“So, then I said, ‘It is such a lovely night! Maybe we should go for a stroll,’ and then he agreed! Oh, it was simply fantastic! And he even convinced his little assistant, Fluer, to leave us alone for a few minutes! It was the best. night. ever!” Rarity’s voice rang out across the little cafe as four friends sat around a table, sipping on coffee and nibbling on fancy cakes.
“Rarity,” Applejack protested, “Do we have to chat about your various love interests?”
“But of course!” Rarity gasped, her eyes wide. “It’s Hearts and Hooves Day! What ever else would I be talking about?”
Applejack rolled her eyes but fell silent. She sipped her glass of apple cider, since she really wasn’t one for coffee. Rarity continued her story, mentioned dozens of colts of whom she had fancied. Twilight, who sat across from the farm pony, seemed like the only one of the group who was truly engaged in Rarity’s stories.
“It’s a shame Rainbow and Pinkie couldn’t be here,” Twilight stated as soon as Rarity took a quick break from her story to eat some of her cake.
“I think we should be happy for ‘em!” Applejack pointed out. “You know Rainbow has liked Soarin’ for a long time, and when he asked her to come watch him and the Wonderbolts perform tonight, she was just over the moon!”
“I suppose that’s true,” Twilight agreed. “But I never would have guessed Rainbow Dash would’ve been the first of my friends to find a date!” She giggled.
“And Pinkie really was needed at the bakery,” Rarity added. “Hearts and Hooves day is the busiest of the year!”
This conversation continued for a while, and everyone seemed noticeably relieved that Rarity didn’t mention her various crushes again. After a few moments of silence as the talking died down, however, Twilight had something else to say.
“Fluttershy, are you alright? You haven’t said much all evening.” The young princess brought everyone’s attention to the shy pegasus absentmindedly poking her cake with a fork. She perked up in shock at being acknowledged, a very light pink dusting her cheeks.
“What? Um… yes, I’m fine,” Fluttershy muttered, her eyes dropping back to her uneaten pastry.
“Oh, come on Fluttershy, what ever is the matter?” Rarity leaned over and nudged her friend, adjusting her fluffy pink dress as she did so.
“Cheer up, Fluttershy!” Applejack added. “It’s Hearts and Hooves day! You shouldn’t be sad on a holiday!”
Fluttershy shrugged, but didn’t really say much.
Rarity gasped. “Applejack, that’s just it. It’s Hearts and Hooves day. No wonder the poor girl is depressed!”
“Rarity, what in tarnation is that supposed to mean?” Applejack huffed. Twilight echoed the sentiment with a slightly confused look.
“Fluttershy doesn’t have a special somepony,” Rarity explained, sighing as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Don’t worry, dear,” she added to Fluttershy, “we’ve all been there. I don’t have a ‘special somepony’ either!”
Fluttershy’s face got just a bit pinker.
“Neither do I,” Twilight added. “But you don’t need a colt to enjoy a holiday! I’m having a lot of fun!”
“Yes, but Rarity, you know so many famous ponies that would go on a date with you if you asked them! And Twilight, we all know you are going to the crystal empire next weekend to see Flash,” Fluttershy protested, but quickly fell silent as soon as she realized that she’d just argued with her friends’ attempts to cheer her up. “I mean, um, I…”
Rarity laughed. “Oh, Fluttershy! Maybe if you asked somepony, they’d go on date with you!”
Fluttershy’s face was now a bright pink. She shook her head quickly, uncomfortable with the sudden attention. “I… I don’t know who to ask…”
Rarity chuckled. “You know, Fluttershy, ever since you joined the Pony Tones, Toe-Tapper has been awfully kind to you…” She winked slightly.
Fluttershy continued to blush, but shook her head. “I… I just… I don’t know.”
“Speaking of the Pony Tones,” Twilight added with a playful grin, “A certain Apple has a very nice bass singing voice…”
“Hey, stay away from my brother!” Applejack protested with a laugh.
“He likes Cheerilee,” Fluttershy deadpanned.
“Fluttershy,” Applejack began, “what about Caramel? I overheard him talking about you at the marketplace.”
Fluttershy seemed like she wanted to disappear. “He’s nice, but, I just, I don’t…”
“And Written Script!” Twilight pointed out. “He writes for the local paper, and he’s done several articles lately about the various animals you take care of!”
The yellow pegasus sunk further into her seat. “I… He is a good writer, but…”
“Golly, Fluttershy, you’re almost as popular as Rarity!” Applejack teased with a laugh. “Isn’t there somepony you like?”
Fluttershy shrugged, hoping they would take their attention of her. However, it seemed fate would not let her be.
“Shutterfly!” A familiar voice called out. A light gray pegasus was bounding over to the group of friends, a mail bag slung over her shoulder.
“Oh, hello…” Fluttershy said quietly.
The gray pegasus grinned. “I have a letter for you, but I didn’t deliver it earlier, because I was really busy, um, traveling, um, with somepony, in this blue, um, nevermind, and I was going to your house, but then you were here!”
“Oh, okay,” Fluttershy responded as the mailpony fished through her bag and pulled out a letter. She handed it proudly to the yellow pegasus before waving cheerily at the other ponies at the table. “Bye guys!”
“Bye!” Twilight answered with a friendly smile as the awkward pegasus retreated back into the restaurant.
“Even Derpy has somepony to spend the day with!” Applejack murmured in slight wonder to herself.
“What does the letter say?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy had ripped it open rather quickly for such a gentle pony, and was almost finished reading it.
“Oh, um, it’s not important,” Fluttershy replied. “Um, I have to go. Bye guys!” Fluttershy smiled very slightly as she slid out of her chair and hurried out of the restaurant.
“What’s her problem?” Applejack asked, frowning. “I didn’t think she cared this much about a silly little holiday!”
“Silly?” Rarity protested, launching herself into a long rant about why the day was anything but silly.
“Hey everypony, look,” Applejack pointed out. “Fluttershy left the letter here.”
Sure enough, the letter sat folded on the ground. Rarity immediately picked it up with her magic.
“Rarity, maybe we shouldn’t…” Twilight protested. But it was too late. Rarity’s eyes were wide.
“Oh, Fluttershy doesn’t have a special somepony, that’s for sure,” Rarity said, a sly grin appeared on her face. “More like a specaildraconequus.”
