Quasar takes out both Dinky -and- Derpy!

[Derpy]

Yep, he's a real romantic. Quasar decided to impress the daughter and the mom alike by inviting them on a /joint/ date in Canterlot. Is he nerdy, or what? This is one of the rare scenes in which Dinky and Derpy appear together.

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Canterlot
(&)=(&)=(&)=(&)=(&)=(&) =+= CANTERLOT =+= (&)=(&)=(&)=(&)=(&)=(&)
Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, is an aloof city built into the side of Canterlot Mountain. Its towers and spire soar majestically forth,defying gravity and expectations, the royal palace of the princesses foremost among its buildings. Up close, Canterlot is a place filled with clean, broad plazas, beautiful terraces, and shiny, bright stone buildings. The city is very old, but has a constantly refreshed air of newness.
Perhaps this is because of the pride of its citizens, who think of themselves as being at the intellectual and historical center of their country. Perhaps it's also because those citizens are predominantly unicorns, andt heir magical talent is good for not just changing the seasons, but keeping their city clean. For whatever reason, the commerical district of Canterlot is filled with fascinating shops selling curios, inventions, magic items, spell scrolls, glassware, books, fine art, and quality hardware. It's a city of proud, intelligent ponies thrilled to be living so close to their benevolent ruler, Princess Celestia.

[ Players: Quasar ]

Chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chooo-chooooo! In pulls the coal-powered train, squealing a little. Derpy's head is already visible out the window, an engineer's cap snug on her head and blowing but not quite blowing off in the wind. She seems absolutely thrilled to be there. Dinky is not in sight.

Standing on the platform is Quasar with a big smile upon his face as he waits patiently. He is holding a large bouquet of flowers in a emerald colored vase. He is wearing a full on tuxedo with a long black tie. He even got his mane slightly styled and a new pair of thinner glasses to give him more of a fresher look rather than 'too' dorky. Extreme nerd make over! The stylish in Canterlot fussed for nearly an hour. In all honest, despite being a chubby dweeb, he actually looks quite adorable when dolled up. At the sight of Derpy peeking out, he smiles and lifts a hoof, waving to her.

Dinky sees Quasar Light standing there and waves back, her gaping grin gaping a little bit larger. She pulls back into the train and passengers start to depart. Then they keep departing. It's a while... did the train forget to have Dinky and Derpy on it? Did Dinky even come? Oop, there they are, among the last off the train. Derpy is urging Dinky forward with her nose, prodding behind her like a nurturing and persistent mother hen. Dinky is in a weirdly-fitting taffeta flared dress with sections of green and strawberry. She appears to not want to be there. Derpy is simply wearing a necklace that appears to have been made by taking a wire with sliding beads on it from a toy and twisting it into a circle. Seven painted wooden blocks in geometric shapes hang from it.

At the sight of Dinky and her dress, Quasar's grin widens even more, though it falters at the lack of enthusiasm she seems to have. Aw. "Hi Dinky, Hello Miss Hooves." He calls out as he trots over to them, then offers up the vase of roses. "I brought this for our table. You both look really nice." He says as he turns his gaze to Dinky, chewing on the inside of his cheek for a moment. "I got us a private booth near the back, but it has a huge window so we can see Canterlot."

Derpy shakes her head lustrously once she's in the open air, and her engineer's hat falls off. The engineer who apparently let her borrow it comes to pick it up before hurrying back to the train. Dinky looks at Quasar, sizing him up. "All right. Those for us to smell or to snack on?" she asks, indicating the roses. She heads away from the station, past Quasar, though she doesn't know which way the place is. "You look good too," she says once she can no longer see him.

"Oh, these are to smell. Dinner is going to be way better than flowers." Quasar trails off as Dinky strides past him. He looks to Derpy for a moment, then gives a quick smile before he follows after his friend. "Thank you. I spent almost all of my allowance on tonight. I hope you like it. It has a really nice menu. Um, are you .. are you alright? Is everything okay?"
Scope has arrived.

Dinky follows along, seemingly not concerned with anything but looking at how pretty Canterlot is when she's not on duty there. Dinky looks back. "I'm... fine. Whatever. Just not used to dinner with my mom, I guess. But uh... whoa. Didn't really want you to spend all your dough on me. Dunno what that says about... all right, yeah. I'm sure it's really nice. You doing okay?"

"Well, I just thought it'd be nice if your mom got to know me also and I did something nice for both of you." Quasar says as he follows at Dinky's side with another smile in her direction. Always smiling. Just keep a brave face up. "You do look really nice though, the dress is real pretty." As they come upon the fancy restaurant along the main drag of Canterlot, Le Grande Finale sticks out easily enough as one of the more ritzier places on the street. Ponies crowd the doors, stand in lines and the hum of conversation is everywhere. If one looks well enough they are sure to see a celebrity or two. Taking the lead, he heads to the pony at the doors and gives him their name. At first the snooty Unicorn looks down at the young boy with disdain before he flips a few pages. With eyes widening, he clears his throat and opens the door. "This way, Mister Light. Party of three."

Dinky shakes her haunch, stiff taffeta rustling. The strawberry and green have a shiny silver trim that's peeling off. "Yeah? It was one of grandma's weird friends'. I don't really think it's me, but Mom insisted I had to wear something. And it's not like we make much use of that old closet of clothes." She pauses a little when the restaurant appears, allowing her mother to catch up. "Is very flash," she observes! Dinky rolls her eyes and stands staunchly before the snooty bouncer. She walks forward with certain plodding pride and takes in the interior.

Le Grande Finale was once an old opera house that was converted when the new bigger opera house was built closer to the palace. The place hums with activity as waiters rush back and forth to each table to serve meals and take orders to the rich and high society of Canterlot. The trio are led to a private booth with dim candle lighting, soon roped off by a velvet rope between two brass poles. The menus are presented and printed in fancy cursive swirls. Quasar waves off the bottle of wine that is brought over to them, opting for a sparkling cider instead. He pulls out a seat for each Derpy and Dinky, giving them a bright smile.

