Tilly stopped at the crest of the bridge leading into Ponyville, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow. She had been pulling her covered cart overnight from Canterlot, hoping that she was still early enough to get a prime spot among the other vendors at the Ponyville farmer's market. Her cart was filled with bushels of exotic fruit, a rarity in these parts of Equestria but a delicacy in lands farther south. Tilly and her siblings had decided to devote part of their orchards to grow the unique crop, hoping to use the sales from it to fund some lingering repairs on the farm. However, she hadn't had much luck in Canterlot, with only a few customers here and there. Even then, she couldn't help but donate some of her profits to that darling Filly Scout troop on her way out. With her coffers dry, she hoped that she would have better fortune in the nearby town.
The russet-coated mare took a moment to lift the edge of the weathered sun bonnet that rested atop her orange and gold curls, squinting into town as the sun broke over the horizon. She had never been to Ponyville before, although she had heard of it plenty of times through the snippets of news that she and her siblings got at their farm. When she had told some of her prospective customers that she was thinking of heading there, she got a few odd stares and some cautionary tales, but their stories seemed outrageous. She had been told stories of ravaging monsters, out-of-control magic, and the oddest collection of ponies one could imagine. She had traveled from coast to coast multiple times for the last several years to have seen more than her fair share of these small towns. Ponyville, from this vantage point, seemed no different from those. Sure, it had its own unique architectural flavor, a wood-and-whitewash consistency that gave it rustic charm, but all the usual points of interest were there. She could see a central town hall, a clock tower, a school house, and …a building shaped like a gingerbread house?
She shook her head and laughed to herself. “Tilly, ya gotta be seein’ things.” She took a deep breath and readied herself to take on the weight of the cart. The farmer’s market was nearby, marked by fluttering banners and several brightly colored tents and other stalls. She still had a great deal to set up before she would be ready for customers.
Within minutes Tilly had spoken to one of the organizers, who provided her with a prime spot between the tomato and asparagus vendors for a modest number of bits. The organizers even threw in a night’s stay at the town’s inn for the price, as other farmers from out of town would habitually spend the day there until they either sold out or it became dark. She had already backed her cart into place, and started to pull out the knotted bundle that enclosed her custom-made tent.
“Oh, good morning. Are you new here?” a bright voice spoke from behind her.
Tilly turned to answer, gripping the rope around the bundle of fabrics with her teeth. “Oh, yes, I just arrived—yer Highness!” As soon as she saw who spoke to her, she dropped the bundle and quickly knelt on her forelegs, bowing her head. She couldn’t mistake Equestria’s newest princess, Twilight Sparkle, even though she was not wearing her various pieces of regalia. News and photographs of her coronation had raced across the land, even as far out as her farm.
“Please, you don’t have to do that.” Twilight blushed a bit. Her folded wings twitched a bit, pulling in tighter towards her body. “I’m not really fond of such formalities. You can just call me Twilight Sparkle.”
Tilly peeked an eye out, noticing that the other vendors were going about their business as normal. She got back to her feet. “Sorry, I wasn’t really sure of—”
Twilight waved her hoof with a bit of a laugh. “Don’t worry about it. It took the rest of town a good month before they got used to not bowing every time I walked by.”
Tilly smiled, comforted by Twilight’s casualness. “Oh, my name’s Tilly. Well, Soil Tiller, but everypony calls me Tilly. Bit less insulin’ that way.” Tilly realized she was still wearing her bonnet in the presence of royalty and quickly removed it.
“You’re a unicorn?” Twilight uttered, staring at Tilly’s forehead. “I haven’t heard of that many that are into farming.”
Tilly looked up at her horn, something that she tried to hide to some extent using her mess of curls but could never fully cover. “Yeah, came from my Ma’s side, few generations back. Rest of the family s’all regular earth ponies.”
Twilight was pointing at Tilly’s cutie mark, a small seedling of a plant poking up from a patch of ground that stood out from her reddish-brown coat. “I didn’t know a unicorn could have earth pony-like magic.”
“It’s rare, I’ve been told, but not impossible,” Tilly said, nodding. “Seems I’ve got a knack for sensin’ what plants need better than most earth ponies. Dowsin’ for water, findin’ the best soil to grow crops, some protection spells to keep the critters away.” A frown crossed her face. “Couldn’t really help with much of the rest of the chores, but my parents, bless their souls, were pleased as punch when my talent manifested. Been a real boon to our farm since. While the rest of the family tends the fields and orchards, I run the business and go out to sell our goods.”
Twilight’s eyes lit up as she listened closely. “I’d love to talk about some of those spells with you. I could write a whole research paper on that!” She quickly realized what she said, blushing a bit. “Oh I’m sorry! You’ve got some work to do, it looks like.” Twilight waved a hoof at the bundles Tilly had been unloading and placing around her tent.
“I’d love to talk it more, but, yeah, I’ve got a bumper crop all ready to sell, and hadn’t had much luck in Manehatten or Canterlot. Hopin’ for more success here in Ponyville.”
Twilight offered her hoof and a hopeful smile to Tilly. “Well, good luck! If I have a chance, I’ll stop by later and see how you’re doing.”
“WelI, I appreciate that, Yer—er, Twilight,” Tilly spoke as she shook hooves. “And a good day to yerself!”
Twilight called back as she walked away. “Oh, and I’ll try to see if AJ can stop by. I think you two would get along really well!”
Tilly smiled, her first impression of Ponyville’s most famous resident a good one. It took her a moment to realize that time was wasting and got back to setting up her temporary stall.
Tilly finished setting up her green-and-yellow fabric tent within a half hour. She learned long ago that she didn’t want something too flashy or gaudy, but bright enough to catch the customer's eye. She had spent a good bit of money getting this custom tent made. The sides of the tent had hoof-sewn decals that displayed her name and her wares, the pale orange image of the fruit contrasting nicely against the striped background. Her bushels were closely arranged in an eye-pleasing manner in the front of her stand, and there was a small dish of samples of cut up fruit for anypony to try.
Just in time, too, as customers were starting to mill through the stalls. Tilly took a last moment to step back to assure the stall was perfect—pleasing to the eye and welcoming to the potential customer. She then used her telekinesis to carefully slip her lucky apron, made of the same yellow and green fabric as her tent, over her head and past her curled bangs. With her bonnet back in place and a smile on her face, Tilly trotted behind her table and prepared for the first of her customers.
Two hours.
Two hours Tilly had been sitting there with her smile, anxious to serve the steady stream of ponies that walked through the market and did their shopping. Not a single pony even stopped to glance at her goods. Trying to hold her smile was wearing her down. Her mind was nagging at her that she forgot something after she had spoken to Twilight, but she couldn’t place it.
