Between a Rock Farm and a New Place.

by Random_User

Chapter 1: Stepping into the Kitchen

Between a Rock Farm and a New Place

Chapter One: Stepping into the Kitchen

Marble Pie smiled as the town of Ponyville came into sight. The trip from her family’s rock farm to Ponyville had been sunny, relaxing, and uneventful. The change in scenery was a welcome break from the gray world that Marble lived in day to day. While the rock farm was home, its monochromatic and barren surroundings were not the most cheerful. The only thing that had marred the otherwise enjoyable trip had been the groaning and screeching of her cart’s right wheel.

She glanced over her shoulder and addressed the complaining part, “I’ll check your bearings and get you some grease when we get to Ponyville.” When she faced forward, she was not surprised to find Pinkie Pie sitting in the middle of the road. Having lived with Pinkie most of her life, Marble was not shocked by Pinkie’s strange ability to appear in random places at any time. She slowed to a stop as Pinkie began to run towards her. She waved at the rapidly approaching pink pony. “Hey sis!”

Further conversation was impossible for a moment as Pinkie grabbed her in a hug that squeezed the air from her. “Marble! I’m so glad to see you! It’s been too long!”

Marble patted Pinkie’s back and managed to wheeze out, “Good to see you too!”

Pinkie released her and jumped onto the mound of boxes and goods in the back of the cart. She pawed at the canvas covering the cart’s cargo. “What did you bring? Can I see? Please let me see what you brought!”

Despite her sister’s wild actions, and the possibility of having a couple of fragile things broken by Pinkie’s enthusiasm, Marble smiled. “Pinkie, get down. There are some delicate things back there. And no, you can’t see what’s in there just yet.”

Pinkie slowly slid herself from the top of the cart in disappointment. “That’s no fun.”

“It will be worth the wait. I promise. Mom and Dad send their love,” Marble added, trying to perk Pinkie back up.

Pinkie’s bounce immediately returned. “Tell them I love them too!”

Marble started moving forward again and motioned for Pinkie to walk beside her. “I will, but you should do that yourself pretty soon. You’re overdue for a visit.”

Pinkie bounded along beside Marble. “I know. It’s just been so crazy. The Cakes have needed help with the twins and the shop, my friends and I have had all sorts of crazy adventures, and I’ve been throwing lots and lots and lots of parties!” Pinkie paused and gave Marble a curious look. “Have you been using those recipes that I have been sending?”

Marble grinned and nodded. “Certainly have. They’ve helped spice the meals at home up quite a bit. Having to look at rocks all day is one thing, having boring meals again and again is a little too much to put up with.”

“You know you love looking at rocks.” Pinkie winked, pointing back at Marble’s cutie mark.

Marble rolled her eyes and smiled at her sister. “You’re right Pinkie. How could I ever forget?”

The sisters talked all the way into Ponyville. Marble pulled her cart to the back of Sugar Cube corner and made sure to chock both wheels into place. Pinkie slunk to the back of the cart and quietly began working on the edge of the cover. Marble lightly swatted Pinkie’s nose to keep her from worming under the canvas. “No, bad Pinkie, you’re going to have to wait until later. Mom and dad sent some things with me for you, the Cakes, and your friends. I’m going to try to give them out all at the same time, if that is possible. I promise it will be worth the wait.” Marble’s air of authority disappeared as her stomach loudly rumbled.

Pinkie rubbed her nose and smiled. “Sounds like that right there is something that won’t wait till later.”

Marble blushed. “Pulling that cart all morning is hungry work! I just had some hay bacon before setting out.”

Pinkie drew back in exaggerated shock. “You’re going to blow away right before my eyes! This calls for an emergency Pinkie cooking session!”

Marble caught Pinkie’s tail in her mouth, as the pink dynamo tried to race past her into Sugar Cube corner’s back door. Through the mouthful of pink tail she said, “I’m going to need a little more than cupcakes for a meal”. She released her sister’s tail, and continued, “Besides, I’m watching my figure. A lunch consisting of cupcakes, no matter how delicious, would put back on all those calories I just burned off.”

Pinkie put a hoof to her chin. After a second of thinking it over, she nodded. “I’ll let you off of a cupcake lunch for now. But you’re going to have to explain why you’re watching what you eat.” She walked around Marble, examining the rock farmer’s physic. “You look fine to me. You could give some stallions a run for their bits in the muscle department.”

