Fluttershy's head gently nuzzled the pillow that was sandwiched between her hooves, trapped in a loving embrace that was meant for her special somepony. It was moist from a few beads of sweat, the product of a dream that she secretly wished would become reality; and warmed by her trapped breath. Her heart was still beating like a drum, and the red on her face had yet to fade back to yellow. She pulled her pillow closer, as if she was afraid that she would lose it, tightening her grip around it and folding her wing over it like a blanket.
A stream of melancholy leaked out of her lonely, sapphire eyes, and for a moment, she wanted to go back to her dreams, where she wouldn't have to bear the day's burden as she had always done so. But, just like the times before, she just couldn't. She closed her eyes and tried to force herself back to slumber, trying to get back into the place where she would do nothing but stay in the hooves of the pony she never met. Where she could be alone with her imaginary special somepony, and not be worried for once on what might blossom. Where the birds would sing their lovely melodies while she allowed her head to rest on the pony she loved. Where she could say what she truly felt, and have it said back to her, making her heart beat so fast that it would hurt. And then, while they were watching the sunset, they would look into each other's eyes, hearts synchronizing, both moving closer and closer, until they could feel the heat radiating from their partner. And still they move closer. Closer than anypony could get without startling the timid mare. Then they share a moment that would forever burn in their hearts.
But it was futile.
No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't fall back into that beautiful world, and she asked herself why it had to be so. Any other day she would have been able to sleep when she wanted, but for some reason, on this day of every year, she just couldn't do it. To her, it was a cruel joke. Because on this day, all she wanted to do was sleep through it, avoid the pain, save the tears, and enjoy what she couldn't have.
Yet, she had to power through. She had animals to take care of. She couldn't let her selfish wishes get in the way of her duty, no matter how much it hurt. She once took solace in knowing that what she did for the animals was the right thing, but it became impossible to ignore the hole in her heart when ponies would pass by her small cottage to be alone in the woods. Why must they mock her like this, and why was she so affected by it? It wasn't fair.
She only noticed her quiet sobs when Angel Bunny thumped on her side with a worried look on his face. Futtershy dug her face into the pillow to get rid of the salty dew that insisted on leaking. "What is it, Angel?" she said in between sobs. He didn't say or do anything, but Fluttershy knew what he was thinking. "Don't worry about me, Angel... I'll... I'll be fine, I promise. Oh, you and the others must be hungry. What would you like to eat, Angel?"
Angel thought for a moment before hopping out of the room.
"Angel?" Weakly, the mare reluctantly released the moist pillow to get out of bed. She could hear some rustling downstairs and wanted to investigate, but before she could reach her door, Angel returned with a recipe book. He laid it down on the floor, flipped to a page and pointed to an extravagant salad.
Fluttershy looked at the recipe and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Angel, but we're out of those ingredients. Why don't I make you a carrot cake instead?"
But Angel wasn't taking no for an answer. He crossed his little arms and frowned, thumping his foot impatiently. "You know how I feel about today, can't we—"
Angel thumped sternly before pulling Fluttershy's saddlebag into the room.
"Please, Angel?" the mare pleaded.
Angel thumped again.
"Well... o-okay... anything for my little Angel Bunny."
Angel was genuinely a bit surprised how easily Fluttershy gave in. Just yesterday, she was being as stubborn as a goat, but now... He didn't delay any longer and hopped on the pegasus' back, where he let himself be overcome with worry once again, but he had no other choice but to force the mare out of the house.
"Are we ready, Angel?" The bunny thumped a 'Yes' and Fluttershy descended to the second floor. The living room was bare from life. The animals had already gone to make the most of the day, as they always did. This was another factor to her displeasure. Even the animals she was taking care of had their special partners, leaving the pegasus alone with her thoughts. Although Angel wouldn't admit it, Fluttershy knew that the only reason why he'd stay and help around the house was because he couldn't stand to see her being alone on such a special day. And it made her guilty. He should have been with the jackalope he had been spending a lot of time as of late. Yet her attempts at reassuring him that she'd be alright was met with a stubbornness that rivaled only that of a goat. Though admittedly, she was grateful.
Fluttershy hid behind her mane as she walked towards the market stalls, for seeing any couple would cause her heart to ache from jealousy, it proved to be difficult as Pinkie Pie was bouncing around and handing out Hearts and Hooves Day cards, to which everypony accepted with glee and the occasional disgruntled harrumphs. When Pinkie came upon her, she gave her one of the greetings and said, "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Fluttershy!"
