Fine Dining in Ponyville

Nervousness. That oh so familiar feeling was certainly present as Fireseeker slowly trotted up to Number 9, Flower Way. It looked like a nice place to live, not to dissimilar to the cottage he was renting.

He had thought hard on what to wear or do to prepare for tonight, but ultimately he really didn't feel comfortable dressing up too fancy, simply a wash and combing his mane and tail. Surely the point of a date (yes, he had finally come to terms with it being a date) was to be comfortable and enjoy it?

Fireseeker approached the door and drew in a shaky breath before gingerly knocking on it. Here goes...

Cloud was alone in her house. Normally, there was the Saddle Arabian mare, Amina, but she had returned to Canterlot to sort out political matters, and she was almost grateful for it. It meant that she had nopony to ask her why she was as nervous as a butterfly.

She didn't know what to wear for this kind of date. It was a first, and she didn't really know what to expect, so she plucked a sheer sundress from her closet and left her mane down after an hour of fussing over it, finally deciding on scattering a few flowers through her golden curls.

This was going to be exciting.

A knock sounded on her door, and she almost slammed into the ceiling, her wings propelling her in her surprise.

"Calm down, Cloud, it's okay. It's just Fireseeker... you'll be fine."

Her body was still nervous, however, as her wingtips fluttered a little when she folded them tightly against her body.

She trotted downstairs and opened the door, peeking out between her lashes and blushing.

"Hi."

Fireseeker wasn't quite if his memory was playing tricks on him but Cloud Dancer looked much radiant than before. Her green eyes seemed to sparkle on her blue, and blushing red, face and her golden mane looked gorgeous, especially with the addition of some flowers.

It took a few moments before he realised he was simply standing there staring at her.

"Oh, hi," replied Fireseeker, thinking back on the advice he'd been given on dates ages ago, "You look really nice."

Nice? Nice?! I'm a writer and nice is the best word I can think of?

"Stunning, in fact. Lovely. Wonderful."

Ok, don't become a thesaurus...

"Are you ready to go?"

Cloud nodded, blushing a bit more as she stepped out of the cottage and shut the door.

She followed Fireseeker to their destination, the compliments running through her head on replay. "You look really nice. Stunning, in fact. Lovely. Wonderful." Each time she thought it, she just became more flattered and embarrassed. The mare couldn't wait for the night to begin.

"Thanks again for taking me out. What's this restaurant you're taking me to eat? I haven't eaten out with someone in ages... it's a nice change."

She focused on her hooves, freshly polished, as she tried to hide her burning face. Ah, the beauty of awkward crushing.

"Well, actually it's a cafe, but they serve really good food," Fireseeker admitted, a little embarrassed. "It's a nice little place."

As he lead the way, he kept sneaking glances at Cloud. All the time his mind was wondering if this was the right way to act, if he should be doing something different. But at the same time, a small voice in the back of his head was saying 'everything's fine, just carry on.'

"Ah, we're here," he announced, as they approached the cafe.

It was a warm and sunny day so he guessed there was no harm eating outside to enjoy the weather. As Fireseeker went to sit down at a table, he mentally slapped himself. Manners! He quickly stepped around to the other side, pulled the chair back and gestured for Cloud to take the seat.

(I apologize for the pause. I was occupied by other things :X)

Cloud was so preoccupied with her daydreams that she didn't notice Fireseeker's little hiccup, instead mentally slapping herself for never coming this way. It was a charming little cafe, and she delighted in the architecture, deciding she liked it even before she had tasted a morsel of food.

Dreamily, she settled into her seat and gave Fireseeker a thankful little smile, looking to the pegasus with bashful eyes. A gentlecolt with a fantastic taste in dining. How could this get any better?

She waited until he took his seat before speaking.

"So, Fireseeker... what's this story I've heard about?"

Fireseeker smiled back at Cloud as he sat down and made himself comfortable. He couldn't help but feel a tingling sense of joy at simply being here at this moment in time.

"Well, it's a novel that I've been writing for a while now," he began, edging a little further forward in his seat. "A detective earth pony called Hard Case sets to work on a murder case of two sisters. Both of their talents were in magic, but one was a unicorn performing magic, while the other was a pegasus creating stage illusions. But over the course of the investigation, the detective discovers that he may be part of an illusion himself, a trick still in motion."

Grinning enthusiastically, Fireseeker leant back in his seat, his eyes wide with excitement and passion. Realising that he probably looked insane, he settled down again, feeling embarrassed.  "Well, that's the blurb anyway..."

Cloud giggled a little, realizing she sounded rather silly, but she said nothing about it, instead preferring to focus on the story.

"That sound extremely exciting. Now you have me really wanting to read it," she said, smiling. "You must be devoting a lot of your time to it." She sighed. "I wish I had that time. It's only every once and a while that I can get away. Who knew that dancing could be so hard?"

She fluttered her wings, nervousness causing her to fidget a bit.

"How long have you been in Ponyville?" she asked, changing the topic.

That laugh. It was...adorable. Fireseeker actually had to look away for a moment or else he may have had a heart attack or something.

