The Princess and the Courier {Celestia/Stardust}

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The Princess worked hard. From the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun, Celestia worked hard. She even worked hard after the sun set.

Celestia believed it was time for something different. She got it in the form of a Hearts and Hooves Event. The Princess hadn't been on a date in years... Well, more than years... Centuries... Truth be told, the Princess hadn't been on a date for so long, she couldn't remember the last one she had been on. So, maybe this was a good idea.

Celestia had gone deep into her closet, but she finally found the right dress. She couldn't remember the exact reason she had purchased it, but she was glad she had.

And now she waited. She had given her personal guard the night off, and had already caught another pair of guards spying on her for, "protection reasons". Celestia sent them back to the castle with a stern look, but, now things would be normal. She had the entire night to look forward to.

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Alright, relax Stardust. Play it cool. the snow white pegasus told himself as he had searched through his own closet for something nice to wear. He didn't know how this date would play out, and truth be told he wasn't quite prepared for it. He only signed up for the Hearts and Hooves thing because he lost a bet with a friend back home. His wardrobe search provided the courier with a royal blue vest with gold trim that was, whether he realized it or not, perfect for the occasion. He had saved up his bits for it simply because he liked the style and the design, and today provided the best chance to try it on.

Play it cool, it’s just a get-together... he tried to assure himself as he made his way over to where he was supposed to meet the mare he got paired with. He carried a small, wrapped gift in the inner pocket of his vest. It wasn’t anything intimate, just a small hoof-bracelet. This may have been the first date he had ever gone on, but by the Alicorns, he was going to do his best! However, he had every reason to be nervous for tonight, even if he managed to calm himself down. He got paired with Princess Celestia of all mares! While this may have been any stallion’s dream come true in any other circumstance, he was scared that he'd screw this up.


As he glided down in order to walk the rest of the way to where they were supposed to meet, the colt began to think to himself, to focus and to reassure himself. So long as he kept his cool and didn’t do anything stupid, the night would go smoothly. Reminding himself that The Princess had most likely done this on a whim made him feel a bit better, at least there'd be a little less pressure.

Before he knew it, the pegasus had made it, taking one last moment out of sight to take a deep breath. No pressure... he thought once more before he put on a smile and walked over. "Good evening, Your Highness." he greeted her, politely bowing his head. This may have been a Hearts and Hooves blind date, but she was still the princess.

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And here was her date. Stardust Glimmer. He was a relatively good looking stallion. Well dressed. He greeted her rather properly, and even bowed his head. Hm... "No need for that, Stardust." Celestia gave him a playful wink. This was her night off. Every day she was greeted by ponies who treated her in the same exact manner. She wanted the date to be different. "Just treat me as any other mare you'd take on a date."

Princess Celestia had even removed her crown for the night. For all intents and purposes, Celestia was just a regular mare tonight.

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The young stallion felt a bit awkward once Celestia had corrected him, but when he looked up to see her wink, he felt a little better. Of course, he didn't let the 'caught off guard' look remain for more than a few seconds as he nodded, regaining his smile. However, her words did leave him with a bit of a challenge. Treating her as any other mare he'd take on a date, when she was the first mare he had ever taken on a date? That would be quite a challenge, but he chose not to over think it. If anything, he could set a standard for himself if he ever did take another mare out. "Alright." he agreed, and the pegasus began to ponder for a brief moment. Where exactly should they go? He didn't know any good restaurants, especially since he didn't know what would raise Celestia's sun.

The pegasus then remembered a place he went to during his previous trip to Canterlot, a restaurant he had stopped by just after making an important delivery for a friend of one of the upper class, as he knew them as. The food was excellent, the atmosphere was peaceful, a great way to visit Canterlot for the first time. "If you're hungry, I know of a fantastic place." he suggested, trying to get the ball rolling on this one.

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Celestia herself hadn't been on a date in a long time. Sure, she saw ponies on dates themselves, but nothing for herself. So, she was a bit shaky on what was understood as a good date in this day and age. Hopefully this would still come out okay. "Lead the way, Stardust. In the meantime, why don't you tell me about yourself?"

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Being thrown a curveball, Stardust began to lead the way, not too fast nor too slow. How the heck was he going to tell Celestia about himself when he barely had anything to describe? It was like being put on the spot to comment on something when one had no clue about the topic at hoof. He could also practically feel the eyes of the ponies who took notice of them.


"There's...not much about me really...let's see..." he mused, buying himself only a few moments, looking ahead as he thought. It was only then did he notice some of the surprised looks on a few other ponies' faces. No pony could really blame them; it was a surprise that they'd see Celestia out and about like this, let alone with a pony who they had never seen in the city. Perhaps in his desire to keep his mind off of what their potential thoughts were, he managed to come up with something."I took up a job as a courier recently, so I guess I travel quite lot." he hoped that might pique some interest.

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Of course the Princess noticed all the ponies staring. Not that she paid them any mind. She was more interested in the pony in front of her. He seemed a little modest. But, at least there was something they could talk about. "What's your favorite place to travel to?" Celestia herself had been to many places over the many, many years she had been alive. But, sometimes, it was better to have a fresh pair of eyes to look at something. The younger generations saw things with new wonder. Celestia had lost that wonder ages ago...

