Hearts and Hooves Day Tales
Hearts and Hooves Day Tales
Rarity hummed lightly to herself as she trotted up to the Sweet Apple Acres barn. She had actually already been on her way to the farm to surprise Applejack with her Hearts and Hooves Day present when she happened to run into Applebloom who was on the way to see her. Apparently Applejack also had a meeting in mind for them and for some reason she wanted it to be in the farm’s barn. Which Rarity had to admit did feel somewhat appropriate for the cowpony. If anything she was a little disappointed that her surprise was ruined. But still it was of little concern. Especially today of all days. She smiled at the memory of the last Hearts and Hooves Day and cast a quick glance backward at the saddlebag holding her gift for her marefriend.
As she approached the barn she could hear the sounds of struggled grunts and hay being rustled. She peaked into the open door to find Applejack inside stacking hay bales. She watched for a moment as the earth pony would grab the strings of the bales with her teeth and whip them into the air in one quick motion. She would then turn around and quickly buck the falling hay onto the top of the pile. There was well-practiced fluidity to the movements that Rarity could appreciate. It was almost like watching a dance. Which amused her since Applejack told her many times over she couldn’t dance. Well she’d have to remember that for later. For now she had other business to attend to.
“Knock, knock!” she announced as she tapped the side of the barn door.
“Aaah!” Applejack screamed as she jumped up a bit.
Rarity chuckled a bit. “Looks like I got to surprise you after all.”
“Huh?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
“Oh nothing,” she waved off as she walked closer to her. “Sorry if I interrupted your work but a certain little filly told me you wanted to see me.”
“Yeah, Ah did,” the earth pony replied once her heart stopped racing. She wiped a bit of sweat from her brow before looking back at the unicorn. “Though Ah didn’t expect you to get here quiet that fast.”
“Well I happened to already be on my way here with your Hearts and Hooves Day gift,” Rarity explained as she motioned her head towards her saddlebag.
Applejack blinked before a smile spread across her muzzle.
“Well don’t that beat all?” she mused with a slight laugh. “Ah asked you here so Ah could give you your Hearts and Hooves Day gift.”
“Somehow I had a feeling that was it,” she smiled back. “Especially given how Hearts and Hooves Day is extra special for us.”
“Sure is,” Applejack smiled as she stepped closer. “Speakin’ of,” she paused to give the other mare a quick kiss. “Happy Anniversary Rarity.”
Rarity smiled and gave her a kiss back. “Happy Anniversary Applejack.” She then lit up her horn and used her magic to start to open her saddlebag. “Now how about the presents?!”
“Actually,” the blonde mare spoke up, quickly pushing the flap back down. “Ah was hoping I could give you mine first.”
The unicorn tilted her head to the side.
“Well I suppose that’s alright,” she said unsurely. “But it’s not really a competition darling. After all you’re not going out with Rainbow Dash. Thathonor goes to Twilight. And I sort of pity her for it. Well maybe both really. With Twilight’s need for perfection and Dash’s need to win, who knows what might happen when they exchange gifts.”
“Oh Ah’m sure we’ll hear all about it,” Applejack chuckled before her attitude turned strangely sullen. “But...no. This...this is something different. Something special and...Ah want to get it out of the way first.”
Now more curious than ever, Rarity watched as Applejack turned away from her and walked over to a small work bench in the corner of the barn. She used a hoof to brush away a sheet covering up a small white box wrapped in a purple string with matching bow. She carefully grasped the bow between her teeth and walked it over to Rarity. Naturally the unicorn used her magic to take the box from her and hold it up to her smiling face. While she always preferred to be generous and give gifts, it was no secret the mare liked receiving gifts as well. Especially when they were from someone to close to her like her Very Special Somepony. And of course the doubly important value of the gift. She was practically giddy with excitement but she made herself keep her composure. She was still a lady after all. Still she was pretty quick to undo the bow with her magic and nearly yanked the top of the box off. She levitated what was inside up to her face and...tried her best not to seem too disappointed. Not that she expected anything grand or expensive from Applejack, that simply wasn’t her style. But she couldn’t help but feel a bit...underwhelmed by the item floating in front of her. The plain red bandana was wrinkled around the edges and its once vibrant color was faded. All signs that it had clearly seen a lot of use in its time.
