The Phoenix King

by Turtlehaus

Chapter 5: Brunch With Tea

While living in Manehattan, a pony gets used to seeing some pretty strange things from time to time. There are street preforming ponies, new businesses opening, long lines, crowded streets, back alley spells that go terribly wrong, Discord, ponies that eat pizza with a fork, just to name a few things, but standing in an elevator with the Princess of the Frozen North was pretty new for Florence and Chapel; not so much for Tea.

Princess Sapphire had promised to explain everything to Tea, as well as her friends, of what had transpired in the Ashen Fields, only after acquiring her lantern. This prompted Tea to explain that it was back at her parent's apartment downtown, which had every pony rushing to retrieve it.

The elevator music played softly. The elevator would stop on every floor, ding loudly, the doors would slide open for a few seconds before sliding closed once more, and continue to repeat the process on the next floor. Princess Sapphire had never been on an elevator before and thought that it was required to press every button to have the machine work but it had proved to be a huge mistake. Florence and Chapel were kind enough not to roll their eyes or make any snide remarks about the very long elevator ride to Tea's floor but Tea had no problem giving a very loud and audible sigh every time they stopped; Sapphire's faced soured more with each sigh.

"Your Majesty?" Florence asked cautiously after the sixteenth floor.

"You can call me Princess Sapphire." Sapphire offered.

"That doesn't make it any easier." Tea pointed out.

"I was just trying to be less formal than usual. I found that Smolder connected with ponies easier when they didn't refer to him by such titles." Sapphire explained.

"So… can we call you Sapphire then?" Chapel asked curiously.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves, I hardly know you ponies, and I don't rightly know why you came along in the first place." Sapphire replied looking over her shoulder at the two of them.

"They didn't believe I went to Smolder's Coronation." Tea remarked, looking a little annoyed as well.

"By Celestia, why would any pony lie about that?" Princess Sapphire asked sounding surprised.

"Tea is one of the blandest ponies in all of Manehattan! How could she get mixed up in Royalty with her dry sense of humor?" Florence stated in their defense.

"Hey!" Tea shouted, flushing slightly.

"I will admit, I too did not believe Tea to be friends with King Smolder." Princess Sapphire remarked thinking back on it.

"How did you two exactly meet?" Chapel asked, trying to get some much needed answers.

"That's not important right now, we must retrieve Ms. Herbal's lantern if we are to rescue King Smolder." Princess Sapphire insisted.

"Yeah about that..." Tea began, wanting to know more about what had happened.

The elevator dinged loudly, the doors opened once more. Luckily for every pony, this floor was the one that had Tea's apartment on. Filing out of the elevator, Tea decided to hold off her questions for the moment as she fumbled with her bag for her keys. Walking a ways down the hallway, the four mares stopped outside the apartment door numbered '331'.

The sounds of dishes clanking together could be heard from the other side of the door, informing Tea and the other ponies that some pony was home. Tea checked the doorknob to see that it wasn't locked and opened the door.

"Mom?" Tea asked aloud.

"Tea, honey? Is that you?" A voice called out from within the apartment.

Opening the door all the way, Tea entered the apartment with Princess Sapphire, Chapel, and Florence following behind her. Chapel and Florence had been over many times before but this was the first time Princess Sapphire had ever visited a commoner pony's home.

The apartment had hard wood floors, the walls were painted an egg shell white, there was a small dining room table off to the side, while the living room just several feet away. The kitchen was to the right of the front door; it seemed large enough for two ponies to comfortably move around, while a hallway led to the bedrooms. Princess Sapphire was amazed by the quaintness of the apartment, taking interest in the bookcase that held several books and knickknacks.

"Hey, Mom, I… uh… brought some friends over." Tea announced aloud.

From the kitchen a yellow-green mare strolled out, holding a dish towel in her hooves to greet them. She was an older mare, her mane was a yellow-orange, braided and draped over her shoulder. Her cutie mark was that of a tea cup. She seemed rather surprised to see Tea back from class so early, noticing the familiar faces of her friends but taking a very surprised notice of the Ice Pony carefully inspecting her collectable ceramic Barn Babies figurines.

