//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: The Dates - Part Four [Feel ze Passion] // Story: My Overbearing Aunt // by Sketchy Changeling //------------------------------// I raised an eyebrow at the overly dramatic photographer. “Have you heard of this mare?” I whispered to Octavia. “Rarity talks a lot about her,” she whispered back. “Apparently, she’s one of the most famous, if not the most famous photographer in Equestria.” “Enough of ze whispering!” Photo Finish demanded as she took out her camera. “Ve begin… now! Pose for me!” Octavia and I were initially flustered by how fast this mare operated, and when the first flash hit us, we were a little stunned; not to mention blinded as we tried to blink away the dots before our eyes. “Zis is not ze vision that I, Photo Finish, had for you two!” the photographer declared from behind the lens. The look on her face was one of annoyed disapproval, as if she kept digging for her muse but was frustrated over her incapability of finding it. “You just met us less than a minute ago,” I told her with a matter-of-fact tone. “It only takes but a moment for a vision to come to me, for I, Photo Finish, am an artist. I can tell zat you two have an intense passion for each other burning inside of you.” Octavia and I nervously looked at each other when we heard that. I did really like her, but I never would have described my feelings for her as an “intense passion,” mostly because I never thought of it. If Photo Finish was right about my feelings for Octavia, then this meant that Octavia felt just as strongly as I did. Either that or this crazy mare was making shit up. “Do not be afraid to show it to me! Let out ze passion, and let me capture it in a photo!” Photo Finish stomped with her hoof, a magical glint shining through the corner of her shades. Octi looked at me nervously and said “I guess we should give her what she wants.” “I guess so,” I replied, and without giving it any thought, I did the first thing that came to mind and wrapped my arms around Octavia’s waist, pulling her closer to me. With her being an inch taller than me, I had to look up a little so we could see eye to eye. ‘Tavi followed my lead and draped her arms over my shoulder. Well now… That certainly made me feel all warm and cozy! “Yes… Zat’s it!” said Photo Finish, the fire in her eyes growing “Now bring your faces closer!” “Closer?” Octi and I asked at the same time. “Yes, closer! I, Photo Finish, asked for passion. Your faces are practically seven inches apart! Zat is not passion!” I gulped and slowly moved my face closer, and Octavia did the same. I could tell we were both nervous. My heartbeat was pumping a hundred miles per hour and so was my mare’s little jackhammer, whose vibrations I could feel through the barrier of our ribcages. “Yes…” Photo Finish muttered in satisfaction “Closer…” If Octavia and I weren’t in the same room, I could swear that this bat-shit crazy mare was muttering to herself. We moved closer, and six inched became five. My face was burning and Octavia’s was too, judging by the vivid shade of red plastered all over her face, showing itself clearly through her grey fur. Wait, how is that even possible? Never mind… “Closer…” Five inches became three. There was something strange in the way my date was staring at me. Was that… desire? “Closer…” Three inches became one, and all I could see was Octavia’s eyes; her beautiful, big, enticing eyes. I felt a fire ignite inside me, and I started to gaze past Octavia’s eyes and into her very soul. This must have been the passion that Photo Finish was talking about. I expected Octi to be a little frightened by the way I stared at her, but instead she returned the gaze right back at me, and I felt her staring right into me. She even started to smile, and oh what a smile it was. It was a little intimidating, but it also had a calming effect on me. “Yes! Zis is ze shot!” Photo Finish declared as she snapped the picture. “Now, put your foreheads together!” We mindlessly did what the mare said, our vision focused only on each other. “Yes, yes! I love it! Now, let go of each other!” We did as she said and let go, our eyes not leaving each other. “Now, you!” Photo Finish pointed at Octavia. “Embrace him and kiss him on ze cheek.” On command, ‘Tavi wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close and planting a soft kiss on my cheek. It was so very strange; this entire situation; it was like we were both under a spell. “Perfect! Now, I need a stool!” Rose