So she not only gave me an old bandana but a used one?! Rarity thought incredulously. I can’t believe would do something like that! She- she stopped herself. No. No, Rarity calm down. I’m sure there’s a meaning to this. Applejack’s not the kind of pony who would forget this day and just give out any old thing she had lying around.
“Ah I can explain,” Applejack spoke up, as if reading Rarity’s thoughts.
Rarity blinked then blushed in embarrassment.
“Was I talking out loud again?” she asked sheepishly.
“What?!” the earth pony asked with a raised eyebrow. “No. But Ah could see it on your face clear as day.”
“Oh,” the unicorn responded, actually feeling worse. “Applejack, darling, I don’t mean to be disappointed it’s just that this,” she held up the bandana, “isn’t really my style.”
“Ah know. And Ah’m not asking you to wear it all the time or at all if you want. Ah just want you to keep it safe and know how important it and you are to me,” Applejack explained.
A feeling of complete confusion washed over Rarity as she looked back between the piece of cloth and her marefriend. She opened to her mouth to say something else but Applejack cut her off with the most shocking news yet.
“It was my mom’s,” she said quietly as she turned her head away a bit.
Rarity’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and she let out a loud, shocked gasp. She then felt about twenty types of embarrassed at thinking it was just some ratty old throwaway Applejack had given her at the last second. Instead it was the complete opposite of that and in fact was something of tremendous importance to her that no doubt took a lot strength for her to give away. Rarity was so stunned by the gesture she didn’t seem capable of forming sentences at the moment.
“Applejack,” she nearly gasped. “You can’t...I mean...I can’t...”
“Yes Ah can and most certainly yes you can,” Applejack insisted as she stepped closer and held up a hoof to the floating garment. “Trust me, it’s...it’s not easy for me to let this go but...Ah think she would have wanted it.”
Rarity released her magical hold on the bandana and instead stretched out a hoof towards her marefriend. Applejack smiled and gently placed it in her hoof. The white unicorn then inspected it again and had a greater appreciation for all the wrinkles and slight frays around the edges. Even its faded red color spoke to her now, no doubt carrying a very important story with it.
“How long had she had it?” she asked.
“Long as Ah could remember,” Applejack said with a sad yet wistful smile. “She mostly wore it when bucking apples. Told me it always brought her luck and made sure we had a good harvest that year. Course being a filly Ah believed her. Even thought of trying it on myself after...” she swallowed and shook her head. “But it just never felt right. Didn’t want to just throw it out either since it was one of the few things Ah have to remember her by.”
Again Rarity gasped.
“Then you should-” she started to hand it back.
Once again Applejack shook her head and pushed it back towards her.
“Uh-uh. The one thing Ah know my mom would want is someone getting some use out of it instead of just having it sit around in a cabinet somewhere making me sad. And since she used it to help her out with her work Ah was thinking maybe you could use it to help you out with your work.”
A wide smile spread across Rarity’s muzzle before she levitated the bandana again and tied it around her neck. She arched her back slightly and tilted her head back in a dramatic pose to emphasis it.
“I shall wear it with pride while I make my finest dresses!” she beamed proudly. She then blinked and looked back at her saddlebag. “Oh speaking of which...”
“Say what now?” Applejack asked with an eyebrow raised in suspicion.
The answer came in the form of a long, white box being hovered over to her. It had a red bow on top with Applejack’s Cutie Mark in the bottom right corner. Again she cast a slightly curious look at Rarity who merely nodded in encouragement of her to open it. She closed her teeth around one end of the bow and yanked it loose to free the top of the package. Once that was done she squeezed the sides between her front hooves and pulled the top off. She was immediately greeted with an aqua colored fabric covered in white diamond designs. When she pulled it out a transparent pink lace was revealed attached to the back of the skirt. The pink color continued up towards the front which was topped off by another aqua green colored piece. It was a dress she recognized immediately.
“Ain’t this the dress I wore when I was being ‘Applejewel’ to try to get you back to your senses?” she asked rather bluntly.
“Well I’m not sure I’d put it quite like that, but yes. Yes it is,” Rarity informed her.
“Soooo...you’re just giving this to me now?” Applejack asked, still inspecting the dress.
“Of course! You looked so fetching in it that I realized it belonged on you much more than on me. So I cleaned it up, made some minor alterations and gave it to you as a symbol of how out of all our friends, you’re always there to help bring me back to my senses when I get too...wrapped up in things.”
