Pink fur. There was pink fur all over my shower; little strands dotted around the area. The tub almost appeared to be a light pink even. If that pony wasn’t pink enough already, and now she has to go and turn my bathtub pink?

I wasn’t really mad, but it was an unfortunate consequence that I overlooked. Ponies have fur, fur often sheds. It just meant that I’d have to clean out the drain more than once every few decades. That and I’d probably have to vacuum more often.

After Pinkie and I had our day out driving on the town, we came back to my apartment and we both felt dirty. It wasn’t that New York is a filthy place, well, not much more than most cities, but neither of us had cleaned ourselves the previous day, so a relaxing mid-day shower sounded nice to the both of us. Either luckily, or unfortunately for me, Pinkie went first. Lucky for the fact that I found out the fur issue early, and unfortunate because now I had to shower in it.

With the water running nice and hot, I stepped in and began to clean myself, allowing the water to run down my back, washing away the grease and fatigue. The nice thing about showers is that they’re a very easy chore, and as such they allow the mind to wander to places that the day’s stress prohibits. Did you realize that the two main characters of veggie tales are both fruits? What about how much money airports could make if they had movie theatres in them? I wonder if ponies have movie theatres? I wonder if ponies have movies?

It was then that I decided to give Pinkie a fine dose of human culture by hosting the very first human and pony movie night. At five o’ clock in the afternoon I felt as though we could fit a good handful of humanities best in before we both passed out on the couch.

Having been sufficiently cleaned through the automation of a wandering mind, I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off with a turquoise towel. I gave myself a quality check in the mirror as I donned my clothes and stepped out of the bathroom, freshly cleaned and cleanly refreshed.

I made my way to the living room, only to find Pinkie preparing us some dinner with the groceries that I bought while she was in the shower. I felt a little self-conscious having my guest cook dinner, so I said, “Hey, Pinkie, your cooking is absolutely amazing, and that’s going off only the pancakes from this morning, and while I appreciate it a lot, I think my parents would have me hung if I let my guests cook for me. So, just so you know, you don’t have to cook if you don’t want to.”

She looked at me graciously and said, “Oh, that’s okay! I really like cooking, that’s why it was my job in Ponyville. And anyways, it reminds me of home, a little, plus it also makes me feel a little better about accepting your hospitality.”

Yes! I secretly jumped for joy and cheered, honestly, this pony must have been sent from the gods. I was housing a six-star chef that loved to cook! I straightened my face and replied, “well, I don’t want you to think my generosity is conditional. You’re welcome in my house and you don’t have to work for it, however, it is very much appreciated.” I ended with a heartfelt smile.

“So, what’s cooking then?” I asked.

She giggled lightly, and took on the air of a waiter selling tonight’s special, “Well, I am preparing a delectable tomato and basil quiche. A personal favorite of renowned cellist Octavia Melody, it’s subtle tastes and fluffy texture make it a proper meal for any occasion.” She gave another giggle at the end, laughing at her own antics.

“That sounds wonderful! Who’s this Octavia Melody though?” I questioned.

“Oh! Octavia is the best cellist in equestria! Or, at least that I know of, which is saying something ‘cause I know everypony! Anyway, she lives in Ponyville with Vinyl Scratch, who makes really awesome thaumic music! For some reason they don’t get along the best, which is weird because whenever they play together they make the most awesome music ever!”

“Thaumic music?” I inquired, “would that be like pony’s equivalent of electronic music?”

“Well I dunno? It sounds right, can you play any? Do you have a stereo?”

“yes Pinkie, I have a stereo. Well actually it’s a bit better than a stereo, lemme turn it on real quick.”

One of my favorite things in life was entertainment media, and the best way to enjoy that media is by throwing money at the problem until you’re broke. Thus, brought forth my entertainment center, posted at the best viewing angle in the living room was the reason I couldn’t afford a better house. A full 5.1 surround sound speaker setup revolving around a fifty-five-inch HD TV hooked up to an amplifier, blue-ray player and gaming consoles. If I was going to enjoy media and entertainment, I was going to do it right.

While I enjoyed my entertainment system immensely, it did not earn the same favor from my neighbors, or my landlord. It was never so loud as to be illegal, but I could never resist getting the volume up to slightly annoying levels of music.

Of course, as I walked towards the system to turn it on, Pinkie knew nothing of what I was doing. I would assume she would have at least been curious about my display of modern art, however, there used to be more important things on both of our minds that distracted us from looking at novelties.

I loaded up spotify on my TV and searched for some of my favorite electronic music. An iconic song popped up through my rapid scrolling, Snowblind by Au5. I sat down on the couch, content to listen to the music and watch Pinkie’s reaction to it.

As the song slowly built up, with a calm melody, Pinkie seemed entranced by the music. Soon we reached the build, slowly creeping up on that ecstatic drop that so many music enthusiasts crave daily. Pinkie’s attention was solely on the music, and soon it poured over the edge, and the bass dropped, sending both of us into the pleasurable void between music and reality.

As the song eventually came to it’s inevitable end, Pinkie stared at my pit of money, bearing the same smile that I had when I first set it all up. She tried, and failed, to adopt a straight face, her speech tainted with glee she said, “yes, I do believe that that is similar to thaumic music, Joshua.”

She followed that up with puppy dog eyes, tears, and a pleading tone, “Can we listen to more? Please?”

