91. A Moment of Calm
“You should see the suit I made for you! It's at the boutique right now, ready to be worn!” Rarity expresses as the two of us sit back down at the table. Just listening to her talking about all of the shit she'd made for me is making me glance at her with an exasperated expression. When Twilight sees the two of us walking back in together, she starts to giggle at the look on my face. “Oh, you should come by and try them on, especially since you still haven't had your first date yet. It's very important to show your passion for her through the clothing you wear...”
Rarity just isn't slowing down. Telling her she was my friend seems to have made her go into overdrive mode or something; even as we sit down to keep Twilight and Spike company until they finish lunch, she's sketching new outfit designs on a napkin. I let my forehead fall onto the table with an annoyed groan, causing even more amusement for Twilight and Spike, who know me well enough to know that I couldn't care less about what I wear.
“I was thinking that for your...dates, I should make...you a different set of....of suits to match the...what precisely are you doing?” Rarity finally stops to look at me, tired of getting interrupted by the sound of me beating my head against the table.
“Trying to give myself a concussion,” I grunt, my head resting on the table. Rarity releases a frustrated sigh, and then I feel my head lifting back up into a normal position, thanks to her magic.
“Don't be silly, it's not going to be that bad. I just can't have you going to a date...a first date no less...without looking the part! It would be akin to a crime!” Rarity insists. I look pleadingly at Twilight.
“Save me...” I plead, but at this point, Twilight is covering her mouth with both hooves, trying to stifle her giggling at my expense. Well great, she's no help at all.
Finally, Spike comes to my rescue by walking back into the kitchen with two books held atop his head. “Are these the books you asked for, miss Rarity?” he asks, holding up the books to her. At long last, Rarity stops talking about pointless outfits and looks down at the little dragon.
“Oh yes, that's exactly what I need. Thank you, dear.” Rarity praises him, and then she cranes her head down to nuzzle him. Upon the contact, Spike goes ramrod straight and falls backwards like a statue. I'm starting to think he has some kind of fixation with Rarity, considering he never does that when Twilight nuzzles him. Rarity doesn't notice, instead glancing at the covers of the books. “All right, thank you for the meal, Twilight, but I really must be going now. I have an order to fill, and I spent my morning finishing up a suit for Seth.”
“You mean you made another one?” I ask, a sinking feeling in my gut. Rarity nods proudly.
“I can't make just one. What if you didn't like it?” Rarity reasons, moving towards the door. As she talks, Twilight and Spike accompany us to the main room to see her off. “A good clothing designer makes more than one style for a customer with uncertain tastes. You should see the dresses I've made for Rainbow.”
“Okay, you're dumber than I thought if you think you're going to get Rainbow into a dress,” I remark, causing Rarity to pause. I've only seen Rainbow in a dress ONCE, and that was because it was the royal wedding and it was expected.
“...I can try,” Rarity asserts despite the fact that I'm right and she knows it. Though honestly I wouldn't mind seeing Rainbow wear that dress again. It didn't look bad on her, even if it didn't really suit her style.
“Tell you what. If you get Rainbow to wear a dress, I'll wear your damn suit,” I promise Rarity, because I'm 100% sure that Rainbow would die before putting on a dress again. Though I don't think Rarity plans to give up, because now she's wearing a giant fucking smile that beams with confidence.
“It's a deal! I'll go and get the suits then! I'll be back!” Rarity agrees enthusiastically. As she streaks out the door with her books, I start to wonder if making that bet was a bad idea. I really don't want to wear a suit to this damn date...though I wonder if it'll be worth it if I can make fun of Rainbow wearing a dress.
“Right, now that that's over, can we get back to doing what we were doing before?” I say, turning around to look at Twilight. She still looks way too amused, so I cross my arms. “I'm glad I could entertain you.”
“Hehe, I just can't picture you in a suit at all,” Twilight remarks. “The closest you've ever been was that coat you wore to the royal wedding, and you haven't worn that since.”
“That's because it was a nice fucking coat, and I really don't have any reason to wear it,” I state, though part of me wishes I could wear that coat again. Wearing it made me feel like a badass, even though at the time I was anything but a badass. Fucking Chrysalis.
