Hearts a-Flutter

Chapters

Forever Alone
Take a Chance!
Discord-aged

Forever Alone

“Ugh . . . I hate this holiday . . . .”

Nocturne trudged through the streets of Ponyville, watching happy couples all around him in loving embraces, fits of laughter, and passionate kisses. Even his days in the darkness of the Everfree Forest couldn’t suppress memories of this. Especially when ponies on every corner unwittingly rubbed it in his face everywhere he went.

“Happy Hearts-and-Hooves Day!”

“Ugh, I swear, if I hear that miserable phrase one more time . . .” Nocturne grumbled impotently as he walked. Even with his changed life, living in Ponyville again, and amongst friends for the first time, it made his stomach turn.

“Happy Hearts-and-Hooves Day, my sweet darling!”

Nocturne glanced at a corner of the road he was on and saw two ponies, an orange Earth stallion with a brown mullet and a turquoise-furred, blond-maned Pegasus mare, nuzzling and whispering sweet nothings at each other.

“Happy Hearts-and-Hooves Day, my love,” the stallion replied to his girlfriend, and the two shared a heartwarming kiss.

Or heart-wrenching, as Nocturne saw it.

With a roll of his eyes and a groan, Nocturne waited for the road before him to clear of traffic before closing; Big McIntosh was hauling a wagon loaded to the brim with hay across the street. All the while, the two lovebirds on the street corner bent Nocturne’s ear, making him tap his hoof impatiently.

“How did you find the time to do this, honey?” the Pegasus asked breathily.

“That doesn’t matter,” the stallion replied. “What matters is I’d do anything to make you happy, Sassy.”

“Oh, Carmy,” she nearly whispered it, and they came together for another kiss.

Nocturne promptly stuck his hoof in his mouth and gagged, loudly and irritably, as he contorted his face and closed one scarlet eye. This went on for a few seconds after Big Mac completely crossed the road, and by then, passersby were staring at Nocturne with a combination of disturbance and dismay.

Nocturne froze with his hoof down his throat as the sense of self-awareness filled him like freezing cold water. He turned to see his observers gawking at him on the side of the road, and he removed his hoof and frowned at them. “Oh, what?!” he retorted. “Shut up and chew your gum.” And with that, he started back down the street, the happy couple on the corner still mumbling their insipid love tripe to each other as if Nocturne hadn’t even been there.

Nocturne reached a roadside café called Sea Biscuits and sat down at an empty table. The waitress, a beige Earth mare with a fluffy sky-blue mane, stepped up to him and greeted him cheerfully, “What’s your pleasure, hon?”

Nocturne glanced at her and struggled to keep the irritation out of his voice. “One lunch platter for one, please,” he mumbled.

“Hmmm . . . one ‘Lonely Heart’s Special’, huh?”

Nocturne now resisted the urge to slap the waitress, and instead said, “Yeah, one of those things . . . .”

“Comin’ up, hon,” she said and turned away with a bounce of her permed blue tail. Nocturne spent his time waiting for his food by plopping his chin down on the table and lying there in silence. He glanced to his left, and saw a black-furred Pegasus stallion snuggling up with a Pegasus mare with white fur and a pink-and-green-striped mane, and a glance to the right showed a mint-green Unicorn and a cream-colored Earth pony, both mares, giggling and holding hooves. Another (by now hesitant) glance behind him, and he saw the mail mare aiming (one of) her googly eyes at a sophisticated-looking brown Earth pony.

“Really?!” Nocturne yelled out, tensing up. “Did every happy couple in town just happen to turn up at this café?! Seriously?!”

Even ponies sitting alone at their tables turned to stare at Nocturne, and he felt their eyes biting into him like a swarm of insects. The silvery stallion planted his face on the table and sighed. Another day, another incident, he thought to himself. Well, at least things can’t get much wo—

“So, Nocturne, is this a bad time?”

Yep, of course it can, Nocturne corrected himself before prying his face off the table. He looked up to his visitor, and was even more embarrassed to see Twilight Sparkle awkwardly smiling at him.

“Uhhh . . . yeah, maybe not,” Nocturne admitted. “As you can see, I’m not in the best of moods right now, Twilight.”

“Oh, I see,” Twilight replied, frowning. “It wouldn’t happen to be because today is Hearts-and-Hooves Day, would it?”

Nocturne pressed a hoof to his temple. “Who told you?” he deadpanned.

“Oh, Nocturne, don’t be upset,” Twilight soothed. “We all have preferences, after all. No one can fault you for disliking a holiday.”

“They can if I make it uncomfortably obvious,” Nocturne answered, still rubbing his head with a hoof. “Still kinda having trouble with that . . . .”

Twilight’s hoof gently gave Nocturne a pat on the back. “Maybe you’d feel a little better sharing a table with us?”

Nocturne’s head perked in curiosity. “Us?”

Twilight pointed to the table she’d come from, and Nocturne saw two other ponies he didn’t recognize sitting there: a stocky, white Unicorn stallion, and a lovely pink Alicorn, both sitting close to one another and waving to Twilight and Nocturne happily.

