Desserters

Chapters

Chapter One: The Galloping Gourmet
Chapter Two: Kitchen Nightmares
Chapter Three: Cooking Price-Wise
Chapter Five: Unwrapped
Chapter Four: Kitchen Criminals

Chapter One: The Galloping Gourmet

A juddering jolt ran through the train car, wrenching Twist out of her sleep and sending her sliding forward for a moment, feeling like something had grabbed her skeleton and shook it without bringing her skin along for the ride. Fortunately, her pillow was firm enough to arrest her movement quickly, though it did knock her glasses askew and turned half of the world into an indistinct mist of vague colours.

Purely by instinct, Twist reached a hoof up to straighten the glasses onto her snout. In fact, it had to be by instinct, since her next action made the whole process redundant – turning back to her pillow and pressing her face into it with a groan. It didn't completely keep the light out of her eyes, as a little still managed to diffuse through the pillow's fur, but it was enough to give her a bit of respite and, hopefully, allow her to recapture her sleep.

“Er, didn't think I'd ever say no to snuggling with you, Twist,” her pillow said, “but your glasses are... kind of poking into me.”

Twist blinked her eyes ever-so-slightly open, awareness and memory slowly trickling back into her conscious mind. In particular, she recalled that trains didn't generally come with pillows and, while she had occasionally thought about getting a travel pillow of her own to bring with, she didn't typically travel enough to warrant one. So, all in all, the likelihood of her having a pillow seemed suddenly rather small.

Also, pillows didn't usually talk. On reflection, that might have been a more relevant point.

Twist's eyes shot open as she realized what was happening, backing away from the stomach she'd been resting on. “Oh! Oh, I'm thorry, Truffle, I didn't...”

Truffle Shuffle grinned, leaning over to follow her as she shifted away. “It's fine, Gumdrop.” He reached a thick hoof out and around her head, pulling her firmly into a hug. “It was just a bad position, is all. You know I'm always happy to be your cushion.” He gave her a squeeze – not nearly as hard as he was capable of, lest she be put into the hospital, but enough to make very clear he wasn't letting her get the idea he didn't want her snuggles.

Twist smiled nervously, and wriggled herself around until she was facing away. Once there, her posture slumped as she rested her back against Truffle, her frizzy hair bunching up beneath her slightly. She raised her hooves to clasp gently around Truffle's leg and sighed – she loved this position, Truffle's soft-yet-firm body giving her a wonderful feeling of stability. At times, she felt that having him prop up her back like this was the closest she'd ever get to having a spine.

Still, the thought didn't stay long before it was chased out – she knew that Truffle didn't like it when she put herself down like that and she... tried to limit it as much as she could.

Unfortunately, at the moment, that was proving a bit difficult. “I know, but... I thhouldn't need a cuthhion. I thought I'd be okay getting up thith early, but...”

“Hey, now,” Truffle said as he began gently running his other hoof through her mane, something Twist could never figure out the mechanics of, given how untameable her mane was, but wouldn't dream of objecting to, “no judgment here, nothing wrong with being tired. Trust me, you're not the only one – I'd be sleeping right along with you if we weren't on a train. I can never sleep on trains – the movement just shakes my insides around too much.”

Twist paused thinking for a moment before concentrating on her own body and the feeling as it was vibrated by the train. After a few seconds, she nodded. “Yeah, I can thee it. Never really thought about it before.”

Truffle chuckled and pulled his hoof away from her mane for a moment. Even before she heard the sound and felt the wave running through his body, she knew he was going to slap his stomach and she giggled when it happened – gentler than normal, presumably for her comfort's sake, but definitely hard enough to be heard and felt. “Course not – you don't have as many insides to shake.”

Twist rolled her eyes with a smile as Truffle's hoof returned to her head. “Thtill, probably betht one of uth thtays awake – we don't want to mith our thtop, do we?”

Truffle shrugged. “No, but I doubt we would. This time in the morning? They're probably on high alert for ponies sleeping through their stops. We'll be fine if you want to get a little more rest, Gumdrop.”

“No, I'm okay,” Twist assured him, reaching down to the saddlebags at the base of the seats. Fiddling around for a moment, she pulled out her glasses case and popped it open, extracting her cleaning cloth. That done, she took her glasses off and began wiping away the smudges that had been made during her awakening, trusting in the broad form behind her to keep her safe while her vision was compromised. “I kinda want to be awake when we arrive – I want to get a good look at Fillydelphia ath we get clothe. Well,” she shook her head at herself, “ath good ath we can get with the retht of the train in the way, anyway.”

Twist felt Truffle's smile as he rested his muzzle against her. “Oh, it's a big city – I'm sure we'll have a heck of view. We might even see some of the decorations from outside.”

Twist thought for a moment before shaking her head. “Probably not – the whole event'th happening on the other thide of the thity from where we come in. Though...” she slumped down a little, as if to hide her blush from her coltfriend's sight by retreating into his hooves, “well, it'th kinda thilly but... I did like to imagine we'd be able to thmell thingth before we arrived. But, well...” she looked at the train car around her, almost impressed how it could seem both run-down and sterile at the same time. And, while the smell wasn't too unpleasant, it was clearly going to overpower whatever tiny aromas could even penetrate the closed capsule, to say nothing of the smells of the city around it. “Yeah, like I thaid, it'th pretty thilly.”

Truffle bobbed his head to the side a little, weighing the idea before shrugging. “A little, I suppose, but I think it's a nice thought. And, really, you're right, we should be able to smell those wonderful smells as we get nearer and it's only because trains and air and physics are so stubborn that we can't!” He slammed a hoof down on the seat next to him, clearly as a joke but still with enough force that Twist could have sworn she heard a tiny crack from the frame. Regardless, after a moment, she relaxed, confident that the bench wasn't going to give way or, if it did, that Truffle would make sure to give her the softest of landings.

With a smile, she snuggled deeper into his side and leant her head back, her eyes losing focus as she dreamed of the day ahead of her. She took a deep breath in and, though she was positive it was her imagination, she honestly felt like she could sense a tiny smell of sweetness tickling her nose. After a moment, she closed her eyes and embraced the idea.

“Well,” she said after a moment, “it'th not like we're not gonna have plenty to thmell all day, I don't think a few leth minuteth ith gonna be a problem. And that'th another reathon I don't wanna go back to thleep – I want to be awake and thharp... thhar... awake and alert ath much of today ath pothible. I don't wanna mith a thecond onthe we arrive.”

Truffle chuckled. “You think I'd let you? No chance – you've been excited for this for weeks.”

Twist turned a little to give him a knowing look. “Look who'th talking. But we've got good reathons to be. I mean thith ith...”

“THE NATIONAL DESSERT COMPETITION!”

Twist giggled as she watched Truffle throw his hooves out wide and bellow out the title in his excitement. She did look around a moment later to make sure nopony else was too near him when he did – she'd long since gotten used to how loud he could be be and he always made sure he was either quiet or distant enough not to hurt her ears, but she wasn't sure if anypony else would be as comfortable – but the early hour meant the crowd was thin enough that there wasn't anypony right next to him.

Furthermore, looking around at both the attendees and the many vendors, she couldn't see anyone who even seemed to notice his outburst. Apparently, a young colt standing in the middle of the path and belting out the name of the event like they were trying to call a cloud-napping Pegasus wasn't even worth registering. Though, to be fair, she was pretty sure any colt or filly their age and many even older would be that excited to be here and just wouldn't express it so openly and loudly, so maybe it wasn't as unexpected as she thought.

Still, she couldn't help but smile at her coltfriend's outcry, feeling just as excited herself about being here. Closing her eyes, she took a moment to just stand there and soak in all the sensations of the event around her – the smells of so many delectable treats crowding into her nose, all clamouring for her attention yet somehow working in harmony enough to create a delightful mix of scents and send light, teasing hints of tastes floating just over her tongue; the sounds of ingredients being poured and melted and whisked, ovens flaring and simmering and pinging, treats being eaten and savoured, even requests being made and bits eagerly exchanged with audible anticipation; the complex, shifting arrangement of temperature in the air, balancing and rebalancing between the heat of ovens and pans cooking food and the cold of fridges and racks preserving and displaying it. All of it combined into a heady feeling of place in the young filly and brought a grin to her face. While she had only limited experience with being in a professional kitchen, she still found the experience wonderful even in its frequent rush and tension, and this was both an escalation and a variation on that feeling taken in aggregate and put into the open air. Almost all her senses were engaged other than her closed eyes and sense of direct touch, and those barely even registered with her due to how the others were being engulfed with it all.

However, soon enough, she found a new level of appreciation as she felt something gently push up against her shoulder and flank, the comfortable thickness of Truffle's side and belly being unmistakable and bringing her appreciation of her situation to new levels. Not only was she, for the first time since she'd heard about it and wished she could go all those years ago, at the National Dessert Competition – one of the biggest events in the Equestrian culinary world and certainly the biggest in her chosen part of it – but she was here with her coltfriend and a connoisseur of all things yummy. There were probably one or two more wonderful situations she could have found herself in, but she couldn't think of any at that moment.

After a few seconds, though, as Truffle just stood there silently, supporting and keeping contact with her, but not calling attention to himself, Twist giggled. “Tho,” she said, her eyes still closed, “I gueth you can be quiet after all.”

“Course I can!” Truffle replied, his voice rumbling through her side as much as in her ears and sending a pleasant tingle through her hooves. “If my fillyfriend's having a moment, I'll smash anything that tries to bother her and that includes my own mouth if I have to.”

Twist laughed again, even as she rolled her closed eyes a little at the idea. Despite her playful jibe, she knew perfectly well that Truffle had no problem containing himself when he needed to. He was silent enough of the time and never showed any issue stopping himself from doing something. She was even fairly sure he could forgo eating for long periods if he really needed to, though that was obviously something he and those who knew him didn't want to happen.

It wasn't that he couldn't hold himself back totally when appropriate; it was simply that when he did engage with something, be it eating something, doing something or simply saying something, he would invariably leap into it with all four hooves, throwing himself into it completely... metaphorically and occasionally literally for those rare things that could take his full weight and force without breaking. He was very much an all-or-nothing sort of pony. Not that Twist minded in the slightest – if felt like hardly a day went by she didn't feel the need to thank any deity listening that she'd not only found someone with such a love of life, but that he'd equally enthusiastically returned her affections... for some reason.

