//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11. Dinner and Conversation 
// Story: A New Teacher 
// by Sparky Brony 
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We walk into the only fancy restaurant in this little beach side community, and I'm sporting a lavender rose behind my right ear. Twilight found it at vendor selling flowers while walking to the restaurant. I wasted no time accepting her gift. I saw how nervous she was when presenting it to me, from everything Rainbow Dash said in filling me in on pony courting customs, the presentation of the flower, or feather from a pegasus, was a stressful thing for a mare. I got a good look at the rose as she floated it to me, it was naturally that color, not dyed, and was actually quite beautiful. The maître d’ looked at us, did a double take noticing that Twilight was a princess, then did another double take noticing the flower standing out from my flame colored mane, and quickly took us to a secluded table in the back of the cozy restaurant. The only lighting was from strategically placed candles, and the booth cushions were overstuffed and very comfortable. After the initial ordering of drinks we were left alone.

"So, do others notice you are a princess and double take like that?" I asked her.

"No, I try to stay out of the public eye as much as possible. Ponyville is used to me being there, so there's not much commotion, but occasionally when I'm out of town I get some odd stares when I'm around with my friends."

I took a moment to process what she told me. "Do you not like being a princess?"

She looked at me, it seemed to take a while for her to process the meaning behind the question.

"There are good things about it, and not so good things."

Well, I caught was wasn't said there. "Can you reverse it and go back to what you were before?"

Her eyes went wide. "I wouldn't do that, Celestia has placed her faith in me."

"But it is a burden to you?"

She looked down, and slowly nodded.

"You don't wear your crown, you have a crown, right?"

She nodded, "I do, but I don't like calling attention to that. I'm no better than anypony else."

Realization dawned. "You placed Celestia on a very high pedestal haven't you?"

Her eyes snapped from the table to mine. I don't think it's possible for them to get any wider.

I placed my hoof on hers on the table, "Twilight, a leader isn't better than those they lead, they simply lead. I've been told you were a unicorn before you became a princess."

She nodded.

"You feel like that unicorn inside, you don't feel any different now that you have that title, and those responsibilities?"
"How could you know that?"

I moved my hoof to her cheek, caressing it gently. "Twilight, I had a rank in the Navy, I had responsibilities."

"But you weren't royalty."

I smiled at her, "No, I wasn't royalty, but please, listen, you just might find some parallels to help you understand what I'm saying. I'm going to tell you a story."

She smiled at me, "I'll be happy to listen to your story, Nick."

"When I was eighteen, I enlisted in the Navy. That means I wasn't an officer, I was an underling. I loved it, but I wanted to fly the jets, and I couldn't because I wasn't a flight officer. I had to take orders and do what I was told to do. I started my first tour on an Arleigh Burke missile frigate."

At her look of confusion, I described the type of ship quickly, then I continued my story.

"One day, my commanding officer came up to me, he knew how much I loved flying, and he asked me why I didn't go to college and get my degree. I told him I took a semester of college, and I hated it. It was too boring for me, and I knew I couldn't stick it out four years, no matter how much I wanted to fly. The mountain seemed insurmountable. He took me aside, told me about a program the Navy had to help enlisted men get to be officers, it was called the boot strap program. It basically compressed a degree's worth of coursework into about a year and a half. It was a hard program, but it worked out very well. I was commissioned an ensign within that year and a half. To parallel what you are going through, I went from someone who was given orders to someone who was giving the orders. Any ship I was assigned to, two thirds of the crew had to follow my orders because of the little golden bar on my lapel. I was still the same man I was a year and a half before, but I had new responsibilities, and authority, not much, but some. I climbed in rank after that, I went to flight school, I qualified on training aircraft, something that was easy for me, because I had been flying for years before I ever went into the navy."

She was just staring at me.

"Do you understand what I'm saying? You are still you, now you simply have more responsibilities. And from what you have said, the pony with the most responsibilities is Princess Celestia. She has to deal with everything nopony else can. To my mind, she's like the captain of a ship at sea. She has absolute authority, but inside, she's the same as the green ensign that just stepped onto his first ship. She has to have the authority, because of her rank, her title, but she's still a pony, just like you."

Twilight thought about what I was saying, "Nick, so what you are saying is that I'm assigning too much reverence to Celestia, and finding myself wanting because I don't feel like a princess?"

I nodded. "Exactly, Twilight."

"But she's the princess, she raises the sun, her sister raises the moon, what do I do?"

"You are a member of the royal family now, Twilight. You have royal duties, you have responsibility. And since you live there, I would think that Ponyville is your primary responsibility. You have to do the job, you have to shoulder the responsibilities that you were given."

