//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: The Chocolatier // by FableTail //------------------------------// “AHH!” Decadence exclaimed as she fell on her rump, eyes wide as the dumpster creature flapped its wings and then fell on the ground. The mare kept blinking, as if the thing would just go away if she kept closing her eyes, but it didn’t. And the longer she stared at it, the more she began to realize it wasn’t a dumpster creature at all. It was a foal. “H-hey… little one, are you okay?” The brown mare got to her hooves and gently moved forward, looking at the small heap of dirty tan fur. As she got closer and her fear dialed down, she noticed the foal’s dull, unkempt orange mane, and that her body was dusted with light brown spots-, though it could’ve been mud. Its wings twitched slightly, and folded up on its back. Besides that the foal was not moving though, and Decadence was starting to bit her lip nervously. She prodded the small figure gently with her right fore-hoof, tilting her head to try and see past the little one’s back and get a glimpse of its face. Wide yellow eyes under long orange bangs stared back at her, and Decadence almost recoiled-, but she held her position and stared right on back at the foal. “Hello?” She called softly, never breaking eye-contact with the small pegasus. The next few moments felt like forever to the chocolatier as she waited for a response from the other pony. Finally the little ball of dirty fur and feathers moved, the large yellow eyes glancing away as the foal got to her hooves and stood in front of Decadence, head held high as though she was confident and unashamed. Though Decadence was hardly looking at the fluff balls’ face as she saw how thin and bony the foal was-, her skin tight against her ribcage, showing the bones beneath almost clearly. The foal wasn’t scratched or injured, but there was lots of dirt clinging to her form-, and a cupcake wrapper. “Oh you poor thing!” Decadence fussed, her brow creased with worry as she looked for any signs of abuse on the foal. There was nothing but neglect and Decadence felt a surge of motherly instincts biting at her. “I-I’m not poor!” Came the under-developed, high pitched squeak of the smaller pony. “And I’m not a thing!” The foal lowered her head, causing her bangs to block any view of her eyes. Though the rest of her face told her she was glaring at Decadence, while pursing her lip forward in a sort of pout. The wings on its back lifted and unfurled, and she raised her tail. Decadence was surprised by the aggressive stance, and stood tall to counter the young one’s display. “Calm down, little one.” The mare said in a soothing voice she’d spoken to other foals with. Her tone seemed to have an effect on the filly, whose tail dropped back down along with her wings. Her pout was also gone, replaced with a thin and tight line. Though her mane was still covering her eyes. Decadence realized, with a heavy heart, that the foal was an orphan. She was probably looking for food in the dumpster-, or even a place to sleep. And now she was exposed, like a nerve, waiting for whatever kind of consequence she’d have to face. But Decadence wasn’t angry or upset with the foal, so she smiled warmly at the little pony. “There is plenty of food in the bakery, if you’re hungry.” It may not be particularly healthy for the foal, but it would have to do until she could get the filly into a bath and get her some real food. The filly also looked like she could use a few cups of water. The small pony looked up at Decadence, her bangs brushing out of the way of her eyes as they widened. She looked very tempted with the idea of bakery sweets that weren’t leftovers or in a garbage bag. The thin little filly then looked to the bakery, staring at it longingly before turning her head to Decadence again and nodding vigorously. The older mare wondered why the orphan wouldn’t talk. Then she thought well maybe she couldn’t talk. With that bleak idea in her head she walk around to the back of the foal and began pushing at her lightly with her head to get her moving towards the bakery side door. The trash was forgotten by both ponies as they entered the kitchen. From there the smell of freshly baked bread and cakes and chocolate filled the air around them, and Decadence watched the foal’s yellow eyes light up as she trotted the kitchen, sniffing almost everything. “My name is Decadence.” The mare said softly as she followed the foal around, noting that Brown Sugar wasn’t in the kitchen. “What’s your name? Do you have a family?” She pressed, watching for any sign of reaction from the little filly. But the foal didn’t seem to hear her. “Whoa, little one.” She