//------------------------------// // Food, Drink, and Panic // Story: Consequences // by shallow15 //------------------------------// Sunset quickly recovered and turned the grimace she could feel her lips trying to shape into a credible smile and recited the specials. Tempest looked over the menu again and then looked up. “I’ll have the Rainbow Roll and a side of edemame, please.” “Right away,” Sunset chirped, writing the order down. “Anything else?” Tempest shook her head and handed over the menu. “No, that’ll be it for now.” “Okay, I’ll be right back with your iced tea.” Sunset quickly returned the menu to its usual place, entered the order in the restaurant’s point of sale system, and took a deep breath. She doesn’t know you. She has no idea who you are or what you look like. She’s just a customer like everyone else. Relax. Everything’s fine. She got the agent her tea and went back to the table. “Here you go! Did you want your edemame now, or with your roll?” Tempest looked up from her phone. “I’ll have it with the roll, please.” “All right. If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll have your food out in a few minutes.” Sunset turned to go then froze as Tempest said “Actually…” Sunset swallowed and turned back around. Tempest held up her ID. “Agent Tempest Shadow. I’ve been looking into the incident that caused the destruction over in the other wing of the mall about two weeks ago. Did you hear about that?” “Not until I got back,” Sunset answered. Tempest’s eyes narrowed. “Back?” CrapcrapcrapcrapCRAP! Sunset tried to force her heart to slow down. What do I say? Do I tell her I was in the hospital or do I say I was out of town? What does she know? What would Princess Twilight do? Oh, God, I wish I was in Equestria right now. Facing an invading army would be easier than this. “I was… sick,” Sunset answered. “I was in the hospital when all that happened. I got out last week and they let me come back to work this week. I have a couple of friends who work in other stores. They told me what happened.” “Really?” Tempest said in a tone Sunset didn’t like at all. “One of them wouldn’t be named Beachberry, would they?” “We’re not friends,” Sunset said, trying not to wince at how defensive she sounded. “I mean, I don’t hate her or anything, and I’ve seen her around school, but we don’t really hang out or anything like that.” “So you go to Canterlot High?” Tempest reached into her inner jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and handed it to Sunset, who blinked as she recognized the flyer she and her friends had handed out about Firecracker Burst’s “disappearance.” “Did you know this girl?” “I knew her but we weren’t very close. She’s a senior. She disappeared while I was in the hospital. I volunteered to help put up flyers. It was kind of a friend of a friend of a friend thing. I just wanted to help.” “I see.” Tempest took a sip of her tea. As she did so, a chime rang out. “Order up!” Koi called from the window leading to the kitchen. Tempest looked at Sunset and smirked. “Saved by the bell,” she grinned. She took the flyer back from Sunset and returned it to her pocket. “Well, I shouldn’t keep you any longer. You have work to do and I’m technically on my lunch break. Thank you for your help though, Miss…?” “Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer.” “Miss Shimmer,” Tempest finished. She reached into another pocket and pulled out a business card. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to you some more when you aren’t so busy. Use the cell number on the card. I’ll be around for a few days.” Sunset took the card and put it in the pocket of her apron. “I will. Glad to be of help. I’ll be right back with your food.” She didn't notice Tempest watching her go, or the way one corner of the agent's mouth hiked up in a satisfied smile. She did, however, glance around and breathed a sigh of relief as two more tables were seated in her section. With any luck, she wouldn’t have to focus any more attention on the STORM agent than she would any other customer. She quickly got the agent’s order and placed the bowl and wooden tray on the table. “Anything else I can get for you?” she asked. “Some more tea?” Tempest asked. “Otherwise, you’ve been very helpful. Thank you.” “No problem. I’ll be right back with your tea.” After she refilled the glass and returned it, Sunset dashed into the kitchen to the employee lockers. She quickly dug out her phone and sent a text to her friends. Emergency meeting tonight! My place. 9 PM. She put her phone back in her locker, not bothering to wait for replies. She took a deep breath and went back out into the dining room. As she ate her lunch, Tempest watched the waitress work. She was polite, personable, and moved about the dining room with a speed and efficiency the agent approved of. Each interaction lasted just as long as it needed to, long enough to feel welcoming and cheery, but not to the point of overstaying her welcome. Refills and other customer requests were fulfilled in the same manner. Even when Tempest had finished her meal and asked for the check, Sunset provided it in short order with a bright “Thank you for coming! Have a great day!” that seemed genuine. Tempest paid the bill with her expense credit card, then left the restaurant, taking one last look back at Sunset, who was serving another party who had just come in. “I knew her but we weren’t very close. She’s a senior.” Tempest had noticed the change in tenses in the two sentences. Almost like the waitress had let slip something she didn’t want to be made public. And while she had noted Sunset’s interactions with the other patrons of the restaurant, whenever the girl came back to her table, there was a tenseness in her posture. Not a lot, but years of interrogations had trained Tempest to notice it when it was there. Sunset Shimmer knew more than she was telling. Tempest frowned. This was going to take some finesse. Unless by some miracle Sunset Shimmer was on the list of students Tempest had sent to Principal Celestia, she was going to have to convince the school administrator to let her have a word with Sunset on Monday. Her phone chirped and she pulled it out. A reminder had popped up on her lock screen. Meeting with Canterlot Mall Cinema manager. Re: Juniper Montage. Tempest swiped the message away then turned to leave for the movie theater. As she walked, she kept thinking about Sunset Shimmer. She now had another face from the music video to go with the name on the medical file that had been confiscated. She wasn't entirely sure how the girl fit into all this. At least, not yet. Either way, Miss Shimmer, we will be talking again very soon.