> Colton and Daisy
>  by Allonsbro
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chaper 1: Good Morning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1: Good Morning



BANG BANG BANG “HEY SEYVAL! WAKE UP!” shouted Colton Vines as he banged on his younger brother’s door. It was mashing day and the sun was already rising. “Breakfast is on the table. You have five minutes and then I’m getting Aunt Berry.” That got him up. “I’M COMING!” his brother shouted back. His Aunt was still sleeping and if she had to wake up to get him out of bed, she would not be happy.
Colton walked into the dining room and took his place at the table. He began munching at the fruit salad he had prepared himself. Aunt Berry walked into the room. Her mane was rather disheveled, which told him that she had come home rather late from Pinkie’s party last night. 
“Good morning, Aunt Berry.” He said cheerfully.
“Morning,” said Berry groggily. She was not a morning pony. “Is Seyval up yet?”
“Yes I am,” said his brother walking into the room, his cream coat neatly brushed and his light green mane looking a little tousled the way he liked it. “Good morning, Auntie. How was Pinkie’s party?” 
“It was pretty good. Applejack brought some of her apple tarts and Rainbow Dash and I got into an eating contest.” Her eyes opened fully as she smiled with pride. “I won. I was up to twenty seven to Rainbow’s twenty eight when she gagged.”
Colton frowned at the thought of the rainbow-maned pegasus hurling and how it was not a very good subject for the breakfast table. 
“So, how’s that marefriend of yours, Colton?” asked Berry.
Colton smiled at the thought of the green-maned earth pony he had been dating for the past two and a half years. “Daisy’s fine. I’m going to see her this afternoon when I’m done with mashing the grapes for today.” 
“You’re going to see Daisy?! Can she come over to see me? Pleeeeeeeeeese,” Said a small, excited voice behind Colton. He turned to see his little cousin Ruby standing there, a gleeful, pleading smile on her face. 
“I’ll be sure to ask her,” he said, “maybe she can stay for dinner.”
“YAAAAAY,” exclaimed the little filly. She then proceeded to hop in little circles around the room singing, “Daisy’s coming for dinner! Daisy’s coming for dinner!”
Colton chuckled. His little cousin loved Daisy and she hadn’t been by the house in a while.
“Sit down and eat your breakfast, Ruby,” said Berry, pouring her some cereal. “We have a lot to do for crushing day today and we need to get going.”
“Yes, momma,” said Ruby and began munching her cereal, still humming about Daisy coming to dinner.
“Actually I need to talk with you colts about today,” said Berry. “I need one of you two to stay home and watch Ruby tonight.” 
“Where are you going momma?” 
“I’m going over to Hoofington with Caramel to deliver some of the harvest to the winery like I do every year, sweetie,” Berry explained. “Since the land on our vineyard isn’t very big we can’t make our own wine, so Caramel and I take the grapes to my parents’ winery in Hoofington.”
“Ooooooh,” said Ruby. “Which Caramel?” 
“Caramel Toffee, dear,” said Berry. There were two stallions named Caramel in Ponyville, Caramel Apple, and Caramel Toffee. Caramel Apple was a scrawny, rather clumsy pony who was always losing things and worked over at Sweet Apple Acres. Caramel Toffee was a large, buff pony who ran a small moving business in town. He was the one that helped Berry deliver the grapes every year. Now thinking about it, Colton wondered why. They had more than enough help at the vineyard and Caramel had to close his shop when he went with Berry because he ran it by himself. Berry could have somepony else take the grapes with her but every year Caramel insisted he help.
“Daisy and I can watch her, Aunt Berry,” Colton volunteered.
“Thank you, Colton. Alright, since it appears that we’re all done with breakfast, let’s head out there and finish up the last of the harvesting.”
	
> Chaper 2: Last Day of Harvest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2: Last Harvest



The four went outside and headed to the east of the field. There was still about half of an acre left to do and Colton knew they would probably get it done by shortly after lunch, if not before. They met Blues Noteworthy and Lucky about halfway out. Blues was a blue earth pony stallion with a dark blue mane and tail and two barred eighth notes for a cutie mark. Lucky was a light grey earth pony stallion with a charcoal mane and tail and three, four-leaf clover for a cutie mark. The two of them had been good friends with Colton and Seyval since they were colts.
Berry and Ruby went to the shed to bring out the crusher and set it up for the grapes. Lucky and Blues put on harnesses with baskets attached to them. Seyval and Lucky went to harvest the last of the green grapes. Seyval loved harvesting those. They were, after all, seyval grapes. Colton and Blues went to the other side of the vineyard to harvest the red grapes. 
They got to the first row of the day and began harvesting. They began by placing a few buckets around the trellises on which the grapevines grew. Blues placed some buckets around the trellises. Then Colton would gently shake the trellis, causing the clusters to fall. He had been doing this since he was a colt and knew that it had to be done just the right way. If he shook too softly the grapes wouldn’t fall and he would be there all afternoon. If he shook too hard, he could break the trellis. He had tried to teach Applejack how to harvest grapes one year so she could use them for the sisterhooves social. She had broken five trellises that day and finally conceded to let him grow them and donate them to the social. Then Blues changed the buckets as they filled.
“So Colt,” asked Blues, using a nickname he had given him when they were young, “how’re you an’ Daisy doin’?”
“We’re doing well, Blu,” Colton answered with another nickname. “How are you and Miss Brass?”
The Miss Brass he was referring to was Bluenote Brass, Blues’ marefriend. She was a light blue earth pony with a brown mane and tail. She played the sousaphone. How she managed to play was a mystery to Colton.
“We’re good, she left for Canterlot on a full ride scholarship to intern with Octavia. She’s still gonna come to see me on weekends until I can get enough bits to get me an apartment up there. Then I’m gonna find work up there doin’ odd jobs and playin’ my music in the local waterin’ holes.”
“Wow. Sounds like you have it all worked out. I’ll be sorry to see you go when you leave.” Colton was glad for his friend, but he didn’t see the point of leaving Ponyville. He grew up here. Everything he had and everypony he knew was here. He was perfectly content to stay at the vineyard his whole life. 
They continued working, talking about this and that until the cart was almost full. Colton was just about to start shaking another vine when Ruby came galloping over to them.
“Colton, can I be the stomper this year? I’m a lot bigger than last year. See, I’ve grown this much,” pleaded the little unicorn, placing her right front hoof atop her horn and holding it out to show how tall she was. 
“Hmmm. I don’t know Ruby,” said Colton, deciding to have a little fun with his cousin. “I think you may have gotten a little shorter. What do you think Blues?”
“Oh, no doubt, she’s definitely smaller this year. This little filly hasn’t been eating her alfalfa.” Blues agreed, catching on.
Ruby frowned. “AWWWWW, c’mon Colton, stop teasing me! I can mash. I’ll be a good masher, I promise. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese.” 
“What did your mother say?” inquired Colton, knowing Ruby would have asked her mother first.
“We set up the mashers and she went over to get Caramel to tell him that we’re ready for him.”
“Well…” said Colton, placing his hoof under his chin, feigning deep contemplation. Ruby opened her eyes as wide as they would go, stuck out her lower lip and let it tremble a little.
“Oh alright, I guess you’re old enough.”
“YAAAAAAY!!!” exclaimed Ruby, hopping up and down so fast it made Blues’ eyes double in size in awe of her defiance of physics. “IMTHEMASHERIMTHEMASHERIMTHEMASHERIMTHEMASHERIMTHEMASHERIMTHEMASHER!!!!!” 
They headed up towards the shed, Blues pulling the cart and Ruby, now short of breath, on Colton’s back. Seyval and Lucky were already there starting to load the big masher. There were two mashers, a larger one and a smaller one. The larger one was operated by pushing four wooden bars around making the machine go around and around to mash the grapes into grape juice. The smaller one was just big enough for a pony to stand in. It was a Vine family tradition to make some of the grape juice by hoof. They loaded up the smaller masher and set Ruby to work squishing the grapes. Then they filled the other masher and began mashing those grapes. The cycle of harvesting and mashing went on for several hours with Colton and Ruby trading places as masher. They finished by midday, leaving two carts full of grape clusters for Berry and Caramel to take to Hoofington.
They all went inside to eat lunch. Colton went into his father’s old study and opened the safe. He counted out enough bits to pay Blues and Lucky for the day’s work and paid them. He even gave a few to Ruby, telling her that she had done well. Her eyes wide with glee, she ran to her room to place them in her piggy bank. Blues and Lucky bid them goodbye and left.
Colton turned to Seyval. “Can you watch Ruby while I go and pick up Daisy?”
“Sure thing, just don’t take too long. I’m going to the club tonight to watch Blues perform and try to cheer Lucky up. He’s been a little depressed since he and Lyra broke up.”
“Alright, I’ll be back before dinner,” said Colton. He opened the door and headed out into the midday sun towards Daisy’s house.
	
> Chapter 3: Miss Daisy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3: Miss Daisy


It was a gorgeous day. The weather team had cleared all but a few of the clouds in the sky. Ponies were busily bustling about their business. Daisy’s house and flower shop were near the center of town. Colton opened the door, causing the little bell above it to ring. The shop was filled with flowers of all sorts in vases and refrigerated glass cases. Rose and Lilly greeted him. They were Daisy’s friends and ran the shop with her. Rose had a cream coat and a rosy-colored mane and tail and a rose for a cutie mark. She was working near the front, organizing the display of flowers in the window. Lilly had a pink coat and a yellow mane and tail and three lilies for a cutie mark. She was sitting at a table using some flowers to make things like potpourri and perfume. Daisy was behind the cash register. He trotted up to her and said, “Good afternoon Miss Daisy.”
“Good afternoon, Sir,” she greeted cheerfully, “how may I assist you?”
“I would like to buy some flowers for the mare I’m seeing.” He said playfully. 
“What kind would you like?”
“Let’s see….how about a few daisies, a few chrysanthemums, and a few irises,” he said, naming her favorite flowers.
She got the flowers he requested and rapped them in paper. “Lovely, would you like to take them or should I have them sent to her?”
“If you could send them that would be terrific.”
“Who shall I send them to?”
“Send them to the mare whose beauty outshines Celestia’s sun every day. Send them to the mare that I’m about to kiss.”
With that he leaned over the counter, brushed her light green mane aside and gave her a peck on the forehead. She blushed, giving him that little smile she had that made his heart turn to water in his chest whenever he saw it.
“Thank you, darling, I’ve been having a rather bad day and I needed that.”
“Oh? What happened?” inquired the stallion.
“One of Rarity’s old friends from college made her the mare of honor for her wedding. She was ordering flowers today.”
“Uh oh,” Colton grimaced. When somepony was as detail-oriented and fussy as Rarity was planning a wedding, Colton did not want to be anywhere nearby.
“Yep, also I had to take a cold shower this morning because my water heater isn’t working, and I backed into a table, breaking one of my favorite vases and cut my leg.”
“Ouch,” said Colton, looking down at the large bandage wrapped around her left back leg. “Well, it looks like I got here just in time. Miss Daisy, I’m here to cordially invite you to dinner at my house. I have to watch Ruby tonight while Berry is in Hoofington and she would really like to see you.”
Daisy smiled and placed the bouquet in a vase on the counter. “Rose, Lilly, can you manage the shop for the rest of the day?”
Lilly nodded. 
“Sure thing,” agreed Rose.
“Thanks girls. Be sure to lock up when you leave and don’t forget to put compost on the garden out back. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Turning to Colton she asked, “should I bring anything? I have some clover soup in my fridge.”
“Alright,” said Colton. “I think Ruby would like that.”
She went through the door going upstairs to her apartment above the shop and returned a few moments later with the soup and some other things in her saddlebag.
“Well then, Daisy, shall we be off?” said Colton, holding the door open.
“Yes I believe we shall,” Daisy replied.
“Good day, ladies,” said Colton to the other two and closed the door behind him.
As they walked down the road, they talked. With the grape harvest done and autumn approaching, Colton would have a little more free time on his hooves. They tossed around a few ideas of some things they could do. Colton offered to come over and do some hoofycolt work around the house, like fixing the water heater. They talked about Colton’s fisherpony costume and Daisy’s ghost costume from the last nightmare night and considered doing something together this year. Daisy asked how Berry and Ruby were doing and told him how Rose and Lilly were. Apparently, Rose met a stallion through her friend Colgate, but the first date didn’t go very well because he thought she was somepony else with the same name. Colton laughed when Daisy did her impression of Rose’s reaction. She had said if she ever saw his hourglass-marked flank again, she’d kick it until it was bluer than the old phone box she noticed outside the restaurant.
	
