"Are you sure it'll be enough?" I asked the bartender, "Everything has to be perfect."
"Your down a few caps," he said, "But don't worry about that. You just go and have fun."
"Really!?" I asked, "Thanks!"
I paid the stallion his caps, took the champagne, placed it safely in my saddlepacks, and left him. I raced towards the atrium, dodging and weaving around the crowd. I got to the atrium, opened the door, and went in.
I loved the atrium. The massive room with benches and the balcony. It was a good place to get quiet and read. I trotted up and sat down on a bench. I exhaled and looked over my things. A bottle of champagne, a remote, a box of chocolates, a single rose (you would not believe the trouble I had to go through to get that), and a tank of fuel.
Everything was in it's proper place. I got up and exited into one of the many hallways of the atrium. I knew exactly where I wanted to go. I thought about today, and what I was about to do. I gulped. Today was Hearts and Hooves Day in Tenpony. I wasn't exactly the most charming of the colts in Tenpony. I was slightly larger and taller than everypony else, and eye level with the mares and stallions. Not to mention, my coat was gray, and so were my eyes, much unlike a lot of ponies in the tower. But I pressed on.
I got to the door. Room 1009. I took a deep breath and knocked. After a second, a red filly my age opened the door. Comedy Gold. I exhaled slightly.
"Oh, Black Eye!" she said, "What do you want?"
"I-uh-have something for you," I said. I brought out the chocolates and the rose. Her eyes widened and a smile came to her face.
"Oh my goodness!" she said as she picked up the rose, "How did you get this!?"
"I have some connections," I said, "You would not believe how long it took me to get that."
"Oh I'm sure," she said as she sniffed the rose, "What's the occasion?"
"I-uh-I was just-um-wondering if you maybe, would like to...uh," I stuttered, looking around and blushing.
"Yes?" she said.
"I was just a wondering, and if you don't, it's cool, but-um-would you like to maybe...go on a date?" I asked blushing hotly. My mane itched badly.
"Oh," she said, herself blushing as well, "Um, sure. I'll go ask my parents."
"Really!?" I asked and gave a short exhale, "Thanks! I-I'll go get cleaned up. Meet up in the atrium in about an hour?"
"Okay," she said, smiling now. I smiled back as she closed the door. I walked down the hallway, out of earshot, and jumped joyfully, whooping and smiling like an idiot.
I ran outside the atrium and ran to the spa. It would cost the last of my caps, but it would be worth it. I had a date to catch.
I sat down on a bench. Comedy Gold wasn't here yet. I breathed out. I checked my bag for the hundredth time and nothing had changed. I just had to make sure everything was in its proper place. They hadn't moved.
After a few minutes, Comedy trotted up behind me. I knew that because she shouted next to my head. I jumped off the bench and landed hard, not even bothering to try and stop myself.
Comedy burst out laughing. I gave a smile of my own.
"Okay," she said calming down, "Where are we going? Spa trip? A fancy restaurant maybe?"
"Better," I said, "We're going outside."
Comedy started at this. Just then I noticed she was wearing a broach embedded with a diamond. It was a minor detail, but it caught my eye. Her mane was done up nicely and her coat practically shined.
"Outside!?" she asked incredulously, "Seriously?"
"Oh yeah," I said, "Don't worry, it's not very far, but trust me, you'll love it."
She eyed me with a cautious look. I gave a mischievous half smile. She looked at me, obviously curious.
"May I?" I asked and gestured to her hoof. She nodded. I grabbed it and pulled her along with me. I began to run, Comedy following close behind. I got to the main door and opened it for her. She began to take a step and hesitated.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked, "What if our parents wonder we are? Besides its dark, we should just-"
I put a hoof to her chest. "Trust me."
She stepped outside and I closed the door. "Follow me!"
I began to run. She followed. It took less than twenty minutes to get to the docks. The moon shone through the clouds a fair distance out. Too far to see, but close enough that you could see the light.
"What are we doing here?" she asked, "There could be creatures here."
I ignored and looked around. Sure enough, I found the vehicle. It looked like a boat, except it was much larger in proporition. I gestured for her to come over.
"What is that?" she asked as she approached.
