//------------------------------//
// Chapter 19: It's Called a "Graphic Novel" 
// Story: The Inane Adventures of Hazelnut Latte 
// by Porcelain Mug 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 19: It's Called a "Graphic Novel"

Things were frustrating for Rarity. She had developed a much-valued friendship with Hazelnut Latte, but she had also kind-of-sort-of maybe possibly developed some minor level of attraction towards the barista. This didn't make sense. Rarity was 99% sure that she was supposed to like stallions. Mares of her level of sophistication were not supposed to like other mares in that manner. All of the homosexual mares that she had known were a bit more... working class. She was by no means a billionaire, but she had a decent amount of money to her name. Her designs brought in quite a bit of money. She wasn't any better or more important than a working class pony, but she was aware of class differences and what was expected of some ponies. She hated it sometimes, that she wasn't always allowed to enjoy certain things without being judged. Onei of the things she wasn't allowed to fully enjoy was Hazelnut Latte. It was something that Rarity tried not to think about, but lately, it was becoming more and more difficult. She needed a distraction. She knew that Twilight would probably recommend a book that she had read a thousand times, so she wasn't sure who to ask. Still, she found herself in Twilight's castle anyway. Looking across the room, she saw Spike sitting down on a cushion next to a stack of books, clearly engrossed in what he was reading. Rarity walked over to the young dragon and asked, "What are you reading?"

Spike, for once not really noticing that it was Rarity that he was talking to, tilted the book to show its contents. Rarity raised a brow. "A comic book?"

"It's called a graphic novel." Spike said tersely, looking up. It was then that he saw who he was talking to. His eyes widened. "R-Rarity!"

Rarity smiled and said, "Hello, Spikey-Wikey." She glanced around to make sure that nopony was watching before asking, "What kind of comic is it?"

"Graphic novel." Spike corrected. "It's called Visitors from Beyond the Stars. It's a series of science fiction anthology graphic novels. I have all twenty of them. I'm re-reading number twenty."

"Oh." Rarity looked around to see if anypony was watching.

Spike cleared his throat and said, "Um, if you want, you can borrow them. I've read them all anyway."

Rarity thought about it for a moment. Spike, figuring out the mare's hesitation, said, "Don't worry. I won't tell anypony."

Rarity nodded and said, "All right, I'll borrow some."

Spike handed the white unicorn the first four novels, which she put in her saddlebags. Rarity smiled brightly and said, "You're the best, Spike."

Spike blushed and said, "Well, I hope you enjoy them. When you're done with these ones, I'll lend you the next four."

Rarity, still smiling, said, "Thank you very much. I'm going to read these when I get home."

"Okay." Spike said. "Um, have a nice day!"

"You too!" Rarity said before leaving.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Rarity found herself engrossed in the stories of the graphic novels. They were really interesting. To be honest, she never really thought that she'd be a sci-fi pony. It was evening by the time she was finished with the second novel. She was getting really tired. Suddenly, she heard a knock on her door. She got up and opened it to see Hazelnut Latte with a picnic basket. The barista had a smile on her face as she said, "The stars are super clear tonight. How do you feel about a picnic under the stars?"

Rarity, in a move of courage, quickly nodded and said, "That would be great. Give me a minute to get ready."

The fashionista noted that Hazelnut Latte was wearing a jacket. The white unicorn quickly hurried off to her room. She put on a jacket, as it was a brisk autumn evening. She then came back and saw the barista still standing there. Rarity took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. She then smiled and said, "All right, let's go."

They headed out of town, nowhere near the Everfree Forest but still fairly distant. Hazelnut Latte laid a picnic blanket down before getting some pastries and a couple thermoses out of the picnic basket. Rarity took a pastry and bit into it. Her eyes widened. She looked at the barista and asked, "Does this have honey in it?"

"Yeah." Hazelnut Latte replied with a nod. "Honey and lemon."

Rarity opened her thermos to take a drink and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air. She took a sip and her taste buds were blessed with the flavor of perfectly brewed coffee. She looked at the caramel-colored mare and said, "You made this, didn't you?"

