(Canterlot) A Sticky Situation (Ended)

[Lux]

It started as just another day at Mr. Cocoa's Candy Confections. Sweet Surprise was busying herself making candies, selling them to customers and fixing up the store. All the while she ran about the store, doing one thing after another like a chocolate brown blur. She was about ready to relax during a lull in the action when she realized that there was one more thing to make, something she dreaded doing especially being by herself: the taffy.

It wasn't the taffy itself that was the problem, but it was the taffy puller that she swore was possessed by an unfriendly ghost. At first the machine ran beautifully today, but then suddenly it ground to a halt.

"Oh you silly machine," she said looking closely at it, "What's wrong with you this time?"

As if hearing the earth pony the machine started up and part of the taffy caught her and pulled her in! Finally after several minutes of being stirred with the taffy, the machine stopped, allowing the dizzy sticky rainbow coloured pony to emerge. There was no time for a bath to get the taffy off, so she returned to the front of the store, hoping no pony would mind her unusual appearance.

[Arylett]

Continuing her mini-vacation in Canterlot to absorb the sights, Artsy trotted along through the streets, still astonished with everything they had to offer. But it was quite exhausting work trying to take in so much... she had been making sketches of her grand commission all day and her horn was exhausted. It pulsated slightly letting off small sparks of magic as it often did when the mare had been hard at work.

Suddenly, a rather ravenous growl in her stomach alerted her to....

"Food! Gah... I forgot to eat. I don't want to cook though. I'm beat."

She wiped beads of sweat off of her forehead and observed the local cuisine... what could she sample? It had to be something little, something that would give her lots of energy fast, and it had to be cheap. Couldn't be any more of those fancy Canterlot restaurants Her wallet was aching a little from eating all that rich pony food. Hmm.... what could she get?

Aha!

Her eyes spied a brightly coloured building that had a large sign. "Mr. Cocoa's Candy Confections" Well, if anything had gave energy fast, it was candy. And she really hadn't allowed herself to have much for quite some time... maybe a bit of candy wouldn't hurt. It'd probably be cheap too!

Thus, the artist had made her decision after vacantly perusing her other options. Her small crimson saddlebag strewn over her back, Artsy walked into the building and came across a rather bizarre situation almost at the start. The only employee she could spot here was a mare covered in some bright colourful substance. She presumed she had been working with candy. This certainly didn't seem to be as fancy a business as some of the other places she had gone to in Canterlot. The more messy and homely appearance of the mare made Artsy a little less uneasy. Finally, there was somepony else in this place who didn't seem all fancy pants!

"Oh... um. Hello," she tried to ignore the bright distraction all over the earth pony's coat, but found her eyes unconsciously drawn to it. Her expression showed a bit of her unease. "So... what sort of candy do you have here?" Just stay calm. Don't stare at it!

[Lux]

Sweet Surpeise heard the tell-tale ring onf the bell over the door indicating that she had a customer.

[colour=#8B4513]Here goes nothing, [/colour]hoping that ponies wouldn't mind her rainbow flecked appearance.

The pony who walked in was unicorn, which was nothing new in Canterlot. What was interesting was the way she dressed with her necklance and glasses. She didn't look like a prim and proper ponmy like some found within the city. The mare looked a little uneasy talking with her which made Sweet a little uneasy.

[colour=#8B4513]"Hi there! Welcome to Mr. Cocoa's Candy Confections. I'm Sweet Surprise. Sorry about my appearance. I had a fight with the taffy puller and I lost. Anyway are you looking for something chocolately or not chocolately? That way I can help narrow things down to what type of candy you're interested in." [/colour]

[Arylett]

Taffy puller, huh? For a moment, a baffled expression came onto Artsy's visage as her eyes widened. This place didn't seem all that professional if their candy makers... got stuck in taffy pullers. But then again, she was just looking for some quick food. Her stomach let out another growl again and she blushed. "Eheheh... looks like I gotta... get that candy fast. Um. Well, it's all right," Artsy pawed at the ground slightly with her hoof and looked in another direction. It seemed the other pony was also a little uncomfortable. That only made things more awkward.

