Fluttershy trotted slowly through the marketplace of Ponyville, her mind filled with thoughts of her animals and relaxation. Today was her weekly meetup with Rarity at the spa, and Fluttershy just couldn't wait to relax a little and chat with her close friend about what was going on for both of them. The shy pony could just squeal in delight, but she kept trotting along with her thoughts filling her head. I really wonder how Rarity is doing lately, maybe she has some huge new idea for her fashion line, Fluttershy mused. Maybe Rarity even wanted Fluttershy to be a model for her, again! The simple thought of the catastrophic result of what had happened last time Fluttershy had modeled caused the shy pony to giggle aloud. Then, out of nowhere, the light yellow equine found herself to be falling! She hit the ground with a thump and felt a bunch of things falling on top of and around her. She let out a soft gasp in panic and looked up to see a toffee-colored stallion looking down at her. The shy mare figured she must have walked right into him because she was too caught up in her own thoughts. Oh Flutters, she scolded herself mentally, look what you did! There were groceries scattered around every which way, some of which had fallen on her. The mare looked up to get a better examination of the stallion she had knocked into. He had a white, somewhat wavy mane and a spiky tail. His cutie mark was one of those drama masks with the happy and sad faces on it, and his eyes. . . Fluttershy found herself staring into them. His eyes were a deep, mesmerizing blue. They were like the color of a glacial pond. Fluttershy quickly shook her head and looked away, her face flushing a deep red. The stallion chuckled and offered his hoof to her so she could stand up. Fluttershy nervously took it, scared that she had already insulted this stallion somehow. The shy, yellow equine was especially uneasy with stallions.
"Hello," the male pony spoke once Fluttershy had stood up, "My name is MacBard. And you are?" he asked friendly. MacBard's voice was deep, yet it had a soothing undertone to it.
"My name's um. . . my name is fluttershy," she said timidly.
"Beg your pardon, dear? I didn't quite catch it," MacBard replied kindly.
"I'm Fluttershy," she repeated, speaking louder so MacBard wouldn't get angry at her. Fluttershy would hate to have anypony angry with her. "Are you a new pony here? I've never seen you around Ponyville before. . ."
"Fluttershy, what a lovely name!" the toffee colored stallion replied heartily.
Fluttershy blushed, feeling an odd sense of relaxed happiness laced with reproachfulness. What was there to be reproachful about with this pony? He seemed like a perfectly fine young stallion! The mare smiled warmly at the colt that stood before her, his eyes gleaming happily, as if the two ponies were old friends. Fluttershy looked at him closely, something about him seemed so familiar. . . And then it hit her. MacBard looked like the perfect match for Rarity! He was so nice and friendly, but he had such a distinguished poise to his actions. Every word he spoke sounded so vital and important. Fluttershy just couldn't wait to tell Rarity about this new pony!
MacBard started to pick up the groceries that he had dropped in the event of colliding with the pink-maned, yellow colored mare named Fluttershy. When the female pony saw this, she had immediately blushed and started helping him pick up his staples. Once they were all picked up, Fluttershy realized that she was going to be late to the spa!
"I um. . . I'd love to um stay and get to know you, but um. . . I have to go meet a friend," the yellow mare stuttered, feeling bad about leaving so abruptly.
"Oh, 'tis no worry, fair filly. I hope to see you around Ponyville, again! But alas, for now, I hope that you shall fare well!" MacBard bade in his gentlemanly manner.
"You too," Fluttershy whispered and quickly galloped off towards the Lotus Spa.
-
Fluttershy arrived at the spa 10 minutes later than the usual arranged time, but she was relieved to find Rarity still sitting in the waiting area, backlegs crossed and reading the new edition of the Ponyville Express. Fluttershy trotted over to Rarity and sat down in the free seat to her friend's left.
"Oh Rarity, I'm so sorry that I'm late! But I have a really good reason why and I think you'll really enjoy heari--" Fluttershy gushed out.
"Darling, darling. It is quite all right that you are tardy for our get-together. Can't you see how absolutely crowded the spa is right now, anyway? Besides, I'm usually the late one, so it's perfectly fine," Rarity replied simply.
