Lyra's Dating Adventures (clean)

Author's note: The original story is 18+. It is a story about a relationship, so I felt it was appropriate. This is the (relatively) clean version. To view the mature version: http://pastebin.com/BmP7k6bQ. The story works perfectly fine with all mature scenes removed, the main difference is that without the last scene the ending is a little more 'cutesy' and less exciting.

	Lyra Heartstrings waited patiently at her table. She was at 'The Salad Barn,' a chain restaurant that was in already in all of the big cities but had just opened up a branch in Ponyville. It wasn't as classy as some of the restaurants in Canterlot. There was even a nicer place in Ponyville, simply called 'Soufflé.' But, 'The Salad Barn' was new, and everypony was excited to try it out, Lyra included.
	"Can I get you started with a drink, ma'am?" The waitress was a tall, pink earth pony with a curly mane.
	"No thanks, I'm waiting on someone." Lyra said. She looked up from the menu and glanced around the restaurant, to see if he was here yet. She didn't see him.
	Her date, Sky Comet, was a bit late in his arrival, but Lyra didn't mind. She knew she would get nervous as soon as he showed up, so was enjoying the calm she was feeling now for as long as she could. Of course, thinking about him wasn't helping her feel any calmer. She had never seen him fly before, so she imagined it now. His dark blue coat cutting through the breeze, his short gray mane flowing behind him, his strong wings... Oh, it was too much. Lyra blushed.
	How she had gotten a stallion like him to go on a date with a mare like her was a mystery to Lyra. They had met in the record store that she worked at. When he came up to the counter, she had been staring at him, and they locked eyes for a moment, making the rest of the transaction quite awkward. After he had paid, Lyra had a rare moment of courage, and called him back over to the counter. She had almost lost heart and said something like 'you overpaid,' or 'you forgot your receipt,' but instead, she had shyly asked him out.
	And he had accepted! That was the part that still confused her. She liked to think of herself as mildly attractive, but most stallions wanted a mare with more confidence, not a mare who had never asked anypony out before. She looked up from the menu and glanced around the restaurant again. He was a few feet from the table, about to sit down.
	"Hey," Lyra said. She mentally cursed her awkwardness. Really, 'Hey' was the best she could do? She couldn't screw this up. She had read all about how to act on a first date, but she couldn't recall anything she had read. It was like taking a math test in school.
	"Hey yourself," Sky Comet said. Even his voice was so perfect. And he seemed a lot more confident than she was. Perhaps he had done this before. He continued speaking. "Sorry I was late. I was actually waiting outside for you, I thought for sure I would beat you here. Then I came inside to sit down and luckily I saw you before the waitress seated me."
	"It's perfectly fine, I'm just glad you came." Lyra replied, trying not to think about how desperate she sounded. As Sky Comet sat down, she noticed the strong scent of his cologne. It smelled wonderful, but he had put it on a bit thick. "I like your cologne."
	"Thanks. You look very pretty tonight, Lyra." He replied. Lyra blushed. She had dressed up a bit for the date. She was wearing a short purple dress, and her mane was done up in a matching bow. She had even put on some lacy black underwear. She didn't find underwear to be very comfortable, but she had been worried about getting too excited and lifting her tail. She didn't want to seem like a hussy on her first date.
	Lyra found herself wishing that Sky Comet had worn more than just cologne. She knew she was going to catch herself staring at his broad shoulders more than once tonight. A silence fell over them, and Lyra knew she needed to say something. "So, how did you like that album you bought the other day?"
	"Oh, I haven't gotten a chance to listen to it yet. The weather factory has us working overtime to make all of the winter snow." Sky Comet replied.
	Lyra felt a slight tickle inside of her nose. His cologne was really sharp, and the amount was overbearing. She raised a hoof to her nose and rubbed. Just then, the waitress came back.
	"What can I get you two to drink?" The waitress asked.
	"I'll just have water." Sky Comet said.
	Not wanting to seem rude, Lyra followed his example. "I'll take water as well, please."
	"And will this be on the same check?"
	"No, I'll pay for myself," Sky Comet said.
	"Oh, I was planning on covering you," Lyra said.
