Tasse de Chocolat
Mocha Swirl is gentle, clever, and well-mannered.
Rainbow Dash is brash, mischievous, and sometimes usually over-confident.
A cup of chocolate that changes everything.
It was a busy Monday morning down at the small coffee shop on the corner of two busy streets in the heart of Ponyville. The beaten down shack, as some would call it, was home to some of the best bucking coffee in all of Equestria. The tiny place was painted with a fading cream color, and the hay roof was beginning to sag from age.
Multiple ponies bustled in and out of the cafe, and some ponies who had more time on their hooves sat at the rather unimpressive selection of cramped tables and chairs. The place smelled crisply of coffee and chocolate, and all of the drinks served were warm and inviting to the ponies rushing off to their respective jobs. The morning rush hour often trashed the small place by ten in the morning, which was why the opening times of the cafe were so elusive.
Which explained as to why a certain rainbow-maned mare never got a taste of the delicious dark drinks offered there.
As the crown died down, and the last few ponies ordered their drinks from Pinkie Pie, who usually helped out Monday mornings, a slightly tuckered-out mare popped out from behind the station and began to wipe the tables down and pick up trash. She swept the floor, picking up all of the napkins that littered the floor, and picking up the occasional bits left on the tables. By the time the floors were swept and the tables were clean once more, the mare had picked up a small tip of seven bits.
"Hey, Mocha, would you want to come to a party later tonight? It'll be fun! There'll be streamers and cake and candy!" Pinkie had magically found her way in the employee room towards the back of the cafe. "Everyone'll be there! Twilight and me and Fluttershy and Roseluck and Daisy and even Vinyl!" Pinkie bounced with each name.
"I... Don't know..." Mocha untied her apron and slipped it over her head. "I'll be quite busy cleaning this place up..." Mocha tsked lightly to herself, knowing that cleaning did not take very long at all, and that there was no real reason as to why she shouldn't go to the party.
"Awh... Well, if you get a spare moment!" Pinkie winked, her apron already off. Mocha smiled, her amber eyes glowing with amusement. Pinkie was one of her only friends. Mocha didn't really associate with ponies, seeing as she was usually rather tired from working her two cafe jobs, and often helping out Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner. Being a tired pony made Mocha snappy, but that didn't stop her from muttering a sorry and walking away to help another customer.
Mocha Swirl closed the cafe for the day and began to trot on home for her midday nap, thinking over the words her friend had said. Pinkie was friends with all of the ponies, and well, if Pinkie liked them, then there was no problem with Mocha liking them. Mocha shook her head. She was bound to be tired - she was up since yesterday afternoon, and even her beloved coffee couldn't keep her from stealing a few winks, even at work.
But the thought of the party kept nagging at the cream-colored pony. As Mocha continued down the now almost empty streets (Ponyville had become some sort of completely-working town), she would look through the windows at the fabulous dresses that some fashion designer had made up in Canterlot or Manehattan, or some other big city. Being a Manehattan mare herself, Mocha knew the style quite as easily as any high-esteemed pony. It didn't really take much, either. Manehattan was flashy while Cnaterlot styles were often grand and overly exotic. Ponyville styles were somewhat plain compared to the former two, but the clothing here was durable and comfortable - something Mocha had craved ever since she moved here.
The cream mare had made it to the outskirts of the town, and while the newly erected castle of Princess Sparkle was still visible, this part of the neighborhood was far enough to be away from the hubbub of the town. Mocha scrambled with the keys before opening the door and stepping into her cozy home.
The house was small, yet it housed some of the best coffee-making equipment known to ponykind. the kitchen was the largest room in the house, and the upstairs bedroom was just a remodeled attic. Mocha trotted slowly to the cramped bathroom to untie the bun in her mane. As her chocolate-colored mane fell over her shoulders, Mocha sighed with relief. The day was over, and the seven bits that she had earned as tips made her proud - the ponies in Manehattan didn't usually tip ponies like herself. Mocha combed her mane quickly before putting it back in the same messy bun as before. Strands of hair stood out, but Mocha's tired hooves didn't bother fixing the mane that stuck out.
Mocha picked up a small cup of coffee that magically waited for her in the kitchen before heading back upstairs. Mocha sipped the piping cup of drink as she climbed up the stairs, constantly thinking about the party. Even if she were to attend the party, she didn't have anything fancy to wear, nor did she have any special way to style her mane. Mocha grew frustrated with her poor style of living and once again began to wonder what it would have been like if she stayed back in Manehattan. she immediately dismissed the thought, knowing that she made this decision, and that it was final.
Mocha finally opened the trapdoor leading to her bedroom, holding the cup by the handle in her mouth, making sure as to not burn herself with the hot liquid. Once the cream mare had wiggled through the trapdoor, she placed the steaming mug on the bedside table before collapsing onto the bed, utterly exhausted.
However, she couldn't possibly sleep. The thought of the party continued to nag her, and Mocha would continue to feel guilty even after the party was long gone. Mocha rolled over onto her stomach, knowing that good manners would mean attending the party. Having made up her mind, Mocha drifted off to sleep.
