//------------------------------// // Chapter Nine: First Date. // Story: A Demon's Second Chance // by Perfectly Insane //------------------------------// I’m such an idiot.  How could I not see that this might be a date? I’ve literally been spending the last two days reading nothing but romance books; I should be able to recognize a date when I see one. He even called me cute! I’d been trying not to think about it as it's hard for me to process, but looking at it now, it couldn’t be more obvious.  He’s a guy that lives by himself, has a lot of free time, and is either a loner or just really socially awkward. Which checked off pretty much all the same things the guys in the romance books did. It's like I walked into a scenario made to test everything I learned from what I’ve been reading, and I didn’t realize that’s what it was until I left. “Chara? Are you okay? I think you’re hurting Angel.”  I snapped out of my trance as I released my grip on Angel’s ears, not realizing my fingers had tightened and were squeezing them. It didn’t look like it actually hurt him. Just left him...somewhat disgruntled. “Sorry buddy. I wasn’t paying attention for a second there.”  The spoiled Prince Angel responded with an angry scowl, bringing my hand to his stomach and demanding me to rub it. I obliged his highness, which helped me calm down somewhat.  “What do I do? I’ve never been on a date before. I didn’t even think about it being a date until you said something. Should I get ready and take a bath? Or put on some makeup or something? But I don’t even have any makeup or know how to put it on. Or e-”  “Chara, calm down.”  I didn’t realize how tense my body had slowly become until she gently wrapped her wings around me, so soft compared to how rigid my body was. Over the weeks, I’d gotten more accustomed to her touch, though I didn't know if I’d use the word ‘comfortable’ to describe it. The uncontrollable flinch and slight terror was still there, just much less than it would be for anyone else.  “Sorry.” I muttered as I closed my eyes. Staying quiet until my breathing got to a level where it didn’t sound like I was hyperventilating. “You don’t have to apologize. Let’s just talk through it together, ok? Are you interested in him that way?”  “I…” that should have had a simple answer, but I still didn't understand what it means to be interested in someone romantically. It took me longer to articulate my thoughts than it really should have. “Don’t really know. He’s nice, I guess? Nothing really stands out about him, other than he’s sort of self-sufficient, lives by himself and is doing fine. I don’t really have any feelings for him one way or another, we only talked for a few minutes.”  “And did he seem interested in you at all?” “He…” I froze up, my face getting numbingly warm again. I’m sure my cheeks were getting redder than usual. “called me cute.”  I lowered my head and did my best to hide behind my short hair, likely the only time I’ll miss it being long. After a moment of silence, Fluttershy let out a brief chuckle.  “Well, you can be sometimes.”  “I am not cute!” I retorted, picking Angel up and holding him beside me. “Angel is cute. With his adorable eyes and his small and fluffy body, I can barely resist the urge to smother him to death every time I see him.”  Angel, after having his ego stroked as much as his body, put his hands on his hips and raised his chin as he harrumphed.  “What’s cute about me? The bags under my eyes? My weird looking ears? I don’t get it.”  “Chara, your ears aren’t weird. There’s nothing wrong with your appearance, I promise.” Fluttershy reached forward and brushed her hand against my face. “I’ve been called cute a couple of times, too. I don’t really get it either, but apparently being shy is cute to a lot of ponies. You’re trying your best at socializing, and I’m proud of you. However, there are some things that you just might not understand at first, and that’s fine.”  Her soothing tone as she firmly looked me in the eyes made it hard to argue. She receded and picked her cup up off the table as I lowered Angel, an expression on his face that I could only describe as smug.  “I still don’t get it. There are dozens of mares in Ponyville, why take an interest in me?” “Well, I don’t know him personally. Maybe he’s a flirt? What were you talking about before he asked you?”  “Stars, mostly. I went there to pick up some books he had checked out, and we sort of have a shared interest in the constellations. I said I wish there was a way to see them better, and he invited me back to the observatory at night and let me use the telescope to see them better.”  “Wait, the observatory?” she tilted her head. “Does he work there?”  I hesitated to answer, contemplating whether I should mention that he’s living there too. He clearly didn’t want others knowing about it, it’s also not my secret to tell.  “Yeah, he really likes his job from what I could tell.”  “It might not be a date at all, then. I thought you meant he wanted you to go back to his home, but the observatory makes sense.”  I bit my lip, resisting the urge to tell her that he did. “But what if it is? I don’t want to ruin my first date because I didn’t know it was a date!”  “Then why not just not go? I’m sure he’ll understand if you explain it to him later.”  “Maybe, but that would be rude.”  Angel hopped off my lap, going towards the kitchen and quickly coming back with a carrot nearly twice his size. Once again placing himself on my lap, this time on his back with one hand behind his head as he slowly nibbled at it. Looking up as he listened to our conversation.  “I didn't think you would be interested in dating at all, what changed?”  “That was before I started reading romance books. Now I want to understand what it means to like someone like that, and the only way to get it is to be in one.”  “Chara,” my entire body hardened at her motherly tone. The firmness of it is a sharp contrast to how soft it was normally. “You shouldn’t get into a relationship with someone just because you’re curious about what it’s like. That’s using them and is selfish.”  Her words hit a lot harder than she probably expected them to. I struggled to keep it together as my hands shook, something Angel evidently noticed as he stared up at me in concern.  “Believe me, I know.” I whispered as Angel gave me the carrot, holding his head back and gesturing to his mouth as he dragged one of my hands to his stomach. I giggled as I fed him like his servant. “I don’t know if I want to get into a relationship with him, but I don’t want to lead him on either. What should I do?”  “Sometimes, that’s what a first date is for. Getting to know each other and figuring out if you want to be together. I’ve always been terrible with most ponies, so I’ve never been on a date myself. But, on our spa days, Rarity tells me about her dating life and has given me a lot of advice if I ever do.”  Fluttershy stood up and retracted her wings, leaving a chilly feeling where they used to be. I actually shuddered a little. Pegasi wings, while not as soft as Angel’s fur, were so warm and comforting that they overshadow the inner turmoil and tightness of my chest. “On a first date, you should be yourself. Every relationship should be built on trust, and honesty is the best start. Making yourself look your best is second to knowing they care about you as an individual, and aren’t interested in you just because of your beauty as a lady.”  If I’m being honest, I doubted Rarity said it like that. I didn't think she was lying, just that Rarity seems the type to rant a lot once she gets started talking. However, she probably said something along those lines. Fluttershy likely just filtered out all the unimportant stuff.  “But I don’t really know who I am.” “What better time to learn then now?”  For once, I didn’t have a retort. Angel had already finished the carrot, right down to the leaves. Despite it being bigger than him, his stomach didn’t look any bigger at all. Rabbits must have fast metabolism.  “So I don’t have to worry about looking good?” Fluttershy smirked at me as she leaned down and picked up Angel, whispering something to him and then placed him on her shoulder. “You can take a bath if it will make you feel better.”  Taking a bath sounded like a great idea. I glanced at the books I’d brought in and the bathtub, then at the clock to see how much time I had. He didn’t specify a time other than just later tonight, so until it turns nighttime, I think I have time.  “I think that’s what I’ll do.”  After picking up my backpack with my only other pair of clothes, I began walking up to the bathroom. I heard Angel chitter something as he crossed his arms, Fluttershy smiled in response to whatever he said and pet him.  “And Fluttershy? Thank you.”  She turned to me and grinned, a wholehearted smile that sent a warm feeling throughout my entire body.  “You don’t have to thank me, Chara. Helping you with your problem are what friends are for.” I didn’t take very long with that bath, much shorter than I had any time before. Even after soaking myself in the pleasant water, relaxing felt just one step away. Somehow, I actually felt more anxious the longer I was in there. I always hated waiting.  Reading one book didn’t help much either. I hardly retained anything, questioning whether I actually read a sentence after just reading it. The thing I remembered the most was that Dark was completely right; the illustrations sucked.  Once it turned dark enough outside to see the stars, I found myself unable to wait any longer. The anxiety was killing me, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t try making myself look good or anything, mostly because I had nothing I could use to do so, even ignoring the fact that my make-up skills and sense of fashion were non-existent.  Now, as I sit right outside the observatory at night, I rub my pendant and try to stifle my trembling to a minimum. I almost wanted to practice some things I would say or questions I would ask to try to keep the conversation going, but I already know I would forget all of them and completely clam up when we actually start talking.  I took a deep breath, trying to recall the comfort of Fluttershy’s touch or Angel’s fur, and exhaled. I opened the door and walked in before I had the time to regret it or question if I even should enter. Dark Moon was cleaning the giant telescope in the middle, and doing a surprisingly good job with how clean it was compared to before. It almost looked brand new. What surprised me even more was how delicate he’s being with some parts of it, which made sense if it's really just gigantic pieces of glass like he mentioned before. He didn’t give me the impression that he can be gentle like that.  