//------------------------------// // Morning Coffee - Beatrice Wilde // Story: The Jazzy Fillyfooling Group Collab // by The Princess Rarity //------------------------------// Sitting down at the pale green table, awaiting her coffee, Octavia sighed. She had once been a well-respected, wealthy mare. Now she was practically nothing. She was practically nothing due to the fact that nopony wanted HER type of music when there was that awful DJ PON3, Vinyl Something-Or-Other. She was barely scraping by, doing little errands for people when she could. Because Vinyl's "modern" music had kicked her music out of society. I'm out of date, the cellist sighed. Before she could get into more self-pity, the bells chimed at the door of the practically deserted coffee house (Octavia's favorite ever since she discovered, well, coffee). Glancing up, not really curious, Octavia blinked, then blinked again, trying to register what she thought she was seeing. Anger replacing confusion, she fumed, taking deep breathes, trying to hold herself together before she made a scene. Vinyl. Was. Here. Disbelief came about as Vinyl slid into the booth opposite Octavia. Octavia was just blinking, words deserting her. "Hey, baby, how's it goin'?" Vinyl winked at her. "Just strollin' through here, thought I would stop and check out the view," She let her eyes travel to Octavia's flank. Sheesh, she's most uncouth, Octavia thought. Clearing her throat and gathering what was left of her mental state, she spoke. "Hello. What brings you here, to, ah, MY table?" She was trying to be discreet about laying hints. It wasn't working. Being discreet just never was Octavia's thing. She liked to be blunt, normally kind and polite about it. Not with this mare. "Like I said, the view brought me here," Vinyl repeated with yet another wink. "It's amazing you can see anything with those atrocities upon your eyes," Octavia stated, observing the purple glasses Vinyl was never without. "Woah, what's with the hating on me? What did I do?" Vinyl said, actually shocked that Octavia didn't like her. She doesn't even know me! Vinyl cried inside her head. "What did you do? Oh, I'll tell you what you did!" Octavia yelled, surprising herself and everyone around her, including the waitress that had just brought her steamy cup of coffee. "Creamer? Sugar? Milk?" She asked innocently, but not without curiosity. "Just leave the milk on the table, please," Octavia sighed. The waitress set the pitcher of milk down and sashayed back to the kitchen. Everything settling back down, Octavia poured a decent amount of milk into her coffee when she realized Vinyl was being uncharacteristically quiet. Looking up, she saw that Vinyl had removed her glasses, revealing her ruby red eyes. they were staring back at her. Blinking yet again, Octavia began speaking like the civil mare she was raised to be. "You've ruined my career. You've ruined it with your awful, awful 'modern' music. I don't have a home. I barely have any bits. The only thing I can ever afford is my morning coffee. And that has to last me an entire day. So yes, I pretty much hate you, Vinyl Scratch." "Hey, how about we get to know each other? You've never met me. I've seen you around. I'm sorry for being so slimy, but I've kinda had a crush on you for a while now. I didn't know how to deal with it. It's never happened before. Umm... you like mares, right? 'Cause I don't want to be obtru- obtrus- unpersonal. Impersonal? Oh, you know what I mean, right?" Vinyl babbled. Octavia smiled to herself. "Yes, I like mares, not that it's any of your business." Damn, she thought. I really should try to be nicer. SHE'S trying to be nicer. Why can't I? "You wake up early, right? Like, at dawn, or whatever time the sun comes up, right?" Vinyl asked, somewhat shyly. Shy? Since when is Vinyl Scratch 'shy'? Octavia wondered. "Yes, I wake up at dawn, then I walk down here. Kinda around 7-ish," Octavia said. "Hey, what's your name, by the way?" Vinyl said. "Octavia," she said bluntly. "'Tavi, I'll see you tomorrow, around 7-ish when the sun comes up, and we can start anew. I'm buying you morning coffee every day from now on, so we can know each other better." Tossing some bits on the table, she got up and headed for the door. Just as she got to the door, she turned back and said "I'm sorry, 'Tavi. I really am." And she was gone. Until the next day, when she would come back. And Octavia found herself smiling into her one cup of morning coffee.