If one takes the time to study ancient civilizations, they will note that when humans decided that spending days to weeks chasing animals down to exhaustion as so to eat them got old, exhausting, and settlements started to pop up. Farming agriculture, crop manipulation and cultivation of livestock were the new norm. Ending countless centuries as hunter/gatherers and changing the landscape and people forever. But what those settlements and late early cities needed most was water. Nearly every ancient city was built next to a river, or ocean, or lake. There were a few oddities that somehow beat the odds high in the mountains, but that was a different story.
Regardless, over the centuries, many cities continued to rely on free flowing rivers for survival and sanitation. Canterlot City had been no different. Situated in the foot hills of the mountains, near once great thicket forest that had been logged, farmed out, and whittle down to now protected state park land the city have been founded. The new settlement of Canterlot was less than a day’s walk to the sea and later a major hub for railroad travel, but it was the merging of two rivers that drew the eyes of those first farmers and prospectors. The Hisan River wound its way out of the mountains from snow run off and Mahr Creek carved through the valley and what was now left of the Everfree Forest State Park.
These were just some of the numerous facts that were racing through Twilight Sparke’s mind as she walked from the parking lot where she had parked her car to the small corner restaurant named Munchies on the Creek. Twilight reminded herself that the small establishment had an old chalkboard menu and only outside tables for dining. That fact led to another tidbit she recalled in that it had been established thirty years ago and while still owned by the same family, the founder handed most of the day to day cooking and operations over to his son, Ready Pace.
Twilight grasped onto those factoids like a life preserver to save her from her growing anxiety, taking a deep breath and admiring the view to her left, the beautiful greenway that followed along the Mahr Creek. “Get it together, Sparkle!” she hissed at herself. “You said okay, you’re both ready for this. You are both adults and this is a perfectly normal progression.”
Twilight continued to stare at the near glass smooth water, hands increasingly shaky and clammy, replaying her and Timber’s conversations over the last two days. The blessing and curse of her hyperactive brain combined with a near perfect memory. The two going hand in hand had caused her more than one panic attack. One last deep breath, three more quiet mutters of, “you can do this,” and Twilight carried herself to the wrought iron fenced in patio where her boyfriend, Timber Spruce sat waiting for her.
----------
A block away, two doors to a classic Li’l Red Express truck opened with squeaky hinges and closed with a harsh, metal-on-metal, clang. Rarity winced at the painful sound. She glared at the door as if it had committed a heinous crime. “I thought you were almost done restoring your pet jalopy.”
Applejack scowled at Rarity through her sunglasses. The fashionista had already forbidden her from bringing her beloved cowboy hat, having traded it out for a black baseball cap, and now she was criticizing her pet project. “The engine and tranny are newly restored and Sunset helped me sand and bondo out all the rust patches. I just got the new chrome stack pipes put in a week ago. I haven’t gotten around to all the little interior details like new weather strippin’ for the doors and such like that. Still wanna new bench seat too, but that’s gonna take time. Hell, new paint job’s gonna run me damn near all I got left from my savin’s even with the discount I was promised from that guy Sunset knows. Till then, she’s as good as she’s gonna get.”
Rarity sighed, wishing they had just taken her car, but Applejack had threatened to walk away from the stakeout if she could not drive her truck. The purple haired designer had caved only because they had already lost so much time getting her companion to agree to wear the ensemble she had selected.
For Applejack, she had selected black denim pants with black boots and a long sleeve black button down trimmed in white. Applejack had rolled the sleeves part way up and added sunglasses with the ball cap that few young women could have pulled off as naturally.
For herself, Rarity went with a women’s black power suit and jacket that was made of breathable cotton/polyester mix, which would keep her from sweltering even in the early summer evening. One inch heel pumps with a satin velvet finish, Yellow trimmed sunglasses, and wide brimmed chapeau completed her wardrobe. Rarity had whimpered for a few seconds when she finished tying her hair back in a bun that she hated, but was necessary to complete the plain sight illusion of blending in. Small price to pay, she thought, to stay incognito.
“I thought the point of spyin’ was to look, I dunno, like everyone else.”
“If you didn’t spend all your free time working or playing video games with Rainbow Dash you would be aware we are wearing some of the latest trends of business casual that one might find in the circles of young urban professionals who have finished a long day at the office and needed to blow off steam with a cool beverage by the river. In the laymen vernacular, we are trendy.”
“We look like secret service agents.” Applejack frowned again. “Especially with that gizmo you brought along.”
Rarity tapped her shoulder bag, moving down the sidewalk to her chosen eavesdropping point. “A necessary tool.”
She could see Applejack roll her eyes even through the black sunglasses. “Let’s jus' get this over with.”
Rarity’s chosen point of viewing was a bench and table that sat diagonally across the street along the greenway river lookout. This particular spot also had a tree that partially blocked the view from Munchies if you sat at just the right angle. Applejack wondered how she knew that said table had existed and found it best to let that thought slide right back where it came from while she considered all the possible ways this could go unspeakably wrong. Much to the farm girl’s surprise the desired table was empty and Twilight had her back to them.
