[Canterlot] Avalon Inn

[Windwright]

Situated on one of the lower terraces, this inn boasts some of the most exotic tastes in all of Equestria! The building itself is fairly run of the mill, with a large central area that doubles as both dining room and foyer. A counter runs the length of the wall the stairs are connected to, and the adjacent one, opposite the front door, behind which the staff are normally positioned. The room keys are all kept under the stairs, while the other side of the counter is reserved for kitchen business, as the kitchen is located behind a large window that can be dimmed or cleared by any unicorn with a fairly simple cantrip. When cleared, it's easy to see why the Avalon boasts such exotic flavours, as the kitchen is packed to the brim with rare herbs, spices, and seasonings, all of which are clearly visible on the shelves just inside. One can even usually see the inn's owner, Graham Cracker, plying his art.

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Mint Zest was manning the counters today, which, since it wasn't particularly busy yet, meant that he was wiping down the counter. Which meant that he was pushing a damp rag around the counter using his magic. And since it was Mint doing the magic, this meant that it was less 'pushing' and more 'flying from end to end like it was in a slingshot and missing most of the counter on the way'. Which was having less than the desired effect.

It was, however, amusing Chocolate Chip to no end, causing the younger colt to smile at his friend through the frosted glass while he waited for his most recent batch of muffins to finish baking. They were a creation of Graham's, Vanilla Almond Surprise muffins. The surprise was that there were chunks of honeyed apples baked in with the almonds, and from what Chip had tasted, they were going to be a top seller for sure!

Graham, ever the gourmand, wasn't so sure and was already hard at work on a new batter, which he was mixing a few spices into without the magic that Chip or Mint would have used. His apron was already stained with honey that had splashed onto him earlier, but he hardly noticed, and indeed was humming to himself cheerfully as he worked.

[GeekyBones]

Lapis Lazuli trudged down the streets of Canterlot, her navy saddlebags stuffed to the brim with papers, books, and other assorted items. Dark bags sagged under her sulfury yellow eyes and her drooped ears were barely visible beneath her wild, frizzy mane. She had just finished a 23 hour shift at the museum.

"Rest... Food... No more envelopes. No more shelf sorting. No more sweeping. No more thinking. Just. Sleep." Her stomach gave a rumble, "And food. Ugghh..." Lapis thought wearily. "I can't believe they had me working for that long... Of course Pearly and all them get off as soon as the clock hits closing, but nooo not Lapis... Well, I did offer to work overtime. I guess it's my fau- WHOA!"

At that moment, Lapis's inattentiveness to where she was placing her hooves caught up to her. The tip of her hoof caught an uneven cobblestone and- WHAM!- she faceplanted on the pavement. Her saddlebags flew open, books, scrolls, and archaeological tools flying across the street, papers raining gently from the sky. Lapis whimpered as a piece of paper landed on her face.

"Whhhhy me...?" Lapis whispered pathetically as she pushed herself to her hooves. Shaking the dust and paper off her body, she then swiftly magicked her belongings back into her saddlebags. "For the love of the Great Rainbow, can't I catch a break?"

Then, as Lapis lifted her head to slide her saddlebag on, she saw it. Her eyes became misty with tears of joy as she scanned the sign. "Avalon Inn..." It was the inn that housed the fantastic bakery she'd heard one of the curators talking about yesterday. If there was one thing that could make Lapis Lazuli happy no matter how stressed she was, it was digging up a previously unknown artifact. But when that wasn't an options, baked goods substituted quite nicely. Her absolute exhaustion left her mind instantly and only her raging hunger remained to trouble her. She cantered down the street and nearly burst through the doors of the inn.

"H-Hello? Are you open at this moment?" Lapis Lazuli questioned excitedly, slightly winded from her dash inside.

[Windwright]

Mint's ears perked as he raised his head (which sent the rag flying into the rafters). "Oh! A customer! We're just opening up, ma'am, but I can put an order in for you if you want something! Or we have some day old pastries if you want something right away! Oh! Unless you're here for a room! I can do that too!" He announced as he trotted from place to place behind the counters.

"My name is Mint! Mint Zest!", he said when he finally slowed down enough to remember to, "and welcome to the Avalon Inn." He bowed his head almost cheesily to Lapis as he introduced himself, causing his mane to fall down over his eyes.

Chip, watching from behind the glass, chuckled and poked the window with his horn, causing it to take on a frosted appearance while he got back to work.

[GeekyBones]

Lapis dropped to her knees as the rag shot through the air, her eyes darting around in an attempt to find where it had gone. Her sleep deprived brain barely registered the mint colt, still focused on the mysterious flying object that had-in her mind- nearly decapitated her. However, Lapis's ears immediately shot up when the word 'pastries' was uttered.

"O-Oh! Um," She struggled for words, her mind sluggish, "No, no room. I live in town." Lapis rose up and began walking towards the counter, "I'll take both- er, some day olds and an order, of pastries that is." She jerked her horn up and levitated her saddlebags onto the counter, the weight of the contents straining the band that held them together. Lapis flexed her back, happy to have the weight off it. "Ahhh... Much better." Her eyes sank shut in relaxation, but she jerked them back open to prevent herself from drifting into sleep.

