2 - Victini, Rhymes With Pinkie!
In the center of Ponyville, right next to their very own town hall, an assortment of tents and stands were all set up for the annual bake off. The whole town was there, everyone from Applebloom to Zecora had gathered together in a big crowd to celebrate the joys of quality baked goods and home styled cooking. But among the mirthful atmosphere, it was clear as day to see that the local competitors were all fired up and ready to let the pastry dough fly.
Among the competitors were local favorites such as Applejack and her family, Pinkie Pie who was representing the Cakes, Hugh Jelly, The Flim Flam brothers for some sweet revenge against the Apples, and much much more. However, one competitor appeared to be missing...
"Hoo boy, Ah tell ya. Lotsa ponies out here today" Applejack said as she wiped some sweat off her brow.
"Eeyup" Big Mac agreed with his sister.
"Say, Applejack. Are you nervous bout all this?" Applebloom asked as she walked up to their respective Sweet Apple Acres' sponsored stand "It looks like those nasty Flim Flam brothers are back again and they mean business"
"Ain't nothing to be worried bout, Applebloom. We've got the Apple pride and Granny Smith's secret recipe for zap apple pie with. There ain't a snowballs chance in Tartarus that they'd ever win if their up against us!" Applejack replied pridefully as she gave her younger sister a play rub on the head.
"Oh, we beg to differ!" it was Flam who spoke up, stroking his mustache deviously as he gloated "You may have bested our super squeezy cider 6000 the last time we were here, but that was only because you had the help of you're friends"
"That's right!" Flim, Flam's brother, joined in "From here on out, you're on your own. You Apples are going to taste bitter defeat, in the form of our world famous red rhubarb pie! Which in hindsight isn't really bitter... but the fact still remains; face it, that blue ribbon is as good as ours!"
"Oh yeah?" Applejack piped in "Well we'll see bout that, after me and my family win that is" she concluded with a smug grin.
"Now hold on here, now hold on!" Pinkie exclaimed as she popped up from seemingly out of nowhere "Ah say, ah say that it's gone be me whose gone win that ribbon" she stated with her best Foghorn Leghorn impression "I've got a secret weapon this year, and I know that it's going to wow the judges!"
Without saying another word, Pinkie pulled out a silver serving tray, and gently lifted the lid off of it. A bright light glisten from the small crack and then turned to a full blown flash the moment that the lid was off. It was glorious, it was magnificent, it was a plate full of macarons in all kinds of different assorted colors ranging from red to blue, and pink to purple. There was a whole stack full, meticulously formed to shape like a small pyramid of sugary, tooth rotting glory. Pinkie only had to nod in confidence to know that she had just stole the floor with her sugary confection.
"Un...unbelievable..." Flam let out as he continued to stare in awe "The macarons... they're.... so perfect" he bit his lip in anxiety. Their red rhubarb pie was but a snack compared to the full course meal that Pinkie threaten to unleash on them.
Applejack didn't say anything. Her gaze was locked on the macarons, and she found herself with her mouth watering like a broken dam. They looked so simple, so easy to make, but she knew that that wasn't true. Macarons take patience and years of practice to properly make, but more importantly, getting the shape right was extremely important when it came to proper presentation. She wanted to eat it so bad, but she also knew that those macarons were an impassable hurdle that she couldn't overcome, even with her granny's zap apple pie.
"Now imagine this, placed all around a three tiered vanilla sponge cake with royal icing, decorated with fresh fruit" she said with absolute confidence "My work here, is done" she concluded as she walked back to her stand, or rather, she bounced back.
Everyone at the competition wordlessly watched as Pinkie returned to her stand. They were all so entranced by Pinkie's macarons that they had completely forgotten to prepare for the bake off. At the drop of a hat, all of the competitors raced back to their stands and worked to change their recipes so that they could try to beat Pinkie. But none other tried harder than the Apples and the Flim Flam brothers.
In the midst of the floury chaos, a bone chilling scream brought everything to a grinding halt, causing everyone to turn their attention to the screaming madpony that was galloping by the horizon. It was Carrot Top, yelling as if to say bloody murder. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.
