//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Music of My Soul // by BronyBrozly //------------------------------// Our talk with Lyra had been going for hours since we started our picnic under the tree at the Manehattan city park and it had become more and more animated as time went on. The sky above us was the usual starless night sky but we were graced by the silver glow of Luna’s moon that loomed above us. I shivered as I felt the cool night air brushed against my coat and mane while I watched Cotton and Lyra were absorbed in their conversation about the latest fashion that was currently booming in Canterlot. Then my gaze slowly fell towards the restaurant that had ‘La Lush’ sign on it. Seeing various ponies entered and exited the restaurant reminded me the first time I went there and played my saxophone in front of my first crowd. I let a chuckle escaped my mouth, looking into the dark sky above me with a smile carved on my face. “What’s so funny?” I heard Lyra’s voice asked. I looked back down and saw she had a questioning eyebrow raised at me while Cotton was doing the same thing beside me. “I just remembered the first time I played in front of a crowd, that’s all,” I answered, chuckling. My ears twitched as I heard Cotton let out a soft chuckle next to me. Probably realizing what I was talking about. “Really?” Lyra intoned questioningly, looking at me with interest in her eyes with an amused grin on her face. “Where?” “Right there,” I answered her, pointing a hoof at the expensive looking restaurant across the street, behind the mint colored unicorn mare. I watched as Lyra’s head looked over her shoulder to see where I was pointing at. Then I saw her head quickly snapped back towards me with shock on her face. Her sudden reaction startled me, making me jumped slightly on my haunches as my heart skipped a beat. Her eyes were wide and her mouth agape in disbelief. “Y-you played there?” she stuttered, her voice was filled with disbelief for some reason. Was that restaurant haunted or something? If not, I didn’t know why she was being all skeptical and shocked about it. I mean, it was a normal fancy restaurant like any other fancy restaurant in Equestria. I bet most musicians in the city had played there at least once yet her reaction made it looked like the restaurant was some kind of a big deal. I noticed Lyra was still waiting for my answer, her hoof was pointing at the restaurant behind her. I answered her with a nod and a nervous grin on my face. Then, I quickly shot a confused look at Cotton, who was sitting next to me. Even she didn’t know what was happening as she gave me a shrug with the same confusion plastered on her face. “Do you know how hard is it to reserve a spot to play in there?” she asked with incredulity beamed from her golden eyes, jumping onto her hooves with an audible clop. “Uh... I didn’t know about that,” I answered her, scratching the back of my head with a nervous grin plastered on my face. Well... I guess that restaurant was a big deal after all. “But...” I started, smiling sheepishly at Lyra. “I was actually challenged by a friend to play at the restaurant. So, I didn’t reserve an official spot to play there,” I continued, silently hoping that the answer would somehow calm the mare down. “And... who is this ‘friend’ of yours?” she asked again, her eyes became more skeptical than before. “Vinyl Scratch,” I answered with a nervous chuckle. If you think she was in a state in great disbelief before, you were wrong. As I said the name, she immediately dropped back onto her haunches, mouth agape in shock. “And... Octavia,” I added, wincing for her next reaction. Her jaw almost hit the ground below. If there was a meter for shock at that time, I think she would be at her limit. “Haza- wabeh- mehe-,” she blabbered incoherently as she stood back up, pacing back and forth while she mumbled to herself, occasionally shot me a look that was a mixture of shock and confusion. But her expression was... more to shock. “H-how did you--,” before she could even finished what she wanted to say, she went from blabbering incoherently to hyperventilation. That was a dramatic escalation of situation. She was breathing heavily, taking deep gasps of air while her eyes darted frantically and her pupils dilated into tiny dots. “R-relax,” Cotton quickly spoke up as she immediately tended to Lyra, gently rubbing the mint unicorn’s back. I frantically reached the picnic basket which was sitting behind me and rummaged through it. “Aha!” I cheered triumphantly, pulling out a paper bag. I jumped onto my hooves and quickly trotted towards Lyra, handing her the paper bag. She swiftly swiped it from my hoof and breathed into it. Her breathing gradually returned to its normal pace as she slowly relaxed, sitting on her haunches. “Gah,” Lyra gasped for the final time, releasing the paper bag into the wind. I watched her as she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Then she let out a long sigh, opening her eyes to look at us. Cotton and I were sitting across from her with nervous smiles plastered on our faces, readying ourselves if she went into another panic attack. “How did you guys know Octavia and Vinyl Scratch, who are