Seven Hundred and Fifty Causes for Joy (Closed: Foxfire)

[SteelEagle]

Day three of the auction had went very well. Day four went pretty awesome and day five insanely well and day six did not let her down, so today was going to be perfect!

The first day of the auction had gone so well that after only one bid, Rarity's, the day was shut down. Twenty thousand bits were above and beyond the call of duty. But the auction went on and ponies had set everything up so the sixth auction would go just as well. That had come to pass as well, and five hundred bits later she was the date of a hunky female Griffon. Talk about a deal! Day three had been a bit lower, but a hundred bits for the cause was nothing to sneeze at. Day four had been almost orgasmic after only a hundred the day before, a full seven hundred going for good causes. Day five was euphoric- two thousand bits to an REA member! Day six had been to a fine looking stallion. Now it was day six. The stage was pristine and in the small backstage area, little Applejack was looking her celestial best for her potential suitors. Before she had started seeing Carrot Fields and fell in love with his charms, she had been more nervous about this annual event. Seeing all sorts of ponies willing to place money on the table just to take you out for dinner had been a nerve-wracking experience. Now she was used to it and even found the whole thing a lot of fun. Nothing was more enriching than experiencing the odd parts of life with ponies you had never met, because that was the only time you really ever got to know how other ponies really were.

So she sat in the back, waiting for her time to come. Before Applejack was auctioned off there was a lot of donated items that were going to find happy homes. For the past several months Applejack had met with dozens upon dozens of friends and fellow townsponies to find anything worth of being auctioned off for the charity and just as always the reception to her pleas was overwhelming. Fine china to books to all manner of games and clothes were put up. Some fetched a high price but few things went unsold as in the name of charity someone was always willing to plunk at least a few bits down. Heck, even other members of the family were doing the same thing that Applejack was. Apple Bloom went for twenty bits to a rich local filly with a devious look about her. That little Apple had beamed from ear to ear at the thought of drawing that much. Big Mac went for around a hundred, a pretty good deal for him and one that was setting his bar for the year. He was handsome and was stronger than anypony else but his shy attitude gave many an ill impression of him. Their loss.

But the main attraction, as much as Applejack woould fight it in the lead up, was the lead mare of Sweet Apple Acres. She would often fetch around two hundred bits but that had gone up a full hundred times two days previous, making the charity's goals and then twice over even before the other parts of the five day auction were even started. The second auction had gone extremely well, so huzzah! Day three not so well, but they had still crushed their goal. That only made the success of tonight all that much more important, as they could build towards a truly brighter future if everything went well. It was with this very mindset that Applejack trotted onto the stage to some clapping from appreciative auctionees. With all the success that had been trumpeted about last night Applejack had made sure to steel herself for a far lower deal. Anything more than a hundred would be a victory.

"This mare needs no introduction- Applejack of Sweet Apple Acres, and our final auction of the evening! This is a no limit auction with all bids accepted. Can we start the bidding at...fifty-five bits?! Do I hear fifty-five!? Oh, to the pretty mare in the back! What about sixty-five bits?! To the handsome unicorn up front. Do I hear seventy?!"

[foxfire]

Star had been sitting at the auction, unsure if she needed her head examining. She put a fair amount of the pay she made from the Guard away in a account for charitable donations, normally in Canterlot, but she had heard about this charity auction and the idea seemed interesting, if a little mad. She had been given some less than gentle ribbing from her fellow Guardsponies about the standard of pony she tended to date (they had a point, if there was a idiotic stallion who couldn't count to five because he'd ran out of hooves in Canterlot she'd probably dated him) the idea of dating a genuine bearer of one of the Elements of Harmony was a opportunity she was not going to turn down. The fact that the cause was a good one was just a bonus.

She had emptied her charity bank account for the night, guessing that a prize like Applejack was not going to go cheap. She had enough for the date from her petty cash (assuming that she was not expecting a wildly expensive date) and seven hundred and fifty bits for bidding purposes. After deciding that the occasion warranted dressing smartly (and after discovering that her only classy outfit was from before she gained a few muscles from flying in armour) she was wearing a cloak over her Royal Guard dress uniform. As the bidding started Star smiled as she listened, waiting for a pause in the bidding before starting her bidding with a merry shout of "One hundred bits".

[SteelEagle]

Applejack had always enjoyed watching the auction process as it happened. So many of the ponies involved shared many of the same traits and desires that it was usually up to a select few to save her from those with clammy hooves and wild eyes. She didn't hate any of her potential suitors- she really didn't have room or tolerance in her heart for that sort of stuff- but a lump did form in her throat as she watched some of the first contestants get off to a not-so roaring start. The first year she had done this as a mare when she was just really coming into her own, a really obese and ill-mannered stallion paid nearly a thousand bits for her company. He hadn't been a bad pony by design, just weird and off-centered. That experience shook her as she felt so vulnerable. Well, vulnerable wasn't the right word. If anything bad started to happen she probably could have broken him into pieces. A better word was concerned that her future suitors wouldn't improve.

