Twilight Sparkle, slightly jealous of the fact that her friends are in happy relationships, decides to try a new method of finding love: the ponynet! Will she manage to find a marefriend online?
This story does take place after 72 Dresses, but you don't really need to read it to understand this at all.
Twilight Sparkle sat down in front of the computer she had received a month ago from Princess Celestia. The princess had sent it so Twilight would have an easier time compiling notes and research, but Twilight now had another use for the device.
Twilight had revealed her love for mares to her friends nearly three months ago. Her friends accepted her of course, as Rarity and Fluttershy had been in a happy relationship for at least a year, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash had started dating a few months after the romance between the pegasus and the unicorn become known. Pinkie Pie was also accepting, as she did not discriminate on the basis of gender, especially when it came to partners. Since Twilight had come out, she had attempted to find a mare for herself, but she had been unlucky in that department.
Twilight grimaced as she thought of her failed romantic attempts. She had been interested in over two dozen mares living in Ponyville, but when she revealed her attraction, the response was always the same: a negative one. Bon-Bon was already in a relationship. Derpy wasn't interested in mares. Berry Punch was attracted to somepony else. Cheerilee simply wasn't interested in a relationship. The only mare who had ever agreed to go on a date with the lavender unicorn was her friend Pinkie Pie, and she suspected it was only out of pity.
The two ponies had gone to dinner at a fancy restaurant, but it hadn't ended well. Their conversation was awkward; Twilight's talk about books and her studies on friendship bored Pinkie Pie, and the seemingly random things the pink pony mentioned confused and annoyed Twilight. The worst part of the date came when the earth pony's hyperactive behaviour had also caused her to inadvertently bump into a waiter, who fell and dropped his tray, causing a chain reaction of destruction that lead to 600 bits worth of damage. Luckily, Twilight was able to pay it off with her monthly stipend from Princess Celestia, but the romance of the night had been ruined. The two agreed to just stay friends and they had grown closer when Pinkie had sworn that she'd help Twilight find a partner.
However, even with Pinkie Pie's help, nopony else had gone on a date with Twilight. She had almost given up on finding a mare in Ponyville to be her marefriend, but Pinkie had visited Twilight's library a few days ago to give some advice. The pink pony told her librarian friend that since she wasn't having luck in Ponyville, she could find love over the ponynet. Although Twilight doubted the validity of that claim, Pinkie had insisted that she had met a few of her partners online, and that it would definitely help Twilight find a lover. Although she was still doubtful, she promised Pinkie that she would create an account on the dating site.
Though Twilight managed to put it off for a few days, Pinkie constantly pestered her to create an account during this time. The librarian finally gave in to Pinkie's questioning and decided to follow her advice, even if it was only to shut her up. Twilight opened her ponynet browser and typed the name of the site into the navigation bar.
The site loaded to display several pictures of couples, along with a stylized logo displaying the name of the site: Plenty Of Mares. There were pictures of mares with mares, mares with stallions, stallions with stallions, and even a few pictures of interracial couples, like ponies with zebras and donkeys. Perhaps they really can help me find a mare, Twilight thought to herself. She found the account creation button, and clicked it.
This brought her to the new account page, which contained several boxes where she could input information. She began to fill them out, thinking out loud. "Name… Twilight Sparkle. Nickname… um, FaithfulStudent. Looking for… a mare." She continued inputting information: her age, her race, her physical attributes, her personality traits, and what she was looking for in a partner. After a few minutes, she had completed the entire page, and she clicked the confirmation button. The next page asked her if she wanted to upload a picture of herself, but she decided that she would take care of that later. Finally, a message popped up, congratulating the lavender pony on successfully creating an account.
Although Twilight experienced a feeling of brief satisfaction at being able to create an account, it was quickly replaced by confusion. "How do I use this thing now? Pinkie didn't mention how it worked." Using her logical mind, the lavender unicorn decided to click the mail icon first, and was greeted by a nearly empty inbox, populated by only a single message. She clicked on it, and read it. It was just a message from the site founder, thanking her for creating an account. She was briefly disappointed that there were no messages from other users, but she realised that only a few minutes had passed since she created the account, and that the site would need more time to work.
Seeing that it was around noon, Twilight decided to go downstairs to make lunch and wait for somepony to send her a message. She made a hay sandwich for herself, and a bowl of common gems for Spike. After enjoying a very filling meal, she went back upstairs to her bedroom, and walked to her computer. She clicked on the mail icon on the Plenty Of Mares site. To the lavender unicorn's delight, there were three messages waiting for her in the inbox. She clicked on the first message, hopeful that it was from somepony that was her type.
Unfortunately, this was not to be. The first message had come from a user with the name AppleStud. The content of the message was simply text stating "yo filly u so hot. Wana try it wit a real stalion?" and an explicit picture of the sender. Disgusted at both the picture and AppleStud's poor grammar, Twilight quickly deleted the message, and clicked on the next one in her inbox.
