Dresses and dates
Fluttershy was finishing moving the last of the rabbits from the latest hidey-hole they had found in Sweet Apple Acres. She knew she would be coming back tomorrow to continue the job, but for now she had other things to focus on, like her date tonight.
Applejack came by with some apple juice for the pegasus and asked, “About done?”
“Almost. Just moving these last few. What time is it?”
“About four thirty”
“Oh, good,” Fluttershy said.
“What time is your date with Fleur?”
“Six, but I want to be early.” She left unmentioned the fact that that she needed to get her dress on and her bits together before she left.
“While we're on the subject, I meant to ask, are you sure about this date?” Applejack asked.
“What do you mean?”
“It's just that you two are...never mind.”
“We're what?” Fluttershy asked.
Applejack sighed and decided to be blunt about it. “It's just that she's so much older than you. Don't you think you should go out with someone who's a bit younger?”
“She's only 24.”
“Oh, She is?” Applejack said, obviously embarrassed
“Yes, and she gets rather annoyed when ponies think she's older,” Fluttershy said before gently coaxing the last rabbit into leaving.
“Anyway, same time tomorrow?” Applejack asked, handing over a few bits for Fluttershy's service.
“Of course. I'll see you then,” Fluttershy said.
“And have fun on your date tonight.”
“I'll try.”
At this point, a blue figure emerged from one of the trees and flew off after Fluttershy, leaving a blanket and pillow behind. Stopping next to the yellow pegasus, the figure asked, “Wait, you got a date with that unicorn from the train station? And it's tonight?
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me? I thought I was your best friend!”
“I thought you would be mad,” Fluttershy told Rainbow Dash.
“Why would I be mad? Because she turned me down?”
“Well, yes.”
“Oh, come on. You know I would never let something like that get to me. Also why didn't you tell me you were into mares?” Rainbow asked.
“You never told me you were either.”
“I didn't?”
“No,” Fluttershy said bluntly.
“Oh, heh, I guess I didn't. Anyway, where are you taking her?”
“It's a secret,” Fluttershy said, wanting to keep Rainbow from watching her date with Fleur.
“Oh, I see how it is,” Rainbow said, “Could you at least tell me how it goes?”
“Sure. Just come by my cottage tomorrow.”
“Will do, and have fun tonight.”
“I'll try,” Fluttershy said.
Fleur, in the meanwhile was busy finding ways passing the time until the date, which, for a formerly high class fashionista like her, meant shopping was very high on the agenda.
As she looked over a selection of jewelry, she heard somepony say her name. When she turned to look at the source, she found herself face to face with an unhappy looking Princess Luna and immediately assumed that the alicorn was angry at her. “Y-yes, your highness?”
“I would like to have a word with you. In private,” Luna said.
“What about?”
“You shall see.”
“Does this have anything to do with your anger?” Fleur asked.
“No. My frustration has nothing to do with this,” Luna said, reassuring her.
“Um, how does taking this to my home sound?”
“That would be perfect.”
As they walked to Fleur's home, the unicorn asked, “So what's made you so grumpy?”
“You know of the Ponyville Dam, I presume?” Luna asked.
“Yes. Small dam blocking off the Ponyville river. Why?”
“It has developed a large crack, for what is apparently the third time in two years. Also, there are no plans for a long term repair or replacement of said dam,” Luna said.
“Wow.”
“And, to make matters worse, there are currently no evacuation plans or early warning systems in case the dam does break. And seeing as the lead engineer is the most incompetent worker I have ever met, I do not think she will have any such plans ready for submission before I leave for Canterlot.”
“You're joking. No evacuation plans?” Fleur asked, shocked.
“None whatsoever. It is amazing how incompetently emergency preparedness has been managed here in Ponyville. Wading through the mess has made me desire a stiff drink.”
“That's comforting.”
“Fortunately for the town, I have put a spell on the dam that should keep it from deteriorating further for at least a year. Unfortunately, I do not think that will be long enough,” Luna said.
“Can we talk about something else, now? I've heard enough about our non-existent disaster planning for one day.”
“Honestly, so have I.”
“Anyway, welcome to my humble home,” Fleur said as she unlocked her front door.
Luna stepped through the doorway after Fleur and looked around. Jacques cautiously approached and sniffed the princess' hoof, unsure of what to make of this new visitor. When the alicorn did nothing in response to his presence, he got bored and hitched a ride on his warm owner's back, purring contentedly. Luna watched wordlessly as the unicorn went into her kitchen and pulled something from the icebox.