"Tea, sweetie, is everything okay?" Her mother asked, sounding concerned.

"Mom, I'd like you to meet… uh… Princess Sapphire of the Frozen North." Tea introduced her. "Princess Sapphire, this is my mother, Chamomile Tea."

Sapphire took notice of her name, drawing herself away from the Barn Babies, she approached Tea's mother elegantly, bowing her head to her.

"Excuse my unannounced visit into your lovely home, Ms. Tea; I am in desperate need of your daughter's help." Princess Sapphire informed her.

"Sweet Celestia, look how thin you are!" Chamomile stated in shock.

Chamomile took hold of Sapphire's face, turning her head side to side to get a better look at her.

"Mom!" Tea shouted, face flushed, sounding extremely embarrassed.

"You're practically wasting away on all that Royal garbage that costs an arm and foreleg to make." Chamomile said shaking her head in disappointment. "Have a seat, dearie, I'll make you something to eat in a jiffy."

Chamomile retreated back to the kitchen, with Tea quickly following her.

"Mom, we're not here to eat!" Tea insisted, watching her mother start to pull cooking pots from the cabinets.

"I can't sit by and watch a pony go hungry, Tea. Now you and your friends sit at the table while I cook something up for you lot." Chamomile insisted, turning on the stove.

"Really, Ms. Tea, we were merely-" Sapphire began.

"Sit down!" Chamomile shouted almost threateningly at the four mares.

No pony needed to be told twice. Chapel, Florence, and Sapphire quickly sat themselves down at the dining room table while Tea begrudgingly strolled over to join them; her face a deep shade of green.

"Is everything alright, dear?" Another voice called out from down the hall.

Tea seemed to perk up at this voice; a smile couldn't help but crawl across her face at the sound of this pony. From the hallway an older grey colt strolled out into the living room, his mane was black with minor streaks of white. His cutie mark was that of a stethoscope. He wore a white doctor's coat, with blue scrubs underneath. What was most impressive was the goatee he sported that framed his face so well, it seemed almost criminal for him not to be a professional model; this was Tea's father.

"Everything is fine, Earl, Tea has some of her friends over for a late breakfast." Chamomile informed him from the kitchen.

"Shouldn't you be in class, sweetheart?" Tea's father asked her.

"Something came up." Tea said sheepishly.

He walked right over to Tea, his hoof around her shoulders, pulled her in for a quick kiss on the head. Tea lit up from this, flushing slightly from having her friends around to see it.

"Dad, I'd like you to meet a new friend of mine, Princess Sapphire of the Frozen North." Tea introduced once more. "Princess Sapphire, this is my father, Dr. Earl Grey."

"I can see where Tea gets her inspiration in wanting to become a doctor." Princess Sapphire said, holding out her hoof across the table to him.

"You look a little thin, Princess Sapphire." Earl pointed out, raising a brow at her; shaking her hoof.

"I'm already handling it, dear!" Chamomile shouted from the kitchen.

Princess Sapphire flushed slightly, watching Tea groan in embarrassment as her father walked into the kitchen.

"Are you going to be late coming home tonight, Earl?" Chamomile asked curiously.

"Hopefully not too late, the hospital is currently understaffed at the moment, but I wouldn't wait up." Earl replied, giving Chamomile a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Have a good day, dear." Chamomile said watching him head for the door.

"You too, sweetie." Earl said, taking a satchel off the coat rack and draping it over his shoulder.

"Bye, Dad." Tea said with a wave.

"Goodbye, Dr. Grey." Florence and Chapel said together.

"Have a good day, sweetheart." Tea's father said with a smile, giving Tea a small wink before leaving the apartment.

"He seems nice." Princess Sapphire stated approvingly.

"He's almost always busy though." Chapel commented.

"Tea said she wanted to become a doctor pony so she could spend more time with him." Florence remarked, much to Tea's embarrassment.

"That was when I was just a filly!" Tea snapped, flushing once more.

