh," Snails said as he added a small cup of dipping sauce to each plate. "And that you know what goes with it." "Alright, boys, tell us exactly what we have here," Celestia said as she examined the mini-pizzas critically. "Sure thing, Principal Celestia!" Snips said. "We flattened out some Hawaiian rolls and topped 'em with spicy pepperoni, prevalo—provalova—" "Provolone?" Ms. Harshwhinny supplied with a raised eyebrow and a scowl. "Yeah, that," Snips said, "and my mom's special marinara sauce." He pointed at the dipping cups. "Try 'em with the honey chipotle ranch." Rainbow Dash wasted no time in dipping a mini-pizza and taking a big bite. She grinned. "Yeah, okay, I can roll with this," she said. "They're not bad," Cadance said. "I don't know if I'd call it cooking exactly, but they're not bad." "Rather pedestrian," Ms. Harshwhinny said with a frown. "Also, there's not much creativity here." "Now now," Celestia said as she wiped her mouth. "Not all cooking has to be elaborate. Besides, using Hawaiian rolls for mini-pizzas is creative enough. I certainly never would have thought of it. And this chipotle ranch! I can tell you boys mixed it yourselves." "Heheh, yeah," Snails said. "The honey chipotle ranch you can buy at the store isn't hot enough. We make our own." "Yeah, you definitely mixed up a hot enough sauce," Rainbow Dash said, gulping down her bottled water. * * * * * Negra Arroyo approached the judges' table with a platter of blue taquitos. Rainbow Dash blinked at them. "Uhh, why are they blue?" she asked slowly, poking at one as Negra Arroyo plated it with a dollop of sour cream and placed it in front of her. "Blue corn tortillas," Ms. Harshwhinny said. "Interesting choice. That truly shows creativity." "I don't think I've ever had blue corn anything," Cadance remarked. "Definitely getting some points for creativity here," Celestia said. "So, taquitos! What's the filling?" "Shredded carne asada," Negra Arroyo said in a voice that was rich, strong, and mellow, "with a blend of queso menonita, queso panela, queso asadero, and roasted red peppers." The judges blinked at him. "I have no idea what any of that is," Rainbow Dash said. Negra Arroyo gave her a slightly condescending look. "It's beef and cheese," he said in a biting tone. "Oh. Cool." Rainbow picked up the still-hot taquito, wincing as it almost burned her fingers, then took a bite. Her eyes widened. "Holy crap." "Those are some rather eclectic ingredients for a singularly pedestrian appetizer," Ms. Harshwhinny said as she folded a napkin and carefully picked up a taquito. Negra Arroyo favored her with a raised eyebrow and a tilted head. "Any dish is art, if you appreciate the subtlety of cooking," he said. "Oh. Oh, this is good," Cadance said, eyes wide. "This is the best taquito I've ever had." She swiped it through the sour cream and took another bite. "I agree," Celestia said, finishing hers quickly and licking her fingers. "I don't think any Mexican restaurant in town has taquitos that good." "That's because they use substandard ingredients and their cooks are barely adequate," Negra Arroyo said. "If you want art, you turn to an artist." "Well, your arrogance aside," Ms. Harshwhinny said, "I have to say that your presentation and creativity alone are far beyond what I expected from this contest, and the flavor of your dish...well, it speaks for itself." Negra Arroyo inclined his head politely. "Thank you." * * * * * Pinkie Pie wandered through the contest floor until she found Twilight, Sunset, and Rarity. "Hey girls, how's it going?" she asked. "Hey Pinkie!" Sunset said. "It's going fine. How's the bake sale?" "Oh, it's a total disaster," Pinkie said chipperly. "Someone brought some pot brownies, Fluttershy got into them, now she's stoned off her yellow fanny and by Monday she's gonna to have a really wild reputation to live down." Rarity gasped. "Oh dear!" She looked around the room, fretting. "We...we have to do something—" "Nono, it's cool," Pinkie said. "Already handled it. Kinda. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know in case Fluttershy gets the munchies and shows up here that she's a teensy bit out of it." "But...!" Twilight protested. "We should tell Principal Celestia—" "Like I said, it's taken care of..." * * * * * "Right, so! Here's the deal," Miss Cheerilee said to Sandalwood and Ditzy Doo, an overly bright smile pasted onto her face and one eye twitching. "You hook me up with a dozen of those brownies a week, and Celestia and Luna never need to know about this." "Done deal," Sandalwood said. "We're really sorry about this," Ditzy said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. * * * * * Trixie pushed a cart with a steaming wok, a rice cooker, a stack of plates, and a box of wrapped chopsticks up to the judges' table. "The Grrrrreat and Powerful TRRRRRRIXIE! has arrived with a winning entree," she