Getting Ready
The following Saturday had arrived and Moondancer was up bright and early, doing some last minute studying on how to prepare for a second date. She remembered how her friends said that she should just wear what she always does and wear her mane the way she always does but she couldn't help but question that advice. She decided that she would study as much as she could with the time she had before she would need to get ready and head to Ponyville.
As she was flipping through the various books she was finding plenty of information on second dates but given that most ponies don't even wear clothes there wasn't a whole lot of information on how to dress. There was however, plenty of information on mane styles. She began to focus more on the material and found something about wearing a somewhat different mane style than she did on the first date. She said to herself, "I've got it! I'll wear my mane like I used to! I'm not wearing it up like I do now."
She immediately took her mane down and brushed it so that it looked like it did years ago, before she had withdrawn from everypony. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled but then realized something. That turtleneck she has always worn goes with her old mane style, she didn't wear clothes the last time she wore her mane like this. She said to herself, "Alright Moondancer, I know your friends said not to change, but I'm just going as I am! That turtleneck does not go with this mane style."
Moondancer removed her turtleneck and was happy with what she saw in the mirror. In it she saw the Moondancer from before Twilight skipped her party, the Moondancer from before all the heartache. She sighed, "Well I better get showered. I certainly don't want to smell bad!"
After showering and getting dried off, Moondancer looked up at the clock and saw it reading ten till one and knew that she had better get going. She was the type of pony who tended to be a bit paranoid about things not going quite the way it should when it comes to timeliness. Before leaving she grabbed her saddlebags in the event that she would either be the one to pay or if they would split the bill like they did last time.
Meeting at the Cafe
After what seemed to be forever for Moondancer the train finally pulled into Ponyville. When she looked at the clock at the station she was not thrilled. It was a quarter till three, she did not have long to make it to the cafe. She knew that Twilight tended to arrive at places early but also knew that if she were to gallop to the cafe, that she would work up a sweat and that would immediately be noticed by her. She worried that if Twilight saw that that she may think that she wasn't overly serious and was not taking being on time seriously.
Moondancer did walk a little faster than normal to the cafe but not fast enough that she would work up a sweat. When she arrived right by the entrance she saw Twilight off in the distance. She said to herself, "Alright, arriving on time, check!"
When Twilight approached her she gave her a smile and said, "Moondancer, you made it!"
Moondancer smiled back at her and replied, "I wouldn't miss this for the world."
Moondancer wasn't exactly sure what she should do but she used her magic to open the door for Twilight before following her in. Twilight smiled and said, "You didn't have to do that but thank you."
Moondancer replied, "You're welcome Twilight."
After the two were seated and the waiter took their drink orders Twilight noticed her change in appearance, "Moondancer, I see you're wearing your mane like you used to." She took a closer look and continued, "And I notice that you aren't wearing your turtleneck."
Moondancer replied, "Well I just thought I would go with a different look." Even though it wasn't exactly a hot day Moondancer felt like she had to make an excuse for her change. She continued, "Well it is a bit warm and I didn't want to sweat any."
Twilight gave her a smile and replied, "Well I think you look a lot better like this. The way you are wearing your mane looks more natural."
This made Moondancer a bit nervous. She thought to herself, "She gave me a compliment, what do I do next? She always looks like this so what do I say?"
Moondancer looked a little flustered and Twilight saw it. She asked, "What's wrong Moondancer?"
Moondancer replied, "Well it's just that nopony has ever complimented me on my looks before so I don't really know how to react."
Twilight commented, "Well I know how that is, I've never had anypony compliment me on my appearance either."
They continued to discuss normal things until the waiter arrived to take their order. Almost immediately Moondancer began to wonder what she should get. She began to wonder if she should order something similar to Twilight so she would think that they have something in common when it comes to food or if she should just order what she normally would.
Twilight ordered, "I would like a daffodil and daisy sandwich along with a medium cider."
Moondancer realized that she simply can't order something similar to Twilight because that would be her being fake, that along with her hating what Twilight ordered. She ordered, "I would like a hayburger, some hayfries along with a large cider."
