The Sweet Smell of Pastries
July
The sun rose over the grand city of Canterlot, slowly cresting the horizon and basking the city below in its brilliant orange glow. As the city was cast in light, its citizens awoke and started on their day. Cars were started, and trolleys began to roll their way down the tramways through the city. A small 0-6-0 box-shaped tram engine clanked down the streets of an old suburb of the city. It pulled a short train of wooden wagons hauling produce and other goods from the farms out of town to the small suburban shops at the city limits. The driver rang its bell and the people waved at the slowly passing goods train.
Fluttershy awoke to the delightful clang as it slowly chuffed past her home. Fluttershy opened her eyes, looking at the rafters of her loft bedroom. The room was still dark, a small sliver of light peeking through the crack in the shutters of her window. She rubbed her green eyes and sat up, letting the thin covers fall off her body. She climbed from her bed and threw off her white nightgown before untying and brushing her long pink hair. She quickly put on a knee-length green dress and braided her hair before running down the narrow staircase to her living area.
She grabbed a small pastry from her cupboard, something for breakfast, and grabbed her satchel. She left her modest home and locked the door behind with a skeleton key. She walked along the cobblestone street for a bit before a sky blue trolley with a big brass boiler at the front puffed alongside, she quickly hitched a ride on the thing, eating her pastry as she rode. The trolley rattled along to the busy center of the suburb where cars and people milled about. She hopped off here, walking the rest of the way to her workplace.
She shoved and squirmed her way through the masses of citizens who walked the streets until she reached her final destination, still munching on her pastry. She stood before a corner-built building, made from red bricks sporting large windows at the front. She walked in with a ding, finding it surprisingly empty.
"H-Hello...? Is there anybody here?" She asks in her usual soft and meek tone. She looked around the shop at the nice wooden tables and polished wooden countertops with a large register atop it and tall shelves behind. She jumped back at the sudden sound of clanking pans that echoed from inside the kitchen. Soon a short and plump girl with curly pink hair burst out of the kitchen bouncing excitedly.
"Ooh ooh, I'm here!" She shouted in a bubbly and cheerful voice, this was Pinkie Pie, the happy, cheerful, and often immature coworker, and friend of Fluttershy. The two were complete opposites in attitude and appearance, say for the pink hair which was still different in many ways.
"Hello Pinkie," Fluttershy smiled kindly at the girl. "I assume you got an early start,"
"Of course I did! I already have the first batch in the oven, so you can get the second done. Also, there's a military parade in town this afternoon so expect a LOT of customers,"
"O-Okay Pinkie..." Fluttershy hated working the counter, she much more enjoyed the job in the bakery where the only ones she would ever interact with were the Cakes and Pinkie. She went to the back, a place lined with ovens and counters covered in pans and utensils. She went over and started on the dough for sweet bread. She added the ingredients, kneaded the dough, cut it to equal-sized round pieces, and set them on the tray. She lit the wood fire of the second oven, puffing it to life before sliding the dough in on a peel and plugging the mouth of the oven.
Soon after, the bell dinged for the front door, and the first customer came in. One box of pastries later they left, followed by another, then another. Over the day more and more came in and more and more treats and goods were baked and sold. Fluttershy was in her comfort zone, the sound of clamoring customers was muffled by the doors to the kitchen, and the sweet smell of the goods wafted throughout the room. It gave the shy girl a sense of comfort and solitude. Her mind would often dwell in this solitude.
She thought about her family, far south in Seaward Shoals, living by the sea. She thought of her brother as he partook in the brutal trade of whaling for meat and oil. Fluttershy missed them, she wrote as often as she could to them. The one thing that helped her was that she knew how proud they were of her, to step out on her own and live so far away. Fluttershy was proud of herself too, she had never thought she would be able to do such a thing. Though it got lonely often, she lived alone and had lived alone as long as she had lived in Canterlot.
She had some friends, yes, but a city of this size meant they spent their time apart most days. Fluttershy disliked this, so she put out an ad in the city's paper. Nearly three days prior she had advertised that she was renting out a room in her home. It would offer both a bit of companionship and some extra bits in her pockets.
"Hey, Fluttershy!" She was jolted from her thoughts by the sound of Pinkie Pie's voice. "C'mon, you're gonna miss the show!"
"What show?" She asked, turning to Pinkie.
"The parade, remember? They're gonna march right by the bakery!"
