A Sweeping Sensation? [DEAD]

[Deleted]

    Far beyond the White Tail woodlands, resting against the tallest mountain in the center of Equestria, stood the beautiful capital of Canterlot. Her head sticking out from one of the passenger couch windows, Eirlynn stared at nothing but the city throughout the entire train ride. She had only been there once--and once was more than enough. The city had everything she wanted, and everything she despised: the uptight but wealthy aristocrats whose bits she'd gladly relieve; the high-class atmosphere that promised the best life, but elimated all sense of freedom and self; and the fact that no one there approved of her "profession". By the time she left Canterlot a few months ago, she pledged to herself never to return there. She snorted, in fact, the minute the city came in view.

    She was the last to leave the train when it arrived in Ponyville's station. Immediately she left to the town square, trying to avoid the swarm of ponies that greeted the newly-arrivals. Her travel bag bounced with her every trot as she hummed, progressing through the marketplace towards the park. She had been here weeks before; at first, no one recognized her, except a golden filly that caught sight of Eirlynn's pelt. The filly called Eir's name, but over the bustle of the marketplace the filly's efforts were in vain. The park was mildly occupied, with some mares resting in warmth of the sun and a colt flying a kite with a mare's assistance. Eir went to her usual spot--a random, empty lot that sat against a crowd of colorful flowers--and was beginning to unload her packs when she felt a hoof tap her hind leg.

    "You're here! You're here!" she heard a feminine voice cry. Eir turned around and immediately smiled, recognizing the golden filly.

    "Hey, I remember you. You're the one who wanted to be covered in sunflowers right?" Eir asked, aware that the sunflowers were completely faded now. She also noticed the two other fillies that had accompanied the golden one.

    "Yeah!" The filly nodded. "This time, I wanna be covered in daisies! Do you think you can do that??"

"Do you even have to ask?" Eir gave a cocky grin. "I'll be done five minutes flat. That'll be four bits. Do the two of you want to be painted too, or are you just here to watch?" The two fillies nodded; one asked for a heart on their cheek, and the other wanted stars on their back. "No problem," Eir replied with the same cocky grin, and quickly went to work. Soon the fillies ran off giggling, yelling "Thank you!" as they left.

[Zazzy]

Saturdays were hectic, especially for tea shop owners. Coffea Arabica, being one of them, had to go through the exhausting routine of collecting her customer's orders and satisfying their taste buds by herself - being independent sure had it's downsides. At the moment, all her tables outside were full up, whilst the inside of her shop was empty; the citizens of Ponyville were making the best use of the fantastic weather the weather team were creating. True, most of the ponies had already had their food and were just relaxing - Coffea didn't particularly mind them doing that, unlike a few cafe and tea shop owners - but there was one mare that needed to be served.

Coffea struggled to prevent her wings from poof!ing up for balance as she kept a careful eye on the shaking plate on her back. Trottingham wasn't as posh or high classed as Canterlot, but it was certainly good enough that their citizens would be grudgingly accepted into the Capital's society. The pegasus had learned that 'letting her wings loose' next to your customers would be considered as impolite and uncouth - she wasn't a particularly posh mare, but Coffea had her limits. 

She trotted to the waiting mare and skilfully slided the dish upon her back onto the table. "Your vanilla latte, miss," Coffea shifted her wings in concealed relief as her burden was taken off. "That would be four bits, please."


As she waited for the mare to pay, the pegasus threw a glance at the clock inside her shop and raised an eyebrow. It was already time to lock the place and usher the customers outside - if they already weren't. "I'm sorry miss, but I'll be closing the shop up. You are, of course, free to drink your latte outside," Coffea smiled, accepting the bits the fellow mare had offered her. "Just bear in mind that if you need me..." She broke off and nodded her head respectfully as a farewell and trotted off towards the park, satisfied with the amount of bits she had earned that day. Coffea hesitated, then stretched her wings and sighed in content as her feathers finally met the wind. She flapped them and hovered in the air, before slowly flying towards her destination. It wasn't a long distance away, thankfully - Coffea was quite a fast flyer but clearly lacked in strength - and she soon landed on the soft grass.

The pegasus trotted through the park, humming softly under her breath and soaking in her happiness after a hard day of serving customers. Out of the corner of her eye, Coffea could see a curious looking white earth pony mare doing something to a few fillies...was she body painting? Coffea had never seen a body artist before - not in person, anyhow. And by the looks of it, the mare was an expert, judging by the beautiful decorations on her customers' bodies.

Her curiosity got the better of the pegasus, and she walked towards the earth pony. She closed her eyes as she approached the mare and held out her hoof, smiling. Talking to ponies came easily to her. "Hello, miss. I just came to say how lovely your body artwork is," Coffea cocked her head slightly to the direction the fillies had run off in. "You must be an expert. My name," she quickly added as an after thought, "is Coffea Arabica by the way. But most call me Coffea."

