//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: The Dates - Part Two [Spare No Expense] // Story: My Overbearing Aunt // by Sketchy Changeling //------------------------------// It was twelve-twenty in the afternoon, and Rarity and I were on a taxi carriage to the heart of Canterlot. Rarity was resting against my shoulder, taking a whiff of my neck and sighing contently as she did so. “You’re not a vampire, are you?” I asked. “Oh, ha, ha, ha,” she laughed with an unamused tone. “I was just taking another whiff of your cologne. It smells really nice.” “Phew, and here I thought you were trying to suck my blood.” “If this is your idea of flirting, then you’re doing a horrible job.” “I’m working on it. How am I gonna get better if I don’t practice?” “In that case, you have a lot of practicing to do. Being able to walk the walk will be meaningless if you aren’t able to talk the talk.” “I’ll keep that in mind,” I chuckled. “I hope so, for your sake.” The taxi pulled up at our destination, and I paid the driver out of my own pocket since the cab service didn’t take credit cards. I got out of the taxi first, and then I helped Rarity out. “My, my. What a gentleman,” she giggled. “I try my best,” I said as I turned around and looked at the different restaurants that were open. “It’s your call,” I told Rarity. “We’ll eat wherever you want to eat.” “Are you sure, darling?” she asked in concern. “I wouldn’t want to be a burden.” “Don’t worry about it at all. I’ll be able to cover it.” “If you say so…” Rarity looked around at the different options, and she finally decided on a modest, yet fancy eatery close to the mountainside. The unicorn pulled me by the arm to the entrance, and we were greeted by a human waitress. “Table for two, please?” Rarity requested. “Sure thing!” said the waitress. “Would you like a table out on the patio?” “That would be lovely!” The waitress smiled and led Rarity and me to the patio, where our table was waiting for us. As we walked through the restaurant, I noticed that there weren’t many customers. Must’ve been a slow day. “Have a seat and take a look through the menu. A server will be with you shortly.” “Thank you,” I said to the waitress as I pulled Rarity’s chair out for her. “Thank you,” the unicorn said to me as she took a seat, and the waitress left us with the menus. “Man, it’s pretty empty around here,” I commented. “Well, that’s pretty much the reason why I chose to come here.” “I’m not following you.” “Well, the less crowded it is, the more it feels like we’re on a private dinner. Just look around, Marcus. We’re practically the only couple on the patio.” I did as she said and saw that she was right. Everyone else that was eating at the restaurant was seated inside. It kind-of did feel like a private dinner. Soon after, our waiter, a pegasus pony, came and took our orders, and while we waited for our food to arrive, we continued to chat. “So tell me, Marcus, what exactly happened when Celestia first met your parents?” Rarity requested. “I’m sure they’ve told you the story countless times before.” I sighed. “I guess I could tell you.” “Oh, I bet the princess came down in a beam of light, leaving your parents awestruck at her fabulous entrance!” I couldn’t help but laugh at Rarity’s fantastical assumption, and she furrowed her brow and pouted at me. “What’s so funny!?” she asked, slightly offended. “Nothing, nothing,” I assured her, waving my hands in front of my face. “It’s just that your guess is WAY off.” “Really? How off?” I chuckled, and then I started to tell her the true story. “Well, first of all, Celestia didn’t appear in a beam of light.” “How did she appear, then?” “She fell on the roof of my house, tumbled down, and fell into the bushes.” “No way!” Rarity laughed. “Yup. She even busted her leg, and my mom had to patch her up.” “I just can’t believe that...” Rarity kept chuckling at my story. “Well, believe it. Just don’t tell anyone that I told you this. It wouldn’t be good for my auntie’s image. You understand, right?” “Of course, darling. I wouldn’t want to tarnish Princess Celestia’s reputation,” the unicorn chuckled. “I hope you don’t tease her about it often.” I smiled sheepishly. “Not often, just occasionally.” “You’re such a mischievous devil, Cortez. Celestia must have quite the time taking care of you.” “I try to keep things interesting around the castle.” “I’m sure you do,” Rarity smirked. This… was going really well. So far, Rarity’s loved every minute of this… date? Yes, this