This is the story of a chocolatier. Or, rather, a mare with a dream. A dream to climb to the highest spot in the chocolate-y confectionery Canterlot Chocolatier ranks. A spot so high, but so very close. So close she could smell the dizzying aroma of the best chocolate treats, and their creators. This is the story of the greatest chocolatier, in all of Canterlot.
At least, it would be if we were starting from there, but no. We are starting our story eight months after she topped the charts and achieved her dream. Seven months after her candy shop was brimming with customers and demands and the sweet smell of so many different types of chocolate. Five months after the orders and the pictures and the fame began to bring a sense of dread, and four months after the top chocolatier shut down her shop and left Canterlot.
The setting of our tale in the quiet town of Sleepy Fallow. Once a hotspot for tourists, Sleepy Fallow is now a large town with empty areas and a thinly spread population. Places that once catered to hundreds of tourists a day are now vacant lots, sitting around with no one to care for them. And while the townsponies talk about renovating the old places to put in new stores or homes, no plans or permits have been passed and the town is left half deserted.
For now, Sleepy Fallow’s residents slumber; tucked away in their beds as the moon rises high in the sky. Few places are left open to cater to the late night ponies who are mostly adolescents or young adults. One store that is nearing its closing time is a sweet little bakery called ‘Dreamy Confections’.
Filled with mainly chocolate desserts, the bakery is nestled in between an apartment complex and a laundry mat. Any odors from the other two buildings are blocked out by the heavenly scent that wafts from its open doors like an enticing whisper.
Dreamy Confections is run by a stocky stallion in his 40s, whose size intimidates any stranger. He is thick-skinned and thinning fur, with a few scars along his muscular legs. But everypony in the town who likes sweets knows the big pony’s an equally big softy. In his old age he had decided to hire on two ponies to help him with the bakery.
He hired a hard-working, gentle stallion named Brown Sugar, and his most recent employee, our once famous chocolatier. And finally, this is where are story begins.
“Decadence! I’m heading home, can you close up here by yourself?” The booming voice of Sergeant Sweets called, accompanied by his bleakly tan furred face peering from in the bakery’s kitchen. His chef hat was already taken off and the strings to his apron undone, looking like a large and clumsy old earth pony. Which he was not. Clumsy, that is.
“I’d be delighted to, sir.” The chocolatier responded while cleaning the cooking utensils. She whipped her dirty blonde mane out of her eyes and continued cleaning up, waving goodbye to her employer before he left.
She listened to the jingle from the bakery doors and then smiled a little to herself. The mare then set her work aside and moved over to the chocolate station, as she likes to call it. With bowls, cacao beans, cocoa butter, and an assortment of other ingredients, objects, and tools for creating delectable chocolates from scratch, she began mixing up a new recipe for Hearts and Hooves Day.
She did not have much time to experiment during the work day, but she had always held on to the hope that one day she’d be left alone in the bakery to test her skills.
Even though she was no longer a professional, famous chocolatier, she was still a lover of the fine art of chocolate. She especially loved to make heart-shaped chocolates for special someponies to give to one another. That is how she gained her cutie mark, after all!
Before she could ride a trip down memory lane, Decadence heard a beeping noise and almost dropped her mixing spoon. She set it in the bowl, positioning it so it wouldn’t slide all the way into the chocolate, and pranced over to the dishwasher.
The mare continued to juggle cleaning duties and her own little baking project for a good hour or so before she realized it was getting late. So she taste-tested her experiment, mentally made a note of some other ingredients she’d need to pick up in the morning, and then put all of her things away.
Now all that was left was to take out the trash. A job she wish she’d asked Brown Sugar or the Sergeant to take care of, as the dumpster was in an alley. A dark alley. And, well, Decadence didn’t enjoy dark alleys. Or trash really, but still.
Reluctantly the brown dipped mare took all the garbage from the garbage bins and dumped it in a large black trash bag. After drawing the strings tightly with her teeth, she picked up the bag and wished she had a horn to levitate things with.
