My Little Pony: The Elements of RP

Main => Ponyville => Topic started by: Lunar Bloom on July 30, 2015, 10:37:49 pm

Title: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on July 30, 2015, 10:37:49 pm
AN: I may have gone into full writer mode on this one. If you would like some backstory, read all of it. If you don't care about backstory, read only below the line. Thanks!  :D

Somewhere nearby, an alarm went off. Lunar Bloom opened her eyes quickly, looking over at the source of the obnoxious ringing. She was temped, as she had tried time and time again, to try and use her magic to shut it off, but she knew that it was still magic proof, and she would have to get up. She lay in bed for a few more seconds, before the ringing became unbearable. Finally, she threw off the covers and walked over to the alarm. she put a hoof up to it and gave the device a shove, which was more then enough for it to recognize her hoofprint and turn off. with a grumble, she walked into her kitchen, grabbing her coffee out of the cabinet, and pouring some into the machine that would soon be supplying her with liquid energy. She added some water, putting the rest of the coffee back in the cabinet as she turned the machine on. She grabbed a mug and slipped it into the machine just as it began spewing out delicious coffee. She waited for it to finish; but only just; before pulling the mug back out and taking a sip. She wandered with her coffee over to the back door of her house, the one that lead to her precious flowers. She glanced over at her precious lunar shard, the pride of her collection. After doing a double-take, she saw something wonderful.

"A seed! Oh my goodness, it's been months!" She dropped her coffee mug heavily on the counter, her excitement giving her all the energy she needed. She opened the door, rushing over to the mini-dome that held her most beloved plant. At first glance, you would think it a plant at all. At the base, dully glowing tendrils snaked their way around the faces of a crystal about as long and wide as her hoof. Above that, they all collected to a point, where they wrapped around a smaller crystalline mass. they then moved upward in an arc, connecting more crystal masses in an arc like a crescent moon. On each of the three outer faces of the crystals grew a single leaf, shimmering from the frost that coated it. It took years for a lunar shard to reach this size; but this plant wasn't for selling; this one was the mother of every other lunar shard south of the crystal empire. Hanging from the very top crystal in the moon shape was a single tendril that wrapped around a tiny crystal suspended in the center of the ark. This tiny seed, once planted, would eventually growing into another shard, ready to fetch nearly a thousand bits from somepony. The shard only bloomed at night when struck by moonlight, but when it did the sight just made her heart melt. The leaves would fan out, and the crystals would all start to glow a pleasant light blue, and the vines that bound the whole plant together would have little lights that traveled quickly up and down them.

Lunar Bloom shook her head; she had work to do. She couldn't afford to open the dome up even for a second, so she had to do everything with magic. First, she took a tiny pair of shears that were always kept in the mini-dome and trimmed off the seed, using her magic to catch it before it even took the tiniest bump from falling. Then she teleported the seed a few inches into the adjacent mini-dome, which was already at the proper temperature and climate for the seed. She settled it as gently as she possibly could into the snow, before pouring as much magic as she could without passing out into the seed. She was certainly no A-Class Mage, infact, she ranked at a high C, so it didn't amount to much, but she had just enough magic left after teleporting it to get it to latch onto the surrounding landscape. With a long sigh, she slumped to the ground, exhausted. She had other plant to take care of, but first, she needed a break. She stayed there for a few minutes, smiling happily as she though about her precious plant.

Eventually, however, she willed herself to stand up, go back into her house, and get the rest of her coffee.  She then walked through the bio-dome, into her shop, and flipped the sign at the front to 'open' before going back in and tending to the other plants. None of them were quite as rare or fragile as the lunar shard, and she had become adept at it all. Soon, she had a few of the more hardy ones ready for display in her shop, and the ones that were ready for sale but didn't want to get moved too much got a touch-up, encase she did sell some. She carefully carried the first bunch into her shop, placing them on shelves and on the counter for ponies to see. Then, she sat down in her chair to wait.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on August 03, 2015, 04:52:27 pm
As the minutes ticked by, slowly turning into hours, and still the door never opened. It wasn't terribly uncommon for her store to not see a customer all day; after all, it wasn't exactly your average flower shop. Still, sitting around all day was hard, are Lunar often failed to make it through the whole day consciously. Sometimes in the late morning, after doing another check all on the plants in the greenhouse, she nodded off in her chair. The next thing she knew, she was waking up to the sound of the bell above the door ringing. She shook her head, and did her best to focus on the pony that had just entered. It was a gray mare, an earthpony. Judging by the way she carried herself, likely from a high-middle class family, probably from a big city like Canterlot. However, she didn't seem to be dressed to impress, as they say, and Lunar's hope of the mare being wealthy enough for some of the store's more expensive flowers vanished. Regardless, she stood up with a warm smile.

