Soul stood up straight. “We have a deal.”
A wide smile erupted on Mineral’s lips. “Perfect! We’ve burnt through too much time already just talking, so let’s get to work.” She turned to look at the stage where just one pony was trying to hang a big white screen. “First of all, Noble would be helpful with that white screen. Soul can help me with this banner. ”
Noble brought the side of his hoof to his forehead before bringing it forward and down, trotting over to the screen. “I’m on it!”
Mineral nodded back to him and then turned her attention back to Soul, lifting up the two corners of the banner as she grabbed a stapler with her magic “Come on, sis. Let’s get this banner in its place.”
“Gotcha.” Soul lifted the other side of the banner and placed it on the edge of the stage, holding it there while Mineral started stapling it.
“Soooo is there any specific food you are looking for or are you just hanging around?” Mineral asked with her eyebrow raised as she stepped off the stage to see where she was stapling.
Soul glanced away from her at the court. “Pretty much just hanging around with Noble. Though I’ve been planning to go to this one sushi place and taste their uramaki.”
Mineral immediately scrunched her muzzle but quickly though trying to save herself gave off a forced laugh. “With all due respect;”- she pushed her tongue out and coughed in disgust - “Ew!”
Soul sat down and threw his forelegs on his sides and laughed, though not letting go of the banner with his magic. “What? Sushi is good!”
Mineral added the last rivet and climbed onto the stage while shaking her head. “Nope, can’t agree with that, sis. I once tasted it when I was a filly and it was just… ew,” she groaned and pushed her tongue out in disgusts while cold shivers ran through her body when she thought about it.
Soul climbed after Mineral and stood up straight like a general, bumping his hoof against his chest. “You must accept the sushi into your heart!” he spoke with a deep voice.
“Sorry, but I have to side with Mineral on this one,” Noble stated who had overheard their conversation while climbing up the ladder further away from the duo on the stage.
Soul let out a light, joking groan and puffed out his other cheek, rolling his eyes. “Aaaaaand touche.”
“All I must do is to make this event perfection,” Mineral chanted with a chuckle and headed behind the stage, Soul following her there.
“Perfection is a subjective idea,” Soul stated with a grin and an eyebrow raised.
Mineral jokingly rolled her eyes. “No, perfection is when something is literally perfect.” She hopped off the stage in the middle of all kinds of equipment. “Next we need speakers and lights. And fast, time is running out.”
Mineral walked over to the two speakers not far away, motioning for Soul to come help her. Quickly and securely, the stage started to become whole and began looking like an actual stage. Two big speakers on each side, two lights above, the big white screen and of course a microphone. Everything was finally looking good, and it was just in time, since ponies who were supposed to give speeches and presentation for their restaurants started gathering around the stage.
Even though everything was as ready as they could be, Mineral was still trying to make it even ‘better’. She was running back and forth between the speakers, changing the angles constantly.
The group started to grow impatient, till one of the ponies spoke up, “Excuse me miss, but could we start already? The presentations should’ve started minutes ago.”
“Yes, yes. Just a second.” Mineral squinted her eyes and rotated the speaker barely one degree. She then quickly ran further from the stage and started tapping her chin, a big smile forming on her face after a brief moment. “There! Now it’s finally perfect!”
“So can we finally start already?” one of the ponies among the performers groaned while shaking his head.
“I’m sorry for the delay, sir. We’ve been very understaffed today,” Mineral responded lowering the tone of her voice while giving a little curtsey. She then turned to look at the mare with a pink mane in the crowd of the performers. “We can start as soon as the host is ready.”
The pink maned mare braced up and put a hoof on her chest, holding her head high. “Just give me a word.”
“Perfect! Hey, Neon Lights!” Mineral turned to look at the stallion behind the stage, who was taking pictures of himself. “Is everything ready to go on your end?”
Neon Lights only gave Mineral a split-second glance. “Ready, is my middle name, sugar,” he said while swiping his mane as he put on a big grin, snapping a few more pictures.
“I’m never gonna work with that guy again…” Mineral murmured to herself. She huffed and took a deep breath. She cleared her throat and walked over to the host of the presentation. “Alright, miss. You can get up on the stage. Give them a grand opening,” she cheered with a wink.
The host simply nodded with a confident smile and walked up to the stage. The mare walked over to the microphone, tapped it and cleared her throat, beginning with welcoming everypony to the mall and the event.
