Marshmallow fluff splattered down the sides of the cup, running onto the table, causing little candy mountains to form, capped by rainbow sprinkles and overlooking a river of chocolate sauce.
Standing tall above the landscape was Mount Cookie-Latte, a behemoth of sugar and crumbs and delicious flecks of assorted snacks all crumbled and thrown into the mix.
It was a ‘table-service’ coffee, which involved The Owner dispensing liquid marshmallow from a jar to the cup until the customer said to stop.
And Vinyl Scratch did not say stop until the fluff had reached twice the height of the cup itself and collapsed all over itself like an avalanche of dreams.
Her request was to be given ‘something wow’, followed by ‘something’ again and a mock explosion noise with related hoof-gestures.
The Owner had left the horrendous mess with the utmost grace, leaving Vinyl ready to plunge headfirst into the fray with her own brand of gracious countenance.
“Oh my,” came a soft squeaking.
“Hey! Fluts!” Vinyl yelled out, setting her drink aside for the moment. “Whachu doin’ here?”
“Oh. I, um, I stopped by to pick up some coffee beans.” Fluttershy smiled, moving to the table and staring at the mess. “That’s… that’s a thing you got there.”
“I know! Isn’t it amazing? It’s like the most awesome drink I ever drank!”
“What does it taste like?” Fluttershy tilted her head.
“I dunno.” Vinyl shrugged. “Hey, wanna join me?”
The chair nearest to Fluttershy, aglow with a magical sheen, blasted forward and bumped into the little pony’s chest.
“O-oh,” the little pegasus muttered. “S-sure, Vinyl. Maybe for a short while. Thank you.”
Daintily, she lowered herself into the offered seat, making sure to avoid touching the table.
“Didn’t know you drank coffee, Fluts.” Vinyl chuckled, moving her goggles up.
“It’s not for me,” Fluttershy explained. “Angel gets cranky in the morning if he doesn’t get his Blue Mountain.”
“Ah, right. Well, you oughta get something, though, eh? How’s about I get you one of these?” Vinyl pointed to her mutant drink. “Tasty bevs. Tasty bevs.”
“I… wouldn’t know how to drink it.” Fluttershy’s eyebrows fell backward.
“You just pick it up and put it in ya mouth, yeah,” Vinyl sang, floating the cup an inch above the table, causing more froth to splash down.
A feathery shield came out at the ready, hiding Fluttershy from the horrible assault of sticky white goo.
She peeked out from behind the feathers. “Um… it seems a bit messy, and… I don’t wanna get my hooves dirty...”
“Hey, uh…” Vinyl said, scratching her head, returning the drink to the table. “I dunno. You could… use your wings?”
“That’s not… what they’re for.” Fluttershy protested, returning her defenses to her back.
“Yeah?”
“Um… yes.”
“You know, you know, you know?” Vinyl waggled her hoof. “It always kinda bugged me, you know?”
“I know?”
“You know?”
“Bugged you?”
“Yeah, you know.”
“I… don’t really… what?” Fluttershy murmured.
“Yeah! Exactly, it’s like… what do you Pegasus-sus use your wings for?”
“Um… flying, mostly.”
“Yeah, but I mean what do you lil peganauts use ‘em for?” Vinyl dropped.
“Flying. Yes.” Fluttershy nodded. “Flying.”
“Naw, pegaloon, you know what I’m sayin’, right?”
The little yellow pony had to take a little mental step back. “P-pegaloon?”
“Yeah, like, you know! Pegasus? Balloon? Come on, Fluts, keep up.”
“Yes! Yes. I will keep up.” Fluttershy resumed to nodding furiously. “We um… mainly fly. I’m not sure what you’re asking.”
“Look. Us monobones use magic, right? But you know, sometimes we do other things with ‘em.”
“Oh, that’s none of my b–”
“Like I hang my headphones on ‘em when I’m lazy, right? Or sometimes if I gotta point at somethin’, it’s like a big old arrow, right?”
“Yes. I… I think I see what you mean.”
“Yeah!” Vinyl sat back. “You can ask any ‘corn. We all do stupid things with ‘em.”
“Oh well… that’s…”
“So like, I reckon, surely there’s gotta be some dope shiz y’all peegies get up to, ya know?”
“With, ah, with wings? Well… I suppose so.”
Vinyl’s grin widened.
“Um…” Fluttershy continued, holding a hoof up to her mouth. “Well, they’re quite flexible. You could pick things up with them. It’s quite useful.”
Vinyl moved in closer.
“And you could fan somepony who was hot, I suppose?” Fluttershy continued.
Vinyl nodded.
“Um…” Fluttershy mumbled.
“That’s it?”
“I guess so.”
“Aww, come on!” Vinyl looked off to the side before flicking her head back. “Look, I’m sure you done some really weird things too, right?”
“Weird? Like… what do you mean?”
“C’mon… gal like you. You don’t haveta hide or nothin’. I ain’t gon’ tell nopony else!”
“I’m sure I don’t know…” Fluttershy squeaked.
“You know. Like… unorthodox stuff, yeah?” Vinyl whispered.
“I don’t know… maybe if you gave me an example?” Fluttershy offered, at a loss.
“Oh, I see how it is. I see. Aight. I get yer game, Fluts.” Vinyl pursed her mouth and leaned back with respect. This was how it was on the streets.
“My… game?”
“Yeah. So I tell you what. Here’s a little sum’in sum’in from me.”
