//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 // Story: And Now For Something Exactly the Same // by Damaged //------------------------------// It was evening on the day after the royal wedding that Sweetie, Lyra, Blue, Moon, Luna, and Celestia met up again. Lyra and Sweetie both looked like they'd had a rough day with their coats unbrushed and their manes messy, but both had smiles on their faces—happy, tired smiles. Blue Blood looked like he'd lost about a third of his body weight, though he was smiling too. Moon looked pristine and was wearing a pretty dress rather than her usual sweater. Celestia and Luna both looked as impeccably turned-out as usual. "That could have gone far worse," Celstia said. "Equestria was hanging by a thread from being overtaken by the changelings. While normally I would induct somepony into this little grouping before putting the fate of Equestria on their shoulders, Moon Dancer, you were exceptional." "Yeah you were!" Lyra stomped her hooves a few times in applause. "It was hard enough just holding onto one thought at a time, but you managed to work with what I could give you and got everypony warned." Moon, wanting to take the spotlight off herself, gestured to Blue Blood. "What about him? He literally acted as a decoy!" "That's my job. Admittedly, Chrysalis was a little more pushy than Canterlot's nobles are, but making a spectacle of myself is what I do best." Shrugging his shoulders, Blue deployed his best smile, which would have normally made any straight mare swoon, but even he couldn't fight the fact that he was in a room with exceptional mares. "It still barely feels real." Moon tried to hold back from using her sarcastic tone—only because it really wasn't the place for it. "Are you sure they're all gone?" Sweetie nodded. "Every last one of them was blasted out of Canterlot and, as far as we can tell, Equestria too. It's going to take them time to reestablish any information networks they may have had, and in that time we—the Guard—will be building counter-intelligence networks against them." Celestia raised an eyebrow, and when that didn't get her more than a smug grin, she asked, "And you organized that in a day?" "I pulled some things together. Somepony else will be running it." Sweetie just shrugged her shoulders. "This, sister," Luna said, "is what comes of making her a captain for just a day. Perhaps you should make that perm—" Stomping her hoof, Sweetie glared at Luna. "No. No, no, no. If you promote me above sergeant, I won't be able to keep up training ponies. I'll quit if you do." "What my wife is trying to say is, thank you for the compliment, but unless you plan to make our school its own distinct arm of the Guard, we're quite happy as sergeants." Lyra leaned against Sweetie, unable to care if she looked completely wasted and in need of support. "That fits quite nicely. Very well, one of you—I don't particularly care which—can be commander of the Junior Training Regiment." Celestia loved the shocked look on both mares' faces. "Moon Dancer, you were an astounding academic while part of my school, and I hear you have been assisting my sister with her own studies of modern times. I think it's about time that was recognized, too. Since I can't confer a military rank upon you, I think baroness will suit quite nicely, and it will give Blue something to do with his spare time—since you obviously have the ear of two princesses. "And that brings me to you, nephew. Your rank is already prince, there's not much I can do with that. What if I gave you a year to yourself to court and secure the hoof of a mare?" Celestia did her best to ignore Moon's stunned look. "Hold up." Moon Dancer stomped her way to stand between Blue Blood and Celestia. "You can't just make me a baron." "Baroness," Luna said, her tone not at all on the verge of giggling. Looking past Celestia at Luna, Moon snorted like her ancestors at the idea that this could be funny. "Baroness, whatever. The point is, you need a ceremony for all that, and—and I need to agree to it." "I tried that. When Auntie came up with the notion that I was the long-lost scion of the Platinum line, she didn't ask my permission." Walking up beside Moon, Blue put his hoof on her shoulder. "Really, it's alright. You'll get used to it." Moon looked at Lyra and Sweetie, as if they could challenge this—both of them took a slight step back. "I don't want to get used to it." Stepping forward, Luna walked up to stand before her mentor. "Please, Moon, this is one of the few ways we get to show our thanks. Besides, a baroness, as you know, doesn't hold any land or have any court duties. All it does is give you peerage." "I'm going to—to make mediocre coffee. Every night." Moon Dancer leveled her gaze at Luna. "Until I can't bear to drink the stuff." "That is an idle threat and you know it." Luna reached out a wing to rest it on Moon's