//------------------------------// // Pizza (17) // Story: Summoned // by BlackWing //------------------------------// Pizza I'm switching to first person. It's a pain in the flank writing 3rd pony POV "So Serenity, what kind of trouble can we get into in the kitchen?" She blushed as I realized what it must have sounded like I said. I blushed slightly as well before recovering the situation. "Oh you, I mean what can we cook?" "I don't know anything about cooking Alex, besides, you're the chef, remember?" "Well then, how about a pizza?" "Piz-zah?" She tilted her head to the side. "Do NOT tell me that you don't have pizza here in Canterlot, they have it in Ponyville, that I know for sure." "Okay, I won't say it......" "What do ponies eat around here anyways?" "Well, mostly hay, grass, flowers, and vegetables. There's some dairy.... stuff like peanuts......" "Right....boring food, got it. Okay, pizza is a dish made by flattening dough, then adding tomato sauce, shredded cheese, and then your choice of topping. While the most popular ones on earth are made with meat, that's obviously not an option here, so we'll go with vegetarian options. You can top it with fruit or vegetables of any kind, although to make sure they don't dry out, it's better to add them when the cooking is partway done, so that they're just nicely soft by the time it's done. Add some herbs and spices, then throw it in the oven till the crust is nice and browned. It's absurdly easy to make, and you can't really go wrong unless you go overboard with the spices or burn it. Just wait here, I'll get the ingredients then show you how." I came back with two bags of flour from storage, then took a load of vegetables from the fridge. Thankfully, they had tomato sauce, because it's a pain to make from scratch and takes forever. Washing hands and hooves both, I started by mixing the flour and water into dough, until I had a mass of it, then split it in two and passed half to Serenity. "Now, just do as I do." I started humming a little tune, and suddenly, music began to play. I was going to question it, but I chocked it up to magic and just focused on the task ahead of me. I spread the dough out, Serenity following my lead, then I began spinning it. Then to my surprise, we both began to sing.... in Italian. Which is fine and all, except that I don't even know Italian. I started spinning the dough, tossing it up into the air. The unarmored night guard at my side tried to mimic, but comically threw hers too high. It almost hit the ceiling, and just as it was about to fall on her head, I salvaged it by catching it with my left hand and spun both before laying them on the marble counter top. She smirked at me, her yellow eyes and mane a stark contrast against her dark grey coat and black bat wings. Still singing, with the music still playing from who knows where, I began spreading the cheese first. The cheese acts as a binder, which holds the pizza together. If you put tomato sauce first, as most do, it separates the cheese from the dough, and all your toppings slide off. Not too much trouble for a human, but potentially devastating for ponies who try to pick it up with their mouths. If the sauce comes second, the cheese is all the way through, melts nicer, and hods everything together. She followed my example, before we spread the tomato sauce as well, then sprinkled our own personal blends of herbs. Parmesan, oregano, parsley, and a pinch of cinnamon on mine, basil, bay leaf, and chives on hers. We tossed them in the oven for fifteen minutes, and the song promptly ended. "So, um, Serenity, what just happened?" "Oh, the music? There are musicians all over the place. All the time. For some reason or another, probably to make life more fun, whenever someone starts breaking into song, musicians assemble and play from hidden locations. It's part preparedness, and part of the magic of Equestria." She explained. "So, you mean, there's just musician ponies all over the place, always carrying their instruments, and as soon as someone starts singing, they all just know to show up and what to start playing, which they do from behind the scenes so as not to interrupt whatever's going on?" "Yep. I'm not sure when or how it started, but it was before I was born, at least. We all just got used to it in time, so much so that we don't think about it. Like how once it happens enough, you don't think when you tie your shoes." I gave her a quizzical look before exclaiming, "But, ponies don't even have shoes!" "It's best not to think about it, or you wind up crazy." "Right. It's fun, who cares! Alright, so, now we take them out and add our toppings. We don't want the fruits and veggies to get all dried out, so we put them on with only five minutes left." I added banana and apple slices to mine, while she put cauliflower and broccoli to hers. "Fruit pizza. I have to say it's different, but I felt like going out on a limb. Playing it safe with the veggies I see?" "Pizza's new enough to me as it is, I don't want to go overboard." She stated. "That's no fun." "Well then you won't mind if I steal half of yours then...." She put a slice of my pizza on her