The only customers that even looked in her direction was a pair of mares, a mint-colored unicorn and a cream-coated earth pony with a blue and purple mane. The two had ordered some smoothies from the vendor and then took to a nearby bench on the opposite side of the market from Tilly’s stall, appearing to simply talk and watch the morning crowds. They only caught her eye as the unicorn was sprawled out on her back in a seemingly uncomfortable position on the bench, unlike her friend who laid across it like any normal pony. When the unicorn talked and wildly gesture wildly towards her hooves, the earth pony put her hoof over her face, trying to cover her reddening cheeks. While the unicorn continued to talk, the other mare kept on rolling her eyes. Tilly had stared at the two, enthralled by what could be going on about until she realized the two were glaring back at her, like she had stood right there and rudely interrupted their discussion. Tilly quickly averted her eyes and went back to watching the crowds go back and forth.
That was more than an hour ago. The pair had long since disappeared.
Off in the distance she heard some music, a rousing march. Most of the other vendors didn’t seem to pay it heed, but several customers started to wander towards it, entranced by the sound. Fearing losing a sale, Tilly stuck to her booth despite being curious as to the attraction.
The music continued to swell and become louder, and now Tilly heard a number of cheers and the like as it neared. The sounds of a parade were unmistakable. Like the other vendors, she strained her neck to try to see the spectacle.
Just at the entrance to the market, a small group of musicians led the parade, drums pounding and horns blaring with music. Following them was a mare with a bright pink coat and a mass of pink curls for her mane, bouncing backwards on all four hooves while leading a line of ponies marching behind her in song. The lyrics were muffled at this distance but she could hear the word “smile” being sung a lot.
The line of ponies following the pink one went on for a short while until it abruptly came to an end. There were no floats, no other bands, nothing else. The music continued to play as it waned off into the distance, soon lost to the bustle of the market noise. Those customers that went to see the parade slowly wandered back into the market to resume their shopping, their conversations much more livelier than before.
Tilly stared with skepticism at the parade, perhaps the shortest one she had ever seen. She caught the eye of her neighbor, the asparagus seller. “What was that for?”
The mare next door shrugged. “Eh, happens two or three times a week. You get used to it.” She turned back as a new customer approached her wares.
Tilly realized that she had been staring at the sight with her mouth ajar, and quickly shook her head to clear away the confusion. “Okay, Tilly, maybe it’s a bit strange but you were told to expect that, right?” she thought to herself, amazed that nopony else thought a random parade was odd. Her thoughts were interrupted when something large, heavy, and green struck the side of her head.
“Watch it!” a voice called from above her.
Tilly rubbed her temple where she was struck, looking up towards the voice. A sky-blue pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane was diving down towards her. Nearby, a large tortoise hovered lazily by her stall, wearing a propeller-driven device that gave it the ability to fly. Tilly could sense the device had been infused with magic to power it.
The pegasus had quickly caught up to the creature, grabbing its shell with her hooves She turned the tortoise to face her as she reprimanded it. “Tank, I told you you need to watch where you’re going.”
The tortoise leaned its head out to give a slow, deliberate lick to the face of the pegasus, causing her to blush a bit. “Uh, yeah.” she smiled briefly before turning back to Tilly. “Sorry, Tank’s still trying to learn how to fly properly. He normally just runs into buildings instead of ponies.”
It was only a dull ache, and the sensation was already going away. “Nothin’ to worry about. I’ve gotten my own set of whaps to the head back on the farm,” Tilly said. “Er, can I ask, why is that tortoise flying?”
The pegasus had set her tortoise loose, keeping an eye on it as it flew mostly in place nearby. “Oh, Tank’s my pet!” she offered proudly, and then pointed to the strange propeller on the creature. “He might be a slowpoke on the ground, but with this, he’s able to keep up with me.”
Tilly raised an eyebrow. “Yer pet?”
The pegasus narrowed her eyes at her. “Hey, nopony ever said that pegasi can’t have pets!” Her demeanor quickly changed, returning to her previous casualness. “Besides, he’s got to fly to be able to get home,” she said, pointing a hoof to one of the distant cloud houses that hung at the edges of Ponyville. Suddenly, her face lit up, and she extended a hoof. “Oh, name’s Rainbow Dash, by the way.”
Tilly offered her hoof tentatively. “Uh, Tilly. Soil Tiller, really, but Tilly for short.”
“You must be new in town,” Rainbow said while shaking Tilly’s hoof. “Tank tends to do that with newcomers a lot.”
“Just here for the day, hopin’ to turn a profit,” Tilly said, waving a hoof towards her empty cash box. “Been a bit slow, but I’m sure it’ll pick up later.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t have to worry. The market’s always busy, I’m su—TANK! Stop that!”
Tank had found its way into one of Tilly’s baskets, taking slow, deliberate bites of the small fruits. Rainbow Dash removed the errant tortoise by its shell, looking ashamed at mess her pet had made. “Oh, geez, sorry about that!”
Tilly looked at the basket. The tortoise appeared to have simply taken bites out of numerous pieces instead of eating one whole. The damage was only to the first few layers, and Tilly started plucking out the partially-eaten goods into a spare basket with her telekinesis. Somewhere in the back of her mind, her business sense was figuring how much she should charge Rainbow Dash for the loss, but then realized too late that Tilly’s sense of generosity had already spoken for her. “Not your fault, I’d should’ve been more careful. Critters back home would do the same if we didn’t protect the crops.”
“No, no, I gotta pay for that,” Rainbow apologized, staring at Tank’s face. “See what you’ve done. I’ve told you not to eat other pony’s food,” she admonished to the tortoise.
Tank replied with another slow lick across Rainbow’s face.
Tilly had sorted out the unsellable product. “Nah, not much damage done,” she lied. The contents of the smaller basket probably was worth enough to pay for the needed repairs to the old barn on the farm.
Rainbow rubbed a forehoof behind her head, while keeping Tank under control with her other one. “Look, I've got, like, five bits on me right now, but I can fly home really quick and get some more—”
Tilly shook her head. “Don’t mention it.” Her inner voice was screaming at her, but she ignored it. “I really can’t do much with this,” she said while waving a hoof to the waste basket, “ya might as well take it, since Tank seems to like ‘em so much. I'll take what bits you have and we'll call it good, okay?”
The pegasus’ face lit up. “Really? You mean it?”
Tilly worked her magic, lifting the basket up to Rainbow Dash. “Ain’t no big deal,” she lied again. “Go ahead!”