immediately popped in with a tall stool, placing it on the set and leaving as promptly as she appeared. “Now, young lady,” Photo Finish said to Octavia. “Sit in ze chair while ze young man embraces you from behind!” ‘Tavi did as she was told and took a seat, and I draped my arms over her shoulders, looking at her while she looked at me. Meanwhile, Photo Finish took several shots, chuckling to herself in satisfaction. “Now! Get ze stool off ze set!” Once again, Rose appeared immediately, taking the stool once Octavia got off of it, and leaving the set. “Okay, you two. Sit on ze ground!” Without a single word, we did as we were told and sat on the ground. “Sit back to back,” Photo Finish ordered, “and turn your heads towards each other, gazing into each other’s eyes.” As Octavia and I followed the order, our backs touched, and I felt the warmth emanating from her that matched mine. We then looked into each other’s eyes, our gazed piercing each other once more, and we ignored the shutter clicks coming from the camera. We were too focused on each other. “Zat’s it! Ze shoot is over!” Photo Finish yelled out as she put away her equipment in the blink of an eye. The second she said that, Octavia and I blinked, stating at each other in confusion. “What just happened?” she asked me. “Hell if I know,” I answered. Photo Finish looked down at us and smiled. “You were both feeling ze passion!” she said to us. “It overtook your very being, lulling ze two of you into a trance in which you saw nothing but each other!” I got scared again; this was the second time that this mare correctly described how I was feeling. I really did feel like Octavia was the only other being I saw. The only other being that I cared to see. “Zat, my lovelies, it true passion!” Photo Finish declared, and then she began to approach Octavia. “If you vant my opinion, don’t lose zis one,” she told her, taking a moment to glance at me out of the corner of her eye. “He is, how you say, a ‘keeper’.” ‘Tavi visibly gulped at the older mare’s remark, and she looked at me with a curious look in her eyes. Photo Finish smirked and looked up towards the exit. “Now… I go!” she declared, and she zipped off the set in an instant. “Well, that was… something,” I commented. “It sure was…” Octi agreed. “Let’s change back into our regular clothes before we go see the pictures.” “Good idea.” After we got changed, Octi and I went back to the lobby, where Rose was waiting for us by her desk. “There you guys are!” she said happily. “Quite the experience, wasn’t it?” “You could say that,” I answered. Rose giggled. “Well, let’s see how your pictures turned out,” she said, and she showed us the photos on her computer. I was taken aback by how I looked in the pictures. There really was a passionate look in my eyes in every one, and Octavia looked the same, which made her just as surprised as I was. “So, what do you think?” Rose asked. “I guess we could just get one of each pose…” I suggested. “That sounds good,” Octavia agreed. “So we’ll just pick out the best photo from each of the four poses.” After several minutes of cycling through each photo over and over and over again, we finally picked the four photos we wanted. “Okay, so what size do you want for each photo?” asked Rose. “We’ll take them all in medium, small, and wallet sizes,” I answered, and I took out my trusty card. “Put it all on this.” Octavia gave me an uneasy look as Rose swiped the card, but said nothing. Mere minutes later, the photos were printed and put in separate bags, one for me, and one for Octi. “There you go!” said Rose. “Thanks for coming, and have a wonderful day!” “You too,” we said as we left the studio, bags in hand. As we walked through the shopping district of Canterlot, Octavia looked at me, giving me the same concerned look she gave me not five minutes ago. “Okay, what’s wrong?” I asked her. “I’m just concerned with how much money you’re spending on me,” she explained. “These photos cost almost one hundred bits altogether. I don’t want you to throw yourself into debt because of me.” I chuckled. “Don’t worry about it,” I assured her. “You saw the card I used, right?” “Yeah…” “It’s a special card that my aunt is letting me use for today only. She offered to pay for everything so that I’d be able to spoil you and Rarity a little.” “That was rather considerate of her.” “You think?” “So I guess you plan on spoiling me for the rest of this date, I suppose?” “Only if you want me to.” ‘Tavi let out a sigh. “Well, I am a little