The sun shined brightly over Ponyville, and the birds trilled happily in the trees. It was a typical, nice, quiet kind of day. Twilight sat in her library, attempting to make use of the quiet to bury herself in her books as usual. Only she couldn't. There was a certain green-maned mare staring at her through the window, completely throwing off her concentration.
Normally, she would have considered being stared at by a strange pony in her own home to be unsettling, but she had grown callous to it over the past month. Everywhere she went, every time she turned a corner, there would be a green tail sticking out of some absurd hiding place. Behind a bush, or an applecart, or a chimney... nothing was off limits to the mare.
At first Twilight had hardly seemed to notice it. She would just give her a strange look before continuing whatever she was doing. But when it seemed that every inanimate object in her life had suddenly sprouted a green tail and was watching her every movement, she knew something was definitely wrong.
The first thing Twilight had tried to do to solve the problem was talking to the mare directly. But anytime she tried to communicate with her, she would simply scream and flee from the unicorn in terror, only to return minutes later to continue her vigil. The only other option Twilight had was to ignore her entirely and hope she grew tired of the game. Seeing as this had been going on for weeks, she didn't think that was likely to happen.
Twilight turned and looked at the mare through the window, causing her to duck her head with an audible eep! She sighed, closing the book with her magic as she stood. She could see that this was going to be a long day.
~ ~ ~
Daisy gazed at the unicorn through the window, her snout nearly touching the glass, fogging it up with each breath. How could any creature be so perfect, she thought. From her beautiful purple coat, to her kind and caring eyes, even that little streak of pink in her mane. Everything about her just screamed goddess.
Daisy remembered the very first time she ever saw Twilight Sparkle. She would remember it for the rest of her life. The way she descended from the heavens, carried in a golden chariot by pegasi stallions... It was like seeing one of those storybooks she read as a filly coming to life right in front of her.
When Daisy had learned that Twilight was the personal student of Princess Celestia herself, she was hardly surprised. How could such perfection not have caught the interest of the Princess?
And then, as if Daisy had needed anymore reason to be smitten, Twilight went and saved the whole town-- no, all of Equestria-- by defeating Nightmare Moon. That was just the icing on the proverbial cake.
Daisy wanted to run up to her and tell Twilight how she felt right then and there... but how could she? What was she next to her? She sold daisies for Celestia's sake! How could a giant ever love an ant? And so she kept her feelings hidden, deciding instead to admire her from a distance.
Well, distance may not have been the right word.
She followed Twilight relentlessly. Day after day Daisy watched her, going about her everyday life just like any other pony. She woke late, was served breakfast by her dragon, met friends occasionally, studied late, then went to bed, only to repeat the routine the next day. She was, by every definition... normal.
Daisy could slowly begin feeling her fear of the mare receding each day, courage taking its place. Maybe, just maybe, Twililght was a mare just like any other. Maybe she could tell her how she felt.
Or maybe Twilight would disintegrate her for even trying.
Twilight turned to look out the window just as she thought that. Daisy ducked her head with an eep!, suddenly finding the image of her smoldering ashes to be a very realistic possibility. She waited several seconds before tentatively peeking over the sill once more. She saw Twilight walking towards the front door, head hanging low as if she were tired.
Daisy made her way around the side of the treehouse until she could see the front door clearly. She leapt into a nearby bush as the door was wrapped in Twilight's magical aura and opened to reveal her. She looked in the bush's general direction then shook her head. If Daisy didn't have complete faith in her hiding ability, she would have thought Twilight saw her.
Alright, Daisy. Calm down. This is it. This will be the day you finally tell her how you feel. Even if she turns you into a pile of ashes... it'll be worth it... probably...
It was now or never. She had to act fast before her nerve failed her. Daisy lifted her head out of the bush, took a deep breath, and--
"HI DAISY!"
Daisy yelped in shock as Roseluck's voice came from directly behind her. "Rose?! What are you doing, I'm in the middle of something!"
"Come on, let's grab some lunch," Roseluck said as she took Daisy's tail in her mouth and pulled her out of the bush. Daisy's protests were ignored.
"No! Stop! I need to confess! LET ME CONFESS MY LOVE! NOOOOO!"
Twilight merely shook her head as she continued walking, not even deigning to look at the source of the wailing behind her.
~ ~ ~
"Dang it Roseluck! I was really gonna do it today, and you ruined it!"
Daisy and the-one-who-shall-not-be-named sat outside of a small café in town. Roseluck was enjoying a hot-chocolate while her friend vented her numerous frustrations at her. She took it in stride.
"I know, I know. I ruined your chances of having a happily ever after--"
"EVER!" Daisy added for emphasis.
"--but I had a really good reason to interrupt you," Roseluck finished.
Daisy pouted and crossed her hooves moodily. "I don't believe you," she muttered.
"Aren't you even going to listen to the reason?! What if it was really important news, like your mom died, or--"
"YOU KILLED MY MOM?!" Daisy shouted in outrage.
"What?! No! I said-- It was an example-- gah" Rose sighed before pausing to sip her hot-chocolate. "Why are you so weird?"
Daisy tilted her head, confused. "Wait, so if you didn't kill my mom, why'd you drag me here by my tail?"
"Oh! That's because you were late for your intervention," Rose clarified
"Uh... What intervention?"
"This intervention."
Daisy looked about her, checking for any sign that signified this was anything but two friends having lunch, but everything looked extraordinarily-- ordinary.
"Well, you've obviously been preparing this for a while..." she said with a bored expression.
"This isn't a party, Daisy! We're here to talk about a serious problem that you have!" Rose chided, putting her coa-coa down.
"To what problem are you referring?" Daisy asked innocently.
"Seriously?"Roseluck deadpanned. "The stalker thing you've been doing for the past month? Following the new librarian around? Any of this ringin' a bell?"
