The Regular

by Milo_Chalks

Take Away

Ristretto stood behind the barista machine, watching the delicate liquid gently flow from the nozzles as he made yet another coffee. He tried to think of something clever to say as he watched the jug of milk slowly whirlpooling as it textured to the desired temperature. He turned away a little more as the silky-smooth full cream moved its way around the jug, trying to escape the onslaught of steam whirring into the slowly-heating vessel. As soon as it was hot to the touch, Ristretto counted to three and turned the handle until the steam billowing from the nozzle subsided. He removed the jug of silky-textured milk and wiped the nozzle. Ristretto pulled the cup from the machine and expertly poured the milk into the takeaway cup, laying a heart on top of the finished product. Few ponies could achieve such beauty and Ristretto placed the freshly-poured cup on the table with a flourish. He smiled at the orange stallion on the other side of the counter, patiently waiting for his coffee...

“Here is your latte, Sunburst! Hope you enjoy it.”

“I always do. Thanks for the coffee!”

A blush spread across Ristretto’s face. He hated compliments, they made him feel so awkward, especially coming from sweet, amazing, gentle….

He shook himself awake as the next order was placed onto the magnetic strip.

Ristretto watched as, just like every other day, Sunburst took a seat by the window. Ristretto knew he liked to watch all of the ponies walking by as they went about their business. Sunburst slowly sipped his coffee and, just like clockwork, began ripping off the label. He would then drain the dregs, put the label in the coffee cup and take his leave. Ristretto knew he would soon return to the Castle to resume his duties as the Royal Crystaller. He gave Sunburst a friendly smile as he left the shop, wishing that just once, he could find the right words to say. Sunburst gave him a warm smile in return, his thoughts already on the next task in his day.There were three orders waiting for Ristretto’s attention but at that moment, all he could do was gaze after the orange stallion as he made his way back to the Crystal Castle.

---

It was a bright new day and Sunburst pushed open the door to the coffee shop, which gave a cheerful little tinkle as the bell hit the glass door. Vanilla Latte gave her signature wide smile from behind the register as Sunburst approached the counter.

“Sunburst! Can I get you your regular?” she asked, bright and happy as always.

“Thanks, Vanilla!” Sunburst smiled back, passing her on his way to where Ristretto was preparing his coffee.

“Hi, Ristretto! Nice scarf-- it looks good on you,” Sunburst exclaimed warmly.

Visiting the coffee shop always cheered Sunburst up. He knew everyone, and just walking in gave him a sense of warmth during the cold days of winter.

"Thanks, Sunburst,” Ristretto blushed a deep shade of red,glancing down at the scarf around his neck. He moved behind the barista machine to hide the colour in his cheeks as he focused on making the coffee.

“It is a really chilly at this time of year so it’s good to have something to help a pony warm up a bit,” Ristretto continued, babbling nervously over the sound of the coffee machine.

Sunburst leaned over the counter to watch his drink being poured,putting him far too close to Ristretto for comfort. Ristretto panicked, pausing to point out the window.

“Oh, Sunburst-- what is that mare doing?” he gasped

Sunburst glanced in the direction Ristretto was indicating just in time to see a mare trotting past the coffee shop. She didn’t have any immediate indication of anything peculiar, simply admiring the occasional winter sunshine as it peeked through the clouds. He didn’t see anything particularly out of the ordinary as she moved past the view of the window. He glanced at Ristretto curiously, eyebrow raised.

“Nevermind, she, uh, stopped doing it,” Ristretto said, giving his puzzled friend a nervous smile. He placed the filled takeaway cup on the counter, his smile becoming more genuine as Sunburst picked up the cup.

“Thanks, I really appreciate it!.”

Sunburst raised his cup in salute as he moved across to his regular spot. The routine never changed and, as always, he sipped his drink, looked out the window and started ripping at the label. But this day, the routine decided to take a day off. For under the label, a small piece of parchment slipped out.

