All Is Calm

by Cranberry Muffin

Adventures in Foal-Sitting

“We have a really important meeting with Razzle Dazzle today. I really, really need you to please keep an eye on Lemon Meringue; we can’t bring her with us and Graham is already at work selling his pretty jewels.”

Hearing that statement was decidedly not how Gusty wanted to begin her Monday morning.

Cupcake was looking at her across the breakfast table, eyes big and pleading, hooves clasped together in front of her. “It’s only for a few hours while we get things squared away for the Tree Lighting Ceremony!”

The unicorn sighed, frowning down at her bowl of orange cranberry oatmeal as if it had offended her. “I dunno…I’m kind of awful with kids.” Gusty muttered, pushing her spoon absently through the hot cereal. And she really did avoid foals for the most part; she tended to make them cry with her brusque attitude and thoughtless words. And with the exception of her cousin Sweetie Belle, who didn’t mind getting dirty or arguing back with her, most of them avoided her as well.

“But she was so looking forward to spending time with her new ‘auntie’.” Cupcake pouted dramatically, glancing over at Lemon, who was ignoring the entire conversation in favor of shoveling sugary cereal into her mouth at an alarming pace. “And it would be so good for her to spend time with an adult other than one of us or her teachers…Especially another unicorn.”

Gusty flinched at that; it would have seemed like a dig, except Cupcake was completely ignorant to her issues with magic. But if the other mare expected her to teach Lemon something –if Lemon herself expected that!- she would be sorely disappointed; all Gusty could teach her was how to be a spectacular failure.

“I don’t know…” Gusty looked back up, this time in Gingerbread’s direction, silently begging her special somepony to help her out of this situation before it blew up in her face. “I’m really, really not good with fillies. I make them cry a lot.”

“She does.” Gingerbread sipped calmly at her morning mug of tea, smiling over the rim at her partner, who glared in return, “She’s the worst.” Despite the unicorn’s trepidation over the situation, she was certain Gusty had what it took to handle her sister’s loud-mouthed, spoiled daughter. Lemon Meringue was used to running wild when her parents were busy and being regarded as the perfect filly when they were not. Gusty would never put up with her nonsense and Lemon needed an adult like that in her life. “If she says she can’t handle Lemon for a couple hours, you should find a back-up sitter.”

Egging her on was a good way to get Gusty to agree to watch the filly.

Gusty shot her A Look, snorting a little and turning a suspicious gaze to Lemon, who was then blowing bubbles in a glass of chocolate milk, her mother apparently completely oblivious to her dreadful table manners. “If I do this…” She said slowly, despite the fact that she really, really didn’t want to, “you have to promise not to say anything about me to my mom.”

A delighted smile broke out on Cupcake’s face and she practically squealed with glee, “Oh, I promise! I can tell you want to surprise her and outdo her at her own thing. What a fabulous idea!”

“I mean it, Cupcake!” Gusty’s eyes narrowed; she’d spent only two days in Cupcake’s presence but already suspected the mare couldn’t keep a secret to save her life, “I’m not ready for Mom to show up here and start pestering me.”

Cupcake opened her mouth to speak again, but Gingerbread cut her off. “Don’t worry, Gusty. I’ll make sure we stick strictly to business. I don’t really want to spend my whole time here in Canterlot away from you, after all.” She smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes, and Gusty couldn’t help a small, goofy smile in return.

“Fine. I’ll keep an eye on her for a few hours…And it better only really be a few!”

-

“Goodbye, Lemon darling! Be on your best behavior for Auntie Gusty, please!” Cupcake called over her shoulder as Gingerbread ushered her out the door. The white mare had already given Lemon multiple kisses, hugs and goodbyes, and seemed to be having a difficult time leaving, despite the fact that it was her idea for Gusty to watch the filly.

“Bye, Mother!” Lemon waved enthusiastically, watching as her mother and her aunt disappeared into the morning, their tails bouncing as they trotted off to catch a cab. Then she turned and looked expectantly up at Gusty, who was loitering behind her in the hall. “Well…?”

“Well what?” The older unicorn asked, cocking her head as she looked down at the filly, “Go play.”

“No no no!” Lemon shook her head furiously, curls bobbing around her face. Her mane was left down that day and, though it had been brushed, it had already become a wild tangle once again. “That’s not how it works. You’re the foal-sitter…You’re supposed to play with me!”

