Aperitif/Digestif

by Mr Merritt

Chapter Five Point Five

Peppermill understood that, on average, he tended to be a busy young colt. One moment he might engage in a playful shoving match with Big Macintosh, the next he would be dutifully listening to one of Granny Smith’s rambling stories about ‘the good old days’, and then following that by showing Applejack and Applebloom how to cut an onion without having to worry about the tears. It was rare to find himself with little to do, and he liked it that way.

So it was almost painful how bored he was at that very moment.

After Rarity had read the riot act to him following what he was convinced was the longest shower in Equestrian history, he had been sequestered (read: ordered in a shrill voice) in their suite for the remainder of the day. No amount of promising and pleading had budged the mare’s mind. After a somewhat trying time dealing with dirty alleys and uncouth dishwashers, the fashionista was determined to finally accomplish what she had originally set out to do while in Canterlot.

And so Peppermill found himself in the lavishly adorned suite, sprawled out on his back on the massive feather bed Rarity was using, staring at the ceiling with glazed look in his eyes.

“Why…am I bored? I…never get bored…” sighed Peppermill out loud. “Maybe I’m just…shell-shocked from…Rarity’s rant. That explains that…warning Sweetie Belle gave me. It can’t be…healthy to…get that mad.” The colt rolled onto his stomach, finding his gaze falling onto the vanity near the door outside. With a huff, he struggled out of the bed and trotted to the mirror.

“I have to…figure out how…to see Azure Mist…” The news that the Pegasus mare was still in Canterlot pleased the colt immensely. Of all of the ponies he knew while his parent’s still lived and the restaurant still stood, she was his undeniable favourite. In fact, there was more than one time when he vocally expressed his preference of her over his own older brother Saltpeter. She was kind, funny, a hard worker and rather pretty. That remembrance of her sea-blue mane and grey-violet eyes brought a slight blush to the colt’s face, and when he spotted it in the mirror’s reflection he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

“But she…is working at…the castle now. There is no way…I can just…walk in and ask…where she is…” explained the colt to no pony in particular. As he rested his forehooves onto the table he noticed a pad of pristine parchment and an ivory ink pot. He rolled his eyes at first at the lavishness of the materials, but then frowned. A thought occurred to him as he gazed at the writing implements.

“Twilight Sparkle…and the others…do it all the time. And she did say…she would offer any help…she could…” Peppermill took what seemed to be a delicate quill made of crystal in his mouth and began to write…

***

The beautiful white unicorn mare literally pranced her way towards the royal suites, visions of dresses, bits, and a rather studly unicorn stallion she had been introduced to dancing in her head. This is just what I needed… thought Rarity no alleys, no filth, and proper complements on my beauty.

Rarity was in such a good mood that she was blissfully unaware of the crumpled balls of paper littering the floor of the suite as she breezed in. She took no notice of the fact that her perfectly made bed was now occupied by a rather frustrated grey colt. He was down to one page of paper from the pad he had found, and he had made no progress in what he felt should have been an incredibly easy task. Meanwhile, Rarity pranced by to freshen up in the bathroom.

“How hard…can it be…to write a…simple note?!” exclaimed Peppermill, angrily spitting out the quill. He gave a baleful look at the implement, noting that he had almost chewed it in two in his annoyance. At least he didn’t have to worry about ink stains, since he hadn’t managed to come up with anything worth writing in quite a while, and what little ink was on the nub had long dried up. He pulled his glare off of the offending item to see Rarity stride back into the room…

…and stop in her tracks…

…and drop her jaw into the plush carpet.

“Peppermill! What in Equestria have you done?” she wailed in horror.

“I've learned I…make a better…chef than…a writer…” growled Peppermill, sulking in the bed. Sulking, that is, until he felt himself suddenly lifted off the bed. He yelped as he noticed the violet aura surrounding him, matching the aura now around Rarity’s horn. The next noise he made was a grunt as he landed hard onto the floor amidst a sea of crumpled paper.