“Would you like some wine? I have plenty,” Fleur called from the kitchen.
“Please.”
As Fleur walked out of the kitchen with two wine glasses Luna asked, “Why is your cat riding you?”
“I think Jacques is just cold and rather affectionate. Anyway, what did you want to talk about?”
Before speaking, Luna took her glass of wine and drained half of it in one gulp, much to Fleur's annoyance. To her, good wine, such as the wine she had given Luna should be sipped and savored, not guzzled down. Once the wine had calmed her down a bit, the princess said, “I have watched your dreams these past days, and they are plagued by nightmares.”
“Wait, you can look into my dreams?” Fleur asked, feeling slightly violated.
“Indeed I can. It is an ability that comes with being the guardian of the night, and a method to ensure my subjects' sleep remains peaceful. If their sleep is not peaceful, then I intervene to help make it so.”
“And what have I done to warrant your attention?”
“I do pay special attention to those who are close to the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, since if they are worried about something happening with their friends, it could negatively influence the effectiveness of the elements,” Luna explained.
“That makes sense I guess,” Fleur admitted, “but I assume you can't just go directly to everypony who's had a few bad nights, so what do you do when you can't meet with them directly?”
“I can appear within their dreams, if necessary. However, I prefer to meet in person, if possible, as a dream based appearance can backfire and cause further issues.”
“Oh, I see. Anyway, what did you see in my dreams?” Fleur asked, not completely convinced that Luna wasn't lying towards some end.
Luna described the nightmares she encountered in Fleur's mind, which made the unicorn go wide-eyed in amazement. “So you can see my dreams!”
“That is what I said. However, since I am not well versed in the realms of romance, I asked for Princess Cadance's advice in helping you solve the underlying issue causing your nightmares and allow you to return to restful sleep.”
“And she said?” Fleur asked, amazed by the fact that royalty had taken such an interest in her.
Luna pulled a letter from under her wing and hoofed it to Fleur, who read it with great interest, but found herself disappointed by its contents. “Basic, vague, and open-ended, I should have known,” she snorted in frustration.
Luna ignored her frustrated outburst, not really having any other options for helping her at the moment. Instead she said, “by the way, I believe I saw the stallion you were having nightmares about at Rarity's shop.”
“Yes, I saw him there as well. I meant to have a chat with Rarity today, but I have no desire to speak with him again.”
At this point, a knock came from the door, which Fleur magically opened, revealing a monocled white stallion with a blue mane. “Fancypants, what are you doing here?” the house's owner asked, annoyance dripping from every word as she resisted the urge to hurt him.
“Rarity told me to come here and apologize to you for something before she would give me the dress I ordered for my sister.”
“Yes, I believe you know what she wants you to apologize for. Now be a good boy and tell Princess Luna exactly what it is.”
Fancy now noticed the third pony present in the room, and saw just how unhappy she was with him. “Ah, yes. She believes I had an affair with a mare by the name of Pink Pearls and outed you to protect my reputation.”
“And what parts of this are not true? She has had vivid dreams about discovering you in bed with a pink mare, then seeming to be cast out of Canterlot, which I have seen with my own eyes,” Luna said.
“How have you seen these dreams?”
“I am the princess of the night, and dreams are among my realms. Your former wife's sleep has been troubled these past nights, and I entered her dreams to find out why. That is when I encountered these nightmares.”
Fancy, realizing the jig was up, said, “Okay, you caught me. Just understand that I did it to protect my philanthropic efforts. I wish I hadn't had to, but it was the only way for me to keep helping ponies in need.”
Fleur responded with, “ Viola Heartstrings' affair didn't set her back for too long, as I recall.”
“Who?” Luna asked.
“She's a famous classical musician, and friendly rival of Octavia. A few years back her husband caught her having an affair and went public with it. Her reputation was badly damaged among all segments of society, but she recovered and is almost as popular now as she was before the affair. Also, I believe that this is despite the fact that she has a lesbian niece who lives here in Ponyville.”
Fancypants just stood there unable to say a single word to the two unhappy mares in front of him. He knew that he had no justification for throwing his former wife under the carriage at this point, and, regardless, he was not exactly comfortable around the royal pony who had graced Fleur with her presence for reasons unknown to him.
After a few seconds of waiting for a response, a sly grin formed on Fleur's lips as she said, “I see you have no defense left for you actions.”