"Hi, and welcome to 'The Lunar Exotic Flower Shoppe'. How can a help a fine mare such as yourself today?" She asked, her smile never faltering.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Octavia Melody on August 03, 2015, 05:12:15 pm
Octavia trotted off the train platform, looking around. She had visited Ponyville on several occasions, but never for this particular one, nor for this shop. She wasn't sure where it was, exactly, but she was told she would know it when she saw it. However, that still left her with the whole town to search. She would never actually do it, but sometimes she just wanted to slap her clients when they made silly demands and gave too little information. She shook her head, looking around for somepony who could possibly give her directions. She spied a brown stallion with a short mane and tail at the end of a nearby street, walking determinedly.


"He'll do nicely." She said, trotting over.


"Um, Sir? Excuse me, but I was wondering if I could get directions to 'The Lunar Exotic Flower Shoppe', I was told it was here in Ponyville." She said, stopping just in front of his with a smile. He paused, looked at her in what only could be described as confusion, before his face lit up as though he had remembered something important.


"Directions? OH! Directions, why, yes, of course. I think it's down that street there, all the way at the end, on the right." He said as he pointed to a street that ran along the edge of the town, before continuing on as though nothing had happened.


"Er, thanks!" She yelled after him as he disappeared rapidly. She made her way as he had directed, and to her slight surprise, it was actually where he said it would be. And she certainly couldn't have missed it. She pushed open the door, heading inside. Behind the counter sat a very light blue unicorn mare, who appeared to be asleep. Before Octavia could say anything, however, the mare woke with a start, shook her head, and stood.


"Hi, and welcome to 'The Lunar Exotic Flower Shoppe'. How can a help a fine mare such as yourself today?" She said with a smile. Octavia blushed slightly, before giggling and clearing her throat.


"Hi. I'm looking for Orchestral flowers, do you have any in stock? I was told this was the only place in Ponyville that sold them, so I really hope so because otherwise my trip would be a waste and that's bad." She rambling, still a little flustered by the mare's compliment.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on August 05, 2015, 02:21:40 pm
Lunar giggled at the mare, who clearly was having a hard time. She had never seen a pony get so worked up over her usual greeting, and she figured this mare in particular probably just didn't get out a lot.

"Orchestral flowers? I think so, yes. What color would you like? I've got white, blue, violet, and green." She responded, getting back into a more professional demeanor. She had seen a number of different kinds of ponies in her day, so she knew that while this mare was, judging from her cutie mark, a musician, she didn't want the flowers for herself, nor did she want to be getting flowers at all. Which left a number of conclusions, of which Lunar picked the most obvious.

"I assume your client wanted a particular color, for some sort of event I presume. Judging by their choice in flower, I'm guessing... Wedding?" Lunar asked, her curiosity peaking a bit. Suddenly, it occurred to her that she was prying, and her ears drooped.

"Right, sorry, it's none of my business." She said.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Octavia Melody on August 05, 2015, 02:29:06 pm
Octavia opened her mouth to respond with the color, when the sales-pony spoke up again.


"I assume your client wanted a particular color, for some sort of event I presume. Judging by their choice in flower, I'm guessing... Wedding?" She asked, her ears perking up and curiosity showing on her face. Octavia reeled back slightly, shocked that this mare could read her so well. Again, she opened her mouth to respond, but before she could formulate a response, the unicorn cut her off.

"Right, sorry, it's none of my business." She said, her ears and tail hanging a little lower. Octavia blinked a few times, trying to process everything. Eventually, she shook her head, as if to reset her brain.

"You spend a lot of time on your own, don't you?" Octavia asked with a chuckle.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on August 05, 2015, 02:33:13 pm
Lunar couldn't help but laugh, the gray mare had definitely called her on that one.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" She asked, smiling at the mare.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Octavia Melody on August 05, 2015, 02:39:31 pm
"Because I'm the same way when I meet new ponies, you just beat me to it this time. Anyway, let's see. White, and yes it's for a wedding. First my client has the nerve to tell me to get the flowers, then all he gave for directions to this place were, 'Oh, it's in Ponyville somewhere, you'll know it when you see it.' And that's probably because of the sign, not any distinguishing features. Ugh, stallions. Can't stand them." Octavia said, suddenly feeling very open with this mare, for whatever reason.  Which would probably turn out to be a mistake, but what's done is done.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on August 05, 2015, 02:51:55 pm
Lunar nodded understandingly. She wasn't sure why the mare was telling her all of this, but connecting with customers was an excellent way to make sure they came back and bought more.

