The two ponies exited the shop and stepped into the street, their hooves clopping smartly on the smooth paving stones beneath them. Octavia took several steps away down the avenue, clearly intent on starting the journey to whatever restaurant she had in mind. Rarity, however, stopped short and turned back towards her shop, her horn lighting up brightly as she brought her magic to bear on the lock that stood boldly out on the door. This was Canterlot, after all, and there were enough unsavory types in the big city that the unicorn felt she would be a fool not to lock up; however, as her racing heart pounded against her chest, she knew that this pause was for more than the security of her belongings.
As Rarity’s magic levitated the key out of her saddlebags, she took a deep, steadying breath. As she had done countless times before in her life, she let the air flow into her, absorbing her fears, her worries, and her uncertainties as it filled her lungs to the brim. She held that breath for a heart beat or so before letting it out slowly, allowing it to take her negative feelings and emotions with it. The cleansing breath was something she had used ever since she had first gotten involved in the fashion industry and it was something that she considered invaluable in her daily life. As the last air left her lips, she could already feel the anxiety that had filled her beginning to calm. She allowed her lungs to empty completely before taking another deep breath slowly in then slowly and quietly let it out. Her pounding heart paused in its frantic beating for a fraction of a second before resuming its pumping at a slightly more reasonable pace. Her emotions cooled rapidly and came under her control, giving Rarity the moment she needed to firmly get a hold of herself. By the time she inhaled the third in the series of cleansing breaths her heart had fallen to a much less frantic cadence and she was well and truly in control of her thoughts once more.
Rarity’s ability to calm herself in an intense or surprising situation was not something that she had been born with, to be certain. In fact, it was something that she’d had to work on for many years to perfect and often times that perfecting was done in stressful, awful situations that she would have preferred not to be involved in. However, it was that skill above all others in her considerable repertoire of abilities that made her a true professional. And I will traipse around Canterlot in a teal and crimson polyester jumpsuit before I let my professionalism come into question!
The lock clicked smartly in the door and with one last deep, even breath Rarity pulled the key out of the door, tucked it back into her thin saddlebag, and turned around, her eyes intent on searching the street for Octavia, who had most certainly gotten a good deal ahead of her in the time it had taken to lock the shop. To her surprise, however, Octavia was standing several paces away from the unicorn, her right front leg pulled up to her chest as if she had stopped mid-step and simply frozen there as Rarity had locked her door. Rarity blinked at her in surprise before giving her a smile and a wave of her hoof.
“Oh by all means, darling, lead on!” she said lightly as she turned on her hooves and started towards the other mare. “I promise you won’t lose me along the way – I know the city well enough not to get lost!”
Octavia hesitated for a moment as Rarity approached, as if that was exactly what she was worried about, and as the unicorn drew abreast of her the earth pony’s eyes flashed over Rarity from mane to hooves once, her expression unreadable. The unicorn felt her eyebrows arch before she could stop them, but before she could ask her if everything was all right the other mare turned and started off down the street at a brisk pace, her long tail swishing back and forth as she moved away from the unicorn. Rarity found her steps slowing as her eyes narrowed on the mare’s back.
Did she just..? It wasn’t the first time that Rarity had been the target of unique glances, but that particular look had been different, somehow. Oh, stop with this nonsense, Rarity! She chastised herself as she forced her hooves to continue following Octavia. I swear you truly can see the deepest ocean in the shallowest of pools and more often than not you dive in and hurt yourself! The unicorn shook her head and tried to pry her mind off of the cryptic expression the other mare had been wearing. You shouldn’t be worrying about stray glances you should be worrying about how you’re going to handle this situation!
Rarity hastened her steps until she caught up with Octavia, her hooves clicking smartly on the cobblestones as she matched her stride to her client’s. This is not a regular outing, she reminded herself. This is a fact-finding mission and you mustn’t lose sight of your goal! Her lips curved into a tight, determined smile as the image of the stack of papers that held her questions flashed through her mind. I shan’t lose my head this evening and, on my honor, I shall have my questions answered!
