[Ponyville] The Honey Seller [open to anypony]

[Kilmarnock]

Ambrose had spent a good amount of time and effort towards the preparation for this day.

It had been about a month since he moved to Ponyville, having scouted it out as the perfect place for him to begin living on his own and to start his business. He moved into a simple cabin on the edge of town and set up his beehives, praying to Celestia that they would handle the trip by train from Manehattan well. Just a week later, he had several jars of honey to assure him that they had, and that a future here in Ponyville was still possible. Much of the honey accumulated over the past few weeks was bottled up and safely stored away in his cabin, but the soft-spoken, hopeful honey seller had placed some jars in a sturdy whitewashed cart that he was now pulling towards town square with the intention to try and make a few bits.

It was just a little before noon when the beige pony pulled the cart into position, the brim of his fisherpony's cap pushed down over his eyes to protect them from the sun. This was as far as he needed to go, though, and with a sigh of relief, Ambrose unhitched himself from the cart and carefully opened the latch to the top with his mouth, pushing it all the way up. Attached to the top was a small, rudimentary sign reading 'Ambrosia Apiary' (it wasn't pretty, but it would have to do for now) and a couple of shelves that stuck out for the display of his wares. From there, he simply took out the jars of honey that were set in the belly of the cart and placed them on the shelves, arranging them by size.

"There... that oughta do it..." Ambrose mumbled to himself, taking out the final item still reamaining in the cart: a saddlebag with some spare bits for making change. Throwing it up onto his back, the country pony looked around at what would be his home for, he hoped, quite some time.

[SunsetSombra]

Normally being a part of the hustle of the Mornings in ponyville weren't a common occurence for Mac nearly as much as they were for his sister - indeed, the amount of instances he could clearly say he'd been out down this way the last month were genuinely far and few between, but currently everypony else was preoccupied back on the farm, or out and about with friends. So for now, it was down to the red Apple-Family stallion to head on down to the markets and acquire some supplies for the family kitchen...including a few new baking trays, a new watering can, and some boiled candies for granny smith - sure she had no teeth, but the ol' girl clearly managed somehow.

This was the moment, then, that Macintosh saw what would appear to be the latest new stall owner setting up - on closer inspection, it seemed as though this particular merchant was going to be selling Honey of some kind...and the prospect was something that made Mac quite interested. Ever since he was a young foal, he had always been fond of honey-roasted apples or honey glazed apple pies with cinnamon...and as the nostalgia bit him, he found himself absently licking his muzzle in quiet memory of those sweet days - he had to grab a jar or two, it was just something he really felt the need to have right now!

He starts to trot off over in the direction of the cart - already almost able to taste the delicious sweet taste of the honey even at this very moment!

" 'Scuse me... " The stallion says in the direction of the merchant.

" Was wonderin' if ya'all got anythin' there to reccomend? Figure Ah'd like me a jar, but...jus' wonderin' 'bout all the types y'all may have. "

[Kilmarnock]

In a somewhat paradoxical situation given his search for customers, Ambrose had failed to notice anypony approaching. Perhaps he didn’t notice because he was lost in thought, trying to work over a sales pitch for his first day running the stand, or simply because he was looking in the wrong direction at the wrong time. Whatever the reason, he remained oblivious until the sound of somepony’s voice close by caused his ear to flick against his hat.

When he turned to greet who had approached him, he was a little surprised by what he saw. Ambrose was not a little pony by any measure; hard work in the fields and in his father’s carpentry shop had given him a solid build, and he had a well sized frame to carry it. It was for that reason that he seldom ran into ponies who were bigger than him, but the red stallion who had come over to his stall certainly fit the bill. The honey seller found himself staring for a few moments before catching his own rudeness and nervously clearing his throat.

“E-Ello!” Ambrose greeted, but the following words didn’t automatically follow. This was his first customer ever and he hadn’t even spent much time interacting with the residents of Ponyville, a sad fact that was coming back to bite him in the hindquarters at the moment. If he couldn’t even manage to talk properly, how was he ever going to make a sale? He had managed the greeting, that was good… what was the next proper thing to say? Some sort of introduction to the business seemed proper. “Welcome t’ Ambrosia Apiary. Well, uh… the stand for it, anyhow.”

