Candy Cane vs Mango Leaf
Mango Leaf gazed at the poster on the wall of Sugarcube Corner, absently sipping his milkshake.
It might've been an odd sight for some ponies, him outside in nothing but a simple green scarf, sipping the cold beverage in the snow. In fact, he blended in about as well as a pair of colorful gummies in plain vanilla yogurt: an orange and green mote amid all the white.
But, with his long history of sales there, Ponyville was well-versed in his eccentricities.
As such, he was simply greeted by several ponies on their way inside. Where it was warm.
"Thinking about it?" a young voice asked, making him start, then frown. He knew that voice. He slowly craned his neck to the side, examining the small winter-wrapped pony that had approached his table. Pink coat? Check. Green eyes? Check. Red and white mane and tail? Check and check.
Even the mug of hot chocolate floating in the warm pink aura of her magic field was a spot-on imitation of the one on her flank, sans cand
Mango Leaf snorted and turned back to his milkshake. "Long time, Candy Cane."
The filly shook her head and, without asking, sat across from him. "A year, actually. And you still owe me an apology."
"An apolo—" Mango sputtered before interrupting himself by slurping milkshake through the straw while gathering his wits. "Okay," he said once he had cooled down. "I’ll bite. An apology for what?"
"Last year's Hearth’s Warming," Candy Cane replied, pausing to sip her hot chocolate "You froze my cake."
"You threatened me."
Candy Cane shrugged. "You froze my cake. All I want is an apology. And I was thinking we could do business together."
Mango sighed, closing his eyes. "Is this another of your ideas like that one time when you tried to monetize air?"
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.
"That was not my best idea," Candy Cane grudgingly admitted.
"And I told you so."
Candy Cane's eyes narrowed. "And I never asked for input from a self-centered, twice-a-year pony that only sells a single product!"
Mango nodded. "And this is why we don’t do business together," he said, finishing the last dregs of his milkshake. "You're bright and you’re motivated, Candy, but you have a very short fuse."
He pushed the empty glass and slid back from the table. "Have a good night, Candy. Don't go home too late or your parents will be upset."
He didn't wait for a reply, trotting away and out of sight of Sugarcube Corner.
Still sour from his conversation with Candy Cane, Mango made his way back to his wagon. He'd parked right next to where the library had been a year ago. Now, a few shanks of wood poked through a hill of snow.
Reaching it, he ran a hoof along one of the sides. The little sliding windows were closed, of course, and the bar beneath them and the accompanying stools were all folded away. In warmer times, ponies would sit and make their orders, enjoying their conversations with each other and Mango.
He sighed.
Now it was all wintery and cold. The ponies here were delicate creatures that couldn't fathom a good frozen yogurt in the middle of a cold, snowy day.
He snorted.
It was the best time of the year for it, too! The yogurt wouldn’t melt! Obviously!
Grumbling, he opened the back door and stepped into his wagon, lighting it with his magic as he lay down on his cot and stared at the ceiling, thinking about the contest.
The next morning, Mango Leaf stood beside his wagon, stretching and shaking off the sleep. One thing he had to give to Ponyville: they had fantastic mornings.
"Things to do!" he said cheerfully, looking at the vast expanse of snow. "Get chocolate from Bon Bon! Buy spices from Smoked Paprika!" He grinned. "Cinnamon, vanilla... hay, cumin. I feel like mixing cumin with fruits and yogurt. I bet that’ll change the way ponies look at—"
"Hey, Mango!"
Mango groaned.
"Are you entering the contest? What are you making?" Candy Cane asked.
Mango Leaf took a hesitant step back. "I don't know yet. It's not easy thinking up something original, you know?"
"Well if you do, you'll be up against some tough competition!" Candy Cane pointed out. "Bon Bon is participating, and she's amazing with hot chocolate."
Mango rolled his eyes."I know, she sells me some for my frozen, chocolate-covered fruit every few months. I know these things, Candy."
Candy Cane smirked. "Well, then you know what you're up against. Still." She patted him on the foreleg. "I'm not sure we can find anypony that likes to suck ice cubes for in the middle of winter, so maybe it's a good thing you're not in."
When Mango growled, Candy Cane shrugged. "Oh, look at the time! I guess I should get back to my project! Later!"
Mango kept smiling until she was gone. Then he frowned. "It. Is. On."
