The moon's rays streamed through the window and fell upon the rustling form of an orange mare. The mare shifted in her slumber and she turned towards the moon's light. The mare's face was lit by the silver moonlight and she slowly began to wake. The mare blinked her eyes open, revealing two sleepy violet eyes that was framed by locks of black and orange striped hair. She gave a tired yawn and rubbed her eyes with a hoof to try to rub the sleepiness away.
Pumpkin sat up in bed and the sheets slid off her body as she adjusted her position. She shivered slightly as the cool night air hit her orange coat and she shifted her wings to a more comfortable position. She slowly slid out of her light blue bed and walked to the bathroom. Halfway down the arching hallway, she stopped to stretch her wings and her arms. She picked up the pace slightly and the smooth cloud floor absorbed her hoofsteps.
Pumpkin Spice turned into the bathroom and walked to the sink. She turned on the faucet and splashed her face with cold water. The sleepiness on her face was washed away as she reached behind her to grasp a fluffy white towel from a rack behind her. She brought the soft material to her face and dried the excess water off of her face and her mane. As she turned to place the towel back up, she looked at her own reflection in the mirror above the sink. She turned off the running faucet and blinked at the mirror.
A bright orange mare stared at her with her mane flipped to one side. Her mane was a dark burgundy with orange stripes running through it and was slightly curled. She broke eye contact with her reflection and turned to leave the bathroom. She trotted through the quiet cloud house and headed back to her room. Pumpkin entered her room and trotted over to her wardrobe. She opened the cabinet with her hooves and pulled out a dark blue gradient scarf and wrapped around her neck quickly. She appreciated the soft cotton texture of it and sighed. She closed the cabinet and headed outside.
The cool night air hit Pumpkin gently and made goosebumps appear on her arms. She rubbed her hooves quickly and opened her wings in preparation for flight. Her vivid orange feathers were darker at the tips and they brushed the air around them. She took a deep breath and took off at a moderately fast gallop. As she neared the edge of the cloud house, she flapped her wings to gain speed and tensed her muscles for the jump. She leaped off the edge and into the night sky, her wings flapping steadily to gain speed. Her wings sliced the rushing air around her with each beat and soon her house was out of sight. Pumpkin started to tilt her wings upward and she directed herself to go gradually higher. She passed a few stray clouds and a smile began to form on the mare's face.
This was always her favorite part of the routine she set up for herself. As the mare gradually increased her incline, the moon had started to set and the sun began to paint the skies with lighter hues to signify the rising of the sun. Pumpkin saw this and increased her speed, her mane was whipped back and her scarf was whipping behind her. She had made sure it was secured tightly and she squinted her eyes against the warming air. The sun had begun to peek over the horizon and began to climb its way up the sky. Pumpkin was racing the sun to the morning.
Pumpkin eventually passed some unmarked finish line and she slowed to a hover. She panted from the adrenaline running though her and she flicked some of her mane out of her face. She patted and smoothed out her mane to a presentable fashion and watched the sun rise. The warm morning sun cut through the lingering night air and lit up Pumpkin's flushed face. Gradually, her breathing slowed and she sighed happily. A grin was spread across her face and she looked down at her hometown beneath her.
Hoofsapeake was a moderately large town that was placed near the shore, giving them full access to the sea. The town was beginning to wake up and she could see various ponies opening windows and setting up shops. She began to descend towards the peaceful town with slow flaps of her wings. As she descended, she passed by the clock tower that rose from the town square proudly. Its broad circular face revealed the time to be 6:30 and she giggled at how early it was. She dropped down onto the maroon cobblestone path and folded her wings onto her sides. She had landed in the middle of town square and she turned to face the shopping complex.
The complex was a large cul-de-sac with a small fountain in the middle that bubbled happily with clear cold water. Some benches sat near the fountain on top of bright green grass. The shops around her were a wide variety of specialities, ranging from candy to a bank to a pet store, that decorated the edge of the cup-de-sac with a wide variety of colors and styles. Pumpkin ran her eyes over the shops until her gaze fell upon a medium sized flower shop that was located in the back of the cul-de-sac.