"Oh... I see... Let me finish this last batch and I'll come right out," Pinkie nodded and left. Fluttershy soon pulled out a batch of scones and sat them out to cool before dusting her hands off and hanging her apron on the hook near the door. She stepped out of the kitchen and into the empty shop, seeing crowds gathered outside. She went outside, squeezing through the crowd of people waving small Equestrian flags. She stood on the street where she could get a perfect view of the parade. Music blared a boisterous marching beat as men in brilliant red uniforms and black and trousers caps marched past.
Leading each group was a single officer carrying a saber as if it were a rifle. With them were soldiers carrying the most modern magazine-fed bolt actions the world had seen, the long rifles in their shoulders. They marched in neat rows without a single beat being missed by them. The infantrymen were followed by the cavalry, they wore golden helmets and cuirasses, holding long lances in their hands. They were led by bannermen, one on either side with one bearing the twin unicorns of Equestria and the other the violet battle cross.
Overhead roared the flying machines, they buzzed like flies and carried two men atop their thin and oddly shaped bodies. Airships slowly sail overhead as well. Soon the cavalry cleared out and the armor followed. The steal armored cars marked by the battle cross were not near as glamorous as the infantry or cavalry, but they elicited a sense of pride. The precession of cars was short and followed by the artillery, short light guns, and long heavy guns rattled along the streets of the city. They brought an end to the parade, and soon the citizens cleared out.
Fluttershy returned to the bakery and continued her day. The sun was setting by the time she left work, leaving Pinkie to lock up. She waved goodbye to the girl and found herself another trolley home. The trolley home was empty, she being one of three on there besides the driver. It was peaceful and quiet, the only noise being the quiet chuffing of the engine as it rolled along. It finally reached her home, allowing her off. She went inside and went about making supper, a simple potato soup and some bread would suffice. She quickly made the meal and sat down to eat it when a knock came at her door.
The knock made her a bit nervous, usually, people never came around this late, but she checked anyway. She walked over to the door and slowly opened it to a surprise. In front of her house stood a violet hair girl in a skirt and long brown coat with a tall pointed hat on her head. She carried a jagged broom in on hand and a leather bag in the other. Fluttershy was unsure of what to say.
"Hello ma'am," The girl began, breaking the silence. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, I believe you have a room for rent,"
July
"Oh... Yes, of course, please c-come in," Fluttershy said, moving aside to allow the stranger into her home. Twilight stepped inside, taking in the modest living area. It seemed that the kitchen, dining room, and living room all melded together in a small, but not too small, space.
"Hmmm... I like it, it's perfect," Twilight said with a smile.
"Th-Thanks," Fluttershy responded, again in her rather meek voice. "Let me show you to your room," She led Twilight to her room, which was the pantry near the small kitchen area of her home. She opened the door, it was a long and narrow room, with different ingredients and foodstuffs on either side on shelves and in crates. At the back of the room were a sprung cot and chest for storage. "I'm sorry it's not much, but it's the best I could do,"
"No, no, don't be... It's just fine, thanks, Ms. Fluttershy," Twilight told Fluttershy kindly.
"Oh dear, don't call me that, just call me Fluttershy," She said. "It's perfectly fine,"
"Oh... Okay, Fluttershy," She set her stuff down on the bed, using a quick spell to hang her cloak and hat on a nearby hook, leaving a trail of sparkles in its wake.
"Let me cook you some supper,"
"No need, I already have something," Twilight reached into her sack and pulled out a small fruit pastry wrapped in paper.
"Oh no dear, I insist," Fluttershy gave a warm smile. "Save the pastry for desert,"
"Oh... Thank you then, I guess," She left the pantry and sat at the small table, keeping the pastry with her.
"I hope you don't mind potato soup, I already have the ingredients out," Fluttershy said as she started to cook another batch.
"Oh not at all, I haven't eaten much in the past three days,"
"Oh dear, why not?" Fluttershy asked, noticeably concerned.
"I've been moving around the city, I'm just lucky I found the ad when I did, or I was gonna have to beg the librarian at the academy to let me sleep there," She chuckled a bit.
"Well I'm glad you found me too, I wouldn't want you to starve," She kept cooking, chopping up the potatoes. "So how long have you been at the school?"
"Only a couple of days, the first day of summer classes is tomorrow,"
"I see, are you new to Canterlot?"
"Yep, only been here a couple of days. I came here from a little town called Ponyville," She smiled, as she thought of the place.
"I don't think I know that place, did you come by train or-" Fluttershy was cut off.