	"That's so old fashioned." Sky Comet replied. The waitress looked at Lyra.
	"One check, unless you really care to pay for yourself." Lyra stated. She looked at Sky Comet hesitantly. He just shrugged.
	"Very good, I'll have them for you shortly." The waitress stated.
	"You work at the weather factory? In Cloudsdale?" Lyra asked. He nodded. "No wonder I haven't seen you around before."
	"Yeah, this is actually the third time I've been to Ponyville. The first time was when I was a kid, and I was with my dad on business. You should remember the second time; you were there."
	Lyra could feel the tickle in her nose growing. Her nostrils flared a bit and she once again brought a hoof to her face to rub her snout. She knew that if the tickle got any worse she would need to sneeze soon, and she did not want to sneeze in front of Sky Comet.
	Their drinks arrived. The waitress opened her ticket book. "Have you decided what you want to eat yet?"
	Lyra hadn't, but she had a good idea. She looked at her date. "Would you like to try the platter?"
	He nodded. "Sure, sounds good to me."
	The Salad Barn was known for its salad platter, which was really not a platter at all, but a bunch of bowls. The bowls contained various vegetables and cheeses, and then guests could make their own salads how they chose.
	"Platter for two then?" The waitress asked, and didn't wait for a response. "It will be right out."
	Lyra's nostrils flared. She had been trying not to spend too much time with a hoof to her nose, so as not to seem weird. However, the cologne was having quite an effect on her, and it seemed like the only other option was sneezing, which was out of the question.
	"How do you like work at the weather factory?" Lyra asked. She was legitimately curious. It was not often that non-pegasus ponies got to visit the sky city, and Lyra had certainly never been.
	"It's a job..." Sky Comet replied. "My real passion is astronomy, but I haven't figured out a way to get paid for it yet. Hey, are you feeling OK? You keep rubbing your snout..."
	"I'm fine," Lyra lied. At this point, if her hoof hadn't been keeping her nose in check, she would be sneezing. She was actually glad that he had noticed, because it would allow her to blow her nose without seeming weird. She grabbed a napkin. "My nose is just a bit itchy for some reason... Excuse me."
	Lyra blew her nose, trying not to make it too loud and disgusting. It relieved her urge to sneeze quite a bit, but now that the mucous had cleared out of her nose, she could smell the cologne a lot more clearly. She scrunched her nose, resolving to hold off on rubbing it for as long as she was able.
	"What about you?" Her date asked. "How do you like your job at the record store?"
	"I luh... love it." Lyra replied. When she opened her mouth to talk, she almost sneezed, so she brought her hoof back up to her nose and tried to soothe her itchy nostrils. "I mean, playing the lyre is fun and all, but I don't do it pruh.. professionally."
	Lyra really needed to sneeze. Every time she breathed in, she could smell his cologne, and it made the tickle worse.
	"I would really love to hear you play." Sky Comet said.
	Lyra was about to reply, but the waitress came with their food.
	"Enjoy," she said, setting their food down on the table.
	Sky Comet picked up a bowl and started putting lettuce into it. Lyra began to follow his example, but as soon as she lifted the bowl she realized her mistake. Her head tilted back as she set the bowl back down and pressed a hoof against her flaring nostrils.
	"Huhh... Ahhh...." No, no, no! She couldn't sneeze, not in front of him! She managed to stop herself. Standing up from the table, Lyra rushed off to the bathroom, still clutching her nose. "I'll be ruh.. right back..."
	Once safely inside the bathroom, Lyra took a deep sniffle. Her nose tickled, but without the cologne to irritate it, her sneeze didn't surface.
	"Oh, come on..." She said, still sniffing. She looked up at the light, but all she could manage was a measly "Huhh.."
	It was no use. Lyra knew she had to sneeze at least once, otherwise when she returned to the table she would be back on the brink of a sneeze again, with no way to stop it. She needed a whiff of the cologne to set her off. Well, their table was pretty close to the bathroom...
	Lyra walked out of the bathroom. Sky Comet's back was to her. Alright, walk up to him, sniff, and then run back to the bathroom and sneeze. Walk up, sniff...