“You will clean this up immediately, then you will go to your room!” commanded Rarity, sapphire eyes flashing. Peppermill made no sound, but got to his hooves and stiffly marched into his separate suite, slamming the door behind him. Rarity wanted to storm the door, demanding an apology. But instead she shut her eyes tight and silently counted to herself, using her sheer force of will to calm down.

Minutes passed, then she let out a ragged breath. She slowly began to collect the paper into a pile to transfer it to a wastebasket. As she did, she felt a flicker of curiosity go through her. What could he possibly have been doing that would get him so angry? she thought silently. She used her telekinetic magic to smooth out one ball of paper, and managed to make out a message:

Dear Princess Celestia,

As per your generous offer for assistance I, Peppermill, am

The remainder of the message was crossed out. Rarity went through a few more papers, and discovered a growing trend. It seemed the colt could only manage a salutation and nothing more, never satisfied with whatever it was he was writing. It was rare to see the normally confident colt so flustered, and Rarity felt a stab of regret for raising her voice.

As she continued to collect balls of paper she pondered the situation. It was clear the colt wanted to see this Azure Mist that apparently worked at the palace. Given that this mare was the last employee of Apretif/Digestif who had stayed in Canterlot after the restaurant’s destruction, there was no doubt the colt needed to see that she was well. The fact that he seemed so pleased to hear that she was still in the city obviously meant she was important to him.

And we don’t have that much time…we have to get back to Ponyville soon…The mare pondered for a moment as she continued to tidy up her room, including a quick remaking of her bed and replacing the depleted pad of paper and inkwell to the vanity. As the chewed-up quill passed by her field of vision, a realization popped into her head.

He might not have any experience writing to Celestia, but I do… Taking up the pad, and giving the inkpot a quick shake to verify that there was still some serviceable ink inside, she began to write:

Dear Princess Celestia…

***

Hours later, Peppermill peeked into the larger suite with an apologetic look on his face. A bit of ‘alone time’ to release his frustrations onto the smaller yet no less luxurious feather pillows had calmed him down enough to let the memory of his behaviour burn in his mind. The colt was totally ashamed of himself, and willingly prepared himself for a cold silence from Rarity.

He found the mare sorting through some sketches of dress designs as she lounged on her immaculate bed. Only when Peppermill cleared his throat did Rarity look up, adjusting the red bifocals she wore to address the colt.

“Feeling better darling?”

“…yes. I’m sorry…about earlier…Rarity. I’m not…a letter writer…”

“I understand darling. Believe me, it is doubly hard when the recipient is a goddess and ruler of the land.”

“That still…not an…excuse. It’s just…I want to…see Azure Mist…so badly…”

“She must be very important to you.” Peppermill had approached the bed and laid his head onto it. Rarity reached out with a dainty forehoof and brushed aside a stray bit of black mane from his forehead.

“The more…I think about…her the more…I realize just…how much of her…I see in…my friends…”

“Oh?” Rarity found this bit of information interesting.

“She is kind…like Fluttershy, but…a hard worker like Applejack. She’s smart like Twilight…and fun like Pinkie. She is…full of confidence…like Rainbow and…kind of pretty…not to your degree…of course. She even had Silver Spoon’s eyes…” Rarity listened intently to the colt’s words, recognizing the signs of puppy love when she heard it (the mention of Silver Spoon certainly not lost on her either).

“She must be very important to you darling…” said Rarity after the colt’s commentary wound down.

“I guess…I mean, she is…it’s just…I know she…would have been…heartbroken when…the restaurant went up.”

“And maybe just a little bit worried for you too, hmm?” Rarity smiled at the colt, who first blushed then shook his head, cross with himself. Why do I…get like this…when I think…about Azure Mist? he thought unhappily.