“I don’t really play, Lemon.” Gusty frowned, already regretting that she’d agreed to this. If this was the way the filly was going to be, it was going to be a very long morning indeed, especially with the big, watery eyes Lemon had turned her way – She knew all about that look from Sweetie Belle. “But, uh, I might know somepony who will play with you.”

Lemon Meringue had been mirroring the frown until Gusty mentioned the possibility of another pony getting involved. Then her eyes lit and she grinned, voice crackling with excitement. “Really? Who? Is it somepony pretty and fun and exciting and where are they?” She did that certain kind of little excited dance that only foals seemed capable of performing, mane bouncing around her face, “Let’s go!”

The elder unicorn gave her a strange look, brow quirked. She really had limited experience with children and was beginning to suspect she might be a bit out of her depth. “…It’s cold outside. We’re not going anywhere until you put on a scarf or something.”

“Oh!” Lemon’s frenetic movements came to an abrupt stop, “Be right back!” And with that, she scurried off, practically tripping over her own hooves in her hurry to grab some winterwear.

-

“Where’s your scarf?” Lemon asked moments later as they set off into the frosty morning. She had returned almost as quickly as she departed, wrapped up in a wooly pink scarf, a matching beret perched on her head. Apparently, she had more outerwear than the entire town of Ponyville combined; Gusty had been there only three days and had already seen twice as many different hat and scarf combos on the little unicorn.

Gusty didn’t bother modifying her usual brisk pace for the filly, she just trotted swiftly down the sidewalk, Lemon hurrying to keep up. “It got dirty yesterday.” She commented absently, “I haven’t had a chance to wash it yet.”

“You should’ve told me!” Lemon suddenly appeared beside her, little legs pumping to keep up with Gusty’s much longer stride, “I could’ve let you borrow one.”

“…No thanks.” The white unicorn didn’t often feel the cold, anyway. The wind was such a part of her that she could be out in it and barely notice. Though the seeping chill of winter did affect her, it wasn’t to the extent that most other ponies felt it. “I’m fine.”

“You’ll be cold!” The filly chided, turning up her nose and flouncing on a little ahead, even though she had no clue where they were going. Then she paused, looking over her shoulder, an odd, confused look on her face. “And why aren’t we going to get a cab? We always take a cab!”

“Why?” Gusty looked right back her, gaze level, “Don’t your legs work?” She had always hated the idea there were ponies in the world that were too lazy to walk places, ponies who instead chose to have somepony else carry them. It seemed stupid to her; unless they were incapable of doing so, everypony should have relied on their own four hooves to get places within close proximity.

“My legs work fine!” Lemon snapped, eyes wide, “It’s just…We always take a cab!”

“If you don’t think you can manage to walk across town,” Gusty deadpanned, “We can forget it and go back to your house.” She wasn’t manipulative by nature, but over the years, she’d learned from Gingerbread how to sometimes say the right thing to sway another pony in her direction. How could she not have learned? Gingerbread did it often enough to her, after all.

“No no nono!” At that, Lemon’s already impossibly huge eyes widened even more, her mouth falling open. She shook her head, once again prancing in place, this time anxiously. “I want to go and meet your fun friend!”

“Then come on.”

-

Gusty did indeed remember the way to Fizzy’s Soda Fountain, despite the fact that she hadn’t been there in over five years.

When she was in magic school, most of the other unicorns in her class had either laughed openly at her, or shunned her outright. But Fizzy had gone out of her way to make friends with Gusty, despite the fact that the white unicorn didn’t really want any friends. Fizzy simply wouldn’t take no for an answer and she persisted, until an incredibly lonely Gusty relented and finally started to hang out with her.

Fizzy herself was an unusual mare; she didn’t care one whit about what other ponies thought about her, something that was practically unheard of there among the elite in Canterlot. She kept her wavy mane and tail cropped short when others were wearing theirs long, her mane usually pushed back by a headband sporting a large bow. She didn’t bother with fancy jewelry or other accessories, often instead wearing costume pieces that were incredibly loud or gaudy. While most young mares their age were obsessed with their figures, Fizzy ate whatever she pleased, unconcerned with the possibility of getting fat. Nothing about her was conventional and she didn’t give a hay.

