Flowers, and Chocolates, and Stallions, Oh my!
"Hmm? What's this?" Twilight wondered aloud as she opened her door for the first time that morning. It was Hearts and Hooves Day, so she'd woken up extra early to get what she needed from the market. She knew all the stands and shops would be closing early, leaving only the fancy restaurants to cater to the couples of Ponyville. For Twilight, that just would not do. How would she get quills at a restaurant? Beyond that, She had no special somepony and, therefore, no desire to attend dinner at a fancy restaurant. She would surely need to pick up groceries for the day, as well.
However, she found herself staring at two items resting upon her doorstep that puzzled her greatly. There laid a simple bouquet of flowers, leaned up against a red, heart-shaped box. She raised the flowers up in her lavendar aura and smelled them briefly, a smile gracing her features. "Well whoever did this, they somehow knew my favorite flowers are violets!" She continued to think out loud happily. It was at that point, with the flowers removed from the box's surface, that she noticed the card. She raised it up to eye level, examining it closely. It was hoof-made, and whoever had created it had done so meticulously, pouring their heart and soul into every little detail. The front of the card had a real gold leaf border, cut to look like an intricate, golden, embroidered doily. Within the border, the card had been decorated with pink hearts and obsessively tiny hoof prints. In purple ink, the front of the card read, "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Twilight!" It was the best hoof writing Twilight had ever seen. It had obviously been very carefully written, and not in the owner's regular hoof writing, yet somehow it seemed oddly familiar to her. Judging just by the flower choice and the calligraphy, it must have been somepony that Twilight knew well.
She opened the card to see a large, pink heart on one side, and on the other, the simple words, "Be Mine?" In the same, meticulous writing. The only problem was, there was no name. Twilight's dreamy smile broke down as she frantically opened the box. It revealed chocolate and...a gold, heart-shaped necklace!? That, she had certainly not expected. The surface of the heart was peppered with small diamonds. She paused a second to put it on, admiring the color against her coat, before she tore the whole tray of chocolates from the bottom of the box, hoping and praying to find a name, a pony to thank for all the amazing gifts. There was no name, only the words, "You're beautiful." They were, once again, scrawled in the same meticulous fashion as the last. A small blush graced her lavendar complexion. She had to find the stallion responsible, even if she had to ask every stallion she knew.
"She's gotta' know it was me, right?" Rainbow Dash asked herself, watching Twilight's expression repeatedly turn from dreamy to frantic and back again as she examined the gifts, one by one, from her vantage point high in the sky. She was shielding herself from Twilight's field of vision with a puffy, white cloud, only daring to peak her head over the edge to watch the mare she had fallen for. She took a deep breath and steeled her resolve. "I have to go down there..."
Before she had even completed the thought, she was speeding toward the ground a few paces before the alicorn. Nervousness and excitement racked her brain, but she couldn't let them boil to the surface. She kept a calm, aloof air about her as she walked up to Twilight. She was still standing in her own doorway, grinning madly at the gifts. "Mother of Celestia, she's adorable sometimes!" Rainbow thought. She closed the distance to just a hoof or two and smiled as she spoke up, breaking Twilight out of her stupor. "Morning, Twi. D-Do you want to...umm...go flying with me today, or something?" She silently cursed herself for allowing her nervousness to break through her voice. Punk voice! What was it thinking, disobeying her like that? It would have to be taught a lesson later that, when she told it to do something, it was to do just that!
Twilight shook her head several times. "No time, Dashie," She dismissed, "I have to find the stallion that got me all this!" She used her magic to pick the flowers and chocolates from the ground and place them inside, shutting the door behind her, before she ran away from the library quickly, a mission on her mind.
"Stallion...right...of course," Rainbow responded, more disappointed with each word she spoke. She felt tears well up in her eyes and quickly took to the skies in the opposite direction so nopony would see them. She instead let them fly freely from her ruby-red orbs, blown behind her by the wind as she sped off.
Rejection. Absolute, crushing defeat. She had failed in her pursuit of Twilight. She knew now that it had been her hubris which had caused her to believe that somepony as smart, pretty and cool as Twilight Sparkle would even think of her in the same way...
