I Waited

After we stayed at Twilight's home for a while longer, Starlight eventually excused herself, citing tonight's date as a reason to get ready. The rest of us eventually split up, and Clanks and I started for home.

On the way back to my house, we garnered plenty of looks from the folks around us, specifically eyes aimed at Clanks. It was no surprise that he was the only mechanical living object, potentially on the entire planet, and so everyone was curious: Was he really a living machine, or simply a machine designed to obey without thought?

Thankfully, there was not much worry when it came to the paparazzi of the town, at least not large crowds; even so, that didn't stop ponies with cameras wrapped around their necks and hats with notebooks crammed inside of them from taking pictures of the two of us and wanting to know more about what happened to me and generally what I did, but I merely duped them into "asking my friend over there."

It was always funny how easily ponies could be tricked into something and fall for it.

Also thankfully, my home was not very far from Twilight's castle, and as soon as Clanks and I walked through the door, I shut and locked it, as well as closed the blinds of every window in the house. Maybe I was paranoid?

"You appear to have an audience," Clanks monotonously stated, briefly looking out the window.

"I was hoping that wouldn't be the case," I groaned. "I mean, I'm only gone for three days, and suddenly I'm the most popular pony in town? I mean, it's nice ponies want to know what happened, but I don't wanna be a celebrity or anything. I just want to, you know, go back to normal."

"Do you not enjoy popularity?"

"I mean...I kinda like it. But if I have ponies following me all over the place every second I'm awake, then that's a bit of a problem." I took a look outside the same window Clanks looked out. There were paparazzi nearby, not extremely close, but they were taking pictures of my house. I moaned in slight irritation.

"I'll have to write a letter to Twilight," I told Clanks. "The last thing I want is for them to ruin tonight, especially for Starlight."

"Didn't you tell me before we arrived that Starlight asked you out on a date in the friendly term?"

I turned to Clanks. "Yeah. That's all it is. I mean, sure, we're going to a fancy restaurant, having a fancy dinner, and chatting with one another across the table from one...another..." I put a hoof up to my face. "I can see why she would take that the wrong way now. And here I thought I was the one who was more composed."

"Is it a date, or is it not a date?"

"Well...in the sense of friendship and such - you know, as friends - then yes, it's a date. In the sense of the stuff Rainbow suggested, then no, not a date."

"So it is a date...but it is also not a date?"

"I...ugh, you can get confusing sometimes, you know that?" I told Clanks, playfully and also realistically irritated with him.

"I am only as you are."

I rolled my eyes, but then groaned. "Good point."

"What shall I do while you are gone?"

"Um..." I looked around the place, trying to figure out how to occupy him. He was his own being, but he was more than likely to stand in place the whole time.

After a few seconds, I came up with an idea. "Why don't you head back to the castle? Not right now, I mean, but tonight, when I go get Starlight. I'm sure Twilight could use an extra hoof in...whatever she's doing."

"Didn't she say that we all needed a break?"

"...Huh, that's right, she did." I scrunched my lips and continued to think. Finally, it hit me. "Maybe Rarity could use some help with her dresses! Of course, that's unless she's also taking a break. Maybe Pinkie? Uh...actually-...unngh, I can't decide. I don't want you staying here all by yourself while I go out and have dinner. I'd just feel terrible at that point."

It was silent for a few moments as I tried to think, until Clanks spoke again, "Perhaps I can speak of an idea?"

"Go ahead."

"I could visit each of their homes and ask if they require assistance with their tasks. If they do not need help, I can visit the next home and ask if they need assistance. If none of them need help, I will return here and tend to any problems here."

"You sure you'll be fine on your own here? You know, if they don't need help?"

"You have been the only companion I have known since my creation. I am more than content."

With a sigh, I smiled. "Okay. If there are any problems, let me know before dinner, okay?"

"Of course."

With the rest of the day planned ahead, I waited for the time to go by. And interestingly, for the first time in a long time, my stomach actually gurgled.

"It's gonna be really hard to remember to eat and drink again. Sleep, on the other hoof..."

* * * * *

The rest of the day passed by relatively quickly, with the sun beginning its descent behind the mountains and soon over the horizon. Starlight reminded me to pick her up at seven o'clock - "Sharp or around it, doesn't matter" - and so a few minutes before the clock in my head struck its bells, I was at the front doors of the castle, with a few simple knocks, I waited.

