//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: The Makings of a Tea Pony // Story: The Life and Times of a Tea Pony // by FlutterChai //------------------------------// It was a sunny afternoon, even with the snow packed on the ground. Rarity and I had just left the Spa down the road from Carousel Boutique when after picking some water out of my ears from one of many bath soaks available, she put her hoof in front of me, pointing to something of in the distance. “Darling, do you see that?” Rarity asked, pointing over at a window on a building with a blue roof and a giant blueberry on the very top. The sign didn’t say anything but was instead a picture of a plain Earth Pony holding up a sign that had a picture of a few Bits on it. “It looks like that place is hiring!” “Hiring what?” I asked, not really matched to the excitement of my unicorn friend. Rarity roller her eyes and pulled me over closer as she explained, continuing to point at the building with the blue roof. “They need ponies to work there!” she continued to explain as a light-green unicorn pony walked out, holding a small paper cup in her magical aura as she sipped the drink through the straw. “Have you given any thought to where you wanted to work after I told you to start looking?” “Well, I looked into the veterinarian but she said that she had everything taken care of and didn’t need to have anypony’s help.” I replied, kicking my hoof in the dirt despite getting them freshly cut and cleaned. “And the hospital is fully staffed too, along with the flower shop, and the Apples’ apple stand, and Sugarcube Corner...” Having heard enough, Rarity decided to take the situation into her hooves and push me towards the front door of the building. “I have to go finish an order but I want you, Fluttershy, to go in there and ask if you can work here. It would do wonders for your profile, darling.” Before I had a chance to protest, Rarity was on her way back to the Carousel Boutique. “But what would I do here?” I asked aloud, only for her to be too far away from me to hear me at the time. Taking a deep breath, I turned back to the front of the store with the blue roof, looking at the sign. It was a unicorn pony serving a milkshake on top of a black vinyl record with her hoof. A milkshake parlor? Or a music store that had a unique theme to it? Closing my eyes as I took another deep breath, I walked into the shop as the little bell that stood on the top of the door rang gently to signal my entrance. “Hello there!” a white unicorn greeted me from behind the large counter, wearing a blue visor over her eyes along with a match apron around her. A messy blue mane with dark highlights flowed over the picture on the hat, which I couldn’t see. My first instinct was to fly away as fast as possible and forget this whole thing, but I remembered what Rarity had told me. You need to get a job, darling. I slowly walked up to the counter and looked up at the menu which had a humongous selection of foods and drinks. Daffodil sandwiches, fresh garden salads, small carrot cakes, refreshing milkshakes, freshly brewed coffee, the list went on and on. But what really caught my eye was something on the last part of the menu. “What can I get for you?” the pony behind the counter asked cheerfully, using her magic to clean out the inside of a milkshake glass. “Umm,” I stuttered, trying to remember why I came into this café in the first place. Still, my stomach growled at the fact that I hadn’t had lunch today. “How about your vanilla chai latte?” The mare smiled at my order, “We don’t usually see most ponies order that. Most go straight to the coffee or something similar.” “Oh, well, I don’t like coffee all that much.” I said, unsure if I was actually contributing to the conversation. “I much rather prefer tea, to be honest.” “Rock on, filly.” she said, nodding as she used her magic to check something off of the small styrofoam cup. “Can I get your name for the order?” “Uhh, Fluttershy,” I said softly, trailing off at the end of my name. The mare looked over at me as I said my name and my ears drooped at her stare. “I’m sorry if I didn’t hear you right, these ears have handled some pretty hard bass tracks. Did you say your name was Flutter-chai?” she asked, only having written the first half of my name on the cup. I squeaked out a yes, just wanting this conversation to end because I’ve obviously made a complete fool of myself. “Now I get your order.” she continued, starting to make the delicious tea latte I asked for. “No wonder you like tea so much if you’re a tea pony.” “What?” I asked, slightly frazzled that she was still even speaking to me. “A tea pony? I thought I was a pegasus.” She laughed as I opened my wings to make sure that they were still on my back, but it was more of her laughing at my joke than laughing at me. “Nah, I meant you’re a pony that really likes tea.” she explained, using her magic to stir the drink behind the counter. “‘Course, you don’t have a tea cutie mark or anything but I’m sure with a name like Flutterchai, you have a great sense of tea making beats in your soul.” Aside from her metaphor that I didn’t quite get, I understood what she meant as the drink was finally done. The mare slid the cup across the pickup side of the counter. “Here you go, one vanilla chai latte, Flutterchai.” Using my wings to lightly hover over the counter, I took a sip of the hot latte at the counter. The texture was definitely there with the distinct blends of spices signature to any chai tea, but the vanilla and milk seemed to overpower the base tea, even more so with the added brown sugar to make it almost as sweet as one of those silly coffee drinks that everypony drinks over in Canterlot. “What do you think of the drink, Chai?” the pony asked from behind the counter, still washing the milkshake glasses. I swallowed my sip, feeling the warm goodness slip down my throat, warming me up from the cold outside. It was a good effort but at the same time, I felt that I had to say something. “It’s not a... proper... chai latte.” I said, surprisingly confident if I do say so myself. “The tea is spot on, obviously done by a proper blend of spices in the mixing from the kettle, but the addition of the vanilla extract and milk wash out any distinct flavor of the tea, leaving you with a warm cup of brown sugar water.” The mare looked blankly at me after my explanation, which only after I said did I begin to analyze exactly how bad I had managed to insult her performance in making the drink and subsequently the café that she worked out, which is the same café that I was supposed to try to get a job at. I looked around and noticed that everypony was too busy with their own conversations as they enjoyed the food from the shop and nopony was waiting in line at the counter. “Well, I didn’t know I was catering to a Canterlot critic.” she said, laughing the criticism off. “I told you that not many ponies ask for that drink around Ponyville, didn’t I?” I immediately set the drink down and bowed in front of the counter. “Oh, please forgive me for saying all of those nasty things about your latte! I’m so sorry!” “No worries, filly.” she said, taking a very laid-back approach to everything. “Maybe if I got another pony to help around back here, I could improve on how I make the drinks and everything.” “Oh, I’m so sorry! Really, I am!” I continued, not hearing a word that the mare said. “Ooh, I knew I shouldn't have said those things. Now you’ll never hire me in your café!” “Whoa whoa whoa! Hold it!” she shouted, putting an end to my constant apologizing. “Did I just hear that you wanna work here?” “Umm, yeah, that is if you don’t mind working with someone that insulted the way that you made your drink.” I answered, looking up at her. “Like I said, it’s not a big deal, Chai. I mean, if you want to accept a job from a pony that royally scratched your favorite vinyl, so to speak.” the mare offered, shrugging the whole incident off. I wasn't sure what she had said exactly, but I kicked up my wings as my spirits were lifted. “Really? You mean it?” I asked happily, hovering over the counter and the unicorn mare behind the counter. “Sure thing. Take that ‘Help Wanted’ sign with you on the way out and I’ll see you here tomorrow morning.” She said, holding out a hoof to shake to seal the deal. I returned in kind, still smiling at how this day had turned out. “Thank you so much! I won’t let you down!” I said with the utmost confidence as I grabbed the sign in the window and flew out the door, feeling a brisk winter chill under my wings as I headed towards my cottage. This was only the beginning of realizing something that was missing in my life. A goal to look forward to and to work hard at so that I don’t simply lie around and watch the day go by. Even while I was flying through the clouds as everypony looked on, I didn't have a care in the world. Because I knew that I was going to make a small step towards my goal. From now on, I was Flutterchai, the tea pony, and I was going to share my talent with all of Equestria, starting one teacup at a time. Heehee!