Chapter Six
Caffeine-Fueled Daydreams.
As we leave Ghost Writer’s booth, I can’t help but look over my shoulder and watch him wave at us. I know exactly where my uncomfortable feelings are stemming from. I know that he is most likely just an eccentric artistic type-that he is imitating his favorite poet for novelty, but there is this slimy feeling that runs through me that I just can’t shake. “What if he was...hitting on you?” That’s a horrible thought that shouldn’t even cross my mind. Yet it keeps nagging at me in a way that makes a wrenching feeling bubble up from my core. Yes, I did at one time date Doug, but that was different. Something about this situation made me feel...something that I would rather not describe. However, I am hoping that Spike and Twilight remain blissfully oblivious. “Not that I did much to hide my feelings here. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”
Then there was the whole bit about a, ‘discount for artists’ and an invitation to a poetry reading and art exhibition. I seriously hope that wasn’t him showing me any form of special treatment. “Oh here’s a pony who is dark, shy, artistic and has a painfully delightful name! I’ll charm her up and if I’m lucky-” I stop myself in the middle of that thought. You have have no reason to believe that he was after that, H.B., none. He was just trying to be friendly. “But if you ask me, that was a little too friendly.”
My eye twitches, who am I kidding? If I was still male and on Ghost Writer’s side? Yes, that would be me trying to hit on someone else. There is no doubt of that in my mind now. I have a good feeling that Twilight is going to have to drag me to wherever these gallery showings are.
When we’ve walked a good distance from Ghost Writer’s booth, Twilight scowls at me. “Well that was pretty rude, Heartbreak.”
I blink. “What was?” I ask.
“The way that you were treating him. He was kindly offering you a discount and making friendly conversation, while you the whole time were avoiding him and accusing him of giving you special treatment.” Twilight said.
I roll my eyes. “Twilight, he was hitting on me.”
Twilight blinks. “What are you talking about? He made absolutely no physical contact.”
I sigh. “No. He was flirting with me, Twilight. “
“What?” Twilight asks confused. “No he wasn’t, that’s how Ghost Writer acts to all ponies.” She explains as we walk past a few more booths.
“So he treats you that way every time you come to his booth?” I ask her. “Have you gotten this, ‘artist’s discount’, before?”
“Well, no, but I’m not an artist, Heartbreak.” Twilight explains.
“But you are a writer and I am sure that you have done one or two things that could qualify as poetry,” I retort. Damn, I knew that Twilight was sometimes oblivious to slight social behaviors, but seriously, could she not see what Ghost Writer was doing?!
“Not enough to qualify me as an artist or poet.” She replies. “And hence, not enough to get Ghost’s attention.”
“He was hitting on me Twilight, alright? And it made me very uncomfortable.” I reply.
“He was just-” Twilight begins.
“Twilight, he was hitting on her.” Spike says, finally looking away from his little notebook.
“Spike!” Twilight says looking a bit shocked.
“What? He was. I should know, I’ve used some of those same moves with Rarity before.” He looks up at the sky thoughtfully. “But I’m way smoother than that.”
I snort a bit and roll my eyes.
“Sure you are, Casanova,” Twilight and I say simultaneously. Twilight looks at me and for a brief moment, I return that look. She chuckles but I instead stifle the laughter that threatens to leap out of my mouth. Twilight blinks at me.
“What?” I ask her.
“You remember that assignment I gave you when we were on the train?” She asks me.
I roll my eyes. “Yes...You told me to smile more, I think. However you aren’t believing me when I say that Ghost Writer was hitting on me.”
Twilight sighs. “Even if he was, that’s no reason to be rude, Heartbreak.”
“So my feeling uncomfortable in the situation doesn’t matter whatsoever?” I ask, feeling a shot of anger spike through me.
“I didn’t say that Heartbreak,” Twilight replies. “I am just saying that you could have handled the situation a bit better and politely told him that, if he was flirting with you, that you weren’t interested. I, personally didn’t see any exchange of flirting take place.”
“Believe me, that was flirting. I should know. I have been in enough relationships to know what casual flirting looks like,” I reply. I desperately want to change the subject. “Though he did give me an idea of something that I want.”
Twilight rolls her eyes at me. Gods, I hope she doesn’t think that I am a slut or anything...”Alright, and what would that be?” She asks.
“Well...something like coffee, tea or possibly...” I pause and realize how tiring walking has become. I plop my butt right on the ground and think about what I am going to say next. “No...you wouldn’t have energy drinks here in Equestria. Soda, perhaps, but no energy drinks.”
“What’s an, ‘energy drink’?” Twilight asks me.
I momentarily ponder the question. “Well. You have coffee and you have tea. Think a really, really strong tea. Or better yet...” I think. “You have carbonated drinks, right? Fizzy sodas, yeah?”
Twilight looks at me questioningly. “Um, yeah.”
