//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: The Sunstone Sorbet // Story: Lavender Café // by IzzyLovesYou //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Bag? Check. Braids? Check. Sunny was getting ready for her morning trip to the Café with Izzy. It was still a little strange to Sunny to be back in her home after staying at Hitch’s place for about a month. Not that Sunny was complaining though since the house was repaired really nicely. In fact, Sunny felt like the lighthouse was in the best shape it’s been in years! They even went and repainted some walls and redid some of the furniture! Izzy’s painting was just the icing on the cake as it hung up next to the bean bag chair in the living room. Heading down the elevator, Sunny took a moment to open up the curtains near where all of her dad’s old stuff lay. Looking out the window, Sunny could see the waves on the ocean and the birds flying over. It was a sight she loved to see every morning. Taking a deep breath to take in the fresh air, Sunny turned around and headed towards the doorway. Sunny had a breakfast meeting to attend. Triple checking to make sure she had everything she needed, Sunny headed out the door, not before opening it back up to tilt the half-broken picture frame of her and her dad. Typically, Sunny would rollerskate down to the town, but for the past few days, she had a different routine. Sunny walked down the path to the split in the road where she saw Izzy chasing around a butterfly. Sunny couldn’t help but giggle a little bit watching Izzy get distracted so easily. As Sunny walked up, Izzy’s attentioned snapped to her. “Hey Sunny! Are you ready to head down to the Café?” Sunny thought for a moment before bringing up a new idea to Izzy. “Sure, but first I kinda wanna head down to the smoothie cart. I was thinking of trying out a new smoothie recipe. Would you like to come try it with me?” “Sure thing! I love trying out new recipes! Alphabittle sometimes lets me try out his new menu options before he starts serving them. I don’t know why he does it, but I don’t mind!” Izzy replied with a grin. With the decision made, Sunny and Izzy started walking down to the entrance to Maretime Bay. While they walked down, Sunny watched as Izzy stopped to look at the scenery around them. Izzy would occasionally stop to get a good look at flowers and rocks, chase some butterflies, and look in the trees and bushes. Sunny didn’t mind though since she didn’t have anywhere to be today. Izzy had told Sunny about how she loves to look at nature because it inspires her art, and Sunny didn’t wanna take that from her. Sunny took the time to just focus on her thoughts while Izzy took in the views around them. It was nice to finally be free of all the harmful feelings towards unicorns and pegasi. Now she could walk down the road with Izzy and no one would bat an eye, when only a few months ago ponies would be screaming and panicking at the mere mention of a Unicorn. She finally broke through to everypony, and now things were better than ever before! Sunny couldn’t help but appreciate Izzy. If it wasn’t for her arrival in Maretime Bay, none of this would’ve ever happened. Now Izzy was taking time out of her morning to have breakfast with her. It’s everything Young Sunny would’ve ever dreamed of! “Hey Sunny, we’re almost to town! Are you there?” Izzy asked, snapping Sunny out of her thoughts. “Yeah, I’m here. I was just… thinking. Anyways, I’ll show you the way to the smoothie cart.” Sunny replied, slightly embarrassed about getting lost in thought. As the pair entered Maretime Bay, Sunny and Izzy made their way to the smoothie cart. Sunny’s boss hadn’t set up shop yet, so she had to spend a few minutes setting up the cart. Once she was done though, Sunny took out her journal from her bag to look at her notes for her new “Unicorn Sorbet'' smoothie. Turning on the machines, she got to work making two cups of the drink for her and Izzy to try. Sunny grabbed the ingredients and put them into the machine. Turning the dials, Sunny adjusted the settings for the drinks. Grabbing some cups, Sunny poured the mixture in, added some whipped cream, and topped them with a lid and one straw each. After checking to make sure they looked right, Sunny turned to Izzy who was leaning over the counter watching as Sunny prepared the drinks. “They’re done Izz!” Sunny exclaimed as she set the drinks on the counter. “They look so good!” Izzy said while staring at the drinks in awe. Izzy sniffed at the drinks. “They smell great too!” “Now that we have the drinks, let’s head over to the café to get some food.” Sunny replied while partially setting up shop. Izzy waited for Sunny to finish setting up shop before the pair started trotting down to the Café, with two new smoothies in tow. Since they had their smoothies, Sunny and Izzy settled for just ordering food. Sunny went with her