Starlight Glimmer was starting to pick up on her friendship lessons fairly well after she befriended 'The Great and Powerful Trixie!' She was getting more comfortable sharing her personal life with her and honestly Twilight actually started to think the two were becoming positive influences on each other. Twilight was even starting to feel comfortable leaving Starlight on her own for once. Fitting because she and the other Elements of Harmony were on their way to Canterlot for a special speech from Princess Celestia, for reasons unknown, neither Starlight or even Spike were invited. Twilight thought this could be a great opportunity for her, Starlight was instructed in her alone time to find somepony to bond with over something positive. Because Starlight bonded with a negative past with Trixie, she figured she should learn from the positive and negative forms of bonding.
Starlight was sitting alone in the castle trying to plan her day, she was making a small list of errands to run and listening to her headphones as she wrote. "Oh maybe I can go to the bowling alley, I haven't been there sense I was in my old town, for once somepony with skill could finally beat me!" She said, referring to a time when she removed a bowler's cutie mark. She took her headphones out and looked over to the door when Spike came in with guests Big Macintosh and Discord, "Oh yeah that's right you had plans, I'll get out of your manes." She said as she started to walk out, but not before looking awkwardly at Big Mac, "And again, I'm sorry for that talking spell... You're not still mad are you?"
"Nope." He said as he gave her a smile and an affectionate wave goodbye.
Out in the town, Starlight looked kind of nervous, she didn't have anypony she knew to introduce her to anypony. When she was looking for her first friend the last time she found her on accident by saying something almost nopony would understand but anypony who did would be happy to share with. It's harder to find somepony who has good interests similar to her own. She looked over and noticed two ponies sharing a cupcake, looking like they were on a date.
"Happy birthday honey, I got Red Velvet, I know it's your favorite...!" The mare pegasus told the stallion.
"It already came true!" He said as they were about to hug, until Starlight got in between them awkwardly.
"Hey! I love Red Velvet too! Mind if I have a piece?" She interjected, hoping she was finding a common interest, but the two just looked both annoyed and a little scared.
"Uh, you know what, you can just have this one. We'll go get another one..." The mare said as the two slowly started to walk away but then quickly rushed in the opposite direction. Starlight looked frustrated and threw the cupcake away in rage... That ended up hitting Derpy Hooves.
Later that day, Starlight decided to take a break, she figured she could stop for coffee and then try to meet somepony that night. She looked over and noticed a store called Starbrays and figured that would be a good place to stop, there weren't any customers so it would be easy to forget about her assignment for w while. When she entered she noticed the radio was playing the new song 'The Greatest' by pop star Songbird Serenade and started quietly humming along heading towards the counter.
At the counter, a cyan unicorn with an unusually small horn wearing a red neck chief was drawing what looked like a comic in his journal. When he looked up and noticed he actually had a customer he quickly closed the journal out of embarrassment and looked to Starlight, "Oh hey..." He nervously said initially, "Welcome to Starbrays, how may I help you?"
Starlight was a little too distracted by the song to notice him drawing or looking embarrassed, "Oh hi, I'm not sure, this is my first time in, what do you recommend?"
The unicorn pointed to the pictured on the menu and responded, "Well my personal favorite is a Reduced Heat Double Espresso Shot Non Fat White Chocolate Mocha Soy Latte topped with Whip and Cinnamon, but out most popular flavor is an Iced Half-Caff Caramel Mocha with extra foam."
"Oh..." Starlight looked a little dumbfounded, "I guess I'll take a Reduced Heat... White Chocolate... Cinnamon Soy Whip...?" She smiled awkwardly, not knowing what the unicorn said at all.
"Got it!" He started making the drink with absolutely no effort, "So what brings you here? We almost never get customers after the morning, everypony always goes to Sugar Cube Corner at this time." He said as he already finished the coffee and handed it to Starlight.
She blew into the cup a little, accidentally blowing some of the cinnamon on the barista... "Oops, sorry..." She blushed, "Well see I kinda have a job to run today and I just needed a break, and let's just say I kinda need to stay away from Sugar Cube Corner." She responded as she took her first sip, "Oh wow, that's really good!"
