Twilight & Anon - A First Date

>There go all those eligible young stallions.
>...again.
>Every holiday, Hearts and Hooves Day especially, they all go and parade around just how eager they are to get a special somepony to share the holidays with.
>It's almost become a sort of tradition. Nothing official, but the same time every year, all the single stallions gather up in the center of town at the town hall to "hang out".
>They just happen to let the mares pick them off one-by-one during the course of the holiday.
>What Twilight wouldn't give to be out there right now.
>Celestia was right - it DOES get lonely being a princess.
>But Twilight had other obligations. Things beyond just being a royal figure.
>A glance behind her reveals Spike, working happily on some sort of Hearts and Hooves Day gift. No doubt something for Rarity.
>She was so lucky. She had suitors she could call up on a whim. None of them would even approach Twilight.
>Twilight sighs and leaves the window. It would be best to just stay in the palace today anyway.
>Maybe there's some paperwork somewhere to work on. Or she could find something to reread in the library.
>"Is everything alright, Twilight?"
>Spike's voice brings her from her thoughts. She forces a smile as she looks at him.
"Of course, Spike. Just thinking about a few things that I need to do today."
>"Oh. Well, is it okay if I go to Rarity's? I made her something really special, and I-"
"Sure, sure. Go on Spike, just be back before dark."
>"Thanks Twilight! You're the best!"
>Spike runs over, giving her a glitter-filled hug before grabbing the project he'd been working on and dashing out of the palace.
>Twilight couldn't help but smile as Spike ran off.
>Sure, she didn't have stallions lining up at her door, but at least she had Spike.
>...that's probably the reason WHY they weren't lining up.
>Being a single parent of any sort was a social stigma in Equestria. Even if it is to an adopted baby dragon.
>It's like they've already been used up.

>Twilight frowns as she starts towards her library.
>She'd gone and put herself in another bad mood from all of that negativity. Maybe a good romance novel will make it feel better.
>And chocolate. Chocolate is definitely something to look forward to.
>As Twilight let herself drift away with thoughts of a cozy night with just that, a knock sounded at the door.
>Why would Spike be back already? She wasn't expecting any of the girls to come by either.
>Maybe Pinkie was passing out candy and cards again.
>As she opened the door, however, it wasn't what she was expecting.
>Twilight takes a startled step back, looking up over the tall human standing in her doorway.
>Anonymous. Even if he was a bit of a dork, he was a genuinely sweet human. If he wasn't busy with his odd (and, quite frankly, dark and uncalled for) sense of humor, he was trying to do odd jobs around Ponyville to get some bits.
>"Hey! I mean, uh...hey Twilight. Could I come in?"
>It was unexpected, but any company at this point was welcome. A shame it's not some single gentlecolt, though.
"Sure! Come on in, Anon. What can I do for you today?"
>Anon steps through the doorway, closing it behind him.
>He sets into an awkward silence, mumbling something to himself. Was he blushing?
>Looking at his groin confirms no unnatural bulging. He doesn't have his penis stuck in anything unusual like last time.
>"S-so...Twilight. Do you have any plans today?"
>Twilight cocked her head to the side as she looked up at him.
>Did he have something he needed her for?
>Maybe he'd gotten into Zecora's potions again.
"No, I don't have anything planned today, Anon. Just some light reading and a night in. Did you need something?"
>He's sweating now. More blushing.
>Why do you smell pasta sauce?
>Anonymous digs into his pocket, muttering something to himself before he pulls out a couple slips of paper, each saying "ADMIT ONE".
>Wait. Is he seriously going to...?

