Chapter Four – L’Amour
A large, grumpy monkey with snowy fur sat cross-legged and stared at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy over a low wall. A giant protrusion hung down from the centre of his face, like a floppy sausage with a bulbous end. Surrounding him in the enclosure were several other smaller monkeys. Pinkie laughed.
“Look at the size of that schnozz, haha! Wow!”
She blocked her nostrils with her hoof and blew air into her snout. Her nose inflated and expanded so that it matched the large monkey’s inside the enclosure. Fluttershy blinked a few times in surprise and took a step back. Once in awhile Pinkie’s randomness still made her doubt her sanity.
Suddenly, the other monkeys in the enclosure left the large monkey’s side and flocked to the wall closest to Pinkie. They started jumping up and down and hollering, hearts formed in their eyes. Pinkie giggled up a storm, but Fluttershy blushed and waved a hoof to get her attention.
“Ummm, Pinkie wait!”
Pinkie waved her giant nose around and made silly noises, edging the smaller monkeys on. The large monkey got up in the back and roared. He pounded on his chest. Fluttershy grimaced.
“Pinkie! The nose of the snownobo is a… well, it’s a symbol of, ummm, prowess for snownobos.”
Pinkie swung around, her nose swooping in a wide arc and almost hitting Fluttershy in the face.
“Prow-who?” she asked. The monkeys continued their shrieking, and Fluttershy grew even redder.
“A-as in… the males use their big noses to attract the females. Do you understand, umm, what I’m saying?”
Pinkie blinked for a few moments. Then the realization hit her, and for the first time in — well, maybe ever — Pinkie blushed. She smacked her oversized nose and it deflated back to normal size. She shuffled back.
“Oops, s-sorry, snownobos…”
It was enough to calm them all down, but the male snorted in Pinkie’s direction and mumbled something in ape-speech. Fluttershy cleared her throat. Pinkie smiled awkwardly.
“It’s okay,” Fluttershy said, wearing a light smile, “you didn’t know. Let’s go visit another enclosure!”
Though the Vanhoover Zoo called them “enclosures”, the living areas of the animals were more like vaguely walled off spaces meant to organize the Zoo and not so much trap the animals. They weren’t massive, since the Zoo needed enough room for all the different animals, but the animals were given plenty of time to roam about during off-hours, so Fluttershy figured it was a fair deal. After all, she reasoned, the Vanhoover Zoo was the best zoo in Equestria for its care of animals!
Fluttershy and Pinkie walked away from the snownobo enclosure and continued on the path. The shoveled snow pathway led straight on through the zoo, with the different enclosures, at different intervals, positioned either to the left or right. Light fixtures hung over the pathway at certain points, and here and there was a wooden bench for sore pony behinds to take advantage of. The two mares walked side by side on the right, letting the plentiful fellow zoo-goers pass them on the left. A consistent downpour of fluffy flakes constantly reminded them that they were in Vanhoover.
“So, what’s next Flutters?” Pinkie asked with the usual bounce in her… bounce, snow crunching beneath her. Fluttershy reached back with a wing and retrieved a zoo map from her saddlebag. She studied it with a hum.
“Looks like it’ll be the ice bats! Awww, they must be so cute!”
Fluttershy was giddy, and there was a tremble in her gait. Pinkie watched her with an enormous smile on her face.
Just down the pathway, to everypony’s left, was another enclosure. The tan, ice-covered walls only came up to about Fluttershy’s chin. There were no fences around it, and inside was a large, gnarly looking dead tree. On its branches hung dozens of bats with spiky blue fur that covered their bodies and stuck up on their ears. Their leathery flesh was a lighter blue. Fluttershy made a noise that was a combination of an “aww” and a laugh.
“Lookit those widdle fellas! Oh, I could just pinch their widdle cheeks…” she trailed off and made a hoof pinching motion in the air. Pinkie giggled.
All the bats but one were asleep. The lone straggler was a baby bat, standing up on a branch and blinking over at Fluttershy. Her face lit up as the baby bat took to the air with a graceless flap of its wings and soared over.
