//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: A Dash of Stardust // by k12314 //------------------------------// CHAPTER 3 "And... Done." I put up the last of the Hearth's Warming decor I had bought. I swear I had some lights in the basement, but I couldn't find them. But the point is, I decorated my house, and cleaned up the outside a bit. I mainly just tore down some of the vines growing up the side. I stepped back and looked at my work. My house was glowing with lights along the roof, and a wreath on the door. "That w-was surp-prisingly f-fun." "I bet it was! Isn't decorating super-DUPER fun?" I felt like my heart was in my throat, and I practically jumped a mile. Somepony had snuck up on me, obviously. And of course, when I look to see who it was... "P-Pink menace..." I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I had hoped I'd never see her again. I don't care what you say, I can't stand her. "Hi! I haven't seen you in forever! Remember me? I wanted to say hi, but then you ran away, so I started chasing you and then you got sll crazy and went through alleyways so I thought we were playing a game..." I tuned her out at that point. Her voice was grating at my nerves. No, her very PRESENCE was grating at my nerves. Her voice just intensified that effect. "... But now I'm here and I just said hi! And nice Hearth's Warming decorations, by the way. Oh! I totally forgot! I'm Pinkie Pie, what's your name?" I rolled my eyes, and turned to go back inside. I was aggrivated, cold, and didn't have time for nonsense. "Hey! Don't be a sourpuss! I wanna be friends!" "I d-don't n-n-need-" I stopped, and realized that I couldn't say that anymore. I felt something in my gut. Something telling me I do need friends. "I... Ugh, wh-why are y-you even o-out here?" "Well, I never saw you after that game we played, and I wanted to talk to you, but you're never around. Why are you never around town?" "That's n-none of y-y-your b-business." "Oh, uh, OK. Um... What about your welcome party? I got a big ultra fun mega Pinkie party ready and you never showed up! I left an invitation here for you." "So that's what that envelope was. I just tossed it. I could've sworn it was just junk mail." "I th-thought it w-was junk m-m-mail. I h-hate parties a-anyways." "What?! How can you not like parties? They're fun and you get to see all your friends!" I was getting rather impatient. I didn't want to be talking to her, but I obviously couldn't just walk away. "I d-don't h-h-have any f-friends in P-Ponyville." "But-" "I'm d-done talking, Ms. P-Pie. I'm v-v-very cold, and h-have no t-time for this. G-Good day." "Oh... OK... I'll see you later then, I guess..." I felt a little bad for being so harsh, but I didn't want anything to do with anypony who was clinically insane. I assumed the only reason she wasn't locked up in a straightjacket was because everypony in town was used to her. "Ugh... I can't believe this place sometimes..." ---------------------------------------------------------------- "The fire of friendship lives in our hearts, as long as it burns we cannot drift apart...~" "Oh man I love that song... Hey, what's that light over there? That's Quick's house..." I was flying to go see Pinkie about getting some snacks, but I'd never seen Quick's house lit up around this time of year. I'd never seen it lit up at all, really... I'd never even seen it. I decided to drop in and see what was up. I was pretty surprised when I saw he'd decorated his house. I knocked on his door, and he answered practically in seconds. "Oh, h-hey. What's u-up?" "You decorated! I thought you didn't celebrate holidays." I just barely noticed the blush on his face. I couldn't help but think it was cute. Stop looking at me like that. Anyways, we'd been hanging out here and there over the week, just talking and stuff. Quick is a treasure chest of fun facts. Like, that nopony knows what the original flag was when the three pony tribes came together, so everypony assumes it's the flag we use now. Quick has pieced together history and has found that isn't true. He doesn't know exactly what the flag looked like, but he knows it was green with a bunch of patterns relating to the tribes. ... Uh, sorry, back on track... "I, u-uh... I j-just thought y-you might c-come over on H-Hearth's W-W-Warming, so I a-assumed it'd be r-rude to not d-decorate..." "Heh. That's sweet. I saw the lights from the sky and wondered what was up... Actually, I was on my way to grab some snacks. Maybe we could grab a bite to eat? I'm feeling a bit hungry, how 'bout you?" "U-Uh, l-l-lunch? I, uh, I d-dunno... I don't w-wanna i-i-intrude..." "It's not intruding when I invite you, goofball. C'mon, my treat." "Uh... A-Alright..." ---------------------------------------------------------------- She somehow picked my favorite restaurant. I'd hardly ever eaten there, but when I did, it was delicious. "The Ponyville branch of 'Che Clover.' I don't remember it being TOO expensive, but..." "Uh, E-Evangeline, we d-don't n-n-need to eat h-here..." "Eh, it's not that bad. I can pay for it." "O-Okay... If y-y-you say s-so." The inside was, of course, very classy. Canterlot style windows, matching tables and chairs, a red carpet pathing through the restaurant, and small chandeliers laid symmetrically across the building. "Woah. I've never been in a restaurant like this before." "I've b-been in here a c-c-couple times. The f-food is d-delicious, and I l-like the a-a-atmosphere." She looked mesmerized by the magnitude of decoration and the posh atmosphere. "I had no idea this place was even here. It seems like something you'd only see in Canterlot." "A-Actually, it w-was only in C-Canterlot at f-f-first, but the o-owner decided to open m-more in different t-towns and c-c-cities and make it a ch-chain." "... What don't you know?" "U-Uh, what d-do you m-m-mean?" "It seems like you know almost everything. Like, you study medicine, magic, history, and you know all these little things... You're practically a genius." I felt my face heating up. I don't like being complimented, it makes me feel very shy and I start blushing... I don't like it. "I, u-uh... I'm n-n-not THAT sm-mart." "Yeah, you are. Don't talk yourself down, you're a really smart stallion." You have no idea