//------------------------------// // The Proposition // Story: The Great Ponyville Bake-Off // by cooopercrisp //------------------------------// Chapter 4: The Proposition         When Twilight returned home that night, the heated conflict between her two friends was still fresh on her mind.         “Spike!” she called out, listening intently to see if he would respond. When she heard none, she sighed and began looking around the library. She checked the kitchen to see if he was cooking, but there was no aroma coming from the room. She checked the room upstairs to see if he was sleeping. She finally checked in the library proper, joking to herself that he might be doing chores. He was nowhere to be found.         Twilight slumped onto the floor and rubbed her temples. Just when I need to talk to him, he’s not here…         Suddenly the door opened and Spike snuck in. When he saw Twilight lying on the floor, he jumped and began to stammer.         “Twilight, I didn’t know you’d be home so early! Um...sorry I wasn’t here to get dinner ready. I had…”         “Spike, where were you?” Twilight asked.         “Well, I can have a life, can’t I?” Spike grumbled. “I was out with some friends.”         “Did you have fun?”         “Lots of fun,” he said with a smile. “But what are you doing lying on the floor? You look miserable.”         “Gee, thanks,” Twilight said with a smile. “Just what a young mare loves to hear.”         “I didn’t mean it like that!” Spike stammered, shaking his head. Twilight giggled and walked over to him, patting him on the head.         “Look, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself today,” Twilight said, “but I have a bit of a problem.”         “What’s up?” Spike asked. The two of them sat down on the couch in the library, Spike snuggling up against Twilight.         “It’s Applejack and Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said. “It’s that time of year again, when they get at each other’s throats over this stupid baking contest. But it’s even worse now because of who’s judging.”         “You mean you and the other princesses,” Spike clarified.         “Yes, and do you know what they were trying to do?” Twilight asked. “They were bribing me with food and favors so I’d judge them favorably in the bake-off! I didn’t think our friends would ever stoop that low.”         “I did,” Spike remarked.         “What?”         “Our friends have a knack for doing dumb things under pressure, you included.”         “Spike,” Twilight said with a frown, puzzling over his snarkiness. “Are you upset about not being able to participate in the contest?”         “Well, yeah,” Spike said. “I mean, I know it’s tradition like Winter Wrap Up is tradition, but why the heck do I have to sit back and watch other bakers show their stuff in front of royalty? I mean, I know you love my food, but I never got to know what Celestia or Luna or even Cadance thought.” Spike crossed his arms and turned away from Twilight.         “Spike. I’m really sorry you can’t compete, but maybe I can appeal to the mayor to see if we can’t change the rules for next year.”         “How about this year?” Spike grumbled. “I don’t want to wait all the way ’til next year.”         “Spike, the contestants have already entered,” Twilight said. “Pinkie and Applejack signed up immediately, and then Bon Bon and Lyra threw their hats in the ring. That’s all three slots filled.”         “Great. Just great! And I suppose Bon Bon and Lyra won’t even come close to winning. Would have been a perfect opportunity for me to compete.”         “Well, there’s nothing else I can do,” Twilight said.         “But you’re a princess! What good is being friends with a princess if she can’t do favors for you?”         Spike gasped and covered his mouth with his hands. Twilight was crestfallen and turned away to hide her sadness. Spike shook his head, cursing himself, before running over to Twilight.         “I’m so sorry,” Spike said. “You know we’re way closer than that, and I didn’t mean it.”         “I know you didn’t,” Twilight replied sadly. “I know you’re upset about the situation, and I’ll do my best to resolve it. Right now, though, I need to take some time to myself. It’s been a hectic day.”         “Okay, then,” Spike said. “Do you still need me to get the groceries tomorrow?”         “I can see the back of the fridge,” Twilight said with a smirk, “so yes, I need you to go.”         “No problem,” Spike said, patting Twilight on the back and leaving the room.         