//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Of Rangoons and Rapport // by Wordy Notes //------------------------------// It was a beautiful afternoon day in Ponyville. Having just completed a successful day of working for the schoolteacher Cheerilee, Wordy Notes the unicorn trotted through the streets, smiling and waving at the ponies he came across. As he walked, he heard the telltale sounds of heavy wing beats just above him. “Yo, bro'!” A voice came as a large griffon with black fur and red markings around his eyes landed, dust kicking up from the eagle/panther hybrid touching down, “What's up?” He flashed a bright grin, matching pace with the dark-blue unicorn, who currently sported a bright red bandanna around his neck and a pair of saddlebags, though his cutie mark of a scroll was still visible. “Heya', Gavin,” Wordy returned the friendly expression, “How are you?” “Pretty good. You off work too?” Gavin asked. “Yup,” Wordy nodded in response, “Things went good today. Cheerilee and I got a lot of essays and tests graded as well as a few field trips planned for the end of the school year.” “Woohoo!” Gavin patted Wordy's back, making the pony wince slightly from the heavy impact, “That's my bro!” He laughed, “We actually did some good work today too. We totes got at least three rainstorms set up and ready to go whenever,” he leaned close to Wordy, “Insider info: pack an umbrella on Thursday.” he whispered. Wordy chuckled, “Well, I'll keep that in mind, thanks,” he looked over his shoulder and opened up one of the pouches on his saddlebags, “Oh, I was about to go grab some food on the way home. Did you want to come along?” “Would I? You bet!” Gavin nodded quickly. “Mind if I go third wheel on this one?” Both of the friends stopped and turned to face the female voice behind them. A pegasus mare with a light purple coat approached them, her mane a dark indigo with a green streak through it. Most notable on her face, though, were some piercings that included an earring in her left ear, a silver stud in her nose and snake bites in her lower lip, “I mean, if you two want some alone time I'd be cool with that too,” she smirked. “Oh, heya', Crash,” Wordy greeted her. Sonic Crash was another friend of the duo, originally hailing from Cloudsdale. She could come off as being extremely prickly to others, but Wordy and Gavin had managed to get through and while she was still heavily snarky she was at least a lot friendlier than she used to be. “'sup, Penpone Feathers?” She asked them,“What are you two doing out here at this time o' day?” She grinned, walking over and turning, allowing the two to see her cutie mark of a turntable with a fireball on top of the disc. “On our way to get some grub,” Gavin replied, “The one question I have is what you're doing here. I thought you were scheduled for the weather team today,” Gavin crossed his front legs while tilting his head at Crash inquisitively “Hey, not my fault. I let Sunshower know I was goin' to visit my family back in 'Dale for the day,” Crash rolled her eyes and made a raspberry with her tongue, “Of course, she almost made me fill out paperwork again to do it. Bleck, I'm gonna' be so so SOOOOOOO happy when Dash gets back from the Academy.” “I don't think she's that bad...” Gavin muttered. “I thought Thunderlane was in charge of the weather patrol team while Rainbow was gone?” Wordy asked. “He is, but Sunny's been running a lot of lately since he's been out more often. Nopony's sure why,” Gavin replied. “Well, whatever. Dash'll be back soon and then it won't be a problem anymore,” Crash snickered, “Hey, where are you guys grabbing lunch at, by the way?” “Uh...” Wordy shrugged, “We haven't actually decided yet.” “How about that new place? I keep hearing a lot of ponies around town chatting it up,” Crash suggested. Wordy and Gavin both looked at each other, then back to Crash, “What new place?” They both asked at the same time. “Seriously? You two don't know? It's called Hotshot's,” she motioned her head down the street, “It opened last week in the building where that quills and sofas store used to be. A lot of the weather team's eaten there so far and they seem to like it.” “Sure. I'm up for new things,” Wordy said. “Ditto,” Gavin smiled, “Let's roll.” With that, the three friends started to make their way over to the restaurant. As they turned a corner, however, Wordy bumped into a pony and stumbled back a few feet. “Ah! Sorry!” He quickly apologized, noticing it was Comet Tail, a tall, yellow unicorn with a blue mane. “Huh?” Comet turned around, “Oh! Uh...you guys weren't trying to cut, were you?” “What do you mean?” Gavin gazed past him before his eyes widened in astonishment. Stretching down a few blocks of Ponyville's streets was a line of ponies with the end of it being their apparent destination, a building with a sign that read 'Hotshot's Grill' emblazoned on the front of it, “Whaaa? Check out that line!” “Oh wow,” Wordy remarked, just as shocked as Gavin was as he pushed his glasses up onto his nose. “Oh screw that!” Crash shouted, “I don't care how good that place is, no way am I waiting that long for a couple burgers,” she shook her head, “Besides, I'm hungry now.” “Wanna' go to Stir's instead?” Gavin suggested, Stir being an earth pony friend of theirs who ran a noodle shop in downtown. “Heck yes I want to go to Stir's. Let's bounce,” Crash turned and trotted off, Gavin following behind her. Wordy turned to follow them, but stopped momentarily as he glanced back at Comet. He noticed that the tall unicorn appeared different somehow. He examined him silently, noticing the curvature of his stomach. “Does