> Chapter 4: That Evening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey, folks. A new semester just started so chapter updates are going to be a bit slower. Just bear with me.

Chapter 4: That evening

They arrived at the house about an hour before dinner time. Ruby came bolting out of her room as soon as she heard the door open. She tried to skid to a stop right in front of Daisy, but overshot it and bumped into the door, slamming it in Colton’s face. 
“Sorry, Colton,” she apologized, opening the door for him.
“Are you alright?” asked Daisy, concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, rubbing his nose. 
Upon seeing that he had been relieved of duty, Seyval said goodbye and went out to meet with Lucky. Ruby began hopping up and down.
“Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! Guess what,” exclaimed Ruby,
“What, sweetie?”
“I can do magic now!”
“Really?” said Daisy, eyes widening a little bit in surprise. Colton’s eyes went wide as well. He didn’t think Ruby was old enough for her magic to manifest yet. She must have been growing faster than he thought.
Ruby took a deep breath. “It happened last night. I was in bed and I thought I saw something scary, but couldn’t get momma ‘cause she was at the party and I remembered what momma said about stuff that scares you, so I looked right at it and said, ‘I’m not scared of you’ and then I felt this funny tingling on my forehead and my horn started glowing and my room got brighter. When I looked at the scary thing, it was just a shadow. *gasp* I was gonna tell you all this morning but when I heard Daisy was coming over I wanted to wait to tell her.”
Daisy smiled. “That’s terrific, sweetheart! I’m so proud of you. Your mom will be thrilled when she gets back.” 
Colton smiled as well. “Good job, Ruby. You should tell Daisy what else you did today.”
“I got to be the masher today and squish the grapes and make grape juice!” She was smiling ear to ear with pride.
“Wow! Look at you growing up so fast and getting all these privileges.”
“Yep,” agreed Ruby. “Ummm….what are privileges?”
“Privileges are things that you get to do when you’re old enough,” explained Daisy. “And do you know what privilege you get when you’re old enough to be the masher?”
“Which one? Which one?” asked Ruby.
“You get to help Colton and I make dinner.”
“Yay!”
“Hold on a second,” objected Colton. Ruby began to pull out her sad, pleading face. “Don’t worry, Ruby, you still get to help,” he assured her. The little filly’s smile of delight returned. “But,” he continued, “Daisy is our guest and the guest doesn’t cook. You get to help me cook for Daisy.”
“Alright, Colton” said Ruby, heading for the kitchen. “What happened to your leg, Daisy?”
“I backed to a table and knocked a vase over,” she replied.
Colton and Ruby went into the kitchen. Daisy stayed by the little window in the half wall separating the kitchen and the dining room. Colton helped Ruby make bread dough and put it in the oven. Then he put the clover soup on the stove. He had Ruby bring him the vegetables while he chopped them up and made a salad. He pulled out the dishes and had her set the table while he went to the basement and brought up some of the grape juice she had made. When the soup had been heated, he set it at the table and took the bread out of the oven and sliced it. Ruby placed the butter and the condiments on the table while Colton poured the grape juice. They placed the bread and the salad on the table and they all sat down to eat. After dinner, Colton and Ruby took the dishes into the kitchen and washed them.
“Alright Ruby,” said Colton once they had finished, “what would you like to do until bedtime?” 
“Can we play go fish?”
“I’ll go get the deck.” 
Colton went into the closet in the living room, brought out the cards and laid them on the table. They played three games of go fish, Daisy winning one and Ruby the other two. They were about to start their fourth game when Colton looked at the clock.
“Looks like it’s about time to head to bed, Ruby. Go brush your teeth,” he said.
“Just one more game, Colton. I’m not even that (yawn) sleepy yet.”
“Go brush your teeth and then you can pick out a bedtime story for me to read.”
“The Princess and the Gentlecolt!” she exclaimed, naming her favorite story.
“Alright, go brush your teeth and get into bed I’ll put the cards away and get the book.” Colton and Daisy put the cards together in their stack, placed them in the closet and went to Ruby’s room. Colton got the book off her shelf while the little filly hopped into bed and Daisy tucked her in.
“Ready for the story, Ruby?” asked Colton coming to the side of the bed and sitting down.
“Yes, but make sure that you do the voices. Daisy you be the Princess and Colton will be the narrator and the Gentlecolt.”
“Okay, let’s get started.”
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess. The princess was the most beautiful and regal in all the land. The princess also loved beautiful things. In fact, ponies from all over Equestria came to admire the beautiful artwork, jewels and sculptures at the palace. The princess had one problem, though. She was afraid of dirt. If ever even a speck of dirt touched her beautiful coat, she would faint and had to take at least three baths before she felt clean again. Because of this fear, she never left the palace and became very lonely. So one day she thought to herself…
Daisy used her most elegant voice to play the part of the princess. “’I shall host a grand ball and invite every pony in the kingdom to attend. Then I will have many ponies to talk to and won’t have to go out and risk getting dirty.” 
So that’s what she started doing. The princess would hold a ball almost every night. There was a lot of good food and dancing and everypony who was anypony was there. Then one night, she held a masquerade ball. All her guests came wearing bright clothes and mysterious masks. Suddenly, a gentlecolt approached and asked the princess to dance. He was wearing a black mask with a wide-brimmed black hat and a long, black cape. She accepted his invitation and they began. He was a very good dancer and she was very impressed at how well they danced together. As they danced, their eyes met. He had the most beautiful blue eyes that she had ever seen. They continued dancing for the rest of the ball. When the ball ended, the two went to one of the palace balconies overlooking the royal garden. 
“My dear sir,” said the princess, “you are truly one of the best stallions that I have had the pleasure of dancing with. Might I see you at the ball again tomorrow?”
“Yes, princess, I will attend your next ball. But may I ask you a question?”
“Anything”, said the princess.
“Your beauty and your love of beautiful things is unrivaled by anypony in the land. Why then do you keep all of this beauty hidden away in this castle? Why not go out and see all the other beauty this world has to offer.”
“I do so because I have no desire to get dirty” the princess explained. “Why should I go out and get dirty when I can see the beauty of the world from my clean palace?”
The gentlecolt sighed. “It is true that you can see the beauty of the world from this palace, but you cannot see all of it. Look out there at the gardens. Do you see the group of large trees in the very center?”
“Yes, I do.”
“In the middle of those trees exists a flower of great beauty. When the full moon is at its highest point in the sky, it shines on the petals of this flower and they illuminate for a few moments, creating a glow more beautiful than the purest diamond. It is the last of its kind. If it is removed from those trees, it will die and there will be no more. If you wish to see this flower, you will have to go into the garden. I will help you, but we must hurry, for the full moon is nearing its peak.”
The princess greatly desired to see this flower and agreed to go with him. The two went to the entrance to the garden. The gentlecolt then carried the princess upon his back to the place where the trees were. He carried her into the trees and she beheld the flower. It was truly the most magnificent flower she had ever seen. She tried to find a way to describe it, but could not and was content to just sit there and gaze at it. Unfortunately, the gentlecolt had not been able to walk fast enough with her upon his back and they had missed the extravagant sight he had described. He took her back to the palace and they agreed to meet after the ball the next night and visit the flower again. He kissed her hoof and bid her goodnight and she retired to her chambers.
This became their routine every night. They would dance at the ball until everypony had departed. Then the princess would climb upon the gentlecolt’s back and they would go and see the flower. While they walked towards the trees, the princess looked at the various other flowers in the garden. She had never seen them this close before and she began to develop a greater appreciation of their beauty. When they reached the flower, the gentlecolt would lay his cape upon the ground and they would sit on it and talk. As the days and weeks went by, a change came over the princess. She became less and less afraid of the dirt. She could even touch it without fainting. Also, as she became more acquainted with the gentlecolt, she began to realize she was falling in love with him. Their routine continued until the next night of the full moon. The princess could hardly wait for the ball to be over because she was so excited about seeing the magnificent sight of which the gentlecolt spoke. Finally the ball ended and the two set off towards the flower. The moon was already nearing its highest point. As they entered the garden, however, the gentlecolt tripped and hurt his leg. He could not walk with her upon his back.
“Whatever shall we do?” asked the princess.
“You must go to see the flower on your own. If you hurry, you can still make it.”
“No, the flower will not be nearly as beautiful to me if you are not by my side. Come, lean on me and we shall go together.”
So they walked together. They reached the center with a few moments left to spare. A sudden realization came over the princess and she squealed with glee.
“I did it!” she exclaimed. “I did it. I’m not afraid of getting dirty anymore! Thank you! Thank you, darling. I could not have done it without you.”
Just then the moon reached its highest point and the flower illuminated. The sight was even more beautiful then the princess could ever have imagined. She turned to the gentlecolt and said, 
“I love you,” said Daisy, now leaning against Colton’s side, looking deeply into his blue eyes.
The gentlecolt turned back to her and replied,
“I love you too,” said Colton, gazing back into her green eyes.
The princess and the gentlecolt went to see the flower many times after that night. The princess was never afraid of the dirt again and would even go out to see the beauty of the world and share it with others. The gentlecolt was her constant companion and eventually, they got married and lived happily ever after.
“The end,” said Colton, finishing the story. He looked down to see Ruby fast asleep, holding her favorite stuffed toy. “Good night, Ruby,” he whispered. Daisy kissed the little filly on the forehead and they both left the room.
Colton turned to Daisy, wrapped a hoof around her neck and kissed her on the forehead. “Thanks for coming over,” he said. “It always amazes me how incredible you are with her.” They made their way over to the couch in the living room and sat down. “I think she sees you as an older sister.”
“I think you’re right,” she agreed leaning against his side. “It’s amazing to me how quickly she’s growing up.”
“I know. Berry got all the parenting books the library had when Ruby was born. She told me they never prepare you for that. I’m so proud of the filly she’s becoming.”
“I am too.”
They continued talking until Seyval came home. His night had been a bust. Blues couldn’t come because Bluenote was in town. Seyval and Lucky were having fun until Lyra came to the club on a girls’ night out with her friends Bon Bon, and Vinyl. Upon seeing her, Lucky wouldn’t leave the bar, drowning his sorrows in sarsaparilla and salt blocks.
Colton packed up Daisy’s things and they started the walk towards her house. 
“Oh, by the way,” he said, “I put a jar of grape juice in your saddlebag. It was the final jar that we made by hoof this year. My father always told me that if you give the last jar of the year to a loved one, it will bring good luck to both them and you.”
“Thank you, Colton. That was very sweet of you.” She leaned into his side and he smiled as he felt the warmth of her body against his own. They walked on in silence, just enjoying each other’s company until they reached Daisy’s house. 
“Good night, Miss Daisy,” he said.
Daisy leaned in and their eyes closed as their lips met. 
“Good night, Colton,” she said and went inside.
	
