//------------------------------// // Of Sugarsnap // Story: A Day in the Life // by Comet Burst //------------------------------// "Please?" "No." "Please?" "No." "Please?" "No." "Please?" "No." "Please?" "No." "Pretty please?" Sugarsnap groaned loudly, placing her forehead on the counter. This was not the kind of stress she needed today. When she took the job at the local sweets shop, she figured the most annoying thing to deal with would be colts running into the store, ordering nearly everything in the glass case. Apparently, she knew nothing about a certain gray pegasus with an eye condition. When she looked back up, he smiled at her in the most sincere way, as if pleading. "For the last time, Derp," Sugarsnap spoke, tilting her caramel colored head, "I can't keep giving you a muffin for free. Can-Can gets very upset when I give out the sweets for free." The pegasus, Derp, lowered his head sadly, eyes staring in two separate directions. He always had a muffin from the store, even when he was on his last few bits. As he slowly turned to walk away, Sugarsnap heard a sniffle come from him. She tried to remain stalwart, but the sad sounds he was making made her heart melt. As he slowly walked to the door, Sugarsnap groaned again. "Wait, Derp," she called, pulling a box out from under the counter. The pegasus spun around, tears forming at the edges of his eyes, to face the mare as she approached him. Sugarsnap knew she would regret this, but she couldn't bare to see him upset. Shoving the box into his hooves, Sugarsnap looked him dead in the eye before speaking. "Derp, you are going to try and save your bits, right?" she asked. A huge grin spread across his face as the gray pegasus threw his hooves around the mare. Sugarsnap flinched for a second, but gently returned the hug. After a few seconds, Derp pulled away and looked at her as best as he could, still grinning widely. "Uh huh!" he spoke enthusiastically, "I gotta save my money! Not just for muffins, but for Dizzy as well!" "Then go do your job," Sugarsnap responded with a friendly smile, "The mail's got to be delivered." "Yes, ma'am!" he said, saluting to her before flying out of the door. Sugarsnap sighed again as she pulled the door shut, trying to suppress the small grin coming to her face. Derp was a nice stallion who had to have a chocolate chip muffin everyday, regardless if he could pay for it. He was a good stallion, working to make sure his son had a good life. Trotting back to the counter, the mare's smile quickly faded when she saw another pony frowning at her from the doorway leading to the back of the shop. "Now why are you so nice to him and not Lyre?" the tan pony said, his dark blue and bright pink locks bouncing as he spoke. Sugarsnap grimaced a bit at the comment before replying, "He's your friend, sir. I allow him to have anything he wants free of charge, as per your request." "Yeah, but you don't smile like that when he talks to you," the pony mused, raising an eyebrow. "Mr. Can-Can," the caramel colored mare responded with a flash from her blue eyes, "With all due respect, I don't like it when he makes a comment about how pretty I am when by back is turned." The pony, Can-Can, lowered his eyes a little, adverting his gaze from the mare. He knew of the remarks his friend had made to her. Oddly enough, he was quite the defender of Sugarsnap from the prying eyes of the many stallion in Ponyville, often forcing them to leave the store when they sniggered at something she did, like going into the lower shelves. As adamant as he was to others, Lyre was still his best friend. "I will speak to him about that," Can-Can said monotonously before tucking his head back into the kitchen. Sugarsnap, for her part, spun around and faced the doorway again, her good mood ruined. The day went rather slowly from then on. Being the second sweet shop in town, customers were slow to come by, many of them opting for Sugarcube Corner. Still, what few customers did come in made Sugarsnap's day. It wasn't until about one o'clock in the afternoon did the day take an interesting turn. The bell on the front door jingled happily, catching Sugarsnap off-guard while she rotated the stock of hoof-sized peanut butter cups filled with caramel, her favorite sweet. Poking her head up, Sugarsnap smiled widely and said, "Welcome to Can-Can's Sweet Shop!" As it turned out, two unicorn stallions glanced at her, one with a confident smile and one with a nervous grin. The white one had stunning blue eyes, similar to Sugarsnap's, along with a pristine purple mane. He glanced over to his friend, the purple unicorn sporting a rather messy mane of dark purple with a pink stripe. "So, you really think that crackpot theory of yours will work?" the white one spoke daintily, his voice laced with sarcasm. "What?" the aloof purple one responded, tearing his gaze away from Sugarsnap. The white one chuckled before answering the counter