Put On A Show

Dove really tried not to glare. It wasn't his fault. Or, maybe it was, and he had planned this all along... No, Dove thought, shaking her head, don't think like that.

It wasn't his fault he had gotten Twilight's daughter to like him. It wasn't his fault Starburst was adorable. It wasn't his fault she was incredibly gorgeous.

Dove was really starting to hate her thoughts. She had been hanging out with Starburst, alone may she add, when Starburst had accidentally mentioned liking somepony she knew. With a hopeful heart, she had prodded Starburst, to spill her secret.

She deserved hearing her heart crack as she confessed to it being Fletcher.

Dove didn't hate him, no. It was the fact that Starburst liked him that irked her. She supposed she deserved it, having been so cruel, even if it was necessary, by accepting Nightmare.

No, she couldn't think about that now. She rolled her shoulders, causing the feathery wings to rustle. She sat in Sugar Cube Corner alone, simply staring out the window as he did his daily patrols.

She was starting to wish the pony had been eaten by the dragon he befriended. She chided herself. No, mon canari wouldn't like hearing those kind of talk.

Her canary. Oh, Dove knew Starburst was more beautiful than a canary, but she herself was already named Dove, so she couldn't call her love her dove as well. (They were also both yellow, but she wouldn't say that out loud.)

Her love. Dove shook her head. She couldn't call son canari her love. Starburst didn't even like her back.

That thought brought another punch to her gullet. She knew she was best friends with the pegasus, yet Starburst would never fall in love with her.

She jumped as a set of hooves brought themselves down on the table. She looked up into a bright smiling pink face. "Hi there Dovey, how can I help ya?"

Dove took a sip from the tea she had ordered, hoping to calm her nerves. Pinkie Pie could always tell when someone was sad or mad or scared... Well, she personally had debated whether the mare was omnipotent or not. "Nothing, madam Pinkie."

"Don't get all fancy shmancy with me young lady, what's really got ya down?" Her face was bright, but concerned shone in her eyes.

Dove couldn't stop herself from confessing to the older mare. "Fletcher, one of Twilight's guards, has caught mon canari's attention in a way I find myself not enjoying, if you understand moi."

Pinkie looked her up and down, and Dove shifted in her seat, uncomfortable of her unwavering and searching gaze. Then, with finality, she said, "You're jealous."

"Quelle!?" She exclaimed. "Je ne suis pas jalouse!"

Pinkie rolled her eyes, seeming to have understood Dove. Somehow. "You are indeed jealous, Dovey! You don't like that Starburst likes him more than a friend!"

Dove blinked. How could this mare read her like a book? Yet before she could answer, Pinkie had stood them up and pushed Dove to the door. "Go get her, girl!"

And she shoved her through the door.

Unaware to both at the time, Starburst had been heading down the street, looking for Dove, when she spotted her in Sugar Cube Corner. Then she had seen Fletcher patrolling and had looked that way, suddenly enraptured. Then she had heard Pinkie's voice, and had turned back to the bakery only to find herself muzzle to muzzle with Dove, and both of them immediately gained red faces.

Dove squeaked. "Mon canari! Je suis désolé, je ne te vois pas!"

Starburst caked off, trying to will the redness in her cheeks to vanish. "No, I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Actually, I was looking for you!"

Dove squealed a little inside. "O-Oh, yeah?"

Starburst blinked. Dove wasn't usually that... Informal. But she ignored it. "Yeah. I was bored, and the guards aren't training right now, so I came to look for you."

She could've sworn she heard Pinkie go "Awww!"

Dove smiled brightly. "Excellent, mon canari! I heard the Apples are selling some apple pie!"

As the two walked down the street, Dove smiled. When Starburst had discovered the guards weren't training, she had immediately had come to look for her. Dove was happy, because she knew things might changed.

And she pretended she didn't see Starburst look back in Fletcher's direction.