> Ch. 5: Memories and the thought
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Chapter 5: Memories and the thought
To say he was happy would have been the understatement of the century. As he walked home, Colton thought about Daisy. When he was with her time seemed to slow down and he wished that those moments would last forever. He loved her with every fiber of his being and he could see by the way her eyes lit up when she saw him that she felt the same way. 
He remembered the day they first met. It was the middle of autumn and Caramel Toffee needed some extra help, so Colton had volunteered. He was wearing a vest and hat with the name of Caramel’s moving company imprinted on it and he was on his way home when he noticed her. She was straining to pull a very heavily-laden cart down the street while carrying two sets of saddlebags. He had never seen her before and figured she was new in town. Being raised to be a gentlecolt, he trotted over to and offered his help.
“I’m sorry,” she had said, “I don’t have the money to hire a mover.”
“What?” he said, confused, then remembering the hat and vest explained, “Oh, no, I don’t actually work for a moving company. My friend Caramel owns one and he needed some extra help. He gave me these because it’s good advertizing. I’ll help you for free, if you like.”
“Oh...Well thank you,” she said, moving from the wagon. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“It’s nothing at all.” he said, hooking up to the wagon and beginning to pull. “Besides, it’s supposed to rain in a little while and we can’t have a pretty lady like you catching a cold on your first day in Ponyville.”
She blushed and turned away.
“Uhh…er…that is…I mean..” he tried to cover up, realizing what he had just said to a complete stranger. His face turned beet red.
“I’m right around this corner,” she said, indicating he should turn right. 
“So…where are you from?” he asked, trying to move on from the awkward moment. 
“I moved here from Fillydelphia. I’m Daisy, by the way.”
“Wait..You pulled this cart all the way from Fillydelphia all by yourself?!” he said, surprised.
“No, I didn’t. I had hired a moving company, but I only had enough money to take me part of the way. I pulled it for the last few miles. I told them that my sister lived in town and I could get the rest from her, but they wouldn’t listen.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Caramel would have taken you up on your offer,” he said. “Who’s your sister?”
“Her name is Carrot. She’s a yellow earth pony…”
“…with a very curly orange mane and tail and three carrots for a cutie mark?” he finished for her. “I know Carrot. She’s actually my neighbor.”
“Oh really! What a coincidence. Well, it looks like we’re here.”
Sure enough, they had arrived.
“Do you need any help moving things in? I don’t really have anywhere else to be for a while.”
“I’d like that. Thank you,” she said. “Oh, by the way, I didn’t get your name.”
“Colton. Colton Vines, ma’am.” He replied, tipping his hat. “Well, it’s actually Colton Vines III, but not many ponies know that.”
“I’ll be sure to keep it quiet, then. How about we get this stuff inside before it rains, Colton?”
“Whatever you say, Miss Daisy.”
That day was one of his fondest memories. As he continued walking, other memories began coming up. He remembered their first date. It was a few months after she had moved. He asked her to come to the restaurant where Blues was playing his saxophone. On a spur of the moment, Blues decided to debut a love song he had written called Our First Date. He also made a point of dedicating it to the two of them. Their faces had changed from yellow and pink to bright red. Blues hadn’t played it in a while, but Colton still remembered how it went.
Standin’ right outside your house I straighten up my tie.
I’m feelin’ mighty nervous, sweetheart I won’t lie
You open up your big front door, and that’s when my heart hits the floor
My heart just melts when I look in your eyes
Cause it’s our first date 

The times roll by to our first kiss
I’m holding you as we lock lips
All of time just fades away, as I think back to yesterday
Your hoofs around my neck, my heartbeat skips
I think back to our first date.

I’ve got a ring and I’m on my knees
I’m asking you if you would please
Make me the happiest stallion, cause you’re one in a million
and I’ve always been so glad from that one day
You make me happy in so many ways
Ever since our first date
He would have to get Blues to record that for him to give to Daisy. She’d like that. He only had a few minutes left of walking when the memory of their first kiss resurfaced in his mind. Winter had just been wrapped up (late again) and he was helping her plant some new daisies in her back yard. He was more familiar with planting grape vines and didn’t quite have the skills needed to plant daisies. But Daisy was a patient teacher and eventually he was planting the flowers as if it were his cutie mark. He had managed to accrue quite a bit of mud during the process, so Daisy got a wet rag and began to clean his face. As she was cleaning, their eyes met and before he knew it, their faces were within inches of each other. He reached his left hoof up, pushed away a few stray strands of her mane and gazed into her deep green eyes.  She put her front legs around his neck. They both closed their eyes and moved toward each other. As their mouths touched, he felt his heart start beating faster. A wave of pure joy washed over him and he put his arms around her neck. When their lips left each other they tilted their heads forward so their foreheads touched and just sat there, living in the moment. That had been his first kiss ever.
He thought back to other memories as well, such as their first fight, the first time he met her parents, the first time she met his mother, and the day she met Seyval, Berry and Ruby. Each and every one of the memories he thought of made him realize how much he loved her and how lucky he was to be with her. 
All through his walk down memory lane, a thought had come up from the depths of his mind. The thought had crossed his mind before, but only now did he seriously ponder it. With each step down memory lane, the thought grew in strength and resolve until it became an idea so big not even Celestia could stop it. He arrived at home and practically floated through the door.
Aunt Berry had returned and she, Seyval and Caramel were sitting at the dining room table, having tea and talking about Hoofington.
“Hey there, lover boy,” Seyval teased. “What’s got you walking on air?”
“How was your evening? Did Ruby get to bed alright?” asked Berry.
“Yes, she did,” Colton replied. “I have something I want to tell you all, but I need you to keep it among us. You can’t even tell Ruby.”
“No problem,” said Seyval. 
“Of course,” said Berry. 
Caramel nodded.
Colton was glad he had such a wonderful, supportive family. As he looked at the ponies around the table, he knew they would help him put his idea into action.  Face beaming with the biggest smile he ever had in his life, he told them his idea.
“I’m going to ask Daisy to marry me!”
	
> Chapter 6: Permission
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 6: Permission

