“You’re gorgeous.”
“No.”
“You’re gorgeous!”
“Nope.”
“Your mane is so fluffy! Er, uh, and I love fluffy stuff.”
“Nice ad-libbing, Romeo.” Lily reclined in a chair with her rear hooves on the table while Colton read down a list of simple compliments she had assigned him the day before. They had been at it for nearly a week now, and his progress was negligible; yet she was now hearing the sarcasm Colton heard in his own voice. Was that a good thing?
“You’re amazing.”
“No.”
“You are so amazing.”
“Almost.”
“You are filly-tastic!”
“Tell you what,” she interrupted twenty minutes of non-stop praise for her own sake as well as his. “I’ve got something that might help.” She scooted away from the table and dug through her bag; with her teeth she pulled out a framed picture of Daisy, taken from her own nightstand. Colton raised an eyebrow.
“You want me to talk to the picture?”
“Can’t be worse than talking to me, can it? And I was surprised you didn’t have one of her already.” She flipped the picture into his hooves. “So far all I’ve been hearing is words without any meaning behind them, and it’s terrible. But I figure I’m not the one you want to be complimenting anyway, right? Give it a shot.”
Colton squared the picture between his hooves and squinted hard. His eyes crossed slightly.
Lily slapped his flank. “Relax, you dope! You don’t need to think she’s real.”
“Fine,” said Colton. He closed his eyes. “Okay. Just tell her how you feel.”
“Is it just me,” Rose said as the latest of a wave of customers exited the store, “or has Lily been especially lazy lately?”
“She’s been skipping work every day since your day off,” Daisy panted thickly from the garden. Her teeth were throbbing from the sheers. “Maybe you’re a bad influence on her.”
“No need for that. She hardly works when she’s here, anyway.”
“I’m sorry,” Daisy giggled humorlessly. “It’s just a lot of work sometimes…It gets quiet back here.”
“I miss her too,” Rose agreed.
“But it’s worth it!” Daisy skipped up to the counter and rustled underneath. “She’s been paying us extra this week, so I bought a little something special. I’m going to visit Colton tomorrow and ask if he wants to see—” she unfurled a poster held in her teeth, “—this!”
Rose’s eyes wandered down the page. Her envy positively glowed as she reached the bottom. “Oh, Daisy!” she breathed longingly, “How could you afford tickets to—”
“—the Gelding Choir, yes!” Daisy squealed in delight. “It’s the concert of the year—no, the decade! And Colton and I will be right there in the audience. The back row to be exact, but still! Won’t it be spectacular? Do you think he’ll go with me?”
“You are dating him, Daisy.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
Rose shook her head and laughed. Despite being the eldest of the flower shop ponies, her friend was acting like a giddy schoolfilly. “You’re the only pony in Ponyville who still doesn’t know you’re going out with Colton!”
“I haven’t seen him all week,” Daisy sighed. “He’s been busy with his vineyards, and I’ve had my hooves full with the shop, but that’s okay. This weekend is going to be perfect.”
Seeing the joy shining in her friend’s eyes, Rose was genuinely happy for her.
It had taken focus, but Colton’s work with the picture exceeded Lily’s wildest expectations. After a few hours he would have been able to charm the wings off a pegasus in flight. He was a natural—all he had needed was the right kind of practice. Brimming with pride, Lily decided that he would graduate from her program after one final task.
“Today, good sir,” she announced with the morning sunlight following her through the front door, “I’m going to give you your toughest challenge yet.”
Colton swallowed.
“You’ve got your compliments down pat,” she marched regimentally in front of him. “You’ve mastered ‘gorgeous,’ ‘stunning,’ and ‘cute;’ your praise of coat, mane, and eye is first-rate; you have the gist of tone, volume, and context; but I’ve been avoiding teaching you one thing.” She stomped to a halt in front of him. “Rejection!”
“Rejection?”
“WRONG!” Lily shouted, and he cringed. “Actually you’re right, but did you feel that just now? That’s what it feels like to be shot down, you know.”
