The chime went off as Mizuko opened the door to Hoseki-san’s shop and the two mares stepped inside. To their right, Hoseki-san – a tall, dark green stallion whose cutie mark depicted a necklace of assorted gems – was polishing the front counter, but stopped immediately upon seeing the two mares, donning a huge smile and bowing in greeting.
”Mizuko! Glad to see you again!” He turned his gaze to Lilligold, doing a double take upon recognizing her foreigner status, but retained his smile and continued with, ”Who is she?”
Mizuko bowed in return. ”Her name is Lilligold. She’s here to see cherry blossoms.”
He gave her a knowing nod. ”She won’t be disappointed.” He then turned to Lilligold, making a sweeping gesture at his store. ”If you want to browse my store, feel free to do so.”
Lilligold only stared blankly.
“He’s saying you can look around,” Mizuko translated.
Lilligold made an ‘o’ with her mouth, and nodded. “Thank you,” she said with a smile, before turning down one of the aisles.
”What a lovely mare,” Hoseki-san noted, then turned back to Mizuko with a quirked brow. ”You didn’t pull her out of the sea?”
Such a joke would normally elicit an amused smile from Mizuko, but having just heard it from Yadame, she could only sigh while hoisting her bag of pearls onto the counter. ”Just pearls, as always. Good quality ones, too.”
”Excellent!” Hoseki-san opened her bag and dumped its glittery contents onto the counter. Pearls colored white and red and blue and black rolled onto the wooden surface like marbles. Hoseki-san’s eyes gained a glitter to match as he began sorting through them. ”Without you, my store would be doomed.”
Mizuko shrugged. ”Maybe.”
Hoseki-san looked up from his sorting with a frown. ”Are you okay?”
Mizuko sighed again. ”Sorry, Hoseki-san; I’ve recently been feeling depressed.”
He frowned. ”For what reason?”
”I should’ve said ‘bored’, actually.” She scuffed a hoof across the floor, noting that he hadn’t waxed it in a while. ”It’s been awhile since I’ve been contracted for work, and there’s never much to do here when I’m not pearl diving.”
Hoseki-san appeared to mull over her words for a few moments, only to be interrupted by a startled gasp from within the store. The two of them turned their heads to see Lilligold down one of the aisles, her mouth split in a nervous grin as she held a gem-encrusted brooch close to the ground. She placed it back onto the shelf and gave them a nervous wave before resuming her search of the store.
”Life is never boring with foreigners around,” Hoseki-san said, laughing a little. ”Maybe something will happen during her stay here and your spirit will be reinvigorated in turn.”
Mizuko shrugged again. ”Maybe.”
Hoseki-san finished sorting the pearls just as Lilligold returned to the counter. He opened the register and scooped out a giant hoofful of coins before depositing them into Mizuko’s bag. ”Here’s your earnings,” he said, passing the bag back to her. ”Spend them well.”
”Thanks. I will.” Mizuko turned to Lilligold. “Alright, I’m done here. Let’s go.”
“Okay,” Lilligold replied. Mizuko waved Hoseki-san goodbye as the two mares stepped outside. “So, which way now–”
Click
The two mares jumped a little at the sound. Looking to their left, they saw a couple of fillies staring back at them, large grins plastered across their muzzles. Seeing that one of them had a camera strapped around her neck, Mizuko could only sigh exasperatedly upon realizing what they were doing.
Lilligold, meanwhile, only stared in confusion as she watched the fillies run away while snickering under their breath.
“What just happened?” she asked, turning back to Mizuko.
Mizuko returned her gaze, sighing again. “Remember how I said foreigners aren’t a common sight around here?”
Lilligold nodded.
“I imagine those fillies plan to show off their picture of you to their friends.” Mizuko tapped her chin in thought. “I remember back in school some of my classmates would compete to see who could spot the most foreigners throughout the school year.” If there was ever a real gaijin hunter…
Pulling herself from her nostalgia, Mizuko noticed that Lilligold had seemed to shrink in on herself, her face becoming a mask of worry as she slumped over a little. It took a moment for Mizuko to realize what exactly Lilligold had on her mind, and when she did, she placed a comforting hoof on her withers, smiling gently.
“They’re just children. I can’t imagine they’ll use that picture for anything bad,” she said, to which Lilligold met her gaze. “If anything, you now have foreign celebrity status.”
Lilligold just snorted a laugh in response, smiling a little.
Mizuko gestured down the sidewalk. “The nearest cherry blossoms are in the center of town.”
Lilligold nodded. “Alright, let’s–” A sudden gurgling sound interrupted her. She stood stock still for a moment, before smiling sheepishly as her cheeks turned tomato-red.
