A Troublesome Life

I awoke with a smile on my face. I had barely slept, but, who cared? I had a date with Octavia!  At least, I think so.  I hopped out of bed, took extra time to get ready for the day; washing my mane… twice. I brushed my teeth… twice again. And I made sure my coat didn’t have a speck of dirt on it. I pondered whether I should wear that suit from before. I went against it; she was expecting me to be myself. I smirked, and walked out the door, happy as could be. While I was walking, a smile upon my face, Twilight flew into my view. Well, she came in a flash, literally, then flew in front of me.

“Strum! Good to see you! I need you for a spell!” She said. Before I could reply a light-purple aura enveloped me and carried me off.

I was told to stand perfectly still, and wait for the results. Twilight’s horn shone.

“STOP!” I yelled, worried for my self-being.

“What is this spell anyways?!” I asked, worriedly and hurriedly. She laughed.

“It’s just an advanced wing spell that I’ve been working on. Last time I tried one, Rarity nearly fell to her death.” She said, almost… comically. That did not help the situation. I decided to do it anyways. Wings; they’ll make me less scared of heights… right?

“Okay,” I began, “ready!” I stood stock-still, and watched the magic envelope me. I was lifted off my hooves, and I felt something rip out of my spine. It strangely didn’t hurt. I then fell face-first into the floor. That hurt. I stood up, rubbing my face. I looked up to a grinning Twilight. She was looking past me. I looked up to see a pair of wings. I felt relief that I was fine, but, I was a Pegasus!

“Well, that’s cool!” I said. She did a few tests, making me move them, which, was odd; it was like having two new legs. She tested them, seeing if I could feel things. She pricked a few feathers, which hurt. I walked out after the tests were done. She told me to do a few more tests by myself, record them, and give them to her. The spell would wear-off in a few hours. I thought a moment; a few hours. I panicked. Octavia and I would no doubt be on our date! I ran in circles, thinking about what to do. I un-furled my wings, and tried to fly, but could only get off the ground an inch, then fall. I ran as fast as I could to Octavia’s home and knocked on the door. I hid my wings the best I could, which was just keeping them to my sides. Once more, Vinyl opened the door.

“Hey, Vinyl, I-“ I began before she cut me off.

“Hey, Octavia! He’s here again!” She yelled back. My ears drooped. Was she always this… awkward? I thought to myself. Octavia took her place yet again. She looked at my sides, and her brow furrowed.

“Weren’t you an Earth Pony?” She asked, genuinely curious by the sound of it. I scratched the back of my head.

“Well, yes, but my friend tested out a spell, and I-“ I began, but as I looked her in the eyes my wings unfurled with a pomf. I had seen this before in some mares in my past and my face grew red. Her face grew red as well. I smiled nervously, my ears drooping again, and I tried to force them back down.

“Well, anyways, aside from that, where’d you like to go? Would you like to go to Brunch?” I asked, awkwardly trying to push my new appendages down. She just stared at me, struggling to not laugh by the looks of it. My face grew redder, and I tried harder to push them down. Eventually, I gave up, and gave a smile to her, wishing I could cut those things off. Where’s a bone-saw when you need one? I thought.

“So, where’d you like to go?” I asked, ignoring my wings. She grew serious.

“I never said I had accepted.” She said. I blushed more, embarrassed further.

“Oh… Well… I just thought that you’d agree…” I said awkwardly. She looked at me with a bored expression.

“Fine, but I choose where we eat.” She said, closing the door behind her. I smiled widely and she gave me her dull-expression. My smile faded a moment. I gestured for her to take the lead.

I walked behind her, pointing out restaurants I had eaten at in the short time I’d been in Ponyville. I told her my own personal experiences, a few of them altered to be more comical. I got a couple of smiles and snide remarks. It was progress, I thought. While we walked through the town, I saw a few ponies pointing and laughing at me. I realized my wings were still up. My face grew red. I managed to put them down without using my fore-legs. I walked along side her, silent. She pointed to quite the fancy place. By the looks of it, I felt I’d leave with an empty bit-bag. I still walked inside, we got a few seats, and sat there, looking at the menus. The color must have drained from my face, because I felt dizzy when I saw the prices. I looked up to the mare across from me.

“Are you sure we can’t eat somewhere… cheaper?” I asked, a bit fearful of the reply. She looked up from her menu.

“Yes, I’m sure.” She said, looking back down at the menu. I looked down and read a few of the choices. I decided to order the cheapest, yet, probably enjoyable food. I hadn’t a clue how to pronounce it, and I didn’t know the ingredients, so, it was going to be a fun little food-test. When it arrived, Octavia put a napkin in her neck-tie’s place. I left my napkin on the table. I looked at the assortment of spoons and forks in front of me. I looked up at her, and she had selected her silver-wear already. I tilted my head.