peckish. Perhaps you could spoil my appetite a little.” “Is it dinnertime already?” “I think that quarter to five is an appropriate time for dinner.” I looked at my watch in disbelief and saw that it was, in fact, quarter to five. Damn. Where did the time go? “Well, is there any place in particular you’d like to eat at?” Octavia took a moment to think about it, and then she looked at me. “Actually, yes, but I’d like to show you something, first. Follow me.” I shrugged my shoulders and followed the mare’s lead, and we left the shopping district of the city, heading towards a closed building. Said building had a neon sign near the entrance that was turned off at the moment. From the looks of this place, it must have been a nightclub. “My old roommate was the regular DJ here,” Octi explained. “I’m not sure who they have filling in for her at the moment; but then again, I’ve never been here, anyway.” “I could take you and Rarity here one of these days,” I offered. The mare scrunched her nose. “Well, no offense to Rarity, but I’d rather if it were just you and me. Think of it as another adventurous experience for the two of us.” I chuckled. “You seem to really like those.” “I guess I do.” Just then, Octavia’s stomach growled, and my stomach did the same seconds later. “We should get to a restaurant soon,” I suggested. “Good idea.” Octavia ended up taking me to a somewhat fancy restaurant, but it wasn’t anything too fancy. It was a Japaneighse eatery that had about the same degree of fanciness as the restaurant that Rarity and I were at earlier that day. We were seated promptly and given menus, and Octavia and I engaged in small talk as we waited for our waiter to show up. “The food here is great, Marcus,” ‘Tavi insisted. “My old roommate and I used to come here all the time.” “Okay, you seem to talk a lot about this old roommate of yours.” “Oh, I hope I’m not annoying you.” “Not at all. I’m actually more curious than anything. Who is this old roommate you speak so highly of?” Octavia chuckled to herself, and then she looked at me. “Her name was Vinyl Scratch.” “’Was’? You make it sound as though she’s dead.” “Are you going to let me tell the story or not?” “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please continue.” “Anyway, on the stage, she’s known as DJ PON-3. She was a real wild one, that mare. While she was a stark contrast to my more quiet personality, the two of us seemed to click. We first met as roommates during our first year, and we became friends ever since.” “I can imagine that it was a bit of a challenge getting used to living with her, judging from your description of her.” “It was, at first, but we worked it out after about a month or two. It’s funny; she always tried to get me out of my shell, but I didn’t start doing that until after she left.” “You said that she went to… Saddle Arabia, right?” “Yes. She’s taking part in a study abroad program for the whole year. When she comes back for Hearth’s Warming to visit, I’m sure she’ll be surprised that I’m doing more than just sitting in my room practicing for whatever music competition that would happen to be around the corner.” The moment she said “competition,” I was reminded of something. “Wait a sec, Octi,” I said. “Do you remember when you wanted to play a piece for me last month? You said that it was for a competition.” The mare visibly blushed. “Um… I think so…” “Uh-huh. Well, several days after that, I found a flyer for that competition, and it said that it was only open to first and second year students. Last time I checked, you’re a third year. Care to explain?” Octavia nervously chuckled. “Well, it’s a funny story, actually. What had happened was… oh, never mind. I just wanted an excuse to play music for you.” I gave her a warm smile. “You really thought that you needed an excuse?” The mare averted her eyes from me and started to twirl her mane. “Well, at the time, I thought that you’d think that it was weird for me to just ask to play a piece of music for you just because, so I felt that I needed some kind of reason to play for you.” I shook my head. “You didn’t need to do that, ‘Tavi. I would’ve listened regardless of whether or not you had a reason.” Octavia looked at me and began to blush. “Really?” she asked. “You wouldn’t mind?” “Of course! I wouldn’t mind at all!” She looked down at the floor and smiled. “Thanks, Marcus. That means a lot.” Just then, our waiter had arrived, and Octavia and I gave him our orders. Once he left, I decided to ask a question that