//------------------------------// // S8 E10: The Hearts and Hooves Day Mystery (The Break Up Break Down) (What If?) // Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 13 // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// Hearts and Hooves Day was always a special occasion for many, especially in a town like Ponyville. True, the Crystal Empire was where the Crystal Heart was and where the princess of love resided (alongside her loving husband and her young daughter). But Ponyville had played host to a wedding between two donkeys, and featured many stories of young love. Heck, as Mr. and Mrs. Cake could attest, there were many stories of love lasting for years and years. And when said holiday also happened to be known for a particular incident that had occurred a few years back as a result of a potion, it was impossible to expect Ponyville not to be front and center in celebrating the holiday of love. This was especially felt within the walls of the School of Friendship as countless students had noticed posters and decorations devoted to the holiday everywhere they looked. Some had even talked about plans for their own special someones that they'd had their eyes on. Yet there was one student wasn't really thrilled about the holiday and was currently going to great lengths to hide her lack of enthusiasm: Ocellus. For the young changeling, a holiday centered around love brought back the kind of memories she'd rather forget. But she knew none of her friends would understand. How could they when they experienced love in far different ways from her and her species? So it was that the changeling was throwing herself hard into her studies at the school on the holiday, doing her best to shut it out and pretend it didn't exist. Alas, Ocellus' friends couldn't stop talking about it. One friend in particular was so enthusiastic about it that it seemed to be all he ever talked about. Sandbar was so excited he could barely pay attention in any of his classes all day. "Hearts and Hooves Day is one of the best holidays in all of Equestria!" He proclaimed after leaving his last class for the day! "To think, it all got its start from an apparent love poison incident long, long ago." "Just how many holidays do you ponies have anyway?" Smolder questioned while flapping her wings. "You've got this: Nightmare Night, Hearth's Warming Eve and the Summer Sun Celebration. How do you ever keep track of them all?" Sandbar grinned and giggled. "If I didn't know better, Smolder, I'd say you were jealous." Smolder snorted and blew a bit of smoke out of her nostrils. "Me? Jealous? Why would I be jealous? We dragons are perfectly fine with not having holidays all the time. It's not like we don't know how to have fun or never have anything to celebrate, 'cause we do." "Whatever you say, Smolder," Sandbar taunted before noticing Ocellus trailing behind, apparently looking quite glum. Concerned about his changeling friend, the young earth pony stopped in his tracks and sought to get her attention. "Hey, Ocellus. You feeling okay? You haven't been particularly excited these past few days. Even school stuff doesn't seem to get you excited." Ocellus blinked as she looked up slowly. "Huh? Me?" She hastily answered. "I'm fine, really. You don't have to worry about me. I'm just a little... lovesick, that's all." Smolder skeptically inquired. "I thought you said you changelings don't feed on love anymore, your king specifically forbid it and encouraged you all to share love freely." Ocellus swallowed hard. "W-well," She stuttered and tried to recover. "W-we can s-still feed on love i-if we want to. And it's k-kind of hard not to do so w-when there's s-so much love going around here. I-it's like having a free meal at an all-you-can-eat buffet. W-who could p-possibly say no to t-that?" Smolder was still unconvinced, but Sandbar seemed to buy the hasty explanation as he just put a hoof around Ocellus. "Well, I guess you should be careful not to overindulge. Wouldn't want you getting fat," He teased. "You'd be even heavier than Yona is." Ocellus blushed hard. "Don't let Yona hear you say that." "Oh relax, you know what I meant," Sandbar replied in an unconcerned tone of voice as he then trotted off. "Well, I'm gonna go catch up with Gallus, Silverstream and Yona. Don't know about the rest of you, but I don't have any homework to do. I'm free for the rest of the holiday!" As soon as Sandbar was out of sight, Smolder turned around to confront Ocellus after making sure the hallways were more or less empty. "Okay, spill it. What's the deal with you and this pony holiday?" She declared. "There's something you didn't wanna tell Sandbar. But you're gonna tell me. I don't like seeing my friends down in the dumps, it makes me feel uncomfortable." The young changeling reluctantly confessed. "It's just so hard to be joyful when you've got a holiday that reminds you of your past. Reminds you that your species used to exist solely to feed on the love of others." The orange scaled dragon was about to ask Ocellus for more details, right before a trio of recognizable fillies (one of which looked a lot like Smolder herself if she were a pony) came rushing up! "Hey, did anyone here order a pie?" Apple Bloom called out. Happy for a distraction, Ocellus walked over to the farm filly and questioned. "A pie? What sort of pie?" "Don't know, haven't tasted it yet since it ain't meant for us," Apple Bloom explained. "And it's the strangest thing. The pie was delivered to Sweet Apple Acres right by our clubhouse this very mornin'. All we could make out was a name, everythin' else was all smudged up. There was a 'Belle' on it." Sweetie Belle then declared. "So it must've been meant for me. And that can only mean one thing." "Sweetie Belle has a secret admirer!" Scootaloo cheered! "And we're trying to figure out who it is. It's a real mystery, a bigger one than any we've ever faced before. And we've had our fair share of mysteries in recent years." Ocellus immediately volunteered. "Well, Smolder and I don't have anything better to do. Why don't we help you find out who it is?" Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up like stars! "You'd do that for me?!" The young changeling nodded. "Of course we would! We've heard so much about you Crusaders. And I get the feeling Headmare Twilight would want us to help out." Smolder, however, suspected that something else was up. "Ocellus isn't telling me everything about her past or why it's connected to this holiday," She thought to herself. "There must be a way to get her to open up." And she made a mental vow to find out what that way was before this little "mystery" was wrapped up. No one at the school could've anticipated where this "mystery" would lead. The mystery of Sweetie Belle's secret admirer was going to have a conclusion just as unexpected as its origins. "Now hold on a minute!" Smolder sought to protest as she turned to Ocellus. "I barely even know these... Crusaders. And yet you wanna volunteer me to solve some unimportant mystery involving a secret admirer?" Ocellus just commented with what looked like a knowing smirk. "What's wrong, Smolder? Got somewhere you need to be? I thought a big, tough dragon like you didn't care a bit for this mushy, lovey-dovey kind of holiday. Isn't solving a mystery more exciting than spending the rest of the day watching ponies celebrate their love stories?" As if to prove her point, the changeling gestured a hoof out a nearby window of the school. Said window offered a glimpse into the town of Ponyville fully in the midst of the very spirit of Hearts and Hooves Day. Couples young and old alike were celebrating in their own ways. Maud Pie could be seen walking hoof in hoof with Mudbriar, the two of them striking rare smiles as they appeared to be lost in each others' eyes. Cranky Doodle Donkey could be seen giving his beautiful wife Matilda a colorful bouquet of flowers. And even a mint green coated unicorn could be seen giving a cream colored earth pony a big hug. Smolder took one look at the scene and immediately gagged. "Alright, alright!" She relented. "You made your point, Ocellus. I'll join you on this mystery, wherever it leads." The young changeling smiled and flashed a knowing wink to the Crusaders while she declared. "Knew you'd see it my way, Smolder." "We'd better get a move on," Sweetie Belle then commented. "Hearts and Hooves Day is already half over. I'd really like to find out who my secret admirer could be before today ends. I at least want them to know I got their package so they don't have to spend the rest of the day worrying about whether it arrived or not." Ocellus promptly asked the first question of the investigation. "You said the package arrived this morning. How early or late in the morning was it?" At that, Apple Bloom scratched her head with a hoof. "I don't really know the time exactly. All I know is, we didn't have school since Miss. Cheerilee was unavailable and there wasn't anypony around to take her place: You know, seein' as Twilight's got this school to run and there ain't a lot of other qualified substitutes." Smolder couldn't help but grumble. "You girls are lucky. I would've been happy not to have school today. Would've given me a day to sleep in." Scootaloo just went on explaining. "It was kind of early in the day, though. We were just about to get started on a special task that Big Macintosh gave Apple Bloom. It was a big job, so she called on us to help her out. And we were just about to start when that mysterious package arrived." She began to flash back to that very moment in her mind, the memory still fresh. Apple Bloom could barely contain her excitement when Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo showed up at the clubhouse that doubled as their official business headquarters. But they weren't seeing any customers or clients today even though they didn't have any school. Something else was taking priority. The farm filly quickly explained when she called the "meeting" of the club's founding members into order. "Hear ye, hear ye! This special Hearts and Hooves Day meetin' of the Cutie Mark Crusaders is now officially in session!" She declared while pretending to bang a gavel on the small podium at the back of the clubhouse. "And our first and only order of business for today: Is gettin' the barn all nice and decorated for tonight." "I didn't know your family was renting out the barn for a Hearts and Hooves Day dance," Scootaloo commented to Apple Bloom. "Usually they just have it by town hall. But now that I think about it, there do seem to be a lot of couples celebrating the holiday this year: My aunts included." Apple Bloom shook her head in response to her fellow Crusader's comment. "The barn's not bein' used for a dance. My brother wants to use it. He's got his own plans for tonight with his special somepony." Sweetie