//------------------------------// // 46 - First Date // Story: Just a day in Equestria // by dave89898989 //------------------------------// I looked at myself in the mirror and began to cut my hair with some nearby scissors. It had become unkempt and messy beyond making a style of it. It’s good I knew Rarity, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to do it myself. I then applied almost half a bottle of perfume to myself so I could smell attractive at least. I had lost control of myself and I didn’t care what I did for the week just past. But tonight brought a special night for me, and I had to do something to be prepared. I had that one dress Rarity had given to me, which I so dearly needed at the time, apparently. It didn’t look like much, but I owned no other dresses. It fit perfectly as usual, and at that I felt ready to go meet Cheerilee at the restaurant. So, to my embarrassment, I borrowed a few bits from my parents to pay for tonight’s dinner and went on my way. I hadn’t been on a date in a very long time, especially one as formal as this, so I betted to myself that it would go awkwardly. And would Cheerilee accept me? Would she have enough time for me? Will she turn up at all? Did I make her do this and push it too far when I did? Have I been too much of a romantic fool? Have I been a fool in general? All these questions brought genuine fear to my mind. I wanted to turn back and stay inside for the rest of the evening, but I couldn’t just stand Cheerilee up. I’d never forgive myself, but she wouldn’t have to see me in this broken down state, and she wouldn’t have to go against her will for me. The decisions I tried to make in my head crossed paths and destroyed my train of thought. I didn’t know what to do, so I just kept on walking to my destination. Maybe it will go down fine, I thought to myself. I saw the rose-coated teacher pony waiting outside of the fancy restaurant. I almost ran up to her with a certain unease propelling me, and asked “shall we go in?” with a hint of nervousness. We sat at a silk cloth laden table together, near a window for an atmospheric view. A waitress pony lit a large candle in the middle of the table and asked if we’d like some drinks. “One of the finest wines you have, please,” Cheerilee responded. I didn’t want to argue, and tonight predicted itself difficult to pay back to my parents. “I’m glad you came, Cheerilee, I was worried that you weren’t going to be here.” I laughed a quiet, shaky laugh to break the ice in one of those awkward ways. She almost looked offended. “Oh Blue, of course I would come! This date is too important to just pass up on.” I leaned back a little at that statement. “Important? What do you mean, it’s just a get together with little old me, nothing special. You didn’t have to do this in the first place, you know?” “Blue, it was obvious that you needed a special somepony, and that you’ve never planned a date before. This time you’re going to take a relationship slowly, if you’re okay with that,” the pink-maned pony frightened me with how much she knew about my lovelife. The wine arrived at our table, and the waitress poured a glass for both of us. And I thought I’d got over my alcoholism...maybe I could control it this time. That would prove to be hard after what happened recently, but there might be a chance of conquering my problem just for this night. I took a small sip as Cheerilee put herself nearer to me over the table. “Are you okay, Blue? I read the news...it’s so terrible, losing one of the finest Princesses in Equestrian history. I’m really sorry…” “Yeah, I’m alright, I think. I stayed in bed all week so I could recover from the stress, and I can just about handle it now. It hurts though, watching one of the last of your family slip away like that.” I looked into her light-green eyes in sadness, but her face brought a newfound comfort to me. “I know what you’re thinking,” the naturally happy pony started, “you need somepony to help you find peace and support at this time. That’s why this date is important. I want to prove to you that I can be there for you, even if I don’t exactly have the good schedule. I want to be the sunshine to your rain, so to speak.” The romantic words coming from Cheerilee’s lips made me melt. “Thank you, but this won’t be all about me though. I can really do with the help now, but I want to provide for your needs as well.” “You don’t have to worry about me for the while. It should be all about you in your time of need. It’s my duty to fill your heart with the warmth it needs.” Her polite return in the conversation took me over. She’s going to do everything in her power to make me happy, and I can’t wait for it. We ordered some food shortly after our talk, which looked too expensive for my tastes, but it would have to do. Pumpkin risotto with a green salad side, the most appetising looking thing on the menu at the time. I ate my dinner with heartiness as it tasted good, to my surprise. Cheerilee chose the same thing as me in agreement to my decision, which seemed sweet to me in a way. That certainly filled a hole in my stomach. The time came for the idle conversations to begin. “So Cheerilee, how have you been coming along for the week just passed? How has your garden grown?” “I’ve uh...been doing well. For my garden, I’ve decided to expand the vegetable patch, so I’ve planted more potato and carrot seeds for a start. It was getting boring for me to go to the market to buy already grown food when I could do it myself, you see?” the avid gardener replied. Her mouth showed me that she wanted to talk more about the various plants she grew. “I’d have to agree with you if I had any talent with gardening. It would be so much fun to have your own little farm,” I said as I smiled genuinely. “Maybe you could help me in the future! I need a helping hoof every once in a while. You could look after my little flowers while I teach!” She laughed at the thought. “That could happen, provided