Nocturne scowled at Twilight. “Another happy couple?” he asked.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll like them!” Twilight then gently tugged at Nocturne, and the stallion reluctantly got up from his seat to join Twilight and her two friends.

“So, this is the notorious Nocturne,” the Alicorn said with a grin. “I must say, you’re taller than I expected.”

“Aside from that, spot-on description,” the Unicorn added. “Then again, my sister always had a good eye for details.”

“Sister?” Nocturne asked. “Twilight never told me she had a brother.”

“Well . . .” Twilight replied sheepishly, “the subject never really comes up a lot around me, I guess . . . a-anyway . . . Nocturne, this is Shining Armor, my BBBFF!”

Nocturne glanced at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “BB-what, now?”

“My Big Brother Best Friend Forever.”

“Oh,” Nocturne replied, nodding. His head lowered and he stared at the table, past it, not really focusing on anything. “Brother . . .” he muttered to himself, as if trying to recollect something, “. . . big brother . . . .” There was a pause as Nocturne’s eyes shifted for a few seconds.

“Uhh . . .” Twilight’s voice broke through to him, “. . . you okay?”

“Hm? Oh! Yeah . . . I’m fine . . . .” Nocturne shook his head to gather himself, forced a smile, and held out a hoof to greet Twilight’s brother. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Shining Armor replied, taking Nocturne’s hoof and shaking. He then gestured to the Alicorn sitting beside him. “This is my wife, with whom I’m spending a wonderful Hearts-and-Hooves Day!”

She giggled before introducing herself. “I’m Cadance, Princess of the Crystal Empire. It’s a pleasure, Nocturne.”

“Princess?” Nocturne repeated, suddenly feeling that icy self-awareness filling him up again. His eyes darted around in his head for a second before he forced himself into a clumsily low bow, his hoof pressed tightly to his hat. “Charmed, Your Highness,” he mumbled.

“Oh, please, that’s not necessary,” Princess Cadance chuckled, putting a hoof on Nocturne’s shoulder. “Any friend of Twilight’s is a friend of mine. Besides, if you don’t bow to her, you shouldn’t have to bow to me.”

Nocturne looked back up at Cadance and saw a caring gleam in her violet eyes. He slowly felt himself blushing and smiling, but his rational thought proceeded to stamp all over all potential implications.

Her husband is sitting right there, idiot!

“Um . . . if you insist,” Nocturne said and picked himself back up. He took the last empty seat at their table just as the waitress returned with Nocturne’s platter: a hayburger with fries, a carrot and oat salad, and a glass of cold milk.

“Meh . . . needs more protein,” Nocturne grumbled as the waitress left. “I’m so used to hunting by now that I just . . . .” He looked up at the three ponies he dined with, and saw the looks on their faces in response to the word “hunting”.

“What? Twilight did tell you about me, right? Vegetarian meals are surprisingly sparse in the Everfree Forest. Most everything is either too sharp or poisonous.” Nocturne thought back to some of his meals during his exile, and instantly thought of a certain yellow Pegasus who would be incomparably upset at such an admission.

“Anyway!” Twilight chirped after a brief pause. “So, Nocturne, what’s on your mind?”

Nocturne glanced at Twilight and scoffed. “You probably wouldn’t find it interesting,” he replied without luster. “Besides, your brother and sister-in-law didn’t come all the way from the Crystal Empire to listen to me whine.”

“Well, as long as we’re here, I see no harm in it,” Cadance offered. “Twilight did invite us to spend Hearts-and-Hooves Day this year, but as long as I’m the Princess of Love, it’s still my duty to tend to matters of the heart.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, honey,” Shining Armor added with a proud smile. “So, Nocturne, talk to us. Not a fan of this time of year, huh?”

“I’m not overly fond of it, no. Because of my obvious devilish charm and rugged good looks,” Nocturne’s words dripped with sarcasm, “it may come as a surprise that I’m not exactly Ponyville’s most eligible bachelor.”

“So, you’re afraid of spending the day alone?” Cadance asked.

With a long sigh and a grimace, Nocturne nodded.

“Hey, cheer up,” Shining Armor offered, tapping Nocturne on the shoulder. “Everypony’s got somepony special. You just haven’t found her yet.” He stopped for a second, face screwed up awkwardly as he added, “. . . It is a ‘her’, right?”

“Of course it is!” Nocturne snapped, then felt himself backpedaling. “Sorry . . . my temper struggles notwithstanding, I’m just really sure no mare would date me.”

“How do you know if you haven’t tried?” asked Cadanace.

“I have tried,” Nocturne answered. “Case in point.” He spotted a mare walking down the road beside the café, sporting a fine gray coat and long black mane, a pink bow tie at her neck and a dignified step in her walk. Nocturne held up a hoof to signal his return, and walked out to greet the mare.

“Excuse me, miss,” he spoke to her in a familiar tone, and she stopped and turned to him. “But your fair looks caught my attention, and you personally intrigue me. Wanna go out?”

The mare simply stared back at him as if he’d screamed at her in gibberish. “Well . . .” she attempted to reply, in a Trottingham accent, “. . . I . . . .”