shoulder. "You did amazing work. Be proud of that." Moon was about to try another tack when a little chime sounded. "I have to go." Luna, Lyra, and Sweetie all smirked and giggled while Celestia looked around confused. "What's the matter?" "She has a date, sister. Go on, Moon." Luna removed her wing from Moon's shoulder and gestured to the door. "Use my token if any of the Guard tries to make you late." "Give Stiff Peaks our best!" Lyra called after a cantering Moon. "While it's a relief to see her spending a little more time outside of study, I wish it wouldn't take an invasion to do it." Celestia walked over to the doors herself. "Lulu, I believe it is your time to shine. If anypony needs me, tell them they don't need me." "She was talking to you, earlier," Lyra said. "Definitely you she wanted to promote." Sweetie leaned down and to the side to scoop Lyra onto her back. "Look, you're already working hard and have tired yourself out." Watching the last of his company leaving, Blue sighed and started toward the door that led down to the castle's kitchen. The big halls seemed a little more chilly than normal, though he knew the reason for that at least. Blue nodded to the Royal Guards he passed on the way to the kitchen, they knew his secret and he trusted them all to keep it. Opening the door to the kitchen, however, Blue had to switch into a completely different person. "I'm simply wasting away over here. Why hasn't anybody even asked me what I want?" Cursing under her breath that Head Chef Gretchen had already finished up—and more that she was in charge—Bread Bowl walked over to Blue Blood. "Yes, Your Highness, what can I do for you?" A little caught off-guard, Blue looked at the pretty mare who lifted her head from a respectful bow to look into his eyes. She had a pretty, tied-back mane of lavender hair, and a coat of light pink. She looked at him like he was the biggest horseapple in Equestria and she had just stepped in it. Celestia's words came back to Blue, and part of him skipped a beat. Taking a very careful breath, he cleared his throat and asked quietly, "Is there perhaps something I could eat? After the attack, my doctor has advised me to eat as much protein-rich meals as I can." The change in tone surprised Bread. She tilted her head a little—recent events leaving her a little worried about ponies acting strange. And, from what Bread knew, Blue Blood was nothing but a empty-headed narcissist. "If it pleases sir, I have a fish soup, toast, and a vegetable stew to follow that up." Nerves! Blue hadn't had them when he foppishly cast off Rarity, and he hadn't had them when facing down tribes of potentially vicious (but actually perfectly nice) bat ponies in Batstralia—but now, facing a pretty mare with the ability to for him to pay interest into her, he was terrified. "That sounds delicious. I don't suppose there's a table in here I could borrow to sup at?" "Over here. It's where we normally eat when we have the time to. Can I get you anything to drink?" No sooner had she finished speaking than Bread realized she'd dropped honorifics. Nerves and a little panic grew. "B-Begging your pardon, Your Highness, I didn't mean to speak out of—" "Quite alright. In fact, I'd prefer things a little informal." Finding the table Bread pointed to, Blue walked over. "A nice dry cider would be fine, and one more thing…" "Y-Yes?" "What's the name this beautiful creature before me goes by?" His heart thudding, Blue had never said words like that and meant them before. Flirting, and not deceiving, was very new to him. The alarm bells that rang in Bread's mind were different from the maybe he's an invading monster ones. These were a handsome stallion is flirting with me alarms. "I am head-chef of the night brigade, Bread Bowl." "Hrmm. Well, chef Bread Bowl, is there a special somepony in your life?" Blue asked, trying for hungry but not afraid to go all the way to smoldering with his look. There were a few dark lines under Blue's eyes, and he looked like he was missing some body mass, but Bread wasn't so cultured as she couldn't recognize an interested stallion when she saw one. "I must be going cr— I mean, no, I'm not seeing anypony. Not that I have much of a chance since I work nights." Despite the flour dusting her breast and down her forelegs, even ignoring the way Bread looked a little confused whenever he spoke, Blue was still like a young colt trying to string words together. He didn't want to use the million-and-one lines he'd given mares in the past—he wanted to just say something that was his own. "Would you like to go somewhere nice for breakfast—my breakfast, your dinner?" Bread's thoughts were in a spin. She knew Blue's reputation as a foppish moron, but this stallion before her was nothing like the stallion she'd heard about. He wasn't even anything like she knew. He was completely different. "I'll say yes if you answer