//------------------------------//
// Ch. 15 Date Night (Part 2) 
// Story: Strange Yet Wonderful 
// by Bionic Slime 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 15: Date Night (Part 2)


 

(Rainbow’s POV)

This is just too weird.

I can’t believe I’m standing here, in front of a mirror; trying to look good for an actual date. Stranger things have happened though.

“Heh, that Earth pony stud won’t know what hit him,” I stated proudly. Now, let’s see if we can’t make this fine looking mare look 20% foxier for Arrowhead.

I look at everything laid out on the counter. Rarity was generous enough to loan me some things to get ready for my date, but looking at how much of this junk she dumped on me; I think she was being a bit too generous; even for her.

“Lipstick? Nah that’s not me,” I said; tossing the tube to the floor. “Make up: no, hairspray: Puh-lease, earrings: not even close, hoof polish? Come on! Rarity knows I don’t like getting my hooves touched, even for polishing.” I can’t believe mares actually walk around wearing all this stuff. It’s like they’re preparing for battle or something, only it’s the lamest, cutesiest, flowery looking battle I’ve ever seen.

I had just about had enough and I was all too eager to knock everything onto the floor. The jars and tubes rattled across the floor loudly. Well…except for one item; this one caught my eye. It was a blue bottle with a black and gold cap, it was sparkling and the logo on the bottle featured a bronze lightning bolt inside of a tidal wave.

“Hmm what’s this stuff?” I ask; picking up the bottle and examining it closely. This must be that perfume stuff Rarity always soaks her neck in. “Aqua rush perfume” I read the label aloud. All the other stuff was a bust, maybe this will be easier; all I gotta do is just spray it on right?

The cap made a slight popping sound as I pulled it off. I lean in and take a whiff, WHOA!

I practically jumped out of my wings, this stuff smelled totally awesome! Who knew perfume could smell this good, no wonder mares put this stuff on.
“Well…maybe a spritz or two of this won’t be so bad” I silently giggle. I take a quick look around; making sure no pony saw me being all girly like this. I spray it twice on my neck and set the bottle down. My hooves run through my rainbow locks, got to make sure it looks good; I don’t want to go out looking like I just flew through a hurricane. “I don’t think he’d mind even if I did though,” I smile cheerfully at that thought.

I take a quick look at the time: 10 minutes to 7. Eh, with my speed, I could leave at 6:58 and still make it on time. Still though, I’ve been awfully lucky with Arrowhead giving me a second chance.

“Best not to tempt fate,” I reach for the door and open it.

Imagine my surprise when my muscular, grey colored date was seen standing in front of my door; just casually shuffling his hooves amongst the clouds. Arrowhead was here already?!? And I thought I was fast!

“Hey there good looking, looks like we both wanted to be earlier than usual,” he said; smiling with that fine looking grin of his. It’s scary how easy this guy ruffles my feathers.

“WHOA what are you-GAH” I barely get to finish. My hooves fumbled around all of Rarity’s glamor junk I tossed onto the floor. I found myself headed right for a crash landing.

CRACK!

Arrowhead winced at my sudden fall. I groan as I hold my head and try to find out where that cracking sound came from. “Oh for the love of,” I groan. The sound came from my left hind leg; the hoof looks all busted and disjointed. OW, man that REALLY stings. I SO didn’t need this tonight.

“You know, I’m no doctor but that sounded like something cracked” Arrowhead said.

“Gee ya think?” I ask; every ounce of my irritated voice dripping with sarcasm. Arrowhead helped me stand up, well kind of; I’m hopped on one hoof and used my wings to stay balanced. I feel like a carriage coach trying to drive with a missing wheel. “What are you doing up here? Earth ponies can’t walk on clouds and I thought our date wasn’t til 7?” Despite my pain, I’m actually more concerned with how he got up here.

“I figured I’d show you how fast I can be by meeting you here first instead,” he replied, “Plus, I actually said 7ish, not 7 exactly.” The colt jumped on the clouds as if they were bouncy pillows, he chuckles as they wobble. “Your friend Twilight used this spell to make it so I can walk on the clouds; temporarily of course” he answered. He motioned behind his flank and I spotted a lavender colored hot air balloon, “And that’s how I got up here in the first place.”

If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m standing on a half busted hoof and flapping my wings off just to stay afloat, I gotta say; I’d be a lot happier about this. I was worried how a relationship with any pony other than a Pegasus would work with the whole cloud walking thing. I don’t know if whatever we have is going to be like, you know, a dating thing, but at least it’s nice to know he can come up and see me if I want him to.

“So do you normally keep your make up stuff on the floor for you to trip over?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I couldn’t reply to his question fast enough. “NO, no way, this is not my stuff AT ALL”, I drop down to the floor and quickly try to hide all this girlie stuff. The last thing I need is for him to think I’m some sort of flowery mare who wears this smelly stuff. “My friend Rarity loaned it to me even after I told her not to. None of this stuff is mine, just forget you saw any of it, okay?” I don’t care how desperate I sound; I can’t let him see me like this!

“So what if it was?” he asked, “You really think I’d think less of you because you have lipstick and make up?” I look up at him with a confused look on my face. He sounded so indifferent, like he didn’t care either way.

I look around nervously; I figured the answer would be obvious. “Ummm yes?” I asked hesitantly.

“Rainbow, Rainbow, Rainbow” he said; shaking his head and stifling a small chuckle. The big oaf wrapped a hoof around my back and helped guide me towards my bed. If I wasn’t in so much pain from my busted hoof, I probably would have noticed how strong and firm his arm left. “What in the world am I going to do with you?” he smirked.

“Uh DUH, were going down to Ponyville to get some good grub,” figured that was pretty obvious. I press up on my arms to try sit up so I can stand up straight. “I’m starving”, my stomach felt like it was going to eat itself if I waited any longer.

“Hold it right there speedy, the only place you’re going to is a hospital” he said sternly.

Ugh, my least favorite H word: Hospital. I practically went nuts being cooped up in there when I sprained my wing, and if I have to sit in a bed and eat that nasty hospital food, YUCK! No way am I eating hospital food when I can have fancy restaurant chow.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! You think I want to spend hours filling out paperwork and then sitting in a hospital bed staring at white walls and eating garbage?” I angrily shouted. Arrowhead flinched at my sudden tone change. My wings flap as I try to get back onto my sprained hoof, “Besides it doesn’t even hurt that bad. It’s not broken or fractured, it’s just a sprain, seriously,” I offer him my least pain filled smile.

“Look, I don’t like it anymore then you do but we’ve got to-” Arrowhead suddenly stops. He scratches his chin with his hoof and hummed, sounds like he’s got something on his mind. “I’ve got it, I’ll fix your hoof” he said proudly.

“You’ll WHAT?” he’s got to be bucking kidding! He’s no doctor, what does he think he can do? This has bad idea written all over it.

“You said it yourself; it’s sprained not broken. I’m strong enough I can pop it back into place and fix you good as new” he said confidently.

“Look, I d-d-don’t know about this” I start to say.

“Trust me Dash, I wouldn’t do anything that might hurt you” he said, I felt my heart skip a beat all of the sudden. There was such warmth and confidence in his voice, Arrowhead meant every single word and I could feel it. “All you got to do is trust me. Besides, the other option is we go to the hospital so what’s it gonna be?”

This still doesn’t sound like a great idea to me, but I’m too hungry and weary to want to go to the hospital so…guess I’m going through with this.
I look to him and nod, “All right let’s get this over with.” Arrowhead helped me lean back on the bed, I slow my wings down and try to calm down so he can do whatever it is he’s gonna do. I lift my wounded hoof and feel his hooves move towards it.

“Okay, just relax, take a deep breath and this will be over in a flash” he calmly said; trying to soothe my nerves. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
Every time he reached for my leg, I pulled my hoof away; even when he tried to reach for my one good leg. I recoiled every time he got close to my hooves. Arrowhead grunted in frustration, I could tell he was getting upset with me but I can’t help it.

“Hold still, this will only take a second,” Arrowhead grunted.

“Okay, this isn’t going to work” I need to sit up and get out of this weird situation. I knew this was a bad idea! “I don’t like any pony touching my hooves”, I try to push past Arrowhead but he keeps cutting me off and keeping me stuck on this bed, “Would you just MOVE already?!?”

Arrowhead gave me the sternest look I’ve ever seen. He didn’t budge an inch; he just looked at me like some sort of angry disapproving father figure or something. He stepped closer and shoved me down back onto the bed with one push from his hoof. I knew he was strong, but he shoved me down like it was nothing!

“Better idea: sit down and quit whining” he said with a frown, “I know foals that are less fussy then you are. The longer you keep this up the longer it’s going to take, so how about you quit squirming and let me finish, cool?”

I’m so annoyed with this big fat, jerk head for shoving me down like this; I almost don’t answer him. But those cool teal colored eyes of his make it really hard to stay mad at him for long. I grumble and give him an irritated nod, “Cool” I eventually reply.

“Thanks rainbow babe” he replied; smiling sweetly.

Curse him and that stupid-perfect-awesome face of his. I swear if he wasn’t an Earth pony he’d be a unicorn with that magical smile of his.

“Now, I’m gonna take your hoof and apply pressure to it,” he calmly explained. “I’m telling you everything I’m going to do so there are no surprises. All you have to do is sit back, relax and pay attention to my voice; nothing else.” I look away and simply nod, trying to get this over with. Just because I was being fussy like a foal doesn’t mean he has to treat me like one.

“Yeah, yeah let’s just do this already” I state impatiently.

Arrowhead still had that smile on his face. No matter how much he annoyed me or how hard I tried to look away from it, I kept coming back to that irritating, cocky….handsome face of his. I felt like a bug being drawn to the most beautiful looking bug zapper.

His hooves reached toward my busted leg. I slowly start to pull it back and cringe, I could already feel the pain coming and he hasn’t even done anything yet. “Look at me Dash, just look at me and listen to the sound of my voice,” he sounded so soothing and calm. My eyes slowly look up to his and instantly I was hooked. “It’s me; it’s just you and me. No one has to see this and no one has to hear about it. Just look at me and hear my voice, block everything else out, all your thoughts and all your fears and focus on beating this obstacle…focus on me.”