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Celestia's next question was much easier to answer. Upon hearing it, Stardust's torn ear flicked and his eyes brightened up. "Canterlot is my favorite." he answered the question before he realized he should have probably explained why. "Even if this is my second time here, everything's so new to me that there's just never a dull moment." he expressed his excitement about the city. Naturally, he began to wonder about Celestia's favorite place.

"What about you? Do you have any favorite places?" he asked with a youthful curiosity. Surely, Princess Celestia had been everywhere by now, maybe even some places he had never heard of.

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The Princess smiled at the mention of the city they were in. It was a beautiful city that she had watched grow from nothing. Canterlot would always hold a special place in her heart. But her favorite place? There was still one place... "My favorite place is the castle in the Everfree. The one Luna and I used to share. Even if it lies in disrepair now, I still visit those old stones and reminisce... It was once as beautiful as these very streets. But time is cruel to us all. Things change."

There had been many reasons why she had left that castle and had the new one built. It held too many memories of her sister. Even now, guilt clawed at her heart for what she did. It was what needed to be done. Still... It didn't make it any less horrible. Celestia glanced away. She needed to distract herself from this topic. She was on a date. It wasn't fair to Stardust for her to be this way. "So, where are we to spend this evening?"

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His question would be answered honestly, or at least Stardust figured it was honest. No, not just because of the fact it was Celestia saying it, but her reaction after it. The way she looked way just after talking about the Everfree City, it was almost certainly a self-diversion. His heart sank as he could only assume what that meant; she was reliving sad memories. As Celestia had looked away to distract herself, she would be unable to see a rare moment of the colt unwittingly breaking his optimistic facade, a look of concern mixed with remorse on his face. He nearly went to ask if she was alright, but she began to return her attention to him. By the time she was looking at him, he already managed to return to his positive self, and he was given no time to ask anything, as Celestia changed the topic. Luckily, they would just arrive at their destination a moment after she asked.

"Oh, right here." he gestured to the restaurant, The Moonlight Sonata. Word was that the establishment was named after a song from an era long gone. While it was most likely embellishment on the owner's part, the story was still exciting to imagine. Something that also set it aside from most places in Canterlot was the fact it was more casual, the place being made for those who want to kick back for a bit after a long day, or just want to relax. "If you wanna go somewhere else, that's fine too." he added with a genuine desire to take her feelings into account. If she didn't want to spend the night there, he'd follow her lead.

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The Moonlight Sonata... It sounded beautiful. The place didn't look exactly like the name entailed, which was beautiful and mysterious... It all looked quite casual. But, Celestia was willing to give the place a chance. And, honestly, she didn't have many better ideas. "It's wonderful, Stardust. We'll eat here." Celestia took another look around, taking in the variety of ponies and decorations for the holiday. It was all... warming.

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Stardust was a little nervous, realizing only after the fact that the place wasn't as fancy as she might have been used to. It was casual by Canterlot standards. Darn it! he cursed himself in his head, but kept himself calm. He opened the door to let her in first, and once they were inside, he stayed silence once he noticed the head waiter immediately head over. 'Good evening, Your Highness.' the head waiter greeted her, as some of the ponies prepared a table just for Celestia. This was emphasized, albeit unwittingly, by a second pony trotting over to Stardust.

'Hello again~. Shall I prepare a table for you?' the waitress asked with a friendly smile, and although Stardust was able to smile in return, he was clearly caught off guard.

"Uh, actually..." he tried to explain, but the mare interrupted him with a giggle, jumping the gun a bit. 'Oh, you're waiting on a few friends? Just let me know when you're all here and ready.' the mare replied and trotted off."No, I mean-" his attempt to clarify went unheard as the other ponies wanted to focus on helping Princess Celestia. He didn't panic, remaining calm as he understood why they were doing it; but at the same time he wasn't given enough time to actually tell them what was going on.

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Celestia immediately noticed what the ponies were doing. And, although she realized it was a strange sight, she felt slightly put off by the doubt that she actually was here with someone. She let it quickly be known she wasn't alone, by walking right next to Stardust and placing a wing around him. "Stardust is with me. I signed up for the blind date event, and I would appreciate getting a table with him soon." Celestia's eyes flickered to Stardust and offered a smile. He seemed to be having as much trouble as she was... Hopefully they could get through this night together.

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The head waiter and the waitress were caught so off-guard by Celestia’s statement that it took them a few seconds to process just what she said. Stardust, on the other hoof, was relieved that things had been clarified. However, the most noticeable sign of this was when Celestia gently embraced him with a wing. His heart warmed and he became less tense as a direct result of the gesture. Without even thinking about it, he returned the wing hug and the smile he wore as a mask turned to a more genuine one. “Thank you.” was all he could manage to say, unable to find any other words for the time being.

With enough egg on their face to make an omelet, the waitstaff collected themselves in order to lead the two to their table, pulling up a second seat so Stardust could sit across from the princess. ‘Can I get you two anything to drink?’ the head waiter asked them. Stardust figured it would be polite to wait for Celestia to answer first.

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Celestia was glad to finally have a chance to sit down. Now that the staff knew they were on a date, hopefully the rest of the evening would go off without a hitch. "I'll have a glass of red wine." It was something to... loosen her up. If only slightly. She was used to being noticed at all times, so she had to control herself. And, sometimes it was hard to let go... Celestia simply smiled, hoping that her thoughts wouldn't come across to Stardust as the night progressed.