It was a day much like anyone else for Daffodil. She woke up in her spacious bed surprisingly early considering it was Saturday. Not giving it much thought, she quickly rolled out of it and landed somewhat clumsily on the floor.
“Great start this day had...” She grumbled, stretching her legs.
She continued to the bathroom, where she drank a glass of water and brushed her ugly mane so it looked...well, less ugly. Daffodil always hated her thick, halfway mess of a mane which would never allowed it self to look like she had actually spent thirty minutes combing it. Daffodil's marefriend, Honey Kisses, never agreed with her.
Honey Kisses said she was too harsh on herself, and that Daff was perfect the way she was...easy for her to say, with her spiky golden hair matching her rust red coat oh so perfectly...Daffodils eyes widen as she suddenly realized that she had forgotten something...something important that was connected to Honey, who’d come home from Manhattan that day…
Daffodil throwed herself down the stairs and rushed over to the fridge where the calendar was hanging. Looking at it, she immediately noticed the blue and red marking on the current date, and the pink heart. It was the 14th of February, Valentine’s Day.
Honey had booked them up on a date with a mare she meet in canterlot long ago, and a local bookbinder. Four mares on a date...Daffodil sighedt to herself over how perfect it sounded.
Still feeling slightly sleepy, she looked at the reference chart next to the calendar to remind herself what the red and blue marking ment...okay red for returning books in the public library, blue for picking up something she ordered...but what?
Daffodil pondered what it was she was going to get while bringing out a milk bottle and an old sandwich that had been left over from earlier during the week and walked over to her place at the table.
When putting down the bottle and the sandwich, she noticed that there was note on the table saying “Remember: Pick up special ordered book at the bookmaker’s place”. Right. She had talked to one of her dates for the evening and she agreed to create a special gift that she needed to pick up.
Well, that’s one mystery solved. Now, where did I put the books?
Daffodil finished her breakfast, looking for the books, only to find that she, as usual, were one step ahead of herself and had already put the books she needed to return, as well as the papers concerning her special book order in her saddle bags. the only thing she had to do was to put it on an she were on her way.
Quite a good day so far, I’d say. Daffodil shrugged, heading outside.
*Ding-dong*
A bell rung as Daffodil pushed the door to the library open and went inside the big tree house that served as public librairy in Ponyville. Every time Daffodil entered it she couldn’t help but think of how beautiful it was, a hole public building dedicated to books. There had never been anything of the like in Appleloosa, where she was from. The town was too small, the people too few for something like it to exist in the community.
“Hi Daffodil, what can I help you with?” Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia herself priced pupil, the element of harmony magic and ironically enough, the local librarian greeted Daffodil as she stepped inside.
Twilight had often wondered why the orange mare always looked so starry eyed when entering the library. A public library wasn’t exactly something special, and most towns had them.
“Hi Twilight, I was just going to return ‘classic equestrian lullabys of old’ and ‘The stories and myths of the brothers Grimm and Andersen’. Truly fascinating reading, I can tell!” Daffodil replied, placing the two thick books on the desk.
Twilight nodded, smiling.
“Told you you’d enjoy the brother’s Grimm and Andersen. Anyhow, do you have any plans for tonight, seeing as it’s Hearts and Hooves day. Oh, and Honey Kisses coming back to town today, right?” Twilight asked, giving her mischievous grin.
Daffodil blushed slightly, trying to figure out what to answer, that she was polyamorous, and Honey too, for that part, was something only they knew of...and she wasn’t sure what Twilight said if she said that she had booked a date with three other mares.
“Well, um, Honey Kisses is coming back today, and she and I have booked a double date with Blackberry and a mare form canterlot name Heart Throb.” Daffodil finally lied. “And you? Got a date?”’
“Blackberry? The bookmaker? I didn’t know you were friends. Good for you, I guess. I don’t have anything special planned, since Aj don’t really celebrate Hearts and Hooves… bad memories apparently. Poor thing have a really rough past. It have ruined most holidays for her.”
Daffodil nodded, giving her a sympathetic smile before leaving the library, her bags already feeling much lighter than earlier.
‘Wow, how much did those books actually weigh? Two ton or what?’ Daffodil thought, looking at the to-do list and crossing over ‘return books to public library’. Next on the list were to pick up the book at Blackberries,and Daffodil decided to do just that.
*Ding-dong*
Another belle rung, this time an old fashion one placed at a table in a small, crowded room that didn’t look like it had been cleaned since the - very old- house in which the towns bookbinder lived was built. Books, more than what probably was held in the library, was put in giant piles from floor to roof. The books dominated such a vast area that Daffodil couldn’t help but feel worried that she might be crushed under one of the absurdly big book piles.
