An unexpected visit (The Jaded Bug)

[Ancre]

The middle of the day. A quiet part of the day for little Moondrop, who, sheltered in her home, was enjoying a cup of tea after a light lunch. There was nothing to do : her parents were at work, she couldn't go outside because of her albinism, so she had all the time she wanted to enjoy her afternoon. Perhaps she'll work on making new toys later. Or read a book. Or put on some music. Or even do nothing at all and take a nap.

Or she could check into the kitchen to see if she had any crumpets left, or biscuits, or something else to nibble on. Let's see ... Her kitchen was similar to the rest of her house, not very big, but intelligently organized, and full of tools, from top to bottom. As well as in a big mess right now. Oh, well. Moondrop had all afternoon to clean it up. For now, she would just come back to her seat with a few leftover biscuits.

But, just before she could sit in her comfy chair once again, the bell rang, ding-a-ling-ling. Who could that be ? The little pony wasn't expecting anyone at this hour. Nopony was supposed to come back home just yet ! She set her cup of tea and her biscuits on a table aside, and trotted to the front door, opening it curiously ...

... to find a dragon ! A big, scaly, scary, massive dragon, with blazing orange and deep blue and purple colors all over ! Moondrop shivered with fear. She had read about them in books, but this was a real, live, big dragon ! He was accompanied by a smaller pony, a few years younger than the white unicorn perhaps, a red pegasus with a blue mane.

"H-hello." she finally managed to stutter. "P-please don't eat me !"

[The-Jaded-Bug]

It wasn't the first time Patches had been to Canterlot - and in fact, he used to live inside one of its so-called 'esteemed' magic schools - but anypony could tell that the young mare flying excitedly around him was a newcomer. The moment they entered through the gates that afternoon, Swift Kite had basically been wide-eyed and awed - if not a little intimidated - by just about everything the city had to offer: The tall and gleaming towers, its spiraling, winding streets, she never thought she would one day visit what was practically Equestria's capital!

But even the red and blue Pegasus was aware of it: They were here for their occupational sake, not just to fool around. While the aesthetically appealing architecture was hard ignore, Swift Kite did her best not to get sidetracked...or that is, whenever she wasn't fluttering back and forth between eying the city's towering structures and zooming back towards her much larger friend. Patches knew the way after all, or at least knew the streets well enough without having to look at a map every few seconds. Still though, the dragon couldn't help but feel a little, well, uneasy, to say the least. Maybe it was Swift Kite's (quite literal) flighty behavior, a trait that could make her the target of more unsavory beings may feel inclined to use that for their selfish, harmful advantages. Or maybe it was the passer-byers that kept giving the unlikely duo odd and questioning glances. Or maybe it was how the Pegasus seemed completely oblivious of either possibility...

...Or maybe he was concerned. Too concerned even. But honestly, he couldn't help it. A small sigh escaped his scaly muzzle as he continued walking on his fours, hoping that any ounce of worry would drain out of his body from one single beath...nope, he still felt the same, but at least he didn't exhale a fume of smoke and flames, something that would surely raise suspicions amongst the surrounding populace. Upon realizing they were heading towards another street, the orange, blue and purple-scaled creature came to a halt.

[colour=#FF7518]"H-Hey Kite...?" [/colour]The dragon called towards his airborne friend, his voice surprisingly soft for someone his size. [colour=#FF7518]"I-I believe we are almost there, b-but I need to make sure. Y-You still have the map, correct?" [/colour]He sat on his hind legs and curled his tail to his side, a front paw clutching the strap of the sizable dark blue messenger bag he had on. Swift Kite beamed a cheerful grin, landing by his side with a small 'thump' from hitting her hooves on the paved cobblestone. A twitch of his ear was the only sign of Patches being startled by the sound.

[colour=#BF2455]"Yep! Should be in this one somewhere..." [/colour]Swift Kite chimed, unaware of any nervousness he may have had.