“He’s coming over here, Pinkie!” she cried, lightly shoving Pinkie with her wing. “This is amazing! An icebat awake during the day!” The baby bat landed on the separating wall right in front of Fluttershy and stared up at her with big, googly baby eyes of deep, dark sapphire. He made high-pitched chirping noises.
“Hey baby boy!” Fluttershy praised, running her gentle hoof over the bat’s head. He closed his eyes as she petted him. Pinkie got close and leaned down to look at the bat at eyelevel.
“Aww, he really is a cutie! Hey little ice bat!” she said, booping his bat nose. The baby bat, however, recoiled, and made a bat hissing noise. He stuck out his tongue and flew back to the tree. Pinkie muffled her laugh behind a hoof.
“Guess he didn’t like the baby talk!”
Fluttershy chuckled as well.
“Guess not.”
And so, the zoo trip continued. Time seemed to stand still as Fluttershy and Pinkie made the rounds throughout the zoo, Fluttershy being the animal favorite no matter where she went, and Pinkie occasionally riling up a few other of the critters with her Pinkie shenanigans. More often than not, though, she made the animals, and the other zoo-goers, double over with laughter. Fluttershy found herself laughing more than usual.
By the time both mares had visited every enclosure, and hunger started to set in, Fluttershy glanced up at a clock on a pole and noticed how late it was. Her ears perked up with a jolt.
“Oh! We need to get going so we don’t miss supper with the girls.”
Pinkie nodded.
“Mhm! I’m so hungry I could eat a rhicenocerous — no, two rhicenocerouses! Or is it rhicenoceri?”
Because Fluttershy and Pinkie were in Vanhoover, the vague light above the permanently-grey snow clouds was dissipating, even though it was only 3:30 in the afternoon. The early northern night was fast approaching. Streetlamps and windows of buildings became illuminated as the mares left the Vanhoover Zoo and got back onto the streets of the city proper.
On their way to the restaurant that everypony had agreed to meet at for 4 o clock, Fluttershy and Pinkie approached a walking couple. They were hoof in hoof as they slowly made their way down the lamp-lit, snow kissed sidewalk. They both wore fine, felt overcoats, and they giggled in the way only new lovers could.
“That couples skating competition is going to be the HIGHLIGHT of our romantic getaway, honeybuns,” Fluttershy overheard the stallion say as her and Pinkie passed the couple. Fluttershy stopped and looked over her shoulder at the enamored twosome.
The mare snickered and brought in her snout to touch her coltfriend’s.
“Just as long as you don’t bring ALL four of your left hooves onto the ice, darling,” she replied. The couple laughed in unison and continued on their way. Fluttershy quietly sighed.
“Fluttershy?” Pinkie asked, having stopped as well. Fluttershy ignored her momentarily, staring at the orange-grey glow of the illuminated white sidewalk, the fluffy flakes of snow from the sky still coming down around her.
Must be nice to have a special somepony like that to enter skating competitions with…
Fluttershy stared longingly at the couple walking away and frowned.
I bet she feels like the luckiest mare in the world. Warm and fuzzy…
“Fluttershyyy—”
The called-for mare blinked. Something felt heavy on her back. Her shoulders wobbled with strain. Fluttershy realized what was happening and her face burned red-hot.
“P-Pinkie, what are you doing?!” she cried.
Pinkie embraced Fluttershy in a backhug, her head parallel to Fluttershy’s. Pinkie squeezed.
“Juuuust thought I’d bring you back down to Equestria in a Pinkie Pie-certified way!”
She squeezed again and burst out rapidly.
“WithABigWarmHug!”
Fluttershy couldn’t deny that the hug was toasty warm, and definitely not unwanted, but her back cried in agony. She groaned.
“Uhhh, P-Pinkie, I’m gonna…”
Pinkie yelped and quickly jumped off. She walked around to Fluttershy’s front, worried that she had gone too far. Fluttershy was lightly panting before switching to an embarrassed smile.