"Ah, I see. Yes, stallions can be troublesome, not like us mares." She giggled as she listened to herself. She wasn't really the type to lean one way or the other, but she did find that mares were generally more competent when it came to flowers, which was a plus in her mind.

"Oh, and how many would you like?" She asked, trying to focus on the sale.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Octavia Melody on August 05, 2015, 03:02:02 pm
"Not like us mares..." Octavia echoed, thoughts of her father coming to mind. She shook her head again, chasing away unpleasant memories.


"Right, back to business. Three dozen would be great, but if you don't have that many, then the closest multiple of three to that." She said, automatically doing the math for the nearest amounts in her head.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on August 07, 2015, 09:45:19 pm
"I can get you... 30. Will that do?" Lunar asked, turning slightly toward the door of her greenhouse, but waiting for confirmation from the mare first. She had 32 total since she got them in pairs and she had just gotten a set at the beginning of the week, but the mare said multiples of three, so that left 2 for other customers.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Octavia Melody on August 08, 2015, 06:44:57 pm
"Yes, that'll do just fine, thank you." Octavia said, watching as the mare nodded in response and opened the door behind her, heading into her greenhouse. Octavia looked around at the many different exotic flowers she had on display, amazed at some of the shapes and colors.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on August 09, 2015, 05:51:07 pm
Lunar nodded, turning and heading into her greenhouse. She looked around quickly, but she basically already knew that they were off to the left of the door, already set up in little display pots. She used her magic to pick them up by the fives, getting six counts before turning back around with them. She tripped over a watering can on the way out, making a loud bang, which she quickly followed by muttering a few unpleasant things about the can. She put her sales-pony smile back on, and walked back through the door. She set the flowers down on the counter, out of the way.

"Alright, 30 white orchestral flowers. Will you be needing anything else today?" She asked with a smile.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Octavia Melody on August 09, 2015, 06:02:03 pm
"Nope, that'll be all. What do I owe you?" Octavia asked, grabbing her coin-purse and opening it up.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on August 09, 2015, 06:10:39 pm
"Hmm, for 30 orchestrals, and a busy pony such as yourself, I'll cut you a deal. 200 bits for the whole lot. Normal price is 250, so that's a pretty good deal." Lunar responded. She left out that it was the normal price in the Crystal Empire, not in her shop, this mare didn't need to know that. She was almost certainly not paying for the flowers herself anyway, so Lunar didn't feel all that bad about withholding facts.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Octavia Melody on August 09, 2015, 09:33:52 pm
"200?!" Octavia responded in disbelief. She was paid 375 for the whole deal, of which 75 was supposed to be for the flowers. The flowers, plus two extra train trips, left her with a lot less left then she was hoping. She looked at the mare behind the counter, who was still smiling pleasantly. She had already said she was giving Octavia a deal, and she just couldn't bring herself to haggle or even ask for a lower price. Octavia simply stood, trying to figure out what to do. Her rent for the month, which was due in a week, was 500 bits. Her sister's medical bills were another 1000. even adding what she had saved up during the month, If she didn't make more money by the end of the week, there was no way she was going to be able to pay both. She felt her eyes water up at the thought, and she quickly turned away from the counter so the mare wouldn't see.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on August 09, 2015, 09:53:48 pm
Lunar watched as the mare gained a stunned look when she heard the price. There goes the theory that she's not paying. What kind of cheap-ass client is she working for? She thought, watching the mare. She appeared to spend quite a long time thinking, her face showing more and more fear, sadness, and frustration as time went on. Lunar was about to open her mouth and ask if maybe the mare wanted to contact her client and ask for more money when she started crying, quickly turning away from Lunar. This time, is was her turn to be shocked. Well, um, this is new. They don't... Cry often. I'm... Not sure what to do. Lunar thought. At this point, being a sales-pony went out the window, she saw somepony who needed help and there was nopony but her to provide it. She walked around from behind the counter, standing close to the crying mare.

"Hey, um... Well, it's a ridiculous markup, really. We can talk about the price..." Lunar said, before trailing off. No, even less sales-pony.

