There are many ways to witness a drama in Ponyville. One way is the dramatic arts, like Ponyville Day School’s annual talent show. Colts and fillies can show off their many talents in front of the whole town and, if they’re really lucky, get to find their special talent and get a cutie mark. During Heath’s Warming Eve, the town hall hosts a pageant on the founding of Equestria. There is also extreme drama, such as the challenging Iron Pony Competition, followed by the Running of the Leaves Marathon through Whitetail Woods. Ponies love to place their bets on whether Rainbow Dash and Applejack will triumph during the tournament.
Then there are the occasional dramatic dramas that involve the whole town. This can be caused in a variety of ways, such as a beast from the infamous Everfree Forest, some power-mad pony under the influence of some magical artefact or some ancient being from the dawn of Equestria’s dark past showing in town. That drama, however, is short-lived and far in-between, all thanks to the town’s local and national heroines and Princess of Friendship.
And then there is the type of drama that just comes naturally in some ponies. The term ‘drama queen’ could be used to describe those particular ponies. Many, especially her friends, would point towards the town’s local fashion designer, Rarity. Her screams are so loud that you could practically feel it ringing in your head, even when she has run out of breath. She could whip out her famous fainting couch at such a random speed that it could make Pinkie Pie confused. If you wanted a free drama on an over-the-top level then the local fashionista is one option to go to.
Rare dramas happen in the form of the local princess even. At the mere mention of a test, pop quiz or something precedented happening, the general thing ponies say around town is to stand back and watch her until she exhausts herself, or that she learns something valuable to share with her friends.
However, if you want to see a triple act of drama ponies and for it to be completely free, then look no further than Ponyville’s flower shop, just on the road towards the central town market. Tending the shop are three ponies, aptly named after flowers. Their names were Roseluck, Lily Valley and Daisy. They were commonly known as Ponyville’s ‘first alarm.’ When something out of the ordinary and downright terrifying comes to Ponyville, ponies hear for those three to cry out in horror.
And so began a normal morning as the warm summer sun rose over the horizon, its rays of light hugging the town in an even warmer embrace as the ponies woke up to start their day. From the flower shop’s living quarters upstairs, Roseluck rose from her bed like the very flower she was named after. She stretched her forelegs like leaves wanting to catch the morning light. She yawned like an opening bud and then groggily climbed out of bed. Looking in her mirror, she noticed her bad case of bed-mane and began brushing her mane into its usual style. She then brushed and washed and headed down to the back of the shop where the kitchen was.
Pouring her morning cup of herbal tea grown in this very establishment, she looked towards the fridge where a list of all the latest orders was hung so that the three ponies knew what was their plan for the day. Lavenders, mint and aloe needed to be delivered to the local spa, fresh edible flowers were needed to be shipped off to the local café and a wedding needed fresh bouquets ASAP. Roseluck sighed as she knew that this was going to be one of those long, tedious days.
Her ears perked up as she heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs. The kitchen door swung open and Lily and Daisy lazily trotted in, small smiles on their faces as they prepared their breakfast. Lily began spreading butter and jam onto some toast while Daisy settled on a bowl of oaty cereal.
“Morning you two,” Roseluck smiled at her friends and partners. The two gave her a nod and smiled as they all sat around the dining table in their small kitchen.
“Morning,” They both said. The three of them sighed and continued munching on their breakfast of choice.
“What’s the plan today?” Daisy said in-between mouthfuls of cereal. Roseluck turned to the list to refresh her memory.
“Herbal shipments to Ponyville Day Spa, fresh flowers for a café and we need to plan on making bouquets for an upcoming wedding,” Roseluck listed as her eyes scrutinized the piece of paper.
“And who are the lucky couple?” Lily’s eyes brightened. Out of all the three of them, she always wanted to be the first to know what goes on around town. Her talents of gossip could rival Rarity.
“Lyra Heartstring and Bonbon,” Roseluck smiled.
“Ah, so they finally tied the knot, eh?” Daisy perked up at the news.
“I was wondering when they would do it,” Lily pondered out loud.
“I know. Took them long enough,” Roseluck chuckled and soon the three of them were giggling gleefully at the news. A sense of calm descended the kitchen once again. Soon, it was time for them to start work.
“I’ll make sure that the spa’s delivery is ready,” Lily said as she headed out towards where the crates were for storage. She took out a clipboard and began ticking off the list of orders. Today’s orders from the day spa were ten crates of fresh mint leaves, eight creates of potted aloe veras and five boxes of potted lavenders.
“And I’m going to check on the café’s orders,” Daisy called out as she made her way to the back towards the storage area, taking out another clipboard as she began numbering the café’s required creates, boxes and potted plants.
“Then I guess that leaves me to come up with bouquets for the wedding,” Roseluck announced as she took out a piece of paper, words hastily scribbled by the lucky couple’s request. Traditionally, wedding bouquets were arranged in the colour of the couple’s manes. Roseluck closed her eyes to imagine the two ponies’ mane colours.
Lyra Heartstring’s mane was a lush green and clear white, while Bonbon’s mane was a deep blue and contrasting bright pink. She then totted up how many bouquets were required at the wedding. Some for the bridesmaids, a basket-full for the flower girl and the décor. At the same time, she mentally added up how many bits it would all come down to. Picking up her trusty blackboard and white stick of chalk, she hummed a tune to herself as she did the maths.
She walked to the front of the shop where all their flowers were and began selecting the best for the displays. For Lyra’s green and white mane, she chose deep green calla lilies and traditional white lilies. For Bonbon’s blue and pink mane, she selected shining roses and blue cornflowers. She began cutting and trimming the leaves and stems, selecting the best ones and finishing it off with a tight bow, but not too tight as to not break the stems.