Fluttershy blushed and wanted to continue, but she decided that she could wait until the two mares were relaxed and talking about what was going on, anyway. The yellow filly picked up a gardening magazine and let her mind drift into the world of reading.
"Next! Mees Rarity and Mees Fluttershy, wat can I get yoo today?" one of the spa ponies, Lotus, inquired, holding a clipboard with Fluttershy's and Rarity's names on it.
Fluttershy exchanged a glance with Rarity, implying that she didn't want to choose what to get. Rarity gave Fluttershy a smile of understanding and answered Lotus's inquiry with, "We would like the usual, please."
Lotus nodded and hurried off behind the curtain that separated the spa from the waiting room. After a few minutes of preparation, Lotus re-emerged with Aloe, another spa pony, by her side and they motioned for the two mares to come with them. Fluttershy hopped up and gingerly set her magazine back onto the table covered with reading materials. Rarity just left her newspaper on the empty set next to her and trotted into the spa room.
After getting massages, face masks, and now unwinding in the mud bath, Fluttershy was finally tranquil enough to recount the recent events of her life to Rarity.
"I worked on my garden this morning, which is doing particularly well lately, and then I fed the animals. You'll be happy to know that Angel is finally getting along with the bunny who broke her back leg. Speaking of Mocha, she's healing very nicely," Fluttershy started off, the words easily flowing off of her serene tongue.
Rarity smiled. "How lovely, darling! Are you going to release Mocha, soon? I have really taken a liking to that little brown bunny."
"Yes, I have to release her. I enjoy her company, too, but I'm sure she has a family to get back to. So, you'll never guess what happened on the way here, by the way!"
"Oh, do tell! Don't withold this juicy gossip from me, dear Fluttershy!"
"It's not really gossip, but I ran into a new pony in town. Well, literally ran into him, that is. He's a drama pony and his cutie mark is-"
Rarity cut Fluttershy off. "A new stallion?! Why didn't you tell me earlier!"
"Yeah, his cutie mark's two drama masks and he's very friendly. I think you would take a great liking to him."
"My, sounds splendid! If you see him again, please, do tell him to drop by the Carousel Boutique!" Rarity said with a smile, "So, is anything else going on, other than this encounter?"
Fluttershy had to think for a second. She had been reminiscing her encounter with MacBard so much that she had forgotten what else to talk about. Then, she remembered. Fluttershy wanted a sun hat from Rarity so she could have some protection while the pink-haired mare worked in her garden. It was going to be a hot, sunny summer and she didn't want to have the sun in her eyes while she worked. Fluttershy had started the garden so she could provide fresh greens for the animals every now and then, and it was turning out to be a great idea!
"I would like a sun hat, Rarity. You can custom make it and do whatever you want with it, but I would really like one so I can work in my garden. Besides, if I tried to take hold of it, the whole thing would be a disaster. Your designing skills are so beautiful, I wouldn't want to impose. Not like last time."
Rarity beamed at the praise and giggled at the mention of the Grand Galloping Gala dress disaster. It had been absolutely horrid to endure when her friends had wanted to take control of Rarity's dressmaking for the Gala. Although, now, looking back on the incident, it had been quite funny. "I'd love to make you a hat," Rarity declared enthusiastically.
"Oh thank you, Rarity. Now, you should talk about some stuff before I start to ramble again," Fluttershy articulated with a modest blush.
Rarity laughed grandly, knowing that she could never hear enough of Fluttershy's sweet voice to call it rambling, and then talked of fashion and life and everything else that she could think of. Fluttershy listened intently, although she felt distracted by something. Something. . . impending. She tried to think of what it could be, but the only thought that filled her mind was a paralyzing shade of blue. And it felt too familiar to the yellow equine with the 3 butterflies on her flank.
