Butterfly in the Orchard

Entering upon the third week of spring the flowers are sprouting and budding. The lilies sprout before the roses, and roses before the daisies, each on their own time. But there comes a day when the flowers all bloom simultaneously. The florists take this time to sell harvest the beauty of the flowers and spread them around town to market the essence of romance that comes to Equestria. To many this day follows along a holiday, a day to represent the romance, this day is known as…

“Heart and Hooves day is coming every pony,” Said Rarity in entering the library in a dramatic fashion. Twilight and Fluttershy were inside, doing a little spring cleaning. Nopony paid attention to Rarity’s outburst. Rarity cleared her throat to get her friend’s attention.

“oh,” said Twilight, finally realizing that her friend was here. “Yes Rarity? What is it?”

Rarity slapped on a smile, “Hearts and Hooves day is coming, my dears,” she said in a sly voice, “and I came to see what a certain somepony had planned”

“I was just going to catch up on some reading,” said twilight, “don’t know why, but some stallions have been hounding me for a date after the fiasco at the Watering Hole last month.” Rarity remembered that incident. All she can say is that Twilight is very different when she drinks.

“I meant my Spikie,” Rarity clarified, looking around for her favorite little dragon. “um, where I he?”

“Spike is in Canterlot taking a penmanship test.” Twilight answered, “His last few letters were sloppy, the Princess didn’t think he was taking his job seriously.”

Rarity gave a disappointed sigh. She laid on the ground playing with a towel left on the ground. Looking around she remembered Fluttershy was helping clean the bookshelves. She immediately grew a smile on her face. “Fluttershy, what are you and Big Mac for Hearts and Hooves Day.”

Fluttershy dropped the rag in suspense. “Oh, um, well, you see…” Fluttershy quietly answered Rarity.

“Rarity, it isn’t you place to ask.” Stated Twilight.

“I was just making conversation darling” She replied, “I wanted to know what her plans were.” Rarity gave an innocent smile. She glanced back at Fluttershy who was being, well, shy. “did you have something special?”

“Well, I was sort of planning of having a picnic in the park.” Fluttershy answered.

Rarity looked into Fluttershy’s eyes, raising an eyebrow. “A picnic?” she asked in disbelief, “with all the specials in the shops and eateries?”

“I’m sorry, what specials?”

“Sugarcube corner’s couple’s cupcake, Mane street diners Special Somepony Spaghetti platters, the rose deals at Roseluck’s and Lilly’s flower shop, To name a few.”

“But I just want a quiet meal with Big Mac” Fluttershy calmly stated.

“So you’re telling me you don’t want to miss this opportunity to have a fabulous time with your coltfriend?”

“RARITY!” Twilight interrupted, “if she doesn’t want to do something you can’t force her.” she scolded, “some ponies prefer simple gestures rather than expensive outings.”

Rarity felt shame in her actions, “sorry Fluttershy,” she bowed her head, “I didn’t mean to yell at you, I hope I didn’t offend you.” She looked up to see a smiling Fluttershy facing her.

“No offense taken rarity,” she chirped making her friend rise from her shame, “I had thought of going to one of those restaurants, but the thought of all those ponies looking at me and Big Mac…” she shook from just thinking about it. It was suddenly clear to Rarity, she felt like an idiot not thinking about it before.

“Well then, I just hope you enjoy your picnic.”

“A picnic?” exclaimed a rainbow maned Pegasus who sat on a hoof placed cloud, “that’s it? A boring picnic?”

“Well I suggested it as something calm for a first Hearts and Hooves day.” Replied Big Mac as he pulled the plow across the field. “It seemed like good idea, Miss Dash”

“Well that idea is so~ boring.” Rainbow dash remarked, “I thought you of all stallions would do something with an extra kick. What were you planning on eating anyway?”

“A few daisy sandwiches and a salad”

“A salad,” she responded in an annoyed grunt, “if I took her out, I would do something more enjoyable.”

“If you took her out, huh?” the red stallion smirked.

The Pegasus looked at him with a face of a million grimaces. She flew off her cloud and slammed into Big Mac’s view. “Look, I am getting tired of all the stallions making that suggestion. I am NOT a Filly-fooler, nor have I ever been or want to be” she huffed in his face stopping the plow in its tracks.

The stallion shed some sweat in embarrassment. The rainbow maned mare had gotten upset at his words and he couldn’t deal with it well.