“Thanks Pinkie,” Marble half growled. “Just what I wanted to hear, I look like I could wrestle a stallion to the ground.”

Pinkie raised her hooves in defense. “I didn’t mean it like that. You look healthy is what I was trying to tell you.”

Marble managed a small smile. “I know sis. I’m sorry I snapped. I guess the trip here took a little more out of me than I thought.”

“An empty stomach will make any pony into a grouchy meanie pants. We can take care of that.” Pinkie tilted her head, indicating Marble should follow her, and lead her into town. “There is a great café that Twilight loves to go to. She likes the prices and she says that it ‘meets a pony’s balanced nutritional needs satisfactorily,’ whatever that means.”

“I think she means that it’s healthy food at a reasonable price.”

“Oh, that’s what she meant.” Pinkie's moment of clarity was swiftly lost. “Why didn’t she just say that?”

Marble smiled and shook her head. “I think she tried to.”

The café, The Grazing Meadow, was exactly what Marble had been thinking of. The pair seated themselves at one of the few available outdoor tables. Marble noted the smells coming from the kitchen and relished the idea of a good meal that she didn’t have to prepare herself. She scanned the menu and agreed with Twilight’s assessment. “Your friend is right, this is perfect. Good offerings and reasonable prices.”

“Thank you for that kind remark.” An older, energetic stallion approached the table. “Good to see you Pinkie. It’s been a bit since you’ve been here.”

Pinkie put her menu back in its holder. “It’s great to see you too! Mr. Tongs, this is my sister, Marble Pie. She just made it in from the rock farm.”

Tongs extended his hoof and shook with Marble. “Pleased to meet you, you must be exhausted.” Much to Marble’s embarrassment, her stomach growled again for all to hear. Tongs took it in stride. “You must be a little hungry too.”

Marble sighed in embarrassment. “Pulling a cart filled with the family inventory makes for a good appetite. I just wish my innards weren’t so vocal about it.” She patted her stomach, as if to calm down a misbehaving animal. “Pinkie recommended this as the best place to grab something quick and wholesome to eat.”

Tongs drew up with pride. “Good food, reasonable prices, and fast service! The Grazing Meadow prides itself on those three things. Now, what can I get for you two lovely mares?” Pinkie and Marble gave him their orders, and he nodded. “We’re a little short hooved today, but your order should be up fairly quickly. Your server will bring your drinks in just a minute.”

After the stallion had returned to the kitchen, Marble turned to Pinkie and cautiously asked, “Tongs?”

Pinkie nodded. “Salad Tongs is his full name. His family has been in the restaurant business for a long time. Guess his parents came up with his name while they were in the kitchen.”

Marble raised an eyebrow. “Just what are you implying? Are you saying that they lacked imagination, or that there was more than just cooking going on in their kitchen that led to his name?”

Pinkie shook her head. “It couldn’t be the second. Then his name would be Whipped Crème or Chocolate Syrup. You don’t have a salad for dessert.”

Marble leaned in towards Pinkie. “They may not have gotten that far in the meal before the fun began. They might have named him after something they knocked off the table.”

A polite cough interrupted the conversation. “Ladies, here are your drinks.”

While Marble turned a bit sheepish, Pinkie enthusiastically greeted Cuisine, “Hey Horte, how have you been?”

“Just fine,” he stiffly replied, as he set her drink down. “You know I prefer Cuisine.”

“It’s too much fun to call you Horte. You’re too much of a party pooper when you’re at work for me not to have a little fun.” Pinkie motioned towards Marble. “This is my sister, Marble Pie.”

In a much more friendly tone than he had used with Pinkie, he asked, “Shall I call you Miss Marble or Miss Pie?”

“Just Marble would be fine, no Miss needed, thanks.” She noted he was rather dressed up, with his vest and bow tie, and had high airs for a server at a small town café. With his attire, along with his well-styled mane and mustache, he looked like he could be a waiter at a high-class restaurant. He seemed charmingly out of place to her.

“Your meals should be ready shortly.” Almost as the words left his mouth, there came a load metallic crash from the kitchen. Cuisine’s formal facade wavered, as a look of concern briefly swept across his face. “Excuse me ladies. I believe I am needed in the kitchen.” His step was controlled, but noticeably quick, as he went to check on what had happened.