No! Rainbow stopped in mid-flight, turned,and sped back in the direction from which she came. Rainbow Dash did not quit! Rainbow Dash did not admit defeat! And she'd be damned if she would let Twilight's complete and utter eggheadiness change that! It was just the same naivety that made Twilight so adorable that made her absolutely oblivious to things right before her eyes. She'd figure it out eventually, and Rainbow would be there, waiting, when she finally did.
Whoever had sent the letter had to be shy. Otherwise, they would have left a name, given it to her in person, or even left a clue to a meeting spot and time. That gave her a hint, at least. Who was the shyest stallion she knew? Apple trees flew past Twilight as she made her way onto the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres and toward the large, red stallion pulling a massive wagon filled with apples by his horse collar. Unbeknownst to her, Rainbow Dash watched her, not far behind, as she dashed from cloud to cloud to stay out of sight. She was a bit upset that Twilight actually thought of Big Macintosh before her.
Twilight slowed to a walk as she approached the busy stallion. He only even noticed her because she was panting tiredly as the distance between them was closed. "Howdy, Twilight," He greeted, gentlemanly tipping his head.
Twilight smiled at him nervously. She didn't find Big Mac attractive, but if he had really put this much time and effort into something for her, she was willing to give him a shot, and at least, go out with him for Hearts and Hooves Day. "Hey, Big Mac" She greeted back, "Do you have a special somepony for Heart's and Hooves Day?" She asked.
"Nnnope!" He responded, seemingly content with the fact.
"Have anypony in mind?" Twilight pushed on, hoping she wasn't being too forward.
Big Mac raised a brow at the alicorn. "Did mah little sister put you up to this?" He asked, "Ah swear that girl an' her friends do this every year..."
Realizing she'd made a mistake, Twilight decided to take the out so graciously handed to her. "Thank Celestia for the CMC!" She thought. Nervously, she attempted the lie, "Uuuumm...you know?" Big Mac nodded in reply and Twilight gave off a sigh of relief that was only half faked. "Good. Sorry about that, Big Mac. See you around?"
He merely replied with a, "Eeeyup!" As he returned to his work. Twilight shook her head and began running as fast as she could from the farm. "That was so embarrassing! I hope I find him soon! I don't think I can handle doing this with every stallion I know!"
"Well," Rainbow Dash thought, "At least she didn't seem interested, and neither did he!" She continued to soar from cloud to cloud after the sprinting alicorn.
It was already lunch time, and Twilight had awkwardly asked several, unlikely stallions as she saw them. She sighed and decided to give up the chase long enough to have lunch. She sat down at one of the restaurants' outside tables, preferring them on such a sunny day over the ones inside. Not thirty seconds went by before she was joined by Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, have you been following me?" She asked, hoping no one had seen anything that had transpired. Every conversation she'd had was competing as the most awkward of her entire life. She wasn't sure if the conversation with Big Mac was more embarrassing, or when she'd been slapped by Derpy after she asked Time Turner if it had been him.
"What? N-no!" Rainbow answered unconvincingly. "I just saw you sitting alone and thought I could maybe, you know...have lunch with you." Rainbow gulped, awaiting a response.
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Fine. I just-"
"What can I get you two love birds?"
The waiter had already approached their table. Rainbow blushed heavily at the comment, but Twilight didn't notice as she responded, "Oh, we're not dating, but I'll have the dandelion sandwich with extra dandelions, please!"
The waiter just shrugged and turned toward the pegasus to his right, expecting a response. "Umm, well I guess I'll have the cobb salad." The waiter nodded and walked off to place the order. He left a glass of water in front of them both. Rainbow took hers and chugged it in an attempt to calm her nerves and cool the heat in her cheeks.
Twilight was beginning to notice something was a little off about her pegasus friend. "Is something wrong, Dashie?" She asked. "You seem tense and you look like you're burning up. Are you getting sick?"
"No, no, no, no," Rainbow replied rapidly, clearly nervous about something, "It's the...uuuhhh...sun! The sun! It's sunny out today. That's why I needed my water!" She gave a toothy, unconvincing grin to Twilight, whom decided to dismiss the subject and stare off into space with a sigh, thinking about how nice it would be to have lunch with whomever had given her those gifts. She would find him if it was the last thing she did.
