Rocky… really?
It should be known by everypony that Princess Zephyrina "Zipp" Storm absolutely did not harbor any mushy, gushy feelings for anypony. Hearts and Hooves day was too corny, and the idea of finding a sweetheart was equally as cringe-worthy as celebrating the dreaded bits-grab of a holiday.
She was a mare of skill, speed, and science– and that meant romantic pursuit was the last goal on her mind, whether her Mother harrangued her for it or not.
And besides that… ROCKY?
Zipp couldn't even be sure that she liked stallions. And if she did, it certainly wouldn't be a stallion who was itching to doll her up, whether it be her mane or hooves or choice of attire. She could admit that they would make a pretty unique couple, but that was the extent of it. She simply wasn't interested in the first place.
Rocky was the last pony on Zipp's mind. Funnily enough, When Izzy had greeted her on the morning of Hearts and Hooves day, she had briefly given thought to the possibility that Izzy might ask to be her special somepony. In which case, she was prepared to friendzone Izzy very, very gently.
…Or possibly propose giving the relationship a test run. For scientific reasons. Duh.
In truth, Izzy was a fun gal. And like the venus flytrap plant Zipp had been showing the unicorn, she wouldn't mind seeing if something could bloom between the two of them. After all, if their relationship failed, well... it would probably be fine. Of all ponies that Zipp knew, Izzy could likely roll with the punches and remain good friends afterwards without harboring any hard feelings.
They could remain… what was it Izzy called it... 'Pal-entines'?
Zipp didn't have any experience dating. She was cursed to be born a princess, and that meant her romantic options were limited to suck-up commoners, or stuck-up suiters her mom would attempt setting her up with.
As Izzy continued to gush about Zipp's 'undeniable' feelings for Rocky and how cute the pair would be, Zipp finally got tired of eye-rolling and cut the mare off with a hoof to her mouth. The impact made a squeaky toy noise.
"Izzy. Chill."
"Ophay…" Izzy said into Zipp's hoof.
Zipp shook the slobber from her foreleg, releasing Izzy's chatterbox. "I appreciate your, uh, support? But I'm not into Rocky. And I don't think he's into me either. He's not my type of pony." Frankly, she got the impression Rocky also swung the other way, but that wasn't her business to say, so she didn't voice it.
"You don't– Oh." Izzy thought about it for a moment. "Ohhhh." Then, she smiled sheepishly. "What about Jazz Hooves?"
Zipp paused, then promptly burst into laughter. Was she really so obvious? "No, no, but I guess that's closer. I'm not really a mare's mare, but I guess you could say I prefer their company in terms of dating. Jazz is sweet and all, but just like Rocky, she's not my style."
"Oh! Got'cha! Um… sorry for getting a teensy bit ahead of myself."
"That's okay," Zipp responded in kind. "Your reaction is pretty refreshing, actually."
"That's good. I mean I'm like a mare's… and stallions, uh… I'm…" Izzy paused, puffing out her cheeks in frustration about stringing her words together. "Mares good." Izzy finished succinctly.
"Pah!" Zipp chortled. "You're a gem, Izz."
Izzy grinned. "No, I'm not, I'm a unicorn." Said unicorn stuck out her tongue playfully.
"Ha, ha. Very funny," Zipp replied with a roll of her eyes.
"I try."
Zipp tilted her head. "Say, uh… 'pal', wanna keep hanging out at the lighthouse? You can bring your crafts downstairs if you'd like, and I won't retreat to my room either."
"That's a terrific idea, Pal-entine!"
Zipp rolled her eyes endearingly. "Cool. It's a date."
"Hee! I see what'cha did there!"
Despite having an overabundance of them already, Izzy decided to keep making loads of Valentine cards.
Meanwhile, Zipp tended to her plant.
"Hey Zipp?" Izzy asked, trying to add another string of red and pink paper hearts into her mane.
"Yes?" Zipp answered, adding some more fertilizer to the soil of her new plant.
"Have you ever been in love?"
Zipp spluttered. She hadn't expected that question, and found herself simply scoffing it off. "Have you?"
"Yeah. But unicorns back home used to be more… dull, so my crushes faded fast." Izzy looked upwards swooningly. "My first love was this emo stallion heartthrob, and after that there was this alluring goth mare… but, well, gloomy personalities got old fast when everyone in town had 'em. We wouldn't be compatible anyhow, but I'm weak to a stead that seems cool."
Zipp tsked jokingly. "I doubt you're missing out on much. They can't be cooler than me."
Izzy giggled. "Watch the ego, sister!"
Sister… Ouch! Not that Zipp was actually trying to flirt. Totally.
"Yeah I… haven't really had the chance to date," Zipp admitted, "There's royal duties which keep me busy, and non-royals treat me all weird, and my mom's long array of tight-laced suitors are the last ponies I want to hang with… anyway, it's a whole thing. And it was never my priority to begin with." She thought back to her only experiences of attraction, and how nothing ever came from those feelings. "I know I like mares. It's not like I was immune to little attractions and things. It's just… yeah. I'm not gonna stress about being single. I'm still young."
"That's a good attitude to have!" Izzy slid an assortment of heart streamer's in Zipp's direction. "And besides, when the time comes, I don't think you'll have trouble. It's nice talking to you alone."
Zipp smiled. "Oh yeah? It's nice talking to you alone too."
"Hmm, the way I see it, maybe it would be easier for you to date a friend. If love isn't a priority, then making friends and spending time with them is sure to help something–" Izzy edged her hoof over to poke at Zipp's venus flytrap, "–bloom. Like you taught me." One head of the plant tried snapping at Izzy's hoof, causing her to yelp.
Zipp grabbed the pot of her plant and pulled it safely away. "That's right. That's exactly why Hearts and Hooves day feels trite to me. It often makes single ponies upset, but they shouldn't have to feel rushed, or like they're out of time." Zipp reached down to lightly touch each respective venus flytrap head. Each of them let out a growl-like purr. "Being friends is great, so starting to date a friend should also be cool. It's far better than being set up with somepony you have nothing in common with."
"I agree." Izzy smiled, a little coyly. "And I'm glad you're still letting me celebrate with you, in a way." Izzy held out one hoof. "What do you say datemate? Towards future love?"
Zipp nodded, placing her smaller hoof against Izzy's. "Towards future love. Hoof to heart."
And with that, the rest of the day was spent with Zipp and Izzy at each other's side.
"Primrose! C'mon, I'll give you Hitch's favorite smoothie completely for free! Just give it a shot!" Sunny shouted, chasing after Primrose with a pumpkin spice smoothie gripped firmly in one hoof.
"N-no! Not today! That's too embarassing!" Primrose yelled back, trotting desperately away from Sunny in a circle.
"But he really likes them! And you can get more chances to talk with him!"
"I said no!" Primrose declared, her magic suddenly enrapturing Sunny and carrying her far away.
Sunny remained middair for a moment, before a cushion was magicked beneath her and she was placed gently atop.
"Sorry!" Primrose yelled from afar. "And um... thanks for trying... I think I'll just..." Primrose grinned awkwardly for a beat before dashing off sideways with a whoosh.
Sunny sighed, placing her free hoof sourly to her chin. "Guess I'll just pass this smoothie off to Hitch. I hope he doesn't think I'm coming onto him." She thought about it for one moment. "Actually... given his track record, I don't think that would be an issue."
She had been trying to help Primrose for the entire day, and now the sun was starting to set. Hitch was on-duty, and Pipp was still working too, which meant...
Sunny looked towards the direction of the lighthouse. "Huh... I wonder what Izzy and Zipp have been up to today?"
