The wind whipped Vanellope's obsidian-black hair as she tore across the chocolate road. Ralph was perched on the back of her sparkling Candy Kart, clenching the side of the vehicle for dear life as the mini racer gained speed. The president's hazel-colored eyes were fixed intently on the road ahead of her, now beginning to change into powdered sugar as it sloped upwards.
Ralph had one giant hand on top of his head, shielding his eyes from the freezing cold wind flying in his face. He momentarily took his eyes off the white road and raised an eyebrow at the little driver. "Kid, how much longer will it take to get to this 'insanely wonderful place' you've been talking non-stop about?"
Vanellope turned sharply, causing Ralph to nearly tumble off the side. "Just a few more minutes, you big diaper baby! We're almost there!"
No sooner had she answered, the racer glitched off the main road and through the 'Road Closed' sign. The kart soared down the descending slope, and with a swerve, the President of Sugar Rush guided her vehicle towards a snow-white frosting wall. Despite pleads from Ralph to slow down, Vanellope floored the accelerator and zipped onwards. Before her nine-foot-tall friend could yell in terror, the spunky driver glitched straight through the sugary barrier.
With another twist of the pretzel wheel and a stamp on the frosted brakes, Vanellope skillfully brought her kart to a halt. She shut off the engine, then turned around to look at Ralph. "Ralph, we're here!"
The Fix-It Felix bad guy removed his hand from his head, and his eyes slowly widened in astonishment. He slid off the kart and looked around at the huge cavern. It was made entirely out of blue sugar crystal, and large stalagmites holding piles of ice cream of all flavors dotted the ground. Waffle cone stalactites hung from the ceiling while glittery, sugar crystal spoons sprung out from all the corners of the cave.
"Cool, huh?" Vanellope hopped out of the driver's seat and on top of the chocolate-covered wafer cookie on the back of her kart. With widened arms, she announced, "Welcome to Ice Cream Cavern!"
Ralph turned to her. "When did you find this place?"
Vanellope stuffed her hands inside her mint-green hoodie's pocket. "Right after the Random Roster Race yesterday." She smiled at him. "I was about to tell everyone about it, but then I decided that I wanted to show my best friend, first!" The president pointed her thumb back to the wall she had glitched through. "Also, I'll need you to break down the wall so the other racers can get in."
With that, the hazel-eyed girl zipped off towards the spoon-shaped sugar crystals. "Come on, Ralph!" she cried, breaking off a utensil. "Let's start sampling!" She ran around the flavors of ice cream, carefully eyeing each one, then glitched over to the chocolate chip fudge. She scooped some of the dessert for herself, then looked back at her friend. "Want some?"
Ralph shook his head, breaking off a spoon. "No thanks; I've never been real fond of chocolate."
Vanellope raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, what flavor do you like, Stinkbrain?"
Ralph opened his mouth to reply, then shut it to think about his answer more carefully. He shrugged moments later. "I don't know."
"You don't know what your favorite flavor is?" Vanellope asked, her tone sounding like she was talking about a serious felony. She jumped about ten feet in the air. "Sweet mother of monkey milk, Ralph! We've gotta find out what your favorite flavor is!"
Vanellope zoomed over to her friend and pulled him to the closest ice cream-topped stalagmite. She took his spoon, then inserted into the lightly colored flavor. "Here, try this!" she ordered, handing the utensil back to him. "It's coffee flavored!"
Slowly, Ralph delivered the spoon into his mouth, then pulled it out. He swallowed carefully, then smiled a little. "This one's pretty good." He took another spoonful of the ice cream, then contentedly began to eat away. "Alright, coffee's my favorite flavor."
Vanellope, however, was still not satisfied. She hopped in front of him and crossed her arms. "Pretty good? That doesn't sound like coffee's your absolute favorite."
The wrecker shrugged again. "I guess. But it still beats chocolate."
"But it's not your absolute favorite?"
Ralph hesitated. "No, I guess not."
Vanellope stamped her foot on the ground. "You've gotta try more than one flavor before you make a decision, fathead!" With that, she yanked the utensil out of his hand.
Ralph watched as she disappeared behind the coffee ice cream. "Wait a minute kid, I-"
In a flash, Vanellope glitched back to him, the spoon now filled with strawberry ripple. "Try this one!" she demanded, stuffing the utensil into his mouth. He gave her a look, but obediently swallowed the ice cream.
"So, what'cha think?"
Ralph narrowed an eye thoughtfully. "...I'd give it a seven out of ten."