She was on her seventh bouquet when she heard a rustle coming from one of the plants behind her. Roseluck’s ears perked up and swivelled towards the direction of the rustling. However, it was soon gone and Roseluck shrugged it off and continued working, thinking the local weather pegasi planned a summer breeze. Another rustle came from the next flowerpot, and Roseluck snapped her head around, only to find the neighbouring flowerpot to be completely still.
It was on the third sound of rustling that Roseluck gave an annoyed sigh and got off from where she was working. She grumbled about as she rustled through the flowers, wondering what could be making that annoying sound while she worked.
When she did find the culprit, she really wished she didn’t.
When she pulled a loose-leaf away, there standing directly behind it, was the largest spider Roseluck had ever seen. The body was grey and hairy, its legs a shade of brownish-grey and also had hairs on the joints. Its mandibles were sharp and vicious, saliva dripping down it and glinting in the morning sun. It was the eight eyes that spooked Roseluck the most, red and staring at her with an almost-vicious intent.
The spider looked up at the red-maned, creamed-coloured pony and scuttled towards her. This was the last thing Roseluck wanted such a creature to do.
Roseluck decided to scream. An ear-piercing scream of terror. It wasn’t as loud as Rarity’s, but it certainly almost rivalled it.
“Roseluck?!” A voice came from the door, “What in Equestria are you screaming for?” The door swung open and Daisy trotted in. Roseluck waved her hooves rapidly at her, warning her not to come in. her actions, however, were all in vain as Daisy caught sight of the eight-legged horror, which had somehow managed to reach the floor.
Something crossed between a gasp and a scream escaped her lips as she stared wide-eyed at the spider. In a split second, she was cowering behind Roseluck, using her friend as a pony shield.
“Did that thing escape from Tartarus or something?!” Daisy squealed in pure terror.
“Ask it!” Roseluck countered.
“What’s going on in there?”
The door opened for a second time, and Lily trotted in with worry on her face.
“Lily, Don’t’-“ Roseluck and Daisy both said.
Too late.
The moment the pink pony’s eyes landed on the thing that was on the floor, she was right behind the other two.
“The horror! The horror!” Lily’s signature catchphrase of dread escaped her mouth.
Then the spider scuttled towards them, and all Tartarus broke loose. Roseluck found herself at the bottom of an awkward pony-pile with her two friends right on top of her on either side, scrambling up to her head to get away from the tiny monstrosity. Her ears were ringing from the screams of terror from the two above her. She had managed to balance them on her hind legs as they all screamed in fright.
“This morning was going so well!” Daisy lamented.
“Its eyes! They’re staring right into my soul!” Lily squealed.
“Don’t look at it then!” Daisy countered, “Its stare might be cursed!”
“Or hexed!” Lily added with worry.
“Or enchanted!” Roseluck concluded.
At the same time, the spider just looked at the trio of dramatic mares. Its tiny head tilted from side to side, as if displaying confusion at the three ponies’ performance. The three ponies didn’t notice, too busy in their world of fear and dread to notice the spider’s confusion.
It was then a voice was heard from the front door of the shop. The door opened and the bell above rang.
“Fuzzy Legs? Fuzzy Legs?” A calm voice, with a hint of caring worry, called out from the front door and in trotted a certain butter-yellow pegasus. Upon seeing the three flower ponies, the pegasus smiled.
“Oh! Hello girls,” Fluttershy greeted, “Have you seen my spider Fuzzy Legs? He went missing last night and since this morning I’ve been looking everywhere for him.”
The three ponies stared at each other before Roseluck, still on her hindlegs and quivering from both fright and trying to stay in balance, pointed with a shaky hoof to the creature on the floor. Fluttershy followed where Roseluck was pointing before her face brighten at the spider.
“Fuzzy! There you are! I was so worried for you!” Fluttershy trotted over and reached a hoof out for her pet spider to climb onto.
“I’m so glad you found him,” Fluttershy turned to the flower ponies, “He didn’t scare you too much, did he?”
The three looked at each other again, Daisy and Lily managing to clamber back down onto the ground.
“Did you scare them, Fuzzy?” Fluttershy looked down at her spider, who replied with a low sound of chittering that sounded like soundness.
“Now say you’re sorry, young man!” Fluttershy said sternly. Fuzzy turned to the three cowering ponies, whimpering a stream of apologies which none of them could understand, except Fluttershy.
“He says he’s sorry,” Fluttershy translated. it was then that Fuzzy shot several webs for different flowers and reeled them on, causing Lily to yelp in fright.
Fuzzy then used his web to make a small bouquet and raised it towards the three ponies. After some hinting jabs, Roseluck plucked the courage to step forward and daintily reached out and retrieved the spider’s apologetic gift.
“Thanks…” She uttered.
“Well then, I better be off. I don’t want anything bad happening back at my cottage. Have a nice morning!” She and Fuzzy waved goodbye and left the shop, leaving three flustered ponies staring blankly at the door where Fluttershy just left.
“Another day in Ponyville, right girls?” Roseluck asked her friends warily.
They just nodded dumbly at the door.
"Every pony in town will hear about this, won't they?" Lily shuddered.
"Every pony knows every pony in this town," Daisy quipped, "Of course every pony will know."
"Let's just get back to our sales and try to get through today," Roseluck sighed.
The others quickly agreed and each headed back to their tasks.
Roseluck made extra checks to see if they weren't any more nasty surprises in the next flowers she picked.
Author's Note
Back to G4 with this fic and I wanted to focus on the everyday life of background ponies that don't get much attention. So, I'm starting off with these three drama queens. Some may say they're over the top, but I just love them for just that. My favourite moment from them would be the Cutie Pox moment with Spike and Slice of Life.
By the way, Roseluck is my favourite out of the three. Being a big Doctor Who fan, I love the reference with her and Doctor Whooves.
