It had been several weeks since the Amity Ball, the aftermath of which had seen Sandbar confess to Yona his romantic feelings for her. Their relationship was by now anything but secret and they made no effort to hide it, either in school or out in public. Sandbar had even introduced Yona to his parents who were more than accepting of their son's girlfriend, not that Sandbar ever doubted they would think that way.
Yet in the time since the confession neither Sandbar or Yona had thought to truly take the next step in the relationship, the first true test to see if theirs was meant to last: A date.
That was about to change as one day after school, Yona had a big surprise to announce to Sandbar. "Yona want to take Sandbar out! Yona want to impress Sandbar like Sandbar impress Yona with his confession!" She excitedly declared.
Sandbar blinked slowly. "You mean, you want to go on a date with me, Yona? Like tonight?"
The young yak eagerly nodded! "Tonight work perfectly! Yona look forward to showing Sandbar good time while Sandbar show Yona all his favorite sights!"
"B-but, Yona! I'm... I'm not prepared!" The earth pony colt stuttered and blushed. "I haven't made any arrangements! This is all so sudden!"
Yona wasn't concerned even for a second. "Yona take care of all that, Yona know Sandbar better than Sandbar know himself. Sandbar leave planning to Yona so Sandbar only to have focus on getting ready. Yona come by Sandbar's house tonight for date."
Realizing that there was no point in discouraging the yak now that she'd gotten this idea in her head, Sandbar reluctantly agreed. He'd been thinking about the first date and where to go, but he'd kept putting it off. And now it seemed his mind had been made up for him by someone else. "A-alright, Yona. Guess I'll see you tonight, then. Just try not to break down the door when you knock this time."
The yak giggled. "Yak promises to be gentle, Yona not want to break anything else." Then with a wave of one of her hooves, Yona happily bounced away as Sandbar could stand there and watch.
Only once his girlfriend was out of sight did the romantic daze wear off in Sandbar's mind. "I'm gonna need some help if I'm going to really look my best for Yona!" He thought to himself. And as luck would have it he already knew the perfect pony who could help him, the same pony who'd helped Yona "fit in" at the Amity Ball.
At Carousel Boutique, Rarity was just finishing up the last dress for an order intended to be shipped out to her Manehattan boutique for delivery. She adjusted her ruby red sewing glasses as she carefully threaded her sewing needle through the fabric, sewing shut a hole above the collar. "Ah, perfect!" The fashionista smiled to herself. "Perhaps my best work yet! And I'm ahead of schedule to boot." All that remained now was to carefully pack up the completed dress and mark it for delivery to Rarity For You.
Just as Rarity had removed her ruby red sewing glasses and set them down besides her trusty tape measure and sewing needle, she heard the familiar chime of a ringing bell that signaled the arrival of a guest. She trotted downstairs to answer it, finding not a new customer or a fashion emergency but a rather desperate looking Sandbar who seemed to be out of breath.
"Professor Rarity..." Sandbar panted. "Gotta help... me... Yona... first date..."
The unicorn with a majestic white coat managed to decipher the intent behind the message quite easily, she'd gotten used to translating fast paced speech from her sister. "Oh, Yona finally asked you out, huh?" She commented with a sincere smile and let out a dreamy sigh. "Young love is so precious."
Sandbar was able to take advantage of Rarity's brief contemplation to catch his breath. "Can you help me, Professor Rarity? Please? You're my only hope, and I don't have much time. Yona wants to go on a date tonight! As in tonight tonight!"
"I most certainly can help you, Sandbar," Rarity generously offered. "A first date is quite important. But I think you're going about this all wrong. You should want Yona to be impressed with who you are. That's not something a new dress will fix, though it certainly wouldn't hurt."
"A dress would be nice! Even just a new bow tie or something!" The earth pony colt insisted. "Yona's probably not gonna wear much, but then again even we ponies don't normally wear clothes." A nervous giggle escaped his lips as he blushed anew.
The fashionista nodded. "Indeed. Besides, it sounds to me like you two are just going out for a night on the town. It's hardly something as formal as the Fetlock Fete before Twilight turned it into the Amity Ball," Leading Sandbar away she explained. "I learned quite an important lesson from helping Yona 'fit in' for that dance. As much as I may think I know what's best for somepony, the golden rule of business is: The customer is always right."