The second one was actually from a mare, this one named Scarred47. Although it initially seemed promising, Twilight realised that the message was a request for her to join the mare in a threesome with her coltfriend. Uninterested in being involved with a stallion in any way, Twilight deleted this too, but not before noting that the spelling and grammar was at least better than AppleStud's.
The third and final message came from a user named Krastos. As Twilight read it, it became apparent to her that the message was just a spam advertisement for some type of quasi-legal drug. She deleted it too, and brought her hoof to her face. "Signing up for this site was a mistake. Who am I kidding; I'm never going to find a mare on here!"
Suddenly, a window popped up, displaying an instant message conversation that Pinkie Pie had initiated. Twilight shook her head in wonder; even on the ponynet, Pinkie Pie had a habit of arriving when she was least expected.
Pinkie: Hey Twilight, did you sign up like I told you to? Did you?
Twilight: Yes, Pinkie, I did. But I don't think it's for me.
Pinkie: Oh no, I know what it is! Are you getting too many mares messaging you? That's gotta be it! Don't
worry Twilight, you can just ignore the ones you don't want.
Twilight: No Pinkie, that's not the problem. I'm not getting any messages from mares.
Pinkie: Well have you sent any messages out? You should send some to your matches, you'll get messages
back for sure!
Twilight: Matches?
Pinkie: Well duh Twilight, the ponies that the site thinks that you'll make a perfect couple with! There are
dozens of them, all with numbers and things that tell you how alike you are!
Twilight: I haven't seen mine yet. I'll check them now.
Twilight went back to looking at her Plenty Of Mares account, searching for the section with her matches. During her search, she noticed that she had gotten a couple more messages, both from Applestud again. She deleted the messages without even reading them, and clicked on the icon labelled 'My Matches'.
This brought Twilight to a page that listed the user names of the mares she had been matched with, along with their pictures, locations, and compatibility ratings. The first mare on the list, a pink pegasi with a curly blonde mane with the username MerryRow, definitely had the highest compatibility rating at 98%. To Twilight's dismay, MerryRow's location was listed as Stalliongrad – much too far away for her liking. She noticed that the other nine results on the page also lived in distant cities, and she searched for a way to sort her matches based on distance, unwilling to travel halfway across Equestria to meet a potential marefriend.
Twilight found the sorting parameters and changed it so that matches closer to her would appear first. To her pleasure, when the page reloaded, all ten matches on the first page hailed from Ponyville. Twilight recognized a couple of ponies on the page – Berry Punch and Pinkie Pie. Twilight didn't even consider sending a message to them; she knew she wasn't compatible with either of them. Unfortunately, it seemed like she wasn't compatible with anyone on the page; the highest compatibility rating on the page was 21%. She didn't want to take a chance on somepony who was that incompatible with her, so she went to the next page of matches.
There were no mares from Ponyville on the second page, but there were a few from Canterlot. Most of them had compatibility ratings just as low as the ones on the first page, but there was one outlier. A mare with the name Gr8nPwrful had a compatibility rating of 85%.
Twilight excitedly clicked on the mare's name, being redirected to her profile. Gr8nPwrful did not have a profile picture, but looks were not Twilight's main priority. She discovered that the mare from Canterlot was online. Hoping that the high compatibility rating was accurate, she sent the other mare a request to chat using the site's built in instant messaging program. To Twilight's delight, the request was almost immediately accepted.
FaithfulStudent: Hi, I was just browsing my matches and noticed that I had a high compatibility rating
with you. You seem to be an interesting mare; I hope you don't mind me messaging you.
Gr8nPwrful: Hey Faithful. Of course I don't mind. It's always nice to talk to new ponies, especially
mares.
FaithfulStudent: Thank you, I haven't had much luck finding a mare, either on here or offline. I was
almost ready to just give up and just close my account.
Gr8nPwrful: To be honest, I'm losing faith in this site. I haven't found a marefriend on here yet. All I get
are messages from perverted colts.
FaithfulStudent: I know what you mean, this one colt named AppleStud keeps messaging me with rude
messages and obscene pictures of himself. He should take a closer look at my profile; it clearly says 'Mares
Only'.
Gr8nPwrful: Oh Celestia… That AppleStud messages all the mares on here. I'm surprised he hasn't been
banned yet; I certainly report him enough.
FaithfulStudent: The worst part is his spelling. I can barely tell what he's trying to say.
Gr8nPwrful: Unfortunately, his pictures really make his intentions clear. Anyway, enough about him; I'd
like to get to know you better, we seem pretty similar.
FaithfulStudent: I'd love to learn more about you too. What do you want to know about me?
Gr8nPwrful: What sort of stuff do you like to do?
FaithfulStudent: Well, I love to read quite a bit, but my main passion is magic. I don't like to brag, but
I'm pretty talented at it.
