Pippi watched as Tommy awoke, starting to shed the hefty dosage of rohypnol that had been mixed into her evening cocktail. Her darling looked so beautiful at the moment, stirring from her narcotic induced slumber.
Tommy attempted to move, yet found herself unable to as heavy rope bound her arms and legs to the chair she was seated in. When her limbs failed her, she turned to magic, the base of her horn glowing vibrantly. Yet, the ring just above it, covered in mythic ruins, denied her even the simplest of cantrips.
Pippi smirked, looking away from Tommy and to her cutting board where a sharp knife effortlessly chopped green onion, creating a small pile of chives.
"So glad you're finally with us, dear," Pippi teased, looking back up and pointing the tip of her blade at Tommy
Tommy heard the voice, her head snapping up and body instantly growing tense. There was legitimate terror in Tommy's eyes and Pippi cherished it. She was but a mere mortal, yet she managed to become the nightmare of a goddess. There was something poetic about that, she was sure of it.
The princess stuttered some response, though her words were caught behind the fabric gag crammed into her mouth. A necessary precaution to stop any verbal ejaculations from flittering through the windows or harming Pippi's already strained conscience.
"I'm surprised you were so trusting, when I invited you over," Pippi said, moving towards the fridge, "after all, I know you've been hot on my heels for a while now. Though, I suppose you have always thought the best of your friends and just couldn't bear to believe all those little cannibalistic breadcrumbs I've left in my wake. Or maybe you did believe in them and just thought that I would succumb to your worldview in a civilized debate." She waved her hand dismissively. "Regardless, you made a poor choice accepting that spritzer from me."
She chuckled and glanced over her shoulder, into the living room. Her home had a very open-air design, with the kitchen and living space separated by an island and not walls. This meant that Pippi could revel fully in Tommy's utter helplessness.
"I am quite impressed actually, I thought I dotted all my 'i' and crossed my 't' when I went on the hunt." Pippi shook her head and pulled out a series of ingredients, bringing them to the island. "Though I suppose it was my own hubris that started to get the better of me. A loner here, a hermit there, and no one would've been the wiser." She sighed. "But I suppose that's the thing about hunters, they want bigger trophies, better game, something truly impressive to hang on their walls. Why go for something easy when you can actually make a name for yourself and cement your legacy with an actual challenge."
Tommy looked deliciously terror-stricken, at that moment.
Did she think that Pippi was about to make her into one of those trophies?
There would hardly be a better one in all the lands but…
But Pippi had something else in mind for Tommy. This mare was something special and didn't deserve such an anticlimactic ending.
"To answer your question, the one you've been dying to know." Pippi grinned. "Yes, I am responsible for the disappearance of Annika. I became infatuated with the idea when I realized how nice her meat would taste." She made a pleasurable little chirping sound as she kissed her fingers like a chef. "And I was right. The mare's meat was so fatty, nothing like all that lean stuff I usually butcher. Pretty much melted straight from the bone."
Tommy let out a tortured gasp, tears watering in her eyes before drawing darkened trails along her cheeks.
Pippi smirked, gliding over to the stove and turning on one of the elements. She then placed a frying pan upon it. In this went half a stick of butter, some cream, and a few choice herbs and spices. A simple enough sauce, but that was what you wanted; something to enhance the flavour of the meat, not mask it.
Especially when dealing with a cut this fine.
She watched as the butter slowly melted, glancing between it and her captive.
"If it makes you feel any better, Annika didn't suffer," Pippi said, mashing the stick to help it melt quicker. "I am not a sadist. I do not gain pleasure from making other ponies suffer. Like with fashion, cooking is merely an art and there are a few taboo ingredients that I like to include within my culinary designs. It was like with you, darling. I simply dosed her drink and slit her throat during her slumber. She didn't suffer in the slightest."
Tommy sobbed, obviously distressed at having heard that uttered aloud.
"You should be honoured really," Pippi went on, her sauce finally taking form as she reduced it to a simmer. "You're the first pony I've ever made this confession to. I've never let another pony actually witness me cook. I'm surprisingly adept at it, believe it or not. But you aren't like most ponies; you're special to me Tommy."