"I suppose chocolatey. Definitely no taffy. I wouldn't want to mess you up some more. Unless somehow, chocolate taffy exists? Why, that'd sure be interesting, wouldn't it?" Stop rambling so much! In her attempts to back away slightly from the other pony in her usual uncomfortable body language, she bumped into a display of various candies causing some of them to tumble down. "Oh, no! Sorry. I'll um... help clean up. I'm not usually so klutzy!" Once again not thinking though, and being a bit self-conscious about her telekinesis that couldn't really pick up much more than artistic supplies, her horn shown with a bright red aura which went around the multiple candies, levitating them into mid-air. She stared in shock. Artsy couldn't believe it! She was doing i-

Suddenly, the telekinesis went wrong. Her horn suddenly pulsated again with the sparks of exhausted magic and the aura around the candies faded. No... she couldn't humiliate herself her! She forced the magic even more, and it suddenly exploded in a burst which caused the candies to go flying out of her control all over the store. At this point, her magical aura had dissipated and she stood there with a sense of even more awkwardness than before. Artsy couldn't contain the vivid blush that had crept all across her face, as red as her cutie mark.

"Y-yikes! I'm... I'm really sorry. I'll... I'll just pay for that if you need me to!"

[Bellosh]

It had been a good run while it lasted, lamented Sugar Apple. Starting with a couple weeks before the Running of the Leaves, she decided to quit all sugary snacks (other than her beloved pink frosting-coated sugar apples) cold turkey in preparation for the event. Even when eating other candy, the pegasus had a habit of binging on them until reaching a sugar high. As the date of the Running loomed, Sugar congratulated herself on being so self-disciplined.

And then she got crushed by an avalanche of rocks during the event. It’s funny how near-death experiences could rearrange priorities and make one realize that it was silly depriving oneself of the things one enjoyed. Either that, or eating nothing but bland hospital food for a week triggered an extinction burst as Sugar suddenly had an overpowering craving for at least one more sugary snack.

Thus when Sugar Apple was cleared to use her wings again, the first thing she did was fly off in the direction of the first candy store she could think of. For some reason, that place happened to be Mr. Cocoa's Candy Confections over in Canterlot; maybe because their chocolate was always of the highest quality perhaps? Good enough for the purple mare; she just wanted some dessert immediately. Just one scoop of chocolate fudge would do... just one to remind her of how absolutely divine it tastes. Once she had that, she’ll be content for her life... or so she claimed anyway.

Suddenly, candy! Candy all over the floor! A normal pony walking into Mr. Cocoa's only to witness such a spectacular mess would have questioned what in the world happened. To somepony like Sugar Apple suffering extinction bursts however, it only encouraged her to devour a whole lot of sweet sugary goodness. Miss Apple’s self-control only further evaporated upon casting her eyes at the usual candy maker around, who to her tantalizing delight was all coated in rainbow-coloured taffy.

Sugar Apple did not bother inquiring as to how Sweet Surprise (Sugar had been to the store enough times to remember the candy maker there) got taffy all over her; she just wanted a little bit of it NOW![colour=#800080] “Uhhh, howdy thar Sweet,”[/colour] stammered the salivating pegasus; [colour=#800080]“Mind if ya’ git me some of yer powerful taffy?”[/colour]

[Lux]

Upon mentioning the incident of the taffy puller, the unicorn seemed to act a little nervous. Sweet knew it was usually not good to mention that a machine wasn't working as it smacked of being unprofessional. But This mistake was obvious enough that the chocolate brown mare couldn't just hide. She could have lied and said it was paint, but it was better to tell the truth than live in a lie.

The unicorn was looking around the store, her stomach growling in response to all the wonderful candies. Sweet remembered her mother telling her that when a stomach growls, it's trying to talk to you. To Sweet it meant that the mare was interested in candy and as long as she didn't goof up anything more a sale was assured.

The unicorn rambled on about candy types to which Sweet tried to answer.

