//------------------------------// // Epilogue: Master chef. // Story: Taking a chance on love // by Starlitomega //------------------------------// “I don’t know about this Pinkie….” Twilight’s breath hitched as her gaze moved between an incredibly intimidating pile of ingredients and a picture on a recipe card. A delicious chocolate cake featured prominently flanked by a pair of appropriately dressed baker ponies proudly beaming upon their magnum opus. Pinkie dashed to and from the pantry pulling out the pans and utensils needed for their project, “Don’t worry Twilight! It’s not as hard as it looks, you just take your time and follow the recipe and we’ll have a very special cake for our friends tonight in no time!” Thump! The unicorn’s head hit the table, her heart pounded in her chest like a wild animal desperate for escape and every fiber of her being wanted to run far and away, her legs twitched involuntarily begging her rational mind to follow suit. “But, but, but….. Pinkie…..” Pinkie rolled her eyes, “But, but, but, there’s so many buts in here it’s like an ass convention.” The pink pony ran over to the kitchen window and threw it open. “NO OFFEEEEEEENSE!” Pinkie put her hoof to her ear. “None taken.” echoed quietly from outside the sweet shop. Pinkie giggled and slammed the window shut resuming her hunt for the remaining tools of her trade. “But Pinkie, I’ve only baked once before and the princess’s taste tester was in the hospital for a week! What makes you think I can do it now?” Twilight asked holding her hooves to the sky in frustration. Before she could react, the party pony appeared behind her very close to the purple mare’s ears, her sweet smelling perfume reached her nose addling the unicorn’s mind. “Because you have me now, that’s why.” The pink pony spoke quietly in her ears. Just as Twilight adjusted to the bubble gum scent drowning her sensibilities, Pinkie pulled away continuing her jaunt through the kitchen. The unicorn smiled broadly at her friend and rolled her eyes skyward. “Ok, ok, you win. I’m still confused how we even get this started to begin with.” Twilight stared as her pink friend rubbed her chin apparently deep in thought. “Well, how about the same way you setup a telescope?” Pinkie announced seemingly proud of herself. The unicorn just shot her an angry glare. “That doesn’t make any sense! Baking and stargazing are two different things!” The pink pony just giggled in response, “So how do you setup your telescope?” “Well, I setup my telescope and identify the coordinates that-“ “No, no, no, I mean how do you set it up from the BEGINNING?” Pinkie interrupted. Twilight looked taken aback, “Wha, well, there is a precise step by step set of instructions you have to follow first, you can’t even use your telescope until you identify a good vantage spot, and don’t get me started on co-ordinates…” “A specific set of instructions huh…. You mean like THIS?” Pinkie asked thrusting the recipe card in her face. The unicorn blushed a strong crimson underneath her purple coat, “Ok, I get it, so just one step at a time from the beginning huh?” The pink pony broke into a giggling fit and petted her purple friend’s head, “Oh you’re so adorkable. Of course you start at the beginning. You don’t start singing a song halfway through do you? How about this, you take the lead and I’ll be your assistant. If you do something that might make the kitchen explode, I’ll just step in!” “Fine fine,” Twilight said brushing Pinkie’s hoof away, “The recipe says we need our oven at three hundred and fifty degrees.” Turning her eyes to the oven, the unicorn’s horn lit up with a red glow as well as the ovens knob until the proper number clicked into place. “Done, so now it says….” “AHEM!” Twilight’s purple eye’s tore away from the recipe meeting Pinkie’s across the room. “And what do you want ME to do miss super smarty pants pony?” the hyperactive mare asked Fluttering her eyes. Twilight’s eyes shot back down to the card, “Well, it says here we sift together two cups of flour, two cups of white sugar, and one teaspoon of baking soda. While you do that, I’ll……” her eyes glanced back down to the card, “I’ll grease and flour an eleven by seventeen inch sheet cake pan.” Twilight’s eyes fell back to the table, using her horn she grabbed one of the pieces laid out for their task. “Ummm, Twilight?” “Shouldn’t you be sifting the flour and stuff Pinkie?” The purple pony asked with a smug grin. “I will in just a moment….I just couldn’t help but notice that you’re greasing a measuring cup….” The pink pony remarked hesitantly.” “Oh, right, measuring cup…. Of course.” Her face blushed