Pinkie_Cry has arrived.
<OOC> Pinkie_Cry sloooowly peeks into frame.
<OOC> Pinkie_Cry delicately places a cupcake onto Dinky's nose.
<OOC> Pinkie_Cry sloooooowly shifts back out of fame.
Pinkie_Cry has left.
<OOC> Dinky sneezes and the cupcake splatters.

Dinky walks slowly through the place, taking it all in. She seems a little overwhelmed. Awed is more the word for her mother's state. Derpy bumps into the chair Quasar offers. She goes snubnosed and bashful, and then sits in the chair with all her hooves on the seat. This makes her tall! To be fair, Derpy is used to stools or no seats at all. She sets to studying the menu, and her eyes trace a delicate path over the fine cursive writing. Meanwhile, Dinky hops onto her seat--she needs the extra height, so she takes it. She meets Quasar's smile with a flat face. "What's good here?" she asks.

Once he takes a seat, Quasar rubs the back of his neck, revealing shiny brass cufflinks. "Oh, just about everything. They have a delicious butternut squash quiche with a hint of basil sprinkled on the top. They do a spicy cajun styled omelet if you like egg." He looks along them menu. "You can never go wrong with the garden salad and garlic salted breadsticks. They have a chilled strawberry and blueberry soup with a cream swirl." He looks back over to Dinky again, trying to gauge how she is feeling. "They have really nice desserts also, some sugar free ones that I can eat."

Dinky pores over the menu. "Isn't quiche mostly egg, too? Hm. I guess that could work. Don't really want to get just one thing, but I don't want to go over the limit on that certificate." She looks up at her mom, who's still mouthing out the words to the menu's introduction. "Mom," she says, reaching out to shake her foreleg. "You want appetizers?" Derpy looks blankly at Dinky. "Appizer?" she repeats. Dinky huffs and gets a staffer's attention. "Hey. You have any menus with pictures?" She turns back to Quasar. "You don't go for high sugar either, huh? That's weird. Eclipse is the same way."

"Eclipse can't have sugar because of what it does to his mgic. I can't have sugar because mother says it will stunt my mental capacity for academic retention. I'll tell you a secret though.. I've cheated a few times on that." Quasar says with a whisper to her before he looks back over to Derpy with a grin. "Miss Hooves, these are the salads right here." He opens the menu to show her. He takes a bit of time going through the menu for her, even going so far as to read the French words perfectly to her with accent.

Derpy seems honored to be treated with such caring attention. She nods and watches the words that Quasar indicates, though her comprehension may be lacking. She looks excited when he mentions the leek soup. "Leak soup??" she repeats. "Is speed to drink before gone?" She chuckles like a frog croaking through a tower of malt cups. "Or maybe hoof to cover hole, and then never spoon!" Dinky sighs and looks through the menu, since apparently they don't have picture menus here. "Okay, quiches have cream, so that's out. Let's get some of these mixed green crepes with shallots. No cheese."

Quasar chuckles at Derpy's interpretation and looks amused. "It has potato in it and leek, it's a vegetable I believe. Very creamy texture. You should have it." He orders his own dish, that of a bouillabaisse pasta with a side salad and a non sweet ice tea. "So do you like the place, Dinky? I know it's a bit fancy but I thought that if we could ever have one really nice date, that I should get it out of the way now before you eventually dump me because you either get bored, frustrated, or find a male of higher caliber." He sips at the complimentary water.

Dinky looks puzzled by Quasar's remark, but it does seem to melt her funk. "This is a really, really nice place." She looks up at the high, bulbous cloth ceilings, all crimson and burgundy. "It's... yeah, I don't deserve this. It's weird." She calls over the waiter and orders the crepes, and Derpy gets the leek soup even though Dinky only meant to order appetizers for now. Oh, well. "In that case, yeah, I'll have the cajun omelet," Dinky adds. She answers the waiter's questions and then points up toward the puffy roof. "What's above there? I can hear something going on."

Glancing upwards to the roof, the waiter listens for a moment, then says, "Ah, that must be Fancy Pants. He lands his airship on the roof top for a private seating." After taking their orders, he leaves behind a basket of fresh bread sticks of all types, along with a few dipping sauces such as a garlic and pesto. Quasar continues to smile to the best of his ability. "It's weird? Why is it weird? Is it too much? I just wanted to have a nice time, show you, um.. what I kinda.. am used to once in awhile when mother takes me to Canterlot. This is her private booth that she rents out for the year."

Dinky and Derpy both drop their jaws at that and turn to the ceiling. They look at each other and Dinky flinches. "Airship, huh? Wicked. That's gotta cost a million bits." She looks delighted by the breadsticks, seizing one with green herbs in it and dipping it deep in the garlic like it's a reprieve. "Mmm," she says around the bread. "Thas's cool. Live like your mom for a while." Is she being sarcastic? Derpy takes one of the large roundish baguettes in her mouth and starts to chew it from the end. She dips the opposite end in the pesto, and the pesto drips onto her little plate. Her eyes rove roundly.

"Oh, well, she is in Fillydelphia this weekend with the Doctor to um.. deal with a medical situation and so she left me here in Canterlot with a tutor so I figured I may as well use the booth while I can get away with it." Quasar says as he gives her a half smile, though slightly faltering. He looks nervous. Tapping his hooves together, he sets a few bread sticks on a plate for Derpy, then passes them over. "I like the sesame seed ones."

Dinky finishes her bite and stares at Quasar. As though intending to make him nervous. She takes another bite, still watching him. She smells like garlic sauce, now. Derpy continues to chew her baguette, but she has yet to make it to the pesto. She's looking a little disappointed. Dinky takes a sesame seed stick of somewhat hard bread and smells it. "Yeah, they're all right." She falls silent for a moment. "So what's the best food you ever had, here or anywhere?" She leans in on the table, getting closer as if her question warranted covert speech.