Gr8nPwrful: What a coincidence! I love magic too! I've been spending a lot of my free time learning new
spells, and I know quite a bit already.
FaithfulStudent: That's so cool! I never imagined I'd find somepony as passionate about magic as me!
Gr8nPwrful: Same here :) What other things do you like? How about music?
FaithfulStudent: I try to enjoy all types of music, but classical music is my favorite. I simply love the
Royal Canterlot Symphonic Orchestra. Listening to their music really brings back memories of my
childhood when my parents would take me to see them every week.
Gr8nPwrful: Oh yeah, the RCSO is amazing. I've only seen them play a few times though, tickets are
expensive this year. I'm beginning to get into house music too, especially DJ-PON3's stuff. Her new single
is awesome!
FaithfulStudent: I haven't actually heard it yet, but I've enjoyed her older music.
Gr8nPwrful: So did you live in Canterlot as a filly, or did you just travel there with your parents to see
the RCSO every week?
FaithfulStudent: I grew up in Canterlot. My parents still live there.
Gr8nPwrful: Do you mind me asking why you moved?
FaithfulStudent: Not at all. I moved at the request of my magic teacher. She has me doing research here
in Ponyville. I've been here for about two years now.
Gr8nPwrful: How do you like it there? I had a disagreement with a few rude ponies there about a year
ago, but other than that it seemed like a nice enough town.
FaithfulStudent: Oh, it's amazing here. I miss my parents back in Canterlot, but I've made a lot of
friends here. I was a bit of a shut in before I came here, so it's a definite improvement. How about you,
have you lived in Canterlot for your entire life?
Gr8nPwrful: No, I was born in Canterlot, but I used to travel a lot. I only recently returned because I had
difficulty finding employment elsewhere.
FaithfulStudent: Where are you working now?
Gr8nPwrful: I managed to get a job as a waitress here. It's nothing spectacular, but it pays the bills. How
about you?
FaithfulStudent: Well I take care of the library here, but most of the payment I receive from my teacher
is for the research I do.
Gr8nPwrful: Oh nice, that sounds like the perfect job for you, since you love to read so much.
FaithfulStudent: It really is perfect.
Gr8nPwrful: Listen, I've got to go offline now, but I really like you. I think we have a lot in common. Do
you want to maybe meet for coffee sometime?
FaithfulStudent: I'd love to, actually. Do you have a place in mind?
Gr8nPwrful: How about 3pm on Wednesday at Jack's Java Shack? It's fairly close to the royal palace.
FaithfulStudent: Sounds good, I know exactly where that is. I'll take a trip to Canterlot on Wednesday. I
can't wait to meet you.
Gr8nPwrful: Same here, you seem like just my type. I'll be at the cafe with a rose in my mane. See you
on Wednesday :D
Gr8nPwrful has left the chat.
Twilight left the chat as well, smiling with glee. She briefly considered jumping around the room while shouting "Yes!", but ultimately decided against it. The lavender pony was happier than she had been in months. However, her joy quickly turned to anxiety when she realised that she had no idea how to behave on a date, even one as casual as a coffee date. She knew that she would need to help of her friends to prepare for the date.
Twilight's panic began growing in intensity as she paced the floor of her room. She had just agreed to meet another mare whom she had never met for a coffee date, but she was so caught up in the excitement of their conversation that she hadn't considered the fact that she had absolutely no practical knowledge when it came to dates. As the realisation of this came to her mind, her mind turned to panic and she was now frantically pacing while talking to herself.
"Oh Celestia, why did I agree to a date with her?" the lavender mare muttered to herself. "I'm just going to end up screwing it up!"
Her dragon assistant poked his head into the room. "Wait, did you just say you had a date?" he asked. Twilight turned to Spike and slowly nodded. A smile came to the young dragon's face. "That's awesome, Twilight! I knew you could get a date eventually!"
"No Spike, this is awful!" yelled Twilight. The volume and intensity of Twilight's outburst startled Spike, but he listened intently as she continued to speak. "I just know I'm going to screw this up somehow… I have no idea how to act on a date! I'll probably bore her or offend her or make her think that I'm crazy or-"
The unicorn's panicked speech was interrupted by Spike. "Twilight, you need to calm down! Remember what happened the last time you became this worried about something?"
Twilight gazed at the floor as she recalled this incident, remembering how she had caused the entire town to become completely obsessed with a doll. Her cheeks reddened as she remembered her mentor needing to undo the spell and bring her back to reality. She turned her gaze to Spike again. "Sorry. You're right about me needing to calm down; I definitely don't need Princess Celestia to be disappointed in me again."
"Maybe she could help you," suggested Spike. "She could give you advice for your date and ease your mind about the whole thing."
Twilight shook her head. "I don't think this is a situation that Celestia could help with. In all my years as her student, I never saw her with another mare or stallion. I don't think she's dated in quite some time."
"What about your friends here?" asked Spike. "I'm sure they can help. At the very least, Rarity knows a thing or two about dating," he added in a bitter tone.