But they did and they did so conserably, earning the honor of her valued presence through more than pure bitwork. Could she be ever hopeful and blind at times in the name of charity? Perhaps. Perhaps. But if that wa sthe case, it was good that she could turn off her mind for the greater good. There were few barriers to the demands of her heart and this charity was one of the most important things she did. All things being equal however she'd rather her date be good looking and have some manners. So far, those who were trying to win the right to take Applejack for a night seemed like the right sort. The mare was a local one with a shy demeanor and a pretty face and the stallion was an outgoing one who had hit on Applejack throughout her fillyhood. Not a bad start to the proceedings- either one would be fine, seeing as the stallion had won before and had been a hoot to hang with.

Then there was the cloaked mare that entered the bidding. Applejack, like any mare, loved a good mystery most days but the cloak didn't do a good job of hiding the truth. The mare was a member of the REA if the dress colors underneath spoke to the same dress uniform Applejack had owing to her time with Task Force Suntrot. Hehe, now this was the second member of that small organization to go ahead and bid for the Apple pony this week. Was there something that Applejack wasn't aware of?

"One-hundred to the cloaked. Do I hear fifty-five? One-ten? To the beauty up front. One-twenty? To the stallion! one-thirty five?!...one-fifty...one-sixty...do I hear two-hundred bits?!"

[foxfire]

Star glanced at the other bidders, guessing that she would probably not be winning this auction. She had heard about somepony bidding twenty thousand bits at one of the auctions so she was probably woefully underfunded. Having decided to donate a couple hundred bits if she lost the auction, Star smiled before considering how much to bid on before taking a sip of her cider and shouting. "Two hundred and fifty".

[SteelEagle]

Applejack had gotten used to all sorts of suitors during the auction. She had generally classified them into one of four separate camps. The first were the rich, well-to do ponies with hearts of gold that didn't really care about the date but wanted to take part and help drive the auction for charity into golden heights. Applejack liked them for all the obvious reasons, as having rich ponies get involved in a bidding war for a date that was hardly ever more than a laughter-filled luncheon for the benefit of fillies and colts was always the greatest outcome. Sadly, they also tended to be the busiest and while you could get a few over th course of the six-day auction you generally could never count on them being a consistent presence and inflating the price of a date often. Superb when they were here but not something to be relied on though if everypony wanted to be like Rarity and go to the top immediately that would be just fine.

The second were shy ponies who wanted to help and wanted a bit of companionship to go along with their moral choices. They were supremely average in most respects on the outside, though they often revealed why they were lonely ponies during their dates. They could get desparate with their bids and their dates were many and varied. Some expected far more from her than others which made them a grab bag of good and bad, though she rarely held some of their odder decisions against them. There was a reason they were at acharity auction looking for something more than helping charity, many of them seeking a real relationship. That was never going to be the case but most of them were happy enough with one night of companionship and Applejack was more than happy to deliver. They certainly made up a few more of the crowd than the rich ponies did and their often times desparate bids did help her auction considerably.

The third were scumbags who wanted her far more than they wanted to help the charity. They licked their lips, ate her with their eyes, and imagined the many things they could do once they had bought her for a night. This was the source of almost all the problems the auction experienced. Some advanced really awful agendas for her and she would refuse. They won the right to a date, not the right to treating her the way some of them wanted to. The refusal to pay from this crowd was a bit higher than the others, but they came from all walks of life so it rarely came down to poverty. They were just scumbags. There were some jewels hidden in the pile. The few that weren't by design creeps were rather simply by their nature creeps, unknowing and sorry when they did. It didn't matter. In any case there were only a few of them.

Then there were the largest group and the group that was the most varied- the normals. Some were rich, some were poor, most were middle-class with good hearts and enough disposable income to spend lavishly on this one thing. Her friends tended to occupy this spot as did the majority of townsponies who knew her, making this an excellent grouping. Some wanted nothing, others wanted a lot, in general they were all reasonable. Her hero for the day tended to come from this group, the pony that would save her from the scumbags who bid high and hard for her. Today that pony was cloaked and such, but the script was playing out as could be expected.

"Do I hear...two-twenty....

two-thirty five?!

two fifty...

two...

two...

three...

three...

three-hundred and fifty going once! Going twice!

three...

four...

four...

four...

five...

five...

five...

six-hundred going once!

six-hundred and twenty-five...

six fifty going once!

do I hear six seventy five?!

seven hundred?!

Do I hear seven-hundred?! Anypony for seven-hundred?! Six seventy-five going once! Six seventy-five going twice- no! Seven-hundred to Mr. Snaggletooth!

Do I hear seven-hundred and twenty-five? To the mare in the back!

