I May Not Know Art, But... (Blueblood/Fluttershy)

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As his body touched hers, Blueblood felt the slight sensation of a flinch.While he was of course trying to make advances on her, he still had his gentleman’s training to keep in mind about these sort of things. He took an inch or two to the side; close enough to still be intimate but not enough to actually be touching her. That seemed to be a perfect compromise, right? He would let her be comfortable for a bit but still be in a good position to make a move.

His hopes of that possibility, however, were soon being crushed with the sound of…okay, he had never heard such a sound being made by a pony. Whatever that hnnn was supposed to be, he doubted that it was going to be something in his favor. The rejection of his suggestions that immediately came after that mystifying sound made sure of that.

”O-oh, well then….” he said, not really sure where to go from there.

In his life he had, of course, had his advances rejected. Usually when that occurred he would feel insulted, outraged that whatever fine mare he was attempting to hit on would say no to, as the magazines always said, the most eligible bachelor in Equestria. He was Blueblood, nephew of the princesses. Other than the princesses themselves, he was the closest thing to royalty in all of Equestria! Rejecting the privilege of being with him? It was a complete and utter outrage!

And then came the Gala, where not only was he rejected, but he was lectured, scorned, terrorized, and slathered in cake by that mare, Rarity. Every fiber of his being still held a grudge, still thought everything that had happened since was her fault. But one thing he had to grudgingly admit was that since that night, well, rejections lost their “ultimate insult” status in his mind.

Whether that was due to some actual change in his personality, or that rejection meant nothing in comparison to that night he didn’t know. But what he did know was that right now he wasn’t plotting to try and ruin this Fluttershy girl’s life in any shape or manner that he could. And that, to be quite frankly, was a new experience for him. Enough that he was still just staring blankly at her several good seconds after his “Well then…”

”Uhm, I guess we can just keep looking at these exhibits then…” he finally said, just wanting to move on.

As much as the lack of rage at Fluttershy confused him though, he also had another feeling he wasn’t used to; disappointment. Oh sure, he had been wrong about a mare’s intentions or personalities before, so his underestimation of her shyness wasn’t new. But in all those cases he could easily dismiss them. “Oh, she was ugly anyway” or “phh, prude,” or whatever excuse his mind conjured up. But here? All he felt was just a teeny tiny bit of disappointment he was wrong about her. This was, hopefully, a feeling he would not experience very often.

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It wasn’t often that Fluttershy was on the receiving end of a long stare where words seemed necessary. It was not a very comfortable moment. He seemed so hurt by what she had said that she wanted to take it back just to stop him from feeling bad, but she couldn’t do that. As she had learned the hard way, sometimes it was important to not backtrack.

These dates had opened a lot of possibilities. She could have been standing here with any single stallion and each stallion would have had a different reaction to her. As had been one of her worries, some might not have shown up at all. Other stallions might have been too bombastic or scary in some other way. It wasn’t hard to imagine a stallion that was much pushier than Blueblood had been so far. But she hadn’t been paired with any of those stallions; those possibilities were no longer possible. Here she was, somewhere in the middle of being stood up and being pushed around and she wasn’t sure what to do with that.

Oddly, there was some invigoration to be derived from his response. She had spoken up for herself and he hadn’t taken his leave. He was still there and she was still there. For her, those were good signs. If there had been some mistake on her part, she would have a chance to correct it as long as they stayed together. She could still get to know him better and to hopefully show him a bit more of herself to put this whole thing in more context.

”I’d like that,” she agreed, also eager to move on. She was invigorated, but there was something about awkward social situations that made physical movement smooth them over, even if you didn’t leave the company of the other pony.

Her legs felt stiff despite the short amount of time they had been effectively immobile. Each step brought about a small pulse of comfort and by the time they had reached the next exhibit, she found herself to be functional if not back to her previous level of ease. She stared at the piece in front of her, suddenly finding out that she was wrong. Her body was more at ease, but she was unable to focus on the somewhat abstract work she was looking at. There was some kind of… something. ”Um and then there’s uh… this one…”


(ooc: I wasn't sure if there was a call for a more drastic scenery change here, if not, you're up on what it is they're looking at xD)

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While still shaken up by his mixed feelings towards this rejection, Blueblood still realized that he was on a date. And while yes he wasn’t always the most well-behaved companion, he still knew that standing around gaping in silence was rather rude. He still at least thought he should be storming off in anger, but his heart just wasn’t in it now. What exactly that meant, however, he could try and bother to figure out later. For now, he could just attempt to continue on, following Fluttershy’s lead on that decision.

As they walked, he noticed that she seemed to slowly loosen up a little now that he wasn’t pressing on her. That sense of disappointment he had bubbled again, although this time it was much clearer why. All the shyness was no doubt her actual personality and not just some teasing trick by a model. The realization of that fact, however, made all of his other acts rather off-kilter. Sure, he had believed she was just a bit shy, but didn’t realize the extent of it that even the mere act of physical touching could have made her so tense. Again, this was new territory he was treading, but he felt a bit more certain that now that he had a proper understanding of her behavior he could navigate these things much better. He didn’t get a cutie mark in surveying for nothing after all.

