The Inane Adventures of Hazelnut Latte

by Porcelain Mug

Chapter 6: The Concert

Today was finally the day! Fluttershy felt a bit of trepidation when it came to being in a crowd, but she was excited to be on a special date with Pretty Boy. She was too excited to even think about how strange Discord had been acting as of late. Right now, the Draconequus was nowhere in sight.

The butter-colored pegasus had decided to wear something to the concert. It was supposed to be a little chilly today. She searched through her wardrobe for something to wear before deciding to wear a light green hoodie with daisies and a pink butterfly embroided on the back. As usual, she didn't wear any makeup. She truly looked forward to the concert. She was a huge Trotter Swift fan and she also wanted to hang out with Pretty Boy. They had known each other for about three months. He could be a potential coltfriend, but she probably wouldn't find out until the concert. Fluttershy hummed softly as she brushed her mane. She had to look her best for Pretty Boy. When she heard somepony knock on her door, she put her brush down and headed to her front door. She opened the door to see Pretty Boy smiling at her. He had a Trotter Swift cap on. The stallion looked approvingly at the pegasus mare and said, "Nice hoodie, Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy blushed a little and said, "Thank you, Pretty Boy."

"You're welcome." Pretty boy replied. He then asked, "Are you ready to go to the concert?"

"Oh, very much so!" Fluttershy said, her tone soft but eager.

"Got the tickets?" Pretty Boy asked.

Fluttershy patted a pocket on the side of her hoodie and said, "I have them. They're safe and sound."

"Well, we've no time to waste, then." Pretty Boy said. "To the concert!"

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Applejack and Rarity stood in line and waited for their turn to hand in their tickets and join the other audience members for the concert. Rarity smiled and said, "We're going to have so much fun!"

Applejack nodded and said, "Ah remember her old country music days."

"I'm more familiar with her more contemporary work." Rarity admitted.

"Ah think ah'd like ta see the snacks." Applejack said. "Ah didn't have supper."

"I suppose I see your point." Rarity said. "You should have eaten before we got here, though."

She had been looking forward to this concert ever since she had heard that it was going to be held in Ponyville, so she made sure to get tickets early on. She hadn't been able to get a date to come here, but she was still happy that she had her dear friend, Applejack here. They disagreed on some things, but they shared common ground on other things. One of these things was liking Trotter Swift. Rarity couldn't take Sweetie Belle with her because the concert would be at night and the little filly also preferred Katy Pony. Thank goodness that Sweetie Belle didn't like Gustin Beaker, a griffin pop star that Rarity, among many others, found extremely irritating. A thought occurred to Rarity. She looked to Applejack and asked, "You're not a Gustin Beaker fan, are you?"

Applejack scoffed and said, "Hell no! That feller is a no-talent reprobate!"

"Reprobate?" Rarity questioned, raising a brow in surprise.

"Word a' the day calendar." Applejack explained sheepishly.

"Well, at least you're not a fan." Rarity said with a shrug. "I probably wouldn't speak to you for at least a week if you were."

Applejack laughed and said, "Ah wouldn't blame ya. If somethin' ever happens that turns me into a Gustin Beaker fan, make sure to kick me until ah come to mah senses."

"Applejack, you know that I abhor violence." Rarity said with a frown. She got a thoughtful expression on her face as she said, "Though in that circumstance, I might consider making an exception."

"Ah appreciate it." Applejack said with a grin. "Ah knew that ah could count on ya, Rarity."

Rarity returned the smile and said, "Likewise, Applejack. Now once we get into the concert, we can have some nice female bonding time."

"Ya ain't wrong about that." Applejack replied.

Before long, they had arrived at the booth where they handed in their tickets. The ticket stallion gestured towards the gate and said, "You can go in."

Applejack and Rarity shared a grin before heading in to get some snacks before joining the rest of the audience.

ooooooooooooooooo

Rainbow Dash and Discord were in the back of the audience. Discord could see very well due to his height, but the cyan pegasus had to use her wings to stay high enough to see the stage. "Well, it shouldn't be long until she comes onto the stage." Rainbow Dash commented.

"Oh joy." Discord said sarcastically. "I'll most certainly enjoy myself listening to the lovely music of Trotter Swift, of whom I am a great fan."

"I doubt that it'll be all that bad." Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes.

Discord folded his arms over his chest and humphed. Rainbow Dash looked at him warily and said, "Remember, Discord: no ruining the concert with your chaos magic. If Fluttershy isn't here already, she should be here soon. She deserves to enjoy the concert, especially once we get her away from Pretty Boy."

"Fiiiine!" Discord groaned. "No chaos magic. For now."

"For the entire concert." Rainbow Dash elaborated.

After about fifteen minutes, a unicorn mare walked on stage. She was a soft peach color with a blonde mane. "That's Trotter Swift." Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"Oh, joy." Discord snarked.