[Deleted]

    As soon as the fillies had left, Eirlynn made sure her supplies were secured. All of her paints were carried in their own individual jars, and each jar had their own specific paintbrush. It was her own policy that, unless she was experimenting with the colors, she would make absolute sure to never mix them. The paints were of various plant origins and she did not know all of their properties, so she could not risk the consequences of combining them. Spreading out a dirtied cloth, Eir placed the jars in rainbow order with their respective paintbrushes next to them as she saw a yellow-ish pegasus make her way towards her.

    Eir liked Coffea Aroma almost immediately, simply from the complements. "I'm glad foals aren't the only ones that appreciate my work," she replied with a chuckle. "An 'expert', critics tell me, isn't one who spends their time painting on bodies. But obviously they are fools, where you, Coffea, are brilliance amongst stars." She traced a hoof across the sky, as if following a shooting star. The foal flying the kite laughed as he ran across the field, chased by his elder mare companion. A sleeping mare rolled onto her back, while an awakening stallion sat up, looked at the laughing colt, then went back to sleep. Eir saw a pony leave the park from the corner of her eye, while many other ponies came and gone. A breeze swept past her mane, the glass below grazed her hooves, and the flowers danced to an inaudible tune heard only by them. Eir felt like she could feel the world spinning.

    "But you're not here to hear me rant. Call me Eirlynn, or Eir if you'd like." Eir grinned and nodded shortly before saying, "Would you like a job done as well? I can paint anything you'd like--dragons, clouds, shooting stars, Princess Celestia herself--all for the mere price of four bits! Or--you're feeling a little daring--I even have a special oil here that'll make your body art shine." Quickly Eir darted to one her bags and pulled out a jar with a thick, clear liquid inside, with glitterdust speckled inside.

    "It is completely safe, I assure you!"

[Zazzy]

Coffea blushed and rubbed a hoof awkwardly over the back of her mane. "Oh? Not many a ponies have said something like that to me..." She chuckled, still a little bit of red on her cheeks. The pegasus folded and unfolded her wings, ruffling them slightly as the breeze blew against her feathers. She scuffed her hoof against the soft cover of grass on the ground and flicked her ears back and forth in content. Coffea slightly shook her head, realising she had just fallen into a trance.

An apology died on her lips as the pony, Eirlynn - or 'Eir' - spoke again. Upon hearing what the mare had to say, Coffea shook her head again and took a little step back. Her wings threatened to pomf! up in fear, or perhaps embarrassment, at the prospect of some pony painting on her. "Oh, I wouldn't want to bother you. I'd love you to paint something on me, but..." She scuffed her hoof again. "I, uh, don't have the bits," Coffea cringed as she realised the lie that had just sprouted. Not only did it sound totally fake, but it was an actual lie. She shifted her body a little to make sure the bits in her saddle bags didn't make a sound.

"But you must be awfully talented to paint Her Royal Highness herself!" Coffea piped up, trying to steer the subject of painting herself away. "Why, only the best artists can do that!" She looked at Eir a little curiously. The mare looked like she was getting a little used to these parts, and her equipment suggested she was a traveling pony. "Do you travel a lot? You must earn a lot of profit, offering to body paint ponies everywhere you go, if you do." Coffea smiled a little. "Speaking of travelling...you must be hungry. If you want, you can come to my house and have some tea there."

[Deleted]

    Eir couldn't help but frown at the rejection for many reasons. She had made the glitter oil not too long ago and was anxious to try it out, especially on various ponies. Though she confirmed its safety, having tested it on herself before declaring its perfection, she had to know its possible side-effects on others. Also, from the way Coffea Aroma acted, Eir felt that something was wrong. She watched as the pegasus shuffled as if uncomfortable, and how Coffee's eyes tightened after she spoke. Eir peered over Coffea's shoulders to see the bags on the pegasus' back, slightly hidden beneath her wings. Does she truly have no bits? Certainly she is wrong! Eir took a careful look again at Coffea Aroma, unable to decipher truth from deceit. Is she lying? And if she is, what reason does she have for lying? Inspired by greed and the desire of curiosity, Eirlynn opened her mouth to try and convince the pegasus before being quickly interrupted.

    "Oh, yes, only the best," she began, caught between her desire for answers and the newest complement of her skills. "I've been painting for years, ever since I was a filly. Runs in the family, sort of." Eir smirked, remembering her twin brother's horrible experiences with art. Her eyes narrowed, however, at Coffea's mentioning of earning a profit. "You'd think," she replied with a disappointed tone, "but I don't. Not everyone appreciates my talent. They aren't as smart as you." She snorted gruffly. Coffea's nice offer, however, perked her up and make her give a small grin.

