The walk to the cafe was uninteresting. Fewer ponies were as wary of me as before, and the glances I saw that were in my general direction were more curious than anything. I found it strange that they would all shift their view on me that quickly, and in a positive direction as well.

Finally, after a few quiet and not exhausting minutes, we arrived at the cafe. “Here it is, darling. The Olive Branch Cafe. Whenever my mind is in turmoil, I can find some peace here. And the food is quite nice, too.”

I looked at the cafe. The building was fairly small, but in a cozy way. There were both outdoor and indoor seats available. Everything was kind of small for me, but I had quickly come to accept that. Oddly enough, the doors were about the right size compared to me. I wonder why?

“You can choose where to sit, Yang. Anywhere you want is fine.”

I looked over the seating options outside, and also took a look inside. I was about to elect for an outdoor table in the sun when a small decorative fountain inside caught my attention, and it was right by a table with two chairs. I then led Rarity inside, whence I commenced more efficient gazing upon the fountain. It was made of a medium gray stone and looked like a giant drill on the end of a simple robot arm coming out of the ground. The water flowed down the spiral channels in the drill towards the bottom, where it continued the downward spiral without physical channels at a sharper incline.

With my mind made up, I went to the table next to the fountain. Rarity picked up on my obvious intentions and sat in one of the chairs. I pulled the other one out across from her and sat in it, but the size was a bit small for me, like a kid’s chair. Even after numerous small position adjustments, I simply found it to be too awkward for me to properly sit in, so I wound up moving the chair aside and sat on my knees. The table was a little high up now, but I had managed that at some restaurants back home that had low chairs.

“You seem enraptured by that fountain, Yang. Dare I ask why?”

“It reminds me of something from home that I saw once. Something really cool. Do these fountains have titles or names?”

“What kind of decent work of art has no name? This one is called ‘Pierce the Heavens’. I honestly don’t know why it’s called that, but it seems fitting.”

I brought a hand down on the table. “I’m going to find a job, and I’m going to find a way to buy that. I want it for myself now.”

“Yang, I don’t think that’s-”

“Let me keep the dream, Rarity. Let me keep the dream.”

Rarity sighed. “If you say so. Oh, here comes our waitress.”

A neon orange earth pony mare walked up to our table seconds later. “Welcome to Olive Branch. What would you like to drink?”

“Hm. I think I’ll have the celestial tea today. Two sugarcubes please. What about you, Yang?”

I thought for a bit. “Could you make a light cinnamon tea with honey in it?”

“Of course. I’ll be back with your drinks as soon as they’re brewed.” Before leaving our table, she dropped off a couple of menus. Rarity picked hers up with her magic and I picked mine up with one hand. Less than two seconds after looking at it, I promptly introduced my face to the table.

“Yang? Are you okay?” Rarity asked.

“Peachy. Fine. Alright. A-Okay. I just found out that I can’t read a thing here.”

“Oh. Oh my. Oh, that is bad. I never thought that would happen.”

“It’s not the kind of thing you think about.” I sat back up. “So, what’s on the menu?”

“There’s appetizers, salads, sandwiches, entrees, pastas, and desserts. You can also make your own salads.”

“How about a custom salad then? Just give me the options one part at a time.”

“Alright. Lettuce, spinach, or mixed greens for the base?”

“Lettuce.”

“Choose what you want: shredded carrots, peas, broccoli, onion pieces, soft pasta, grass, beans, hay, tomato slices, pineapple. Any number of those are alright.”

“Shredded carrots, peas, and double on the soft pasta.”

“Croutons. Rye, kaiser, wheat, or white.”

I was reminded of a song with those options. “Rye.”

“Do you want shredded cheese? It’s parmesean.”

“Eh, sure. Why not.”

“And the available dressings are-”

“Not going on my salad” I politely interrupted.

“Really? No dressing? But that’s one of the most important parts of any salad!”

“Not mine, and I’m not moving on that point.”

“Oh, alright. I’ll place the order for you.”

“Thanks, Rarity.” I went back to gazing upon the fountain. I’m not sure what kind of sorcery they used to get the water to flow like that, but it was cool.