In fact, privately, she wondered if that same general enthusiasm was the only reason he was so overt and wholehearted about their relationship. After all, most ponies their age were still figuring out exactly what these sorts of emotions meant and how they worked and which one was which, and so any kind of romantic connection was tentative, unsure and, on some level, understood as a learning experience. For Truffle, though, there was no ambiguity – she was his fillyfriend, he loved her and he didn't care one bit who knew it or what they thought of it. It was hard not to wonder if this was simply how he'd be in any relationship and had nothing to do with how he felt about her, no matter how much he tried to assure her otherwise.

Then again, it wasn't like she had any doubts about her feelings for him, so perhaps it wasn't so strange. And, even if she didn't have any idea what he saw in her beyond her still-amateur cooking skills, she had enough faith in him to trust that there was something. And, if she was being perfectly honest with herself, it didn't matter as much to her as it possibly should. Whatever the reason for his affections, he still gave them and that was enough for her, and the fact that he did it with such fervour just made it that much more incredible. Perhaps being passionate about things was just his nature, but she didn't want to question it too much – just embrace it, marvel at it and do her best to join in with it where she felt up to it.

As if to underscore that point, when she opened her eyes, she found that, in the time she'd been standing there, he'd somehow visited three separate stalls and gotten small paper bags full of treats, including the soft pretzel he was currently munching on. Seeing her look at it, he smiled and held it out to her, offering a bite.

Shaking off her thoughts and doubts, Twist gave a small smile back and tore a tiny piece off the pretzel with a hoof, popping it into her mouth with a delighted hum.

“It's okay if you want to have a bit more,” Truffle assured her. “Actually, should probably say that right now for everything I'm going to buy – it's for both of us and you can have as much as you like.”

“Nm, thnt'f...” she paused as she pushed the bite around her mouth for a moment, coating her whole tongue in it before swallowing. “That'th okay, I like tathting them more than eating them... not that I'm thaying you don't, I know you love the tathte too, it'th jutht...”

Truffle pressed a sugar-coated hoof against her lips, bring her panicked amendments to a halt. “It's okay, I know – I didn't get this size by taking little nibbles, but that doesn't mean I don't savour the taste, we both know that. And you can take as big or as small bits as you want, it's up to you. And I'm still buying for both of us.”

Twist nodded with a small, appreciative smile. “Okay, I'll try to keep that in mind. Though I'll probaby thtill athk every time. Thorry, it'd jutht feel rude not to.”

Truffle shrugged. “Not a problem, as long as you know the answer's always yes. I'll probably just give it over instead of answering, though, if you don't mind.”

“Oh, yeah that workth,” Twist replied as the two began trotting down the central path. “Probably better you don't have to anthwer every time – I'm probably going to be athking a lot. That'th the other reathon I'll be taking thmaller biteth: I want to try as much thtuff from ath many different platheth ath pothible, and, well... I don't have your ability to put it all away, tho...”

Truffle laughed, his big belly shaking as he did. “To be fair, I wouldn't be able to if I didn't have my cutie mark helping me out.” He indicated with his head towards the knife and fork on his flank. “I'd call that an unfair advantage.” He looked back at Twist, only to raise an eyebrow at her silent giggle. “What's funny?”

Twist's laughter subsided after a moment, though her smile remained as she noted how secure both were in the knowledge she wasn't and wouldn't be laughing at his weight. “I'm just thinking... we both know it'th a good thing... and tho do plenty of rethetaurantth... not all, though” the two shared a smile, remembering his official, national limits in 'All-You-Can-Eat' places and the ban from 'Eat It All and It's Free' challenges, “but I bet there'th a lot of ponieth who'd think being able to eat tho much and get tho big would be a curthe, even if they knew it didn't forthe you to and let you thtay fit.”

“Oh, no question, there's loads of ponies like that,” Truffle gave a big grin and an impish twitch of his eyebrows. “Bet you even more I could win a tug of war against three of them at once.”

“Oh, five, at leatht,” Twist replied, returning the grin with a little less sharpness, but just as much amusement. “Thtill, even if we wanted to bet on it, it'd have to wait. If there'th one plathe in Equethtria where we won't find any of thothe ponieth, it's here – it's practically a fethtival of food and fat.”

Truffle put a hoof around his fillyfriend. “Our kind of place.”

Twist just let out a happy sigh and leaned into the hug, looking around at the ponies and other creatures around them, not finding a single adult who looked as if they might disappear if they turned sideways. Not that Twist had any real animosity towards such attitudes – to each their own, even if their own wasn't much – but it was nice to be somewhere where there was no feeling of societal pressure to maintain one's waistline.

Admittedly, that wasn't so much of a problem for her or, indeed, for most children. Ponies her age tended to use up a fair bit more energy, so they could eat a lot more sweets without worrying too much about their weight. It took a surprising amount of effort to be like Truffle. As a result, the children she could see running about tended to be the most slim of the ponies around her, relatively speaking. Admittedly, given the early hour, there were very few of them, but there were one or two that she could...

Oh...

Her pupils shrank and her throat dried out a little as she caught sight of one pony she hadn't expected to see. She felt the hoof around her shift as it felt her tensing muscles before withdrawing so Truffle could face her.

“Something wrong, Gumdrop? Don't worry, I'll...” he followed her eyeline before trailing off. Twist blinked, a little confused about why before she looked at him and saw a smile on his face.

Her eyes widening, she opened her mouth to stop him, even though she knew the moment she did she was too late. Yes, indeed, Truffle would throw himself totally into everything...

“HEY! APPLE BLOOM! HELLO THERE!”

...even if she sometimes really wished he wouldn't.

Apple Bloom looked over, startled for a moment before she recognized the pair and started galloping over, a smile blossoming onto her face. Twist gulped, doing her best to keep it silent and not ruin the moment, and backed off slightly, positioning herself to hide a little bit behind the considerable cover of her coltfriend.

“Well, I'll be! Howdy, Truffle! Twist!” The energetic filly came to a stop in front of them, giving only a momentary glance at Twist before turning her attention to the one who had called her. Twist smiled a little in gratitude, as that both helped her efforts to remain relatively unnoticed and, in her mind, validated her reason to. “Wasn't expectin' to see a pair o' familiar faces like you. What brings you here?”

“Really?” Truffle raised an eyebrow with a sardonic smirk. “You weren't expecting an aspiring cook and a professional eater to be here? I think our reasons are pretty obvious. If anything, I should be asking what you're doing here.”

“Oh, I'm just helpin' AJ out with our stall,” Apple Bloom explained before a slight frown edged onto her face. “Least, that's the theory, but you might not know it with how little she trusts me. I mean, you'd think she'd get it through her head after last time.” She let out a small huff before catching sight of Truffle's unknowing expression. “Well, last competition, it was just me an' Granny runnin' the whole thing – AJ was helpin' Pinkie get the Cakes' entry here an' Mac was restin' after nearly doin' his back in transportin' the dang thing. Still, couldn't 'xactly let the event pass by – it's a big bit maker for us, 'specially after the winter months, so we got it all set up and sold. Weren't easy, but we did it and does AJ think that maybe I'm ready to...” she paused, her hooves frozen in the middle of being thrown up into the air.

Truffle and Twist just coughed awkwardly.

Apple Bloom lowered her hooves again with a guilty chuckle. “Sorry, just a little annoyed right now, didn't meant to bring down the mood any. Ain't too bad – gives me more time to look around and it ain't like it's gonna slow down our sales none. Oh, hey, should probably ask – do you want me to save either o' you a piece o' pie or, maybe a whole one? Reckon I could talk AJ into a discount if you wanted... though I guess you can have Apple family pie any time you like, so it probably ain't that special...”

Truffle chuckled. “Oh, don't worry, Ms. Salespony – your Granny's pies are always special. That's why I'm going to say no – we're not going to take any away from all these ponies who can't buy it all year round. I mean, if you have any stock left over once everything's packed up, I'd be okay taking it off your hooves, but... well, somehow, I don't think that's going to be a problem.

“No kiddin',” Apple Bloom grinned. “The old competition made enough ponies hungry. If this new one don't get their bellies rumblin', don't know what will.

Truffle tilted his head. “New competition? They changing things up this year?”

For the first time in the conversation, Twist spoke up, looking at Truffle with a sly smile. “Truffle, did you come here without knowing what the competition actually wath thith year?”

Truffle shrugged. “You wanted to come and there's a lot of great food. That's all I need to know, in that order.”

Apple Bloom chuckled, sending Twist back behind Truffle's ample cover. “Fair 'nough. But yeah, the folks behind it're doin' things a li'l different this time. Either o' you hear about what happened with the Cakes' entry last time?”

Truffle shook his head, instantly dashing Twist's hopes she wouldn't have to answer. “Um, thome of it – Mith Pinkie told me a little. Apparently, a bunch of entrieth got almotht ruined. Not ath thabotage or anything, jutht thome ponieth couldn't hold themthelveth back from eating them.”

“Yep, turns out Pinkie just didn't realize how good of a hypemare she was. Spite of everything, weren't any kinda on-purpose sabotage.” Apple Bloom nodded for a moment before smirking. “Now, the dozen or so other entries that got ruined that year? Those were on-purpose sabotage.”

“Huh?” Truffle looked between the two fillies, unsure who would speak first, but Twist just sighed and shrugged, leading Apple Bloom to answer.

“Yeah, turns out chefs can get real dang competitive. Last few o' these competitions were swimmin' in sabotage and dirty tricks and the ponies in charge just didn't know it. So, they decided to switch things up this time to fix things.”

“Really?” Truffle's confusion didn't lessen. “If it was that bad, I don't see how they could have not known about it.”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “Well, 'pparently it was kinda an 'Emperor's New Coat' situation – whole load o' folks knew it was goin' on, but none o' them wanted to actually say anythin' about it, cause either they'd done it 'emselves or they didn't wanna admit they'd been got. So, lotta folks had no idea 'bout any of it, organizers included. Was only when the whole business with the Cakes' cake went down that it all came out – it started gettin' around how it wasn't sabotage, which made a buncha folks sound surprised and got people askin' questions and talkin' about things and it all kinda snowballed from there.”

There was a moment of silence before Truffle let out a breath. “Wow, didn't know the food world was so cut-throat. Almost enough to put you off your appetite... well, for most ponies, probably.” He chuckled as he took another bite of pretzel. “So, how'd they change things? Not sure how you'd really stop that kind of thing.”