Rainbow noticed the vacant stare and frowned. "How could she still not know it's me?" she pondered. She got an idea and stepped away from the table, completely unnoticed. When she came back, she held a single, freshly picked violet in her teeth. She dropped it at Twilight's feet and smiled as the alicorn looked up at her with a surprised expression. "You seemed down, so I picked you a flower. Violets are your favorite, right?" She explained.
"Yes, but how did you-?"
"I pay more attention than ponies think," Rainbow cut her off with a sly wink.
Twilight was going to respond, but a plate, adorned with sandwich, was placed in front of her. Her stomach growled. "Oh my gosh! I'm starving, and this looks so good," She told the waiter, "Thank you." He nodded at her and set the salad before Rainbow. He walked away without a word and rainbow dug in, prompting Twilight to do the same. They ate in silence for several minutes before Rainbow Dash excused herself from the table and walked into the restaurant. It was another several minutes before she reemerged from the building. She began walking past Twilight. "I just paid the bill, Twi. I'll see you around," She remarked aloofly.
"Wait, all of it?" Twilight asked incredulously, nearly spit-taking the water she had been slowly sipping on.
Rainbow looked back at her and gave her another sly wink. "Gotta' go!" She bursted from the ground and soared off, leaving Twilight to think about what had just happened. Why was Rainbow Dash being so nice to her, lately?
Rainbow squeed from the cloud she laid on. She was on her back, holding a small plushie of Twilight she'd made, and kicking her legs like a school filly. "So...awesome!" She exclaimed, thinking back on what had transpired. She had just taken Twilight out on a date...sort of. Twilight just didn't know it yet. Rainbow pouted. "Stupid, sexy egghead..."
Slowly, she got up and stretched. She hid the plushie within the cloud and flew back to a vantage point to Twilight's position. What she saw made her heart sink. Twilight had spotted a stallion from across the tables, sitting alone. She spotted....Soarin.
"Hey, Soarin!" Twilight called with a friendly wave as she walked toward the powder-blue pegasus.
He waved back. "Well hey there, Twilight."
Twilight sat across from him and tapped her hoof nervously. "Do you have a special somepony, Soarin?" She asked. Incredibly, it was becoming easier to ask these questions.
Soarin pouted a bit. "Well," He paused, "I asked Rainbow Dash, but she said she had somepony already." His sullen expression only got worse with his own words.
Twilight sighed internally in relief. It wasn't him, and this was the least awkward conversation to date. "That's strange," She responded whimsically, tapping a hoof to her chin, "She didn't say anything about that to me. In fact, she's been trying to hang out with me all day."
Soarin's eyes shot wide open as he realized what was going on. To confirm his suspicions, he glanced fleetingly to the sky, catching a rainbow mane in a cloud. Rainbow let out an EEP! and hid herself better.
Soarin smiled and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder to get her attention. She turned and looked back at him confusedly. "I gotta' go, kay? See you around." Almost as fast as Rainbow had been, he was gone, and Twilight was alone once more. She sighed. She was never going to find this pony.
As Twilight passed by Rarity's boutique, she noticed Caramel leaving his house, neighboring the boutique. "Caramel!" She called, galloping toward him.
He waved at the princess quickly making her way toward him. "Hiya. How's it goin'?"
Twilight stopped as she came into talking distance. She huffed and puffed a bit. She'd asked so many stallions today already, and she'd been walking since sunrise all over Ponyville. Luna's moon was already peeking over the horizon as Celestia's sun dipped beneath it, casting the whole town in shades of orange. Rainbow laid down on a cloud above, heart heavy with the weight of the day. She was losing hope again after watching Twilight ask so many stallions about her gifts and not even look at a single mare twice.
"Caramel, did you happen to send me a card and some chocolates?" Twilight asked sweetly. She actually liked Caramel a lot. Forgetful as he may be, he was a very sweet stallion, always doing what he could to help.
Now, however, Caramel cursed and slammed a hoof to the ground. "Horseapples! That was meant for Big Mac!"
"Wait, what?" Twilight asked, confused. Had she really been the victim of a wrong address?
Caramel sighed. "Well," He paused. "I guess there's no reason to hide it now." He took a deep breath and held it for a second before blurting out, "TwilightI'mgay!"
