"Come on! Keep running! Just one more lap!"
"Speak...for....yourself..." Ren muttered, almost at the verge of dropping down to the ground, along with Jamie.
"I...can't...take it...anymore..." Jamie complained.
"Come on! We're almost done! So keep it up!" Mason shouted.
"Yeah! Stop being wimps!" I yelled, causing them to moan even louder. Tch! Look at them! They're just a bunch of wimps right there! It was a week after me and Skittles got out of the hospital and so, like we promised, we began training the brats into shaping up. Ren was just an exception, it's Jamie. The boy wanted to be a man like me and Mason, so he's gonna get his wish. We were doing our 50 laps around the Ponyville Park, and after a few breaks, which all belonged to me due to my...husky weight, we were almost done with our fiftieth lap. Soon, we finally arrived back to the pond area as we finally finished it up.
"Yeah...whoo!" I cheered, trying my best to catch my breath before noticing my shirt was all sweaty. "Dammit, and I just got this wash."
"Well don't worry, I'll wash them again...eventually." Mason sighed as Ren, Jamie, and the little husky dog, Kodiak, came through the pond area, trying their best to catch their breath.
"Oh man...I never ran that much." Ren stated, letting out some coughs.
"I know. I...never...ran...this...much before..." Jamie whined.
"I think I'm dying..." Kodi grunted. "Man, why did I ever agreed to this?"
"I wonder that too." Ren agreed, wiping a sweat off his forehead.
"Well, I congratulate you guys on the workout. Same time tomorrow, got it?" Mason reminded us with a serious yet soft smile.
"Y-yes...still though, thank you." Jamie smiled softly, wearing only a plain white shirt that was underneath that black button shirt he always seen wearing. "I guess I really needed it, huh? I still can't t-thank you all for helping m-me out."
"Anytime. It's something called a vow of brotherhood." I made a tooth-eating grinned, causing Jamie to smile softly while Ren and Kodi smiled happily at that.
"Hmm...you said it Jack." Mason smirked. "But now that's over, I say that we got our distant ways for a while. I'm just gonna head back home and clean up while investigate the home-ship to search out more clues."
"You still bent on looking for clues? We already checked it out already, and there's nothing we can look for." I pointed out.
"I know, but I need to double check in case." Mason stated firmly.
"Mason's right. We're all in on this together to figure out why we're here in Equestria." Ren added with a serious look before smiling. "I know for sure that there's a clue somewhere in the home-ship, just waiting to be found."
"W-well...I guess it is a possibility..." Jamie muttered.
"Exactly." Mason agreed. "Now excuse me, I'm heading back to the home-ship. By the way, good work out gang. Remember, show up at the same time."
"Y-yes sir..." Ren and Jamie said in unison, feeling a bit disappointed that they have to continue this. With that, Mason was about to take his leave, leaving us behind as I scratched my butt a little. Ugh, it's just a scratch, so it's nothing unusual...for me that is.
"Mason darling!" Huh? Oh great, it's the fashion loon again. She immediately came running in here in a hurry, gaining Mason's attention. "Oh thank goodness that I finally found you!"
"Huh? Is there a problem, Rarity?" Mason asked curiously.
"Indeed! A real problem that dear Kaede and I are facing back at Carousel Boutique! Come along!" She used her horn as it started glowing blue, surrounding Mason in its blue aura and was dragged by her.
"WHOOAA! Hey!" Mason yelled.
"Do not worry Mason! It shouldn't take long!" Rarity assured before they both were gone, leaving us in bewilderment.
"What the fudge was that all about?" I questioned.
"Don't know, but it must be a real urgent if Rarity needed Mason." Kodi commented.
"Tch! Whatever..." I scoffed, picking my ear a bit.
"Man, why am I being a part of this?" Ren wondered aloud.
"Because you always wanted to be a part of something to hang out with your friends, remember?" Kodi reminded him, causing Ren to sigh.
"Yeah, you're right about that..."
"Oh quit being such a baby." I scoffed. "And they call you being a positive kid."
"Don't get me wrong, I am positive in stuff like this, but working out this much is quite hard..." Ren answered.
"W-well, even if this workout is too hard on us, I need this more than e-ever." Jamie said with a serious look. "I have to be strong to make myself reliable and able to defend myself and others."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." I scratched my head bashfully in a huff. The reason why we're even training is because to help the blue nerd out. He states that he was always treated like a play toy and couldn't even defend himself over the years, so I'm gonna help this idiot get buff up or at least strong enough by both muscles and heart. "Anyway, we're done for today. Get out of here now. I wanna get some grub to eat."
"W-well still, thank you." Jamie bowed his head to me and began doing that over and over again. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
"Okay! Shut up and get out of here!" I yelled, nearly getting some ponies to look over us in confusion.
"Y-yes sir!" Jamie flinched in fear before running off, grabbing his shirt and notebook from a nearby park bench before running back out of the park. "Bye!"
"See ya James!" Ren waved goodbye to him as he was off a distance. "Phew...man, I'm not sure if I'm ever gonna get used to this workout."
"Not all of us are." Kodi sighed. "But even if a week past, we're never get used to running around the place with fifty laps.
"Heh, that's because you guys are shrimps." I snorted before grabbing my coat from the park bench and put it back on.
"Well I'm not the type to exercise that much." Ren stated, rubbing his head bashfully with a sheepish grin. "But at least it was worth something, despite being forced to be in it."
"Yeah, how can you keep going even after those fifty laps Jack?" Kodi questioned, tilting his head in confusion.
I let out a smirk at them and replied "That's because I work out everyday, that's what."
"You mean after we took a few breaks because you were worn out the most?" Ren reminded me with a raised brow, causing me to grumble angrily.
"S-shut up!" I yelled. "Look! Shouldn't you be somewhere with your girlfriend?!"
"I guess you have a point, well see ya I guess." Ren smiled before he and Kodiak took their leave.
"Tch!" I scoffed, not interested in reply back. Now that they're gone and our exercising came to an end, I guess I can go back home and take a nap, right after lunch.
"WHOOOOOAAAA!" Huh? I quickly looked at the sky and saw a familiar rainbow pony about to crash into me. Oh heck no! I quickly moved out of the way, just when she crashed into the ground. "Ow..."
"Skittles?!" I asked, feeling angry that she nearly crashed into me again. Can't she go and find someplace else to do that?! I walked over and saw her squirming around in attempts to get out of there. Oh great, she's stuck, isn't she?
"H-hey! Hello! Somepony! Get me out of there!" Skittles muffled as she tried to pull herself out. Ugh, I still haven't forgive her for getting me stuck in that damn hospital, but I guess I got no choice but to help her. I grabbed onto her tail and used all my strength to pull her out of the crater she was trapped inside.
"AH!" Skittles sighed in relief. "Thanks! But a little easy next..." The moment she turned around and saw my face, she grew irritated and shocked. "You?!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You and I don't like each other." I scoffed before letting go of her tail, causing her to fall back down on the ground, luckily not back inside of the crater she made. "What do you think you're doing when you nearly gave me another boner to break?"
"Well excuse me for practicing some cool aerial tricks." Skittles scoffed, flying back up directly at my face while she crossed her forelegs and asked "And what exactly is some fat guy like you even doing here?"
"I told you before, I am not fat! I'm husky!" I exclaimed angrily before calming down a bit. "Look, I'm here exercising with a couple of friends."
"You? Exercising?" Skittles laughed, causing me to grumble. "I bet you didn't even do well in it!"
"Shut up! If you were there, then maybe you would've seen me in frigging action!" I retorted before forming a small sly grin on my face. "Besides, you weren't any good for doing those air tricks of your own, huh?"
Skittles blushed in embarrassment as she exclaimed "Shut it fatty! I was doing alright! Those tricks were 20% awesome! Awesome enough to one day lead me to the Wonderbolts!"
"Wonder-what?" I questioned with a raised brow.
"Seriously?! You haven't heard of them?! Oh my Celestia, what's your damage?!" Skittles shouted angrily before sighing "Jeez, I guess I gotta explain it then, huh?"
"Well excuse me because I ain't around here!" I growled angrily, which made her realize about that.
"Oh...right..." She rubbed her head bashfully with a sheepish grin before clearing her throat and said "Now, the Wonderbolts are made up of the coolest and yet fastest air performers and Equestria's elite flying aerial team! I was always my dream to keep be as awesome as them! Which I am even today."
"Keep dreaming." I scoffed. "Besides, maybe you have potential if you weren't such a blowhard."
"Hey!" Skittles growled before clearing her throat. "Look, I got no time anyway! Especially today!"
"What do ya mean by that?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.
"Oh right, you don't know about it, huh?" Skittles said, feeling a bit surprised right there before saying "Well you see to this day, we celebrate a holiday called 'Hearts and Hooves Day', which means for special someponies always give each other gifts and all that stuff. Not a big fan of the holiday."
"Really?" I asked, blinking in surprise. So it's basically some holiday rip-off of Valentine's Day? Whatever. Besides, I can't help but agree with her. That type of crappy stuff isn't my thing at all. "Well, makes sense since you aren't the type to love a holiday."
