The Princess of Friendship (Open- Read Rules at Bottom)

[Lux]

To her relief, Sweet Surprise heard from the throne room Princess Twilight asking the guards to bring in the next guest, which meant her! It was worth the wait for her to meet the Princess as she was a patient pony. She followed them towards the throne where the Princess sat which reminded Sweet of the time that she met Princess Celestia in Canterlot, only different. Twilight appeared less about the formalities that the Sun Princess had, which put the earth pony at ease. That and the fact that Twilight wasn't born a Princess somehow made her connect more. 

 

Before she could greet herself, Sweet heard the sound of fast moving hooves echoing through the room as Sunrise Beach appeared from another part of the castle looking very embarrassed. Maybe she had something to do, surely she didn't forget Sweet being there! 

 

“like I’m totally back yer highness, princess Twilight Sparkle!   Sorry about got getting to your next guest!“  She quickly ran over to Sweet Surprise, “like I’ll take your paper with the number now and uh, welcome to the castle of the Princess of Friendship!”

 

"Thanks for the introduction. And don't worry about about missing me as I know how it feels to get lost in a project! Why if I had a bit for every time I accidentally open my store on time because I was fiddling with a new candy recipe I'd be able to build a huge candy factory in Canterlot and give ponies tours, and even have a huge room where everything was made of candy. Except for me of course. So relax, it happens to us all at some time, and here have a piece of fudge I brought. Hope you like dark chocolate!"

 

With the worries of the older filly hopefully at ease and a treat given to Sunrise for her efforts, Sweet returned to the main reason why she was here. 

 

"Hello Princess Twilight," she said giving a little bow of respect, "I'm Sweet Surprise, Canterlot's friendly neighborhood candy maker and supplier of sunny smiles and satisfied stomachs! I came to Ponyville today to visit the place I got inspiration from, but more importantly to meet you. I have two things to ask you, well, one is a question and the other is more like a request. I guess I'll start with the question. As a candy maker I'm always trying new candy types and new ways to showcase what I make. I got the idea for a Royal Sweet Collection from a dream actually. Well,, it was more like a nightmare wrapped in a daydream with Princess Luna added to the mix. Anyway, my first question is: what is your favorite type of candy?" 

[SteelEagle]

 

This was a decidedly difficult question for Twilight to answer. What type of candy was her favorite? Was it possible to have favorites? Especially when she had to consider that what one considered a treat or sweet in one city was part of standard fare in other places. Take for example the Trottingham Coated Bagel. It was a rather expensive pastry dish in Canterlot. Go to Trottingham itself, and you found yourself being given it in cheap restaurants and discovering it was a normal staple. Candy was never a stable, it was a treat. Pinkie Pie had thusly ruined Twilight's perception of what candy really was because she found herself being stuffed with just about concoction. Sure she was a baker but candy found itself everywhere. So Twilight considered this, hoof on chin, for several moments as her page arrived. Hmm. This was somehow more difficult than Gracia's Theorem on the Impracticality of Space-Time in the Progression Theory of Particle Reduction and Retraction if applied to Socranium's Philosophy of the Nine Windows.

“Hmmm...this is difficult. I love so much of what I've had, especially since I moved here. But if I had to pick, I'd say a simple, everyday lollipop. I know, not the greatest answer. My second favorite would actually be Germaneic Popper, especially strawberry flavored. Why do you ask?” She asked, putting the topci squarely back on the pony who was here to see her. After all, there were many ways for a pony to supplicate her. This was supposed to be about how she could help them, not how they could honor her. They did so with their presence and effort. Speaking of presence and effort, the Princess turned to her young page. “That's quite alright, Sunrise. Tell me, what is your favorite type of candy?”

[SunsetSombra]

Spike had gotten a little caught up in the kitchen - he had originally intended to JUST make teas, but it turned out that one idea after another struck and Spike had found himself making sandwiches...afterall, Twilight had been handling this l'il get-together now for a while today at this point and he was fairly sure that she'd need more than just a single cup of her favourite tea to feel re-energised in order to tackle the rest of the days tasks ahead!

