Rebirth of Magic: In the Mists

by JimmyHook19

Food for Thought

That was the best meal I had ever eaten IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!

I'm not talking about Izzy's microwave food, by the way, though that was pretty good. What Zipp got organized for us was beyond amazing! Put simply, it seems she had persuaded the Queen to move us somewhere else, and not only that we got a free dinner out of it!

But not just any dinner. We sat at this enormous table which was about the length of an ocean liner, in this big room full of chandeliers and paintings on the walls. The ceiling was made of glass and what seemed to be iron, and this let a fair bit of light in from above, which meant the room progressively got darker as the meal went on. They even had candles on, which was great! I can only imagine this was what dining at a stately home in Britain was like. Or if the King invited you for dinner. Which would never have happened to old me, of course, being a very unimportant person and not in any way interesting. Come to think of it I'm not hugely interesting now. I kinda just blend into the brickwork when it's blue.

But I had been invited to dinner, and dinner with a monarch no less! The Queen and the two Princesses looked great in all their regalia and fancy attire. Seriously, you have no idea what I'd give to own something so nice. Zipp didn't particularly seem to be enjoying herself, but that kinda makes sense. I never thought she was the type for wearing dresses.

There was also an army of wait staff conveying things back and forth. Plates, silverware, cups, saucers, more plates, plates loaded with other plates, and even goblets! Luckily, the goblets didn't have any fire in them, which was a bonus. I'd never had people bring me food except in a diner. So to see such military precision was pretty mind blowing.

And what food was being served! They started us off with soup from the Souper Ladle, which apparently is a high class restaurant or food truck in the city- the Queen admitted she's an awful chef, which is why she has ponies to do it for her. I forget exactly what the soup was, but it was then followed up the soup with some starters, which I'm told was crab cake. They're considered a delicacy in Zephyr Heights as they need to be transported from the northern coasts of the Pegasus Empire. Apparently that's a very long journey- I haven't looked at a map of Equestria in a while, so can't judge that one.

The main course was a revelation. The serving of beef (or chicken) with potato and other vegetables was also great. Did I forget to mention that mash is the best way to do potato? But it also revealed something else. Seeing how easily the others digged into it revealed that G5 ponies are omnivores! But you probably already knew that, right?

The meal was as much a status symbol as it was an opportunity to deal with hunger, and I think the Queen knew that. Why else were we being served so much exotic stuff?

Desert wasn't much to write home about. Something with fruit and some ice cream I think.

I immediately gave myself away with my approach. I only realised when the others looked at me, slightly baffled. "Somepony's hungry," the Queen commented.

"Am I doing something wrong?" I asked.

"Slow down a bit!" Pipp said. "It's not going to run away from you!"

"Besides, you'll give yourself horrible indigestion," the Queen added. "Eat fine food like you would drink a wine- slowly, and savor it."

"I'm not really an expert on alcohol," I admitted.

I noticed Zipp glance over to Sunny. "Good thing we watered the wine down," she commented.

"Well, duh!" Pipp said. "It would be pretty pointless all of us getting drunk!"

So that's why it tasted the way it did. I had assumed all wine tasted like water. But wine wasn't the only thing flowing. It seemed we'd all relaxed a bit, and as a result we all began talking fairly casually with one another. It was less a state banquet and more some friends meeting up. Except of course most of us had only known each other for a few hours at best.

It seemed the meal reflected well on us, too. The Queen seemingly decided we weren't a security risk, and as such stated we could roam the palace a bit- just not go into the city. That would be a bad idea, apparently. Something about panic and a stream. Still, better than chaos and smoothies, huh?

Sorry, I just noticed Sunny giving me a weird look after that one. Seems she's keen to protect her branch.

So, a bit more freedom. Sounds good to me. Whilst the table was cleared up and we went to one of the drawing rooms for cheese, I found myself speaking to the Queen again. "Thanks for the food, Your Majesty," I said quietly. "I know I didn't make the best first impression around here, but that was excellent."

"I'll be sure to pass the complements onto the chef," she replied, before noticing where I was looking. "Nice medals, aren't they?"

"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but it was the dress, actually. I've never seen such nice clothes."

The Queen laughed. "Oh, this! This one only comes out for the most special of events. We do have quite a few spares, though, should something go wrong. Pipp?"

"Yes mom?" Pipp replied.

"I think our friend here would like to borrow a formal gown. Could you help her with outfitting?"

"She can have this one if she wants!" Zipp said.

The Queen rolled her eyes. "Honestly. My advice: don't try one with a hoop. They're horribly bulky and make bumping into things far too easy. And how anypony fitted through doorways I don't know!"

---

So, getting to roam the palace with a greater degree of freedom was pretty great, to be honest. We also got to stay in the guest quarters, which compared to the prison cell was like staying at a posh hotel. Clearly they get lots of visitors in this neck of the woods or something like that. But being able to roam around was pretty useful. I knew Opaline would probably want to find out what I had found out at some point, so this was a prime chance to collect information on this place and figure out how to get that crown- succesfully this time.

Less fun was dealing with Sunny. I knew she was just curious, but she had a bit of a habit of regarding me as a thing rather than a person. Her questions entirely revolved around what unicorns can do, not who I am and what my thoughts and feelings are. I know why- she had no other frame of reference- but it still felt a bit impersonal nonetheless.

I trotted around the palace some more, stopping when I saw something odd near the vending machines. I'd had to borrow money from Zipp as I had none, but I noticed Izzy was running between the buttons and hitting them.

"Err, what are you doing?" I asked.

Izzy looked over. "Oh! Hi Misty!" she said. "Each of these buttons is tuned to a different note! See, this is F sharp!" she hit one button. "And this one is D!" she pushed another.

She then began pushing buttons in different orders to produce a melody. It was a bit slow, for sure, but recognizable.

"That melody sounds familiar," I said.

"It should do!" Izzy replied. "It's the theme song to the fourth Generation of My Little Pony! Still a great piece of music all those years later."

And then Sunny arrived. "Making music again?" she asked.

"Yep!" Izzy smiled.

Sunny then looked over. "You wouldn't mind helping, Misty?"

"Helping with what?"

"Whilst Izzy has been figuring out how to play the theme to Friendship is Magic on vending machines, I've been figuring out which buttons make the correct harmonies. I've got most of it figured out, but I can't hit all the buttons and stay balanced properly- ponies weren't exactly designed to stand upright for long periods." Sunny smiled. "This is where you come in, if you feel up to it."

"So you want me to hit some of the buttons, right?"

"Only if you want to," Sunny answered. "I'm not the type to force ponies to do things."

I nodded. "Just show me which ones, Sunny!"

Sunny handed me a piece of paper which had some buttons on it. It marked which buttons to push, when, and for how long. I nodded. "Seems simple enough."

We each took our positions on the machines, and Izzy counted us in. "And a One, and a Two, and a One Two Three Four!"

Before long, the theme music beloved to so many flowed through the halls. The music which symbolized a big part of my identity.

The show that had indirectly led me here.

Author's Note:

Another day... another chapter for Misty Brightdawn =3

Comments

[Comickook]

Again, you did a wonderful job on this latest chapter. Definitely appreciated the work going into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. "Misty's" reaction to the meal was wonderful as was "Zipp's" point about deliberately watering down the wine to avoid anybody getting drunk. Also really liked the stuff about "Sunny" and "Izzy" asking for "Misty's" help on working on the "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic" theme.

VERY MUCH looking forward to more of this.

[JimmyHook19]

11674161
Indeed =3