Fine Dining in Ponyville

Cloud blushed in return, peeking up through her eyelashes at his words. It worked.

"I like this game, Fireseeker. While you may be right, I've certainly got a lot more to learn... After all, what's life without some of it's experiences? I've never been in a true relationship before. My first one didn't really work out, with opposite personalities and an overworked schedule, but The mayhem of last year's died down. I don't think I'll have such a busy term as then."

She looked down and realized that she'd eaten all of her omelette. The last time she had managed to finish a meal, the plate had been too small to truly be satisfying, and she had always been concerned about her weight gain, but the time had flown so quickly with Fireseeker... and she wanted more.

Had he heard correct? It sounded like she was hinting at carrying on this…relationship? Moving to the next level? Fireseeker wasn't really good with the whole social platforms thing. Whatever the case, Cloud Dancer seemed to be enjoying this and, very importantly, so was he.

As she had just shared in some of her past relationships, Fireseeker thought it was only fair to mention his own.

"I've…only had a few. Well, I say a few but one was a foalhood crush that didn't really go anywhere. Another was just something of a thank you date for helping a mare, and…"

His voice suddenly lowered, out of embarrassment. "And the other was a mix up with a love potion, and I…became obsessed with a stallion…"

Cloud stared at Fireseeker for a moment, surprise lighting on her face. Then she started laughing.

"There's a lot to learn about you yet, Fireseeker," she said after her light fit of giggles had passed. "How fun it would be to share your experiences! How did that one end?"

Ah, good, it was working. Being a novice at the art of flirting, Cloud really had no idea what she was doing, but it seemed she was doing the right thing. What luck that Fireseeker was returning her feelings, because this one might just work out. Maybe.

"Don't feel bad about it. I'd go insane under a love potion."

Her laughter was infectious. Fireseeker couldn't help but chuckle along with Cloud. He supposed it was a rather funny story to tell. Maybe he should use it to write from in a story?

"Well, there were several other ponies involved in something of a love potion triangle. But I can tell you it did not end well," he answered, flashing a smile at her before he drank the last of his cider.

As he put the glass down, he looked over their finished meals. All seemed to be in order.

"That was delicious. How was yours?"

Cloud looked down at her cleaned plate, smiling with delight. It was the most delicious thing she'd eaten all month.

"It was perfect," she said warmly, brushing her mane out of her eyes with a wing. "You really are a genius when it comes to fine dining, Fireseeker, and in my book, that was the finest meal anypony could fine in Ponyville."

The sun had set, leaving Luna's moon to shine over the sky as the stars twinkled across the Equestrian sky. The outside of the quaint little restaurant held a few torches, lit while the two pegasi were absorbed in each other. The beautiful dancing of the flames on their wooden stages flickered across Fireseeker's face, and Cloud couldn't help staring longingly at the stallion's eyes, lit with excitement, humbleness, and love.

"I'm not quite ready to end this yet," she said softly. "How about a little stargazing?"

Genius of fine dining? Fireseeker wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. He'd just chosen a cafe he knew served good food. But Cloud seemed perfectly happy, and that made him happy. At that point, he noticed she was looking at him. He returned the look with an open expression of his own. The pegasus felt he could simply admire Cloud for hours.

Or so he would have if the waitress hadn't come to clear their table and bring their bill. With his gaze broken, Fireseeker felt slightly euphoric and could't help but chuckle. With a wide smile, he nodded in agreement.

"That sounds like a great idea. Shall we go?"

Ooh, the expression on his face was completely captivating to the pegasus. She wondered how she could have ever been attracted to any other stallion but this one, and then she wondered why she had never felt this way with Spirit Hop. Ah, she supposed it was for the best. After all, she never would have met Fireseeker had she truly fallen for her former sweetheart, and what would her life be like then? This was much better.

Cloud nodded, putting a few bits on the table to cover half the bill. Before Fireseeker could say anything against it, she shook her head and smiled.

"I'm fully capable of paying. I think now's a good time. Any place you recommend for optimum skygazing?"

At first, Fireseeker's initial reaction was wanting to protest. Surely he was meant to pay, right? But then it seemed Cloud wanted to pay for her share. As her date, he felt obliged to make her happy. If this made her happy, then he was fine with it.