The stallion whose name Ambrose didn’t quite know yet had asked for recommendations, a question which Ambrose felt like he could address. So long as they were talking about honey, he felt right at home. “Well,” he started, “Most o’ this honey here’s clover honey, since that’s what I got the bees near. Makes the best kinda honey.” He gestured towards the jars with his hoof. “Other than that, ain’t much difference from jar to jar other than size. The honey’s left as the bees made it, I jus’ put it in jars. Would you like-”

Ambrose froze when he realized he hadn’t prepared the sample cups he was planning on putting out. It was just as well; if he left the sweet substance out, it might attract flies and drive customers away. Still, he wanted to kick himself when he realized he hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Wouldja care for a sample? I can pour some into a cup for ya n’ you can see if you like it.”

[SunsetSombra]

Big Mac listened to the stall owner for a moment, chuckling internally to himself a little as the other pony attempted to make his pitch...admittedly, the Red stallion couldn't help but admire the gusto that the honey stall owner was delivering on his sales spiel, even if it was a little improv'd.

The nervous demeanour of the other pony wasn't something Mac was new to either - after all he was a fairly tall and intimidatin' looking pony, and had always had something of a disarming effect on ponies who weren't quite prepared to deal with somepony of his general frame. As such, Big mac holds up a hoof and clears his throat slightly before speaking, hoping to help the other pony out of this rather nervous frame of mind.

" If ya'all wanna serve up a taste of whatya got, Ah'll be glad to give it a shot " The red pony states, looking over the stall a moment - a hoof rubbing the underside of his muzzle a moment in thought. " This all looks mighty nice t'me, so it'll probably go over nicely back on the farm too! "

Bic Mac looks around for a moment...it didn't seem like the stall was hugely busy, and he wondered just how many folks around here even knew of this pony's wares - if he was as new to ponyville as all that, then it was really only fitting that it be an apple family member who welcomed them to the fold before anypony else did, and to perhaps give them a little helping hand if needs be - it was, afterall, the neighbourly thing to do!

[DashieInTheDark]

Making her way through the Town Square, Nimbus notices something out of place. What appears ot be some sort of stand/ Moving closer, she notices jars on the wall behind the cart. The jars appear to be filled with what looks to be honey.

Remembering that she wanted to try honey, she makes her way over to the stand. "Hey! I'd love to buy some honey-" Nimbus cuts herself off while walking toward the stand, noticing a bright red pony standing and conversing with the shop owner.

Making her way behind the big red pony, she picks up her front left hoof, tapping his back leg. "Uh- Sir, how long will you be?" She asks, looking up at him, hoping she gets his attention. Nimbus' wings flapped for a second, uncontrollably.

"Sir"?

[Kaidyn]

Lightning Flash soared through the skies over the land between his home, Cloudsdale, and the town he was headed too, Ponyville. Over the course of his life, he had never really left the santuary of his hometown and haven't really discovered anything outside of the cloudy city. Now, he felt ready to finally go out and explore new towns, hopefully making some new friends in the process. With his saddle bag on his back, just in case, he would slowly glide down with his wings outstretched and make a graceful landing right outside Ponyville.

"Here goes nothing..." He whispered lowly to himself as he trotted into the town. The blue stallion smiled a little as he scanned his eyes over the buildings of Ponyville, taking in the new sights and sounds of this unfamilar town. Deciding to head to the town market first, curious to see what he could find there.

As he approached, he would notice a certain stall catch his eye. Apparently, the pony was having some...fair business as he already had two ponies standing by. From what Lightning could see, he thought they were there to buy...whatever he was selling. He felt rather curious about it so he walked closer, noticing that the pony was selling honey. The blue pony never really had much honey in his life and soon, his curiosity began to grow even more as he walked up to the stall also.

"Hello. I just arrived here in Ponyville and I noticed your little honey stall." He would glance over at the other two ponies, feeling a bit self-conscious for intruding on them. "When you are finished with these two ponies, would you mind giving me your recommendation of your best honey? I would love to try some." Lightning would flash a quick smile before waiting patiently for the other two ponies to be helped to first.