But instead she had her mouth, so she dragged the bag out the side door of the bakery and down the darkening alleyway. The moon was blocked by the apartment complex, but she could see a light from the window on the top floor, so she wasn’t stuck in total darkness.
The air began to smell less like delicious treats and more like garbage, so Decadence switched from using her chompers to drag the bag, to using her fore hooves. She didn’t have a lot of experience with trying to walk on her back legs but somehow the mare managed it as she reached the dumpster and threw the bag into it.
The dull thud let her know her job here was done, and she began trotting back to the bakery.
But she stopped as her ears perked up at the sound of faint, metallic rustling. She raised her head and stood very still, ears raised as high as they could go as they flickered around in an attempt to catch the noises’ location.
The sound did not come again. And with the closing darkness of the alley making her shift a little in her hooves, she finally decided that whatever the sound was was not worth waiting around, and she bolted for the shop, knocking over a cardboard box in her scramble.
She didn’t look behind her as she slammed the door shut with her back leg and then blinked rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the bright kitchen light.
One, two, three, four… She counted her breaths as her heart slowed down, and her anxiety faded. The tension in her shoulders didn’t, but her legs no longer felt locked and she began to move shakily away from the side door and towards the front of the bakery.
The fear stayed with her for another hour or so even after she got home, but eventually she fell asleep in her foalhood bed, and dreamed of a Canterlot city made out of chocolate and gold.
“Oh honey! What a delicious looking gift.” Decadence listened to the sweet exchange between a loving couple. The stallion was smiling brightly at his marefriend who held a red heart-shaped box that was opened to reveal many small little chocolate treats. A red ribbon that had kept the box closed was wrapped around the Mare’s neck as a recycled accessory.
Decadence wasn’t eavesdropping. They were speaking loud enough for anyone in the small restaurant to hear. Even if she was listening in, it wouldn’t be weird. The couple were sharing a box of chocolates that Decadence had made herself! What chocolatier wouldn’t want to see two lovebirds eating their finely crafted confections?
However soon their conversation became a more private one, and Decadence turned her attention back on the Sleepy Fallow Newspaper. There wasn’t much news, there hadn’t been since the tourists stopped coming, but that did not change Decadences’ attitude. She was just glad they weren’t talking about her return anymore.
The first week she got back from Canterlot the whole town was abuzz, even the ponies on the farthest part of the town limits. Everyone was excited that their born and raised Sleepy Fallow-in had become a famous chocolatier and was wondering why she’d come back to the dreary town.
Decadence had to hide out in her parent’s home, where she was still staying, and wait awhile until any journalists that had followed her had gone back to Canterlot.
When that mess was over she made it clear to the other residents of Sleepy Fallow that she did not want to publicly discuss her decision to return home, and since she’d grown up with these ponies and they respected each other, they stopped asking.
And while Decadence had planned not to get back to working for a while, she couldn't resist the ‘Hiring’ sign hung on the ‘Dreamy Confections’ window. So, she applied and was hired right away.
So now here she is, completely melded back into Sleepy Fallow. Like chocolate drizzling through the cracks she’s home and feeling much better compared to when she was in Canterlot.
“Hello! Have you decided on what you would like for breakfast?” Decadence smiled softly and ordered a chocolate chip pancake from the pink mare, who nodded and then waved goodbye before heading off to get her food.
It was a wonderful meal that had her taste buds buzzing by the time she was ready to get to work. Her trot to the bakery was uneventful, which just a few ponies passing by and waving hello to her. She was a bit rusty in her street manners department, unfortunately. Living in the higher district of Canterlot meant that when ponies passed, there wasn’t much mingling or acknowledgment. It had taken Decadence a few months to stop smiling at every pony she’d see.
Not only did she have to re-adjust to the open kindness shared by her town, but she’d also have to get used to the fact that there weren't many people living in Sleepy Fallow. The tourists that once populated the town were gone, and with it some old residents who were no longer making money from their businesses that required the tourists.
