It was in the middle of the afternoon when Rarity and Luna left the Boutique, with two Royal Guards following the Princess of the Night as was the norm.
The sun would be setting soon, given Hearts and Hooves Day took place in the middle of winter. The ponies trotted around the streets in pairs, many of them already going out for their dates. As the night pressed on, more and more townsponies would be out for a nice, romantic night in the town.
In the meantime, Rarity was still not over the fact that she was on a date with Princess Luna of all ponies. Yes, it was a pretend date, but it was still with a princess in the end. She didn’t want to disappoint her in any way, and went out of her way to make sure that she didn’t mess anything up.
Just take deep breaths, and make sure you get this PERFECTLY, she thought. You can’t afford to do anything that would rub her the wrong way.
So she found herself touching up on her mane and making sure her perfume was on right.
In contrast, Luna was moving along peacefully. Even though this style of town building was different from what she was used to, she still liked it for its charms. It was nice and quiet even at its busiest hours, and she liked the nice open air in contrast to Canterlot. Not that she didn’t like her home town, but it was still a nice contrast.
However, she noticed that everypony in the town had their full attention on her as they progressed. The ponies would bow to her as she passed them by, either that or they would be looking at her in the middle of their conversations. It felt like every eye was on her, and it made her realize something she didn’t care much for.
“We may be dealing with a problem,” she noted out loud.
“And what would that be?” Rarity asked, wondering what went wrong already.
“I understand the reasoning for this, but everypony is staring at me throughout the town. That is bound to happen throughout the date if we don’t change our approach, wouldn’t it?”
“Why… yes. Of course they would. You’re Princess Luna! It is quite the event when royalty from Canterlot comes to Ponyville for any occasion, so that’s a given.”
“Then I must do something before we begin. I wish to learn everything about dating from you, and we cannot have any distractions… or having ponies getting the wrong idea, now that I think about it. But there is a simple solution,”
The fashionista tilted her head to the side. “Whatever do you mean?”
“There is a spell I know of,” Luna explained sitting on her flank and taking off her sandals one by one. “It does not last long, but it will be long enough for this purpose. It disguises my true form as another pony for a couple of hours.”
Rarity thought about why one would need it, before it hit her as well. “You’re using it so nopony would recognize you?”
While she was talking, Luna removed the plate from her neck as well as her crown, handing all of her jewelry to the Royal Guards for protection. “Precisely. This should only take a moment. Do you see a place where I could do this privately?”
Rarity was surprised to see Luna wearing nothing. Yes, most ponies didn’t wear clothes normally, but given that the princess wore her decor all the time, it was an odd sight for her. Still, she got over it and found an alley between two buildings, one big enough for what Luna was doing.
“There, that should do it,” she said, pointing a hoof in that direction.
“Thank you, Rarity. Give me a moment and I’ll be ready.” She then turned to the Guards. “You are dismissed for now. Stay in Ponyville for the time being. I will come to you when we are ready.”
The Guards saluted her, and they went on their way. With that business finished, the Princess of the Night came over to the alleyway, getting herself ready for what she was about to do.
While she was waiting, Rarity used the moment to calm herself down. She thought about what she needed to do for Luna to know how to date a pony, and she knew exactly what she would do for the occasion.
Yes, that’s the way she would do it. It would be the right thing to do, a perfect blend of personal experience and practical advice. But would Luna want to do something like that? That would be the question…
In the end, she wasn’t sure. Was she qualified to give Luna such advice? If Luna dated at all, her experiences with stallions had to be different from her own...
Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see a unicorn standing in front of her, sporting a light blue coat with a purple mane, along with a cutie mark of a dream bubble on her flank.
“Oh, hello there,” Rarity greeted. “I don’t think I’ve seen you in Ponyville before--”
“So the disguise worked,” the pony spoke, carrying the familiar voice of Luna.
Rarity’s jaw dropped from hearing THAT voice from THAT pony. “Princess Luna?”
Luna nodded to confirm her suspicions. “Yes, it is me. This is the disguise I will use for the night, and I hope you do not mind.”
“W-What… that looks nothing like you! And what happened to your wings? They’re practically gone now!”
“Settle yourself Rarity, or the disguise will have failed before we can even put it to use,” she said as she looked around. Thankfully, nopony was close enough to hear them.
