My little pony:Adventure of Seresia

by Dreamy

Chapter 2: Fresh off the boat

"Okay… Let’s try this again..." Twilight closed her eyes, one hoof caressing the device that hung around her neck. It was a gift from Princess Celestia that would assist her in learning how to control the rise and fall of the sun and moon. The moon overhead wasn't as bright as the sun, nor did it have the same warmth that the sun brought when sunshine kissed her coat. But on this quiet night, the ivory moonlight took care of the earth in its own unique way. Everything around her was so peaceful that Twilight could concentrate on her research. She loved the hustle and bustle of the day filled with laughter, but also enjoyed the solitude of the night.

"You can do it! Come on, Twilight!" Spike sat beside her on the balcony, cheering her on. As the magic started to flow out of Twilight’s horn and the device around her neck gently glowed, the moon slowly set and in return, the warmth of the dawn began to spread out over the land. Although the process was much slower in comparison to Princess Celestia, she managed to successfully bring up the sun.

"Not bad Twilight. You’re starting to get the hang of it!" Spike crossed his paws to his chest and nodded affirmatively, "I'm sure you'll master this magic sunrise-sunset thing in no time!"

"Whew~ I did it! Thanks for the encouragement, Spike."

"So, what's the plan for today?" Spike skillfully pulled out his parchment scroll, stretched his bones, and glanced back at Twilight.

"Get in touch with the castle’s butler for me. Tell her I'll be staying in Ponyville for a while, assisting the ambassador from the east with her affairs. During of which when I'm not at Canterlot, I entrust her to take care of the castle’s day-to-day errands. Tell her to only write us when there’s something she can’t handle. And... start drafting another one; since I’ll be back in Ponyville, I want to arrange a get-together with my friends. Ask Pinkie if she could prepare us some snacks and cakes, and maybe some juice too."

"Okay… well… and done!" After a quick jot, Spike rolled up the list and tossed it midair; with a puff of green fire, the letter was already on its way. He put the other copy away.

"Okay, I think it’s time to eat ...Ah!" Twilight and Spike had just turned around when they saw Meng Yu and her two personal guardponies standing in the room, startling them both.

"My apologies. I didn't mean to intrude." Meng Yu spoke apologetically, "I was just wondering if I may invite the princess to breakfast with me. My servants have made some of our specialties from the east. It just so happened that I stumbled on you and your assistant on your way out, so I followed to have a look. Please do forgive my impertinence."

"No, no, it’s totally fine. I just didn't expect the ambassador to be such an early riser." After calming her startled mind, Twilight said.

"What is that device? From my observation just now, it appeared that the princess exerted control over the moon and the sun using that device?" Meng Yu scrutinized the amulet on Twilight’s chest, seemingly intrigued. Twilight responded to the ambassador’s sudden interest with a gentle smile, and then hoofed the device to Spike,

"It’s nothing but a simple practice prop~ Spike, I'll go with the ambassador to the dining room first. Come meet us there when you're done."

"Sure thing, Twi." After the petite dragon had left, Meng Yu whispered something to the guardpony beside her. The mare only nodded before leaving the room trailing Spike.

"It is imperative that the princess keep it secure. If it falls into the wrong hooves, the consequences will be severe." On their way to the dining room, Meng Yu’s sudden remark caught Twilight’s suspicion. Her eyes locked on Meng Yu, speculating just what she was insinuating; the latter, seeing her reticent, threw back a polite smile and remained silent for the rest of the walk.

"Princess, allow me." After the three ponies arrived and took their seats in the dining room, the guardpony who had left earlier used her magic to present on the table a peculiar food container that Twilight had never seen before. It was a cylindrical object with layers of compartments; and small protrusions studded on either side of each layer. Steam gently rolled out from the top; the surface was a soft oak color with the top sunken in. Texture lines crisscrossed along the surface. Next to it was a large bowl of broth with many white granular objects floating on top, as well as vegetable leaves bobbing up and down. Amid the rolling steam, there was also a faint but pleasant fragrance.

"It smells so good," said Twilight as she located a seat; Meng Yu sat across. "Your expression reveals that it must be the first time you've ever tried one of these, correct? This is called a steamer, made from bamboo. It transfers heat using steam which then cooks the food inside each compartment. As a result, the food can be made rich and flavorful. Guard, demonstrate to the princess."

The guard next to her promptly floated up the top compartment of the steamer by magic, and instantly a savory aroma accompanied by a puff of steam dispersed in all directions. Twilight felt her taste buds explode just by sniffing it. Inside lay several white buns with a spiral pattern on the top swirling out around. Twilight counted six buns, five on the outer layer surrounding the one in the center.

"Could this be the white bread that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had their hearts set on?" Twilight surveyed their crisscrossed patterns, and was reminded of her conversation with the princesses last night. Although she didn't know how it tasted yet; the fragrance had already mesmerized her.

"Hiya, I'm back! Woah, what smells so good?!" Spike, who had just entered the room, was attracted by the aroma then dashed to the table, locked his eyes at the food inside the steamer.