“Actually, was pretty simple – pretty much every bit o' sabotage'd happen while the entries were getting' transported over to the venue or before,” Apple Bloom explained. “While they're here, security's tight enough and there's enough of a crowd that tryin' to screw with each other's way more trouble than it's worth. So, the simplest answer was just to make all the contestants cook things here – give 'em all the equipment and ingredients they need and ask for and just let 'em have at it. Even opened things to the public to see, just to give folks more of a spectacle.”

Twist cleared her throat, hesitant to speak up once again, but feeling the need to add something Apple Bloom didn't seem to think to. “Well, kind of, but... well, it'th not a rathe or anything – it'th a dethert contetht, not a cooking contetht. There'th private kitchenth for anypony who doethn't want anypony watching them while they cook,” she pointed out, leading Truffle to nod knowingly, perfectly aware how little she'd want that kind of scrutiny. “And there'th no time limit or anything, tho it'th not thuppothed to be a cooking battle like you might think.”

“Yeah, plenty o' folks who don't like cookin' in front of an audience,” Apple Bloom nodded, not seeming to notice Twist's awkwardness. “But, hey, also plenty o' folks who love it, so it ain't like we're short o' shows or anythin'. And, yeah, ain't designed to be some big kitchen war or nothin', just a way to make sure nopony's playin' dirty.”

Truffle let out a happy laugh. “Ah, so it's not just a big celebration of sweets this year, but a chance to see some of the world's greatest chefs in action? Brilliant!” After a moment, he turned to Twist with a smile. “So, I'm guessing you were hoping to watch some of them too?”

Twist forced a shaky smile onto her face, trying to hide how little she wanted to focus of the conversation to be on her. “Well, thort of... but if we jutht go around the vendorth and try thtuff, I'm okay with that too.”

Truffle snorted. “Well, I'm not!” He turned back to Apple Bloom. “Don't suppose you happen to have a program or something? Be helpful to know when things are so we can plan around them.”

“Well, technically, no, there's nothin' official,” Apple Bloom said with a lopsided smile, “but unofficially? Just go around and listen to folks talk, that'll do it! Still, I know things ain't startin' for about an hour, so you should have time to think about it. Oh!” She clapped a hoof against the ground in realization. “Speakin' of, better get back an' help AJ – wanna be done by the time things kick off. 'Pparently, the first thing to happen's gonna be a three-way cook-off between Gustave Le Grand, Chef Ram Sea an' Hunk L. Tornado and I ain't lookin' to miss ol' Ma Hunk L blowin' those two blowhards outta the water. Hope to see you there!”

Truffle blinked in confusion as Apple Bloom turned away. “I thought you said it wasn't a battle.”

“I said it weren't designed to be a battle,” Apple Bloom said over her shoulder as she trotted away. “I also said these chefs could be real competitive. Keep up.”

There was a brief pause as the two of them were left alone once more. Truffle and Twist looked at each other before Truffle let out a small chuckle. “Well, seems we might be in for quite a show.” He paused again afterwards, his smile dipping into a more serious look. “It's okay, Twist, she's gone. You can relax.”

Twist flinched slightly, startled at the revelation her discomfort had been noticed, even if, now she thought about it, she really shouldn't have been.

However, before she could protest, Truffle's smile returned, but far warmer and gentler. “It's alright, I'm not judging you.” He reached over to stroke her cheek gently with a hoof, drawing a dreamy sigh from her along with all the tension from her shoulders. “If you want to talk about it, I'll happily listen, but if you don't, I'm not going to force you. Just... please let me know if there's anything I can do to help.”

Twist smiled and stepped forward, for once being the one to initiate a hug. “Don't worry, jutht being here'th enough.” She swallowed hard and stepped back. “Maybe I'll feel up to talking about it later, but for now, let'th jutht forget it and get back to trying ath many yummineth ath we can.”

Truffle beamed as he offered his hoof, which she gladly took. “Can do!”

Chapter Two: Kitchen Nightmares

Twist shifted uncomfortably as she sat beside Truffle, nibbling slowly at the macaroon in her hooves. The two were sat on the top row of the set of bleachers overlooking the partitioned kitchen areas in which a griffon, a ram and a pony were currently antagonizing each other.

“You BEEPs think you can BEEP me on this, you got another BEEPing thing coming!”

“Bête comme ses pieds! Do you truly zink you can simply swear ze food into being?”

"Well, you boys both seem to think talkin's gonna get the cookin' done! Why doncha just...?”

Twist closed her eyes and did her best to snuggle into Truffle's side, as if she hoped to use his body to block out the words currently being magically amplified and sent out to the crowd, thankful that at least the more colorful language was being censored by the spell.

"You okay, Twist?” Truffle asked, prompting Twist to open her eyes and look up at his soft smile. “I know that beeping's a bit too high-pitched for comfort, but if it's too bad, we can figure something out. Or, er... is this the same thing as when we talked to Apple Bloom?” He looked over the crowd, quickly coming to a stop and allowing Twist to follow his eyeline to the filly in question, her red hair and bow being bold enough that she'd stand out even if she hadn't been cheering on the eldest of the rivals.

Twist shook her head against his side. “No, it'th not that, it'th not... thhe's all the way over there and the beeping... well, it'th a little bad but I think I like it better than whatever he'th thaying under it. It'th jutht...” she swallowed hard before looking back towards the kitchen areas and seeing that the three challengers had finally finished trash-talking each other and made their way over to begin cooking. She sighed in relief. “I jutht didn't like the whole... thing they were doing. It thhould be okay now...” she paused as Ram Sea shot a glare at Le Grand, which he seemed to see and return it despite the partition wall blocking each from the other's sight. “...mothtly. I jutht don't like that kind of... hothtility, I gueth.”

Truffle put a hoof around her and gave her a comforting squeeze. “If it helps, I'm pretty sure they're mostly playing it up for the crowd.”

Twist nodded, doing her best to keep her glasses from rubbing against his side. “Yeah, I know, but I thtill don't like it. I mean, I don't like that thort of thing anyway, but when it getth like thith about food... I mean, I'm kinda okay with cooking being a contetht when it'th jutht about thubmitting your betht thtuff – that'th kinda what thith whole event'th about. But it thhouldn't be a... a war like thith. Cooking thhould be about feeding your friendth, not beating your enemieth.” She sighed again, resting her head against Truffle's cushiony neck. “Maybe that'th jutht... no, it definitely ith jutht me. Don't worry about it, I'm jutht being thilly.”

Truffle gave her another squeeze and shook his head. “If you are, it's not any more silly than they are for turning this into a battle or anypony else is for liking it. It's all kinda silly when you think about it. That doesn't mean you're wrong to feel like that. And if you are wrong...” he rested his head lightly atop her frizzy hair and smiled enough she could feel it, “...then I don't want you to be right.”

Twist giggled, looking up at her coltfriend. Feeling a mischeivous impulse, she twisted her head so she could point her muzzle up and give him a quick kiss on the underside of his bulging neck before retreating back into the hug in an instant, feeling his smile nearly double in intensity. He let out a short, blissful laugh, though she could see through her peripheral vision that he wasn't blushing even slightly. Not that she either expected him to, since he was never remotely shy or embarrassed of their relationship, or needed him to, since she was blushing enough for both of them.

After a moment, he settled down and lifted his head slightly off of hers – not enough to end the hug, but to let her know she could come away if she wanted to. “Well, at least they're just focusing on cooking now. Should be okay.”

Twist nodded as she pulled gently away. After a moment, though, something else occurred to her and prompted her to lean into his side once again.

"Altho, this bench ith... it'th not the motht comfortable thing I've ever that on.”

"Ah! Yeah, I can see that. To be fair, it sounds like they only decided to change the format a little while before the event, so they probably didn't have the time and budget for proper chairs and stages and everything.” Truffle shrugged before an impish smile came onto his muzzle. “Still, at least these seats are out somewhere where everypony's gonna have a little padding on their rumps.” He shuffled his haunch against the seat, emphasizing the thickness of it. “Imagine if they brought this out at a fashion event full of models. Most of them'd be sitting straight on their skeleton. One wrong move and they'd have 'Made in Taiwhinny' stamped forever on their tailbone.”

Twist found herself mirroring his smile. “Oh, don't be thilly, Truffle. No way they'd have the weight or strength for that.”

The two had a nice long chuckle before settling down to watch the chefs at work. For the most part, they did indeed seem to be solely concerned with their work, though there was still a slight air of fervor to their movements. Still, it was far from enough to interfere with even the most delicate of recipes, so Twist let it slide. And, however combative these three were, it couldn't be denied that they were masters of their craft and it was a delight to watch them work... not to mention to imagine the taste of the results, even though she knew she'd never get to try them.

That was okay, though – she'd never been under any illusions about that and was content to take in the smells that would wash over her once the actual cooking started. Even now, the sight of the smoke beginning to rise out of Gustave Le Grand's oven did send a few phantom traces of scent flicking through her nose.

Wait... Twist thought as the crowd began murmuring, some of them pointing at the smoke, he hasn't turned the oven on yet.

All the muttering ceased in an instant when the griffon spoke, his voice being magically sent out to the crowd. “Nom de dieu! Guard, please come here at once!” As he spoke, a slight hissing could be heard behind his words before being cut off once he stopped.

One of the guards stationed in front of the kitchen areas turned around, confused, before walking up to him, his voice getting picked up by the amplifying spell as he got closer. “...ght you said none of use were allowed in here?” His quieter voice made the strange hissing even more noticable.

Le Grand let out a growling sigh before speaking, not taking his eyes off his work. “Yes, zat was before I became aware zere was a bomb in my oven. Deal with zat, would you?”

It was really an incredible thing to both witness and experience: an entire crowd of ponies doing a near-simultaneous double take when the impression from the casual tone he'd spoken with gave way to the realization of what he'd actually said. Of course, as soon as that happened, natural pony instincts started to kick in and the crowd started shifting and moving, not quite panicked enough to stampede, but clearly very close to it.

Fortunately, it seemed as if the guards were far quicker in their reactions as, by the time this had happened, a great number were already situated around the crowd ready to coordinate the evacuation so nopony got hurt. Still, Twist was very glad she was so high up on the bleachers and out of the main scrum. While she might have been alright had she been down there, the possibility of getting trampled was far, far more looming that she'd have liked.

Admittedly, that wasn't helped by the fact that her immediate reaction to the danger was to yelp and collapse to the ground with her legs beneath her, shaking as her body pressed down as close to the ground as it could get.

