The sky above Canterlot was almost perfectly clear; barely any clouds in the sky and Celestia’s noonday sun shone brightly down on the city. It was the perfect spring day, with a slight, crisp breeze carrying the sounds of birds chirping and the bustle of the city throughout the streets. The type of day that nopony could be down or depressed during. All around, ponies were going here and there, meeting for lunch, chatting with friends, enjoying the amazing weather... and being a total nervous wreck.
Okay, almost nopony.
Walking along the cobblestone streets of the Western District in Canterlot was a light lavender unicorn with three yellow shooting stars as a cutie mark. However, she was distracted enough that the perfect day was lost on her. Braided golden blond mane barely moving as she walked mechanically along in a straight line, looking as though she was marching to her own execution rather than to spend the afternoon with friends. Well friends plus one. It was worrying about that plus one that ruined her sleep last night and put her in such a state today.
Contrary to expectations, Luminescence’s nervousness came from, of all things, love. Love had found her a couple of months ago. Yet in all that time, she had never shared this with those close to her. The reason for this, you see, was that her love wasn’t exactly...traditional. It made her incredibly nervous just thinking of everypony’s possible reactions.
“It’s ok Lumi,” Luminescence told herself with forced conviction. “You’re just worrying about nothing. Everypony will meet and there won’t be any problems. Yeah...it’ll all go smoothly. Right?”
Her words rang hollow to her own ears. By Tartarus, she didn’t know why she was even trying to cheer herself up like that. She tried to maintain a confident posture, but all her head could do was droop and her eyes found the pavement more and more interesting as she walked.
This wasn’t just a simple meeting with her friends however, she was introducing them to the love of her life. What complicated it was that she had waited almost two months to tell them. She had no clue how they’d react. Would they be angry at her for hiding him? Would Curiosity freak out when she met him? Things could go so right...or so horribly wrong.
Luminescence started to walk herself through the plan, Ok. When I get to the fountain and meet Curiosity and Dew Drop I’ll apologize to them for not telling them about everything these past two months. Then I’ll tell them as much as I can before we get to the cafe, then they can just meet him. We can move right on to greetings, everyone can be friends. It’ll be perfect.
Or so she hoped...
“Oh Celestia, please, let this work out.” She prayed quietly as she rounded the corner and came face to face with the fountain in the center of town with the giant sculptures of the Princesses. Putting on a brave face, she took a deep breath and perked her head back up. Slowly releasing the breath she scanned the crowd for her friends and soon enough saw them. Dew Drop was the first of the two she caught sight of.
Dew Drop, just ‘Dew’ to her friends, was an ever-energetic sea green pegasus with a short cropped, amazingly sky blue mane that was surprisingly tame, compared to its owner. Her cutie mark matched her job pretty well, given that she was a ‘fluidics engineer’ for Canterlot, a raincloud with a cheery rainbow arching from one end to the other. Her job essentially meant she spent a lot of time making sure water, snow and rainbow allotments were doled out properly to the areas that needed them the most. Dew Drop was also the only close friend of Luminescence’s who was married, quite happily at that, to one of the palace guards. Before she found him, Luminescence would sometimes feel a twinge of jealousy deep inside when she saw Dew Drop and Nimbus together, something she was not proud of.
Luminescence’s other friend, Curiosity, formally Curiosity de Carrousel, was the sole heir to the Carrousel Duchy. The white unicorn was deeply involved in the fashion industry despite her elevated position and as such usually wore something that accented her ruby colored wavy mane and pink eyes. Her white, sparkling, single diamond cutie mark barely marred her coat, as if not daring to ruin perfection. Today was no exception as she wore a fancy bonnet with a deep blue color with accenting flowers and baubles.
Curiosity was part of the Equestrian nobility thanks to the hard work and exploits of her great-grandmother. However Curiosity was, unfortunately, not as well versed in the generosity that her ancestor was so well known for, but she had improved with the help of her friends.
Currently the two were talking, or Dew Drop was talking and Curiosity was pretending to care. She often pretended to care in that way that only the excessively wealthy can, though she was hiding her disinterest with her large bonnet. Luminescence recently surmised that Dew Drop actually knew this and carried on just to annoy the high-society unicorn.
Luminescence trotted towards them, putting on her bravest expression, but she faltered as she prepared to call out to her friends. Her worries returned so suddenly she found herself hesitating, wondering if putting this off a bit more might not be a better idea.
Her musings were interrupted by the excited voice of Dew Drop, “Oh, Hey! It’s Lumi! Hey Lumi! Over here!” Dew Drop left in mid-discussion with Curiosity and flew over to the faltering unicorn. Before Luminescence could even get a word in edgewise, she got pulled up in a big hug that lifted the two of them off the ground for a few seconds.