"Yep." Hazelnut Latte replied. 

Rarity took another sip and said, "This is very smooth."

"I used a moka pot." Hazelnut Latte explained. "If you get it right, you get really smooth coffee."

Rarity took a bite of her pastry, then another sip of her coffee. "Well, Hazelnut Latte, you've outdone yourself." the white-coated unicorn said with a smile.

Rarity looked at Hazelnut Latte as the stars began to come out. She looked so beautiful under the starlight. She didn't even realize how beautiful she was, the fashionista thought. She didn't even realize that she was beautiful at all. Hazelnut Latte looked up and said, "The stars are really clear tonight. Aren't they beautiful?"

"Yeah." Rarity replied, still looking at the stars reflected in the other mare's eyes. "Beautiful."

Hazelnut Latte plopped down on her back, gazing up at the sky. The white unicorn decided to join her. Rarity stared up at the night sky, taking in the sight of the stars. She glanced to the side to see that Hazelnut Latte was also looking up. "Say, Rarity?" the caramel-coated unicorn said. 

"What is it, Hazelnut Latte?" Rarity asked, looking back up at the sky.

"You ever wonder what is up there?" Hazelnut Latte asked.

"No, not really." Rarity replied.

"Sometimes I wonder if there's something up there, wondering if we are down here." Hazelnut Latte said softly.

"I've never really thought about that." Rarity said. 

Hazelnut Latte seemed to notice something. "Wait, did that star just move?"

Suddenly, a bright light hit them. They looked up to see a disc-shaped object with a circle of lights under it. They got up and tried to flee, but they were stopped where they are. Slowly, Hazelnut Latte's hooves began to lift from the ground. "Help me, Rarity!" she cried as she began to be pulled upwards towards the flying disc.

Suddenly, the barista was yanked into an opening by the light. The opening closed and the disc shot off into the night sky while Rarity watched in horror. "HAZEL!" the white unicorn screamed into the night. 

Rarity could hear a ringing in her ears, possibly the result of the visitors' brief presence. The ringing began to grow louder and clearer. The fashionista then realized that the ringing was coming from right next to her. With a jolt of surprise, she stat up quickly and found herself in her bedroom. She looked around. What the hay just happened? It took a minute or two for her head to clear and her to realize that it had just been a dream. She got up and exited her room. The moment she exited, she could smell the aroma of pancakes and apples. She headed down to her kitchen to see that her temporary roommate, Applejack, was there. The farm pony had been staying there since the tornado, and probably would until the farm house was rebuilt. Applejack glanced back at Rarity and smiled. "Yer up!" the earth pony said. "Good mornin', Rarity."

Rarity rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and asked, "How did I get in my bedroom?"

"Ah had ta carry you." Applejack replied. "It ain't that difficult. Yer a light little thing. Ah already sent Sweetie Belle ta school."

"Oh." Rarity said quietly. "Thank you, I suppose."

"Ah'm makin' some apple pancakes." the earth pony explained. "Do ya want some?"

The unicorn nodded. "A bit of breakfast would do me some good."

Applejack expertly flipped the pancakes. Once she finished them, she put them on a stack of pancakes. There were two plates that each had a stack of pancakes on it. Once the farm pony was done, she turned the stove off and removed the skillet from the heat before carrying the plates over to the table. Rarity saw that there was already a bottle of maple syrup on the table. When her pancakes were in front of her, the fashionista poured some maple syrup over them before setting it down and picking up her fork. She took a bite of the pancake and, to no surprise, they were good. Applejack really knew how to cook with apples. Rarity looked up at the earth pony. "Is that cinnamon that I taste?" the unicorn asked.

"Yep." Applejack replied. "Could ya pass the maple syrup?"

"Oh!" Rarity said. "Of course!"

Rarity then passed the maple syrup to Applejack, who poured some over her own pancakes. The earth pony looked at the unicorn and said, "Ya seemed ta be havin' some weird dreams."

Rarity looked down at her pancakes and said, "Yeah."

Applejack nodded and said, "Ah saw yer comic books."

"Graphic novels." Rarity corrected automatically. She then said, "You won't tell anypony, will you?" 