announced. Cadance raised an eyebrow. "Oh? We'll be the judges of that." "Ugh, Trixie," Rainbow groaned, facepalming. "Can we get through this with less of you running your big and annoying mouth?" "Rainbow Dash, behave," Celestia admonished. Trixie flipped her hair. "I will ignore that, Rainbow Splash," Trixie said, "because today, TRRRRIIIIIIIXIE! will prove that she possesses one skill you will never master!" And with that, she swiftly and expertly prepared a plate for each judge and placed them on the table, along with a pair of chopsticks each. "BEHOLD! Trixie's deluxe pepper steak, with bamboo shoots and water chestnuts!" On each plate, served over steaming white rice, was tantalizing pepper steak with bright green bell peppers, tomato wedges, crisp water chestnuts, and succulent bamboo shoots. "Ah, pepper steak," Ms. Harshwhinny said. "A simple enough dish to prepare, nutritious and filling. One does not normally see it with bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, but variation on a basic recipe is a sign of creativity." "You can never go wrong with water chestnuts," Cadance said. "It smells good," Celestia said as she unwrapped her chopsticks and separated them. The others did likewise and dug in—Rainbow Dash with some difficulty as she tried, to Trixie's amusement, to figure out the chopsticks. "Points for presentation with the culturally appropriate dining implements," Ms. Harshwhinny remarked. "This is skillfully prepared and most delicious." "This steak is so tender!" Cadance said. "I love the way the bamboo shoots bring out all the other flavors." "This is an unexpected delight," Celestia said. "You've surprised me, Trixie." Rainbow Dash finally gave up and picked up her plate, using the chopsticks to shovel food into her mouth. After a few bites, she groaned. "Ugh. Can't believe I gotta say this. This is pretty good, Trixie." Trixie preened. "But of course. Was there ever any doubt?" "Yes," Rainbow Dash informed her with half-lidded eyes over the edge of her plate, a glare whose effect was ruined by the bits of rice stuck to her face. "Yes there was." Trixie sniffed haughtily and stalked away. "Oh my," Cadance said, blinking. * * * * * "Hey girls!" Rainbow Dash said, waving cheerfully as Twilight, Sunset, and Rarity approached the judges' table. "Hey Rainbow Dash," Sunset said. "Twilight! I'm so happy to see you getting involved in things like this!" Cadance said with a bright smile. "You've really come a long way in a short time." Twilight blushed and ducked her head, but smiled. "It's nice to see you, Dean Cadance." Celestia leaned forward and smiled, resting her chin on her hands. "So, what do you girls have for us?" "For our prelude," Rarity said, "we have prepared a simple yet elegant classic." She and the other girls each placed a small covered plate before each judge, then uncovered them. "Chicken cordon bleu!" "Oooh, that's one of my personal favorites," Cadance said, licking her lips. "Isn't that inside information or some such?" Rainbow asked, glancing skeptically at Twilight. Twilight's eyes widened. "N-no it isn't!" she defended hastily. "I had no idea Dean Cadance was going to be a judge today, let alone that she liked chicken cordon bleu!" Cadance laughed. "Calm down," she said. "We're all going to judge every dish fairly, even those presented by personal friends. Right, Rainbow Dash?" "Heh, right," Rainbow said. "I mean, you girls are my friends and all, but..." She shrugged and smiled gamely. "Perfectly alright, darling, we intend to succeed solely on merit," Rarity said primly. Ms. Harshwhinny, meanwhile, had carefully cut into her cordon bleu and was scrutinizing it. "Well, your preparation is nothing short of excellent," she said. "Your presentation is fine." She lifted a bite to her lips and tasted it. "And this is quite a fine example of a well-made chicken cordon bleu." The other judges tasted theirs, and nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah, that's good cordon bleu," Cadance said. "Indeed it is," Celestia agreed. "I don't think I've ever had chicken cordon bleu before," Rainbow Dash remarked. "Tastes kinda like a hot pocket." Rarity gasped. "A...a hot pocket? Why, I'll have you know—" Twilight giggled. "Well she's not wrong," she said. "Besides, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that hot pockets were inspired in part by chicken cordon bleu and calzones." "Hey, I like hot pockets," Rainbow said placatingly. "And I like this." "Well done, girls!" Celestia said. "I think the three of you have an excellent chance of advancing." * * * * * Rainbow Dash's mouth watered as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo approached the judges' table with a paper-towel-lined platter of golden, crispy fried chicken and a basket of hush puppies. Celestia smiled. "Granny Smith's recipe?" Apple Bloom giggled. "Well, Ah