me one question." Intrigue was always something that piqued Blue's curiosity. "Ask, and if it's within my power to answer, I will." "Is the narcissistic aristocrat an act, or is this the false Blue Blood?" "If you promise to not breathe a word of my answer to anypony else?" Blue waited for Bread to nod before continuing. "This is the real me." That was worse than not getting an answer, so far as Bread was concerned. She had a dozen more questions now, and she was sure if he answered any one of them she'd have a dozen more. It was a baker's hydra. "Then find me at six in the morning. I'll be here finishing my shift and making my report to Executive Chef Gretchen." "Then I'll definitely see you then." He hoped he'd impressed upon her how secret his dual nature was. The staff of the kitchen were usually quite loyal, but while she was a head chef, she wasn't Gretchen—who he knew far better. He waited for her to walk away and fetch the food he'd asked for, and the moment it hit the table his body screamed at him to eat. It was a struggle not to just grab the sides of the bowl and drink the soup down in a rush, but Blue kept on top of his hunger to at least show the food the respect it deserved. Bread had seen enough people eating to notice that Blue was eating neatly—but fast. The soup was her own work, prepared to be inoffensive to both unicorn or earth pony palates, but a fine source of vitamins and minerals—as well as protein. No sooner was Blue done with the soup than the bowl was replaced with a bowl of thick vegetable stew and a few slices of buttered toast. The food seemed to fly into his mouth and, in no time, he'd finished it off and finally felt his stomach start to feel not-empty. Recognizing the look on Blue's face, Bread fetched a second bowl of stew and brought it over. "You still looked hungry." She slid it down before him while taking away the empty one. Blue was about to voice what his normal reply would be to such an insistence, but instead he levitated a fresh spoonful of stew into his mouth and muttered, "Thank you," around it. Of course Bread enjoyed seeing ponies eating her cooking—that was one of the biggest reasons she became a chef. She just hadn't been prepared enough for seeing a stallion she maybe-kinda liked eating her food as if it was the last he would ever taste. She was so taken by him eating that she made her way up to a spare spot on the line, grabbed some bananas and sugar, and started work on making him a dessert. When he was done, Blue set his spoon to rights in the bowl and realized he still had his glass of wine. Lifting it up, he took a far greater sip from it than he'd ever do in public, and let out a little belch. It broke so many rules of etiquette that Blue was mortified. "The look on your face. Let me get rid of that and bring you your just desserts." Regaining his composure wasn't easy, but Blue was used to hard fights. "That year sneaks up on you. So delicate to begin with, but diving your palate quickly into a deep ocean of fruity fl—Why are you laughing?" "That wine was brewed by my great, great, great grandfather. He made exactly twelve-hundred and three bottles of it, as he did every year. The vintners of my family kept exacting records." Sliding a bowl of ice cream covered in caramelized banana with a dusting of icing sugar in front of him, Bread slid a spoon over. "This wasn't a wine made for delicate palettes or snobby tasting. This was a wine he made, from the grapes his wife grew, for his family and the local town." Blue had trouble looking away from what should have been terribly common fare, but he managed it to look up at Bread. "It's sometimes hard to remember that even the most beautiful of things can have humble beginnings." Blushing, Bread tried to fight down the little filly inside her that fawned over having a prince pay her compliments. It didn't go well. "I—Err—Maybe we could visit the vineyard my brother still runs?" "A second date planned before we have our first?" Blue's heart was thudding like wild and butterfly swarms flew around his stomach—or so it seemed to him. Imagined insect infestation and heart arrhythmia aside, he felt lost in the conversation where actual love was involved. "Right. Slow it down. Of course I'd be the one to move too fast. So, dinner first." Bread turned on her heels and marched away, trying to get her blush under control with very limited success—she had contained it to just her face. Blue only barely extracted himself from the kitchen without blurting out a marriage proposal by the skin of his teeth. He was about to make his way out of the castle when a yawn caught him by surprise. He knew what he wanted, but he also needed help. It might be interrupting, but Blue was desperate and there was one pony who knew exactly what to do—or so he hoped. He marched through the castle and out the door into the evening, and made his way to