private Rhapsody in Blue

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

Sterling smiled at Blue Note, delighted that Blue Note had enjoyed his extensive knowledge on the world's coffees. 

 

"Well it isn't everyday you get to go to the coffee emporium. This place is so well visited by coffee lovers all over Equestria!" replied an excited Sterling as he finally sat down with Blue Note after a decently tiring tour.

 

Sterling then noticed a pamphlet just across them that showed off all the tour sites in Manehattan. Among them was a brochure for Broadhay, the most renowned musical drama stage Equestria ever saw. He picked it up gently, intrigued by all the plays and colours the brochure showcased. One in particular struck out to him: "Phantom of the Opera", composed by Web Lloyd. He noticed that the next showtime was tonight! And that tickets were still being sold! He rushed back over to Blue Note with excitement and then proposed, 

 

"Hey Blue Note! How about we see this tonight?! The Phantom of the Opera! It's starting at 8:00 pm, 3 hours from now! Would you like to go over and purchase tickets before the seats run out? We could have our dinner here and then rush over to see if they still have tickets! Weekdays are normally off-days for Broadhay, especially in the fall. My dad always got us the best seats, so I know!" 

[lincolnshirepony 527]

@Sterling Crimson

 

"Oh, I've always wanted to see The Phantom of Opera!" Blue Note exclaimed. "I have heard that they sell tickets for half price on the night of show to fill up the seats. We should check to see if they have any left for Phantom." Blue Note sprung up out of her chair. "I've always wanted to see a real Broadhay show, something better than one of my former school's underfunded musical productions." She could hardly contain herself; this was so exciting! 

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

"Hehe! I'm so excited too! Let's go! We can get tickets now and eat at one of the restaurants just by Broadhay before we watch a production! Let's go!" exclaimed an excited Sterling as he began to walk out of the coffee emporium. 

 

It was such an exciting venture for him! Seeing a musical for the very first time, and with a mare no less! Sterling couldn't believe his fortune! All the negativity that fermented in his stay at UoM was now wiped away. He could spend a whole night with Blue Note and enjoy some alone time, a dream come true! He never did this before with his previous crush, which left him knowing that this... this could be different...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

@Sterling Crimson

 

Blue Note felt caught up in Sterling's enthusiasm. "So where do they sell the discounted tickets?" Blue Note asked she followed him out of the coffee emporium. She wanted to take in all of Manehatten. The city held a magical quality that not even Canterlot had. She was aware of how odd that would sound to almost anypony, but Canterlot had long lost its magic, for her at least. Manehatten, however, was her fresh start. Any amazing event could happen to her in this city, tonight or any other night. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

Sterling replied with confidence,

 

"Well I know they sell it right off the bat at the box office! Plus, since we're students, we can just show our ID cards and they'll instantly give us yet another discount for the best seats in the house if there's any!"

 

The two ponies were now approaching the Broadhay box office. It was unusually quiet this time, probably because the school year was just beginning for most ponies and because other ponies had other things to do. Nonetheless, this would be their night. Sterling saw the red pony happily smiling at the box office and Sterling now asked her politely,

 

"Excuse me ma'am. We want to see "Phantom of the Opera" tonight. It'll be two student tickets please."

 

"Alright young man that will be 15 bits for the both of you with the two discounts. Just show me your student IDs." replied the box office mare with a smile. Sterling then showed his student ID which was confirmed. He then looked over to Blue Note to show hers...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

@Sterling Crimson

 

"Oh, why do I have such a disorganized bag..." Blue Note thought as she dug around for her ID. She levitated it out of the bag, along with the thirty bits necessary to pay for the tickets. "I'll get this one," she said to Sterling. She was so excited about going to see a real Broadhay show, and she hadn't expected tickets to be this cheap. Tonight was just getting better and better. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

Sterling smiled sheepishly as Blue Note decided to pay 30 bits for them both. He giggled and spoke in a near-dream like state,

 

"Well umm... thanks Blue Note... hehehe. I... I could have done it."

 

When they got their tickets though, Sterling spoke more confidently, 

 

"Well Blue Note! Shall we go over to one of the local restaurants here for dinner? I like the one down the street where they make the best veggie burgers and salads! It's called the Prancing Unicorn! Plus, the waiters are a very respectful and friendly bunch! Go there with my family on occasion for dinner!"

