Every Pony knows your mane: Tales from the Satin Slipper

by Paradise Oasis

First published 13th of November, 2013

Stories from pondom's 1# hangout spot, through the eyes of a mare named Fizzy!

The Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe- the favorite hangout spot of many a mare and stallion, has just hired a ditzy new employee. Follow the misadventures of this mare as she deals with all types of crazy customers!

*Art by watercolors*

Prologue

Prologue-

This is story of Fizzy Pop, a silly and simple mare who went out and achieved her dream. It was a very simple dream, to be sure, but a dream nevertheless. For not only did she achieve this dream, but she met many new friends along the way, and met the love of her life. This is the story of a well-meaning, but scatterbrained ditz, who just wanted to make the other ponies around her happy. How she went about this, however, is what this rather amusing tale is all about…

-The Satin slipper sweet shoppe, after hours-

“So, do I get the job?”

The twinkle-eyed blue unicorn stared at Scoops hopefully, beaming with a warm smile that hid none of her buzzing excitement. This had been the day that the mare had looked forward to her whole life, and nothing in Ponyland could spoil it for her.

“Ummm… well…” The White earth mare looked around the shop nervously, trying to think of what to tell the excited young pony in front of her. The ice cream splattered on the ceiling when she had tried to levitate a scoop onto a cone would take an hour to clean off, and her pathetic attempt to operate the soda machine had given Scoops a face a face full of root beer. Still, this mare with the multicolored mane had been an eager and excited customer ever since she was a filly, and Scoops could remember her sitting at one of the stools, happily re-carbonating her soda with her magic. Scoops had only been a soda jerk herself then, and she had never seen such… enthusiasm in a pony for sodas and ice cream!

“Aw, pleeeeease?” Fizzy’s jeweled eyes looked at the mare pleadingly. “I've always wanted to work at an awesome place like this! I'll be totally responsible! And don't worry, I so totally won’t mess up anymore, I promise!”

“Oh, all right.” The mare sighed in defeat, rolling her eyes. “Just be here at six ‘o clock tomorrow morning for training. I’ll be putting you on the daytime shift with Lickety Split.”

“Yaaaaay, thank you sooo much!” The blue mare exclaimed, pulling the surprised manager into a big hug. As the new employee hopped around in joy, Scoops sighed, and turned back to washing her dishes. "I so totally won't let you down, Miss Scoops, I guarantee it!"

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m actually gonna work here!” The mare thought aloud, looking around at the ice cream parlor. The Satin Slipper Sweet Shop looked like a large white lace ballet shoe, with a turnstile on the side, and several wire frame chairs and tables sitting on a red and white checked floor. Fizzy could remember many happy birthday parties and get together here, and she loved the laughter and smiles she had her friends had shared so many times in this place. She hoped to bring that happiness to many other ponies in the years to come. Oh, her bubble-making powers may seem worthless to most ponies, but in this line of work she could really excel!

“Hey Scoops, I’ll give you a hand- er, hoof cleaning up before I go!” The mare trotted around, and eagerly began straightening things up. Collecting dirty silverware, wiping down the counter, and straightening up the stools at the counter- nothing escaped the blue unicorn's notice.

“Golly, I wonder what this Lickety Split is like…” She mused, as she pushed a chair under one of the tables. Fizzy had heard of the ice cream-loving mare, but had never actually met her. “Well, with a name like that, she’s gotta like ice cream!” The jewel-eyed unicorn said with a laugh. Whatever this mysterious mare was like, Fizzy Pop was certain they would be the best of friends. After all, there’s no way she could be a mean pony if she worked at this wonderful place, right?

“Fizzy, would you please bring the dirty ice cream scoops back here to wash, please?” Scoops called out from the back of the kitchen, filling the sink with hot water and suds. "Just put them in the sink back here!"

“Coming right up, boss!” The mare said with a smile, levitating the scoops up, and trotting back into the kitchen. But the mare crossed the recently mopped floor, her hoof slipped on a wet spot. “Here’s the- whooooaahhh-oooahhhhhhhhhh!” The mare slid forward, knocking into Scoops, and sending her tumbling forward.

SPLASH! The shocked mare tumbled into the soapy water, Scoops her head up out of the water, her face covered with a beard made out of suds.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay boss?” Looking at the earth pony, Fizzy suddenly burst out laughing. “Golly you look just like Santa Claus!”

“Ho ho ho, very funny.” The annoyed with pony snorted, spitting out some suds. “Look, why don’t you just go home for the night, Fizzy? I’ll finish cleaning up, and see you tomorrow.”

“Okay boss, see ya!” Waving goodbye, the mare slipped out though the turnstile.

Grumbling, Scoops pulled herself up out of the soapy water. “I just hope this isn’t one of my celebrated ‘mistakes’.” She said with a sigh.

“Yayyyy! I’m going to be a soda jerk! I’m going to be a soda jerk!” Fizzy exclaimed happily, trotting down the hallways of dream Castle. Passing by a white unicorn, Fizzy turned to her and announced proudly. “Hey Gusty, I’m gonna be a jerk!”

“Don’t really see how that’s different from now!” The sarcastic mare snorted. “But now ya got something at go with ‘idiot‘ on your resume, Fizz!”

But nothing could dampen this mare’s spirits, her greatest dream had been fulfilled. Starting tomorrow, she would bring happiness to everybody in dream castle who wanted ice cream soda.

“Oh Fizzzy, you’ve finally made it!” She giggled happily. “After tomorrow, every pony will know your mane!”

First day on the Job

First day on the job…

“Hello, I’m here!” Fizzy declared enthusiastically, trotting in through the door of the still-deserted malt shop. “I’m ready to start my first day here, Scoops!”

“I’m sorry, Miss Scoops got called away on business.” An entirely pink mare with a faded mane replied, looking up from the ice cream cooler. “Oh, you must be Fizzy! My name’s Lickety Split, an’ you’ll be working with me today!”

“Sure is awesome to meet you, Miss Split!” The earth pony with the ice-cream cone cutie mark extended her hoof, which the ditzy blue unicorn with the fizzy soda cutie mark shook energetically. “Don’t worry, I’ll make a whole bunch of those yummy sodas that’ll make all of our customers happy!”

“Okay… that’s good, I guess.” Lickety replied uncertainly, watching this overly hyper mare skip over to the soda fountain. “I’ll serve the customers ice cream, while you get them their malts and sodas. Okay?”

“You got it!” Fizzy exclaimed levitating a glass up to the fountain. “I am so totally ready! Bring on the customers!”

It was only a short time later, that Lickety unlocked the doors, and a stampede of customers came galloping into the Satin Slipper. Ponies of every shape, size, color, and cutie mark rushed to the counter, firing off order after order at the two mares.

