She told me that I could write to her over the weekdays, so that’s what I did.

I went and bought a pack of pencils from the market and a heap of paper, lit up a candle or two as I got home for some atmospheric enrichment and wrote away.

Dear March,

This is my first letter to you, I hope that you will receive this because honestly, I have no clue if my words would even reach you or if some freak accident would make my letter lost. I wrote my current address on the cover, hopefully it’s clear enough for you to read.

Anyways, I just wanted to extend my greetings to you over there, see how things are going, what you’ve been up to, how you’re doing, and everything in between. I know you’re real busy this week but just know I wouldn’t mind hearing everything you’ve got to say (or write) one bit. Even if it’s just about your job. Or maybe the weather, who knows.

I went to the local markets today. Got the supplies for this letter, and got some food from the shops. They tasted decent but left a grassy aftertaste in my mouth, must be because of all the hay in it. I wanted to revisit that skating thing we did yesterday, sorry for not bringing myself a pair, didn’t mean to leave you behind or anything, honest.

Anywhom, I hope you’re hanging in there alright with your job. I don’t got much experience doing what you do but I can imagine stuff can get a little hectic sometimes.

Good day,

Anonymous.

P.S: I still like your hair. And eyes.

The letter wasn’t the best work I’d ever done, scribbled in pencil marks and sporting not the best English you’d ever seen. Some parts of it were sloppy, choppy, and a few other words ending in -ppy that I don’t really care to list right now, you get the gist. Writing letters seemed quite archaic compared to the system that I was so used to. But, it was time well spent, and I chucked the letter into my mailbox, waltzing back inside my home and staring out of the window with anticipation.

Eventually, the mail pony came along. I was a bit worried that he would’ve taken a millenia to get that letter all the way to Whinnyapolis with his pace, but everything worked out fine in the end. I laid in the bed all night long with excitement, barely able to sleep as I thought about all the ways she could write back. For all I know, it could be entirely different from how she presented herself when we were meeting in person… or is it in pony?

As morning came, I clutched a cup of water in my hands and waited until something would be written back. Maybe I’d stood there for a couple hours, who knew, but I darted out of the door immediately at the first sign of the mail pony approaching my residence and snatched it clean out of his hooves. I went back inside and ripped the front cover open, finishing my cup of water in one big gulp as I prepared to lay my eyes on what she’d written.

To Sir Anonymous,

First and foremost, I would like to request that you do not start off your letters with “Dear” in the future, that is reserved for if you’re sending your letter directly to my residence. Our city hall is a little strict regarding the greetings and sign-offs. The contents of your letter will not be judged otherwise, so feel free to continue as you were.

I expected for you to be more dexterous seeing as you have 5 digits, but I guess writing is not your strong suit. Now, I was able to write this letter and send it to you, so you can rest assured knowing that your writing is at least legible. But, I’ll have to give you some pointers the next time I see you.

The delegate of Manehattan was sent to see me yesterday, alongside a few other officials. Issue being, the main roads that connect the cities together were reported to have had a large amount of potholes scattered throughout, and we were trying to discuss the repair plans. I’d have garnered something more productive from the whole session if it weren’t for that Manehattan delegate’s constant “Hey I’m talkin’ here! Hey I’m workin’ here!” Attitude. Holy buckets, it’s so annoying. At least he’s got a few decent ideas to back up his loudmouthing.

The grassy aftertaste that comes after eating the food is due to the hay in the food. I’m not sure what you eat at Earth but we ponies eat a lot of hay, we’re vegetarian. And about the skates, all forgiven. I’d actually have liked to do that little stunt again with you but at one point, the other ponies would be staring at us, and that would be another can of worms. It’s a nice little thrill after all.

As for myself, I’d say I’m doing fine. It’s a little snowy out there; as per usual, and I find myself idly staring out at the streets more often than I want to admit. You have to remember that the weather isn’t the only thing that’s cold in these places. Ponies are cold too, the term “Whinneysota Ice” isn’t a saying for no reason. And it’s not like I have some deep desire for connection but it’s a nice thing to have. Nopony, no matter how withdrawn they are, is completely averted to interaction; especially if it's meaningful. Although some ponies here can learn a thing or two about that.

Meeting you was a nice change of pace, that’s for sure. But, I’ve spent too much time writing today, and I’ve got more things to attend to tomorrow.

I hope these words find you well,

March Snowgust, Whinnyapolis Delegate.

P.S: Thanks, you flatter me. Although, next time, just include it in the body of the letter. I do not like P.S’s very much as they disrupt the flow, and this will be the last time you see me using one.

I could almost feel like the air was intertwined with the atmosphere from somewhere government-like. I didn’t expect her writing style to adhere to such a vehement strictness, but I find it quite charming. As far as I could tell, there were a few new things on my agenda, get better handwriting and stop using P.S’s after my letters.