Just as she considered ringing the bell again, a short, slightly confused looking unicorn mare with an indigo coat and messy navy blue mane with black stripes emerge from another room.
“Who’s there? Have you filed an order or is it an emergency?” the mare asked, squinting her eyes to try and see who the visitor was, ignoring the pair of glasses on her head which she - hopefully - was aware of was there.
“First off, Blackberry, you really need to start using those glasses. Secondly, it’s me, Daffodil. I came to pick up the special gift for the day tonight. Because you’re still coming right?”
Blackberry nodded, grabbing the glasses with her magic and placed them on the brink of her muzzle, opening several drawers and looking for Daffodil’s order.
“Ah! here it is! This is enchanted so the pages would never end, but if the spell would break then...well, if that happen, I might fix it for free!” Blackberry winked, smiling as Daffodil blushed, knowing all too well what she meant.
“Okay, thanks Blackberry...and remember, 6 PM at the new restaurant close to the train station. Don’t be late!"
Blackberry nodded, opening the door and letting Daffodil out.
As Daffodil came out side in the light, she realized just how dark it have been inside the little shop. At the same time, an absurd thought entered her mind: She had survived. She had been smashed into goo by one of the absurdly big book piles.
A small giggle escaped her mouth as she realized how truly ridiculous it was thinking she'd survived, when she would never probably die in the first place...but, Daffodil had always considered herself odd, or what did a ridiculous thought about being smashed by book piles from time to time do?
Looking at her life and marking the next thing on her list, she looked after what she were supposed to do now.
“Eat oat tacos for lunch - packed in bag”
Daffodil chuckled, finding the tacos in her bag just like the note said she would - she knew herself all too well. She never remembered anything that wasn’t written down, and her lunch menu for the day was no different.
Sitting down on her now almost empty saddlebags, Daffodil started eating on her oat tacos. They were prepared with extra much salsa and corn, just the way Daffodil wanted them, because like she said, she knew herself all too well.
As she ate, Daffodil marked also this on the list and read the last point.
Pick up Honey Kisses and Heart Throb - check time and date with Blackberry? If not, do before heading to train station.
Putting the bags back on and checking the time by looking at ponyville old clock tower. There was still about 30 minutes left before the train would arrive - the train time she actually remembered without writing it down for some reason. Now confident that she had time to do one last thing before she went to the train station, Daffodil got up and moved on.
Daffodil trotted down to the small, cozy market in town square. She liked this place. It was the only thing in ponyville that reminded Daffodil of her home town in the slightest.
She confidently walked over to the flower stable, which was run by the two sisters Lily and Daisy and their friend Roseluck. Daffodil had come to be pretty good friend with the three mares, seeing as her own talent at least partly was connected to gardening.
This day, it seemed the other girls had left Lily alone to take care of the stable, most likely intentionally. Lily rarely worked in the stable, the poor mare having severe social anxiety.
But Daffodil also knew the other girls had started forcing her to work more at the market, at least in company of any of the other two friends. They hoped it’d help her with her anxiety, and so far Daffodil thought that it seemed to help.
“H-hi Daffodil. H-how are you? W-want some flowers?” Lily said, noticing Daffodil.
“Hi Lily. I’m just fine, thank you. Nice to see you here. Anyhow, got any Carnations, Daffodils, dark purple asters and...pink Clematis?” Daffodil responded, smiling, surprised by her friends untypically open attitude.
The mare nodded, going back into the tent before returning with the mentioned flowers.
“Here you go Daffi, 30 bits. Sooo...Doing something with Honey Kisses, Blackberry the shy bookbinder and some pink pony who like romance?” Lily asked, giving daffodil the flowers.
Daffodil blinked, utterly shocked by her friends guess.
“Yes...But how the hey do you know that?” She asked, putting the coins on the desk.
“Well, Carnations is Honey Kisses favourites, Daffodils yours, Blackberry love the Asters and Clematis is the usual choice when it’s for someone who love romance but Roses feel cliché. Well, beside Butterfly bushes.”
“Okay,but I need to go now, so...bye!” Daffodil responded, quickly leaving.
As Daffodil made her way to the station, she thought about what had happened over at the market, how Lily had almost figured out everything…
She felt a cold, hard grip squeezing her heart, and knew her worst enemy had escaped the prison which she had built for it in her mind.
Fear.
An intense, paralyzing fear of what could become had settled in her mind.
It made her realize what an impact this night would have on her life, and on the lives of Honey, Heart and Blackberry. It made her want to run, run away from what she had looked forward to for weeks now.
Yes, it even made her want to hide until the other mares would stop looking. Until she could force herself to be like everypony else.
But Daffodil thought back against it, continued forward despite her mind screaming no. She wasn’t normal, and would never be, and she was definitely not going to abandon the mare she loved, no, the mares she loved.
