Choc came in through the doors of the SnS bakery early in the morning, humming a tune as he walked behind the counter, checked the cash register and put on his apron. "Just great. Another day in this uptight city, and another day away from home." Choc said to himself as he checked the baked goods. "Thank Celestia. Last night's shift restocked for me. That's one less thing I have to do." He then proceeded to sit down in a chair behind the counter, to wait for the day's first customer.

Octavia Melody had never been fond of mornings. Yes, she had learned to get up whenever necessary, be it 10:00 AM or the crack of dawn, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Luckily for her, this was not a morning where she would be racing against the sun's progress past the horizon. By the time she actually got out of bed, showered, and ready for her day, it was nearly... 9:00. AM.

"Hmph. Alright, perhaps I need practice sleeping in and relaxing." She said as she took a passing glance at the clock, hoof on the door and ready to open it. She stood deep in thought on that topic for a few seconds, before finally shrugging, resettling her precious cello in its case on her back, opening the door, and stepping through it. Have an apartment on the second floor was both a blessing and a curse. She was lucky enough to have a window that overlooked the city, or at least part of it, and the view was much better then on the ground. However, the second floor meant stairs. And after a long day, climbing stairs with a heavy instrument on her back was awful. Still, there was nothing she could do about it. She trotted quickly down the stairs, making her way out of the building complex.

"First priority, breakfast." She said, with a brisk nod as though she was agreeing with herself. She often cooked meals by herself, but every one and a while she ate out somewhere, as a treat. Getting breakfast out was her favorite, since it was both the cheapest, and the biggest improvement from the food she would have made herself. She trotted down the street cheerfully, trying to decide where was calling her the most. She paused before a rather large bakery, looking up at the sign.

"The Sweet and Savory Bakery? Sounds promising. I wonder how this place has alluded my attention before; it's so close to my apartment." She stopped, trying to think if she had even seen the bakery in passing previously. Nothing came to mind, but that didn't mean much, she had been known to miss rather obvious things before. Another shrug, another cello resettling, and she walked in. The first that came to mind was quaint, more like something you would see in a town like Ponyville, but not in a bad way. Off to the left there were a few small tables, only one of which was occupied, and to the back was the counter, menu, and display. Octavia walked up to the counter, throwing a quick smile in the direction of the brown-coated unicorn behind the counter before looking in the display case.

"Hmm... I have never been here before, so I am not sure what's good. What would you recommend?" She asked, finally making steady eye contact with the stallion. Given his cutie mark, she decided she probably knew what answer was coming, but she had to give him a chance anyway.

Octavia stood quietly, listening to the stallion's recommendations. She was a little taken aback by his saying that croissants were 'a personal favorite' and his only brief mention of pretzels, as though for whatever reason he wasn't as fond of them as it would seem.

"I must be honest, I did rather expect you to recommenced pretzels without hesitation, but I suppose that's narrow-minded of me, to assume that even a can't have other tastes then the ones they were gifted with. But, that's not important. The croissant you mentioned does sound appealing, I think I'll have one of those. Oh, and do you have any breakfast teas? No quality pastry breakfast is complete without a nice tea." She asked, smiling warmly. She didn't have terribly high hopes, this didn't seem like the tea sort of place, but it never hurt to ask.

Octavia had to resist the urge to reel back in disgust as he put her precious tea in a foam cup. Well, he probably thought I wanted it to go. She thought, forcing herself to smile as she accepted the bag and foam atrocity from the stallion. Although, he should have asked. Is it still worth making a point and eating in? What if he did it on purpose? Do they even have real cups?" She wondered, standing still as she ran through her possibilities mentally. Suddenly, she remembered his question.

"Oh, um, uh, no, I think that's it. What do I owe you?" She asked, shaking her head to clear her concerns away at least until she finished the conversation.

Octavia saw as the stallion started to open his mouth, before he was interrupted by the sound of the door slamming open behind Octavia. She spun around to see who would so rudely enter the establishment, but when she laid eyes on the figure her jaw dropped. Standing before them was the ruler of the Crystal Empire and the princess of love herself, Princess Cadence. The princess excused herself, dusted herself off, then lined up behind Octavia, all the while the the poor gray mare simply stood in shock. Suddenly, she remembered her manners, and dropped to the floor in a deep bow.

"P-P-Princess! Please, take my place." She said, rapidly scooting out of the way to allow the regal alicorn access to the counter.

"Oh, uh, right. Here." She said sliding the bits to him while doing her best not to get in the way of the princess. She promptly backed away from the counter, and over to one of the tables near the door, sitting down and placing her food on the table, not taking her eyes of the understandably nervous looking stallion and the princess.

"No no everything is fine." Choc lied, shifting his footing every two seconds. "We do sell donuts, but they aren't as good as Joe's. What kind do you want?" As Choc spoke, he mentally prepared his teleportation spell, so that if things go bad he can make a quick escape.

"Oh.. okay then... Hmmm, I have had all the classic flavors. Do you sell any original kinds here? Unique kinds maybe?" She was getting a bit suspicious, as she felt he was preparing a spell but the princess dismissed the idea. Cadance had been on edge lately and needed to loosen up.