//------------------------------// // Chapter Four // Story: Beyond the Books // by TTV_KingPhoenixEmbers //------------------------------// Beyond the Books Chapter Four “Hey man, you alright?” “I'm fine.” You look to your friend when you hear him heave a sigh. “Dude, you really suck at lying, you know that?” He says. “You ordered your favorite dish, and you haven't even touched it yet. C'mon, what's up?” You heave a sigh as you finally start to chew your favorite meal, made so perfectly by the resturaunt you two met up at. After swallowing your first bite, you contemplate how to say this. “You know that mare at the library?” “Yeah?” He answers with a questioning look. “What about her?” You don't really say anything for a moment, just giving him a look, and it quickly dawns on him. “You serious?” You shrug, “Yeah, is that a problem?” “No, I just didn't think it'd happen.” “Neither did I, but it did...” You trail off, moving back to your food and finally starting to eat it a little. “Have you told her yet?” You blush as you mumble, “Not really...” “You're gonna, right?” “Of course I will!” “Good, then get moving!” With that, your pal kicks your leg from under the table, making you yelp outloud and making you jump away from the table. Ignoring the looks from the other eaters at the restaurant, you glare at him as you rub your leg, hissing a bit at the sore spot already forming. “What was that for?!” You hiss at him. “I'm telling ya I'll pay for lunch, get your flank out there,” He answers nonchalantly, as he sips from his coke at the same time. Glaring at him, you know that with how stubborn he is he won't let you sit back down without hurting you again, so you decide to give in to his rather painful demands and leave the cafe. Deciding to put plotting your revenge on hold, you focus on what you're going to say to Twilight. Do you just blurt out that you like her? No, mares don't like that, do they? You don't know, you've never been on a date before! Wait, you're a mess, so why are you going to ask her now? Glancing at your reflection in a store window, you grimace at the rat's nest that is your mane and tail. Not how you want to present yourself to the mare you want to date. Should you run home? Nah, you decide, as you run a hoof through your mane to straighten it. “Good enough,” you decide with a shrug. You decide to just let the tail fix itself, mostly because it's obviously a lost cause and move on. You don't even get to knock on the door to the library, because just as you're about to, it opens and promptly smacks you in the snout. “OW!” “I'm sorry!” Snapping to attention, you immediantly notice Twilight. And she's close. Really close. Your face turns crimson, but she doesn't seem to notice, she's more focused on getting your hoof away from your nose so she can inspect it for wounds. “Are you alright?” She asks, gently prying your hoof out of the way. “Oh my gosh, you're bleeding!” Blinking out of your proximity-induced stupor, you glance at your hoof, and realize that she's right. You really are bleeding, and pretty badly. “Come in, quick, let me at least take care of that for you,” Twilight says, and you can only hobble along as she drags you into the library and try to hold pressure to your bleeding nose. “You looked like you were in a hurry,” You begin to say. You don't want to impose. “Don't let me stop you, I can get home and take care of this myself.” “Nonsense, I did it to you, so let me at least help.” “No, no, I can't impose on you... what were you off to do, anyway?” You ask, as you move your hoof out of the way again, her magic carefully applying a gauze and dabbing away the blood. “Rarity wants to meet at the spa, and I said I'd come,” Twilight said nonchalantly. She gives a look at how you raise your eyebrows, and pauses momentarily in cleaning up your muzzle. “What?” “Nothing!” You answere quickly, before trailing off. “Just... didn't take you for a spa-going mare...” She giggles, making you blush from the sound, “I didn't either until I came to Ponyville. I don't do it as often as Rarity and Fluttershy do, though.” “What, they go every week or something?” Her giggle is enough of an answer, even as she focuses on very carefully placing a bandage on the cut on your snout. In order to ensure that it applies correctly, she interrupts your personal space again and gets up incredibly close; close enough for you to get a good whiff of her mane. Is that... some sort of berry? You think, but the moment ends before you can get confirmation and she pulls back. “There!” She smiles, then she gives a confused look at noticing your very red face, and puts a hoof to your forehead. “Are you alright? Your face is all red, and you feel kind warm...” Well, you already knew that. Anything else out of place? A quick mental once-over, and – “And your wings are –” Twilight gasps and backs up a bit, blushing a bit at the implications. “Err...” Well this is awkward, You think, and it's clear she's thinking the exact same thing. Obviously one of her pegasus friends – probably Dash – told her what the wingie means. Or she read about it. Either way, this was incredibly embarrassing... “Uhh...” You begin to say, unsure of how to put this. “I should... go...” Twilight manages, slowly making her way to the door. Just before she steps outside, you gather your wits. “Wait!” You call, making her turn to you. Despite how embarrassing this moment was, she manages to laugh at the look on your face. “Uhh... if... if you're not busy later... d-do you wanna...” She giggles again at your flustered look, “How about that new diner on the edge of town, tonight at 9?” “Sure,” You agree easily, and watch as she takes off for the spa with a wave. Looking about, you notice that there's not much to do and – wait, is that that time? Uh... perhaps you should go see the barber's or something, you don't have that much time! With a dash you race out the door – pause as you close it – and race to get ready for your date. That very thought makes you giddy with excitement, you're actually going on a date! “Wow, you look excited,” your friend says, flying