Twilight gave a sympathetic smile. "Still disappointed that she picked Fluttershy over you?" Spike nodded, his face showing his feelings of sorrow. "Don't worry Spike, you'll find someone eventually. You've still got a lot of growing up to do."
"Maybe I won't end up falling in love with a fillyfooling pony next time, and I'll actually find a dragon to love me," replied the librarian's assistant.
Twilight chuckled. "That's the spirit. You know, I think you're right about Rarity being able to help me; I should go see her."
The lavender mare bid her assistant farewell and left him in charge of the library. She began trotting towards Rarity's house. Along the way, her mind wandered back to anxiety about the date, despite her attempts to ignore it. She had no idea why she was so nervous about it – she had gone on a date with Pinkie Pie, after all – but the irrational worry would not leave her mind.
After a few minutes, Twilight arrived at Carousel Boutique, the dressmaking shop run by her alabaster friend. Walking up to the door, she noticed that the sign hanging on the front of the door said 'OPEN'. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "Good," she said to herself, "I could really use her advice at a time like this." She attempted to open the door, but it was locked. Thinking that the contradiction between the sign and the locked door was odd, she raised a hoof and knocked on the door.
Twilight waited for about a minute, and when there was no response, she knocked again. She kept this up for about five minutes, but her friend did not answer the door. The unicorn sighed and turned to leave, but a creaking noise prompted her to look at the door again. It had been opened a bit less than a hooflength, just enough for her dressmaker friend to peer out. "Oh, I was so worried you wer-", she began.
Rarity cut her off. "Twilight dear, I'm sorry, but I'm much too busy to talk right now." As she spoke, the lavender mare noticed that her friend had sweat dripping down her body, and that she was slightly out of breath.
"Can I help you at all?" offered Twilight, the concern obvious in her voice.
Rarity shook her head. "Oh no, I couldn't do that, dear. I have a large number of dresses to make for a client, and sewing isn't something you can just learn by reading a book."
"Oh, I guess you're right," said Twilight. "Maybe I can get some help from Fluttershy."
Rarity blushed at the mention of the demure pegasus' name. "Uh, she's not home darling."
Twilight gave her friend a confused look. "Wait, how do you know that?"
"Oh, that's because she's helping me," replied the white unicorn, a forced smile plastered on her face. "She really is quite good at sewing, even if her fashion sense is a little…tacky."
Twilight frowned. "Hmm, I guess I'll have to ask Applejack for dating advice then. Thanks anyway, Rarity!"
"Wait, did you say dating advice?" Rarity asked, her curiosity piqued.
Twilight nodded. "Yes, I have a date, and I was really hoping that I could get some advice from my friends beforehand. But I understand if you're busy."
Rarity practically squealed in glee. "Oh, Twilight! I'm so happy for you!" Looking behind her, she noted the time displayed on her wall clock. "Listen, I should be done with Flut- I mean, these dresses in an hour, so you could come back then. I'd be happy to share my vast knowledge of dating with a friend in need."
Twilight smiled in gratitude. "Thanks Rarity, I appreciate that. I'll be back in an hour." Her friend closed the door and Twilight turned to leave. As she trotted away, her mind was filled with thoughts of her friends. It's so nice of Fluttershy to help Rarity with her dressmaking. I wonder if Rarity ever helps with taking care of Fluttershy's animals. As she passed by town hall, something occurred to her: Since when do ponies get sweaty when making dresses? She brought a hoof to her face as she realised that she had interrupted her friends in the middle of something much more important and intimate than dressmaking.
She did not have long to dwell on this fact ,however, as she soon found herself standing in front of the gates of Sweet Apple Acres. Passing through them, she noticed a sight that was becoming more familiar. In the field to the east of the Apple family's barn lay two ponies in each other's embrace, resting in the cool shade of an apple tree.
Twilight approached the couple. "Hey Applejack, hey Rainbow Dash."
Applejack opened her eyes. "Well howdy there Twilight, what's going on?"
"I was wondering if you two could give me some advice on something," replied the unicorn.
"Ah don't see why not sugarcube, what is it?"
"Well, since you two have been dating for a long time, can you give me any tips on how to behave on a date?" asked Twilight.
Applejack's eyes lit up. "You want dating advice? Ah never reckoned you'd find somepony here in Ponyville. Who's the lucky mare?"
"I don't actually know," admitted Twilight. "She's from Canterlot."
Applejack's expression turned to one of concern. "You don't know her? Don't tell me that ya'll met on that fancy ponynet Pinkie's been going on about…"
The lavender unicorn nodded her head. "Yeah, I thought it was going to be another bust, but I actually met somepony!"
"Sugarcube, how do you know you can trust this pony? There's no way to tell if they're even a mare!"
"But I-" Twilight began before she was cut off by her farmer friend.