Mineral was nodding, pleased at how well the stage actually came out. Her attention was snatched away from the stage as she saw Soul and Noble approaching from behind it. She trotted over to the duo, sitting down and clapping her hooves together. “Guys! You sure deserve my gratitude for this!”
Soul sat on the bench nearby and raised his hoof. “Don’t mention it. I never pass up a free meal,” he stated and let out a little chuckle. “But seriously, it was nice.”
“Glad to hear that. If it weren’t for you, Neon and I still wouldn’t even have gotten the walls up,” Mineral chimed and turned to look at a clock on the wall. “Well, after this opening, it’s going to be fifty minutes of managers talking about their chains. Sooooo do you want pizza or something fancier?”
“Sushi,” Soul quickly noted, following it up with a laugh.
Soul’s suggestion didn’t even click in Mineral’s mind. The mare just made a quick statement, “Pizza it is.”
It caused another laugh to escape Soul’s mouth. “Pizza will do. We don’t want to rob you,” Soul said with a little laugh, turning to look at Noble, raising his eyebrow. “Right?”
Noble perked up, darting his head about then looked at the duo and gave a nod. “Yes, pizza works for me.”
Mineral leaned towards the two stallions, putting on a grin and raised an eyebrow. “What? You think I don’t have money?” She let out a bright chuckle and drew her neck back again, swiping her leg forwards. “Just kidding, I have limits of course. I know a perfect place just a couple levels up. It’s absolutely gorgeous for a pizzeria.”
Soul extended his hoof. “Lead the way then.”
Mineral quickly waved her hoof at the stallions. “Go wait for me at the staircase. I’ll talk to Neon first.”
Both stallions gave Mineral a nod before heading to the staircase.
As Mineral approached the dark coated stallion, his attention immediately shifted toward her. He leaned back in his chair, putting on a big smug smile. “Well hello, sweetheart. Wanting a close up for this magnificent, sophisticated gentle-stallion?”
Mineral’s eyebrows dropped, a light groan escaping her mouth. “Not exactly. I came to inform you that I’m heading out to dine now. You keep things under control here.”
Neon’s eyes bulged and his jaw dropped immediately, his sunglasses sliding halfway down his nose. He spoke in a rather high pitch voice, “Wait, did I understand that correctly?” Neon took the sunglasses off. “You’re going to dine… without me?”
“Exactly. Keep your eyes on the presentation,” Mineral chanted with a pinch of sarcasm in her voice as she left Neon with his mouth a gasp, and then headed over to the two stallions waiting for her.
The three ponies took the stairs up two levels and arrived at the entrance of a large, restaurant style pizzeria with a glowing sign above it. It really was what Mineral said it would be, an elegant place with stylish decorations. The walls were built out of red stone, the floor was smooth marble and the tables were dark, lacquered wood. Noble only looked about for a moment before looking toward his friends again, paying only little attention to the decor. Soul on the other hoof couldn’t help but admire the unique decorations more than his friend could.
There weren’t too many customers, since most of them had gone to the presentation. Mineral quickly trotted up behind Soul and Noble and passing the two, she lead the stallions over to the counter, and rang a bell.
“Customers!” a voice chanted from kitchen, and it didn’t take long until a unicorn mare with a light red coat trotted over to the counter. A wide smile spread across her face as she saw Mineral standing at there. “Ah, signorina Mineral! It’s the most pleasant to see you.”
“It’s pleasant to see you too, Croccante!” Mineral chimed and leaned against the counter with a big smile on her face, and quickly tilted her head at the stallions. “Me and my companions here would like to order pizza.”
“Can-do! I assume you would like the usual one?” Croccante brought up a notepad and pen with her magic.
Mineral gave the mare a nod. “Familiar and safe, yes.” She turned her attention at Soul and Noble. “What about you two?”
Soul had already planned out his order and was able to recite it quickly. “My own choice, please. Four toppings. Mushrooms, egg, onion and hay. And without tomato paste.”
Noble waited a moment after the others finished, he tapped his muzzle with his hoof and thought before he spoke. “And I’d like tomato sauce, mushrooms and egg. Mozzarella instead of hay, and can I get some oats along the crust please?”
Croccante nodded as she wrote the orders down and ripped the note off with her magic. “And will you pay with cash or hoof print?”
Mineral put a hoof on her chest. “I’ll pay for all three, and with hoof print.”
Croccante nodded with a smile and opened a book on the counter. Mineral put her hoof on the empty page, and it started flowing with white light, which meant it recognized Mineral and after the light turned green, the payment was accepted. Croccante gave them all glasses from behind a counter and pointed in the direction of the taps.