Quasar settles his eyes back into Dinky's as she stares at him. His own gaze is unwavering, giving her a small smile. He has her attention and that is good, right? "The best thing I ever ate?" He pauses, ears wilting back in thought. ".. This one time when mother took me to Saddle Arabia for an archaelogy meeting with the head of staff there, we had one of their dishes that they don't usually serve to ponies. We could not refuse because it would be considered rude." He says as he leans in to whisper against her ear. "It was roasted fish with vegetables. It was really good." He murmurs, his breath tickling along the rim of her ear. "But I know that some ponies here would get upset to hear that, but it's a delicacy there."

Dinky laughs hissily from the back of her throat, pausing in amazement. "Wow. You ate fish?" She wipes the sauce she's spilled on her throat off. "Wow. How..." She glances at her mother, who has removed the baguette from her mouth and is now licking delicately at the pesto in the bowl. "How -was- it? Were they, like... rotting? Or I mean... they weren't still alive, right?"

Quasar gives a shake of his head. "No, they cook the fish after skinning the scales off. It's a white, flakey type of meat. It's really good." He says shyly. "They use a lot of butter there to give it more of a flavor. Mother seemed to not mind. I am sure she has had fish before and probably other meat when she visits the griffon kingdom, but that was my first and only time." He chuckles, glancing over to Derpy. "You dip the breadstick in, then eat it." He calls over to her with a big smile on his face.

"I swear she's not always -this- bad," says Dinky in a low voice. "She's having a bad day. This morning, she tried to comb her mane with a horseshoe. I was like, -Mom-, today is our dinner with Quasar, are you -really- gonna do this today?" She looks up confrontationally at Derpy, who appreciates the instructions, even if they don't entirely get through. She dips a sesame stick in the pesto. Then she looks confused and puts it down again. Then she brightens up and picks up the breadstick from the ~other~ end! Now she chews with a triumphant look of bliss. Dinky snickers and looks away, scooting her seat back a little. "Well, I can't have butter, but... white and flaky, huh? Sounds all right. Anything like coconuts? Had a coconut milk curry once, that was pretty rad."

".. Rising Dawn says that he can fix my father and that is why he is in Fillydelphia with my mother. He came over to my house and called my mother a terrible mother and threw it in her face that he could fix my father." Quasar says softly as he turns his attention from Derpy back to Dinky. "And so my mother is teaching him a lesson in humility and respect. He'll fail, like every other doctor has." His ears flatten back. "But, let's say that by chance he can perform a miracle and save my father's life.. maybe he should.. take a look at your mother." He murmurs softly. "Every condition has a resolution, even if it is not quite known to us. Maybe.. there is something that.. is missing that can be found and it will make her well." He whispers quietly as he draws his water to him gently. ".. but.. that is... /if/.. Mister Dawn.. um.. is successful."

Dinky stares, through Quasar. She takes her water and sips. Derpy does too, more loudly, at the same time. Daughter and mother's eyes meet. They don't say anything for a while. "Rising Dawn, huh?" says Dinky at last. "Is he brilliant? I had a good doctor back in Hoofington. I gave him way too much grief, and he put up with me. But he's not brilliant, just good. Sound. Is this Dawn guy brilliant?"

"I don't know. He was very confident and it made my mother furious. My mother told him, rather bluntly, that if he is to fail, she will have his medical license pulled and the next job he will have is flipping veggie patties and making hay fries at the local fast food joint. She is serious too. That or she may kill him. One of the two." Quasar says softly as he swallows tightly in his throat, then says, "Dinky.. something happened to me the other day."

Dinky is horrified. She pushes her water aside. "What--having your mother threaten to -kill- a guy isn't serious enough? What is it?" Derpy finishes her sesame stick and holds her water cup in both forehooves protectively, watching the foals with her mouth slightly open. Who knows what's in her mind?

"Oh, she won't really kill him. She's just angry. She's spent half a fortune on doctors to try and fix my father and no pony, even brilliant ones have come close. She's just mad that he has the .. audacity to come into our home and make such statements while also telling her that essentially she's a terrible mother." Quasar shifts his glasses back on his nose.

Dinky sits back, startled. "He told your mom she was a terrible mother?" Derpy sits back too, equally startled. Her hooves fall to the table with a clang of glassware. Dinky goes on: "So, what? Like she screwed up so bad with you, she must be terrible? Was this guy insulting you? Is that what happened, or does it get worse?"

"No, no.. he got it in his head that I should not be raised by a strict, single mother, that he had never met. He did not agree with the fact that I listen to my mother and do not eat sweets and I am told to push myself academically. I feel personally that it was inappropriate for him to approach my mother in the way that he did." Quasar says with a shrug of his shoulders upwards. "But, he is not the only one who have said similar things." Shaking his head, gives a smile at the waiter that delivers their food. "But, now he has to put his money where his mouth is, as my mother said in a not so polite way."

Derpy slides forward, excited at the arrival of the food. She even stands up on her chair. Dinky glances at the food. Leek soup, bouilleabaisse pasta, cajun omelet, crepes with gooey greens and shallots for the group. It smells... -so- good. Downright sumptuous. Dinky's heart is beating faster. But she ignores the waiter and the dishes. "Wait. So he never met your mom until he basically insulted her and told her he could fix your dad, all at once?" She twirls her hoof in a 'loco' fashion. "Sounds like he may be out a job soon. I dunno, that doesn't sound too professional." She pulls her omelot over and smells it deeply. "Kindof ironic. Truetree would never stick out his neck like that. But anyone who would? I wouldn't trust 'em."

"Yes, he never met my mother before. He only knew me because I was assigned to him for a week long internship to shadow him in his day to day activities in dealing with patients. He kept needling me with questions about my mother and my magic, wanting to know more about my academic record. I don't think he met a ten year old who is ready to pass the medical exam to become a licensed practitioner before. He probably made the same judgement most do, that my mother does not love me, that she uses me for personal gain and that I'm wasting my life in books rather than making friends and I need help." Quasar says softly as he starts to rearrange the food on his platter in a way to eat it most efficiently. "Part of me wants to see him succeed though. I miss my dad." He taps his fork against the side of his plate gently for a few taps.