Edited July 28, 2013 by Sterling Crimson

[lincolnshirepony 527]

@Sterling Crimson

 

"Well, I could have payed for coffee, so we're even," Blue Note said with a grin, handing one ticket to Sterling. 

 

"Yeah, that sounds great! I'm so used to UofM food, anything decent will seem like a gourmet meal at a five star restaurant. I do love a nice salad." Blue Note could almost imagine how wonderful it would taste. She should have gotten out into Manehatten a long time ago; this was already more fun than she'd had in weeks. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

"Great! Then we're off to the Prancing Unicorn then! I can't wait to get us watching the musical! It's going to be so much fun!" Sterling spoke with excitement as the two ponies walked away with their tickets to the Prancing Unicorn.

 

As soon as they walked in, one of the waiters, a green stallion came over. He was a nice pony, unlike the green stallion that was Chemm's coltfriend. He welcomed the two guests, instantly recognizing Sterling,

 

"Hey Sterling! Looks like you brought a friend along! Table for two I'm guessing?"

"Yep! This is Blue Note Mack. She's been a wonderful mare ever since we first met at Manehattan U."

"Hey, hey, hey! Congrats Sterling! Very glad things are going well for ya there! Med school's always tough!"

"It is indeed, and I can't wait to get eating!"

"Well then! C'mon over! Here's a nice table for two. Privately placed, great for a "couple" like you..." Mack spoke coyly as he walked away to let Sterling take his seat.

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Sterling must really come to the restaurant often if he knew one of the waiters. Blue Note blushed at the word couple. Did they look like that? She looked down for moment, not really sure what to do or even how to feel. "Wow, he thought we were a couple, can you believe that?" She wanted to deflect her embarrassment. She was finding herself more attracted to Sterling as time passed by. "No, don't be stupid. If you start crushing on him now, then you'll screw up your friendship."
 

She stared down at the menu feeling incredibly awkward. Perhaps a subject change was in order. "What do you normally get?" Blue Note asked, as she looked at the salads, a shade of red still on her face. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling sat down, albeit with a blush on his face. Luckily, his crimson coat prevented other ponies from seeing his blushes without careful observation. Sterling then heard Blue Note ask him what he normally eats at the Prancing Unicorn. Sterling then replied with a smile, 

 

"Well we can always get the pasta with cabbage! It's a personal favourite of mine. The veggie and fruit burger is also an awesome choice! Personally though, I'm getting a nice big bowl of cabbage salad. It's my favourite vegetable you see? Can't eat anything without cabbages!" Sterling chuckled after noticing his near fetish towards cabbages. They were just... so tasty to him. Ever since he first tried some as a colt, he'd never have anything without cabbage ever since!

[lincolnshirepony 527]

"Hm... I am in the mood for a salad," Blue Note said, looking over the menu. "Maybe I'll try their house salad. It sounds delicious," Blue Note said as she read the description. 

 

"So you came here a lot with your family?" she asked. She had heard Sterling mention his parents a few times before, and she was slightly curious as to what they were like.

[Inactive01 5,299]

"Good choice with the house salad! It's also a great salad!" Sterling replied happily.

"My parents are really nice folks. They supported me even through my worst of times. My dad's a newspaper journalist and mom's a housewife, although she also works at the largest amusement park at Manehattan's suburbs. My dad focuses more on the sports section, so I LOVE watching sports all over the world. My favourite sports though are baseball and football. The former because of all the math and because that's why my dad loves to work with, and football because it's the world sport. I played it before and I made a good striker in high school, even if the other students didn't think so..."

[lincolnshirepony 527]

"Wow, they sound like lovely ponies," Blue Note said. They sounded like great parents. "I must admit I am entirely clueless in all matters relating to athletics. I never could get into it. I watched the football games when I was in marching band, but I was either to busy playing or too distracted to ever get into the game. I had a fun time though." While football had always been foreign to her, marching band had been one of the best parts of school for her. The ponies there were certainly nicer than the majority of the school, and they all could bond over being discouraged in more or less the same way. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling giggled with Blue Note began to mention marching bands. He waved his hoof as if he were dismissing something and replied with a chuckle, 

 

"Blue Note! I didn't mean that football! I mean the world football! The one where you play with your hooves. The one with the two goal posts and the circular ball! My parents call the football you're thinking about eggball actually because in your type of football, the ball's shaped like an egg!" 

