The bright and cheery streets of Ponyville had an extra glow to them this morning, Minty thought to herself. As the lime green pony swung open her door and greeted the sun, soaking in the hustle and bustle and hearing her friends in the distance, an irresistible warm feeling began spreading over her like a virus, the fibers of her being vibrating to their very core with an overwhelming force of positivity.
Rays of sunshine peaked through the individual leaves of trees, each casting a perfectly unique burst of light on the ground that she watched dance around in mesmerizing patterns as the branches swayed. A cacophony of harmonious giggles carried through the air, assaulting her ears from all directions, the joyous and lively conversations from around the town aligning in magical synergy. As the birds sung and the wind blew gently through her mane in such a perfect way akin to rocking waves from the sea, she couldn’t force a frown if she tried.
“Hey, Minty!” sang a familiar, sing-songy voice, following up with a trademark whistle. A wide smile grew on Minty’s face, excited to hear her friend.
“Thistle Whistle! Is that you?” she asked enthusiastically, looking up to the sky in search of the pegasus - after all, no other pony could whistle like that! However, her great smile soon began to shrink a bit, as she couldn’t seem to see her. The beautiful blue sky was barren, nary for a cloud or two. She glanced left and right in the sky…where could she…?
“Behind you!” giggled Thistle, dropping from Minty’s roof and hugging her from behind. The green horse squeaked in surprise as the blue pegasus impacted her, rolling forward in surprise. The two tumbled forward a bit before falling apart and landing on the ground with a soft thud, looking at each other. After a few moments of prolonged staring, they both began to laugh, the absurdity of the situation compounded by the fact that they were now sprawled out on the street.
“You’re silly, Thistle Whistle!” laughed Minty. In response, Thistle let another bright and cheery whistle escape her lips before speaking.
“I just wanted to surprise you!” the pegasus replied, clearly happy with herself.
“Well, you sure did!” confirmed Minty, getting up and dusting herself off. Thistle got up as well, slightly hopping and bounding in place, first with her front legs, and then her hind legs in a constant rhythm.
“Oh, oh, what are you doing today, Minty?” she asked, unable to keep still, “I was thinking we could have a party, or maybe go to the Butterfly Island!”
“Hmmm,” Minty thought to herself - giving the question a bit more thought than she usually might, “…Well, actually, today, I was kind of hoping to see Pinkie Pie.”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” replied Thistle in a slightly different tone, stopping her constant bouncing for a moment - conveying either a continued interest requiring more attention or slight disappointment at not immediately agreeing to either of her suggestions.
“Well…”
Minty was having a really hard time here for some reason.
“Well, today just feels really, really good! And for some reason, I want to tell her all about it!”
Thistle tilted her head in slight confusion.
“But…Pinkie Pie’s probably outside anyway. Wouldn’t she already know about it?”
“Well, yeah, but….” sighed Minty, now disappointed in herself that she couldn’t seem to find the right words, “…well, I don’t really know…”
“That’s okay!” smiled Thistle, perking up again, “I saw her over at Toola Roola’s. Maybe by the time you get there, you’ll figure it out!”
“Yeah!” laughed Minty back, happy to have such a kind friend, “I sure hope I will!”
The two friends waved a kind and simple goodbye as the gentle wind continued to blow. As Minty began walking towards Toola Roola’s, Thistle began floating in the opposite direction, before turning back to face her again.
“But if you’re free later…let’s go to Butterfly Island!” she shouted.
“Okay!” replied Minty loudly, looking over her shoulder once more at her friend. Unfortunately, she had to confess to herself that she wasn’t really thinking about that anymore. She was more focused on trying to figure out why it was that she wanted to talk to Pinkie Pie so much….
She tried to think it through. She had a lot of pony friends here in Ponyville - and some from beyond! Whenever she felt bad, she would always feel better by remembering that her friends would always be there for her. She wasn’t a very clever pony - she knew that, but she was very gracious for how thoughtful and forgiving everypony else was. But what was different about Pinkie? Why did she want to tell her how good she felt today?
As she approached Toola Roola’s studio, she felt something weird in her stomach that she hadn’t felt before - at least, not that she could remember. She sighed again, unhappy with herself. She was worried that Pinkie might find her annoying if she wasn’t able to explain herself. She wished there was some way to get help.
“Is something on your mind, Minty?” came the soft, wise voice through the air, as if on cue. A small smile grew on Minty’s face as she looked up to see Star Catcher, the brilliant and wise pegasus, nesting in a nearby tree in the shade. She always looked so cool, Minty thought - resting aloof in the branches, her brilliant white coat contrasting her sharply colored mane and colored markings - like she knew everything there was to know.
“To be honest, yes,” admitted Minty, giving her full respect and attention to the pegasus, “I was going to Toola Roola’s to see Pinkie Pie. You see, today is just really nice, and beautiful…”
“It is,” confirmed Star Catcher, smiling warmly.
“…and I know that Pinkie Pie probably already knows that! After all, she had to go outside to get here. But for some reason, I wanted to tell her myself how I felt about it!”
“Oh?” questioned Star Catcher, turning her head slightly, as if she was prompting, “Well, how does it feel when you talk to Pinkie Pie?”
Minty lit up immediately.
“Oh, it feels just the best! I feel like she always listens to me and always knows what to say. Oh, I have so many friends here, I know, I know. But it’s different when I hear her voice! When I hear Pinkie, I feel like everything’s going to be okay.”
She giggled a bit in the middle of her explanation, looking to the ground and kicking the dirt a bit.
“One time, I listened to her talk for five minutes about balloon colors. Just ‘cause I felt good doing it.”
“Why do you think that is?” continued Star Catcher.
“Well, I don’t know! She’s just my…my extra most bestest friend!” blurted Minty, excited, “And, and…”
Star Catcher smiled warmly at Minty, hearing a door open nearby.
“…and, I want to spend every day with her! And tell her how much I like every single one of those days…so that she can feel as good as me when I’m with her!”
“Do you know what that’s called, Minty?” asked Star Catcher, tilting her head and blinking.
“I…I don’t,” sighed Minty, sadly, “Does that make me a silly pony?”
Star Catcher let out a small, warm laugh.
“No, no, not at all! It means…you’re in love.”
Minty blinked.
“In…love? I’m…in love!”
Her blank expression grew into a wide smile as she began bouncing around, giggling.
“In love! I’m in love! Oh, I’m in love! Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie, I…!”
She landed, looking forward toward Toola Roola’s. To her surprise, Pinkie was right there - standing in the open doorway. She couldn’t stop herself…
“I…I love you.”
Pinkie stared at her friend with a look of true shock, as if she had never expected to hear such a thing in her entire life. The wind continued to blow in a calm breeze, the birds continued to sing, and the world continued for what seemed like an eternity. Minty slowly started to lose her smile.
“Was…was that bad for me to say? I’m…sorry…”
Pinkie began to tear up, before sprinting towards Minty, who didn’t even see her coming, grabbing her in an intense grip, hugging her as hard as she could, eliciting a squeak.
“I…I love you too, Minty,” she sighed, with a voice that sounded like it had been holding it in forever.
The mares stood together there for some time. Sensing her job was done, Star Catcher sighed happily, slipping off the tree and flying into the sky.
It really was an extra most bestest day.