"Hey! I too love holidays!" Skittles retorted. "Just...not this one."
"Whatever, besides, I ain't interested in some mushy crappy stuff." I scoffed. "Especially being here with ya."
"You take that back!" Skittles exclaimed.
"In a million years." I retorted with a sly grin. We looked at each other with narrowed eyes, scowling at each other angrily before we heard somebody laughing. Alright, who's the bastard that's mocking me?!
"Wow, you two are so hilarious these days, you know that right?" Oh great...it's this idiot again. We turned around to see a familiar fedora wearing bastard leaning against the tree with a calm expression on his face. "Especially since you two are bantering like a couple would do."
Me and Skittles looked at each other in shock and blushed like red tomatoes before we angrily shouted "NO WE'RE NOT!"
"Yeah, keep telling yourselves that." Rantaro snickered. "Anyway, I was just trying to take a nice walk in the park till I heard you two arguing. Seriously, when isn't a time for you two to argue with each other?"
"Shut up!" I scoffed.
"Yeah! What exactly are you doing here?" Skittles questioned with a raised brow.
"Like I said, I was just taking a nice walk in the park after getting some more of these from ponies." He took something out of his pockets, revealing a bunch of coins. "I got them after I got a deal from shoppers from my sale.“
“Sale?” I questioned before narrowing my eyes at him. “What? You’re conning them?”
“Well I wouldn’t directly say conning. Just making a hefty profit from those suckers by giving some of the remaining cider I had.” Rantaro explained with a smirk on his face.
“What?! You have more cider?!” Skittles gaped at that. “How?!”
“I still kept half of the cider safe and sound in my place just after Cider season was done for.” Rantaro shrugged with a nonchalant expression. “Anyway, what are you two lovebirds doing here? On a romantic date or something?”
“Shut up!” I growled, almost having the urge to take this bastard down with my fist.
“What? Just saying.” He shrugged, not caring one bit. “Anyway, now that I’m out of cider, I’m just gonna find go and find maybe some new products to take from stores and sell those.”
“You do realize that you’re telling us that right now?” Skittles narrowed her eyes at him, who only let out a smirk and said “I know. I wanted you guys to hear that, just in case you guys didn’t figure that out due to how hotheaded you two are.”
“Hey!” I yelled angrily as I pounced at him until he side-stepped out of the way and began walking off.
“You two are just wasting time of me, so bye.” Rantaro shrugged with a smirk before walking off. I soon got back up and glared angrily at him, along with Skittles as she shouted “How are we wasting your time?! You’re wasting our time!”
“Ahh, that means that you two do care for each other.” Rantaro smirked, causing us both to blush in embarrassment as we both yelled “We told you that we aren’t dating!”
“Say what you want, lovebirds.” Rantaro snickered before taking his leave. Oh no, he ain’t getting away from me this time!
“Hey! Get back here!” I yelled, chasing after him.
“Hey! I want some of this action too!” Skittles yelled, flying after him. He noticed us before walking over to a nearby tree and as I got there, he was already gone.
“Damn…” I muttered. Where the hell did he go?
“Great, he’s gone.” Skittles scowled. “Seriously, when I get my hooves on that guy, he’s so gonna be sorry!”
“Whatever, I never even wanted to beat him up anyway.” I scoffed, crossing my arms in a huff. “Though it makes sense why he’s called the ‘Shadow Broker’.”
“Shadow Broker? That’s his nickname?” Skittles raised a brow at that. “Please! Even I can come up with a nickname like that.”
“Yeah right.” I rolled my eyes before noticing something near us. “Huh? What the heck?”
What’s a picnic basket, along with blanket on the ground with two glasses of drinks just doing around here?
“What the hay?” Skittles noticed it as we walked over to it with confused looks. “Wonder who made all this?”
“Tch! Somebody probably just forgot to pack up.” I shrugged before noticed the two drinks as I picked them, seeing the two drinks glowing. “What the? What is this?”
“Beats me. I ain’t no magic expert. Twilight is.” Skittles shrugged.
“Well…I am getting parched.” I sighed as I was about to drink it until Skittles stopped me.
“Whoa whoa whoa! Do you even want to drink that? What if it belongs to someone?” Is she really stopping me because of that?
“Oh please, like anyone’s here? I mean, look around.” We looked around the place, seeing no one but a few ponies sitting with each other, which I assume were couples. “No one is coming over here to drink this, right? Besides, I’m thirsty.”
“Seriously? Do bikers even do this kind of stuff? Take stuff without knowing who is belongs?” Skittles raised a brow.
“Hey, it’s called ‘finders keepers, losers’ weepers’.” I scoffed. “Come on, you’re probably thirsty too. If not, then I’ll gladly enjoy drinking both.”
Skittles rubbed her chin for a bit and realized that I had a point…more less. “Well…I am quite thirsty after practicing around Ponyville for a while. So…why not! What the heck?”
“Heh, that’s more like it.” I smirked before handing her one. “You know, maybe you aren’t half bad.”
“Half bad?” Skittles questioned before smirking arrogantly. “Oh please, I’m way awesome!”
“Whatever.” I scoffed before we both hit our glasses and drank it together, swallowing the contents of the drink. "Hmm...not bad. Taste almost like cherry."
"Nah, it feels more like strawberry." Skittles shrugged before we heard a bunch of people heading our way as we turned around to see Mason's little sister and a bunch of smaller ponies, along with a purple pony and a big red one with an ankle collar around his neck.
"So would you three like to tell us why it was so very important that we meet you girls here again?" The purple pony asked curiously.
"Oh it's just something very great! Trust us." Carrie smiled happily before noticing me and Skittles and soon the glasses in our hands, causing her to widened her eyes in shock. "Jack? Rainbow Dash?!"
"Oh hey squirts, what's up?" Skittles waved happily at them.
"R-R-Rainbow Dash?! And...wait, who are you?" The little orange one asked curiously.
"Names Jack Yamaki. Nice to frigging meet'cha kiddo." I greeted with a snort.
"Umm...aren't you that other human Carrie talked about in school?" The little white pony asked hesitantly. What's going on with them? They aren't afraid of me, are they? If so, then whatever. I'm used to people being scared of me anyway.
"Yeah?" I raised a brow at them.
"You two...didn't drink that, did ya?" The little yellow pony asked fearfully.
"Well yeah. Fatty here found them and he gave one to me and we both drank it." I made a scowling look towards Skittles and exclaimed "I said don't call me 'Fatty'!"
"Then stop calling me 'Skittles'!" Skittles blew a raspberry at me, causing me to scowl angrily.
"Oh no! This is bad! This wasn't supposed to happen!" Carrie exclaimed in fear. "Oh, what are we gonna do?"
"What? What do you mean?" The purple pony asked, curiously looking at them.
"Eeyup." The big red pony nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, what's up you guys?" Skittles asked with a raised brow. "It's just drinks."
"No! You don't understand!" The little yellow pony exclaimed. "Those drinks were for Ms. Cheerilee and Big Mac!"
"Yeah! They were supposed to drink that and be madly in love after we doused it with love potion!" The little white pony added, not realizing what she just said.
"What?!" Skittles and I exclaimed in shock.
"What?!" The two older ponies known as Ms. Cheerilee and Big Mac exclaimed in shock as well while Carrie and the other two ponies face-palmed themselves.
"Seriously Sweetie Belle?!" The younger orange pony exclaimed, glaring angrily at her.
"What?...Oh!" The younger white pony known as Sweetie Belle widened her eyes in shock upon realizing that before chuckling sheepishly. "Heh heh...oops."
"What do you mean we would madly fall in love?!" Skittles demanded.
"Yeah! What did you do?!" I added, growling angrily at them.
"Girls! Explain yourselves!" Ms. Cheerilee asked with an angry look.
"Well..." The yellow pony rubbed her foreleg bashfully before sighing and explained "We may have borrowed a book from Twilight about Hearts and Hooves Day and we may have made a love potion for whoever drinks it and sees the first pony in mind, they'll fall madly in love with each other."
"What?!" Ms. Cheerilee gasped in shock.
"We're so sorry Ms. Cheerilee!" Carrie apologized. "We were just trying to help you two!"
"Well screw that!" I exclaimed angrily. "If you brats fed us that drink then doesn't that mean..." My expression turned pale and I could tell Skittles wasn't happy about that. So does that mean? Me and Skittles looked at each other in shock as I saw her eyes turning purple and I began to feel different.
"Uh...oh." Me and Skittles muttered in unison. Ugh, I don't know why...but seeing her eyes...makes me feel joyful...wait, what am I saying?! Ugh...mind...going...blank....
Ren's POV
Man, I know I want to get closer with my friends and get to know them better, but not like this. After me and Kodi took our leave, we decided to head over to Fluttershy's cottage, but we were taking a small break walking around town in order to feel relax and finally catch our breaths. Hopefully none of the girls will smell the sweat we've been carrying from our exercises, mostly Fluttershy.
"Man, some exercising, huh Ren?" Kodi questioned with a meek smile.