“No. I don't. I'm sorry Fleur, I threw you under the carriage to save my own flank, when I should have handled things better.”
“Thank you for apologizing. Now, please leave and don't let me see your face ever again.”
Fancypants didn't put up any resistance to this request, turning around and leaving without so much as a word.
“That was harsh,” Luna said.
“Maybe, but seeing him fills me with anger. Best to keep him out of my sights,” Fleur said as she checked the clock. “Oh, I should get ready for tonight.”
“Your date with Fluttershy?”
“You know?” Fleur said, nervousness lacing her voice
“It is the talk of the town. Well, along with my arrival,” Luna explained, having calmed down greatly from her initial arrival, though her wine was completely drained at this point, whereas Fleur had only drank a quarter of hers.
Fleur took a sip of her wine before saying, in a desperate attempt to change the subject, “speaking of your arrival, when was friendly Luna replaced with grumpy Luna? I miss her.”
“I like to relax, but when I am performing my non-dream based duties I feel it is best to do so with as serious a mindset as possible, both for the sake of professionalism and to ensure I do not miss any details. Also, dealing with that idiot mare of an engineer has left me in a less than agreeable mood.”
“Ah.”
“Regardless, I wanted to ask you about this date.”
Fleur took a long sip of her wine to calm her nerves before speaking. Talking to royalty about her date with a pony of the same sex was not what the Prench mare considered a relaxing activity. She then asked, “So what do you want to know?”
“Well, first I should mention that I am simply curious about your reasons, and have no wish to condemn you for your decision, so you can stop being nervous any time now.”
Fleur responded by trying to calm herself, to no avail, which bugged Luna, but she plowed on.
“On that note, I would first ask you how you managed to get her to agree to this.”
“Ah, I may have made a few lucky faux pas in getting her to agree. Looking back, being so, ah, forward was probably not a good idea, and yet here we are,” Fleur said, thinking about how amazed she was how well kissing the shy pegasus apparently worked in getting a date with her.
“Faux pas?”
“Prench for false step. It means I messed up.”
“I see,” Luna said. “My next question is: why did you want to go on a date with her?”
“Ah, well, she is a kind and beautiful pony, though some of her animals scare me.”
“I see. Anything else?”
“Erm...her helping save Equestria several times didn't hurt, and the fact that I'm sure she'll be loyal to the end if it does work out was a pretty big factor, mainly because of what Fancypants did to me.”
“Is that all?” Luna asked, apparently quite satisfied with her answer.
“Yes,” Fleur said looking at the clock again, “And I really should start getting ready now.”
“What time is your date at?”
“Six, but I'm expecting her to come early,” Fleur said.
“Okay. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to hear about it tomorrow.”
“If you want to, come by the Carousel boutique tomorrow at noon, since I'll be there telling Rarity about it anyway. Maybe then you can also tell me about this prank you're planning for your sister.”
Luna had nearly forgotten about that, but didn't show it. “Of course, I will have the details tomorrow. Regardless, I hope you have a nice night,” she said as she slipped out the front door.
“I hope so too,” Fleur said, not caring that Luna couldn't hear her.
She headed to her bedroom, where she had laid out her dress in anticipation for tonight, and noticed a dark stain on it. She brought the dress up to her snout and sniffed it, immediately realizing that Jacques had peed on it. She turned to her rider and said, “Jacques, I'm ashamed of you.” When he gave her an inquisitive look, she pointed to the stain on her dress and said, “I was going to wear this to my date with Fluttershy tonight, but you ruined it!”
Jacques hung his head in shame, trying for pity points, but Fleur was having none of it. She grabbed him in her magic and said, “Since you ruined the dress I was going to wear tonight, you get to spend the night outside. And Fluttershy is going to hear about this.”
The cat was now in a state of absolute dread. He tried to squirm out of his master's magical grip, but to no avail. Eventually he gave up and went limp, at which point Fleur opened the back door and deposited the cat on her patio, closing it behind him.
Five minutes after Luna left Fleur's home, on the outskirts of Ponyville, Fluttershy was trying to deal with a frustrating issue regarding the dress Rarity had made for her.
