//------------------------------// // The Plan // Story: The Great Shadowbolt Valentine's Plan! // by WittyNameTFM //------------------------------// It was a cool morning in February, the weather surprisingly nice for this time of year. A light was on in the CPA's gym's storage shed. "We've prepared and planned for weeks. We have this in the bag!" The athlete said, marching back and forth in front of her team. Starlight, Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet sat up, nodding at her marching orders. *** Meanwhile...at the aspiring thespian's more than humble abode… "We should trust our significant others. But they can be...unreliable." Sunny cupped her chin as she paced. Trixie, Pinkie and Lemon looked to one another. "Uh...Sunny?" Lemon began, earning a sigh. "I know. I realized it as I said it…" She covered her face. "So we're just as forgetful-" "I don't forget anniversaries or holidays!" Pinkie chimed in happily. "You're a party planner...it comes with the job." Trixie crossed her arms. "Trixie just wants this to go well." "Trixie, you could get Starlight anything and she'd love it." Lemon said. "Girls! Focus." Sunny groaned. "We have a goal here." *** "Operation: Best Valentine's Day Ever. Who's ready?!" Starlight held her hand up, Sour joining...and a much more reserved Sugarcoat nodded. "Let's go, Shadow Bolts!" Indigo cheered. *** "We can do this, we will no longer be the ones who have the lesser gift. We will show our girlfriends just how much we care! Who's with me?" All three cheered along with her, Lemon and Pinkie jumping up and down as they did so. *** Indigo and Sour Sweet split off first, the athlete running ahead as her friend groaned, starting to run to keep up. Sugarcoat and Starlight went the opposite direction. *** Pinkie threw up her hand. "Why don't we just go by the notes I took on them?" "The what?" Sunny asked. "I have detailed notes on all my friend's likes and dislikes. It's how I plan parties so effectively. Dashie hates pie, Sunset's allergic to peaches, Applejack has an aversion to oranges for whatever reason, Rarity can't have anything too messy to eat in public, Twilight has a liiiiiiiittle bit of lactose intolerance." She leaned over to Trixie, whispering loudly. "I think She doesn't know, but she gets queasy when she eats ice cream or anything with cheese. So Dr. Pinkie put two and two together." She felt a bit of pride in flexing her note taking and memory skills. Trixie nodded with a smile. "Okay...what do you have on us?" Sunny asked. "Lemon's favorite flavor is strawberry, so I'd suggest a diner with milkshakes. Trixie loves spicy foods so a Hispanic place would be perfect for her to choose just how spicy she'd want her meal. I'd love to spend any time with Sugarcoat...so I'm basically okay with anything and anywhere." She looked to the head of the planning. "Sunny, you love dark chocolates, so a reaaaaaally nice Valentine's heart with tasty, tasty dark chocolates would be an ideal gift. As for a place to go…" She tapped her chin. "You go with the flow despite your tendency to try and control a situation. Like right now. But you'd like anywhere as long as it made your date happy." Sunny flushed a little. "How do you know stuff like that..?" "I pay attention." She shrugged. "So...how about you take over here?" She suggested. "Okie dokie lokie." She beamed, standing. "Let's start with Starlight." She began. *** Later that evening, Trixie waited for Starlight at her RV. She watched through the blinds, failing to remain calm. She took another deep breath and exhaled like the therapist recommended...she didn't know why, it was such a simple concept...but it seemed to help immensely. -Knock!- -Knock!- Trixie jolted and quickly opened the door, the punk girl looked up with a grin, but it fell to slack jawed awe. Trixie stood with a similar style, for the girl who normally wore a dress and hoodie, seeing her in ripped jeans and a sleeveless top, Starlight's favorite band no less. The image of a spider from the band's fourth album, She even sported rings and wrist bands. "Now, now, it's more than okay to drool, Starlight." She teased. "You look...wow." "Trixie knows." She boasted, though Starlight saw through that. The relief and joy were obvious. "Steal my look more often babe, damn." She smirked. "You got everything?" "Trixie needs her shoes, but that takes a moment." She took a seat, putting on and lacing up combat boots. "Geez...we haven't even left yet and you're killing it on this date already." Starlight said, eying her up and down. "Wandering eyes, my dear assistant. Now you will understand what I experience whenever we go out." "I don't think I make it look as good as you, to be honest." "You'd be incorrect. Where are we going?" "I figured we could go get something spicy. I know how you love that." She said, taking her hand after Trixie locked up the RV. The magician beamed, hugging her arm. *** "And next...how about…" "Ooh me! Me!" Lemon said excitedly. "Alrighty!" Pinkie smiled brightly. "Your's is gonna be pretty simple, all you need to do is…" *** That night, Lemon straightened her shirt, though it was still her usual clothing...t-shirt and pants...she did wear a long sleeved shirt under her t-shirt. Red and white stripes to make herself feel just a bit more festive. She pulled her headphones off, resting them on her neck before readying herself to leave. She examined the mirror and a knock came at the door. She tilted her head, but exited her room. Her mom and dad were out for the night with their own plans, so she hopped down the stairs to answer the door.  