“Mmm, this tastes SO GOOD!! Can you tell Klee what this is?”
While getting the chance to have a grilled cheese sandwich from the cafeteria didn’t seem like much to Sandbar and his friends, the little girl that was with them saw things a lot differently. Just a simple taste of a sandwich with melted cheese almost rivaled that of the Fisherman’s Toast and blasted fish that she was so acquainted to. Maybe if she was lucky, she could get one of Sandbar’s friend’s to teach her the recipe and try to make it herself. Though, right now, her entire focus was to try and finish the meal before it got cold.
“Wow, I’ve never seen any creature go through a sandwich like that so quickly,” Silverstream replied, before looking at her friends, “Did all that drawing earlier have her work up an appetite or something?”
“Maybe?” Sandbar shrugged his shoulders, “She seems to be enjoying it though.”
“That seems a bit obvious,” Gallus deadpanned as she looked back to the plate that was in front of Klee, “I mean, she hasn’t even opened up that juice box that’s next to her sandwich.”
“Or touched those carrots on her plate,” Smolder pointed out now as the dragoness was about to chew on a gemstone she had in her claws as she began to munch on the small snack.
“M-maybe she’s a picky eater, Smolder. W-we don’t really know,” Ocellus now told her, who decided to help Klee out by taking a couple of carrots off the little girl’s plate and decided to have them herself.
Once the little girl had finished though, she immediately began to ask them a particular question, “This is so good! Can you teach me how to make it?”
Of course, while the question was simple, Sandbar and the others weren’t quite so prepared to answer it at that moment. It was one thing to have Klee drawing, but trying to teach her how to make a sandwich in a kitchen full of objects that could be just as dangerous? That was a little more risky… and a potential fire hazard.
“Why do you want to know the recipe, Klee?” Ocellus asked.
“Since I like this so much, if Klee learned how to make it, I could make one for both Klee and big brother!” the little girl simply replied with the most innocent look on her face. Ironically though, the mentioning of this mere sentence was followed by a surprise. Someone that had just recently come through the front doors of the school, only to find Klee and her friends in the cafeteria.
“Klee! There you are,” Everyone turned to see Albedo walk into the cafeteria now, “Where have you been? We were worried that you ran off by yourself into the Everfree-”
“Klee was seeing her friends, big brother!” she proclaimed proudly, “We were having fun drawing so many pictures!” Klee would then pick up the other half of the sandwich that she had not eaten yet and show it to Albedo, “Oh, and this is so tasty!! I wanted to know if Sandbar and his friends knew how to make it so I could make some for you, brother!”
Albedo could only let out a small breath, before looking back to his little sister. Curiosity and eagerness were always a specialty of Klee’s and she never liked staying in one spot for an extended period of time, which wasn’t exactly a problem. Though, whenever his sister decided that it was ‘time to go out and explore’, Klee would always seem to forget actually informing anybody of where she was going. It was only part of the reason why trying to track her down gave him and some of the other Knights of Favonius no shortage of headaches.
“Is something wrong, big brother? Is Klee in trouble?”
The alchemist looked back to Klee, before shaking her head to reassure his sister. “No, it’s fine Klee. Just… make sure to tell someone where you’re going before you decide to go visit your friends. When I came back and found out that you were gone, I was a bit worried about you.”
“So I can stay with my friends a bit longer?”
Albedo took a quick look over to Sandbar and the rest of his friends, who mostly appeared to look rather positive with Klee nearby, before looking back to his sister, “As long as you make sure to come back to the castle when you’re done alright? Wouldn’t want to spoil your fun.”
When they heard that, the young six weren’t not entirely sure what to think. Some of them honestly thought that he was going to take them off of their hooves. Though, as they saw Albedo wave goodbye to Klee and the little girl returned back to her meal, they began to realize that they were going to have to keep an eye on her for a bit longer than anticipated.
So, they had to find the way to make the most of it, “So Klee… you said you wanted to learn how to make a grilled cheese sandwich?”
By the time that the alchemist got back to the castle of friendship, he found that Spike was already making some early preparations for what the dragon called ‘guys night’. If Albedo recalled correctly, two of his friends would be coming over later in the day and they would be playing some kind of game. Of course, the game didn’t sound like anything he was familiar with back in Teyvat, so Albedo was going under the impression that this was something brand new. Yet, even though it was rather early, Spike was already preparing everything that was needed from snacks to papers, pens and what looked like small ceramic shapes with a multitude of numbers that corresponded with the amount of sides it had.