So Sleepy Fallow often felt lonely, the liveliest of places being the school during the weekdays, arcades at night, and some restaurants. Even Dreamy Confections was slow in business most days, with rare moments when a flux of customers would crowd in. Like the day Decadence first started working there.
But the excitement died down quickly and the town fell back into its lulling routine. Decadence is glad for the lack of demands and no longer having to cut back the care she put into her works so she can get them out and in the customer’s bellies on time. Now she can give each delectable craft the attention it deserves, and even give her co-worker Brown Sugar some tips.
The population on the streets thinned the closer she got to the bakery, and she felt a bit disappointed at this. If they didn't get the after-school regulars then it seemed there might not be any customers today.
Pushing that thought to the side Decadence brought her demeanor up to a cheery outlook and trotted through the doors of Dreamy Confections, ears twitching at the jingle that accompanied her entrance.
Sergeant Sweets greeted her with a gruff hello, and the chocolatier smiled at him, waving a hoof.
“Brown Sugar’s on break, he’ll be back in 20 minutes.” The ex-guard announced, looking down at her from his huge height. “Nice work closing up yesterday.” He added in a warmer tone, making Decadence feel a bit giddy. Sergeant Sweets hardly ever gave verbal praise.
“Thank you sir.” She saluted him and he returned the gesture with gusto. Then Decadence headed passed the display of already baked treats and into the backroom/kitchen. There she adorned her chocolatier-ing outfit, which included a white chef’s coat, and a white chef hat like the Sergeants’. She then tightened the orange handkerchief around her neck, and the matching bow tied on her tail. Finally the blonde mare was ready, and she went straight to cleaning up the utensils already used by Brown Sugar this morning.
Decadence dressed and looked like a professional gourmet chocolatier from Canterlot, and she had been once, but nowadays she cleaned and prepared the kitchen for Sergeant Sweets or Brown Sugar to bake. She herself wasn’t very good at baking. She could make the best chocolate in Equestria, she could mix flavors, and mold the chocolate into any shape she so desired, but she couldn’t bake the croissants or cakes or even doughnuts that she drizzled the chocolate on.
So in Dreamy Confections she was tasked with keeping the bakery clean and in order, with some chocolate-making and decorating when and where it was needed. Decadence didn’t mind the steep, steep, drop in her role in the shop. She didn’t even mind the even steeper drop in her wages. As long as she was here in Sleepy Fallow and still making chocolate, she was happy.
Later that day, around mid-afternoon, Decadence came up with an idea that would allow her to never have to take out the trash alone in a dark alley ever again! It came to her when she saw the trash bin was almost full-, the after-school regulars brought their friends and had a little dessert party for somepony’s birthday-, and had to take it to the dumpster so more trash could be thrown away. She realized she could take out the trash around 4 or 5 pm every day, or at least when it fills, so she wouldn’t have to deal with it after hours.
So this time her trot to the dumpster wasn’t filling her with heart-jumping fear. The alley was still a bit eerie, but lit from the sun above (though waning), allowing her to actually see all the way down the alley.
The trash wasn’t as heavy this time so she used her teeth to carry it to the dumpster before tossing it in, listening for the familiar soft thud, and then turning to trot back to the bakery side door.
But the soft thud wasn’t the only sound she heard. It was accompanied soon after with a muffled ‘ow!’ that sent Decadence’s ears pinning back and her legs locking up again. It wasn’t scary. Just sudden and unexpected and surprising!
Decadence didn’t have time to high tail it back to the bakery, because her attention was drawn back to the dumpster as its lids slammed open and something popped out, flinging half eaten cupcakes and wrappers all around.
“AHH!” Decadence exclaimed as she fell on her rump, eyes wide as the dumpster creature flapped its wings and then fell on the ground. The mare kept blinking, as if the thing would just go away if she kept closing her eyes, but it didn’t. And the longer she stared at it, the more she began to realize it wasn’t a dumpster creature at all.
