Through the Cavern

"Alright Vinyl, I'm out of here. I'll see you on Monday, alright?" Ricky stretched as he made his way to the door of the music shop.

"Sounds good." Vinyl said absentmindedly, flipping through a magazine. After waiting for a longer response, Ricky shrugged and left, lighting a smoke as he did. He glanced at his watch and found that it was still a bit early, so he figured he'd just wander around and see what was up. He saw one or two ponies he recognized, but he didn't really feel like trying to talk to someone new. He thought about heading over to Applejack's to see if she wanted to go on that weed harvest, but figured that Apple Bloom would probably be getting home from school still.

"Hey! Ricky!"

Ricky stopped short, glancing around for the source of the voice. He didn't see anypony at first, so he started walking again.

"Over here!"

He looked again, and saw Twilight over by the Rusty Horseshoe "Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you there, Twilight. How's it going?"

"Not bad. I just came from the Nightmare Night preparations. It's looking to be really fun this year!" Twilight said happily. Ricky glanced down at her, noticing a piece of star-studded fabric poking out of her saddlebag.

"What's with the cloth? You going as a wizard, then?" The two of them began walking together towards the direction of Sugarcube Corner.

"Not just any wizard. The one and only Starswhirl the Bearded!" She said happily "He's kind of a big deal to me." she added, noting the blank look on Ricky's face.

"Gotcha. I already went to Rarity for a measurement session the other day." he said, pulling out a smoke "I'm really looking forward to this thing too."

"Oh, I just know you're going to love it. So, what are you planning to go as?" Twilight asked him, waving at a couple of ponies they passed.

"I'm going as a video game character." Ricky replied "I was able to find a picture of what he looked like on my phone. I gotta say, Rarity is a genius when it comes to copying pictures."

"Well, as a designer, she has to be able to make a visual of what she wants to do." Twilight said "But, enough about Nightmare Night. How's the new job going?"

"Pretty good so far. Vinyl's not the most responsible boss I've ever had, but I like it better that way. She's got me on four days a week, 15 bits an hour." They turned up the path to the bakery/sweet shop.

"That's great to hear! I have to say, I'm really impressed at how quickly you've become accustomed to this place." Twilight used her magic to open the doors, and they entered. Ricky braced himself for Pinkie Pie, but fortunately she didn't seem to be working today.

"I really like it here. When I find something I enjoy, I get right into it. Ponyville's no different."

The two of them walked over to a booth and sat down. A moment later, Mrs. Cake came up, smiling away.

"Well, good afternoon, your highness!" she said happily "If I had known you would be coming in today..."

"Oh, please don't get all flustered, Mrs. Cake. It's not a big deal when I come here. I'm still the same old Twilight Sparkle that you knew before." Twilight said, blushing slightly.

Mrs. Cake blushed as well "I'm sorry, dear. I just can't help it."

"Don't worry about it. Can we just have a menu, please?"

"Of course. I'll be right back." Mrs. Cake hurried off behind the counter to fetch them. Ricky pulled out the moneybag that Applejack gave him.

"Let me handle this one. I got lots left over from the other day." he said. Twilight was slightly taken aback at this "Oh...are you sure? I mean, I would feel just terrible if I were to accept and deplete you of what you have..." she rambled. Ricky held up his hand to stop her.

"Chill, Twi. I've got enough left. Besides, after all of the help that you and your friends have been giving me, the least I can do is buy you something to the eat." Ricky scanned the cakes menu, and figured everything there had way too much sugar.

"Well, if you insist." Twilight blushed lightly, picking her menu up with magic. As they read, Ricky got the uncomfortable feeling that they were being stared at. Slowly looking around, he saw his suspicions confirmed. While there weren't many ponies in the snack shop, there were enough to make it awkward.

"Uh...why are they staring?" Ricky whispered uneasily. Twilight seemed confused at this, and then realized what he was saying "Oh, great...not again. Excuse me, please..." Getting up on her chair, the princess addressed the other patrons.

"Look, everypony, I understand that some of you are still fascinated with Ricky being here, not to mention seeing him sitting and having dessert with the princess in public..."

"Great, just broadcast it for the world, why don't you?" Ricky thought, cringing from the embarrassment. A mare over at the counter pointed at him and began to giggle with her friend.

"...So, with that said, we would appreciate it if we were left in peace, alright?" Twilight finished her little speech, and everypony began to snicker and applaud. She sat down, all smiles "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Well, at least Pinkie Pie wasn't here to see that. If she got the wrong idea about us...God, I don't even want to think about it." Ricky said, his ears burning.

"I suppose I COULD have worded that a little differently..." Twilight mused "Maybe I could twist my words around..."

"PLEASE sit back down, would you? Trust me, you've done enough already." Ricky did his best to ignore the situation.

"Good point. Don't want to spoil a good thing." Twilight agreed, setting her menu down "I think I've decided what I want. Any idea of what you're gonna order yet?"

