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Description
"Oh! You need more caramels! For the caramel apples."

"Ah, right!" Dulcimer chirped, grabbing a bag of said candies, taking a moment to get whiff of the sweet scent that drifted through the bag before adding him to his basket. "Okay, so we got salt... sugar... cocoa powder... chocolate chips... eggs... milk..."

Dulcimer muttered to himself, carefully as to not put off any nearby patrons that would walk by and wave to him. But unbeknownst to said patrons, a indigo-blue Pegasus stood beside him, tall and at attention like a soldier, though she wore a warm, maternal smile, occasionally looking side to side to ensure the environment was safe.

"I think you said more cleaning supplies." She said sparing a glance from the side.

"Ah!" Dulcimer straightened up. "That’s right!" He quickly started to make his way over towards the direction of the needed supply, with Paint Swirl trotting soundlessly at his heels, sparing glances around her every so often.

"Gee, you'd think by now that I wouldn't make such big messes nowadays," Dulcimer mused, occasionally looking around at some of the the products that'd catch his eye. "I've been doing this for so long. Those chocolate filled truffles didn't come out as planned."

"Sometimes things don't always go as well as planned." Paint Swirl assured. "It's nothing to worry about. You can always try again. Or even a different approach."

"Hm." He came upto what he assumed was the home maintenance isle and started to search around. "I wonder if mama has any tips on how to make a--"

He paused, slowing to a stop upon seeing a neat pile of purple bags on the shelf. One of which was draped sloppily over the others, its seal broken open, spilling its contents all over the shelf it was on. "...oh dear." Dulcimer winced at the mess. "Looks like someone accidentally spilled some-"

He trailed off, pausing mid-reach of the spilled bag. His eyes scanned the green pellets that were scattered all over the shelf.

These... pellets... they looked familiar. Had he seen these before?

He picked one up, staring pensively at the round thing in between his thumb and index finger. They were small and cute looking, reminding him of the hard candies he sold at his shop.

Yes, he's seen these before.

With a blink, he picked up the bag in the other hand, staring at the bag with squinted eyes.

"Dulcy!"

He heard his brothers voice ring in his head. He saw him shake a bag- a purple one, similar to the one he was holding- at him invitingly.

"I got candy! Want some?"

That's right, Minstrel, his brother has once had a bag similar to this! Without thinking the turned the bag around to look at the other side, and was startled to find a rather menacing skull, glaring back at him. The lime green outline made it stand out against the purple.

A sudden pit formed in his stomach.

He never remembered a skull being on the bag.

He looked down at the round green chemical pinched between his fingers, remembering his brother offering him a hand full of the same looking stuff.

"Sit with me! It's yummy!"

And Dulcimer remembered happily stuffing said "candy" into his mouth, the taste of it hardly registering in his infantile mind as he was just happy to share a treat with his dear older brother.

"Is that yummy, Dulcy?" He heard his brother croon. "Does that make you feel good?"

That was the last thing he could clearly remember his brother saying before that agonizing pain wracked his small body...

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Ah, what?" Dulcimer jolted, dropping the bag and pellet back onto the shelf as he spun around to face a store employee, who looked curiously at him. "Do you need assistance?"

"Uhm," Dulcimer tensed up, feeling himself point to the mess behind him. "Th-There's a spill here." The employee's eyes suddenly looked behind him, their brows lifting in alarm. "Yikes. I'd better get that cleaned up straight away." They noted, walking up to pick up the spilled green pieces. "Stuff's really dangerous to children."

His heart dropped.

"Thanks for the heads-up." The employee nodded to him as they picked up the broken bag for disposal.

"No... problem." Dulcimer muttered, before turning to leave the isle as soon as possible.

"Dulcimer?" He dimly heard Paint call behind him, her wings flared open as she hovered slightly to keep up with him. "Are you alright? What happened? What about your cleaning supplies?"

"I-I don't need em..." He murmured, his mind currently racing. "I-I just... wanna to get home. Now."

Paint Swirl didn't know what had happened, but she opted to wait until they got home. After all, it wouldn't be good to have him muttering out loud to himself so frequently in public.

He took a few deep breaths, as he got into line for the cashier.

He was over-thinking this. He knew he was. He had to be.

It was all probably an accident. A mistake. A coincidence, even.

His brother was cold and spiteful, maybe, but there was no way he'd be capable of such a heinous act.

He wouldn't be willing to kill a baby, let alone his own brother, out of spite.