[Kilmarnock]

((I'm very, VERY sorry, everybody. Break has ended and I'm finally back at college, but my browser wouldn't open Canterlot for a while. I've switched browsers, so now this should work just fine. The post is coming within the hour. Edit: This can probably be deleted now. Should've edited it, but it's a bit late.))

[Kilmarnock]

A small smile broke out onto Ambrose's face when the large red pony not only confirmed his interest in trying some honey, but mentioned something about a farm. The apple farm that sat alongside Ponyville was one of the most important reasons why Ambrose had even decided to make Ponyville his new home, for whatever amount of time that turned out to be. If this pony was from the farm (the apple cutie mark should have given that away, in hindsight), then perhaps he could be the connection Ambrose needed to talk about selling a few hives to the farm.

"The farm... are we talkin' Apple Acres?" Ambrose asked, even if it was a bit of a silly question; he couldn't really think of any other farms in the area. Still, that was enough time spent dallying around for now. Reaching to clasp one of the smaller jars of honey with his mouth, Ambrose transferred the jar to his hoof and twisted the jar open. He then proceeded to pour out a bit of the slowly moving liquid into a small paper cup that had been brought from the belly of the cart, and the filled cup was then given to the large red pony.

"Hope yeh, uh, enjoy. By the way, what's yer n-" Ambrose tried to ask, but his thoughts were sent haywire when a few new arrivals made themselves known. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted, however... while the big pony was sampling the honey, he could restart the sales pitch, starting with the first pony to arrive.

"Ah, hello...." Ambrose greeted the first arrival who was tapping his first customer. "Ambrosia acres is glad t' have yeh. Also..." He turned to the most recent and energetic arrival, a pegasus. Ambrose hadn't really spent much of his time around pegasi before, so he hoped he didn't end up insulting the potential customer by making some obscure faux pas he had never heard about. "I ain't been here too long, m'self. I won't be long, n' I'm actually givin' out samples if you'd like to try." He motioned with his head towards the cups that had been set out, and lifted the jar to resume filling them.

[SunsetSombra]

" Eeeyup, that's the place! " Big Mac replies, nodding slowly when the stall owner asked about the farm...perhaps later they could also arrange something of a regular honey delivery to Apple Acres - it would certainly prove more of a convenience overall.

It also seemed as though the stall was starting to pick up activity, and the red stallion glances back at the two other ponies who had just arrived - they seemed to be pleasant enough folks, and Mac gives them both a small nod of acknowledgement briefly whilst the market owner went to set up his small selection of taster cups. Macintosh was already tantalised by the sweet, gooey golden substance that filled up the small containers before him...but before he took one for himself, he figured it was worth addressing the pony tapping his leg. " Recokon Ah'll not be too much longer, ma'am! " he says with a small nod, glancing back over at the stall owner as he does so.

" Ah'm sure th' owner can even set ya up with a small sample while ya'alls wait...seems like a nice enough pony afterall! "

He then reached forward with his muzzle, nipped the lip of the nearest cup and threw his head back slightly in order to allow the golden sweet substance to run down into his waiting maw, closing his eyes a little at the delicious sweet taste that was almost just a little nostalgia for the red Apple family stallion. After finishing what he could, he put the cup down and gave a brief lick of his lips, quite satisfied by what he had tasted.

" A'right - ah Think Ah'll take me a couple jars home! " He says, reaching back to his saddlebag, deftly opening it and readying his bits for payment!

" What do ah owe ya for that? "

Edited January 24, 2012 by Robikku Pegasus

[Kilmarnock]

"Oh! Ah, welp..." Ambrose was nothing short of bashful to witness somebody admiring his product so strongly. Well, not so much just his as his and the bees... it was important, giving them credit, seeing as he couldn't quite make the substance all by himself. Most of the money that he got from selling the honey right now, anyway, went right back into improving the hives and the number of them he had.

Speaking of money, the large red colt had asked him a question, and it was one of fair importance, too. "That depends on what you'll be wantin', there..." Ambrose replied. "The small jars are 'bout two bits, the middle 'uns are three and the large ones're four. What sizes y'like are all up to you." The matter of price being covered, there was but one more question the honey seller felt inclined to ask, though he remained shy as to how to go about it.