Twilight giggled, "Oh, Caramel. That's ok." She smiled. "I like stallions and mares, if it makes you feel any better." Rainbow Dash's ears perked up. A newfound hope raged within her and a grin crept up onto her face.
He smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good." He remembered her question and decided to grace it with a proper answer. "I meant to send a card and a box of chocolates to Big Mac and explain how I felt to him later, but I guess I forgot his address again," He explained. "I'm sorry twili-OMIGOSH WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?!" He asked, holding up the necklace around Twilight's neck.
"That?" She asked, "It was in that box of chocolates...wait, what did your box look like?"
"It was a plain, white box of Bon Bon's bon bons," He admitted.
Twilight gasped. "It's not the same box!" She exclaimed. "My special somepony is real and is still out there somewhere!"
Caramel smiled widely. "Well I'll be damned. You better go find him." Twilight hugged him before she ran off.
Three hours...
It had been three hours since Twilight had last spoken to Caramel, and she still hadn't found the one. She eventually asked every stallion in ponyville and had moved on to asking mares. She was sure it had been Cheerily, but alas, she was walking home now...still single. She flung the door open with her magic and slammed it shut behind her. She knew Spike would already be upstairs, sleeping the night away. She sighed and walked into the kitchen. She didn't get very far before she heard a soft rapping on the door. Could that be him...her. It had to be a her, at this point, right?
Against her better judgement, she still had an inkling of hope left in her heart as she walked to the door. She opened it slowly, revealing, "Oh, Come on in, Rainbow Dash..." She turned and walked back toward the kitchen. "I'll get you a glass too..."
Liquid courage. That was what brandy was. Twilight spilled the beans. She was still spilling them, in fact. Rainbow wasn't really paying very close attention. She had been there for all of it, after all. She nervously held her glass between her hooves as she built up the courage for what she was going to do next. "You can do it, Dash! You're Rainbow Courage Dash! There's no challenge you can't face, even a sexy, purple one! C'mon! You can do this!!!"
"Twilight!" Rainbow spoke up. She had meant to cut her friend off; however, she did not intend to do so loudly. She was once again reminded of the lesson she'd have to teach that punk voice of hers. She smiled sheepishly, then calmed herself down. "Twi, did you ever think about maybe...asking me?"
Twilight gasped, trying to comprehend what her best friend had just hinted at. "R-Rainbow...did you...?" Rainbow Dash nodded slowly. She was going to respond, but found her mouth full of purple fur as Twilight tackled her into a hug. She fell hard on her back and her drink fell to the floor in some unkown direction, but she didn't care. She nuzzled against the mare on top of her happily. Everything was suddenly right with the world, but it didn't last long. All too soon, Twilight raised herself off of her, causing her to accidentally whimper.
However, Twilight didn't get all the way up. She just raised to her front hooves and stared into beautiful, ruby eyes. How did she never notice how absolutely stunning Rainbow Dash was? "D-Dashie," She started softly, "This is going to seem fast, and you're probably going to think I'm crazy. I mean, who wouldn't? It's been ten seconds, but knowing what you did for me and how much you knew about me, on top of the fact that I now understand that lunch was a date...sort of...I guess what I mean to say is-"
She was cut off by a hoof to her mouth. "I love you too, Egghead, now stop complicating things," Rainbow giggled. Her eyes closed. Her lips pursed, and she leaned closer to the mare of her dreams. Twilight mirrored her actions, and their lips connected. Rainbow enjoyed the taste of lavendar and maple on Twilight's lips, while Twilight similarly enjoyed how Rainbow tasted like rain water. She ran her tongue gently across her new marefriend's cyan lips and they parted, a tongue of their own flicking out from between them. As their tongues wrestled, Twilight lowered herself onto Rainbow Dash, relaxing completely in her soft embrace. One of her hooves found Rainbow's cheek, the other going for her waist. Rainbow moaned into her mouth at the contact, and she moaned back.
After what seemed like hours, the two mares broke their kiss. Both of them panted loudly as they looked deep into each other's eyes. Simultaneously, they came to the same conclusion aloud.
"I love you!"
Author's Note
Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, everyone. I hope you all enjoy this. It was fun to write.
Thanks SurrenderedEndeavour for the idea.
Please leave comments. I love them and I will respond. 