had been sitting in the back of my head. “So… I was wondering…” I began. “Wondering what?” “Do you and Rarity ever talk about me?” She raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Passively, yes, but do you mean something more specific?” “Well, yeah. I mean, I admitted that I liked the both of you several days ago, so have you two ever talked about that day, or about my feelings for you, in general?” Octavia pondered for a moment before shaking her head. “Not really. We pretty much kept to ourselves about how we felt. I actually have no idea how Rarity feels about you.” While she did look rather convincing, I instinctively assumed that she was lying. “Really? You’ve never talked about it? Ever?” “No.” “You’ve never discussed it with Rarity? You have absolutely no idea how she feels about me?” The mare shot me an annoyed look, but then a smirk grew on her face. “Why are you asking me how Rarity feels when you just went on a date with her this morning? Why don’t you tell me how she feels about you?” I instantly went on the defensive. “W-why do you want to know that?” “Why so difficult, Marcus?” Octavia asked teasingly. “Do you not like it when you’re the one being interrogated?” Okay, I saw her point. “Did she return your feelings? Did she kiss you? Oh! Did she use her tongue?” “Okay, okay, I get it!” I surrendered. “I’ll stop with the invasive questions!” Octavia let out a satisfied giggle. “Good. Although, I think I know why you asked if Rarity and I talk about you.” “Oh really?” “Yes. You were probably hoping for me to say that we fight over you, since hearing that would really stroke your ego.” My face turned red in a mixture of embarrassment and anger. “Or… maybe you were just insecure.” “Are you going to spend this entire dinner teasing and mocking me?” “Some guys actually get off on being belittled by their partners, you know.” “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not one of those guys.” “Oh, drat!” Octavia said with a purposefully exaggerated tone. “And here I thought you liked it when I teased you. What a disappointment!” “Ha, ha, ha,” I deadpanned. “But, in all seriousness, I’ll try not to tease you too much, even though I do find your reactions to be quite adorable.” I rolled my eyes as the waiter brought over our food. Octavia had ordered a bowl of udon noodles with a side of dumplings while I had roasted chicken with rice. Like Rarity, Octavia didn’t mind my meal choice. “Mmm… The food sure does smell nice…” I sighed in content. “I wonder how good it’ll taste.” “Why don’t you dig in and find out?” I chuckled and used my chopsticks to try a clump of rice, and my eyes widened in surprise when the taste hit me. This food tasted amazing! “That’s the usual first reaction,” Octavia told me. “Rarity and I came here a few weeks ago and she had that exact look on her face when she took that first bite.” The mare chuckled at the memory and then took a bite out of one of her dumplings. She and I continued our dinner, and by the time we were done, our stomachs were stuffed, so I asked the waiter for the check. Octavia let out a contented sigh and pushed out her chair. “Excuse me for a moment, Marcus. I need to use the little fillies’ room.” “Sure. I’ll be here,” I said, and she left to go to the restroom. Once she was out of sight, I dug into my pockets to take out my breath spray. I wouldn’t say that I was expecting a kiss at the end of this date, but I’d rather be prepared than have rancid breath. I started out with a couple of sprays, but then I thought that I could use one more. And maybe another. And maaaaaaaybe another. Okay, one last one. “Agh!” I exclaimed as my mouth started to burn. Maybe I overdid it with the breath spray. I quickly fanned my open mouth with my hand before Octavia came back. When she got to the table, she looked at me for a moment and tilted her head in curiosity. “Are you okay, Marcus?” she asked. “Who, me? Oh yeah, I’m just fine. Don’t worry.” “It’s those times you tell me not to worry that make me worry the most,” she said with a frown. I chuckled amusedly at Octavia’s concern, and the waiter came with the check, which, of course, I paid with my ever-reliable credit card. The waiter took the card, swiped it, and promptly returned it to me. “And with the check taken care of, we’re out of here,” I said as Octavia took hold of my arm and followed me out of the restaurant. When we got outside, the mare sighed in content, and then she nuzzled the side of my face. It was hard to explain, but