was a date. I can definitely say that confidently now. I was on a date. With Rarity. Here. Right now. I smiled stupidly as Rarity looked at her reflection in her glass of water. She was paying particular attention to her hat. “I simply must thank you again for this lotus flower, sweetness,” she told me. “It really makes my ensemble look rather stunning.” “It was already stunning to begin with,” I said with a smile. The unicorn looked at me with half-lidded eyes. “Hmm… It seems you’re getting a little better at flirting.” “I learn fast.” “Maybe, but in all honesty, I practically gave that one to you. It was so obvious that I was looking for a compliment. If you hadn’t picked up that hint, I would have been worried that you were a lost cause in the flirting department.” “Well, I wouldn’t want you to think that,” I chuckled, and our food came not too long after that. Rarity had ordered an eggplant parmesan with a side salad while I had a steak with a side of mashed potatoes. Our waiter even gave us some complementary breadsticks. Rarity didn’t seem to mind me eating meat in front of her, which made me a little less nervous about it. Then again, she had travelled to different places in Equestria, so she’d probably met some meat-eaters in her day. “Mmmm…” Rarity sighed in satisfaction. “The food here is to die for!” “I hope so, considering the fact that you chose to go here,” I joked. The waiter came to our table shortly after we finished eating. “Would you two like anything for dessert?” he asked, taking notice of our empty plates. “Nah, I’m good,” I said. “Do you want anything, Rarity?” “Oh, no. I couldn’t eat another bite.” The waiter smiled. “In that case, I’ll be right back with the check.” “Are you sure that you can cover the whole check, Marcus?” Rarity asked as the waiter walked away. “I don’t mind paying for my meal.” “I told you, Rarity,” I reassured her as I held her hand, “I can take care of it. You don’t need to worry about a thing.” “I know, I know. Sorry, darling. It’s just in my nature to be generous.” A few minutes later, the waiter returned to our table with our check, and I handed him the credit card that Auntie Celeste had given me. Once the waiter left to swipe the card, I excused myself to the bathroom. “Don’t be long darling,” Rarity told me. I smiled, and then I fast-walked to the restroom. The first thing I did was look into the mirror to check if there was any food stuck in-between my teeth. Once I had checked every space I could, I looked at the assortment of complementary breath mints, sprays, and gums that were set aside for the customers. I helped myself to a small bottle of breath spray and used two sprays of it to get rid of that post-lunch breath smell… You know what? Maybe I could use two more sprays, just to be on the safe side. I looked into the mirror again and smiled confidently. I was having a good feeling about this, and I was starting to believe that I was going to get a kiss when this date was over. Call me optimistic, but it couldn’t hurt to be prepared, right? I left the bathroom and made my way back to the table, where Rarity was waiting for me. I looked at the table and saw that the check had already been returned by the waiter. “Ready to go?” I asked Rarity as I took the credit card and put it back in my wallet. “Whenever you are,” she replied with a smile. I smiled back and took the mare’s hand, helping her out of her chair and pushing it in for her once she moved. We both left the restaurant and headed to the shopping district of the city. “Do you have the time, Marcus?” Rarity asked me. “Sure, it’s… five minutes to two!?” I exclaimed in panic. “It’s fine, sweetness,” the unicorn reassured me. “We still have five minutes.” “I know, but there was one last thing I wanted to do, and five minutes is barely enough time!” “Just relax, Marcus. You have to meet Octavia at two-fifteen, and the city square is practically right around the corner. Like I said, we have time.” I took a deep breath, and then exhaled. “Okay, you’re right,” I admitted, and then I locked elbows with Rarity, pulling her close to me. “Come on. I’m gonna take you to one of the stores around here.” I ended up taking her to a jewelry store, and I guided to the section where they sold bracelets. “Why this section, of all places?” she asked curiously. I merely grinned and held up my left wrist, and that’s when Rarity noticed that I was wearing the bracelet she gave me at the Pre-Nightmare Night Festival. “I try to make a habit of