The Misadventures of a Fox

Dustin sighed as he let the warm water wash over his fur. Geralt had not been happy to find out that there had been another energy drink of Vinyl’s that was spiked. Though apparently, neither had Octavia...or Ivy. Nobody thought to put up a soundproofing spell. Whoops.

So, after that, Geralt had thrown out all of Vinyl’s drinks and bought new ones out of his own pocket, to make sure this didn’t happen again.

And then put Dustin through so much hell that he needed to wash the sweat and stink off.

Wasn’t getting laid supposed to remove sticks from asses?

There was a click as the door to the locker opened. “Knock knock.” A sky blue snout nudged at the edge of the shower curtain.

Dustin raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know we had co-ed showers here,” he noted aloud, keeping one eye on the mare while still enjoying the hot water.

“They’re not but I wanna see hot wet fox….. That came out weirder than I intended.” Rainbow hummed as she pushed her way into the shower.

“Dash!” Dustin squeaked. He naturally wasn’t wearing his pants in here, and all the warmth wasn’t good for modesty.

“Oooooo! What did Guilmon say, Extra Thicc!” She grinned evilly. “No need to cover up between mare and foxfriends.”

“Okay, this is more attention than I’m used to after one date,” the fox pointed out. “What, do ponies just hook up behind bars ten minutes after meeting someone?”

She shrugged and bumped him aside to get some of the hot water. “Depends on the ponies. Pegasi tend to be more open about certain stuff in general. Might come from our background as a more militarized tribe back in the day.” She leaned against the wall and hummed in thought. “Oh, example. So, Geralt was telling me about a movie… Alien? Alien Two? Anyway the scene where you had all the military peoples all training and working together and stuff.” She blinked. “Oh, yeah. You were right the first time. Co-ed.”

“I’m surprised you’re so restrained then,” the fox deadpanned. Well, he was clean enough anyways. Now he just needed to find a dignified way to exit. Which probably wasn’t going to happen when there was a pony about crotch-high with him.

“Bit for your thoughts? You look lost.” Rainbow raised a brow, staring up into his eyes.

“Still just a little confused by the whole mares pursuing stallions thing,” Dustin admitted. Or to be specific, a mare pursuing him.

“Again, probably a tribal thing. Pegasi like to chase.” She smiled as water dripped off her mane. “Want me to close my eyes or turn around while you get out?”

“It’s not like you didn’t get an eyeful on your way in,” Dustin deadpanned as he opened the curtain and walked out of the shower, water slicking off his form. He was grateful for one thing that Geralt had managed to get installed back here. There was no way a towel was going to dry off anything with fur in a reasonable amount of time.

So they had industrial strength hair-dryers installed in the roof and floor at one end of the showers.

Dash trotted out and was instantly hit by the hair dryers. The result was rather unexpected.

Dustin had to restrain himself from laughing at the blue puffball that his marefriend had become. Fortunately, there were also brushes nearby. “C...c’mon,” he managed to get out with only a snicker. “I’ll brush you down.” Hopefully by then he’d also not be puffy either.

“... fine. I’ll allow you to brush me, but only you! And don’t go telling everypony that you did.” Her floosh had thankfully hidden her bright blush. Dustin sat on one of the benches and got a nice, soft brush off of one of the hangers on the wall. Once Dash settled herself on his lap, he started brushing the pony.

She was oddly silent during the entire brushing, maintaining a blush and a pout.

“I don’t like getting groomed… I can do it myself…” She muttered.

“I don’t doubt that, but you probably didn’t mean to step onto the dryer right after me,” Dustin pointed out as he managed to get her mane tamed somewhat. “So it’s partially my fault.”

“What?” Her head snapped up to look at him. “How is it your fault?”

“Weight detector in the floor grate,” the renamon pointed out. “When it determines that something of sufficient weight is standing on it for long enough, the system kicks on.”

“O-oh. Oh! Ha, yeah right.” She grinned somewhat weakly. “Of course. That makes sense.”

“Mhm,” Dustin nodded, still brushing the mare. He’d gotten most of her fur tamed, and now the brush tugged gently at her tail, trying to get it somewhat normal looking.

“So, how do I look?” She asked, shaking her mane out a bit, while doing her best not to flick her tail.

“Almost like you didn’t run into a balloon factory,” the fox said, now only on the last of her tail. Just a few more strokes and...there. “That should do it,” he said at last, putting the brush up.