“As for my wings, do not fret, they are still there,” said Luna. She flapped off the ground, hovering in the air with wings that nopony could see. “That’s another side effect, they are invisible as long as I’m in this form. It is part of the disguise. It would be odd to see an ordinary alicorn, would it not?”
“I suppose you do have a point…” Rarity found herself agreeing with. This was going to be a weird night.
“Finally, refer to me as Dreamscape for the rest of the night. That is the name of a pony I used to know before my banishment.”
Still trying to let the whole thing sink in, Rarity nodded in understanding. Yeah, it was going to take a while to let it sink in.
“Very well. Let’s begin. What is the first thing we do on a date?”
“Well… I don’t know. Usually, the couple dating will go to a location for their date. It’s very popular to travel to a restaurant for a romantic dinner, but in Ponyville, a popular choice is to go on a nice, simple picnic at the park to unwind. Given this is your practice date, it’s likely best for you to decide.”
Luna pondered over her choices, trying to see which one stood out the most. “The picnic sounds appealing. I haven’t eaten outdoors in years, it appears.”
“Very well. I should probably get something for…”
At that moment, Rarity discovered just how unprepared she was for this task.
“Oh Celestia, I have nothing for this! All the stores will be busy with last minute shoppers like me!”
“Do ponies really swear by my sister’s na--”
“And there’s no way I will be able to get something for tonight! What can I do for this? We might not be able to have a picnic after all!”
Thankfully, at that very moment, she spotted Sugar Cube Corner in the corner of her eye. Her thoughts turned to Pinkie Pie, and how she might be willing to do something this last minute. It was worth a shot.
“Hold on, I might have something after all. Luna, er, I mean Dreamscape, can you meet me in 10 minutes at the entrance for the Ponyville Park? I promise I’ll be there with our meal.”
“Hmm, I assume I could do that,” said ‘Dreamscape’.
“Thank you, I promise I’ll tell you everything I know as soon as I get there!”
She ran off as fast as her hooves could take her, leaving the princess to trot to the park by herself.
Rarity wasn’t the only pony thinking this night would be insane anymore.
-----
A few minutes later, ‘Dreamscape’ found herself waiting at the park’s entrance. She had only seen it once after her banishment ended, as in immediately after she stopped being Nightmare Moon. She forgot how nice it was in the years since then. It was as scenic as she remembered, with the vast fields of grass going as far as the eye could see. There was a lake within a few hundred feet, and the trees would give ponies shade to work with against the sun.
While she was waiting for Rarity, she realized something: the park was already packed with ponies going out over here. She assumed that after witnessing everypony going out in pairs, snuggling and even kissing each other.
There were so many couples there, in fact, that she wasn’t sure they could find a spot in time. Nevertheless, she was determined to make this work in some way. It was just going to be harder than she thought.
All of a sudden, she heard somepony galloping her way, and the sound was getting drawing. She turned to see who it was, and she caught Rarity galloping her way, carrying a pink basket with her magic.
Rarity skidded to a halt, coming to a stop in front of the princess. “I apologize again, Your Majesty. Pinkie was generous enough to give us a basket first, so I got out of there in a hurry! Now we can find a spot in no time.” However, she also noticed the park was full of lovebirds already.
“Do you think this will be a problem?” asked Luna.
“No, I don’t believe so. We’ll just have to pick the first good spot we find.”
And so the mares went to the park, looking for a good location for the picnic. Rarity led the way for the search, looking as hard as she could. Meanwhile, Luna was paying close attention to the couples around them, curious what she could gather about dating while they were scouting for a location, all while being grateful nopony would be staring at her this time.
In the end, she didn’t learn much about dating on their walk. Just chatting and the occasional kiss. There had to be more to it than that.
“Ah, here we go!” Rarity proclaimed. She pointed at the spot with her hoof, a shady spot next to a tree. “Plenty of shade, not too uncomfortable, and we won’t be far away from the lake. It’s perfect.”
Luna saw it too, and it looked nice and comfortable to her as well. “Very well. Let’s go over there.”
They went over to the spot, with Rarity setting down the basket in the middle. She closely examined the basket, however, as if there was a bomb inside.
“What’s wrong?” Luna inquired. “It is but a basket.”
“Yes, but it’s a basket from Pinkie Pie,” Rarity pointed out. “There might be something inside.”
