Short stories about Feather Bangs going on dates with Twilight and her friends.
What if Feather Bangs goes on some dates with the Main Six? This question will be answered through this story as it involves Feather Bangs going on multiple dates with Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. Will there be romance growing from these dates? Read along to find out!
It was a bright and sunny day for Feather Bangs as he trotted his way towards Fluttershy's cottage. He was excited as he will be going on a date with Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness. Feather was lucky that he was able to meet Fluttershy at a bird watching session. Feather attended bird watching as he thought it can help him find more inspiration for his poetry. During one viewing, Feather noticed that Fluttershy was there and he decided to say hello to her. The two of them ended up getting into a nice conversation about the different kinds of birds they have seen during the watches. When the bird watching was over, Feather asked Fluttershy if the both of them could hang out some more. Fluttershy thought about it and accepted Feather's offer. She suggested that she could guide Feather around Ponyville as she knew her way around town.
'I can't wait for this date!' Feather thought as he reached towards the cottage. He was really surprised to see a lot of animals around Fluttershy's yard. Birds were chirping near trees, fishes were swimming in the pond, and other animals were crawling on the grass. 'Wow, Fluttershy sure loves animals.' Feather thought before he heard singing from the distance. He looked to see Fluttershy humming a nice song while pouring animal food on some bowls. Feather couldn't help but swoon from how beautiful Fluttershy looked. Her long pink hair flowed gracefully in the wind, her light yellow coat shined along with the bright sunlight, and her green eyes were filled with happiness from feeding the animals. Feather's staring was interrupted when an acorn was thrown at his forehead.
"Ow!" Feather yelled as he rubbed where the acorn was hit. Feather looked to notice a small, white bunny holding another acorn while giving a menacing glare.
'Did that rabbit just threw an acorn at me?' Feather thought before the bunny threw another acorn at Feather.
"Ow, that hurts!" Feather complained. Fluttershy flinched and turned around to spot Feather standing at a far distance.
"Feather!" Fluttershy said as she flew towards him. "It's so good to see you again!"
"Same here, Fluttershy." Feather replied. "I'm here for that tour of Ponyville you mentioned."
Fluttershy formed a panicked look. "Wait, that was today?!" Fluttershy said in shock.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was today." Feather confirmed. He then saw Fluttershy getting panicky.
"I'm so sorry, Feather." Fluttershy said. "Can we reschedule for another time? I'm too busy at the moment."
"What's wrong?" Feather asked.
"It's just that most of my animals at my animal sanctuary have fallen ill and Dr. Fauna left town for a while. My other friends are also too busy as well. I'm the only one who can take care of the animals. I hope you understand." Fluttershy said while feeling guilty.
"It's alright, Fluttershy." Feather assured. "I know that you have a lot on your plate. We can hang out another time."
"Thanks," Fluttershy said before she flew away. Feather felt a bit down as he lost his chance of dating Fluttershy. He was about to leave until an idea came to his mind.
"Hey Fluttershy!" Feather yelled as he galloped after the pegasus. Fluttershy stopped and turned to see Feather catching up.
"What is it, Feather?" Fluttershy asked.
"How about I help you take care of the animals?" Feather suggested. "You could definitely use the help considering that you're the only pony right now."
"Are you sure, Feather?" Fluttershy asked. "Taking care of the animals requires a lot of skills and effort."
"I can just start on some easy tasks." Feather said. "This could make up for our hang out. Besides, I hate to see a mare doing all of this work by herself."
Fluttershy took a moment to think until she decided. "Alright, you can help me."
"Thanks!" Feather said as Fluttershy approached him.
"I appreciate the help, Feather." Fluttershy said while giving him a hoof shake.
"It's no big deal, really!" Feather said while rubbing his head. Feather noticed that the same white bunny that threw the acorn jumped on top of Fluttershy's back and gave him the same icy glare.
"Umm, who's your friend, Fluttershy?" Feather said as he pointed at the bunny.
"Oh, this is Angel Bunny." Fluttershy replied. "This is my pet bunny. Don't worry, he's a real sweetie once you get to know him." Feather looked at Angel to see that the bunny was gnawing on a carrot to make it really sharp. Feather gulped as he had to watch out for that bunny.
Feather followed Fluttershy as they were on their way to the animal sanctuary. Feather felt a bit nervous as he saw that Angel was still glaring at him.
'I know I shouldn't be scared of a bunny, but I still got to be careful.' Feather thought.
"Here we are!" Fluttershy said as she moved aside to allow Feather to see the animal sanctuary. Feather thought it was breathtaking to see the amazing landscape. A small waterfall poured from a large rock structure. Some of the trees had wooden planks on them so some of the animals could easily climb up. There were many bird houses that homed a variety of birds. Even the animals were quite a sight as there were so many exotic looking animals who live in the sanctuary.
"Wow, this place is like paradise." Feather commented as he strolled with Fluttershy.
"I know, it's perfect for my animals." Fluttershy said as she pulled out a scroll list. "Alright, I need to treat the aquatic animals. You can feed the birds, Feather."
"That's sounds simple." Feather said while feeling relieved that he didn't have to do anything difficult.
"All you have to do is pour the bag of seeds into those bird feeders." Fluttershy said while pointing at some bags of seeds.
"No problem, Fluttershy." Feather replied.
"Good! Let me know if you need any help!" Fluttershy said as she flew away. Feather was happy as Angel went with Fluttershy. Feather felt relieved as he would able to concentrate on his tasks without watching over his should for that menacing bunny. Feather heaved up one of the bags and carried it towards a bird feeder. He opened his bag and started to pour the seeds into the feeders. The birds began to come out from the trees and their birdhouses as they heard the familiar noise of their feeders getting filled. All kinds of birds flew towards some of the feeders to start eating the placed contents. Feather was surprised that so many birds were in the sanctuary. As Feather watched the birds, Angel sneaked his way towards Feather. Angel did his best to snatch some of the seeds from a bag while trying not to get spotted by Feather. When Angel got his batch of seeds in his paws, he took some of it and threw it at some of the nearby woodpeckers. The woodpeckers got startled from getting hit by the seeds and turned to see who threw them. They all spotted Angel who pointed at Feather as a gesture meaning that the stallion was the one who threw the seeds. Anger grew in the woodpeckers as they flew down to Feather and started pecking him with their sharp beaks.
"Ow!" Feather yelled as he was getting attacked by woodpeckers. He tried to shake the birds off by trotting but they kept pecking at him. Feather kept running while the woodpeckers were after him. Before the woodpeckers were about to reach Feather, they stopped when Fluttershy blocked them from their path.
"What is the meaning of this!?" Fluttershy cried sternly. "Why are all of you attacking Feather?" One of the woodpeckers chirped to respond to Fluttershy.
"What? Feather threw some seeds at you?" Fluttershy turned to the said stallion. "Is this true, Feather?"
"No! I was only pouring the seeds into the feeders like you said!" Feather claimed. "You didn't say anything about throwing seeds at the birds!" Fluttershy turned back to the birds.
"See, Feather didn't do anything wrong. Now head back to eat your food." Fluttershy ordered to the woodpeckers. The birds chirped in response but Fluttershy gave them a stern look and they all flew back to the feeders.
"I'm so sorry that happened, Feather. The woodpeckers would only peck at trees, not ponies." Fluttershy said.
"I guess that they wanted to peck something different." Feather said.
"How about I give you another task that won't put you in harm's way." Fluttershy suggested.
"I would appreciate that." Feather replied as he followed Fluttershy. Angel squinted his eyes in anger as his plan didn't work well. He hopped along to follow the couple. Fluttershy lead Feather to another part of her sanctuary where some of the animals were laying down and napping.
"This is where the animals like to nap during the day." Fluttershy whispered while pulling out a hoof brush. "I need you to use this brush to brush some of the animals while they nap. It makes them more relaxed."
"You got it, Fluttershy." Feather whispered as he gave a wink. Fluttershy nodded as she flew away, leaving Feather with his tasks. He started with a small white cat who curled up into a ball while she napped. Feather carefully got close to the cat to sit down. He then used the brush to slowly brushed the cat's fur.
'This feels so enlightening.' Feather thought as his mind relaxed a bit. Unknown to him, Angel was sneaking around the sleeping animals while getting close to Feather. Angel formed a wicked grin as he went up to Feather's tail to give it a quick yank.
"Ow!" Feather yelled out. He also accidentally made a hard stroke on to the cat's fur, which irrupted the cat very much. Feather turned to see that there wasn't anything near him that caused his tail to yank. Angel was hiding inside some bushes to avoid getting spotted. Feather turned back to see the cat very angry for brushing too hard. What made things worse, there were also other creatures who growled in anger as they were woken up from Feather's scream.
'This can't be good.' Feather thought. While Fluttershy was rearranging some flowers, she heard Feather scream from the distance. She then saw Feather galloping away while getting chased by some of the animals who were just napping. Fluttershy quickly flew off to follow the Feather in pursuit. She was fast enough to land in front of the animal mob to prevent them chasing Feather any further.
"What in Celestia's mane are all of you doing?!" Fluttershy yelled sternly. The cat who was getting brushed approached Fluttershy only to meow in response.
"Feather brushed so hard it hurt you?" Fluttershy then turned to Feather. "Is this true, Feather?"
Feather rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, it was true. But it was an accident!" Feather claimed. "Something yanked my tail and that caused me to yell. I'm sorry if I caused the cat and the other napping creatures trouble."
Fluttershy turned to the cat. "See, Feather apologized. Let's get you healed up while I help the rest of you go back to your naps. Will that be okay?" Fluttershy said. The other animals turned and made some sounds to reply. "Follow me," As Fluttershy was about to lead the animals, she turned to Feather. "While I help these animals go back to sleep, you can feed Harry and his friends at the farther part of the sanctuary. Their food is nearby so you don't have to look too hard."
