//------------------------------// // Mentos Aren't Reactive Enough // Story: Celestia's Crazy Contraptions // by Lucky Seven //------------------------------// "Princess, are you sure about this? It looks like it could be pretty dangerous." "Oh, Twilight," Celestia chuckled, "are you still worried because of that whole 'covering Equestria in a one meter thick layer of radioactive snow' thing? I told you, nothing bad came of it!" "Fluttershy grew a third wing that we had to have amputated!" Twilight shot back. "And let's not forget about the effects that entire situation had on the village of Furnobyl." "Oh, please," Celestia said with a wave of her hoof, "everyone knows that that town had it coming for experimenting with nuclear energy. A tragedy like what befell them was bound to happen eventually." "Because of you!" "Semantics. Anyways, I've come up with a much better idea this time around," Celestia assured her most faithful student. "... Without radiation, right?" "Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyways, you know how Pinkie Pie absolutely loves pranks, right?" "Um... yes, yes I do," Twilight said, gulping. "What are you planning, Princess?" "Well, I thought it would be really funny to attend her party this afternoon and get her with the classic 'Mentos and Diet Pone' prank." Twilight glared at her mentor. "I know for a fact that this is going to have some sort of really idiotic twist. Why don't you just go ahead and tell me what it is?" "Oh, pfft, why would I do that!?" Celestia laughed. "That would ruin the surprise. Plus, I have no doubt that you would immediately warn Pinkie Pie about what I have in store for her. And nopony likes a narc, Twilight." "Ugh, alright. Fine. Let's just go to her stupid party and get this over with." "Not so fast!" Celestia shouted. "I have to make sure that everything is ready for the prank!" Twilight watched with morbid curiosity, and unrelenting fear, as Celestia opened the most bitchin' fridge in all of Equestria, which had since been modified to be just a little less bitchin', and levitated a Diet Pone over to the metal table they stood before. "Okay, so I see you're using a regular soda. That's good, Princess! That means the likelihood that things will go wrong is just about--" Twilight was cut off by one of the most maniacally evil laughs she'd ever heard erupting straight from Celestia. "... zero." "No need to worry, Twilight, everything is going to be just fine..." Celestia assured her student, her horn bursting alight as she levitated over yet another object. This time, it was a solid metal box with no label. It had a padlock on the front, and Twilight gulped as Celestia floated a key over and unlatched it. The chains holding the box closed clanked onto the sleek surface of the table, and her mentor grabbed the rim of it with her front hooves. It was clearly heavy, but she managed to get it open after a few moments. The lavender unicorn watched with greatly vested interest as Celestia levitated what looked to be a small white powder out of the box. Just as she was about to look inside, the box was slammed shut and the chains and lock magically placed back on it. "Nuh uh uh, no spoiling the surprise," Celestia scolded her student as she gently eased the unknown white substance into the now-opened bottle of Diet Pone. Just as it started to fizz up, she screwed the cap on tightly, sealing all of that delicious carbonation inside. "Perfect, it's ready!" "This is going to end so poorly, I already know it," Twilight groaned. "And off we go to the party!" Celestia shouted triumphantly. "Oh my gosh, I'm so super-duper excited you came, Twilight!" Pinkie shouted as her friend stepped foot into the party. "And you even brought Princess Celestia, holy cow that is so amazing I never thought the Princess would attend one of my parties!" "It is my pleasure," Celestia spoke softly. Her voice was soothing, though Twilight knew it was simply a facade for what was to come in a few moments. "Twilight tells me you throw some of the best parties in all of Equestria." "The absolute bestest!" Pinkie Pie nodded so rapidly it looked as if her head might fly away from her body. "And with you here, it's even better!" "I'm glad to hear that, Pinkie Pie," Celestia smiled. "I actually wanted to make the occasion memorable, so I brought you a little gift to commemorate my first time attending one of your legendary parties." Pinkie Pie gasped. "You got me a gift, Princess!?" "But of course," Celestia smiled. Her horn lit up into a light golden hue as she levitated out the bottle of Diet Pone that she had tampered with just a bit ago. "I brought you this bottle of refreshing Diet Pone! Twilight made sure to let me know how much you love soda, so I figured you might enjoy this." "OH MY GOSH!" Pinkie Pie cried out, grabbing the bottle so swiftly Celestia didn't have time to react. Twilight watched with bated breath as her friend tried to unscrew the cap, but to no avail. Relief overcame her. Maybe Pinkie would never be able to get it open, and everything would turn out okay. "No worries, I have a bottle opener!" Pinkie shouted, sprinting to her kitchen and back in record time. Placing it against the cap, she smiled widely. "Off we go!" "Wait, Pinkie, don't--!" With a pop, the cap came right off, and Twilight winced, running behind a table to take cover. And... "... Nothing?" Twilight asked. "Wait, so it's just a regular bottle of soda?" "Well, duh," Pinkie Pie said. "I saw the one Celestia brought in and knew it was tampered with, do you think this is my first time being pranked?" "Wait. So then what happened to the one I brought in?" Celestia asked. All three ponies turned as they heard a pony they were all familiar with speak up. "Oh, wow, a free soda!" "WAIT, DON'T OPEN THAT SCOO--" This time, as the cap came unscrewed, there was no time to take cover. In an instant, the entirety of Sugarcube Corner was overtaken by a blinding flash of light. The walls and roof were blown away into shreds of splintered wood, flying in every direction through town. As the flash slowly diminished, everypony found themselves looking up at a steadily growing mushroom cloud. After a moment, they all looked back down at Scootaloo, now charred entirely black. "Uh... hehe," the filly laughed, taking a small sip of what was left of the soda. "The bottle survived the explosion!?" Twilight shouted out. "That doesn't even make sense!" "Haha, you're a riot, Princess Celestia!" Pinkie Pie laughed. "Oh yeah I used Tannerite, Twilight," Celestia said. "Be happy I didn't end up using Dynamite."