Do I hear seven-hundred and fifty?!"

[foxfire]

Star had been listening to the bidding, usually jumping in if the bidding slowed down (even if she didn't win the date she wanted to make sure that the good cause made plenty of bits). She was just enjoying the atmosphere when she remembered that her maximum bid was seven hundred and fifty bits and, after the inconvenience of over-bidding for a signed picture of Soarin' and having to owe a friend a lot of bits (which was odd considering that if it wasn't for the picture she wouldn't have recognized Soarin if she saw him in the street) she didn't want to make that mistake again.

Sighing to herself that she was out of the running (that old saying about the 'joy of the chase' was truer than she liked to admit), Star put her hoof up and shouted. "Seven hundred and Fifty", before looking around to see which lucky pony bagged the prize.

[SteelEagle]

The bidding started to get denser and confined as the numbers grew, the willingness of many of the patrons to shell out that many bits for a simple date weakening as the number started to leap up. Now it was down to the cloaked one, the shy mare, and that odd looking stallion with one lazy eye who had this strange look about him. That would be an awkward date. The easiest one would be the mare- local, shy, just wanted a bite to eat perhaps. She was on the older side and probably just wanted somepony to be with for a bit. At four-fifty, she buggered out. It sorta hurt to see a nice mare like her go that far, that hard, and with that sort of attitude and outlook and fall short but there were other nights. Applejack nodded towards her and the mare smiled as the stallion made his final bid. A shocker- someone else then outbid him. And then...BAM!

"Seven hundred and fifty bits!" the auctioneer began before a loud voice blasted across the area, putting that roadblock down! The stallion shook his head and all eyes turned at the cloaked one who had made the offer. Applejack did a skip of joy in the middle of the stage. Talk about fresh bits! This REA member must've been loaded or desperate for attention or both or more likely simply very kind, and the fillies and colts of Ponyville would benefit from it. What a great auction!

"Seven hundred and fifty bits from the beautiful and mysterious mare. Do I hear seven seventy? What about seven sixty hundred? Seve hundred and fifty going once...seven hundred and fifty going twice...SOLD for seven fifty! Congratulations madame, you have bought yourself a date with Applejack, Ponyville's mare! Please meet her in the back. And with that, today's auction is closed," The auctioneer finished with a smile as Applejack trotted into the back, ready to meet her high bidding army date.

[foxfire]

Star was more than a little surprised when she realized that she had outbid everypony else. She had won items in the past which she had little or no use forat auctions like this one but it was the first time she had won a date with a pony, let alone a mare. She smiled as she stood up and walked over to the back, grinning as she saw Applejack although it was mostly to hide the attack of nerves she was feeling. She had kept bidding mostly to keep the bits flowing and she was unsure what to do for the rest of the night now that she had actually won the date.

Star paused for a second as she pondered what she was going to do. She had been in Ponyville on a couple of occasions before and could think of a couple of places she could take Applejack but she didn't know what she would like. Star knew the usual things about Applejack; Element of Honesty, Apple-bucker extraordinaire, all around good egg, but she din't know much about her on a personal level. That was likely to cause problems later.

Realizing that she was not saying anything Star smiled as she moved her cloak aside to show off her dress uniform so that she at least looked a little less like a weirdo. "Sorry, it's a honor to meet you. I'm Star".

[SteelEagle]

Applejack of Sweet Apple Acres could samba so fast her hooves blur, though her partners moved with the bumbling tentativeness of a foal taking his first steps. It wasn't all that strange to think that every night was the night where she would meet another great friend but it was equally likely she was meeting another peghole in the cribbage game of disappointment. The roster of failures was a who's who of both the well intentioned and the ill-intentioned yet...equally lame. The winner's circle was really only occupied by a select few and of those they all possessed a certain awkwardness. Its seemed as though that those who had such confidence in their social movements and romantic thoughts were creeps by and large and rarely passed the emotional test that was meeting and dealing with a mare like Applejack. She was easy going but Celestia help you, she'd be blunt about things.

And that was why, to be blunt, she was a little nervous about this date. She had joined Task Force Suntrot for a spell and been involved in more than her fair share of scraps with fellow members of the REA. She was just a civilian contractor there but she had learned a lot. Some memories were burned into her mind harsher and darker than others, but one thing was that she had a respect and admiration for anypony who took up the cause. So even if this pony for some reason saw fit to hide behind a cloak, Applejack was sure she would be an upstanding pony of good class and character. With all those bits it also made Applejack quizzical as to what the mare had in mind. It was always an exciting experience when you dated somepony and had no idea what was going to happen. The fact that the needy of Ponyville profited off of it only made the goodnight kiss even sweeter.

And speaking of profit, here it came. The mare in all of her natural splendor rounded the corner and approached Applejack, the heavy air of a honorable member of the REA reaching Applejack a moment or two before the mare herself. The mare finally revealed herself and Applejack returned the revelation with a friendly hug.