“Tilly, you’re a great pony!” Rainbow exclaimed as she dropped a meager number of coins onto the table. She flew down and took up the weight of the basket, setting Tank atop the pile of fruit. “I’ll tell all my friends about you. That should help boost sales, right? It’s the least I can do.”
Tilly broke out her best salespony smile. “That would be mighty appreciated.”
Rainbow took a look towards the clock tower in the distance as its bells rang out the hour. “Well, I’ve got some cloud clearing to do, I better get Tank home before I do that. Nice meeting you, Tilly!”
“Same to ya, Rainbow! And Tank!” Tilly waved as the pegasus took off. As soon as the pair were just a dot on the horizon, she frowned and turned back to her remaining wares to cast a low-level pest control cantrip. “I knew I forgot something this morning. Darn that Twilight,” she reprimanded herself.
The morning had dwindled on, the crowd in the market waning after the early rush to get the freshest produce. Tilly stared down at her cash box, and chased off an errant spider that was building a cobweb in it. “It can’t be just me, can it?” she asked herself.
While contemplating her future financial prospects, Tilly noticed a white-coated unicorn stroll into the market. She had a certain regalness to her, her purple mane styled into a coif that suited her mannerism quite well. Unlike most of the other customers, she was looking at the various goods being sold with a more discerning eye.
As other customers came and went to every booth but hers, Tilly watched the unicorn carefully. The mare was systematically checking each vendor and their wares. The other vendors acted as if she were royalty, giving her a pleasant smile and their undivided attention when she paused in front of their stall. For most, the unicorn passed on without a verbal acknowledgement; Tilly could see the disappointment in their faces as soon as the unicorn walked by. At the few vendors she did stop at, she spoke at length with them, and brought out some bits that quickly disappeared into the respective cash boxes. Tilly could not miss the saleponies’ elation of a successful sale as the unicorn progressed through the stalls.
“Maybe this could be my lucky day,” Tilly thought to herself.
The unicorn was just next door at the tomato stand, giving the produce only the briefest of glances before turning up her head and walking towards Tilly. Tilly steadied herself, putting on the best welcoming grin she could muster.
Her potential customer stood and narrowed her eyes, carefully accessing Tilly and her display. Tilly dared not to say a word. Even though she felt a bead of sweat form on her brow, she didn’t move to wipe it away.
It may have taken only a few seconds, but it felt like hours to Tilly before the unicorn broke out in a smile. “Oh, that is a lovely color combination, dear!” she said in a singsong manner while pointing to her tent.
Tilly was momentarily taken aback, expecting to be answering questions about her wares. “Oh, er, well, yes, I chose the colors myself, er, Miss...” she trailed off.
“Oh, my name’s Rarity,” her customer answered, but her attention was fixed on the tent. “You really have a good eye for color. That chartreuse really plays well off the maize you picked.”
“Er, yes, I was very careful in my selections.” Tilly played along, having only the vaguest sense of what Rarity was getting at. She only picked out the colors because she thought they looked nice and stood out a bit. Plus the fabric was within her budget when she had the tent made.
Rarity held her hoof up to her chin, her brow furrowed as she thought aloud. “I can see the potential for a whole line of spring dresses using that combination!” She suddenly slammed her hooves down on the stall’s table, leaning in anxiously towards Tilly. “I must ask, do you have any samples of those fabrics?”
“I’ve got a few scraps for patchin’ up the tent. Would that work?” Tilly asked hopefully. She was a bit worried that Rarity hadn’t shown a bit of interest in her wares.
“Oh, that would be perfect!”
Tilly nodded and fetched two small squares of the fabric from her tool chest in her cart. She levitated the fabric over to Rarity, whose eyes glistened as her own magic took up the materials.
“Oooh, these are so lovely! Thank you, thank you!” the unicorn nearly squealed.
“So will you buy any?” Tilly asked, a gleam of hope in her eyes.
“Buy any what?" Rarity asked, her focus squarely on the swatches in front of her.
Tilly was having trouble keeping her smile as she pointed down earnestly towards her product. “Well, this fine fruit I’ve got for sale here.”
Rarity took one sideways glance before returning her attention to scraps of fabric. “Oh, sorry, no. That color—blech—simply doesn’t work. Canterlot may be into food-inspired clothing, but that—” she pointed delicately with a hoof towards the barrels without looking away from the samples, “—will certainly not do for the elite.”
It took every ounce of Tilly’s willpower to not let her salespony grin drop for a second. “Well, I’ll still be here through the day if ya change yer mind,” she replied through clenched teeth. “But I do hope ya like those samples.”
Rarity’s eyes hadn’t moved off the squares of fabric. “Oh, thank you again for these samples.” A small frown crossed her face. “I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name.”
“My name’s Soil Tiller, but everypony just calls me Tilly.”
“‘Tilly’?” What a lovely name,” Rarity said, breaking back into a smile. “It was very nice chatting with you, but I really must get back to my boutique to work on these outstanding ideas I’ve gotten. These colors are just so perfect!” she called out as she moved onward, squealing a bit with inspiration from the color swatches that floated in front of her.
“Don’t mention it.” Tilly growled to herself. “But remember, the customer is always right,” she reminded herself. She closed her eyes and took several deep, calming breaths to relax herself, trying to forget this latest incident.
“Tilly!” somepony shouted at her, breaking her relaxation. She opened her eyes to find Twilight Sparkle running towards her booth at a gallop. Other ponies shopping in the market made a path for the oncoming mare as if by second nature.
“Yer Hi—er, Twilight, what can I do for you?” Tilly asked, hopefully.
Twilight had reached her stall, trying to catch her breath. “Can I borrow some of these?”
Tilly was confused but couldn’t deny the Princess. “Well, sure—”
Twilight hadn’t waited for Tilly to finish as her magic grabbed onto one of her smaller baskets. “Thanks a bunch, Tilly!” She was already racing back the way she came, the basket floating behind her in the grip of her telekinesis. “I’ll be sure to pay you back!”
“But, what do you need them for?” Tilly asked, confused
Twilight called back over her shoulder, “No time to explain!” The mare continued to gallop out of the market, shouting out ahead of her. “AJ! I’ve got something to lure the parasprites out of town! Lead them this way!” Whatever else Twilight had instructed was lost as she disappeared into the town proper.
Tilly, as well as many of the other vendors and customers, stared at Twilight’s exit. The others soon returned to their business as if nothing had happened.
“Now I see why they said Ponyville was a bit strange,” Tilly thought to herself, still trying to make sense of the last few minutes.
“Hey, ma’am?” a high-pitched voice with a drawl called out.
Tilly had been lost in her thoughts. The lunch hour was dwindling down, and she had yet to make a sale. She had given out plenty of free samples, but not a single bit to show for her patience.
