Rara's New Life

Mike just finished getting dressed. He put on a tie to finish up the tuxedo he was wearing. He looked at himself in the mirror before walking over to the bedroom's joint-bathroom. He knocked on the door.

"One minute!" Came Rara's voice.

"Okay, just letting you know I'm done," Mike replied.

"Alright, I'll be out in a moment."

Mike sat down on the bed and grabbed the bouquet of flowers. He began thinking about his future with Rara, now that he's finally achieving his dream of becoming a musician. But there's a problem: his racing career. He loved driving all sorts of race cars, but while it was something he wanted to do, it wasn't his all-time dream. His all-time dream was to be a music artist. And now that he's finally achieving that, he had to make a decision on it. 'Music takes a long time to make. Not only that, but Rara is a celebrity, which means once we start our tour, we're gonna spend a long time overseas, away from our homes. And given how long and grueling motorsports schedules are... hmm... I spent an eternal amount of money trying to get my racing career started... but... with my dreams now being achieved, it seems like... it's gonna have to end now,' Mike thought to himself.

'But I've still got 3 contracts signed, and I can't back out of them. Plus, I've already run 2 races, with 3 more over the next 3 weeks.' Mike thought for a few more minutes. Finally, he made his decision. He stood up and declared to himself, "2024 will be my last year in motorsports. Out of contractual obligation, I'll run all 13 NASCAR races, all 11 IndyCar races, and all 7 Sports Car Endurance races. The IndyCar race at Nashville Superspeedway will be my last ever IndyCar race. The Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta will be my last ever Sports Car Endurance race. And NASCAR's season finale race at Phoenix Raceway will not only be my last ever NASCAR race, but also my last ever race as a whole. After that, I'll be able to spend more time with Rara and maybe work on a few songs together."

Mike suddenly stopped and wondered about the latter part of his speech. 'Spend more time with Rara and work on a few songs together.' Mike didn't know what he personally meant by that, but he wasn't sure if he could process being in a relationship with Rara. He loved her, but according to Sapphire Shores, their contract only runs for 2 years. By the time, the NASCAR season finale race at Phoenix comes and goes, they'll only be one more year on the contract. Mike decided to shrug it off, seeing that right now is not the time to think on it. Then, he suddenly heard the bathroom door creak open. Mike looked up and went rigid.

Rara came out of the bathroom and boy she was a sight to behold. She was wearing a black dress that went all the way down to just above her hooves. She was also wearing some make-up, most notably, some eye-shadow and mascara. Her mane and tail also looked freshly washed, evident by some fogging on the bathroom's mirror. "So, how do I look?" Rara asked innocently.

Mike snapped out of his trance, looked over Rara again, and smiled. "You look gorgeous," he said.

Rara smiled and took the bouquet of flowers. "Well, shall we head out?"

"Yes, let's."

And with that, Mike and Rara set out on their first date.

In a diner near Downtown Manehattan, Mike and Rara were seated at the table. After chatting and waiting for a few minutes, the waiter finally came to take their orders. "I'll have the pasta," they both said in unison. This caused them to look at each other in shock, but then Rara smiled. Mike smiled back and gave the waiter the menus. The waiter then nodded and walked away with the menus.

"Getting the same food, aren't we?" Mike asked.

"Well, I never thought you were gonna order the same thing," Rara replied.

The two looked at each other for a moment before Mike finally asked a question that he thought should be asked long in advance. "So, when and where do you plan to start our tour?" He asked. "Sapphire said that we can start during the summer, but I want to know when specifically, since I know Sapphire is planning to release that album that we made soon, and I also know you want to perform the songs that we made." He added.

Rara pondered for a moment. "Well, I looked at your racing schedule and by the looks of things, the time between July and August will be the least busiest time for you. So I was thinking we can start on July 27th here in Manehattan. Specifically, at the Bridleway Theatre," she replied.

"Wait, you actually wanna perform at Bridleway instead of that small theater in the park where the Midsummer Theatre Revival took place?" Mike asked.

"Well, it would allow for a bigger attendance," said Rara.

"But that's the thing," Mike replied. "The reason why I have time off between July and August is because the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are taking place during that time period and everypony will probably pay more attention to that."

"Olympic Games?"

"It's Earth's version of the Equestria Games. Athletes from all 6 of Earth's inhabitant continents competing in one of the biggest events in they're lives. Determining who will end up at the top and who will end up at the bottom. And only the best will make it to the top," explained Mike.

Rara looked impressed at Mike's speech. "Sounds like something Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts would compete in," she said.

"Well, Equestria has it's own Olympic Game Event, so I don't think Equestria would get an Olympic invite because of that."

"Well, I don't think 'everypony' would be going to Paris for the Olympic Games. Sure a LOT of ponies would be going, but I think most would stay here and watch on TV. Which is why I think we should use the time during the Olympic Games to start our tour. Plus, it's here in my hometown and like I said, Bridleway would allow for a larger attendance," said Rara.

"Yeah, you know. You're probably right," Mike replied.

Just then, the waiter returned with their food. He put the two bowls of pasta down on the table. "Excuse me, Could I please have some parmesan cheese?" Rara asked. The waiter nodded and poured some parmesan cheese onto Rara's pasta. "Thanks," said Rara. The waiter smiled and walked away. Mike then grabbed his glass of champagne and said, "To us?"

Rara took her own champagne glass and replied, "To us."

The two clinked their champagne glasses together, took a sip, and began to eat their food.

After their date, the two went back to the apartment and changed into their nightwear. As they got into bed, Mike spoke to Rara. "You know, we can probably spend this next week telling Sapphire Shores about your date of starting the tour," he said.

"I think that's a great idea," said Rara.

Mike smiled and switched the lights off. "Night, Rara."

"Goodnight."

And with that, the two fell asleep in each other's arms.

To Be Continued.