	"Kahchoo!" Her face turned red as Sky Comet turned around. She hadn't been expecting to instantly sneeze, but that cologne just tickled so badly. "Huh... Ahh.. Atchoo!"
	"Bless you," Sky Comet said. "Is something still bothering you? We can leave if you want."
	"No, no... I'll be fuh.. fine..." Lyra said. Her nose still tickled fiercely. She rubbed it, and used her magic to make a salad, not wanting to remove her hoof from her now reddened nostrils. Unfortunately, there was no way to eat in this position. Her forearm was covering her mouth. Even if she moved it out of the way to eat, she would still look really stupid.
	So, she gave her nose one last hard rub, and picked up her fork, spearing a piece of lettuce. Then, the sharp smell of cologne caused her nose to tickle extremely badly, and she knew a sneeze was on the way. She dropped her fork and returned her hoof to her nose. "Ahh... Ahhh... Aaahhh! Hiiaaatchaaahhh!"
	"Bless you," Sky Comet said, again.
	"Wheeew, thanks." Lyra replied. Her nose didn't tickle nearly as badly anymore. "OK, I think I'm done..."
	Lyra resumed eating. The smell of the cologne was still there, and she could feel another sneeze growing, worming its way through her nostrils. Clearly, trying not to sneeze had failed her, so she supposed she might try stifling.
	Sky Comet started the conversation back up. "So, you were telling me about your mad lyre skills."
	Lyra blushed. "I'm not THAT good."
	"No, of course not... it's only what got you your cutie mark." He teased.
	Lyra's eyes squeezed shut, and her jaw fell slack. She felt another sneeze coming on, and there was no chance of stifling this one, or running to the bathroom. No, she was going to have to let out this monster of a sneeze, right in front of her date. He would surely walk out on her.
	Sky Comet interpreted her silence as embarrassment and continued. "I wasn't kidding when I said I would love to hear you play."
	"Ahh... Ahhhh... Aaaahhh.. AHHH!" Lyra replied. "AHHHH! AHHHHH! GAAAHHTISSSCHOOOOO!"
	"Wow, bless you." Her date said. "That was some sneeze!"
	"I'm so sorry." Lyra said, staring down at her bowl.
	"What do you have to be sorry for?" He asked. He didn't sound like he was mad...
	"I'm sorry for sneezing and ruining everything." Lyra replied.
	"Lyra, you're being silly. You're not ruining anything by sneezing. I've sneezed before to, you know. Sometimes you can't help it."
	"You must think I'm some sort of gross mare who... Ahhh..  sneezes all the time..." She muttered.
	"Well, when we met, you weren't sneezing, were you?" Sky Comet asked. She shook her head. "That's enough evidence to prove you're not sneezing all the time. You said something set you off and I believe you. Anyhow, your sneezes haven't ruined this date. If anything, I think it's kinda cute."
	"Ahhh.. Achooo!" Lyra sneezed, and they shared a laugh. She was starting to feel better about this whole thing.
	"You never told me what it is that is setting you off. Do you have allergies?"
	"I don't know," Lyra lied. He was already being so nice to her, she didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him it was his cologne. "I don't have any allergies that I know of."
	That too, was a bit of a lie. At this point, Lyra was pretty sure that it wasn't just the amount of cologne that was causing her so much misery. She probably had at least a slight allergy to it. Furthermore, she suspected that she was developing an allergy to dust mites. And every time she visited the florist, she needed to sneeze, though she had never found out which flower it was that did it. Lots of other things made Lyra sneeze. The smell of newspapers, or freshly cut grass. But Sky Comet didn't need to know any of that.
	"If you don't mind," Lyra said, "It would be great if we could leave. Some fresh air would do me good."
	The two ponies asked for boxes, and packed their food up. Sky Comet decided that Lyra could keep it all. He didn't want to carry any of it to Cloudsdale, and besides, she was paying. Miraculously, Lyra made it through paying and leaving the restaurant without sneezing again.
	However, as Sky Comet walked her home, occasionally brushing against her, his cologne began irritating her again. Lyra knew she was going to have to sneeze, but he was pointing out the constellations to her, and she didn't want to interrupt. Besides, the whole thing about her 'cute sneezing' was probably made up to make her feel better. Sneezing was gross.
