Sunshine Smile's Spells and Sparkles
It's never in the same place for more then a week.
The owner's at least polite enough to warn you about this. Canterlot rent control and all, she explains with a giggle. That's corroborated by the prices on the various knick-knacks that line the shelves; they tend to cost double that of a usual trinket shop, although they also seem to be of a higher quality then you'd expect in a nook-and-cranny shop like this. You'd never even heard of the shop before you entered the first time, and it took you seventeen whole days to find it again--somewhere completely different. Not the best business for repeat customers. You'd expect maybe four ponies could fit in here without crowding each other.
And that's rather odd, come to think of it--from the outside, the building certainly didn't seem this small. You were certainly surprised when you passed through the door with an odd star sparkle the first time; in this upscale distract, the whole room would be considered a mop closet at best, and certainly wouldn't be accessible from the street. There's also the way the shelves are arranged--while everything is for sale, it's hard not to see the objects as more of a display case then a vendor's store--no item next to something like it, arranged in rhythmic patterns that forced the eye up and down as they moved the length of the shelves...
...and behind the elegant desk, flanked on either side by opened and unopened cardboard boxes, grins the owner herself. Whenever you look at her, she waves eagerly, and she's certainly animated when you're talking to her, but... sometimes, when you're browsing the shelves, she's so quiet you forget she's there--right up till you glance at the desk and see her smiling right at you.
She's a pink unicorn, with green eyes and a messy blonde mane. Honestly, she seems a touch too young to be running a shop like this--at least in Canterlot. You could see her pulling this off in Ponyville, or maybe Manehattan. But Canterlot? The capital? How can she get by with all the competing curio curators? One time, you did hear another customer ask how old she was.
She said she'd lost track of her age.
You've been coming and going for a while, actually. You try to drop by the shop once a week--ostensibly to ask where it will be next week, since it moves around. She always gives you the street, but not the address--it's a good way to explore the city, actually. You've seen so many things that you never thought you'd see, following her mysterious shop around. You've noticed not too few other customers warily taking an item off a shelf and carrying it over to the register, discussing things with the shopkeep quietly.
And sometimes, she walks through the door behind her. You can just see a curtain behind it when she does, and she never pushes it aside--she goes around it. And whenever she comes back, she has some shiny new item that she gives the desperate pony, who thanks her sincerely and walks out the door.
You've never seen them come back.
You're beginning to wonder why, though. It could just be that they never find the shop again, except... a number of them seemed to know to skip over the shelves and head straight for the desk. Which implies that they were directed here, that... there was a reason for them to drop by. And on second glance, the objects on the shelves aren't just kistchy art pieces; every one comes with a promise. Make money come your way, be the talk of the Gala, find your true love... if it were only one or two items, you'd dismiss it as just another unicorn quick-grab, but this seems to be a full on charms shop.
Of course charms are well known--enchanting items is an idea almost as old as the use of magic itself. In fact, they're a part of everyday life--light charms in lamps, cooling charms in fridges, a number of support charms keeping Canterlot itself from falling off the mountainside. But for such personalized construction, one needs an expert. Maybe not a graduate from CSGU, but at least somebody with a whole lot of talent and experience--there's a difference between your run of the mill cooling charm and a necklace that will keep you comfortable no matter the temperature. And what this shop offers is a touch more... intimate.
You look around the shop one last time, before turning to the unicorn herself. She smiles, and it's almost the same as all the other smiles she's sent you--cheery, welcoming, and overall eager... but her eyelashes descend, just a fraction of an inch. She has you. You know she has you. She knows she has you. There's not going to be any deception in what happens next. You steel yourself, glancing at the door behind you, and gently step forward.
"Welcome to Sunshine Smile's Spells and Sparkles, home to trinkets, tricks, and treats of all kinds! How can I help you today?"
"I've been coming here for a while now," you point out, managing a small grin despite your nervousness.