The shaking stopped, however, when she was reminded that she wasn't alone by a thick leg stepping in front of her and a thicker belly pressing lightly onto her side. She smiled, not even feeling the need to look up at Truffle's face to see the resolve on it. His movement wasn't so much direct protection as much as a statement – a sworn proclamation that he would protect her from anything and anyone that might harm her – in addition to putting himself in a position where he could dart between her and danger wherever it might come from.

Fortunately, his leg didn't really block her view of what was going on – not that it would likely make her feel good, but leaving it up to her imagination would be far worse. As it was, she was able to see the guard in the kitchen examining the oven, looking through the window, cracking the door open enough to feel for anything that might set the bomb off if opened fully then, having presumably found nothing, opening it and carefully extracting what was inside.

From out of the oven, he pulled a bomb in the most archetypal sense – a perfect sphere of dark grey metal, with a small cylinder attached, from which fell a long-but-rapidly-shortening fuse. His face unmoving, the guard's horn lit up, his magic picking up his spear and carefully turning it over so it pointed at the bomb.

"What'th he doing?” Twist muttered to herself as he placed the bomb carefully on the ground. After a moment, he pushed the fuse down with a hoof before striking down with the spear, cutting the fuse in two and separating the lit end from the bomb. Twist let out a sigh of relief and began shifting around, with the intention of rising. However, Truffle didn't move a millimetre, remaining as just as tense and ready as before, prompting her to stop and focus again on the situation before her.

Just as she did, she saw the bomb's remaining fuse, entirely unprompted, start sparking and resume travelling towards its destination.

The guard's horn lit up. “It's self-lighting! I'm going to do a Skyport!” He bellowed, his voice ringing out clearly enough that it would be audible to all other guards in the area even without being picked up by the amplification spell around Le Grand. “Unicorns, force shield; Pegasi, shockwave suppression; Earth Ponies, ready to intercept!” As he gave these orders, the glow around his horn intensified, gaining a second corona, quickly followed by a third. The orange glow was soon mixed with a more purple one coming from the large, wide construct of energy forming above the crowd, like some huge magical umbrella. As it came into being, a number of pegasi landed on the ground and structures around it before starting to flap their wings, focusing their magic through them at a point high up in the sky.

After a few tense seconds, there was a flash from the kitchen that forced Twist's eyes closed for a split second. However, no sooner had she opened them enough to see that the bomb had vanished than a massive explosion rang out from high above the crowd, sending Twist's hooves slamming over her ears with a distressed whinny. A second or so later, a number of sounds followed it far closer to the ground, each somewhere between the thump of matter hitting matter and the twinkling hum of telekinesis, and even Twist could tell it was the sound of the bomb's shrapnel impacting the shield above them and the shield deforming but holding. Admittedly, this was helped by seeing, out of the corner of her eye, the few shards that went past the edge of the shield coming to the ground, with Earth Pony guards leaping in front of any that endangered any civilians, the metal bouncing harmlessly off their armor.

After a few seconds, the shield faded and a long, tense silence fell over the crowd, the motion that had been running and jostling through it gradually slowing as it became more and more unlikely that anything else would happen to set off their collective panic response. Eventually, things settled down enough for ponies to return to their seats.

A moment later, the silence was broken as Le Grand's voice came out from the kitchen. “Merci, Monsieur Guard. You may go now.”

The guard in question glowered at the griffon, who didn't even seem to notice. “Mr. Le Grand, someone just tried to kill you!”

“Oui, And you proved most worthy of ze trust I had zat you would protect me. However, just as I must rely on you to survive, zese profiteroles must rely on me to come into being, so I must ask zat you remain outside to ensure it.”

The guard started rubbing at his still-smoking horn, breathing heavily from the strength of the spell he'd just cast. “We should still search this place to make sure we haven't missed anything else.”

"Oh, I did not miss ze bomb,” Le Grand explained casually, drawing a gasp from the crowd that he ignored. “I knew it was zere, I just assumed it was supposed to go off when I lit ze oven to preheat and I could simply remove it zen.”

"You WHAT?!” Ram Sea's voice came from the next kitchen over. “If that BEEP messed up my BEEPing souffle, I'm gonna BEEP your BEEP BEEPways with a BEEPing ten-foot BEEPing BEEP!”

"Hey, yer the doofus who decided to make a souffle in a public cookin' competition. You weren't ready fer the unexpected to happen, that's on you, ya potty-mouthed pig!”

Twist sighed as a series of rapid beeps came from the centre kitchen, signifying that time of civility between the three had come to an end. Looking up, she saw Truffle still standing over her, as if to shield her from the tension and negativity in the air. A small, shaky smile made its way onto her muzzle, but it was apparently enough for him to see it out of the corner of his eye, as he caught her gaze and gave her a gentle look. “You okay?”

Twist swallowed hard, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment as she tried to will her heart rate down. “I think tho.” She made a small motion in her hooves, signalling that she wanted to rise and causing Truffle to step to the side enough that she could, though not so far that he couldn't be right next to her when she did. “That wath...” she trailed off, realizing she had no idea how she'd be able to actually put it.

Truffle still nodded. “Scary, I know.”

Twist paused, blinking in surprise at hearing that from him. “You didn't theem that thcared.”

"Of course I was scared!” Truffle replied, looking at her shocked. “If anything had happened to you, I don't know what I'd...” He paused for a moment before shaking the idea off. “I suppose I'm just more used to it.”

Twist felt a small smile come onto her face, though it took a moment to realize what she was happy about. Or rather, the combinantion of things: just knowing she wasn't alone in her feelings was a comfort on its own, but the fact that Truffle not only had the capacity for fear, but was able to push past it and perhaps even use it to further drive himself to protect her made her feel incredibly secure on several levels, even if she had her doubts she could ever do the same.

Unfortunately, her good mood didn't last as a particularly censored tirade about Gustave Le Grand's mother was heard from below.

Twist sighed and looked away. “Um, thorry about thith, but do you think we could leave? I, er... I don't think hanging around'th gonna do my nerveth any good.”

Truffle gave an equally uncomfortable wince and nodded.

Chapter Three: Cooking Price-Wise

Unfortunately, it seemed Twist's nerves would not be so easily placated. In the twenty minutes or so since they'd left the cook-off and found a quiet corner, she'd done little but sit there, trying to get herself to relax and forget the earlier scare. However, every time she thought she'd gotten a handle on it, some stray thought would remind her and send her into another short series of shudders.

To his credit, Truffle had remained by her side throughout, holding her tight and stroking her side gently whenever she started shaking. As far as she could tell, he had barely even looked up at the many food stalls in the area, so great was his concern for her, and that seemed to be doing more for her anxiety that the rest was.

Still, she couldn't help but groan at herself. “I'm thorry, Truffle, I...”

"Ssh, ssh, it's okay, Twist,” Truffle assured her. “No one's blaming you.”

"I am!” Twist blurted out, squeezing her eyes shut. “I don't know if I... but I thhouldn't be... we thhould be going around having fun, not jutht thitting here. I'm ruining our trip.”

Truffle shook his head. “The only thing being ruined here is your self-esteem, and that's what we need to fix.” He sighed and nuzzled her. “I just wish there was somehting we could do to help you calm down, but I don't know what. I know that you like to relax by... wait, that's it!” He rocketed to his hooves before giving her an optimistic smile. “Will you be okay by yourself for a moment? I need to go check something.”

Twist thought for a moment before nodding. As soon as she did, Truffle was off, running as fast as his legs could carry his considerable weight and much faster than most would assume he could go. Twist chuckled at the image before sighing, looking around in an attempt to distract herself from her own thoughts. Fortunately, she saw a pair of ponies nearby who were talking loudly enough for her to hear.

"It does not make sense, Hasty,” the smaller one said, his funny little moustache twitching slightly. “Gustave may be a touch abrasif at times, but I cannot see a casual acquaintance wishing 'im dead, let alone going to these lengths. And yet, the idea was clearly to 'ave 'im blow 'imself up – too personal a method for a pragmatic motivacion” His accent was odd – close to Le Grand's, but still distinct.

"Hmm, so a close friend, you think?” His taller friend – Hasty, apparently – said, his plummy South Trottingham accent much easier to get a handle on.

The smaller pony shook his head. “For someone else, per'aps, but non. Anyone who knows Gustave that well would know him to be too fastidious to turn on an unfamiliar oven without looking.”

"Well, perhaps they just didn't think about that,” Hasty shrugged. “Everypony makes mistakes, old boy.”

"Possibly. But Humer Poisson? 'E will not rely on 'possibly' when a friend's life is in danger.” The funny little stallion paused, then sighed and tapped his head. “Ah, but the little grey cells, they are not cooperating. Come, let us talk with the pony in charge and 'ope they are stimulated.”

The two walked off, leaving Twist to simply smile at the little pony's odd mannerisms. Fortunately, that helped keep her mind off things for the minute or so it took for Truffle to return.

"Right, sorry about that – didn't want to get your hopes up if it turned out my idea wouldn't work,” he explained, offering a hoof to help her up, “but turns out it might. You see, I remembered how cooking always relaxes you, but I didn't think anyone around here would have enough of a kitchen for you to really get into your groove, however,” he grinned as her helped her to her hooves, “remember the private kitchens for the competitors? I asked if we could use one and, apparently, a few at a time are free and we can hire them. How does a bit of baking in a state-of-the-art kitchen sound?”

Twist blinked herself back into full awareness at the question, having been distracted by the idea enough not the notice the huge smile blooming on her face. After a moment's thought, though, it fell off. “I mean, that thoundth amathing, but...” she sighed, her heart breaking slightly at having to object, “that can't be cheap. I mean, I'm guething you checked that we have the bitth for it, but... if we do hire one out, we won't have enough bitth to buy anything elthe, will we?”

Truffle shrugged. “Probably not, but who cares? We've got plenty of stuff already and none of it's going to do us any good if you're too shaken to eat any, is it?”

For a moment, a couple of objections scratched at Twist's throat about how he could still eat, but one look at his face made clear there was no chance he was going to accept that sort of protest. Instead, she just shook her head with a smiling sigh. “You know, thometimes I almotht withh you weren't thuch a good coltfriend. Okay, let'th go!”

"Let's!” Truffle said, turning around a moment too slowly to hide the rare blush on his cheeks. After a moment's giggling, Twist followed, unable to keep an excited spring out of her step.

