It’s been a few days since you woke up in Soarin’s bed. With Soarin also in the bed.
To be more precise, today is the third day since that event occurred, and since then, you have not heard a thing from Soarin or Fleetfoot or any of the Wonderbolts.
You haven’t told a soul what happened that night. Nopony has asked, and nopony ought to ask. And if they did, you wouldn’t tell.
You haven’t seen Soarin since it happened, and you probably never will, which is something that you just expect. It will just remain an awkward memory.
It was a very odd scenario.
Why on Earth did you both wake up in bed together? What series of events could possibly have led to that?
Unfortunately, you still don’t know. And if Soarin knows, he hasn’t told you, nor do you expect him to.
But something obviously must have occurred to influence both of you into getting into bed.
One theory of yours is that somepony saw how inebriated you and Soarin were, and put you both in bed together in order to take pictures and sell them to magazines and whatnot.
But if that were the case, you would have seen those pictures by now, so they probably don’t exist.
Another theory is that somepony took pictures of you and is now blackmailing Soarin. As far as you know, that’s entirely plausible, and the only pony who could tell you otherwise seems to be avoiding you.
You would attempt to find the stallion, but that might not be the best thing to do right now. If he wants to talk, you’re sure he will find you.
It’s easy to find you. You’re always here, at the castle.
It’s not so easy to find him. Sometimes, you figure, he will be at his house, sometimes at work. But you will never be able to find him at work, as Cloudsdale isn’t especially accessible to ground dwellers like you.
“Are you feeling alright, Lieutenant?” the Princess of light asks you, immediately causing you to stiffen up a bit.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” you reply, realizing you have been spacing out for who knows how long. This whole situation with Soarin is really getting to you.
Have you ever spaced out in the presence of Princess Celestia before?
Yes, actually. Nopony’s perfect, and even you can’t be aware 100% of the time. But you try to pay at least some attention.
“No sense in lying,” the Princess replies from her throne. “I think we’ve known each other long enough. Are you ill? You don’t look very good.”
“No, Your Majesty, I am not sick.”
“Personal troubles?”
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I won’t ask about it, but anypony with eyes can see you’re upset. If you wish to talk about it, you may with me.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” you reply. “But I don’t think I have the whole situation figured out for myself yet to be able to discuss it.”
“Perfectly all right. Why don’t you take off a little early, Lieutenant? I’m feeling well enough that if anypony tries to kill me I can sufficiently defend myself.”
“My shift does not officially end for another hour, my Princess.”
“Yes, that’s why it’s called ‘taking off early.’ I order you to go home and relax for the evening, Lieutenant, if you won’t do it voluntarily. And if you need to, use a sick day tomorrow. You have more than enough of them.”
“A-As you command, Your Majesty.”
“Life is a precious thing,” she says. “Do not waste a day of it, for there is never a day you can get back.”
You agree with your Princess, even though time travel is theoretically possible and has been done by some unicorns. But you aren’t a unicorn.
You turn and bow before the Princess before leaving, still in a bit of a daze.
This must be the first time you have taken off early from work. You have been known to stay many hours after your shift ends, even when there is no overtime pay. Money doesn’t matter.
You know ponies with a lot of money, and they are mostly pricks.
But, of course, there are exceptions to everything.
Anyway, as you feel a headache setting on, you walk to the armory underneath the castle to check your sword back in. You never keep it.
You decide to also check in your helmet. Sometimes you take it home, sometimes you don’t. Your head hurts too much to wear the thing right now.
The next shift change isn’t for another hour, so most ponies down here aren’t doing much. Those that see you down there are surprised, jumping to attention but visibly confused.
You’ve never taken off early before, as most Royal Guards do not, especially not a pony like you, as you are famous for working more than not.
Ignoring your subordinates is easy, as you walk right by them. You want them to relax before going on duty, as guarding the castle causes a good deal of stress to most ponies.
You leave the armory as quick as you entered it, taking the main entrance out. There are secret entrances and exits for only guards to use, but you don’t use them anymore. None of the officers use them.
The Castle is properly being guarded, you notice. The ponies on the night shifts will be preparing to take over, and for the first time, you will not witness that occurring.