A giggle escapes her lips. "Oh, I know. You're one of my few repeat visitors." She leans on the desk, giving you a small smirk. "Now, if you had ever bought anything, you could have been one of my repeat customers. Slightly more common."
"Well... yes." You rub the back of your head. "I... kind of just came in to look."
"Do you like what you see?" she inquires, fluttering her eyelids coquettishly.
"Eheh... it's a very nice little shop..."
"Are you curious about what you don't see?"
You swallow nervously. "Maybe a little."
Her green eyes lock onto you, peering into your soul. "Mmhmm."
"I..." You take a breath. "I... want to know, what it is you do here."
"I make trinkets, tricks, and treats, and sell them to those who want them. I also do personalized commissions."
"No I mean... I want to know. What goes on in this shop. I want to know what... makes it so interesting to your customers."
She smiles. "Ah. You want to find out what I do. How my little shop is... different. I see."
You nod.
She studies you for a moment or two. "...What would you be willing to give? And don't bring up bits," she clarifies quickly. "This isn't going to be something that costs money."
"I... I just... I need to know. I don't know why, I just need to." You pause. "I'd be willing to volunteer to help. I... don't really have anything else going on in my life."
"Nothing at all?"
"No."
"No... family, no job, no friends?"
You consider for a moment or two. "No, nobody would... miss me if I disappeared."
"Aw," she coos, "You poor little thing. How about you stay with me, and I'll make sure you get a front row seat to the action?"
You perk up. "Really?"
"Mmmhmm. Give me ten minutes in the back. It's a slow day, I'll have it all set up in a jiffy."
You nod. "I guess that works."
And, like she says, ten minutes later she's back, with a tiny snowglobe that has a little house in her hoof. "You'd be amazed how many of these things there are," she says with a grin. "Now, you're certain you want this? No backing out when you do."
You steel yourself. "I'm certain."
"Good. Just touch your hoof here...."
Sunshine Smiles gently nudged the snowglobe on her counter, looking at the tiny house and the glowing lights within. "It's always fun to make new friends. Especially when you don't have to say goodbye."
Her eyes shot up as the door opened, and she gave a broad grin. "Welcome to Sunshine Smile's Spells and Sparkles, home to trinkets, tricks, and treats of all kinds! How can I help you today?"
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Nines · 26k words · 106 0 · 1.1k views
- Masterweaver · 4.2k words · 31 5 · 674 views
- Impossible Numbers · 3.8k words · 52 1 · 982 views
- Snowybee · 9.8k words · 49 4 · 919 views
- Epsilon-Delta · 4.4k words · 155 3 · 4k views
- Admiral Biscuit · 2.2k words · 110 6 · 699 views
- FanOfMostEverything · 2.4k words · 218 7 · 2.9k views
- Masterweaver · 1k words · 76 2 · 1.6k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.152 seconds
Total duration
606 users online
1,264,124 hits today, 2,970,782 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
A long description with a little rhyme... color me very interested.
This needs more, and fast!
Can I just say how much I love it that this is becoming the predominant fandom interpretation of Sunshine Smiles? Color me all kinds of interested.
Hmm. How about if Mr. Stripes pays a visit!
Hrmph. Desperate and questionless foals.
Remember kids: Never sign a contract without reading it first!
Honestly, it's like no one pays any attention to the Rules of Acquisition anymore....
i'm confused...can someone explain what just happened?
Hmm... I think I see what's going on here. Innnnnnnnteresting...
Alright, how about this:
Moondancer wants a book that she can have be any book at all whenever she opens it. She just has to give the title and author.
Oh, this is going to be fun. Do you want specific ponies for the suggestions, or just vague concepts?
8168031
8168128
8168139
I can take a pony, a concept, or both. Right now I have a both and a pony. I wonder what else I can get?
How's this? Blueblood is looking for some kind of quick fix to repair his reputation.
8168185
I don't think even SS can give him that.