"The paparazzi isn't following us," Clanks noted as he looked at our surroundings, and not finding a single pony in sight.

"Thank Celestia that Twilight's a princess," I said with a relieved sigh, "Otherwise, they never would've gotten off my back."

"Is it likely that they will try again tomorrow?"

I shrugged my shoulders at the robot. "Probably. But who knows, maybe they'll get tired of it all. I mean, I only know everything about the known universe in my head, so they'll start to run out of things to ask about. You know?"

However, he didn't seem to get the joke. "But it would take a long time for them to-"

"Being sarcastic, Clanks." I laughed dryly. "Even then, they're not gonna let up until something more important happens."

"Like what?"

"...I don't know."

After another few moments of quiet, the door to my right opened, and standing inside was Twilight Sparkle. She greeted me with a smile.

"You're just in time. Starlight will be out in a second. Just 'freshening up'," she mentioned, before turning to the pony next to me and tilting her head. "I don't suppose Clank is coming with you too?"

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle."

"It's Clanks," I corrected her, "And no, he isn't. I was hoping if he could stay here for a bit, maybe help you around if you needed anything taken care of?"

"Oh!" Twilight exclaimed. "Of course! I was just reorganizing some of the shelves in the library! It won't be too much trouble for you, will it?"

Clanks gave a smile. "Of course not, Twilight. I would be glad to assist you however you like."

"Excellent."

In the background, I suddenly heard the question of, "Is he here?" Twilight looked over to the source of the voice and gave a nod, before turning back to me.

"Your date's ready," she said with a smile that was on the range of Celestia's own motherly smile.

A second later, standing at the door was Starlight Glimmer, looking truly...beautiful. There was no other word to describe her. Her body gripped no clothes and no dress, and yet her hair was all the clothing she ever needed, done up in a small bun, with her mane matching between her usual style and resembling the kind she used to own back in the village. Her ears held two small earrings done in the shape of her cutie mark.

And even with all that, she didn't choose to use makeup. I was glad that she didn't - she looked fine just the way she was.

"Hi," she smiled nervously.

"Hi. You look lovely." I didn't hide the emotion if I was being truthful.

Starlight blushed and giggled. "Thank you. Rarity helped me out with the mane. You don't think it's too much, do you?"

"No," I said, nearly exclaiming it, "No, it's fine. You look fine."

She smiled warmly. "So...should we go now?"

I nodded, turning to Clanks and tell him, "As soon as you're all done here, just head on home and...read some books, if you want?"

"I will do that then. Have a great evening."

The two of us waved Twilight and Clanks goodbye before making our way through the downtown area of Ponyville, which, no surprise, was still packed with ponies shopping and enjoying the evening. And along the way there, I happened to notice Starlight growing a look of concern on her face."

"You okay?" I asked her, "You seem a bit tense."

"Uh..." She struggled at first to answer. "Well...this is my first date. Like...ever."

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"No! No, nothing like that! I just...well, I'm scared of doing something stupid and you leaving. Plus, I wouldn't call it off right now, that'd be terrible. I wouldn't want to upset you."

"It's okay to be nervous, Starlight," I calmed her. "If it helps, I'm actually a bit nervous too."

"Really?" she stared at me with a surprised expression, "Why?"

"Because...this is my first date too."

"Really?" she repeated, earning a nod from me. As a response, she simply giggled, "So I guess you're not as bold as I thought."

I rolled my eyes. "I never said I was bold. At least, I don't think I did."

"Trust me; it shows."

"Really?"

She nodded. "I'm more surprised you haven't gone all scientific on me yet."

"What do you mean?" I asked, finding the change in topic strange, but welcoming.

"Well, you said you spent the whole time there reading and learning new things. I figured you're probably as smart as Twilight, maybe more. Just how much did you learn?"

"Are you sure you wanna know? I mean, I don't wanna bore you or anything about that."

"After everything the others have told me about, shown me, and trained me, I'm pretty sure nothing can bore me at this point."

"Well, you never know...I don't think you'd be the kind of mare to be interested in the stuff I've read, like Earth, for example."

"Earth?"

"It's a planet that used to have these creatures called Dinosaurs. Granted, they're all dead now, but-"

"There, you see? Told you I wouldn't be bored!"

