Author's Note

Written for the Q&S Unicorn contest with the prompt 'High Society'.

Fresh Start

The grand city of Canterlot is said to be a place of beauty and refinement, where the most popular and influential of ponies flourish. Certainly, it can be hard to start from scratch, but many have proved the doubters wrong by rising to the top.

I would know.

I worked as hard as I could to get my Café afloat. And you know what? Even with all the adversities I faced, I still managed to become a regular part of Canterlot life.

Although it didn't come without its challenges…

My first steps into Canterlot were far from steady, me being a simple earth pony unfamiliar with proper high society behaviour. But if there was any place to get my start it would be here.

I had bought some unused space from some fellow named Donut Joe a few months ago, and contrary to what I expected, he was just delightful. He even gave me a sale on it without asking, something I'd never heard of in a business setting.

Today was the first time I was going to truly claim it as my own, a space among Canterlot's finest. Vanhoover didn't have nearly this much competition other than the Pears, so I had to be weary of nearby store-owners.

Donut Joe was standing right outside my new store. Well, it wasn't really a store yet, but I knew I could turn it into one.

"Nice to see you, Miss Cinnamon," he greeted with a salute which I found odd but pushed it aside. His dusty, food-covered vest was clearly not very popular in this district considering all the ponies glancing our way.

"Nice to see you too." I shook his hoof calmly, but inside I was shaking excitedly, and I didn't exactly care if he noticed or not. He led me inside the rusty building and I got a chance to look at it up close again, ideas flowing through my head on how I could improve it.

Those loose bricks will need fixing and this floor is absolutely filthy! Ooooh, I could have an orange gradient right there to match with my mane a bit… or would that make me blend in too well?

Joe spoke again, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Is this place to your satisfaction?"

"It's a bit rough around the edges, but I can definitely work with this," I said in a businessy tone as I dragged a hoof over the counter. Is that a word? I hope it is 'cause if not that would make me look silly! Erm… right, I'm still thinking.

"I'm curious though, why are you giving up this space. With a bit of TLC this place could be a work of art!"

Joe looked around for a minute before answering. "Well, I already have a pretty good place myself, so I thought I'd give it to someone else. There isn't nearly enough worthwhile talent here in Canterlot."

"What do you mean? There must be loads of talented ponies here! I mean, it's the capital, how can there not be swarms of talent just waiting to be unleashed!"

Joe's eyes turned downcast. "You'll learn with time," which sounded slightly ominous, but I tried not to let it bother me.

After all, what could go wrong?

Ponies eating, chatting, just overall being nice to each other. That's what I've always imagined my Café would be like, but seeing it for myself was amazing.

I know I'm not the best pastry chef in the world, but I'm fine with that. All I want is for ponies to enjoy my food and enjoy themselves while they're at it.

A few ponies came and went that were dissatisfied with my service, but every apple gets a worm once in a while. I couldn't help but notice that I very rarely got any unicorn customers which did upset me, but only a little. I wanted to spread joy to as many ponies as possible, but it's still small steps to becoming big.

The orange and green design had been something I struggled with, but after some welcome advice from a few early customers as well as Donut Joe, I had found something I was satisfied with. It looked like me, plain and simple, but it also didn't make me blend in too much, so customers could see me clearly.

It was perfect.

The ring of the entry bell alerted me to a new presence, one that surprised me. A white unicorn wearing a monocle had just come into my shop. Fancy Pants had just come into my shop. I'm no expert on politics, but from what I've been able to gather in the months I've been living here, he's a pretty big deal.

I tried not to let my shock show and greeted him with a friendly smile like every other customer. "Hi, welcome to Cinnamon Sweets! How can I help you?"

A pleasant smile crossed his muzzle as he looked at the menu. "Hmm, I dare say I'll have a coffee and a churro if you may?"

I got to work immediately, giving as much care as one can give when making coffee and delivering pre-baked goods. When I returned there was a new face arguing with Fancy, a light blue stallion with a flowy black mane.

Unlike Fancy, I didn't recognize him, however I could already tell he was an important figure. I couldn't catch much about the conversation, because they stopped as soon as I came into view.

The new stallion cleared his throat. "You are the owner of this establishment, correct?"

"Umm… yes," I said nervously, unsure of what his intent was.

"You should be ashamed, this place is horrid! To think, a mud-pony thinking they could run a Café, please," he said the last word in a heavily mocking fashion. "I wouldn't even bother if I were you."

Anger filled me at his words, but I tried to keep my calm, remembering a breathing exercise my Ma had taught me. After I believed I was sufficiently calmed down, I answered his taunting.

"Now you look here, mister. I may not know who you are, but I can tell you're a big-shot, so I'm going to handle this maturely and ask that you refrain from insulting both me and my customers in such a fashion and leave."

I kept my cool through my small speech, only hints of anger slipping through. The same could not be said for him as he stormed out, apparently thinking he was above responding to me.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that," I heard Fancy say. "High society has a bit of a stigma with earth ponies setting up businesses, so they try to discourage them through insults. You handled it beautifully though, and didn't let him see your anger."

A prideful smile grew on my muzzle and I bowed my head slightly in thanks. "Here's your order, Mr. Pants."

He laughed at that. "Oh please, just call me Fancy." I blushed, realizing how such a name would sound now that I was hearing it out loud.

Fancy had a look of wonder as he bit into his churro, before quickly eating the rest while still keeping a noble attitude. "I must say, this food is wonderful! If you want my opinion, you're going places here in Canterlot."

My smile could have outshone Celestia's sun. "Thank you! I'll be honest, I was kind of nervous when you showed up, so it means a lot that you enjoyed the food."

"No need to thank me. Let me thank you for the wonderful meal," He cleaned his muzzle as he spoke.

We chatted for a bit about what Canterlot was like, and it was refreshing to talk to someone who had an idea of what running a business was like. After he left, I thought back on his words. You'll be going places.

And you know what? He was right.