ACT ONE
The map was indeed showing Cadance and Shining’s cutiemarks, hovering over Ponyville.
“I can’t believe we’ve actually been called to solve a friendship problem.” said Shining.
“Neither can I.” added Twilight.
“What kind of mission is it?” asked Cadance.
“We don’t know.” said Starlight “The map only tells us there’s a problem, where it is and who should tackle it, but who it is, why it is… that’s something you have to find.”
The couple was still rather excited about going on a friendship mission, “But we can’t go on a mission now.” said Cadance “I still have to do my annual fly about.”
Twilight suggested she go on her fly about anyway, while Shining Armor searched the town for their mission, “That way, you’ll both have a better chance of finding who needs help, and Cadance can do her fly-about as well.”
“You always were the brains of the family.” teased her brother.
Since there was no big ceremony involved, Cadance decided to go our right away, and her husband followed her leaving Twilight to foal-sit Flurry.
Spike decided to get back to work on his card for Rarity, only to find, “…Where is it?” He looked all over amongst his many other cards and art supplies, but he couldn’t find his special card for Rarity. “I put it right here, I know I did.”
“I’m sure it’s around, Spike.” said Twilight “It’s not like anyone would just steal it.”
…If they only knew!
Cadance made her fly around Ponyville, and lots of ponies looked up and saw her-- waving and calling to her, and she waved and called down to them “Happy Hearts and Hooves Day!” and as she fluttered about, she began to drop little bits of magical sparkles everywhere, which pleased the crowds.
Everywhere Cadance looked pleased her-- Stallions bringing flowers and candies to their sweethearts. Other couples were sharing milkshakes at cafes.
A few stallions were even serenading their sweethearts out their windows, and the mares were flattered.
Of course, there were a few ponies couples that seemed to be a little shy and awkward at each other-- too afraid or too embarrassed to even look at one another, and just kept turning away.
So, Cadance decided to share a little of her magic with them. Using her specialty, she cast some light on the ponies, magically making them recognize their love for one another, and the couples were instantly gazing at one another, walking side-by-side, and no longer afraid.
However, she also couldn’t help but notice; some ponies were wearing large hates, and not out of desire. Some were even wearing bonnets, or tuques on a warm day. A couple of ponies were holding newspapers or umbrellas over their heads when it wasn’t even raining.
“Strange…” she thought, but she had no idea why.
Cadance then noticed there was a lone mare sitting all by herself under a tree. She was an indigo Earth Pony with a long navy blue mane, with a few streaks of purple. Her cutiemark was a flower in a pot, hinting she was a gardener.
She looked pretty sad as she just sat under that tree, which Cadance could only sense as heartbreak-- something she especially didn’t like.
Shining Armor, who had been following his wife around town, saw the same pony under the tree, and he didn’t like heartbreak any more than Cadance did.
Cadance then dropped down next to her husband, and the two didn’t even have to say a thing to each other to know they both happened on the same idea and the approached the pony.
“Excuse us…” said Shining Armor.
The mare looked up, “Princess Cadance? Shining Armor?”
“That’s us.” said Cadance.
The mare felt extremely honoured, and bowed to them both. “You don’t have to do that.” said Shining Armor.
“My name’s Violet.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Cadance “But… sorry to pry, we couldn’t help noticing-- why are you so sad?”
Violet almost looked ready to cry, “…Because, my heart’s been broken.”
Those awful words struck the couple really hard. They really wondered if this was the pony they had to help, but their cutiemarks did not resonate meaning the opposite.
Still, despite their mission, they were not ones to leave a pony sad and alone.
“Tell us what bothers you.” said Cadance “I know it may seem hard and said, but it can help clear the air, and it’ll make it easier for us to help you.”
Violet told her story…
She was indeed a gardener and owned a greenhouse, just a few blocks away, and she was madly in love with a mail carrier.
Suddenly, she looked up, “There he is!”
The couple saw him. He was a yellow unicorn pony with a brown mane, and his cutiemark was that of a mailbag. Then again, he was the mail pony as was identified by his uniform and the sack of mail he had.
“Courier…” said Violet “I’ve been in love with him ever since I first moved to Ponyville.”
She recalled the day, she had just settled into her new home, having moved from Canterlot, and she went grocery shopping, but a heavy rain began to fall, the kind that soaked you to the bone, and she was on the final stretch to her house, when suddenly she turned a corner and bumped into some-pony.
Her groceries went all over the place.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!” she growled.
“Sorry about that.” said the other pony, but then he took one look at her and gasped, more in fright, as if he recognized her from somewhere, and she gazed deeply at him and how handsome he looked, even though he was soaking from the rain.
He used his telekinesis to gather up all her groceries and then let her have his umbrella, “I’m already wet from my mail route.”
That’s when the crush hit Violet.
Courier began to run away, and she snapped out of her trance. “Hey, wait…!” she called.
“It’s nothing!” he called to her as he disappeared into the storm, but Violet kept her eyes on him until he was well out of sight.
Back in the present, “I never forgot that.” said Violet “I’ve tried to talk to him and tell him how I feel, but he just keeps avoiding me.”