With a bit more confidence bustling in me, I gave her a smile and started to talk all about...well, anything. Though, I'm pretty sure she prodded me out of her own nervous conscience.

It was definitely the latter, but I was more than content.

* * * * *

"-and the impact was so massive, so strong, that the damage was enough to wipe out every living life form on the surface and underground. The whole planet virtually went extinct! And it's been dead ever since."

We had been sitting down at our respective booth in the Allure Dé Mystique, perhaps the fanciest, but also an affordable restaurant in Ponyville, spending the past few minutes telling Starlight about the extinction of the Dinosaurs and the essential death of the planet itself. She was mesmerized, horrific, and intrigued all at the same time.

"When you say dead," she spoke for the first time in several minutes, "Do you mean 'molten-core extinct' dead or just 'surface' dead?"

"'Surface' dead. Last I checked, the planet's core functioned as well as it ever did, but anything that was on its surface was wiped out. There used to be beautiful fields of trees, big snowy mountains, and vast deep oceans just like our world."

"Last time you checked?" she grew curious. "You mean, you've actually gone there yourself?"

With a nod, I added, "The book describing the event had universal coordinates. All I did was use my magic and in a poof, I was right above its surface. Gray and lifeless. Never recovered."

"Wow," Starlight said. "Also, aww. Those poor Dinosaurs..."

"The images in the books were also seemingly real photographs. They were such beautiful creatures. Violent...but beautiful."

"So...I guess this means we're not alone in the universe?"

"Absolutely," I beamed, "Life comes in all shapes and sizes. I used to think at one point that we were all that was left until I ended up there. In fact, everything I just told you, I started learning the very first day I was there. I actually kinda skipped near the end about twenty seconds after I actually arrived. Heh."

My laughter was a tiny bit sheepish, perhaps.

"Right...twenty seconds."

I immediately recoiled, regretting my choice of words.

"Starlight, I-"

"It's fine," she assured, "I know you didn't mean it that way. I guess I still can't get over it, you know? I planned everything so right, and a little headache was enough to screw it all up."

"Were you okay?" I had to ask as soon as she mentioned that moment. "I saw you fall, but I was gone before I could do anything."

"Yeah, I was fine; Twilight said I strained myself out too much and nearly gave myself an aneurysm. Though, I think the aneurysm part was a joke to try and make me feel better."

"That's...a pretty odd joke."

"Yeah. I know. That means it probably wasn't." Starlight sighed and looked down at the table. "It's just not something I can make go away with a spell or anything like that. I honestly thought you were...you know..."

She wasn't as sad as she had been earlier today when she said those same words, but it was still getting to her. I rested a hoof on hers and told her to look at me, and just like before, her blue eyes stared back.

"It's gonna take a lot more than a headache to kill me." I wanted to make sure she was comfortable and happy on her very first date, not strung up on the past like she tended to be, and even she could admit that. "Don't let it get to you."

"You're right," she remarked. "Maybe I should try and just let it go. I mean, remembering it will help me be better prepared for the future, but letting it cling to me for the rest of my life? I can definitely try and brush that off."

"Just be sure when you brush it off, you don't lose those lovely earrings," I said in an attempt to humor her, and it apparently worked when she started to laugh.

"Why," she called me by my name, "Are you flirting with me?"

"Maybe I am."

"Well, aren't you quite the charmer?"

Eventually, our food came along and we continued our conversation as we dined. It was mainly a mix between what she had been doing as of recently - other than looking for me - and what I learned while in the dome. However, halfway through our meals, I grew curious about one particular pony.

"How's Trixie?" I asked Starlight. "I just remembered that she was away on a tour when I disappeared. Is she still gone?"

She nodded, "I wrote a letter telling her the day it happened. After I did, she didn't come home, but instead decided to postpone the rest of the tour until you were found. She was in Las Pegasus at the time and managed to gather up half the city...and I think that was literally."

"That sounds like it would've been an interesting sight to see," I mention. "Does she know I'm-"

"Back? Yeah, I wrote a letter after you left. She's planning on finishing the tour up early and coming back to Ponyville just to see you."

"She doesn't have to do that."

"I know she doesn't have to - but she wants to. She was worried sick about you until I told her the good news. It was heartbreaking to see her like that."

"Wow," I simply said, amazed at the personality Trixie seemed to show. "And she doesn't really know me all that much."

