Strawberries

Strawberries

A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Slice of Life Fanfiction Dedicated to Cootersneeze

     The sun rose in tranquility, casting a shadow from a lone house over those of gardens that stretched far with strawberry bushes. The fields were gracefully neat with grass across as wide as the eye can see. In the garden, you could see a banana hammock that lay calmly between two trees. A gentle breeze graced the air as a pegasus flew over to the house with a mailbag. Landing firmly on the ground, the happy gray mare with a yellow mane trotted happily over to the house.

     Inside, another pegasus was looking out the window from her kitchen while doing dishes and noticed the approaching mare. She immediately ran towards the door, but did not open it. Instead, she positioned herself like she was ready to pounce, keeping her body leaned forward with a glare on her face. The gray mare outside walked closer, not knowing her fate that inevitably awaited her. As she continued to trot forth, she stopped just outside the redwood door and knocked on it.

     “Come in!” the mare inside yelled, not loosening her position like she was stalking her prey.  The door handle turned slightly as the mare inside prepared herself to attack. The door slowly creaked open to reveal the gray mare holding a mail bag. Just as she opened the door, she was immediately pounced on. The pink mare with a beautiful glowing red mane that landed on top of her, looked at her and hugged her, seeming especially playful.

     “Mail for you!” the mailmare said, holding an envelope in her mouth with the name “Cootersneeze” across the front. That was the name of the pinkish red mare who was still hugging the gray mailmare known as Derpy Hooves. Cootersneeze loosened her grip on Derpy and helped her stand up as she took the letter.

     “Oh! Thank you!” Cootersneeze said as she smiled eccentrically at Derpy Hooves. She took the envelope from Derpy and opened it in front of the mailmare. She took out a letter that was kept inside and unfolded it so she could read it. It read:

To All Whom May Receive This Letter,

Greetings! You have been selected to participate in the annual Equestria Food Tasting Ceremony as a contestant to win the golden trophy handed down through generations of winners! We would be lucky to have you as a contestant and would like to hear back from you tonight at the ceremony in Ponyville with your very own dish!

Good Luck!,

Silverstache the Master Chef

     Cootersneeze peered at the letter and looked back up at Derpy, whose cross-eyed face looked confused and bored from standing around with anticipation. Cootersneeze lowered the letter just enough so she could see Derpy just over the letter and glared at her, hiding her wide smile. Derpy smiled regardless and started humming a random tune.

     “I’ve been invited to the Equestria Food Tasting Ceremony!” Cootersneeze explained to Derpy, who seemed eager to hear what the letter was about. Derpy smiled, letting a wide beam cross her face.

     “Oh! I’ve heard about that!” Derpy started. “Everypony meets up to compete their dishes against other ponies and the winner gets a really big trophy!”

     “Maybe I can—“ Cootersneeze attempted to say before getting interrupted.

     “You should bake a cake! Or make some cupcakes! Or even—“ Derpy stopped for a second, taking a deep breath with excitement over something she just thought of. “Or maybe a really big muffin!” Derpy said excitedly with the mental image of a giant strawberry muffin in front of her.

     “I can try…” Cootersneeze said, not wanting to keep her sentences too long for fear that she’ll keep getting interrupted. Derpy smiled, giggling at Cootersneeze and closing her eyes with sheer joy. Cootersneeze knew she couldn’t back out now that she made Derpy so happy with the thought of a giant muffin.

     “I’ll be there! I wasn’t invited, but maybe they’ll let me sample!” Derpy explained as if it were a dream come true to her. Cootersneeze nodded with affirmation, giving her the a-okay that she would begin the task of making a big strawberry muffin. “Oh! I have to go! I have more mail to deliver! Bye!” Derpy yelled towards Cootersneeze as she started to fly slowly into the air. Cootersneeze waved her hoof at the mailmare who was still smiling and licking her lips at the thoughts.

     Cootersneeze turned around and re-entered her house, shutting the door behind her. She walked over to a round wooden table in her small living room and placed the letter down as she continued to walk into her kitchen where she was before. She walked over towards a cabinet, her beautiful morning gown brushing lightly against a rectangular wooden counter in the center of her kitchen where she prepares meals. Opening the cabinet, Cootersneeze caught a whiff of fresh-picked strawberries as her eyes met with a basket  filled with them from earlier in the morning, the delicious smell spreading among the kitchen.

     Cootersneeze took out the basket and placed it on top of the counter. She shut the cabinet and proceeded to walk to the other side of the kitchen just past the counter and open one of the cabinets next to the sink. Inside that cabinet was a box of Muffin Mix, which she grabbed quickly and put it next to the basket of strawberries on the counter. She seemed to be rushing for some reason but in a calm manner. She took out the biggest bowl she could find, which was just big enough to make a huge muffin, and set it next to the muffin mix.