Marble watched him go with concern of her own. She called after him, “I hope everything is alright!”

Pinkie shrugged. “It didn’t sound that bad to me. I make noises like that all the time when I’m cooking for the Cakes. They still come to check on me every now and then when I make a particularly spectacular crash.”

The pair talked and waited for their food. Time passed and still their food did not come, nor did Cuisine return to refill their drinks. Marble noted that Cuisine was rushing around by himself. He was desperately trying to take care of the café’s patrons as best he could, while spending a good amount of time in the kitchen as well. While he was doing his best to maintain his professional appearance, it was clear that the stress of the situation was getting to him. His distress began to show clearly, when complaints began to start from a couple of the more demanding customers.

Pinkie groaned. “I wasn’t even all that hungry when we came, but now I’m starving! I’ve never had to wait this long before!” Pinkie watched in surprise, as Marble slid her chair back.

“Pinkie, I’ve got a feeling something is wrong. I’m going to go check on things.” Marble made her way to the kitchen, and stuck her head through the swinging door.

A pony she did not recognize was doing his best to be speedy, as he washed the dishes coming in from the served patrons. He didn’t even spare her a glance. He continued quickly scraping, cleaning, and drying the dirty dishes on the counter without pause.

Tongs sat near the cooking counter on the other side of the kitchen. His shoulder had an icepack wrapped to it with cloth bandages. The binding was slowly coming loose due to the moisture from the pack. He was trying to keep cooking with his injury, but he could not manage the pace he needed with one good foreleg. Cuisine tried to help, but he often hindered as much as he assisted. It was a literal instance of too many hooves in the pot spoiling the soup. Tongs noticed Marble, and quickly apologized. “I’m sorry about the wait; your food will be out momentarily.”

One glace at the counter told her that was not the case, but that did not matter to her. “Is there anything I can do to help? Do you need a doctor or a nurse? That looks pretty bad.”

Cuisine smiled dimly and shook his head. “Uncle just aggravated an old hoof ball injury of his trying to get something off the top shelf. Unless you can cook, there is really not much you could do to help. We appreciate the offer.”

Marble pulled a clean apron on from one of the hooks on the wall, and stood in front of the countertop. She looked over to Tongs. “If you will direct me, I’ll cook. You two are just tripping over each other. You’re going to need a fully functioning pair of hooves here and out there to feed all those ponies quickly.”

Cuisine started to say something, but Tongs stopped him by putting a hoof to his shoulder. “You take care of our patrons. She and I will do the rest.” Cuisine gave him a concerned look, but after a moment, he nodded. He made his way past Marble, giving her an appreciative nod, grabbed a tray with a couple of refills, and headed out of the kitchen.

Tongs stood beside her, and asked, “Are you sure you want to help? This is going to be hectic.”

Marble’s grin showed she was more than willing. “You bet I do.”

*****

Pinkie received her food a couple of minutes after Marble had headed into the kitchen. Cuisine still moved quickly back and forth from the tables to the kitchen, but he was not quite as hectic as he had been. Cuisine told her, while bringing her a refill for her soda, that Marble had wanted her to go ahead and eat her meal. That had been almost half an hour ago. In a rare showing of patience, Pinkie waited. The free dessert Cuisine brought her after a few more minutes helped. The lunch herd had thinned out of the cafe, and Cuisine had regained his controlled poise as he waited on the remaining patrons.

About the time that Pinkie had decided that she had waited enough and she was going to see what was keeping Marble, Cuisine made his way over to her. “Pinkie, if you would be as so kind as to follow me.” He led Pinkie into the kitchen, where Marble and Tongs were laughing over some joke.

Marble looked up from the food she was plating and smiled. Pinkie paused at the door. It had been so long since she had seen Marble so happy that it stunned her for a moment. “Hey, you were supposed to check on Mr. Tongs, not take his job!”

Tongs waved at her with his good hoof and chuckled. “Pinkie, she is just helping us get through the lunch rush, not taking my place. Besides, she can’t take my job. I own the place!”

Cuisine walked over and adjusted the wrapping on Tongs’ shoulder. “Had your sister not helped us, things could have gotten very testy out there. She has some real talent. She adapted to the pressure quite well.”

Marble lightly blushed at the compliment. “I got used to cooking for five ponies who had been working in a rock farm all day. This wasn’t that much different.”