“Right, how best to explain this.” I say looking at the ground. “Okay, carbonated drinks have air trapped in them, carbon dioxide to be exact. Hence the name carbonated, but, not the point. Taking your average carbonated drink and freezing it causes the water and carbon dioxide to separate. If you were to have this in a bottle and open it, it would push anything that was suspended in the water before it was frozen, to the top of the bottle. Leaving behind in the case of most fizzy drinks, a concentrated syrup.” I look down at the ground. The sun is still so very very bright. “Drinking that straight alone is sure to give you a burst of energy, but nothing terribly long lasting. If the drink were like strong tea or coffee, the same level as something similar to...oh...espresso? You’d have an ‘energy drink’.” I look over at Twilight who is nodding and slightly astonished.
“Wow...Um, that was quite the explanation. And it sounds exceptionally unhealthy.” She says.
I roll my eyes. “Eeeeyeaaah. But it will keep you awake for a long period of time.”
“I would imagine that it would. Wait, isn’t the primary stimulant in coffee and tea caffeine?” She asks me.
“Um, yes?” I reply.
“Isn’t that Incredibly addictive?” She asks.
“Well, yes. It can be, but better wired than fired.” I explain.
She grimaces. “And how many of these would you drink?”
“I would try to limit myself to three a day. Anymore and I’d likely have a heart attack,” I say. Twilight’s expression is that of wide-eyed disbelief. “And that of course was over a twelve hour period. Drinking them all at once is likely to put you in the hospital to get your stomach pumped,” I say, uncomfortably rubbing my front leg.
Twilight just blinks hard trying to comprehend what I have just told her. “And they make these on the world you’re from?”
“Well...Yes...Though it’s more like there are companies that make them and then sell them in stores...” I reply. Great, I have gone from one uncomfortable topic, to a topic that has a different form of uncomfortable on it. Twilight shakes her head with the question on her mind nearly escaping her lips. “You’re wanting to know why? That is a complicated question. Um...I guess in a world without magic, where a good number of things are machine run, you need to stay awake. And energy drinks help.”
“I’m sure they do,” Twilight replies. “Help you get to an early grave! Eeesh! No offense Heartbreak, but that’s just insane! I can’t see how any species could subject itself to such a thing.”
I feel a bit offended by Twilight’s statement, but at the same time I can’t help but agree with her.”Then there is the fact that if I talk about them any more, it’ll lead off into uncomfortable territory.“ I think to myself. “Right. Enough about them. We’re not going to talk about them anymore,” I bluntly state. “This all started with Ghost Writer and his tea. Short of energy drinks, normally I drink coffee or tea.”
Twilight looks as if she doesn’t know what to say to this. “And you want coffee or tea?” She asks me.
“If that is all that is available to me...yeah. It could help perk me up before I draw. Get those creative juices flowing.” I reply. I think about this for a moment. “I could really go for a nice chai tea about now. That is if you even have chai tea...I would even do rooibos...”
“Um...I’ve never heard of chai tea either,” Twilight responds, looking a bit worried. “It isn’t like an energy drink, is it?”
“What? No. It’s just like tea with spices in it.” I reply.
Twilight nods. “Well, good. Though-and this is completely off topic-I must say I was somewhat impressed.”
“Impressed?” I asked.
“Well, yes.” Twilight replies. “For how horrible these ‘energy drinks’ sound, you showed off that you have a good understanding of scientific knowledge,” Twilight quips.
Now I feel truly offended. At my core I am a geek, a nerd, a science lover. On the Earth that I am from, scientific knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts are very important. Despite what some people think, that is. But if you can’t grasp basic concepts like how the tides work, what a theory is, what evolution is or that the earth is over six thousand years old...You will be met only with ridicule. And the internet shows no quarter, leaves no silly belief untouched and unscathed. “Twilight, are you saying that I come off as having little or no understanding of the Scientific Method?” I ask in a low glower.
Spike’s eyes blink open and he hops off of Twilight’s back. He slowly turns his head to her, looking at her with an expression that I can only guess is meant to convey the message of, ‘Careful Twilight, that question is a minefield.’
Twilight seems to be getting the message, as a wide, unnerved grin and chuckle are her reply. “...No, it’s just that most artists in Equestria tend to be more...flighty, or scatterbrained and when it comes to matters of science...”
My face has twisted into a scowl. “So, because most artists here in Equestria tend to be one hit wonders in their drawings, poetry and art, they can’t understand the more well educated, organized and scientifically literate?”
“Heartbreak, I never said that, I was impressed with your explanation...” Twilight responds giving Spike a ‘help-me’ look.
“No. What you said was that you were, ‘Somewhat impressed’, Twilight,” I sigh. “I am making something out of nothing. This isn’t a big deal, but I am making it into one. Why? Because I find beauty and wonder in matters of science.” I roll my eyes. A quote comes to mind. “To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your h-ha-hoof.. And eternity in an hour.”
“Wow...that was rather beautiful,” Twilight says. “Um...What does it mean?”
“You know, I’m not terribly sure, but every time I hear somep-pony tell me that science can’t be artistic, it annoys me...” I reply. “And one word just totally wrecked a great poets most quoted poem...”
Twilight snorts and smirks at me. “Heartbreak, If you know me as well as you claim, then you’d know that I share this feeling when it comes to what I am assuming is discovery, exploration and the thrill of learning something new.”