"I'm not sure what it's called, but I know what it does," I said as I brought out the tank of fuel. I poured it into the engine and pulled the start chord. It roared to life. Comedy stepped back.
"What's it doing?" she asked then her eyes widened, "You don't expect me to get on that thing do you!?"
I hopped on and said, "Why not?"
I offered her a hoof and helped her on. She looked around it curiously. I brought her to the front and she gasped.
"Oh no," she said, "That does not look good. Why are we here?"
Again, I ignored her as I went to the steering wheel and pressed the button on the remote. I pushed a lever forward and we began to drift away from the shore. Comedy started.
"If this is your idea of a date," she said, "I don't much appreciate it!"
"Come on back here!" I said, "Don't want you falling off do we?"
She came to me as we sped away from the shore, to the edge of the clouds. It was going to take a while.
"While we're going," I said, "I might as well explain the who, what, when, where, and why."
"Okay," she said, "Start with the what."
"Alright," I said, "So from what I can gather, this is called a boat. It was a device solely made to go across water. Whether leisurely, or to get somewhere fast. I found it one day washed up on shore. So I fixed it up."
"And why did you do this?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," I said.
"Do you know who it belongs to?" she asked.
"No idea," I said, "But whoever they were, they certainly weren't ponies. Something much bigger made this."
"What do you mean?" she asked. I carefully got off, making sure the boat stayed going. I brought her down a flight of stairs and showed her the door to the cabin. It was easily twice as tall as she was. She looked confused.
"This doesn't prove anything," she said. Then she went in. The interior looked like it belonged to a pony, except that everything was much higher and larger in proportion. I walked up to the counter and propped my fore hooves on to the top. I reached and grabbed a massive magazine.
"I'm not entirely sure," I said as I brought it down, "But I think those things made this." I brought the magazine and dropped it. On the cover were several creature standing on two legs. They were fleshy, but the skin was smooth. They had manes, but no tail. And they also had strange appendages that one of them used to carry a bag. Their faces were flat, and much more defined. There was strange text covering the front that I couldn't quite read.
"What are those?" she asked.
"No idea," I said setting it back on the counter, "But let's not dwell on that. We're supposed to be on a date remember?"
I walked out back onto the deck. We were probably five miles from the shore now. I slowed the machine to a halt. We were outside the cloud cover now. I looked up and gasped.
"What is it?" asked Comedy as she approached.
I simply pointed to the sky. She looked up and gasped as well.
"Oh my," she said. The sky was filled with millions of stars and the moon was in the center dominating the sky. It's light shined down upon us. The sky was black and only the stars dotted it like a fantasy world. Giant, swirling, multicolored clouds lay behind the stars. The stars themselves twinkled and shimmered, like a mirage. Some of them formed patterns and were brighter than others. Some of them grouped together.
The moon was the most impressive part. It was a crescent shape and shone with the might of the sun. It was covered in dark spots that formed the vague image of a ponies head.
"Wow," said Comedy in awe, "That...is...amazing!"
"Yes," I said, "I've been here before. Twice. And it never ceased to amaze."
"Simply incredible," she said.
"And they are never the same," I said.
"What?" she asked.
"Everything," I said gesturing to the sky, "It's like every time I come out here, I'm looking at a different canvas. And a goddessly artist is up there, painting something different."
Comedy continued to look. She leaned her head against my shoulder. I blushed a little.
"I take back everything I said," she said, "This is an incredible date."
"Oh!" I said, "Before I forget." I brought out the champagne and two wine glasses. Then I brought out the remote and clicked another button. An instrumental began to play from somewhere on the vessel.
"I found this song on the boat," I said, "I think you should here it."
As if on cue, somepony, or rather I should say, something that sounded like a pony began to sing.
"Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep. Dreamin' about the things that we could be."
I let the song play and poured the champagne. I lay down, listening to the music. Comedy lay down next to me. I gave her the glass and she took it without a word. I tipped it a bit and she tapped the glass against mine. I drank the fizzy alcohol, tasting a slight sourness to the drink.
And so we sat there. Drinking champagne and listening to the song, staring at the stars. Funnily enough, the song was about counting stars, and dreams. I wasn't a romancer by any means, but I would say that it was the perfect first date. Looks like Hearts and Hooves day wasn't so bad after all.