“You realize you're going to lose that bet, right?” Spike informs me, joining our conversation. I raise an eyebrow at him.
“No I'm not. I'm certain Rainbow will never put on a dress if she can help it,” I retort, but Spike isn't convinced at all.
“You clearly haven't seen how persuasive Rarity can be when she wants something,” Spike points out. Actually, I have, but I trust that Rainbow will be able to resist. Her and dresses just don't mix. “I'm just saying, you should be ready to wear that suit.”
“I'm not going to wear the goddamn suit,” I tell him flatly. Spike shrugs, still looking sure that I'm going to lose that bet. “Whatever. Twilight, I'm going back upstairs to read.”
“Sounds good to me. I should get back to studying myself,” Twilight agrees, and then the three of us return to the upper level. It's much warmer in here than downstairs, because the fire is still going strong.
The three of us returned to our respective positions before lunch began,such that Spike and I are sitting together on cushions near the edge of the room, while Twilight rests on her belly closer to the fire, a book open in front of her.
The room falls into silence as we delve into our respective books. In this manner several hours pass, broken only by our needs for refreshment or relief. While I am enjoying this book, I can't help but glance at the clock every so often. Rainbow doesn't get off until late I think, and I don't plan on leaving here until she's done.
Later that afternoon, Derpy shows up with mail for Twilight. Of course, the moment she sees me, Derpy throws herself onto me in what I think is supposed to be a hug, but it ends up knocking me over, much to Twilight and Spike's amusement.
Anyway, overly affectionate gray ponies aside, apparently I have some mail too, which Derpy gives to me before she leaves. It's from Octavia, which surprises me because I thought it would be longer before I heard from her.
Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to make it tomorrow because of Canterlot's Winter Wrap-Up, but she could the day after, if everything went well. Huh, that's earlier than I expected. Not that I'm complaining. This just means I'll get to play a bit with her and possibly Lyra after tomorrow's events. I have no idea what this Winter Wrap-Up thing is supposed to entail, other than the fact that we're actually going to be wrapping up winter, whatever the fuck that means.
Rarity arrives a little while after that as well, though she only stays long enough to drop off the suits before she's off again, saying something about Rainbow and dresses. Well, she can knock herself out with that one.
I look down at the suits Rarity brought. There's three of them, each one tailored to me and me only. I cross my arms and eye them appraisingly. You know, I hate on Rarity a lot, but she really is good at what she does. They're not tuxedos...well, two of them aren't...but they certainly look formal enough to take to Canterlot if I wanted to.
They're mostly black to match my hair, but there's also green accents on them, with a different pattern for each suit. Honestly, it wouldn't be a bad thing to wear the suit...though I still want to see if Rarity can make Rainbow wear a dress. That's worth any trouble, really. It would be fun to see how much I could antagonize her at the sight. Though, to be fair, she did look rather nice at the royal wedding. And this is how you know you've been in Equestria too long: you start noticing what does and doesn't look nice on a pony.
“So I've been meaning to ask, since everypony and their mother won't shut up about it,” I start, looking up from my book. My voice breaks the silence that had been persisting for hours now. Twilight lifts her head and looks over to me curiously. “What the hell is this Winter Wrap-Up thing anyway?”
“Oh, Winter Wrap-Up?” Twilight responds, eager to explain another part of her culture to me. “It's an annual event that all ponies do at the end of winter. It's where we all work together to clear the wintry environment and make way for spring!”
“Something tells me this is going to give me a headache. So what exactly does that entail?” I ask even though I'm sure it's going to be something absolutely ridiculous.
“There's quite a lot of difficult tasks. I'm actually the organizer for the whole event...” Twilight begins.
“That's not surprising,” I interject with a grin, much to Twilight's annoyance. Twilight's a control freak at times, so of course she's in charge of everything.
“...because it's what I'm good at, as opposed to heavy lifting or something similar,” Twilight continues, ignoring my interruption. “Some of the things we have to do is wake up the animals, retrieve the birds that went south, and...”
“Oh my god, I was hoping it wouldn't be that bad,” I groan, interrupting her again. Twilight huffs and gives me a pouting expression. “So everything that nature should be doing, you do for it?”
