Today was my first date with my new mare friend, Octavia. I was really nervous about how the date was going to go, and I was praying in my head that I wasn't going to mess anything up. If I do mess up, she might not want to go out on a second date, or worse, she might not ever want to see me again. My heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest, my nerves were on high, and my mind was clouded with a million different thoughts at once. I needed to take a chill pill, and I needed to take it now.
I looked at myself in the mirror of my room. I had my hair tied up and my shades were sitting on top of my head. I pulled my shades down and continued to observe myself in the mirror. I sighed and set my shades down on the dresser, "I think she'd like it better if I didn't wear my shades." I looked over at the small box of cupcakes that were sitting on my bed. I had specially ordered them for Pinkie Pie this morning and she finally got around to delivering them. Though it annoyed me that she was late, I understood that she had to help out Twilight and the others in order to deal with Discord. A bright smile came across my face as I lifted the box and stared at the cupcakes inside, "I hope she's a fan of cupcakes, otherwise I'm eating these on my own."
I looked over at my clock and checked the time, "I guess I better get going." I picked up the box, my keys, and the small picnic basket for the movie, and left from my apartment.
I walked along the crowded streets of Canterlot, barely managing to keep the food from getting scattered around. I looked up at a large billboard that was displaying the latest fashion from Rarity's new clothing line. Although I wasn't too big on high end clothing, I liked to see what everypony was going after. It was like looking for the prize inside the box of cereal.
I had finally managed to make it to Octavia's house at a quarter 'til seven, fifteen minutes early. Have to make a good impression, you know? I sat the picnic basket and the box of cupcakes on the step and knocked on her door.
"Who is it?" called a voice on the other side.
"It's Vinyl. I'm here for our date."
The lock clicked and the door squeaked open, "Hello, Vinyl, I'm glad you showed up early."
"Well, you know how it is, everypony gets one shot at making a first impression."
"Well, don't be shy, come on in and make yourself at home."
I picked up the box and the basket and stepped inside. Her house looked amazing. The floors were mahogany, the furniture looked like it came directly from the royal castle, and the atmosphere felt a lot different from where I lived at. Though this is the first time that Octavia and I have met face to face, we have spoken to each other many times online. We both had really gotten to know each other very well and we had finally decided to meet for the first time tonight. We talked about going to see the movie To Love and Let Die and have a little picnic to go with it. It was her idea really. I originally wanted to go out dancing at the club I work at. But, she talked me into going with her to see the movie.
"I'm glad you actually showed up."
I looked at her with confusion, "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, most of the mares I've dated never even bothered to really show up at all for our first date. I was about to just give up on dating for a while until I was ready to try again. But, when I talked to you online, I just knew that I had to meet you."
"I know what that's like."
"Really? I figured a mare like you would have lots of ponies trying to be with you."
"Well, being a major party girl, I tend to get carried away with things." I looked over at her fireplace mantle and saw a pair of neon purple shades, "Where did you get those?"
"Oh, I actually bought them for you. You had mentioned how you were looking for a new pair, so I decided to go out and get you some."
I walked over to the mantle and picked up the shades. They had thick black frames and still had the designer sticker on them. "Thanks Octavia! I got you a little something as well." I picked up the picnic basket. I pulled out a small black box and gave it to her.
"What is it?"
"Well, remember when you told me that you needed a new choker for your concerts?"
"Yeah?"
"Open the box."
She opened the box and inside was a red bow tie choker. It was a little something that I also had specially ordered. She looked up at me with a bright smile on her face, "Thank you Vinyl!"
"No problem." I looked at my watch, "Well, we'd better get going if we don't want to miss the movie."
I quickly took off the designer tag of the shades and put them on. Octavia was fastening her new choker as we were walking to her door. I opened the door and we quickly made our way towards the park.
"So, Vinyl, you're a DJ right?"
"Yep. It's always been my dream to make music."
"I bet it's hard having to work late nights."
"You get used to it. Though it was a killer at first."
"I'd imagine so."
"What's it like playing the cello?"
"Well, it came naturally to me. Though I had to practice a lot a first, I managed to get the hang of it in no time. I've played concerts all over Equestria, and I've even had the opportunity to play for Celestia's royal court."
"I take it you turned down the offer."
"It was a really nice offer, but it would have kept me from traveling."
"I see."
"So, tell me something, what kind of mares do you like?"
My face turned red, "Well, I like a mare who is smart, outspoken, talented, beautiful, and who really knows how to work a stove. Not that I'm a bad cook, I just that I like to have someone that I can learn a lot more from than my cookbooks."
She giggled and wrapped her hoof around me, "Lucky for you, I can teach you everything I know about cooking."
"What about you?"
"Well, I like a mare that I can enjoy being around, someone whose stories will never bore me, and above all, someone who truly knows how to treat a mare with respect."
We finally made it to the park. There were tons of ponies crowded in the center for the movie. We walked around for a few minutes before we finally found ourselves a little place to sit. I pulled out the small blanket that was in the basket and laid it out on the ground. I sat the basket and the box of cupcakes on the blanket and began to arrange the food. I made us one of my very special dinners; carrot dogs served with crispy hay fries and fruit salad.
We sat down and I pulled out a small bottle of Apple Wine and poured it into a couple of small glasses, "To our first date. And may we have many more ahead."
We clicked our glasses together and took a sip of our wine. Octavia smiled at me, her eyes glistening in the moonlight, "I hope we have more dates."
The movie began and we turned to face it. The movie was about this young mare who falls in love with the stallion who just moved into the neighborhood. They don't talk to each other that much at first, but throughout the movie they get to know each other more and more. She eventually find out that he only had three weeks left to live. Though she is heartbroken, she does everything she can to make his last days memorable. The movie ends with the funeral of the stallion, the mare is in tears, but in her heart she knows that she made his final moments the way he had wanted them to be.
The screen went blank and everypony was on their hooves. Octavia was still crying about the amazing and heartwarming ending. I had tears in my eyes as well. Never before had I seen a movie like this.
As everypony else was packing up to go home. Octavia and I stayed together under the tree.
"This was a really fun night, Vinyl. I'm glad I was able to spend this time with you."
"I'm glad too. You're the most amazing mare I've ever been with." I leaned over and kissed her gently on her soft lips.
Her face turned red and she wrapped her hooves around me, "I love you Vinyl."
"I love you too, Tavi."
"Tavi?"
"Just a little something I came up with for you."
She put one of her hooves on her chin, "Tavi? Hmm...I like it." She pulled me in closer to her and gave me another kiss.
"I had a really great time with you tonight. Thanks for taking me to the movie."
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world."
"So, are you available for another date next week?"
I put my hoof around her and kissed her one last time, "I'll be there."