All three went to get some lemonade before Mineral lead Noble and Soul to a table next to a window and they all filed in.
Mineral let out a relaxed sigh. “I promise you, when the first piece of this places pizza touches your tongue, your mind will explode! The flavors and natural textures they can make in the crust along with combining fresh ingredients, only prepared upon order, causes the food to take a little longer but, it’s the best Pizza in town by far!”
Noble took a moment to absorb the information before he spoke, “So you’re a regular?”
Mineral nodded and put her hooves together. “Every weekend -regular,” she said with a chuckle, laying her hooves on the table. “Soooo, Noble. What’s your story?”
The earth pony's eyes lowered once again and he began twiddling his hooves, forming what he had to say before speaking, “My story? Well… nothing special… Just a poet with a lousy bellhop job.”
“Oh.” Mineral quickly grabbed her drink with her magic and took a sip. Seeing the look on Noble’s face made her feel kinda bad that she even asked, even though she didn't ask anything improper. Ignoring the bad bellhop comment, she leaned against the table and continued. “I figured poetry was your thing. Your name and cutie mark, and such.”
Noble started rubbing his neck and glanced away, and he twitched his lips into a smile but lowered them once more into his common neutral look. “Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve written anything. My job drains most of my energy.”
Soul saw his friends debate of forming a smile before talking and set a hoof on the table, “Nurturing your special talent is important though.”
Noble took a sip of his drink and looked out of the window with a small frown. “I know, but earning money to manage and eat is important too.”
Soul locked eyes with Mineral with a half frown on his face before looking back at his friend. “That is true too...”
The three ponies sat in silence for a moment. Noble cut his eyes looking at Mineral who was scratching her lower leg with her lower hoof, and he then turned to Soul, both of whom were occasionally glancing at the white unicorn.
Mineral bit her bottom lip and had been fidgeting in her seat while rubbing the upper part of her lower legs with her hooves.
Noble began to sweat and looked away. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make this awkward. We can change the subject.”
The unicorns both breathed a silent sigh of relief. Soul raised his glance “Sorry buddy, we just didn’t know what to say.”
Noble turned to the group once more looking at the unicorns without showing any emotions. “It’s fine. It was my bad for bringing that up and making you both feel awkward. Hopefully this is just a rough patch and things will get better.”
Soul puts his hooves up on the table and held a hood up to the earth pony. “No need to apologize, we all have those times we just need to get it out.” He looks over at Mineral and darted his eyes from her back to Noble.
After Noble broke the silence and Soul spoke to him, she relaxed. She laid her chin on her hooves while looking down. After a brief moment, her gaze rose and she looked at the tan earth pony with a big smile. “Noble, I may have just the thing to cheer you up! Would you like to hear a poem I have?”
Noble’s ears perking up at the word ‘poem’, he looked up from fiddling with the wrapper to his straw, his eyes getting a little wider now. “Oh, where is it from? And sure I’d be happy to hear it.” He leaned in, resting his chin on his hoof.
“Well, I actually made this one up myself. I’m no poet but, I’ll go for it anyway and if it’s the worst thing you’ve ever heard, which I’m pretty sure it is going to be, you can help me to fix it up, naye.” She shifted her eyes, making sure she made eye contact with each of the stallions.
Soul’s right eyebrow rose. “I didn’t know you dabbled in poetry.”
Looking at Soul once more, Mineral stated, “Well, no I don’t normally write any kind of poetry, so you two are about to watch history with my first poem since my grade school times”
The tan earth pony nodded. “Take your time, I’ll tell you what I think.” He lowered his hoof off his chin and set his hooves together leaning back with his forehooves crossed but his eyes being wide as he watched the mare.
The mare cleared her throat and lifted a hoof up in the air that was bent at the elbow. “Helpless daisy grows through the cracks. It shines in the light.” Her words were elegantly spoken and she kept her eyes closed as she said it.
After she finished there was a short pause. The stallions looked at one another then back at Mineral. Soul rubbed the back of his head and looked at Noble with his eyes narrowing. “Well, you are the poet here. We’re waiting your thoughts.”
Noble turned his head slowly, squinting his eyes at Soul. He quickly turned his head to look at Mineral. Rubbing his chin with his hoof the tan pony thought for a moment before speaking up, “Well it was alright. Short and sweet.”
