The Princess Apprentice (PM for invite)

[Bramble Rose]

Dash was following along after Carrot, grinning eagerly at the turn this had taken. She had been forbidden from trying this contest more than once a month, but now here was a chance to win by proxy! Twilight was coming along too, expressing her own excitement in her own overly wordy manner...

​

"Carrot may have a nice, tone form with thick yet not egregious muscle mass as well as the stamina of a workhorse and he may even have his training and lifestyle to thank for undoubtedly quick and accurate hooves with a wonderful range of motion,"

Dash kinda stopped listening after a while, as she often did, though this particular train of thought did particularly tickle her fancy. Twilight wasn't wrong about this... she gave her head a little shake as the two stallions set to the smack talk - one of her favorite parts of the match! Even if Carrot's was a bit ... goofy. It'd work a lot better for a pegasus! Still, something Twilight had said... that there was something ... she couldn't quite remember, she hadn't been paying attention, but something about how something wasn't right.

"Oh, of course! Right you are, Twilight! Don't worry, I'll fix it!"

Dash darted off into the sky, missing the first clothesline in her haste to fix this match. Hard Rock was way too much a professional to finish Carrot off too quickly, though - he had to give the crowd (such as it was) a show! By the time she got back to the ring again, Carrot was getting woozily to his hooves. She deposited her small cargo of rain clouds above the wrestling mat and gave them a little kick, and with a crackle-boom, thunder and lightning indeed, the clouds opened up and started to disgorge their contents onto the two contestants. Most of the observers scootched back from the exremely localized rainstorm, but the two stallions busy wrestling it out were swiftly soaked to the skin, their manes slicked down and the outdoors mat getting slick with the downpour.

Dash landed next to Twilight and reached out to grab a few of those hay fries. "Mmmm... there! That's better!" she said, quite satisfied at the results. She grinned as Carrot got pinned down to the mat, with Hard Rock sittling astraddle his shoulders.

She lifted up her hooves to either side of her muzzle. "GO FOR IT, CARROT! JUST USE YOUR WINGS TO -" she stopped, realizing that her own techniques might not work as well for him. "Um... I mean... GOOD LUCK, CARROT! TEAR HIM APART! GET UP, YOU CAN DO IT!"

​

[SteelEagle]

Rainbow's waterworks did little to help Carrot's situation, which was dire. It was clear who was the professional and who was the amateur as Hard Rock worked stiff as part of his act. Twilight's encyclopedic knowledge of Equestria didn't afford her much when she tried to think of a way to help Carrot against Hard Rock. She knew it was entertainment but try telling Carrot that right now as Hard Rock started climbing to the top rope. The slick water didn't hurt him at all- he had obviously wrestled in an open top situation before, and with how crazed some fans could get about the show she didn't doubt that a disgruntled pegasus or two hadn't pulled something similar. He raised his two forelegs into the air and then leapt off, landing on Carrot crossbody in a splash to the whoops and hollers of the crowd. He pulled Carrot back up by his mane and then hit him a few times with his fetlocks before locking back up.

"Rainbow, look at Carrot! Look at his ab muscles as they flex and strain heroically in an effort to give him the core strength he needs. He must be in a lot of pain. Luckily, the water is cooling him down- look at his wet mane as he thrashes around in an effort to get away...not so heroically! Look at his toned backside as he struggles to maintain his position, muscles flexing in position!" Twilight provided a really unhelpful running commentary as her hay fries arrived, which distracted her even further as Hard Rock hip tossed Carrot down to the ground once more. It was a one sided engagement- how could he ever hope to turn it around? Maybe if he had some sort of sectre magical help, but the only one who could do that was Twilight and Twilight was just now starting to scarf down her hay fries with reckless abandon and haste. He was on his own!

[brianblackberry]

Things were not going well for Carrot Fields in the ring as Hard Rock was bouncing from side to side, knocking the ruddy maned stallion back down as soon as he got back up. If things weren’t bad enough, suddenly an all too localized downpour drenched the ring and made the mat slick, causing both stallions to slip around. Carrot looked up, pushing aside the face covering locks of his now drenched red mane that hung low along the sides of his frame; he couldn’t see who brought the storm cloud, although it was no doubt some prankster of a pegasus.

Before Carrot could figure out why any pegasus would think that was funny, he found himself blindsided and pinned by Hard Rock who sat on him, grinning for the cheering crowd. All Carrot could see were Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash sitting there, watching him get humiliated. At least the rainbow maned pegasus was cheering for him. It was enough to give Carrot that stubborn stallion pride that allowed him to summon up the will to quickly use his advantages, youth and power, to strike out of the pin before the audience yelled three.

Carrot rolled swiftly onto his hooves, tossing his head to sling his mane back behind his head, and gave a fierce grin. “Ah warned ye abit th' thunder, Hard Rock!” he cried, “here’s whit comes efter it!” As Hard Rock slipped a bit on the slick mat, Carrot leaned back against the ropes, stretching them a bit, then leaped forward in his old foalhood trademark move – the flying stormfront! His hooves outstretched to either side, he caught Hard Rock hard in the chest and flipped him over backwards… easier than he’d been expecting, actually, as he kept flying forward and landed on the ropes on the far side. Were they making the ring smaller than they used to?

As he grabbed the top ropes with his forelegs and turned around in the hopes of capitalizing on his one good move, Carrot suddenly found Hard Rock galloping right up to him; the huge wrestling stallion swung out his forearm to clothesline Carrot right over the top rope! The next thing the ruddy maned stallion knew he was face down in a large muddy puddle. As he stood up and whipped his head back and forth in a desperate attempt to try and shake the mud out of his soaked mane, Hard Rock had climbed on top of the nearest turnbuckle.

Hard Rock struck a pose, which only served to further excite the already animated crowd, “Hard Rock is about to layeth the smackdown on your candy flank!” Carrot’s eyes went wide as the large reddish-brown stallion then leaped off the turnbuckle and body slammed right into him, crashing both into the huge puddle causing the nearest spectators to scatter away from the flying silt and water. Carrot shook his head and managed to squeeze out from under Hard Rock, thanks to how slick and muddy both were now, and got back on all fours. Carrot gave a disarming smile, "alrecht, it was fin but Ah hink we need tae stop.” Surely Hard Rock realized this has gone a bit overboard, right? It was all in good fun and no pony would argue that the dark stallion defended his winning streak.

Nobody.....AND HARD ROCK MEANS nobody….. Tells Hard Rock when a match is over Jabroni!” Before Carrot could protest further, the huge stallion galloped through the mud right at him, only giving Carrot a second to dodge tot he right! Dodge, and uncontrollably skid across the mud, only to trip and splat himself face down in front of his two beautiful companions. How much more embarrassing is this going to get?!

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash got a little smirking grin on her face as Twilight went over the tantalizing details of what was going on - as if Rainbow couldn't see for herself! It was like Twilight had never seen mud wrestling before. "Yeaaaah," she chuckled. "I told you I'd make it better!" She let out a whoop and holler as Carrot got in a good flying clothesline, punching her forehoof into the air, then settled in to snag a few more of Twilight's horseshoe fries, seeming indifferent to the impending loss of hoof inherent in sticking it in where the princess was inhaling them. "Carrot's not doing so bad, actually! Course, Hard Rock's a professional. He's keeping it interesting. But still!"