“H-Hey Dew Drop, good to see you.” Luminescence spoke, nervous smile on her face but genuinely happy to see her friend. Dew Drop’s presence did cause a sense of relief to flood through her. It was hard to be down around Dew Drop.
Dew Drop blinked, suddenly looking confused at Luminescence for a moment, “Huh? Ohhh, I see somepony’s being a nervous nelly again!” Dew Drop giggled as she put Luminescence down and poked at the purple pony.
Luminescence felt her stomach do a roll and dip to the left, Curse that pony and her perfect pegasus perception. “H-How could you tell?” She asked head and body drooping in defeat. She couldn’t fool Dew Drop for a second
“You only call me by my full name when you’re worrying about silly things.” Dew Drop said with a giggle.
“She’s right you know darling.” Curiosity confirmed as she trotted up to the duo. “We have known you long enough to tell when you are being...overwrought. I assure you that this is much ado about nothing. We are your friends. We know something’s been...distracting you for a while and this sneaking and hiding just doesn’t suit you.”
“Yeah, you’re really good at magic Lumi, buuuut your sneakiness could use some work.” Dew Drop added helpfully.
Luminescence sighed in defeat. Sneaking? Okay, I admit I haven’t exactly been forward but still...I was just afraid of how everypony would react. But...they’re right, I haven’t been fair to them. They’re my friends and they deserve to know! Though how am I going to explain it to Curi. She...might not take it so well.
“I...you’re right of course. I wanted both of you to meet me today so I could explain what...I’ve been doing these last couple of months. You see-”
“You’ve fallen madly in love and you’re finally ready to share that with us.” Curiosity interrupted with just the slightest hints of a smirk on her face.
“Right, I figured that it’s fi-” the gears in Luminescence’s head suddenly ground to a halt at the revelation that her big surprise wasn’t actually that much of a surprise. “How...How...”
“Lumi, dear, there are only a couple of things that could have caused you to act so out of character. Well that, and you might have not noticed it, but you often spaced out with the most dreamy expression on your face. Then my dear bookworm friend suddenly asking about fashion advice. ‘How would I make myself look more presentable,’ was what you asked me. Really it was the natural assumption,” Curiosity stated as one might read off the weather report. “That and you’re really not very goo-urk,” an unladylike noise escaped from Curiosity as Dew Drop thrust a hoof into her side.
“What Curry meant to say,” at the use of her other nickname, the white unicorn gave Dew Drop a withering glare, “was that we’ve been friends for years. We know when something’s up with you and we’re here when you need us. So of course we’d notice when things were off with you.” Dew Drop finished smoothly.
Curiosity opened her mouth to give Dew Drop a piece of her mind but stopped when she noticed the sappy grin and unshed tears welling up in Luminescence’s eyes and let her unspoken rebuke die on her lips. “Thanks guys, that means a lot to me.” Luminescence said softly, wiping her eyes quickly. “I’m so sorry, I should have told you both sooner. I guess I was being a bit foalish.”
“Well jus-” Dew Drop didn’t get any further then that when a spell jerked her back a meter by her tail. The spell aura was oddly the same color as the type of magic that Curiosity used.
“Yes, well, all is forgiven,” Curiosity continued for Dew Drop almost without missing a beat. This earned her a dirty glare from the perturbed pegasus. The unicorn ignored it casually, “It’s the least we could do since we’re all friends. So, out with it darling! You wanted us to go to lunch, so I imagine it’s because you’re ready to tell us all the juicy details?” Curiosity asked enthusiastically.
“Well,” Luminescence started again, showing a slightly strained smile again, “I was going to tell you all about it...and then I figured all four of us could have lunch together. Would save us som-”
“Ohhh we get to actually meet the stallion who stole your heart then!?” Curiosity asked, hooves tapping together with barely restrained enthusiasm.
“Er, well, that is to say,” stalling, doing everything in her power to dodge the question Luminescence wracked her brain trying to come up with either an excuse or an explanation. She didn’t want to explain before they could meet him. Especially not to Curiosity. “Oh right!” Luminescence exclaimed suddenly as she turned to the large tower overlooking the square. “We’ve got to hurry up, we don’t want to-”
“Make him wait? Of course not! Come along Dew, we’ve got places to be.” Ignoring the barely hidden anxious expression on Luminescence’s face as Curiosity gestured for her to lead the way.
The three of them soon joined the other ponies on the bustling streets of Canterlot. Being nearly noon the streets were packed and the girls had to thread their way through the crowds on their way to the center of the district. Well known for its exoitc food and plethora of restaurants servicing all the travelers that pass through the main city gates.