Now, before we continue, a quick word on pegasus anatomy and clothing is warranted. Pegasi, as you no doubt realize, have wings, and said wings generally sit on the outside of whatever they happen to be wearing. Now, the thing is, to get a piece of clothing over a pegasus' wings, said wings must be pointed at an upward angle, so that they can be put through the wing holes. When you consider the pegasus anatomy, it becomes obvious that this is extremely difficult to do while positioning the clothes in the right spot without help. Various designers have come up with solutions to allow a pegasus to put on his or he own clothes without outside help, such as, say in the case of a bathrobe, cutting it so that you can use velcro to get your wings through the holes without having to point them skyward, then seal it up behind the wing.
The problem was, in her excitement for making a dress for tonight's date, Rarity forgot to implement such a solution in Fluttershy's dress, meaning she was now trying to get it on with the help of her animals, and having absolutely no success.
“Oh, try moving it a bit up and to the right. No, that didn't work, maybe a little back. No?” She had been trying to get her dress for half an hour now and her wing muscles were getting very sore from holding her wings erect like that.
Wondering whether or not it was worth all this trouble, she told her animals to set the dress aside for the moment, so she could rest her wings and went about getting everything else ready for the big night. She was still nervous and somewhat self-conscious about going out with another mare, especially one who was a whole head taller than her and who had once assumed she took care of monsters, but had decided to make the best of it. After all, what could one date hurt?
She first went about counting out her bits, thirty five in all, thanks to Fleur's overpaying her. Hoping that dinner wouldn't cost more than that, she went to her vanity and brushed out her mane and tail while testing her wings to see if they were ready for another attempt to put on the dress. Deciding that a few more minutes wouldn't hurt, she looked up at the clock and saw she had about 20 minutes before she would have to leave. Happy about this, she made a quick round of her house, making sure the animals had their dinner and thinking about tonight.
Once this was done, round two of Fluttershy v. Dress, the fight of the night, got underway. She called over her a few of her birds to help and stuck her wings up again. Once again, however, the effort was in vain. The biggest problem was the holes were only just big enough for her wings to go through, meaning that if they were more than a bit off, said wings weren't going through. Not helping was the fact that small birds aren't the most precise beings in Equestria, especially when carrying a load weighing about as much as them combined. There were other animals who were better equipped to help out, of course, but they weren't at her cottage at the moment, and she wasn't going to go find them just so they could put a dress on her.
Eventually she ran out of time. Laying the dress on the bed again, she grabbed her bits and, having nowhere else to put them, tucked them under her wing, before heading out the door into the very chilly evening air, hoping she wasn't going to make a foal of herself tonight.
Fleur was now somewhat nervous, because she expected Fluttershy to come by for their date dressed to the nines, and here she was, quite naked thanks to Jacques' bladder. This, annoyingly, exaggerated her ever present need to fidget and move about. It did comfort her slightly that she was only going to embarrass herself rather than have Fluttershy join in on the mild humiliation, but she still didn't enjoy the idea of making a bit of a foal of herself again.
To try to calm herself, she went over the advice Rarity had given her after she heard about the date, which amounted to not getting touchy-feely with Fluttershy and not posing and drawing attention while with her, both things she rather enjoyed doing while with Fancypants, but both things that Fluttershy would likely be uncomfortable with. This didn't help calm her however, so she went with posing for an invisible audience to relax and pass the time.
Eventually, there was a knock at the front door. She opened it to reveal Fluttershy, also not wearing a dress. Fleur didn't comment on this yet, instead saying, “Hello, Fluttershy. Just give me one second and we can be on our way.”
Fluttershy nodded in acquiescence and stood in the doorway. When Fleur turned around, the pegasus noticed that the unicorn's cat wasn't in his usual spot on her back. She asked, “Where's Jacques?”
“He's out back, as punishment for wetting my dress.”
“Oh my. That's terrible.”
“Speaking of dresses, I would have thought Rarity had made one for you tonight,” Fleur said.
“Oh, uh, I couldn't get it on.”
“Why not?”
Fluttershy quickly explained the problem of wings and dresses to Fleur, who was a bit surprised and embarrassed. When she was a model, all unicorns and most earth ponies put on their own clothes unless they were particularly elaborate, but pegasi always had assistants dressing them. She had assumed that this was some weird racist holdover from a less understanding time, and had never considered the possibility that that was the most practical (and, sometimes, only practical) way for them to actually get clothes on.
Feeling a bit silly about this, she grabbed her own bits, assuming that Fluttershy, who she understood generally had money issues, would expect her to pay for tonight's dinner, and unaware that she had set aside a goodly amount of bits for tonight as well. Putting her bits away, and coincidentally leaving Fluttershy unaware that she had them with her, she said, “Well, let's be off.”