Adulthood had hardly changed her, which was precisely why she was the only pony in all of Canterlot who could manage to –or even want to- run a successful soda shop.

The familiar scent of ginger hit Gusty’s nose as she pushed open the door, spicy and already warming her through. Fizzy brewed all of her own drinks, from ginger ale to birch beer to sparkling cider, and almost all of her bubbly concoctions slid smoothly down, cool, golden and amazingly exotic. Since leaving Canterlot, Gusty had never tasted anything quite like Fizzy’s drinks, not even Sweet Apple Cider.

The shop was empty; it was too early in the day for most ponies to even be considering Fizzy’s sweet brews, and Gusty knew it.

It was, therefore, the perfect time for her to put in an appearance.

“Wow…”

Upon trotting into the shop, Lemon plopped down on her haunches, staring wide-eyed at the whirl of gaiety that covered the walls of the shop. As always, Fizzy had overdone it with the holiday decorations; brightly-colored baubles and ornaments of all sizes and shapes hung from the ceiling and the walls were lined with sparkly garland and twinkling lights. A jar of rainbow striped candy canes was on the counter and a huge Tree of Light –just as over-decorated with tinsel and ornaments and lights as the rest of the shop- was tucked into a corner, the tables around it shoved askance to make room for its branches.

A scratchy record of Hearth’s Warming carols was playing from somewhere behind the counter, where Fizzy was polishing glasses, eyes shut, body swaying as she hummed along to the tune.

At the sound of Lemon’s awed whisper, she looked up, magenta eyes sliding open. For a moment, she just stared, mouth gaping open. “…Gusty?”

The unicorn in question shuffled a little awkwardly, rubbing her foreleg with a hoof and glancing over at the tree. She wasn’t really sure what to do; Fizzy was bound to have some over-the-top reaction to her presence and the very thought of that made her uncomfortable. “Uh…Hi?”

“OHMYGOSH!” Fizzy was out from behind the counter in a flash, the glasses forgotten, towel on the floor, a manic grin splitting her face, “Oh my gosh; oh my gosh; oh my gosh!” And then she was hugging the life out of Gusty, squeezing her so tight she could barely breath, “It’s really, really, really you!”

“Fizzy…” Gusty grunted, trying vainly to peel the teal unicorn off her, “Lemme go.” She should have been expecting that. Really, she should have. It was silly not to. Fizzy had always been very hooves-on in all situations and she loved hugging other ponies, whether they wanted her to or not.

“But I’m just soooooo excited to see you!” Fizzy giggled, releasing Gusty and taking a step back, “Lofty told me you were in town, but…I just couldn’t believe it! You’ve never come back to Canterlot and you always said you never would!”

For a moment, they just looked at each other. Fizzy hadn’t changed at all over the years. Her pink, white, and teal mane was still cropped short and held back from her face, that day with a festive red and white striped headwrap. She was still a little chunky, her body curvy and softy, but given her profession and the amount of junk food she’d always consumed, that was no surprise.

Gusty wondered what Fizzy saw when she looked at her. Did she look as disenchanted with the world as she usually felt?

“Lemon,” Gusty said, desperate to break the somewhat awkward silence that had fallen over them. When the filly glanced in her direction, she beckoned her over, intending to introduce her to the older unicorn. “C’mere.”

Lemon Meringue pranced over, her little body practically vibrating with excitement.

Fizzy turned at the filly’s approach, apparently only just noticing the smaller pony’s presence in the room at that moment. “Oh, who’s this?” She crouched down to be on eye level with the little unicorn, tipping her head from side to side as she studied her, “Gusty, is she-”

“No!” Gusty cut her off quickly, not particularly liking the track that train of thought was headed down, “Fizzy, for me to have a filly her age, I’d’ve had to have her before I even left Canterlot!”

“…Oh.” Fizzy blinked, looking between the other two unicorns. Then she grinned, eyes crinkling shut, “Of course! Silly me!” She giggled, not at all embarrassed to have made such an assumption.

“She’s my girlfriend’s niece,” Gusty glanced at Lemon, who was standing near her, eyes still impossibly wide, “I got roped into foal-sitting.”