"Thanks for makin' such a kind donation ta tha charity! Yer gonna help a lotta little colts 'n fillies," Applejack whispered into her date's ear hot before pulling away with a smile.

"So, y'all have a plan ready? What we do, where we go, and when- that's all yours, pardner!"

[foxfire]

Star nodded as she realized she really, really should have planned the date better in advance. Applejack's hug and comment about helping the colts and fillies at least gave her a reason to smile before she asked about what the date was going to be about. "I'm sure I'll figure out something. I've only been in Ponyville three times before, and those were on Guard business so I'm going to be winging it".

She smiled. "Once I heard about the auction and the cause you were raising bits for I decided to help any way I could. Most of my work is flying courier flights for the Princesses. I earn a lot of over-time and hazard pay but I live on-base so I put a good proportion of the money away for good causes".

Star grinned. "What can I say, I'm a sucker for foal's charities. Tonight was the only night of the auctions where I had the night off and was in the area to attend. I heard from one of the mare's in the audience about somepony bidding twenty thousand for a date with you. I'm sorry I couldn't pay more". She smiled as she looked down at the uniform she was wearing. "I don't know why I wore this, other than the fact that I don't have any other clothes which could possibly be described as fancy".

She frowned and blushed as she realized something. "Sorry. I'm babbling".

[SteelEagle]

"I'm sure I'll figure out something. I've only been in Ponyville three times before, and those were on Guard business so I'm going to be winging it. Once I heard about the auction and the cause you were raising bits for I decided to help any way I could. Most of my work is flying courier flights for the Princesses. I earn a lot of over-time and hazard pay but I live on-base so I put a good proportion of the money away for good causes. What can I say, I'm a sucker for foal's charities. Tonight was the only night of the auctions where I had the night off and was in the area to attend. I heard from one of the mare's in the audience about somepony bidding twenty thousand for a date with you. I'm sorry I couldn't pay more. I don't know why I wore this, other than the fact that I don't have any other clothes which could possibly be described as fancy. Sorry. I'm babbling"

Applejack listened intently to the mare. Yeah, she was a bit of a babbler but there wasn't anything wrong with that. She preferred the babblers and the talkers to the silent and the unusual. Not that there was something untowards about shy ponies but if you had to meet a stranger under these circumstances, better you have a baseline of working communication that the shy simpy lacked a lot of the time. Of course, Applejack would never say that. Maybe she'd try to phrase it in a new way but she'd never say it. As for what this pony was saying, Applejack was pleasantly surprised, Shocked even. Yeah, everypony who came down here came here to support the charity, but the thought that somepony like her was gonna go ahead and a make a point to support some small charity she'd never heard of in some small town she didn't even know, judging by her date 'plan'.

“Hehe, that twenty thousand bit bid was mah friend, Rarity. No way that bid reaches more than a thousand if she didn't just jump up and say twenty at tha start! She's a fun one. You'd like her, she could make ya somethin' fancy and do it cheaper than ya'd think too. Not that ya'd need at an auction like this. 'Course if it were up ta me we wouldn't even hire somepony to run tha thing, just have y'all yell out yer bids. Simple ways down here on tha farm. Ah'm sure we can find somethin' ta do. Besides where ta go, what sorta stuff do y'all like doin' on a date? Ah know Ponyville like tha back of mah hoof. Here, Ah'll lead tha way,” Applejack said politely before she started to trot and walk.

“So, y'all like ta donate that much ta charities? That/s might kind of you. Family influence or good old REA values?”

[foxfire]

Star smiled as she pondered Applejack's question. "I was a courier before I joined the guard in Canterlot. I ended up travelling to a lot of the worst places in Equestria". She shook her head. "I saw that there are a lot of ponies who need help out there. I started donating to homeless shelters and the like while I was just a courier. When I joined the guard my pay increased and the amount I needed to spend to live dropped because I'm living on-base when I'm here. There's a orphanage in Canterlot which I donate regularly to, one of my first jobs after I joined the guard was to act as part of the official escort for Princess Celestia on one of her visits there".

She frowned. "There was a little filly there, she reminds me of, well, me when I was her age. I arranged with my superiors to automatically give 30 percent of whatever money I make to the orphanage. Otherwise I give when I see a good cause out of the money I've put away for such occasions". She grinned. "My needs are simple and I tend to eat on-base so I wind up with enough money to give to three or four good causes per year. Like I said, I'm a sucker for charities which help young ponies. One of my superiors lives in Ponyville and mentioned the auction so I decided to bid".

Star looked down. "Even if somepony had outbid me, which was possible since I had put exactly seven hundred and fifty bits aside for bidding, I was going to donate the money. This. She motioned as if to encompass the whole 'date' thing. "Is just a bonus".