Then she laughed and threw up a wing in front of her face as mud sprayed a bit from the wrestling stallions. "YEAH!" she cried, and cupped her hooves round her mouth, though Carrot was now only a little bit away. "GO CARROT! YOU CAN GET HIM! NOW YOU DUNK HIM IN THE MUD!" She got a big wry grin as she enjoyed the eye candy, lazing back and letting go with all the loss of control, screaming, hollering, and passion she could muster!

​

[SteelEagle]

Twilight couldn't stop herself. What was with hay fries? They were worse than Everfree salient flowers when it came to addictive qualities! The strands of hay were cooked in delicate seasoning over sweet hay, producing a rich texture of varied flavors combining to form a singular experience of culinary perfection. She couldn't thank the pony who had invented this enough for the pleasures rolling up and down her tongue as her vicious taste buds dissected each fry and begged for more. She obliged, her hoof always a in transition between her order and her mouth which took on a salty exterior appearance. One time Rainbow Dash reached in, and one time Rainbow Dash's hoof was almost inhaled as well. That would have been an image- Equestria Princess eating a friend would make quite a tabloid headline, yes? Luckily, all she did was continue to devour the deliciousness as the action unfolded before her.

And what action it was! Carrot's clothesline looked impressive, but for all of his energy he could not compare to Hard Rock. The former star no-sold the attack and launched his own clothesline that sent Carrot over the top rope and into the mud, quickly followed on his heels by Hard Rock's next move. A cross-body splashed from the top rope illicited cheers from the crowd. Carrot stood up and as far as the crowd was concerned begged for mercy- a chorus of boos at him. Hard Rock answered with a charge that forced Carrot to dodge but he did so without grace, slamming into the ground before his friends. It wasn't a good time to be Carrot, that much was for certain. Hard Rock was faster, stronger, and far more experienced. Rainbow was right- he was just prolonging the action for the benefit of his friends, treating Carrot like a toy much to the amusement of the crowd who ate it all up.

"Dash, look at Carrot's wobbling flank, indicative of just how woozy he is as it flits back and forth on the ground in rhythm!" Twilight added helpfully as she finished off order three of the hay fries, worried momentarily for the safety of her friend. Hard Rock winked at both of the mares before he picked Carrot up and irish-whipped him into the ringpost, sending a loud ping throughout the area as Carrot impacted and turned around woozily. Hard Rock didn't tarry a second as he connected with a standing dropkick to the farmer's head, sending him down into the mud to the whoops and jeers of the crowd. Twilight winced- that looked like it hurt something fierce. She worried for a second about what hard Rock may do to the defenseless Carrot, but it appeared as though he didn't have any new designs. Hard Rock struck a pose and then ran back into the ring, as the until now silent referee started to count to ten.

Twilight looked at Carrot pleadingly to get up, though a part of her thought it best he stay down.

"You can do it! Carrot, get up!" She shouted encouragement, but no longer was she going to be such a passive fan. She was, after all, a master at the magical arts...especially subtle. Her horn lit up dully, connecting herself to Carrot like a puppet to a puppet-master. If it was a fight Hard Rock wanted, he'd have to fight somepony with a better vantage point now.

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields was starting to feel ridiculous, the only thing that kept the soaked and muddy stallion from feeling completely humiliated by the crowd openly cheering against him was his lone supporter, Rainbow Dash. Right now she was the one thing that kept him going, that dissuaded him from simply limping away from the ring and this silly "contest", no matter how poorly the others would have thought of him for doing so. She believed in him! He didn't understand why, but it didn't matter, what mattered is there was a friend, and a really cute mare, willing to be his lone supporter. His stallion pride was in no way going to allow him to opt out now!

Staying in was easy, thanks to his beautiful cheerleader. Winning, on the other hoof - how was he supposed to do that? Before Carrot could begin to figure out some sort of counter, he found himself tossed with some force right into the nearest turnbuckle. As the ruddy stallion fell back into the mud, he was starting to feel a little woozy, "C'mon dumbtail, gie up, she's watchin'! She believes in ye!" Summoning whatever strength he still had, Carrot began to warily stand on all fours, only to have Hard Rock do some sort of back leg drop right on top of the farmer stallion's head!

Carrot couldn't remember much after that; everything became a whirling blur. All he knew was that he couldn't stand up any longer, even though it was important that he did so. Why again? Something to do with someone, but he wasn't sure who anymore. Maybe he'll just lay wherever he is for a while and get a nice nap in, that sounds good, a nap.

What happened next Carrot wasn't sure, it may have been a dream, but it felt so real, if a bit surreal. A purple glow surrounded the wary earth stallion and lifted him out of the mud towards the ring, landing him on all four hooves. He didn't feel he was standing though, more as it he was floating. He looked up only to see a shocked Hard Rock, or was it what dreamt he saw, there was no real way to tell anymore. The other stallion yelled what likely was another of his famous catch phrase but came off sounding poor sounding trumpet trying to talk like a pony to Carrot's ears; completely incomprehensible.

Suddenly Carrot, or more accurately, his body, charged forward and clotheslined the astonished Hard Rock flat on his back on the mat. The crowed gasped, so did Carrot. Did he just do that? Is this real, or is this just fantasy?

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash whooped with the crowd as the two stallions ended up in the mud, and the match seemed to be getting into the rhythem. Carrot was getting past his initial awkwardness, and the two stallions were moving with the rough grace of the wrestling ring. Of course, Carrot was getting the worst of the deal, but that just meant that he was the underdog, destined for a grand turnover! Any time now! Any ... time ... now!

Dash gasped as that blow to Carrot's head, her hooves coming up before her mouth, her eyes widening. "FOUL!" she cried a moment later, leaning forward and shaking her hoof angrily, though the crowd was cheering Hard Rock on. "That was WAY too much!" There was no way Carrot could carry on after -

She frowned as he got up like it was nothing, springing into action. That didn't seem right ... he should have staggered at least a little bit, first. And these moves were totally different from his previous awkward attempts. They were soaring, he was almost flying ... Hard Rock got back to his feet, frowning in confusion.

Dash's eyes opened in shock and horror. She clutched at Twilight's leg, and gasped, "Twi! I think some unicorn jerk is cheating! You gotta stop them, Carrot could get hurt!"

​

[SteelEagle]

It looked like her magical aid was working, much to the confusion of her friends. Hard Rock was certainly thrown for a loop and as Twilight followed up quickly by having Carrot Fields pick up the once-famed wrestling star and start a giant swing, he was swung for one as well. Carrot's face was contorted in shock and confusion though the crowd took it as a mocking of their hero and cheered even louder for Hard Rock to make his comeback. Rainbow Dash wa syelling for Twilight to put an end to the cheating, unknowingly asking the cheater herself. Twilight didn't think to stop just right then, however. Maybe eventually. Maybe not until Hard Rock was defeated. But a certain element of the show beforehoof was troubling to her core- how cruel it all was to throw an amateur in with a pro and allow the pro to prolong the suffering? If Hard Rock had done a few moves and finished her friend off quickly then all would be well, but everypony who saw this knew that the show was taking precedence over her friend's safety. Well, now Carrot would get his licks in. Hard Rock would just have to deal with it.