the most renowned ponies in Equestria?” she asked in a hushed tone, exchanging a questioning look between Cotton and me. “We met them here,” I answered with a sheepish smile as my ears drooped onto my head. “Where?” she asked, looking at me questioningly. “Here,” I repeated, pointing at the spot that we sat on. “You mean where we’re sitting right now?” she asked again, this time her voice was low and calm yet had a hint of intimidation. Lyra was looking at me with an expression where a parent would have when they suspected their foal did something wrong. I nervously swallowed a lump in my throat as I nodded sheepishly in return. “How?” “W-well... They noticed us while we were asleep as they were heading towards to the restaurant,” I answered with my head lowered in attempt to escape her frightening stare. Even though I can’t see her, I felt her gaze bore right through me. “Is that so?” I heard she intoned questioningly. I tentatively looked up and saw a smile spread across her face. “Sorry if I’m being overly dramatic,” she chuckled. Her expression slowly softened back into her normal cheery self. “I mean, why I wouldn’t be surprised and a little bit shocked that— “a little bit? I inwardly retorted, “—you met with two famous ponies in Equestria AND played in one of the top restaurants in Manehattan!” she exclaimed, raising her hooves into the air excitedly. “You must be one of the luckiest ponies in Equestria,” she concluded, looking at me with amazement sparkled in her eyes. “I don’t know about that but...” I started as I turned my head to look at Cotton, who was sitting next to me with a smile plastered on my face. “I know one thing that made me realize that I am one lucky pony.” Cotton noticed that I was looking at her and she immediately shot me a cheeky smile, her cheeks brightened in crimson. “Well,” I heard Lyra sighed. I turned my head to look and saw she was looking at the night sky. “I think I have to take my leave,” she said, shooting a wink at Cotton and me. She let out a grunt as she slowly stood up, smiling warmly at us. “I’ll see you two around,” she chuckled. She gave us a nod of appreciation and turned around, trotting towards the park’s gateway. But then, just before she exited the gateway, I saw she stopped and twirled around to look at us. “Don’t do anything naughty, okay?” she said a bit too loud than intended, waving a hoof towards us. After that, she turned back around and trotted deep into the city. We watched as Lyra slowly disappeared into the maze of buildings in front of us. I felt my cheeks heated up, feeling the suspicious stares of passersby bore into me. “I-I think we should get going as well,” I stammered, tentatively looked at Cotton with my cheeks flushed in embarrassment. I saw she nodded in response; her horn glowed with brown magical aura, levitating the picnic basket behind her. I looked at her and noticed she was blushing furiously, hiding her eyes behind her curly mane as she stood up. I had a sheepish smile plastered on my face while I looked at her, standing up onto my hooves. Hold on, I inwardly spoke up, snapping back from cloud nine. My head scanned around the tree that we were under, looking for my saxophone case but... it was nowhere to be seen Oh no, I mentally gasped, my eyes widened in shock. But before I had a chance to panic, Cotton immediately spoke up. “You put this behind the tree,” she giggled, levitating my saxophone case towards me. I inwardly sighed in relief, taking the handle of the case with my mouth. “Thank you, I almost freaked out,” I said, looking at her with appreciation beaming from my eyes with a sheepish smile carved on my face. “I’m always here to help you,” she said softly, looking me with passion in her eyes. Her words meant a lot to me as my heart began to hammer in my chest and blood rushed into my cheeks. She really did know how to make me feel happy and for that, I’m glad that I had her by my side. “I think it’s time to meet with the music producer,” I chuckled. “Come on,” I added, nodding towards the restaurant across the street. I watched as she nervously rubbed her hoof, looking tentatively at me with her head lowered in uncertainty. “You want me to follow you?” she squeaked. I felt a small smile tugged in the corner of my mouth, looking at her being doubtful for such trivial reasons. I think she knew what my answer would be, but she wanted to hear the answer from me to assure her thoughts that I always wanted her to be by my side. I trotted towards her while she had her head lowered to the ground; her nose almost touched the grass below and lifted her chin with a hoof. Our eyes connected as I looked into her glistening brown orbs. I saw her mouth opened to say something but before I let a word to escape her mouth, I immediately kissed her with my eyes closed, dropping my saxophone case with an audible thud on the grass below. Then I backed up my head, parting the kiss. I looked at her with a smile plastered on my face, brushing her mane from her eyes with a hoof. “Did that answer your question?” I whispered. Cotton’s face was completely red with her eyes widened. Her stare was filled with surprise as she looked at me. I bet she didn’t expect I answered her