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The Sweet Smell of Pastries1,458 words
The Witch Moves In1,381 words

The Witch Moves In

July

"Oh... Yes, of course, please c-come in," Fluttershy said, moving aside to allow the stranger into her home. Twilight stepped inside, taking in the modest living area. It seemed that the kitchen, dining room, and living room all melded together in a small, but not too small, space.

"Hmmm... I like it, it's perfect," Twilight said with a smile.

"Th-Thanks," Fluttershy responded, again in her rather meek voice. "Let me show you to your room," She led Twilight to her room, which was the pantry near the small kitchen area of her home. She opened the door, it was a long and narrow room, with different ingredients and foodstuffs on either side on shelves and in crates. At the back of the room were a sprung cot and chest for storage. "I'm sorry it's not much, but it's the best I could do,"

"No, no, don't be... It's just fine, thanks, Ms. Fluttershy," Twilight told Fluttershy kindly.

"Oh dear, don't call me that, just call me Fluttershy," She said. "It's perfectly fine,"

"Oh... Okay, Fluttershy," She set her stuff down on the bed, using a quick spell to hang her cloak and hat on a nearby hook, leaving a trail of sparkles in its wake.

"Let me cook you some supper,"

"No need, I already have something," Twilight reached into her sack and pulled out a small fruit pastry wrapped in paper.

"Oh no dear, I insist," Fluttershy gave a warm smile. "Save the pastry for desert,"

"Oh... Thank you then, I guess," She left the pantry and sat at the small table, keeping the pastry with her.

"I hope you don't mind potato soup, I already have the ingredients out," Fluttershy said as she started to cook another batch.

"Oh not at all, I haven't eaten much in the past three days,"

"Oh dear, why not?" Fluttershy asked, noticeably concerned.

"I've been moving around the city, I'm just lucky I found the ad when I did, or I was gonna have to beg the librarian at the academy to let me sleep there," She chuckled a bit.

"Well I'm glad you found me too, I wouldn't want you to starve," She kept cooking, chopping up the potatoes. "So how long have you been at the school?"

"Only a couple of days, the first day of summer classes is tomorrow,"

"I see, are you new to Canterlot?"

"Yep, only been here a couple of days. I came here from a little town called Ponyville," She smiled, as she thought of the place.

"I don't think I know that place, did you come by train or-" Fluttershy was cut off.

"I flew!" Twilight exclaimed with excitement. "Most of the way at least, I used my broom,"

"It seems you're already good at magic," Fluttershy said as she worked on completing the soup, pouring up a bowl from Twilight and grabbing a chunk of brown bread for her.

"Ponyville's school teaches magic to young kids," She said as Fluttershy came over with her meal, setting it before the young witch. "I was quite proficient with it already, so my parents signed me up for the academy," Fluttershy sat down and started to finish her meal.

"What was Ponyville like?" She asked, finding herself curious about Twilight's old home.

"Nothing too big, a quaint little town along the railway, there were lots of farmers with sheep and stuff. My father was the town's blacksmith, he made the tools and horseshoes for the farmers. I loved reading so he always bought me books when he could, of course, one of them had to be a beginner's spell book," She chuckled as she reminisced on her younger days.

"That reminds me a bit of my home, it was called Seaward Shoals,"

"Hey, I've heard of that town, they build sailing ships there, don't they?" Twilight's eyes were bright with fascination.

"Indeed, not just sailing ships, have you ever heard of the WS Mountains of The Heart?"

"That's a whaling ship, right? I read quite a bit about it,"

"Yep, it's part steamship, my father even worked on it," She sighed happily. "I remember sitting out on the peer and watching ships roll by in the distance. Some of them would even stop in town, they were the smaller ones of course, but it was a magnificent sight,"

"I'm sure it was, I remember always sitting at my bedroom window at night to listen to the nightly express train as it thundered past town," Twilight smiled warmly at the thoughts, continuing to eat her meal. The delightful clang of a tram engine's bell startled her as the nightly freight chuffed past. "Of course," She began with a laugh. "They were never as close as the trains are here,"

"Luckily they're slow," Fluttershy replied, also laughing. "The express trains never come this close, just listen for the bell and watch for tracks and you'll be just fine,"

"Or I can just use my broom," Twilight added, still laughing.

"That too, but I'd still be careful, the skies are filled with flying machines some mornings," Fluttershy finished her meal. "Oh dear, I forgot the tea," She immediately hopped to her feet and started back over to the stove. Twilight stopped her.

"Oh no, Fluttershy, let me," She stood up. "You made me supper, so I'll make the tea," She gestured for Fluttershy to have a seat and went over to the kitchen area. She took out the teapot and poured some water from the handpump sink, setting it on the still-hot stove. Then she put some lavender in the water and covered the top. She returned to her seat across from Fluttershy. "So you were saying?"

"Oh yes, be careful, some mornings people like to get out on their flying machines. If you leave early enough you shouldn't have to worry much,"

"What time will you be leaving?" Twilight asked as she finally finished the soup and bread.

"Just at sunrise, if you leave at the same time as me you should be able to get out before they start heading out,”

"If I leave that early I might get to see the express as it leaves the station," Twilight smiled at the thought, the academy sat to the east of town some ways away from the city's grand central station. "What a sight that would be," The two girls were jolted from their conversation by the shrill hissing whistle of the tea kettle. Twilight jumped up and took it from the stove, grabbing a couple of finely decorated white cups and pouring some up for the two. She handed one to Fluttershy and sat down. Fluttershy took a sip from her tea.

"It's getting late, you might want to finish your tea and wash up for bed," Fluttershy told Twilight.

"Why?" She asked jokingly. "You aren't my mother," She continued, still chuckling all the same. She still followed her instructions and quickly finished her tea. She put her cup over in the sink before grabbing a nightgown from her sack in the pantry and rushed to the bathroom for a quick wash. She returned moments later with her hair tied and ready for bed. "Goodnight Fluttershy," She called as she went to the pantry. "And thanks... For supper, and a place to stay... I promise to get rent in as soon as I can," Fluttershy took a sip from her tea and responded:

"Don't worry dear, rent's not due till the end of next month, you need not worry,"

"Thanks... Again..." Twilight shut the pantry door, leaving Fluttershy alone as she stayed up a fair bit longer. The bell of the nearby temple chimed ten o'clock and Fluttershy finally started turning in. She put her cup in the sink, and quickly washed up. She was about to head upstairs to change when she saw the pastry Twilight had brought still sitting on the table. "Oh dear, I don't want it to go to waste," She quickly grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper from a notebook, writing a little note to remind Twilight about it in the morning.

After which she went up to her room, changed into her gown, and climbed into bed. There she drifted soundly off to sleep, resting up for another day.

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