Never had a kiss, never felt her hoof.
Well, there was never a “her.” Is that wrong? Is it wrong I never came for anypony? I beg to differ. I was just never the bigshot who had confidence. Or was it just that everypony else had more of the luck on their sides? Is it just me? Have I just never met, or even seen, the right person?
Meh. I have always just thought of there being races involved: it’s just always like, “Why be with an earth pony when you can be with a pegasus?” or “Why be with an earth pony when you can be with an alicorn?”
I don’t know. I have always just felt like being an earth pony gives disadvantages (I mean, obviously, compared to being able to fly or use magic), even for serious relationships. Not going to say that it is all unfair, but I am going to say that a horn and wings make a pony more catching to the eye.
Of course, what you do matters. People love Rainbow Dash, for, cleary, her stunning performances with her flying and everyday rescue, which, again, has to do with her being a pegasus. Or Twilight with her magic, and even having wings as an alicorn! Not that people love her as much as Rainbow Dash, but I feel she has one hay of a reputation.
I like to argue with myself in bed, apparently. Literally, the first half of my morning has to do with me debating with myself about certain situations (“Did I remember to turn off the sink?” “Was the festival last night?” Silly me, Clyde). I just laid there in bed, staring at the wooden ceiling. I was starting to go into another drooped-off compilation of complaining when I finally snapped myself out of it and crawled out of bed.
It was the regular morning routine: shower, eat, the fifteen minute brush enforced by Rarity, and then the short stare into the mirror. Why do you do this everyday? I often ask myself. The mirror still reflected the same brown stallion, with a arguable short-or-long mane of blackish gray, eyes of blue, a tail that seems erect but then fails to stand, and a cutie mark of a… book.
Editor. Writer, publisher, advisor; just your uncommon book wiz (Except for Twilight). I enjoy it, of course, and I obviously excel at it, but not exactly as amazing as a Sonic Rainboom. But something to be proud of, just like any other cutie mark.
I was still staring into the mirror. “Tell me what you hate about yourself,” I instructed myself, as I do every morning, and, out of a strange and usual sense of pride, I didn’t answer. I laughed, and brushed my mane last time before making my entrance to outside.
If there’s one thing I gotta say for Ponyville, it is that the air can’t get any better to breathe. The scent of the flowers and trees were always soothing, especially with the garden so close by, hats off to Fluttershy for the work. The sun was shining the best it could, with almost no clouds in the sky; hats off to, well, you know who.
I didn't realize how thirsty I was when I saw Applejack working a stand with all sort of apple consumables, including Apple juice. I slowly trotted to the stand, just as another customer was leaving.
Applejack was counting her earnings when she looked up at me. "Howdy, Clyde. Fancy for the usual?"
"Yeah." I tossed her a few bits. I took two bottled apple juice beverages. I gotta say, I am addicted to this stuff; I find myself drinking it almost constantly. I don't know if you can overdo the drink, but, hey, it's delicious, what can I say?
It was just another casual morning walk through the town. There were a few hellos from someponies. Even saw... who was it, Derpy?... with her head stuck in a bucket, and the Doctor trying to pull it off, and then some gray pony with blue armor and a wizard hat (Must be some "cosplayer"). Probably the most interesting thing I was to see all day. I had already drank both of the bottles, and was already thirsty for more, and was about to return to Applejack's stand when I accidentally bumped into somepony.
"Oh-p! Sorry, ma'am!" She was carrying a basket of apples, which I guessed came from Applejack, and spilled a few. I picked them up for her, and only for a second, looked up at her face when she thanked me.
Beauty! Magnificent beauty! Her mane was long and blue, and looked as soft as silk. It fit perfectly with her purple body, and her eyes were the most prettiest color I have ever seen, filled with a clean, golden yellow. I could have felt my heart stop for a second!
She was about to continue in her direction when I trotted over to her side. I saw that her Cutie Mark was a pair of art tools: it looked like to be a chisel and a paintbrush. She saw me when I came back to her, and I weakly mutter with the lack of confidence:
"Do-do you need help with the basket?"
She glanced back at the basket then back at me, and answered, "No, thank you, it's fine." Her voice had the amazing standards of her beauty, with a soothing, happy vibe as she spoke.