"Oh. Oh really? I hadn't noticed. Huh. Fancy that. I'll look for the, uhh, dastardly villain," Twilight replied flatly before stuffing her face full of more fries. And then she did the same to Rainbow Dash, hopefully distracting the pegasus long enough for Twilight to do what needed to be done. She wanted Carrot to really put the spurs on Hard Rock but she figured that after a few more high impact moves she'd have to let the chips fall where they may. Carrot finished the giant swing and Hard Rock went tumbling to the ground, very confused and disoriented. Carrot was on him in a flash, throwing him into the turnbuckle and then charging to the opposite one. He waited a second before he went galloping towards Hard Rock and gave him a running knee to the face, falling back down in the process. Carrot repeated this twice more, the second time hitting him but staying on the second rope facing Hard Rock, towering over him. He then reversed position and took Hard Rock's head in the perfect noogie position as some of her 'friends' taught her as a filly, and then jumped ff the second rope. Hard Rock was crushed face first on the mat, and Twilight let Carrot go of her magic- she had done enough.

"Oh. I stopped her- he- whatever. Lucky that. Go Carrot!" Twilight yelled with forced enthusiasm as Hard Rock moaned on the mat, not expecting this to be as hard as it was. Well, he was getting up there in age. Maybe that could explain it. Or perhaps eating his own restaurant's food slowed him down. At his prime he had a strict diet and training regimen, three-hundred and thirty shows a year didn't give him much leeway to do anything. Now that he had that leeway he was trying to get ponies to wrestle him. Gosh, how pathetic. He shook his head free of the cobwebs and stood up, balancing himself on the rope. He'd been here plenty of times before- now it was a match!

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields wasn’t sure what was happening, still dazed and confused from the all too serious moves Hard Rock used on him, he wasn’t even sure if he was even awake. It had to be a dream right? After all he was able to move with amazing speed back and forth across the ring, repeatedly knocking Hard Rock onto his haunches each time. How was he doing that? As if his body was choosing to move on its own. Maybe he was just running on instinct and adrenaline? Still some of the moves he was doing he never recalled attempting to perform before, even in his backyard wrestling days as a colt. Was he…? Was he giving Hard Rock a noogie?! Was that even legal?

Just when things were going great, with hard Rock on the opposite corner with a look of wear and bewilderment, whatever kept Carrot going so strong suddenly stopped as the ruddy maned stallion suddenly fell forward onto his face and shoulders, as if gravity, who had been so mysteriously absent before, returned in all its might. It was the opening Hard Rock needed; the reddish-brown stallion charged forward at such speed he knocked Carrot backwards several feet right into the ropes! Knocked senseless, all Carrot could do is flop back forward onto his stomach, all four of his legs spread out as he laid flat on the mat.

Hard Rock climbed atop the top turnbuckle, balancing himself as he held his hooves up high to the joy of the crowd who once again in near unison chanted his name. Carrot was just lucid enough to realize what was about the happen. Part of him, the more reasonable part, told him to just lay there and let the famous stallion finish him off to end the match, after all the audience saw him as the heel to be defeated by the Ponies Champion, but then he heard her, his one loyal supporter, cheering him on all again, believing in him, Rainbow Dash.

Carrot couldn’t disappoint her, no matter how much it may prolong his suffering in the squared circle. He had to show his faithfulness to the one mare who believed in him. With every bit the remaining energy, Carrot slowly lifted himself up on all fours and managed to stand, only to stumble to the side. It wouldn’t save him from Hard Rock’s finisher, but at least he would go out smiling, as he looked right at Dash with his wary eyes, barely visible under the messy long strands of hair of his auburn mane, satisfied he hadn’t given up.

Then sudden one of the staff of the restaurant rang the bell, “time’s up! The challenger has stayed in the match for five minutes and completed the first challenge!!” The audience moaned in disappointment, but Hard Rock was far more amenable. The large reddish-brown stallion climbed down from his position on top of the ropes and gave Carrot suck a congratulatory whack on the back it almost knocked the farmer stallion forward, “good job! I haven’t had a pony last all five minutes in the ring with me in a good long time! You even had me worried there for a little bit, just a little bit mind you.” The huge dark red stallion laughed hardily and held Carrot’s forearm up with his own as the audience cheered, “sorry I got carried away there colt, sometimes I just get a little drawn into the heat of the match, you know how it is.” Actual Carrot didn’t, he just have to take Hard Rock’s word for it.

Wait..Did they say first challenge?!?

[Bramble Rose]

"Good job, Twilght!" she said, but she was leaning forward and chewing on one of her hooves in nervousness. Had the cheater already ruined Carrot's chances? He'd taken some pretty hard hits!

Rainbow Dash hurried forward as soon as the bell rang, worried about Carrot. He looked like he could barely stand up! She slowed down a little as the two stallions seemed to have found it a bonding experience, and held up Carrot's other foreleg for the crowd. "WOO! Go Carrot!" she cried, "Good job!" She turned with him, making sure he *could* stand up on his own before she let his leg down.

As they were getting down out of the ring, she quickly whispered to him, "Are you OK? I think somepony was cheating and trying to get you hurt out there! But you were pretty awesome! You've wrestled before, haven't you?"

​

While she was checking on Carrot, Hard Rock was announcing the next challenge to the crowd. "As he's passed the first challenge, Carrot's one zero on the three challenges! This brings him in at an advantage for the second challenge! CAN YOU SMELL WHAT HARD ROCK IS COOKING?! Cause Carrot will be - since he'll be taking the kitchen ring alongside Hard Rock to prepare a signature dish for the judges to determine! Who will prepare the finest meal with the surprise ingredient that you, the audience, will choose for us!"

Dash grinned broadly. "This is where I always fail, but your farm's always full of awesome cooking!" she told Carrot. "I can't wait to see what you cook to beat him!"

​

[SteelEagle]

Twilight jumped up in worry as it appeared as though Carrot Fields was going to be finished off by the professional with a keen eye for the final blow, and all of this would have been for naught. Twilight's horn lit up visibly for the first time- overt interference or not, she didn't want Carrot to get hurt- just as the match came to a time limit draw, ending the festivities. The crowd didn't get their blood and Twilight was more than happy with that. She wasn't going to sit idly by and allow her friends to get hammered for the enjoyment of a crowd! Luckily, Carrot had managed to survive the five minutes and even tossed a look at Rainbow Dash- clear evidence of love, love, love. She would have to investigate the both of them later. But for now, the wheel of fate brought them to the second challenge. Hopefully Carrot's farming experience would translate into cooking experience. In any case, at least he wasn't going to get hurt.