“What’s wrong?” Nocturne asked. “Is it the wings? It’s the wings, isn’t it?”

“Well . . . I . . . .”

“Or is it the mane? Yeah, I know, I don’t comb. But I never take off my hat, so . . . wait! It’s the breath, right? I must offend a tad.” Nocturne exhaled into his hoof and sniffed, then scrunched up his face. “Yep, definitely need a brush, but you know, easily rectified—where’d she go?”

The mare had abandoned her dignified walk and sprinted down the street. From the café table, Twilight cringed, Shining Armor facehoofed, and Cadance smiled, closed her eyes and shook her head wearily.

Closing his own eyes and drooping his head, ears and wings, Nocturne slowly treaded back up to the table and sat down. “I just cannot function around normal ponies,” he muttered. “Besides, look at me. How do you even present the unpresentable?”

Twilight, Cadance and Shining Armor glanced amongst themselves before Cadance replied first. “Well, there are three basic things you need to remember, Nocturne.”

“I know the rules,” Nocturne protested. “I’m not a colt, you know.”

“I’m just trying to help. Besides, if you want to improve your small talk a bit, this could really help you. Give it a chance?”

Eyes narrow and mouth rigid, Nocturne sighed and relented. “Go on.”

Cadance chuckled before resuming, “All right. The three basics: one, you seem to talk about yourself too much. Try to minimize that. Only talk about yourself when you’re asked, and show her you’re interested in her.”

Nocturne nodded. “Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

“Secondly, you can’t try to present yourself as anything more or less than what you really are. You seem like you put yourself down a lot, and that’s not healthy. Just bring out the unabridged you, but only a sneak preview of it. Don’t try too hard, or you’ll come off as obsessive.”

Nocturne was now gripping a pencil tight in his teeth and scribbling away at a notebook. “Yeah, yeah, okay . . .” he mumbled through his clenched teeth.

“And the last thing you have to know,” Cadance said, “is that when a mare shows you she’s not interested, don’t take it personally. Mares are ponies, too, and they have preferences. It’s not because you’re ugly or awkward or anything. You just need to talk to a mare you think will be interested in you.”

Putting away a set of flashcards he was currently converting this lecture into, Nocturne eyed Cadance with a befuddled glance. “How is it you know so much about this kind of . . . oh, yeah,” he cut himself off with a sheepish rubbing of his neck with a hoof. “’Princess of Love’, and all that . . . .”

“Well, there’s that,” Cadance joked, “and there’s also the fact that I know how mares think. Because, you know . . . I’m a mare too.”

“Thank Celestia for that,” Shining Armor quipped and nuzzled his wife’s shoulder. Cadance giggled in response, and Nocturne rolled his eyes.

“But how do I know when a mare is interested?” the bat-winged stallion pressed. “I don’t even know anypony in town who’d be remotely interested in me.”

Twilight looked up and grinned mischievously. “I might know somepony . . . .”

“Really? Who do you know that would be interested in me . . . ?” Nocturne then caught the look on Twilight’s face, and his lips stretched perfectly straight. “Oh, no . . . Twilight, you can’t be serious . . . I thought you had a thing for that palace guard you’re always talking about. The orange guy—”

“Not me, Nocturne!” Twilight yelped, a bit more urgently than was likely intended. At this, Shining Armor and Cadance snickered slightly, but were silent upon a biting glance from Twilight. “I mean, not me,” she repeated, calmly this time, “but I do know somepony, and I think you do, too. At least,” her mischievous tone returned,”somepony you might be interested in . . . .”

Nocturne scowled at Twilight. “Fat chance.”

Twilight did not respond, but pointed a hoof in the direction behind Nocturne. The stallion turned, and his face began flushing almost immediately.

Coming out of a pet food shop across the street was a Pegasus mare—a Pegasus mare that fit Twilight’s “description” very well indeed.

“Fluttershy . . . .”

Take a Chance!

“So,” Shining Armor said, looking between Nocturne and Fluttershy as the latter chatted with the pet shop pony across the street. “Nocturne’s got a bit of a crush, huh?” He leered at Nocturne and raised a smug eyebrow, and Cadance and Twilight glanced at each other and giggled.

Nocturne stared back at Shining Armor, his mouth worked up into an awkward grimace. After a second of this, his eyes narrowed and his mouth was a straight line of bemusement.

“That is untrue, sir, and I take offense to that insinuation.”

“Nocturne,” Twilight spoke gently, “there’s no need to be embarrassed about how you feel. I’ve seen the way you look at her. Even if you two are just friends, it’s clear to me that you care for her.”

“Well, of course I do,” Nocturne replied earnestly. “I couldn’t lie about that. She’s the first real friend I ever had. And for a while, she was my only friend. I’d be crazy not to care for her . . . .” His voice became distant, almost dreamy, as he watched her standing there, talking and smiling about something he couldn’t hear past the chatter of the café.

He was snapped back to reality by Cadance, who had gotten up, moved to his side, and touched a hoof to his shoulder. She smiled warmly at him.

“If she means that much to you, then tell her,” she said. “There’s no better day than today.”