Edited July 28, 2013 by Sterling Crimson

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note felt embarrassed. There was no hiding her lack of knowledge now. She was used to ponies calling it soccer back at her school, and remembered how big of deal everypony made about football. "I would call it pigball myself," Blue Note said. Perhaps her wit would make up for her ignorance to all things athletic. "I probably know even less about soc— Er, football."

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling chuckled for slightly longer before another waiter came over to order up. Sterling made his order and the waiter happily complied. Sterling then addressed Blue Note again in an attempt to comfort her,

 

"Yeah. In all honesty, this football you speak of does look like a sport for pigs. They do act like it on the field, and their tackles and passes were never something I understood. And don't worry about calling it football. For you, I'm fine with either term. After all, there's a huge debate as to whether it was named soccer or football first. I can show you how magical it can be if you want." Sterling then stuttered away, just realizing how dumb his statement sounded...

 

'Wait she's no sports enthusiast Sterling! Why would she be interested in anything you have to say about sports? Most mares are turned off by that sort of thing you know!' thought a slightly frustrated Sterling as he internally shook his head...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note giggled at the thought of pigs playing football. "They call the ball the pigskin," Blue Note explained. "But I can't disagree about the sport being for pigs. I never did understand the appeal of the game." The fun in tackling one another was never apparent to her. 

 

"Oh, you're going to try to get me into a sport without any kind of band involvement? That might be a tough sell," Blue Note teased. "I've actually never been to a soccer game before." 

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling looked at her with slight surprise when she said she had never attended a soccer match. He shook his head slightly before giving her a smile,

 

"It is a beautiful game Blue Note. It is not like this pigball you speak of. I have seen it flourish in high schools here, but I never liked it myself. Soccer... imagine. No tackling. Movement of the ball is exclusively with your back hoof. You must not use your front hoof. Bad tackles and misdemeanours are not tolerated. Even though the score is not very high, the technique the ponies show when they pass the ball is simply out of this world. Haykas Podolski. Sandy Cazorla. Manedon Donovan. David Buckham. Such are the legendary names of football from all over the world."

 

Sterling then realized that he was beginning to enter his daydream state of soccer again, so he quickly shook himself out of it before replying sheepishly, 

"What I meant to say is... You really should come and watch a soccer match sometime. Not the high school games. The top gun games. There's a World Cup coming up next year! Should be a lot of fun with all the factions coming over to celebrate!"

Edited July 28, 2013 by Sterling Crimson

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note had never been too interested in sports, but she was drawn to Sterling's enthusiasm about them. The rules of soccer seemed logical enough. She could at least give watching it a try, if only for Sterling. "Okay, maybe you can get me out there one of these days." If it was such a popular sport, then there must something appealing about it. "Football has marching band. I'm sure there's something good about soccer too..." she mused. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling responded happily to Blue Note's willingness to try out watching a game of soccer. He replied happily,

 

"Great! I also forgot to mention. Right now, my parents are off on a trip across Equestria. He's reporting for the Manehattan Manekees, my favourite baseball team! I've watched them too ever since I was young! As you can see, my dad's love of sports is what inspired me to watch some and become a huge sports fan today! It's great exercise too, so that's why I love sports!"

 

Sterling began to realize that he was talking too much about himself and that he should let Blue Note talk about herself for a change. He then asked Blue Note,

 

"So Blue Note. I've... I've always wondered... what's it like to be within sight of the princesses?! I've never been to Canterlot before! I've only heard of folklore about it. You see, Canterlot doesn't have a baseball team because none of their residents wanted to watch baseball, so my dad never traveled there for sports ever."

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note took a sip of her water to buy herself some time. It was a trick she picked up from talking with her dad back in Canterlot. There were plenty of things she could tell Sterling about Canterlot, but not all of them were fit for polite dinner conversation. Blue Note decided to go safe the route, so she began to speak. She couldn't hide the uncertainty in her voice; talking about Canterlot could end up in dangerous territory. 

