…
Restaurant Row in Canterlot was well known as where Equestria's best of the best in cuisine made their mark. One of the most quaint and unusual among these was The Tasty Treat run by Coriander Cumin and his daughter, Saffron Marsala. To them, being the most unusual restaurant on Saddle Row gave them an advantage.
But one day, as Coriander Cumin prepared to open his restaurant up for another day of work, he noticed a soon to be opened business with a small sign on the front.
"Hmm, so that soup stand is opening soon?" He said to himself. "Well, it's nice to have a neighbor of sorts like us."
Walking back into the restaurant, he saw Saffron Marsala coming out of the kitchen. "Father, do we have any Mustard Dijion dressing?" She asked, walking towards him. "I'm kind of running low."
"It would be in the walk in fridge, Saffron," Corriander replied. "By the way, you and I should visit that new soup stand that's opening."
"You mean that soup pony from Saddle Arabia?" Saffron remarked. "Perhaps you should know that he has a temper."
"A temper?" Coriander remarked, slightly taken aback by what his daughter had said. "Most of the ponies here are stuck up, but they don't have tempers. I'm sure it's nothing for us to worry about."
"You have a temper yourself sometimes," Saffron retorted, going back into the kitchen and towards the walk in. "At least you don't scare away the customers."
Coriander was surprised to hear such a thing. In his mind, he never scared away his customers.
"I've heard that this soup stallion's scared away a few customers where he comes from," Saffron continued as she returned to her preparation. "He even has a certain method on how to order his food. And if you do it wrong, he kicks you out."
Coriander refused to believe his daughter's words and decided to pay a visit first hoof later on.
"He can't be that bad, Saffron," He protested. "Give him time. If he's really as bad as you say he is, he'll probably only be here for a short time."
Saying nothing, Saffron returned to her work while her father returned to getting their restaurant ready. A new stand would mean new competition. And in this case it would be competition that Saffron and Coriander had never encountered before.
…
…
Meanwhile in Canterlot, Twilight and her friends were in the castle's throne room just finishing up on going through a wartime meeting with Equestria's allies.
"Pony certain ram is on move?" Prince Rutherford asked.
"We are very certain, Prince Rutherford," Twilight firmly answered. "As allies it is our duty to remain vigilant, an invasion could happen at any time. And an attack on one of us will be answered as an attack on all of us."
"And now Chrysalis is alive and vowing to take back what is hers," Thorax nervously whimpered. "We can't take any chances. The Changeling Kingdom cannot afford something like this happening. There's no telling how many more supporters she has out there."
But Ember was unfazed by her friend's nerves.
"Look Thorax," She spoke up while flying over him. "Now isn't the time to be a scaredy bug. Being afraid is just what they are going to hope for. They want you to be too weak to fight back. Youve got to be tough and assertive. Don't let that fear control you, you must control it. Channel it. Weaponize it!"
"Ahh, this is will probably just boil over in time," Grampa Gruff pouted while adopting an unconcenred posture. "Probably a whole bunch of nothing. Besides, an old geezer like me won't be of much help in a fight. And Griffonstone doesn't have much of an army, nothing worth fighting for."
"You're going have to accept, birdbrain, that this isn't just going to blow over!" Rainbow Dash snapped, zooming over to him and looking at him right in the face. "Didn't you hear about what happened in the Crystal Empire?! How Princess Twilight over here almost got charred to ashes?!"
"Just a bunch of transforming metal animals causing trouble," Grampa Gruff snorted. "You don't really expect me to believe there's anything I could do about them if they exist, do you."
"You could at least try, if not for your sake than certainly for the sake of Gallus and Gabby," Rarity remarked. "I'll have you know I've already taking the liberty of practicing war drills at my boutiques. We can't afford to be complacent or ignorant at a time like this."
"All that matters is that we're prepared for whatever comes next," Twilight cautioned. "To this end, I am authorizing a communicating system between all of us. Grogar has indicated that he will attack anytime and anywhere he desires. The moment you see trouble from him and his allies, you sound the call. Is that clear?"