Tongs sighed. “Ah to be young and malleable, if you had thrown me onto your family’s rock farm and told me to work for an hour it would have taken me that long just to figure out what I was supposed to do. You’re being too modest. Where did you learn to cook, if I may ask?”

Marble quickly looked over to Pinkie, not sure what to say.

Pinkie gave Marble a reassuring look, and answered for her sister. “In Canterlot, Granny Pie helped her learn everything she knows.”

Tongs nodded, as he recalled what Pinkie had told him about Granny Pie. “You both must have taken after her. You two certainly have a way in the kitchen.” While Tongs had readily accepted Pinkie’s explanation, Cuisine had caught the silent exchange between the sisters. He was curious as to why either of them would be keeping a secret over how Mable learned to cook.

Tongs carefully made his way to the café’s register and withdrew two hours’ worth of pay. He held the bits out to Marble. “I can’t thank you enough. Both you and your sister’s meals are on the house. Here are the bits I owe you for the work.”

Holding a hoof up, Marble refused the bits. “I can’t take your money. Especially that much, I’ve only been working for just over an hour.”

Tongs gave her the look a father gives a misbehaving child. “I will not take no for an answer. You earned these.”

She knew she was not going to win as things were, so she switched tactics. “I’m going to be in town for a couple of weeks for business and vacation. What if you keep the bits, but I can come back for a free meal later on?”

Tongs slowly smiled. Willing to compromise, he agreed. “Alright, but you can’t cook it.”

Much to her humiliation, Marble’s stomach loudly reminded her that she still had not eaten lunch.

Cuisine did his best to keep his face neutral, but a slight smile managed to escape his efforts. “If you would like, I will prepare your lunch. Let me treat you to something that is not on the menu.”

Tongs’ eyebrows rose at Cuisine’s offer to Marble, but he refrained from making any comments.

Pinkie looked over at the kitchen clock and gasped. “I have to go help the Cakes with the afternoon rush!” She quickly and carefully gave Tongs a quick hug. “You take care of yourself, and go see nurse Red Heart. She’ll fix you right up.” She released him and turned to Cuisine. She narrowed her eyes in mock seriousness. “You better cook her something great. I know where you live.” She quickly turned to the pony that had been washing the dishes. “Nice to see you Caramel, bye Caramel, see you later!” With that, Pinkie sped from the kitchen fast enough to leave a pink afterimage and the kitchen door swinging wildly on its hinges.

Cuisine shook his head at her departure. “How does she do that?” After taking care of the last of the lunch patrons, putting out the café’s sign that stated “closed till five thirty”, and pulling things together from the café’s ingredients, Cuisine began to prepare a meal for Marble that would not have been out of place in a fine restaurant in Canterlot.

Tongs watched as Cuisine worked and pointed out a couple of techniques that he wanted his nephew to try as the meal came together. Cuisine readily and skillfully integrated his uncle’s suggestions with his own cooking style. The resulting meal of sautéed mushrooms with a side dish of caramelized onions left Marble speechless. Her hums of appreciation were more than adequate to tell Cuisine that she enjoyed her meal. Her concern for calories forgotten, she ate every morsel.

Cuisine’s guarded front dropped, and his tone became much more friendly. “I’m glad you liked it. I was afraid I had lost my touch. It’s not often a chef gets to see the appreciation for his work first hoof.”

Marble sat back from her plate, her stomach’s protests finally tamed. “That was wonderful. I’ve got a long way to go before I can prepare something like that so quickly. I’m sure I’d mix in a wrong ingredient or scorch something.”

“I don’t know about that. You learned and adapted to what you were doing this afternoon fairly quickly.” Tongs glanced over at Cuisine. “Maybe my nephew could give you a few cooking lessons? I’m sure, with his showing you a few pointers, you could learn to do it in no time.”

With that, Cuisine’s proper demeanor snapped back into place. “This lady would be better served learning from you. You are the only master chef who was trained at the Canterlot School of Culinary Arts currently working in Ponyville.”

Marble regarded Tongs with a new appreciation. Chefs from the Canterlot School of Culinary Arts were renowned as some of the best in Equestria. The graduates from the school were skilled enough to prepare meals for the princesses themselves. Tongs gave Cuisine a withering look. “You had to mention that didn’t you?” He turned to Marble. “Would you keep that little secret to yourself? If word got out that I was a graduate of CSCA, it would change ponies’ expectations of the café. I like preparing good, wholesome, reasonable food now. Not those three bite meals that the Canterlot elites love so much.”