"Yeah, I know how that feels." I sighed. "I exercise sometimes, but not this much. I feel like this is how people in the military."
"What's a military?" Kodi tilted his head in confusion, not familiar with that.
"It's our world's defense force. I don't watch the news that much, but I heard joining the military is quite hard what with their training and such, but overall, I heard from my brother that it's quite a good place to get a good scholarship." I answered with a smile.
"Scholar...ship?" Oh boy, this might take a while.
"Oh hi Ren, Kodiak." Huh? Was that Fluttershy? We turned to our left to see Fluttershy flying over to us, carrying a small basket in her left foreleg. "I'm glad to see you both."
"Yeah, same here..." I nodded with a smile. "Sorry if I didn't go to your cottage earlier ago. I was...running some errands."
"Errands?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
"Yeah, just some errands to carry out, right Kodi?" I turned to my pal, who quickly realized why I was lying.
"Y-yeah! Totally!" Kodi grinned. "We were just looking for something to eat for breakfast."
I gave Kodi a deadpan look. Seriously? Can this dog think anything else other than food?
"Okay?" Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion before smiling sweetly. "So anyway, I hope you didn't forget today."
"Today?" I asked in confusion. "Why? Is there something special about it?"
"You don't remember? Today's Heart and Hooves Day." Hearts and Hooves Day? What's that? Is that some Equestrian version of Valentine's Day? "Oh...I guess you did. I could've sworn that I told you about it last week."
"Well maybe you did and I just forgot." I chuckled nervously while rubbing my head nervously before asking "So anyway, what's that?"
"Oh, I think I heard about that." Kodi intervened. "It has something to do with ponies giving each other some chocolate and letters and kissing or whatever."
"Well...yeah." Fluttershy nodded. "I didn't know you knew half of Hearts and Hooves Day, Kodiak."
"Well back where I used to live when I was a little pup, I saw a bunch of ponies doing that around that wherever I go." Kodi replied. "They did a lot of kissing around the park. It was quite confusing and weird because I never got that."
"Well you're right about that. It's the same thing as Valentine's Day." I stated with a bright smile.
"Valentine's Day?" Fluttershy questioned with a curious expression. "Is that what your people call it from where you and the others came from, Ren?"
"Yeah, it's similar to Hearts and Hooves Day. Except they're not ponies...they're humans, remember?" I grinned while rubbing my head bashfully, causing Fluttershy to giggle at that.
"I know that. So I bet you know how to celebrate it, right?" Fluttershy asked with a soft smile.
"Well...not really. I never gotten a love letter, just a box of chocolates from my parents, sister, and brother." I replied with a smile, surprising Fluttershy a bit.
"Really? Just from your family?" Fluttershy asked in surprise.
"Yeah...I never really gotten it from anyone else. But I don't mind, besides like I told you before, I'm not good at relationships like this." I reminded her as I continued "I'm terrible playing games like love simulations and junk."
"I know, but I'm so sorry that you didn't get any gifts from anyone." Fluttershy apologized before flying up and giving me a quick kiss on the forehead, causing me to giggle. "Although, I'm so glad for your family to give you gifts. It's nice to hear how supportive they are."
"Yeah!" I nodded.
"Well what do you two gonna do?" Kodi asked curiously. "Well I mean...I don't have to be here if ya want..."
"Sure you can come with us, bud." I scratched him underneath the chin, causing him to sigh happily. "I mean, you can be the third wheel in this. You know, you can try to give me good tips while Fluttershy helps me with Hearts and Hooves Day, or Valentine's Day...I don't know anymore."
"Well...alright!" Kodi perked up at that with a bright smile and said "I'll do it!"
"Besides, Ren and I never abandoned you Kodiak." Fluttershy gave him a kiss on the nose, causing him to chuckle a bit before turning to me. "Now then, I'll gladly show you how to celebrate Hearts and Hooves Day. You did say that it's similar to Valentine's Day, right?"
"Well yeah. It should be a piece of cake, right?" I shrugged with a grin.
"Tee-hee! I'm sure it will. I was just finished getting some groceries for...special reasons." Fluttershy chuckled nervously while she blushed, causing me and Kodi to look at each other in confusion. Wonder what's up with her? "But anyway, how about we hang around Sugarcube Corner? We can buy a milkshake with the same straws."
"It's that one of the signs in a relationship?" I asked curiously.
"Mm-hmm!" Fluttershy nodded and said "Exactly! Come along!"
As we began to move, I was immediately hit in the head with a carrot before noticing a familiar trouble-making rabbit was in the basket, giving me and Kodi glares.
"Oh...hey." I said, rubbing my aching head. Wasn't expecting to see him of all places.
"Oh right, I almost forgot. I brought Angel with me because he's so lonely when I leave for grocery shopping." Fluttershy answered as we headed on our way to Sugarcube Corner, but not before Angel gave me one of those 'I'm watching' looks. I really don't wanna have a grudge with Angel, but it seems like it's too late for that.
As soon as we arrived, Kodi nudged my leg as he pointed over to the door and whispered "Why not you open the door for Fluttershy? I've seen special someponies do that."
"Good idea, bud." I nodded before walking past Fluttershy and opening the door for her and said "After you, Flutters."
"Oh!" Fluttershy giggled with a blush. "You're such a gentlepony Ren."
"Heh heh...yeah." I chuckled as me and Kodiak entered the place as we all saw something I thought it would never happen.
"Oh! I love you Jacky-wacky!"
"Oh, I love you too Dashy-washy!"
What...the...actual...heck is going on here?! What we witnessed was Jack and Rainbow Dash...drinking out of a milkshake...with two straws in it! Seriously, what the heck?! I mean, they aren't even caring what's happening here!
"Umm...Rainbow Dash? Jack?" Fluttershy called, feeling a bit disturb upon seeing all...this.
"Oh hey." Rainbow waved, not bothering to look at Fluttershy as she continued to admire Jack while he kept watching her directly to the eyes. They then began slurping through the milkshake together in a romantic way, but overall, there was really, really, really something wrong with this scene.
"Uhh...why are Jack and Rainbow sitting together in a table...together?" Kodi asked, still shocked upon seeing this.
"I have no idea." I shrugged.
"Oh, you're so handsome Jacky-wacky huggy bug!" Rainbow complimented.
"And you're so beautiful shiny-winy, lovey-doo!" Jack commented.
"Umm...is this?" Fluttershy turned to me with an uncomfortable look as I suggested "Weird? Disturbing?"
"Yes..." Fluttershy nodded as we walked over to the table and asked "So umm...Rainbow Dash? Jack? Is there something you wish to talk about?"
"Yeah, why are you two look like you're...on a date?" Kodi added with a raised brow.
"Oh, that's because we are! Me and my Jacky-wacky are having the time of our lives!" Rainbow answered with a bright smile, along with Jack.
"Okay, what?!" I exclaimed in shock. Okay, that's not the Rainbow Dash and Jack I know! "Seriously, what the heck's going on with you two?!"
"I have a very special somepony, duh!" Rainbow smirked, not taking her gaze off of Jack. "A snuggy-wuggy, honey-funny puppy-wuv!"
"You're my smoochy-woochy baby-waby!" Jack replied with an equal amount of love towards her.
"This is just gotten more weirder than usual." Kodi commented.
"I know right? What's happened to them?" I asked with a worried and surprised look. "They're not normally like this. They always argue with each other, so why are they acting like a couple?"
"Jack! Rainbow Dash! There you two are!" We turned around to see Carrie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders rushing in with panic expressions on their faces. "Please don't run off like that!" Apple Bloom begged.
"Girls, what's going on?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
"It's Jack and Rainbow Dash! They're under the love potion's spell!" Carrie explained.
"Love...potion?" I asked in confusion. "So wait, you girls made a potion that'll magically make them fall in love?"
"...Ugh, no." Sweetie Belle chuckled nervously.
"It's no use lying Sweetie Belle." Apple Bloom sighed sadly before looking at us and said "It's true Ren, we really did make a love potion, but for only good use!"
"And we didn't want them to drink it! We wanted Ms. Cheerilee and Big Mac to drink it in hopes of falling in love with each other." Carrie added with a guilty look on her face.
"Ms. Cheerilee and Big Macintosh? But why?" Fluttershy asked.
"It's because we wanted to help Ms. Cheerilee on finding a special somepony for Hearts and Hooves Day since we wanted to appreciate her, but it all didn't work out once we saw them act like this." Scootaloo explained sadly. "I guess we should've known better..."
"Yeah, and when Big Mac and Ms. Cheerilee found out about it, they punished us for trying to trick them into forcing them to love each other." Sweetie Belle added. "So they told us to fix this mess up and then as punishment, we had to do Big Mac's chores for the rest of the day."
"It's understandable, really." I said, feeling a bit shocked to hear all this. "I mean, forcing two ponies into loving each other is kinda wrong. It wouldn't create a perfect bond."
"Ren's right. Take a look at us." Fluttershy said in a soft yet stern tone. "Ren and I began our relationship for quite a while and we were friends when he first came to our world, and I began developing feelings for him due to his courage and kind personality, but after a while, he learned about my hidden feelings and we started out as special someponies."