I really need to stop making assumptions about people. “Oh, hey! You’re here.” he said as I got closer to him, hopping down with a rag and a bottle of something. “Honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure if you were going to show up. Especially not so soon. It’s been night for, like, twenty minutes.”  “I didn’t really have anything better to do.”  I pressed my arms to my side, the question of what this was constantly in the back of my mind and just wouldn’t leave me alone.  “I’m not complaining, not exactly a social butterfly myself. I just me-” “Is this a date?”  My hands went over my mouth as soon as I said it, but it was already done. I would have preferred to build up to it, if it weren’t for how much it was nagging me.  Dark tensed up, eyes darting away as he stood absurdly still. Then he turned around and sat the bottle and rag down on a box beside the telescope.  “Do you want it to be?”  That wasn’t the response I expected. A yes or no I was prepared for, but not another question. I twiddled my thumbs as I tried to come up with some kind of response, lowering my head as I could feel my cheeks start to get warm.  “I….I’m not sure. We don’t really know each other, and pretty much everything I do know about romance comes from books. But,” my heart beat got faster as my voice got so quiet it was barely audible. “You called me cute. I’ve never been complimented by a guy like that before.” He turned to face me, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head and purposely trying to look at anywhere but me. “When I said that, I was kind of talking out of my flank. It’s been a long time since I talked to someone for longer than a few minutes, and my social skills suck. I just...saw you were upset and figured a compliment would make you feel better. I didn’t mean anything by it. Sorry.”  “So,” something about what he said left a sinking feeling in my stomach, almost like disappointment. “You don’t think I’m cute?” “No, no! That’s not what I meant.” he said as he raised his arms defensively. “I just don’t want to say anything to weird you out if you aren’t interested in dating. The last thing I want to come off as is ‘the creepy dude who lives in the observatory’. And…” he sighed as he covered his face with his hands. “I’m talking out of my flank again.”  I couldn’t help but smirk at how he fumbled over his words. It’s not exactly ‘funny,’ more relieving in a strange way. “Fluttershy told me that, sometimes, first dates are about getting to know about each other. If you want to give it a chance, as awful as we both are at socializing, I guess I am too.”  Despite my utmost efforts at putting even an ounce of confidence in my words, it ended up coming out as somewhat brittle and it infuriated me.  “And you’re nice too? Celestia, I really gotta not mess this one up.”  My eyebrows furrowed at his words, curiosity sparking at his choice in them. I opened my mouth, but closed it just as quickly. Asking about previous relationships is not a good way to start one if any of the books I’ve been reading were anything to go by.  “So, constellations! Let me show you some that aren’t crappy drawings in a book.”  Dark hastily jumped back up to the telescope, leaning down and peering into the eyepiece. While he adjusted the dial, I got closer and noticed some kind of switchboard nearby.  “I left it pointed toward a couple of them, but I can rotate the dome whenever you want to see more.”  That answers what the switchboard was for.  “Maybe. I don’t plan on being here longer than an hour. I promised Fluttershy I wouldn’t be out for too long.”  Telling a lie wasn't a good way to start a relationship either, but I didn’t want him to know about my anxiety issues yet. If at all. While a cuddling session with Angel and my talk with Fluttershy recharged my social battery, an hour really is all I could handle.  “I can work with that. Aha! Found one, though it doesn’t really have a story behind it. Come take a look, its name is ‘Pegasus’.”  “Wait, like the race of ponies? They named a constellation after themselves?" I leaned down and pressed my eye into the eyepiece. The night sky was much prettier than I was prepared for. Seeing it like this puts it into perspective how beautiful it really was. Stars are brighter than they looked at night, some of them I’ve never even seen before. I might even be able to see some of the planets I’d read about.  Asriel would have loved it.  “I can’t see it. Are you sure it's there?”  “Yeah, you gotta use your imagination a little. Four of the stars are connected like a big rectangle, and the two on the right connect to some stars tha-”  “Are the hooves! Yeah, I get it now. Wow, that’s really cool.” my voice trailed off as the image all but formed in front of me. Like a pony in the sky made entirely out of stars. I could barely keep the excitement out of my voice. “It's gorgeous. Were the pegasi the ones who actually found this?”  “Ha, no. I’ve never met a single pegasus who would sit down long enough to even look through a telescope, but they hopped right on it when an astronomer said one constellation sort of looks like one. I haven’t heard one brag about it in a while. It happened forever ago, so hopefully they forgot about it.”  “Pegasi aren’t all jerks like that.” I said as I pulled away, the memory of Rainbow squeezing my hand a little too hard coming to mind. “At least, they don’t mean to be. Fluttershy is the sweetest pony I’ve met so far.”  “Yeah, I know. I’m not saying all of them are. The first ones I met were in Canterlot, and they were real jerks, so it kind of skewed my opinion of them. I got over it though.”  “Did you live there?” I asked as I turned to him, having heard the name before regarding the giant city in the mountain that overlooks Ponyville. “You mentioned that the books are better. Did you spend a lot of time in Canterlot?”  He flinched at the question, the smile he usually kept on his face faltering. “Yeah.” Dark fumbled over his words a bit as he spoke. He walked back a few steps and rested his elbow on the switchboard, turning some of the dials on it. “I grew up there, actually. Until I moved here a few years back.”  A loud scraping sound followed as the dome moved, the slit revealing a distinct part of the night sky. Once it stopped, he came back over and adjusted the telescope, lining it back up with the slit. He looked into the eyepiece and turned a dial on the side of it.  “I’m sorry, did I ask something too personal?” I said as I rubbed my pendant. Judging by the shift in his demeanor, something about Canterlot bothers him. Learning about a stranger almost felt like stepping on eggshells; I didn’t know what questions would upset him or were fine.  Is this what it felt like for Fluttershy when she was trying to get me to talk about myself? “Nah, you didn’t. I haven’t thought about Canterlot in a while. Not exactly my happy place.” he cleared his voice as pulled away from the telescope. “Ponyville was just closest, but I ended up liking it here. Monster attacks and all. The ponies are nice and it's simple, most of the time.” “Do you mind if I ask why?”  “Family issues.”  I sharply inhaled at his blunt response, and I’m not even sure why. It should have been obvious since he lives by himself. I’m not sure why it surprised me.  “Come check this out. It’s my favorite one.”  This time, there were two different clusters that stick out. “What are they?”  “Those are The Big Dipper and The Little Dipper. They’re cool because they make up two other constellations called Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Which are bears made of the stars.”  “Huh.” as he said it, the invisible lines began to connect themselves between the stars and made two bears. Almost like a mother and its cub. It made me wonder about the kind of imagination the individuals who first found and named these constellations must have had. “What’s the story behind them? I didn’t get started on the constellation book.”  “There isn’t one. They were named after an actual species that lives in The Everfree, pretty much those constellations but real.”  “Wait, seriously?” I did a poor job of keeping the panic out of my voice as I moved back from the telescope and turned to him. “They don’t leave it often, do they?”  “Not usually. They like to stay deep in there. There’s been no attacks on ponies as far as I know. However, there was some show off that attracted one here because they wanted to flex their magical skills or something. I think her name was Trixie Lulamoon? Or something like that, I'd steer clear if you meet them. They bailed and Twilight handled it, though I slept in that day. I heard it was huge, bigger than some buildings, so maybe that was for the best.”  The stroke of fear that hit me left as soon as it came. I’d really like to avoid thinking about The Everfree as often as I could, but the mention of these other monsters nearly makes me think I got lucky. The Hydra may have been awful, a giant bear would have been worse.  Hearing that Twilight ‘handled’ a giant star bear is more than a little surprising. In fact, other than when she lifted me up, I didn't think I’ve seen her use any kind of magic other than basic levitation. She clearly knows a lot about it, was she really powerful or something? “Can I ask where you got that?” Dark said as he pointed at my necklace, bringing my thought process to a halt. “It doesn’t take a genius to see it means a lot to you, especially by the way you rub it when you’re nervous.”  I glanced down at it, rubbing my thumb across the symbol on the front. The pendant opened, the words ‘Best Friends Forever’ engraved inside.  “Is it that obvious? I don’t even notice half the time.”  “A little.”  “It…” as it closed, I took a deep breath. “Belonged to someone important to me. They’re gone now.”  He dropped his gaze, putting his hands in his pockets. “Sorry to hear that. I won’t tell you I understand, since I’ve never lost anypony myself, but I’m sure it’s awful.”  There was an awkward silence as I held on to my pendent, coming up blank for anything to say. I raised my head and closed my eyes, drowning out any sound, which was very little other than his breathing. Being in a place so large and open, with no noise or light, reminds me of being in that void.  