//------------------------------// // Four Years Earlier // Story: My Big Fat Griffon Wedding // by LunaJack //------------------------------// 4 Years Earlier “And the winner of the Ponyville Bake Off is…Cinnamon Roll with her Fiery Apple Pie!” The brown filly stood frozen, her mouth open and her eyes wide as everypony broke into wild, stamping applause. It hardly seemed real. She had won! The biggest bake off in the history of Ponyville…over seventy-eight contestants…and she had won! “YAHOO!” howled Applejack, throwing her Stetson in the air. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Confetti and streamers rained down on Cinnamon Roll as her friends, the Tri-Pies, shot off their party cannons. “Yay!” cried Raspberry Pie. “That’s the way the Cinnamon 'rolls'!” “She’s ‘bun’ up on the competition!” cheered Blueberry Pie. “I hope it doesn’t ‘sting’ all you other contestants,” chimed Cherry Pie, wearing a bee costume. Her sisters stared at her. “What? I ran out of bun puns. Besides, it’s a good costume.” “Go on, baby girl,” said Spike, urging Cinnamon Roll forward. “You earned this.” Cinnamon Roll made her way to the stage. She was so overwhelmed, she hardly heard Twilight Sparkle’s congratulatory speech. “Fillies and gentlecolts,” Twilight addressed the crowd. “This year’s Bake Off has been a rousing success! It was very hard for the judges to make a decision. You are all such talented bakers-- except for the pony who slipped in a Pickled Pepper Pie disguised as a Peach Cobbler—ZANY!” She glared at the gray draconequess colt who was floating over the crowd. He grinned back at her impudently. “Oh, please! It wasn’t that bad,” he replied. “Their taste buds should grow back by next week.” Twilight closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and counted to ten. “As I was saying,” she resumed. “You are all such talented bakers, but Cinnamon Roll’s original twist on Granny Smith’s Apple Pie recipe clearly put her over the top! Care to tell the audience your secret?” she asked Cinnamon. The filly blushed. “I added a small chili pepper to give it a kick.” “Well, it certainly worked!” cried Twilight. “It kicked you right into First Place!” The alicorn levitated a tall golden trophy shaped like a pony wearing a chef’s hat. “Thank you,” Cinnamon Roll managed to whisper as she accepted the statuette. “BUT that’s not all!” cried Twilight, her face shining with excitement. “This year, the winner of the Bake Off will be receiving something extra special! A prize from Princess Celestia herself!” An excited buzz went through the crowd as the lavender alicorn produced a large, ornate scroll wrapped with a red ribbon and bearing the princess’s solar insignia. “It is a full, four-year scholarship to none other than Canterlot Culinary College!" There was a collective gasp of surprise followed by the thundering of stamping hooves. Cinnamon Roll stared at the proffered scroll, her mouth hanging open in awe. “C-c-college? I get to go to college?” Twilight nodded. Cinnamon bit her lip, a small tear escaping her eye. “Oh, Wow!” “Congratulations, Darling! You truly deserve it.” “Yes, you are a great baker and I’m so glad you won.” Cinnamon Roll blushed at the praise. “Thank you, Aunt Rarity, Aunt Fluttershy.” Five of the Mane Six along with their families were gathered around a long table outside Sugar Cube Corners. Cinnamon Roll sat at the head of the table. Applejack, Spike and her brothers Cinnamon Stick and Applespike sat on her right. Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Cheerilee sat on the left. Rarity and Fancy Pants with their daughter Gemstone, sat next to them while Fluttershy, Discord, and Zany sat next to Applejack. Twilight Sparkle sat at the other end, flanked by the Tri-Pies and her husband, Flash Sentry. “Your pie was amazing!” cried Pinkie Pie, bouncing up and plopping a beautiful white cake on the table in front of Cinnamon Roll. “I don’t know how you came up with the idea of chili peppers, but I’m glad you did! It was absolutely FUN-TASTIC!” “Thanks, Aunt Pinkie.” “Humph!” snorted Zany. “She puts pepper in a pie and takes first place. I make a whole pie out of peppers and everypony gets mad!” “You were robbed,” murmured Discord. No one was sure if he was being sarcastic or not. “Attention, everypony!” called Applejack, banging her hoof on the tabletop. “I just want to thank you all fer joinin’ us today to celebrate my baby girl’s First Place win!” The friends all broke into applause. “And her scholarship to the Canterlot Culinary College,” added Spike, reading the scroll Twilight had presented to Cinnamon. “It covers tuition, room and board, and even her books!” “I can’t believe it!” Cinnamon Roll squeed, bouncing in excitement. “I just can’t believe it! I’m going to college! This is so wonderful!” “I can’t believe it either,” said Applejack, wiping a tear from her eye. “An Apple…going to college!” “Didn’t Big Mac attend college once?” asked Rarity, turning to look at the red stallion. “Some kind of Agricultural school, wasn’t it?” “Eeyup,” replied Big Mac proudly. “ABAC. Alfalfa Bloomburg Agricultural College” Applejack giggled. “Or as I used to tell him 'Alfalfa Bloomburg And Cow College'.” Her brother gave a wry smile. “It was just a two-year college. I got mah Associates degree in Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.” “You had to learn to be a husband to a farm animal?” asked Discord, feigning shock. He leaned over the table and spoke in a stage whisper. “Does Cheerilee know?” “Discord!” Fluttershy hissed, giving her husband a poke. “It means he learned how to care for animals!” “Just like you, dear!” he cried, winding his body around hers. “But since you’re a mare wouldn’t that be Animal Wifery?” “Anyway!” said Applejack, getting the conversation back on track. “This’ll be the first time an Apple has gone to a full-on college! Though, I gotta admit I’m a bit confused. What is the Canterlot Culinary College?” “Why, it’s only one of the best culinary schools in Equestria,” explained Fancy Pants. “Some of the most acclaimed chefs received their education there. Believe me, this is a great honor and opportunity for you, my dear.” He added to Cinnamon Roll. “Well, I fer one don’t unnerstand wut all the fuss is about,” said Granny Smith, frowning. “When I was a filly, you didn’t need no fancy school to learn how to cook! My Ma taught me all I needed to know about cookin’! Shucks, I had Big Mac and Applejack makin’ biscuits before they wuz even outta diapers!” “Thank you, Granny!” shouted Applejack, blushing furiously. “The school teaches more than just cooking, Mrs. Smith,” Fancy Pants explained patiently . “They give instruction on food preparation, service, catering and how to run a restaurant.” Cinnamon Roll gasped. “R-r-restaurant?” “Yes, darling,” said Rarity, beaming. “Most chefs go on to own their own businesses.” Cinnamon’s mouth dropped open in awe. A restaurant! Her own restaurant! Her eyes glazed over. It was too good to be true! “Watch out!” cried Twilight. PLOP! Cinnamon Roll fainted, falling face first into the beautiful white cake. Spike and Applejack scrambled to pull her out while the others watched in concern. Pinkie stared in surprise at Cinnamon’s icing covered face. “I guess she couldn’t wait for me to cut it.” Later That Autumn… “Bye, bye Miss Equestrian Pie Our hearts are heavy But you’re steady And you’re ready to fly! And your good old friends Are eatin’ hot apple pie And tryin’ really hard not to cry!” Cinnamon Roll stood on the Ponyville train platform, surrounded by her family and friends. Pinkie’s daughters stood in a circle around the brown filly, hugging and sobbing uncontrollably. “Thanks for the send-off, girls,” said Cinnamon, trying to comfort them. “But, you know I’m not goin’ away forever. I’m just goin’ to college. You’ll see me at Hearth’s Warming!” “Oh, PLEASE! Don’t forget us!” wailed Cherry. “Promise you won’t forget us!” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Like mother, like daughter,” she muttered to Spike. “Come on, girls,” said Spike, gently detaching the sobbing party ponies from his daughter. “We have to board the train now.” “Bye, little sis,” said Cinnamon Roll’s older brother, Cinnamon Stick, giving her a hug. “I hope you like it up there in Canterlot.” His wife, Dinky, gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You’ll do great, I know!” “We all know it!” said Twilight Sparkle. She turned to Spike. “Think you can find the campus?” “Piece of cake,” replied Spike with a snap of his claws. “It’s on the main road leading to the School for Gifted Unicorns. As many times, as I stole pies from the window sills there, I oughtta remember it.” “Oh, good…YOU DID WHAT?” Everyone laughed as Spike guiltily scurried to get Cinnamon Roll’s things on board. Cinnamon Roll turned to her little brother Applespike, who stood nearby. The dragon-pony had not said two words to her all morning. “Bye, little bubba,” she said, hugging him tight. “I’m gonna miss you.” Applespike returned the hug, rubbing his wet face into her shoulder. “Can’t let Zany see me cryin’,” he sniffed. “I’ll miss you, too, Sissy!” The train whistle blew and Cinnamon Roll, Applejack, and Spike quickly climbed aboard. The crowd waved as they pulled from the station. Cherry Pie bounced after the train, waving her arms crazily. “WE'LL MISS YOU! WRITE SOON! PLEASE, DON'T FORGET...Ooooh! Look, a balloon!” “Well, this is it.” Spike led Cinnamon Roll and Applejack under the ivy-covered arch marked with a golden cooking pot. The archway led into a small picturesque courtyard with flowering shrubs and hanging vines of ivy. The school building looked more like a historical mansion than a college. The brown stone structure had five stories, each with a balcony and a set of Prench doors. Wide stone stairs led up to a beautiful mahogany door with an ornate stained-glass window in its center. “Whoa!” whispered Applejack in awe. “This sure is… fancy.” She turned to Cinnamon Roll doubtfully. “You…you sure you wanna do this, Sugarcube?” Cinnamon did not reply. As she stared up at the imposing building, a knot formed in her stomach. For the first time, she truly realized that she was leaving home. Despite being an adult, she had never really been on her own before and she was afraid. Then she felt her Pa's dragon claw on her shoulder. "Hey, it'll be okay," he said comfortingly. "Fancy school or not, I know you can handle it!" “Yes,” Cinnamon Roll blushed at the praise. She gazed around at the beautiful campus, grinning with renewed excitement. This was her adventure! “I really do!”