“But nature doesn't do that. If we don't wake up the animals, how will they know when spring is here?” Twilight asks curiously.
I rub my forehead, still unable to believe what I'm hearing. Goddamn Discord, running through my world and wrecking nature to the point where the seasons can't even fucking change unless ponies make them. How does that even work? The whole reason that we have seasons in the first place is because the world is tilted on its axis. If the seasons won't change on their own, does that mean the planet is no longer tilted? What kind of effect would that even have on the environment? So many scientific thoughts run through my head until finally I give up.
“Fucking magic!” I complain, causing Twilight to laugh. I wish that I could gather a group of pigeons, take them to Canterlot, and then have them shit all over Discord's statue. That would be ample revenge, I think. “Wow, I haven't said that in a while. This time deserves it! Needing to get rid of winter yourself...that's just stupid.”
“Maybe to you, but that's how it has always been done in Equestria. Without us, the spring would never come,” Twilight insists. Just...just fuck it. I don't even care anymore. At this point, I might as well just accept it. Celestia moves the sun, Luna moves the moon, and seasons are artificial. Christ.
“So what the hell am I going to do tomorrow when all of you ponies are wrapping up winter, so to speak?” I ask, not looking forward to spending a whole day alone while everypony is working.
“You're going to be helping, of course. I have you listed on the Plant team, though I'll likely have you moving between tasks because of your wide variety of skills,” Twilight explains. Well, on one hand, I won't have to spend the whole day doing absolutely nothing. Instead, I'll be working my ass off doing who knows what. Oh yeah, I'll be clearing out a season. What's next on my bucket list? “Do you want me to give you your schedule now, or in the morning?”
“Do it in the morning. I don't want Winter Wrap-Up on my mind when I'm at my date tonight,” I tell her with a shake of my head. I'm no stranger to hard work. I suppose it shouldn't be that bad.
“All right. Though I think I should still teach you the song,” Twilight says with a nod. I pause and give her an incredulous look.
“The...the song?” I repeat hesitantly.
“Of course! Winter Wrap-Up is basically a holiday! What better way is there to herald the coming of spring other than a song?” Twilight confirms. I don't say anything at first, staring despairingly at Twilight, hoping that she'll tell me that she's joking or something. Unfortunately, the smile she's wearing doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
“You've got to be kidding me,” I express. I've heard the songs they sing on a regular basis, and while they aren't horrible, they just sound way too childish for me to join in. “I'm not singing a goddamn song.”
“Oh come on, get into the spirit! Winter's over, and it's going to be beautiful spring for the next few months. Surely that's worth singing about,” Twilight urges me, her smile never leaving her face. She starts to fish through the shelves nearest to her. “The sheet music should be around here somewhere...”
“I was right. I have a headache now,” I complain, rubbing my forehead out of exasperation. Hold on while I join a group of ponies doing shit that nature normally does while singing about it! Not for the first time, I feel like I'm in a goddamn cartoon.
“Here, I found it. Take a look! It's a very cheerful song,” Twilight says, passing me a sheaf of organized papers. I take them reluctantly, even though I have absolutely no intention of singing a fucking song. “I'm looking forward to singing it!”
I glance over the music, my sight-reading prowess allowing me to get a basic idea of how the song sounds. It's about as childish as I expected. “I'm not singing this. And I don't think Rainbow will either. She doesn't seem like the singing type,” I remark.
“Actually, she does. She has an important solo in the song, because she's the leader of the weather team. She's actually very proud of it,” Twilight informs me, much to my shock. I give her a deadpan stare. Seriously? Even Rainbow? This can't possibly get any worse.
“Twilight, I can't sing,” I reveal to her, stripped of any other defense. It's true. I'm good at piano and sight-reading, but I can't sing to save my life. Especially when I had my brother, who was worlds better than me at it, I never saw the point in developing my singing voice.
“Don't worry about it! Everyone is encouraged to sing, regardless of talent,” Twilight assures me. I sigh and grumble under my breath. I don't care what she says. I'm not singing no matter what she says. “Don't look so annoyed. I promise it'll be fun.”
