It was early in the afternoon and Minty was hard at work in her shop. Most of the front room was decorated for the Holiday, candy in the shapes of beautiful trees were centered atop the tables with tiny pony dolls resembling Minty’s friends huddled underneath them. Instead of tinsel there were licorice and taffy hung about the walls, both of which had shimmering red and green colors.
Placed among the windows were her personal favorite candy, peppermints that were all different shapes and sizes and one was even shaped as a star with a diamond centered in the middle. Standing atop a ladder was Minty herself, hanging what appeared to be streamers and multicolored socks from the ceiling.
She was attaching the last sock to a streamer and tried to decide the best spot to place it. “Hm, maybe here? Or perhaps a nudge to the left?” she asked herself as she was unable to decide the perfect placement for it.
She leaned forward balancing on her hind legs as she attempted to stick the streamer higher up. “Maybe right in the middle of these two-whoa!”
She suddenly lost her balance and grabbed at the hung streamers for support, pulling them down as the ladder collapsed. She hit the floor with a loud thud, the streamers as well as the socks attached to them fell around her like colorful rain. The front door flew open, signalled by a tiny bell custom made to imitate a humming bird.
“About time you showed up” Minty spoke as she blew a sock off of her face.
“You need any help?” asked the visitor who had already began levitating the mess up.
“I would’ve been done hours ago if you had---” Minty trailed off as she saw her visitor. She was surprised to see her helper wasn’t Tropical Dream, but a mare with a bright and shiny purple coat. “Lily Lightly? Is that really yo-ow!”
“Surprised? Yeah, I expected you to be” Lily grinned, holding back a slight giggle.
“Yep, you’re Brightly Lily alright” Minty rubbed her forehead and stared angrily at the table she had accidentally hit.
Lily couldn’t hold back her laughing anymore and bursted out in a loud giggle, snorting she looked up at her forehead which was shining brightly. “Yeah, my horn is a dead giveaway, isn’t it?” she laughed.
Lily licked one of her hooves and touched it to her horn which became extinguished as if it were a lantern.
“Where have you been the last couple of years?” Minty asked going behind the counter. She picked up and held an ice cream carton to her head for relief.
“Oh, I’ve been around” Lily simply replied. She levitated the streamers and socks and reattached them to the ceiling with such ease that Minty felt jealous.
“Thank you” Minty spoke gratefully. She trotted back around the counter and offered Lily a pony shaped lollipop.
Lily accepted it, as she untied the warper she looked around the room. She loved how colorful it was, among the candy decorations one thing had caught her eye quite fast. It was a portrait hanging on the back wall, and it was made from all sorts of candy. She was very surprised to see the portrait was a recreation of an old high school picture that she hadn’t seen in years.
She couldn’t help but grin at it, Minty had took notice but before she could comment Lily spoke “I see your eye is looking better” she then popped the tiny head of the lollipop into her mouth as she levitated the wrapper, which bared Minty’s Cutie Mark, into the nearest trashcan.
Minty’s hoof unconsciously lifted to her eye which still held a faint black circle. “Yeah, that stupid eye patch didn’t even help much” she whispered. Scratching at her eye which still felt extremely itchy.
The two mares took to a table as they continue to chat, ”I was in Canterlot, you know they had a wedding recently” spoke Lily.
Minty offered a chuckle as she said “Ah, Shining Armor, your ex col---”
“We were never dating, sheesh why does everypony assume ponies just can’t be friends?” Lily interrupted as she bit the lollipop’s torso in half.
Minty giggled and handed her a tissue as liquid oozed out of the lollipop’s center. “Do friends attend a Hearts And Hooves dance together?” she asked.
After she had wiped her lip clean of the sticky liquid Lily said “You went to that same dance with Thistle Whistle”.
Blushing Minty tried to correct her but found herself fumbling with her words, she hated not being able to talk straight. “W-We couldn’t find d-dates---b-besides you two just danced with each other the whole night!”
Lily could tell Minty was very nervous by how bright her face had gotten, horn shining again with laughter she added “Yeah, right, and that colt with a crown as a Cutie Mark didn’t ask you for a dance?”
Minty became even redder, “R-Rarity took him up on that offer, how is she doing by the way?” she asked suddenly. “Heard from her lately?”
Lily grew a wide grin as she asked “You mean our Rarity, or the one who’s dating Twilight?”
“Our’s, the pink Rari-she’s dating Twilight!?” Minty gasped. She had could swore she felt her mouth broke through the table and struck the floor below with a loud crash.
Laughing to the point she dropped her lollipop to the floor Lily had trouble saying “No, I just wanted to see your reaction” and Minty steamed with anger as she stared at her. “I’m sure they attended the wedding as just friends too, not like you’d care, or would you?”
Minty was getting very irritated now as her cheeks became even redder, “Why are you even here? To play as the joker again?” she asked while trying to hold back an rude outburst.
Giggling Lily took in a deep breath, crossed her forelegs and outstretched them as she exhaled. “I was hoping to apply for a job” she spoke, extinguishing her horn once again.
“I thought you gave up bein---wait, what?” Minty gasped again while tilting her head curiously
“I just recently moved back to Fillydelphia,” replied Lily. “I need a job, don’t I?”