"By the way, uh..." A hoof shuffled idly in the dirt. "Like I said, I'm sorta new here and all, don't know too many o' the pony folk here. Rightly haven't been introduced and all... So, ah, the name's Ambrose."

[Chonico]

A rather tired looking, and slightly mumbling pony, was making his way through the marketplace pulling an empty cart. By most standards, at least of those ponies at the marketplace on a regular basis, a pony pulling an empty cart was an odd sight since most ponies at the market with carts had goods to sell inside those carts. Still, this particular pony did have something to sell, or rather, deliver so he could get paid.

Klondike had spent an all-nighter finishing up two repair orders that had been dropped off earlier in the week. In fact, the cart he was pulling, unlike himself, looked brand-spanking new from top to bottom. The reason for that was simple; the cart had been one of the things that needed to be repaired. Or rather, rebuilt…

“Sweet Celestia *yawn* I never thought I’d finish this on time…” Klondike commented more to himself than anypony in particular. “Not sure what this customer was expecting. I mean, who brings a bucket filled with shattered pieces of wood and asks a pony to fix what’s left of her cart?... She was cute though.” He stopped for a second as he suppressed another yawn. “Well, I guess escaping from a mantacore in exchange for a destroyed cart is a fair trade...”

Klondike, not seemingly content anymore with just standing in the middle of the road hitched to a cart, sat down on his haunches as he began to further contemplate the repair order. Some ponies soon began to grumble about as they were forced to walk around him and his cart as he absentmindedly continued to mumble to himself.

“Suppose though, rebuilding the cart fulfills her request…” He brought up a hoof to tap on his chin. “Seems more than fair for just a hundred bits... Think a new cart this size goes for eight hundred bits…” He continued to mumble for a few seconds before looking back at the cart he was hitched and smiling.

“Well, repair ponies help other ponies... And a brand new cart for only a hundred bits, well, I’d say that's plenty helpful. *YAWN* Not as helpful as a huge pot of coffee would be right now. I’m out of sugar though…”

Klondike’s right ear suddenly began to twitch in the direction of a particular honey stand and after a few seconds of him pondering a solution to his lack of sugar, his gaze eventually followed the twitching.

“Hmm, honey is sweet… maybe I could try something different.” Klondike thought to himself as he looked at the sign above the stand, not paying attention to anything else in particular.

He smiled as he finally stood up and made his way to the honey stand on the side of the road, cart and all right behind. He pulled up right next to a familiar giant red pony, creating a bigger road block with the cart, and proceeded to sit on his haunches as he began to openly debate to himself the pros and cons of honey as a sugar substitute in coffee. He absentmindedly placed his fore-hooves on top of the counter and began to tap his chin and the counter simultaneously.

“But if honey goes great on hay pancakes, and coffee goes great with hay pancakes… shouldn’t honey go great with coffee too? But coffee are beans and honey taste awful with beans just like that time I-”

[crp_dude]

In amidst the conversation, a gold-yellow stallion strolled up to the stand. Despite the fact that he was in Ponyville on a small sightseeing trip, Apis couldn't help but dash toward the fragrant honey stock. After all, he had a special talent in beekeeping and honey as well, and it just sort of became an instinct to be attracted to any signs of the stuff. Smiling with his signature cheery disposition, he pushed his way through the small gathering to the front of the stall. Those ponies seemed to be busy with other things anyways, what was the harm?

Examining the stock itself, Apis observed that most of the honey seemed an even blend of many flowers. No good, said he, but perhaps he was mistaken. He turned an inquisitive eye to the shopkeeper, and said, "Excuse me, sir, but this honey, you produce it, yes? What flowers do you provide for them? Are your hives wood-cased or natural-hanging? What variety of bee do you utilize? Oh, goodness, here I go again, apologies sir, my name is Senyor Apis. I happen to be a connoisseur in the world of honey, and have an apiary myself. Could I, if I may, have the answers to these questions? Then, I would like to purchase a small jar from you. For... review, of course."

Was Apis being too direct with the poor guy? He very much hoped not. Although, honey drives him crazy, and he wouldn't rest until he got a taste for himself, slightly salivating at the thought.