Some part of me misses being there. Feeling nothing physically or emotionally, no goals in mind and nothing to do besides wait for Frisk to come back. Simple.  I was alone. And I was ok with it.  “Do you ever get lonely, Dark?”  “Sometimes. Every now and again, I wake up in bed and look at the spot next to me, hoping that maybe somepony is there. Then reality hits, and I remember I’m just some loser with maybe two friends.” “You’re not a loser. You just,” I tapped my fingers against my thigh as I tried to figure out what to say. “Suck at socializing. You’re self-sufficient and know a lot about astronomy. I don’t think you’re a loser.” He tentatively smiled, once again rubbing the back of his head. I’m starting to think he does that when he doesn’t know how else to respond. Not like I had any right to judge.  “I think that’s the closest thing to a compliment I’ve gotten since I came to Ponyville. Thanks.”  “It’s nothing. Show me something else, Starboy.”  Dark scoffed as turned a dial on the switchboard. “‘Starboy’? I’ve been called a lot worse. Are we onto nicknames already?”  “If you’re okay with it?” I flinched as I lightly bit the inside of my cheek. Maybe I shouldn’t have called him that. It just crossed my mind and slipped out with barely any thought. “Some of the romance books I’ve been reading had the couple call each other nicknames, and sometimes it helped them get more comfortable with each other.”  “You read romance books too? I think the last one I read was Ponio and Juliet, if that even counts.” the brief sound of the dome shifting filled the room. Once he stopped, he adjusted the telescope until it faced the slit again. “I don’t mind. Give me a bit to come up with one for you, though. I’m not exactly creative, so it might take me a while.”  I don’t think I’ve ever had a nickname before, unless ‘my child’ counted. After Dark adjusted the dial on the telescope, he gestured for me to come over and look into it.  “This one I feel conflicted about. It’s not one constellation, but a bunch of them called The Zodiac Family. Most of them are animals, like Cancer is a crab and Scorpius is a scorpion. There’s an entire story behind them, but I’m sure you’d rather read about it than hear me paraphrase it.”  Admittedly, it took me longer to ‘see’ the constellations this time than the other ones. The shapes were more vague, and I lost my place more than once when looking for the others, but I got it eventually. Some of them were just vague shapes that I can kind of see them being what they’re named, but only if I look at them a certain way.  “Why do you feel conflicted about them?”  “Because of this thing called ‘astrology’, the pseudo-science that won’t die. Basically, if you’re born in a certain month, then you have certain traits and are compatible with certain people. Even had a buddy of mine get turned down because apparently Leo’s and Scorpio’s aren’t ‘compatible’. I just think it’s stupid.”  I brought my hand to my eye, tracing my finger around the edges of it. Maybe it’s just because I’m looking out for any parallels between my world and this one, but that sounded similar to how most monsters used to treat me because I was a human. Even some humans because of the color of my eyes. “I agree. It sounds stupid. But, I think I kind of get why. People will always have superstitions and stuff like that. A lot of them are just afraid of not having an explanation for something, so they come up with things to believe. Maybe there’s some truth to it sometimes.”  “Superstitions, yeah. Not with pseudo-sciences.” Dark Moon said with a scoff and dismissive wave of his hand. “If there’s any truth to them, it's because they want there to be. It’s a psychological thing. Pretty much the only thing I remember from my minor in Psych.”  “Minor in Psych?” I asked as I tilted my head. “What do you mean?”  “Wait, you don’t know what college is?”  I’d seen the word once or twice in the history books I’d read, some of them named after important figures. However, none of them explained what it was, so I shook my head.  “It’s pretty much super school. Incredibly stressful, but you might need to go there depending on what you want to do. My…” His voice dropped, expression shifting to a ghost of a frown as he turned his head away from me. “Parents made me go.”  I’ve seen this a lot in the books, where a character will mention a topic that makes them upset. Usually because, on some level, they want to talk about it with someone. Something about his family made him upset, and it made me feel bad leading the conversation back to them twice. I gripped the side of my shirt as I wondered if I should try to shift the topic to something else, or ask about it.  It could be too soon and I’d seem nosy, but I could just as easily come off as uncaring if I didn't say anything. Not to mention that there’s a good chance he’ll ask about mine, and I didn't want to have to lie to him about having amnesia if I wanted this relationship to work. Even that being something I’m not sure of.  “I know it’s none of my business,” I inhaled deeply, trying to keep my voice somewhat stable. I think I could live with being nosy. “Do you mind If I ask what happened with your family?”  