Belle innocently inquired. "What sort of plans?" Apple Bloom only answered. "He wouldn't say. I mean, it ain't exactly a secret he's got a special somepony anymore than his guy's night with Spike is a secret. But he still likes to treat it like it's somethin' he can't tell anypony about. All I know is, he wants the barn ready by tonight and he specifically asked me to do it since Applejack's busy with teachin' at Twilight's school." Scootaloo quickly realized. "And you want us to help you." "Exactly!" Apple Bloom declared with a smile. "So let's get to work already! That barn ain't gonna decorate itself." So the three fillies left the clubhouse and prepared to head out to the barn to begin decorating. Yet to their surprise, they found a lonely package that looked like it had just been dropped off. And on top of the package that was roughly square in shape, was a note. Sweetie Belle inspected the object by lighting up her horn, picking it up in the sap green glow of her magic. "Who's it from? And what does it say?" Scootaloo asked, eager and excited for more details. Sweetie only frowned as she replied. "I can't tell, it's all smudged up. It just says 'Meet me tonight' and has a drawing of a bell on it." She then set the package back down, surprised by how heavy it felt. A few seconds later, from the package tumbled out a carefully wrapped pie. Scootaloo couldn't help but rib her fellow filly with an orange hoof. "Gosh, somepony sure went through a lot of trouble to deliver this pacakage here to you. And on Hearts and Hooves Day no less." The little unicorn blinked in surprise. "I wasn't expecting anything in the mail today." The farm filly immediately gasped as a realization seemed to strike her! "Don't you see?! This can only mean one thing: Sweetie Belle, you have a secret admirer!" "No kidding? Me?" Sweetie slowly processed the information. When she had done so a bright smile worked its way onto her face as she commented. "What a wonderful thing to happen to me," Then she looked to her fellow Crusaders. "You girls aren't jealous, right?" Scootaloo shook her head from side to side. "Why would we be jealous? We're all friends, that's not gonna change just because somepony really likes you. I'm sure it'll be our turn eventually. We're still young, plenty of time before we have to start worrying about special someponies and dating and things like that." Apple Bloom then commented. "You girls realize there's only one thing to do now, right?" When neither Sweetie or Scootaloo replied right away she answered for them. "We gotta find out who Sweetie Belle's secret admirer is. That way she can thank 'em for the gift. It's the right thing to do whenever somepony sends you somethin' in the mail, especially when you weren't expectin' it," And she turned to the unicorn with a pristine white coat as she asked. "So, any guesses as to who it could be?" Sweetie Belle nervously gulped and answered. "No, not a clue. It could be anypony, really." The young earth pony let out a sigh as she frowned. "That's what I was afraid of," But her frown quickly faded as she declared. "But that's okay, we can just ask around town until we find out who it is." The little pegasus proceeded to question. "Shouldn't we get the barn all decorated first?" "Oh, yeah," Apple Bloom realized. "Almost forgot about that. Let's take care of the barn first so my brother's ready for tonight." "But what about the pie?" Sweetie questioned. Looking at it again with her light green eyes, it seemed awfully tempting and it had been a while since breakfast. Apple Bloom just insisted. "Just leave it. It's a clue and we gotta look over it. Haven't you learned anythin' from those mysteries we tried solvin' before Twilight's school came along?" "I remember Lillymoon and Ambermoon and what their parents were involved in, but that's about it. And I remember some of the other mysteries we tried solving didn't turn out too well," Sweetie Belle nervously recalled. "I'm sure whoever my special somepony is, they'll ask me tomorrow in school if I got anything in the mail." "But what if it ain't somepony from our school?" Apple Bloom grumbled. "A mystery's a mystery and we're gonna solve it! Now stop worryin' about the pie so we can get our only official order of Crusader business done for the day." The flashback ended as the Crusaders were now leading Ocellus and Smolder out of the School of Friendship and away from Twilight's castle that resided nearby. "So, after you found the pie I'm guessing it took you until just now to finish decorating the barn?" Smolder questioned the Crusaders, particularly Apple Bloom. "How hard is to decorate a barn?! Just throw some streamers here and there, sweep the floors and maybe paint the walls a bit. There, done. So simple even I could do it." Ocellus just grumbled. "Smolder, that's not very nice. There's a way to go about this detective stuff and mystery solving stuff without being a jerk about it." Smolder puffed out her wings! "I'm not being a jerk! I was just asking a question." Apple Bloom quickly interrupted. "For your information, it only took us about an hour and a half to decorate my family's barn. But after that we decided to devote some time to tryin' to track down Sweetie Belle's secret admirer. Turns out there's a lot more colts in town than we realized." "Hard to believe there's not a single one that already has a special somepony," Scootaloo pondered. "Although, I guess that's