Chapter Two - The First Date
At first Celestia did not realize what she was feeling. However, when she saw her smile the mirror, she realized that it was enthusiasm. Even though she had no idea what was in store, she was excited about the evening’s upcoming activities.
As much as she teased Luna about being out of touch with modern pony-society, she really was nopony to talk. A thousand years of pulling double duty as the sole ruler of Equestria had left her behind the times. The time had not existed for her to experience all the culture that existed. Luna had yet to take back all of her duties, so Celestia still found herself overworked. She could not remember the last time she had gone out for a ‘night on the town’ as it was.
Whatever Twilight had planned, Princess Celestia was certain it would be radically different than what she thought of as courting. At the very least she hoped that some of the old practices had fallen into disuse - she was never a fan of the duels that courting used to involve. There had been a time when she had her hoof on the pulse of Equestria, but that time had ended with the defeat of Nightmare Moon. Now, she was especially out of touch with the common ponies. With the nobility, she could at least keep track of their fashion by watching them in court.
Big hats were apparently in at the moment.
Still, she no longer understood what ponies enjoyed or what they found funny. If she was ever completely honest with Twilight, the unicorn’s friendship reports had been of great aid to not only Luna, but herself as well. Of course, she would never let Luna know that she was learning things from the report as well. It was just too much fun to make fun of her little sister.
Celestia had been a little bit concerned that Twilight might not be the best pony to use for her to judge the interests of the ‘average Equestrian,’ but she figured that with her friends it would all average out.
Currently Celestia was enjoying breakfast with Equestria’s other ruler. They ate at the break of dawn, and it was one of the few meals that they consistently were able to share with one another.
Lunch, dinner, and night lunch always tended to be state affairs. They were held in grand dinning rooms - a separate room for each meal - and always in the company of dozens of other ponies. Breakfast, however, was for just the two of them. The room was small and intimate, and the table would be cramped with more than six ponies.
“Luna, are you sure that you will be all right taking over my afternoon duties today?”
“Oh most certainly. We are looking forward to our first afternoon and evening on our own. Will thou be enjoying yourself in thy study?”
“Actually, I’m going on a date.”
Celestia had waited for Luna to be taking a sip of tea and was prepared for the spit-take that followed. A brief pulse of magic kept herself dry.
“We are familiar with that term as it is used today.” Luna paused as she leaned forward over the table. “Are we correct in our understanding that thou speakest of a romantic liaison? What of the curse thou told us about?”
“You’re right about the meaning of the word, and yes the curse is still in affect. I suppose you can call this an experiment if you would like.”
“We understand... So thou art ‘dating’ some noble pony then?”
“Oh no, not at all. I’m going out with Twilight Sparkle.”
Celestia was not expecting Luna to spit out her tea a second time.
“Twi - Twilight Sparkle? Thine student?”
“Yes.” Celestia frowned as she levitated a napkin over. “Is there a reason you’re so surprised by that?”
“Um, no reason sister... But are thou surest that going out on a date with your student is truly prudent.”
Celestia looked at her sister with a critical gaze. Luna was acting strange - or rather, stranger than normal. Unfortunately, she had a lot of work to accomplish before Twilight arrived at the palace. She would need to investigate her sister’s behavior in more depth some other time.
“I will admit, perhaps it is not the best of ideas. But it is my suitor’s heart desire, and I am just thankful that she has never realized that I am unable to deny her anything. I think I have managed to avoid spoiling her too badly, so it’s OK if I indulge her in this.”
“So thou doesn’t feel anything for the pony?”
“That is an oversimplification of things, but essentially yes. As I said, the curse is still in affect. Twilight is aware of this but has decided to proceed with our date anyway. Hopefully, as time goes on and you get to know her better, you will discover that she can be quite determined.”
As the princess of the night spoke, her voice dropped to a near whisper. “We see...”
“Is everything all right Luna?”
“Everything is... fine. We wish thou the best of luck on thy calender date.”
Celestia stared at Luna unable to determine if her sister was joking or not. As the dark alicorn continued to look at her expectantly with blinking eyes, Celestia realized the unfortunate truth.
“It’s just date, Luna. Just date.”
+++
Celestia was walking along the street with Twilight Sparkle, and two guards trailed behind them. As her sun inched towards the horizon it beamed its warm light across their backs, casting long shadows before them. Already, she felt content. Ever since Twilight had moved to Ponyville, she did not get nearly enough time to spend with her.
“A carnival?”
“Um, no...” Celestia could see that there was a slight hint of a blush on her student’s face. “Really Princess, I didn’t mean for it to be a surprise, and ‘You’ll never guess what I have planed,’ was not meant as a challenge. I don’t mind just telling you.”
“Nonsense Twilight, where’s the fun in that. Oh, are we going to a quill store?”
“No, we - wait what? Why would we be going to a quill store?”