“Right, whatever. I'm going to go back to reading now, and try to forget that I'm participating in a fucking winter musical tomorrow,” I reply in annoyance, looking back down at my book. I hear Twilight giggle on the other side of the room, earning a shake of the head from me.
After that, the two of us return to doing our own thing. We sit in the room, reading in silence until the sun starts sinking towards the horizon.
The sun soon disappears entirely a lot sooner than expected, so I look out the window. The sun seems to have been obscured behind a looming cloud formation that's moving slowly to cover the town. That must be the snowstorm that I've been hearing about. Since it's already heading our way, I wonder if that means Rainbow's done for today.
Sure enough, it isn't long before there's a knock on the front door that we can hear all the way up here. I look up and close the book, remembering my page number. “That must be Rainbow right now,” I say, getting up and heading for the stairs.
“That's strange. Usually she comes in through the window. I wonder what's happened to make her use the door, for once,” Twilight remarks, setting her book aside as well. You know, she has a point. I chuckle and head down the stairs, with Twilight accompanying me close behind.
Opening the door reveals a furiously blushing Rainbow who looks everywhere except at Twilight and I. To my utter surprise, she is wearing a green dress that went well with her mane. Not just that, but she's also groomed, to the point where her mane is actually tidy, cascading down one side of her face and secured by a length of golden twine at the end. Lastly, to top it all off, there's a wreath of golden leaves around one ear to accent her appearance.
“Qu...Quit looking at me,” Rainbow says awkwardly, looking at the ground. I almost want to laugh at how out of character this is for her, but on the other hand, she doesn't look too bad. I almost don't even care that I lost the bet I made with Rarity.
“Told you so,” Spike comments casually, walking from the kitchen with a fresh pot of tea. I ignore him and continue to take in Rainbow's appearance. What the hell did she do all this dressing up for? Me? That doesn't make sense, because usually I don't care what she looks like.
“Huh. Never thought I'd see it,” I comment, stepping aside to allow Rainbow to come in. I have to hold up my end of the bet after all. I put on a grin.“You look adorable.”
“Shut up,” Rainbow responds, stammering a bit. She steps inside, standing She scuffs the ground and shakes her head, still looking at the ground.
“You look really nice, Rainbow,” Twilight compliments her, nuzzling her friend. Rainbow flinches, but nods in acknowledgment to the compliment. “That's a lovely dress. Did Rarity make that for you?”
“She wouldn't take no for an answer!” Rainbow complains loudly. That plus her piteous expression causes me to lose my composure and laugh. “Hey! Stop laughing! I don't see you wearing anything nice!”
“Not yet, anyway,” I reply, still chuckling despite her protests. I turn around, heading back upstairs where I left the suits. “I was waiting to see if you actually did dress up. I bet Rarity that you wouldn't.”
“Well, sorry that I made you lose,” Rainbow grumbles, picking at the dress, clearly unused to wearing one. “Where are you going?”
“Getting changed. Rarity made me something as well, though I wasn't going to wear it unless I lost the bet. I'll be right back,” I tell her. “Twilight, stay out for a moment.”
I shut the door behind me, chuckling again. I can't believe Rainbow actually put on a dress just for me. That reminds me a little of Amaryllis. She'd never wear a damn dress, but she did when we went to prom together as friends.
The suits are still where I left them. Well, I guess Rarity did win the bet. I guess I have to get dressed in one of them then. They all look mostly the same, only with slight stylistic differences between them. Now that I've seen Rainbow, I notice that the accents of the suit are the same color as her dress's trim. Rarity planned this. “You...conniving little bitch,” I remark, though I'm not that mad. I hate suits, but I suppose I could wear one for one night. It can't be worse than what Rainbow is feeling right now.
Suits are so much trouble. You can't just throw on a set of pants and a shirt. No, you have to put on the pants first, then an undershirt. Over top of that goes yet another shirt, and to top it all off, the jacket. I'm rather glad it's cold outside, because I feel like I would melt if I wore this on a warm day.
Lastly, I quickly wrap the tie around my neck and construct it, having learned how to do it a long time ago from my father, just before prom night. That's the last of the suit, so I take a look in the nearest mirror. What I see makes me want to laugh.