[SteelEagle]

"I was a courier before I joined the guard in Canterlot. I ended up travelling to a lot of the worst places in EquestriaI saw that there are a lot of ponies who need help out there. I started donating to homeless shelters and the like while I was just a courier. When I joined the guard my pay increased and the amount I needed to spend to live dropped because I'm living on-base when I'm here. There's a orphanage in Canterlot which I donate regularly to, one of my first jobs after I joined the guard was to act as part of the official escort for Princess Celestia on one of her visits there. There was a little filly there, she reminds me of, well, me when I was her age. I arranged with my superiors to automatically give 30 percent of whatever money I make to the orphanage. Otherwise I give when I see a good cause out of the money I've put away for such occasions. My needs are simple and I tend to eat on-base so I wind up with enough money to give to three or four good causes per year. Like I said, I'm a sucker for charities which help young ponies. One of my superiors lives in Ponyville and mentioned the auction so I decided to bid".

Well, this mare was something special for sure. Applejack had been in the REA for just a short time but had learned to have an even greater amount of respect and admiration for those who served than she had before, which was already pretty considerable. But this mare was something else, almost too good to be true. While Applejack knew that there were some bad places in Equestria, compared to other nations it was a breeze to live in. But the Courier here felt so much compassion that even the sight of the less fortunate rather than those struck with true misfortune drove her to action despite her not significant assets. That was true generosity of spirit and soul, something only a few ponies truly had and this one was probably the cause. She took a good portion of Equestria's natural reserve of good spirit and charity that nopony else could match. And to make it even better, she devoted a good portion of her payments to the orphanage she knew so well now. This- this was special and great and more than a little attractive.

Luckily for him, charity was good all around!

“Wow, that's awful kind of ya. Ah know some ponies that are pretty charitable themselves but Ah've never heard of nopony save some rich noblepony serving the less fortunate like that. Mah friends may donate and they sure do donate a lot, like Rarty with her twenty k, but nopony Ah know save Twilight does what you do or anything even close ta it! Ah wish Ah could do more, but between Sweet Apple Acres itself, tha family business, Ah don't have much ta spend. Wish Ah could do more...but Ah guess that's why Ah do this instead. Every year we hold a week long charity auction. Mah brother, sister, and Ah get ourselves some dates an' we auction off all sorts'a material things that've been donated. We tend ta make about twenty or twenty five thousand bits an auction, but this yer we're doin' more than forty! Thanks mostly ta Rarity, Ah guess. But always good to see that charity ain't just a Rarity thing, hehehehe. So, Ah guess we're gonna have ta wing it! What type of food ya like?” Applejack asked as she led her date for the evening into the beating breast of Ponyville.

[foxfire]

Star blushed at Applejack's kind words. "It's not a big thing that I'm doing. When I left Fillydelphia I was in a bad way. My parents had thrown me out because I wanted to see the world and not become a member of Weather Management. I wound up wandering from place to place. I saw how bad things are outside of the towns and cities, especially for foals who weren't as lucky as I was. I was lucky to wind up in Baltimare when I was getting really desperate".

She lucked down at her hooves."I was just about ready to do anything to get some good food when I found a courier firm. I managed to convince the owner to give me a trial. He sent me to Dodge Junction to deliver a message to his brother. He let me stay the night, fed me and I flew back to Baltimare". She grinned. "When I got back I got a job and my cutie mark. I had a place to live and a steady income but I couldn't stop thinking about all the other ponies who didn't get the breaks I did. Even when I came to Canterlot and joined the Guard I still tried to help when I could. I manage on a little money, when I'm on assignment every bit I spend goes on expenses and gets paid back to me. There's a old saying that my grandfather used to tell me about what to do if something good happens to me. He said that I should 'Pay it forward'. I just try to do that".

Swift smiled as she wondered what to have to eat. "I guess that we could have something fancy but I mostly eat hayburgers and the like. All the flying I do burn the calories from them".

[SteelEagle]

OOC- Holy mackeral, this didn't show up!

Applejack listened to the story of her mare for the evening, and it was touching to ay the least. Applejack was a bit hardened to the tones of heartache by this stage in her life by her own experiences, but she couldn't help but try to relate in her own way. It wasn't that she didn't care deeply, but rather had experienced loss and heartache in such a profound way that she was somewhat removed from it. She hadn't grown up poor or anything even close to that. Quite the opposite, in fact. The Apple family may have the appearance of being low class but that was because they put their back to the work at hoof and tended to their fields with all the gusto they could muster. Sweet Apple Acres was the beating heart of a thriving national business. It was always invested and she didn't sleep on the finest linens or attend the fanciest parties, but she never really needed something she couldn't get. Swift had grown up with need and it gave her a sense of what it was like to live like that. No wonder she was so open and willing to help.