I didn’t know what I was doing, but I ran upstairs and got a box to store her letter in. I neatly folded the paper and put it back into its envelope, closing it with its original adherence.

*This was going to be the first of many.* was the only thing going through my head. I suddenly felt the need to just pour out everything into my head and mail it to her, but that would be an eyeful of nothing. I enjoyed this form of back and forth writing, it was more fulfilling than some crappy text that would take me less than a second to send.

And, something about potentially having someone working for the government as your pen-pal just seemed like a wonderfully strange concept to me. Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things, but it does make me feel a tinge more important in a way. As I chowed down my measly bowl of cereal, I thought about what to write back with.

To March,

Hello again, thanks for writing back to me so fast! I took some of your concerns to heart and I will no longer address my letters using Dear or finish my letters off with P.S’s. Hmm, I suppose I’ll just include it at the beginning paragraph from now on. I was just thinking, that the next time that I come over, maybe we can go to some sort of restaurant? I do want to get to know you a little bit better.

And yes, my handwriting isn’t the best, or very good at all for that matter, but that’s because it’s sort of an outdated form of writing where I came from. For example, back in the day, we used to have these commercial typewriters where you input the letter that you want, and it would press it on the paper and so-forth. And even that is considered antique technology here. Now we have all these devices that you can send others messages to and from within seconds.

Sorry, that was just a long excuse on why my handwriting probably looks like a filly’s. I promise I’m actually trying this time.

Sorry about that other delegate, I’ve known a handful of folks that behave the same way and yeah, does hurt my head a bit whenever I’m around them. I’m actually quite surprised that you ponies are actually trying to discuss a plan to fix the potholes, there was this one pothole near my old house that didn’t get fixed for like… 4 years. Not that it was too disruptive because it was in a residential area but still. How’re the discussions going now? Anything new? I don’t know much about this Manehattan you mentioned but if it’s the same thing I’m thinking of, there’s gotta be a bunch of traffic coming in and out.

A lot of us are also vegetarians, or vegans, they just don’t eat hay. And another thing that I wanted to say, that I found you so so so so cute when we fell down that one time and you were grabbing on my arm. I apologize if you don’t want to be called that but, that’s just what I wanted to tell you. It honestly made me feel all fuzzy inside for just a little bit, but I’ll stop going on about this now.

I have to agree with your sentiment. I would consider myself an introvert but it’s really nice to have some worthwhile conversations sometimes. I’d say that going out this far to meet you was probably one of the biggest steps I’ve ever taken socially, and I’d say that it paid off? I’m still grateful that the reception upon my arrival in Ponyville was so warm but getting to talk (and now write) to you makes me happy. I couldn’t tell ya’ why and how, it just does.

Good day,

Anonymous.

I glanced back at my work a few times over and was quite pleased with myself. It wasn’t easy switching my handwriting style from using 4 fingers to 3, and although the improvements were small, they were noticeable. I checked it one last time for any errors I may have missed, and sealed the envelope shut with a big kiss. Don’t ask me why, it just felt right.

I’ll say, my heart was racing a bit from re-reading my comments to her, they felt more direct than I wanted them to be. Bits of it felt too forward to send but I decided to bite my tongue and keep on writing regardless. What’s the worst that could happen? She hasn’t really rejected my small compliments in the past, and although this is a step up, it isn’t anything that would be crossing a boundary.

I clenched my teeth for one last time as the mail pony arrived and took my letter away to Whinnyapolis once again. Visiting the local stalls and markets to clear my mind, I found a couple of mares selling bouquets and beautiful floral arrangements. After a brief conversation with the leading florists, I decided on a white orchid with a large pink petal at the bottom. They said it’d be a great gift for somepony from Whinnyapolis.

Of course, I couldn’t buy it yet because it would end up wilted with my care, so I asked them to reserve a flower or two when I’d come back in a few days. Miraculously, they agreed to my strange request. I only decided on a small number because, judging from what March wrote to me earlier, she sounds like she’d appreciate small gestures as opposed to grand ones. Also, because I don’t have the bits to finance a big and elaborate floral arrangement, so this’ll have to do.

Another night passes by.

I stayed up awfully late last night due to extra excitement, so I missed the part when her letter was delivered. But, seeing as the flag was raised, I got outside and retrieved my treasure just as quickly. This time, the letter had an extra bit of thickness on the backside, and had a different return address. I used my fingernail to gently pry open the lid of the envelope, trying not to cause any unnecessary rips.

Dear Anon,

Behind this letter are three photos I took from yesterday, do not look at them yet.

You may have noticed that I’ve written down a new address on my envelope, this is where I live. My apologies for the restrictions on how you could start your letter, you may now write freely as you wish. I also found myself feeling quite restricted at the city hall, so I’m writing to you within the premises of my home.

