//------------------------------//
// Chapter Nine: Pinkie Challenged 
// Story: What do I win? 
// by HapHazred 
//------------------------------//

It was a beautiful morning in Ponyville, but Pinkie wasn't standing out on her doorstep to admire the weather. She was waiting for the ponies she'd be entertaining today, and she had just the challenge ready for them: baking. 

Whatever, however... anything went as far as Pinkie was concerned. But after today, she'd know for sure who was the better baker: Applejack, or Rainbow Dash. Personally, she was leaning towards Applejack. She had all that apple experience, which had to count for something... but then, there was no underestimating Dashie. She had surprised everypony with both her art and mathematical skills, so why not baking too?

Pinkie licked her lips in anticipation: she couldn't wait to get her hooves on whatever goodies those two were going to churn out.

Fluttershy and Twilight arrived together. 

"Good morning... did you have a good night's re-" Fluttershy began, before her face was brutally grabbed by Pinkie.

"Of course I didn't! I couldn't sleep I was so exited!" Pinkie declared, not in the least annoyed or disappointed. In fact she seemed galvanized by her lack of rest, spurred on in the way only fatigue could manage.

"Well, um, that's nice.. I guess."

Twilight rubbed her eyes: she hadn't slept particularly well either. She had felt bad for Applejack, and thought that she was, at least partially, responsible for what had happened, even if she had only had the best of intentions. When her eyes cleared, she saw Rarity trotting towards them.

"Well, look who's arrived." she said, smiling.

"Why did you have to schedule this early? Just because the sun is up doesn't mean we should be too." Rarity complained. She scanned the horizon for any sign of the only two ponies absent. "Where are those tw-"

"Up here."

All eyes turned to the skies.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were balanced together on top of Sugarcupe corner. Rainbow was smiling confidently, her chest stuck out imposingly as she held the insecure earth pony in place. Applejack, nervous at being so high up, was still doing her best to measure up to Rainbow.

"Oh. You're up there." Twilight commented.

"Science teach you that?" Rainbow asked derisively. "We flew. I admit, I might still be a little hung over from yesterday, and I shouldn't really be flying... but miss sleepy-head here didn't wake me up in time, and we were gonna' be late."

"Hey! I woke you up when I did!"

"Yeah, which was late."

Applejack gave up. There was no reasoning with Rainbow Dash when she was hung over.

"Whatever. You gonna tell 'em, or am I?"

"You stealing my spotlight, Apples?" Rainbow challenged. Applejack gave her a friendly nudge, which almost sent both of them falling from the rooftop in a clumsy mess. Rainbow coughed, and turned back to Pinkie.

"We've got a few changes for today, Pinkie." Rainbow declared. Pinkie gasped.

"Ooh! I love surprises! What is it, what is it?"

"We're not going to be baking off against each other." Rainbow said. She glanced over at Applejack. "It is baking right? That's what you said?"

Applejack nodded. "That's what she said."

They both went silent before Rainbow shook Applejack gently, indicating that it was her turn to speak. Applejack cleared her throat.

"Heh. We're going to be cooking against you." she said. "Together."

Pinkie pawed the ground as she considered the new challenge, her mouth beginning to draw the face of a mare intrigued.

"You're ignoring all the rules you set up... so you can bake together?" she asked. Rainbow and Applejack nodded.

"Yup. Ignorin' the lot of them." Applejack replied.

"Maliciously."

Pinkie chuckled.

"You guys know I'm the best when it comes to making things that taste nice, right?" she pointed out. "And because you broke the rules, I get a partner, too."

Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"Pick whoever."

"Rarity."

Rarity held up a hoof to her chest, surprised.

"Why me?"

Pinkie grinned.

"Because nopony can make things look pretty like you can! We're going to make the bestest baking team ever!"

Rainbow grabbed a hold of Applejack and carefully glided down to the ground. Applejack almost threw up: she too, was rather hung-over, and it was obvious for all to see that she wasn't quite as comfortable in high places as Rainbow Dash was. Rarity trotted to Pinkie's side, and both teams solemnly bowed to each other before they entered the building.

