•)16(•

Simple Meanings

The last thing she needed for her departure was an extra scarf. Everything else had been checked off of her list.

'Oh, I hope Rarity doesn't show up anytime soon...'

She stopped searching for the scarf as she realized something.

"Where is she, anyhow?"

She had been gone all night and she still had not returned. She hoped she was at least alright...

She continued her search, hoping she wouldn't have to borrow one of Rarity's scarves, for she would never hear the end of it.

Then again... She might not be there to hear it, anyway, for she would be gone.

She looked by the door, seeing her sister's emergency scarf hanging on a coat rack. She grabbed it and brought it to her room to pack it.

There was nothing else on the list, so there was only one thing left to do...

Leave without so much as a goodbye.

~ * * * ~

She sat still on a fluffy pillow and anxiously watched Twilight search through another book on interpreting dreams. This one was blue, so that made it slightly more interesting to look at.

Pinkie's eye began to twitch. Twilight had been at it for hours now. Two hours. She apparently had no luck in finding out what Pinkie's dream meant. Pinkie had a thought bouncing around in her head and she really wanted to tell Twilight about it, but she had been advised not to bother her when she was doing research.

Pinkie knew the eye-twitch meant something. She knew what it meant, too. However, she had not gotten around to telling Twilight what it meant yet.

The sound of nothing save for pages turning now and then was beginning to build up her end to sitting still, making her sweat, but then she had an idea.

She stretched her right hoof into the air and held it as high as she could, hoping to be noticed. If this didn't work, she might just burst into flames, for her impatience was that of a gas closing in on a helplessly lit match. She wiggled her hoof around lightly at first, then a little more enthusiastically, and finally, at record-breaking speeds. Seeing that this didn't get the unicorn's attention, she jumped into the air, ready to let all pink fury loose.

"Yes, Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie sat back down as if nothing had happened, and let a breath she had been holding in. "Oh, thank goodness!" she exclaimed. "I didn't think I could take it any longer!"

Twilight raised a brow.

"Anywho," continued Pinkie, "I think I know what my dream means now."

Twilight looked at her quizzically. "What? How could you possibly know what it means? You haven't been reading over my shoulder, have you?"

"My left eye was a-twitch-a-twitchin'."

Twilight shut the book and sighed heavily. "Okay... What does it mean, Pinkie?"

Pinkie stood up and starting trotting toward the front door. "It means there's going to be a new couple, in a new place, in a new generation."

Twilight stood up and followed her. "New generation?" she asked. "What does that mean?"

Pinkie opened the door and gestured for her to walk outside. "Well, the next generation down from our generation would be Apple Bloom's or Sweetie Belle's age. So..."

Twilight waved her off and walked out into the cool noon air. "Okay, scratch that. I know what a generation is." She turned around and looked at Pinkie as she closed the door. "Wait... Wouldn't that mean it would be several years before this happened?"

Pinkie shook her head and walked up next to her. "Not necessarily."

Twilight was becoming more confused. "Wait... What do you mean by..." She stopped walking and gasped, coming to realize what she meant. She then quickened her pace to keep up with Pinkie Pie. "Oh, wow... But that's so early for ponies so young, isn't it?"

"Maybe. But it's probably just a simple crush they have on each other." Pinkie put more spring in her step to entertain herself. "Didn't you ever have a crush on somepony when you were little, Twilight?"

"No, I didn't," Twilight informed her. "I've never really been a very social pony, so I never really found anypony I liked..."

Pinkie face-hoofed. "Silly me, I should've known that. Well, neither did I!"

Twilight took time to ponder why Pinkie asked her. She stopped pondering immediately, seeing as she knew she wouldn't get anywhere trying to figure out Pinkie's motives. "So... Where are we going?"

"To the newest restaurant in town," Pinkie replied without looking at her.

"Oh, okay... Is this another date?"

"If you want it to be."

"Okay... Then... let's treat it like it's not a date just to see which way we like better."

"Okie-dokie-lokie!"

Twilight tried to think of other interesting things to talk about. "Uhm... Do you know who the two young ponies are, anyway?"

"Weeelllll..." Pinkie thought back to who was in her dream besides herself and Twilight. Coming to a realization, she stopped walking. "Wait!!" She stopped Twilight from walking also. "It's--... it's--..." She froze. "Oh my..."

"What?" Twilight took her chance to speak. "You know who the new couple is?"

The party pony didn't say anything, but instead, she grabbed Twilight's hoof and darted toward the newest restaurant, causing the unicorn to give out a startled shout.