It didn't take long for the two to reach a large building with a single story and large, open windows, smoke and steam wafting out of them and into the spring air. It didn't take a master chef to recognize the hallmarks of a kitchen, though the two were a little surprised at the lack of a guard outside.

However, the reason for this quickly became clear as they peeked inside, seeing the guard that was presumably stationed here talking to someone in one of the partitioned areas. Looking at each other in puzzlement for a moment, they quietly stepped inside, only to hear a strange voice coming from where the guard was looking.

"...and even leaving aside my friendship with Gustave and my lack of both ability with and inclination towards explosives, there is also the not-insignificant fact that I am both an organizer and a judge of this whole competition.” Despite the obvious vehemence to his statement, the voice didn't sound especially forceful or angry about it, nor did it need to. It was a high-pitched, refined sort of voice, but it had an odd sort of cadence to it the Twist had a hard time putting her hoof on. It was the voice of a noble, certainly, but more intelligent and subtle than most she'd heard, and with an odd sense of devilish playfulness, even while clearly being sincere. “It hardly seems reasonable to assume I sabotaged my own event, now, does it?”

The guard snorted. “What, you mean like in House on Harrowed Hill?” Despite the suspicion in his voice, the guard couldn't quite hide the tiny undercurrent of fear to his tone. Her curiosity thoroughly piqued, Twist walked quietly up to the door he was standing in as the guard continued. “Faking an attack or a death is a pretty common thing.”

Looking inside, Twist saw a tall, distinguished-looking stallion with a thin moustache shaking his head. “Yes, that is extremely common in fiction, but in the real world, I would think it a far more remote... Oh, hello there, young lady.” He caught her eye and gave her a friendly smile. “I do hope our little debate hasn't been disturbing the attendees. Is there anything we can help you with?”

Twist shrank slightly at having the attention of the two adults suddenly on her, but her anticipation was still strong enough to answer. “Oh, well, it'th jutht... I heard the kitchenth were open for guethts and I wath hoping we could hire one.” She gave a slightly weak smile and chuckle as she heard Truffle come up behind her.

The guard winced. “Oh, er... well, you heard right but... well, I'm sorry to say they're all full right now. Apparently we underestimated how many we'd need – lotta cooks at an event like this, who'da thought?”

Twist felt her shoulders slump along with her face at the news. Her lips pressed together tight as she looked away. “Oh... I thee. Well, thorry to bother you.” She began to turn away, already beginning to think of what she could do instead.

"Now, hold on a moment, my dear,” the voice of the odd stallion interrupted her, drawing her attention back to him enough to notice the thoughtful look on his face. “No need to give up hope so easily. Perhaps we can come to some arrangement.”

Before she could ask any questions about what he meant, Twist heard Truffle's voice from behind her. “Wha- ahem... what kind of arrangement?”

Twist's eyes widened in surprise at Truffle's tone, the fur on the back of her neck standing slightly more on end. Looking over at him, she saw an expression she'd never seen on him before: trepidation. Not that he was afraid, exactly, but he had an intensely uneasy look as he stared up at the stallion, clearly recognizing him.

She put a hoof on his shoulder, feeling as she did the tiny twitch of his muscles that was the closest he was likely to get to jumping in surprise. “Are you okay, Truffle?” she asked, disturbed at his behaviour. “Do you know him?”

She heard a small chuckle from behind her. “Not personally, but I suspect he has seen some of my films.”

Twist let out a tiny gasp as she looked between them. “You're... you're a movie thtar?”

Truffle nodded, swallowing hard. “A horror star.”

The stallion sighed, though his smile suggested he wasn't that bothered. “Not exclusively, but most know me as such.” He gave a small bow. “Vignette Price, at your service. And to answer your question, young stallion, an entirely non-sinister arrangement. If you don't mind me asking, was there a reason you seem to have had your heart set on using these facilities, Miss...?”

Truffle let out an unconvinced hum, but Twist shrugged it off, not seeing any harm in answering. “Oh, I'm Twitht... er, that'th with an eth, I wath named before my parentth knew about the lithp,” she shrugged, eliciting a chuckle from Vignette and even a small hint of tense laughter from Truffle before she continued, feeling her face heat up a little as she said, “and thith ith Truffle, my... my coltfriend. And, um... well, we were in the audienthe when the whole, um... bomb thing happened and it... it kind of upthet me and I wathn't really able to thettle down on my own.” She gulped, the feeling of unease returning as soon as she thought about it. “Tho, thinthe I always find cooking to be relacthing, I thought maybe, if there were kitchenth available...” she trailed off, looking away a little in embarrassment now she knew it would be difficult.

However, the elegant pony simply nodded in understanding, making her feel a little better. “A most laudable idea, Miss Twist. I confess, while I wasn't present at that little incident,” he gave a momentary pointed look to the guard still standing next to the young pair, “I had a somewhat similar thought, though I had hoped to take advantage of this equipment after the show anyway. And, while I could certainly relinquish my place for the moment... I don't know if that will be necessary. Tell me, young lady: what would you say if I were to offer to cook with you? With any cost taken care of by me, of course.”

Twist let out a small gasp as she felt hope blossom in her chest once more. “Really?”

Vignette grinned in amusement at her enthusiasm. “Yes. If you like, I could teach you one or two recipes... or, depending on your talent and experience, perhaps you could teach me one or two.”

Twist blushed once more, almost beginning to feel like her blood was getting tired of going in and out of her cheeks but unable to stop it. “Well, I don't want to be a bother.”

"My dear, putting a smile on the face of a child is never a bother. Come in, come in!” He waved her inside before glancing up at Truffle. “And you may of course come in as well, young stallion, though I quite understand if you wish to remain at a distance.”

"No, no, it's fine,” Truffle said as he followed Twist in. “I get it – you're not a bad guy, just an actor.” Despite his words, Twist couldn't help but notice he was sticking a little closer by her than he would normally. “It's just... hard to unsee what I've seen, if that makes sense.”

"Oh, complete sense,” Vignette assured him. “And I wouldn't worry – as inconvenient as such associations can be, they are, in the end, a compliment to those performances. Besides, given that...” He leaned a little to look past the guard in the doorway. Following his eyeline, Twist saw that another couple of guards had arrived at the building's entrance. Vignette sighed. “Given that it seems our vigilant friend is to continue keeping watch on me, I daresay that even if I were to try something, he could protect the two of you... although,” he looked over Truffle for a moment, an analytical look in his eyes, “I have a slight suspicion you might be a more capable protector than some might assume too.”

There was a moment's pause before Truffle laughed, his awkward unease finally beginning to abate. “Well, I like to think so, but I'm also a capable eater – I hope you don't mind if I help too.”

"Ah, my kind of colt – not at all.” Vignette smiled before turning back to Twist. “Now, tell me, do you know how to make Gateau Grand Marnier?”

Twist thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No, that thoundth... complicated.”

"Not at all,” the tall stallion said, waving off her concerns. “It's merely a form of cake. First, we'll need some butter and suger, and if you, young stallion, could get some flour, baking powder and soda while I find the appropriate licquer...”

Funnily enough, her nerves didn't last too long after that.

Chapter Five: Unwrapped

“Oh! Hey, guys!” Apple Bloom called out as she saw Twist and Truffle approaching. She raised a hoof for a moment, causing the empty crate on her back to tip a little before she straightened herself again to correct it. Shaking her head, she walked carefully over to a partially-packed cart and tossed the crate easily on top of it. That done, she finally raised a hoof to wave properly, even though it was a little late since, by then, they were just reaching her. “What can I do ya for? Oh, if you're lookin' for surplus, 'fraid we got no full ones left. Had a few pies left over, but some pegasus swooped in right before closin' an' bought the lot.” As she spoke, she retrieved another empty crate and dragged it around the stall to the cart. “Think he mighta been famous or somethin' – lotta folks were lookin' an' talkin' when he came, but I dunno. Anyway, nothin' full but I did manage to save a few slices for y'all.”

Truffle let out a happy hum at the thought. “Well, thank you, I definitely appreciate it, but... well, that's not why we're here.” He put one of his forelegs around Twist's and held her hoof tight, silently supporting her even without knowing why she wanted to talk to Apple Bloom himself.

“Oh?” Apple Bloom raised herself on her hindlegs for a moment before swinging the crate on top of the rest. “Can I help you with somethin' else?”

Twist forced a swallow through her shaking throat. “Um, well, hopefully, but... well, are you okay to talk for a bit?”

“Sure thing! AJ won't be back from the Admin tent for a while,” Apple Bloom said, dusting off her hooves before returning them to the ground. That done, the three made their way between the stall and the cart – almost all the stalls had closed and were packing up, so the event wasn't nearly as crowded as it had been, but it still wasn't exactly sparse. As such, that little space was the closest they were going to get to privacy.

That established, Apple Bloom sat down and nodded. “So, what's up?”

“Well, um...” Twist let out a small series of hums as she sat down and felt Truffle's leg wrap around her shoulders. “It'th jutht, er...” She shuffled her hooves awkwardly, her face heating up as she stammered and strained. It had been so easy a few hours ago to make a firm decision to talk about this, but actually being here was a whole different level. And even that was less of a factor than the fact that, despite having thought long and hard about what she wanted to talk about and what she wanted to ask and say... she hadn't really given any thought to how she wanted to ask and say it – the specific words she would use. And now, being on the spot, she found practically her entire vocabulary vanishing before it could even approach her tongue. After what could have been, to her perceptions, anywhere from twenty seconds to five minutes of fumbling indecision, she just slammed her eyes shut and blurted out the first sentence she found herself forming:

“Do you hate me?”

Her eyes opened wide the moment the last word left her lips, going into a gasp as she shocked herself with that question. And it seemed she wasn't the only one, as Apple Bloom had jumped so much she had to flail her arms around to keep from overbalancing even while sitting and, though she couldn't see it, Twist could feel Truffle looking at her with astonishment and concern.

It took a moment for everypony to recover from the conversational bomb she'd just unthinkingly dropped, but eventually, Apple Bloom sputtered into a reply. “Wha... I... No, I don't hate you! The heck did that come from? Course I don't... who in their right mind could hate you, Twist?”

“Absolutely nobody I can think of,” Truffle said, squeezing her shoulders gently but firmly and sillently daring anyone to disagree.