“Or when you start acting like a darn fool,” the earth pony chuckled.
Rarity rolled her eyes and sighed as her ears flattened against her head.
“Yes or that,” she huffed.
She then brightened up a bit and closed the gap between her and Applejack so she could nuzzle her neck.
“It was also the dress that made me start to realize just how I felt about you,” she confessed. “After all you looked so good in it it was hard not to be...taken in.”
“Oh. Uh, heh heh. That’s good to know,” Applejack laughed a little nervously.
Ironically being so intimate in public places still made her a bit uneasy. Still she got over her hang-ups to nuzzle Rarity back. Unfortunately the moment was ruined when she started to laugh a bit.
“What? What is it?” Rarity asked in dismay as she pulled back.
“Oh it’s nothing really. Just thinking back on that incident and what caused the whole thing is kinda funny now given where we ended up,” Applejack explained.
Rarity paused for a second to relive the moment herself and then laughed as well.
“Yes I suppose it was a bit unexpected at the time. But,” she stepped closer again. “I wouldn’t trade this outcome for all the jewels in Equestria.”
“Me neither,” Applejack replied before she gave Rarity a quick kiss. “Course you know Ah’m not gonna be wearing this all the time. Just on, uh, special occasions. Like if ya need a plus one for one of your fancy get-togethers or special store openings or things like that...well just let me know and Ah’ll slip right into it!”
“And that’s exactly what I knew you’d say,” she nodded then got a more sultry look in her eyes as she started to rub Applejack’s chest. “But, you know, if you ever feel like putting on a more...private showing with it for me, well I certainly wouldn’t turn that down.”
Applejack flushed again and started to rub the back of her neck a bit nervously.
“Hey! How about we go get some dinner first and then we can talk about those...things. Preferably where nopony else might see us?” she suggested.
Rarity laughed and pulled away but not before giving her one last kiss.
“Oh Applejack, you simply must get over these hang-ups you have over public displays of affection. Everypony already knows we’re together so we don’t need to hide it at all,” she remarked.
“Ah know, Ah know. And it ain’t all things like that. Ah don’t mind a few pecks or hoof holding but getting too like that in front of everypony kinda...embarrasses me,” she confessed.
“Simple country gal to the end,” Rarity giggled. “And that’s why I love you.”
“And Ah love you for your creative spirit,” Applejack replied. “Now, how about that dinner?”
“Sounds great to me!”
After Applejack placed the dress back in the box, she carefully balanced it on her back while she and Rarity trotted off together to enjoy a lovely, and love filled, Hearts and Hooves Day dinner.
( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - )
Rainbow Dash grinned widely as she flew towards Twilight’s castle. She had been waiting weeks for Hearts and Hooves Day to finally get here so she could give her spectacularly awesome present to Twilight! She could barely contain her own excitement over it so she knew the princess would flip her crown when she saw it. She let out a few knowing snickers as she reached the castle doors. A quick kick with her hind legs blasted open the doors and announced her arrival to anypony around. Or any dragon in this case.
“Geez Rainbow Dash, what’s the emergency?!” Spike asked after his heart rate slowed down.
“Only that I have the most perfect and awesome Hearts and Hooves Day present for Twilight!” Rainbow boasted. “So where is she?!”
“Where else? The library,” Spike responded in a matter-of-fact way as he jerked a claw over his shoulder to point down the hallway.
“Perfect!” she squeed then zipped off down the hallway in a flash of rainbow lighting.
The force of her exit was so great that it caused Spike to spin around like a mini-tornado. Thankfully his uncontrolled motion came to a quick and sudden stop as something grabbed hold of him. Once the world stopped moving around and he could make things out again, he heard a distinct ticking near his ear and the feeling of something cool propping him up. He glanced up and sure enough found Tik Tok looking back down at him.
“Are you okay Spike?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
“Yeah I’m fine,” he answered as stood up on slightly wobbly feet.
“Oh good,” the mechanical pony said then tilted her head again. “What happened?”
“Rainbow Dash. Apparently she’s here to give Twilight a Hearts And Hooves Day present.”
“How lovely,” Tik Tok “smiled”. Her eye lenses then narrowed a bit. “Spike, what exactly is Hearts and Hooves Day anyway?”
“Uuuhhh...” the baby dragon stuttered.
