Chapter 5: Quest for the Snicker Doodles
The Gift of Life Chapter 5
The next day…
The sound of an alarm clock buzzing loudly woke Celestia from her peaceful night of sleep. She rolled over in her bed, and met with the familiar eyes of Luna, who lay in the bed next to her. The two sisters then turned to look up at the alarm clock that sat buzzing on top of the desk between them. Luna rolled back over in her bed, and Celestia let out an irritated groan.
“Why do we have to get up so early?" she asked, groaning. "I don’t even have to raise the sun for another two hours!”
Celestia reached over to the alarm clock and smashed her hoof down on top of the button to make it stop its horrible buzzing. She looked back over to her sister, and saw that Luna had resumed the regular breathing intervals one would have as if they were asleep. Celestia let out another groan, and slowly got from her bed before walking around to her sisters bed. She leaned over Luna slightly.
“Luna, you’re going to need to wake up," Celestia said. "It was your choice to share the punishment, you know.”
“Mmmph.” came a grunt from Luna. Celestia snorted.
“Hey, get out of bed.”
“No.”
“Don’t make me drag you out of there.”
Luna curled up and hugged her pillow tight. Celestia frowned, and she began to walk around Luna's bed again until she reached the bed's foot, and grabbed the sheets up in her mouth. She looked back up at her sister, and saw that she had not moved an inch. Celestia started to walk backwards, pulling the sheets of Luna’s bed with her. Luna's eyes shot open.
“Hey! What are yo-“ Luna started to say , but she was pulled from her bed by the bed sheets that she had tangled herself in during the night.
Celestia dropped the bed sheets from her mouth and looked at her sister. Luna rolled out of her uncomfortable landing, and got to her hooves and glared at her Celestia in return.
“Right, now that I got you out of bed, we need to start getting over to the kitchens.” Celestia said.
“Can’t I just go back to bed and do this another day, ‘Tia?” Luna asked.
“No. Mother said that we have to work in the kitchens for the next week.”
“I’m supposed to sleep through the day anyway…” Luna grumbled to herself just loud enough for Celestia to hear. Celestia ignored her, and turned to start leaving for the door. Luna slowly started to follow her sister to the door, stifling a yawn along the way.
Their walk through the halls was relatively uneventful, and the castle felt dead as Celestia's and Luna's hoofsteps echoed noisily against the castle walls. Each door they passed was locked, and when Celestia and Luna gazed outside, they saw that the moon had just begun to sink below the Eternal Valley.
"Ugh, the entire castle is still asleep," Luna complained. "Are you sure we are supposed to be up this early, 'Tia?"
"It does seem odd that not even the kitchen staff are wandering through the halls," Celestia observed, looking behind her.
Upon turning the corner towards the kitchens, Celestia and Luna spotted that the door to the kitchens was closed. The two princesses looked around them before walking up to the door and giving it a knock. There was no answer. Celestia put her ear up to the door, but no sound of pots and pans clanging or water running seeped through the door and into her ears.
“Are we… early?” Celestia asked aloud as she turned towards her sister.
“That you are, little fillies!” came a boisterous and jolly voice to the right of Celestia and Luna. They both turned towards the voice.
Cantering towards them was a rather jovial looking antelope. He had a pair of very large horns and a powerful, rippling body of muscle. Veins were popping out of his neck, and the massive clops of his hooves echoed off of the walls of the castle louder than Celestia's and Luna's hoofsteps combined. Celestia knew this antelope was the head chef in the royal kitchens. His name was Sprinkles.
“You silly fillies are precisely forty two minutes and 16 seconds early. Many workers don’t even show up until thirty minutes from now!” Sprinkles said with a large, joyful grin on his face.
“We… I," Celestia stuttered, her cheeks reddening, "You mean we could have slept in for another hour?”
“Why yes. I bet you were just so excited to get started today that both of you woke up bright and early!”
Celestia sat back onto her haunches and groaned.