“I want a hot fudge sundae!” One stallion called out.

“Comin’ right up!” Lickety replied, dishing up a scoops of chocolate ice cream out of thew cooler with her hooves.

“Give me a cherry root beer float!” A mare ordered.

“You got it!” Fizzy called back, pulling down on the fountain lever with her magic, then floating the bubbly carbonated beverage out to the customer.

As the mugs of soda and dishes of ice cream flowed freely, Lickety was amazed at how well the new mare handled herself. She had just written the Twinkle-eyed pony off as an incompetent simpleton, but it really seemed the goofball knew what she was doing behind a soda fountain. “Maybe she really will work out, after all.” The earth mare thought to herself. It was then however, that the mare’s first true challenge came trotting through the door .

“Pahdon me, mah good soda poneh.” A white earth mare declared, walking in and sitting down at one of the counter stalls tall and proudly. “But ah am heyah fo mah usual.”

“Okay, coming right up!” Fizzy smiled, walking over to the soda machine, before stopping and looking back. “Excuse me, but what exactly is ‘mah usual?”

“Why, you little ingrate! Ah ya’ll mockin me?” The mare stood up indignantly, rubbing her hair with her hoof. “Don’t ya’ll know who I am? Does not the sight of mah ravishin beauty give y’all a clue tah who ah ahm?”

“Nope, sorry miss.” The blue unicorn replied, now getting annoyed that the customers were getting backed up. “Now if you could please tell me what you want, I’ll get your order as fast as I can!”

“Why, haow dare y’all sass me, you bubble-brained bimbo!” Truly snapped back. “Ah’ll have you know ah’ve haid stallions stumbling over themselves just at caitch a sight of this gorgeous bod!”” She looked Fizzy over “And from the looks of y‘all, ah wouldn’t be surprised if ya made all the fellas flee.”

“Well, after being around you, all the guys probably need to be de-flead.“ The twinkle-eyed pony snorted, looking the other mare over. “Well, you’re no pretty picture either, ya southern hillbilly!“

“Well, ah never!” Truly barked in anger.

“I just bet you haven’t!” Fizzy retorted, cocking an eyebrow.

“Hey, what’s going on over there?” Lickety yelled, looking up from her work at on of the ice cream coolers. “Fizzy, are you causing trouble with the customers?”

“Excuse me, mah good Lickety!“ The now-annoyed mare snorted, turning to the other pony behind the counter. “But ah’m heyah for mah daily root beer float!:”

“Oh, Miss Truly!” Lickety declared nervously, turning to the new employee. “Fizzy, would you be a dear, and help me get Miss Truly her order”

“Sure!” The bubble-brained mare agreed. “I’d be happy to help!”

One of the most influential mares in Dream Castle, Truly was a southern belle and dressmaker of the highest caliber and quality. She was well-liked and respected in the pony community, and it was even believed she would be elected to the royal privy council this year. Lickety and Scoops had managed to keep this uppity mare happy so far, but it would remain to be seen if their new bubble brain could keep it up.

“Here we go, Lickety!” Fizzy declared, pulling down on the lever until the mug foamed with fizz. “This root beer is all ready to- ah!” Looking into the mug as the fizz went down, a few of the bubbles went up her nose.

“Ah-ahhhhh- ACHOO!” The mare sneezed, sending the levitated glass flying through the air, promptly landing upside-down on the surprised Lickety Split’s head.

“Ahhhhh!” The shocked mare wailed, running around with the foaming root beer running down in her face. “Help me! I can’t see!”

While she was running about the room, the ice cream scoop she had been carrying in her hoof was sent flying, landing on top of Truly’s head with a loud SPLAT!

“Aieeeee! Mah mane!” The mare wailed, now running about the soda shop herself. “Y’all ruined mah new mane do!” The mare looked over at Fizzzy, scowling. “Ohhhhh, you’ll pay fo this, ya no good scallywag! Ah’ll have yo hide for this mistake , ya stupid varmints!”

“No, Miss Truly, wait… please come back!” Lickety Split pleaded. “Oh no, Fizzy! There goes one of your best customers!”

“Awww, don’t worry about it, Lickety.” the scatterbrained mare replied, levitating a glass up to fill for the next customer. “She was a grouchy old meanie anyway, who cares if she runs away? We have so many much nicer customers here who want ice cream!” The mare smiled, handing a baby cone to a little colt near the counter.

“Oh Fizzy…” The mare replied with a sigh, wiping the ice cream off of her face. “You just don’t get it…”

Apples and Cherries

Apples and Cherries….

“”Wow, this is amazing!” Lickety Split whispered in disbelief, looking around at all the ponies crowded into the Satin Slipper at lunchtime. “I can’t believe we have so many customers here!”

It had been a week since the little incident between Truly and Fizzy, and both Lickety and Scoops had been certain that word would quickly spread about how the influential mare had been treated. But even before her boss could decide wither or not to let go of Fizzy, something totally unusual happened. A few days after the accident, the Satin Slipper had suddenly found itself packed with even more customers! Scoops, who had been utterly dismayed upon Lickety telling her about the mishap, was totally overjoyed at the surprising turn of events.

“See, I told you there would be a lot of nice customers, Lickety!” Fizzy smiled, levitating a malt milkshake out to a waiting customer. “Telling that old meanie Truly off didn’t hurt us in the least!”

“I’ll say it didn’t hurt you! All of Dream Castle is abuzz with how you showed that snooty earth pony up!” A green unicorn with jeweled eyes exclaimed, trotting up and sitting down at one of the stools at the counter. “It’s about time somebody put that snobbish little southern belle in her place!”

“Hey, I know you!” Fizzy exclaimed, noticing the parrot cutie mark on the mare with the multicolored mane’s flank. “You’re Mimic, Queen Majesty’s royal court mage!”

“That’s me, all right!” The mare replied proudly. “And you must be Fizzy, the brave little soda jerkette who stood up to miss stuck up!”

“Well, I’d hardly call myself brave…” The blue bubble head replied bashfully.

“Anyway, what can we get for you, miss Mimic?” Lickety Split asked with a smile, happy to have a member of the Royal Court in the shop. “We have many different flavors of ice cream and sodas to choose from.”

“Sure!” The mare replied with a smile. “Give me a dish of tuti fruity ice cream, and a glass of tropical punch soda!”

“Coming right up!” The two mares replied in unison, before each galloping over to their respective stations.

But while the mares were busy serving their latest customer, two more angry ponies came tromping and stomping through the turnstile at the entrance, snarling and growling at each other all the way, all of the other equines in the Satin Slipper turned to stare at the unruly pair.