"Ah- I'm Lapis Lazuli. Nice to meet you, Mint Zest." Lapis smiled as the colt bowed dramatically before her and she lowered her head in return. "Thank you. May I please have a menu? Oh! And for day olds.. um... Cupcakes. And any cherry or strawberry cheese danishes you might have... Oh yeah.. Mmm.." She licked her lips a bit in anticipation. Lapis was going to enjoy this.

[Windwright]

Mint eagerly trotted over to the counter where the goods from the previous day were housed. "I don't think we have any cupcakes left." he said as he nudged the cabinet open with his hoof, "But there is a cherry creme danish. And a couple of apple turnovers, I think. I'll ask if we have any more of the strawberry shortbread muffins from yesterday, is there anything you'd like to order in the meantime?" He asked as he pulled a menu out from beside the register (leaving the cabinet open) and laid it on the counter in front of Lapis.

About this time, the rag from earlier finally fell down and landed on Mint's head, only missing his eyes by an inch or two and causing the unicorn to duck down defensively behind the counter and out of sight. He came back up sheepishly a few seconds later and said "Sorry about that, miss Lazuli. I've been trying to get that spell under control, but it's not going well."

[GeekyBones]

Lapis's ears drooped in disappointment as Mint informed her of the out of stock cupcake situation. "Oh well... I guess that means fresh cupcakes?" She said to herself, tapping one hoof on her chin and the other on the countertop. "Cherry creme danish? Apple turnovers? Strawberry shortbread muffins?! Oh boy!" Lapis drummed her hooves lightly on the counter, grinning cheerfully. "I'll take one of whatever you have left over! I'm starving!" As Mint placed the menu in front of her, she levitated it into her grasp with a quick nod of her horn.

"See, I work at the museum, in collections. I'm training to become a curator and I just worked an absurdly long shift! Sweetwing, one of my superiors, had me sorting texts on the city of Talonopolis for HOURS." Lapis began to describe her past 24 hours, when the rag fell from the rafters and planted itself on Mint's face.

Lapis jumped in surprise, juggling the menu in her hooves. "Oh my- Mint are you okay?" She asked quickly. "That was the fiendish creature that tried to behead me earlier! AND NOW IT'S GONE AFTER HIM!" Lapis regained her composure (or at least what she could in her current state) and leaned over the counter to check on the boy. "O-oh. It's... a rag. Hehe... Oh man I HAVE been overworking..." Lapis blushed a lavender sort of tone and her ears sank in embarrassment. She quickly shook it off as Mint began to get to his hooves.

Once he rose up, Lapis returned to her seat, placing her hooves on the closed menu. "Oh that's quite alright. I know magic can be quite troublesome. I don't want to even mention how many antique pieces I've nearly destroyed in my youth..." Memories flashed through Lapis's mind of her younger self attempting to repair antique pottery and textiles using her magic, only to end up ripping bigger holes in them or splashing even more paint across them. She giggled a bit to herself as she remembered that one time she not only ended up covering an antique Tobiano scroll painting with an enormous amount of paint, but turned the paint from dull sepia to a vibrant shade of chartreuse. Lapis looked back at the colt and gave a smile. "It's all about practice. Lots and lots of practice."

She cleared her throat. "Now," With a flick of her horn the menu opened up and floated a few inches off the counter, "I'd like to try... Hmm. Well I heard your fruit tarts are top notch, so I'll take one of those.... Oh and a cream cheese and cinnamon popover, GOTTA have one of those... Caramel coffee cream puffs, oh my gracious... Everything here looks... amazing!" Lapis could feel her mouth watering and she knew she had to wrap up her order quickly. Suddenly, she caught a whiff of something baking... Vanilla... Almonds... "Ohh... Some fresh cupcakes- chef's choice- and... Whatever it is that is baking right now... It smells simply... heavenly~!" She then magicked the menu closed and placed it before Mint. "And a carafe of milk, can't forget that."

[Windwright]

Mint blushed a little and chuckled as he flicked the rag off to the side "Yeah. My parents won't let me practice at home any more, too many broken dishes." he said, remembering the time he'd toppled their china cabinet with a poorly placed jolt. He shook his head a little and resumed with "I'll go ahead and gather up one of everything, then! And I'll let Chocolate and Graham know we have a customer. This won't take long!"

He trotted through a swinging door and into the kitchen, where he relayed the information to the other ponies who could just barely be made out through the glass still. A couple of minutes later, he trotted back out with a basket full of baked goods in his teeth, looking rather proud of himself. He set it down on the counter, next to the register, and said "Alright, it'll be a while, but Chocolate said the fresh muffins are almost done, and he's started on a batch of coffee strudels. Graham made the recipe last week, and they're really good!" He announced, then continued with a smirk "Plus, you'll be the first customer to try the Vanilla Almond surprise muffins!"