What’s happening to me, why does he sound all dreamy like that? I feel like I’m being hypnotized. Everything around his face looks so shiny, so warm and inviting. I don’t even feel my legs anymore, I feel like I’m flying but I don’t feel my wings attached to my back.

This is nice…this is really, really nice.

How did everything get so quiet? Arrowhead’s voice is the only sound I hear, like all of Equestria vanished into thin air. I feel…warm too. This makes no sense! I’m not the kind of pony that feels all mushy and warm and tingly all over, l-l-like my heart is pounding so hard it’s going to explode out of my chest and…wait…its over?!?

“All done, there now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Arrowhead asked.

I don’t believe it! My leg, it works just fine, I don’t even remember feeling him touching it. “It’s fixed? B-b-b-but I didn’t even feel anything” I couldn’t keep the shock in my voice from cracking it. This is unbelievable!

“What can I say, I’m that good” he confidently chuckled. The colt rubbed his hoof against his chest, his smile never fading.

He wasn’t kidding either, I sat up and hopped off my bed and my leg felt like nothing ever happened to it. This guy must have magic hooves or something because I have never been able to let anyone touch my hooves without freaking out.

“T-t-t-thank you, that was…just…wow” I stutter; probably looking and sounding like a total girlie girl. My cheeks were turning as red as Applejack’s apples.
“Anytime babe,” he said as he placed his hoof on my shoulder. Here come those warm tingly feelings again. This is crazy, all he’s doing is touching me and I feel like my face is burning up. “Come on then, let’s get going” he said as he pulls me out of my house.

“Whoa, all right, I’m coming already” I say; slightly stunned at the sudden speed in which he yanked me.

You know, I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff in my adventures with my friends. I’ve fought dragons, raced against the Wonderbolts, battled Discord, even traveled into a comic book alternate reality and fought a real live super powered supervillain!

But this…I never thought this would happen: being dragged to a date by a good looking stallion who likes me as much as I like myself. This is definitely the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me. I feel my fur tingle and my wings becoming rigid and firm; all because he’s holding my hoof. I think that I could get used to this…I think maybe…I could even…love this.



(Applejack’s POV)

Ah never know what to do in situations like this.

Buckin’ apples is easy; you walk up to a tree, buck it, haul the apples back and then you do it s’more. Farm life always made the most sense to me because it felt like home, it felt familiar and easy; course it kept me close to mah family too.

But this here courtin’ stuff…Ah just can’t make heads or tails of it. Ah feel like a dog without sheep to herd.

“Awe mom, pop, Ah sure wish Ah had you around to help me make sense of this apple sauce Ahm in” Ah mutter to myself.

Ah sit up from mah bed, takin’ mah hat off mah eyes and look at the two ponies Ah always go to when Ah need answers. Looking at their picture on the wall when Ah talk, it makes me feel like Ah know what they would be sayin’ right bout now. This feels like the sort of stuff parents are supposed to talk to ya about. Ah got Big Mac, Bloom and Granny Smith but sigh, some stuff can only be handled by yer parents.

“Maybe Ahm just being so stubborn Ahm makin’ myself nervous,” Ah said to the photo; pausing to take a deep breath. “Ah know how Ah am and Ah know Ahm stuck in mah ways, but Ah always felt like it was good to stick to traditions. That’s what families do, they start traditions and they stick to em.”

But then again…

Hopeful has been a real sweetheart to me. Ah have been livin’ in Ponyville for years and years now and Ah never had a stallion look at me the way he looks at me, not even Trender Hoof looked at me as fondly as Hopeful does. “Maybe this is somethin’ Ah always did want but just expected it to come from another Earth pony” Ah say out loud, idly poking mah hat as it lies on mah lap. “Tryin’ somethin’ new isn’t mah cup of tea as Rarity would say”, Ah brush a blond strand past my eyes casually. “Am Ah jittery just because he’s a Pegasus, am Ah really?” Ah ask out loud.

“Give him a chance, give him a chance” a faint voice whispered in my ear. Ah look up and I notice a familiar filly soundin’ voice was comin’ from behind mah closed bedroom door.

“Dag nabbit Apple Bloom! Ah told ya to stop interferin’ with mah personal life, what the heck you think yer doin’ snoopin’ outside mah bedroom door anyway?” Ah angrily shouted.

“Ah came to tell ya Hopeful is here” Apple Bloom said.

Thank Celestia the door was closed so Apple Bloom couldn’t see how red mah face was. Ah didn’t know how else to respond so Ah just gave her a simple “Oh…uh thanks.”

Once Ah hear Bloom’s hoof prints goin’ downstairs, Ah take a deep breath and try and calm mah rattlin’ nerves. Ah never back down from a challenge and yet here Ah am; cowerin’ like a yellow bellied weasel because Ahm unsure bout backin’ my claim. It wouldn’t be fair to Hopeful though. Ah exit mah room and head downstairs, mah ears perk up at the sound of Hopeful’s voice; sounds like he’s chattin’ up a storm with Big Mac and Granny Smith.
“Now then, make sure you show her a good time and bring her home back on time” Granny Smith said. She wrapped her hoof around Hopeful’s shoulder. “Were coverin’ her chores fer tomorrow so she don’t got to be back too early, but Ah don’t want her stayin’ out too late neither” she stated.

“But don’t show her too good of a time, if ya know what Ah mean” Big Mac coldly growled.

Hopeful looked around nervously, he tried to say something but was quickly cut off.

“Ah want you kids to have fun and don’t worry bout nothin’ else.”

“Especially no other mares; Applejack don’t take kindly to players, and neither do I.”

“Just don’t be discouraged if she seems like a tough nut to crack. She always did have the strongest stubborn streak in the family, so don’t fret now son. A fine upstandin’ colt like yerself is just what she needs.”

“Mah sister is plenty strong too, so don’t even THINK about gettin’ any frisky fresh ideas with her.”

The Pegasus was too terrified to speak. He felt sweat dripping off his valentine red wings, not to mention his legs were shaking like crazy. “Ummm…I uh think I’m getting m-m-m-mixed signals here” he weakly squeaked. Ah don’t really need them to do this for me, but it’s comfortin’ to know they care enough to protect me from boys.

“All right now, ya’ll can stop scarin’ the stuffin’ out of mah date,” Ah announce as Ah break up the interrogation scene. Big Mac and Granny Smith nod and back away from Hopeful. “Ahm a big girl and Ah can take care of mah self” Ah quickly add.

Somethin’ must be in the air tonight, because when Ah looked at Hopeful just now, he looked like some pony else. He was standin’ there; hair slicked back with a mighty fine sheen on it, and he had a gold tie on with a fancy white collar. Looked like some kind of tuxedo top or somethin’. His right hoof was stuffed full of the most eye sparklin’ sun flowers Ah had ever seen. Ah didn’t know sun flowers could look that fine! Mah nose twitched at somethin’ funny smellin’ in the room. Hopeful must be wearin’ some kinda special cologne, makes my nose tingly all over; heh, sure does have a good whiff about em.

“Good evening fair maiden” Hopeful said, bowin’ all polite and charmin’ like; as always. He extended the hoof holdin’ the flowers to my muzzle. “A beautiful bouquet of flowers for an even more beautiful lady,” he stood back up and smiled that handsome grin of his at me; Ah can feel mah cheeks gettin’ redder by the second. “Thank you again for giving me this, I feel like I just won the lottery” he said cheerfully.

“Hehe…y-y-you sure do know how to charm a girl now don’t ya?” Ah took the flowers and smelled them; croonin’ at the sweet smell. Hopeful smiled contently, looking so joyful and blissful. He really does think datin’ me is some sort of big deal. “Ya’ll ready to go Hopeful?” Ah ask; tippin’ my Stetson back a bit.

“Absolutely,” he nods and turns to Big Mac and Granny Smith, “Don’t worry, I’ll have her back at a reasonable time.” He takes the flowers from me and hoofs them over to Big Mac. Ah swear, Ah can practically feel the glare comin’ from mah brother’s eyes when he looked at Hopeful.
“Not too reasonable now, ya’ll need enough time to really enjoy yourselves” Granny Smith replied coyly. Ah groan and slap mah face as Granny winked and nudged Hopeful with that suggestive tone; real smooth there Granny.

Ah start headin’ out the door as quickly as Ah can before Granny starts askin’ Hopeful when he’s giving her great grandkids or somethin’ like that. Hopeful dashes in front of me and opens the door. He smiles, bows slightly and flexes his wings like a cape. “Allow me my lady” he said.

“Well thank ya kindly good sir” Ah say, unable to stifle a little giggle. This fancy talk is kinda fun actually, reminds me when Ah was dressed up as ‘Apple Jewel.’ Ah bet Ah would really turn Hopeful’s head if he saw me in that get up. Ah look to him as we start walkin’ further out from the farm, “So where we headin’ to lover boy?”

“It’s a bit far from here so I was thinking,” he started to say. Hopeful stretched his wings and opened his hooves up, like he was expectin’ to carry somethin’. He smiled at me and raised his eyebrow in a funny way.

Now why in Equestria is he-wait a darn tooin’ minute, is he actually suggestin’ to…nah he can’t be. “I figured it would be faster and I can give you a view of Ponyville like you’ve never seen before” he added, wings still twitching.

Ah was right, this crazy colt wants to actually fly me to the restaurant!

“Hold yer horseshoes there cowboy,” Ah step back; this whole idea makes me feel mighty uneasy. “Ahm an Earth Pony, if the world would have wanted me to have wings then Ah would have been born with em,” Ah explain, “Ah’ll leave the flyin’ to you, Fluttershy and Rainbow thank ya very much.”
“Oh come on now, you’ve been in the air before haven’t you?” Hopeful asked.

It’s true, Ah have been in the hot air balloon many times, Ah flew when Ah was a Breezy, and there was that time we got all super powered from the rainbow chest when we defeated Tirek. Truth be told though, Ah was glad when the flyin’ part was over. Ah much prefer keepin’ my 4 hooves planted on the ground.

“Yes Ah have, but Ahm not exactly fond of soarin’ through the clouds with nothin’ between the ground and mah legs and yer butter hooves” Ah state firmly.

