Brushes and Bouquets
A Hearts & Hooves Day Tale
The busiest day of the year.
Not Hearth's Warming Eve, not Winter Wrap-Up. No, it was Hearts & Hooves day again. Maggie had only been up for two hours but she'd already sold over fifty bits worth of flowers. Opening early allowed her to earn extra money, but certainly tired her out faster.
Another colt wanted something 'amazing' and 'the best' for his girlfriend, so Maggie fetched him a bundle of roses. He seemed very pleased, and his mind was still on her soon-to-be delighted face as he handed over plenty of his savings.
He seemed to be the last of the early, pre-work rush, so Maggie took five minutes to re-stock the shop from the cold store behind the counter. Roses were, of course, order of the day, so she made sure she had plenty out, even replacing some of the other designs so that the shop would look even more... red.
Only problem was, she was sure she'd got a more elaborate design she was saving for when a rich stallion came in... it had definitely disappeared. Did she sell it by accident? She continue rummaging in the store, but came up with nothing.
Hurrying back to see if there were any customers, there were. Two stallions, neither of whom looked particularly rich. Oh well, all bits were good bits. Only two hours until her break.
As she went on her break, she remembered where the design had gone. That nice artist pony had taken it to paint. He might return it later in the day, she told herself. Or he might not. It didn't really matter.
She sipped a warm drink to relax, playing with a few flowers as she did so. Today's sales were excellent... maybe there'd been another love potion outbreak? Surely not. It wasn't quite mayhem yet.
The door to her shop opened, so she got up to see who it was. However, before she could react, the door had opened and closed again... whoever it was had clearly just left as soon as they realised she wasn't around. Another missed sale.
Anxious not to repeat the mistake, Maggie went back through to the counter, but found some flowers and a painting... of a rose. “Oh... my.”
Flowers bloom when you smile, and you can cheer up anypony feeling grey,
So take it from me- anypony would be lucky to be with you on Hearts and Hooves Day.
It was a beautiful if enigmatic note. Maggie blushed a deep red. Someone thought of her as their special somepony... someone who could paint.