“Hey, you there, lady?” another voice chimed in, a bit more harsher than the first.
“Oh, oh!” Tilly jolted out of her thought-meanderings. She looked up but didn’t see anypony at first. It took her just a moment to realize the voices were pitched higher than normal, and took a peek over the edge of her table. There stood three young fillies, each with a matching red cape with a strange blue decal on it. Tilly put on a smile, thinking to herself, “Kids would have money too.” “Can I help you?”
An orange-coated one with a purple mane prodded her companion, who had a bright-red bow in her hair. “I told you she speaks just like you, Apple Bloom! She must be from the Apple family!”
Apple Bloom winced at the poke. “Not everypony in mah family speaks like that, Scoots. Besides, she wasn’t at the last reunion. I would’ve seen her before.”
The third of the group coughed and pushed the others aside, speaking with a more assured tone. “Sorry, my friends are a bit rambunctious. My name’s Sweetie Belle, this is Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and we are—”
The other two joined in with Sweetie Belle to simultaneously shout “THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” right into Tilly’s face.
Tilly winced and rubbed her ear with a hoof, the noise still ringing in her head. “Well, ya all got a mighty strong voice,” she said, still hoping this would be a sale at last.
“Well, you see, ma’am, we’re still trying to get our cutie marks,” Sweetie Belle continued, “and we’ve been asking everypony how they got theirs.”
“And since you’re new in town, we’d thought we could hear your story!” Scootaloo finished, flashing a hopeful smile and a glimmer in her eye. The other two fillies joined in to give Tilly the same wide-eyed, big-grin optimistic look.
Tilly shrugged. “Why sure! I’ve got nothin’ better to do right now.” She starting to think back to a good starting point for her story.
“Oh, hey, free samples!” Apple Bloom pointed to the small dish on the table.
“Go right ahead, fillies.” Tilly smiled, pushing the dish to the edge of the table with her hoof. The samples had always led to sales in the past.
The three fillies each grabbed a slice of fruit and chewed on it while Tilly collected her thoughts. “It was harvest plantin’ time, when I was about yer age. The last season had been a terrible drought, and we really needed this year to go well to save the farm and orchard. But the soil just wasn’t co-operatin’. Try as Pa might, not a single seedlin’ rose from the ground.”
Tilly unconsciously noted that her audience continued to grab at her sample plate while listening intently. “Pa was just about to consider sellin’ the farm when I felt a strange tug on my horn, draggin’ me out into a field of trees that died out a few years ago. Pa had considered the field all dried up and was goin’ to sell it off to keep at least part of the farm. My horn plumb stopped me right in the middle of that field.”
“Oh, that’s just like what happened to my sister!” Sweetie Belle piped up, downing one slice of sample while reaching for another.
“Pa and my siblings were all flabbergasted at the sight, havin’ not see much unicorn magic before. They thought I was possessed or somethin’. As I got up from the dry field, my hoof fell into a hole, and suddenly I felt my hoof get wet. Not mud, but water! We quickly dug out the field and found a huge reservoir of water waitin’ right there for us to use. In a day we had been able to irrigate all of our fields and then some, and that year’s harvest was one of our best. That’s ‘bout when I got mah cutie mark here.” Tilly concluded her story, showcasing her flank to the girls.
The three remained quiet for a moment, staring at Tilly.
“Farming?” Sweetie Belle asked, incredulously.
“Seriously?” Scootaloo said, raising one of her eyebrows..
Sweetie Belle pointed her hoof towards another temporary vendor. “I told you her’s wasn’t going to be interesting! Let’s try that stallion. He’s selling watermelons.”
Scootaloo was already trotting over to him. “Yeah! He’s got to have a better story! Maybe he got it in watermelon seed spitting!”
Apple Bloom looked towards her departing friends and back to Tilly, a slight blush on her face. “Uh, thanks for the story, ma’am. It was ‘all interstin’ but we’ve seen lots of farmin’ cutie marks today, and if that was our special talent, we’d have gotten it long ago.”
Tilly shook her head, more amused than annoyed. “Nah, that’s alright. Farmin’ not all that interestin’ compared to other talents.”
“I’ll tell mah sis, Applejack, to come see you. She’ll have some great farmin’ stories ta share with you!” the filly offered.
“Apple Bloom!” her two friends shouted, waiting for her to catch up.
“Uh, right,” Apple Bloom said awkwardly. “I better get goin’.” As the filly turned to leave, she turned back. “Oh, and thanks for those samples! Those were really good!”
Tilly smiled back and then realized what Apple Bloom said. She looked down, finding the sample plate completely empty.
“Deep breaths, Tilly. Deep breaths,” she thought to herself, before fetching a knife to restock the sample plate.
The afternoon heat was starting to wane. A few of the other vendors had already packed up, their products already sold out. Tilly was still looking at an empty cash box. She even dropped a few of her own bits into it, hoping that it would help make her look less pathetic to the potential customers.
Her mood was not soothed by the noise coming from a pair of mares, performing in a nearby gazebo. One elegantly played on her cello. The other was doing something with a phonographic record atop a metallic table, somehow producing squealing and ground-shaking music that managed to be in harmony with the cellist. Seeing passersby dropping bits into the empty cello case infuriated Tilly.
She had stayed there, trying to be kind and offer samples to those who passed. Instead, everypony else had a set list of produce to get and had no interest in trying something new. By this point, Tilly had resigned to stay put behind her table, struggling to maintain the same welcoming smile, hoping that somepony would come by.
Tilly caught sight of a grey pegasus, her blond mane bouncing alongside her saddlebags as she drifted close to the ground. She was aimlessly looking at the stalls on the other side of the market. Tilly could tell even at this distance that the mare was her favorite type of customer, a window shopper, who would spend their bits on a whim.
The grey pegasus finished along the row, and then turned towards the other side. Tilly couldn’t put her hoof on it, but there was something about her face that seemed quite... odd.
However, she had little time to question it as the pegasus dashed towards her stand. By now, Tilly could see what was off-putting—the poor mare’s eyes were looking in opposite directions, though this didn’t seem to affect her vision.
“Oooh!” the pegasus uttered, looking closely at Tilly’s wares. Her voice was a bit slurred but still easy to understand. “Are these—?”
“Yes!” Tilly jumped in. This was her first customer that seemed to know what she was selling. “Yes they are!”
The mare’s face lit up. “Can I try one?”
Tilly nodded vigorously, assured this was a sale at last. “Please, go ahead!”
The pegasus grabbed one of her stock from the barrel and dropped it in her mouth whole. Suddenly, her face contorted, reacting to the taste. After a moment she spit the food out, and tried to get the taste off her tongue. “Yuck! That’s not a gobstopper!”
