The long shadows cast by everything in sight only compliment the deep orange illumination of the outside world. The air is fresh with its late autumn crisp, most of the leaves on trees already changing color. The walk is quick as caramel dirt road slowly shifts to grayscale stone brick when we enter the center of town. Most vendors had already left for home, some still packing up after a successful day. My marefriend kept her simple hoodie, t-shirt, and track pants that she was wearing when I got home.

Our destination comes up quickly as we walk arm in arm together, Vinyl being taller than me making it look like she was a gentleman leading his lady. Even the way she opens the glass door and waves me in before her with a bow only reinforces that image. I don't notice, and take it as Vinyl just being playful, so of course I humor her with a thank you and walk in with my chin raised to the ceiling.

After laughing off the role playing, we find a booth to sit in, sliding into place across from each other. The whole place smells delicious, a wide variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner entrees offered at all times. Vinyl and I still giggle to each other before the waitress comes over, smacking her gum. "Aww, that's cute. You don't see lesbian couples so often around here. You two make an adorable couple, if you don't mind me saying," she says, pulling out her notepad for orders.

An awkward silence saturates the booth as my marefriend and I share a questioning look. "You, uhh. Miss, this is my boyfriend," Vinyl corrects.

"Huh? Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to offend, I just thought- well, umm. You just look, like, girly. Sorry." Nervous laughter comes from the waitress. "I guess we know who wears the pants in your relationship, huh?"

A part of me knows I should be offended by what she just said but at the same time, she didn't mean any ill-will by it. In the end I realise it wasn't really something to feel offended by.

The nervous chuckles die down and the waitress understands it would be impossible to salvage the situation. "I'll go ahead and get someone else to serve you."

We nod knowingly, watching her walk off to fetch someone else. Vinyl sighs and leans back in the booth cushion, stretching her arms and I can only pull off a slight frown, lingering on what the waitress said;

I guess we know who wears the pants in your relationship, huh?

I wasn't one to get offended easily, but something about the way she said that felt degrading; like I was weak. Like I was pathetic. Anxiety builds up inside me and I begin to worry about our relationship. What if Vinyl wants a more dominant man as a boyfriend? Was she satisfied with me, or am I not enough?

"Hey, you okay?" Vinyl snaps me out of the spiraling anxiety by grabbing my balled up hands and shaking them. My eyes meet her scarlet ones, concern making them glimmer.

"Yeah. I just...." I can't bring myself to finish that sentence. This was supposed to be a day for us, I shouldn't dump worries on Vinyl.

"Hey. Don't let that get to you. Does it matter what people think you look like? Does it matter what people think at all? I don't think so. I love you for who you are, and we have fun the way we want to. I think that's what matters." With a wink, my spirits are lifted slightly. The anxiety is gone, but I still feel a bit pathetic. "Here, I know what'll cheer you up," my marefriend says just as the new waitress walks up. "Two veggie burgers please. And one large helping of fries to share."

The waitress doesn't even have to stop. As quick as she walked up, she left for the kitchen with our order. Vinyl's heartwarming concern in my happiness brought a smile on my face, something that made her smile grow as well.

Letting go of my hand, time passes and our food is prepared relatively quickly. The diner is mostly empty at this hour, sun setting enough that the night sky glows violet. Some people still linger; mostly young adults sipping coffee and finishing work or another couple with the same intention as us. Our food is brought to us in red baskets, eaten somewhat peacefully together. Vinyl's usual lack of decent table manners left me laughing hard as she tried to clean a splotch of ketchup from her hoodie.

Baskets are left empty on the table when we finish. I was definitely feeling better after the whole situation with the “who wears the pants” in our relationship. In fact I was rather upbeat. Upbeat enough to plan an evil idea.

Vinyl was currently in the restroom, tending to her bladder and cleaning herself after the mess she made. It was now the waitress came to clean the table of our leftovers.

“Was it good, hun?” she asks, piling baskets on her arm.

“Yes ma'am.”

“Should I bring the check?”

“Actually, can I order a large strawberry milkshake? With two straws?” I ask, my expression nudging her and she understood immediately what I planned. With a wink, she went back to the kitchen, Vinyl coming the other direction toward me.

"So. Ready to go?" she asks, standing before me.

"Actually, I just ordered something you might like."

"I thought we were gonna go home," she pouts like an impatient child.

"We can have all the fun we want tonight, but I think you should sit for this." Vinyl lets out an immature huff, crossing her arms and plopping in her seat. I don't think she caught my playful tone, but my plan was coming to a success.

Resting an elbow on the table, my chin nestles in my palm and my other hand reaches across the table, begging to feel Vinyl's touch. A blush adorns her winter white face, her hand hesitantly coming up to grasp mine. She doesn't expect it, as I lean forward and plant a kiss on the back of her hand, flustering her further.

"Even in simple clothes, you look lovely tonight," I mutter, just to get a reaction.

"Babe! Please!" she whispers.

"What? Do you not like it when I speak my mind?"

"You know how I feel about doing mushy-mushy stuff in public!" My marefriend doesn't release my hand, but she tries to shrink in her seat, glancing at tables to see if anyone was looking. I was well aware that she loves sappy moments, as long as they're not in public where people could see.

My plan slowly came into place as the waitress came with a tall glass of pink liquid, whipped cream and two straws.

"Enjoy you two~," she says with a wink, leaving us to ourselves.

Staring into those lustrous eyes, I grip her hand and lean in toward the glass, ready to sip the sweet milkshake. I flick my eyebrows at her, and she knows full well what is going on.