She stretched her right wing upward while the left one retracted, revealing one side of a mostly empty saddlebag. The large creature opened it - careful not to tug too hard, the last thing he wanted to do was to break it - and gently pulled out a map of the city, which was given to her in case she wound up separated from him. But what was especially important was the marked path on it that lead to a specific street, with a particular address written neatly above it. He unfolded and showed it to the young mare before taking a peak at a nearby street sign. Patches was correct, to his relief, and all they needed to do was take a right and find the second house on the left.

They continued on their way as normal, though the newer street was a little quieter than the last one. The Pegasus didn't stray as much now that they were nearing their destination, for the most part keeping her hoofs on the ground. Patches became a little more relaxed as the two tread on and, before they knew it, they were right in front of her house! That is, the one of a mare who apparently made or could be commissioned to make quality unicorn-crafted toys. They heard about her through their mentor Joy Spinner, who found out about the mare through connections with a local toys store in Canterlot, one that Joy's late father Jigsaw once owned.

The house was small, but it was a nice one either way. Swift Kite especially was eager to greet the fellow toymaker - and heck, she might even let the two bring some of her creations back to the shop, once they settle on a price! Both dragon and Pegasus reach towards the steps of the house, and the young mare pressed the doorbell with a hoof, smiling brightly at the prospect of meeting her for the first time. But what was her name? Was it supposed to be 'Moon' something, or did it start with a 'D'? Ah well! They would meet her anyhow. While his friend waited happily for the pony to peak out of her home, Patches started to sport a weaker, unsure smile. An ounce of worry started creeping over him again; What if Joy had misheard the name of the address, or What if they weren't expected to arrive? What if she was afraid of-

The door opened to reveal a small, pure white unicorn, one who seemed faintly curious at first, but with one frightened glance at Patches she suddenly shook in fear. Swift Kite, who was used the dragon's presence, had a look of confusion on her face. But Patches - for obvious reasons - was already dreading what was the mare might have been thinking. Before either of them could say something however, the little pony finally spoke up.

[colour=#808080]"H-hello...[/colour][colour=#808080]P-please don't eat me !"[/colour]

The dragon mentally cringed at her words. Not out of feeling insulted, but at the very fact that the small unicorn feared him in the first place. Okay, so maybe he would be frightened too in a similar position, likely even more so to be honest, but that was beside the point. He dejectedly lowered his ears while his wings retracted to his sides, or at least as much as they could.

[colour=#FF7518]"I-I-I'm sorry Miss, m-maybe I should w-wait away from the house...?" [/colour]The dragon stuttered with a timid, almost quiet voice. Countless memories of staying behind shelves in fear of scaring off customers played in his mind, as he started slowly backing away from the mare’s doorstep. Swift Kite glanced at Patches, then back at the white unicorn.

[colour=#BF2455]"Um, uh..." [/colour]She fumbled on her words. Maybe it was poor judgment, but she hadn't quite expected the mare's frightened reaction. Or maybe Swift Kite forgot that most ponies wouldn't consider having a huge dragon near their house to be a normal Equestrian happening. At first she thought about saying something to Patches so he wouldn’t try to leave, but considering that the small unicorn was afraid of becoming his meal - and it didn't at all look like she'd expected the two to show up in the first place, well...

[colour=#BF2455]"D-Don't worry, Patches wouldn't hurt anypony if he tried! Or eat anyone, I think. He's one the nicest dragons I've ever met.” [/colour]She attempted to reassure the white unicorn, though felt a little unsure if it was actually working. [colour=#BF2455]”W-Well, actually, he's the only dragon I've met, but that's beside the point." [/colour]A small chuckle slipped Swift Kite's muzzle at the statement, but it was more out of nervousness at whether the white unicorn would believe her or not. Then, momentarily turning her attention to the dragon, she quickly flew towards him and nudged his side with her wing - urging him come back near the steps - before gliding back to her original spot. Patches stopped reluctantly in his tracks, but didn’t dare step forward. His head craned lower as though he were ashamed of himself; He didn’t want to scare the little mare any more than he already had.

[colour=#BF2455]“We heard about you through my mentor back at a toy shop we work for.” [/colour]Swift Kite continued. [colour=#BF2455]"She has connections to another store around here and I thought maybe we could, say, buy off some your toys in bulk? To supply the shop that is.” [/colour]She dragged a hind hoof back and forth, before realizing that she hadn’t introduced herself. [colour=#BF2455]“Oh! And I’m Swift Kite! Sorry ‘bout that. And like I said, well, over there’s Patches. He’s really friendly, honest.”[/colour] She said with a genuine, soft smile. She took another glance at the large creature with a tinge of concern.