“I’m so, so sorry, Fluttershy!” Pinkie apologized, “I didn’t mean to hurt you! Was that too much? Did I overdo it? Usually when I do that it’s to a yak, so…”
Fluttershy shook her head.
“N-no, it’s okay. I’m okay. You just caught me off guard, that’s all.”
She looked up and smiled at Pinkie, cheeks rosy and eyes twinkling.
Pinkie found herself lost for words for a moment. The streetlamp above bathed Fluttershy in a perfect wave of light. Pinkie had never seen Fluttershy’s cyan irises sparkle like that before.
“Wellll,” Pinkie began, clearing her throat briefly, “You’ve been spacing out an AWFUL lot lately, and it’s starting to worry me!” She thrust her hoof out and gingerly laid it lengthwise across Fluttershy’s forehead. “Are you coming down with the pony flu?”
“N-no—” was all Fluttershy could utter before Pinkie got closer, lowered her head, and pressed her ear against Fluttershy’s chest.
“Are you sure?” Pinkie asked as if thrusting your head against your friend’s chest was just a normal thing to do. Fluttershy looked around frantically and forced a smile at passersby, who gave the twosome an odd glance.
“P-Pinkie Pie, I’m f-fine… promise! I’ll even Pinkie Promise!”
Pinkie got back up and narrowed her eyes at Fluttershy. She gave Fluttershy the “I don’t believe you” look. Fluttershy could only smile, wide and false. Her tail was flapping back and forth like a feather duster.
“Tell me,” Pinkie said, quietly. Fluttershy shook her head.
“There’s nothing to tell…”
“Tell me!” Pinkie said more urgently, getting a step closer.
“Pinkie, I promise…”
“TELL ME!” Pinkie pressed her snout right into Fluttershy’s and the latter mare sat onto her rump. Pinkie followed her all the way down, keeping her inquisitorial snout right on target.
Fluttershy closed her eyes and tightened all the muscles in her body. She blurted out a bunch of words that her mind forced out.
“It’s just that there’s this skating competition going on tomorrow and I really want to go but I have nopony to go with!”
Pinkie leaned back and became normal (relatively speaking) again. She cocked her head with a light chortle.
“That was it? Why would that make you all” — Pinkie parodied Fluttershy’s spaced out look by turning her eyes complete white and dropping her mouth into an “o”, then she spoke again with a smile — “You can enter the competition with me, silly! Did you forget that I LOVE skating?!”
Fluttershy rubbed her left hoof with her right and stared at the snow around her hooves.
“O-oh, b-but this skating competition is only… ahem… for couples…”
Pinkie cocked her head the other way.
“It’s only for who now?”
Fluttershy cleared her throat and looked in a different direction, away from Pinkie. She spoke a little louder.
“I said it’s only for couples.”
“For cantaloupes?” Pinkie asked.
Fluttershy giggled and shook her head.
“No, Pinkie Pie. I said for… couples.”
Upon saying the last word, Fluttershy did a 180 spin and sucked in her lips. Her face burned. She stared at the snow with a blank expression. She heard Pinkie reply behind her, and at that moment her heart took to the stars.
“But isn’t that what we are, Fluttershy?”
The pegasus mare felt her pupils grow large and her hooves become like noodles.
M-me and Pinkie… a couple?!
Her lips quivered and she looked up to the dark grey sky, blinking away the falling snow. A smile creeped onto her face.
What is she…
Pinkie threw her hoof around Fluttershy’s neck and hugged her tight.
“A couple of besties, you and me! We’d make those other ponies so jealous of us on the ice! I bet none of them have the kind of friendship you and I have!”
Despite all the warmth that Pinkie’s embrace would normally create, Fluttershy started to feel cold and clammy. The sky above crumbled before her eyes and crashed down like broken glass shards. Fluttershy instantly felt like a fool, like she had failed the flying test at pegasus academy all over again.
She meant — I mean, of course she meant —
Fluttershy was choked. She couldn’t respond to Pinkie even if she wanted to. She simply stood in the cold chill of the Vanhoover early night, her friend’s hoof tight around her neck, and wallowed in her ridiculous thoughts. Her silly little brain matter droppings. Fluttershy closed her eyes.