"I still think it's nothing," Grampa Gruff huffed and turned around to leave, only to be stopped by Twilight's commanding voice.
"Grampa Gruff!" Twilight firmly called while standing out of her throne. "You will leave when you are dismissed."
Muttering, Grampa Gruff turned back towards the throne, waiting for Twilight to dismiss them.
"Some creatures have no manners," General Seaspray remarked before turning back to Twilight and her friends. "While I'll need to clear it up with Queen Novo first, I doubt she'll need much convincing to establish the early warning systems for Mount Aris and Seaquestria. We've learned nothing from the Storm King if we don't."
…
Once the leaders were gone, Twilight and her friends decided to head over to Restaurant Row for lunch and to reflect on their meeting. As they walked towards the Tasty Treat, they saw a line coming out of the new soup stand.
"Hmm, that new soup stand I read about must've opened. Odd that a Saddle Arabian would want to break out on Restuarant Row now of all times." Twilight remarked.
"Been meanin' to try some," Applejack spoke up. "I've dyin' for a real meal in Canterlot."
"But what about Saffron and Coriander?" Rarity suggested. "They'll be expecting us to eat their food. To not do so would be insulting to them, even if we haven't booked reservations."
"I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we cheated this once. No harm in scoutin' out their competition so they know what they're up against," Applejack replied and then got an idea. "Tell ya what? Let's just say to 'em we're payin' their new rival a visit and we'll be in shortly for lunch. In fact, the rest of you can all go ahead and head to The Tasty Treat, two princesses oughta be more than enough."
Unsure of what to say to her friends, Rarity reluctantly followed the remaining ponies into The Tasty Treat while Twilight and Applejack joined the line of ponies waiting to get in.
…
Eventually, Twilight and Applejack made their way inside the soup stand where a gray coated Saddle Arabian pony stood behind the counter, looking suspiciously at the two princesses. Immediately, Applejack began to feel somewhat intimidated by the pony.
"Er, a medium hay chili, pleased." Applejack said nervously as she slowly made her way down the line.
"And I'll have a medium oat bisque." Twilight ordered, and the stallion promptly rank up the orders and began to fill them.
Upon receiving her order of soup though, Applejack noticed something was off.
"What the hay? I know I asked for bread. That pony didn't give me any!" She whispered to Twilight.
"Just forget it, Applejack. We'll get bread later. We don't wanna cause a scene. And from the way that stallion's looking at us, I don't think he's in a mood to deal with angry customers." Twilight advised as she gestured a hoof to the stallion, who seemed to be glaring at them.
But Applejack decided to speak up anyway. "Um, excuse me, sir. I didn't get any bread," She complained. "I did ask for it."
"Yes, but bread is two bits extra," The pony muttered while focusing on filling up bowls of soup for the other customers. "You pay two bits, and you get bread. So pay up or sit down."
"Two bits? But… but I thought the bread was free." Applejack spike up, suddenly erking the pony.
"So you still want bread?" The stallion snapped. "For you it'll cost three bits! Pay now, or your order will be revoked!"
Applejack was shocked by what she heard. "What did you just say?!"
"I warned you! No soup for you! Security!" The stallion yelled, ordering the cashier pony to return Applejack's bits and take away her soup.
Twilight was shocked by such behavior and took her friend out of the soup stand before anypony in the crowd had a chance to get a good look at them.
…
Later, the princesses joined the rest of their friends at The Tasty Treat.
"So, how did it go?" Fluttershy asked, noticing Applejack's troubled look on her face. "What happened to you in there, Applejack?"
"I was supposed to get free bread and he didn't give it to me. Even took back my order," Applejack complained as she sat down. "We may be fighting a war, y'all, but I've got a personal war I'd like to win in that soup stand."
"Let's not be hasty, Applejack," Pinkie Pie advised. "Perhaps the stallion was having a bad day. We all have those days. Even the Cakes have them sometimes. Just try to relax."