While the main road from the fountain was bordered by shops and quaint multi-story, whitewashed houses. Turning off the main road caused the constant stream of ponies to thin out a bit and soon simple houses were replaced with more extravagant and colorful designs, each more ludicrous than the next as if in some sort of mysterious competition to outdo the other.
Luminescence noticed all of this. She was trying to focus on anything that would potentially alleviate the sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. It was working until Dew Drop rekindled the conversation, “So, Lumi, why did you wait so long to tell us about this? You’ve been awfully nervous this whole time. I mean we’re your best friends and all. You can always be honest with us.”
Dew’s innocent question put Luminescence on the spot again, “Well...you see...” She purposely drew out her response, wracking her brain, trying to figure out what to say. “Our relationship...isn’t strictly...traditional.”
“Not traditional?” Dew asked back. “You mean...like...your coltfriend is actually your marefriend?” The pegasus pondered promptly. Taking only an instant for the words to sink in Luminescence stumbled and started sputtering, trying to find words for a denial. “Because you know that we don’t care about things like that. As long as you’re happy.”
“Oh my,” Curiosity added, eyes shining as her imagination began to run wild, “It’s like something right out of a romance novel. Such a powerful love that transcends everything!”
“Wh-What?! No, he’s not a mare! Why would you think that? Oh no. What if he thinks that of me now?!” Luminescence asked without taking a breath between the rattled off questions, her eyes widening as she frantically looked back and forth at her friends.
“Well, from your reaction I take it that was a miss.” Curiosity said, faux disappointment heavy in her voice.
Picking up on Curiosity’s cue Dew Drop joined in with a mischievous grin, “Well, we know that it’s a ‘he’ but, not traditional. So what about...” hovering over to Lumi with a sly smile and rubbing her forehooves, “seeing a married stallion!”
“Oh the scandal! How will I ever explain this?” Throwing a forearm to her head she mock fainted into the waiting arms of Dew Drop. The two of them proceeded to turn the drama up to 11, “What will I ever do Lady Dew Drop?”
The commotion was starting to attract the attention of bystanders. Many stopped what they were doing and began to whisper amongst themselves. This did absolutely nothing to discourage Luminescence’s friends, much to the light lavender pony’s mounting embarrassment. To top it off, Dew Drop switched over to her ‘bad’ Trottingham accent, declaring, “We must remain steadfast Lady Curiosity! It matters not that the fair Luminescence has fallen into ill repute, we must stand behind her. Though our position in high society may falter!”
Luminescence’s eyes bulged and her jaw dropped to the pavement. She could do nothing but stare at her friends in dumbfounded shock as she tried her damndest to make her mouth work again. “No...wait, what!? What are you two talking about? He’s not mar...” Luminescence trails off as her friends begin to snicker and her shocked expression fades into one of annoyance. “Oh very funny. Ha ha ha.”
While they hadn’t drawn a large crowd, the nearby onlookers were giving a variety of looks at the three mares ranging from highly amused to almost scandalized. “You have to admit Lumi,” Dew Drop said with a massive grin plastered on her face, “you walked right into that.”
“You two...are, ugh!” Luminescence said, beseeching the heavens for some sort of aid.
“Oh Luminescence darling,” Curiosity said as she trotted over to Luminescence and put a foreleg over her withers, “you’ve got to learn to relax a little. Also that’s just a little bit of payback for not telling your friends something so important for so long.”
The three continued onward, leaving behind the whispering crowd as they turned the corner and Luminescence sulked a little bit, head lowered.
“Well if all you’re going to say is that it’s ‘not traditional’ you have to forgive our imaginations for running a bit wild. All teasing aside, why don’t you tell us about him?” Curiosity prompted.
“Yeah!” Dew Drop added gaining a few meters in altitude, “Why don’t you tell us how you two met!”
“Well, we actually met in one of my classes. My last semester there,”
“Aaaah, go figure, our Luminescence falls for a fellow student.” Curiosity sighs at the lack of anything juicy to latch on to.
“Well...not...exactly...” Luminescence said haltingly.
“What’cha mean?” Dew Drop asks, coming in close and landing on the ground.
“He was...kind of...my teacher,” she admits head drooping down more, just waiting for Curiosity’s reaction.
“Ooooooh, your teacher? How romantic!” Curiosity’s voice rose at least 2 octaves and her eyes lit up like stars as her mind went into overdrive. “No wonder you were afraid to share it. You couldn’t let your forbidden love come out and hurt his career. Ooh ooh ooh! This is like a novel I read last year. Luminescence, dear you have to tell me al-” Curiosity cut herself off as she took a withering glare from Luminescence. “Sorry.”