“Daisy isn’t going to reject me.”
“Of course not!” she dismissed, “but there’s a good chance she’ll reject your compliments. Mares do that all the time. For example, you’ll say she’s pretty or something, and she’ll say, ‘Oh, no, don’t say that! I’m not pretty at all!’” she raised her pitch mockingly. “You know how it is. She’ll be embarrassed, but you have to push forward! Don’t take no for an answer—praise her without mercy!”
Colton nodded, his jaw set. He wouldn’t let Daisy think for even a second that she wasn’t the most magnificent mare in Equestria. “Let’s do this.”
“I’ll only be gone for a few hours,” Daisy cheerfully assured Roseluck after having finished the morning’s chores. “Definitely in time for closing. I don’t want to come back from Colton’s in the dark…well, unless he walks me home under the stars. Do you think he’ll offer to walk me home?”
“I know he will,” Rose tiredly waved her on her way. She was missing Lily more than ever now. At least the little pony brought some variety to the conversation, if only in rambling about different video games. The charm of Daisy’s love-struck silliness had worn off a little; maybe that was why Lily was avoiding the shop. Rose resolved to appreciate Lily a little more when she returned.
Unaware of this and almost everything else, Daisy practically skipped out of Ponyville, reveling in the afternoon sunshine that glittered modestly over the wide, grassy planes. Not a thing escaped the transforming powers of her romantic eye: every dandelion seemed a field of beautiful flowers, and the dirt path may as well have been paved with gold. She had forgotten completely about the anxieties of the week before, having put her wholehearted trust in Lily’s reasoning.
Was it her, or had the smell of Colton’s grapes grown sweeter since her last visit? She would say that to him, definitely—you couldn’t fail with a line like that. A dozen such phrases rolled through her mind as she trotted through the humble vineyard up to Colton’s home. She raised a hoof to knock on the front door, but stopped short: Colton’s voice resounded clearly from inside, and he was speaking emphatically with somepony. She listened closely for a moment and…was that Lily’s voice? No, it couldn’t be; Lily hated Colton. Why would she be here? Baffled, Daisy pressed a curious ear against the door.
Without an inkling of shame, Lily sat holding Daisy’s picture in front of her face, slowly turning from side to side to follow Colton’s nervous pacing. As the smug grin behind the frame declared, she was quite proud of herself. The idea for practice that had come off the top of her head was turning out to be sorely needed: however good Colton became at giving one-off compliments, he had been awful at stringing them together without being discouraged—at first. They had begun that morning with simple ‘no’s and ‘stop it’s, but quickly advanced into more treacherous territory.
“You don’t mean that, Colton!” she whined coyly, imagining a reluctant smile to match. Of course, the picture wasn’t accepting requests for expressions, but Colton wasn’t looking directly at it anyway. “Oh, please don’t say any more!”
“How…how can I keep quiet?” Colton stammered, sweating slightly with concentration. “I mean every word I’ve said, but it still doesn’t feel like enough. Don’t ask me to stop so soon…when I can go on forever.”
“Oh, but what if somepony overhears? It would be so embarrassing!”
“Then let them listen!” he said boldly, “They should feel lucky to hear the truest words anypony’s ever spoken—to hear my love for you!”
“Oh, oh, please,” Lily gasped theatrically, “I don’t deserve all of this! Oh!”
“You’re right; a mare as wonderful as you deserves so much more.”
“Wonderful?” she scoffed, “I’m just a regular pony working at a flower shop. There’s nothing wonderful about me.”
Should he laugh? or would that be condescending? Colton risked a soft chuckle. “What about you isn’t wonderful?” Suddenly he ceased pacing and stared directly into the picture’s eyes; his voice dropped to a murmur. “It cannot be your eyes—your warm, gentle, enchanting eyes. Nor is it your gorgeous, flowing mane; or your velvety pink coat. You are clever, graceful, hard-working, selfless…and patient enough to love a colt like me. Nopony—not the princesses themselves—could ever be more wonderful than you are.”