I have enough time too.” “I could even make homemade meals for us both! I don’t have to go anywhere to get anything because I would have everything with me already! Oh Blue, I can’t wait for the days we can spend together to come along. You’ll be somepony I can actually spend time with, I can tell you that.” “It shall be fun, Cheerilee. I can settle down with you, and finally get to grips with my life. Hopefully the winding path will straighten out from here, eh?” “Hopefully. You’ve been through a lot, I just know. We’ve both travelled through tough times, hectic events, and in the end things will relax when we have each other.” “And it’ll be a slow relationship this time for me, so I can ease into a new life. Another new start. Maybe I could forget about Destiny and move on...it’ll all be okay when I have you by my side.” “Whoa there, why forget about Destiny? She’s your best friend, right?” “Not anymore. I’ve told you why we separated recently, and it doesn’t look like we’ll ever be as close as we once were. It was one of the biggest mistakes that I have ever made. One that I will probably regret for the rest of my life. I lost my friend because I broke the bond of trust I had built up after so many years. I promised to her that I would tell everything in truth and not keep secrets. But I did. And for all that time too. The increasing pressure and suspicions of me knowing something that Destiny didn’t. Why didn’t I say sooner?!” I banged my hoof on the table, leading to some sharp stares at my outburst. Cheerilee put her hoof on mine to try and keep me calm. “It’s alright, Blue. You knew that you were doing the right thing, you had good intentions and you wanted her to find out when the time was right. She will understand one day. Destiny probably hasn’t looked this deep inside of herself before, so it’s tough for her to come to terms with what happened back then.” I asserted my thoughts. “She’ll never recover, I know it. The poor pony had no idea what happened to her family for all that time, so many questions I had to avoid and twist the truth just so I could protect her. Was it worth it? Did everything I chose to do for her help? I’ve always made bad decisions, and this one was truly unforgivable.” I blinked rapidly and swallowed hard to keep my tears down. “Maybe you need some fresh air. Let’s get out of here, we can talk more about this in a bit; I don’t want you to be judged by the other ponies any longer.” The lavender pony stood up and paid the bill we owed. I gave her the bits as I left the building, head hung low. We made our way up a semi-steep hill which overlooked the town and it’s nightlife, while giving a clear view of the stars above. I laid down on the grass, not caring if my dress got dirty. The care for such petty things slipped from my mind as I sunk uncomfortably into yet another depression. The teacher-pony joined me, staying close to radiate her warmth onto me. “You made the correct decision Blue. It’s one of the hardest discoveries anypony could ever take, but through time and discussing it with another, she’ll find a way to accept the truth.” Her hoof crept up to my neck as she pulled me into a tender embrace. I held her tight. “But will she ever forgive me?” I asked with a muffled voice; my face buried in her shoulder. “She will, but you need to talk to her about it. Destiny will be mad at you at first, but she will calm down and see your side of the story. Tomorrow you’ll go and see her, okay? Tell her how it is.” Cheerilee’s smile would never stop persisting to try keeping me happy. Her aura shone brightly with the passion of an optimistic pony. I tried leaning in for a kiss, but her hoof stopped me by putting it on my mouth. “I’m sorry, I need to keep myself under control. It only leads to bad things when I do that. Why am I so stupid?!” “You don’t have to be sorry, I just wanted to be the first one to give the kiss in the relationship.” She moved her hanging hoof and placed it on my cheek, then kissed me on the lips slowly and gently. When she pulled back I noticed the subtle shaking coming from her body. “Have you...is this your first time?” She looked embarrassed and turned her head away from me. “I...you see...yeah. I’m sorry, did I do it wrong?” “Your kiss was just fine. You’re nervous now though, and you don’t know what to do with yourself,” I observed. The pink face saturated into a darker shade of red. “Is this how it feels? I didn’t know I would be trembling so much,” the inexperienced mare admitted as she tried to stop herself from moving around. I held her tighter now to help her muscles relax. “It starts out like this for most ponies finding love. It’s a natural reaction, and you’ll get used to advances like these in time, trust me.” Cheerilee pulled me in for one more kiss. We watched the stars afterwards, acknowledging everything separate that had happened in our lives until now when they had become intertwined. One of many redemptions I tried involved saving a troubled teenage Cheerilee from those local bullies, and I relished in the fact that I met her the way I did. I’m not a pony to regularly look out for others, but I felt like changing my stance then and there. Protecting others became my new purpose to oppose the past. Maybe I would be pleasing the Gods this way, or at least getting them off my back. For my new partner, I turned to her and asked about her past. She described growing up in Ponyville, as a filly she wanted to make the other ponies laugh and be happy. As she grew older though, the more she became bullied because of her undying elation. She told me that sometimes she wondered about this joyful ‘mask’ she put on, just so ponies knew nothing seemed wrong with her, even if she had other emotions at certain times. Cheerilee had never cried in front of anypony before because that would ruin the representation everypony had of her; an upbeat mare with a heart of gold. The social ineptitude she possessed annoyed her, as she had