the apartment nearby. Raising his hoof, Blue knocked softly on the door. Cadance stirred in the bed. Shining was aware of that because he was, at that moment, hugging his wife very tightly. Her movement, in fact, woke him up. "Cady?" "Somepony needs my help, Shiny." Shining tried to distract Cadance from getting out of bed. "They can find somepony else to—" "No they can't. This is a love thing." Cadance turned and kissed Shining before sliding out of their bed. The cool night air of Canterlot was being well excluded by both magic and the still-smoldering fireplace in the room, but still Cadance plucked up a pink, fluffy bathrobe and flung it over her as she walked down the steps to the front room. By the time she got the door open, she could see Blue Blood walking away—his head slung low. "Come inside." Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Shining watched as Blue walked into the house. Any and all attempts at being upset were thrown out the window as he saw how thin Blue looked—because it had all been done to protect Shining. He kept quiet and walked through the room and into the kitchen. Blue spilled the beans. He told Cadance—in a shaking voice—what Celestia had said to him, and the subsequent meeting in the kitchen. He laid out all his cards and slumped back into his seat just in time for Shining to float a cup of tea over to him. "Th-Thanks." "Don't mention it. Want me to make myself scarce?" Shining looked from Blue to Cadance. "It's up to you, Shiny, but you must remember that you did something right to marry the princess of love." Reminding herself and her husband about their marriage had become Cadance's new favorite thing. Well, her second-favorite. Kissing Shining was still something that made her hooves tingle. "Am I rushing? Am I crazy? I kept feeling like I was going to explode, implode, or just say something that offended her." It wasn't that he knew he sounded silly, it was that Blue knew that and still had to say it. "What do I do?" "How big a gesture do you want to make?" Shining asked, sitting on the couch beside Cadance—facing Blue. "Huge! But not too big. I want it to be lavish. But not overwhelming." "She's a chef, which means any meal you take her out for will be examined and disassembled then examined in minutiae by a refined palate—so going anywhere high-end is out of the question," Cadance said. About to freak out just a little more, Blue froze at the sudden grin on Cadance's face. "What? Anything! Just tell me what to do!" "I have the perfect plan," Cadance said. Bread Bowl's shift had been long—at least it felt so. A lot of ponies who were very active during the previous night's party had likewise been up later for a second night, and thus the kitchen had found itself busy. But the work had been satisfying for Bread—feeding ponies was her special talent, after all. She'd mixed up the dough for the morning bread, proofed it, and had set out all the kitchen's bread pans with the dough in them to rise one last time for the morning shift to take over and bake the whole batch. "Don't you think that's a bit much, Bread?" Gretchen was still stretching as she walked into the kitchen. Rolling one shoulder, then the other, then each of her wings. Behind her, her brigade were filing into the kitchen. Laughing, Bread shook her head. "How about a bet? If you use more loaves than normal, I get three days off." "And if we wind up wasting all the extras?" Pulling an apron on, Gretchen checked on a few of the proving loaves and almost cursed at how good they looked. "Then I'll make bread and butter pudding with any leftovers for you and your crew." Eyeing the nearly fifty-percent higher yield, Gretchen liked the odds. "Okay. Now will you tell me?" "There are a lot of ponies who only stopped partying about three hours ago. They are crashed all over the castle grounds and will probably need food in about four hours. There's porridge heating up and the bread should be cooked by then." Hanging up her apron, Bread smirked as she looked back at Gretchen. "See you tonight." Walking out of the kitchen, Bread Bowl felt safe in her bet. She was surprised, however, when a member of the Royal Guard stood in her way. "Excuse me, I just need to get—" "Chef Bread Bowl, I am to escort you to the Gallop." It wasn't often that Sure Fire got to really have some fun, but when two royals and the head of the Royal Guard gave you a mission, you got it done. "Please, follow me." Curiosity banished the tiredness Bread felt. She started trotting after Sure as he swiftly led the way down the halls of the castle and then out into the morning light. "Wait," she said, her brain catching up with what was said. "Gallop? Isn't that—?" "A restaurant above our pay, yeah. For that matter, I don't know of many ponies who could get a reservation there with less than a week's lead time—or so I've heard." Sure kept his pace mostly to a