At that moment, Saffron and her father came forward with the food orders. "All right, I've got four specials and Naan bread for the dragon," Coriander spoke up as he and his daught served the food. As they served, Coriander noticed Twilight's bag of soup. "Um, you seem to have visited the soup stand? How was it?"
"The soup's really good, Coriander," Twilight remarked. "But, who knew that the owner was so… feisty?"
"He wanted to charge me three bits for bread that I ordered with my meal!" Applejack protested. "Three bits!"
Walking towards the window of his restaurant, Coriander saw a mixture of ponies who had soup and some who didn't.
Something about this place was off and he was determined to find out.
"Um, Rarity," he said, returning to the table a few minutes later. "Do you, by any chance, continue to talk with Zesty Gourmand?"
This to both her and Pinkie Pie was a surprise, remembering how difficult Zesty Gourmand was to them the last time.
"Um, why do you ask, Coriander?" Rarity pondered.
"Because I was wondering if she would be willing to try some of that soup Princess Twilight is having," Coriander answered, pointing over to Twilight eating her soup. "Saffron may be right. Something this stallion is doing is off. If anypony can figure out what he's up to, it's Zesty."
Both Rarity and Pinkie Pie glanced at each other nervously for they were going to have to seek out the pony who had nearly buried The Tasty Treat with her opinions.
…
…
Once their lunch was done, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack went back to Ponyville while Rarity and Pinkie Pie stayed behind to seek out Zesty Gourmand. But as they left, Pinkie couldn't help but want to try the soup out for herself.
"All right, so we have to pay Zesty a visit and…" Rarity said, only to be interrupted when Pinkie Pie became sidetracked by the soup stand itself. "Um, Pinkie Pie, where are you going?"
"To try out the soup stand, duh!" Pinkie said as she bounced her way into line. "If its good, maybe I'll get some to go for the Cake Twins!"
"But, but we just ate!" Rarity protested, but realized that this was Pinkie's way of getting to experience the soup stallion firsthoof. "If you insist, Pinkie. I just hope he's in a better mood now."
Waiting in line, Pinkie eventually made her way towards the stallion and all she could do was smile in a manner others would consider creepy.
"Hi there!" She chirped, but the stallion didn't take notice.
"What do you want?" He asked her. "You going to order something?"
"Um, I just wanted you to know that you make the best soups in all of Equestria!" Pinkie declared. "You'll be getting a three hoof rating before you know it!"
"Thank you," The soup stallion said with a fake smile. "And you know what I want you to know? No soup for you!" He ordered and Pinkie left the stand with a huff.
All Pinkie could do was loudly gasp at those words!
The soup stallion snorted!
"I said 'No soup for you!' I don't serve freeloaders! Get out before I throw you out!"
Upon meeting Rarity outside later, the fashionista unicorn could see the bad luck Pinkie had inside.
"I complimented him and he turned me away," Pinkie whined. "He may have good soup, but he needs an attitude adjustment."
"Let's just hope Zesty is in a better mood today," Rarity muttered as she and Pinkie left the soup stand behind them.
"Because this is something I think she would actually object to. I have no idea how or why anypony could act such a way and still have a business."
…
Rarity and Pinkie soon made their way over to a large house in a upscale Canterlot Neighborhood with three stars on the door.
"Do you want to knock or do you want me to knock?" Pinkie whispered to Rarity.
Rarity reluctantly walked up to the door and knocked on it three times, hoping for Zesty Gourmand to answer right away.
A few moments later, the door opened to reveal the queen of cuisine herself. Both Pinkie and Rarity remained steadfast, remembering how harsh Zesty was the last time they encountered her.
"What are you two doing here?" Zesty asked in a suspicious tone. "Come to humiliate me again?"
"H-hi Zesty," Pinkie nervously greeted. "Um, no hard feelings about The Tasty Treat incident, right?"
"Humph!" Zesty huffed. "If you've come to…"
"No, no, no," Rarity insisted, placing a foreleg in front of Zesty. "What happened is in the past, Zesty. In the past. Let's just focus on the present."
