//------------------------------// // So it all started when... // Story: First met you // by SolidFerret //------------------------------// The train bumped rhythmically as it rode along the railroad tracks never could disrupt Del whenever he would fall asleep on the way to Canterlot. Being a hard working stallion, it wasn't common to find him napping just about anywhere a pony could sit and rest. He snored lightly as the afternoon sun shined through the windows, bathing the cabin in a warm light. Sitting next to him was Claire, his traveling buddy. Her legs swayed back and fourth as she sat and waited for the train to pull into the station at Canterlot. The two were known to travel together whenever Claire needed to go to Canterlot to plan something with her Jewel business or if Del ever needed to attend an event he was catering for. This time, Claire was delivering a set important jewelry to important event between Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis. Del joined her since they needed a caterer. At first, he wasn't interested in the idea until she told him about the fact that they weren't stuck up snob ponies and would possibly consider hiring him for more events. The silence bored her, not even Del's soft snoring was enough to add atmosphere to the cabin, she sighed as the train passed through the darkness of a tunnel. "Del..." She said. No response. She sighed. "Del... we're almost there." She whispered into his ear. The only response she got was just a slight twitch. While they really weren't, Claire just wanted someone to talk to. "Come on Del, wake up." She said a bit louder. Finally, the stallions eyes opened slowly, greeted by the darkness of the tunnel before the sun broke through and shined right into his eyes. He groaned as he shut his eyes and rubbed them before sitting up. "We there?" He asked, still sounding half asleep. "Almost, I'm just bored." Claire said. Del snorted as he sat up. "Well, what do you want me to do about it?" Claire thought for a moment. "To be honest with you darling, I do not know." Del sighed, annoyed of being woken up from his nap. "So is "Coal" he added quotation marks since that wasn't his real name. "Meeting us there." "No, my other friend is, so be nice." She started to get dreamy eyed. "But... I'm visiting him later." Del rolled his eyes. "Don't take to long. We're not staying for the whole day." "I know. We're just meeting her for finical stuff. You can either hang out or go around and meet others." Usually Del would have opted out to stay with Claire and her friends, but since Canterlot ponies seemed to think being from country meant you were stupid, and since if this mare was able to accept Claire for being half dragon then surely somepony with a southern accent wouldn't bother her. "Alright, I'll join you." "Great! Don't worry, she's super nice. Her name is Cr-" The brakes on the train caused the two to nearly be thrown out of their seats. They got up from off the floor and grabbed their bags as they exited the train, the driver apologizing for the sudden brakes. "It's alright." Del told him as they passed the stallion before looking around. "Oh boy..." Claire said. "I don't see her." "Well... where is she?" Del asked, wondering if this was common or not. "Don't look at me, she's not really one to be on time." Claire shrugged. "Looks like we're gonna have to go into town." "How's she gonna find us?" "Point taken, you can go into town and find her. Then bring her back here." Claire said. "Alright Claire, just stay here. I'll be back before you know it." He told her as he left the train station, running the plan through his head. "Okay, just find her, meet her, bring her back to Claire. All I have to do... and I have no idea what her name is or what she looks like." He said, facehoofing. He turned around and went back to the station, where he saw Claire talking to a very gorgeous mare. "Forget the client, I wanna meet her. Ugh! I need to quit hanging out with Prism." As he got closer, he started to recognize the mare. He couldn't recall where, but he was sure he'd seen her before. "Oh there he is." Claire could be heard saying as she waved to him. "Del!" "I thought you said his name is Golden Delicous." The mare said. "No Creme, we call him Del for short." The mare took a moment to process the information before going "Oh!" Del walked over to the two. "Howdy y'all." "Del, this is Creme de la Creme. She's my advisor for my Jewel shop." "You can call me Creme... kinda like you're called Del." Del smiled, blushing a little as he reached out to shake her hoof. She took it and giggled as she shook it. "It's nice to meet you." She smiled sweetly to him. "The pleasure its all mine." He said. 'Now I know where I've seen her from' Del thought, getting nervous. Shining Armor and Princess Candace were celebrating their anniversary at the Crystal empire as they would every year. The DJ played music as everypony there danced. Del sat a table, watching Whirlwind and Prism dance while Annie rode on T's back, cheering loudly. He smirked, the parents decided to let the kids go all out. They were meeting the Princess, some thing about a mirror. He didn't care, he took a sip of a drink before he looked over and went wide eyed. A mare sat alone at a table. Just the way she looked lonely and bored made Del want to go over and see if he could make her happy. "Eye on somepony?" Prism asked, making Del almost jump out of his skin. "Y-yeah... that mare over there." Del pointed, Prism looked and whistled. "I'm almost jealous dude, you gotta score with that tonight." "I... uh..." "Come on Del, I'm an expert on getting ladies. I will be your wingman." Prism proclaimed. "Uh.... I think I can talk to her on my own. Thanks though." Del said before seeing Prism start to laugh. "Can you talk through that?" He pointed over to show that Prince Valiant Heart was talking to her, she smiled and kissed his cheek before going off to dance with him. "Uhm..." "Sorry dude, I'm sure Candy will dance with you though." Sighing in defeat, Del got up walked to meet the others. Del sat outside of an office, since he wasn't involved in the meeting with the two. He twiddled his hooves for about thirty minutes. It was boring enough to be in the meetings, leaving him to his thoughts was another. He looked around, the tick of the clock was the only sound next to the muffled voices from behind the door. Despite seeing her as a ditz earlier, Del thought he heard Creme being very professional when it came to business. Claire sounded less stressed then she had last weekend. The door opened as the two walked out. "Creme, thank you so much." Claire thanked, giving her friend a hug. "It's not problem sweetie, oh if only I can solve my crisis for a caterer this easy." Del, instead of perking up, shrunk in his seat as he felt a pair of eyes on him. "Del! Del could cater for you." Claire said. "He's a great caterer. He can do it." "Oh, really?" Creme said. "Del, will you cater for my mom's modeling event?" Del, blushing a deep red, muttered a "S-s-s-sure..." "Oh thank you so much!" Creme hugged him tight, nearly squeezing the air out of him. "I can't thank you enough." "Oh... it''s not a problem. I've been needing business to support the farm anyways." He said sheepishly. "Oh, farm?" "Yeah... I live and was raised on a far-" "I've always wanted to visit a farm." Creme jumped in excitement. "Wait... really?" Del asked. "Yeah, city life is fun and all but it gets to stuffy here. Where is it at?" "Ponyville." Claire said. "Same town I live. You should visit sometime." Creme gasped. "I'm free next weekend. I can come down to visit." "Of course Creme." Claire said. "Does sound good to you Del?" "Y-yeah... I'm sure my family would love to meet you Creme." He said, smiling. The train left the station, Creme waved goodbye to them as they departed for Ponyville. "Well that sure was fun." Claire said. "Did you have fun Del?" "....Del?" Del listened to train bump rhythmically along the tracks, lost in his thoughts as he thought to Creme, a smile etched in his face as the sun was starting to set.