The barista just chuckled, "Hey, maybe you could go by there more often then, scare more customers here." He jokingly said, "What's your name?"
"Starlight Glimmer, what's yours?" She asked as she started listening to the song again, now looking a little disinterested.
The unicorn rolled his eyes, "It's Princess Celestia, nice to meet you." He sarcastically responded, that comment getting her attention back as he pointed to his name tag.
Starlight looked a little embarrassed not noticing the name tag, "Oh Mocha Jon. Wow your parents really wanted a barista as a son huh?" She jokingly asked, Mocha Jon chuckled as well.
"Really it's just Jon, I added the Mocha when I got the cutie mark, I see you're a fan of Songbird Serenade huh?"
Starlight blushed a bit, "Yeah, sorry I keep getting distracted, I'm just a fan." She said as she wiped some whip cream from her muzzle.
Jon grinned, "Hey no worries, I'm a fan too, I was worried you would make fun of me for liking her, 'The Greatest, The Greatest, I'm Alive!'" He started singing along with the song.
Starlight grinned at him saying that, "Wow you like her? Most stallions are afraid to admit that, 'I'm Free to be The Greatest Here Tonight'!" She also started singing along. The two also noticed each others' voiced and thought they sounded well together.
"Dang girl you sound good, how come I haven't seen you doing one of the many hundreds of musical numbers around here?" Jon asked.
Starlight already finished the coffee, "Oh I'm still new here, I'm from out of town, what about you?"
Jon chuckled, "Most stallions usually only get background rolls at best in those things, hey wait a minute, Starlight Glimmer... New in town... Hold up are you Princess Twilight's new Friendship student?" He asked in great surprise.
Starlight blushed a little hearing that, "Yeah that's me... Wait how'd you know about that?" She asked in surprise as well, she really doesn't try to boast about how she became who she is today.
"Oh I'm pen palls with her brother Shining Armor, I send him my hoof drawn comic books and we talk about our day to day lives, he told me you went to meet his daughter a while ago... and that you had a dark past..." He said almost in a condescending manner, almost.
Starlight sighed, "Alright I get the message, I'll leave..." She turned around with her head down and tried to leave, with Jon stopping her however.
"Hey don't go, look I don't judge ponies on their past, I used to be like that but after Nightmare Moon and Discord reforming and after I patched things up with my childhood bully I learned to let things go." He said as he offered another coffee, on the house.
Starlight just rushed to hug Jon in a very cartoonist manner, squeezing him tightly for a moment before letting him go to breathe... which was not easy for Jon to do... "Oh my goodness a nice pony who understands me!!!" She was getting a little too close to Jon's personal space though. Suddenly the radio switched songs to another pop song, a more pop rock sound compared to the electropop sound of Songbird Serenade. Te singer had a mildly raspy voice and sounded lightly older than someone her age should have sounded, Starlight and Jon instantly freaked out when they heard the song, in different ways though, "Oh my gosh! It's Lindsay Ponan! I haven't heard from her in so long, I thought she retired!" She exclaimed in annoyance.
Jon himself was fanboying out a little bit however, "Hey I love Lindsay Ponan!!!" But after he said that he blushed in embarrassment from admitting that, almost trying to retract that after he saw Starlight look over at him thinking, 'Seriously?'. Jon went back to the counter and tried to pretend that didn't happen, "Oh well anyway... Yay or Nay on the second coffee...?"
Starlight didn't buy it though, "Seriously? She was a diva and I hear she's a total train-wreck, plus I get liking pop music but Lindsay Ponan is just a little weird."
Jon blushed more, "I'm sorry I just like her, please don't judge me..." He actually regrets admitting he liked her because he liked hitting it off with Starlight.
She sighed in response, Twilight taught her to focus on what she has in common with everypony and so far the two actually were getting along well, "Look I'm sorry, you can like what you like even if I don't get it." She also declined the next coffee, that first one was caffeinated enough. "You know, I've been thinking about singing myself too, and you actually have a good voice, maybe we could start something up...?" She tried to offer, she thought sharing a bond of music would be something Twilight would like.
