On the north-west coast of Equestria the ocean waves lapped on the chilly shores as the early autumn moon began to sink in the sky to let the sun rise, leaving the sky a hazy grey-blue over the city of Vanhoover. In a house bordering a few blocks away from the busy downtown section and the more relaxed portion of the city; a mare jolted awake, hearing the alarm of her small clock start dinging on her nightstand. Toffee rolled over in bed and blinked with a groan as she waved her hoof in the direction of the evil device to silence it. Finding it, she lightly smacked her hoof against the top and got it quiet in her blue color-themed room once more, the early signs of dawn approaching in a shaft of grey light under her window curtains. "Already time to get up? Where do the hours go around here?" she complained mildly, having stayed up half the night trying new recipes for her restaurant The Prancing Dishes. Most of her family thought the name was silly when she first mentioned it to them, but sticking with her gut proved rewarding because many of her costumers found it an amusing yet catchy name. Getting up, she shook her matted brown mane and trotted to the bathroom for her morning routine starting with a shower.

She enjoyed the warm water washing over her painted coat of cream and chestnut-brown fur, and helped untangle her mane and tail as she got some jasmine scented shower-gel on her hoof and started washing. After a half hour, some brushing and toweling dry, Toffee looked in the oval mirror and nodded in satisfaction then went to the kitchen to enjoy some of the honey, cranberry and blueberry biscuits she'd prepared last night along with a tall glass of orange juice. Finishing up she threw a simple ocean blue saddle bag on with a binder full of recipes and her house key after locking it and walking quickly up to her restaurant in the downtown portion of Vanhoover. A few other ponies were milling about the street on their way to work too as she smiled and nodded to some she knew. After a hoof-full years she still wasn't familiar with all the residents close to her home, simply because Vanhoover was much bigger than the town she grew up in, Ponyvile. She often wondered how her two best friends Cheerilee and Big Macintosh were doing since leaving five years ago, she exchanged letters with them from time to time, but really missed the ponies she'd grown up with and the two ponies Mr. and Mrs. Cake who opened her eyes to making sweets, one of her other friends BonBon was also doing well in that department last she heard, even though that mare was a few years younger than herself.

Reaching the restaurant she went around back to unlock and open shop for the day. Her co-worker Angel Cakes was just arriving as well. Her delicate pale blonde coat and golden mane truly giving her name justice along with a chocolate covered strawberry adorning her flanks as her Cutie Mark, she was a unicorn which Toffee had to admit, came in handy when you needed to work with so many tools in the kitchen. Toffee glanced at her own mark, a peach colored heart on a light blue plate. Angel loved crafting desserts, Toffee was flexible with most any foods. The two had been near rivals the first year Toffee arrived, but they soon decided it be best if they shared their talents. "'Morning, Angel."

The mare looked at her, then did a double-take. "Good Celestia! Toffee, honey, did you get any sleep last night? You look half dead on your hooves," Angel expressed in a worried tone, her green eyes becoming troubled.

Toffee laughed nervously and trotted inside. "Do I look that awful?"

"Not awful just, dog-tired. Were you up all night again?!" The pretty unicorn glared at her.

"N-Not all night, I think I went to sleep around 1 or so..." she grinned anxiously at her.

"Honestly Toffee, you can't be expected to run a business, even with an excellent partner such as myself, when you're tired all the time." Angel went and started flipping switches on as she scolded the mare. "Do I have to foal-sit you or will you start thinking of your health?"

"I feel fine you know!" she called back as she turned on the pilot light for the 3 stoves in back.

"Now yes, long term sleep patterns effect how easily you can get sick weeks later. Listen to the pony who has a degree in nutritional health will you?"

Toffee gave her the stink eye. "Then why not make big bits working in a better place than this missy?"

"Oh don't you start that again!!" Their heads turned as two more ponies, two young stallions, walked in.

They were the line-cooks back in the kitchen. The waiters and waitress they had would be here soon. The dark blue unicorn shook his head. "Are you two fighting again? I swear you're worse than two colts fighting over a mare in estrus!"