"And yet, here you are, almost a full grown pony, on her way to becoming a doctor." Chapel replied with a teasing smile. "She gets to spend even more time with her Dad now because he can help her study."

"I commend Ms. Herbal for picking such a respected profession. Her father is a fine role model for her." Sapphire stated.

"Well of course he is. We're just giving Tea a hard time about it." Florence remarked, rolling her eyes.

"Why would you wish to give Ms. Herbal a hard time?" Sapphire asked in surprise.

"It's just what friends do. They give each other a hard time." Chapel informed her.

"It seems very one sided, if not in very poor taste." Sapphire stated, not liking the idea at all.

"They are just giving me a hard time because of how my parents are." Tea explained to her. "If I was to bring up Chapel's pudding fiasco from two weeks ago…"

"You promised to never speak of that again!" Chapel shouted; mortified at the topic of conversation Tea was trying to start.

"Pudding Fiasco?" Sapphire asked confused.

"We were in between classes, breaking for lunch, when Chapel here spotted the handsome colt from 2A." Florence began, with Chapel shushing her to be quiet. "Chapel decided that she was going to get his attention by dropping her pudding cup 'accidently' as she walked by him. Hoping that he would return it to her and start a conversation."

"Why not simply approach this colt and make your interest in speaking with him known? Why go through all the trouble of staging a scenario with deception and pudding cups?" Sapphire asked curiously.

"Because she's a big chicken and was too embarrassed to approach him." Tea informed her.

"Can we just drop it?" Chapel asked, flushing, and sounding very annoyed.

"Oh, she dropped it alright, but the poor cult didn't see it happen until he stepped on it." Florence replied, trying hard not to laugh.

"What happened?" Sapphire asked looking very interested.

"No! No more! Let's talk about something else!" Chapel shouted, face burning red.

"You girls behave yourselves!" Chamomile called from the kitchen.

"The colt ends up stepping on the pudding cup, slipping right into Beverly Morningstar." Tea said, much to Chapel's horror.

"Who is Beverly Morningstar?" Sapphire asked curiously.

"Only the prettiest pony in the entire Academy." Florence replied.

Sapphire watched as Chapel let her head drop onto the table, covering her head with her hooves, groaning in embarrassment.

"I fail to see the fiasco." Sapphire stated in confusion.

"The colt and Morningstar started dating the very next day." Tea explained to her.

"Which would mean that Ms. Chapel was unsuccessful in her attempt to speak with a colt, and inadvertently led him straight into the arms of another mare?" Sapphire asked, starting to put the pieces together.

"You got it." Florence said with a smile.

"Why not simply make your feelings known to this colt? Why not fight for his affection?" Sapphire asked, sounding almost annoyed.

"Morningstar is the prettiest pony at the Academy, no colt would-" Chapel began.

"A pony's worth is not based on appearance, if you truly believe that this colt is worth your time then summon up the courage to tell him so or don't bother wasting your time." Sapphire stated, cutting her off.

"Princess Sapphire, it's just a crush, ponies get them all the time. You enjoy your crushes like you enjoy candy, its' okay to have once in a while but you don't want it for a steady diet." Florence explained to her.

"You really think I'm wasting my time?" Chapel asked, sounding a bit curious.

"If this colt has not noticed your merits or strengths at this point, I would suggest looking elsewhere for a colt that will appreciate you for what you are and not worry about a colt noticing you for how you look." Sapphire stated.

Chapel smiled to herself. She looked empowered by Sapphire's words, no longer embarrassed, but feeling better about the whole pudding fiasco. Tea and Florence noticed this as well, they were impressed that Sapphire chose to encourage Chapel rather than poke fun. Realizing that Sapphire carried herself in a different way; a way that put more emphasis on character than appearance. That she needed to be confident in her own abilities to earn the respect from her royal peers.

"So… what about you, Princess Sapphire? Did you confess your feelings to any colt yet?" Chapel asked curiously.

There was a slight flush of purple that flashed across Sapphire's face, her cloudy mane showering several more snowflakes then before. Clearing her throat, Sapphire closed her eyes and sat up straight.