Nocturne looked away from Cadance and sighed. “I . . . I can’t. I don’t . . . well, we’re just friends, and this Hearts and Hooves Day nonsense isn’t for me . . . .”

“Nocturne, even a love between friends can be a strong, passionate love,” said Cadance. “And you don’t need to spend Hearts and Hooves Day with a ‘special somepony’. Only the pony who means a lot to you.”

“And Fluttershy means a lot to you, doesn’t she?” Twilight added.

“Well . . . yeah,” Nocturne replied, nodding. “She means the world to me . . . b-but, that doesn’t matter. I mean, I’m sure she’s taken, so I’d just be making a fool out of myself.”

“What makes you think she’s taken?” Armor asked.

“Oh, come on!” Nocturne spat. “She’s cute and sweet, and she’s a national hero! There are stallions all over town who’d line up to date her!”

“Remember what I said before, Nocturne,” Cadance spoke up, “mares have preferences. Whether she’s such an eligible bachelorette is irrelevant. What matters is what she chooses, and you don’t know for sure whether she’s chosen a special somepony or not.”

“In fact, to my knowledge, Fluttershy hasn’t expressed any interest in anypony, stallion or mare,” Twilight added matter-of-factly.

“Ahh, see? There you go!” Shining Armor cheered. “Don’t count yourself out just yet! You’ve got a chance!”

“What chance?” Nocturne retorted. “I can’t just roll up to her and ask her out when she clearly has better things to do with her time!”

Twilight and Cadance both glanced across the street. Fluttershy was loading up on various bags of animal feed, courtesy of the Unicorn shopkeep, and was now paying for her merchandise.

“She’s buying pet food, Nocturne,” Twilight deadpanned. “I don’t think she’s all that busy.”

Nocturne sighed again, roughly. This was getting more and more difficult to squeeze out of.

“I just can’t, all right?”

“Why not?” The question came from Cadance, and was said with a chuckle and a grin. Another sigh escaped Nocturne’s throat.

“I . . . I . . . .”

It was harder than he’d thought to say the truthful answer straight out.

“Look, just go talk to her,” Cadance continued. “Ask if she’d like to hang out with you, that’s all. No dates, nothing fancy or romantic, just two friends in each other’s company. You can do that, right?”

“Cadance is right,” Twilight added. “Besides, you said you didn’t like spending this day alone, right? This way, you don’t have to.”

“And it’ll help you gain more confidence around mares!” Armor pointed out with a grin. The grin quickly soured as he leaned in close, brow furrowed curiously. “Just so we’re clear—”

“Yes, it’s mares!” Nocturne growled.

“Okay, okay!” Armor quelled him. “Just ruling some things out, is all.” Twilight and Cadance giggled again.

“Look, she’s leaving!” Twilight urged in a hushed voice. Nocturne spun around in his seat, and saw Fluttershy thanking the shopkeep and slowly trotting away. “Come on, Nocturne, it’s now or never!”

Nocturne glanced amongst the smiling, urging faces of Twilight and her kin, then back to the slowly-retreating Fluttershy, and felt his face wrinkle up. Maybe they’re right, he thought briefly. She might just say yes.

And if she says no, said a defiant voice in Nocturne’s head, you’ll look like an idiot.

Why would she say no? Nocturne argued with the voice in his head.

You know perfectly well why, the voice fought back.

Does that matter to her, though?

Why wouldn’t it? It matters to everypony else.

Nocturne glanced back at his wings and released another dejected sigh. Every other Pegasus stallion had normal, feathery, well-proportioned wings, and normal wings went a long way in clearing up a pony’s insecurities. And insecurity, as Cadance said, was the enemy.

As Nocturne got up from his seat and prepared to thank Twilight, Cadance and Shining Armor for their efforts, another small, yet much stronger voice went off in Nocturne’s head:

She knows you’re insecure. She knows why. And she cares about you anyway.

And for a few seconds, Nocturne stood perfectly still.

“Uhhh . . . Nocturne?” Twilight asked, her voice almost completely lost on him. “Are you okay?”

There was a short pause in which the whole town seemed to fall into a deep silence. Even movement was hard to process in this illusory vacuum. Twilight, Shining Armor and Cadance stared at Nocturne the whole time, only seeming to blink after two simple words escaped his mouth to break the silence:

“Buck it.”

Nocturne then pulled a few bits from under his hat, dropped them on the table, then turned around and left the café, trotting briskly in Fluttershy’s direction. On his way, Nocturne heard the voices of his company:

“Yes! Go for it, man!”

“Good luck, Nocturne!”

“Remember all the advice I gave you, okay?”

But Nocturne barely processed it. Fluttershy had stopped at the corner, and no other thought occurred to him except to catch up to her.

“Hey, Fluttershy!”

He called out to her when she was only a few feet away, and her ears perked up instantly. She turned around, and her wide teal eyes seemed to sparkle.

“Nocturne! Hi!”

She trotted slowly up to him as he slowed his pace, and the two met up on the side of the street. Fluttershy grinned at him, and Nocturne could already feel his face warm up.

