A stallion drawn chariot flashed in the sky, the gold reflected the sun and was a magnificent sight. The young mare sitting in back of the chariot called out to the stallions, “Alright guys, this is it!” she said, smiling at the excitement of a new town. The stallions nodded and began to lower the chariot slowly.
All of the ponies cleared out of the way as the carriage floated down. “Alright Miss. Candy Heart, welcome to Ponyville! Your things are in the compartment in the back of the chariot.” The other stallion signaled that they were almost about to land. Candy Heart clopped her hooves and smiled, the unicorn was extremely excited.
The chariot hit the ground with a soft “thump” She looked around excitedly and leaped out of the carriage. She opened the back of it and pulled out her three bags. She nodded thanks to the stallions and began to walk away. She only managed to get three feet away until she heard the lead stallion.
“Ahem,” He coughed holding out his hoof, “Our pay?” she turned around and giggled, trying to lighten the mood, but the brown pegasus just remained serious. “O-Of course.” She said, reaching into her backpack. She pulled out a few bits and placed it in his hoof. He smiled and put it in his pouch. “Thank you for your service.” He joked. She smiled and watched the chariot fly up, “Good luck Miss. Candy Heart!” a white stallion called from the chariot.
Candy Heart waved as the carriage flew off back in the direction of Manehatten. Candy turned around and thought to herself, “Princess Celestia is right! This place looks like the friendliest place in Equestria!” Candy’s cyan eyes dazzled in delight as she began trotting down the streets of Ponyville, she smiled at the few ponies along the sidewalks.
The streets of Ponyville were pleasant. Houses and stores were each painted. Most of the homes were a cottage like style. There was a farm, a cloud house, treehouses, and amazing stores. Candy Heart loved the cheery feeling she got from the town.
A few hours later, the unicorn found herself lost at night. She saw some friendly looking ponies nearby and trotted over. “Um, excuse me, but, do you happen to know where any hotels might be?” she asked. A yellow mare with pink hair smiled at her, but didn’t say anything. An orange pony was the first to speak. “Oh, well, we have one hotel. It ain’t the best, but it’s cheap.” She said in a thick country accent. “I don’t mind, so where is this hotel at?” she asked again, very sweetly. The mare pointed over to a building next to a store called “Sugarcube Corner”
After thanking the generous mare and smiling at the shy yellow mare, she began trotting off towards the hotel. “This sure is on nasty place, but it will have to do for now. “She said to herself. She stood outside a white building with rust covering the pipes on the walls. The walls were horribly cracked and she was fearful about seeing the inside. “What happens if it rains?” After thinking it through thoroughly, she understood that it was late, cold, and she was in a new town – she needed to just suck it up and go in.
Finally, she entered the building. The walls were covered in yellow diamond wallpaper. It was faded and barely visible. In the back right corner of the room an old and worn leather couch was covered in dust. She felt almost sorry for the poor couch, wasting its youth in a corner. “Couches don’t have a youth, stupid!” she thought to herself.
In the back left corner, she saw an old wooden desk. There was a bell there and a note. She walked over, the soft carpet under her hooves was kind of a shock, she had expected it to fell matted together and gross, but it was strangely comforting. She looked at the old desk and grabbed the note, it read:
Dear guests,
If I am not in the lobby at this time please ring the bell. I will be there momentarily.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Sunrise Daisy
She grabbed the bell and rang it. There was no answer. “Hello?” somepony said. A teal mare came into the lobby. She had a daisy cutie mark. Her hair was grey and body was turquoise color, sort of teal. She had yellow eyes that were hidden behind her glasses. “Oh my! My hotel has a visitor!” she said in glee. She trotted over to Candy eagerly.
“Hello! My name is Mrs. Sunrise Daisy; I’m the owner and manager of this hotel. As you can see, we haven’t had a visitor in quite some time! “She said smiling. She walked around her desk and pulled out a form. “Can you please sign this form?” she asked politely. Candy was confused, “Does she really need me to sign this, how many ponies actually come here?” She must have made a face because Mrs. Sunrise Daisy said, “It’s mandatory by the Mayor of Ponyville.” She said, still smiling.
Candy Heart was given first pick on the room. The rooms were much cleaner and friendlier looking than the lobby. The manager insisted it was because of the visitors (that came every now-and then) would be uncomfortable. Candy thought it was also the fact the health inspector would close down the hotel if the rooms were as messy as the lobby. She chose a room with red walls and a red carpet. She had a bathroom on the right and dresser in the back left corner and it only cost thirty bits!
Candy was extremely tired. She took a bath and walked over to the dresser mirror. She removed her white bows from her red and white hair. Her white fur was pristine from taking a nice warm bath. She leaped into the bed. The sheets and blanket were red and they had just been washed by Mrs. Daisy. She curled up in her bed and used her magic to turn off the lights. She took only a few minutes to fall asleep…
In her dreams, she thought of all the young foals she would save. Foals that were a lot like Candy Heart herself…
CHAPTER TWO COMING SOON!