it felt magical when she did that. Her arms wrapped around my shoulders, her snout lying on top of the trap of my right shoulder. I had never felt such comfort before. “I had a really great time today, Marcus. I hope we could do it again sometime.” I smiled back at her. “I hope so too… Say, you want me to walk you back to the school.” Octi smiled and nuzzled me again. “I’d love that.” With our minds made up, the two of us headed towards the school, walking down the streets of Canterlot like we were practically glued to each other, and by that I meant her arm around my shoulders and my hand on her waist. As we meandered through the city, I noticed that the sun was beginning to set, and it made me think about Auntie Celeste. I thought about everything she had done for me just so I could have a good day today. She gave me a card to cover all my expenses, she bought an expensive bottle of cologne for me to wear, and she even stayed up with me last night to help pick out my clothes for today. I even chuckled at the little back-and-forth we had the previous night over whether or not I should have worn a tie. Thinking about all this made me realize how much Auntie Celeste cared for me, and how much she wanted me to be happy. It took a special kind of pony to show that much love. For a ruler of all of Equestria, she was shaping up to be one great aunt. Before I knew it, ‘Tavi and I had already reached the west entrance to CUFTA, which meant that it was time for me to say goodbye to her for the night. Having to let go of her broke the feeling of security that I was feeling a while ago, and it made me feel nervous and unwilling to let this evening end. “You got your pictures, right?” I asked. “Right here,” she answered, lifting the plastic bag holding the photos we had taken earlier that day. “That was… quite the experience, huh?” “It sure was. I’m not sure what came over me then. When we started to get so close to each other, I felt something come over me. I felt like I didn’t want to take my eyes off of you, and even if I could, I felt like that force wouldn’t let me.” I tried not to blush. “I kind-of felt the same way. It was almost like-” “We were under some kind of spell,” Octavia smiled. “Yeah, something like that…” I replied. We stood there for a few moments, looking at each other without saying a word, and Octavia was the first to break the silence. “Marcus…” “Yeah…” She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me closer to her. “I’m starting to feel that strange force come over me again,” she said to me. “Me too…” I said to her. Six inches became five… Five inches became three… Three inches became one… And then our lips met. I immediately felt a familiar sensation course through me. Familiar, yet indescribable. Almost like… a spark. That was it. This was that same spark that I felt when Rarity kissed me. This was that same overwhelming sensation that spread across every fiber of my being like a wildfire. I couldn’t help but pull Octavia even closer to me, and action that she happily reciprocated. With our bodies so close together, I could feel her heart beating in sync with mine. As clichéd as it may sound, it felt like our souls were like intertwined. Despite the intense passion of the moment, our hearts were beating at a moderate pace. Neither of us felt the least bit nervous. There was no need for us to feel that way. The feeling of being in each other’s arms was enough to ease our nerves. The kiss continued for what felt like a blissful eternity, and then our lips parted, leaving us to stare into each other’s eyes passionately. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said. “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to say?” The mare smirked and let out a small laugh. “I guess I beat you to it,” she retorted, and she looked up at the sky. “Looks like the moon’s starting to rise.” “Yep, looks like it.” “Good night, Marcus.” “Good night, Octi.” Octavia smiled at me and gave me one last hug before walking through the gates of the school, leaving me to walk back home to the castle with a satisfied smile on my face. As I waited for a taxi carriage to show up, I looked up at the moon and smiled, remembering that I had planned to go dreamwalking with Luna later. When a taxi finally showed up, I hopped in and told the driver to take me to Canterlot castle, and as I sat there, waiting to get home, I continued to look at the moon, wondering what the land of dreams would have in store for me once I met up with Luna.