     Carefully opening the top of the box where it was marked “tear here”, she emptied all of the muffin mix into the bowl. Humming a happy tune, Cootersneeze picked up her basket of strawberries and dumped all of those in as well. She seemed very happy as if she knew what she was doing. She was used to making strawberry beverages more than strawberry-based food. She loved making strawberry wine, strawberry juice, and other beverages like that and selling them in different variations of either cups or barrels for a price which she always sympathized over others if they couldn’t afford it, usually letting them off the hook but telling herself they’ll pay for it later, which they typically didn’t.

     Picking up the heavy bowl with her two front hooves, Cootersneeze walked over to her oven and had to open it with one of her back hooves, wobbling and almost dropping the bowl entirely. Luckily, she managed to open it and place the bowl inside, shutting the door and setting the muffin to bake. At this point, Cootersneeze seemed exhausted and decided to go outside, keeping the kitchen window open so she could smell when it was time. She loved to spend time in her strawberry garden, laying down in her banana hammock or even just laying down in the garden itself sometimes.

     She walked outside and shut the door behind her, walking over to her strawberry garden with the empty basket in her hand. She walked into the garden, minding her steps and looking for any bushes that have any strawberries ready to take. She found a couple of bushes near the beginning of the garden that has strawberries she didn’t pick earlier. Happy and still humming the tune, she plucked the strawberries from their small stems and put them in her basket.

     The sun was beating down on Cootersneeze, causing her to break a sweat from standing out. As she looked around, hearing the sun’s rays resonate through the air, her eyes locked with the banana hammock. The longer she looked, the more tempting and seducing it became to her. She walked towards it almost hypnotizing her as she placed the strawberry basket down, still walking over to the hammock until she stood in front of it and climbed into it, laying in the shade of the trees. Her eyes fluttered as she looked up at the sky, a heated blush crossing her face as she thought about what the clouds looked like. Her eyes became heavy as she closed them for a moment, intending for her eyes to feel rested enough for her to wake up only to be met with slumber as her eyes remained closed and she became breathing calmly and relaxed through her mouth, gently falling asleep.

     When she awoke, she sat up and yawned, letting out a wide stretch before she started to wobble and eventually fell out of the hammock. She stood up by herself and remembered where she was. Something seemed to be spacing her mind until she decided to walk towards her house for a nice cold glass of lemonade or some other equally cold beverage. As Cootersneeze walked from the garden to her house, she noticed the basket she had left previously and picked it up as she walked closer to her house. Her eyes were still half shut, the heat taking its toll on her. As she entered inside, closing the door behind her and putting the basket down, she wandered into the kitchen and went to go walk towards her cabinets until she ended up walking into something big and puffy. She rubbed her eyes as soon as she hit something and could not believe what was before her. A large muffin, bigger than she ever could have imagined that blocked her path. It must’ve been hours that the muffin was in the oven. Quickly, Cootersneeze turned off the oven and looked in awe at the great big strawberry muffin.

     At first, she wondered how it happened. Then she put the thought aside and began to wonder how she’d get the muffin down to the Equestria Food Tasting Contest. She let out a hefty sigh and began the tedious job of pushing and pulling the giant muffin. Eventually, she got it to her front door where she started to push it out with force, somehow not even breaking the muffin. As she pushed and shoved at the stubborn muffin, she was surprised when it finally snapped outside of her house and started to retake its form.

     She smiled with relief, wiping her hoof across her forehead. Cootersneeze looked over at the muffin and started to roll it over to the contest, not being too far from its direct location. When she arrived, she looked at all of the other entries as she made her way over to the wooden contest stand. She saw many ponies who had baked goods. Carrot Top made carrot cake, Mr. and Mrs. Cake made a big six-layer cake, which looked delicious and appealing to Cootersneeze, and all sorts of other entries were there. Her big muffin attracted a lot of attention and some of the other hosts of the contest even helped move it over to the table, which was ironically too small for the muffin. Two pegasi left the area for a moment and brought back another table of equal size and height, creating a perfect stand for Cootersneeze’s big strawberry muffin.

     “Oh, thank you.” Cootersneeze said with appreciation and sincerity. It wasn’t too long after that she noticed the judges walking to the tables, taking samples and eating them. She watched the expression on their faces turn to joy as they took a bite of the frosting-covered six-layer cake from Mr. and Mrs. Cake. There was a bit of competitiveness that took over Cootersneeze for a moment as she looked at her muffin and took off a small chunk, eating it and smiling over how warm and moist it was for a muffin.

     The judges, one being Silverstache the Master Chef, continued to make their way around the tables. Cootersneeze saw many faces, those of whom have bought her strawberry beverages before, and other ponies that she’s seen around. Her wings opened momentarily, allowing her to stretch again with her gown rippling with the breeze that passed her face. She yawned once more, starting to feel sleepier. She sat down, wondering if maybe she could catch a peep of shuteye before the judges got there.

