Calling All Peonies (open)

[briarrose]

"Come along Juniper, don't drag your hooves!" Briar Rose scolded. The green pelted foal trailing behind her gave her a sullen look, but he quickened his pace.

"I think we're almost... a ha! Here it is!" Rose beamed as she saw the beautifully tended garden and the adorable flower shop called 'My Little Peonies.' "I heard great things about this place... time to make a connection!" Shaking her long mane, now full of burrs from the long travel, she trotted into the store. Silent as a shadow, Juniper went in after her.

"Hello?" Briar Rose felt as though she should keep her voice low, but there didn't seem to be anypony at the shop. She wondered if maybe they were in the garden out back-

"What do you think Juniper, shall we be rude and go look at the flowers?"

Juniper shook his head fiercely, but Briar Rose simply laughed and made her way out a side door into the garden. There, she saw a rather cute looking earth pony, perhaps a little older than Briar Rose herself, but not by much.

"Hi there!" Briar Rose called.

[juniperleaf]

June had heard the bell for the shop, but she was engrossed in an effort to remove the last weed of the garden from under a large rose bush. The thorns kept prickling her snout cruelly and she kept backing off and wincing. "Oh... OH... come out. Please come out? You can't stay there... you'll upset the flowers..." June said timidly. Talking to the weed was clearly a wasted effort.

She spun her head around when she heard a voice in her sanctuary. Oh, a customer; I ignored her bell - I'm so mean. Oh, but, she's here now so it's alright. And she's so pretty. Junie thought as she examined the mare from a distance. Hee, and she has a little 'friend'.

"I'm so very sorry I didn't come inside just yet," she said, getting up from her failed efforts to deweed the rose. She walked over slowly; hours in the cold air made her a bit sluggish. "I'm Juniper Leaf, and this is my flower store-- oh, but you already know that it's a flower store... you were just inside, right?" She looked down timidly before continuning her practiced lines, "Welcome to My Little Peonies! We handle everything from edible arrangements to mane moisterizers."

She looked down at the mare's tag-along and beamed a smile at him sweetly. "Hello there, precious little one. I have some sweet, candied daisies in a jar on my counter," she said temptingly with a careful wink. "What brings you to MLP today?" she said, now addressing the mare again.

[briarrose]

Juniper Leaf? How interesting! And I wonder if she's related to Falling Leaf in Ponyville...

"What a coincidence! This here is Juniper also, although he doesn't have the "Leaf" attached." Briar Rose giggled and Juniper looked grumpy until he heard 'candied daisies' mentioned. Giving June a once over, as if to decide whether or not she was trustworthy, he left without a second glance in pursuit of the treats.

"I'm sorry, he doesn't talk much- and I'm afraid he's not always friendly with other ponies. Actually, I was amazed he listened to you at all! You must be very good with children." Rose said this with a little bow of her head, she hadn't missed the fact that the shopkeeper seemed on her way to being a mother. And then, thinking that the pony might be shy, she added "My name is Briar Rose, and you really don't have to apologize for not coming in the store, it was very rude of us to just barge into your garden- we probably should have waited inside." She paused again, propriety struggling with her natural curiosity about anything to do with plants.

Curiosity won.

"Please, what did you mean by mane moisturizers? I've never experimented with using plants for beauty products."

[cirruswhisp]

As he felt the wind's soft whistle against his mane, Cirrus' thoughts turned towards his next piece. It'd been almost a week since he last ice piece, which had been of a swan. He'd been doing animal sculptures recently; resting his hoof against his chin, Cirrus gnawed his teeth in frustration. He couldn't possibly create more sculptures of animals. They simply weren't challenging him anymore, now that he had mastered them. Sighing, he slowed wing strokes to the point where he was steadily descending with each beat; his gaze traced the landscape, searching for his next-would-be-piece. To his left, was the Apple Family's territory; on the other side lay the Everfree forest. Tempting, considering there were many undiscovered wildlife and plants within it. But Cirrus had neither the guts nor the skills needed to go in and out of there unharmed. That left only Hoofington, inbetween the two.

Cocking his head to the side, he thought:

Why not? I haven't been there before and I might find some new reference, since it's so close to Everfree.

His mind set now, Cirrus straigthened his body out and spiraled into the town, the wind biting against his face harshly.

Note to self: Buy googles if possible next time.

He unfurled his wings like an umbrella, using it help soften his landing as he skidded a few feet and landed in front of the flower shop.

Interesting! These flowers might help break me out of my rut; I haven't sculpted flowers since I was a filly.

Excitedly, Cirrus poked his head within the store and stared within. His eyes swept over the store, searching for anything interesting; there! At the left corner of the store was a small bundle of carnations. Already, ideas were starting to form from the mere sight.

Flamingo dancing! Fire! Butterflies!

Cirrus anxiously swiveled around, now looking for the owner; he moved his front hooves up and down against the floor.

Perplexed, he furrowed his brow; it was only than that he realized that no one had been there to greet him at all. Cirrus moved to head towards the door, to leave; just as he started to propel himself into the air, he heard voices coming from the garden behind the shop. Cirrus turned around and finally noticed the sign on the door.

Oh, no WONDER no pony was in there! They're in the back! That'll teach me to notice my surroundings more... Shaking his head, he chastised himself for the mistake and cautiously walked to the back. He didn't want to get into a long conversation, for fear of losing the ideas in his head.

