MLPU: Dating the Iron Mare
Caramel was sweating bullets as he approached the door, the clouds beneath his feet adding a familiar comfort most earth ponies like himself would be baffled by. He hoped he hadn't overdressed. He was wearing a blue button up shirt and black slacks with a pair of black slip on shoes. The night air was just cold enough to hide his nervous shivers, a fact he was exceedingly thankful for. Caramel looked at the door before him like it was a bomb he'd been asked to diffuse.
"Okay, just ring the doorbell and wait. She already said yes so the hard part is over," he told himself, trying to find courage. He tentatively raised a hand and pressed it against the button next to the door. The door automatically opened and revealed an empty entry way into the home of one of richest mares in Equestria. The home belonged to Rainbow Dash, owner of Dash Industries, brilliant inventor, the newly christened Iron Mare and most importantly, Caramel's boss.
Caramel had asked the prismatically maned pony out just before she had revealed her alter ego to the world. Ego being the operative word. Rainbow had always been an outgoing mare, testing the limits of what she could do and pushing herself further than most could, but Caramel had known her long enough to know why. Rainbow had an annoying need to be in the spotlight. She'd had that habit much longer than Caramel had known her and he suspected that it had something to do with trying to gain the attention of her father, Comet Dash.
Caramel pushed his nervousness aside as he stepped through the doorway. The inside was as clean as ever, thanks to the home's A.I. computer system, T.A.N.K.
"Welcome Mr. Caramel," the computer greeted.
"Hey T.A.N.K.," Caramel replied as he walked towards the stairs just a few feet down the hallway towards the living room. "Is Rainbow ready yet?" he asked, hoping to get the night underway.
"I'm afraid not," T.A.N.K. answered. "She is currently working out a programming issue in her latest armor design," he explained as Caramel groaned in annoyance.
"Seriously? I swear if she forgot we had plans tonight," he began, mumbling the rest of his thought under his breath.
"Actually sir-," T.A.N.K. began only to be cut off by Caramel.
"Don't worry about it. I'll handle this," Caramel assured the house grumpily. T.A.N.K. didn't argue any further as Caramel made his way downstairs. Once he reached the bottom he placed his hand on a panel next to the door at the bottom. The door slid open and revealed the interior of Rainbow's workshop and blasting Caramel with loud music, something he'd grown accustomed to over the years.
The mare in question was hunched over a table in the center of the room, her gaze fixated on what looked like a briefcase made to match her armor, wires and circuits lay exposed and telling Caramel it likely wasn't meant to hold luggage. Caramel glared at her back as he slid his finger across a control panel on the wall to his left, effectively cutting off the music.
Rainbow's head shot up as soon as the room became quiet and looked up to see Caramel standing on the other side of the room, an angry glare on his face. Rainbow's face and clothes, a plain t-shirt and jeans, had their usual grease and oil stains that had become common place since she'd become a mechanical engineer. Caramel had no idea how she made this look so appealing, but he remained glaring, unfazed by his bosses confused and surprisingly cute look.
Rainbow stared blankly at him before speaking. "I'm really sorry for whatever I did wrong, but I have no idea why you're angry," she said as she set down a screwdriver she'd been using and stood up approaching Caramel.
"I figured as much," Caramel said, a mock smile on his face. "If you recall though, you might remember that I asked you out yesterday," he reminded, as the smile fell from his face, replaced by the angry look from before.
Rainbow quirked an eyebrow at the reminder. "Actually I do remember that," she said as she started in the direction of the bathroom. "I also remember you saying eight o' clock, not six," she said jabbing her thumb at the clock on her desk a few feet away from Caramel.
Caramel's eyes widened as he glanced at the clock. Sure enough it read 6:07. He'd shown up almost two hours early. Even worse he'd verbally attacked Rainbow for forgetting and she hadn't.
"Oh... umm...," Caramel struggled for words for a minute as his face began to heat up with embarrassment as Rainbow started washing her face. "I'm so sorry, I guess my clock must be fast and this wouldn't be the first time you forgot something important like this, not that you're absent minded or anything, you're usually pretty-" Caramel was interrupted by a finger pressing against his mouth. In his nervous rambling he had failed to notice that Rainbow had finished in the bathroom and was now standing in front of him an amused smile on her face.
"Relax Caramel. You showed up early. It's not that big a deal," she said calmly, trying to get the stallion to relax as she headed for the stairs.
"But you didn't forget. I accused you of forgetting and you didn't," Caramel began almost starting another rant.
"And like I said, it's not a big deal," Rainbow interjected, before the earth pony could get started again. At the top of the stairs she turned around and saw Caramel looking at the ground a dejected look in his eyes. "Okay, there's something else bugging you, what is it?" she asked, genuinely concerned.
Caramel sighed. "You're gonna laugh if I tell you," he said, not looking up.
Rainbow considered this for a moment. "Probably, but I'm you're boss and I'm not giving you a choice," she replied, a smirk on her face at this small victory.
Caramel couldn't help but smile at this. However it quickly faded as he contemplated how to word his worries. "All the other stallion's you've been with... They're...," Caramel trailed off, once again unsure how to proceed. He eventually just decided to be honest. "They're all like models and famous actors," he explained. "I mean I know you're not a gold digger or anything, but I just wonder if maybe this is like a pity date or something," he finished looking away from his boss.
Rainbow rolled her eyes as she approached Caramel. "Caramel you're probably the only stallion in my life right now who's comfortable calling me out when I screw up. Considering that most of those other stallions were probably only interested in my status, I'd say you're probably the only shot I have at something more than a one night stand," she said placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You've been by my side through some of the worst parts of my life and even when I gave you crap you didn't deserve you still stuck around," she continued. "I don't need a model or a famous actor. I just need a loyal friend," she finished.
Caramel lifted his head a small smile playing on his lips. "Sorry. I guess I was worrying over nothing," he replied, starting to feel more comfortable. "But just so we're clear, even on your payroll some of the ritzier restaurants are beyond my pay grade and I will be paying," he clarified, cheering up as he started walking towards the door.
Rainbow chuckled as she followed him. "Well good thing I'm a mare with simple tastes then. Fast food and bad action movies are good enough for me," she said as she joined her date at the door. "But maybe you should let change into something less greasy," she pointed out stretching out the bottom of her shirt, displaying the many stains on it.
Caramel scoffed. "Oh... uh... right. Go ahead and change I'll wait in the living room," he said, trying to hide his embarrassment. Rainbow gave him a playful grin as she walked away, removing her shirt as she rounded the corner. Caramel's eyes widened at the display and he gulped. "She's not gonna make this easy on me," he said to himself as he walked to the living room and sat on the couch.
Author's Note
Okay this is my first attempt at a oneshot. That's right I don't intend to tellthe story of the actual date. I thoughtthis would be more interesting. Anyways tell me what you think.
Now the main reason for any one shots I do are mostlygoing to be to expand the emotional aspect of the Characters in my Marvel Crossovers. Am I only going to make Marvel Crossover One shots? No idea. We'll see.
Anyways, enjowand stay tuned.