“I’ve known Fluttershy since flight school,” she continued in a calm manner “I know she can be shy about trying new things, but all she needs is a little push. And before you know it she is having fun too.”

“a little push…” he pondered to himself. He has always seen her as a fragile mare but if he could break her from that to become more intimate he might grow to like her more. He thinks he sees the reasoning behind Rainbow’s words. “What do you have in mind?” he came to ask.

“Well…,” she begins to think hard, “how’s about you take her to that fancy restaurant near the post office, what’s it called again?”

He understood where she was referring. The only problem was, could he afford it? He opened his mouth in protest, “gee Miss Dash, don’t you think that is mighty expensive?”

“Are you chickening out on me?” she huffed at him, “are you saying Fluttershy is not worth a few extra bits?” she rammed herself in his face bringing an uncomfortable twist in the back of his neck. “Listen here, Fluttershy has been my friend since flight camp, and I believe I know her better than you do. I know she is shy in the outside, but inside she wants to have a good time, so give her the best time she can have, or you will be answering to me.”

Rainbow Dash’s words sank in. The only conflict he sees is the big one, the money. He came to think of ways to get the money, one major one came. In his room he has a lockbox hidden in his closet. There he has been saving bits to buy himself a new mini-fridge for his barn, one to keep cold drinks while working in the summer. He has quite a bit saved up, half way to be exact. Don’t get him wrong he’s not selfish, he does want her to be happy, but he just wanted that fridge for the past few years.

“Well?” she grunted at his long pause.

He took a big gulp, “you got any recommendations”

Rainbow dash leaned back and smiled, “I hear the grilled eggplant is a crowd pleaser.”

The day had come, Big Mac told Fluttershy they would eat in town, she didn’t respond. Well not negatively at least. The stroll through town was one that made their faces warm with awkwardness. The townsponies had yet to get used to this high profile couple. The mares were green to the idea of the handsome farm-pony having a mare that was not themselves. Some stallions on the other hand remembered Fluttershy from several incidents, especially when she worked for Photo Finish. No pony could keep from looking at them.

“Big Mac?” called Fluttershy, hoping to ask if he notices the eyes. Big Mac looked at her with a questionable look, hoping the stares weren’t bothering her. “Oh, nothing”

They arrived at the restaurant, Big Mac wearing the second nicest vest he owned, and Fluttershy a simple dress. Big Mac heard the restaurant required formal wear. So far from the ponies entering they needed more.

They stood in the doorway, hesitant of their entry. The red stallion turned to the Pegasus, gazing at her fear of something new. The words of her friend came rushing to his head. He acted. “Let’s head on in.” he said as he opened the door. The yellow Pegasus headed in, wary of her surroundings. They stopped by the podium alongside a sign that read, “Wait to be seated.”

A white earth pony with a black combed over mane and a thin mustache trotted over with a foreleg holding a clipboard. He walked with his eyes half closed, and his chin in the air, the kind of arrogance a Canterlotian unicorn is known to have. “May I help you” he asked with a questionably flat tone

“We would like a table for two,” Big Mac answered, sensing something wrong. The waiter seemed to be looking at Fluttershy, this made him uncomfortable.

“We will have a table for you in” he glances at his clipboard, “30 minutes.”

Big Mac felt disappointment and relieved. He looked at Fluttershy, who had a distraught look upon her face. He felt sorrow for her. “Miss Shy, if you don’t want to wait we could still go have a pic...”

The waiter interrupted, “wait, Miss shy? As in, Fluttershy?”

“Um yes,” Fluttershy shivered. She couldn’t think of any positive outcome.

The waiter looked around, points to a poster, and continues. “You were the model, am I right?”

Fluttershy nods her head wary of what might come next. She flashes back to that day the cameras followed her around Ponyville, her crying, and her fears of being watched by thousands of perverse eyes. The mere thought of it made her eyes water.

“Oh my, I never thought I would get a chance to meet you, I was a big fan when you were active.” said the waiter. He looks over to a separate room, “I may have a spare table for you in the reservations room, a client dropped theirs not too long ago.” He then looked at Fluttershy and smiled, “If you can do something for me.”

Big Mac did not feel comfortable with the way he was looking at her. he felt like he might need to buck him in the face. He looked over to Fluttershy to check if he should and was her coming out of her defensive shell.