"Oh, come on!"
Candy Cane smiled from behind the table. "Hi, Mango! Are you going to sign up for my contest?"
He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with a hoof. "I should've known."
The filly giggled. "Well, what did you expect? My special talent is making winter holidays special and festive! And what better way to do that and make some bits than organizing a competition fostering the core values of Ponyville?"
Mango sighed. "Okay, yes, yes, I would like to sign in." He levitated the quill.
"Great!" Candy Cane smiled and motioned with her small hoof to the list in front of him. There were several names already there, some he recognized, some he didn't. "As soon as I get your entry fee and an apology, you can sign in and select the category you want to compete in."
Mango hesitated. "What?"
"I want an apology, or you can't enter."
"That's extortion."
"That's teaching you good manners."
"Candy, you even liked the frozen cake when you ate it."
"But you didn't ask."
Mango pouted. While it was undeniable that the frozen version was superior, she had been very, very upset with him, even if she had liked it in the end. "You're right, Candy." He sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you first. Can you forgive me?"
"For-given!" She cheered. "Now sign in! And just so you know, it has to be ready by tomorrow morning, ten o’clock sharp! And I’ll be checking on everypony to make sure everything is going well."
Mango nodded and started walking away. "My wagon’s next to where the library used to be. Should be easy to spot."
"See you soon!" Candy called, waving her hoof.
"I'll be ready!"
"I'll never be ready," he told his reflection. "I have no clue. I had no intention of joining, but Candy Cane taunts me and now I'm pretty much screwed.”
He had... fruit? Well, frozen fruit.
In fact, he had the most amazingly large frozen strawberry the size of a pony's head.
He could... cover it in chocolate?
No!
He'd turn it into a giant bowl for his best berry yogurts! Throw some gummies in!
Wait.
"No! Bad Mango! Bad!" He banged his head on the table. "That is not original! You might as well quit now if that's the best you can do!" He glared up at his reflection.
A knock on the door made him scramble. He opened it quickly and looked out then down. "Oh. Candy Cane." He chuckled nervously. "What brings you here?"
"Just checking on you!" the filly said, smile ever-present. "It's almost six, so I figured you must've done a lot already."
"Uh, yes! Of course I have! It's a thing of glory!"
Candy Cane tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. "Can I see it?"
"Um. Yes! No! Okay, fine," Mango muttered, sitting down on the stairs so he could be at eye level. "I have no clue what I'm doing."
Candy Cane patted Mango's shoulder comfortingly. "If it helps, you're not the only pony having a tough time. Turns out that Bon Bon really didn't want to compete but Lyra signed her up."
Mango blinked. "What? But... Bon Bon's finest chocolatier in town! Why wouldn't she participate? She'd had the competition in the bag, especially with the Cakes not around this time."
Candy Cane shrugged. "She wasn't feeling it this year, I guess. It's too bad too... with some inspiration, both of you would be awesome." She smiled and pranced away, leaving Mango thinking alone.
Mango Leaf made it to Bonnie's Chocolates and Candies soon after, and was stopped by Ditzy Doo, who shook her head. "She's in a bad mood, I think," the pegasus whispered. "I want to get some things for Hearth's Warming but I'm afraid to walk in."
"Next time ask!" Bon Bon growled her concentration fully on the batch of chocolate at hoof. "Don't randomly sign me up! Ugh. That mare!"
"So, it's true then?" Mango asked, walking into the shop. "You're not competing?
"What, come here to gloat about it?" Bon Bon asked, giving Mango a withering look.
Mango grinned uncomfortably. "Nah, I was just surprised. I thought you'd wipe away the competition."
Bon Bon sighed. "It's just… I've been unable to think of anything! The same old desserts won't cut it."
Mango Leaf sighed, sinking into one of the the confectionary’s chairs. "I know, I'm having the same problem. I can't think of any frozen product I could make that would make the cut."
"It's too bad you can't just team up," Ditzy said, finally walking in. "Hot and cold? That would be amazing!"
Mango Leaf looked up at the exact moment Bon Bon stopped stirring. They looked to each other, then to Ditzy.
The City Hall was packed with ponies eating, drinking and discussing.
How was the day so far?
How absolutely adorable had the school play been?
How frightfully frigid was the weather?
And, of course, the food competition at hoof.