“Is that why you were so upset about not being able to write for some help? You didn’t want to sound desperate, or maybe a bit too anxious to see her?” The mare was answered by a deeper blush. The unicorn slid off the bed and placed a kind hoof on the colt’s shoulder. “The feelings you must be having are quite normal Peppermill. You loved her…well, still love her. No pony in Equestria would fault you for that.”

“I’m supposed…to be…the mature one…” mumbled Peppermill.

“And you are darling. You are one of the most mature colts I have ever met. But maturity doesn’t mean you can’t let somepony special into your heart. But you cannot let that keep you from moving on. There are always going to be special ponies that will be important to you. But the sooner you move on, the better you will feel. Believe me, I’ve learned this lesson myself.” The colt stood there, then gave a sigh.

“You’re right. I guess…I just have…to figure out…this letter thing…sooner than later.”

“True. But sometimes being mature means letting somepony with experience lend a hoof.” smiled Rarity. Peppermill blinked at the mare, who continued to give him an enigmatic smile. “I took the liberty of a little…editing for you. I am certain I was able to get your message across to the princess.”

“Wait…you sent a…letter to…Princess Celestia…for me?”

“Just before you came in here I gave it to a delightful young guard who just happened to be walking by. I imagine the princess must be reading it by now.” Peppermill was silent, then smiled.

“Thank you…Rarity.”

“You are most welcome darling.” The colt felt a bit better, no longer feeling guilty or ashamed at his perceived inadequacies. He was about to question the mare on her hunger, ideas of some interesting dining establishments coming to mind to take her to when a knock on the door interrupted them. He gave Rarity a raised eyebrow, but the mare simply approached the door.

“Yes?” she asked pleasantly. Peppermill was not able to make out the conversation, but did see a small scroll being exchanged between the visitor and the unicorn. Rarity dismissed the pony at the door and floated the scroll towards him.

“I do believe this is for you darling.” grinned Rarity. She magically opened the scroll, and Peppermill read the message out loud:

Dear Peppermill and Rarity,

I am happy to hear of your recent success in searching for your friends from your parent’s restaurant. The maturity you have shown in this task impresses me greatly.

As to your request, I have learned that the Pegasus mare Azure Mist is indeed here at the palace. In fact, she is currently acting as Princess Luna’s bailiff during sessions of the Equestrian Night Court.

I have sent word to my sister in regards to your friend, and she has expressed a keen interest in assisting you with your reunion. It would be advisable that you (and Rarity if she so chooses) come to the palace just after the evening meal to make arrangements.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Peppermill mulled this information over, then glanced over the hovering scroll to Rarity.

“Bailiff?”

“I would suspect that she must mean the pony who organizes the ponies that come to see Princess Luna and ask her advice and to pass judgment over conflicts.” explained Rarity, who was rather impressed by the news about the mysterious mare that Peppermill idolized.

“That’s a far…cry from a…restaurant hostess…”

“I assume so. I guess now you will have to decide what your next course of action will be.”

“What kind…of question is that? Of course…I’m going. I…I need to do this.”

“Are you sure? This is your…well, beloved Azure Mist we are talking about. Are you really prepared to take this step? Can you face her and be able to accept whatever may happen?” Peppermill bit his bottom lip in hard thought, then gave a sharp nod. Rarity nodded herself, not at all surprised at the silent answer. “If it is all right with you darling, I would like to accompany you to this ‘Night Court’. It sounds fascinating…”

“Yes…I think it…would be for…the best if…you came. I’m…going to need…some support with this.”

“Well then, I had best see what kind of outfit I can whip up for such an event. And I think you could use a bit of sprucing up yourself. At the very least a bit of shampoo…why does Applejack let you keep your mane so long? It simply doesn’t suit you at all…”

“I like…my mane…this way.” exclaimed Peppermill indignantly. Azure Mist…seemed to…like it…I think…

Comments

[moguera]

Hmm...wasn't expecting this. Do I see some triangles in the near future?

[-Brutus]

Let's see what happens in this meeting with Azure Mist! I quite like Peppermill over most original character on FimFiction. Keep up the good work.