Minty stared at Lily for nearly ten seconds in an gaze before a fly that had landed on her nose got her full attention, she slowly raised a hoof and--SMACK--hit herself clean off from her seat. Lily laughed, catching the fly mid-flight she levitated it out of an open window.
“Why do you want to work here?” Minty asked after picking herself up. She crawled back into her seat, feeling extremely happy that her nose wasn’t bleeding.
“Do I need a reason to want to be around an old friend?” answered Lily.
Minty raised an eyebrow. “This isn’t because you heard I was in the hospital, is it?”
“You were in the hospital?!” Lily rose from her seat gasping.
Minty facehooved with a curse under her breath. “N-Nevermind...sure, Tropical has been odd around me lately and she missed a few shifts”.
Lily sighed greatly, she sat back down but kept her eyes squinted at Minty. “Did she give a reason?” she asked her.
“Just that she had a family problem,” answered Minty with a bit of an frown. “you can start tomorrow.” she stood up, trotted behind the counter and took a notepad from a drawer.
“Good!” Lily smiled. She trotted up to the counter and leaned against the glass display. “Is there a room I can bunk in?”
Minty stopped in mid-writing and stared suspiciously at her “Why?” she asked, laying the notepad and quill down.
“Cuz I need a place to stay silly,” Lily giggled and her horn was as bright as a firefly. “I don’t necessary have enough bits to afford my own apartment, plus I know you technically own half this building. So------do you?”
Minty rubbed her forehead and sighed, she wasn’t one to openly rent out rooms but she also wasn’t one to turn down an old friend either. “There is one room with very little storage in it. You can take that” she spoke with hesitation.
“Can you show me right now?” Lily asked.
Minty just wanted to get back to work but figured getting this out of the way now would save her some time later, grunting she said “Follow me” and led Lily to the grey hallway.
When Minty stopped at a door which led to a staircase she looked back and saw Lily had wandered off. “Hey! Don’t go in there!” she shouted and threw herself between Lily and the double doors to her lab.
“What’s in there? The kitchen?” Lily attempted to peak through the doors but Minty refused to move out of her way, she was gripping the wall pretty tight from what Lily could see so she decided to backed off.
“No! Well, yes.” Minty awkwardly paused as she pondered what to say. “Sorta---it’s where I create all my candy”
“OH! Will I be helping you wi--”
“No!” interrupted Minty. She quickly apologized for her outburst and added “No pony but me is allowed to make them, all my recipes are top secret!” Minty took a great sigh as she released herself from the wall. “Thank Celestia the guards didn’t ask questions or stole any of them...”
“Oh that would be considered a criminal offence and the guard would be on probation” Lily replied and instantly Minty raised both her eyebrows at her. ”You should read an history book for once, it could do you some good to catch up on the times” Lily giggled in response.
Rolling her eyes Minty dragged Lily away from the doors and trotted onto the staircase, they climbed the stairs up to the third floor and went to the fourth door down on the left. Minty flipped the lights on and revealed a living room and kitchen combined into one with boxes piled and stacked in the far corners.
“Wow...this is what you call little storage?” Lily asked. She was surprised at all the taken up space and wondered what Minty would call a big storage room.
“You can move in tomorrow, I’ll move this stuff to the room over.” Minty spoke. She noticed Lily opening her mouth and quickly Minty added “No you can’t help, these boxes have to be---placed in a certain order”.
Not wanting to argue Lily shrugged and said “Alrighty then, I’ll be back tomorrow morning with my stuff!” then immediately she took her leave.
Normally Minty would be upset a friend left so suddenly and would call after them, but knowing her busy day had just gotten even busier she instead let out a great sigh. She left the room until later that night when she was finished putting up the decorations which she felt was on the top of her to-do list. It was passed nine PM and Minty was pushing the last of the boxes into the other room which was now so packed she couldn’t even see the walls anymore.
She was about to leave it as it was but noticed a box was crooked. It was centered in the middle of a tower of boxes that were quite wide, she knew to leave well enough alone but she couldn’t help it. She gave into her urges and attempted to straighten it.
“Hm...maybe if I just nudge it a little more?” she asked nudging it a second time. Then a third time and after the fourth nudge she held the tower steady as it tilted to one side. “That was close..” she gasped.
The box she tried straightening was now so uneven it was a real fight against her urges to just leave it alone, she knew a firth nudge could likely bury her alive so she just trotted down the stairs. As she stepped into the hallway she stared back into the room, she angrily grunted and felt really annoyed.
“Where could Tropical Dream be? She could’ve really helped me here!” she growled.
She found it really unlike Tropical Dream to miss work so often and frankly, it was beginning to irritate her. She descended the stairs and stopped on the second floor where she turned into the hallway, she made a beeline passed the doorless laundry room and stopped at a door which she knocked on twice. There was no answer, growling she bucked the door open and stormed inside, slamming doors whichever way and slammed the bedroom door wide open.
“Where is she? She’s never out at this hour” Minty sighed. Her hooves shook with anger when she began coughing suddenly, after she beated her chest she said “Ack! I swear what she sees in that smell I’d never know”.
