//------------------------------//
// First Dates 
// Story: The Persistence of Love 
// by Undome Tinwe 
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First Dates





"It's weird."

Cadance glanced up curiously from her menu at Twilight. "How so?" Her beautiful purple eyes peered deep into Twilight's soul, the tranquillity in them putting her at ease despite the situation.

Twilight took a moment to double-check the soundproofing spell before continuing. "This is supposed to be our—" She hesitated, stumbling over the next words, still unable to really accept that it was happening. "—Our first date, right?"

That got a small giggle from Cadance, a lovely, pretty little sound like the tinkling of bells. "Yes, Twilight. I asked you out earlier today and you said yes, and I'm pretty sure we're not dreaming. If we are, then I don't want to wake up yet."

"Me neither," Twilight agreed. "But what I meant is that, like, a first date is, traditionally, an opportunity for two ponies to get to know one another better. In older times, when matchmaking was more common, it would be a chance for both parties to meet for the first time and introduce themselves. Even as dating conventions evolved, the first date is still meant to be a time for discovery, for a couple to learn things about one another that a casual acquaintanceship might not provide."

She paused, and gestured towards Cadance and then herself. "But we're us. We've known each other for longer than most ponies will live, and we've shared more information and experiences together than most romantic couples ever will."

Cadance took a sip from her glass of wine. "Well, the same was true with you and the girls, right?"

"We never really had what you could call a 'first' date," Twilight replied, letting her mind drift back to simpler times. "Our relationship just slowly evolved over time from friendship to romance, so gradually that we never really noticed it until we were all dating without any sudden transition into that state."

There was a ripple in their bubble of privacy as the waiter walked into the soundproofing spell and placed down a salad in front of each of them before refilling their wine glasses.

After they thanked him and he left them alone once again, Twilight shrugged helplessly. "It's just, I'm not sure what to do here, now. It's like we've inverted the usual sequence of events. We got really close to each other, and now we're on our first date."

Cadance glanced around the room, and Twilight followed her gaze as she surveyed the other patrons at Chez Bouche. Most of them were trying very hard not to stare at the pair of princesses in their midst, though Twilight could imagine that they were going to be the subject of most of their conversations anyway. It was a sober reminder that she couldn't be physically affectionate with her new date, not unless they wanted their courtship to become public knowledge.

As far as everypony else in the room was concerned, they were just two friends and heads-of-state having a friendly dinner together.

Then, Cadance returned her attention to Twilight. "I don't believe there's such a thing as a normal couple, and so trying to find some sort of usual sequence of events for romance isn't going to get you anywhere. Especially given who we are, we aren't ever going to be able to live normal lives or have normal relationships, so why bother? We can make a first date whatever we want it to be."

"That sounds like a good way to induce choice paralysis," Twilight quipped, trying to hide her very real anxiety behind her dry tone.

Now it was Cadance's turn to shrug. "If nothing else, I enjoy spending time with you, Twilight. We can just treat this like any other dinner together, but with a slightly different set of possible conversational topics."

Twilight took a moment to consider that. "I suppose one possible purpose for a first date would be to experiment with possible romantic relationship dynamics, in an exploratory fashion. Which is technically one of the standard purposes, anyways."

"There we go." Cadance raised up her glass. "To exploring the possibility space of our relationship."

A smile grew on Twilight's lips as she raised up her glass in turn. "To the unending search for happiness."






Discord arrived at Chez Bouche at exactly seven o'clock sharp.

Twilight had to admit, of all the times she had expected to see him walking down the purple carpet towards her, she hadn't foreseen him showing up when he'd said he would.

"If I expected the unexpected, then the expected becomes the unexpected," she murmured as her date drew closer, a smile twitching at her lips. "But then, should I also be expecting the expected, then?"

"Hmm, sounds like that might cause a paradox," Discord said, his body parts detaching and then reassembling themselves into two Discords.

Twilight shook her head at his antics. "Not in this case," she said. "I'd simply have found a stable equilibrium by maximizing the entropy of my predictions."

The two Discords merged back into one. "Ah, but that requires you to know everything I could do." He snapped his claws, and a bouquet of glowing flowers appeared in them. "For you. It's a collection of plants that evolved in a parallel universe where darkness carries energy and light is the absence of darkness particles."

"Thank you." Twilight took a moment to admire the otherworldly bloom before casting a spell to teleport it into a containment chamber in her lab for further study. "You really do know the way to a mare's heart."

"I know how much you enjoy studying the exotic." Discord struck a pose as a wide array of cultural accessories decorated his body for a moment before dissolving into nothingness.

Twilight giggled, then blushed as she realized her eyes were lingering on him a little longer than would be considered friendly. "Alright, I already got them to reserve the VIP dining room for us."

Discord raised an eyebrow at that. "I thought the point was to pony watch? Dinner and show, you know?"

A smirk played at Twilight's lips. "Don't worry. We'll get our show." Channelling every bit of confidence that her prior romantic experiences had given her, Twilight strutted into the restaurant, shooting a playful wink at Discord, who followed along in what seemed like a smitten daze.

It was heady, having this effect on somepony. Cadance had never really been the lovestruck type, and Twilight was already enjoying this feeling of mutual infatuation. That joy put a spring in her step as she made her way through the restaurant.

As usual, all eyes were on her and her companion, but Twilight paid them little mind for now. Instead, she pushed open the door to the private dining room, motioning for Discord to enter.

Once they were inside the nondescript dining room, Twilight floated the chair out for herself to sit on, then watched as Discord moulded the other chair into a more suitable shape for himself, then proceeded to wear it on his head like a hat as he sat down.

"So, as much as I'd love spending the evening chatting, I do believe you promised a show, Princess Sparkle," Discord said.

"I did." Twilight's horn lit up, and the curtain on her right raised up, revealing a window that showed the other guests enjoying their meals.

Discord peered at the glass suspiciously. "There weren't any windows on the walls when we came in."

"One-way mirror enchantment," Twilight replied. "It looks like a wall from the outside, but we can still see everypony from the inside. I figured that as much as it's fun to laugh at the stuffy ponies here, we'd probably still want some privacy for when we decide to get to know each other a little more..." she paused, dropping her voice lower and letting her gaze smoulder for a moment. "...intimately."

Discord gulped. "Well, I can't argue with your logic." He stuck his tongue out. "Oh, that was rather unpleasant to say."

Twilight laughed. "Don't worry, we don't have to do things sensibly or logically here. This isn't exactly going to be a normal first date, so we can break the rules a little." She trotted over to him and leaned in. "Like, for example, saving the good night kiss for the end."

Their lips met, and Twilight let the feelings in her heart bloom just a little bit more as she settled herself in for a delightful evening.