Speaking of being hurt, the crowd started shouting all sorts of ingredients. Fruits, veggies, a few jokesters with meat, spices- it seemed as though everypony had a different idea. Twilight got involved. "Pineapple!" she yelled with a smile, but was quickly drowned out by the chorus of the random. This went on for a few minutes before somepony yelled out to consult the wheel. Hard Rock's face lit up like it was the Summer Solstic and he motioned for everypony to quiet down.

"The wheel? It's been a long time since we did that, but FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY! We will consult the wheel. Bring it out here!" Hard Rock motioned dramatically to a door, and a moment later the door opened and revealed a ten part wheel filled with extreme ingredients. The crowd hooted and hollered as if it were a burlesque show and the wheel was placed in front of Hard Rock. He cupped his ears to the crowd, they cheered, and he spun it with great force.

"Let's see what ingredient Hard Rock will use to layeth the smackdown on your candy flank!" He bellowed with glee as it spun and spun, finally ending on an ingredient that made Twilight gasp.

"The scorpion pepper! The hottest pepper in the world! Bring them out!" Hard Rock yelled as the crowd roared, two stallions withe mitts and masks trotted out with a single example of the pepper for each.

"This can get really bad, really fast. That pepper is hot enough to hurt someone if they don't know how to cook it right! Carrot Fields, are you sure you can do this? You don't have to do all this to impress Rainbow Dash!" Twilight asked pointedly, not wanting to have to teleport themselves to the hospital today.

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields blushed not because of Hard Rock's accolades towards him or because the small but loud crowd was cheering, but because Rainbow Dash was right there helping to hold him up while giving her own kudos to the ruddy maned stallion. It was only because of her and her belief in him he managed to make it to the bell, it was inspiring, even special, although he wasn't ready to actually tell her that, as he didn't necessarily yet understand why. "Ah dornt hink aam hurt, jist a bit groggy, i'll be fine in few minutes, yoo'll see!" More like a few hours, well, several hours, but he didn't want to damper her enthusiasm, but instead show how strong he could be. Silly stallion pride. "Actually Ah only ever wrestled when Ah was a colt wi' mah friends in uir wee backyard "leagues" if ye coods call it 'at, mair loch a made up league me a some friends cam up wi' one day." At least it was over, or so Carrot thought before he learned it was the first of three challenges. At first he was worried there was two more physical hurdles to leap, something that normally wouldn't have bothered him save for the fact he could barely stand. He would try though, if only because she believed in him.

A shower of cool water poured over the gray earth pony, washing off the mud, and causing his long mane to droop down to his forelegs. He listened intently as the water dripped off of his now glistening coat to find out what the next contest was. Carrot's curious expression suddenly drooped along with his confidence when the second round was quickly revealed to be a cook off! Carrot was a terrible cook, even by terrible cook standards. He may have been the only pony other than Sweetie Belle that would somehow fail at boiling water. In fact he was so poor at it he just ate raw food until Purple Haze came to live on the farm. When it came to the kitchen, his little sister was his polar opposite. If that wasn't bad enough Dash had the false impression that to delicious food that came from his farm's kitchen was somehow his doing!

He should have bowed out, he should have forfeited the second round and hoped one could still be considered a winner if one got two out of three. Maybe the last round would be trivia and he would be lucky and get a whole slew of astronomy and Wonderbolt questions. It would have been the sensible thing to do, the smart thing, the logical thing, but as he looked at Dash's passionate, supportive, and thus unbelievably cute smile, his stallion pride got the better of him. "Weel aam sure Ah can come up wi' something…." At least he didn't say something good.

Then the special ingredient was revealed and the audience grasped, even Twilight was openly worried. To most ponies the scorpion pepper was this near-mythical, foreboding plant that ponies dare not touch, for Carrot it actually made him less worried, "a scorpion pepper, is 'at aw? Ah was really concerned thaur fur a moment, loch it was gonnae be an orange, ur tomatoes, ur somethin' loch 'at." Carrot knew spicy food, even those as hot as the scorpion; such dishes were common in his family and Fet Loch held such hot pepper chili contests all the time. Super-hot peppers was something he could easily eat, it was the cooking part that had him sweating.

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash crowed at the reveal of the secret ingredient, slapping Carrot on the back. "All right!" She grinned at Twilight. "Don't worry, he knows his way around hot peppers! Found that out when he bought me lunch at Daringcon!" A very uncomfortable lunch, but very fun, though their pepper-eating contest had been declared a draw after the vendor had run out of his hottest peppers. The audience had been the real winners, cheering them with each bite and laughing at their red faces and watering eyes.

"All right, Carrot, quick advice - if you can't find a pot or pan or ingredient or something, ask Hard Rock. He's fair, he knows he has home kitchen advantage. I've kinda been banned from his kitchen, but trust me, he'll chip in to help you out if you let him know you need a hoof."

​
Hard Rock was there, then, sweeping up Carrot and drawing him up the hillside and back into the neat and professional kitchen, the two stallions slick and wet, their forms highlighted by the brief rain squall. Dash just sat back and eyed them for a moment in satisfaction, then spread her wings and followed after. She couldn't wait to see what happened next!

[SteelEagle]

Carrot seemed to lack the confidence to move on, his whole face telling a story. Exhaustion at the beating he had taken even with Twilight's help was supported by his bruises and the panting that pervaded him slanted him a bit forward. Terror at the prospect of a fresh failure in front of his friends and possibly more. Twilight had heard through the applevine that Carrot's cooking talents were below sub-par and that anything halfway edible that came out of that household came from Purple Haze. That filly could apparently cook up a storm an a half, but she wasn't here today. It was all on Carrot's broad shoulders and like a deer caught in the flash of light preceeding teleportation, he didn't know what to do. The story on his face was enough. So when he did an about face, when that smile that Rainbow had seeped through his terror and slapped his brain around into an aspect of bravery, it sealed the deal more than anything so far had. He was smitten with her. her beauty and personality had caught him like a fish on the line and all he could do was wiggle on the hook of her power, wallowing in the muck of her affection.

Twilight was bursting with excitement at this thought. Love was the final frontier of her studies on friendship. After all, what was love if not a different form of friendship? She had started some personal research on it herself, but you couldn't do a topic justice if you only ever had one or two subjects for testing. You had to be willing to look at many types of subjects in many paths of love in order to truly understand something as intricate as powerful as it. Rainbow Dash...imagining her in love with somepony was so odd, so strange. She was never the type to be transfixed by romance the way Rarity or even Fluttershy were. She had seemed in a sense the least ready to accept such a thing of them all, which put ino doubt that she was aware of what she was up to half the time. But it was so consistent and inspiring, and Carrot so hooked and obvious, that Twilight could do little but hope that it wasn't just her hopes and dreams forming a fantasy in contrast to a pure reality. It was cute.

And that smitten confidence was perhaps why the revelation of what the ingredient was seemed to for him just fine. It was a hard ingredient to work with owing to the danger it represented, but maybe that could work in his favor. After all, it needed to be taste tested by a neutral third party and while the crowd liked the insanity of the ingredient Twilight doubted any of them wanted to test their mettle on one of the hottest substances known to ponykind. But if he was confident, then Twilight would throw her support behind him as well.

