I hope it's not too weird, but...
Quick Question
Ponyville was basking in the heat of a clear midsummer's day. The temperature was right on the line between being the tolerable warmth that brought ponies outside and the overbearing heat that drew them back into the shade. Despite being on the cusp of a heat wave, many ponies had chosen to head out and make the most of the day regardless. The streets had filled up with mares and stallions, fillies and colts, all enjoying themselves without a care in Equestria. A number of them had made their way into the park close to the center of town, an open space for ponies to unwind with friends or family, engage in some light sports or take a stroll through the community maintained gardens.
One of the few ponies that had come to the park alone that day was currently sat on a bench by the entrance to the gardens. An earth stallion with a red coat, an aureolin yellow mane that reached back to his shoulders and cyan eyes currently focused on his clasped hands. His clothing was relatively fitting for the weather; a white t-shirt emblazoned with his hammer cutie mark on the front, an open navy blue shirt over that with matching sweatbands on his wrists and a simple pair of grey jeans. He remained rooted in his seat, wringing his hands slightly, hoping that passers by would just assume his sweating was down to the sun beating down overhead.
"Come on, Quick. You can do this." He said quietly to himself, closing his eyes and taking a slow breath. When he opened them again he realised that his hands were shaking slightly. It made sense; Quick Fix was a stallion that had always been easily flustered. Especially when taking the initiative into an unknown matter.
Talking to somepony he had a crush on was on a whole different level though.
It had been several weeks ago that he had first encountered Prettydig, passing each other by chance when he had been taking a shortcut through the gardens to other business. It had been more than enough for the unicorn to leave a lasting impression in Quick's mind however. Lavender coated with a lemon yellow mane done into a long ponytail, gentle light green eyes and a body that was a few inches taller than his but a lot sleeker. Despite the highly feminine build, there were a few hints that he was actually a stallion such as a squarer muzzle and the faintest hint of a beard. Quick knew that a number of ponies, too many, would consider such a look in a stallion off-putting for any number of reasons. Personally, he had found it rather...Enthralling, cute, more than a little attractive.
Of course, there was a world of difference between having such feelings and openly admitting them. Just the thought had left him tensed up on more than one occasion, doubts and what-ifs gripping him like a coil around his very core. Even the idea of simply taking a walk through the gardens to see if he could learn more about Prettydig had taken several days to work up the nerve to follow through on. Repeat visits had slowly worn those nerves away though and by now he was at least familiar with all the ponies that took the time to look after the gardens, not to mention making him more knowledgeable about botany than any other repairpony in Equestria.
It was enough to gain an idea of what Prettydig was like and how best to go about talking to him. Today, it was time to put it to the test.
Quick took another breath and looked up from his hands to take in the gardens again. Already he could feel his heart pounding again, his breaths sounding loud enough to drown out almost everything else. The feeling reached a crescendo as he spotted the unicorn wandering the paths, occasionally stopping and checking over the plants. Prettydig was dressed rather simply but with the option of doing a little gardening if needed, a white t-shirt over faded blue overalls with the legs cut short and a wide brimmed sun hat. His mane was done up in a long ponytail that draped over his shoulder and his tail flicked around gently as he walked, looking full and sleek. The sight brought a fresh blush to Quick's face.
He quickly stood up and started to make his way into the gardens, trying not to focus on how tense he was. Keeping ahead of those doubts before they could weigh him down again was the only way he could do this without loosing his composure and chickening out. He could also only hope that he looked more composed on the outside than he felt inside. Nopony paid him any mind as he moved though, a promising sign that buoyed him up a little. Another few steadying breaths helped calm him further, enough that his vision stopping blurring at least. No time to fret over it now though, it was now or never. Quick stopped ahead of where Prettydig was headed and looked at the flower display to his right.
"It's a little warm for Calendula growth isn't it?" He asked once the unicorn was close enough.
"They could do with some more shade," Prettydig replied quietly, almost to himself as he crouched down and studied them more closely. Quick had noticed that he generally preferred flowers to ponies and so didn't mind being momentarily ignored. "I'm glad you caught that."
"Well, I've been learning quite a lot about them recently." Quick said, smiling nervously and rubbing the back of his neck. This was admittedly going better than expected.
"Oh, yes. I've seen you around a lot recently." Even if a little of Prettydig's shy demeanour had been eased by keeping the discussion on the flowers, he was still keeping a small distance between the two of them as he stood back up.
"Y-yeah, that's me. I'm Quick Fix." Quick said, wincing internally as he hoped his voice hadn't gone too high just then.
"Prettydig."
With the introductions done, the conversation trailed off into an awkward silence. Prettydig took his sun hat off and checked the band on it while Quick fidgeted with his collar slightly. Truth be told, he hadn't expected to actually get this far and while there had been an idea of what to do in his mind, things had gone so differently that he couldn't stick to it. All he could do at this point was go with his heart. The worst that could happen was that he'd say no, right?
"So, there was something I wanted to ask you..."
"I'm not sure what else I could tell you that the others haven't." Prettydig replied, suddenly looking very focused on his hat as he traced a finger along the white band.
"Well, it might have been about something other than flowers," Quick replied, feeling himself start to sweat again as Prettydig looked over at him. "O-or, it could be. I mean, really I could be asking if you wanted to, m-maybe get a cold drink, find somewhere quiet and talk. Or just stay here and talk about flowers more. E-either's good...Oh this is awkward. Okay, what I'm trying to say..."
Quick sucked in air between his teeth and clutched his hands together, blushing hard enough for it to be visible under his fur. Through the rush of stress that came from forcing himself to keep going right now, he realised that Prettydig hadn't taken his eyes off him. He was blushing slightly as well. The sight lit a spark within the earth stallion that burned back against the doubts and pushed him to finally finish the sentence.
"I, think you're a very sweet stallion and...Would you like to go out with me?"
'Stress is a heck of a drug' Quick Fix thought to himself as he blinked back into focus. He could feel the rush of adrenaline from getting the question out finally starting to wind down. Between that and the sheer tension he'd been feeling, trying to remember the details was a bit of a challenge at the moment.
All he knew was that he was currently in the market district, on the other side of the river and a few blocks away, and that it was about half an hour after he had arrived at the gardens. That and his pulse was still at a level that would probably be unhealthy to maintain. He shook his head slightly and took off at a quick walk. A quick stop by Sugarcube Corner, get something sweet to calm down with and then try to piece together what exactly happened after he'd asked Prettydig out. Hopefully he could remember the answer too.
Author's Note
Well this was a fun little side project to do and I hope you enjoyed! Before anyone asks, the end was left open ended deliberately since the original art was the same.
