//------------------------------// // Week 2: Fruit, Differences, Ideas, and Borrowing Policies // Story: Advice Pinks // by Pump It Up //------------------------------// So...I was at the farmers market the other day trying to buy some cherries and kumquats...how do you tell when they're ripe? Also, know any good recipes? ~ThunderChaserCreate You can tell when cherries are ripe by their color. For the regular type you think about (the red ones), which are BING! cherries, it's kinda between a red and a dark red, and nice and firm. But not too dark, 'cuz that means they’re gonna be all mushy and bleh. And not too light; otherwise, you’ll hurt yourself and it’ll have no taste. And be all bleh. For Rainier cherries, they need to be firm as well, with some light red, but a bit more yellow than red. There’s another type of cherry that I can’t remember the name of, but they’re smaller than BING! cherries, and are used in pies and juices and jams. Yum! They aren’t usually eaten fresh, and are ripe when firm as well. But it’s mostly how you like yours to taste. This one guy I buy cherries from, he says that the BING! cherries need to be super dark red, almost black, but I like them whatever color. Just not too mushy. For kumquats, it needs to be yellow-orange and no green. But not too long after it lost the green. And eat the whole entire thing. It’s a sweet and sour dish! Without any cooking! Yay for easy meals! You can make smoothies, put them on top of cakes, and make all sorts of delicious foods! A chimicherrychanga is delicious! Also, kumquat marmalade. Yummy! I have sooooooooooooooo many recipes, I can’t even list them all! It would blow your mind with how many recipes I have for those two alone! And together. And with broccoli. Dear Pinkie Pie, How do you deal with ponies making fun of you for being different? I'm a foreigner here in Ponyville (I come from the Frozen Mountains), and ponies make fun of my accent...and they mock my customs. Why does everypony think sleeping on an ice block is weird?! ~WinterPony Sleeping on an ice block is a little silly. After all, ice is really, really cold! If I get cold in bed, I wake up and have to go to the bathroom (Twilight tells me that’s too much information). Ask the ponies that are making fun of you to stop. That doesn't always work (just ask Fluttershy), but it's worth a try! If they don't stop, invite them to a learning session to learn about your culture! Or, if that's too weird for you, just ignore them. Haters are going to hate! If they can't look past their mean opinions, that's their faults. When ponies don't like me, I try so very hard to be kind to them and change their minds. Like with Cranky Doodle Donkey! But it may take you a while because you're new, and you have to introduce yourself to everypony first. Which means it might take a little bit to get to the “be kind to them and change their minds” part. Or, y’know, give them a verbal smackdown. Rap style! (Twilight doesn’t like rap and told me to remove that. Nope!) Hey Pinks, I've been wondering, do you have any advice on what jobs to look into for someone who just wants to come up with ideas all day long? Discord has the only one I can think of… ~Novalis14 Making advertisements! Or selling book ideas to people! Try your hoof at drawing. Write stories! Um…write music! Invent! Yes, invent things! That’s a good job for coming up with ideas! I mean, not that you can’t come up with ideas in other jobs. I come up with great food ideas all the time! Mr. and Mrs. Cake try out my recipes and taste them. They say the dishes taste good, but sometimes I wonder if they like them. ‘Cuz sometimes I hear them throwing up after my more crazy dishes, like hay burgers with rhubarb and icing, and with tapioca covered in vegetable oil on the side. And for dessert, broccoli pie. I used to eat rocks, so all my dishes are tasty to me! Dear Pinkie Pie, I have a friend who keeps borrowing my tools, but not returning them for months at a time.  I keep asking him, but he either ignores me, or makes up excuses.  I want some advice on how to deal this problem. Signed, Annoyed in Appleoosa. Keep asking him. Have other ponies ask him. Tell him you’ll see him in court! Bring a lawyer with you! No? Just keep asking and asking and asking and asking and asking and asking and asking and asking and asking and asking! Send a bajillion letters a day, or write in the dirt “YOU STILL HAVE TO RETURN MY TOOLS,” or pay for cloud letters to spell out the same thing. Eventually, you’ll annoy him so much you’ll get them back. Or make a contract and have him sign it with somepony else present. Then, if he makes up excuses, wave the contract in his face and say, “You promised! You even Pinkie Promised! See, it’s here on this contract!” And he’ll have to give them back, because nopony, and I mean nopony can break a Pinkie Promise! Because then you’ll lose their trust FOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVERRRRRRRRRRR! Or do all three! Or just two! Or just one. Sending a bajillion letters a day gets expensive. I should know. Smile on~!