“I’m so glad to see you, Nocturne. I was afraid you might be upset today because of the holiday. I know you’re still . . . umm, uncomfortable . . . with things like that . . . .” Fluttershy’s grin faltered a bit as her brow wrinkled.

Worrying about me again, Nocturne thought. I never know whether I should be flattered or insulted when she does that.

“It’s okay,” Nocturne replied, “don’t worry about it. I’m fine. I just thought I’d come by and see what you were up to today. You, know . . . celebrating the holiday and all . . . .”

“Oh, I’m not celebrating,” Fluttershy said, shaking her head. “I never really could celebrate Hearts and Hooves Day. It’s not my cup of tea, I suppose.”

“Hmph, join the club,” Nocturne replied bitterly, almost instinctively, before changing his tone. “B-but, I’m sure your reasons are way different than mine, right? I mean, you’ve probably got a lot of stallions asking you to be their ‘special somepony’, so it must be hard to choose and all.”

At this, Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she touched her hooves to her slowly reddening face. “Oh . . . do . . . do I, really? Oh, my . . . .”

“Oh! B-but that’s not to say you have to choose!” Nocturne blurted out, feeling the sweat forming on his face. “I-I mean, to me, Hearts and Hooves Day is just any other holiday, right? I-I mean, no one has to celebrate it if they don’t want to, right? I mean, I have the same problem with Hearth’s Warming Eve. The cruddy weather, the gaudy decorations, the crowds . . . not my thing.” He added an awkward, almost creepy grin after he finished.

Oh, great, now I must look like a total psycho.

“I suppose you’re right,” Fluttershy replied, seeming (thankfully) not to notice Nocturne’s cumbersome words. “I don’t usually celebrate Nightmare Night, either . . . except I don’t hide under my bed during Hearts and Hooves Day . . . .” She too, grinned awkwardly, accentuating it with a light giggle.

Wow, Nocturne said to himself. She doesn’t like my favorite holiday? Well . . . they say opposites attract, so . . . .

“W-well, uhhh . . .” Nocturne pressed on, “s-so . . . what will you be doing today, if not . . . you know . . . .” He gestured to the various pink and red heart-shaped decorations that hung all up and down the street.

“Oh, just running a few errands,” Fluttershy answered. “I don’t really think about Hearts and Hooves Day all that much, but I’m so glad everypony can spend it with a special somepony . . . .” She suddenly gasped with a fretted expression. “I mean, most everypony . . . I’m sorry, Nocturne, I just—I forgot that you don’t—I mean, that you’re not—”

“It’s okay,” Nocturne said, holding up a hoof to comfort her. “Well . . . I guess I won’t bother you, then. Have a good day, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, umm . . . you too, Nocturne,” Fluttershy answered softly.

“Yeah . . . .”

“Umm . . . yeah . . . .”

One unsettling pause later, and the two turned around and started walking away. As he walked, another voice berated Nocturne inside his own mind:

And you just blew it. Way to choke, Phantom.

But Nocturne ignored the voice, staring ahead of him with a scowl. It’s for the best. She doesn’t need me mucking up her quiet day. And she’s already done enough for me. I can’t ask—

Catching movement in the corner of his eye, he looked back to the café and saw his would-be pep squad. Twilight gritted her teeth and waved a hoof in circles in front of her. Shining Armor planted his face firmly in his hoof, and Cadance ushered him forward with her hooves, mouthing the phrase “Go on!”

Nocturne frowned at them, but couldn’t help but glance at Fluttershy’s receding figure in the distance. Cadance had said that she had a choice. She also said that everything else had to be set aside so Fluttershy could make that choice for herself.

And she is worried about me spending Hearts and Hooves Day alone, Nocturne thought as he continued to stare at her. Maybe that is her choice? Maybe she cares enough about me not to let me feel this way? I can’t let her think I’m miserable . . . I owe her too much to . . . let her think . . . less of me . . . .

“Hey, Fluttershy!”

Nocturne found himself, without thinking, turning and running back up to Fluttershy, catching up to her easily. Fluttershy turned quickly, saw him coming, and her eyes widened.

“Oh, Nocturne!” she gasped. “Is something wrong? Are you okay?”

There she goes again, thought Nocturne.

“Uhh, well . . . I was just wondering,” Nocturne spoke aloud, “I . . . well, since you’re not doing anything for the holiday, and . . . well, I’m not doing anything at all, I . . . .”

“Yes?”

“I-I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, and I’d understand if you didn’t, but . . . .”

“Yes?”

“Well . . . it wouldn’t really be ‘official’, you know? But . . . would you . . . that is, are you willing—no, I mean . . . .”

Nocturne tilted his head down, closed his eyes, and sighed. Come on, man, would it really be the end of the world if she said no? he muttered inside his own mind.

No . . . he replied to himself . . . but it wouldn’t hurt any less . . . .

“Umm, Nocturne?” he heard Fluttershy speak. “If you want to ask me something, please go ahead. You can tell me anything. We’re friends, remember? Whatever you say, I won’t be upset, I promise.”