"I'm sure you can do this, Carrot. I believe in you!" Twilight replied evenly, not sure of what to say beyond that. She was no cook. She just had to hope that Hard Rock wasn't either.

"Now you may know Hard Rock as just one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, but did you know that Hard Rock finished top in his class in culinary school and owns three three-star restaurants in Manehattan? What do you think about that, Princess?" Hard Rock asked, getting entirely too close with swagger levels off the chart, so off the chart that the kitchen almost melted.

"I thi-"

"It doesn't MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!" He cut in to the delight of the crowd, another one of his catchphrases in full swing. He took the tools of the trade and went to work! The nerve of that stallion...he was about four seconds removed from experiencing life from the vantage point of a saddle bag.

"You can kick his flank, Carrot!"

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields sure felt unsure about this challenge, but here he was, doing this for his friends. Any lingering doubt about continuing was swept away when the princess herself rooted for him enthusiastically. How could he possibly back out now? Dash and Twilight both believed in him! It was more than enough to have not only one, but two mares cheering him on, but to have one of them be a princess? Never even in the gray stallion’s fantasies did he have royalty cheer for him, but now it was actually happening! Carrot blushed and smiled widely, if a little nervousness, at his two pretty supporters before trotting proudly into the kitchen, acting as if was full of bravado.

Once he was inside it was a different story. The ruddy stallion absolutely had no idea what to do at first, only standing there as Hard Rock went to work, tossing ingredients into the hot pan like a seasoned pro. What could Carrot possibly make? Well, Purple's go-to seemed to be her garlic-roasted carrot sticks. If he made them spicy, he'd be using the secret ingredient, and it seemed easy enough; after all Purple could just crank them out at a moment's notice.

But first, prep the peppers. He knew the secret there - protective hoofwear. He slipped on the disposable plastic booties and took up the knife, reducing the peppers quickly to shreds. He could use a knife, Purple made him help with that enough.

What was it she all did? Well, garlic. He found a jar of crushed garlic and tossed in a big spoonful. Oh, and butter! Add butter. Carrot sticks, of course, and the peppers. Then ...

Then she added stuff. He looked at the rack of spices desperately. She used a ... red spice? And something green? There were a lot of red and green spices! He faltered a little, then just grabbed a few random ones and went to sprinkle a little in. OOPS. Well, that ... probably ... wasn't too much? if he just stirred it around?

OK. But this wouldn't be enough. He had to prepare some more, so he turned back to the chopping block to take care of some stuff. Several minutes later he turned back to the stove when he smelled the acrid stench of black smoke coming up from his pan. WHAT?! How'd that happen so fast?!

Carrot quickly turned off the stove and waved his forehoof wildly above the pan to clear away all dark smoke obscuring his unusually crisp, as in sort of blackish, carrot sticks frying among the equally darkened peppers and whatever else he managed to toss in that pan. He just looked at his “masterpiece” in despair and only had one question to ask for the dark red stallion smirking next to him, “Umm.. Sae who, uh, who is supposed tae try uir dishes?”

Please don't say the princess, please don't say the princess!

[Bramble Rose]

Back at the Carrot Farm, Purple Haze worked frantically in the kitchen, her mane tied back, her hooves flying, working desperately to make a feast fit for a princess at a moment's notice, the filly having no idea that her brother and his guests were no longer in the workshop... suddenly, a chill ran down her spine like dribbles of icewater, or like somepony was doing something horrible to good food. She looked around quickly. Nope, her brother hadn't snuck in ... must be her imagination... Welp, back to the whipped carrot topping for the hearty breakfast pie!

Back in Hard Rock's Cafe, Hard Rock clasped Carrot Fields on the shoulder, looking at the blackened crumbles of so many good ingredients, while his cohorts desperately worked with fans to blow the smoke out of the professional kitchen. "Haha! Not much for this sort of work, eh? Too bad, it looked promising ... if ... well ... you'd done everything differently." He leaned closer and whispered encouragement into Carrot's ear. "I'll harass you in front of the crowd, but don't worry - you didn't do near as bad as that blue pegasus you came in with."

He brought out his own dish - while Carrot had been busy, Hard Rock had reduced some potatoes and carrots down to little chunks with his quick knife, and had divested the peppers of their seeds. He'd scraped the seeds into some oil, then gone on to reduce the peppers to shreds as well, mixing them all together with egg and flour to make some fluffy and light latkes, topped with a pepperjack cheese, then drizzled with a red sauce over the whole plate. A half-loaf of bread rested to one side of the plate, ready to soothe the burning mouth, and all in all, enough to feed three hungry ponies.

And then, only then, did he finally answer Carrot's question. "And to your answer, why, now that you've failed the second part of the contest, it's up to the third challenge to decide the tie! You get to eat BOTH our meals! To the last scrap! Succeed, and you will have been the third pony to master Hard Rock's challenge!"

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, waited eagerly out in the dining room with Twilight. "HA! That was awesome! You got to get hit with one of his signature lines!" She squeeeeed with excitement. "Ohmigosh, today's just turning out *awesome!*" she cried, her voice cracking a bit on the last word. "You must be so giddy! I didn't even get that line from him!" She kicked back to relax, grinning broadly, and chatted idly with Twilight about Daring Do and the upcoming Wonderbolt show in Cloudsdale. "Hey, you can go do those, now, can't you? You should. Cloudsdale gets the BEST Wonderbolt shows."

Finally, though, her nose flickered at the smell of smoke, and she rocked back in her seat, laughing. "Oh, wow, give that a sniff! Can't wait to see what they bring out for the third round! But thank goodness our food's almost done! Nothing to whet the appetite like a good contest. You want some more hay fries? After all, when Carrot wins, it'll all be free!"

​

[SteelEagle]

Twilight could only guess how excited such a thing may have made Dash or Carrot. They were far bigger fans of Hard Rock than Twilight was and it took a while for the Princess to highlight what exactly had been the catchphrase that made her friend swoon so. As far as Twilight was concerned it was just a continuing pattern of aggressive rudeness on display by a creature known for it. To an extent she understood she had to give him allowance to play up his character but she just wanted to eat. The many orders of hay fries she had consumed had been able to set up roadblocks but her alicorn hunger barreled through such petty and impotent resistance with little difficulty. The sooner their food arrived the sooner Twilight could slay the beast internal and eternal before it rose up and strangled her good mood, which had already taken a few hits because of Hard Rock's attitude. More importantly, this alone time with her friend was lovely especially as questions bubbled up deep inside.

"I guess the signature line is good and all, but it isn't as if I'm a huge fan so the fan-service seemed less than important to me," she replied to maximum level of deflection as her inner thoughts ran on.