up to you. He raises an eyebrow at the little band-aid on your muzzle. “What, you run into the wall or something?” “No,” You chuckle, to happy about this to feel anything else. “I was about to knock and she opened the door in my face.” “Literally, I see,” he chuckles. “She's strong to get you to bleed like that, huh? D'you pop a wingie in front of her or something? You're still all red in the face, dude.” “Something like that.” “And...?” “Got a date! Tonight at 9!” “Where?” “That new diner.” Your pal grins and offers his hoof, which you happily smack for a hoof-five. “Get your flank moving, don't wanna dissapoint your date, do you?” “Yeah yeah, later!” You land at the barber's, ready and willing to shell out a few bits to look presentable for your date tonight. The mane-cutter reads your mind, probably gets stallions like you all the time. He even gives you some advice from a married stallion on how to be on your first date, and you make sure to pay attention; somepony with experience when it comes to dates is very obviously worth listening to. It takes almost two or three hours for you to get fully ready, mostly because in the meantime between your mane being done by that awesome stallion barber, you stopped by the Carousel Boutique. That had been interesting, you'd been there to rent dress clothes, but apparently Twilight had talked to the white unicorn that ran the place about your upcoming date, and she'd already had something prepared – and, if you were honest, it was absolutely awesome. As for right now? You were on your way to pick your date, after having spent the last hour building up enough nervous energy to almost ruin your mane and tail again. Not to say that you aren't nervous anymore, Celestia no, you're practically hyperventilating! Finally landing at the library, you take several deep breaths and knock on the door. “Come in,” You hear, and so you carefully open the door and enter the tree building. You smile at who you see, “Hey, Spike. Is Twilight here?” “She's upstairs getting ready. Want me to go get her?” “That's not necessary,” Twilight's voice says from the stairs, making you turn around. Hey, you remember those deep breaths you took? Consider all that air gone. This mare has gone all out for this date, and her beauty is absolutely breath-taking. Her coat has been shined and cleaned thoroughly, probably back at the spa and perhaps by her fashionista friend. Or was Rarity responsible for the purple and star-covered dress that flowed over Twilight's back? Either way, the white shoes on her hooves and the little white star tucked behind her ear suit her better than can be described. She blushes at the way you're looking at her. “I didn't go overboard did I?” She asks, wondering why you're just staring. “No!” You answer immediantly, eager to disprove that idea. “No... you're just... really pretty.” Wow, how corny can you get? Either way, you've set the reservation, and it's in a few minutes, so the two of you start to head out. Twilight pauses to make sure that Spike knows to get to bed on time, to which he gives a reluctant confirmation. Smiling at his rather childish antics, the two of you head out for the diner. The walk is a little awkward at first, mostly because you don't really know what to say. “So...” You begin. “How'd you meet Spike?” She brightens up immediantly, “It happened back when I was filly...” You listen carefully, happy to be able to talk to your date like this. She pauses in her chat as you finally arrive at the fancy restaurant and get the booth you reserved a couple hours ago. “So that's why you were bouncing about a couple months ago?” You grin to her when she gets to the part of Celestia accepting her as a student. She blushes from the embarrassment that she feels at reminding her of that. “W-Well... I, uh...” You chuckle at her stammers, “What do you want to eat?” The sharp change in topic catches her off-guard for a moment, but she looks at the menu and makes her choice for a sandwich and shake, while you go for some soup and a soda. “Really?” Twilight asks with a raised eyebrow. “A soda, this late at night?” “It's alright,” You insist, grinning. “I'll just, you know, be up all night.” She giggles at your joke, and it helps to ease the anxiety you are both obviously feeling. The two of you spend your time happily talking with each other, talking between bites once the food arrives. You're telling a story about how you and your friend met, just as the two of you are heading back to the library. “And then I end up having to save his sorry flank from the teach,” You chuckle, before sighing with a smile. “Sometimes I wonder if it was really worth it.” “Why's that?” She giggles, as you arrive back at the library. “He's a prank-loving brat,” You say easily, rolling your eyes at some of the memories. “I'm sure you could tell me about him later,” Twilight says, as she starts to open the door. “Thanks for taking me, I had a really great time.” You smile, “I'm glad you did.” “But you really didn't have to pay for it all, you know.” “Psh,” You say, dismissing it with a wave of your hoof. “What else was I gonna use those bits for? New clothes?” Twilight just gives you an amused look as she pointedly looks over your suit, making your point fall flat, but you just roll your eyes in an overly exaggerated manner that makes her smile. “Alright, I get your point, but I'm still fine with paying for it,” You insist, before pausing. “Talk to you later?” “Of course. Want to meet up tomorrow at the park?” “Sure, how about sometime around noon?” “I'll see you there,” She agrees with a smile. “Well... good night.” “Good night,” You say, watching as she heads in. After a few moments, you decide to head home. You realize that there is a bit of a stupid smile on your face, but you know that after the success that was tonight's date, you don't really care. By the time you get your mane and tail back into their usual messy forms, and you've put the rented suit back in its proper sleeve so that it can be returned tomorrow. Laying down, you have just one thought. Tomorrow couldn't possibly come fast enough.