The unicorn quickly lost herself in her thoughts as the two ponies turned from the small side street on which Rarity’s shop lay and onto one of the larger thoroughfares through Canterlot, a wide, welcoming avenue divided down the middle by perfectly spaced, artfully trimmed trees. The street itself was beautiful beyond anything the rest of Equestria could present: it was lined on either side by the classical stone architecture that the city was all but revered for and because this particular section of the street was the market district every building had a unique, tasteful storefront that seemed to exude a warmth and grace that made a pony feel at home even if they were from the other side of the world. Each shop window was filled with nick-knacks and products, all arranged as meticulously as an exhibit at the Canterlot Museum of Art, and a pony could easily lose herself for an entire day wandering from window to window trying to decipher the meaning of each display as one would attempt to decode a classical painting.
But as beautiful as the street was, that evening the show was stolen by the sunset. The street ran through Canterlot in an east-west line and as Princess Celestia slowly but surely drew the sun to rest its last golden rays poured into it like water pouring through an aqueduct. Every inch of cool stone blazed to life, seeming to glow of their own accord as the warm light painted walls, windows, and even the trees with dancing shades of yellow and orange. Many ponies who were out simply stopped in their tracks, their errands forgotten and their chores discarded as less important than the simple beauty of the sunset – for the chores and errands would still be there if left unfinished, but this sunset was something that nopony would see ever again.
Unfortunately for Rarity, she was so involved with her own planning and reviewing that she didn’t bother to notice the blazing street paved in golden sunlight. Her eyes stared ahead as she looked inward, quickly and concisely categorizing her questions in such determined fashion that she didn’t notice how the brilliant sunlight caught her snowy coat, causing her to appear as if she were an ancient pony idol cast out of purest gold… and she certainly didn’t notice the wide-eyed glances that Octavia directed at her as she walked.
After a few short minutes of walking, the two mares came to a large intersection where another sizeable avenue crossed the one that they were currently on. Octavia turned and took the lead once more, crossing to her right and heading north along the smaller street. Rarity turned with her, though her introspection was intense enough that she didn’t quite realize what was happening until the pair had passed into the long shadows of the new street. As the warmth of the sun was replaced by the cool touch of the shadows of the buildings to her left, Rarity blinked rapidly and cast her eyes around the street, her heart skipping a beat as she realized that they weren’t on the same thoroughfare that they had been. She inhaled sharply as her mind struggled to store away the newly-filtered questions and identify her surroundings all at the same time, but after only a few moments of scrutiny the unicorn smiled. Oh, I know this street, she thought as they continued walking, their hooves clopping rhythmically along the stones. This is the street with the restaurant that Fleur likes so much!
In fact, it was the street with the most restaurants per capita of any street in Canterlot: High Street, home of the most delectable dishes and the most scrumptious desserts in the whole capital. It didn’t matter what you were hungry for – if it existed, you could find it here and, if for some reason you couldn’t find it here, you could more than likely find somepony who was willing to make it for you. High Street was a place where culinary dreams came true and was the most incredibly varied strip of eateries found anywhere in Equestria. Neighponese, Prench, Equestrian and every cuisine in between could be found here and some restaurants even served some rare dishes from Zebrica and Cervidas that more adventurous ponies could try. Rarity’s eyes widened as they walked past the Prench restaurant that happened to be Fleur’s favorite, La Cuillère d’Argent. The other unicorn had taken Rarity there the night she’d opened up her shop and as the pair passed by Rarity could all but taste the potage aux legumes she had ordered that night. There were no windows on the outside but Rarity knew that it was as beautiful inside as its food was delicious and found she was disappointed as Octavia led her onwards down the street. I’ll have to find a good occasion to come back here with Fleur, she thought with a small pout as she glanced over her shoulder. It was superb…
The restaurants along the street slowly slid past Rarity as the pair walked, the façades of each as unique as the smells wafting out of their doors and windows, smells that teased Rarity’s nose and made her stomach growl in a most unladylike fashion. The unicorn winced as a particularly loud growl made Octavia’s ear twitch in her direction. Oh don’t do this to me, stomach, she demanded silently. I will not be made a fool of by you! She clenched her jaw and set her face into a stoic frown, but that of course did nothing to cease the lamenting of her hungry belly which seemed to only grow louder with each passing moment. Just when she didn’t think that she could take walking in the delicious smelling air any longer, Octavia stopped in front of one of the last restaurants on the street and turned to give Rarity a very slight smile.
