Luck and LoveBugs {Fangy/Roseluck}

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LoveBug's Books. The sequel! Oh, Fangy was excited! Ever since she first started coming to Ponyville, she'd loved the little town! It was so quaint! So friendly! And... It was better than Canterlot. Canterlot reminded her too much of her mother. After what she experienced from a trip to Manehattan, she wanted to think as little of Chrysalis as possible. More about Ponyville! Fangy loved the village so much that she started looking into how much it would be to open a second store there. And, well, she now owned the future ! Problem was, she didn't have anybody to work in it for when she got the books shipped to sell. She couldn't exactly bounce back and forth on a whim. She had someone to work her store in Canterlot, but... Well, in that case... Maybe she'd move into Ponyville. She didn't know. First, she needed to find someone. Fangy was thinking too far ahead! She just had to focus. The young queen placed a sign outside of her currently bare store. She was in a favorite form of hers. A young, blonde mare with a red and yellow mane. Fangy called her Sunny. She'd never quite found a cutie mark idea for Sunny that she liked, so she just covered it up with the dress she was wearing. It was a cute, red sundress. Well, she thought it was cute. She didn't know how different fashion was between Canterlot and Ponyville. Though, the ever popular trend of wearing nothing seemed to be universal. Fangy thought a moment. Should she do more than the sign? Ponies could just walk right by it. Maybe she needed something in a more local place. Something noticeable. Fangy patted the sign and then started her trek through the marketplace. Hmmm... Something noticeable...

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Roseluck waved a friendly goodbye to Daisy and Lily, having spent her morning with them arranging bouquets glistening with sprinkles of clear water. Her coat warmed in the noontime sun and made her step just a little slower, not for irritation, but the want to close the curtain at home, slip under the covers of her bed, and fall asleep squeezing a pillow with every appendage. It was a good moment for a good nap (and for wondering if she could get away with writing a little something based on a remark Daisy said that definitely sounded flirty. But! She would just have to write an index card about the thought and put it in her rolodex when she got home, because there were groceries to get!

She walked among the marketplace with her bags, ready to haggle for the usual easy foods. "Golden Waves! ... Yeah, a pound of the steel-cut oats please! What?! 15 bits! You tryin' to kick down my door or something?! 10 ... 13 bits for the handsome stallion! Thank ya!" She nudged her way through a few indecisive and chatting ponies to the bag of grain and after paying, walked among the vegetable and fruit stands, going through a list in her head. Of course, she had something going on in the back of her thinking. She liked the money of working with the flower gals, but it tended to mean she lost good mornings that she could spend at the typewriter with her coffee mug ("Fillies Rule!"). If only she could find the right part-time work!

Next on her list ... She caught the unmistakable smell of the pepper-roasting cage. Down in the arid south, ponies had started to claim to grow and roast the best peppers in Equestria. A farmer in Ponyville, Hot Hatch, started up in competition, and by Celestia's lustful stare, Roseluck loved this new agricultural competition. "Hot Hatch, I love you! I'll pay extra if you'll let me skip the line and get this batch!" She hopped up and waved, and in a few minutes, she walked away with the wonderful and faint pungent scent of the peppers and a big smile. "Nothing goes with a good book quite like you ... especially when I mix you with that bottle of white wine that's been sitting ~" She patted her bag and continued on.

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Oh, here was perfect! A public board! It had notices of all kinds tacked to it. One for a cover band, one about a missing dog, poor fellow, one about a Rainbow Dash fan club? Wasn't that one of the Elements of Harmony? Huh. Fangy browsed the board until she realized that she had come here for a reason. Fangy pulled out her quill and quickly scrawled a help wanted message to pin on the board. That should do it. Just, stick it up there, right? Right. Fangy quickly found an empty place for it and stuck it to the board. Now ponies would get to see that she needed help for her store that was coming to Ponyville! Great... Ohhh, now what? Fangy looked around, almost nervously. This could be her new home. She'd already grazed over the possibility in her head. That meant it was on her mind. Her chance meeting with her mother just... stirred up too many emotions about the city. It was time to start fresh. Besides, it wasn't like she'd never go back. She'd just mainly live here. Yeah. So, where would she get her shampoo from? Was there a spa? How was crime? Maybe these were questions she should have answered before buying a store here. All she knew was that weird things happened here and the Elements of Harmony lived here. So, that was something. Fangy stared at her notice briefly before stepping away from the board. Eesh, she needed to calm down. Everything would be fine. Just fine... Just... fine... Oh geez.

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Roasted peppers and wine ... there was probably inspiration there somewhere. Roseluck walked among the ponies milling about, absentmindedly making her way. Heat and Sweet, that could be the title, maybe. That wouldn't be a bad one if the story was strictly erotic, maybe something -- a short story -- for one of the yearly erotica collections. But instead of a two-character dichotomy relative to the title, maybe it could rest in the female lead. A bit of red, a bit of warm vanilla or something, kinda like that mare staring at the board -- wait.

Roseluck broke out of her stroll, several paces away. Miss Heat and Sweet was right there, sundress rested on her back, standing out not just for her colors, but a contrasting stillness and a tinge of clear anxiety in the warm crowd. Maybe she lost her dog. Oh well, Roseluck thought, and approached the mare. "Hey ... uh ... are you alright? Don't think I've seen you before ... need any help, Miss?" She reached out a little, as if to reach for somepony that was about to stumble. Hopefully, she thought, this is just a lost tourist.

