• Published 23rd May 2014
  • 3,631 Views, 401 Comments

From Dusk to Night - KuroiTsubasaTenshi



Trouble. It follows me around like an unwanted pet. The kind of pet liable to maul my friends' faces. So I tried to face the demon alone. But no one can face life alone and my friends... They're less fragile than I gave them credit for.

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51 - Foreign Tastes

We’d already seen more than a few diners during our hotel hunt. The trick would be figuring out which ones we could afford. With Merri’s good news, I figured we could get away with being a bit more lax. Although, as we passed by a fancy restaurant that almost appeared to be made out of solid gold, and populated by people wearing enough jewelry to make the previous, gaudily dressed knights look like poor peasants, I was quickly reminded of just how key a phrase ‘a bit’ was.

Fortunately, neither of us had such expensive tastes—nor the clothes that would have even let us get in—so we were far from tempted. Instead, I found Night eying up a little cafe across the street.

It was a little, green building, with the standard awning and umbrella-sheltered tables, though, as per usual, more colourful than anything in Equestria. What stood out the most was a sign, depicting the mare in the moon, with ‘Caffe Luna Rosa’ scripted overtop of it. I suddenly knew exactly why it had his attention.

“Luna…?” he asked.

“Probably not named after the Princess. At least, not on purpose,” I said. Now that we were closer, I could see that it was roughly mid-grade, something well within our means. “Seems nice. Want to give it a try?”

“Sure.” He stole one last glance at the sign.

Inside, steel-framed, glass lanterns presided over dividers painted to look like fences. The tables were reminiscent of clay troughs, while the booth benches wouldn’t have been out of place in a Canterlot garden. Adding to presentation was a mixed scent of fresh greens and strong spices, the latter of which reminded me of some of the Saddle Arabian stuff my dad used to get.

Night scrunched his muzzle. I was about to ask him if he wanted to try somewhere else when he relaxed, his eyes wandering over the rest of the interior.

We didn’t have to wait long before our server appeared. She was a unicorn in a long, ribbon-clad frock—proof that even corner cafes here wanted in on the finery. With a bow, she led us to a small table along the window, giving us a nice view of the street.

The etiquette was another thing that could have placed us squarely in Canterlot. Granted, there wasn’t too much to the timing of grabbing drinks while the patrons browse the menus. Speaking of which, though many of the dishes sounded foreign or strange in name, the descriptions had me pegging many of them as ‘like Equestrian dish X, but with more spices.’

After a couple minutes, the server returned with our waters. “What can I get for the two of you?”

I eyed the menu again. I was pretty much willing to try anything, which was a problem all its own. Of course, my go-to solution for that was always to get their best. “Hmm. What's the house special?”

“We’ve a lovely house salad, as well as our chef's speciality, a dumpling pot pie.”

My eyes flitted to the menu’s entry, though I already knew what I’d be getting into: meat. In my experience, meat has always been a bit of a divisive thing. Some develop a taste for it, while others can barely stomach the thought. If I had to pick a side, I’d say I fall more toward the former. One thing for certain is that it’s far from the most efficient food a pony could eat. Then again, neither is a good deal of stuff that comes out of our bakeries. In the end, I imagine that, over time, all Ostfriesens were conditioned to get over it. After all, to a group of starving refugees, malnutrition is better than no nutrition.

That said, I wasn’t starving in the direst sense, and improperly prepared meat is often some of the grossest slop on the market. If this cook was an expert, I’d be a fool to pass it by. “Chef’s speciality? I guess I'll try the pot pie, then.”

I turned to Night, who was a little too engrossed in the atmosphere. Almost absently, he flipped the menu closed and said, “Oh, um, make it two.”

“Uh, Night, are you sure?”

Confusion washed over his face. “U-um, yes? No? Maybe?”

It was as I suspected. “That particular dish contains meat.”

Night flinched a little. “Err, meat?”

The server looked between the two of us. “I assure you that our meat is of the highest quality and prepared with the utmost care. But if you wish, I can give you a few more minutes.”

“Maybe that would be for the best,” I said.

“W-wait. No, I’ll have it.” Night looked up with a bit of a smile.

“Two pot pies, then. I shall return with your orders.” The server bowed again.

I tilted my head at Night, which he picked up on pretty quickly, asking, “What?”

“You sure you’re okay with this? I know meat isn’t to everyone’s taste.”

“W-well, you’re having it, right? It can’t be that bad.”

I smirked a little as I shook my head. “My palette has had a bit of time to adapt. It comes from years of trying local cuisines. And, yes, while I did have to start somewhere, I don’t want you to feel obligated because of me.”

“No, not obligated.” Night scuffed his hoof before giving me a smile of his own. “I want to. I’d have already missed so many things if I hadn’t stepped outside my comfort zone. Besides, after fighting a dragon, how hard can this be?”

I couldn’t help but giggle. “If you say so.”

“I do.” Night blushed a little as he looked at me. “Though, I’m already a bit spoiled. I’ve already seen the most beautiful thing I could imagine.”

“Was the oasis that impressive to you?” I asked.

“I... I was more referring to you. Going to be hard to find anything in the world that rivals your eyes, or your smile.”

Even with notice, it was difficult to hide my amusement. “Okay, this time you’re definitely just being a flatterer.”

Colour filled his face. “Maybe a little.”