With a huge sigh and lifting her head up Luminescence looked like she was about to lecture Curiosity when Dew Drop cut in with a puzzled look on her face, “But Lumi! All of your...oh!” The look of confusion dissolved from her face and was replaced by a grin so wide it made her eyes squint in adorable little half moons.
Curiosity and Luminescence both turned their heads to look at their friend and in perfect unison asked, “Oh?”
“Oh!” Dew Drop answered and pranced a bit ahead of them.
“...You’ve known her longer than I have Lumi, has she always been like this?” Curiosity inquired.
“As long as I’ve known her, that’s for sure. I think it’s a family thing.” Luminescence explained, still looking perplexed.
As the three girls turned the last corner the street opened up a bit. On one side was a beautiful park, with plenty of open space for ponies to play in, enjoy a picnic or even a nap in the sun. The other was a solid, wall to wall shops, restaurants and cafes. Thank Celestia we’re almost there. I don’t know how much longer I could hold off their questions without losing Curi to some delusions that I’m having some sort of illicit affair with one of my teachers. Then again, I kind of am.
Before letting herself get caught up in a long, internal debate about the nature of their relationship Luminescence chose to distract herself, “We’re almost there, it’s the cafe at the far right end of Misty Drive.”
Dew Drop trotted along with them, showing no significant reaction to Luminescence’s announcement. Her grin, if possible, grew even wider.
“Well, I suppose I won’t have to speculate much longer,” Curiosity said. “As much as I’m still a little annoyed that you felt you couldn’t tell us about something like this, I do appreciate the situation.”
Not as much as you think Curi. Please don’t hate me for this! Luminescence fretted to herself.
“Oooh I think we’re here girls” Dew Drop said as they approached the cafe.
“Wait a minute, this is Cafe Le Verger. I remember reading about this place...” Curiosity let her words die off as she raised a hoof and tapped her chin in deep thought. Suddenly her eyes shot open and she stopped just a couple pony-lengths before the entrance. “We’re in the western district...near the gate station and the old foreign quarter...this is where all of the hu-”
Curiosity’s eyes shot up and her head jerked to stare at Luminescence, mouth still forming the sound as it died on her lips. Nervousness assaulting her, Luminescence gave her best grin as she started to sweat.
Curiosity jerked her head to look at the tables outside the restaurant and took in the situation. About a dozen fancy iron tables were placed partially underneath a blue and white striped awning, but separated enough that nothing was crowded. About half the tables were full of ponies, chatting, enjoying some drinks or lunch. A couple of tables had mixed groups of ponies and humans.
It was the one table that had a lone human and three empty chairs that caught Curiosity’s attention. Taking a good, long look at the human Curiosity noted that he seemed about average height for a member of his species with short black hair, almond eyes and slightly tanned skin. He was wearing what she recognized to be semi-formal shirt and pants, but it was the jacket that caught her attention. It was the uniform jacket of a professor at the magical university that Luna ran.
He had not noticed the trio yet and was scanning the crowd for someone. Curiosity felt a horrible sinking sensation in her stomach as his head turned towards them. When he laid eyes on Lumi his face brightened up and a smile graced his features as he raised an arm and waved at the trio, “Hey, Lumi! I have a table for us already.”
Dew Drop said something but it was lost on Curiosity due to her shock and Luminescence due to her focusing so much on Curiosity.
Curiosity’s head jerked back to look at Luminescence, her mouth agape and eyes shone with complete disbelief. “Your...coltfriend...” She found it hard to form the words that her mind was giving to her.
Luminescence just grinned nervously at Curiosity and said, “He’s more like...my boyfriend...”
Author's Note
There, my first story published. Only took everyone poking me for, what, half a year? This was originally designed to be a one-shot but the story kind of came alive and now I'm taking it further.
Feel free to savage me with criticisms and comments. It's the only way I'll get better.
Huge thanks to BrilliantPoint and Demon Eyes Laharl for ~~getting suckered~~ agreeing to be my editors and spending days going over this with me. Thanks also goes out to N64Fan (even if he hates this), Rokas and the_panic; the authors who pushed me to do this. It's all your faults! 
Finally a message from BrilliantPoint: As his editor I found it appropriate to force Shira to use Curry as a second nickname for Curiosity when he kept writing her nickname Curi as Curry after he had some Chicken Tikka Masala.
New Friends, Old Friends
Ch.2 of Hearts, Hands and Hooves
by
Shira
Note: Dialogue inside <> denotes speaking in the human tongue.
"So," Curiosity began hesitantly after the bombshell revelation that Luminescence laid at her hooves, "when you spoke of non-traditional relationships you were speaking about..."
"Yep, him." Luminescence supplied for her, laughing nervously, completely unsure of how Curiosity would react.
