Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2012 9:07:45 GMT -6
|||Sweetheart|||
#Name: Sweetheart
#Age Group: Young Adult
#Gender: Mare
#Species: Earth Pony
#Cutie Mark: An abstract floral heart
#Occupation: Innkeeper and Owner of Sweet Hearth Stables in Appleoosa
#Powers and Abilities: The 'Magical' ability to clean rooms, cook meals, handle money, get that somepony the extra blanket he or she needs, fix that leaky sink and that squeaky door, and stay cheerful.
#Physique: Fit and trim, and pretty all around average.
#Mane and fur color and style: Sweetheart has white fur with no markings. Her Mane and tail are a plain carnation pink, usually pulled back to keep it out of her way, with more or less success.
#Eye color: Dark Pink
#Other appearance details: Often seen in the company of a feather duster or a suspicious looking broom and dustpan!
#Personality: Sweetheart is energetic and cheerful, with a motherly sort of air, despite her youth. She rarely seems too tired to fetch you another pillow or bring up a pot or pitcher of your favorite drink after you've had a hard day. She manages not only the cleaning and tending to the rooms of her inn, but also manages the dining hall, where guests can be fed for free, and even some Appleoosans come regularly with a small fee for their meals. But though she seems to maintain her cheer even in the direst and most trying of times, she also maintains the same mood even when she is deeply touched or moved by somepony or something. This makes her very hard to read, and while it protects her from being hurt in some ways, it can also isolate her at times.
As well as being full of a steady supply of cheer and goodwill, Sweetheart seems to possess an equally deep well of tender kindness and gentleness. She's the kind of pony who would still wish you happy birthday even if she knows the other ponies are pretending to forget it so they can throw you a surprise party later. She would never let you feel bad if she could help it. Unfortunately, this tenderness of hers tends to make her a bad business pony in some ways, as she finds it nearly impossible to throw out deadbeat guests who don't want to pay their rent!
#History:
Sweetheart was born a native Fillydelphian to one of those extremely large families who seem to live in very small houses. The only filly in a crowd of six older brothers and (eventually) three younger ones, she was often lost in the herd. Though large, the family was extremely close and friendly. But soon, there was a significant problem. Once Sweetheart was too old to sleep in the bedroom her parents occupied (and she had two younger brothers there anyway!) she was still a filly, and her family did not think it suitable that she should share a bedroom with her older brothers. Yet they could not give her a bedroom of her own-they simply did not have the space to waste. Eventually, someone thought up the great idea of using the closet under the stairs, which, after the cleaning out and the wedging of a small bed into it, suited Sweetheart well enough. Though it was small and cramped, and apt to be noisy in the morning when her brothers were stampeding downstairs, she still felt privileged for the privacy.
Privileges, however, tend to come with responsibilities, and it was at this early age that Sweetheart began helping with household chores, much to the relief of her rather overworked mother. At first it was simple things, like setting the table, and bringing in laundry, but Sweetheart proved to have something of a knack for household chores and it wasn't too long before she was helping with the family meals and keeping the house tidy. Her cutie mark appeared even before she was old enough to worry about it (much to the envy of one or two of her brothers!) But although she liked the abstract heart design, and thought it was almost regal in its way, she could not figure out what it was supposed to mean.
Time went on pretty quickly, as it was apt to do when the years are happy. Sweetheart's brothers grew up and one by one left home, some to start families of their own, some to go on adventures, some to be extremely successful in other things, and one of them to become the family mooch and sponge, always trying to get out of working whenever possible. As they left, Sweetheart found herself with more and more time on her hooves. Without her brothers to look after, the house stayed cleaner longer, meals were smaller and didn't take so much time to cook, and there was a lot less laundry. She began to get itchy feet. She did wonder if it was time to settle down and maybe begin a large family of her own, and there was one stallion, a friend of one of her brothers in particular that she liked... And it was mutual. Things were getting serious, and an engagement was expected at every moment. But the only thing that happened was an accident that took the stallion she had loved and left her with a lifelong unease of heights and grief that seemed like it would never go away. Eventually, her mother and father suggested that she spend a year or two traveling, to make her way in Equestria and to see if there wasn't something in it that she really wanted to do.
Sweetheart knew that earth ponies, such as herself, were supposed to have a deep connection to well, the earth, and they were supposed to be good at growing plants and harvesting food. She had also heard that the cherry trees in Dodge were considered a wonder of Equestria when they were in bloom in the spring. So the young mare headed out there, to find work. From the very beginning, it was a complete disaster. Sweetheart had spent all her life in the city, she knew next to nothing about growing things. She would take long strolls by herself under the flowering cherries every day, occasionally giving a tree a good sharp buck to make it rain petals on herself. She didn't realize that the flowers had to remain on the tree in order to turn into fruit. And there was also the issue of 'watering' the trees. Dodge is a very dry kind of place, and the trees need to get enough water to make decent fruit. Needless to say, they didn't get it, and the year was especially dry. And then there was the harvesting itself. Poor Sweetheart just didn't have the knack to get the more stubborn fruit off the tree, no matter how hard she bucked. Her baskets were always only half-full by the end of the day. Overall, the cherry harvest was so poor that the year became known as 'The Great Cherry Famine' and fruit vendors were selling cherries individually!