Colton opened his eyes as the late morning sun’s rays hit his face through the small gap in his curtains. He firmly shut them in response to the small explosion in his head. He decided to turn on his other side and try again. This time he was rewarded with only a throbbing ache. He slowly sat up and remembered the night before. The reaction to his news had been a different one from each of its recipients. Caramel’s reaction had been a congratulatory hoofshake and a slap on the back, followed by a “congratulations, Colton. She’s a lucky mare.” His back still felt a little sore. Seyval had reacted with the statement, “about time! Lucky owes me five bits!” which earned him a slap to the back of the head from Berry as she came around for a hug. “Congratulations, Colton,” she said, “I’m so happy for you!” They broke out a couple of bottles of wine and talked late into the night. After a few glasses, Colton’s warm and fuzzy feeling for Daisy was joined by a different kind of warm and fuzzy feeling. Looking down, he realized he hadn’t even bothered to climb under the covers when he went to bed. 
Sitting up, he rubbed his head in a futile attempt to ease his headache. He walked through the bathroom door to the right of his bed. He had only woken up with a hangover a couple of times in his life and had discovered a shower followed by a cup of Berry’s special tea helped. He turned on the water and climbed in once it was warm enough. As he stood there with the water running down his neck and back, he thought about what last night’s decision would entail. He began making a mental to-do list. He would have to tell his mother, which would mean going to Hoofington. He also needed to ask Daisy’s parents’ permission. Luckily they had recently moved to Hoofington, so he could probably tackle both of those tasks in one day. He needed to buy Daisy a ring, which would probably prove to be rather expensive, but he had enough bits saved away that he would be able to get a good one.
The final task facing him would undoubtedly be the hardest; actually proposing. He began running through ideas to try and figure out how. He could recreate their first date, but the restaurant they had gone to had gone out of business. A few other ideas came up, but were all shot down. He would have to think about that later.
He finished his shower and dried off. After giving his mane and tail a quick brush, he headed toward the kitchen. Berry greeted him in the dining room.
“Morning, sleepyhead, I’ve already got your tea ready and there are fresh grapes on the table.”
Colton sat down at the table and took a sip. The strange concoction tasted rather sour, but his headache felt about twenty percent better. “Thanks, Aunt Berry.” He noticed that she was putting on her saddlebags. “Where are you off to?”
“I’m going to Zecora’s to get more of that tea and then I’m taking some over to Caramel. Your brother’s still sleeping it off and Ruby went next door to play with Dinky Doo. I should be back for lunch. What’s your plan for the day?”
“I think I’ll go to Hoofington to tell mom the news.”
“Alright, tell her I said hi,” she said and headed out the door.
“Okay”
Colton sat there finishing his tea and eating some grapes for a few minutes then packed his saddlebags for the trip to Hoofington. He packed some grapes and some apples for lunch and a few bits, just in case. He left a note for Seyval on the table and headed out the door.
It always took Berry and Caramel all day to get to Hoofington and back, but they were pulling carts of grapes when they went. Being less burdened, he made better time and was there in a few hours, having stopped for lunch under a shady tree along the way. The city of Hoofington was on the edge of the sea, so the entire west side was made up of docks. Colton headed for the more suburban east side of town. It had been a while since he had been there, but he managed to find his mother’s house. It was a small, single story, yellow house a few buildings down from the winery her parents owned. He walked up the front walk and rang the doorbell. 
“Colton!” exclaimed his mother when she opened the door, “Hello, darling. What a nice surprise. How have you been?” Her mane was the same magenta color as Berry. She had a light yellow coat like Colton’s and her cutie mark was the same, but instead of the grapes being light green they were a deep purple., the same color as her eyes. She invited him in and they chatted for a little while.
“…and how are you and Daisy doing, dear?” she asked.
“Actually, mom, that’s why I’m here, I came to tell you that I’ve decided to ask Daisy to marry me.”
“Oh, darling, that’s wonderful news!” she said, an elated look of joy on her face as she pulled him into a hug. She turned and looked over at the mantle above the fireplace. It was filled with picture frames. Starting at the ends were pictures of him and Seyval as little colts, getting progressively older as they approached the center. In the very center was a large photograph of his mother in her wedding dress. Next to her stood a tan earth pony with light blue hair the same color as Colton’s. He wore a tuxedo and a very goofy smile. “Your father would be so proud of you. I remember the night you brought Daisy over to meet us. After the two of you left, do you know what he said? He said, ‘Honey, if our son doesn’t ask that mare to marry him, I’ll ask her to marry him myself.’” 
Colton laughed loudly. Smiling, his mother continued. “We used to sit by that fireplace dreaming about watching you and Seyval find that special someone and hearing the clip-clop of little grandfoals’s hooves running through the house. I can still hear him talking about it whenever I sit there.” 
The two talked for another hour about plans that Colton had for the future. When he was about ready to leave, his mother said, “Hold on, dear, I have something for you.” She went into her bedroom and returned a moment later with a small box. Upon opening the box, Colton saw it contained a ring large enough to fit around a front hoof. It was gold with six gems embedded in equal spaces around the circumference. Five were small sapphires in red, orange, pink, blue and purple. The sixth gem was a deep red fire ruby, a little larger than the other gems, in the shape of a heart. Colton had seen it before. It was his mother’s wedding ring. 
“Mom, Dad gave this to you. I can’t-“
“Yes, you can,” she interjected. “Take the ring and give it to Daisy. Your father would want you to have it.” She gave him a big hug and he put the ring in his saddle bags with no further objections. He bid his mother goodbye and walked down the street. 
After he left, his mother closed the door and walked over to the mantle. She reached out and touched the picture of her husband. Tears of joy fell from her eyes. “They grow up so fast, don’t they dear?” 
As he walked towards where Daisy’s parents lived, Colton began rehearsing what he would say to them. As he walked down the street he felt parasprites tingling in his stomach, another coming in to join them with every step he took. Not looking where he was going, he was startled as he bumped into another pony, causing both of them fall down. 
“Oh no, I am so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going,” he apologized.
The brown earth pony got up and began brushing off the long coat he was wearing. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, revealing an accent Colton didn’t recognize. “I wasn’t paying that much attention myself. I was busy admiring those statues…over…there…”
The brown stallion‘s face changed to a look of terror as he looked to his left. They were looking at the entrance to a small park surrounded by a hedge with an archway over the entrance. There was a statue of a pony on one side, but not on the other. Colton, not seeing anything peculiar, gave him a quizzical look. 
“Oh, no!” exclaimed the stallion. Turning to Colton, he grabbed his shoulders and, with a very serious look on his face, said, “If you see that missing statue again, keep looking at it, and don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead. Do you understand?”
Colton, eyes wide with shock at the sudden outburst, could only nod his head quickly.
“Alright,” said the stallion as he pulled a small silver device from his coat. Taking it in his mouth, he reared up, saying “Allons-y!” and galloped off towards the park. Colton watched him gallop off for a moment, and then shook his head. ‘Must have eaten some poison joke,’ he thought to himself.
He continued on until he reached the house where Daisy’s parents lived. He paused at the door, calming himself for a few minutes. As he reached up to knock, the door opened, surprising him and causing him to fall foreword onto the doormat. A dark brown stallion with a darker brown mane that was beginning to show a little grey stepped out.
“Colton?” Daisy’s father asked. “What are you doing on the ground?”
Quickly getting up, Colton blushed and gave him a nervous smile then extended his hoof, saying, “Hello, sir. Good to see you again.”
“Good to see you too, my boy” he said, returning the hoofshake. “But remember what I told you last time. I hate being called ‘sir.’ Call me Briar.”
“Sorry…Briar,” Colton said, not completely comfortable calling the stallion by his first name.
“That’s alright. Come on in.” The two walked into the small living room of the house. It had a light green carpet and two light yellow sofas on opposite sides of the room, embroidered with small green vines and a wide variety of flowers. In the corner stood a grandfather clock, ticking away the seconds. A small potted tree rested by a window with magenta drapes, soaking up the afternoon sun. 
“So Colton, what brings you all the way out here?” asked Briar sitting on a sofa. “Is everything alright with Daisy?”
Colton placed his saddlebags on the other sofa and sat down. “Uh...yes, everything’s fine. Better than fine actually, it’s great,” he said nervously. “I. uh, actually came over to, uh…ask you something.”
“Oh really, what did you want to ask me?”
“I…uuhh...” Colton stammered, fidgeting nervously for a few moments.
“Well…spit it out, boy. Are you feeling alright?”
“Uuhh…”
Suddenly, the front door opened. As the two stallions looked over, a yellow mare with an orange mane stepped in. 
“Carrot, you’re here!” said Briar. “Come on, have a seat. Colton was just going to ask me something, and then we can go to dinner.”
“Colton?” asked Carrot Top, surprised. “What are you doing here?” Colton kicked himself for not remembering that Daisy and her sister alternated having dinner with their parents every week. He smiled at her nervously. She looked at him carefully, noticing something was off. Suddenly, a realization struck her and she gasped loudly, eyes as big as saucers. “Oh…my…Celestia! You’re asking his permission!” Colton stared at her in absolute shock, mouth agape. 
“Huh? Permission for what?” asked Briar, confused.
“Go on, ask him!” encouraged Carrot. 
Colton turned to Briar and decided to just spit it out. “Sir…Briar.” He inwardly kicked himself. “I would like to ask you for permission to marry Daisy.”
A tense silence filled the room, the moments ticking by on the clock seeming like hours to Colton. ‘Oh no,’ he thought, ‘what will I do if he says no?’
“Colton,” Briar finally replied, “You’re a wonderful young stallion, and I know that Daisy thinks the world of you. I can see how much she loves you every time she looks at you. I know that you’ll take good care of her and I would be honored to call you my son-in-law.”
Colton nearly jumped out of his seat.
“But,” Briar continued. Colton’s heart sank. “I’m afraid I can only give you Daisy’s hoof. You’ll have to ask her mother for the rest of her.”
“Oh father,” groaned Carrot, rolling her eyes, “forever the comedian.”
Colton breathed a sigh of relief. 
“She’s meeting us at the restaurant. You can ask her there.”
The three left the house and headed for the restaurant. On the way, Colton walked up alongside Carrot.
“How did you know what I was here for so quickly?” he asked.
“You know how Pinkie Pie has her Pinkie sense? It’s a lot like that. I’ve read so many romance novels I can see a proposal coming a mile away,” she stated with pride.
“Well, thank you. I wasn’t sure I would ever get that question out.”
“No problem, brother-in-law-to-be.”
They arrived at the restaurant. It was a little place right on the cusp of where the docks became the residential area. It was called ‘The Run Aground’ and it quite literally had a theme that was half sea and half land. The outside resembled a ship that had crashed onto the shore. Half of the inside was designed to look like you were under water. There were fish painted on the blue walls and a fish bowl centerpiece on each table. The other half was designed to look like a tropical island. It had sunny skies and beaches painted on the walls and little palm tree centerpieces on the tables. Daisy’s mother, Fern, waved them over from a table on the beach side. 
Daisy and Fern were near spitting images of each other. The only differences were that Fern’s slightly darker green hair, which she straightened and held back with a hairpin, had a few streaks of silver in it. Her hairpin matched her cutie mark, the branch of a fern with seven leaves.
“Hey, honey!” Briar greeted her. “Look who dropped by to see us.”
“Colton! It’s good to see you! What brings you all the way from Ponyville?” she asked. 
The three of them each took a seat at the table. Carrot bit her lip trying to suppress her excitement. Feeling a little more confident, Colton answered Fern’s question. He asked her for her permission to marry Daisy.  Fern remained silent for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, but the waitress came over to take their order. They each placed their order and then Fern began asking Colton various questions. Some of them were about plans for the future, like where he intended them to live, and how he would be able to provide for her. He answered each of the questions as best he could. Fern gave no indication either way as to whether his answers were to her satisfaction or not. Their food arrived as she reached her last question.
“Alright, Colton, this is my last question. I think I already know the answer to this but I want to hear it from you. I want you to describe to me how much you love her.”
Colton did not even hesitate. “I love her more than life itself. Whenever we’re apart I want to be with her and when I’m with her I never want to leave. I never would have thought it would be possible for anyone to have this much love for someone.” He pulled out the box with the ring in it. “This was my mother’s wedding ring that she gave me to give to Daisy. My father had it made for her. Are you familiar with the Elements of Harmony?” Fern nodded. “Each of the gems represents one of the elements. My parents used to read us stories and teach us about the elements and what it meant to live out each one when we were young. I plan to live by each element with Daisy. I will be loyal, never leaving her side no matter what comes our way. I will be honest, keeping nothing hidden between us. I will be kind in what I say and how I act. I will make sure she always has a reason to laugh or smile. I will be generous to the point of sacrificing my wants and needs to make sure she has hers. Normally the sixth element is magic, but my father said that the sixth element in a marriage is unconditional love. It is the thing that truly makes the two into one. He said it was a love that never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. That is the love that I have for Daisy and I will strive to uphold that love in our relationship until death parts us.”
Fern smiled. “Colton,” she said, taking Briar’s hoof in hers, “you have our permission and our blessing. Welcome to the family.” 

> Chapter 7: Preparations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 7: Preparations