Wow, I'm actually wearing this stupid suit. It just doesn't suit me, no pun intended. What with my long hair (that looks like it needs to be cut soon) and the dumb smirk on my face, I look woefully out of place in this thing. Honestly this whole date idea is stupid. The idea of a candlelit dinner sounds ridiculous and boring, and I honestly wouldn't be doing it at all if I had a choice. But, according to what I know, that's how you have a date. I'm willing to give it a shot only because it's Rainbow.
When I return to the lower level, I see Twilight talking with Rainbow, though I can't make out what they're saying until I reach the lower steps.
“...is stupid. I didn't want to wear this thing. He's not even attracted to ponies anyway, so it's pointless,” Rainbow grumbles. She doesn't appear to notice me coming down the stairs.
“So? I think it's the thought that counts. I think he'll appreciate that you went through all that effort just for him,” Twilight attempts to reassure her. Part of me wants to ask if she read that in a book somewhere, because there's no way little miss oblivious here has any idea how relationships work.
“Twilight, you're so right. Friggin look at that face. Look up a picture of the word 'adorable,' and you'll see a picture of Rainbow wearing a dress,” I joke, announcing my presence to the both of them. Twilight giggles at my words, though Rainbow's response is more telling.
“Stop calling me adorable! If anything, I look smoking hot in...” Rainbow starts to yell, but she cuts off when she sees the outfit I'm wearing. “What are you wearing?”
“What does it look like? Obviously it's a suit. I look ridiculous, right?” I retort, spreading my arms so she can see all of it. Rainbow looks up and down my body, quiet for a few seconds.
“That's...not quite the word I'd use,” Rainbow comments, licking her lips. I raise an eyebrow at that, and then shrug. I still think this whole thing is dumb, but if she likes it, then it's whatever, I guess. “Now are we gonna go? I don't like just standing around in this thing.”
“Sounds good to me,” I reply, joining her near the exit of the library. I wince and rotate my arms a bit. The suit is a little stiff because it's the first time I've worn it, so it restricts my movement somewhat. “So we're going someplace fancy, right?”
“Well yeah, that's what you said we should do, right?” Rainbow answers, still looking a little uncertain. When I nod, she continues. “I know a place. It's not Canterlot fancy, but it's the fanciest we can get in Ponyville.”
“Good enough. Now let's go. Are we walking or flying?” I say, opening the door. A gust of chilly air surges in through the open door, causing the three of us to shiver involuntarily. Outside, flakes of snow are already starting to fall, courtesy of the blanket of clouds that hangs over the town.
“I wanna fly, but I'm wearing a dress. It would go everywhere,” Rainbow complains, pulling at the hem of her dress.
“Rainbow, stop that! You're going to stretch the material!” Twilight admonishes, pulling Rainbow's hoof away from the dress with her magic.
“Then we're walking. Come on, already,” I decide, stepping out into the cold. Thankfully the suit helps keep me warm. I guess it's good for something at least. Rainbow follows me outside, leaving Twilight safe and warm in her library.
“Have fun, you two! I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning!” Twilight calls after us. I wave absentmindedly behind me, and then my attention is reserved solely for Rainbow.
“I guess I'm following you. You know the way,” I tell her, walking closely by her. Rainbow nods and steps ahead of me, picking up her pace. “Why are you going so fast?”
Rainbow mumbles something, but over the wind, I can't hear it. When I ask her to repeat herself, she huffs. “It's embarrassing, wearing this thing in public!” she snaps, referring to the dress.
“Rainbow, it's late in the evening and it's snowing. Everypony is going to be focusing on getting home and warm rather than looking at the pony in the dress,” I point out to her, an amused grin on my face despite her discomfort. I'm really getting a kick out of the fact that Rainbow turns into the textbook fucking definition of embarrassment just because she's wearing a dress. I hate suits, but it's not that big of a deal if I'm seen wearing one. “Besides, forget about the dress. This night is about us, right?”
“Yeah, I guess it is,” Rainbow admits. She looks up at me, managing to put on a smile. “You know, you really do look good in a suit.”
“Thanks, I guess? It seems a bit excessive to me, but hey, so does this whole date thing,” I remark. Rainbow frowns a bit at that, so I correct myself hastily. “I mean the whole candlelit dinner thing, not the hanging with you part. That part I'm cool with.”