~~~
The remaining forty minutes went by agonizingly slow for Celestia. She sat outside of the door to the kitchens after the antelope chef had entered, and while her sister decided to go back to sleep curled up next to her. There wasn’t much to do to pass the time besides stare at the engravings of vines up on the high ceilings above her. However, vines only had so much power to keep her occupied for more than three minutes, and she soon found herself staring ahead of her waiting for the minutes to creep on by.
She was about to scream out in frustration until she heard a set of hoofsteps behind her. She whirled around to see who was approaching, causing Luna to stir and look over to the source of the hoofsteps as well. An earth pony mare with a light blue coat and a frizzy white mane and tail approached Celestia and Luna. She had an apron slung over her back along with a pair of glasses dangling from around her neck. She stopped when she was in front of the two princesses.
“So you’re the two princesses who will be helping us out in the kitchens today, eh?” the mare said with an accent hinting that she had been raised in Manehatten.
“Yes, that is us. Unfortunately…” Celestia grumbled in reply.
“Oh, it’s not going to be that bad. Trust me. With the crazy head chef we got in there, along with a singing pelican, most days can be pretty interesting. I’m Blue Bell by the way.”
“Hi, Blue Bell, I’m Celestia, and this is Luna.” Celestia said as she looked over at Luna. She saw that her sister was huddled against the floor and staring up at the mare with big eyes, and added, “She’s a bit shy.”
Blue Bell giggled, and said, “I can see that. Well, I guess it is okay for you two to enter the kitchens now. Follow me.”
Celestia got to her hooves and followed closely behind Blue Bell, and she felt that Luna was using her tail as a shield again as they passed through the door. Celestia had been in the kitchens numerous times, mostly to visit with Meadow Free for a snack. They were fairly large and spacious, allowing for the ponies who worked plenty of space to move around carrying trays, plates, and platters full of food for all of the guests and employees within the castle. Everything in the kitchens was made of wood besides the counters that were used for cooking food, which were made of granite instead. There was a huge center counter filled with stoves, ovens, grills, and a griddle so that the chefs may be able to cook an assortment of food for large parties hosted by the King and Queen. At the far end of the kitchen there was an enormous brick oven that was used to cook a newly discovered food from Manehatten. They called it “pizza,” and Celestia had yet to try it.
Blue Bell guided the fillies along the right side of the center counter, and strode over towards Sprinkles, who had just finished arranging all of the knives in sequential order from biggest to smallest. The massive antelope turned towards the three ponies with a giant goofy grin on his face.
“Hello ladies! Are you here for your first assignment already?” Sprinkles asked in a high pitched voice.
“Yes we are, Sprinkles," Blue Bell said, and gestured to Celestia and Luna behind her. "I was wondering if you would mind giving the job of cooking the King and Queen’s breakfast over to these two fillies here. I’ll be sure to watch over them and make sure there are no accidents.”
“Oh of course," Sprinkles said, happily clopping his hooves together, "That’s so sweet, the two daughters making their parents breakfast. Alright, today I was planning on making Sol a simple omelet of fresh red and yellow bell peppers mixed in with some pepper jack cheese and green chilies. Make sure he gets a glass for freshly squeezed orange juice and a cup of coffee.
“Now, being that Galactica has decided to go on that diet of hers again, I’m thinking that a simple salad of lettuce, celery, and carrots would do. No dressing. Make sure to give her a glass of water with her coffee. I don’t know why she stresses about her flank so much, Alicorns are naturally oh so, so, so beautiful.”
Blue Bell rolled her eyes and turned to Celestia and Luna, and said “Okay, did you two get all of that?”
The two princesses nodded their heads in unison.
“The ingredients for everything are located in the pantry over there across the center counter," Blue Bell said, pointing at the pantry in question. "Celestia, I’d like for you to make the omelet for your father. Luna, you can make the salad for your mother. Come ask me if either of you need any help.”
And with that, Celestia and Luna sped off towards the pantry to gather the ingredients. They noticed that the kitchen had started to fill up with ponies of all colors, a zebra, and a pelican as they ran around the counter, and opened the door to the pantry together. They were not too enthusiastic about making their parents breakfast, however. Celestia shut the door quickly behind she and Luna, and together they started to scan the shelves for their prey.