“I say my apple cider is their most popular product!” An orange mare with a yellow mane snarled, shaking her hoof at the other pony. “Miss Scoops always orders twenty-two barrels of the stuff from my apple orchard every season!”

“Oh yeah? Well, she always orders two hundred pounds of cherries from my Cherry orchard every season, to top off her ice cream sundaes!” An orange mare with a cherries cutie mark snapped back. “So my fruit is the move highly prized at this shoppe!”

“Who the heck are those two?” Fizzy whispered, staring at the two orange equines, who were now arguing in the middle of the dining room.

“Oh dear, that Cherries Jubilee and Applejack.” Mimic replied with a sigh. “One runs the Dream Valley’s apple orchard, the other runs the cherry orchard.”

“So why are they fighting?” Fizzy asked, puzzled. “It sounds like they’re arguing over wither apples or cherries are better.”

“That’s pretty much it, Fizz. Cherries’s family used to run the only orchard here at Dream Castle, until Twilight brought A.J. to live here a few years back.” Lickety replied with a sigh. “The two started fighting right after Applejack planted her first tree. Some kinda grudge between the two families, I guess.”

“Gee, maybe we could talk to them, a get em’ to be friends.” Fizzy said thoughtfully. “Wouldn’t that be nice?’

“I dunno Fizz, best not to poke your muzzle into other ponies’ business.” Lickety warned. “Besides, the two usually work it out between themselves.”

But Fizzy being Fizzy, she ignored the good advice, and trotted over to the arguing equines.

“Excuse me, you two.” Fizzy called out, as she stepped in between them. “But is there anything I can help you with?”

“Ah, the Satin Slipper’s newest soda jerkette. Maybe she can settle this.” Cherries snorted. “Tell me, my good pony, which is the more popular fruit here at your establishment; apples, or cherries?”

“Yeah, which is more important to your products,” AJ snorted. “Sweet delicious red and golden apples, or those shriveled little wannabe fruits called cherries?”

“Uh… I… well.. that is…” The flummoxed Fizzy replied, looking back and forth between the two mares. “Well, the cherries are really yummy on the top of sundaes with whip cream, but the apple cider and apple cobbler is really good, too! Ohhh, It’s so hard to decide, their both sooo good!”

“How can you even compare my delectable cherries to this… low class tramp of a mare’s rotten fruit?” Cherries snorted indignantly. “The Apple family just can’t stand the competition, that’s why they sabotaged great-great-great-great-great-great-grandma Cherry’s factory in old Equestria!”

“Is that what this is all about? That was generations ago!” AJ sorted in surprise. “Besides, old Applejack didn’t wreck your family’s stupid factory on purpose, it was an accident!”

“Liar!”

“Tramp!”

“hussy!”

“The two mares glared at each other- snarling and stamping their hooves- while everyone else in the Satin Slipper looked on.

“Come on you two, stop it! You’re making a scene!” Fizzy pleaded, putting her hoof up. “If you’re going to have a disagreement, please take it outside!”

“You stay out of this, bubblehead!” Cherries snorted, shoving the unicorn away. “This is between me and this old nag here!”

“Old nag?!” Applejack growled. “You’ve got now room to talk, little girl. Now you run on home, and play with your little cherry trees!”

“Little girl?!? Well ,at least I’ve been on a date in the past month!” Cherries snapped back. “When was the last time you went out with a stallion, grandma, the paleopony period?”

"Why you-!" The two lunged at each other, only to suddenly caught in two large magic bubbles. Fizzy suddenly levitated the two apart, scowling at the both of them.

"How dare you, both coming in here and acting like children!" The mare snorted scowling at the two of them. "You two are grown ponies, and here you are fighting in public as if you were two snorting stallions! A mare should know better!"

"She's right." Cherries whinnied sadly, looking over at Applejack. "I shouldn't have said those things about your family."

"And I shouldn't have insulted your hard work on raising your fruit." AJ replied apologetically. "I was in the wrong, too.".

"We're sorry." Both mares sighed, looking down as they were trapped in the bubbles.

"Wait a minute now, Fizzy." Mimic said with a smirk. "If these two are so determined to come in here and give you trouble, well don't you think we should reward them for their efforts?"

"Yeah, I think you're right, Miss Mimic." The blue unicorn replied,. "If they want to entertain the ponies in the Satin Slipper with their antics- well, let's let them!"

Fizzy trotted over, and whispered something into Mimic's ear. The unicorn enchantress smiled and nodded, turning her glowing horn towards the two mares.

"Wait..." AJ asked nervously. "What are you going to-"

POOF! There was a sudden flash of light, then the bubbles around the two mares suddenly popped. Their bodies began to glow and shift.

"Wh-hooaaaa!"Within a few minutes, the two ponies were standing upright, dressed like Carmen Miranda dancers with fruit on their heads. The transformed mares looked at each other, then smiled.

"Everybody Carnivale!" Cheeries Jubilee exclaimed, and every pony started dancing as confetti dropped from the ceiling and the sound of a samba band band started playing out of nowhere.

"Wow Fizzy, that was a really clever spell!" Lickety Split giggled. "Did the spell make them dance, too?"

"No, they are doing that of their own free will." Mimic laughed. "Probably partly as an apology to Fizzy, and probably just to have some fun!"

"Everybody samba!" Applejack cried, as the two ponies kicked high into the air, the splits in their dresses revealing their skimpy glittering golden undergarments.

"Awwww, come on, Lickety!" Fizzy exclaimed, as she joined a pony conga line. "Let's have some fun."

"Only a mare like you could cause craziness like this, Fizzy." The earth mare giggled, rolling her eyes, and jumping in line behind the other two friends.

The music and lights played in the Satin Slipper, as the ponies danced on all throughout the night.

Get by With a little help from my friends...

Get by With a little help from my friends...

"Fizzy, Lickety Split has the day off, and I'll be coming in for the evening shift tonight." Scoops told the unicorn, loading up her satchel, and trotting her way towards the door. "You sure you can handle the shop while I'm gone?"

Word had gotten around Dream Castle about the 'party' the ditzy blue mare had caused at the ice cream shop, and many new and returning customers had come to the shop out of curiosity. Despite the losses that had occurred with Miss Truly's supporters refusing to patronize the establishment, Scoops was pleased enough by the turnout, that she felt her newest employee was ready to handle a day at the shop by herself.

"Sure, no problem, boss!" The bubbly unicorn giggled. "I'll make sure everyone leaves here with a warm and happy smile!"

"All right Fizzy, see you this evening." Scoops replied with a smile, trotting out the door. It wasn't very long, before the usual line of customers was waiting for their ice creams and sodas. But it also wasn't long, before little Fizzy soon discovered she was in was over her head.

