Fluttershy rested on a comfy, velvety couch in her living room, keeping an eye on the animals chasing each other around the room. She smiled, finding herself at peace within the tranquil atmosphere of her cottage. Animals had always been her biggest joy, so to know that she was surrounded by them on all sides made her the happiest mare in the world.
Thump.
Her eyes landed on a tiny mouse that'd stumbled over the carpet, and she rushed over to help him up. "Be careful now, Mr. Mouse," Fluttershy told him gently as the little creature scampered off, squeaking his thanks to the pegasus.
She trotted over to the nearest window and swept back the curtains, her face lighting up like a lantern as warm, vivid sunlight filled the room. "What a beautiful day," she observed as she gazed out the window. She could hear some of her bird friends chirping outside, infusing the air with their melodious tunes.
"Well... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a short break, would it?" She glanced back at the group of animals still scurrying about the room, frowning slightly as she pondered her choices.
"I'm sure it wouldn't," she murmured after giving it some more thought. She turned around, informing the animals that she was leaving and would be back soon. To her surprise, none of them complained. Instead, she watched curiously as they raced to fetch her saddlebags for her.
"Oh, thank you so much!" Fluttershy smiled graciously as she accepted her saddlebags, bidding her little critters goodbye before stepping outside.
Humming a soft tune to herself, Fluttershy trotted through the town in search of Sugarcube Corner. She spotted the confectionery in the distance and was about to head toward it when a new, entirely unfamiliar building caught her eye. It would have passed for a normal shop on first glance, but when Fluttershy drew nearer to it out of curiosity, she realized that the interior was completely taken over by groups of screaming ponies. A strange green and white logo stood guard above the entrance, proudly boasting the words Starbucks Coffee.
"Hmm?" Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion as she inspected the building.
"Oh my goodness! I simply cannot believe this!" The graceful voice that could only belong to the one and only Rarity reached Fluttershy's ears. She watched as Rarity appeared in the distance, her expression one of pure awe. "After such a ridiculously long wait, it is finally open!" She stopped when she saw Fluttershy standing in front of the entrance. "Fluttershy, darling! Have you come for some of their delightful coffee as well?"
Fluttershy turned, about to respond, when a group of ponies suddenly raced past them and into the shop. All of them were screaming the word "coffee", something that completely baffled Fluttershy. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that "coffee" seemed to be the only word anypony within distance of the shop knew. It was frightening, to say the least. Did the word really have that much power over the ponies?
Fluttershy shivered slightly before turning back to Rarity. "Rarity, w-what’s happening?"
Rarity rolled her eyes in the most dramatic way possible. "Why, Starbucks has finally opened here in town! Haven't you heard of it before? It's quite rare to see one of their shops in this part of Equestria, but it's still the most famous coffee shop ever!"
"Starbucks? Coffee?" Fluttershy asked in a bewildered tone. She understood that Starbucks was the name of the shop, but had no idea how the coffee part of it was supposed to come into play. "What's coffee? Is it like one of Pinkie Pie's cakes?"
"Darling, you simply must not be serious!" Rarity exclaimed. "You've never heard of coffee before? Goodness me, Fluttershy! I'll have you know that coffee is none other than a most splendid refreshment to keep you awake even in the most sleepiest of times! I, for one, have had it several times myself, and it certainly does help me finish my designs late at night."
Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Oh no! Is coffee some sort of spell? I-I'd rather not—"
Rarity coughed delicately, interrupting Fluttershy's quiet rambling. "No, dear. Coffee is nothing but a delicious refreshment that helps ponies. The taste is so magical that you won't want to sleep even if you know you should! How about this, Fluttershy? Follow me and I shall show you the wonders of coffee!"
Rarity grabbed Fluttershy's hoof and led her inside the shop. Fluttershy gulped as she stepped through the doors, her nostrils beginning to fill with the tempting smell of refreshments. Hesitant, she took a deep whiff of the air before her terrified expression slowly switched to one of amazement. Rarity smiled, noticing Fluttershy's sudden change in mood, before guiding her to one of the cashiers at the front.
"Now then, Fluttershy," Rarity declared dramatically as they approached the cashier. "Do you see those words up on the wall in front of you? Why, they're nothing but the fabulous menu you'll dream of in your wildest dreams after today. You can order anything you'd like, and the best thing is that it's fully customizable!"
Fluttershy nodded dreamily, still trying to comprehend everything that was happening. A wide variety of mouth-watering croissants, drinks, and other delicious snacks were on display in the display racks around the cashier area. She noticed that each cashier also manned their very own contraption, using it to serve their customers.