"Okay, Fluttershy." Feather said as he made his way towards where Fluttershy mentioned. Angel followed Feather at the far distant to cause some more disasters for the stallion. Feather arrived to where the bags of food were placed. He also found some large bowls that had labels on them. One of the bowls was labeled Harry.
'These must be some big animals if they have bowls as big as this.' Feather thought as he looked at the large bowls. He began pouring the bags' content into the bowls until all of the bowls were filled. 'Now where are Harry and his friends?' Feather thought before he noticed several large bears were approaching him. Feather's response was to climb up on one of the trees and held tightly on a branch.
'B-B-Bear!' Feather thought as he shook in fear. The bears looked at each other in confusion before they went up towards the food bowls and started eating. Feather was also a bit confused as he thought that the bears would chase him up to the tree. He slowly climbed down and trotted closer to the bears.
"Harry?" Feather said to the bear eating from Harry's bowl. The bear looked up from hearing his name from Feather. "N-Never mind," Feather said and Harry resumed eating. Feather was in shock to see that Fluttershy's animal sanctuary also had bears in it. As Feather went to get more bags, Angel was hiding in another bush while getting ready to once again sabotage Feather. The bunny pulled out a shaker full of hot pepper spice and shook some on one of his paws. Angel concentrated his eyes and his arm before he threw a small amount of hot spice on one of the bears' bowls, specifically Harry's bowl. As Harry took another nibble from his bowl, his mouth began to burn up for an unknown reason. He let out a loud roar that startled Feather and the other bears nearby. Feather began to back away as Harry stood up on two legs and thrashed around. When Harry finally calmed down, he looked at Feather with rage as he assumed the stallion was the one who added something in the bowl.
Fluttershy was putting the last animal to sleep until she heard Feather screaming for a second time. The sleeping animals woke up again in panic from the noise. Fluttershy now saw Feather getting chased by a very angry Harry.
"Not again," Fluttershy said as she flew out to chase after them. Feather accidentally tripped and he turned to see that Harry was about to attack him. Before that was done, Fluttershy flew in front of Harry to stop him. The bear began to back down when Fluttershy gave him 'the stare'. Feather was shocked to see such a large bear getting scared over a fragile looking mare like Fluttershy. A few seconds passed before Fluttershy stopped and flew closer to Harry. "What has gotten into you, Harry?!" Fluttershy asked. Harry let out some grunts and small roars to commentate with Fluttershy. "You tasted something spicy in your food bowl?" Fluttershy said as she flew to the said bowl. She scoped some of it to take a small whiff. "But how can that be? I made sure that this was the proper flavor for the bear food." Fluttershy then turned to Feather. "Feather, did you do something to the bears' food?"
"Fluttershy, please!" Feather begged. "I would never do anything to your animals! I just opened the bags and poured them in the bowls like you instructed!" Fluttershy took a good look at Feather and she knew that he was telling the truth.
'If Feather didn't do it, then who did?' Fluttershy thought before she heard some small laughters coming from the bushes. She trotted up to see Angel laughing hysterically from possibly seeing Feather almost get attacked by Harry. When Angel was finally done laughing he looked up to see a not-so-happy Fluttershy looking at him. He only responded with nervous laughters.
"Angel, tell the truth. Were you the one behind the accidents involving Feather?" Fluttershy demanded. Angel looked down in shame and nodded. Fluttershy turned to Feather. "Feather, do you mind meeting me at the sanctuary's entrance. I need to have a serious conversation with Angel."
"Um, sure." Feather said as he trotted away, leaving Angel at the mercy of his owner.
Feather waited patiently near the sanctuary's entrance. He was a bit worried for Angel. Then again, the bunny was the one responsible for the animals' attacks on Feather. Feather noticed Fluttershy flying towards him.
"Hey, how did it go?" Feather asked.
"Everything is fine." Fluttershy replied. "I just gave Angel a stern talking and now he's taking care of the animals here as a punishment."
"I guess that's fair." Feather responded.
"I'm so sorry for Angel's misbehavior towards you. He can be a bit much when it comes to me spending time with stallions."
"It's alright. I'm just glad that you believed me despite what the animals said." Feather said.
"Well, I could tell that you weren't the kind of stallion who would harm animals for any purpose. You were even kind enough to help me take care of them."
"Oh, it was nothing. I just wanted to help you." Feather scratched his mane while blushing. Fluttershy moved closer to Feather to give him a peck on his cheek. Feather's face became more red in response to Fluttershy's kiss.
"That was your reward for helping me." Fluttershy giggled. "We still got time to hang out. Do you still want that tour of Ponyville?"
"Yes! Definitely!" Feather said happily.
"Then follow me," Fluttershy said as she lead Feather to the path towards town. Unknown to them, a certain draconequus popped behind the bushes.
"They look so cute together." Discord said before he formed an evil grin. "Perhaps they could use some chaos in their little date."
Feather waited in anticipation while standing by the large lake near Ponyville. He couldn't hold in his excitement as he was going on a date with the Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and newest Wonderbolt.
'I can't believe my luck when I won that contest!' Feather thought as he recollected from how it all started. He read a flyer about a charity that involved the Wonderbolts. It mentioned that when somepony donates to the No Foal Gets Left Behind Foundation, he or she will enter a raffle to see who will get to spend an entire day with Rainbow Dash. Feather first thought that he wouldn't have a chance as he guessed that a lot of ponies will donate to enter. But still, Feather wanted to help out for charity. After a few days since Feather made his donation, he received a letter that says he had won the raffle. Feather was completely shocked to be the winner. Now Feather gets to be with a celebrity.
"Hey there!" A mare's voice said from the distance. Feather turned to feel excitement as a familiar rainbow-maned, cyan pegasus mare flew towards where he was standing. Feather was completely awe-struck that such a famous mare was at a close distant from him.
Rainbow used one of her wings to pull out a piece of paper and read what it said. "You're...Feather Bangs, is that correct?" Rainbow asked.
"That would be me," Feather said with a smile. "I got to say that it's such an honor to meet an amazing mare such as yourself." Feather then flipped his mane to show off his swagger.
'Oh great, another Zephyr,' Rainbow said in her mind. She took a deep breath before she continued reading her paper. "As promised when you won the raffle, you will get to spend the whole day with me. But I also must to let you know that you have to follow the raffle's regulations when planning our activities."
"I know, I already read the rules about the raffle." Feather said while waving a hoof. "That's why I chose to spend our time together here." Feather said while pointing at the lake. "It's near your town and we're just gonna spend the day at this lake. I even brought lunch whenever we're hungry." Feather said while pulling out a picnic basket.
"What can I say, I do my best when it comes to pleasing pretty mares." Feather said in a flirty tone.
Rainbow gagged internally without Feather noticing. "Let's just get this over with." Rainbow said as she followed Feather. They started with just swimming around in the lake. Feather was the first to jump in and felt the cool sensation of the lake's waters. Rainbow stepped back for a bit before she made a big jump. While in midair, Rainbow began to do some awesome poses before diving into the water.
"Ah!" Rainbow said as she floated along the water. "That feels refreshing." Feather felt like he didn't want to be lame in front of Rainbow, so he climbed out of the water and backed away like Rainbow did. When Feather was at a far enough distant, he began trotting towards the lake and made a big jump. Feather tempted to make a pose but he ended up doing a belly flop into the water. As Feather emerged from the water, he saw that Rainbow was laughing hysterically from his attempt of a cool dive. "That was so hilarious!" Rainbow said while wiping a tear with a hoof. Feather blushed as he humiliated himself in front of a mare. Feather and Rainbow swam around for a bit.
"How often do you go out for a swim, Rainbow?" Feather asked.
"It's been a while." Rainbow answered. "Ever since I've become a Wonderbolt, I've been more busy with training and air shows. Whenever I do have some time off, I usual just head back to Ponyville and do stuff with my friends."
"Wow, it sounds like you barely have time to do more fun things." Feather then thought of something. "How about on your next time off, you and I can go on a pony-drawn carriage ride? I may have connections on how a carriage ride can be possible." Feather said while grinning. Rainbow just rolled her eyes and continued to swim. Feather didn't want to be left behind, so he put some extra effort in paddling after Rainbow.
'Is he seriously trying to catch up to me?' Rainbow thought and decided to swim faster. The distant between Rainbow and Feather increased since the pegasus mare was more athletic. Feather did his best to swim faster, but his stamina was weakening. He ended up stopping but he was so tired that he sank into the water. Rainbow realized this and dived in to get Feather. They splashed out from the water and Rainbow pulled Feather to the shore. Feather was busy coughing out water that he accidentally swallowed.
"Are you okay?" Rainbow asked.
"Yeah, I was just tuckered out. That's all." Feather said but he coughed up more water.
"How about we do something else that doesn't put us at risk of drowning?" Rainbow suggested. Feather nodded in agreed. They decided to start their next activity, volleyball. Feather was preparing the volleyball net while Rainbow worked on inflating the volleyball. Rainbow then noticed that Feather was having a hard time setting up the net judging how he had some of the strings tangled. "Do you need a hoof, Feather?" Rainbow asked.
"No no, I got this." Feather said before he tripped from the tangled strings on his hoof. Feather let out a small chuckle to let Rainbow know he was fine.
"Forget it, I'm helping." Rainbow claimed as she flew over to get the whole net set up. Feather felt sort of impressed to see how fast Rainbow was even though she was doing it on her own. Rainbow pulled one last string until the net was finally up. "Whew, that takes care of that." Rainbow said while patting her hooves to get the dirt off.
"Yeah, well...it's a good thing I helped loosen it up for you." Feather lied.