"I'll take three scoops of Neapolitan." One mare requested.

"Coming right up!" The ditzy soda mare replied, before levitating the ice cream scoop uncertainly. "Wait, is that the pink and green one, or the brown and white ice cream, oh dear...."

"I'd like a three scoop vanilla, marshmallow, and rocky road cone, please!" A mare ordered.

"Okay, I got it here!" Sher stacked the three scoops high on a cone. But when she trotted forward to the counter, the top two scoops tumbled forward off the cone, and onto the customer's head.

"Hey!" The angry mare yelled, ice cream splattered all over her mane.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" The frowning Fizzy apologized, wiping the ice cream out of her mane. "Here, let me get you some more."

"No thank you!" The mare snorted, angrily stomping out of the ice cream parlor, the blue unicorn struggled frantically to meet the orders of all the unhappy customers. When the lunch crowd had finally died down, the poor mare finally collapsed in exhaustion.

"Oh dear," The soda jerkette cried in dismay. "I really don't think I can handle this on my own!" It was at that point, that an answer to her problems finally walked in through the door.

"Fizzy! There you are!" A white unicorn with an Autumn leaf cutie mark yelled in greeting. "Where the heck have ya been?"

Three mares came trotting into the Satin Slipper, big smiles on their faces as they spotted their dear friend. making their way up to the counter, the three sat on the stools and put their hooves on the counter.

"Gusty! Shady! Wind Whistler!" Fizzy said with a smile, bounding out from behind the counter to greet them. " It's so great to see you! But... what're you all doing here?"

"Why, we traversed to this location in order to ascertain how well things were progressing at your new place of employment, my good Fizzy." Wind Whistler, the blue Pegasus with the three whistle cutie mark, pointed out. "and to see if there was any manner in which we could offer you assistance."

"Huh?" Fizzy asked, confused. "What'd she just say?"

"What she means is we heard you had found a new job, and came her see if we could help." Shady, the depressed pink mare with the sunglasses cutie mark, replied sadly. "Though I don't know how much good a pony like me could do."

The three mares were childhood friends of the ditzy unicorn, and had come to check out her new place of employment. The sight of the spilled ice cream and messy shop, however, the trio quickly realized that their friend was in desperate need of some help.

"Whoa, I think you're in desperate need of some help." Gusty noted, as she looked back into the kitchen. "This place looks like a bunch'a goblins hit it!"

"Yeah, I've been so busy with the customers, I haven't had time to clean anything up!" Fizzy lamented, nodding back towards the sink of dirty dishes. "I'm not supposed to ask for help, but I could really use some right about now!"

"Say no more, my good Fizzy!" Wind Whistler insisted, already switching into organizer mode. "Shady, you stay out here at the counter with Fizzy, and handle the dinner rush customers."

"Okay, I'll do my best..." The earth pony mare replied in a worried tone. "I just hope I won't get in the way..."

"Excellent." The blue Pegasus replied, turning to Gusty. "Gusty, I'll need your help back in the kitchen with those dishes back there."

"All right!" The white unicorn mare agreed. "Let's get to it!"

The four ponies spread out though the ice cream parlor, starting about their work just as the dinner customers began galloping in. And while things went very well at first, the mares soon found that things were not going to be as easy as they had thought.

Back in the kitchen, Wind Whistler washed and stacked the dishes neatly on a large metal rack, standing upright in several rows, ready to be dried.

“All right Gusty, “ The blue Pegasus exclaimed, yelling down to the unicorn at the far side of the room. “give us a strong wind to dry these dishes out!”

“Coming right up!” Gusty lowered her horn, and released a mighty burst of air. The strong wind blasted over the dishes, sending them flying back against the wall, shattering into a hundred pieces.

“No, Gusty!” Windy pleaded, hanging on for dear life, as a miniature hurricane blew though the back of the shop, it blew out through the doorway into the dining room, hitting both the customers and the two mares working at the counter.

“Okay mister,” Shady started, handing a six-decker cone to a waiting stallion. "Here's you cherry and villia-ahhhhhhh!" The mighty blast of wind sent all that ice cream and cherry flying into the customer's face, and sending the cone upside down on the top of his head.

SPLAT!

"Ah ha ha! What a funny looking ice cream clown!" Fizzy giggled at the unfortunate customer. "He's even got a silly cone hat and cherry nose!"

"Ahhhhhh! My eyes!" The surprised stallion snorted. " I can't see!"

His face covered in ice cream, the stallion jumped around and bucked and kicked, knocking over tables and smashing chairs against the wall.

"Look out!" Shady wailed, as she and Fizzy his behind the counter. "That guy's gone crazy!"

All the ponies in the Satin Slipper fled out the door, as the stallion rampaged all through the dining room. Finally, the crazed pony shook the ice cream out of his face, then smashed though the turnstile as he ran out the door.

"Is everyone all right out here?" Wind Whistler asked, as the two mares looked out of the kitchen. Their eyes met a totally trashed dining room, with ice cream splattered everywhere, and a mixture of sodas splashed all over the once cleaned floor.

"Uh ohhhh...." Fizzy moaned, shaking her head at the sight of the broken tables and chairs. "I think I'm in real trouble now..."

Salty and Sweet

Salty and Sweet

"I'm sorry, Fizzy, but you've caused too much damage to be overlooked." Scoops said with a sigh, as work ponies repaired the damage all around her. "I trusted you with too much responsibility, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you go."

"Oh no, Miss Scoops!" The blue mare whimpered, tears forming in her jewel-socket eyes. "Please don't fire me, I promise I'll try harder, I promise!"

"Well, the damage wasn't that bad, I suppose. And your friends have promised to never try and 'help' you at work again." The earth pony looked around at the damaged shop, then looked at the unicorn pathetically weeping at her hooves. "Very well, I'll give you one more chance- but you'll be under my strict supervision-do you understand?"

"Y-yes, thank you very much." The mare whined, standing up and drying her eyes. "You won't regret this, I promise."

"Please don't say that again." Scoops replied, sweeping up the few fragments of broken plates with her mouth. " The last time you said it, I ended up regretting it."

And so Fizzy, now with much reduced hours on her schedule, worked only when Scoops was on duty to keep an eye on her. The normally cheery mare spent most of her free moments time with her head resting on the counter, going about her normally cheery job like an automaton going through the motions. Still her performance was of sufficient quality, that she was able to hold on to her soda jerking career.

"Fizzy, another customer wants a cone out at the counter!" Scoops yelled, trotting back into the kitchen to where the depressed mare was washing dishes. "Go out and take his order, I'll finish the rest rest of these dishes for you."

