//------------------------------// // Chapter One // Story: Yona Found Butter // by TheVClaw //------------------------------// “Ummm… Ocellus? Are you sure that the sugar and flour measurements aren’t switched or something?” The pink hippogriff winced worriedly, and her eyes darted back and forth between the two measuring cups in her claws. She kept double-checking the recipe book, but the confirmation of the correct sizes only made her beak skew more notably. It didn’t help that when she glanced back at her friend, the changeling in question had their insectoid eyes blinking repeatedly. It was hard to tell that Ocellus was having difficulty seeing, but they were clearly having some issues when they leaned in close to the recipe book.  “Uhhhh… No, that’s correct, Silverstream.” Ocellus smiled when they saw the correct measuring cups in their friend’s claws, and used their magic to float both of them out of her grip. “Yeah, flour might be the ‘foundation’ of a lot of baking recipes, but brownies depend on at least twice as much sugar to keep it dense and moist. That’s also why we need those chocolate chips, since they’re meant to melt and assist in binding everything together. Oh, and speaking of flour, you have a little on your face there~” “Hmph…” Silverstream crossed her eyes for a moment, before rolling them with a scoff. She picked up a washcloth from the counter, and huffed with a smile while wiping some flour off the bridge of her beak. She took a moment to look around the kitchen space, which was thankfully not too messy aside from some empty packages and dustings of flour here and there. But since a couple of key ingredients were in need of replenishing, the hippogriff and changeling were left temporarily unable to continue their work. “So… What else did we need? I know that we already ran out of vanilla, and also chocolate chips…” Ocellus tried to lean in and check a notebook lying on the kitchen island, but they had to wince and narrow their eyes with a couple rapid blinks. They eventually groaned and pulled back to wipe their eyes with the back of their hoof. “Ugh! Sorry, stupid shedding season… I, uhh… I think we’re also out of cooking oil.” “Alright, umm… thanks.” Silverstream almost wanted to apologize for accidentally making Ocellus strain their eyes. But instead, she breathed out silently and glanced over at the clock on the wall. “Well, the Ponyville Marketplace doesn’t close for a couple more hours, so I doubt Yona will have much issue getting everything in time.” Just in that moment, the door nearby opened up. Silverstream and Ocellus glanced over at the doorway, but it was an orange dragoness who entered from the other end of the classroom. Smolder was wearing a backpack as she walked past the rows of desks, and she poked her head through one of the openings in the partition that separated the class from the multiple Home-Ec kitchens. “Hey, guys! Starlight asked me to come down here and check on the brownie situation. Although…”  The dragoness paused briefly enough to sniff the air, and smiled with a satisfied sigh. Ocellus and Silverstream may have been in the room for a while baking, but Smolder was hit with that rich, chocolatey scent as soon as she stepped inside.  “It definitely smells like you’re making progress!” “Yeah, we have the first couple pans baking as we speak…” Ocellus pointed over to two of the baking ovens, which had their lights on to indicate being in use. However, they then pointed to a couple of large mixing bowls, as well as some pre-greased baking pans that were currently empty. “Right now, we’re waiting for Yona to come back from the market with some key ingredients we ran out of.” “Oh, really?” Smolder quickly took off her backpack, and began to rifle through the contents inside. “Wait, I might have a couple candy-bars in here if you need them.” “Ooh!” Silverstream’s face lit up before walking over to the dragon. “Maybe we can put them in the food-processor to substitute as chocolate chips!” “Hmmm… Actually, that might work.” Ocellus used their magic to float out the candy bars from Smolder’s bag, but hummed with uncertainty upon reading the wrappers upclose. “Wait… Actually no, these have peanuts in them. Sorry.” “Ahh, I should’ve known…” Smolder tucked the bars back into her bag, while Silverstream groaned with a disappointed pout. She looked back at Ocellus with slight concern. “Uhhh, you alright without your glasses, ‘Cell? Nurse Redheart said not to strain your eyes while you’re still shedding.” “I’m fine, Smolder…” Ocellus sighed and walked back to the counter to reassess their remaining ingredients. Unfortunately, Silverstream could see the dragoness shooting them a suspicious stare.  “You really wanna say that after last night? Because I remember you needing my help getting all the crusty stuff off with a q-tip.” “Oh, eww! EWWW!” Silverstream backed away with both claws up in disgust. She pointed over at Ocellus and added, “We’re literally making brownies, come on!” “Just saying, you should probably double-check anything they read, alright? They almost walked into the men’s room this morning.” “And how do you know that was an ‘accident,’ hmm?” Ocellus was quick to turn around and stare Smolder down. If it wasn’t for the Changeling’s compound eyes twitching with a painful wince, that question would’ve likely made Smolder second-guess her wording. But instead, Smolder held up a claw with two digits sticking out. “How many claws am I holding up right now, Ocellus? And no shape-shifting either!” “Ugh!” Ocellus just turned away with a light huff. Smolder scoffed to herself, but thankfully remained silent before glancing back at the doorway.  “Uhhh… wait, you said that Yona went into town?” She turned back to the others in confusion. “Because I walked into her a few min…” Before Smolder could finish her statement, she and the others overheard some familiar rumbling from the hallway outside. The sounds of heavy, clomping hooves were scuttering towards the home-ec room at a frantic pace, until the floor underneath the students began to vibrate. It wasn’t until hearing the hooves skidding against the crystal floors that the three saw who appeared with an excited grin. “YONA FOUND BUTTER!!” The burly brown yak was smiling as wide as could be, and held up a large grocery bag with several items inside. She proudly trotted into the classroom with the bag clutched in her muzzle. Meanwhile, Smolder just shrugged her shoulders and forgot what she was about to say. “Oh, thank goodness!” Ocellus lit up their horn and floated the bag towards the kitchen counter. “You got the other stuff too?” “Yaks best at gathering supplies for delicate missions! Yona got butter, vanilla, AND chocolate chips in record time! Oh, yak also borrowed Sandbar’s cereal to snack on~” “Ooh, good idea! That can keep us from eating our sales.” Silverstream looked in Yona’s bag to inspect the items herself. She hummed with a tilted head, not recognizing any of those brands from the grocery store. “Hmmm…” “Well, alright then! I guess there’s nothing to worry about.” Smolder readjusted the straps on her backpack, and gave a polite wave before making her leave. “Starlight needs me to finish up the decorations in the gymnasium, so I’ll leave you guys to finish up baking. Seeya!” Even though Smolder just showed up, Yona waved her goodbye alongside the others. She was too happy to get their groceries in record time, so she was already eager to get back to baking. Smolder was already gone by the time Ocellus went to check on Yona’s haul. “Wow, you actually got to town and back that quick?! I don’t think Gallus could’ve done that if he flew there!” “Oh, don’t worry. Yona didn’t need to go to town.” Yona placed several packages beside the mixing bowls, which all looked to be non-perishable items. While Silverstream tilted her head puzzledly, Yona held up a plastic tub in triumph. “Yona found everything we need in Sandbar and Gallus’ dorm room!” “Wait, what?” Ocellus turned their head with their brows skewed. “Why would they have butter?” “Well, it certainly looks like it. Although I think this is different since it’s canned or something…” Silverstream picked up the plastic tub and read the labeling closely. The lettering seemed a bit cartoony for a dairy-based product, and also looked to be misspelled. For some reason, it was labeled as ‘Cannabutter’ instead of ‘Can of Butter.’ Although, that may have just been because it wasn’t actually a can, so perhaps there was some legal reason to skew the name somewhat.  Beneath that was a logo of a smiling cow with red, half-lidded eyes. Silverstream’s beak skewed a little with a hum, mostly because of how many “new” Ponish words were there to confuse her; she was still unfamiliar with a lot of pony-lingo, so she made a mental note to ask Sandbar about what ‘Kush’ or ‘Potent’ meant.  “Hmmm… Wait, is this plant-based butter?” “Yep! Yona already checked, and there’s no allergens listed. It’s made from ‘Cah-Nah-Bis’ oil. Yak thinks it’s butter that doesn’t need to stay cold!” “Aaaahhhh…” Silverstream nodded after reading the specific word Yona sounded out. Since she spent most of her life underwater, she wasn’t too familiar with most Equestrian plants; and because there were multiple green, five-leaved plants scattered across the labeling, she could only assume that’s what the ‘Cannabis’ thing was. She was still a bit confused about some of the package’s nutritional specifics, especially what that tag in bold letters listing ‘1000 MG per Serving’ specifically meant. But after double-checking the ingredients listed in the back, she didn’t recognize any of those items as being a listed allergen from Starlight’s guide. “Okay, hmmm… Wait, would something like this work for brownies?” “I think so?” Ocellus was struggling to read the tiny labeling on one of the little bottles of vanilla extract Yona also obtained. It also had a green leaf proudly printed on the front, and was clearly labeled ‘Vanilla-Flavored Cannabis Oil’. Even if they weren’t dealing with shedding, Ocellus would’ve had some difficulty reading the bottle without their glasses. They shrugged and placed it back on the counter, not noticing the teeny ‘500 MG’ tag underneath the logo. “Well, coconut oil is a popular substitute for a lot of recipes. As long as there’s no rules about Cah-Nah-Bis, I think we could use this as a replacement for butter.” Technically, there were multiple rules in the School of Friendship’s guidelines related to that plant; unfortunately, none of the three students seemed to realize that when they went to work. Ocellus began to pour half-teaspoons of the concentrated ”vanilla” oil into the wet ingredients already in the mixing bowl. Meanwhile Silverstream cheerfully noticed the large bag of “chocolate chips” Yona also found in her coltfriend’s room. “Wow, they had chocolate chips too?!” “Yeah, they were all in Sandbar’s hiking bag! Yona has