Still acting as if there was a bomb inside, Rarity poked the basket lid with her hoof. It didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, but she poked it again for good measure.
“Let me handle this,” Luna ordered. “It should be fine.”
She opened the lid to the basket, only to find her face covered with heart shaped confetti. She fell on her back out of surprise, and she lifted her head up to see what the hay was going on.
And somehow, it got stranger from there.
A few balloons shaped like hearts came out of the basket, even though there was not enough room for them. Not only that, but they were tied to the basket, lifting it up in the air and taking Rarity and Luna’s dinner with them.
“I’ll get that!” Rarity shouted. She grabbed the basket with her magic again, and did everything in her power to bring it back to earth. It was actually a struggle, and everypony in the park watched as a pony had an epic battle against balloons. It was as surreal as it sounded
At least she won in the end, slamming the basket to the ground so hard that the balloons popped from the impact. Everypony was just confused, and they assumed that this was another antic from Pinkie Pie. Again.
“That’s why you have to be on the lookout whenever it’s Pinkie Pie,” Rarity informed, wiping the sweat off her forehead. “You never know what to expect.”
“I see… I’ll make note of that...” Luna trailed off. “Very well, are we ready to begin?”
With that out of the way, they worked together to get the picnic ready. Rarity spread out a blanket for them to sit on, and Luna took care of the plates and lemonade. Inside were a few hay and cheese subs, generally the stuff a pony would get at a deli. It wasn’t high end, but it would be delicious enough in the end.
Rarity sat down on her side opposite Luna, getting herself mentally ready for what she was about to do again. It helped that she wouldn’t have recognized the princess without that distinct voice; maybe it would help if she pretended that she was on a practice date with another pony entirely.
“I assume we’re officially ready to date, then?” Luna spoke up.
“Umm… yes. I believe so.”
“Then explain what you would normally do for one from here.”
Rarity gulped. “Um… are you sure you want to know how I would do that?”
“Rarity, Twilight recommended you because she finds you to be an expert in this field. I trust her judgement in this, just as I have many times before by placing the fate of Equestria in her hooves. This should be child’s play compared to those times. I’m sure you will know what you’re doing.”
The white unicorn sighed, knowing there was no turning back after this. “Very well. I thank you for your faith in me. I have come up with a formula for dating, something I invented that mixes practical advice with some of my personal experiences.”
“Personal experiences?” Luna raised an eyebrow hearing that.
“Well… between you and me, I’ve had more than a few bad experiences with my dates. Once, there was a writer I had a crush on, and somehow it ended with me pretending to be Applejack.”
“I’m not so sure I want to hear the story about that one.”
“And then you have the most snobby prince ever. I can’t believe I actually thought he would be my soul mate… that’s a nightmarish thought when I think about it anymore,” she complained, as she rolled her eyes.
“Wait a minute… would that prince be Blueblood, by any chance?” Luna guessed.
Rarity nearly threw her sub in the air at the mere mention of that name. “Yes… my goodness, that almost sounded like a swear word out of you.”
“That reminds me of a dream of his that I looked into,” Luna said, bringing a hoof to her chin. “He was running in the forest, where there was a terrible creature giving chase after him, making the most hideous noises he had ever heard.”
“Let me guess, it was a Timberwolf that tried to eat him in one gulp?”
“No. It was only you.”
Rarity’s eyes shot open, unable to comprehend this. “Was I a terrible beast?”
“No. You were just yourself, and you were merely whining that he was the most rude prince you had ever met.”
Suddenly, the fashionista’s sub was broken into a million pieces with her magic. Her entire face turned red, and steam poured out of her ears like her head was an engine. She grabbed the nearest cup of lemonade and downed it in one go, and her face was back to normal. Barely.
“At least he learned never to treat a lady like that again,” she stated in a calm manner that managed to terrify Luna.
“Now then, I made a few steps to help establish a marvelous date, or at least one that you won’t regret. I hope you don’t mind using my method, it still feels inadequate given it’s… well, you.”
Luna merely smiled as she took a bite out of her sub, allowing Rarity to take it from there.
“The very first thing you do is introduce yourself to your date. Let me start. Hi, I’m Rarity. Pleased to meet you.” She offered her limb for a hoofshake to Luna.