"A Princess does not speak of such private matters in mixed company." Sapphire stated bluntly.

"Says who?" Florence asked, not buying a word of it.

"Says… the rules." Sapphire said after pausing for a moment.

"What rules?" Chapel asked, raising a brow at this.

"Was one of the rules forcing Smolder to marry you?" Tea asked hotly, flushing at her own words.

Florence and Chapel gasped at this. Sapphire shot Tea a very dirty look. Her mane flourishing several more snowflakes as her face turned a deeper purple.

"If you must know, the laws set by our Kingdom demanded that an arranged marriage between a Prince and myself was to happen. It was a tradition based solely on my inability to find a suitable partner before my eighteenth birthday." Sapphire stated, trying to remain professional about this.

"So you were forced to marry King Smolder?" Chapel asked, wanting to hear more.

"My parents assured me that the Flame Pony Prince was a good pairing for me, but I was skeptical to say the least." Sapphire replied, refusing to reveal anything more.

"That's when she was caught in his bedroom." Tea mentioned quickly, looking away to avoid Sapphire's menacing glare.

"What were you doing in his bedroom?" Chapel and Florence asked at the same time.

"I hardly see how this is an appropriate conversation." Sapphire stated, doing her best to drop the subject.

"I hardly see how it's appropriate to be in his bedroom." Tea mumbled under her breath.

"If you are insinuating that I was there under… under… immoral pretenses th-th-th-then you are grossly mistaken!" Sapphire snapped at her, flushing once more.

"You seemed pretty comfortable touching him with your horn!" Tea shouted in protest.

"A spiritual reading requires the medium to make contact with a pony such manners. It is a highly respected act amongst our ponies and often sought after by those seeking spiritual enlightenment." Sapphire explained in her defense.

"You could have just gotten him a gift card." Tea mumbled, still hot under the saddle.

"Smolder had already refused the arranged marriage proposal. I told you so at the party! I do not see why you are still so- so- so- so shrill about this!" Sapphire exclaimed, feeling her mane flurry more snow.

"Any pony can see that you have feelings for him, don't pretend you don't!" Tea shouted back.

"Of course I do!" Sapphire shouted.

"So you admit you care about him!" Tea stated.

Sapphire and Tea were nearly out of their chairs, faces flushed, glaring at one another while Chapel and Florence were glued to their seats; expecting some pony to start throwing hooves. Luckily, for every pony, Chamomile emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray of pancakes.

"Who wants pancakes?" Chamomile asked allowed, placing the tray on the middle of the dining room table.

"What's a pancake?" Sapphire asked, reseating herself; attempting to calm down.

"What's a pancake?" Chapel and Florence asked together in surprise.

"Has your mother never cooked you pancakes before, dear?" Chamomile asked curiously, retrieving plates from the cabinet.

"My… my mother doesn't cook. She's tried before but my father has taken ill after every one of her attempts." Sapphire remarked, her spirits lifting from the alluring aroma of the pancakes.

"So what do you normally eat?" Tea asked, falling victim to the delectable smell of her mother's pancakes.

"Whatever the Royal Dietitian deems acceptable." Sapphire replied, magically lifting a few pancakes to her plate.

"What's acceptable?" Chapel asked curiously.

"Juniper berries, toast, and water." Sapphire replied.

Staring down at her pancakes, Sapphire looked around the table to see Tea, Chapel, and Florence cutting small portions away from the whole of the pancake. Figuring out the proper method of consuming her pancakes, Sapphire magically lifted her fork to sheer off a piece before lifting it into her mouth. Chamomile returned with several cups and a pitcher of apple juice.

"How is it, dear?" Chamomile asked.

"Are pancakes always this delicious?" Sapphire asked, looking very excited.

"Only when my Mom makes them." Tea replied.

Four more pancakes magically levitated into the air before dropping down onto Sapphire's plate. Every pony watched as Sapphire eagerly devoured them, unable to contain the pure bliss she was experiencing from the delicious taste of Chamomile's pancakes. Satisfied that Sapphire was eating so earnestly, Chamomile turned her attention to Tea who seemed to be enjoying her pancakes as well.

