It's Probably Destiny

“Are you ready yet?”

The voice floats into the bathroom from way of the bedroom. Chills sighs. “Can’t you hear the shower running?”

“Nope.”

“Well, you can wait another ten minutes for me to finish. The dinner reservations are for 7:00 and its only 6:15. We aren’t that far from the restaurant so we don’t need to leave until 6:45.”

“At this rate we won’t leave until 8:45. Hurry up!”

Chills sighs again, shuts off the water, and climbs out of the shower. Yanking a towel off the rack on the wall, he begins to dry himself off. Humming quietly, he finishes drying himself and looks in the mirror. Satisfied, he picks up a bowtie lying on the sink and attempts to put it on, failing miserably. Groaning loudly, he ends up tying the thing in a knot in an attempt to tie the bowtie correctly. Destiny knocks on the door. “Are you alright in there?”

“I can’t tie this damn bowtie.” He attempts to undo the knot but only succeeds in making it worse. Destiny opens the door and walks into the bathroom, staring closely at the knot around his neck. “Here, let me fix that for you.” She undoes the knot and quickly ties the bowtie around his neck.

He grins sheepishly. “Thanks, you’re a life-saver.”

She pecks his cheek. “Anytime.” Blushing, Chills walks to the door and hold it open. “Ladies first,” he says bowing. She giggles and pokes him in the chest as she walks by. “Such a gentleman,” she leans in so close that her mouth is right next to his ear, “I like that.” She giggles again as he blushes darker and walks out into the street. Following close behind, Chills locks the door behind him and trots to catch up with Destiny.

“You look beautiful tonight,” he says with a warm smile. She looks at her hooves, blushing intensely. “You’re too kind,” she whispers softly.

He chuckles. “I’m not kind enough. You look absolutely stunning tonight.”

She shoves him playfully. “I only did it to make you happy.”

He grins. “I daresay it worked like a charm. I’m more than happy. I’m ecstatic!” At this he leaps into the air and pumps a hoof. Destiny laughs. “You can be such a dork sometimes.” He ruffles his wings in an attempt to straighten out his feathers.

She nudges his side. “You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”

He grins like a shark. “Just close your eyes. I’ll tell you when we get there.”

She obliges and closes her eyes, taking Chills’ hoof. Careful not to lose her, Chills walks slowly and carefully, and they soon reach the restaurant.

“Open your eyes.”

It’s quite a fancy place, which is unusual for this part of Ponyville. The windows sparkle in the moonlight. The patio seating is under the glow of a string of lights and on hard oak flooring. There is a candle on each and every table. In short, this place had spared no expense in making this the best restaurant in town. Destiny gasps. “Oh my gosh…”

He chuckles. “You like it?”

She nods slowly. “This must have cost you a fortune. How did you get enough money to do this?”

“I spent a week’s grocery allowance for it. I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

She goes wide-eyed and puts a hoof over her mouth. “But that means…”

He smiles. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just have to cut down on my food consumption, that’s all. Shall I take you inside?” he says with a bow.

She holds out a hoof and smiles. “Of course.”

Taking her hoof, he leads her inside. The building is even more opulent on the inside. All along the walls there are massive paintings in guilt frames. The floor is solid white marble and the walls are black granite. The lighting is soft and sparkles off the flecks embedded in the granite, giving the impression of standing inside a black diamond. Destiny leans on Chills’ shoulder. “I can’t believe you spent all your money just to buy a reservation here for me,” she whispers in his ear.

He kisses her blushing cheek. “Anything for you, Destiny.” This causes her to blush even brighter and look away. He grins and signals a waitress. “Table for two, please.” She smiles and ushers the couple out onto the patio. Chills pulls out a chair for Destiny and sits, still overwhelmed by his kindness. “Wine for the couple?” asks the waitress, floating a bottle of expensive red wine to the table.

Chills looks at Destiny. “Do you want some wine?” She remains silent. He turns to the waitress and says, “Yes, thank you.”

He turns back to Destiny as the waitress pours the wine. “Is something wrong? Did I screw up?”

She sips the wine. Smiling weakly, she says, “No, everything is perfect. It’s so perfect it’s overwhelming. I just need a minute to soak it all in.”

He grins. The waitress comes back and offers them both a menu, but Chills simply requests the house special. Destiny sips her wine in silence, trying to absorb what was happening. Eventually the waitress comes out bearing two covered platters. “Bon appétit, lovebirds.”

She lifts the lids to reveal the dish. It appears to be just another salad, but it is made from the best ingredients that can be bought. It was obvious again that this restaurant spared no expense in being the very best. The greens were picked at the peak of freshness. The petals were from red roses. There were baby carrots, baby corn, mushrooms, tomatoes, and much, much more.

Destiny looks from the salad to Chills, back to the salad, then to the waitress. She blushes a bright pink and nods at the waitress.

“Thank you.”

The waitress nods. “You’re quite welcome.” She walks away, leaving the couple alone on the patio. Destiny stares at the salad, refusing to look at Chills.

He gives her a concerned stare. Blushing brighter, Destiny begins to play with her salad, refusing to eat it. Grinning, Chills pokes her foreleg. “Something wrong?”

She smiles nervously. “It’s nothing. I’m just a little nervous, that’s all.”

Chills chuckles. “It’s just me. There’s no need to be nervous.”

That’s exactly why I’m nervous, Destiny screams inside the privacy of her mind. She blushes and nods. “Yeah, it’s just you. No need to be nervous.” She takes a bite of the salad. She chews slowly, savoring the taste, and then swallows, grinning ear to ear. “This is amazing!”

Chills blushes slightly and smiles. “I’m glad you like it.”

They finish the rest of their meal in silence, avoiding each other’s gaze. The waitress makes her way over. “Anything else?” Chills smiles at her. “No, I think that will be all, thank you.”

Destiny looks up at Chills and smiles weakly again. “I’m going to start heading back. I don’t feel so good. I probably shouldn’t have had that wine. Alcohol makes me sick.”

Chills nods. “Of course. I’ll catch up with you after I pay for the check.”

“Thanks.” Destiny stands up slowly, being careful not to trip. Stumbling slightly, she makes her way off the patio and starts to head back towards the house. Not paying attention, she walks randomly, her mind occupied by her thoughts. She eventually realizes that she’s lost and tries to trace her steps back. Much to her dismay, however, she only succeeds in getting more lost. Sitting down heavily, she begins to sob quietly, hoping against hope that Chills would find her. Across the street, two ponies are staring at her with hungry looks in their eyes. One of them, a tall brown stallion, steps forward with a stumble, obviously drunk. He grins evilly, displaying his rotting yellow teeth.

“H-hey pretty lady. You lost?”