//------------------------------// // Chapter IX: Restaurants // Story: Memoir of Misery // by Silvak //------------------------------// "So, you're saying that this is where the best restaurants can be found?" Sapphire asked as she looked down a street line with places that had their signs with three hoofprints on it for some strange reason. "Yes, but do not eat too much, for you must maintain ze figure of a goddess!" Photo Finish said as she pointed up to the sky as she stood on a seat that was carried by a pair of ponies. It was late afternoon at the street known as Restaurant Row, where after the fashion show, Sapphire somehow felt disturbed by the blond unicorn that was staring at her intently from the crowd of nobles. After hearing Sapphire's desire to try out the foods served at Canterlot, Photo was kind enough to bring her to Restaurant Row to fulfill her wishes. This was of course, after providing her a hotel room for a few days. "Umm... I actually eat a lot... like a lot more than the average pony... and I haven't gained any weight, so..." Sapphire started to reply, causing Photo Finish to frown as she held her pose while her seat bearers blinked in surprise. "...Then eat ze foods! You must maintain your figure! Here is the money from ze show and your tickets home, now I go!" Photo stated before the two stallions trotted off with her. "Wait, you do remember what I asked you about, right?" Sapphire cried out, causing the stallions to pause as Photo Finish looked back at her. "Yes yes, we go to Ponyville to see this friend of yours and her clothes, in exchange you do an extra fashion show. Photo Finish will keep her word!" Photo replied as she pointed at the sky before her bearers resumed their way. "Okay... as long you remembered..." Sapphire muttered to herself as she shook her head at the oddity that was Photo Finish before heading into the closest restaurant. Inside the place, there was a unicorn greeter dressed in a red vest with a black tie who raised an eyebrow at Sapphire's entrance. "Excuse me miss, but this place is for ponies of a... high level of caliber. I'm sorry to say this, but it may be best that you take your leave," the greeter said as he waved a hoof at the restaurant. This caused Sapphire to notice that it was rather bland, with somepony playing the violin in the background and various ponies dressed in some rather classy clothing eating at bland, boring shining tables. She then saw a waiter place down a plate as he revealed... what appeared to be the tiniest morsels of food that Sapphire had ever seen in her life. Blinking in surprise, Sapphire said, "You might be... right..." as she turned around and made her way out the front door. She then looked up at a sign by the restaurant that had three familiar hooves on it. That is, till she then saw that all the other restaurants with the same imprints on them. "...Somehow, I have a bad feeling about this..." "Ten restaurants that serve the same thing that barely counts as food?! How does Rarity think this place has fine dining?" Sapphire mumbled to herself in utter disappointment as she walked away from Restaurant Row. After the first place, Sapphire decided that it might be best to look through the windows first to see what was being served, only to be horrified at the tiny morsels that the ponies were actually paying for to eat. To even drive the point home, each of the restaurants' interiors looked nearly the same to each other, even down to their waiters. The very sight made her wonder why there were so many of the same places all on one street in the first place. As she was lamenting at the dreams of feasting on foods that she may never have experienced before, Sapphire heard some rumbling from within her, reminding her that she still needed to eat something. Her disappointed frown turning into a scowl, Sapphire let out a snort as she went into a trot, intending to find the nearest grocery store or open market when suddenly, she spotted something on the edge of her vision. Looking to her left, Sapphire's eyes started to widen as she saw something that brought all her lamenting to an end. She started to make a rather fast trot towards the object while making certain that she weaving through the streets without bumping into anypony. Coming up to her destination, she looked up at the building with the massive donut above the entrance. The sight alone made her lick her lips before trotting inside. Here, she received the sight of ponies actually eating donuts, and not a plate of tiny food things that they were eating at Restaurant Row. Looking around, Sapphire then saw the counter with shelves of donuts right behind it manned by a unicorn stallion, which she promptly went up to with a smile on her face. Spotting Sapphire's approach, the stallion greeted her with the same smile as he said, "Hello there, welcome to Joe's Donut Shop, owned by yours truly, Donut Joe. How may I help you today, miss? "Yeah, how many donuts can I buy with this?" Sapphire said as she took out her bit pouch, dropping about fifty bits onto the counter as Donut Joe's jaw just dropped. "Umm... do I need to get more bits?" With a plate of donuts of various kinds and fillings, Sapphire was sitting in her seat with a look of contentment on her face as she levitated another donut to her muzzle, much to the horror of the ponies around her. Their horror was probably due to the fact that Sapphire had a plate of forty donuts that she paid eighty bits for, paying an extra thirty just so she could get a chance at tasting all the available flavors the place had to offer. The mares in particular, were staring with some amazement mixed in with their horror, for even when Sapphire was biting down on her twenty-third donut, she showed no signs of her belly becoming bloated from the rather large meal she was having. Even Donut Joe was muttering to himself about never seeing a pony eat this much. As Sapphire was