"Where are we going now!?" Twilight asked, her voice being shaken from the bumpy method of travel through Ponyville.

"Still the same place!" Pinkie's voice was shaken also, but not as shaken.

"Well, what's it called!?"

"You'll see!"

~ * * * ~

"What'd ya say this place was called, again?"

Rarity looked up from her sunflower soup. She set her spoon aside as if it were delicate and wiped her mouth using the napkin in her lap. "Slice of The Ocean, dear. It's a seafood restaurant, if you hadn't noticed already. It's supposed to be as much like the world under the sea as possible. Without the water, of course..."

"Ah can see that," replied Applejack, looking around at the decor of the place. It looked nothing like what she imagined the bottom of the sea would appear to be. Then again, she had never been to the bottom of the ocean now, had she?

Almost every table seemed to be taken. Today was only the restaurant's second day in business, so ponies were still trying it out. Applejack could only imagine what was like around dinnertime, rather than lunch.

There were giant fish tanks everywhere, but they were integrated into the decor and design, so none of which stood out from another. At the entrance, there was sand and seashells spread out across the floor, as if one were about to take a dive to the bottom of the sea. On the walls, there were murals of ponies who lived there, all of which had scales and fishtails where their hind legs would usually be. One other curious thing about them was that, instead of having tails like earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi would have, they had colors in their scales that matched their mane.

"You know, Applejack..."

The farm pony shook her head and turned her attention toward her date. "Beg pardon?"

Rarity giggled at her crush's sudden energy. "I was just going to say that I've always wondered what it'd be like to be a sea-horse..."

Applejack removed her hat and placed it under the table as she noticed the short little waiter with a large tray of their food balanced on his head. He looked to be having trouble squeezing between tables, chairs, and ponies. "Hold on jus' a minute..." said Applejack, as she stood up from her chair and went to help the poor waiter.

Rarity watched as the farm pony cleared the way for him, moving empty chairs and politely asking ponies to scoot a little if needed and possible. The path was clear after a short time. As they came closer to their table, Rarity could see that he was middle-aged and mild-mannered. His coat was light brown, and his mane and tail were a lighter shade of tan. "Thank you very much, ma'am," he said as they reached the table. His voice was deep and slimly scratchy, causing Rarity to jump mildly.

Applejack sat back down and smiled. "Oh, it weren't nothin' much, but y'all are welcome."

He smiled a polite little waiter's smile. "Well, it sure helped, ma'am." He then set the tray down on an empty table nearby. He turned around to face them one of their orders in his hoof. "Crispy Barbequed Seaweed with Carrot Sticks?"

"That one's mine," confirmed Applejack, "but would ya be so kind as ta give mah fillyfriend her own meal first?"

Stunned, Rarity raised both eyebrows.

The waiter coughed a polite little waiter's cough after hearing fillyfriend. He honestly did not have a problem with the word, but it still made him slightly uncomfortable. He then recomposed himself and turned around to switch plates. "Very well, ma'am," he said, still smiling. "Then it'll be the Simmered Seaweed with Toast and Jam, I suppose?"

"If tha's the one..." said Applejack, looking toward her date.

"Yes, it is." Rarity nodded. The waiter took her finished sunflower soup and placed the plate of food in front her and went to get the other one. "Thank you, sir."

He looked at her and smiled a polite little waiter's smile. "You're welcome, Miss." He then gave Applejack her own food, as well.

"Thank ya kindly, good sir." She placed her napkin in her lap and looked at him gratefully.

"No problem." He then took the big tray and placed it back on his head to carry it back the way he came.

As he walked away, Rarity waited for him to be out of earshot to speak. "That was... shocking, Applejack... I never knew you could be so... uhm... I don't want to say ladylike... But more in the lines of... polite and, uhm... Well, I never knew you had such etiquette."

Applejack waved her off. "Aw, don' sweat it, sugarcube. Ah do know how ta have good manners on a date, ya know. Didn' Ah ever tell ya how Ah lived in Manehatten fer awhile?"

"Oh yes, of course. I remember that. How silly of me... Thank you, by the way." She gestured toward her plate.

"Anythin' fer you, sweetie." Applejack grabbed her fork with a hoof and her knife with her mouth.

Rarity hesitated to grab any of her utensils. "What was that?"

Applejack put her knife back down to talk. "Do Ah need ta repeat mahself?"