"Yes, miss Scoops." The unicorn replied in a monotone voice, trotting her way back out into the dining room with her head down. Trotting up to the pony she barely noticed at the stool, her voice whispered like a zombie's.

"Welcome to the Satin Slipper." She sighed. "May I take your order?"

"Arrr, little missy!" A harsh, gravelly voice hissed. "I'll be taken a cone full of peanut butter chocolate, if ye please."

The unicorn mare slowly raised her head to the pony speaking... and suddenly her eyes went wide. Soft blue eyes, a sleek blue coat covered in scars, a long, flowing pink mane, and a tight flank and muscular body that looked like it had been chiseled by the great horsemaster himself... this stallion was perfection. Fizzy simply stared at this wonder of pony anatomy stupefied, her brain shattered into a thousand pieces by the sight.

"Um, I...." Fizzy muttered, her cheeks turning a deep red. "You, er..."

"Um, excuse me, missy?" The harsh voice called again, waving a hoof in front of her face. "Ya be all right?"

"Oh! Ummmm, yes!" Fizzy shook off her trance, looking down at the ice cream cooler. "C-coming right up, sir!"

"Thak ye, missy." The stallion with the tug boat cutie mark smiled. "By the way, I don't believe I've seen ya workin here before, missy. What be you're name?"

"F-fizzy." The mare replied, nervously fumbling with the levitated scoop and trying not to stare at the Adonis before her. "W-what's yours?"

"I be Salty, pony of the sea, and first mate ta captain Barnacle!" The stallion bowed to her, causing the rosy pockets on the unicorn's cheeks to turn even redder. "And while right now you be at my service, know if thy lovely form ever graces Dream Castle's undersea docks, I shall most certainly be at your service."

"O-okay..." Fizzy replied dreamily, levitating his cone to him. "Here's your ice cream hottie- er, I mean, Salty!"

"Thank you, Miss Fizzy." He bowed again, before taking his cone, and galloping out the door. "I hope I shall have the good fortune to see you again."

"I hope so, too." The mare sighed happily, leaning against the cooler. "Ohhh, what a dreamboat..."

As she stood against the cooler, all of the ice cream inside melted as her horn gave off a soft glow. It wasn't too long, before scoops came out of the back again.

"Fizzy, did you serve that-" She looked down at the liquid goo that had been her ice cream, and gave a cry of surprise. "Fizzy, what the heck happened to my ice cream?!?"

"Salty was here..." The mare replied, a goofy smile on her face.

"Oh, well that explains it. yeah, he melts the ice cream of every mare that works here." Scoops replied, turning away to hide her own red face. "All right Fizzy, you can go home for the day. And don't worry about the ice cream, I'll ask my unicorn friend Powder to come over and refreeze it."

"Thanks Scoops, see you tomorrow." The mare replied offhandedly, almost floating out the door. Lost in her own thoughts, the unicorn was not watching where she was going.

"Wow, that guy is sooo cool! I gotta get his attention!" she thought to herself. "Ohhhh, but what would a sea god like him see in a scatterbrain like me? I gotta be more responsible at work, then maybe he'll-"

"MMMMPH-!" Fizzy's thoughts were cut off, as her face squished up against something soft. Opening her eyes, the mare saw a pony's tail, and realized in her her daze, she had trotted straight into another pony's flank!

"Hey, you dumb mare!" The scatterbrain snorted angrily. "Why don't you watch where I'm going! Nobody likes a face full of flank!"

But as the other pony turned around, Fizzy saw that the pony she had bumped into was no mare.

"Oh. I'm so sorry, missy, I was just lookin at-" Salty stopped suddenly, at seeing who the mare at his flank was. "Oh! M-miss Fizzy?"

"S-salty?!?" The mare's eyes went wide, then suddenly rolled back into her head. "Ohhh- ack-ugh!"

"Oh no, Miss Fizzy!" Salty exclaimed in concern, standing over the mare. "Are ye all right?"

Fizzy simply lay there on the ground, twitching and going through spazams as drool poured out of her mouth.

"Quick, somebody! This mare needs a doctor!"

Twinkle, twinkle little eyes...

Twinkle, twinkle little eyes...

"Fizzy, this is Gingerbread, Sweet Stuff sent her over from the castle kitchen." Scoops told the mare, introducing the white mare with the blue mane,. "Since Lickety requested the day off, she'll be helping you on the evening shift. She's filled in on days here before, so you do exactly as she says, all right?"

It had been four days since Fizzy's 'embarrassing' encounter with Salty, and the mare was trying to step up and be more responsible around the Satin Slipper. Scoops was still very cautious, obviously, and was careful not to leave the ditzy mare alone in the ice cream parlor.

"Okay, we'll keep an eye on things here!" The blue mare said with a smile. "See you later, boss!"

"So you're Fizzy, hm? So good to meet you." The mare with the Gingerbread cutie mark greeted her. "And don't worry, I trust you to keep the soda fountain running, just leave the ice cream to me!"

"You got it, Ginger!" Fizzy replied cheerfully, before noticing something about the other mare's face. "Hey, you're a twinkle eyed pony, like me. That's so awesome!"

"So? That doesn't make me any different from any other pony!" Gingerbread snorted indignantly, turning away to face the ice cream freezer. "There in nothing special about having one type of eyes or another."

There was silence between the two for several minutes, before the cranking of the turnstile signaled the arrival of hungry customers. "Hey there, Fizzy! What's up?"

"Mimic, so good to see you here!" Fizzy said with a smile, looking up as the mare trotted into the shop with another pony. "And you brought a friend with you, how cool!"

"Fizzy, this is Locket." Mimic explained, pointing to the pink Pegasus with an orange and purple mane. "She's Dream Valley's master locksmith, and warden of the castle dungeon."

"Hey Fizz, nice ta meet ya!" The cool-voiced mare replied, her gemstone eyes winking softly in the light. "Mimic told me all about ya, and it's a real pleasure!"

"Wow, you're jewel-eyed ponies, too!" Fizzy replied with a smile. "But I don't think Gingerbread here likes that too much."

"And just want exactly is wrong with being jewel-eyed?" Mimic asked, cocking an eyebrow. "I'm perfectly happy with the glass peepers I have, thank you very much!"

"Oh, I did mean to say there was anything wrong with being twinkle-eyed." Gingerbread replied defensively, putting her hooves up. ""I was just saying I don't want to be seen as different from other mares."

"Well, I personally think, in this case, being different is a good thing." Locket replied proudly, as Fizzy poured and served the two of them root beers. "Consider that, unlike other ponies, we never have to put up with infections like pink eye."