Nocturne said nothing for a few more seconds, looked back up at Fluttershy, and saw her wide teal eyes shimmering with concern. This was the face of a mare who could never let a stallion down painfully. With one last deep breath, Nocturne looked her straight in the eyes and spoke at last:

“Would you like to spend Hearts and Hooves Day with me?”

Nocturne turned away and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the answer. Despite the effort he took to suppress them, they already began floating around his head like poisonous clouds.

I really can’t Nocturne, I’m sorry.

I’m just too busy right now.

I don’t think so. Maybe next year.

If it were another year, I would, but . . . .

I just don’t want anypony thinking . . . .

We’re just . . . too different.

Nocturne instead heard a gasp, and his eyes bolted open at her answer:

“Ooh, yes!”

Discord-aged

Nocturne’s eyes bolted open, as if he’d heard the location of Shangri-La.

“Y- . . . yes?”

“Oh, of course, Nocturne!” Fluttershy said with a warm smile. “I was even hoping you’d ask me. I wanted to keep you company today, in case you got lonely. I would have asked you, but . . .” her face began to redden, “well, I . . . didn’t really know how . . . .”

“Wow . . .” Nocturne muttered, feeling the word tumble out of his mouth without thought. Quickly, he gathered himself and resumed, “W-well, I mean, it doesn’t have to be, like a date-date, you know? Just two ponies spending the day together. I mean, I know how busy you are, and I don’t wanna interfere with that, and all—”

“Oh, you wouldn’t be interfering at all!” Fluttershy replied. “I only have a few more places to go today, and after those, we can do whatever you like. Okay?”

There was a giggle in her last word that made Nocturne’s knees weak. He smiled and sniffed lightly.

“Yeah . . . I’d like that.”

“Great!” Fluttershy stepped up next to Nocturne and pointed down the street. “I’m on my way to Sugarcube Corner next. Let’s walk together!”

Nocturne smiled and allowed her to lead. As they began to walk, Nocturne glanced back at the café, and saw reactions from his benefactors. Twilight waved to him, Shining Armor pumped his hoof in victory, and Cadance held both forehooves together and shook them above her head in celebration. All three wore dazzling smiles. As Nocturne smiled back, he felt a blush tinge his face, and Twilight and Cadance glanced at each other and giggled once again.

Nocturne faced forward again, glancing to his side only long enough to confirm what was happening. It was true: Fluttershy was walking by his side on the most romantic day of the year. The thought had impacted him so suddenly, that a million questions had rushed in through the hole it left in his thoughts.

What does this mean for me?

What does this mean for us?

What direction is this going in?

Does she want this to go further?

Did she ever want this to go further?

Is this really a date even though I said it didn’t have to be?

Is she taking me out? Am I taking her out?

Is she really interested?

Am I?

Do I want this to be something more? Is this what I want right now?

Am I in . . . ?

Nocturne shook his head and sighed, a bit more audibly than he’d wanted.

“Nocturne?” he heard off to his side. “Are you okay?”

Nocturne turned his head to see Fluttershy looking up at him, that usual worried gleam in her teal eyes. Nocturne’s heart began thudding, a combination of panic and this new, strange infatuation driving it.

“I . . . y-yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mm-hmm.” Nocturne could feel his heart hammering harder.

“I just want to be sure, you know,” Fluttershy continued. “You’re my friend, and you’ve been through a lot. I just want you to be happy today.” She flashed him a lustrous smile. “Okay?”

Nocturne smiled back weakly and nodded, unable to speak. His heartbeat stayed strong, yet steady; just her presence was enough to do that by now. The flowery scent of her mane, the smooth, warming brightness of her coat, her mere proximity to him—he was back to being a child, and she was giving him a far better “childhood” than the barely coherent strings of memory he had left of it.

I have to give her something, Nocturne thought. Anything. Date or not, she deserves it. Nopony else would have said yes to me. Nopony else would even try . . . .

As the two entered the market district, Nocturne scanned the various stalls for something that could provide him with some kind of gift. Grocery stalls sold fruits and vegetables, wares stalls sold dishes, frames and other household items, and toy stalls sold plushies and action figures. One particular stall seemed to have a surplus of figurines shaped like Twilight Sparkle, but two were separated from the rest. As an eager stallion rushed up to buy these lone two figures, it was then that Nocturne realized that those two were the only ones without wings.

Idiots, Nocturne found himself thinking as he kept walking.

At last, a stall selling flowers caught his eye, and Nocturne slipped away from Fluttershy, digging under his hat for his last three bits. He walked up to the stall and whispered urgently, “Excuse me, a bouquet of your best roses, please.” He placed the bits on the counter, resolving to take some extra odd jobs over the next week.

The pink Earth mare behind the counter brushed a lime-green curl from her eye as she looked at the meager payment, and walked to a bunch of roses. She plucked four of them from the bunch and brought them to the counter.

“Uhhh . . . that’s it?” Nocturne blurted out.

“For three bits, yes,” the mare said with an anxious voice. “We’ve been running low on supplies lately.”

Nocturne scowled at first, but knew that four flowers was better than none. He shoved the bits to the mare, grabbed the roses and snuck off to rejoin Fluttershy. As he left, a rose-maned mare and a blonde mare, both Earth ponies, approached their co-worker.

