Chapter Text
In her jolly abode, Maffin hummed a tune to herself as she rummaged through bunches of paperback media. Several books, magazines and even a newspaper were thrown about haphazardly.
"Come oooooooon! I know I put it here somewhere." The Madolche Hero redoubled her efforts, before at last, her hands beheld a horoscope magazine. "Ah, I knew it was here somewhere." Maffin grabbed a nearby bag of jellybeans before returning her attention to the list of premonitions before her. Maffin creased the page ever so slightly, as if trying to restrain herself from plucking some forbidden fruit. After taking a deep breath, Maffin took the plunge and started going through the pages, up until she reached the current month, highlighted by a bundle of clovers. "Alright, my glossy fortunetelling friend. What do you have on the menu today?"
While you’d rather please people than rock the boat, there comes a moment where every Libra must face the inevitable conflict of standing up for yourself. Today is one of those days as the confidence-boosting Libra moon clashes with the Pluto in your family zone. If the foundation lacks a spine, the structure built upon it shall break it short order. Take a load off and indulge yourself! Giving yourself that boon will unwind those knots and make you all the more effective towards future teamwork.
The magical muffin promptly closed the magazine and tossed it away. “Well, that was *munch* a load of *munch* rubbish.” Maffin mumbled. “I mean I already *munch* *munch* indulge myself with all the *munch* Fruits Baskets DVDs I purchase.” The fledgling hero slouched into her chair as she continued to stuff her face with jellybeans. Surprisingly, Maffin opted not to air any further complaints and compensated for the lack of noise by intentionally chewing loudly.
As she ate, Maffin considered her next course of action. “*munch* Tiaramisu-sama’s probably *munch* gonna be swamped with meetings. I already *munch**munch* gave Mewfeuille a visit. Who should I see next?” With a wave of her signature wand-baton, the Madolche Hero conjured a list containing the names of her fellow Madolches. As Maffin scanned over the names, she mentally assigned a number to each dessert. No longer interested in some delectable jellybeans, Maffin stood upright and procured an amber die. The Madolche Hero gave the multi-edged object a hearty shake before rolling it across a table.
*rattle* *rattle* *rattle*
A beaming five was displayed on the top face. “Cool beans, let’s see what Magileine’s doing.” Maffin held her trusty wand-baton to her forehead and the ends of her artifact glowed a brilliant white. As the Madolche Hero focused her thoughts on the heterochromatic magician, a slight *buzz* was going off in the distance. Maffin took steady breaths and diverted her attention away from the intruding noise. Whatever it was couldn’t be that important anyways.
“Hmm! Who dares to contact me!”
“Hi Magileine!”
Maffin could not see it, but the fellow Madolche she was speaking with instantly deflated. The heterochromatic magician let out a snarl before replying with, “What do you want, hero?”
Maffin blushed. “You don’t have to call me hero. Maffin works just fine.”
“Oh, I am so sorry. I did not wish to offend our golden child.” Before Maffin could assert that everything was fine, Magileine continued to voice her thoughts. “What do you want, Madolche Hero Maffin?”
“Well, I wanted to see if I could hang out with you. I mean, you seem kinda grumpy and I think some company would do you some good!”
“What pray tell, does your idea of hanging out entail? Let me guess, making friendship bracelets, painting our nails with yogurt and talking about cute gumdrops?”
“Those are great ideas! We should do that!”
“I refuse.”
“But-“
“But nothing. I have better things to do, and I’ve wasted enough time with this conversation. Goodbye, hero.” With that final jab, the connection between the Madolches was broken. Maffin was left in solitude, but there was a persistent *buzz* breaking the silence. Breaking away from her stance, the magical muffin went towards the persistent sound maker. Maffin snatched her phone and went bug-eyed at seeing who had been trying to contact her.
*click*
A holographic display of the dessert monarch appeared in the room. Despite feeling nonplussed from the earlier conversation, Maffin managed an awkward curtsy. “I-It’s a pleasure to hear from you Tiaramisu-sama! What can I do for you?”
The matriarch smiled softly at the fledging hero. “Always the eager one. This task of mine is especially important.” At that, Maffin straightened her posture and gave Tiaramisu her undivided attention. “Have you heard of The Grand Harvest?”
“This is literally the first I’ve heard of it.”
Tiaramisu furrowed her brow. “Really? I would have expected Puddingcess to have at least mentioned it in passing to you…”
“I guess it just hasn’t occurred to Puddingcessu. That and she’s been busy. I haven’t been able to get ahold of her for a while now. Like almost every time when she’s with Seour-chan, I just get caught up in pampering that adorable little tyke! Likeshe’ssoadorbsandfunlovingsowejustspendtimeflyingaroundlikethatonetimeicatapultedherintoagelatobouncehouseandbeforeweknowitthedaypasses. And then Puddingcessu shows up when we’re all burnt out to wave me goodbye.” With each word Maffin was spouting, another wrinkle of parental concern was being etched onto Tiaramisu’ face. “Tiaramisu-sama? Are you okay? You look like a pruned grape.” At that, Tiaramisu audibly exhaled.
“I am serene and perfectly fine. More to the point, I need to talk about the Grand Harvest.”
“Oh, that’s right!” Maffin sat down on the floor and crossed her legs. The monarch used these brief moments to clear her throat and steady her breathing.
“Listen closely, for it is a very important event. The Grand Harvest occurs once every few years and is a collaborative effort between all the food-based lifeforms. Each group provides a specially prepared share of food, and we all meet up at the Food Pyramid. Much of the produced food is pooled together and shipped out to far-out lands. The remainder is used for a massive feast as we partake in the bounty we’ve collectively toiled to make. Of course, the event is more than just a potluck. You can be sure that there will be many attractions and decorations strewn about to enhance the spectacle!”
“Ooooh, that sounds like a fun event! When does it occur?”
“As luck would have it, a few months from now. This brings us back to the task I have for you.” A map display blared in front of the younger Madolche. Several red dots indicated locations of interest. Shortly afterwards, Maffin’s phone let out a *bleep* as it received a file of the map. “I wish for you to visit these areas and take note of their food stores for the Harvest. Once you’ve done that, report back to me.”
Maffin tilted her head in confusion. “Why do you need me to just see what the other desserts have? It’s not gonna change anything right?”
The queen gave an affirming nod. “True, your presence won’t actually affect the yield. However, you should keep in mind that of all dessert-based lifeforms it is us Madolches who are most prominent. As the Madolche Queen, it would be careless of me to remain oblivious to the production of the other desserts. At the same time, there are important matters here that require my attention. So, you must go in my stead to take an accurate account. Relay said information back to me and I can transcribe it onto a manifest. That document in turn will be sent over to the Food Pyramid.”
“Well alright then. I still don’t see the bottom line here, but I’ll set out right away!” Maffin punctuated this statement by jumping straight up and giving an oft-repeated salute.
“A wise decision. Thanks for stepping up for me.”
“Don’t mention it! I’d do anything for you! Just say the word and I’ll be on it like butter on bread!”
“Most excellent, but you should be heading out now, time is wasting.”
“Oh yeah, see ya Tiaramisu-sama! Talk to ya soon!”
“I wish you safe travels and good luck.” With that, the holographic image faded. The magical muffin retrieved her device and organized her various magazines into assorted piles. Satisfied with her work, Maffin sat atop her trusty broomstick and went careening out her humble home. Maffin pulled up the map file she received earlier and compared her location to the spots Tiaramisu indicated.
“Where to go first….”