“Well on a date you’re suppose to go to places you enjoy, are you not? And, I know that you enjoy shopping for a good quill.”
“But the pony who plans the date is supposed to put the preferences of the other pony first and foremost.”
Celestia looked at Twilight in surprise and wondered if Twilight had read the same reference book as her. She supposed it could also simply be that most of the books on dating agreed on that fact.
“Hm... Well I’m not as much of a fan as quills as you my most faithful stu- suitor, but I still enjoy picking out a good quill as much as the next scholar. What else could it be then? What about-”
“We’re going to the theater!” Twilight blurted in frustration, unable to contain herself.
Celestia pouted at the unicorn for ruining her little game, but could see that Twilight was embarrassed about her outburst. She would allow the mare to go without any teasing.
“Twilight, that sounds absolutely fantastic. I love the theater.”
Twilight beamed with pride as she spoke, “Yes Princess. I remember you mentioning once that you wished you could go out more frequently, and the research I did suggested it as a good first date activity.”
“Well I think it sounds just wonderful. It’s probably been over two hundred years since I last had a chance to enjoy a good play. What is the one we will be seeing about?”
Twilight sparkle levitated a pamphlet along with two tickets out of her saddle purse.
“Um, it seems it’s about two nobles who are on different sides of a debate about agrarian tax code...” Twilight trailed off as she flipped the pamphlet over looking for more information. “But from everything I’ve heard it’s really good. Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop talking about it.”
Celestia looked at her date in confusion as she said, “Really? From everything you’ve told me about her, I wouldn’t think that the theater would be something that she would be interested in.”
“Hm... You’re right. It normally wouldn’t be the type of thing that Dash would like.” Twilight paused, seemingly lost in thought as if the fact had just occurred to her. “I guess that means that this play must be really, really good.”
Twilight nodded in agreement with her own words, and her smile seemed to indicate that she was satisfied with her own conclusion.
They continued their leisurely walk towards the theater hall. Even before they had reached their destination, Celestia could honestly rank the day as one of her best in quite a long time. It was relaxing to simply walk and talk with her student turned suitor. Twilight Sparkle had always been a joy to spend time with, something Celestia had missed since sending the unicorn to Ponyville.
However, Celestia knew her student very well. The occasional awkward glance down and away, the unicorn trailing off and failing to complete sentences, all of it pointed to the fact that something was wrong with Twilight. She was worried that the younger pony was regretting asking the princess out on a date.
“Twilight, something is wrong. Please tell me what it is.”
“Oh it’s just - I’m not use to all the attention. All the ponies are staring and when we pass they’re all bowing. I guess I just realized that I’ve never really been outside of the palace with you before. Well Ponyville doesn’t count; I’m used to all those ponies being weird.”
Celestia chucked before she replied. “I’ll admit, the residents of Ponyville might not be the most normal of ponies. To be honest with you, I hadn’t noticed the attention we’ve been receiving. Eventually you learn to tune things like that out. Perhaps I have done you a disservice by shielding you from the eyes of the courts. Most ponies know that I have a student, but outside of the Grand Galloping Gala, I think few of them have ever met you.
“It might actually be wise for you to begin socializing with more of the noble ponies at formal events. If you are interested, the flower ball is approaching.” Celestia paused as another pony bowed and Twilight seemed to squirm. “Maybe on our next date I will go incognito if you think it will make you more comfortable.”
“Our next date?” Twilight’s eyes were as big as saucers.
“Oh, is that presumptuous of me? I just thought that to be the usual flow of things. I apologize if I was jumping ahead. I suppose I have just been enjoying myself so much already.”
“You have nothing to apologize for Princess. I’m enjoying myself as well.” Twilight smiled up at the Princess but then saw the sign for the theater up ahead. “Oh! We’re almost there. I stopped by earlier this morning and reserved us a box, so we shouldn’t need to wait long in line.”
“You mean you’ve gotten a whole balcony box just for ourselves? If I remember correctly, those tickets tend to be... pricey. If you would like I can pay for my ticket. I don’t want you straining your wallet on my account.”
“Oh, my stipend was able to cover it just fine.” Twilight waved her hoof as if it was a non-issue.
“What do you mean, your stipend? I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you remember, Princess? When I was a filly and tried to get a job so that I could afford cards to send to my parents, you decided I should receive a weekly stipend for being your student.”
Celestia nodded her head at the memory. Twilight’s idea of trying to get a job was to sneak into the armory and put on a suit of armor that was far too large for her. The filly had then tried getting herself assigned to the patrol roster. Celestia had told the palace’s steward that Twilight should receive an educational stipend. She supposed since she never gave any order to reverse it, it was still in effect.
She wondered just how much Twilight’s stipend was for. After the incident, her student had never again expressed any sort of need for bits, so she assumed it had to be for a decent amount. It would also explain how Twilight was living in Ponyville without a job. Celestia blushed when she realized that she had sent Twilight off to live on her own without thinking about the pony’s financial state in anyway.