She jumped off his lap and shook herself roughly in much the same way a dog would. Then she turned around. She snickered. “Your tail….”

Dustin blinked, before looking behind him. Ah. His tail looked like a fuzzy yellow pipe cleaner. “Well...that’s annoying,” he muttered.

“Turnabout’s fair play. Gimme that brush.” Dash held out a hoof.

“I, ah, really think we should just…” He was edging away from both the mare and the brush now. “Y’know, let it de-frizz on it’s own and-”

She pounced on him and wrestled the brush from his grip. Triumphantly she turned to his tail. She barely touched the brush to his tail before he squeaked and went stock still. Actually brushing it?

Got a moan from him.

Immediately her wings shot out straight as she froze. Her eyes widened. Then she slowly turned to look at him. An evil smile spread on her lips.

“Don’t,” the fox gasped. “Don’t you da-”

She pushed the brush into his tail and ran it the entire length slowly. The moan he let out was delicious, and she could see something poking up from between his legs now.

“Hmmm… Redder than I thought it would be.” She then dropped the brush and hopped off the bed. “Want to go to lunch?” She asked like she hadn’t just been pleasuring him via tail stimulation.

“You…” Dustin gasped a few times to get his breathing back to normal and his heart under control. “Are evil. Why am I dating you again?”

“Because I’m awesome!” She puffed out her chest. “And I make your life interesting.”

“If by ‘constant blue balling’ you mean interesting, then yes,” the fox muttered, grateful he had pants lying around. There was no way walking around the way he was now wasn’t public indecency. “Fine, let’s...go somewhere for food. I could use it after the workout I just had.”

“Oh you know all this teasing will make the eventual….” Her smug smile faded and she blushed. She coughed into a hoof. “Right! Lunch! Ummmm Neightalian? I know a place. Has pasta, pizza, good drinks.” She rattled off as she tried to lowered her stiffened wings.

“Oooh!” Dustin perked up at that. “Now you’re talkin’ my language. And this time,” he held up a hand to forestall her complaints, “I’m paying for me.”

“Fine, fine. Let’s just go. And I won’t race you this time.” She winked. “Gotta make sure you aren’t distracting anypony with that bulge.” She suddenly gasped. “Oh I can finally use this!” She fluttered her eyes at him. “Ooo wooo I noticed your bugle.” She burst into a fit of laughter. “Geralt told me that one.”

“Note to self, skin Geralt alive,” Dustin muttered loud enough for Dash to hear. “C’mon, let’s go eat before I’m arrested for murdering him,” the fox said slightly louder.

“Was what I said that bad?” Dash asked as she followed the fox out.

“No, but the fact that he’s ruining my life with anime references is,” Dustin countered as they finally left the gym entirely.

“That was an anime reference?” Her face twisted in disgust. “Ewww.”

“Not all of it is bad,” The fox said quickly. “There are quite a few that I can think of that aren’t wastes of time. There’s one about ninjas, one about super-powered fighters, one about crazy pirates on the high seas...but, anything that you don’t curate yourself is probably going to need to be taken with more than a grain of salt. Heck, the form I’m in is based on an anime for kids.”

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait.” Dash shook her head as if trying to clear it. “There’s anime about ninjas? Super powers? Where are these? All Fluttershy had at flight school was sappy romance manga. Also you’re an anime?”

“Yeah, well, I know the translated names of the things that are worth your time,” Dustin replied easily. “I’ll be able to pick them out easily. And yeah, it’s…” The fox looked for the right words as they walked through town. “In my home, we had a saying. ‘Every realm of fiction here is in truth a reality out there beyond our own, where they think of us as a delightful story in turn.’ Digimon might not be real beyond being a story on Earth, but here apparently I am one, so who am I to say what is and isn’t real?”

“This is making my head hurt. You sound like Twilight.” She frowned, hovering down to trot on the ground. “Not that it’s not interesting, or anything.”

“Mm,” the fox hummed. “I don’t understand the theory behind it at all, but it’s pretty cool to think about. In any case, yeah, I can probably pick a few animes that you’ll enjoy. I mean, you like the idea of gratuitous fight scenes for the fate of the planet, right?”

“Oh heck yeah.” She nodded giddily. “That. Sounds. Awesome!”

“Cool, assuming your planet has a version of DBZ, I know what to pick out for you,” the fox chuckled. “So, where’s the food?” Something she might also pick up on from that anime was the main character’s love of food...in which case he thoroughly expected to be called out on it.