The four finished their meal, smiles plastered on their faces at the additions coming to their families. They only had a few hours of sunlight left when they left the restaurant. Carrot hugged Briar and Fern goodbye. Briar gave Colton a hoofshake and a slap on the back, wishing him luck with the proposal. Fern insisted on hugging her soon-to-be son-in-law. Then Carrot and Colton set out on the long trip back to Ponyville, talking on the way.
“Sorry about stealing your night with your parents, Carrot,” Colton apologized.
She smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Good news like this is a welcome interruption.”
“Thank you. By the way, I never asked you what you think about this. Do I fit your standards of someone suitable to marry your sister?”
Carrot stopped trotting for a moment. “Hmmm, I’m not sure,” she said, feigning thought. She walked in circles around him a few times, looking him over. “I suppose you’ll do. Just remember one thing,” she said, resuming her trot. “If you hurt her, I live next door to you with a very mischievous filly and her mother who will devoid a refrigerator of anything edible at a moment’s notice. And the two of them will do anything for my carrot muffins.”
“Duly noted,” Colton replied, knowing Ditzy and Dinky Doo would not be his only problems if he crossed Carrot.
“I’m glad we understand each other. So…have you thought about how you’re going to pop the question?”
“Yes I have, and I know exactly how I’m going to do it. The idea came to me when I was eating lunch on the way over here. I’m going to need your help to pull it off, though.”
“Oh? What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to go to Daisy’s house at about lunch time and take her to your house until about four. That should give me enough time to go around town getting what I need. Then, take her shopping or to the spa or something. I’ll repay you for anything you spend on her. Just keep her away from her house until about six o’clock, and then bring her home and have her put on something formal. Make sure you don’t let her see her backyard at any point of the day. If she gets suspicious, which she will, just tell her you’re helping me with a surprise.”
“How are you going to propose?” she asked, deeply curious.
“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you eventually. But right now I need you to be in the dark. You know how intuitive Daisy is and if you know anything, she’ll pick up on it.”
“Alright,” she said, a slight twinge of frustration at not knowing.
The two of them continued on. By the time they reached Ponyville, Luna’s moon had risen. Tomorrow it would be full, the perfect setting for his proposal. 
They parted ways and went into their respective houses. Colton walked through the front door. 
“Hi, Colton, where were you all day?” Ruby greeted him.
“Why are you still awake? You should have been in bed over an hour ago.”
“Seyval was playing charades with me to get me sleepy, but then he fell asleep.”
Colton looked in the living room. Sure enough, there was his brother splayed out on the floor fast asleep, snoring softly and drooling a little on the carpet. 
Colton chuckled, and then turned to Ruby. “Where’s your mom?”
“Caramel came over and they went to Sugarcube Corner. She said she won’t be home till late.”
“Okay, well, it’s time you were in bed.”
“Okay,” Ruby agreed, and walked to her room.
“I’ll be there in a minute to tuck you in.” 
Colton went over to his brother and woke him up.
“Hmmf…huh...wuh?” the cream stallion mumbled. “Oh, hi,” he said groggily, noticing Colton. “How was your trip?”
Colton told him about their mother giving him her ring, running into Carrot, and Daisy’s parents’ reactions. Seyval laughed when he told him about the strange, brown stallion. Once his brother regained his composure, Colton began to describe his plan to him for tomorrow, enlisting his help in setting some things up. Seyval agreed to meet him at Daisy’s tomorrow afternoon and went to bed.
Colton went to Ruby’s room to tuck her in. She was already in bed, thinking to herself. 
“Colton,” she asked as he came in, “can I ask you a question?”
“What is it, Ruby?” he said, walking over and sitting by her bed.
“How did you get your cutie mark?”
“Did I never tell you that story?” Ruby shook her head. “Alright. It happened shortly after I was old enough to help out in the field. My dad and I were planting a few new vines.
“Can I carry some of the baby vines, dad?” asked Colton, pulling a small wagon behind him to mimic how his father pulled a cart with several small grape vines resting in small buckets of water to keep the roots wet.
“Alright, Colton,” agreed his father and placed a few of them in the wagon. The two walked out to where the new grapes were to be planted and unhitched themselves from their respective cart and wagon. 
“Okay, son, I’ve already set up some bamboo sticks that the vines will be able to climb once they start growing. First we need to dig holes to plant the vines in.” His father began digging next to a pole and Colton followed suit near a pole a few feet away.
“Like this, dad?”
“Good job. Try making it a little bit deeper. You want the entire root system to be below the dirt line.”
Colton did as he was told and smiled proudly at his work. ”Now what, dad?”
“Now we plant the vines in the holes. Be careful, they’re little, so they’re very delicate.” His father walked over to his cart and Colton to his wagon and they each retrieved one of the one and a half foot tall vines from their buckets. Colton was very careful not to bite too hard as he carried the vine in his teeth. He placed it carefully in the hole and held it up while he filled the hole with dirt around the vine. When he was done he looked at the vine and frowned a bit. It was cooked.
Noticing his frown, his father smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Colton. You got the right end up and that’s all that matters.”
Colton laughed. “Okay, dad. What now?”
“Now we need to give them a gratuitous amount of water.”
“Gratuey…gratui..what?”
“Gratuitous. It means a lot.” 
“Ooooh.” Colton went and grabbed one of the buckets of water from his wagon and poured it on the ground near the plant. The two repeated the entire process until all the other vines were planted.
“Now what?”asked Colton, wiping his forehead and leaving a streak of dirt.
His father wrapped a hoof around him. “Now, son, we wait. We’ve given them good soil to grow in, we’ve made sure they have plenty to drink, and Celestia will give them the sunlight they need. All they need now is time and lots of love and care.
Everyday thereafter, Colton checked on the vines that he had planted. He made sure they always had everything they needed. As the months passed he helped his parents with the other vines in the vineyard, learning how to train the vines to grow up the trellises, how to harvest the grapes when the time came and about all the things they made the grapes into. But he would always spend time with his vines every day.
Eventually, his vines grew big and tall and began growing clusters of green grapes. Finally, the time came to harvest them. His father pulled down the first cluster of grapes and offered him some. He took a few in his mouth and bit down. They were the sweetest, juiciest, most delicious grapes he had ever tasted in his life. 
“Wow! Those are amazing!” he said after he swallowed.
“Better then any you’ve ever had before right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Do you know why they taste like that?” Colton shook his head. “It’s because you worked so hard to help them grow. You just tasted the fruits of your labor, Colton, and believe me, there is no fruit in the world that tastes better than that. I’m very proud of you, son.”He pulled Colton into a hug.
Suddenly there was a small flash and Colton felt a tingling sensation in his flanks. He turned and looked. There, emblazoned on his rump, were two clusters of the very same grapes he had just tasted. The fruits of his labor.
“…and I knew that I wanted to grow grapes for the rest of my life.”
“Wow,” said Ruby. “That’s a good story.” She looked down forlornly at her flank. “When do you think I’ll get my cutie mark?”
“I don’t know, Ruby. You just have to be patient. It’ll come when you’re ready. But I can tell you this; when it does come, you’ll realize that it could never have been anything else.”
“Alright.” She laid back onto her pillow and yawned. “Goodnight, Colton.”
“Goodnight, Ruby. Sweet dreams.” He tucked her in, went to his room and climbed into bed. He lay there for a while, thinking about tomorrow, hoping his plan would go well. Some pieces had been put in place already and he would take care of the rest tomorrow. Slowly, tiredness overtook him and he nodded off.

*****

The next morning, Colton woke up and set to work. He ate his breakfast and got his chores done. Then he started preparing for that night. He went into the kitchen and gathered some supplies for dinner, packing them in his saddlebag. He pulled a suit out of the closet, carefully folded it and packed it in the bag as well. As he was eating lunch, he made a mental checklist of all the things he would need and all the places he should go to get them. He was just finishing his lunch when he heard a knock at the door. 
“Hi, Mister Colton,” said the little grey unicorn filly at his doorstep. “Carrot said to come over here and tell you that Daisy is over there so you can go ahead with the plan. Can Ruby come over to play? Canshecanshecanshe? Please?” She began to do a little dance, shuffling her hooves in anticipation.
Colton smiled. Dinky Doo was infamous for her inability to sit, stand or do anything still. He swore if she ran fast enough, she could do a sonic rainboom along the ground. 
“Hello, Dinky. Yes, Ruby can come over. I’ll go-“
“Hi, Dinky!” said Ruby, bounding out the door. “Let’s go!”
The two fillies dashed over to Carrot’s house.
“-get her,” Colton finished. The endless energy of those two amazed him sometimes.
Colton grabbed his saddlebags and went to the storage closet. He grabbed the last few things he would need from the house. He went to his room and grabbed enough bits to pay for the rest of the stuff he had to buy and set off toward town; his first stop, Carousel Boutique.

*****

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique. How may I help you today?” said the white unicorn that ran the shop.
“Hello, Miss Rarity. I need to have this suit pressed, please,” said Colton, bringing it out. 
“Of course,” she said, taking in her magic. “I’ll have it done in a few minutes if you would care to wait.”
“Thank you.”
She placed the suit on a workbench, went over to the stairs and called up. “Sweetie Belle, could you get me the water sprayer in the closet, please?”
“Sure thing, sis,” said a voice from upstairs.
“Thank you, dear.” Rarity walked over to the workbench and set up the iron, letting it begin to heat up. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know that we’ve met before, but your name eludes me at the moment.”
“It’s Colton Vines, ma’am.”
“Yes, you’re dating that wonderful florist, Daisy, right.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Rarity smiled. “Wonderful, could you please tell her to come by sometime? I was rather harsh with her the other day when I was placing an order and I want to-“
CRASH
Rarity galloped up the stairs and into the door at the top. 
“Sweetie Belle!” she groaned. 
“Sorry, sis,” said the other voice.
Rarity came down the stairs moments later with the sprayer bottle in her magic and a small, pink and magenta maned filly behind her, who Colton presumed to be Sweetie Belle. She went over to the bench and began ironing the suit while Sweetie Belle sat in a corner and watched. 
“Anyway, as I was saying, Mr. Vines, I was rather harsh with Daisy the other day and I would like to treat her to lunch to apologize. You’re welcome to come if you like.”
“Thank you for the offer. I’ll be sure to ask her.”
A few minutes later she was done. She put the suit on its hanger and then in a suit bag and draped the bag over Colton’s back. He insisted, despite her objections, on giving her a few bits for her trouble. He left the shop and headed for his next errand; Blues’ apartment.

*****

“Sounds really romantic, Colt,” said Blues after Colton had explained his plan. 
“Can you two help me?” Colton asked him and Bluenote, who was visiting Blues for the week.
“Of course we can,” said Bluenote. “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Thanks, you two. This really means a lot to me,” said Colton. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to see a stallion about some hardware.”

*****

“Here you go.  Twenty yards of twine, a couple dozen small candles, a couple dozen paper lanterns and one ladder rental,” said the owner of the hardware store as he placed the items in the cart Colton had borrowed from Caramel.
“Thank you, Mr. Breezy,” said Colton to the tan stallion. He pulled enough bits out of his saddlebag and paid him.
“No problem. You sure you don’t want a fan? They’re twenty percent off until the end of the week.”
“Maybe some other time.” Colton hitched himself up and began pulling the cart to Daisy’s house. 