question that way. Then I watched her as her surprised expression slowly soften into a coy smile, her cheeks brightened in crimson. “Yes,” she replied in a hushed tone, biting her bottom lips shyly as she turned her head away. “Let’s go,” I chuckled, picking up the saxophone case with my mouth. I turned around and walked towards the restaurant. As I walked, I looked over my shoulder and saw Cotton was trotting behind me with her head lowered, clearly blushing with the picnic basket floated lazily in tow. She noticed that I was staring at her and looked towards me. I gave her a sly wink that made her already red blush into a much brighter color, imploding her magic as the empty picnic basket dropped onto the ground with a soft thud. I let out a hearty chuckle, looking back towards the direction I was walking. “Tease...” I heard her voice squeaked from behind. The sound of chattering ponies and clattering plates filled my ears as we entered the restaurant. Upon entering, I saw the expression of the waiter who stood at the reception table two nights ago brightened when he saw me. When I slowly approached the reception table, I looked around the restaurant and saw several more faces lit up as I looked at them. The ponies immediately whispered to one another with excitement flashed in their eyes. I guess there were several ponies who saw my first performance were present at that time. “Good evening, sir. Do you wish to reserve a table for you and your mare?” he asked with gusto in his voice, exchanging smiles between Cotton and me. I didn’t know what happened since I left the restaurant for the first time, but it seems the place felt livelier than before. I slowly set my case down before I spoke up... “Well, no. I have a card that—“ as I started, a golden card that I received from Vinyl last night floated next to me by a brown glow. I looked over my shoulder and saw Cotton was the one who levitated the card to me with a smile on her face. I returned her smile and grabbed the card with my teeth. Before I could continue, the waiter pony nodded. “Your guest has arrived moments ago,” the waiter spoke up. “I shall escort you to your seat,” he added with a clap of his hooves. In a blink of an eye, a couple other waiter ponies took my saxophone case and Cotton’s picnic basket away. They completely took us by surprised as Cotton and I blinked vacantly at one another. “This way sir,” the pony coughed. I turned my head to look and nodded. With that, Cotton and I followed the waiter through the maze of tables towards a large table that was sitting in front of what seems to be a stage. Upon approaching to our seat, I saw a white coated unicorn with a sleek black mane stood as he saw our presence. He was wearing a shiny silver jacket blazer and his golden eyes glimmered with interest, looking at me. “Thank you, Charles,” his voice was deep and confident, talking to the pony who escorted us. “We will bring the menus shortly,” ‘Charles’ I assumed the waiter pony’s name was, replied, adding a bow. With that, he trotted away to do his duties. Meanwhile, Cotton and I were just standing in silence, watching the ponies in front of us. “Ah,” he chuckled with a wide smile plastered on his face, extending a hoof towards me. “I’m Golden Note, but call me Note instead.” “I’m Saxy Tone,” I replied as I extended my hoof, placing it for a hoofshake. My eyes lingered on his flank and saw his cutie mark; a golden treble clef. “Nice to meet you,” he chuckled, shaking my hoof. His hoofshake was firm and professional yet friendly. “And how about the lovely mare?” he intoned questioningly, looking at Cotton with a warm smile. “My name is Cotton,” I heard Cotton replied from behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw she gave a curtsy bow. I inwardly chuckled to her charming antic. “Please, sit down,” Note chuckled, invitingly waved a hoof to the seats across from him as he sat down. I nodded and trotted to our seats. Cotton was sitting to my right and Note was sitting directly across from me. Before we went to business, Charles arrived with our menu. “What it will be, sirs and madam?” he asked in a professional tone, setting down the menus onto the table as he pulled out a notepad and a pen. “Just bring us the caesar salad and a bottle of your best wine,” Note said, looking at Charles with a smile on his face. Before I could protest, Charles turned his head to look at me. “A glass of water, sir?” he asked with a grin on his face. I nodded with a sheepish smile on my face, scratching the back of my head. “What’s wrong with wine?” Note asked me quizzically, raising an eyebrow to his forehead. “He doesn’t drink,” I heard Cotton spoke up next to me. I turned my head to look and she shot me a smile. “Huh,” Note hummed, tapping his chin in thought. “Well,” he spoke up, looking at our waiter of the day. “I think that’s it. You can go now.” With that, Charles gave us a small bow and swiftly trotted away. “Right,” he spoke up once again, looking at me with interest sparked in his eyes. “You’re the one who Vinyl spoke highly about,” he continued with an amused grin on his face, leaning his back against the chair. The air around him had changed. The lighthearted and