A troubled frown appeared on Curiosity's face before she began to speak, "Lumi, dear, you know that—"
She was cut off off by Luminescence, voice pleading, "Curi! I know how you feel...but Hiro is really important to me." Curiosity closed her open mouth but continued to look at Luminescence disapprovingly. "You are both an important part of my life...and I don't think I could give up either."
Curiosity's frown dissipated as she continued to look at Luminescence. After a few seconds of her friend's pleading expression she simply sighed and said, "Alright, alright. I'll be polite, but don't expect a lot more than that from me." Taking a breath she put on a more more civil expression. The things I do for friendship...
Having worked things out for the moment the two of them turned towards the table that Hiro was occupying and surprisingly find Dew sitting in a chair next to him, chatting away cheerily as if they were old friends. At least one of them took to him without a problem, Luminescence thought. "Well I'm glad to see the two of you getting along so well." Luminescence said as she pulled up a chair and sat down herself.
"Given how long I've known Dew Drop here, that's not exactly unexpected." Hiro said with a knowing smile.
"Wait, you two...know each other?" Luminescence asks, eyes grew wider and her attention focused on Dew Drop.
"Yeah I've known Hiro here since, well, pretty much since he first came to Canterlot. Poor little guy was totally lost when he first arrived." Dew Drop said playfully.
Snorting Hiro countered jokingly, "Who's calling who little? And I would have got along just fine if I had to." Smiling as he seemed to recall something he added, "Joking aside, you and Nimbus did help me out a lot when I first came here. I am truly appreciative of that." He inclined his head slightly to Dew Drop.
“Wait, wait wait,” Luminescence said as she and Curiosity sat down, hoof covering her face in frustration. “Can somepony explain from the beginning? I mean how long have you known each other for? How did you two meet? Why am I the last pony to know things!?” Barely sitting down and the situation was already throwing Luminescence for a loop.
Dew Drop giggled a bit at Luminescence and then gave Hiro a smile and looked at him expectantly.
Blinking in confusion a few moments before saying, “What? You girls are all friends, feel free to explain it to them.”
Shaking her head Dew Drop replied, “Oh no! Today you’re the lead actor. The stage is all yours my good man!”
“I don’t think it’s that interesting a story...” Hiro began until he noticed a young sandy brown coated unicorn with a perky, pastel magenta mane walk up to them.
“Welcome to Cafe Le Verger. Can I get anypony started with anything to drink?” The young mare asked the group, levitating menus in front of everyone.
Taking a quick look around the table Curiosity turned to the waitress and started the ordering off, “I’ll have some Earl Neigh tea thank you.”
Dew Drop contemplated the menu as if it were a complex puzzle. Luminescence smiled at her friend’s behavior and ordered next, “Some chamomile tea. Oh do you have any honey?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Then I’ll have some honey too.” Luminescence said cheerily.
Looking to see Dew Drop still wrestling with a drink decision Hiro added his order to the mix, “I’ll have a pot of your genmaicha.”
“We’ve been getting a lot of requests for that lately.” The Waitress noted as she scribbled down the orders on her order pad.
“Well it’s pretty healthy and I guess with all the trade human goods are easy to get a hold of. Still your cafe brews some of the best green teas in Canterlot.” Hiro informed her with a smile on his face.
“Oh! Well thank you very much Sir!” The waitress smiled at the praise, “It’s good to hear that it at least is good enough for a native to enjoy.”
“Oh absolutely. Whoever makes this has definitely spent some time in-”
The rest of the conversation was cut short by Dew Drop cutting in with a joyous declaration, “I got it! I’ll have the double espresso and white chocolate macadamia nut mocha. Light on the whipped cream please.”
The waitress, to her credit, was on the ball and pencil flying, managed to get her entire order in one go. “Ok so that’s a earl neigh, chamomile with some honey, genmaicha and a double espresso and white chocolate macadamia nut mocha.” Just as Dew Drop was about to correct her, the waitress then added smoothly, putting the pad away and setting the pencil behind her right ear, “Light on the whipped cream. I’ll be back with your drinks in a few minutes.”
As the waitress trotted off back inside the cafe, Luminescence was the first to turn back to the issue at hand, “Anyway, how the heck do you two know each other.”
“Like I was saying, it’s pretty straightforward. Most major towns and cities have various groups of volunteers who help non-natives settle in. The Magister College has a special program with Canterlot for designed to help magi who come here. Particularly since most magi spend so much time studying early on in life they rarely get to travel much, so coming to Canterlot can be a huge culture shock. Usually magi coming here for study or work get assigned a couple of ponies to help them settle in. While Magister Yamada was there to meet me, my ‘cultural guides’ were none other than Dew Drop and Nimbus. They spent the next couple of weeks making sure I was settled in, knew where things were and wasn’t going to freak out and go on a bloody chaos fueled rampage across the city.”
