Swords and Magic

by Shadow Watcher

Chapter 9

Pinkamena Diane Pie watched the flames through her welding mask. If not for the heavy black robes she wore as a member of her craft, she would have surely felt the heat. A beaker full of a bubbling yellow liquid hung over the flame.

A master baker, chef, as well as all around chemist, this potion was the pinnacle of years of training.

She felt sweat trickle down the back of her neck. Any second now. It was such a small window...

She pulled the beaker out of the flames, right when it turned a vibrant blue. Setting down the tongs, she pulled off the mask.

A meticulous alchemist, her lab was neat and tidy. Both surprising, and yet not at the same time, to all who knew the bubbly, energetic girl. Her teachers at the school still praised her, and upon graduation, she had been given an Imperial grant, a lab, and was told to work on whatever concoction popped into her head.

Three of the walls of her lab were filled with shelves full of all kinds of herbs, spices, powders, minerals, flowers, and all manner of questionable things.

Giggling almost to the point of cackling, Pinkie scurried to two of the shelves. From one, she retrieved a small dropper. From another, a few small pebbles.

She dropped the pebbles onto her worktable, pushing one out to the side of the rest.

Carefully, holding her body completely still, she siphoned a single drop into the dropper. She held her breath as the dropper dangled over the pebble before compressing the end. Time froze as she watched the tiny drop of liquid fall.

Closer. Closer.

Drip!

Poof!!

She brushed the smoke away with a small cough. Her breath caught. Tears filled her eyes.

There, sitting on the table before her, was a perfect looking, unfrosted cupcake.

Her whole body shook as a squeal escaped her lips. She pumped her hands in the air before calming back down. A bead of sweat trickled down her neck as she slowly, carefully, reached down and took hold of the small confectionary in both hands. She very carefully pulled it apart into two perfect halves, inspecting the consistency of the cake. She leaned down, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes as she processed the heavenly smell of the small cake.

Now was the most important part. She licked her lips, opened her mouth, and took a small nibble from one of the halves.

Her eyes closed. She stopped breathing.

She promptly shoved both halves in her mouth, chomping loudly.

She pumped her hands again. She pounded the table! She rang the...wait she didn’t have a bell...she needed to get a bell to ring!

She finally swallowed, gasping for breath.

As she panted for breath, Pinkie drummed her fingers as she eyed the remaining pebbles before they slid over to her shelves. Where even bigger stones and rocks rested. Waiting.

A devious smile slowly crept across her face.

*********

“Come on Rares! I mean, sure, Pinks doesn’t have the greatest track record, but she’s been good for a while now!” Rainbow shrugged as they continued walking.

“Oh very well!” Rarity huffed. She glanced at Fluttershy. “Just what is her current record?”

“It’s been four days and seventeen hours.” Fluttershy said quietly. She fidgeted with her hood. “Not even a small fire. It’s kind of disconcerting, really.”

Boom!!

Smoke billowed from a building just ahead. Already, people gathered on the other side. Most of them were just talking, a few look disappointed, while others just seemed impressed.

“Huh, four days...what was the current bet?” “I think you were down for six.” “Drat, I only said three.”

Rainbow waved as a couple fellow knights came running around a corner.

Fluttershy simply sighed and walked around her house to the lab out back. She paused at seeing the door unhinged; moaning could be heard deeper inside. “Um...you ok, Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie was folded in half, upside down, against the shelves directly across from her worktable. The healer helped her unfold carefully after making sure she hadn’t broken anything.

The alchemist sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. “Right. So. It’s not what you’re thinking....entirely!”

Fluttershy just raised an eyebrow at her friend, arms folding across her chest. Rainbow and Rarity poked their heads in. Pinkie blinked up at them. “What? I promise! Here, I’ll show you!” She tried getting up, but Fluttershy pushed her back down.

Kneeling beside her, her rune formed as she called on her magic. The circle pulsed a soothing glow, full of soft, flowery circles. Fluttershy gave a sigh of relief. “You have no serious injuries. Just some minor bruising.”

Rainbow and Rarity stepped all the way in. Rarity helped Fluttershy get Pinkie back on her feet. Rainbow whistled at what was left of the worktable. “Looks like you’ll be needing a new table, Pinks, but doesn’t look like much else was damaged.” She knelt down, examining the ash and blackened area. Smoke still rose from a couple places. “You weren’t experimenting with explosives again, were you?”

Pinkie rapidly shook her head. “Absolutely not! I am not allowed to test any of my explosive concoctions within the city walls!” She grinned at her friends, all standing around.