plate, then a slice of hers on mine, so now we each had a slice of each. We put the rest in the fridge with a note, For Celestia, Luna, Griswold, Flay, Ladle, Widget, Fiddle Stick, and Suds. Also, force guard recruit Blueblood to eat a slice of each, as my way of a peace offering. He's been working hard since I kicked his flank, so I'll cut him some slack. It's already cooked, so just heat it in the oven for a couple minutes till the cheese runs slightly, then serve. Sincerely, the Food Fairy and Serenity. Then the two of us went out into the gardens to eat, among the chatter of nocturnal animals who were rather interested as to what we were doing there. We began to eat, I have to say, they were pretty good. Apple, banana, and cinnamon combined with dough, cheese, and oregano was an.... interesting.... combination, but it was still pretty good. Serenity seemed to agree. A monkey tried to steal my piece but I snatched it away and finished it before it could. Her's was pretty good too, although, she went a little heavy on the chives, so we both ended up with a slight case of garlic breath. It was still good though, and after a session of intense teeth brushing, I headed off to bed while she, with a flick of her tail and a smile over her shoulder, went to start her duty of getting the only slightly improved night guard into shape. Morning, and I was awoken the usual way with a knock on the door. Quickly getting dressed I headed out of my room. We didn't need to bother with the summoning any more, I had pretty well settled in, and unless the universe hated me, which I doubt considering I've got loads of friends and smile nonstop, as long as I stayed away from Stone Chip, I wouldn't have to worry about bricks coming loose and ruining my day. There was no danger, so we just forgot about it unless I was travelling to and from Ponyville. "And a good morning to you all, how are you all on this lovely day?" I gave an exaggerated bow that made Celestia and Luna giggle. Griswold was trying to look stern, but the smirk on his face was evident when he ate a slice of my creation. "Well, it looks like we were visited by the food fairy again. Do you remember what happened last time it showed up?" Ladle asked sternly. "You ponies ate the best food you've had in ages?" I offered, cocking my head slightly with a grin. Flay drew a knife, and to my surprise, didn't throw it. No, she used it to cut her pizza like a proper lady.... mare. Everyone was doing the same. "You know you can just pick it up and eat it right? It's not fancy food, it's just pizza." At that, a clatter of forks and knives as the slices were lifted by magic and hoof to their mouths. So much easier to eat. Even the princesses, who were starting to act a little less stuffy in public. Blueblood just sat there. "What? Don't want it? That's too bad, the princesses seem to enjoy it, after all the work the night guard captain went into making it." After a glare from his commander, the temporarily non-prince picked up a slice and ate it cautiously. He chewed slowly, then swallowed. "Well, it's a sight better than the gruel they feed us at the barracks." He remarked. "From you, that's high praise. You ever want more, just ask. I had my fill last night." "Speaking of which, what exactly did you do last night? I heard music." Luna asked. "What, you don't sing while you cook? I'm sorry if I woke anyone, but I had no idea that your whole world had musicians running around ready to play theme songs for whatever you do." Celestia laughed. "Yes.... that would explain it...... You're quite the singer." Luna complimented. "Magic helped. I don't even know that language. Kind of nice, the way things have a way of just happening around here." "You don't have that on earth?" Widget asked. "No..... if we wanted to set something like that up, it would take DAYS of careful planning and practice to pull off. I mean, we can set it up to use music players instead of live musicians, but it never just 'happens'." "Well, that must be boring." Celestia said. "Yeah. Equestria is just so much more interesting than earth, so much more fun and light hearted. I wish my family could see it......................." Suddenly, I got that look. You know, when everyone just looks at you because you said something brilliant, but you don't know what it was. And then I figured it out. "Fiddle Stick, do you still have my wallet, the one I let you examine at the institute?" "Why yes, yes I do." "Celestia, if you're not busy, would you mind coming with me and setting up another circle, I think I found a way to see my family again." Whew, I took a pretty long break from this, because I cranked out an absurd number of chapters for Griffin the griffin, but I finally got to a point in it where I could leave off without a cliffhanger, and was able to organize my thoughts enough for this. I also explained why ponies can just break out in song no matter where they are. There's a LOT of musician ponies, and there can't possibly be that many concerts, so I figure this is what they do all day. They just hang around, waiting for someone to start singing. It's magic, I don't gotta explain jack.