After our meeting in the Boutique, the group expanded to: Lela, Dash, Rarity and I. We all walked down the street towards the library once again.

"John, Don't you think that you should come up with a new name?" Asked the amethyst maned white unicorn. She seemed to be closing-in on me as we walked, seeing as how she pressed against my arm.

Dash quickly jumped in with an idea,"Yeah, that'd be awesome! As the new guardian, you'll need a title. It should be something that sounds awesome, and fitting. A cutie mark is what we get, but it's only gotten after finding your lifestyle, and personality!"

Thinking to myself,'Only found after that? Sounds like a tattoo.' I chuckled, but went back into the thought. 'Is that why every pony has a tattoo? Is that what a 'cutie mark' is?'

I stopped, and looked at the two. They soon stopped in front of me, and watched as I placed my hand on my chin, lost in a deep thought. I really didn't think about this, but what could it be? What can, and should, I be?

I do like the night, love it in fact. I always found it relaxing, and welcoming. The moon's been my closest friend, since I never had the time as a child to make any. 'How about Shadow Step? Nah.' I thought to myself. I looked to the two ponies, and asked indecisively,"I'm not sure, myself. Do you think you guys could come up with something?"

The cyan pegasus flew to the sky overhead with great speed, and seemed to thrust her hand into the air in excitement. She came back to the ground, and shown all her teeth in her smile,"Oh, Yeah! I get to name the..." She quickly trailed off as she stared down at Rarity, who had a less than pleasant expression plastered across her face. "I mean.. Oh yeah! 'We' get to name the next guardian!" Rarity smiled after she witnessed Dash's embarrassment.

"Certainly! But for now, we will just refer to you as 'John' until we've come to the decision. Right then, we better let the others know we found you, and that you're safe." Exclaimed Rarity. We continued down the street a bit further, and I began to feel the rumbling coming from my gut, as I realized that I hadn't eaten since I first entered this land.

"Before we go to the meeting, do you all want to go for lunch?" I asked. I turned to Lela, and he nodded his head accepting.

"To lunch? Like as in a date?" the two ponies said in unison. The aspect of them thinking it as a date was flustering, I was simply asking if they were hungry. The sound of my stomach seemed to echo through the streets.

"No, I'm just hungry. I can't think on a empty stomach." I rubbed the back of my neck, sure I felt like an ass for saying it that way, but that's all I could piece together at the moment. "I'm sorry, but even plants need water."

The two ponies blushes had faded into an awkward phase, as Dash covered her face in embarrassment, while Rarity crossed her arms behind her back looking down. "Oh yeah, um... sure, where are we going?" Rarity said with a hint of disappointment.

"There was this one place on the edge of town I was going to eat at. I think it was called,"Delight and Downright." The name was kinda lame, but the food 'looked' good." My stomach started roaring in hunger. I thought to myself,'Come on, we just have to hold off for just a bit longer.'

Dash shot up to me, and started yanking on my hand once again,"I know exactly where that place is! Come on, come on!" She kept pulling my arm, as if it didn't need it's socket.

After we arrived to the small cafe, I was greeted by a rather angry familiar waiter. Somehow in the short time since I first saw him, he had grown a moustache. As he neared us, he held up two ten dollar bills I left,"What in the blazes are these? Carnival Tokens don't work for payment. You owe us four bits, Sir!"

I rubbed my head in frustration, but I looked at the waiter again,"Look bud, I didn't even get to eat my food. So, I'm not gonna pay for something I didn't eat. Secondly, I'll pay you back all the money I owe as soon as I can. I'm starved, famished, and in need of sustenance." I told the waiter calmly, and respectful as possible.

The waiter just cuffed his neck up, and scoffed at me,"These ladies may eat here." He gestured towards Dash and Rarity. "Hell, even this tiny fox can eat here." He turned his head, and poked me in the chest. "As for you Sir, you can go and dine somewhere else. We only serve proper gentlecolts and ladies, not scrounger scavengers like yourself." He took his finger away from my chest, and rested it on his side. He began turning his head away from me, and closing his eyes to evade.

"You just served me earlier! What the hell is this sudden 'Posh' bullshit act?" As soon as my voice escalated to a yell, a second waiter came out. The other waiter looked exactly like the pompous asshole in front of me, minus the mustache. He quickly ran over, and gave a light tap to his twin across the back of his head. His twin looked at him,"What's with the sudden slap? You like getting paid right?"

"Brother, We serve 'all' here. We're a simple Ponyville cafe, not that fancy restaurant, like the one up the street. We're better than that. We'll just put it on a tab, and he can pay us back as soon as he can." The waiter calmly said to the other, a bit monotone though.

'Maybe he's a neutral ground kind of guy.' I thought to myself.

The clean shaven pony folded his hands together, and bowed in welcome,"Hello once again, Sir. How can I help you all? Anything to drink?"

"Yes, please! I'd like the same thing from before. I'm just hungry." I turned to the others and asked,"Would you all like something? I'll pay for it."

After consuming our rather 'Green' lunch, my food consisted of a sandwich that had a mix of hay and flowers. Interestingly, I found that if I took the hay, and flowers off the loaf of bread...I could imagine I had a turkey sandwich, as I just ate the bread. The power of imagination goes for a full course meal, if you have the willpower. I could get used to this, but it's hard. I stood from the table, and walked up to the waiter I ordered from. It was easy to pick out which one he was between the two, because of his relaxed laid back nature, and no mustache. "How much do I owe you?" I asked.

"Eight bits in total for the lot of you, you don't have to pay for before. Discount for the drama before lunch, I'm not a fan of the theatre. Before you left, I came out to see if you needed anything, and your plate was still full while you were no where in sight. I figured you shouldn't have to pay, but I had to throw it out because of teeth marks. You may not have eaten it, but I'm not eating it, either."

This chill pony with the red mane with a single white strip going through his hair, impressed me. "The names Flim; my bull-headed brother over there, his name is Flam. He's a good guy at heart, but ever since the whole apple cider incident, and losing the juicer; well...he's become angry towards everything. He's just a sore loser, I guess." I looked over to Flam. He was wiping down a dirty table with a wet cloth, he wore a sour expression wearing guffed up wore-in old shoes, as I expected.

"I'm sure he'll get over it with time, but I promise the money to keep your business a business. I'll pay you back as soon as I can. I'll be seeing you guys later." I turned towards the door, and exited the building. I met the gang outside on the patio, and they were waiting with their stomachs full. Dash leant against the railing belching, using a toothpick to clean her teeth. Rarity was dabbing her lips with a small white handkerchief, and checking her reflection in a pocket mirror. Meanwhile, Lela looked at me with his tongue handing out, and his mouth covered in spaghetti sauce,"You guys ready?" I asked.

They in Unison straightened up, and casually nodded to me. Rarity started eyeing Lela with his saucy fur,"After we arrive to the library, I'm going to make sure Lela is given a quick bath. He smells of dirt, and sauce." She then turned to me with unapproved eyes while smiling,"You should have a shower, as well. You smell like the Everfree, and full of regret. You can't meet with the Princesses smelling like such. It's even a horrid thought, you meeting the Royals with 'my' signature clothing; smelling like that..." Rarity fell towards the ground, but a couch flew out of nowhere. She plopped down on it, distraught. Lela, and I frowned at the idea, but it had to be done.

(Version 1.3(2022))
Minor fixes and corrections for storyline. Same material, same order, just taking out the repeats. Minor fixes and corrections...
I hope you have a good time and I'll see you next chapter. Later.
Keep it cool, xXCondemnedSoulXx.