	Lyra rubbed her nose as he kept talking. She could listen to his voice for hours. The excitement in his voice when he talked about the stars was dreamy.
	As they walked on, the smell of cologne continued to bother her, and the tickle in her nose grew worse and worse. "Ahh... Ahhh... Hatch'mm..."
	Lyra stifled, and her date didn't even seem to notice. He just kept right on talking. How wonderful, especially because she needed to sneeze again. "Ahhh... MmmCHH!"
	She felt more sneezes coming, but they were so close to her house at this point. She raised a hoof to her snout and scrubbed, determined to stall until she was through her front door.
	"Well... this is.. Ah.. Ahhh.. me." She said, as they approached her house. Lyra lived alone, in a relatively small home. "I hah.. hah-had a lot of fun tonight."
	"Me too, Lyra." Sky Comet replied, and leaned in to kiss her. Lyra hadn't done this since high school, and she had forgotten what it was like to kiss a stallion. It was so wonderful, she almost forgot about her terrible need to... Oh no. This close to him, the smell of the cologne was causing her nose to twitch. She broke the kiss.
	"Ahhhh..." Lyra began. She knew she couldn't keep it back for much longer. Her date hugged her, and her nose ended up right by the nape of his neck. The smell of his cologne became unbearably strong. Oh Celestia, she really needed to sneeze! She pulled away from the hug. "Ahhhhh...."
	"Ahhhhhh...." Lyra raised a hoof to her nose, rubbing furiously. "Aaaahhhh..."
	"Aaaaaaahhhhh..." She tried think encouraging thoughts. Come on Lyra, you can do this... It's just a little sneeze... "AAHHH!"
	"AHHHHH!!" The problem was, it was far from a little sneeze. "AAAHHHHH!!!"
	"AAAAHHHHHH!!! Ahhh...." Somehow, Lyra had managed to keep the sneeze in. "Wheeew! F-fahh-false al-ahh... Alarm."
	That was an outright lie. Lyra knew full well that as soon as Sky Comet was out of earshot, a massive sneeze would come bellowing out of her.
	"Alright, Lyra," he chuckled, knowingly. "Goodnight."
	She turned around and opened her door, but before she could step through it, she exploded. "AhhCHOO! WAHHAACHOO!"
	With the first two sneezes, her short purple dress hiked up on her thigh. Lyra didn't have any time to adjust it before... "Ahhhh... AHHH!! AAAYESSSHHHHAHHHH!!"
	With the third and final sneeze, her head, shoulders and chest came within an inch from the ground. She caught herself on the door, and adjusted her dress. Looking over her shoulder, Sky Comet was still standing there, staring at her, jaw dropped. She just smirked at him and headed inside. It was a good thing that she had decided to wear underwear.
---
	Lyra woke up, yawned, used the bathroom and laid back down in bed, stretching. She smiled to herself. Today was her second date with Sky Comet, whom she had met at the music store almost two weeks ago. He had come back to the store four days after their first date to ask her out again.
	At first, Lyra had thought that their first date went pretty well. But, as the days had gone by, she started to get nervous. Had she scared him off by sneezing so much? Was she ever going to see him again? And then, on the fourth day, he came by, and her heart soared. Neither of them had anything particular in mind for the second date though, so Lyra had invited him over to hear her play her lyre, and from there they could plan out the rest of their evening.
	Lyra sighed happily, thinking about Sky Comet. She really needed to come up with a nickname for him; saying the whole thing in her head didn't feel right, but then again, neither did calling him 'Sky' or 'Comet.' Mrs. Lyra Comet... she giggled. That sounded really weird. Her thoughts shifted to their previous date. She was really hoping that Sky Comet wasn't interested in her solely because he had caught a glimpse of her flank as she bent down to sneeze.
	Lyra got out of bed, and got into the shower. She began planning the day in her head. They hadn't really decided on dinner plans, but she had enough stuff lying around to make something if they wanted to stay in. So, that mostly left cleaning. Her bedsheets needed to be washed, just in case... Lyra knew full well where that type of thinking would lead, and she stopped herself.