"It's just not safe," she continued, the worry evident in her voice. "Ah reckon you should just not go on that date."
Twilight looked down at her hooves, a bit discouraged by the possible truth in her friend's words. Before the orange mare could continue, a cyan hoof found its way over her mouth, muffling what she was about to say. Rainbow Dash, her eyes still shut, and still embracing her marefriend with one hoof, spoke up. "Forget about that, Twi. You should always take an opportunity if you see one."
Applejack stood up, breaking free from the pegasus's grip. Fixing her with a cold glare, she spoke. "Did Ah hear you right? She should just forget what Ah told her?"
"Well yeah," her marefriend responded in a matter-of-fact tone. She stood as well. "Life's no fun if you don't take a chance once in a while."
"Ah'm not saying that taking chances is bad, but Twilight could get hurt! It ain't safe."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Sure, but she could get hurt doing anything. Just think of us – what if we hadn't taken a chance on going into that cave?"
"That was completely different," retorted the farmpony. "We were already in danger!"
The two mares brought their heads inches away from the other's, and their glares intensified. "It's not all that different!" yelled the pegasus.
"It is so!"
Before the two could come to blows, there was a flash of light as Twilight teleported between the two and pushed them apart. Her face displaying the annoyance that she was feeling, she spoke before the lovers could get a word in. "I don't mean to interrupt your bickering, girls, but I could still use that advice I asked for, if you don't mind."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash relaxed as they realised that they had begun to ignore their friend. The farmpony gave Twilight a sheepish grin and reached a hoof up to scratch her head. "Gee, sorry Twilight. Ah just get a little heated when Ah feel strongly about something."
"That's for sure," Rainbow Dash muttered.
Applejack glared at the cyan pegasus, but the sound of Twilight clearing her throat convinced her that resuming the argument would only lead to frustration. Her gaze softened as she returned it to the lavender unicorn. "Well, like Ah said before, Ah reckon that this date is a bad idea," she said. "But if you really gotta go, Ah'm not going to stop you."
Twilight smiled. "Thanks Applejack. I know you care about me, but I'll be fine. I promise."
"Well alright," replied the orange mare. "Ah'll give you one piece of advice. Don't you dare lie to her. Don't exaggerate or make up details. It's important to always be honest with your marefriend, because she'll always end up finding out if you lie."
"That makes sense," commented Twilight. "I was really hoping for more advice about how to behave on a date, but I'm sure that'll be useful."
"Sorry sugarcube, can't help you there," answered the farmpony. "Ah've never really been on a date before. Why don't you try asking Rarity and Fluttershy? From what ah hear, they go on dates all the time."
Twilight's cheeks went red as she recalled her realisation of what the pair had been doing during her prior visit. "I already tried them. They were, uh, kind of busy," said Twilight.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash glanced at each other, nodding in understanding. "Ah get what you mean," said the farmpony. "Ah don't like to be interrupted when Ah'm alone with my little Dash either." A faint blush appeared on Dash's cheeks at this comment. The orange mare turned to her marefriend. "Ah'm sure you know a thing or two about dating. Maybe you could give Twi here a few pointers."
"Who, me?" said the cyan pegasus, caught a bit off guard. "Nah, I don't know anything about dating. I haven't been on a real date either."
"Really?" replied the other two mares in unison.
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah, like AJ said, we haven't been on any dates, and I was never serious enough with anyone else before."
"Not even with Gilda?" asked Applejack.
"Not even with Gilda," Rainbow Dash repeated. "Gilda was never much into the whole romantic part of the relationship. It was mostly just…physical…"
"Well, that was certainly more than I needed to know," said Twilight, slightly put off by the mental image of her friend having a relationship with the horrid griffon. Looking back at the town, she noticed the clock tower was approaching seven in the evening; it had been nearly an hour since she had left the boutique. She began to step backwards, intent on leaving the orchard to meet her other friends. "Thank you for the advice girls, I'm sure it will help. I need to go meet with Rarity now, so I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."
"Wait," responded Rainbow Dash, flying towards the unicorn until they were about two hooflengths apart. "I do have some advice for you. It might not be that useful on your date, but it will be important if you want to actually have a relationship with her." Twilight leaned in closer, eager to hear it. The cyan mare continued, her tone becoming more serious than normal. "Listen up Twi. If you start dating her, and you find you love her, and that she truly loves you, never let that mare go. Fight for her, go to the ends of Equestria for her, do whatever it takes to keep her. Let her know that she's the only one for you. That's something I've learned to do, and it works."
Twilight's mouth gaped open at the surprising profound advice that had just come from her friend's mouth. She had believed the rumours going around Ponyville that the weatherpony had been very promiscuous before dating Applejack, so the words that had come from her mouth was a bit shocking to the unicorn. Smiling with pride, Applejack wrapped a hoof around her lover, nuzzling her neck. Rainbow affectionately returned the gesture, inspiring Twilight's mouth to return to a grin. "I can definitely see how well it works," she said, "I'll be sure to remember that."
