Twilight face hoofed, an exasperated sigh slipping past her lips as she took in the sight at her door. There stood Rarity, Pinkie, and a barely recognizable Red Wyne. Barely recognizable due to the fact that Rarity had gone... Well, let us say over board with her beautifying and prep work for what was meant to be a casual date between two friends. Was it any wonder Twilight wished she had another five hooves or so so she could properly facehoof at the situation before her? Pinkie didn't seem to think so and so provided a second, or rather third, hoof for her friend after Twi pressed her second forehoof to her face.
"There ya go Twilight, I'd go find some more ponies, but who'd want strange hooves all over their face? I mean even if you know everypony like I do, you probably don't want their hooves in your face ya know? I wouldn't mind, it'd be like a game! Maybe something like shuffleboard, get your hoof closest to Twilight's nose and win a prize... Ooooooh, we're totally playing that at my next party!" With that the excitable pink mare rushed off, lost in plans for a giant shuffleboard set up styled after the rather bemused face of her grape colored friend.
Red watched this little exchange and tried to contain a bit of laughter, mostly because he was sure that if he did he'd probably somehow pop a few seams, or maybe something worse. Either way, he settled for a faint grin and a shake of his head that sent his braided mane flopping about.
The motion drew Twilight's eyes and she took the time to really look him over. Rarity, in her usual flair for the dramatic, had dressed him up like some princeling. A well tailored suit of a rich burgundy over a bone white shirt. The suit was embroidered with celtic knotwork similar to what was on the pendant he wore constantly. Well, constantly save for tonight it seemed, around his neck tonight went a red-gold torc, the metal gleaming dully in the setting sun's last light. Atop his head sat a wide brimmed hat, again of a rich red with a raven's feather tucked into the brim and set at a rakish angle. To say the least he looked like he'd stepped out of one of Rarity's saddle rippers, though the look of embarrassment and discomfort on his face kind of off set that image a great deal. It didn't help that, unlike Rarity's normally well fitted work, this was meant to be a bit tight, to better show off just how well formed the one wearing it actually was.
Twilight took this all in and blinked slowly, a faint bit of color creeping over her cheeks before she cleared her throat and gave Rarity a raised eyebrow. The fashionista cocked her head, prancing from hoof to hoof a bit in excitement as she awaited the judgement of the mare she'd intended to impress with this little effort.
"Rarity... He looks great, very dashing, but we were just going to go stargazing with a picnic tonight... No need to dress the poor guy up. Not that I don't appreciate it really, but he looks like he's contemplating trying to find the nearest rock to hide under..." said Twilight with a faint smile and a pat to her friend's shoulder. She beckoned Rarity closer and bent down to whisper in her ear. "He can wear that to the Gala when that rolls around, alright? If things go well I was going to ask him to go with us this year... He's friends with Luna anyways, so it's not like we'll need to force a ticket on him... Luna'll do that herself I think."
This earned a pair of conspiratory giggles from the girls and a bit of uncomfortable fidgeting from Red. Girls. Whispering... Never a good sign.
"Exactly!" said Pinkie in his ear, sending him skyward with a yelp so quickly he literally left his clothing sitting where he had been a second before without so much as a slightly skewed thread. Pinkie just giggled and looked up at the now au natural pegasus clinging to a branch and wishing he wasn't so jumpy. Twilight and Rarity couldn't help but laugh.
After the unneeded clothing was tucked away carefully in Rarity's saddle bags, Red had been coaxed down with a cup cake, and Twilight had stopped laughing at the utter absurdity of the whole thing, Twilight and Red were left alone, save for Spike who was still cleaning.
"So... Umm... When do you want to head out?" asked Red, smiling shyly. He obviously wasn't quite sure what to do with himself, puttering about as he waited for an answer. He somehow managed to get an impromptu tap dance going as he did so, drawing a laugh from Spike that turned into a coughing fit as he got a mouth full of dust.
Now that she wasn't distracted by her friends being... Well, themselves, Twilight herself was feeling that nervousness. This was, after all, her first honest to Celestia date. Even with the whole day (and most of the day before) spent studying on how such things were supposed to go, she wasn't quite sure what to try first. Did she suggest they had a seat on her couch and talked till the stars were out in full? Did they grab a light snack to tide them over until their late supper, if a picnic could be called supper that is... She'd have to look that up. She shook her head sharply to send those scattered thoughts tumbling back into the recesses of her mind and drew in a deep breath before answering him.
"Well, we could have a seat and talk for a little bit over some coffee until the stars come out, if that's ok I mean... I've never done this before so I'm not real sure what's normal for a date... I mean I have some idea, I did read about it, but I don't know what to do first in practice..."
Red blinked and ceased his unintended dancing as he gave her another shy little smile. "Its uhh... My first date too you know, so I think that would be quite fine... Besides, I love coffee. I always feel a lot more hu-err... Like myself I mean, in the mornings after a cup.." He caught that little slip of the tongue before it really got going, but it did get a little fidget of distress out of him.