“Oh right,” he replied sadly, “You’re still upset about what happened at the cliff.” Ah didn’t mean to hurt his feelings, but Ah did nearly fall to mah death on his watch. He shakes his head and smiles confidently. “I know I goofed up big time, but I wouldn’t suggest doing anything that would put you in harm’s way.”

“Well Ah uh, Ah don’t know Ah-” my eyes shift around, fumblin’ to find the right words.

“Just trust me,” he extends his hoof to mine. Ah see a sparkling shine in those dark pink colored eyes of his. His hoof warmly touches mine. Ah feel the warmth spread to mah freckled cheeks and my whole face. “I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise” he sweetly added.

Is this really the same pony Ah met at Sugar cube corner? Hopeful seems so calm, so confident, where did all of this come from? Every other time Ah talked to him, he was more shaky then Winona after a bath. Now he sounds so sure of himself, it’s kind of…comfortin’ actually.

“A-a-a-all right” Ah slowly nod and take his hoof, “Ah trust ya.”

When Ah said those last 3 words, Ah swear on Granny Smith’s Zap apple jam; Ah had never seen a pony look so happy. His smile was just as soothin’ as his touch was. “All right then, just relax and enjoy the view” he said. Hopeful opened up his hooves and waited for me to climb in.

“Ah can’t believe Ahm doin’ this” Ah mutter to mahself. Ah wonder if this is how Rainbow felt when she did that crazy dance for Arrowhead. Ah slowly step into his embrace and hop into his open arms. Mah eyes watch for any signs of strainin’, nothin’ makes a girl feel overweight like watchin’ a colt strugglin’ to carry his date. “Let’s get this show on the road then,” Ah still feel nervous bout this but Ahm doin’ mah best to hide it.

“Thanks for trusting me fair maiden,” he nods; still smiling like he was on top of the world. Hopeful’s wings start flapping and Ah feel our bodies slowly lifting off the ground. He runs into a sprint and takes off into the night sky. “Here we go” he shouted as our bodies took flight.

“GAH” Ah flinch and grab onto him tighter than I intended to, Ah close my eyes just as quickly. Ah just couldn’t help it. The feelin’ of mah hooves suddenly leavin’ the ground like that was just too unnervin’ to me.

“You know, it’s okay to open your eyes if you want” he says kindly, “Half the fun of flying is for the view.” Ah frown slightly at him noticin’ mah fear. Dag nabbit! Ahm a strong pony, Ah don’t get spooked this easily. What is goin’ on with me today? “You know, I knew your farm was impressive, but it looks even better from up above” he said.

“Oh all right, Ah give” Ah mutter in defeat. Mah eyes finally force themselves open, time to see what all the fuss is-

Oh. Mah. Stars!

Hopeful was right, everythin’ looks just gorgeous up here. Ah can see everythin’, the farm, the barn, acres and acres of apple trees; this is incredible. The sky looks like it’s flyin’ all around me. All the stars and the moon; it’s like an ocean of blurry drops of light. It’s like a whole ‘nother world up here. Is this the kind of stuff Fluttershy and Rainbow see on a daily basis?

“You know, for all the times I went flyin’, Ah never really looked at the world long enough to see how amazin’ this is” Ah said as Ah stretched mah arms and legs. Ah felt like Ah was flying across all of Equestria, like nothin’ in the world could touch me. “Ah can’t believe Ah was afraid of doin’ this” Ah confess.

“My dad always said that there are lots of ponies that fear what they don’t understand,” Ah look up as Ah hear his voice, “But if we never understand and learn new things then we never know what we’re missing out on.” He smiles to me but maintains his gaze on the sky.

Mah heart skips a beat when Ah look into those eyes of his, he’s so calm and collective; Ah swear it’s like he’s somepony else now. He used to be all jittery and nervous like, now it feels like Ahm the one fumblin’ around.

“There’s a whole world of beauty that lies beyond what we know, we just have to have the heart to face it head on” he said; so charming and smooth like. Hopeful looked to me for the briefest moments, just for a moment so he didn’t get too distracted from seein’ where he was flyin’ to. It was so brief it was only for a second, but to me…it felt like forever. “You never know if the next heart you meet could be the perfect match for yours” he said.

Consarnit, he’s so good with words it’s scary.



Rainbow Dash and Arrowhead were seated at their table at Endless Illusion, or as Rainbow liked to call it: “That ultra-swanky place with the cool fire entrance thing.” They sat at a table on the outdoor portion of the restaurant; surrounded by fire lit torches and elegant music being played by Octavia and other instrumentalists. The chairs were made of solid oak, curved into twisted-yet-royalty styled designs. The table was covered by a faint lavender cloth over it with a centerpiece of gorgeous assorted flowers.

“And that’s how I teamed up with Daring Do, knocked the stuffing out of Ahuizotl and ended up being a part of her awesome book series” Rainbow proudly exclaimed. She placed her hoofs on her sides; puffing her chest out in a boasting manner.

“Whoa” Arrowhead gasped, “Who would’ve thought that not only is Daring Do and all of her adventures real, but that you got to personally join her AND become a part of her story.” He clapped his hooves and whistled. “Well done Madame, I am impressed” he added.

“Thank you, thank you” she stood up on her chair and bowed, never losing that prideful smirk of hers. “I’ll be here all week”, she sat down and brushed her rainbow locks out of her eyes.

“I certainly hope so” he said; winking suggestively to her.

Try as she might, Rainbow couldn’t prevent the pinkness from blossoming on her cerulean cheeks. She bit her lip and chuckled. “I wonder if this the kind of stuff Derpy goes through” she silently wondered, Arrowhead was about to ask what she said but she quickly changed the subject, “So as much as I love talking about all my famous exploits, and I do, I wanna know about you.”

“Oh um m-m-me, r-r-really?” Arrowhead said, taken aback by the question. The colt tapped his hoof on his drink, casually sipping it and trying to come up with a response. “I’m afraid that’s a very boring and even shorter story. I mean come on, you battled monster plants, Chimera beasts, traveled across half of Equestria AND you have close relationships with all 4 of the princesses.” He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, “There’s no way I can compete with that.”

“Who said anything about competing?” she asked, Arrowhead looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Oh right, yeah, kind of ironic me saying that” she said with a small laugh, “But we’ve spent most of this date just having me talk about all the cool stuff I’ve done. Aren’t we supposed to like, you know,” she made a spinning motion with her hooves, “Share our likes and dislikes and stuff like that or something? At least, I think that’s how it’s supposed to work.”

“Well yeah, typically that’s what usually happens, it’s just that,” he slowly trailed off.

The grey colt drifted his gaze away from Rainbow. He felt ashamed he didn’t have anything truly noteworthy to contribute to the conversation. Truth of the matter is; he loved hearing Rainbow talk about all her accomplishments. It made him feel good to see her so excited and happy, even if she’s just boosting her own ego. Arrowhead felt a strange sense of peace and warmth knowing that there were ponies that lived such amazing lives compared to the tediously boring and ordinary life he was living.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Compared to your amazing life, mine is going to seem as plain as oatmeal” he sighed, “But if you really want to know.”

“Totally, come on bro, lay it on me” she said; leaning back in her chair and getting comfortable.

“I used to live Apploosa when I was a foal, but my parents only lived there because it was more affordable at the time. They wanted their family to live in a more rural environment, so we moved to Phillydelphia and I went to school there,” he paused to take a drink then continued, “Never specialized in any subject in particular; I generally did well in everything so I was an all-around okay student. My older brother excels at any sport he tries, so he went on to play professionally, now he’s constantly shuffling around different cities so I don’t see him as much.” Arrowhead took a bite of his roasted oats. “I finished school and moved out here when I started hearing more and more stories about you, your friends and all the amazing things you guys did. I figured it would definitely make my life more interesting,” he said.

“Soooo then” Rainbow sat up straight and leaned in closer, “Is that it?” she asked. Arrowhead solemnly nodded. “Man you weren’t kidding, you really didn’t have anything-” Rainbow started to say. Arrowhead frowned and raised his white eyebrow; Rainbow quickly shut her mouth and waved her hooves around. “K-k-k-kidding, kidding, seriously, just forget I said anything” she said; desperately trying to cover her statement up.

“I told you my life was ordinary,” he bitterly snorted, “You don’t need to remind me.”

“No, no, no; that’s not what I meant! Look, just because I had all this cool stuff happen to me doesn’t mean you’re not cool,” she pointed out. Her grey friend didn’t look convinced however. She paused for a moment and then smiled, she just remembered something important. “What about your super speed? You’re definitely the fastest Earth Pony I’ve ever seen, how’d you learn to get so fast?”

“Oh right…my um…speed” he said glumly. Rainbow looked quite confused, now he seemed all depressed again. Was this another sensitive issue too? The cyan mare didn’t understand how it could be, seemed like a talent worth bragging about. The grey colt hated appearing so gloomy, but being an honest and direct-to-the-point pony made it hard for him to hide his true feelings. “Kind of don’t want to talk about that right now” he weakly confessed.

“Why not?” Rainbow insistently asked.

“Having a talent or a gift usually is worth bragging about, I’ll admit that” he confessed, “But the truth behind my speed is deathly embarrassing.” Arrowhead hung his head slightly; rubbing his arm.

“Are you kidding me, you’re playing the embarrassing card on me?” Rainbow retorted.

“What are you talking about?” Arrowhead asked.

“I paraded my flank around all of Ponyville in a tacky cheerleader outfit, dancing to music just to get your thick skull pointed my way” she huffed as she crossed her arms over chest. Arrowhead chuckled nervously as his cheeks went slightly red at the memory. “So don’t talk to me about embarrassing buddy,” she added.

Arrowhead sulked his gaze down and groaned; rubbing his eyes with his hoof in irritation. “I never asked you to do that you know? I mean don’t get me wrong, it was the best show I’ve ever seen,” he smiled and winked to her, “But you never told me why you pulled that specific stunt to get my attention.”

“I already told you, a ‘friend’ of mine” she said; making air quotes with her hooves, “Told me this was the best way to make things up to you.” Arrowhead thought about asking who this so-called friend was, but judging by Rainbow’s irritated disposition, now didn’t seem like the best time. “I would never want to do something like that, so not my style” she pouted; angrily blowing her colorful locks out of her eyes.