Tilly stared transfixed. “No, it’s not candy. It’s—”
The pegasus huffed, still trying to spit away the taste from her mouth. “You should have told me that!” With that, the mare promptly turned and drifted off, briefly crashing into the side of the next stall over before regaining the proper direction.
“Oh, Celestia,” Tilly thought, putting her hoof to her head to keep herself calm, but her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a loud distant crash. A number of ponies dashed through the market, panicked looks on their faces. She could hear a few screams and more crashes and bangs coming from the edge of town, out of sight of the marketplace. A discomforting large cloud of smoke rose from the outskirts of Ponyville.
Tilly was hesitating whether to stay, run, or go see what the matter was when somepony called out her name. She turned to see Twilight Sparkle there, panting a bit with a frightened look on her face.
“Dare I ask what’s happenin’?”
“There’s a giant fire hound loose in Ponyville! Do you think I could borrow more of these?” Twilight asked, pointing a hoof to a larger barrel. The roar of an unleashed fireball came from afar.
“A fire hound?!” Tilly shouted incredulously. She had seen one once; she and her siblings had to help save a neighboring farm from a similar creature. By the time it had finished its rampage, there was nothing but cinders on their property.
“Yes, and I need to get him away from town quickly!” Her magic had already enveloped the barrel to carry off.
Tilly eagerly ushered her off her hooves. “Go ‘head, take it! Ya’ need to save everypony!”
With the barrel fully in her control, Twilight raced off. “I promise I’ll pay you back for this!” she called back behind her.
Another loud roar echoed just beyond the market, uncomfortably closer than the last one. Tilly thought she saw the creature’s head surrounded by an aura of flame rear up over the rooftops. Screams of panic still carried through town, but seeing that nopony was heading towards any specific spot in particular, Tilly resolved to stand her ground, figuring it would be safer than running into the unknown.
There were a few more roars over the next several minutes, but soon the noise subsided, replaced by that of a cheering crowd. “Sounds like that worked,” Tilly thought, and watched as ponies slowly started meandering back into the market, chatting eagerly among themselves.
The tomato vendor, who had been one of the first to leave her stall to follow the commotion, soon came back. “Wow, you should have seen it! Twilight sure knows how to handle dangerous creatures!”
Tilly frowned, wishing she had gone to see too. “What’d she do?”
The vendor laughed. “She had the fire hound staring her down, about to engulf her with its fire breath, when she fed it this giant barrel of produce.”
Tilly’s ears perked and she smiled at the story. “I’m glad that I could help,” she thought.
“Don’t know what that stuff was, but it made that dog creature sicker than a pegasus with the feather flu. It ran straight back to where it came from! Twilight’s got a few others making sure it stays there.”
Tilly’s smile vanished immediately, her ears drooping. “Oh, well, that’s an...interestin’ way of dealin’ with that problem.” It was a struggle not to vent her anger at the messenger.
The day lumbered on. Tilly could see the clock tower from the market and watched as each minute slowly ticked by. It was late afternoon and traffic had picked up a bit as various ponies started collecting fresh produce to make their dinners with. Tilly hadn't taken lunch, and picked at her own samples to stop her stomach rumbling.
Still trying to keep a pleasing, salespony demeanor, she watched the crowd for potential customers, but couldn’t seem to catch a single pony’s attention. The few that did look her way seemed disinterested and confused about her product.
There was a disturbance in the crowd, and Tilly saw the gathered ponies step aside instinctively. She looked towards the source of the disturbance. She instinctively took in a deep breath at the sight.
There stood a creature that towered over all the ponies, even the tallest stallions. But that wasn’t it—his snake-like body was a mish-mash of various animal parts. Tilly thought she saw the legs of a lion, wings from a dragon, and a mismatched set of horns.
And whatever it was, it was walking freely in the market.
Tilly looked back and forth, fully expecting Twilight Sparkle to be arriving to ward off the danger, but realized that nopony else was panicked. They kept their distance from the creature, but otherwise ignored its presence.
Tilly had come to realize that she could judge any danger in Ponyville by watching the mannerisms of the others around her. She recalled the appearance of the fire hound, but other events clued her in to what was considered “normal” for the town. Earlier in the day, a bulking minotaur and two goats had come through the market. Tilly found it curious they were shopping there, but nopony seemed to mind their presence. She had spotted a few griffons fly in and shop as well, but this seemed like an everyday thing to the other vendors. And then there was that dragon. Well, only a young dragon—he was barely taller than those fillies from earlier. Tilly had heard how unruly they could get and recalled the advice that if a dragon’s greed kicked in, that one should make haste to the closest shelter. However, the dragon seemed awfully polite to the vendors he shopped with and nopony else raised a fuss.
This creature seemed far more dangerous than those earlier sights, but Tilly took some comfort that no one was panicking or fleeing. She remained worried that nopony wanted to be close to him except for one yellow and pink pegasus that flew next to him. Her eyes were closed and she had a innocent smile on her face. The pair were approaching the tomato stall next to hers, and Tilly was able to overhear snippets of their conversation.
“Now, Discord, remember what I told you about treating other ponies nicely,” she explained in a soft but cheerful voice. “We don’t want to scare any of the vendors like last time, right?”
Close up, the tall, strange creature reeked of mischief to Tilly; she had been the subject of enough practical jokes from her younger brothers to know when somepony was up to no good. The creature’s eyes darted back and forth across the market. His fore-appendages—one ending in a claw and the other in a talon—fidgeted back and forth against each other, keeping them busy from doing anything else. “Yes, Fluttershy. I promise I’ll try to not to do any chaos this time,” the creature said in his deep voice.
The pegasus drifted up to pet the creature on its head. “Well, as long as you try, that’s good enough for me.”
Tilly’s eyes shot open as her mind raced. She had heard of “Discord” before, but hadn’t been able to place the name until the word “chaos” was mentioned. Memories of her Equestria history class flooded her mind. Her lessons about the War of Chaos, hundreds of years ago, came back to her. Her schoolmare never spent much time on the topic, treating it like a bit of dust swept under a rug, but she knew enough about it. It was common knowledge that one should avoid that region in the far north of Equestria where the residual effects of Discord’s magic rendered it uninhabitable.
“This is Discord?!” Tilly’s instincts told her to get out of there now, but she calmly rationalized to herself that if nopony else was running away, she probably had nothing to worry about. But how did—
“Um, hello?” the pegasus asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Tilly snapped out of her train of thoughts to see the two standing before her wares. “Oh, um, hello. Er, can I help ya?” The table fortunately blocked the sight of her legs shaking at addressing the pair.