"So...are you saying that we shouldn't mess with love and force people and ponies to do that and just wait till their relationship goes deeper?" Carrie guessed, which we nodded.
"Exactly." Fluttershy nodded.
"I guess it makes sense because my big brother and Elena took about 4 years to finally start dating each other, so I guess it's understandable, really." Carrie smiled happily, which made the rest of us smiled to see Carrie at least got it until the moment gotten ruined as we noticed how close both Jack and Rainbow Dash were feeling what with now they're under the effect of that love potion!
"My munchy-lunchy wuvvy dove!" Jack complimented.
"And my fatty-patty patootie!" Rainbow added with a creepy bright smile.
"So what about them?" Kodi asked with worried.
"Well maybe if we look over at the love potion spell, it might explain a cure." I suggested.
"Girls, how did you make that love potion?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
"We got from a book that talked about Hearts and Hooves Day." Carrie answered.
"It's where we learn about the love potion and how to make it." Apple Bloom replied.
"We got it from Twilight." Scootaloo added.
"You don't say?" I muttered before looking over to see Jack and Rainbow Dash looking at each other with creepy bright grins until I noticed that their eyes were pink colored apparently. Huh, I guess I haven't noticed that. Although, it's really creepy considering these two always like to argue with each other, but overall, I can't say that this is an improvement or not.
Jamie's POV
"Wow, you're really tired out." Spike commented, seeing me lying on the small couch with a tired look. After my daily workout with Jack and Mason, I headed back to the Golden Oaks Library to continue with my research, but I couldn't keep up with my reading.
"D-don't worry you guys, I'll be alright." I assured as Owlicious landed on top of my head and looked at me curiously.
"Hoo?" Owlicious turned his head 90 degrees before returning back to normal, causing me to smile a bit.
"Well Owlicious' seems to worry for you as well." Twilight added with a light chuckle before frowning in concern. "Although, you've been getting more tired out than you usual do."
"W-well..." I muttered, feeling like that if I should tell her, but I can't. I...I don't want to know that I'm a coward.
"Plus, you've been sleeping early for sometimes. You normally stay all night and help Twilight with her midnight research." Spike added. "So what's going on?"
"I-I can't say." I shook my head, getting up from the couch before putting back on my black button shirt.
"Jamie, it's okay to tell us." Twilight assured. "If you tell us what's going on, we can help out."
"There's n-nothing wrong T-Twilight, Spike, and Owlicious. I'm p-perfectly fine." I assured with a weak grin before muttering "I'm just taking Mason's advice on sleeping early. I...just don't wanna get sick from my lack of sleep. Lack of sleep can affect my immune system, or other humans. Studies show that people who don't get quality sleeping or enough sleep are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, such as a common cold virus-"
"Yeah yeah, we get it. You don't have to tell us." Spike interrupted, causing me to become shock again.
"Stop listening to me!" I begged.
"Well even so, you do raise a good point. I don't want you to get a fever. I think resting up for a while can help improve your health, Jamie." Twilight smiled.
"O-oh...thank you Twilight." I smiled happily.
"But overall, I guess now that you're feeling better, we can get back to work. Even if today is Hearts and Hooves Day, I don't wanna close the library." Huh? Hearts and Hooves Day?
"Hearts and...Hooves day?" I asked curiously.
"Oh right, Hearts and Hooves Day is the time of year where special someponies spend time together and show their affection towards each other." Twilight explained. "It's been here since during the founding of Equestria."
"Basically, it's all about giving each other love letters, box of chocolates, all that kind of stuff." Spike said before sighing happily "But maybe I can get chocolate for Rarity..."
He then noticed the raised brows we were giving him. "As friends! That's all!"
"Umm...okay?" Twilight raised a brow before turning to me with a smile and asked "Say Jamie, do you have a holiday like that in your world?"
“Oh, y-yes, it’s called Valentine’s Day.” I nodded, frowning a bit on remembering Valentine’s Day. I…was never a good fan of that holiday. “But…I do not celebrate the holiday that much.”
“You don’t?” Twilight asked incredulous.
“Yeah, I…never received a love letter or a box of chocolate. And even if I do, it’s either a prank or someone trying to win my affections to share the fortune with me.” I sighed sadly. It’s the truth though, that’s the point on why girls would go after rich kids like me. I wonder…are ponies here will like me only because I’m rich or…?
“Yeesh, you must not have a good childhood.” Spike commented, causing Twilight to sternly glare at him, who smiled sheepishly at her.
“Anyway…” Twilight walked towards me with a smile and said “Jamie, don’t let it bug you. I know how you feel on not celebrating Hearts and Hooves Day or Valentine’s Day on your suggestion.”
I looked at her in shock, hearing this coming out of her. I-Is…she serious?
“R-really?” I asked incredulous.
“Yes, all I did every year for Hearts and Hooves Day back in Canterlot was just read my books and study everyday, learning new magic along the way.” Twilight explained with a sad smile. “It never bugged me until when I became friends with the others here in Ponyville. Although, I think there was one or two ponies asking me out for a date for Hearts and Hooves Day, but…I might’ve rejected or didn’t talked to them because I was too focus on studying magic to become a great mage as Princess Celestia.”
“Twilight…” I muttered, fully understanding her. I guess even with great knowledge can come with a great price. She never made any friends, just like me. Sure, we ended up with different situations on why we couldn’t make friends, but we have great knowledge all because I felt like no one wanted me besides reading my novels, and Twilight ignored ponies to accept their friendship. I guess we really have something in common.
I soon gave her a soft smile and put my hand on her shoulder and said “Thank you for understanding my issue. But I guess none of us ever celebrated Hearts and Hooves Day or Valentine’s Day, huh?”
“Yeah, it seems so.” Twilight chuckled. Owlicious looked over at us with a curious expression while Spike let out a gagging sound before grabbing a book and headed upstairs. Oh no, please don’t tell me that he’s in it too, right?
“Jamie! Twilight!” Huh? We heard the door barged opened, revealing Ren, Fluttershy, Kodiak, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Carrie barged in, causing me to put my hand away from her as I got up and looked at them in confusion.
“What are you all doing here?” I questioned.
“Twilight, do you remember that book you gave us?” Carrie asked. Wait, what book?
“Yes?” Twilight nodded before asking “Why? What’s going on?”
“Well…don’t be mad, but we may or may not used it to cock up a love potion that was intentionally meant for Ms. Cheerilee and Big Mac, but instead the spell affected both Rainbow Dash and Jack.” Scootaloo explained, causing Twilight to twitch her eyes.
“Wait, a love potion?” I asked in confusion before exclaiming “So wait, you can make something like that here?!”
“I know right? Even I was surprise.” Ren said, surprised about it as well.
“So wait, you girls created a love potion only to mess up with Jack and Rainbow Dash’s relationship?!” Twilight yelled, which the girls lowered their heads in guilt. “You girls know better than to make a love potion and just mess with love!”
“We know! We know!” Scootaloo sighed in exasperation.
“Yeah, Fluttershy and Ren explained about it already.” Sweetie Belle added.
“Wait, what book?” I asked. “Could somebody please tell me what’s going on?”
“Well you see…” Twilight turned to me with a serious look and said “I gave the Crusaders and Carrie a book about Hearts and Hooves Day. I only read about what the holiday was about and I think I came across the section about love potions. I can’t remember much about it though…”
“Well do you have the book then?” Ren asked.
“Of course! The Crusaders gave it back to me for a shortwhile.” Twilight nodded before turning to me and asked “Jamie, could you get it for me? It should be on Row 12 Shelf 5.”
“O-Okay!” I nodded before walking over to one of the library shelves and found the book that details Hearts and Hooves Day as I came back with it and settled the book down on the table as the others and I surrounded it with Twilight using her levitation magic to open the book.
“Is there any cure for it?” Fluttershy asked hesitantly.
“Well there has to be one. We did cure Apple Bloom from a case of Cutie Pox, remember?” I reminded them, which caused the pony that was mentioned about that incident.
“Please don’t remind me about that. It was one bad disaster I won’t be forgetting…” Apple Bloom sighed.
“But at least you know what it feels like to have a cutie-mark, right?” Carrie smiled softly, which made Apple Bloom smiled back at her.
“Uhh…guys, are you sure that thing you used is called a love potion?” Ren asked with a raised brow, looking over at the book.
“Yeah, why do you ask?” Sweetie Belle asked curiously. Ren pointed at a certain page he was on as we all looked over and once we read it, I let out a shocking gasp and exclaimed “Because it’s not a love potion you girls used! It’s a love poison!”
“Love poison?!” Everyone, except Ren, exclaimed in shock.
“What in the world is a love poison?!” Kodi exclaimed. “How in the world did they mistake that?!”
“We were told about it by Twilight!” Scootaloo pointed out, causing some of us to look at the said purple unicorn, who blushed in embarrassment with a sheepish grin.
“O-okay, so I forgot about it! I didn’t know about it!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Well it’s understandable since you and I didn’t read that book that much, or in my case, I never managed to get this car." I shrugged.