[colour=#8B4513]"Ok we have different candies... Er that's ok I have some taffy stored.... Chocolate taffy? Never tried making that... uh oh Look out!"[/colour]

The mare accidentally backed into the ond stand of loose candy, causing several to cascade down onto the floor. In her desperation, the mare tried to pick some up with her magic, much to her difficulty.

[colour=#8B4513]"That's ok. I can pick them up."[/colour]

Before she could trot over to asist, the mare's magic suddenly exploded, sending several candies flying. Sweet tried to duck behind the counter, but it was too late as a few pieces hit her, sticking to her taffy coated body.

[colour=#8B4513]"Um... I don't think you want these candies on me now. No need to pay though. Anyway, do you like mints Miss...?"[/colour]

Another pony triotted in, one that was familiar to Sweet as she frequented the store.

[colour=#8B4513]"Oh hello there Sugar Apple was it? I have some taffy, not just on me of course. Let me get you some."[/colour]

The earth pony went into the kitches, making a sound like there was taffy stuck to her hooves as she walked.

[Arylett]

For a moment, she massaged her forehead with her hoof heavily to restrain some of the giggles that wished to come out. Now the employee appeared even more ridiculous, like some taffy-coated Hearth's Warming tree, with candy-made ornaments. Well, at least she didn't have to pay for it. Artsy wanted to save as much of her funds as she could.

Luckily, a distraction came in the form of a purpleish blue pegasus, whose colour scheme and vibrant apple cutie mark were both as suitable for this store as the chocolate earth pony. Her accent, however, was a little...strange. It wasn't really like anything she had heard in Canterlot before. And yet this pony seemed to know the other one. It made her feel a little more awkward, wedged in between familiarity as a stranger. Just get the candy and get out. This was that simple. And do NOT use magic again, for Celestia's sake! The humiliation still lingered about her little magic problem.

"Right. No mint. Just... anything as chocolate as your coat." Then the other mare left for a moment to get more taffy for Sugar Apple, a sticky noise only bringing back Artsy's urge to giggle. I don't think you need anymore taffy, lady... Looking shiftily to her left and right, she let a quick snicker into her hoof, then quickly urged herself to stop. How ridiculous everything seemed to be on this day.

[Bellosh]

Sugar Apple barely held back a chuckle as she witnessed Sweet Surprise heading into the kitchen; the earth pony’s hooves sounding like they were sticking to the floor every time she took a step. The pegasus wondered why Sweet hadn’t cleaned herself off yet; surely she wouldn’t go on running the store covered in taffy for the rest of the day... would she? Then again, maybe it would increase taffy sales if the candy maker didn’t clean herself up. After all, Sugar wouldn’t have purchased the taffy otherwise.

Taking a peek at the other customer, Sugar Apple noted how it looked like the unicorn tried concealing her amusement too. The purple mare wondered if this customer knew just what was turning Mr. Cocoa’s shop into a colourful warzone today. [colour=#800080]“Excuse me partner,”[/colour] Sugar questioned, waiting for Sweet to deliver that oh-so-delicious taffy; [colour=#800080]“But could ya’ tell me whut in tarnation is goin’ on hyar?”[/colour]

[Lux]

Sweet Surprise took the time running going into the kitchen to try and do something about the taffy that was clinging to her fur. She could hear what she thought was giggling from the store, and she had a guess who the two ponies were giggling about.

[colour=#8B4513]"I have to get this stuff off or I'm going to be the laughing stock of Canterlot," [/colour]she said as she turned the hot water on in the sink and desperately tried to rub the taffy out. To her horror, instead of the taffy coming off like dirt, it smudged, covering even more of her body. The more she tried, the more it smudged. Thankfully

[colour=#8B4513]"Ugh this stuff is on my pely more than I thought.Well, I can't wait any longer. I have to go back out there."[/colour]

With a heavy, the now even more taffy smeared pony found a box of taffy, one that was made before she was pulled in, and balancing on her head proceeded out to the store.

[colour=#8B4513]"Alright Sugar Apple, I have your taffy."[/colour]

She reached up to the top of her head and tried to take the box of taffy, but she realized that the box would not move.

[colour=#8B4513]"Um... this may sound really wierd, but can one of you help take this box off my head. I think it's stuck."[/colour]