• Published 26th Jan 2015
  • 3,520 Views, 416 Comments

Table for Two - KitsuneRisu



There's a cafe at the edge of town: cozy, warm, and inviting. A place to go when you need somewhere to be. But here, in this cafe, everyone is equal. In this cafe, everyone is free to speak their mind. And in this cafe, the Gods listen back.

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Shelf - Daisy & Lily

It was a high mountain coffee.

Plain white mug.

Two sugars.

Cold.

“No.”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No.”

“Yes!”

“I could go on forever, you know.” Lily said.

“Good, then while you’re sitting there screaming ‘no’ to yourself I’ll go back to the shop and put it up. Now leg it over.” Daisy held out an upturned hoof, lowering herself into the seat across.

Lily scrabbled for the plant. It probably wasn’t necessary; Daisy made no effort to steal it. It was part of Daisy’s plan to wear out the enemy before the plant could be lifted off her lifeless corpse.

“How did you even find me here, anyway?” Lily asked, cradling the flower.

“There was a big sign outside the front that said ‘Lily’s here! Come get me!’.”

“What, really?”

“No, you idiot! Now do you really think this is the best place to be doing this, though?”

“Probably not. And that’s exactly why I’m staying here. If you want to cause a scene, you can be my guest.”

“I’m not causing the scene here! You’re causing the scene!”

“Shhh! Keep it down!” Lily said, holding her hoof to her mouth and hissing exaggeratedly.

Daisy waited. She knew what was coming.

It was that little line between expectation and flippancy that she found so incredibly infuriating.

You’re causing a scene,” Lily finished, under her breath.

“Oh, you! You!” Daisy screamed. “Enough out of you!”

No one turned to look. No one bothered. Everyone in The Cafe kept to themselves. The Owner politely polished his glasses – both the ones above the bar and the ones on his face.

The Cafe never paid attention unless it needed to.

“Maybe you need a drink,” Lily said, hoisting her head up high. “You can have mine.”

“And what’s wrong with finishing it yourself?”

“It’s cold.”

“And why is it cold?”

“Because I didn’t want to drink it.”

“And why didn’t you want to drink it?”

“Didn’t want it in the first place. Ordered it because, you know. This is a cafe. I gotta order something or else they won’t let me hide in here.”

Daisy nodded. “Makes sense.”

Lily nodded back.

“Now fork it over!” Daisy yelled again, thumping her hoof onto the table.

No!”

“Do it!”

“Nuh.”

“Lilianna P. Watergoose, if you don’t pass that over right this instant…”

“Oh!” Lily gasped. “You full-named me!”

Daisy bit over her lower lip, eyes focused heavily. She nodded, throwing her legs across her chest. That’s right. She went there.

“She full-named me!” Lily continued to bewail, turning to the table behind her, addressing the other two perfectly innocent cafe-patrons who were having their own perfectly innocent conversations. “And with somepony else’s name!”

Lily turned back, holding the flower pot away even further while she dabbed her free hoof in the air as if she were putting the final touches on a painting. “Now, that’s just rude on many different levels, Daisy!”

Daisy breathed out to the ceiling. It was something between a sigh and exasperation. “Nooooo. I wasn’t, Lily.”

“Yes you were, and you know it!”

“Fine. I know it.”

“Apologies." Lily demanded for them.

“I’m sorry.”

“Apologies to Lilianna P. Watergoose.”

“I’m sorry, Lilianna P. Watergoose!”

“Now, go home!”

“Not until you give me the flower!”

Alright! Allllright!” Lily shrieked, tearing at the air with her invisible claws.

“Oh. Oh!” Daisy held her hooves out. “Give it, then!”

“No!”

“But you said…”

“Not yet, Daisy! Explain to me. Explain to me why you want to put this on the shelf.”

“I’ve explained before!”

“Explain it again!”

“Why?”

“Well… we’re in a new context.” Lily explained, looking around.

“Right. Context is important.” Daisy wagged her hoof.

“Very much so.” Lily mirrored.

“Changes meanings and all that.”

“Meanings are very important.”

“So. Listen. Three months of hard work. Right?”

“Wouldn’t call it hard, really. It was really all the plant’s hard work, wasn’t it?”

“Three months of the plant’s hard work. And it should be rewarded for it.”

“Why not a medal?”

“No. Can’t pin a medal to a leaf, Lily. You know that.”

“Yeah, I was just being silly.” Lily sighed wistfully. “But that’s it then, eh?”

“That’s it.”

“Rationale?”

“Reward.”

“Not good enough.”

“Tell me why.” Daisy spat out bitterly. “Tell me why that’s not good enough.”

“It’s not a matter of ‘why’, Daisy. It’s a matter of ‘where’.”

“What’s wrong with its location?”

“Where is the shelf, Daisy?”

“It’s in the shop!”

Where in the shop?”

“On the first floor of the shop!”

Where on the first floor?”

“In the main room!”

“Daisy,” Lily said.

“Lily?” Daisy asked.

“Are you going to make me narrow it down step by step?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“You can not put a flower, much less a champion bloom, on a shelf all the way at the back of the shop, Daisy.” Lily said, punctuating each word with a bob of the head.

