//------------------------------// // 2. Awaken The Senses // Story: Her Royal Morning Coffee // by Georg //------------------------------// Her Royal Morning Coffee Awaken The Senses By the time Dry Roast convinced himself that the events of the morning would blow over, they came back to bite him with a vengeance.  The noon rush was tapering off, the two part-time employees he had hired to cover customers during the busy times had clocked out, and he was just starting to get the shop cleaned up for closing while the last few customers chatted out in the main room. Then Rarity walked through the door.  And she brought her friend. Dry Roast had never really seen Princess Twilight Sparkle in the daylight.  With her mane combed out and her eyes actually open, she was far more beautiful than he was used to.  Those pale, entrancing eyes were nearly the shade of her soft coat, and the sight made his own tired mind tie itself up in knots while the two young mares walked to his counter to place their orders. “One small mocha light frappuccino with one pump mocha, and one shot.”  Dry cleared his dry throat and looked at Princess Twilight Sparkle.  “And for you, Ma’am?” “Just a coffee,” said Twilight, looking over his head at the price board.  “And a cherry pastry.” “All out of cherry.”  Dry Roast bit his bottom lip in order to avoid adding any additional commentary. Twilight Sparkle shrugged.  “Just the coffee, then.” He managed to get their orders completed and delivered without spilling too much over the machinery, and maintained his somewhat wobbly stance behind the counter while Rarity and Twilight Sparkle took a seat in a nearby booth, which gave them both a good view of him and vice versa.  It was most certainly not a coincidence that the two mares had taken that specific booth, because Rarity had nearly body-checked her friend into the seat. Then… nothing. The two of them sat and drank their coffee between light conversation, with Princess Twilight Sparkle looking a little bored and irritated, while Rarity was maintaining the expression of a young colt who has lit the fuse on a particularly large firework and seen the fizzing section vanish inside, only to have nothing happen. And after about a half-hour, the two mares left while Dry Roast heaved a giant sigh of relief. ~ ~ ☕ ~ ~ “Hello, Applejack.  Just finishing up for the day, I see.”  Dry Roast strolled over to the apple cart and poked his nose into the nearly empty storage compartment.  “Mind if I clean out your inventory?” “Feel free.”  Applejack nosed over an empty paper sack before returning to her task of getting the cart ready to return to the farm.  “So?” “So what?”  Dry Roast dropped the last few apples into the bag and cast a curious look at Applejack, who was wearing much the same anticipatory expression he had seen on Rarity just a short time ago. “So what did Twilight say when she came over to the shop this afternoon?” Dry Roast shrugged.  “Nothing, really.  She ordered a coffee.” “Ah knew it!  Rarity had this durned fool idea that Twilight was having some sort of sneaky love affair with you.  Plum near talked my ear off about it.”  Applejack took off her hat and swatted it against her foreleg to knock some of the dust off it.  “Sorry about them apples being a little small and wrinkled.  They got picked over something fierce today, so how’s about two bits for the lot?” “Sounds good.”  Dry Roast floated two bits over to Applejack’s cashbox, but before he could get away, the farmer coughed once into a hoof. “So… What did you think of her?” “Rarity?”  Dry Roast shifted uncomfortably.  “She’s nice, I suppose.” “No, I mean Twilight.”  Applejack moved a little closer and fixed him with a penetrating stare.  “Princess Twilight.” “She’s fine!”  Now it was Dry Roast’s turn to cough into a hoof.  “She’s fine.  I mean she’s okay.  We didn’t talk much.  She’s pretty quiet.” Applejack’s expression turned skeptical.  “You know, ah’ve heard Twilight called a lot of things, but quiet ain’t one of them.” “Well, normally she kinda-sorta mutters into the floor, but I’ve gotten pretty good at—”  Dry Roast stopped talking when Applejack’s eyes lit up. “So you have talked to her before?  Even though you done told us you didn’t.” Dry glanced around the closing marketplace and hefted his purchase.  “Well, I gotta go, Applejack.  It’s been good talking to… Bye.” It was a fairly short walk back to his small house, and Dry Roast’s lanky form and brisk stride made that distance pass at a rapid rate.  A quick glance around while unlocking the door showed no pursuit, which was both good and expected, because Applejack was a very logical pony, and chasing him through town with an apple cart behind her was not a very… Applejacky thing to do. Pinkie Pie, yes. After closing the door behind him, Dry Roast took a deep breath and relaxed.  The comfortable house he shared with his little brother Rain Check was an island of safety in a world filled with dangerous things, one of whom… actually five of whom would have an unusual amount of curiosity about Princess Twilight Sparkle and whatever stallion was touching her on the lips. He had briefly considered the consequences the first time the beautiful unicorn caught him in a coffee-fueled lip lock over a year ago, but had put the idea behind him as a fluke.  About the fifth time, he had entertained the polite fantasy that perhaps the purple powerhouse was merely faking her sleep, and the kisses were some sort of experiment.  Around the time he had lost track of the number of nocturnal no-nooky visits, Dry had decided to simply go with the flow and enjoy it. Then Twilight Sparkle became Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the kisses had taken on a certain… intensity. The first night his establishment had been graced by Her Highness, the Purple Princess of Powerful Puckering, Dry Roast… well, could not remember most of the next several days.  