"Sure," Rainbow said with sarcasm. "Shall we play, Mr. Strong Stallion?" Rainbow stood on one side of the volleyball net while Feather was on the other side. Feather insisted that Rainbow serves first so she held the volleyball with one hoof. "I'll offer you this handicap of taking it easy on you, Feather. I don't want you to get hurt." Feather felt a bit offended by Rainbow's offer.
"It's alright, Rainbow! You can go all out! I can take it!" Feather claimed.
Rainbow sighed. "Alright, have it your way!" Rainbow threw the ball up and she hit it the moment it fell towards her. The ball bounced upwards and it was falling to Feather. Feather responded by hitting the ball back upwards. Unfortunately, Feather's lack of strength only made the ball bounce up a few inches before it hit the ground and rolled. Both Rainbow and Feather were silent as they didn't know what to respond from such a lame return. "Um...you can redo that hit, Feather." Rainbow offered. Feather nodded and picked up the ball. He threw it up and he was able to land a hit on the ball. The ball bounced to Rainbow and she did her best to hit it enough that it didn't go very far. The ball flew back to Feather's side but it was falling at a further distant. Feather had to trot further out in attempt to hit it back, but he accidentally tripped and fell to the ground. The ball ended up hitting the ground.
'Oh boy, this is going to be a long game.' Rainbow thought. The game went on with Rainbow doing her best not to hit the ball too hard while Feather messed up when hitting the ball. Even when Rainbow was holding back, she was still winning during most of the game. Rainbow would feel excited that she was getting the most scores at certain sports, but this time was different as she was making little effort. What's worse, Rainbow could tell that Feather was also not having a good time as he kept messing up and not get a single point. It wasn't until the next round when Rainbow hit the volleyball and it flew up farther than she wanted. Feather ran to try hitting it back, but he ended up tripping again and skidded on the ground. The volleyball landed on Feather's head and it bounced slowly on the floor. Rainbow cringed as she thought it must've hurt for Feather.
Rainbow quickly flew over to Feather to see if he was alright. "Need a hoof?" Rainbow asked as she offered a hoof. Feather didn't say anything but he lifted his hoof to grab Rainbow's. As Feather got up, he showed a face of defeat as he made himself more ridiculous than he already was. "How about we stop for lunch?" Rainbow suggested.
"Sure," Feather said in a gloomy tone. He dragged his hooves towards the picnic basket he brought. Rainbow felt sort of bad for Feather as he was just trying to impress her. Feather just pulled out a picnic blanket to lay it out on the floor. He then opened the basket and gave a sandwich to Rainbow. Feather too took out a sandwich and just took a bite out of it. Rainbow looked at her sandwich before she took her bite. She couldn't help but be amazed from how tasty her sandwich tasted.
"This is really good, Feather." Rainbow commented. Feather just nodded and continued to eat his sandwich. Rainbow didn't know what else to say and continued eating. Rainbow tried to figure out what to say to cheer Feather up, but she couldn't think of anything. She decided to take a deep breath and say the first thing that popped into her head. "This was an interesting date," Feather ended up turning as Rainbow's words caught his attention. "It's true, I barely have time to date since I'm a Wonderbolt and I spend most of my time with all of my friends. I also guess that most stallions would be too scared to ask me out on a date since I might one up them in anything. Your case was a bit different, Feather. Not only you won your chance to hang out with me, but you also kept trying to keep up with me in most of the things I'm good at." Rainbow then lifted up her bitten sandwich. "I have to admit, you made some tasty food. I'm such a novice when it comes to cooking." Feather couldn't help but blush from Rainbow's praise. "What I'm trying to say is that we all have our strengths and weaknesses. It's what we do to balance them out. You may lack athletic strengths, but you still put effort in impressing mares, even me." Rainbow admitted. Feather felt better hearing what Rainbow said.
"Wow, thanks Rainbow." Feather said while rubbing his neck. He then notice that Rainbow got up to spread her wings.
"To show my appreciation of you putting your best into this date, I'm gonna show you what makes me a genuine Wonderbolt!" Rainbow flew into the air and began performing some midair stunts she has been practicing. Feather watched in awe from how cool Rainbow looked in the air. He had his fair share of watching Wonderbolt perform in their air shows, but seeing a Wonderbolt perform up close felt so amazing. When Rainbow was ready for her grand finale, she flew up higher in the air to drop down with high speed. Before Rainbow was about to hit the ground, she flew back up and her Sonic Rainboom appeared. Feather was shocked to actually see Rainbow's Sonic Rainboom so up close. Rainbow flew in an arch direction to create a beautiful rainbow from her trail. When the rainboom was gone, Feather began to cheer and clapped his hooves for Rainbow's amazing performance.
"That was so incredible!" Feather claimed. "It's no wonder you're a Wonderbolt!"
"Thank you, thank you." Rainbow said as she flew back down to Feather. "I take only compliments as payment."
The sun was setting and it was time for the date to be over. Feather and Rainbow packed up Feather's stuff before they said their goodbyes.
"Thanks for such an amazing day, Rainbow." Feather said. "I just wished that it could've been longer."
"We can still hang out." Rainbow replied. "But you know, as friends." A part of Feather felt happy that a cool mare like Rainbow was willing to see him more than once. "Just make sure you bring me more of those sandwiches you have made. I might come with a big appetite the next time we meet."
"Sure thing, Rainbow." Feather agreed. With that, Feather and Rainbow shook hooves before they went their separate ways. Although Feather wasn't able to make Rainbow swoon like most of the mares he had met, he was still glad that he made an awesome friend.
Feather checked his manes while standing outside a fancy- looking restaurant in Restaurant Row. Feather even wore a black suit to make himself more presentable. He had to make sure he looked proper especially since he was waiting for his date: Rarity, one of Equestria's best fashionistas and the Element of Generosity. Feather felt excited as he was able to score a date with such a well-known unicorn mare.
This all began when Feather visited Canterlot for a small vacation and he decided to visit Canterlot Carousel, the main clothing store of the city. Feather wanted to go to the boutique because not only fashion can inspire him to write poetry, it's also where he can meet all sorts of cute mares there. As Feather admired all of the well-made clothing and the beautiful mares, he accidentally bumped into Rarity while she was carrying some bags of fabric. Feather apologized to her while offering to pick up Rarity's things which she gratefully appreciated. Feather introduced himself and mentioned that he had seen Rarity at Starlight's old village. Rarity was delighted to hear that a pony from Starlight's village came to Canterlot. She then offered Feather an invitation to join her for dinner as a way to welcome him to the city. In the excitement, Feather quickly accepted Rarity's offer and took notes on where and what time the dinner will take place.
Now Feather was waiting in anticipation for this date to begin.
"Thank you for waiting, darling!" Rarity's voice said from afar. Feather turned to be completely shocked from what he was seeing. Rarity was wearing a frilly light purple dress while wearing a light blue diamond necklace. Her manes were done up to be more frilly than usual and it was sparkling. Rarity was a sight to behold to Feather and he was so awestruck from her beauty. "I'm so sorry for being late. Beauty does take time."
Feather quickly shook his head to refocus. "Oh no problem, Rarity." Feather said. "Besides, the wait was all worth it as I get to see you all dolled up." Feather showed off his best smile.
Rarity giggled. "Oh Feather, you're such a charmer."
Feather lifted one of his forehooves to Rarity. "Shall we, Rarity?"
Rarity used her own hoof to wrap around Feather's offered hoof. "It will be my pleasure." Rarity said as she and Feather entered the restaurant.
The interior of the restaurant was what Feather expected: a bright chandelier hanged on the ceiling, all of the tables were arranged in such a proper manner, and nicely dressed waiters were trotting all around to serve customers. Feather and Rarity were led to a small table enough for two ponies. Once the couple told the server what drinks they want, they began to make small talk.
"This place looks amazing." Feather claimed to Rarity.
"Indeed," Rarity agreed. "I remembered when I visited this bistro for the first time with one of my friends. The interior design of this place was the same, but the cuisines served here were not so satisfying."
"Really?" Feather said in disbelief.
Rarity continued. "For starters, the portions were very small and they tasted very bland. We went to another restaurant but it was still the same. This was because the restaurants wanted to get some hoof ratings from Zesty Gourmand so more guests could come in."
"That sounds very sad." Feather said.
"Of course, but it wasn't until my friend and I helped this other restaurant, The Tasty Treat, get more ponies to come in because their food was much better. Pretty soon, all the other restaurants disregarded Zesty's hoof ratings and served food the way they wanted."
"Wow, I can't believe you were able to pull that off. You must be really special, Rarity." Feather complimented.
"Oh please, I'm just a simple unicorn mare from Ponyville." Rarity said while pretending to be modest. The waiter returned to jot down Feather and Rarity's orders. Feather decided to order some recommendations from Rarity since she has eaten here before. When the food arrived, Feather was amazed to see that the food looked presentable and it was big enough for him to eat. Feather took one bite and he was delighted from how tasty his order tasted. Rarity agreed while using her magic to levitate her utensils to pick up her food. They began talking about Feather's time in the village and how Starlight was progressing ever since she was reformed. An hour passed before Feather and Rarity completely emptied their plates.
"I appreciate the meal, Rarity." Feather said as he turned to the waiter. "I would like the bill, please. I'll pay for our meals." The waiter nodded and went to retrieve the check.
"Oh Feather, you don't have to pay. I was the one who invited you here." Rarity said.
"It's alright, Rarity." Feather assured. "It's the least I could do for introducing me to this place."
"Your bill, sir," The waiter said as he gave Feather the bill.
"Thank you," Feather replied. His eyes went wide after reading what was on the bill.
"Are you alright, Feather?" Rarity asked curiously.
"I-I'm fine, it's just that I've never paid a price that was this high before." Feather admitted. Rarity nodded before she informed the waiter that she will pay the bill. Once the bill was paid, Feather and Rarity exited the restaurant.
