The Ponyville 9 theater had a reputation for being very clean and tidy. The caretakers, clerks, and concession workers were all very kind and apparently “very good-looking”. I hadn’t been to a movie theater in almost a year, so it felt nice to open that heavy door. Dash walked in before I did and gave a wave to a mare behind the ticket counter. I understood then what people meant… She was beautiful!

“We have a reservation.” Rainbow informed the mare.

Reservation? In a movie theater…?

“Um…” Dash cut me off, “Don’t worry, Bunny Boy, you’ll see.”
The mare behind the counter simply nodded, as if she heard the statement on a daily basis. She crouched down behind the counter disappearing then reappearing with a slim black book which had a hard cover and thick seam.
“Name?” She asked Dash with a smile.
“Dashie.” Rainbow Dash replied.
I found it odd that she chose to use a nickname over her full name for a reservation, but the smile the ticket holder now had on her face shifted into a smirk as she ran a hoof down a page in her book, pausing to tap at what I assumed was our reservation listing.
“Ah, yes…Dashie. You have a reservation in the Chamber for two?” She asked with a hint of a suppressed chuckle.
Rainbow Dash nodded.
“Here you are then.”
The mare reached down and brought her right hoof back into view, holding in it a key. I found this to be quite perplexing. Who needs a key for a movie showing? I watched as the metal clanked upon being slid across the counter and rattled as Dash took it into her own hold.
“Have you been to the Chambers before?” The mare asked Dash, though she eyed me.
“No. First time actually…” There was a twinge in Rainbow Dash’s voice but I decided it was just nerves. This was obviously her first date in a good while.
“Well then,” the mare leaned over the counter a bit and pointed just over Dash’s left shoulder.
“There’s an elevator right down that hall. Take it, and hit the button with the red square around it. When you reach your floor you’ll come to another counter like this one. Sompony will be there to assist you. You need only to show him or her your key, and they will take you to your chamber.”
She ended her instructions with a smile, and gave me a once over accompanied by a wink. I shuddered slightly despite myself. The gesture seemed so unsettling in a way…as if she knew something that I didn’t.
“Thank you!” Dash sang, as she hooked her arm with mine and whirled the two of us about headed toward the elevator.
I looked over to her with curiosity welling within my mind. The behavior seemed strange even for Rainbow Dash. She was a rowdy mare with high-spirits, but something about her over-the-top perkiness had me on edge. Maybe she just wants to get me happy…Yeah that’s it, she’s trying to brighten my mood. I forced myself to smile, as the elevator doors slid open and the two of us stepped inside. As the doors shut behind us, Dash looked over the button display before finding the one with a red square right by the Emergency Call button. She pressed it and began humming to herself a tune I didn’t recognize.
“Oh..! Hey um, wouldn’t you like something from the concession?” The thought had just now reared into my mind.
“Oh no, no, no.” Dash shook her head. “We’ll have plenty to eat and drink once we reach our Chamber.”
I simply nodded once and stuttered my next question.
“Um..R-Rainbow, what’s a Chamber? I mean surely it’s not the same as the type I’m thinking of…”
At this she giggled.
“A Chamber is a type of moving showing. It’s a special private showing that are only made available here at Ponyville 9.” She replied.
“Oh, I see.”
I mentally sighed with relief and just as I did so, the elevator doors pulled apart and both Rainbow Dash and I were greeted by a long narrow corridor. Sure enough, a counter was placed at the far end with one attendant awaiting the arrival of patrons. We made our way over, and I spoke this time to the stallion who was clad in a white vest and bowtie. For a brief moment I imagined Alice wanting to toy with the accessory, then I quickly shook the image from my mind.
“Hello there, my good colt! We have a reservation.” I stated with enthusiasm.
He nodded once.
“Your key, monsieur?” He asked.
I hadn’t been expecting an accent, but I turned to face Rainbow Dash and extended my hand. She relinquished the key which I laid onto the counter and then watched as the Percheron took the key and made his way from behind the counter gate.
“Suivez-moi,” he stated, “Follow me.”
Rainbow Dash and I obliged, and followed the scrawny colt down another corridor. He began whispering to himself the door numbers which aligned either of the walls and counted them off one by one, occasionally checking the key to be sure he was searching for the right number, then he paused.
“Ah-ha! Here we are.” He noted.
Pushing the comb key into the lock he gave it a gentle turn to the right, and withdrew the key upon hearing a small ‘click’.
“Your Chamber.” He stated, as he stood off to the side holding open the door.
Rainbow Dash and I entered together; the both of us seemingly a bit timid. That was until Dash took in the contents of the room and squealed with delight. My eye simply widened at the sight I withheld before me. Truly this was just an average screening…
“Whoa…”
Inside was a cinematic “chamber” of sorts. The floor was inlaid and made up of drawings. It was 342 square meters in area, and was edged with a broad ornamental border. White Classical-style stucco moldings made up the decor. Mirrors hang, reflecting Dash on the east and west walls and picture frames were adorned with oak wreaths, bay-leaf garlands, palm fronds, and branches of oak and laurel. Acanthus scrolls were linked by garlands form a broad ornamental band which ran along the coving. Trophies of arms tied with a tasseled baldric embellished the corner piers. The delicate pearl-grey tint of the walls set off the white of the moldings and gave a noble beauty to the color scheme of the room. The ceiling was outlined by thin crystal lighting which I assumed would serve as theatrical lighting in the Chamber. In the middle of the chamber was a C shaped booth for two. This principal item of furniture, I noted, mirrored that of a great bed with a heavy wooden frame and springs made of interlaced ropes or strips of leather, overlaid with a feather cushion, quilts, fur coverlets, and pillows. Finally to the northern wall was the theater screen which stood 16 meters high and roughly 22 meters wide. I tried to keep my mouth from falling open, but my jaws inevitably went slack.
“OHMYGOSH!OHMYGOSH!OHMYGOSH!” I heard Dash screech as she plopped onto the silky smooth cushion of the booth.
I swallowed hard and startled a bit as the door behind me shut; the foreign colt leaving the two of us alone in our chamber. Making my way over to the booth, I slid in beside Rainbow Dash at her left. The screen before us both had me feeling inferior with its massive size. It was a bit overpowering.
“D-Dash…,” I stammered “how many bits did this reservation cost you..!?”
She waved a hoof dismissively.
“That’s irrelevant.” She stated.
I truly felt like I’d owe her for the night I was sure to have.
“Dash, I don’t know how I’m going to make all of this,” I gestured to the sanctum around us, “up to you…”
She only chuckled.
“Oh, there’ll be no need for that Sebastian…You’ll make it up to me in due time.”
Had I not been so in sync to the atmosphere around me I probably would have caught the tine of mischief in her voice, but as I said, I was too busy admiring the extremities.