You walk outside into the chilly night air, still wearing your golden armor. It is rather cold tonight, but that’s typical for this time of year, you think.
Outside of the gate, across the road, is Soarin, who is simply sitting by himself on a bench.
The road in front of the castle is not very often traveled upon, except by tourists wishing to see the castle or ponies looking for a shortcut through this part of Canterlot. As such, the road is empty except for Soarin.
But then, why would Soarin be waiting here?
There is only one reason that immediately comes to mind.
You would be surprised to see him were you not ultimately expecting him to eventually pop up. You assume he is here for you.
With that assumption, you trot across the street and over to him, greeting him with a simple “Hey, Soarin.”
He smiles meekly up at you before making repeated glances down at his hooves. He returns your greeting and says it’s good to see you.
“It’s great seeing you,” you say, trying to make eye contact though he resists. “What are you doing here at this time of night?”
“I was… waiting for you to get off actually.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
How long has he been sitting here? You weren’t even supposed to get off for at least another hour.
“How long have you been out here?” you ask.
He paws at the ground a bit. “Can we go somewhere a bit more private and talk? Where nopony else is?”
The street is deserted, making you wonder what it is that Soarin wants to discuss. You have a pretty good idea, though.
“Yeah, sure,” you say. “We can go through the park if you want. I know a spot nopony else goes.”
Rather than verbally replying he simply nods his head. You haven’t known the Wonderbolt captain for very long, but in the time you have you have known that he is a very talkative individual.
You have never known a pony to speak so much in your entire life, and doubt you ever will.
Thus, you are nervous now, wondering why Soarin doesn’t say more. It’s a small thing to worry about, but you worry about a lot of things. It’s basically what you do for a living.
You both head towards the Canterlot City Park, located right in the center of the city. It’s pretty nice, but not very big. Trees and grass don’t grow all too well up on the mountain upon which Canterlot sits.
Most ponies only walk through it if they have pets. It’s a popular destination during any day in the spring, but not especially so at night. Ponies get robbed here all the time, but you think if anypony tries doing anything like that to you and Soarin, they will be unsuccessful.
It’s the least crowded place in the city you can think of, too. The police send some patrols through here at all times of the day, but not many more ponies than that.
During the relatively short walk to the park, Soarin continues to not say anything. You make a few passing comments about the weather and how many stars are in the sky tonight, but he does little more than agree with a nod.
You’re not sure if he’s lost in his own thoughts or… what?
Soarin isn’t a very complicated stallion. If he’s thinking something, somepony else probably knows what it is because he’s told them. How odd it is that he isn’t talking.
You resign to not speaking as well, not really knowing what else to do.
It feels like a much longer walk than it actually is, but you eventually manage to arrive in the park. You lead Soarin to an area with a bench, that should be out of the way in case somepony happens to stroll by.
You sit first, Soarin hesitantly following suit. Neither of you say a word for a few minutes, both choosing to simply look around a bit.
It’s a park. There are trees and grass and stuff. Nothing special. But Soarin seems to be rather interested in it.
You look over at him, waiting for him to say something. He wanted to talk to you here, after all, now you’re just wondering what it is exactly about.
“I don’t know how to start,” he admits.
“I understand that,” you chuckle, feeling more at ease than your friend. It’s been a strange week.
Your slight amusement doesn’t do anything for Soarin, who still looks nervous and serious. You’ve never seen him so serious before, but you have only known him for a few days now.
But really though, what a week! You’ve met one of Equestria’s most famous athletes, personally got invited to a party with said celebrity, and woke up in bed together a few hours later.
Who would’ve thought that would happen to you. It’s a lot more excitement than you are typically used to.
Assuming Soarin still want to be your friend, you two should never drink that much again.
Soarin clears his throat, glancing sideways at you again, his green eyes just making contact with yours for a few moments.
“How’ve you been?” he asks, trying to sound casual, but it sounds more forced than anything else.
“I’ve been just fine,” you say. “How about you? Haven’t seen ya in a while.”
He nods. “Good, good.”
There is another brief moment of silence before Soarin begins again.