Dinky is about to answer Quasar when she hears a duplicate tapping and sees her mother tapping her own fork against her plate in imitation of Quasar. She's still standing on her chair. Maybe she thinks Quasar is showing her how to be polite. "Get down off of there, Mom!" shouts Dinky in exasperation. Derpy jerks back, cowing, and climbs down, humbled. She seems downcast now, despite the bounty of wonderful food. Dinky looks carefully at Quasar. "Well? If so many ponies make that judgement, are they right? Or are they off base? And #*&$@, why shouldn't -all- of you want to see this guy succeed?"

"I don't feel that arrogance should be rewarded with success. If he succeeds, he will probably lord it over my mother, accuse her of not doing her best to find a cure, that some .." Quasar pauses. ".. some dipshit doctor in a hick town can solve a problem that the most talented in Equestria were unable to resolve." He frowns visibly, as if even using such language is alien to him. He is upset though, it's all over his face. "I want my father back, I do, but I also don't want him to hurt my mother to do it." He reaches out and rests a hoof over Dinky's. ".. and don't yell at your mother. She doesn't know better." He chews the inside of his cheek. "And, I still have something else to tell you, something that happened to me the other day." He whispers. ".. and you're the only one I'd have told."

Dinky, oddly, is a little distressed at Quasar's turn of phrase, even though it's pale compared to what she said a moment ago. She jerks back and helps herself to a bite of spicy omelet. "Your mom's reputation means that much to you, huh? Like you couldn't accept bits from heaven? You'd have to have her earn them? Have them praise her as they were falling." Derpy, still looking down, reaches out and takes a crepe from the pile in the middle of the table. She drags it toward herself, leaking leaves, and takes a big bite, chewing slowly. Dinky lets her hoof be arrested. "Her not knowing better is why I have to yell," says Dinky in a hot murmur. But she falls silent, because she wants to hear this big secret. "Yeah? What happened?"

"She is my mother. It would not matter if she was like Derpy, or like.. how she is now. I don't want any pony to ever be mean to my mother, to insult her, to accuse her of being a bad mother. She gave birth to me. She raised me. I love her." Quasar says as he chews the inside of his cheek again, then takes another bite of his pasta. He takes in a deep breath, then softly whispers against Dinky's ear, "I found the meaning of life."
Dinky shudders. She shudders so thoroughly throughout her little body that it shakes the table, and the ice in the water cups rattles. She whispers back, without leaning to Quasar's ear: "Tell me it doesn't have something to do with your mother."

Quasar gives a shake of his head as he offers a quick smile to her. "No, nothing like that. Nothing to do with my mother." He starts to chuckle softly as he reaches up and taps his horn. "For just a few moments, I was able to see -everything-."
Dinky gives Quasar a really skeptical look. Her eyelids are furrowed. She reaches up to Quasar's horn and touches it--not on the tip, that'd be going too far, but on the side not far from the tip. "Everything, huh? Did you see inside my nightstand?"

"Yes, you have a pack of cheese crackers in there." Quasar jokes before he shakes his head. "It's hard to explain. I mean.. I didn't see.. like.. /everything/. I saw.. stuff." He says as he looks about the room, then back to her. ".. I just saw.. stuff, how everything is created, properties, numbers and statistics. I saw strengths and weaknesses. It just flashed across my eyes so fast that I could barely take it all in. I've been trying to do it again but it's hard. It's like a lifetime of study shoved into a split second and everything just made perfect sense."

"Yeah, I've got a pack of cheese crackers in my nightstand. Just in case it gets -really- bad some night and I want to end it all." If Dinky is joking, she's a pretty bleak joker. "You saw math," she surmises. "You overdosed on something and got a head full of math." She takes one of the crepes before her mother can eat them all and chews it aggressively. "So what?" she asks. "You said you found the meaning of life. What was it?" Derpy, who's been appreciating the ambience and slowly building up her confidence again, and who has finished her crepe and started on another, leans in at this moment, inserting her head into the whisper cluster. "Is triple meaning," she contributes. Dinky groans.

"She's right, sort of. I was able to see math, yes, and other things. Components of life. Physics, Chemistry, Biology." Quasar says with a soft laugh under his breath. "I could tell the type of wood the door was made out of, the angle of the swing as the door closed behind my mother as she left the room. I could tell that my desk was three millimeters shifting away from the wall on the far left side so that it was not perfectly lined up. I could almost feel the exact numerical temperature in the air up to and including it's humidity rating. It was all just a blur. My head was killing me afterwards." He sighs. "I just can't explain it well." He gives a smile over to Derpy. "Do you like the food?"

Dinky shakes her head. "Sounds like you explained it just right. ALICORNS that sounds like a buzzkill, losing that! What a drag! Seriously, physics, chemistry, biology? -That's- your triple meaning? How in the world did you have all that at once, Quasar? What did you -do-? And what was the meaning of life, then, if you saw everything so clear?" Derpy frowns. "Food is good," she says. But she shows no sign of returning to it.

"I didn't do anything. I just stared for a few moments and it faded away, then.. I.. did my homework. I had to finish my paper for an internship I just finished." Quasar blushes slightly. "I suppose for now it's just a mystery and we'll have to go from there. One step at a time. Maybe my magic just went bonkers because of all the studying I do and the amount of data I put into my brain. Maybe it was just.. stress. Maybe I popped and it all threw up." He chuckles before he nudges some pasta over to Derpy.

Dinky shakes a little again. She pounds the table once, feebly. "Fine. It's a mystery. But it was good, right? It was... it &@#**$~^ magNIFicent, wasn't it? Isn't that what you're telling me?" She stuffs a hot pepper into her mouth. "You get the world on a platter and I get... scorched pain. That's what our horns are telling us." She winces at the sting of the pepper. Derpy, meanwhile, allows herself to be distracted by the pasta. She tried to slurp it, but it's not that kind of pasta. So she slurps it up in messy little stages. -Swwip schwip seweep!- Then she settles back to her leek soup, yet untouched.