 

The whole process had taken the young dragon, on his own, long enough that he wound up being in the kitchen far longer than he'd expected...and even had to remake the tea at least once or twice, before he could finally say that it was ready and good to give the gift of snackage to the princess of friendship and load up a stacked selection of sandwiches along with the full teapot for his friend and mentors delectation...sure, she had the occasional pony to do things for her, but Spike knew enough about Twilight to know that she wasn't always going to ask when she really felt like having something. He was no slouch when it came to Twi's midafternoon munches, and he had a feeling that the Alicorn Princess of Friendship would most likely appreciate a little snackeroo right about this time of day!

 

It took a few moments for him to get the trolley out and heading towards the throne room - wheeling it along and whistling a little to himself before pushing it through the large doors where the gathering was - he hadn't been entirely prepared for the sheer size of it. " Twi', I gotcha some mid afternoon things...to eat... " Spike says, before glancing at the crowd currently congregating, before giving a small awkward wave. " Oh, hey...hi there everypony! "

[brianblackberry]

 

Sunrise Beach was so surprised and happy that she was getting a free dark chocolate fudge from this wonderfully nice pony!  Though also nervous - she wasn't really supposed to eat while on duty, and doing so right out in the open ... she could get in so much trouble!  But ... Guard Sergeant Armor Lead wasn't here, and Princess Twilight was pretty informal.  Like, REALLY informal.  Any nobleponies she'd ever seen had been so stiff and stuck-up, and so she'd always thought of princesses as the height of formality - but Twilight just wanted to be your buddy, and was so friendly, and redefined what Sunrise's idea of a princess was!  She was pretty cool, even for being such a royal egghead.  Twilight encouraged her to get away with so much ... so of course she could eat fudge!  And if Guard Sergeant Armor Lead had a problem with it, well, Twilight was his boss!

"Fank oo!" she said eagerly, already stuffing some of that thick, delicious fudge into her mouth, and so was caught with her mouth full when Twilight asked her for her opinion.  "Mmph!"  *gulp!*  The big lump of fudge made her throat bulge for a moment as she swallowed it down quickly.  "My favorite?" she asked quickly.  "Um ... Well, like. there's these totally righteous little taffy squares back home, all in these awesome tropical fruit flavors!  And like, you usually get a bag full of a bunch of different flavors, which means you sooo never get tired of just one of the flavors!  I think those are like, my favorite candies!"

[Lux]

It was always a difficult thing for a pony to know what their favorite candy was, and Sweet Surprise knew this first hoof when ponies would enter her store and spend endless amounts of time trying to figure out which candy to select. Those who didn't travel much had an easier time with interacting with only a few stores, but for those like a Princess who traveled often the selection was even broader! What surprised Sweet Surprise though was Twilight's first selection of a lollipop. Maybe it referred back to her foalhood or that it was easy to take along while traveling. Whatever the case, Sweet made a mental note. The second one was a mystery though having never been to Germaney.

 

"Oh a lollipop! That's always a great choice. As for the Popper, I admit I've never been to Germaney. I heard though they have great chocolate there. Hmm... maybe if I can combine the flavor of the Popper into a lollipop then I'd have something new."

 

In her creative rush to design a new candy, the chocolate mare almost forgot about the question Twilight gave her.

 

"Well, the reason I ask is that upon meeting Princess Luna in a dream she gave me an idea for something new for my shop, a collection of sweets that royalty enjoy. So I figured I'd ask all the princesses what their favorites were. I'm always looking for hew types of candy and new ways to present some old favorites!"

 

She then heard the doors of the room open as a dragon came in carrying a cart full of a tea pot and snacks, presumable for the Princess. Had so much time passed that it was lunch? Sweet worried that she was cutting into a Princess's meal, but thankfully one question remained to ask.

 

"Oh, hi there! Wow, this is a first for me seeing a dragon. I guess i assumed that my first encounter would be meeting one really big and scary, but you're really cute! Want some fudge? Err...can dragons have fudge?"