"And we never have to go see an eye doctor, or get glasses." Mimic added. "We have a lot of advantages the 'normal' eyed ponies don't have!"

"I know, I just wish other ponies wouldn't make fun of us for it." Gingerbread said with a sigh, trotting over to the other three. "I mean, everyone in the bakery keeps telling me to take my eyes out when I bake cookies, so they don't fall into the oven."

"I know what you mean. The guards in my dungeon think I take my eyes out and leave them on my dresser at night when I sleep." Locket sighed. "And I even had a stallion I was out on a date with ask me if I could shoot goblins with my eye death rays."

"Oh brother, why do ponies have to be some dumb?" Gingerbread rolled her eyes. "It's not like we can see in the dark, or have x-ray vision."

"Still, I think it's really cool we have something that makes us unique." Fizzy replied with a giggle. "everyone has something that makes em' different. Our thing just makes us a little more different."

The other three smiled, nodding their heads in agreement at Fizzy's pronouncement. But as the mares talked and laughed together, Another mare trotted into the Satin Slipper, walking up to the counter.

"Excuse me, but if you rock-eyes aren't too busy being idiots, I would like some service over here." The mare snorted, after the group failed to acknowledge her at first.

"Um, excuse me, but couldn't you be as little more polite?" Gingerbread asked politely. "We prefer to be called 'twinkle-eyed ponies', and-"

"I don't care what you prefer, glass face." The yellow earth mare snorted. "I want a vanilla cone, and I want it, now!"

"Sheesh, don't be such a grouch!" Fizzy exclaimed, as Gingerbread got her a cone. "Here take your ice cream and go, meat eyes."

The mare merely scowled at her, and trotted over to one of the tables to eat. But as she began licking her cone, all of the other mares glared at her, their hollow glass eyes glowing with an unnatural light. No one noticed Fizzy and Mimic's horns glowing as well, and it almost seemed there were invisible beams firing from their eyes, and boring a hole straight through her cone.

"What the- hey! My ice cream's melting!" The mare wailed, as the liquid goo from her cone splattered all over her face. "You stupid glass eyes gave me melted ice cream!" The mare with the magic wand cutie mark got up, and galloped out the door. "The Satin Slipper will pay for this, and you'll all be sorry!"

"Wow, that mare was quite a b-" Locket started, before fizzy drawing another soda from the fountain cut her off. Mimic and Gingerbread just glared at her, knowing what she was going to say in front of the childlike Fizzy.

"Well, let's just say she wasn't as very nice pony." Mimic giggled, as Fizzy served them all another round of root beers.

"Agreed." Gingerbread smiled, holding up a frothy mug. "And hey, I guess we did prove those jewel eyes do come in handy, after all!"

Babysitting a Brat

Babysitting a Brat

"Hey girls! What's up?" Fizzy greeted the two mares behind the counter. "Just stopping by to pick up my schedule for next week."

"Oh, hey Fizzy." Scoops, greeted her, as she wiped a malt glass out with her hooves. "How's your day off going?"

"Oh, I'm having a whole bunch of fun!" Fizzy smiled, trotting up and picking up her schedule off of the counter. "Spent all morning down by the waterfront with Gusty, and we had a whole bunch of fun swimming!"

"Really? Is that the only reason you went there, Fizz?" Lickety teased, cocking an eyebrow. "You sure it wasn't to see those big, studly sailors down there, hmmmmm?"

"I dunno what you're talking about." Fizzy replied nonchalantly, turning away to hide her crimson cheeks. "Now, if you two will excuse me..."

"Oh, Fizzy? There's something else we wanted to ask you." Scoops added, before the mare could leave. "Would you mind taking Lickety's Split's daughter with you for the day? Buttons is out of town, so we need a replacement babysitter for the day."

"Oh, sure! That would be great!" Fizzy replied with a smile. "It would be really fun to take a little filly along, kind of like having a little sister!"

"Thanks, Fizz. I owe you a lot!" Lickety replied, turning back to face the kitchen. "Little Lickety, Fizzy is here!"

"Coming, mommy." A little purple mare trotted out, smiling sweetly. "Hello, Miss Fizzy. I'm really looking forward to your day out together."

"Aww, aren't you the sweetest little thing!" The ditzy mare giggled. "I'm sure we''l get along just fine!"

"Yeah, let's get going!" The filly galloped out the door. "See, you later, mommy!"

After the two ponies trotted out the door, the mares behind the counter gave each other guilty stares.

"Do you think we should have told her?" Lickety asked, looking out the door after them. "I really don't think she deserves this."

"I'll give Fizzy an extra day off every week, she certainly deserves it after today." Scoops replied, shaking her mane with a sigh. "Still, with that daughter of yours... may the horsemaster have mercy on her poor soul..."

...

"Wow, I can;t believe we get to spend a whole day together!" Fizzy grinned, looking down at the little filly. "So, what did you want to do first?"

"I wanna go down to the stage!" Baby Lickety split replied, the cute look on her face melting away. "I wanna go dance on stage, and become a star!"

The filly immediately took off, galloping away from the Satin Slipper, and seeping her way towards the Baby Bonnet stage on the other side of the castle.

"No, wait!" Fizzy pleaded, desperately galloping after the runaway brat. "Lickety, you can't go out there! There's a play going on right now!" The mare gasped out. "Lickety, please slow down!"

The little filly shot like a rocket across Dream Valley, with a twinkle-eyed unicorn in hot pursuit. Out on the Castle lawn, Gusty was having a a picnic with her boyfriend, Score. Neither of the two of them saw the small purple blur zooming straight towards them.

"Hey babe, would you like some cake?" Gusty said suggestively, levitating a fork with up for him to take a bite.

"Mmmm, sweets from a sweet." He wiggled his eyebrows, opening his mouth to take a bite. "How can I resist?"

BOOM! Before he could take a bite, the filly rammed right into the unsuspecting stallion, sending him flying. Before Gusty could even react, the filly brat trampled all over the unicorn's picnic lunch. Fizzy followed up behind her, flopping the tablecloth over Gusty's head.

"Damn you, Fizzy!" Gusty yelled, pulling the tablecloth off of her head. "It took me four hours to make that lunch!"

"Sorry, Gusty!" Fizzy yelled back, trying to keep up with the speeding brat. "I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

As the to drew closer to the stage, they came across Baby Poesy, who was just finishing putting a new flower into the castle's exterior garden.

"There you are, miss Sweetpetals. It took me almost a year to grow you, but you're finally ready to bloom for the whole world to see!" The earth filly said tenderly, looking down at the rare white rose she had just transferred from her mother's garden. "I promise you'll be safe out here, away from all the scary things farther out in the forest!"

