Distant Memories and Aching Hearts

Hurricane Blitz was on his lunch break at the hayburger joint, sitting at a table, thinking about how to set the mood right for when he'd confess his love to Fluttershy. However, it was hard for him to think straight with his heart pounding fast and Twilight once again stuffing her cute face with hayburgers. This made him chuckle seeing as how Twilight enjoyed the burgers he made. Hurricane then hatched a plan where he'd invite Fluttershy over for a romantic dinner. But he realized it was a bad idea, seeing as how much his friends fight all the time. He thought of having a picnic with her, but with the way Ground Dasher raids the basket all the time, that plan shoots out the window. Finally, his lunch break was over and he headed back into the kitchen to start cooking up more hayburgers.

After his shift was over, he decided to head home, trying to figure out how he can confess his love to Fluttershy. While he's walking home, he gets all frustrated and then decides to grab a leaf from a tree and sat underneath. He placed the leaf over his mouth and began playing it like it was actually an instrument. He remembered how his grandmother taught him how to play the leaf whistle, and how it helped him relax and clear his mind.

He kept playing his relaxing and soothing tune, which caused some birds to flock towards him, along with a couple of other animals: squirrels, mice, ground hogs, and a rabbit, specifically, Fluttershy's rabbit: Angel Bunny. He didn't notice him at first because his eyes were closed as he was playing the leaf whistle. Pretty soon he heard the sounds of galloping growing louder as he kept on playing. After finally finishing his little song on the leaf whistle, he opened his eyes to see Fluttershy standing in front of him with that adorable smile on her face. This made Hurricane blush as he put the leaf down.

"Oh...uh...hi Fluttershy. What brings you here?" Hurricane asks with sweat running down his forhead

"I couldn't help but hear your wonderful music. What kind of instrument were you using?" she asked.

"Well, it was this." Hurricane replies, showing her the leaf he used to play the soothing music.

"A leaf? But how is that even possible? Where'd you learn how to play it and who taught you?" Fluttershy asks, as she walks towards Hurricane and sits next to him.

"It was my grandmother. She taught me how to play it before she died about a year ago." Hurricane says, looking directly at Fluttershy's beautiful teal eyes.

"Oh. I'm sorry you lost your grandmother. I bet she's still proud of you though."

"Yeah. I miss her so much." Hurricane says looking at the afternoon sky. Then he starts getting an idea on how he can confess to Fluttershy how he really feels about her. "Say, Fluttershy. I noticed that you care for a lot of animals. Even the ones that are predators. Is this one of your special talents?"

"W-why yes. I just feel so broken-hearted seeing them in so much pain. But seeing their smiles and the happiness in their eyes after all the caring makes my efforts all the more satisfying."

"Well...I never told you this, Fluttershy. But when I lived in Rogue Mountain, my family owns a zoo, which I felt was more of a playground to me when I was young. But as I grew up, I started feeling attached to all the animals like they were my family."

"Really? I didn't know that. I wish I could see them just once. But I don't know where Rogue Mountain is at. Do you think there's any way I could at least visit your hometown?"

"Well, it's not exactly open to outsiders and to make things even more stressful, it's a 5 days walk. If it were closer and they allowed guests over there, then I'd take you there almost every day."

"Oh, I see. Thank you for telling me, though." Fluttershy says.

Hurricane gives her a reassuring smile and places his hoof over her shoulder. Fluttershy gasps at his actions, making him pull his hoof away. "I-I-I'm sorry about that, Fluttershy! ...I-I didn't mean to startle you!" he says all worried.

"No, no, it's alright. Could you warn me next time?" Fluttershy asks looking down covering her blushing face.

"Ok, I will." Hurricane says, blushing as hard as Fluttershy. Hurricane then felt like it was time to tell her his true feelings. This was it, the moment of truth. It's now, or never. "Um...hey, Fluttershy?"

"Y-yes? What is it?" she asks, still blushing

"Um...t-there's been something I've been meaning to...to tell ya." Hurricane says, hiding his blushing face under his bangs.

"Oh...ok."

"I...I kind of have a..." Hurricane stutters. "...a...a crush on you, and...I was hoping if...maybe...we could, you know...go out?" Hurricane asks, bracing himself for her rejection. He keeps his eyes closed tight. After a minute he opens them up to see that Fluttershy was only inches away from his face.