“Here we are,” she said simply. Rarity glanced up at the restaurant before them and felt her eyes widen in curiosity. Before her stood a large building with almost no identifying marks on the outside whatsoever, let alone anything that would signify it as a place to eat. It was very sleek and very clean with polished wood so dark it appeared black, holding several large windows across the façade, all dark except for two paper lanterns at the corners of each. Like several of the other restaurants along the street, it had no view to the inside to give the unicorn a hint of what kind of theme it held or what kind of food it served, but as her gaze swept the building she noticed something that gave her pause. There was a small sign next to the door, a sign holding a series of intricate white lines, three to be exact, one atop the other as if they had been stacked. Rarity frowned at the sign and its lines, her mind whirling with every ounce of information available to her until finally something clicked. I know this writing… it’s Neighponese! And I… have absolutely no idea what it says! She glanced at Octavia and gave her a curious smile.
“So… what kind of a place is it? I know I haven’t eaten here before…”
Instead of answering, Octavia moved past her towards the door and pushed it open with a hoof, gesturing for Rarity to follow her. The unicorn arched an eyebrow at her, but the only response Rarity received from the earth pony was that infuriatingly vague quirk of her lips that she seemed to be incredibly fond of giving others when she didn’t want to actually answer their questions. With an inaudible sigh Rarity steeled herself and walked through the door.
Her sigh turned to a gasp as she entered the building because once she was inside she felt as if she had walked through a portal into another world – a chic, stylish world of clean lines and defined colors that made Rarity’s designer senses squeal with joy. The two mares entered the building into a small space with a rug that took up a good portion of the floor. Beyond the rug was a raised hallway with beautiful polished golden wood for the floor and walls made of the same immaculately polished wood as the outside of the building which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a dark red-brown instead of black as she had first thought it to be. Rarity’s eyes were wide as she raised her hoof to advance into the hall, but before she could set her hoof onto the golden wood Octavia cleared her throat sharply. The unicorn flinched and turned her eyes back to Octavia, who pressed her lips together and arched an eyebrow.
“You really haven’t eaten here before,” she said quietly. She stepped onto the rug and wiped her hooves thoroughly, one at a time, before she stepped up onto the wooden floor. “It’s a Neighponese custom,” she explained as Rarity repeated the wiping process. “If we were visiting the home of someone in Neighpon there would be slippers for us to wear throughout the home. Here, a thorough wiping will do.”
“How unusual,” Rarity said softly as she stepped up onto the floor of the hall. “Though, I will certainly be the first to say that I am not familiar with the traditions of every country in our world.” She gave her companion a smile and a shrug, and Octavia’s smile grew minutely wider.
“Neighpon is a country full of custom, tradition, and etiquette,” she confided as the two mares turned and walked towards the end of the hall. “It is all but impossible for somepony not born there to understand and follow every one of their customs, but they are polite enough that you would never know if you were offending them.” Her words were careful and even as they had been all night, but as Rarity glanced at her companion she noted that her smile slipped just slightly as she spoke. “You’d never even know…” Octavia murmured, almost to herself.
The unicorn frowned at Octavia and opened her mouth to ask her what exactly she meant, but before she could do so the pair arrived at the end of the hallway and her words were stifled by a gasp. The whole restaurant unfolded before them: a single large room with brilliant white walls and low black tables that sat in neat rows. Along the walls Rarity could see many hangings all done in stark black ink across snow-white paper depicting scenes ranging from landscapes to portraits to what looked to be simply writing across the banners. The dark wood from before climbed the walls, accenting the door frames and sliding across the ceiling as beams that broke it into equal, symmetrical sections. The same wood from the hall covered the floor, but around each of the twenty-four low black tables there were small mats instead of chairs. At several of the tables sat a few pairs of ponies, each holding low conversations with each other as soft, hauntingly beautiful music drifted across the room from an unseen source. Rarity’s eyes widened as she took in the gently lit room and she opened her mouth to allow the torrent of questions she now had inside her to flow out, but before she could speak a rich voice filled the silence.
“Konbanwa, Miss Octavia. It is a pleasure to see you again so soon.” A beautiful silver earth pony mare with a mane so blue it was all but black approached the pair, her dark eyes sweeping first Octavia then Rarity with the quick, measured strokes of a professional. She wore nothing to identify herself as a waitress or server or anything, but that didn’t seem to bother Octavia in the slightest, she merely inclined her head to the silver mare ever so slightly, her mane bobbing once as she did so. The newcomer returned the nod, her blue-black mane shimmering as it slid around her shoulders with the motion. “Shall we prepare your usual table, Miss Octavia?” asked the mare as she straightened her neck, her words as delicate and precisely placed as if they were glass figurines. Rarity’s ears twitched as the mare continued. “Or would you perhaps like us to prepare a private table for you and your friend?”
