Applejack stumbled out of Carousel Boutique nearly an hour later, groomed to within an inch of her life. Her hooves had been polished to a shine, her mane and tail combed and styled, even her hat had been cleaned and repaired.
Sketchy came next, looking the same as he ever did. Rarity probably would’ve put him through the wringer too, if there hadn’t been the issue of him being a stallion and her being a mare.
Rarity herself came last, looking entirely too happy with herself. “Oh, I just remembered that I have some urgent business to attend to. You two will have to go on without me.”
“Uh huh,” Applejack said flatly, “and what kinda business is that?”
“Just a few orders to fill,” Rarity said, “but as luck would have it, I set up a tab at Meadow’s this very morning and reserved a table for two. You two go and order anything you like. Consider it my treat.” Then she quickly went back inside and shut the door behind her.
Applejack could only stare at the door for a moment. “This has got to be the least subtle bit of matchmaking that mare has ever done.”
“What’s matchmaking?” Sketchy asked.
Applejack winced. Hoo boy, this one wasn’t going to be easy to explain. “Why don’t we head to Meadow’s? I’ll give you the rundown along the way.” She started walking.
Sketchy nodded and followed after.
They covered a block as Applejack debated with herself about the best way to go about this. “So,” she said at last, “matchmaking is when you try to hook two ponies up.”
He tilted his head to one side. “Hook them up to what?”
Applejack groaned. “Should’ve seen that coming.” She shook her head. “I mean that Rarity’s trying to get us to start dating.”
Sketchy frowned in thought. “So she wants me to stare at your butt?”
“Huh?” Applejack stopped. “How in the world did you come to that conclusion?”
“You said that dating ponies can look at each other’s butts,” Sketchy said. “So if she’s trying to, um, matchmake us, then she must want that.” He got a nervous look in his eyes. “Unless she secretly hates you.”
Applejack kept herself from facehoofing. Just barely. “How would her trying to hook us up mean that she hates me?”
He just stared at her for a second, like he was confused that she didn’t already know. “Griffons always fight over the best mates, so if she doesn’t want me for herself, then it means she thinks I’m not good enough for her.” He didn’t seem upset by the idea. “But if she’s trying to get us to date, and it isn’t to let me draw sexier pictures of you, then she must be trying to reduce her competition by pairing you off with an inferior mate.”
And there was the facehoof. “Sketchy, you’re not inferior. Some ponies just go better together than others, and Rarity seems to think we’d do well together.”
Sketchy digested that as they continued to Meadow’s place. “What do you need in a mate? If you’re right, then she must think I have some of the qualities you need.”
Applejack paused and frowned. “I, uh, I dunno. I’ve said it before, but I don’t think much about dating, or romance, or anything like that. I never really thought about what I need in a special somepony.”
They reached Meadow’s just then. It was a nice place, two stories tall, and just big enough to fit the entire Apple Family the last time they’d been here for a reunion. Applejack walked in through the front door. “Howdy, Fritter, didn’t expect to see you working the front.”
Apple Fritter stood behind the counter, smiling. She was a yellow earth-pony with a green mane and eyes to match. “One of the waitresses called in sick, so I’m filling in.” She gestured to Sketchy. “Table for two?”
“Yeah,” Applejack scratched the back of her neck, “apparently Rarity made a reservation under her name.”
Fritter checked the reservations book. Her eyes widened. “Wait, so you two were the ones getting the Romance Package?”
Applejack paused and licked her lips. “Maybe? Rarity’s kinda gone nuts over trying to hook us up.”
Fritter chuckled. “I see. Well, the package includes a candle-lit dinner in one of our private dining rooms, free desert to share, and a bottle of wine.”
Keeping Sketchy away from crowds wasn’t a bad idea, and a bottle of wine sounded pretty good. She’d skip out on desert, though. Her flank was, apparently, too big already. Applejack nodded to herself. “Sure, lay it on us.”
“Right this way, then.” Fritter led them upstairs and into a room that was small enough to be cozy without feeling cramped. As promised, candles covered the walls, with a larger one on the table. “Do you two know what you’d like?”
Applejack knew what she wanted, but Sketchy probably didn’t even know what they served. “Why don’t you give us a minute?”
