Special

It was a normal Saturday evening, just like any other Saturday evening. The golden sun was just beginning its descent as turned a blushing pink, and I had the perfect view for watching it, at the window seat. I also had the perfect dessert as well; a chocolate and vanilla marble swirl with strawberry slices on top. A small glass of lemon tea sat next to me. The smell and the sunset made everything, for lack of a better word, perfect.

Other than Butter Cream at the counter, I was alone. Her boss had left her in charge of the shoppe, and it wasn’t as busy as weekdays were. It had been almost ten minutes since I had gotten there, and there had been no idle chat yet. I was surprised.

I took another dainty bite of the cake, chewing thoughtfully. There wasn’t much to think about, but it was one of those moments where you just reflect on life. For me, eating cake somehow triggered those thoughts. The room was eerily yet comfortably quiet.

“Hey, Grape Vine.”

Hearing my name, I turned toward the cream and white Unicorn, who was staring at me curiously with wide blue eyes. I swallowed the now over-chewed piece of cake and tilted my head. “Yeah?”

She was cleaning a plate with her magic, and I was straining to not stare as the china floated at her side. “I was just wondering...”

“Yeah?” I repeated with a frown, hoping she would get to the point. I wanted to watch the sun.

Butter Cream set down the glass and gave me a harder look. “Why do you and your family insist on staying in this racist town?” she asked, and I froze from taking another bite of cake. “I mean, you guys get so much hate I’m not surprise you haven’t packed up like the others.”

I sighed, then gazed down at the cup of tea at my side. The fumes rose and tickled my nose with the scent of lemon. “I don’t leave,” I finally said after a moment’s thinking. “because I like it here. That’s simple enough, right?”

She blinked a few times at me, then became concerned with my mental health. “You like it here? How?”

“It’s nice here.” Remaining emotionless, I sipped my tea and licked my lips.

Butter Cream did not seem to be satisfied with her answers. In fact, she seemed upset and confused. She walked out from behind the counter and stood in front of me, then slammed her hooves onto the table. The hot mixture splashed a bit.

“It’s not nice here, Grape Vine, and you know it!” she retorted in a low voice, trying not to add attention from outside the shoppe. I scooted my chair back in a jolt of surprise.

I could see why she was so upset. After hearing stories about my stress living in that town, and all the heartache I lived with, she didn’t think I should’ve lived there anymore. Almost every day she had consoled me about it, but she had never gotten that mad about it.

“I just want to live here, okay?” I said, and my voice rose into a higher volume.. “I doesn’t matter whether you think I shouldn’t, because it’s none of your business!”

Butter Cream continued to stare at me with a long, hard gaze, but I could see the hurt in her eyes. I had known her long enough to know I had hurt her feelings by just looking into her eyes. She couldn’t hide it.

After a pause that felt like a never-ending hour, the Unicorn took a few steps away, and her expression softened. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, then turned and walked back around the counter. My heart was fluttering wildly in my chest like a bird in a cage, unsure of what to do anymore.

Before either of us could do anything else, Butter Cream froze and whipped around to face me, her face wide in panic. “Grape Vine! Hide under the table with your food! Hurry!” she said with a voice sharp and quiet as ice.

I didn’t know why she would want me to do such a thing, but in this town, you’re never safe for long. So I grabbed the cake and tea, then scurried under the table. The tea splashed onto the seat and floor with my quick movements, and I cursed between deep breaths. It would be fine for now, at least.

A quiet moment, then the sound of hoofsteps grew into earshot. At first, it was unclear who it was or what was going on. But I heard the gruff yell of her boss and my once cageless heart flew free.

“I saw you in the window talking to that Earth pony!” he shouted. “What do you think you’re doing?”

There wasn’t a second wasted when Butter Cream spoke up. “What Earth pony?” She was better at lying then I thought.

“The one I saw that-” Another awkward silence; I was scared somepony could hear my heartbeat. Then he said, “Why is there tea spilled all over my seats and floor?”

“Horseapples,” I whispered a bit too loudly, then gasped and covered my face with a hoof. A bad move on my part.

The stallion’s hoofsteps drew closer, and I wanted to burst out screaming or crying. But I couldn’t, so I didn’t. I saw his brown face right in front of mine. It quickly went from the coffee brown to a poppy red. A red of anger and deception. I froze in my spot, unable to try and run away. I was scared.