It was Rarity who noticed they might have a space problem first.

"Pinkie... this kitchen can't accommodate everypony." she said. Pinkie shrugged.

"Rainbow Dash and Applejack can head to my room. I have a spare kitchen up there... in case of kitchen emergency."

Rainbow Dash nodded, and forcefully pulled Applejack up the stairs. Pinkie called up after them.

"You have until lunch! Then,..." she said, rubbing her hooves together gleefully, "... we dine!"

Applejack stopped Rainbow before they crossed the threshold into Pinkie's room.

"You promise to tell after we win?" she asked. Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Of course. Once you win, of course."





Pinkie was a tornado of activity: leaping from every corner, cupboard and cooking appliance, she threw flour and eggs and sugar and everything she needed from their places of residence, the ingredients soaring through the air and landing in whatever recipient she had left out for them. Rarity just looked on, merely a spectator in Pinkie's grand opera of cooking.

The eggs were whisked, the ingredients mixed, the icing made, all in record time. Everything was perfect: Pinkie, practically raised by the Cakes and a deft cook even before their tutelage, was possibly one of the best trained bakers in all of Ponyville, with the exception of her landlords, of course.

"Could you slow down? I can't keep up." Rarity complained, even her talents not able to make the decorations for the cupcakes fast enough. Pinkie exploded from the ceiling, grinning maniacally.

"Nope! I've never been challenged to baking before! This is so exiting!"

"But you'll have more cupcakes than you will decorations at this point! Please, darling, do slow down a little."

Pinkie sighed.

"Okay... but I'll be even more super duper careful instead!"

Rarity smiled. Everypony looked up as they heard a muffled explosion from upstairs. Rarity widened her eyes.

"Heavens! What do you think they're doing up there?"

Pinkie Pie shrugged.

"Don't worry! I blow things up all the time when I cook things. Just watch!"

"Pinkie, no! Please do-"





Rainbow Dash dropped the baking tray, it's edges glowing faintly after it absorbed most of the heat from the explosion. She shook her hooves, trying to cool them off as they let off a faint trail of smoke.

"Well, there goes that batch."

"Aw, shoot, sugarcube. I think we just lost our second bag of flour." Applejack said, peering from behind the overturned table she had used as a barricade. Rainbow Dash plunged her hooves into a bucket of cold water, moaning as the liquid healed her hooves in a flash.

"How did we manage to lose two? And who knew flour could evaporate in the first place?"

"It can explode too, apparently." Applejack said, and threw herself over her cover to get to the oven. She pulled out the battered carcass of the battered bag of flour they had previously stuffed inside the oven. "I'll salvage what little we have left..." she said, and dipped her hoof inside the smoking ashes of their prime ingredient. She licked the dust off, and tilted her head slightly. "Not too bad, all things considered."

"Applejack... we need to rev things up a bit, here." Rainbow declared. Applejack frowned.

"We just killed two bags of flour and melted most of the sugar into a strange... hard... thing."

Rainbow Dash nodded, only a little less optimistic after their recent culinary mishap.

"Yeah, and it was awesome. I totally love my new helmet." she said, and tapped the side of the hardened sugar that currently rested on her head. "But we're not actually supposed to be making edible (-ish) armour, we're meant to be making muffins."

Applejack sighed.

"Yeah... I'm sorry, sugarcube, but I'm not sure we can win this one."

There goes my hopes of winning Rainbow's bet...

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"Not with that attitude. Give me all the ingredients!" 

Applejack looked at what remained from their enthusiastic experiments: the room looked like a war-zone, and even though she had never had quite so much fun in her life before, it didn't look promising.

"I'm just bein' realistic... I want to win as much as you do."

Both stared at each other for a short while. Applejack didn't quite realize it at first, but in fact, for the first time in a while, she actually wanted to win more than Rainbow Dash. She might not be optimistic about their chances, but whilst Rainbow had nothing to lose, their deal the night before gave Applejack far more incentive than Rainbow Dash could ever have. Applejack picked up the burnt bag of flour and threw it to Rainbow Dash.

"Do it."