“If it was so out of character for you, and this friend of yours isn’t really much of a friend, then why’d you go through with it?” he insistently asked.
Rainbow froze in place, she looked like someone just blasted her with an ice spell. Her gaze casually drifted to her food, her napkin, her drink; anything to distract her from those piercing turquoise eyes that saw through her like X-rays. She felt like Arrowhead could drill through her thickest layers of armor and pierce right into her heart. No hesitation, no pulled punches; he cuts right through everything and exposes her in ways she never thought possible.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

“It’s funny” she laughed softly, “I’m tough as nails and idolized by lots of ponies as this naturally, awesome, super athlete.” Arrowhead chuckled and rolled his eyes at her self-glorification. “But when I thought about you storming away; being angry at me like that” her voice became serious and low, “It really scared me for some reason…like a lot.”

Arrowhead blinked at his date’s sudden intensity. For the briefest of moments, Rainbow looked…fragile; that was never a word he’d ever associate with the free spirted Pegasus. He leaned in closer and softly nodded in acknowledgment.

“I’m not afraid of anything, like you said: I can square off against the toughest bad guys and the meanest monsters,” she paused and took a deep breath, “But I just felt all twisted and broken inside when I thought of you hating me and not wanting to be around. I really, really like talking to you and the thought of you not talking to me really, really sucked.” Her eyes shimmered with faint shades of sadness as she looked to him. “I don’t have any idea what I’m doing with all this dating stuff. To me, it’s like a really complicated puzzle and I don’t know if I have all the pieces to figure it out, but one thing I do know”, her ears twitched nervously, “I really like it that you like me and I knew that if I wanted you to stay, I had to do something wild and crazy to prove that I’m not done with you yet.”

The warmest of smiles appeared on the grey colt’s face, it was a smile unlike any other, a smile that only the stunning mare before him could ever produce. Arrowhead finally felt like he had broken through Rainbow’s indestructible wall and got to see a crack of the girl he knew was underneath all that bravado and rainbow colored locks.

Rainbow didn’t know what to make of this weird grin. He looked like he was melting into a puddle of grey goo, it’s kind of freaking her out. “What, what’s with the oddball smile?” she asked.

“Heh, I knew you were the girl I hoped you’d be” he proudly stated.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, faintly brimming with impatience. She tried her best to sound upset but she was truthfully more curious than critical. The colt simply smiled and gave her a casual glance in reply, her cheeks puffed up a bit in anger. She had no idea how adorable and amusing she looked to him. “Fine,” she pouted and turned her head to the side, “Don’t tell me.”

Arrowhead chuckled, he didn’t mean to tease her but boy was it a lot of fun. He cracked his knuckles and decided he at least owed her some kind of answer. “I developed my speed because of you hot shot,” she blinked in surprise and looked back at him, “You were the inspiration for me to work on my speed. I was good at running in general, but it wasn’t until I started hearing rumors about you that I really turned it into a special ability.”

“Okay,” she said; understanding but confused, “But why would that be embarrassing? I mean, if I looked up to someone like me I would totally brag about looking up to myself about myself…wait.” She paused and scratched her chin. “Does that make any sense?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I get it” he laughed, “I may be the only pony in the world who actually understood that but yeah, I get what you’re saying.”

“But that still doesn’t explain why you’d be embarrassed about telling me that,” Rainbow insisted.

“Hard as it may be to believe, dating can be just as scary as fighting monsters and super villains,” Rainbow clearly found that hard to believe. “I mean it, it takes a lot of courage for a pony to walk up to a beautiful mare or handsome colt and asking them out,” he explained, “Rejection doesn’t always sit well with everyone and I knew that if I was going to ask you out, I had to be careful about what I told you.”

“You really thought telling me that I was the inspiration for your speed would be a bad thing?” she asked.

He looked around, nervously rubbing the back of his head. “I was scared you’d think I was some sort of flank kisser or an obsessive fan boy with no mind of his own,” he said, “I wanted to impress you with my own talent and prove I could stand on my own, that’s one of the reasons I wanted to race you. I thought that if I told you about the reason behind me getting faster, you’d think I only did it to impress you or something.” She slowly started to understand but still didn’t seem entirely convinced. “No offense but, you’re kind of intimidating” he added.

Rainbow slowly nodded, her sparkling locks bouncing with every nod. “Yeah, I think I get where you’re coming from” she said, Rainbow leaned back with a small but smug smile on her face, “I do tend to give off that too-awesome-for-words vibe don’t I?”

“Well that and I didn’t think your giant head could stand getting any bigger,” he couldn’t help but grin at her bitter frown. She hated it when he poked at her ego like that, which is exactly why he enjoyed doing it so much. “Seriously, I was worried your head would inflate like a balloon and go into orbit if I fed your ego any further,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah, very funny”, she grumbled. The cerulean mare felt her feathers twitching, she swatted her wings to straighten them out but she couldn’t shake the flustered feeling. The speedy mare would probably be a lot angrier…if she didn’t enjoy hearing Arrowhead laugh so much. It just made her feel so good inside hearing him laugh, like rock music to her ears. “You know, you’re lucky you’re easy on the eyes,” she said with a smirk.

“You’re not so bad yourself Rainbow Babe,” he purred seductively.

Rainbow paused and thought about everything that had transpired in the past few hours. The way she reacted to his touch, his voice and how he actually enjoyed hearing her ramble on and on about her exploits. She smiled, tickled his hind hooves with her tail under the table and winked knowingly at him. “I think you just got 20% cooler,” she said; flirting right back.



Hopeful and Applejack landed right in front of Endless Illusion. The red Pegasus gently placed the blond mare on the ground, flexing his wings like a cape once more. Applejack found it surprisingly easy to stand back on the ground without shaking after her flight. The dark haired colt smiled to his date and asked her to wait while he confirmed his reservation.

“Hello there,” he said as he approached the front desk, “Name’s Romantic, party of two?”

The colt at the front desk was a large Earth pony, not quite the same size of Big Mac but awfully close; with slightly smaller hooves. He had hazel green eyes, honey colored coat with some lighter spots around his body and a dark brown barrel for a cutie mark. His mane length was short and his tail was long, both colored black and grey, which matched well with his black vest, white button up shirt and boots on his back hooves. Applejack blinked at the noticeable half shaved whiskers on the waiter’s face as she approached Hopeful at the front desk.

“Ah yes, got you’re reservation right here Mr. Romantic” the waiter said in a firm, husky voice. “My name’s Holstein Lager and I’ll be your server tonight, now if you’ll just-” he started to say. The yellow colt suddenly realized he was seating two different pony types together.

“What, is there a problem with our table? Ah don’t mind waitin’ if there is” Applejack explained.

“N-n-n-no it’s not that it’s just…I um…are you uh sure you’re not waiting on any pony else?” Holstein asked as he scratched the back of his head. “I mean, you did make the reservation for only two right, you don’t have any other friends or dates waiting to join you?” he asked. The waiter’s voice was muddled by his confusion.

“Noooo…why?” Hopeful asked longingly, getting slightly irritated by the waiter’s inexplicable confusion. He flapped his wings and flew more closely to Holstein’s eye level. “Is there something wrong with a Pegasus dating an Earth pony, is THAT what you’re trying to say?” he folded his arms across his chest and tapped his shoulder impatiently.

“N-n-n-n-no, of course not! M-m-m-my apologies sir I just uh, well you know, it’s not something you see every-” Holstein started to say. The waiter quickly zipped his lips before his fumbling made things any worse. He turned around, motioned for Hopeful and Applejack to follow him to their table. “I guess the first couple wasn’t a fluke after all” he silently mumbled to himself.

Hopeful still had a sour look on his face as they followed Holstein to their table. He knows that reaction wasn’t intentionally offensive, but still, the red colt didn’t think dating outside your pony race was THAT much of an outrageous sight. Applejack didn’t seem that bothered by the waiter’s reaction, in fact, she kind of expected it. The country mare never thought she would wind up in a high class restaurant like this with a date, let alone a Pegasus date. She decided just to let the moment pass and not dwell on it in case Hopeful picked up on her indifference.

“Here, allow me” Hopeful said smoothly. He zipped behind Applejack’s chair and pulled it out for her, she looked a little confused at the gesture but she put on a small smile and thanked him all the same. Hopeful returned to his seat and looked towards Holstein. “I’ll have your finest cola and she’ll have the best glass of apple cider available,” Applejack blinked at Hopeful’s boldness.

The waiter left, leaving the two ponies alone. Applejack had a strange look on her face. She wasn’t sure what it was that was rubbing her the wrong way, her feelings were all jumbled up, whereas Hopeful looked right as rain; certain and confident without the slightest hints of confusion.

“Ya know, Ah could’ve ordered mah own drink AND pulled out mah own chair” she said, “Ya’ll didn’t have to do that for me.”

“I know that,” his face and voice softened, “I’m sorry, did it upset you? I was just trying to be, you know, chivalrous; like any gentlecolt should be.”

The blond mare sighed gently. Her freckled cheeks forming a sad-yet-sweet looking smile, his kindness was difficult to criticize. “And that’s mighty sweet of you, but Ahm a big girl and Ah don’t need no pony doing things for me that Ah can do mah self” she explained.

“Think of it as just an extra form of kindness,” he said; twitching his wings. “If you ever needed a book from Twilight’s library, you could always get it yourself, but just because someone like say Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie gets it for you doesn’t mean you’re incapable of doing it yourself,” he clarified. The orange mare blinked in surprise; she hadn’t really thought of it that way. “My dad always said: a colt’s true worth is judged by how he treats a lady” Hopeful recited; speaking as if he was reading a passage.

“Huh, you got yourself a point there,” she admitted. The blond mare still was surprised at how accurate he was with knowing what kind of drink she’d order however. “So then, how’d you peg me down as an apple cider kind of gal?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, not judging him but merely satisfying her curiosity into how Hopeful been so insightful.

“Well, besides the obvious apple motif, I happen to know a thing or two about what a woman wants,” he said smoothly. AJ rolled her eyes and half smirked. Holstein returned with their drinks, the ponies gave Holstein their orders and resumed their conversation.