It was a foal.
“H-hey… little one, are you okay?” The brown mare got to her hooves and gently moved forward, looking at the small heap of dirty tan fur. As she got closer and her fear dialed down, she noticed the foal’s dull, unkempt orange mane, and that her body was dusted with light brown spots-, though it could’ve been mud.
Its wings twitched slightly, and folded up on its back. Besides that the foal was not moving though, and Decadence was starting to bit her lip nervously. She prodded the small figure gently with her right fore-hoof, tilting her head to try and see past the little one’s back and get a glimpse of its face.
Wide yellow eyes under long orange bangs stared back at her, and Decadence almost recoiled-, but she held her position and stared right on back at the foal.
“Hello?” She called softly, never breaking eye-contact with the small pegasus. The next few moments felt like forever to the chocolatier as she waited for a response from the other pony. Finally the little ball of dirty fur and feathers moved, the large yellow eyes glancing away as the foal got to her hooves and stood in front of Decadence, head held high as though she was confident and unashamed.
Though Decadence was hardly looking at the fluff balls’ face as she saw how thin and bony the foal was-, her skin tight against her ribcage, showing the bones beneath almost clearly. The foal wasn’t scratched or injured, but there was lots of dirt clinging to her form-, and a cupcake wrapper.
“Oh you poor thing!” Decadence fussed, her brow creased with worry as she looked for any signs of abuse on the foal. There was nothing but neglect and Decadence felt a surge of motherly instincts biting at her.
“I-I’m not poor!” Came the under-developed, high pitched squeak of the smaller pony. “And I’m not a thing!” The foal lowered her head, causing her bangs to block any view of her eyes. Though the rest of her face told her she was glaring at Decadence, while pursing her lip forward in a sort of pout. The wings on its back lifted and unfurled, and she raised her tail. Decadence was surprised by the aggressive stance, and stood tall to counter the young one’s display.
“Calm down, little one.” The mare said in a soothing voice she’d spoken to other foals with. Her tone seemed to have an effect on the filly, whose tail dropped back down along with her wings. Her pout was also gone, replaced with a thin and tight line. Though her mane was still covering her eyes.
Decadence realized, with a heavy heart, that the foal was an orphan. She was probably looking for food in the dumpster-, or even a place to sleep. And now she was exposed, like a nerve, waiting for whatever kind of consequence she’d have to face. But Decadence wasn’t angry or upset with the foal, so she smiled warmly at the little pony.
“There is plenty of food in the bakery, if you’re hungry.” It may not be particularly healthy for the foal, but it would have to do until she could get the filly into a bath and get her some real food. The filly also looked like she could use a few cups of water.
The small pony looked up at Decadence, her bangs brushing out of the way of her eyes as they widened. She looked very tempted with the idea of bakery sweets that weren’t leftovers or in a garbage bag. The thin little filly then looked to the bakery, staring at it longingly before turning her head to Decadence again and nodding vigorously.
The older mare wondered why the orphan wouldn’t talk. Then she thought well maybe she couldn’t talk. With that bleak idea in her head she walk around to the back of the foal and began pushing at her lightly with her head to get her moving towards the bakery side door.
The trash was forgotten by both ponies as they entered the kitchen. From there the smell of freshly baked bread and cakes and chocolate filled the air around them, and Decadence watched the foal’s yellow eyes light up as she trotted the kitchen, sniffing almost everything.
“My name is Decadence.” The mare said softly as she followed the foal around, noting that Brown Sugar wasn’t in the kitchen. “What’s your name? Do you have a family?” She pressed, watching for any sign of reaction from the little filly. But the foal didn’t seem to hear her.
“Whoa, little one.” She stopped the foal from getting her dirty hooves on the counter-tops and away from an uneaten cupcake. The foal blinked and then frowned at Decadence, ears pinning back as though she was being threatened.
“You can’t eat that one. There are plenty of other treats you can have over here. Just follow me and don’t touch anything.” Decadence used a more stern tone as she addressed the foal, who blinked for a moment and then flipped her bangs over her eyes and calmed down.