"Oh, thank you Pinkie."
"Soooo, do you have a special somepony yet?"
"Um, no..."
"Aww it's okay. Not everyone has a special somepony. Sometimes, ponies never have special someponies, ever!"
"They... they don't?"
"Nope! Not even somepony to cuddle with!"
"Ohh..." Fluttershy looked down and kicked a pebble, wondering if she would be like those ponies who would never have a special somepony. It surely felt like it. "Do you have a special somepony, Pinkie?"
"Me? Naw."
"And you're not even slightly... um... sad?"
"Weeeeell, maybe a little, but that's okay!"
"How come?"
Pinkie giggled. "You silly filly, it's because if I feel sad about it, I won't be able to make other ponies happy, and if I can't make other ponies happy, then ponies will be sad, and if ponies are sad, it makes me sad too! And then I won't be able to throw the annual Hearts and Hooves Day party, which would make sad ponies sadder, and soon all of Ponyville will be so sad that no one would even know how to smile anymore! Can you imagine if that happened?! I mean Ponyville without smiles is like a cake platter without a cake! But don't worry, Fluttershy, Auntie Pinkie will keep that from happening."
"I'm still a year older than you."
A familiar rainbow streak flew by at break-neck speeds right above them, followed by another streak that they couldn't identify. However, Pinkie quickly bounced into action. "That must be Dashie's new coltfirend! Hey Dashie, wait up, I've got something for you!!!"
Before she knew it, Pinkie was gone. Fluttershy felt a little envious at the mention that Rainbow Dash had a new coltfriend, but she was happy for her all the same. With a sigh, she went on with her shopping, uninterrupted, but the thought of ponies who never had a special somepony still lingered in her mind.
Angel had been as frisky as a puppy the entire time, pulling the pegasus left and right, diverting her attention to seemingly random scenery which delayed their shopping. When Fluttershy had everything she needed, she headed back to her cottage, but Angle gently tugged on her mane again and thumped on her back. "You don't want to go home yet? Why?" He tried to come up with an excuse before thumping again. "You want cherries on the salad too? Oh okay." She turned around reluctantly and almost immediately bumped into Twilight.
"Oops, sorry, I guess I should stop reading while I walk," Twilight said, picking up her book.
"It's okay, Twilight."
"Fluttershy? I didn't expect to see you here today. Oh, sorry I didn't mean to sound so surprised, it's just that I never see you around during Hearts and Hooves Day."
"I was just buying some cherries for Angel Bunny's salad."
"Cherries? I'm afraid I bought the last ones. Spike's trying out another new recipe to impress Rarity and asked me to get some. Oh, but you can have some for Angel."
"Oh no, I couldn't."
"Sure you could, I insist." Twilight levitated a generous number of cherries from her saddlebag and tucked them into Fluttershy's.
"Thank you Twilight."
"You're welcome."
"Um, Twilight, if you don't mind me asking..."
"What is it?"
"Do you have a special somepony?"
Twilight flushed pink. "Oh, uh, I, well, I'm not sure if you can call it that, but..." she looked around as if what she was about to say would condemn her, as if she was about to say something that nopony would forgive her for. She leaned in and kept her voice down to a whisper as if she was sharing top secret information only meant for Celestia herself. "There's this cute royal guard from the Crystal Empire..."
She proceeded to tell Fluttershy of the times she and the guard spent. At first, he was simply an assigned escort while Twilight was in the empire, but they soon got to know each other. He would show her the sights that she hadn't had the time to see, and told her things about the empire that she couldn't learn from books. He helped her with flying lessons, and even showed her some tricks that, compared to Dash's, was more functional than flashy. Eventually she felt drawn to him, but she was still uncertain about it, still not sure whether the stallion felt the same attraction, though the magazines she got from Rarity scored them compatible.
After sharing her stories, Twilight returned to the castle, and Fluttershy was about to return to her own abode until Angel began to complain about a stomach ache via an exaggerated display of his acting skills.
"You must be starving, Angel. We better hurry home."
But Angel pulled on her mane again, and insisted they go somewhere else.
"Why?" Fluttershy asked. Angel diverted her gaze, just after a quick but frantic scan, to a building just on the edge of the market area.
"The vet? But... I thought you didn't like going there..."
Angel pulled on her mane and kept pointing at the vet's office, almost pleadingly.
Fluttershy looked up at the sky to see where the sun was. "Well... I guess we can stop by for a quick check up, but we have to get home soon. We have to feed the other animals. They should be home by now."