"Are you sure?" I eagerly asked again.
She chuckled. "If you insist." She placed the basket onto me, and I almost collapsed when I felt the weight of the basket. My legs were weak from the entire situation; either that or I am out of shape.
"D-Did you just come here into Ponyville?" I asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I just came here from Canterlot. It was nice there, but I heard good things about here too."
"It's nice d-down here in Ponyville. It has the friendliest ponies from all around."
She looked at the basket and back at me. "I can see that," she said, and then she grinned. I grinned back at her, but it came out as a stupid face when I almost tripped over nothing.
I could have collapsed right there in embarrassment, but she took the basket back, and my legs and hooves took a deep breath. We were in front of what I had to guess was her house, which was a nice one, too, being a tall two story one.
"Make good Bits?" I asked, finally without the stuttering.
She blushed out of flattery. "Yes, being a sculptor does have advantages..." She opened the front door. "Thanks anyway," she said, and almost closed the door all the way when I stopped it by a hoof.
"Wait, uh, what's your name?"
"Serena," she lastly said, and she said sweetly said goodbye and closed the door.
Serena.
What irony: I mentioned never being in love, and I think I find myself falling into it. I stood there in silence for a short moment, and turned around feeling happy when another pony exploded into my face.
"LOVE!... Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love..."Pinkie Pie was dancing in circles and moving in spastic bursts of jumping. "Iiieeeeeeeeeeet is a beautiful thing!!"
"What?" I don't know if I was confused to act innocent, or if I really was.
"Tomorrow! The Hearts and Hooves Festival is tomorrow! So you can bring that 'special somepony' in with some fun!"
"Uh... yeah. Yes." I was nervous that she already knew my possible feelings for Serena, and with Pinkie Pie, that can either be good or bad.
"But who cares about that? What matters is all the chocolates and candies!"
Yes! She doesn't know!
"And so you can tell Serena you love her!"
No! She does know!
I gulped. "Uh, what... are you talking about?" I said with terrible innocence, even breaking a sweat to do so.
"Don't lie, Clyde! I saw your eyes, the nervous breakdown, and the lack of confidence!"
I didn't try to fake it. "Okay, okay! So I probably love her, so what? May be just her beauty."
Pinkie leaned in, making me uncomfortable. "The eyes, Clyde. Love at first sight! I'll even ask her! SER-E-NA-!!!"
I clamped my hoof onto her mouth. "Pinkie! Don't be like that! Please, don't, say anything."
She nodded, and I took my hoof off her mouth. "Come on, Clyde," she plead in her high pitched voice, "You need to make the moooooove!"
I had already begun walking, but Pinkie continued to follow anyway. "I don't know, Pinkie," I explained, "I was never the stallion with any confidence for anything, or the bigshot that always went for it."
"Take the chance, Clyde! And of you fail, I can always throw a party to cheer you up!"
"No."
"Come on!"
"No!" We were already at my house.
"I'll even be your wingpony, or-!" Slam! I closed the door on her. I wasn't upset, I just didn't want to bother with any of that. Pinkie was still looking through the window anyway.
I wasn't going to make "the move." I wasn't trying to make an excuse when I said I probably loved her beauty, yet possibly not her. But I was never awestruck like that in my life!
I tried to not argue with myself again, and rather just forget everything with my work. There was a book on stars and planets sent by somepony in Canterlot, and I needed to verify all the information. The papers were on my desk, but the book I was using for references was absent; I realized I left it with Twilight, at the Golden Oak Library. I sighed, looking at Pinkie still staring through the window.
I needed the book.
"Do it!"
"No."
"Do it!"
"No."
"Do it!"
"NO! Pinkie, why do you care about who I love so much? What about you?!"
"Me?" Pinkie let out a huge laugh. "I don't care about that! I already told you, all I want is the chocolates and candies!"
"Well, then what do you care about me so much for?"
She started singing the same verses again. "LOVE!... Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.... Iieeeeeeeet is a beautiful thing!!" She jumped right in front of me. Golden Oak Library was close, but Pinkie wouldn't get off my back about this!
"I WANT you to do this because I CARE," she shouted at me. Weird reason.
I looked at the library behind her and groaned. "Fine, Pinkie, tell ya what, I will consider it. Con-si-der!"