A wave of emotion unexpectedly washes over me. Like always, I fight it off. “Yes, I do...it’s just with the way you said it it made it sound like you were questioning my intelligence. Like I have been presenting myself in a way that makes me look like a ditz.” I replied looking away.
“Heartbreak...” Twilight says. Spike on the other hand is rolling his eyes. I admit, the sap level in all of this is pretty high.
My eyes meet Twilight’s. “I mean, you don’t take me for a...bubble...head...do....you?” Something passed Twilight’s head and just over her shoulder. It flies down and vanishes behind the purple unicorn standing before me. Well actually, someone. Well, if we want to be technical, it’s really somepony. “I’ve found the easter egg..” I whisper.
"...what evolution is or that the earth is over six thousand years old..."
I take it he isn't religious? =P
“I’ve found the easter egg..” Seriously? There are actually 'easter eggs' hidden in the REALITY of Equestria? That's awesome.
472831
Stated flat-out in the previous story that Anthony was atheist. (Ironically symbolized as an "invisible pink unicorn.")
HERE'S DERPY!
"ARRRRGGH! Terrible joke ISA"
Shut up, Nifleheim.
You do know that science has only been able to come up with ideas of how Earth's creatures came to be, but not any solid proof, right? Evolution is merely the most widely taught one of these theories. It's not a fact and has been proven incorrect scientifically several times.
And no, I'm not one of the Creationists who think the earth is 6000 years old and was created in six twenty-four hour days.
3176530
True. What is annoying, though, is the way evolution is being treated as fact.
3176530
You're lying. Or you're believing someone elses lies. Science has never proven Evolution to be incorrect. Evolution has more than enough evidence to support it and has done for decades. I'm not sure it's actually the most widely taught in schools, thanks to people like you.
Religion doesn't present theories, it doesn't form a conclusion based on what we can see. It tells you how things are and then ignores all the mistakes it makes. People think that because we can't disprove God, that we can't disprove the Bible. But that is wrong. The Bible is irrefutably wrong. This is why even most Christians don't believe in the Bible. We KNOW that the story of creation is wrong. Evolution wasn't another story found in a book, it was an idea someone came up with to explain everything we know in nature (Technically the Bible writer did the same thing). There was very little proof of it at the time, but unlike with religion, nothing proved it wrong. I don't think we even knew about dinosaurs back then! Now we know that many of these theories are right. Einstein's theories are still being proved only in the last few months! When you have people so smart that technology can't keep up with them, it makes it all the more crazy to think we have people stupid enough to ignore them. You have the internet to use, the best way of learning. Please use it and research things before you make another embarrassing post.
6299192
This goes to you too. Athiests love to be proved wrong. The truth is all that matters to us. We teach evolution because it's the only answer we have that isn't utterly silly. Which is why creationism should NEVER be taught in schools. At least Evolution makes sense, even if it's wrong.
Evolution is likely.
Creationism is a lie.
Shouldn't it be "really, really strong tea?
7012019
I’d love to agree with you, because a lot of what you said was very accurate, but at the same time, you’re ability to not follow through with your own requests leaves me a little disappointed. Obviously you seem to think you’ve researched this topic, and maybe you have, but to blatantly claim that creationism is a lie in all forms and aspects is just giving your own opinion. Im not saying it’s right, im very open to being proven wrong, but your points you vaguely make to ‘disprove’ creationism don’t seem very well researched. I would implore you to look for both sides of this argument before reaching your conclusion, and if you think you’ve found a point that stumps either side, try to find any responses to that point, im fairly certain every idea you point out has a good rebuttal from the creationists side, as well as an equally good rebuttal back. Both sides include highly intelligent individuals debating something we have not yet gotten the chance to really know. For example, as far as I’m aware, and please do tell me and send me the source if i am, i like knowledge, there are many proofs for micro evolution, but hardly any for macro evolution. And I’ve yet to hear a reasonable idea for how the universe could possibly have come into existence by chance. Again, I’d love to hear one, good theories and ideas from either side are interesting and enjoyable to ingest and think about.
On the other hand, you could possibly just be hitting the points lightly so as to not create a massively and annoyingly long comment. If that’s so, I applaud you, you did well for the topic you’re talking about.
Neither side in this debate are stupid, or uninformed, and it would be a disservice as well as rude and just presents that person as vindictive, crass, and altogether unpleasant. I’m fairly certain none of those words describe you.
On a side note, you very obviously dislike religion and have had a bad experience. I would kindly ask you to please try and not bring that into whether you look for a reasonable idea. While many forms of religion, including quite a few of christianity, do in fact not solve their own gaping plot holes and gaps in any reasonable manner, there are some that do try. Christianity, for example, has many opposing sides one many different points, and as such has many different variations, many flawed in obvious ways, others in less obvious ways.
Atheism, in it of it self, is a belief in no god, and as such i would personally classify it as a religion as well. I won’t argue this point, as i do in fact realize it’s only a personal belief, and not something that could truly be considered a fact, as many many educated people do if fact believe it is a religion, while many many others do not.
If you have endeavored to read this far, I apologize for the long comment. I do hope you consider my position, and understand that i do not condemn yours. I just disagree.