*****

“Hey, Colton,” Rose greeted him when he entered the shop.
“Hello Rose. I’m here to set up some stuff in the backyard for a surprise for Daisy tonight. Could you unlock the fence?”
“Sure.”
Colton took the cart around back and a moment later the gate in the fence opened. He began unloading the cart.
“Here, lemme give you a hoof,” said Rose. “What do you want me to do?”
“Let’s see…” thought Colton. “If you could start putting the small candles in the lanterns, that would be great. Just dip the tip of the wick in that little purple bottle over there and the candles will ignite at sunset. I’ll set up a table and chairs on the patio and Seyval should be by a little later to help me hang the lanterns.”
“Why come by a little later when I’m here now?” said Seyval, coming up behind him. “I had an errand to run in town and thought I would drop by a little early.”
“Alright, then,” said Colton, “let’s get started.”
The three got to work setting up. Rose and Seyval began dipping the wicks in the potion and placing the candles in the light pink lanterns. The potion would cause the candles to magically ignite when Celestia used her magic to lower the sun. Colton set up the table with two chairs on the patio a short distance from the door. He covered it with a red tablecloth from home and placed a candle in the middle. Then the three of them attached the lanterns to the twine and strung them up. They stepped back and admired their work.
“Thanks you two,” said Colton. “It looks great. Now I just need to take care of dinner.”
“Awesome. What are we having?” Seyval asked.
Rose scowled at him. “It’s not for you, Seyval. It’s for Colton and Daisy’s date.”
“I know that. I’m just teasing.”
“Don’t worry, Rose, I brought more than enough to go around,” Colton assured her.
The three of them went inside. Colton brought out the supplies he had from home, placed a bottle of wine in the fridge to chill and divvied out the tasks. Seyval couldn’t cook and had been advised by the fire department at a young age to never step within several feet of a stove, so he was charged with making a salad. Colton began making a casserole while Rose made dessert.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Colton looked at the clock, panicking for a moment. Carrot wasn’t supposed to bring Daisy over for another forty five minutes. Were they here early? He followed Rose to the door and breathed a sigh of relief when she opened it.
“Hey Colt, are we late?” said Blues.
“Nope, you’re just in time,” said Colton. “Come around to the back yard and we’ll get you all set up.”
Blues entered, carrying his saxophone case and a keyboard piano on his back. He was followed by Bluenote carrying her sousaphone. To Colton’s surprise, two other mares came in after them. The first was the minty green unicorn lyrist, Lyra. When Colton looked at the second mare, he had to do a double take. 
“Colton,” Bluenote began introducing the gray earth pony with a pink bowtie that had just walked through the door, carrying a large cello case on her back, “this is…”
“The Great Lady Octavia,” Colton finished, wide eyed and mouth agape, “the greatest and most accomplished cellist in all of Equestria.”
“A pleasure to meet you Mr. Vines,” said Octavia, extending a hoof. “I see I that I am in the presence of an admirer.”
“Yes ma’am,” said Colton as he shook her hoof. “My mother took me to a concert you did in Canterlot when I was young and it was the best thing I’d ever heard. I even convinced her to let me take cello lessons, but I was never very good. All I ever managed to learn were a few scales.”
“Well, from what Miss Brass has told me about you, you have more than enough skill with grapes to make up for it.” Octavia complemented. “Now to business; shall we move to the back yard to begin preparation for this evening’s festivities?” 
“Right this way, mademoiselle,” said Colton, ushering the way to the back door.
They went out back and the musicians began setting up in a corner of the yard a short distance away from the table. Octavia and Lyra began setting up and tuning their respective instruments. Colton and Blues began helping Bluenote with the complex process of putting on her sousaphone. 
“So,” said Colton, “I see you two have gone above and beyond the call of duty in helping me. How in Equestria did you get Octavia and Lyra to come?”
“Well,” Bluenote grunted as she contorted herself into her instrument, “Lyra owed me a favor because *oof* I got her a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala. As for Octavia, I convinced her that an *umph* impromptu performance would help us prepare for a concert we have in a few weeks. We just wanted to make tonight all the more special for you two.” 
“Thank you so much, guys,” said Colton.
They finished getting Bluenote’s sousaphone on and Colton left the musicians to their tuning and warming up. Everything was coming together. Colton walked over to his saddlebags sitting by the door and pulled out the ring. As he gazed at it, the nervousness he had been trying to stave off all day hit him full force. In a short while Daisy would arrive and the evening would commence and he would propose. His hooves began trembling and he began to sweat. Blues noticed he was getting nervous and walked over to give him a pat on the back.
“Nervous?” he asked.
“Uh-huh,” Colton nodded, trying to quell the lump in his throat.
“Well, don’t be. You’ve got your friends here to back you up. This is going to be the best night ever. I even wrote a little song about it on the way over here. Do you wanna hear it?”
“Okay,” said Colton. He knew Blues wasn’t a very good songwriter, but the lyrics he managed to come up with would make Colton laugh or take his mind off things.
So Blues began singing. Colton thought that he heard the tune before, but couldn’t remember where. 
When he asks her (when he asks her)
When he asks her, to be married
She’s going to swoon and fa-all
When he gets down, on his haunches and he asks herrrrrr (when he asks her)
He will tell her, that he loves her
And will be with her through a-all
They will be together forever
Tooonight when he asks heeeeeerrrrrr
He was taking a breath to sing the next verse, when Octavia shrieked, a look of horror on her face.
“GAAAAAA! Blues! Where did you hear that song?! Quick! Barricade the doors before the pony poky starts!” She was cowering behind her cello case, violet pupils the size of pinpricks, breathing in ragged gasps.
Bluenote walked up to her and, with some difficulty around the sousaphone, took her in a comforting hug, stroking her mane and speaking in a soothing voice. “There there now, Tavi, it’s alright. No one’s going to start the pony poky. Come on, let’s go inside and have a nice cup of tea.”
Bluenote and Lyra helped Octavia get inside the house. A look of shocked realization came over Blues as an understanding of what had transpired hit him. Colton stared after them and then at Blues, a confused look on his face. 
“What was that about?” he asked.
“I, uh…I didn’t realize it was the same tune. You remember how the Gala got crashed? Well, Octavia was there. Apparently, all the guests burst spontaneously into a song with that tune before it started. Then later, somepony requested the band play the pony poky. A little while later, a screaming banshee chased a bunch of stampeding animals into the ballroom. Octavia’s cello got smashed in the ensuing chaos and I guess she never fully recovered from the trauma. She has a pathological fear of that tune and the pony poky now. It’s almost like sees them as a bad omen or something.”
“Wow,” said Colton, not quite knowing what to say. “Will she be okay?”
“Oh yeah, she’ll be fine. After about three therapists she started to get a little better. We may just have to stall for a few minutes until she calms down. Sorry about that.”
“It’s alright. Thanks for trying to help me with my nerves.”
“You mean it worked?!” said Blues.
“A little,” said Colton. “Come on. Dinner needs to be finished and I still need to get dressed.” He got his suit bag and the two of them headed inside.

A/N: In case you were wondering, yes the song is Fluttershy’s part of ‘At the Gala’ rewritten. Yes it is cheesy and pretty bad. I debated whether I should even put it in or not, but every time I thought of it, it made me laugh. It was fun to write and I regret nothing. I also kind of wanted it to be a little bad because of the way I think of Blues. In my mind he’s a wonderful and very talented musician who can play several instruments fluently, but he’s not a very good songwriter.
Also, I managed to sneak part of a line from season six of Doctor Who in this chapter. Imaginary internet muffins to anyone who can find it. It’s pretty obscure, though.
	
> Chapter 8: Here we go...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 8: Here we go…