He stayed silent for much longer than I would have liked. I would have assumed he didn’t hear me if it weren’t for the fact it was deafeningly quiet other than our voices. I wanted to say something else, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to hear my words over my heartbeat.  “They had a lot of expectations for me, more than anypony should have to deal with. It was like I couldn’t breathe a certain way unless they told me it was the right way to do so, and I hated every minute of it.”  I let out a relieved sigh, glad he wasn't upset at me for asking. It's the part of me that’s uncertain that caused an uneasy feeling in my stomach.  “What kind of expectations?”  “Everything. Maybe it would have been easier if I had any siblings, but they never had any more kids. They’re both scholars and wanted to pass down their legacy. All the knowledge and secrets of generations, and they wanted me to find answers to all the questions even they couldn’t with all their wisdom. And I just…” he paused as he closed his eyes, visibly shuddering. “Couldn’t handle it. After I graduated, we had a big argument and I ran away, hopping onto a train to the nearest place. Which ended up being here.”  I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that the first pony I met that I might want to date ended up having a similar relationship with their family as mine, only if partly. I didn’t leave my original ‘family’ because of expectations, but I ran away from them. Ironically, it was expectations that caused The Dreemurr family to fall. And no one but myself is to blame for it.  “I know what you’re thinking: That it was a stupid thing to do. That I made them worried sick, and that it was dumb and selfish an-” “I ran away too.”  Dark’s mouth hung open as his widened eyes drifted to me.  “Not for the same reason, but I did. It was hard, but I felt more alone with them than I did by myself. I couldn’t stand one more day with them, so I left. Maybe it was childish and selfish and stupid, but I can’t say I regret it. If I never left, I wouldn’t have met Fluttershy or any of the others.”  I glanced down at the delta rune symbol and solemnly smiled, realizing just how true my words were as I said them. I’ve been focusing so much on the consequences that came from what I did, that I’ve been neglecting the good. For a while, I was happy. Now I was in a world full of ponies, being taken care of by one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. Surrounded by animals and people who care about me, leaving me very little to complain about.  As much as I hate how things played out, I had a second chance and I should make the most of it. Otherwise, I’ll never crawl out of the pit of misery I dug for myself.  “Wow, I feel like a total doofus now. I was just ranting about my problems like you wouldn’t understand, but you...actually do. Sorry.”  I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. I’ve never told anyone. I haven’t even told Fluttershy because I’m afraid of how she’ll react.”  “Yeah, I get ya.” Dark Moon rapped his fingers against the switchboard, furrowing his eyebrows in thought before letting out a reluctant sigh. “Alright, I give up.”  “Give up on what?”  “Coming up with a good nickname for you. I got nothing. I’m not exactly a natural at it like Pinkie is. You’ll just have to deal with ‘Char’.”  My heart skipped a beat, a tingling sensation going up my spine that nearly made me gasp. Asriel called me that dozens of times, and I didn’t realize until now he was the last one who did. Shockingly enough, not even Pinkie had done so. Being called that brought a strong feeling of pleasant nostalgia. So potent that I couldn’t help but genuinely smile.  “Yeah, I’m more than happy with that.”  _________________ The rest of the date went better than I thought it would. I left a bit early, but he didn’t seem to mind. We looked at a few more constellations, with some awkward small talk about them. There wasn’t any more talk about families or anything else, and I’m fine with that.  Even as I walk back to Fluttershy’s, I couldn't say exactly how I felt about it. I’m glad I went, but I’m still unsure what I want with him. While content with the friendship we have now, do I want to pursue something else?  “Maybe I should just sleep on it?” I muttered to myself as I opened the door.  Usually, I’d just plop down on the couch and pass out, preferably with Angel. However, Fluttershy is sitting on the couch with someone else. I didn’t recognize Pinkie at first, the vibrant aura she always had, along with some of the color in her coat and mane, faded almost to the point of grey. Her mane itself wasn't as bouncy either, the ends of it straighter than normal.  She sat beside Fluttershy, who was holding her hand in what I’m pretty sure was an effort to comfort her. Pinkie said something I couldn’t understand, barely speaking louder than a whisper. “Chara, you’re back from your date?” Fluttershy asked as she stopped whatever she was saying. Pinkie’s ears perked up as she turned to me. “Date? You’re dating now?”  “I’m...no, that’s not important.” I said as I walked forward. “Why are you here? Is something wrong?”  Pinkie’s grip on Fluttershy’s hand tightened as her feeble smile dropped. She looked at Fluttershy, closing her eyes and nodding, as if giving her approval to tell me.  “There are Diamond Dogs at Pinkie’s Family’s home.”