[FiM] Bridle Shores Commercial: Bits or Credit 3

[Mystic Muse]

Greif snickers at the proper mare's remark, before returning his attention to Eclaire. He leans against the counter, propping an elbow on the bar and resting his beak in a palm. "Oh?" he asks with a smirk. "And what's the latest gossip floating around town about me? Now you've got me curious..."

"Well, mostly it's good, but I've heard a few random bits of gossip that aren't very good, and are really dumb. First, people said you were a griffin. Then a few people wanted to show off their vocabulary or something, so they decided to call you a raptor, since Griffins are partially birds of prey. People then completely misinterpreted this, and I've had several different people tell me the cafe is run by a Utah Raptor, or a Velociraptor, or both." Eclaire says.

[Lycan 01]

Cafe

Spin facehooves. Greif just laughs heartily. "Oh wow, that's hilarious," he says with a shake of his head. "Technically not wrong, though. I was part of the Raptors, which is part of the Royal Air Force back home. Think along the lines of your Wonderbolts. But, uh, an angry dinosaur? Nah," he grins.

"You sure?" Spin smirks. "I've seen you without your coffee in the morning."

Greif rolls his eyes, but keeps his grin. "Anyhoo, anything else I need to know 'bout the rumor mill, Miss...?" he asks Eclaire, raising a feathery eyebrow as he fishes for a name.

[Mystic Muse]

"My name is Eclaire. And not unless you want to hear even sillier rumors." Eclaire says, and finishes off one of her desserts.

[Lycan 01]

Grief's eyes light up a bit, and his grin deepens a bit. "Eclaire, huh? That's a nice name; fancier than the average pastry, at least. I'm guessing you must be a whiz at baking. Don't suppose you'd be willing to share some recipes, huh?" he asks jovially, trying to make friendly conversation and maybe get some new pastry recipes to work with.

"Oh, and please, by all means, share the silly rumors," the griffon adds cheerfully. "I'm sure they'll be good for a laugh."

[Mystic Muse]

Eclaire mumbles something. Doesn't look like it was anything bad, she just seems to be talking to herself about something. "Well, uh...somebody somehow decided you're secretly a hairdressing troll named Dave. Then there's the rumor where you're a spy from the griffin kingdom here to infiltrate Equestria and overthrow the princesses. Then there's the one where you and Spin Top are ex-ballet stars. Then there's one where you're Madam Gallop. And then there's the one where you and Spin Top are twins. How are those for crazy?


And I'm pretty good at baking, but nothing special. I prefer simple things to over the top fancy ones." Eclaire says.

[Lycan 01]

Greif is rather amused by the list of rumors. After he gets done laughing, he shakes his head and gives a flippant wave of a wing. "Naaaah, I'm none of those things. Not a troll, not a spy, and definitely not a ballerina. Though, I can't exactly speak for Spi-"

In the blink of an eye, there's a spatula hovering right next to Greif's face. Spin's ears are pinned back in annoyance, and she has a very visible frown. "If you finish that sentence, Greif, I swear I'll give you some new battle scars to brag about," she states flatly.

Greif gives a cheeky little smile, and slowly raises a set of talon to push the hovering spatula aside. "So you said you're good at baking, Miss Eclaire?" he asks pleasantly. "Are you a baker by trade? Are you in need of a distributor?"

[Mystic Muse]

Greif is rather amused by the list of rumors. After he gets done laughing, he shakes his head and gives a flippant wave of a wing. "Naaaah, I'm none of those things. Not a troll, not a spy, and definitely not a ballerina. Though, I can't exactly speak for Spi-"

In the blink of an eye, there's a spatula hovering right next to Greif's face. Spin's ears are pinned back in annoyance, and she has a very visible frown. "If you finish that sentence, Greif, I swear I'll give you some new battle scars to brag about," she states flatly.

Greif gives a cheeky little smile, and slowly raises a set of talon to push the hovering spatula aside. "So you said you're good at baking, Miss Eclaire?" he asks pleasantly. "Are you a baker by trade? Are you in need of a distributor?"

Eclaire gives a bit of an unpleasant expression for a moment, in response to Spin Top's response.

"Well, I own my own place actually. It just seems like nobody knows it's actually there, unless they've already been there." She says in response."Business is fine, it's just that I mention I own a restaurant to some people, and they never seem to notice it. Even if they walk right by it every day." Eclaire says.

[Lycan 01]

Cafe

Greif and Spin both exchange an uncomfortable glance. They didn't realize they were setting up shop to so many other restaurants and food places.

The griffon looks back at Eclaire, and smiles sheepishly. "Ah. I was under the impression there weren't that many eateries around the town, especially with the local soda bar closing down. I didn't know you owned your own place near here."

His smile becomes a bit more warm and genuine. "So, where's it at? What all do you serve? If you're hurting for business, you'll be happy to know that I have a big appetite," he says, somewhat playfully. She seems like a nice mare, and it'd be a shame for her restaurant to suffer from lack of business...