"Forget about paying, I'll take it up with your client personally. Is there... Is there anything you want to talk about? I mean, you don't know me, but I promise I can keep a secret, and I try to be as nice as I can." She said.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Octavia Melody on August 09, 2015, 10:34:52 pm
Octavia sniffled, trying to stop crying.


"No, I just... Why does life have to be so unfair? I gave up my dream, my education, everything, to make money to save my sister. But all I can do is keep up with her regular bills and my own apartment, every time I start saving up money for her treatment, I get no contracts for two weeks, and I have to spend it just to survive! And the princess hasn't contacted me in ages, so I haven't even made a penny from her like I used to. How many months, how many months is it until I go homeless, or my sister dies? That's what I wonder, every time I count my savings. Why? Why can't I catch a break?" Octavia finished, practically yelling at this point, tears streaming down her face. She didn't care who this pony was, or what she would think of Octavia after, she needed to get it all off her chest.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on August 11, 2015, 01:07:13 am
Lunar listened to the mare's story quietly, waiting for her to finish. This was the first time a high price had caused a pony to have such a complete emotional breakdown, and Lunar felt awful for causing it. That certainly wasn't her intention, she was just doing her job.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Octavia Melody on August 11, 2015, 01:46:59 am
Eventually Octavia brought her crying under control, and turned to face the unicorn mare again.


"I'm so sorry about that. You know how it is, things build up until they explode. Anyway, 200 bits, you said?" Octavia said, wiping her face and eyes off as she dug into her bag looking for the necessary two gold coins of the three she possessed. She finally laid hoof on them, and with a sigh, pulled them out and moved to hoof them to the mare.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on August 11, 2015, 02:07:00 am
Lunar watched as the gray mare pulled money out of her bag and tried to give it to her. Lunar shook her head, pushing the mare's hoof back towards her.

"I was serious, I'll take it up with your client myself. Here, there's no way you were going to be able to take all of these by yourself anyway, so I'll close up shop for the day, come with you, help carry these, and we can talk more on the way. Sound like a deal?" Lunar asked, smiling warmly.

"Oh, and my name's Lunar. Lunar Bloom." She said, realizing she had failed to mention that during the entirety of their conversations.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Octavia Melody on August 11, 2015, 02:55:15 am
"Well, I mean, if you're sure..." Octavia said, looking carefully at Lunar Bloom as she put the coins back. With another sniffle, she put out her hoof to shake.


"My name is Octavia Melody. Nice to meet you, Lunar Bloom. And... I can't thank you enough. For everything. I don't deserve everything you're doing for me." She said, struggling to smile as she wiped her eyes again.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on August 11, 2015, 03:10:00 am
"Nice to meet you too, Octavia Melody. I'm certain I've heard your name before, do you play in the royal orchestra, perchance?" Lunar asked, happily shaking Octavia's hoof, before walking over to the sign at the front of her shop and flipping it over to 'closed'. She then walked into her greenhouse and began preparing her precious plants for her several hour absence.

"Canterlot, right? That's, what, an hour and a half by train each way?" She called, hoping Octavia could hear her.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Octavia Melody on August 11, 2015, 12:33:59 pm
"I do, actually. Although as I was saying, it's been a long time. The last time I played in it was at the Canterlot garden party some months ago." Octavia responded, slightly surprised the a Ponyville sales-pony knew of her. She watched as Lunar walked back into her greenhouse, and started doing planty looking things, the functions of which Octavia didn't understand.


"Canterlot, right? That's, what, an hour and a half by train each way?" She heard Lunar call out. She nodded automatically.


"Give or take, yeah. The wedding will be taking place in one of the wealthy upper streets near the castle, it's a bit of a walk from the train." She responded, peering in.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Lunar Bloom on August 11, 2015, 02:55:28 pm
"Right, right. I'm about ready." Lunar said, placing the finishing touches on one of her mini-domes. When she wasn't around to modify their climates herself, she had to pre-program them, which was always a risk encase something went wrong. She sighed as she turned and headed back towards the front of her store.

"Alright. First stop, Ponyville station!" She said, using her magic to carefully pick the case of orchestral flowers up. She nodded to Octavia, signaling she was ready to go.
Title: Re: In a small flower shop at the edge of Ponyville...
Post by: Octavia Melody on August 11, 2015, 03:50:04 pm
Octavia nodded back, turning towards the door. She wasn't sure why, but something about Lunar gave her a feeling of hope, and for the first time in too long, she felt a little less alone.

"To Ponyville station!" She said, opening the door and stepping outside.