"Just over a year now," he replied, shrugging, "But it certainly doesn't feel like it."

At that moment, a waitress came over. "Good evening. Would you like to look at the menu?" she said, levitating a couple of menus towards them.

"Yes, thanks," Fireseeker said, taking a look. He gestured to Cloud, "Choose anything you want."

Cloud Dancer perused the menu for a moment. There were so many fantastic options to choose from, and she wasn't quite sure what to pick. Instead, she turned to Fireseeker for an opinion.

"I'll have whatever you're getting. I'm sure it will be perfect," she assured. "A tall glass of water, please."

She turned back to her date and continued their conversation. "I started living in Ponyville about half a year ago, but I mainly live in Canterlot, for work. It's funny how I see it as work now, when I never thought of it as so when I started my career, but that's what it is. Don't get me wrong; I love my profession. It's just a lot of sweating and practicing and not a lot of the glitz and glamour I had expected as a filly."

He was a shy one. She found it easier to speak to him as a fellow shy pony; it meant that he wasn't loud, or outspoken, or charismatic, and if she had been with any other pony, she probably wouldn't have said anything at all.

Uh oh. Now Fireseeker had to choose sensibly, something that Cloud could enjoy but also he could like. Or should he just choose for her and pretend to like whatever it was? Should he refuse it order, make her choose something? Should he order big, expensive meals? Or maybe...

Maybe he should stop worrying about such mundane things. Surely the point of ponies getting on is to act naturally around them. Besides, she said she was sure whatever it was would be 'perfect'.

"Can we both have the mixed vegetable omelette with hay fires please. And a glass of apple cider for myself."

After the waitress nodded and left, Fireseeker brought his attention back to Cloud Dancer, listening to her every word. He felt that he could simply listen to her talk for ages and not get bored.

"Oh, I know how you feel," he sympathised. "I love writing, but when I was getting made to write news articles every week over and over, it got tedious."

"Have you considered a job as a freelance writer?" she asked. "I've heard it's a bit easier to manage when you're your own boss. Then again, it also sounds rather tedious."

Cloud blew her mane out of her eyes as it started tickling her face. She silently scolded herself for not pinning it out of the way. Now, she'd be doing this all night.

She was getting rather entranced by Fireseeker's voice. He could be talking about anything, be it writing or mud, and she'd be interested for days. This was a new feeling, and she rather liked it.

Fireseeker watched Cloud as she spoke, moving her mane from her eyes. Those precious, emerald eyes. He wasn't sure what feelings were coming over him as he continued to listen and look at her but whatever they were, they were certainly good feelings. This isn't so bad after all...

"I have considered it, but the pay would be too unstable. But writing those news articles was quite a while ago now. I moved onto writing for Pony Pulp Fiction, an action adventure magazine series, which is a lot more fun," he replied, before shrugging, "Besides, it could be worse. At least I'm not a member of the paparazzi. I bet they've caused you some trouble..."

A rather nervous laugh came from the pegasus as she considered Fireseeker as one of the paparazzis. It was a funny thought.

"Well, at least I'm not a DJ or something like that," she said, a gleam in her eyes. "That would be even worse, and trust me, if it was that bad, I would have given up a while ago. Now, if you were a freak with a camera, I would have made you give up long before you could make a living. I'm... well... really camera shy. I can't stand when ponies pop out of bushes and flash lights in my eyes. I look like a turtle in a lot of them..." She shuddered. "Well, at least being an author is mostly quiet. I wish my life was that calm."

Fireseeker had to admit that he seemed to share a lot with Cloud. While he wasn't a camera shy pony, he had never enjoyed the idea of constantly posing for photos or always having the pressure of a picture being taken of him due to fame.

"Quiet? Calm? I guess you'd think so, wouldn't you?" said Fireseeker, chuckling to himself as he thought back through several tales and adventures of his life. "I actually spent a lot of my adult life travelling around Equestria, gathering new experiences and learning for my writing. So...lets just say I've been in a few hairy situations..."

Cloud shuddered at the mention of hairy situations. "Well, were you hurt in any of them? I'd hate to think what would happen if I had been in that situation... I think I'll stick to dancing for profit, yes?"

She giggled before directing her attention to the waitress, who had returned with two steaming plates. She set them down in front of the two pegasi and smiled, bustling off to attend to more customers. Cloud ignored the food for a moment as she watched Fireseeker's face. His expression as he had spoken of hairy situations was entrancing, the happiness and a hint of mischievous fun too addicting to ignore. Cloud really liked this stallion. This was going to be good.

"Maybe so," he replied, laughing and little. Although I was never hurt too bad most of the time. Mostly cuts and bruises...and, urm, feelings..."

At that point waitress enter with their food to which he gave her a nod and smile in thanks. He reached froward to took a sip of his drink. The cool liquid was refreshing with a delightful flavour of apples. Fireseeker had to admit that one thing he loved about Ponyville was the local produce. He didn't think anywhere else had better cider.