Twist sighed, glancing between the two apologetically. “Okay, well, maybe hate'th a little strong... or a lot too thtrong, but I jutht wanted to know if you had any kind of... well, problem with me, I gueth?”

Apple Bloom thought for a moment, her confused frown not reducing one bit. “I... can't say I can think of one. I mean, you're my friend. Leastways, I thought we were friends. Why, didja think I might not like you or somethin'?”

“Well, um... maybe kinda? It'th jutht... well, you thay we're thtill friendth and I'm happy to hear you think tho, but... well... we haven't really hung out in...” she thought over the time involved, which had definitely included multiple years, but not enough to just say 'years', “...a long time. Ever thinthe... well, ever thinthe I got my cutie mark.”

“Oh... Oh!” Apple Bloom mouth hung in that 'o' shape for a few seconds as the full weight of implication and memory crashed down onto her. Eventually, she looked away, rubbing the back of her neck. “Yeah, that... that whole thing kinda happened, didn't it?”

“It'th okay!” Twist blurted out, panicking a little at Apple Bloom's discomfort. “I totally underthtand not wanting to... I mean, I totally get it if you, what'th the word...? Rethented? Yeah, rethented me about it, but...”

Her jabbering was brought to an abrupt halt when Apple Bloom held up a hoof and caught her eye intently. That done, she lowered her hoof and narrowed her eyes, thinking hard before looking up. “Okay, so I'm gonna say somethin', but I want you to promise me you won't say anythin' or interrupt before I get the chance to say two things about it afterwards, got it?” She looked intently at Twist until she received a nod. “Okay, so thing is, when that first happened, if I'm honest... yeah, I think I kinda resented you a little bit but,” she held up a hoof, emphasizing her previous demand, “first off, that's all on me! Fault's all mine – I was bein' a baby about the whole thing. Ain't nothin' you did wrong...”

“Well, I could maybe have been a bit more thenthitive about how I told you,” Twist muttered before Apple Bloom gave a reproachful ahem.

“No interruptin', remember?” she asked with a sardonic smile. After a moment, though, it faded. “Fact is, you getting' your Cutie Mark was probably the best thing thing that coulda happened to you and you were right to be happy an' proud of it. And, lookin' back, I wish I'da been happy and proud of you too, but I was too caught up in my own problems. That was my bad and I ain't gonna hear any argument.

“But, if it helps, the second thing I wanna say is that... well, it was only a little bit. Felt like a lot at the time, sure, but, honestly, I don't think for a moment it woulda lasted even if things hadn't changed. Sure, I was pretty steamed, but it weren't anythin' deep and nowhere near hate. Sometimes, that kinda thing happens with a friend. Don't make 'em an enemy, just means it's somethin' you gotta work past. Sure don't mean the friendship's over.” She smiled for a moment before remembering all of what happened next. “Though, I guess it kinda seemed like it, huh? Don't think I've been a real good friend, have I?”

Twist gulped guiltily at the self-effacement. “I mean, it'th not that bad. I mean... to be honetht, I didn't... I didn't really think you didn't like me, jutht wondered... Really, I jutht thought you... didn't really want to hang out any more... which ithn't really a problem.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but it don't matter - it ain't like that!” Apple Bloom said firmly before letting out a nervous chuckle. “It's just... well, thing is, I... after I met Sweetie and Scoots and we got talkin' and plannin' and crusadin', I just... kinda got swept up in the whole thing. Like I got all caught up and carried away with the crusade, I didn't really think about... well, much of anythin' else most o' the time, to be honest.” She gave an embarrassed shrug. “Was so busy thinkin' about all the stuff we were doin' I didn't really have time to think about what I wasn't doin', you know?”

Twist nodded with a sympathetic half-smile. “Yeah... yeah, I definitely know what it'th like to get carried away like that. And, well... it'th not like I ever minded you doing your own thtuff. Like, even if you did hate me... well, with how important getting your Cutie Mark ith to you and how much fun you're having trying to find it... well, I could never hate you for that. You're tho happy with the cruthaderth that I... well, I gueth I jutht can't help being happy for you too. Tho... well, I'm really glad we could clear thingth up, but, well... if we never thpoke again after thith, I wouldn't have a problem with it.” She sighed in relief at saying her piece, relaxing into Truffle's soft embrace but not willing to look into his probably-uneasy face.

Fortunately, she was saved from having to by Apple Bloom stamping a hoof down. “Well, maybe you wouldn't, but I sure as Sun would! Like I said, I've been a real awful friend and I ain't lettin' that continue one second more. So, first off, I'm sorry!” She looked Twist, her eyebrows lowered in contrition while the eyes beneath it became intense and firm, getting across just how sincerely she meant what she was saying. “I'm sorry I resented you gettin' your mark, I'm sorry I lost touch with you and I'm sorry I let you think I might not like you anymore. And second, if you're okay with it, I wanna make it up to you. Ain't sure how, but I'm not willin' to let our friendship go a second time if I can help it. Besides,” she smirked a little, her gaze softening even as her eyebrows quirked up, “now I think about it, I do really miss those peppermint sticks 'o yours?”

Twist felt her smile rise higher than she could remember all day. She nodded, for a moment unsure about speaking while held tight to Truffle's laughing belly, before another thought occurred and made her mouth dip slightly. “Well, I would really like that but... well, are you thure I wouldn't be a bother. I mean, like you said, being part of the Cruthaderth ith a big part of your life and I wouldn't want you to give that up for my thake.”

Apple Bloom snorted and waved the notion off. “Don't be silly! Ain't no way you'd ever be a bother. And it's not like I don't have room in my life for both. I mean, plenty of other stuff I got goin' on, and it ain't like the others got nothin' else in their life, you know? Though...” she thought for a moment, “maybe you don't. Now I think of it, don't reckon you know Sweetie or Scoots that well, do you, Twist?”

Twist shrugged. “Only what I've heard around thchool... and what Truffle's told me about Thcootaloo.”

Apple Bloom nodded, but she didn't look like she was fully listening, instead thinking hard as she tapped a hoof against her chin. After a few moments, though, a slow smile started to form.

“Okay, tell you what: me an' the girls have got an appointment next week to try out abseilin' down in Ghastly Gorge... er, the safe part. And there'll be professionals there – got a like one-in-five chance o' goin' wrong, tops,” she clarified quickly in response to Twist's widening eyes. “D'you feel up to joinin' us?” She gave a hopeful smile before her eyes fell on the colt still hugging Twist tight. “Oh, er, you can come if you like too, Truffle, if you want. I know if Twist comes, she'd love to have you, but...”

“Oh, not to worry – I'm... ninety-percent sure professionals'll have ropes strong enough to hold all this up!” Truffle took a hoof from around Twist for just long enough to proudly pull up his stomach before returning to the hug with full force. “And if not, well, I'll still be happy to be there to cheer you on. I certainly think you'll be able to hear me from up on the cliff.”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “Reckon we'd hear you cheering from up on the moon. Just try not to get too carried away – that area ain't prone to rockslides, but no sense riskin' it, right?”

Twist hummed, noticing as she was moving how she was curling up into Truffle's embrace, hesitant to argue or agree. After a moment, though, she let out a slow breath, feeling like she was drawing strength from the hoof around her shoulders as she spoke. “I mean, that doeth thound... but I already have my cutie mark...”

“So?” Apple Bloom shrugged. “Don't mean y'can't enjoy other stuff. I mean, look at AJ – most o' the stuff she does in her off-hours ain't got nothin' to do with her talent – fiddle, rodeo, roughhousin', world-savin'... She's still all kinds a'mazin' at it and loves doin' most of it to boot. I mean, a Cutie Mark's a big part of a pony, no question, but it ain't gotta be all there is to you – that's one thing me an' the girls have learned.”

Twist nodded for a moment, before blinking – for a moment, she could have sworn she'd seen something out of the corner of her eye. However, when she looked, there was nothing but Apple Bloom, turning to glance at her flank.

After a moment, though, her friend continued. “I mean, who knows – tryin' it out, y'might find somethin' you love. And if you don't, well, least you tried somethin' new. I mean, that's most o' the fun o' crusadin' – tryin' stuff out, thinkin' up new things to try, seein' if anythin' takes... heck, half the stuff we try's stuff I'd never'a thought to on my own and even when it don't work out, it's usually fun to do it with friends.”

“Even if you don't get a Mark out of it?” Truffle asked, prompting Twist to look around at him, not disapproving of the question but a little unsure about it.

Still, Apple Bloom didn't seem to mind. “Oh, yeah. I mean, I definitely want to, but it ain't like I'd take back any o' the stuff we've done. Fact is, I'm kinda hopin' even after we find our marks, we can keep doin' somethin' like that. Maybe it ain't too realistic, but I reckon if I had a mark and crusadin' in my life, I'd be pretty happy.”

Twist looked back at Truffle, this time with a smile, when another odd bit of sparkling registered in her peripheral vision. However, the moment she turned around and Apple Bloom started speaking again, it was gone.

“Course, no idea if Sweetie and Scoots feel the same, but I like to think so. And, well, I'll probably have to ask them if you can come, but they ain't likely to refuse, I reckon. So, whaddaya say?”

Twist thought hard, snuggling deep into Truffle's broad body as she did. Out in Ghastly Gorge, a long walk from Ponyville, scaling a sheer cliff face for a massive distance held up by only a rope, a harness and whatever she could get from the cliffside... with Apple Bloom, Truffle and the Crusaders alongside her...

“Yeah, that thoundth great!” Twist chirped, grinnning at the prospect. “I'll look forward to it!”

“Awesome!” Apple Bloom bent her elbow and swung her hoof in a 'let's go' gesture. “Glad we could sort all that out. Although,” her smile dipped a little as she looked at Twist, “if you don't mind me askin', what brought all this up, anyway? I mean, seems like you been feelin' like this for a while, but... somethin' change?”

“Yes, I'd like to know that, too,” Truffle added, a hint of concern in his voice.

Twist shuffled awkwardly in the hug. “Well, it'th jutht... let'th jutht thay I've theen a lot of thingth today that helped... put thingth in perthpective. About how thilly it ith to put thingth off jutht cauthe there'th other thingth to do... how eathy it ith to athume thtuff about a pony and thee everything they do ath proving it... and how bad it can be when you let thith thort of thing... fethter and feed.”

Truffle hummed, recognizing the phrasing. “Well, if... I mean, you're not technically wrong and I'm glad it helped you figure things out, but... I promise you, Gumdrop, you are nothing like that screw-up wannabe assassin.”

