Sweetcream Scoops hated many things about ice cream. She thought this as she carved out the blueberry spiral Stormy Seas, making sure she got enough chocolate seaponies into the cone. She didn't know why anypony would want to combine rich chocolate and blueberry with frosting-think strawberry cake, but then she didn't really see the appeal of taking an already sweet flavor and mixing it up with a bunch of syrupy sticky things to compound the error. She hummed the Lost Verse from the sailing-songs of Smart Cookie.
"Come into the water, come into the water, come and drink our bitter beer."
"Did you say something Ms. Ice Cream Mare?" Ruby Pinch asked.
Sweetcream shook her head. Birds left the branches overhead, shrieking at nothing. Hooves on the job, eyes on the customer echoed in her head.
She forced a smile and dug out two scoops of birthday cake flavor for Ruby Pinch. She hated all the different flavors, most of them just separated only by a small difference in hue or just vanilla with a different kind of chocolate candy mixed in. How many times had she mixed up mocha chip and rum raisin?
"It's really my birthday today!" the bright-eyed filly squealed.
"Happy birthday," Sweetcream said mechanically. She levitated the topped-off cone to Ruby. She grasped it with both hooves but didn't lick it yet.
"I'm turning five years old," she whispered. She tapped her stubby horn. "It's less than four months after my Cutecenera!"
"Ah." Sweetcream said. The little filly continued staring up at her. "That's nice."
"Mommy and mommy were going to take me out to Chez Pom De Ter for the surprise dinner I wasn't supposed to know about, but Colgate's going all over trying to find her, and she gave me a few bits for ice cream. She says momma just had enjoyed herself too much last night and wandered off somewhere to rest, but she didn't sound like she believed it. I don't get why she always drinks out of bottles that smell like the stuff Cheerilee uses to clean desks. Momma never misses a birthday party. Pinkie Pie wanted to plan it for me, but she had to go off to Appleoosa with Applejack and the other elephants of harmony. I like your hat."
That was another thing about working for her parents. Sweetcream didn't exactly dislike children, but she didn't know how to deal with them. She pawed the grass, then re-hitched her ice cream cart and headed down the empty street. Better to leave before she said something inappropriate or scared the child.
"Bye bye!" Ruby called, waving after her. Sweetcream heard the soft splat, and then a loud shriek. She turned her harness around.
"Oh horse apples!" Sweetcream swore. She remembered there was a child present. "Nightmare Moon damn-it. Oh, pony fea-oh darn."
The filly hadn't noticed. She was too busy keening over the mess of shattered waffle-cone and sunbaked frosting.
"No, no don't cry! Please! Oh sh-sugar." Sweetcream put one hoof in her mouth. She could almost feel dad shaking his head and sighing, or worse, giving her a pathetic, condescending word of encouragement. She should have served it in a bowl. She should have realized a wee filly wouldn't have the magic to lift a single-scoop cone or the common sense to not wave goodbye while holding an ice cream cone.
Sweetcream levitated three perfect spheres of cake ice cream, smacked them into a cone, and shoved them in front of Ruby's face. "Here!" she shouted. "Take it! Free food! For free!"
Ruby stopped crying, possibly out of shock . Red-rimmed green eyes stared at the cone as if they'd never seen a mixture of dairy product, frozen water, and rock salt before.
"Happy birthday?" Sweetcream suggested. The silence seemed thicker after her too-loud outburst.
"Thank you Ms Scoops," the small unicorn said gravely. Ruby added, absently, "you have the best job in the world." Sweetcream nodded, watched her take the first few licks without mishap, and then hurried on down her route.
Belately, Sweetcream remembered she'd already given away some maple-cranberry swirl to put out Derpy's mane fire. She'd have to explain to dad why she was short of ice cream. If she worked through break, she might earn enough to cover the "lost" supplies.
Sweetcream wiped sweat from her brow. She heard the soft trickle of the saltwater spring on the edge of town. Later, she thought to herself. She hummed the soprano death aria from The Last Flight of Commander Hurricane and trundled off into town.