>"Well, I was just hoping to, y'know, take you out to a movie. I got another ticket by accident to the latest Daring Do flick."
>Twilight wasn't sure whether to laugh or wait for the punchline. She stares at Anon blankly as he holds the tickets.
>Certainly this has to be some joke. Anon hasn't shown any romantic interest in ANYPONY.
>The silence starts to wear on a bit longer than a joke would allow.
>Anon quickly stuffs the tickets back into his pocket, shaking his head.
>"I guess that's a no. It's okay, Twilight. I'll just get going."
>She was just asked out.
>He's not a stallion, or even a griffon, but he just asked her out.
>He's about to leave too.
"WAIT!"
>Twilight was holding her hoof out at Anon, who turns and looks at her hopefully.
"I'd love to go! I mean, I just wasn't expecting this. I don't get a lot of stallions coming by here and then you came and I had no idea what to do, and..."
>Shut up Twilight, you're rambling.
>She looks up at Anonymous hopefully, nodding back at his pocket towards where those tickets were.
>"Seriously? You'll go? I mean, uh, that's great! Do you need some time to get ready?"
>Twilight rolls the idea around in her head.
>Another bath wouldn't hurt. Neither would some perfume and a bit more styling on her mane. It DID look a bit messy.
>And she still has glitter all over her coat from Spike.
"I could use a bit of time to get ready, yes. Would you mind waiting here for me, Anon? It won't be long, I promise!"
>Anonymous nods, Twilight rushing up the stairs at the signal.
>She has so many things to do!
>Did she have enough bits? Did he have enough bits? Where were they even going beyond the cinema?
>Twilight had all these questions running through her head. At the same time, she didn't care about any of them.
>Somepony had just asked HER out on a date. Not one of her friends, her.

>Anonymous is left watching that luscious sparkle butt bound up the stairs to get ready.
>He reaches down, checking his pockets for any actual spaghetti leaking out.
>It felt like there was some earlier, or at least the smell of it.
>He'd asked her out. On a date. After being here for a whole year without any sort of romance, he'd managed to ask out Twilight.
>It would be lying if he said he hadn't been planning this for weeks now.
>Of course, nothing went right as he had hoped.
>He'd wanted to come by with candy and flowers and the tickets. He wanted to sweep her up in his arms and carry her straight off to the theater.
>Candy was all sold out. Flowers were either dead or gone.
>He'd been lucky to snag the tickets. He was hoping for something more romantic, but they were all sold out. He'd bought some of the more abundant Daring Do tickets instead.
>He paces around the main hall, waiting for Twilight to bring herself down.
>He wasn't even sure where to take her. The film didn't start for another two hours.
>Hayburgers? A walk in the park? Sweets at Sugarcube Corner?
>How many ponies would even be there, anyway?
>Anonymous grumbles slightly to himself as he paces, finally snapping from his reverie as he looks at the stairs.
>Twilight was looking as pristine as ever. A faint scent of honeysuckle was coming from her, and her mane was in perfect place. It looked like she'd even taken the time to preen her wings.
>Anonymous, meanwhile was just in his usual black suit.
>"So, are we ready to go Anon?"
"Yeah. We have a couple hours before the movie, though. Is there anywhere you wanted to go before then?"
>Twilight looked like she was thinking hard on the subject. Anon leans back, waiting patiently for her to make a decision.
>Better than him blurting something stupid out.
>"Well, I haven't eaten yet. Want to go get some hayburgers?"
>Oh sweet raptor riding jesus something normal.
"Sure! I'm paying though, alright?"
>Twilight starts blushing at the words.