[Mystic Muse]

Cafe

Greif and Spin both exchange an uncomfortable glance. They didn't realize they were setting up shop to so many other restaurants and food places.

The griffon looks back at Eclaire, and smiles sheepishly. "Ah. I was under the impression there weren't that many eateries around the town, especially with the local soda bar closing down. I didn't know you owned your own place near here."

His smile becomes a bit more warm and genuine. "So, where's it at? What all do you serve? If you're hurting for business, you'll be happy to know that I have a big appetite," he says, somewhat playfully. She seems like a nice mare, and it'd be a shame for her restaurant to suffer from lack of business...

"I specialize mostly in desserts and other sorts of comfort food. Not a whole lot of options, but what I do make tends to be very well liked." She says. "If you could show me around the kitchen, I could make some samples? I'd let you keep the profits so long as you could point whoever orders them towards my place...if that's no trouble." She says to Greif.

[Lycan 01]

Cafe

Greif smiles warmly, and waves a set of talons. "Why certainly. I'd love to watch you work, and see how a proper dessert artist plies her trade. I'm terrible with dessert myself. Much better at sandwiches and barbeque, and the occasional pastry," he muses.

"He burnt ice cream once," Spin deadpans.

Greif frowns. "To be fair, you're the one who gave me those instructions for an ice cream cake..."

Spin shrugs. "And you're the one who trusted 'em."

Godwyn just rolls his eyes. He then offers out a clawed hand over the counter, for Eclaire to take. "Here, take my hand, ma'am, and I'll help you get around to the kitchen," he says with a kind tone to reflect his smile.

[Hawkflight]

Cafe

Greif smiles warmly, and waves a set of talons. "Why certainly. I'd love to watch you work, and see how a proper dessert artist plies her trade. I'm terrible with dessert myself. Much better at sandwiches and barbeque, and the occasional pastry," he muses.

"He burnt ice cream once," Spin deadpans.

Greif frowns. "To be fair, you're the one who gave me those instructions for an ice cream cake..."

Spin shrugs. "And you're the one who trusted 'em."

Godwyn just rolls his eyes. He then offers out a clawed hand over the counter, for Eclaire to take. "Here, take my hand, ma'am, and I'll help you get around to the kitchen," he says with a kind tone to reflect his smile.

"My stars!" White Truffle said, aghast. "How did you manage to burn ice cream?"

Then she seemed to realize what she was saying. "Err, dreadfully sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

[Lycan 01]

Cafe

Greif shrugs. "Apparently ice cream doesn't just melt at high temperatures. It will eventually combust under the right circumstances."

Spin snickers. "I didn't think he'd actually put it in the oven. I was just trying to mess with him a little bit, after he pulled a few pranks on me. I still owe him for the last one actually," she smirks.

Greif chuckles. "My knees quake with terror at the merest thought of what your next stroke of brilliant vengeance will be, Spin," he says in a playfully fancy tone. "But let's let our feuding rest for now, or at least til the customers are gone," he grins.

[Mystic Muse]

"...C-can you just get a-along?" Eclaire asks, befuddled by this random feud between friends. Eclaire really really didn't like conflict.

[Lycan 01]

Greif and Spin both shrug. "Don't worry, Miss Eclaire," Greif says with a kind smile.

"It may not sound it, but me and Greif are best friends," Spin says, giving the griffon a friend pat on the shoulder.

"We both just like to joke around with each other. When push comes to shove, though, we're pretty good friends, and wouldn't actually try to hurt or seriously mess with each other," the griffon explains.

Spin gives an apologetic smile. "Sorry if we upset you, ma'am. That was highly unprofessional of us..."

Greif nods. "My apologies..."

[Hawkflight]

"Quite alright dears," White Truffle replied.

----

(Meanwhile, at the bakery....)

A blue unicorn foal stepped into Snickers's bakery, looking to be lost in thought. Snickers might recognize her as the unicorn who never recovered from the age regression spell Soft Serve cast that one day.

[Lycan 01]

Baker

Snickers is sitting behind the counter, resting his head on the cash-register. He looks half asleep; while a visit from Smoothie earlier in the morning helped cure his hangover from last night's partying, the lack of sleep has caught back up with him.

When he sees the unicorn, though, blinks his eyes a few times and raises his head, perking up a bit. "Oh, hey there. Can I help you with anything, Miss?" he asks politely, his voice audible weary.

[Hawkflight]

There was a short delay before Heart looked up from her ponderings. "Hm?" She then realized she'd arrived at her destination. "Oh, sorry. What was that? I was ... lost in thought."

[Lycan 01]

Bakery

"Ah, gotcha," Snickers says with a nod, before stifling a yawn. "Ugh, sorry," she shakes his head, smiling apologetically. "Rough night. Anyhoo, is there something in particular you'd like today, ma'am?" he asks with a friendly, if tired, smile.