A sigh of relief escaped the rabbit's lungs as they diverted their course. There were only a few ponies there, one pair being Rarity and Opalescence. As they approached, Rarity lit up in delight upon seeing them. "Fluttershy! How lovely to see you!" Rarity greeted warmly, offering the seat beside her to the pegasus. "What brings you here, darling?"
"Oh, um, I'm just taking Angel in for a check up. He has a bad tummy ache."
Angel hopped from Fluttershy's back and suspiciously inspected the room. It was only a short one, but anyone could tell he didn't like the idea of being here.
"Peculiar. I thought he hated the vet."
"He does, but he just wanted to come here today."
"Well it's good that he's not getting so antsy anymore. Do you remember how much trouble we had to go through to get Opal here till she finally came down? Now that was a nightmare. Is... something wrong, Fluttershy?" Rarity took notice of Fluttershy's weakened state and began to worry for her dear friend.
Fluttershy looked down and shook her head silently. Rarity shot a look at Angel, but the bunny just shrugged and casually looked towards a couple of young lovers chatting lively across the room.
A knowing smile appeared on Rarity's lips. "I see... Fluttershy, why don't you go ahead of me?"
"Oh no, I couldn't possibly cut in line."
"But it's no trouble at all, dear. Besides, we can't just let Angel's tummy ache go on for much longer, now can we?"
Fluttershy took a few moments to consider Rarity's offer before accepting. "Well... okay, if you insist. Thank you, Rarity."
"You're welcome dear. Oh, and Fluttershy?"
"Yes, Rarity?"
"Love will come to you in time, and it comes in different forms, so you don't have to worry about it. Okay?"
Fluttershy tilted her head slightly before she got the meaning. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks again, Rarity." She gave her friend a smile and went through the doors with an exasperated Angel on her back.
Exhausted, Fluttershy was finally making progress towards her little cottage, but Angel still had one surprise for her. He wrapped a sash around her eyes, momentarily startling the mare. "Angel, we don't have time to play games," She said sternly and reached for the sash to pull it off, only for her hoof to be swatted away. Angel thumped a message on her back.
"Okay, Angel. Just one game." Due to her exhaustion, she failed to mask the annoyance in her voice, but this went unnoticed by the bunny all the same. Blindfolded, she let Angel guide her to where ever it was he was taking her. She could hear shuffling on the ground around her, and the flapping of wings above.
The animals had returned.
In a few moments, Angel stopped her and signaled that it was alright to take off the blindfold, and she did. When she opened her eyes, she couldn't help but stare in awe, tears slowly building up. She was in front of her home, but it felt so different. There were leis of flowers and leaves decorating her cottage. All her animal friends gathered around her, giving her sweet-smelling flowers and other well-meaning gifts. The birds sang a joyful melody that brought a smile to her heart. Fireflies and butterflies danced around in the wind, putting on a spectacular show. There was food set on a long table which was covered with white cloth with yellow and pink ribbons running across the skirt. But the centerpiece of the surprisedefinitely were the words strung together inside the living room. It read:
"THANK YOU FOR TAKING CARE OF US, HAPPY HEARTS AND HOOVES DAY FLUTTERSHY!"
Just when she thought that was everything, she felt a tap on her shoulder and when she looked around, she saw Discord in his fancy suit.
"Discord, did you do all this?"
"Me? Why no, well, not all of it. I had help from your little animal friends here. Since they'd been with you longer than I have, they knew exactly how to make this the perfect day for you."
Fluttershy suddenly burst into tears, causing the birds to stop singing, and all the other animals to take a step forward.
"Fluttershy, what's wrong? Don't you like it?" Discord asked, fiddling with his claws and bending over to see the mare better.
"No, I... I... " She wrapped her hoof around Discord's neck, picked up Angel and pulled them both into a warm hug and whispered, "I love it! Thank you, thank you all so much!"
Author's Note
Well, I just broke my own heart working on the first part.
In a way, some of us are just like Fluttershy. We want to love, but we just don't know how to, or maybe we're just afraid of what it would bring to our solitary lives. Sometimes we get caught up with thinking of what we don't have, and completely ignore what we do.
Well, to all the Fluttershys out there, remember you have people looking out for you, loving you, even if you don't know it, or if they themselves don't make it obvious.
Happy Hearts and Hooves Day!
Random Fact: The most misspelled word while typing this story is: "Flutteryshy"