She opened it to find Sour Sweet. The shorter girl was red faced and held a small bag that read "Happy Valentine's Day with a cute stuffed cat poking out of the top. "Sour?" "Here." She held it out. "You know I suck at this...so sorry if it's not great, I just-" she was cut off by a tight hug. "Thank you so much! I love it!" She said happily. "G-Good…" She mumbled, returning the hug. "L-Let's uh, lets go get something to eat? Maybe that Diner… Then we can spend the night watching movies like you like…" She suggested. Lemon gasped excitedly. "Really?" "Only for you." She rolled her eyes but held a soft smile. Her face turned a deep red when Lemon's lips met her own. *** "As for me...I think I'll have to come up with some kind of coffee cake. Sugarcoat will like that...and she'd want to help me make it. Which is just the best." Pinkie smiled goofily. "She's always so nervous in the kitchen, it's sooooo cute." "Sugarcoat? Nervous? I've never seen her nervous ever…" Sunny thought aloud. "Yeah! I bet it'll go something like…" *** Sugarcoat stood in the kitchen with Pinkie, watching her dart around at inexplicable speed. "Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked calmly. "Ooh! Break those eggs and separate the yolks." She said with a smile. "I can do that."  The energetic girl stopped long enough to give an appreciative peck to her cheek, which made the bespectacled girl's face heat. She began to meekly break and separate the eggs as asked. "You're really cute when you get embarrassed." Pinkie teased. "I don't agree with you...but thanks." "You can disagree all you want, doesn't mean I'm wrong." She grinned. "You're amazing to pull off both beauty and cuteness." Sugarcoat sank into herself as her blush deepened. "Stop…" She mumbled. Pinkie landed her last shot, poking her nose with a giggly 'boop!' Before returning to her own preparatory work. *** "And then we'll watch one of those long documentaries that she really likes and cuddle. It'll be great!" Pinkie cheered brightly, shooting to her feet.  "That's really sweet Pinkie." Sunny smiled. "I gotta go get ready right now! I need a few ingredients actually." She tapped her chin. "Good luck girls!" She smiled happily. "W-Wait, Pinkie, what about me?" "You? You just have to wait." Pinkie said simply. "Until riiiiight about…." The doorbell rang. "Now!" She beamed. Sunny gaped, looking to her door then to Pinkie. Lemon and Trixie looked confused as well. Pinkie began to shoo them out as she headed toward the door also. "I'm a party planner first...but an agent of love second." She said cryptically. The bell rang a second time as the gobsmacked girl watched the trio disappear out the back door. She shook her head, heading to the front door. She opened it to find Indigo in a very nice pair of dress pants, a white button up, the sleeves rolled up and a black vest that was accented with her namesake. She grinned. "So, whatcha think? I clean up pretty well, huh?" She struck a pose as Sunny blushed, taking in the sight. "What...wow, you look amazing…" She mumbled. "Surprised? I knew I could pull it off." She smirked. "Pinkie was an awesome distraction." "Distraction?" She asked. "I told her I planned to do something special and she was all in for it. Said she'd keep you guys busy while we set everything up." "You...all of you were planning things as well?" She asked. "Well, some people have trouble keeping track of things." She teased. "You'll never let me forget that…" She sighed. "You're so good at this dating thing...it's the only leverage I have." She chuckled. "Oh, hang on…" She jogged over to her car, opening it and taking out a heart with tiny chocolates inside. The label read dark chocolate and Sunny's face lit up. "Oh, Indy…" "I know." "You're actually the best, you know?" She giggled. "It's still good to hear." She smiled. "So did Pinkie..?" "She helped plan for each of us." She nodded. "She's got some crazy memory powers or something." "I wonder how accurate her predictions are…" "Who knows." She shrugged. "But I hear she has a pretty good track record. Now c'mon. We have a reservation." She offered her arm. "You really went all out on this." "You know it. I go big for my girl." She grinned. Sunny smiled, quickly locking up and taking her arm.