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Chapter Seven:
It didn't take long to reach Bertha's Grill, and since it was still early in the evening, there weren't many other ponies there. The restaurant appeared to be a rustic country cafe. Or at least, that's what Chakra thought. To Falcon, it was just a good, local place to get a nice meal.
A friendly yellow pegasus was there to great them as soon as they had settled at a table set against the wall. He greeted the ladies, and asked what they would like to drink.
The waiter placed a pair of menus on the table, then walked away to fetch the mares' beverages. Chakra levitated her menu, and carefully inspected the lists of items to choose from. Falcon didn't even bother to open her menu, she already knew what she wanted, and patiently waited for her guest to make a decision. Chakra set her menu back on the table, and didn't notice the couple who had just walked in the door. She looked up to Falcon, unsure what to talk about with this friendly mare, when she heard one of the chairs at the table behind her being pulled back.
She swiveled her head to look behind her, noticing that it was a couple, much older than her and probably married, who were smiling and chit-chatting comfortably. She swiftly faced forward again, before either pony could notice her gaze, and felt her back stiffen slightly. "Great," she thought to herself, "as if I wasn't already feeling awkward enough. Couldn't they have sat at some other table? Why do they have to be right there?"
Chakra's mind swirled with irrational thoughts about how her personal space had just been violated by ponies who clearly had no clue that they were making her uncomfortable. She knew that they probably wouldn't listen to anything that she, or Falcon, said, and that they probably didn't care about which table they sat at. In some small corner of her mind, she knew that just sitting in a public place, with other ponies shouldn't bother her… but it did.
"So, what are you getting?" Falcon's voice brought her back to attention, and she looked into the mare's golden eyes, then swiftly away. Chakra was thankful that the waiter returned at that moment to take their orders.
"Uum… just an oatburger with cheese, and sweet potato fries," she said, before looking back up. "You?"
"I'll have the special." The waiter nodded with a friendly smile, and a promise to return soon. Then Falcon mentioned, "they usually jazz it up a little more than the standard meals."
Chakra nodded silently as her eyes drifted away, and her face slowly froze into an emotionless mask. She never noticed when this…detachment happened anymore. However, Falcon saw it, and assuming she was bored, or felt awkward, decided to ask something she had been curious about.
"So, can I ask you about your business?"
Chakra looked a little surprised, at this and gave a hesitant, "…yes."
"Well, yesterday you guessed that I had an older sister. I was just wondering…"
"I think I said 'sibling'," Chakra automatically corrected, "and there are a few tells."
"So… you analyzed my 'tells' and that…gives you visions? Or…?" she left the question dangling, unsure of how to really ask what she was wondering.
Chakra had to consider this for a little while. She wasn't used to talking about herself, or the way the world looked to her. "No… I don't have visions. There are just little things ponies do that hint at something that's either going on in the present, or something from the past that left a mark. Most of it is tiny, and nopony even notices that they did something at all." She glanced up, guessing that her rambling was already boring the other mare, but Falcon looked honestly curious. So she continued, "I don't even try to analyze ponies half the time. By now, I'm just so used to seeing it, and putting all of the pieces together without really thinking about it." Her gaze shifted to the floor, as her memories reached back into the past. "It's the one thing I've always been good at."
Falcon thought over what the unicorn had said, before asking, "So, if someone were to ask you what you could pick up from…" she looked at the few individuals sitting around the cafe, and saw a pair of stallions walk in. They were friends of her's. Perfect. "Those two. The stallions who just came in the door. What can you tell about them from first glance?"
Chakra looked at the pair of stallions. One appeared to be a large, gray draft pegasus with shaggy, white fetlocks and a short mane and tail. The other was a pegasus as well, but much shorter, slimmer, and a chocolate brown, with darker points and a long, flambouyant mane that faded through twilight colors. He appeared to have a crest of feathers over his tail, which Chakra knew to be about as rare as finding a unicorn with a long tail.
They had clearly walked in together, not as individuals, and taken a seat at a table, instead of waiting for a waiter to seat them. So, they had made a plan before they came here, and they're clearly comfortable with this place. Of course, none of that was surprising, given the small town, and charming small-town atmosphere.
Chakra spoke without looking away from the pair of ponies she had been asked to analyze. "I get the feeling that the larger one is the quieter of the two, and that they have known each other for years, if not most of their lives. The brown one seems to draw some kind of strength from the gray based off of the way he looks at him and smiles and this might be a regular place for them to hang out." She said this all without much emotion.
"Hmm…" Falcon grinned slightly at Chakra's attempt to humor her. "Well, that's all correct, but also very vague," she hinted.
Chakra finally glanced away, though her muzzle was still pointed towards the stallions' table, as she responded. "Well, they would have to talk to me before I could find out anything specific. Besides, ponies don't usually come to me to hear about themselves, and things that they already know."
She glanced back to the pair of stallions, then flinched away when she accidentally made eye contact with the smaller brown one. Falcon noticed this, and saw that the pair were suddenly getting up from their table. She grinned as they walked over.
"Hey Trist, Arden."
"Well hello Falcon, out on the town with the new star attraction?" Trist purred.
"You know it," Falcon chuckled back.
Chakra suddenly busied herself with sipping from her glass of water, and studying the wood grain of the tabletop. Falcon and Trist happily chatted, while the stallion named Arden added a few words from time to time. For the most part, Chakra tuned them out, and was relieved to have something to do when the waiter returned with the girls' meals.
The waiter asked if the stallions will be joining the pair of mares, and Arden finally spoke up more noticably. "No thanks, we'll be heading back over to our table in a sec." Trist looked mildly surprised at this, but gave his order to the waiter, and continued wrapping up his conversation with Falcon as though nothing had happened.
Chakra was tucking into her meal to avoid the conversation between strangers. So, she was caught a little off-guard when Arden stepped next to her.
"Hi, how'd'you like Gallup so far?"
"Oh, it's nice. The ponies are very friendly." She glanced between Arden, and Falcon and Trist, who were still chatting away about Celestia-knows-what. Trist gave her the same feeling that Falcon had. She was surprisingly nervous, even though this pony posed no threat. Arden however radiated calm. He was polite, and considerate, given the personal space he was giving her.
"Don't worry," he muttered in a friendly way, "it took me a while to get used to them too." Then, he returned his attention to his companion. "Trist, let's give these two some space. Let them eat."
"Okay. Later Falcon, and if I don't see you before Sunday, don't worry, I know you're gonna slay!"
Most of Chakra's food was gone by this point, so she took the chance to talk again. "So, what's on Sunday?" Falcon ate like a country mare, but she noticed that the mare at least had the courtesy not to talk with her mouth full.
"That's the big race. I thought you would have heard about it, being up at the fairgrounds every day."
Chakra said she hadn't heard a thing, and Falcon instantly dove into an explanation of how important and exciting this event was. She inhaled her food while explaining about the number of competitors, how far they're travelling from, how this race could determine who qualifies for the Equestria Games.
Chakra politely listened as Falcon explained her passion, and plans to join a training team. Eventually the check came, which Falcon paid, in full, before Chakra could offer. "You're my guest," she had said, before quickly wrapping up her monologue.

As the pair of mares exited the restaurant, Falcon took one more chance to say goodbye to Trist. Then, she trotted out of the door, to stand beside Chakra again.

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Posted previously at: 2017-04-17T07:37:51 | Posted previously by: Mildgyth