“Let me guess,” Applejack said; staring flatly at the red Pegasus; “It was Apple Bloom wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, that too” he answered; not missing a beat. He slurped some of his soda down with a gulp.

Deep down, Applejack didn’t like her sister meddling with her love life…or rather…trying to force her to have one. She loves her dearly, but why can’t she pick her own date? So far though, this evening wasn’t turning out to be as uncomfortable as she first imagined.

“You know it’s kinda funny,” Applejack started to say as she stifled a chuckle; “All this fancy chivalry stuff is what mah friend Rarity dreams about. She loves all this chair pullin’ and bowin’. Ah imagine somepony like you would have no trouble sweepin’ her off her hooves,” she said.

“Nah, that’s impossible,” he said; waving his hoof at the notion.

“Why do you say that?” she curiously asked.

“Because, I’ve only got eyes for the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria,” he raised his soda glass to her with a charming smile. He took another drink and set it back down.

“Princess Celestia?” Hopeful nearly spat his cola out at Applejack’s statement. She looked down and rubbed her chin. “Huh, Ah guess Ah had no idea you aimed that high lover boy” she remarked.

Hopeful shook his head and wiped his muzzle clean from the soda. “No-no not Princess Celestia; YOU of course” he clarified, pointing directly at her with his hoof.

“Mm-m-m-me?” she blurted out, she looked around and pointed to herself just to make sure he was not mistaken. Hopeful eagerly nodded. “The most b-b-b-beautiful mare in all of-” she couldn’t finish her statement, her lips felt like they were sealed shut. Her cheeks burned red with furious blushing. The silence that followed only made things worse, well, for Applejack it did anyway. “Yy-y-y-y’all can’t be serious”, she asked as she leaned in closer, “Are ya?”

“Well of course, you didn’t really think I was referring to Celestia did you?” he asked; answering for her impatiently, “After everything I went through to ask you out?”

“Well…no, Ah know that sounds ridiculous but,” she started to say. The blond mare turned her head to the side; too embarrassed to finish her thought.

“Hey, hey, it’s all right, you can talk to me about anything,” he stated. The Earth pony felt such genuineness and kindness shining in those pink eyes of his. She didn’t detect a hint of deception in his voice, his honesty and warmth had a calming effect on her. She felt like she really could be 100% honest with him. “I promise I won’t laugh,” he added.

“Ah know you wouldn’t, Ah don’t know you that well but Ah can tell you’d never do a thing to hurt me” she sweetly replied. Hopeful’s face scrunched up at the “hurt me” remark, like the very thought bothered him to the point that he felt physically revolted. She found that look on him to be irresistibly adorable. “It’s just Ahm a big gal and Ah spend so much time workin’ on the farm, ponies see me as just a hard worker or that pony who sells apples and loves her family”, she looked downward; lightly rubbing her arm, “So while some ponies have commented on mah good looks, Ah never saw myself as the way you see me,” she replied with a twinge of sadness in her voice.

“Well pardon my language but I think that’s just bucking garbage,” Applejack’s jade colored eyes widened at his remark. “Honestly, the first time I saw you, I was so scared of talking to you because I thought for sure you already had a boyfriend”, he explained, “I was expecting Granny Smith to tell me about all the guys that come banging on your front door.”

“Thank ya kindly sugar cube,” her cheeks faintly blush once more. She looks towards him and smiles, “You really do got a way with words don’t cha?”

“If you think that’s good, you should read my poetry” he added with a chuckle. Applejack looked visibly uncomfortable about discussing his poems, she was about to say something about them when the red Pegasus quickly cut her off. “Oh no-no-no, don’t worry, I wasn’t trying to sound sad about you not reading the poems I wrote for you” he explained, “I was just saying is all. I completely understand why you didn’t want to read them; after all, I was dumping a lot on you all at once so I shouldn’t have-”

Applejack politely interrupted him; pulling out a small scroll of paper. Hopeful’s eyes sparkled upon seeing the familiar scroll. She licked her lips, took a deep breath and started to read from it.

“Time meant pain and uncertainty, a terrible life to lead. Tears soaked with sorrow, mah emptiness continuin’ to bleed. Yet through promises of hopes and dreams, they fail compared to you. You know not how deep you bless me; let me sing of mah truth. You are mah path to walk, my moon and mah stars. Your touch melts me inside and heals mah scars. You make time last forever, happy and grand. No one makes me happier than you, no one else can. You are the wings on mah back, the sparkle in the sea. No soul, nor spirit, nor saint shall ever take you away from me. Ah exist only for you and that’s how it will always be. Please, don’t ever doubt how much you mean to me,” Applejack said; rolling the scroll back up as she finished. Her eyes shimmered with heartfelt emotion. “That one’s mah favorite, just so you know” she sweetly added.

Both ponies were rendered speechless; but for very different reasons. Hopeful couldn’t believe it. Not only did she read the poems he sent her, but she actually had a favorite one AND she kept it with her to recite on their first date. Applejack was drowning in a sea of confusing emotions. She didn’t get all these chair pulling, fancy flower romantic stuff, and yet, hearing those words again set her heart into an thunderstorm of tingling emotions she had never experienced before. She was just a simple hard working country girl, never even considering the possibility of finding a colt to court; certainly not a Pegasus for that matter.

“Y-y-y-y-y-you read my poems, you honestly-no-kidding-for-real read my poems?” he asked nervously. The red colt’s eyes lit up like shooting stars; he looked like he was going to squeal like Pinkie Pie. “But I thought you didn’t-” he started to say.

“Ah didn’t, not at first anyway,” she confessed, “Ah told you Ahm not used to all this romancin’ and stuff; Ahm just not the kind of girl who needs flowers and big romantic gestures in her life. But then Ah thought to mahself: you put a lot of hard work into these poems, and there’s nothin’ Ah appreciate more than a hard worker.” Her words caused Hopeful to smile wider and wider. “So Ah decided to give ya the benefit of the doubt and gave one of your poems a try, and boy howdy, you sure know how to blow a sweet tune there Hopeful” she beamed.

“I’m honored,” he replied energetically, “My dad always told me the best way to a woman’s heart is to wound her with words.” He thought to himself for a moment and then laughed at what crept into his mind, “Well that and through her stomach, which reminds me, did you try that pie I made for you?”

AJ’s orange freckled cheeks suddenly turned a nauseating shade of green. She held her throat, trying to fight back the disgusting memory gurgling in her body. “Um the uh p-p-p-p-pie?” she weakly stuttered. The orange mare removed her hat and fanned herself; trying to fight back the nervous sweating dripping down her muzzle.

“Yeah, you know, the apple pie I baked for you?” he asked. Hopeful didn’t understand why she was acting this way.

Before she could reply, Holstein arrived with their orders: spaghetti and veggie balls for Hopeful and honey baked oats; coated with a combination of cinnamon sugar and fried apple slices for her. “Oh look, dinner’s here” Applejack loudly announced, “Boy Ah sure am starvin’, LET’S EAT!”

The southern mare began voraciously scarfing down her food, desperate to stuff her mouth so she could avoid the conversation regarding Hopeful’s pie. Holstein and Hopeful both looked oddly at Applejack, they continued to watch before ultimately looking at each other. The yellow Earth pony shrugged and left; leaving a most perplexed Hopeful to watch his date still frantically shoveling her food into her mouth.

“Um Applejack, is something wrong?” his question caused her to suddenly stop; bits of honey dripped off her muzzle onto her plate. “You know you can tell me if you didn’t try the pie or didn’t like it. It was my first crack at baking so I don’t expect a glowing review,” he calmly stated, “You can be honest with me, I expect nothing less from you.”

She cautiously bit her lip, eyes nervously avoiding contact with Hopeful’s. There’s nothing Applejack hated more than telling a lie. She represented the element of honesty for pony’s sake, and yet, honesty can be very damaging sometimes and she didn’t want to hurt Hopeful’s feelings. He insisted she be honest and assured her he wouldn’t take it personally.

“Well…the thing about yer pie is,” she started to say.

(Flashback)
Applejack clutched the bathroom toilet and buried her face into it; heaving and gagging with thunderous vomiting. Her orange face looked more like a freckled avocado with blond hair. She tried to speak but her cheeks quickly puffed out and then barfed once more into the toilet.

“Hey sis, how’s that pie Hopeful made for ya? I was hopin’ to try a slice” Apple Bloom called from the hallway. She happily trotted towards the bathroom door. “Sis, where are ya sis? Ahm dyin’ to know how-” the filly’s voice dropped suddenly when she saw her sister.

The orange mare weakly looked to her sister, her body trembling all over, as if the slightest movement from her position would cause another violent eruption of puking and gagging. “S-s-s-s-stay…ugh…stay away from the p-p-p-pie,” she choked out, “Its evil Ah tells ya; PURE EVIL.” Applejack gagged and ducked her head back into the toilet, shuddering after each gushing upheaval.

“Um…yeah, Ah think Ahm just gonna” Apple Bloom started to say. She turned and ran away as fast as her little legs would carry her; trying desperately to block out the sounds of her older sister puking her guts out into the toilet.

(End Flashback)
Hopeful’s pupils shrank into horrified, tiny little dots; his fork and knife dropping from his hooves. He couldn’t believe what he just heard. “Two hours? Your telling me the pie I baked made you vomit for TWO HOURS STRAIGHT?!?” he frantically gasped.

“We thought about throwin’ it in the Everfree forest for some critter to munch on, but even monsters don’t deserve that kinda cruelty,” she said; trying to play it off as a joke. This is exactly the reason why telling the truth sometimes caused more harm than good. “So yeah Ah reckon that you might wanna take a bakin’ lesson or two before you, ya know, go poisonin’ me again” she said with a weak laugh. Unsurprisingly, all of her attempts to add humor didn’t make him feel any better.