casual feeling had been replaced by a more cold and official tone to it. “I-I don’t know about that,” I chuckled nervously. What did Vinyl told this guy? I inwardly fussed while I kept my smile intact. Golden Note eyes were filled with anticipation as he looked at me, making me felt more nervous in each second. “Do you have any experience on stage or in a studio?” he asked while he was patting the pockets of his blazer in search for something. “No, I haven’t,” I replied, shaking my head. While he was still searching for something in his pockets, I shot nervous glances at Cotton next to me. She just smiled and put a hoof on my thigh, silently supporting me through her eyes. I tried my best to return her smile but all I managed to do was a slightly crooked grin. “Found it,” I heard Golden Note cheered. I looked at him and saw his horn had a bright golden glow around it, levitating a piece of folded paper to the middle of the table. If I didn’t know any better, I think that’s a contract, I thought to myself while I kept my eyes onto the paper. “What I have here is a contract,” he started. I knew it! I inwardly cheered but I kept my face as serious as possible. “And in this contract, you will be under my company’s name and all of your music will be under copyright laws. You will be set for five-album deal, probably around eight years long contract. Also, twenty-five percent of your total earnings will go to me,” he concluded, tapping his hoof onto the piece of paper in front of me. “Did you get that?” he added, looking at me with a questioning eyebrow. “I... guess so,” I mumbled, reaching for the paper. “But,” he spoke up, slamming his hoof onto the table. I quickly retracted my hoof, looking at him with my eyes widened in shock. I saw a toothy smile crept onto his face. “You have to prove to me that you are as beastly as Vinyl said you to be,” he continued, chuckling. He still had his hoof on the contract, pulling it away from me with an amused smile plastered on his face. “Do you got what it takes?” he added. I shot a nervous look at Cotton as I felt my heart was hammering in my chest. I didn’t know if I have what it takes to be a star but... my foalhood dream was literally a hoof away from me. If I didn’t take the chance, I might not have another chance like it in my lifetime. I saw Cotton gave me an encouraging smile and a nod, placing her hooves onto my hoof. I nodded in return, swallowing a lump in my throat. “I-I’ll do it. I’ll prove that I have what it takes,” I stammered, looking at Golden Note. “Good,” he chuckled with a toothy smile. Then his head scanned around for our waiter. “Oh Charles,” he called out, looking over my shoulder. “Please give this pony his saxophone, he’ll perform for us this evening,” he continued as loud as possible, attracting everypony attention towards our table. I felt my body froze and my eyes were fixated to the wall in front of me. My heart began to hammer once more and my mind reeled in panic. “Of course, sir,” I heard Charles replied from behind me. “Good luck,” I heard Cotton whispered next to me, followed by a peck on my cheek. I immediately relaxed a bit as I gave her a faint smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll be great,” she added, trying her best to assure me. “Thanks,” I whispered back, returning her kiss on her cheek. “Here you go, sir,” Charles spoke up next to me, setting my saxophone case down with the greatest of care. “Good luck,” he added, whispering to me with an encouraging smile. I sheepishly nodded to him with a nervous smile tugged on my lips. I opened the case with a soft click, revealing the magnificent brass instrument that lies within. “It’s show time, baby,” I mumbled to the saxophone as I picked it up, slinging the strap over to my shoulder. I took a deep breath, filling my lung with air to calm my frantic mind. I tried to think up a happy thought. I tried to think about Cotton’s brilliant smile. What should I play now? I asked to myself, figuring what song I should play at that time. We need something fun, something upbeat and something that makes ponies dance, I inwardly mumbled. I know! I mentally cheered; feeling a smile slowly crept on my face. I opened my eyes and saw all of the ponies inside the restaurant – including the workers, stood in front of me in a form of a big crowd, looking at me with great anticipation. I shot a nervous look at Note who was still sitting on his chair. He grinned at me and waved his hoof to the stage next to our table. I let out a long sigh, calming myself once more. Right, I mentally pumped a fist as I nodded my head. I quickly trotted to the stage and balanced myself on my hind legs, looking at the large crowd in front of me. I closed my eyes and put my lips on the mouthpiece. Here goes nothing, I inwardly sighed. The first note that came out was strong and soothing. Then the melody slowly started to pick up as I added more energy to it. I felt my fore hooves danced on the keys, my hind legs started tapping and my head bobbed in a beat. Soon enough, I was fully immersed to the melody. Letting the music flowed out from my saxophone and into the restaurant, mixing my soul and heart into it. I swayed my hips side to side as I was no longer in control of my body. The music had taken full command of my mind, soul and body. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the ponies in the crowd were dancing, tapping their hooves, bobbing their heads and swaying their hips to the song. I felt a smile cracked onto my face as I noticed a couple of ponies were head banging to the sweet sound of smooth jazz with their hoof in the air. I looked at Cotton and watched her shook her head to the music with her eyes closed in serenity. Golden Note was bobbing his head with an amused smile on his face, looking at me with more interest in his eyes. I closed my eyes once again as I felt the end was nearing. I kept swaying my hips as I was sent into cloud nine of music. Floating with the notes in the air and let the melody caressed my soul. The last note that floated into the air was smooth and slow, replacing the upbeat vibe into a more calm tone. When the last note disappeared in the wind, silence followed. I slowly dropped down on my hooves and opened my eyes towards the crowd. The excited roar of the crowd filled the restaurant, rumbling the whole place until the golden chandelier above me chimed by the cheering ponies. The loud wave of stomps and cheers filled my ears. I felt a wide smile tugged on the corner of my lips, giving the crowd in front of me a bow. I looked towards our table and saw Cotton was hollering her cheer at me while Golden Note had a toothy amused grin on his face, nodding his head in approval. “Thank you everypony,” I spoke up, waved a hoof to the cheering crowd and immediately trotted towards my table. Before I could even sit on my chair, Golden Note spoke up. “You got yourself a deal,” he chuckled, levitating a pen and the contract towards me. “Just sign at the bottom left corner and we’ll be in business,” he continued, leaning his back against the chair with a wide grin on his face. Without another word, I took the pen and contract into my hooves and immediately signed my signature on it. I was smiling like a colt in a candy shop. My dream was a step away and I can’t wait for it to finally become a reality. “Congratulations!” Cotton exclaimed excitedly, pulling me into a hug. I could hear her giggles of joy rang inside my ears. I let out a hearty laugh, returning the gesture as I gently patted her back. “Excellent,” Note chuckled, levitating the signed contract into a pocket inside his blazer. “We’ll be keeping in touch,” he said as he stood up. “Wait,” I spoke up, reaching a hoof towards him. “Where are you going?” I asked, looking at him with a quizzical expression plastered on my face. “I have other business to tend to,” he answered, straightening his blazer with a hoof as he looked at me with a smile. The lighthearted and casual air began to surround him once again. “B-but, what about the food?” I asked again with my confusion still plastered on my face. “You can have it. I’m not even that hungry,” he chuckled with a grin tugged on his lips. His horn let out a gentle golden glow, levitating a pair of dark shades from his blazer. He slowly set it down onto his nose, smiling. “Also,” he spoke up as he raised a hoof. “Don’t drink too much. We need you to be as fresh as possible. It’s going to be a long ride, kid,” he concluded, trotting away. “Also, the bill is on me,” he called out without looking back, continuing on his way. “That was... odd,” I said, looking at Cotton with a confused look. “Well, at least we can enjoy our dinner since all of that business talk is done,” she giggled as she stood up. I looked at her with a questioning eyebrow and watched her trotted to the seat across from me. “This is our first dinner date,” she said as she sat down, giggling. I felt my cheeks heated up, realizing that her words were true. It really was our first dinner date and I felt the flutters of butterflies in my stomach. “That was seeeensational!” a voice next to us piped in a sing-a-song tone. We both looked and saw an earth pony mare that was taller than anypony in the restaurant. She had a pale olive coat and her mane as well as her tail was a mixture of light brilliant cobalt and light azure. Her mane was exceptionally puffy whereas her tail was long and flowing. She was wearing a white ruffled dress with gold trim that had purple collars. The mare also wore purple shoes on all of her hooves that had gold embedded around it. The other things that stood out were the fluffy plume on the back and the long white top hat that sat precariously on her head. While Cotton and I were looking at her with confusion on our faces, the mare’s bright amber eyes looked at me alluringly as she batted her eyelashes. Her eyes were filled with interest and hunger. Not for food but... for something else. Cotton might realize what was going on and coughed loudly into her hooves. My head quickly snapped towards her as if I escaped some kind of a trance. I blinked several times, trying to regain my focus. “Who are you?” I heard Cotton asked. I turned my head to look and saw she had a smile on her face yet I felt the subtle sensation of irritation radiating from it, looking at the tall mare next to us. “My name is Sapphire Shores, the Pony of Pop!” she answered in gusto, shaking