“Oh duh, food.” Dash jumped up and hovered, looking around. “Oh nice, over there.” She pointed to a rather old looking two story building. It seriously looked like it used to be a house.

“Mom and pop store?” Dustin questioned as they neared the place. “Cuz the food those sorts of places serve is outta this world.”

“Yeah.” She nodded as she made a b-line for the door. “Been here awhile.”

With a tug the door came open, only for them to be greeted by a counter. A couple of earth ponies were chatting behind it. The first, a beige-coated and black-maned mare looked up. “Hi there, welcome to Fettuccine’s!” She greeted with a smile. “Just two of you?” As she spoke the second, a gray-coated, brown-maned stallion grabbed a couple menus from behind the counter.

“Yep.” Dash nodded.

“Alrighty.” The stallion spoke up. “Want a booth or a table?”

“Either’s fine,” Dustin added. “Quick question, you ever served a Digimon before?” Hopefully they knew what they were in for with him.

“We figured.” The mare giggled. “Guilmon comes in every Wednesday, nearly clears us out of spaghetti.”

“It’s no problem.” The stallion smiled, nodding in agreement.

Oh good. They wouldn’t be caught off guard. Dustin sighed and sagged a little in relief. “Well then, lead on good sir,” the fox said with a mock bow.

“I will. In a moment.” He chuckled. “Booth or table?”

Dustin turned to Dash and shrugged. He had no preference.

“Booth, I guess.” Dash shrugged as well.

“Okay…” The stallion glanced at a small map on the counter. And said somewhat loudly. “I’ll put them at sixteen.” The mare nodded and marked off a spot as the stallion turned. “Right this way.”

It was only a few steps. The first booth on the left, right next to the bar. Said bar was fully stocked with an assortment of alcohols and other beverages, beverages that Dash had her eyes glued to as she slid into the seat across from Dustin.

The waiter set down the menus. “I’m Bulky Venture and I’ll be your server. Lemme know if you need anything. I will be right back with some waters for you.”

Dash smiled and nodded as he left. She immediately opened the menu and began looking through it, seemingly humming in thought. That’s when Dustin felt something bump his leg.

Okay...this was new. He opened his own menu and gave it a look over. Ooooh, rigatoni with clam sauce, that was a blast from home. And pizza! Supreme pizza? Oh yes. He might have to get one of those. All the while he was attempting to ignore...whatever was touching him.

“Mmmm calzone or pizza?” She hummed and screwed her face up in thought as whatever it was brushed up his thigh. “Though the alfredo sounds good too.” She suddenly turned a little green. “Right, they have meat on the menu.” She shook herself and looked up at him. “The owner, Gibraltar, is a griffon.”

“I’m thinking a pot of rigatoni in clam sauce and a supreme pizza,” Dustin said as he folded up his menu. Okay, clearly Dash had never played footsies. Or would it be hoofsies? Either way, she was missing his feet entirely. Which was...getting harder to ignore.

“Sounds good. I’m getting baked tortellini and a garden pizza.” She nodded happily folding up her menu. The hoof was sliding into dangerous territory.

Just then, Bulky reappeared and set down a couple glasses filled with water. “Have you two had a minute to decide?”

“Yes!” Dustin squeaked, before coughing and getting his voice under control. “Ah, yes,” he said again. “I’ll have a supreme pizza and a pot of your rigatoni in clam sauce. The whole pot.”

“Okay. Rigatoni bowl full and one supreme. And for you?” He asked looking at Dash just as the mare pressed down with a hoof.

“I’ll have the garden pizza and a baked tortellini.” Dash replied as if nothing was happening.

“Baked tort. Got it. We’ll get those right out for you.” Bulky finished with a smiled and trotted away.

“What are you doing?” Dustin hissed, trying not to squirm in his seat.

Dash gave the smallest smirk. “What am I doing?” She asked sticking her tongue out.

“You’re torturing your fox-friend, that’s what you’re doing,” Dustin muttered.

“Would you prefer I stop?” She asked, cocking her head to the side a little as her ears flopped back.

“Unless you intend to follow through, yes,” the fox hissed through clenched teeth.

“Follow through?” She raised a brow as a grin crossed her features. “As in… hooves or….?”

“Oh nooo, I’m not giving you ideas,” Dustin shook his head. Of course, the fact that there were options was all that she needed to know.