“Listen…”
You’re listening.
“I’m really sorry about the other day.”
You begin. “That wasn’t your-”
“Let me finish!” he interrupts, surprising you. He takes a deep breath before continuing. “Sorry for that, but I do take full responsibility for what happened. I’m still not 100% sure what happened exactly, but it was in my house and you were my guest. For that, I apologize.”
“I still can’t remember anything either. Maybe we shouldn’t drink like that again.”
“No,” he chuckles, “probably not.”
“I did have a lot of fun, though,” you admit, hoping to lighten his mood.
“Really?”
“Yeah! I never get invited to parties.”
“But you go to the galas all the time.”
“Yeah, but I never get an invitation. And I’m not a fan of those kinda things anyway. I wouldn’t describe myself as ‘noble’ or ‘fancy’ or ‘sophisticated.’ Your party was nice. I can’t remember anypony else from the party, but I like talking to you.”
“Yeah?” he seems to blush, but it’s a little too dark to tell.
“Of course,” you say. “You’re a great guy.”
“So you’re not mad at me?”
“What? No! Why would I be mad at you?”
“I figured you wouldn’t want to hang out anymore. Cause of what happened.”
“Hell no! What happened, happened, and it’s not that big of a deal anyway, right? Like I said, you’re a great guy, Soarin.”
He smiles brightly, clearly happy to have heard you say that. But then he stops smiling and looks back down at the ground again, as he has been doing. There is a short moment of silence.
“Are you okay?” you ask.
“Y-Yes,” he clears his throat. “I want to ask you something.”
“Okay.”
“But before you answer, I want you to know I’m being 100% serious. More than 100% if that were possible. Do you understand?”
“I do,” you say, now a bit worried as to what he is about to ask. Again, he’s not the most serious of stallions.
“I’m serious. This is a genuine question.”
“Alright, alright, I got it. Ask away.”
He stands up off the bench and walks in front of you a bit, looking down at his hooves the entire time. It’s surprising how little he has been making eye contact with you. The only way to describe yourself right now is with the word “nervous.”
Not scared or anything, but just unsure of the future. Your heart rate suddenly picks up. If you had a guess as to what he would say, you would guess it, but you just genuinely have no clue.
He glances at you several times as he stands before you, his eyes always returning to the ground. After a few seconds he forces himself to look at you in the face.
“I was… uh…” he paws at the ground, still trying his absolute hardest to maintain eye contact. “I know this is gonna be weird to ask, but I gotta ask it. And I am serious! I was, ahem, I was wondering, do you want to… maybe… go out with me this Friday?”
Wait what?
Go out with him? What does he mean?
“I mean, uh… you know… go out.”
Is he really asking you what you think he is?
Are you understanding this question correctly? Something seems off.
“Like, on a date.”
Yeah, that’s what you thought he meant. A date.
“You don’t have to or anything.”
He is actually asking you out on a date. Your brain is slower than most ponies’ but you understand that now.
Why? What? You didn’t know he was gay. You’re still having trouble believing it despite him telling you to your face.
“I really like you, you know?” he continues, as you have not made a proper response yet. “A-And before we got to know each other any better I figured I’d ask you out… on a date… Better to ask now than wait and make things more awkward down the road.” He chuckles nervously, waiting for you to say something.
Saying you’re surprised would be the understatement of Princess Celestia’s reign. You didn’t imagine this is what Soarin wanted to talk to you about 20 minutes ago.
“Sorry,” you eventually manage. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I thought that’d be your reaction,” he says, still standing before you. “I don’t mean to pressure you into it or anything. You don’t have to. But I like you, and really want to get to know you better.”
What are you going to say? What should you say? What do you want to say?
“I just think you’re a really sweet guy,” he continues, rambling now. “You’re smart, funny, good to talk to… I don’t want to sound to any weirder than I do already, but, uh, you’re r-really cute, you know?”
Has anypony outside of your immediate family ever described you in such a way? What are you even supposed to say right now?
Soarin is a really nice guy, and you like him a lot… and you do think he is pretty cute. But everypony does! But not everypony is asked on a date by the captain of the Wonderbolts. This doesn’t happen especially often.