“Well, yer life has certainly helped build you inta tha type of pony that ca certainly pay it forward, as it were. Always a good lesson to learn in life is ta remember where ya came from. Ah lost mah ma and pa when I was young ta an illness and had a lot of problems rise from that. Ah'd be lyin' if Ah didn't say that somedays Ah look back on it with a lot of sadness, but it helped make me who Ah am today. Ah also wonder how ma would look at such thinkin' but she was a practical sort. Anywho, hay burgers are fine by me. Gotta say Ah like this a bit more than havin' more and more fancy foods. If one more date wants ta order crème brulee Ah'll barf. All over the crème brulee, too!” She laughed, trotting towards a diner.

“Red Hay sound good ta ya?”

[foxfire]

Star nodded as she looked at the diner, understanding a lot more about what made the Element of Honesty the pony she was. She guessed she had been lucky not to have lost any of her family over the years, at least as far as she knew. It had been the better part of three years since she had spoken to any of her family and Applejack talking about losing her parents made her wonder about what had happened to her family since she flew away from Fillydelphia.

The simple fact was that after the horrendous row about her future which had lead to her being told that if she left the house she would not be allowed back Star had packed her saddlebags and left. She had not been anywhere near Fillydelphia since, which in her past and present lines of work had been a rarity in itself, she could count the major cities in Equestria she had not travelled to on her hooves. Regardless, she had tried to forget about her family although she had considered her neice or nephew who had not even been born when she left. The only attempt she had made to maintain contact with them had been a photo she had sent of her herself in Royal Guard armour when she finished basic training. She hadn't received a reply.

Star blushed as she realized she had been deep in thought."Sorry, I was thinking about my family. Red Hay sounds great".

[SteelEagle]

Applejack was pleased her date for the evening had no issue with the diner she had chosen. She went to Red Hay's all the time. She just wanted a nice, quick bite to eat at a reasonable price? Red Hay's delivered. It wasn't far from The Watering Hole either so if she wanted a drink, some food, and some good times with friends, she had it all luned up. It certainly wasn't the main drag of Ponyville an a small copse of trees separated it as if the Mayor wanted it to b hidden from view, but she loved it. A lot of the business in the area were older and spoke to the origins of the town as a hardscrabble working class sort of community rather than the yuppie filled city it was slowly but surely becoming, not that Applejack was keeping track.

Applejack opened the the door to the diner, which was a small single land affair. On the right side there were a few booths and to the left a counter with seats, and behind the counter a younger looking blue pegasus mare while a yellow-orange older stallion poked his head out from the kitchen. Both of them smiled and waved Applejack in and the farm mare trotted in with her own smile, taking a seat in a booth and not bothering with the menu. If she didn't know what they offered after ten dozen visits to the place, Celestia strike her down. Or Rainbow Dash, whichever was closer. Applejack settled in and the mare at the counter approached, nodding to the farmer and the guardspony as everypony settled in for the evening.

“A bit earlier than most evenings, ain't it AJ?” The mare asked as she brought out a pad of paper and a quill. Applejack laughed and nodded to her date.

“Well, tha only work Ah'm doin' tonight is of tha romantic type. Word, meet Swift, mah date for the night!” Applejack smiled wide as she pawed at the glass of water that was set down in front of her.

“Ahhhh, talk about sweet. I'll make sure we keep the extra sweet stuff of the menu for the evenin' so we don't get too sick back there with all the snugglin' and such. So, whatcha wantin'?” The waitress asked with a wink.

“Oh, Ah'll take tha usual. What about you, Swift?”

[foxfire]

Star had relaxed when she saw the interior of the Red Hay, it was like a few diners and restaurants she had found and frequented on her travels over the years. She guessed it was a constant all over Equestria, the little details were different but the similarities were startling. Having a pretty good idea of what to expect, food wise Star smiled as she looked across at the waitress. "I'll have a burger and hay fries, please. And I'll pay for Applejack's meal". She looked over at Applejack and smiled. "This is a lot better than I was expecting, I've been forced to go to enough posh dinners that the idea of tiny servings make me want to hit somepony."

She glanced around the diner and smiled. "I've never been in here before but I've been in dozens of similar places. There's a place like this in just about every town I've flown to, I even managed to find a place like it in the Crystal Empire when I was sent there on a courier run. My CO jokes that if there is a diner in a place I'll find it like a Diamond Dog to a gemstone".

Star blushed as she realized she was blabbering again. "Sorry, I'm wittering again. How are you?".

[SteelEagle]

Burger and hay fries? Heh, talk about coincidence. She wanted the same thing. This place was a bit of a greasy establishment but she liked it that way. You needed that good old fashioned cooking that made you pat your belly afterwards and slog back into bed, a night of regrets preceded by an evening of delight. That was how you knew you had a great night and a great meal! The waitress nodded to both of them and laughed. “Heh, two hay burgers and fries comin' up!” she said and trotted off, Applejack smiling as she took a sip of water. Now this was her idea of a good time, a simple little night out with no great expectations other than simple companionship. And good portions, that too.