Why not?”

“Because it needs to be seen! That’s its purpose in life! You don’t have it work three months and then suddenly shove it away! People have to see the bloom and then it can be bought! Do you never want it to have a home?”

“No…” Daisy’s voice started wavering. “But… It’s… It’s…”

“What? Huh?” Lily interrupted, mocking tone punctuating Daisy’s struggle.

“It’s… It’s… I-it’s…”

“What? Come on! what?”

“I-It’s shy.”

“We’re not putting the flower in the back of the store on a shelf!”

“You never listen!” Daisy wailed. “You never care about what I and Bertrunk wants!”

“Oh! You named it!” Lily grit her teeth and looked to the skies for assistance. “I told you not to name it and now you’ve gone and named it!”

“So what if I have?”

“I told you the danger! So now what? Huh? What’s it been telling you?”

“He… he doesn’t like attention…” Daisy huddled up against herself.

“Oh Celestia. We’re in for it now.” Lily groaned.

“I don’t see the problem…”

“You don’t see the problem? What if it had imprinted on you? Then what?”

“It didn’t! I made sure!”

How did you make sure?”

“I wore the suit and everything!”

Lily paused, mid-retort.

Her eye narrowed as she tilted her head to Daisy.

“The suit?”

“Yeah! And all the attachments.”

“Everything?”

“I promise.”

Lily sat back in her overly-downy chair, letting the pot hang from the edge of her hoof by the barest of touches. “I guess I don’t have much choice, do I?”

“You really don’t.” Daisy breathed out a sigh of finality.

“Fine. You may put Ber…”

“Bertrunk”

“Bertrunk. Yes. Thank you.” Lily gave Daisy her best annoyed eye. “You may put it on the shelf.”

“Thank you,” Daisy said. “Thank you.”

“I am moving the shelf from the back of the store to the fr–”

“Ohhhhh no! No! No you don’t! You don’t pull something like that, Miss Lily!” Daisy stood up, pressing her entire weight forward.

Lily stood up in kind, slamming the flowerpot upon the table, continuing to rattle.

“And you don’t get to put it anywhere in the back! I’m telling you right now that–”

“–turn the entire store around if I have to and–”

“–changed all its soil ever since it was a seed, so–”

“–where would you even find a peach at that ho–”

“–of our experiences can be said to be located in the pari–”

“Excuse me, miss?” The Owner said, stopping suddenly by. “We have had time to consider.”

“What?” Daisy and Lily both replied at the same time with the ferocity of a pair of starving otters.

The Owner nodded to Lily.

“Oh, sorry.” Daisy stepped back, motioning to her other necessary half. “Yeah.”

“On the house, Miss,” The Owner bowed, placing a coffee on the table. It was a high mountain coffee in a plain white mug with two sugars.

Hot.

“Ah… w-why?” Lily asked cautiously. It was always best to be overly-cautious against unexpected charity.

“The Cafe has noticed your coffee has gone cold before you were able to savour it. We have decided to make sure your experience here is… optimal.” The Owner purred.

“Oh. Well. T-thanks, I guess.” Lily said.

“Am I also to understand that this amazing specimen of a flower is for sale at your shop?” The Owner continued, turning slightly to observe the remarkable, yet indescribably beautiful flower.

“Well. Yes, but–”

“I wish to purchase it, Miss.”

“Well, now,” Daisy cut in, a phantom sweat beading on her forehead. “It’s certainly quite expensive, you know… a-and…”

“Here is exactly the amount you require for me to purchase it.” The Owner swept a small mound of bits onto the table.

It was exactly the amount that was required for it to be purchased.

“Daisy…” Lily whispered out of the side of her mouth. “Stop this… stop this now…”

Daisy gave Lily a few looks back to indicate that she, in fact, was unable to.

And it was only a moment later that a swift hoof came up, shears at the ready, and snipped the flower at the stem.

It was removed from its perch with the utmost of grace and respect. You could not say otherwise.

The flower finally made home at the very edge of the cup that The Owner had just laid down.

“It is the wish of The Cafe that you enjoy this coffee with a little bit extra,” The Owner said, motioning to the cup, “in order to show our utmost regret for your sour experience with your first order.”

And then he was gone.

Both ponies, Lily and Daisy each, stood there silent with jaws agape and heavy breathing upon their lips.

Lily sat back down, eyes dry. “What… what do we do now?”

“Okay. Calm down. It’s… it’s fine. We’ll think of something.”

“I don’t like this, Daisy.”

“Hush now. I’m thinking. Drink your coffee.”

Both eyes met.

“Hey, you know what?” Daisy said. “You should give me your coffee.”

“What? Why?” Lily burst out in stark defiance.

“Because, Lily. You had your chance with the hot one. Isn’t it fair that I have mine?”

Lily rapped the table sharply. “You’re always doing this!”

“What?”

“Always!”

“What?”

“Always causing a scene!”

The Owner smiled and polished his glasses – both the ones above the bar and the ones on his face.

Author's Note:

Conversation Sparked by Martian