Date of the Century [Shipping][Saucy][Finished]

Starry hopped out the door, cheerily. Starry had just finished her photo-shoot with Shutter and Sky for the new Sword Mares magazine. She was still wearing her Sword Mare armor, as a matter of fact, and had also made plenty of copies of the photos to share with her friends.

That wasn't what really had Starry excited, though. Starry and Shutter had been adventuring across the wastes for quite some time now, and Starry liked having Shutter around. Not ten seconds ago, it dawned on Starry that she ought to ask Shutter on a date, so, as was her nature, she blurted it out.

"Hey Shutter! Let's go on a date!" was what she had said, and Shutter turned the most adorable shade of pink, before nodding. That just made Starry the happiest mare in the wastes.

"Hey Shutter!" she called back to him, "Where do you want to go first? The carnival is in town to celebrate our victory in that battle, maybe we could go there? Or we could go to the restaurant, or the park. Do you have an idea? This is my first date, which isn't surprising considering my reputation in the Stable. What do couples do on a first date?"

Shutter's blush still hadn't quite faded...It had already been awkward enough having to do a Photo Shoot of that sort...but being asked out by Starry immediatly afterwards?
Not that he minded...Starry was one of his best friends afterall, but...well...he'd quite literaly never done this before! He'd been a weak, little dork back in the stables who stuck to his newsletter and camera! He had no idea what to do on a date!!

Okay, Starry probably has this all planned out...they're always several steps ahead fo everyone else in things, so they've probably got an entire day planned...all I have to do is go alo-

Then he heard Starry ask him where he wanted to go, since they hadn't done this before either...

...Craaap...

"Um...er...ah...Maybe...the Funfai-er, I mean...the Carnival sounds...well...it sounds like it could be nice..."

He mumbled, Shutter having no idea what to do himself, and pretty much just agreeing with the first thing Starry had suggested, a VERY nervous grin on his face.

"The Carnival, then!" Starry declared, as she trotted toward Shutter and wrapped her hoof around his, holding it as they trotted. "Wow, this is so exciting, I've never been on a date! Not to mention we're almost ready to release the new Sword Mares magazine upon the wastes!"

Starry was trying to make conversation. She was excited, but she was also very nervous. Dates were a big deal, and Starry had never read any books on dating!

"...Ahaha...yeah...this is my first time too..."

Shutter asaid, his nervousness shining through quite clearly, as he awkwardly trotted beside Starry...wow, this was not easy to do on only three legs...Starry seemed to be having no problems though, as she held onto his hoof.
Quickly, he tried to think of something to say, some sort of small talk, of gossip, of ANYTHING. Luckily, a conversation point struck him rather quickly.

"...Say...how ARE you going to print that magazine anyway? It sounds like you've got everything planned, so how are we going to get it out into the wastes?"

Starry's eyes beamed at the question. This was a question she had been dying to answer, but she had forgotten about it. "Well," Starry began, "You see, while we were on the road toward New Appleloosa a few weeks back, I saw an old road sign which pointed to an M.O.I. building. I had read about the ministries from the books back in the Stable, and I think M.O.I. stands for the 'Ministry of Image'. It was basically a very secretive ministry which printed a bunch of propaganda and whatnot. Considering the nature of the ministry, I wouldn't be surprised to find a printing press in that building. If we can get it operational, we can print more copies than we can carry!"

Starry was excited to finally provide an answer, but she couldn't help but laugh to herself knowing that Shutter was as nervous as she was. "Hey, let's just focus on having fun tonight, okay? Neither of us really know how a date works, so why don't we just focus on having a good time?"

"...'Just have a good time', eh? That sounds like an idea. I'll try not to be too boring..."

Shutter said with a chuckle, before giving Starry a smile...good or bad, this day was certaintly going to get interesting...

"So...Carnival, eh? I heard they were setting up something special to celebrate the victory, but what's it like? I haven't actually had a look myself, yet..."

Starry and Shutter trot along toward the carnival. There are a ton of booths, with food and games, and there are a few pre-war rides, the tallest one was a salvaged Ferris wheel. Among the crowd there, Starry managed to spot Kes, and pulled Shutter along with her to see him.

"Hi, Mr. K! Fancy seeing you here, I didn't know you liked to have fun! You're always looking so serious!" she told him. Kes certainly did look out of place among all of the bright colors, the balloons, the excited colts and fillies and the romantic couples.

Kes grunted out a greeting to Starry, firing off another round from the pistol he had been provided by the Stall owner of the game he was currently playing.

The round struck home, ringing a small gong, signaling his victory at the little time wasting game. Kes 10. Gamekeeper 0.

It only made sense that he would have chosen this game to play. His skills at shooting were impressive to say the least. And with a steady supply of caps he had been playing this for quite a while. Any prizes he won he either refused to take or set it in the growing pile he had earned.

He did not bother guarding the pile so every so often some little colt or filly would run up and take one of the teddy bears or other dingy toys, running away afterwords, afraid of the big, scarred Gryphon.

Shutter could really empasize with those kids right now...while he really respected Kes, since honestly, the Gryphon had saved him probably more then once, he really was...well...terrifying.

"Ah...H-hi..."

Shutter squeaked, after having been dragged over by his date. Quickly, he searched his head for something to say.

"...So! Er...Y-you're a very, very, very good shot..."

"Yup." Kes replied setting his gun down for the game keeper to reload. The shocked earth pony began the process of reloading and the gryphon turned to face the others, locking his signature gaze on the two ponies that had approached him.

He did not ask what they wanted, he didn't like talking much. Besides, he had a feeling Blue would start telling him in a moment anyway. She had a habit of doing stuff like that.