Luna looked at her own hoof, wanting to make sure she did this properly. She waited a few seconds make sure she would nail it, making her feel awkward for a moment. Still, she extended a limb out to Rarity, giving her a good hoofshake.
“Hello, date. My name is Princess Lu--I mean, I’m Dreamscape,” she said, giving the unicorn a sheepish smile and doing her best not to blow their cover. “How is that?”
“Not bad. A little awkward, but I’ve seen worse. Just don’t make it too big of a deal, and you should be fine. Still, I think we’re off to a great start, Blueblood’s dream aside,” Rarity grumbled as she took a bite out of the sub.
“If it will ease your temper, I lost a lot of respect for him after that night,” Luna offered.
“Nevermind. Let’s move on. The next step is very straightforward. Just talk to your date about anything you want for the next few minutes. It can be about anything, from your personal life to what your hobbies are, or you could just talk about the weather or what’s going on around us. Anything to help ‘break the ice’, so to speak.”
After hearing those words, Luna found herself smiling. “Twilight was right choosing you for this assignment.”
Rarity found herself blushing, as hearing praise from a princess was still so strange to her. “N-Now now, my record with coltfriends is still atrocious. Don’t go praising me just yet.”
“Very well. So we can talk about anything we want, correct?”
“Anything that you’re comfortable with. Don’t try to force it, that never works out.”
Luna enjoyed another bite of her sub, eager to move forward with her training. “I understand. Let’s see… I’ll do it as Dreamscape then. Were you ever curious what my cutie mark meant?”
Rarity looked over at the other mare’s flank, gazing over the cutie mark with her eyes. It reminded her of the fillyhood books she would read before bed, of dreams and what happened inside them.
“I guess it’s about your ability to go into dreams, isn’t it? Very creative, I have to say.”
“Indeed. It’s one of my favorite royal duties, if you can believe it.”
“I believe you. Now, I should say something about myself next, so that way we’re learning about each other while we’re talking.”
“Part of the process, yes?”
“Right. You’re getting the hang of this.”
Luna was proud of herself, feeling like she was really learning for the first time in a while. Maybe this was how Twilight felt all the time.
In the meantime, Rarity noted how her nerves were calming down over time. She didn’t know how it was possible, but it was still happening. It’s not like this was the strangest date she ever had. The Diamond Dogs’ “date” with her would forever hold that honor.
“Anyway,” Rarity continued, “I’m sure you know that I design dresses for a living, no? I’ve been expanding my lines lately, and it’s selling in more cities all over Equestria. I think it’s even expanded in Canterlot now. I know this is a stretch, but have you seen any of them recently?”
Luna paused in the middle of her lemonade drink and thought about it. Hmm… Rarity’s dresses…. Rarity’s dresses…
“I might have. Are they the white dresses with black diamonds around the trim?”
Hearing that was like getting a compliment from the biggest celebrity in Equestria for the designer. Which was what happened, more or less.
“I… yes! Yes they are! How did you know?”
“I’ve seen a few officials inside my castle wear them around my presence. They mentioned that they bought them from a designer in Ponyville, but I never connected it with you for some reason. It might be because I have to focus on my duties most of the time.”
“That must be tiresome after a while, isn’t it?”
“In some cases, it can be dull. In other certain cases, it can be thrilling. I’m sure you understand, given how you take pride in your dress craft.”
Rarity blushed for the second time that afternoon. “I guess. I just… I try not to get too prideful in it. It can get the better of you if you let it.”
Luna sighed to herself, remembering the Nightmare Moon incident and the lessons it taught her. “I know how that feels. But you should allow yourself to enjoy your work. From what I’ve seen of it, you seem to do well.”
That was enough to put a smile on the white unicorn’s face. “Thank you, Lu--I mean, Dreamscape. That means a lot, coming from you.”
The princess nodded. “Thank you. Does that conclude this step?”
With one look at their picnic spot, Rarity discovered that they were done with their dinner. “I think so. The step after that is relatively simple. Just do something with your date that doesn’t involve eating or talking. Like an activity you can both share.”
“I’m beginning to notice a pattern,” Luna noted. “As the date continues, it becomes increasingly reliant on a connection with the other pony, and making it all about each other. Is that how most dates go?”
“That’s how they should go, if you ask me.”
With that said, Rarity and Luna went and cleaned up the picnic spot, putting the plates and blanket away in the basket. It was a nice meal, and Luna didn’t think she would need to eat again that night.
