Chapter 1: A Pink Pony's Promoted Prominence
We start with a portal opening in the sky above a small city.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!
And our pink pony protagonist happens to... drop in. Fortunately, due to her bouncy/stretchy/random nature, she lands.... relatively unharmed.
"Ugh. Says you."
I said "relatively". And can you keep the 4th wall breaks to a minimum?
"iiiI make no promises. Have you even met me?"
(sigh) It'll have to do, I suppose.
"You know what you signed up for by putting me here. So, what's the dish around here, anyway?"
Funny you should put it like that. This place is practically all about food.
"Oooh! Sounds exciting."
Oh, that's just the start. look to your left. You'll see our other protagonists
"The ones over at the food cart?"
They're the ones. Why don't you go say hello?
"That I will."
Anyway, Pinkie trots over to two of our other main protagonists, Chase and Kayla.
"That smells gooood! what are you cooking?" Pinkie asks cheerily.
"Sticky fried rice, currently." Chase replies.
"Want some?" Kayla adds.
Clearly they haven't noticed who they're talking to. Give it a moment.
"I'd love some." Pinkie replies. "Hold on a moment."
Fishing a few bits out of her mane, Pinkie hoofs them over to the cooks.
"Wait a minute. Are these... gold coins?" Chase asks, still not noticing the odd customer.
"We call them bits where I come from." Pinkie clarifies
"And where- What the?!" Chase exclaims, finally noticing who he's talking to.
"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie greets cheerily. "Can I have some of what you're making, since I paid for it already?" she adds.
Kayla notices who Chase is talking to and gasps. hearts suddenly in her eyes. "It's a pretty pony!"
"Thanks!"
Kayla dashes over and hugs Pinkie.
"Come on, Chase! Plate some rice for her." Kayla demands. Pointing over at the seats/tables nearby, Kayla says, "Why don't you take a seat?"
Pinkie chuckles. "I think I'll just occupy one instead." she jokes, doing just that.
Shortly thereafter, Chase says, "Order up!" tossing the plated dish (along with some cutlery) to the seated pony, who immediately digs in.
The dish is steaming and glistening, indicating its sheer amount of flavour.
Pinkie briefly pauses, saying, "Delicious!" before continuing.
"Well, we always appreciate a good eater." Kayla says.
"Especially one who pays well." Chase quips
Another voice enters the conversation. "Who are you talking to, you two?"
"Hey Ozlo!" Chase greets. "This is Pinkie Pie."
"Just call me Pinkie." the pony in question says. "It's easier."
Ozlo gasps. "An Equestrian pony? A rare sight, indeed. Also a bringer of good luck. And I can tell that Pinkie here is a cook as well."
"How did you know?" Pinkie asks.
"Ozlo is a good judge of character." Kayla explains.
"Most of the time, anyway." Chase jokes.
"Insulting... but alas correct." Ozlo admits. "Since you can cook, why don't you show us what you can do?" he requests.
"I'd love to!" Pinkie exclaims, tossing her plate back toward Chase, it landing directly on the stack of plates ready to be washed.
"A ringer! It's a gift."
Pinkie reaches behind a nearby lamppost, pulling out a circular counter surface, which comes equipped with a stove/oven, a small refrigerator, a cupboard and a sink.
Quite amazed, the other three look on with their eyes wide and their jaws dropped somewhat.
Pinkie pulls out a bunch of ingredients, launching into a song, music starting to play as well.
Sliding the tray with what she whipped up, she ends the song.
"Okay, I'm making a full-sizedl cake, but the process is close to the same." she admits.
"How did you DO that?!" Chase queries.
"That was amazing!" Kayla adds.
"I'll tell you the story sometime. For now, i'm not done yet!"
Just then... *Ding!*
"Done!" she exclaims.
Reaching into the oven, she pulls out a much larger cake than she put in.
"Now we REALLY get tasty up'n here!" Grimacing, she adds, "Remind me to never use that phrase again."
Reaching into the fridge again, she brings out a container of frosting. Reaching into the cupboard she brings out one of sprinkles. Adding liberal amounts of both and smoothing it out, she exclaims, "Now, who wants a slice o' this beast?!"
"Uh..." all three watchers say in unison, still at a loss for words.
Just then, a rumble came from a distance.
"BEEFSTEAK!" a deep voice rumbled.
Looking toward the source of the voice, they see what seems to be a giant cow!
Ozlo grimaces. "Speaking of beasts..."
Kayla covers her mouth with her folded hands, as if she'd just said something profane. "What do we do, Ozlo?!" she queries.