 

Sweet watched as Sunrise was drafted for being a second opinion to try the fudge. By looking at the unicorn's face though, she was ambivalent about it. Oh well, not everypony loved fudge.

 

"Um ... Well, like. there's these totally righteous little taffy squares back home, all in these awesome tropical fruit flavors!  And like, you usually get a bag full of a bunch of different flavors, which means you sooo never get tired of just one of the flavors!  I think those are like, my favorite candies!"

 

"Oh, taffy. Those are great! I make some wildberry ones at my shop as well as salt water ones. They're tricky to make though, as once i got stuck in the taffy puller. My poor mane and tail had pieces of taffy in it for a week!"

 

Now came the important question, one that Sweet both wanted and was nervous about.

 

"I can see you have lunch here, so I don't want to take up too much time, Princess. I do want to ask you this though, actually this is more of a request. Should you be planning a party in the future, one that requires some sweet, can I be your official candy maker for the event? This would help you with making the events extra special and the more events I can do the better I'll get at producing and presenting my talent and make ponies smile in the process. It's been my dream to at least be a candy maker at a party, maybe even one day host my own candy event. So, is this possible?"

[SteelEagle]

 

Spike was easily the world's best number one assistant. It was a title he earned through hard work, determination, and having lived with Twilight so long that he knew her tics and desires long before she would put words to them. All of this was made abundantly clear as he pushed the trolley up with tea and everything else she wanted but didn't know she needed until just now. He truly was a wonder, and she was lucky to have him. When he grew up he would be less charming but for now he was her perfect little baby dragon. "Thank you so much Spike! Feel free to take some of the fudge. It is really good," Twilight said, answering Sweet's question without needing to address it. "Sunrise, do you want some tea? You've been on your hooves all day it feels like. Want to sit down and relax?" Twilight offered. Her page was doing wonderful work and it was good to see that she was enjoying herself.

 

Speaking of addressing though. "Ooh, A Germaneic Popper lollipop would be quite delightful. It may be difficult to catch the pop and zing of the Popper in such a form but if you did, I'd have no problem officially endorsing it! I guarantee you that it would be a big hit regardless. Sooooo tasty. Would you like some tea? It is made by the world's very best number one assistant after all, and likely to sate any thirst," she said with flair, sipping her tea and considering his request, "hmmm, it may not hurt., The only problem is that my friend Pinkie Pie is the one who tends to take care of such matters. But How about this: If I am in canterlot and holding some sort of official celebration, you'll be on tap. And if it is here in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie can take care of it. How does that sound to you?" Twilight offered. She realized this was a half-half compromise, but it was the one way she saw to make sure nopony was shuffled off of the royal engagement board.

[SunsetSombra]

It was always interesting to see the kinda ponies that Twi had for her consultation days - there was always a wide variety of interesting and talkative folks, and the young dragon was never one to decline a friendly conversation if one arose.

heck, more often than not, he was always up for sharing some time just talking to a pony or three when the chance arose, being the kinda dragon he was at heart.

 

"Oh, hi there! Wow, this is a first for me seeing a dragon. I guess i assumed that my first encounter would be meeting one really big and scary, but you're really cute! Want some fudge? Err...can dragons have fudge?"

 

Spike grins and looks over at Sweet with a quick eager nod. " Yuh-huh we totally can, Fudge is one of the best sweet things I know...especially when Pinkie Pie puts 'em all over a cupcake with diamond and amethyst sprinkles! " The dragon didn't exactly know how Pinkie managed to obtain sprinkles of that kind, but he didn't tend to ask considering how amazingly delicious they were, and how well they worked when sprinkled over something as delicious as a cupcake, or a waffle, or a pancake - still, there was absolutely no way the dragon was about to turn down a deliciously sweet treat being offered in his direction, that was for absolute certain. At any rate, he takes a fudge as offered and noms on it - giving a very approving smile, clearly enjoying the delicious little morsal...clearly not shy of accepting a little presented gift - although he had definitely learnt a little about not letting himself get so carried away as he had on one particular occasion that really hadn't gone all that well for anypony involved that day.