“How much did we make?” the rose-maned mare asked.

The green-maned mare held up the weak payment and replied with a frown. “Only three bits.”

At once, the other two moaned and dropped down to the ground, writhing and whining at their pathetic income.

“It’s awful!”

“The horror! THE HORROR!!”

Nocturne glanced back at the stall with a raised eyebrow before returning his gaze to Fluttershy—then switching directly to the ground when he realized he was staring at her backside. He looked at the roses loosely rolling around on his hoof, took a deep breath, and marched up to where Fluttershy had walked ahead.

Until one of the roses blinked.

Nocturne stopped right behind Fluttershy as she stopped at a stall selling goldfish, and stared at the flower.

Did I see . . . was that . . . .

Nocturne then scoffed and rolled his eyes. The petals looked as though they’d just been moving in the breeze, nothing more. He looked back to Fluttershy, ready to offer the roses.

Then they blinked again. Looking again, Nocturne nearly jumped when he saw that two of the petals of one flower now sported huge yellow eyes.

Oh, no! Not him! NOT NOW!!

Before Nocturne could moan out loud, the flower morphed out of his hand, transforming into a large, hodge-podge dragonlike creature. “Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, everypony!” he called out jovially, tossing red heart-shaped confetti over passersby. “And how are you two this fine day?”

“Always a pleasure, Discord,” Nocturne growled through gritted teeth.

“Oh, Nocturne, you’re a card,” Discord replied with a chuckle before finishing with a deadpan snap, “Really.” He slithered through the air to Fluttershy and received her tight embrace. “There’s my hug!”

“Oh, Discord, it’s so good to see you!” Fluttershy squealed before they released each other. “You came just in time! Would you like to join us? Nocturne and I weren’t doing anything for Hearts and Hooves Day, so we decided to just make it a day.”

“Oh, dear, sweet, empathetic Fluttershy, you are too kind! But it would be rude of me to create a third wheel.” As he said the last four words, Discord’s superior gaze was aimed directly at Nocturne. The stallion only seethed back. “Besides, I have a little get-together planned with old K.K. today! As we speak, she’s probably slipping into something nice and gilt to go with her flowy mane!” He gave a mischievous chuckle and curled into a ring, slowly spinning in midair.

Fluttershy giggled into her hoof, her face growing pink. Nocturne leaned over and muttered, “Does he mean Princess Celestia?”

“But!” Discord announced, lowering himself down to Fluttershy and tickling her chin with his lion paw. “I didn’t want you to think I’d forgotten my number one girl!” He reared up and made a fist with his talon, and made a gesture with his paw as if to pull something out of his fist. Instead of air, he conjured a massive bouquet of multiple breeds of flowers, from roses to lilies, from daisies to violets, from tulips to daffodils. Nocturne saw them and immediately felt as though the roses he bought were wilting in his hoof.

“Oh, Discord!” Fluttershy gasped, her eyes wide as dinner plates. “They’re gorgeous! You didn’t have to do this!”

“I most certainly did, my dear!” Discord replied with a leer. “Only the most beautiful for the most beautiful, you know!” He shoved the bouquet into Fluttershy’s forelegs and gave her a noisy kiss on the top of her head. Fluttershy giggled again, and Nocturne exerted maximum effort just to keep his eyes from glowing.

“Well, I’ll leave you two young things to your ‘hanging out’,” Discord concluded, using quotation gestures for “hanging out”, “and I shall see you all later . . . unless . . . Nocturne!”

Nocturne swept the flowers in his hoof behind his back the second he heard his name. “What?”

“Why, don’t you have a gift for Fluttershy, dear boy? I mean, it is Hearts and Hooves Day, and our lovely princess deserves nothing but the best! Shall we see what kind of gift you’ve given her? Hmmmm?”

Nocturne felt his brow heat up slightly and he glanced between Discord and Fluttershy, the latter still holding a bouquet that was nearly as big as she was. Nocturne snuck the flowers into a fold of his wing and set his hoof on the ground.

“No . . .” he muttered, feeling his heart plunge, “. . . no, I don’t.”

“Hmm,” Discord grinned. “I thought not.”

“Oh, don’t feel bad, Nocturne,” Fluttershy spoke up, approaching him and patting his shoulder. “You don’t have to get me anything. I’m just glad to be with you when you need me.”

“Oh, Fluttershy, your kindness toward the weird and incongruous astounds me still,” Discord chirped. “I must chat to the good Princess about this. You know, she’s been surprisingly tolerant of me lately. Must be all of these . . . hmm, what do you call them again? Ah, yes! ‘Good deeds’! Yes, my endeavors have been quite impressive lately! I think that’s what’s drawing her to me, really. And who could blame her? I mean, this is me we’re talking about. You know, sometimes I have to stop and ask myself, ‘Discord, old chap, are you really that good?’ and I must answer, ‘Why yes, you magnanimous god, you truly are!’”

Nocturne held back a moan, but pressed his hooves against his ears nevertheless. And I thought Rainbow Dash had an ego, he thought. This guy does nothing but talk about himself!