One might rightly ask how someone might clearly enunciate with their mouth covered, but this isn't the time for that.
Fishing into his robe, Ozlo pulls out two cards. "These are deluxe meal tickets. They'll make whatever dish you use them on into a super-powered Foodon." Turning to Pinkie, he adds, "A creature that will fight for you."
Chase quickly gets to making s dish of fried rice. Tossing the meal ticket onto the plated dish, he says, "Now serving: Fried Ricer!"
And sure enough, his Foodon appears, brandishing a pair of giant spoons.
Pinkie's eyes sparkle and she turs to her concoction, using the ticket she was given. "Now serving, uh...." Pinkie is at a loss for what to call her first foodon, but then remembers what she referred to it as. "AHA!" She exclaims. "Now serviiiing: Beastcake!"
Appearing before her is a huge cake in the form of a half dire bear, half cake.
"Awesome!" she shouts, leaping onto her foodon's back. "YAH!"
The enormous half-bear looked toward her (as much as it could), one eyebrow raised.
"Sorry. Heat of the moment." Pinkie said, shrugging.
The foodon shakes its head in disapproval. Then it rears up, roaring, "BEASTCAKE!" and dashes forth, Chase following with Fried Ricer shortly thereafter.
"Good luck, you two." Ozlo says, glaring confidently.
The monstrous cow stomps through the town, occasionally setting something on fire and/or calling out its name.
Chase shouts, "HEY, YA UNDERCOOKED RUMP ROAST! Pick on someone your own size!"
Clearly insulted, the monster blows a gout of flame toward the four would-be heroes.
Pinkie's Foodon retalliates with a beam-like blast of frosting, assisted by one from Chase's Fried Ricer. Together they manage to overpower the monster's attack, stunning it briefly.
"NOW! Give it everything you've got!" both cooks shouted, pointing at the monster.
Their creatures shouted as well, before firing off their attacks. The beams combined in mid-air spiralling together and streaking toward the giant cow.
The Beefsteak monster stood no chance of withstanding the combined assault, but it tried, firing off a blast of flame, which was quickly overpowered, flying back through the way it came.. In midair, it dissolved, leaving behind its meal ticket. The town was safe once more.
Author's Note
Pink text indicates Pinkie doing an aside. Gray text indicates the narrator's reply.
Chapter 2: Pinkie Proves Pal Potential
Later on, Chase's father -Chef Jack- came up, coming to congratulate Chase on his victory.
"It was a team effort." Chase said humbly. "I couldn't have done it without Pinkie's help.
"Aww! Thanke, Chasey!" The pink pony said thankfully, even blushing slightly..
Chase winced a that. "Please don't call me that." he said.
"Okey dokey lokey!" Pinkie said, not at all despirited ny the admonishment. "Chase it is."
"Thank you." Chase turned back to his father, who was still confused at the presence of the pink pony. "It was also thanks to Ozlo and the turbo-powered meal tickets he gave us."
"I see." Jack said. "Chase, there's no such thing as a Turbo Powered meal ticket. Your foodons only came out so well because you treated them like they were that powerful. Well, that and your cooking skills."(1)
"Really?" Chase said, eyes wide.
"Indeed" his father said. "As long as you cook up your foodons with such powerful belief to it, they'll always turn out well. And as your skill increases, it'll only get better." He then turned to Pinkie. "You as well... Pinkie, was it? You have talent. And you, like Chase and Kayla, are capable of great things if you have faith in yourself and cook with skill. Keep it up and you'll both be earning prizes in no time."
"Thanks, dad!"
"Thank you, sir!"
Chef Jack smiled at the two aspiring chefs. "Now, I will need to be going on a journey. I... can't tell you why, or where. It would only put you two -sorry, three- in danger. Promise me that you two will always cook with gusto!"
"We promise!" the trio said in unison.
Ozlo put in, "And I'll be watching over them as well."
"Excellent! I'm off, then! Good luck, and watch out for the Gluttons!"
A question mark appeared over Pinkie's head. She looked in an imperceptible direction.
"Come again?"
Evil army ruled by King Gorge. They usually wear brown uniforms. You'll know when you see them.
"Oh! Thanks!"
Now stop with the 4th wall shennanigans.
"Okey dokey lokey! I'll stop. For now."
"I'm going to give each of you three meal tickets. I ask that you don't use them ubtil absolutely necessary."
"We promise!" all three said in unison.
From that time, Pinkie started assisting Chase and Kayla in their cooking efforts. They would cook rice, chili and the occasional egg dish, usually, but she would make the sweeter stuff. Cupcakes, muffins, cake, that sort of thing. Her time back home served her well, giving her a vast repertoire of recipes that she was able to put to good use.