"HELP! MONSTER MOLES ARE AFTER OUR CROPS!" Carrot Top yelled, causing the crowd to murmur indiscriminately. When she finally reached the crowd, she collapsed from exhaustion, gasping heavily while trying to catch her second wind. Everyone immediately dropped what they were doing and came to her aid.
"Land sakes, girl. What's gotten into you?" Applejack asked "And what's that about a monster mole?"
" *Pant* *Pant* Monster *Pant* moles *Pant* are eating all of our crops" Carrot Top struggled to speak.
"What're you talking bout? Ah don't see no monster" said Applejack. Everyone else nodded in agreement. They too looked around but found nothing of the sort "Look, get up and take some deep breathes will ya" Carrot Top did as she was told and she calmed down significantly in doing so "Feeling better?" Carrot Top nodded "Good, now I can beat ya in the bake off!" Applejack exclaimed with a big chuckle to a now furious Carrot Top.
"Hmph, we'll see about that!" Carrot Top exclaimed, all remnant of her panic attack disappearing in a flash "Monster mole or not, I'll see to it that I beat you this year, Applejack!" she
"Hey!" said Flim "Get in line lady!"
"We were here first!" Flam finished for his brother "If you want to beat her then do it with your own cake!"
"Huh, maybe I will" Carrot Top retorted shortly before rushing back to her home to pick up her ingredients "Mark my words!" she shouted as she galloped away "My carrot cake will be the one to bring home the blue ribbon!"
"I swear, that gal's head ain't screwed on right half the time. Going on crying wolf like that" said Applejack "It doesn't matter though. My family's pie's gonna wi-" she stopped herself when she realized just how wrong that she was. She turned to Pinkie and remembered how perfect her macarons were. The taste would no doubt destroy the judges taste buds with a flurry of flavor and texture. She had no hopes in winning, unless... no, she couldn't do that. It wasn't worth it for a ribbon.
"What's that there?" Flim cut in, snapping Applejack out of her stupor "What's the matter, nervous?"
"What! Ah ain't nervous!" Applejack denied.
"Oh, really? I saw you staring at those macarons, and I'm sure that we both know that we can't beat such culinary perfection as that"
"....What are y'all implying?" said Applejack with a curious raise of her eyebrow.
"An alliance" Flim whispered to her ear. Applejack pulled back, appalled by the mere mention of teaming up with the Flim Flam brothers "Help us sabotage those macarons and we'll both have a fair chance at winning that ribbon"
"Me, work with you crooks against my best friend?" Applejack huffed with her nostrils flared "You must have rocks for brains in that head of yours, because you sure as heck ain't thinking straight if you think that I'm going to betray Pinkie by messing with something that she worked so hard on! If Ah'm gonna lose, Ah rather lose gracefully than do something as low as sabotage!" she stated.
"Hmph, your honesty is admirable, Applejack. Pointless, but admirable" Flim said with a devious smile "Alright then, you win. But believe me Applejack when I tell you that you've only won the battle"
"What's that suppose to mean" said Applejack before she realized what he meant. Applejack frantically turned around and did her best to spot Flim's missing brother. But Flam was nowhere to be found. That was when it happened.
The sound of screaming pierced the air once again, followed by the clattering of silverware and plates being scattered on the floor. Applejack turned to find the source of the noise and horrified at what she saw. Pinkie's stand had been toppled over, causing all of her food and ingredients to be scattered across the four winds. But perhaps the cruelest blow to her was how her macarons had all been crushed under the weight of her stand.
Officials came to survey the accident, only to write it off as just that: an accident. She was to blame for losing all of her food, which in Applejack's mind, did not sit right with her at all.
She turned to accuse Flim and Flam, but was stupefied to see that they were together again. Even though she had good reason to accuse them, they had an airtight alibi. The two were having a casual conversation with the Apples. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Grr... you did this, didn't you!" Applejack yelled while pointing an accusing hoof at the brothers.
"Hmm? What was that? I can't seem to hear you because the sound of our apparent victory is ringing my ear" Flam said nonchalantly, which only served to infuriate Applejack even more. Without even batting an eye at her, the two quickly left, leaving behind one angry Apple and a saddened Pinkie Pie.
