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 Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 6:35 pm
 Hard Truths was wandering around Phonyland for the first time when he came across an edible arrangements shop. It perplexed him. Why on earth would anyone take the time to arrange things that someone planned to eat? It seemed like a waste of time and trouble. Curious, the unicorn colt stuck his head inside. "Is anyone in here?" he called out. "I have a question."Blue Eyed Melloon ((I hope this is okay! Please let me know if there's anything I need to change!))
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Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:45 pm
Kitomyx No no that's totally great! Thanks for starting it!
She looked up from her half realized creation when the door opened, and the little bell chimed. Maple Bar looked up from her bed in the corner of the room with perked ears. Someone new. Candy put down a pineapple ring and said "Well I'm here! And I'd be happy to answer any of your questions!" Her strawberry curls were in various states of disrepair; she sometimes lost track of time when working on a commission.
She came out from behind the counter to beckon the foal in. "I'm Candy Dandy, and I run Sweet Treat Baskets! How can I help you?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:29 pm
Surveying the store, Hard Truths was startled when a voice spoke up. He glanced over to the phony responsible and regarded her delicate work. She appeared to be somewhat disheveled.
"You appear to have been working hard," the colt noted, entering the place. It smelled so sweet and fruity. "I'm Hard Truths. I was wondering...what's the purpose of a store like this?"Blue Eyed Melloon ((Oh, good, I'm glad. XD And the pleasure is all mine!))
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 6:29 pm
The mare rolled her eyes up to what of her mane she could see and giggled, running a hoof over it to settle some of the more unruly curls.
"Oh! Yes. Well, I go this order for a tropical arrangement, and I've been so excited about finishing it that I forgot about time!"
When he asked about her store's purpose, her smile widened.
"Sweet Treat Baskets is a store dedicated to bakery style goods and edible arrangements" She said, launching into her store pitch. "I take the customers' ideas and translate them into baskets of fruit and veggies, and anything else they want to add! I prefer to use lots of chocolate." she finished with a wink.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 8:19 pm
"...So just how how long have you been working on it?" he wanted to know, wondering if the crazy mare had forgotten to sleep. What a fool to put so much time and effort into something that would inevitably be devoured and destroyed... A shame, too. She appeared to have quite the talent.
"I see," he remarked upon her explanation, approaching to inspect the mandarin orange birds. "You said 'arrangements', though," Truths commented. "With all the work you put into these things, doesn't it bother you that they'll only be ruined in the end? All your time and trouble is for naught. You're a fool to put so much of yourself into this, especially at the cost of your own health and wellness." His eyes shifted again to her somewhat unruly curls.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 9:45 pm
"Oh I would say probably..." she paused, looking at the clock on the wall by the door. "Seven, eight hours? That sounds about right. I had a bit of a nap earlier before the store opened, but that was a while ago. Her stomach growled. "And apparently I've forgotten to eat!"
Candy giggled, and popped behind the case to grab a muffin and devour it in two bites.
She listened to his question and pondered while she chewed. He was right. Her arrangements eventually were eaten and thrown out, so why did she bother making them?
She thought about when she got her cutie mark, and the answer was clear.
Candy pointed a hoof at a table, offering the foal a seat. She reached behind the counter and grabbed a couple cookies, one for each of them, and took the seat across from him.
"You ask some really good questions! Are you gonna grow up and be a newsphony?" She gazed at the cookie, and said with sudden seriousness. "I asked myself the same thing when I was looking for my cutie mark. I thought it was silly to make things so pretty just to have them ruined."
"But one time, I made a basket for my friend Moth Drops. I worked really hard on it, and was sad it was going to be eaten. Oh she was so happy to get it! She started sharing all the chocolate butterflies and grapes with me and her friends, and we all had a great time."
She looked at Truths with a sweet smile. "I made new friends and everyphony was so happy to eat my food that it kinda overshadowed the sadness of losing my project." Candy took a bite of cookie and chewed happily.
"Did that make any sense?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:57 pm
The colt's horned brow furrowed. This mare was so obviously an idiot. Didn't she know she should take care of herself before others? Especially before silly little things like pineapple spirals and birds made of orange! What was worse was that she seemed so jolly about it, Hard Truths had no doubt she was completely oblivious to how detrimental her behavior was to her health. It pissed the foal off.