about to bite down on donut number twenty-four, she heard a feminine voice to her side asking, "Excuse me miss, is this seat taken?" Blinking in surprise, Sapphire turned her head to see a white-coated pegasus mare with a pink mane. The mare smiled at Sapphire as she held a tray with a couple of donuts with a cup of tea next to them on one of her wings. "Oh, umm... sure? I mean, I don't have anypony else to eat with," Sapphire said with a blink as she pulled her plate of donuts away from the center of the table, causing the mare to smile as she sat on the opposite side. "Why thank you, and let me introduce myself. My name is Sunny Skies, and what's your name?" Sunny said with a wide smile on her muzzle. As Sapphire was about to reply, she suddenly heard a voice cry out, 'Don't trust her, she's a spy!' causing her to blink as she looked around. "Umm... did you hear that?" Sapphire asked as Sunny Skies tilted her head in confusion. 'Wait... you can finally hear me now? About damn time! Listen here numbskull, it's me, Veritas!’ the voice said, causing Sapphire's pupils to shrink a bit as Sunny looked around, her ears rotating about. "Umm... I didn't hear anything... do you mind telling me what you heard?" Sunny asked as she returned her attention to Sapphire, who looked at her with a forced smile. "Oh, nothing, I guess I was just hearing things! Anyways, my name is Sapphire Rain, nice to meet you!" Sapphire replied as she held a hoof out, all the while she thought in her mind, 'Oh come on, first you bug in me my dreams and now you're bugging me here?' 'Hey, don't get mad at me! I'm just looking out for you! And speaking of which, whatever you do, don't trust that mare!' Veritas countered, which nearly caused Sapphire to let out a snort. Taking Sapphire's hoof, Sunny Skies shook it as she said, "And it's nice to meet you too. Though I must say, if you aren't expecting any guests, why do you have so many donuts?" as she pointed with one of her wings at the pile of donuts on Sapphire's plate. "Cause I'm going to eat them?" Sapphire answered, causing Sunny to blink in surprise. Her blinking continued as she then watched Sapphire levitate a whole donut into her mouth. This, in turn, caused Sunny to glance at all the ponies around them, noting that they were all still staring at Sapphire. She soon returned her attention towards Sapphire, only to receive the sight of her eating another donut. "Umm... are you sure that you can eat that many donuts?" Sunny asked as she used the tip of her wings to raise a cup to her mouth. "Oh yeah, I already ate more than what I had on my plate before you came to my table," Sapphire replied, causing Sunny to nearly spit her tea out as some of it spilled out of the cup and onto her tray. "Umm... are you okay?" 'Fine, don't listen to me. But I'm so going to chant 'I told ya so' when you find out that I'm right,' Veritas stated with a huff as Sapphire's left eye twitched for a brief moment. "Yes yes, I'm alright. I was just wondering how you could manage to eat that much. No offense, but I never saw a mare of your size eating that many donuts before, and I do believe that is the same thought held by many here," Sunny said with a somewhat forced smile, causing Sapphire to blink as she looked around herself. "Huh, I didn't notice that before," Sapphire replied, causing Sunny to silently mouth out 'really' before resuming her smile when Sapphire returned her attention to her. "Eh, whatever. It's their problem, not mine." "But aren't you worried about gaining some weight from eating so many donuts?" Sunny responded, only to rear her head back a bit when Sapphire shrugged. "Not really. I've been to parties where I’ve had more than twice this much and didn't pack on a pound. My friend Twilight thinks that it's due to me having a really fast metabolism," Sapphire said as she stuffed another donut into her muzzle. The sight made Sunny try to resist the urge to pop her eyeballs out in surprise as she just stared at Sapphire before shaking her head to regain her composure. "Miss Rain, some would say that you are one of the luckiest mares in Equestria to have a trait like that. But if your claims are true, I doubt that the rest of your meal would be enough to sate your appetite. How about you come with me to my place and I treat you to a meal you will never forget?" Sunny asked with a smile. At the thought of such a meal, Sapphire pushed away any warnings from Veritas about this being a trap as she said, "Now that, Sunny, is music to my ears," causing Sunny to widen her smile before it faltered as she saw Sapphire start stuffing donuts down her mouth. "Umm... there's no reason to rush... nevermind..." "You live here? Wow, you must be rich or something like that," Sapphire stated, causing Sunny to raise one of her eyebrows at her as they stood in front of what looked to be the largest palace in Canterlot. Or, at least that is what Sapphire was assuming as she looked at the structure before her, with the front doors even having a pair of guards in golden armor. "Umm... yes... rich... now just follow me inside please," Sunny said as she started to make her way towards the front doors with Sapphire in tow. As they got up to the front door, the guards gave Sunny a salute before opening the door for her, to which she gave them her thanks before proceeding inside. "Wow... you must be some important pony to have your own guards for your home," Sapphire observed, though she noticed that Sunny paused as her right foreleg shivered a bit. Letting out a sigh, Sunny looked about before saying, "Hmm... good. There's none of the nobility or staff around," causing Sapphire to blink before looking about as well. "Why is that a good thing, Su—" Sapphire started to say until her mouth snapped shut when she looked back at Sunny, only to receive the sight of none other than Princess Celestia looking at her. 'I told ya so, I told ya so, I I, I told ya so!'