As fast as lightning, Vanellope snatched the spoon and ran up to the mint chip. She got a huge scoop, then glitched back to Ralph. Without warning, she surged the entire thing into his mouth. Ralph had no choice but to swallow all the ice cream in one gulp.
"What about that one?"
A muffled groan came from the wrecker's lips as he gripped his skull. He fell back, clenching his teeth, then yelled out something about his head hurting.
The little president put her hands above her brown pleated skirt. "Ga-doy! That's what happens when you eat the whole thing at once, Admiral Moron! You get brain freeze!"
An hour filled with nonstop taste testing had passed. A small pile of dissolved crystal spoons had collected next to the giant bad guy, who was very near the end of his rope.
"Kid, please!" he moaned. "No more sampling!"
Vanellope flipped back her ponytail as she pranced towards him. "Ah, quit your whining, Captain Complainer! How will you know what flavor ice cream is your absolute favorite unless you try them all?" Having said that, she held out a scoop of red ice cream with white swirls. "Red velvet?"
Ralph stared at the spoon skeptically, making the girl inch it even closer to his mouth.
"Just try it," she said, an annoyed look on her face. Her expression, however, was not as nearly as irritated as Ralph's.
The nine-foot tall wrecker sighed loudly, then licked the ice cream off the crystalline utensil. He made a face and nearly spit the flavor out. "Ack! No, that's disgusting!" He stood up, wiping his mouth, then headed towards the kart. "Kid, I'm done. I can't take this anymore."
Dropping the spoon, Vanellope scampered after her friend and grabbed onto his hand. Her boots barely touched the surface of the ground as she attempted jerking him back. "Hey, shape up, Wreck-It Whiner! We're not done yet!"
The Fix-It Felix antagonist groaned before he arrested his feet. He lifted the little girl up to eye-level. "My favorite flavor is coffee. It's the one I liked best out of all the other flavors I tried." With that, he firmly set President Von Shweetz on the floor.
Vanellope, however, refused to cooperate and grasped onto Ralph's tree trunk-like arm. She pulled harder than ever, determined to get her way. "But Ralph-"
"Kid, if I eat anymore ice cream, I just might hurl on your kart on the way out of here!"
Vanellope paused, her eyes wide as she imagined her precious vehicle being puked on. Nevertheless, she pushed the thought aside and continued pulling on the wrecker's arm. "Ralph, you still haven't tried my favorite, yet! I've been looking everywhere for it, and I finally found it! You've just got to try it!"
Ralph tried prying the girl's stubborn hands off his arm, but to no avail. Again, he lifted the candy-themed racer up to eye level. He was just about to reprimand her once more when he noticed the look in her hazel eyes. They were big, puppy dog-like, and near tears. Whether or not she was faking it, he did not know, but it still worked at softening his heart.
"I promise that this will be the last flavor I'll make you try!" Vanellope cried. She dropped to the floor, folded her hands together, and looked up at him with as much desperation she could muster. "Please?"
The bad guy stared down at her, unable to look away from her large, glistening eyes. Finally, he groaned, falling victim to her heartfelt plea. "Fine." He shook his index finger at her sternly. "But this better be the last one."
Vanellope's face immediately brightened with a smile, erasing any indication that she was genuinely upset. She then clenched Ralph's humongous finger and began leading him away. "Sure thing, Knuckles!" She swiped a new spoon from the wall. "Come on, it's back here!"
The sharp-tongued racer lead Ralph to the very back of the cave and over to a stalagmite covered with bright white ice cream. It was nearly invisible, for it was greatly overshadowed by the rocky road in front of it. Vanellope scooped a small amount of the flavor, then handed the spoon to her companion. "Here you go."
Ralph raised an eyebrow at the dessert before looking down at the Sugar Rush racer. "What flavor is this?"
Vanellope smirked as she leaned against the wall. "It's vanilla, Dum-Dum."
Ralph ignored her lighthearted insult as he stared thoughtfully at the spoon. After a pause, he gradually inserted it into his mouth. Seconds later, after he swallowed, he nodded his head and smiled. "I really like this one."
Vanellope's eyes flickered. "On a scale of one to ten, you would give it...?"
Ralph's response was almost immediate. "An eleven."
President Vanellope Von Schweetz did a little flip and began hopping around Ralph, excitedly sputtering her delight in the mission accomplished. Ralph's grin widened, partially at Vanellope's ecstatic response, but mostly out of relief that she was finished stuffing his face with ice cream. The racer then leapt high in the air, her fist extended. "Top shelf!"
Ralph chuckled and bumped her fist. "Top shelf!"