"You call that a meal?" he snapped, watching her finish the muffin. "Why don't you get some proper food? You're like a filly without a mother!"
When she gestured to a table, Truths was so irritated he could hardly consider seating himself. After a moment, however, he grudgingly did as she bade him. Despite her behavior and questionable intelligence, she was older than him after all, right?
The sight of the cookies, though, made him scowl. What did she think he was, an infant? And should she have been eating that without having had a proper meal first?
"What are you talking about?" he grumbled, unable to understand how he had given her the notion of a newsphony. Unless, maybe, she was referring to his many questions, but they were only natural. All of the mare's behaviors just seemed so...impractical, from her store to her passion to her eating habits to her lifestyle. But then she surprised him when her demeanor changed.
Listening intently, he was silent for the duration of Candy's explanation. Thinking, he stared at the table top. "...I suppose nothing lasts forever," he reasoned. "And if, for whatever reason, it makes others happier to receive foods in that manner, then...I suppose it's not entirely a waste."
In an instant, though, he seemed to remember something and scolded, "Not at the cost of food and sleep, though! You're a moron, putting such a high price on 'friends' and the happiness of others. It's not like any of them are going to take care of you. You need to worry about yourself first and foremost or you'll make yourself sick."
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:20 pm
The grown phony sighed a bit. This poor colt was older than she was in spirit, though he seemed just broken from his package. Candy thought that maybe he needed to lighten up a bit, and realize that having fun is just as well as being serious.
"Youre right: nothing lasts forever. Including us. I prefer to live in the moment, enjoy what is in front of me, like my baskets." She gazed at the basket with shining eys. It meant so much to her that phonies loved her work. It was what kept her going when she was tired.
"You seem to be quite grumpy today." She commented, looking back to the russet foal. "And the name calling is very unnecessary." She added with a raised eyebrow. Happy-go-lucky she may be, insults were never alright.
"I dont ruin my health. I dont often stay up late to work on something unless its really big or time sensitive. Pineapple rusts quickly, so I had to get most of it done today."
"Now, you need to lighten up! How about a joke? Why did the barber win the race?" She asked, hoping to coax a smile out of the grumpy foal.
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 12:13 am
"Hnh," the colt grunted at the analogy, considering it but not quite sure yet if he agreed. Live in the moment, huh? It seemed to make sense enough, but what point was there if you didn't take care of yourself for the future?
"What?" he asked abruptly, startled out of his thoughts. She had called him grumpy. "Hmph. This is just how I am. It's phonies like you that make me question life and its meaning, if it even has any. I just can't believe you understand what you're doing to yourself. Others aren't worth it."
She was selfless. Surely not all her supposed friends and certainly not all her customers deserved the thoughtful, whole-hearted dedication Candy Dandy put into her arrangements. It could probably be seen as admirable in a way, but Hard Truths couldn't help seeing her actions, noble or not, as foolish. Besides, he found that insults and criticisms slipped off his tongue a lot easier than praise and compliments.
At her very practical reasoning behind rusting pineapples, Hard Truths once again found himself having underestimated the mare. Perhaps she was more responsible than he thought; she would have had to be in order to meet deadlines for commissions, after all.
He put his head on the table, staring at his cookie and thinking. He thought he might even have felt ashamed. But then she had asked him a joke. Seriously? This mare was a mystery.
"I don't know," he murmured, raising his eyes if not his head. "...Why?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 2:07 pm
Life's meaning? Did he mean his cutie mark? Well, he didn't have his yet! So it was no wonder he was questioning what life's meaning was!
"Everyphony's life meaning is different. That's why everyphony's cutie mark is different! You can't worry about what others' life meanings are, you should be finding your own." she smiled at the grouchy foal. He seemed far too consumed with others lives. How can someone be happy if they are concerned with everyone else?
"You'll see one day. Maybe you will find a friend that will make it worth it." she said mysteriously, rubbing his head as it sat on the table.
The punchline came with a burst of giggles from the teller. "Because he found a short cut!" she crowed, throwing her hooves out wide. She looked at him expectantly.