As the days went on and they went from town to town, Pinkie learned new dishes and shared her knowledge with Chase and Kayla. Little did they know that soon enough their journey would escalate.
"This looks like a good place to set up shop. As good as any, anyway." Chase said, stopping their Cart. "The kitchen is open!" he exclaimed, causing the cart to turn into a miniature kitchen setup.
"I still think that's really nifty!" Pinkie said with a grin.
"Not as nifty as you being able to pull one out of your hair!" Chase countered.
For the next few hours, they cooked for several people. They were making a decent bit, but then a young boy came along. He was wearing an odd hat and a yellow shirt with too long sleeves. When he requested some food, they were only too happy to oblige.him.
A few minutes later, the boy mumbled, "You're awful nice for gluttons."
"What was that?" Chase asked, not quite hearing what was said over the sounds of the mini-kitchen.
"I said you should serve this rice with mutton. But since you don't even SERVE mutton, well, you know."
Pinkie, whose hearing was sharper, thought, 'No, that's definitely not what he said.' She resolved to keep an eye on the boy, just in case.
"By the way, I... kinda don't have any money, so I'll have to wash dishes to pay my debt."
"Ah, it's no problem." Chase said. "Don't worry about it!"
Pinkie said, "I can tell that you're looking for something. We might be able to help you out if-"
"Enough! You must be with the ones who took my parents!"
"What are you talking about?" Chase asked.
"Don't play dumb, Gluttons!"
Taking out a meal ticket, he threw it forward. "Now serving: Sir Dumpling!"
"Cheerio!!" the summoned foodon said, getting into a fighting pose.
Chase drew his meal ticket. "Now serving: Fried Ricer!"
The two foodons began fighting back and forth. Pinkie, meanwhile, scanned the impromptu battlefield, noticing something behind some nearby bushes. Something that instinctively made her glare in that direction.
Drawing her meal ticket, she said, "Now serving: Beastcake!"
The food-based bear from the other day was summoned before her. "Catch the one behind those bushes!"
Her foodon went to do just that, snatching up a cat-like woman.
"Well, well, well." Pinkie said. "Look what dragged the cat in." she quipped. "Herself."
With a swift kick to the right place on Beastcake's mouth, she not only dislodged herself from its mouth, but sent it tumbling. Now free, she pointed at the young chefs.
"You will pay for beating up my foodon the last time!"
Drawing out her own meal ticket, she said, "Now serving: Boulderbroth!"
And lo, a turtle like creaure with a rocky shell appeared. It started fighting with the two previously summoned foodons, beating them handily.
"So YOU were the one in control of that Beefsteak monster, eh?" Pinkie deduced.
"Does that mean... You tricked me, cat-girl?" the boy asked.
"I am a Glutton, and that's what we do. The name's Clawdia. I'm a loyal servant of his majestyy, King Gorge. Now, Boulderbroth; Get 'em!"
Her foodon changed targets, aiming for the boy now. He would have been fried if Chase didn't bring over an extra large frying pan.
"You... you saved me! After I caused you all that trouble..."
"That's what we rebel chefs do!" Chase replied, winking. "The name's Chase."
"I'm Pie Tin." the now identified boy replied.
"Now, some help would be nice. This pan's heating up a mite quickly."
Pie Tin brought out some bacon and an onion. "Time for power toppings!" He tossed those to his foodon, making it powerful enough to knock the Boulderbroth monster aside.
Getting the idea, Chase brought out some peas, doing the same.
Both foodons significantly more powerful, they were able to toppple the terrapin.
Clawdia turned tail, saying, "Uh... you're on ypur pwn, Boulderbroth!" much to the creature's surprise.
Sir Dumpling and Fried Ricer were about to attack, but Pinkie shouted, "WAIT!"
trotting over to the fallen creature, she asked, "Are you okay?"
"Broooth. (Not. Really.)"
"How would you like to join us and get back at your previous master?"
The creature nodded at that, with a smile.
With that, Pinkie touchen the newly allied monster, causing it to glow pink before reverting to its meal ticket form.
Snatching that up, Pinkie looked+ back to her awestruck allies. "Like my friend Fluttershy once said, "sometines it just takes a little compassion"." she said by way of explanation.
Fried Ricer and Sir Dumpling fist-bumped, their friendship cemented as well.
Author's Note
1: Like the lesson in Kung Fu Panda goes, to make it special, you just need to believe it is. There is no secret ingredient. An especialy good lesson in a world with an emphasis on food (if not to the extent of Toriko), wouldn't you say?