Rainbow Dash cackled insanely, her eyes growing wider than ever as she poured everything she had  into one, massive bowl. Applejack felt that perhaps she should reign her in, but found herself inexplicably pulled along for the ride. This was the Rainbow Dash she had somehow fallen in love with: full of life and haphazard, stubborn attitude. 

Applejack searched around for all their remaining ingredients: some of which she had to scoop, scrape, and scavenge from the floor. Eggs, sugar, cream, blueberries... the whole lot of it went into the bowl.

Rainbow Dash removed her helmet with a sigh.

"Farewell, my friend." she said, and dropped it into the cavernous maw of the bowl. Applejack gently put her hoof on Rainbow's side as she watched the accessory sink into the depths of their 'cooking'. 

"It's okay, sugarcube... she had a good life."

Rainbow Dash nodded.

"I know." 

Rainbow turned bravely towards the rest of their ingredients.

"Throw the rest in."

A few minutes later, the bowl, as large as it was, was almost overflowing. Applejack picked up the muffin tray, which they had used previously as a shield. It still bore a significant dent from one of their encounters with the eggs.

"Pour."

Rainbow poured, the thick fluid heaping into the holes, flowing into the shapes they were meant to be. 

"Put the oven on maximum."

Applejack hesitated.

"Rainbow, she can't take it!"

"Do it!"

Applejack muttered a quick prayer, hoping the oven would hold out, and then flicked all the switches. The oven began to glow an alarming blue colour. Rainbow began laughing, her last ounce of sanity blown away by the roaring heat of the oven. Applejack, despite everything, despite the fact that the oven would doubtless explode again and they would be catapulted across the room, despite her feelings and the challenges, found herself having more fun than she could remember herself having.






...

"...well that was disappointing." Rainbow commented as they pulled the messy tangle of 'muffins' out of the oven: they looked a strange, unhealthy green colour. Rainbow Dash tapped one of then, trying to see what kind of texture and consistency they had. The resulting sound was hollow.

"Uh, Ah think we're out of time." Applejack said, and then looked around the kitchen. "And ingredients."

Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Uh, yeah.I think this it is, AJ."

Applejack tried pulling out one of the muffins to hold: they were stuck fast. After a few seconds tugging, she gave up.

"We'll just give this to Pinkie."

"Yeah... good idea."





"...and there!"

Rarity finished the final touch on their cupcakes, which were delicate little things indeed. There were six different kinds: one for each of them, and each had their own taste, colour, and artistic design. Pinkie was buzzing with energy: she couldn't wait to get her friends to try them.

"We'd better take these outside to give to the others, huh?" she said. 

Rainbow Dash and Applejack both entered the room, their own 'creation' hidden beneath a small dishcloth, but even the thick material couldn't hide the faint blue glow. 

"How'd your stuff go?" Rainbow asked. Pinkie grinned.

"Excellent! They're so pretty... there are six different types, and six of each, so we can all enjoy each and every one."

Applejack looked a little overwhelmed as she stared at the massive pile of thirty six cupcakes: each so pristine and elegant.

"We, uh, made six. All the same... we think."

Pinkie shrugged.

"That's okay... it's quality that counts, not quantity! What do they look like?"

Rainbow Dash threw the dishcloth off. Pinkie's eye twitched as she tried her very best to find something positive to say. After a few minutes, she finally noticed something she could use.

"Wow! They change colour! It was totally blue when you brought them in! Now they're red!"

"We think that might be radiation." Rainbow Dash explained. "I'm sure Twilight will have some healing spell for us, though."

"It's really pretty..."

Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Yeah, I thought so too."

Rarity decided it was time to butt in.

"Well, if they are radioactive, let's not waste time and eat them as soon as possible." she said. "There's a scentence I never thought I'd say..." 

She picked up her cupcakes, the magical glow of her unicorn horn making them seem even more divine than usual. 

Applejack's heart sank even deeper, practically plummeting into her stomach by this point: it looked like they had lost. And now she was pretty much at Rainbow Dash's mercy.

Curse that mare.

