Cherry Blossom merrily skipped down the road, content with the sales that she had this morning. She'd sold nearly half of her store's stock so far, much to the chagrin of Bonsai down the road. It usually wasn't easy to sell plants around these parts, but with the winter season finally leaving the last bits of Equestria, ponies were looking towards replanting their gardens and fields. In fact, one particularly large, red stallion came into her store today to buy up her entire stock of apple trees. She'd asked him to clarify and he repeated himself, telling her that his family back in Ponyville was looking to grow another field of trees. To say that she was excited would have been an understatement.
She couldn't wait to meet with Blue for lunch today. He would be sitting there waiting for her, like always, and she would run up and hug him before telling him the great news.
That was why when she approached their normal meet-up spot, she was surprised to see that Blue was nowhere to be found.
Cherry hummed to herself. Well, I'm sure he'll be here soon. Something probably came up at work. She sat down, patiently waiting for her husband.
She only waited for a couple of minutes before she spied him walking around the corner of the building to her right, making his way over to her. She saw him flinch a little when he saw her there waiting for him. "I'm sorry, dear. I got distracted on the way to work and it took a little longer than usual to finish up."
"It's alright, I didn't mind," she replied, noticing his attitude. She gave him a peck on his forehead to reassure him. "Though, if you don't mind me asking, what distracted you?"
"Well, I--" he started, but an idea slowly came to him, a grin growing on his face. "Maybe it would be best to show you over lunch." He walked off, leading a confused Cherry in his wake.
Whitemane was in his element, shifting between several stoves in a blur. He stopped hearing the sounds and voices in the shop about an hour ago, only keeping his attention on the food he was preparing and the little order slips that Muffin had managed to slide past him. This was the kind of environment he had spent his life in. Well, when he wasn't off doing the Queen's duties.
"--man--"
He always thought it was a little ironic, really. Changelings could taste food, but they didn't need to eat. As such, most changelings would avoid eating entirely unless it was absolutely necessary, like for keeping up their disguise during a dinner or some other event. Whitemane, however, enjoyed their tastes. It had become somewhat of a hobby to him, comparing the tastes of foods and emotions, trying to see if he could give the tastes of emotions physical forms for non-changelings to enjoy.
"Whi---ne.."
There was also the fact that everyone -- ponies, griffins, and even dragons -- seemed to react positively to a good meal. He was able to give them a meal and, in return, get one of his own. It was a win-win in his book. Now if only he could--
Wait, someone was calling his name. He broke out of his trance, a hot pan held in one wing and a spatula in the other. He slowly put them down on the counter before turning around and spying his new boss standing in the doorway.
"Finally, there ya are! I was worried that ya were gonna work ya'self to death!" Muffin's face looked a bit worried, but it was overridden by the large grin on his face. "Anywho, ya got some visitors."
"Visitors? Who would want-- oh, but I can't," Whitemane replied, "I have to finish these ord--"
"I can handle those, son," Muffin interrupted. "Ya deserve a bit of a break." He pointed out to the front of the shop. "'Sides, the lunch rush is dying down. I can take the last of 'em myself. Not like I haven't been doing that these past years already. Now, go on!" Muffin practically shoved him out of the kitchen, leaving him in the lobby before he returned back to the kitchen.
"But, who's visiting me..?" Whitemane started before spying two very familiar ponies, one of them waving him over. Realization dawned on him as he walked over to their table. "Hey Blue, hey Cherry. What are you both doing here?"
"We're having lunch," Blue spoke up.
"Oh." Well, that was a bit obvious. Why else would they be here? He mentally facehoofed.
"Plus," Blue continued, "I saw you working here when I passed by on my way to work."
Cherry gasped. "You got a job here? That's wonderful! This day just keeps getting better!"
Blue's eyebrow rose, questioning her. "Better? What do you mean, dear?"
"Oh," Cherry looked over to Blue, "I almost forgot to tell you. Some farmer from Ponyville came all the way out here to buy all of our apple trees! Every last one." She showed him the pile of bits from her sale.
Blue's eyes widened. "Wow..."
"Uhm, when you says trees..." Whitemane added in, making a point to extend his forehooves vertically. He tried to imagine how someone could hold multiple trees in a building, let alone sell them to someone to carry around.
"They're babies," Blue corrected, "like potted plants. You can just buy one and plant it yourself."
Cherry nodded. "I usually sell each one for about 20 bits each, 15 if they're buying in bulk. And he ended up buying my entire stock of 40." She put a hoof to her chin. "Hmm, I'll have to remember to get more."
Whitemane blinked. "Wow, that's a lot."
"Mhm! We'll have to put it to good use." She pocketed the bits before turning back to Whitemane. "But anyways, how did you get a job here so quickly? It's normally so busy in the morning that I'm surprised you managed to talk to him."
"Oh, well someone outside pointed out that he needed some help. So I just told him that I could. He was pretty quick to put me to work." He looked back over to the kitchen, seeing Muffin finish up the last few lunch orders. "Has he really been doing all this by himself?"
"Yup." Blue nodded. "He used to have a stallion named Carrot Cake helping out, but he went off and got married some years back. Last I heard, he and his wife opened up a bakery out in Ponyville." He leaned back. "With White Bread leaving town, too, he's pretty much been the only place to get some food."
Whitemane scratched his head. "There was only 2 restaurants in this entire town?"
"Well, no," Cherry pitched in, "there's a few more, but they're more for eating in. White Bread and Muffin's were the only places where ponies could grab a quick bite on the go."
"Muffin probably wouldn't have minded losing the competition," Blue added, "but he's had to keep up with the extra workload, too. He's had problems keeping up with it all. I'm glad to see he finally got some help."
Whitemane was too distracted to notice it before, but Muffin had made a complete change from this morning. When he first entered the shop, he'd noticed the chef exuding disappointment, anger, and just general bitterness. It left a bad taste in his mouth just remembering it. But now, it was like he was a fountain of happiness, spreading his infectious behavior to all of his patrons enjoying their lunch. Whitemane would be lying if he said he hadn't been enjoying some lunch of his own.
I think I'll like it here.