Before she could say anything further, the two guards stepped inside, a tall woman, and a short man. The woman cleared her throat. “I am thoroughly impressed, Pinkie. You actually managed four, almost five days.”

“Ah, Rose! Good, good, you’re all here!” Pinkie shook in place, barely containing her excitement. “I finally succeeded!! Well, aside from a slight...oversight and miscalculation, but really, it actually works!” She bounded over to a side table, where the vial of vibrant blue liquid sat on its stand. She held it out for them to see. “I give you: Insta Cake! So far, it only works on pebbles. Another larger, and it gets...volatile.” She deflated a bit, wearing a sheepish grin.

“Whoa, you finally got it to work??” Rainbow asked, creeping forward.

Pinkie rubbed the back of her head. “I haven’t quite gotten the frosting but figured out just yet, but let me show you!”

Setting the vile back down, she retrieved a new dropper and grabbed five pebbles. Siphoning a little of the potion up into the dropper, she dropped one drop on each pebble, after spacing them apart a proper amount.

Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!

Five perfect, unfrosted cupcakes sat where the pebbles used to be. Even the guards stepped forward to see. The woman picked one up. “This is amazing! And they’re safe to eat?” At Pinkie’s nod, she slowly took a small bite. “It’s perfect! Could use some frosting, but this is absolutely amazing!”

Rarity nibbled on hers. “You’ve been working on this for so long, darling, I was beginning to wonder! It seems all your hard work has finally paid off!”

“Y-yeah.” Pinkie said, fidgeting. “Just...just don’t use anything larger than a 64 millimeter diameter pebble. It...uh...it gets...volatile...exponentially...which means back to the drawing board.”

“Sure, but I wouldn’t rule this one out. I mean, it could be a good emergency food ration. And if you were in a real bind, it’d also serve as an explosive. I mean, what would happen if you just poured out the potion right now?” Rainbow asked, munching on the last of her cupcake.

Pinkie froze. Her eyes went wide. She visibly shuddered. “That...that would be the worst idea. Ever.” She warily eyed the vibrant vial. “Never underestimate the power of cupcakes.”

Rainbow thought for a moment, while the two guards conversed quietly. “So, as long as that vial is sealed, the potion is safe, right? I mean, it won’t eat through or anything?”

“I only use the top grade vials and beakers! As required by the Academy! In the event of potions exactly like this one!” Indignation was prominent in Pinkie’s voice, followed by a slight upturn of her nose.

The guards finished talking, the man speaking this time. “Alright Pinkie, no one was injured, only minimal damage to your lab; we’re just going to give you another verbal warning. Be more careful, pay attention to your ingredients, please don’t make us do paperwork, thank you for the cupcake. Have a pleasant day.” He waved over his shoulder as he left the building.

His partner glanced at the door on her way out. “I’ll send for someone to come fix this door. Can’t have you out of regulation for long. Take care!”

Rainbow clasped both of Pinkie’s hands as soon as both guards were completely gone. “How long does it take to whip that stuff up?”

Pinkie shrugged. “Give me a couple hours, I could probably have a few bottles worth.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“Ok, now, hear me out. I say, brew those bottles. It’d be easier to pack than actual explosives, or even magic runes. Plus Twilight will be fascinated when she finds out about this stuff. So...why not knock out two birds with one stone? We bring the Insta Cake with us, we’ve got both an emergency ration, and explosive, all in one. Win-win. Rarity, Flutters, and I, we can bottle the other potions while you work. What do you say? Plus, this could give you a chance to figure out how to improve it.” Rainbow maintained eye contact. Pleading. Begging.

Pinkie grimaced. “Not the face. Please don’t use the face. I can’t stand the face....Alright, fine!” Her frown was ruined by the excitement in her eyes. “It...it would be interesting to see just how kablooey this stuff can be. Ugh...you three go ahead and get started. This will take me a few.” She turned away, muttering and tinkering with her shelves.

Rainbow pumped her fist for victory. Rarity exchanged a look with Fluttershy, who simply shrugged. “What? A strong enough explosion would kill almost instantly, preventing any prolonged suffering. That is, unless they burnt to death. That would be terribly painful. Well, until their nerves...”

“Ok, that’s enough of that, I think.” Rarity exclaimed, rubbing her temples. “Let’s...let’s just get started on those potions, shall we?”

Comments

[Commander Darklight]

moar

[ValNitak Choas]

good story

[Shadow Watcher]

8677370

8676978
Thanks! More is on the way!