Rainbow nods understandingly. “Me neither, but we have to at least give it a shot,” she agrees. As she says that, we approach a fancy looking restaurant that stands out from the other buildings around it, due to its Canterlot-esque architecture. I'm going to assume that Rainbow is taking me there for dinner. “Here it is. I heard it has good food, but it'll be expensive.”
“Never mind about the money. I can take care of that,” I promise her. Rainbow looks at me in surprise. “What? It's a date. According to what I know, the man has to pay for the meal.”
“That seems...a little unfair,” Rainbow remarks. I shrug. She's preaching to the choir on that one. That's just how it worked in my time, from what I've learned. Then again, all I know is the stereotype.
“Are you really going to complain about a free meal? Especially at a place like this?” I challenge her with a disbelieving stare. Rainbow pauses, rubbing her chin with a hoof. Then, she gives a shrug, conceding the point.
“Good point,” Rainbow admits. The two of reach the front door of the place not long after that. A rush of warm air greets us as I open the door, which feels really good considering we just came in out of the falling snow. It's good we got in when we did, because it looks like the snow is starting to come down harder.
“Welcome! If you'll give me just a moment, I'll have a table set up for you,” the unicorn stallion at the front of the restaurant greets us. He looks up from his work and a spark of recognition enters his eyes. “Oh, if it isn't Seth and Rainbow Dash! May I assume that you're here on a date?”
“What? How do you know that!?” Rainbow demands, taken by surprise that this guy knows exactly what we're here to do.
“Rainbow, there's no way he wouldn't. The fact that we're together is in the fucking newspaper,” I remind her with a resigned sigh. Rainbow's response is most telling.
“It is!?”
“Ugh, you've got to be kidding me,” I groan, rubbing my forehead. The stallion at the front counter looks between us with a smile. “Sorry, yes, we'd like a table. Don't mind us.”
“As you wish. Right this way, if you please,” he responds with a polite bow. He takes two menus from behind the counter and starts down the hallway. Rainbow and I exchange glances, and then we follow him, passing by several booths and other ponies in the processes. There aren't too many here at this time of night, but there's a few, some of whom I recognize.
To my surprise, I actually pass Lyra and Bon Bon, sitting together in a booth near the end of the hall. “Sethie!” Lyra cries out to me as I pass. I pause and sigh, giving her a death stare at the use of that cursed nickname again. “Thanks for the...what are you wearing?”
“A suit. The fuck does it look like?” I retort. I look over at Bon Bon, only to notice that she's pointedly looking at the table, blushing a little. Holy shit, did Lyra actually take my advice and take Bon Bon out? Well, then I should get out of their way. “Anyway, I'm here with Rainbow. I'll talk to you two later.”
After bidding farewell to those two, I speed up my pace to rejoin Rainbow and the other stallion. I meet them at a large room with several unoccupied tables, each with a brass candelabra on top of it.
“And here you are,” the stallion offers, setting down the menus on a small table in the center of the room, far away from any other ponies. He then takes out a match and strikes it with his magic. With it, he lights the candles, filling the room with a flickering light. “Somepony will be right with you.”
Rainbow and I take our seats on either side of each other. We both look at the candles and at the menu, neither of us looking impressed with what we see. “This is it?” Rainbow asks in a disappointed manner, glancing over the food choices. “Everything looks way too fancy for me. What the heck is a gourmet multi-flower special? Some descriptions would be nice.”
“Yeah, I agree. What the fuck is any of this stuff?” I demand. Some of the combinations are hard to read, but most of the menu I can make out. “It's like they over-complicated the names of their food to make things look fancier.”
“I'm not impressed,” Rainbow states. She sets the menu down and looks at the candle. “Are you sure this is what a date is? Because so far, this just seems lame.”
“No, I'm not sure. I said I just know the stereotype. What do you want me to do?” I ask her. At this point, I mostly agree with her, but I don't know what else to do.
“I don't know, maybe we could...” Rainbow begins, but then she's distracted by a passing waiter. The stallion is carrying a platter with some of the restaurant's food on it, which the both of us look at the get an idea of what there is to eat here. What we see is not to our liking. The portions look way too small, and it doesn't look like I can even digest most of it.
