OC Café

The fog was thick over the streets, enshrouding the world in grey.

Dawn had only just broke

From the thick vapor, a lone figure appeared. Stopping at in front of the windows of a shop, the bright, colorful banners having caught the attention of this stranger.

Grand Opening!

(We’re now hiring!)

-(狂)-

The bell to the entrance of OC Cafe jingled.

He was a stallion, judging from the ashen-colored muzzle poking out of the hood of a black cloak he was wearing, with only four bandaged legs were visible, a collar made out of gold and copper alloy surrounded by five multi-chromatic gems and an emblem in front tied the cloak together. He swept the hood back to reveal forest-green mane and beaming eyes.

“Welcome! Anything you would like?” Doug greeted his newest visitor as he walked up to the counter. The visitor’s horn lit up in green, pulling over a chair and seated himself at the counter. Taking a few moments to scan the menu, he finally spoke up in a jolly voice.

“An iced cup of honey fruit tea will do,” A few moments of hesitation. “With extra love please.”

“Coming right up.” Doug turned to pull a few bottles and jars from the shelves and went to prepare his order. “So… What’s your name?”

“Puppet Craze, of the self-exiled.” He bowed dramatically. “And are you perhaps the owner of this place?”

“Indeed! I am Doug, Doug the bartender.” The tender levitated the bottles and jars back to their place, and started stirring the mixure. “Looking for me?”

The unicorn took in more of his surroundings, before nodding in confirmation.  “I would like to offer you my services.”

“That’s great! I could always use more help.” Doug beamed as he hoofed Puppet his drink. ”Here you go, that would be one bit. Now, just a moment, I’ll go get the forms.” He vanished behind a hidden door.

Puppet fished out a bit, laid it on the counter, grabbed his drink and chugged it down in one go.

“Alright here we are,” Doug reappeared through the doorway, levitating a few forms and an ink-and-quill over. “Fill these up, and you’re good to go!”

-(狂)-

Here he was, first day on the job. Doug had let him take his shift after he finished filing the forms when he learned that Puppet had experience in making beverages.

Puppet nervously paced around the counter. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh...” He had done plenty of jobs before this - a worker, an attendance, an actor… but none ever involved taking customer’s orders at a counter.

“It’s pretty simple,” Doug had said. “just smile and be friendly.”

The bell jingled. And there it was, his first ever customer he’d ever be serving. Smile, and be friendly.

“Morning, miss. What would you...?” The cheerful facade crumbled just as quickly as it was constructed. “... like?” Puppet eyed the unicorn mare in a cloak going straight for a corner of the shop and seating herself there. His mouth suddenly feeling a bit dry at the emptiness he was getting. This mare… it felt to him as if a void was there, a black spot that gave off no lights or what so ever. If it wasn’t for the flickering flame that represented this individual, he would have mistaken her as a very elaborate and life-like golem, which would be a core of interwoven and criss-crossed magical circuits.

“Water.” She replied tonelessly. He wordlessly complied, levitating a glass and filled it up with life liquid and passing it to her table. Eyes never leaving the enigma.

The brief moment of silence went on, as Puppet engaged with his customer in an one-sided staring contest. She was shorter than average, dark green eyes, and had a black coat with a dark red mane streaked with dark purple. A burning demonic-red lunar eclipse of a purple-ish moon adorned her flank.

“You thirsty?” Her eyes flickered over to met his, she indicated the glass she was sipping off of.

“Keheheh…” Puppet’s laughter faded into a sigh. ”Constantly,” He rested a hoof at his throat. “Especially when I am not consuming anything at the moment.”

“Then get something to drink.” She ruffled the mane of a smarty pants doll he didn’t notice before. “What’s his problem?” She whispered to the doll.

“So… I am Puppet, Puppet Craze. Yours?”  Puppet was mind-boggled. This mare was in a state what his people would call an ‘emotion husk’ - devoided of emotion. Usually these husks would simply lose the will to live, having no emotions to fuel any motivations to respond to the outside world, but this mare… she.. She was defying logic, somehow doing the opposite by some sort of unknown force.

“Does it matter?”

He tried. He tried really hard to see if there was anything blocking his empathy, and with a sinking feeling, he found none.

“Well not really.” ‘Yes, it does matter!’

“Then what’s the point of it?”

“Well-”

The bell jingled merrily, snapping Puppet out of his inner turmoil.

“Morning... You’re new.” Puppet’s attention snapped to the pegasus mare that was completely blindingly white from mane to pelt with a badge as a cutie mark. “Some hot chocolate please.”

“New employee of Doug’s?” His second customer seated herself beside the counter, examining the black cloak which he hadn’t bothered taking it off.

“Yep, Puppet Craze, self-exiled, at your service.” He went to grab the ingredients required for what she had ordered. “What’s yours?”

“Self-exiled?” Her eyes narrowed, flickering to his black cloak for a brief moment, and her suspicion flared. “You aren’t some sort of criminal, are you?”

“What do you think?” Puppet smiled evily and rose up to his hindlegs, spreading his cloak ominously. “Rawr!” He faked a lunge, and laughed when Rosanna jumped backwards into a defensive stance with a wary look. “Nah, it’s just a fancy title for this humble little wanderer. I just travel around and earn a living.” Brief silence. “I was joking about the criminal thing.” He resumed working, chuckling.