Before he left the waiter asked, "So will this be on separate tickets or will this be on one bill?"
Moondancer realized that what she ordered cost twice as much as what Twilight did and knew that this would likely be best if they paid separately. She replied, "It will be on sep......"
Twilight interrupted, "It will be on one ticket." She turned to Moondancer and continued, "Don't worry Moondancer, I've got this."
The waiter nodded and took their order to the kitchen. Moondancer was nervous about her order being so much. She said, "Twilight, what I ordered is so much." She took some bits and went to hand them to Twilight and continued, "At least let me pay you for mine."
Twilight grabbed the bits, levitated them back into Moondancer's saddlebags and replied, "Moondancer, don't worry about it. You're my friend and like I said, this is on me."
This made Moondancer nervous because normally one pony doesn't basically refuse to let the other even help out with the meal. She began to analyze the whole situation in her head when Twilight asked, "So Moondancer, have you went to talk to Celestia about getting back into school yet?"
This question scared Moondancer because she hadn't done so yet and she knew how much Twilight valued education but she knew she couldn't lie. She nervously replied, "I haven't yet."
Twilight suggested, "Well I really think you should. If she lets you back in you could have so many more opportunities open up for you."
Moondancer replied, "I'll admit, I'm just nervous given how I just quit showing up for classes. I'm scared she might be mad that I'd even have the audacity to ask."
Twilight reached her hoof out and grabbed Moondancer's. She said, "Moondancer, like I said last week, if she says no just let me know and I'll talk to her. If I vouch for you I know she'll let you back in."
When Twilight grabbed her hoof, despite trying to fight it, Moondancer blushed a little and replied, "Alright, I'll go talk to her tomorrow about this."
Before letting go of her hoof Twilight replied, "Good, I just want what is best for you and I want to see you succeed in life."
Still blushing Moondancer said, "Thanks Twilight, I really appreciate that."
Twilight noticed Moondancer blushing when she grabbed her hoof but understood why she blushed. She knew that Moondancer had strong feelings for her and having her hoof grabbed must have made her happy. Twilight also realized that Moondancer was not trying to rush anything as she had not tried to be sappy or anything.
The two continued to discuss about how their lives were going and talked about their friends before the waiter brought the bill. Twilight looked at it and didn't give any sort of reaction, which caused Moondancer to wonder what was running through her mind. She tried to read her facial expression and tried to figure out if she was upset or not but simply couldn't tell.
The two headed to the register and Twilight paid. On the way out Moondancer said, "Thank you Twilight, I really enjoyed this."
Twilight replied, "You're welcome Moondancer, I enjoyed this too." Twilight too enjoyed her get together with Moondancer and asked, "Moondancer, what would you think about doing this again next Saturday?"
Moondancer's ears shot up as she did not expect Twilight to immediately suggest that they get together again. Moondancer replied, "I would really like that but next week I'm taking you out to the cafe in Canterlot and I'm paying!"
Twilight said, "That sounds good." She paused for a moment before continuing, "Would three be alright?"
Moondancer replied, "Sounds good to me." She then realized that it was getting late in the afternoon and figured that Twilight likely had things to do. She continued, "Well I probably better catch the train before it gets too late."
Twilight said, "Alright." She gave Moondancer a light embrace before continuing, "I look forward to seeing you next week."
Moondancer replied, "I look forward to seeing you next week as well."
The two parted ways and Twilight headed back to her castle while Moondancer headed to the train station. During her ride home she couldn't help but wonder what Twilight was feeling. She remembered that she gave her a light hug before she left Canterlot on the night of her party and the hug she just gave her was the same type of hug, a light friendly hug but in her heart she couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't more.
When she got home and closed her door she began to jump up and down and squealed, "She wants another date! She wants another date and she hugged me!"
Soon she calmed down and headed over to the books she had checked out and said to herself, "Alright Moondancer, now you need to study for what to do on a third date!"