After discussing what they could do, they decided to go out on a walk through the park. It was a very nice day, and the park looked appealing enough for a stroll.
As soon as they took the first step forward, Luna’s heart was struck by the sight of the sun.It dawned on her that she needed to do the most important duty of all soon, since Celestia would be setting the sun any minute now.
She almost panicked and looked around the park for a good hiding place to raise the moon, but there wasn’t any near them.
“What’s wrong?” asked Rarity. “Did I do something that rubbed you the wrong way?”
“No, it’s not you, you’ve been a great teacher this day,” Luna stated. “But can you see the sun setting to the west? That means it’s time for me to raise the moon. Yet, I can’t do it out in the open.”
“Why not? I’ve seen you do it before. It’s just a spell, correct?”
“Yes, but you must understand that it takes a large amount of magic. It will take so much magic, in fact, that my disguise will go away when I do it. Therefore, everypony would know that it’s me and we won’t be able to continue. Not without major difficulties, at least.”
“Oh, I understand now. How about that bush over there?” She pointed over at a tall bush left of them. “It looks big enough for you to hide in.”
Luna saw it for herself, and immediately scrambled to it. “It won’t take long, I promise!” she shouted to the fashionista.
So Rarity found herself sitting on her flanks again, waiting for Luna to finish her business. She looked over to the sun, wanting to see the sunset and moonrise for herself. She witnessed the sun setting over the horizon, dipping the sky into twilight for a brief moment. It was a breathtaking sight, but nothing compared to what she was about to witness.
The moon rose up in the sun’s place, rising to the air above. It revealed the stars above, showcasing a black canvas for the night. Its stars stretched as far as the eye could see, and the moon around them made the park shine in a faint white glow.
Rarity found herself looking up at the stars above, taking her breath away at the sight. She had never seen the night sky like that before, and she now understood the story of Nightmare Moon, seeing why the princess wanted everypony to see the beauty of her night.
“It’s beautiful…” she thought out loud. “Just as beautiful as Luna’s mane and tail…”
Luna returned to Rarity’s side, still disguised as Dreamscape, just in time to catch her say that. It made the princess step back in shock, as she had never heard a pony compliment her in such a way. Well, she never heard them say that without knowing she was there.
It made her blush slightly, as she did grow to like the compliment. But she remembered the reason why she was here. She was here to learn as much as she could about dating for Hearts and Hooves Day, and she would need to leave as soon as she was finished achieving this goal.
Even if she didn’t want it to end so soon.
“I’m finished,” she alerted Rarity. “Are we ready to continue?”
Rarity turned around in surprise, a little shocked to find ‘Dreamscape’ so close to her. “Oh, didn’t hear you come up behind me. I was lost in my thoughts for a moment. Yes, I think we’re ready.”
“Very well. Lead the way once more, Rarity.”
And so the white unicorn walked with Luna through the park, enjoying the night time scenery. By then, most of the ponies went home or somewhere else, so it was easier to walk through the place. It made the evening stroll all the more enjoyable.
Luna took a deep breath of air, enjoying the scents of the park. It was much different than the scents and sound of her castle, and it was refreshing as a result.
Rarity noticed how much the princess was enjoying herself, happy that she seemed to have learned everything she had taught her. It was still weird that she was teaching a princess rather than the other way around, given that her close friend Twilight was always learning under Celestia’s wing. But then again, Luna was no Celestia. She was going to be different in a few ways.
And for her, that was fine, especially when she found Luna looking at a few butterflies, watching them rest on a flower.
“I think those are the same kind of butterflies that represent Fluttershy’s cutie mark, if you can believe it,” Rarity noted. “They’re very delicate, but they carry so much beauty with them, don’t they?”
“Just like your friend Fluttershy,” Luna replied. “She is the most sensitive pony I’ve ever met. Still, what else can we find here? I want to see for myself.”
Without forewarning, she found herself galloping up the nearest hill, wanting a good view of the whole park. Rarity had to run to catch up, and she found Luna’s curiosity both charming and a little irritating. She didn’t care in the end, though. Tonight was about the princess here, and making sure she knew what a date was.
When she reached the top of the hill, she found Luna just staring at what was ahead of her. Rarity turned to see what it was, only to have her breath taken again by what they both saw.