//------------------------------// // The Results // Story: The Great Ponyville Bake-Off // by cooopercrisp //------------------------------// Chapter 6: The Results         The judges leaned in close to each other and begin deliberating about their ranks. Each judge was to rank the three entrants in order of satisfaction with the dessert. The contestants with the most points would win the competition.         Applejack and Pinkie Pie both knew this, and they were grinding their teeth in anticipation of the results. They avoided looking at each other, the trash talking now over because there was nothing more to be done but wait for the judges.         Bon Bon and Lyra, however, were looking quite calm and actually speaking amicably with one another. Applejack glanced over at them and raised an eyebrow. What are they so confident about? They’re third every year!         The judges broke and returned to their seats, signaling to Rarity that they were done deliberating. Rarity moved over to the scoreboard, ready to mark it with tallies based on how many points each entrant would receive.         “And now, the judges will present their scores!” Rarity announced. The crowd stomped their hooves and there was an excited buzz in the air.         “Shining Armor, your ranks, please,” Rarity called out to him.         Shining Armor lifted a white board with his scores. Bon Bon and Lyra had scored the best with 2 points. Pinkie Pie was second with 1, and Applejack got nothing. Applejack cursed angrily, while Pinkie just looked confused.         “And so Bon Bon and Lyra take an early lead!” Rarity proclaimed as she marked the scoreboard. “Next we have Princess Cadance!”         Princess Cadance lifted her board. Once again, Bon Bon and Lyra scored the most points, with Applejack in second this time. Rarity marked the board accordingly while Pinkie looked at Cadance with shock. Applejack bit her lip nervously.         “The totals so far are Bon Bon and Lyra with four points, and Applejack and Pinkie Pie each at one. May we see the results from Princess Luna?”         Luna raised her scoreboard. To Applejack’s delight, she had rated her pie first. Bon Bon and Lyra got second with their cake, and Pinkie was once again dead last.         “We now have five to Bon Bon and Lyra, three to Applejack, and one for Pinkie!” Rarity called. “Let’s see the results from Twilight Sparkle.”         Twilight hesitated to raise her scoreboard, but when she did, Applejack and Pinkie were both shocked. She had ranked Bon Bon and Lyra’s cake first place!         “Twilight!” Applejack called. “What in the hay are you doing?”         “Yeah, what gives?” Pinkie shouted.         “I couldn’t decide between the two of you!” Twilight responded. “Besides, the cake was really good!”         “So why’d you rank Pinkie’s over mine?” Applejack called out. “Is she a better friend than I am?”         “Pinkie’s blend of flavors was more interesting! I’m sorry, Applejack!”         Rarity marked the scoreboard quickly.         “Settle down, please!” she requested over the stirring crowd. “So that’s Bon Bon and Lyra with seven points, three for Applejack, and two for Pinkie.         “And now the winner is official!” Rarity cried, “but we have yet to determine second and third place! Princess Celestia, your scores, please.”         Celestia raised her board, and Pinkie had scored the best. Bon Bon and Lyra scored second place, and Applejack was once again dead last.         “The final results are in!” Rarity announced. “Applejack takes third place with three votes, Pinkie is second place with four, and Bon Bon and Lyra win the contest with seven! May I present the contestants with their ribbons?”         Applejack, Pinkie, and Bon Bon walked over to Rarity to be awarded their ribbons. Applejack looked disgusted with her white ribbon, and Pinkie was not much happier with red. Bon Bon, however, was overjoyed with winning the very first blue ribbon for Lyra and her. She bounded back over to Lyra and gave her a big hug, while Pinkie and Applejack made their way directly to Twilight.         “What happened up there?” Applejack shouted at Twilight. Now that the crowd was dispersing, she felt no qualms about complaining to her friend. Pinkie quickly caught up and glared at Twilight as well.         “I don’t know what to tell you,” Twilight said. “We picked the best baked good of the contest. Bon Bon and Lyra just outperformed you.”         “Well, I call baloney on that!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Applejack and I always make the superior baked goods! I think Bon Bon and Lyra cheated!”         “How could they have possibly cheated?” Twilight asked.         “Fixin’ the cake with illegal ingredients,” Applejack muttered.         “Only because that’s what you did last year,” Pinkie snapped. “Of course you’d think of that right off the bat!”         “Girls, please stop fighting!” Twilight pleaded. “Don’t you see what happened? You were so focused on beating each other that you failed to live up to your baking potential. Honestly, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”         “How dare you!” Applejack spat. “You picked Bon Bon and Lyra over the both of us. What kind of a friend does that?”         “A friend who focuses on the quality of the entrants over politics,” Twilight said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to help clean up.”         Twilight left her friends both aghast, but there was nothing more she could do for them. They turned to each other and sighed.         “Well, looks like you outdid me this year,” Applejack said. “I suppose congratulations are in order.”         “I’m not surprised,” Pinkie said. “We had the more creative idea for sure.”         Applejack groaned. “Look, Pinkie, can we forget about the rivalry for a second? Maybe Twilight had a point about us fightin’ so much. Maybe we should’ve just focused on the contest instead of snipping at each other like foals. I’m sorry for the way I treated you.”         “Oh, Applejack,” Pinkie said, “I’m sorry, too.” The two of them hugged. With that animosity now discarded, they began to chat with each other about their ideas for next year’s fair.         Twilight was in her room, feeling exhausted after an eventful day. I wonder if I should ever be a judge again, she thought. I treated my friends so poorly!         Spike slunk into the room looking very uncomfortable. Twilight put her own worries aside to address those of her oldest friend.         “What’s the matter, Spike?” she asked.         “I kinda have a confession to make,” Spike said. “But you have to promise you won’t tell anypony else.”         “Whatever you want, Spike. Now what is it?”         “It was my recipe,” Spike said. “I came up with the recipe for Bon Bon and Lyra’s cake. I helped them bake it, too. I know dragons aren’t allowed to participate, and I figured it was the only way I could get a shot at competing in the contest.”         Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, eliciting a smile back from Spike. “I always thought that was a silly rule anyway,” she said. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”         “Thanks, Twilight,” Spike said. “You’re still gonna try to change the rules for next year, right?”         “Of course, but I can get started with that tomorrow. It’s time for bed. We’ve had a long day.”         Spike crawled into his basket and Twilight snuggled into her sheets and turned out the light. I thought that cake tasted familiar...