You couldn't possibly get full off of some fancy-schmancy meal at a restaurant that gave you two bites of food total. “You can say that again. Celestia knows Ah don't know how the rich and famous don't keel over in starvation on account of their portions,” Applejack mumbled in reply, shaking her head as she considered her average meal in Manehattan and how delicious- and small- it was.

Good to hear she was about the same. Some ponies couldn't help but be attracted to establishments like this that needed little introduction. You could find them in every city no matter how fancy, in every town no matter how small. It was simply a wonderful little fact of Equestria and one she was happy was as true today as it would be the years from now.

“Hehe, well, there are worst things than havin' a nose for good eats. When I was in Task Force Suntrot Ah wasn't deployed ta cities or towns, just forts on the edge so Ah never got a good sniff of diners outside of Ponyville. What city has some good diners that ya'd recommend?” Applejack asked, ready to pile in new information.

[foxfire]

Star had smiled as she heard AJ talk about being in the REA, she had heard something about one of the Element Bearers having served but couldn't remember which one. Her question about diners brought another smile to her muzzlle. "There's a few places in Manehattan but the best place I've been at was a little roadhouse, on the main road from Los Pegasus. Thankfully it's on ground level so it's not a pegasus-only joint since I've never seen a decent hay burger in any cloud-based eating establishment. Pegasi may have mastered weather control but they really can't cook a decent hay burger and fries in a cloud city to save their lives"

She grinned. "That may be a gross generalization and I've been known to fly from Canterlot to Cloudsdale just for the corndogs at the Cloudosseum but like I avoid their burgers like the plague".

Star grinned. "When I decided to bid for a date with you I really didn't expect to be in a place like this. And I don't mean that in a bad way, even if we're both hugely over-dressed for here". She took a sip of her water and smiled.

[SteelEagle]

Applejack chuckled along. Yeah, pegasi really couldn't cook much at all. She had a pegasi coltfriend once who couldn't work his way around a kitchen to save his life. Which, if it hadn't been for Applejack, he would have needed to use to save said life. But unlike her date who wouldn't generalize, Applejack would. Dash couldn't cook, Fluttershy's food was for the birds- literally- and Thunderlane was banned from any kitchen Applejack was within a mile of as well. All in all, if it looked like a pegasus, flew like a pegasus, and acted like a pegasus, it probably cooked like a diamond dog. She would needle her friends about it as in the end it didn't matter much and they gave her enough guff for her line of work and lack of magic and flight when it came down to it, but it was ll in good fun.

“What's tha name of that place? And- hehe, ain't that tha truth 'bout pegasi cookin'. You show me a pegasus who can bake up a great pie or serve a good meal an' Ah'll show you an Earth pony who can fly. 'Course we all have our own gifts an' Ah doubt they'd wanna trade flight for the ability to make some good grub, but hehe. Ah like mah piemakin' just fine,” she took a sip, considering the overdressed line and nodding somewhat emphatically.

“Yeah, ain't that the Celestial truth. 'Course, dressin' in anythin' other than mah hat is considered overdressed for me. Gimme a nice sunny day and pa's hat an' Ah can take on tha world. Mah friend rarity is aways trying ta get me ta help her model some clothes but I'm just so uninterested I sometimes fall asleep while doing it after a hard day of real work on the farm. Hehehe, you can guess how well that goes!”

[foxfire]

Star nearly took a spit-take at Applejack's comment about Rarity. "I can imagine what that was like, My mother had the same problem whenever she decided we had to go clothes shopping. She didn't get the fact that I was not interested in 'fillyish things', even when I came back from flight school one afternoon with my mane cut to about this length from about the length of your mane. She didn't really accept my explanation that I had realized that the friction from it might slow me down in flight". She smiled. "She grounded me for a month after she stopped crying. I guess I was a tomcolt back then".

She smiled as she remembered what Applejack had asked her before the Rarity comment. "It's called the Soggy Flank Riding Club, I was too busy to ask why they called it but with food of that quality I was not going to complain. All I know is that I've never seen so many Pegasi in a ground-level restaurant at once". Star grinned as she considered how things go. "I'm glad that the refectory at the base I'm assigned to in Canterlot has good cooks because I've been known to burn tea when I cook myself",

Star smiled as she looked across at Applejack, realizing she was enjoying the night more than she had expected. "This evening is turning out to be a lot more interested than I expected, I'm starting to think that I was expecting you to be more like Rarity. All I really knew about you was that you are the Bearer of the Element of Honesty and that your farm makes Zap Apple Jam", She paused for a second as memories of how quickly the bottle of the jam she had been given for Hearth's Warming Eve had been consumed. "I apologize if I'm drooling".