[Ancre]

It took a moment for Moondrop to snap out of her terrified stupor. The dragon at her front door - Patches, she had gathered - had no intention of harming and roasting and eating her. On the contrary, he seemed quite hurt, and had backed away, dejected, while his pegasus friend was doing all she can to defuse the situation, drowning the white mare in a flow of nervous reassurances.

And the red pegasus was right. There was no reason to be scared of the dragon. There were a few dragons living in Canterlot, after all. There were all friendly, and nice, and none of them ate ponies. So Moondrop had no reason to be scared of the big scaly creature that towered her. Nope. None at all ! Doing all she could to calm down, but still shaking a little, the white mare offered a smile.

"I-I'm sorry, I, I was just surprised, that's all ..." she managed to mumble. She was still afraid, but she was now feeling a little bit ashamed of herself as well. She hadn't meant to hurt someone while panicking. Now the dragon's friend was trying to console him. He was trying to make himself as small as possible, which would have been amusing, had he not been so scary. Moondrop had to do something. "Y-you don't have to wait outside, sir Patches, i-it's fine, I promess, I-I'm sorry." she stuttered, despite being obviously uneasy next to the big flying creature.

Fortunately the red pegasus filly - Swift Kite, she presented herself - gave the nervous mare something else to worry about. Both Swift Kite and Patches had come for business reasons : they had heard of the white mare's crafting skills, and they wanted to see (and eventually buy) a bulk of her toys to supply their shop. They had been directed directly here by the merchants Moondrop was supplying - the white mare was making herself quite a little reputation it seemed ! And it wasn't pleasing, it wasn't pleasing at all, well maybe a little, but it was mostly quite scary.

"Oh," Moondrop simply said, trying not to panic a second time, "oh, I see ! Well, um ..." she hesitated, "why wouldn't you both enter and have a cup of tea ? And we'll discuss business in the living room." she offered, feeling trapped. This was not the moment to invite someone ! The house was an absolute mess ! Moondrop lead them inside, trying to keep her composure, frantically using her magic to do a dozen things at once, levitating books out of the way, levitating tea cups from the kitchen to the living room, discreetly closing the kitchen's door, crashing the tea cups into it, cringing, levitating tea cups from the cupboard in the living room, stuffing the most obvious part of the mess there under the sofa, all while leading Patches and Swift Kite inside her house. It was her first business meeting ever, and she wasn't looking professional at all, as she sadly constated.

The toy crafter gently gestured the two business ponies to sit, while mentally reviewing the state of her house. The little entryway corridor had been taken care of, that was good. To the left he led to the kitchen, which was in a catastrophic mess, but thankfully the door was closed, and a bit further he led to the bathroom, which was presentable. To the right, he led to the living room, in which they were, Moondrop had taken care of that part as well, magically hiding the mess under the sofa before entering it, and a bit further to her parents' room, but she had no need to care about that place, she hoped. The corridor led to a spiral staircase : upstairs was her room, arranged in the attic, which was an absolute mess, and downstairs was the cellar, converted into her workshop, which was ... in an even worse mess. She wasn't even sure they could safely walk inside it. Moondrop's smile faltered. Things were not looking good.

At least the living room looked clean now. "So, would you like some tea ?" she offered, smiling a shaky smile, trying to hide her stress, filling tea cups and levitating them.

[The-Jaded-Bug]

Patches felt a little better as the unicorn began to muster an apology, but he couldn't help but look a little nervous himself. It had been some time since he had gone out-and-about after his last growth-spurt and, while the white pony seemed less inclined to run away than he thought she would, her uneasiness was still very much apparent. Her mentioning that he didn't have to stay outside, however, gave him even more reassurance, and the dragon nodded gently at her words.