“I do like battleclouds.”
“Okay. One time, right? Three in the mornin’. Perfect time for a peanut butter, okra and vegetable extract sandwich, right?”
“That sounds horrendous.”
“Whatever! So there weren’t no more clean knives in the house ‘cuz I used them all to play darts with, right? And like cleaning’s for Octavia and stuff. That’s her deal. So… I used my horn to spread the peanut butter.” Vinyl mimicked the action, rocking her head and hooves back and forth as if she were playing some odd instrument.
“You did what?”
“Yeah, and the next day, Octy was all like ‘why is the peanut butter got swirls innit’ and all that.” Vinyl burst out with a devious grin. “And she ate it anyway, and it was real funny.”
“That’s… um…”
“Okay. That’s one from me. Now you. Gimmie somethin’.”
“Um… one time my feather molted and I gave it to a little child to cheer him up.”
Vinyl blinked.
Fluttershy smiled, enwrapped in the memory.
“You kiddin’?” Vinyl asked.
“N-no. He was really happy after that, a-and h–”
“Okay. Fine. One time, right? Octavia’s lower back was itchy, right? But I had my hooves full carryin’ a bunch of equipment and things.”
“Why were your hooves full? Couldn’t you have used magic?”
“Well, why don’t you fly across the street every time you gots ta cross it? Sometimes it’s just easier t’ do things regular, right? Now you gonna let me finish my story or what?”
“S-sorry.”
“So my hooves was full, right? And she was like ‘oh mah Celestia Vinyl mah back is so itchy ugh ugh ugh ahm dyin’ Vinyl please help me Vinyl’ and like she was beggin’, right?”
Fluttershy fidgeted.
“So I bend over and use my horn, right? But the angle was weird and it kinda slipped down a bit, right?”
“Oh my goodness.”
“And nothin’... you know. Nothin’ happened, but it sorta like hotdogged itself in there a bit.”
“W-why are all your stories about terrible things happening to your housemate?” Fluttershy whispered.
“But it were funny and we all had a good laugh and everythin’. So okay. Your turn.”
“I… I don’t get this, Vinyl. My turn for what?”
Vinyl shrugged exaggeratedly. “Uh… a story? A cool, ‘bang pow’ kinda story?”
“About my wings?”
“Yeah! Come on. Freak me out!”
“I don’t want to freak anyone out…”
“C’mon, Fluts!”
Fluttershy reacted with a small mouse-noise as she started to play with her hooves. “Oh… ah.. um…”
Vinyl stared at her with a ferocious intent.
“I… I use a hairdryer to dry my wings after a shower?” she offered.
Vinyl’s expression began to drop.
“I… I sometimes use them as a blanket at night? I… I don’t know, Miss Vinyl!” Fluttershy’s voice began to warble. “I don’t k-know what you want!”
“Really?” Vinyl asked, a note of frustration playing off her response.
“Really, honest, Miss Vinyl. I’m sorry. I really am. But if you want something from me, maybe you’d better ask me straight, because I really don’t understand what all this is that is being done!”
“Aight. Aight.” With a sigh, Vinyl leaned in close after sneaking a look left and right once more to make sure no one else was listening. This was all very secret stuff. “So there’s this thing spreadin’ around, right?”
“Spreading?”
“Yeah. About pegasi. They sayin’ somethin’.” Vinyl gave a little half-shrug, half-cringe. “So’s I heard. And I just wanna get the skinny, ya know? Can you blame a girl for bein’ curious?”
“What… what are ponies saying about us?” Fluttershy’s lip started to quiver as her vibrancy dropped a few shades into sepia. “W-what’s going on?”
“So just tell me straight up, aight?” Vinyl whispered.
“O-okay,” Fluttershy whispered back.
“So they say, when you lot visit the bathroom and you gotta drop a stunner, uh… they say y’all prefer to use your wings inst–”
“Miss Fluttershy,” The Owner said.
“Oh hey! Hi! What’s up?” Vinyl shot up straight like a snake being electrocuted, as she folded and refolded her forelegs across her chest when she couldn’t get it right the first time. “Whachoo doin’ here? Huh? Heh. Heh heh. Yeah… sup.”
The Owner gave Vinyl a look.
He turned slightly to face the other patron. “You appear to have had time to consider. Can I take your order?”
“The usual, please,” Fluttershy forced out.
“Yes. If you would follow me to the counter, I will prepare it accordingly.”
The Owner departed,
Fluttershy stood up shakily.
“Ah… well. It’s been… fantastic, Miss Vinyl. It’s nice to see you again. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I have to go! Angel needs his… I have to go!” Fluttershy stammered, smiling as much as she could bring herself to as she slowly backed away from the den of timberwolves.
She turned and trotted with all due dainty haste to the counter, keeping her wings tightly pressed to her body.
Vinyl let out a big sigh.
“Damn,” she muttered to herself, as she plinked the side of her glass.
And she sat for a while, engrossed in thought.
A wind swept through the cafe as the door opened.
“Hi, Vinyl!”
“Oh hey! Blossy!” Vinyl’s eyebrows perked back up.
“What’s goin’ on?” Blossomforth asked, giving her wings a shake.
“Oh… nothin’ much.” Vinyl replied, eyes roaming over Blossom’s figure.
She pushed the chair out with a burst of magic.
“Hey… wanna join me? she asked, smiling at the pegasus.