Beach Filler Episode (OPEN)

[Gildarts]

Gildarts prayed the sugary glob tasted better cooked than it did raw, he’d lied a smidge to Molly’s face, in order to not see her smile drop to a frown. If his honest reputation was besmirched for it, well, it was certainly worth it.

Molly carefully descended the marshmallow close to the flames, “Notice I do not submerge the marshmallow into the flames, because this is what happens,” Molly pulled out a spare skewer with a marshmallow (she’d stuck several of these in the sand, marshmallows up, in case anyone failed and they needed a quick fix, in the halflight though, they could’ve looked like tiny little sugary balls of death to Gildarts) and the girl demonstrated “This is the WRONG way to do it.”

The marshmallow quickly caught flame and it began to burn, Gildarts took silent thoughts of revenge as he watched the black ichor fall into the fire stack he’d made with Molly. It was going steady now, easy to roast any sort of food, not this sponge unfit to be called even edible.

“Notice how it burns completely and the burnt charred smell from it catching on fire is likely how it would taste.” Molly said in a teachery tone and pulled the lit marshmallow up, or rather its charred remains. She blew on it and stuck it like a sword in the sand so it could cool off and they could reuse the skewer later. “For the best roasted marshmallow, though, you want to keep in mind of your own tastes, obviously there’s plenty to go around, that is, if Pinkie Pie leaves us any. So if you want to experiment if you like it better crispy or more melty, you’re free to do so.”

“How do I know when it’s done?” Gildarts asked, he’d been careful not to put his too close to the fire… But…

“Gildarts?! How did you- Ugh, how is it you burn everything you’ve ever tried to cook!” Molly nagged him as she caught sight of the literal hunk of coal the man’s marshmallow had become, “I’ll help you specially after I get done with the rest of the class.”

“I’ve usually had women cook for me,” Gildarts admitted. “Or summon food.”

“I’m sure you have,” Molly’s eyes narrowed spitefully, “Now don’t disrupt the class again or you’ll go in detention!” Molly was harsh! and took these matters seriously. Gildarts felt his shoulders sulk, as though he’d been punished and the young girl nodded approvingly.

“You’re righf, it ish a lot like a mooking clash with you telling ush what to do and eshactly how to make dem!” Pinkie agreed with marshmallows still stuffed in her cheeks.

Molly’s eye twitched with annoyance. Insubordination and speaking out of turn was a mark of her character, and how she was lacking respect from some of her S’more making students.

“Anyway, so when it’s done, it’ll usually look golden brown, don’t worry if your marshmallow catches on fire, just bring it up toward your nose and give it a quick blow,” Molly said and then demonstrated, “All right! It looks like mine’s good, lemme take a look at the rest of yours.”

Piqui held hers up, it was lightly crisped around the edges, “Wonderful! A model student!” Molly exclaimed. Come here and we’ll put it between graham crackers. For any other folks who can’t have chocolate we have raspberry syrup, sprinkles, and things like that to add to your flavor creation!”

The conversion was a swift success, and the whole “class” had watched it. Carefully as one would crack the code to a safe, Piqui had extended her roasted marshmallow out and Molly had wrapped the graham crackers on both the top and bottom part, they’d gently pulled the sticky white substance free from the rod and it was now free and in sandwich form. Molly handed it off to her cat friend, who could not add chocolate to the crispy dessert, and Piqui crunched a bite.

“Hmm.. Not bad,” she analyzed and her catlike tongue swooped over her lips and whiskers as she began to ready her lips for another bite.

Pinkie Pie was alerady ON IT. Her hype was crackling across the entire beach, probably, and she’d broken her graham cracker doing it herself, but in the end, she’d shoveled it in her mouth all in one sugar-filled bite. One would note, her cheeks still contained a good portion of scraps from her raw marshmallow binge. Bits and crumbs fell from her mouth until she finally gulped, roaring with satisfaction, “YUMMMMMMMMMYYYY!”

She looked like a rocket about to blast off, and well, did. In a spray of hoofed-up sand, Pinkie Pie dashed off, galloping the beach in a sugar-fueled madness. “Where’s she going?” Piqui asked.

“I think she’s gonna run off some of the sugar she just indulged in, worry not! Carry on class!” Molly instructed and walked over to Gildarts. “Now you hold this steady, and I’ll get the chocolate and graham crackers around it and I’ll slide it out.”

Gildarts held the skewer as instructed and Molly did as she’d narrated, so using her own marshmallow. “Note, my chocolate eating students, that the hot marshmallow will melt the chocolate, making it oozy,” Now it was in her hand, free of the wooden spear, “Alright Gildarts, tell us how it is!”

“Wh-this one is yours,” Gildarts muttered surprised by his surrogate daughter's generosity.

“You go ahead, I’ll make another one after this, plus with classes demonstrations help, though it is pretty hard to demonstrate taste without facial expressions. Go for it. Your first s’more. We’re your witnesses!” Molly said and her face darkened, “Don’t choke.”

With a soft crunch, Gildarts wasn’t sure what to expect, fragments of Graham’s cracker (so Gildarts had interpreted the name) fell into the stubble of his beard. In his mouth, the crunch was framed nicely and the icky mush in the middle wasn’t so bad. The chocolate however, was what made the campfire dessert so delightful, or perhaps, maybe it was sharing the new tradition with his family that made it taste better than it was.

All in all, Gildarts offered a thumbs up and finished up his s’more in a few swift bites. Piqui opted to roast her fish next and Molly began to make a s’more for herself. In the glow of the fire, their eyes were bright with smiles. Gildarts classified this as a very good day.