"Th-thank you for your understanding, M-Moondrop..." He managed to mumble as he lightly bowed his head in a humble manner. Admittedly, he wasn't even sure if that was the mare's name, as word-of-mouth had actually brought up a number of them by the time Joy had heard of her. Still, out of all the ones that showed up, 'Moondrop' seemed the most fitting to her striking pale coat and mane. His ears perked back to normal, but he kept his wings folded all the same. He still wanted to leave a good impression in front of the toymaker, after all.

And as for Swift Kite, she was just relieved about not having to be in the middle of a balancing act anymore. That is, one between calming down a frightened mare and consoling a friend of his many insecurities. With that matter resolved, Moondrop offered them - and uneasily too - if the two would join her in her living room to discuss business arrangements (with a spot of tea, of course).

"Sure thing!" Kite answered with a grin, practically oblivious of the unicorn's hesitancy. While unsure of just how nervous she was, the scaly creature next to the young, red and blue mare seemed to pick up on it, if only slightly. Trying to hide this, he smiled and nodded again before the white pony led the two inside her house, all while Patches trailed behind both of them after miraculously fitting through the doorway. The trip from there to the living room was rather...interesting, to say the least. Swift Kite almost swore she heard the sound of closing of doors and moving silverware, but only thought Moondrop was using her magic to levitate some stray objects out of the way.

"Maybe there's other ponies in the house...?" She mused quietly but out loud, more to herself than at her friend and co-worker from behind. If the duo wasn't about to discuss business with the mare in front of them, and if Patches hadn't known any better, then he might have facepawed at the comment. Maybe he was being a little too attentive, or it was merely his senses picking up on his surroundings, but it seemed pretty obvious: Moondrop was far from prepared for the meeting. It wasn't his first time seeing somepony using unicorn magic, and seeing how much her horn was glowing, he could tell she wasn't just using it to move books from their path.

'Note to self: Remind Kite to contact them back before planning another trip,' Patches was thinking, feeling a pang of empathy towards the white unicorn. It was the first business meeting that either mare would have, or at least for Swift Kite, the first one held inside somepony's house, so he couldn't blame them of them for the situation at hoof. But even then, while the dragon cared for Swift Kite like one of the sisters he never had, he sometimes wished that she could be a little more - or a lot more - attentive when came situations such as this. As they continued on, the dragon cringed at the sound of clattering silverware, almost halting and digging his claws into the floor as he did, but kept most of his composture and followed the others into the living room.

Moondrop gestured at the them to sit. Not wanting to leave a giant sag in the sofa, or let alone break it, Patches sat next to it on his hind legs, almost like dog would as his tail curled to his side. Swift Kite sat onto the sofa next to the larger creature and beamed happily as she accepted the unicorn's offer for tea. Her dragon friend nodded politely and took a cup a well.

"Y-yes please, and again, th-thank you." He replied shyly to the white mare, examining the tea cup as though figuring out how to drink from it. It seemed so, well, small in the dragon's forepaw. His instincts kept telling him to plop the porcelain cup his mouth and scarf it down along with his drink, and ask for a second cup with more tea, maybe even a third one and- 'No! NononoNO! Don't even THINK about it!" He scolded himself mentally. He lifted up the cup with his right paw, trying not to scratch it with his claws, and poured the steaming liquid in his mouth, not one drop being spilt onto the living room floor. He didn't at all mind the tea's taste, and in fact, he actually kind of liked it. Plus, with being a dragon and all, he didn't need to wait for it to cool off either. At least it temporarily took his mind off of eating her ceramics, but he now felt hungry. There was a stash of gems inside of his messenger bag, but he thought that eating them now wouldn't be the polite thing to do in front of an already nervous hostess.

[Ancre]

Moondrop nervously passed a hoof in her mane, trying to reassure herself. Everything was going to be fine. She had managed to bring her guests into the living room, and to make them sit, and to serve them tea, and they were ready to talk about business now. She hadn't been prepared for all this, sure, but no major incident had happened so far, none of her guests seemed to have noticed the state of her house, or her nervousness, it seemed, and everything was going well, she told herself, everything was going to be fine. Nothing to worry about ! Nope ! Nothing at all !