The two of them eventually came to a stop in front of two doors that, based on the signs, Blueblood figured to be for the bathrooms. Fluttershy’s statements of confusion regarding the “art”, however, left him rather baffled.

”I believe that these are the doors to the bathroom,” he said, pointing a hoof up at the little pictures of stallion and mare on the respective doors.

It was taking some restraint to hold back from laughing at the mistake, but, remembering her demeanor, figured a different approach might work better.

”Though considering some of the works I’ve seen that have been labeled ‘abstract’, I can see how you were mistaken,” he said, adding a slight shrug. Hopefully deflecting the burden off of her onto a joking misunderstanding would keep up the situation as it was, right?

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As the realization of her mistake fully took root in her mind, Fluttershy began to wonder if there was a checklist she could use that would guide her through all of the ways that she could possibly embarrass herself on a single semi-blind date. Mistaking the entrance to the bathrooms for a piece of art was beyond foolish. What must he be thinking of her now? First she rejects his offer and now this. How could she pretend to have any sort of credibility from this point on? There was no way she’d be able to live this down.

But where she assumed there would be some witty remark that elegantly captured her ignorant and inexperienced nature all in one retort, there was a remark that had very little to do with her personally at all. She looked over at him, her habitually sad eyes uncertain as to how to react to this rather novel experience. He was giving her a break, she had to make use of it, somehow. ”I um…”

Fluttershy laughed awkwardly. ”Yes, it is a rather broad category,” she replied, her voice quivering faintly as she regained a small amount of poise. ”Sorry about that.” Had she the skill to navigate along the conversational path he had set up for her, she would have done so and said something clever herself. Lacking that, she could at least get them back on the path to looking at some actual art.

”Now that on the other hand,” she said, trotting over to a sculpture depicting a pony in a thoughtful position, ”Is very um… unmistakable.” She looked over the statue, fairly certain it was a replica of a fancier statue that existed in a fancier museum. However, this one was made of fairly good material, as far as she could tell. But a sturdy Ponyville material was likely not what they were using in Canterlot to make statues. ”I wonder if he’s supposed to be thinking about anything in particular.”

Fluttershy looked back at her companion, once again trying to get some sort of understanding of who he was. He was not making himself an easy read so far.

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Good, it seemed that his efforts had not been in vain. It seemed his directing the conversation into a different path had in fact averted any more unpleasantness. Granted it seemed that the mare was still uncomfortable, but it could have been worse. He shuddered to think what would have happened if he had gone with his more usual style of quips and insulted her in some manner. Actually, he could probably figure it out pretty well. Much running and tears would have been involved, and he’d probably be run out of town. Again. So yes, it was quite good he didn’t go on that route.

The faux pas dealt with, they shifted their attention towards some real art. This time it was a replication of a one of the more famous works of art currently housed in Canterlot if his memory served him right. It seemed decent enough, even if the material was different. Would probably look nice in some lower-class garden or something. His companion’s comment, however, was going to be a source of some more interesting levels of fun. He had stopped one potential disaster; he deserved being a little risky again.

”Well, right now he’s probably thinking about how lucky he is to have such a beautiful mare staring at him,” he replied, a slight smile and arch of his eyebrow added for effect.

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Prince Blueblood’s words once again brought a blush to her cheeks. Her wings fidgeted, her body trying to coax her mind to flee from the situation. She instead put her attention all on the statue, as if the thoughtful pony it depicted could grant her a portion of its simulated aptitude. None of the inanimate objects she had encountered were being any help to her today. She opened her mouth to respond, but she truly couldn’t figure out what to say. When her voice finally came out, it was an octave higher than her usual voice and a touch quieter as well. ”That’s a very nice thing to say…”

Fluttershy had hit another social wall, once again stuck between accepting a compliment that she wasn’t equipped to contain and spurning a kind word from another. She knew that Blueblood didn’t honestly believe that the statue was built to contemplate her beauty, so there was no doubt that he had said it just to be nice. Maybe even smoothing over everything else in his own way. Her wings twitched once more as her voice, still squeaky and soft, once again decided to work, ”But I think maybe he’s thinking about the um…” she looked over her shoulder to see what the statue would be staring at if she weren’t in the way, ”That uh… tapestry over there…?”

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It seemed that he had once again misjudged the depths of his companions awkwardness in social situations. He was starting to wonder just how exactly she had gotten a job as a model in the first place? Though why exactly she quit was starting to become rather obvious. Still, modeling aside, the squeaking voice, blushing, and slight twitch of the wings was rather adorable. At least this time he got to hear it instead of her freezing up. Even if her comment was a little bit…off. Probably just her way of moving the conversation away from her.

”Well, I guess. It is a rather pretty looking tapestry…” he replied, just slightly exasperated.