Elsewhere in the castle, Rainbow Dash banked around corners and zoomed down hallways until she came to the entrance of the library. Once there she landed softly in front of the doors and carefully pushed one open. She then snuck inside and quietly made her way through the book shelves until she spotted Twilight sitting at a table and totally engrossed in a book. Exactly like she figured she would be. With a wicked smirk on her face, Rainbow skittered her way over to the table until she was directly behind Twilight, who had yet to notice her presence. The Pegasus bit her lip to keep from snickering and giving herself away. She crept closer and closer until her muzzle was right next to Twilight’s left ear.
“HEY TWILIGHT, WHATCHA READING?!” she shouted.
“AAAAAHHHHHH!!!” Twilight screamed as she launched herself into the air.
Thankfully she was able to catch herself with her wings in time and hovered near the library’s high ceiling as she waited for her heart to stop racing. As she did she heard the unmistakable laugh of her marefriend beneath her.
“Rainbow Dash!” she chided. “You scared me half to death!”
“Oh come one Twilight, it was just a joke,” Dash tried to calm her.
“Scaring ponies isn’t a joke, it’s just cruel,” Twilight muttered as she floated back down to the floor.
“Aw lighten up!” Rainbow remarked as she walked over to her and gave her a quick kiss. “Besides I brought you a totally awesome Hearts and Hooves Day gift that will make up for it!”
The alicorn gave her a look of disbelief.
“Really? You celebrating Hearts and Hooves Day?” she asked. “I didn’t think you’d go in for something so ‘mushy’ and ‘girly’.”
“Hey I can be a little mushy and girly when I wanna be!” Rainbow defended herself, standing on her hind legs so she can cross her front ones over her chest indignantly.
She then blinked and lowered herself again with a panicked expression.
“Wait does this mean you didn’t get me anything for Hearts and Hooves Day?!” she balked.
“Oh come now Rainbow, what kind of marefriend would I be if I didn’t give my first marefriend a gift for our first Hearts and Hooves Day?” Twilight came back with a slight smile then floated a small box over to her. “And not to take away from your bragging but I’d say it’s a pretty awesome gift itself.”
Needing no more encouragement, Rainbow ripped open the package in a matter of seconds to find...
“A book?” she asked, with a slight sigh. “Of course you’d give me book.”
Twilight’s brow furrowed in annoyance.
“Maybe you should try reading the title first before you judge it,” she advised.
Rainbow rolled her eyes but looked at the title of the book anyway. When she did, however, her skeptical eyes grew wide in shock and awe.
“‘Fantastic Feathered Feats’ by Gen. Skystriker?!” she gasped. “But this book it almost impossible to come by! Not even the Wonderbolts have it in stock! How did you get this?!”
“Well let’s just say that being a princess does come with certain advantages,” Twilight smirked. “Plus the Canterlot bookstore was practically my second home growing up so they were more than happy to help track it down for me.”
“This. Is. AWESOME!!!” the Pegasus cheered again as she scooped her marefriend up into a high flying kiss.
After nearly a minute she finally broke the kiss and guided them back down to the ground.
“I knew you’d like it,” Twilight grinned smugly. She then peered at the saddlebag on Rainbow’s left hip. “So what did you get me?”
“Oh! Right!” she replied a bit embarrassed that she almost forgot about it. “Actually I think it’ll be something just as perfect as the gift you got me.”
“I guess we’ll see,” Twilight remarked.
Rainbow Dash grinned widely as she reached into the bag and pulled out a fairly big box. She hoofed it over to Twilight who took it with her magic. And as Dash expected she was being painfully careful about removing the bow and the wrapping.
Well that’ll teach me to get something gift wrapped, she thought in annoyance.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Twilight opened the box and pulled out the object from inside. Like Rainbow her eyes grew wide in amazement and she let out a slight gasp.
“Is this a replica of the hat Daring Do wore in the ‘Mournful Minds of Mordo’?!” she asked as she examined the pith helmet in her hooves.
“Nope! It’s the actual hat she wore in the Mournful Minds of Mordo!” Dash corrected her.
“GET OUT!!” Twilight shouted, pushing the Pegasus away with her hooves in excitement.
Rainbow let out a slight shriek at the sudden assault but used her wings to help keep her balance.
“Okay, can’t say I was expecting that!” she muttered.
“Sorry, sorry. I just...how did you get this?!” Twilight asked. “Even when they’re damaged Daring Do doesn’t like to part with her hats!”