“Oh, you mean the mare who tried to...” Apple Bloom trailed off as Twist felt Truffle nod. “Ah, well, wasn't really around for that stuff – too busy helpin' with the stall most o' the day and hadn't got there when it all went down. Still, heard some folks talkin' 'bout it and they didn't seem none too impressed. An' if it was even half like it sounds, I gotta agree – you ain't nothin' like that.”

Twist nodded. “I know, I didn't think I wath. But, well... if thingth had gone a little different or I'd been a little different... I think I definitely could have been.” She sighed, leaning back into Truffle's hug. “Bethideth, even if her reathonth for it weren't the betht... that doesn't mean her anger and thuffering weren't bad. And... well, I jutht hope thhe can get the help the needth to get patht it.” She winced, hoping she didn't sound like she was justifying or diminishing what the mare had done.

Before she could think more about it, though, she felt Truffle laughing quietly through her back. He squeezed her gently and rested his chin atop her head, enveloping her in a wonderful warmth. “That's my filly – so much love in her heart, she can't help spilling it out onto everyone she sees.”

Twist smiled, burrowing a little into his chest. “Ath long ath you know you've got the biggetht part of it.”

Truffle nodded, the movement making her hair tickle her slightly. “I know and I'll never stop thanking the stars for it.”

Apple Bloom chuckled, drawing Twist's attention back to her. “Well, I'm just glad I didn't lose what I had of it... even if it's only cause you got so much. Huh, you know, thinkin' about it, maybe there's more to your Cutie Mark than we thought – could be the shape those two canes make ain't just a coincidence.”

“Never thought it was,” Truffle responded, but Twist wasn't really focusing on that. Instead, now that she was looking at Apple Bloom, she was seeing an odd, almost-imperceptible sparkle to her flank. Was that...?

“Huh, neat thought – have to tell the others about that,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug, shifting her body enough that the sparkle disappeared as Twist saw what was going on – there was still a fair bit of sweat in Apple Bloom's coat and it had just happened to catch the fading sunlight just right. Nothing magical, but it did make Twist smile at the thought.

She was soon distracted, however, when a slight gurgle was heard from just below the area she'd been looking at. Apple Bloom blushed and gave an awkward laugh as she looked down at her stomach.

“Apple Bloom,” Twist said, her eyes narrowing and a sly smile coming onto her face, “did you get tho caught up helping your thithter, you forgot to eat?”

The suddenly-silent filly's face told Twist the answer.

With a tiny giggle, Twist thought for a moment. “Hmm... thay, Apple Bloom? How many thlitheth... pietheth... bitth... how much pie did you save for us?”

Apple Bloom sighed. “Only four slices, but... wait, no, I couldn't...”

“That it'th thettled!” Twist declared, happy that she was able ignore someone else's polite offer of refusal for once. “Two for Truffle, one for me, one for you. We'll thhare!”

And so they did, sharing the last remnants of the Apple family stall's stocks and talking. Well, mostly it was Apple Bloom and Truffle doing the talking, catching up on the many adventures that had been had over the past few years. That was okay, though – Twist was happy just listening to them and, when she did tell them about her far more mundane life, they never looked disinterested. Even when Applejack returned and Apple Bloom had to get back to work packing up, they didn't stop. Instead, Twist and Truffle decided to pitch in so they could keep talking. It wasn't massively strenuous work, of course, but it was work.

However, through it all, Twist had the biggest smile she could remember for a long time on her face. How could she not, after all? She was with her coltfriend and had just made up with her oldest friend. She couldn't do anything but thank the heavens for all the things in her life that were small, simple and sweet.

Author's Note

You know, before writing this, I didn't really get why more writers didn't use Twist in their stories.

Now I kind of get why: her lisp is a pain to write.

I mean, she's far too adorable for that to stop me, but still...

Chapter Four: Kitchen Criminals

Of course, Twist's anxieties weren't gone forever...

"I'm thorry again,” the red-haired filly said as she and Truffle made their way to the centre of the area.

"And again, it's fine, Gumdrop,” he assured her.

...but they certainly weren't as severe.

Still, she did sigh. “I jutht withh I'd kept an eye on the time. I mean, I only intended to make thomething quick to calm down tho we could keep going round. But, well, you know how carried away I can get, and I gueth Mithter Prithe ith the thame.”

Truffle rolled his eyes with a smile. “Yes, I do know that. You think I wouldn't have watched the time if I really cared? If it mattered, I'd have told you.”

Twist thought for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I th'pothe. Actually, you didn't have to thtick around at all... not that I didn't like having you there!” she amended in a half-panic before a thick hoof on her shoulder brought her down again. “I jutht meant I wouldn't have minded if you'd gone to look around and get thome more thtuff. I mean, between Mithter Prithe and the guard, I was thafe, tho you wouldn't need to worry about me.”

Truffle shrugged. “Maybe, but I still wasn't going to do it. Just wouldn't be the same taking in the sight and smells without you there. And, really, what else was I going to do out here?”

There was a moment's pause as Twist considered and hit upon the obvious answer that, it seemed, both had forgotten about. “Um, help find whoever tried to athathinat... athath... to kill Gustave Le Grand?”

"Nah, the guard have got that handled, seems to me.” Truffle gestured up above them to where a small formation of armoured pegasi were heading in the same direction they were. “Plus, finding the bad guys isn't exactly my strong suit.” He paused for a second before chuckling. “Even when I'm wearing my strong suit. Besides, even if I could, it still wouldn't happen. I mean, sure, maybe they might like some help tracking down someone who tried to bomb a public event and kill someone famous... but on the other hoof, you needed someone to lick the bowl for you. Really, that's not even a choice.”

Twist giggled at both his words and the easy sincerity to them. It wasn't technically a need, but being able to see her cooking make somepony happy before it was even finished did her motivation and feeling of self-worth immeasurable good... and that somepony being her coltfriend made it orders of magnitude better.

"Besides,” Truffle continued, “I still wanted to be there... and not just for the bowl either. You know how much I love watching you work. Plus, being able to see a legend in a situation like that and watching how you and him got on... that was worth it on its own. I mean... I wouldn't say it was un-creepy hearing him talk about food, but it was still nice.”

Twist hummed in consideration before shaking her head. “I thtill think you're jutht letting your... what'th the word... prejudithe? ...get to you. I don't think hith voithe ith that creepy if you aren't looking at him like it ith, if that maketh thenthe. It jutht thoundth... really thophithticated, ith all.”

"Hm, maybe,” Truffle said, unconvinced but clearly open to the possibility. “Either way, it was worth it to see the really interesting guy underneath it all.” After a moment, he chuckled. “Can't wait to tell the rest of the movie club I met him. Scootaloo'll probably hit the roof... maybe literally. Though I'll probably leave out how he was almost late in leaving to be a judge at his own event. Which is another reason I wouldn't dream of blaming you for anything.”

Twist laughed along with him for a moment, letting herself relax a little. “Thtill,” she said after a little while, “it would have been nithe to thpend a bit more time looking around the event.”

"And we still can, don't worry,” Truffle said as the two approached the central area. “It's not like the whole place is shutting down after this. Heck, given how hungry it's likely to make everyone, there'll probably be more places open. But, for now,” he plunged into the crowd, his mass and the certainty of his walk making it easy for him to move through it, as well as leaving a channel for Twist to follow through, “let's get to the 'competition' part of the National Dessert Competition, shall we?”

Twist just laughed happily in response as the two came out in front of the crowd, looking over the dozens of ponies standing by numbered tables, all waiting for the judges with levels of confidence ranging from absolute self-assurance to whimpering terror. Of course, it was still early and plenty of ponies were still filing into the area, so the actual judging had only recently started and the judges hadn't reached this area yet.

Still, the fact that one of the judges was Princess Celestia meant that none of the contestants and precious few of the audience were able to really forget about their presence. Though, when Twist looked to the side and found the Princess, she did notice she didn't seem too intimidating. In fact, she looked remarkably happy, even though Twist understood this to be one of the few places where ponies weren't expected to bow to her. Then again, being able to actually taste all the desserts on offer, as far as Twist was concerned, should be enough to send anyone over the moon. Or the sun, as the case may be.

Still, it was hard to really resent her for it, as the smells were more than enough to satisfy the eager filly. A delicious mix of all kinds of scents, from pasties to puddings to cookies to cakes to cheesecakes to chocolate to sundaes to stollen to tarts to tortes to trifles – all distinct and able to be picked out, but still combining into a whole far greater than the sum of its numerous parts. Twist let out a happy whinny and leaned over on Truffle, feeling his own deep breaths and happy sighs.

After a little while, though, she felt him look to the side, past her. “Huh, that's weird.”

"Hm?” Twist opened her eyes languidly, still immersed in the wonderful scentscape.

"Oh, nothing,” Truffle shrugged slightly, possibly to not disturb her or possibly just because of his own aromatic euphoria. “Just noticed Joe over there. Never seen him look nervous before.”

Twist's eyes drifted over towards the large donuteer, indeed seeing a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead and his eyes darting around occasionally. Still, after a moment, she returned the shrug. “Well, I don't know him ath well ath you, but... well, thith ith a nathional event he'th competing in. Pluth he'th being judged by Printheth Thelethtia.”

Truffle hummed uncertainly. “Well, I mean, it's not like I know him that well, I've just been to his place a few times when I'm up in Canterlot, but... well, he never seemed all that worried by that kinda thing. Plus, from what I hear, the Princess is a regular customer, so I don't think that'd...”

He stopped abruptly when Joe's head twitched to the side and he muttered something, though there was no way to tell what.

"And he's definitely not the kind of pony who talks to himself. Weird.”

Twist pursed her mouth to the side at the thought before shaking her head, not seeing any way she could figure out what was going on. However, as Princess Celestia and the other judges were just now coming up to his table, she supposed they might soon find out. She leaned forward, looking around the legs of the crowd to see the judges taking small bites from the intricate donut sculpture he'd submitted.

After a moment, she heard a high-pitched hum of delight as the Princess smiled and the celestial winds that ran through her tail became rapid and juddering – if Twist didn't know any better, she'd swear her tail was wagging.

"Joe, you have surpassed yourself,” Celestia said, her voice carrying over the crowd even at a normal volume.