“Please, Dustin, give me ideas.” She smiled and rested her chin on her crossed forelegs as she pressed down again. That got him to hiss and curl in on himself a little.

“Not while we’re in public,” he finally said after managing to get a minor bit of control in his voice again. How long would that food take to get her-

...Now Dustin regretted ordering as much as he had, this was entirely his fault.

“Oh if you’re sure.” She made a show of rolling her eyes as she leaned back in her seat. The pressure was immediately gone.

“Hey folks.” Bulky popped up. “The larger items are taking a bit, but here’s your baked,” he set the hot plate in front of Dash, “and here’s your bowl.” He set a rather massive bowl in front of Dustin.

“Thanks!” Rainbow chirped happily.

“Sure thing! The pizzas will be out in a few minutes.” Bulky nodded and retreat to the back.

Dash immediately unrolled her napkin and silverware… only for her fork to drop onto the ground. She looked down, then looked up to Dustin, then back down. “I swear I didn’t do that on purpose. One sec!” She ducked under the table.

...Weird, but okay. Dustin unrolled his own silverware and started to eat his huge bowl of pasta. Mmm...just as good as back home, and the white sauce was somehow even richer. He’d have to compare notes.

Dash came back up with a very bright blush and wordlessly started to poke at her bake. Occasionally she took bits out to cool before eating them.

Huh. Okay then. Well, at least she wasn’t teasing him anymore. Dustin kept up his steady pace, chipping away at the bowl of pasta.

“Dustin?” Dash actually sounded shy for once. “How do you function when you’re hard? Cause…..” Her face went bright pink and her wings popped out. She hastily devoured her bake.

Oh. So that’s what it felt like to choke on pasta.

After a few quick thumps on his chest with his own fist to get the rogue pasta back in his stomach, the fox took a big gulp of water to clear his mouth. He turned his gaze then on Dash, his own cheeks pink under all the fur. The fact that she could see that could only mean it was far worse. “Well, um...normally I’m not,” he explained. “It’s only when a certain polychromatic pegasus pesters my pecker that that happens.”

Now it was Dash’s turn to choke. She pounded her chest and coughed, only to devolve into a fit of laughter. She had to drink water herself to stop from giggling. “Never knew I like word play.” She snickered a little. “So… ahem I get... a rise out of you?” And suddenly she was back to being shy.

“Well you certainly aren’t shy of trying until you get one,” Dustin pointed out evenly. “I mean, I’m not complaining, but I’m pretty sure you started the whole thing by jumping in my bed with me.” He reached a paw out to the salt and pepper shaker on the table. The moment he picked the pepper up to sprinkle a little on his food though?

The fox sneezed and dropped the shaker. “Ack,” he muttered. “I hate my new nose,” he said in a quieter tone of voice...forgetting how good pony ears were.

Dash’s ears perked up. “Something wrong?” She asked, trying to hide her smile.

“Ah, no, just…” Dustin sneezed again as he finally cleared the pepper from his system. “It’s not allergies, it’s just being able to smell a lot more than I’m used to,” he explained. “And I pick up on it whether I like it or not.”

“So, you’re saying you have a sensitive nose?” She asked innocently enough. “Anything I should be concerned about?”

“Nah, I’ll get used to it sooner or later,” Dustin brushed off her concerns as he went back to eating, completely missing the smile she was wearing.

Bulky walked up with a tray on his back. “So sorry for the wait, we had to redo one of the pizzas.” He shifted so he could get them off his back and onto the table. “One garden and one supreme.” Strangely enough, the pizzas were cut into squares (with triangle corners) instead of regular slices.

“Oh sweet thanks!” Dash said happily.

“You two lovebirds enjoy.” He smiled as he walked back to the front counter.

After that, Dustin mostly lapsed into silence as he continued to eat his food, being reminded of the days when he would have something similar back on Earth. This...this place was good. He’d have to remember to come back for another lunch when he could afford to have it again.

Strangely enough, Dash finished her food without incident. She appeared to be lost in thought as she ate. Who knew what was going on beneath that prismatic mane? While they ate Bulky dropped over a little black folder with the bill. Dustin managed to snag it and read it over while Dash was lost in thought.

“Hmm,” he mused around a mouthful of pizza. “Well...about what I’d expect,” he finally admitted. He was just grateful business at the mine was picking up. He used one of his feet to snag one of the loops of his bag, pulling it up towards him with his free hand after getting it off the floor. “Let’s see…”

That was a small bag of bits just being dropped on the folder.