deeply again, she placed the cup and stick of butter gently down on the table and glared at the remaining utensils. Nervousness washed over her as she pointed to another pan. Pinkie shook her head, “That’s a bundt cake pan.” Sweat ran down the unicorn’s face in nervous anticipation as she pointed to another pan. The pink pony shook her head again, “That’s a cookie sheet…..” Twilight’s eyes danced all over the table, frustrated and out of patience she pointed to another pan. “That’s the one! I knew you’d get it eventually!” With a smile Pinkie turned her back and resumed her sifting duties. Twilight’s horn glowed again pulling a stick of butter and bowl of flour to her side of the table. Carefully she spread the stick evenly across the pan making sure to cover every square inch. “All done over here, what’s next for me master chef?” Looking up Twilight burst into laughter, “Oh Pinkie, your face! The flour goes in the bowl, not in your mane!” The party pony’s face was covered in a fine mist of flour. She trotted over to the window and looked at herself. “AIEEEEE! IT’S A GHOST!” Pinkie scrambled through the kitchen as if cartoon shotguns were firing in the distance. “Hold still goofball!” A washcloth with a red aura levitated over to the panicking pony and wiped the flour off. Pinkie glared into the window once again, a smile crossed her face as she seemed happy with the results. “Thanks Twilight, what’s next?” She asked firing a winning smile back at the amused mare. “Hmmmm, it says here we stir in two eggs, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, and one half cup of buttermilk.” Pinkie bounced away again, “Okey dokey, consider it done!” Twilight steeled herself and continued reading the recipe. Using her magic she pulled over what she assumed was the saucepan and prepared the next set of ingredients, “Now I just mix one half cup of butter, one half cup of oil, one half cup of cocoa powder, and one cup of milk and bring it to a boil and then stir.” She placed the load of ingredients in the pan and marched over to the stovetop setting the fire to high before placing the saucepan on top. “Now all we have to do is wait.” The purple mare stared intently at the pot watching for any sign of movement. “Ummmmm, Twilight? A watched pot never boils!” The unicorn glanced across at her friend, “Right, let’s see what else we can do for now.” Her eyes scanned down the card reading carefully their next task, “Let’s see, let’s go ahead and put the two mixtures we have together.” She watched as Pinkie Bounded over to the flour mixture, grabbed the bowl, and dumped it into the bowl eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Using a nearby spoon she set to work stirring the goopy concoction until it was nice and even. Seemingly satisfied with the result, she put the bowl down on the table and pointed over Twilight’s shoulder “Better check your mix!” Twilight’s eye bugged out. She dashed over to the stove and removed the saucepan from the fire just before the whole mess overflowed. “Whew, that was close….” Stirring the mixture gently she watched as the various ingredients mixed until the colors and textures evened out. Satisfied with the result she brought the pan over to the mixing bowl, “Stir away faithful assistant!” With a cheerful nod Pinkie stirred frenetically making sure every last bit was properly mixed together. “All done! Now what my master chef?” Twilight’s eyes fell onto the card once more, “Now we pour it in the pan and bake for fifteen to twenty minutes.” With her horn aglow, the purple pony poured the mixture into the pan using the spoon to get as much as she could out of the bowl. Pinkie took the spoon and evened the mixture out until it was level and passed it to her friend with a smile. Cake pan in tow, Twilight marched over to the oven, and opened the door. Her mind reeled as a wave of hot air hit her in the face sending her backwards. Her magic faltered releasing the pan. “Gotcha!” In one hoof the pink pony held the cake pan, in the other Twilight. “Always, always, ALWAYS, take a step back when you open the oven.” It was a suitably new feeling having someone catch her before she fell. The purple pony reveled in it, absorbed in her friend’s soft touch. “Thanks Pinkie, Let’s try that again.” Steadying herself she walked back over to the oven and placed the cake inside carefully on the center rack. “Now what do we do?” “Now we wait!” The cotton candy colored pony announced proudly. Twilight’s face fell visibly, “But, what’ll we do for fifteen minutes?” “I have some ideas…….” ~ Twilight groaned in frustration, her eyes rolled in the back of her