"Y'all be careful sugarcube," spoke Applejack, her face turning serious again. "Ah trust your judgement, but Ah hope for your sake she don't turn out to be dangerous."
Twilight sighed. "I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine. Thanks for the help, both of you. " The couple waved goodbye to the librarian as she trotted off to Rarity's boutique.
As she left the farm and began her trek towards the boutique, she reflected on the information she had received. She had hoped to get more advice from the couple, but she had not expected them to be just as inexperienced as her when it came to dating. Still, she was sure that what she had learned would be helpful. She made her way to Carousel Boutique as the sky darkened, hoping that her friends were no longer busy.
She arrived at the boutique after a short walk. Though the sign on the door still read 'OPEN', the librarian decided to knock, just in case she was interrupting her dressmaker friend again. Thankfully, the door opened within a few seconds, this time much more than just a hooflength. Rarity appeared in the doorway, smiling in delight at the sight of the purple mare. "Oh Twilight! Do come in, I've been expecting you!"
Twilight followed her friend into the boutique's living room, where she spotted Fluttershy sitting on a couch, sipping a cup of tea. Upon seeing the librarian, the pegasus's cheeks reddened. "Oh…Um, hi Twilight."
Twilight sat down on another couch across from Fluttershy while Rarity took a seat beside her lover. She returned the pink haired pegasus's greeting. "Hello Fluttershy. I guess you two finished making that order of dresses?"
The blush on the yellow mare's face only increased as she nervously responded. "Um…yes…"
"Enough about us, dear. Why don't you tell me about that date you mentioned earlier?" said Rarity, hoping to save her marefriend from further embarrassment.
"Oh right," replied Twilight, reminded of the actual reason that she was at the boutique. "Well, I started talking to her on that ponynet site Pinkie's been telling me about – Plenty Of Mares I think it was called. Anyway, it turned out that we both had a lot of things in common, so I agreed to meet her at a coffee shop in Canterlot."
"Oooh," cooed the fashionista as she poured herself a cup of tea. She offered some to Twilight, but she declined with a shake of her head. "A mysterious mare! A meeting in a coffee shop that turns into so much more; it's just like in one of those romance novels I used to read… I used to imagine that someday I'd meet somepony like that, and fall deeply in love with them." Turning her gaze towards her pegasus companion, she continued. "Of course, then I realised just how much I loved my dear Fluttershy, and I've never so much as thought about those silly stories since."
"Let's not get too hasty here," replied Twilight. "It's just one date; there's no guarantee that it'll end up as anything more than that."
"Darling, don't be so pessimistic!" exclaimed Rarity. "I simply know that whoever you're meeting will end up being perfect for you. Don't you think so, Fluttershy?"
The yellow mare nodded her head. "Oh yes… You'll be a perfect couple…"
"That's what I'm hoping, but I can't know that for sure," said the librarian. "Now, like I said before, I've never really been on a date, and I was hoping you two could give me some pointers."
"Of course dear, anything for a friend," replied Rarity. "Let's see, it's a coffee date, so dress casual, but not too casual; a hat would make you look just right… But wait; maybe you should wear a dress… No, that's too formal…" Twilight's mind began to wander as Rarity continued rambling about different types of clothing. It didn't really seem particularly important to her, and she considered interrupting, but the fashionista beat her to it.
"I've got it!" she exclaimed, jumping to her hooves. "Give me a second Twilight dear, I must go find something." Without another word, she headed upstairs, leaving the purple unicorn alone with Fluttershy.
"What was that about?" asked Twilight, slightly confused.
"Oh, Rarity's just going to find a piece of clothing for you," replied the pegasus. "Also, I, um, think it's amazing that you have a date. I know you've been having a difficult time finding somepony."
The unicorn smiled. "Thanks Fluttershy. I'm honestly a little surprised by the whole thing. Who knew one of Pinkie's wild plans would actually work?"
"It's not really that wild," replied the yellow mare. "I've heard that the ponynet is becoming a more popular way to meet ponies. Pinkie meets quite a few ponies that way, from what she tells me."
"Like… for relationships?" inquired Twilight. She had no idea that Pinkie had been seeing anypony recently.
"I think you'd have to ask her that," answered Fluttershy. "But as far as I know, she's still single." Finishing her cup of tea, she poured herself another cup. "Are you sure you don't want any, Twilight?"
"No, but thank you for the offer," said Twilight, shaking her head. "Do you know anything that might help me on my date?"
"Um, nothing besides the obvious," replied the pegasus. "Be nice to her, tell her she looks beautiful, be interested in what she says; just things like that."
"I couldn't have said it any better," chimed in Rarity, descending the stairs, a box floating behind her, enchanted by the unicorn's magic. "So many ponies are so rude these days – it is most certainly NOT proper to act that way on a date. But of course, I can't see you being rude at all."