“Right… we’re friends. That’s right.”
She escaped Pinkie’s grasp and shuffled forward on the sidewalk. Pinkie zipped up next to her and kept pace, walking instead of doing the usual Pinkie Bounce, keeping a watchful eye on Fluttershy’s mopey form.
“Did uhhh,” Pinkie asked with a scratch of her cheek, “Did I say something wrong? Was my hug too tight? Oh — was it the jumping on your back thing?! I’m super, duper, triple sorry, Fluttershy! Honest!”
Fluttershy sighed long and deep. She turned to Pinkie with a weak smile as the two closed in on the restaurant.
“It’s… fine. I just figured, we shouldn’t join that skating competition after all. I bet there are more fun things we can do tomorrow instead. I mean, we could just skate back at Ponyville anytime we want. We’re only in Vanhoover for another full day.”
A yeti marched down the street next to them, plowing through any and all snow piles in his way. Pinkie frowned.
“But — you said before that” — Pinkie held in her breath until her face turned purple, then she burst out — “BAH! FLUTTERSHY!” Fluttershy stopped in surprise. She looked into Pinkie’s eyes with vibrating pupils. Pinkie continued, slower and cheerful.
“Listen, I know what you’re like. You thought I didn’t sound interested in the skating competition, but I want to make it 100% clear that I 200% want to join the competition with you AND I 500% will not take no for an answer!”
Fluttershy searched Pinkie’s ocean irises for a hint of doubt, even a speck of uncertainty, but all she saw were her best friend’s mirthful, jewel-like eyes and a bubbly smile. Fluttershy relented, and with a sigh and a small smile she nodded.
“O-okay, Pinkie. Have it your way.”
Pinkie jumped into the air and clicked her hooves together.
“WEEEE! I’m so excited! I mean, you and me, in a skating competition together! Ooo, ooo — how do we join, how do we join?” Her tail wagged like a giddy dog’s, as did her tongue flopped outside of her mouth, and Fluttershy was confident for a moment that Pinkie was going to lick her. Fluttershy cleared her throat apprehensively.
“I only read the sign at the hotel for a second when we were leaving earlier, but I think it said we could sign up for the competition at the Horseton Stadium tomorrow before noon.”
Pinkie squealed and trotted in placed.
“Allllllright! This is gonna be THE BEST!”
Fluttershy saw something in the corner of her eye and stopped to turn around. She looked at two elegant double doors and her ears flicked up.
“Oh, we’re here, Pinkie! The Tasty Morsel — see, it says it above the door!” Fluttershy said pointing up. Pinkie licked her lips and ran through the doors.
“Thank Celestia, I’m starving!” she quickly said before barreling through. Fluttershy walked in after her.
The Tasty Morsel was a restaurant with an aesthetic that matched the hotel Fluttershy and the others were staying at. It had fine, dark oak walls, wall hangings and paintings, and the occasional marble statue of one famous pony or another. Fluttershy spent most of her time looking at the maroon carpet in front of her, unconsciously following Pinkie’s hopping shape. Too many daring thoughts battered the defences in her brain. Eventually, she had to resume manual control of herself to look up and greet her friends at the reserved table.
“You guys made it!” Twilight said. Fluttershy noticed a grey ribbon with a faux gold medallion on Twilight’s chest that read, “I survived the Sigilstone of Polaris Tour!”. Twilight caught Fluttershy looking and pointed to the ribbon with a wide smirk. “You like it, Fluttershy? Can you believe that they had over 100 of these still left for sale?!”
Rainbow Dash fought back a huge laugh (badly) and chuckled as she replied, “Oh I can believe it, Twi, hehe.” Twilight squinted at Rainbow and the other mares laughed. Fluttershy and Pinkie took their seats as Rarity, who of course was wearing the shiniest emerald dress known to ponykind, told of her own day’s exploits.
“… and then I met this stunning mare at The Heflock Bay Company — that’s this practically ancient clothing boutique at the corner of Main Street and Snowbank Avenue — and she showed me this exquisite wool jacket.” Fluttershy shifted her weight around to get comfortable on the cushioned, wooden dining chair under her rump while Rarity continued.