	So, bedsheets, plus she had probably better sweep. Oh, and dusting. Dusting was Lyra's least favorite chore. It was just so tedious. But, it had to be done. She couldn't recall the last time she had dusted, and it was starting to show, especially in her living room, which she was rarely in, unless she had company over. She turned the water off, and dried herself off.
	She took her towel, bundled it up with her sheets, and began washing the whole lot of it in her shower, using her magic to keep the cloth from touching the ground. She pitied Earth Ponies, who had to wash clothes by hoof. Pegasi had it just as easy as unicorns, or easier, with their control of the weather.
	Still telekinetically lifting the bundle, Lyra wrung it out, and channeled a different spell, spinning it around and around until most of the water was gone. She floated it out of her back door and onto the drying line.
	Lyra supposed that she might as well get dusting out of the way. It didn't really make sense to sweep before you had dusted, anyhow. So, she opened up the broom cupboard. Lyra lived by herself, and she was generally a fairly clean pony. She didn't clean house very often, however, so she found her feather duster covered in cobwebs, and ironically, dust bunnies.
	She shook it free from the cobwebs and dust flew everywhere, tickling her nose. "Uhhh... Achoo!"
	Over the past few years, must and dust had started to affect Lyra's sinuses increasingly more. She suspected that she was developing at least a slight allergy. It was one of the many reasons that she hated dusting. She usually tried not to sneeze while dusting; once she got started, it was difficult to stop. Lyra cursed her itchy nose.
	"Uhh.. Ahh.. Ahhchooo!" Ugh, all this and she hadn't even really started yet. She lifted the feather duster with her magic, and stood as far away as possible from the shelf she was dusting. However, the dust was really caked on, and she was kicking up quite a dust cloud. She knew she would have to sneeze again soon.
	"Ahhh... Aahhh.. Aaaiitchaaah!" As Lyra sneezed, she stopped channeling the spell which was holding the feather duster up, and it clattered to the ground, another cloud of dust rising off of it. "Aaachoo! Ahh.... Hashhhhaaahhh!"
	There had to be an easier way to do this. Lyra had never been the top of her magic class, but she enjoyed trying new spells, especially if they might make life more simple for her.
	And so, Lyra lifted the feather duster again, also lifting a hoof to her nose to rub. Maintaining concentration would be vital. She began moving the feather duster at lightning speed, dusting an entire shelf in a matter of seconds. This was causing an enormous dust cloud to form, but Lyra used her magic to keep it under control, at least somewhat.
	She had a handle on the situation, as much as one pony could keep a handle on a giant dust cloud. It was notoriously difficult to use telekinesis at the particle level, and Lyra wasn't the most skilled in magic, so some was leaking out. She could feel her nostrils twitching under her hoof, begging her to release.
	She only needed to channel the spell for about fifteen more seconds, then the dusting would be complete. Fourteen... Thirteen... A hole formed in her spell, momentarily, and a puff of dust shot out towards her. She coughed in surprise, and lost concentration momentarily.
	"Ahhh..." Lyra was going to sneeze soon. She moved the feather-duster frantically. As she panicked, more holes formed in her spell, but thankfully the dust shot out in other directions, and not straight into her face. "Ahhh... Ahhhhh..."
	That was it! She was done dusting. She moved the cloud, as quickly as she dared, towards her open window. She pushed against the window. "Aaahhh..."
	Her spell had given the dust cloud a strange... viscosity... it was almost like trying to manipulate a beanbag. In her pre-sneeze mental haze, she couldn't think of any way to remedy the situation, so she simply pushed against it as hard as she could, hoping to get it out of the window before she lost control.
	"AAHHH..." Lyra mustered her magical power for one last desperate shove. With a pop, her spell broke, sending the dust cloud everywhere. Luckily, at least three quarters of it landed outside. Unluckily, the rest of it was pushed inwards at over twenty miles an hour. *Pomf!* The entire front of Lyra's body was covered in a very thin layer of dust, along with the floor, and the wall behind her. Even her face was coated, and more pressingly, her snout.