"Yeah, but what's this about a love poison, though?" Kodi asked with a raised brow.
"Well..." I looked over the page Ren saw and began reading it aloud for others to hear. "According to hear, a fellow prince from the neighboring Earth Pony tribe fell in love with Princess Platinum, ruler of the Unicorn kingdom back during the founding of Equestria. Apparently, the prince fell in love with the princess, but she didn't return his feelings."
"Kinda harsh really." Ren commented, feeling bad for the prince.
"And apparently he made the recipe for the love potion and gave it to her to drink. He meant it to be a love potion, but things didn't go so well." Twilight explained.
"H-how exactly did things 'not go so well'?" Fluttershy asked in fear.
"Well for one thing, they've been too distracted with each other instead of doing their royal duties that their kingdom collapsed, dragons invading, and someone taking over Equestria with the power of chaos." I explained, reading through the text of the book.
"Chaos...?" Ren asked in confusion before gasping in shock. "Oh right! Discord!"
"Dis...scord?" I asked.
"He's this evil draconnequus that Princess Celestia told us about as he was the original ruler of Equestria before they descend the throne." Kodi explained.
"Yeah, he captured me and Kodiak once, but if it wasn't for big brother and the rest of our friends, who knows what might've happened?" Carrie smiled at that.
"Discord." I muttered loudly as I continued "It's a name that stands for disharmony and chaos. It makes sense considering since the book states that-"
"Yeah yeah, we get it!" Scootaloo rudely interrupted, much to my displeasure and surprise as she continued "But right now, we should focus on getting Rainbow Dash and that big brute back to normal! I don't want her to keep acting like this! She's not who she is!"
Apple Bloom sighed heavily and stated "Great! We've not only turned Jack and Rainbow Dash into a couple of nonsense-spouting nicompoops, we may have put all of Ponyville in jeopardy!"
"Come on, Apple Bloom. Miss Cheerilee and Jack don't have any royal duties." Sweetie Belle retorted.
"But still, making them fall in love with each other by a spell isn't right." Ren stated. "We need to find a cure for them and fast!"
"We know Ren, and that's why we're gonna help." Twilight smiled in determination.
"Y-yeah...I'll try too." I nodded in agreement, though I was unsure if we can pull this off.
"That's more like it. I mean, the more the merrier, right?" Ren smirked at that idea.
"And we should be able to save our friends, right?" Fluttershy smiled.
"Let's see..." I looked over the book and managed to learn more about the 'love poison'. "According to here, there is an antidote! And it states if the two users are keep looking into each other's eyes for one full hour, the love curse will be broken."
"Only an hour? Pfft! We can pull that off in a second." Scootaloo boasted with a cocky grin.
"The only problem is to find them." Twilight stated. "Where was the last time you saw them?"
"We saw them at Sugarcube Corner." Apple Bloom answered.
"And I bet that they're still there!" Carrie said. "Let's go before things get worse!"
"No offense, but what could possibly happen with them sticking around, falling in love like that?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
"Well Rainbow Dash is the captain of the Ponyville Weather team, right?" Ren replied, thinking about it.
"And soon-to-become member of the famed Wonderbolts!" Scootaloo yelled in fury. "We have to hurry before it's too late!"
"True, but even though it's nice to see them get along despite being underneath the love potion's spell." Fluttershy admitted, smiling a bit. "Besides what with all...the fighting and arguing."
"Well true, but still we should get them back to normal." Ren said, feeling like it was no good to leave them like this.
"He's right. Love should never be tampered with, r-right?" I asked, which Twilight smiled brightly and nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. Now come on. Let's go fix them up." Twilight said with determination.
"Yeah! Before things get any worse!" Carrie agreed as we all took our leave of the Golden Oaks Library and headed our way towards Sugarcube Corner until we noticed several ponies walking away with disgusted looks on their faces.
"What in tarnation is going on here?" Apple Bloom wondered.
"Yeah, what the hay is wrong with everybody?" Scootaloo thought aloud. "They all looked like they've seen a ghost."
I looked around to find out the source of this before widening my eyes in shock upon seeing a familiar biker and a rainbow Pegasus sitting on one of the restaurants tables outside with them sharing each other's food...in one plate.
"Here, have a piece my cutie-patootie jumpycake!" Rainbow offered.
"No, after you my happy sugar-rump!" Jake grinned crazily.
"You're so funny when you joke around, cookie-lips!"
"No, you're funny pookie-pie!"
Okay, they weren't exaggerating when they say they were acting too much.
"I...think I-I found them." I pointed over to the scene, which caused some of the gang to gag at this.
"Bleh! Seeing Rainbow Dash like this is almost getting me to barf up my lunch!" Scootaloo complained.
"Well we have to make them stay away from each other for a full hour." Twilight reminded us with a serious look.
"Okay, but how?" Kodi asked curiously. "If these two keep acting up like this, then they'll probably be planning a wedding soon..."
"A wedding soon..." Ren thought for a while before smiling happily towards Kodiak and said "Kodi, you're a genius!"
"I am?" Kodi asked incredulous.
"Alright, what is it?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Follow my lead." Ren winked as he walked past us, causing us to look at each other in worried. I'm sure if Ren has a good idea, but I have a bad feeling about this.
"Enjoy it my cutie-patootie!" Jake offered, pushing the piece of pie over to Rainbow Dash, who pushed it back to him and said "No, after you my beloved snuggle-wuggle."
"Umm...Rainbow Dash? Jack?" Ren called, clearing his throat.
"Yes?" They both asked, not taking their eyes off of each other.
"Me and the others realized that you two are getting so closer than usual." Ren chuckled nervously.
"Of course! Skittles is my new girlfriend!" Jack made a tooth-eating grin as Rainbow added "And Jack is my new special somepony."
"Bleh!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Carrie cringed at that while me and Twilight shook our heads at this.
Ren got between the two, ignoring their distressed looks as he continued "Well if you two are so close, then maybe you two should get together in a little wedding of yours!" We all looked at Ren with shocked expressions, not believing what he just said.
"Wait what?!" We all exclaimed.
"Married?!" Jack and Rainbow Dash exclaimed in shock before Ren stepped out of their way as he muttered "Yeah, married...!"
"Married..." Jack and Rainbow Dash sighed dreamily as they locked their gazes again before they put their noses against each other and nuzzled each other.
"Ugh!" Apple Bloom cringed at that.
"But wait, how is that gonna keep them apart?" Carrie asked in confusion.
"They aren't really gonna get married. They're just gonna get ready to get married." Ren explained with a wink.
"Oh, that's quite...a thought-out plan, Ren." Twilight commented.
"Yeah, that'll surely make them stay away for an hour, at least." I nodded in agreement with a soft smile.
"Well, if it wasn't for Kodiak, I wouldn't have thought of that." Ren shrugged, causing Kodi to bark happily at that.
"Ahh, thanks pal." Kodi chuckled.
"So do you think we can able to do it?" Fluttershy wondered aloud. "Not that I'm doubting one bit of it no less."
"Don't worry, we can totally can!" Ren assured.
I nodded in agreement with a soft grin and said "I get it now! All we have to do is lead Rainbow Dash to find the perfect dress while Jack looks for the perfect ring for her and if we're able to get them distracted for a full hour, then they'll revert back to normal!"
"That has to work!" Carrie cheered with a bright smile.
"Alright, we'll split up." Twilight offered. "Ren, Fluttershy, Kodi, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom will go with Jack to get the ring while Carrie, Sweetie Belle, Jamie, and I will head over to get Rainbow Dash her dress."
"Don't worry Twilight, We'll try our best to get Jack away from Rainbow for a while." Fluttershy assured with a soft grin.
"Yeah!" Carrie nodded in agreement with a determined look. "I got them into this mess, and I'm gonna fix it!"
"That's the spirit! Now let's go!" Ren said as he and his group walked over and grabbed Jack by the arm in attempt to pull him in as he said "Now come on Jack! We gotta get your ring for the wedding!"
"Ring?" Jack asked himself before grinning at that idea. "Oh hell yeah! The ring!"
"And we should get you your dress for the w-wedding as well, R-Rainbow Dash." I said with a nervous and soft grin.
"Dress?!" Rainbow Dash gasped before flying off, leaving Jack in distress.
"My babe! My beautiful babe!" Jack exclaimed until he was pulled back by Ren and Fluttershy as they held him by the arms while Kodi, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo pulled him off by the pants.
"D-Do you think that maybe it'll work Twilight?" I asked in worried.
"Hopefully..." Twilight sighed. "Now come on! Let's go!"
"R-right..."
With that, me, Twilight, Sweetie Belle, and Carrie followed after Rainbow Dash in order to find her dress while we actually tried to distract her from trying to see Jack in a hour. Hopefully, it'll work for sure. Though, I never thought of that idea at all and Ren came up with an idea that could potentially work to keep them at bay. But...I'm quite amazed that he came up with something like that. I...I wished I could've came up with something like that. Ren just seems...so much cooler than me.
Mason's POV
"So...emergency crisis huh?"
