A Kirin And A Unicorn Talk Over Coffee
It was a bright winter’s morning when the train from Canterlot stopped in Ponyville. As the train departed to it’s next stop, two unicorns made their way out of the station. Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis. Fancy led his wife through the town, having been there more often than her.
“Will we be stopping by Rarity’s on the way to this Friendship School?” Fleur asked curiously as they walked through the thin snow drifts. Winter had yet to come to Ponyville in full.
“If we have time, she is a teacher there.” Fancy Pants assured her, smiling. “I would like to talk with her about her lesson plans, especially since Gilded Lily is joining next semester.”
“Perhaps it should be a quick visit, I’m sure she’s very busy-oh!” Fleur cried out, cutting herself off as another creature rushed by. “Hmph, a bit rude…”
“Strange, though. It looked like a unicorn, but slightly different.” Fancy Pants remarked, adjusting his monocle. “Well, we shan’t let that ruin our day, shall we Fleur?”
“Of course not dear.” Fleur took his hoof, letting him lead her off.
As they entered the Carousel Boutique of Ponyville, Rarity’s voice called from the back.
“One moment!”
Fancy Pants chuckled to himself before joining Fleur in a seat on a waiting couch. Rarity could be heard shuffling around in the back of the store. She seemed to be talking to someone. Soon, she emerged, looking behind her to talk to someone else.
“-And I’d like if you could help Smolder reorganize the back room when she gets here, the young one is certainly eager but I’m afraid I’ll never understand her organizational ski-Fancy, Fleur! How lovely to see you!” she cried upon finally turning around.
“Hello Miss Rarity.” Fancy Pants greeted, smiling at the flustered looking mare. “Is this a bad time?”
“Oh, no, no, not at all! I’m just in the process of guiding a new assistant.” Rarity said, as another creature emerged from the back room. Fleur did a double take. It was the same ‘unicorn’ that had surprised her earlier. “Oh, there you are dear. Fancy, Fleur, this is Autumn Blaze, she’s a Kirin.”
“Nice to meet you!” Autumn Blaze greeted, holding a notebook aloft in her magic.
“Is Miss Blaze here a student at your school?”
“Not quite. Miss Blaze is here to learn, indeed, but she’s also here as a liaison for her kind.” Rarity explained, as Autumn waved at them cheerily, also scribbling down notes. “My friends and I have taken her under our guidance, and she will be helping out around our respective homes and workplaces, at the same time learning about friendship. She will then take this knowledge back to her kind.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but would it not be simpler to just teach her what she needs to know and send her on her way?” Fleur remarked
“We planned to, but believe it or not she asked if she could do this.” Rarity told them in a low voice. Fleur blinked, somewhat confused. “I know, darling, a bit unorthodox, but then again Miss Blaze is an unorthodox creature.”
“Liaisons aside, Fleur and I have come for a different reason.” Fancy reminded her.
“Oh yes! You wished to discuss the enrollment of your niece?”
Fancy nodded. “Gilded has been going on and on about how excited she is to attend, especially given her friends are tutors at the school.”
“Why, I’d forgotten she was friends with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” Rarity said, then laughed softly. “Well, she’ll certainly be seeing a lot of them, they’re always over at the school, especially if it means they can get out of their school.”
“I like the CMC, they’re nice!” Autumn jumped in. “Sweetie Belle came by earlier and she was telling me about her and her friend’s mission to help others find their purpose in life! Come to think of it, I wonder if they could help me find mine…” Autumn trailed off, lost in thought.
“Yes, well, maybe you can drop by their headquarters later and see.” Rarity told her briskly, before nodding at Fancy Pants to continue.
“Well, anyway, I thought perhaps we might as well ‘cast two spells in one surge’ as the saying goes, and discuss the lesson plan for your Generosity classes, as well as any uniforms or supplies Gilded might need to buy.”
“Oh, yes, the uniforms! I made them myself after bringing up the suggestion to Twilight. We have cheerleader uniforms so I figured the school might as well have uniforms as a whole. Of course, Twilight decided to make them optional, but I made them look very nice anyway.” Rarity laughed softly as she pulled over a clothing rack, holding up a slim fitting purple and silver uniform with a skirt.
“Is this the girl’s school uniform?” Fancy Pants trotted over to take a better look.
“Yes. Now, this uniform in particular was made specifically for Ocellus, a changeling student at the school. She’s remarkably more slender than your average pony, which is why the uniform’s a bit smaller than normal. But something like this might work for Gilded, if she’d want it.”
“I met Ocellus, she’s nice!” Autumn chimed in, sticking her head through the clothes rack, making Fleur and Fancy chuckle in amusement. “A bit on the shy side, doesn’t talk a lot, but then again she’s got some big talkers for friends so it’s almost like she doesn’t need to speak because she and her friends are so close it’s like they can read her mind. Hey, wouldn’t that be interesting? If we could read mi-”
“Thank you, Autumn, that’s enough.” Rarity chimed in, and the Kirin removed her head from the clothes rack. “As I was saying, what do you think Fancy?”
“Hm… I fully support her decision to get away from the high society life, but her parents will expect a form of professionalism for her… perhaps a uniform or two for visiting days and the rest of the time she can choose whether or not to wear a uniform.”