Bulky trotted by and stopped dead as he saw the bag on the folder. “You sure dude?” He raised a brow at Dustin.

“Yeah, keep the change as a tip,” Dustin nodded at the stallion. Oh right...he was basically a fox version of Rarity. Except as athletic as Dash and...okay so he was a different person entirely but she could see aspects of her friends in him.

“Well… wow… Thanks. You two have an excellent day!” Bulky grinned and trotted away with the folder and bag in tow.

“Like a male Rarity… kind of… ish?” She screwed up her face as she thought. She shook her head clear then looked at the fox. “What do you wanna do now?”

“I should probably visit the mine,” the fox sighed. “Things won’t get any better by ignoring them, and that was the last of the bits it pulled in the last time I visited.”

“Want some backup in case the bitches come after you?” Dash asked as she hopped out of the booth to the floor.

“I mean, I won’t make you come with, it’s probably not going to be exciting at all,” Dustin mused.

“Well I can be morale support then.” She grinned at him.

Dustin snorted as he left the booth as well, grateful she’d kept her hooves to herself long enough that there was nothing visible in his pants. Today was going to be interesting, wasn’t it?

It was Monday, and Dustin was walking through the market as per his usual after his normal morning workout. Yesterday had been...interesting when Dash showed up at the mines. Never before had he seen dogs so quick to obey someone that wasn’t him for their usual drilling. According to Flint, the last time a pony had scared them that bad had been Rarity.

There was the flapping of wings and Rainbow landed next to him. “Hey.” She said nonchalantly.

“Oh, hi,” Dustin replied, one hand automatically going to pet Dash behind the ears. She herself had said that claws scratching her there had been awesome, and Dustin had wisely refrained from commenting how dog-like she looked with one leg kicking when he did it.

“Mmmmnnn…” She grunted and her leg twitched. She yanked away and shook herself, shooting him a glare. “Stop that.” She snorted. “So, question.”

“I’m listening, though no promises on the stopping front,” Dustin said as they walked with no destination in mind. As if to punctuate his statement, his hand twitched towards her for a faction of a second.

She jerked away slightly. “I was wondering… ifIcouldmakeyoudinner?!” She spat out quickly, trying not to blush.

“...You are aware of how much I can eat, right?” Dustin pointed out. “The cleanup effort alone would probably make you think twice about ever doing it again.”

She hovered at shoulder height. “Well I could cook and you could clean up.” She pouted a little.

“Sure, we can do that,” Dustin nodded. “Have you already got the stuff back at your place?”

“Yeah, I even got a bottled spell from Twilight and Zecora.” She said proudly.

“...What for?” Dustin questioned the mare. Why would she need magic to cook?

“So you can walk on clouds, duh.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

“...Oh, yeah, that’d be important,” the fox admitted. He did not feel like meeting gravity today.

“Oh! Idea! I know a place! I want to get something nice for tonight.” She grinned, almost hopping in place, in mid-air.

“Ah, well...okay then,” Dustin said, letting the mare lead him to wherever she had planned. Only, it wasn’t Rarity’s…

It was a shop at the end of an alley that Dustin hadn’t even seen before. Probably a good thing because when Dash opened the door, Dustin was almost floored.

Dash looked back. “You coming?”

“Dash I’m fairly certain this is not a family shop,” the fox managed to squeak out, just barely following her into the shop as his cheeks turned bright red.

“Duh, this isn’t for fillies.” Dash snickered.

The Stallion behind the counter looked up from his magazine and pointed. “Family Planning, Aisle Three.”

...okay, Dustin did not need to see that many inter-species ‘helper’ potions. Or regular helper potions, or...what even was heat inducers?

“No need, Fred.” Dash actually giggled. “I- We’re here for something more along the lines of clothes.”

“You know where.” ‘Fred’ replied and went back to his magazine.

“This way.” Rainbow hovered like a little ball of electricity towards the back of the shop. Dustin resolved to just keep his eyes glued to the floor and not look at anything that was on any of the racks. Just keep calm, cool, collected...He wasn’t going to let it get to him.

“You’re so stiff.” Rainbow commented. “Relax. Nothing is going to bite you. Not even me. Now what should I pick first?” There was a moment of silence. “Hey, Dustin. Look at me.”

The fox dared to look up at last. Looking at Dash wasn’t going to hurt him, right? Just keep focused on Dash and-

She was wearing dark blue socks on all four hooves and a white apron that simply read ‘fuck the cook’.