prancing trot so that Bread could keep up. "I didn't know they were open this early, either." Bread clamped her mouth shut. There were plenty more questions she had, but she doubted Sure could answer them. The restaurant turned out to be tiny. There was a dozen tables inside, and the only pony present was the maitre d'. "Please follow me, madam, you are expected at the chef's table." His mane combed back and expertly styled, Manières Parfaites directed their special guest through to the kitchen. It wasn't often the restaurant catered to a single guest—and it had never done so in this manner before—but extenuating circumstances were at play. "Please, take a seat here and your chef will explain the meal." "Are you sure I—?" Blue was nervous. He'd spent two hours practicing and had to perform perfectly now. Just one look into Cadance's eyes, however, made him shut up and move. Slim as he was at the moment, he easily navigated the kitchen and stopped at the table. "I-I hope miss has had a good day?" Bread's head shot up—past the chef's uniform—and she stared into Blue's eyes. "Wha—I mean. Uh. Yes. Things went well." "Perfect." Clearing his throat softly, Blue started to read off the meal he'd practiced under the watchful eyes of some of the best chefs in the city. "Your starter tonight is a pair of delicate crepes, each with a mushroom and spinach filling. Your main will be pumpkin risotto. And, for dessert, vanilla bean ice cream with delicate banana caramel topping." The two fancy dishes made Bread's mouth water, but the dessert was something that really made her smile. It sounded fancy, but she recognized it as what she'd made for him at the start of her shift. Her brain finally clicked as she realized he was standing there waiting. "Oh! Uh, that sounds wonderful. Thank you." Watching as Blue turned and walked over to the chef's line, Bread noticed there was two mares there in chef uniforms. At first, she expected them to take charge, but instead they ran around helping Blue to prepare her meal. That's when it hit her that he'd brought her to the fanciest, most exclusive restaurant in town—just to cook for her. Not sure what he'd expected from the pair, Blue was stunned to see Lyra and Sweetie working together to prep ingredients for him. He hadn't expected the two Guardponies to know their way around a kitchen, but neither seemed out of place. "Stop glancing at her. She knows you're working your butt off, Blue," Lyra said as she passed him a bowl of shredded spinach. "R-Right. I'm just so nervous. I've never really cooked this way before." Not that he hadn't cooked, but there was a difference between cooking oatcakes in rough country and cooking in a professional kitchen. Using his magic, he set the crepe pan onto the stove and poured a thin layer of batter onto it. "Just relax." Sweetie tossed some mushrooms into a pan and started sauteing them in butter. "Cooking comes from your heart, and from what Cadance said, you have plenty of that right now." Since midnight, Blue had made dozens of crepes. Every single one had been judged and found wanting in some way—until around two hours previous when his work had been judged acceptable. Then he'd moved onto risotto. But right now he flipped the crepe in his pan to reveal the slightest of color on it. "Thank you both for the help." "That's what we do, right?" Sweetie asked. "We help-out ponies in need, whether they're fillies and colts, strangers, or even princes and princesses?" Sighing, Blue turned with the pan to put the first crepe on the plate and started on the second. With the pan ripping hot now, the second would go faster than the first. When he got that cooked and turned, he set both crepes beside each other and used his magic to move just the right amount of filling to each and rolled them up. The last was a white sauce over the top. Cleaning around the plate with a cloth, Blue felt nervous as he carried the plate over to the chef's table. Bread was sitting there with a glass of white wine. She watched him approach and smiled up. "Your crepes, madam." The food smelled and looked great. Bread bit her lower lip in surprise and tried to pull her eyes from Blue to the plate of food. "Thank you." Spinning around before he blew it and made some huge emotional outburst, Blue marched back to the stove to find Lyra and Sweetie both grinning at him. "Okay, risotto next." "You've got this. We have the stock and extras here, you just need to start the rice off and cook at as they showed you." It wasn't often that Lyra got woken up at midnight to an excited Cadance at her door. She'd listened to the plan over coffee, then drank another coffee while she thought about it. A third coffee was needed while she explained things to Sweetie. "How many of these have you made so far?" Sweetie asked. "I lost count. I think I have the hang of it, though." A fresh pan, ladle in some stock, add