Tears were starting to fall from her eyes, “And now, he even took out a restraining order on me. So I can’t come within fifty feet of him.”
The couple thought that just cruel and horrid, even though it did seem she was stalking him. “He wouldn’t even talk to you?” asked Shining Armor “That’s pretty harsh.”
Cadance agreed, and saw Courier walking way up ahead. “Wait a minute…” she said as she saw another mare walking up to him.
She seemed to be a simple light green mare, with a faded green mane. She seemed to be handing him a rose.
“Courier, will you please be my special some-pony today?” she asked “I’ve liked you for a long time, and I’d really like to try.”
Courier quickly, but calmly shook his head, “No thanks.”
The poor mare looked crushed, but then Courier handed her a letter from his bag, “But this is for you, from him…” and he pointed way over at a nerdy red pony, which wore thick glasses and had buckteeth. He wasn’t that very attractive, not to mention he had been admiring the mare for a long time, and she had been rejecting him.
The mare read his letter, and she was stunned! The words were so beautiful, almost lyrical, she felt like she was going to melt, and she dashed right over to the nerd and handed him the rose instead, “Be my special some-pony?”
The nerd was confused “Um… sure.” he said, and it looked as if the two were going to go really steady…
…But Cadance kept her eyes on Courier, and couldn’t believe how he just rejected that pony like that. He didn’t even thank her for the offer and just coldly shot her down.
“Excuse me a minute.” Cadance said leaving her husband with Violet, and she went to peruse the mail pony.
Courier then reached Carousel Boutique, and slipped a card through the slot in Rarity’s front-door-- the very card that Spike was making for her.
As he went along his way,
“Excuse me, Courier?” Cadance said.
He turned round and was shocked to see her, “P… Pri… Princess Cadance?!” he cried under his breath.
She slowly began to approach him, and her cutiemark began to resonate. He was definitely the one the friendship map had called about, but exactly why was still a mystery.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to you.”
“No,” he snapped as he backed away from her, “Stay away from me!” He acted as though he was confronting with a monster, and he dashed off up the street.
“Wait!” shouted Cadance, and she began to fly after him as it was faster than walking.
Courier disappeared around a corner, and when Cadance got round the bend, she couldn’t see him anywhere. “Where did he go?” she wondered. She didn’t think he could have possibly have made it up the street that fast, which suggested he was possibly hiding somewhere nearby, but rather than rummage through things like a common spy, Cadance decided to head back to Shining Armor.
“…Then he just took off.” she had finished explaining.
Shining Armor thought that weird, “It’s not like you were going to hurt him or anything.”
Violet sighed, “Word around Ponyville is that Courier doesn’t like to hang around other mares, even those that seem to like him. He just brushes them off like pests.”
Shining Armor was starting to feel they had come across a real jerk of a pony, which only doubly confirmed, he had a problem.
“What should we do?” asked Shining Armor.
“I think we need to talk to Twilight.” suggested Cadance.
Meanwhile, in another part of town…
A lone stallion walked along with his head slouched forth as he kicked a small stone.
Then a couple passed by and saw him, and instantly began to tease him. “Look, poor baby’s got no special some-pony.” said the male, and his mare-friend laughed “As if any-pony would be dumb enough to be his special some-pony!”
They laughed, and laughed, and the lonely pony felt like crying, but suddenly, a lovely mare approached him, one whom he had a crush on for a long time. She was blushing and holding a letter, “Thank you so much.” she said, and she read the letter she had…
“What is love? Why is there?
And why does it suddenly strike from somewhere,
Like a lightning bolt that doth fall from the sky,
In the flash there I see you beside that which is I
‘Tis naught of looks, or of charm, it is all by chance,
that I can wish and dream of a great romance.
Long hath my admiration be focussed to thee
I know naught of what you might see in me.
A flower as you deserves nectar so sweet,
Perhaps I am that whom you should meet
Looks are only as far and so wide,
But much love can be found inside.”
Such powerful words, the three ponies were shocked, especially the lone stallion, but the mare was blushing. “That’s so sweet.” she said “I never knew you felt this way.”
The stallion blushed and giggled nervously, and then his crush asked to get a milkshake with him as her treat, and the couple walked off together, leaving the horrid couple in shock and beyond words.
Suddenly, WHAPP!! From out of nowhere, they were each struck hard by something thrown at them-- a single red rose, which had parted their manes right down the middle, much to the mare’s horror as she was sensitive about looks!
Attached to the rose was a small note, which the stallion read:
“…Serves you right for being so rude!”
The two looked up and saw no one around, but they did hear ponies laughing at them for their now really bad hairdos, and the couple went off feeling very embarrassed.
Up on a rooftop, that stranger in the black outfit crept along the roof tops where no one could see him, and casually dropped letters and cards into the houses he passed.
One mare had just opened her window to water her plants in a window-box, when a love letter fell right before her. She looked up to see who dropped it, but found no one was there.
She read the letter, which was just as beautiful and as romantic as the one that read aloud, and since the letter was signed, she knew who to look for to thank.
As for that stranger, he just continued to slink about town keeping well out of sight, and even if any pony spotted him for a split second, he was gone in a flash.