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Recap / Triptych Continuum Bitter Sweet

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It's the oldest chocolate shop in Equestria, the very first — and on this night, it's also out of business. The final treats have been sold, the vultures have already begun to circle the equipment, and the proprietor polishes the remains out of pure habit while wondering what to do with her life. But that question will have to wait, as she has one more customer to take care of.

The very first.

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  • And Man Grew Proud: The downfall of the Worthy line began the moment they forgot that it was the zebras that had invented chocolate, and began to believe that it was their invention.
  • Bitter Sweet Ending: The last true chocolatier in the Worthy family loses the entire family business... then goes on to found a new family business, free of the stigma her old family name carried.
  • Catch-22 Dilemma: The paradox Worthy's found itself just before things started going truly downhill. They couldn't make great chocolate without marked chocolatiers, but without being able to practice making great chocolate their foals couldn't earn chocolatier marks.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: The Worthy name as chocolatiers began sinking into rot when the family stopped getting marks in chocolate making and started getting marks in business, causing them to focus on profit over making good chocolate. This came back to bite them when it led to a cycle of losing customers due to cheaper but lower quality products, which led to more cost-cutting efforts to make a profit, which made the chocolate even worse and caused more customers to leave, creating a vicious spiral.
  • Fantasy Metals: This story features our first true introduction to argentium, a metal previously mentioned but never truly explained. It was created by Discord (though probably not on purpose). While it resembles silver, it does not tarnish, and apparently has some unique and specific thaumic properties.
  • Heroic Lineage: Valhrona is a direct descendant of the Founder of the mark of chocolate-making... and the first pony of that lineage to bear that mark in over two hundred years.
  • Lethal Chef: Due to cost-cutting, Worthy chocolate came to be renowned for its absolutely disgusting taste, which ultimately killed off the company completely.
  • #1 Dime: One of the symbols of the Worthy line was the Coin, the coin Princess Luna spent to buy the very first bar of chocolate sold in Equestria. In the end, Valhrona gives it to Princess Luna as part of her change for the parfait truffle, and then Luna later spends it again to buy a bar from Valhrona's new shop.
  • Only Electric Sheep Are Cheap: It's mentioned that chocolate pods grown naturally, in the Zebrican kraals, have a subtle superiority in flavor to those grown in Equestria by use of the Cornicopia Effect.
  • Screw Destiny: At Luna's coaxing, Valhrona, the last of the Worthies, legally changes her name, moves to a new location, and starts her own chocolate shop, this time ready to cling to the things that make a chocolatier actually good instead of just focusing on pure profit.

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