"Okay! Okay! So this doesn't count as one, but at least you came to me and Kaede to help out Mason, darling." Rarity sheepishly grinned at me while I sighed. I should've seen this coming. The 'emergency' Rarity told me about was actually getting me to stand like a mannequin while she makes different suits for our size. Kaede was working on making dresses for pony's size. Oh well, like I have time with any of this anyway. "Now hold still while I tighten these suits, it's very important to make these for the customers that needs them for Hearts and Hooves Day."
"I think I heard that holiday just the other day. What's that about?" I questioned, which made Rarity gasped in shock.
"You mean to tell me that you don't know what Hearts and Hooves Day is?!" Rarity exclaimed in shock, causing me to give her a dry look as I replied "No, that's why I asked."
"And besides Rarity, we aren't from this world, remember?" Kaede reminded her, focusing on making a dress that seems awfully almost like a wedding dress.
"Oh yes, I nearly forgot." Rarity chuckled nervously before turning to me and explained "Hearts and Hooves Day is a wonderful holiday where we ponies celebrate the love we share with each other. It's all about romance, walking through the beautiful areas of a park, your special somepony rowing you across the river while you two gaze at each other with lovely eyes."
"So in other words, it's like our world's holiday, Valentine's Day, yes?" I asked curiously.
"Valentine's Day?" Rarity questioned. "Is that your world's holiday name?"
"Yes. Back then, our holiday held a special meaning to it, named after a man named Valentine after he held special marriages after Rome's king banished all marriages." I explained. "Over the years, we celebrated Valentine's Day to give each other our love and show them how much we care for them."
"My oh my, banish all marriages?" Rarity questioned. "Why on Equestria would someone would do that?"
"I...have no clue." I shrugged as Rarity was almost finished up on the suit.
"Well either way, it just doesn't seem quite right. Love should be shared with others, not keep it to yourself." Rarity softly smiled while she finished up the stitching and continued "You know, Sweetie Belle always shared her Hearts and Hooves letters to me, and pretty much, I get thank you cards from some of the stallions here in Ponyville. It was such a nice thing for them to do for me."
"Yeah, I get that feeling." I smiled fondly on that. "Every year, me and Elena shared Valentine's Day letters to each other. It was quite a good time back then..."
Rarity noticed my discomfort and looked at me with a frown and asked "Are you alright Mason?"
"N-nothing, I'm just wondering...how Elena is doing." I closed my eyes and went silent after that. What is she doing now? Is she searching for me and Carrie? No, why am I even asking that? Of course she's searching for us because we're family.
"Mason, there's no need to worry. She's probably looking for you and your little sister already." Rarity assured, putting away her sewing kit. "You two share a great and lovely bond with each other right? So I know she wouldn't stop looking no matter what happens. That's the whole point of love, after all, right?"
I smiled softly at Rarity for encouraging me there as I nodded and replied "Right."
“Good! Now then…” Rarity’s horn glowed as she used her magic to bring over a tall mirror and I gaze at myself, seeing myself good in this black suit, underneath it was a gray vest and a black tie and red shirt underneath the gray vest. “Ta-da! How do you look?”
“…Pretty fancy and magnificent.” I stated with a smile. “It looks quite good Rarity.”
“Ahh Mason, you flatter me.” Rarity giggled, blushing a bit. I nodded back to her before noticing Kaede looking at us with a soft smile, causing me to raise a brow at her. What’s up with her? Is…Oh god.
“Hey big brother!” Huh? We heard the door burst opened, revealing Carrie as she, Twilight, Jamie, and Sweetie Belle came bursting in, along with Rainbow Dash, who seemed frantic about something as she searched around the place and started looking at the…dresses?
“Umm…hey you guys.” Kaede greeted, raising a brow towards Rainbow Dash as she asked “What does Rainbow Dash needs?”
“She needs a dress to try out!” Sweetie Belle answered, causing the three of us to feel surprised to hear that. Since when did Rainbow Dash was the type to try out a wedding dress at all?
“What? But…why?” Rarity asked curiously, feeling a bit shocked to hear that.
“It’s a long story, but right now, we need to make her and Jack stay away from each other for a full hour!” Jamie answered as Sweetie Belle pushed Rainbow Dash into the dressing area with a white dress in her hooves as she said “There! Go crazy if ya want! Try them all out!”
Carrie immediately pushed a cart full of dresses into the dressing room while Twilight immediately used her magic to build a barricade in front of the dressing room, trapping Rainbow Dash in it.
“Wait! Me and Kaede made those dresses all day!” Rarity complained.
“Yeah! And why is Rainbow Dash so eager getting a wedding dress?!” Kaede added, feeling a bit shocked to hear that. “I don’t think Rainbow Dash is the type to wear those unless it’s something relating to the Grand Galloping Gala.”
“Well…She accidentally drank a love potion that was meant for Ms. Cheerilee and Big Mac that we made.” Carrie explained, causing us all to feel surprised to hear that.
“What?!” I exclaimed in shock. “Carrie, why would you and your friends do that?”
“I just wanted to make Ms. Cheerilee feel happy and find a special somepony and we settle with Big Mac because he was loyal, responsible, and mature like you.” Carrie replied sadly. “I’m sorry…I should’ve realized that love shouldn’t be messed with and it takes time for two people or ponies to truly fall in love with each other…just like you and Elena.”
“Carrie…” I sighed before softly smiling at her. She’s just a little girl, so she doesn’t know about romance and how long it takes to develop feelings such as that yet. “Well please next time, don’t do that again.”
“Yes big brother.” Carrie nodded, still feeling guilty for that.
“And don’t worry! We found a way to cure them back to normal.” Twilight assured.
“Yes, all we have to do is to make sure they stay away from each other for a hour.” Jamie added with a serious look on his face. "I just hope we can have enough time to distract them for sure."
"Well me and Kaede have been making dresses all day for our customers to buy since it is Hearts and Hooves Day and I asked Mason for some help by testing out new human suits that we've managed to make." Rarity showed them the rest of the dresses, surely that'll take her a long while to test them all out."
"Perfect sis!" Sweetie Belle grinned at that.
"So wait, if Rainbow drank this love potion, who did she fell in love with if she's so eager to marry that guy?" Kaede asked. Carrie, Sweetie Belle, Twilight, and Jamie looked at each other in worried as Carrie said "You see, it's...Jack."
....Wait...what?
"You mean...Rainbow Dash...fell in love with Jack?!" I asked, widening my eyes in shock.
"...Yes?" Carrie smiled sheepishly.
Well...this turned out to be surprising at least.
"...Oh my god." I muttered.
"Unbelievable..." Kaede blinked in surprise.
"I cannot believe this..." Rarity shook her head, still gaping at this. "That brute is in love with Rainbow Dash?! Unacceptable!"
"I-it's not that bad..." Jamie assured with a weak grin before flinching from Rarity's glare. "N-never mind!"
"Jamie has a point." Twilight stepped up with a serious look. "Look, we're going to fix this all."
"I hope so." Sweetie Belle sighed. "Wonder how Ren and the others are taking care of Jack?"
Later
At the west side of Ponyville, Ren and the gang took Jack to a jewelry, where the jeweler was showing them each gem that Jack could use for the 'wedding'. He showed one of them, which made Jack shook his head excitingly.
"No." Ren shook his head, much to Jack's disappointment. Soon, the jeweler began showing them different kinds of rings and Jack didn't care which one was good as he wish to use it on Rainbow Dash.
"Nope." Ren said. "Nada. Zilch. I'm not sure about that one. Seems kinda dull."
A half hour passed as Ren was worn out as he sat down on the nearby chair with a tired look.
"We better hurry, I'm running out of critics." Ren said tiredly.
"Don't worry Ren, we got about another half hour till the spell is gone for good." Kodi assured.
"Kodi's right. As long as we get Jack to stay here and keep looking for a good ring." Fluttershy added, kissing Ren on the left cheek, causing him to blush a bit.
"T-thanks you guys..." Ren chuckled.
"Hey wait a minute, where he go?" Scootaloo asked, looking around to see the human biker was nowhere to be seen.
"That's weird, he was just here a minute ago!" Apple Bloom exclaimed before running towards the counter and asked "Excuse me sir, but have you seen a big fat human wearing a white overcoat?"
"Oh yes, he just purchased the ring and said something about meeting with his..." The Jeweler cleared his throat before saying "His smoochy pie..."
Everyone went pale upon realizing that Jack immediately left.
"Uh oh..." They muttered before immediately running out of the jewelry store and immediately chased after the biker, finding him running with the ring in his hands.
"Alright, me and Kodi will distract him while you guys head over to Carousel Boutique and warn the others!" Ren stated.
"Are you sure you guys can distract him?" Fluttershy asked worriedly, but Ren and Kodi both gave her grins.
"Trust us, we got this!" Ren winked.
"Yeah!" Kodi agreed, causing Fluttershy to smile softly at them.
"Okay, good luck boys." Fluttershy nodded before she and the others took off as Ren took out his Hacking Gun and raised it at Jack.