He also noticed what looked to be figurines and cardboard cutouts too. The figures appeared to resemble equine soldiers, spellcasters and even archers as well, while the cutouts looked like that of various monsters and beasts from across Equestria. Some of them being ones that he and Klee had the unfortunate pleasure of encountering while they were out in the Everfree to visit the tree of harmony. Yet, how exactly was this important to the game that Spike was setting up? It left him rather curious and wanting to learn more.
Though, much to the surprise of both him and Spike, one of the ponies that was invited to partake in what was going on happened to arrive rather early. Much earlier than either the alchemist or the dragon had anticipated as the latter of the two answered the door, “S-Shining-?! I-I didn’t think you would be here so soon!”
At that, Albedo looked towards the door to find a white colored unicorn stallion with a mane and tail that consisted of different shades of blue. His cutie mark was of a shield and his eyes matched his mane and the hooves at the bottom of his forelegs. Based on Spike’s reaction just now, it was safe for the alchemist to assume that this was Shining Armor. Though, the only thing that was unknown at this moment was how exactly was the unicorn going to react when he actually saw him.
“Well, it looks like you’ve been busy getting things ready. Who else was it that was going to be joining us-” the unicorn was walking in from the hallway, but stopped upon noticing Albedo. Originally, the alchemist thought that he was about to act rather defensively upon first glance. Though, what came out of Shining’s mouth when he spoke again was rather… unexpected, “So, you must be the alchemist that I’ve heard about. Albedo, right?”
That surprised him personally. Twilight didn’t send out a letter or anything, yet he happened to know who exactly he was? Albedo couldn’t help but be curious as to why that was the case. “Yes, that is me. If I may ask though, how exactly did you hear about me?”
“Well, this the first time we’ve met face to face, but I’ve heard a lot of things about you from Celestia when she last visited Cadance and I in the Crystal Empire,” the unicorn replied back with a smile, “From what I was able to understand, you left quite an impression on her. Which in itself is rather rare, all things considered.”
“Really?” Albedo replied, a bit surprised on how Shining phrased his words, “How so?”
“Well, to keep things simple, Celestia told us that hearing you explain your situation and answer her questions reminded her of Clover the Clever many years ago,” Shining told him, “Which many ponies would see as an honor since not many creatures end up impressing Celestia during their first meeting. With Twilight being an exception, but that’s a story for another time.” The unicorn would pause for a moment to compose himself, before asking the alchemist a simple question. “So, what exactly brings you here? Because I doubt that someone like you has the time for games when, if memory serves me right, you’re busy trying to find your way home.”
“Well, that’s what I was hoping to talk to you about actually.”
From there, Albedo took the chance to inform him of what was going on. He and Twilight had come up with a design for a contraption that they needed to test and had the resources, but lacked the skill to craft it themselves. So, the first thought that came to her mind was to see if Shining Armor knew any creature that could help them forge it.
At first, it sounded like Shining had an answer for him. Though, there was a catch. “Why yes, I do happen to know somepony… However, what I can do to help is rather limited.”
“Huh?” Spike now asked, confused, “But you’re the captain of the guard. Shouldn’t it be easy to just go and ask?”
“Unfortunately, it’s not all that simple I’m afraid,” the unicorn replied, “When it comes to the guard, there’s a lot of politics behind it. Why yes, we serve the princesses and try to keep every creature safe, it doesn’t mean that the royal guard are automatically provided everything that they need on a silver platter. You need to pay bits to get these services and there are several high figures who are not exactly supportive of excessive military spending. Some would even assume that we would be planning the worst and take it as an act of aggression, even though we’re using the money to pay for equipment and training for the new recruits.”
“So, what can be done exactly?” the alchemist now asked.
“Well, it’s not all grim,” Shining Armor reassured him, “I can write up a recommendation letter and then have the Princess give it the royal seal to show her approval on the matter. If you show that to the blacksmith in Canterlot, Cast Iron, along with the design that you and Twilight came up with and the necessary materials, then he should be more than open minded to help. I’ll make sure to have the recommendation include a brief synopsis on your situation so it’ll be more likely for him to understand.”
That had Albedo smile as he looked back at the captain of the guard, “Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help.”
“No worries,” the unicorn replied, “The fact that Celestia is fond of your capabilities probably makes this seem easy. Though, when you do travel to Canterlot, do be careful. There are some ponies in nobility that aren’t quite so open minded to the sight of other creatures, even though the city as a whole is pushing towards being inclusive of all species no matter their background. One of which being the princess’ nephew. I’m sure he’ll try to find some way in order to make things difficult.”
“If it helps, you can bring Klee with you,” the dragon chuckled jokingly.
“Klee? You mean the little one that’s Albedo’s sister?” Shining turned his head to Spike in confusion, “How would that help?”
That only left Albedo with one answer. “Let’s just say that despite her appearance, she can be… rather intimidating.”