There has to be a way to get me in to compete, he thought, his brain whirring in the search for a solution. Suddenly an idea came to him, and he decided that before he went to get groceries tomorrow, he’d make a persuasive offer to a few ponies he knew…         Bon Bon and Lyra were sitting in the confectionary. Lyra had a notepad and a pencil hovering in front of her. Bon Bon was lazily flipping a coin that she had found on the ground. Lyra suddenly groaned and dropped the notepad and pencil.         “We do this every year!” she said in an outburst. “Why the heck do we keep signing up when we can’t think of anything original to bake?”         “Because perseverance is the key to success,” Bon Bon said. “And besides, the publicity is helpful, even if we don’t win.”         “It’d be a lot more helpful if we did,” Lyra muttered.         A few minutes later, the bell at the front of the store rang as Spike walked into the shop. Bon Bon rose and went behind the counter, beaming at him.         “What can I help you with today?” Bon Bon asked.         “I’m not here for a treat,” Spike said. “I actually wanted to make a proposition to you two.”         Lyra scoffed. “About what?”         “About the bake-off,” Spike said with a wicked grin. Lyra rolled her eyes, but Bon Bon stared at Spike intently.         “What about the bake-off?” she asked.         “Well, I know you guys struggle every year to come up with something,” Spike said.         “Hey!” Lyra shouted. “Bonnie and I have great ideas. It’s just bad luck that the two best bakers in Ponyville have ideas of their own.”         “Well, see, here’s the thing,” Spike said. “You two have something I want, and I have something to offer you that I think you want. What you have is a spot in the contest, but you need ideas. Well, I’ve been cooking and baking for a long time, so I have plenty of ideas. I figured with my help, we could come up with something delicious that’ll knock the socks off of the princesses!”         “Oh really?” Lyra asked, resting her chin on her hoof. “So what you’re saying is that you, a baby dragon, are a more competent baker than the two of us, who’ve been entering this contest for years?”         “Okay, well, take a look at this and see if it changes your mind,” Spike said. “It’s my own personal recipe.” He handed a parchment over to Bon Bon, who studied it carefully. Her jaw dropped, and she hustled over to Lyra and showed her the recipe. Lyra shook her head at first, but when she looked at what Spike had drawn out, her eyes bugged out.         “And you know this is gonna be good enough to win the bake-off?” she asked.         “Positive. I’ve already got one of the princesses to fall in love with my food, so that’s a free vote right there. And I’ve been working on this recipe for years, always hoping I could get past the ponies only rule and enter this competition. Well, now with your standing and my inspiration, we could win this thing. No, we will win this thing! Are you with me?”         “I’m with you!” Bon Bon cried, waving her hoof in the air. Lyra smirked and raised her hoof in the air.         “Might as well give it a shot,” she said.         “Okay, now, I’m gonna have to find a way to get out of the library long enough to help you two make the thing. Shouldn’t be too hard. Twilight’s pretty lenient on where I go during the weekends, and the bake-off is on a Sunday. So we have all weekend to bake this thing and blow them away!”         “Sounds great,” Bon Bon said. “I’ll work on getting the ingredients in the meantime.”         “And I’ll study up on the directions,” Lyra said. “I have a bit of a knack for following recipes.”         “Perfect. I’ll drop by the day before to bring it all together. Hooves in, everypony.”         Spike circled up with Bon Bon and Lyra, and each of them reached out with a limb.         “Cakes on three,” Spike said. “One, two, three.”         “CAKES!” they all shouted.         “Okay, I gotta go,” Spike said. “If anypony asks, I was looking for a box of truffles.”         “Or you could just buy a box of truffles now,” Bon Bon suggested.         “Would if I could,” Spike said, “but I didn’t bring any bits. That’s actually really clever though.”         “Then it’s on us,” Bon Bon decided. She went behind the counter and reached for the biggest box of truffles on the shelf. “It’s the least we can do to thank you for your help.”         “Don’t thank me until we win,” Spike said, “but I appreciate it.”         “No problem,” Bon Bon said. She and Lyra waved goodbye to Spike as he left the confectionary with a big grin on his face.