am an Apple." She placed the platter on the table while Scootaloo set down the hush puppies; Sweetie Belle supplied paper plates and napkins for the judges. "You girls do know we'll only have one sample piece each, right?" Cadance asked as she espied the pile of chicken and hush puppies. "Yeah, sorry about that," Apple Bloom said. "They're country recipes. You can't make 'just a little'." Celestia laughed. "I doubt very much it will go to waste in any case." She selected a thigh and two hush puppies; Rainbow Dash took a drumstick and two hush puppies. Cadance took a breast and one hush puppy, while Ms. Harshwhinny took a wing and a hush puppy. The judges silently ate their chicken and hush puppies; once they were done, they looked up at the expectant girls. "That was some good fried chicken," Rainbow Dash said, licking her fingers. "I'm not overly fond of fried chicken, but that was surprisingly tasty," Ms. Harshwhinny said. "The hush puppies were perhaps slightly dry, but well-prepared." "Tastes exactly like Granny Smith's fried chicken," Celestia said. "Well done!" "I don't think I've ever had chicken that good," Cadance said with a smile. "If we didn't have a whole day's worth of tasting and judging ahead of us, I'd eat a couple more pieces!" The three girls giggled and hi-fived, then left the table with their leftovers. "Darn it," Rainbow grumbled, "I kinda wanted another piece." "Now, Rainbow," Celestia said, "it won't do to be overly full. This is a marathon for our stomachs." She grimaced and reached under the table, pulling out a bottle of liquid antacid. "Fortunately, we'll have a nice long break once we're done with the preliminaries." * * * * * Fluttershy and Big Macintosh wandered into the gym. Sunset, Twilight, and Rarity had long since finished cleaning up their station and had joined the small party which was gathering around the "potluck table" at the back of the gym, where contestants who had already submitted their dishes for judging had taken their leftovers for a first-come, first-serve buffet. A lot of it had already been picked over, but more dishes were being added by the minute. Sunset had a big piece of lasagna on a double paper plate and was savoring it by the wall, while Twilight and Rarity had cups of lemonade and were discussing the presentation of other contestants' various entries. Fluttershy wandered over to her friends, a broad, somewhat glazed smile on her face. "Hey girls," she said in a syrupy, giddy tone. "Mmm, what smells so good? I feel like I could eat a horse." Giggling, she sidled over to Sunset and leaned over her. "You think I could, Sunny? You think I could eat...a horse?" Sunset stared up at her, eyes wide. "Uhh..." Rarity coughed. "How about..." She grabbed Fluttershy by the arm and led her along the table. "How about some fried chicken instead? I do believe some delicious fried chicken just appeared...oh my," she trailed off. "Gone already. Hmm." "There's some pizza down here," Twilight called, waving. "Some quesadillas, too." She shuddered. "If you like that sort of thing..." Fluttershy tilted her head and considered. "Well, okay!" she flounced over to the quesadillas, grabbed one, then bobbed over to the pizza, put a big slice on a plate, and folded the quesadilla up on top of it. She picked the whole thing up and took a big, gooey bite. "Gaah," Rarity opined. Big Macintosh sat down heavily beside Sunset, popping the top on a soda can. Sunset glanced at him. "You look like hell," she said. "Eeyup," Big Mac grunted. "Wanna talk about it?" "Nnnope." "Is it because of Fluttershy?" "Eeyup. Well...nnnope." Big Mac frowned. "Kinda." "What'd she do, anyway? Pinkie didn't say exactly." Big Mac blushed. "Don't wanna talk about it," he said. "Wouldn't be decent. Just...she ain't herself right now." He frowned. "Ah only hope she ain't too tore up about it all when she sobers up." "Yikes," Sunset said, eyes wide and mind whirling. "After church tomorrow Ah'm headin' over t' Sandalwood's place with a tank o' weed killer," Big Mac grunted, chugging his soda. "I see..." * * * * * Lyra and Bon Bon approached the judges' table with a baking dish; Bon Bon spooned a small serving of their dish for each judge into shallow paper bowls and provided forks as she placed them in front of the judges. Rainbow Dash blinked at the colorful pile of sliced vegetables in sauce that sat before her, tilting her head. "What's this?" she asked. Ms. Harshwhinny smirked. "Ratatouille," she said. "Interesting." "Wow, it looks exactly like it did in that one movie!" Cadance said. Celestia smiled mischievously. "I have a feeling they used that exact recipe, didn't you girls?" Lyra rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Well...yeah," she said. The judges tasted the ratatouille. "Hmm...I dunno about this one," Rainbow said. "I mean, it's not bad, it's just..." She waved a hand