//------------------------------//
// The Breakfast 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

The central corridor of Shinespark's airship was warmly lit as Maple swung open her cabin door, the lights tuned as close to natural sunlight as she presumed was possible... but still with their distinctive, crystally orange glow. Idly, she pondered where the ship got its energy to run them when the engine was offline, and supposed there must be a conduit running in somewhere from outside.

Her musings were cut short by another twinge of hunger, however. Starlight at her back, she eagerly made for the library at the front of the ship, passing straight through and fixating on the staircase to the upper deck.

"Hey!" a voice called from below, perky and feminine and probably belonging to Shinespark.

"Hmm?" Maple turned on the bridge from the landing, ears swiveling as she looked downward instead. Shinespark stood at the bottom, waving.

"You're up!" She beamed, red-and-teal mane looking significantly less storm-tossed than it had the previous night, if still spiked and messy. "Get down here! We've got breakfast and everything, and were just getting set up! It's still hot, too!"

"Who's 'we?'" Starlight asked, waddling up behind Maple and craning her neck over the edge of the stairwell as Shinespark bounded off, evidently to get a head start on the meal.

On command, the beaked face of Gerardo Guillaume, griffon adventurer extraordinaire, appeared where their host had been, glancing upward and brightening. "Ah, Maple and Starlight! It's quite a relief to see you well, I must say..." He faltered. "I hope you can forgive me in failing my sworn duty to protect you, but at least all's well that ends well. Of course, you would be the best judges of that..."

Maple's ears folded, and she tried her best to smile... though it was probably far too nervous. "Think... nothing of it. We're glad to see you again..."

"Excellent!" Gerardo's headcrest perked up. "In that case, I do recommend you stop hanging around on that balcony and come sample the spread. It is... quite extravagant."

Carefully, wondering if peace and quiet were about to become a relic of the past now that the noisy griffon was back in her life, Maple descended the stairs, hooves clicking against the hard metal. Most of the ship's floors were wood, but some areas apparently required something more durable.

The ship's bottom floor was taken up by a single room that spanned completely from side to side, stretching backward for more than half the ship's length. Behind Maple was a tunnel to the forefront and a door that might have been a bathroom, and on the room's far side was a wide, off-center double-door that likely led to the galley. Both side walls were completely covered by sheets of thick glass, flush with the vertical walls of the hull and apparently lacking purpose. But the dominating feature was a giant conference table, long enough to generously seat twelve ponies and twice that if they felt like sacrificing first-class proportions. It was stacked with food, and Shinespark sat at the head, hooves spread welcomingly.

Starlight narrowed her eyes... and pointed a hoof. "You really like big tables, huh?"

"They're dramatic!" Shinespark blushed, orange cheeks growing red enough to match her mane. "If you were put in charge of designing absolutely everything, you'd try to make it look cool, too!"

"I do have to concur," Gerardo added, standing beside the mare. "Trademark aesthetic styles can be an important part of defining oneself and one's platform, when attempting to rally others to their cause. Although..." He coughed. "I do believe this is a somewhat petty thing to talk about at our belated reunion."

Maple opened her mouth to respond... but suddenly the galley doors swung open, and two ponies strode through, each carrying more food. One was a stallion her brain vaguely recognized as the ferry operator, while the other was a burgundy mare she had never seen before. "Who?" She pointed.

"Have a seat." Shinespark motioned, tapping the polished surface of the table. "All of you. We've got some introductions to make and food to eat before we get down to business, and I'd like to start this off on the right hoof. Important things are happening, and as early as today could be the most important day in Ironridge's history since the Spirit of Sosa crashed twenty years ago."

Maple stepped closer, hesitantly taking a seat with Shinespark several spaces to her right. Starlight followed, taking up a place at her left, and Gerardo immediately helped himself to the chair between her and Shinespark. The other two ponies took up positions at the other side of the table.

"All right, everypony," Shinespark said happily when the five of them were seated. "And griffon. We've got one more in the back who's still trying to get the carrot gravy to turn out just right, but we can start now. And feel free to dig in whenever you want!"

"I believe I have already been introduced to everyone here," Gerardo announced, snapping out a talon and fishing around for food. "But for those who may have forgotten, I am the griffon of the story: Gerardo Guillaume, griffon adventurer extraordinaire, and I am also a griffon. And could this be what I think it is?"

He seized a golden pastry, puffy and semicircular with the round edge crimped and burst in several places, leaking a whitish-green filling. After an eagle-eyed inspection, it met the side of his beak... and he gave a two-thumbs-up in approval.

"Mushroom and leek turnover," Shinespark said, basking in his enjoyment. "I take it you approve?"

Swallowing, Gerardo wiped a crumb from his coat. "Excellent. You've certainly done your research on griffish cuisine, my lady."

As they bantered, Maple leaned down to Starlight, ears folded and nose overwhelmed by the scents on the table. "I have no idea what's going on," she admitted, soft enough that the others couldn't hear. "Or what any of this is! It's nice that they're treating us well, but I'm starting to feel overwhelmed..."

"Hey!" Starlight piped up, rudely breaking the conversation. "Are you guys going to tell us who everyone is, or what's going on, or which food is which or what!?"