He placed his bits on the table, including a nice tip for the waitress, and stood up from his seat to lead the way.

"You can usually see them very clearly from the edge of the Everfree forest," Fireseeker suggested. "It'd probably be a better view up on a cloud, even further away from light pollution."

Cloud nodded in agreement, trusting his judgement. She followed his actions, standing from her own seat and slipping a scarf over her shoulders to protect her from the chill of Ponyville nights.

"Whatever you say, Captain," she said jokingly, a sparkle in her lime green eyes. "You've been here longer than I have, so lead the way!"

She took to the air, spreading her wings and hovering just above the ground as she waited for him to lead. Excitement buzzed through her chest and down her legs. She had never gone stargazing with a partner; how bad could it be?

Fireseeker let out a grinned at Cloud's joke and goofily replied in kind.

"Roger that Cloud One. You are clear for take off, Captain Fireseeker leading the way."

With a push of his wings, Fireseeker took off from the ground and lead the way. He didn't go too fast but the sense of enthusiasm and excitement within him was almost difficult to control. He had never felt anything like this before. For the longest time, the pegasus had never even given much thought to a relationship with anypony. At this moment he wondered why not.

Fireseeker was smiling all the way as he flew towards some clouds hovering near the edge of the forest.

Cloud caught up to Fireseeker, flying next to him as a tailwind blew in. She laughed, her happiness pushing her to do a little loop-de-loop in the air.

She landed on the cloud he was headed for, pushing her windswept curls back into place as she smiled up at the stallion. Her stallion.

It was certainly going to take some getting-used-to, but there was plenty of time for that. As the ballerina settled into the fluffy little cloud, she stared up into the sky and swore that Luna really was favoring them. The sky was sprinkled with star after star, scintillating and twinkling like diamonds hidden in a snowfield.

With the adrenaline of flight now added to his already elated mood, Fireseeker felt on top of the world. A little shout of joy escaped his mouth as he barrelled rolled over the cloud that Cloud Dancer had landed on. He then proceeded to fly straight up and looped back around to face her and self righting himself.

Fireseeker came into land next to his date a little too fast and had to frantically ran to stop himself from falling flat on his face. His wings remained spread out to cool from their flight as he stepped over to Cloud and sat next to her, smiling widely.

"Told you it was nice up here," he stated, looking up at the sky. "Do you know much about the stars then? I mean, the constellations and stuff."

Cloud stared up dreamily at the sky, nodding slightly.

"There's a few. The Ursa Minors and Majors come from the stars, right? There's also the Phoenix there," she said, pointing, "Leo the Lion, Taurus the Bull, the Draconequus, and the Fausticorn. That's all I know."

She redirected her gaze to Fireseeker, eyes bright with excitement. She was eager to learn more about the many stars in Luna's night sky, though part of the excitement surely came from being with her new coltfriend.

"Huh, you know more about them than me then," replied Fireseeker, looking up at the stars that Cloud had gestured to.

What a magical day this had turned out to be. A few days ago he would have spent it writing and reading but here he was after a great meal, admiring the beautiful night sky while sitting on a cloud with his….marefriend.

That word seemed to stun Fireseeker for a moment. Was that really what they were now? Coltfriend and marefriend? He turned his head to Cloud to see her looking at him already. Smiling, he shuffled a little closer and extended a wing to gently wrap around her.

Sensing what Fireseeker was trying to do, Cloud moved the extra few inches, snuggling warmly under his wing and sighing. He was warm, and it was comforting to know that somepony really did care about her when she had thought that it had all been gone.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I think I can truthfully say that this has been the best night of my life. You're the perfect stallion, Fireseeker."

It was true. Cloud had never met a stallion who fitted her needs so much as Fireseeker. It was as if Spirit Hop had completely faded from her mind, whereas normally, she would be practicing and trying not to imagine him getting killed in some foreign country. She would always care whether or not he came home alive, but now, she had another to love.

This night had been just perfect.

And that was it. Fireseeker couldn't have felt better than he did in that moment right then. Despite only a short time with Cloud Dancer, he could honestly say he felt a strong bond between them, something that he'd not felt before. The void that he had felt for a long, long time time was suddenly much more full.

"No, thank you," he replied quietly, actually fighting to keep a tear from escaping, "I had no idea that I needed this in my life. How much I needed a kind and beautiful mare. How much I needed...you."