Giving a sigh the mare set her hoof down on the table facing toward Noble. “Come on don’t worry, you don’t need to be nice or beat around the bush. If you think it’s bad you can tell me and if you really want to, you can help revise it.” She finished with a big smile.
Noble threw his hooves up. “No no. It is good, just-- I may have some things to change. I’ll see what I can do.” He pulled a pencil out of his shirt pocket and slid a napkin in front of him beginning to write.
Soul let out a laugh. “Now he will be too focused on his writing to listen to us.” He held up his head by resting it on his hoof, smiling as he watched his friend write for the first time in a while.
The poet wrinkled his forehead as he wrote and crossed through words, his eyes darting over the paper. Minutes passed and finally he dropped his pencil. “There! Finally done. Umm, Mineral would you mind reading this? I really don’t like reading in front of ponies.” He pushed the napkin over and slid his forelegs closer to him, shrinking down in his seat.
The mare sat up blinking and her mouth open for a moment before shrugging and giving a chuckle. “You really are Soul’s friend.”
Soul laughed and raised an eyebrow at Mineral. “Hey, I like leading presentations.”
“Yes, yes, it was just… Ah, forget it,” Mineral said with a joking laugh and smiled at the white stallion. She the turned back to face at Noble. ”But anyway, of course I’ll read it if you really want me to.” The mare cleared her throat and read the poem once through before reading it out loud, “Daisy rise, show your heart. Ascend to the light and blossom through the cracks. Ignite! Prove that you are meant to be. Show you are meant to be, Yearn to take your place and shine. Become divine~!” Mineral’s voice trailed off as she finished reading. All she could do was continue to stare at the napkin.
Soul grinned at his co-worker’s reaction. “I’m guessing you didn’t expect it to be that good. It was one of your better ones since you’ve been here Noble.” He lifted his hoof up to bump Noble’s.
Noble returned the hoof bump and gave a faint smile while he darted his eyes down. “Thank you, that expression does say a lot and thank you Soul, your praise always means a great deal to me as well.” Rubbing his foreleg with the opposite hoof the poet sank back into his chair.
Mineral slammed the table with her hooves. “Are you kidding?! This is amazing! I see why you have your cutie mark. We definitely need to get you somewhere where you can feel inspired and begin writing again. I’m not much of a poet but it is very good at least to me.” She giggled and folded her forelegs.
Noble continued rubbing his foreleg continuing to look down and away.. “Oh come on, it’s not that good. Thank you though. It was… interesting, writing after such a long break. I really wish I could get some time away from this city so I can actually relax and get inspired once more.”
Mineral scrunched her mouth and looked upward, rubbing her lower leg with her rear hoof. “I’m sorry to hear you say that. I hope you can.” As soon as she finished, she drew her neck back, her eyes widening and ears perked up like something igniting in her. The mare immediately turned her attention at Soul and leaned toward him. “Oh Soul, speaking of interesting, I heard today that something interesting is going on in Canterlot Spectrum.”
Tapping the spot in front of Noble before fully turning his body to face Mineral, Soul’s ears perked up. “Something interesting? What exactly?”
Mineral shook her head and crossed her forelegs. “I don’t really know, but I’ve heard something is going to change there.”
The male unicorn rubbed his chin, a suspicious look upon his face. His ears folded back when a very unpleasant thought crawled to his mind. “You don’t think they’re going to substitute employers...?”
Lifting her hooves up and placing them together under her chin, Mineral shook her head. “I sure hope not! I just happened to overhear our art director and manager talking about some kind of change.”
Soul rubbed his neck. “Huh… Interesting…”
Turning to face the group again and looking a little red, Noble lifted a hoof as if he were about to speak but froze for a moment. “Umm… if there were any positions opening up that an earth pony could do... Do you think one of you could tell me about it-- even if it’s just a custodian or something?”
Soul looked at Noble with a hard look in his eye and leaned against the table, lifting his eyebrow as a big grin rose on his lips. “Well I don’t know, can we?” Soul asked with joking tone, giving a laugh afterwards, and he leaned back again. “Kidding. I promise if I hear anything about a position being open in the office, I will tell you first and send in a good word for you.”
A chuckle came from Mineral who was covering her mouth with her hooves now. “And I will keep an ear out for any word of job openings. I think being social would be a good skill to have to be able to find something about a job opening.” She giggled once more.
Soul looked at her, tilting his head to the left and slightly giving a playful smug smile. “Alright we’ll both keep our ears open. I’ll listen through our department and you keep listening in the kitchen.”