The Royal Cookie Jar was missing from the pantry. Celestia and Luna searched high and low for the magical jar that held the delicious wonders that had filled their dreams the night before. There was creak as the pantry door opened, and Blue Bell popped her head in.
“Oh, and Sprinkles and I took the liberty of hiding the cookie jar," Blue Bell said with a wink "We figured you two might make that priority over your other tasks.” She closed the pantry behind her. Celestia and Luna groaned together before they started looking for the ingredients to make their parents’ breakfasts.
“Okay Luna, we’re going to need to think of a plan to find the cookie jar," Celestia said, picking up a red bell pepper, "They have obviously moved it out of the pantry since it wouldn’t have constant supervision, but it still has to be somewhere in the kitchen. Did you see it as you were walking in?”
“No, ‘Tia, I didn’t.” Luna replied.
“When we walk back into the kitchen, keep an eye out for the cookie jar. It has to be somewhere and there are not many places to hide it.”
Celestia and Luna nodded at each other, and, with all of the ingredients gathered, both walked back out of the pantry and over to a cleared section of counter space on the other side of the center counter. Celestia looked every which way, scanning over the counters and on top of boxes of goods or stacked pans. It was difficult to make everything out as the kitchen was now bustling with activity, and ponies were moving every which way to get their food orders out to the guests and the mess hall for the military barracks. Celestia reached her counter space, and piled it high with the ingredients for Sol's breakfast.
Blue Bell had gotten the two fillies stools, allowing for Celestia and Luna to reach the top of the counters without straining themselves. They both climbed the stools, and Celestia glanced over at Luna.
“Did you see the cookie jar, Luna?” she asked.
“No, I didn’t see anything," Luna replied. "What about you?”
“What. I wouldn’t be asking if I had seen it!”
“Oh. Sorry.”
The two princesses faced forward, and got started on prepping breakfast for their parents. Celestia took a clean knife from the knife block and began dicing up red and yellow bell peppers, and then moved them over into a bowl that had been stationed at her space. Next, she took the green chilies, and sliced them up very finely as well to be added to the bell peppers. Lastly, Celestia took a cheese grater, and began tediously slicing down the pepper jack cheese into very finely grated strips. Once she was completed with that, she tossed the cheese into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and started mixing everything by shaking the bowl back and forth.
Once Celestia was satisfied, she placed the bowl down and began cracking two eggs into a much smaller bowl that she had also been provided. She threw the egg shells into the waist bin beneath her station, and then took a fork and began whisking the eggs into a batter. Once finished, she gathered up all of her materials and moved across the lane to the stoves.
There was already a frying pan in place where she was to begin cooking, so Celestia slowly pour the egg batter into the pan, and waited a few seconds before adding in the mixed ingredients into the sizzling eggs. She set both of the bowls down on the counter next to the stove, and took a spatula to begin gently prodding at the sizzling omelet. After she deemed that the omelet was ready, Celestia flipped one half over onto the other and began gently pressing down on the omelet to give it a nice brown coating on one side. She then flipped the omelet over and proceeded to do the same on the other side, before scooping it off of the pan, and slipping it onto a plate that Blue Bell had given her as she was passing by. Lastly, Celestia put a metal cover over the plate to preserve the heat within the omelet.
Before Celestia took the plate over to a cart that was carrying her parents’ breakfast, she took another look around the kitchen. She saw that there were ponies still moving this way and that in a haste to get their orders done and ready to be sent to the guests. There was the head chef throwing out orders now that he had no reason to cook, since the two princesses took that job. Then something caught her eye, and her mouth opened a little. Sitting at the top of the giant ice maker in the corner of the kitchen was the Royal Cookie Jar.
Celestia picked up the plate, and carried it over to the cart in a rush. Luna had already finished their mother’s breakfast, and was waiting patiently for her sister to arrive. Celestia placed the plate on the cart, and then motioned for her sister to come closer as a maid wheeled the cart off towards the direction of the Sol and Galactica's study.
