//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - Second Opinion // Story: That Mango Scented Mare // by lavsunrise //------------------------------// McHoovies, later on. Casually slurping on her famous McHoovies Milkshake™ and nomming on a double pounder hayburger, Mango stared at the white coated earth pony sitting in front of her, busily attacking his fried onions. His mane was slightly unkept from travelling on the train, likely due to the fact that he woke up early on the train and had not bothered to tend to his personal appearance. I wonder how my mane looks right now? Probably as messy as his, I bet, Mango wondered as she subconsciously tried to smooth out her mane with her clean left hoof. She kept staring in Rails's general direction, spacing out due to her fatigue. Meeting her long time penpal felt like a dream come true, however cheesy that may sound. Just imagine, she could take him on a tour of New Trot City, see the always changing digital displays at Times Square. Maybe he'd fancy a walk around Maredison Square Garden... "Hey, Mango, ya alright?" Rails's voice came from a faraway place. "H-huh...?" Mango answered absentmindedly, still not quite snapping out of her daydream. "I know I'm handsome and all, but you are starting to weird me out with your prolonged eye contact..." Rails gave an uneasy smile and another bite at his hayburger. Mango, finally coming back to reality from fantasy, gave an awkward, sheepish grin, "O-oh! I'm sorry about that! I didn't mean to, I was just thinking about all the stuff that we could do while you're here and I guess I spaced out!" Ugh, Mango nervously shook her head to clear her sleepiness. I screwed this up, didn't I, he's going to have a bad first impression of me, she thought. "Hey, don't sweat it, you seem pretty tired yourself. I guess you were really looking forward to my arrival, huh," Rails teased, casually slurping on his drink. "W-w-well I'm only d-doing what any good friend w-would do!" Mango stuttered loudly, apparently startled by the remark. It's been a while since someone made a good comment about her. She's not really known for her successes around town. "Well, I'm pretty tired from the train ride as well, what'd you say we go back to your place for some rest before anything?" Rails, giggling a little at the sight of Mango nearly chocking on her milkshake, continued. "I wouldn't want to miss out on all the fun stuff you've planned for me because I'm too tired to go on, after all." Rails finished his thought and fries, amused by Mango's inablity to contain her nervousness. "A-ah, r-right then!" Mango gulped down the last of her milkshake and proceeded to help Rails with his luggage. Outside the restaurant, Mango had finally managed to somewhat recollect herself from the embarrassing events earlier on. She's got a good whiff of the summer breeze to cool her head, while Rails was looking around him with sight awe. "Wow, New Trot City is really something, Mango! You must never have a dull moment in this city, huh." He commented, looking at the signboard of Maredison Square Garden. "You'll get used to the glamour after a few years living here, same as any other place," Mango responded, trying to flag down an empty taxi. "It's really nothing, honestly." "To you, of course, you're local for goodness sake, so that's easy for you to say," said Rails, eying the traffic. "Heh, I guess so. Besides, I really do need to get out more. Thanks to you, I just might." replied Mango, busy loading Rails's luggage onto the back of a cab that she managed to flag down. On the way, the two ponies chatted a bit more. By that point, Mango had completely calmed down and was holding a discussion with Rails about the details of the visit. Even though they did talk a bit about it on the phone, she had since made a more refined plan. They are going to rest for a few hours into the afternoon, getting Rails settled down and then head out of the house again for a dinner at one of Mango's favourite restaurant, The Bellpony Place. Usually she went there for special occasions only, because the price point was a bit high for her, but she decided that this occasion was special enough to warrant such a treat and two consecutive days of TV dinners. Besides, it would be the first time she's been in there for a little under a year. The last time she was there, it was to celebrate her graduation from high school, which she hated with a passion. Arriving at Mango's place, a typical suburban dwelling "that is not special in anyway at all", as Mango puts it, the duo began the process of unpacking. That is, after Mango had shown Rails around the house and made him sit on the spare mattress she found in the attic. "Hmm. It's definitely softer than what I expected," Rails relaxed and stretched out on the mattress. Mango threw a spare blanket she grabbed from her closet compartment at Rails, "Get some sleep then, I've got a ton of things planned for the evening." she said as she watched the pile of fabric hit him ("Oof!") squarely in the face. "Heh, you better do the same, I won't want to wonder around without my tour guide beside me." Rails winked as he struggled with the blanket's orientation. "A-alright then!" Mango sat down on her bed beside Rail's mattress. She can feel her face getting warmer again. "Stop t-teasing me and g-go to sleep already!" She retorted incoherently. Rails gave a little snort and turned over, now snugly under his blanket. Mango lied down and tried to process the entire morning. It's been a little hectic, a lot of nervousness and excitement. It's been a while that she really hung out with anyone, since she only had a handful of friends in school to begin with, and they were all busy with their own lives. She gave a big yawn and let her heavy eyelids fall on their own. Her tiredness took over and she soon wandered off to dreamland. Just before she fell asleep, however, she thought she heard a light snore from Rails. She recalled a little voice in her head, saying: "He's quite a cute pony, you know." "Hey, Mango, you lazy bum, wake up and take me to a food place already!" Rails, along with his stomach, protested as he rolled a sleeping Mango side to side on her bed. "W-w-whoi-ish-d-dis?!" Mango tried to form words in her daze and confusion, to no avail. "Come on, Mango. It's nearly 7 o'clock and if we don't go out now it'd be too late for dinner!" Rails stopped shaking, seeing that Mango is at least somewhat awake. "G-gah, fine, but did you really have to do that?!" Mango said, groggily and angrily. "Hey, not my fault when I've tried everything from an actual alarm clock and banging pot and pans right next to your ear." Rails shrugged. Mango rubbed her eyes and inspected her phone. The screen read 6:30 pm. "Huh, have I really been out for this long?" Surprised, Mango turned to Rails for some form of clarification. "Sure looks like it! Given that you didn't get any sleep last night, it's a pretty reasonable amount for a nap," Rails said, somewhat impatiently. "Are we going or what?" "Can you at least wait till I've straightened out my name?" Mango looked into her dressing table mirror and replied. The Bellpony Place was just a stone's throw away from Mango's house. It was situated by the riverside, where locals and travellers alike enjoyed a little peddle boat ride in the evening. Besides the water entertainment and a subjectively there's really not much else to the suburban town. Everypony went about minding their own business, greeting each other out of politeness when they pass by, the rhythm was slow and steady, if it could be called that. After being seated on the balcony facing the river, Mango had settled for a soothing vanilla carrot and yam stew to go with her hay steak, topped generously with applesauce. On top of all that, she had a glass of sparkling apple cider to wash it all down. Meanwhile, Rails was digging into a neatly presented stack of sushi, with apple strudel as dessert and cola as his drink of choice. "The athmothphere ish really -" Rails said between mouthfuls of food. "Relaxing?" Mango finished his sentence. Rails nodded. "Yeah, not much goes around here, really. It is a small town after all." Rails cleared his mouth with the help of his cola. "I won't mind living here myself though. Fillydelphia is not as bustling as Manehattan, it still feels life goes by too fast sometimes, you know?" He said, gazing over the waterfront. "Heh, you should totally try it for a few years, I doubt that you'd be still alive with all the boredom!" Mango joked.