The Relapse

“So where are we going again?” I asked Dew Star as she led the way down the street, “I thought we were just having dinner like usual.”

“W-we still are, I just thought I’d be the one to take care of it.”

“Oh, how nice of you, and convenient. I was starting to run out of vegetarian stuff to make.”

“I-I’m sorry I can’t cook as well as you.”

“Like I’ve said, don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault ponies eat a lot of flowers.” Following her into a restaurant I’ve never been to, the hostess sat us down at our reserved patio table. If there’s one thing I hate about restaurants with outdoor seating, it’s that they don’t have actual seats, just piles of hay, and that’s only half of them. Luckily, this place did at least have the hay so my ass would only be half as sore by the time we left.

“Any particular reason you picked this place?” I asked as I scanned the menu.

“W-well, it recently came under new management, so some of the menu has changed.”

“I see what you mean; there’s meat on here,” I said as I read the descriptions of the few non-vegetarian meals they offered, “been a long while since I’ve had steak, so I guess I’ll get that. If that doesn’t bother you, of course.”

“N-no, go ahead.”

“Thanks.” After giving our waitress our orders, we sat in what I knew for sure was a comfortable silence. Out of all the creatures I feel the most comfortable sitting in silence with, Beth and Dew Star are at the top of the list, with Dew Star beating Beth because I know she won’t try and end it when it goes on for a while. As we sat, I noticed we had a perfect view of the sun setting over the mountains, turning the comfortable silence into a relaxing one. I’m going to have to remember to thank Celestia for this.

“…S-so, uh,” Dew Star started slowly, pulling my attention from the big ball of fire, “I-I heard you went to lunch with one of your employees.”

“I did.”

“A-are you two friends now?”

“Hmm, I haven’t thought about it. I’ve heard that being friends with your employees isn’t a good idea.”

“D-does she seem like the type to take advantage of something like that?”

“I don’t think so. I’m assuming you heard about this from Beth, so you probably also know Selene doesn’t talk.”

“I do.”

“So because of that I couldn’t ask her too much, not that I would have anyway… but just from spending that little bit of time with her, I feel like I know quite a bit about her, personality wise. She’s nice, nicer than any griffon I’ve met at least; cute-as far as griffons go, and radiated with strength and confidence. All of which are traits I don’t have-”

“T-that’s not true.”

“-thanks, but despite me thinking we’re so different, I can’t help but feel like we’re similar somehow. It probably just has to do with all that griffon culture stuff Cadence taught me the other day. Speaking of which, I heard you and Beth went and saw… Hey, you alright?” At some point during my talking, I noticed she was staring at me strangely like she has been lately.

“I-I’m just thinking.”

“You’ve been doing a lot of that recently; want to talk about it?”

“N-No, that’s alright,” she replied as the waitress came with our food.

“…I know I don’t have to tell you that you can talk to me about anything, right? Besides being my friend, you’re still one of my clients, so I still have to help you.” Something I said must have made her angry, or excited, or happy, or aroused, because her wings flared out for a few seconds before she retracted them.

“…I-I know, but it’s okay. I-I’d feel more comfortable talking with Beth about this.” Even when writing this and thinking back on this moment, I’m still not sure how I felt about hearing her say that. She usually tells me anything and everything, and I don’t doubt there are things she keeps from me, but hearing her say she’d be uncomfortable telling me… I’m not sure I feel or felt.

“…Okay, s-sure. I can respect that,” I said before focusing on my food and finding a piece of raw meat on my plate, “…Goddamnit.”

Dear Princesses,

I was wrong; there’s no hope for him.

Sincerely,

Crystal Beth

~~Dear Princesses,~~

~~How dense can a stallion be?! Ever since he started being open to the idea of dating, I thought I was making it extremely obvious! I thought he would notice and take charge like he said stallions do in his world, but he hasn’t done anything! I might have to start being more direct.~~