While Twilight had already confirmed to herself that the pair of them were in love even if they themselves did not yet completely realize it, the question remained why and how. Carrot was not the sort of pony that Twilight would never have linked to Rainbow Dash. She seemed the sort who would need somepony to fly with her, somepony who could share in the joys of the sky. carrot obviously could not do that. All that really meant however was that their love must go deeper than that, something so persona and unwavering that their solid foundational structure of love would and could stand the test of time. For Carrot, she didn't know him well enough to really theorize on who he otherwise would have been with. Rainbow Dash was a beautiful and fun mare so it was easy to see how a stallion could be enraptured so easily and totally by her. They would make some very sweet foals together, though that may not be for a while. Dash seemed pretty excited about her opportunities in life and not one excited to stall them for foals. Speaking of her career, Wonderbolt discussion.

"Yes, I'll take...six more orders of hay fries. I can't help myself. My hunger is so overwhelming sometimes! As for the Wonderbolts show, I can and I will. I am actually going to be the royal representative at the Wonderbolts Derby in a few weeks! I heard you might be participating. Is that true?" Twilight asked, trying to get her mind off of food and hayfries. Hopefully Carrot would just win this already!

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields looked at his disaster of a meal with a forlorn expression and sighed, at least he could say that he tried? Who was he kidding, there was a reason his kitchen had been mostly untouched with him just washing and cutting up raw vegetables or eating right out of bags of oats or hay before his sitter moved in, the same reason she doesn't really allow him in there now! Hard Rock was at least easy on the ribbing while they were in the kitchen, but Carrot knew how bad it was going to get when they trotted the meals out. What surprised Carrot was that his pathetic attempt at cooking wasn't considered as poor as Dash's! It made him wonder, what the hay happens when she is back here, the kitchen catching fire?

Carrot despondently followed as Hard Rock and the waiters rolled out the results of the second contest. Unlike the first contest, where the ruddy maned stallion cold at least hold his own for a little while and keep trying out of sheer determination as well as inspiration by his lone loyal supporter, this contest he failed, epically, right off the hoof and there was no recovery; at least the dining room was filled by the favorable aroma of Hard Rock's chef-d'oeuvre instead of his own burnt offering to the god of kitchen failures. "Hard Rock sure is glad he can't smell what you're cooking! What is that disaster you made there you roody poo jabronie? Fried charcoal? Your pièce de résistance for all to see is.. Charcoal? Maybe that should have been your cutie mark there Charcoal Briquette!" The audience cheered and laughed as Carrot just stood there, what could he say in response anyway? "Yeah, weel yoo… chef ye?" Yeah, he had nothing, nothing to say in return in front of the princess and Dash; this certainly was the low point of the contest.

Or was it? Now the third and final part was revealed, he had to eat both? While Hard Rock may have bragged how his meal alone was enough for three ponies, that wasn't a problem for a hard working, field toiling farming stallion like Carrot; he was so confident he even flashed a brief smile until the quick realization that it also meant he somehow had to stomach his own disaster of an attempt. Ughh.. Ponies weren't meant to eat anything that was burnt to the point it was mostly black carbon, such things were only meant to be used in small doses for upset stomaches and they tasted terrible! "So… Can you finish Hard Rock's third challenge?! Can you… Stomach your own, well, whatever that's supposed to be, and all of Hard Rock's delicious cooking? Do you have it within you there, Briquette?" Carrot was about to answer with an enthusiastic yes when he was cut off before he could utter a sound, "it doesn't matter what you think!"

No.. It doesn't matter what Carrot though, at least to himself, what did matter is what Dash thought, and that was enough for the gray earth stallion to take the first tenuous bite and chew the first piece of his own blackened dish…

[Bramble Rose]

Dash's jaw dropped. Not a fan of Hard Rock?! How could it be!? But she was rapidly distracted as Twilight brought up to of her favorite topics: Herself, and the Wonderbolts. Not necessarily in that order.

"Really?! Yeah, I'm supposed to be there, but I'm not sure what I'm doing yet. I mean, they've been having us all practice a variety of things. But I'm not a Wonderbolt yet, y'know? We're supposed to find out our specific role sometime next week, and then it'll be crunch time for practice! But can you believe it? Me! Taking part at a Wonderbolts Derby! I'm so excited! They were taking my measurements for uniforms, I wonder which sort of uniform I'll get? Maybe I'll get to do one of the exhibition heats! Or maybe they'll want me to do my Supersonic Strut around the stadium to get the crowd riled up! Heck, I'd even take pit duty, making sure to have cups of tornado-ade ready for the racers as they came round. Just so long as I get to see the main floor! I hear there's this rookie who thinks she's so hot that they're gonna pull a prank on, and I can't wait to see it!" She giggled excitedly. "Like whoever it is has a chance to stand up to how awesome I am! But I'm also looking forward to the race. Probably going to be one of the last derbies Soarin' will be in, so he's got a lot of motivation to push himself to his limit, but Starfire has a pretty strong start, and a lot of impetus to prove herself as one of the newest."

But the eager conversation went on hold as Carrot finally emerged from the kitchen with Hard Rock, carrying the massive platter of food. "Wait, what?! " she exclaimed, surprised. "What happened?! your kitchen is full of - " she paused, and looked over Carrot's attempt to mimic Purple's cooking. "Wow. Your sister wasn't exaggerating. I thought she was just teasing you!" Dash let out her squeaky, delighted laughter. "Oh, oh no, now you have to eat that!" She leaned forward, grinning as she watched the bit of char-broiled carrot raise slowly up to Carrot's mouth ... then let out her squeakly laughter again at the look on his face as he ate it. "Ahhh-hahahahaha! Woo! Go Carrot! You can do it!" she cried, slapping his shoulder with her hoof. "Eat that- *snicker* that charcoal!" She leaned over to Twilight. "See, this is why my picture still isn't on the wall."

​

[SteelEagle]

Rainbow Dash had a modest streak in her tha was hidden under the flash and color of her mane. Not many would be in her position and claim to not be a Wonderbolt. She was on the roster, passed their training, and was part of a Derby. It seemed silly to Twilight that a this stage Rainbow would say she was not that which she was but maybe there was a small element of fear. Once she became a Wonderbolt or admitted she was one, she was at the top of one peak and was looking at the top of another mountain. A whole new adventure was in front of her and while that was something she figured Rainbow Dash would relish once she was up there, admitting you had already conquered something you once thought unconquerable was hard to do sometimes. The amazing and wonderful world of the mind sometimes made moving forward difficult. Twilight would know. Twilight had experience herself.

"Either way, I'm really proud of you. Being in their Derby is such an honor," Twilight stated as she continued thinking...and eating hay fries.

Once she had transitioned from student to Princess, her routine was changed tremendously. It had been hard to udnerstand that one phase of her life had ended and another began and even as she enjoyed the thought that now she had began a new chapter, the old chapter was forever closed and the responsibility was greater than ever. Going from dream to reality could be tough, especially when it really was a dream like with Rainbow Dash. Oh well. It would be great to see her with an official uniform. It would be hard to not shed a tear of joy when she saw her friend take to the skies for the first time officially. But any further decisiveness in thought died when Hard Rock in all of his playful arrogance trotted out to meet his end Carrot and his...dish? It looked worse than what She had to guess that whatever had smelled good back near his house had been the work of somepony else...LIKE A MAREFRIEND!? The thought shocked the Princess! Scandal and discontent in the heart of a stallion leading him to two-timing somepony. Was Rainbow teh mistress!? Calm down Twilight- too many romance novels from Rarity and even a Princess had the fits of romantic madness.

