//------------------------------// // A kiss under the stars // Story: Memories Are Made of This // by R Hooftscastle //------------------------------// The weekend evening; a time for friends to have fun, a time for tired workers to relax, and an ideal time for lovers both young and old to spend time with one another. It is just such an evening where we find our two young lovers preparing for their evening of fun and romance. Getting ready at his home, Regen puts the finishing touches on his mane, getting it styled just right. Across town, the filly Topaz is busy herself, getting ready for the date. As the filly puts the final touches on getting ready, the colt himself is ready to make the trip across town. Answering all questions from his parents, he assures them repeatedly that he will be home at a reasonable hour, and won’t do anything foolish on his date. With nods from his parents, the colt is finally ready to get the fun started. Humming to himself, he heads out the door and trots through the town with a smile on his face. Coming up with an idea, he makes a small detour to pay a quick visit to a local flower shop. Handing over a few bits, he leaves the store carrying a small bouquet of lilacs, the favorite flower of Topaz. Pausing his walk briefly, he takes a quick look at a poster for an upcoming Wonderbolts performance, resuming his walk, he quickly heads across the town. With a glance at street names and house numbers, he starts walking quicker knowing a familiar house is coming up. With a quick step, he hops onto a porch and knocks at the door. Hearing a response from inside the house, he steps back and waits patiently. Finally, the door opens, revealing a smiling mare. “Good evening, Regen, please come inside. Topaz will be down in a few moments, “ Aerial, mother of Topaz, steps aside for the colt. Smiling, he heads into the house, “Thank you, Miss Aerial.” Heading into the living room, the colt takes a seat on the sofa and waits for Topaz. “Topaz, your date is here! You’d better hurry before I take him myself!” The mare giggles after yelling up to her daughter. Smiling, she turns to the colt, “She’ll be down pretty shortly.” Soon, quick hoof steps can be heard coming from the second story of the house. “Mom! That’s not funny anymore!” Hurrying quickly, Topaz rushes down the stairs and into the living room. With a faint blush on her cheeks, she smiles. “Hello, Regen.” The colt stands and shows her the flowers. “Hi Topaz, I decided to get you some flowers, and I know these are your favorite.” Smiling, he heads to the filly and gives her the flowers. “That’s really sweet of you! Thank you!” With a smile, she takes the flowers and gives Regen a quick nuzzle. Aerial chuckles at the scene, “Young love.” Looking at the flowers, she smiles. “Topaz, let me put the flowers in some water so you can get your night started.” “Thanks mom,” smiling, she hands the flowers over to her mother, who takes them into the kitchen. “Have fun, you two. And remember, if you decide to have a little fun, remember to use some protection,” Aerial calls out from the kitchen. Blushing brightly, Topaz yells back. “Mother! Please!” Laughing comes from the kitchen as the filly takes her colt friend’s hoof. “Come on, Regen. Let’s go.” Nodding, he follows her out of the house, hugging the filly once they’re on the porch. With a chuckle, he nuzzles the filly’s head. “Your mother is always entertaining.” He looks down at Topaz with a smile, “I can tell she really cares about you, even with all her jokes.” Looking up at the colt, Topaz gives him a smile. “Yeah, I guess you have a point about that.” “I’m bound to be right on occasion,” he smiles as Topaz giggles. Walking together, the two head out into the town. “So, what are our plans for our date tonight?” With a smile, Topaz looks up at Regen. “I’m thinking that we can go get something to eat, and then maybe go see a movie. Unless there’s something else that you’d like to do.” “Hmm… I think that sounds like a wonderful evening.” The filly kisses the colt on the cheek and smiles. Smiling back, the colt nuzzles the filly’s mane. “You know, I actually just came up with another idea, instead of going to a movie.” Turning her head slightly, Topaz gives Regen a curious look. “I thought that maybe after we eat, we could go to the park and do some star gazing.” “Star gazing, hmm?” Topaz giggles, “Would we really be looking at the stars or is there something else on your mind?” Nearing their first destination, the colt laughs. “Well, I’m pretty sure that there will be lots of ponies in the park tonight, so it would really be just star gazing.” With a smile, he leans in and whispers, “But, we might be able to enjoy a cuddle and kiss or two.” “Heh… I figured as much.” The filly playfully gives her colt friend a gentle nudge. Chuckling softly, he opens the door to a small café. Seeing a sign telling customers to seat themselves, he walks with Topaz to an empty table and takes a seat with her. As they look over the menus, the pair sits in a brief period