"You won't get away with this!" Applejack shouted.
"We already have! Ha ha ha ha ha!" the two brothers replied with laughter as they began to prepare their pie.
Applejack just couldn't believe the audacity that those two had. Their arrogance and downright snake like methods made her want to kick down a brick wall. But there would be time for that later. For now, she went on over to Pinkie and gently stroked her straight mane. Comforting her as she wiped away the tears from her eyes.
"There, there sugarcube. Everything's gonna be fine" Applejack said gently "Come on, Ah'll help ya pick up all of your ingredients.
"What's the point, Applejack" said Pinkie dejectedly "Those macarons took me weeks to make properly. I can't make them now. It's hopeless"
"Pinkamena Diane Pie, that there is quitter talk!" Applejack spoke up "I know you're not the type to just let everything go all because of one little incident. Put on a smile and show them what you're made of! Who knows, maybe you'll be able to earn second place even after all that's happened" she said reassuringly "Ah just can't stand to see someone who worked so hard lose just because of some cheating snakes!"
" *Sniff* I might as well try" Pinkie said in a low tone "Thank you, Applejack" she then gave Applejack a brief hug before repairing her stand while Applejack helped her pick up what was left of her macarons. Although her mane had yet to return to its cotton candy like form, which made Applejack feel uneasy given what that meant about her mood.
Applejack should've known that something was up when Flam was missing. She could've prevented all this, but her own fear of losing distracted her from what was right and what was wrong, even if it was just for a split second. She silently cursed herself as she made it back to her own stand. A mixed bag of emotions stirring in her gut as she began to cook. It didn't feel right that she was still in the bake off. But she was there, and Pinkie was okay. Hopefully everything will work out in the end.
* * *
Victini and Drilbur wandered aimlessly around the residential area of Ponyville, which was more or less devoid of any citizens at the time being. There was all kinds of buildings, much like back home in Eindoark town except for the fact that everything was much much shorter. They didn't see any people either, or at least the humans that they were used to. The only person that they've ran into so far was the orange pony that Drilbur terrorized.
"Huh, there's no one else here either" said Victini as he flew up to peer through some windows of a nearby building. He smooshed his furry face up against the glass and peeked around. He saw that there was scraps of fabric have been strewn all over the floor and that there were pony shaped mannequins off in the corner of the room. He pulled his face off of the window and flew back down to Drilbur "What do you think we should do?"
"Hmm... we should split up" Drilbur suggested "We'll be able to cover more ground that way. Maybe we'll be able to find out where we are and see if we can make it back home"
"You know, that's actually a good Idea" said Victini with a smile.
"Heh, well I try" Drilbur replied with his arms cross in accomplishment "Listen, I'll go check out the outskirts while you search in the town. We'll meet back here by this weird place once the sun touches the horizon, got it?" Victini nodded "Okay then, see you in an hour or two" with that said, Drilbur assume his digging position and rapidly spun in the earth, disappearing underground and leaving Victini to his own devices. When Drilbur's digging was out of earshot, Victini took off to the skies to survey the town.
While invisible, Victini flew overhead and started to see if he could run into anyone else. To his surprise, he saw that there were more ponies, all gathered in the center of the town. He assumed that this town had been created and inhabited by them. Victini frowned, that also meant that he and Drilbur were somewhere that they didn't even think existed in the same universe as theirs. Curse Palkia and Dialga for causing tears in the space time continuum.
Out of avid curiousity, Victini decided to check out out what all of the commotion was down in the square. It wasn't until that the sweet scents of cinnamon, brown sugar, and fresh fruits assaulted his senses when he realized that he was actually descending much quicker than he intended. When he finally reached the ground, he looked pass all the ponies to see something that made his heart jump for joy.
There were sweets as far as he could see, all of them tempting him to go in to grab a bite. But there was one out of the rest that caught his attention the most. Macarons, especially those by the pink one. He flew up and hovered over the pink one's stand, hoping to see if he could snag one of those macarons. While Victini may have felt bad about Drilbur purloining carrots, but he felt no guilt whatsoever in going to grab his most favorite food ever.