On the way to the restaurant, Fleur noticed Fluttershy seemed a bit self-conscious, and asked, “What's wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why are you so nervous?”
Fluttershy took a few seconds to screw up her courage before admitting, “I'm kinda nervous about dating another mare.”
Fleur didn't have an immediate response to this. She had suspected that Fluttershy, who had come out as bisexual only a few days prior, might not be entirely at ease with this revelation just yet. However, being a bit too optimistic, she hadn't counted on this affecting their date in any way.
After a second of thought, and very briefly considering breaking one of the cardinal rules of unicorn magic by casting a calming spell on Fluttershy without asking, Fleur tried to reassure the pegasus by saying, “I know the feeling. My own coming out nearly caused me a nervous breakdown after the fact.”
“Really? What happened?”
“Well, it's a long story for another time. Suffice it to say, I don't think we're going to encounter any issues from any Ponyvillians, simply because we're together, a luxury I lacked when the younger, more hormone-addled me came out in one of the more conservative parts of Prance.”
“Unless they think you're in your thirties of forties again,” Fluttershy pointed out, still feeling self-conscious about being with Fleur, though the unicorn's words, along with her lovely Prench accent, were starting to have a calming effect on her.
“Yes, I had forgotten about that little issue. Thank you for reminding me,” Fleur said, sounding slightly annoyed. Whether it was at the fact that many ponies thought she was much older than she actually was or that Fluttershy had reminded her of such that annoyed the Prench mare, Fluttershy didn't know, but, if only for the sake of keeping her hopes up, she assumed the former. At this point they were getting close to the restaurant Fluttershy had reserved for them, and the pegasus picked up the pace a bit, trying to get there early.
Fleur wordlessly followed suit, noticing that the pegasus had relaxed somewhat, but was still not quite where she would like her to be emotionally. She had one overriding goal for tonight: get Fluttershy to give her one big, happy smile, and she knew the first step towards that end was to get Fluttershy to relax.
When the restaurant came into view, it took some effort on the part of the unicorn not to chuckle at the name: The Alimentaire Cheval.
She also noticed that, while the restaurant was classy enough that wearing a fancy dress wouldn't be out of place, it wasn't so posh that going without clothes would be considered a faux pas either.
Fluttershy turned to look at Fleur, offering a small smile in response to Fleur's big friendly one, before leading her to the front of the restaurant where they met the maitre d', a white unicorn stallion with a black mane, mustache, and tail and a bowtie as his cutie mark. He said with an impeccable Prench accent that matched Fleur's perfectly, “Welcome to the Alimentaire Cheval. How may I serve you ladies this fine night?”
“We have a reservation for two, at six. Should be under Fluttershy,” Fluttershy said.
After taking a second to find the reservation he said, “Ah yes, right this way please.” The two mares followed the maitre d' to a small booth on one side of the restaurant, where they sat down and received their menus, Fleur positioning herself to look smaller and less imposing than she actually was, thinking it couldn't hurt. “Now, what may I get you two for drinks?” he asked.
Fleur looked over the drinks list, and said, “I would like some red wine.”
“Certainly. Any specific vintage, madame?”
“No thank you, and it's mademoiselle, s'il vous plait.”
“Sorry, mademoiselle.”
“That's okay.”
The waiter then turned to Fluttershy, who said, “I'll have the apple cider.” Certainly not a very Prench drink, but, seeing as it was a local favorite, nopony was going to say anything.
“Certainly. I shall be right back with your drinks.”
“Mademoiselle?” a confused Fluttershy asked, as soon as the waiter disappeared.
“The proper term for an unmarried mare in Prance. Married mares are referred to as madams and unmarried as mademoiselles.”
“Oh.”
“Maybe I should teach you Prench someday. It is a beautiful language,” Fleur suggested.
“Maybe,” Fluttershy said vaguely, looking over the menu. She was happy to see that the food and drink, while a bit pricey, wasn't unreasonably expensive, and all of it sounded so good. Despite this, she was able to make her decision just in time for the waiter to return, though she let Fleur order first.
“Have you made your decision?” The waiter asked.
“Yes, I will have the ratatouille,” Fleur said.
“Very good, and you, mademoiselle?”
“The tomato lily soup, please,” Fluttershy said.
“Excellent, I will return with your food shortly,” the waiter said, taking the menus. As he left again, Fleur said, “This is a lovely restaurant, even if the name of it does mean 'the horse food'.”