Dew Drop snorted in laughter at Hiro’s joke and Luminescence just rolled her eyes and playfully pushed his shoulder with a free hoof. Curiosity, however, looked between her friends quickly and then looked back at Hiro with a nervous laugh. Tearing his attention away from his marefriend his eyes briefly met Curiosity’s and he paused looking at her with a smile but his eyes conveyed a more serious emotion.
Just as quickly as it happened though he turned to look at Dew Drop and continued with a slight smirk on his face, “Honestly I think it was more difficult adjusting to Dew Drop and Nimbus than it was Canterlot.”
“Hey, Nimbus isn’t that difficult to deal with!” Dew Drop protested in jest.
“Wait a moment. So, when you said you were helping with a cultural program...” Curiosity asked even though she already knew the answer at this point.
“Yeppers! Nimby and I have been helping non-ponies adjust to life in Canterlot. It can be tough at times but it’s a great feeling to know that you’re helping others. Hiro was pretty easy to get ‘integrated’ all things considered. Given that he was already fluent in Equestrian and had spent a lot of time around ponies.” Dew Drop put on a frustrated expression and added with an accusing glare at Hiro, “I even practiced my Human really hard before you came!”
“Well you’re always welcome to speak with me Mrs. Cumulo, I don’t get to use my native language as much as I probably should.” Hiro replied honestly.
“Ugh, quit calling me Mrs. Cumulo! Just Dew is fine! You make it sound like I’ve already had foals and my mane is starting to grey.” Wrinkling her muzzle up and narrowing her eyes she pointed a hoof threateningly at Hiro.
Hiro Suddenly raised his hands up in surrender and said, “Sorry! You’ve done a lot for me though so I still find it...difficult to be so informal all the time.”
“You’re dating one of my best marefriends so you’re going to have to get used to it ,” Dew Drop said switching into the human tongue suddenly.
With only the smallest hints of a smile on his face Hiro bowed deeply at the table and responded, “”
Laughing Dew Drop immediately replied, “” She bowed her head deeply back at Hiro in return.
“” Dew got enough of Hiro’s response to get the jab at his marefriend and she started cracking up on the spot.
Leaning over to her friend Curiosity asked Luminescence, “Did you understand any of that Luminescence dear? I don’t speak a lick of Human.” Before she got a response though she saw confusion on her friend’s face as she watched her good friend and boyfriend chat in his native tongue. As the two of them finished up Luminescence pulled her eyes away and looked down at the table Curiosity thought she could see her cheeks pink a bit in embarrassment though she didn’t understand why Luminescence would be embarrassed.
Moments later Luminescence looked up to notice Curiosity staring at her, “Sorry, spaced out there for a minute while they were talking. Did you say something Curi?”
Luminescence’s tone was even but Curiosity knew her friend well enough to know that something was bothering her, “Nothing important Dearie.” Seeing that Hiro and Dew Drop had finished their little chat Curiosity had a question she was interested in having answered. “Hiro, I must admit I’m interested in how you managed to learn such flawless Equestrian. Most humans have quite a noticeable accent if they haven’t grown up in Equestria.”
Right before Hiro could answer the waitress returned with everyone’s drinks and began placing them on the table with the red sparkling magic of her’s encapsulating the cups and pots. Dew Drop looked intensely at her drink and then nodded, satisfied.
“Is everyone ready to order lunch?” The waitress asked. Despite all the talking everyone had worked out what they wanted to eat and the orders came quickly. Hiro ordered a simple tomato soup and grilled veggie sandwich, Luminescence went spinach salad with the tomato soup, Curiosity chose a cucumber sandwich with a piece of tiramisu for dessert, and lastly Dew Drop ordered the fresh vegetable pasta with extra, extra, extra cheese. Having taken their orders for lunch the waitress trotted back inside.
“Well where were we?” Hiro started after taking a sip of his tea, “Oh right. My father is in the diplomatic corps and is fluent in some ridiculous amount of languages. I asked him a number of years back and if I remember right it was something like seven or eight languages and then an absurd amount of accents and dialects. Anyway, he insisted my siblings and myself grow up speaking at least two languages. What got me into Equestrian though was my childhood friend. He was an earth pony, who’s family was helping with farming and logistics.”
Hiro paused in his recollection as he took a long, slow sip of his tea before continuing, “Jolly and I were inseparable until I had to go to the Griffon capital with my father’s job change but when I came back to become a magi we were just as close. He grew up speaking both Human and Equestrian and so I resolved to do the same. I suppose it’s a boring reason but when I’d go over to his place for play or a meal I’d always want to be able to speak with his parents in their own language. So we took Equestrian classes together. Equestrian is pretty different from any Human dialect so while it was a lot of work, by the time we were teens it was pretty convenient to be able to switch languages whenever we needed.”