She pondered for a moment, she's very quick on the uptake. "I think I understand, I need to embrace my responsibilities. I need to be a princess, not just an alicorn. I need to recognize the authority I've been given."

I slapped the table with my hoof, startling her. "You nailed it, Twilight." I smiled hugely at her.

I think the staff here is telepathic. The moment we stopped talking, our waiter appeared and took our orders. And in a matter of minutes, rapidly consumed by more small talk, our meal was placed in front of us. I had chosen an egg dish, Twilight was enjoying a steamed vegetable plate. The food was exquisite. Just as our plates were removed, the check was deposited in front of Twilight. With a deft hoof, I had it in front of me. Opening the small folder, I saw the sum, quite a tidy amount. But with solid gold flatware, did I expect anything different? I knew I had enough for this meal, but it would take a big chunk out of the money I had. Oh well, for Twilight, it was worth it. As I was reaching for my bit purse the bill was covered in a magenta magical aura and lifted from my hooves. I looked at Twilight to see her sticking her tongue out at me. I replied in kind. In moments the required number of bits were levitated onto the table. She promptly turned to me.

"Nick, you won't need to pay for anything, you are on a date with me, and a mare pays. That is the tradition."

I sigh, and apparently something about the look on my face sparks something with her. "Something the matter?"
I sigh again, "No, Twilight, not really. I'm having trouble adjusting to things here. It's all so different."

She lowers her voice to a near whisper, "Rainbow Dash told me that you come from a patriarchal society, is that right?"

I nod my head.

"So, family names come from the sire?"

"If by sire, you mean father, then yes."

"And royalty is the same way? A king rather than a queen, the prince inherits the throne, and any princess don't?"

"Well, to be honest Twilight, we don't have that many royal families anymore. There's the Saudi Kingdom, Kuwait, Great Britain, some more. But the largest countries really don't have a defined royalty anymore."

"Oh, really? Who is in charge?"

I smile at her. "Well, it depends on the nation. Mine, the one you saw the flag of on my flight suit, has what's called a president. The only qualifications that our Constitution defines is that the candidate be the required age, and a citizen of the nation. No matter male, female, no matter skin color."

"Skin color? How does that have any bearing?"

"Twilight, my people are not shining examples of virtue. Those with darker skin tone were once slaves. They had a very rough life. Only in the last century or so have they been able to gain equal rights with the lighter skinned people."

She looks thoughtful. "And what skin color were you?"

I haven't thought about it since I got here. I look at her. "Both."

"Huh?"

"My father was as light a skinned man as there was. My mother was on the opposite end of the spectrum."

"And what does that mean?"

"Well, I had traits of both of them, I had the dark, curly hair of my mother, and the blue eyes of my father. My skin tone was coffee with a good dollop of cream."

"That’s pretty cool Nick."

"So, tell me about you growing up."

And with that, she launched into a good portion of her life story. Her birth herd, her herd mothers, her dear father. I got the impression from what she was telling me she was a daddy's girl. She spent a lot of time talking about her time with Celestia, how the alicorn Princess taught her personally. She told me the story of her cutie mark. I was enthralled with her story, laughing when she told me what she accidentally turned her mother and father into.

My laughter finally runs out, "Remind me to never scare you, Twilight, I don't think I would like being turned into a potted plant."
She almost falls out of the booth, "Oh Nick, I've learned control from then. The only way you'll be turned into a potted plant is if I want to. So, just worry about making me angry."

I hold out my hooves in front of myself, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Shortly we are walking down a nice wooden boardwalk, the ocean on one side, and small places of business on the other. I'm just enjoying the talking and walking, without thinking I place my wing over Twilight, in response she snuggles up to me as we keep walking. What a nice feeling. I've never been much for anything to do with romance, but everything I've been doing with her tonight has been a blast. After a bit, I hear something that causes my ears to prick up.

"That sounds like oldies music," I say excitedly.

Her ears rotate for a moment to zero in on the music wafting from ahead of us, then she gives me an odd look.

I shrug my wings, "Well, in my world it's called oldies."

Shortly we are in front of a small night club, the aforementioned oldies music pouring out the front door.

"Do you want to dance with me?" I ask her.

Her ears go flat, she scrapes a hoof in front of her on the wood, and mumbles.

"What was that?"

"I'm not a very good dancer, Nick." Twilight mumbles, barely loud enough to be heard over the music outside.

I reach a hoof over to her cheek and bring her face up. I kiss her. "Well, I was able to in my last body, let's see if I still can. I'll teach you." This brings a small smile to her face. And I lead her into the club.