Celestia nearly tripped when a thought occurred. Twilight was paying for the date with money she had received for being her student. However, Twilight was no longer her student but was now officially her suitor.
“Does that mean I’m technically paying you to take me out on this date?” Celestia muttered under her breath.
“What was that Princess?”
“Oh, nothing. Just thinking to myself is all.”
Celestia waved her hoof to dismiss the conversation. She would need to have a discussion with the steward. It would not do for ponies to get the idea that their princess was paying ponies to court her. Perhaps Twilight would need to get a job for the time being. After all, there was certainly some official position that they could give her in Ponyville.
Soon they arrived at the theater and needed to deal with a minor scene. Apparently Twilight had failed to inform the theater that the Princess would be in attendance. However, it was an understandable mistake for the younger pony to make. Princess Celestia should have told the Twilight that it was normal protocol to inform places that she was coming ahead of time.
She hoped that her presence did not make the actors nervous. Since it was her first time seeing a play in such a long time, they might feel pressure to perform better than usual. Still it was best to put such thoughts out of her mind. She was there to enjoy herself, and worrying about ponies other than her date would be counterproductive.
Twilight and Celestia were sitting in a balcony by themselves in what seemed like the best seats of the house. The lights dimmed and Celestia felt a hoof bump into her own. She looked down and saw Twilight’s hoof touching hers and she smiled at the unicorn. Twilight blushed in response, glancing away bashfully, and Celestia wondered why.
As the play went on, Celestia was dismayed to discover just how out of touch with modern pony humor she was. The audience was frequently roaring with laughter while she was left looking around in confusion. Her only consolation was that Twilight did not seem to be finding much amusement in the play either, but even that was only a shallow consolation. She wanted her date to be having fun.
Laughter ripped through the audience again, and Celestia had not even realized a joke had been made. She looked at the unicorn, and it seemed like Twilight was trying to shrink into her seat. Celestia was worried about how red her former student’s face appeared. She hoped that Twilight was not coming down with anything. It would be a shame if Twilight fell ill on her first date.
The audience laughed and again and Celestia leaned over to whisper a question into Twilight’s ear.
“Twilight, I am not certain I get the joke. Why is it so funny that he wants to ‘plow her plot?’” She paused leaning next to Twilight when suddenly something occurred to her. “Oh, is it because nobles usually do not dirty their hooves with field work? It’s unrealistic that he would want to work on her plot of land?”
Celestia could swear that she could feel the warmth radiating off of Twilight’s ears.
“Um... That’s exactly it Princess.” Twilight’s voice was a meek whisper. “They’re talking about field work.”
Celestia clopped her hooves together in delight. She was finally getting a hang of modern pop-humor.
“Ahh, and that must be why everypony laughed when the heroine talked about handling the heroes tool. They were talking about his plow!”
Princess Celestia heard Twilight mutter something in response. She could not make out the words, but it had sounded like, “I’m going to kill Rainbow Dash.” She looked on at her student in concern.
Twilight certainly did not seem to be feeling well. Her companion was sinking even deeper into her seat, and Celestia sighed. She had been hoping that Twilight would have a good night. It was unfortunate that Twilight seemed to be getting sick. Celestia put her fore leg around the ailing unicorn to comfort the pony and leaned over whispering into Twilight’s ear.
“After the play, let’s get you in bed.”
Twilight really needed to get some rest if she was going to fight off this illness. Celestia was shocked at how tense the unicorn was, and she began rubbing Twilight’s withers to help her relax. She did not want to cut their date short, but perhaps she would need to take Twilight back to Ponyville during the intermission.
Celestia also frowned as she thought about the play. She had no idea that Equestrian tax code had gotten so bad that ponies considered it funny. If the current practices of the Equestrian government were so laughable, something needed to be changed. She frowned as the audience laughed at a pony who was discussing the inspection of ‘many plots.’ It seemed the opinion of ponies on the issue were far gone.
She would need to call a meeting of Equestria’s high council of representatives to discuss the issue. Perhaps she would recommend to the nobles that they go and see the play as a reference. It would be good if they all had the same basis of comparison. However, at the moment her concern needed to be Twilight.
As the crowd laughed again, the pony seemed to grow even redder. Her student now looked like a purplish tomato. Perhaps it was just the noise that was bothering her student. Celestia hoped that Twilight would feel better.
She squeezed Twilight around the shoulders to show her support.
Author's Note:
Poor Princess Celestia, completely misinterpreting the situation.
If I didn't mention in the Chap 1 Author's note, humor is something I'm not too practiced at, so please call me out on things that don't work.
Also, hopefully I struck a good balance between the play being raunchy and innuendo filled.
Next chapter is the conclusion of their date.