“Pardon me, but you mentioned that you spent some time in the Griffon Kingdom. Does this mean that you speak some Griffon as well?” Curiosity couldn’t help but inquire.
“I’m probably pretty rusty at this point. Hardly fluent but I remember all the honorifics, greetings and such. Discord save me if I get a research position there after I finish my stint here in Canterlot.”
Curiosity, despite herself, couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed at the effort Hiro had gone through to learn about other cultures and languages. Taking a sip of her own tea she found herself getting curious and figured now would be the time to get some information if this...ape was going to be with her best friend for the foreseeable future. “Well Luminescence and Dew Drop are familiar with you but I have to admit I’m a bit curious about your background. Would you mind sharing with those of us who haven’t known you for months?”
Curiosity’s dig at her friend’s got an embarrassed blush as well as a pair of averted eyes along with an innocent sounding whistle. “Certainly Lady Carrousel. My name is Hiro Aomori.”
“Hero?”
“Eh, close enough. I’m 27 and am currently an assistant professor doing research and teaching at Luna’s College for Advanced Thaumaturgical Studies under Professor Arcana.”
Nodding slightly and making a, “Hhhhmmmm,” noise Curiosity seemed to digest this for a few moments before she asked him another question, “What about your family?”
“Well like I said before, my father is a diplomat, spent almost a decade being the Human diplomat to the Griffon Kingdom. He works on things back in the homeland now. My Mother is a chef. Runs a couple of restaurants and travels to do cooking, er, I’m not entirely sure what to call them in Equestrian...exhibitions?” Hiro turned to Luminescence and raised his eyebrows in a pleading look.
“Seems right to me.” Luminescence said unhelpfully.
“Right. Besides that I have a younger sister and a younger brother,”
“Finally! Someone else who understands the pain and trials of being the oldest sibling.” Dew Drop added, sniffing and wiping away an invisible tear. Curiosity rolled her eyes hard enough that her entire head went in a circular motion. Even Hiro couldn’t help but chuckle at Dew Drop’s antics.
“And my marefriend is Luminescence.” Hiro finished, looking over to Luminescence with a soft smile.
Luminescence looked back up at him and smiled back until Dew Drop went, “D’awwww you two are just adorable,” causing the couple to blush and look away momentarily.
Curiosity cleared her throat loud enough to get everyone’s attention and waited a few moments before getting back to the topic at hand, “You mentioned your father was a diplomat assigned to the Griffon Kingdoms, does that mean you spent some time living among Griffons?”
“In short, yes. We all moved with my father when he got the post.” Hiro began to say more but at that moment the food arrived. With the same deftness that she had shown with their drinks,the waitress set out place settings, salads, sandwiches and soup. He continued the story as the girls began to eat, “I was about eight years old at the time and it was my father’s first post where it was his post. So we were kind of obliged to go. I lived in the capital for four years before my ‘talent’ was discovered and I was shipped back to Taraja for the beginning of my Magi training.”
“Must have been a neat experience to live in so many different places!” Luminescence’s excitement got the best of her and she started to speak before she finished chewing. While not spraying her listeners with food both Hiro and Curiosity’s couldn’t help but stare at Luminescence’s lack of manners . Likewise as she spoke a single rose petal fell out of her mouth became the center of both Hiro and Curiosity’s attention. In tandem they both stared at it as it fluttered down to the table, then in eerie unison looked back up at Luminescence who had the decency to blush, cover her mouth and say, “Sorry.”
Dew Drop laughed maniacally, rocking back in her chair and almost spilling her soup causing Hiro and Curiosity to turn to look at each other, realizing what they had done and look away. Luminescence’s embarrassment didn’t last long though as Hiro coughed and continued his story, “Yes Lumi. Since the programs for teaching young magi are so intense there wasn't a lot of opportunity to get out and study abroad or visit places long term. We of course had representatives from almost every race working at the academy but it's just not the same.”
“I bet it was pretty difficult being away from your family when you were so young.” Dew Drop stated.
“At first it was a real struggle. Twelve isn’t unusually young or anything but most other children had family close by, or at worst in a town a few hours outside Taraja. Since my direct family was in the Griffon capital that meant they were far enough away that gate travel was the only practical method of seeing them. Having said that, the training and apprenticeship programs are incredibly intense. I only had about a week to feel lonely before I was lucky to have time to even think to myself. And it’s not that my family didn’t visit me or I never got a vacation. Really though, my studies soon engulfed me entirely and as much as I hate to admit it, family kind of became an afterthought.”