To be continued
Fluttershy galloped home from the spa, her body feeling serene and luxurious while her mind was still feeling distracted. She didn't let that make a difference, though. Her main focus was to go home, feed the animals, and then get something for herself to eat. Fluttershy had had only an apple this morning and she could definitely feel her stomach protesting at not having been fed enough. The yellow equine slowed her gallop to a trot as she entered Ponyville's marketplace, though. The mare decided that she would pay Applejack a visit at the Sweet Apple Acres booth and get herself something to hold her hunger over. While her mind shifted to the thought of food, she saw MacBard out of the corner of her eye. The pink-maned pony's heart skipped a beat as she saw the stallion trot over to her. Fluttershy felt ashamed that such emotions filled her, but she could not resist them. MacBard smiled as he greeted Fluttershy with a friendly nuzzle. Oddly enough, this did not provoke any emotion from her, though.
"Fluttershy! It is so nice to see you," the toffee-colored stallion said, acknowledging the mare.
"Oh, um, hey MacBard," Fluttershy replied, still feeling a bit uneasy with him.
"Dear Fluttershy, there is no need for you to be so formal! Please, call me Mac. I insist, my sweet," MacBard answered smoothly.
The pink-maned filly blushed, and then she remembered she was supposed to tell this stallion to go to Carousel Boutique. "Um, MacB--Mac, since you're new to Ponyville I'd like to say that you should visit Carousel Boutique. It is one of the finest stores here in Ponyville. . . I mean um, if you want to," Fluttershy answered awkwardly.
With a grand laugh, Mac replied, "Oh, well thank you greatly, Miss Fluttershy. I would love to visit this 'Carousel Boutique'. It sounds absolutely exquisite. Although," he reproachfully offered, "I really must go. I have places to be and all that. See you around!"
And with that, Mac trotted away. Fluttershy felt that this encounter happened to have a strange air to it. It's probably nothing, she thought to herself, and galloped quickly to the Sweet Apple Acres booth. She was too hungry to care about the oddness of the situation.
-
Rarity sat in the inspiration room of her boutique, pondering the design that she would make for Fluttershy's hat. She knew that Fluttershy wasn't into anything too fancy and that all she wanted was a simple sun hat, but Rarity found it hard to think of a design to use. The purple-maned dressmaker focused intently, trying to decide at least what to make the hat out of. How about a lightweight fabric? she thought to herself. Rarity immediately vetoed the idea, knowing that Fluttershy would probably like something else. The white unicorn sighed and used her magic to levitate a pencil and piece of paper onto her desk. Maybe sketching something would help spark some ideas. She rested the parchment onto the desk and started to doodle a little with her pencil. Maybe, she thought to herself, I can make the hat out of something. . . something more natural. Something like. . . the ring of a doorbell interrupted her train of thought. Somewhat frustrated, Rarity slid her red reading glasses off and trotted down the steps to answer the door. As she walked by a mirror on the way to the door, she saw how horrid she looked. Oh Rarity, you mustn't let yourself answer the door when you're so wretched, she thought to herself and quickly levitated a comb through her purple curls. Much better, she regarded with a small smile. Then, she trotted over to the door and opened it.
"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique! Come right on in," Rarity declared, and then looked at the patron standing in front of her. Her blue eyes were met with eyes of a lighter shade, peaking out from under a mess of a white mane. The white unicorn's heart skipped a beat and then sped up, her voice seizing in her throat. Rarity's whole body was rendered motionless and she couldn't help but marvel at the stallion that was standing in front of her. He was toffee colored with a white mane and tail. He also had deep, hypnotic, mysterious blue eyes. Eyes that sent chills down Rarity's spine, but she couldn't help look away. They were absolutely stunning, the most beautiful color gem in the world. No, Rarity corrected herself, more astounding than any gem could ever hope to be.
The toffee-colored equine, sensing the white unicorn's paralysis, smiled grandly and spoke, "It would be a great pleasure for me to enter your place of business. I thank you kindly for the invitation." He then trotted into the boutique and waited for the awestruck mare to recover her wits.
Her face flushing a bright red, Rarity realized that she had been staring at the attractive colt. She felt so nervous towards this customer, he seemed so. . . different. Rarity couldn't tell why, so she just turned around and gave him a cordial, welcoming smile. "Is there anything you are looking for in particular?" Rarity asked.
"No, I've just come because my friend, Fluttershy, told me I should visit this store. I'm new in town and it appears that her suggestion was quite a beneficial one," the white-maned, unicorn stallion with the drama mask cutie mark said.