“Now, you’d never see such a thing in Canterlot — a wool jacket, mind you — not in a million years. I just don’t think Canterlot’s upper crust would ever accept something of that mode. But the stitching — and the pleats! Girls, the pleats!” Rarity sighed and slumped down in her chair. “It was magical. What a day!”
Rainbow yawned and smacked her lips.
“Yeah yeah, Rarity, that’s pretty exciting. We’re all at the edges of our seats,” she sat up straight and her face lit up. “But you girls want to hear about a REALLY exciting day?”
Fluttershy tuned out her friends. She looked at her fork and knife and the porcelain plate in front of her, a floral pattern inlaid into its rim. The light from the restaurant chandeliers bounced off the silver of her knife and showed a distorted image of a pink pony. Fluttershy watched as the form moved about.
Pinkie Pie… Fluttershy thought, completely lost to the world around her. Her eyes truly felt like they were about to leap out of her skull. An unbelievable realization crept into the core of her brain.
Do I have a crush on Pinkie Pie?
Fluttershy unconsciously rubbed her hooves along the tops of her thighs. Her wings were ever-so-slightly wriggling behind her against the chair. Her throat felt dry and cracked.
It can’t be. It’s impossible… we’ve been friends for so long. We’re friends!
But the very thought of Pinkie Pie, and the idea of just being friends, created a throbbing longing in the pit of Fluttershy’s chest. She slowly brought a hoof up to where her heart was and it jittered against the pounding flesh beneath.
Then… why do I feel like this?
Fluttershy ventured a glance upwards. Pinkie Pie was staring right at her, and Fluttershy instantly looked away with hot cheeks. In that moment she had noticed the other mares looking at her, so she looked at Applejack, seated across from Fluttershy, and returned to reality.
“Fluttershy?” the cowpony asked with a smile, “Y’all ready to order or do ya need a minute?” Fluttershy looked from face to face to confirm that she was the centre of attention. She realized a waiter with a neutral expression was standing beside her, a pad of paper and a pen flowing to his left with a magical glow from his horn.
“S-sorry everypony!” Fluttershy stammered, “I’m fine! I’m ready! I’ll j-just have the soup du jour, p-please!”
The waiter nodded, scribbled on the pad, and turned in a flash. Fluttershy let out a huge sigh and held her beating chest once more. Twilight sat beside Fluttershy and she reached out a hoof and laid it on Fluttershy’s shoulder.
“You know, if you really don’t feel good, Fluttershy, you can tell us. Are you worried that we’ll have to cancel the rest of the trip because you’re sick?”
Rarity inadvertently whined.
“Awww but there’s a fashion show” — Rarity caught Twilight’s disapproving look and changed her tune with a smile — “I m-mean, Fluttershy, darling, nothing is more important than your health!” Rarity narrowed her eyes at Fluttershy for a few seconds as if she were studying some artistic sculpture. Fluttershy felt her blush throb and she shot Rarity a defensive stare.
“W-what is it?” Fluttershy questioned. Rarity did a closed eye smile and hummed with satisfaction.
“Actually, girls,” she said, “I think I know just how to help our Fluttershy. Can you come help me to the bathroom, dear?” She winked at Fluttershy, who looked around as if the spotlight was shining directly on her. She wished she could shrink into an ant and scurry away.
“M-me?” she stuttered. Rarity mumbled a peppy “Mhm!” and hopped off her chair, pushing it in before she started walking away. Fluttershy gulped and followed suit. She stared blankly at Rarity’s swishing violet tail all the way into the mare’s bathroom. Once inside, Rarity spoke to the attendant and asked for a moment of privacy, which was accepted.
“Now, Fluttershy,” Rarity turned back to her friend with a knowing grin. “It’s time to spill the beans. I know those kinds of rosy cheeks anywhere. And you’ve been ever so strange the last few days.” Rarity quickly flicked up her eyebrows a few times with a giggle. “It’s l’amour, isn’t it, darling?”