Then the poor pony watched the dragon drink his tea. The cup was ridiculously small in comparison to his size : he was holding it with the tip of two of his claws. He contemplated the cup dreamingly, then proceeded to lift it to his mouth and drink the drop of tea that fell from it with an absolutely serious pose, then contemplated the cup once again, looking ... well, looking hungry. Moondrop felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment, her assurance crumbling as she watched Patches drink : what she had served was obviously not appropriate for a big dragon ! She had to do something !

But what could she do ? Her mind raced. She had no dragon-sized teacups and tea sets, and she was sure dragons didn't normally drink tea anyways. Come to think of it, the biscuits she had wouldn't do either : they were much too small for Patches, and she knew he didn't ate biscuits anyways. Moondrop had read somewhere that dragons ate gemstones, but she had none of them in her house, so she couldn't serve that. What could she do, what could she do ? Her normally tidy mane started to frazzle under the nervousness as she desperately kept on searching for a solution.

Under pressure for just a little too long, the white unicorn started to giggle nervously. Her usual smile faltered, but remained in place, in some sort of twisted caricature of itself. She tried to comb back her hair with one hoof, but they instantly came back to their disheveled state. Her magic grip on her tea cup seemed to shiver slightly, making the teacup clatter against its plate. Her giggle kept on for a few seconds, then died quietly, leaving an uneasy silence in its place. She couldn't take it anymore.

" ... I'm going to make some more tea. I'll be right back !" Moondrop finally announced, breaking the silence, and she fled, retreating in the safety of her kitchen. She walked out of the living room as fast as she could, entered her kitchen, then slammed the door shut and let herself slide against it. She then opened her mouth and let go of all her distress in the form of a high-pitched, almost inaudible squeal of terror. Moondrop was clearly panicking. Nothing was going fine ! What had she just done ? What was she going to do ?

It took the unicorn a moment to calm down. The kitchen was in a mess : dirty dishes laid in a pile in the sink, the counters and the tables were covered with food and tools that had to be cleaned away, and all around Moondrop laid the broken remains of a tea set that had crashed against the door in a panicked magic attempt earlier. Taking a deep breath, the unicorn decided to clean the place a little and focus on something that wouldn't stress her out too much. She would have to go back in the living room eventually, but she had a few minutes to herself, and she hoped it would be enough time to calm her down.

Moondrop pushed away the mess to make place for a gigantic pot, that she filled with water and set to boil. If she was to feed a dragon, she would certainly have to make tea in very large quantities. She then rummaged the shelves in search of a tea-pot, or a jug, or anything large that vaguely looked like a tea-cup for Patches. She had no dragon-sized biscuits to give him, but she hoped her stocks would suffice, even if they probably looked like mere crumbles for a dragon. In the end, as she had no more tasks to do, she walked back in the living room, holding the jug for Patches and a large tray of biscuits with her magic.

"He he ... sorry for that." Moondrop muttered, feeling slightly embarrassed about her behavior. She laid the tray of biscuits on the table ; then she emptied the tea-pot in the jug and carefully gave it to Patches before sitting back in her place. The white pony took her tea cup and tried to regain her composure, smiling again as if nothing happened. Everything was going to be fine. Besides, they both have been very nice to her, and patient, and also polite, until now. She had nothing to worry about. She could do it.

"All the toys I sell are hoof-made." She started awkwardly, not exactly knowing what she was supposed to say. "Well, I use my magic too, I mean, I'm a unicorn, but you already know that," she added with an uneasy laugh ; "Most of the toys I sell are simply pony figurines, they're made out of wood and they're hoof-made, as I sculpt them myself, and I already told you that, and I suppose you want to buy them since that's what you said to me !" she rushed, talking faster and faster. Moondrop was making a fool of herself. "And I mean, I have other toys too ! I love toys ! I mean, um ..."

"Um, well ..." Moondrop finally shut up, and took a large sip of her cold tea, trying to hide her embarrassment. Today was going to be a long day ...