It all made sense to Rarity now. This must be the new pony Fluttershy had been talking about! Rarity was suddenly grateful for how well her shy friend knew her. "Well, that was awfully kind of Flutters to do this. So, since you're new in town, my name is Rarity," the white unicorn said, her heart still beating incredibly fast. She was surprised that she could even talk considering that there was a massive lump lodged in her throat.
"Rarity! What a lovely name. I bet mares like you are truly a rarity to come by. Such grace, your work as a fashion designer reflects the beauty that you contain as a pony," the stallion flirted, his voice was smooth and steady. Rarity felt her heart melt in appreciation of this stallion's words. She felt herself fall into his spell, her heart crying out for his. "My name is MacBard, but please, call me Mac. I am a pony of the dramatic arts, and I understand that you are one of Equestria's most well-known designers, right?"
Rarity's blush reddened, such praise was rarely ever given to her. Especially not by a pony of this kind of caliber. "Well, Mac, would you like to look around my shop and talk a little bit. And, um, if you don't mind," she felt herself start to stutter and become skittish, "You could s-stay for d-d-dinner if you, want." The white-colored unicorn felt quite flustered when she finally finished.
"Oh, I'd quite indeed love to stay for dinner, Rarity," MacBard replied with a wide, comforting smile.
Rarity giggled nervously, and then trotted inside her boutique, closing the door behind her with her magic. "Right this way," the purple-maned fashionista offered, rather than said. She grinned sheepishly, and then trotted around the boutique. Mac followed obligingly, enjoying the presence of the skittish mare. She made him feel comfortable and he found to be especially. . . different. Different in a good way. MacBard felt like Rarity was a pony of his kind of caliber, she was so extravagant. The white unicorn filly that he was following around had such elegance and poise. Mac decided that he should spare such a pony. His heart felt a certain connection with her.
-
"Dinner is served!" Rarity declared, sliding one last tray out of the oven. It had a warm, steaming apple pie on it with a cinnamon crust. The pie smelled absolutely delicious, courtesy of the Sweet Apple Acres apples used in it. Rarity smiled in joy, using her horn to levitate the pie onto her dining table. She then cleaned up her few used dishes and sat down at the table.
MacBard trotted over to the table, away from the designs that he had been looking at. The dressmaker's designs were absolutely gorgeous, he'd never seen anything like them. The designers that made costumes for the plays MacBard took part in were always so shabby and rushed-looking. But, these designs, they were truly exquisite. It was just another reason for Mac to be infatuated with this pony. The toffee-colored unicorn sat down at the table, across from Rarity. He could immediately tell she was also a good cook. Before him on the table sat a salad of mixed greens and carrots with a creamy-looking dressing on it; a platter of hay-and-dandelion finger sandwiches; a pitcher of pomegranate and cherry ice tea; and a large, golden apple pie. The fragrance of the cinnamon-y apple pie was the most prominent of the smells, but all of the scents were there. The food smelled so wonderful that Mac could feel his mouth watering, but he wanted to be gentlemanly and waited until Rarity levitated the pitcher over and filled both their cups. The white-maned unicorn thanked the purple-maned equine graciously. He levitated his cup to his mouth and sipped the red liquid tentatively. A sweet taste overwhelmed his taste buds and MacBard let out an involuntary "mmm". Rarity blushed in turn, she had been positively frightened to know what this stallion might think of her cooking. Not just her cooking, Rarity corrected, everything about her. Her career, her designs, her cooking, her demeanor, her appearance, her everything. She wanted to impress this pony so desperately.
As the evening went on, Rarity found herself to begin to calm down a little. Mac had praised her happily on the dinner she had concocted and the two unicorns were now eating the delicious apple pie. After dinner, Mac had led Rarity over to a few of her designs and asked some questions regarding style, thought process of how she made it, and all sorts of other things. Rarity had answered the questions without a second thought, she could see no harm on lending her expertise to the toffee-colored equine. After explaining the complications of her designs, Rarity had suggested that they eat the apple pie, to which Mac had heartily agreed. And this is where they were now.
"This pie is absolutely splendid, Rarity. The apples here in Ponyville are just so tasty," MacBard said in between bites of the pie.