"I...I'd love to." She says, still blushing but with a bright smile on her face. She then lean in and hugged Hurricane, making him hug her back ever so gently. Pretty soon they lock their lips together. Hurricane had finally found the courage to confess to Fluttershy and in return, she agreed to be his marefriend. They soon break the kiss and stare into each others eyes.

"So...what time do you want to go out?" Hurricane asks her.

"Well...how about tomorrow in the evening, we can have tea and a nice tasty dinner." Fluttershy says.

"Okay then. I'll make the food. I'll see you then, Fluttershy." Hurricane says giving her one last hug before heading home. Fluttershy waved at him and she slowly began to blush once again.

'Thank you so much, Hurricane Blitz.' She says in her thoughts. Soon she heads back to her cottage as she remembered that a grizzly bear was in need of a massage to relax it's stiff neck and back.

Hurricane arrived back home to tell his friends the news, only to see that Ground Dasher and Spark Wave, to his surprise, playing yet another game of poker but they aren't fighting this time. Eternal Flames sees Hurricane and walks up to him.

"Hey, welcome back, buddy. I just finished making dinner. Go ahead and take a seat, I'll serve you a plate." Eternal says

"Ok, but um... I need to tell you something." Hurricane says, making Eternal turn towards him.

"Okay then. What is it?"

"Do you remember how I told you that I had a crush on Fluttershy?"

"Let me guess, you asked her out."

"Yeah."

"Well, what did she say?"

"She actually said "Yes"

"Then I'm proud to hear that. Just be sure to take care of her. Although with how you take care of animals, I think you and her will make an excellent pair, buddy." Eternal says with a warm smile.

"Thanks, Eternal. What about you? Are you gonna see Sunset Shimmer again?" Hurricane asks.

"I don't know if I ever will. But I still love her." Eternal says, before he walks over to the window to look at the setting sun. "If I do, I might have to.....move out on my own."

"OH YEAH!!! A ROYAL FLUSH!!!" Ground Dasher shouts, flashing the cards onto the tables. "OH YES!!! FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2 YEARS, I FINALLY WON A POKER GAME!!!!!" As he was celebrating his little victory, Spark Wave was shaking his head left and right.

"Well, since you've won, I'm going out for some fresh air." Spark Wave said, getting out of his chair. He walked towards the door only to get stopped by Eternal's voice.

"Don't be out for too long, mother is already lowering the sun. It's going to be a while before aunt Luna is going raises the moon, too, so try to make it back before it gets too dark." Eternal says, sitting down at the dining room table.

"I'll try to make it back early, "chief." Spark Wave says before disappearing behind the door.

"Ugh, I hate it when he calls me that." Eternal says with a face hoof. "Just because I'm a prince, doesn't mean I can be called by one of my blasted titles such as "chief" or "honorable prince", sheesh!"

"He never called you that other name, Eternal." Hurricane says before grabbing his plate of food and taking a seat.

"Yeah, I know, but still, I have to try to make my point across." Eternal replies.

--

It took Spark Wave a few minutes to reach the river. He walked towards the bridge that extended over the river and leaned towards the rails, watching the ripples. While he was watching it, he started drifting off in his mind, thinking about his parents and wondering how they're doing back at the Rogue kingdom. He knows that he made a tough decision to leave his homeland, but he knows his parents wanted him to be happy and live a life of his own. He's then interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. He turns around quick to see Shadow Force.

"What brings you here, buddy?" Shadow asks.

"Oh, nothing much, just thinking about my parents." Spark Wave replies.

"I wish I could relate." Shadow says. "You're very lucky you had parents."

"You know, Shadow. You should consider yourself lucky as well." Spark Wave says. "In your case, family is about who you love, not just about who brought you into this world. With the love and support of your foster family, a ROYAL family at that, you're actually a pretty lucky stallion knowing they gave you a second chance."

"Yeah, you do have a point there, and I'm grateful for everything Royal Blaze and his sons did for me." Shadow says, stepping towards the rails and leaned onto it, staring at the river.

"You know, I'm also envious of you. You even won the heart of those two mares, Lyra and Bon Bon. But when it comes to comitted relationships, you know those two are inseperable." Spark Wave says, elbowing Shadow Force.

"Yeah, but going out with them isn't exactly going to be easy. Then again, no relationship is easy." Shadow says.

"Don't you think you boys should get to bed? It's almost dark out here." says a female voice.

This startles the boys and they turn around to see Princess Luna.

"PRINCESS!" the guys shout in unison.