	"g... gottaAAAAHH!" Lyra announced, to no one in particular. "HAASSHHOOOO! Ahh... AHHCHOOO! Ahh... Ahhh! HaaatttSHAHH!"
	Lyra's head snapped forwards as she sneezed, and the outgoing air caused some of the dust to rise off of the floor. Lyra was now surrounded by dust. It floated around her, and it still coated the inner edge of her nostrils. "Ahh... AHHH! AAAAHHHH!! GATTTCCHHIIIAAHHH!"
	She darted off to the shower, knowing that the only way that she was going to stop sneezing was to get all of this dust off of her. As the water warmed up, Lyra's head tilted back, and her eyelashes fluttered, as another sneeze built. "Ahh... Ahh... ACHOO! Aaahhhhhchaaah! Ahh... Gaaahhtishhhiiiooo!"
	She jumped in the shower, and felt relief wash over her. She promised herself that she would dust normally from now on.
	As it turned out, 'from now on,' included right now. Lyra needed to clean the dust off of the wall that had gotten covered when she did. She sighed, and lifted the feather duster with her magic, moving it along the wall and getting most of the dust into the air. "Ahh..."
	Lyra rubbed her nose, hoping that perhaps she could at least hold off until she was finished. One wall wasn't that much to dust off. She was already almost done. The tickle returned. "Aaahh..."
	She finished dusting, and put the feather duster down. "Aaahhh! Hassshhiiiaahhh! Achoo!"
	Now, for sweeping. Had Lyra been an earth pony, sweeping would have been terrible for her, especially considering the film of dust coating the floor. However, Lyra was a unicorn with an education, and as it happened, one of the first spells that was taught in upper level magic courses was how to animate a broom and dustpan. She did so, and returned to her bedroom while her animated servants worked.
	Lyra slipped into a tight yellow dress. Sky Comet would be here soon, and... She heard a knock at the door. Lyra ran back out of her bedroom, and saw that the sweeping was almost finished. She opened the door, and Sky Comet was standing there, wearing a light jacket. He grinned at her.
	"Why hello there, aren't you a pretty mare. I was looking for a Lyra Heartstrings, is she your roommate?" He teased. She playfully hit him. He walked inside. "I suppose I could just spend the day with you instead..."
	Lyra dumped the dustpan into the trash, and put it, along with the broom and feather duster, back into her broom cupboard. "I was just.. Ahh.. in the middle of.. Ahhh.. cleaning. Ahhh... Ahchoo! Sorry, it gets so dusty in here sometimes."
	"Bless you," Sky Comet replied. "Now, I believe you were going to play the lyre for me?"
	"Oh, of course!" Lyra said, and rushed off to go get it. She returned, using her magic to lift it in front of her. He was sitting down on her couch, so she took a seat next to him, and began to play. As she played, her nose began to tickle. Sitting next to her date, she could smell his cologne, which he had thankfully applied less of than on their last date. It probably wouldn't have bothered her that much normally, but there was still some dust in the air from her previous escapade, and the dust and the cologne combined were quite troublesome. She paused her song.
	"Wow, that was absolutely beautiful," Sky Comet remarked.
	"Ahh.. Ahhtishooo!" Lyra sneezed, and her head jumped forwards. As she looked up from her sneeze, Sky Comet had moved closer to her. Their lips met, and she floated her lyre back into its case, out of the way. They kissed for what felt like hours. Lyra noticed that somewhere along the way, they had shifted positions, and she was straddling his stomach, as he rubbed his hoof along her hip, lifting her dress slightly as he traced her cutie mark. She blushed, and broke the kiss, climbing off of him and sitting next to him.
	Lyra and Sky Comet enjoyed each others company, and completely lost track of time. Soon, the sun had set, and it began to grow dark. Lyra opened her back door, and slipped out, hoping that Sky Comet would follow her. She heard him plodding behind. She trotted up a hill and lay down on her back, facing the night sky. Sky Comet lay down, right beside her, and slipped an arm under her neck. She snuggled into his side.
	"Tell me about the stars." Lyra said. "We have all night..."
	"Well..." Sky Comet began.