A few of the fans in the audience turned to glare at Discord. The Draconequus responded by sticking his tongue out at them. "Stallion-foal." Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.

There was a brief introduction as Trotter Swift said a few words that Discord didn't listen to. After that, the band started playing and Trotter Swift began to sing. The ponies in the crowd seemed very enthuseastic about the whole thing. Discord was less than happy. After the song was finished, the audience cheered. There was some more talking and a few minutes later, another song began. As Trotter Swift was anouncing which song she would sing next, Rainbow Dash turned to Discord and said, "I've heard this song like a thousand times. I'm going to get some snacks, okay?"

"Are you really going to leave me alone here?" Discord groaned.

"I won't be long." Rainbow Dash promised before heading off.

There were a few more songs as Discord waited for Rainbow Dash to come back, but she had yet to return. It was then that he spotted Fluttershy and Pretty Boy. The Draconequus glared at Pretty Boy. The stallion looked over his shoulder, saw Discord, and smirked. He then took Fluttershy's hoof in his and began to share his snacks with her as he seemingly returned his attention to the concert. Discord couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of him. Not only was Fluttershy sharing a box of snacks with Pretty Boy, she was also holding hooves with him! Slowly, the stallion was getting closer to the mare. Discord looked around. Where in the name of chaos was Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy smiled at Pretty Boy and said, "Thank you for coming to the concert with me, Pretty Boy."

Pretty Boy smiled at Fluttershy and said, "It was my pleasure, Fluttershy. I hope we can go on more dates like this in the future."

Discord could only watch in horror as Fluttershy replied, "I'd be happy to, Pretty Boy."

Pretty Boy was silent for a moment before asking, "Fluttershy, if it's okay, may I kiss you?"

Fluttershy turned red and seemed to think about it before nodding. Her eyes fluttered closed. When her eyes were closed, Pretty Boy glanced over at Discord and smirked when he saw the expression on the stricken Draconequus' face. The stallion then began to lower his face towards Fluttershy's. Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke up, filling Discord with a sense of relief. "Just what the hey are you doing, Pretty Boy?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm trying to kiss my marefriend." Pretty Boy replied. "Do you mind leaving us alone?"

Fluttershy peeked at Rainbow Dash from partly behind her bangs and said, "Um, it would be nice."

The butter-yellow mare looked at the cyan mare and shyly admitted, "Please don't ruin this. I've never been kissed before..."

"Well, it shouldn't be with him." Rainbow Dash huffed.

"Well, why not?" Pretty Boy asked.

Rainbow Dash glared at him and said, "It just shouldn't, okay! You're not good enough for her!"

Fluttershy frowned and said, "Rainbow Dash, that's not a very nice thing to say."

"Discord agrees with me." Rainbow Dash said. "He's been really worried about you." She smiled at Fluttershy and said, "I know that you've never been in a relationship before and I know how it feels to finally be in one, but don't you think you're rushing into this?"

Pretty Boy glared at Rainbow Dash and said, "That's really none of your business."

Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy and said, "It's your decision, so I'll leave it up to you. Just think about it, okay?"

With that said, the weather pony walked away. Pretty Boy turned to Fluttershy and said, "It really is none of her business."

Fluttershy had a thoughtful expression on her face. She then looked at Pretty Boy and asked, "What if she's right?"

"Fluttershy, there's nothing to worry about." Pretty Boy said reassuringly. "If you want to kiss me, that's okay."

"I really don't know..." Fluttershy said softly.

"It's going to be okay." Pretty Boy reassured her.

The stallion then put a hoof on Fluttershy to hold her in place as he leaned forward to try to kiss her. The yellow pegasus looked away and said, "Pretty Boy, I don't know if I want this anymore..."

Pretty Boy used his hoof to move Fluttershy's head so she was facing him. He then crashed his lips down on hers. Discord could feel that old monster coming back to life in the pit of his stomach. He refused to call it jealousy. He told himself that it was just a desire to protect Fluttershy. She wasn't sure if she wanted to kiss Pretty Boy and he made her kiss him anyway. To day that Discord was not happy about that was an understatement. He immediately teleported over to the pair. Before he could think of an intelligent plan, he shouted, "Get off of her!"

Discord then grabbed Pretty Boy and yanked him away from Fluttershy. "Discord!" Fluttershy gasped.

The Draconequus held the stallion by the throat and held him so they were face to face. "Just what do you think you are doing?" Discord growled.

Pretty Boy tried to say something, but Discord's hold was preventing him from doing it. "Discord, stop it!" Fluttershy cried. "You're choking him!"

Discord immediately let go of the stallion, dropping him onto the ground. Pretty Boy scrambled to his feet and put his hoof on his throat. "Get away from me, you psycho!" the stallion said angrily.