This revelation didn't seem to calm Tommy in the slightest as the princess continued to squirm in her chair. Didn't the dear realize that this was a fruitless endeavor? Regardless, she'd learn soon enough.
"Are you familiar with the art of sous vide?" Pippi asked, offering her darling a playful smirk.
Tommy didn't respond with anything but grunts of panicked distress.
Pippi sighed. "I'm not surprised, not many ponies really understand the amount of work that goes into preparing meat. It is a forgotten culinary art that really only exists in a few ancient tomes written by long-dead ambassadors to the gryphon lands. We ponies… we have grown quite comfortable with the idea of being herbivores. Well…" Her expression grew quite sinister. "Most of us anyways."
She moved over to a plastic container on the countertop. It was filled with warm water, and inside, was a vacuum sealed plastic bag with a hunk of Annika cooking away. She had butchered this piece in her best imitation of a filet mignon, and having tried a similar cut before, could confirm that the comparison was quite accurate.
"Sous Vide is essentially using water to cook your meat to an ideal temperature. In this case, around fifty-five-degrees celsius for about two hours, as that is a beautiful medium-rare." She pointed at Tommy. "And unlike with frying, sous vide ensures that it is cooked consistently, being this wonderful pinkish hue all the way through." She groaned in pleasure. "Do you want to see it?"
Tommy's struggling stopped as she frantically shook her head, pleading through the gag.
"Are you sure?" Pippi asked, pursing her lips. "It really is something special to look at." She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Why do I even bother asking, both of us know I am going to revel in this fully, with or without your consent."
She pulled the plastic bag out with a pair of tongs, placing it on the countertop. She sliced into it, making sure to drain the juices into a nearby bowl. Ideally, this would be preserved for later, where it could be used for sauces and gravies, though Pippi doubted that she would be remaining within her home long enough to make either.
Once the juices were cleared away, she used her tongs to show off the hunk of meat to Tommy. It didn't look particularly appetizing, being this ugly greyish hunk of meat, with gory juices dripping from it, but there was still plenty of work to be done.
"Now I know this doesn't look particularly appetizing," Pippi said before she hid the steak for the sake of Tommy's rapidly greening complexion. "Though I doubt I could ever make it look appealing to you. But there is work that we can do to remedy the greyish complexion of the meat and make it a beautiful brown."
This involved heading back to the stove where Pippi grabbed a second pan, this one cast iron, placing it upon another of the elements. She turned this one to its highest setting and returned to her prep station while it warmed.
"Do you know that I love you, Tommy?" Pippi asked, grabbing a clean knife to chop through a tomato. "You have this personality that I just can't get enough of. You have this righteous demeanour which conflicts so fantastically with my own. And don't even get me started on your relentless spirit, stunning intellect, and gorgeous physique." She chuckled. "I did think about stealing a kiss while you slumbered but I felt that would be most improper."
The blade danced through the tomato, severing it quickly into a bunch of thin slices. And just as Pippi was about to reach the last one, she felt the knife meet her flesh.
She hissed loudly through her teeth, pulling her wounded hand away.
"Motherfucker," she grumbled, watching the red already pool to the surface before looking at Tommy and offering a strained smile. "Cooking accident dear, sorry for my language."
She placed the wounded finger in her mouth and suckled upon it as she rushed towards the kitchen's first aid kit. Though as she tasted her blood, her eyes widened and a surprised little note of pleasure edged forth.
"That… actually doesn't taste all that bad," Pippi murmured, changing course and heading for the stove. "You learn something new every day, it seems."
She went over to the sauce, humming to herself as she tried to appraise how much of her new ingredient to add. She decided on a few droplets, letting the red tarnish the otherwise yellowish sauce.
With that done, she finally went for the first aid kit, treating her finger with a bandage.
