Confusion

Burning Heart woke up with a pretty bad headache the next morning. Was she that drunk? At least the hangover wasn't that strong. She must be good at drinking. But she could still feel the pounding.

Burning got out of the tavern bed and left. She wanted to find this Shy Smiles. She asked around Ponyville. She guessed that he lived around here. Most of the ponies haven't heard of him, which was odd. A couple said he was staying at a local hotel. Might as well check there.

Burning trotted to the nearest hotel and went up to the front desk. She payed no attention to anypony else for the moment. She really wanted to find this stallion. He was her number one priority.

"I'm looking for a Shy Smiles. I heard he was staying here. Could you tell me where he is? I need to talk to him about something... private. And don't try to withhold anything from me. You see..." Burning showed the pony her guard insignia "I'm a guard back in Canterlot. Almost royal status"

(Passed out)

Shy was eating his breakfast. It was alright. Daisy sandwiches aren't exactly an exiting meal. As he ate, he noticed he was getting eyed up by a few ponies. He'd simply scowl at them, making them turn away quickly. He was mildly perplexed. He hasn't done anything while drunk had he? He wasn't sure how he behaved when smashed, as he'd never been until yesterday. All he knew so far was he attracted mares and danced like a professional. And relive traumatic memories.

He had enough. One pony in particular kept looking over at Shy, and he wanted to learn what the deal was. He trotted up to the pony, who looked a little familiar. Wait...it was Jim.

"Don't mean to be a bother, but could you tell me what's going on? I'm getting looks from everypony in this damn hall. What did I do exactly?" Shy enquired to Jim.
"You don't remember? You went da-"
"-ncing with a mare. Yeah, I remember. Why should I be getting looks?"
"Well, some ponies are naturally curious as to who could take such a reclusive, spiky stallion."
"Fair point. To be honest, I didn't know who she was- I was drunk off my flank."
"Yeah. I already know who it was. Burning Heart the guard. Lucky mare she is. If you don't mind me asking, are you two a thing?"
"I honestly don't know. I liked her and I'm definitely feeling something, but I'm not sure if she meant it to be the start of something or just a friendly dance."
"You kissed."
"Yeah, but I don't know how regular that is for her, ya know?"
"Fair point mate. Still, I've heard she's been looking for you. 'On the warpath' as some would put it."
"I see. Well, maybe we do have something. I'll go look for her."
"Good idea shy. Funny- I come here to nab some of the drink and end up being a relationship advisor."

Shy left the canteen and went to reception to sign out. He could've if somepony wasn't holding everypony else up. He walked over to them and tapped them on the shoulder.

"There's a queue for....a....reason...."

His voice trailed away as he realised he was looking into the eyes of burning heart.

Burning Heart was waiting for the pony to say something about Shy's whereabouts. Then she was tapped on the shoulder and heard his voice. She turned around and was looking into Shy's eyes. She blushed a little bit, not expecting to find him so soon.

"Oh, hi Shy... I was looking for you... I know last night probably meant nothing, but you seem like a real nice stallion and all. I want to get to know you better. Maybe we could get together sometime?"

Burning scratched the back of her head. No matter how many times she's tried, she still felt awkward. She didn't really go hunting for stallions. And this one was a real looker. Hard to win over, most likely, but he seemed worth the fight.

(Passed out xD)

Shy blushed a little. He wasn't used to actually considering to accept when he was asked out. He normally didn't accept it due to his hatred of other ponies. He thought for a moment- so she was actually interested in him. He'd half expected her to think of it as a friendly thing, nothing meaningful. He supposed it actually meant something. Ah, hell with it. Couldn't hurt to at least get to know her.

"Sure! You seem nice too. I know a café nearby we could go to, if you're up for it."

He smiled at her. Was he actually feeling something for somepony? Normally it was a spontaneous thing when it happened, and out of desperation. The first time with her was a simple need to relieve the pain he was feeling. Now that he was calmer, he actually liked this pony. She was certainly good-looking, and she seemed nice.

He thought back to that incident with Sweet Dreams and Recurve a few weeks back. Heh. 'Well both of us seem to be getting a happy outcome after all, Recurve m'boy.' Shy thought.

Burning Heart was pleased to see that Shy had accepted. She also hoped he knew she was hoping for a little romance between them. She could tell that Shy actually liked her. Now the feelings were mutual.

"That sounds great. Mind leading me there? I'm not exactly a local to Ponyville. "

Burning Heart followed Shy Smiles to the cafe he mentioned. Her heart was burning for Shy. She could feel a real connection between them. Good thing. She usually got rejected when asking somepony out after a party. And a couple of them ended up in the hospital. Not from just rejection, though. She would have been fine if they just said no.

Burning pushed those thoughts aside, worried she might do something unpleasant to Shy, or anything that could harm the "date."