of silence. After a minute or two, a waitress makes her way over to their table to take their orders. With a smile, the waitress stands at the table. “Good evening, and welcome to the Gilded Hoof Café. My name is Sunny, and I’ll be your waitress tonight. Have you two decided on what you’d like, or do you need a little more time? Regen looks up from his menu, “I think I’m ready. You ready to order, Topaz?” He looks over to the filly who nods. “I think I’ll have the grilled eggplant with the tomato pasta. For a drink, I’ll have a sweet iced tea.” Sunny takes down the order and looks to Topaz, “And for the filly?” “A root beer to drink and the ravioli with broccoli and cheese.” “Very well, I’ll go place your orders and bring your drinks out to you.” Smiling Sunny trots to the café kitchen. While she’s gone, Regen and Topaz engage in a casual conversation. With a smile, Regen looks at Topaz. “I think I found out what I want to do for my birthday.” Topaz giggles softly and smiles. “Really? Is it something you can mention in public?” The colt nods and chuckles softly. “Hmm…” The filly scratches her chin. “That certainly makes guessing more of a challenge. I doubt it’s a concert of some sort.” She sits silent for a moment, deep in thought. “I give up, what has you so excited for your birthday, even if it’s over a month away?” “Something totally awesome!” The colt grins and the filly rolls her eyes, “C’mon, I haven’t even told ya what it is!” The colt pauses speaking as their drinks arrive. “Thank you, Sunny,” The waitress nods. “So, as I was saying, it’s something awesome! I saw a poster for an upcoming Wonderbolts show that’s close to my birthday.” Smiling, he takes a drink of his tea. Topaz giggles and smiles, “I hope you get to go, it seems like something you’re excited to see.” Regen nods, “Never knew you were a fan.” The colt laughs softly, “They’re totally awesome! Yeah, I know I probably could never join them, but their shows are amazing! They do such cool stunts and they do it to some kick flank music!” “I’m certainly not one to judge flying, “Topaz smiles, glancing at her wingless back, “Since I don’t actually have wings.” She giggles, “But, who knows, maybe someday you’ll get a chance to make the music they fly to.” With ears perking up, the colt thinks for a moment as a grin slowly grows across his face. “Yeah… yeah! That’d be totally awesome! You really think I could?” Nodding, the filly smiles. “Yeah, you are pretty good at it from what you’ve shown me. Your type of music might be different than what I usually like, but it seems energetic enough to perform to.” The colt smiles, “Thanks Topaz. With you by my side, I’m sure I can do it!” The filly giggles and blushes. With a warm smile and giggle, Sunny approaches the table with a tray of food. “Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but your food is ready!” Carefully placing the plates on the table, she smiles at the young couple. “Enjoy your food you two, and if you don’t mind my saying, you make a cute couple.” Smiling with a faint blush, the colt takes his meal, “Thank you, Sunny.” “Yeah, and thank you for the compliment as well. That was very kind of you,” Topaz smiles. “If you two need anything else, just let me know.” Sunny smiles and leaves the table. Looking over her food, Topaz smiles. “The food certainly looks good enough,” the colt nods and smiles. “Sunny certainly seems nice enough, too.” The colt nods, thinking for a moment before responding, “Yeah, I think she might be the second nicest filly in here tonight.” The filly giggles softly and smiles as the two begin to eat, their conversation coming to a temporary end. With smiles on their faces, the young couple eats in silence, letting the music playing take the place of their talking. After a few minutes, Sunny briefly checks in. “Everything good with your meals?” Both nod, “Good, enjoy and I’ll be back with a refill of your drinks.” Sunny walks away from their table, returning shortly with new drinks for the two. After a little while, the two have finished their meals and their drinks, and sit at the table relaxing. “How was the ravioli? It looked like it was pretty good?” Regen looks at Topaz, smiling. “Very tasty, it’s one of my favorite types of pasta,” She smiles. “How was the eggplant? I’ve had some before at a restaurant my mom took me to, but it wasn’t very good.” Nodding, Regen smiles, “This was pretty good, really tasty too. But, I know what ya mean about some not being very good. One of the places in town here has an eggplant meal that I won’t touch because of how it tastes.” Soon, Sunny heads over to their table after seeing them being finished with their meals. “Would you two like any deserts tonight?” The pair glance at one another before telling her no. “Were to meals to your liking?” Sunny smiles as they both nod, “Good, I’m glad you enjoyed! I’ve got your check, so as soon as you’re ready to pay, you’ll be free to head off to enjoy the rest of your date.” The colt smiles, and pulls out some bits. Counting them