Canterlot Academy Trials

Meanwhile, with Mei and Grimrose…

The girls had chosen a different place to eat out and unwind after the stresses regarding what Gaea had done. At Mei’s suggestion, they went to the Tasty Treat to get a more exotic meal than usual. Given that it was a Sunday, it wasn’t quite crowded so they were able to get a table and look at the menus fairly quickly.

And as they thought about what to order, Grimrose went on to explain essentially everything that had happened with her, Nebula, and Blue within the confines of Gaea’s mind.

“...so you guys had new outfits and codenames and everything? Interesting. It’s almost as if you were superheroes or something. Hope I can get in on that action…”

“I just need to write a script for it,” Grimrose replied as she wondered what sort of armor Mei would gain. “Hrm…come to think of it, I need to write one for Atomic as well.”

“I noticed how emotional you got over him when he was hurt,” Mei explained in a hesitant tone, “...are you alright after all that?”

Rose took a moment to think before finally answering. “...I will. He’s doing much better now, so I don’t have any reason to worry. I’m just…surprised. Surprised that someone could have the capacity to commit such evil against someone who never did anything to them.”

“...it’s true what they say,” Mei replied with a sigh, “Some people just wanna watch the world burn.”

“Well I’m not going to stand for it,” Rose insisted, “I’m going to make sure that nobody else dares to threaten him--or any of you for that matter. I just need to perfect my skills…”

Mei smiled, “That’s a nice sentiment, Rose. But let’s focus on relaxing for now, huh? That was quite the stressful situation.”

“...you’re right. Come to think of it, Mei--I’ve actually never been to this place before. What’s it like?”

“Oh, I’ve tried it before,” Mei muttered as she levitated the menu to take a look at it, “They have a lot of food based on the regions of Shire Lanka and the like. The kottu dish is really good, but I like the roti myself.”

“Hrm…”

Soon enough, they were approached by one of the owners of the restaurant: Saffron Masala. The orange-ish mare with the deep purple mane walked up to them with a grateful look in her eye. “Ah! Students from the local Academy! Finally! How can I help you today?”

“I’d like to try the kottu dish,” Rose requested, going with Mei’s suggestion.

“I’d like the green sambal curry,” Mei asked.

“Ām--gotcha,” Saffron gleefully wrote down their orders via levitating a pen and pad in her magical grip. “Ah, you have no idea how glad I am to see more of you here.”

Mei raised a brow. “...excuse me? How come, Ms. Masala?”

Saffron sighed and looked around the room. “Well, business hasn’t exactly been great lately. My regulars have been telling me that they heard rumors going around from the local nobility that our food is ‘unholy’ and ‘corrupted’,” she scoffed at such an idea with a flick of her tail. “Can you believe such a thing?”

“Rumors…” Grimrose scoffed under her breath and grit her teeth. “Fickle sheep tend to be the ones spinning the rumor mill until it all comes crashing down around them. I know just how that feels, ma’am.”

“...Any idea who could be stirring the pot?” Mei asked inquisitively. “It’s our job to help others however we can, so don’t be afraid to tell us.”

Saffron figured that it couldn’t hurt to explain what was wrong. If they could help her then… “Well…from what I heard, it’s something to do with Zesty Gourmand.”

“The mare who’s in the food industry who walked out when she came here?” Mei recalled the incident from many years ago. “And here I thought she would’ve found something else to do by now…”

“It’s just a rumor,” Saffron added with a shake of her head, “So it might not even be worth mentioning. But still…”

“We’ll look into it for you, right Grimrose?” Mei offered and asked her friend to back her up.

Thankfully, Rose was more than willing to oblige. “Of course. If there are rumors being started up by someone that wants to cause you undue stress, it’s only natural that we take time to help. It’s not something that Twilight can drop everything to help you with.”

“Thank you very much,” a relieved Saffron would reply with a nervous smile on her face as she backed away…accidentally bumping into an empty chair in the process before setting it upright with her magic. “Oops! Ah...I’ll go get your orders ready.”

“...did you see how…skittish she became?” Mei muttered to Rose.

“I’m willing to bet it’s due to the stress of financial instability,” Rose reasoned as best she could, “Probably worried she’s losing popularity and customers…”

As Saffron left the front of the restaurant to head back to the kitchen, Rose managed to make out an anxious smile on the mare’s face coupled with shrunken pupils that indicated fear.

“...and possibly a bad future ahead.”

“...you can tell all that at a glance?” Mei wondered in awe.

Rose shrugged her shoulders. “I tend to have a read on emotions.”