Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2012 19:30:25 GMT -6
Quill trotted slowly around her shop, reviewing her mental checklist. each shelf was properly stocked and labelled, her store room was full of a variety of quills and bottles of colored ink. She knew she would get very few--if any--customers today, but she didn't mind. She lived a simple lifestyle and her small business supported it just fine. She was proud of herself. For the past year, she'd been living completely independently. She could pay for her own food and the roof over her head, and she lived alone. The shop was a building on the outskirts of town that she rented for a pretty low price. All in all, she did well for a teenager.
As she was about to flip the CLOSED sign to OPEN, a faint smell reached her nose. A soft, warm, sugary smell, and her stomach rumbled irritably. On the best mornings, vague scents from the local bakery wafted over the entire town. Quill bit her lip and, after a moment's consideration, she made her decision. Since she had not had breakfast the past couple of mornings (she often just forgot), she would treat herself today.
The walk to Sugarcube Corner was pleasant. It took a while for her to make her way there, but it was a sunny day and not many ponies were out yet. Upon arriving in the store (with her belly growling angrily), she extracted a small number of bits from her saddlebag with which to pay for a pastry. The decision on what to buy would normally be difficult, but this particular morning she was craving a muffin. Choosing a particularly chocolatey chocolate muffin, she placed the bits on the counter and made her way to a small table in a corner with her breakfast.
As she was eating, she watched with a certain interest as other ponies entered and exited the building, noticing what each pony bought, who they talked to, how they acted. Sometimes, if she saw a particularly intriguing pony, she would make up a story in her mind about them. She saw one purple pegasus who was talking excitedly with a blue earth pony. Both ponies used low whispers, and the blue one seemed very serious. She imagined that they were discussing secrets that could change the lives of every pony in the nation.
She saw another pair, this time a plain brown earth pony and a pale green unicorn. They seemed very familiar and talked comfortably, and she imagined them in school together, as younger ponies. Perhaps they had even been sweethearts? There were a few foals using their pocket money to buy sweets far too early on a Saturday morning, and two teenage fillies sitting at a table together, each with a milkshake. Within a few minutes, however, her pony-watching was interrupted by a voice.
She didn't react at first, but stared at the pony in surprise when she realized the words were addressed to her.
"Haven't seen you around before."