Lily graciously conceded her defeat. “Do you…really think so, Colton?”
“I do. I truly, sincerely do.”
It had taken all of Daisy’s willpower to tear herself away from Colton’s home. She was furious, shocked, confused—but worse, she was heartbroken and afraid of what she might have done had she opened the door. The two ponies she trusted most had betrayed her; it felt as if the world had turned upside-down and landed on her chest. What little sense she maintained in the storm of emotions told her to run, and to cry, so she wouldn’t do something else—or worse, do nothing, and become trapped with only her thoughts.
Lily, on the other hoof, was in the throes of the laughing fit of her life. Colton might have joined her, but he wasn’t completely sure that it wasn’t at his expense. Instead he prepared a pair of glasses for the table and waited the filly out.
At last Lily dragged herself, still shaking with mirth, to the table and took a grateful swig of juice. Her face was controlled, deadpan, when she lowered the glass. “I think my heart skipped a beat.”
Colton gave her a worried look.
“That last line,” she half-sighed to prevent herself from laughing again, “That delivery was just…” her mouth twisted; she was fighting a losing battle, “w-what if I had…d-d-died!” she snorted loudly and fell into hysterics once more. Colton wasn’t sure what to make of it, but he was smiling as well.
“Are you feeling alright, Lily?"
The filly breathed deeply. “No, I’m—I’m not. That was really scary. When you said you were sincere, I kind of choked—I couldn’t breathe for a second, and I swear my heart stopped. I’m so sorry Daisy; I’ve turned your boyfriend into a monster!”
“Do you want to see a doctor?”
“No! I’m fine,” she quickly returned to herself, “but I think we’re done with practice for today. In fact, we’re done forever. Some of your compliments sounded like they were said by somepony a hundred years ago, but they were solid otherwise. Besides, I don’t think Daisy will put up half the fight I did.” She lifted her glass ceremoniously, and he followed suit. “Consider yourself a graduate of Lily’s Compliment Academy!”
They drank, and then Lily slipped into her saddle bag. “It’s been a while since you last saw Daisy, right?” She pushed open the front door; the sky outside was a deep, comfortable blue. “I’ll order her to work past closing hours tonight so you can stop by and surprise her. I’ve been throwing some extra bits her way, so maybe you two can do something special. Take some time to get ready.”
“W-what?” stammered Colton. “Tonight? That’s, uh, a little soon to be making plans, don’t you—?”
The door slammed shut behind her.
“He s-said he… he l-loved her!” Daisy sobbed unreservedly into Rose’s shoulder. “What did I do, Rose? What did I do? What did I do wrong?”
Dusk was falling over Ponyville. It had been a few hours since Daisy had galloped across the town in tears, burst inside the little flower shop and insisted to a startled Rose that she return to work in the gardens before closing. Daisy’s entire body had shook with such intensity, from exhaustion both mental and physical, that Rose feared she would collapse at any moment. So the shop was closed and Daisy was cautiously escorted to Rose’s home, which was free from prying pony eyes.
“He s-said…no-nopony was as wonderful as her!” Daisy choked.
Rose stroked Daisy’s mane comfortingly, quietly, equally at a loss for an explanation. However silly she may have seemed, Daisy always hesitated and considered before accusing other ponies of wrongdoing. Yet she insisted she had heard Colton confess his love for Lily, and more eloquently than he had ever done for herself.
The friends sat together on Rose’s bed, one of them openly despondent and the other quietly growing furious. If Rose despised anything in the world, it was betrayal. She felt ashamed of her annoyance with Daisy’s fawning over Colton. She wondered if he had been after Lily all along, if he had any idea how attached Daisy was to him. Rose scoured her memories for hints that might have forewarned this, but came up with nothing; and the less sense it all made, the more anger she felt toward the unfaithful colt.