rice. Blue felt surprisingly comfortable with this bit. There was an easy rule to follow that they'd drummed into him—don't let it get dry, but don't add more until the previous ladle of liquid was gone. Beside Blue, Sweetie sauteed the pumpkin for the risotto for him, keeping the timing just right for him to add it just as the rice was almost ready. "You want this now?" "Please. This last ladle will do the rice. I just need something to stop it cooking…" Blue fished for the sour cream and used a scoop of it in the risotto to stall the rice and stop it overcooking. Lyra smirked, noticing the way he spoke. "You're actually thinking about the why, not just following the instructions." "We'll make a cook of him yet," Sweetie said, adding the pumpkin to the risotto. "I think there's a mare over there that will call dibs on that, Bon Bon." Every word from the two made Blue blush a little more, but he'd done it. He seasoned the risotto, tasting it to ensure it was just the right amount, then served it in a bowl and carried it over. "That smells amazing." Watching Blue walk over and set the bowl down, Bread picked up her spoon and tried the rice. "Oh gosh, it tastes even better. When did you learn to cook this?" "Uh—" Blue marveled at Bread's ability to leave him tongue-tied. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. "Would you believe it was two hours ago?" Bread had to pause her eating a moment and look into Blue's eyes. His sincerity seemed evident, but she'd heard of him doing and saying many things, and if this stallion now was play-acting at all of them—he was the best liar she'd ever met. But, right now, she could see nothing insincere about him. "Well, you have a talent for cooking." Blue actually found himself blushing as he turned and raced back to his cooking station. "Okay, bananas." Lyra was already preparing the ice cream on two plates while Blue fumbled to find the bananas and get them cooking in his pan. She looked at him and grinned—he was so flustered that he failed to notice Sweetie was cooking the exact same dish beside him. When Blue turned with his pan to pour the sauce and banana over the ice cream, he was surprised to see Sweetie doing the same to a second one. "Err—?" "This is supposed to be a date, doofus. How is it a date if you never get a chance to talk to your beau?" Lyra sprinkled some chocolate dust over both dishes and looked significantly at Blue. "Go on. Take them over and sit down with her. We'll clean up your mess here." Sweetie didn't have an ounce of disdain for him, only a smile she found hard to put away. Even with just five hours sleep, she couldn't deny that this had been worth it. Manières approached Lyra and Sweetie, his face a careful study in smiling and yet not. "Madams are experienced?" He used his horn to help them cleaning, slipping up to the sink and scrubbing the dishes. "I worked with my mom in a dorm for Princess Celestia's school. Also helped out more often than not in the Guard. Now, with us running Princess Luna's school, somepony needs to cook for all the hungry bellies." Attending to the rinsing station, Sweetie got stuck in while behind her Lyra was gathering the pots and pans. "Did Princess Cadance get you into this too?" Manières asked. "She officiated at our wedding, and I did at hers. We're more partners in not-quite-crime." Sweetie looked at him. "What about you?" "She brings in half my customers. If she leaves Canterlot, just for a week, bookings go down." He looked at Sweetie. "It's true." Her face didn't change, but there wasn't much Manières could do about it. He shrugged. "Have you ever had a night when you haven't had enough bookings?" Sweetie asked. "Since my second month of being open, I have never had a week I didn't have enough bookings. You said you're in the Guard?" "E.U.P. Guard. We run Princess Luna's school for physical training, as well as work as instructors with new recruits. I used to be in the Monster Hunters, but situations changed and spending more time around Canterlot became a better idea." Sweetie sighed just a little for the path lost to her, but new futures have a way of opening up. Manières lifted his head and spotted Blue and Bread having finished their meals and just talking quietly over their empty plates. "Princess Cadance strikes again. Just you see, they'll be married within a year." "That's the plan," Lyra said. "When do we have to be out of here by?" "You could leave whenever you want. My chefs will be arriving soon enough to start mise en place. I could get a pot washer to finish this"—Manières grinned—"but I'll never turn down the chance to work with a pair of pretty mares." Sweetie groaned and shrugged it off, but Lyra felt a shock of surprise at the compliment. It had been some time since the point in her life she'd become a pony and a mare—and decided that was perfectly okay. Having a male (her mind didn't