Shinespark cringed, banging her hooves on the table for silence and looking mortally apologetic. "Sorry!" She grimaced. "We should have handled introductions first! Everyone, these are Starlight and Maple, and you already know about them." She pointed to Starlight and Maple in turn. "Starlight, Maple? The stallion on the left is Gunga. He runs the ferry to Riverfall and is one of our most trusted ponies."

Gunga nodded, his elongated features and lanky neck setting him at least a head taller than anyone else in the room, save Gerardo. "A pleasure," he said, mustache moving as he spoke.

"And who are you?" Starlight asked, pointing at the other mare.

"This is Grenada," Shinespark said, gesturing with a hoof, Grenada closing her eyes and inclining her head respectfully. "She's a younger, more recent addition to the team, who was originally a Spirit recruit and got herself noticed for exceptional loyalty and dedication. You want to describe what you do?"

Grenada bowed. "I'm a talent officer," she announced, voice sharp and crystal-clear. "Even when there are technically two of her, Commander Braen can't be everywhere at once, and has a lot on her plate to take care of. I'm her second-in-command in the Spirit, and focus on knowing and caring about each and every one of our ponies. My official job is to identify ones that have skills they could use to contribute to the project, but more importantly it's a matter of showing them they're fighting for someone who cares."

"Like I said!" Shinespark grinned appreciatively. "An important addition, and dedicated to the cause. And the last one should be here in about three... two..."

The doors to the galley burst open, and a violently-yellow stallion whose mane looked like it had been struck by lightning at least five times skidded through, a tureen drifting behind in buttery telekinesis. "Howdy, poniiies!" He flashed pure-white a grin. "Here's that gravy for the turnovers! Are these the guests? Come on, Shiiinespark, giiive me the iiintroductiiions!"

Maple folded her ears, shirking from the volume of the stallion's voice. "Does he always talk like that?" she pleaded, having flashbacks to Neon Nova.

"And... this is our other," Shinespark sighed, a note of resignation in her voice. "Before I tell you his name, go ahead and look at his brand... and before you ask, he actually did get it doing the first thing you'll think of."

Maple peered. The stallion's cutie mark depicted a pony getting hit by lightning.

Her ears folded harder.

"This is Gigavolt," Shinespark announced, as if she had tried a hundred times to change it and failed. "Please forgive him if he's a little... out there. Apparently, being exposed to that much energy at once isn't good for a pony's brain."

Gigavolt winked. "Don't worry. III'm here enough to do what counts."

"As a result, he also got that mark-" Shinespark caught herself. "Brand, and it makes him completely immune to damage from high concentrations of energy. He also has a great head for wires, and as a result has been our lead power systems engineer, second to myself and Arambai. He might have saved more lives than anyone else in Ironridge, purely thanks to the number of times he's shrugged off blasts from high-energy experiments that could have killed a normal pony."

"Arambaiii's got some spiiiffy proof-of-concepts," Gigavolt added. "But when you try to scale them thiiis far, stuff starts goiiing wonky. Gotta make sure thiiis shiiip can actually fly when the tiiime comes!"

"And thanks to him, we're very sure it can," Shinespark finished. "We're still running tests, just in case, but we haven't needed to make a major revision in over two years, and not even a small tweak within the last three months." She raised an eyebrow at Starlight. "Although, that could change again, depending on what kinds of surprises you have in store for us. He already spent all of last night replacing and upgrading the wires for the helmets based on my and Arambai's data for the surges. Hopefully, they won't explode again this time if we try another experiment like that."

"Well, we won't!" Maple squared her shoulders. "If you're going to experiment on Starlight, you need to do it in a way that doesn't involve that much energy, and at least doesn't knock her out."

Apologetically, Shinespark shrugged. "Maple, I know how you feel, but... our goal is to get very large amounts of energy. There are things we can scale down for proof-of-concept and try to extrapolate them without ponies, and we'll spare absolutely no expense to keep her safe. If it makes you feel better, not a single pony has died from working on this project so far."

"Pardon my memory," Gunga interrupted, "but wasn't there that one stallion who...?"

Shinespark sighed. "Yes," she managed, exasperated, "there was. There was one stallion who was kind of obese, and not in the best physical condition, and had a heart attack during a chili pepper eating contest while he was on break about three years ago. Yes, they were a particular type of imported pepper you're not supposed to eat a lot of at once. No, we didn't know they had them, and no, that wasn't my fault."

"That... sounds like an unfortunate way to go..." Maple grimaced.

"Well, I don't like peppers anyway, so there." Starlight stuck her tongue out.

The conversation was broken when Gerardo interrupted, seizing another turnover and dousing it in gravy. "I hate to distract from the riveting topic of death by pepper, but I can't help but notice some of us have forgotten that this is a breakfast." He eyed Maple and Starlight, and then Shinespark. "Much as I am for sharing, I think even my generosity has met its match with these delectable pastries, unless some lucky pony should happen right now to help themselves to the..." He glanced at the dish. "Eight that remain."

Maple looked at the turnover plate. They were as big as her muzzle, or more, and it was already half empty.