Ponies could judge and hate, but it didn’t matter, because they couldn’t understand.
Now having a goal, Daffodil felt so much better. She liked to have goals, clear directions for where she wanted to go, and then she could make a plan for how to get there.
As she entered the station, she saw that the train from Canterlot had just arrived, and it didn’t take Daffodil long time before she spotted a red unicorn mare and a pink pegasus mare among the dozens of day workers returning home early to spend the night with their beloved ones.
“DAFFODIL! Over hear you blind idiot!” Honey Kisses screamed, poking fun of the fact that Daffodil was almost incapable of seeing on her left eye.
“HONEY! I see you, you deaf idiot! No need to make my hearing as bad as yours!” Daffodil replied, laughing, throwing herself into her beloved’s embrace.
While hugging Honey, Daffodil looked at the other mare, Heart Throb. She was a pink pegasus with turquoise mane. Her eyes were big and shining, like a foal, and she was trembling as she watched the hug.
Letting go off Daffodil, Honey walked over to Heart, putting her hoof around her waist, holding her close.
“Hey, Heart, this my marefriend that I’ve talked about: Daffodil Spark. Daffodil, this is Heart…”
“Hi Daffodil…” the pink mare whispered, hesitatingly looking at Daffodil face.
“Hi Heart. Nice to meet you. So, should we get going? It’s three hours until we’re going to meet Blackberry outside the restaurant.” Daffodil said, doing her best to establish eye contact despite the other mare’s obvious insecurity.
Noticing the tension between the two mares, Honey quickly got in between Daffodil and Heart and started dragging them back to her and Daffodil’s house.
“Are you coming, Heart? We need to get going soon.”
“I’m coming!”
Honey and Daffodil could barely believe what their eyes were seeing as Heart Throb walked down the stairs, dressed in a loosely fitted turquoise dress and her mane and tale decorated with pink ribbons.
"You look beautiful!" Honey and Daffodil said at the same time, not able to take their eyes of the blushing Heart.
"Thank you, but shouldn't we get going?" Heart asked, her cheeks still glowing pink.
Honey and Daffodil nodded, making their way down the hall to the door and continuing outside.
Outside, they were greeted by a rapidly disappearing sun, its last few golden rays warming the three mares as they made their way through the quiet town and looking at the Hearts and hooves day decorations.
Despite being deadly quiet, the town was far from deserted. Everywhere they looked, couples where snuggling and kissing, enjoying the closeness and warmth of their loved ones sitting next to them. Being caught up in their own romantic arrangements, most ponies didn’t even notice Heart, Honey and Daffodil, something the three mares were eternally grateful for.
When they finally arrived at the restaurant, Blackberry was already waiting outside. Both Daffodil and Honey was pleasantly surprised seeing that she had brushed her mane properly, put on glasses and dressed herself in a quite attractive dress.
“Okay, now that we’re all together, I think it’s the right moment to give you these.” Daffodil said, bringing out the flowers she had bought earlier from her saddlebags.
“Oh my goodness, these Asters are gorgeous! How...how did you know?” Blackberry exclaimed, examining the flowers.
“I could ask the same. Clematis is a very special flower to me...they remind me of some of the greatest moment of my life yet!” Heart said, smiling heartily at Blackberry, who responded with an equally hearty smile, but behind them Honey frowned.
Daffodil and Honey looked at each other, joining their eyebrows. The perfect evening-brew had started to boil, and would hopefully be ready soon enough. To begin with, Honey had been afraid some of the components would refuse to blend, but it didn’t seem to be the case. In fact, they seemed like made for each other… she felt a slight, slight sting of pain in her heart, but paid it no mind.
“Are you coming?” Blackberry said, she and Heart already waiting at the door, Heart snuggling Blackberries side in affection.
Daffodil and Honey nodded, catching up with the other mares and entering the restaurant.
“This is really a great restaurant. I’m so glad you invited me over here Honey...though I was a bit surprised to hear you were leaning that way.” Heart commented, taking another bite of her roasted daisy sandwich with apple jelly and hay fries.
Swallowing, Honey slowly nodded.
“Yeah, I knew on which side of the spectrum I was already back in the days when I learned to know you, if you recall?”
Heart nodded, quickly grabbing Honeys hoof under the stable, quickly squeezing it.
“Anyhow, it was first when I met Daffodil, and she told me about her preferences, I started consider it. She convinced me to give it a try, and well, it felt right.” Honey finished, quickly stuffing some of her buttercup salad into her mouth.
A kind of undefined, tense silence settled over the company and Daffodil was just about to do something, anything, to break it, when Blackberry opened her mouth.