The light red brick building was a quaint little shop that held a welcoming look to it. A sign hung above a double glass door that was made with shiny oak wood. Inscribed upon the sign was "The Four Leafed Clover" in fancy big letters that was written in bright white paint. Beside the big letters were four leafed clovers and little curvy lines traced the outline of board. Along with this, the building was also lined with smooth gray river stones at the bottom and two large glass windows allowed sunlight to shine upon the displays of carefully arranged bouquets. On the top of the building, was a bright green garden filled with many exotic and familiar flowers that were seen in the bouquets below. The edge of the roof was lined with a white picket fence that added a nice touch to the cute building. To top it all off, the building had a two toned green striped awning that hung over the entrance to provide some nice shade. Pumpkin smiled at the familiar building. She adjusted her scarf and trotted up to it. As she approached the doors, she took out a hidden key in her scarf and held it in her teeth. She placed the key in the lock and unlocked the door. She replaced her key in her scarf and trotted in. She was about an hour early for her shift but Clover Gem never minded before. She closed the door with her back hoof as she walked in and she began preparing the shop for business.
Author's Note
This chapter doesn't really mean anything (just some fluff) and is really just a little introduction to the character. Hope you like though! I will make the next chapter as fast as I can! :D
P.S. I would really appreciate some reviews! Any help is good, just be polite please.
Pumpkin Spice hovered in the air, her wings flapping slowly, as the clock tower started to ring. She placed the final flower on the bouquet of roses on a semi-high shelf. She counted the bells in her head as she landed gently on the white marble floor. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.. she thought to herself. She smiled and looked expectantly at the door. She counted down from three in her head slowly.
Three, Two, One…
Suddenly, a pale yellow pegasus burst in through the door. Her curly mane bounced around her cute, childish face and her wings buzzed quickly, keeping her off the floor. Her mane was a clover green with rich purple highlights that accented her bright blue eyes and her darker freckles that spotted her cheeks near her eyes. The lively mare also had a coat that was a light yellow that was painted with pale lavender splotches, her wings completely covered with lavender. Pumpkin smiled at her excited friend that was rushing around the store, checking each of the flowers.
"Hey, Zip!" she called out to the mare that disappeared into the storage room. She waited a minute when suddenly a head popped out of the storage entrance. The mare blinked at Pumpkin in confusion for a couple of seconds, when realization flicked across her face. A large smile appeared on the mare's face and Pumpkin waved a little.
"Pumpkin! I didn't even see you there!" she said with surprise. She rushed out of the room, abandoning her task, and tackled Pumpkin in a huge hug. Pumpkin smiled and hugged the mare back. Pumpkin finally broke out of the hug and gently pushed the other mare off of her. Zip smiled and hovered in the air above Pumpkin. "So, no cutie mark yet?" Zip gestured to Pumkin's flank with a hoof.
"Nope," she sighed and glanced back at her blank flank, "I really should have one by now! I'm old enough, aren't I?" Pumpkin Spice hung her head in displeasure and pouted. Suddenly, she heard a jingle behind her and the door close gently.
"Maybe not old enough in here?" suggested the voice as an dark aqua hoof poked her in the head. Zip giggled as Pumpkin snorted indignantly and whipped her head up. Her eyes were met with two emerald ones and she glared at them.
"Haha, very funny, Clover Gem," Pumpkin Spice said as she turned to ready the cash register again. Clover Gem laughed and trotted over to put a hoof around her best friend.
"Aw, I didn't mean it, Pumpkin. You know your talent is too good to be shown with a plain old cutie mark!" she said, encouragingly. Pumpkin rolled her eyes and looked at her with an eyebrow raised. Clover Gem just ignored the look and moved on to the back to collect some flowers for an arrangement. She came back out with some roses and other various flowers. Zip continued to catalog the flowers and Pumpkin returned to the task she was working on. She dropped a few bits into the cash register and was about to close it when a pony entered the shop.