Curiosity looked like she wanted to say something, probably something negative from the slight frown on her features but she kept it to herself. Instead Dew Drop piped up, “Wait a second Hiro. Since your mom’s a chef does that mean you can cook?”
Finishing his mouthful before responding, Hiro admitted, “While I’m nothing like my mother or brother, I did manage to pick up enough from them that I’m pretty confident in my cooking skills. Haven’t had many complaints over the years.”
Dew Drop couldn’t help but snicker at that, drawing confused stares from everyone before she explained, “Well I suppose that means that Lumi will actually be eating decently for a change.”
“Hey!”
Even Curiosity laughed a bit, “I suppose this means that we won’t hear about any more kitchens on fire. Or see you go hungry because what you made was a little...inedible.”
“Come on guys I’m not that bad!!” Luminescence protested.
“You’ve burned down the kitchen on no less than three occasions.” Curiosity pointed out before taking another bite of her sandwich.
Luminescence turned to Dew Drop for support. Instead all she got was a sheepish smile and a, “Sorry Lumi, after that thing with the cookies Nimbus won’t even go near your cooking.”
Luminescence gave an exasperated sigh but was interrupted when a hand rested on her poll and began stroking her reassuringly. “Don’t worry Lumi, everyone has something they’re bad at. I’d give you my singing as an example but I probably should spare everypony from that horror.”
Luminescence actually was able to think of an example and grimaced leading Dew Drop to begin laughing maniacally .
Curiosity did not see the exchange between Luminescence and Hiro as Dew Drop did though.... He pets her like one would a...a...a dog! Even with all we’ve done for his kind they still treat us with disrespect! Nothing good can come from humans. Nothing! The disapproving look on her face was there for only the barest of moments, vanishing before anyone else noticed.
“Speaking of which Hiro,” Dew Drop started up again, getting her laughing under control, “You never did mention your mother’s name. What’s wrong? Embarrassed? I mean we might know who she is.”
“Everyone starts making assumptions the minute they make the connection so I try to not mention it at first...” Hiro trailed off looking at what remained of his tea with a great interest. Then with a sigh he finished, “Her name is Marie.”
“Wait,” Luminescence almost shouted, brow furrowed, “Marie...and she goes by your father’s name so...Marie Aomori!?.”
“‘Hot Pot’ Marie!?” Dew Drop adds, voice jumping at least two octaves.
“The human who beat Iron Skillet two years in a row!?” Even Curiosity couldn’t help but share her exclamation with the others.
By this point Hiro was resting his head on the table arms covering it as if he was expecting some sort of disaster, “See? This is why I try not to mention her.”
“What are you talking about? That’s so amazing! I own two of her cookbooks!” Dew Drop said clopping her hooves together in joy. “Who would have guessed that Hiro’s mom was so famous!”
“Yes,” Curiosity admitted with a thoughtful expression, “I suppose Lumi will actually get a decent meal from time to time...”
Sighing again at the pony’s responses Hiro felt he had to add, “Keep in mind I’m not like my mother or little brother! I can cook, sure, but don’t expect fancy meals with obscure ingredients. Remember? Magi? I snap my fingers and bend reality. Maybe to some of us, that’s pretty impressive.” The three girls looked at each other, all sharing the same mischievous grin as Hiro rolled his eyes, threw his hands up in the air and parted with, “By the Sea, I give up.”
Moments of shared laughter later Curiosity took another bite of her salad and turned with what might be an honestly interested smile towards Lumi and asked, “Alright, alright. We’ve shared enough pleasantries, but completely danced around the only question that really matters.”
“Yeah,” Dew Drop cut in with. “You’ve got to tell us how you two met! I mean it’s great that you two are together but...”
“Perhaps a bit...unexpected.” Curiosity finished for her friend.
“Well,” Hiro said sharing a look with Lumi. She met his eyes, smiled a bit and nodded her head before he continued. “That’s a bit of a story...”
-END-
Author's Note
Sorry for the massive delay. Had to deal with some incredible garbage relating to my family and someone trying to steal legal documents and ugh. Also starting my own business! So I haven't just been sitting around doing nothing for this time! Anyway as usual I'd like to thank BrilliantPoint and Demon Eyes Laharl for all their help as usual. Also a special thanks to Vexus Nightwish for getting me over that last hump and making me publish it.
As always be harsh but fair with your criticism. It's the only way I'll get better.
Finally:
{Editors note for publication: From the beginning Shira said he would be using the Hiro pronounced as Hero joke. After editing this chapter I’m convinced he did that because he keeps writing it as Hero himself!} [Author’s note: I hate you all]
P.S Ch 3 is already half done
