I Mean, Seriously?
Moon Dancer was used to inconveniences. Her whole life felt as though it was just one inconvenience after another. Maybe even bordering on just being one big inconvenience.
The real kicker, though? The real kicker was that for some awful reason that Moon Dancer can’t even try to imagine, the city library decided to host a speed-dating session. With minimal advertising. Despite that, it was as if everypony but her knew about it. It had to be a plan. Some nefarious scheme or a prank thought up by Lyra or Minuette.
Moon Dancer sighed miserably as she tried to ignore the chatter around her. All she wanted to do was read her book. That was the only reason she came to the library in the first place! Magic theories couldn’t wait, and there were simply far too many books piled up next to her to check out. The librarian would never let her take that many books home at once. Not after last time.
Maybe she could use a noise-cancelling bubble spell. That idea had been floating in her head for a while, even though she had personally been forbidden from performing any magic in the library other than simple levitation. It was tempting, though. Severely tempting. Moon Dancer glanced from her isolated table to where ponies had been steadily arriving for the event. Idle talk filled the air, much louder than was typically appropriate for a library.
The unicorn rolled her eyes and looked back down at her stack of books, rubbing a hoof on her temple in an attempt to soothe the annoyance building inside of her. Just as it was starting to barely work, somepony else sat down with a heavy exhale in front of her.
Oh great, somepony must have thought Moon Dancer actually wanted to participate in this useless, stupid activity. She closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath as she prepared to inform the pony that she was not, in fact, interested in trying to form a relationship with someone she had just met for all of three minutes.
But upon looking up with a less than pleased grimace, Moon Dancer’s annoyed expression turned to one of intrigue for the pony in front of her hadn’t even been looking at her. The soft, creamy-coloured earth pony seemed to be engrossed in her book, which judging by a quick glance at the cover, was about sewing. Of course, Moon Dancer herself had already read that book.
Moon Dancer cocked her head, though her face still held a passive frown. Some would say she had a resting mean face. Even though the pony might have done nothing more than simply sit across from her to read, Moon Dancer found it strange that she would have even done just that. Nopony ever sat across from Moon Dancer. Heck, nopony ever sat with anypony they didn’t know. It wasn’t like the library was downtown Canterlot’s hottest social destination, after all. There were always plenty of seats to go around.
The mare must have felt Moon Dancer’s stare because it wasn’t long before she peered up without moving her head just enough to make eye contact with Moon Dancer. Sky blue eyes sparkled curiously at the unicorn, and for some reason, that made her feel… strange.
The accidental eye contact must have made the earth pony feel strange too, judging by the way she shifted in her seat and softly muttered, “Oh, um, I’m sorry. Am I disturbing you?”
Truthfully, Moon Dancer was not above being blunt, but something inside her told her to play nice. She slowly, almost hesitantly, shook her head. “No, I’m just surprised. Nopony ever sits with any pony around here.”
The mare cracked a smile and put the book down on its spine. “I know, but all the tables and chairs on this floor were moved to accommodate that speed-dating thing. The librarian told me to sit at this table.”
Moon Dancer looked back at the event, which seemed to have been just about to start. Nervous-looking mares and stallions looked around, each wearing a name tag with their name and a number. Moon Dancer couldn’t imagine why anypony would ever want to partake in something like that. She let out a dry chuckle. “Why would they even do this at a library?”
With a shrug, the mare laughed. “I know right? They usually host these at restaurants. I’m not sure what they were going for here.”
“You seem to know a lot about these events.”
The wide grin on her face turned into a sheepish smile. “I may have been… desperate at times.” She looked down at her hooves. “But you know, I decided I was done feeling miserable. Now, I’m trying to be better at my job.”
Moon Dancer nodded. She could respect that, though it made her wonder what exactly her own job was. It just always seemed like she was reading books and learning, but what did she do with it? “Fair enough. I’m not interested in the whole… dating thing, really. But I’m not against it. I just don’t have the time, really. And there’s not usually anypony who really catches my eye.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone,” the mare told her with a smile. “My name’s Coco Pommel, but everypony just calls me Coco.”
Oh, right, introductions. Moon Dancer was still relatively new to the magic of making friends, but she couldn’t believe it took that long for somepony to bring up their name. Not that she was sure she wanted to be friends with this random mare, but there was no reason to not at least be friendly. Twilight would be proud of her, at least. “Nice to meet you, Coco. My name is Moon Dancer.”
They smiled at each other, but neither mare said anything. Normally, Moon Dancer would have used that as an excuse to return to her books, but for once, they didn’t seem as appealing. She racked her mind for something to continue the conversation, something that Twilight Sparkle would say. “So… do you live around here?”
Thankfully, Coco didn’t seem annoyed. She shook her head. “No, I’m a Manehattanite. I’m here on a work trip, but I happened to have found myself with a day off, so here I am.”
Manehattan. Moon Dancer had never been there before, the hustle and bustle of a city as big as that wasn’t exactly something that appealed to her. She thought Canterlot could sometimes be a bit overbearing, and despite being host to the Princesses, Canterlot was not exactly more than a hub for rich, powerful unicorns and the smartest minds in Equestria.
In all honesty, Manehattan was never much of an interest in Moon Dancer’s mind. Perhaps there was something worth learning about the metropolitan city, though. And what better way to find out than a first-hoof account? “What kind of work do you do?” She glanced at Coco’s book again. An educated guess would be something within the fashion industry. She definitely seemed the type, at least, though she was a lot nicer and down to earth than most of the snobby, fashion-obsessed ponies Moon Dancer had ever met.
“Oh, I’m a designer. I’m here to work with a client, but I can’t talk about it.” She giggled a bit. “They made me sign a non-disclosure agreement.”
