Liam nervously paced back and forth on the sidewalk just outside of the 'Vineyard'. He glanced back and forth across the street for any sign of Morning Star, but could not identify her among the sparse groups of ponies out and about on the city. He looked down to his watch, finding that it was only five minutes until his scheduled date, and a frown quickly overtook his features.

"Is... is she gonna stand me up?" He asked to himself, a hint of hurt in his voice.

"Of course not!" Star happily replied, starting Liam out of his musing.

"Gah!" Liam shrieked as he jumped back, away from the mare now standing just in front of him.

Liam clutched his chest as he gasped for air and looked over the guardsmare. Now naked, and lacking the magical effects of her magic, her coat and mane color were actually visible. Surprisingly, she didn't look too much different from when she was wearing her armor, save a few noticeable differences. Her coat was much the same color, although maybe a shade darker than before, and her eyes were the exact same deep cobalt. Instead of a pure white, her wings were orange, almost matching her mane perfectly. Lastly, her mane and tail, were a fiery orange and swept back, as if she just finished a long, fast flight. Liam instantly thought of the Wonderbolts upon seeing her mane outside of a helmet.

Liam also quickly noticed how much taller she stood than the average mare. Much like Sky, she stood all the way up to his stomach, not counting her ears. With his breath finally caught, Liam picked up on the sound of giggling, and quickly noticed that Star was the source of the harmonic noise.

"Didn't think I'd take your breath away that quickly." Star teased.

"I-uh, sorry. You just startled me, is all." Liam replied, replied, looking slightly down and away from her.

"You know I'm not going to bite, right? Unless you're into that, of course." Star pressed, quickly picking up on the flustered look forming on Liam's face.

"Uh, I-I'm good. Thanks..." Liam responded, his face flushed.

Star fluttered her wings, "Well then I guess I'll just have to try again for dessert. You look incredibly cute, you know that?" She complimented.

Liam scratched the back of his neck, "Well, thanks, but... I didn't really do anything. Just threw on some jeans and a t-shirt." He replied, his face still noticeably blushing.

"I think you look like a snack," Star replied, before her voice dropped low, and husky, "And momma's hungry." She purred.

Liam's eyes widened and he awkwardly coughed into his fist as he turned to look to the entrance.

"Oh look! We should probably get in there and sit down before the dinner rush come in." He announced.

Star looked over to the doorway and shrugged with her wings, "Whatever you say, hot stuff. I've been looking forward to tonight all day." She replied with a wink, before turning tail and heading into the front door.

Liam rushed after her, fully intent to grab the front door for the pegasus mare, but she easily beat him to it, and pulled the door open for him. She gave him a kind smile as she held the door open, motioning for him to go in first.

With his face flushed red once more, and a sting to his pride, Liam quietly sighed and accepted the gesture. He walked inside with Star quickly coming in behind him, her eyes lingering on his rear while they both walked up to the front desk. The hostess quickly looked up from her papers and put a wide smile on her face as Liam and Star approached.

"Well hi there! Welcome to the 'Vineyard'. How can I help you both?" The mare happily inquired.

"Ta-" Liam started, only for Star to speak at almost the exact same time.

"Can we get a table for two?" She politely, yet firmly asked.

Liam chewed his tongue and placed his hands in his pockets as the waitress gave a happy nod.

"You certainly can. Just follow me. Right this way." The hostess replied, before grabbing two menus in her magic and turning tail to lead the duo to their table.

Liam and Star followed behind, and quickly entered the main foyer of the restaurant. The central dining area was outside, and split into five different levels, much like an opera theatre. Every booth and table beheld a magnificent view of the Smoky mountains off in the distance, as well as the Canterlot river leading away from the city toward said mountain range. Stars sparkled in the sky over the entire view of Equestria, casting pale white light that illuminated the center stage all tables were situated around. Little glass lanterns added warm atmospheric light that made the entire space feel homely and inviting.

Liam felt his jaw drop as the hostess quickly ushered them both to an open booth on the third level. The wooden table and straw patch filled cushions of the booth added to the homely aesthetic, and just before Liam took his seat, he saw, rather than heard, a volley of laughter run through the building. He looked over to the center stage to see a lone pony talking into a microphone just before another wave of laughter ran through the ponies sitting around him.

"Would you two like to listen to the show, or just dine without any distractions?" The hostess asked, looking back and forth between Liam and Star.

"Up to you, stud. I can occupy myself with a nice view if you don't wanna listen to a comedian." Star waggled her eyebrows at Liam.

Liam looked over to the hostess, "I think I'd like to listen to the show. Can you just make it relatively quiet?" He inquired.

"Absolutely. Just take your seats and I'll connect your booth." The hostess smiled.

Liam sat down on his side of the booth with Star taking her seat a moment after he was seated. The hostess quickly cast a spell and formed a bubble around them. Once the spell was complete, Liam heard the sound of a pony's voice reach his ears. It was faint enough to not be distracting, but loud enough to still understand what she was saying.