The brown mare then tip-hoofed over to the door leading to the front room of the bakery, the foal trudging grumpily behind her, and poked her head out the door to see if there were any customers. She saw the Sergeant standing stock still in front of the cash register, and Brown Sugar changing the words on the little chalk board on the display counter.
Decadence quickly made a little list of things to say to them about the little foal in her mind. She then raised her head a little higher, and walked through the door with the dirty filly behind her. The Sergeant didn’t look away from the bakery’s glass doors, but Brown Sugar did. His horn was glowing blue, as was the small green chalkboard and a piece of white chalk. They had been moving before but at the sight of Decadence and the foal the chalk froze and the unicorn’s eyes widened.
“Whose little foal is that?” The stallion asked, taking in the dirtiness and bony thin structure of the filly a little too late. He bit his lip and become noticeably guilty looking. The foal, however, didn’t seem to have heard him as she sniffed around display cases of pastries. The Sergeant’s eyes followed the filly but he didn’t make any other movements.
“I’m not so sure she’s anypony’s little foal.” The brown mare whispered as she crossed over to stand beside Brown Sugar and keep an eye on the subject of their conversation. “She was eating the leftovers in the dumpster when I found her.”
The unicorn looked perplexed for a moment before his face fell and he nodded solemnly. “Well, either way we need to try and find her family.” Brown said in a low voice. He then brought his up and away from the little whisper huddling he was doing with Decadence, and flashed a kind smile at the foal, who was having a staring contest with the Sergeant.
“But first she needs some food…” The foal whipped her head around to stare up at Brown Sugar, sending a wave of her smell to him and Decadence. “-and a bath.” He added, his nose twitching a bit. The foal’s tail went up.
“Brown, go back into the kitchen and bake some healthy muffins. Decadence, prepare the sink so we can give her a bath.” Sergeant spoke up, eyes still glued to the little dirty creature in his bakery. “I’ll close up the shop so we can tend to this foal.”
Decadence brushed the foal’s mane, which was now stringy and a darker shade of orange due to it being wet. After The Sergeant had given the little foal water and a few treats-, and an apple he had saved for his midnight snack, the filly seemed to calm down. She hadn’t talked since the alley but she wasn’t glaring at any of them anymore.
The bath had been a bit of a challenge though. The filly squirmed and struggled and splashed around until Decadence managed to convince her that the water and the bubbles were only trying to help her. Then the filly adapted that wide-eyed look again-, one full of innocence and wonder. She’d been so fascinated by the bubbles that she had almost said something. But she’d stopped herself and returned to her ministrations.
So here they are, sitting down on some towels Decadence had placed on the floor of the bakery’s kitchen, brushing out all the knots and tangles in the filly’s mane. Said filly kept making little pained noises when Decadence tried to untangle a knot.
“Sorry, little one. I know it hurts. Just bear through it.” The foal did not respond, but she was less rigid as Decadence continued working the tangles from her mane and tail. “I can’t imagine what it must be like. Living out there in the streets, looking for any morsel to eat and trying to find some shelter to sleep in.” Decadence added. Her tone was smooth and rich, like the chocolate she loves to make.
“But you don’t have to live like that anymore.” The mare said warmly, and the foal looked back at her, her bangs falling to the side and revealing her large yellow eyes. She looked up at Decadence with awe, making the mare’s heart swell and both ponies exchanged a soft smile.
Returning to the task at hoof they sat in a more comfortable silence, with a few ‘ow’s and ‘ee…’s from the foal. By the time Decadence was almost done, a pair of scissors enveloped in a blue halo of light floated over to her. The mare looked over to the kitchen door to find Brown Sugar poking his head in from the bakery’s front room. His horn was glowing with a similar hue and he smiled at them before ducking out.