Starry reached into her saddlebag, and pulled out an envelope. "Here you go, Kes! We just got done with the photo shoot for the new Sword Mares magazine, and since you're one of my bestest friends ever, I'd like you to have a free sample!" It was quite apparent that Starry had just finished with the photo shoot. That, or she wore her Sword Mare outfit around regularly, which, knowing Starry, wouldn't be too far-fetched either.

Starry opened her mouth to keep speaking, but she caught a glimpse of a giant stuffed robot doll hanging from the stall, and she gasped, gazing at it with an unquenchable desire to own it.

"Sh-Shutter, look at that!" Starry told him, grabbing him around the shoulder and pointing her hoof toward the stuffed robot. "You're good at this game, right? Just shooting the targets? You've gotta win it for me, Shutter! I need that robot!!!"

Shutter gulped in nervousness after he was grabbed and twisted around to be shown the prize. He wasn't that great with a gun like that, and Starry wanted him to win her a prize like that?! That...wasn't going to be easy...Still, he guessed he'd better at least try...

"Um...okay..." He mumbled, as he stepped up to the stand.
"Uh...excuse me, how much for a game?"

The wiry built earth pony behind the counter turned and pointed to a sign hung above the countertop.

2 caps for one round, 5 caps for two. It read.

Kes knew for a fact shutter was not good with a gun, and he doubted that he would be able to hit all the targets required to get that robot. He would have to hit every target perfectly to earn such an award. Still anything could happen, and if all else failed Kes could offer some assistance.

If he were compensated for services rendered.

Shtter hesitated to point out the fact that that he could just buy three rounds, one after another, for 6 caps, especailly since him, Starry, and Kes seemed to be the only ones in front of this stall...might be a good idea to keep that info ready though, if he botched the first time...

"Okay...er...One round to start off with..."

Shutter said, as he slipped out two caps from his pouch and placed them on the counter, before taking the pistol. His accuracy wasn't too great with gunpowder firearms, but he did find pistols a bit easier to work with...and maybe luck would come through for him, just this once...

Shutter managed to miss his first several shots. His poor performance, and the sad look of Starry over his shoulder only made him more nervous, making him miss most of his shots.

Starry frowned at Shutter, not because she was disappointed in him, but because she was relying on him. "Shutter!" she exclaimed, with wavering confidence, "You have to try harder! How else am I going to get that robot?"

Starry gazed at the robot on the other side of the stall longingly, before she trotted away to get a closer look at it, leaving Shutter and Kes behind several meters away. She gazed at the robot with big puppy-dog eyes. She knew that looking pathetic wasn't going to get her the robot, but that only made her feel more miserable.

Shutter looked at how sad Starry looked, and immediatly, his look changed from nervous, to determined! He pulled out five caps and slammed then down on the counter!

"Two more games!"

He said, with a fierce expression, he was gonna get that robot for Starry, come Tartarus or high radiation!

Kes raised a mental brow. So the boy was dedicated to winning? To bad he lacked the required skill set to back up the fire in his eyes. Kes would let him run through one more game before stopping him, motioning for Shutter to follow him for a second.

Time to talk business.

After another unfortunate failiure to hit anything, Shutter was beginning to wonder if this gun was calibrated right...but it's not like the stall games would be rigged, right? That's just silly!
However, befire he got a chance to try his third round, he felt a talon tap him on the shoulder, and turning to see what it was, he followed after.

"Er...Keep that last game on hold for a second?"

He called back to the stand owner, before he chased after Kestrel, his fear of the Gryphon temporarily forgotten due to the fact that he was still focused on getting back to the stand and winning Starry that toy.

"Er...What is it Kes?"

Kes came to a stop near the entrance to an ally way, glancing around so as to be sure no prying ears could hear what he was about to say/offer.

"Kid, you can't shoot..." Kes began getting straight to the point. He knew most would see this action as rather harsh, but it would be necessary if Shutter were to win.

"I can help, for a price."

Shutter gave a sigh, he knew for a fact that that was true...
"It's the recoil, I just can't handle it..."
He muttered...however, his ears perked up at Kestrel offering help.
"You'd give me a helping hoof? That...that's brilliant!"
He said, barely resisting the urge to bounce in excitement.
"How much?"

"2 caps" Kes rumbled out in his signature voice. Hell he didn't really need the money, but it was a fair trade. Kes helps him win a game, and in return he gets the same number of caps it costs to play.

Shutter gave an enthisiastic nod as he fished out the two caps from his pouch and gave then to Kestrel.

"Great! So, what do we do? Are you gonna show me how to use a gun straight? Is there some super secret trick to hitting all the targets? Tell me!"

Shutter asked happily, his enthusiasm barely contained.

"Hey! Whatcha talkin' about?" Starry asked, as she trotted over. She had ceased looking pitiful for the sake of sating her curiosity. Starry hadn't given up on wanting the robot, but Shutter and Kes were speaking just out of her earshot, and she was naturally curious.

Noticing the approaching mare, Kestrel lowered his voice and rumbled out a reply; taking his caps as well.

"Don't worry, jus' shoot." Was all Kestrel said before turning and nodding a greeting to Starry. Hhopefully Shutter knew better than to start talking about this little deal of theirs. Kestrel had a plan already and it didn't involve teaching shutter anything fancy. Kes wasn't good at that sort of thing, nor did they have the time for such lessons.

Shutter gave a nod...he had no idea what Kes was planning, but if it won Starry that toy? It would be worth it.
Quickly, he turned around to face his date.

"Er...Kes was just...er...giving me some advice! That's all!"
Shutter said quickly, as he began to head back to the stall.

"Okay...I'm feeling pretty confident now...You still want that Robot, Starry?"

Shutter said, before he picked up the gun in his mouth, ready to use his last round.