She let out a huge "Yay!" and hopped off. Goodness, Pinkie.
I finally knocked on the the library door, and Twilight sprung it open almost immediately. "Oh. Hey Clyde."
“Twilight, I think you borrowed one of my books, and I need it back for work," I explained.
She lost her grin. "Oh, shoot, Spike had it in his bag."
"Well, where is he?"
"He's down at Rarity's shop."
I chuckled. "Of course he would be there before Hearts and Hooves Day... thanks anyway."
I turned to leave, but Twilight asked me, "Are you going to the festival tomorrow?"
"Ehhh... yeah, probably..." I didn't really know if I would go anyway, considering all the work I had at home. "I have a lot of work to do."
"You are always working," complained Twilight. "Pinkie Pie tells me you never do anything fun."
"It's Pinkie Pie, she thinks there should always be fun, constantly," I said, "I might come, I might not." I shrugged and left.
Maybe I don't have enough fun, or at least work too much. I don't really do much other than go through publishing papers and drink apple juice. Really, it feels like something that just sort of stuck. I never really minded it.
I passed by the same situation with Derpy, the Doctor and the bucket again, except the Doctor was swearing out and asking a few unicorns to help. I passed by Serena's house again, and took a good, long look at it. It was, of course, pink, with flowers bordering the base of the house. Looked a hay of a lot better than my house.
I soon arrived at Rarity's Carousel Boutique a few minutes later. I've always admired the beauty and structure of the building, and would like to have such a home.
Again, I knocked on the door, and Rarity shouted from inside to enter. I came in, and there was nopony on the first floor, so I climbed up the stairs to the second floor to see Rarity organizing clothing for what I guessed was for the festival. Spike was holding thread and clothing and practically every little necessity for clothing.
Rarity slightly raised her hoof at me. “Oh, hello, Clyde! Did you need something for the festival?”
“No, thanks, Rarity,” I answered. “I came for a book Spike had for Twilight.”
“It’s about time,” complained Spike, reaching for the book out of a brown bag, “This book has been weighing me down. I forgot it was even in there…”
“Didn’t intend for it to be such a pest,” I apologized, taking the book. I looked at Rarity’s dresses. There were for six of them, which were all easy to guess who they were for. They were all perfect.
“Great work with the dresses,” I complimented Rarity. “The wearers will be lucky tomorrow.” Come to think of it, I never realized how big the Hearts and Hooves Festival was, which probably proves how little fun I have.
“Why, thank you, Clyde. I, myself, think I did an amazing job on each one,” said Rarity, “Are you attending the festival?”
The question again…! For some reason, it bothered me, but I gave a similar answer as I gave to Twilight. “I don’t think so. I have work to do at home, sorry.”
“Oh, what a shame, because I already put together an outfit for you.”
What? “Sorry?”
Rarity pulled out an outfit from one of her closets. It was a pure black suit, with a bow tie and even a top hat.
She gave me the outfit, and I didn’t deny it to be friendly. “Thank you, so much, but why did you…”
“Remember, you published my work? I wanted to thank you for it.”
...Oh, that’s right. She wrote a selection of advices and tips on fashion and clothing. It was long.
“Oh. Right. ‘Rarity’s Guide to Perfect Fashion.’” I looked at the suit again. I didn’t want to waste a perfect day to wear the outfit, and there wouldn’t be another event for so long.
I weakly grinned. “You know what, I’ll come to the festival-!”
“Yaaaaaayyyyy!!!” Pinkie Pie jumped up from behind me, almost scaring me to death. I swear, she will unintentionally be the reason of my death one day.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll go,” I mumbled, gaining my breath back. I was stressed about the situation for some reason, so I left with some lastly thanks and goodbyes.
I went home. I still had the publishing papers to go over for the sent book, which I had to do at some point. I was too lazy to do anything, though. I just sat on the desk chair and stared out the window in front of me, watching every pony that came by.
A lot of lovers. Very few individual ponies. A lot of happiness, very few neutral. They all seemed a lot more happy than I ever was. And a lot of the stallions were just regular earth ponies, easily counteracting my argument I was having with myself this morning. I didn’t really know what to defend myself for now.