[Kilmarnock]

While he had been expecting an answer from the red colt in front of him (though he hardly counted as a colt with that immense size of his), a few more visitors had amassed near the cart. Ambrose had started to take notice of just how many ponies were there for his honey and while he should have been pleased, he was starting to get just a tiny bit nervous. He hardly knew anypony in this town and had only just started to make discussion with a few of the residents, namely the large red colt that he had not yet learned the name of, but now there were so many that he had to interact with. He hoped he could handle all of it without becoming the slightest bit overwhelmed.

"A-Ah, er... p-please don't lean on-" Ambrose started to say to the blue-ish pony who had just begun leaning on the edge of his cart. He had no problems with somepony being near his wares and admiring them, but he didn't want the cart to tilt, either. Still, he had to be polite or risk losing a customer, and that was the last thing he wanted to do right now. Before he could get much else out though, a stallion with a somewhat startling gold coat came to the front of the line (which had now turned into more of a blob with ponies tailing it) and began asking a slew of questions.

The honey seller just... shut down for a few seconds and tried to regather his focus. Come on, Ambrose... you can do this, he encouraged to a pony that was about ready to give up. You need the money, you can't be scarin' them off. A somewhat shaky breath rose up from the pony's throat as he opened his eyes again, attempting a nervous smile. "Aaaaaalright everypony, there's enough fer all o' yeh, I promise, so let's be all orderly like and go one at a time, a'right?"

He turned to the golden stallion quickly to let him know that he hadn't been snubbed. "Y-Yes. I produce... well, the bees do but... yeah, it's mah bees that produce this honey. They're in fields of nothin' but clover, in wood-cased hives I made myself. Haven't really figured on the variety myself, Mr. Apis but... ah... it's mighty fine to meet somepony who shares my interests." Ambrose took a moment to look at Senyor Apis's cutie mark, and was somewhat astonished. It just seemed so... fancy compared to his own, when essentially it dealt with the same thing.

"Also, y-yeh can sample a bit as well before buyin'. The name's Ambrose, sir. Welcome to my own here apiary. Maybe we can discuss a bit more 'bout... you know."

[SunsetSombra]

The red stallion couldn't help but give a small lazy smile at the other pony - reasonably priced honey seemed like a fair method to catch a pony with a sweet tooth, and Big mac had no issues handing over a few bits for something as delicious and sweet as the delicious substance in the jars.

" Ah'll take two of the mediums... " He says, after taking a moment to ponder his choice, watching as the number of ponies coming to the stall increased behind him.

" Just stick 'em on the cart behind me, I'm fairly they'll be alright back there for now! "

he figured it was probably approaching time to wrap up this little market moment - or at least, he was just thinking that briefly before the stall pony decided to up and mention his being new to the area. The apple family always did try to spend a little time to welcome new visitors...well, mostly it was Applejack who did the talking, but Big Mac wasn't exactly new to that himself. Clearing his throat a little, he then turns his attention to the topic at hand.

" Well, welcome t'ponyville... " He says, nodding his head a little with a quick chuckle. " Names Macintosh, but most ponies jus' call me Big Mac on account of mah size an' all...s'pose I've just gotten used t'it at this point. " The stallion adds, shrugging a little as he did so.

" If there's anythin' ya find yasself needin', be sure to come on up t'sweet apple acres - ah'm sure we can help with most things, if ya ever need it! "

Mac certainly was appreciative of a nicely priced honeystand...and although he wasn't really as free to stop and chat for all that much longer, the apple family stallion was plenty aware that in all likelyhood, he'd no doubt be a repeat customer to this little sweet spot in no time.