The judging panel—Mayor Mare, Rarity and Candy Cane—had already declared the winners for the entrée, drink and the main dish. The competition had been tough, with Carrot Top's Spicy-Honey Roasted Veggies winning the entree, Berry Punch's cinnamon-mint margarita the drink, and the main course being ex-Manehattanite chef Main Course's almond soup. No big surprise there.
However, the moment Mango Leaf, Bon Bon had been waiting for was finally here. The judges were going to finally decide the best dessert of the night and, although they were confident in their skills, there was always the chance defeat’s bitter taste would rest heavy on their palettes.
"How's it holding?" Bon Bon whispered nervously.
"It's holding," Mango assured her. "I'm keeping the spell carefully monitored... it's going to be okay."
"I hope so," Bon Bon whispered back.
Mango sighed. "Yeah..." He stopped talking when a competitor brought some sort of creme dessert to the judge's table. "Y’know, I bet if I froze that, it’d make an awesome—"
“No! Concentrate!” Bon Bon growled at Mango before turning to the pegasus beside her. “Ditzy, you’re sure it’ll—”
"It'll be fine, Bonnie." Ditzy giggled.
"Mango Leaf, Ditzy Doo and Bon Bon, please come forth!" Mayor Mare called.
"Well, here we go," Mango muttered, following Bon Bon up to the front. He levitated the covered platter and set it on the table.
"Tell us about your dish," Mayor Mare asked.
Mango Leaf cleared his throat. "We thought about the lessons of Hearth's Warming and how to represent them."
"So... instead of working against each other, we decided to team up with Ditzy Doo," Bon Bon added. "We think our dessert represents the unity we ponies have enjoyed since the three tribes all finally made peace."
At her nod, Mango Leaf levitated the cover off the plate. Several oohs and aaahs escaped from the crowd as the dessert was revealed. It was a huge, bright red frozen strawberry, with thin striped cuts filled with frozen yogurt floating on a fragrant cloud just big enough to nestle it.
"The cloud is infused with vanilla sugar," Mango explained, "And was made by Ditzy Doo. It's like biting into the lightest, fluffiest vanilla meringue you could ever imagine."
He paused as the judges dug in, with Candy Cane herself cutting the giant strawberry to reveal a molten, thick, creamy and dark chocolate filling, still warm and slowly oozing, mixed with raspberries and blueberries.
"The molten chocolate filling and frozen-yogurt strawberry was a combined effort of Bon Bon and I," he explained, smiling at their looks of delight and surprise.
"This—" Mayor Mare gasped out after her first bite of all three elements combined. "This is delicious! I never thought you could have something hot and cold and fluffy all at the same time. Much less have it taste this good!"
"I love the presentation as well!" Rarity giggled. "It's so chic! And the theme is perfect!"
Candy Cane nodded, stuffing her mouth with chocolate, strawberry and vanilla cloud, before gulping it down and adding her two bits: "I love how you managed to capture a bit of each tribe with this dessert! I can't think of a more perfect example of unity between ponies!"
She whispered to the other judges, who whispered back in return before she beamed at the three of them in between bites. "I think we have our winners!"
"Well, that was certainly something," Bon Bon sighed contentedly, hot cocoa firmly in hoof. "Thank you for talking me into this, Mango."
"And thanks for letting me help, guys!" Ditzy added. "I can buy Dinky a new flute with my part of the prize!"
Mango Leaf shook his head, raising his milkshake in salute. "Nah, thank you for helping us on such short notice, Ditzy. Our dessert wouldn't have been half as unique without you!"
"I'm just glad everything turned out okay," Lyra muttered.
"Congrats, everypony!" Candy Cane called, hopping up to take a seat at their table. "I knew something amazing would come out of you," she said. "I never expected you to team up, though!"
Mango chuckled. "You're the filly of the hour, Candy. If you hadn't mentioned that Bonnie was about to quit, I wouldn't have tried to convince her otherwise!"
Candy Cane nodded. "I know, I’m amazing." She smirked. "And, this Hearth's Warming dinner is going to make future ones even better with your brand new, signature dessert!" She giggled. "Now there's just one thing to do with it."
The older ponies stared in confusion.
"And what would that be, Candy?" Bon Bon finally asked.
Candy Cane grinned. "We mass-produce it!"
End