"But Yona came to you, not the other way around." Sandbar insisted.
"Yes, yet I was the one who decided she needed to not just 'fit in' but do so in a way that would be acceptable for a formal event," Rarity explained. "And in doing so I turned Yona into something she wasn't. Since then I've strove to help bring out the best in others without betraying who they are on the inside. Looks are important, but they're not everything. And true beauty, much like true friendship, often comes from within. If you want to impress Yona that's perfectly fine, I'll be happy to support you in that."
The young earth pony seemed to nod in understanding. "You sound just like my parents when I told them about Yona and I. They didn't say exactly what you said, but it was kind of the same thing overall."
With a bright smile Rarity nodded back. "Quite right. It's not wrong to want to change who you are. But you shouldn't want to do it just because you think it'll impress someone else. There's always something you can work on or be better at, but completely changing who you are isn't something that just happens for one night. Changing your appearance isn't the same as changing who you are on the inside. The best dress in the world means nothing if you don't have the confidence to carry yourself as somepony worthy of wearing it."
"I guess that does make sense," Sandbar seemed to realize. "I didn't want to end up like Yona did at the Amity Ball and become a total stranger to myself. But I was hoping you could give me some advice while helping me pick out an outfit for tonight. I want my first date with Yona to feel special so that she knows how special she is to me."
"If that's all you need a dress for, then you don't need a dress," Rarity pointed out. "I'm sure Yona already knows how special you are to her, and I wouldn't be surprised if her taking charge like this is her way of showing how much you mean to her. If you still want to wear something nice for the night, you can. But just being with Yona and loving her for who she is is enough to make her feel special. I've come to learn for one to find their real prince or princess charming they have to be willing to look past appearances and romantic gestures and see others for who they are on the inside on a daily basis."
"Wow! You're even more knowledgeable about romance than I thought you were, Professor Rarity!" Sandbar gasped in amazement!
The fashionista just winked. "Let's just say I'm more than just speaking from experience," Then she coughed into a hoof to change the subject. "Now then, if you're still looking for something to wear tonight, I think I may have just the thing in mind." And she led her young charge away.
As evening came, Yona made her way to Sandbar's house just as planned. She was really looking forward to tonight, it was going to be magical!
Right on schedule the yak knocked on the front door of Sandbar's house, taking great care not to knock too hard and break down the door again. She had opted for a traditional Yakyakistan dress that was long, flowing and the most beautiful shade of earthly brown mixed with white around the curls to resemble the snow of her native homeland. "Sandbar will be impressed when Sandbar see Yona like this!" She thought to herself.
Yet when the door swung open a few seconds later it was Yona who found herself impressed. Sandbar's lovely sea green mane and tail had been combed back so they didn't look so shaggy. He had a finely pressed black suit and matching tie that made him look like he'd come right out of a pony fairy tale.
"Hey, Yona," Sandbar greeted with a smile as he flicked his mane. "I'm ready for our date," And then he took in the dress she was wearing. "Wow! You actually got dressed up too! That's a nice outfit you're wearing."
Finding her composure after a moment of silence, Yona declared. "Yona wearing traditional Yakyakistan dress for first date. Yaks believe first date most important."
"Maybe, but it's just one date. Let's just take things one day at a time," Sandbar insisted. "After all, the night is young and I'm eager to see what you have planned for me, Yona."
The young yak smiled as she took Sandbar by the hoof. "Yona plan fun night for her and Sandbar, best night Yona and Sandbar ever have in their young lives!"
"W-well let's not have too much fun," Sandbar playfully chuckled. "My parents do want me home before midnight, after all."
Yona simply continued to smile as she led Sandbar away, ready to lead him along to see all the best sights and sounds of Ponyville. "Then Yona squeeze the most fun possible into next few hours! And date start with trip to Sandbar's favorite hangout: Sugarcube Corner!"
"Hey, you think we'll see Professor Pinkie Pie there?" The young earth pony questioned.
"Maybe," Yona replied. "Because maybe Yona mention date to professor and professor want to help."
Author's Note
The world needs more YonaBar, am I right?