Noble let out a large burst of air, covering his mouth quickly as tried to hide his laugh.
“Kitchen? I don’t work in the kit---” Mineral’s eyes bulged as she realized what Soul meant, causing her eyebrows to drop. “Oh.” The mare scowled at the comment then glared at the laughter hiding Noble.
“I’m very sorry,” Noble gasped between laughs.
Mineral rolled her eyes and lifted the edges of her mouth, giving a laugh too. “Don’t worry, that was actually a funny one.” She then turned to look at the white stallion, and leaned against the table, raising her eyebrow. “I’m sure Soul didn’t mean it, or did you?”
Soul let out a small, but a bit forced laugh and raised his hoof. “Of course not. Just a stupid joke.”
“Just as I figured.” The mare brushed her hair back, then flexed her forehoof showing her muscle as she spoke again, “And after all, who would open jars for him if I wasn’t in the kitchen?”
Soul flicked his head back, laughing. “Unlike me, you always eat in the cafeteria, which makes you a rare sight in East Wing’s kitchen.”
“Ah, good conversation!” Croccante’s voice was heard as she arrived at the table with two other servers all holding pizzas. “That is normally a precursor to some good food!” They place each one before it’s proper pony, and every pizza was cut into four slices. “Please, enjoy your food and let us know if there is anything else we can get for you today.”
Clapping her hooves together, squealing with an open mouth smile, Mineral took a deep breath of the pizza placed in front of her. “Thank you very much! These all look delicious.”
Croccante gave the mare a big curtsey with a smile, and then returned to the counter as the two other cooks returned to the kitchen. The three ponies all grabbed napkins, forks and knifes for themselves.
Soul was staring at his pizza with his eyes almost glimmering at the looks of it. He quickly lifted his cutlery with his magic and hit the fork on the edge of the pizza, starting to cut a slice. “This might actually become my new favorite pizzeria of all time. Just the smell makes me want to swallow the whole thing at once.”
Mineral had already cut a few slices for herself, and she was lifting one of them right up to her mouth with her magic, glancing at Soul with a grin on her face. “See I’d have bet my life on that,” she said with a chuckle and took a bite.
Noble had also cut a slice for him and folded it in half as he lifted it to his lips. As he took a bite, his eyes grew slightly wider and he immediately took a few more, larger bites and finished them before speaking up, “Wow, this tastes amazing!”
As Soul’s pizza bite was savored on his tongue for a bit, he froze, simply staring off into space. Then, he lifted his head and slowly narrowing his eyes as if to go to sleep. He looked at Noble and then Mineral. “I have found a true source of euphoria.” Soul’s voice was practically waving as he closed his eyes while he stared up to the ceiling, taking another bite.
A blank look took upon Mineral’s face and she drew her neck back, just staring at Soul for a moment before speaking, “You… must really like it then.”
Soul gave a painfully slow nod and spoke with the same, wavy voice, “Yes, I do.” Though he quickly snapped out of it and gave a laugh, and leaned against the table. “But now, seriously. This pizza is really really good. Definitely going to come here again.”
Noble stopped eating and held his hoof up as he finished his bite. “Me too. This flavor actually brings back the taste of the pizza that the hotel I work for used to serve. Before our new manager started that is,” he said as he rolled his eyes while mentioning his manager.
Mineral stopped mid bite, a strand of cheese going from the pizza to her mouth. She breaks off the strand by pulling it with her hoof before chewing and swallowing her food. “Oh? They removed it from the menu?”
The stallion spoke while he held a slice in his hooves, “Yeah. It was, just `pedestrian, flat garbage´ in her opinion.”
Mineral let out a long sigh, followed by irritated squeak as she burrowed her face into her hooves. “Oh Celestia, doesn’t that manager of yours know anything?”
Though before Noble got even one word out of his mouth, Croccante butted into the conversation as she passed the table while collecting glasses from other tables. “Exactly! Pizza can be a real gourmet meal, you just have to have the right hooves working on it.” She scanned the table with her eyes then looked over the ponies sitting there. “Pardon me, I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation. I must ask though. Does the hotel you are talking about happen to be Hotel Liakada?”
The earth pony’s ears twitched and he looked at their waitress, blinking. “How did you know?”
The waitress let out a deep sigh and shook her head. “Because I happen to be one of the chefs the new manager fired when she became in charge. Well, me and my sister to be exact.” She puffed out her cheeks after she spoke.