Tongs took her finished plate and placed it in the sink. Marble stood up and headed towards the door. “I hate to do this, but I still have to unpack and get ready for tomorrow’s meetings. Thank you again, the meal was excellent.”

Cuisine held the door open for her and followed her out. “Excuse me.” Marble turned back to him. He held out a small pouch, which clinked with bits. “This is for you.”

She gave him a wry smile. “I turned down your uncle’s bits, why do you think I will take yours?”

“These are not technically mine. These are the tips from this afternoon.” He boldly, but gently, took one of her hooves and put the bag in it. “A restaurant survives on its reputation. This afternoon could have been a disaster had you not helped us. This café is the only source of income for my uncle and his family. You have done more this afternoon to help our family than you realize.” He slowly removed his hooves from hers and the pouch. “Since you did so much to help make the meals possible, you earned these. Please take them.”

She tilted her head at his tone. While his face maintained his professional, controlled appearance, his eyes flickered with emotions she could not place. While part of her felt she was cheating him, she decided to accept the bits. “Thank you. It wasn’t that big of a deal. I feel like I’m picking your pocket.”

“I assure you, you are not.” His smile, professionally controlled as it was, still showed a good deal of warmth. As Marble walked away from the café, Cuisine watched her go for longer than was strictly polite. He jumped as Tongs poked him in the shoulder.

“You’re admiring the scenery more today than usual.” Tongs looked at Marble’s retreating form. “Though, with flanks like that, I can see why you’re a little distracted.”

Cuisine gaped at his uncle. “You lecherous old stallion, you better be glad that aunt Fruit isn’t here!”

Tongs started to shrug, but winced as his shoulder reminded him that he needed to keep it still. “She wouldn’t mind. We’ve agreed that it’s fine to be art admirers, so long as it goes no further than that.”

Cuisine closed his eyes, bracing for the answer to the question he was about to ask. “What does having a taste for art have anything to do with looking at a mare’s flanks?”

Tongs snorted in good humor. “Just like any masterpiece that you see in a museum, we can look at the natural beauties that walk by all we want, but we can’t touch.”

Cuisine could not help but laugh a little. It certainly sounded like something Fruit would agree to.

*****

Marble stepped into Sugar Cube corner. The door had barely shut, before Pinkie had grabbed her up her in a hug.

“I thought they had ponynapped you,” Pinkie said, holding her sister tight.

“Pinkie, I'm fine. Cuisine cooked me a gourmet lunch. It took a little longer to prepare than a daisy salad, that's all.” She hugged her relieved sibling. “Thanks for looking out for me, but there were no ponynappings anywhere involved.”

“Drat, I was hoping we were going to have to rescue somepony,” Rainbow pouted, from where she sat at one of the shop’s tables.

Fluttershy did not agree with Rainbow in the slightest. “I'm glad you're fine. Having to rescue a pony sounds kind of scary to me.”

Marble looked at the collected Elements of Harmony with wide eyes. “Not to sound rude, but what are you all doing here?”

Rarity's expression held both amusement and a touch of aggravation at Pinkie's mild deception. “Your dear sister informed us that you had come into town and that you needed to see us. She said we needed to drop whatever we were doing and get to Sugar Cube corner as quickly as we could. She gave us the impression that you needed some help unpacking some things that couldn’t wait.”

Marble gave Pinkie an irritated glance, then explained, “I was planning to get you all together at some point before I went back home to give you some things from our family. I hope she didn’t cause you too much trouble.”

Spike spoke up. “Nah, it's all good. So, you need help unpacking a few special items?” His face took on a feral quality with his anticipation.

Twilight lightly poked him in the shoulder. “Remember what happened the last time when you got a little too grabby for things?” Spike had the good grace to blush at the memory of his greed-fueled tirade around Ponyville.

“Since we’re all here anyhow, we can make quick work of gettin’ you unpacked. Just point us to the cart, and tell us what need doin’.” Applejack offered.

Pinkie led the gathering through the kitchen. They all waved at the confused Cakes as they went past and out to the cart. There was not much for the gathered Elements to unpack. The majority of the items on the cart were to go to various businesses in town or used in barter for supplies for the farm. They returned to the shop’s dining area, with the addition of the four ponies of the Cake family. Marble handed out the various items that her parents had sent.