"I'll do my best," said the purple mare. "So did you find what you were looking for?"
"I certainly did," replied the dressmaker as she reached the bottom of the stairs. Setting the box on the floor in front of her, she opened it and began announcing the items as she magically lifted them out. "Here's a gorgeous dress, a pair of ruby earrings, some high heeled horseshoes, a diamond necklace, a lovely scarf, some lace stockings, one of my finest hats, a pair of diamond earrings…"
Twilight's eyes went wide at the sight of all the clothes and accessories that her friend had stored in the box. "Hang on a second, Rarity!"
The alabaster mare halted. "What's the matter, dear?"
"First of all, how in Tartarus did you fit all of those clothes in that box? Secondly, I can't accept all of this! I know you love being generous, but all I really need is your advice."
"Oh nonsense," admonished Rarity. "I insist, you must take something! I can't let you leave empty hooved!"
Sighing, the librarian used her magic to lift the scarf towards her. It was a lovely pink and red tartan number, and it seemed to be the least fancy piece of clothing in the box. "I'll just take this scarf."
"Excellent choice, darling," said Rarity. "That will really bring out your eyes. Your date will find you irresistible with that on!"
"I hope you're right," said Twilight. Looking at the clock above the couch that Fluttershy was sitting on, she noticed that it was nearly nine PM. "I think it's about time for me to leave," added Twilight, "I still want to get Pinkie's input on my date. You two have been very helpful, but I want to get advice from all of my friends."
"Of course dear," said the fashionista. "Fluttershy and I were thinking about going to bed a bit early tonight anyway." The couple escorted their friend to the door, saying their goodbyes along the way. As Twilight stepped outside, the white mare spoke once more. "Just one last piece of advice dear, you should brush your mane before your date; a well groomed pony always makes a good impression."
Twilight turned back and smiled at her friends. "Thanks Rarity, I'll try to remember that. I'm very grateful to the two of you for all of your help."
The librarian made her way over to Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie's place of residence. Thankfully, it wasn't too far from Carousel Boutique, and she reached the front door within a few minutes. Though the sign in the window said 'CLOSED', she knew that somepony in the building would still be awake.
Knocking softly on the door, so as not to wake the Cake foals, Twilight patiently waited for somepony to answer the door. Hardly thirty seconds later, the door was opened by her pink friend. "Oh hey Twilight! What's up?"
"First, I should thank you for telling me about Plenty Of Mares," began Twilight. "I actually found somepony who wants to date me!"
"Of course you did, silly," replied the pink party pony. "Didn't I tell you that you shouldn't give up?"
"You were definitely right, Pinkie. I should have trusted you from the start," said the purple mare. "That's why I came here to ask you for a bit of help. I need to figure out how to make this date successful."
Pinkie's response was short and simple: "Fun!"
Twilight cocked her head and gave the earth pony a quizzical look. "Fun?"
"Sheesh Twilight, I figured you at least knew what fun was," replied the pink mare. "It's when you're doing something that you really enjoy and-"
"No no no," interrupted the unicorn. "I know what fun is; I'm just not sure what you mean. How can I make a coffee date more fun?"
"Plenty of ways! You could tell jokes, perform prop comedy, wear a clown suit, use a party cannon, break the laws of reality... And that's just the beginning!"
"What was that last one?" inquired Twilight.
"Using a party cannon? I have a spare one I can lend you for your date; they're tons of fun," replied Pinkie.
"Uh, I'll pass. I think that might be a little extreme for our date. But I guess I could try telling a few jokes."
"That's the spirit Twi!" exclaimed the pink pony. Suddenly, her tail twitched, followed by her ears flopping. "Uh oh, I need to go! Pound and Pumpkin are about to be due for a change, and the Cakes are already in bed. Good luck on your date!"
Pinkie closed the door, and sure enough, there was the sound of crying a few moments later. As Twilight walked back to her library, she went over the advice Pinkie had just given her. "Is that stuff really relevant?" she wondered aloud. "I guess a few jokes couldn't hurt, but I can't really see myself following any of her other tips."
Regardless of the usefulness of the various pieces of advice she had been given, she was thankful that her friends had been kind enough to help her out. Compared to the stress she had felt earlier in the day just after she had made the date, she felt more relieved about the whole thing. There was a bit of anxiety deep inside of her, but she was now confident that the date would be a success. She went to bed, eagerly awaiting Wednesday.
Twilight had spent the past two days restless, barely able to concentrate on any sort of reading. Try as she might to think about something else, her mind had always wandered to the impending date with Gr8nPwrful – whoever she was. Now it was Wednesday, the day of the date, and Twilight’s mind still dwelled on it, even moreso than on previous days.
Thankfully, Twilight had woken up on time, and managed to catch the right train, so the day was off to a good start, as far as she was concerned. But as she stood in front of Jack’s Java Shack, the café where she was supposed to meet her chat partner, doubt began to crawl into her mind. What if I’m not good enough for her? What if she doesn’t even show up? What if Applejack was right and she’s just going to take advantage of me?