Repetition and a strict exercise regime at Bulk Biceps’ Gym had increased his stamina to the point where he almost never collapsed on the floor anymore, and the meditation exercises had helped keep his brain from burning out afterward.  His lanky form had filled out with unexpected muscle and other young fillies in town had started to notice his flanks, so the health benefits were multi-purpose, but when Tirek returned, even all of his new muscles could not keep him from a chipped tooth. Twilight before dawn seven nights in a row after that did not help.  By the time Princess Twilight Sparkle had gotten a new coffee maker in her new castle (paid for by thankful townsfolk including Dry), he was about ready to have a nervous breakdown, but thankfully, the next dawn had broken without a Twilight, and his rather odd erratic routine returned. Until today. Worrying about it would not help.  Dry Roast yawned, feeling vaguely guilty about skipping out on his afternoon cardio and self-defense class at the gym, but excused it under the excuse of mental exercise instead.  He checked the book collection in the divided box by the front door, moved the last one he had just finished into the ‘Return to Library’ section, and picked one at random out of his brother’s collection.  It was going to be a nice afternoon to read, so after heading upstairs, he settled down in the reclining chair on the balcony next to his telescope and relaxed, even though the book turned out to be a griffon romance.  Or maybe a book on combat.  It was difficult to tell the subtle differences without counting bodies. The sun was warm and the day pleasant, with a gentle breeze from the south and the distinct sensation of being watched.  He ignored it for a few minutes, then looked over his shoulder to see a familiar colorful pegasus crouched at the end of the balcony, just a short distance away. “What are you doing?” Rainbow Dash at least had the good manners to look embarrassed at being caught, but she stammered for a second and replied, “Reading over your shoulder, of course.  I love that book.” He held a hoof over the cover.  “So, what am I reading?” “Uh.”  Rainbow Dash’s eyes flickered from side to side.  “Daring Do?” Dry flipped the book over to show the two griffons on the cover locking beaks.  “So, what are you really doing, Rainbow?” “Well…”  She took a quick breath.  “I was just curious.” “About?” “About you and Twilight.”  The words came out in a rush and kept coming.  “I mean you’re out here by your telescope and Twilight’s over there in the castle with her telescope, and I thought—” “Telescope?”  Dry looked up at the sparkling crystal castle and caught a suspicious glint of light from an upstairs balcony. “Yeah, she’s been acting all weird since Rarity told us about her illicit love affair with some stallion from a coffee shop, and since you work at the coffee shop, I thought I’d watch you and see if I can spot the guy.”  Rainbow floated up a short distance and looked around.  “So, do you see him?” Resisting the urge to plant a hoof against his forehead, Dry replied just as calmly and firmly as he was able.  “I am not having an illicit affair with Princess Twilight Sparkle.” “Oh.”  Dry could almost see the unaccustomed idea travel through Rainbow Dash’s head until both of her eyebrows went up.  “Oh! So it is you.” “No!” snapped Dry Roast.  “Coffee.  She gets coffee.  That’s it.” It was amazing how Dry Roast could fairly see the words bounce off his target.  “That’s funny, because when we were all over at her castle earlier, she said she’d never been to your shop before even though she’s got a couple dozen of your empty cups in the kitchen recycling bin.” “I deliver,” said Dry in a flat deadpan. “I bet you do.”  Rainbow Dash waggled her eyebrows.  “So how far have you two gotten?  Because Pinkie Pie has a pool going with Lyra, and I’ve got my money on—” “We haven’t gotten anywhere,” snapped Dry in exasperation.  “We’re not going anywhere.  Now if you’ll excuse me.”  He settled back down in the recliner with his book, waited for at least two pages for Rainbow Dash to become bored and fly off, then looked back up.  “Go away.” To her credit, Rainbow Dash did not look as if she were trying to pull something like she normally did.  Instead, she seemed a little concerned, which appeared to be contagious.  “Look, we’re just worried about our friend.” ”We?” “Pinkie and me.  After all, Twilight’s always been a little bit of an egghead.  Ok, a lot of a bit of an egghead, and we’ve never actually seen her on a date before, so we just want to make sure she’s taken care of properly.  You understand, right?” It did make sense.  A little, at least, and Dry could feel his heart rate return to something approaching normal.  “Yes, I see why you might be a little upset.” “Great!”  Rainbow Dash settled down on the balcony next to Dry.  “So are we talking foal making yet, or just kissing and hugging?” “No!”  A looming sense of dread came over Dry Roast, much like the feeling he would get just moments before the smoke detector would go off and indicate that the oven was acting up again.  “You said you told Pinkie Pie.” “Of course.  Twilight is my friend, and Pinkie Pie is my friend, and friends tell each other stuff.  Which is why we were a little upset that Twilight didn’t tell us about you, so spill it.” “Pinkie is everypony’s friend,” snapped Dry Roast.  “Who did she tell?” He raised his head up over the balcony rail and looked down into Ponyville. For one long heart-stopping moment, every single pony as far as he could see was looking back at him.  Some were content to just look, several had brought folding chairs as if they were waiting for the fireworks, and two in particular had staked out the park bench across the street.  Then they all suddenly seemed to find something more interesting to look at, even the ones with binoculars. ~ ~ ☕ ~ ~ Dearest Big Brother Bud. I need your legal help.  I think I’m about to be thrown in prison for sexual assault.  Or married. Perhaps both.  Not sure.  Come at once. Dry Roast