[The-Jaded-Bug]

[colour=#808080]" ... I'm going to make some more tea. I'll be right back !" [/colour]

[colour=#000000]Swift Kite could barely even shoot Moondrop an ‘okay’ nod before the young mare dashed for the kitchen. Taking a biscuit for herself, a rather bewildered look dawned her face. With a few nibbles of her snack, it receded to make way for a passive shrug.[/colour]

[colour=#BF2455]“I...uh, guess we’re not her only company?” [/colour][colour=#000000] She said between bites. She scratched the side of her bandanna-covered mane - perhaps a certain white unicorn wasn’t the only novice toy-related businessmare.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Patches could only counter with silence. He had noticed Moondrop’ nervously peeking at him, so his mind didn’t doubt one bit that his own presence had [/colour][colour=#000000]some[/colour][colour=#000000]thing to do with it. A muffled yet sharp sound made its way into the livingroom, one decipherable with a pair of keen ears. The sound certainly reached the dragon himself, and it took every ounce of wanting to maintain his dignity [/colour][colour=#000000]not [/colour][colour=#000000]to curl up into a temporary ball. Glancing at his bag, he snuck out a handful of gems, trying (and failing) to maintain a casual air whilst finally having something to properly fill his stomach.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]….and of course, frankly on cue, a certain white mare could be seen hurrying on back. In a sudden panic, he practically stuffed what uneaten jewels he still had into his mouth, adding just a pinch more to his companion’s perplexity.[/colour]

[colour=#808080]"He he ... sorry for that." [/colour]

[colour=#000000]The newer fixture of biscuits and tea was quite strange, to say the least. He tried to swallow the gems as he was hoofed over the jug, but alas - he only managed to make out some gargled choking. Thinking quickly he tipped the jug over to his mouth, appearing to take a drink. It proved to be a good place to spit out some of his excess snackage, and sipping intervals made it easier to drink up a mixture of tea and and glimmering sapphires. As the duo listened to the the apprehensive unicorn, Swift Kite spoke up in the midst of Moondrop’s eventual loss of cohesive words.[/colour]

[colour=#BF2455]“Now, wait just a minute! I don’t mean to interrupt ‘n such, but reall[/colour][colour=#BF2455]y - if you’ve got other guests around, you don’t have to keep it secret.” [/colour][colour=#000000]If honesty meant completely missing the point, then she was certainly nailing it in the forehead. [/colour][colour=#BF2455]“And look, I’m pretty sure it’s my first time in Canterlot, so uh, you’re not the only nervous one of the bunch, ‘kay?” [/colour][colour=#000000]She flashed a nervous, if not confused smile.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]A particular orange dragon could be seen shakily nodding his head, the creature hastily finishing up another gulp of his tea - and covertly, what gems he’d scooped up. With that, he chimed into the conversation[/colour][colour=#FF7D2F]. “Um, f-forgot to say thanks for the tray and beverage, s-so um...th-thanks..[/colour][colour=#000000].” He said timorously. [/colour]

[colour=#000000]Yet another awkward person to contribute to an already awkward conversation, and one that seemed to lack a graceful resolve.[/colour]

[Ancre]

Moondrop's panicked stream of words didn't last long : noticing her host's general unease, Swift Kite quickly stopped the little unicorn, and asked her if she had other guests to entertain. Moondrop blushed, feeling very embarrassed, before finally opening her mouth, and then, a few seconds later, starting an answer.

[colour=#696969]"N-no, no, you're the only guests I have ... "[/colour] Moondrop timidly explained, staring at her tea cup. [colour=#696969]"It's just that, well, actually, I mean, I never had guests before. I don't even know where to start!"[/colour] She stayed silent for a moment, raising her eyes up and making an apologetic smile to Swift Kite.

[colour=#696969]"And, uh, you're welcome, mister Patches."[/colour] She concluded awkwardly.[colour=#696969] "I've never had a dragon guest before, so, um ... Tell me if you want anything ?"[/colour] With nothing more to say, Moondrop raised her tea cup to her mouth and finished it, keeping her worries away for a second or two.

It was strange, she thought. She should have been more professional more assured of herself. She should have been discussing goods and prices with her guests while sipping tea, in a calm and collected way. But she wasn't, she was overwhelmed and clueless, and accepting it brought an odd sense of relief.

Moondrop felt better now. The meeting wasn't over yet, and perhaps she could still make things work.