"Oh, you are so going to get it tonight..." Her cheeks burn hot red, almost like her eyes. And just as always, she grins. Vinyl loves to cuddle on park benches or kiss my cheek before a movie, but a really sappy moment like this was bound to make her nervous. But that’s why I’m here; to make it worth it.

Something like holding hands across the table and sharing a milkshake, all while staring into each others eyes is quite the intimate experience. Of course Vinyl would love doing this, but she's too caught up nervously flicking her eyes this way and that to check for any onlookers.

"Vinyl. If they want to look, let them look. Let them see how much I love you," I whisper in a soft tone. "You know you want to." My straw is taken in my lips but I wait for Vinyl to do the same before starting.

"I do want to.... You're still gonna get it later," she mumbles, squeezing my hand and taking her straw.

It's difficult comprehending how Vinyl can worry about people watching us; holding her hand with gazes locked, sipping this delicious drink is an escape from the outside world. It's like we're sitting on a private cloud in the sky, only ourselves to worry about. My marefriend's expression melts into something softer as I sweep the back of her hand with my thumb.

The time is spent slowly draining the glass, Vinyl sometimes looking to the side for spectators. But a squeeze of her soft hand brings her attention back to me, my eyes always on hers. Some giggling eventually breaks my attention, my focus turning to the waitress behind the bar counter. She’s staring at Vinyl, one hand on her mouth as she chuckles at my marefriend’s heavy blush. I chuckle along, giving Vinyl’s hand another squeeze of reassurance.

The whole moment is like a dream, one of those cliche ones where the edges of my vision are blurred and all I can see is Vinyl, the milkshake, and a pink background with white bubbles similar to those on the in the strawberry drink floating behind her. The thought makes me laugh hard, a snorting sound coming out as I practically choke on my straw. Vinyl looks at me strange, still sipping; her turn to squeeze my hand in worry. Coughing softly, I only laugh harder at the contorted expression of mixed confusion and giggling on the unicorn’s face, both of us laughing lightly. Once I compose myself, my lips go right back to my straw, only to have Vinyl blow bubbles in the milkshake childishly. I can’t take another sip before reeling back, trying to contain myself as she makes faces at me, still blowing bubbles into the glass.

I’m glad she’s grown more comfortable in this moment, something that dissipates the last of my worries as I get back to the sweet drink that was only made sweeter by the one I share it with. It only lasts a little while longer as the taste of strawberries is replaced with that of whipped cream, both of us sucking air through our straws. Without letting go of her hand, my lips lift from the straw with a sigh of satisfaction, Vinyl having a similar reaction. My thumb rubs the back of her hand and we relax, only each other in our sights.

That is, until the waitress comes by, picking up the empty glass and dropping off the check. “You two are just the cutest things I’ve ever seen. I hope y’all enjoy the rest of your day.” Once again, she leaves us with a wink and a pat of the receipt on the tabletop. Vinyl and I only blush at each other, no words needed as she stands from the booth, dragging me to the cashier of the diner.

We pay for our meal and walk out, me clinging to my marefriend’s arm and a “Bye Bye!” coming from the waitresses. My eyes drift shut and I trust Vinyl in leading me home with her. I may be clutching her arm a little tighter than usual, but the sting of the cold was taking it's toll. And the sun had drowned in the horizon, cloaking the world in darkness on our way home. The sight was quite beautiful; street lamps providing illumination as the first flakes of snow begin to fall, clumps of white scattering about loosely. The smell of the diner has long been replaced with the dry breeze of the outside and a moment of peace falls upon us, me snuggling into Vinyl's arm, met by her hand giving mine an affectionate squeeze.

Our moment is only interrupted when some mumbling comes from somewhere near us.

“Well look at this,” a groggy voice calls out. I peek my eyes open and notice someone leaning against the back of the diner smoking a cigarette. Then I notice he’s talking to us. A glance at Vinyl shows an annoyed look on her face; she refuses to acknowledge the stranger. “It’s not that often you see a sissy walking with a mare in public. Especially such a pretty mare like yourself.” Vinyl only twitches in annoyance, still ignoring the stallion. “C’mon babe, ditch that weakling and let a real stallion give you what you want.”

This wasn't a common sight in a peaceful town such as ours, but the presence of these kind of ponies still existed. No place is perfect to live in, and sometimes you get a pony that preys on humans just for being a different species. But this one had other insults in mind than the usual ‘hairless ape’ I hear thrown around.

“Ya know, I've seen some pathetic humans around, but this one takes the gold medal. Seriously, it’s like you’re walking him home instead of the other way around. What a pansy!” he spits, flicking away his cigarette. Vinyl picks up her pace, walking faster to try and avoid the stallion, but he’s following us now, calling after my marefriend in the night. “C’mon girl, why don’t you come with me? Wouldn't you rather be with a manlier stallion than some girly bitch?”

That was it. That was where Vinyl snapped.

“Shut up you creep! At least he treats me with respect, something you clearly don’t have a clue about! Now get lost!” she shouts, clutching me against her body in defense. Her heart is racing and she’s walking fast on the dirt path. Our house is close, the cream-colored paneling can be seen in the darkness.

“Hehe, whatever. Enjoy your pussy of a boyfriend. He even looks girly enough to be one,” he calls out, the last part mumbled barely within earshot, like he wanted us to hear him. A thankful expression dawns on both mine and Vinyl’s faces, glad the stranger stopped following us. I was quite worried he’d find out where we lived.

Luckily, that won't be the case as we both walk quickly towards our home in the distance. Next Chapter: To Dress For My Queen Part 3 Estimated time remaining: 22 Minutes