8168190 Actually, I've already thought of a possible method. I'm curious to see how Weaver would do it, though.
8168201
I'm just messin' around.
I actually saw someone write a very good story about Blueblood being a great guy in reality, but only acted like a d***, so it's definitely possible for him to be written in a better light.
8168154 here, how about if the stripey one wants to find the perfect birthday present for his daughter...
What about an elderly pony wanting to feel young again?
8168268
*107 year old stallion comes in*
"I want a body of a 17 year old."
*POOF*
*Walks out of the store with his 107 year old head on top of a 17 year old body*
8168369 No no.
*Walks out carrying the body of a 17 year old and is promptly arrested.*
8168381
Why didn't I think of that?
Poor Globe Trotter...
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/344907/the-globe-trotter
I also take it we have Sunshine to blame for all the ability shops from the HIE anime character crossovers.
What about a mother wanting his son to be as she wants him to be because he is not getting good grades at school or something. Give her like vitamins or something......hoo hoo it could be Botton Masch's mother. that should be fun.
So it's Needful Things?
I'm intrigued. Hmm... ideas... Maybe Silver Spoon could come in, looking for a sense of fulfillment deeper than what her Cutie Mark can grant.
I was wondering why this wasn't tagged as being 2nd person. Then I got to the end and it made sense. Delicious, delicious sense.
Here's a fun one: Chrysalis wants her changelings to be loyal to her again and/or for Starlight to suffer.
Derpy might drop bye
She has a problem with her eye
Enter one Flim and Flam
They are always looking to pull a scam
Twilight wanders in looking for books
She is surprised what she finds in the shops crannys and nooks
The stallion narrating the first chapter was named Needful Things, wasn't he?
How about... The Dazzlings mange to sneak their way back into Equestria, and want their magic back...
... and while they regain the ability to feed on dark magic, fly, and what not, it costs them their voices. They end up with the magic needed to mesmerize people and spread discord, but they can't actually use the magic as they still can't sing.
This premise reminds me of a book series I read about five to seven years back.
The protagonist is currently going through some sort of conflict (either external or internal) and usually takes a walk to escape their troubles. This leads to them stumbling upon a shop wherein they are drawn to. After perusing, the protagonist finds an object he/she feels connected to. This leads to an exchange with the manager and his familiar (cat?), both of whom take whatever the protagonist gives them (be it spare change or marbles and lint). The protagonist then usually uses their newly acquired object to solve the conflict short-term, only for an even bigger conflict to arise, consequentially due to the object bought.
Anyway, just wanted to throw this out there in case someone happens to remember the name of this series, as this fic made me fondly remember it.
Perhaps a genderswap? I want to see you work with that. Im intrigued
Huh. Was this somehow influenced by Foamy's Frappucino story? Our "Heroine" did run a similar establishment there, by the same name, so I'm wondering on the associaction.
8175422
You've got it backwards. Spells and Sparkles first appeared in Sharktavia 9, which is where FOME got it from. This is me expanding on the concept.
There's a large number of missing hyphens and other typos;
As much as I love The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday as a storytelling device, I feel like this opening is a little on the bland side.
And every last one of them is occupied...
Talk about horror. Life imprisonment in solitary confinement, in a snow-globe. Maybe that's how Carrier of Heartbreak's the-globe-trotter started out.
*Reads Comments*
OH! POV is from a Globe person... Do they all live together, in a little globe village?
Was looking all Fallout. found Sunny Smiles, and thought the names were the same.
Interesting if she supplies the Enchanted Comics Shop... That is, if she's even a pony, instead of something else...
8169294
Why do you think it wasn't tagged 2nd person? Is it cuz this sets up the audience perspective as being from a snow globe in future chapters?
Eheh I don't get it
I'd love it if Spoiled Rich came in, looking for a way to not have to deal with "lesser ponies" anymore, resulting in her getting sent to Tartarus forever.