usual Sandwich while Izzy went with a Muffin and a Bagel. Since it was just the pair, they went to a smaller table for two. Izzy went to get the order while Sunny sat at the table looking out the window. She could see the ocean from here, and it looked just as beautiful as it did earlier in the morning. Sunny was mesmerized watching the waves of the ocean swish around that she barely noticed Izzy’s return with their food. “Here you go Sunny!” Izzy said as she levitated Sunny’s order down in front of her. Hearing Izzy, Sunny turned to look at her. “Thanks Izz! Now that we have our food, would you like to try out the smoothies?” Sitting down, Izzy gave a reply. “Yeah, we can do that!” Sunny and Izzy grabbed their smoothies and decided to do a countdown so they could both try it at the same time. “Three, Two, One, go!” Both mares took a big sip of the smoothie. Sunny had tried the recipe a few times before, but it never really tasted right, but today it actually tasted pretty good! Sunny glanced over to Izzy to see how she felt about the drink. Licking her lips, Izzy gave Sunny a smile. “It tastes great Sunny! Thank you!” Sunny was relieved that Izzy liked her Unicorn Sorbet. She’d been working on the recipe for months, and now that Unicorns weren’t banned from Maretime Bay, she was able to start making them for real. Sunny still felt like there could be a little improvement to her drink though, so she decided to ask Izzy if she had any suggestions. “So Izzy, do you have any ideas on how I could make the smoothie a little better? Sunny watched as Izzy thought for a moment. “Well… It was a little bit… How do I put it? Sour? No… Well, what I’m trying to say is that I think you could add a little more Sugar to it to make it taste a little bit sweeter. I’m thinking that adding some more sugar could make it taste a little more like Cotton Candy.” Izzy said with a thoughtful look on her face. Sunny pulled out her journal and put down a note. Make it sweeter. Add more Sugar. Like Cotton Candy. Looking towards Izzy, Sunny asked if there was anything else she felt needed some changes. “Nope, I think that’s all! Either way, this is still really good!” Izzy chirped with a smile. Locking her journal back up, Sunny put it in her bag and continued to drink her smoothie with Izzy. Now that she had feedback from Izzy, she could focus on the flavor of the drink. She could see why Izzy was thinking of cotton candy. It tasted almost like it! It could definitely use a little more sugar to really bring out the flavor though. Finishing up her smoothie, Sunny turned to chat with Izzy. “So Izzy, do you have any crystals to show me today?” Sunny asked with a smile. “Oh! I have a special one for you today!” Izzy replied while digging through her mane. A moment later, Izzy pulled out a round Orange and White Crystal. After she got it out of her hair, the mare proceeded to levitate the rock into Sunny’s hooves. “This one is a Sunstone! I got it for you because it reminds me of you! I mean, there’s obviously the name resemblance, but when I was young I read about it in a book about crystals! In the book it said that Sunstones were a symbol of leadership and openness! Those bearing the stone would be open and benevolent and they would have a good nature and enjoyment of life!” Izzy explained. As Izzy explained the meaning of the Sunstone, Sunny couldn’t help but appreciate the kind words Izzy was giving to her. Her, a leader? Izzy was being too kind surely! “Thank you Izzy! That’s so thoughtful of you! I love it!” Setting the stone down and getting out of her chair, Sunny trotted over to Izzy and gave her a big hug. Sunny really appreciated all of the gifts Izzy has given her. Sure, they were usually crystals, but it’s the thought that counted, and Izzy put a lot of thought into her gifts. How strange it was to be sitting here hugging a Unicorn when only a few months ago she would’ve been working on a plan to try and unite all the pony races. None of it would’ve been possible without Izzy’s help. The only reason Sunny was able to reunite everyone was because of Izzy’s visit to Maretime Bay. Before breaking their hug, Sunny wanted to thank Izzy for all she’s done. Sunny pulled away from Izzy slightly, still holding their hug. “Hey Izzy? I just wanted to say thank you for coming to Maretime Bay. It’s really changed my life.” Sunny said while looking Izzy in the eyes. Izzy looked back at her. “It’s really no problem! Thank you for being here Sunny.” Breaking the hug, Sunny went back to her seat and sat back down. Picking up the Sunstone and setting it in her bag, Sunny smiled and turned to give a glance at Izzy while she was distracted by her Muffin. After a moment, Sunny looked back at her own plate, her Sandwich still fully intact. Pulling her thoughts away from Izzy, Sunny got to work on finishing her breakfast. Her sandwich wasn’t going to eat itself.