Fluttershy sat on her rump and rested her hooves on her cheeks. Indeed, they did feel hot. Fluttershy looked from right to left in a tizzy.
“L-love? No… no, t-that’s not it Rarity… that’s just not possible…”
Rarity briefly reared, wagged her forehooves, and whinnied.
“It is, isn’t it Fluttershy — oh this is the cutest thing ever! You have a crush! Don’t deny it, my dear, I KNOW the look!”
She sat down beside Fluttershy and wrapped a gentle hoof around her.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Fluttershy, honest. You think this old lady hasn’t felt the twang of Cupid’s arrow before, hmm?” Fluttershy shot her a sideways glance.
“…we’re the same age, Rarity.”
Rarity rolled her eyes and her tongue stuck out between her teeth.
“Oh, enough already! Tell me who the stallion is!”
Fluttershy slowly shook her head and nibbled her lower lip. Her ears lay flat against her mane.
“Ummm…” was all she could muster. Rarity squinted.
“Is it NOT a stallion, then?”
Fluttershy’s body jolted. She quickly turned her head so Rarity could only see the back of her mane, but Rarity already had her answer. She giggled.
“Fluttershy, there’s nothing wrong with you liking another mare! Just tell me who it is and I can help you!”
Fluttershy quietly replied.
“N-no.”
Rarity pressed on.
“Pleaseee, Fluttershy? I won’t tell a soul — I swear!”
“N-no thanks.”
“Fluttershy, you really should just tell me!”
“Nope.” Fluttershy crossed her hooves and pouted, still turned away from Rarity. Rarity came around to Fluttershy’s front and pleaded.
“Darling, friends tell each other these things! You’re killing me — I must know!”
Fluttershy turned to the other direction.
“Sorry Rarity, but I absolutely, positively, definitely can’t tell you who it is!”
Rarity stewed for the briefest of moments, so eager to hear some new gossip — and from one of her best friends to boot — but it was quickly replaced by sympathy. She brushed against Fluttershy and nudged her to her hooves.
“Okay okay, I won’t press the issue. And I won’t tell anypony about your crush. But please at least listen to my advice, won’t you?”
Fluttershy slowly rose to her hooves and sighed. She forced a smile and looked at Rarity, finally nodding to give Rarity the go-ahead to continue. Rarity closed her eyes and raised her hoof.
“First,” she advised, “You need to find out if this pony has the same feelings for you that you have for her. If she does, then you can tell her how you feel, knowing that it’s mutual.”
Fluttershy frowned and looked away.
“W-what if she doesn’t feel the same way, Rarity?”
Rarity tilted Fluttershy’s head back up to eye level with a caring brush of her hoof. She smiled wide at Fluttershy.
“You never know until you tell her how you feel. That’s the trick: you have to tell her no matter what. If you let the truth stay inside you without it ever coming out, you’ll be stuck with the regret forever. Trust me, Fluttershy.”
A mare entered the bathroom, and upon seeing the close proximity of Fluttershy and Rarity, backed out slowly with wide eyes. Rarity cleared her throat and chuckled.
“Heh, we should probably get back before everypony gets the wrong idea.”
Rarity turned to leave, but Fluttershy reached out with her wing and stopped her.
“W-wait!” she near-shouted. Rarity turned back, bewildered. Fluttershy turned away again with flushed cheeks.
“A-are you sure I have feelings… like that. I mean, how can you be sure? I can’t even figure it out myself…”
Rarity smiled with a hum and spoke.
“Look at me and think of her.”
Fluttershy did as asked. Though she stared at Rarity’s face, her mind created images of Pinkie Pie instead. She remembered the scrunch of Pinkie’s snout from the night of the blizzard, and the gleam in her pearly white smile as the fire danced on its reflective surface. The warm embrace of Pinkie, the bounce she felt in her heart when Pinkie laughed. It was as if the very feeling lifted Fluttershy off the ground.
Rarity studied Fluttershy’s expression and replied with a happy titter.
“That’s DEFINITELY l’amour!”