vaguely. "I dunno." "It's adequately prepared," Ms. Harshwhinny said. "You followed the recipe quite well." "I always wondered what it tasted like," Cadance said. "I didn't realize it had so much eggplant in it. Not that that's a bad thing! I like eggplant on occasion." "I think you girls did an excellent job," Celestia said. "Though I'm afraid I'll have to take points off for creativity since, well...you did copy a movie here." Lyra and Bon Bon had the grace to look embarrassed as they returned to their station with their remaining ratatouille. Rainbow Dash passed the remainder of her serving to Cadance. "You want mine?" she asked. "I know it's probably good, but to me it tastes like rat patootie." Ms. Harshwhinny facepalmed. Cadance giggled. * * * * * Flash Sentry, Beats, and Skunk Rock ambled up to the judges' table with serving dishes laden with barbecued chicken, grilled sausages, grilled potatoes, and grilled whole ears of corn. Rainbow Dash leaned forward with interest. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about," she said. Skunk put a sausage and a potato on a paper plate and handed it to her. "Here, got a nice big hot sausage for you, Rainbow," he said. Rainbow glared at him. "Don't go there," she growled as she accepted it. Celestia facepalmed. "Teenagers," she muttered, shaking her head. "So, you boys decided to grill," she went on in a brighter tone. "That's certainly a safe option." "You'd think so," Beats grumbled, casting a sideways glance at Flash. Flash ignored him and plated a chicken wing, an ear of corn, and a potato for Celestia. "The sauce is a family recipe," he said. "It's never failed to win a cookoff in fifty years." "I see," Celestia said. As the other judges were served, she picked up the chicken wing and took a bite. "Oh!" she said, her eyes wide. "I do see!" "Oh. Oh, this is good," Cadance said as she took a bite of a chicken leg. Ms. Harshwhinny took a huge bite of a sausage, chewed it intently, then swallowed. "Yes, the sauce is quite good," she agreed. "And you boys have clearly practiced your grilling technique." "Yeah, this is some good eatin'," Rainbow agreed. Celestia looked up at the three boys. "You're not by any chance hoping to get through the entire contest just on grilling and this amazing sauce, are you?" The boys looked at each other. "Kinda, yeah," Flash said with a shrug. "It's all we've got." Celestia chuckled and shook her head. "Well, good luck to you," she said. * * * * * Saffron Masala wheeled a curry pot up to the judges' table. "I apologize for the delay," she said. "It's no problem," Celestia said. "You're well within the cutoff time, though you are the last entrant." Indeed, all around the gym, most of the kitchen stations had been cleaned up, and most of the contestants had either finished the remainder of their preliminary entries themselves or put them on the table at the back of the gym, where an increasingly large crowd of students, faculty, and parents were mingling with cold drinks. Some of the students were still cleaning their stations, and Flash Sentry's grill was still hot and ready to go just in case he and his friends advanced. Saffron bowed her head politely and ladled curry over white rice. "I have prepared lamb curry from a traditional family recipe," she said as she served each judge. "Your family owns a restaurant, do they not?" Celestia asked as she spooned up a bite of curry. "Yes," Saffron said. "I do work there on weekends, in the kitchen." "Hmm, that gives you a slight advantage," Ms. Harshwhinny said. "Lamb, huh?" Cadance asked. "I can't say I've eaten lamb very often." "I don't think I've ever had curry," Rainbow Dash said. She took a huge bite. Her eyes bugged out. "Whoa," she gasped. "It is a little spicy," Saffron said apologetically. "It's exactly the right level of spicy," Celestia said. She ate another bite. "You really know how to blend your spices and how to work with lamb, Ms. Masala." "Hmm," Ms. Harshwhinny said. "I'll be honest. With a wealth of restaurant experience at your disposal, curry is too simple a dish to present for a competition." "I thought it would be best to start with something simple," Saffron said, wringing her hands. "Save my better dishes for later." "I'd say that was a smart move," Cadance said. "It seems to be what most of the serious contenders are doing, anyway. Although, we have seen some pretty complicated stuff just in the preliminaries." The judges finished their curry, then conferred. "Thank you, Ms. Masala," Celestia said. "If you'll add your curry to the potluck at the back, then clean up your station, we'll be announcing the results soon." Saffron nodded again and moved away. The judges looked at each other. "Some pretty stiff competition," Cadance said. She looked down at her tablet where she had been recording her scores for each contestant. "I gave a lot of these