good news for Apple Bloom and I if it stays that way," She was quick to insist. "N-not that we're looking for romance anytime soon or anything. Who's got time for love when you've got school and being a Cutie Mark Crusader?" Sweetie Belle reassured her oldest friend. "It's okay if you're jealous, Scootaloo. I'm sure we could find a special somepony right for you if you wanted." Scootaloo quickly protested. "I already said I don't need a special somepony! Besides, that's not why we're doing this right now, "Then she changed the subject. "We all agreed that we needed to widen the search. And a changeling was the best idea because even though they don't feed on love anymore they can still detect it, right?" Ocellus seemed to freeze up upon hearing those words. She appeared to become tongue tied as she nervously tried to explain. "W-well... it... it... doesn't... really... 'work that way' if you know what I'm saying. Love is... very complicated stuff." Perhaps sensing how uncomfortable the topic of detecting love was for Ocellus, Smolder butted in. "Obviously, Ocellus can't do that. But she's still gonna help you figure out who sent that pie." Ocellus quickly recovered. "Yes! Thank you, Smolder," With her confidence back she questioned Apple Bloom. "I assume you couldn't ask Sandbar since he was at the school all day. But how many other colts did you ask?" "Somewhere around two and a half dozen, I think," The farm filly recalled. "We questioned all the obvious suspects, and even some of the less likely ones. Had to make sure we left no stone unturned. We even made a chart and everythin' so we could check our work. After all, this ain't our first rodeo when it comes to solvin' mysteries. Just ask Zecora." Smolder scratched her head. "Where have I heard that name before?" Ocellus also pondered. "Isn't she some kind of rhyming enchantress or something?" "Not really an enchantress, we learned that lesson the hard way," Apple Bloom pointed out. "She's a zebra, lives by herself in the Everfree Forest. We'll have to introduce you to her someday." Ocellus then inquired. "Mind if I take a look at the chart you Crusaders made? That way I'll have some idea of where to start." Apple Bloom eagerly agreed. "Good idea! I was just about to suggest that! I like the way you think, Ocellus. I sure wish we could attend classes with you and those other creatures Sandbar always hangs out with." The young changeling was surprised to hear such a declaration. "You know Sandbar?!" Sweetie Belle nodded. "He moved to Ponyville with his parents not long before Twilight opened her School of Friendship. We actually helped convince him to apply there to get over his cutie mark problems. And it worked." "Funny. He never mentioned that before." Smolder remarked with suspicion creeping into her tone of voice. And in her mind she thought. "What else has he not told us yet?" A short time later, changeling and dragon were brought up to the magnificent clubhouse at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, a clubhouse which the Cutie Mark Crusaders more or less operated out of. "Fixed this place up all by ourselves," Apple Bloom declared before gesturing a hoof to the wall that displayed numerous hanging pictures of various ponies. "And these are just some of the many satisfied customers we've had ever since we made this club of ours into a business." Scootaloo pointed out. "It was Diamond Tiara's idea. A really good one at that. And of all the clients and customers we've helped, I think she was one of our most important." Smolder then noticed a picture of what appeared to be a green and gray feathered griffon. "But you've helped other creatures besides just ponies, right?" "Oh, you noticed Gabby's picture?" Scootaloo inquired while buzzing her tiny wings. "She was a truly special case. I'll have to tell you the story some other time," And she added with a happy sigh. "I sure hope she comes back to Ponyville some day like she promised." Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, cleared her throat and pointed a hoof to a huge wooden canvass with a sheet of paper hanging over it. "Can we get back to the subject of my secret admirer?" The unicorn filly gently demanded, pointing and prodding at the canvass with one of her hooves to draw attention to the display. The young changeling quickly told her dragon friend. "She's right, we need to focus," And she led the orange scaled dragon over to the chart, which looked quite massive despite still fitting onto one sheet of paper. Her sea green eyes growing wide upon observing the chart in all its glory! "Wow! You did all of this in less than a day?!" Apple Bloom nodded and proudly boasted. "Nothin''s impossible for the Cutie Mark Crusaders! The three of us got to every possible candidate in just a day." She even recalled how that task had been done: After the three Crusaders had finished with decorating the barn, the topic of Sweetie Belle's secret admirer and who it could be now occupied their full and undivided collective attentions. "Alright, the barn's all decorated. Our work here is done," Apple Bloom declared to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "So that means there's only one thing left to do: Find out who Sweetie Belle's secret admirer is! We're gonna ask every single colt in town. There's a whole town of possible admirers out there and only three of us. But together, we're gonna get to the bottom of this no matter what it takes!" "How are we gonna do that? I mean, there are more than a few colts out there. It could be any one of them," Scootaloo commented with concern. "And there's one colt we can't ask 'cause he's at the School of Friendship: Sandbar." Sweetie Belle nervously declared. "I... don't think it could be him. Although... there could be worse options." And she briefly shuddered thinking about them. The farm filly just reassuringly replied to her fellow fillies. "It's easy. We'll split off and cover different parts of town, then we'll meet back here in about an hour or so to report our progress. Ready?" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged glances while they reluctantly agreed to Apple Bloom's plan. "Yes." And with that, Apple Bloom rushed off in one direction as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle took off in other directions. It wasn't long before Apple Bloom found a colt, Pipsqueak, and decided to immediately question him. "Excuse me, Pipsqueak? Mind answerin' a few questions real quick?" Pipsqueak replied with confusion. "Questions about what?" "Oh, a little of this. A little of that," Apple Bloom not so innocently explained. "Say, you seem to be in a big hurry today. Late for somethin'? Maybe you're expectin' somepony, like maybe a certain filly?" Pipsqueak blinked in reply. "I have no idea what you're talking about, mate. There's not anypony I'm in a hurry to see." Meanwhile, across town, Scootaloo had caught up with Button Mash and was not so secretly questioning him. "Excuse me. Sorry to bother you, but I'm kind of doing a survey and I need your help. It's about sending pie in the mail anonymously. Would you say you're for or against that? There are no wrong answers." And elsewhere in town, Sweetie Belle was talking to Snips and Snails as she asked them. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, you two. By the way, did either of you happen to send any packages to anypony through the mail today? Like say, to me?" And without waiting for a reply she added. "Don't worry, it's okay to say no. I promise I won't be offended or upset," Though under her breath she kept whispering. "Please say no, please say no, please say no." An hour soon passed and the three fillies met back up near Sweet Apple Acres to report their "progress" or lack thereof. "Well, it seems like every possible colt can be ruled out," Sweetie reluctantly stated. "Except for one. And we're not gonna be able to ask him anytime soon." The farm filly unhappily sighed. "It sure looks that way. But let's at least put what we do know on a chart or somethin', that way we don't forget." And so the Cutie Mark Crusaders did just that. "That's how we got this chart made," Apple Bloom explained to Ocellus as the flashback ended. "We originally came to the School of Friendship so we could ask Sandbar. But we can rule him out now since neither you or Smolder saw him send anythin' through the mail today." Smolder nodded. "Nope. We get our mail delivered right to us. A mail pony delivers it every week, and that's when we get a chance to send anything we want to whoever or wherever we want. It's how some of us keep in touch with our leaders." Sweetie unhappily sighed as she sat on her rump, looking at the chart again. "I don't get it. How could we have hit a dead end? We had a lead, we checked all the possible suspects." "Then there's only one thing left to do! Go to the source!" Ocellus spoke up as she turned away from the chart. "The pie had to be delivered from somewhere. And the only way it could've come to Sweet Apple Acres is through the Ponyville post office. We'll just go down there and ask the workers themselves." "But they handle tons of packages every day." Scootaloo commented with concern. The young changeling just replied. "Which is why we're gonna take the package with us to find out where it was sent from. Maybe it didn't come from Ponyville. Maybe it's from out of town." Realization seemed to hit Apple Bloom square in the muzzle as she realized! "Of course! Why didn't I think of that sooner?! If it's not anypony in town, it has to be somepony from out of town!" And she said to Ocellus. "I like the way you think, Ocellus. No wonder you changelin''s were always so good at blendin' in, with smarts like yours it would be impossible for ponies to recognize an impostor. Makes you wonder why your queen was so bad at blendin' in." Ocellus froze up and looked down at the ground upon hearing Apple Bloom's remarks, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Smolder. And it further reinforced her silent vow to get to the bottom of her changeling friend's unhappiness with today's holiday. It had to be something deeper than just a lack of interest. Fortunately for Ocellus, she quickly regained her focus when she trotted outside and spotted the package still resting where it had been since its delivery earlier in the day. She proceeded to scoop it up. "Come on, let's get to the post office while there's still time!" The Ponyville Post Office was a buzz of activity on most "normal days", frequently run by just a small hoofful of staff. Maybe at one point that had been acceptable, but over the past few years as Ponyville's population seemed to expand rapidly the post office had struggled. Today was worse, however. Packages, parcels and letters were pouring in from every which way it seemed. And there was a mad scramble to get every bit of mail sorted