"I don't know if it was good. It was scary, it was amazing, it was shocking." Quasar says with a frown on his face as he chews his bottom lip again. "I don't have the world on a platter, Dinky." He gives another quick smile to Derpy and her slurping antics before he looks back to his date. ".. but we can get through this together. Life and Death, right?" He says, jokingly.

Dinky climbs onto the table and gets close to Quasar. She reaches out to squeeze him around the shoulders with one limb. "You did, though. You did have it on a platter, for one moment. Science and understanding--that's what you want, isn't it? I mean--you don't need an epiphany. You already -know- that's your meaning of life. And you had it all... randomly, freakily, for one incredible moment. Didn't you?" Her yellow eyes are intense. Derpy has stopped slurping the pasta and is listening to her daughter. Her ears flick, worried.

As he leans into her, Quasar shifts his body so that he can slide his forelegs around her in return. He pulls her into a hug as he rests his chin on her shoulder. "I don't know what I saw. I won't know unless I can replicate it, retest it. Maybe it won't ever happen again." Giving her a firmer squeeze, it seems that just needed this hug, any kind of hug.

Dinky finds herself sobbing and hugging Quasar after what was meant to be a brief squeeze of solidarity. "You can't. When this happens, you can't get it back." Somehow she sounds like she knows what she's talking about. "It's teasing you. It's teasing you because it knows you can't get to it, even though it can get to you whenever it wants." She cries and shudders. "You'd had the best you're ever gonna get, Quasar, unless you change your whole #&#$~^ life path. I hope that's enough for you... just..." More sobbing. "Just striving to get back there." Derpy squeals, worried about the foals. "Are okay?" she squeaks. "Too many sadness?!"

"Aw. Don't cry, Dinky." Quasar says as he hugs her tighter now, rubbing his nose into her cheek gently, just into the niche of her jawline. "You have the nicest eyes and they're gonna get wet and cloudy." He says in a way of trying to cheer her up. With another squeeze, he leans back from her, then says, "C'mon, let's try and find a dessert we can both share that won't conflict with the whole cream thing." He gives a comforting look to Derpy. "It's alright." He assures her softly. "Whatcha want for dessert?"

Dinky sniffles rebelliously. She snorts and pulls her head slowly loose, but not before being jawrubbed. "M'not crying," she says. "Tehe pepper's just freaking hot." She pushes away her omelette and reaches for the second-to-last crepe. "Better take one before they're gone, Quasar. You don't wanna be left out." Derpy looks concerned anew, but pauses and then sighs very softly, like a voiced wind through the willows. "For dessert?" She looks confused. "But still dinner? Or is plan ahead?"

"Always plan ahead, Miss Hooves." Quasar says as he pulls the last crepe over to slide on to his plate. Giving a smile on his face, a gentle one, he bumps Dinky on the shoulder with his gently. ".. maybe you can come over tomorrow and we can practice and see if I can do it again. If anything it's a good excuse for me to just spend time with you. Dork it up a bit."

Dinky slips back onto her chair with her mouth open. She chews, so as to be a little less impolite, and then goes for the water. "Okay. But I mean... Eclipse has to know. I'm sorry but... he does." She blinks. And Derpy extends one wing, lowers in and raises it. She drinks deeply from her soup bowl, directly, and when she rises, her face is covered in green liquid. "Maybe pudding bread," she suggests. "Or cherry cake!" She flaps her wings a little. Dinky grunts. "Dessert with no dairy and no sugar? That sounds tough. But yeah, maybe something with berries. We can see a menu." She looks like she's holding back a lot.

".. He has to know.." Quasar says softly as he wills his magic to pluck a silk napkin off the ground and floats it over to Derpy to dab at her cheek. His horn glows gently with a soft, golden hue that shudders with lack of practice. "Is he going to get mad? Does this mean that.. you like me?" The young voice softly whispers as he looks over the menu, trying to keep his eyes busy instead of glancing back to her.

Dinky shrugs before she can even weigh her responses. "Quasar, you -know- I like you. You know it's not easy for me to--" She pauses to glance at her mother, who is, yes, having a bad day but can still understand -some- things. "...to make friends. To be friendly." She moves in again to speak in a low voice out of Derpy's earshot. "But you want more from me. You want me to do something -hormonal- that I can't do. I don't--I can't feel like, like, -like- like. You know? I'm saying if I'm gonna get involved in..." She closes her eyes, cries again, and stuffs another bite of her hot omelet in her mouth. "...something big, something to do with you, then he has to know. 'Cause otherwise it's keeping secrets from him. I don't know if he'll get mad. He doesn't -get- mad, though, not really. Does he?"

There is a slight flush of Quasar's cheeks at the word 'hormonal'. "Yes you can, we all can. Sometimes it takes some longer than others to come to an understanding of what those emotions mean and how to respond to them. "I just don't want him to be upset, or lose a friend if he does get mad. I don't know him that well. He and Shutterbug always hang out and I got invited to go camping by Shutterbug. I don't really see either of them often." He whispers to her as he turns his head to whisper against her ear. "Not since school got out, I haven't hung out with them once. I have only hung out with you." He sighs softly. ".. you're my best friend, Dinky. Even if something big doesn't develop over time, I still.." He pauses. ".. I still love you on a great platonic level."

Dinky moves her cheek slowly, brushing against Quasar. She reaches out an nips the tip of his ear--really gently, but still a nip. "Right. Platonic love. That's something the sheep invented, isn't it? You think I know the difference between platonic love and friendship? @&#, Quasar," I'm no expert." She sinks back and pulls over her food. Derpy gets down from her chair, wipes her face on the otherwise untouched napkin by her plate, and walks to Dinky. She prods her with her nose. "Lang-u-age," she admonishes. "Right, Mom," says Dinky sullenly. "Language."