"Shy Smiles... How did you get a name like that?"

"Ugh... my head..." Firework sat up, clutching her head. "I drank way too much last night. Never doin' that again."

Firework then ambled off to her tavern room, passing by several tired-looking ponies in the process. Once up in her room, she collapsed onto her bed, and fell asleep.

(Out of the RP :P)

Shy took Burning's hoof and led her to the café. He wasn't sure what exactly he felt for her. He definitely felt some sort of attachment to her, but was this simply him feeling it like a friend? He hadn't exactly had many. Still, if it was genuine feelings then he wasn't even sure if he could keep up a relationship. But as aforementioned, it wouldn't hurt to give it a go. He listened to Burning's question. Normally, he'd have been annoyed but he let it slide for her.

"Well, I'm called that because I always said it when I was little. I can't remember why."

He trotted into the café and sat at one of the tables. A waiter approached, so Shy took his order.

"A daisy sandwich with some hay fries, cheers. What would you like Burning?"

Burning Heart felt her hoof being held by Shy. It made her blush a bit. Her softer side was really coming out. To think a patriotic guard pony like Burning would be such a sucker for romance. But, she couldn't exactly tell if Shy was being romantic or not. Regardless, she went with it.

Burning watched Shy trot into the cafe and sit at a table, and sat directly across from him. Obviously. What else would she do?

"I'll have a daisy sandwich too."

Burning looked at Shy, Might as well ask him something to keep a conversation going

"So, Shy. What do you do for a living?"

Shy surveyed Burning and really thought about her. What would it mean if they became a thing? Quite a lot he'd imagine. He'd probably get more friendly and social. Right now he couldn't tell whether he'd like it or not. His thoughts were a bit muddled though. He's had a very rollercoaster few weeks, what with the love poison, the drink and now the possibility of having a special somepony.

He heard Burning's question.

"I'm an artist myself. I live on the edge of the town since it's an ideal place to get inspiration for my painting. I've had a few exhibitions come to think of it, so I'm doing well in my profession. You're a guard pony, right? What sort of stuff does a guard exactly do?"

The waiter came with their meal. Shy munched his sandwich, listening to Burning's reply.

So Shy was an artist? Burning did have a little interest in art. She certainly couldn't be an artist. But it's nice to see other ponies paint and draw beautiful images. She also wasn't surprised he lived on the outskirts of Ponyville. When they met, Shy didn't come off as the most social of stallions.

"Well, us guards try our best to keep Equestria and the ponies living here safe. Or at least that's what I see it as. I just love Equestria and everypony in it. Unless they hate Equestria. Those ponies really annoy me..."

Burning Heart sighed, pushing the bad thoughts away. She absolutely hated ponies against Equestria and Celestia. If they didn't like it, why live there? No matter. She was with her possible special somepony right now. Best not to ruin it

Her sandwich arrived, and she took a quick bite out of it. It was good. Burning was caught in Shy's eyes again. They were magnificent. She caught herself shining from the pleasure of gazing into his eyes and stopped herself. She was feeling really awkward now. As brave and courageous as she was, she still had trouble not being awkward with romantic situations

Shy thought for a moment. A patriot, eh? Not surprising- she was a guard after all. Shy wasn't Equestria's biggest fan though. He was getting a little worried. Especially since she kept staring into his eyes. Hers were lovely and all, but it was getting a little disconcerting.

"Well, I wouldn't call myself much of a patriot myself, but I think Celestia does a good job anyway considering everything here seems to run so smoothly."

He took another gander at her eyes. He had to admit that he like them- the colour was certainly matching and she definitely seemed to fit her name. I mean, an orange pony named "Burning". Pretty concise.

Was he being too judgemental? He was feeling like he was reviewing her almost. That seemed a bit rude. She wasn't a house, she was a pony. Shy supposed he picked it up after so many years of being judged. Okay, push the bad thoughts away. No need for them. He finished up his sandwich and got the bill. He turned to Burning.

"So, what should we do now?"

Burning noticed Shy felt awkward as well. I would too if a pony just stared at me like that. Burning could now feel Shy observing her. She didn't mind much. It did feel a bit creepy, but she could trust Shy more than most ponies who did that.

Wow, lunch went by pretty fast. Shy already got the bill. Burning insisted on paying, then Shy asked what to do next.

"We could take a little walk together. Maybe stop by your place?"

Burning felt like she was beginning to push this along a little too fast. She gave it a shot anyway. She prayed that Shy was the right stallion for her. And that most ponies weren't watching her getting all sappy...

Shy thought about it a moment. He wasn't sure if his house was fixed up yet. Better steer clear just in case. Burning insisted on paying, which Shy had half a mind to turn down and pay for it- if he was giving this a go he'd need to put some effort into it. Where would they go otherwise? Burning didn't live around here. He really couldn't think of anything. Wait, how about the park? It's spacious, Sunny, all that romantic stuff.