However, as he got closer, he noticed something off about the macarons. They were crushed, just like his hopes of eating one. A wave of devastation washed over Victini as he lamented over the loss of such delicate desserts, but none felt more devastation more so than the pink one how was doing her best to recreate then. It was there that Victini put two and two together as he looked over all of the stands. This was some kind of contest, and it looked like someone pulled a dirty trick on this pink pony.
Victini stared at the pink pony, and felt only pity for her. Well he also felt hungry because of the macarons but that was beside the point. Since this was a competition and it looked like someone cheated her out of a well deserved victory, he felt compelled to give her a helping hand.
He stealthy flew behind the pony and gently place his hands on her tail. He then welled up some of his power from within himself, the power to provide and guarantee victory, and transferred it over to the pink pony. After he was done, he sat back and watched his hard work kicked into gear.
* * *
Pinkie's motivation had evaporated like a boiling pot of water. She was beside herself. There wasn't much that could bring her mood down in the world, but this was certainly one of them. She sighed in discontent as she half halfheartedly attempted to redo all of her hard work mere minutes before the judges came by. Even with Applejack's comforting words, she still felt like there was an anchor tied to her legs holding her back from being her usual uplifting and cheery self. Oh, how she wished that she had the energy and strength to go on.
From out of the blue, Pinkie felt a a burning tingly sensation on the very end of her tail. Thankfully, it wasn't anything that required medical attention. Before long, the sensation shot throughout her entire body like a bottle rocket of raw energy. Her straight mane immediately exploded back into shape and she felt as if she could bench press a forty pound bar that had full grown dragons attached to both ends.
Pinkie then let out a yell of ferocity that startled the rest of the competitor, standing up straight and beating her forelegs upon her chest like Tarzan at the same time.
"Grrrrrr! Pinkie is back, baby!" she roared. Everyone stared at her like she'd grown a second head, only to be awestruck when they witnessed her preparing and assembling her cake at speeds that made Rainbow Dash jealous.
Flour, sugar, and baking soda were all being thrown around, turning in a fine fog of confectionery chaos. Pinkie smiled, it had been a long time since she'd gotten out of a rut so quickly and worked twice as hard. Applejack and the Flim Flam brother were perhaps the most stunned by her sudden burst of speed.
Flim and Flam could feel themselve breaking out in a cold sweat despite it being a relative warm day. It seemed like their plans of sabotage had not gone as planned. Rather it appears that her loss would later turn into their downfall. Hesitantly, the two also kicked into overdrive, doing their best to finish and if possible, enhance their pie's chance for victory by any means necessary.
Applejack also followed suit and kicked into high gear with her zap apple pie. Unlike the brothers however, she had a smile on her face, knowing full well that Pinkie was back to her old self and that she was more than ready to give her friend a challenging battle.
Unbeknownst by the ponies of Ponyville, Victini sat far in the back and watched the entire bake off in a nearby tree by town hall. He would occasionally bob his head up and down in childlike amusement seeing how heated the bake off had just become had it not been for his indirect intervention. But the one thing that he couldn't take his eyes off were the macarons that Pinkie was starting to prepare. His lips watered and his eyes twinkled in anticipation of what she had in store for him.
Pinkie began assembly the macarons with frightening accuracy and speed. Not to mention the fact that she was actually only doing it with one hoof. He other hoof was preoccupied in mixing the batter for the sponge cake while she expertly motioned for her tail to preheat the oven behind her stand. She was a multitasking goddess, and all of Ponyville was her witness.
One after one she took two of each cooled colored biscuit and expertly slathered a favorable layer of meringue before sandwiching them together to form the ultimate dessert. She kept popping out macarons as her sponge cakes were just finished baking. But as she layered the cake together, a preliminary ringing signaled that there was only five minutes left in the competition before judging began.
Everyone, but mostly Pinkie and Applejack's friends, were all on the edge of their metaphorical seats. It was down to the wire and just about everyone was cutting it close. Everyone kept their eyes on Pinkie though, for she had yet to assemble her cake. But defeat by time out was not to be for the pink party pony, Victini had made it so.