“Hey I’m her number one fan, remember?!” Dash said proudly.
“Uh, you mean number two fan since I’m the one who got you into the books in the first place!” the Princess of Friendship shot back.
“Whatever! The point she knows we’re both really big fans and I told her it’d really make your day if you could have one of her damaged hats. So she gave it to me!”
“That’s it?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.
A sheepish grin then appeared over Rainbow’s face.
“Aaaaand...I agreed to quit bugging her about when the next book will be out,” she confessed.
“There it is,” the alicorn smirked then looked back at her gift. “But still...”
She practically drooled as she ran her hooves over the frayed and cracked edges of the pith helmet. She could remember exactly how all those cuts and holes came to be and the adventure where they were made. To actually be holding it in her hooves was unbelievable. A part of her really wanted to try it on but she knew would be like trying to wear a piece of art. Instead she would have to find some place to display it.
She gasped.
“Rainbow, do you know what this means?!” she practically shouted.
“That I’m a super awesome marefriend that’s great at giving amazing gifts?” she hazarded a guess.
“No! Well I mean yes, but it means...I get to create a new display in the library!” Twilight cheered and launched herself into the air with excitement.
“Oh. Right. That,” Rainbow muttered a bit crestfallen.
“Oh come on, you know you want to help me!” Twilight remarked as she hovered over to Dash. “It’ll be all about Daring Do.”
Her ears perked up a bit at that. “Well...that is pretty cool but it’s still just arranging some books and stuff. Not really my idea of a good time.”
“Afterwards I can cheer you on while you try out moves from the book I gave you,” the princess said to sweeten the deal.
Now that got Rainbow’s attention and her eyes lit up as brightly as her mane.
“Deal!” she said, holding out a hoof.
Twilight bumped her hoof against the outstretched one and smile brightly.
“I can’t wait. This is gonna so much fun!” she practically squealed.
“Oh it so is!” Rainbow agreed but not about the same subject.
Still the two shared another kiss before heading over to another part of the library to start on Twilight’s project while Rainbow flipped through her book to see which tricks she wanted to try out later.
( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - )
When Octavia arrived home from the store, she was greeted with a very familiar sight. Namely, that of Vinyl sleeping on the couch. With her shades on no less. Octavia shook her head at her roommate.
It must be so exhausting to do nothing all day, she thought bitterly then sighed. No that’s not fair. She does work mostly at night after all. Plus she does do the dishes and tries to keep the house cleaned. She paused and looked around at the various bits of musical equipment and clothes lying all over the floor and parts of the furniture. Emphasis on the word “try”. Plus with her out like this I can practice in peace and quiet.
She smiled a bit at that thought as she made her way into the kitchen and started to put away the items she had bought. Once that task was done, she happily trotted off to her room where she quickly closed the door and moved over to her cello in the corner.
“Hello old friend,” she said as she gazed almost lovingly at it.
She walked over to the instrument, balancing herself on her hind legs, and carefully wrapped a hoof around the cello’s neck and braced it against herself. She then plucked the bow from the stand next to her and started to bring it to the strings to begin her practice. She stopped, however, when she noticed something was amiss. Something felt...off. She wasn’t quite sure what though or what it might be. That is until she spotted the electric blue hair poking out from the end of her bow.
“No,” Octavia gasped in horror right before her eyes narrowed dangerously. “She wouldn’t...”
“VIIIIIINYYYYYYYYLLLLL!!!”
The scream tore through the house right before Octavia herself did. She charged into the living room with the bow clutched fiercely between her teeth. Despite the scream and the angry breathing Octavia was doing next to her ear, Vinyl remained blissfully asleep.
“Vinyl! Vinyl wake up!” she demanded, prodding her with the end of the bow.
When the less-than-gentle taps were having no effect, Octavia moved onto the even more direct approach of just smacking the unicorn on top of the head with the rod.
“I didn’t steal the peanut butter!” she shouted in startled confusion.
When the world started to become less blurry and make more sense, she noticed the quite angry looking Octavia standing in front of her.
“Or...did I?” she asked, scratching her head in confusion.
“Oh you did much worse than just steal the peanut butter!” the earth pony shot back. “You messed with my cello!”
Vinyl let out an exaggerated gasp of offense.
“What?! No! No ma’am! Nooooo!” she rebuked the claim in an equally over the top way.
