Nightmare Date

The alicorn and the unicorn stepped down the path. Everfree Forest began to blend into the garden variety forest that covered much of Ponyville. The gnarly, worn oaks became tall, proud maples. The twisted layers of bushes became tiny spreads of moss. The midnight sky, once mostly obscured, now shone in all of its brilliance.

The bout of silence between them felt warm and inviting, rather than awkward. Strawberry continued to wave the new ruler of Equestria over behind him, and she obliged. They came upon a set of branches over the path. Strawberry bounced about like a little foal playing hopscotch. Moon giggled as she did the same. With her wings, she added some flourishes of jumping into the air and balancing from one hoof to the other.

Strawberry's heart pounded like crazy. I'm really doing it... I'm really winning her over! That she couldn't repress smile after smile gave Strawberry a big victory. As well, she seemed to skip with every other step. Something had really started to shine from inside that cold, black exterior.

The two of them finally came upon the spot that Strawberry knew so well. He took his satchel off, and then he took a seat on a worn out old stump. Moon walked over closely beside him. She laid down alongside a comfy patch of grassy moss to his side. Strawberry gazed at her once again, and he got drunk on the sensation.

She rested below him for the first time, and he couldn't believe the sight. Such beauty, such wonder... so pretty... so perfect... Something about her eyes just almost seemed to speak at him. With this position, he could look straight down at them. Somehow, he saw pure emotion. Safety. Comfort. Softness. Love.

"Where are we now, Strawberry?" Moon asked. She shifted in a way that swung her bridal-like veil around.

Strawberry gulped as his mind connected everything once again. She's a bride... Princess... needing her... Prince... He paused, and then he pointed all around. He said, "This is called 'primrose lane'. You can see the wild roses growing off there, on the other side of the lake." The shimmering water looked so beautiful. The moon and the stars seemed to dance on the surface. "It's a cozy little spot, somewhere where I'd always go to admire the night..."

"My night," she muttered. She looked so relaxed, almost as if she would fall asleep at any second. Nonetheless, she hang on Strawberry's every word. Strawberry took in her beauty, and then he surveyed the clearing they sat in. Everything couldn't be more perfect if he had dreamed it.

"There's a song," Strawberry said. He pulled out his satchel and he pulled out a small guitar. He plinked a few strings. To his delight, the alicorn's eyes widened at the instrument.

"Oh, you play?" she asked. She seemed to express the giddy wonder of a little filly.

"A little," he said, "I have a pretty hard time memorizing things... Goodness, I'm surprised I can even remember my own name and address." He rubbed his mane sheepishly. "So, I can only really learn a tune if it really- really- speaks to me."

Moon eyed his guitar. The small, golden-brown thing showed its age. Yet Strawberry's hooves, coated with his magic aura, moved about the instrument with the tender touch of a father to a son. "What... what was the first song you ever learned?" asked the alicorn.

Strawberry hesitated. "It's... it's a very important song to me. It's not really 'date-y' material, far from it. I really love the song, though. It's just... a sad one," the unicorn said. Moon's face had an intent, determined look.

"Sad songs, they say so much," she declared. She hesitated-- clearly wondering where she had heard that expression before. "Please, just play it for us. We would be so... so happy."

"Anything for you," Strawberry said. He held the guitar a little closer, and then he focused his gaze straight at Moon. At that moment, he felt like they were the only two ponies in all of Equestria. "I would do... anything for you..."

"I... know," she replied. She made the biggest smile Strawberry had ever seen. She just radiated happiness.

"Dooo-dooo-dooo, dooo-dooo-dooo, dooo-dooo-dooo, oh," he began. He threw his hoof down on the strings. "Ponies say I'm the life of the party... Because I tell a joke or two. Although I might be laughing loud and hearty... Deep inside, I'm blue."

He pressed the guitar deep against his chest and sang louder, "So take a good look at my face." He raised his voice further. "You'll see my smile looks out of place. If you look CLOSER, it's easy to trace..." He dropped back down "The tracks of my... tears..."

The alicorn breathed heavily. Strawberry had quickly moved into the zone with his song, scrunching his face and shutting his eyes tight. Moon felt every word of his flowing into her ears and down into her very soul.

"I need you..." Strawberry sang softly, "I neeeeeed you... Since you left me, well... If you see me with another mare..." He swept his head back. "Oh, seeming like I'm having fun... Although, she may be cute..." He leaned back down. "She's just a sub-stit-ute..." He brought venom to that word. His face rippled in emotion. "You're.... the permanent one..."

The unicorn met eyes for another countless time with the alicorn. Something was different. His words became hers. His thoughts were hers. They didn't feel any distance, not anymore. "So take a gooooooooood look at my face," he sang, "You'll see my smile... looks out of place... If you look closer, it's easy to trace..." He broke up a bit. "The... the... tracks of my... tears..."

Moon felt totally stunned. Strawberry choked up, and he rubbed his face with his hooves. "I'm... I'm very sorry, your highness. It's just that it's a very, very personal thing for me... that song... It just always makes me think of my foalhood." The unicorn twisted his mane around. "Oh, I just... I'm sorry, I don't want to talk your ear off about it. It's just that I felt so alone. I was so alone. Bad enough with the glasses, with being so small, so tiny... with my thick mane and colors that made me look just like a mare... not to mention..."

Moon trembled. Her face conveyed that she had some kind of terrible battle going on inside of her mind. Strawberry tried not to cry. He went on, "It was... so horrible. I was alone, all of the time. Lonely. Isolated. Abandoned. Of cour'th if'th didn'th halp da'th eh th'alked lak disssssf." He brought back his foal-aged lisp for a moment.

"It's okay now, it's okay now," he said, and he moved over on the stump besides Moon. He smiled at her, and she nodded. She seemed to have reverted to a blank expression. "All that matters is that the two of us are here tonight, together."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah," Moon burst out. Strawberry almost tumbled off of his stump in surprise. The alicorn raised her whine louder, and then the tears welled up in her eyes. They then flowed off of her face onto her wonderful dress like two little waterfalls. She brought her front hooves to her head. When she knew that she couldn't keep it together, she broke down completely.