//------------------------------//
// A Lunchtime Interlude (Edited) 
// Story: A Snow Swept Heart 
// by CoverArt 
//------------------------------//

	Ponyville was approaching in the near distance, and the small group got their first look at the quaint town. The look of the small town surprised them; they expected a seat of power would look more...powerful. The town did have a giant crystal castle on its far side, though, so that was something. It reminded Snowy and Stargazer of pictures of the capital before the war that Mum had shown them: all crystal yet somehow managing to look somewhat natural.
The rest of the town reminded them of their own town, albeit with a lot less snow. Everything looked nice and humble and pretty aside from a couple outstanding buildings. There was a large grouping of farm buildings with acres upon acres of apple trees stretching as far as the eye could see. Violet explained how Sweet Apple Acres used to be half the size, only having a farm house and barn, but due to the war, the farm had to expand. She also explained that the rest of the town, for the most part, had remained the same as before the war.
“So, since she’s expecting us, we might want to head directly to the castle. We can explore the town after your meeting,” Violet explained as they started to slow down, approaching the station. The two younger ponies gave her disappointed groans. She chuckled and shook her head, knowing exactly how they felt, having been in their shoes before. She thought for a moment before amending what she had said. “Well, since we got here early, I suppose we could go to the local bakery and get something to eat. Does that sound like a better idea?”
The two brightened up and nodded eagerly.
“Great. Now, just warning you, some of the ponies in this town can be a little…overbearing, but they mean well, and if you ask them to back off a bit, they will.”
“You sure know a lot about this town, Violet,” Snowy pointed out.
“Yeah, I used to come here a lot when I was training to be a guard. There’s a guard training facility between here and Canterlot, so we had the option to go to either place when we had free time.”
Snowy looked out the window as the train finally stopped at the station. She saw a few ponies glance up at the train in the station, curious about the few cars attached to it, but for the most part, ponies went about their normal lives.
“So, do you like being a guard, Violet?” Snowy asked, still looking out the window.
The guard mare paused as she grabbed the one bag she brought. “Hmm, it’s a bit hard, but yeah, I enjoy it, though I have my own reasons for being a guard.”
“I think I might want to join them.”
“Are you sure, kid? It’s a big decision, one that will affect your friends and family.” Violet glanced over at Stargazer, who Snowy thought hadn’t been listening in, but as she glanced over as well, she saw his ears flatten a bit as he walked out of the car.
“Oh… I see...” Snowy’s ears flattened as well as she thought about how much she needed to talk to Stargazer. Throughout this whole thing, she really hadn’t talked to him about what he was feeling. She needed to rectify that. Maybe at lunch. With that, Velvet and Snowy also walked out of the car and into Ponyville.



They walked out of the train station and got their first good look at the humble town. It was busy, ponies going about their business, at stalls buying various items, all the while smiling and interacting with each other much like how the ponies in the military base interacted. It was still kind of odd for the two refugees to see so many happy faces in one place. Nevertheless, the three newcomers put on smiles and waved back to those who waved at them. They walked down the main street past the market and town square, only to stop when Snowy and Stargazer laid their eyes on a real-life gingerbread house.
“Yep, that’s Sugarcube Corner, and no, it’s not real. It’s just a really decorated house,” Violet giggled, “Oh, and you shouldn’t keep your mouth open. You might catch flies.”
“Is that the bakery we’re eating at? I’ve never seen anything like it,” Snowy asked.
“Yep. Oh, before we go in, I should warn you about Pi--And, they’re gone.” Violet rolled her eyes and walked after them.