The foal stared at the scissors warily, though it was hard to tell if she was actually looking at them since her bangs were in the way, but Decadence figured that was what the little one was doing. Decadence grinned, a bit mischievously, and said, “Time for a make-over, my little pony.”
Decadence was no mane stylist, but she was an artist. Of sorts. Using leftover ribbon decorations, the scissors, and an image in her brain of what she hoped the foal would look like by the time she was done, the brown mare set to work.
After snipping and tucking and tying the foal was looking around, blinking. Her bangs were no long covering her large yellow eyes, and her mane was cut much short and held up by a pink ribbon headband. Decadence held up a mirror, and the foal gasped at what she saw.
A tan colored filly with darker colored speckled spots all over her body, mostly on her legs and face and ears. Her under belly was an off-white, as was her face and her secondary feathers. Her orange mane was brighter than before, and when she touched it with her hoof it felt soft. Accenting her now clean and fluffy body, she had three pink ribbons. One around her head, on around her neck, and one tied at the base of her tail.
She stared at her reflection, completely amazed.
“You look very pretty, do you like it? Decadence asked, smiling at the smaller pony. The filly looked up at Decadence, and a large smile broke out on her face. It was like seeing the sun peek out over the horizon, and Decadence couldn’t help but smile wider to match the little pony’s expression.
“Thank you.” The foal said as she launched herself at Decadence, wrapping her hooves around her neck and hugging her tightly. Decadence laughed lightly, hugging the foal back. The kitchen door opened and Brown Sugar and the Sergeant poked their heads in.
“Wow, she looks so cute!” Brown said, and Sergeant nodded. A sharp beeping noise broke the hug as the foal jolted away, ears pinned back and eyes locked on the source of the noise. Decadence reached out to pat the ponies’ head. “Whoops, sorry little pony. That’s the muffins.”
Brown Sugar went to retrieve the freshly baked muffins while Decadence calmed the foal. The Sergeant approached the two, eyes flickering between the ponies before resting on the foal.
“Does she have a name?” He asked in his booming voice. Brown set his hot muffins to the side so they could cool, and joined the ponies. Decadence looked at the foal, whose eyes were locked on Sergeant Sweets’. A couple seconds passed before the foal realized she was the center of attention, and she looked at Decadence and shook her head.
The adult ponies sighed, and Brown frowned slightly. “Well, why don’t we name her?” The ponies exchanged looks. “She looks like a Pepper.” Brown Sugar added, though his sentence ended with an upward inflection that made the sentence sound more like a question then a sentence. The foal shook her head.
“Ribbons?” Decadence inquired, tilting her head as she examined the little filly. Said pony shook her head again.
“Speckles?” No.
“Freckles?” The foal jumped to her hooves and narrowed her flashing yellow eyes at Brown Sugar.
“No!” She yelled, then gave him a challenging look.
Brown Sugar backed up a little. “Oh! I thought she couldn’t talk…” He pinned his ears back and retreated to the muffins.
“Don’t wanna…” The foal started, looking down at her clean hooves. “I don’t want a name.” She finished, closing her eyes and looking oddly defeated. It wasn’t till she yawned that Decadence recognized the look as sleepiness.
“Alright little one, but we have to call you something.” Decadence said, getting to her hooves. The foal shook her head slowly, also standing up. “We won’t you call anything right now, but soon you will have to choose a name.” The brown mare said with finality. “But it’ll be fun. Any name in the whole world. Your choice.” Decadence said, smiling down at the foal.
“Thank you so much, Sergeant Sweets.” Decadence directed her smiles to the much larger stallion. He smiled back, and nodded tersely. “Thank the Sergeant for helping you, little one.” Decadence said to the foal, who probably never learned her use her manners.
The foal looked confused for a moment, before looking up at the Sergeant and saying in a blank tone, “Thank you.” She was still for a moment before her face was overcome with an unbelievably wide, toothy smile.
Brown Sugar brought over the healthy muffins, and offered one to the foal, who took it without hesitation. The hungry filly then gobbled it down faster than Decadence could blink.
