I nervously shuffled my hooves as I sat at one of the cozy tables on the patio out front. Work had run a lot later than expected, and by the time I clocked out I had no time at all to change out of my uniform. So there I was, sitting in public waiting to go meet some mare I had bumped into the other day and my anxiety was back in full swing. They always said that first impressions meant everything, and my first impression so far was running into her, knocking her over, and then awkwardly explaining that I was a stallion dressed in mare’s clothing for my work before hastily agreeing to meet up with her again, and then running off full speed ahead in the opposite direction.
Yeah Stardust, you’ve totally got this, I tried to convince myself. Needless to say, I didn’t have this, as much as I tried convincing myself that I did. I mean I didn’t have to do this if I didn’t want to, I could have just disappeared and avoided this part of town for the rest of my life, or just try and hide my face. I mean what were the odds of randomly running into the same pony twice in a city as big as Manehattan?.. Small… but with my luck I probably would have ran right into her the next day, which would have made matters even more awkward. No, I needed to stop being dumb and just deal with this like a stallion… even if I was dressed like a mare right now.
So I shook my head, swallowed my pride, and put on the most confident face that I could. She wasn’t going to just freak out and treat me like I was some weirdo, she didn’t even seem phased by my outfit at our first meeting… so I just had to take that as a sign that everything was going to be fine, even if that little voice in the back of my mind was freaking out left and right and telling me that it in fact, was not going to be fine.
“Miss, are you ready to order or do you need a few more minutes?”
I looked up at the waitress and shook my head, “I’m just waiting for somepony, but I’ll take a couple glasses of water and an order of hay fries if you don’t mind.”
Her eyes shot open as she heard my distinctly stallion sounding voice, “Oh my gosh, sorry sir, I—”
“ — Thought I was a mare and you’re profusely sorry, it’s fine, don’t worry about it, easy mistake” I smiled, “I’ve gotten that quite a bit the last few days. Nothing to worry about.”
She breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, “I’ll be right back with that in just a few minutes.”
“Thanks,” I smiled.
As the waitress trotted away, I caught sight of her, making me momentarily panic again. I didn’t have a chance to run off though, I was committed whether I liked it or not. She said something to the host, but I couldn’t tell what it was, only that it ended with a smile from him and a cheerful point to my table, where she made eye contact with me.
With a smile, she trotted up to my table and took the open seat, laying her saddle bags down next to her, “So, Stardust right?”
I nodded, trying my best to look cool and confident, “That’s me, and you’re Sheila?”
She nodded, “Yep.”
“Glad to see you again…” I didn’t know where to go, and I was already starting to feel like this was a bad idea.
“Me too… So…” She awkwardly started, giving me reason to start internally panicking.
“So.” I replied back, feeling my anxiety crush me again, “Have a busy morning?”
“Not really,” She shrugged, “Got some errands done and did a little running around, you know, the usual. How about you?”
“Just a lot of work, you know, the usual,” I let out a small, nervous laugh, “I gotta tell you though, I’m glad I just get to relax now.”
“I bet, you do cleaning stuff, right? That’s gotta be exhausting after a long day… or, I guess night in your case.”
“Mhmm,” I confirmed, “Over at Orange Manor.”
“Orange Manor, that’s that old house in the historic district, right?”
I nodded, “Yeah, probably the oldest building there.”
“I always thought that place was kinda interesting.”
I began to perk up a bit, feeling a little more confident and a lot less anxious. It was all going well so far, and I silently prayed that things would stay this way, “Oh believe me, it is. I’m a history nut and that place is like right out of Victorian Equestria. Probably one of the best examples of remaining architecture from that era, and it’s amazing how well preserved the inside is too!”
“Oh? Is it still stuck in the past? I went on a tour there back when I was a filly and it seemed so… old I guess? Like it hadn’t been touched in ages.”
I shook my head, “No… well, yes… kinda? It’s got all the old decor but they modernized everything else. It’s like the best of both worlds.”
“Huh, that’s actually kind of cool,” She smiled, “So what brought you there?”
“Excuse me, I’m sorry for interrupting,” the waitress from earlier interrupted, sliding a glass of water over to both of us, and an order of hay fries to me, “Now, do you already know what you’d like? Or do you need some more time to browse the menu?”
My not date shook her head, “I’ll take the fresh fruit platter with extra strawberries please” she turned to me, “How about you Starry?”
I glanced down at the menu and then back over to the two, “I’ll do that too, that sounds pretty good.”
“Oh believe me, it is,” she commented, “Diamond Diner has some of the best fruit in all of Manehattan,”
“I know right? I’ve only tried their hay burgers and fries, but you just can’t beat them.”
“That’s the secret, it’s the hole in the wall places that are the best. None of that fancy schmancy overpriced luxury bistro stuff.”
I smirked, “Oh man, you don’t need to tell me that twice. I thought I’d treat myself to a dinner at the Golden Horseshoe after starting my job and let me say, way overpriced and way under portioned.”
“Oh you poor devil, you actually ate there?” She gave me a playfully sympathetic look.
“First and last time, I’ll tell you.”
The waitress returned with our fruit plates carefully balanced on a tray on her back and slid them over to us with expert precision, “Order’s up, you two enjoy.”
“Thanks!” I cheerfully replied back.
“No problem, just give me a holler if you need anything else.”
“Will do, thanks,” Sheila replied, taking a few bites of the fresh fruit, “So Starry, how did you get into that job in the first place?”
I paused mid taste and almost dropped one of the strawberries right then and there as a wave of embarrassment flushed over me again. I let out a small cough and cleared my throat, making sure that I hadn’t spilled anything on my dress. These things were a pain to clean, and I was not going to deal with that today. I looked my companion in the eyes as I fiddled with the plate of hay fries that sat in front of me, being careful that my pristine socks weren’t messed up by the food.
Not wanting to delay the inevitable, I took a deep breath and began my unneeded explanation. “So… let’s just cut right to the chase, you’re wondering why I’m wearing a maid’s dress when I’m clearly a stallion… I can see that bewildered questioning look in your eyes, and believe me, I was in your horseshoes at one point too…”
It’s kind of a funny story though!