Alright, I refuse to let the possible death of my good computer stop me from writing, no matter what the threats may be! And to prove that I am not giving up, I hereby present, in honor of the fact that the series will be starting in September:
Spoiler
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Alright, so dinner had been a disaster. There was no getting around that, but it was still early in the evening, and there was plenty of time to turn the date around.
And this? This couldn't fail.
A beautiful summers evening, the stars already starting to twinkle in the sky. The soothing, almost hypnotic sounds of Lyra's harp, as she played for the small audience that had gathered quietly for this outdoor recital.
It was going so well that Midnight didn't even mind the fact that she was almost assuredly getting grass stains on her dress. The stress of the disastrous dinner was starting to evaporate into the night air, and she felt a gentle weight start to press against her side, felt Shimmer's head lean up against her own.
"This is so nice..." Shimmer whispered, looking adoringly up at the lime-green performer up on stage. Midnight felt her cheeks flush with delight. She knew Shimmer absolutely loved Lyra (to the point where if Midnight was a different pony, she might be jealous!), so when Midnight had learned that she was putting on a concert on the night of their date, she had pulled out all of the stops to get tickets.
And it was worth the camping trip! Midnight turned her head, to look at the lovely pegasus who was her company. Yes, this was the perfect moment, it was exactly what Midnight had hoped for, and so, she leaned in, intent on kissing the cheek that was presenting itself to her...
"Hark, my beloved!"
Midnight flinched back, and looked around fearfully, a chill running down her spine. Ponies around her looked about in irritation, trying to find the source of the noise that had interrupted the atmosphere that had been so carefully constructed.
No, it couldn't be him. He was safely back at Canterlot, far, far, far away from her.
Even if was him, surely he wasn't there for her. She would pretend that she had never heard that voice. She snuggled closer to Shimmer, who smiled, having not been distracted from the music by that voice. Shimmer turned to look at her, delight sparkling in her eyes, and that chill down Midnight's spine was replaced with a delightful tingle. They began to lean forwards, their lips about to meet...
"Ah, my beloved! I have found you once again!"
The moment evaporated as quickly as it had began, as that voice repeated itself, closer now. The two slowly looked up at the pony who had so rudely interrupted them, and Midnight let out a despairing sigh.
He really was the spitting image of his father. Midnight knew ponies took after their parents, she was proof at that, but Prince Blueblood II looked so much like his father that Midnight was privately convinced that he had simply, one day, budded off of his father in some sort of strange form of mitosis. It would certainly explain a few things.
"What are you doing here?" Midnight hissed quietly, poor Shimmer looking confusedly between her and the intruder into their privacy. Blueblood flashed a dazzling smile, that might have enraptured young mares that didn't know any better.
"Why, I have come to this...delightful little town...to enjoy this music, of course! My father thought it would be a good chance to spent time with my fiancee, and here I find you, in the arms of another mare! How scandalous!"
They were starting to get more of an audience at this point, as pony eyes turned towards the drama that was starting to unfurl in their midst. Midnight felt her eyebrow twitch, a slight headache forming behind her eyes.
"Fiancee? Midnight, what's going on? What is he talking about?" Shimmer asked, the confusion evident in her voice. Midnight had to head this off at the pass, before it got any worse, before Shimmer got the wrong idea.
She sprung to her feet, as quickly as her dress would allow her.
"Blueblood, you are not my fiancee! We met twice, after the Gala, and that was because your father kept shoving you into my path! I don't know what ideas he's been feeding you, but it's not going to happen! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm trying to spend some time with my marefriend."
Blueblood blinked, and looked between the standing, seething Midnight, and the sitting Shimmer, who was blushing ever so slightly as Midnight's rather loud exclamation that they were lovers.
"Marefriend? You are attempting to tell me that this is not some form of youthful experimentation? Princess Midnight, you cannot be telling me that you are a fillyfo-"
He was cut off immediately.
"You use that term, and I will force-feed you my bustle. I'm not sure which part of this dress is the bustle, so it might take a few attempts!" Midnight yelled, anger clear and rising in her voice. Anypony around her, thinking about it later, would have sworn that for the briefest of moments, Midnight's eyes went from blue to green. Blueblood (The Second) took a step back, and it looked for a moment that he had given up.
Instead, however, he turned from the seething Princess, to Shimmer, who was still sitting down, casting an almost scornful gaze upon her.
"You, filly. What can you possibly have to offer her?" Shimmer blinked at the question, and took a moment to collect her thoughts.
"Well, I'm a writer..." She began, and Blueblood scoffed.
"A writer? How...plebeian. You are looking at Prince Blueblood (The Second), of the illustrious Blueblood line. I can trace my lineage back a thousand years!"
"Midnight doesn't seem to be too impressed by that..." Shimmer quirked a smile, looking a tad more confident. "She seems to like my writing an awful lot, though."
Midnight blushed furiously, and stepped to move closer to Shimmer, to show her support.
Unfortunately, at the same time, her confidence building, Shimmer had elected to start to stand as well. Her hoof came down on a part of Midnight's dress.
Now, Midnight had never been especially graceful. Oh, sure, she could move properly as long as she put her mind to it, but it didn't' come naturally to her. She was, in fact, prone to tripping, bouncing her head off things, and just general klutziness. But even she couldn't hope to match Shimmer in the four-left-hoof department. Their relationship had, in fact, started when they had literally crashed right into one another!
And so, the end result of this particular moment of dual-klutz was a sickening tear of fabric, Shimmer sent tripping to the ground, her legs somehow getting bound in the strip of silk that she had accidentally torn from Midnight's dress. She began to struggle, only making it worse.
Midnight stooped to help her, only to hear a scornful laugh behind her.
"You're thinking of choosing that graceless pegasus?" Midnight's eye twitched painfully, and she whirled on Blueblood II, painfully poking his chest with a hoof.
"Shimmer has more grace and dignity tied up than you do ever! Get this through your thick head, Prince. You are not my fiancee! I am not, and I repeat, not interested in you!"
With that, she turned back to Shimmer, starting to help untangle the struggling pegasus, looking apologetically at her. Blueblood was quiet for a long moment.
"Ah, I understand..." He began, and Midnight blinked. Had she finally gotten through his thick skull? Did he finally understand?
"Of course! How silly of me. Of course you are not interested in me! You are Princess Midnight! Daughter of one of the rulers of Equestria! Heir to the Throne of the Night! You must be impressed! Yes, I understand now! I must undertake some grave Quest for the hoof of my Lady!"
Midnight and Shimmer just looked at him, neither knowing what to say. He flashed them another smile.
"Fear not, Lady Midnight! For I, Prince Blueblood The Second, shall complete a task that will impress you so much, it shall send you spiraling into my waiting hooves!"
The two simply blinked, stunned. With one last flourish, the noblepony dove through the crowd, heading out on his grand Quest.
Midnight let out a sigh, as she finished untangling Shimmer, and helped her up.
"I'm really sorry about that, I...didn't expect..." She murmured, looking unhappy. This was going so well, and now...
"It's alright, you couldn't have...eep..." Shimmer trailed off, her eyes widening. Midnight blinked, and began to look around, and soon determined why.
Everypony was looking at them. Not just the audience, but Lyra up on stage, irritation clearly etched upon her face, her hooves no longer playing upon that harp.
Midnight let out a nervous chuckle.
"Uhm...Encore?"