wearing this often, so I figured that you should have a bracelet from me that you can wear often. You can have your pick of any one.” The unicorn gasped and looked at the assortment of lovely bracelets with a hungry look in her eyes, but then she shook her head violently and looked at me. “B-but Marcus, I just c-can’t accept this! I understand that you want to pay me back for buying you your bracelet, but it just isn’t fair for you to spend so much money on a bracelet for me when yours only cost me a mere seven bits!” “In that case, don’t think of it as paying you back. Think of it as a gift.” Rarity’s eyes began to well, and then she gave me a big, tight hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!” she said repeatedly. “It’s my pleasure,” I replied. “So, take your pick.” Rarity let go of me and began to browse the selection of bracelets that were available, and she finally decided on a thick, white bracelet with light blue gems encrusted into it. “This one,” she said with finality. “Definitely this one!” “As you wish, milady.” I called the store owner over and asked him to get the bracelet, which I paid for with my trusty one-day-only credit card. As Rarity and I exited the store, she tried the bracelet on and was admiring how it looked on her. “Thanks again for the bracelet, Marcus. I really appreciate it.” “No problem, Rarity. I’m glad you like it.” The mare stopped looking at her bracelet for a moment, and focused her vision on me instead. “Do you remember… when I said that by the end of each date, you’d know how Octavia and I felt about you?” “Yeah…” “Well, I suppose it’s pretty obvious by now how I feel about you, at least… right.” My eyes widened in slight surprise. This was it! She must be admitting that she has feelings for me! I tried to keep myself from jumping as high as I could and screaming to the heavens. Instead, a timid smile grew on my face. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” The mare merely chuckled to herself. “Be they humans or ponies, boys can be so dense.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me closer to her. She then brought her muzzle to my ear and whispered something to me. “Maybe this will make things a little clearer.” With that, she moved from my ear to my lips as she softly placed her own lips upon them. Her muzzle was far different from the lips of a human girl, as I had had the previous experience of kissing one due to a dare back in my tenth grade year of high school. The white corners of Rarity’s muzzle were much thinner yet oval shaped, the feeling of their touch being much like being embraced by the petals of a rose. The second I felt those heavenly lips touch mine, a feeling arose in my chest, one that I hadn’t felt before. It felt like a spark, a spark that ignited the moment Rarity kissed me, and it had spread throughout my body like a heat wave. In the heat of the moment, I wrapped my arms around Rarity and pulled her even closer to me. Her soft bosom gave me the sensation of comfort as it made me relax and melt away all of my troubles. I also heard the mare’s heartbeat. As I listened to it, though, there was something about it that surprised me. It was beating at a pace that far exceeded my own. Was she even more nervous about this than I was? How could she be? She was the one that started the kiss in the first place. Rarity then released me from the kiss and stared into my eyes with her hands on my shoulders. Although she had a calm expression on her face, I felt her hands trembling on my shoulders. The poor mare was shaking like a frightened Chihuahua. “I… hope I wasn’t too forward, Marcus,” she said quietly. I smiled and grasped her hands with my own, which helped to cease her nervous shaking. “Actually, Rarity, I’m glad you were a little forward. If I had to be the one to start the kiss, I probably wouldn’t have had the guts.” There was that giggle again. “Well, thanks for a great date, darling. I hope we can do it again sometime.” “Me, too. I’ll see you at school, Rarity.” The mare nodded her head and blushed. “Bye, Marcus.” As I watched Rarity leave, I got the feeling of butterflies in my stomach, but that feeling was interrupted by the buzzing of my phone. I looked at my phone curiously and saw that somepony sent me a text message. “On my way to the city square. -Octavia” Wait a second… what time was it? I looked at my phone’s clock and saw that it was… ten after two!? I made a mad dash for the city square, hoping that I wouldn’t be late.