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Fangy would have been content in allowing herself to just stand there and give in to her own anxiety but fate wasn't kind enough to leave her alone. A similarly blonde mare with a soft red mane and kind green eyes walked up to her. She reminded her a little of a rose... Just looking at the mare's cutie mark told her why. Fangy shifted slightly, offering a small smile. Okay, breathe... "Oh, I-I'm fine! I was just... I'm thinking of moving into town. Here. I was posting up a help wanted notice for my... bookstore. It's not ready yet, but, y'know, I need employees for when it is, right?" Fangy sighed and her shoulders slumped. Get a grip, mare. The young queen in disguise sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I probably sound like a mess. I'm just... not good in new areas. I've visited a few times but now I'm having to think about it like I actually want to live here. I live in Canterlot right now, but... It just doesn't feel right anymore." She scratched the back of her mane. "Am I talking too much?" She was really out of practice with talking to ponies in disguise. After her conversation with her mother, she felt uncomfortable with who she was and what she was doing. All she really wanted to do was go through with this move and just try to forget everything. Just focus on books... her romance novels... Stories she'd never have come true in her own life. Like Chrysalis said.

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Yup, she got an anxious tourist. But giving this mare the big city brushoff would be pretty rotten here in Ponyville, village of Friendship, no reason not to take a few minutes to help her out. Roseluck shook her head with a casual, welcoming smile, raising her hoof. "Hey, don't worry about it. Maybe I can help you out." She paused for a moment, considering everything the mare had said. Bookstore, eh ...? For some reason, she never quite bonded with the library; she always felt like she was invading somepony's home when she went there ...

"Hmm ... Hey, actually, if you don't mind, mind telling about the bookstore you've got in mind? I part-time selling flowers, buuut to tell you the truth, spending all day outside now and then pretty much makes me useless for my side-job. I've got to drop off groceries at home here, but if you'd fill me in a bit, I wouldn't mind applying to be one of those employees you're looking for!" And why not, she thought. A bookstore would be nice and cool, and maybe when it would be nice and slow, she'd be able to write.

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The mare never really answered her question... She guessed saying don't worry about it was good enough. The pony was willing to help. Fangy shouldn't be so... Bleh. She took a moment to breathe before listening to Roseluck. Wait, she wanted to apply? W-Wow! She already had a potential employee! That was fast! She didn't even know what to say! Fangy supposed she should answer Roseluck's question. Telling her about the bookstore... Telling her about... Um... "Well, it's called LoveBug's Books. I generally carry all kinds of books. Mostly fiction, though. Normally I'd open at nine in the morning. Closing times were always a little iffy. It depended on business and if I felt like closing yet. Normally it's anywhere from 6 to 9. I-If you were working there, hours would be negotiable, o-of course." Fangy chuckled, only slightly nervously.She wondered if it was appropriate to mention the more mature section of her store. It was completely off limits to foals, of course, but it was still a vital part of her establishment. Bits were bits. If it helped her pay off the building faster to include it, who was she to judge?

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Huh. This was a tricky one, wasn't it? On one hoof, the hours were flexible, but could go up to twelve hours a day. If this mare was a stickler for looking busy no matter what, the job could end up being up to twelve hours walking around in circles and working towards a cracked hoof. What if secret bucking shoppers were brought in and she'd have to give a flank-kissing within two seconds to every pony that came in or else she got a bit-squeezing, padded language threat to get better or get fired, and she had better not forget to upsell, whatever the heck that was. Eh. She gave a wry smile at her own cranky, judgmental thoughts that crept up on her.

This mare didn't have the burnt farts and plastic corporate stink about her. She was actually pretty cute in a nervous sort of way. Why not, then? "A neat little place with my favorite body of genres, can't complain!" She perked herself up. "So you're rocking fiction, then, for the most part, and things kinda flex to the need. Kinda nice to know that if there's something groovy going on and the store's dead, you're not afraid to call it a day!" It was probably a bad idea to show she'd be more than fine with getting out of a workday earlier. "My name's Roseluck, live down the block from the Market here. Keep me in mind for an interview?"

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Oh, thank goodness... Roseluck seemed interested. Fangy had been freaking out a little in her waiting to know. Even if it hadn't been that long, it still felt like an eternity to the changeling princess. But, Roseluck was enthusiastic. That was good. Good good. Um... Name! That's right! "I'm Sunny. It's very nice to meet you. I-I'll be sure to do so!" That was one problem out of the way. She still had a whole pile of other problems to deal with. "Um, if you don't mind... I'm new to the area. Could you tell me where everything is? Like, where do I get good shampoo? Just... important things?" Fangy didn't know exactly what encompassed important things in the mare's mind. She knew that asking three Canterlot nobles that question would yield incredibly different responses that almost always referenced back to themselves. Pride was a popular thing amongst the rich. Fangy was not rich.

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"Huh." Roseluck's smirk took on a contemplative twist while a list of necessities populated on a page in her imagination. "Welly, if you're looking for good shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body mist, hoof creams, you're going to want to hoof it over to the Twin's Spa nearby, about ... that way over there about hoofball field off in a really distinct curvy blue building. It's a medi-spa, so whatever they'll sell you will be really good. Also, on a side note, the Twins are so damn talented and skilled at what they do that the only downside is that you'll want to fall in love with them during your first full-length appointment. But ... um ... take it from me, you'll want to keep those rub-induced feelings to yourself ... it gets pretty awkward if you don't, I'll just leave it at that."

Yeah, she thought, that was probably a case of TMI. Whatever. "So! Um ... otherwise, unless there's a specialty store for something, like at Quills & Sofas, and especially if we're talkin' food, the Marketplace here is where you'll go! Just ... make sure you have a good haggle-sense about you. The Apples are pretty nice folks and won't try to hike the price on you, but a lot of the other vendors can be pretty ruthless if they get the sense they can squeeze you for more bits. Get to know them, though, and you'll pick up the tricks to keep your food bill low. Got the medicine store over that way about half a hoofball field off for your other basics, and at least to start, I think you should be golden, Sunny! Is there something in particular I missed?"