“Meep,” the fox gulped. “Some might say that meant you had...plans for after dinner,” he pointed out as he tried to control himself.

“Maaaybe.” She smirked and whirled around with a flick of her tail. “Now stay there while I find something else fun.”

Dustin snuffed and shuddered as she turned around to the changing room. There was...the smell of something in the air. Something spicy that he couldn’t easily ignore...with either head.

“Am I distracting you already?” She asked as she came back out wearing a full french maid outfit. She did a little twirl in the air. “How do I look?” She dropped her fake duster and bend all the way over to grab it. Conveniently, or possibly not, she didn’t have anything on under the skirt.

“I’m...not sure Rarity would approve of the uniform being used like that,” Dustin squeaked again. A quick glance to his pants would tell Dash that she was certainly having an effect on him.

She turned her head to look at him, with very sultry eyes. “So? What do you want me to use it for?”

“I...I…” the fox was looking at the ceiling. His cheeks were bright red, and there was that familiar, thick-as-her-leg bulge in his pants.

She suddenly straightened. “Well, I have two outfits that I need to buy.” She smiled happily and trotted into the small changing station. The curtain of the door didn’t close as she looked at him. “You know you can come in with me, right? Don’t you want to undress me?”

Dustin could not blush any brighter. If he could, he’d probably have steam boiling out of his ears as he closed his eyes in an attempt to not look at the blue succubus he’d acquired for a girlfriend. Marefriend. Too damn horny-friend.

“There’s a twenty bit fee for fucking in the changing room.” Fred’s voice called out. “Just to let you know ahead of time. Forty if you make a mess.”

“Thanks Fred.” Dash called back.

“I’m...going to wait outside,” Dustin finally said in a small voice. Maybe now he could calm down. And now he was grateful that he had more pairs of pants than the one. He might need to change them.

A couple minutes of cooldown time later and Dash came out holding bags. “I’m back! You good?” She asked, her face seemed to have fallen a bit. “I’m not going too far with you am I?”

Dustin shook his head as he scratched Dash behind the ears. “I’m just not used to anyone showing that much interest in me,” he explained. “Plus I um...might be out of practice with anything past kissing,” he admitted bashfully.

“And here I am worried about pushing you away. I guess you could say that that’s how I show affection?” She smiled weakly only for her flirty confidence to come back with a vengeance. “You know, you can always practice on me.”

“Yes, you made that quite abundantly clear in there,” Dustin blushed again. “Not really afraid to show off, are you?”

“To you, heck no.” She grinned at him. “It’s…. exciting knowing that I can get that kind of reaction from you.”

“I think a male would have to be dead to not get a reaction from that,” Dustin muttered.

“Yes, yes, keep stoking.” Rainbow puffed out her chest proudly.

“You’re incorrigible,” the fox huffed. “Dinner at your place then. What time, and where’s the spell, or are you going to pick me up?”

“Yes, five, I have to get it, and yes.” Dash rattled off. “See you then, or do you want to spend the rest of the day together?”

“I think I’ve seen quite enough for one day,” the fox deadpanned. “I’m going to work on some administration at the mines before you give me a nosebleed.”

“You have enough blood left for that?” The rainbow-maned pegasus teased. That only got the fox to blush and huff as he looked away again.

“Fine, fine, should I pick you up there then?” She asked with a smile.

“Nah, I’ll go to Rarity’s and at least shower beforehand,” the fox replied, calming down a little. “Wanna smell better than sweaty dog for our date.”

“But you smell good already.” Dash pouted with a huff.

“I won’t after two hours in the mine,” the fox warned. “See you at Rare’s then.” He gave the mare one last, good scratch behind the ears before they parted ways.

Rainbow Dash hummed happily as she hovered down to the front of Carousel Boutique. She knocked on the door only to get a singsong response of “Just a min-ute!”

The door swung open to reveal a beaming Rarity. “Dash! Hello! Come in, come in! Dustin should be down soon enough.”

“Kay…” Rainbow blinked as she trotted inside. She stood there awkwardly for a moment before Rarity popped her head out of a side room.

“What are you doing, come wait in here.” Rarity said in a wait that didn’t broker argument.

“Fine, fine.” Dash rolled her eyes and trotted in.

“So I see you’re wearing an apron, don’t tell me you’re going to cook for him.” Rarity tittered.