Applejack slouched in her metal chair, one arm on the table, the other over the back rest, and trying to look like she was too cool to care about anyone. Mostly pulling off the look, Rarity noted, especially with the top two buttons of her shirt undone. Rarity was sitting upright, but comfortable, hands on the table, legs crossed, with her body twisted towards Applejack, but her head and eyes easily turned towards the target table. Once comfortable, Rarity removed the device from her bag.
Now out in the open, Applejack recognized the device from a school class they had shared. “Hey, ain’t that from that video production class we took last semester just to fill out our electives?”
“Yes, it’s a boom microphone recorder for sports and news room interviews and the like. I especially liked that you can narrow the microphone’s focus to cut out much of the background noise even at a distance.”
“Okay, yeah, but why do you have it? We graduated.”
Rarity set the record feature as well as the speaker so they could hear what was being said in real time. “I didn’t steal it if that is what you are implying. I just didn’t get a chance to return it after mister, ‘I can’t keep my hands to myself’ was accused of misconduct. As you recall, we had a substitute for the last two weeks who had never touched a piece of video equipment a day in their life and I felt uncomfortable handing over an obviously expensive piece of school property. Apparently, so did the principal since she never gave the sub a key to the checkout cabinet.”
“But why do you STILL have it?”
“Oh, stop giving me that look. I’ll give it back… eventually.” Applejack groaned and shook her head. “Hush now, dear. Here comes Timber with their orders.” Rarity’s appetite for gossip and dirty laundry was on par with Pinkie’s second stomach for cake and ice cream. It was too late to walk away without causing a scene of their own.
----------
“Annnnd here you go. One pastrami, mozzarella, and tomato with pickle, chips, and a diet cola. The only thing missing is a sweet for my sweet.”
Twilight smiled. “Aww, that’s not true. I have a sweet… no wait, I got this. Um, You’re my sweet, so I’m sweet on you.” Timber laughed and smiled before taking a small bite of his pepperoni and meatball sandwich. The two ate quietly while the world turned and the sounds of urban life provided a pleasant white noise. The comfortable silence and focus on just eating was doing wonders to settle Twilight’s anxiety.
“So, on my way into town I heard on the radio about a runaway food truck this afternoon. I don’t suppose that was just a freak accident and not a, you know…” Timber made gestures with his hands as if he were trying to play an invisible piano. Twilight understood that after what happened at Camp Everfree and especially with his sister that magic still made him uncomfortable.
“Oh no, it was definitely out of control magic,” Twilight replied. Not the least bit scared to say the words even in a public setting. It was not like anyone would believe them if they overheard her say the word magic. Heck, her brother used to play a tabletop card game with the word 'Magic' right in the title. Even many of the students at CHS who had witnessed real magic first hand multiple times wrote off most of what they had seen as special effects and all part of some grand school district plan. As far as the little bit of video Twilight had managed to find online, all was of poor quality or from too much distance to be considered conclusive by even the most dedicated conspiracy fanatics.
She and Sunset had a hypothesis that many electronics did not have sufficient insulated shielding from the unique electromagnetic radiation that Equestrian magic seemed to expel when it was being used. The small blessing had saved them many awkward questions and almost no visits from authorities who looked just as uncomfortable doing follow up inquiries as the girls had been answering them. Except Pinkie, she loved talking to everyone. Five minutes trying to get a statement out of Pinkie Pie and the officers were certain there must have been some sort of crazy drug in the water.
Twilight set her sandwich down and barked out a laugh. “And poor Sunset. The truck was flinging meat patties and one caught her right in the face. At first, I was worried, but then I had to stifle a laugh. She looked so distraught that meat had gotten in her mouth. Although, she did throw up later and that was horrible, but that was mostly Rainbow Dash’s fault. Honestly, we’ve faced worse and the truck was mostly undamaged after we hit it with a rainbow. As a licensed business I would think a food truck would have to have all kinds of insurance policies to operate. I should look that up later. Or I could ask Sunset. The restaurant she works for sometimes runs a food truck out to the beach and she told me they pay the operators extra.”
Timber grimaced, his smile disappearing. “Hey babe, can you do me a favor and not talk about Sunset this time. I mean, I don’t want to be rude, but you talk about her all the time. On the phone, on our dates, it sometimes feels like I’m dating her and not you.”
Twilight’s face was caught between embarrassment and panic. “I… I don’t talk about her ALL the time, I mean, I don’t think I do. The girls are just so important to me and I know from what I’ve ready it’s silly to categorize and rate our friendships, but Sunset Shimmer really is my best friend. Of course, she’s going to come up from time to time. We share a lot in common, interest, tastes in books and… she just gets what I say without me having to explain myself twice. Do you know how rare that is for me? Of course you do, because I’ve said that before, numerous times. And then there’s magic. She is the foremost expert on magic having grown up with it in Equestria. It’s just…”
“Yeah, I get that and it’s cool, she’s your Goose when you’re flying in the clouds, but this is our date. I feel like I’m being dishonest with you if I don’t say anything about it or how I feel about it. I’m hoping to have a special night with you just like we planned. I’ve got the hotel reservation set up and everything.” Twilight twisted her napkin into knots as her face and ears turned a darker shade of flush red.