“It does?”
“Oui, though I'm sure it sounds much classier to those who don't speak Prench.”
“Oh, my. I wish I knew that before,” Fluttershy said, and Fleur now realized that, just like her, the pegasus felt like she was the one who would have to work to convince the other mare to go along with the relationship. Of course, Fleur had been the pursuer all along, which made her wonder why Fluttershy would think she had to impress her.
“Don't worry about it. It's just funny is all.”
A silence descended over the table, which Fleur took advantage of to take in her surroundings. She saw that throughout the restaurant there were couples of all varieties. Most were stallions with mares, but there was a smattering of couples consisting solely of stallions or mares, and any pony race combination you could think of was represented outside of anything x alicorn. Also, coming from somewhere in the restaurant, there was a beautiful, haunting tune being played on a harp. The overall atmosphere of the restaurant, aside from the mild, yet continuous awkwardness at her own table (which was more the fault of the unicorn at said table than anything), was a very pleasant one, and as Fleur looked around, a small smile formed on her lips. Her reverie was only broken when Fluttershy asked, “Is the name really that funny?”
“Oh, no. I was actually appreciating the pleasant atmosphere of this place. I can see why you chose it.”
“Actually, Rarity suggested it. I've never been here before.”
“You haven't?” Fleur asked, honestly surprised. She would have thought that Fluttershy would have at least scouted out the place beforehand.
“No, I only stopped in once to make the reservation.”
“Even so, it's a very lovely restaurant, even if the name is a bit silly.”
Fluttershy didn't respond, but the self-conscious little smile emerging on her face did tell Fleur that she was getting somewhere.
At this point, their food was served. Fleur looked on, hungrily as her vegetable stew was placed in front of her, while Fluttershy showed more restraint, but was obviously ready to eat as well.
Not long after, Fleur was chewing on a piece of eggplant while watching Fluttershy eat her soup. The soup was a fairly large one, which she guessed had something to do with the size of the flower petals (she was partly correct, the restaurant was also known for serving large portions), annd was happy to see the other mare was somewhat more relaxed than when she had arrived at her home earlier in the evening, but frustrated by the fact that she still seemed somewhat self-conscious. She thought, in Prench, Patience, Fleur. Patience. Don't do anything foalish.
Fluttershy, meanwhile, was a bit more focused on her food than her date at the moment. She had always loved lilies, but they were rather expensive in Ponyville, and because she had to set aside a lot of bits for all the food, medicine and various other supplies she used to take care of her animals, this meant that they were a rare treat for her, usually reserved for birthdays and holidays, and an opportunity like this was not to be passed up. She savored each mouthful for several seconds, making her date very curious.
“How's the soup?” Fleur asked.
“Delicious.”
“You mind if I try some?”
Fluttershy pushed the bowl a bit towards Fleur as affirmation, and the unicorn, for the first time since grabbing her bits, used her magic, though only to take a spoonful of the soup. “Yes, that is quite good.”
A short silence descended over the table which Fluttershy used to eat a few more spoonfuls of soup, before asking, “What's it like in Prance?”
“Where I come from, it's quite lovely, but, as with every country, there are areas that are best avoided, including parts of Pearis. Also, the fashions are just as beautiful as those you find in Canterlot, and the countryside more beautiful than anywhere I have ever been.”
“Sounds like you love your home country.”
“I do, and I miss it sometimes, but I love Equestria almost as much, and since I have so many of my roots planted here now I see no reason to go back,” Fleur said. “By the way, you never told me about your life in Couldsdale.”
“...I don't like to talk about it,” Fluttershy said, sounding rather sullen.
Brilliant, Fleur. What a great subject to bring up, the unicorn thought, realizing she had made a faux pas, though in her defense, she had little idea that Fluttershy didn't like to talk about her life in the clouds. Backpedaling a bit, she said, “I understand. Forget I asked.”
“That's okay,” Fluttershy said. A few seconds later, she asked, “How do you like living in Ponyville?”
“I like it. Maybe not as fashionable as Canterlot, or Pearis, but, at the same time, the atmosphere isn't rife with pretentiousness either, and the most adorable pegasus I've ever met lives here.” Fleur said, using thinly veiled flattery to try to make up for bringing up Cloudsdale.
It did help, though not quite as much as she would have hoped. When Fluttershy asked, “Do you really mean that?” her voice had lost most of its sullenness, but hints of old pain remained.