“Hey girls, how are we going to do when we finished the food? Do you want to order some dessert here, or maybe somewhere else?” She winked, surprising Heart with kissing her on the cheek.
Daffodil and Heart didn’t answer, too focused on snuggling and lightly kissing each other to bother answering. The really enjoyable part of the evening had to start eventually, and Daffodil and Honey had already made it far with the warm-up.
Heart and Blackberry, none of them very open or ‘pushing’ ponies, sat there in silence, unsure what to do. Already the kiss on the cheek had been almost outside Blackberry’s comfort zone. However, what was happening across the table was feeding them with emotions and thoughts none of them could get out of their minds.
Finally, Heart gave up trying to stop herself, throwing her whole body forward and connecting her and Blackberry’s muzzles in a passionate, desperate kiss. The sheer power in Heart’s sudden movement forward forced Blackberry to push in in the opposite direction as to not fall off the chair, the action pressing both their muzzles and the rest of their bodies closer to each other.
Noticing what was happening across the table, Honey responded the same way, wrapping her hooves around Daffodil’s neck and pushing their muzzles tighter together, closing her eyes and just enjoying the moment. Daffodil did the same, feeling a warmth spreading through her body and knowing that this was going to be a night she’d always remember, with or without Heart and Blackberry.
Meanwhile, Heart had wrapped her hooves around Blackberries neck, moving them around in her mane as they kissed intense and passionate, both mares cheek glowing bright red and heating, but none of them cared. All they cared for was the extreme, hungry feelings sweeping through their bodies like hurricanes, making them long for more, much more...but not only more from each other, no, they also wished to be able to be a part of what the mares across the table had.
“Are you girls ready to go home and get some real dessert, now?”
Heart and Blackberry broke the kiss and nodded rapidly, their glowing eyes and bet red faces revealing just what they thought about it without them saying a single word.
Grinning mischievously, both pairs, still snuggling closely, started making their way out of the restaurant. On the way out, one of the waitresses, having witnessed the scene, slapped Daffodil lightly on her behind.
“Go get ‘em girl! I believe in you.”
Looking back to see who it was, Daffodil noticed it to be an old friend of Honey. noticing Daffodil looking at her, she blinked.
Blushing Daffodil hurried to catch up with the others.
Outside, the crisp, cold night air hit Daffodil and she almost choked as the first breath of clear night air reached her lungs. Daffodil loved nights, loved the hair falling in way of her eyes as the wind ruffled it. It filled her with energy and made her feel alive.
Out of pure joy and feeling of newfound energy brought to her by the wonderful starry night outside, Daffodil picked up speed and galloped past her three dates this evening, squealing, simply because she could do it.
Soon, Blackberry, Heart and Honey followed after her, laughing and stumbling as they tried to keep up with Daffodil. But every time they came close, Daffodil simply laughed and ran faster, leaving the others in the dust.
“This time you're not escaping!” Honey exclaimed, all three mares lugging forward at Daffodil, pushing her down in the grass under a big tree, where they landed in a laughing, tangled mess.
After spending a great deal of time trying to untangle, causing even more laughter, and more than one hoof ‘accidentally’ touching an ‘inappropriate’ place, they finally separated, lying beside in the grass, trying to catching their breath.
“So what -gasp- do you girls - gasp- want to do now?” Daffodil asked, still trying to catch her breath. The result became that she was immediately cuddled up and lightly kissed by three mares, one of them half laying on top of her.
The cuddling continued, and soon Blackberry laying on top of Daffodil, kissing her. Honey then stood up and walked past Daffodil and Blackberry, who was making out, and laying down beside Heart.
“So...I’ve really missed you…” Honey stated nervously, slowly beginning to feeling inviting Heart on this date had been a mistake, despite how perfect it had worked out up till now.
“Honey...what happened back then doesn’t matter. The only thing that matter is right now.” Heart said, scooting closer to Honey. “And you know what I want right now?”
“What?” Honey asked, relieved that Heart was willing to look past what had been once upon a time.
“This!” Heart lodged forward, kissing Honey passionately on the lips.
Though surprised, Honey quickly kissed back, wrapping her hooves around Heart’s neck, dragging her up on top of her self as they continued to make out passionately.
After a few minutes, Heart finally rolled off Honey, landing beside Blackberry, who just rolled off Daffodil.
The three mares then scotched closely together and closed their eyes, laying beside each other and just enjoying the closeness of the ones meaning the most to them, enjoying a special moment.
None of them knew what the future might hold, but they knew that together, they’d be able to face it all.
“Hey, Daffodil, didn’t you have something for them?” Blackberry whispered to Daffodil, who, without opening her eyes, stuffed her mouth in Blackberry’s mouth.
“Schhh, an other time.” Daffodil answered, trying to presserve the moment.