"Tea, honey, you never told me why you came home so early." Chamomile pointed out.

"Oh, well, you see… we… uh…" Tea began, putting down her fork and looking to Chapel and Florence for help.

Neither Florence nor Chapel offered any.

"Ms. Herbal is in possession of a lantern that holds the key of saving the King of Flame Ponies from another dimension, known as the Void, which consumed him, his entire family, and an Elder Dragon named Char." Sapphire stated, wiping her mouth with her napkin in a dignified way. "I came to Manehattan seeking her help in saving this Flame Pony."

"You mean Smolder?" Chamomile asked curiously.

"You know him?" Sapphire asked in surprise.

"He's all Tea ever talks about." Chamomile replied; much to Tea's horrified look.

"Back up! What happened to Smolder?" Tea asked, looking just as confused as Florence and Chapel were.

"Yes, well, I did promise you an explanation of what had transpired." Sapphire said, trying to figure out where to start.

"Gather your thoughts, dear; you ponies can discuss it in length in Tea's room." Chamomile stated gathering up the dishes. "But first, Tea, honey, you can help me with the clean-up."

Tea grumbled. Gathering up her own dishes, Tea followed her mother into the kitchen while Florence, Chapel and Sapphire moved to the living room to wait for her. Chamomile was quick to begin washing the few dishes they had while Tea was assigned drying duty. Tea knew her mother ran a tight ship around here and that she wouldn't let Tea shirk her chores.

"Sapphire seems like a nice pony." Chamomile remarked, handing her a wet plate.

"I guess so." Tea mumbled, not entirely onboard with that statement.

"It must be so hard trying to fit in with such regular ponies." Chamomile continued.

"Whatever." Tea mumbled again, putting the plate away.

"Reminds me of how hard you said it was for Smolder to fit in." Chamomile mentioned.

Tea paused for a moment, turning to look at her mother who was looking right back at her. She could tell that her mother was referring to the conversation from earlier when their voices were raised.

"Sometimes pain can be on the inside, honey; most ponies can't see it unless they've been through it too." Chamomile said passing her the last wet plate.

"This is different, Mom." Tea remarked defensively.

Chamomile gave Tea a small kiss on the cheek before exiting the kitchen. Tea did not like the notion of trying to befriend Sapphire, but a part of her knew that it was the right thing to do. Putting the plate away, Tea left the kitchen to find Sapphire shaking her mane back and forth. Florence and Chapel stood near her, catching the falling snowflakes from her mane and watching them slowly melt in their hooves.

"Let's… go to my room." Tea said slowly, getting their attention.

Tea's room was painted soft baby blue, white curtains on a window facing the street, and a small ceiling fan that spun slowly. Her room was just big enough to fit the four comfortably, the bed acting as a makeshift couch that Florence and Chapel immediately took while Sapphire stood beside it. There two bookshelves filled with textbooks, medical books, and fictional books; small figurines of cartoon themed ponies were poised along the edge. The room had a small closet, on the door it held a small calendar that had the date of Smolder's Coronation circled several times. There was a small desk, with a wooden chair, that had all of Tea's schoolwork scattered about and held the lantern. It was still burning. Tea closed the door to her room behind her. Turning back, Tea noticed Sapphire poking her figurines; her face full of curiosity.

Tea motioned for Sapphire to sit in her wooden chair. Sapphire obliged, sitting down. Tea opened her closet door, rummaging around for a few moments before dragging out a bean bag chair from within. Dragging it out onto the middle of her floor, Tea plopped herself down in it as they three ponies sat watching her.

"So what happened to Smolder?" Tea asked.

---

"Ow!"

I woke with a start. A stinging pain lingering upon the side of my face while Mira massaged her hand looking annoyed with me. It didn't take me long to put two and two together; Mira had slapped me awake.

"You sleep too much." Mira stated floating away from me.

"I thought you told me to sleep more?" I asked sounding rather grouchy from being woken up so rudely.

"Five days is plenty." Mira remarked hovering near an assortment of stone jars.