[SteelEagle]

Hehe, well, it was good to know that she and her date had more in common than Applejack would have thought initially. Contrary to popular belief, Applejack wasn't dead set against frilly clothing in the proper situation. This was a bit of a change from what she had said not too long ago, but as she matured a bit she started loosening some of those stringent standards she had set for herself. She wouldn't seek out the frilly or the situations they fit, but if she found herself at a fancy party again or in need of a bit of feminine charge, she wouldn't fight against it...very hard, at least. Of course, her family had always been more supportive and enabling of her attitudes, so she didn't have the same experience as her date did.

“Hehe, well, nothin' wrong with being a tomcolt! Ah used ta be called a tomcolt but Ah always thought that was a silly classification. Ah'm a farmer, Ah farm. AH don't wear frilly clothes on account of them not stacking up ta the rigors of mah work. Shoot, gimme a dress that can stand up ta a full day of Applebuckin' and Ah'll wear it if it pleases ya. Otherwise, nopony needs ta get bent outta shape on account of me,” Applejack replied, sipping the water before some coffee was brought, much to her pleasure. She tipped only a tiny bit of sugar into it but otherwise kept it plain, preferring to keep either black. She assumed they served black coffee at the Soggy Flank, a name which earned a snicker. Some of the smaller places like that really could have some of the most immature names in the world. “Ah figure if you can have some mouth-waterin' food than Ah suppose you can get away with just about anythin'!” Applejack laughed, wondering what the story behind that name was.

But when Star mentioned she thought that Applejack might be like Rarity, all the farm mare could do was laugh-0 loud and heartily. You couldn't pick two ponies that were more different, but there were definitely worse ponies to be compared to.

“Well, Ah guess except for Twilight she'd be the most famous of us all. Ah dated her whan Ah was younger, but ya couldn't have picked a pony Ah'm most Unlike! Good mare though, don't let anypony tell ya otherwise. As for mah Zap Apple Jam speakin' for me...” she smiled and took a sip of her coffee, “well, Ah could think of worse things. No need to apologize 'bout tha 'drool', Ah'm liable ta drool mahself at tha thought of zap apple jam!”

[foxfire]

Star grinned. "My CO lives here in Ponyville, he's the one who told me about the auction, well he gave me what was supposed to be a couple of months worth of the jam. It lasted me less than one month". She took a sip of her coffee and sighed with contentment that a good coffee is always a good start in a restaurant, then glanced at her dress uniform. "I hate this outfit. I definitely suspect they didn't make any changes when they started allowing mares into the guard since it doesn't ever seem to fit. Most of the time I'm not even in uniform. The armour my comrades wear is impractical on long-range courier missions and sometimes it's easier to get to where I'm going if I'm not immediately obvious that I took Celestia's bit, so to speak".

She smiled as a thought occurred to her "I guess neither of us are dressed like we'd prefer to be tonight". Star grinned as she remembered something. "I was asked to put myself up for sale at a auction like yours a couple of moths ago alongside a few of my fellow Guard. It went perfectly well, I made a hundred and fifty bits and was sold to be a date for a posh mare from Canterlot. Things got a little complicated when she discovered that I was not a somewhat boyish stallion". Star looked down at the table-top and shook her head. "I've never been so embarrassed in my life. I blame this stupid dress uniform".

[SteelEagle]

That was a bit odd thing for her to say. Mares had always been allowed into the Guard. They had founded the Guard. Applejack knew this because Twilight told Applejack as much as, well, Twilight wanted to tell her about anything. Once you got Twilight talking you couldn't get her to stop talking. History was not her biggest love but that didn't mean her reservoir of knowledge was anything less than master-level. But she supposed it may have been a misunderstanding, or maybe her date's knowledge of their history was a bit off. Maybe her CO was a joker and told her it was because of some dress code from ancient times and not that she had a more lithe figure than most of her compatriots. That seemed more likely.

Mares from Canterlot, if that story was true, seemed to be somewhat...dumb. Applejack had never run into that problem, even when she was in the uniform. It didn't make much sense why it would confuse anypony. The facial structure of stallions and mares were so different even from a distance that it was nearly impossible to get them confused. Maybe the posh mare was partially blind? That could explain things. Looking at her date, Applejack didn't think it'd be easy to confuse her for a stallion. Even as a bit of a tomcolt it was pretty obvious. Yeah, partially blind would be Applejack's guess. No other option made a lick of sense and if there was thing Applejack was known for besides her work, being an Element, and being a respectable young mare, it was making licks of sense.

“Hehehe, at y;all won't feel bad 'bout getting it all messy with some food if its that good...which it usually is, by tah way. Can't say Ah didn't warn ya 'cause Ah did. Speakin' of...” Applejack's mouth watered as she saw the waitress bound towards the duo with not one, two, or three, but FOUR plates all ready to go! She slid next to them and laid the plates out slowly.

“Compliments of tha chef- extra nice dessert for the young couple!”