Rarity laughed. She wondered if this was what her friend, Rainbow Dash, had felt like after saving Soarin's, one of the Wonderbolts', pie. The thought of Rainbow Dash feeling flustered over a guy sent Rarity into mental hysterics, for she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her guest. So, she went on eating her pie and listening to Mac make some small talk, replying with an occasional nod or "Oh, yes indeed!".
After the two unicorns finished eating and Rarity finished cleaning up the table, she noticed how dark it was getting outside.The unicorn with the three diamonds as her cutie mark sighed, for she didn't want the night to come to an end. She knew that she had to mention the lateness of the time to Mac, but she didn't want him to leave her! Oh heart, she thought to herself, why must you become so attached to one you cannot have? Rarity gave out another, more dramatic-sounding sigh. The stallion with the drama mask cutie mark turned around and looked at her with a playful grin. "My, keep practicing, dear Rarity. For someday, you may be as good as me!"
"Oh darling, we mustn't let that happen! But, although I am enjoying your company greatly, it is becoming quite dark outside and I wouldn't want you wandering into the Everfree Forest."
"I'm afraid it may already be a bit too dark out," Mac replied, his voice still light and teasing, "Maybe, if it is alright with you, I may spend the night here?"
This offer took Rarity by surprise. She hadn't even mulled over the possibility that this colt could stay over night here! Oh, how desperately Rarity wanted for him to stay over, but it still felt odd. Her heart beating out for him or not, a colt was still a colt and Rarity wasn't sure if she wanted to take that kind of risk. The white unicorn didn't think anything would happen, but she wasn't sure if she would like to find out. On the other hand. . . "Of course you can spend the night! I would absolutely love to have you stay over," she blurted out involuntarily. I guess you already made your choice, she sighed to herself.
The two ponies busied themselves with a little bit of light conversation (and flirting) before Mac pronounced that he was feeling quite tired. Rarity pointedly agreed with his statement, considering that she had been through a long day, and they both got ready to hit the hay.
Once the two unicorns were ready, Rarity realized that she didn't have anywhere else for MacBard to sleep except with her. She didn't think letting him sleep in Sweetie Belle's room was a good idea, even though she was having a sleepover with the Cutie Mark Crusaders at Sweet Apple Acres. "Um, MacBard," Rarity began, "I have, um, no other place for you to sleep except with. . . well, me."
The toffee stallion raised an eyebrow. "I see no problem with that, I am not that type of pony to well, you know."
Rarity blushed and then led Mac to her bedroom. She had quite a few things littered all over the floor that she tried to quickly clean up with her magic, but MacBard assured her that it wouldn't make a difference. The two unicorn ponies climbed into bed, one incredibly nervous and the other one trying to soothe the mare somehow. Once they were settled and Rarity turned out the lights, Mac wrapped his forelegs around Rarity, nuzzled her gently, and gingerly kissed her. The white-colored equine's heart raced and she felt every nerve in her body electrify. "I love you," Rarity inadvertently whispered to Mac.
"I love you, too."
-
The next morning, Rarity woke up naturally at the crack of dawn. At first, she was a little shocked to see the stallion sleeping next to her, his legs still wrap around her and his muzzle against hers. The events of the previous day quickly caught up with her, though, and she felt her whole body relax. The bed was incredibly warm from having two ponies in it, but Rarity somehow hopped out of it and yawned out softly. She didn't want to wake MacBard up, but there was no way that she was going to be able to fall back asleep. Her night had been very fretful and restless, something felt like it had been distracting her. But, now that she was up, she had some business to attend to. She trotted over to her desk, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and then studied the sketch that she had previously made of Fluttershy's hat. The purple-maned unicorn knew that she had been onto something big before she was interrupted by the doorbell and Mac.