Octavia was not amused.
“You’re doing that thing again,” she grumbled.
“What thing?”
“That thing where you exaggerate your words when you know you’ve done something wrong!” she pointed out as she stood on her hind legs and cross her front legs to further show her frustration.
Vinyl looked like she was about to say something else but then stopped and sighed.
“Alright fine I played your cello!” she confessed.
“I knew it!” Octavia screamed, falling back down on all four hooves.
“But how?! I was sure I put everything back the right way,” Vinyl mused as she scratched the back of her head again.
Octavia merely held out the bow with the electric blue hair strand on it. The other mare let out a frustrated sigh as she facehoofed.
“Oh for! I guess I did that while I was trying to think of the next bit to play,” she explained, mostly to herself.
“You shouldn’t have been playing any bits at all!” Octavia scolded her. “Vinyl, I put up with a lot of your...eccentricities and all I ask for in return is that you don’t. Touch. My. CELLO!! Is that really too much to ask?!”
“I know Tavi, I know! But I had a real good reason for doing it!” Vinyl said in an attempt to calm her down.
“And what possible reason could that be?!” the gray mare demanded.
The unicorn let out another sigh but this time it was one of disappointment. She then got up off the couch and stretched out her stiff joints a bit.
“Well I was hoping to make this a big, romantic, surprise thing but...guess I just gotta do it this way. Come on,” she muttered and motioned for Octavia to follow her as she walked out of the living room.
Though she was still fuming, Octavia decided to follow her supposed well-intentioned marefriend out of the living room and into Vinyl’s bedroom. She watched as the unicorn got behind a smaller version of the DJ stand she had set up in their split living room. While the larger set was where she went to create playlists and mixes for her work, this set up was for her more personal music she created. That fact was what made Octavia calm down just a bit and think maybe she did use her cello for something important.
“Okay,” Vinyl said as she stood behind the mixing board. “To be honest it still needs a little fine tuning and I was thinking about what else it needed out there when I fell asleep and you found out about all this.”
“And just what exactly is all this?” Octavia asked, gesturing her left hoof to the board.
Vinyl smirked just a bit. “Simple, it’s my Hearts and Hooves Day present to you.”
Before the shocked Octavia could respond, the DJ pressed a button on the console and her usual dubstep style of music began to play. It was a thrumming, bass heavy beat that shook the earth pony to her core. The kind of music she really didn’t care for! She was just about to shove her hooves in her ears and tell Vinyl to turn it off when the bass suddenly dropped and a much softer, sweeter melody began to play. A melody played with her cello. But she knew she had never played this song before. She then looked over at Vinyl who merely smiled and nodded at her suspicions. Again she was about to ask something but the other mare simple held up a hoof to silence her.
The cello music played for a few seconds longer before the dubstep beat came back. Then the cello started up again but this time it played in perfect harmony with the pulsing rock. It was actually quite reminiscent of the music they had composed for Cranky and Matilda’s wedding. Only this was much more refined, more balanced, more...complete. It was simply amazing to hear two such completely different styles working so well together to create something so uniquely beautiful. Just like...
“Oooohhh...” she breathed.
“Now you get it,” Vinyl grinned as she stopped the playback.
“But...why didn’t you tell me you needed it for this?” Octavia asked. “I would have given you permission. In fact I would have helped!”
“But then it wouldn’t be my gift to you, now would it?” the unicorn asked as she leaned on her control board with a slight smirk.
Octavia rolled her eyes but still smiled.
“No I suppose it wouldn’t. And it is a very beautiful piece,” she complimented.
“Just like you babe,” Vinyl said with a wink.
The other mare blushed and gave a nervous cough.
“Yes, well, given that I suppose I can forgive you for your...transgression,” she said. “Just...please try not to do it again?”
“I promise nothing!” the unicorn joked.
“And that’s probably the best I can hope for, so I’ll take it,” Octavia sighed then smiled brightly. “But since you’ve given me such a lovely gift I shall go start on yours right away.”
“What?! You mean you haven’t bought it yet?!” Vinyl cried out in horror.
“Oh I’ve bought things for it, I just haven’t put it together yet,” Octavia teased as she turned and started to walk away.
“Whoa! What does that mean?!” Vinyl asked then leapt over the board to land behind her. “Did you get me a new soundboard? A speaker? A new bass cannon?!”