"So then I said, 'A slinky?! That doesn't go in there!" The comedian's voice began, only for Liam to turn his attention to the hostess as she entered the bubble.

"Alright, you two have a great time. Your waiter will be with you in just a minute." She smiled, before turning tail and heading back for the entrance.

With the hostess gone, Liam quickly returned his attention to the mare sitting across from him, and the downright salacious look in her eyes. With a nervous gulp, he adjusted his collar and mentally prepared himself.

"So..." Star began, a smirk forming on her muzzle.

"So... how's your day been?" Liam replied, noticeably twiddling his thumbs.

"My day was easy. I spent most of it looking forward to seeing your cute flank tonight." Star replied with a wink.

A blush instantly blossomed on Liam's face and he awkwardly cleared his throat before responding.

"Uh, hehe... thank you?" Liam said, his eyes averted.

"No need to be so coy. You have cute flanks. Especially for an alien. I'll be honest, when I found out legit aliens landed in Equestria, I did not think some of you would be so cute, but mare, you've got assets in all the right places." Star complimented, leaning forward on one elbow.

Liam bashfully looked away and rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, t-thanks. Listen, I-" He begun, only for the waiter to enter their bubble.

"Excuse me, my name is Summer Breeze, and I'll be your waiter for the night." Summer greeted, before looking over to Liam specifically.

"Can I get you started with something to drink, sir?" She politely asked.

"Uh, just water is fine for me. Thanks." Liam replied, a thankful smile on his face for the interruption.

"Staying hydrated I see. Wouldn't want you getting too thirsty now, would we? At least, not until later." Star teased, a playful grin on her face.

Liam felt his entire face and neck heat up as his blush returned in full force. Even the waiter did a double take before awkwardly looking down at her notepad and writing down Liam's order.

"A-and for you, ma'am?" She asked, slightly flustered.

"I'll have strawberry daiquiri." Star replied, a confident smile on her face as she observed Liam's reaction.

"R-right, I'll get those for you two right away." Summer replied, before scribbling down Star's order and heading off back toward the kitchen.

Star watched their waiter retreat for a moment, before returning her gaze back to Liam. The blush was finally gone from his face, but he wore a noticeable frown. The confident smirk on Star's face cracked slightly, and she cleared her throat before addressing Liam once more.

"So, Mid tells me that you and her have made a lot of progress with all the quantum physics mumbo jumbo stuff. How's that been?" Star asked, her confidence returning with every word.

Liam let out a quiet sigh before replying, "It's been going very well. We've made more progress than either of us expected to make in a very short amount of time. Before the end of the year, we'll have pretty much everything figured out to start doing some serious experiments." He answered.

"That sounds cool! What kind of experiments are you gonna be doing? Are they gonna involve socks?" Star wiggled her eyebrows.

Liam opened his mouth to respond, before slowly closing it and shaking his head, "What is it with you ponies and socks?"

"They're sexy as Tartarus! You humans wear them all the time too! It's so hot... oh my gosh, you're wearing them right now, aren't you!?" Star exclaimed, planting both hooves on the table.

Liam leaned back from her outburst, "Uh... yeah I'm wearing socks right now. Why is that a big deal? How is that hot?" He asked.

Star's tail excitedly wagged back and forth, "Oh buck yeah, you dirty colt. Wearing socks to our first date? I hit the jackpot with you." She predatorily grinned.

Liam furrowed his brow once more, before letting out a long, suffering sigh, "Jesus. I knew this was a mistake." He shook his head, before moving to get up.

Any visage of Stars confidence and composure immediately shattered. She did a double take as Liam got to his feet.

"W-wait!" She exclaimed, her hooves flailing frantically.

Liam paused mid step and fixed her with a deadpan look, "Look, Star, I appreciate the forwardness, but I'm not really looking to move this fast."

Just as Liam turned to leave, Star jumped out of her seat and grabbed his hand with her hooves.

"I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, prompting a raised eyebrow from the man as she held his hand, "Look, I just... I really like you, and when I overheard Mid saying that you might be interested in me, I got... a bit carried away, I guess." She explained, her ears splayed flat against her skull.

Liam slowly turned to face the mare as she looked up to him like a dog just caught digging through the trash.

"Listen, I appreciate that, but this kind of relationship is exactly why I left Earth. I don't really want to go through the same thing again." He responded.

"Wait, you left your home because of a relationship?" Star asked, genuine concern in her voice.

"It's a long story." Liam replied, looking away.

"Liam, I'm so sorry for acting the way I was. I just... could we please start over? I know I've bucked this all up, but please, let me try again. I didn't know." Star pleaded, a deep frown on her face.

Liam slowly looked down to the pegasus mare and the point of contact between them. The soft frogs of her hooves felt gentle, and comforting, even despite the previous twenty minutes of their date. Despite himself, Liam let out a huff and a small nod.

"If you can promise to drop the borderline sexual harassment, we can continue this like a normal date." He relented.