“I found where the cookie jar is," Celestia said, nodding her head in the direction of the cookie jar. "Look! It’s on top of the ice maker.”.
“How are we going to get it?" Luna asked in a hushed whisper. "It’s in plain sight. We would be seen.”
“I’ll think of a plan while we do our next task.” Celestia quickly said as Blue Bell approached the two fillies.
“I see you two fillies finished with your first task.” Blue Bell said as she strolled up to the two sisters.
“Yes we did!" Celestia said. Luna meekly smiled and inched closer to Celestia. "Just like how Sprinkles wanted.”
“Well, Sprinkles has another task for you fillies," Blue Bell began, glancing over at the antelope, "Being that you have finished making breakfast, and all of the ponies here are finishing up with their orders, you are to begin clean up duty.”
Blue Bell smiled, and she she nodded her head over to a closet that had a few brooms, a few mops, and a pale in it. She turned back towards the princesses and cringed slightly when Celestia and Luna were looking up at her with disappointed expressions. She put on another happy smile, and added, “Once you two are done helping out with cleaning the kitchen how about it’s time to take a break for breakfast yourselves? You two must be hungry.”
Celestia felt her stomach growl, and she smiled sheepishly before she stood at attention and gave Blue Bell a salute. Luna quickly dashed up next to her sister and did the same.
“Yes ma’am! We’ll get right now that.” Celestia said.
Blue Bell smiled, and turned away. Celestia looked over at Luna.
“Okay, while we are cleaning," Celestia whispered, leading Luna over to the closet, "look for anything that can be used to make a crossbow, a grappling hook, and a cushion. Go!”
~~~
By the time Celestia and Luna had finished helping clean the kitchen, they had managed to gather a large spatula, a few rubber bands, a stirring rod, fishing line, a fork with bent teeth, and a few towels. They carried their supplies over to a counter station where two bowls of cereal had been prepared for the princesses. While Luna began eating her cereal, Celestia got to work on making the crossbow.
She first laid the spatula out on the counter, and then laid the stirring rod perpendicular to the spatula on the space that divided the handle from the flat metal part. She cut some of the fishing line, and used it to tie the rod and the spatula together. Next, she took the rubber band and cut it at a point. She then took both ends and attached them onto either end of the stirring rod, before pulling the rubber band back to the end of the spatula to make it taut. Lastly, she tied the rest of the fishing line to the end of the fork, and then tied the other end of the fishing line to the handle of the spatula. She looked at Luna once she had finished.
“Okay, Luna," Celestia begain, smiling, "I’m going to need you to go and spill some water at the bottom of the ice maker. Say that it was an accident, and then use these towels to start soaking up the water, placing them all along the edges of the ice maker," Celestia pointed at the freezer, and countinued, "Once that is done, I will position myself next to the center counter, and hopefully fire this grappling hook onto the jar and pull it down. Once that happens, I’m going to need you to catch the jar with your levitation magic, and use it to gently place the jar onto the floor. Then, we’ll take the Royal Cookie Jar off to the pantry and reap the spoils!”
Luna grinned and clapped her hooves together, and said, “That’s a good plan, ‘Tia!”
“Let’s get to it.”
Celestia quickly ate through her bowl of cereal, and then hopped down and trotted over to position herself next to the center counter. She watched as Luna filled a pitcher of water, and started levitating it, walking past the ice maker. She was sloshing the water back and forth, causing some of it to spill out onto the ground. She quickly apologized to one of the ponies walking by, and put the pitcher down, using the towels that she had been carrying on her back to place around the ice maker.
Celestia briefly looked around her for a moment, and then levitated the crossbow up and aimed it at the pitcher. She pulled the fork back and back until the rubber band could not stretch anymore. She then aimed a little higher, and let the fork go, watching as it made a small ark and connected one of the teeth with the back of the lid. Celestia gave a small hoof pump, and then pulled on the fishing line, causing the cookie jar to slip off of the edge of the freezer and start falling to the ground. A blue hue formed around the jar as Luna caught it with her magic, and she strained as she let the jar gently fall onto the towels. Celestia bounded over and picked the up onto her back ,and both fillies started to make their way towards the pantry.