Eventually, the waitress came back and we got our tea. Rarity also made the orders, placing mine first, followed by hers, a light summer wrap. Once the waitress got the orders down and left, we drank our teas. The teas were still steaming a bit in their glasses, but I had no problem holding it, and no problem drinking it. The sweet cinnamony drink was warm, both in temperature and flavor, but neither bothered me. Back on Earth, I avoided hot foods and drinks since either the temperature hurt or the heat made my nose run, neither of which were happening now.

I also noticed that I had a slightly bigger glass than Rarity did. She explained that the cooks and brewers always had clear sight of their customers, and made what they thought to be the correct amount of food or drink, regardless of the price. Talk about good service.

While we waited for our meals, Rarity pulled out a few pieces of paper. “After I got over the spell and collected myself, I made some templates for your outfits. I know clothes are important to you, so let’s get something extra designed for you while we’re here.”

“Wait. How do you know that clothes are important?”

“Twilight has had a few. . . Adventures. We also have a friend who lives in those lands. I’ll tell you more later, but I did get to go there myself a few times, so I have a good idea of what’s what. For now, describe what you would like.”

“I want something comfortable. No stylish cuts, no unneeded openings, or patterns. Nothing too form fitting either.”

“So, you just want something plain and simple?”

“Shirt, pants, undergarments, socks, the basics. And perhaps something to sleep in.” I had no idea where that last one came from.

There was a blush on Rarity’s face for a moment before she seemed to remember something and it went away. “I can do that. The basic outfit would take the rest of the day once we’re done at Sugarcube Corner. As for something for you to wear to sleep in, I’ll see if the spa could spare us a robe for a few days. They cater to a lot of species, so we should be able to find something that fits decently enough.”

“Eh, I won’t complain.”

“Aside from your unique physiology, these clothes I’ll be making for you will be different in yet another way from what I usually make.”

“Hm? What do you usually make?”

“I usually make dresses and outfits for formal occasions, which are one of the few times we ponies actually wear clothes. Those kinds of outfits are fairly delicate. What I’m going to be making for you will have to be more durable, as you’ll be wearing them longer and more often. They’ll have to be much more durable.”

“How do you stay in business if your products are so specialized here?”

“I’m the only clothier in Ponyville, and my reputation has gotten me orders from around Equestria. I tend to get a high end order at least once per week.”

“Oh? That’s interesting. Say, I think our food’s on its way.” I saw our waitress coming our way with a tray on her back, and what definitely looked like our food on the tray. She stopped by our table and eased the tray from her back onto the table before using her mouth to grab the dishes our food was on and putting them on the table, the salad in front of me and the light summer wrap in front of Rarity.

“Is there anything else I can do?” the waitress asked us.

“I believe we’re fine” Rarity said. “We’ll let you know when we need something.”

“Alright. Enjoy your meals” she left us, and I looked down at my salad. The soft pasta, a spiral shaped kind that I have no idea what the proper name is, took up a good portion of the dish. Then again, I did order it double. The carrot shreds also stood out, along with the rye croutons and shredded cheese. The peas kind of blended in with the lettuce, but they were there. I picked up my fork, stabbed part of the salad, and pulled out a bit of everything. I took a bite and was satisfied with the salad. It wasn’t anything special, but I liked it that way. Fancy salads never sat well with my tastes.

“Yang, would you mind if I sampled your salad?” Rarity asked me, the wrap in her magic, a dainty bite missing from it. I saw onions in there, and that was all I needed to know not to get that. I think I also saw some hay.

“Go ahead” I said after swallowing the first bite and while getting another. A fork with Rarity’s glow around it found a spot in my salad before finding its way over to Rarity’s mouth.

After chewing my salad for a bit, she swallowed and thought for a bit before speaking. “It’s rather plain, and the ingredient variety does leave a bit to be desired, but it’s not bad either.”

“Such is how I like my food” I said before returning to the salad and my valiant efforts against its existence.

The meal proceeded in silence, Rarity not talking while she ate in her delicate manner and myself not talking while I ate in my not-so-delicate manner, while under a slightly disapproving glare from Rarity.

It didn’t take long for us to finish our food and drinks. We settled on a few sketches for some basic outfits before Rarity paid and we left. I made a mental note to come back here and ask about the Pierce the Heavens fountain. I wanted it.

“And now, off to Sugarcube Corner” Rarity stated. “Pinkie Pie’s there. And I have an idea of what may be in store for you as well.”