"Well, that's not the only thing we have!" Shinespark lit her horn and floated a bowl closer.

"I noticed," Maple muttered, claiming one of Gerardo's professedly-delicious turnovers for her plate. "I still have no idea what any of this is."

"Well, I'm having a cranberry salad with shaved almonds and walnuts right here..." Shinespark scooped something leafy out of the bowl, then pointed to the other dishes. "Those are artichoke hearts in garlic butter, that's an egg-and-cheese casserole, and this is toast."

Maple brightened; she hadn't noticed the toast. After liberally helping herself to it, along with a ladle of butter from the artichoke dish, she bit down, feeling a satisfying crunch. "And what's that?" she asked around the mouthful, pointing to a small vat of something Grenada seemed obsessed with.

"Oh, that?" Shinespark shrugged. "It's meat broth."

"...Pardon?" Maple flicked her ears, confused.

"Meat broth," Shinespark explained. "What you can make out of leftover cooked meat. I guess you wouldn't have that in Riverfall either?"

Starlight grimaced, halfway through serving herself some of the casserole. "Why would you eat meat? That sounds nasty."

"...Long history," Grenada gasped after taking a long drink from her bowl. "The short version is that it tastes good. You should try it."

"It's a little more complicated than that," Shinespark said, munching slowly and trying her best to eat while being polite. "Ponies are technically omnivores... or, at least, used to be. There are plenty of historical records of ponies who ate this stuff all the time. Where it is popular still is with griffons. Partially because they're different from us biologically, and just work with different diets... and partly because they live about as far as you can get from the yaks, and have their own belief system that doesn't leave much room for Harmonism and the Nine Virtues, which are part of why ponies are a little shy of the stuff. But for some ponies, eating exclusive things is attractive!"

"I can confirm that," Gerardo agreed between turnovers. "As a former resident of the empire, it is remarkably easy to find such food sources there. Although, it's hardly something everyone partakes in."

Shinespark nodded, swallowing her bite. "Right. Anyway, ponies are capable of digesting the stuff... but no matter what something is, if you've been raised your entire life without eating it, you're going to have a little trouble the next night. This is the fix: it has all of the flavor, but none of the solids, making it a lot more palatable to, say, aristocrats or well-off merchants who want to appear cultured but not go through the trouble of actually acclimating themselves to real, solid meat. It's also cheap, since it's easily made from things restaurants catering to griffon traders don't want, and it makes an excellent base for soup. Some ponies don't like it or still can't handle it, though, and it does make others uneasy. Feel free to try it, or don't. I won't judge."

Maple sniffed the pot, then pulled back. It did smell interesting, and unlike anything she had ever had before... but still, her instincts got the best of her. Maybe another time.

"Do you want that?" Gerardo asked, interrupting her meat-smelling to point at the untouched turnover on her plate. The eight on the serving plate had dwindled to three.

"Of course I do!" Indignantly, Maple seized it, and without a second thought bit down.

It was... mushroomy.

And also wonderfully flaky, with a crust that more than gave her teeth purchase against the filling of thin, slippery pieces. The pastry deflated in her grasp, giving her a far bigger bite than she had anticipated and nearly sending her into a fit of coughing.

"Argh..." She straightened up after managing to swallow, gasping. "I have no idea how to eat those things," she admitted, watching as the rest of the turnover fell apart in her hooves, landing on her plate in chunks of mushroom-stained crust.

Her cheeks reddened slightly as Gerardo chuckled. "When in doubt, with utensils!" He handed her a fork. "Admittedly, I'm not sure how those are supposed to work for earth ponies, but every time I glance over my shoulder, it seems there's a way." His head tilted. "Did you like it, though?"

"This is griffon food?" Maple looked back at her plate, helping herself to another bite and cleaning her chin. "I'm honestly not sure I ever thought about what you ate in the griffon empire..."

"Probably meat," Starlight quipped, stuffing her face with casserole.

Gerardo grinned, taking the second-to-last turnover. "Ah, the lands to the east of the great sea are actually slightly more diverse than you may be expecting. It is, after all, called an 'empire.' I should tell you about the geography some time! Some way north of the capital, though, is a low-lying, heavily forested province known as Mistvale that is regularly cold, damp, shady and lends itself perfectly to the mass production of mushrooms. They are... somewhat a food staple in the surrounding areas, as a result."

"Really?" Interested, Maple tilted her head, hoping he would continue.

"Indeed they are." Gerardo nodded, twirling his pastry with a talon. "It's quite an interesting area. I've only been there once myself, but it is hilly, misty, and with plenty of old, broken-down structures from times gone by. Many of what the world considers great horror stories were originally told there, and as such it defines the type of place society considers spooky!"

"Horror stories, you say?" Shinespark perked up. "Since you're finished eating, I always do enjoy a good story..."

"Finished? But I..." Gerardo looked at the last of the turnover he was eating... and then back to the platter, only to see Gigavolt had taken the last one.

"Sorry, dude!" The yellow stallion grinned. "After all you were goiiing on about them, III couldn't help myself!"

"...Very well," Gerardo sighed, staring forlornly at the last of his pastry. "If a horror story is what you want, then a horror story I shall tell..."