“Wow,” Moon Dancer genuinely expressed, raising her eyebrows. “That’s impressive. It must be serious, then.”
Coco nodded in affirmation and opened her mouth to speak but before she could even say anything, a loud beep interrupted her and nearly scared the pair out of their skin. They both turned their head to the source and discovered that the dating event had started.
Moon Dancer snorted. It almost seemed like she had decided to join in after all. Coco glanced at her and smiled meekly with reddened cheeks, and Moon Dancer could feel her own face flare up in a similar fashion. It wasn’t like her to be so jumpy, and it certainly wasn’t like her to make conversation with a pretty mare like this.
Pretty. Moon Dancer wasn’t afraid to think Coco was pretty. She was pretty much an out lesbian, and it wasn’t like she actively looked for a relationship. What she said to Coco was true; she was just too busy for it and not entirely interested. If she found the right pony, then maybe. But all that had nothing to do with the objective fact that Coco Pommel was pretty. Cute, even. Pretty cute.
Moon Dancer gave her a smile and closed her book. She really needed to get out of the library, and maybe an outing with a new friend would be a good idea. “Do you wanna get out of here?” she asked Coco, who watched her with a gleam in her eye. “I’m not sure I can research efficiently with all this noise.”
Coco nodded. “Sure, that’d be fun.”
Moon Dancer was used to inconveniences. Even when she seemed to be having a half-decent day—despite the fact that the library was currently being bastardized by the dating population of Canterlot—something always came up. Literally, in this case.
She glared at Coco, who couldn’t help but laugh as Moon Dancer dripped onto the sidewalk. A small crowd had formed around them which was a literal nightmare for the often anti-social unicorn. She couldn’t help the tiny smile that formed on her face, even despite the way her sweater clung wetly to her body.
“Of course the fire hydrant had to explode all over me,” Moon Dancer quipped flatly. By some miracle, the stream of water had managed to completely miss Coco and only drench Moon Dancer because of course that would happen. At least Moon Dancer’s terrible knack for being inconvenienced wouldn’t affect her new friend, though.
“It’s okay,” the earth pony said between breaths.
Coco’s laugh was restrained and polite, but it was enough to be infectious. Moon Dancer’s lips twitched as she tried—and failed—to hold back a snort. She shook out her mane and levitated her glasses away from her body. “You’d be surprised at how often this sort of thing happens to me.”
“Aw, I’m sorry,” Coco replied with a hint of sincerity, though the wrinkle of her eyes betrayed her amusement. “You should take off the sweater or you might catch a cold.”
“No, it’s fine,” Moon Dancer told her almost instantly. She never took off the sweater around other ponies. It made her feel safe. Though, maybe it was a little juvenile of her. “It’ll dry quickly in the sun, and I’ve got a great immune system. I may be a bookworm, but I take excellent care of myself.”
They continued wandering aimlessly through the streets of Canterlot with no real destination other than the hopeful endpoint of some sort of café or restaurant. It was slightly annoying for Moon Dancer to be damp, but she was right about the sun making it easier to dry off. At least Coco was with her. She knew for a fact that she’d be miserable without her new friend next to her in this situation.
Suddenly, Coco stopped and glanced up with a grin. “Last time I was here, I ate at this diner. It was really nice, do you want to go inside?”
Moon Dancer followed her stare to a sign which read ‘Saucy’s Diner’. She cocked her head and wondered if it was new or if she had just never noticed it before because she was such a shut-in. Regardless, she nodded. “Yeah, sure. Do they have coffee?”
“Definitely.”
“I can’t believe you’ve already drank five cups of coffee. How are you alive right now?”
Moon Dancer grinned as she sipped on her sixth. “I really like coffee.”
“So do I, but I only had one cup,” Coco argued, though she was smiling throughout.
“Maybe two?” Moon Dancer took another slurp, though she wiggled her eyebrows. Coco shook her head and just watched Moon Dancer with an amused smile.
“Coffee makes me feel a little sick.” Coco glanced at her still half-full cup of what now must have been cold coffee. “But I’ve had fun today, Moon Dancer. This was nice.”
The unicorn’s heart leaped. “I think so, too.” She finished the last bit of her coffee and sighed in satisfaction. “I’m kind of glad that speed-dating thing was happening today.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “Yes, I wouldn’t have gotten to meet you otherwise.” Moon Dancer smiled and looked at her empty cup. “I’m not typically the type to go out with other ponies and make friends, but something inside me was telling me I had to give you a shot. I’m glad I did.”
Coco blushed once more at that. “Me too, Moon Dancer. It was a nice way to spend my off day.” She took another gulp. “And I enjoyed hearing about your research. I’m not at all knowledgeable on magic or anything like that, but I have a few friends who are. Maybe I could introduce you.”
The thought of meeting new ponies made Moon Dancer a little nervous, but there was something even more influential telling her that it would be okay as long as they were Coco’s friends. “Maybe. But maybe we could coordinate to meet up again sometime?”
Coco smiled, and it was a really nice smile. It was comforting, and Moon Dancer thought that maybe that was what a true friend’s smile was supposed to be. Something comforting and infectious. Moon Dancer wouldn’t mind spending more time with Coco.
And she really, really hoped Coco would agree. Not out of politeness or pity, but because she wanted to get to know Moon Dancer more.
The unicorn’s heart raced as Coco nodded firmly. “Of course! That would be lovely.”
Moon Dancer grinned and glanced toward a nearby waitress, who, upon noticing her, brought by another refill for the unicorn.
“Oh, but no coffee next time,” Coco added with a playful smile.
Moon Dancer pouted but nodded her agreement. She could deal with that for her new friend.