Lucky for me, the boss moved myself for me. He grabbed me by the braid with his magic and yanked me abruptly to his face. I felt like an abused ragdoll, and if he got angrier, I’m sure that’s what I would have been turned into. “What is this?” he shouted at Butter Cream. I looked at the two ponies, my chest in knots.

To my disappointment, Butter Cream was silent. Not only that, but ashamed as well. It was as if she felt like what she was doing was wrong.

But it wasn’t wrong. She thought I was special, right?

“I don’t know why that’s in here,” she said in a firm voice that pleaded for mercy and made me scared all at once. “I’m sorry, sir, I’ll escort her out.”

With a jerk he let go of me and tossed my towards the front door, where I was knocked against the wood. The bell above me jingled. “I wouldn’t even bother with escorting it, just get it out.” The boss left us alone.

Butter Cream didn’t speak another word and used her head to push me out of the door. I was hurting both emotionally and physically already, and being shoved by my best friend wasn’t helping.

“What are you doing?” I asked when we got outside. “Why didn’t you stand up for me?”

“It’s for the best, Viney. For both of us.” She frowned at me.

I swear if you could hear a heart shatter, you would be able to hear it then. “But why?!” I repeated.

“Look, do you want me to keep my job or not?” she retorted, slamming her hoof onto the ground. “Just stay away from me and the shoppe, all right?” She turned and left without waiting for my reply. Like I even had a reply. Had I just gotten ditched by my so called “friend?”

I think I just did.

Usually I wouldn’t drink somepony else’s wine, because I could just make my own at my house, but that night was an exception. Actually, I rarely ever drank. So when I stepped inside the bar, the smell of the liquor hit me harder than I was used to. But instead of shirking away, I took in a brave deep sniff and continued inside.

Thankfully, the ponies at that bar didn’t give a crap about what you look like, so I was perfectly fine. The only reason I never mentioned it before was because I felt like the shoppe was a better example. It’s normal to be accepted at any bar, really.

I wouldn’t call it a bar, either. It doesn’t serve anything hard, just stuff that makes you a bit too giggly. I’d be fine, right?

I took a seat at the counter and laid my head on top of my hooves, staring at the selection behind it. Finally, when the bartender came close, I said. “Just give me some wine.”

The stallion, a blue Pegasus with black hair not much older than me, chuckled and said, “We’re a specific one, aren’t we?” I just glared at him. He sighed and turned away to fix me a glass, saying, “Tell me what’s up.”

I didn’t hesitate, wanting to talk about it right there and then. “Do you know that Butter Cream mare that works at the cafe down the road?” I asked.

He nodded, pushing dark red liquid in a tall, curving glass toward me. I picked it up with a hoof, having learned how to lift things without magic easily, and took in a good amount. “Well, she ditched me because I’m an Earth pony.”

The stallion suddenly looked at me in surprise. “You’re an Earth pony? I didn't even notice."

"You're not going to kick me out, are you?" I questioned, grabbing my wine and pulling it closer to me.

He smiled and shook his head. "Hey, more customers equal more money. I'm not going to get rid of money. Now, do go on," he said, gazing at me like I was expected to talk.

And I did. I told him about hiding from the boss, my hair being yanked, and being rejected by my only friend. I scarcely remember what exactly I told him. It was not a good ride down the memory rollercoaster, let me tell you. To my pleasure, the bartender sat and listened, and throwing in his own two cents every once and awhile, too.

An hour or two had passed, and we had moved onto different conversation. The while Butter Cream incident was way past me. And so was everything else. I wasn't screaming out my favorite song or anything, but I was extremely giggly.

"So I sit down at the bench," I said after a fit of laughter. "and this guy just starts yelling at me to get off his property! Can you believe that?"

The bartender laughed, even though I knew deep inside I was not that funny. "Hey, what time are you leaving? I mean, I'm not saying I don't like you or anything, but, uh…"

I grinned, then looked at the clock on the wall 9:00 PM. My face distorted into a terrified one. "Sweet Celestia, I gotta go!" I cried, hopping off of the seat. I plopped a hooffull of bits onto the counter and fast-wobbled out the door.

The last thing I heard from that guy was "Uh, you forgot your change…!"

I was able to sneak past my sleeping parents without waking them up that night. The next morning was complete chaos, to the point where I was locked in my room, fed by plates pushed under doors and relieving myself into a pile of paper. They certainly didn't want me back outside.

Thankfully, that was the first and last time I went into any bar. Next time, I just made five-minute grape juice.