“A private table will not be necessary, Silver Blossom,” Octavia replied politely, though Rarity could have sworn that she heard a bit of a hurried catch in her words as she had voiced her denial. How interesting… “My usual table will do,” continued Octavia with a small smile. “Provided nopony else is seated there, of course.”
Silver Blossom quirked an eyebrow at Rarity’s companion, but when she spoke her voice was measured and calm. “Of course, Octavia,” she said with another slight bow of her head. “It would be most impolite of me to suggest I provide you with your usual table when it was already taken.” She turned away from the two mares and out of the corner of her eye Rarity saw Octavia wince. “Please, this way,” Silver Blossom said, her voice light and polite as she led the way into the restaurant. Octavia let out a sigh before nodding to Rarity with a smile and following Silver Blossom with a flick of her tail and Rarity couldn’t help but narrow her eyes at her companion. I feel as if I’ve missed something, she thought. I really don’t enjoy feeling as if I’ve missed something. She gave her head a shake and followed Octavia’s gray form deeper into the restaurant.
The trio wove through the rows of tables to the far side of the room where a table sat almost against the wall. Silver Blossom stopped next to the table and bowed as she gestured with a hoof, indicating that the two mares should take their seats. Octavia moved around the low table and sat on the mat closest to the wall, and after a moment Rarity moved to take the mat directly across from her.
“Your waitress will be along momentarily,” Silver Blossom said. “Please, enjoy your meal.” Octavia inclined her head deeply towards the other mare.
“Arigato, Silver Blossom,” she replied. “You are a credit to the White Lily and her staff.”
Rarity’s ear twitched violently and she felt a thrill of excitement run through her chest as Octavia spoke. Something about Silver Blossom’s voice had seemed tantalizingly familiar to the unicorn, but it hadn’t been until Octavia had spoken Neighponese that it had hit Rarity square in the face: the way the two mares spoke was all but identical! The same syntax, the same hesitations, the same soft way they said their ‘r’ sounds… it was practically the same. Of course… why didn’t I hear that before?! Silver Blossom watched Octavia for a moment, and Rarity could feel the tension between the two ponies rise as the silence stretched longer and longer. Finally her façade cracked and she gave Octavia a warm smile.
“You are too kind.” She bowed once more, the midnight curtain of her mane hiding her face from view. “Arigato gozaimasu, Octavia-san. I truly hope that both of you enjoy your meal.” Silver Blossom straightened and turned away, her silver coat shimmering in the soft lighting as she moved back towards the front of the restaurant. Rarity watched her go and as soon as she was out of earshot she rounded on Octavia with a jerk.
“And what was that all about?” she asked, her voice low. Octavia arched an eyebrow and looked genuinely puzzled.
“What was what all about?”
“That whole thing that just happened!” Rarity said, gesturing broadly with a hoof. “All that tension and Neighponese and… did she call you Octavia Sun? Is that some kind of last name?” The earth pony stared at her for several seconds, then let out a small sigh and pressed her hoof to her forehead like she was slowly getting a headache.
“That was just some Neighponese etiquette,” she said softly. “I told you that it’s all but impossible for non-natives to grasp every shred of their manners without missing some here and there… that’s all that was.” Her lips quirked upwards at the corners and she let out a soft chuckle as she put her hoof back to the table. “And no, it was not Octavia Sun, it was Octavia-san. It’s merely an honorific, like miss or mister before a name here in Equestria.” She shrugged. “I’ve been coming here long enough that much of the staff calls me that, as opposed to Miss Octavia.”
“I see…” Rarity gave Octavia a smile, but behind it she was frantically storing away this new information about her mysterious client. She’s not telling me everything, she thought, and she knew it was true – Octavia had definitely been put on guard by the mare at the door and Rarity knew that she would now have to work even harder to get the answers she wanted. She let out a small sigh. “Well, I suppose I should be grateful that you seem to have a positive reputation, at least,” she said, arching an eyebrow. The earth pony across from her returned her arched eyebrow as Rarity reached for one of the menus left on the table.