“You’ll see...” she replied mysteriously with a wider smirk before she walked out of the room.
“Oh come on Tavi that’s not fair!” Vinyl called after her pathetically.
( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - )
Blackbird raced around his kitchen to tend to all the various pots he had going. Not to mention keeping an eye on the item in the oven. He had invited Moonie over for a Hearts and Hooves Day dinner and seeing as how this was the first H&H-Day he was spending with somepony in...forever, he wanted it to be extra special. So he had spent the last few weeks reading various cookbooks for ideas on what to make tonight. But at the moment he was beginning to think he bit off more than he could chew. Which was a seemingly apt saying as he currently had the handle of a wooden spoon between his teeth as he stirred some sauce on the stovetop. As he did so he could swear he smelled something burning but everything seemed to be okay. Although it was bit hot but that’s probably because he has so much going at one time. So then where was this burning smell coming from? And the smoke that started to fill his nostrils. The smoke that seemed to be...right below him!
He looked down to see the tip of his tie had gotten too close to the burner and had actually caught on fire.
“AAAAHHH!” he screamed in a high pitched voice before he threw it off and quickly stamped out the flames. “Note to self, don’t wear tie while cooking.”
The buzzing of a timer then caught his attention and after shutting it off, he grasped a potholder between his teeth and pulled the oven door open. After again securing the holder, he pulled the rack out to exam the food he had inside. So far everything looked good but probably needed another five minutes to be prefect. He shoved the rack back inside then reset the timer. As he did so he felt another wave of heat wash over him but this time on top of his head. He glanced up to see the tip of his hat just starting to singe.
“DWWWAAAAAHH!!” he cried out again as he yanked it off and then stamped that out.
“Note to self, don’t wear hat while cooking,” he remarked in an annoyed tone.
He then heard the unmistakable sound of flames erupting and turned around to see the water he had been boiling now had flames on top of it.
“Oh come on now how did that one even start?!” he screamed in frustration.
That seemed to be the tipping point as before he knew it, all Tartarus broke loose in his kitchen. Soon he found himself rushing to put out fires, shutting off timers, throwing burnt food in the trash and eventually using his wings to fan all the black smoke out of the kitchen window. It was during all this that he barely heard the doorbell ring.
“Oh! Oh no! No no no no no no! It can’t be that late!” he said in a panic as he looked at the clock. “Of course it’s that late!”
He let out an irritated sigh then flew towards the door as fast as he could to at least give the illusion he was ready. Although he wasn’t quite sure what he was going to serve for dinner now. But at least he needed to open the door to let her in so he wouldn’t appear rude. He took a deep breath to calm himself then placed his hoof on the doorknob and pulled it open.
“Hey babe, how ya doing?!” he asked quickly and cheerfully.
Unfortunately Moonie didn’t answer right away as she was too busy staring at him in disbelief.
“I think better than you given your appearance,” she remarked, and tried to stifle a giggle.
He cocked his head in confusion then ducked back into his home to glance at the mirror in the hallway. He was shocked to find his hair was a complete mess with slight burn marks and bits of food in it. Some sauce had spilled over his chest and at least one long noodle was draped over his neck like a scarf. He let out a defeated sigh and turned back to her.
“Okay I had some...problems with dinner,” he confessed. “The only thing that survived was the potato salad. I’ll understand if you want to call the whole thing off right now.”
“Nope!” she called out, pushing the door wide open. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” She stopped and pulled the noodle of his neck. “How about I help you clean up...whatever mess you made and then we enjoy that potato salad?”
He stared blankly at her.
“Really?!” he asked.
“Really,” she reassured with a gentle smile.
“O-okay then.”
The pair then went about cleaning and ventilating the kitchen. They scrubbed charred marks off of pots and tossed out burnt, crispy objects that were at one time food. Though it was a surprising amount of work, Moonie kept in good spirits and joked about it which helped Blackbird not feel completely bad about the whole thing. Still once it was all cleaned up, he cast her another apologetic look.
“Sorry about all this. Trust me this is definitely not how I wanted this night to go,” he told her.
“No it’s fine,” she waved off. “Though ironically enough I am really hungry. You said something about potato salad being left, right?”
“Yeah, it’s in the fridge,” he said, pointed to the appliance with a hoof.
“Well then let’s spoon it up!”