[juniperleaf]

June giggled sweetly as the young Juniper trotted off for treats. She closed her eyes and smiled warmly at Briar Rose. "Oh?" she said. She'd never met anyone with a name so like hers before. "What a strange coincidence. Maybe it's fate you came into the store." She laughed again.

Juniper looked away and blushed beneath her beige coat. Her? Good with children? How unexpected. Oh, no. Not me. Children hate me. I'm one of those types they just nod at and ignore. I could never be good with... well... maybe? she thought to herself in a brief silence.

Shaking her head loosely to dismiss Briar Rose's concerns over coming into the garden, she answered, "Oh, well, you rub it gently into your mane and tail right after you bathe, and it makes them really shiny and soft. See... herbs and flowers give off a stronger scent when they're ground up into powders or creams so I started making candles with them. But I found that the creams are really good beauty products too, so I started selling them as well."

Don't get so technical. You'll scare away another pony, Juniper! she thought silently. "Oh," she continued. "but I made one the other day with aloe vera, and burdock root, and some peppermint, sage, and dandelions. Oh! And catnip. Catnip makes your mane grow faster." She listed each plant slowly, dragging out the syllables like a child first learning their alphabet.

"Why don't we go inside, though? I still have some tea left," she added. Silly silly pony! She has no idea what you mean by 'left' Juniper chastised herself. "It's a bit cold out here for us animals. The plants seem to enjoy it, though."

She brushed by Briar Rose with a quick 'pardon' and guided the other pony into the store, holding the door open for her. "Oh!" Junie exclaimed with mild shock. She had opened the door for Briar Rose but a pony was already there. My... Juniper grew up fast. No. Don't be silly, Junie. It's a different pony.

[briarrose]

"Fate? Hmmm.... maybe." Briar Rose mused.

She listened politely as the beige pony listed out the benefits of her beauty products, but Rose had already decided to try to make a few business deals with this mare. It was her duty after all to keep Ponyville looking beautiful, and how difficult it was to find other gardeners who had a talent to match her own.

She might not be interested! Don't get too excited! Briar Rose chastised herself inwardly. To June, she smiled and nodded in all the right places, and allowed herself to be led back into the shop. It was already obvious to Rose that this mare knew quite a bit about the plants she grew- and Rose was very impressed.

"I'd love some tea, thank you." Briar Rose said agreeably. June seemed a little eccentric, but definitely not too nutty. Briar Rose had had enough dealings with Pinkie Pie to know that not everypony made sense all the time. As they went through the door together Briar Rose stopped short noticing a strange pony, probably a customer of June's.

Can't talk business with him around... Ah, well- maybe I'll give it a go anyway. Briar Rose thought desperately. To the pony, she gave a smile and a polite nod before searching for little Juniper. Where did that foal go? She wondered. Probably outside, I'll bet he ran out as soon as he saw that strange pony coming. Briar Rose knew that Juniper's love of sweets would only be outweighed by his distaste for strangers- but she was wrong. Juniper sat silently in a corner munching on what seemed like June's entire stash of candied daisies. He seemed to have gone unnoticed, and was completely ignoring everyponys re-entry into the shop.

Odd... Briar Rose thought to herself. He must not have felt threatened by this pony.

[cirruswhisp]

Cirrus tilted his head, puzzled at the garden devoid of ponies. He saw something flicker from the corner of his eye and noticed a young filly eating candied daisies from the window. His ears twitched as he tried to listen closely to the noise within the store. He could hear a clatter of a cup, a slow but constant crunching of sweets, and a facet, perhaps, running. Leaves crunched underneath his hooves as he cautiously moved towards the store yet again. He bit his lip, wondering how much he'd have to chat before he'd get his prized reference. Cirrus hated crowds and to him, three ponies was more than enough make him antsy. His previous encounter with ponies left him humiliated and caused months of isolation. It was only recently after a commissioner had complained about the repetition of his art, that Cirrus even dared to venture out again.

He bowed his head towards Briar Rose and waved a slight hoof at the young Juniper, only to be ignored. That was fine, he now only had two ponies to deal with.

"Do you happen to know where the owner has gone off to?" Cirrus inquired, tilting his head.

[juniperleaf]

Junie walked carefully into the shop, stepping over a small crack between wooden floorboards as she crossed the threshold. The door to the garden closed with a soft ringing of the bell attached to the frame. "I'm the owner, thank you," Juniper said with a fragile wave of her hoof; she had caught Cirrus' question as she entered.

She excused herself with a little bow and went to the back room to check her tea supply. The kettle she had used with Tradewinds remained more than half full, perfect for her purpose. It was even still warm. She placed new cups on a tray with the kettle and, thinking for a moment, went to the small pantry for milk to fill a tall glass.

She came back, walking slowly, balancing the tray on her back, which she promtply set down on the counter near her register. Juniper poured some tea into three cups, nodding at Cirrus, "If you want it, that is."

She took the glass of milk and cautiously carried it to the little Juniper and set it next to him with a wink and a smile. Saying nothing to the foal who seemed absolutely engrossed in her candied goods, she tended to her customers.

"Did you need something as well?" Junie asked Cirrus.

Of course he needs something, silly filly, she thought. Why else would he be in the store? Maybe he's here to rob us. But he already had the opportunity to do that. He just doesn't seem to be a pony who just walks into a flower shop.

And I'm still not sure what this other pony wants.