//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - Trouble // Story: Blooming Fabulous // by Appletastic //------------------------------// "Who cares what you say, Rose?! I certainly don't, and I say we should sell more daisies." "Daisy, daisies smell awful! Do you want to drive away paying customers?" "Hey! I'll have you know, I showered just this morning!" "That's not what I- oh, forget it! We're not planting anymore daisies, and that's the bottom line!" "Hey, would you two shut it back there?! I'm trying to make a sale here!" Rose and Daisy crossed their forelegs and turned pointedly away from each other. They were sitting in the garden behind Ponyville Flowers bickering animatedly. A few moments later, hoofsteps sounded from behind the back door, and it was flung open to reveal Lily wearing a cross expression on her face. "Well, isn't that just blooming fabulous. If you two don't stop that, we won't be selling any flowers at all, regardless of what kind they are," she snapped. Daisy hung her head in shame, but Rose just dragged her hoof across the ground angrily. Lily rolled her eyes, and with a dramatic sigh left the garden. "You're right, Rose. Daisies may be pretty, but I guess they don't smell very nice. Let's plant some dahlias instead," said Daisy, her head still hanging low. Rose shook her mane and grinned. "I knew you'd see sense eventually. Now, let's get back to work," she said. The two ponies went back to scraping the earth with their trowels. "Lotus, why won't you see sense? We simply must offer these treatments. They are to die for." "I told you, Aloe, I'm not touching any flowers! I don't care how good they smell, or how in demand they'd be, a flower is a flower!" "Hmph! In that case, why don't you just leave the business all together? The customers must get what the customers want, you are useless in this business." "I will then!" shouted Lotus, then turned and stormed out of the building. Aloe stood there blinking for a while before she realized what had happened. She ran out of the spa to follow her business partner. "Lotus, wait! Come back! I did not mean it!" she shouted after the retreating blue mare. "You meant it," was Lotus's offhand reply. "But Lotus, I cannot do it without you!" screamed Aloe. "Should've thought about that before you said what you did, then," snapped Lotus. Aloe was at a loss for words, and could only stand in the street with her hoof sticking out and her mouth agape. Only when her former partner had disappeared from view did she turn and drag her hooves back to the spa. Three days later, the bell on the door of Ponyville Flowers jingled. "Hi, welcome to Ponyville Flowers how can I- YOU!" screamed Lily. She had just noticed that the pony entering the shop owned by her and her friends was rather familiar. "Hello, Lily," said a rather disheveled Lotus disdainfully. Rose and Daisy had come into the shop from the back at the sound of Lily's scream. Rose narrowed her eyes at the sight of Lotus. "I thought we told you that you weren't welcome here, Lotus," said Rose coldly. Lotus sneered at her. "I'm not too happy to see you girls either, if you hadn't noticed," snapped Lotus. "Then what'd you come in here for, you two-timer?!" shouted Lily. Daisy backed up slightly. "For your information, I need a job. And you know I must be desperate to come in here," replied Lotus. "Oh, your precious little spa finally turned you out, and now you come crying to us? Yeah right! If you think you can just waltz in here after what you did to Lily, you must be insane!" shouted Rose. Lotus rolled her eyes. "I should have known better than to come here. Your flowers are awful, anyway. I'll grow my own," she sneered, then turned and galloped out of the building. Rose draped a hoof over Lily. "Forget her. She's just jealous of our shop," she told her. Lily turned up her nose and nodded. "I don't know, girls. I have a bad feeling about this," squeaked Daisy. Rose shrugged. "You worry too much, Daisy." As it turns out, her worries were not so unwarranted after all. "Water lilies, water hyacinths, and all of your water flower needs!" shouted Lotus from her cart. It contained several buckets of water, all of which had flowers growing out of them. Ponies flocked around the small cart, ooh-ing and ah-ing at the blossoms. Lotus had taken the liberty of setting her cart up right outside of Ponyville Flowers. Daisy, Lily, and Rose watched her from their shop window. "Who does she think she is? We're the flower sellers in Ponyville!" shouted Rose, slamming her hoof down on the windowsill. "We're ruined! Ruined!" wailed Lily, throwing her hoof to her forehead and collapsing on the ground. Daisy closed her eyes as tears threatened to spill out of them. "We're in trouble, girls," she cried.