>"Are you sure, Anon? I can pay for myself, you know. I'm a capable mare, and I even pull in a government salary."
>Oh fuck no.
>He wasn't going to start letting his date pay for herself.
>Anon don't play that game.
>Plus, he'd busted his ass to save up a good couple hundred bits so he'd be ready for anything.
"No chance, Twilight. I'm the one taking YOU out. Now lets hit up some hayburgers. I'm sure you're starving, right?"
>Twilight was practically glowing as she nodded and left the palace with Anonymous.
>Dat honeysuckle-scented booty.
>She must have worn some type of special perfume.
>The walk to the local burger joint is a decent jaunt away, leaving the pair a bit of time to chat before they arrive.
>Anon's presence in Ponyville was one of general acceptance. Of course, his original arrival was a shitstorm, but the ponies of Ponyville were pretty fond of their friendly neighborhood hairless ape.
>"So what have you been doing lately, Anon?"
>Don't say masturbating. Don't say masturbating. Don't say masturbating.
"Masturbating."
>GOD DAMMIT BRAIN
>Twilight gives you a confused look, then suddenly starts laughing and shaking her head.
>"Hah! You're too funny, Anon."
"Y-yeah. Just joking around. I've been working on my painting in between jobs."
>That was a dodged bullet right there. Fuck Anon, control yourself a little.
>"You've been painting again? We'll have to see a few of your works after we get done eating!"
>The conversation goes on with Twilight asking general questions about how Anon's art hobby has been holding up.
>Anonymous had decided to take up painting to kill the time, since the internet was a completely foreign concept to ponies. They had arcade games, but pong and space invaders grew old.
>Plus Anon received a few strange looks hanging with a bunch of schoolcolts every day.

>The hayburger joint isn't anything special. There were fancier places to go in Ponyville.
>Anonymous had honestly expected Twilight to recommend a fancier place.
>Not that he was going to complain. It saved him a bit of money, and Twilight seemed genuinely happy at the prospect of hayburgers.
>There wasn't much of a line. A few couples here and there enjoying their day. Sharing shakes, baskets of fries, all that sappy stuff you see in every romance movie.
>Then there was Twilight and Anon.
>Twilight was staring down a literal mountain of hayburgers on a tray, as if they were her own personal Mt. Everest.
>Anonymous was honestly interested to see just how this was going to unfold. He'd never seen Twilight actually eat at the place, just heard from her friends that she enjoyed it.
>Twilight was sizing up the mountainous meal, Anon staring shamelessly in anticipation.
>As if somepony had just set off an alarm, she attacked the mountain of food.
>What unfolded was something that Anonymous could only describe as terrifying. He'd never expected such a small pony to be able to utterly destroy all of that.
>15 burgers. All gone. Anonymous wasn't even sure Twilight had breathed during most of that.
>Was there a spell for it? Some weird trick? Anonymous shuddered as he finished his own meal.
>Twilight was dabbing at her face with a napkin as she looked at her human companion.
>"Phew! That was certainly something. I really do appreciate the meal, Anonymous. I wasn't expecting to be taken out to eat today."
>Anonymous chuckles awkwardly as he starts to clear the table, taking the trays away to leave Twilight looking thoroughly satisfied.
>In truth, he was a bit shocked and scared.
>Anonymous takes his seat and looks at his wristwatch. It was still about an hour until the movie started.
"Did you want to see those paintings, Twilight? You seemed pretty interested in them."
>Twilight perks up and nods cheerfully, leaving her seat and heading towards the door.

>Twilight kept her head held high as she trotted alongside Anonymous.
>Today was going amazingly! He'd offered to pay, was taking her out to eat, he even was going to showcase his paintings for her!
>It would be an understatement to say she was as giddy as s schoolfilly.
>It'd been so long since anypony outside of her own circle of friends had taken her out, especially a bachelor.
>She idly wondered how Spike was doing with Rarity. Truthfully, he wasn't Rarity's type, but she humored him to keep him happy. She'd confided in Twilight about the situation a few months ago.
>If Spike was a bit older and had his own home in Ponyville, Rarity might consider it.
>But as far as Twilight knew, Spike was just the little dragon with a crush, in Rarity's eyes.
>She sighs and looks up at Anon. What was she to him, anyway? He'd taken the time to take her out on Hearts and Hooves Day.
>That meant something, right?
>The pair finally arrive at Anonymous' house. It wasn't far, and they had traveled in a comfortable silence.
>Anonymous unlocks the door, letting Twilight in first before closing it.
>She simply gazed around in amazement at the sheer amount of paintings strewn along the walls and on shelves.
>Beautiful landscapes, foreign vistas of Anonymous' home, and grand paintings of intricate looking architecture that she only assumed he recalled from memory.
"This is absolutely amazing Anonymous! You've certainly been hard at work!"
>"Hey, it's nothing. I just watched a lot of Bob Ross when I was younger."
>Twilight wasn't sure who Bob Ross was, but if they had influenced Anonymous enough to help him shape his paintings, they certainly must have been a great pony.
>Well, human.
>One painting in particular caught Twilight's eye.
>A scene of a sunset going down over a glittering ocean, with large ships sailing in front of it.
"What is this place, Anon? Is this from your home?"
>Anonymous chuckles and walks over to the painting, looking it over carefully