Minty felt very annoyed, whatever reason Tropical Dream had it had better be good otherwise Minty might have to let her go. She knew she was getting too irritated so to calm herself down she closed her eyes and counted to ten, inhaling and exhaling at every three numbers.
“Ten..ah that feels so much better” she sighed.
She turned and started to trot out of the room when something out of the window suddenly caught her eye. Trotting around the bed she stared out of the window and saw two ponies who were on the only sidewalk out of three with a broken street lamp.
“Oh, that must be Tropical now. And, is that Lily?” Minty asked. She squinted her eyes and saw the pony wasn’t Lily, or at the very least she didn’t think it was her.
She nudged the window open so she could call out at the two but once it had creaked open she could just barely make out the two talking. She froze at hearing the second voice, despite being faint and clearly a whisper it sounded extremely familiar and the fur on the back of her neck had stood up. Rubbing her ears clean of any earwax she honed in on the two mares.
She could just barely hear Tropical Dream’s voice. “This isn’t just her getting a black eye, this is far more serious than that”.
Scratching her ear once more Minty tried blocking out the annoying sound of nearby traffic and hummingbirds.
“Thou should leaveth her be, only sadness awaits her if thou pursuest this” spoke the other mare and Minty realized without a shred of doubt who it was, but, why were they together?
“But you knew!” came Tropical Dream’s voice that drew back Minty’s attention that had wandered off. “How could you not tell your own daughter that she’s---”
“Hold thy tongue, child” the mare raised what seemed to be her cane at face level with Tropical Dream and for a split second Minty thought she had actually hit her.
“Minty must never know, it would only shatter the life she had built. Shatter, like glass, breaking into tiny bits and ripping into her very soul. I asketh thee not for my sake, not for thou’s, but for her’s. Let---it---lie”.
“What are they talking about?” Minty whispered to herself. She was failing to piece the dots together and facehooved as she made herself even more confused.
She saw Tropical Dream nodding and the mare lowered her cane and then leaned in to seemingly whisper something. “Amethyst..” came Tropical Dream’s voice, sounding quite shaken. “What about Whistle? Does she---”
“She knows not, let her take the lessons she was offered.” came Amethyst’s voice. Her mother’s voice, for some reason hearing it had made Minty’s blood run cold. “She is still a young and frail child, Pearl would be embarrassed if she mucks it up again”.
The two came to a halt at the sidewalk’s end, Tropical Dream nodded to something Minty couldn’t hear before she continued on.
“Remember, Minty must never know. It beth the second secret you keep least she breaks, take care child”.
“How long are you going to take, before revealing you’re---” Tropical Dream paused as she turned back and saw that Amethyst had turned a corner and disappeared into the night.
As Tropical Dream made her way to the building Minty slammed the window shut, turned off the lights and galloped out of the room.
Down the stairs she went, sliding the last few steps as she hurried across the hallway into the kitchen where the backdoor was located. It opened and Minty came to a squeezing halt just in time to stop a collision.
“M-Minty? You look dreadful..” spoke Tropical Dream who took note of how messy Minty’s fur was.
Taking a few moments to allow air into her lungs Minty spoke, quite sternly, “Where have you been!?”
Tropical Dream clearly became nervous as she stuttered “U-Um---I---” she gulped and rubbed her throat to force an knot down it. “I was helping my mother, yes, she needed my help to move and---”
“I had to set up the decorations all by myself, plus move boxes for Lily!” Minty interrupted, Tropical Dream tilted her head and asked who Lily was. ”Don’t change the subject, you have been avoiding me lately, haven’t you?”
“What!?” Tropical Dream gasped in shocked. “Minty, I’d never---”
“Be honest, what have you really been doing after I got home?” Minty again interrupted her.
Tropical Dream wasn’t sure what to say, she hadn’t expected to be caught late at night and the more she tried thinking the more nervous her speech became. “If you must know,” she began, straightening her stance and sounded quite insulted. “planning a Holiday party with Pinkie Pie.”
“I KNEW I-wait what?” Minty was taken aback by that straight forward answer, but she wasn’t buying it. “Oh? Then why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because we wanted a very special guest to surprise you,” Tropical Dream answered with an hurt shake of her head. “only today was I finally able to meet with her”/
“Oh?” Minty whispered. She tilted her head highly suspicious, then she facehooved as she remembered their first Hearth Warming as friends. “Ooooooohhhhh.....like what you tried to do when we first met?”
“Yes, but you should be happy to know she refused.” Tropical Dream spoke.
“Well, you shouldn’t be surprised” Minty sighed and shook her head disapprovingly, Tropical Dream almost felt like a child as she shook her own head at Minty.
“I was, honestly I was…” Tropical Dream lowered her head and for a moment, Minty swore she saw a tear fall to the floor. “But let’s not dwell on it, who is Lily again?”
“You’re lying, and I’m going to catch you in it” Minty thought to herself. She hated when friends lie and she knew Tropical Dream was making things up.
Still, she didn’t want to harm their friendship so reluctantly she changed her mindset to answer the question. “Lily is an old friend, are you going to come in or stand outside all night?”