The young stallion entered the shop with a slightly distracted look on his face. Zip put down her clipboard and trotted over to the maroon stallion. His golden eyes searched the shelves for a seemingly perfect ensemble of flowers. Zip smiled politely and stood next to him.
"Hi, can I help you find something, sir?" Zip chirped politely to the nervous stallion. He looked up and nodded. "Ok, anything in particular? Who is this for?" Zip smiled warmly and the stallion ran a hoof through his dark gold hair that was swept forward around his horn.
"Well, I want to surprise my marefriend today. It's her birthday today, you see, and I was hoping you would have something colorful and, you know, cheerful." He explained to the listening pegasus, "Oh and it has to have roses in it. She loves roses." Zip nodded thoughtfully and ran her eyes around the store. Eventually she nodded to the stallion to follow and she walked carefully among the rows of bouquets. After a few minutes of wandering, Zip let out a small gasp of excitement.
"I got it!" she exclaimed and grabbed a colorful bouquet of red roses, pink peonies, and purple carnations. The rest of the bouquet was filled with small green fillers and was wrapped in a light purple tissue paper. The bottom was tied neatly in a small green ribbon that held the shop's insignia on it, a four leaf clover. The stallion's face lit up at the sight of the colorful bouquet and he gently grasped the bouquet with golden magic. He turned it around a few times and smiled.
"This is perfect! Thank you so much! How much will it be?" The stallion said while trotting over to the cashier. Pumpkin smiled and pressed a few buttons on the cash register.
"That'll be eight bits, sir." Pumpkin politely answered as the cash register clicked open. The stallion nodded and lifted the money out of his light brown saddlebag that he had carried with him. The bits softly clicked onto the counter and the golden aura around them faded. Pumpkin swept them into the cash register with her wings and she pushed the compartment closed. "Ok, I hope your mare friend likes it and good luck!" The stallion beamed at her and happily trotted out of the store, the bell above the door jingling merrily as he did so. Zip smiled happily and picked her clipboard again. Her wings buzzed as she went back to work. Clover Gem had finished another arrangement as the customer was searching for an arrangement and she wrapped it up with their signature green ribbon. She picked up the arrangement of fragrant flowers and placed it on the shelf. Pumpkin finished writing down the sale and sighed, her content expression turning to a thoughtful look.
"What do you think my talent could be?" Pumpkin asked suddenly. The two other mares looked up from their work and looked at Pumpkin Spice. Zip folded her wings in and put down her clipboard to put a hoof on her chin. Clover just sighed and turned to face Pumpkin.
"We are already went over this, Pumpkin… Your special talent could be anything. It could be flying, sports, or some sort of academic career. We don't have a way knowing unless we try it." Pumpkin looked at her with sad eyes and nodded. Zip looked between the two and smiled, an idea flashing across her face.
"I know! We could try to narrow down the options! Let's do it after the shop closes!" Pumpkin looked at her with a doubtful expression but thought about it. She shuffled her wings and glanced at Clover, who was also thinking the idea over.
"Ok, why not? Are you doing anything afterwards, Clover?" Pumpkin said with a shrug. Clover shook her head and Zip giggled in excitement.
"Ok! Meet at my place with whatever you want to bring at seven o'clock, kay?" Zip said with an excited look on her face. Pumpkin and Clover nodded. Zip grinned and buzzed back to her work, humming happily to herself. Pumpkin and the others helped out several more customers later in the day as the sun slowly began to approach the horizon. At six o' clock, the three mares began to close up the shop. They closed at six thirty everyday when the sun began to set. Zip was still humming happily to herself when they closed the door, Clover locking it behind them. The three parted ways with a silent goodbye as each went to their homes to prepare for whatever Zip had planned for them that night.
Author's Note
Okie dokie! That is the second chapter! Sorry for the wait but, I will try to put a bit more time into this. Any advice and all advice is welcome as long as its not mean. Thank you for whoever is reading this and I will begin to work on the next chapter! Thanks again!
Zip belongs to me and Clover Gem belongs to my awesome friend, Catunicorn5841!