"Indeed,” the even-higher voice of Vignette Price came from behind her, seeming more to slip underneath the crowd than wash over it, “a truly delectable treat!” Twist couldn't help but notice a lot of the crowd shivering in fear from even the sincere compliment, but Joe seemed totally unaffected – his nervousness neither intensified or subsided, torpedoing one of Twist's only theories about why he was so uneasy.

Still, despite that, he nodded. “Thanks, Princess. Vignette.” He also nodded to the other judges, thanking them for their approving hums. “So, er... ready to call the contest or er... do you want to see how everyone else loses?” He let out an awkward chuckle, his face making clear that he knew his attempt at joking bravado had fallen flat.

Still, Celestia gave him a small, indulgant laugh. “Well, I wouldn't celebrate just yet, there have been some very strong contenders so far and I don't doubt there will be even more coming up. These are wonderful, of course, but you haven't necessarily won y-”

Before she could finish, a cry could be heard from the back of the crowd. Before the cry could even get half a second in, though, there was a rush of air Twist could feel from all the way across the crowd. Looking up, she saw something moving incredibly fast towards Joe's head before suddenly bursting, seemingly in mid-air. However, a moment later, it became clear why as a pegasus guard flickered into existence, the invisibility spell that had been hiding her getting knocked out by the impact. She tumbled through the air for a moment as the shards of the projectile fell around her, the largest coming close enough to Twist that she could identify it as the front of some sort of arrow or crossbow bolt. Fortunately, for all involved, the guard was able to get control of her flight before she even came close to any of the dessert tables, though the dent in her armour made clear just how hard the impact had been.

However, that didn't stop her from calling out. “They're on top of the admin tent – invisible too!”

Twist looked over her shoulder in the direction the guard had pointed, only to find her view totally blocked by the crowd. She stretched herself up onto the tips of her hooves and strained her neck to try and find a way to see past them, but it was no use.

That is, until she felt a large mass slip under her barrel before rising up, Truffle easily lifting her up onto her back. He was even able to pick one hoof of the ground while he did it to put under one of her hooves and help her stabilize herself and stand up fully. Between the two of them, she was still only barely able to see past the heads of the assembled ponies, but it was enough to see the many guards rushing towards a large tent in the centre of the area. Not to mention the large corona of magic that was gathering above the central pole of it.

"They're about to catht thomething!” she called down to Truffle, unsure if there was anything he could do to help, but feeling obliged to keep him informed anyway. “Thomething big. I don't know what, but it can't be...”

Before she could finish, a huge pulse of golden energy surged over the crowd's heads, taller and wider that two ponies combined, but still focused into something resembling a rapidly throbbing beam. Within a second, it smashed into the top of the tent, blasting away the gathering magic like sand in the wind and shattering the invisibility to reveal a unicorn mare. She was holding a crossbow in her forehooves while her hindhooves were wrapped around the tentpole.

However, she didn't even have time to react before another golden glow enveloped her and she found herself plucked easily off her perch and pulled rapidly towards the throng of ponies.

"Oh, right, of course,” she heard Truffle say with a chuckle, “Princess Celestia's here. Don't think they thought that one through, did they?”

Looking behind her, Twist saw that, indeed, the Princess's horn was glowing with that same light, even though it was far more muted than the energy the assassin had apparently needed and Celestia's face showed no real sign of effort. Sighing in relief, Twist lowered herself, putting her belly onto Truffle's back before clambering down awkwardly, though he never once showed any sign of discomfort from it.

Once she had her hooves back on the ground, the two looked at each other, silently checking to make sure they shared the same curiosity before nodding in unison and making their way over to where the assassin was floating helplessly.

As they approached, Twist heard a familiar voice. “...o when we learned Monsiuer Joe 'ad given 'is spot to Gustave and made 'is entry in the privacy, the answer became clear – put a show of proteccion around Gustave to made the assassin think we still thought 'im the target, while keeping the real force 'idden and ready to intercept the real strike.”

"An ingenious stratagem, Monsieur Poisson,” Price replied sincerely. “Tous mes compliments.”

Poisson gave a non-commital hum. “In all honesty, it was not much of a challenge, but I thank you nonetheless.”

As Twist and Truffle finally made their way past the gathering crowd, they saw Celestia give a regal smile. “I'm just happy the danger has passed. Though I would like to know why you decided to kill one of my little ponies,” she said, looking over at the captive unicorn. Before she could answer, though, another voice came from the side.

“That's what I'd like to know, too!” Joe said as he marched towards the helpless mare. “Just who the heck are you anywa-” He stopped abruptly when he saw her face, pausing for a moment before starting to gasp loudly... only to stop the gasp halfway through as his face fell into a confused frown. “Wait, do... do I know you?”

The mare gaped at Joe's question for a second before growling, her mauve fur bristling. “Know me? Know me?! Oh, of course... of course you don't! Why in Equestria would you ever need to remember the mare whose life you ruined?!”

“Ruined? Wait, I'm sure know that voice,” Joe stared at his would-be assassin for a moment, a searching look in his eyes. “Is that... Is that you, Needle Point?”

“You know this mare, I take it?” Poisson asked.

Joe shook his head. “Wouldn't say that, but I used to. Haven't seen her since we were kids back in Manehattan. Sure don't remember doin' anythin' that'd ruin her life.”

Needle Point scoffed. “Oh, of course you don't. I'll bet it was just one of the many times you've stitched your friends up. Why would you remember... the crullers?”

“Crullers?” Joe's lips pressed together in thought. “Wait, that does sound... er...”

“Let me refresh your oh-so-conveniently-inadequate memory. When I told you I was getting together a sewing circle at school, you said... you promised you'd make me some crullers for the first meeting. You let me believe that, let me talk them up whenever I saw any other members, let me tell them they should prepare their taste buds for the best snacks they'd ever eaten and then, the night before that meeting,” she took in a deep, strenuous breath, as if to force her bile back down her throat, “you... welched!”

By now, Joe's face had lost its confusion as he seemingly remembered what she was talking about. However, at that last word, he reeled back in shock. “Welched?! We were in elementary school!”

“Well, what else do you call it when someone just decides not to do what they said. No reason, no real apology, just 'Sorry, something came up, have fun getting humiliated in front of the only people who could maybe become your friends! Oh, and after you tell them next week for sure, I'll just make some excuse about health so I can move all the way across the country and leave you alone for the rest of your life.' What else would you call that?”

“Excuse?!” Joe snapped. “Needle, my ma had a stroke! Of course I didn't have time for something like that! And she was literally told by the doctor she needed to move and it's not like I could say no!”

“Wha...?” Needle squinted, her face shifting rapidly as the conflict between this information and her built-up hatred raged for a second. However, she then sneered and scoffed once more. “Oh, yeah, sure she did! Not like you've had decades to come up with some excuse or anything!” She snorted before looking away. “Not like it'd matter anyway – I'm sure you'd delay things at least half a year and by that time, they'd already kicked me out of my own club thanks to letting them down... even if they didn't have the guts to say that was why...”

“If I may guess,” Poisson interjected, “they said you must leave because you were being sullen and 'ostile?”

Needle rolled her eyes. “Not those exact words, but duh! Obviously! That's what ponies always say when they reject you.”

Joe rubbed his forehead, his confusion giving way to irritation. “Look, Needle, I'm sorry about what happened to you, really, I am, but...”

“Oh, spare me!” Needle interrupted with a glare. “I may have no job, no friends, no future... but the one thing I can do without is some hollow apology from the pony who destroyed me. Just...” she looked to the side at the guards surrounding her, “let's just get this over with – take me away to... whatever you're gonna do. I don't even care anymore.”

As the Princess's telekinesis deposited the mare into the waiting hooves and cuffs of the guards, she just seemed to lose all her energy, barely moving as she was secured and, once she was placed across one guard's back, just flopping down like a boneless fish.

“Wait,” Joe said suddenly, tilting his head a little. “Just one thing I don't get: why'd you put the bomb in the oven? I never bake donuts, they're always better fried!”

Needle Point started to sneer again before stopping, her anger giving way to pure confusion. “You don't? But they're so much healthier done in the oven!”

“Healthy?! They're donuts! They're not...” Joe sighed, shaking his head. “You truly have lost your way.” And with that, he nodded at the guards, indicating he was done, and they took her away without a further word.

Once they left, the crowd also began to disperse – it was clear the show, if it could even be called that, was over and all that was left was to go back to where they were and discuss it. However, Twist didn't move, instead just looking out in the direction the guards had gone.

“Wow, that...” she heard Joe say from her other side. “I mean, I feel bad she ended up like that, but... gotta be honest, that was the most pathetic reason to try an' kill somepony I ever heard!”

“Yes, it does not 'ave much in the way of the dignity,” Poisson commented idly, “but it is not an unknown way to react. When one allows a grudge to fester and feed for long enough, the smallest of the things can start to seem monumental. And it is all too easy to get caught up in the vicious cycle of antisocial behaviour due to rejection and rejection due to antisocial behaviour. Yes, it is pitiful... but also in the true sense: to be pitied. For, though an incredible failing, it is a most equine and mortal failing to 'ave.”

“If it helps,” Princess Celestia spoke up, having remained silent throughout the whole exchange, “while she will, of course, need to go to prision, I have every confidence the psychologists there will be able to help her out of this... terrible pit she's dug herself into. It will take considerable time and effort, but I sincerely doubt she is beyond redemption.”

Joe nodded. “Yeah, that... that actually does help a lot, Princess. Thanks,” he trotted up into Twist's field of view, looking in same direction after his ex-friend, and nodded firmly, silently wishing her luck. A moment later, though, he turned away and stood up straighter than he had since she'd first seen him. “Well, then, let's get back to the show. I got me a competition to win!”

He trotted off with everyone else, leaving the area as quiet as it could be while still close to the main crowd.

After a few seconds, Twist felt a hoof on her shoulder. “You okay there, Gumdrop?”

Blinking herself back into the moment, Twist looked around at Truffle's tender eyes and smiled. “Yeah, I... I wath jutht thinking... I think there'th thomething I need to do.”

Truffle nodded. “Anything I can help with?”

“Only by being there with me,” Twist shook her head, her smile remaining just as bright, “and that'll be enough, believe me. Bethideth, I'm not gonna do it right now... but I'm not gonna put it off anymore either, so here'th what I'm thinking: we go back and watch the thhow, then go round and make up for lotht thhopping time until the thtallth clotheand then... then I go and talk to thomepony.”

Truffle grinned and put a hoof around her shoulders as they began walking back towards the centre of the area. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”