Colton and Blues walked in the back door. The living room was on the way to the kitchen so they looked in on Octavia. She was trembling, barely able to hold the tea Bluenote had made for her. Bluenote and Lyra were sitting next to her on the couch, one on either side, helping her to calm down. Bluenote saw them standing in the doorway and shook her head, indicating Octavia wasn’t quite ready. 
As they neared the kitchen, Colton thought he smelled something burning. As he walked in his fears were confirmed. Rose was using a mouth mitt to pull a lump of charcoal out of the oven that Colton could only assume was the casserole. Seyval was rearing up on his hind legs trying to disperse the smoke that was filling the room with his front hooves. 
“What happened?” asked Blues.
“I had to go into the shop to help some customers and somepony…” she said glaring daggers at Seyval, “was too busy ogling Lilly to tell me the oven was beeping.”
“Hey,” Seyval tried to defend himself. “I wasn’t ogling her. My parents raised me better than that. I was admiring the flowers on her desk.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “Well anyway, the casserole is ruined. What are going to do? We don’t have time to make another one.”
Colton walked over to the pantry to see if there was anything they could use. There wasn’t much. “Let’s see... Rose, start boiling a pot of water.” He pulled some carrots and broccoli out of the pantry and took them over to the sink. “I’ll start with these. We can make boiled carrots and broccoli. It’s not much, but it’ll have to work.”
Rose boiled the water while Colton peeled the carrots. Once the water was warm enough, they put the vegetables in the pot. The vegetables were almost ready when the door connecting the house to the shop opened and Carrot and Daisy walked in. Carrot was walking behind Daisy, covering her eyes.
“Carrot, are you sure that covering my eyes is really necessary?” said Daisy. “I can smell the food cooking so I already know that he’s made dinner.”
“There’s more to the surprise than that,” said Carrot excitedly. 
“Well, can I at least see him? Is he here? I didn’t get to see him yesterday or all day today.”
“I’m right here, Daisy,” he said, trotting up to her and taking hold of her front hoof. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.
“Where were you yesterday?’ Daisy asked. “I went over to see you but Seyval just told me you had gone out. He wouldn’t tell me anything else.”
“I went to Hoofington to get something for tonight,” he said. “Dinner’s almost ready and I guarantee you’ll love what I have planned. Go on upstairs and get ready, but don’t come down until I tell you.”
She giggled. “Alright, sweetie,” said Daisy. “Dinner smells really good. I can’t wait. Hang on…” she sniffed the air again. “Did something burn?”
“Don’t worry about that. We just had a little accident, nothing to worry about.”
“Alright, if you’re sure,” she said, still sounding a little worried. She reached around with her other hoof in her temporary blindness until she found Colton’s face and leaned in and kissed him. “I’ll see you in a little while.”
Carrot led her over to the stairs and helped her up, still covering her eyes.
Colton took a few deep breaths to try and quell the nervousness that was rapidly threatening to overcome him. He went into the kitchen and helped Rose finish dinner. Octavia had regained her composure by now and she and the musicians went outside to finish preparing to play. When the vegetables were done they were strained and Colton added a few spices for flavor. Dinner being finished, Colton took his suit into the bathroom to get changed. He put his suit on and looked in the mirror, adjusting his deep blue bowtie. 
“Okay, you can do this Colton,” he said to himself. “Just stay calm and tonight will go smoothly. Let’s go over the plan again. Dinner, some slow dancing, go for a moonlit walk in the park, eat dessert under the stars, then pop the question. Oh, Celestia and Luna help me.” 
After continuing to give himself a pep talk for a few minutes, he came out and went into the back yard.
“Is everything ready?” he asked.
“The band is a-go,” said Blues, giving a little salute.
“Dinner’s ready,” said Rose.
“Wait staff ready,” said Seyval, wearing a red bowtie. 
With unbelievably good timing, Carrot opened a window upstairs and called down, “Daisy’s ready.”
“Alright, here we go,” said Colton. “Send her down, Carrot.”
He turned to all his friends standing before him who had helped to make tonight so special. “Thanks for all your help everypony. I can’t tell you all how much everything you’ve done tonight means to me.”
“We’re happy to help, Colton,” said Rose.
“Anything for you, bro,” said Seyval.
“No problem, Colt,” said Blues. “Now go meet that mare, and let’s get the question popped.”
“Huh?” said Rose. “Question…what…” She gasped. “You didn’t tell me that part! What are you waiting for? Get in there!”
Colton turned and went into the house and walked over to the stairs. He began taking deep breaths to calm himself. He heard the sound of hoofsteps coming down and turned and saw her. She was absolutely gorgeous. She wore a sleeveless, sparkling dress of an off white color with light blue and light green swirls. Her mane had been done up in a French twist and had a few tiny flower barrettes in it. She had on mascara and just enough blush to give her cheeks a light twinge of pink. Just looking at her made him forget how nervous he was.
“Wow,” Colton breathed. “You look amazing.”
“Thank you,” she said, smiling that little smile he loved so much. “You don’t look so bad yourself. Shall we?”
“Yes, we shall,” he said offering her a fore hoof. 
The two walked to the back door. Before going out, Colton waved to the band to have them start playing. He opened the door and escorted Daisy into the yard. The sun had begun to set by now and the orange light mixed with the pink illumination from the lanterns made the yard look spectacular. The band was playing slow, soft background music, creating the perfect setting for a romantic dinner.
“What do you think?” he asked.
The way her eyes lit up when as she took it all in made his heart skip. She smiled and said, “It’s beautiful, Colton. I can’t believe you went to all this trouble. You even got our friends to be the band and…oh my gosh. Is that Lady Octavia?”
“Yes it is. Blues and Bluenote asked her to perform for us and she graciously accepted.”
“Wow, I can’t believe it. Lady Octavia is performing in my back yard!”
The two of them sat down at the table. Seyval came out with two bowls of salad, a box of matches and the bottle of wine balanced on his back. He deposited them on the table and used the matches to light the candle.
“There you are sir, mademoiselle. I shall return to give you the second course when you are finished,” he said. He was using an accent that was a very poor imitation of somepony from upper class Canterlot, eliciting smiles and snickers from the couple. He turned and walked back into the house. The couple began eating their salads and talking about their day.
“So, what did you and Carrot do while she was distracting you for me?” Colton asked. 
“Well, we went to her house and chatted for a bit. Then Dinky brought Ruby over and we taught them to play chess.”
“Chess?” Colton asked, surprised. “I wouldn’t think Dinky would have the patience for that game.” He took the bottle of wine and began pulling at the cork with his teeth to open it.
“She actually managed quite well and the game managed to hold her interest. She and Carrot eventually won, but Ruby and I managed to come close to putting their king in check. Carrot and I didn’t even need to help them that much once they learned the basic-“
POP
Suddenly, the cork relented its firm hold on the inside of the bottle and came out. Unfortunately, this caused two things to happen. First the cork, having nothing to stop it, shot into Colton’s mouth causing him to cough and sputter as he almost swallowed it. Second, there was a significant amount of pressure in the bottle suddenly released, causing it to spray some of its contents all over him.
“Oh my gosh, are you alright?” asked Daisy, concerned.
Seyval, who had seen what happened through the window, rushed out with a few towels to dry his brother off. Colton coughed a few more times and spat the cork out. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, his voice a little raspy, as he grabbed a towel and dried himself off. He looked down to see specks of purple on his shirt and a small pool in his salad bowl. ‘Great,’ he thought, but managed to cover up his disappointment with a smile. 
“Could you take this away, Seyval, I think we’re ready for the main course.” 
Daisy, who had eaten most of her salad while Colton told her about his day, passed her bowl and Seyval took then inside. He returned a few moments later with two plates of boiled carrots and broccoli on his back and placed them on the table. Colton poured each of them a glass of wine.
“So what did you do after playing chess with the girls?” he asked her.
“Well,” said Daisy finishing a bite of her dinner. “Once they learned how all the pieces moved, they didn’t need much help. We played until Berry came home to take over watching them and then we went to town. First we did some grocery shopping to restock Carrot’s fridge. We went to the spa and the salon and we dropped by Carousel Boutique, where Rarity fixed up this dress for me and invited us to lunch next week.” 
The conversation continued until the meal was finished.
“Thank you so much for tonight, Colton,” said Daisy as Seyval took their plates away. “Dinner was delicious. This was very sweet of you.”
“The night’s not over yet, my dear. I’ve still got a few more surprises,” he said as he came around to her side of the table and offered her a hoof. 
She took his hoof and he led her over to an open part of the yard near where the band was. He nodded to Octavia and she and Lyra stepped forward and began to play a song they had composed in music school.  Colton took Daisy’s front hooves and they both stood on their hind legs, leaning into one another. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He wrapped one hoof around her waist and placed the other on her shoulder and they began to dance. 
The two of them swayed back and forth as they moved to the slow, melodic notes that Lyra plucked and felt the melody that Octavia wove with the movement of her bow wash over them. He gazed into her deep green eyes and she gazed back into his blue ones. They both lost themselves in each others’ eyes and he pulled her closer to him. 
Suddenly they realized that the music had stopped. They looked over to find the band smiling fondly at them.
“How long ago did you stop?” asked Daisy, the two of them returning to all four hooves.
“A while,” answered Bluenote. “They repeated the song once and then we didn’t want to ruin the moment.”
The two of them blushed.
“C’mon, you two,” said Blues. “Let’s see if you can really dance. Hey, Octy, you know anything by DJ-Pon3?” 
“Uh, Blues, I don’t think that’s…” Colton started to object. 
“Actually, Vinyl once approached me for help with her recent album, ‘Across the Spectrum.’ It was a collection of her music with music from other genres mixed in. I suppose that would be appropriate.”
“Terrific,” said Blues stepping behind his piano. “I think I know the one you’re talking about. Scratching Harmony, right?” 
Octavia nodded.
“But I don’t…” Colton tried to explain. He was a terrible dancer. All he could ever manage to do was slow dance to slow songs like they had just done, or bob up and down to the beat on faster songs.
Octavia lifted her bow and began to play. Colton listened for a moment to the faster pace of the song and started to sweat. Daisy placed an understanding hoof on his shoulder.
“Come on,” she said. “We’ll keep it simple. Just follow my lead.”
They went up on their hind legs and Colton let Daisy lead him in a basic waltz. He stepped on her hooves a couple of times, apologizing profusely. She just smiled and kept looking into his eyes. Eventually he got the hang of it and their bodies went into perfect sync. By the time the song was half over, he had taken the lead. Deciding to try something else, he spun her, making her giggle. Near the end of the song he tried putting her into a dip, but he didn’t bring her up quite right and managed to fall backwards. Having nothing holding her up she fell down on top of him. The two of them stared at each other for a moment and started laughing. 
“Not bad,” she complemented. “You learn fast.”
He lifted his head and kissed her. “You’re a good teacher.”
They helped each other up and Colton turned to the musicians. 
“I’d like to thank you all again for helping me tonight.”
“It was our pleasure, Mr. Vines,” said Octavia, taking a bow.
“Anything for you, Colt,” agreed Blues. “Now go on, you two, get outta here. The night’s still young and Colton’s got even more planned for you.”
“More surprises?” said Daisy. “How much better can this possibly get?”
“You’ll see,” said Colton. “Come on, the next surprise is after a moonlit walk through the park.”
They went through the house, Colton grabbing his saddlebags on the way, and headed out the front and through the marketplace towards the park. 
	
> Chapter 9: Not Quite as Planned
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 9: Not quite as planned

The park was truly a beautiful sight to behold. Thousands of stars twinkled brightly in the night sky. Luna’s moon was full, its iridescent glow casting a silvery light over everything. They walked on one of the paths through the park, saying hello to a lavender unicorn mare they passed who was looking through a telescope. Soon they reached their favorite picnic spot on a small hill near the middle of the park. During the day it was covered in all sorts of flowers and Colton had never seen it at night. The sight was breathtaking. Many of the flowers that bloomed in the daytime were closed up, with night blooming flowers such as jasmine replacing their vigil of beauty. With the moonlight shining on them, it looked as though they were made of silver.
A cool night breeze blew, making Daisy shiver a little. Colton took off his suit jacket and draped it around her shoulders. He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a picnic blanket and spread it out on the ground. The two sat down and he brought out the cupcakes Rose had made for dessert. They sat there for a while, just gazing up and admiring the night. Colton picked one of the jasmine flowers and put it in Daisy’s hair, near her left ear. She leaned up against his side.
“Thank you, Colton. Tonight has been absolutely wonderful.”
He leaned his head on top of hers. “You’re even more wonderful.”
They sat there a while longer, eating their cupcakes and enjoying each others’ company. Colton smiled. This was the one part of the night that had gone off without a single hitch. Now was the perfect time to ask her. 
“Daisy?”
“Hmmm?”
“I have something to tell you.”
She lifted her head up and turned towards him. “What is it?”
He began to grow nervous again, his chest beginning to tighten. He looked at her. It was as if Luna herself had come down from Canterlot to dress her in the finery of the night. The moonlight bathed her in its silvery glow. It made her dress sparkle like fresh snow in the morning sun. It rested on her head and shoulders, giving her the look of an angel. It twinkled luminously in her green eyes, making them look like emeralds. 
Looking into those eyes, he saw everything. He saw the past, every moment they had together, every kiss they shared, every time she made him smile. He saw the future, everything he wanted for them, how he wanted them to grow old together. He saw his world and how much brighter it was since she had become a part of it. He saw his other half, the one thing that made his life complete. He saw her.
“Daisy, I-”
“LOOK OUT!!!” came a voice from above them. They looked up just in time to see a grey pegasus mare crash through the upper foliage of a nearby tree. She tried to adjust her wings to land, but yelped in pain and reflexively folded her left wing. She hurtled toward the ground, flapping her right wing in a vain effort to regain control. Colton realized that she was headed straight for them.
Thinking quickly, he pushed Daisy out of the way. He didn’t have time to get out of the way himself, however, and braced himself as the mare collided with him. The two went rolling down the hill and came to a stop at the bottom. 
“Ugh,” he groaned. He opened his eyes and slowly sat up on his stomach, looking himself over. He felt sore spots in various places that would probably bruise in a little bit. Nothing seemed to be broken. Daisy came running down the hill, concern written on her face.
“Are you two alright?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” he replied. He looked over at the grey pegasus and realized who it was.
“Ditzy, are you alright?” he asked, walking over to the mailmare who lived next door to him. She sat up, her head swaying and her eyes moving in circles for a moment before she replied.
“I’m not quite sure,” she said, one eye looking at him, the other off somewhere in the distance. “My left wing really hurts. I think I hurt it when I hit the tree.”
“It might be broken,” said Daisy. “Can you walk?”
“I’ll try.” She attempted to get up but a sharp pain in her front left leg put a stop to that. “AAAAA!” she cried, “my leg!”
“Let me see,” said Colton. She held it up enough for him to look. “It doesn’t look like it’s broken, but we need to keep you off of it. Daisy, could you go pack up our stuff?”
Daisy nodded and went back up the hill. Colton helped Ditzy to stand a little, put her on his back and began walking toward the entrance to the park. He walked slowly so Ditzy wouldn’t move too much.
“I’m sorry I ruined your date, Colton,” said Ditzy. “I saw you before I lost control and it looked like you were having fun. I hope I didn’t ruin the proposal.”
Colton stopped short. “What? How the hay did you know I was going to propose? Did anyone tell you?”
“Oh no, no one told me. I just figured it out. My eyes may act funny sometimes, but they’re sharp. I saw you while I was flying and you had the same look on your face that…” she paused at the memories she was bringing up. “…the same look that Dinky’s father had when he proposed to me.”
“Oh,” said Colton. “Well, no, you didn’t really ruin the proposal since I haven’t asked yet.  By the way, what were you doing out flying this late? You usually finish your route long before dinner.”
“I’m covering the night shift for Raindrops.”
As they neared the entrance to the park, Daisy caught up with them, carrying Colton’s saddlebags. They made their way to Ponyville Hospital. Ditzy kept apologizing and they repeatedly had to reassure her that it was alright. 
They arrived at the hospital and waited with Ditzy in the waiting room until the doctor could see her. Ditzy knew they would probably give her something for the pain and asked them to wait for her to walk her home. Colton agreed and Nurse Redheart led Ditzy into one of the examination rooms.
As Colton and Daisy waited for her, Colton noticed that Daisy was being oddly quiet.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “You look like you have something on your mind.”
“It’s nothing,” she replied.
“You’re not mad at Ditzy, are you?”
“No, of course not, accidents happen. I’m…just thinking about a big order I have to deliver tomorrow.”
“Oh, okay.” He could tell that wasn’t the only thing on her mind, but decided not to press it. “You know, I can wait for Ditzy and take her home. Why don’t you go home. It’s late and she might be a while.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, no sense in both of us being up all night.” He wrapped a hoof around her and pulled her into a hug. 
She reached her head up and kissed him. “Goodnight, Colton.”
“Goodnight, Daisy.”
She left the waiting room and headed home. Colton sat down in one of the waiting benches. He couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed about how the night had gone. The date had had a few little snags but it had still been wonderful. But, the incident in the park had brought the whole thing to a halt. He would probably have to plan another time to propose to Daisy. He laid his head down and fell asleep.
---
“Colton, wake up.” He felt a hoof on his shoulder, shaking him awake. He opened his eyes and saw Carrot.
“Hey,” he said as he yawned and stretched. “What are you doing here?”
“We were all at Daisy’s house waiting for the two of you to come back. She told us what happened and Seyval offered to let Dinky sleep over. I came over here as soon as I heard. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. How’s Ditzy?”
“I just talked to the doctor. Her wing is broken and she sprained her leg. She’ll be back to normal after about six weeks.”
“Oh good,” he breathes a sigh of relief.
“From how Daisy described the incident, I take it you didn’t get a chance to propose.”
“No, I didn’t. I guess I’ll have to plan another time to do it.”
“What are you talking about? Why do think I hurried over here? Go, ask her now!”
“What?” he asked, surprised. “But Carrot, the date…”
“Colton Vines, you listen to me. You worked hard to make this night special and I will not let you throw in the towel because the mood was ruined. My sister loves you and she won’t care about any of that.  All she’ll care about is that you love her and that you want to spend the rest of your life with her. Don’t worry about Ditzy; I’ll make sure she gets home. You get your flank over there and ask that mare to marry you.”
Hearing what Carrot said, Colton felt like his heart would explode right out of his chest. He grabbed his saddlebags and flung them on to his back as he galloped out the door. He did love Daisy and she wouldn’t care how he proposed, just that he was proposing. 
He ran and he ran, not stopping until he reached the flower shop. Panting, he looked up at her window. The light was still on in her bedroom. He grabbed a pebble off the ground and tossed it up at the window. When there was no response, he tried again. Daisy opened the window and looked down.
“Colton? Is everything alright?”
“I never said what I wanted to tell you earlier. Can you come down?”
She nodded and closed the window. A few moments later, the front door opened and she stepped out into the moonlight. She was still wearing her dress, but had removed her makeup and let her hair down. He looked into her eyes again. 
“Daisy, I love you. I’ve loved you for as long as I’ve known you and I- mmmf…”
He didn’t get a chance to finish. She grabbed him and pulled him to her lips and kissed him deeply. At first he was surprised, and then his eyes closed and he kissed her back. She broke the kiss and spoke before he could say anything.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, a thousand times yes, Colton Vines. Yes, I will marry you.”
Colton, still reeling from the kiss, started trying to form a cohesive sentence in his confusion. “B-bu…wha…how did…”
“When you had me get our stuff so we could take Ditzy to the hospital I dropped your bag. The box fell out and popped open and I saw the ring. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to let on that I knew before you had the chance to ask. And my answer is yes. I love you, Colton, and I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Colton was speechless. When he finally found his words again, he spoke.
“Do you mind if I actually ask the question, anyway? I was looking forward to saying it.”
She gave him that little smile that he loved. “Go ahead. I would love to hear it.”
He grinned and reached into his bag and pulled out the box. He sat back on his haunches and opened it.
“Daisy, will you marry me?”
“Yes, Colton,” she repeated. “Yes I will.”
He took the ring out of the box slipped it on her left front hoof. It glinted exquisitely in the moonlight.
“It’s beautiful, Colton,” she said, tears starting to form in her eyes.
He pulled her close to him and placed his forehead against hers.
“Almost as beautiful as you.”
	