head. Pinkie was playing with her, she had to be. She just knew it! She twitched involuntarily in anticipation of the party pony’s next move. Would she hit the right spot this time? Could she walk away happy before the timer went off? Pinkie’s hoof moved deftly with skill and expertise sealing Twilight’s fate. “WOOOO!!! I win again! Diagonals baby! Read ‘em and weep!” Twilight’s face hit the table in frustration erasing her latest defeat. “Ok, Ok, you win miss tic-tac-toe champion! Out of twenty-two games you’d think I could win one of them….” DING! Both ponies rushed over to the oven. Careful to keep a little distance she opened the oven door slowly only to be greeted by a bare, yet still delicious looking cake. “Sooooo it’s done?” Twilight asked hopefully. “Here!” Using her magic the unicorn caught the object in mid-air, “A toothpick?” “Uh-huh! It’s an old baker’s trick. You push the toothpick in and pull it out and if it comes out clean the cake is done!” Pinkie said with a smile, clearly happy to impart such arcane knowledge onto the new baker. Following the party pony’s guidance she did as instructed and pulled the toothpick out carefully inspecting it for any cake bits. “Clean as a whistle, now what?” “Noooooow we wait again for the cake to cool, and then it’s frosting time!” “Ughhhhh, more waiting? Can’t we speed it up somehow?” Pinkie shook her head, “Not if you want it done right. Waiting is part of the experience of baking. You don’t ask the stars to move faster when you look in your telescope do you? “ Twilight started to raise her hoof in objection, “But that…. Well…stop making sense, you’re scaring me!” ~ Staring down at the finished product left Twilight in a state of shock. Fully frosted and suitably delicious looking, pride filled the unicorn’s heart. “It looks incredible. I can’t even believe we made it!” “I told you it’d be easy with me by your side!” Pinkie said nudging her friend in her ribs. “This is so amazing! I’m gonna put it on display for everyone to see until the party tonight.” Twilight picked up the pan carefully with her magic marching the cake towards the door leading to the front part of the shop. “Wait, Twilight!” Twilight glanced back at Pinkie. Several parts of the mare’s body started to twitch, “Ear flop, eye flutter, knee twitch….. That doesn’t even make sense! There’s not gonna be a rainbow today, there isn’t even a cloud in the sky!” The right side of the swinging door flew open sending the cake flying back into the unicorn’s face. Frosting and bits of fluffy cake fell to the ground along with the purple mare who crumpled to the ground in pain. “Uhhh, Twilight, that combo meant-“ “Yes, yes, opening doors, I figured that out.” She glared at the open door staring back at Mrs. Cake who bore an apologetic look on her face. Twilight’s heart sank a little bit staring at the mess covering her belly. “All that work and we didn’t even get to eat it….” Suddenly she looked up to see Pinkie staring at her with a strange look in her eyes. “No, wait Pinkie, NOOOOO!” Twilight laughed uncontrollably as the pink pony dug in eating the bits of cake directly off of her stomach. Giggling madly Twilight feebly tried to push her friend away. “Oh Celestia! I can’t breathe! At least let me catch my breath!” “Party pooper!” The pony said sticking out her tongue while the purple mare recovered from the laughter fit. Looking back at Pinkie’s chocolate covered face, Twilight couldn’t think of a more honorable sacrifice of a cake. She reached up and pulled Pinkie’s lips to hers. The unicorn’s mind reeled at the taste of the leftover chocolate cake mixed with her pink friend’s natural flavor. Her partner offered no resistance to her exploring tongue and simply melted into the glorious moment. After what felt like an eternity, their lips separated beaming at each other in half lidded eyes. Twilight pulled Pinkie’s ears close to her lips. “You realize we have to make another one don’t you?” She whispered softly, taking in the heady scents of sweetness swirling about her. “You say that like it’s a bad thing…but first we have to finish cleaning this one up…..” Pinkie pulled away flashing a devious smile at the mare beneath her. “Oh Celestia, no, please, NOT AGAIN!!!” Twilight fell back into a fit of uncontrollable laughter as Pinkie finished the job she started so earnestly. ~ This story, is now complete for the time being. this last chapter is a little bit of me trying to be more descriptive and improve myself a bit. please tell me how you feel about it. Also, it took every fiber of my being and will not to throw a super mario rpg reference in here. hope you enjoyed it.