stopped the foal from getting her dirty hooves on the counter-tops and away from an uneaten cupcake. The foal blinked and then frowned at Decadence, ears pinning back as though she was being threatened. “You can’t eat that one. There are plenty of other treats you can have over here. Just follow me and don’t touch anything.” Decadence used a more stern tone as she addressed the foal, who blinked for a moment and then flipped her bangs over her eyes and calmed down. The brown mare then tip-hoofed over to the door leading to the front room of the bakery, the foal trudging grumpily behind her, and poked her head out the door to see if there were any customers. She saw the Sergeant standing stock still in front of the cash register, and Brown Sugar changing the words on the little chalk board on the display counter. Decadence quickly made a little list of things to say to them about the little foal in her mind. She then raised her head a little higher, and walked through the door with the dirty filly behind her. The Sergeant didn’t look away from the bakery’s glass doors, but Brown Sugar did. His horn was glowing blue, as was the small green chalkboard and a piece of white chalk. They had been moving before but at the sight of Decadence and the foal the chalk froze and the unicorn’s eyes widened. “Whose little foal is that?” The stallion asked, taking in the dirtiness and bony thin structure of the filly a little too late. He bit his lip and become noticeably guilty looking. The foal, however, didn’t seem to have heard him as she sniffed around display cases of pastries. The Sergeant’s eyes followed the filly but he didn’t make any other movements. “I’m not so sure she’s anypony’s little foal.” The brown mare whispered as she crossed over to stand beside Brown Sugar and keep an eye on the subject of their conversation. “She was eating the leftovers in the dumpster when I found her.” The unicorn looked perplexed for a moment before his face fell and he nodded solemnly. “Well, either way we need to try and find her family.” Brown said in a low voice. He then brought his up and away from the little whisper huddling he was doing with Decadence, and flashed a kind smile at the foal, who was having a staring contest with the Sergeant. “But first she needs some food…” The foal whipped her head around to stare up at Brown Sugar, sending a wave of her smell to him and Decadence. “-and a bath.” He added, his nose twitching a bit. The foal’s tail went up. “Brown, go back into the kitchen and bake some healthy muffins. Decadence, prepare the sink so we can give her a bath.” Sergeant spoke up, eyes still glued to the little dirty creature in his bakery. “I’ll close up the shop so we can tend to this foal.” Decadence brushed the foal’s mane, which was now stringy and a darker shade of orange due to it being wet. After The Sergeant had given the little foal water and a few treats-, and an apple he had saved for his midnight snack, the filly seemed to calm down. She hadn’t talked since the alley but she wasn’t glaring at any of them anymore. The bath had been a bit of a challenge though. The filly squirmed and struggled and splashed around until Decadence managed to convince her that the water and the bubbles were only trying to help her. Then the filly adapted that wide-eyed look again-, one full of innocence and wonder. She’d been so fascinated by the bubbles that she had almost said something. But she’d stopped herself and returned to her ministrations. So here they are, sitting down on some towels Decadence had placed on the floor of the bakery’s kitchen, brushing out all the knots and tangles in the filly’s mane. Said filly kept making little pained noises when Decadence tried to untangle a knot. “Sorry, little one. I know it hurts. Just bear through it.” The foal did not respond, but she was less rigid as Decadence continued working the tangles from her mane and tail. “I can’t imagine what it must be like. Living out there in the streets, looking for any morsel to eat and trying to find some shelter to sleep in.” Decadence added. Her tone was smooth and rich, like the chocolate she loves to make. “But you don’t have to live like that anymore.” The mare said warmly, and the foal looked back at her, her bangs falling to the side and revealing her large yellow eyes. She looked up at Decadence with awe, making the mare’s heart swell and both ponies exchanged a soft smile. Returning to the task at hoof they sat in a more comfortable silence, with a few ‘ow’s and ‘ee…’s from the foal. By the time Decadence was almost done, a pair of scissors enveloped in a blue halo of light floated over to her. The mare looked over to the kitchen door to