"Sorry that I made you pay for dinner, Rarity." Feather said while rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh it is quite alright, Feather." Rarity said. "Like I said before, I was the one who invited you here." Rarity noticed that Feather was feeling down as he let a mare pay for dinner. She came up with an idea. "Tell you what, how about I show you around town to make up for dinner? You haven't seen Canterlot's night life yet."
Feather smiled. "Sure! Lead the way, Rarity!" Feather followed along Rarity to another part of Canterlot.
"I just want to apologize again for not having enough bits for dinner. I usually eat at small diners or local restaurants and their food weren't that pricey." Feather said with an awkward grin.
"It's fine. I understand what you mean." Rarity agreed. "Canterlot's restaurants are mostly for the rich nobles."
"I guess that makes me a fish out of water here." Feather said while feeling down.
"There's nothing wrong with that, Feather." Rarity assured. "I remembered when I first came to Canterlot and I was extremely nervous as I spent most of my life in Ponyville. Even though it was such a scary thing to face, I was able handle all of it by admiring all of the good things Canterlot had to offer."
"Huh, I never would've thought about it in that way." Feather admitted.
"That's where I come in." Rarity confirmed. "Allow me to show you what makes Canterlot Equestria's capital." Rarity then led Feather to Canterlot's shopping district. The shops had large displays full of mannequin ponies wearing all sorts of fashionable attires. Feather felt astounded from how all of the clothes looked on the displays. He could imagine all sorts of mares wearing shown clothes. "This is where I find my inspirations for the latest fashion." Rarity said as she trotted forward. "Just looking at the shops' displays helps me understand how certain stores make their clothing lines. I could already feel my inspiration flowing through me, urging me to create!"
"Same here, my mind is coming up with all kinds of verses for new poetry." Feather said out loud.
"Oh, so you're a poet I assume?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, it's one of my passions." Feather responded. "It helps me express all the beauties this world has to offer."
"Am I one of those beauties?" Rarity asked while batting her eyelashes.
"But of course," Feather agreed. "You're like a rare gem discovered in a sacred tomb."
"You're such a charmer, Feather." Rarity said while blushing. After Rarity and Feather left the shopping district, they made their way to one of the local parks in Canterlot. Feather admired the view as the moon's light reflected from the pond's water surface. Small fireflies glowed while flying around in different directions. There were even tall, lit lantern poles that shined along the park's pathway. "I do take it that you enjoy this local park?"
"Yes I do," Feather said while trotting besides Rarity.
"I do come here when I'm in the mood for a late night stroll. The park's natural scenery clears my thoughts of all my frustrations." Rarity moved closer to Feather, which made him a bit curious. "Although, I do tend to get scared when I'm here as something might jump at me." Rarity then wrapped her hooves around one of Feather's arms.
"Don't worry, Rarity." Feather assured. "I'll keep you safe while we go through here." Feather suddenly heard some rustles coming from the bushes. "Stay back, Rarity!" Feather ordered. "Something is coming!" Feather quickly moved Rarity behind him to block her from whatever was about to come out of the bushes. The only thing that jumped out of the bushes was a small brown rabbit and looked curiously at the couple.
"I believe I'll be alright against a beast that small." Rarity assured.
"Hehe, sorry." Feather blushed while laughing nervously. "I was just being cautious, that's all."
"True, but I do appreciate a stallion who stands in front of a mare to save her." Rarity said with a wink before she strolled ahead of Feather. Feather didn't know what to say but he quickly galloped to catch up to Rarity. The couple continued down the path until they came across some trees that bloomed light blue flowers that glowed in the darkness. Rarity moved closer to get a better look at the shining flowers.
"Wow, those flowers look so divine!" Rarity claimed as her eyes sparkled from such a sight. "I have got to have one of those!" Rarity as she was about to use magic. That was until Rarity noticed that Feather was already climbing up one of the blooming trees. "Feather! What are you doing?!" Rarity said in panic.
"Getting you one of the flowers!" Feather replied while getting up on another tree branch.
"But you will hurt yourself!" Rarity said. "I can just use magic to get the flowers!"
"It's fine." Feather assured. "I'm up here already. I might as well finish what I started." Feather started picking some of the flowers. Feather was able to get enough to make a bouquet until he tripped over and hit some branches before he fell straight to the ground. Before Feather was about to reach impact, he stopped as he was covered with light blue aura. He looked up to see Rarity using her magic to levitate him. Rarity then levitated Feather up so he could land on his hooves.
"That was close, Feather!" Rarity scolded. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"I'm sorry, Rarity." Feather said while looking down. "Can you at least accept these flowers as an apology?" Feather said as he lifted up his bouquet of flowers. The flowers were completely smushed due to the impact from the branches. To make things worse, Feather winced as he felt a sudden pain on one of his forehooves. Rarity noticed this and saw that Feather had a large wound on his arm.
"Oh Feather, you're injured." Rarity claimed as she used her magic to pull out a handkerchief from her purse and was about to wipe the wound.
"It's fine, Rarity. It's only a small scar." Feather said while covering his wound with his other hoof, which only made his pain worse.
"That simply won't do." Rarity said as she used her magic to rip off a part of her dress and used the cloth to wrap it around Feather's injury.
"I don't want you to ruin your dress, Rarity." Feather pleaded.
"No, I don't want to hear any excuses." Rarity demanded. "Now let's go to a doctor to properly heal that wound of yours." As Rarity led Feather out of the park, Feather stayed silent for the rest of the trip. Rarity took Feather to a local clinic that she has been to before. The doctor took a look at Feather's wound and immediately healed Feather's forehoof. When Feather exited the clinic, his rag bandage was replaced with white bandages that covered his hoof. "Oh thank heaven that your injury wasn't too serious." Rarity said.
"Yeah, it was just a scratch." Feather said before he turned. "I'll just be on my way then." Feather said before he began trotting. Rarity galloped in front of Feather to stop him.
"What's wrong, Feather?" Rarity asked. "Why do you so gloom?"
"It's because I've ruin what was suppose to be your best date ever." Feather answered as tears fell from his eyes. "I made you pay the bill, blocked you from a harmless bunny, got you worried, and had you tear up your lovely dress. What kind of stallion makes a mare go through such a night?"
"A stallion who has a good heart." Rarity answered. Feather looked at Rarity with confusion. "You tried your hardest to show me a good time on this date. I can't help but admire that as most of your actions remind me of a friend. Like most males who have encountered me, my friend fell head over heels for me the moment he saw me. At first I thought my friend's crush towards me was temporary, but it continued and my friend expressed it by doing all sorts of things for me. Even though that were the case, I didn't show enough gratitude for his efforts. The cost of it was that I felt a lot of regrets for not expressing how much I appreciated him in the past." Rarity placed a hoof on Feather's. "It's okay to give generosity to someone you care for, but there's nothing wrong with accepting generosity from that someone in return. That will make your bonds stronger."
"Wow, thanks, Rarity." Feather said as he wiped away his tears.
"It's no problem." Rarity said while winking. "I do believe there's one last thing you can do for me to complete this date." Rarity then extended her hoof to Feather. "You can escort me to my home."
"I would love to, Rarity!" Feather said as he took Rarity's hoof. "But, I don't know where you live." Feather admitted.
Rarity giggled. "I'll lead the way. For now, you can keep me company." With that said, Rarity and Feather once again trotted though Canterlot's streets.
The streets of Ponyville were bustling with ponies as there was a carnival in town. Everypony trotted toward rides and vendors to enjoy themselves throughout the day. The only pony not having such a good time would be Feather Bangs as he sat on a bench while looking really down. He came to the carnival for the sole purpose of finding cute mares who would want to hang out with him. Feather made several attempts to approach some mares and tried to charm them with his good looks and his go-to-attitude. The results were the mares either declined Feather's offer, laughed at Feather for his sad attempts, or all the above. After all of the rejections Feather faced, he decided to give up and took a seat on a nearby bench. Even though Feather's surroundings were filled with colorful decorations and attractions, he was still sad as he wouldn't be able to enjoy all of this without at least one mare by his side.
Feather let out a deep sigh. "I guess I'll be brining back sadness from this day-out." Feather said to himself. Feather lifted his head to be completely startled from what was in front of him. It was a pink earth pony mare with dark park, puffy manes. Feather was spooked because she just appeared right before his eyes.
"Hiya, cutie! Why are you so down in the dumps?" The pink mare asked Feather.
"Umm, what?" Feather responded in confusion.
"I sensed that somepony was feeling sad and I ended up finding you." The pink mare explained. "Why are you sad when you're at a carnival? It's a wonderful place to be in!"
"I came here to look for some mares to hang out with. The only problem is that mares here don't want to hang out with me." Feather answered. The pink mare gasped and appeared next to Feather.
"Wait a minute! I'm a mare! Do you want to hang out with me?" The pink mare looked at Feather with excitement on her face.
"I'm not sure," Feather said while rubbing his manes.
"Ah, come on! I won't bite." The pink mare said while leaning over to Feather and giving him a suggestive wink. Feather took a moment to think over the pink mare's offer. He wasn't sure about the pink mare as there was something strange about her. Feather then realized that this was what he was looking for and decided to take his chances.
"Alright, I accept your offer." Feather got concerned when he saw that the pink mare was suddenly shaking as if she was about to blow.
"Yippie!" The pink mare hollered in excitement while jumping up in the air. "We're gonna have so much fun!" The pink mare said as she took Feather by the hoof and dragged him to another part of the carnival. "I know where we can ride some exciting rides!" The pink mare suddenly stopped from where she was and it caused Feather to bump into her. "Oh! I almost forgot! My name is Pinkie Pie!" The pink mare said as she turned to Feather. "What's your name?"
"I'm....Feather Bangs." Feather answered.
"Oooh, I like that name!" Pinkie claimed. "It really matches your manes. Anyway, let's go ride some rides!" Pinkie then pulled Feather towards an area full of carnival rides.
