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Love/romance

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A Pony Kind of Date

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Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

Commissioned by Lord Legion

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"What in darnation have you got me all the way out here for, Axel? It's darker than an ink spot on a black sheep out here!"

The stallion swallowed his chuckle, a bead of sweat rolling down from behind his ear. Sitting behind the wheel of his less than comfortable drive, an all terrain vehicle that came complete with tyres that would get him over the roughest, toughest, meanest off-roading that Appleloosa could throw at him, Axel couldn't stop himself from wondering what the hell he was doing. He shook his head, flicking his white mane, shot through with the faintest of blue highlights, off his sweaty neck, to which it promptly clung to once again.

Across the front bench from Axel was the mare that he'd had eyes on for...well, far longer than he ever would have admitted in public. Sheriff Pinto, as she was known about town, held the citizens under wraps and it had to be said that, since she'd stepped hoof into Appleloosa, there'd been a darn side less ruffians and unscrupulous folk about, so she had to be doing a good job of keeping the place in check.

Not that Axel would know. He was a wagon-fixer, a pony mechanic by trade who leaned towards vehicles that were less about pony-power and more about the horse-power under the hood, much to the chagrin of traditionalists. He was better placed to admire the strong muscles moving beneath her brown and white coat - mostly brown but splashed through with off-white in that pinto fashion and with four long, white stockings to complete the look.

His eyes took on a dreamy cast as the truck bumped and rumbled further out into the countryside, long past the orchards that gave their home its name as the stars twinkled high above alongside Luna's moon. Ah, yes, she was a fine mare to behold in the course of her work, indeed, and the commanding tone she had in that throat of hers only served to make him stand to attention.

That said, she did come out with some darn funny sayings at times!

He'd listen to them all day though, if only to enjoy the pleasure of her company. Bravely reaching a hoof across, he brushed her shoulder, heart leaping into his throat. Would she push him away?

"It's okay, I won't let no harm happen to you."

Axel's voice came out a lot more gravelly than intended, but it would have to do, even as he cringed and shrank back to his side of the bench, eyes on the road ahead, illuminated in the glow of his headlights. Sheriff Pinto giggled and followed him across to the driver's seat, her lips very close to his ear.

"Sugar, I'm sure not worried about what happens to me out here. I reckon this mare can handle anything a charming, Appleloosa colt can throw at her."

Axel's brain ground to a halt and it took the stallion several, tediously long moments to regain control of normal motor functions again, slamming the wheel over to veer back across the road to the correct side. It didn't matter all that much when they were the only ones out there, but he cringed at the thought of the Sheriff seeing him drive so badly - when she was in the vehicle too, nonetheless!

The only thing that came from her lips, however, was a laugh, her mane falling back from her neck as she relaxed into the seat, braced only enough to stay in place as his hoof eased down on the gas. Axel gulped. Couldn't they just get there already? Apples and oranges - why had he had to choose somewhere so far out for...

Well, he couldn't really call it a date - not yet - but it was close enough. Surely, it had to be close enough?

"Not sure I'm liking this new-fangled truck thing you got going on here," she chuckled, though there was a faint note of concern in her tone for the first time that evening. "Seems a bit, y'know, much from usual pony-power."

"Gets me about, gets the chores done," he said automatically, hardly thinking about what he was saying. "That's all a stallion really needs around here."

"An' a lady-mare too to keep him warm at night, I wager."

Licking his lips, though his mouth was suddenly too dry to produce even a drop of moisture, Axel nodded weakly and pulled the truck over to the side of the road.

"My lady, we have arrived at your destination."

Hopping out, he dashed around to her door, even though the top was open and she was easily agile enough to hop over it herself. Ever the gentlecolt, however, Axel held the door open for her and Sheriff Pinto giggled like a school-filly as she daintily hopped down beside him.

"A mare could get used to being treated like this," she teased with a light shove to his shoulder. "You'll spoil me now."

Blushing, Axel paused with her at his side, admiring the rolling hills stretched out before them like a scene from a painting that one could have perhaps hung on their wall. The moonlight glinted off the long grass, which rustled in an unseen breeze, and the mare inhaled softly, her gasp of wonder noticeable even without her quite touching him.

"It's so beautiful out here," she breathed. "I still need to find out what all the hotspots are around here, being still new to y'alls town and all, that is."

"I can show you the spots," he offered without thinking. "All of them. I know plenty."

She smiled, turning her white muzzle up to his.

"I'd like that."

He blinked, jaw slightly dropped.

"Would you like to get into the bed of my truck?"

"Er... Say that again, sugarcube?"

Against himself, Axel laughed and took the lead, putting the back down to make an easy step up.

"I promise y'all, it's nice and cosy up in here."