find Brown Sugar poking his head in from the bakery’s front room. His horn was glowing with a similar hue and he smiled at them before ducking out. The foal stared at the scissors warily, though it was hard to tell if she was actually looking at them since her bangs were in the way, but Decadence figured that was what the little one was doing. Decadence grinned, a bit mischievously, and said, “Time for a make-over, my little pony.” Decadence was no mane stylist, but she was an artist. Of sorts. Using leftover ribbon decorations, the scissors, and an image in her brain of what she hoped the foal would look like by the time she was done, the brown mare set to work. After snipping and tucking and tying the foal was looking around, blinking. Her bangs were no long covering her large yellow eyes, and her mane was cut much short and held up by a pink ribbon headband. Decadence held up a mirror, and the foal gasped at what she saw. A tan colored filly with darker colored speckled spots all over her body, mostly on her legs and face and ears. Her under belly was an off-white, as was her face and her secondary feathers. Her orange mane was brighter than before, and when she touched it with her hoof it felt soft. Accenting her now clean and fluffy body, she had three pink ribbons. One around her head, on around her neck, and one tied at the base of her tail. She stared at her reflection, completely amazed. “You look very pretty, do you like it? Decadence asked, smiling at the smaller pony. The filly looked up at Decadence, and a large smile broke out on her face. It was like seeing the sun peek out over the horizon, and Decadence couldn’t help but smile wider to match the little pony’s expression. “Thank you.” The foal said as she launched herself at Decadence, wrapping her hooves around her neck and hugging her tightly. Decadence laughed lightly, hugging the foal back. The kitchen door opened and Brown Sugar and the Sergeant poked their heads in. “Wow, she looks so cute!” Brown said, and Sergeant nodded. A sharp beeping noise broke the hug as the foal jolted away, ears pinned back and eyes locked on the source of the noise. Decadence reached out to pat the ponies’ head. “Whoops, sorry little pony. That’s the muffins.” Brown Sugar went to retrieve the freshly baked muffins while Decadence calmed the foal. The Sergeant approached the two, eyes flickering between the ponies before resting on the foal. “Does she have a name?” He asked in his booming voice. Brown set his hot muffins to the side so they could cool, and joined the ponies. Decadence looked at the foal, whose eyes were locked on Sergeant Sweets’. A couple seconds passed before the foal realized she was the center of attention, and she looked at Decadence and shook her head. The adult ponies sighed, and Brown frowned slightly. “Well, why don’t we name her?” The ponies exchanged looks. “She looks like a Pepper.” Brown Sugar added, though his sentence ended with an upward inflection that made the sentence sound more like a question then a sentence. The foal shook her head. “Ribbons?” Decadence inquired, tilting her head as she examined the little filly. Said pony shook her head again. “Speckles?” No. “Freckles?” The foal jumped to her hooves and narrowed her flashing yellow eyes at Brown Sugar. “No!” She yelled, then gave him a challenging look. Brown Sugar backed up a little. “Oh! I thought she couldn’t talk…” He pinned his ears back and retreated to the muffins. “Don’t wanna…” The foal started, looking down at her clean hooves. “I don’t want a name.” She finished, closing her eyes and looking oddly defeated. It wasn’t till she yawned that Decadence recognized the look as sleepiness. “Alright little one, but we have to call you something.” Decadence said, getting to her hooves. The foal shook her head slowly, also standing up. “We won’t you call anything right now, but soon you will have to choose a name.” The brown mare said with finality. “But it’ll be fun. Any name in the whole world. Your choice.” Decadence said, smiling down at the foal. “Thank you so much, Sergeant Sweets.” Decadence directed her smiles to the much larger stallion. He smiled back, and nodded tersely. “Thank the Sergeant for helping you, little one.” Decadence said to the foal, who probably never learned her use her manners. The foal looked confused for a moment, before looking up at the Sergeant and saying in a blank tone, “Thank you.” She was still for a moment before her face was overcome with an unbelievably wide, toothy smile. Brown Sugar brought over the healthy muffins, and offered one to the foal, who took it without hesitation. The hungry filly then gobbled it down faster than Decadence could blink.