Each pony admired his or her gift. Twilight received a gem decorated quill stand. Rarity was gifted a set of jeweled hairpins, which she immediately used to put her mane up in a style reminiscent of the one she wore during the Crystal Empire adventure. Rainbow got a collectable Wonderbolt Soarin plushie. The others noted that she tried to play it cool, but Rainbow would occasionally hug the plushie to her side after she moved enough to have it slide away from her. Fluttershy smiled over her bejeweled comb for her long mane and tail. Pinkie received an amethyst cluster, along with a note telling her to think of her home and family whenever she saw it. Pumpkin and Pound Cake each got toys. The Cakes received a finely etched display platter for the shop. Spike showed his appreciation for his gift by munching on a couple of the gems from the full pouch that Marble had given him.

Cup Cake gave Marble a stunned look, after looking at the fine etching work on the tray. “Marble, dearie, this is wonderful, but this is far too expensive as a gift.” The other ponies in the room made similar remarks.

Marble smiled and waved off their worries. “Limestone made, etched, or in Pinkie’s case, dug up most of the gifts. She leapt at the chance to work on things that would have meaning for you all. It was her part of the gifts. Mom, dad, and I provided the materials, and she did what she loves to do. Combining metalwork and gems has really become her passion. Consider them a combination of birthday, Hearth’s Warming, and thank you for taking care of Pinkie so well gifts.”

Rarity admired her reflection in one of the shop’s display cases. “Tell your sister we appreciate her thoughtfulness and skill. These are exquisite. They go with my mane perfectly too. She and I might have to have a little business discussion before too much longer.”

Marble beamed at the prospect of her sister having to opportunity to work with one of Equestria’s premiere fashion designers. “She’ll be thrilled to hear that you liked the hairpins. I’m sure she would love to work with you too.”

The group talked, laughed, and exchanged stories and gossip even after the shop’s closing time. There was a knock on the door and the conversations paused for a moment.

Carrot looked at the door, then to Pinkie. “Didn’t you flip the sign to ‘closed’ just a couple of minutes ago?”

Pinkie nodded vigorously. “I’m abso-positively-lutely sure I did Mr. Cake. I’ll go see who it is. Maybe they’re new to town and lost.” The idea struck her, and her already high energy level stepped up a notch. “I hope it’s somepony new. Then I could throw them a welcome to Ponyville party!” She opened the door, and paused as she recognized the pony standing outside. She turned her head and declared, “Marble, it’s for you.”

Marble made her way to the door, and was shocked to see Cuisine standing in the darkening twilight. He was not wearing his vest and tie, and his mane was not the formal brushed back style he had worn in earlier that day. His mane was longer that she had realized, and was a nice shade of dark blue that shone in the fading light. Had it not been for his mustache and cutie mark she might not have recognized him.

He self-consciously spoke to her. “Excuse me. I hope I’m not interrupting anything. I needed to talk to you, if you have a moment.”

Marble told the group that she would be back in a minute, walked out the door, and shut it behind her. “You look like a new pony tonight. It took me a second to recognize you.”

He bashfully rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof. “I get that a lot. I’m all business at the cafe, but much more relaxed around town.” He hesitated, seemingly not sure where to begin. “I wanted to thank you again for helping us today. You really saved our tails.”

She grinned at his hesitant behavior. He really did seem like a different pony to her. Even his formal tone and stuffy front were gone. “You didn’t have to come all the way here to say thanks again. I appreciate the thought, but you’ve already thanked me enough.”

“That’s only part of why I’m here. Tongs saw nurse Red Heart this afternoon. He’s now under strict orders not to do any sort of work for the next five days. He has to give his shoulder some time to heal, or next time it could be much worse when it goes out. There are typically four ponies working the kitchen, but my aunt and cousin are in Fillydelphia on business. They won’t be back for a couple of more days. We hired Caramel as support until they get back, thinking if we pushed we could handle everything with just three ponies.”

Marble winced. “Tongs picked a bad time to be injured.”

Cuisine nodded. “We tried working through dinner this evening with just the three of us. We hit a couple of snags, to put it nicely. The café needs two servers working for things to run smoothly. Since I had to cook the meals this evening, we gave Caramel the chance at being a server.” He cleared his throat in an awkward manner before continuing, “He was barely adequate. We even had to get him a pad to write orders down. He couldn’t keep things straight without it.”