"I'd rather steer clear of my house for now. Psychiatrist's orders- that was why I'm staying at the hotel, How about the park? Lovely little place that."

Shy let Burning pay then followed her out. He still was unsure what he was feeling. He felt he'd at least humour her until he could figure out if he really wanted something like that. He still had trouble. He'd heard from Jim about Sunny a couple of times- apparently you felt really light headed and wanting to get close to the pony who you liked. Shy certainly felt like getting closer, but he felt stable minded (no pun intended). It could be that he saw her as a potential friend, and he only kissed her because he was hammered. He was really unsure at the moment.

Burning Heart was a bit confused and worried about the psychiatrist's orders thing Shy mentioned. She decided not to ask. Probably best she didn't. The park sounded like a nice place, though

"Sure. Lead the way?"

Burning Heart followed Shy out of the cafe and to the park. But, something was starting to feel a bit off. Burning wasn't feeling for Shy the same way she did earlier. She felt the love between them fade. It was like a break up, but it was slow and subtle, and she felt no pain. If anything, Shy would be a great friend. She followed him to the park anyway. Maybe the sparks will come back.

"So, what's living in Ponyville like? Are the ponies here nice? I lived in Canterlot my whole life. If you get past the snobby Unicorns, it's a great place. Heh, I'm not even part Unicorn. Crystal and Earth is what I am."

Shy kept mulling it over- he probably wasn't in for this sort of thing, and he could tell by her body language and speech that either she was getting a lot less nervous around him, as earlier she'd been blushing and pausing for a moment when she looked in his eyes, or Burning was losing interest. He seemed to get that a lot- most times when a pony tried to hit on him they used the eye thing. They usually ended up with silence from Shy.

He guided Burning to the park and sat on a bench. He looked around awkwardly- he had no idea what to do. Then she asked him a question, which levelled it out.

"Ponyville's alright I suppose. Some of the ponies are annoying, but most are at least tolerable. I have no idea if I'm pure Earth or just part of it. I was adopted y'see."

He decided to steer the conversation away from that subject. Maybe it was best to just come out with it. Not beat around the bush.

"Look Burning, you seem really nice and even better looking, but I just don't think I'm up for this. I think I'm more into Stallions you see- I only really kissed you last night out of confusion. I'd relived an earlier kiss when it happened, so I think I just repeated the events out of a complete lack of knowledge of what to do. As I said, you're really nice and all but I'm just not up for this."

Burning Heart was sitting next to Shy. She felt very close to him now. If only the sparks were still there. Oh well, at least she tried. Her special somepony is out there. It's just that Shy Smiles wasn't it.

Burning was going to tell him how her feelings were beginning to die down, but then Shy said the same thing right before she did. She expected as much. Not really so much as he was into stallions. That was a surprise.

"Oh, okay. Thanks for calling me nice and pretty. And to be honest, I'm starting to have second thoughts about you being my special somepony. And I never would have thought you'd be attracted to stallions. So, I think it's better we don't get intimate. How does friends sound?"

"Well...I'm not really the kind to have friends. Maybe in time. I'll certainly treat you better than most ponies though. But yeah, I feel like I'm into Stallions. I might be wrong, but I know you're not for me, and I'm not right for you. Celestia, that was the cheesiest bloody thing I've ever said."

Still, he was glad he was at least on good terms with Burning. He stood up from the bench and Shook her hoof.

"Well, whatever the case it was nice to meet you. I hope you find yourself a special somepony."

He trotted off back to the Hotel. It was about lunchtime. 'Well, Recurve, you've won.' He thought. 'You happy now you knob-end?'. He calmed himself. Lets end this happily. At least he'd made an effort and things had ended in a civil manner. Plus a possible fre-....acquaintance. And he felt more sure of himself at least. He certainly had his romantic stance resolved.

The question was, did he even want a special somepony? As he ate lunch, he thought it over. He supposed he'd wait for the right pony to come along. Time would bring it if it was kind. For now, Shy just kept doing the usual.

Burning Heart pretty much shrugged it off. It was actually a shock to her that she actually brushed off a rejection like that. Maybe because he let her off a bit easier than most stallions? Or that she was losing feelings for him? Or both? Yeah, that's probably it.


Burning trotted off. It was a good day for her. Shy seemed really sheltered. And she got on his good side. That's pretty remarkable when you can get friendly with an introvert. They still weren't friends, but at least Shy liked her to some degree.

Well, back to the old grind. Burning Heart sat by the park, resuming her guard duties. Then she realized, she didn't have to work right now. Ah well, she sat at the park anyway and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.