"Now...Dance!" Ren shot out a melody note beam straight towards Jack, but somehow, he immediately dodged and it aimed a two special someponies, and began dancing crazily.
"Wait, how did he even knew that was coming at him?!" Kodi gaped.
"I have no clue, but let's try this!" Ren shot 'Paralyze' at him, but Jack moved out of the way as he made a hard left and shocked a nearby stallion drinking some tea, causing him to frozen in shock as his mane was frizzled, causing both the human boy and his talking dog to wince at that.
"Ooh, that ain't gonna be pretty." Ren commented.
"Yeah...we should probably go." Kodi offered, which Ren agreed without hesitation as the two immediately chased after Jack.
Meanwhile
"Huh, Rainbow Dash has been there for quite a while." Jamie commented, feeling surprised that we haven't heard a peep out of her.
"True, and she's known for always being in a rush." Rarity stated.
"At this rate, I say that she and Jack will be back to normal in no time!" Carrie said with an exciting grin.
"I hope so too Carrie." I said, patting her on the head, causing her to smile happily at that. Suddenly, we heard the door bursting open, revealing to be Fluttershy, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom, who looked extremely exhausted.
"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.
"And where's Ren, Kodi, and Jack?" Jamie added.
"On...their...way. Gotta...keep Jack...out of boutique..." Scootaloo muttered.
"Rainy dainty!" Huh? Was that?
"Jack!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed in shock as Jack pushed pass the three and looked around frantically with a ring in his hands.
"Quick! Stop him before he sees Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled, which I nodded before turning to Carrie and said "Carrie, stay with Kaede and Rarity please."
"O-okay." Carrie nodded before heading over to Rarity and Kaede as I stepped forward and stood in front of Jack.
"Okay Jack, that's far as you go. I know what happened to you and Rainbow Dash, that's why I can't let you two see each other for who knows how long." I said with a serious and stern look. Jack growled and tried to get pass me until I grabbed his arm and threw him straight to the ground. Jack immediately jumped back up and tried to find Rainbow Dasb until I grabbed him again, only for him to use his right arm to punch me in the gut and throw me across the room, landing in some dresses.
"Hey! Leave Mason and my clothes alone you brute!" Rarity exclaimed in anger.
"Big brother!" Carrie yelled in worried.
"D-don't worry you guys. I'm fine..." I grunted before jumping back up and grabbed his shoulders, trying my best to hold him down.
"N-no! Schoompy poo!" Schoompy what?
"Mason!" Huh? I glanced over to my left to see Ren and Kodi in the front door with the Hacking Gun in his hands. "Quick! Let me shoot him with a 'Paralyze' bullet!"
I nodded with a firm look while I was relieved to finally see him come here. I thought for sure that he wouldn't arrive in time. I managed to lift Jack by my arms, despite his weight, but man, he sure weigh a ton. I turned around and made Jack face Ren as he pulled the trigger, shooting straight towards him.
"Jacky-wacky!" Huh? Suddenly, we heard a rumble as the dressing room, along with the barricade, exploded right in our faces as Rainbow Dash blasted her way out of there with a rainbow trail falling behind her as she took the shot, getting electrocuted and frozen in shock.
"Ahh! Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo gasped.
"Oh my god! I-is she alright?!" Kaede asked in worried.
"Smoochy-poo?" Jack questioned in worried as the paraylsis started to wear off as Rainbow slowly began opening her eyes.
"Oh please work! Please work! Please work!" Carrie and Apple Bloom begged together. Soon, we heard a clock chiming sound as we looked at top to see Rarity's clock announcing the time. Soon, we saw the two 'lovebirds' blinking at each other before looking at what she was wearing.
"What the?! Why the hay am I in a wedding veil?!" Rainbow demanded, ripping it off and throwing it into the ground, not noticing the tick marks from Rarity.
"Well...looks like they're back to normal, eh?" Kaede chuckled with a nervous smile.
"Hey! Someone mind telling me..." Jack took a deep breath and yelled "The fudge?!"
"Yeah, it's a long story..." Apple Bloom said, feeling guilty at about it.
"We made a love potion that was meant for Big Mac and Ms. Cheerilee, but you two came to the picnic area and drank the love potion." Carrie explained, rubbing her arm bashfully. "We're so sorry..."
"So that drink Jack found and gave to me was the love potion?!" Rainbow gaped at that before glaring angrily at him. "I knew I shouldn't have listened to you! I knew there was something suspicious about it, but noooo! You didn't want to listen!"
"How about you shut up, Skittles!" Jack retorted angrily, gritting his teeth. "If ya did thought it was suspicious, then why drink it in the first place?!"
"Because you told me to drink it to relax from our last argument!" Rainbow retorted.
"Well don't blame me because I was thirsty!"
"I do blame you for getting us to drink this mess! Along with getting me into that dress!"
"Well you don't look so nice in it! At least I have my dignity!"
"Well at least I have my awesomeness and smarts!"
"Well if you're so smart, then maybe you shouldn't have trusted me!"
"Yeah! Maybe so!" Rainbow flew off with an angry look on her face while Jack huffed and threw the ring on the ground and took his leave. We all stood silent and looked at each other in worried.
"Uh oh..." Jamie muttered.
"Uh oh, indeed..." Kodi nodded in agreement.
"Look at those two..." Ren sighed sadly before putting away his Hacking Gun and picking up the ring from the ground. "Those two always argued and now those two are becoming enemies."
"I know." Fluttershy agreed, walking next to Ren, along with Kodiak. "I know those two aren't friendly with each other, but this love potion spell tampered more with their friendship."
"And it's all our faults." Apple Bloom and the others looked down sadly as she continued "If we didn't make that love potion, then none of this would've happened."
"Y-yeah..." Carrie nodded. "What can we do?"
"I don't know..." I shrugged before noticing that there was some dirt on my new suit. "Oh...so sorry for ruining the suit, Rarity."
"N-no! It's quite alright Mason. I suppose I can clean this up." Rarity assured with a weak grin before frowning and looking around the place, seeing it as a mess. "Although, I do suppose we have to clean up this mess."
"True, I guess you can say this Hearts and Hooves Day turned badly..." Kaede muttered sadly. "And we haven't even had a chance to celebrate it yet."
"Yeah..." Ren nodded before widening his eyes a bit while he looked at the ring Jack had. "Guys, I think I have an idea."
"W-what? You do?" Jamie asked, feeling a bit surprised.
"Yeah and if we work together, we can turn this bad day into the best Hearts and Hooves day ever." Ren grinned before he held Fluttershy's hoof tightly, causing her to blush with a soft and embarrassed grin.
"Alright, we're listening Ren." Twilight smiled, feeling quite eager to hear it from him.
"Alright, here's the plan..." Ren gestured us all to come together as he began to whisper the plan to us. Whatever it is, I suppose it could work. Although, I am quite surprised Ren came up with something like that. I guess underneath all that childish personality of his lies a kid with a hidden intellect.
Later
Ren's POV
"Come on Jack, you're gonna love it!" I assured with a grin as we walked through the path as it was already night time.
"If you guys are taking me to town to a nearby buffet, then don't. All they sell are crappy food made out of hay and not meat." Jack commented, his eyes being covered in a blindfold as Jamie and Kodiak led him straight towards our destination: Fluttershy's Cottage. You see, after Ren explained the plan to us, he managed to convince Jack to come out of his room and took him for a little surprise while the girls went to get and convinced Rainbow Dash to meet up at the backyard of Fluttershy's cottage.
"T-Trust us, you're really gonna like it." Jamie assured with a soft grin as we finally arrived to the backyard as Ren patted him on the back and said "Alright big guy, you can take off the blind fold."
Jack did so and once he did, he gawked upon seeing the place filled with decorations.
"What the hell? What the hell is all this for?" Jack questioned, raising a brow and walked around a bit.
"Tell me again where you're taken me?" Well looks like they're finally here. We turned around to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Carrie, Twilight, Fluttershy, Kaede, and Rarity pushing an agitated blind-folded Rainbow Dash into the scene.
"Trust us, this is for your own good Rainbow Dash." Twilight stated before using her magic to remove the blindfold off of Rainbow Dash's eyes, only for her to gasp upon seeing the place, along with Jack.
The two glared angrily at each other and yelled "What the hell/hay are you doing here?!"
"Look you two..." Mason intervened with a serious look and said "Before you two start arguing and possibly fight each other, Ren has something to say since this was his whole idea."
"Wait...what?!" Rainbow and Jack turned to me with angry and surprised looks as I stepped forward and said "Look you guys, you two need to forgive each other. We know you two have your differences, but I know you two have something in common. Like you two spend time with each other at the hospital, along with eating food and being hotheads."
"What's the point?" Jack snorted.
"Yeah, this guy isn't even 20% awesome as I am." Rainbow huffed.
"What you say Skittles?!" Jack exclaimed in anger.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight stepped up with a serious look on her face. "Jack didn't know about the love potion and you didn't even know about it too!"
"Y-yeah, but I did know that there was something off about it!" Rainbow retorted.
"True, but you must know that you two drank it." Jamie pointing out.
"W-well..."