She tried to focus on what it might be, and stared hard at the picture. Tell me what I was thinking, she urged the picture to reveal. Rarity was going to make the hat out of some kind of material. But what? It was something. . . natural, she remembered that. Something like. . . straw! A wide grin plastered itself to Rarity's face while she elaborated on the picture. She had wanted to weave the hat out of straw! Rarity decided that it should also have some other semi-natural things on it. Like, she could put some fake flowers in a bow, maybe put a few animals. What kind of animals, though? Rarity interrogated herself. Maybe it could be. . . Fluttershy's cutie mark animal. Wait, no! She could weave Fluttershy's cutie mark onto the hat! Excitedly, she started to sketch her ideas, her magic guided her pencil over the paper. Hmm, and I could put a bow around the center! Maybe a lace bow, since Fluttershy has a thing for French Couture. Rarity smiled, taking a break from drawing and looked at what she had so far. It looked perfect, she decided. Except that she wanted to add a few synthetic flowers somewhere. Rarity would've gone for real flowers, but she didn't want them wilting and dying on the hat. She drew the flowers onto it and smiled wider. Fluttershy would just love it, the white unicorn proclaimed mentally!
As Rarity began to add a few details to her sketch, MacBard finally woke up with a yawn. What a cute yawn, Rarity thought to herself with a blush. Mac hopped out of bed and approached his fellow unicorn from behind. He wrapped a foreleg around Rarity and sleepily said, "Hello, gorgeous, sorry I slept so late." Then he nuzzled her neck.
Rarity's face flushed red and she replied, "Oh, you're not late at all. I actually happened to wake up very early."
"That's okay, I should probably be heading out, anyway. I have some stuff to attend to and such."
"Oh, okay. I hope to see you around, again," Rarity said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Of course we'll see each other, love, I'd be angry if we didn't. But, before I go, do you have a pair of black sunglasses I could purchase from you?" Mac asked.
"Sure, of course I do," Rarity confirmed, "Let me quickly go get them."
The white mare quickly left the room and returned with a pair of black aviator sunglasses. "Will these be okay?" Rarity asked.
"They're perfect! Just like you," Mac said with a smile and took them from her.
Rarity blushed again, this stallion was just such a charmer! "I guess you have to get going, then. Goodbye!"
"Goodbye, fair Rarity. I can't wait to see you again, my sweet," the toffee-colored equine bade with a hug and a deep, loving kiss. Then, he left.
Rarity's head spun, dizziness filling her from the kiss. Fluttershy did truly know Rarity's kind, the white unicorn thought happily. I really must make this sun hat something special for her. The purple-maned pony trotted over to where her sketch was and began adding more detail to it. I wonder why somepony with such lovely blue eyes like Mac's would want to get sunglasses, Rarity mused to herself.
-
MacBard trotted along the edge of the forest, waiting for the Doctor to show up. It had been almost 2 whole minutes and the actor pony was incredibly impatient, especially with the Doctor. Lucky for the offending earth pony, Mac was feeling in a very kind, generous mood thanks to his time with Rarity. It had really refreshed him to see a pony with such elegance and grace, a pony that he could relate to so well. He was sure that she was the pony for him. The toffee-colored stallion was wearing Rarity's glasses, too, since the Doctor had made him agree to cover his eyes. The light brown pony soon galloped into sight, happy to see that the actor had followed his request.
"It's about time," Mac grumbled, glaring at the Doctor from behind his glasses.
Doctor Whooves returned the glare with a sheepish grin, "Well sor-ry, some of us were here before, but got hungry since you decided to change the time."
MacBard found his patience with this pony wearing thin, "Why should it matter? I need to know if you're in or not."
The Doctor had to stop and think for a second, running a hoof through his dark brown mane. "Oh, I don't know, 'Bethy. Depends what's in it for me."
Mac resisted the urge to lunge at the earth pony, annoyed at the nickname. "My name's MacBard, we've been over this too many times to count. I'm not MacBeth, and if you call me that again, I'll ruin this whole mission by bucking you so hard. . ."
"Calm down, Mac-y, I'm just playing with you. Now humor me a bit, I don't quite remember any of you ever specifying what was in this for me."
The toffee-colored colt sighed, "We told you that you could have anything you want if we're successful. And we need you in this for the mission to work."
The earth pony laughed, "Anything?"
"Anything, name your price, pick your poison."
"We'll see what anything is when this is all done and I don't have to deal with your pretty little attitude."
"Cute, now are you in or out? Or do I have to convince you. . ." Mac growled, on the edge of having a tantrum. Just remember Rarity's generosity, that is her element, anyway. The thought of the white unicorn put Mac at ease, allowing him to deal with the stubborn Time Lord.