In her own way, Fluttershy was just as tough to handle as that Rarity mare was. But at least in this situation he wasn’t getting a mane full of cake, just dealing with a mare who didn’t seem to want to fully accept compliments or immune to his natural charms. But whereas his time with Rarity just made him a bit bitter and angry, Fluttershy’s was rather endearing. At the very, least it was enough to make him feel a bit depressed it wasn’t working. Taking a glance at a nearby clock, it seemed that time was starting to run out on the event. They still had some time left, but soon they would probably have to figure out where to go from here.

”So then, Fluttershy….how interested would you be in having another rendezvous I was going to be in Ponyville for some time,” he said, just failing to mention how that was forced,”And I would love to meet you for dinner sometime.”

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Fluttershy found it odd that Blueblood was staying in Ponyville for a long time. Seeing him here at all had been surprising, knowing he was sticking around made it even stranger. It was a topic that she found worth exploring, but not one that she could pursue at this moment as that fact was coupled with what sounded a lot like a second date. In a way, it would be a lot like their first real date, if she accepted, since it would be the first time they had actually chosen to spend time with each other.

There was a good deal of difference between the two situations. Unlike his earlier invitation, this wasn’t one that she was entirely freaked out by. Honestly, she was surprised that he would offer to see her again at all. As far as she understood, second dates were only put on the table when things were going well and she had been awful company so far.

In the end, the lesser intimacy of a dinner date over a private tour of his personal collection gave her less of a need to avoid the scenario and therefore she had less to combat her need to not be disagreeable. Since she had spent much of her time today in a bit of a haze, she couldn’t be sure how she felt about him. ”D-D-inner?”

The response instigated the realization that she couldn’t have been failing too hard at this. Not once had anypony around her looked at her funny for touring the museum with such a handsome stallion… ”W-well, if you're going to be in town a while... Th-then umm... We could do that sometime…” But even if things were going well, she couldn’t simply let down her guard and begin to try to approach specifics.

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Blueblood patiently waited with a mix of annoyance and nervousness for a response. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was nervous. Even after his Gala disaster, he was still one of the most eligible bachelors in all of Equestria. He was handsome, charming (when he wanted), and they had been having a relatively good time despite some of the hiccups in her personality. Yet he still was waiting with bated breath for a response, something he had very few experiences with. Her stuttering would have probably scared him if he wasn’t already at least used to that.

”Yes, dinner. Possibly at one of the local cafes or restaurants or…something.” he replied, trying to assure that this was not some big, fancy deal.

When she finally responded with what he felt was a yes from her, he felt his heart flutter for a second before a small smile appeared on his face. Not losing his cool, however, he realized pressing this too much would probably be a bad idea. Getting a yes was probably the limit of what he could get right now without pushing her into a silent panic again.

”Excellent. We can try and arrange specifics later, if you wish.”

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Fluttershy couldn’t think of any appointments she had that were coming up soon. She felt oddly confidant that her lack of appointments was genuine and not a facet of being unable to clearly think given the situation she was in. Hypothetically, she wouldn’t have any reason to turn down a day. Was that a good thing? Would Rarity say that a lady shouldn’t seem too simple, that it was important to not look desperate by having a lot going on? That sounded sort of Rarity-like. But that may have been the nerves talking in Rarity’s voice.

”Th-that would be great,” she said, still stammering, ”Have to check those appointment books,” she added, testing it out. Once she heard herself saying it, she realized that it was not something that she wanted to stick with, which was unfortunate since words couldn’t be effectively taken back.

”Not to say I’m that busy or that I could predict when I’d be busy if I was going to be…” She quickly began to lose focus. ”B-but yes, we could figure out the specifics later.” Was that supposed to be it? Did the first date end once you began discussing the second? ”Until then… umm we’ll just have to stay in touch?” She had no idea what she was doing.

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Appointment books? Blueblood wondered, before catching on a moment later,Ah, yes, she probably still does some modeling on the side..

He wondered if he would be able to arrange to visit one of these shoots. Watching her model would probably rather…enticing. Especially if there were a few other mares on set as well…

Of course her next few statements made Blueblood wonder what she was getting at? He fully understood being busy; anyone in Canterlot got used to having to be scheduled in with a million other events. Maybe it was a Ponyville thing to try and appear not busy when you really were so you could appear available. Well, if she was going to go through that extra effort for him, then he was not going to dismiss it out of hoof.

”Sounds like an excellent plan madame,” he replied, figuring he would be polite and let Fluttershy take over this system of courting in Ponyville,”I am staying in the inn, if you wish to meet with me.”

As this was the winding up of the date, he would have normally made an effort for a last, single kiss. Unfortunately, his current companions demeanor suggested such a move would definitely be a bad idea. And since he was actually making an attempt to go beyond a single evening’s companionship, scaring her off by being forceful would be quite the hindrance. So alas, he withheld his affection…though of course if Fluttershy made the move he would gladly reciprocate. But for now, final adieus would have to do.

”I believe then it is time for us to part. Until next time, my dear Fluttershy.”

OOC: You can respond or consider this the final post if you wish.