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 2:11 am
"That's not what I meant!" cried the frustrated foal. "Argh, nevermind..." Glaring discontentedly as she pet his head, he turned it away. "Hmph. Friends are overrated. Besides, it's far too rare to come across a real one."
At Candy's giggles and punchline, Hard Truths continued to study her out the corner of his eye, not seeming to have registered what she'd said. Finally, he spoke. "...Do you believe you have any true friends?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 6:43 pm
"Friends are the best!" she insisted. leaning forward. "And it is a lot easier than you think to make a true friend. All you have to do is be open and positive. That's how I made all my friends."
She nodded enthusiastically, saying "I do have true friends as a matter of fact! There's Moth Drops for sure, and C.C. definitely counts. She has been my friend since we were fillies. And I think Ikebana counts because we talk all the time. Oh! And I can't forget Latte!" She smiled at Hard Truths.
"Do you have any true friends?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 6:37 pm
"Being open is easy enough for me," he mumbled, staring at the cookie. Finally, after a thoughtful moment, he nibbled the edge a bit. "It's the 'being positive' part I'm not the best with. When I'm open and honest about things, it's not usually positive. I have high standards, so I don't compliment phonies for every little thing. Praise generously given loses its value." He frowned and ate a little more. "But then I guess I wouldn't want a friend who would want to be my friend just because I complimented and said positive things about them."
Looking back up at Candy, Truths inquired, "Why do you consider them your friends? And how do you know they're not just shallow friends? It almost sounds like you consider every phony you know to be your 'true friend'."
At the mare's question, the vermillion foal looked surprised before pushing the mostly uneaten remainder of his cookie away from him. Instead of responding to her question, he stared at the tabletop broodingly instead and asked in a melancholy voice, "Do you have something a little less sweet to eat or drink...?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:06 pm
Candy considered what he said for a moment. It was true that not everyphony could be a true friend. True friends were different from anyphony else.
"But you do give praise right? Honest praise? Without a grain of salt in there?" she was of course talking about his innate ability to make a compliment a backhanded one either by mistake or accident.
Canyd pondered some more, then said "Well, I consider them true friends because if I were in trouble, I know they would come to help me, even if they didn't think it was a big deal. And I know that they would be honest with me, even if they knew that it may hurt my feelings at first. They would be there with a kind word or a laugh to share if that's what I needed, willing to share. Most importantly, they feel the same friendship I do."
When Hard Truths asked for something less sweet, she nodded, rising from the table. "Gimme just one minute. Think about what I said while I'm gone."
She disappeared through the saloon style doors that led into the kitchen, leaving the foal alone for a bit while she whipped up something a little more savory rather than sweet. She returned with a plate balanced on her back, bouncing with her every step. She returned to the table and placed the plate in front of Truths, saying "I hope this is more suited for your tastes."
On the plate sat a piece of toast cut in two. piled on top of the toast was a mixture of greens and bits of grilled tomato. There was a clear sauce on it, and it smelled slightly of garlic.
"See? I don't always do sweet!" Candy said, giggling. True, this wouldn't be sold in her shop, but making something special for somephony every once in a while warmed her heart.
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Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 12:21 pm
Hard Truths wrinkled his nose at Candy's question. "When I find somephony deserving of such," he answered. "Of course it's honest. My name isn't 'Hard Truths' for nothing, you know." If someone happened to mistake a rare good word from him for an insult, he figured that would be their problem, not his.
Frowning as he listened to Candy, the unicorn colt rested his cheek against his hoof as he leaned on the table. "You know?" he repeated. "How can you be sure? Have you ever tested these theories?" the foal asked skeptcially. "Have they come to help you or hurt your feelings by being honest? Or are you simply overestimating them?" His brow furrowed. "You can't be sure that they feel the same friendship you do, can you?"
He watched the pink mare as she got up, wondering why she seemed to be so giving; why she, and perhaps phonies in general, so often gave others the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps she had never had that benefit taken advantage of before. Truths hoped she never would, either. It was an experience that would likely make a cynic out of anyone. And Candy Dandy seemed like such a nice mare.
When she returned, the sullen foal instantly perked up, his head raised as he sniffed the garlic. "Wow," he said, staring at the meal. "You...just made this? Just now?" Truths tore his eyes from it to look at Candy. "For me?" He didn't seem ready to believe it.
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