There was a brief moment of silence before the pegasus nudged Discord in the side. “Oh, yes,” he said with some trepidation, looking back and forth between Tilly and the pegasus. “Fluttershy and myself are looking to...uh, ask about your goods here.” He looked down to the pegasus, who gave Discord a reassuring nod.
“Well, certainly,” Tilly said, offering her sample plate. “You can take a taste—”
“Oh, I can’t take it anymore!” Discord screamed. “I’ve got to do something!” He raised his talon and snapped his fingers towards one of the barrels of Tilly’s product.
Tilly turned her head from the brief flash of light, and when she turned back, her jaw dropped open. The barrel had gained numerous pairs of tiny legs like a centipede. It pitter-pattered around and wandered blindly into her table, the other barrels, and the frame of the asparagus stand nearby. Every bump knocked some of her product to the ground. Tilly stood flabbergasted as the barrel marched itself into the open space of the market. A wave of panic quickly spread through the gathered crowd.
“DISCORD!” Fluttershy screamed at the creature. Her voice was raised but still managed to be barely above a normal speaking tone. She had flown up to his eye level to stare angrily at him. “Put that back right now!”
Discord had been smiling and laughing at his folly but he quickly became remorse once Fluttershy yelled at him. He sunk a bit under her steady gaze, a hint of fear in his eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“NOW, mister.” Fluttershy moved her head further down to stare at Discord, the creature slinking even lower at the unwavering gaze.
“Right, right,” Discord whispered, and without looking, snapped his fingers. The same flash of light occurred, after which the barrel—less its spilled produce—had been returned to Tilly’s stall. Tilly tilted the barrel to verify that the mysterious legs had been removed. The screams of panic started to wane away as the other ponies realized what had just happened.
Fluttershy drifted back down to ground level, and her voice returned to the soft calming tone Tilly heard before. “Now, Discord, will you apologize to this nice mare here?”
Discord hung his head low. “I’m...I’m sorry, madam. I shouldn’t have done that.”
Fluttershy smiled, and petted Discord’s side. “Now, I think you better go back to the cottage for the time being. I’ll finish up shopping so we can make dinner together, okay?”
“Yes, Fluttershy,” Discord mumbled, and prepared to snap his talons again.
Fluttershy held her hoof to the talons. “And if I hear one peep from Angel Bunny about you mistreating him...” she said threateningly.
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” he quickly rattled off, keeping a careful eye on the pegasus.
Any hint of anger in Fluttershy’s tone vanished. “Thanks, Discord! I’ll see you later.” She removed her hoof from the talon. Once it was free, Discord snapped his talon, and in the same blinding light as before, was gone.
“I have to apologize for Discord, miss. He’s been trying really hard to control his magic, but he gets antsy sometimes,” Fluttershy said.
Tilly realized her mouth was still agape since Discord used his magic the first time and quickly shut it. “Oh, I guess it weren’t nothin’.” She hesitated, trying to find something to say. “So, uh, that’s Discord? I’ve heard about him.”
Fluttershy beamed. “Oh, he’s a really nice guy once you get to know him. He’s reformed, you know. None of that nasty ‘spirit of chaos’ from before.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Tilly said. She told herself that this was one less aspect of the craziness in Ponyville she needed to learn about after everything else that had happened today.
The two looked at each other in awkward silence for a moment. They simultaneously shuffled at the ground with a hoof.
Fluttershy looked down towards the ground, and was suddenly startled. “Oh, dear. Discord knocked all your fruit to the ground.”
Tilly looked over the table, and saw that several pieces were coated with dirt from the market ground. She looked out over into the main area of the market where the animated barrel had wandered, and saw several fruits were scattered about, most trampled on by the panicked population.
“I have to insist to pay you for that.” Fluttershy offered, reaching towards her saddlebags. “I don't think I have that many bits right now, not after Discord's last major outburtst, but I assure you I can pay you back later."
“No, don’t worry ‘bout it,” Tilly said, the nagging voice at the back of her mind screaming at her. “Doesn’t look like a whole lot, and I’ve accounted for losses like that from travelin’. Let's just call it five bits and we're good, okay?”
“Oh, that’s great.” Fluttershy smiled at her, her wing pulling out the few coins from her bags and carefully laying them on the table. “I really appreciate it.”
“Just the right thin’ to do, you know?” Her inner voice gave up, and drifted into the corners of Tilly’s mind to take a long nap.
Fluttershy gasped. “Oh, I never introduced myself. I’m Fluttershy, I’m glad to meet you.” She quickly offered her hoof to Tilly.
“Tilly. Soil Tiller, but my friends call me Tilly,” Tilly said, shaking the offered hoof.
“We should have a cup of tea together, I can introduce you to all my animal friends,” Fluttershy said.
“The offer’s much appreciated, Fluttershy, but I’ve gotta head back home tomorrow,” Tilly said while shaking her head. “But maybe next time I’m in town?”
“That sounds like a great idea!” Fluttershy’s smile was one of those one could not help but grin back at. “Well, I’ve got more shopping to do. Good luck with the rest of the day.”
“And you have yerself a good one!” Tilly offered with a grin as Fluttershy drifted off. She took a few cleansing breaths to calm herself before going out to clean up the produce spilled on the ground.
Tilly sighed. Her hopes of today being profitable waned quickly along with the daylight as the sun settled into the mountains to the west. She was one of the last few stands open; the asparagus and tomato vendors had long since sold out and left. Only a few of the temporary stalls remained. Customers were still drawn towards them without giving a single glance towards Tilly's. Several torches had been lit to ward off the oncoming darkness.
Scanning through the crowd hoping to catch sight potential buyers, she saw an orange-coated mare pulling a large box on wheels. The box’s sides were painted in bright reds and oranges with an unmistakable apple theme. The newcomer looked around the marketplace and her eyes were immediately drawn to Tilly.
“Say, ya must be Tilly. Twi told me you’d be here, and Apple Bloom was talkin’ about a new vendor in town,” the mare announced as she approached Tilly’s stall.
Tilly tried to think back, remembering the younger fillies from earlier. “Ah, you must be... Applejack?” she said, offering a hoof as the mare got close.
“Darn tootin’, but you just can call me AJ. Nice ta meet you!” Applejack shook her hoof vigorously. “Say, you mind I set up mah stall right here? Got a bunch of fresh baked apple products here I need ta sell, and that’ll give us the opportunity ta talk and get to know each other better.”
Tilly waved her hoof vaguely. “Sure, go ahead. I’d love to talk, been rather quiet all day”
Applejack rolled her cart in front of the empty asparagus stand, and unhitched herself from it. She then stepped back from the cart, eying its side, and gave it a powerful kick with a back leg. The cart popped open, shelves and panels automatically extending themselves from the box. Within moments, the cart had unfolded into a visually-pleasing makeshift stand, full of baked goods.