Rainbow and I look at one another after he passes, mutual understanding passing between the two of us just by making eye contact. “This is stupid,” Rainbow declares, getting up from her seat.
“Yeah, no kidding,” I agree, following suit. Without even needing to coordinate ourselves, we immediately head back the way we came, making sure to blow out the candles on our way out. Candlelit dinner. What the hell were we thinking?
“Excuse me, where are you...” the stallion at the front desk asks in bemusement as the two of us leave the restaurant. We never get to hear the rest of what he says because we're already outside.
“Who cares about the stereotype? If we're having a date, we're going to make it my kind of date! Come on, Seth!” Rainbow declares vehemently, and then she takes to the sky, her dress flapping in the breeze behind her. I grin. This is much more like it. I power up and zip through the air after her.
The look on the face of the pony working at the take out joint is just fucking priceless as Rainbow and I drop out of the sky right in front of the to go station. The whole time he's just watching us in bemusement as we order something cheap and delicious, and then dash right back into the sky with our food.
The snow is falling heavily, but Rainbow seems to keep flying higher. “Where are we going?” I yell over the sound of the wind. Some of the snow gets in my mouth, chilling my tongue.
“Up!” Rainbow calls back simply. Well, that tells me a fat lot of nothing. Still, we're going pretty high right now, such that Ponyville is starting to look like a toyset.
Finally, Rainbow and I break through the cloud layer. I look around in awe. It's almost as if we've gone into another world. Stretched out before me is a layer of clouds that stretches on for as far as I can see, and above me is a sea of stars in the blackness of the night sky.
Rainbow settles down on the clouds, resting on her back and setting her food down next to her. She beckons to me to join her, so I apply a cloud walking spell to myself and hunker down right next to her.
“Closer, you idiot,” Rainbow demands with a light blush, tugging at the ends of my suit with a hoof. I chuckle and scoot closer to her such that she can cuddle up against my side. “This is more like it, right?”
“Yeah, this is pretty nice,” I confess. It's completely peaceful up here, with no sound to interrupt the tranquility apart from the sound of our breathing. From here, it's easy for the two of us to stare up at the stars, content to remain silent, eat, and enjoy one another's company.
“So much for the date, huh?” I remark, setting my finished meal aside and wrapping an arm around my favorite pony in the world.
“Not really. I think you're full of it when you say a fancy dinner is the only way to have a date,” Rainbow guesses, her head resting on my chest. “I mean, when you think about it, you're just supposed to have fun with each other, right?”
“I suppose you're right,” I admit with a sheepish grin. “I should have listened to you in the first place. Candlelit dinners. What was I fucking thinking? Stereotypes are bullshit.”
“They really are. Still, I'm glad it turned out this way instead,” Rainbow sighs. I nod in agreement.
It's a little cold up here, but Rainbow is surprisingly warm, so with her and my suit, I'm actually quite cozy. If I'm not careful, I might actually end up dozing off up here. Just in case I do, I apply a stronger version of the cloud walking spell to keep myself from falling to my death.
Rainbow and I settle into a comfortable silence after that, cuddling with one another and staring at the stars, content to simply be in one another's presence.
This fucking pony. I swear to god, she has changed my life in so many ways. For that, I will always be grateful to her.
This one gave me a lot of trouble to get out, because writer's block usually gets in my way during these slice of life segments. However, it also didn't help that I kept laughing my ass off every time I tried to write about Rainbow wearing a dress.
Anyway, I finally got this whole date thing done with. It went over exactly how you guys expected. Do Seth and Rainbow really seem like the kind to sit down for a cheesy candlelit dinner? Nope!
Anyway, I give it a few more chapters before I kickstart the last arc into action. I've got quite a lot of material to cover, to the point where I think I might have to split the last arc into mini-arcs, simply because of all the shit I have planned. 
Once again, thanks to Triage for editing this for me. As for all of you, make sure to leave your comments and tell me what you think! I'm expecting some good feedback, especially from one certain commenter who knows who he is. 
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Looks like you're wearing the suit then.
See, Spike agrees.