“... Or we can have lunch first, if you want.” Mizuko held up her bag of coins. “I’ll pay for it.”
Lilligold nodded, her cheeks returning to their original color, though her expression remained sheepish. “That’d be great, thanks.”
With that settled, Mizuko began contemplating where to take them for lunch as she resumed leading Lilligold. She remembered that a few streets over there was a plaza that housed a few restaurants, but they all served Neighponese-specific dishes. For a first-time visitor to Neighpon, Lilligold might not’ve been particularly willing to try local dishes. Not that Mizuko believed her to be a dismissive sort of mare, but making her feel comfortable was her topmost priority.
After giving it some thought, Mizuko realized there was only one place to bring them for lunch. Taking a turn one street over from the plaza, she headed towards the only foreign-based restaurant to exist in Neighpon.
Meanwhile, Lilligold did her best to ignore all the stares she got from passersby. Knowing now that they were merely curious about her helped stave off some anxiety, but she still found it disconcerting to be looked at by so many strangers. That said, she now found herself returning their curiosity.
She’d once read up on how a number of ponies had split off from the three pony tribes just prior to Hearth’s Warming, heading west and eventually settling on an island chain in the South Luna Ocean that would eventually grow into the nation of Neighpon. Similar to the ponies of the Griffish Isles, she wondered what kind of perspective these foreign ponyfolk might have on mainland Equestria. It felt so odd to her; the ponies here were prone to treating her as an outsider, despite them having a common ancestor.
Lilligold was snapped from her thoughts when Mizuko stopped and turned around to her. “We’re here,” she said, gesturing to her left.
Lilligold looked over, and did a double take at what she saw. The building next to them had a sign up top with a sandwich and a soft drink icon against a yellow and red background, the sign itself lined with inactive lights.
“A Hayburgers?” Lilligold asked, turning back to Mizuko with a dumbfounded expression.
Mizuko nodded. “It’s been here for a little over a year, now.” She stepped up to the door and opened it for her.
Lilligold walked in, and once again found herself surprised enough to hang her jaw agape. Everything, from the walls to the registers to the booths in the back — all of it was exactly as she’d grown accustomed to seeing back home. The cashiers even had similarly-designed uniforms. She only regained her composure when Mizuko walked past her toward the closest register. Lilligold tried to keep her surprise in check as she followed right behind, lest she do or say something stupid in a public restaurant.
The cashier finished tending to another customer as the two mares approached. Seeing Mizuko, she gave a warm smile, only to look surprised upon noticing Lilligold right behind her. Lilligold flushed in response, but stopped when the cashier reigned in her surprise and re-adopted her smile.
”Irrashaimase!” she said. She looked at Mizuko, but shot Lilligold an occasional glance while she spoke. ”Anata wa nani o shitai?”
Mizuko turned back to Lilligold. “I’ll give both of our orders, if you want,” she said.
Lilligold shook her head. “That’s okay, I can tell what everything on the menu is,” she replied, smiling. “I shouldn’t have to rely on you for everything, after all.”
Mizuko nodded, and turned back to the cashier. ”Watashi wa bāgābaitsu o motsu koto ni narimasu, kudasai.”
The cashier rang up her order, then passed Mizuko an empty cup. Taking it, Mizuko fished out the appropriate change from her coin bag and passed it to the cashier.
Mizuko then fished out a little more money from her bag and offered it to Lilligold. “This should be enough for any one item on the menu,” she said, letting Lilligold take the coins in her telekinesis. “I’ll find us a table.” She tilted her head. “Are you sure you’ll be alright ordering by yourself?”
Lilligold nodded with a small smile. “Positive,” she replied.
Mizuko nodded herself, and headed off toward the drink fountain.
Lilligold stepped up to the register, whereupon the cashier repeated her greeting to her. Nodding, Lilligold began poring over the menu. Despite everything being written in Neighponese characters, the pictures were the same as the Hayburgers back home, so she knew exactly what everything was.
But there was something else she needed to clarify to the cashier. Fishing out her translation book, she flipped through until she found the words she needed, at which point she turned to the cashier with a smile.
”I would like a Combo Deluxe. No pickles.”
Instead of happily ringing her order as Lilligold expected, the cashier paused for a few moments. Lilligold frowned, unsure what to make of her silence. The thought that maybe she’d said something wrong began taking root in her mind, to which she nervously bit her lip.
Eventually, the cashier rang up her order. “Ē to, watashi ga tameshite mimasu,” she said, and passed Lilligold her empty cup.
Still a little weirded out by the cashier’s strange response to her order, Lilligold nevertheless accepted the cup with a smile. "Thank you," she said, and went to the drink fountain.