"Ya have mah word." Applejack replied. A look of mirth glinted in her eyes when she added, "But it might be best if ya didn't read 'em before bed."

Rarity shot the farm pony a half-hearted glare. "I assure you, it won't happen again."

Applejack nodded. "Ya borrowed 'em from Spike, didn't ya?"

Rarity let out a sigh before replying, "Nopony needs to know that I've been reading science fiction."

"Ah won't tell nopony." Applejack repeated her prior statement. "I ain't judgin' ya, neither. It ain't mah place ta judge."

Rarity smiled and said, "I suppose that even you have your own secrets that you don't want anypony to know about, just like everypony else."

Applejack chuckled and said, "Oh, Rarity. You have no idea."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hazelnut Latte had opened up the shop and waited for the inevitable. A few minutes later, as always, Twilight Sparkle came into Cuppa Joe's. She seemed to be more tired than she had been in past mornings. "Welcome to Cuppa Joe's!" Hazelnut Latte greeted. "What can I get for you?"

Twilight mumbled something incoherent. Hazelnut Latte looked at the alicorn and asked, "Are you okay?"

Twilight's head jolted up as she blurted, "I didn't read porn!"

Hazelnut Latte raised a brow and said, "Oookay..."

Twilight sighed and said, "I'll have a caramel latte, double espresso."

"Got it." the barista nodded. She then set about to making the drink.

Twilight paid for the drink and sat down at one of the tables, waiting for the hot beverage. She seemed very distracted, the barista thought. It didn't take long for the drink to be finished. Hazelnut Latte put the drink out on the counter and said, "Twilight Sparkle!"

Twilight got up and retrieved her drink. She then carried it over to her table, which was near the counter. Nopony else was in the building and wouldn't be for a while. Hazelnut Latte hesitated before asking in a concerned voice, "Are you alright, Twilight?"

"Just... going through some stuff lately." Twilight replied. 

"Ah." the barista nodded. "That happens to everypony."

"There's been somepony on my mind." Twilight admitted. "I don't know what to do."

"Well, you could tell him." Hazelnut Latte suggested. Because of the alicorn's past behavior, the unicorn admitted that the person was a male.

"That's the thing." Twilight said. "That pony is a mare."

"Well, I'm sure that you and she can figure this out." Hazelnut Latte said. "Secrets are never good and can sometimes bite you in the butt."

"This can't be." Twilight said. "I can't be attracted to mares. I'm attracted to stallions. I'm not gay!"

The barista raised a brow and said, "You're attracted to stallions and mares?"

The princess inhaled deeply, then exhaled audibly. "Yeah." she admitted. "It seems so."

Hazelnut Latte smiled comfortingly and said, "Twilight, from what you've told me about being attracted to both mares and stallions, you're definitely not gay."

"I'm not?" Twilight looked at the barista with a look of near-desparation.

"No, you're not." the caramel-colored unicorn explained. "Sweetie, you're bisexual."

Twilight swallowed audibly before asking, "So, does that mean that there's something wrong with me?"

"Absolutely not!" Hazelnut Latte said sternly. "Twilight, you are who you are. A lot of the time, you don't really choose who you're attracted to. There's nothing wrong with being bisexual. Bisexuality is just as valid as being straight or gay."

"What do I do?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I can recommend a book." the barista replied. "A Mare's Guide to Bisexuality is a good one."

"I don't have that one." the alicorn admitted.

"Well, you can probably find it at Paige's Ponyville Pages." the unicorn suggested. "They have a very good LGBTQ section."

Twilight nodded. "I'll take a look at it, then."

"Just be yourself." Hazelnut Latte said. "Everything will work out in the end. You don't have to come out of the closet right away."

Twilight nodded and took a sip of her coffee. To be honest, Hazelnut Latte hadn't expected to provide her advice. She was openly gay, so she knew a bit about coming out of the closet. She had a feeling that her alicorn regular would find that most of her friends and family would be accepting and supportive when she did come out of the closet. And she, Hazelnut Latte decided, would be supportive of Twilight, too.