Candy Heart woke to the sounds of birds outside the window. They were beautiful – and annoying. Candy was never a morning pony and she was a bit grumpy when she woke up. She lay in the bed for a few more minutes while staring up at the white ceiling. She pushed the covers onto the floor and she hauled herself out of bed.
Candy took a bath, brushed her mane and tail, and brushed her teeth. The pony put bows into her mane and tail and trotted towards the door. She had left a few minutes early so she could get donuts from Sugarcube Corner.
She reached the dusty lobby and her hooves were tickled by the carpet again. She trotted towards the door. She glanced behind her and noticed the couch had been dusted. She walked out into the streets of Ponyville, ponies were everywhere and they were an amazingly happy sight to see. She cantered to her right and looked up at the building. It looked like a building in a cupcake costume. The chocolate on the roof and the sprinkles made the pony want cupcakes!
Candy entered the room and walked up to the counter, surprisingly there wasn't anypony there. The room was very cheery. It seemed as if the room itself wanted to reach out and give you a tight hug. The counter showed some of the delicious treats they served at Sugarcube Corner. Suddenly an excited pink pony rushed up to the counter.
“Hiya! I’m Pinkie Pie! I’ve never seen you before, are you new? How come no one told me there was a new pony? I should throw a welcome party! What’s your name new pony!?” the pink pony said – more like yelled. Candy Heart smiled at the extremely happy pony. “I’m Candy Heart nice to meet you Pinkie Pie.” She said still smiling.
She had a brief conversation with Pinkie Pie and left after finishing her pink frosted donuts. She cantered away towards the
road Pinkie had said led to the school house. She was so excited and nervous at the same time.
Candy Heart reached school right on time. She knocked on the door to the classroom. Candy leaned her ear against the door, “She’s here! Everypony be on your best behavior!” the teacher instructed. Candy took her ear off of the door. The door opened slowly and the teacher smiled, “Hi there Miss. Candy Heart, my name is Cherilee.” She said happily. Candy smiled, “Nice to finally meet you. You can just call me Candy if you would like.” Candy said. It was an awkward conversation for Candy because she had no clue what to say!
Cherilee nodded and led the white mare to the front of the room. The foals looked up with wide eyes. “Today Miss. Candy is going to talk to you about cutie-marks. Please give her your full attention and participation.” The teacher said firmly, but still kind. The violet pony with pink hair nodded at Candy Heart.
Candy Heart was nervous; she swallowed hard and began to speak. “Hi, I’m Miss. Candy and today I wanted to teach you something about cutie-marks. But first, I want to find out about your cutie-marks!” she said. The foals smiled at the idea of talking about their cutie-marks.
She called on random foals throughout the classroom and they each said their name and what their cutie-mark means. She pointed to a white pony with fluffy red hair. Smiling she said, “I’m Twist and my cutie-mark is two candy canes because I like making candy!” she said.
About thirty minutes went bye. Every foal had been called on except an orange pony. She finally, called on an orange pony with a purple mane. “I-I don’t have one.” She said sadly. Candy heart felt awful, she knew what it felt like to be what some ponies called a “Blank Flank” A grey foal named Silver Spoon giggled and called out to the class, “Somepony’s a blank flank!” Candy sawCherilee stand, Candy shook her head and Cherilee looked shocked.
“Excuse me young filly, but maybe you should hear my story. You will change your mind about ‘blank flanks’” Candy Heart said disapprovingly. “When I was a foal I was an orphan.” She said, “I was bullied and there was an orphanage that took care of me. My relatives didn’t want me, so they didn’t adopt, or even visit. I never had anyone to help me earn my cutie-mark. Not only was I alone, but at school all fillies and colts teased me because I had no cutie-mark. My teacher was my only friend.” She said with remorse. All the fillies and colts were upset with themselves and because of the sadness of the story.
“I was a mare when I got my cutie-mark. Princess Celestia came to see me because I was the first pony in the history of cutie-marks to get a cutie-mark like mine.” She said. The orange pony was crying by now and she looked up with her large dark purple eyes. “What does it mean?” she asked. “My job is matching orphans to the right parents.” She finished.
The foals went to lunch and recess after she lightened the critical mood with some stories. She had lunch with Cherilee who wanted more information on her foalhood. Candy answered all of her questions. The door opened and she saw the orange foal again. She trotted up to Candy and smiled, “Miss. Candy can I talk to you after school?” she asked, tension in the filly’s voice. Candy nodded, “That’s fine with me, and by the way, what’s your name?” Candy asked. The orange filly giggled, “Scootaloo.” She answered.