“Splendid. Are her measurements still the same?” Rarity asked, placing the uniform back on the rack and trotting to a desk where papers were scattered around.
“Mostly, yes. I think she may have gotten a bit taller though.” Fancy informed her.
“I’ll make some adjustments, and if you could bring her in once it’s finished for a fitting-”
Rarity broke off upon seeing Autumn bouncing around, humming and vocalizing as she straightened up the room. Rarity sighed and ignited her horn briefly to get the Kirin’s attention.
“Autumn, would you be a dear and fetch us some coffees from Cafe Hay?”
“Oh, sure!” Autumn grabbed her notebook. “Should I get your usual, Rarity?”
“Yes. Fancy, Fleur, do you want anything?” Rarity asked politely.
“I would indeed, Fleur knows my usual, perhaps she could accompany Miss Blaze?” Fancy suggested, and Rarity looked between the (if not too) eager Kirin and the calm Unicorn.
“Hm… yes, perhaps that’s for the best.”
Fleur silently agreed, glancing at Autumn, who was now bouncing up and down, already hyper enough without the caffeinated drinks they would be getting. Fleur turned to her husband with a smile.
“We’ll be back soon then, Fancy.” Fleur assured him, before leading Autumn out of the Boutique. Autumn hummed cheerfully as they made their way into the brisk chill.
“Thanks for agreeing to come with me, it would’ve gotten boring by myself, but hey, I know the waiter who works at the Cafe, I can introduce you, he’s a real card!”
“Well… we best just get the coffees and return. It seemed like Miss Rarity was in need of some mental stimulation.” Fleur advised
“Oh, yeah! Rarity says she needs inspiration all the time, but I don’t get it, because it seems like my head’s always bursting with all sorts of ideas! You know, I thought Fluttershy and Applejack were interesting, but Rarity’s a whole other level! She’s so creative!”
“Yes, Rarity is very creative.” Fleur agreed, keeping her eyes on the approaching cafe rather than her overjoyed companion. “You seem very creative too, if a bit unfocused.”
“Oh, I can be focused.” Autumn slowed down, merely prancing alongside Fleur now. “I just get so eager and excited, y’know? See, my kind took a vow of silence a while back, and ever since Applejack and Fluttershy-or as we call ‘em, the Silence Breaker and the Peacemaker-came along and helped me convince them to speak again, the village is so lively!”
“Interesting. Are they all like you?” Fleur asked, finally looking at her.
“Not everyone.” Autumn replied, looking up at the sky. “Some Kirins, they like being quiet, but not because they’re afraid, like it used to be. They just like being more reserved. But everyone likes a good laugh, and most of us use that to please everyone, even the quiet ones.”
Fleur’s eyes widened slightly. “So you… you act like this to make others laugh?”
“Yep! Well, it’s also just how I am, but if I can get someone to laugh from it, then that’s a win-win!” Autumn said, smiling brightly.
Fleur smiled back, as they reached the cafe. The two got the coffees, Fleur giving Fancy’s order, as it was rather complicated. As they walked back, carrying the coffees in their magic, Fleur noticed Autumn had become more subdued.
“Fleur, right?”
“Yes, is something the matter?”
“How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Act so… refined. I noticed you and Fancy Pants act pretty similar to Rarity, but she told me she trained herself to act that way, to fit in among the high society ponies. But you are the high society ponies, so did you just act that way from birth? Or did you also train yourself and Rarity didn’t know it?”
“You know? I’ve never thought about it before.” Fleur took a sip of her coffee. “I suppose I simply grew up being told how to act, and never considered acting another way. Fancy as well.”
“That makes sense. I guess Rarity just had to train herself since she didn’t have anyone to tell her to act that way. I met her parents when they came by with her little sister Sweetie Belle, and they are definitely nothing like Rarity.” Autumn remarked.
“Why do you ask, Autumn?”
“Well, I was just a little worried that you and Fancy thought I didn’t fit in with ‘your crowd’. You seemed a bit put off by my energy.” Autumn admitted
Fleur trotted closer to her to look her in the eye. Autumn shied away, but Fleur sent out an extra bit of magic to lift her head and lock eyes with her.
“Autumn, nopo-I’m sorry, creature, should have to set the measure for the right way to act. We were not put off, merely surprised, anyway. You are a lot to take in. Yes, Fancy and I are polite and refined, like Rarity, but that doesn’t mean you have to be. I’m sure there is a ‘crowd’ out there that fits your high spirits and energy. And when you find them, they will accept you.”
“I guess you’re right.” Autumn smiled. “Anyway, I have a meeting with Pinkie Pie tomorrow, she seemed nice. I met all of Applejack and Fluttershy’s friends at the train station when I arrived, Pinkie looked fun.”
Fleur chuckled and shook her head, smiling slightly. That would be an interesting day, based on what she knew from Rarity about Pinkie Pie. Autumn began humming as they neared the Carousel Boutique. Fleur smiled at her kindly as she led the way to the building.
“You know Autumn, whether you are like me or not, it was very nice meeting you.”
“Nice to meet you too Fleur.” Autumn said, smiling.
Fleur smiled back at her, nodding to the boutique. “Well, shall we go in?”
“We shall!” Autumn smiled, bouncing through the door. Fleur laughed and followed her in, closing the door behind her.