Fireseeker turned to face Cloud, his eyes looking into hers. Sapphire into emerald. Almost hesitantly, he leant closer to her, feeling her breath on his muzzle. Then came the kiss.

(This is when Cloud promptly slaps him for moving too fast xD )

Cloud was shocked when he leaned in. Oh, she'd kissed stallions before, but it was nothing like what was happening to her now. She didn't feel flirty, or rushed, or... other things. She felt like it was completely natural.

Some said that it was like melting, but Cloud had to disagree. In this instant, it was more like rising, rising above all of the problems in the world and floating in paradise. This was what she had been waiting for. She just couldn't believe how lucky she was that it came so early in her life.

When the kiss broke, she just sort of stared at Fireseeker with a dopey expression, her smile wide and her eyes glimmering.

"That... that was amazing," she managed.

Fireseeker had ben wrong. He thought he couldn't feel better but the moment their lips met, he was gone. A whole new world of wonder and joy opened up as new feelings rushed through him. He felt excited, exposed and elated all at once.

When they parted, he matched Cloud's expression with a similar face.

"Yeah, yeah it was," he replied quietly, still slightly shocked at what he'd just done as it dawned on him. "S-sorry, I-I don't know if I should have done that…"

"Don't apologize for good things," Cloud scolded lightly. "It was brave of you. I can't make first moves, I'm too frightened!"

She laughed, leaning into his fur and feathers as she stared up at the sky again. The night had suddenly seemed a lot more beautiful, with colors and lights that she had not yet seen. She closed her eyes and sighed, happy and content.

"So... When's the next time I get to see you?" she asked, smiling along with her serene expression. "I hope it isn't long..."

Making first moves? Fireseeker had always been reserved and neutral, preferring to stay behind others and observe. He'd certainly never considered himself as one to be upfront and leading in decisions. Perhaps now was a time for change? Maybe that change was already happening? Whatever the case, he didn't disapprove.

"Well, I pretty much set my own schedule," Fireseeker stated, reflecting on the advantages of self employment, "So when ever you're next free."

Cloud thought for a moment, and then her smile widened with pleasure.

"Tomorrow, maybe?" she asked hopefully. "I have a week before I have to go back to Canterlot, but I think I'll have more incentive to make the trip down on the weekends now..."

She froze for a moment, then, wildly, she searched through her saddlebag and retrieved a piece of neon paper. Her eyes skimmed the page before she stuffed it back into the bag.

"Actually, I have a show next week," she said sheepishly. "I forgot about that. Are you up for a trip to Canterlot in the near future?"

Fireseeker waited patiently as Cloud went through her bag to read something from it. His eyes widened when she mentioned a show.

"You mean a show with you in it? That would be amazing! I would love to go!" he exclaimed, practically grinning ear to ear, before adding "You know, you wouldn't have to come down every weekend. I'd be more than happy to travel to Canterlot to see you."

Cloud felt all warm and fuzzy inside when he spoke of his excitement, her cheeks glowing with embarrassment and a hot feeling that wasn't entirely from her shy demeanor. She silently thanked Faust that her heat had passed only last week; it would be rather embarrassing if it had sprung up all of the sudden.

"That's kind of you," she said, still smiling. "It's La Sylphide, if you want to learn more about it. I'm Sylphide herself."

"I can't say I know it," he admitted, shrugging, "But I'll have to look it up."

Fireseeker let it fall silent again, just so they could enjoy each others company and warmth as they sat next to each other. He cast a subtle glance at Cloud, wondering how exactly he had managed to get a mare as beautiful as her. Those bright green eyes, that flowing blond mane, that…physique.

He continued to sit and smile for a while. It could have been minutes, hours or days, but it didn't matter. Eventually, a breeze much more chilly than the others passed, telling them it was getting rather late.

Although he was reluctant to let it all end, Fireseeker decide to ask, "Shall we go back?"

Cloud did not comprehend his words for a moment. Then, a large sigh got stuck at the back of her throat. Overcome with sadness, she nodded and swallowed it.

"Yes, I guess you are correct. It's getting rather late. Thank you again, Fireseeker. You don't know how much this means to me."

She got to her hooves and brushed off the spare bits of cloud fluff before leaning in and kissing Fireseeker on the cheek.