No Regrets

by Rustyshell

Chance Encounters

Jackpot walked into his favorite restaurant in all of Little Buck, Fauna Emporium, which should be rather vacant at this time of day. He usually preferred to prepare his own food in order to avoid having to go to potentially crowded areas but Fauna Emporium was an exception. Their fruits and vegetables were the best he had ever tasted. He was incredibly glad for the employee that they had stationed out on the sidewalk, who had practically forced him to try a free sample, which he had eaten to get out of the situation. He had expected something generic but what he got was a rapturous taste that had made him a loyal customer. He usually came to the building in weekly intervals but he came in a day early today because of Hearts and Hooves day tomorrow and he wasn't going to just wait an extra day for one of Fauna's meals. He'd decided he'd worry about fixing his schedule later. He just wanted a good dinner now and hoped there wouldn't be much of a delay. Unfortunately for him, the Pegasus in front of him decided otherwise.

He was a rather tall fellow, a good head higher than Jackpot. His coat was begonia in color and he had a bronze colored mane that weaved down his neck like a serpent. He was wearing a ridiculously expensive tuxedo that obstructed his cutie mark, keeping it a mystery. He was truly an interesting site...for the first five seconds anyway. After that, he became an annoyance to Jackpot as he delayed him from getting his meal. The Pegasus had ordered a truly extravagant meal and the restaurant staff was working overtime to finish it. He had ordered everything the store had, from Zap Apples to a gallon of cider to...eels. Jackpot didn't even know that Fauna Emporium had those and he almost wanted to ask what they were for, if not for his own reluctance to begin a conversation and his fellow customer's inability to end one. He was chatting away at the workers, who were paying him no mind.

"Oh my girl is just going to love this," he said. "I'm going to spend the entire night cooking quite a feast with all of this. She tells me she's been working up an appetite and has been dieting just so she can eat as much of my home cooked meals as she's able. I don't know what's she's going to like more. The Zap Apple Jam!??? The Pecan Pie!???? The Pear Cider!??? Oh, who am I kidding? She's going to love all of it! It's going to be the best Hearts and Hooves date ever! Don't you agree!????" He said this last sentence while turning to Jackpot, who had started to zone him out and was caught off guard.

"...uhhh....sure..." he said. The Pegasus continued to look at him, as if expecting him to say more. "Ummm...." he said, trying to think of something to say, "you must have quite the girl." The pony's face lite up at this statement.

"Oh I do, let me tell you..." the fellow began as he went into vigorous detail describing the girl and how wonderful she was. Jackpot zoned him out for a while, until he snapped back into the conversation after being startled with a loud stomp from the other pony. He worried that his fellow customer had noticed he wasn't paying attention anymore and had stomped to get his attention, but it appeared he had just done it while emphasizing how great his girl was. Jackpot listened back into the conversation, hoping it would almost be over. "She's just the light of my world I tell you. She brightens my day whenever I think about her."

"She must really be important to you, huh?" one of the ponies behind the counter said while bagging the Pegasus's order.

"Oh, that she is. I can't tell ya'll how happy I am that I get to date someone as wonderful as her. That's why I want this first date to go so perfectly."

That last statement caught Jackpot by surprise and he couldn't help but respond. "Wait...this is only your first date?"

The fellow nodded in response with a big smile on his face but it turned to a frown upon seeing Jackpot's expression. "What?", he asked.

"Oh nothing...its just...doesn't this seem like a bit much for a first date. I mean, you don't even know how well you two click on a romantic level, so to spend all of this money..."

"Oh don't worry about that fellow, this might be our first date but Cosmic Twirl and I have known each other for a long time. We've been working at the same mail service office for the last five years."

"And how long have you been trying to get her to go on a date with you?"

"About five years."

"So since you first me her?"

"Yeah," the Pegasus said with a reminiscent smile on his face. "I knew she was my soul mate since the first day I saw her."

"She didn't see it the same way at first, I take it?"

"Oh yeah, she kept turning me down no matter how many times I asked...not that I was pushy about it or anything," he added with a hint of embarrassment. "I didn't ever try and force myself onto her or anything. I just really wanted her to give me a chance and she never really gave me an indication that she wasn't completely interested."

"What do you mean?" Jackpot asked.

"Well, she always told me that she just wasn't in the mood for a relationship right now or that she just wanted us to be friend for the mean time. She always typically said that maybe we could go a date but the timing just wasn't right. I always thought it was a little odd that she would say that though, considering she would often date our other coworkers but I just took that as sign that she didn't want to try us right now. I was expecting a similar response when I asked her this time but she finally said yes."

"What made her change her mind this time?"

"I'm not sure, I didn't really ask her in a different way than usual. In fact, she looked like she was going to give me the usual response until I mentioned how much I wanted to show her my home cooking. After I mentioned that, she brightened up and asked for a sample. I gave her some of my lunch and she said it was one of the most delicious things she's ever had. She asked if I would make more of this for her if we dated and I promised to make her an entire feast if she went out with me on Hearts and Hooves Day. After that, she finally accepted." After finishing his last sentence, the Pegasus proceeded to have a rather triumphant smile on his face. It again turned into a frown whenever Jackpot didn't give a positive response. "What?" he asked.

"Well..." Jackpot said, not knowing how to proceed without hurting the stallion's feelings. "The way you tell the story, it kinda just sounds like she's using you for your food. I mean, she doesn't really give a definitive answer for five years and then suddenly she's interested when you bring up your cooking. I can't think of any other reason she would finally say yes." Silence followed this statement and he risked looking up at the other pony's face. He was rather surprised to see a neutral expression. Oddly, that face scared him more than an angry one would have. He tried to backtrack. "Sorry...I didn't mean to say something offensive. What do I know, it's not like I've been on a date before." Jackpot hoped this would get a response from his conversation partner, but silence filled the void instead. He was becoming increasingly uncomfortable as it dragged out for a few minutes until the Pegasus finally ended it.

"You really think that's what is?" he asked in a genuine and slightly heart broken voice. Jackpot risked looking up at his face again and found tears strolling down the stallion's face. He immediately regretted opening his big mouth and tried to fix the situation.

"Hey, don't take my word for it. Like I said, I've never been on a date so what would a loser like me no. Hahaha....." his laughter slowly died as anger came to the other pony's face and he responded.

"Don't sell yourself short like that. You were concerned enough about a random stranger like me to give your opinion. You can't be that bad a guy. I'm sure you just haven't found the right mare yet." These words surprised Jackpot and he looked up at the fellow once more, who now had an encouraging smile that bore it's way through him.

"Thanks," was all he could say.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you, actually."

"What?!!!", he blurted out in surprise, "Why!!!???"

"Because you made me realize that Cosmic Twirl may have just been stringing me a long all this time...though I'm not entirely sure. I'll make sure to ask her if she actually likes me or my food tomorrow and hope she chooses me. If she doesn't, I'll know you were right. Regardless of the outcome, I'm grateful for your input."

This time it was Jackpot who left the conversation dead until he finally said "You're welcome, I guess."

The stallion merely gave him a smile in response and turned to retrieve his now finished order. He gave him a parting farewell that Jackpot returned rather meekly. The pony went through the doors and disappeared from his view. Jackpot stood there, staring at where he had been until the restaurant ponies finally caught his attention and he turned around in embarrassment, finally ready to make his order

Author's Note:

Hope you're enjoying the story!