Canterlot Academy Trials

Back at the pub where the boys were…

“...and then every time I m-meeeet a guy, he alwayssss…walks out before he can gimme a chancccccce…” Cayenne was slurring her words with her mane in tatters. The hippogriff bartender was ‘listening’ to her every word to ensure she didn’t do anything crazy.

“Uh-huh. What else?” he asked as he leaned against the counter, raising his sole good eyebrow.

“Ssssstupid sssstallions don’t--hic!--know good cooch if it smacked ‘em in the facccceee…” Cayenne stumbled through her words, “I jusssst…want a man who can gimme a good time. Issss that so wrong??”

“Nope, not at all,” the barkeep muttered. By this point, he had refused to give her anything else.

Nearby, her students had been watching her in the midst of their meal.

“...Yyyyikes,” Blue mumbled as he took a sip from his mug. “Never thought I’d see teach here like this.”

“She probably feels extremely lonely,” Nebula reasoned it out rather quickly. “I’ve noticed that there tend to be more mares than stallions around, so finding a good one must be a challenge for her.”

“Wait a sec,” Blue brought up a detail that he was estranged upon, “Wasn’t teach a model at some point?”

Nebula thought about it for a moment and remembered, “Oh yeah. She is. Never really gave it much thought though.” The young stallion refused to allow her past to influence how he thought about her in the present.

While Blue had a similar train of thought, he couldn’t help but wonder… “Ya know, I heard models tend to have it rough. They don’t get to eat very much and their lives become harder when they don’t meet the criteria their bosses want them to.”

“...yeah,” Nebula replied with a sigh, “I think that’s why Cayenne got out of it when she did. She knew it wasn’t for her. I think that could be why she’s having a hard time finding a guy. She doesn’t know how to communicate very well.”

“...shit, you hit the nail on the head,” Blue muttered in an impressed, amazed tone. “Think we should try to help her?”

“Nah,” Nebula shook his head. “We don’t know what kind of woman she is and I don’t think it’s our place to find out. For now, let’s give her some space, huh? Let’s finish up our food and get going.”

Indeed. As good-natured as Nebula tried to be, he wasn’t tactless. Issues of the heart weren’t his area of expertise. So he chose to remain out of it for now and allow his teacher to have her moment of…

“...Ma’am. You’ve had enough,” the hippogriff bartender spoke coldly, “Rest here for a while before heading home.”

“I’ll tell you when I’ve had--...get me some bread, please.”

…whatever it was she was feeling. The boys noticed this and didn’t linger any longer than necessary. They finished their food and left accordingly.

At the Tasty Treat…

The girls had finished their meal and marveled at the taste of what they had just enjoyed.

“Mm…” Mei muttered as she reclined in her seat. “That was amazing. Food like this never existed in the Kirin lands. Roti never disappoints.”

“I’m surprised at how much I liked the kottu,” Rose agreed with Mei’s sentiment as she explained her enjoyment of the dish she selected. “The curry was a nice change of pace from the food we usually eat.”

Mei took a moment to look around the room and sighed at the lack of customers. “...I can’t imagine a place like this losing business. It sounded like Saffron was considering closing the place up by how sad she looked.”

“Normally I’d call that a leap in logic, but yes,” Rose couldn’t deny how bad it sounded. “If Zesty is trying to spread rumors in order to get her to lose business, not only is that incredibly petty and immature, but it’ll only serve to further undermine the hard work Ms. Masala put into this place.”

“Not to mention how unique it is,” Mei went on, “Most other places on Restaurant Row sell the most basic of hors d'oeuvres for extremely high prices. Could Zesty be wanting to keep the economy in check with her influence over the food industry?”

The speculation led Rose to another thought entirely. “I’m willing to wager my feather that she also has something against Saffron Masala solely based on where she’s from.”

“...Seriously?” Mei reacted in awe as she pushed up her glasses. “If so, that’s…really sad.”

“It’s just a theory,” Rose reiterated, “I could be dead wrong and it may not be xenophobia at all, but still. It’s something worth considering. A pony from a distant land wants to bring her culture’s food here and she suddenly has a problem with it? Not a good look considering how adamant she is on keeping everything the same.”

“I don’t think I noticed her father here either,” Mei pointed out, “I’ll have to ask and see what’s up with that…”

Soon enough, Saffron Masala returned to their table to check up on them. “Ah! Did you ladies enjoy yourselves?”

“Mm-hm. Thank you, ma’am,” Mei said with a smile, then asked, “But I have to wonder, is your father still working with you here?”

“...No,” Saffron’s face dropped, “He’s been getting a bit older so he’s retired. I don’t want to complicate his health, so it’s been entirely on me.” She then sighed. “...not as if we have that many customers anyway…”

The girls fell silent, which caused Saffron to quickly change her tune.

“A-anyway! I appreciate your business, girls! Please come again!”

They both got up from their seats and Mei left a bag of bits on the table. “No change necessary. Keep it all, ma’am.”

“...t-thank you,” she accepted it all rather hesitantly with a tear leaving her eye.

Meanwhile…

As Saffron went to the register, a patron that had been watching looked up from behind a book she had been reading and trotted out to follow the girls. Outside, she noticed Mei and Grimrose join up with Nebula and Blue on their way back to the university.

“...hmph. So they wish to try and hamper my mother's influence, I take it?” the adolescent, white unicorn filly glared at the group as they walked away. “We shall see about that. The Gourmand Family’s influence shall not be tarnished by filthy foreigners.”