//------------------------------// // Chapter #Toast // Story: Morning Slice // by toastman //------------------------------// Twilight stood against her counter, watching in agony as her toaster worked to produce one of her favorite parts of each morning. This was always the hardest part. She knew that in order to convert each slice of bread into a delicious treat, she would have to put it in the toaster, but it always seemed to take far too long for it to finish. She had one hoof curled around a tub of butter, and another was stationed above the toaster, ready to catch the toast as it popped out. She had contemplated adding cinnamon to today's slice, but eventually decided against it. She just wasn't ready for that kind of excitement yet. As she waited, she tried to imagine what life would be like without toast. After a few seconds, however, she realized that her mind, advanced as it is, could not comprehend such an impossibility. What was it that made toast so great? Surely there was something tastier than a crispy version of bread... She thought back to all her adventures, her battles with evil forces, her journey to learn all she could about the magic of friendship. She had always unwound the next morning with a glass of milk and a slice of toast. Why not something else though? Pancakes were delicious. So were muffins! Toast could never match the intense flavors of such legendary breakfast pieces! Why is it, then, that toast was always her preferred method of relaxing in the morning? Maybe toast didn't need to taste so amazing. Maybe it was its simplicity that made it the ideal choice in breakfast items. Toast never asks for anything. It doesn't require silverware or an assortment of ingredients that need to be mixed together in a bowl and baked for 15 minutes before you can properly enjoy them. It just requires that you have bread and a heat source. Toast doesn't drag you off on some dangerous mission where the fate of Equestria rests in the balance. Toast doesn't even want you to leave the kitchen. It's perfectly content with any place you want to be. Twilight thought of her friends and how much she loves them all. The quality of her life greatly improved when she met them, but they could be a handful at times. Fluttershy is so sensitive, Rainbow Dash never stays put, Applejack is constantly working, Pinkie Pie is insane, and Rarity is soooooo dramatic! Toast seemed like the perfect counterbalance to their flaws, not that she loved them any less for it... Toast was scared of nothing. Even when its demise is inevitable, it faced its challenges head on without fear. It doesn't even flinch when you munch away at it, destroying it piece by piece. It's probably among the bravest things out there without even really trying to be. Toast is always relaxed. It lets you sit back and enjoy it at your own pace. Never once has it challenged Twilight to a race, or any competition for that matter. It's fine with doing absolutely nothing for however long you want. Toast is never too busy to hang out with you. Its schedule always seems to be free of any obligations or prior arrangements. It isn't exactly hard working, but it doesn't need to be. It's toast! Toast is among the least confusing things in the universe. It can't teleport from place to place, and it can't predict the future with seemingly meaningless twitches and shakes. It's simple. You cook it, and then you eat it. Nothing to it. Toast is always calm and collected. It will never overreact to anything, no matter how dreadfully awful things are getting for it. It will sit there and take any bad news with dignity and reserve. All these things are great, but in the end, it makes toast kind of dull. Toast doesn't react to anything, nor does it elicit a reaction from anything else. It's relaxed and leisurely, but sometimes things are more satisfying when there's a bit of pressure working against you. Toast is always free, but it makes time spent with it seem a little meaningless. Why bother having it now, when you can have it literally whenever you want? It's completely predictable, which makes it bland and provides no opportunities for it to contrast with the everyday events in any significant way. It doesn't seem to care about anything, no matter how bad or good things are getting. It just sits there, waiting for something to happen to it, to which it will not respond. So maybe toast wasn't the most exciting or memorable part of her day,but it still proved to be just the thing to ease the tension of everyday life for the Element of Magic. While cake and cookies were great, nothing could quite compare to the warm, welcoming sensation of a nice slice of bread, toasted to perfection and coated with a thin layer of butter. So deep was Twilight in thought, that she almost didn't notice the ding sound of her toaster going off. She grabbed her slice of toast, preferring the traditional method of handling things rather than her magic for this occasion, and spread butter as evenly as she could across the top. Or was it the bottom? One of the wonderful things about toast is that it really doesn't matter. It would still be a perfectly good slice of toast even if it was upside down. As Twilight sunk her teeth into the wonderful combination of wheat and dairy, she wondered what would be in store for her today. Would she be heading to the Everfree forest to fend off some Timberwolves, or maybe she'd attend a party thrown in celebration of the fact that it was Wednesday. Who knows? Right now, all the excitement she needed was contained within a single slice of toast.