Right?

~~~~~~~~~~~

So I actually had a few concepts as to how Dulcimer would figure out his brother's intentions, but none of them sounded right/Canon enough.

So I settled with this.

Though realistically, I'd think he and Minstrel would just become estranged and he wouldn't be aware of his brother's dark habits until much later. [Or ever]

If interested, I got all of the more angsty parts of Dulcimer's arc here: sta.sh/22g5bfttih26

I'll constantly update there as well, since I don't want to drag it out here.

Dulcimer Taffy and Paint Swirl belongs to kindheart525

Description
"Oh! You need more caramels! For the caramel apples."

"Ah, right!" Dulcimer chirped, grabbing a bag of said candies, taking a moment to get whiff of the sweet scent that drifted through the bag before adding him to his basket. "Okay, so we got salt... sugar... cocoa powder... chocolate chips... eggs... milk..."

Dulcimer muttered to himself, carefully as to not put off any nearby patrons that would walk by and wave to him. But unbeknownst to said patrons, a indigo-blue Pegasus stood beside him, tall and at attention like a soldier, though she wore a warm, maternal smile, occasionally looking side to side to ensure the environment was safe.

"I think you said more cleaning supplies." She said sparing a glance from the side.

"Ah!" Dulcimer straightened up. "That’s right!" He quickly started to make his way over towards the direction of the needed supply, with Paint Swirl trotting soundlessly at his heels, sparing glances around her every so often.

"Gee, you'd think by now that I wouldn't make such big messes nowadays," Dulcimer mused, occasionally looking around at some of the the products that'd catch his eye. "I've been doing this for so long. Those chocolate filled truffles didn't come out as planned."

"Sometimes things don't always go as well as planned." Paint Swirl assured. "It's nothing to worry about. You can always try again. Or even a different approach."

"Hm." He came upto what he assumed was the home maintenance isle and started to search around. "I wonder if mama has any tips on how to make a--"

He paused, slowing to a stop upon seeing a neat pile of purple bags on the shelf. One of which was draped sloppily over the others, its seal broken open, spilling its contents all over the shelf it was on. "...oh dear." Dulcimer winced at the mess. "Looks like someone accidentally spilled some-"

He trailed off, pausing mid-reach of the spilled bag. His eyes scanned the green pellets that were scattered all over the shelf.

These... pellets... they looked familiar. Had he seen these before?

He picked one up, staring pensively at the round thing in between his thumb and index finger. They were small and cute looking, reminding him of the hard candies he sold at his shop.

Yes, he's seen these before.

With a blink, he picked up the bag in the other hand, staring at the bag with squinted eyes.

"Dulcy!"

He heard his brothers voice ring in his head. He saw him shake a bag- a purple one, similar to the one he was holding- at him invitingly.

"I got candy! Want some?"

That's right, Minstrel, his brother has once had a bag similar to this! Without thinking the turned the bag around to look at the other side, and was startled to find a rather menacing skull, glaring back at him. The lime green outline made it stand out against the purple.

A sudden pit formed in his stomach.

He never remembered a skull being on the bag.

He looked down at the round green chemical pinched between his fingers, remembering his brother offering him a hand full of the same looking stuff.

"Sit with me! It's yummy!"

And Dulcimer remembered happily stuffing said "candy" into his mouth, the taste of it hardly registering in his infantile mind as he was just happy to share a treat with his dear older brother.

"Is that yummy, Dulcy?" He heard his brother croon. "Does that make you feel good?"

That was the last thing he could clearly remember his brother saying before that agonizing pain wracked his small body...

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Ah, what?" Dulcimer jolted, dropping the bag and pellet back onto the shelf as he spun around to face a store employee, who looked curiously at him. "Do you need assistance?"

"Uhm," Dulcimer tensed up, feeling himself point to the mess behind him. "Th-There's a spill here." The employee's eyes suddenly looked behind him, their brows lifting in alarm. "Yikes. I'd better get that cleaned up straight away." They noted, walking up to pick up the spilled green pieces. "Stuff's really dangerous to children."

His heart dropped.

"Thanks for the heads-up." The employee nodded to him as they picked up the broken bag for disposal.

"No... problem." Dulcimer muttered, before turning to leave the isle as soon as possible.

"Dulcimer?" He dimly heard Paint call behind him, her wings flared open as she hovered slightly to keep up with him. "Are you alright? What happened? What about your cleaning supplies?"

"I-I don't need em..." He murmured, his mind currently racing. "I-I just... wanna to get home. Now."

Paint Swirl didn't know what had happened, but she opted to wait until they got home. After all, it wouldn't be good to have him muttering out loud to himself so frequently in public.

He took a few deep breaths, as he got into line for the cashier.

He was over-thinking this. He knew he was. He had to be.

It was all probably an accident. A mistake. A coincidence, even.

His brother was cold and spiteful, maybe, but there was no way he'd be capable of such a heinous act.

He wouldn't be willing to kill a baby, let alone his own brother, out of spite.

Right?

~~~~~~~~~~~

So I actually had a few concepts as to how Dulcimer would figure out his brother's intentions, but none of them sounded right/Canon enough.

So I settled with this.

Though realistically, I'd think he and Minstrel would just become estranged and he wouldn't be aware of his brother's dark habits until much later. [Or ever]

If interested, I got all of the more angsty parts of Dulcimer's arc here: sta.sh/22g5bfttih26

I'll constantly update there as well, since I don't want to drag it out here.

Dulcimer Taffy and Paint Swirl belongs to kindheart525