Octavia finished assembling her creation, turning to face me.
“Well? What do you think?” she asked expectantly. I looked at the sandwich for a few moments, before gesturing towards it. Octavia looked at me, then the sandwich, then back to me.
“Oh! Of course, be my guest,” she told me. I nodded, and picked up the sandwich, before pulling off one of the petals.
Truth be told, I was actually relatively fond of daffodil sandwiches. Having been introduced to them at a young age, I was one of the few humans who actually found them palatable. Not that they would be my everyday choice for what I wanted to eat, but they weren’t awful either.
I took a bite of the daffodil, pineapple, and coconut sandwich, which Octavia had made for me.
“Don’t be afraid to tell me what you think. It would be nice to hear someone recognize my aptitude for sandwich making,” she told me, placing a hoof on her chest in self-admiration. I chuckled, and savored the flavors, individually picking out the three distinct food items in the sandwich.
Daffodil was a very strong flavor, and had a bitter kick to it. However, while I was expecting this, I was pleasantly surprised with what I tasted. The sweetness of the pineapple helped to balance out the bitterness of the flowers, and since coconut and pineapple were practically made to go together, the combination was not only palatable, but surprisingly sapid. I quickly took another bite to reengage the taste.
“...well? What do you think?” Octavia asked me. I closed my eyes and let the taste of the pineapple mellow out the bitterness of the flowers. Everything came together in one large burst of flavor, and I was in love with it.
“This is actually surprisingly good. Like, not kinda good, but really good,” I said after swallowing, and I watched as Octavia’s eyes lit up.
“Really? Well... truthfully, I’ve never shown anyone else this recipe, it’s just something that my father used to do. For the longest time when I was growing up, I never knew why he liked putting that kind of stuff on his sandwiches. One day, when I was living by myself, I remembered it when I was making one, and I just... got hooked, if you will,” Octavia recounted. I listened through another mouthful, truly enjoying what she had made for me. This was something that I would definitely have to remember in the future.
“Well, I think it has potential to be a family recipe, so you should probably keep it a secret,” I said with a wink.
“Do you really think so?” Octavia asked with hope in her voice.
“I know so,” I said while taking the last bite from my food.
“...thank you,” she said quietly. I don’t know why, but this must have been a touchy subject for her, what with the way she reacted. I guess even the concept of sandwich making can be special to some ponies.
“Anytime Octavia,” I said with a smile.