The server returned before long, bearing two delicious-looking pies. As I dug in, I found the meat as savoury as she had claimed. I’m no connoisseur, but the way the sauce and spices came together with the tenderness of the meat just made it more than I could have hoped for.

Of course, question was: would Night feel the same?

I kept an eye on Night as I continued to nibble, hoping for the best. He took a cautious bite, at first chewing as though the meal might have contained nails. With each second, he chewed a little more rapidly, though that petered out before reaching any excessive level of gusto.

“Well?” I asked.

He swallowed thoughtfully, then smiled. “It’s good. I don’t know how often I’d want to have it, but… I’m glad I ordered it tonight.”

I giggled. “Glad to hear.”

---

After supper, we set out in search of a place to dance. Like with Canterlot, the difficulty was less about finding one and more about the length of their waiting lists. When we finally did find one without an hours-long wait, the building was a little old and beaten—not that we or the other patrons seemed to mind. And the earth pony band most certainly didn’t let that deter them.

The first song was very rhythmic, but at the same time, nothing like that found in the latest Canterlot clubs. Instead of trying to trick us by suddenly stopping or shifting the beat, it almost became increasingly ferocious, in a vaguely primal sort of way. As such, I opted to sit out the first song and observe the Ostfriesens. Stealing a glance at Night, I could see he was also anxious to get out there, but unsure where to begin.

The Ostfriesens’ movements were energetic, though somewhat jerky. Many of the flourishes seemed borderline martial, perfectly matching the primalness of the song. It was then that it hit me: these were the remnants of a war dance, modernized to be something a bit less violent.

As the second song began, I stepped out onto the floor and Night quickly followed. I could mimic some of the basic movements, but for the most part, the majority of the fancier stuff were techniques I was seeing for the first time. Rather than step back again, I started substituting things my mother had taught me. If Night hadn’t picked up on things before, he definitely was now, working a few Guard moves in here and there. This drew a few stares, with the dancers likely wondering who those weirdos making those weirdo motions were, but their curiosity didn’t last for long.

“Let’s slow things down a little!” the band’s lead called out as they closed out the third of what I’d come to call ‘neo-war dance’. “Now that you’re nice and warm, why don’t you settle in close for a round of Frondly Waltz?”

This was a little more familiar to us, though the pace was a couple touches faster than any Equestrian waltz. After a bit of fumbling, we found it fairly easy to keep up.

“How’re you holding up?” I asked.

Night grinned wide. “Fine. Just fine.”

“That’s good.” I met his smile. “Wasn’t sure what you’d think of those first few.”

“It… it wasn’t my favourite.” His mouth dipped for but a moment. “But it was still fun.”

“Yeah, it was a little weird. Good thing that’s the norm on the dance floor.”

---

The band kept up a surprisingly strong variety. Most DJs in Canterlot would stick to a couple genres, but I suppose that’s one of the advantages of having a live band. After a few too many high-energy songs, Night and I decided to call it quits, heading back to our humble hotel for a well-deserved snooze.

We were a bit late to rise, though we still got to the tavern before Merri. Since we had a date to keep, we decided to try lunch with them. The menu was, strangely, pretty close to what the Seapony offered—in a way that was even closer than when I was making comparisons to the Rosa Luna’s. I suppose recipes for good hay fries and eggplant burgers simply transcend time and space.

Merri arrived just as we were finishing, though I almost didn’t recognize her. She wore a flowing, soft magenta dress, accented by a series of pale purple ribbons. The skirt was semi-transparent, though not quite enough to show off her cutie mark.

“Hey, you two.” She grinned. “Didja get a chance to shake your booties~?”

Night blushed a little. “Y-yeah, we found a place.”

“Good~. Good~.”

I smirked. “You’re looking uncharacteristically formal today.”

“Bah.” Merri waved a hoof. “You should have seen me before. I always got into this kinda stuff. The only reason I didn’t wear any around Ponyville is Sis’ insisted we didn’t have room to bring any of the good stuff. But now that we’re back here, I had a chance to raid the old wardrobe~. Feeling pretty good, if I do say so myself~.”

“Well, I’m happy you’re happy.” I giggled. “If we have time, maybe you’ll have to show it off to me.”

Merri wrapped a hoof around my withers. “Pshaw, show nothing. If you see anything you like, let me know and you can have it~. Better than having it all sit around collecting dust, anyway~.”

Then she added, in a very not-whisper, “There’s at least a couple I could get you in that would get Night there as red as a beet~.”

Night was already colouring enough that the dresses seemed entirely unnecessary.

“Merri.” I raised an eyebrow.

“Oops, didn’t mean to get carried away~!” She grinned and gave Night a sideways glance. “Cover your ears. We’re doing girl talk here~.”

I sighed, but couldn’t help but smile. “How much time do we have now, anyway?”

“Well, things are wrapping up, but Sis’ still has to work through a bit of paperwork, so probably about three days, give or take.”

I felt torn. Three days in a completely foreign country seemed far too little, yet it was also far too long before I could return to Ponyville. “Guess we can still see a few more things if we plan accordingly. Anything you’d recommend?”

Merri grinned. “Oh, yes, plenty. But why tell you when I could show you~?”

“Don’t you have things to do at the castle?” I tilted my head.

“Some. Sis’ is the important one, though, so I can be in and out a bit. So, what do you say? Would you like me to show you around~?”

“Would I?” I had to smirk—it’s not like she didn’t already know the answer.

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