Their first stop was at a closed off area where ponies were riding bumper cars. Pinkie was jumping from where she was while she and Feather waited in line to ride. Feather gulped as he noticed how hard the bumper cars hit each other on impact.
"Are you alright, Feather?" Pinkie asked out of curiosity. "Do you not like bumper cars?"
"I don't hate bumper cars," Feather answered. "This will actually be my first time riding these things."
"Then this will be really exciting for you!" Pinkie cheered as she resumed hopping from one spot. When it was Pinkie and Feather's turn on get on their bumper car, Feather was relived to see that it's big enough for two ponies.
"Which one of you will be the driver?" The attendant asked Pinkie and Feather.
"I'll let the lovely mare drive." Feather said as he bowed while offering Pinkie assistance with entering their car. Pinkie just jumped on in and held on to the steering wheel in anticipation.
""Aw yeah! This is going to be fun!" Pinkie said as she showed a face of both excitement and terror. Feather gulped again as he wasn't sure if letting Pinkie drive was such a good idea. A few minutes later, Feather was feeling absolute regrets as he held on with dear life while Pinkie drove their bumper car like a maniac. "Woo hoo! Out of the way!" Pinkie hollered as she turned the wheel to bump two nearby bumper cars. Even though Feather had his seatbelt on and it was fastened, he was shaking around like a ragdoll due to Pinkie's reckless driving. Feather thought that riding bumper cars was more rough than he thought as he could feel the collision whenever Pinkie rammed their car into another one. Feather began to feel queasy due to feeling all the momentum. Before Feather could vomit from motion sickness, a bell rang to indicate that the ride was over. "Oh phooey," Pinkie complained as she exited the bumper car. "I was just getting started with my car bumping moves." Pinkie looked over to see Feather filling one of the trash cans with his vomit.
'Thank Celestia it's over!' Feather thought before he threw up in the trash can again.
"Are you okay, Feather?" Pinkie asked as she went over to Feather.
"I'm fine, it must have been that old daisy sandwich I ate before coming here." Feather lied.
"If you're not feeling well, we can do something else besides riding rides." Pinkie suggested.
"That would be fine!" Feather said immediately. He then cleared his throat as he didn't want to come off as scared. "I mean...sure, that sounds good."
"Great! We go to the vendors and play all of the carnival games!" Pinkie said as she pulled Feather's hoof towards the game area.
'This shouldn't be too bad.' Feather thought. 'Maybe I can impress Pinkie with my skills in carnival games.' Feather developed a new sense of confidence.
"Alright, kid, I think you had enough turns." The vendor stallion said to Feather. Feather was in the middle of a game of throwing darts at a board full of inflated balloons. The only problem was that Feather already had six turns and he hasn't popped a single balloon.
"Don't worry, I got this." Feather said as he was ready to throw his last dart. He used his hoof to throw the dart, but it ended up hitting none of the balloons.
"Sorry kid, better luck next time." The vendor stallion said. Feather groaned in frustration as he wasn't able to win anything. Pinkie patted Feather on his back.
"It's alright, Feather." Pinkie assured. "You did your best." Pinkie turned to look over to the balloon board and stared at it until she turned back to Feather. "Will it be alright if I had a turn, Feather?" Pinkie asked.
"Sure," Feather said in a sour manner. Pinkie stepped up and offered a bit to the vendor stallion.
"One dart, please," Pinkie pleaded nicely.
"You know that you can buy more than one dart, right Miss?" The vendor stallion asked in confusion.
"Nah, I only need the one." Pinkie said with a smirk.
"Suit yourself," The vendor stallion said as he gave one dart to Pinkie. Pinkie picked up the dart and backed away a bit from the booth. She carefully observed the balloon board and began spinning her hoof that held her dart. Feather grew concern as he saw that Pinkie's hoof was spinning faster until her arm was nothing but a pink, circular blur. Pinkie then threw her dart towards the board and it popped one of the balloons. The dart's impact was so great that it caused a chain reaction that made the rest of the balloons pop, leaving nothing but an empty board full of deflated balloons. Feather and the vendor stallion stared in shock while Pinkie was rubbing her hoof on her chest as if she thought it was no big deal.
"So, what's my prize?" Pinkie asked.
"T-Take anything on the top shelf." The vendor stallion said while sweating nervously. Pinkie pointed at something and she received a large ,stuffed Ursa Minor.
"Feather, could you be a dear and hold this for me?" Pinkie asked with pleading eyes.
"Um, sure." Feather said as he was given the large bear and put it on his back.
"Let's go play more games!" Pinkie said while pulling Feather's hoof to more vendors. The day went on with Pinkie winning almost all of the carnival's games while Feather held the prizes like a gentlecolt he was. Feather was honestly surprised that a mare like Pinkie was able to have such a winning streak when it came to carnival games. He knows that stallions like him would feel embarrassed to lose against a mare, but he was rather impressed and just wanted to spend time with Pinkie.
"Wow Pinkie, you are such a pro when it comes to carnival games." Feather said as he lifted up some of the prizes Pinkie won.
"Why thank you, Feather." Pinkie said while winking. "I had lots of practice." Pinkie stopped when something caught her attention. "Ooh! We should go there!" Pinkie pointed at what looked like a mirror fun house.
"I never seen a place like that before." Feather said while looking at the building.
"We have got to go in! These fun houses are always awesome!" Pinkie claimed as she pulled Feather's hoof. Feather showed no signs of hesitation as he trusted Pinkie that this fun house could be fun for him. Once inside, Feather was in awe as the fun house's first room was just a hallway full of strange looking mirrors.
'I wonder why there are so many mirrors here,' Feather thought as he approached one of them. He was shocked to see that his reflection was him but having longer hooves that made him taller.
"Whoa!" Feather said as he lifted one hoof to examine his reflection's tall one. It almost reminded Feather of giraffe legs.
"That's the fun thing about fun houses," Pinkie said. "They are full of crazy mirrors! Like this one!" Pinkie said while pointing at the mirror she was facing. Feather trotted up to be completely shocked from what he saw on the mirror. Pinkie's reflection was much shorter, her eyes and head were bigger than her body, and her cutie mark only showed one yellow balloon. It was as if Feather was looking at a chibi version of Pinkie. "Yeah, this mirror is really crazy." Pinkie said while making faces to the mirror. Feather looked at another mirror and his reflection was a more muscular version of himself.
"Whoa, I look like I been hitting the gym!" Feather said while posing to make his reflection flex his muscles. He moved on to the next mirror which showed him as a mare. Feather was startled to see how beautiful he looked.
"I heard of falling in love with myself, but now I'm head over hooves for myself." Feather claimed as he and Pinkie moved on to the next room. The room was filled with all sorts of mirrors that was made into a small labyrinth. "What did I tell you? This place is completely fun!" Pinkie said as she bounced forward while Feather followed in pursuit. Feather stopped in front of one mirror and couldn't help but swing his manes and showed of his smile to his reflection.
"Look at you, good-lookin'." Feather said to his reflection. "Going on a date with such a cute mare, you really scored big this time." Feather turned to notice that Pinkie completely vanished from his sights. Feather slowly trotted down the hall while looking around to find Pinkie. "Pinkie, where are you?" Feather called out in attempt to get her attention.
"Here I am!" Pinkie said as she appeared in front of Feather.
"Cool," Feather said as he approached Pinkie. "I almost felt sc-" Feather hit his head and quickly backed away. "What the?" Feather said in confusion.
"Sorry, did I say here?" Pinkie said as she reappeared at another spot. "I'm actually here." Feather felt uncertain and decided to reach out his hoof to see if Pinkie was really in front of him. As Feather expected, it was just another mirror in front of him.
"Pinkie, where actually are you located?" Feather asked as he was getting more confused. Pinkie tapped her chin with her hoof.
"Hmm, I may be here. Or-" Pinkie moved to another spot and there was a second Pinkie appeared in another spot. "I could be here,"
"Or here," The other Pinkie said.
"Or here!" A third Pinkie popped up another spot. Feather then saw a lot more Pinkies appear all around him. Feather's heart raced as he had no idea which one is the real Pinkie and how he should get out of here.
"Or maybe I'm...right here!" Pinkie said as she appeared next to Feather, causing him to fall back in fear. Pinkie giggled in response to Feather. "Oopsie, my bad." Pinkie said as she offered a hoof to Feather. "I sort got carried away with the whole mirror thing." Feather took Pinkie's hoof and got up on his hooves.
"It's alright, at least I'm not hurt." Feather then looked at the multiple mirrors. "Although, it would've been really scary to be with so many copies of you, Pinkie."
"Yeah heh heh," Pinkie said while rubbing her neck with her hoof. "Anyway, let's get out of here and continue our fun!" Pinkie then lead Feather to the exit. When both of them left, another Pinkie popped out from one of the mirrors.
"Woo! That was a close one!" The other Pinkie said as she didn't want to get caught by her original self. As Pinkie and Feather left the fun house, they looked around to find more things to do at the carnival. Pinkie gasped and grabbed Feather by the head.
"We should ride that next!" Pinkie said as she turned Feather's head and pointed her hoof at the large Ferris wheel. Some ponies were in line to enter the next carts. Feather's jaws dropped from how tall the Ferris wheel was.
"Are you sure, Pinkie?" Feather asked. "This is one large ride."
"It will be fine!" Pinkie assured. "Ferris wheels are pretty safe as all it does is move ponies in a circle." Feather's heart started beating in a fast pace as he looked at how high the Ferris wheel goes.
'Come on, Feather!' Feather's inner thoughts said. 'You can't be such a chicken in front of a mare! You got to face this to show her that you really are strong!'
