Rumble was sitting in the living room reading a comic book. On weekends like this he liked to just sit back and relax but unfortunately it was not meant to be as Thunderlane burst through the door.
“Hey big bro, you seem in a good mood.” Rumble said with a raised brow. The gray colt knew his older brother to be the happy sort but this seemed a little different than usual.
“Why wouldn’t I be in a good mood, I just got a date!” Thunderlane said excitedly with a goofy grin. Rumble rolled his eyes and gave his brother a smirk.
“It’s actually a mare this time right?” Thunderlane narrowed his eyes while a light blush appeared on his cheeks.
“It was one time! I knew going to the CMC Dating Service was a bad idea.” he muttered before his smile returned, “But yes it is a mare. Her name is Starlight Glimmer.” Rumble’s eyes widened at the name.
“Wait, you mean that new mare that hangs around Twilight? Sweetie Belle and the gang have told me about her but I haven’t seen her myself. What’s she like?”
“Well for one she’s drop dead gorgeous! Her coat is this muted purple and it’s obvious she takes good care of it as it almost seemed to glow, and her mane is this incredible shade of dark purple but what really got me was the blue highlight in it.” his face softened a bit, “None of that compares to her voice though. She has this mature yet friendly tone to her voice that just makes me want to sit down and talk with her forever.” Rumble gave his brother a warm smile.
“She seems great for you bro.”
“Yeah.” Thunderlane looked at his brother and a mischievous smirk grew on his face. He felt like teasing his brother a little. He leaned down closer to Rumble.
“She also has a great ass.” he whispered into Rumble’s ear, causing him to push his older brother away and gag.
“Bro, that’s gross! I don’t need to hear about that.” Rumble said as Thunderlane laughed hysterically.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” he said in between laughs though he knew it was technically a lie. She did have a great ass, especially in those yoga pants she was wearing, but he was better than to go for a mare just because they had a nice set of hips.
“So when’s the date?” Rumble asked after shaking away his disgust at his brother’s lewd comment.
“We’re going to that new cafe for lunch.”
“Cool, well good luck!”
“Thanks bro!” Thunderlane said as he affectionately rustled Rumble’s hair.
He just hoped he was ready.
Starlight was not ready.
She only had about ten minutes before she had to leave to meet Thunderlane for their date and she was still making sure she looked good enough. She had never been on a date before and while she was excited she was also a little worried.
Thunderlane seemed like such a sweet guy but at the end of the day she knew very little about him, and it’s not like she had any experience with stallions, they tended to stay away from like everyone else. That thought made her hug herself in distress.
What if this was some kind of cruel joke? What if he was just stringing her along to make it hurt more. She shook her head furiously.
“Get it together Glimmer.” she said to her reflection. She couldn’t psyche herself out. She was just worrying about nothing, he was so genuine this morning and she had to believe that he really was a nice guy. She found herself blushing at how he had called her gorgeous this morning. It probably seemed like a small gesture to anyone else but it meant the world to Starlight. She never told any of her friends but she was extremely self-conscious about her appearance. She thought she was very plain looking, nothing really standing out. Her coat wasn’t as vibrant as others, in fact she always thought that it looked like it was dulled on purpose. Her mane and tail weren’t anything special, at least not compared to someone like Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie. Finally, she looked at her chest, painfully aware that she wasn’t as… blessed in certain areas. She shook her head and checked herself in the mirror.
Her outfit was stylish but not overly dressy. She had on a pair of ripped gray jeans, a shirt that was the same shade of blue as the streaks in her mane. Over it was a purple jacket with the sleeves cut off. She also had on a pair of black lace-up boots. She didn’t use a lot of make-up, she usually didn’t, but today she decided to put on some purple mascara that was a slightly darker shade than her coat. She took a deep breath and grabbed the last piece of her ensemble, the one she treasured the most; a purple beanie with stars covering it. With the beanie atop her head she took a deep breath.
“I’m ready.”
She wasn’t.
Thunderlane stood outside the new cafe, The HayStack, waiting for Starlight who should be here any minute now. To say he was nervous would be the understatement of the century. It wasn’t necessarily the date that made him nervous, he had been on quite a few in his life though they never went anywhere, it was who he was going on a date with that made him nervous. Starlight seemed like such a nice mare and he wanted to make a good impression. He was dressed in his best pair of black jeans and shoes, as well as a white shirt with a black button-up over it, the buttons undone. He thought it was the right mix of style and casualness, especially compared to the gym shorts and tank top he had on this morning.