Not wanting to be bothered any longer, Zesty attempted to turn around and shut the door, but Rarity wasn't going to let her get away that easily.
"Rarity, I know why you and your frizzy haired friend are here," Zesty remarked as Rarity put her back down on her feet. "You think that I should still reserve my opinions only to myself, yes? Well, I still stand by my decision for your friends."
"That may be so," Rarity protested with a frown. "But that's not why we're here."
Pinkie added. "There's a new place next door to The Tasty Treat. There's this new soup stallion who…"
Suddenly, Zesty's eyes widened at the mere mention of the new soup stand! Stepping back into her house, she gestured the two mares inside much to their surprise.
"That was quick," Pinkie whispered to Rarity.
Once they were inside, Zesty shut the door with a loud thud. "
That soup pony from Saddle Arabia?" Zesty remarked. "I hear he has such a bad reputation."
"Not by the way his soup tastes," Pinkie spoke up. "I could just swim in them all day and…"
"Yes, you can," Rarity interrupted as she ended Pinkie's fantasy. "But we aren't here to fantasize. Zesty, we were wondering if you would consider possibly trying out this pony's…signature product?"
"Absolutely not, Rarity!" The self proclaimed Queen of Cuisine thundered, motioning for Pinkie and Rarity to gaze upon a series of newspaper clippings hung on Zesty's wall. "If you both look at these collections of articles I have written over the years as a critic, you will see that each restaurant I have visited had highly respectable ponies who had a personality greater than their food!"
Studying the collection of articles on the wall, Rarity and Pinkie understood somewhat what Zesty was explaining to them.
"Zesty, these articles are nice, but…" Rarity stammered looking over at her.
"-Rarity," Zesty interrupted. "I happen to know a few fellow food critics who have tried this pony's soup and let me assure you that the professional behavior he has is unacceptable. Why, he even denies his customers soup if they don't follow his methods."
"Tell me about it," Pinkie remarked. "He denied Applejack soup because she complained about not getting bread. I mean, what's wrong with bread? It's no different than eating cupcakes!"
"Look Rarity," Zesty replied, suddenly dropping a little bit of her snooty persona as she sighed lightly. "I really do want to give my own opinions on the new establishment, but ever sinceTthe Tasty Treat reopened, I've been…cautious about voicing my opinions."
Both Rarity and Pinkie gasped upon hearing these words, realizing that they possibly caused damage to Zesty's reputation!
…
…
"Look Zesty," Rarity protested. "All we were trying to do was stick up for Coriander and Saffron. We didn't mean to make you cautious!"
"No, no, you meant no harm," Zesty sighed as she walked towards her living room and sat down in a large arm chair. "I still stand by my opinions, yes. However, I've been keen on watching out for ponies like you who defend establishments that don't deserve my three hoof rating."
"Well, we aren't just ordinary ponies, after all," Pinkie spoke up. "I don't know if you heard, but we are princesses now."
"Of course," Zesty remarked, chuckling slightly. "How could I forget? You became princesses for the sake of Twilight Sparkle's mental health. So that's another reason I'm cautious."
"There are ponies who will need to hear the cold honest truth, Zesty, darling," Rarity advised. "Perhaps this soup stallion needs to hear the truth from somepony like you Who knows? Some poor soldier in the war against Grogar could be eating his soup delivered to him by this pony."
"She does have a point," Pinkie remarked, and Zesty merely sighed at the advice that was being given to her. "Perhaps there's only one pony who can put this grouch in his place."
Still, Zesty was hesitant. But realizing that she couldn't really say no to the ponies that had countered her opinions, Zesty reluctantly accepted the assignment given to her. "If you say so." She sighed as Rarity and Pinkie hoof bumped one another in victory.
…
Back at The Tasty Treat, Coriander was occasionally peeking out his restaurant's window, keeping an eye out for customers as they left the soup stand. Suddenly, he noticed two very familiar alicorn ponies going towards the soup stand.
"Princesses Celestia and Luna?" He gasped in a hushed voice. "What are they doing there? Saffron! Saffron! Come quickly!"