“I never learned the proper silver-wear to use.” I said bluntly. She looked up from her food, and gave me another dull look. She pointed out what the different spoons were for, as well as the forks. I thanked her, and picked up the fork I believed was appropriate. She let out a small laugh, probably because I chose the wrong one. I stuck it into the food and cut out the piece with my knife. I placed it in my mouth, tasted it a moment, and felt like spitting it back out. I had paid for it, and I wanted to get my money’s worth, but it wasn’t worth it. I spit the piece onto my plate, grimacing.

“This food is expensive and awful.” I said, scowling at my plate. I looked at her enjoying her food. She looked at the food in front of me, and then to me.

“That’s a pain aux raisins. It’s a typical breakfast item in Prance.” She said, going back to her food. I furrowed my brow.

“That means nothing to me. I do not enjoy it, yet I’m sure others do.” I said plainly. She smiled at my comment. My wings hit the back of my seat. I put them back down, blushing. I looked at some of the other ponies in the restaurant. Most of them were overly-dressed in pricey-looking clothing. I looked back to Octavia, admiring her. She looked up at me.

“It’s impolite to stare.” She said. My face grew red.

“Sorry.” I said, looking down. She let out a slight laugh. I poked at my food, and realized the cognate in it. Pain aux raisins… raisin… I looked closer. It seemed to be a sort of bread. Raisin bread… I sighed, remembering that I hated raisins. I looked back at Octavia, who wiped her mouth with her napkin, and crumpled it up, setting it on her plate. I looked at her half-eaten food.

“You only ate half of your plate… Isn’t that a waste of money?” I asked her. She looked up.

“I can’t eat it all, and, it’s a good thing you’re buying it.” She said with a smirk. I let out an ‘urk’ sound.

“Wait, what?! I never agreed to buy both our meals!” I complained. She raised a hoof before I could say more.

“It’s proper manners for the gentle-colt to buy a lady her food when they eat together.” She gave me a sly smile. I knew I wouldn’t win, so I took out my bit-bag.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We left the restaurant, my bag sixty bits lighter. I walked along side Octavia. I decided to strike up a conversation.

“So, you play the cello? I shoved one of their bows up my bum one time.” I said, laughing. I never did that, it was just a joke.

“Oh, good, I’m not the only one.” She said, smiling.

“I… was joking.” I said, a bit fearful.

“So was I.” She said, smiling to me. I laughed with her. I imagined the image of that and my wings sprang up again. I ignored them, but she looked at them, and her face grew red. She smacked me.

“Ow! Sorry! I can’t help it!” I said. She looked forward, but, she was smiling. I hung my head a bit lower, and put my wings down. She looked at them again.

“So, you said your friend used a spell to give you wings? Does that mean you can feel them?” She asked. I looked over.

“Yeah; it’s pretty odd: Feeling a new appendage and working them around.” I explained. I extended my wing nearest to her and showed her by me flexing it. She grabbed it and yanked on it. I let out a sort of ‘whimper’. She looked at me, smiling.

“Did that hurt?” She asked.

“Yes! Why would you do that?!” I yelled. She laughed.

“You weren’t much of a gentle-colt.” She said, letting go of my wing. I rubbed it. I looked at her, fearing she was some sort of sadist or something. I looked forward once more, walking in silence.

After a few minutes, my wings expanded and went back into my spine in a second. It was cartoon-y, funny, and painful. With my face in the ground I looked back, happy to see no extra appendages. Octavia had stopped and waited for me, smiling. I got up and went back to her side, continuing the walk.

When we arrived at her door I opened it for her, waving her in. I nodded to her, and was about to walk away, when…

“Where are you going?” I heard her say behind me. I turned back around, confused.

“I figured we were done and you’d want me out of your mane.” I said. She waved me inside, laughing a bit. I went into the home. It wasn’t as I imagined it would be. I would’ve thought it’d be much… fancier. It was very average, aside from the large turntable in the living room, and an odd-looking dishwasher in the kitchen. I saw Vinyl sitting on a couch in the living room. She looked over and smiled.

“Hey, lovebirds. How’s it hangin’?” She inquired. My face grew a bit red, and I heard Octavia mumble something not-very-ladylike. Vinyl walked over and poked my chest.

“Did ya kiss her?” She asked, snickering. I smacked her hoof away.

“No, I didn’t.” I said calmly. She laughed. Octavia was blushing, which surprised me.

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone~.” Vinyl sang, walking up the stairs, although, I could see her head peak out. Octavia sat on the couch, and as did I. We sat there, silently. Vinyl let out a groan.

“You two are boring.” She said. I heard her hoof-steps up stairs, and a door closing.

“I hate her sometimes.” Octavia said as soon as the door sounded. I chuckled.

“Likewise, and I haven’t even talked to her that much.” I said.

“Try living with her.” She said, smiling. I laughed and went quiet for a bit. We sat there, in the silence. Thank Celestia it wasn’t another awkward one. I stretched and stood up.

“Well, Octavia; I had a very nice time.” I said smiling. She nodded to me.

“I did too, and, you win the ‘bet’ we established.” She said, smiling a bit. I felt like grinning, but went against it. With a final goodbye I headed out the door and back to the boutique.