I chuckled, wishing I could be in her shoes, to feel that wonder of a higher quality again. I turned the volume down to conversational levels (which is to say slightly above conversational levels) and put on an album from Monstercat. After completing Pinkie’s request I told her of my plans for the rest of the evening, and a little bit after midnight, “after dinner I was planning on a bit of a movie night, if you’re up for it. I figure a good way to show you a bit about Earth is through our media, right? You do have movies where you come from though right?”

Pinkie beamed from my suggestion, saying, “That sounds great! And yes, we have movies in Equestria. I’m gonna miss fifty shades of hay, Oh oh! I’ll make some popcorn too! It’ll be fun!”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were into that sort of stuff, but anyways I didn’t get any popcorn Pinkie, I haven’t had that in…” I trailed off as Pinkie grabbed some corn kernels out of the pantry.

“Sure, you do silly! It’s right here! And why wouldn’t I be into it? I mean I know I’m a grown mare, but the child inside me can’t resist the comedic stylings of Dr. Shuess” She said. I wonder how long that’s been in there, if I’ve forgotten about it til’ now.

“Well I guess that solves that problem then, who’s this Dr. Scheuss guy though? He sounds vaguely familiar, somehow” I said.

Pinkie replied, “Dr. Horse Schuess is a Germane-Equestrian author who writes poetry for children, and some of his books were made into awesome movies!”

Pinkie then went back to tending to her quiche, pulling it from the oven, allowing the delicious aromas to fill the apartment. The smells made my mouth water in anticipation. “Your skills in the kitchen may never cease to amaze me Pinkie, in fact it’s a little funny how an alien pony knows how to make common Earth meals” I said.

“Yeah that is pretty funny. Anyways it’s done!” Pinkie said.

I took that as my cue to get off my butt and help out, grabbing some plates from a cupboard and utensils from a drawer. I placed each item on the table in their proper place, I was after all representing Earth in the world's first extra-terrestrial dinner date. Setting a semi-formal table was a small thing, but it felt right to do, especially when your guest is cooking for you, although at this point I think she’s more of a roommate.

Pinkie impressed me a little by bringing a hot dish full of quiche out on her back straight from the oven, laying a potholder on the table, and moving the dish from her back to the potholder. It was revealed later, after she removed the dish from her back, that there was a potholder placed there as well. I did not expect that much balance from a pony. then again, she’s been living as a pony her whole life, so it makes sense she would get accustomed to it.

We both sat down and served ourselves, taking hearty portions, as there was plenty for the both of us. I stabbed a bite with my fork and brought it to my mouth, letting the fluffy quiche melt on my tongue and make its long journey towards its final resting place. I relished the flavor, attempting to prolong this moment as long as I could.

As time went on, and quiche disappeared, both of our stomachs began to take on a pudgy look. If not for the prime state of life I was in, I might have had to watch myself around Pinkie’s cooking.

When we finished with dinner I took all the dishes to the sink and stowed what little was left of the meal in the refrigerator, let none go to waste. Pinkie volunteered to go and cook up some popcorn while I went to pick out the first movie.

Hmm, let’s see, what movie would you choose to show an alien the best of Earth?

<>><<>

After a little bit of debate and regaling Pinkie with the best of my movie shelf, we ended up with what I feel was the best possible choice on short notice. Back to the Future, the full trilogy, I wasn’t leaving anything out. It was perfect, the movies covered the past, present, and farther past, even if the ‘present’ didn’t really come true. It also showed what humanity was capable of; the misunderstood genius of Doc. Brown, the heroism and redemption of Marty McFly, and the evil of Biff Tannen.

In the end it was a very easy decision, and it did not take long to convince Pinkie either.

With popcorn in hand, I pressed play on the remote.

Tick tock tick tock tick tock

If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious shit.

Whoa. Wait a minute, Doc. Are you trying to tell me that my mother has got the hots for me?

Hey, you! Get your damn hands off her!

What about all that talk about screwing up future events? The space-time continuum?

Well, I figured, what the hell?

Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.

Nobody calls me chicken.

I need to borrow your…hoverboard?

Go ahead, kid! Jump! A suicide will be nice and neat.

What if I don’t?

Lead Poisoning.

We gotta go back to 1985!

Burn it!

There's only one man who can help me.

Indians!

What idiot dressed you in that outfit?

You did.

Uh, just tell me one thing. Where’d you learn to shoot like that?

7-Eleven

Is this a holdup?

It's a science experiment! Stop the train just before you hit the switch track up ahead!

Hey, Doc! Where you goin’ now? Back to the future?

Nope. Already been there.

As the movie closed out, we were both passed out on the couch. I couldn’t tell you exactly where we each fell asleep, as I passed out first, somewhere around Doc. Brown’s apology to Clara. Pinkie later on told me her thoughts on the movie, how she enjoyed the chase scenes and how she thought Biff was a big bully.

Overall it went well, well enough that I was already planning movie night two. But what could you possibly follow up Back to the Future with?

Author's Note

This chapter took a bit longer to write, but it's here!

Thanks to all of you who've stuck around and read through my first attempt at a real story. Again this is very much a learning process for me. Today's chapter unfortunately does not bring the plot I had hoped to add, I needed to get one more thing off my list before that.

As always I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I would appreciate it so much if you left a comment down below, your input helps me learn and improve my story. I really love writing and I also love improving, so let me know your opinions!