her head in the process. Then her eyes looked towards me. “And who might you be, baby?” she asked as she trotted behind me. I nervously looked at Cotton across from me and noticed she had irritation beamed from her eyes while a smile was still intact on her face. Her gaze followed Sapphire Shore’s every movements. I subconsciously shivered, feeling the cold anger that was radiating from Cotton. “I-I’m Saxy Tone,” I stammered, keeping my face as straight as possible. I felt chills shot down my spine. “Mmm... sexy,” Sapphire intoned, whispering. I felt her hot breath touched my neck and saw a glow of anger flashed in Cotton’s eye. “A-and this is my girlfriend, Cotton,” I quickly added as I waved a hoof to the mare in front of me, trying my best to diffuse the situation before it escalated into a cat-fight. “Oh?” Sapphire asked in a mock-like tone. “I didn’t see you there, sorry,” she chuckled. Before I let Cotton react, I shot her a nervous smile, silently pleaded her to calm down. She noticed my stare and held back. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, doing her best to calm herself. Then, she slowly opened her eyes with a smile slowly crept onto her face. “Is there a reason you came here?” Cotton asked, smiling at the intruding mare. “I just saw his amazing performance and just had to meet in person,” Sapphire explained, trotting between Cotton and I. “But...” she spoke up, exchanging glances between us. “It seems you two are busy. I guess, I’ll see you two around,” she concluded as she turned around. “I hope to meet with you in private,” she added, whispering while her eyes stared at me. I felt a chill sent down my spine as I tried my best to keep my smile intact. My ears twitched, hearing Sapphire let out a chuckle. With that, she trotted away. Even her stride was confident and exuberant. “Oh goddesses,” I sighed, sinking into the chair. I looked up to see the mare across from me and saw she was openly glaring where Sapphire stood. “U-um.. Cotton. Are you okay?” I stammered, nervously smiled at the angered mare. “I don’t like her,” she admitted with a frown tugged on her lips as her eyes looked at me. “Well... she was a bit intrusive,” I said, nervously smiling at her. “Intrusive!?” she exclaimed, slamming her hooves on the table with her eyes burned in anger. I jumped and quickly sunk under the table. “She was looking at you as if you were her toy,” she huffed, crossing her hooves together and her brows furrowed. “She looks like the ones who like to play with other pony’s feelings,” she grumbled, leaning back against the chair. I felt a small smile tugged on my lips as I stood up, trotting behind her. She was angry to the whole situation that she didn’t notice that I was behind her. I slowly wrapped my hooves around her body, playfully nuzzled her neck from behind. “You don’t have to worry. She’s just another ordinary mare in my eyes. But you... you are special to me,” I whispered before I nuzzled her neck once more. I heard a soft moan escaped her mouth as her face heated up. She looked over her shoulder, tickling my nose in the process and let out a soft giggle. “Thank you,” she whispered with a smile on her face. Her face was blushing and her eyes glistened under the light. “You’re welcome,” I chuckled, backing away. “Ahem,” a familiar voice coughed from behind me. I slowly looked over my shoulder as my face flushed in a sudden realization that I was nuzzling Cotton in public once again. I saw Charles was standing behind a food cart with our food and drinks on it. “You’re food, sir,” he continued with a straight-face. “Y-yes... please proceed,” I stammered, trotting back towards my chair with a sheepish smile on my face. I felt my cheeks were heating up like crazy, seeing Cotton had the same expression across the table. With that, our first dinner date began. The food prepared was delicious but... it can’t defeat Cotton’s cooking though. Cotton and I enjoyed our dinner as we had small talk between meals that gradually became more animated as time went on. But things got out of hand when Cotton drank too much wine – again – and I had to face the difficulty of carrying a picnic basket, a saxophone case and a drunken pony back to the apartment. I’ll let you all know this: it was excruciating. I often stumble in every few steps and the journey home was a challenge that I never fathom in my entire life. Thankfully, after long moments walking and stumbling on my hooves, I managed to arrive at the apartment without any trouble. That night, Cotton was drunken than before because she drank a whole bottle of wine herself. Therefore, it hindered her to make any sense every time a word came out from her mouth. I am a self-proclaimed gentlecolt and I never took advantage to a mare that was in such a fragile state. So, I proceeded by setting her onto her bed and quickly exited the room. Even though the night wasn’t as smooth as I wanted it to be but the whole day had been a blast. I finally confessed my true feelings and I am a step closer to my dream. I was thrilled that my life had turned into something much better and I prayed to the goddesses of Equestria to help me get through to the whole experience without a hitch.