Widening his eyes Noble was left mouth a gasp. “Wait, you were the chefs Double Bit fired back then?”
Mineral quickly raised her hoof. “Double wait!” Her eyes were darting between the two ponies. “You two have actually worked in the same place?”
“So it seems. Me and my sorella were looking for a new job for months, till we decided we should start something of our own. And here we are.” Croccante gave a curtsey smiling ear to ear.
Noble set down his pizza and wiped his hooves before he bowed his head and extended a foreleg to Croccante as she curtsied. “I see... It’s interesting how I never ran into you.” He sat back up and started rubbing his neck before continuing, “Or maybe I did, I just don’t remember. Bellhops usually didn’t go to the kitchen at all back then.”
The red coated unicorn placed a hoof on the table leaning in to be more personal. “I see. Well it’s been a few months since me and my sorella got kicked out, so you’re not to blame, signore,” she said with a cheerful laugh. “I shall leave you three to dine now. Have a pleasant meal.” The mare gave the trio one more curtsy and then headed back to kitchen.
Mineral crossed her forelegs and leaned back at the bench, and she looked at the slice of pizza she had floating near. “This is going to sound outrageous, but I’m kinda happy they lost their jobs,” she stated, though she quickly smacked a hoof against her face with a sigh. “Alright, yes that sounded horrible. Call me a meanie.”
Soul laughed, using his magic to cover his mouth with his napkin before calming down. “No worries, we get it."
Noble nodded in agreement giving a chuckle himself. “Getting away from that place seems to have been the ticket for them.”
The mare lowered her hoof resting it back in her lap. “She has told me they have good memories of it, though.”
Noble again shook his head in agreement. “It was a nice place before Double Bit made it a living nightmare.” Staring off into space at an area behind the mare, Noble sighed. “Speaking of memories, that’s where Soul and I met.”
Mineral was about to take a bite of the pizza morsel she had on her fork, but froze midway and immediately darted her eyes to Noble, and then to Soul. “Oh, really?”
“Oh yes, we indeed did. It was during my job training when I was photographing Hotel Liakada.” Soul had set his silverware down and dabbed at his mouth before continuing the story.
“Of course it was a much nicer place to work at back then.” Noble interjected before leaning back.
Mineral crossed her legs and finished her pizza slice, motioned for them to continue.
“Yes. Well anyway. If i remember correctly, I was taking photos of the entrance, when this overly sophisticated couple arrived at the hotel.”
Mineral folded her arms in front of her leaning forward to listen. “That’s nothing new sis, considering this is Canterlot.”
Soul nodded “Very true. Anyway, um… what was the name of those two?” He scratched his chin before turning to look at Noble.
“Soul, are you expecting me to remember?” The tan pony looked at his friend lowering his eyes and frowning. “I wouldn’t even remember what I had for breakfast if I didn’t eat the same thing every day.” He gave an entertained huff then nodded allowing Soul to continue.
Soul couldn’t help but smile. “I’m aware. But no worries. Let’s just call them Mare and Stallion”
Noble gave his friend a nod.
“Anyway, when I was taking pictures of the entrance, I saw how this Stallion accidentally dropped one of his bags of luggage, and that was followed by a mild crackling sound of glass breaking.” Soul turned to Noble ready for him to chime in.
Noble turned so he could see both ponies as he spoke, “I hadn’t gotten to those guests yet, so I of course had no clue what had happened.”
Soul cleared his throat as Noble stopped. “That’s right. Anyway, it was pretty clear that it was something important and expensive when I saw how they panicked.” Soul grabbed the last piece of the pizza he had with his fork and ate it before continuing. “Though, I didn’t pay much mind to it or really even care.” He put his cutleries on the now empty plate again and let out a big colic breath, leaning against the bench.
Mineral was listening carefully to Soul, though when Soul put down his silverware, the way he did so caught Mineral’s attention. She immediately gathered the utensils with her magic and set them to face five o’clock. “There, that’s better,” she noted with a chuckle.
Noble and Soul looked at each other with a bit of a confused glimmer in their glances.
Mineral wiped her mouth with a napkin and tenderly placed it on her empty plate. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. Please, continue. What next?”
Soul turned his attention at Noble, who was just staring back at the unicorn for a bit before realizing Soul wanted him to continue.