Jon's eyes widened greatly at that offer, "Are you kidding!? Ever sense I was a colt I had always wanted to be a pop star! Yes, Yes, a hundred times Yes!!!" He then started to hug Starlight in the same crushing manner she was crushing him earlier. She teleported two feet away to get air again.
After catching her breath, she asked to meet at Jon's place, "Hey, you mind if we meet in two days at your house? Twilight should be coming back soon and I have some practice with her friends at the castle tomorrow and I don't think Twilight wants me bringing strangers to the castle, no offense."
Jon looked a little saddened by that request, but he figured he might as well take what he can get, he doesn't want to hurt his new friend, "Uh, sure, I guess..." He then started to write his address on a receipt paper, Starlight took the receipt and also remembered to pay for the coffee, "Hey we may be friends but as you can tell by my lack of business that I need the bits." He joked.
Author's Note
This chapter takes place during Dungeons & Discord and the next chapter will be after the events of Every Little Thing She Does.
'The Greatest' is a song by Sia and owned by her and her record label, I used small bits of lyrics for parody because Songbird Serenade is confirmed to be voiced by Sia and parody is considered fair use.
Starlight Glimmer had to postpone her meeting with Mocha Jon a few times before finally agreeing to come to his house. Unexpected friendship lessons got in the way, and she herself was more nervous than she let on. Starlight Glimmer is impulsive with her magic like nopony believes but almost never makes actual life decisions as suddenly as she did with the barista. She was almost regretting her decision and was almost hoping that the stallion didn’t take her offer too seriously. She still wanted to try and get to know the stallion more and maybe they could start slower.
Mocha Jon himself thought completely differently. He is as impulsive in these decisions as one could possibly be, and he was super eager to finally find somepony who makes the same wild decisions he does. He had already organized about a dozen of his comics and stories and was sitting on the couch waiting for Starlight to come by. When he heard the door knock he rushed up and tripped over a fallen book… “Falling…!” He yelled falling down, but quickly brushed himself back up and answered the door, “Hey Starlight! Glad you finally made it, come on in!” He said as he guided her in.
“Thanks Jon, sorry about the wait but I…” She began but when she looked around, her expression changed from nervousness to surprise, about how disorganized the place was, from clothes being kept on the ground, wires and chords left in the open, assorted snacks opened, “Is everything alright? Doesn’t really look like you were expecting company…”
Jon didn’t really seem phased by that comment, almost as if he was expecting that, “Oh, well I used to be a total neat freak, but lets just say keeping a place clean is next to impossible when you got a cutie like that over there!” He said as he pointed to what looked like a badger in an orange neck-chief eating out of a pet food bowl, “He gets into everything and cleaning became a waste of effort.”
Starlight just seemed confused at the sight of this, she has seen some exotic animals before bot someone having this is just, unusual, “You have a… Badger?” Literally the thought of a badger as a pet just seemed a little disturbing, she was a bit nervous to get close to it.
Jon remained cheerful as he picked up the badger, “Oh yeah! He’s the cutest little guy and the sweetest fuzzy butt you’ll ever see! His name’s Toby and he loves meeting new ponies!”
“Aren’t they like, vicious? I thought they loved fighting and clawing at everything? Plus that badger smell must get annoying?” She said as she took a step back from him, but tried to keep from being rude.
Jon seemed a little surprised she didn’t want to pet Toby, he tends to forget that he is used to being around the animal and often forgets that most badgers are vicious and brawny, he actually lucked out with Toby. “Badger smell? Oh, no, the only thing that is less effective than my tiny horn is my nose.” He said, referencing his weak sense of smell.
Starlight tried to change the subject, she wanted to keep an open mind and reminded herself that she wanted to do something impulsive and meet someone new. After she started looking around again she noticed a small bin on the coffee table and made her way over to it, “Hey, what’s in here?” She asked in an attempt to keep her mind off the messy place or the disturbing animal. Jon opened the box with his horn and nodded at her to look inside. She shrugged her shoulders and dug inside. “What are these?” The contents were a red flannel shirt, dark jeans thick brown boots, and most peculiar, an axe. She wasn’t really sure what to make out of these and on impulse made a silly joke to break the tension, “Why do you have these? I mean it’s not like you want to be some big dumb sweaty lumberjack or something, right?” She added a hardy chuckle not believing that could be true.