And as for Lily—
At that moment, the final dregs of sunlight at her back, Lily trotted into Ponyville town center without a care in the world—save for her stomach. The introduction of exercise to her daily routine in the last week had left her almost perpetually hungry, even to the point that she could reluctantly bear to eat at a table without any electronics to hold her attention. It was a strange new life—a mature life?—that she had been falling into. Feeling very grown up, Lily strode up to the little flower shop prepared to give orders like an adult. Except it was closed.
What?
An airy voice hailed her from behind. “Lily! Lily, thank goodness. How is Daisy feeling? Is she any better?”
“Hi, Fluttershy,” Lily turned around to greet her politely. “I’m sorry, but what did you say about Daisy?”
As always, concern lay heavily in the tender pegasus’s eyes. “Oh, um, I was just wondering how Daisy is feeling. Everypony’s been so worried about her.”
“Worried? Why? Did something happen?”
“You didn’t know?” Fluttershy’s eyes flickered unsurely. “I’m sorry, but just a few hours ago she came running through Ponyville crying, and everypony says she was coming from the path leading to Sir Colton’s house. I saw her go into the shop myself, and it closed just a moment later. The poor thing must have had her heart broken.”
Lily’s stomach clenched. This didn’t bode well at all. “Whe-when did you say she came running through town?”
“And crying?”
“Yes, running and crying, thanks.”
“It must have been at least three hours ago.”
There was no way around it: Daisy had overheard their practice, and now she knew Colton was being trained to compliment her. Lily’s expression darkened; all their hard work had been rendered pointless—or worse, would create the opposite effect. Now no matter what he said or how well he said it, Daisy wouldn’t trust a single kind word out of Colton’s mouth. She gave Fluttershy her halfhearted thanks and then proceeded cautiously into the darkened building.
Lily quickly searched their home above the shop but, not finding her, quickly determined Daisy must be with Rose. The thought of having Rose for support gave Lily confidence: nopony was more dependable in an iffy situation. Surely Rose would recognize how benign the whole affair was. She might even have the problem resolved before Lily arrived.
But the look in Roseluck’s eyes as she answered the door to her home told a different story.
Whatever Lily had planned to say, whatever excuses or buck-passes she had prepared to make, they all disappeared under Rose’s oppressive gaze. It was totally unfamiliar, unnatural to the face Lily knew: an expression full of contempt, dominance, intensity—an expression alien to Ponyville. How could Rose make such a face?
Her name was all Lily could manage to say.
Rose spoke coldly. “Oh, I thought you were Colton.” She scanned the street behind Lily. “Where is he?”
“Rose,” Lily repeated, “What’s happened to Daisy?”
“You don’t—?”
“No,” Lily caught herself, “I know what happened, but can I see her? She’s here with you, isn’t she?”
“No.”
“She’s not? Rose, this is really bad, we need to find her quick. She’s been—”
“She’s here. I said you ain’t gonna see her.”
‘Ain’t gonna’? The phrase caught Lily’s ear. “Rose, please. I’m really sorry about what I’ve been doing with Colton, so I just want to tell her—”
“To tell her what?” Rose jerked forward a step, and Lily flinched. It was a threat! “You gonna say sorry just like that? ‘Sorry I took your boyfriend’? Well, she don’t want your excuses! Your sorry ain’t worth nothin’ no more. I thought you were her sister—our sister—but you never thought of us like that, didja, princess? No! Daisy’s just a servant to you, so you take what you want from her. That right?”
Lily only stared. She had never heard Rose speak this way, never even imagined it. She hardly caught the words’ meaning for the sheer force behind them.
“She don’t need you!” Rose spat, nearing a shout. “She don’t need Colton, neither. There ain’t a thing you have to say to her, got it? Not-a-thing! So get your midget flank outta my sight ‘fore I kick it, and tell your little lover-colt to watch his plot around town, ‘cause I don’t plan on givin’ him the royal treatment I’m givin’ you!”
Her eyes burned, wild, yet more intent than Lily had ever seen. This wasn’t the Rose she knew—not the charming flower shop employee, not the patient and teasing mare Lily admired so much and so quietly.
This was the Rose that Rose never wanted to talk about.