“I know, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to ruin it. I’m just nervous. And excited, but mostly nervous. Maybe anxious? There must be a more accurate word to describe what’s going on in here.” Twilight gestured to her entire body.
“You’re not ruining anything, babe. Being nervous is totally normal, I get it. We’ll take it slow, as slow as you need. I promise.”
Twilight smiled, but did not meet his eyes. “Thank you. You’ve been so patient with me and I do want this to go right. I made a checklist of how to prepare. I’ve read books and watched video clips.” Timber burst out laughing. Twilight’s jaw dropped mortified at his reaction. “W-what?”
“I’m sorry, most people don’t watch porn for research. It’s not exactly true to life.”
“I wasn’t watching porn!” Twilight hissed, throwing a pickle at her boyfriend who made no attempt to dodge and laughed harder. “They were informative videos on pleasing techniques and positions narrated by accredited doctors on the subject! Sure, it had a few animations to accompany it, but not the kind of thing people would get off to. At least I hope not.”
----------
“Ugh, what is Twilight wearing? Is that her workshop skirt with the pockets? On a dinner date! Oh, darling, why didn’t you come to me first? I could have created you the perfect summer outfit with complimenting colors for your complexion and time of day. I even have this adorable bow that I made just for you.”
“You know she can’t hear you, Rarity.”
“I’m sorry, but this entire rendezvous is confusing me. I mean they are both dressed so casually and meeting at an establishment that is best suited for a quick bite with friends before getting back to work on a barn, no offense, but it’s the first date they’ve had in weeks! How serious is this, where on the scale of intimacy does this fall?”
“Considering how bad his flirt jokes are, I’m going with comfortable casual,” said Applejack. A young man walked by slower than necessary, eyes lingering on Applejack who met his attempt at a smolder and looked away in disinterest. Rarity did not even register the interaction.
“Indeed.” Rarity was about to criticize further when she pulled her sunglasses down and squinted regretting not bringing her small pair of binoculars. Regardless, she was certain what she saw. “Je te vois, monstre aux yeux verts.”
“Rarity, you know I don’t speak fancy. What gives?”
“Did you not hear Twilight? Did you not see Timber’s face? Twilight speaks of Sunset all the time. Even on their dates.”
Applejack shrugged. “That ain’t surprisin’ considerin’ they spend so much time together. They were in AP classes, always goin' on about magic or science techno babble. Don’tcha remember Rainbow commentin’ a few months ago about it? She asked at lunch how come Twi don’t hang with any of the rest of us one on one like she does with Sunset.”
“Yes,” Rarity glanced at her cohort, “Twilight said, because Sunset gets me. I wonder now if there was more to that than even she realized. Look at her body language, the poor girl is nervous about something. I have to wonder if this was in fact a break up date.”
The pair stopped talking when the conversation took an unexpected turn. Applejack sat up straighter and Rarity had to fight down her instinct reaction to flail. After another minute Applejack reach across the table and shut the boom mic off. Rarity gapped as if she were going to launch herself across the table at the farmer.
“What are you doing?! Things were just getting juicy! This is what we came for!”
“We’re done.”
“Oh, don’t be such a prude! How are we supposed to help our friends if we don’t have all the information?”
Applejack, however, had dug her heels in and was scowling, hard. “I ain’t gonna pretend to be an expert on relationships, but even I damn well know what they’re talkin' about and that ain’t our business. I put up with a lot of your quirks, Rarity, but not this one. It’s too far. You want to talk to her about it then you hit Twilight up tomorrow at our lunch hour. We’re all gonna be at the mall food court.”
“I don’t understand why all of you get so bent out of shape about this? Sex is a perfectly normal part of an intimate relationship. It’s not something to be ashamed of or whispered of in dark corners. If Sunset were here she would agree with me.”
“Considerin’ how Sunset was actin’ earlier, I doubt it.”
Rarity tapped her chin and reconsidered her comment. “Hmm, perhaps you’re right on that one. I believe I may have forgotten part of the reason we were here to begin with while getting caught up in the excitement of seeing Twilight’s relationship move on to the next level. I really need to do something about this dry spell of mine. I can hardly get a handsome young man to even look my direction. It’s detrimental to my already fragile self esteem.”
Applejack stood, walking back towards her truck had been parked. “I didn’t need to know that. Besides, you didn’t even notice that one guy checking us out.”
“What? When? Was he attractive?” Applejack just sighed and rolled her eyes. If she had to do that too many more times before the sun set they might roll out of her head.
They made it all the way back to Applejack’s truck in silence before Rarity just could not hold her thoughts any longer. Applejack turned the ignition, her baby roaring to life. “So, considering the evidence, do you agree that Twilight is most likely a virgin?”
“Dammit, Rarity!”