“I’m Lemon Meringue!” The little filly butted in, still wriggling with glee, her mane bouncing around her face, though she seemed to be making a very conscious effort to calm herself and remember some semblance of manners. She politely inclined her head, as her mother had taught her, and offered the older unicorn a hoof. “I’m very pleased to meet you.”

Fizzy grinned, shaking the filly’s hoof genially. “Nice to meet you, too. My name is Fizzy and this is my shop.” She waved a foreleg, gesturing vaguely at the entirety of the room in all its splendor, her own eyes sparkling as she gazed about at her decorations.

“It’s so pretty!” Lemon squeaked, manners flying right out the window again, “We have Hearth’s Warming decorations at home, but nothing like this! The colors are beautiful and all the decorations are sooooo sparkly!”

“And you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Fizzy chirped, her own body matching the excited movements of the filly, short curls flying around her face as she pranced in place, “Come on in the back and I’ll let you taste today’s special flavor, Cranberry Sparkle. I just added the fizz a little while ago!” Another grin crossed her face, and she lit her horn, sending a burst of pale pink bubbles swirling through the air.

Lemon squealed with delight, clapping her front hooves together excitedly before following the mare into the kitchen.

Gusty trailed behind, rolling her eyes at Fizzy’s antics and scowling as one of the magic bubbles collided with the tip of her horn and popped.

Comments

[chasethebrony]

Gutsy being a grouch makes me chuckle. I am not too sure why, but it's nice having a grumpy protagonist for once.

[Cranberry Muffin]

1818574

Gusty is a big old grump and that's a very big part of why I love her. She has this attitude in the original cartoon that I'm trying to keep, because it amuses me.

[Lucky424]

1819853>>1818574 I think that is what makes her of my favourite characters!!!! I know they're G1, but as it is set
at the time of the others, I am treating them as OC's and she is my second favourite!!!!!!

[Cranberry Muffin]

1820731

The G1 ponies have pretty flat characters, so it's really not a stretch to treat them as OCs. They didn't have much development, so I'm trying to flesh them out way more. Gusty was my favorite from the first episode though.

[chasethebrony]

1820731>>1820811
Yeah, when the G1 character's don't have much personality it is easier to use them in fics. It's hard for someone to be OOC if they only have a couple speaking lines from over ten years ago.

[JAG]

And the foal-sitting begins! I've been looking forward to this, and it's not disappointing so far. Gusty and Lemon's opening exchange was one of my favorite parts. "Go play." Yeah, if only it was ever that easy. Lemon seems to be behaving herself for the moment, though. Too bad Gusty just brought her into a store practically made of caffiene and sugar...

[Cranberry Muffin]

1822628

Hey, once in a blue moon the "go play" tactic works! I would know, since I use it at least once a day at work. Not very often, though.

Lemon has very little filter between mouth and brain, so things are bound to get interesting. I think the next part may actually introduce Gusty's mother, though!

[Cranberry Muffin]

1821077

Oh, more than ten years ago! Try, like, 27 years ago. Seriously, the original series has been around pretty much as long as I have.

Gusty is one of the predominently featured ponies, in the beginning. But still, there isn't much development, even with characters who appear often -- Such was the life of most 80s cartoon characters. Gusty's defining characteristic seems to be her impatience. I wandered over to youtube to find a few examples of her personality:

(Also, if you recall last chapter, Lofty mentioned her boring flight instructor -- Wind Whistler is the pony I had in mind for that job.)

[chasethebrony]

1822628>>1822669
Heh, I remember my mother telling my little brother and I just to 'go play' outside when we were children. We would grab handfulls of Hot Wheels cars and go build cities in the dirt and play for hours.

Good times...

Of course, now I am 21 and collect/draw/writeabout little pastel pony toys.

[Lucky424]

1822628>>1822669>>1823975 Who hasn't been told to just "go play" by their parents/siblings/guardians??
Normally that would entail eventual fighting with my brother, but now I'm 26 and can kick that fat lazy moron's ass
easily. Heh, it's easy to build strength without knowing when you fix planes for a living!!

[derpyhooves15]

Damn it! Every single time I read "Gusty" i pronounce it in my head as "Gutsy". Makes reading this fic pretty weird considering Gutsy is a character (a pigeon none the less) from an animated film called Valiant. Still a great fic with some great development.