"Are you sure that is even...safe to eat? It would be bad publicity if somepony were to get violently ill here, even if they cooked it," Twilight offered up out of fear for the well being of her new friend. Goodbye sweet Carrot, we knew ye well...or did we, you possibly two-timing dog?!

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields gave out a melancholy sigh as he looked down at the blackened, burnt remains of what was his attempt at, well, something… The only way this could have been worse is if his sister, Purple Haze, was in attendance; he could hear her frustrated young voice now, ahhhhgh big brae, thes is wa Ah dornt ever lit ye intae th' kitchen! Ye coods e'en sit oats an' milk oan fire! whit woods ye dae if Ah wasnae haur tae tak' caur ay ye! Truth was he wasn't that bad with simple stuff, such as making oatmeal, or a salad, just anything that required a pan, oil, and a fire was a disaster for him.

Rainbow Dash's teasing didn't help the situation much at first, not that actually made him feel worse. As she squeaked and giggled though, it actually began to lighten his mood, and Carrot gave her an awkward but sincere smile and even began to snicker at his own predicament. How could he do otherwise? Her squeaky laughter was so very cute and her positive teasing was encouraging and supportive in its own way. If most anypony else had done this, it wouldn't have mattered much to him, but because it was her, it actually meant something. Suddenly his confidence was renewed, not that he felt the so-called "food" would taste any better, but that he could manage to stomach it. It isn't the first time he had to eat something terrible, he wishfully imagined this would be no worse than those old R.E.A. leftover rations he often was stuck with when he was stuck in those outposts in the forests outside of Stalliongrad were just awful, and he managed to stomach them! If he could do that, he could stomach this! At least he hoped so.

The princess though appeared more genuinely concerned over what he was about to do. It was touching that someone of royal stature sincerely cared for his personal well-being, but perhaps all the princesses were this caring? He imagined this was what Luna was like, at least his rose tinted vision of her as princess of the beautiful night, the ruddy maned stallion had never actually met or even seen Luna except in pictures and paintings. "It isnae actually dangerous tae mah health yer highness.. er Ah mean Princess Twilecht, jist Ah am afraid nae sae tasty…" A bit of an understatement but essentially true.

Hard Rock took that moment to chime in, "you through making googly eyes at the princess there jabronie? Hard Rock is wondering if you are planning to quit now like some roody poo colt or are you going to eat your oh so crunchy briquettes?" The audience laughed and cheered, not for Carrot but for Hard Rock who was using the moment to relive his glory days. That though only made the gray earth stallion more determined to get through this, even if he felt red and warm with blush right the with the accusation of flirting with royalty!

Encouraged, Carrot went ahead and took a big bite of the fried carrots, meaning to get that out of the way quickly.

When he was just a young colt, Carrot had helped his old man dig out a new outhouse out back. They then had to move the outhouse itself over the new pit. Carrot had been straining to lift his side of the heavy little shed, when it suddenly had popped free, and the little colt had stumbled forward to fall right into the old hole, screaming the short distance down before he hit the contents of said hole with his open mouth.

Somehow, this tasted worse.

[Bramble Rose]

Dash's grin got really big at Twilight's compliments, even letting out a tiny little *squee* noise. "I'm so excited!" she said, practically jumping up out of her seat. "Can you imagine? I'm so close! It's going to be so awesome!" Unless they decided they made a mistake and suddenly stripped her new membership from her right then and there because she tripped or screwed up a turn or ... or ... or wore her mane wrong or didn't salute with the right hoof or didn't see her cue or sneezed during the Sun Anthem or ... *gulp* Stop thinking of that!

Then Dash blinked in surprise at Hard Rock's teasing. Was Carrot looking at Twilight that way? Well, heck, why wouldn't he? Twilight was a princess! And Carrot was a really nice stallion - really cute, loyal, friendly, liked Daring Do and Wonderbolts, the way his mane got all messy, especially when he was flustered, and that accent ... why wouldn't Twilight like him back? Heck, Twilight should be thrilled! The thought should be a good one - her friend deserved a nice special somepony, right? So why did it feel so bad?

Well, duh! Cause she was bothering to think about it at all! She wasn't some romance-driven airhead who sat around all day dreaming about kissing stallions and planning out her perfect coltfriend and perfect date! It would just happen someday, when she was on some adventure and some stallion flew in and was just as awesome and daring as she was, and they'd go on adventures together till suddenly one day he just swept her up and kissed her out of the blue! She was a daredevil, she didn't waste time on such things! They'd take away her daredevil license!

Yes, that was what was wrong. She was afraid of losing her daredevil license. Now that this was settled, she could get back into the mood of the contest!

She belted out a squeaky laugh at Carrot's expression, and her hoof came down heavy on his shoulder. "Haha! Oh, wow, you should see the look on your face! You can do it, Carrot! Shovel it in, fight past it! For victory! Show the princess you can do it!"

What if Twilight broke his heart? Why would Twilight do that? What if he tried to give her flowers and she laughed at him for thinking that a farmer and a princess could work together, and then shut the door in his face? That was so mean! Poor Carrot! She felt a brief flash of anger at her friend for breaking Carrot's heart so cruelly. How dare Twilight get so big-headed just because she was a princess! Then she reminded herself that Twilight hadn't turned him down yet. And THEN reminded herself that she wasn't THINKING of stuff like that!

"Just a few more bites like that one, Carrot! Come on, you must have eaten worse than that in the service, right? I hear stories about the hazing, what sort of stuff you REA sorts eat on a dare!"

​

[SteelEagle]

Twilight could feel the cheers and jeers of the crowd pour down on top of little Carrot Fields as the time for his culinary reckoning rolled in closer and closer like a sinister wave. She couldn't blame him as his nervousness got the better of him, allowing Hard Rock to get his jabs in and for the crowd to become a factor once more. Twilight could only smell the barest whiff of the madness that Carrot had pulled together and for his cooking sins a fitting punishment was in order, but there were laws against cruel and unusual punishments for most crimes for a reason and this seemed to go overboard in that regard. At least he had the support of a Princess and a Wonderbolt to help firm up his stomach, even if that was a failing proposition in the end. You could survive only so much as a pony and this was lethal due to the sheer amount of terrible capability summed up in just a few inches of food was stunning.

It was a very good thing Rainbow was here. Twilight knew well how good it was for a pony's soul to have a lover on hoof to get you through the dark days. More importantly, it all was part of basic psychology that even the REA used effectively. During times of war, some REA formations would be comprised entirely out of lovers. the idea was simple- you fought harder and longer for those that you loved. And you fought even harder than that to avoid shaming or embarrassing your lover. These formations almost universally were highly regarded and had outstanding service records. Maybe he was a student of the REA or maybe he was just a fighter- no shame in that- and if that were the case maybe it would mean less to him that he was now re-enacting that same support. His lover Rainbow here to support him would give him strength and that was only made more true by her loud emotional support. And while she was only a friend and not the object of his infatuation, Twilight wouldn't be far behind in being a good supporter.