"Uh, bad comparison," retorted the pale orange earth-pony at his side as they got closer to them. "What colt wouldn't want a three-some with a mare in heat?"

Angel and Toffee exchanged a look then sighed heavily and started getting the breakfast part of the menu out and ready to make for normal customers they had in the early mornings.

The unicorn stallion was Bourbon, and the pale orange pony was Sun Ray; more often just called Ray because it was easier to shout out when it was a busy day. Together these four raised a building for loan into a fairly successful place. Just last year it was Toffee's idea of posting on the bulletin board just inside the front doors that she would personally be doing catering jobs for anypony that wanted somepony for the occasion. As Toffee got the cinnamon-apple and apricot muffins baking, she couldn't help but think back to once when she wasn't sure this kind of work would take her anywhere. True, it wasn't the highest income, but she never wanted anything so fancy as the ponies in Canterlot, half of them sticking their noses so high up in the air to everything somepony would think they were trying to save themselves from drowning.

"Bourbon," called a chirpy voice from the front counter, it was their waitress Cherry Schnapps; she was a deep red pegasus mare with wings a little too small for anything other than hovering a few minutes so when she came asking if they needed another hoof around, Angel was in no way going to turn her away. She was nice, if not a little overly perky in the mornings, but she knew not to be too loud when early morning customers strolled in. "Kurtus wants four rye flap-jacks." Kurtus was a regular elderly pony in the restaurant.

"Tell him it'll be a few more minutes," Bourbon called back, mixing up the batter as she told him this.

Toffee sighed contently, smelling the fresh five dozen fresh muffins rise and fill the back with its aroma. 'What more could a pony ask for than this?' she thought and called over her shoulder to the stallions, "I'll be right back, going to check the mail." She did this each morning before it got too busy to bother with reading, returning to the back of the building, she went off to the side a bit where the mailbox was posted and flipped the door open to find just one today. "Aw, it better not be another bill, I just payed this month's ...on...time," she trailed off as she saw the letter was addressed by one of the elite members belonging to a political party in Vanhoover. Although the Princesses ruled Equestria, neither was expected to be everywhere that demanded attentions to problems, so each city had a head of political figures; if any got a serious case, they would immediately alert the mare rulers and the issue would be transferred quickly to Canterlot to stand trial. "Oh Sun and Moon don't tell me somepony here bucked up my reputation...?" Toffee questioned grimly to herself as she ripped open the top of the letter with a sharp jerk of her head then spread the letter open right there on the ground, skimming over it very carefully, then a second time when her light green eyes widened in disbelief. "Angel...Angel Cakes!!" she yelled running back into the kitchen and colliding with the blonde unicorn in a fit of joyous laughter.

"Have you lost your god-dang-bucking mind?!!" she squealed in shocked surprise. Toffee was not a morning-skippy-happy pony even when she was fully rested, much less one to tackle another pony.

Toffee stayed on top of her stomach waving the letter triumphantly in her mouth until Angel's light-pink aura of magic levitated it out of the earth-mare's mouth. "You gotta read this!!" she gushed excitedly.

So, Angel did as the male ponies gathered around the two curious for the ruckus, and excitement.

" 'Dear owner of The Prancing Dishes, it is happily I write you this letter as a hoof-full of my colleagues have had the pleasure of dining with you and now request your appetizing food at our next meeting. As I cannot sway them, or find any reason to object seeing as they've said nothing to insult your cousin I humbly urge you to attend as the caterers to our party, and serve our thirty members a three-course meal. I have provided a few allergies just a few of our members have and would highly appreciate those things be kept out of the meals. Please write back at your earliest convenience, we look forward to your answer.
Sincerely, Mr. Quick Silver.' "

For a moment, the only sound was of Cherry ringing the small bell to alert there was another order for them to take up, she kept ding-ing it five more times before all the ponies in the front of the restaurant jumped in their seats and two at the front door as two loud screams of amazement filled the air from Toffee and Angel, "Our big break!!!"

Author's Note

First attempt of doing a story in normal pony context since I'm used to turning my stories more towards Anthro style. Feedback is always welcome!