CRUNCH! Baby Lickety Split squished the delicate flower, reducing it to broken petals as the filly zoomed onward. Baby Poesy simply stared at the flower with watery eyes.

"M-miss Sweetpetal!" The little filly blubbered, tears streaming down her face. "Why?!?"

"Who cares about your stupid flower?" Baby Lickety yelled back. "I'm gonna be a star!"

The little filly finally ran backstage at the Baby Bonnet ampitheatre- the large blue stage shaped like a filly's head covering. On the Stage, Gypsy and heart throb were on stage, singing and dancing while Spike the dragon played the piano. A whole audience of ponies had their eyes on the play- just the sort of audience the spoiled brat had hope to catch the eye of!

Baby Lickety had just gotten backstage, when an angry mare finally caught up with her. Levitating the brat up, Fizzy turned her around to stare her in the eye.

"There you are!" The angry blue mare snapped, scowling at the little filly. "Young lady, don't you know how much damage you've caused?!"

"I don't careeeeeeeeeeee!" The spoiled little earth filly wailed, looking out onto the stage while kicking and screaming. "I wanna be a STAR!"

"There you are, Fizzy!" Gusty came trotting up, with Score and Baby Poesy behind her. "And what do you think your doing with that filly?"

"Gusty! Oh, I uh...." The mare looked around nervously, while the filly she had trapped in a floating force field giggled.

"Oh boy, you're gonna get it now, Fizzy!" Baby Lickety giggled, looking over at Gusty with innocent eyes. "Help, this mean mare's gonna hurt me for what she did!"

"Wait! that's not true!" Fizzy wailed, throwing her hooves up defensively. "Gusty, she's lying!"

"Don't worry Fizz, we're here here to help!" Gusty declared, as baby Poesy held up a wooden plank. "Lickety Split lets that brat run wild, so we're gonna do something about it. Wanna hold her in place, while I take care of the business end of things?"

"Nooo! You can do this to me!" The bratty filly wailed, as gusty levitated the plank up to her backside. "You can't paddle a star! I want my mommy! Mommy!"

The sound of the play onstage covered up the disicplnary action going on behind the scenes.

A broken Pony

A Broken Pony...

“Gee Fizzy, I can’t believe how well you’ve gotten Baby Lickety to Behave!” Scoops noted in shock, looking down at the filly sitting at a table, and drawing with some crayons. “I’ve never seen her sit still for this long!”

“Oh, well… you know how kids can be…” Lickety smiled, glaring over at the filly, who would rub her reddened flank with her hoof whenever her mother wasn’t looking. “Anyway, you’d better get her home, Lickety, you know how cranky babies can get when they haven’t had their naps.”

“Okay, bye you two!” The mare trotted out the door. “Come along, dear.”

“Yes mama.” The angry-looking filly glared back at Fizzy, as she trotted out after her mother. “This isn’t over.” The filly’s glare seemed to say.

“Yeesh boss, why didn’t you warn me about that little demon?” Fizzy asked, shaking her mane out. “She almost drove me batty.”

“Sorry Fizz, we really should have been more honest with you.” Scoops apologized. “But right now, I have another project I’d like you to help with.”

“Really? Cool!” Fizzy exclaimed, levitating a glass up to the soda fountain. “What is it, the filly scouts hosting another meeting here tonight?”

“Nope, that’s not the project- we are!” A unicorn with a pink coat and mane exclaimed, sliding in through the turnstile. “Scoops asked us to rock this place, and boy is my band gonna bring the house down!”

“Fizzy, meet DJ.” Scoops announced, pointing towards the gaudy mare with a feather boa and dangly earrings. “She’s the DJ for the dance and Twirl ponies, a band I requested to play here and draw in more customers.”

“Wow, that’s so cool! I totally love rock!” Fizzy shook her hoof. “My friend Sparkler uses her magic to find lots of rocks!”

“No no, not that kind of Rock, the music kind!” DJ replied, slightly annoyed. “I’m shocked you haven’t heard of us on bright valley stereo!”

“I never listened to the radio, sorry.” Fizzy shook her mane sadly. “My aunty told be stereotypes were bad!”

The two mares in front of her promptly face hoofed and groaned, before Scoops replied. “Fizzy, I want you to serve sodas to DJ and her band while there here. Get them whatever they need.”

“You got it, boss!” The ditzy blue mare agreed, saluting Scoops. “I’ll make sure these musicians are thoroughly liquidated!”

“That rally doesn’t sound very appealing for some reason, Miss Fizzy.” DJ replied nervously. “Just… make sure we get enough sodas, ok?”

…

After what she had gone through with the brat, Scoops was once again willing to leave the mare alone in the Satin Slipper once again. She was just serving a little filly a cherry cola float, what five odd looking ponies came clattering and clanking through the door.

“Hi, and welcome to the Satin Slipper!” The dizty unicorn greeted them. “Can I get you anying?”
In response, the five mares simply cluttered, clanked, and spat out steam,. Forming a line of the far side of the slipper, they suddenly spun their tales in a circle, and they all stood on their back hooves and did a dance pose.

“Oh, you must all be DJ’s band!” Fizzy exclaimed, surprised by the gaudily dressed mares’ silence. “Huh, and you’re awful quiet, too. And really steamy.”

“Don’t worry about their quietness, cousin.” DJ noted, trotting in the entrance. “Just make sure I’m well supplied with root beer while I’m here.”

“Just you? But what about your bad?” Fizzy protested. “Won’t they get thirsty too?”

“Just keep the soda flowin, Fizzy girl!” The pink unicorn snapped. “I’ll see to my groups needs!”

As so, the band started to play music and dance, jumping and twirling the hip hop beat that seemed to emanate from their very bodies. Fizzy thought these ponies simply must be magic, being able to play music like that with no instruments!

“How are you doing that?” Fizzy asked one of the unicorns curiously. “Can you teach me that spell?”

“Hey, no talking to the musicians, soda jerk!” The pink unicorn snapped angrily, downing her seventh root beer. “They are way to sophisticated and hip to talk to a silly filly like you!”

“Yah, I guess your right.” Fizzy replied with a sigh, levitating a soda over one of the mare’s heads. “Hey, you look thirsty. What some root beer to drink?”

“No, don’t!” The mare exclaimed, pushing Fizzy out of they way. “Get that stuff away from her!”

As DJ knocked Fizzy down, the soda splashed all over the clanking and sputtering mare, causing it to sizzle and spark. The pony collapsed into a sputtering heap at Fizzy’s hooves, thick black smoke pouring out of the carcass.

“Oh no, Songster!” DJ wailed, looking down at the mare in a panic. “Fizzy, you broke her!”