“Y-y-y-yeah…I should…totally do that” he said, each word sounding frailer than the last. An uncomfortable silence settled between the two ponies, neither one made a sound other than the faint clinking of their silverware poking at their plates. Hopeful looked like he was about to break into a million pieces. Applejack raised her hoof and tried to speak, but was quickly interrupted by Hopeful’s sudden outburst, “STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!” He banged his head into the table again and again; Applejack winced watching Hopeful hurt himself like that. “Great first impression Hopeful, just POISON the girl you’re trying to go out with” he screamed as he slammed his face into his plate of pasta.

“Whoa, hold it right there sugar cube,” she protested, “It’s all right; seriously! You don’t need to bash your brains in just cause ya made a mistake.” The southern mare desperately tried to get her date’s attention. She knew he’d be upset but she didn’t think he’d take things this badly. “Look, Ahm just fine, don’t be so hard on-” Applejack started to say.

Hopeful picked his face back up from his plate. The Pegasus had globs of sauce smeared all over like make up; the veggie balls stuck to his eyes like goggles and his chin had chunks of pasta sticking to it like a beard. Applejack bit her lip; desperately trying to not to burst with laughter, but once the veggie balls loudly popped off his eyes, she couldn’t resist it.

“AH HA, HA, HA” she roared, slamming her hooves on the table and turning beat red. Hopeful had no idea what was so funny until Applejack showed him his tiny reflection in her glass. He squeaked and frantically tried to clean himself up. “Whoo doggie, you sure know how to make me laugh partner,” she gasped out between laughs.

“W-w-wait, so you’re not mad then about me ruining the date?” he asked curiously, “And making you puke your guts out?”

“Of course not you big goof,” she said with a smile. The colt just sat there for a moment, processing everything and wiping chunks of sauce out of his black hair. “Ah haven’t seen a pony handle food so badly since that time Ah was exhausted and ended up makin’ toxic muffins with Pinkie Pie,” she chuckled, “Besides, it’s the thought that counts the most. Ya’ll tried your hardest to make me somethin’, sure it didn’t turn out right but that doesn’t mean Ah don’t appreciate the gesture.”

“But I made a total mess of things on our very first date; I mean come on,” he gestured to his muzzle and face, “I was wearing my dinner! Doesn’t that like, you know, ruin everything?” Hopeful was sure this mess of a night would be a deal breaker; at least it had been with past dates he went on.

“Are you kiddin’ me? Ahm gonna remember this night for a looooong time, Ah can’t remember the last time dinner was this fun,” she said. The country mare let loose a deafening “YEE HAW” across the restaurant; causing some ponies to glare and shush her. Her freckled cheeks turned rosy pink at her sudden outburst. “Yeah so, not sure how your feelin’ but Ahm havin’ more fun than pig in a slop bucket” she chimed; much more quieter this time.

He smiled softly at the southern Earth pony. It’s so strange; he couldn’t believe that everything he had done wrong was somehow making everything end up right. A few ponies cast a few peculiar glances towards the laughing pair. Some were confused by their sudden outbursts in such a fancy place; others just found the idea of a Pegasus and Earth pony together unsettling. Either way, AJ and HR seemed to be enjoying each other’s company far more than traditional pony society expected.

“Ya’ll have to excuse me for a moment,” AJ said as she stood up and headed towards the washroom. She paused for a moment and quickly turned her head back to her table. A sly foxy grin formed on her muzzle, she caught Hopeful staring rather hungrily at her rump and tail, like his appetite had suddenly changed for something more satisfying than pasta. “Heh, looks like we got a dirty boy hidin’ behind that chivalrous mind of yours” she coyly remarked.

Hopeful turned beat red, his blushing cheeks were even redder than his own natural fur color. The peeping colt quickly tried to dismiss her claim of him checking her out. Unfortunately, his words just came out in a jumbled, nonsensical mess so he panicked and hid behind his menu; earning a laugh from his blond date. Truth is; she found his attention rather flattering rather than offensive. Felt nice knowing she had someone who looked at her with genuine attraction rather than pure lust. She rolled her eyes and headed off to the restroom. Little did she know that Rainbow was also heading to the rest room, neither of them was aware that both of their dates were happening at the exact same restaurant at the exact same time.

“URP, excuse me” Rainbow loudly belched; earning some scathing looks from just about everyone except her date. “Be back in a flash big guy,” she started to fly towards the restroom but stopped, turned to Arrowhead and pointed to him; “And don’t go ordering dessert without me.”

The grey colt laughed and shook his head, “Wouldn’t dream of it true blue.” She chuckled as well and headed towards the washroom.

Just as the rainbow colored mare had left, a second mare seemed to be capitalizing on her disappearance. Sitting at the bar behind Arrowhead was a cream colored Earth pony mare with thick, bouncy, raven dark colored hair. Her hair was made up like a cluster of clouds sprinkled with glitter and shimmering decorations. The mare had caked on jasmine blue makeup on her eyelids, pouty dark pink lipstick on her lips and large gold colored earrings with a diamond encrusted “#1” in each earring. The mare’s oversized rump displayed her cutie mark: a series of colorful club lights overlapping in the shape of a K. She had her chocolate brown eyes locked squarely on Arrowhead.

“Hey there hot stuff,” Arrowhead turned his head at the sound of a husky; overly sexualized voice. His eyes widened at the abrasive nature of the approaching mare. “There’s nothing sadder than seeing a fine hunk of stallion sitting alone on such a sizzling, sexy evening like tonight” she purred licking her lips.

“This night is…sexy?” he asked, clearly confused by her choice of words.

“Name’s Knockout honey,” she practically leapt into his lap; he flinched at her sudden and forceful jump, “And I’ve got a private room at the Galloping Inn with your name on it. Just you, me, the bed and one wild night you’ll never forget.” She pressed her backside firmer into his well chiseled chest, draping her hooves around his neck.

Arrowhead cringed and tried to pull himself away. His hooves pushed against this overbearing mare to get her off his body, but she was too forceful and growing more lustful with every passing moment. “Seriously, you’re seriously doing this lady?” he thought to himself.

“So what do you say big boy?” Knockout purred.

“Um, I say I’m here with a date,” he pointed the empty seat next to him; “She just went to the bathroom is all.”

“And I’ve got a boyfriend,” she replied casually, “What’s your point?” Arrowhead couldn’t believe how calmly she just said that. She just passively mentioned she’s in a relationship and has ZERO problems cheating on him. Her grip tightened around his neck every time he tried to move, she was like an anaconda; squeezing him in place.

“HEY, WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?!?” a familiar female voice screamed.

Knockout let loose an agonizing groan, her wide rump tightened up firmly at the sound of that nagging voice. Rainbow Dash hovered in front of the two cuddling ponies. Her cyan cheeks were burning with volcanic rage, steam actually shot out of her flaring nostrils as she glared at Arrowhead and the overly grabby tramp with her hooves all over him.

“Do you mind? We’re trying to get something going here, so why don’t you just buzz off and let us get better acquainted.”

“Do YOU mind? I was half way to the bathroom when I saw you practically wearing him as a coat,” Rainbow snapped. She zoomed up to Knockout’s face and pointed at the rude mare’s muzzle. “He’s my date, not yours, so get your hooves off of him before I show you mine,” she landed on the ground and put her hooves up in a fighting stance.

“Listen Twiggy, you wouldn’t know what to do with him even if you had half a chance with him, which you don’t by the way.”

“Twiggy, d-d-d-did you just call me TWIGGY?!?”

Arrowhead raised his hoof to speak but was quickly silenced by the two mares savage growling. Rainbow and Knockout inched their muzzles closer and closer, the fire in their seething eyes was burning intensely out of control. Neither one was backing down or showing any signs of letting up.

“This gorgeous slab of meat needs a real woman, not some scrawny little boy who is trying to be a girl.”

“What do you know? You don’t even know his name; you just keep slobbering over him and talking to him like he’s transferrable property. Talk about trashy.”

“The only trash I see has rainbow colored highlights and two puny ass wings. He deserves the real thing, not settling for some speed junkie fly boy.”

“I. AM. A. GIRL!”

“Keep telling yourself that Butch, now be a dear and fly away little birdie. Your testosterone is making me sick and I’d hate to sour this fine colt’s evening by throwing up.”

Rainbow couldn’t believe it. She bent over backwards and jumped through hoops just to get Arrowhead’s attention, and now this obnoxious cow is fawning over him and he’s not doing a thing about it! Arrowhead just sat there, letting the cream colored mare caress him with her hooves and that absurdly large head of hair. She was rubbing herself all over him like she was a cat; smearing her scent on her territory.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?!? You’re just sitting there, letting her man handle you and not doing squat,” Rainbow exclaimed. He looked around the restaurant for something, or someone, but having no luck in finding it. The cyan mare grabbed her hair and yanked on it. Her voice became a garbled mess of vicious snarls, too frustrated to notice or care why he was looking for something. “Is this for real?” she hovered above his head, “Are you really just going to let this happen?”

The overzealous mare seemed quite pleased with Rainbow’s frustration; she grinned and continued mushing her body closer and deeper into Arrowhead’s. Rainbow wanted to scream and rainbow blast this tramp half way across the planet. But just as she was about to unload her insuppressible rage, she finally got a reaction out of her date.

“Ah, just what I was looking for” Arrowhead said. A dark grey Earth pony waiter with a black moustache, short dark hair and wearing a slick button up vest was passing by their table with a cart of dirty dishes and empty plates. “Excuse me, could you do me a favor and send this one back?” Arrowhead pried Knockout off his body like a clinging child and plopped her onto the cart, “It’s really rotten.”

Knockout, Rainbow and the waiter all stared at the speedy grey colt in dumbfounded shock. He reared back his powerful back leg and kicked the cart backwards as hard as he could. Knockout screamed indignantly, flailing her hooves back and cursing Arrowhead and Rainbow’s names as the cart whizzed by several tables and ponies.

CRASH!

The waiter gasped as the cart smashed into another cart and waiter; dumping all of the plates half eaten remains all over Knockout. He gasped aloud and desperately ran to help clean up the mess soiling into the screaming mare’s fur and hair.

“Now then,” Arrowhead turned his attention back to his cerulean colored date, “Where were we?”

“Dude, that was unbelievably awesome-tacular!” she happily exclaimed, “You totally put that sleaze in her place.” Rainbow dropped down to her seat and clapped her hooves together with rapid fire applause. “For a minute there, I thought you were just going to shove me to the side and spend the rest of the night with her” she added.