out and sent on its way. Wagons were rushing out and coming back in every other second, filled to the brim with more letters, packages and parcels. And the workers looked to be just barely able to keep up with the frantic pace. Despite seeing the "organized chaos" that was going on, however, the group of young creatures was determined to get their little "mystery" sorted out. So they approached the counter as Sweetie Belle tapped a hoof on the bell to alert all in the office to their presence. The bell was soon answered by a wall eyed, grey coated pegasus mare with a blonde mane and tail and a cutie mark depicting bubbles. "Hello, welcome to the Ponyville Post Office," The mare cheerfully greeted. "I'm sorry, we're awfully busy today. We can't accept anymore last minute deliveries or returns, otherwise we'll be here all day and night." Ocellus just replied. "We're not here to return or deliver anything. We just want some answers about a package. We're trying to find out who sent it and why." The wall eyed mare somewhat nervously replied by bending down briefly, before pulling up a clipboard and holding it in her wings. "Uh, that might be a problem. We've had packages from all over Equestria coming in here today, on top of all the stuff we've had to ship out from here. You're gonna have to be a bit more specific or I can't help you." The young changeling promptly placed the package containing the pie and the smudged up label on the desk. "Well, how about this? Do you recognize this package, miss..." The wall eyed mare blinked her wall eyes slowly in response. "Oh, well I could tell you what my name is. But I'm kind of ashamed of it, it's got a lot of personal baggage. You can just call me Bubbles... or Muffins, either one's fine. That's what most ponies call me, at least nowadays." Scootaloo promptly whispered to Ocellus and Smolder. "It's best to play along with her, she's really sensitive about her real name." The light green coated changeling reluctantly decided not to press the issue further, instead settling for the first name presented to her as she said. "Miss Bubbles... do you recognize this package at all? Maybe you or somepony else here handled it today?" "Bubbles" inspected the package very carefully, even pulling out a magnifying glass to examine the smudged label more clearly. But after completing her inspection she just declared. "I'm sorry. I can't make any sort of information besides the 'Belle' name," Then she put a hoof to her chin. "I do sort of remember handling a similar looking package this morning. But if the label was smudged I would've noticed it. We always check for that sort of stuff before we ship anything out. It's possible something happened to the label during shipping, and without a proper address it would be returned to the sender." "Hey, I seem to remember my brother comin' back from the post office this mornin'," Apple Bloom suddenly remembered. "Any chance he was shippin' a pie? Maybe it was his package and it got mixed up?" "Bubbles" shrugged her hooves. "I didn't see what was inside the package. I wasn't in charge of delivering it. I have my hooves full as it is just making deliveries around town. And I don't know who made the deliveries to where, there's been so many deliveries today I haven't been able to keep track of 'em all." The young changeling stepped back and apologized. "O...kay. Sorry to bring it up. You're obviously very busy, Miss. Bubbles," She turned to the others. "Well, it was worth a shot. I guess we'll never truly know for sure who sent this package or why." However, just as the group was preparing to leave, the wall eyed mare called out! "Wait! Something just came to me! Let me see the pie!" She suddenly insisted. Hopeful for a lead of some kind to blow the case open, Ocellus eagerly agreed as she carefully hoofed the pie (still wrapped up and preserved) to "Bubbles". In return, "Bubbles" examined the pie just as carefully as she had the label on the package it had come in. Ocellus and the others waited several minutes for any developments. At last, "Bubbles" happily declared as she gave the pie back to Ocellus. "It's just as I thought, that was no ordinary pie. It was a specially made one meant just for this holiday." "Great!" Smolder excitedly declared, more so because she disliked standing around rather than anything else. "So, do you know where it came from?" "Bubbles" happily confirmed. "I most certainly do. Only one sweet shop in town could make special pies like this: Sugarcube Corner. I'll bet if you took the pie back to there, you could find out who ordered it. They keep better track of that stuff than what we keep track of here at the post office." Sweetie Belle then excitedly proclaimed! "That means I'm one step closer to knowing who my secret admirer is! Thank you so much, Bubbles! You've been such a big help today." The wall eyed mare seemed to light up with joy upon hearing such a phrase. "You really mean that?!" And when she got a nod in confirmation she unfolded her wings and proclaimed! "Oh, you don't know how happy I am to hear that! It seems like more often I hear about how I've messed things up for somepony even if it's not really my fault. It's nice to hear about the opposite for a change." Ocellus, meanwhile, was taking charge of the situation again! "We're close to an answer, girls! Let's not waste any more time! To Sugarcube Corner, on the double!" The sun was just beginning to