Dashing into the kitchen, Coriander shouted out to his daughter!
"Saffron, Celestia and Luna!" He gasped anew!
"Father, I've got orders to fill out here!" Saffron protested. "What about them?"
"They are going to the new soup stand, instead of coming here!" Coriander cried.
"That's entirely their call, father," Saffron remarked as she tried to focus on her cooking. "If anything, we have other things to do here, such as serving whatever customers we still have!"
Not wanting to bother his daughter any longer, Coriander left the kitchen and proceeded towards the front door, much to the surprise of his customers, who just stared at him in confusion and surprise.
"Um, Saffron is in charge for a few moments, everypony," He nervously answered. "I will... be right back!"
As the customers murmured in confusion, Coriander dashed out of The Tasty Treat and watched as Celestia and Luna joined the line of ponies waiting to get into the soup stand.
…
"Celestia, they say this soup is to die for," Luna remarked. "I just hope it's good as you say it is."
"Well, when I was in Saddle Arabia, I would always stop for this pony's soup," Celestia replied. "He probably remembers me since I was a frequent customer of his."
Meanwhile, as they neared the entrance, Pinkie and Rarity returned with Zesty Gourmand in tow. Both unicorn were surprised at seeing Celestia and Luna in line.
"Oh boy! This is going to be fun!" Pinkie nervously spoke up. "Celestia and Luna are in line! Perhaps they're asking for trouble?!"
Looking over to Zesty, Rarity felt that they needed to protect Celestia and Luna from any abuse by the pony she knew to be called the Soup Grouch.
"Might as well get in line." Rarity whispered to Zesty and so they did. But Pinkie Pie, not wanting to be subjected to the soup grouch's wrath, was hesitant and it took Rarity dragging her by the tail to make her move into line.
"Um, Rarity," Pinkie whispered back. "I'm not supposed to be back here for one year, remember?!"
"Perhaps in this case, breaking that rule is a good thing," Rarity hissed back at her. "Now come on! If we could stand up to Zesty Gourmand, how could we look Equestria in the eyes if we let some soup stand stallion scare us?"
Meanwhile, Celestia and Luna made their way into the soup stand and immediately, the Soup Grouch's eyes dropped upon seeing the former princesses walk in.
"P-Princess Celestia?!" He gasped in an awestruck tone. "What are you doing here?! And where is your crown?"
"I've been retired for some time now, Lentil," Celestia remarked. "Or haven't you heard?"
"Er... yes, of course," The Soup Grouch stammered while trying to keep his composure. "I trust you want your usual soup?"
Receiving a nod, the Soup Grouch began to serve up his soup to his royal customer. "I'm surprised you retired, princess," He remarked. "Why, I thought you would rule forever."
"That's not the case, Lentil," Celestia advised. "Health before business and all that stuff. Besides, there have been other things Luna and I have been wanting to do for some time. Things we never had the chance to do as princesses."
With a quirked brow the Soup Grouch asked. "Such as?"
"Teaching for one thing," Luna pointed out. "We're both teachers at the School of Friendship!"
Sighing, the Soup Grouch hoofed his soup to Celestia and proceeded to turn his attention to Luna. "That's nice," He said, sighing deeply and catching the royal sisters' interest. "It's too bad my son can't afford a school like that."
"Why is that?" Luna asked.
"I came here to Canterlot so I could make more money," The Soup Grouch explained. "But the frustration of coming here amidst an impending war…"
Suddenly, he turned away from the sisters and saw Pinkie and Rarity walking inside!
"Hey!" He called, banging on the side of the counter and looking directly at Pinkie Pie. "I thought I told you to come back in one year!"
"Lentil?" Celestia asked in confusion, raising an eyebrow at the same time. "What's going on here?! This isn't like you!"
"She's been banned for one year!" The Soup Grouch sternly replied. "She was causing problems in my line because she wanted free bread! I offer no such free bread, I can't afford to give it out for free!"