"I'm not really hungry, to be honest. Do they serve coffee here, by chance?"

"Yep. And being Pinkie's day off, there's no reason for them to serve decaf." Twilight giggled briefly, then looked serious "Trust me, Pinkie on caffeine is NOT a sight that you want to see."

"Really? It can't be THAT bad. I mean, I've seen my old classmates panic back in school and whatnot and get a little too juiced up, but they were mostly fine." Ricky recalled.

"Well, let's just say that there was a lot of property damage. A LOT."

As Twilight finished speaking, Mrs. Cake approached the table "So, are we ready to order, then?"

"Yes, I'll have a...strawberry shake with a slice of chocolate pecan pie, and Ricky...?" Twilight looked at him, and he started slightly "Oh! Sorry, I'll just get a large cup of coffee and...whoa, caramel filled chocolate muffins? Sweet, I'll take a couple of those too."

"Coming right up!" Mrs. Cake wrote their order down and headed behind the counter. As she did, Twilight looked at Ricky and asked "So, out of curiosity, why do you have such a problem with people paying attention to you? I mean, I don't mean to pry, but-"

"Oh, no, no. You have the wrong idea entirely." Ricky said "It's not the people paying attention to me, but if I'm seen randomly having coffee with the princess...you know where I'm going with this?"

"Not really..." Twilight mused, then suddenly it clicked "Oh...OH! Well, yes, I can see how that would be a bit of a problem for you..." she agreed.

"Yeah...so, can you understand why I kind of want to keep this low-key? Oh, thanks." Ricky took his order from Mrs. Cake, Twilight using magic to set hers down.

"Of course. I mean, it's one thing if you're spending time with your special somepony..." Twilight took a bite of pie and chased it down with a sip of shake "Speaking of which, did you have a special somepony back in your old world?"

"Special some...you mean like a girlfriend?" Ricky asked, slightly surprised "Well, I did have a couple of flings here and there...nothing you would really call special, but it was okay."

"So, no." Twilight said bluntly.

"Pretty much." Ricky took a sip of coffee "Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious, is all." Twilight took another sip and glanced away slightly. Ricky was starting to find her behavior a bit odd. As he watched, he started piecing things together...

"Twilight...are you...trying to tell me that you...?" Ricky began, but Twilight gasped and shook her head violently.

"NO! Oh, sweet Celestia, a thousand times no. I mean, I don't mean to offend you or anything, but for a princess and a human to...I don't even want to THINK about what sort of punishment would be in store." Twilight blushed and took another sip.

"No offence taken. I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that, but I thought you were trying to hint that you were into me." Ricky glanced down at his muffins, suddenly not hungry anymore.

"Well, yes and no." Ricky glanced sharply at Twilight, confused and uncomfortable "Um...but you just said..."

"No, you don't understand. I'M not the one who likes you, but somepony else does." Twilight said, and Ricky stared, stunned at her words.

"Are you kidding me? Who is it?" Ricky asked, trying to comprehend what was happening.

"Look, I'm terrible with this kind of stuff...to put it simple, somepony who you've met and gotten rather close with recently has taken a liking to you. I'm not gonna tell you who it is, but all I know is that she plans to tell you on Nightmare Night."

"What? Nightmare Night? But I'm supposed to be on a fake date with Rainbow Dash that night." Ricky said, getting a tad flustered "I mean, I'm flattered and all, but...wow, this has legitimately never happened to me."

"Look, I'll explain to Rainbow Dash what's happening. Knowing her, there's a strong chance she'll be more than happy to get out of a setup. You just worry about making a good impression on your potential special somepony..." Twilight giggled, clearly excited at what was unfolding. Ricky sighed "Look...can you at least give me a hint as to who I'm going to be hearing this from?"

"I suppose...okay, here it goes...you see her every day, no matter what time it is." Twilight said. Ricky leaned forward, waiting to hear more.

"That's it. I'm not gonna tell you any more. I promised her that I would only give you a heads up on what would be happening." Twilight pushed her plate away and took another sip of her shake.

"Seriously? That's not fair at all...God, luckily I have until Saturday to prepare myself for this...Just need to focus on getting everything together for the big night." Ricky stood up and drained his coffee.

"Well, all I can suggest is that you don't worry about this non-stop for the next two days. Believe me, I know all about stressing out to the max..." Twilight shuddered slightly, as if recalling some past incident. She used her magic to make a doggy bag appear for Ricky's muffins.

"Good point, Twi. I should just get some rest and collect myself." Ricky pulled out a smoke "Well, I should probably get going. Wouldn't mind putting my feet up for a bit, I'll bet you want to do the same."

"Ok. You have yourself a good night, and remember what I said about stressing out." Twilight replied.

"Got it." Ricky set 14 bits on the table, stretched and made his way out the bakery door. As Twilight watched him go, she sighed.

"I really, REALLY hope that he does the right thing...the last thing I want to do is see her get hurt." the princess said to herself, looking out the window as she saw Ricky's admirer go by.