"Fluttershy? Are you alright?"
Fluttershy snapped out of her dream-like state, glancing up to see Rarity looking back at her. She had been in the middle of conversing with a stallion behind one of the contraptions. "Y-Yes, I'm fine."
"That's wonderful news, darling. You were spacing out for a moment there," Rarity chortled before turning back to the stallion. "I'd like a venti Pumpkin Spice Latte, please. As for my friend, I hope you don’t mind if she still needs a little more time to order." She gave him one of her most charming Rarity smiles before gesturing at Fluttershy. "Take your time, Fluttershy. I want this to be one of the best experiences you've ever had. Don't forget, dear, the menu's up on the wall!"
Fluttershy paled as her eyes fell upon the, for lack of a better word, humongous menu on the wall. "O-Oh m-my..." From what she could gather, the menu offered a diverse collection of drinks which anypony could order one of: frappuccinos, decafs, lattes, and so on, each one branching out into their own various flavors. It intimidated her to the point where she deteriorated into a nervous wreck, unable to decide on what to order. She frantically scanned the menu, but even looking it over a bunch of times couldn't help her make her decision.
After an extremely awkward silence that seemed to have lasted hours instead of minutes, she suddenly blurted out, "I'll have a small... very small... cup of c-coffee, please. That'll be all..."
The stallion nodded enthusiastically. "Coming right up, ladies!" He rushed over to another strange contraption in the back and began what Fluttershy interpreted as making their drinks.
"Excellent!" Rarity batted her eyelashes at Fluttershy. "I must say it did take rather long for your first time, but we all have to start somewhere, don't we? That's what you call progress, darling!"
Rarity led her to an open table nearby, subjecting it and the chairs around it to one of her famous "dirt checks." She only sat down once she was certain there wasn't a speck of dirt to be found anywhere on the chairs or table. Perhaps that was the reason why her dirt checks always took five to ten minutes and never a second less.
"Take a seat," Rarity said, patting the chair next to her with a hoof. Fluttershy, knowing there was no other choice, sat down. "Now then, your first order of business, Fluttershy: you simply must memorize the menu for any future visits!"
"Wait, wha—"
Rarity shot out of her seat, cutting off the rest of Fluttershy's words. The pegasus watched as she rushed over to the cashier from before, retrieved their drinks, and then rushed back to the table. With a dainty hoof, she reached over and placed Fluttershy's drink in front of her.
"This is yours, darling," Rarity smiled sweetly. "You'd usually add some milk or cream to the coffee in person, but I asked that most wonderful cashier to do it for you, so you don’t need to worry about it. Go ahead and take a sip! I assure you, drinking coffee is a most rewarding experience. You simply haven't lived until you've tasted coffee!"
Fluttershy stared at the coffee for a long time before finally lifting the cup. She brought it up to her mouth, the logo imprinted on it beckoning to her the whole time.
Then, she sipped.
“Fluttershy?”
Another blank stare. Rarity made a very obvious frown, but eventually gave up and left. That would mark another day with no response whatsoever from Fluttershy. She hadn't the slightest idea why Fluttershy was acting so strangely, and it was starting to concern her. Ever since Rarity had first introduced her to Starbucks, Fluttershy had suddenly become the shop’s most frequent customer. There wasn’t a single time where Rarity had walked into Starbucks and not spotted Fluttershy seated at a table. Each time, she would try to strike a conversation with her, and each time, she would get a blank stare in return.
And that persisted for five days.
On the fifth day, Rarity finally cracked. There was something seriously wrong with Fluttershy, and something needed to be done about it. The unicorn needed help. Fast. Twilight happened to be her go-to option, being the most knowledgeable out of all their friends when it came to the study of strange things, which was why Rarity found herself showing up at Twilight’s castle an hour later.
"Twilight?" Rarity called out as she trudged through the castle, glancing left and right for any sign of her lavender friend. The panic was obvious in her voice. “Twilight? Spike? Are you here?”
"Huh?” The door to her left opened, revealing Spike awkwardly standing in the middle of a janitor closet. A broom was gripped tightly in his claws. “Hey, Rarity! What’s up? Do you need anything?”
“Spike, darling!” Rarity beamed, glad to have finally found somepony. “I need urgent help from Twilight. Do you know where she is?”
Spike pointed down the hallway. “She was in the library last time I saw her. Probably reorganizing the books again for the fifth time today.”
“Thank you for the help, dear.” Rarity flashed him an award-winning smile. “Would you like to come over for tea at the Boutique tomorrow afternoon?”