I got out of my chair when ponies began to get uncomfortable with somepony watching them. I looked at the suit again, and decided to try it on. It fit perfectly, and was rather comfortable too. The top hat, which I thought was humorous, just completed the look. I felt like one of the ponies from Canterlot, who have no sense of fun and rather only custom in fashion.
What an amazing job by Rarity! Honestly, it really does enforce attending the festival. I felt more confident in the clothing, looking into the mirror at the formal stallion. I wonder if Serena would find this attractive? The outfit seemed a bit “topsy,” looking rather more eye-catching than attractive.
I set the outfit aside. Awkward vibes continued to run down my neck to my forelegs. Was it love sickness? Wasn’t sure. If it was because of love, for some reason, it felt so casual and normal for me. I didn’t even know if I was truly in love with Serena. It was one moment, two minutes, that we met, so what did I know? Her beauty, though; I have never been so stunned to see such a mare, and I may even have seen mares more beautiful than her.
I felt comfortable, though, yet confused. But fine enough to the point in which I was able to finish the publishing papers.
I passed out working. I woke up with drool all over the desk, but luckily all the papers and work have been put aside. How late did I stay up? I looked over at the clock by the window. Eleven?! Goodness!
I thought about what Twilight said, about me never having fun. She was right. I overworked myself, there’s nothing more required to prove her point! I knew I had to go to the festival now. It would be for my own good.
The festival would begin at twelve. I bathed, groomed my mane much more than Rarity’s enforcement, and made sure my suit was free of all lint. No boasting intended, but I looked perfect. A stallion infinite with confidence. Ready.
As soon as I opened my door, I had already stepped into the festival. There were banners and strings of confetti put up everywhere, along with tables and temporary carpets lining the town. All pink and red. In the center of the town in the town square, there was a long, white banner that, from such a distance, I could faintly read, “Happy Hearts and Hooves Day!”
Then there were the ponies attending the festival themselves. They were dressed to please their significant other, and some ponies were wearing costumes such as Pinkie Pie or Derpy (Who, with the Doctor dressed formally too, still had the bucket stuck on her head).
Everybody was happy, treating themselves to the goodies on the tables, including cupcakes, cookies, punch, and even Applejack was serving apple cider to some ponies. Pinkie was enjoying the food the most, running from table to table, eating and claiming even whole cakes. She was wearing a costume of a dark red cape, and had a mysterious eye mask on, as if she did not want to be noticed as Pinkie; of course, she is doing a bad job hiding her personality.
She finally saw me, and dashed over here almost instantly with her sugar rush. There was frosting and cake crumbs smashed all over her mask, only making room for the eyes. “Clyde!! You came!!”
“I walked out the door, and you are already drenched in food,” I tell her. I examine her outfit again. “What’s with the cape and mask?”
Pinkie curled her cape around her face. “I am your secret angel from above?”
I raised an eyebrow. “You mean ‘wingpony?’”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever!”
“I don’t think I need a wingpony, Pinkie.”
“Yes, you do!” She quickly muttered, and she ran off into behind a house.
Last thing she needed was sugar. I began to walk down the isles traced by the carpeting. Every other table had more food than the previous one, until finally, at the town square, there was a large stage for an orchestra to play. I finally looked up to notice the sky was filled with clouds. Like, there was so little sunlight coming through, almost as if it was evening. It had to be set up by Rainbow Dash or some other weather ponies for the mood, to make it more… gloomy? I didn’t know why. Most ponies were in groups of two, but there were several groups of ponies also.
I started to treat myself to some punch when, while looking into the shadows of between some houses, I saw a pony’s face. He or she reacted with a shock to notice they were seen.
“Are you alright?” I called out after setting my punch down. No answer.
I walked around the table to the thin alley to finally see Fluttershy hiding. “...Oh, hi, Clyde…”
“Fluttershy, what’s wrong,” I asked her, “What are you doing over here?”
“Oh, nothing,” she whispered, “Just… counting the pebbles in the dirt…”
“Really, what’s wrong?”
She scraped the dirt. “I think I am being followed…”
Being followed? “Uh, by who?”
“The tall, white stallion in the blue clothing…”
I looked behind me and around, and there was, as Fluttershy had described, a tall, white stallion clothed in a blue suit. He had a monocle that he held up to his eye. Looked like somepony out of Canterlot, which would be weird, because what would he be doing here in Ponyville?
