//------------------------------//
// Carrot Soup 
// Story: The Life Of Daisy 
// by WannaFlugelHorn 
//------------------------------//

It was, rather ironically, a beautiful day outside. The sun was high in the sky, A white circle overlooking the land, smooth and perfect like freshly poured milk. The air around Daisy was a pleasant temperature. It had rained yesterday, and the ground was soft and cool beneath her hoofs. As a result of the moisture that still remained, not many bugs were around, so Daisy could walk through the grass if she wished, which had recently been cut. It fact, she would usually be enjoying this day if it weren't for her errand.

Daisy thought back to the time when Solar Soup ran a stall in the market for fertilizer. He was a very skilled unicorn with a yellow coat, a dark brown mane streaked with white, and rich chocolate eyes. Daisy didn't know for sure, but she'd heard that he used a weak aging spell to turn the sugars in plants back into almost pure sunlight! The substance, still partially plant juices as pure sunlight can't be physically handled, was mixed into his fertilizer, which increased root thickness and strengthened resistance to change in the environment, especially for flowers that enjoyed sunlight or partial shade. Daisy could swear that the aroma was even pleasant, but the others insisted that it smelled no different than regular dirt, which, although a rare surprise, was a lower standard than what Daisy had remembered.

Not unlike today, she usually gathered fertilizer on sunny days. But now that she thought about it, perhaps it was not the weather that brought the heat and redness to her cheeks. Perhaps the true cause also improved her experience with the fertilizer. Perhaps that's why she missed him so much when he got enough money to move to Manhattan, in hopes of even better business.

Or maybe it was because the current fertilizer smelled like if rotten eggs and spoiled milk had a puddle of Parasprite barf. Not to mention she could probably make fertilizer with the exact same quality, maybe hers would even be more helpful. But she'd pretty much rather do anything else than make that stuff, and so would probably anypony else. That's probably why everypony bought the fertilizer even though it was far from stupendous. There weren't many other choices to choose from.

Lost in her thoughts, Daisy didn't know how long it took her to reach the market, but she estimated it to be around noon as the sun was high in the sky. This was also the busiest time of day, and ponies were swarming each and every stall, buying what they needed. Speaking of which, Daisy checked to make sure she had enough bits to buy what she needed. She looked inside her saddle bag. Daisy and Lily had given her an extra bit, assuming the the fertilizer's price hadn't changed. Daisy considered buying herself something.

"Hmmm . . . I'm already going to get ice cream after this . . ." Daisy said, considering what to do.

"Maybe something . . ."

She really didn't want to say the word.

" . . . more . . ."

If she didn't say it, she'd have no guilt, no second thoughts. But the word was already in her throat, just hoping it could hide. Of course it couldn't.

". . . more healthy?"

Daisy silently scolded herself. Now she just had to get something good for her. Daisy trotted over to Carrot Top's booth, trying to ignore the fresh baked cookies being sold in the next one over. She could practically taste it. The chewy cookie melting in her mouth like butter as warmth seeped through her tongue and teeth. Too bad her legs had kept moving, and brought her over to her friend.

Carrot Top, who'd obviously been day dreaming, snapped back into reality as Daisy awkwardly cleared her throat.

"Wahuh? Oh! Hi Daisy."

"Hey, Carrot Top. How are you?"

"Pretty good, I guess," said Carrot, mindlessly stroking the booth's tabletop with her hoof. "You?"

"Not the best. I have to buy fertilizer." Daisy puffed her cheeks as soon as she said this.

"You lost again? Isn't this the second time in a row?"

"It's the third, actually," explained Daisy, blushing angrily, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof.

"Oh, too bad . . . Well, I assume you want carrots? It's one carrot for one bit or three for two."

"I'll just take one, that's all I have to spend."

"Sounds good."

Carrot Top turned around and carefully chose one of the fattest carrots for her friend, and Daisy handed her the extra bit. She wanted to talk more, as a way to procrastinate, and as a way to spend more time with a friend, but other ponies were starting to line up behind her. She'd have to leave. Hopefully the time needed to eat the carrot would suffice. Daisy trotted away with a friendly wave and found a bench to sit on before she took a bite into the carrot. It was no cookie, but as veggies go, it wasn't that bad. It was crunchy enough to have that satisfying 'crack' sound, but not enough where your jaw got tired. It was even a bit sweet. But if she was going to get the fertilizer, she was definitely going to need the ice cream too.