out, he hooves them to Sunny, “Thank you, Sunny. You were a great waitress.” With a smile, Sunny gives him his change. Topaz nods, “Yeah, I hope that if we come back again, we’ll have you as a waitress.” Sunny smiles warmly, “Thanks, you two. I do hope to see you both again.” Waving a hoof, she trots off to take care of some other customers in the café. Getting up from the table, Regen smiles at Topaz. “We should get going, don’t want to miss out on finding a good spot in the park.” With a nod, she gets up. “Sounds like a good plan.” Topaz smiles at Regen as the two head out of the café, “I think stargazing in the park should be very interesting.” The yellow light from the street lights shines along the path as the couple heads to the park. Finding an empty spot, they take a seat on the soft grass and cuddle close to one another as the sun finally dips below the horizon. Turning their attention to the darkening skies above them, the young couple gazes up at the stars. Near them, a knowledgeable pony speaks up and starts giving the gathered crowd a few pointers on locations of some of the constellations visible overhead. Laying her head against Regen’s shoulder, Topaz smiles and speaks softly. “Did you know there would be somepony talking tonight?” “Not exactly. I thought there might be, we came out here as a family for a meteor shower once and there was a pony giving the crowd a lecture that time as well. I dunno where I heard it, but I heard somepony mention that on warm and clear nights they bring somepony out to talk.” “That makes sense,” Softly, the filly nuzzles the colt’s cheek. “I’ll bet that meteor shower was really amazing to have seen, “she smiles, “I think it’d be a really nice thing to see.” Nodding, the colt pets her mane softly. “Well, I could be wrong, but I think there’s a chance that you might get to see something special tonight.” “Really? What might that be?” “Don’t get your hopes up too soon, but maybe a lunar eclipse.” “An eclipse? Those are always pretty neat to see!” The colt nods, “Yeah, if what I read is right, there’s supposed to be a chance for one tonight.” With a content sigh, the filly smiles up at the colt. “Well, even if you’re wrong, just being here with you is pretty special too.” “Yeah, it really is special being out here with a filly like you.” Leaning down slightly, the colt gently kisses her head. “I’m glad you think so.” With a smile, the filly leans in and gives the colt a soft kiss. The two share the kiss for a few moments. Giggling softly, the filly pulls away from the kiss with a big smile on her face. “That was certainly nice,” Smiling, the colt holds the filly close to him, nuzzling her head gently. As the two cuddle, they listen to the astronomer address the crowd. Speaking loud enough for the ponies to hear him, he instructs the gathered crowd to turn their attention to the rising moon and to get ready for a beautiful show. With a mention about the show being free, the gathered crowd gives a chuckle. Giving the gathered ponies a brief lecture, he informs them all of what they’re going to see and a brief description of the major phases of the eclipse. With a smile, Topaz looks at Regen, “Looks like you were right this time. I’m sure we’ll get to see something amazing!” Regen nods, “I’m really glad about that. It’ll make our night even more special.” The two get comfortable and watch the moon above them. Holding hooves with one another, they watch in silence as the show starts. Over the course of a couple hours, they watch as the moon falls into a shadow, all but a thin sliver from being completely covered. Just as slowly as it grew dark, a path of light slowly starts illuminating the moon once again. Sharing a nuzzle in the dim light, the two young lovers watch with a smile. With quiet voices, ponies in the park comment as the moon takes on a copper red color as it emerges completely from the shadows that had covered it. A few anxious little foals raise their voices just loud enough in concern to be heard by many of the other ponies, causing a few to chuckle. With a warm and soothing tone, the astronomer speaks to those gathered and assures the small foals that there is absolutely nothing to fear, and that the change in color is only temporary. As Topaz watches the eclipse come to a slow end, she cuddles close to Regen and lays her head against his chest. Keeping her eyes on the moon, she speaks in a quiet voice that only Regen is able to hear. “This really has been an amazing sight to watch. Thank you so much for bringing me here to be able to see it.” She sighs softly and smiles as she listens to the colt’s heartbeat. Gently nuzzling her mane, Regen smiles, “I’m glad you liked it. This really was a great evening.” As the crowd in the park begins to leave, the two stay cuddled with one another. Only when a slight chill forms in the air do they begin considering heading on home. The filly sits back slightly as the colt stands up and stretches. With a smile, he reaches a hoof down and helps the filly stand up. After helping