Chapter 8

Chapter 8

You sat at a booth in the coffee shop, alternating your gaze between the coffee sitting in front of you and the door at the other end of the café. You spent a good half hour sitting there, arriving early just to be certain. Now she was late, something you always knew was not her style. There was a part of you that anticipated that Moon Dancer wouldn’t join you here, not even just to talk. It would certainly be a kind of poetic justice with you being stood up after what you did years ago. You hoped that this wasn’t the case.

“Maybe she had to do something at the library, or she met another friend,” you said to yourself as you sipped your coffee while staring at the table. You heard the chime of the bell above the door and looked up, hoping that it was Moon Dancer arriving. To your dismay, it was just another pony stopping by who promptly ordered and then left as quickly as he came. You were alone again in the café save for the baristas busily cleaning and preparing for other customers. Occasionally they looked over to see if you needed anything to which you merely shook your head while hoping that Moon Dancer would be there. The more time drew out, the more you began to doubt.

An hour passed since Moon Dancer was expected to show, and you were prepared to give up and leave when the bell rang again. There to your relief stood Moon Dancer, looking around for you while wearing an expression that she was still uncertain about the whole thing. You waved to her as you sat down, making like you weren’t planning to leave after all.

“Sorry I was late,” Moon replied as she sat down across from you, the space between you still feeling wider than even the table, “It was my turn to close the library for the evening, and then I got lost.”

“Got lost?” you said surprised, “I thought you knew where this place was.”

“Well, I did, sort of,” the mare replied looking down as if she was trying to hide something.

“Moon, I can tell you’re lying,” you said in a sly tone, “You were never a good liar. Besides that, this café was a block away from the library.”

“Ok, fine,” she said defensively, “I was debating whether to go here or not. I didn’t think that you’d be here.”

“Actually, I didn’t think you’d come,” you said as a barista came over and asked Moon Dancer what she wanted. The mare simply ordered a tea, not putting much thought into it.

“Guess that makes two of us,” Moon Dancer said, “So I took a walk and then finally got the nerve to come here. After all, you asked me, and I didn’t want to be rude…”

“Like me years ago,” you said noting that she stopped suddenly before saying what was on her mind, “That’s ok, you could say that. I was a jerk.”

“And?” Moon said looking at him.

“Ok, I was a big jerk for breaking your heart, ok?”

“Better,” Moon said as she received her tea and took a sip, “So what do you want to do with this talking thing you planned?”

“Well, I didn’t really have a plan,” you admitted, “I just wanted to talk with you, not at my job and not at yours.”

“Ok, so what do you want to talk about?”

“Well for starters, how did you get to become a librarian?”

“You remember that I wanted to teach magic, right?”

“Yeah,” you said remembering several instances where she mentioned this fact and even times when you complimented on her magic and mentioned that she should be one. It was one of these instances where the two of you were thinking alike and admittedly were times that you missed.

“Well, things didn’t go quite as well as it did after college and after a while I sort of gave up on that. But giving up meant that I had to think of something else to do with my life, so I picked a place that I felt comfortable and worked at the library. What about you?”

“About me?” you asked.

“Yeah, you didn’t think this time spent would be just you ask me questions, right?”

“Well no I…”

“Well then, what about you? How did you get to working at my favorite bookstore?”

“I guess it was the same thing for me. I thought I wanted to teach as well, but now I don’t know. Of course like you I had to find a job, and Twinkle Hearts had both a job and told me of a place to stay after college.”

“Ah Twinkle Hearts, always helpful,” Moon Dancer replied relaxing a little.

“Can I ask you a question, speaking of friends?” you said.

“Um…I guess?”

“Why did you decide not to make new friends or stay friends with ponies like Minuette and Twinkle Hearts or go somewhere besides work and the bookstore?”

“What?” Moon Dancer said with a frown as she almost dropped the coffee cup out of her hands, “What do you mean by that? I have friends! And I do go places too.”

“Oh really?” you said not letting this issue go for her own good, “Name one pony who you made friends with after college?”
“Well there’s the teen librarian…” she began as you shook your head.

“And not coworkers,” you said adding the note.

“Well…I…” she said struggling for a moment before saying, “I can’t remember any off the top of my head, but I’m sure there are some!”
“Right,” you said, “and places you’ve been to?”

“Well, of course I go to the grocery store, and the clothing store and…” she said before throwing up her hands and saying, “Fine, I don’t get out often! Is that a crime? If I knew you were going to interrogate me like then I wouldn’t…”

“Please Moon Dancer,” you said, “I’m not trying to get you upset.”

“Well you’re doing a pretty good job,” she snapped, “And I don’t think you have a right to tell me how I should live my life.”

“I’m not trying to upset you or run your life. I’m just concerned that you shut yourself out from the world that you won’t let anypony get close to you. This isn’t just me. Minuette and Twinkle Hearts are concerned too.”

“Really, I’m fine,” she said shuffling in her seat, part of her looking to make a speedy exit, but part of her wanting to stay.
“Was this because of me?” you said.

“Was what because of you?”

“This... you not going anywhere or meeting anypony. Did I hurt you that badly that you shut yourself away like this?”

“I…” she began as if to refute your claims, but then she became silent which was enough for you to know the truth.

“I want to help you,” you said, “That’s why I brought you here to talk. I want to help you be the old Moon Dancer that I used to know who wasn’t afraid to do new things or meet new ponies. Maybe we can’t be friends again, but I want you to be happy. So can I help you see the world new again?”

You expected her to say no, toss her drink at you and leave never to be seen again, but instead she said, “Yes, maybe you can help me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. I realize that it’s no use saying no to you, not like I could before. Oh, I know how this risky this is letting you take over my lie, but maybe it’s for the best. Alright, are you free this Saturday?”

“Uh…I think so.”

“Alright, meet me here, but come with an idea of… whatever you plan on doing.”

“It’s a date,” you said with a smile.

“What?” she said almost spitting out her drink.

“Just kidding. I’ll be there.”

“Alright, so what else do you want to talk about?”

Author's Note

Sorry about the delay. Finally got some time to write a chapter.