“Can you take a photograph with me and sign it?” he offered. To Big Mac this didn’t seem like a big deal. Fluttershy was still in a defensive position, ‘how will she react’, he thought to himself. The Waiter just smiled, staring at her like a nervous fanatic. Big Mac felt he may need to buck his face for sure.

“Sh..sure,” she responded with a shiver and a shake. “If it’s not too much trouble, I mean.”

The waiter gave a smile and replied, “No trouble at all, I’ll just talk to the manager and you’ll be on your way.” He then walked towards the back room.

The red stallion gazed at his date to see how she was doing. Seeing as she looked at the ground he noticed a shiver coming from the back of her neck, similar to one his sister had after realizing they made a mistake. “You didn’t have to do this,” he instinctively said.

Fluttershy looked up to him, noticing a calming smile shining on her. “It’s fine. I just… didn’t expect that”.

Big Mac continues to have doubts. He had just witnessed his marefriend get a free ride to a dinner table, something he had not expected. There was also the Model thing he had never heard of before.

Finally the waiter comes back with the manager. He was a light gray stallion, elderly but not by much. He wore a chef’s hat and an apron, but with no mark on it. He inspected the yellow Pegasus, making sure she truly was the model known as, “Flootershy” he said aloud. “Come, sit and eat.” He signaled them to enter the “reservations” room.

They were seated in the center of the room, the only table left available. The waiter, who tried to keep calm, asked for their drinks. “What would you like as a refreshment.”

The couple opened their menus to check the beverages. They varied from punch to wines,  juices to teas and coffee. Fluttershy ordered a mint tea, a sweet warm beverage. Big Mac just ordered a glass of water, not wanting to spend too much.

As soon as the waiter left a silence bathed the two ponies. The stallion had never been to one of these restaurants, he never learned proper etiquette for these places. The mare looked down at her menu to escape the fact that she was in clear view from the other attendees, the chills were almost too much for her.

“can we talk?” Big Mac kept asking himself. He looked around and noticed the other couples were chatting up. He felt calmer with himself, but what subject should he start with, he asked. He’s not much of a big talker. He only talked when he was addressed to. This was far out of his comfort zone. Suddenly he remembered something he could start with.

“I didn’t know you were a model” he started. The reaction of his marefriend was unsettling, the way she flinched into her menu. Big Mac knew this was off to a bad start.

“I… was, for about a week.” She said, shaking like a leaf.

“It must have been nice”

“Actually…” she tried to explain, as she was interrupted by the waiter bringing their drinks.

“Here are your drinks,” he said with glee in his voice. “Are you two ready to order?”

Fluttershy closed her menu, showing that she had made her choice. “I would like the apple cream salad. If that’s okay” looking at Big Mac for approval.

“I’ll have the grilled Eggplant” said Big Mac.

Big Mac had forgotten to look in the menu. He looked for the salad she ordered, 18 bits. He had expected more. Looking for his order of the Fried Eggplant, His eyes could have shot out of his skull seeing the price.

The waiter took the menus from their hooves, leaving a shocked Farm pony and a frightened pegasus as he left to arrange the meals. They stayed silent for a few awkward minutes. When the blankness of the stallion’s head washed away he took notice of the situation. He had just ordered what seemed like the most expensive thing on the menu, and his marefriend was having a hard time adjusting to the surroundings. He could still save this. He could still have a good time.

“So, you didn’t tell me what it was like being a model,” he hastily stated.

“Well…” she started, trying to get a sentence out. She panned her eyes around the room, “well, it…” she staggered more until she looked into his eyes. “It was the scariest time of my life.” She bluntly said.

“The scariest time?” Big Mac asked, confused and curious.

“Well, other than that Nightmare Night when I was a filly, but yes, the worst two weeks of my life.” She shook in her seat as she told the summarized version of her modeling career. “They put me in these tight outfits. They pampered me too much. They never let me see my friends. And the cameras, all the cameras pointed at me, all day and night, flashing, everywhere I turned. Plus it almost ruined my relationship with Rarity.” She stopped to take a breath.

Big Mac could feel this was a touchy subject for her. “So you are happier now?” he asked without thinking.

“I would say so,” she said while turning a smile, “I now appreciate my time with friends more, and the money lasted me a while on my debts…” she paused for a moment, looked at the stallion across the table.