her up, he gives her a gentle nuzzle before gently brushing some grass from her fur. Giggling softly, she leans into the colt, kissing him once again. Without ponies around them, the two enjoy the moment and let the kiss go on as long as they wish. Holding one another close, their tongues join in on the excitement and battle one another. Slowly breaking the kiss for some needed air, the two share a smile as they remain close. Reaching a hoof up, the filly gently brushes the mane from over her colt friend’s eyes. Speaking softly, her eyes meet his, “We probably should head home,” she blushes faintly, “Before we get too carried away.” “Yeah… I suppose that might be a smart idea.” Showing great restraint, the two finally walk out of the park and begin making their way through the town. Soon, the come across a clock displaying the time and both stop for a moment as they’re suddenly made aware of how late it has gotten. “Whoa, I didn’t know it was that late already! My mom must be wondering where we are!” The filly speaks up first. “I’m sure she’ll understand when we tell her what we were doing. After all, it was something decent this time.” Giggling softly, the filly smiles as the two resume their walk. “Yeah, you might be right about that. But, if you’re wrong, you’re going to be the one that has to deal with it.” Chuckling softly, the colt nods, “I suppose that makes sense. It was my idea to go to the park, after all.” The two reach the street the filly lives on and she looks to Regen with a smile. “Yeah, but it was far better than going to see some boring movie. Plus, it was some free entertainment.” As the two walk onto the front porch of her home, the front door opens. Aerial trots out a few steps, clearly have been waiting for Topaz to return home from the date. Looking over the two young ponies standing before her, she shakes her head softly. “Well, I certainly hope you two enjoyed your date this evening. Judging by how late you’re getting home, I’m pretty certain that you did.” “My apologies for getting Topaz home so late, Miss Aerial. We went to the park to watch the lunar eclipse and lost track of time. It was all my idea too.” Topaz nods, “Yeah, it was really beautiful to watch. Even with a lot of ponies there with us, it was a really special time.” “I believe you this time. It certainly wasn’t hard to notice the eclipse this evening.” Aerial looks to Topaz, “It’s getting late, don’t take too long to tell Regen goodnight.” Topaz nods as Aerial looks to the colt, “As for you, you’d better head straight home. I’m sure your parents are probably wondering where you are.” Regen nods and Aerial heads into the house, shutting the door part way. Hugging Regen, Topaz smiles, “I had a really good time tonight.” Ignoring the open door, she gives him a goodnight kiss. “Good night, Regen. In case I didn’t say it tonight, I love you.” The colt smiles, “I love you too, Topaz. I’m glad you enjoyed our night together.” Slowly, Topaz breaks the hug and smiles as she heads into the house. As soon as the door shuts, Regen turns and walks off the porch, beginning the walk home. Walking quickly, he heads though town and straight for home. With a smile, he spots the family home coming into view. Chuckling softly, he heads onto the porch, wondering if either of his parents are going to be there waiting for him. Not being greeted, he opens the door and heads into the house. Shutting the door behind him, he looks around and spots a light still on in the living room. Quietly, he walks into the living room and spots his parents sitting on the sofa having fallen asleep while waiting for him to get home. “Hi mom, hi dad, I’m finally home from my date.” Regen walks over to the couch and gives each of his parents a gentle nudge, smiling as he does. “You know, you two would probably be more comfortable sleeping in your bed upstairs.” He chuckles softly as his parents wake up. “Regen? Are you just getting home?” His father stretches out and tries to hide a yawn. “Yeah dad, the night went by a lot quicker than we realized.” “Well, it’s certainly late enough, young stallion. I hope you have a good reason for having been out so late,” his mother looks at him. “Yeah, we went to the park to watch the eclipse that was tonight.” Standing, his mother stretches out. “It was a nice thing to watch, we had your brothers and sisters in the backyard watching it.” Nodding, his father gets up from the couch, “Yes, it was a good evening for all. I think, however, we should all call it a night as it is getting rather late as is.” With a nod, Regen smiles, “Yeah, good thing we can sleep in tomorrow morning.” Walking over to his parents, he hugs them both. “Good night, mom. Good night, dad. See you tomorrow.” “Good night, son,” his father hugs him back and pats his mane. “Sleep well, son,” his mother kisses his head as she hugs him back. With a little stretch Regen trots out of the living room and heads upstairs to his bedroom. Shutting the door behind him, he climbs into bed and waits for sleep to greet him.