"Sure, I don't have a problem." Feather said as he was being pulled once again by Pinkie. The line moved kept moving after a few minutes. It wasn't long until it was Feather and Pinkie's turn to get on one of the Ferris wheel's carts. Feather carefully entered the cart and did his best to fasten his seatbelt.
"Hope you enjoy the ride." The attendant pony said as she activated the wheel and it started moving. Feather breathed heavily while watching himself move along the ride's motions. Pinkie on the other hoof was practically shaking as she was full of excitement despite being on such a slow ride.
"Woo! I love Ferris wheels so much! Especially when they stop to allow us to get a good view from where we are. I do hope that we stop on the very top!" Pinkie squealed in excitement. Feather also hoped that their cart stopped at a not-so-high position. He thought that stopping at the very top would be such a rare chance. At that moment, the Ferris wheel's carts suddenly stopped from where they were. To make things worse, Feather and Pinkie's cart was stopped at the very top of the ride. This allowed both ponies to see the view of the entire carnival and all of Ponyville.
"Wow! This view is amazing!" Pinkie said as she lifted her hoof over her head to see things better. "You can really see almost everything in Ponyville. I can even see Twilight's castle from her!" Pinkie turned to notice that Feather's eyes were closed and he gripped really hard on the cart's handle bar.
"Feather, are you alright?" Pinkie asked with concern.
"I'm....d-doing....f-fine, Pinkie." Feather stuttered as he started to sink into his seat.
"Come on, Feather. You can tell me." Pinkie assured.
"Everything is fine, Pinkie." Feather answered. "I'm just not so used to being this high before. But I can handle it." Feather suddenly flinched when he felt a shaky motion while on the cart. He was shaking all over and covered his face with his hooves to hide his embarrassment.
"Feather, it's alright to be afraid of heights."
"No it's not," Feather mumbled. "I'm trying to impress you by facing my fear of heights, but that's not working." Pinkie placed a hoof on Feather's to get his attention.
"Do you know what's one of my biggest fears?" Pinkie asked. "Seeing another pony or creature in fear or saddness." Feather looked at Pinkie to see that she was really worried. "I don't want you to feel this way just for me. That makes me feel so bad as I truly wanted to cheer you up ever since I saw you on that bench."
"Really?" Feather said with a small grin.
"Mmhmm!" Pinkie nodded. "As the Element of Laughter, I try to spread happiness to everybody I meet without asking for almost anything in return."
"Almost anything?" Feather said in confusion.
"Yep, the only price I want from cheering you up would be...one smile!" Pinkie said as she grinned to express her happiness. Feather couldn't help but tear up as such a mare like her existed.
"Wow, thanks Pinkie." Feather said as he wiped away his tears. "I'm glad that you made such efforts to make me feel better."
"It's what I do. Now come on, let me see you smile!" Pinkie requested. Feather laughed while showing his most sincere smile he could give. "That will do, Feather." Pinkie nodded. "Although, I do want something else in return."
"What would that be?" Feather asked before Pinkie moved closer to give him a big kiss on his cheek.
"That...and more," Pinkie said while her eyes were half-lidded. Sounds of smooching and giggling were coming from Feather and Pinkie's cart as it moved once again. When the ponies left the Ferris wheel, Feather's manes were a bit messy while his face was covered with kiss marks. Pinkie blushed while giggling like a school filly. "Let's do this again sometime, cutie." Pinkie said as they trotted through the carnival.
On one night, Feather was trotting his way towards Sweet Apple Acres. Feather could tell that it was the right place as he saw the vast amount of apple trees over the long fence. There was also the fact that Sweet Apple Acres was the only apple farm in Ponyville. The outside of the farm was heavily decorated with country-themed party decorations and almost all the ponies there wore country-like clothing. The purpose of the decorations and the attendees was that the Apple Family would sometimes host hoedowns to celebrate another successful apple harvest. Feather almost felt out of place as he doesn't usually go to these kinds of events. But this event was an exception as Feather was set up with a blind date. It started when Sugar Belle noticed that Feather has been feeling really lonely lately. So she decided to invite Feather to this hoedown that Big Mac invited her to. At first, Feather felt a bit hesitant as he wasn't into hoedowns and country-related things. That was until Sugar Belle mentioned to Feather that Big Mac might know a mare who could be Feather's date. Feather decided to accept the invitation as it was better than moping around. Feather slowly trotted through the farm's entrance and looked around in hopes of finding Sugar Belle and or Big Mac. Luckily for Feather, he was able to spot both Sugar Belle and Big Mac near one of the food tables. Feather quickly trotted to the couple until Sugar Belle spotted him in her sights.
"Feather! You've finally made it!" Sugar Belle said while waving a hoof.
"Yeah, I appreciate you inviting me." Feather said while rubbing his neck. He then turned to Big Mac. "Hey Big Mac, I see you're doing well."
"Yup," Big Mac said while nodding.
"Don't think we haven't forgotten about you, Feather." Sugar Belle said. "Big Mac said that he found the perfect mare to be your date."
"She should be right over there." Big Mac said while pointing at the side of the farm. Feather looked closer to see a pony coming out of the shadow. Feather felt shocked when he saw Apple Bloom galloping.
"Come on, Applejack!" Apple Bloom hollered. "We're missing the party!" Feather turned back to Big Mac.
"Um, Big Mac, I know that your little sister likes me, but I think that I'm way too old to go on a date with her." Feather said.
"What? No! Apple Bloom isn't your date." Big Mac confirm while pointing his hoof again. "She's going to be your date."
"I'm coming, Apple Bloom!" An older mare's voice said from the distant. Feather was shocked again to see who was approaching them. It was none other than Applejack, the Element of Honesty. Feather could tell it was her based on her familiar orange fur, light yellow manes, bright yellow freckles on her cheeks, and iconic cowpony hat. He had seen her picture on many newspapers about her and her friends' exploits of saving Equestria, but seeing her up close made Feather feel more nervous than usual. Feather's heart raced when Applejack made her way towards him and the rest of the group. "Sorry about the delay, y'all." Applejack said. "There were a lot of apple barrels to move before the hoedown really gets going." Applejack paused when she noticed Feather looking at her with a nervous look. "So who's the colt?" Applejack asked.
"This is Feather Bangs," Sugar Belle answered. "He'll be your date for the night." Applejack raised a brow while looking at Feather. She took a good look at him and obviously knew that he wasn't her type.
"Big Mac, can we talk for a minute?" Applejack said as she nudged her head to a certain direction.
"Okay," Big Mac said as he and his sister trotted at a far enough distant so nopony could hear them.
"Are you sure this is a good idea to set me up with that stallion, Big Mac?" Applejack questioned. "That Feather stallion looks like he could break easily as Granny's fragile back."
"Come on, Sis." Big Mac pleaded. "Feather needs some way to enjoy himself instead of being sad. Besides, you and Apple Bloom still owe me for what happened during the Confluence." Applejack remembered how that turned out. She couldn't forget how tired Big Mac looked while she and Apple Bloom were off hunting the Great Seedling.
"Alright, but just for this night." Applejack confirmed. Big Mac smiled and nodded before he and Applejack returned to Feather and Sugar Belle.
"It's nice to meet you, Feather Bangs." Applejack said as she offered a hoof to shake. "It's always a pleasure to meet somepony outside of Ponyville."
"The pleasure is all, Ms. Applejack!" Feather said while shaking her hoof. "Especially to one of the saviors of Equestria!"
"There's no need to be so starstruck." Applejack said while waving a hoof. "I'm just a simple country mare who helps her friends."
"Saving Equestria from dangerous threats is more than just helping." Feather replied. "I love a mare who can live for adventure." Feather then flipped his manes to show off his looks. Applejack couldn't help but shiver from how creeped out she felt.
'This is going to be a long night.' Applejack thought.
"Come on, Feather. I'll show you around the party and we can start from there." Applejack said as she and Feather trotted away.
"Have fun, you two!" Sugar Belle hollered while waving. Applejack first led Feather to a spot where ponies were dunking their heads into a large barrel to pull out apples with their mouths.
"Apple bobbing is always fun at any hoedown!" Applejack encouraged. "You should try it, Feather."
"Um, I don't exactly know how to." Feather admitted while rubbing his arm.
"Oh, it's actually quite easy." Applejack said as she went up to the barrel. "All you have to do is hold your breath while going into the water and bite down the first apple you feel." Applejack took a deep breath before she dunked her head into the barrel. It took a bout a few seconds before her head popped out with one apple in her mouth. Applejack spit out the apple before speaking, "See, easy as apple pie!" She went behind Feather to push him closer to the barrel. "Now you give it a shot, Feather!" Feather gulped while looking at the apple and water filled barrel. He began to think of any worst case scenarios that involved him apple bobbing. But Feather didn't want to act like a wimp in front of Applejack. So, he took a deep breath before he dunked his head into the water. Applejack and some of the nearby ponies watched as Feather moved his head in search for at least one apple. Applejack then noticed that Feather started to move his body deeper in the barrel as if he was struggling. Applejack panicked and trotted to Feather to pull him out of the barrel. When Feather fell on his flank, he was having a hard time breathing as if he was choking on something.
"Feather, are you alright?!" Applejack asked with worry. Feather replied by coughing up a small apple from his throat and it landed on the ground.
"Hey, I actually caught an apple!" Feather said in surprise. "Not bad for my first time!" Applejack signed in relief as her date didn't die from drowning or choking on an apple.
"How about we try a different activity, Feather?" Applejack suggested.
"Lead the way, Ms. Applejack." Feather said as he followed the farm mare again to whatever she was taking him. The next place Applejack took Feather would be the horseshoe toss where ponies try to throw horseshoes to a small metal pole.
"This game is pretty simple, Feather." Applejack said as she picked up one of the horseshoes. "All you have to do is throw these here horseshoes towards that pole over there!" Applejack threw the horseshoe in the air to kick it towards the metal pole. The horseshoe hit the pole and it spun towards the dirt ground. "Easy as apple pie!" Feather picked up his horseshoe and took a good look at it.