append another to the statement) call her pretty was just out of the ordinary. "Well, perhaps we should go? We have to take Scootaloo back to Ponyville. School starts today." "You have a little one?" It was easy for Lyra to forget his apparently covert ogling when thinking back to Scootaloo. "Yeah. Amazing little filly she is, but she needs to be back at school by nine." "Then go, both of you. The train leaves far too soon." Manières set about shooing the pair from his kitchen. Snapped from their conversation, Blue turned to see Lyra and Sweetie laughing and running from the restaurant. "We should probably go too. I think he needs to start getting ready for the day." "And, I need to sleep." Bread heaved a breath. She couldn't believe how hard she'd fallen for Blue in just one day. "When do you want to come and visit our winery?" "Next week?" Blue wanted to say tomorrow, but even in his current state he wouldn't push things that fast. "Or would you like to discuss it over breakfast?" Standing, Bread started toward the door. "Your breakfast or mine?" "Well, I'm not sure if you noticed, but I spent all night learning how to cook you dinner. It can be both our breakfasts." "You," Bread said on her way out of the restaurant, "are a very strange pony, Blue. I believe a week is a good time to wait to visit the winery, but I'd like to get to know you a little more before then—so breakfast it is." "Lyra, do you think they have a chance?" In the early morning light, Sweetie galloped through Canterlot with her wife at her side. There wasn't much else that could be as perfect for her as that moment, but still she felt the need to talk. "As good as anypony. Maybe better given Cadance's interest. She seemed pretty intent on getting them together." Without her armor on, Lyra both found running easier and odd. "We should have worn our armor." "In a kitchen like that? We'd have been laughed out. Or something. I know what you mean, though, it's a big part of me—us." Turning in perfect time with Lyra, Sweetie spotted the gates of the Guard grounds and aimed herself at them. "Bon Bon, when you wear that armor, I don't think anypony would dare laugh at you. I heard that you were accounting for yourself pretty good with Queen Chrysalis." Even at a gallop, Lyra matched herself to Sweetie so their shoulders and hips would lightly brush against the other's. "The second time I was. The first time I made the mistake of thinking I could ground her magic and tackle her. I guess watching her take out Princess Celestia should have tipped me off that was a bad idea." She slowed her pace as they arrived at the gate, coming down to a trot, walk, and finally returning the salute the two gate guards gave her. "I didn't even see it coming. Cadance seemed a little odd, and I was just about to say something silly when that damn green magic just pushed me aside and emptied my head." Lyra shivered a little at the memory. "Not something I'd recommend, you know. Hearing that Blue walked into that makes me respect him a lot more." "Hold up." Sweetie paused and gestured out to the pegasus training fields. Scootaloo was working through the hoof-to-hoof fighting routine. Kicks, swings, even a vault where she flashed out with the blades attached via a sheath to her forelegs. Every limb played a part, her wings as much a tool for movement as they were to putting an imagined opponent off-balance. "We didn't push her, did we?" Lyra asked. Sweetie reached her hoof out and poked at Lyra's shoulder. "You asked that before. My answer's the same—we didn't push her, but we did provide a positive example." "So I'm a good parent?" Grabbing Lyra around the neck, Sweetie pulled her wife into a hug that was just a tad on the tight side. "How often are we going to have these talks until you can just know that? You're a great mom for her." Finishing her routine, Scootaloo came out of her zone and noticed Lyra and Sweetie for the first time. "Hey! They said you both had to leave on top secret business early. I figured I'd just get some practice in where I won't freak anypony out or anything." "You know Rose Luck wasn't too upset. She was just concerned that you had weapons." Sweetie let go of Lyra and reached out to Scootaloo, who literally flew the remaining distance between them to get a hug. "Maybe we need to build a practice hall in Ponyville?" "That could tie into our plans, you know? The Network will need places where old-timers and new can gather. Why not one to pass on information and training to a new generation?" Lyra was annoyed that she hadn't thought of it before. "The Network? Is that the thing you're working on for Princess Celestia?" Scootaloo asked. "Yeah. You want the quick ride home, or do you want to fly back yourself?" Lyra asked. Adjusting her shoulders to give Sweetie a hug back, Scootaloo thought about it a moment. "Quick ride. I need to get ready for school."