[Hawkflight]

"....See, you're cool. You don't talk down to me just cause 'I'm a foal'." She put these last few words in big quotation marks. "Anyways, yeah, I'll have a chocolate caramel 'tart'."

[Lycan 01]

Bakery

Snickers smiles wry, and gives a shrug. "I'm polite to all my customers, regardless of age, species, appearance, whatever."

He then begins to open the display cabinet, looking around for a chocolate caramel tart. "Anything else I can get for ya?" he cheerfully asks.

[Hawkflight]

Heart buried her head under her hooves. "Not unless you have answers," she mumbled. "Like, an answer emporium. Sell answers for varying prices depending on the question. Lottery numbers possibly exempt."

[Lycan 01]

Bakery

Snickers works his jaw thoughtfully. "Well, I ain't the smartest stallion, but I've picked up more than a few gems of wisdom over the years. And I know some really smart folks who have all sorts of knowledge at their disposal."

Like Foxglove! Or Smoothie! Or Cookiethulhu!

"So," he smiles, "Anything I might could help with?"

[Hawkflight]

Heart worked her jaw as she thought. This could be her only chance to get it out.

"You know ... I thought had a pretty decent foalhood," she said. She worked her jaw. "I mean... well, hmmm...."

[Lycan 01]

Bakery

Snickers smiles warmly. "That's nothing to be ashamed of or worry about. Most folks have their ups and downs as they grow up. Mine was pretty good, aside from a few fiascos where I tried to hard to get my cutie mark. I mean, my first batch of cookies burst into flames and got thrown out a window, heh heh," he says with a soft chuckle.

Snickers is from Cloudsdale. So one day many many years ago, it randomly rained flaming cookies...

[Hawkflight]

Heart shook her head. "No no no, you don't get it!" she said, sounding for all the world like pouty foal. Then she calmed down. "....Sorry, I've been a little stressed today. See, I thought it was fine, but ... it kinda wasn't. Sure, it was pleasant enough, but ... see, when I was a baby, and I got my immunizations, one of them was ... bad. I eventually got better, but I always had problems socially. After 20 years, I've finally learned how to get along with other ponies, but ... while I did have a couple friends, they rarely invited me anywhere. No sleepovers, few major group events...."

Here, Heart sighed, and glanced up to see if Snickers had found her food yet. "Now, of course, I've gotten better. But half of me keeps wondering if I should just give up trying to grow back up, and just enjoy this second chance."

[Lycan 01]

Bakery

Snickers has indeed found her food, and has bagged a couple of chocolate caramel tarts, and rung her up for just the price of one. "Well, what's the rush?" he asks with a kind smile. "Don't beat yourself up, wracking your brain trying to figure it out so fast. One option is turn yourself back to normal, the other option is stay young and grow up again. Well," he shrugs, "Growing up takes a long time. Why not go ahead and look into potential ways to fix it, then chill out and have your fun for awhile. Once it gets old, zap yourself on back. Or if it doesn't get old, just continue to, well, get old," he grins. "Does that help any?"

[Hawkflight]

"That's the problem though," Heart said. "I've tried playing with the 'other' foals. I always keep feeling like I don't belong. Part of my brain just keeps going, 'You shouldn't be playing with foals, for goodness' sake! That's just weird. And kinda creepy. And what if they find out who you really are? You'd be laughed out of town!' And then I'd have to become a reclusive shut-in who sits in her house and reads and stares out the window occasionally while ponies pass by whispering, 'Do you know who lives there? That's the mare who pretends like she's a foal!'"

All throughout this, Heart's voice became more and more hysterical as she spoke.

[Lycan 01]

Bakery

Snickers holds up a wing in a silencing gesture. "Or," he smiles kindly, "You could just tell them the truth, and they'll think it's awesome that you're an adult who got turned back into a foal by crazy magics or whatever. They'll want to know all about being a grown up, and they'll know you can tell them all about it from a perspective they'll understand - a kid's. Kids always want to hang out with the cool adults, right? Well, isn't a cool adult who got turned back into a kid pretty cool, since now it's somepony they can actually hang out with, understand, and relate better to?" he suggests.

"At the very least, it'd be best if you told them the truth now, rather them finding it out later from a different source," he shrugs. "Honesty is the best policy."

[Hawkflight]

Heart sighed and bit her lip as Snickers said this. "....I guess so, yeah," she finally said. "And ... hey, at least I haven't gotten to know them that well yet, so it'll be easier. If there's one thing I've learned from cartoons, it's to always air your dirty laundry early on."

[Lycan 01]

Bakery

Snickers nods, smiling encouragingly. "Hey, don't be so pessimistic about it. Keep your chin up, and stay confident. Just tell 'em the truth, and hope for the best, rather than dreading the worst. At the very least, they'll appreciate you being honest with them."

He then chuckles at the thought of something. "I wonder if they'll think to ask you about getting them into the movie theater since you're technically an adult, and stuff along those lines," he muses with a wry smirk. "Come back and let me know if any of 'em are clever enough to come up with that. I'm curious now."