Twilight shook her head vigorously to rid her mind of such thoughts. “No,” she chided herself under her breath. “Everything will turn out fine. You’re going to have a lovely time with a lovely mare – there’s nothing to worry about.” She glanced at the clock tower and saw that it would be three o’clock in five minutes, just like she had planned. After all, she reasoned, it’s better to be a bit early than to be late.
Taking a deep breath and working up all of her courage, Twilight strode into the café. The pleasant fragrance of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods caused a smile to appear on her face; despite the nervousness she felt, it was practically impossible to resist showing a bit of joy. She scanned the café for any sign of her date. The bar where a couple of ponies were serving tea and other drinks held no mares, let alone a mare with a rose in her mane. The tables towards the front of the café had a similar story – the only occupants of those were couples and single stallions. After a few moments she finally spotted the tell-tale sign, a red flower in a silvery blue mane.
The mare in question was seated in a high-backed chair at a table towards the back of the café, facing away from the entrance; unfortunately obscuring any hint of her coat’s color from Twilight. Not particularly caring what her date looked like, she approached the mare, anxiety and glee both rising up inside of her. “Excuse me,” she began, “are you Gr8nPwrful?”
“I certainly am,” replied the mare, in a strangely familiar voice, as she turned to see just who was speaking. “I’m guessing you’re FaithfulStu-” She interrupted herself with a gasp, an action repeated by Twilight upon realising who her date was.
Twilight was standing face to face with Trixie, the unicorn that had caused so much trouble for Ponyville a year ago. The azure mare was wearing a rose in her mane, leaving no doubt that she was Twilight’s date. The lavender mare slapped her hoof against her forehead in disbelief. “Ugh, how could I have been so oblivious? Gr8nPwrful, Trixie, I can’t understand how I missed that!”
“Your lack of intelligence doesn’t surprise Trixie,” commented the azure mare. “Though she is forced to admit she didn’t realise the mare she was talking to was Twilight Twinkle.”
“It’s Twilight Sparkle,” replied the librarian, more surprised that Trixie had partially remembered her name than offended that she didn’t quite get it right.
Trixie scoffed. “Oh whatever. Like Trixie cared enough to remember the name of the pony who drove her out of Ponyville. It’s not like you ruined her life or anything!”
“Ruined your life?” asked Twilight. “All I did was save Ponyville from an Ursa Minor; how could that have ruined your life?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Sparkle,” retorted Trixie, her gaze becoming angrier by the second. “You deliberately humiliated me in Ponyville, just like you’re here to humiliate me in this café!”
Twilight blushed as she realised the truth in Trixie’s words – practically everypony in the café was staring at the pair of them. Trixie’s loud claims of humiliation had attracted much unwanted attention. “Um, can we talk about this elsewhere? That outburst was a little loud… Everypony’s staring at us…”
Trixie slammed her forehooves onto the table before standing up. “Oh, are you embarrassed? I guess now you know how it feels!” she shouted.
“You’re overreacting, Trixie,” said Twilight in an attempt to defuse the situation. “Please, just calm down and then we can talk about this like two rational ponies.”
“No, I don’t think so. I’m out of here.” With that, Trixie’s horn glowed a brilliant magenta, and with a flash of light, she was gone, leaving nothing but a teacup and the rose from her mane lying on the table.
Dozens of thoughts flew through Twilight’s head as she stood there, still the focus of everypony’s attention. The reveal of her date as Trixie had been a surprise, and she was still unsure whether it was comforting, terrifying, or awkward to see her again. What did she mean by knowing how it feels? Did I really ruin her life by doing what I did? “No, that’s silly,” she muttered under her breath. “I saved her. I saved Ponyville.”
The approach of one of the ponies that had been standing behind the bar stirred Twilight from her thought. “Uh, your girlfriend left without paying for her drink,” the pony said in a haughty tone. She was, like much of the population of Canterlot, a unicorn, with a fiery red mane and a yellow coat. “You’re gonna need to pay for it before you leave.”
“She’s not my girlfriend!” shouted a very flustered Twilight. She realised this would not deter the barista from seeking payment, however, and retrieved her bit purse. As she levitated a few coins to the frowning pony, she considered her options. She could just forget about the whole thing, and return to Ponyville, but that would mean she would be forced to admit to Applejack that the date had been a bad idea, and she would still be unsatisfied with her love life. On the other hoof, she could follow Trixie, and attempt further conversation. While that held the risk of angering the azure mare, Twilight had to admit that she was both curious to discover why the computer had paired the two of them, and eager to dispel the notion that she had done any wrong in Ponyville.
Twilight’s curiosity got the better of her, and with a shout of “Keep the change!” to the barista, her horn summoned an aura of magenta light, and she teleported away, hoping that she would be able to find Trixie.