“Sounds good. Did you want something to drink, or should I bring out the wine right away?”
“I’ll take a peach lemonade,” Applejack said. “How about you, Sketchy?”
Sketchy was looking around the room like it would bite him. He jumped when Applejack said his name. “I’m sorry, what?”
“What do ya want to drink?” Applejack repeated.
He froze for a second. “Can I get whatever you’re having?”
“Of course.” Applejack turned to Fritter. “Two peach lemonades, then.”
Fritter smiled. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, lovebirds.” Then she was gone before Applejack could even correct her.
“Eh, let her think what she wants,” Applejack muttered, sitting down at the table. “So, Sketchy, what do you think you’ll order?”
Sketchy sat down at the chair opposite her. “I don’t know.” He picked up the menu and opened it up. “What’s a good choice?”
“I’ve always been partial to the apple-and-caramel grilled-cheese sandwich.” Applejack held up a hoof to stall arguments. “I know that sounds all kinds of strange, but it’s a lot better than you’d expect. Of course, the spiced berry soup is great too, and the cheddar-and-broccoli omelet’s darn tasty.”
“Do they have anything with meat?” Sketchy asked.
Applejack’s eyes shot wide. “Wait, you, I mean, you’d actually …” She blanched. “You eat meat?”
“Yes,” Sketchy said calmly. “I haven’t been able to get much since I left Griffonstone.”
Despite feeling sick, Applejack checked the menu. On the very last page was a small section for omnivores. “Looks like they’ve got a few things.” She slid her menu over to him and pointed at the meat dishes.
Fritter came back in, balancing two cups of peach lemonade on her back, which she expertly moved onto the table. “Have you decided what you’d like?”
“I’ll take the apple-and-caramel grilled-cheese,” Applejack said, wondering if she’d have the stomach to eat it while watching Sketchy devour the remains of some poor critter.
“The fish in pimento sauce, please,” Sketchy said.
Fritter did a double take. “Really?”
He did one of those slight frowns. “Yes. Was I not speaking clearly enough?”
“No, no, you were clear,” Fritter said. “I just wasn’t expecting that.” She gathered their menus. “Your meals will be ready in a few minutes.”
Applejack waited until she left before returning her focus to Sketchy. And her mind also went blank. This was kind of a date, much as she might wish otherwise. What did ponies even talk about on dates? Well, there was one subject every pony seemed happy to talk about. “So, uh, how’d you get your cutie mark?”
“Drawing a griffoness.” He gestured to the sketch drawing of a griffoness on his flank. “I thought the mark would make that obvious.”
“I guess it should have,” Applejack said a little uncomfortably. “I meant more what’s the story behind it? How’d you wind up drawing in the first place? Was that griffoness the first person you drew?” She waved a hoof. “You know, that sort of thing.”
“She was my first live subject,” Sketchy said slowly. “I suppose that makes her the first person I drew that wasn’t from a book. I started drawing to help me envision what was happening in the books I used to read, but,” he frowned, “they were all terrible.”
Applejack nodded. “So how’d you wind up drawing that griffoness?”
“She saw me drawing in the ruins of the library and offered to pay me for drawing a sexual picture of her for her significant other.” Sketchy closed his eyes and smiled faintly. “It was so much easier to draw something I could look at, and I received my mark as soon as she paid me.”
“So that’s why you’re so obsessed with drawing butts ‘n stuff,” Applejack said, half to herself. “Though you did a great job on those non-sexy pictures today. Ever think about branching out?”
“No,” Sketchy said. “Erotic art always paid better, and there’s a certain intensity to it that I enjoy. My subjects are projecting all their desires and desirable attributes toward the mate they hope for, and I’m allowed to capture that forever on paper.” He smiled, more strongly this time. “Other art is nice enough, but it feels bland by comparison.”
Applejack sat back and thought about that. She had plenty of farming skill, enough that she could grow any kind of crop she wanted, but she couldn’t imagine specializing in anything other than apples. It sounded like Sketchy felt the same about his art. “I think I understand,” she said with a smile, “and who am I to tell a pony that they shouldn’t chase after their destiny?”
“I don’t know,” Sketchy said. “Who are you to do that?”
Applejack laughed. “Sketchy, do me a favor. Never change.”