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Epilogue

“…and that, my little filly, is the story of how I asked your mother to marry me.”
“That was a good story, Daddy,” said Colton's daughter, looking up at him with her magenta eyes. “Did it help you feel better?”
He stroked her purple mane with a hoof and nuzzled her light yellow cheek. “A little bit, Flora. I’m still a bit anxious, but it got me to stop from pacing a groove into the floor.”
The filly grinned. “It worked, Aunt Berry, just like you sai--oh.” She realized Berry had fallen asleep in a nearby chair.  
Colton chuckled. Suddenly the door burst open and Carrot bounded into the room saying, “Am I too late? Did I miss anything?”
“Nope,” said Colton. “Nothing yet.”
“Auntie Carrot!” squealed Flora, running up and hugging her leg.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Carrot hugged her back. “Are you excited?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Did Seyval make it yet?”
Colton shook his head. “No, his letter said that he and Lilly would be coming back from their honeymoon today, but they aren’t here yet.”
“What about Blues and Bluenote?”
“They couldn’t make it down from Canterlot. They’re performing a concert tonight at the Grand Canterlot Music Hall.”
Over in the corner, Berry stirred and got up.
“Good morning Aunt Berry,” said Flora. “Although, actually it’s the late afternoon.”
“Hello, Flora.”
“How is Ruby doing?” asked Carrot.
“I just got a letter from her today, actually. She says that she and Dinky are learning a lot at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. They really enjoy their classes and they’re learning a lot.”
The group chatted for the next half hour. The door opened again and Rose stepped in.
“Hey everypony,” she greeted. “Look who I found outside.” She stepped through the door and was followed by Seyval and Lilly. Greetings and hugs were had all around as everypony welcomed the newlyweds home.
About a half hour later, Colton’s mother showed up with Daisy’s parents. The group talked and talked, passing the time while they were waiting for the thing they were all here to see.
They didn’t have to wait very long, though. Soon the double doors opposite the entrance to the waiting room opened, revealing Nurse Redheart.
“Mr. Vines,” she called out.
Colton stepped forward. He had only been this anxious at one other time in his life.
“Is Daisy alright?” he asked.
Nurse Redheart smiled. “Yes, she’s fine. I’ve already explained everything to her. She wished to tell you herself. We can’t have all of you back there at once, but a few of you can go back at a time. You can go in and see her first. It’s the third door on the right.”
“Thank you.” Colton walked through the double doors and down the hall. He arrived at the door and opened it. Daisy was sitting up in the hospital bed. Her mane was a mess and she was covered in sweat. She smiled at him.
“Hello, darling,” she said.
He smiled back at her and went over to the bed. He gave her a hug and kissed her. 
“Where is everypony else?” she asked.
“Nurse Redheart only let me back here.”
“Well you can tell her that I’m fine and I’m going to pitch a fit if I don’t have my entire family here with me to hear the news. Go bring the others, they all need to hear this at once.” 
Colton left the room and returned with the entire group, much to the objection of Nurse Redheart. They all gathered around the bed and Colton lifted Flora up onto it. Daisy hugged her daughter and stroked her mane as she was updated on why certain family members were absent. They heard a knock at the door and Nurse Redheart peeked in.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
“Yes, we are,” Daisy replied. 
Nurse Redheart pushed in a crib with a small bundle wrapped in a blanket in it. Colton reached in and took it out, cradling it in his front legs.
“My dear friends and family,” Daisy announced. “I would like you to meet our son.”
Colton pulled the blankets away a little to reveal the newborn for everyone to see. He had a green coat the same color as his mother’s hair and what little of a mane he had was the same color as his father’s. The little foal yawned widely and opened his eyes to look up at his father. His bright fiery golden eyes made Colton’s heart melt. When he had found out Daisy was pregnant, he couldn’t imagine being able to divide his love between two foals. Now, as he looked into his son’s eyes for the first time, he felt his love for his children multiplying. 
“Awwwwww,” said every voice in the entire room. Unfortunately, the sudden expression of admiration for the adorable little fellow startled him and he began to cry.
“Oh, hey,” Colton cooed to the baby, “shh, it’s okay, little guy.” He began slowly rocking his son back and forth. “They’re all just happy to see you.”
Noticing his efforts weren’t working, Colton cleared his throat and began to sing softly to the foal.
Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to go to bed.
The little foal began to quiet down.
“Can I sing to him too, Daddy?”
“Go ahead, sweetheart.”
Flora cleared her throat and her and her father softly sang the next verse
Drift, drift off to sleep, an exciting day behind you
Drift, drift off to sleep, let the joy of dreamland find you
Hush now, quiet now, and lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to go to bed.
While they sang his eyes started to close. By the time they were done he was fast asleep. Colton placed him in Daisy’s arms and she held her son for the first time. She looked up at her husband with tears of joy in her eyes.
The group stayed and visited for a little while and then began to trickle out. Colton’s mother left last to take a now sleeping Flora home. Daisy handed the baby to Colton and Colton put him in the crib next to the bed. Daisy scooted over in the bed and motioned for Colton to lie down. He got in next to her and pulled her close.
“He’s beautiful, Daisy,” he said as they stared at their son. 
“Yes he is,” she agreed. “You know, he still needs a name.” 
“I know. Did you have anything in mind?”
“How about Colton Vines the Fourth?”
Colton cringed. “I don’t think so. Don’t get me wrong, I was always proud of being named after my dad, but I think three generations of that name is enough.”
“Well, then what should we name him?” 
They both thought for a while.
“Did you see his eyes?” asked Colton.
Daisy smiled. “Mmm-hmmm. My mother is going to spoil him rotten when he looks at her with those golden eyes.”
“My mom will too,” he chuckled. “Anyway, I went to the library last week to get some ideas and I remember one that meant ‘golden.’”
“What is it?”
“Aurelius.”
“Aurelius,” Daisy repeated. She mouthed it a few times, trying it out. “I like it.”
“I do too.”
They looked over at their golden-eyed little boy and watched him sleep. After a while, Colton noticed Daisy’s breath become steady and even as she slept.
Colton smiled. “Happy Birthday, Aurelius. Welcome to the world, son.”







A/N:
Thank you all for reading my very first fanfiction. I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. There are some parts that I am more proud of than others, but I think that it turned out pretty good and I’m proud to call it mine. 
I would like to give a special shout out to the following people:
--My brother, who read the first few chapters for me. 
--My cousin, who read most of it, pointing out mistakes, and then listened when I read parts to her, helping me to catch several more mistakes. I would also like to thank her for the idea of Ditzy crashing the picnic. If she hadn’t come up with that, I probably would have had a random freak thunderstorm come and ruin it, which would not have worked as well.
--You, the wonderful readers, for tolerating my two week gaps between updates, for commenting on and rating my work (please do so if you haven’t already, I enjoy hearing from you), for writing your own stories that I read and enjoy and pick up writing tips from, and for just being awesome.