     “Oh my gosh!” a voice said, panting with excitement. Cootersneeze assumed it was a dream and let it go. “That’s the most amazingest muffin I’ve ever seen!” the voice continued. Finally, Cootersneeze snapped out of her would-be dream and looked up at the mare in front of her who was completely entranced with the big muffin in front of her.

     “Derpy?” Cootersneeze asked, rubbing her eyes to get a clear look at the mare. Indeed her suspicions were correct. The gray mailmare was standing in complete paralysis at the muffin, her mouth beginning to water slowly.

     “How’d you do it?!” Derpy asked, looking eagerly at Cootersneeze.

     “I…” Cootersneeze started, blushing. “Cootersneeze magic!” she said, not wanting to reveal what had happened.

     “It’s the biggest muffin I’ve ever seen! And I’ve seen some pretty big muffins!” Derpy bragged, proud of her achievements of seeing big muffins.

      “Thank you…” Cootersneeze said, blushing again. Derpy ripped off a chunk of the muffin and took a bite of it. The piece she grabbed looked half strawberry, half muffin. A perfectly combination as she took a big bite that left her speechless. The taste of the strawberry accompanied with the juices from the strawberry being absorbed into the muffin, leaving it with a nice squishy moist taste made it unparalleled. Derpy beamed as wide as she could. “Did you like it?” Cootersneeze asked.

     “I love it!” Derpy shouted, flying into the air and metaphorically exploding with happiness. The other judges wanted to see what the hype was about as they walked towards Cootersneeze’s giant strawberry muffin.

     “What do we have here, Judge Derpy Hooves?” Silverstache the Master Chef asked, looking at Derpy. Cootersneeze had no idea that Derpy was going to actually be a judge.

     “It’s the biggest and best muffin I have ever seen!” Derpy said, flying in a curved form down to Silverstache and looking him in the face with wide, joyful eyes. Silverstache looked at Cootersneeze, glancing seriously over at her with a doubtful stare. She took a step back but tried to keep calm, slowly feeling as if she was about to lose.

     “I’ll be the judge of that!” Silverstache said, walking over to the table and taking a scoop of the muffin. It didn’t look as great as the piece Derpy grabbed, but it still had strawberry in it nonetheless. As he took a bite, Cootersneeze could hear the squish of the strawberry exploding with flavor in his mouth, crumbs getting on his long white moustache. He chewed, not revealing a facial expression. Cootersneeze looked at him with anticipation until he merely looked at Cootersneeze and walked away. Cootersneeze looked disappointed and Derpy walked over to her.

     “I think he liked it!” Derpy said.  Cootersneeze didn’t seem so certain but she hoped Derpy was correct.

     “Attention everypony!” a voice called from on top of the stage at the judges table where Silverstache was standing accompanied with the other judges except Derpy, who was still standing next to Cootersneeze. “I believe we have come to a consensus on the winner of this year’s annual Equestria Food Tasting Contest! “ he continued. Cootersneeze gulped, looking intently at Silverstache who was looking at all of the eager contestants at their stands.

     “Do it for the muffin!” Derpy Hooves chanted out loud. Silverstache let out a small smile. “The winner of this year’s golden trophy goes to…” he stopped, giving a moment of anticipation and suspense. “Cootersneeze!” Silverstache declared, pointing his hoof over at Cootersneeze and her giant muffin. Cootersneeze thought she had failed for certain. Claps and cheers engulfed the crowd and the judges all walked up to her with a trophy in a red wheelbarrow for Cootersneeze.

     “I told you he liked it!” Derpy nudged Cootersneeze with her elbow. Silverstache walked up to Cootersneeze, handing her the handle to the red wheelbarrow and smiling at her as the crowd gathered around.

     “For being one of the most delicious creations I have ever eaten in all my years of judging, I award you, Cootersneeze, the golden trophy handed down through winners passed each year! Congratulations!” Silverstache announced as the crowd continued to clap and congratulate Cootersneeze.

     The next while was spent handing out bits of the muffin on plates given to her by the judges until all of the muffin was gone and everypony had at least one chunk of the muffin. After everything was done and the ceremony ended, Cootersneeze took the red wheelbarrow back to her home with the golden trophy still on it. She moved over to her house, went inside, placed the trophy on her table next to the letter that invited her, and walked back towards the door, leaving the red wheelbarrow inside the house.

     She walked over to her garden as the sun began to set. Cootersneeze yawned and went to lay down on the grass, feeling exhausted from a long day but also feeling proud and very happy that she got to make everypony, especially Derpy Hooves, very happy with her giant strawberry muffin. She smiled with that thought as the sun finally set and she closed her eyes, drifting to sleep for the night in her strawberry garden that she loved so much.