“And where do you two think you’re going?” came Blue Bell’s voice from behind them. Celestia and Luna stopped and turned.
“Uh… Um…" Celestia said, a huge stretched across her face. Luna had the same smile as her sister, and Celestia added, "Well, you see, we were on our way to store away the contents within this jar to the pantry.”
“Uh huh. And what would the contents of that jar be?” Blue Bell asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Um… Peanut butter?”
“Are you sure they aren’t cookies?”
“Yes! I’m sure.” Celestia exclaimed, stomping her hoof.
“Mind if I take a look?”
“No, you can’t see! It’s top secret peanut butter.”
Blue Bell stepped forward, and took the lid off of the jar, revealing the many assorted cookies that lay within. She looked down at the two princesses and raised an eyebrow.
“Peanut butter huh?” she said.
“There are peanut butter cookies in there!” Celestia protested.
“C’mon, give me that.” Blue Bell said as she reached down and took the cookie jar off of Celestia’s back. Celestia sat back on her haunches and crossed her forelegs while forming a pout on her face.
“And we were so close too.” she mumbled.
Blue Bell carried the jar over to the center counter and set it down.
“Okay, Sprinkles has another job for you two," Blue Bell said, turning back to Celestia and Luna, "Queen Chrysalis is going to be visiting Everfree for the next few days on a diplomatic relations mission with the Night Guard nation. Your mother has asked Sprinkles to decide who he should send to be her personal stewardesses while she is here, and he has decided to send us three. She’ll be arriving within the hour, so we should get the royal guest quarters ready.”
Celestia and Luna looked at each other with wide eyes. They smiled at each other, and together they began to flutter their wings as they looked back at Blue Bell. Blue Bell giggled slightly.
“Why is Sprinkles sending us two?” Celestia asked.
“I think he receive some advising from your mother on whom to send," blue Bell replied, "I think she wants you two to get acquainted with her being that the Flutterponies are Equestria’s closest allies.”
The two sisters both nodded and then left the kitchens to prepare the room that Queen Chrysalis will be staying.
~~~
In no time, Celestia, Luna, and Blue Bell had the Royal Guest Quarters perfectly ready for Queen Chrysalis. The large bed had been remade with the finest silk sheets provided, while the pillows were stuffed with freshly made cotton. The carpet had been cleaned and groomed to give it an almost unnaturally soft touch for any pony who had the pleasure to walk on it. The curtains had been cleaned, the windows washed, the bathroom shined, and the chandelier was glistening from the afternoon sunlight. The three ponies were all waiting outside of the room when the Chrysalis finally rounded the corner to her quarters.
She was stunningly beautiful. Chrysalis had a gorgeous white coat that was groomed to perfection, and was hued at the tips with a very gentle, yet dark shade of red. The mixture of colors accented the delicate curves of her slim body, which strode down the hall with unmatched graced. She had beautiful and straight dark, red hair to go along with her hooves that also matched her striking red eyes. A very thin and long horn protruded from her forehead. However, with the combination of her eyes, her body, and massive horn her true beauty lay with her wings. They were a pair of massive and colorful butterfly wings that she held slightly spread open so everypony could see their splendor.
Chrysalis was flanked by two other Flutterponies who had white coats as well. One looked to be just as handsome as his queen, with his darker butterfly wings and blue hued eyes and hooves. He was wearing a very thin piece of chest armor, and he was carrying a pair of saddlebags on his back. The other pony was more intimidating. His wings were the color of blood red, and hued along the edges with black. His hooves were also tinted black and he had a very long and flowing mane and tail. He wore armor that was just as thin as the other Flutterpony, but he wore it across his chest, on his back, up his neck, and he wore a helmet that covered all of the features of his face. The eyes were replaced by two rubies.
“Hello there Celestia, Luna, Blue Bell. How are all of you doing this day?” Queen Chrysalis asked. When she spoke it sounded as if she was singing instead of talking. Celestia mouth hung open.