Tilly looked on in awe. “That’s mighty impressive.” She took a sniff of the air, catching the scent of freshly baked goods as it drifted her way. “And downright smells delicious!”
Applejack blushed a bit at the compliment. “Weren’t anythin’ much. Got a bit of help from Big Mac to make it work just right.” She returned to inspect her wares, adjusting a few that has shifted out of place while continuing to talk. “So, Apple Bloom tells me you came from a farm? That’s pretty strange for a unicorn.”
Tilly nodded, “Home’s about a half-day travel from Apple-loosa.”
“Hey, mah cousin Braeburn is there! Ya should look him up on your way back.” As Applejack talked, a customer trotted up to her stand, pointing her hoof towards one of the apple pies on display. “Oh, hold on a moment.”
“Maybe I will, I usually stop there before the last leg of the trip home.” Tilly offered.
Applejack had finished her sale and looked over at Tilly’s stall. “That sure is an interestin’ rarity you're sellin’ here. We don’t see much of those in Ponyville. Soil’s just not right for it, it seems.”
"It's mostly a southern fruit, that's for sure. But seems that the land at our farm is near perfect to grow them right, least that's what mah magic told me," Tilly explained as she pointed to her horn. "We decided to might as well try it, it couldn't hurt, you know?"
Another pony had come up to Applejack’s stand, pointing to a plate of steaming apple fritters, and Applejack continued to talk as she worked the sale. “How’s sales goin’? The ponies here love tryin’ new things.”
Tilly lied, keeping the smile on her face as she watched two more ponies file in line for Applejack’s goods. “I’ve made a few. It’s an acquired taste, that’s for sure, but once ya get it, ya can’t put ‘em down.”
Applejack kept on serving the line of ponies that had started to form around her. “I hear ya! I never really got used to the taste, but mah aunt and uncle in Manehatten just love them!”
By now, more than half of Applejack’s original stock had been sold, and the queue for her stall was several customers long. Tilly wondered to herself if somepony had cast an invisibility spell on her. “Ya seem to be doing awfully well there, Applejack.”
“Oh, ya ain’t seen nothin’, it’s even worse during cider season!” Applejack laughed. “Can’t keep anythin’ in stock whatsoever.”
A steady flow of bits continued to fall into Applejack’s cast box. Tilly’s smile remained unbroken while she muttered indistinctly under her breath.
“Well, hey, would ya look at that! I’m sold out already!” Applejack said, assessing her empty stand. She shouted to the remaining ponies in line, “Sorry, everypony, we’ll have more tomorrow for you!”
The few ponies left in line muttered their disappointments but otherwise quietly left the market area. Applejack carefully collected all her bits into the cash box, and then gave the side of the cart another well-placed hoof kick. The stand collapsed in on itself, folding itself back neatly into the cart.
“Woo-hee, this was a good day! I’ll have to tell Granny that those fritters of hers sold really well,” Applejack said, turning back to Tilly. “Ya know, you should really try to make some of these into baked goods, those will really take off. They must be great in fruit pies. Oh, and I can get ya Granny’s recipe for apple fritters, you could make a few changes and get these—”
“Oh, hey, AJ!” Twilight Sparkle called out, approaching Tilly’s stand. At least this time, she seemed calm and was in no rush, Tilly noted. Twilight had a pair of bulging saddlebags across her back. “I see you finally got a chance to meet Tilly.”
“Been one heck of a busy day, I tell ya.” Applejack nodded. “But ya were right, Twi, she and I got along like peas in a pod.”
Tilly maintained her cool, calm demeanor, despite the simmering rage she felt inside. “Oh, yes, Applejack is just like my sisters. She’s welcome any time back at my farm.”
“Great!” Twilight exclaimed. “Hey, Tilly, I wanted to thank you again for your help earlier today.”
Tilly couldn’t help but give a short bow. “Oh, wasn’t anythin’, Twilight.”
“But it was great help! And now that the dust has cleared, I’ve come to repay you properly,” Twilight said, her magic popping open one of her saddlebags and lifting out a bag weighed down by bits. She smiled as she set the bag down on the table. "I hope that will be enough?"
Tilly tensed up a bit in a moment of indecision. “Ah, I can’t take all that money, Pri—er, Twilight.” Her mind screamed at her for blabbing too fast, “Why do I always let my generosity get the better of me?”
“You sure?” Twilight asked, an eyebrow raised. “That’s got to be a lot of money you could have made instead.”
Tilly wanted to change her mind, but was too far down that road to make the change without appearing rude. “Nah, I’m sure the damage woulda been a lot worse if you didn’t have it. You probably have a bunch of buildings to repair anyway after that fire hound attack. It was mah pleasure to be of service. I just ask for enough to cover mah travelin' costs.”
“How right neighborly of ya, Tilly!” Applejack said.
Tilly used her magic to extract a couple dozen bits from the bag, a tiny fraction compared to the amount it held. "When you grow up on a farm, charity's one of the first things you learn about."
Twilight nodded in agreement as she returned the bag to her packs after Tilly was done. “You’d fit right here in Ponyville, Tilly.” Twilight’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Oh, speaking of generosity,” she said as her magic went back to work the latch on the other saddlebag.
Tilly shook her head. “I told ya, ya don’t have to worry about—”
“Oh, this isn’t payment. It’s a gift,” Twilight said cheerfully, her magic lifting a green-and-yellow object from the bag and levitating it over to Tilly. “Rarity said that you gave her some great inspiration and she insisted I make sure you got this.”
The object landed in Tilly’s raised hoof. It was a wonderful-looking sun bonnet, the same green and yellow stripes as her tent. The hat was adorned with elaborate trim and a band of small garnets and emeralds around the inside rim. It was a perfect match for her tent.
Tilly had to take a breath at the sight of the sun bonnet. It wasn’t money, but she could tell it wasn’t inexpensive either. Tilly knew enough about the difficulties of sewing from repairing fabrics on the farm. She could see the exquisite quality of the work done for the bonnet.
“Wow, that’s perfect for ya, Tilly,” Applejack said as Tilly placed the bonnet on her head.
“I...I don’t know what to say,” Tilly uttered, genuinely surprised at the gift. She used her magic to bring herself a mirror from her personal bag to admire herself with it.
“Rarity really is on a tear at her boutique right now. Whatever you did for her must have truly inspired her,” Twilight said. “She would have loved to come herself, but she told me she couldn’t stop coming up with new dress designs.”