“Come on now,” he said with a shocked tone, “You really think I would do that to you?” Rainbow laughed sheepishly, cheeks turning a pinkish hue once she realized how shallow her opinion of him sounded. She was about to reply when she suddenly felt warmth spreading over one of her legs from under the table. Arrowhead was rubbing one of his legs against hers; gently grinding it against her sensitive hooves and well developed calf muscles, her cheeks turned redder and brighter. “You’re not the only one who knows a thing or two about loyalty” he smoothly purred.

Meanwhile; at the washroom…

Applejack sighed contently as she trotted out of the washroom, shaking her muzzle and throwing her blond locks back. Creepily standing outside of the women’s restroom was a tall, all-too eager looking colt with raised eyebrows and chewing on a toothpick. His fur color was ghostly white, head full of ash black spiky hair; he wore a dark blue jacket with a large collar jutting out around his neck. The pony’s eyes were a light shade of cherry red; they contrasted with his dark hair. On his flank, the colt had a red target/bullseye for a cutie mark. AJ gasped a little, startled by the dark stranger who seemed to have been lingering around just for her sake.

“Now this truly is a crime that needs to be rectified,” the colt firmly stated, “I can’t believe it’s taken this long to happen.”

“Um what in tar nation are you yakkin’ on about mister?” AJ curtly asked. Her face crinkled up in mild disgust, this guy looked as trustworthy and decent as the Flim Flam brothers. She tried to move towards the direction of her table but the creepy colt dashed in front of her.

“Why, having the two of us meet of course,” he lurched closer and actually sniffed along AJ’s golden locks. She felt like she needed to go back to the bathroom and wash the sleaze out of her hair. “You are a deliciously scrumptious feast for the eyes darling. Name’s Marksman and I aim to please” he smirked and wagged his tail side to side, “And you are too fine of a target to slip past my hawk eyes.”

“Yeah, nothin’ more charmin’ then some hair sniffin’ guy lurkin’ outside the restrooms,” she said sarcastically. This is exactly the kind of pervy attention she was getting from Trender hoof, and it was also what made her initially refuse Hopeful’s invitation. “Now if you don’t mind, Ah have a date to get back to,” she added a twinge of hostility in her voice. Marksman once again cut her off as she tried to leave, and once again, Applejack was getting more and more fed up with him.

“Please, that puny waste of space with the red fur is your date?” he scoffed in reply. Before AJ could answer; Marksman spat out his toothpick like a bullet across the restaurant directly at Hopeful. The toothpick painfully sunk right into his left earlobe. Hopeful flinched and held his ear tightly; feeling stinging pain surging through it but having no idea where it came from. “That whiny ass twit couldn’t hit a bullseye an away from his nose,” he said. Marksman gagged and cringed at the disgusting thought of some pony like Hopeful with a mare like Applejack.

“HEY! He is MAH date and Ah will not just stand here and let you trash talk him or use him for target practice,” she angrily snapped.

“Your devotion is adorable freckles,” he chuckled softly, “But wasted on a boy who wouldn’t know what to do with a woman even if he got an inflatable one.” Marksman grinded himself against AJ’s side, draping his disgusting hoof around her waist. His smug smile revealing a dazzling smile, his white hoof rubbing AJ’s orange side like she was a melon being tested for ripeness. “I always hit my mark, always, and unlike that Romeo runt over there; I know how to handle a woman.”

“Buster, yer pushin’ mah last buttons,” she growled under her breath. The southern mare was doing everything in her power to keep from bucking this creep’s face like an apple tree. The more he groped her and spoke such defiling words about her and Hopeful, the harder it became to submerge her boiling fury. No pony should withstand such disgusting treatment, verbally or physically. “Ahm warnin’ you” she hissed behind clenched teeth.

“How bout we ditch this dump and your loser date? There’s nothing I’d love to do more than tap that fine ass of yours like a keg of beer,” he whispered into her ear. His lips were disturbingly close to her, they wetted as if he was actually salivating over her body.

CRUNCH!

AJ hammered her hoof into Marksman’s right hind leg. The crushing sound was deafening, several ponies could hear something shattering the moment it made contact. Marksman’s eyes bulged out like soft balls. He shrieked like a 10 year old filly, clutched his shattered hoof and collapsed to the ground in agony. Marksman could barely speak his voice was so shrill and screechy.

“Gee, lookie that, Ah just hit a bullseye of mah own” she happily beamed. AJ smiled and trotted off back to her table as if nothing had happened at all. Marksman was left doubling over in pain; biting his lip so he didn’t make any more humiliating cries. “Sorry about all that,” she said as she approached Hopeful at their table, “Now then, where were we?”

“Um you were going to the washroom and then I uh” he paused and motioned to the toothpick he lodged out of his ear, “Then…this…happened and I…is everything all right?” He rubbed his ear tenderly as he asked.

“Yup, everythin’ is just peachy” she happily replied, “Just had to let off a little steam, now there was somethin’ Ah wanted to ask you.” She paused and stared at her orange hooves idly circling her empty plate. “But Ah wasn’t sure if it was appropriate since this is the first date and all and Ah think it might be too personal,” she softly said.

“Don’t worry about it, ask me anything you want,” he quickly replied.

“Well, it’s about when you were attacked by that weird pony at mah farm. He hit you with some weird kind of fear magic and you mentioned a name” she said. Hopeful’s joints stiffened; his calm demeanor slowly melting away to reveal one of nervousness. Even though he didn’t remember what happened while he was under that fear spell, he knew there was only one name he would call out that he’d be afraid to talk about. “Ah was hoping you could tell me who-” the Southern mare was suddenly cut off by a nearby pony.

“Huh, Applejack is that you?” a familiar voice said from afar.

The orange mare turned and blinked in surprise at seeing a very familiar face from across the room: Rainbow Dash. Arrowhead and Hopeful met each other’s gazes and were also noticeably surprised to find each other.

“Rainbow, you’re havin’ your date here too?” the southern mare asked.

“Goodness gracious me, is this meeting serendipitous or what?” another familiar voice exclaimed. “Here I was thinking: Gee, I wonder how my good friends Applejack and Rainbow Dash are doing on their dates that I was kind and generous enough to set up for them. And low and behold, here you both are.” Applejack and Rainbow gulped loudly in shock; they recognized that voice all too well.

“DISCORD?!?” the two mares loudly exclaimed.

Right on cue, the misshapen trickster materialized right before their eyes dressed in the same waiter uniform Holstein Lager was wearing. He snapped his Eagle claws and zapped Applejack and Hopeful out of sight, a second snap materialized them into empty seats right next to Rainbow Dash and Arrowhead at their table. Every pony was shocked and perplexed by the chaos spirit’s sudden appearance and actions. He chuckled with great delight upon seeing the frazzled faces of his friends.

“Hey what’s the big idea, what do you think you’re doing here?” Rainbow angrily barked. She had no trepidation about flying right up to Discord’s face and poking his snout with her hoof. All the times she’s put up with his bizarre style of magic; butting into every place he didn’t belong, she was putting a stop to that right now. “Trying to crash our dates or something? I suppose tricking me to humiliate myself wasn’t bad enough, just had to come back and rub some more salt into the wound huh?”

“Crash your dates, Moi?” he feigned the innocent act; leaning back and raising his arm across his eyes. “What an absolutely horrible accusation,” he moaned, “To think I would go to the trouble of setting you fine guys and gals up with each other, only to THEN drive a wedge between the four of you? Please.” Discord gasped his chest as if he was having a heart attack. His chest exploded and created a heart shaped hole where his “heart” would be. “The only one who is wounded here is me,” he whimpered.

“Ah ain’t got time for your bull squirt, none of us do,” Applejack snapped. She crossed her legs impatiently, the light tapping sound of her blond tail smacking against the chair echoed in the silence of the awkward situation. The orange mare still had a bone to pick with Discord over lying to her about Derpy and Hopeful. “And why the heck are ya dressed like our waiter, did you do somethin’ nasty to him?”

“Oh him,” Discord rolled his eyes and waved his paw, “Of course not, he’s just wrapped up in something at the moment.”



Holstein grunted and groaned against his tight constraints. The yellow colt was locked inside a pony sized burrito; sealed up tight and dumped behind the restaurant. He tried to stretch his arms and legs but they became uncomfortably wedged in the tightly packed assortment of guacamole and beans inside his burrito prison. “Why can’t he just tie me up with ropes like any normal pony would?” Holstein grunted.



The four ponies looked at each other nervously. Knowing Discord, they had good reason to be concerned about the fate of their waiter. “But enough about him, I’m here to talk about YOU”, he cheerfully grabbed AJ and Rainbow; smushing their cheeks together in front of him as he awkwardly rubbed his snout against their muzzles. To say they felt weirded out and uncomfortable would be a gross understatement. “You two are so disgustingly adorable on your cute little dates, I swear, I just want to throw up from all of this romantic sweetness,” he gagged and magically vomited up a vase of roses onto the table. The roses floated out of the vase and suddenly appeared on Discord’s head as he materialized onto the table.

Though no actual vomit came out, Rainbow and Arrowhead still found the “magic trick” to be downright repulsive. “If you’re not here to crash our dates then why are you here?” Arrowhead tapped his hoof angrily against the table. He’s never met Discord before, but he’s heard plenty about his pension for mischief and the grey colt never put up with this kind of nonsense.

“Please hold all questions until the ride has come a complete stop,” he answered cryptically; blowing spittle soaked raspberries at Arrowhead. The ponies looked at each other and shrugged in confusion. As usual, no one had any idea what the crazed trickster was babbling about. “Hmmm yes, I see,” Discord scratched his chin; looking deep in thought. “I’m afraid this won’t do at all,” he snapped his claws and teleported Hopeful next to Rainbow and Arrowhead next to Applejack. The two mares stared bewilderingly at their “new” dates. “Ah yes, that looks so much better” he dusted his claws and rested them against his hips.