“Really? You bet!” Spike grinned, giving her a big thumbs up. “I’ll go anywhere as long as you’re there, Rarity!”
Rarity giggled. "A charming gentlemane as always, Spikey-wikey. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then!" She walked down the hallway, pushing open the door to the library. "Twilight, dear!"
Twilight turned around from where she was straightening a pile of books on the other side of the room. "Rarity? What brings you here today?" She brushed herself off and stood up.
"Well, I suppose you could say that it's rather complicated," Rarity grimaced as she sat down in a nearby chair. "To be concise, it seems that our dear Fluttershy has gotten... addicted to Starbucks coffee recently. I need your help in returning her to her normal self."
"Are you—"
"I assure you I'm very serious, darling," Rarity added, having already guessed at what Twilight was going to say. "Fluttershy is addicted to Starbucks. Their coffee, as a matter of fact."
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand how that's a problem," Twilight finally stated after a very awkward silence. "Unless Fluttershy's addiction has gotten to the point where she can't live without coffee, then she can't be blamed for liking coffee. A lot of ponies like coffee, Rarity." She paused for a moment. "Including myself. I sort of need it to push through most of my duties."
Rarity sighed. "Twilight, dear, I don't think you're getting the point of this. The problem lies in how Fluttershy has somehow managed to become the shop's most frequent visitor when she was only introduced to it five days ago. Every time I go to Starbucks, I see Fluttershy already seated at one of the tables. I do try to talk to her, of course, but she never responds to me. She hasn't said a single word to me in five days."
"What?" Twilight's eyes widened. "Five days and not a single word? That's not like her at all." Her expression became panicked. "Did someone enchant the coffee she's been drinking? Drinking coffee isn't supposed to make you exhibit those kinds of symptoms!" Her horn flashed, and Rarity watched as she levitated a book from one of the top shelves over to her. It was labeled Coffee: The Poison in Our Veins.
"Twilight—"
"Don't worry, Rarity, I've got this," Twilight said distractedly as she flipped through the pages. "I can't find any mention of symptoms like Fluttershy's in this book, but— wait, no, I'll just consult her in person instead!" She hastily shoved the book back in its proper place with her magic and rushed to get her saddlebags. "I'll be back later, Rarity!" A violet aura surrounded her before she disappeared, having already teleported away.
Rarity stared after her, mouth agape.
Twilight carefully weaved in and out of the crowd, scanning the shop's interior for any signs of a familiar yellow pegasus. It took her a while with all the ponies standing around, but she finally singled her out at a table on the far end of the shop, casually sipping at some coffee.
"Fluttershy!" she called out, heading in her direction. "Fluttershy! Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay and not under some sort of coffee addiction spell!"
Fluttershy, quite shocked by Twilight's sudden appearance, nearly spilled her coffee. "T-Twilight?"
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked frantically, eyes wide and panicked. "Rarity said she's seen you here for five days in a row now. I tried to match the symptoms she said you were exhibiting to the ones in the book, but because none of them matched, that means yours are irregular! Caffeine isn't supposed to be this addictive unless some sort of magic is involved, which means you might be under a spell. Are you coming here out of your own free will? What about Rarity? Why does she keep seeing you here?"
"Umm... for d-drinking c-coffee?" Fluttershy offered weakly.
"Drinking coffee five days in a row and showing irregular symptoms at the same time?" Twilight's left eye twitched. "Dear Celestia, you must be under some sort of coffee spell!" She feverishly dug around her saddlebags for a moment before she realized she'd forgotten to take Coffee: The Poison in Our Veins with her. The alicorn had been in such a hurry to get to Fluttershy that she'd returned the book to its shelf without acknowledging that she might need it later on. "Horseapples!"
Fluttershy stared at Twilight for a long time before finally bursting into small giggles. "Goodness me, Twilight! Don't worry, I'm not under any sort of spell. I've just been coming here frequently because Starbucks coffee is, well, quite enjoyable. I'm so grateful that Rarity decided to take the time to introduce me to it!"
Twilight froze. "You... weren't placed under a coffee addiction spell?"
"No, not at all," Fluttershy confirmed, a warm smile on her face.
Twilight wiped her brow in relief. "Thank Celestia! Rarity and I were so worried that you'd fallen under a spell. We really thought we'd lost you to the coffee forever!" She laughed. "Well, I'm just glad everything's okay. In which case, I have to get back to Rarity now. Enjoy the rest of your coffee!" Her horn lit up as she disappeared yet again.
Coffee and animals. The two things that could make the happiest mare in the world happy.
Fluttershy went back to sipping her coffee.