“It has been a beautiful day, your majesty," Blue Bell said, bowing before Chrysalis, "We have prepared your quarters for you, if you would like to take a look.”
Queen Chrysalis entered the room, and started to pace very slowly along the outer edges until she stopped to look out on the Northern District of Everfree. The other five ponies had filed in after the queen, and had all taken up equal space from each other all in the center of the room. Chrysalis turned back to them.
“Updraft, Blackheart, you are both dismissed,” she said.
“Yes, your grace,” The unmasked flutterpony said, unmistakably Updraft. The two Flutterponies filed out and left to join the Royal Everfree Guard in the barracks. Chrysalis turned to look at Blue Bell.
“Blue Bell, do you think you could bring me some mint tea?" Chrysalis asked, a gentle smile spreading across her lips, "It’s been a long journey, and I need to unknot my joints.”
“Of course, your majesty.” Blue Bell said with a bow before leaving. The door gently clicked behind her, and Chrysalis looked at both Celestia and Luna.
“So, I hear you two are going to be helping Blue Bell take care of me while I am staying here in Everfree,” Chrysalis said as she levitated three pillows from under the coffee table placed up against the windows. As she sat down on her pillow, her wings glistened in the sunlight and filled the room with a multitude of colors.
Celestia sat down on the cushion she had been provided, and said, “I… Uh… W-we… Yes. Sorry, your majesty. Your wings, they are so beautiful.”
Chrysalis looked back at her wings, and then back to the two speechless princesses, and giggled, “Thank you, Celestia. You don’t have to call me your majesty. Just Chrysalis is fine. We are in your home after all. Perhaps it should be me who is calling you ‘your majesty’.”
Celestia smiled at Chrysalis, and said,“No please, I like being called just Celestia. All of the royal formalities really get under my skin sometimes. I wish I could be a normal pony some days so I wouldn’t have ponies falling over to get me a tissue when I sneeze.”
“I think we all want a break from royalty sometimes. It’s always nice to meet with another pony who is your equal.” Chrysalis mused, and looked over at Luna, who was trying to make herself look very small when the queen looked at her. “And you are very lucky to have a sister who can be called your equal. I envy you, Celestia.”
Chrysalis lowered her head until it was level with Luna’s, and she gave the little filly a smile, and said “Hi Luna. Hey. There is no need to be afraid. Here, you want to see something interesting?”
Chrysalis lifted her head up, and then positioned her wings into as much of a fan as she could muster behind her, surrounding the two fillies with a full spectrum of colors. Her horn then lit up with a brilliant red hue, and something behind her flashed. She smiled, and then pushed her wings down, taking away the array of colors so that they could be replaced by a swarm of butterflies that were unleashed behind her. Celestia stared in awe of the spectacle before she looked over at her sister. A smile grew on Luna's face to match the large one that was implanted on Celestia's face.
Celestia, Luna, and Chrysalis watched the butterflies roam around the entire room free until there was a knock on the door. Chrysalis used her magic to open the door for Blue Bell, who had a cart with a pot of tea and four cups on it.
“Ah, Blue Bell," Chrysalis said, while she was looking at Luna who was entranced by the various, colorful butterflies that filled the room. "I am glad you came. I was just showing Luna here a magic trick.”
Blue Bell wheeled the cart over to the coffee table, and began placing the tea and cups, and said, “I’m glad you managed to get her to smile. She really is quite a timid filly.”
Chrysalis smiled. “Oh yes, I can tell. Hey Luna, do you want to see another magic trick?”
Luna looked over at the regal queen. “Yes!”
~~~
It was approaching dinner time by the time Celestia, Luna, and Blue Bell had left Chrysalis’s quarters. During their time spent with the Flutterpony Queen, she had shown all three of the ponies various magic tricks she could do, whether it be a simple light show or something a little complex like changing a flower to a dove. Both Celestia and Luna had been so enthralled with the queen and her magic, that they eventually ended up calling her Auntie Chrysalis, which Chrysalis took to the new nickname well. Both fillies left the queen by giving her a hug, and then closing the door behind them.