However when she looked back after the comment Jon just blushed and looked embarrassed, “Um… Well… Actually…” Jon himself had always fantasied about being a lumberjack and always felt like it was just a silly fantasy but nothing so far fetched. The problem was Starlight’s reaction was not the first time it happened, everytime anypony heard that dream of his they just laughed.
Starlight was at a loss in this situation. Making fun of somepony’s dreams was embarrassing enough, but that aside, she could tell that despite their first encounter, maybe the two of them didn’t have enough in common as she had initially assumed. Mocha Jon was nice but he was not organized, had a wild animal as a pet, and wants to be a lumberjack? This stuff really doesn’t match the hyper feminine student of the most organized mare in Equestria. “Mocha Jon, we need to talk…” She said as she sighed, “Look you seem like a nice pony you really do, but I think I was acting too impulsively the other day. I mean we decided to form a band just because we heard a song by Songbird Serenade.” She said as she regrettably started to make her way to the door, “I’m just not sure this would really work out, if you really want this I know you’ll find somepony else but I just…”
“WAIT!!!” Jon started to beg as he placed the badger down who started chewing on an old sock on the ground. “Look, I’m sorry I came on too strong, I’m not the best at making friends, look we don’t need to form a band or anything, but at least let’s try to get to know each other, please…” He begged as he started to get some puppy dog eyes.
Starlight was at a loss, she didn’t think they could bond over anything if this was who he was, but she knew what it was like to be lonely and this stallion was clearly lonely. She sighed and stepped back, “Well, I guess…” She said as she reluctantly sat down, after moving some jackets off the couch. She still thought he deserved one more chance. “If you really want to get to know each other, I need to ask, why a lumberjack?” She wanted to know why somepony who works in a coffee shop would want to be something like that.
Mocha Jon walked over and put the gear back in their container and chuckled awkwardly, “Yeah it’s kind of odd I know.” He said as he pulled out a chair, “It all started when I got my cutie mark.”
Naturally that comment peaked Starlight’s attention, “Your cutie mark?”
Jon poured himself a mug of espresso and nodded, “Yeah, after I got my cutie mark, my parents took me camping to celebrate. I tried really hard to get a good mark like an artist or a warrior but I was a little bummed out it was a coffee mug, I know, sounds weird to kind of regret your cutie mark.”
Starlight completely understood his point however, “No no, I can get it,” She responded as she started sipping from another mug on the coffee table, despite Jon not pouring it for her. Her interest was peaked.
“Well anyway, after my parents fell asleep in our tent, I felt a little naughty and snuck out. I had a lot on my mind because everypony saw me fail at everything I tried to do to prove I would be more than a barista. Eventually I got lost and was all alone for quite a while. I eventually found this woodspony chopping a tree with an axe. He was dressed like a traditional lumberjack with the flannel and boots and even the beard.” He said as he poured himself another cup of coffee and then attempted to but failed to open a bag of chips, Starlight reaching for as well.
“What was his cutie mark? A tree? An axe?” She asked as she flinched as the badger started crawling by her hooves…
“Actually it was a Cheeseburger.” He said as the bag burst and the chips fell everywhere, with Starlight picking them all up with her horn.
“A cheeseburger?”
“Yeah, he helped me find my way back after showing me some guidance skills and I told him about my cutie mark. He told me he thought he was destined to work in fast food forever but he eventually made his own path and found his own happiness and learned a new skill. It was amazing to see a man accomplish something like that, he’s kind of my hero, and I knew I wanted to follow in his boot steps. I know it sounds odd, but he inspired me.” He said as he ate the entirety of the chips effortlessly and then opened another.
Starlight was surprised, somepony else had a problem with their cutie mark? She thought she was alone with that, but honestly she couldn’t find the words to say. Should she hug him? Should she tell him about her past? Honestly there was only one thing that sounded like a good idea.
“Mocha Jon… Grab a pen and paper, we have a song to write!”
Author's Note
This was an important chapter for me because I finally got the opportunity to elaborate on my character's personality and history a bit in it so he actually has something other than just 'being there' as part of him.