//------------------------------// // Coffee shop crush // Story: Applejack and Applebloom in Appleoosa // by Metal Pony Fan //------------------------------// A second person romance between you and your coffee shop crush. Please bear with me, I am going somewhere with this. ------------------------------------------------- "This is it," you tell yourself, "you are going to walk up to her, and you are going to tell her how you feel, and you are going to ask her out on a date! Though, technically this is already a date. And-. Agggh!" You scratch your hooves along your head in frustration, messing up your already messy mane. Or natural, windswept style, as she called it. That was one of the things you loved about her, she always had a different way of looking at things. A creative way to make a difference into a similarity. "So why is this so hard!" You slam your head down to the table in front of you. Just as quickly, you sit upright once again and settle back in your chair. Taking a deep, calming breath, you look around. If the bookshop had a name, you didn't know it. There was no sign on the front of the building and no identifying features on the inside either. It was new, having been built only within the last few years, but everything inside was the designed to look old. The wood that made up the walls and the interior maze of bookshelves was artificially aged, and the pieces of furniture throughout the store were made of reclaimed wood. You were sitting in one of those chairs now, a high-backed stool cut from a barrel. It was moderately comfortable despite its primitive construction, but you knew that the chair across from you was far more comfortable to sit in. But it was her chair. You learned that quickly. In fact, that was how you met her in the first place. The first time you set foot in this building, you had been let off from work early and had some time to kill. You spent it wandering through the streets of Canterlot and all the little shops. When you came across this little bookshop, you decided to stop and check out some of the new releases. When you found that they carried used books as well, you decided to pick out some of the classic Daring-Do series. You only found one though, and sat down in a ridiculously overstuffed papasan to inspect it the book before purchase. That had been a mistake, but it was a mistake you would gladly make again. No sooner had you sat down, that somepony else decided to hop into the chair, without checking to see if it was occupied. Imagine your surprise, one minute, you're checking some dusty pages for water damage, the next you find yourself staring into the deep blue eyes of the most beautiful unicorn you've ever seen as she lays on top of you, warm breath playing against your muzzle. Of course, being as shy as you are, you promptly fainted. Sure, everypony thinks you're this macho tough guy with a funny side, but that kind of comes with your job as a professional athlete. It was all an act though, for the benefit of the general populace. With a sigh, you lift your coffee mug from the large cable spool that served as a table and took a sip of the, don't tell anypony, hot chocolate contained within. You were a pegasus after all, and your metabolism didn't quite react well to caffeine sometimes. She, on the other hoof, loved coffee. That day you fainted, she woke you up by waving a cup of the potent, pungent brew under your nose. Being as socially adept as you are, meaning, not at all, your first words upon waking up were, "where'd you get that?" She promptly pointed to the little coffee shop along the back wall of the book store. After sharing a nervous chuckle, you excused yourself and went to get a drink. Halfway to the coffee shop, you realized that you had forgotten your book and went back for it. Only to find her curled up in the chair and reading your book. You still find it hard to believe what happened next. She looked up at you, adjusted her reading glasses, and ask if you wanted to read the book together. It's been one month since that day, and you and her had been meeting twice a week to read together. You had also done a lot of talking. Slowly, but surely, you had developed a crush on her. She was smart, funny, all that wonderfully cliché stuff, but she was also interesting. She always had a surprise up her fetlock. From an extensive knowledge of ancient history, to an impressive Shakesponian stage voice. Everyday brought a surprise from her, but your last meeting brought the biggest surprise yet. She left a little box behind. Inside were hoof-made cookies and a little note. "I made these, let me know what you think." Honestly, the cookies were a little burnt, and a little salty, and had way too much cinnamon, but they were still perfect. But today, it was your turn to surprise her. Today, you were going to ask her out on a romantic date. Maybe dinner, maybe a play, maybe even a concert, but that could wait for later. The important thing now is getting over your nerves and asking her. To that end, you arranged to have the bookshop all to yourself. It didn't really take much, apparently, your signature is worth more than you thought. Suddenly, the sound of bells reached your ears. Somepony just entered the bookstore! You rise to your hooves and walk towards the entrance to meet her. You round the corner and see her. Her mane is tucked into her oversized beret as always, her thick rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of her snout, and she nervously adjusted her sweater vest as she looked around for the shop's employees. You notice that her namesake, her midnight blue coat is extra shiny today. This is it! You step forward to greet her and ask your question. "Midnight, I have to ask you something." With a loud gulp, you continue. "W-will you go ou-" The bells sounded again and another pony entered the building. He was running and had a paper bag with cutout eye-holes over his head. He reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a pie. Lifting said pie in the air, he started screaming. "NOPONY MOVE! THIS IS A HOLD-U-" That's as much as you heard. Or saw. For some reason, all you can see is white and you can hear a faint ringing in your ears. Something scratches your throat and you start coughing. Smoke! This white surrounding you is smoke! A wind starts blowing and the smoke begins to clear. In front of you, you can make out Midnight, flapping her wings as the last flaming remnants of her sweater dress blew away in the wind. She then ripped off her scorched beret, allowing her rippling, sparkling mane to flow free. Next, she tore the melted glasses from her brow and tossed them at the masked pony collapsed at her hooves. "YOU CURRISH, CLAPPER-CLOPPED KNAVE! PERHAPS THOU SHALT THINK TWICE BEFORE THOU ONCE AGAIN RAISE THINE HOOF AGAINST THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!" You could do nothing but stare. Suddenly, the ancient history thing made a lot more sense. Midnight was actually princess Luna. You were working up the courage to ask princess Luna out on a date. On top of all that, she made you cookies. You see her turn around and approach you, but you were still too shocked to move. "We apologize," she said, pulling you into a hug, "we- I should not have lied to you. It could never work, but I truly enjoyed the time we spent together." She leaned back from the hug, but before you could say anything, she leaned back in, locking her lips with yours. The warm contact was fleeting as she pulled away quickly. "Thank you, for everything." She took a step back and closed her eyes. There was a flash, and before you stood a little blue unicorn filly. "I need to go. The media loves explosions, and they'll be her very soon." She turned to leave, but stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I'll never forget you." She ran off, leaving you in a smoking crater with the masked pony. Over the ringing in your ears. you hear a faint shouting. "He saved me! That nice pegasus saved me from the big mean-meanie in the mask." Wondering who she could be talking to, you step out of the smoke and right into the light of a flashbulb. ------------------------------------------------- The next morning found you at home hiding from reporters. It was all over the news, "Wonderbolt Soarin' Saves Filly!" Now they just won't leave you alone. Looks like Divin' can take a day off of school. Or maybe a week. Or however long it takes for the reporters to leave.