She still had that wary look on her face when she returned to her seat.

“Here you go. Two bits.” He passed a steaming mug to the mare. “So I haven’t caught your name yet.”

“The name’s Rosanna Dodger; just call me Rose.” She hoofed him the bits and grabbed the mug.

“Rose… Right, got it. And you can just call me Puppet.” Like he had with Doug before, he bowed. “It’s a pleasure to be your acquiantance.”

“Like-wise,” Rose took a drank of her hot choco, and relaxation flooded the cafe. “What’s being a ‘self-exiled’ like.”

‘Alone… hollow...’ “It was.. quite the journey, eperiencing the sights and sensations that I would have never had if I hadn’t left.” His eyes glazed over as memories resurfaced. “But before that, I was merely trying to escape my feelings. I lost ponies I treasured very dearly to ones who I had thought as kin.”

“It was an act of cowardice, being a self-exiled. Back then, it just basically meant that I isolated myself from everypony else - I didn’t want to feel that grief or betrayal again.” He brought an unconscious hoof to his necklace, where the love of his friends resided in. “But it’s different now. I’ve learned to be better - I was a different pony from when I started. I am… more at peace.”

“Right now? I am just traveling out of habit, learning new stuff and spreading joy.” With a sly, almost invisible smirk, he added. “Keheheh... You could say that time had a changeling effect on me.”

“Hmm...” Puppet flinched in surprise at the unexpected shift in Rose’s mood, anger and grief flared out briefly before it was lost in the sea of sympathy for him. She didn’t show it, but for an empath like him, it was as plain as day.

‘Aanother victim...’ “Okaaay...” Changelings surely had good reputation, didn’t they? He shouldn’t be surprised, but still… “I apologize. Shouldn’t joke about that. Those bugs cause a lot of misery to a lot of ponies.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” She grumbled darkly.

“Anyway,” Puppet tried to change the subject. “What about you, Rose? What’s your life like?”

She contemplated the question for a while, before finally answering. “My life probably wasn’t as interesting or a wildride like yours, but to me, it’s just as worth it as you might thought about yours.” She spoke with a certain conviction. “I serve the Sun as a Royal Guard, went through tartarus to get to where I am today - the best of the best.”

“Sounds like something,” He commented. “the Royal Guard isn’t just for any mundane pony who knew a trick or two to enlist.”

“Quite.” Rose beamed happily.

Silence followed after until Puppet shifted his attention back to his first customer, still sipping at a glass half-full.

“So... I never got your name.” Puppet was very, very curious about this odd mare. So emotionless, how did she survive being like that? “Miss…?”

“Why would you want to know my name?.”

“Um...” Taken aback by the unexpected inquiry, he blurted out the answer. “Because it’s awkward for a conversation?”

“Just call me ‘miss’. It’s fine.”

“But.. You know my name, and I don’t!” He protested. “Come on, at least something I can refer you as?”

“Eclipse.” Came the blunt answer.

“Also known as the ‘Emo’,” Rose muttered, which Eclipse ignored her input and place down an empty glass. “Colts, dunno what’s with the cold shoulders towards everypony.”

“I think I know...” Puppet breathed, watching her grabbing her inanimate companion and heading towards the entrance.

“Pardon?”

“I think I know.” He repeated as he watched Eclipse disappeared into the still foggy world outside, before returning his attention to his other customer.

“You do?” Rose hugged her mug with both hooves and leaned over the counter curiously. “You think you know what got her all depressed like that?”

“She’s… not exactly what I would call an emo. More like an emotion husk, devoid of emotion;, literally.” He looked upwards, comparing mental notes. “I don’t know what exactly happened to her, but seriously - I can’t sense anything out of her.”

“Sense what out of her?” She echoed.

“Emotions, there’s no emotions coming from her. She’s like a golem, albeit said golem has an actual soul. She just… responds to what she recieves.. like a golem.” He finished lamely.

“You can sense emotions?” Suspicion, which at that moment he realized what it implied about him. But luckily he was prepared for this kind of scenario.

“I can.” He admitted. “Something I pick up among a lot of other tricks during my travels.”

It was technically true, he had to learn everything himself from the ground up since there was no link to call knowledge upon. Even though changelings were born empathic - capable of sensing emotions. It required further training to distinguish their sources and difference between each individual or else a ling could only detect the presence of said emotion.

He still felt guilty for the misdirection; no matter what.

“Huh, interesting.” Her suspicion finally ebbing, Rose drew the entire mug back and chugged down the last of her drink. “It’s been a pleasant chat with you, Puppet, but my duty calls.” She waved a wing, before she headed for the door. “See you around then?”

“See you around.” He waved back with a hoof.

The bell jingled, and Puppet was alone.

-(狂)-

Puppet gazed into the night skies, sipping a drink he had ordered from the very cafe he worked in. His shift was over, and now he was just a customer seated beside a window.

Looking around to make sure no pony noticed, he tentatively unwrapped one of his bandaged foreleg, revealing fur that burnt away into ashen-grey chitin, riddled with holes.

“There are good changelings like us, Puppet. But there are bad ones too, ones lost to the hunger within themselves.”

He sighed, reapplied his glamour and wrapped the hoof back up again.

ain't life a glass half full?