always wanted to have a good conversation with somepony else, but the time to get out and be cordial with others never truly came for her. Gardening and teaching on the side came to be this complex pony’s release though, as she loved watching things grow, be it her students or her plants. And now that I have come along again, I could help her out a little with her social ability, even if I don’t talk to ponies much myself. “Hey, Blue, I think we both deserve some ice cream right now, so can we get some?” The light pink maned mare asked me with dreamy eyes. “Of course, let’s go!” I enthused. We both got a scoop of the same chocolate flavour to match each other. Apparently Cheerilee had very similar tastes to me, more than I expected. I walked my love back to her home, gave her a quick smooch and said a warm goodbye before returning home myself. I went straight back to bed, but this time I felt the opposite to crying myself to sleep. I felt strong now that I had the cute teacher mare by my side. “So how did it go?” Zap Flower asked as she walked into my bedroom casually. I closed my eyes and gripped a pillow in joy. “It went very well, mother. I’ve finally found the right special somepony for me, somepony on the same wavelength. She is the yin to my yang, if you understand.” She smiled at me satisfaction. “Me and your father are proud of you, Blue. We hope you can keep together and have a happy life together. Good luck!” She returned to her room as I prepared to go to sleep, safe in the knowledge that things just began looking up for me. *Sean’s POV* “Anne is coming along just fine. She has opened the door to true love,” I remarked to myself. I then created a temporary door in front of myself and opened it, taking myself to the realm of the Gods. The ‘Princess Opare’ character had revealed a clue to Anne, which would not bode well with Zeus and the rest of the higher-ups. I obviously had to report my findings. The aging leader of the Gods sat on his almighty marble-white throne in the matching material room, taller than everyone else’s as he had the highest rank. The other main Gods perched themselves on lower thrones depending on their ranks as well. The purity of the huge room did not reflect the darkness that we all operated in. After the bombs dropped, we did not desire working in pleasant manner anymore, unfortunately. Even I have to own up to my evil half, by making people I watched over in the past go insane and kill themselves. None of us had done a good deed for many a year. Preserving Anne’s sanity will prove to be tough, as I have not protected someone in such a way before. However, she is the catalyst to our master plan, which may have to be carried out soon if not executed carefully enough. We’ve come this far already… “Zeus, I have a message to give to you. It could be very grave to us,” I called out to the King of the Gods. I then explained the recent events of Opare’s passing and her preparations beforehand. Zeus looked angry. However, that didn’t differ from his normal expression. “These ‘supports’ for Anne...I’m beginning to lose my patience with them. I’m just glad that she had reached the end of her lifespan, otherwise we would have a lot more work cut out for us. No matter. Janus, please tell me about Tyche. What has happened recently with her?” “She was killed, sir. By the hand of Anne, might I add.” A drop of sweat ran down my face after saying that. “What?!” Zeus bellowed, waking the other Gods from their afternoon slumber. “Tyche! I should have never allowed her to become mortal. She defected through extreme measures, and now because of her meddling she died as well! This is not good, Janus. Gaia and Aion will be furious, and I’m going to have to answer for it! Can we not have this plan; perfected through months of thinking, time and careful steps taken, go through properly?!” “Master Zeus, settle down now,” Athena, the Goddess of wisdom intervened. “I am the main strategist here, and don’t think the plan has fallen through just yet. It may have to be inopportune, but we must strike before a counterattack can be launched. Janus, the machines we built have a time limit of the chosen ones’ life. I want you to turn the timer onto three days left for everyone. Ares, you must gather separate armies to invade each chosen mortal’s world on the right command. Hermes, you must demand for the items that each person has in their possession which I will list to you later on. If they do not give up their items, the armies of Ares shall back you up. Hephaestus, you can forge the weapons needed to supply the armies, and feel free to set fire to each world the mortals now live in. And finally Hades, you get to torture the humans into oblivion after they have all died and arrived in Tartarus.” Zeus seemed to be thinking hard on this new scheme. “There will be no way they can resist our forces. We will take what we want from them, assume control of the worlds and bring ourselves back to full power. And then finally we can take over the planet Earth that we watch over. We shall rule once again, fellow brothers and sisters!” he cried, spilling his goblet of wine as he thrust it into the air with triumph. I then returned to the room of Anne’s dwelling once more. I input the countdown codes through each machine and set the time to a measly seventy-two hours each. The only flaw with changing the time is making the other inhabitants of the people’s worlds aware of the amount of time the main character has left to live. Unfortunately for Anne, she had become independent from the system, so nobody would know that anything changed. This had been the most sinister moment of my life, but it all went to a good cause. The conquering of worlds would begin again, and then I would have utilise the purpose of overthrowing King Zeus. The Gods need a new leader, like me, after all. “Goodbye Anne, I hoped you had a nice life while it lasted,” I whispered into her ear while wearing a smug grin on my face.