 

For Spike, it seemed to be something of a no brainer for him to stick around for a little bit - there was no knowing if there was something Twi might want him to do, or there may even be a question that he had some kinda assisting part in the answer for!

[Lux]

"Well, I don't have any stones with me, but hopefully the fudge will do!" Sweet Surprise replied as she gave Spike a piece. 

 

Ooh, A Germaneic Popper lollipop would be quite delightful. It may be difficult to catch the pop and zing of the Popper in such a form but if you did, I'd have no problem officially endorsing it! I guarantee you that it would be a big hit regardless. Sooooo tasty. Would you like some tea? It is made by the world's very best number one assistant after all, and likely to sate any thirst," 

 

"That would be great!" the chocolate hued mare said always interested to try something new. But the excitement building inside her hit a wall as Twilight explained that her friend Pinkie Pie had a stake in performing parties in town. She could understand how Twilight would choose a friend in favor of another candy maker, but the sting was nonetheless painful to the mare's future. The storm of rejection however was not without a silver lining as Twilight recommended her to host any party in Canterlot. 

 

"Alrighty, that sounds like a great idea! I understand your friend hosting parties here in Ponyville, but thank you for keeping me in mind if you are in Canterlot. Even better this would be very easy for me since my store is there! It's kind of impossible to miss if any of you want to stop by. The building looks like a giant house made of candy." 

[SteelEagle]

 

It worked out well, in the end. And that was what Twilight really enjoyed doing today. She hadn't been given a lot of friendship questions to answer, but she had been able to help the lives of a few ponies and that was just as important! Maybe not in her specific realm of expertise, but she was still an Equestrian princess with an Equestrian sensibility that demanded a level of harmonic coexistence that most ponies didn't even realize existed. Helping ponies improve their lot in life only served to make her happier, and that was the truest gift of her position. And one after another she had knocked it out of the park, if she sad so herself, and had managed to make the day easygoing enough for Spike and her page. How much longer could her run of near perfect interactions continue? The only way was to press forward!

“That would be wonderful, Sweet. Next time I'm in Canterlot I will be sure to visit your shop. Sunrise, if you do decide to take a seat, make sure to try and think of a few more unusual treat combinations,” Twilight cocked her eyebrows and leaned in, conspiratorially challenging a demeanor as possible, “I want to see what you're made of, Sweet! Germaneic Popper Lollipop....oooh, I think I need them now. This has been one of my favorite visits of the day! Always wonderful to meet such talented ponies,” she looked over at Spike, who was gobbling away. He was a voracious eater at times and that came with a voracious pain somewhere later. “Spike, don't eat that fudge too fast. You always get stomach ache when you eat sweets too fast,” she shook her head clear, refocusing on Sweet, “my apologies. Is there anything else I could help you with today?”

[Lux]

“That would be wonderful, Sweet. Next time I'm in Canterlot I will be sure to visit your shop.  I want to see what you're made of, Sweet! Germaneic Popper Lollipop....oooh, I think I need them now. This has been one of my favorite visits of the day! Always wonderful to meet such talented ponies,” 

 

"Oh I'll definitely look out for your arrival," Sweet Surprise said as she helped herself to some tea, "I'm glad that this was your favorite visit. I always like seeing ponies happy, and it was great meeting you." 

 

As the little break continued, it looked like Spike was helping himself to the fudge, maybe a little too much! 

 

"Spike, don't eat that fudge too fast. You always get stomach ache when you eat sweets too fast, my apologies. Is there anything else I could help you with today?”

 

"You know, I think I'm good. Thanks for the tea and snacks, and thank you for the advice and of course meeting you. I'll be sure to stop by again here!" 

 

With that, the earth pony bid farewell to the Princess of Friendship and made her way out of the castle and into town again, looking for more inspiration before returning to Canterlot.

 

(Exit Sweet Surprise)