“Ah, yes… positive. No harm in you believing that for a while yet.” Rarity paused half-way to the menu, her eyes widening as she looked at Octavia, but the gray earth pony simply grabbed the other menu in her hooves and opened it, her expression carefully neutral. The unicorn’s eyes narrowed as she pulled the other menu towards her, sliding it off the edge of the smooth table and into her waiting hooves. In the center of the otherwise blank black cover was a single, beautifully stylized lily blossom with the same Neighponese words she had seen out front placed vertically down the left side of the menu. Octavia called this place The White Lily… so I’d assume that’s what these words mean. She chuckled softly to herself. Of course, they could say something dreadfully insulting and I would have no idea. She felt a flash of panic in her chest as it occurred to her that the whole menu may be in Neighponese, but as she flipped the cover open she was happy to see that it was all done in perfectly legible Equestrian. She let out a sigh of relief and began to peruse her options for dinner. For several minutes she read the words over and over again, trying to figure out exactly what the strange names meant. These are more confusing than the code on my notes, she reflected sadly. She had just resolved to simply order something with confidence and eat whatever arrived when Octavia cleared her throat softly.
“Have you ever eaten at a Neighponese restaurant before, Rarity?” Rarity glanced over the top of her menu at the earth pony who sat with her hooves neatly crossed atop her own closed menu. Normally, the insinuation that she could not handle herself in a new social environment would have irked Rarity into an angry, defensive mindset that could have destroyed any hope of this being a pleasant evening; however, there was something about Octavia’s tonality when she’d asked her question that stopped Rarity’s knee-jerk reaction. She had not accused Rarity of not knowing what she was doing, nor had she interjected her assistance without asking first – she had simply offered Rarity an opportunity to seek guidance in a gentle, unassuming fashion that many ponies in Canterlot seemed to have forgotten. The unicorn met her gaze evenly from across the table for a long moment, silently warring within herself until finally she let a sigh slip from between her lips.
“…no, I’m afraid I have not,” she admitted, her shoulders slumping as she let her menu fall to the table. “And truthfully, I have no idea what any of this food is. That, of course, makes it quite hard to order anything.” The admission tasted strange upon her tongue, like a flavor of candy that she hadn’t tasted in years, but at the same time it felt natural. How strange… she thought. As she watched Octavia smile, visions of her friends flickered past her eyes and suddenly she felt a wave of ease and comfort wash over her. She felt her shoulders relax and the tension in her neck ease and even though she couldn’t see it she knew that her smile had warmed a few degrees. Across from her Octavia’s eyes widened minutely and it took her a moment to find her voice.
“Well, I would be happy to order something for us, if you’d like,” Octavia suggested, her voice soft as her words hurried out of her mouth. “I’ve been coming here for quite some time, so I know what kinds of things would be good for a pony new to the tastes of Neighpon to try… how does that sound?” She looked down at the table and straightened her menu, her ears twitching like a cat’s in Rarity’s direction.
“I think that sounds wonderful,” Rarity said with a broad smile, shutting her menu with a snap. “I daresay you’ll do a better job than I would if I tried!”
Octavia’s eyes flashed to Rarity and went wide enough that the unicorn feared for a moment that they may pop out of her head. The moment quickly passed, however, and Octavia’s look of shock melted into one of relief. She gave Rarity a slow, deliberate nod before raising her hoof to get the attention of the waitress who had been standing off to one side, awaiting her signal. Octavia ordered quickly and concisely, as if she had known what she would order for the two of them the whole time Rarity had been staring blankly at her menu. The waitress thanked Octavia and bustled away, leaving the two mares to wait. The unicorn felt a smile curve her lips. But we will NOT wait in silence, not if I have anything to say about it!
“I’m afraid I don’t know much about Neighpon,” Rarity said idly as she ran her hoof around the edge of the small cup of water that their waitress had brought. She looked to Octavia and smiled. “You seem to know quite a bit about the country… perhaps you could tell me a little about it while we wait?” Octavia blinked at her as if she couldn’t decide whether or not Rarity was joking, but the unicorn simply raised her eyebrows and smiled winningly. “What better way to pass the time?”
Octavia’s lips slowly curved into a smile, and she gestured with her cup. “I can’t think of a better one. Though, you may be sorry you asked.”
“Nonsense, darling!” said Rarity with a wave of her hoof. “I never ask questions that I don’t wish to know the answer to.” And besides, she thought as she raised her cup to Octavia, this will give me the perfect lead-in to asking her the questions I want. It’s absolutely perfect. I’ve got her right where I want her- nothing can ruin this!