"I flew!" Twilight exclaimed with excitement. "Most of the way at least, I used my broom,"
"It seems you're already good at magic," Fluttershy said as she worked on completing the soup, pouring up a bowl from Twilight and grabbing a chunk of brown bread for her.
"Ponyville's school teaches magic to young kids," She said as Fluttershy came over with her meal, setting it before the young witch. "I was quite proficient with it already, so my parents signed me up for the academy," Fluttershy sat down and started to finish her meal.
"What was Ponyville like?" She asked, finding herself curious about Twilight's old home.
"Nothing too big, a quaint little town along the railway, there were lots of farmers with sheep and stuff. My father was the town's blacksmith, he made the tools and horseshoes for the farmers. I loved reading so he always bought me books when he could, of course, one of them had to be a beginner's spell book," She chuckled as she reminisced on her younger days.
"That reminds me a bit of my home, it was called Seaward Shoals,"
"Hey, I've heard of that town, they build sailing ships there, don't they?" Twilight's eyes were bright with fascination.
"Indeed, not just sailing ships, have you ever heard of the WS Mountains of The Heart?"
"That's a whaling ship, right? I read quite a bit about it,"
"Yep, it's part steamship, my father even worked on it," She sighed happily. "I remember sitting out on the peer and watching ships roll by in the distance. Some of them would even stop in town, they were the smaller ones of course, but it was a magnificent sight,"
"I'm sure it was, I remember always sitting at my bedroom window at night to listen to the nightly express train as it thundered past town," Twilight smiled warmly at the thoughts, continuing to eat her meal. The delightful clang of a tram engine's bell startled her as the nightly freight chuffed past. "Of course," She began with a laugh. "They were never as close as the trains are here,"
"Luckily they're slow," Fluttershy replied, also laughing. "The express trains never come this close, just listen for the bell and watch for tracks and you'll be just fine,"
"Or I can just use my broom," Twilight added, still laughing.
"That too, but I'd still be careful, the skies are filled with flying machines some mornings," Fluttershy finished her meal. "Oh dear, I forgot the tea," She immediately hopped to her feet and started back over to the stove. Twilight stopped her.
"Oh no, Fluttershy, let me," She stood up. "You made me supper, so I'll make the tea," She gestured for Fluttershy to have a seat and went over to the kitchen area. She took out the teapot and poured some water from the handpump sink, setting it on the still-hot stove. Then she put some lavender in the water and covered the top. She returned to her seat across from Fluttershy. "So you were saying?"
"Oh yes, be careful, some mornings people like to get out on their flying machines. If you leave early enough you shouldn't have to worry much,"
"What time will you be leaving?" Twilight asked as she finally finished the soup and bread.
"Just at sunrise, if you leave at the same time as me you should be able to get out before they start heading out,”
"If I leave that early I might get to see the express as it leaves the station," Twilight smiled at the thought, the academy sat to the east of town some ways away from the city's grand central station. "What a sight that would be," The two girls were jolted from their conversation by the shrill hissing whistle of the tea kettle. Twilight jumped up and took it from the stove, grabbing a couple of finely decorated white cups and pouring some up for the two. She handed one to Fluttershy and sat down. Fluttershy took a sip from her tea.
"It's getting late, you might want to finish your tea and wash up for bed," Fluttershy told Twilight.
"Why?" She asked jokingly. "You aren't my mother," She continued, still chuckling all the same. She still followed her instructions and quickly finished her tea. She put her cup over in the sink before grabbing a nightgown from her sack in the pantry and rushed to the bathroom for a quick wash. She returned moments later with her hair tied and ready for bed. "Goodnight Fluttershy," She called as she went to the pantry. "And thanks... For supper, and a place to stay... I promise to get rent in as soon as I can," Fluttershy took a sip from her tea and responded:
"Don't worry dear, rent's not due till the end of next month, you need not worry,"
"Thanks... Again..." Twilight shut the pantry door, leaving Fluttershy alone as she stayed up a fair bit longer. The bell of the nearby temple chimed ten o'clock and Fluttershy finally started turning in. She put her cup in the sink, and quickly washed up. She was about to head upstairs to change when she saw the pastry Twilight had brought still sitting on the table. "Oh dear, I don't want it to go to waste," She quickly grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper from a notebook, writing a little note to remind Twilight about it in the morning.
After which she went up to her room, changed into her gown, and climbed into bed. There she drifted soundly off to sleep, resting up for another day.