Snowy was the first one to enter the store, though "enter" wasn’t exactly the best way to put it. "Barged in" was more accurate. She burst through the door and barely had enough time to skid to a halt in front of the counter. Followed closely behind her was Stargazer, with Violet catching up soon enough.
“Hi, Mrs. Cake.” Violet waved to the pink-maned, blue-coated mare behind the counter.
The mare smiled and waved back. “Hello, Violet, dear. What brings you to town?” she asked before looking down to the two younger ponies. “And are these your friends?”
“Kinda. They’re…work-related.”
“Oh! I see. Well, it’s good to have you two here. I hope you enjoy your stay. Now, what can I get you?” She looked down a hair to the two friends, smiling, though if either of them were looking at the Cake mother, they would see her smile was a bit sad.
“Hmm, a cinnamon bun,” Snowy exclaimed, her mouth nearly watering at the sight of the treats.
“I think I’ll have…a éclair, please,” Stargazer pointed to the éclairs in the display. Mrs. Cake nodded and began to collect the items they asked for and put them on plates for them. Before she handed them the plates, she also placed a couple mugs of hot chocolate on them.
“There you go, dears.” Mrs. Cake smiled at them.
“You two go grab a table, I’ll pay for lunch. I also need to catch up with Mrs. Cake a bit.” Violet waved them off, smiling. The two nodded and started to walk to a table, deciding on the one in the corner, feeling safer where they could see anypony coming. Snowy rubbed the back of her head, thinking of how to start talking to Stargazer about everything. She knew he was hiding his feelings about things, and she wondered if it was her fault and if he was mad at her for dragging him all the way here. She sighed and took a sip of her hot cocoa before looking over to him.
“Sooo, this town’s nice, huh?” she started, just trying to make small talk before she managed to talk to him about what was really on her mind.
“Yeah, it kinda reminds me of home a bit. More bright and cheery, though,” Stargazer replied, taking a bite of his treat.
“Yeah. I like it here. Nice place to live if you don’t mind monster attacks from time to time, but those are super-duper fun!” a new, chipper voice said between them. The two friends yelped and fell off their chairs as they finally noticed the pink pony sitting in the chair in the corner, a chair that would have been impossible to sit in without either of them noticing.
“Where the hay did you come from?” Stargazer blurted out as he got back on his hooves and started to help Snowy up.
The pink pony continued to smile widely. “That’s something you should know by now, but I guess I can tell you. You see, when a mare and a stallion really like each other or are drunk, they go into the bedroom or wherever they please, and- “
“Stop! I don’t want to hear any more. Forget I asked!” Stargazer put his hooves to his ears in an attempt to drown out the pony’s explanation.
Snowy giggled. “So what’s your name, miss? And did you have to scare us like that?”
“Oh! I’m Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s premier pink party pony! Sorry about scaring you, but I love surprises, though Twilight did say I shouldn’t surprise ponies like that anymore, but I like it. Anyway, you two are new, which is great because it means more new friends and a fun ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party!” To punctuate her speech, Pinkie threw her hooves in the air as confetti exploded behind her…somehow.
“Pinkie, I was wondering when you’d turn up,” Violet chuckled, walking up to the three.
“Hey, Violet! When did you get into town?” Pinkie exclaimed and nearly teleported to her side, shocking the two between her and Violet. Violet just rolled her eyes.
“Just an hour or so ago, with these two. They’re from the Empire.”
Pinkie’s eyes widened slightly, and her mane somehow deflated slightly. “Oh!” Pinkie turned to Snowy and Stargazer. “I’m sorry for scaring you guys like that, but I know you will really, really, really like Ponyville, and I’m going make your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party extra special!” As she spoke, Pinkie’s hair became poofier than it was before she heard where they were from.
“Thank you, Pinkie. We’d be more than happy to have a party after we talk to Princess Twilight,” Violet answered for them. “Now, I think Mrs. Cake needed to talk to you about an order of cupcakes. Why don’t you go see her? I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie chirped as she literally bounced off. Violet chuckled before addressing the two confused ponies. “Sorry about Pinkie. I did warn you that some ponies were a tad bit overbearing.”
“It’s okay. She did seem really nice, though why did she get really sad all of a sudden when you said we were from the Empire?” Snowy asked.
“Well, it in part has to do with how oppressed the Empire is compared to Equestria. Being her, she felt sad that you guys had to live there, though most likely, it’s because she was friends with the family who used to run the Empire.”
“You mean Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor?” Stargazer asked.
Violet lowered her voice as she answered, “I’d keep your voice down about it. It’s still a sore subject in Equestria, and it always just sparks an argument. Are they dead, aren’t they, did their daughter make it out, et cetera.”
“What do you think? You lived in the capital,” Snowy chimed in, keeping her voice low, though the interest was clear in her voice.
Violet rolled her eyes. “I say good riddance. It’s because of them that Sombra is back.”
“That seems rather unfair, don’t you think? They couldn’t have known.”
“You probably don’t think so, but believe me, they’re the reason for all the bad things that have happened.”
“I think you’re being rather closed-minded, then.”
“Yeah, well if it weren’t for them, my husband would still be alive!” Violet exclaimed, though still keeping her voice low enough to not draw attention. Both her young friends looked at her with shock on their face, not knowing what they should say to this newfound knowledge. Snowy was still willing to try, though.
“I-I’m sorry, Violet. I didn’t know.”
“No… No, Snowy, it's okay. You couldn’t have known.” Violet sighed and took a very big interest in her hooves, “But you understand my feelings a bit better now, at least.”
“D-Do you want to talk about it?”
“Soon, maybe. Not now, though… I’ll just leave you two for the rest of your lunch. I’m sorry for snapping at you.” With that Violet turned around and trotted off.
“W-Wait…” Snowy started, though it was too late. She gave a small sigh before turning back to Stargazer.
“You okay, Snowy?” he asked.
“No, not really, but what about you?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Snowy sat down at the table again, motioning for him to sit across from her. She waited for him to sit before answering. “It's been so hectic for us, there's been nearly no time to think or talk. I’ve just been making decisions without talking to you about it. Hay, that’s the main reason we’re even here…”
“It’s okay, Snowy. I know you did things that you thought were best.”
“So you’re not mad at me for that?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that, exactly.” He winced slightly as Snowy all but deflated. “I mean, I’m not mad, I’m just kind of sad that you don’t really talk about stuff with me before you do them.”
“I’m sorry, Stargazer. I promise I’ll try to talk to you before these big decisions again.”
“Thank you, Snowy. You know, I do agree with most of what you decided to do. I’ve just been thinking of what it has cost us.”
Snowy blinked and tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“Home, Snowy. We both saw what happened.”
“O-Oh… Yeah.” Her ears flattened as she looked down. “Do you think any of them got out?”
“I sure hope so.” He went over to her and gave her a small hug.
“Hopefully, we can find out at some point.” She hugged him back.
“Yeah, who knows what the future will hold for us?”
At that, Violet walked back over, smiling now. Both Snowy and Stargazer tilted their head at this, the guard mare having gloomily left only five or so minutes ago.
“You can’t stay sad around here for too long with Pinkie,” she stated with a smile.
“Well, I’m glad to see you in a better mood, at least.” Snowy smiled back.
“I am, too, honestly. Now, I think it's time to head over to the castle, don’t you?”
Both Snowy and Stargazer gave her a nod before they got up and started to walk out of Sugarcube Corner, though not without thanking and saying goodbye to Mrs. Cake and Pinkie. Before too long, their destination stood ahead of them: the Castle of Friendship.