"Ha! No comebacks!" Jack grinned, ignoring the angry look she was giving him.
"Look you guys! Just stop!" I exclaimed, gaining everypony's attention. "Look, what I'm trying to say is that you two may be different from gender and obviously, species, but you two need each other. You two are the boastful, hotheaded, friends we ever got! And you two should accept that!"
Jack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, softening up their expressions.
"They're right." Scootaloo nodded as she and her friends stepped up with sad looks on their faces. "We're so sorry we got you into this mess."
"We were supposed to make my brother and our teacher fall in love with each other to make Ms. Cheerilee not feel lonely on Hearts and Hooves Day, but then you two showed up and drank the potion." Apple Bloom sighed sadly.
"But then we learn something from this experience..." Carrie twiddled her fingers before looking at Jack with a sad smile. "We learned that no matter how good our intentions might have been, we should have never meddled in your relationship."
"Nopony can force two ponies to be together." Scootaloo added.
"Not even humans." Apple Bloom agreed.
"It's up to everypony to choose that very special somepony for themselves." Sweetie Belle finished up, which made the rest of us smiled brightly at that. Mason came over and gave his sister a hug, causing her to smile as she embraced the hug.
"I'm proud of you sister." Mason whispered through her ear.
"Thanks big brother." Carrie smiled.
"Amazing, a great lesson to remember." Jamie wrote it down in his notebook with a smile on his face.
"Thanks for taking note of that, Jamie. I'll be sure to read over your journal and write that down to Princess Celestia." Twilight chuckled.
"O-oh no! I'll be sure to write it down to ya! Y-you know because you were w-working too hard and all that after what happened t-today!" Jamie offered, waving his hands with a blush on his face.
"Umm...okay?" Twilight shrugged, raising a brow at him. Strange, wonder what's got him all riled up?
"Well all that settles, that still won't stop you from getting punishment for making that, right?" Mason reminded them, causing the crusaders to smile sheepishly at him.
"Don't worry, my brother already gave it us and we're going to do his chores for the rest of the day tomorrow after we went to go and help out Jack and Rainbow Dash from their love illness." Apple Bloom chuckled nervously.
"Well now..." Fluttershy turned to Jack and Rainbow Dash with a soft grin and asked "Do you two now forgive each other?"
Jack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and let out grunts before turning their heads away before glancing at each other and sighed.
"Look...let's just apologize and get it over with." Rainbow and Jack apologized at the same time, causing them to chuckle a little.
"You first, big guy." Rainbow offered.
"Fine...sorry for making ya drink that potion, okay?" Jack grunted, looking away from her.
"And I'm sorry too for what I said earlier." Rainbow apologized with a soft smile.
"It's okay, I'm used to it." Jack shrugged, causing some of us to raise concern on that. So he dealt with stuff like that? That's kinda sad, really. But he's a tough guy with a big heart, so I know he'll handle it. "But..." Jack turned back to Rainbow Dash with a tooth-eating grin and said "I gotta say, you look good in a dress."
Rainbow blushed in embarrassment at that before exclaiming "No I do not! I rather wear it when I go out into the Grand Galloping Gala!"
"I don't know what that is, and I don't care." Jack shrugged before his stomach started rumbling. "But man, I'm starving."
"Yeah, me too." Rainbow rubbed her stomach, along with Scootaloo and Carrie, who both grinned sheepishly, causing us all to laugh at that. "You know what? I guess we got off the wrong start, let's try to start over."
"Agreed...Skittles." Jack grinned, causing Rainbow Dash to widened her eyes at that before angrily asking "Hey! I thought we agreed to start over as friends!"
"True, but Skittles has a nice ring in it." Jack laughed, patting his gut. Rainbow Dash continued to glare at him before softening her expression with a soft smile and said "Very well, I guess you can call me Skittles...Fatty."
"Hey! Who are you calling Fatty?" Jack asked in an angry tone.
"Who are you calling Skittles?" Rainbow smirked at him, causing Jack to smirk back at her.
"Well played Skittles, well played..." Jack came over and wrapped an arm around her and said "You know what? You aren't bad yourself!"
"Same here!" Rainbow nodded.
"Well...looks like we finally got them to accept each other." Mason crossed his arms with a soft grin.
"Yeah, I'm glad these two forgave each other and became good friends." Kaede smiled brightly at them.
"Me too Kaede..." Rarity smiled before glaring angrily at Jack and Rainbow Dash before she exclaimed "But next time you want to trash somepony's home, do it somewhere else and not at my place!"
"R-Rarity! Calm down!" Kaede begged. "It was just an accident."
"Yes, they weren't themselves, remember?" Mason reminded her, which made Rarity cool off a bit.
"Very well...I forgive you two...for now." Jack and Rainbow Dash gulped at that before they looked at each other in worried. Oh, I know that feeling you two. I'm worried about that too.
"Now then, since we're here, should we have fun tonight?" I offered. "It's still Hearts and Hooves Day."
"Yeah! Let's party!" Kodi offered with a big grin.
"Yes please." Fluttershy nodded before asking "But maybe, not too loud. The animals in my home are sleeping, and how about we dance around?"
"I see why not." I shrugged.
"Yay." Fluttershy cheered, but in a soft tone. You know, she's kinda cute when she does something like that.
"Ooh, a dance? I haven't even picked out a dress yet!" Rarity said with a shocked expression.
"It's quite alright Rarity. You can still dance with us." Mason offered his hand, surprising Rarity. "Shall we, milady?"
"O-oh..." Rarity blushed a bit before chuckling and replied "Very well...sir Mason."
Mason smiled back at her before they began dancing slowly while the Crusaders and Carrie cheered happily for them and began whispering to each other. I think I overheard them saying about a 'wedding' or something like that.
"That sounds like fun." Twilight smiled before turning to Jamie and asked "Why not we slow dance too, Jamie?"
"M-m-me?" Jamie blinked in surprise. "B-but I-I never slow danced before!"
"Don't worry Jamie, I don't know that either! So come on, let's go." Twilight pulled his hand and pulled him over to the dance floor, causing him to let out a yelp of surprise.
"Meh, you guys go and dance. I rather eat." Rainbow shrugged.
"Same here. Let's go over to Ponyville. I'm almost hungry as a grizzly bear." Jack rubbed his gut, causing Rainbow to laugh at that before she said "That's because you are like one!"
"N-nobody asked you for your opinion!" Jack yelled as he and Rainbow Dash were about to leave until I called out to them.
"Wait! Jack! You forgot this!" I threw Jack the ring he bought, which he managed to catch as he gaze over it, seeing the lightning bolt symbol on the gem. He smiled softly and nodded to me before he and Dash walked out of the cottage, leaving the rest of us alone while Mason, Rarity, Jamie, and Twilight slow danced with each other around the yard. I couldn't help but smile fondly at this, seeing that our first Hearts and Hooves Day became great, despite Jack and Rainbow Dash falling in love through that love potion of theirs. But overall, this turned out great.
"S-shall we too...Ren?" Huh? I turned around to see Fluttershy offering her hoof to me with a meek smile. I looked at her with a surprised look before feeling a push from Kodiak, who gave me an encouraging smile.
"Come on dude, go with her. You are her special somepony after all." Kodi grinned, causing me to smile at him.
"Thanks pal." I petted him on the head, which caused him to chuckle a little before I turned back and took her hoof and we began slow dancing with the others. I noticed Mason and Rarity smiling softly at each other, what with the white unicorn blushing a bit. Even Jamie was blushing like a red tomato as he danced slowly with Twilight. Wow, he must really be nervous doing this, huh?
I looked back at Fluttershy, who smiled softly at me as we continued doing while the other girls and Kodiak watched over with cheers and smiles on their faces. Soon, we finished it up with giving each other hugs. I glanced at Fluttershy and whispered "Sorry if I didn't get you a gift."
"It's alright, all I wanted for Hearts and Hooves Day was to celebrate it...with you." Fluttershy replied with a soft smile, surprising me a bit.
"Well..." I formed a smile back at her before saying "I'm glad to be spending it with ya."
Fluttershy smiled at me as we let go of each other before giving each other a kiss on the lips while I noticed the others, including the ones who danced, watched us with smiles on their faces. I don't mind if they giving us sly looks or whatnot, I'm...quite fond of this. I've never been kiss by a girl before, and it feels...great.
And I really mean what I said to Fluttershy. No matter what worlds we are from, I'm glad to be a part of yours, and I think the others agreed with that as well.
Meanwhile
Rantaro was seen watching them slow dancing around the back of Fluttershy's cottage with a soft grin.
"Heh, those crazy kids and their girlfriends..." Rantaro muttered before forming a sly smirk and took out his phone and took a picture of them hugging each other, causing him to chuckle a bit.
"Well...this was worth it." Rantaro looked at the picture with a grin. "Oh well, too bad I ain't got a girlfriend, but what the heck? Bachelor forever."
With that, he put his phone away and took his leave back towards the home-ship, seeing the moon fully out as another day has passed from the great holiday of Hearts and Hooves/Valentine's Day.
To Be Continued