//------------------------------//
// Act 2.3 
// Story: Simply Beautiful 
// by FinnPony 
//------------------------------//


Simply beautiful
by FinnPony

Act 2.3


It was surprisingly calm at the Canterlot’s train station that day. The reason to that probably was the fact that it was sunday, and nopony had to rush anywhere. The day wasn’t that good either. The sky around Canterlot was covered in grey clouds, making the sky look like a giant ceiling. The weather was windy, and it predicted rain.

The pier where Maud Pie and Trenderhoof stood was almost empty. Only one older mare sat on a nearby bench. The atmosphere was silent, but not as awkward as it used to be between those two. They sat on a bench, facing the rail tracks. Trenderhoof had a small smile on his lips while Maud wore her trademark blank stare on her face.

Trenderhoof stole sideway glances at her, uneasiness in his mind. He still tried to deny the fact that Maud was leaving. They had had so many nice moments with each other that it felt downright wrong for her to be leaving. 

He sneaked another careful peek towards her, admiring her looks. Of course she was attractive when covered in dust like two other times they had met during her time in Canterlot, but her clean appearance was just irresistible. Her straight mane and straightly cut bangs, those long eyelashes that fluttered when she blinked, that green dress that pressed against her body…

Trenderhoof looked away with smug smile on his lips. Then his expression fell into much darker one. She was leaving.

“Is everything alright?” he heard Maud asking with her monotone voice he had crew to like past few days. He turned his head and his gaze met hers. When they met for the first time, Maud had avoided eye contact with him, but now she stared right into his eyes. He considered that as great progress.

“Yeah… I’m just a bit sad that you’re leaving,” Trenderhoof said, sadly staring in front of him.. “We had nice time together.”
“We did.” Maud said and returned to stare in front of her too. “It’s a shame.”

It was more than a shame. It was awful. Trenderhoof knew that that day would come, and he had practiced how to tell her about his feelings. He had a shameless crush on her, but he still wasn’t sure how she felt about him. She was so hard to read. What if she didn’t have the same feelings towards him? What if she thought him only as a friend or something?

Trenderhoof straightened his pose a little and glanced at her, sighing deeply.. He knew he had to speak up soon, but he didn’t know what words to use. He had never been wordless around the mares. Not even with Applejack, who had been another mare he had been drooling after. 

Another sideway glance, another sigh. Maud noticed it and turned towards him again. She noticed his troubled look and asked, “Are you sure everythings alright?”
“Yeah…” Trenderhoof sighed and turned towards Maud. “Everything’s…”

He stopped when his eyes met hers. She looked at him with that stare of hers. Her stare… Those turquoise eyes... It was something that went right through him, making his heart flutter. He knew that it was time. 

“Uh… Actually I have something to ask,” he said. He decided to proceed with caution, just in case. Maud nodded.
“I’ve been thinking… I really enjoyed spending time with you...” Trenderhoof started and played with the sleeve of his sweater nervously. Maud agreed by nodding again. Trenderhoof let his sleeve be and turned to look at her straight in the eyes.

“And I thought that… maybe we could spend some more time together?”

“Sure.”

Trenderhoof’s eyes went wide and his mouth opened. It had been easier than he had thought. For a moment he stared at her like that, but then his mouth turned into a wide grin and his eyes sparkled. He was just about to say something when Maud continued, “We can see when I come back from the rock farm.”
Trenderhoof’s face went to confused one again. It could take pretty long before Maud would be coming back, and he wasn’t a fan of remote relationships. 

“It’s nice to have a friend here.”

A friend? Trenderhoof almost winced when he heard that. Did he just get a friend zoned by her? No. He shook that thought off. She probably just didn’t understand what he meant.

Just as he was about to speak, a loud whistle interrupted him. He and Maud both turned towards the sound and saw the train to rock farm glide to the pier. The whistle was heard again and the locomotive released a vast amount of steam to the pier with a loud hissing sound. They kept staring at it as the doors opened in unison, couple of ponies coming out of it. They saw a  Conductor walking out of the first car and trotting off to do whatever he was doing.

“That’s my train,” Maud said and jumped down from the bench. She picked up her bag from the handle and turned towards Trenderhoof.
“It whas nice sheeing you,” she mumbled with the handle in her mouth. Trenderhoof didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded. Maud turned around and started to walk towards the train. Trenderhoof immediately face-hoofed himself and rose up, dashing after her.
“Maud wait!” he said and trotted next to her. She turned her head towards him but didn’t stop walking. Trenderhoof didn’t have too much time so he went straight to the point, “I think you understood me wrong!”
Maud gave him a look that told him to explain himself, which he did.
“With spending time with you…” he said and looked at Maud. “I meant spending it as more than just friends.”

I took couple of seconds before his words sunk into her. When they did, her eyes went wide and she stopped dead on her tracks, staring at him with confusion and surprise. Trenderhoof smiled at her nervously, waiting for some kind of an answer, which he didn’t get.

Maud just turned to stare at the ground, making his smile vanish. He backed away couple of steps. She didn’t seem like she liked the idea. Trenderhoof’s ears dropped and he felt how his heart fluttered even harder. Only this time it was due sadness and annoyance. Why did he have to ruin it? Now it was almost impossible to be ‘just friends’ with her. He hung his head and gulped.

“Of course we can be just friends if you want,” he said and lifted his gaze towards Maud, expecting to see her walking towards the train car. To his surprise she stood on her place, looking at her with slight blush on her otherwise emotionless face.
“Sorry…” she started, with a hint of nervousness in her voice. “I just got surprised.”

“All aboard!” the conductor shouted, but they didn’t hear it.

“Nopony has ever asked me anything like that,” she said and looked at Trenderhoof, who started to see a new glimpse of hope. He took step forward and asked, “So… uh… what do you say?”
There was a brief silence between them. Trenderhoof looked at her with anticipation in his look. Maud seemed to be thinking about something for a second or two, before she opened her mouth. Trenderhoof bit his lower lip and folded his ears backwards, waiting for the answer.

“Sure.”

Trenderhoof instantly jumped in the air and whooped, but his voice was overran by the loud whistling sound. They looked at the train and saw that it started to move slowly, pushing more steam to the pier. As happy as Trenderhoof was, he knew that Maud shouldn’t miss the train, so he turned towards her and said, “I’ll help you to the train.”
“No need to,” Maud said and picked up her bag again. Trenderhoof gave her a confused look before saying, “But you will miss your train!”
“So it seems,” Maud said calmly and stared as the train slowly moved away from the pier. Trenderhoof was looked at her and then at the train confusedly. What was going on? 

When it was about fifty meters away from the station, Maud dropped her bag and turned towards him, saying, “I think I will have to stay here for another week.”
“Ohh… Oh! And I don’t think you have any bits left?” he asked with one brow raised.
Maud shook her head. Trenderhoof smiled as he realised what she was doing.
“Well it would be rude if I wouldn’t help a damsel in distress now wouldn’t it?” he asked with a sly grin on his face. Maud nodded.
“In that case you can stay at my humble abode,” Trenderhoof said and bowed a little. Maud blinked slowly and turned around, making her way towards the exit. Trenderhoof quickly picked up her bag and trotted after her. 

He thought about doing something bold for a second, before he went from thoughts to actions. He lifted his hoof sneakily and placed it onto Maud’s shoulder. She winced and looked at his hoof, and then at him. Trenderhoof wore a sheepish smile, but it didn’t help. Maud nudged his hoof off from her shoulder and gave him a stern stare.
“Sorry,” he chuckled nervously and continued to walk on her side, smiling from ear to ear. It was going to be a great week.