“What makes you think he is following you?” I asked Fluttershy.
“Oh, I don’t know, I just think he is…” It was almost impossible to hear her, since she was whispering so quietly.
“I could go ask him…”
“No! Don’t say anything, please!” She whimpered to herself, and I just left her alone, visiting my punch again. Fluttershy crept deeper into the shadows, and I realized why when the same stallion who was referred to by Fluttershy approached me.
And, shoot, was he tall!
“Hello, my fellow stallion! I am looking for the bearer of this fine necklace I have here,” he said. He had an accent of those from Canterlot, so I was certain he was from there. He held out a necklace with a golden clasp, and with a medallion engraved with a shape of a butterfly. Something that looked like to belong to Fluttershy.
“I saw that the mare was yellow, but never saw her face,” he explained, “Do you know anypony of such?”
He was just trying to return a necklace? Not what I expected from Fluttershy’s point of view.
I pointed at Fluttershy, who was still in the shadows, and she shook. She didn’t move as the stallion approached her, and I could only see and not hear the dialogue. But when he held the necklace out, I saw her face brightened, and she blushed as she took it. They both left together.
It was a nice sight, to see them both leave together happy. I was drinking punch when I almost choked on it when Pinkie Pie creepily whispered, “She’s here.”
“Who- who’s here?” I asked, trying to clear my throat.
“Ser-eeeeeee-naaaaaaa,” she said, making me uncomfortable. She grabbed me around my neck and pointed near the town square. My eyes were wandered to search for her for a second, but as soon as I saw her, my eyes were stuck.
Her mane was somehow even more beautiful than before, and she wore a dress shaded with a light blue color. It was bordered with tiny, miniature gems, which glistened greatly under the light. She wore a silver necklace, which carried a pretty ruby bordered by even more jewels.
“W-w-wow…” was all I could say while staring at her. Pinkie finally let go of me.
“Come on, let’s go!” She shouted.
“What? No, no, I- I am not ready to do it,” I said, but Pinkie grabbed my hoof and began to pull me towards the town square.
“Oh, please, you got the top hat, the smug get-up, the confidence (“Confidence? Smug?”), you can do it!” She was pulling me closer and closer to Serena, and I, being the weak stallion I am, couldn’t pull back.
Serena was talking to another mare when Pinkie pushed me right aside there. I didn’t move. Or blink. Or really allowed a single cell in my body to react.
“Serena, Clyde, Clyde, Serena, I’ll let you two catch up, bye!!!” Pinkie swung her cape around her face like before and ran off.
My eyes managed to tilt towards her eyes, which were looking back at mine now. Sweat was already running down my cheeks.
“Oh. Hi, uh..." She realized the awkwardness I was feeling. "You're the fellow stallion who helped me with the basket, right?"
I nodded. My mouth felt too dry to speak.
"...Well, thanks for that, anyway... Was there something you wanted, or..."
I finally sighed and spoke. "Look, my friend Pinkie was just trying to make us talk and get to know each other. She is really keen on, uh, enforcement on friendships."
"Ah." She smiled. "I understand." He face was bliss, and was simply impossible to stop speaking about.
"Do-do you want to talk?" I nervously asked her.
She looked into the sky, and around her, as if she was searching for something. "Sure," she finally answered, "Why not?"
We walked down the road between all of the tables and tents set up. The ground was becoming littered with flower petals and confetti, along with sprinkles of glitter. In some parts, it was so intense that you could see our hoofprints in the carpet between everything.
"So," we how she begun, "I see your cutie mark is a book. What do you do?"
I always feel embarrassed when people question my cutie mark. I mean, it's a book; I always found it weird for a cutie mark to be just a book (Brown cover, black scribbled text), because, well, a book can represent many different professions! Almost like a cutie mark of a cutie mark; It was probably just me concerned and confused about it.
My mind drifted by a short moment about the question. "I work as an editor and publisher for stories and documents that ponies send to me."
"Oh, was it you who published, 'Rarity's Guide to Perfect Fashion?" Serena asked.
I laughed. "Yeah, I get that a lot."
"Have you ever written anything yourself?"