"Oh! That! I'm not stalking her, silly!" Daisy laughed. "I'm just never letting her out of my sight."
"I'm pretty sure that's the exact definition of a stalker," Rose said unamused.
"Ooh, speaking of which, I gotta get back to it. Maybe I can catch her across town--"
"DAISY!" Roseluck yelled as she placed her hooves on her friend's shoulders. "You have got to stop this! Think about how she must feel, being followed by you everywhere! How would you like it if somepony started sta-- never letting you out of their sight?"
Daisy fell quiet as she contemplated Rose's words. "But... do you think she knows I've been following her? I mean, I'm a master of disguise. She couldn't have seen me..."
"I think she may have got the feeling she was being watched."
Daisy fell quiet again. "Huh... I never meant to scare her or anything..."
Roseluck sighed in relief, convinced she had finally righted her friend's wrong.
"Alright!" Daisy said suddenly. "I'm going to go confess my love to her and then apologize! Or maybe apologize, then confess..."
"Wait--" Rose widened her eyes in surprise as Daisy turned and bolted away from the café.
She sighed as she picked up her mug of hot-chocolate. "Well, as long as she's not stalking her, I guess it's fine..."
Daisy slowed down as she approached the market place. The sights and sounds of ponies bargaining filled her senses, but she drowned them out as she searched for her prize. It didn't take her long to spot Twilight walking away from her friend's applecart. It looked as though she had just finished her shopping, her saddlebags filled to the brim with apples and carrots. Daisy walked forward, preparing to call out her name.
Before she could, however, her friend Lily popped up in front of her, blocking her path. She greeted Daisy cheerfully with a large smile. “Hi, Daisy! Watchya doin'?”
“Oh, hey Lily,” Daisy replied distractedly. “Can't talk right now, I'm kinda in the middle of something.”
“The middle of what?” she asked with a tilt of her head.
“I'm trying to tell this mare I love her--”
“What?!” Lily gasped. “I'm so happy for you! Sooooo~, when's the wedding?” she asked in a sing-song voice.
“I don't know, I have to confess first--”
“Wait, you're going to confess your love looking like that?!”
Daisy looked herself over but everything seemed to be fine. She actually thought she looked quite well. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, Daisy, you're so lucky you bumped into me first. Come on!” Lily said as she began pushing Daisy away from the market. “We have to make sure you look your best. You only confess your love once you know!”
"What? No! I have to confess! LET ME CONFESS MY LOVE! NOOOOOOOOO!"
For the second time that day, Daisy was dragged away against her will, Twilight shaking her head all the while.
~ ~ ~
Daisy brooded in the mineral bath, submerged up to her mouth in the revitalizing liquid as she glared daggers at the "friend" who had forced her into going to the spa.
"Come on, Daisy," she said when Daisy's glare began to unnerve her. "When will you stop acting so melodramatic? I promise, your going to thank me when your super-special-somepony sees you."
Daisy merely blew some bubbles in response.
"So who is this super special somepony, anyway?" Lily continued, ignoring Daisy's childish behavior. "Is it somepony I know?"
Daisy's anger towards Lily was completely forgotten as she started thinking about the mare of her dreams. Her cheeks took on a rosy tinge and her eyes became dreamy and unfocused. "She's the new librarian in town, the one who saved all of Equestria. She's beautiful, and smart, and funny... well, I mean, I haven't actually talked to her yet... but I'm sure she's just as perfect up close! And then after I tell her how much I love her, we'll get married and adopt little foals to run around the library and have adventures and three honeymoons and--"
"Uh, Daisy?" Lily interrupted.
Daisy came back down to earth long enough to look at her friend. "Hm?"
"Shouldn't you... I don't know, maybe... talk to her, first? Before just deciding that you're in love?"
"Well why wouldn't I love her? She's perfect."
"But how do you know that?" Lily persisted. "What if you finally talk to her and it turns out she's a jerk--"
"Are you calling the mare of my dreams a jerk!?" Daisy shouted in outrage.
"What!? No! I'm just saying it's possible that she isn't perfect--"
Daisy didn't allow Lily to finish her sentence as she pounced on her. "Gah!" Lily screamed as she tried to move away from the angry mare. They both tumbled out of the tub, splashing water in every direction. They continued to roll around the spa, knocking over massage tables and lounge chairs, spilling bottles of expensive oil over the floor, even managing to roll through the mud bathes, covering walls, ceiling and floor with every liquid imaginable.
Aloe and Lotus burst through the doors to see what all the commotion was. The two of them were still rolling around, Daisy trying to claw Lily's eyes out and Lily trying to keep her eyes. With the help of some orderlies, Aloe and Lotus were able to tear the two mares apart long enough to drag them out of the spa. Both of them lied limp in the road, all of their energy spent.
"And don't come back!" Aloe shouted angrily before slamming the door in their faces.
The two of them just sat there in front of the spa for a minute, each trying to process what had just happened.
As Daisy's head began to cool, she looked at Lily beside her, trying to gauge her friend's feelings right then. Her mane was a wet mess that clung to the side of her head like a drowned rat, hiding her face from view. She was sure her mane wasn't in any better state. Daisy debated whether or not she should try talking to her. She decided she didn't have anything to lose.
"Li--"
"I hope you two are happy together," Lily said softly without turning her head.
Daisy fell quiet at that. She didn't know why, but Lily's words made her sad.
"You really do love her, don't you?" Lily continued. "You'd have to... to fight for her like that."
When Daisy didn't reply, Lily stood and sighed before turning and walking away. She watched her go in silence, neither of them offering so much as a goodbye to the other. Daisy felt something in her heart as she watched her best friend limp away, but it definitely wasn't love.
