Now, anybody who knew Twilight would always be aware of one undeniable fact; she likes it when things go according to plan. Her school days, her time off, any aspect of her life that she could plan down to the smallest detail, she would. So, realising that she had allowed one particular moment to go beyond that sense of order and control, what possible response could she have but to try and make sure it did go along with her plans for once? So, that was exactly why she and Timber, walking down the street together, now headed to one of the favoured local hang-out spots of the youth of Canterlot; the Corner Café. This was a place she and her friends had visited many times before, and as such, she actually rather looked forward to being there. Timber, for his part, simply seemed happy to be with her, and smiled warmly to his date as she carried on, slightly ahead of him on the sidewalk.
It took little time after this for the two of them to cross the road and actually enter the place in question and, as was usually the case, the café seemed pretty busy today. There were plenty of kids their age about the place, chatting, laughing, and in one or two cases there even seemed to be a few others here on dates just like them. But, Twilight, for the time being, simply focused on trying to find a suitable spot for them. Sure enough, she found one; an empty corner booth. Taking Timber's hand, she guided him over, and before you knew it, they were seated, continuing to smile at one another as they did so. Shortly afterwards, a waitress walked over, greeting them in a friendly way and proceeding to take their drink orders, before heading off to get what was requested. Twilight, looking back to her date, widened her smile before finally breaking the silence between them.
"I know things didn't really go all that well at the observatory, Timber, but I promise you, this time, everything will go right!"
Chuckling, the green-haired boy leaned forward, resting his hands upon the table before replying to that.
"I appreciate the trouble you're going to, Twilight, but you don't need to be trying so hard."
Twilight, for her part, seemed almost shocked at such a notion.
"Things need to be properly planned, Timber! We can't have our dates going off the rails every single time like they did before!"
Timber, of course, seemed slightly amused at this sentiment.
"Well...it was hardly a bad date, was it?"
Blushing somewhat, Twilight giggled a little and nervously scratched the back of her head.
"No, it...it's wasn't, but..."
She sighed.
"Look...I wanted everything perfect for our first date, and sure, I enjoyed the time we did have, but...I guess I just always felt a little disappointed that it didn't go well enough."
Considering that, Timber nodded, then leaned back into his chair.
"Okay...I guess I can appreciate that."
Before either of them had a chance to say anything further, the waitress returned to them, carrying a tray of large and frothy-looking milkshakes. Both teens accepted the drinks graciously, giving silent smiles and nods to the older woman, who nodded back before getting back to her other patrons. In the moments that followed, the young couple took long and simultaneous gulps of their shakes, before letting out a joint sigh of contentment.
"Ah! Now that’s a good shake!" Timber remarked.
Giggling again, Twilight nodded in agreement.
"Trust me, you should see what it's like when Pinkie’s working here!"
Timber raised an eyebrow to that, clearly intrigued by her words.
"Oh? Pinkie works here?"
Twilight nodded in confirmation.
"Yep. She's not here today though. Day off. But believe me when I say that, when she is here, this is pretty much as fun a place as you could hope for."
Timber chuckled to that.
"Given what I saw of her back in the park, I don't doubt it."
The two laughed together at that, and as soon as that laugh died down, they got back to drinking the milkshakes. When that was done, however, Twilight started to take on a somewhat more concerned look, briefly seeming hesitant to speak, though why, Timber couldn't say. That is, until she actually started speaking.
"I've been meaning to ask, but...how's your sister?"
Timber's own smile faded a little, and his eyes drifted down to his drink as he answered.
"She's...handling it. Thanks for asking."
Twilight leaned forward, placing her hand upon his.
"It's just...I know from experience what it's like to be overwhelmed by magic. To have it turn you into...into something else."
Slowly, Timber looked up to her as she continued.
"If she ever seems like she's having trouble...I just want you to let her know...there are people she can talk to. Me, Sunset...all of us."
It took a while, but eventually, Timber returned to his earlier smile.
"Thank you, Twilight, I...I appreciate that."
Twilight's own smile grew as well, and as she leaned back into her chair, Timber started to look to her with, of all things, a degree of incredulity.
"You know...I still have a hard time believing it. That you, of all people, ever became some dangerous magical lady."
Rolling her eyes slightly, Twilight let out a hearty laugh.
"Oh believe me, I did. Not my proudest moment, but..."
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and, after tapping on a few buttons, she handed the device over to her boyfriend.
"Here. Some of the students at CHS took a few pictures of me as I was doing it."
The boy accepted the phone, looking through the selection of images that now passed in front of the screen, his eyes widening slightly as he did so.
"Wow...that's...quite something."
Twilight nodded.
"Yeah...it was a pretty crazy day alright. Principal Celestia asked them all to delete them shortly afterwards though, since she didn’t want that kind of thing getting out and attracting the wrong kind of attention to the school. So those right there are the only images left of me like that."
Then, to her confusion, she realised that her date suddenly gained a rather fierce blush to himself, and he immediately looked away from the phone, prompting understandable curiosity in the ex-Crystal-Prep girl.
"Timber? What's wrong?"
The boy, rather nervously, was avoiding her gaze, his words somewhat fragmented.
"Um...Twilight? Have you...er...seen all of those pictures?"
Raising an eyebrow, Twilight shook her head.
"No, not all of them. I only really looked at the first few before getting a good idea of what went down. Why?"
As before, the boy seemed to struggle answering that.
"It's just...um...one of the people taking pictures seems to have had a...you know...pretty opportune angle."
Becoming slightly concerned by this, Twilight immediately took her phone back, looking to the screen and seeing, for the first time, the specific image that Timber had been talking about. Instantly, her face became as red as his, and she covered her mouth. A few moments passed before she said anything, and she sounded utterly mortified as she did so.
"But...but...you...you can see...right up my...!"
Timber nodded, still not looking to her.
"Yeah...guess floating that high up has some...well...pretty noticeable downsides."
Putting her phone down, Twilight buried her face in her hands.
"Oh...my...GOD!!!"
As one would expect, an awkward and uncomfortable silence began to hang over the two youths, with neither even willing to look at one another right now. But, as minute after minute of this passed, Timber finally glanced back to her, seeing her continued embarrassment over this whole mess. Sighing, he smiled again, taking his glass and raising it to her. Eventually, Twilight noticed this and, still confused, listened as he spoke.
"Well...here's to shared embarrassment, I guess?"
It understandably took a few moments for Twilight to reciprocate the feelings, but soon, she smiled back, taking her own milkshake glass and gently clinking it against his. The two shared a laugh over this, once more sipping their drinks, but, after having put said drinks down again, Timber, of course, couldn't help himself.
"You know, if it's any consolation...the bunny pattern was cute."
Slowly, Twilight narrowed her eyes to her boyfriend.
"That...never...leaves...this...table."
Gulping, Timber once more gave a nervous chuckle, saluting a little.
"Understood, Ma'am."
A minute passed, and then another, before Twilight looked away, blushing.
"But...thanks."
