//------------------------------//
// That table full of fillies that is strangely quiet tonight... 
// Story: Icebergs 
// by shortskirtsandexplosions 
//------------------------------//

    The muffins come out of the oven, golden brown and delicious.  Day in and day out, it's all the same, and I couldn't possibly be more happy.  My hubby is right; I've not lost my magic touch, not in the least.  At my age, I suppose it helps to hold onto a simple dash of pride, like sprinkling cinnamon over the parts of my life that are still scrumptious.  It's best not to forget that.

Oh dearie me, I'm getting distracted!  It's been such a long, long day, but I mustn't let these weary bones hold me back, or a weary head for that matter.  Heehee.  Hmmm, yes, there are patrons to serve still.  I wonder if they would like to sample some of these muffins?  I know they didn't order any, but one or two of them on the house couldn't possibly dampen their spirits, now could it?  Hmmm?  Heehee... Ahem.

Here we go, just slide them onto the tray—Ooooh, that smarts!  My hooves aren't as heat resistant at I'd expect them to be through the years.  Oh well, never too late to live and learn!  Heehee.  I haven't heard much talking.  Surely the young ladies are still at their table.  Let's go and see—Oh, wow, that's a beautiful starry sky outside the window.  I should take a break from baking for the wedding shower tomorrow and enjoy a brief look at the milky way.  Mother nature never stops painting our lives with brilliance, if I do say so.  Dum de dum—Hello, what is this?

The six mares are still here, but now I understand why I didn't hear their voices for so long.  I see Pinkie, but she's not talking!  How stranger.  Then again, neither are her friends!  Just what's gotten into them?  They look like they've seen a ghost, or as though their hooves are stuck in frozen ice.  I swear, they've always been a chatty bunch.  Is there a funeral I don't know about?

Ahem... Let's be graceful about this.  Remember that, above all, you are a hostess.

"Hello again and good evening, girls!" I smile as I slide the tray of muffins onto their table beside a stack of books that Miss Sparkle must have brought.  "My, what a pleasant night for a dinner party, am I right?"

The six ponies say nothing.  Their eyes are locked to the table.  They're seated next to one another, but—I swear—it's as if none of their shoulders are touching.  What?  Do they think a horrible plague is ahoof?

"Are you... enjoying your meal?"  I smile, glancing down at their plates.  I can't help but do a double-take, for barely a single bite has been taken out of their feast.  "Oh, uhm... Erm..."  I nervously smile in their direction again.  "Perhaps a doggy bag is in order?"  I blink.  "Or s-six of them?"

Twilight Sparkle looks my way, as if coming out of a thick dream.  "Huh?"  Her eyes dart stiffly towards the table.  "Oh.  Uhm.  That's quite alright..."

"Reckon I'm not that hungry," Applejack says.  "Why don't you take them vittles home, RD?"

"Huh?  Me?"  Rainbow Dash stammers, as if caught in some horrible spotlight.  "I-I'm not the one who needs to shove food down her gullet!"  She turns and smiles.  "Fluttershy—?"  She instantly winces, as if a gun has gone off.  "Erm... What I mean is..."

Fluttershy says nothing.  She merely squirms in her seat.

"It's... kind of hot in here," Pinkie Pie murmurs in a voice that's most unbecoming of her bubbly self.  "Like, super stuffy hot."

"Er, y-yeah..."  Twilight admits with a nod.  "I wonder why that is?"

"I certainly have no idea," Rarity murmurs.

Fluttershy squirms some more.

Applejack fans herself with her hat while Rainbow Dash sweats with her wings tightly pressed to the back of her seat.

Silence.

"What I wouldn't give for a nice, relaxing shower," Rarity then says.  She fidgets, then mutters, "An exceedingly cold one."

Everypony looks up.  For the first time since I've trotted out, they've made eye contact.

Fluttershy is the first to stand up.  "What she said."

"Right."

"Yup."

"Roger."

"Affirmative."

"Okie dokie lokie!"

With a percussion of six chairs scraping the tile floor, the six mares slide out from the table, give each other a brief curtsy, and part ways like bolts of lightning.  I'm left standing in the middle of the eatery, scratching my head through my mane.

"What in Celestia's name was that all about?"

Before I have too much time to think about it, I hear the bell above the door ringing just seconds after the girls leave.  An exhausted, gray shape trots towards me, dragging an empty mailbag.

"Oh, hi, Miss Hooves!" I say with a smile.  "Resting after a long day's work?"

"Mmmm-Yeah," Derpy exhales and slumps down into one of the seats that Pinkie and her friends had occupied.  "I must have covered half of Equestria and parts of Dream Valley!"  She pauses, and then her crooked eyes squint as she fidgets where she sits.  "Say, why's this chair so warm?"

"Uhhh..."

"Hey!"  She leans forward, her wings twitching.  "Do... Do I smell what I think I smell?"

For the first time in hours, I relax, chuckling happily.  "Here you go, darling."  I give her half of the tray's golden, toasty contents before making my way back to the kitchen.  "It's on the house."  I smile even more at the sound of a joyful gasp in the eatery behind me.