Star beamed, "I will, I promise. Thank you for giving me another chance." She replied, gratefully.

Liam nodded, before sitting back down in his seat and fixing the alabaster white pegasus with a curious look.

"So what made you take an interest in me anyways?" Liam inquired, "I'm not exactly anything special."

Star vigorously shook her head, "What are you talking about? You're amazing. I've seen the way you come to work, bang out like, six hundred equations, solve something our scholars have been working on for centuries, and then fix a little filly's math homework all before lunch!" She countered.

"That only happened once." Liam corrected, holding up a finger.

"And it was amazing. I can see that, Mid and Sky can see that... why can't you?" Star questioned, a puzzled and slightly concerned look crossing her features.

Liam sighed, "It's... just part of the problems I carried over from Earth, I guess. Mostly my Ex, but it is what it is."

"What did your Ex do to you to make you feel like you aren't as amazing as the rest of us can plainly see?" Star pressed, placing her hoof on Liam's hand.

Liam looked down at the point of contact between the two of them, a slight frown forming on his brow as his mind registered the distinct warmth and softness of the frog of her hoof. Stray hairs from her fetlocks brushed against his knuckles, causing a tickling sensation that almost made him squirm free from her gentle grasp.

"It's... like I said, a long story." Liam admitted.

"I've got time," Star immediately replied, "And I'm willing to listen." She smiled encouragingly.

Liam chewed his tongue in thought for a few moments before giving a single nod and clearing his throat.

"Well, it started the way pretty much any issues in a normal relationship start. Just little things, like her wanting to check my holopad when I wasn't looking to see if I was cheating on her, or hitting me just a bit too hard when we were 'screwing around'." Liam explained, his eyes glued to Star's hoof on his hand.

"She would hit you?" Star asked, concern bleeding into her voice.

"It wasn't like she was punching me in the face or anything, but you know, when couples play fight or whatever and sometimes one of them takes it a bit too far. She was like that a lot. Anyways, after that, it started escalating into just more and more abusive things that she'd say; telling me that I was worthless or that no other girl would want to be with me because I didn't have a job at the time and I was depending on her for a place to stay." Liam elaborated.

"That's horrible. She never should have said those kinds of things to you." Star responded, her tone conveying clear resentment.

Liam nodded, "From there, it just got worse and worse since I depended on her for a place to live, and I couldn't afford to put food on the table because Earth is so overpopulated and I couldn't find a job. Eventually she started being really abusive, saying that she wished I would just die or something so she wouldn't have to deal with a burden like me anymore... yeah, stuff like that." Liam admitted, before a white blur leapt over the table and pulled him into a hug.

Liam gasped at the speed with which Star moved from one side of the table to the other and wrapped her forelegs around him, but the squeezing sensation around his midsection felt oddly comforting, making him look down at the source of the tentatively welcome contact.

"I'm so sorry that she did those things to you... nopony deserves that kind of abuse, and I wish it never happened to you." Star mumbled, her muzzled buried into Liam's chest.

Liam stared down at the mare squeezing him like her life depended on it for a few moments before slowly wrapping his arms around her in turn.

"It's alright. I got over all of that." Liam said, brushing his fingers along Star's back, between her wings.

"It's not alright. I can't believe somepony would be so mean and hurtful to you like that. It's not right. You don't deserve that kind of abuse. Nopony does." Star rebutted, squeezing him slightly tighter in the process.

"Star, it's okay. I got over it. Besides, if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have moved here in the first place, so it's not really that big of a bother to me anymore. I made one of the best decisions I've ever made because of it." Liam responded, dragging his fingers through Star's silky mane.

"It is not okay. I'm so sorry some mare said those horrible things to you. You deserve better than that." Star asserted, looking up to Liam with a furrowed brow.

Liam allowed a smile to grace his face, "Well thank you. I appreciate that, but it's all in the past. I've learned to move on from it." He explained.

"Well you shouldn't have had to!" Star exclaimed, startling Liam slightly as she intensely looked up at him.

Liam looked down at the adorable pony looking up to him with a pout on her face and fire in her eyes. After a few moments of looking into those deep blue eyes, he let out a small sigh.

"Alright, alright. You're right. I'm just saying that I've moved on from it by now. No need to get all fired up about something that happened almost half a year ago." He replied, bringing his hand up to her ear and scratching gently.

Star sighed softly into the contact as she nuzzled her cheek into Liam's chest just a tad more firmly.

"I promise that you won't ever have to deal with that kind of abuse again." Star mumbled, her voice muffled slightly by Liam's shirt.

Liam smiled.

Maybe dating a pony might not be so bad after all?

Author's Note

So I hope Star wasn't too forward for any of you. I wanted to have her come on way too strong, but not in a way that would instantly drive Liam away. I think I did decent enough, but some people have way lower tolerances for harassment than I do. The military changes a man...

Anyways, as you can see if you're reading this, Star is totally a sweetheart! She's just a little brash and comes off a little strong. Not to worry though, you'll see more of her soft side in future chapters.