“As you wish!” he replied with a smile and a wink before he moved over to the fridge.
After retrieving the only surviving dish, he filled two plates with the makeshift dinner and carefully carried them to the dining room table. Moonie followed quickly behind him and sat on the opposite side of the table. She leaned her head down and took a quick sniff from her plate.
“Mmm...smells good,” she complimented.
“Well don’t let me stop you, go head and dig in,” he encouraged her.
She smiled at him then leaned her head down and took in a mouthful of potato salad. Once she was finished eating it, she looked back up at him and smiled.
“It’s really good!” the blue bat pony complimented.
“Thanks. That’s actually one of few food items I can make,” the black Pegasus replied. “That and a pretty good pasta salad. I just didn’t make it this time because I had planned on actually having pasta! Which I usually can make! I just don’t know what went wrong this time!”
He let out a loud sigh and laid his head on the table in dismay. He looked up from his folded forelegs when he felt a gentle hoof laid on his shoulder.
“I think the problem is you just tried to do too much at once,” Moonie informed him.
“Probably yeah,” he sighed again as he lifted his head. “It’s just at this is my first Hearts and Hooves Day ever with somepony and I wanted to try to make it special. You know, really try to impress you.”
“I know and I appreciate that, but you don’t always have to try to impress me,” she told him.
“I don’t?!” he shrieked in a half joking manner.
She giggled a bit. “Trust me, I’m already impressed. I mean I was a fan of yours before we started going out, remember?”
“Trust me, I remember that quite well,” he smiled back at her. “Although I have to say you’re a bit different now from when we first met well.”
“Well...” she started, making a circle on the table with a tip of her hoof. “It’s because I was a bit star struck. I had been a fan of yours for awhile and thought maybe you’d think I was a bit...weird for having a crush on you. I just didn’t want to come across as a stalker or anything.”
“Nah, nah it’s fine,” he waved off. “Trust me I wish more of my fans would act like that.”
She narrowed her eyes a bit at him. “What does that mean?!”
“I-no! Just that...I just wish I had more fans! That’s what I meant! Heh,” he sputtered nervously.
Moonie’s frown quickly pulled back into a mischievous grin.
“Just kidding! I knew what you meant,” she revealed with a wink.
Blackbird’s jaw hung open in incredulous disbelief.
“You can’t do that to me!” he shouted.
“But you look so cute when you’re flustered,” she teased.
He stopped again as a blush graced his cheeks.
“Yeah...well..still it’s pretty mean!” he spat out weakly.
Moonie chuckled again and place a hoof over his.
“Look, even if this wasn’t what you had planned I’m having a great time so just relax,” she told him.
“I know,” he sighed. “I just want to be sure you’re enjoying this Hearts and Hooves Day.”
“Trust me I am. I really am,” she gave him another comforting smile.
This time he smiled back, his confidence seeming to return.
“That’s good to know,” he replied with a nod.
They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment before they went back to their plates and chatted between bites. Despite nothing really working out as he planned, Blackbird did have to admit this was very fine Hearts and Hooves Day.
The End
Author's Note
Sweet Celestia this took much longer than it should have! Both in page count and the amount of time it took to write! For a collection of just short scenes it’s been more work than some of my other fics! But since I kind of got myself into a pattern of writing Hearts and Hooves Day fics in time for Valentine’s Day I figured I had to keep up with the tradition. Originally it was just going to be the Applejack and Rarity scene but I figure that wasn’t quite long enough to justify it’s own story so I wanted to do some scenes with my other favorite pony pairings as well as something with mine and my gf’s ponysonas. Which I made sure to put at the end there in case other people didn’t want to read it. That one’s mostly just for me and my gf.
Also you’ll note that Tik Tok had a brief appearance in this fic! That’s because this is set after “The Clockwork Pony”. Yep it’s set after a fic I’m still writing! So basically my timeline’s all screwed up! But that’s what happens when I actually decided to follow my muse instead of my OCD. I suppose it could be seen as a spoiler for that fic but...well I always planned to keep Tik Tok around so I don’t think it’s much of one. Though I suppose it will cut down the tension on the next chapter I plan on writing. Hmmmm...
Speaking of which I should probably go get to that! So I hope you all have a great Valentine’s/Hearts and Hooves Day whether you’re spending it with someone special or just by yourself. Remember the point of the day is about love, both on the outside and the inside.