Sugarcube Corner was a gingerbread house. I’m not kidding, it looked like a real gingerbread house. I didn’t try to see if it was real gingerbread because, while I did kind of like the stuff, I wasn’t a big fan of it. I preferred snickerdoodles and shortbread cookies.

“Huh. The lights are on” Rarity observed. “I was not expecting that.”

“You were expecting them to be off?” I asked her. “Why?”

“Oh, no reason. At least none that you need to know right now.”

Rarity walked in, and I warily followed her. Beyond the saloon doors was an interior that looked like it was made more of sugar than anything else. Hardly anything here was not dessert themed. Like Rarity’s boutique, it looked like something straight from a little girls cartoon. Already, I liked the Olive Branch Cafe better, thanks to its simpler and more plain decor.

“Oh, hi Rares!” Pinkie Pie shouted from behind the counter. “I saved a spot just for you and Yang. It’s over by the open window.”

I found the open window and the table by it. I got there before Rarity, though not by much. Much to my surprise, there was a large yellow cushion on the floor on one side. There was also a rich violet one on a chair on the opposite side of the table. It didn’t take a genius to figure out which of us was to sit where.

The cushion was quite comfortable, even though I still had to sit on my knees. It also brought me up to a more comfortable level with the table, which was nice.

We couldn’t have been sitting for more than fifteen seconds when an explosion of sound and confetti came from my right. Naturally, I looked over there, and saw Pinkie Pie wearing a party hat and the rest of the bakery suddenly covered in bright party decorations. She threw some confetti into the air (how she did that with hooves is beyond me) and yelled “SURPRISE!”

I don’t know if she said anything after that because I immediately jumped out the open window and nailed a landing on the ground a few feet down. Before I could start running, a whole slew of pastel ponies popping party poppers, including Pinkie Pie, yelled out “SURPRISE!” and I stumbled back against the building. I think I was hyperventilating.

The next thing I knew, I was in a hug. I felt the soft wings and saw the light pink mane and I quickly calmed down. “How could you?” a soft, yet firm voice said. It was Fluttershy’s voice, and she did not sound happy. “Yang is scared right now. Everypony back off and calm down.”

Amazingly, everyone present backed off and quieted down. Fluttershy did not back away, as she maintained the hug and soothed me. I felt the worst of my adrenaline rush and fear melt away, though they didn’t entirely vanish. My breathing was still audible and kind of shaky, and I’m fairly certain that if Fluttershy were to let go of me, I’d simply fall on my side on the ground with all the grace of a cinder block.

I don’t know how long I was in the hug, nor when I brought my arms up to return it, but I eventually broke it and sat against the bakery, a few tears coming down the side of my face. “Feel better, Yang?” Fluttershy asked me.

“A bit” I answered. “What just happened?”

“A Pinkie Pie Surprise Party. She does it for everyone new to Ponyville. They usually go off quite well, but I guess it didn’t work this time.”

“Yang?” Pinkie asked me as she walked into my sight. She sounded and looked kind of sad. “I’m sorry for scaring you like that. None of us thought you’d react that way. I know an apology won’t fix everything, but I hope an apology and a dozen fresh cookies will be a good start.” In her hooves was a paper bag. I tentatively grabbed the bag and set it next to me. “Also, Yang? Welcome to Equestria. We all hope you can find some joy here.”

I nodded back and Pinkie walked away, the crowd quietly dispersing as well. A moment later, a concerned Rarity showed up. “Are you going to be alright, Yang?”

“In a bit. I just need some time to breathe.”

“Take as much time as you need. Fluttershy? Once Yang collects herself, could you show her to the boutique? I need to run some important errands and make some extra clothes for her. I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course, Rarity. I’ll do what I can to help her.”

“I’ll have to properly thank you later for this favor somehow. Ta ta, dears” Rarity said before walking off. I just stayed where I was. The ground and bakery wall were becoming a comfortable spot for me as I took less shaky breaths.

I don’t know how long I just sat there, staring off into space, but I eventually stood up, as did Fluttershy. “Which way to the boutique?”

“Oh, it’s this way” Fluttershy said before leading me away from the bakery and towards the boutique. I made sure to grab my dozen cookies before I followed her.

Author's Notes:

*CLEVER AUTHOR NOTE*