>"Yeah. It's just the view from a place I used to spend a lot of time at, back when I was still going to university."
>Anonymous stays silent for a good while as Twilight watches him.
>She looked back at the painting, admiring the attention to detail. To have done this all from memory is certainly a feat.
>The way it all looked seemed so peaceful and calm. The way all of the paintings looked seemed wholly unfamiliar to her, but at the same time, they were brilliant representations of his memories.
>She wondered if he'd paint any of his time in Ponyville. What would they look like?
>Would she be in them?
>They must have lost track of time as Twilight perused the paintings and grew lost in her own thoughts.
>"Oh, hey! Twilight, the movie is gonna start soon. We really need to get there."
"What? Oh, the movie! Yes, lets get going!"
>The pair of them rushed out of Anonymous' home, heading for the theater at a slow job.
>The conversation to the theater was light, Twilight anticipating the movie.
>She'd never gone to see any of the Daring Do movies, so it was certainly going to be a new experience for her.
>The ponies inside the theater took the tickets without complaint. It was difficult sliding past all of the other ponies, however. Many of them seemed to be here with all their special someponies.
>Twilight wondered if she could count herself among them.
>As many of the ponies filtered away towards the latest release of "Stalwart Hearts", it seemed only Twilight and Anonymous actually went to the showing of "Daring Do and the Great Crusade".
>To be honest, Twilight much preferred the thought of sitting through a Daring Do movie than a remake of a prequel to a romantic novel.
>Anonymous was already carrying a large tub of popcorn as they both entered the empty theater room.
>"Well, seems we're alone. All the better, right?"
"Definitely!"
>As the lights grew dark, Twilight could feel Anonymous' hand slip over her hoof.
>She couldn't help smiling at it.

>The movie ended roughly two hours later.
>Apparently Stalwart Hearts hadn't been nearly as long. As Twilight left, she couldn't help but start ranting about it.
"But there was the scene with Ahuizotl when he came down from the volcano! And then the saddle arabians all showed up right when Daring Do was running from the griffons!"
>"And what about the battle between Artemis and Daring Do on top of the airship? I didn't even expect that kind of double cross!"
>Twilight found it comforting that Anon held the same enthusiasm about the Daring Do series as she did. Maybe not as much as Rainbow, but the fact that he shared the interest certainly was satisfying.
>The sun was already setting as they both made their way back towards Twilight's palace. The day had gone by quickly, and Twilight was feeling extremely satisfied.
>Twilight could still feel Anonymous' hand on her hoof and every squeeze upon it as the movie grew more intense. She blushed deeply at the thought, doing her best to hide it from Anon.
>As the walk ended and they both arrived back at the palace, Twilight turned to Anonymous to look up at him.
>He was blushing heavily as he averted his gaze from her.
>Twilight honestly wasn't sure what to do at this point. She knew Spike would be home soon as well.
"Hey, Anon? Could you lean down for just a second?"
>"Huh? O-oh, sure..."
>Anon leaned down towards Twilight, looking at her curiously.
>She could feel her heart beating heavily in her chest. She locked eyes with Anon, looking at him softly.
>Leaning up, her lips brushed against his, embracing them in a tender kiss. It lasted for only a moment before the kiss was broken.
>It left Anonymous looking stunned and Twilight blushing at the ground.
"S-so yes. Thanks for today. Maybe we can do it again sometime?"
>"I'd love to, Twilight..."
>He leaned down, giving her one last kiss before walking away.
>As she watched him leave, she could only think one thing.
>Maybe she had a stallion after all.