"Welcome back, little dragon! Please, have a taste of this." Meng Yu took the lead and picked up one bun, blowing tenderly for a few moments before nibbling a small bite. Some kind of black broth slowly gushed out from the bite.

"Wha…What's that black goo?" Twilight frowned slightly, the ominous color seemed to have brought back a lot of bad memories. All the blackness she had dealt with before didn't exactly leave her a good impression. The hoof she had reached out hesitated for a moment and slowly retracted.

"This is black sesame, Princess. Please, have a try. It's sweet." Meng Yu explained. Twilight put up a polite smile in response, but her hooves remained unconvinced. Spike looked at Twilight, back at the tantalizing aroma in the steamer, shrugged, then snatched a bun in his paw. He then took an experimental bite, taking the crust with its lingering warmth into his mouth. The texture was soft and tender, feeling nothing like Pinkie Pie’s crispy cupcakes. He then took another bite and let the sesame broth flow down his throat. The first thing his taste buds felt was a hint of warm sweetness, followed by the delicious aftertaste of black sesame seeds; the two combined and complemented each other until his entire throat was filled with that ebony goodness.

"Mmm! Dear Celestia ...... This is amazing!" Spike ate the rest of the bun all in a few bites, then grabbed two more. Twilight gulped at the way Spike was devouring them, then looked back at the buns in the steamer.

"I can eat it for you if you don't want it!" While Twilight was still being indecisive, Spike leaned over to her and tried to get Twilight's bun, but she immediately used her magic to fend off his impending paws. After a deep breath, she bravely took a bite. To her shock, she immediately felt as if she had taken a big gulp of lava; the scorching pain in her mouth made her want to empty everything in her mouth onto the plate. But with Meng Yu watching on and her unwillingness to make a scene, she positively blushed from her mental dilemma.

"Princess, hot tofu cannot be served with haste, especially the ones stuffed with black sesame. Be patient. The outside crust may feel cool, but the inside filling can still be burning hot. Quick, take a breath, and have some porridge." Meng Yu scooped a small bowl of the porridge next to her, gently blew it a few times, then served the bowl to Twilight with a small ladle. She immediately took the bowl and vigorously poured its contents down her throat. At last, the burning sensation abated.

"Hot tofu…? Is this thing called hot tofu?" Spike asked, looking at the half-bitten bun in his paw.

Meng Yu chuckled. “I’m afraid not, little dragon. This treat is called Baozi. Its outside crust can contain all sorts of stuffings inside." Meng Yu explained as she slowly savored the bun in her hoof.

"Whew ...Finally ..." Twilight let out a sigh of relief.

"Pfft~ You look just like that time when you gulped down an entire bowl of hot sauce at that surprise party I threw for you back at the treehouse! Bahahaha!"

"Why is NOTHING happening to you?!" Twilight stuck her tongue out in a desperate attempt to ease the pain while looking at Spike in disbelief.

"Hello？? I'm a dragon remember? This bun is nothing compared to my dragon fire. It really is lukewarm at best!" Spike grabbed another bun, enjoying the novel taste of the treat. "What do you know? The flavor of this bun is simply something else! No wonder Princess Celestia and Princess Luna keep talking about it."

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?" Meng Yu repeated Spike's words, perplexed.

"Yep! There is a total of four princesses in Equestria… This one before you …is the Princess of Friendship! She has saved the kingdom …many times now! " Spike announced, the food in his mouth didn’t detract his smugness one bit, "Well …Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are the royal siblings ruling over Equestria. There is also Princess Cadance, who rules over the northern Crystal Empire!" It took several mouthfuls of hot porridge before Spike could catch his breath. When he tried to grab another bun from the steamer, he then realized it was empty already.

"Oh? I didn’t expect Equestria to have multiple princesses ruling at the same time. I can only imagine they must have shared a cooperative relationship with each other?" Meng Yu removed the empty compartment on top, revealing the lower layer with more food.

"That's for sure! The four princesses are very close friends! You know, Twilight used to be a pupil of Princess Celestia! And Princess Cadance is married to Twilight’s big brother."

"Princess Twilight has a brother? That sounds delightful!" Meng Yu gracefully finished the Baozi on her plate and took another one from the steamer. "I have quite a few siblings too~ One little sister and two little brothers."

"Wow, that’s a lot of siblings you have! But nopony can best Applejack on relatives." Spike exclaimed as he took two more Baozi from the steamer, completely ignoring Twilight's obstruction.

"Is this 'Applejack' also a sibling of Princess Twilight?"

"Not really, but Applejack and I are best friends, along with Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy," Twilight answered. She looked over at the way Spike was eating and hurriedly hoofed him a napkin.

"It would be an enjoyable experience to be able to meet Princess Twilight's friends."

Comments

[Dreamy]

11822115
sadly i don't know anyone who know Spanish well, you wanna translate some Spainish story to chinese ?

[Dreamy]

11822115
I know two sis have problems as younger,They just needed a reason to ignite a long-simmering conflict. that's why i made this,hope people don't mind it haha.