In the blink of an eye, Pinkie defied fate and pulled off the impossible. In one swift motion of pure zen like concentration, Pinkie's hooves swept across the board like a thousand armed confectionery deity and effortlessly stacked up the cake and symmetrically placed most of the macarons on it without so much as single hair leaping out of place. When all was said and done, Pinkie assumed a meditative stance, and let out a deep breathe. She was at one with nature.
*DING* *DING* *DING*
With the three dings, everyone competitor dropped what they were doing and backed away. It was done, the competition was over and judging will soon commence foe everyone.
"Well, there you have it folks!" said Mayor Mare as she walked up to her podium "The baking is all done. I would like for all the competitors to step to one side as I introduce the judges for the Ponyville annual bake off!" she announced. She then motioned her hoof to the judges panel were a bevy of ponies were eagerly awaiting to taste some of the fine creations made here today.
"To my left, we have our very own Filthy Rich. Owner of Barnyard Bargains, he is also a connoisseur who enjoys nothing more than to eat and interpret food of the highest caliber" Filthy Rich stood up and respectfully bowed to everyone, earning a cheer in return.
"Our next judge is one of Canterlot's finest. You all know him, you all love him, please give a warm welcome to Fancy Pants!" Fancy Pants stood up alongside his wife Fleur De Lis and they both performed a courteous bow to the crowd who cheered for them as well.
"Last but most certainly not least, our surprise judge for this year is certainly one for the books. We have none other than Princess Celestia!" everyone gasped before breaking out in a standing ovation as Princess Celestia flew down from the sky hidden behind the glare of the sun and assumed a seated position beside the panel of judges. She gave a curt wave and waited for the tasting to begin.
"Okay everypony. It is now officially time to begin the judging. Good luck everyone who participated and remember, if you didn't win, there's always next year!" Mayor Mare concluded with a smile and off she went to try some baked goods.
* * *
Victini was glad that the competition was over. The overwhelming smell of sugary goodness was starting to get to him. Without a second to lose, he jumped off of the tree and flew close to the ground where he hid under the tables of various tables set up and there and eavesdropped on the judges conversation. He patiently waited for the munching to end before hearing some of the comments being made.
"I must say" Fancy Pants started "Who knew that jam, jelly, and marmalade would make such a fine substitute for real fruit?"
"I agree with ya there friend" said Filthy "Hugh Jelly really knows what he's doing. It's amazing how the filling remains gelatinous and stable even after going through so much baking. I was sure the heat would turn this into some kind of hot soupy mess. I have to say on Hugh's behalf, well done"
"Hmm... I'd only wished that his crust had more appeal" said Celestia "It appears that the filling is the star, and that everything else was pretty much an afterthought. Regardless, a wonderful pie no less" the other two judges nodded in agreement and finished their piece before moving on to the Flim Flam brother's pie with Victini silently following them underneath.
"You know, I was never really a big fan of rhubarb" said Filthy Rich "But this pie makes me think otherwise" he said with a smile.
"Indeed" said Fancy Pants "I'm amazed of the perfect balance between the Rhubarb's natural tartness and the strawberry fillings sweetness. To compliment something like Rhubarb is no small feat"
"The only problem I have with this pie is that I wish we had more to eat" Celestia joked, earning some laughs from her fellow judges. Next on the list was Applejack's zap apple pie.
"Ah, a rare treat indeed" said Celestia as she took a bite into the pie "Zap apples are hard to find out of season, and even more so to prepare and cook properly. The finicky nature of the fruit often brings blandness if one does not know how to treat it. But this pie was clearing made in the hooves of an expert"
"Well, that's the Apples for ya" said Filthy "What you're eating there is love and tender care all wrapped up into one delicious pie. Don't you just love the way the zap apple tingles your tongue?" he asked.
"I do believe we have an obvious winner here" said Fancy Pants "I know it's too early to say that but I doubt that there is anything else here that can overcome what this zap apple pie has accomplished"
"Who knows" said Celestia "We might as well find out for ourselves to see if you're right or not" she smiled.
The trio of judges continued down the lines of desserts that was present before them. Tarts, cakes, and surprisingly souffles were all eaten and the judging had been made. Not one of them stood up to the zap apple pie, much to Carrot Tops frustration. They were practically ready to hand over the blue ribbon to Applejack, up until they reached Pinkie's ivory tower of sugar.