Marble recalled that she never saw either Cuisine or Tongs using a pad when they took orders. “I don’t think I could do what you and your uncle do either. I wouldn’t trust myself to take an order without something to write on.”

He assured her otherwise. “You would be able to after a little bit, I have no doubt. You certainly can cook. That’s what brought me here this evening. My uncle and I would like to know if you would be interested in working with us as the cook for the cafe for the next couple of days. That would free me up to go back to serving. We know you’re here on business and to take some personal time, but we could really use your skills. We’re willing to pay time and a half the going rate for your services for the inconvenience.”

Marble’s mouth dropped open at the offer. “I saw what your uncle was going to pay me. I’m not nearly worth that much, much less time and a half!”

He snorted at her self-depreciation. “You’re selling yourself and your skills far short. You handled yourself and the kitchen like a professional cook. It’s only right you should be paid like one.”

She could tell he was being honest with his assessment, which pleased her no end. She took a moment to think about the offer, and then answered, “Alright, I’ll do it, but only if you pay me at the going rate. I don’t want to take advantage of your situation.”

“My uncle won’t be happy with me, but I accept.” He shook hooves with her to seal the bargain. “Will there be any problem for you to arrive around ten in the morning?” She shook her head. “Wonderful, we’ll be looking for you then.” He glanced over her shoulder to the shop’s main window and chuckled. “I better get going. I don’t want to give them the wrong impression. It looks like you’re going to have some explaining to do once you’re back inside as it is.”

Marble turned and saw that the Elements, the Cakes, and Spike were watching the two of them out the window. All but Pinkie ducked out view when she looked in their direction. Pinkie, on the other hoof, just waved at the two outside. Marble laughed at their antics and turned back to Cuisine. In a faux serious tone, she asked, “What wrong impression are you talking about?”

She caught him off guard with her question. He stuttered, “Nothing, I didn’t really mean anything by it at all!”

She enjoyed his reaction and decided to take the friendly prodding one more step. She gave him a hurt look. “Are you saying that I’m not a nice enough mare to have a stallion come and talk to her?”

He all but physically recoiled at her words. “Not at all, you’re lovely!” He blushed as he realized what he had inadvertently said. “I mean…”

Her flattered smile stopped him. “It’s rather nice for a mare to have a handsome colt come after her for her skills, especially after he just met her. I’m really looking forward to working with you and your uncle.” She made sure that she put a little more into her walk as she made her way back inside. When she turned around from shutting the door, Marble came close to touching noses with Rarity.

Rarity could barely restrain her curiosity, and it showed. “Darling, you are going to have to tell us what that was all about. The suspense is killing us.”

Rainbow laughed at Rarity’s eagerness. “By ‘us’ she means ‘her.’ Don’t let her kid you.”

Twilight noted Pinkie’s expectant expression, and disagreed. “Rainbow, your hypothesis seems to be flawed. It looks like Pinkie would like to know too.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Twilight.”

Marble nonchalantly shrugged. “I was just hired as a temporary cook for a couple of days at The Grazing Meadow.” Pinkie gasped and danced around with glee for her sister.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Dear, there was a little more going on than just that. Your walk back made that clear.”

Marble flushed a little. “You saw that?” Rarity nodded, and Marble’s face got a little redder. “I kind of tricked him into complementing me and I complimented him back.” Rarity stared at her for a moment, and Marble hesitantly added, “With a little interest.”

Rarity gave her a knowing smile. “I think the ‘interest’ was mutual.”

Marble shyly grinned and hoped Rarity was right.

Comments

[Seether00]

I am intrigued! Please continue. Cuisine better be careful. Pinkie is watching.

[alexanderhunt88]

Nuts, looks like this fic will win the contest.

Good show, Random_User, good show.

[WetWilly]

Me likey.

[blindbronyinblack]

This is quite interesting. I love stories that focus on background ponies. Let's see what happens next.

[JetstreamGW]

Caramel.

Also, you complement a meal with an appropriate wine. You pay another person (pony?) a compliment.

[Carnation83]

This is like the third or fourth time I've read this great story, but the first time since I've watched the Hearthswarming episode with Pinkie Pie and Applejack's families sharing the holiday. For the record, that version of Marble was LAME!
Your version is vastly superior in every possible way and I consider her canon!