They were heading back to the kitchens now so that they may be able to get their assignments on what dinner they are to prepare for their most esteemed guest. Luna was skipping along at a pace that matched with both Celestia’s and Blue Bell’s walk. Celestia turned to look up at the Blue Bell.
“Blue Bell, do you like Auntie Chrysalis?” she asked.
Blue Bell giggled, and said, “Oh yes, of course I like her. Not only is she fun and endearing, but she is also loyal and reliable. When there was a drought here in Equestria a few years back, and there were massive food shortages all over Equestria, it was the Flutterponies who provided relief to the Equestrians. It was also the Flutterponies who got the griffons on good standing with Equestria. The Eternal Valley has done so much to help Equestria under Queen Chrysalis’s rule.”
Celestia looked ahead as they all approached the door to the kitchens. Blue Bell went in first, opening the door for the two princesses. As they walked in, Sprinkles strode up alongside of the ponies, and looked over at Blue Bell.
“Hey there everypony! Did you have a fun time with Queen Chrysalis?” he asked.
“Oh yes, the two princesses had a wonderful time," Blue Bell replied. "The queen really is a delightful pony.”
“Well, then that calls for Ms. Chrysalis to have a magnificent dinner tonight. I have planned to make her stuffed grape leaves with…”
Celestia's gaze drifted to over where the Royal Cookie Jar sat. It had not moved from the spot where Blue Bell had placed it earlier. It was now much easier to get to, and if both she and Luna made a good enough plan they might be able to steal the jar to the pantry and get some of the snicker doodles that she had been craving all day. She looked over at Luna.
“Luna," Celestia whispered, "the cookie jar hasn’t moved since Blue Bell had placed it earlier today. Do you see?”
Luna’s gaze moved over to where the cookie jar was, and she nodded her head.
“Let’s try to get a work station with Blue Bell set up over near the cookie jar. I’ll try to think of a plan until then of what to do next.” Celestia said followed by a nod of ascent by Luna.
The two princesses turned back to face Blue Bell quickly as she turned towards them once she and Sprinkles had finished speaking.
“Okay, Celestia and Luna," Blue Bell said. "We’re going to need to get a work station and a few supplies before we begin. Luna, how about you go find us a place while Celestia and I head over to the pantry to get a few things?”
Both princesses nodded, and Luna went off to find a station while Celestia and Blue Bell headed over to the pantry. When they both entered the pantry, Blue Bell listed off a long list of supplies that both she and Celestia needed to gather for Chrysalis’s meal tonight, and they set off to work gathering everything on the list.
By the time they had finished, Celestia had gathered some carrots, cucumbers, and a bag of rice, and was carrying them back to the work station Luna had found. Celestia noticed that Luna had taken a station that was just two spaces over from where the Royal Cookie Jar was being kept, and she gave a wink at her sister. Blue Bell then came from the pantry with her supplies, and together she and Celestia lay everything out on the counter.
“Okay, Celestia, can you go over and get a frying pan ready to cook these grape leaves?" Blue Bell asked, organizing the supplies on the counter. "Make sure to put a little slice of butter into the pan so that the leaves won’t stick.”
“Yes Ms. Blue Bell!” Celestia replied. She then trotted over to the stove across from their work station, and placed a pan on top of one of the burners, turning it on and coating it with a thin slice of butter. She turned, and saw that Luna was coming over her way.
“Luna," Celestia began, giving Luna a fishing line, "take this fishing line, and tie it to one of the stoves over there past the cookie jar. Then come back over here, and keep an eye on the pan for me, while also pulling the line outwards on my signal. I’ll catch it on my back ,and then take it into the pantry where we’ll eat all the cookies we want later.”
Luna nodded, and quickly hurried with the fishing line over to one of the stoves just like Celestia said. She tied the line, made sure it was tight, and then came rushing back over, hopping onto the stool Celestia had been using.
“Okay, ‘Tia, we are ready!” Luna declared.