Rarity shook her head. "Oh, no, no... I just thought it sounded unlike you to say something like that to me, that's all." She then noticed Applejack grabbing the knife with her mouth again. "Oh, here! Let me do it for you, darling." She then use her magic to levitate Applejacks plate over to her side of the table. She levitated her own knife and fork as well, using them to neatly cut up her seaweed into small bites. When she was finished, she levitated it back to Applejack's side. "There you go, dear."

Applejack smiled kindly. "Ah appreciate that Rarity. Ah reckon Ah would've had a tough time with it, mahself."

The unicorn proceeded to use the same method to cut her own food. "No worries. I'm just trying to be a good fillyfriend. You, on the other hoof, seem to have that talent naturally."

Applejack blushed and then sighed. "Well, here's the truth... Ah honestly don' know why Ah've been actin' this way. Maybe Ah'm already startin' ta come around ta likin' ya back."

Rarity finished cutting. She now knew why Applejack was behaving this way. "Let me tell you something, Applejack... When somepony knows that somepony else likes them, they tend to behave better than usual, as if to not make a bad impression. You must remember that I have a crush on you."

"Yeah, Ah know, Ah know..." Applejack rubbed her neck.

Rarity tried to think of something else to talk about. When she blinked, she had an idea. "By the way... what do you think of my new fake eyelashes?"

Applejack observed her eyes and their accessories. "Ah think they look lovely, Rarity..."

Rarity smiled. "Thank you. I thought they were maybe a bit plain..."

The farm pony sighed again. "...But Ah also think yer sellin' yerself short."

The white unicorn was surprised at the comment and sunk back in her chair. "Oh, I knew it...!" she exclaimed quietly. "I just knew they were not showy enough. I'll just have to--"

"No, no, tha's not what Ah meant..." Applejack cut her off. Rarity looked at her sadly. "Ah'm sorry, sugarcube. Ah didn' mean fer ya ta take it that way... Ah'll explain what Ah meant when we're done here, just... try not ta look so glum, alright?"

Rarity nodded and started eating.

~ * * * ~

At the entrance, Pinkie and Twilight were sitting, waiting to be seated. Twilight, despite the fact that she did no running whatsoever, was exhausted. Pinkie, on the other hoof, was perfectly fine, still full of energy.

Pinkie closed her eyes and hummed a catchy time while waiting patiently. She then felt Twilight lean against her. She opened her eyes and saw that she had fallen asleep.

'Poor Twilight... I guess I was going to fast for her...'

She sighed and continued humming quietly. She then heard the door open and then what sounded like two sets of smaller hoofsteps.

"Two, please!" two fillies said in unison.

Then there was an older female voice. "Sorry, you two... We can't get you a table unless you have at least one adult with you."

"Aw, what?" Pinkie recognized the voice.

"That ain't fair..." The second one even more so.

"Sorry, kids..."

"Well, Ah guess we'll jus' have ta head back home then, Scootaloo..."

Pinkie opened her eyes, seeing two sad fillies with their heads hung, walking back outside. She felt immediate sadness, but then she felt something else. It felt like she was hit with a load of bricks as she noticed who it was. She immediately jumped from the bench she was sitting on and opened the door. "Hey, come back!" she called.

They stopped and turned around. "Pinkie Pie?" they said simultaneously.

"Yeah, it's me! Come back!" she gestured for them to come back inside the restaurant.

They looked at each other briefly before walking back toward the building. "Well, okay then..." said Apple Bloom.

Pinkie Pie turned around and looked at the lady at the front. "Don't worry, they're with me!"

The two fillies smiled and walked in.

~ * * * ~

This gem had a significant deliciousness that seemed to stand out from all the others he had tasted before. Perhaps it was the jam, after all. Spike took care of his plate and looked around for something else to do.

"Maybe I'll see what's on Twilight's agenda for the day. That way I might be able to help her get things done early." He swiped a quill from a nearby table and walked over to Twilight's desk. Looking at it, he saw mouthwriting that wasn't Twilight's. He knew this because of the simple fact that it was mouthwriting. Twilight only used magic to write, so it must have been Pinkie Pie's.

Dear Spike,

Twilight and I have gone to the new seafood restaurant in town called Slice of The Ocean to get some lunch. You can come along if you want.

Spike was surprised that was all she wrote. He figured she probably left many minor details in her words. He didn't really care, be he was curious about one thing...

"Seafood? I've never really tried seafood before. Eh, I guess I'll give it a shot."

He then put the quill back where he found it and jogged out the door, intent on finding directions to Slice of The Ocean.

Author's Note

Tell me what y'all think. It was written pretty quickly. Say anything you like.