Tilly sniffled a little. It was a small favor, and certainly wouldn’t help her finances, but after the day she had, it was a big thing. “Can ya thank her for me? Tell her I really love it and I’m glad I could be of help.”
“Of course.” Twilight nodded. “I’m afraid I didn’t get a chance today to talk to you about your magic. Maybe we can do it next time you're in town?”
“I’d be honored, Twilight.”
Applejack shook Tilly’s hoof again before wriggling herself back onto her cart hitch. “It was right great meetin’ ya, but I’ve got more chores back on the farm. I’d best be gettin’ back.”
“And I’ve got to get back to the library to write some letters to Princess Celestia. She’s probably wondering what happened here today,” Twilight added, also taking Tilly’s hoof.
“Great to meet you!” Tilly called out as the two mares left in separate directions. She happily continued to look at herself in her new bonnet before realizing that she hadn’t yet made a single sale today. She sighed, carefully setting aside her gift. She then slowly banged her head against the tabletop in frustration.
The sky had long turned lavender, and stars speckled among the few scattered clouds. All of the other vendors had long since closed up shop. One stallion was dousing the flickering torches that had illuminated the market during the last few hours. Tilly intended to stick it out, even if the entire market was in the dark. She had nowhere to go except a lonely and quiet room at the inn, and she had not had a single sale all day. The small bit of warmth she had from being charitable to help save the town was outweighed by knowing she basically had given away a quarter of her product for free.
Tilly let out an audible sigh. Her high, positive impression of Ponyville that she started the day with had completely disappeared. Rarity’s gift was the only bright spot, and her dearth of sales completely overwhelmed it. Whichever pony it was that told her she’d do well in Ponyville was completely out of their mind. Tilly resolved herself to never step hoof in the town again once she left the next day. She thought back to all the stories that she had heard about the eeriness of Ponyville. Now she could fully appreciate the warnings that she had been given.
Tilly turned to start packing up when she caught a pony trotting—make that bouncing—through the market, humming a jaunty tune to herself. Tilly had seen her before during that parade in the morning with her unmistakable pink mess of hair.
The bouncing pony continued through the market. She paused long enough to give her a cheerful smile and a wave to Tilly. “Hi there!”
Tilly shrugged, her sour mood barely changed. “Oh, hello,” she mumbled while working the fabrics of her tent down.
The pony stopped, tilting her head curiously. “Oh, is anything wrong? Anything I can do to help?”
Tilly continued to fold her tent up with a combination of her magic and hooves. “Just packin’ my goods away. Not a single sale today.”
“Ohh, whatcha’ selling?”
Tilly rustled through one of her barrels, pulling out a small orange fruit. “Oh, just kumquats.”
“Kumquats?!” The pink pony somehow had crossed the distance between them in a fraction of a second. She leaned directly into her face. “You have kumquats?!” she asked with far too much overeagerness.
“Er, yeah.” Tilly looked back. “Several barrels worth, actually.”
“Oh, I just love kumquats!” the pony nearly squealed. She leaned her head back to her side. From out of nowhere, she pulled out a hefty cloth bag that she dropped on Tilly’s counter. Several bits spilled from it across the table. “I’ll take everything!”
Tilly was stunned. “I...I...” she tried to speak.
“Oh! I see!” the other mare said, reaching back and pulling out a second bag of money from who-knows-where. “I know they can be really expensive. This should cover it all.” The mare’s grin grew even wider.
Tilly tried to catch her breath. The first bag was easily enough to cover her costs of her wares and traveling, as well as all the product she lost to the various disasters earlier in the day. The second bag—not only could they get the barn repaired, her brother could get that fancy new plow he always talked about, and the farm would easily make it through the long winter and beyond. Maybe she could even commission the local carpenter to build her a cart that set itself up automatically, like Applejack’s.
Tilly shook her head. She was not one to take advantage of a customer. “No, no, that’s far too much!” she protested.
Her customer laughed, digging out a hoofful of kumquats in her arms. “Oh, I love kumquats! I could eat them all day!” She stuffed one in her mouth. “And it’s a funny word to say! Kumquats! Kumquats! Kumquats!” Spray of the fruit’s juice went everywhere as she spoke.
“But—” Tilly opened her mouth to speak.
The mare’s face exploded with realization. “Oh, oh! I can finally throw a kumquat party! I’ve been wanting to do one for so long! I’ve had a kumquat costume made just for the occasion!” She broke off her rattling to stare directly at Tilly. “Oh, you must come—it will be the best kumquat party ever!”
Tilly had to catch her breath as the mare’s excitement was getting to her as well. “Uh, I’d love to, but I’ve gotta head back home tomorrow—”
The pony’s elation waned by a tiny fraction. “Oh, that’s too bad. But don’t worry, we’ll throw another one next time you’re in town, okay?”
Tilly’s mind was trying to keep up with her customer’s rambling. “Uh, sure, that sounds great. But, you paid far too—”
The mare went on, oblivious to Tilly’s comment. “Oh! Kumquat-ade! And with a bit of zap apple juice, that’s even better than cider!”
Tilly opened her mouth to insist that she take some of her money back, but the pony was enjoying herself far too much. “Er, I could deliver these to yer house after I finish loadin’,” she offered.
“Oh, that would be great! The Cakes could make their fabulous Kumquat Surprise.” Dropping her load of kumquats into the barrel, she pointed a hoof towards the gingerbread-house-shaped building at the center of town. “It’s just right over there.”
“Figures,” Tilly thought to herself. “Sure, no problem.”
Taking a piece of fruit for the road, her customer turned to leave. “Oh, that’s right, I never introduced myself. I’m Pinkie Pie!” she eagerly extended a hoof towards Tilly.
Tilly was still stunned at Pinkie Pie’s spontaneous behavior. It took a moment before she returned the gesture. “Oh, Tilly. Well, Soil Tiller, but everypony calls me Tilly.”
Pinkie wildly shook her hoof. “Great to meet you, Tilly. And thanks for all these delicious kumquats—can’t wait to see you next time you’re in town!” She waved back towards Tilly before bouncing off again towards the center of town. Her hops were a bit more livelier than before, and she repeatedly sang “kumquats” to herself.
Tilly watched as Pinkie continued out of sight, and then started down at the bags of money left on her table. A faint, but genuine smile formed on her face. “Maybe Ponyville isn’t that bad of a place,” she thought, already making plans to come back next year after the harvest.
Author's Note
First major slice-of-life story from myself. I am looking for EQD posting here and while I have had help of a copyedit (thanks to p0n00b at ponychan.net, and JohnPerry here at FIMFict) I'd appreciate any suggestions and improvements.
(and also a better image with Tilly, but that might be looking for too much *grin*)