All the other ponies were waiting around their table, chatting amongst themselves as they waited for their delicious treats. Their eyes glowed with lust as they saw what Pinkie and Rarity had made: the pair were indeed a magnificent baking team.

They each went for their own style of cupcake first, and one by one, they found they were delicious. But the real fun was in trying everypony else's: and finding out that each cupcake, did indeed 'feel' like the friend in question. It was uncanny.

"These are excellent!"

"I love them."

Even Applejack had to admit they were brilliant, even though she wished she could claim the contrary. When it came to her own muffins, everypony blanched slightly.

Maybe Applejack should have made them eat Pinkie's first... that way they'd be able to get rid of the taste.

"Um..." Twilight began, but Pinkie Pie stopped her mid-sentence.

"Don't worry... I'll be the first to try them." she said. "I like everything, so you can't disappoint me!"

Pinkie secretly felt she was about to be proven wrong, but for her friends, she tried getting one of the muffins out of the tray. After a second of thought, finding that she couldn't even get them to budge, she poked out the bottom of the tray, making the muffins pop out like pills from a packet.

She tried biting into one, and almost broke her teeth. After a short hesitation, she threw the whole thing down into her mouth.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash sincerely hoped they wouldn't kill their friend.

Instead, Pinkie's look was one of confusion.

"Wh- mmf. These are... mmh. These are really good!"

Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked amazed. For that matter, so did the others. Pinkie began bouncing up and down.

"These are delicious! How- how did you do it? What did you put in this?" she asked.

The other ponies also began attacking the muffins. Rainbow had no idea how to explain to Pinkie that part of those muffins was actually a helmet made of sugar, so she remained silent. Pinkie looked at Rainbow... then Applejack, and then Rainbow again, scanning their every move and investigating their every expression. Eventually, she went utterly silent as she began to smile.

"Oh... oh I see." she said. She smiled conspiratorially. "Well played, you two... well played."

Twilight examined the muffin carefully.

"Have you guys noticed they change colour?" she asked.

"Yes. We're a bit worried about that, actually." Rainbow replied, a her face darkening ever so slightly as she once again considered the possibility that there was a serious risk to their health.

Pinkie Pie suddenly squeezed Rainbow and Applejack together, beaming happily. "Oh, I'm so happy for you two!" she exclaimed. "But you could have just told me that you were in love!"

Applejack stared blankly at her friends, each and ever one of them savouring her strange and mysterious muffins.

"D-do we win?" she asked. Rainbow Dash nudged her in the side.

"'Course you win."

"B-but we blew up the kitchen..."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean you win because your answer is yes."

Applejack felt her stomach clench up, but not in fear. "You mean that?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Of course I do... how could I say no?" She grabbed a hold of Applejack and dragged her as close as she could, pressing herself against Applejack. "I was just messing with you. You know, like you did to 'get me off my 'fat' flank and do something productive'?"

Applejack snorted indignantly.

"Well I..."

"Come on, you knew I was playing you."

Applejack did.

"I hate you." she said.

"I love you too." Rainbow Dash replied, and finally closed the gap, small though it might have been, between her lips and Applejack's. Everypony cheered a little (except Twilight, who was still examining the muffin in rapt fascination), although none quite so much as Rarity and Pinkie Pie: Rarity because she had been betting on Applejack from the start, and Pinkie because she liked making noise, giving her a significant advantage in cheering over, say, Fluttershy.

"Do you mind if I take this back home? I'd just love to run some tests... oh."

Twilight finally saw had transpired in the meantime. Her jaw dropped a little.

Rainbow and Applejack finally pulled apart. 

"This productive enough for you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Uhm... very."

"Do you two want to be left alone? Because I think there's some sort of friendship magic in these muffins, and I'd love to examine them closely."

Neither mare paid attention to Twilight, since both were enjoying the warmth of the other and staring into each others eyes.

"There's still 'bout four more days of Sun Season left... Do you want to hang out?" Applejack asked.

The other mare nuzzled Applejack fondly.

"I'm not sure... I don't think I can lift my 'fat' flank someplace better..."

Applejack rolled her eyes.

"Am I ever going to live that down?"

"Nope. My flank is not fat."