    "Oh, no thank you, I'm quite fine. I've just set up shop so it'd be weird to already take a break. But, now that we're on the subject of business again...you sure you don't have a request? Perhaps you'd like a symbol of your favorite tea, or a cutie mark memento of a friend or family member?" Eir smiled anxiously, taking one step closer to Coffea. "Heck, I'll even take one bit off of the price! What do you say?"

[Zazzy]

Coffea winced as she saw Eirlynn's reproachful expression. Would it have been better to simply say she was uncomfortable for one to paint on her? She shook her head and flared her wings abruptly as she noticed Eir look at her full far from empty saddle bags. As the saddle bags pushed into her bones, Coffea gasped - feeling her feathers swiftly become unruly. She ruffled them again, hopelessly trying to urge them back into their usual state. Why hadn't some pony invented a good saddle bag that was suitable for ponies? Or maybe one was already made but Coffea just hadn't noticed...?

The pegasus shook her head again and used her wings to push the offending bags over her coffee flower cutie mark. She looked up as the other mare began to speak. "Sort of?" she asked, more out of curiosity instead of sarcasm. "You had a lot of family?" Coffea raised an eyebrow at Eir's following statement. "Oh, wow. And, uh, thank you, I guess." She folded her wings again, annoyed at what she had just said. Smooth. 

"Well..." Coffea started. "If you're -" She trailed off, just realizing what the mare was offering. Her body automatically took a step back. Again? Had Eirlynn not taken the hint that Coffea didn't like ponies touching her - as well as actually painting on her - and was altogether happy with her appearance. "Uh, t-thank you for the offer, but...uh..." She trailed off. "Um, I'm not very, uh, comfortable with ponies painting on me. But I'll give you the bits...?" Hastily, Coffea opened her left saddle bag with a wing ant tipped out the money inside it. "Consider it as a...tip!"

The pegasus cringed once again as her speech came out with a lot of hesitations and extra words. Out of the corner of her eye, she counted the bits she'd emptied onto the ground. One, two, three, four, five. Coffea resisted the urge to face hoof. Hopefully, Eir wouldn't notice that she'd accidentally confirmed that her previous statement was a downright lie. 

"I can do a little bit of advertising tomorrow for your business, if you want," Coffea compromised, averting her eyes. "My tea shop has quite a lot of customers," she thought for a moment, before adding on; "But that's only because I've lived in Ponyville for about fifteen years." The pegasus smiled a little, satisfied that she probably hadn't offended Eir by stating the popularity of her shop.

[Deleted]

    Coffea Aroma's further actions confirmed Eir's suspicions, subsequently dropping the pegasus from a positive light. Not that Eir isn't prone to lying herself, but, like everyone else, she did not like being lied to. The way Coffea continued to hide the bags behind her with her wings--to the point of pain, unbeknownst to Eir--certainly began to annoy her. Realizing that she had been standing perfectly still, she slowly sat down and stretched her legs comfortably. The earth tickled her legs but it was comforting, in a way, when suddenly she felt the light breeze and the sun's rays against her once more. She longed for the freedom of Equestria's world, but she was trapped here in the sphere of business in the presence of another pony.

    "Yep," she replied, not wanting to explain her personal life to a stranger, "and you're welcome." She was going to continue, when she saw Coffea's hesitation to her new offer. She waited patiently for the pegasus' reply, expecting another lie or excuse, but when Coffea finished Eir thought about the pegasus' response. It seemed certainly more believable than having no bits--Celestia forbid--but why didn't Coffea just say that in the first place? "Is that all? Well you should've just told m..." She fell absolutely silent when Coffea quickly offered and dropped bits on the ground.

    Eir stared intently at the small, golden currency, automatically knowing that five were dropped long before Coffea finished counting. The multitude of thoughts flowing through her mind went unnoticed beneath her calm, unchanged face. Her very first thought was to accept the bits, especially when her own heart lunged out passionately. Behind this was the awareness that Coffea did, indeed, lie, and the fact that Eir did not earn these bits through her business. Regardless, Eir pushed her moral compass aside.

    Her head raised slightly, shook softly, and then her throat cleared. "Well...even though I did not technically work for these bits, I will accept your offer out of politeness. Just please, Coffea, do not lie to me again. If you dislike being painted on, just say it! It's understandable." She scooted the bits into one of her bags before quickly turning back to the pegasus with perked ears. "Did you say...advertisement?" she asked softly, a smile brightening on her face. Coffea Aroma's further statements only intensified her suppressed excitement. "Yes, please, I would greatly appreciate it!"