Both Celestia and Luna were confused at what was going on. "Um, I'm sure that Pinkie Pie means no harm, free bread or not," Luna spoke up. "It's just in her nature…"
"Whatever, she is still not welcome here!" The Soup Grouch protested. "Her one year ban still stands!"
At that moment, the line of ponies gasped in shock as Zesty Gourmand made her way into the establishment! The Soup Grouch also gasped at the highly important pony as she walked inside.
"I think I've found the problem with this business," Zesty declared. "It's not the food. It's the owner."
Feeling slightly embarrassed, the Soup Grouch felt himself being put right on the spot as Coriander peaked his head through the door.
"M-Ms. Gourmand!" He stammered as she walked closer and closer to the counter, while he hastily scooped up a bowl of soup. "What an…what an honor it is to have a pony of your stature in my business! Some of my famous soup?"
Zesty took several bites of it and then handed the bowl back to the Soup Grouch. "Your soup is delicious, Lentil," She spoke up. "It's very unfortunate the same can't be said of your very unprofessional behavior."
The rest of the ponies could only stand in shock and amazement at what Zesty was saying.
"I've come across many aspiring restauranteurs like you, but they were at least professional at what they did in their attitude," Zesty spoke up. "You, on the other hoof, are an entirely different story. How can you be this way and expect to stay in business?"
"I-I can explain my actions, Zesty," The Soup Grouch stammered, sweat nervously trickling down his face. "You see, I'm not like what you or your friends say I am! Maybe I'm a little abrasive, but…"
Zesty raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "My dear Lentil, I'm afraid any negativity you bring here in Canterlot is on your own hooves. It's not like Saddle Arabia where you can just walk over everypony with your outrageous practices! Your soup is delicious, your attitude is not!"
"Look, Zesty," Celestia spoke up "As princess, I was a frequent customer of Lentil's in Saddle Arabia and he was nothing like this. I have no idea why he has become so horrible. I can assure you that all he wants is for his son to have a good education in Equestria."
"But Celestia," Rarity spoke up as she revealed herself. "Zesty's fellow critics…they said that…"
"I do have to confess," The Soup Grouch interrupted. "Those days when your fellow food critics came, I was under a lot of pressure. They fed off of my stress! I had to toughen up if I wanted to impress them!"
Everypony gave Zesty a hard glare and the food critic pony realized she needed to come clean with her actions.
"Look, good sir," She spoke up as she approached the counter. "My job as a critic is to be blunt and truthful. It's how you respond to the criticism that can mean the difference between success and failure. Some criticism that we critics make, they can actually help you succeed in life."
"But, my son…his education…"
"I'm sure we'd be more than willing to give your son a chance, Lentil. But only if you're willing to stop taking out your troubles on innocent customers," Celestia explained. "I know you weren't always like this. Whatever pressure you have, you can let it go now and go back to who you were originally. The kind of stallion who moved to Canterlot in the hopes of giving his son a proper education."
"You're…you're certain of that?" The Soup Grouch asked.
Nodding, Celestia reaffirmed her commitment. But there was still a matter for Pinkie and Rarity to address.
"Um, Mr. Lentil," Rarity spoke up, thinking of Applejack. "I believe that you owe somepony an apology and some bread."
…
Later that week, Lentil came over to the Castle of Friendship and apologized to Applejack by bringing over soup and bread. "Please accept this as an apology for my earlier actions." He told the Princess of Honesty.
"Ah, I accept yer apology, Lentil," Applejack replied while smiling at him. "This soup of yours is really good."
"Only the best," Lentil remarked, turning over to Coriander and Saffron (who had come on a visit while their restaurant closed for refurbishment). "At least now I will only have to worry about having to save money for my son's education, and I will at least try to be a good neighbor for our fighting ponies and a respected businesspony."
"Perhaps we'll spend time getting to know one another better," Saffron smiled. "You must try some of our food. Although…"
"What?" Lentil asked.
Saffron grinned. "What about the charge for bread?"
After a pause, Lentil replied. "On the house!"
And everypony shared a good laugh, knowing that Lentil would soon make his mark on the Canterlot elite.
…
…