"Did you ever harbour feelings for me, dear?" Pippi asked, returning to the cutting board. With the tomato done, she started to cut through a ball of mozzarella cheese, forming equally thin slices. "I always felt like there was something beyond friendship brewing behind our relationship." She sighed. "Or am I just crazy?"
Well that was admittedly a pretty stupid question to ask. Any sane pony wouldn't really get involved with the whole cannibalism thing.
"Be honest with me Tommy," Pippi said.
Tommy looked at her for a moment, their eyes meeting. Pippi almost felt guilty as she picked up on the raw wave of negativity that seemed to just waft forth from Tommy. Yet, in the end, Tommy nodded, conceding this point.
Pippi smirked. "Then maybe something good did come out of this little cat and mouse game after all. I'll admit, a confession of love on the first date does seem a little uncouth but so does introducing bondage so early into our relationship."
When the mozzarella was sliced, Pippi returned to the frying pan, hovering a hand over top of it. She could feel the heat radiate off of the surface, curling at her digits.
Perfect.
She grabbed Annika's meat with her tongs and placed it in the frying pan. It immediately started to sizzle and the rich smell of cooking fat and muscle hit her. It was absolutely delectable.
"Do you smell that dear?" Pippi asked.
Tommy nodded, once again starting to tear up and flinch away.
"It is such a fantastic smell," Pippi commented, humming to herself and drumming her fingers on the counter as she watched the meat sizzle. "I wish we could have a proper discussion. I'd love to quiz you on what I did wrong, how you picked up on my scent, how sure you were of my duplicity as you neared in for the kill." She licked her lips. "I'll admit, there was something thrilling about feeling you on my heels, something exhilarating about being the prey for once. The hunt is so much more fun when there's someone actively sniffing you out and giving pursuit."
She flipped over the steak, grinning as she noticed the slight charring she'd left behind, greatly improving the greyish colour of the steak by turning it to a rich brown.
"Have you ever read a Sherclop Holmes story?" Pippi asked. "Silly question, knowing you, but…"
Tommy nodded slowly, the poor dear looking quite ill.
"I feel like our relationship, as of late, could be pulled from one of those short stories," Pippi went on. "You're the Holmes to my Mareiarty, yin and yang, and all of that. You might hate me Tommy, and you will for sure despise me after tonight. But we complete each other, darling. What is a love affair without a little bit of conflict, right?" Pippi grinned and lifted the steak, making sure to sear the sides of it to perfection. "I will tell you two things, Tommy. First, I will not be killing you tonight."
Tommy sighed in relief at that declaration.
"The hunt is far more fun when you're involved," Pippi said, "it adds a certain excitement to things knowing that I have such a capable mare on my tail."
And just like that Tommy's relief was absent.
"Second," Pippi continued, pointing with her tongs. "I will not remain in Ponyville after tonight. Obviously, the game would be much too easy if I stayed. Instead, I will take a head start, once our affairs here are concluded, and we will play this game all across this fair kingdom, until eventually, one of us is bested."
With the steak now properly charred, Pippi placed it upon a plate. Since it was the equine equivalent of a filet mignon, she added the sauce over top of it, for flavour, making sure to put on her best display at plating. This meal was supposed to be quite special after all.
Finally, she added the tomato and mozzarella, as garnish, stacking the slices on top of each other, next to the meat, before drizzling balsamic vinaigrette over top.
This was by far one of her best meals, though it was supposed to be, as this would probably be the only one she'd make in front of living company.
"But before I depart, darling," Pippi said, stepping into the living room with the plate in hand. "I wanted to leave you with something to remember me by, something to light that fire in your gullet so you give our romance everything it deserves when you eventually get a chance to pursue."
As she moved over, she used her magic to bring forth a fork and knife.
"Because, Tommy, I don't think that there's any greater display of love…"
Pippi placed the plate down in front of Tommy, making sure her terrified gaze was upon it as she cut into the meat. She took much glee in watching the red juices ooze forth, looking much like blood as they pooled upon the plate.
"...than to cook a meal for the pony you love most in the entire world."
She levitated the piece over to Tommy, while at the same time, removing her gag.
"Bon appetit, my love."