Dash blushed and puffed up a little. “I am in fact, yeah!”

“Well can I see it? I might be able to find, or make, a better one for you.” Rarity made to raise a hoof to it.

Rainbow skittered backwards with a bright blush on her cheeks. “No, no! This is perfect! This is… special.”

Rarity blinked. “Oh. Oh! I see! I’m terribly sorry dear.”

“It’sfine.” Dash muttered, wondering when Dustin was going to get here.

There was the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, which were very distinctive as there was only half as many as a set of hoofsteps would make. Dustin, in a nice set of black pants, walked into the room. “I heard voices,” he explained, “And my tail is finally dry, so I assume it’s time for our date.”

“Dustin!” Dash immediately perked up.

“There you are.” Rarity said with a smile. “Dash here was getting nervous.” She tittered.

“No I wasn’t!” Dash snapped as her wings flared.

“Well the only thing I’m nervous about is if she has the bottled potion so I don’t meet the ground after she’s done airlifting me to her house,” the fox said with a chuckle. Puffed up Dash was adorable.

Dash stuffed her hoof into the inside of the apron and pulled out a bottle filled with cloudy blue liquid. “Here ya go. It’s supposed to last twenty-four hours.”

“Oh, cool,” Dustin said, taking the small bottle, uncorking it, and downing it in one gulp. He also tried not to think of the fact that it smelled like a storm, because that was dangerously close to rain, and he already had an association with that smell, thank you very much.

“Should I go get a cloud to test it just in case?” Dash asked, hovering up off the ground.

“Probably a good idea, though not inside,” the Renamon pointed out. “I can’t imagine a cloud is very good for business.”

“Dash, don’t you bring anything in here.” Rarity warned as Dash flew out. “Outside with you.”

“I know, I know!” Dash complained as she flew out the front door. Dustin rolled his eyes and gave Rarity a scratch behind the ears before walking out the door as well.

Rainbow flew down, holding onto a rather puffy cloudy, holding it like it was some massive pillow. “Found one.”

“Okay, bring it a little lower and we’ll see if I can stand on it,” the fox said. After she brought it down to about knee-height, Dustin lifted a foot off the ground and carefully put it towards the cloud.

Huh. It was light and springy and actually holding his weight.

“They make the best beds.” Dash sighed happily.

“Someday I will feel what a cloud bed is like.” Rarity sighed as well, though hers was more wistful.

“Well I guess this means the potion worked,” Dustin smiled. Okay, time for dinner then. Nothing could go wrong with dinner, right?

“Awesome! Now hold on!” Dash started to push the cloud with him on it.

As the pair sped off Rarity trotted back into the boutique. “Sweetie Belle.” She called out softly in a somewhat disapproving tone.

Sweetie Belle popped her head out from behind the doorway. “Y-yeah?”

“Whatever you’re doing, stop.” Rarity said sternly.

“But-” Sweetie tried to begin.

“Sweetie, Dustin is happy. Whatever you do will probably change that, so whatever it is you’re planning, just stop.” She frowned down at the filly. “I won’t have you ruin their date.”

“But- But-” Sweetie went from worried to mad and stormed upstairs. Rarity took a breath and made sure to keep an eye on the filly for the whole night. She knew the mayhem the crusaders could cause, and at the first hint of ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders Matchmakers’ she’d alert the guard.

Dash sulked. Dinner…. Hadn’t gone well, if at all.

Normally it was supposed to be Sweetie Belle who had these sorts of cooking accidents.

Nothing was burned! But...well, after she figured out he liked both spicy food and Neightalian food, she tried to...make spicy pizza. And used far too much spice.

It was inedible. Neither of them could stomach the smell of it.

“There there,” Dustin said, scratching her behind the ears as they sat in the other room, Dash having claimed his lap the moment he sat down. “I’m sure you’ll be able to use your kitchen again...in a week.”

“I’ll never cook again.” She grumbled dourly. “Not after that.”

“Okay, look, you made two key mistakes in that,” Dustin said plainly. “One, you tried to make a dish that normally doesn’t take well to ‘hot’ spices spicy without a recipe. And two, related to one, you used far too much of the spice you did have. Trust me, a little goes a long way.”

“I guess you’re right.” She propped herself up into a sitting position. “Well, we can still salvage the night right?”

“I think it’s a little late to try making something,” Dustin mused. “Makes me miss the pizza stores back home. There was one where they’d make it for you, you took it home and baked it. It was wonderful. They even had a thing where you could put a pizza inside a pizza.”