"I'm in, 'Bethy. No need to take your glasses off," the Doctor replied, finally.
"Thank you, check in with everyone else so you know what you're doing. Don't let us down," MacBard said, his breathing coming a little easier knowing that he had held up some of the end of his bargain.
"Will do," the light-brown earth pony replied, and then galloped off.
"He better," Mac thought to himself and then trotted home, sliding his glasses off.
To be continued
Princess Luna sat on the edge of her balcony, watching her beautiful night. Little pinpoints of light glowed in the sky, the lunar moon illuminated the world. Its essence seemed to have fallen from the sky and coated everything with a certain comforting glow. The Princess of the Night sighed, she wished all of Equestria could be awake to witness such a beautiful night. She especially knew that her sister's apprentice would love to identify all of the clear, bright constellations. Luna had done well tonight, creating a tranquil scene for herself while she attended to the thoughts that unsettled her. For the past few days, Luna had been sensing discrepancies coming from the location in which the Elements of Harmony were located. She had mentioned such suspicions to Celestia, but the Sun Goddess would hear nothing of it. The solar sister claimed that there was always odd adventures going on in Ponyville, that the Elements were always going through such discrepancies. Luna had dismissed Celestia's ideas as being legitimate. The Princess of the Night knew what those problems felt like, and the feeling that filled her right now was much too different. Princess Luna sighed, running a hoof through her flowing, blue mane. She was tempted to wake her celestial sister up right now and argue with her, but held her tongue. Luna didn't want the argument to escalate into something that would send her back to the moon. But, still, the Lunar Goddess had her doubts about Celestia's take on the predicament. Luna decided that she would wait a few days and if the discrepancy was still prominent, she would bring it to Celestia's attention. The Princess basked in the loveliness of her night, she wished that she could always be in the midst of such a beautiful night.
-
Celestia's sun shone down on the pleasantly warm afternoon in Ponyville. Six ponies and a baby dragon trotted together through the streets of Equestria, heading towards the park. Each pony talked and laughed with one another, the friendship that they all shared radiated through the air. "Rarity, ah really luv dat hat ya made for 'Shy," Applejack said, "Y'all think yew could make me one?"
"Oh, Applejack. Of course I could!" Rarity replied, happy that her friends were fond of her newest creation.
"Yeah, Rarity, it's really beautiful, thank you," a yellow mare peeped from under the brim of a straw sun hat.
"Like I said before, it is really no big deal, Fluttershy," Rarity spoke, nonchalantly brushing off the praise and keeping her attitude strictly professional.
"My little ponies, we're here!" Twilight announced, interrupting the banter over Fluttershy's hat.
The ponies all laughed merrily and set to work, spreading blankets across the ground and putting their picnic basket down. Then, they all divided up the food and sat down. As they ate and talked, Rarity couldn't help keep her mind off of the prior night. Being with MacBard for that short time had permanently effected her, she decided, but not in a bad way. It effected her in a way that made her love him. And he loved her. Rarity couldn't help stop the goofy smile that spread over her face and the soft giggle that escaped her lips. Everypony else in the little group stopped, giving Rarity quizzical expressions, silently urging her to explain.
"Well, um, yesterday I met a pony who was new in town and we talked for a while. I invited him to stay for dinner and by time dinner was done it was really late and I didn't want him going home in the dark so he stayed over at my place and-"
"You did what?" Twilight asked, astonished by the fact that Rarity had let a stallion stay overnight at her boutique.
"Oh Twilight, it was nothing like that. But, I do think that I have. . . feelings for this stallion," Rarity blushed as she said the last part.
"Aw, sugarcube, what's 'is name?" Applejack asked, finding it cute that her friend was falling in love.
"Oh, his name is MacBard. He is a theatre pony and is very much the gentlepony," Rarity gushed, her heart thumping wildly in her chest.
Pinkie Pie gasped loudly. "OHMYCELESTIA! GUYS GUYS GUYS I JUST HAD THE BEST IDEA EVER! WHEN RARITY AND WHAT'SHISFACE GET MARRIED, I CAN THROW THEM A PARTY!" the pink, energetic filly squealed in delight. Rarity's face reddened at the thought of marrying Mac.