After taking a drink, he then added, "But one time I ended up with a broken leg. I was sort of pushed off of a moving train."

"Oh, Faust," she responded, her breath catching in her throat. "How did you get into that situation? When did this happen? Who did it?" Cloud stopped talking, blushing with embarrassment again. "Oops, too many questions... Sorry!"

She didn't know what she was doing. All of her carefully thoughtful, witty phrases had faded from her mind, and here she was, blubbering like a fish out of water. It was rather funny, her clumsy wording, and it was very kind of Fireseeker to not say anything about her seemingly idiotic mind.

"Well, I almost had my leg broken once. A crazed photographer wanted a picture so desperately that he tackled me to get one. I thought my career was over, but it turned out to be just a sprain."

Fireseeker chuckled at Cloud's response. He wasn't laughing at her, far from it, but more so to show that everything was fine.

"It's ok," he commented, thinking back on the event. "I was on a train to Appleloosa when some bandits tried to rob it. I met a pony called Smith Wesson and well...let's just say things got hairy..."

Fireseeker decided to leave out some of the details because a conversation about bandits, robbery, and shootouts were probably not best suited for a first date. Or probably any date.
As he listened to Cloud, he took a bite of his omelette and was pleased to say that it was delicious. Things seemed to be going well.

"Oh no, that could have been terrible. I can imagine you have to do a lot of training and exercise to be able to do ballet."

(Watch out, Fire... you said Calla)

Cloud laughed, thinking of the 300 lunges and hour-long sessions of stretching she had to do each day... and that was before practice.

"Oh, yeah... it's not pleasant, I can tell you that, but it's all worth it in the end. All the prep means I can perform to my best ability, and that's all I care about. I've been told that I'm envied for my focus, and then ponies ask me how I dance so well, and I tell them it's just a lot of work. I can't afford to slack off, and when I do, it's when I have months until a show. This... this isn't slacking off, though. This is a break. That's what those overworked mares and stallions have wrong. When I say focus, they immediately throw themselves into work. That's not the key, though... you just get exhausted doing that, and too much effort is just as bad as no effort at all. There has to be a balance." She took a bite of her omelette and grinned. "Like this. This is perfectly balanced."

(My deepest, most sincere apologies. My mistake has been edited for your convenience :P )

Who would have known that ballet performers put such effort into their work, even though Fireseeker knew that each profession had its own quirks that made others confused or surprised like his own (not everypony understood the need to spend hours at a desk simply making lists and fictional story plans).

"It sounds like your extremely passionate about ballet," he stated, "When did you find out it was your special talent? Did you try any other dancing before it?

Cloud considered that for a moment, holding her hoof to her chin and sifting through her memories as a filly. Coming up with very little, she returned her gaze to Fireseeker and smiled again.

"Well, I got my cutie mark when I was part of the junior weather team of Cloudsdale, believe it or not," she said, remembering the good memories she had formed while in the school. "I was alone, and an orphan, and I thought, 'to Taratarus with the pity. I'm going to get educated.' So, I decided to learn how to be a weather pony.

"They assigned me to cloud clearing. I don't know if they were just making fun of me and my simple name, which was just Cloud at the time, but I loved it. It got to the point where ponies would stop what they were doing and just watch me clear the sky. I hadn't even realized that I had turned it into a dance, with pirouettes and sashays and the like, but when they started to clap, that's when I discovered that my love for the clouds was not for the weather: it was for ballet. I decided to add 'Dancer' onto the end of my name, so I could tell everyone what I loved to do just by saying my name. And that's when this appeared."

She pointed to the slippers on her flank.

"And, in answer to your other question... no. It was ballet from the start."

"Wow."

Stunned. That was truly one of the most amazing cutie mark stories Fireseeker had ever heard. It wasn't earned from some adventure, nor some big event, but simply from a inherent desire to dance. A real natural talent.

"I reckon I could probably write a story about your life," he said, before jokingly asking, "You're not looking for a ghost writer for an autobiography, are you?"

Cloud laughed, the idea seeming absolutely preposterous at the time. An autobiography? She hadn't even thought about what the next show was going to be. Coppelia? Giselle?  La Sylphide?

"Ah, Fireseeker, I'm not even twenty," she said, chuckling. "There's not much to say about me yet, and even if you did write down all of my achievements, I doubt it'd be long enough to do with anything. Hmmm... Maybe in a few years, if you're still... Interested."

Was she flirting? She didn't even know that she could flirt. She felt so... Dirty. Of course, it wasn't dirty compared to some of the things her friends had done, but it was uncharacteristic of her.

Fireseeker blinked in confusion as he fought the slight blush that rose to his cheeks. How was he meant to respond to flirting? By flirting back, right?

"Well, I reckon I'd still be interested," he replied in a sultry manner. "I'm sure we could find a lot of interesting moments in your life so far..."

This felt very strange. It didn't seem normal to Fireseeker but admittedly he'd never done this before. However, he felt that maybe he'd overstepped some invisible mark and quickly backtracked.

"I-I mean, you've achieved a lot in less than twenty years."