no idea wh--BLECHHH!!” As soon as she ripped off the foil-packaging that sealed the tub of butter, she reeled back with a grossed-out wince. Silverstream cringed when she looked in the open tub, and saw what looked to be a bright green substance instead of creamy white. They looked oven more uneasy when they took a couple whiffs from the container, which was rather skunky and smelled nothing like butter. Ocellus turned to see both of them pouting in disappointment. “Uhhh, Yona may have gotten spoiled butter,” the yak admitted sadly. “Hmmm, is it though?” Silverstream decided to open the bag of chocolate chips, ripping the tag that read ‘Mary Jane’s Special-Infused Space-Chips’ before any of them could read it. Much like the other products, there was a number that warned how potent even a quarter-cup of the chocolates would be; but alas, since that number was also torn out of sight, Silverstream ended up pouring at least a few servings’ worth into her palm. She took a clawful of the laced chocolates, and popped them into her beak to chew studiously. Ocellus and Yona waited a moment before the hippogriff shrugged and held up the bag. “These seem fine.” “Hmmm…” Ocellus took the tub and sniffed the “butter” themself. They groaned with a wrinkled muzzle of their own, but was able to shrug and ask, “Ummm… could that just be the plant itself? Because the expiration date isn’t for a couple more months.” Yona took a hoof-full of the chocolate chips herself, and seemed hesitant to Ocellus’ point while chewing. She blinked a couple times with a peculiar look after swallowing, and asked, “Hey, Silverstream! Does chocolate have weird aftertaste, or is that just for yak?” “Mmm, no I kinda taste it too…” Silverstream’s beak skewed back and forth as she licked her teeth perplexedly. The chocolate itself tasted fine, but there was definitely an underlying bitterness with an almost… floral hint of some kind. She couldn’t put a talon on it, but it definitely had a difference from regular chocolate. She then sniffed that butter in Ocellus’ aura, and noted, “Well… maybe that’s the Cah-nah-bis leaves or something?” “Well, let’s hope so.” Ocellus sighed when they glanced over at the clock, and decided to trust Silverstream’s decision. Considering how much time they spent waiting for Yona to get more ingredients, they needed to really hustle to get the rest of the brownies baked. So despite that skunky aroma, Ocellus scooped the entire tub’s contents out into a saucepan. “I’ll get this warm enough to melt down before stirring it with the wet ingredients. I already added the vanilla, so be sure to measure out the…” Before Ocellus could even turn the burner on to begin heating the saucepan, they groaned when they saw Silverstream and Yona dump the whole bag of ‘Space Chips’ in the dry mixture. A light cloud of pondered sugar and cocoa powder poofed up and made the two reel back coughing. Ocellus rolled their eyes with a small chuckle, and began to stir that green oil mixture as best as they could with a plastic spatula. Yona came up from behind with a cheery smile, and surprised the changeling with a half-cup full of chocolate chips. “Does Ocellus want the rest of chocolate?~” Ocellus turned their head back at her with a smile. “Aww, thanks!” They took the cup with a gracious nod, and poured a few chips into their mouth while returning to their work. From there, the changeling just started to casually munch on the chocolates in their hoof while the solid oil began to melt in the pan. “Hmmmm… so, does Sandbar usually keep food in his hiking bag?” “Uh-huh! Sandbar got Gallus and Smolder to take up hiking with him as afternoon hobby! Yona wasn’t a fan of it, but a good girlfriend respects pony’s interests regardless.” Yona pointed at the empty containers and added, “That’s not even all of Sandbar’s hiking food! Pony has candy bars, gummy snacks, and even big baggies of spices! BUT! Yona only took what we needed, and even left a note with some bits to cover everything.” “Okay, I was just about to ask about that.” Silverstream moved the bowl of wet ingredients next to the stovetop, which allowed for Ocellus to carefully pour the freshly-melted oil atop the eggs and “vanilla.” They made sure to keep their horn lit up so the mixture was instantly chilled while pouring, and thus unable to scramble the liquified eggs. While the changeling poured, Silverstream was using a whisk to mix the ingredients together vigorously. “Hmmmm… wait, why would they need butter and spices for hiking trips?” “Hmmm… maybe for cooking meat, perhaps?” Ocellus shrugged after putting the emptied pan back on the stovetop and turning off the burner. “I mean, Gallus and Smolder both enjoy it, and Sandbar has local expertise in the area, so maybe he knows a private vendor somewhere.” “Pbbt! Oh, please!” Yona openly scoffed at such an assumption, and grabbed all the emptied containers which previously contained more THC than a Clawchella concert. Since those chocolate chips would take a while to kick in, the yak felt perfectly fine when she tossed the evidence of their accidental felonies into the trashbin. “No offense, but Yona know Sandbar pretty well. And Sandbar is not the kind of pony to help get things like animal meat…” She then turned around to face her friends with a wide and caring smile. “Sandbar is one of the most honest, morally sound ponies that Yona ever met. And if Sandbar had any secrets like that, Yona would’ve known already.”