kids some pretty high marks." "So did I," Celestia said. "I wasn't expecting to be impressed with very many of these students," Ms. Harshwhinny admitted. "Selecting eight to move on will not be as easy as I anticipated." "Well, I know that Negra Arroyo guy's moving on," Rainbow said confidently. "Yeah, I agree there," Cadance said. "Alright, let's add up our scores and look at the numbers," Celestia said. "Then we can discuss the results and make our decision." * * * * * Pinkie Pie and Applejack sold the last of their massive pile of baked goods, then leaned back with a sigh. "Well, that's that," Applejack said. "Whut say we mosey on over t' th' gym an' watch th' rest of th' cookin' contest?" "Sounds like a good idea," Pinkie said. She yawned mightily. "You think Fluttershy's come down from the brownies yet?" "Ah dunno," Applejack said. "Hey, Pinks, I'm gonna head on out now," Sugar Sprinkles said. "This was a blast! If you need my help again tomorrow, totes gimme a call, okay?" "You bet!" Pinkie said. "Thanks for the help, Sugar Sprinkles!" "Peace!" As Sugar Sprinkles left, Applejack shook her head. "You know some of the strangest people, Pinkie Pie," she said. Pinkie giggled. "Oh, Sugar Sprinkles is nothing. You should meet my tennis partner Wade..." * * * * * "May I have your attention please!" Principal Celestia called over the speakers. Everyone in the stands, as well as all the participants cleaning up their stations, looked up expectantly. "We've finished examining the preliminary round scores and conferring about the results, and we will now announce the eight contestants who will move on to this evening's quarterfinal round!" All eyes turned to the scoreboard above the judge's table, which displayed eight blank, numbered squares. "Unlike the preliminaries," Ms. Harshwhinny said, "the quarterfinals and semifinals will be direct elimination matches. While all contestants will continue to prepare their dishes simultaneously, your performance against your designated opponent will determine whether or not you advance." "We've decided to make it an elimination match because a lot of the preliminary round scoring was too close to call," Cadance put in. "We're worried that trying to choose the top four from the quarterfinals to move on would be problematic." "Besides, elimination matches are more exciting!" Rainbow Dash added with a grin. Celestia rolled her eyes. "Without further ado, the following students advance to the quarterfinal round!" As she read each pair of names, pictures of the advancing students appeared on the scoreboard, with a "VS." graphic appearing between each pair of photos: SUNSET SHIMMER, TWILIGHT SPARKLE, AND RARITY VS LYRA HEARTSTRINGS AND SWEETIE DROPS TRIXIE LULAMOON VS APPLE BLOOM, SWEETIE BELLE, AND SCOOTALOO FLASH SENTRY, BEATS, AND SKUNK ROCK VS SNIPS & SNAILS NEGRA ARROYO VS SAFFRON MASALA "Oooh, we made it!" Rarity squealed delightedly. "Wow, I wasn't sure we'd make it," Twilight said. "There's some pretty stiff competition!" Sunset chuckled. "I'm just glad we're getting a chance to put all our hard work to use." She blinked. "Not that I think all the time we spent together these past two weeks would've been wasted if we didn't make it! I just—" "We understand completely, darling," Rarity said with a smile. "Win or lose, we had a lovely time cooking together and learning new things, but we are, after all, here to win!" "You did it, Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo cheered. "Your chicken got us in!" "We did it, girls," Apple Bloom said. "Now, c'mon, we gotta finish cleanin' up this mess so we can get busy on th' next round." Lyra and Bon Bon looked at each other, clasped hands, and bounced up and down excitedly. "Best friends forever!" "Cooking together!" "IN IT TO WIN IT!" Flash and his bandmates exchanged a hi-five, then went back to grilling. Trixie afforded herself a self-satisfied smirk and bragged loudly to absolutely nobody, for nobody was listening. Snips and Snails chuckled evilly at each other like idiots, rubbing their hands together gleefully. Saffron Masala let out a huge sigh of relief and hummed to herself as she finished cleaning her station. And Negra Arroyo made no show of reaction to the news whatsoever beyond washing his hands and setting to work preparing the ingredients for his next dish. An air horn blew, drawing everyone's attention. "I appreciate that some of you want to get right to work," Celestia said, "but we need to take a short break so the staff can clear out some of the clutter. Those of you who have been eliminated, please pack up your remaining supplies and move to the bleachers. Those of you who are advancing to the quarterfinals, return to your stations now, but don't do anything yet. Everyone else, stay at the back of the gym or around the bleachers. We'll continue on with the quarterfinal round in thirty minutes."