He smiled as he thought about what had happened that morning and how it had led to now. Celestia must have been looking down on him to have blessed him so.
“Thunderlane!” Starlight called out, bringing him out of his reminiscing.
“Hey Starli-” before he could finish his jaw dropped when he saw her.
If he thought she looked good before, it was nothing to how she was now. Her shirt and jacket made her coat and mane look even more luxurious than they had before, not to mention the cute little beanie. Her jeans and boots helped accentuate the curve of her hips and her well-toned legs, two things that he embarrassingly stared at a bit longer than what was probably appropriate. He could also see that she was wearing make-up, just enough to bring out her natural beauty. All of that paled in comparison to her eyes. With the suddenness of their meeting that morning he had not gotten a good look at them, a fact that he now deeply regretted as he looked into those beautiful gray-blue orbs. He figured he could have gotten lost in those eyes forever.
“Um Thunderlane, are you ok?” Starlight asked worriedly, bringing him out of his stupor.
“Y-yeah, I’m good. You look awesome Glimmy!” he said as a greeting, causing Starlight to smile and blush.
“Thank you, that’s sweet of you.” she said. She then gave him a playful smirk and raised a brow.
“‘Glimmy’?” she asked, trying to hide a giggle.
Thunderlane gulped, “Yeah, i-it’s a nickname. If you don’t like it-” he was stopped by Starlight’s finger against his muzzle. She was giggling.
“I love it.” she said as she took her finger away. She then clapped her hands together.
“Well I’m starving, how about we continue this inside.” she said as she made her way inside. Thunderlane could have sworn she swayed her hips a bit more than usual as she walked inside.
“Right behind you, Glimmy.” he said with a goofy smile.
Neither one of them noticed the stares directed at them, or more specifically, at Starlight.
It took them no time to grab a table and their waiter had already brought them some hay fries as an appetizer. So far they were having a wonderful time conversing, they were busy exchanging funny stories.
“So Rainbow actually thought you were faking having feather flu?” Starlight asked incredulously. Thunderlane simply chuckled.
“Yeah, though honestly I can’t blame her. I kind of had a reputation for getting out of work and being overall lazy.” he said while rubbing the back of his neck. He then noticed Starlight was giggling and he brightened up. He quickly found that her giggles were like music to his ears.
“You definitely don’t seem to be like that anymore, so tell me Mr. Thunder, what changed?” she said with a playful smirk. Thunderlane couldn’t help but laugh.
“Ah, you have Rumble to thank for that. He’s my little brother. You see my parents have to travel a lot for work and they didn’t think it would be fair for him to be moving around all the time, so he moved in with me. That was when I realized I needed to get my act together.” Thunderlane explained with compassion. Starlight gave him a warm smile.
“That’s wonderful, you must love your brother very much.” she said softly.
“Yeah, the little guy’s my whole world.” he then looked into Starlight’s beautiful eyes.
Though I’d like to add you to that world. He thought to himself as they continued to stare into each other’s eyes. Soon their waiter came back to take their orders. Thunderlane got a hayburger while Starlight got a daffodil sandwich. Their orders quickly came out and they started eating. As they ate Thunderlane looked up at Starlight and noticed a piece of daffodil on her left cheek that she apparently didn’t notice.
“Um, hey Glimmy?” he said, trying to get her attention.
“Hm?” she gave him a quizzical look. He decided to be a bit bold. He then leaned over with a napkin and wiped her cheek clean, causing her to blush profusely.
“You had a little something on your cheek.” he said with a nervous smile. Starlight returned his smile.
“Oh, well, thank you.” she then looked into his amber eyes and felt her heart flutter in her chest.
“Hey Thunder?”
“Yeah?” he jumped a little when she grabbed his hand.
“Thank you for doing this with me today, it means a lot to me to have you here and I’ve really been enjoying my time with you. You’ve shown me a kindness that I haven’t seen in a long time.” she said in a heartfelt manner. He could see her eyes begin to glisten and he squeezed her hand a bit.
“It’s no problem at all Glimmy, I’ve had a wonderful time with you too. Maybe we could even do this more?” he said hopefully. Starlight gave him a wide smile.
“I’d lo-”
“Well look what we have here, the brainwasher has found her first victim.” interrupted a feminin voice. Starlight looked over to find a gray-purple pegasus mare with an ice-blue mane approaching them. She wore shorts that came halfway down her thigh and a crop-top that showed off her generous bust. Starlight didn’t recognise the mare but Thunderlane did.