how awkward I felt. Not only was this the first time I'd ever really gone out somewhere with somepony, she's mare, too. I have a hard enough time with talking to stallions, but mares? I'm... Well, I'm afraid of them... Wow, you're not laughing. Anyways, I know it was friendly, but everypony around us was looking, and the ponies only a table away were whispering about how we're such a cute couple. So... Yeah. You can see why I was feeling awkward. "C'mon, st-t-top it... I'm n-no geni-ius..." "OK, if you say so." A waiter delivered our menues, and we both silently searched for what we wanted to eat. ---------------------------------------------------------------- I watched him read his menu, and of course, he was skimming through it lightning fast, and put it down only a few seconds after he picked it up. "... Well. He sure doesn't struggle with decisions... Uh... What do I want...?" I don't remember what we ordered, but it took me a couple minutes to decide. We waited for our food to come, and we were both completely quiet. He seemed really uncomfortable, but I couldn't really tell why. "Hey... You OK...?" He looked at me and quickly shook his head. That really didn't help reassure me. "I-I'm fine... J-Just hung-g-gry." "If you don't wanna eat here, we can go somewhere else." "... It's n-n-not th-that." "Then what is it?" He took a deep breath, probably to calm his nerves, and rubbed his temples a bit. "E-Everypony keeps l-l-looking at us. The p-ponies behind u-us said... W-We're a cute c-couple." "... Oh... OH... OK, now I see why you're all uncomfortable. Want me to go talk to them?" "No...! N-No, that's O-OK... I c-can ignore it... D-Don't trouble yourself w-w-with my p-problems..." "That's what friends do, Quick. They help each other. I'll go talk to them. Gimme a second." I went over to one of the tables who'd been looking at us, and asked them to stop. They did, and apologized for staring. Everypony else stopped as well, and the table behind us stopped talking about us too. "There. That wasn't so bad, was it?" "N-No... Th-Thank you, Evangel-l-line." "Heh. No problem. Anything for a friend." I noticed the waiter coming with our food on a platter. "Welp, here comes our food." ---------------------------------------------------------------- I absolutely love that restaurant. "Ohh... That w-was- *burp* -Oh, exc-cuse me... That was d-d-delicious." "Yeah... I feel like I'll never get up again... I already paid the bill, wanna just get outta here?" "Y-Yeah... I think I'm g-going to t-take a n-nice nap when I g-g-get home." Evangeline decided to walk back home with me, talking about this and that on the way. We mainly discussed our sources of income. She sells paintings and does odd-jobs here and there, I get checks from publishers. It was very interesting, really. She doesn't sell them to any particular pony, just whoever wants the paintings. When I asked her why, she said it's because she doesn't care about the money, she just likes making ponies happy with her art. I was very impressed, really. I don't have very high standards, it's not that hard to impress me, but still. Anyways, when we got back to my house, Evangeline and I sat in silence for a little while, until she decided to strike up a conversation. "Hey... I had fun today." I put the book I was reading down, and felt a smile on my face. "M-Me too... Thanks f-for dealing with th-that misunderst-t-tanding in the r-restaurant." "Aw, that's no problem. I care about you, I don't want you feeling all uncomfortable and stuff. You're my friend, after all!" "Eheh, y-yeah... But, th-thanks. N-Nopony's ever st-tood up f-for me before. It's v-very k-k-kind." I just barely noticed the red on her cheeks. I think she was just being shy, I don't really know. "Hey... It's only about a week until Hearth's Warming... I'm having a little party at my house, wanna come? You don't have to if you don't want to." "... S-Sure." "Really?" "H-How can I s-s-say n-no? You've b-been very k-kind to me, and I e-enjoy your company." "Awesome! The party'll be a few days after that Wonderbolt's show. I just planned it last night, actually. Wanna just stay with me until the party?" That sounded pretty much perfect. Show, stay over, then a little party. I don't like parties, but I'll have somepony to hang out with. "S-Sure. I was a-actually just about t-to ask about the sh-show." "Well it's settled now. Hey, I gotta go home, but... I'll see you this weekend then?" "Y-Yeah. Bye E-Evangeline." "Bye Quick. And hey, try to get out and make more friends than just me. I know it sounds hard, and a little mean, but I'm sure you'll love it." She flew off before I could give a rebuttle. I didn't really want to make any other friends, but I was enjoying hanging out with Evangeline, so maybe she was right. I still don't know, really. "... I guess I could try... I don't know... Maybe one day... ---------------------------------------------------------------- "That was fun... I'm glad I made him happy." I felt a warmth in my chest. Not just the kind you get from hanging out with a friend, but something more. I didn't really understand what it was at the time. Yes, it's what you think. "He's all alone... Nopony to really make him happy..." I shook my head, snapping myself out of my inner thoughts. "Sheesh. Poor guy. I'm just glad to be his friend." I sighed. I was tired, and I didn't know how I felt. But I didn't feel like going to sleep, if that makes sense. I seriously don't know. "Ugh. What is my problem? I can't be hungry... Maybe it's heartburn? Maybe I should take some medicine... Quick would know what's wrong. Maybe I should ask him." I stopped, and dwelled on that thought for a minute. "... Why would I go to Quick? He's smart, but I don't think he has a degree. I think. What is my brain doing?" Yeah, in case you can't tell, this was bothering me a bit. I wasn't freaking out, but I just couldn't stop thinking about the smile I'd put om his face. I decided to just sit down and play guitar a little bit. That would help clear my mind. And it did. I strummed some songs, and I managed to clear my mind very well as the night went on. "It's probably just because I've been hanging out with him a lot lately. Nothing to worry about. Just thinking about somepony I've made happy."