"That's how you know she's a good friend," Starlight grinned. "I mean, sure, she can be a bit impulsive and...self-centered," she hindered on the word as if it wasn't the kindest thing to say, "But she definitely cares about the ponies close to her."

"I'm close to her?" I was surprised, really. After all this time, I was still surprised by new things.

"You bet. I bet she's going to give you a big old hug the moment she sees you."

"Now let's not get too crazy," I said to her, earning a laugh from the unicorn. "But to be honest, I really can't wait to see her again. It's been far too long."

"Yeah, six months too long."

"Well, when I think back to it now, it feels a lot shorter than it did. Heck, you could say it was six days instead." I bit into the roasted potatoes and carrots on my plate. "It's like that old saying goes: 'The older you get, the faster time flies.'"

"I know it's only been six months, but...well...do you feel any older?"

I momentarily stopped chewing the food in my mouth, thinking over her words...better yet, thinking over her words. After I swallowed, I told her, "I actually don't know. I assume that since everything inside the dome stayed the exact same, and Clanks didn't start rusting anywhere, it's safe to assume that I haven't aged at all until I actually came back."

"But...why would Clanks start rusting after six months?"

"Trust me when I say that metal can definitely show some signs of rust after just a few days. Though that kind of depends on the environment."

"And what was the environment of the dome?"

"Well," I started to explain to her my surroundings on the 'other side.' "The ground was just nothing but grass and some concrete slabs placed on the sides, all connecting in this circular pattern on the edge. They all connected to this tiny building in the very center. It looked like this big stone-concrete pillar in the center, and on each side were these double doors. Now, remember when I said it was tiny?"

She nodded.

"If you went inside and walked from one side to the next, it'd take you forty minutes to get to the other side."

"Wait," she stopped me, "So you're saying this thing was literally bigger on the inside?"

"Yep. And the ceiling just showed nothing but outer space. I could see galaxies and clusters of stars and supernovas just by looking up."

"And this was the library, correct?"

"That's right. It was just shelf after never-ending shelf of books, books, and more books of literally everything that happened in the universe up to that point in time. I swear, if Twilight was there, she would've likely had an actual orgasm from that."

Immediately, I froze, realizing what I just said. "Uh..."

But to my surprise, Starlight wasn't grossed out or embarrassed. She started laughing almost loud enough to attract attention from the other ponies that were eating.

"That definitely sounds like Twilight, alright." She started wiping away the tears of laughter from her face as she took another bite of her food. That was more than enough to tell me that she was truly laughing, and so I laughed with her.

* * * * *

Eventually, the two of us finished our food and we received the bill. It was a grand total of just fifty bits. Now I understood the slogan of this restaurant: "Bring a pouch or two!" Luckily, I remembered a small stash of bits I had saved up and brought them with me. Leaving the small pouch on the table, Starlight and I got up from the table and left, heading back to the castle and seeing wherever the night would take us from there.

But on the way, Starlight suggested, "So, do you wanna come back to my bedroom?"

Her face became flushed as she realized what she just asked and tried to correct herself, "I-I don't mean like in that way, h-heheheh! I meant that there's a telescope in my room and I was wondering if we could maybe...you know? Stargaze for a bit?"

"Is that what they're calling it nowadays?" I joked, earning a glare from Starlight and further stammers, but all I did was laugh. "I'm kidding. Though, ponies usually do that after the third or fourth date."

Starlight looked at me, her blush not fading, but ultimately slightly confused.

"Oh! You were talking about actual stargazing?"

Despite her reddened face and flushed expression, she seemed a bit unamused in the confused manner. "You're...kidding, right?"

I let out a laugh after holding it in long enough. "Of course I'm kidding, you dork! I just like messing with you! Haha!" For a second, I was silent, allowing Starlight just enough time to roll her eyes with a little smile. "I missed that, you know."

"What? Me rolling my eyes, or you flirting dirty with me?"

"Both. Maybe not the second thing as much. Unless you're fine with that, of course."

"I am," the mare laughed. "I mean, we were literally just laughing at a joke about Twilight having an orgasm over that Library you mentioned. I just blush a lot. I can't exactly control it."

"Just be lucky you're not a pegasus...or a stallion," I remarked, "There's a lot more things we can't control."

She laughed again. "That's an understatement."

I shot her a playful glare. "Oh, ha ha."

In the end, I laughed with her. It was pretty true, after all.