Comet seem...heavier?” He thought. Wordy proceeded to take a glance past him, noticing some of the other ponies in line. He recognized a large portion of them and he noticed the same circumstances with the yellow unicorn at the back of the line, each of them appearing like they'd gained weight in some capacity, varying anywhere from a plumper belly to a heftier barrel to a larger flank. Puzzled, Wordy proceeded forward to take a closer look at the line and found the same thing with every pony that was in line. At the very front, he caught a glimpse of a dark-gray colored stallion as he entered the restaurant. The pony in question was heavily obese with a jiggling middle, a round, fat flank and even chubby cheeks coupled with a double-chin. Even more unusual was the identity as soon as he noticed the thundercloud cutie mark displayed prominently on the stallion's ample backside,“...Thunderlane?” “Hey, bro! You coming?” Gavin's call broke Wordy out of his concentration, making him turn down the street toward the griffon and pegasus before he turned and galloped off to catch up with them, taking a curious glance back at the line as he went. ** “Welcome to Stir Fry's Noodle Bistro!” A grayish-blue earth pony with a bright, yellow mane wearing an apron smiled as he greeted them, “Oh...hey, guys,” he waved half-heartedly as his smile faded, “How's it going?” “It's going good, Stir,” Wordy said with concern as he walked over, “Are you okay?” “Yeah...alright, not really,” Stir sighed as he stepped over to the counter as Gavin and Crash sat down on the stools, “You three are the only customers I've had all day,” he groaned as his ears drooped and he rested his head on the counter. “I thought it was weird there weren't more ponies in here,” Crash noticed all the empty seats, “It's usually pretty busy this time o' day.” “Yeah. It's been like this ever since that new restaurant opened. I've only been getting maybe ten customers a day because everypony's just going there instead of here,” Stir shifted and put his face down this time, “And it's been a week!” He lightly bonked his head, “If things keep going the way they are now I'll be out of business by the end of the month!” “Whoa, whoa!” Gavin leaned over, patting Stir's back, “Dude, chill. I don't think it's gonna' be like that,” the lamenting pony looked up at Gavin, “For real. Don't freak out. Things'll pick up again once all the hype dies down.” “For sure, Noodles,” Crash added, “Besides, you'll always have us as customers,” she held up her hoof to him to which Stir sat back up and forced a smile as he bumped her hoof while Wordy and Gavin l gave reassuring nods. “Thanks, you three,” he said softly, “So, with that out of the way, what can I get you?” “Let's start with some rangoons,” Wordy spoke up, “Those are always pretty good,” he chuckled. “Sure thing! I'll get you an order going while you decide what else you'd want,” Stir trotted off into the kitchen with an excited step and returned after a short while with a large plate of the fried, crab and cream-cheese stuffed appetizers, to which the two boys and the mare immediately jumped on them, setting a few onto their smaller plates and eating them. “Mmmm!” Gavin purred, “It's like happiness in a fried wonton wrap,” he smirked. “Love these!” Crash popped a few into her mouth and chewed them happily. As the three ate, however, Wordy kept glancing over at the door, stuck in deep thought as he wondered about what he had seen earlier. “Wordy? Are the rangoons okay?” Stir's voice brought him back out. “Oh!” Wordy snapped his head over, meeting Stir's eyes, “They're great, Stir. I was just thinking about something,” he smiled nervously as he picked up another and ate it. “Next great story idea?” Stir guessed. “Sure, let's go with that,” Wordy laughed. “Told ya'. Total nerd, right?” Gavin chimed in. “There's a reason I call ya' Penpone,” Crash added. “Yeah, yeah, you're all hilarious,” Wordy rolled his eyes and chuckled as he poured over the menu, the others doing the same, as they all tried to decide on what they wanted to eat. “Hey, I'm the funny one with the tough guy charm,” Gavin slicked the feathers on his head back and winked at Crash. “Tough guy, huh? That didn't seem to come into play the last sparring match we had, Feathers” Crash smirked back. “Only 'cause I let you win. I wasn't goin' all out,” Gavin popped a rangoon into his mouth and held up his left forearm, balling into a fist as small bolts of electricity arched off his claws, a smug look on his face. “Psh, that's so cheating,” Crash snorted, “Of course, I am too. Only difference is that I can't turn mine off. Hell, it's more a handicap than anything,” she sighed and rolled her eyes. Stir came over to her, “Crash, just because you have weak wings doesn't mean you're less of a pony or anything.” “Yeah...I know,” she turned to the earth pony, “They just kinda' become a liability when I'm in a scrap, ya' know?” “Well, good thing you can knock 'em out before it gets to that point,” Gavin smiled as he patted her back. “Psh, thanks,” Crash looked over at everypony else, Wordy giving her a reassuring nod, “I do mean it, though, guys. I appreciate it. Really. I do.” “Hey, Crash?” Gavin beamed. “Yes, Gavin?” Crash groaned. “I think we just had a moment,” he leaned over and gave her a hug, eliciting a grumpy sound from the mare. “Eeee!” Stir clapped his hooves, “This is so cute!” He came around from behind the bar to join in. “I wish Shutter was here to take a picture of this,” Wordy chuckled, doing the same. “I hate you all,” Crash did her best to force a frown, but quickly failed and submitted to the group hug.