Twilight didn't notice at all, she'd zipped off the second Red had accepted her offer of coffee and conversation, brewing up a pot of good old Coltumbian black. She got down a couple mugs to await the hot brew and zipped back to ask him how he liked his coffee all before he'd gotten over the shock of looking up to find her missing with a strange cloud of purple dust where she'd been not a blink before.
"Oh... Just a bit of sugar and cream thanks... Don't need it to wake me up otherwise I'd say black." he said with a laugh when he realised that Twilight must have some relation to a certain Sooooper Jeenius who was constantly after a rather fast bird.
"Oddly enough, that's how I drink mine too, Coffee for pleasure is best served with cream and sugar... First thing in the morning the blacker the better, right?" replied Twi as she headed back into her kitchen at a normal pace this time. She was glad she hadn't gone with her first instinct to ask if they had coffee where he was from.
A few cups of joe later the two of them found themselves out under the stars in a field atop a well worn picnic blanket accompanied by a telescope and basket of sandwiches and a bottle of apple cider. The sat in companionable silence for a long while, simply taking turns using the telescope, munching a bit on daisy sandwiches, and simply enjoying the beauty of the night's sky.
"So... Red, I don't think I've told you how grateful I am for all you've done since you got to town..." said Twilight, breaking the silence first, her voice quiet and tinted with a bit of awkward shyness. "But, Thank you. Very much." she finished lamely, giving the stallion a hesitant nuzzle before turning her attention back to the stars.
Red blinked slowly, blushing badly enough to actually show through his coat for once. After a bit of gaping that would have made a fish proud, what with all the opening and closing of his mouth, he turned to her and smiled softly. "You really don't need to thank me... I don't really want any praise for anything I do of that sort... You and your friends are real heros, I'm just a fella with a silvery stick." he said, scrubbing at the back of his head with one hoof.
Like a bolt of lightning Twilight suddenly remembered she'd meant to ask him about that staff, but seeing the way he just brushed aside any form of recognition for his heroic actions she could really only smile softly at him. She'd never met someone so humble as he, though she wondered if he was really being humble or if he honestly felt what he'd done was no big deal. She mentally shrugged, deciding not to press him on the matter, it was enough for her to simply ask the princess secretly to do something special for him.. Regardless of if he thought so or not, he deserved some kind of reward for saving Ponyville.
After a moment her curiosity came crashing back into her and she scooted closer to him a bit before voicing her questions. "Speaking of the stick of your's... Where'd you get it and how'd it kock that annoying fuzz ball out with a little tap like that? I mean I couldn't sense any magic from it at all."
Red shrugged slightly at her second question and took a moment before he answered. "Well, Luna sent it to me... Dropped it right on my head from somewhere. Didn't really hurt though, no worse than an acorn from an annoyed squirrel. Where I'm from theres a religion centered around worshiping the natural world, one I follow actually, and the moon was the chief deity of my particular sect. Apparently Luna was rather flattered and amused by that and after I saved Rarity she decided to give me something as a reward... I'm pretty sure that staff is it. Kinda always wanted one really, most of the arch druids back home carried something similar, though a lot more knotted really." He said, glossing over a lot of things for the sake of trying to not come across as a zealot of some sort.
Twilight blinked slowly, a million questions running through her mind and all bottlenecking before they could get anywheres to be properly asked. Finally one got through, though it was more of a comment than a question. A comment both profound and amazing in its simplicity. Ready? Here it goes.... She said, quite simply, "Oh..." She even managed to get a very dignified, if confused, look on her face. Ponies worshiped Luna where he was from?
Red chuckled softly and gently draped a wing around her, nodding up at the night's sky. "Careful, you might make her laugh at the two of us." For a large ball of rock and dust that reflected the sun's rays providing a rather silvery light the moon certainly did look rather amused up there in the sky. Shrugging a bit the two of them snuggled up together and went back to stargazing, Red pointing out constellations he knew from Earth here and there, and Twilight showing him some of Equestria's. All in all, their first date passed peacefully under the watchful gaze of Luna's night sky, the stars all a-twinkle seemingly just for them. It was peaceful, that is, until they decided to dip into the cake they'd brought with them for a bit of a late night treat...
Cutting into it they were suddenly treated to a massive BOOM, a while boat load of confetti, and a boisterous "YAY CAKE!" from the pink bottle rocket of a mare that came shooting out from their dessert, a cake that couldn't possibly have contained Pinkie Pie at all. Somewhere in the multiverse, a Vulcan keeled over dead. back in Equestria, Twilight and Red found themselves treated to a rather nice fireworks display and Pinkie Pie floating down via umbrella power... It was a rather nice thing to watch, even with the lack of cake now, when you had somepony to hold on to who's heart was beating just as fast as your own... Or so they both thought anyways.