Hopeful nervously waved to Rainbow who nodded and smiled weakly in return. Their encounter now felt just as awkward as when they first ‘met’ each other at Pinkie’s party. “Um, how’s it going miss…Applejack?” Arrowhead sheepishly asked. The orange mare groaned and slapped her face with a loud thwack. Everything about this situation was making every pony feel annoyed and confused; two things Discord excelled at. The chaos spirit smiled proudly, he was quite pleased with his date swapping skills.

“Discord, what in tar nation is goin’ on here?” Applejack demanded, “You lied to me about Hopeful and Derpy and tricked me into thinkin’ they were courtin’ so I would chase down Hopeful and accept his offer.” Hopeful blinked at AJ’s statement, he had no idea Discord was the one that gave her that false information. “Now Ah finally go out on a date with Hopeful and your usin’ your confounded chaos magic to muck it all up, what are you playin’ at?” she slammed one of her hooves onto the table and snorted a shot of steam from her flared nostrils. The red Pegasus tried to interject but AJ was far too steamed to listen to reason now. She was genuinely enjoying her evening, and having Discord popping in and ruining everything was the last straw for her.

“What am I playing at?” Discord stepped back and clutched his chest, pretending to gasp in horror at the pony’s flaring temper. He stomped forward and loomed over AJ’s table with his arms crossed. He looked stern, bitter, but most importantly; he looked very angry. Something was off about him though, more off than usual. It’s like something snapped inside the twisted creature and brought out a nasty side he hadn’t shown since he was terrorizing ponies thousands of years ago as a villain. “No, no, no, the real question is what are YOU PLAYING AT?” he shouted thunderously. He jammed his eagle claw into AJ’s muzzle; she cried out and clutched her nose tightly.

“Have you lost your scrambled mind Discord?” she said muffled; clutching her nose in pain. A venomous glare sizzled off of Hopeful’s face. The red colt had zero tolerance for any pony that treated mares so disrespectfully.

“Yeah, why are you getting so worked up? Were the ones who should be mad at you for screwing with us,” Rainbow chimed in.

“I merely took it upon myself to help my friends make such frightfully difficult choices by lending a helping paw,” Discord explained. Though calm in presentation, there was an underlying tone of anger that was becoming more and more noticeable; little by little. He slowly walked around the 4 ponies like a towering vulture; casting a shadow of concern on the puzzled ponies. “It started out as merely a means of distracting you, but once I saw you two finally stepping up I knew I had to set you straight,” he leaned in close to AJ as he sneered, “That’s what friends do isn’t it fair maiden?”

“You’re not makin’ a lick of sense” she shoved Discord back, “If ya got somethin’ to say then just spit it out already.” She was growing increasingly frustrated with Discord’s antics, she was always sick of his magic mind games but this was really pushing her limit; as well as Hopeful’s.

“I’m just giving you what you wanted, remember? Horns with horns, wings with wings, Earth ponies with other Earth ponies?” his menacing scowl slowly turned into a mischievous smirk. Based on the alarmed look on AJ’s face, the crafty trickster knew he struck a nerve. “Isn’t that exactly how you want things, sticking to tradition and what not?”

“N-n-n-no Ah didn’t say that, Ah mean, well yes Ah did say that but Ah didn’t mean-” she tried to deny it, but she was a terrible liar and it was painfully obvious. She quickly looked to Hopeful with worry weighing heavily in her eyes. He looked confused and slightly irritated; Hopeful didn’t want to believe what he was hearing but AJ’s reaction indicated Discord might be telling the truth. “Please don’t look at me like that Sugar cube, Ah swear Ah can explain” she said nervously.

“Oh yes, I’m sure we’d all love to hear this one,” Discord snapped his claws and teleported behind Arrowhead and Rainbow. He elbowed the grey colt off his chair and plopped himself down rather forcefully next to Rainbow. “Go ahead Honest Applejack, tell your date AND your good friend Rainbow Dash here how you think it’s against the rules for all ponies to date outside their race and how you think it’s unnatural and wrong?” he pressed Rainbow against her cheek so he could watch her face twist with anger.

“Whoa, hold it right there,” she grunted and shoved Discord out of her face and turned back to her southern friend, “He’s making all of this up…right? I mean, you didn’t really say those things, did you AJ?”

“Well…not in those exact words but-” she started to reply.

“Are you kidding me?!?” Rainbow leapt off her seat and hovered above the table, she looked like some pony just stabbed her in the back. The cyan Pegasus angrily beaned down against her friend. AJ gulped loudly and inched back in her seat; blond locks dripping with beads of nervous sweat. “I know I judged Arrowhead because he wasn’t a Pegasus, but that was a personal choice of mine,” she quickly turned to Arrowhead with an apologetic look on her face, “Of which I am totally, still sorry for.” The grey colt grunted but nodded; deciding it would be best not to add any more fuel to this fire. Rainbow turned back and pointed at AJ accusingly, “But it is totally uncool to say it’s wrong for all ponies to play for the same team.”

“I would have thought the element of honesty would have learned that by now,” Discord coolly remarked. Tensions continued to flare up in Discord, Applejack, Rainbow and Hopeful. Arrowhead kept calm as he saw how easily this situation was frustrating everyone to the point of blind rage. AJ turned to Discord and growled like a vicious guard dog. It was his fault all of this was turning into a disaster; all she wanted to do was have a nice evening with Hopeful. Not backing down, Discord craned his neck down towards AJ’s eye level and growled right back. “You never accepted me as your friend, I try to help and you continue to make the same mistakes just because you’re too stubborn to admit it. I bet if I was an Earth pony you’d have no problem with being friends with me.”

“Stop tryin’ to twist mah words, you know for a certified fact that Ah am friends with every kind of pony AND a dragon as well as you,” AJ defended herself firmly. It didn’t matter if he was a reformed villain or a close friend she’s known for years, this was no way to treat a friend. “Ah may be stubborn as a rock but Ah would never turn down a good hearted stallion over somethin’ like race, nor would Ah tell a friend to do that” she nodded and slowly adjusted her hat back, almost as if that was an act of defiance in and of itself.

“But if it wasn’t for me you would have done just that,” Discord turned his nose up snootily, “And we both know that latter statement isn’t true, or have you already forgotten about a certain dragon and white unicorn you know?”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Hopeful leapt from his seat and zoomed right in front of Discord’s face, forcing him to stand up from Arrowhead’s chair. The red Pegasus flapped his wings and positioned himself directly at the lanky chaos spirit. He knew he was outmatched, he knew Discord was powerful enough to do all sorts of unimaginable things to him, but at this moment all he cared about was defending his date’s honor. “I don’t want to hear one more negative thing about Applejack,” he pointed towards her, “You say you’re helping her but all you’re really doing is insulting her and that is something I will NOT tolerate.”

A collective ring of gasps filled the captivated audience of Endless Illusion. Hopeful was proudly defending Applejack despite what Discord revealed and he had no fear in doing so, not in front of all these ponies and not even in front of someone as powerful as Discord. The orange mare watched with widening eyes, her heart pounding rapidly upon seeing how fiercely Hopeful was defending her…even when she didn’t need him to.

“Do you have any idea who your messing with little pony?” Discord cracked his knuckles and opened a portal to another dimension. His tail shot up like a snake and quickly snared Hopeful; binding his limbs and wings. Rainbow, Arrowhead and Applejack went to stop him but Hopeful shook his head and asked them to wait. “I’m Discord, the master of chaos; I can drop kick your sorry little butt into a dozen different dimensions with just a snap,” Hopeful stared him down; unflinching, “You really think you stand even the slightest of chances against the likes of me?”

“No, not really, but my dad always said that you should treat a lady with the utmost respect,” Hopeful popped himself out of his bindings and soared in front of AJ; defending her even though he knew she wasn’t in any physical danger. “And that’s exactly what I’m going to do no matter who it is I’m up against,” Hopeful declared.

AJ couldn’t believe it. After everything Discord revealed, after all the trouble and heartache she put Hopeful through; he’s still defending her like the fair maiden he always said she was. Her green eyes shimmered with growing emotions, she was truly moved by his words and wanted nothing more but to tell him what she thought of all this.

“DISCORD, what do you think you’re doing?!?” the sweet yet enraged voice of Fluttershy suddenly sliced through the tension of the confrontation. Discord froze, literally; icicles and frost chilled up his body at the sound of his yellow friend’s voice. The portal vanished and Hopeful slowly made his way back to his proper seat next to Applejack. They all sat and watched as the butter colored Pegasus flew over towards her frozen friend and hovered in front of him. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing mister but I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” she angrily pouted.

Discord’s frozen head slowly turned; creaking and crackling loudly. The frozen shell fell off Discord’s body, quickly realizing Fluttershy was in no mood for his humor. “F-f-f-f-fluttershy what a s-s-s-splendid s-s-surprise,” he stammered frantically; trying to mop up the sweat trickling off his brow with his tail tip, “I happened to be in the neighborhood and saw my f-f-f-friends here were having a nice double date so I just thought I’d-”

“Save it buster! I saw you harassing our friends and being up to your old tricks again so don’t try to talk your way out of this,” she shouted. Though her voice was soft and typically very sweet, Discord feared that slightly angered tone in her voice more than anything else in Equestria. She always knew how to set him in place. “Now then, were going to have a nice long talk and give these ponies some privacy”, she flew up to Discord and yanked on his little grey ear like a mother dragging her child away, “Come on now.”

“OW, OWIE, that really, really stings! Pp-p-please, I can explain,” he faintly protested. He could feel the suffocating waves of embarrassment washing over him as Fluttershy yanked him out of the restaurant so easily, especially after all that power and authority he was trying to channel into Hopeful.

“Don’t you try any excuses on me young draconequus,” she grunted and yanked even harder on his ear, “And don’t even think about making your ear fall off while I’m pulling you out. We’re going to have this talk whether you like it or not.” Fluttershy briefly waved to Rainbow and AJ, smiling and mouthing “congratulations” to them as she left. Discord and Fluttershy vanished out of sight and returned the evening back to normal.

All four of the ponies kept their stares fixated on where Fluttershy took Discord, still shocked and amazed at the control that sweet little Pegasus had over such a powerful creature. Neither one of them had a clue how to respond or how they could continue their evening after such a bizarre display of emotions and events.

“Check please,” Arrowhead raised his hoof to wave down a waiter.



To be continued…