Celestia dashed over to position herself under the jar, and then looked over at Luna and nodded her head. Luna pulled the fishing line out, and watched as the cookie jar fell down onto Celestia’s back. There was a loud thud, and then a groan of pain. Celestia was lying on her stomach with her legs spread out, and her head was wobbling back and forth. Blue Bell rushed over to help Celestia and upon seeing her advance, Celestia quickly pushed the cookie jar under the counter out of sight.
“Oh my, Celestia, are you alright?” Blue Bell asked with concern marking her face.
“Yes, I’m fine, Blue Bell," Celestia said, glancing at Luna and nodding her head towards the butter. Luna quickly hid the butter out of sight, "I just slipped when I went to go get some… uh… butter!”
“I thought we had plenty of butter…” Blue Bell started to say as she turned to look over where Luna was. She stopped when she saw that the butter was missing. She raised an eyebrow and turned back to Celestia.
“I guess we ran out. Well, alright then.” Blue Bell said, and then turned to get back to work.
Celestia watched Blue Bell for a few seconds before getting to her hooves, grabbing the cookie jar, and then scurrying over towards the pantry. She quickly stashed the cookies away in a hidden spot, and then dashed back out of the pantry and back over to Luna, and relieved her of her task of watching the pan.
Soon, Blue Bell had finished rolling up the stuffed grape leaves with all of the ingredients, and brought them over to the pan. She started laying the grape leaves into the pan one at a time, each one sizzling from contact on the hot, buttery pan. She then turned the rolled grape leaves over once she deemed them ready on each side they were rolled from. Soon, Blue Bell was scooping each of the grape leaves out of the pan, and laying them neatly on a plate that had been brought by Luna. As a finishing touch Blue Bell added a sweet smelling sauce over the grape leaves and placed a roll of sweet bread on the plate. She covered the top and then placed it on the cart to be wheeled to Chrysalis’s room.
“Okay, I trust you two will deliver this important package to her majesty?” Blue Bell asked the two filles.
Celestia and Luna looked at each other, turned to face the blue mare, and gave a salute. “You can count on us, ma’am!” They said in unison.
~~~
Once Chrysalis’s dinner had been safely delivered to her, and the two princesses had arrived back in the kitchen, both Luna and Celestia quickly ran over to the pantry. It was almost time for dinner for the both of them, and they were hoping to sneak a quick, sugary treat before departing the kitchens to dine with their parents. Celestia quietly shut the pantry door behind them and then retrieved the cookie jar from its hiding spot.
“Are you ready for this Luna?" Celestia asked, salivating. "After a whole day of trying to nab the Royal Cookie Jar and it is finally ours!”
“Oh yay!" Luna exclaimed, fluttering her wings in anticipation. "I can’t wait to have one of the peanut butter cookies. Open it, open it!”
Celestia opened the cookie jar, and paled. All of the cookies had been replaced with branches of cauliflower. Luna looked inside and stuck out her tongue.
“Ewwww, cauliflower.” Luna said.
“W-where are the cookies?” Celestia asked herself.
The door to the pantry opened, and both Blue Bell and Sprinkles stuck their heads in.
“We knew you would try to grab those cookies first chance you got, so we hid the jar again. Good luck finding it, you silly fillies!” Sprinkles said. Blue Bell stuck out her tongue and then they both closed the pantry behind them.
Celestia and Luna fell onto their backs and groaned.
This was going to be a long week.
~~~
Stats
Page generated in 0.024 seconds
Total duration
595 users online
922,177 hits today, 2,591,549 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
This chapter was sooooooooooooooooooooo cute
1592666 I'm glad you thought so!
I just knew that would happen, lol!
But, who knew that Tia was the mischevious one?
Heh, the Changlings originally being the Flutterponies seems to be a common theme.
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/001/384/Atrapitis.gif
My reaction to Queen Chrysalis:
Wait... What!
But... I thought Queen Chrysalis was Queen of the changelings...
O... Okay... That makes a little more sense now...
Great job on this story tho!