I see that your hoofwriting is improved, I’m glad. As for this technology you speak of, I’ll take your word for it but it sounds quite outlandish compared to what we have here. Although, it would be more convenient for everypony if the means of communications here are so instant. At least our mail delivery systems have seen quite the increase in quality over the years. Perhaps you can tell me more about other things you have over at Earth? I’d be interested.

And no, there are no significant developments so far. We’ve decided that the repairs would be sanctioned early on a Friday to reduce traffic while our workers section off areas that would be in need of repair. You’d be right about Manehattan having a lot of traffic, in fact; the term rush-hour was coined a handful years ago to describe the amount of traffic coming from there.

I must say, I’m glad you think that I’m cute. I’m not very used to this type of attention from stallions or anypony for that matter, so you’ll have to bear with me on that side. There’s a higher-end restaurant near where we were, I reckon we could go there for a nice first date. It’ll be my treat since you paid for that coffee I had. I’m not sure if you’ve had any Itailian cuisine, but it’s definitely on a different platter compared to what I eat on a daily basis.

You’re really nice, Anon.

You may now look.

Warm Regards,

March.

Without a second’s delay, I set the letter down and grabbed the remaining pictures from the letter. There were some scribblings on the back that were written with the same amount of eloquence as the main letter.

“It was a little awkward trying to figure this whole ‘taking a picture of myself’ thing, hope you don’t mind my arm covering a chunk of the picture.

I got a lot of looks from the other ponies,

You’d better enjoy this.”

The first picture was labeled with “Snow Angel.”, March was laying in the snow, a beautiful smile across her face. My heart almost melted then and there as I saw a tiny heart carved out in the snow.

Her arms were outstretched and she was holding what I could only assume was some form of a handheld polaroid camera. A few bits of snow were in between her hair, and she was deep enough into the snow that it was covering a decent amount of her jacket. She really puts the angel in snow angel.

I set the picture on the corner of the table and moved on to the next one, it was labeled “Coffee at same spot.”. She sat at the same coffee shop we were at, her eyes furrowed slightly and her tongue stuck out just a tad. She seemed to be mainly focusing on the camera which describes her expression. Bits of snow still lingered in her hair and on her coat, she never bothered to dust herself off after the snow angel picture.

A steaming cup of coffee sat on the table, its steam rising up into the backdrop of snow-covered trees and roads. Somewhere in the distance, I could see a part of the lake we skated on.

I let this photograph join its predecessor, and moved on to the third picture. It was very simply labeled “The Restaurant”. It depicted a fancy looking restaurant that was packed full of ponies, many of which were staring at their photographer. It was centered neatly in the middle of the frame, many blurs were seen near the edges of the photo of passing by ponies. It sounds like she picked a high-traffic location.

I looked back at the other pictures she sent, I didn’t have the means to frame them or anything, but I had a dusty notebook that I could temporarily keep the pictures in. I taped them into the notebook and wrote the labels to the side. Even though she wouldn’t be able to write to me back as I was headed to Whinnyapolis tomorrow, it wouldn’t hurt to write her a letter to tell her in advance. As well as to tell her how stunning she looked in those pictures.

Dear March,

Just writing this last letter to you to notify you that I’ll be headed to Whinnyapolis by tomorrow morning, so you don’t have to write back.

And wow! You’re so gorgeous in those pictures, I haven’t seen any mare who’s prettier than you. And sure, I can tell you about everything cool we got back on Earth, a lot of things would probably blow your mind.

That’s all.

Good day,

Anonymous.

Done and sent. It won’t go out until tomorrow but I was going to tell her that once I got there regardless. There was only one more thing that needed to be done.

I went to the florists again and picked up my reserved flowers, went home and put them in a little vase filled up with water. They looked gorgeous under the gentle evening sun, I could see the distinct mass of pink on the petal intertwining with the warm sunlight.

I was a bit nervous about how tomorrow would go. I searched in my not-very-expansive cabinet and came up with an outfit that would be fit for an interview at a minimum-wage restaurant. It had only been a week since I last saw her but for some reason, I feel like I’d be meeting with an entirely different mare. And something told me that every bit of my brain was forgetting how to properly go on a date with somepony.

One that I wanted to get closer to, and one who I desperately wanted to be able to love. Maybe my love language is a little intense, I definitely receive that a lot, but it feels best when I follow my heart. I’m just a small dam holding back an endless river of affection and love after all, and if there’s anypony who I’d want to receive that, I’d want it to be her and nopony else.

Okay, enough of the sap, you get the point, I really like March.

Anyways, I’ve got a long day ahead of me tomorrow.

Author's Note

Anon writes to March and March writes back to Anon!

Hope you find March as adorable as I did, she's wonderful.

Thanks for reading!

Next chapter coming soon-ish.