Noble braced up and cleared his throat. “Oh! Yes um… Let’s see-- I think that’s when I arrived to pick up their luggage. Even I noticed that they were very nervous. At least the Mare was. She was downright shaking.” As Noble spoke he moved his hooves about, flowing with his words. “I tried to ask if everything was alright, but they just told me to mind my own business.” He flipped his left hoof up in the air while rolling his eyes.
Mineral rolled her eyes too and shook her head. “That’s so typical.”
Nodding at the mare’s comment Noble continued, not wanting to stop. “I of course assumed it was just another couple of rich ponies who came here for a weekend around the capital and had no respect for ponies they deemed as `beneath them’.” He flicked his hooves for emphasis.
“Boy was that an understatement,” Soul stated but quickly covered his mouth. “Sorry, I know you don’t like being interrupted.” He put his hooves together giving a slight bow.
The bow caused Noble to do a double take then shake his head. “Don’t worry, you were right. Big understatement. Anyway-- I got behind their bags and picked them up to my bag like usual, but I heard something strange. A little crunching and rattling of glass.”
“Well of course, there was broken glass inside… Oh!” Mineral’s attention was transfixed on the two stallions.
Noble nodded, “..I asked the couple about the noise but they told me it was nothing to be concerned with. So I began moving their luggage toward the front desk.” The stallion lifted a hoof to his friend.
Without a single word or missing a beat Soul picked up the story. “I had just come through the doors and was looking about taking pictures of the entrance and the main lobby.”
A small smile formed across Mineral’s lips. “I think I know where this is going.”
“As Noble walked forward I noticed the stallion moving his cane out in front of his legs. I quickly snapped several pictures as I called out. But it was too late.” Frowning he looked over at his tan friend.
“I fell to the ground like a wet rug and the bags came down with a loud crash of broken glass.”
Mineral covered her mouth as she gasped before speaking frantically, “Oh my gosh, he tripped you?! Did you get cut by the glass at all?”
Noble quickly raised his hooves and shook his head. “No I was fine. But the couple immediately began yelling at me for breaking their rare glass vase that they had brought there to get appraised or something to that extent. I of course was apologizing but trying to figure out what was happening around me.”
“That is perfectly understandable sis.” Mineral crossed her forelegs, looking back and forth between the two.
“The commotion of course quickly gained the attention of the manager at that time. He was much nicer than Bit is, but listened to the couple’s lie about what had happened and was ready to fire me right then for falling and breaking their vase. Lucky for me somepony saw the whole thing.” Noble gently patted his pale coated friend on the shoulder then holded a hoof up allowing him to finish the story.
Giving a smile, Soul then takes a deep breath. “Yes. I overheard the whole thing and I don’t usually pay attention to other’s business, but I couldn’t just sit idly by and watch. I went over and told the manager that I saw the whole thing. Of course the couple tried to argue about what I saw until I showed the manager the pictures I had taken of them. Their faces were hilarious when they knew they were found out.” Soul began laughing at the memory.
Noble had joined in the laughter. “Oh yes. I just loved when the manager told them they had five minutes to leave before he called the royal guard.”
Noble threw his hooves into the air. “Then they grabbed their stuff and became olympic gallopers!”
Both stallions had a good laugh and wiped their eyes as they settled down.
Noble turned to Mineral and leaned against the table. “Anyway, before he made them leave, my manager at the time asked me if I was alright since he would have pressed charges if I had been hurt because of them. I was fine so he just banned them from the hotel and made them leave in a rather… immediate, way. He was even nice enough to give me the rest of the day off as a paid day off; just to ensure I wasn’t hurt at all.”
The mares lips drooped and she tilted her head to the left slightly. “But what If you did learn you were hurt later from that, how would you know who they were or how to get a hold of them again?”
Noble cleared his throat. “Well we did have reservations under their names which the manager knew.” Noble looked into Mineral’s eyes. “And if a baby dragon along with six mares could find the crystal heart that was missing for over a thousand years, I think the royal guard could find a couple of rich ponies.”
Mineral looked elsewhere and crossed her forelegs, giving a short chuckle. “You have a point there, sis.” Mineral was still listening to the story, but she has also been glancing at the clock on the wall. She quickly lifted her plate and glass with her magic and stood up, though still fully paying attention to the stallions. She gave a little chuckle and tilted her head. “I’m guessing you didn’t just magically become friends after that?”