lower, bathing the town of Ponyville in the beautiful orange glow of evening. Hearts and Hooves Day was starting to draw to a close, though there were still lots of activities planned for after Celestia's sun went down and Luna's moon came out. Sugarcube Corner wasn't a place really affected by such activities, however. And so the bakery was already preparing to close down for the night, even as it was currently tending to the evening rush of ponies desperate for something to satisfy their sweet tooths. It seemed like it took forever for the small group of creatures to reach the front of the line. Mr. Cake was behind the counter, surprised to see them (and surprised to see them looking quite out of breath). "Oh, hello," He tried to greet as normally as possible. "What are you all doing here so late? Looking to place an order, perhaps? We're a bit busy, but between Pinkie Pie, my wife and I, we've got it covered." Ocellus just placed the delivered and still wrapped pie on the counter, pushing it forward as she said to the stallion. "I'm told this is a special pie that only gets made here. Somepony ordered it and sent it through the mail today, and it ended up at Sweet Apple Acres. The only clue we have as to its intended pony is a smudged label with only a 'Belle' able to be seen on it. Do you know who ordered this pie?" Mr. Cake seemed to hesitate for but a moment before he looked to the changeling and told her. "I... don't know exactly," He looked to the back. "But Cup Cake should know, she was working the counter this morning and much of yesterday," Then he called out to the kitchen. "Sugar plum? Can you come here, please? There's something that requires your attention." Mrs. Cake soon emerged from the kitchen doors. "What is it, honey bun?" The plump baker asked her husband. Mr. Cake promptly gestured a hoof to the pie as he told his wife. "We have some... customers who want to know about our Hearts and Hooves Day special. You know more about that than I do, so you can help them out and I'll... take over for you in the kitchen." Mrs. Cake nodded and smiled, giving her husband a kiss as she did so. "Thanks a ton, honey bun. This is why we make such a perfect team," Then she approached the counter, immediately recognizing both the Cutie Mark Crusader and Ocellus and Smolder. "Oh, this is a surprise," She commented. "So, you wanna know about the Hearts and Hooves Day special? What do you want to know?" Ocellus explained. "Who was the pony who ordered the pie that got sent to Sweet Apple Acres with only a 'Belle' on the label? We think it was meant for Sweetie Belle, and we've been spending the day trying to find out who her secret admirer could be." She then pushed the pie forward. The plump earth pony mare examined the pie and the package with the smudged label it had come in very carefully. It took her but a minute to realize the truth. "Oh, I'm so sorry for the mix-up," She apologized as she explained. "This wasn't meant for 'Sweetie' Belle. It was meant for 'Sugar' Belle. Big Macintosh specifically requested this pie yesterday so he could send it to her in time for Hearts and Hooves Day today. The label must've gotten all smudged up, and without a proper name or address it was returned to its sender." "Wait, so I don't have a secret admirer after all?" Sweetie Belle realized as her heart sank a bit. "Now I feel really silly." Mrs. Cake reassured the downtrodden filly. "It's okay, Sweetie Belle. Hearts and Hooves Day isn't the only day of the year where ponies can become secret admirers or do nice things for ponies they love. You may get a secret admirer someday, or even a special somepony. Love can happen at any time." Apple Bloom, meanwhile, sought to question. "But why was my brother orderin' a pie for somepony like Sugar Belle who lives out in the middle of nowhere? Couldn't she have just come here to order the pie herself and pick it up?" At that Mrs. Cake only replied. "Sorry, but I made a promise to her that I wouldn't tell anypony about why she wanted that pie. It's between her and I." "Maybe it has something to do with Big Mac wanting the barn decorated for tonight," Scootaloo realized. "Although, that could also be why Miss. Cheerilee wasn't available to teach today now that I think about it." Sweetie Belle just declared. "I'm sure we'll find out the truth someday. Besides, even if I don't have a secret admirer there are still two ponies I love, as friends of course." "And who would those ponies be?" Scootaloo pondered. The unicorn filly smiled as she threw her hooves around her fellow Crusaders. "It's you two girls, of course! My very best friends in the whole wide world of Equestria!" The tomboyish filly buzzed her tiny wings in excitement even while she tried to insist. "I knew that all along, really. I just wanted to see how you'd react." Sweetie giggled. "Oh, Scootaloo. You don't have to pretend to hide your true feelings. Come on, it's Hearts and Hooves Day. Love can take many forms, it doesn't always have to be romantic." And the farm filly suggested. "Yeah. So let's spend the rest of the day enjoyin' our time off," She then turned to Ocellus. "Thanks for helpin' us out with this mystery though. We probably wouldn't have thought about goin' to the post office or Sugarcube Corner. They were so obvious they never crossed our minds." The young changeling seemed to sincerely smile, or rather forcing herself to do so as she told the CMC. "It was my