Fleur gave a reassuring smile and said, “Absolutely.”
This was more than enough to get Fluttershy out of her funk. Now in a slightly elated state, and slightly buzzed from the cider, Fluttershy gave a small smile and said, “Thank you. That means a lot coming from a lovely unicorn like you.”
Fleur managed to suppress the urge to squee in a very unladylike manner at hearing this, instead settling for making her smile a bit larger and happier as she speared an onion with her fork. Yes, she thinks I'm lovely! Maybe this will work out after all!, she thought.
Fluttershy, meanwhile, was thinking, how did I let that slip out? You and your big mouth, Fluttershy., then she got a look at Fleur's reaction, and thought, Well, at least she seemed to like hearing me say that. Taking a long drink of her cider and hoping she didn't end up drunk, she considered her next move. Even though she thought things were going very well, she was still nervous (though doing an uncharacteristically good job of hiding it). Even so, because the date was going so well, she decided it couldn't hurt to try being a bit more bold than just calling Fleur lovely.
Taking a second to collect herself, Fluttershy quickly decided to build off her last statement. Drawing on her courage, she said, “It still seems amazing to me that somepony like you would want to go out with somepony like me, though.”
Fleur shook her head in amazement, saying, “C'mon Fluttershy. I think I said this before but I honestly had far less reason to expect any opportunity for romance with you than the other way around, because of some of my insensitive remarks. And I've never been the snooty pie in the sky type, even if I do revel in my beauty and expensive tastes a bit.”
The memory of Fleur's insensitive remarks stung a bit, but never reached Fluttershy's face, instead another small smile crossed said face, which helped to mask her continued, if slight, nervousness. She took another long drink of cider, emptying the glass, and, since she didn't want to risk getting drunk, chose to leave it empty. She then said, “We all make mistakes.”
Fleur opinion of the other mare, already quite high, improved another notch when she heard this. Silently joking to herself that she was probably talking to a changeling pretending to be the yellow pegasus, she finished the last of her wine then continued chatting with Fluttershy about this and that for the rest of their dinner.
When the waiter came with their bill, Fleur was a bit disappointed, as the date was coming to a close and she hadn't gotten that big, happy smile she wanted. Without looking at Fluttershy she pulled out her bit bag with her teeth and looked across the table to see Fluttershy now had her own bit bag in her mouth.
The absurdity of the situation, mixed with the embarrassment both of them felt for thinking that the other pony expected them to pay and the comical looks on each others' faces (with the bit bags still in their mouths serving to heighten the effect), was too much for either of them, and they both burst out in a fit of giggles.
Fluttershy recovered first, but the comedy of the situation kept the big, dopey grin on her face, which Fleur loved seeing. She set the bits on the table and asked, “Why did you bring your bits? I thought when you asked me to set this up, you would have had me pay.”
“Well, the thing is,” Fleur said, between continued fits of giggling, “I thought that, since I was the richer mare, you would have expected me to pay.” He r giggling redoubled from the absurdity, before she said, “I think next time, I'll pay so we don't end up embarrassing ourselves like this again. Not that it wasn't funny.”
Shaking her head at the overall silliness, Fluttershy took this as a cue that she would be paying tonight, and grabbed the bill. Fleur was tempted to stop her and pay herself, but decided not to intervene unless the yellow mare didn't have enough bits. Fortunately, the bill was only thirty bits, with a three bit tip, meaning Fluttershy wasn't about to embarrass herself by coming up short, so she emptied her bit bag on the table, and put two bits back in.
The two of them walked out of the restaurant and found themselves looking at a light blanket of snow. Fleur asked, “Was it supposed to snow today?”
“I dunno, I didn't check the weather.”
“Neither did I. Well, it's not the first time we made foals of ourselves tonight,” Fleur pointed out, getting another chuckle from Fluttershy, “anyway, we should do this again soon, don't you think?”
“Of course,” Fluttershy said, having found herself hoping for a second date, “When at?”
“I'll talk to Luna, and see if we can't set something up in Canterlot when she goes back. If not, does Thursday night sound good? I'll be happy to make the arrangements.”
“That sounds perfect.”
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I hope to see one more.
Please pardon the faux pas
farm3.static.flickr.com/2082/1577506262_03177b0e0f.jpg
... Get it, fox paws?...
I'm sorry, that was stupid
I noticed "couldsdale" In one of fleurs sentences.