"Five days?" I asked in disbelief looking over myself.

With a turn of my neck I could feel my bones cracking, the sensations was shocking yet so very satisfying as it led me to stretch even more. My muscles no longer ached, my mind numbing headache was gone, and I was starting to feel pretty normal again. Taking another look at myself, I noticed the thin scar lines webbing up my legs; every breath I took made them softly glow from my internal fire.

"There is nothing we can do about that. You'll just have to live with it." Mira remarked, having noticed my concern over it.

"It's not going to get… worse, is it?" I asked sounding mildly concerned.

"Just don't absorb anymore dragon fire and you'll be fine." Mira replied, pouring some liquid from the stone jars into a bowl.

I lifted my forearms to my face, looking at the scars a bit closer. It reminded me of my father. How his body had been burned away by the amount of fire he possessed, the amount he generated from within; how it changed him. Mine were nothing as severe as his, but it was going to be a reminder that I came close to being like him.

"So what's the plan?" I asked heaving a sigh.

"Plan?" Mira asked in surprise, looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah, how are we going to save the Void Walkers from the Storm?" I asked curiously.

"Ha! Yeah right!" Mira barked a laugh.

"What?" I asked looking confused. "I thought this is why I was here? I promised to help."

Mira picked up the bowl. Gliding over to me she placed it down in front of me as I looked into what appeared to be a green liquid that had fur on it. I made a face of disgust at it and felt Mira's small hand slap me across the face once more.

"Drink it." Mira demanded pointing at the bowl.

"What is it?" I asked rubbing my cheek, watching the fur in the bowl suddenly move.

I felt Mira's other hand slap my other cheek. My mane flared as I glared at her, but she floated firmly in place pointing down at the bowl; waiting for me to drink it.

Begrudgingly, I scooped up the bowl in my hooves, bringing it closer to my face. The smell was somehow more foul then the look of the drink. Doing my best not to breathe it in, I tipped the bowl into my mouth feeling the liquid slowly and thickly roll down my throat. My first instinct was to gag, choking on the liquid, doing my best not to throw it back up as my face made it very clear how much I disliked the drink.

"Stupid Flame Pony." Mira mumbled, taking the bowl away from me.

I didn't put up any sort of struggle to hang onto the bowl. I beat my chest with my hoof, trying to force the liquid all the way down my throat. To my surprise, I watched Mira drink the same liquid with ease, finishing the thing in just a few gulps without so much as a dry heave.

"What was that?" I asked, licking my tongue against my hoof; trying to get the foul taste from my mouth.

"More like who was that." Mira mumbled to herself.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." Mira said quickly, floating back to her stone jars.

"Are you going to tell me anything?" I asked, starting to get annoyed.

"Yes, you're not allowed to leave this cave." Mira replied, glancing over her shoulder.

"Why?" I asked.

"You are so irritating with all your questions!" Mira groaned, dragging her hands down her face.

"Hey!" I shouted, stepping towards her.

Mira raised her arm. I felt the ground beneath me grab onto my legs. I looked down to see shadow like arms reaching up and taking a hold me. I couldn't budge an inch as Mira floated back over to me. She slapped me across the face once more. I glared at her while she smiled to herself.

"You have two options, Flame Pony, leave this cave and be taken by the Void." Mira stated pointing towards the tunnel to her left.

I looked towards the tunnel. As much as I didn't like being slapped around by Mira, I knew that I didn't stand a chance at my own and had to go with the second option.

"What's option two?" I asked.

Mira tapped my forehead with her finger. I felt a sudden swell of magic come surging to my head. A feeling I had experienced whenever my dormant magic tried to assert itself. With a sudden pulse from my hooves I shattered the shadow arms gripping me, levitating the stone jars across the room, and lifting the loose rocks around me. In a flash everything dropped. I could feel the magic draining from my forehead. I felt Mira's hand lift my chin up to her face.

"I will teach you how to use your magic." Mira said with a grin. "So you can kill Null."

"Who's Null?" I asked curiously.

Mira slapped me once more.