//------------------------------// // Bloomers // Story: Odd's Oubliette: Otherwise Obsolete Oddities // by Odd_Sarge //------------------------------// Roseluck realized it was so very simple.  The rusted chain had snapped into two clean halves, leaving the piece unusable. The mare had a spare lying around her shop, though, so it wasn’t too hard to dust off and bring out of storage. The wood of the sign had taken it worst, however, having thoroughly rotted through the back and to the front in the time it’d been out in the elements, but Rose had been at least smart enough to purchase a new board to replace the sign. She hadn’t taken enough time to realize that the hardest part would be painting, and embarrassingly enough, she’d given in to her friend’s demands that he be the one to paint it. He had a job to do, after all; digging a few holes into a piece of wood wasn’t enough to warrant the pay that Rose had offered him. John dipped his brush into the paint bucket. “Almost done painting the background.” “It looks good.” John laughed softly as he put the brush to the wood. “Well, I always did want to be an artist. Bit too simple to call this ‘art,’ though.” Roseluck’s ears perked up at that. “You wanted to be an artist?” “I wanted to be a lot of things.” The human went back for another fresh dip. “Like?” “God…” He froze a moment. “A psychologist, an author, an engineer, a veterinarian… There’s just so many things out there that you can get into.” John shook himself and resumed his work quietly.  Rose shifted slightly from her spot on the floor. “I like to draw things…” “It’s hard, isn’t it?” “Very, but it’s so very worth it.” “Amen to that.” Rose sat quiet, prompting John to continue the conversation. “How much do you like growing flowers?” The tan mare’s muzzle twitched slightly. “It’s not just about growing them. You have to breed them, you have to cut them just the right way…” She trailed off. “Alright, I get it,” John chuckled. “There’s a lot more to a florist than just ‘growing flowers.’ It’s another art of its own.” “An art of its own?” Rose whispered. “What was that?” The mare blinked. “You said that being a florist is another art of its own?” John paused, then turned his body enough to look at Rose. “I did… yes.” Rose hummed thoughtfully as she stared up at the ceiling. “I’ve never thought of it that way.” She smiled lightly to herself. John was smiling at her as Rose looked back down. The mare blushed at the eye contact, then went back to looking at the floor as she had before. “I thought the same thing about fixing things when I first started doing it.“ John had his back facing Roseluck again. “That is, that there wasn’t much to it besides the technical details.” “But I thought that you’ve only been fixing things since you moved to Ponyville?” John nodded. “True.” “So what changed?” “I got bored. Also, the paint’s done.”  “We’ll let it dry.” John turned around to face Roseluck. “What do you mean, you got bored?” “The sound of pulling out nails and grinding out rough edges just bores into your skull.” He tapped on the side of his head for emphasis. “Y’know?”  John sighed. “Anyway, I just sat up one day and realized that I could make my job a little fun. I talked to the ponies a bit more while working, started adding little flourishes to my woodwork, that sort of thing. The more I incorporated my fun ideas into my work, the more I realized that the things I were doing had a bit of a pattern to them.” Rose giggled. “So you made art?” “I made art,” John agreed.” “Maybe I should start doing that… I like the idea of adding unique cuts to my flowers.” John leant back on the palms of his hands. “What’s it like being an entrepreneur, anyway?” “Entrepreneur?” Rose blinked. “I wouldn’t call myself that… I’m more of a… hobbyist.” “Then you should have already been adding those little details!” Roseluck’s ears slapped against the sides of her head at John’s energetic outburst. “I mean… I guess.” “Sorry.” John scratched at the back of his neck. “It’s just that I’ve always wanted to do my own art, and it’s just really neat that I can basically do that as my job. It’s kind of surprising that you wouldn’t already be doing that.” Rose sighed. “It’s fine, it’s like I said; I never thought about being a florist as an art. I just opened up this shop with my sisters and I…” she made a motion in the air with her hoof.