The silence was eerie. They looked blankly at each other.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something, if it’s okay with you that is…” she looked away slightly, “what was your time like with Lyra?” she quickly turned and bit her lip in embarrassment.

“Huh?” Big Mac gasped in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“If it’s not too personal, I mean”

The stallion turned a brighter red as she understood the question. “Well we had an understanding about each other. We hadn’t spent too much time together…” he looked awkwardly at her. She was blushing and looking off to the side.

“I meant, um, what did you do… together?”

Big Macintosh’s mind opened to a new realization. “You never really had a coltfriend, have you?”

“Well, I, always wanted one,” she responded softly, “but yes, you’re my first.” She looked at him with her eyes wide. “I never thought I would feel like this about a stallion.” That smile, that small but powerful smile. It was enough to bring the farm stallion’s red face to a dark maroon flush.

The food had arrived. Fluttershy’s salad topped with a cream and an apple sliced into wedged around the lettuce looked beautiful. While the Grilled Eggplant looked like a plate of grilled bit coins covered in sauce. He hopes he has enough bits to pay for all of this in the end. But one thing that keeps his mind off the inevitable payment was the face of his marefriend. The cute, dare he say, adorable pegasus sitting across the table. Looking at her helped him smile, something he hasn’t done with a mare in years.

As the meal passed and they exchanged awkward looks while they stuffed their mouths they had forgotten of the world. All they knew was each other and the exciting flavors they were experiencing. Soon the meal was done, and the waiter was sent their way to collect two things.

“Sir, here’s the bill,” he said to the stallion, handing a small portfolio with a scrap of paper and two toffees, probably covering the bitter with sweets. He turns to the mare, “we have the camera ready over here for you.”

She headed off towards the kitchen wall, when she looked back at her date heading off alone to pay the bill. Her mind sparked, she stopped and calmly spoke, “I can’t do it,”

“Excuse me ma’am, but you made a promise,”

“I know, but I mean, not without him… if that’s okay with you.” she rebutted, the waiter was confused. “You see we came here together, and you didn’t specify it only had to be me.” She spoke as if she had read and signed a contract. The waiter hesitated. He spoke to the camera-pony briefly and headed on to the front register.

Big Mac opened his bag of bits and paid the amount due, which wasn’t as much as he expected, 25% off for it being Hearts and Hooves day. He received a tap on his shoulder. He did not expect it to be the waiter.

“The lady wants you to be in the photograph.” He told Big Mac.

The red stallion could not believe what he heard, but he couldn’t keep thinking it. He trotted over to the back to see Fluttershy waiting for him.

It was time to take the photo. The waiter and the Manager stood on the outer edges of the group, leaving the couple in the center. The preparations took two minutes, the camera shot and the photo came out of the camera. Then unexpectedly, the camera shot again. The second photo captured the ponies relaxing and leaning off to the sides.

“Well, this picture is useless,” said the camera pony. Fluttershy took notice. The picture had the other two stallions’ faces cut. All that was in focus was the two of them standing, eyes panned to each other.

“Can I keep it” interrupted the yellow mare. The group looked to her. She had a timid smile, but the sternness of a bull. “I mean, if it’s not too much trouble.”

After leaving the restaurant they headed back to the outskirts of town. Big Mac had his mind busy with the extra savings he needed for his minifridge. He began to think of all the small thing he bought with the money. Hospital visits, tools, smithing help, that diamond ring he bought last Hearts and Hooves day, all minor necessities. But this time it seemed different, as if this one was more important. He snaps back into reality as he realizes Fluttershy is still walking beside her.

“Did ya have a nice time?” he asked her.

The mare blushed and looked at the ground, “well… it was a nice dinner…” she timidly said, “but the ponies in there scared me”

He could feel she didn’t like it. “Well I hadn’t planned this beforehand, it sorta popped in my head after talking to one of your friends” he confessed

She looked questionably at him, and then in the blink of an eye her face showed the realization. “Rainbow Dash always tries to get me to try new things.” She said, “She tries to be like a sister to me at times, ever since Flight Camp.” She confessed. “Her loyalty to me is outstanding. But sometimes…” she stops in her tracks. Big Mac looked at her “Sometimes I like things simple and clean”

Big Mac smiled. They continued to walk on home leaving behind the restaurant around the corner. Suddenly Big Mac had one last comment. “Miss Dash can be really persistent sometimes, can’t she?”

Fluttershy giggled.