".. platonic love is friendship. To love one platonically means to love them as a friend. Platonic and romantic are two different levels of relationships." Quasar says with a soft shudder at the nip to his ear. Oh my. That's a nice spot. Finding himself blushing, he curls his foreleg around her shoulders as he leans into her. Returning the favor against her ear gently, he smiles a bit. "You got a walking almanac to help you become an expert." He jokes. "In just about any subject."
Dinky eats her omelette, bite by bite, while largely pretending to ignore the physical contact. "Thanks, but I knew that," she says. "Maybe I should have said, I don't know the boundary between 'like' and ''love'. Do you? Do your books teach you that?" Derpy's wing touches Dinky from above. "Love is when even though angry," she offers. "When even though hate. When even cruelty. Then is love."

"Your mother is right. Love is when at the end of the day, no matter how frustrated you are with the pony that you share your heart with, no matter how stupid they may have been, that deep down, you know you love them and you can forgive them and still give them your heart. I have never been in love so I do not know how challenging that it may be, but I'm sure Miss Hooves may." Quasar says as he leans back from her to return to finishing off his plate of food, leaving the fork across it. "I know that if I was to lose your friendship, it would really hurt me, and would probably hurt me more than getting beat up on the playground or even failing a class. That's how I know that I love you as a friend. But to love you as a romantic partner, that I don't know anything about and am sure I won't for quite some time."

"It's Doo," says Dinky. "Derpy Hooves is what they used to call her in the old days. A dumb nickname. Should've been Derpy Eyes, her hooves are actually pretty normal." She doesn't look at her mother, though her mother keeps standing protectively over her. "You must love me at least a little, then, to put up with me. Mom loves me a bucketful. A big, sloshy bucketful." Now Derpy's eyes are mixed in elevation and getting more so. "Anyway. If you're talking sheep-love, it can be with as many people as you want, right? No reason for anypony to get jealous?"

"Oh. I suppose.. that makes sense. I didn't know that was why they called her Hooves. I thought maybe you had your father's last name." Quasar says as he looks embarrassed. "I don't know what sheep love is. But I think romantic love is different in that way. If we were to find ourselves romantically involved, I think I would be jealous if you were to do the same with another colt." He chews his inside cheek a bit.

"Well sure," says Dinky. "That's what they say. Hormones." She eats another big hot pepper covered with blackened egg. "But yeah, that's a laugh. My dad's name was Shot. Trick Shot. And sheep love is platonic, I think. I read a packet on that once, I think. Seventh grade, but Miss Cheerilee let me--oh, what am I saying, you read college stuff. Are you afraid of growing up, Quasar?"

"No, I'm not afraid to grow up. We all grow up, we all age, and we all die. I'm afraid that by the time I die, I die, um.. without success, without giving my all to the best of my ability." Quasar says softly as he gives her a smile. "I just.. I'm curious about this sheep love.. thing. Can you explain to me what sheep love is?"

Derpy gasps. She covers Dinky's ears with her wings, and Dinky angrily shoves them away. She marches across the table to another chair. "Sheep love? All right, let's see. I read the word 'platonic' comes from a sheep philosopher called Tonic. He probably lived about two thousand years ago? That sounds about right. He was all about what things were supposed to be, instead of what they actually were, or heck, what we can make them. He had ideas for romance and sex and love that were all different, and I guess his idea that there was a kind of love, like, motivated by the sort of things a child could appreciate, learning and playing, was one of the things that stuck. So we call it Play-Tonic love. Doesn't mean there's anything really to the theory, though, just 'cause we've got a name for it."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Quasar looks confused as he listens to her. "I see.. That is a different way of explaining friendship I suppose. I will take a look at it tomorrow in the Canterlot library to see if I can find something more indepth." He gives her a small smile as he perks his ears forward to her. ".. this date turned out to be a lot deeper than I intended it to be. But, it was also educational which I can appreciate. I enjoyed it."

Dinky shrugs. "I guess. Doesn't seem to me like friendship takes much explaining, but I guess for grown-ups, maybe it does." She sighs and sprawls on the table. "Well, buster, you drop a bombshell like what you told me, and crepes yeah it's gonna be deep. We gonna have dessert, or what?" Derpy stands there with a wiggly line of a mouth and distant eyes. She turns to a waiter and says, "Desserts. Can menu?"

"It shouldn't, no. But it will be an itch at the back of my mind until I read it." Quasar grins a bit with a lopsided expression on his face. "Yes, we're going to have dessert. Are you able to have the brownie volcano? It's a chocolate cake with chocolate syrup. Usually comes with ice cream but I can take that." The waiter passes out a dessert menu, a simple one page sheet with various items. The volcano is at the top. Their signature dish.

"Chocolate," says Dinky flatly, scanning the menu. "It's poison, you know that? A mild poison, but it hits some of us worse than others. Sorry, but I can't take it." She tries to meet his eyes. "You still love me as a friend, right? Even though I can't eat chocolate? I may seem strong but in some ways I'm pretty @#&$* weak." She looks further down. "Tulipe with guava sorbet? Never had guava. That might be nice. Berry tart could be good. Ooh, lemon meringue pie! It's been a while. What do you think, Mom?" Derpy is staring at the menu, her eyes turning in good time. "Maybe something sweet," she suggests. "Oh, yeah, great, mom. Sweet. That's a great idea for a dessert, Mom." She looks to Quasar and raises her eyebrows unbelievingly.
"Yes, I still love you even though you can not eat chocolate. I don't eat chocolate either but I was willing to break mother's rule for you." Quasar says with a laugh. "Whatever you want I will try it." He nudges her again then looks to Derpy. "If you want something sweet then you should get the blueberry pie. It has a sugar coated crust with whip cream. They can warm it up for you also."