The stallions followed her example and took their dishes too. They took them over to the return cart. Noble shook his head at Mineral’s question and smiled. “Well, it took some time before we became friends, but since Soul had a job to do, I offered to guide him around the hotel. I owed him big for being one of the few ponies in Canterlot that would help someone like that, without asking for something in return no less. I owed him a debt that day and I wanted to repay him in any way that I could. ”
Soul stood before Mineral, continuing the story. “And as Noble kept giving me a tour through the hotel, we started talking. Or he talked, I just responded with one or two words most of the time.” He let out a quick laugh.
Noble chuckled along with his friend. “You tend to do that.”
Mineral giggled shortly. “I’ve noticed that too.” She proceeded to wrinkle her nose and gave a long yawn.
Soul simply responded with a shrug, then after seeing the mare’s yawn proceeded with his own where Noble followed with one of his own.
Mineral sat down and stretched her legs as far up as she could, and then stood up again as she shifted her attention to the counter and chanted, “Thank you! The food was as fantastic as ever.”
Noble’s ears perked up as he heard those words and he stood up straight, following the example, “Thank you! The pizza was spectacular!”
They heard how Croccante’s responded, “Grazie!” as it echoed from the kitchen.
Though, Soul was the only one who didn’t say anything. A slightly awkward silence rose between them as Mineral just stood there and stared at Soul, waiting for him to say something. Though when nothing came out of his mouth, Mineral just scrunched her eyebrows and put on a slight grin, gently shaking her head.
As the group exited the pizzeria, Soul continued telling the story, “Anyway, as Noble continued talking, we started to actually find some really good common ground and that’s when my vocal cords started vibrating more.”
Mineral put a hoof on her mouth and let out an amused chuckle. “Vocal cords started to vibrate, eh?” she repeated.
Soul rubbed his neck and looked off out into the mall. “Put in a corny way, yes.”
Noble took a step forward bringing Mineral’s attention to him. “But yes, that’s pretty much it. I gave Soul an extensive look through the hotel, ensuring he had the materials he needed. Then, before he left I asked if there was anything else I could do; we agreed to hang out again. After a looooot of persuasion, he agreed to accept my gratitude in a form of coffee.”
“I agreed just to it to get rid of him” Soul noted with a laugh.
Noble grinned and nudged Soul with his elbow. “Aren’t you glad you did?”
“I admit my defeat.” Soul bowed his head with a smile on his lips parted up in a grin.
Noble couldn’t help but laugh at Soul’s comment and then turned to look at Mineral again. “Anyway, then well, we just kept hanging out and becoming better friends, and here we are now.”
“You two have such a beautiful love story,” Mineral chanted with a sarcastic tone and let out a boisterous laugh.
Soul dropped his head, hitting his forehead with his hoof still giving a snicker. “You just had to say that, didn’t you?”
Mineral gasping for air, breathing heavy from her laughter, slowly regained her ability to speak. “Yes. Sorry, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make a joke there.” She pulled herself back upright then flipped and brushed her hair with her hooves, fluffing it till it was back to normal. “Anyway, this mare should get back to the presentation. I’m glad I ran into you guys and got to know another side of you, Soul.” Mineral put on a smile, and shifted her attention to Noble, leaning forward. “Oh, and of course you too, Noble! I hope things will get better for you, I really do.”
Noble gave Mineral a wide smile and nodded. “Thank you, I really appreciate that.”
Soul nodded extending a hoof toward the mare. “Likewise. It was fun talking, and thank you for the pizza.” The stallions turned around and started walking to the opposite direction. “We’ll let you get back to work now.”
The mare raised her head and quickly lifted a hoof into the air. “Before you do, I have one final question.”
The two stallions froze, perking up their ears. Soul turned to face at the mare, tilting his head. “Yes?”
Mineral took a few steps toward the white unicorn and stretched out her hoof, pointing it at Soul while meeting his eyes, staring intensely into them. Her lips rose upwards, bringing a sincere smile to her face. “Can we consider each other to be friends?”
The earth pony chuckled again blowing air out of his nose in a snicker. He leaned against a bench while he stared at his friend, nodding vigorously while squinting his eyes at the back of the unicorn's head.
Soul immediately drew his neck back as his eyes were just getting slightly wider, which was barely even noticeable. There was a short moment of silence, but they kept their eye contact tightly connected. Even though he kept his serene face, inside of him there was a voice that was screaming for him to answer, “yes”. It was just a simple “Let’s be friends” situation, but to Soul, who has only had one of those moments in his life it was nerve racking.
Eventually, a smile washed over Soul’s lips. He stretched out his hoof again and shook with Mineral. “Yes. We shall consider each other as friends.”