"You...can do it! Go Carrot go! Woohoo!" Twilight shouted her encouragement, making a note to turn Hard Rock into a newt or something later.

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields slowly ate small portions of what no sane pony would refer to as "food". He may have been slow to take each bite, but not slow to swallow it, the first attempt was enough to convince him not to chew on what should have been carrots for long. Hard Rock was right in one regard, it did taste like charcoal, something the ruddy maned stallion only dealt with a couple times before when he was young and had a terribly upset stomach, but even then it was one small swallow and done, and not some sort of meal. If it hadn’t been for the copious amount of hot spices tempering the hard bitter taste somewhat, he certainly would have completely lost his ability to eat by now.

At least he had his loyal supporters among the crowd, who was otherwise urging him on only sarcastically, no doubt hoping to witness him having to run to the bucket conveniently place nearby with the words “loser” painted on its side. Both the Princess and Dash were sincerely cheering for him though, which gave him the wonderful daydream of imagining both mares in cute cheerleader outfits rah rahing for him; oh now that would be lovely sight, it certainly would have made eating his own created food disaster a bit more palatable. It was odd for Dash to bring up winning for the sake of the princess; the idea did embolden him somewhat as he took his next bite. Carrot was in the REA, although only a couple years, but that was enough to drill one of the mantras of the force: For the Princess! For Equestria!” It was true ponies wanted to be loyal to the princesses as royalty was earned, not imposed, and none more so then those who served. Still, as much as he would like to win as a “champion” of the Princess of Friendship, he was really doing it to gain the rainbow mane pegasus’ endearment; did Dash even have any idea? Would she care if she did?

Dash’s questions also helped, as they allowed his mind to partially focus on something other than the burnt remains still on his plate. "Och, heh, yeah… Weel thaur waur aye those a crazy hazin' rituals th' veterans did tae us new privates when we graduated bit camp. One was ‘the poem’, whaur each ay us hud tae wear giant goofy mustaches an' memorize a ridiculous an' terribly lang poem abit mustaches. if we got onie part ay th' poem wrang, we hae tae dae ten laps, aw th' while wearin' th' fake giant mustache, a huge colorful top hat, an' these pure big, brightly colored spects! 'En try th' poem again th' next day. Ye can imagine, most new ponies got it reit efter their first mistake, althoogh Ah hud tae rin 'at track twice.” Carrot blushed with embarrassment a little at his own story with that particular ‘tradition’ and laughed, “In fact ye heard abit thes afair ye graduated, sae ye tried tae gie a hauld ay a copy ay th' poem beforehoof, althoogh they dae their best tae keep it frae ye aheid ay time an' 'en gie ye one nicht tae memorize it!” It may have sounded awful, but it was all in good fun and camaraderie, one was seen as part of the unit afterwards, with no hard feelings.

Of course there were all sorts of other initiation like dares; it varied from place to place. “Och, ye probably loch dares, reit? Weel some ay them waur stunts ay coorse, usually when ye lost a bit ur a contest., some waur jist silly clase wearin', ur eatin' dares. One ay th' warst was back when Ah was stationed at one ay th' ootposts pest Salliongrad across th' river frae th' Leota. Thaur was thes affa smellin' plant called skunkweed, wi' black an' white leaves, weel if ye lost a bit sometimes, eatin' a whole plant was one th' rootine dares ye hud tae perf'rm, an' troost me, an' it tasted as icky as it soonds!" Remembering that plant suddenly made eating burnt carrot not so bad, it did surely beat that stinky, bitter plant almost every REA solider had to swallow once for one reason or another. Thanks to Dash and her questions distracting him, Carrot discovered he had managed to down the entire plate!

The ruddy maned stallion smiled defiantly and pushed the empty platter towards Hard Rock. He was putting up a front of bravado, inside his stomach of grumbling fiercely and not in the desire for more food; if fact, Carrot was starting to feel quite sick. “Well jabronie, you made it through the first half of the challenge, but you haven’t impressed Hard Rock yet, no you haven’t. It’ll take a lot more to impress the Ponies Champion and his loyal fans in PONYVILLLLLE!! “ The excited crowd cheered with delight. This was it, all Carrot had to do is eat hard Rock’s delightful looking meal, right? suddenly though, Hard Rock pulled away the reasonable sized dish from right in front of the gray stallion, “oh no no no, if you truly want to win the challenge and have your portrait on the wall of victory, then you must eat all of Hard Rock’s cooking!” With a nod from the hug, dark red stallion, the smiling waiter brought out the exact same meal but with three times of servings. It was enough food for Carrot, Dash, and Twilight! “Can you smell all of Hard Rock’s cooking?! Remember there Charcoal Briquette, you gotta eat all of it, and Hard Rock means all of it! To win the challenge! “

Ugh.. So this is why they had him eat his food first, just to tease him with this delicious, and enormous meal right when his stomach was protesting the very idea of another bite! He had to try though, he had to! She was watching, with her cute smile and squeaky enthusiasm; how could he let her down now?

[Bramble Rose]

Dash did love a good dare, and Carrot's stories had her in little fits of squeaky giggles. "You realize, of course, that now I need to hear the mustcahe song when we get back to your place, right?" While Carrot had been eating, their food had come out too. All the talk of insanity peppers had given Dash a craving for something spicy, so she'd ordered something called 'jambalaya' that had two little flames next to it. She had no idea what jambalaya was, but she liked trying new and exciting things!

When it came out, it was apparantly a pile of rice and black bean sausages and other stuff all mixed together. Oh. Well, that looked ... boring. Ah well, waste not want not! She took a big bite out of the bowl and her eyes opened wide. That ... was ... AWESOME! Just delicious! Mmmmm. :9 She grazed happily for a bit, then came up for air as Carrot started lagging in his stories and Hard Rock was jeering at him.

"Yeah yeah, he ate his stuff, the hard part's over! Good job, Carrot! Heh... but you wanna hear about pranks, back in the weather academy, there was this one stiff professor, y'know the sort. Always had to have everything 'by the book'. Everything lined up just right. So one day we get to his class early, and we swap out some of his pencils for some of ours, and shift everything on his desk just a little bit."

She let out another squeaky giggle as she remembered it. "So he gets in, right? And at first he's fine ... but then he starts adjusting his desk. And adjusting it some more. And his whole lecture starts getting kinda flaky. Finally he sits down and starts trying to resharpen all his pencils, so they're the same length again! And just as he's getting it right, I go up to him and say, 'Oh, sorry, prof! I think I accidentally swapped pencils!" And I put his original long pencil down on the desk and take my own back! The look on his face!"

She giggled some more, then shook her head. "I know, sounds like a lame prank, but for this prof it totally sold it!"

​