pleasure, really. Glad I could help you out, even if the outcome wasn't what you were expecting." Smolder added. "Seems like your friendships are stronger than ever because of it. Funny how that works. Seems like I can't escape friendship lessons no matter where I go," Then her attention turned to Ocellus. "Speaking of lessons-" Ocellus gulped as she realized what her dragon friend was about to do. "Do we really have to, Smolder? Can't this at least wait until tomorrow? It's getting kind of late." The young dragon snorted, a few puffs of smoke escaping her nostrils. "Oh no, you're not putting this off any longer! It's time we had a little talk, friend to friend!" Perhaps sensing the mood that was taking hold, Sweetie Belle quickly ushered her fellow Crusaders away. "Come on, let's get this pie back to Big Mac so he can get this mess sorted out before whatever he has planned for tonight." And soon the three fillies had departed Sugarcube Corner. Smolder then turned to Ocellus after quickly checking to see if anypony else was listening. Aside from Mrs. Cake though, nopony was as they were all too preoccupied with various desserts. "Alright, Ocellus. It's time to confess. What's the real reason you're not happy about this holiday? Whatever it is, it's why you were so quick to take on the Cutie Mark Crusaders' case." Ocellus stuttered and seemed to suddenly break out into a nervous, cold sweat. "I...I... a-already... t-told you why. You heard... w-what I... told Sandbar." The young dragon just narrowed her eyes, not buying her changeling friend's statement for even a second. "That's not it, not even close. I know a lie when I see it. What would Professor Applejack have to say if she were here to see this?" "But it's not a lie, it's true! We can still feed off of love!" Ocellus protested. "That's part of the reason why so many ponies still fear us." Smolder rolled her eyes. "That's ridiculous. Nopony around here's ever seemed afraid of you. If anything, they'd be more afraid of dragons like me or griffons like Gallus. We don't exactly have the best reputations, I heard the first griffon who came here was a real jerk." But Ocellus glumly confessed. "They may not show it outwardly, but being a changeling means I can pick up on emotions: Not just love but also fear. It's not always easy, but when ponies or other creatures try to hide it I can detect it. It's something that's always been unique about me. No other changeling seems to have it. And I know why ponies fear me, it's because holidays like this used to be a changeling's favorite time of year," And she began to recall. "Under Chrysalis, we would go in disguise to all sorts of cities and towns to feed on love. It's because we did so good that Chrysalis decided to try it herself." Smolder protested. "And because of that she got her sorry butt blasted to kingdom come not once but twice. And now you've got a better ruler from what I hear, just like how we dragons used to be lead by a big old dragon named Torch before he stepped down." Ocellus shuddered while memories long repressed flooded back to her in her mind, playing over and over again before her very eyes. "Thorax did take over eventually, but he was the lucky one. He got to escape from the hive. Others who tried to stand up to Chrysalis weren't so lucky. They were all defeated and brainwashed into obeying only her. And after Thorax escaped, she made sure every changeling still in the hive obeyed her one way or another. Any sense of individuality was stomped out. That's what she tried to do to me." The young dragon felt her eyes widen! "Ocellus... I-I didn't know." The young changeling just glumly replied. "It's okay, you couldn't have known. Even Thorax didn't find out until after he'd taken the throne. But somehow, I was able to resist. I'm not sure how or why, and even Thorax doesn't know," Her tone of voice seemed to slowly change to a more upbeat one as she then added. "But he told me that's what makes me special and unique. And that's why he wanted me to be the first changeling to ever attend Twilight's School of Friendship. But..." "But," Smolder seemed to guess. "Holidays like this make it hard to forget what you used to be like, isn't that right?" Nodding, Ocellus confirmed. "You got that right. So I was happy to have any sort of distraction from the holiday, any sort of distraction from love." Smolder promptly replied. "Well, I'm not really good at emotional stuff. But I think I can safely say that you don't have to worry about love or about your species' past on a holiday like this. If even ponies like Mrs. Cake here," She briefly gestured a claw to the plump baker. "Aren't bothered by your presence, then I think your species has come a long way from what you used to be. As long as you remember that, you'll be fine." Ocellus slowly seemed to smile as she then gave Smolder a hug. "Thank you, Smolder. I mean it. You really don't know how much your speech means to me. And I know you meant every word of it." All Smolder could do was force herself to say in reply. "Hey, what are friends for?" Then she insisted. "But don't you go telling Sandbar, or Gallus or any of our other friends about this, got it?" "Wouldn't dream of it. It'll just be our little secret," Ocellus agreed. "Now, we should get back to the school before Headmare Twilight starts to wonder where we've been. We're not supposed to leave school grounds on school days without telling her first."