"I think I got the gist of it." Feather said as he looked at his horseshoe and then the pole. Feather threw the horseshoe with all of his strength, only for it to land at a spot too far from the pole. "That was...a warm up attempt!" Feather laughed nervously and decided to pick up another horseshoe. He threw it again to have it land a little further than his last horseshoe. The nearby ponies stared awkwardly at Feather as they had no idea a stallion like him wasn't able to throw that good. Even Applejack felt really embarrassed from watching Feather as she covered her face with her hat. Before Feather could embarrass himself more, Applejack approached him.
"Let's move on with the next game, Feather." Applejack said as she pushed Feather away from the area. Feather couldn't help but grumble as he made such a fool of himself in front of his date. Feather and Applejack arrive to a long table where some ponies sat in front of some freshly made apple pie.
"You like apple pie, don't ya Feather?" Applejack asked.
"Who doesn't? I love apple pie!" Feather claimed.
"You're in luck cause we can participate in the apple pie eating contest!" Applejack said as she led Feather towards some seats near the table. As they sat down, Feather took a whiff from the pie's aroma.
"Wow, these smell delicious!" Feather said looking at Applejack.
"They will taste delicious once we start chowing down!" The announcer walked up at the center of the table while holding up his hoof.
"On your mark...get set....go!" The announcer said while putting his hoof down. The ponies near the table began to stuff their faces in each of the pies and ate whatever was inside. Everypony on the table finished one pie after another while Feather was still on his first pie. Several minutes passed before Applejack pumped her hooves in the air as she was the winner for eating the most pies. "And the winner for this pie eating contest is Applejack!" The announcer said while raising one of Applejack's hooves. Applejack turned to be completely shocked to see Feather collapsed on the table as he was completely full from eating his one pie.
"Feather, are you okay?" Applejack as she approached Feather.
"Yeah, but I'm really full." Feather groaned.
"But you only ate one whole pie." Applejack said.
"I never eaten that much before." Feather admitted before he groaned again.
"It's alright, Feather." Applejack said while patting his back. "I got you." She carried Feather inside the barn so he could sit down on some haystacks.
"You should be able to recover while resting here." Applejack said while sitting next to Feather.
"Thanks, Applejack." Feather said before he formed a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry if I've been a terrible date on this hoedown." Feather admitted.
"It's alright," Applejack assured. "This is your first time at a hoedown after all."
"Yeah, and I messed up on each activity unlike most of the ponies around here." Feather admitted.
"And I can tell that you were trying your hardest to impress me." Applejack mentioned. "Big Mac has told me that you try to impress any mare that catches your interests. There were multiple times when stallions would try to impress me by showing how strong they are and that would make any other mare swoon. That wouldn't work for me as that just shows the stallions' muscle strength and nothing else. The point I'm trying to make, Feather, is that you don't have to try so hard to impress any mare as all a mare would want from a stallion is to be true to himself."
"I appreciate you talking to me, Applejack." Feather said with a smile. "I think I'll try being more true to the next mares I meet."
"Giving important advice is one of my skills," Applejack said while tipping her hat. Feather slowly got up from the haystack he was on.
"I think I've recovered from that stomach ache. Shall we do another activity? I promise to not try too hard for you." Feather assured.
"As much as I appreciate it, Feather, I got something else in mind." Applejack said as she lead Feather out of the barn.
"We're almost there, Feather." Applejack said while both of them were climbing up a tall apple tree.
"I really hope so," Feather said while gulping. "I'm not so good with heights."
"Don't worry, I'll help you until we make it up." Applejack assured. They climbed up some more until they arrived to one large tree branch that was strong enough to hold both Applejack and Feather. "Have a good look, Feather." Applejack said as she pointed forward. Feather looked up to be completely amazed from seeing the large fields of apple trees that spread throughout the land. Feather had no idea that the Apple family's farm was so large. It's no wonder he heard great things about the Apple family from Ponyville's residents.
"It's beautiful!" Feather said in amazement.
"Darn tootin'," Applejack commented. "I often come here on some nights to enjoy the sight of the apple trees. It reminds me of how lucky I am to be part of the Apple family."
"Now I really wish I was part of the Apples." Feather said. "I could watch this view every night."
"Was that a proposal?" Applejack asked in shock. Feather blushed in embarrassment.
"N-no! I-I mean I just thought it would be interesting to be a farm pony like you!" Feather said while waving his hooves. Applejack chuckled.
"Shucks, I was just messin' with ya." Applejack said while winking. "You seem like a nice colt, Feather. I do hope you find the right mare."
"Thanks," Feather said while rubbing his neck. "I should also thank Big Mac for setting me up with you."
"You can do that once we're done." Applejack said as she and Feather continued to watch the view.
Ponyville looked more different than usual as the citizens were dressed up as peasants, nobles, or even knights. This was because today was Ponyville's Reneighsance fair where ponies would dress up and act like they came from ancient history. Feather Bangs enjoyed seeing the sight of the fair while trotting down Ponyville's streets. He dressed up as a bard since he has such a passion for poems and music. Feather even has a small lute strapped to his back to complete the outfit. He came to Ponyville's fair to admire how historically accurate it looked. Feather also couldn't help but be smitten from how beautiful the mares looked in Reneighsance clothing. As Feather continued to stroll, he came across a large tent that had a balcony with only a bejeweled throne on it. Feather looked in awe from how shiny the throne looked and wondered who will sit on that throne.
"Princess Twilight will be sitting there." A peasant pony said to Feather. Feather looked at the peasant pony in surprise.
"Really?" Feather asked in surprise.
"Yeah, since Princess Twilight is an actual princess, it would make sense that she would sit up there during the jousting tournament this afternoon."
Feather stared back at the throne while imagining Princess Twilight sitting up there. Feather had seen the princess when she visited Starlight's old village for the first time. Feather was surprised not only there was a fourth alicorn in Equestria, but Princess Twilight was more extraordinary than Feather thought she was. Feather began to hear more stories involving Princess Twilight and her exploits. He couldn't believe that Twilight was able to do so much throughout her life. There were times that Feather wished he could meet her, but he never exactly had the courage to go up and talk to an alicorn princess. Feather still hoped that he will be able to see her since Ponyville is where she usually lives. Feather was about to leave when he accidentally bumped heads with another pony. This caused both of them to fall on their flanks.
"Ow, my bad." Feather said while rubbing his head. He looked up to see a unicorn mare dressed in peasant clothing. Her fur was light purple but her manes could not be seen as they were completely covered in a long, white cloth that wrapped around her head. A pair of small-framed glasses were placed below her purple eyes. Feather's gentlecolt nature kicked in and he got up to make sure the mare wasn't hurt. "Are you okay, madam?" Feather asked.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." The peasant mare said as she used her magic to adjust her glasses. "I was so distracted from sight seeing that I forgot to watch where I was going." The peasant mare stopped speaking when she heard some ponies' voices approaching nearby.
"Where in Equestria is she?!" One mare dressed like a noble said as she frantically looked around.
"She needs to be ready or else the fair will become a disaster!" Another noble pony added. The peasant mare took Feather's hoof and they hurried inside one of the tents.
"Is something wrong, miss?" Feather asked in concern.
"There's nothing wrong, I'm just hiding from some ponies who are demanding so much of my attention." The peasant mare said while peeking out from the tent.
"Why would they do that? Are you like the organizer of this fair?" Feather asked. The peasant mare stared blankly into space until she turned to Feather.
"Yeah, I'm one of the organizers. It's just that I really wanted to see the fair, but I wasn't able to thanks to my job. Luckily for me, I was able to sneak out without notice." The peasant mare continued to look out until her pursuers were gone. "Alright, the coast is clear. I'll be taking my leave now." Before the peasant mare was about to leave, Feather spoke up.
"Do you want me to go with you?" Feather asked.
"Why would I do that?" The peasant mare asked.
"Well, those ponies looking for you will be looking for a single mare. But they will have less of a chance of finding you if you're with a stallion." Feather explained. "I promise that I won't flirt with you while we're together. For my name isn't Feather Bangs, the bard!" The peasant mare put some thought into it and she thought it wouldn't hurt to be extra careful.
"I accept your invitation, Feather Bangs." The peasant mare said while bowing. "I'm Twi....um," Feather was confused as the peasant mare suddenly stopped when she was about to say her name. "Twine! Yes, Twine...Strings! It's Twine Strings." Feather felt a bit confused for a moment before he shrugged it off.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Twine." Feather said while offering his hoof. "Shall we get going?" Twine nodded before she hooked her hoof with Feather's and they exited the tent.
Feather and Twine first explored the path full of vendors that sold old-looking antiques, ancient looking fabrics, and even small wooden toys foals and fillies could play with while attending the fair. Feather was surprised that a mare like Twine was so drawn into the historical stuff. It was as if Twine was a filly in a candy store. It wasn't until they arrived to a vendor selling large amounts of books when Twine started to get excited.
"Wow! I can't believe there are so many books involving the Mareval Era!" Twine said while levitating some books with her magic.
"You sure love books, huh Twine?" Feather said.
"Oh you have no idea! I just love to open up books that help me find out so much about anything!" Twine said enthusiastic. She suddenly stopped when she realized that she was expressing herself too much. "Sorry," Twine said while blushing.
"No, don't be." Feather smiled. "I think that's great that a mare like you have such a good taste for books."
"Thanks," Twine said while blushing. "What about you? What kind of books do you read?"
"Mostly books about poetry." Feather answered. "I sometimes read works from famous poets to inspire me to write better poetry."
"Who is your favorite poet?" Twine asked.