“A what?!” She gasped. “Really?!”

“Yup,” Dustin nodded. “It was awesome.”

Dash’s ears suddenly perked up. “Wait! I got it!” She hopped off his lap. “I know just the place we can go.”

“Dinner after all?” Dustin posed to her.

“Well, we can eat there.” She bobbed her head back and forth. “It’s a karaoke bar.” She grinned up at him.

“Oh, so we get to watch others try and fail to sing?” Dustin chuckled at the idea. Then again, he hadn’t heard a bad song ever since he got here.

“That’s part of the fun!” She laughed. “So what do you think? Wanna go?”

“Sure, why not,” Dustin agreed, standing up from the couch. Now, how was he going to get there…

“What’s up?” She asked hovering next to him. “You got that thoughtful look again.”

“Just pretty sure I won’t be able to jump down, and I can’t teleport on command yet…” Dustin mused aloud.

Dash blinked. “Ooooooh right. Yeah.” She hummed.”Well, I could get you a cloud or you could ride me.” She winked at the last bit.

“You would suggest that,” the fox grumbled with an eye roll.

“Or I could ride you.” She smirked at him. That got the splutter and blush she was looking for.

“Let’s...just go before your apron rings true,” Dustin muttered.

“Alrighty.” Dash flew off to get a cloud.

The karaoke bar wasn’t exactly loud. It seemed to be small groups, or the occasional individual at the bar itself. Also, not a single pony had gone up to sing. Though the atmosphere itself was on the upbeat side.

“Hey Dustin,” Dash spoke up, “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a sad excuse for a karaoke bar if nobody’s singing,” the fox snorted, huffing a little. “I just hope the food’s good, I’m dying for a good onion ring.”

“Well…. While we wait…. You should get up there and sing.” Dash grinned eagerly pointing a hoof at the small raised stage.

“What.” The fox blinked a few times. “I mean, I did take a year of singing lessons and I know my range pretty well but...that doesn’t mean I-”

“Come on! Please?” She almost pleaded, giving him puppy dog eyes.

“Ack! Fine, fine...I know a song or two,” the fox admitted. “I’ll sing one.”

“Yes!” Dash hoof-pumped. “Awesome!”

Dustin was glad there were no spotlights as he got up on the stage, tapping the microphone a few times to make sure it was on. The thumping noise from the speakers told him it was. “Um...evening, everyone,” he greeted the bar. “So, this song goes out to a pesky pegasus who wants to hear me croon.”

And then, Dustin began to sing.

Dash’s jaw dropped, as did most of the other patrons. The whole bar quieted as he sang. More than one pony came in from outside to hear who was singing. It was-

“Awesome…” Dash breathed, her eyes locked on her foxfriend. He had definitely made her night after she screwed up dinner.

“I, uh, hope I did that song justice,” Dustin chuckled as he stepped away from the mic.

There was an almost stillness to the bar. Until everyone burst into a stomping of hooves.

“Dustin! Oh My Gosh!” Dash flew up to him. “That. Was. Amazing!”

“Ah well, it’s just one of the songs I know well enough to bring out on demand, it’s sorta stuck in my head,” the fox admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

“We need to do this again.” Dash grinned. “Now let’s eat! Food got here when you were singing.”

Dash burped loudly as they walked back towards Carousel Boutique. “Yeah… Good night. Really good night. Thanks Dustin.”

“Hey, all I did was sing, you provided the venue,” the fox replied. “Also I need to get the other guys in on the singing, it’s supposed to be done by a quartet at least.”

“We need to get more ponies here. Maybe make it a weekly thing.” Dash hummed in thought. “Still was a great day though.”

“Yeah, thanks for the date Dash,” Dustin smiled, one hand creeping up through her mane to give her a head-scratching. This time she leaned into his scratches.

Soon they arrived at the Boutique. “I suppose this is good night.” Dash hovered up in front of him.

“Yeah, I had fun tonight,” Dustin admitted, turning to Dash and-

She quickly rushed forward and pecked him on the lips. Blushing madly, she hovered away. “Yeah… Thanks for... everything Dustin. Night.” With that she flew off.

...If one could see into Dustin’s brain, they would be greeted with a looping blue screen of death.

“Dustin.” Rarity called out from inside. “You might be furry but you’re going to freeze to death if you stay out there. Come inside. Oh, and tell me all about your day.”