“Cloud Chaser.” he said as he narrowed his eyes. Cloud Chaser merely gave him a smirk.
“Why the hostility? I’m just trying to protect you from this brainwashing bitch.” she said in mock offense. Starlight gasped and brought her hands to her mouth. Thunderlane merely gritted his teeth.
“Hey leave her alone Chaser! There’s no need for that.” he said, Cloud Chaser gave him a surprised look.
“You don’t know?”
“Know what?” Thunderlane asked. Clouder Chaser then walked over to Starlight and grabbed her shoulders, causing the unicorn mare to tense up.
“You see, this little manipulator brainwashed an entire town to do her bidding.” she said with a smirk. Starlight could feel the tears starting. Thunderlane remained silent.
“I-I-I-” Starlight tried to stutter out. She noticed that the other patrons of the cafe were starting to give her hard looks.
“Why are you even here? Going to make us all your slaves too?” Cloud Chaser said, getting in Starlight’s face.
“No! I don’t do that anymore!” Starlight tried to defend herself. Cloud Chaser merely scoffed at the unicorn.
“Yeah, I bet you would love for us to believe that.” she said shooting Starlight a glare, causing her to shrink back. The rest of the restaurant attendants started to join in.
“Liar!”
“Manipulative bitch!”
“Whore!” Cloud Chaser grabbed on to that last one.
“Oh I bet you used that brainwashing magic of yours to turn all of those stallions into your own personal sex slaves.” Starlight’s eyes widened at Cloud Chaser’s words.
“W-what?! I would never!” she screamed out. Clouder Chaser gave her an evil sneer.
“Bullshit! How else would a plain looking, flat-chested mare like you ever get laid?” Starlight covered her chest as her lack of ‘assets’ was pointed out. The tears were freely leaking out of her eyes now. Then the rest of the customers started to join in.
“Ugly slut!”
“Ironing board!”
“Rapist!”
“No! I may have done some terrible things, but I’ve never slept with someone against their will! I’ve never even had sex!” Starlight exclaimed hysterically and the entire restaurant went silent. Suddenly everyone burst into laughter.
“Oh my Celestia, you’re a virgin?! You really must be pathetic to be 24 and have never been with anypony.” said Cloud Chaser as she continued to laugh. Starlight was no longer able to speak as she finally broke down completely. Thunderlane, who had been silent the entire time, slammed his fists against the table.
“That. Is. ENOUGH!” he yelled out, silencing the entire restaurant with the exception of Starlight’s wales. He stood up to his full height and flared out his wings. He was furious and it caused a chill to go down everyone else’s spine.
“What is wrong with all of you?! Me and her came here to have a nice date, that I suggested by the way, and all of you start shouting out all of these horrible things to her. You have all broken this poor mare!” he berated everyone.
“B-but she-” a mare in the back tried to speak up, but was cut off by Thunderlane’s glare.
“She what? She made mistakes in her past? WHO CARES?! She’s trying to be better and that’s all that matters! Can any of you truly tell me that you haven’t made mistakes of your own? For Celestia’s sake, we forgave Discord, and yet you’re unable to forgive a mare that’s trying her best to be better? I thought Ponyville was better than that!” Thunderlane’s words caused many of the patrons to look down in shame as they realized he was right. Thunderlane then turned his gaze toward Cloud Chaser, who had lost all of her gustow and was now trembling before the angry stallion.
“And you! Where do you get off shaming her for being a virgin?! There is nothing wrong with her wanting to wait, in fact I respect her for having that kind of self control. And you have no right judging her appearance, Starlight Glimmer is the single most beautiful mare on Equus and nothing you say will ever change that!” he then leaned closer to Cloud Chaser and made his voice low.
“I never want to see you anywhere near me or her ever again. Am I understood?” Cloud Chaser simply gave him a frantic nod in affirmation. Thunderlane gave one last glare to the restaurant and laid down some bits for the food before walking over to Starlight. He kneeled down and softened his expression. She had stopped crying in the middle of his rant and was staring at him with wide eyes.
“You ready to go?” he said in a soft tone. She simply nodded. She then let out a gasp as she was picked up bridal style by Thunderlane. She blushed as she could feel his muscles against her. As they walked out the restaurant she wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled into his chest, causing him to blush.
“Thank you.” she said in a quiet voice. Thunderlane simply gave her a warm smile and nodded.