"My top three favorites are Grave Stone, Jasmine Haiku, and Rhyme Quill." Feather answered. Twine gasped from hearing Feather's answer.
"You like Rhyme Quill?! He's my favorite poet too!" Twine said.
"I just adore him for writing about his hopeful dream of finding love. It makes me relate to him so well." Feather replied.
"I know, Rhyme truly has a way with words." Twine included. Both Feather and Twine suddenly stopped speaking while looking away from each other. Their cheeks began to blush they felt really awkward.
"It felt like we were bonding, didn't it?" Twine asked.
"Yeah," Feather answered. "I know that we're suppose to pretend we're on a date, but it felt nice." Feather then looked back to Twine. "Should we stop?"
"I don't think so." Twine said while looking at Feather. "It never hurts to just get to know each other. It's what most ponies do on dates."
"I guess that makes us really convincing, huh?" Feather asked. Twine simply nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, let's move on before we feel more awkward." Twine suggested. Feather agreed and they made their way out of the vendors.
Feather and Twine arrive to some carts that sold food that were made during the Reneighsance such as cooked bread, soups, and vegetables. Feather offered to pay for the food and they enjoyed themselves to some sandwiches.
"This bread is really crunchy." Feather claimed while chewing on his sandwich.
"Well, it was made from the same ingredients ponies used during the Reneighsance." Twine said while attempting to take a bite from her sandwich. Even with the crunchy bread, Feather and Twine still enjoyed their food. When Feather and Twine were done eating, they started to trot again to look for things to do.
"Do you see anywhere else we can go, Twine?" Feather said while looking around.
"Oh, how about over there?" Twine suggested while pointing at a tent with a crystal ball on the sign.
"Fortune telling?" Feather responded.
"Yeah! The pony inside tells us what our fortune is! It sounds really exciting!" Twine said as she took Feather's hoof and they made their way inside of the tent. Feather and Twine saw a single table that held one small crystal ball. Behind the crystal ball was a grey, unicorn mare dressed like a fortune teller with a purple turban on her head and she wore a dark purple robe to match."
"Welcome to Madam Glass Mist's fortune telling tent! I am Madam Glass Mist and I will be tell what your future will be!" Glass Mist said while waving around her hooves.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Madam Glass Mist." Twine said as she and Feather took a seat in front of the table.
"We will start by reading your hooves to find out more about yourselves." Madam Glass Mist said. "Please offer your hooves to I can begin." Feather and Twine looked at each other before they held out one hoof each and Madam Glass Mist placed her hooves on them. "Oh yes, mmhmm," Madam Glass Mist said while feeling Feather and Twine's hooves. "Very interesting,"
"So what do you think?" Feather asked. Madam Glass Mist pulled her hooves away.
"I'm done with your hooves. Now I will interpret what I felt through this crystal ball." Madam Glass Mist moved her hooves near the crystal ball as it began to glow and mist appareled in the inside. Feather and Twine watched in awe as the movements of the ball's mists was eye-catching. "The stallion once loved another mare, but she chose another. Leaving this stallion saddened and needed to recover." Twine raised her brow while looking at Feather who was blushing in embarrassment.
"Yeah, I did fall in love. But it didn't work out and that was fine." Feather admitted.
Madam Glass Mist turned to Twine. "You, young mare, have such an interesting read. You have done some interesting things throughout your life. Some of these things made such an impact throughout Equestria." Twine started to sweat a bit.
"W-well, I did travel a lot before I came to Ponyville to do this job." Twine admitted. "It would make sense that I would do some good deeds at different towns."
"I also sense that both of you have a growing bond since the both of you have gotten along quite well." Madam Glass Mist said.
"Well, we just met today and I have to admit that Twine is a pretty nice mare." Feather said which caused Twine to blush a bit.
"Even if that were the case, I feel that there is something between you two that is preventing your bond from growing. Perhaps it's a secret one of you is keeping to prevent the other from knowing?"
"And we should be leaving!" Twine blurted out as she pulled Feather out of the tent. Once they were gone, Madam Glass Mist looked out with a small smile.
"That lucky stallion, if only he knew what his date was hiding." Feather felt really confused while he was being pulled by Twine.
"Um, mind telling me what was that about?" Feather asked.
"I'm sorry, but I felt like I needed to leave." Twine said while looking down.
"If it's about that secret Madam Glass Mist mentioned, then you don't have to tell me." Feather assured. "I respect a mare's privacy if she doesn't want to share." Twine couldn't help but smile for Feather's act of respect.
"Thanks, Feather." Twine said.
"No problem," Feather said while bowing. "Shall we move on to more things to do?" Twine nodded as she and Feather along. When Feather and Twine arrive to Ponyville's main street, they stumbled upon a group of ponies who were dancing to the music of some nearby musicians. Feather, Twine, and some of the nearby ponies couldn't help but clap their hooves along to the music. If that wasn't enough, some of the dancers grabbed Feather and Twine so they could be part of the dancing. Feather and Twine looked at each other before they went along to the dancers and the music. Feather didn't have no problem since he had a lot of experience with dancing. Twine on the other hoof, struggled a bit while trying to keep up with the dancing. Feather and Twine were able to reunite to dance along before the music stopped. The crowd clapped their hooves for the dancing and music that were made. Feather and Twine couldn't help but blush as they were still holding each other's hooves. They quickly let go and looked away from each other.
"You were really good on the dance floor," Twine complimented.
"Thanks, I practice a lot." Feather explained.
"I never did much of dancing." Twine admitted. "I mostly just read and whenever I do dance, I kind of do it in a goofy way."
"Maybe I can teach a thing or two to you whenever you have time." Feather suggested. Twine smiled before she heard ringing from Ponyville's clock tower. She panicked from seeing what time it was.
"Oh no, oh no!" Twine said in panic. "Is it really that time already?!" Twine began to gallop away from Feather.
"Wait, where are you going!" Feather said before he lost sight of Twine when she ran through the crowd. At that moment, Feather was confused on why Twine suddenly left when they were just connecting. Feather felt sad as he never got the chance to say goodbye to Twine and maybe ask her if he could write to her. Feather looked down in defeat as he had lost the chance of a potential lover. The ponies began to move towards an area that looked like an arena.
"The jousting match will begin very shortly! Don't forget to take a seat and enjoy the show!" An announcer called out. Feather slowly trotted along with the crowd as he decided to watch the jousting match before going back home. A couple of ponies dressed in ceremonial clothing appeared from the balcony tent. They blew on their trumpets to catch everypony's attention.
"Here ye, here ye!" One of the trumpet ponies hollered. "It is time for the jousting tournament!" The crowd cheered to show their excitement. "Before we begin, we would like to bring out the host and judge for this event! She has learned under Princess Celetia's teachings and she herself has been a princess for quite some time, please leave a warm welcome to Princess Twilight Sparkle!" The crowd roared with cheers as the alicorn princess emerged towards the balcony. Feather was speechless as he saw her glittering purple coat and flowing pink and dark blue manes. She wore a gold and purple dressed that would have been quite popular during the Mareval period. Princess Twilight light up her horn before she spoke.
"Thank you all for attending this event! It is such an honor to be hosting the jousting tournament and to be able to see how well this Reneighsance fair has turned out!" This made the crowd cheer even more. Before Princess Twilight spoke again, she spotted Feather within the crowd. Feather was a bit confused as he noticed Princess Twilight was looking at where he was sitting.
'Is there another pony the princess is looking at?' Feather thought as he looked around from where he sat. 'I doubt that she would recognize me.' The princess quickly shook her head before she continued to speak.
"Now let the jousting...begin!" Cannons were fired to indicate that the tournament has begun.
After an evening of jousting and the winner was given a medal, everypony in the crowd began to disperse as the fair was declared over. Feather felt a bit better from watching the tournament as it allowed him to cheer up for a bit. A part of Feather still wanted to see Twine Strings again since she was such a nice mare to him. Feather suddenly stopped when one of the armored guards approached him.
"Are you Feather Bangs?" The guard asked.
"Y-yeah?" Feather answered while still confused.
"Her majesty, requires your audience." The guard answered. "Follow me and I will escort you to her." Feather was now more confused as he wasn't sure why Princess Twilight would want to meet him. He didn't want to be rude so he followed behind the guard in hopes of getting answers. The guard opened up one of the tents to let Feather inside. Feather entered to see that the interior of the tent looked like a dressing room. Sitting near the vanity was none other than Princess Twilight while still wearing her dress.
"Princess, I have brought Feather Bangs just like you requested." The guard informed.
"Thank you," Princess Twilight said to the guard. "You can take your leave. I'll be fine." The guard nodded before he left the tent, leaving Feather completely alone with Princess Twilight.
"P-Princess....Twilight," Feather stuttered while he was sweating nervously.
"It's alright Feather, you can just call me Twilight." Twilight suggested.
"B-but it would be improper of me to call you by your first name, Princess." Feather replied. "Especially since we just met and I don't want to act rude in front of you." Feather then noticed that Princess Twilight was chuckling while her hoof was to her mouth.
"You didn't seem to mind when you called me by my first name when we first met." Princess Twilight responded. Feather was dead silent as he didn't understand what the princess was talking about.
"Excuse me?" Feather asked.
"Don't tell me you forgotten about what we did earlier. You mentioned that your favorite poet was Rhyme Quill who is also my favorite poet." Feather then started to piece it together. "I have to say, you were quite the dancer when we went to town square."
"T-Twine?!" Feather said in realization that he went on a date with an alicorn princess.
"It's sort of cute to see you so surprised." Princess Twilight said as she approached Feather. " I want to apologize for leaving you without saying goodbye. Here's a little something to say thank you for showing me such a great time during the fair." Princess Twilight then gave Feather a kiss on his cheek. This caused Feather's face to completely blush with bright red while he spoke gibberish. "I really hope we can do this again." Princess Twilight said while winking.
