Professional cooking

It finally happened. After centuries of doing the job, Cerberus failed to keep an eye on the gates of Tartarus for a little too long and now all the ancient evil creatures were roaming free, wrecking chaos all over Equestria. While both princesses were out there hunting the creatures in desperate attempt to save Equestria from impending doom, the citizens were hiding in the cellars of their houses, praying for it to end before it was too late. The city of Canterlot was mostly evacuated at this point, except for the royal guards on the streets fighting evil themselves, and six ponies gathered in the abandoned castle, trying to figure out the way  to save their world once again.

"Alright everypony, I've gathered some useful information", Twilight Sparkle spoke up to her friends, "The only way to stop it once and for all is to get to the very center of Tartarus and once again awake the Dragon Orb which originally sucked all the creatures in long ago. But there is one problem!"

"How did I know that?", Rainbow Dash grumbled.

"The second any living creature would go past the gates of Tartarus, the evil forces inside would turn them into dust in an instant. I don't know any magic spell strong enough to protect anyone long enough to get to the center of Tartarus and live. Our only hope is that there will be something about it in the one book known to ponykind that is unholy enough to hold secrets needed for problems of this caliber, The Necroponicon!"

"Then what are we waitin' for, let's go check it!",  Applejack started towards the door.

After a short trot, the ponies arrived at the library, where Twilight quickly found the ancient book and levitated it down with her magic.

"Let's see...", she started turning the dusty pages, until finally stopping at one particular page, "Oh, no!"

"What's wrong, Twilight?", Fluttershy asked with fear in her voice.

"I don't know how to tell you about it girls, but it says here... that in order to become immune to the evil energy of Tartarus, one has to consume a roasted pony!"

"WHAT?!", the other five ponies yelled in unison.

"Darling, but that's disgusting! And immoral...", Rarity pointed out.

"I know! That's why it's necessary. The only one who will be able to withstand something as destructive as the inside of the Tartarus itself is somepony who overcomes the disgust of doing something as wretched and unacceptable as consuming pony flesh, and it says here that the more effort was put into preparing the pony, the longer the protection will last."

Everypony fell silent for a long moment, not knowing what to say, or what to think, or what to do whatsoever in this situation.

"Listen, everypony", Twilight finally broke the silence, "I know this is very difficult for all of us, but this is really the only way we can save Equestria, we should have expected the solution for this kind of situation wouldn't be easy. It says here that one properly prepared roast is enough for five ponies to gain protection, which means... one of us would be just perfect. I understand if nopony will be willing to make that decision and I won't blame you, but knowing how much it means for Equestria, it'd be really great if somepony willingly voluntereed. I'd even do it myself, but as princess Celestia's personal student I have my responsibilities and I will be needed later."

"I can't either", Rainbow Dash spoke up, "All of Ponyville's weather depends on me!"

"Neither can I", Rarity joined her, "I have plenty of orders to complete, I can't disappoint my clients!"

"There's plenty of work in the orchard", Applejack mentioned, "and Ah have to do my part!"

"Cakes need me to help them with the twins!", Pinkie Pie appologized.

Everypony's eyes turned at Fluttershy.

"It's okay, I'm sure my animal friends will be able to take care of themselves without me. I can be eaten if that's what you want, I don't mind...", she lowered her head and started shuffling her hooves, which made everypony touched deeply with her pasiveness and resignation.

"We can't eat her! Oh, no no no!", Pinkie started protesting hysterically.

"But somepony has to do this, you heard what Twilight said?", Rainbow Dash cut in, not really happy about her close friend having to be consumed, or herself to participate in the dinner, but aware that this was Equestria's only chance.

An argument broke out between ponies, with two sides fighting over whether or not Fluttershy should be eaten, until finally a loud voice interrupted the further conflict.

"Cut it out!", Applejack rose her hoof, "Ah'll do it!"

Everypony fell silent in an instant.

"Darling, what are you talking about?", Rarity was the first to speak, "Don't tell me you want to be..."

"Well, somepony has to", Applejack interrupted, "And if we're gonna waste our time arguin' while every second counts, Ah'd rather do it mahself than wait 'til it's too late for Equestria!"

Nopony knew what to say, not that they would even dare to argue anyway, knowing that they didn't have any other choice, but also out of respect for Applejack's brave decision.

"Alright everypony, no time to lose, let's go!", Applejack was already on her way to the kitchen, only caring about the fate of Equestria and not in the least about the situation she got herself into. The others followed her without a word, terrified of what they were about to do, but also proud of their friend's determination. After a while, they arrived at an elegant dining room that was adjacent to the kitchen where Cadence's wedding preparation had taken place in a different time.

"Twilight, Rarity", AJ turned to her friends, "You go with me, we'll need unicorn magic in preparin' the roast. The rest of y'all, sit at the table and wait 'til the dinner is ready."

"Applejack, don't do this!", Fluttershy threw herself at AJ, "You know you don't have to!"

"Listen, sugar", Applejack put her hooves on Fluttershy's shoulders and smiled warmly, "Ah ain't happy about havin' to end up as a dinner, either. But what Ah want ain't important right now, all that really matters is Equestria's safety. Sometimes we all have to make sacrifices, and I'm happy that Ah can do this to help mah friends save our world. Don't worry y'all, we'll make sure Ah'll be so tasty that y'all will be diggin' it in like wild pigs!", she winked and her friends couldn't help but smile at how their friend was able to make them laugh even in her situation.

Rarity and Twilight entered the kitchen with Applejack, and the others at the table watched the door close behind them, knowing that the next time they'll see their friend again, she will be served on a hot platter as their dinner for tonight, and they will all have to eat it. And I used to think, Rainbow Dash thought to herself, that having to eat Pinkie's burnt pastries was bad.