After being run out of Dodge, Sweetheart decided to try something she was a little more familiar with, and got employment at Canterlot Castle as a minor servant. She liked it well enough, though she rarely saw the princesses, and never spoke a word to them even when she did see them. She was rather well suited for the work as well, being experienced and efficient in housework. Still, the Castle with its large, empty rooms seemed to remind her too much of her home when her brothers had left. She felt lonely too much of the time. Besides, the furnishings there were dreadfully expensive, and she lived in everlasting peril that she might knock over something beyond her means to pay for!
A large hotel in Manehattan was just opening at this time, and it was looking for good help in housekeeping. One of her brothers wrote her a good reference and she started at wages that were even better than the castles. Sweetheart felt especially at home here, as each small suite of rooms, though luxurious and grand, was a little like the tiny house she grew up in. She liked tidying them up every day and making them feel comfortable and home-like. Many of her guests liked it too, and showed that they liked it by leaving her generous tips. Of course, there were always The Snobs, as she termed them, those ponies that looked right through her as though she didn't exist and never spoke a single word in her direction- unless it was a demand or a complaint. Though at first she was deeply hurt and offended by this strange haughtiness, over time, she developed a smooth, glassy glaze of calm, but determined cheerfulness that saw her through the worst that they could throw at her.
One day, a guest came who completely changed her life. He was old, he was rich, he was cantankerous- but not to her. Her calm, quiet ways and willingness to work pleased him very much, and he was touched by the efforts she made (without being asked) to make him more comfortable. Discretion forbids us to name any named, but before he left, he personally saw that she received a VERY generous tip, and some advice, as well. "Dear little Mare," he said, "You're not suited for this cold, rich hotel life. You're not meant to spend your days as an inferior trying to please crabby old jades and nags. Go to someplace new and start a small inn, a comfortable inn, a place that you can make like a second home to the travel-weary. You're not a housekeeper... you're a home-maker."
So that was what she did.
The Roleplayer's Corner
#Nickname:Coffee
#Age: Older than 13
#Gender:Girly-Girl, with bows and ribbons and frilly froo-froos
#How did you find us?: Found your ad on a board I used to play on. <3
#Sample RP : It was The Day. A little over a year of planning,permits and loans from the bank, spending days with the work ponies measuring, sawing, hammering, nailing, going over plans again, fixing mistakes, painting, cleaning, polishing, cleaning, furnishing, cleaning yet again, going over every door and window and bed and chairs and linen and towels and dishes and then giving everything one last good scrubbing and freshening, and finally, this day had arrived. The day Sweetheart would officially open The Sweet Hearth Stables in Appleoosa!
The Sweet Hearth Stables was a smallish, but comfortable inn with four floors and 18 guest rooms, plus a large dining hall and kitchen attached. The first floor was mostly a comfortable lobby in a faintly Victorian style, velvet couches, and elegant polished wood tables. As well as the front desk and doors leading off to the dining hall and large kitchen, there were two 'Family suites' which were rooms with two bedrooms a piece, along with a parlor in each. If necessary, it was possibly to cram a family or group of up to twelve ponies in one of them, though it was much more comfortable with families of 6 or less. Her own rooms were also on the first floor, just behind the front desk, so that she could be on her feet to receive anypony at any time, day or night.
After admiring all that could be seen on the first floor, Sweetheart headed up the stairs to make checks of the second and third floors. These were mostly similar, comfortable single or couple's rooms, six per floor. The rooms that were more feminine were facing the back, where there was a lovely view of the orchards and the river- and the more masculine rooms were facing the front, where each window looked out into the street and town. all of the rooms had large, airy windows with both a light curtain to let the breeze and light through, and heavy draperies that could be pulled shut to keep in the light at night- or keep it out in the morning, as was more often the case.
The last top floor was a bit of a climb, and that, among other reasons, was why she had put the best (and also most expensive) rooms up here. These were the luxury suites. Lovely four-poster beds, Polished wooden wardrobes with lots and lots of drawers, huge windows with seats, a writing desk, couches, and each room had its own little stove and a small supply of firewood at the ready, perfect for making a little tea, or coffee, or just adding a little light, warmth, and cheer. These rooms had the most room, got the best light and the best breezes- and that was why there were just four of them. Sweetheart pulled open a door that had given her a lot of trouble before she had gotten it to stop squeaking. She really, honestly felt that she could offer any of these rooms to the very Princesses of Equestria themselves and not be worried. She smiled at the room before shutting the door with a soft click and heading back downstairs. She was falling behind, on the first day, oh, this would never do!
Before The Sweet Hearth Stables had even had it's foundation laid, several ponies had come to her and suggested that consider adding a large dining hall onto her plans, where not only guests but residents of Appleoosa could come and get their meals. Sweetheart had thought this an excellent idea, and had agreed at once. To be fair, she had already been providing dinner to a few regulars about a month before the actual inn was ready for guests, and she was beginning to build a reputation. If her meals weren't the haute cuisine of Canterlot, they were good home-cookin, and she was always generous with the portions! Crossing the lobby, Sweetheart took a deep breath, lifting her head and her eyes shining with pride as she gently flipped the sign at the window from Sorry, we're closed! to Come in, we're Open!.