Edited February 12, 2012 by Robikku Pegasus

[crp_dude]

Apis slightly shook his head "Ah, it is no good, a lack of variety! Not all honeys are equal to one another! For example, Clover honey is overbearingly sweet, only good really for cooking and such. Now if you want a delicious honey for eating on its own, I'd recommend using flowers from the Razzleberry plant! It's a bit more herbal in taste, and the sweetness is toned down just enough to make it very, very good!" Apis began sucking on the tip of his hoof just thinking about all that honey, but quickly snapped himself back to reality. "...Aaaaaanyways, I suppose I shouldn't be too quick to judge. I'd take one of the small jars on the left side, please." Apis's horn was set aglow with an orange light, and soon after a few bits levitated over to the counter. "I'm sure that it...." Apis trailed off as he began to look to the side. The large, red stallion caught his eye for only a moment. Clearly a working pony, but somepony he'd definitely like to know better. His eyes glinted with the slightest feeling of... oh dear, of all places, certainly not here. Perhaps later, if he could get that one in private. In the meantime, he hid his blushing as best as he could and focused back on Ambrose.

[Kilmarnock]

"T-Thank yeh kindly... come back any time, Big Mac. I think I'll be enjoyin' my stay here at Ponyville..." Ambrose practically mumbled the words just before placing the two requested jars into the back of the large red pony's cart, but hiding the smile that had established itself on his face was all but impossible. They hadn't really chatted much outside of their little business transaction, but he felt like he had made his first, and hopefully not last, friend.

The golden pony, definitely another prospective repeat customer, wasn't all that bad either. Unfortunately, the fact that Senyor Apis knew his honey came with the territory that he could rightly judge and criticize. Having only one type of honey had never struck Ambrose as a problem before; honey was just honey, wasn't it? He had dabbled with a few varieties of flowers for sure, mostly thanks to the garden stand that his mother ran, but he had never thought to venture beyond what he found had worked best. Now, he was being told there was a world of honey incorporating aspects of the sweet nectar that had barely even crossed his mind. The thought of so much unexplored territory thrust Ambrose into doubt.

"R-Right, one o' the small ones..." Ambrose responded in a withdrawn fashion, fetching the jar with his hooves and carefully transferring it to Apis. The bits on the counter, he would wait until his hooves were free, then he could take care of them. "I... err... how long have you been at this? The whole... honey business?"

[crp_dude]

Apis put his hoof to his face for a moment. As of late, he'd had a bit of trouble remembering much of his past. Too much going on in the present. "Oof..." He said, calculating to himself, "Well, if I came here just last yer, then that means I got my Cutie Mark around..." Apis thought, and then decided that while it may not be an exact date...

"About eighteen years ago was when I first got my cutie mark, but I've been in the business since a few months before that." Yes, he was sure that was about right, since that was also around the time that his father threw a huge party for him. It completely slipped Apis's mind what the party was about until now.

Taking the small jar, Apis bowed his head as a slight "thank you", and immediately popped open the lid. Cautiously, he held the jar up to his face, close enough so that he could get a good look. "Coloration...Check." Yes, it did seem to be the color it ought to be for clover. Of course, he expected as much, but you can never be too sure. Next, lowering it slightly, he dipped his tongue into the jar and lifted it out, scooping a bit of honey off with. It was goopy, but not like caramel, which meant it was good, pure, and most importantly, unfiltered. "Consistency, check. And finally..." Apis felt a bit rude about his method of eating the honey, but what worked worked, he supposed. Slapping the honey into his mouth with his tongue, he swished it around a bit to check for flavor. To his surprise, it wasn't as sweet as he originally expected. "Flavor... a somewhat surprising check! Hmm, it appears I was strangely mistaken! I have no clue as to what you do, but your bees do a good job of keeping the sweetness level in-check!" Apis leaned in and gave a slightly mischief-expecting smirk, and said, "Are you sure this is clover?"

[SunsetSombra]

Having gotten what he had come for, Macintosh nods at the store owner and gives a small chuckle.

" Eeeyup - Likewise, if ya'all should ever need anythin' from apple acres, we're always ready t'help a pony in need... "

The Red stallion gives a small nod after speaking and turns to head onwards to his destination - there wasn't much need for him to really stick around now that he'd obtained the golden stick substance that had prompted him there in the first place. Content that everything was in order, and politely nodding to all of the ponies currently lining up to obtain their own supplies of the product, Macintosh resumes his prior stroll content in the knowledge that he had something pretty darn delicious to look forward to later on.

Eeeyup, seemed like it was gonna be a good day from here on in indeed!

{ And from here, Mac officially exits thread - have fun, ponies! }

Edited March 6, 2012 by Robikku Pegasus