And, when she poked her head around, her ears pricked to see a red and white plaid blanket laid out to cover the very clean bed. It did indeed look very cosy and she would have had to be a far prissier mare than she actually was to refuse the offer. Putting her front hooves over the back, she bounded up with a small grunt and settled herself down on the blanket beside Axel as the stallion, very sweetly, poured her a cup of hot chocolate from a flask that he'd stored back there, supposedly for that very occasion.

"Mmm," she groaned softly, sipping the beverage carefully so as not to unduly burn the inside of her muzzle. "That sure does hit the spot."

The mare eyed him slyly out of the corner of her eye and Axel shifted back on his haunches, a second cup clasped between two hooves.

"And I almost thought you had something else on your mind, getting me all the way out here, nice an' secluded, like," she teased, a hoof coyly over her lips. "You wouldn't be trying to seduce the _Sheriff_now, would ya, Axel?"

The stallion's cheeks went a deeper shade of red, standing out as rosy circles against the brightness of his coat in the starry dark. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and swept a hoof back through his mane, fumbling for words and launching himself at the picnic basket instead, a goofy smile stretching his lips comically wide.

"I brought food! Snacks!" He said hurriedly, nearly dropping the basket in his haste to thrust it at her. "I sure do hope you like it...Serenity." His blush deepened. "If you don't mind me calling you that, Sheriff."

His hoof rested on top of the basket and the stallion shuddered as, suddenly, another warm fetlock covered his, the hairs of her coat softer than he could ever have imagined. Frozen, Axel opened and closed his mouth several times, searching for words that simply would not come to his suddenly numb lips.

Luckily, the sweet mare was there to save him, her Sheriff's badge put away for the night and just her simple, kind-hearted nature on show. Nuzzling his neck, she winked and put her lips close to his ear once more, as if she only wanted him to hear her and him alone.

"You can call me Serenity, sugar," she whispered. "Just you."

Axel grinned, his smile going wider and wider until it almost seemed to reach his ears.

"That's... That's real nice to hear Serenity. It's a lovely name. And all the nicer for it being yours."

The mare giggled in turn, flicking her tail.

"Just don't let all the colts know that. Now, what's that I hear about these snacks you say you've brought along with y'all?"

As the night wore on, true darkness falling in the beauty of Luna's domain, Axel lit a single lantern, letting them see as they slowly devoured a simple picnic of breads from the best bakery in town, apple chutney and, of course, the sweetest apples he could pick from all the orchards at his disposal. And, truth be told, if one was after apples, they could not find a better place than Appleloosa to search the juiciest, crunchiest treats out.

And Serenity sure seemed to enjoy them too, snuggling into Axel's side as she devoured everything he insisted she try. Having come from a more remote village, if in the same sort of country, they'd farmed kumquats on a small plantation even further out than Dodge Junction where the ground wasn't fertile for most crops. It had been a hard life for her to start off with and certainly limited in terms of the food that ended up on her plate, but it had set her up right for a life of working hard to get what she wanted. And, well, once her cutie mark had come in, everyone had known just where her aptitude lay and the mare had thrown every scrap of energy she had into pursuing her purpose, her dream and her, realised, life-long passion.

Axel was glad of that. He was glad she'd had all that support early on. If she had been roped into farm work for the rest of her life, he would never have gotten to meet her. And that would have been a tragedy indeed to not feel the warmth of the mare pressed up to him, the way a little shudder of pleasure ran through her when she tasted a particularly delectable morsel.

"There's plenty more of that," he murmured as she asked after a particular chutney with a hint of spice. "Let me just take a look in the basket for you now, hold tight."

She could have asked him for anything in that moment and he would have moved mountains to make it happen. But, as he dug into the picnic basket, a hoof on his foreleg stopped him and, when he turned, Axel started to find her muzzle oh so very close to his. Just the rise and fall of her chest, each subtle exhalation, sent a warm breath washing over his muzzle and he swallowed a groan, resisting the urge to lean into her the best he could.

Oh, but how he so very wanted to. He wanted to know what she really felt like, her head tucked up under his chin and a sleepy murmur on her lips as she drifted off into slumber, safe and warm in the protective hold of his forelegs.

The mare's green eyes shone, lips ever so slightly parted.

"Axel?"

His heart leapt into his throat.

"Yeah?"

And then her lips were a hair's breadth from his and he knew, in the moment, that it was now or never, do or die, and he'd never get a do-over or another chance, not ever, like the one he had right then.

Pressing his lips to hers, Axel threw caution to the wind and kissed her as the sun rose over the mountains, casting a dawn glow over their tentative, deepening liaison. For it was not to be one date, but the start of something new.

And something wonderful indeed for the two of them.