The cake that was laid out before them was a three tiered cake that had been decorated with royal icings, fresh fruit, and was layered with a row of colorful macarons on each tier, just like Pinkie described earlier. The only thing that felt off was how... normal it looked. They were expecting for it to have that siganture Pinkie grandeur and flair. What they got instead looked incredibly tamed for Pinkie's standards.
"Another cake, I wonder how this one would taste" said Celestia as she took a piece.
"Macarons on a cake?" said Fancy Pants "Quite a bold and risky move there by Pinkie. I feel as if we might be in for some kind of overkill on our taste buds here. Macarons are good on their own, but I wonder what went through her mind when she made this" he concluded as he took a bite.
"Imma be honest here. I'm a little afraid to bite into this" Filthy Rich said hesitantly "My doctor said that I should watch my blood sugar level the last time I ate at Sugarcube corner. Aw what the heck, cheers!" he said as he took a bite into the cake.
What could be describe next for the judges would be a flavorful journey into a culinary nirvana of which the likes they've never experienced before. Time appeared to have stilled for them, everyone and everything blurred into a single mass of color as their minds were stuck thinking about how delectable the macaron cake had been. Their hooves began to move on their own soon afterward, entering into an uncontrollable eating frenzy that resulted into having the cake being devoured like a pack of hyenas on an antelope carcass.
"I...I don't understand!" Filthy Rich cried out "I can't control myself! Why can't I stop eating?"
"It's delicious, far too delicious!" Celestia exclaimed as she began her fourth piece of cake "This must be what harmony tastes like!" she was in a state of pure bliss. Forget about ruling Equestria, if she could, she would just sit back and eat this cake for all of eternity without so much as a single care in the world.
Among those in the feasting frenzy, Fancy Pants was perhaps the most emotionally torn by the cake. Memories from his youth resurfaced with perfect clarity. From being bullied for being poor, to remembering how his mother and father would always comfort him even after all the suffering that they've been through. It all came rushing back full force. He cried rivers as he ate, and he enjoyed every piece as if it were sweet ambrosia of the god. Heck, comparing the macaron cake to ambrosia was actually more of an insult than a compliment.
"Enough, enough!" Fancy Pants cried out as his wife helped to wipe away his tears "Where is Pinkie? Where I ask? She's done it! She's won!" he exclaimed as he pulled out a checkbook and a pen from his pocket with use of his magic "Tell me child" he rushed up to Pinkie "Write down whatever number you want onto this check and I will gladly pay you if you were to be my personal chef!" he pleaded.
The crowd was shocked and appalled at how the judges were reacting to Pinkie's cake. Was it really that good, they all thought. One by one, everyone walked up to try what was left of the cake. Crumbs may it be, but that was more than enough to put the who town into a trance as they all begged for Pinkie to make more of her cake. It was like a repeat of the want it need it spell incident, only it appears that the macaron cake is much more potent than Twilight's spell could ever hope to compete.
* * *
All the while that chaos broke out. Victini reached his little hands up onto the table, still invisible, and plucked a single intact macaron that had fallen off the cake when everyone rushed the stand. He brought up the sandwiched sized sugary confection to his face and began to adorably nibble away on it. In the midst of all the shouting, one with a highly trained ear could just hear the faint sounds of:
"Tini, tini, tini, tini, tini, tini, tini, tini, tini, tini!"
As he popped the last piece into his mouth, he could only smile and flutter up ever so slightly with a big blush on his face, with hands placed on his big cheeks.
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Of course, have Equestria's biggest sweet tooth (PUNZ!!!) there as a judge.
Also: "This must be what harmony tastes like!" That extra 's' would help the flow of the sentence.
Fun chapter. Victini for the win (again).
I spy Percy Jackson reference
Yummy
damn he's good!
what i mean is Victini getting those macarons
I can't help but think of this when I read about Fancy Pants' reaction to Pinkie's cake
Chopped is my favorite food network show.
more insanity and chaos fuel to try and draw
p.s. couldn't stop laughing at the image