> Going Out
>  by Feedbacker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1: Prep Work
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	Twilight ran the comb through her hair one more time. At this point, she had essentially given up on fixing the small frizzle above her left eye. It was hardly noticeable, anyway, masked by her horn. It wouldn't be the end of the world if it stayed up.

Twilight glanced in the mirror. Drat, no dice. Perhaps a bit more spray would fix the issue? She really should have had Rarity come over. She was much better with this sort of thing.

Aerosol particles flew through the air, polymers making contact with keratin. Twilight forced it down with a comb, but it sprung up again. She glared at it. Perhaps Luna would not see it. After all, it was quite small, and Luna would (hopefully) be spending most of the night looking at her face and not her horn.

Twilight heard a knock at the door.

"Twilight," Spike called, "you have five minutes."

The Alicorn bit her lip. Five minutes. Luna was not one to be late, and she thought it would make a better impression if she were to wait just inside her door. After all, being able to walk out immediately would show punctuality, certainly a trait Luna desired.

Then again... it could also cause her to seem overly eager. Luna had stressed the casual nature of the date—she probably would be uncomfortable if Twilight seemed too ready to go.

Perhaps the best thing to do would be to wait at the door, but delay exiting it for ten seconds. Still punctual, but it would imply that she was elsewhere in the castle.

"Ok, Spike," she said. "I'll be right out."

Twilight set down the comb in its proper place in the drawer, closing it after she had done so. The hair spray she tucked under the counter, next to her blow dryer. 

The oak door to her bathroom (which she thought was a bit excessive, but she didn't get to choose how her house grew) slipped open easily. She stepped out, taking a deep breath.

Twilight made a left and headed up the stairs. Luna said she'd meet her in a carriage drawn by her personal guard. Since, as far as Twilight was aware, every member of the night guard was a pegasus, it made sense that she'd pick her up on the balcony. She was betting on that, anyway. She'd forgot to ask.

Betting on the balcony had other advantages as well. If she was incorrect, she could glide down from the balcony to the ground. This would take substantially less effort than flying up to the balcony, or traversing the several flights of stairs, and would also lessen her chances of inadvertently ruining her outfit or hairstyle.

Now, this obviously came with some downsides. Her gliding downwards gave a small chance of collision with some sort of bird, which would obviously be disastrous. She also considered the situation where Luna saw that she was on the balcony and ordered her guards to fetch her before noticing that she was coming down to meet her, but decided it was nearly as improbable as the bird collision scenario. Besides, were it to happen, it could provide an amusing story, enhancing both parties' enjoyment of the date.

Twilight saw nothing unusual in the fact she considered this particular decision for a solid fifteen minutes as part of her preparation for the date.





Luna sat back, closing her eyes. She sighed, enjoying the feeling of the warm water pouring through her head. Her assistant massaged a hoof through her mane, lathering out the shampoo.

"Princess."

Ah, just the stallion she wanted to see. Enrique held two dresses in front of her with magic. Both were fairly plain. One was black and the other was a deep blue, matching the color of her coat.

"I was thinking one of these," he said. "The black dress suggests a sort of detached power. Regal. It may be too much, though, and is rather tight—I am not sure how far you wish to go with this mare, but that may be an issue."

"Far enough, Enrique," she replied. "The other?"

"More casual," he said. "Suggests openness. Also slightly more modest, reserved."

"The blue, then," she decided, pointing at it with a hoof. "It shall be more relevant to my purposes."

"Good. Now, then. Dominique?"

"Yeah?"

Her assistant momentarily stopped massaging her hair, lowering the flow rate of the faucet.

"Proper hairstyle pairing with this is down. Curled, perhaps, at the edges."

"And the jewelry?" Her assistant asked. 

"Standard regal attire. Perhaps combined with an earring, one of the crescent moon ones."

"No earring," Luna said.

"No earring, then." Enrique hung the dress on a nearby hook. "Do you require any more service, Princess?"

"No," Luna replied. "That shall be all."

Enrique bowed and ducked out of the room. Dominique, meanwhile, turned off the faucet. Luna stood up, letting her hair fall over her body. She trotted the ten steps to the hair dryer and sat down, leaning back. Dominique turned on the machine and got to work.

The next two hours were a blur of curling irons, combs, and bobby pins. Luna was grateful to have assistants to perform this kind of task for her. Dressing up was not something she considered pleasurable, but, unfortunately, it was a necessary precursor to a proper night out. Her enjoyment of those nights outweighed her distaste of the preparation, of course—especially when she had palace employees to do most of the work.

Eventually, her hair was finished. She slipped into the dress. Enrique said it was more casual. That was good. Twilight had already been her friend for a while. Or, at least, a long-time acquaintance. If she was being honest, she wasn't really sure what the nature of their relationship was. She felt gratitude to the mare for cleansing her, but also some degree of jealousy and resentment. Jealousy and resentment she had mostly gotten off—Dr. Sigmund at the palace psychiatric ward had helped—but still felt the echoes of. After all, this mare had managed to ascend to alicorn status in just a few short years, and was already seeming more powerful than her.

At the same time, though, she did like Twilight. She'd read several of Twilight's published papers on experimental magic, especially relating to magical computation and inter-pony friendship networks. All top-notch work, written in a way that was equally enjoyable to read and informative. The few personal interactions she had with the mare were also pleasant. There was a certain earnestness to her, a casual attitude that she most ponies wouldn't show in the presence of the Princess of the Night. It was refreshing.

No matter the case, now was not the time for excess formality. She didn't have any need to impress or intimidate Twilight. It was just two mares trying something out. Nothing really serious.

When Celestia suggested a date, about a week ago, she was initially surprised. She was almost positive that the mare was straight when meeting her. Then again, that was before her alicornification. Her sample size was rather small, of course, but between herself, her sister, and Cadence, it was not that far-fetched to believe that the particular physical form she inhabited was necessarily tied to bisexuality. Research on alicorn physiology was primitive at best, though, so she had no way to confirm or deny her hypothesis. It's not like she could look it up in a textbook. Perhaps Twilight would change that eventually.

Luna stepped onto the carriage, parked directly outside of her room on her orders. She steadied herself, and he guard took off.

Well. Twilight had answered her invitation in the affirmative. Perhaps that was only due to her own reassurances that it would be "casual." Maybe Twilight was simply humoring her. Then again, of course, she was smiling rather widely. If not genuine enjoyment, it was a disturbingly accurate facsimile.

Oh well. She would know soon enough, wouldn't she?