 

"Well, there are plenty of opportunities to see the princesses, if a pony so desires. Most recently, I was near the back of the crowd at the coronation speech of Princess Twilight Sparkle. It's not that hard to find an opportunity to hear any of them speak. Everypony in Canterlot has heard them at least once." There wasn't that much to say about the princesses that anypony didn't already know. "Sometimes you can spot their carriages on the street.

 

"We also have the castle. That looks nice. It's a really pretty view at night." A pony didn't want to get too close, though. Not just anypony could walk up to the home of the most important ponies in all of Equestria.

 

"There is plenty of culture. We have museums and concert halls too. The Royal Canterlot Orchestra is quite the ensemble." She could remember being awestruck at their performance when she had gone to see them. It had been one of the greatest nights of her life.

 

"And if you have money to spend, there are plenty of high end boutiques and shops to visit. Not to mention the nice restaurants..." Blue Note had been in one particular fancy restaurant more times than she would have cared for, but the pay was the best she could find.

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

When Blue Note mentioned being there when Princess Twilight Sparkle spoke, his face beamed. He had never had the chance to see the princesses in full view, let alone a coronation!

 

"Wow! You're so lucky! Seeing the princess in full view! Our family's not that rich, so we never really had the chance to go to Canterlot. If only we could go together sometime. We could see the Royal Canterlot Orchestra and see the great Octavia perform! I've always wanted to see Octavia perform; she's such a world class cellist!"

 

Sterling was clearly oblivious to the nervous tone Blue Note was expressing about Canterlot. He cared more about the orchestra and the wonderful sights there, especially the princesses! By the time Sterling was done talking about Canterlot, their food had arrived. The blue mare waiter gave Sterling a smile and then spoke cheerfully,

 

"Sterling! Been a while since you've been at the Prancing Unicorn!"

"Hey Trix! How's it been at the Unicorn?"

"Swell as usual! Customers flowing in here every day! Who's this with you?" Trix replied turning her head towards Blue Note with a smile.

"Nice! Well this is Blue Note. We met at UoM and she's been a wonderful friend! We're going to watch a musical tonight! "The Phantom of the Opera!"

"Aww that's so sweet! Perfectly romantic for a night for two in Manehattan!"

Sterling blushed once more, this time unable to contain it. He chuckled sheepishly at the thought of a romantic night.

"Yes... yes indeed. Hehe." replied a embarrassed Sterling.
"Well here's your favourite Sterling! A cabbage salad topped with parmesan cheese and crutons! And for Blue Note, we've got our specialty dish, the house salad! Seems like you two share taste buds! Enjoy your meals!" Trix then made a friendly wink as she walked away.

[lincolnshirepony 527]

"Well, seeing the princesses isn't as exciting as it sounds. Usually you can barely make them out," Blue Note said. Twilight Sparkle just looked like a dot of purple from the top of the castle.

 

"Octavia is a nice pony. I was never able to talk to her, but she sat in on one of orchestra rehearsals. The Canterlot Youth Orchestra is affiliated with The Royal Canterlot Orchestra, so sometimes we got the opportunity to meet them." There had been some perks to CYO.

 

Blue Note's was relieved to see the food, though the waitress made a comment about a "romantic evening". This was just going to make things exceedingly awkward. "Wow, these ponies really have the wrong impression," Blue Note said, blushing. She quickly started eating her salad. "This is delicious."

[Inactive01 5,299]

(OOC: I'll be available again in an hour to roleplay for the rest of the day! I just have one more MCAT section to do! Already have a good start with an 11 in Verbal Reasoning and 11 in Physical Sciences!)

 

Sterling looked on at Blue Note with slight disappointment when she had they had the wrong impression. After all, it WAS a night just for two AND everything did seem to fit together... Still, Sterling shook his head off Blue Note's comment and replied with a smile,

 

"Yep! Delicious food indeed! That's why our family loves coming around here just before browsing through Times Square!" Sterling then began to eat his salad quite raucously. He couldn't help the fact that he wasn't great with utensils overall, so it made it seem like he ate quite messily.

 

'Oh if only I could be more proper when it comes to eating food... This is Blue Note we're talking about! At least I should show some dignity!' thought a slightly anxious Sterling as he continued to munch.