It was a beautiful day in Maretime Bay. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, the temperature was just right, and there was a light breeze. Sunny StarScout used her roller skates to make her way downtown where her smoothie stand was located.
Along the way, Sunny saw her friend Pipp Petals opening up her salon Mane Melody.
“Hey Pipp, got any new beauty products that you want to try out today?”
“I totally do!” Pipp replied. “I’ve developed this new facial cream from the mud and flowers of Bridlewood. It not only moisturizes and softens the skin, it also removes dirt and oil that cause acne.”
“It sounds like your teen customers are going to love it.”
“And a few of the adult customers.” Pipp replied with a slight giggle.
“Well, I have to go. See ya!” Sunny then continued on her way to her smoothie stand. She was almost there when she saw something unusual.
Sitting on a bench right by her stand was an unusual creature that she had never seen before. It had red eyes, green scales, boney spines coming out of its back, and a short tail. It also had two arms with hands that had three clawed fingers. Its feet were the same, three clawed toes. What stuck out the most was the fact that it had two large fangs and a red, reptilian tongue sticking out of its mouth.
The creature was also reading a book. Sunny took off her roller skates and approached it.
“Um, Hello.” Sunny said when she was close enough.
The creature looked up from its book. “Hi.”
“I’ve never seen you around Maretime Bay before. What’s your name?”
“Keith.”
“What book are you reading?”
“A confederacy of Dunces.”
“What’s it about?”
“It’s a dark comedy about a self proclaimed genius who is looking for work.”
“Am I bothering you with my line of questions?”
“Nope.”
Sunny then walked over to open up her smoothie stand. Right before she did, she looked back at Keith.
“Just one more question. What type of creature are you?”
“A Chupacabra.”
“Well, uh, it was nice to meet you, Keith.” Sunny then walked into her smoothie stand and opened it for business. She had no problem selling smoothies, but all of her customers did stop and take a brief glance at Keith. For his part, Keith sat on the bench quietly and continued to read his book. He never bothered any pony.
Soon Hitch, with Sparky riding on his back, visited Sunny at the smoothie stand. “Hey Sunny. How’s business today?”
“It’s going great! Thanks for asking.”
Hitch then looked over and noticed Keith.
“Um, who’s that?”
“That’s Keith.”
“And what is Keith?”
“He says he’s a Chupacabra.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him around Maretime Bay before.”
“If you’re worried about him, don’t be.” Sunny said. “Keith has just been sitting quietly reading his book and not bothering any pony.”
Sparky then jumped off of Hitch’s back and walked over to Keith. He stared at Keith with a look of curiosity.
Hitch walked over and picked up Sparky. “Sparky, it’s not polite to stare.” He then looked at Keith. “I’m sorry about my son.”
“Not a problem.” Keith said as he continued to read his book.
Izzy then popped up out of nowhere. “Hi guys!” She then looked over and saw Keith. “Ooo! A Chupacabra!”
Sunny and Hitch were both surprised. “Izzy, you know what a Chupacabra is?” Sunny asked.
“Well, kind of. From what I have read in the Bridlewood library, their name means something about a goat, and it’s from a language from a far distant land. As for exactly what a Chupacabra is, that is still a mystery.”
“Well, this one is named Keith.” Hitch said.
“Hi Keith!” Izzy said with a big smile as she waved at Keith.
Keith continued to read his book. “Hello.”
At that moment, Posey walked up to the smoothie stand. She was just about to place her order when she noticed Keith just like every other pony had that day.
“What is that?” Posey asked with both a disgusted voice and face.
“That’s Keith. He’s a Chupacbra!” Izzy said.
“What is he doing?”
“He’s just reading a book.” Sunny said.
“Can you tell him to please do it somewhere else? He’s nasty looking, and it will make it difficult for me to have my smoothie with him around.”
“Posey, Keith isn’t doing anything wrong.” Hitch said. “He isn’t bothering any pony, and it isn’t illegal to read a book in public.”
“Besides, no one is forcing you to be around Keith.” Izzy added. “You can just have your smoothie somewhere else.”
Posey grew angry and stomped her hoof on the ground. She then turned and walked away.
Hitch sighed. “I’m so sorry that you had to go through that, Keith.” He said apologetically.
“I wasn’t paying attention. What happened?” Keith asked.
“Nothing. Never mind.” Sunny said with a smile.
As Sunny was about to wrap up selling the last of the smoothies for the day, she looked over at Keith. He had finished reading his book and stood up from the bench.
“So, how was your book?”
“Very good. Thank you for asking.”
“I’m so sorry if too many ponies bothered you today.”
Keith simply shrugged his shoulders. “Meh.”
Sunny then whipped up one last smoothie. “Here, it’s on the house. It’s wildberry flavored.”
Keith took the Smoothie. “Thank you. You are very kind.” Keith then took a sip of the smoothie. “Delicious.”
Sunny watched as Keith walked away. She then closed the smoothie stand and went home to the Brighthouse.
The next day Sunny once again roller skated to her smoothie stand. She stopped when she saw someone else sitting on the bench reading a book. They were tall, about 8’, had large red eyes, and were as dark as a shadow. They looked like a giant moth.
Sunny approached them and smiled. “Hello!”
“Hello.”
“I’m Sunny StarScout. What’s your name?”
“Indrid Cold.”
“That looks like an interesting book you’re reading. What’s it called?”
“A midsummer night’s dream.”
“I run the smoothie stand that you’re next to. How about a Pineapple smoothie, on the house?”
Indrid Cold looked up from his book. “Thank you, that would be nice.”
Sunny then opened up her stand to make the smoothie. It was yet another beautiful day in Maretime Bay.
Author's Note
This just a silly idea that I had.