Thinking this suddenly triggered something in Nocturne’s memory—Cadance’s words from minutes before came back to him in vivid detail:

You seem to talk about yourself too much. Try to minimize that. Only talk about yourself when you’re asked, and show her you’re interested in her.

“Hey, Fluttershy?” Nocturne asked, interrupting Discord. “What was it you were going to do at Sugarcube Corner today?”

“Oh, yes!” Fluttershy replied, seeming to remember. “I’m so sorry, Discord. I didn’t mean to keep you, but I need to pick up an order at Sugarcube Corner today, and I want to make it before the crowds. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t,” Nocturne said with (well feigned) concern, “he’s got an important date to get to later, after all. I’m sure if he leaves now, he’ll make it in time.” He shot Discord a smug look of triumph when Fluttershy wasn’t looking.

Discord’s eyes widened slightly, but he seemed to recover quickly. “Well, I suppose you’re right. Have a pleasant outing, Fluttershy, dear. Shall I see you again for our Tuesday Tea?”

“Oh, I’d never miss it!”

“Lovely! Toodle-oo, you young things!” Discord swept past Nocturne, but stopped after saying “Oops!” A split-second later, something plopped to the ground in front of them both, and Nocturne grimaced when he saw that it was Discord’s mouth. As Discord bent over to pick it up, the mouth moved on its own, whispering so that only Nocturne could hear:

“I’m not jealous, by the way. You and I both know you haven’t a chance with her. She saw the good in me. She just feels sorry for you. Remember that, and it will hurt less when she dumps you flat on your silvery plot.”

Discord seemed to slow down on his way to pick up his mouth only until it stopped whispering. When it stopped, he swiftly plucked it back up and slapped it back onto his face, making faces and stretching his mouth as if testing it. “Ahh, much better. Didn’t mean to give you lip, Nocturne! HA-HAAA! See ya!” And with that, he formed a spiral in midair and shrunk down into it until he popped out of existence.

Fluttershy laughed out loud. “Give you lip! Ohh, that Discord. He’s so funny!”

Nocturne might as well have heard a dull echo in a cave. “Yeah . . .” he replied blankly.

“Well, let’s go,” Fluttershy continued with a grin, “Sugarcube Corner is waiting for us.”

Nocturne faked a smile. “Lead the way.”

Fluttershy stuffed the massive bouquet into her saddlebag and walked on, listing to one side slightly as the massive bunch made her tilt. Nocturne slowly trudged behind, ruminating on Discord’s words.

You haven’t a chance with her.

She just feels sorry for you.

Remember that, and it will hurt less when she dumps you.

Nocturne was walking much slower now. Fluttershy had left the market district already. He felt those words strangle him too much to move any more than an inch at a time.

Damn him . . . Nocturne thought, wishing to Celestia he could say it aloud.

Damn him . . . .

“Hey, Nocturne!”

The Pegasus shook himself out of his funk long enough to see the pony calling out to him, Apple Bloom, walk up to him with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in tow.

“Were you with Fluttershy just now?” Scootaloo followed up. “You guys spending Hearts and Hooves Day together?”

“How romantic!” Apple Bloom added. “Ya know, if ya need any advice, we know a thing or two about settin’ up ponies for Hearts and Hoov—”

“No, no, that’s fine,” Nocturne sighed, shaking his head. “I just . . . well . . . .”

“You okay, Nocturne?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah, I’m good, I just . . . I gotta go.” Nocturne took a step, and felt a sharp poke in his rib, and was suddenly reminded that he still had roses hidden in his wing. He pulled out the flowers, glanced up at Fluttershy’s receding figure, and saw that the flowers Discord gave her were more visible from there than she was.

“Uhhh . . .” Nocturne mumbled, glancing at a gift he claimed he didn’t have. His gaze shifted all around, trying to find a place to keep the flowers that wouldn’t waste them (and the three bits he spent on them). He saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders hadn’t left yet, and held out the roses to one of them at random.

“Hang onto these for me, will you?” he asked Sweetie Belle as he held out the flowers. Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened as she stared at them for a second, then after a pause, she took them.

“Thanks,” Nocturne added before turning tail and trotting briskly up to catch up with Fluttershy.

There was another, longer pause as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom glanced at one another. “Well,” the former spoke up, “that was weird.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Yeah. Didn’t even say goodbye or nothin’. Guess he really wanted to spend the day with Fluttershy.”

“He gave me flowers . . .”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned toward Sweetie Belle. Her eyes were still wide, and now she was vividly blushing. She caressed the roses in her hooves as if they were her most prized possessions.

“Uhh . . . Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom asked. “You okay?”

“Well, she did just get flowers on Hearts and Hooves Day,” Scootaloo said with a shrug, “even if he is a grown-up, I guess it was really nice of him to . . . do that . . . Sweetie Belle!”

Apple Bloom looked over at her, then on the ground in front of her. “Oh, come on, Sweetie Belle! He’s like, super old! It’s just creepy!”

Sweetie Belle, her face still glowing red, was now drawing a heart in the dirt in front of her with the stem of a rose. Inside the heart, she wrote “N + SB”.