[Zazzy]

Coffea backed away a little, suspicious of Eir's skeptical look and cutting words. She decided that she wouldn't put all her trust in this earth pony at once - whether she'd ever do that was determined by the mare's future actions and speech. Watching Eirlynn sit down, the pegasus hunched her wings together -- a clear sign that a Coffea wasn't going to sit down and would remain standing. She looked up, suddenly struck by how beautifully the clouds were shaped that day. The weather team certainly had done a good job that day -- not a spot of grey was in the atmosphere. Hopefully, the brilliant view would last all morning --perhaps even evening -- so that Coffea could perhaps stay outside a little. 

She looked down, realizing Eir had been speaking and was waiting for an answer. The pegasus had lost herself in Mother Nature's grips and therefore had accidently stopped listening to the earth pony. Thankfully, Coffea was a pretty social pony and was brilliant at pushing herself back into the present situation. She scuffed the edge of her hoof on the grass again -- a habit that she had slowly got used to -- and used her wing to seal the saddle bag again. 

Coffea nodded absent - mindedly. She had caught a few words that Eir has spoken and was putting two and two together in her mind. "I apologise greatly. Most ponies force you into doing something, just for the bits." The pegasus frowned a little, remembering the week before when she had watched a mare being forced to pay for a balloon by a stall owner, even though she didn't want one. "Ponyville is a generally pleasant town, but there are some idi- uh, terrible ponies that do terrible things for money." She nodded a little, going red as she nearly spat out a word that would have earned her a soap in the mouth back in Trottingham. It was a town that respected their citizens and calling ponies names was not tolerated. 

"Sure, why not?" Coffea shrugged, "I often get ponies come around asking to put leaflets on the windows for a small amount of bits. I decline their offer, of course -- it leaves my shop cluttered and dirty." She shuddered a little. "I think I can make an exception, though. Don't bother about paying, either."

[Deleted]

    Warily, Eirlynn laughed, nodding in agreement about greedy ponies. She caught on to the irony within Coffea's words and, although admittedly nervous within, held her composure and didn't show any sign of guilt. Eir knew she was one of those ponies and she wasn't afraid to admit it; it was who she is. Those other merchants, at least, couldn't be compared to her in her mind, however: their gluttony was weak and unnecessary since they had the comforts of home, friends, family, and necessities at a moment's notice. Meanwhile Eir refused to rely on those luxuries and so needed every amount of bits she could scrounge up. Could you blame her? Of course she knew these were just pathetic excuses, hated them, and never said them in public. "I know what you mean, those ponies are the worst." Eir smiled at Coffea's blush with a smirk, thinking that the "good girl" persona was nothing but a hoax.

    She almost wanted to tackle and hug the pegasus. FREE advertisement!? Stars sparkled from her eyes as she held up her hooves in prayer form on her knees, as if praying and worshiping Coffea. "You are the saint whom everyone calls dear," she spoke in a suppressed, elated form, the passion deep within her causing her to choke and speak in elegance. "May Princess Celestia herself recognize your generosity and crown you. Please, there must be work you want done! I cannot simply take this advertisement for free; I must earn the required payment! Ah yes! What if the extra bits I earn through your advertisement be yours? Surely this is satisfactory?"

[Zazzy]

((OOC: Edited Coffea's name, should flow a little better now. XD))

Coffea Arabica raised an eyebrow a little skeptically. "Have you met some?" Her ear flicked towards the direction of a food stall. The mare was selling beans and other sorts - she would have to check it out later once her business had been done with Eirlynn. The pegasus had noticed that her supply of coffee beans had gone dangerously low. Her hooves twitched to trot over and see if there were any in stock - and if there were, she'd buy them all. According to the weather team, there would be some rainy spells in the week and everypony knew Coffea hated the rain. She had already decided that she'd either lock the shop up and stay upstairs sipping some, well, coffee; or serve her customers inside. Probably the former, as the pegasus could get quite winded up if her customers tracked mud or puddles into her tea shop.

Focusing on Eir, Coffea frowned a little, noticing the earth pony's smirk as she nearly said a 'naughty word' by filly standards. The pegasus knew she was a hypocrite to judge, but she knew at that smirk that Eirlynn may be a trouble maker or daredevil. Being a perfect little girl herself,  Coffea wondered if she would end up either arguing with the body artist, or lecturing her. But then, the business mare knew that opposites sometimes tended to stick together. She shook her head abruptly and silently admonished herself for thinking such things and zoning out. Time would tell.

Coffea cautiously took a step back, noting the sparkles in Eirlynn's eyes. She was familiar with that expression; why, when fillies became like that they started jumping off the walls! "Uh, you are very welcome, I suppose?" The light brown - yellow pegasus frowned a little, then added: "It's only an advertisement offer..." She added quietly. 

She heavily sighed as Eir rambled on. "It won't be for free. Why, I'd have your utmost gratitude, yes?" Coffea paused at the word 'utmost,' "Well, maybe not utmost, but I can already see that some gratitude would be shown, right?" The pegasus forced a convincing smile on her face. 

[CableZ]

At request of the author, this has been binned