Rainbow Dash and Derpy Hooves made their way across Ponyville from Sugarcube Corner to the newly established Italian food restaurant near Rarity's boutique. They had just picked up a box of muffins for Derpy's birthday party, which was tomorrow.
"Alright Derpy, do you want just lasagna, or maybe something with it?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Derpy pondered for a moment, then said "I think I just want a big lasagna."
"Sounds good." Rainbow Dash hummed as they passed many large houses and businesses.
After a few minutes they got to a small building, with a small wooden sign hanging above the door. On the sign was a picture of a nice cheese pizza. The building was older than most others in town, and Rainbow Dash recalled it being empty for a long time. In fact she could not even remember what had been in that building previously.
"Ooh…" Derpy took a deep sniff of the air surrounding the shop, "Something smells yummy.
Rainbow Dash and Derpy opened the front door and the aroma of tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh herbs, and various other ingredients filled their nostrils. The inside of the store was much nicer than the exterior, and was styled in the fashion of an old pizzeria. Small tables were positioned against the walls, and pots of herbs and other vegetables brought color and life into the restaurant. A pony stood behind the counter, preparing some spaghetti. He had a medium length brown mane and a long brown tail, both of which were rather unkempt, but not necessarily bad looking. His coat was a light tan, and he had eyes that were deep blue. He wore a white apron, which was stained with various sauces and such. When he noticed Rainbow Dash and Derpy standing by the door, he gave them a smile and said "Welcome welcome, come on in!".
Derpy and Rainbow Dash made their way to the counter, both seeing the kitchen in the back loaded with fresh ingredients and cookware.
"Welcome to my shop, my name is Caesar Antonio Mozzarella, and how can I help you on this fine day?" He said as he gave a small bow of his head.
"Uh, my name's Rainbow Dash, and this is my friend Derpy Hooves, her birthday's tomorrow and we were wondering if you could make her a lasagna."
"But of course, as you can see by my cutie mark, and this restaurant of course, I am an expert at making ALL types of Italian cuisine. I'd be happy to make you fine ponies a lasagna. Now what kind would you like?"
Rainbow Dash leaned over the counter and saw the pony present a cutie mark of a full pepperoni pizza. "Well there's gonna be a lot of ponies there, so we need something big."
"Hmm, I can recommend the large party sized lasagna, it has four types of cheeses, my signature tomato sauce, fresh herbs, and many other tasty ingredients."
"Yeah that sounds good. Y'know, you're the first Italian food chef to set up shop in Ponyville in a while. What brings you here?"
"Well you see, I was once a member of an elite group of chefs who catered for Princess Celestia and Luna personally. I cooked many meals for them, and they were very gracious. But one day I decided to share my talents with as many ponies as I could. With the princess's blessing, I took my food on the road and travelled until I stopped here in Ponyville. I fell in love with it as soon as I laid my eyes on it. Now I happily serve the people here by crafting for them the finest cuisine I can."
"Wow, so you know the Princess? My friend Twilight Sparkle, or should I say Princess Twilight, used to be her student."
"Yes of course, Celestia told me many stories of her student Twilight, and of all her friends."
"Wait, if you cook Italian food, why don't you have an Italian accent?" Rainbow Dash asked as she made the sudden realization that Caesar did not in fact have an accent.
"Easy," Caesar replied as he began gathering the ingredients for the lasagna, "my mentor was a very famous chef, who was Italian. I however was born in Manehattan. I do have some Italian heritage, hence the name."
"Ahh, I see" Rainbow Dash said.
"Now getting back to the order, I can have it ready tomorrow afternoon, and I will personally hand deliver it to you, for no extra charge of course."
"Sweet, the party's gonna start around 3 p.m., so if you could have it there any time around them that'd be great." Rainbow Dash said as she placed a hoof-full of bits on the counter.
"Sounds excellent," Caesar said as he swept the bits off the counter and into the cash register, "I look forward to seeing you both tomorrow, and might I say happy birthday to you miss Derpy."
Derpy blushed and muttered a thank you as her and Rainbow Dash made their way out of the store. "Have a great day!" Rainbow Dash called back.
"You as well!" Caesar replied.
And with that Caesar returned to gathering the ingredients for the dish.