Examining it with interest, Sunburst noted that it was
folded over, neatly tucked where he couldn’t help but notice it. Sunburst scanned the shop to see if anypony was watching. When he was satisfied nopony was looking, he unfolded the paper to reveal a hoof written note. To his surprise, his name was etched beautifully on the top, much larger than the cursive script beneath. With confusion and a little anticipation, he read the note.

Dear Sunburst,
If only I knew how to place this in words, yet you are something too wonderful to ever give justice on paper. For nearly a year now, you have frequented this cafe, and every minute you are here you put a smile on my face. I was proud to call you my friend after all this time, but in my heart, I know there is something more. Sunburst, would you accompany me one night to dinner?

Your’s truly, Ristretto

Sunburst looked confused, not seeming to process the letter. It began to dawn on him what he was reading, the gears in his head trying to comprehend it. Sunburst eyes grew nearly twice in size as he knocked his cup off the table, barely even noticing let alone caring. He dropped the letter on the table and stumbled out the shop, putting his weight on the glass doors he made a hasty retreat to the palace.

Unbeknownst to Sunburst or anypony else in the cafe, a little grey stallion stood silently crying behind the polish silver trim barista machine.

---

The brilliant morning rays of sunshine came through the windows of the sweet little cafe. The glass on all sides meant it didn’t matter what time of day it was, there was always a sunny glow on the place. Yet despite the warm and sweet atmosphere of the chirpy little cafe, it’s head barista was no such reflection of the visual appearance on the bright, snow filled day. A cloud darker than Ristretto’s grey mane hung over his head as he went about setting up the cafe and unlocking the doors. Part of him hoped for a particular orange stallion to meander through the doors and the other part of him hoped that he would keep on walking.

The shift came and went, devoid of sunburst and any of the usual cheer ristretto spread among the regulars. Five hours agonisingly ticked by and by 12pm the sad barista started trudging his way home, a weak attempt at a smile hardly reaching his lips as he said goodbye to his concerned colleagues.

As he turned the corner away from the sight of passersby he collapsed next to the cafe in the snow, his heart giving out. Propping himself up in the snow and leaning his back against the wall of the cafe out of sight, the tears started to come slowly down his cheek as he realised that not only did he ruin his chances with Sunburst, but lost a friend in the process.

The minutes meshed, but eventually ristretto couldn’t take the cold any longer, he picked himself up and trudged his way home, his grim day not brightening to the fact that he didn’t need to work the next day. His thoughts were dead ahead, taking him to his home, where a warm shower and another sad afternoon and early night lay in his wake.

Unbeknownst to the little barista pony slowly making his trek away from the coffee shop, an orange stallion had just exited the very place, a disheartened expression spread across the ponies face and a flower by his side. He looked back at the barista shop one last time before slowly trotting to the bend leading back to his home. He made his way around the corner and briefly takes in his surroundings, just another lonely, dark, winters road that lay ahead for him to traverse into the cold snow of the late afternoon.

Author's Note:

Thank you all for reading! The last 10 months have been quite a journey and I am more than excited to start sharing my art here.

Comments

[Zombificus]

This was pretty good, but it feels like it was meant to go on a little longer than it does. What I mean is that the end scene seems like the perfect setup for more story, but it just ends. You've got a good conflict going, with the misunderstanding and the situation you've ended on, but not a lot of resolution. The idea and the characters are certainly strong enough for a continuation, and an ending that ties up more of the strands of story would push this story from good to great.

[Milo_Chalks]

7768349
Thank you for the feedback! I really do appreciate it and I think you have driven me to push it into incomplete and continue with the story, I really loved the characters but I didn't want to push it with making it more of a longer fic. I will really slow down the pace of the development and really consider continuing it on!

[Shadow_Quill]

Im addicted. Any schedule you want to release them on or are you going to release them as you complete them?

[Milo_Chalks]

7768941
It will depend, I mean I am super invested at this point so a sequel *cough* MIGHT come tomorrow, but after I will fall into a bit of a schedule.

[Shadow_Quill]

7769003 Okay. I like this story so far. I actually saw it because of my feed on The Coltcuddlers because I joined said group. I like M/M ships if they're good.