Dinky eyes Quasar oddly, her butt sitting on the table like she owns it. "Oh. Well, I guess we're done then. Sorry, Quasar, but I need a strong lover who can stomach chocolate. Guess I'll go with Dynamite Rave or something." She's joking. She must be joking. But she has a good straight face. Derpy finds the Blueberry Pie entry in the menu and brings it close... and sniffs it. Her eyes spin and she nods. "Will pie," she tells the waiter. Dinky grits her teeth. "So what do you say, Quasar? Guava sorbet in a thingie, blueberry and raspberry tart, or lemon meringue?"

"You got a thing for guards? Maybe I'll buy some armor and put it on and show you that I can be a strong lover and eat a whole chocolate cake in front of you." Quasar says with a chuckle as he squints his eyes at her, almost challengingly. He'll get roped into her game. He likes it. This is fun. It's flirting. Adjusting his glasses again over his nose, he says, "Guava sorbet sounds good. I have not had it here yet but I am sure it will be wonderful like everything else they make." He passes the order to the waiter who trots off.

Dinky smiles, and then grins unexpectedly, though it doesn't last long. "Stars, you're serious, Quasar." She pauses while he orders, two spoons please. "About me, I mean. Not about eating a whole cake in armor, sheesh." Derpy goes back to her seat and finds the rest of the leek soup being removed just as she sits down to enjoy it. She frowns and her eyes go spinning.

The leek soup comes floating back off the tray as Quasar's magic fizzles again to snag it, letting it float back down to the table. No escaping, soup! ".. Yes, I am serious. I thought the whole fancy dinner and me dressing up would show that I'm serious. I didn't know that chocolate cake would be a deal breaker." He laguhs, cheeks blushing as he scuffs the table with his hoof. ".. I have a serious crush on you Dinky. You're smart and you challenge the way I think. I like that a lot."

Derpy gasps at the floating soup, and then she grins and laughs like five owl sisters trying to get a male owl's attention. She looks for a split second at Quasar and at the waiter and then grabs the bowl and drinks it heartily! Her tail thrashes around with delight. Dinky looks sidewise at her, smiling a wan little smile. "Glad to be a challenge. Other people use worse words. You, uh... you really think you should be saying, uh..." She nods toward her mother, who seems pretty oblivious right now. "...saying that in front of her?"

"That I have a crush on you? If I am to be taking you out on dates, it is only proper that the colt gets to know his date's parents. To have her trust is important for me and for whatever direction our relationship with go in. If I do not show a good example, and a strong first impression, she may not care for me taking you out." Quasar says with a nod of his head, firmly. He looks over to Derpy with a smile and her happiness, then back to Dinky. "I figured getting through your mother first would be far easier than you getting through mine."

Dinky seems annoyed by this. "Yeah, well." She drinks some more ice water. "You're so... transparent. It's weird. I--sorry, but it is. The only reason you're not predictable is that you've got so many rules in you, and no one knows them but you. But if we were all as smart as you... we wouldn't need you." She swishes her tail and looks every so slightly askance. Derpy licks her bowl clean and puts it down with a happy sigh. "Has been good meal," she pronounces. "Are talking dates? How old, Quasar? Dinky only ten year two month."

"I'm trying to loosen up around you as best as I can and not be as .. mechanical." Quasar admits, then perks an ear to Derpy as she speaks. He straightens up. "I am ten years old and eight months, ma'am." He says softly as he straightens his tie.
Dinky smirks and turns to half-hide it. She climbs to her feet and jumps down into her chair again. Derpy pauses and calculates, and then nods. "Half year older. Can treat Dinky right?" Her smile suggests she knows the answer. "Alicorns, Mom," explodes Dinky, "we're -kids!- We shouldn't be dating! What difference does half a year make, seriously!?"

Quasar looks over to Dinky for a moment as he tries not to laugh at her outburst. He turns his attention back to Derpy. "Yes ma'am. I will treat her with the respect that she deserves." He says as he gives her a hopeful smile. "I really like her. She's smart and pretty and I like talking to her."

Dinky chews her lip for a second. "That deserve," she says. "Like dessert?" She grins and looks toward the kitchen. Then she nods deeply to Quasar, and the blocks around her neck clack woodenly together. "If good meal, then healthy dessert." Dinky slow-claps for her mother. "Very deep. That made a lot of sense. Well done, Mom." Derpy isn't sure how to take that.
"That actually is very deep, and wise. A relationship is like a good meal. If prepared correctly, it will always leave you hungry for more, like dessert. Which in my opinion sometimes can be the best part of the menu." Quasar says as he looks over to Dinky with a smile. "Be nice." He mouths to her with a chuckle. "Please?"

Dinky sighs good-heartedly and nods. She laughs spontaneously a few moments later, but it doesn't sound like a colorful simile of any kind. Before she has to speak, here's the finale of the meal--a big thin cookie like a flower's blossom, with a scoop of glistening pink-orange sorbet in the middle. And spoons. And a nice sugar-encrusted slice of blueberry pie, with Dinky-killing whipped cream, for Derpy. Derpy pounds her hooves rhythmically on the table as the dish is being delivered, in eager excitement.

Drumming his hooves on the table top as well, Quasar looks excited at the sight of dessert being delivered. "That looks amazing." He breathes out at all the colors. Leaning over, he pecks Dinky on the cheek, then hoofs her over the first spoon. "Take a bite! I bet it's as good as it looks." He says as he picks up his own and scoops it into the cookie, then stirs it about in the oozing ice cream.

Derpy is delighted anew when she feels her poundings doing more than she expected, and sees Quasar doing the same as her. It amuses her greatly. She thanks the waiter kindly with a little whisper, and then takes her fork in both her forehooves and cuts into the pie's tip. Mmm! Dinky, unlike her mom, is capable of handling a spoon in the crook of her leg, just under her hoof, though it's tough. She cuts into the sorbet--not ice cream, thank you--and cracks angrily through the cookie. A chunk falls away, and she's ready. She scoops it all up, about a sixth of the dessert, and slips it slowly into her mouth. "Mmkak," she says, mouth full. She swishes it around, tail rising.