Rainbow Dash snorted, she wasn't really one for romance. "Yeah, that's cool, Rarity. But can we talk about something else?"
Twilight shot Dash a friendly glare and then said, "I think it's cute, Rarity. You should really be careful though, some stallions might take advantage of you. . ."
Rarity gasped, as if the comment had personally wounded her, "Twilight! How could you say such a thing! Mac is not that type of pony, just ask Fluttershy."
Five pairs of eyes looked at the shy pegasus. She blushed nervously, "Um. . . yeah, Rarity is right, I guess. . ."
The eyes still stared at her, not satisfied with the answer. She tried to explain again, but the white-colored unicorn stepped in for her, "Fluttershy was trying to say that she met Mac first and though that he would be the type of pony that would like my fashion. So, when she saw him again, Fluttershy told him to go to the Carousel Boutique."
Everyone nodded, taking in what had happened. Nopony else had any questions about what happened, so Rainbow Dash quickly changed the conversation away from the "gooey-romantic-junk" that Rarity was currently involved in. Even though the topic of conversation had changed, Rarity couldn't help but think about him.
-
Fluttershy trotted along, heading home from the park. The rest of her friends had left a while ago, but Fluttershy had stayed to feed the squirrels and other little animals. She smiled to herself, there was always a certain happiness in feeding and playing with the animals. On thinking this, she decided that she would go into the marketplace and buy a loaf of bread. The yellow equine wanted to give some breadcrumbs to her woodland friends. She hurried up her trot to a gallop and raced into the marketplace, not wanting to leave her friends alone for an extended amount of time. She wasn't watching where she went and the pegasus ended up colliding with another pony. "Ow," she whispered softly, rubbing a foreleg that had twisted underneath her.
"Are you okay?" a familiar deep and soothing voice inquired. Fluttershy looked up and saw MacBard above her, holding out his hoof to help the mare up. The shy pony blushed, seeing his compassionate blue eyes look into her teal ones. "Well, we should really stop doing this," Mac chuckled with a laugh that sounded strange to Fluttershy.
She laughed nervously and replied, "Uh, yeah, that would probably be a good choice. . ."
MacBard laughed even more heartily, and for a second a creepy look crossed his face. His eyes went wide and he looked like a copy of Pinkie Pie when she had her mental breakdown. The look made Fluttershy shudder, but in the blink of an eye, the stallion was normal again.
"I really must get going," Fluttershy squeaked.
"As do I, Flutters, as do I. I hope to see you again."
Then, Mac put a foreleg around Fluttershy's neck and stared off into space, the creepy look once again overtaking his face. Fluttershy gasped softly, and as soon as Mac let go of her, she forgot all about the bread and ran home. Fluttershy wanted as much distance as possible between her and the toffee-colored unicorn stallion.
-
"So, tell me what happened, again?" Twilight asked, staring hard at her shy friend and trying to figure out what was going on.
"He looked like Pinkie Pie did, when she, y'know. . . thought her parties weren't good enough," the pink-haired filly explained, her shy manner shaken away by the shock she had endured.
"And he keeps getting weirder each time you meet him?"
". . . Yes. I'm scared for Rarity's sake, but I'm afraid she won't listen to me. . ."
"Strange. . ." Twilight observed, thinking about what could be wrong, "Are you sure you're not just jealous about MacBard stealing Rarity away from you?"
"No! Of course not!" Fluttershy said.
"Hmm, I don't know what to tell you, 'Shy. I've never met him for myself. . ." Twilight replied, legitimately sorry that she couldn't help her shy friend.
"It's okay, Twilight," the pegasus said.
"Keep an eye out for anything weird, I'll try to keep an account of weird things happening," the lavender unicorn replied, trying to cheer her friend up at least a little bit. Fluttershy gave her a hopeful grin.
"Thanks Twilight, I should probably go home, though, the animals might be a little worried."
"Bye Fluttershy."
The yellow mare hurried out the door, leaving the unicorn with the magic stars as her cutie mark to dwell over the complications of what could be happening.
To be continued