What could be the problem with saying yes?
He clears his throat and nervously moves his hooves across the ground, fraught with nervous energy. “I don’t know if you swing that way, but I figured it doesn’t hurt to ask. I’ve never done this before, exactly, so I didn’t know exactly how to go about asking you. I spent the last few days thinking at home and at work and everywhere else, and I guess I just decided to go out there and-”
“I will.”
He stops in his tracks, not moving or speaking for a minute. He physically shakes his head, as though throwing any other thoughts out.
“What?” he asks, cocking his head to the side.
“I said yes. I’d love to go out with you this Friday.”
He does a double take. “Really?”
“Really.”
His wings flare out to his sides, and for the first time tonight he actually smiles. In all of his magazine articles and whatnot he’s always smiling a bit, but those don’t hold a candle to his expression right now. You’re relieved and overjoyed to finally see it. It suits him much better than a frown.
“Great!” he exclaims, but luckily nopony else is in the park. “Great. I promise you won’t regret it. It’ll be great.” He begins pacing a little now, no longer filled with nervous energy but excited energy. “My next question, which I never thought I’d ask, where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t ever really dated anypony.”
And by “really,” you mean nothing. As you have never been on a date before. Nopony has ever asked, and if Soarin didn’t ask you 50 seconds ago, you never would have a reason to go on one.
Your sister and mother always used to try to get you to go out, but you had other things on your mind, you suppose.
You wonder what they would think now.
“What do ponies do on dates?” you ask, seeing it as a logical question.
“Hmm,” he ponders. “I don’t know. Stereotypical movie stuff. Dinner. Movie. Stroll in the park… I think that’s it actually.”
“How about a walk in the park then? I’m already signed up to work all this week, so I don’t get off until pretty late. Most restaurants aren’t open at this time of night.”
“Great! I don’t get off until pretty late either, so that works perfect for me.”
You think for a second. “Wait, if you work late all this week, then why did you ask me out for Friday? Why not ask for a day you have more time?”
He shrugs. “Honestly? I didn’t think you’d say yes, so I just threw a day out. At best, I saw this as a 97% no and maybe a 3% chance for a yes. Probably less than that, actually. I still can’t believe you said yes, who would’ve thought.”
You smile. Soarin is an interesting stallion. His smile is so big right now it threatens to encompass his entire face. He really is adorable. You never would’ve thought you could make such a pony embarrassed in this way.
“I guess it doesn’t have to be Friday,” he continues. “But we do have late practices all week, so I can basically do whenever you’re free.”
“I’m already signed up to work all week. But I can do Thursday. I can take off a bit early on Thursday, if you’re available.”
“Yeah! That’ll work great. Should I pick you up at the castle?”
“Sure, that should work.”
“Awesome! Hey, I’m really sorry, but I got to get going. The Wonderbolts are supposed to have a meeting starting at 8:30.”
Well, you didn’t even leave work until 9, so you assume now it’s 9:15, at least.
“I think you’re a little late,” you say.
He chuckles. “Yeah, but hopefully Spitfire just started without me. I should get going now.”
“Alright,” you smile. “I’ll see you on Thursday, then.”
“Yep! Yep! See you Thursday!”
He flaps his wings once, and just that much is enough to send him soaring into the air. His wings must be incredibly strong.
When you first saw him, he looked rather upset, sitting by himself outside the castle late at night.
But, as he left, he looked just as happy as he always does; more so, even. It makes you more than happy to see Soarin looking like his old self again.
The weight of what just happened didn’t hit you until this very moment. For the first time in your life, you are going on a date.
With another stallion, no less. With one of the most famous and sought after bachelors in Equestria, as far as you know.
Wow.
Many ponies will be jealous of you once they find out.
You think it’d be best if nopony found out for a while, not until this has a chance to develop into something. You really don’t want anypony know.
Too bad you didn’t tell Soarin. But then again, you didn’t know he was gay until 3 minutes ago, so nopony else in Equestria probably knows that either. You assume he won’t tell anypony about this anytime this week.
But you can never be sure.
As you start home, you notice that your headache from earlier is gone.