Coffee and Tea

“Minuette  for real, this is seriously the third time I've tried this, and I don't think she's going to go for it this time either." The teal unicorn stallion held a pot of freshly brewed coffee aloft, keeping it at just the right temperature with his magic. For the third time that week, White Locke stood under the bistro umbrellas of a small outdoor restaurant, waiting for a specific some pony to exit the library.

"Hey, come on, White Locke!" Minuette prodded him from her place at the small restaurant table. She was wearing a large brimmed sun hat even though it was a cloudy autumn morning, and she was using one of the menus to hide her face from whomever may walk down the path. "You've got to think of this as a challenge, you know? What did she say the last time she tasted your coffee?" she asked.

"She said it tasted like un-solidified tar and spat it onto the dirt."  White Locke said, his ears drooping from the memory. "Well actually...that was from the time before. Last time she still hated it but at least she didn't spit."

"Well there you go!" Minuette's voice was nested in a lofty chuckle. As if there were still cards to be played in this game. "All you have to do is keep trying! You're making progress!"

"She hates coffee, Minnie." White Locke groaned with a light shake of his head.  He turned away from the mare and suddenly she was there. The library door opened and Twilight Sparkle was pedestaled right in the center of his vision, the suddenly his narrow chest tightened.

"Oh there she is!" Minuette leaned forward, but kept her head hidden behind the menu. "There's Twilight!"

White Locke rolled his eyes. "Yeah Minnie, I didn’t suddenly go blind."

"I know that!" she seemed offended. "Now go over there!"

"Why don't you go over there, she's your friend!" he whispered.

"I'm not the one trying to impress her with my barista skills. And by the way I don't have any of those anyway."

"Ugh, geeze, Minnie," White Locke rubbed the back of his neck roughly. "You're really gonna make me do this again, aren't you."

The blue mare nodded earnestly. "Yes I am! Now go before I drag you over there myself! Your coffee tastes great! She'll love it!"

*She's more of a tea kind of girl actually.*  He thought to himself before walking out into the street. With a book laden satchel, Twilight was already going at a steady trot down the library's grand steps, and hadn't seemed to have noticed him yet.  With a resolute sigh he trotted across the street, in an attempt to get next to the mare without cutting her off. Cutting her off would seem creepy, and was a mistake he had made the first time.

"Hey, uh, Twilight! Hey Twilight, over here!"

Twilight had seen him already, and he noticed the bags under her eyes when her head moved side to side in an non too subtle attempt to locate an alternate exit. But there were none, either go back into the library or jump over the side rails and straight into the decorated hedges. White Locke decided she didn't seem desperate enough.

Twilight regained composure and continued, and to Locke's surprise, she sidled next to him but didn't slow her pace, not that he had trouble keeping up with her due to his long legs.

"Afternoon uh, um." Twilight paused and squinted at him. "I'm terribly sorry, uh, Wheat Luck, is it?"

"It's White Locke."

"White Look?"

"Why-te- Lock-e."

"So Whitelocke?"

"...Yes."

"Anyway, White Locke, I'm terribly busy studying the intricate and arcanic resonance of  the last spell Star Swirl the Bearded discovered which dates back over eight hundred years. The full ramifications of the spell could change the very fabric of magical spellbinding as well as the fields of magister studies that can utterly shift the view of how unicorn study spells to this very day."

She inhaled after she finished and looked up at him with her doey droopey eyes, heavy with exhaustion, White Locke felt his brain begin to unravel.  And then she yawned and he could have melted straight down to his trembling horseshoes.

"And then later on I need to meet Twinkleshine for this..." She stopped when she noticed the levitating brew pot and noticeably blanched. "What is it this time?"

"You'll like it I promise!" White Locke floated the pot tentatively towards her horn, encouraging her to pick it up with her magic. "I think I've got the taste down to something you'll like."

"I'm going to the tea shop actually." Twilight insisted, but she didn't try to out pace him, she might have been too tired to try. Locke hazarded a second to glance back towards the bistro where Minuette was waving at him. He nodded stiffly and turned back to Twilight.  

"Well I have until then to convince you this is better."

Twilight sighed, but the smallest smile could be seen under her furrowed brows and dark rimmed eyes. "Do your worst..."

_  _  _  _

"And the last ingredient is a super rare beetroot found way at the top of Griffon Stone mountains. You can only get the stuff by going through the deadly tunnels of the Stone Beetle that lay their eggs in the center of the mountain during the mating season. They, uh, get kinda angry and horny during that time. Mostly horny though. Haha..."

"Wow even Griffon Stone?"  Twilight eyed the cup curiously. "Why so many ingredients from so many different places?" she asked.

"I call it my special global blend." White Locke picked up his step and lifted his head proudly. "I've caught onto the fact that your tastes are far too classy for the average old expresso, and I wanted to push my boundaries a bit."

"I see."  Twilight frowned, then gripped the cup with her magic.

“Drink it. It won't burn your tongue off or anything." Locke insisted.  Twilight closed her eyes and sniffed, then jerked away when the aroma hit her nose.  

"It smells like slug mucus."

"Wrong! Snail mucus, if you want to be technical."

“Uh...huh.” Twilight’s eyes narrowed.

“If you don’t like it I’ll pay for your tea.” he offered.

“Deal.” As they walked, Twilight brought the cup to her lips and drank.

White Locke held his breath, then realized he needed to actually talk. "Uh, well?"

Twilight's nose scrunched up a little, and one eye opened to look at him critically.

"Needs more sugar."

White Locke's eyelid twitched. "Sugar?"

"Yep, about three and a half teaspoons more going by a rough calculation.  Or perhaps tablespoons." She sipped again. "Without a list of all the added amounts, I can only make a rough estimation at best."

Locke's mouth hung open. "W-well. At least you didn't spit it out." he managed to say.

Twilight shrugged, and, dare White Locke believe, smile in an almost flirtatious way. The way mares do when they actually appreciate your company. "Well, I won't say it's as good as chamomile but--Oh! And speaking of chamomile." She stopped in front of the tea shop at last. "This is my stop."

The stallion had all but forgotten that their walk even had a destination but perked up when he noted the shop sign, and reclaimed the coffee pot and cup with his magic. “Huh, right. Well I said I was paying.”

“You don’t have to, White Locke.” Twilight said as she placed a hoof on the tea shop’s door, but the stallion smiled and intercepted, pushing the door open for her.

“No way, Twilight, I insist.” he even bowed.

She grimaced and adjusted the strap on her satchel. “You won’t find me good company.” she admitted as an incredibly thick hard covered volume floated out of the bag. “ As I said before, I’m studying.”

“Huh, when is your nose ever not inside a book?”  White Locke said before he faltered. “Well-uh-I mean, not that that’s a bad thing or anything! Hehheh...”

Twilight smirked and returned the book to her bag. “I don’t deny it.”  She yawned again. “Well if you insist, I won’t stop you.”