Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

The tired sky blue unicorn opened the door to the quaint bakery. The bell tinkled as she walked over to the counter, examining the goods before her.

"I feel like a Prance pony," she said. "Could I please have ten macrons, one of each flavor, and a strawberry-dipped palmier?"

The bubbly pink pony at the counter got Calla what she ordered and set the box on the counter.

"Fifteen bits, please!" she declared. Calla placed the required amount on the counter and tipped the pony, just for being happy. Calla levitated her box over to the corner table and nibbled on a rainbow macron, sending shimmery sugar dust swirling through the air.

Leaf Gardens walked into Sugarcube Corner. She usually grew her own food, but she occasionally got some cupcakes as a treat to herself. Also, she liked looking at the bright, vibrant colours of the bakery.

"Ah, the sweet smell of fresh cupcakes!" Leafy said to herself, sniffing the air. She immediately went to the counter and ordered her food, a watermelon-flavoured cupcake.

Leafy picked up her plate and looked around for an empty table, but there were none. All the tables were taken by at least one pony. She had to find a table though. She went to a table in a corner.

"May I sit here?" she asked the blue unicorn sitting there.

Calla nodded to the mare.

"Go ahead," she said. "Are you new in town? My name is Calla Lily. It's very nice to meet you."

She continued nibbling on her palmier.

Leafy sat down. "Thanks for letting me sit here," she said. "I'm Leaf Gardens. I've actually been living in Ponyville for about two years. I don't get out much, though, so most ponies think I'm new, since they've never seen me. Even at work I stay alone." Socializing wasn't exactly Leafy's favourite activity, but ignoring Calla would be rude.

Calla could sense the pony was uncomfortable, so she finished her palmier and got up.

"I'm off to the library," she said. "If you want to join me there, that'd be fine. My house is on the way, so I'll just go drop these off in the kitchen for the two ponies boarding there. If you want to come with...?

Leafy thought about Calla's offer. Calla was most likely offering to be polite, but what if she wasn't? Leafy had nothing to do anyway, since it was Saturday. She pondered the offer for a while. Eventually, she answered.

"No thanks."

Calla shrugged and turned to leave. She had never been so flatly refused, but hey, this pony was obviously an introvert.

"If you change your mind, I'll be looking for a book on pets. I'm thinking about getting a companion, you know? It'd be nice to have something that listened bud didn't talk your ear off, and something to cuddle with you..."

She smiled.

"Only if you want to. Of course, you could just sit here, eat your cupcake, and leave, but what's the fun in that? Do you have many friends? If you do, and if I were you, I would hang out with them. If you don't, I would attempt to make one now."

Leafy, once again, thought about it. Calla was right. She didn't have too many friends. And Calla seemed genuine too. There was no reason to decline the offer.

Leafy finished her cupcake and tossed the wrapper in the dustbin.

"Why not?" she said.

Calla grinned and led the mare out of the bakery, and they trotted down Flower Way, towards the library.

"Wait one second," she instructed as she dropped inside her house and left the treats in the kitchen. She returned and kept going.

"What kind of pet would you want?" she asked. "I'm thinking a dog, maybe a cat, or maybe even an owl. All rather intelligent, ready to listen, and helpful around the house."

Leafy remembered a book she had once read about pets when she was bored. Pretty boring since she wasn't getting a pet, so she only read it halfway before losing interest while still flipping the pages to pass the time. "A cat, I suppose. Maybe a bird." It was hard for her to decide. A kitten would require more attention, but was adorable. A bird would take up less space, but Leafy couldn't cuddle with it, just watch it fly around. She sighed with the confusion.

"I'll probably make up my mind once we reach the library."