Quasar continues to grin as he eats the dessert, straightening up a bit. He doesn't get treated to desserts often of this caliber and he's quite excited to tuck himself into this. "I think that's a good thing?" He asks Dinky, amused by her tail perking upwards. "You like your pie Miss Doo?" He asks Derpy as he looks tempted to steal a bite as well.

Dinky does like the taste of the guava. It's a nice complex fruit and she hasn't had it ever before. Her jaw trembles as she lets the bite melt away. Her tail's strands partly swish to the side and partly fall. "Yeah," she admits. "Very nice. Thanks. Quasar. Thanks. You're really... you're really generous." Derpy nods at the question, her attention fully devoted to the pie. She probably wouldn't mind if a bite went missing... or would she?

"Aw, it's really nothing Dinky. I'm just glad I got to show you and your mother a good time. Make a nice memory. If one has the means to share with those they care about, then they should. Good karma will always come back around." Quasar says as he takes a few more bites, then finishes on his end as he leans back. Plucking up the check, he peeks at the total, then makes a slight noise in his throat as he pulls out his bit pouch and starts to count up the amount quickly, creating stacks of coins on the table. He is stacking in rates of twenty. There will be quite a few stacks as well as a tip.

Dinky makes a contented noise as she finishes up her omelot, which they kindly left, as well as she share of the dessert. Derpy makes a lot of such noises. She finishes up the pie, unless Quasar dares to steal that bite, in which case she doesn't protest. Dinky then puts don the rest of the water in front of her. "Aaahhhhh," she says, letting her froebody sprawl on the table. "That was really good. I've got nothing bad to say. This place is really nice." She looks up in surprise at the sound of money, though. "Wait, wait. I thought our certificate had us covered." She digs around in her little pouch--she wouldn't have let her mom keep track of it--and pulls out the gift certificate.

"Huh? No, those were just invitations and reservations." Quasar says as he finishes stacking the gold coins on the table, then does a quick triple count with a scan of his eyes. Hopping up, he trots around to pull the chair out for Dinky so that she may slip out, then does the same for her mother. He has a pep to his step, looking pleased as punch.

"Oh. Huh. Wow. So this doesn't even count the cost of the private booth, huh?" Dinky survey the piles of coinage like they were a dessert in themselves. She nods a few times--she's a quick counter, too. "Gonna be a long time before I get treated like this again." She hops to the floor and looks up, taking in the scent of candles. Derpy gracefully gets up and then not-so-gracefully belches, softly but continuously for two seconds. She yelps in a tiny voice and blushes, leaning back toward a sitting position.

"Like I said, this is mother's private booth that she rents for the year. I just made the reservation in her name." Quasar chuckles, eyes widening at the belch that Derpy lets out. With a smile, he looks to take Dinky by the hoof to lead her out.
Dinky stares for only a moment at her mother. She grasps Quasar's leg firmly in her own and walks out with him in good time, stepping together. Derpy follows along, marveling with an extended head at the stacks of money before letting the children pull her away. She reaches down to nuzzle Quasar as they depart. "Thank you," she says. "Was very best meal. Is rare chance for postmare."

"You're welcome Miss Doo." Quasar says as he returns the nuzzle to her as they exit the Grande Finale. As they head down to the train station to catch the last ride to Ponyville, he is all smiles at the end of the night. This went a lot better than he thought. With a deep breath, he turns to Dinky as the train pulls up with a hiss of steam, followed by the familiar whistle of the bell.

Derpy gives them some privacy, flying overhead to examine the train's whistle. Dinky turns to Quasar, too. "Well, what now? Gonna ride back with us? Or are you waiting for a goodbye kiss or some dumb thing like that?"

"No, I have to stay here with my tutor." Quasar says with a scuff of his hoof on the ground a few times shyly, ears falling back some at the mention of a kiss. His cheeks turn red as he glances off to the side, then back up to her with a nibble of the bottom lip.

Dinky's cheeks turn ruddy too. She feels her blood shifting. ^%#^%," she swears under her breath. Another awkward step. Another glance upward at her mother on the train's roof, the conductor shouting at her. "All right, -fine,-" says Dinky. She takes a big step forward and grabs Quasar in a brief, tight, passionate kiss. Like biting off a hot pepper, but without the biting. She steps back and shivers.

"But, this was really nice and I'll come over and visit soon as I get ho--" Quasar blinks his eyes as he feels Dinky's mouth suddenly pressed against his. As their lips seal upon each other, he gives her an awkward kiss in return. His hoof lifts upwards to settle against her shoulder, his entire body trembling as he prays he doesn't do something stupid like burp, or hiccup, or bite her. When the kiss ends with a soft, wet pop, he lets out a soft breath, nearly stumbling forward. Is his glasses fogged?

Over almost before it's begun. Whoo. Dinky grits her teeth and swishes her tail angrily. She swears again in a whisper. "All right, there. That's out of the way. Are we done now? I'll be seeing you. We'll, uh... we'll talk about that weird thing you had." She heads for the train door, and looks back.

"Buh." Comes Quasar's voice, unintelligible for a moment before his eyes give a flutter. His entire body feels tingly all over. ".. wow." He whispers softly. "Y.. yes.. we're done now.. um.. wow.. why are you swearing? I, um.. I um.. /wow/.."

"Wow," repeats Dinky. "Yeah. You're right, that's as good as a swear word. So long." She hesitates one moment more, and then calls to her mother and disappears into the train. Derpy hears the call, flaps down, winks to Quasar as she passes over, and boards the train through a window. She waves a wing out the window as the train pulls away.

Quasar lifts a hoof and waves it dumbly for a few moments, then lets out a goofy smile as he flops back upon his haunches. Glancing to the side, he plucks up a lonely little flower peeking out of the crack of the sidewalk. Plucking the petals off, he softly mutters, "She loves me.. she loves me not.." As he heads off once the train pulls away, he leaves behind him a small trail of yellow petals.