Am I the only person who thinks there might be more to it than Discord getting bored?
P.S. No offence Mr. Author, but when's shit going to happen?
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After Winter Wrap-Up, at the very least. It has to feel right, rather than just writing in a scene: "Oh look, Sombra's here. Well, shit."
Discord is mad, but he's also painfully intelligent at times. Especially since it would have been easier for him to permanently disable the elements than it was to make them fight one another. He's got to have plans, or at least a goal, that he's working towards.
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"Oh look, Sombra's here. Well, shit."
If this line isn't used in the story I will be severely disappointed.
It's like if Johnny Gat and Shaundi went on a date.
i face palmed so hard my head phones fell off...
that...is such a beautiful thing to imagine
a lovely scene all around to end the day and the date on. the mood fit so nicely and its almost like i could picture a sorta grainy picture of it ((*cough cough*fire emblem*cough cough*))
This indeed was a pretty good chapter.
Ha. This was a gud chapter.
That's it.
.......
Uh, bye I guess.
Since I've finally caught up with this story. I can now say that this is easily one of the greatest HiE fics I've ever had the pleasure of reading. From the humor, the amazing battles with Chrysalis and Vanta and the slow but steady growth in the relationship between Seth and Rainbow. You've really written quite a masterpiece here. Thanks for sharing it with all of us.
Also, I really hope that have Seth and Rainbow become parents before you complete this. It doesn't matter if they adopt a foal or Rainbow becomes pregnant with a Satyr. I just wanna see how Seth handles becoming a father.
Another cute chapter. These slice of life chapters are really fun.
Starting off we have Seth and Rarity arguing over clothes. No surprises there. rarity learning she was right about them dating was always going to end this way, but it doesn't make it any less funny. Seeing Seth wearing a suit voluntarily (when he didn't even have one for Cadance's wedding) is just a funny image. Actually, how did she know what a human suit looked like? I mean I get the jacket, that obviously wouldn't have changed much, but how did she know about the pants materials, and seeing him wear trousers and a pair of flip flop shoes is a really funny mental image.
Anyway, after betting that Rainbow would never wear a dress, Rarity potters off and Seth is left to some further reading in the library. Then we get a discussion about Winter Warp Up and damn is it funny. I love reading Seth flip out over how screwed up everything is thanks to Discord. But the best part is learning he would be in Winter Wrap Up and be forced to take part in the musical. I figured he'd just get freaked out by the usual pony musical abilities like he generally is, but now that there is a staged musical he is being forced to take part in, man I am going to have sore ribs from laughing when we get to it.
Seth's torment is interrupted by the arrival of the well groomed Rainbow Dash wearing her new dress for their date. I really had no doubt this would happen, since Rarity has a way with words when it comes to Seth and Rainbow romance things. Having to dress up in his nice suit, Seth and Rainbow hit the town, with some more cute banter in between as they head for the restaurant. Upon arriving, we get a brief Lyra and Bon Bon cameo. Seth doesn't stick around with them long so we don't know whether they are dating, or just doing a test date, or just hanging out as friends, but Bon Bon's reaction seems to indicate that Seth may have helped her out by admitting her feelings to Lyra. I wonder if she'll be happy or pissed about it. Probably both.
Anyway, after that encounter, we get to the heart of the date and immediately Seth and Rainbow take issue with the stereotypical candlelit dinner. Seeing the tiny portions is the clincher and the two high tail it out for some junk food. Seeing them dressed like that and stopping for take out is a pretty funny thought, but it ends on a nice note as the two snuggle up in the clouds. They may be new to dating, but they're slowing finding they're way around and soon they'll figure out what they're doing. hopefully not too quickly though, as these awkward moments of cuteness are just so awesome to read.
Great job on another chapter. I cannot wait to see how Seth deals with Winter Wrap Up, especially seeing is girlfriend with a solo and forcing him to sing as well. This will be hilarious.
A date's less about doing what's expected and more about having a good time. The stereotype of a date exists for people who don't know each other that well. That being said, I have no clue what Seth's talking about when it comes to suits. A well made, well tailored suit is literally the greatest clothing ever. Feels great, fits great, looks great.
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Except nobody's dead and or dying.
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