"Don't call my friend that!" Fluttershy protested.

"Why are you his friend?" Pretty Boy asked. He then looked at Discord and said, "You're ruining my date, you ugly patchwork freak!"

Suddenly, Pretty Boy's face was jerked to the side by an abrupt impact. He looked at Fluttershy, his eyes wide. "You slapped me!" Pretty Boy exclaimed.

In a rare moment of strong assertiveness, Fluttershy glared at Pretty Boy, raising her voice as she said, "How dare you!"

"How dare I what?" Pretty Boy asked.

"How dare you say that about my friend!" Fluttershy said angrily.

"Fluttershy, this is all a big misunderstanding." Pretty Boy tried to reassure her.

"Go away." Fluttershy said coldly.

"Fluttershy, I-" Pretty Boy tried to say, but Fluttershy interrupted him once more.

"Go away!" She shouted. "I never want to see you again!"

Pretty Boy frowned, but he still turned to walk away. He paused by Discord and said in a voice that only he could hear, "This isn't over. I'll win her back and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

With that, Pretty Boy left the two alone. Discord knew that he had saved Fluttershy from the jaws of a wolf in sheep's clothing. She would be happy and she would... absolutely not fall for him. For all he tried not to listen to ponies, he had still heard the things that they said about him. He knew that he wasn't particularly attractive. Even if he weren't a bachelor for life, he knew that the lovely Fluttershy would never be interested in a mismatched creature like him. Discord turned to Fluttershy and asked, "Are you okay, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy smiled at the Draconequus and said, "I am now, thanks to you."

Discord couldn't prevent himself from blushing a little. He tried to keep the awkwardness out of his voice as he said, "Of course. That's what best friends are for."

Fluttershy blushed a little and softly said, "Yeah. Best friends."

Rainbow Dash returned just in time to see the whole exchange between Discord and Fluttershy. The cyan pegasus sighed. It didn't seem like the two would get together anytime soon. Despite no longer having any competition for Fluttershy's heart, something still seemed to be holding the Draconequus back. Rainbow Dash saw Discord give Fluttershy that gentle, almost loving smile and the innocent yellow pegasus returned a smile of her own. Just as the music began to play again, Rainbow Dash shouted, "Just kiss her already!"

The music was too loud for Fluttershy and Discord to hear Rainbow Dash, so they didn't have any sort of response. Rainbow Dash was more frustrated than ever. They needed to get together. If she would have to play matchmaker, then so be it. In the meantime, Fluttershy was enjoying the concert. Discord, however, was simply enjoying the company of dear, sweet Fluttershy.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After the concert, Rarity and Applejack had gone their seperate ways. The farm pony had work to do in the morning. The seamstress, however, was too wired to sleep. That was what led her into Cuppa Joe's. There was quite the line to the counter. Rarity was willing to wait. If she was a bit more tired by the time she got there, she would get a cup of herbal tea. If she knew that she would be up all night, she would get a cup of coffee. She waited for about an hour. By then, was midnight and it was time for the place to close. Rather than Matcha Bliss being at the counter, Hazelnut Latte was there. The barista smiled at the seamstress and said, "Sorry, Rarity."

Rarity sighed and said, "What am I going to do now?"

Hazelnut Latte shrugged and said, "If you want, there's a 24 hour diner that we can go to. They know how to make a pretty good cup of coffee. If you'd like to go with me, that is."

Rarity could feel her heart beat faster. She managed to sound nonchalant when she said, "Oh, sure. Why not?"

Hazelnut Latte smiled and said, "All right. You can wait outside. I just need to close things down and put my uniform away. I won't be long."

Rarity nodded and left the building. About ten minutes later, Hazelnut Latte returned without her work uniform. She looked at the white unicorn and asked, "Shall we go?"

Rarity smiled and said, "Yes, let's."

oooooooooooooooooooo

They arrived at Greasy Spoon's Diner, which was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They walked in, selected a booth, and sat down. A couple minutes later, a waitress wearing a diner uniform walked up to them. The waitress smiled and said, "Hello. I'm Long Shift and I'll be your waitress." She gave menus to Rarity and Hazelnut Latte. The waitress then asked, "Would you like your drink orders first?"

Hazelnut Latter nodded and said, "I'll just have a coffee, black."

Rarity said, "It would be lovely if you could get me the same thing that she ordered."

Long Shift wrote down the orders and said, "Two cups of coffee, coming right up."

It didn't take long for Long Shift to return with two cups and a pot of coffee. The pale pink mare smiled and said, "Have you decided what to order yet?"

"Yeah." Hazelnut Latte replied. "Can you get me an alfalfa burger and hay fries?"

"I'll have the beer battered vegetables." Rarity ordered her food. "It comes with hay fries, doesn't it? I feel like spoiling myself."