I….broke her?” Fizzy looked down, and her lower lip began to treble. “I broke a pony! I’m a murderer! A MURRDERRRERRRRRRR!” The mare wailed, galloping out of the Satin Slipper, and out into the night.

“No fizzy wait!” DJ called out, running up to the turnstile. “It’s only a… robot…”

Another pony…. She had actually broke another pony! Oh, how could she ever show her face in public again! She must go far away, into exile in the purple mountains. Oh, how she would greatly miss her friends. But they would all be better off without a horrible mare such as her! Galloping back to her room, Fizzy began packing her clothes and things.

“Goodbye Salty… I wish we had actually been able to go on a date together.“ She thought aloud. “Well, you did walk me out of the Slipper once, but I don’t think that counts!” Her eyes filled up with tears. “Oh well, maybe you meet a nice, un-murdery mare, and be happy. But I can stay far away from you, so you won’t end up broken too!”

With a heavy sigh, the mare levitated her bag on a stick over her shoulder, and trotted out the entrance of Dream Castle, leaving the life she had ruined behind her forever.

Bizzare Romance

Bizarre Romance

"Fizzy, I'm telling you... they are only machines!" Scoops explained to her, pointing out the clockwork gears and hinges on one of the robots to the unicorn. "DJ animates them with her magic, and the move at the command."

After hearing that Fizzy was preparing to leave the castle, DJ and the Satin Slipper's proprietor had retrieved the ditzy unicorn, and brought her back to see the equine-shaped automatons.

"But how can that be?!?" A bewildered Fizzy replied, looking the artificial ponies over with wide jeweled eyes. "Scoops, I saw the Dance n' Twirls perform on stage last year, and they all looked real! There's no way they could be robots!"

"Well, there are real Dance n' Twirls, Miss Fizzy. We just can't have them be everywhere at once." DJ explained, trotting up and animating one of the automatons with her glowing horn, making it twirl it's tail. "That way Tap Dancer, Songster, Swinger and Twirler can be in more than one place at a time!"

"Ohhhh, now I get it!" Fizzy exclaimed, realizing that she really hadn't hurt anyone. "Wow, so all I did was scramble some gears."

"Yeah, but I took her to Wind Whistler," Scoops explained, putting a hoof on the robotic mare. " and she fixed Songster up really good, after you spilled the soda on her."

"Whoa, these things are so cool!" Fizzy exclaimed, her horn glowing as she concentrated. "Any unicorn could operate these things... even me!"

The jewel-eyed mare stared at the clockwork ponies, and they slowly began to move. Blinking eyes, swishing tails, and stamping hooves gave evidence that these mares weren't just painted statues.

"Wow, I so totally can't believe that we're performing in Dream Valley!" Tap Dancer, the purple mare with the orange mane, commented. "even if were so totally not here in person!"

Yeah, and it's soooo awesome to be operated by a cool pony like fizzy!" Swinger, the yellow automaton with a green mane, agreed. "Better than that talentless hack DJ operating us."

"Yeah!" The pink mare Twirler agreed. "She's such a lame performer, that-"

"I think that's quite enough, Miss Fizzy!" DJ interrupted, in an annoyed tone. "Scoops, would you mind showing me down to the palace kitchens? I'd like to have a nice healthy non-junk food meal before I head back to Bright Valley."

"Certainly, Miss DJ." The proprietor mare nodded, looking back to her employee. "Fizzy, keep an eye on the place until I get back- oh and don't mess with the Dance n' Prance ponies- I've asked Mimic to come in and operate them from now on."

"You got it, boss!" As the other two ponies left, Fizzy began wiping the counter down with a levitated cloth. I t was only a few moments later, that a familiar stallion walked in through the turnstile, and trotted up to the counter.

"Avast there, me lovely!" A gruff voice barked, smiling warmly at the mare. "And how be ye on this fine evening?"

"Oh, hi Salty! How nice to see you!" The flummoxed mare blushed, dropping the cloth on his head. "oops, sorry about that!"

"Is all right, me Fizzy." The stallion exclaimed, taking the rag off his head. "Ye can make it up ta me by gettin' me one o' yer famous root beer floats."

"Sure, Salty!" The mare exclaimed, levitating the glass up to the fountain. Filling the glass, she noticed Salty staring back at the motionless dance 'n prances. "Hey, Salty? Are you a fan of rock and roll?

"Huh? Naw, I'm more a jazz pony myself, lassie." The stallion replied, inclining his head towards the robotic mares. "Eye was just thinkin' how lovely that there Songster looks. Such a fine mare, ta waste her talents on rock and roll."

"Ohhh, a you're a jazz fan?" Fizzy asked, her ears perking up. "Me too! I never pegged a sailor pony for liking that kind of music."

"Aye lassie, tis' good music ta listen to, while sailing along on the waves." The grungy sailor sighed, taking a sip of the root beer she had served him. "It matches the flowing rhythms o' the ocean."

"It must be so much fun, being out on the ocean like that." The mare replied dreamily, serving Salty his third root beer. "I'd love to be out there on that pretty ocean with all the lovely bubbles and foam."

"Ye really love the ocean, don't ye lass?" The stallion smiled, downing another root beer. "How would ye like ta come out with me on on a cruise around the northern Jewel Sea? Oh on yer next day off, of course."

"I'd love to!" The mare said, starry-eyed. "It would be so awesome to go out on a boat and go sailing!" She smiled, at him, smiling. "Especially with a stallion like you, Salty."

The two ponies gazed into each others eyes, totally oblivious to the world around them. The two slowly moved closer and closer to each other, their lips almost touching in this most romantic of moments, that nothing could ever possibly ruin....

"BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP!"

The sound emanated from Salty, causing the embarrassed stallion to turn a bright red, and cover his mouth with his hoof.

"F-fizzy, I'm so sorry... my horrible manners...."

Fizzy stared at him blankly for a few minutes, too surprised to say anything, before her horn began to glow, and she responded with a loud-

"URRRRRRRRRRRRRP!"

Salty stared at her, shocked, until both ponies burst into laughter.

"Controlling bubbly gas is a funny special talent, huh?" The ditzy unicorn giggled, as she and the scurvy sailor held an interesting conversation, each trying to outdo the other.

"BURRRRRRRRP!"

"BARRRRRRRRRP"

"BRRRRRRAAAAAAAP!"

"AAAAARRRRRRRRRP!"

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRP!"

*TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!"

"Whoops, that one the air came out the wrong end!" Fizzy giggled.

"Aye, tis' a fell wind to be sure, my fair lassie." Salty replied, chortling uncontrollably.

The two ponies fell backward, both laughing uncontrollably, in a way that could only be romance in the eyes of these two very strange ponies.