Hm. Come to think of it, I can't remember ever doing any creative works of my own.
"No. I was never too much of a story writer myself."
"I'm sure you would be excellent in writing stories."
"Thank you." Speaking of Rarity, I finally saw her standing away from the carpet, trying to avoid all of the glitter and confetti. I tipped my hat to her, giving a thanks for the outfit. I saw her wink at me, after looking at Serena, but chose to mostly complain about the littering on the ground ("I cannot walk across such a mess! This is simply...!").
"So, sculptor, huh?" I said.
"Yes, I am a sculptor. It is hard for an Earth Pony, though, without the magic. Gotta do it by hoof." She blushed, as if she was embarrassed to talk about it.
"Same situation," I said, "I've got my 'mouthwriting.''" It was weird to have to write with your mouth, but then you get used to it. I can brag about how well my writing looked I wanted to.
She laughed. Her laughter was probably the best definition of happiness. It was then when I realized how much attention we were both drawing, with our outfits and slow (Like, really slow) trot down the road. I get shy easily, and I became uncomfortable. I saw Pinkie raise her head above one of the tables, giving me a deep squint. She started swinging her hooves around, as if trying to signal me. I just gave her a weird look from the corner of my eye.
The crowd of ponies began to become more packed. Before we would have to start nudging through hoof by hoof, I asked Serena if she would like to leave for someplace else.
"Like where?" She asked.
I thought for the second. The garden was always the nicest place at night, and I could see the sky beginning to clear to show the sunset. It was beautiful, lowering itself behind Canterlot.
"Why not the garden?" I asked, "It is by my home, at the edge of town."
She looked up at the sky for a short moment, but then answered, "Why not?"
The crowd going through the road became ridiculous, and we finally transitioned onto the side behind the tables. That was when Pinkie crept up on me and went stealth with her whispering.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm taking her to the garden." I never felt my voice talk so low in my life.
She pulled out a dark red rose. "Give this to her!"
"Where-?"
"Do it!" She emerged into the shadows behind her.
I held out the rose. "I, uh, picked this f-for you."
She smiled, and took the rose. "I love it. It reminds me of my mother from when I used to pick flowers with her." She went silence for a minute, seeming to be in deep thought, and finally said, "Thank you."
After more walking, we finally arrived at the garden. The sun had gone all the way down now, and I could see the moon and stars taking over. The garden was peaceful and soothing; the trees were nested with chirping birds and hyper squirrels. Bunnies and rabbits scurried through the grass, which was filled with flowers and bushes.
A Place of Solitude.
There was a bench, but Serena wanted to sit in the grass. We laid down in it together, and I was paranoid about getting my suit messy.
There was a moment of silence, being filled by only the chirps of the birds. Serena finally asked a question.
"What do you think could be out there?"
I laid there in thought. It was always questions like this that made motionless in truth, if that made any sense.
I finally answered, "I don't think you can ask what is out there, but can ask what isn't out there." I looked at her from my right. "There may be infinite... possibilities out there. Your dreams, your nightmares, anything... but what could there not be? Indescribably nothing."
I laid my forearms out onto the grass. "I'm not so keen in such topics..."
"Neither am I. I just wanted somepony else' insight." She put her hooves under her head. "And it isn't a bad one either."
I did begin to think now. "But do you think we are the center of everything?"
"I'd be surprised if there was anything else raising and lowering a sun or moon."
We both laughed. She did make her point well. As I looked into the sky, I tried to search for a constellation to impress her. I couldn't see anything but specks of stars, none making an image, in my eyes, at least.
I just mumbled, "Beautiful sky." Every cloud was now gone, revealing all there is to see.
"It is," she said, as I tossed my head in her direction. The stars were were glistening in her eyes. I looked away back at the sky. I body felt calm, but my mind felt numb.
My forearms were still stretched out comfortably. I was about to set them back by my sides when I felt something touch my hoof. I looked over slowly to see Serena's hoof holding mine. She was looking up still, as if she was embarrassed. I affectionately gripped her hoof.
She smiled as we pulled ourselves together in the grass. She rested her head on me, and I was overwhelmed with happiness.
Before I closed my eyes, I saw Pinkie, still in her costume, wink at me from the shadows.