"That it does, ma'am." Long Shift replied as she wrote down their order. "Anything else?"

Hazelnut Latte looked at Rarity, who shook her head. The barista turned to the waitress and said, "No, that'll be all."

"Your order should be ready in ten minutes." Long Shift informed them before walking away.

The two of them drank their coffee in silence for a few minutes before starting up a conversation. "How was the concert?" Hazelnut Latte asked.

"It was excellent." Rarity replied. "I heard that there was a fight, but I didn't see it. I don't know who was in the fight or what it was about, but it was apparently resolved before security needed to be called."

"Damn." Hazelnut Latte let out a whistle. "Can't even go to a concert without a fight breaking out, huh?"

"Well, everything turned out alright." Rarity said.

"You're right about that." Hazelnut Latte replied. "Hey, you're even getting a free meal!"

"Oh, you don't need to pay for it!" Rarity exclaimed.

Their orders quickly arrived and the plates were sent in front of the two ponies. Hazelnut Latte looked at the waitress and said, "Thanks."

After eating a few hay fries, Hazelnut Latte said, "Anyway, paying for the meal is no problem. Anything for a new friend, right?"

Rarity couldn't help but smile. She would deny to her last breath that she was attracted to Hazelnut Latte, another mare, but she would be very happy to be friends with the barista. "Well, if you insist." Rarity said. "After all, who am I to turn down my new friend's generosity?"

Hazelnut Latte laughed and said, "Of all ponies, you would say that."

Rarity couldn't help but chuckle a little, too. She then used her magic to pick up a couple of her hay fries. She let out a sigh and said, "A moment on the lips, an eternity on the hips."

Hazelnut Latte laughed and said, "Just eat the hay fries, Rarity."

The two of them bantered as they enjoyed their meal. When they were done, Rarity and Hazelnut Latte ended up splitting the bill. They made sure to tip the waitress, too. As they walked out of the diner, Rarity asked, "Do you really mean it? What you said about being friends, I mean."

Hazelnut Latte smiled and replied, "Sure. It's always good to make a new friend." She frowned and said, "Actually, I don't really have that many friends in Ponyville. It's mostly just Ditzy Doo."

Rarity returned that smile and said, "Well, not to worry, Hazelnut Latte. I will most definitely be your friend."

Author's Note:

A scene from the next chapter:

Rarity wiped her brow as she worked on embroiding one of her elaborate dresses. She had been working on the elaborately embroided dress and corresponding bolero jacket for the past three days. She was about halfway done and she knew that when she was done, they would be very beautiful. It wasn't something that she'd openly admit, but this was a difficult project. She could handle a detail-oriented project, but ponies rarely commissioned an outfit that was this elaborately embroided. She had to give it to Countess High Born next week, which gave her only two more days to finish it. She had no choice but to spend all of her free time working on the outfit. She could feel her empty stomach protest, but she ignored it. She didn't have time to cook. It would normally be time for lunch, but she would cook a small meal at supper time if she remembered. In the last three days, she only really ate breakfast.

As Rarity finished embroiding a specific panel of fabric, she heard the jingle of a bell as somepony walked into her business. She heard a now-familiar voice call out, "Rarity, are you there?"

Rarity's back cracked as she straightened up from where she was sitting hunched over to keep a close look at the detail of the embroidery. She was still waiting for her new contact lenses to come in the mail, so she had to wear her you-know-whats. They were a pair of Dulce & Cabana designer frames, but they still weren't contact lenses. Still, it would be rude not to answer her visitor. The seamstress stood up and called out, "I'm coming!"

She then headed towards the front of her store, where she saw Hazelnut Latte carrying a lacquered box of some sort. "I brought something for you." the barista said with a smile.

Rarity took the box and opened it. Inside were some cucumber and avocado sushi rolls, a lemon and poppy seed mini cupcake, a couple strawberries, and some vegetables cut into cute shapes. It also came with a pair of chopsticks. "You've been forgetting to eat lately and I've been worrying about you." Hazelnut Latte explained. "I made you something that I used to eat a lot back in San Franciscolt."

Rarity's heart welled up as she smiled at the thoughtful Hazelnut Latte. She had known that things would go well when they decided to become friends. The happy seamstress sat down at a clear table. She used her magic to pick up a sushi roll and lift it to her mouth. She chewed it, swallowed it, and considered how delicious it was. It was then that her body realized how hungry she was. The white unicorn began to gobble down her food in an unladylike fashion before she was interrupted when Hazelnut Latte exclaimed, "Slow down, Rarity! Remember to chew your food!"

Comments

[Ausbrony]

9300389 - You know of Mocha?

Ohno... plz don't make me ship the coffee pones. My heart couldn't take the cute. But yeah, definetly looking forward to the next chapter my dude.