inquiry. "Ah, nevermind, Dusky. Just watch and learn." The purple one rolled his eyes and mumbled, "You said that with Princess Blueblood." Ignoring the comment, the white one strode up smoothly to the counter, never breaking eye contact with the caramel colored mare. Sugarsnap kept her smile, but groaned inside her mind. He was evidently trying to woo her, as some stallions did when not observing her flank. "Hey there," the white one spoke, voice dripping with overconfidence. "Welcome to Can-Can's," the mare repeated in the exact same tone she had used before, "What can I get for you?" The white one sighed heavily, acting as if he was distracted. He was really trying to ham it up to her. "I'm sorry," he spoke softly, "I didn't catch your name." "My name is Sugarsnap. Would you like to buy something?" "Sugarsnap..." he spoke as if in a dreamy tone. He gazed off, as if thinking about her name. Sugarsnap, though, was not impressed as her rehearsed smile dropped into an unhappy frown. She was in no mood to play games with an overly dramatic stallion. Leaning over to her right side, she looked straight at the purple unicorn and smiled to him. "May I get you something?" she asked sweetly. The purple unicorn, who she assumed was Dusky, smiled sheepishly back to her. He played with his hooves for a second before the white one burst out in an exasperated tone. "Hey! I was first!" he yelled. Sugarsnap's smile became a frown again as she regarded the white unicorn. "Sir, I'm not here for you to stare at. I'm here to take your order." "But, but..." he spluttered, as if shocked she had figured out what he was doing, "I was just taking in your ravenous beauty!" Sugarsnap gave the pony an unimpressed look before responding, "We sell candy and sweets here, not me." The white unicorn's face went as red as her friend Red Gala's coat before he said anything in response. "What are you trying to imply?! I'm a good and upstanding stallion! I would never--" "You just tried and failed," Sugarsnap deadpanned, "Now, are you going to order something or leave?" The white unicorn was at a loss for words, stammering and forming half sentences before the purple one walked up and put a hoof on his shoulder. "Elusive, looks like you should let me handle this," he spoke, trying to suppress a laugh. Elusive scrunched up his face into an angry look before turning around, sticking his nose in the air. He made an indignant noise before trotting off to where the purple one was standing, allowing himself to sulk. The purple one smiled to Sugarsnap and said, "Sorry about my friend. My name's Dusk Shine. What's yours?" "Sugarsnap," she replied, still wearing her unimpressed look, "Now do you want something or do you want to try and fail like your friend over there?" "I heard that!" Elusive shouted over to them. "You were supposed to," Sugarsnap said, a small grin coming to her cheeks and Dusk chuckled as well. "You're pretty funny, Sugarsnap," Dusk replied, "What do you recommend for today?" Sugarsnap grinned a little more as she named off several sweets. If he was actually going to buy something, she could tolerate his small attempts at flirting with her. As she spoke, Elusive stood in the back, still unhappy at Sugarsnap. "Wow, that's quite a selection," Dusk spoke with a whistle, "I think I'll get... Oh! Those!" He pointed a hoof at the glass case, where some small cakes lay. However, as soon as he did, the door burst open, revealing a mess of pink poofy hair. "Hey Dusk, what'cha--" came the familiar voice of Sugarsnap's rival baker, Berry Bubble. The pink stallion froze mid-sentence as he watched all three ponies, his face frozen in shock. "Dusk!" he suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "What in Equestria are you doing to her?!" Dusk looked back to Sugarsnap, who gave her own confused look, before turning back. "What are you talking about, Berry?" he asked, confused. "Why are you pushing a mare?!" Berry shouted back, his blue eyes fixed on the contact Dusk's hoof was having with Sugarsnap's chest. "Uh, wha-?" Dusk spoke in his aloof tone. Without warning, Berry jumped up into the air, a very unhappy look on his face, and tackled Dusk away from the counter. The two ponies began fighting, Berry accusing Dusk of being mean to mares and Dusk trying to explain he wasn't touching her. Elusive, the white unicorn, looked over to Sugarsnap, who was at a loss for words, and proceeded to start laughing. Amid the fight and the laughter, Sugarsnap reburied her forehead into the counter and tried to figure out why stallions were so weird around her. The white one, Elusive, had tried to hit on her, Dusk, the purple one, had just about ordered something before the obnoxious pink one tackled him and started fighting in the store. As the stallions finally broke apart and started talking, Sugarsnap heaved a huge sigh. At least after work she would be with her best friends, Big Gala and Thundercloud, at the local spa.