Hmm… I really wish I hadn’t made this such a short notice trip. Then I could’ve at least asked Twilight if she could send a request to the Princess to provide another accommodation for me at the castle. Not that the Ponyday Inn hotel isn’t up to snuff, but… I don’t know. Much too humble for my liking.
That aside, I’m sure Twilight would find it incredibly suspicious that I’d want to go to Canterlot on such short notice without any of my spare fabrics, or sweet little Opalescence. Heck, even I’m not completely sure what I’m doing here…
No. I do know why I’m here.
I’m here because I want to comfort Fancy Pants in light of his recent break-up. Nothing more. Just me being a good friend, and letting him know that I’ll always be there if he needs me, and well you know, now that he's single and all, if he’d like to…
No! No, no! I said nothing more! I’m just going to help out a friend, and that’s all! Now… where to find such a big, handsome stallion in such a big, handsome city?
…
Oh, who am I even joshing?
“B-but girls, I still don’t understand. Rarity’s still going to be in Canterlot for the next couple of days. So what exactly do you have in mind?”
Actually, if I can be honest, I was just thinking of excuses to get out of this. I didn’t want to be rude to the girls and make them disappointed, but… I wasn’t sure I was going to like anything they were planning.
That, and… I just really hate being dragged across town.
“She’s got a point, y’know,” said Scootaloo. “How can we ‘matchmake’ anything if one of the two ponies we’re trying to match isn’t even in town?”
“Don’t you see? It’s so simple!” I was afraid Sweetie would say that… “We’re going to have Fluttershy practice for a date with Rarity, and then help her get ready for a real date when Rarity comes back!”
I think all three of us were confused. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom didn’t look like they knew what was going on either.
“Well… ah guess since yer the expert here, ya know what yer talkin’ about. Lead the way, Sweetie Belle!”
“All right then, follow me!”
Oh, dear.
Well, it took me half of the day searching, but I finally found him. He was sitting alone inside an Italian restaurant called ‘L'impertinente Polpette’. Hmm. I’ll have to look up what that means later.
I peered through the window to get a good look at him. To be honest, I sort of wish I hadn’t. It was rather heart-breaking to see him in such a state.
There was a plate of food out in front of him, but he didn’t seem to care. He wasn’t taking a single bite of it. He was just... staring it down, with those lonely azure eyes... Come to think of it, he wasn’t even wearing his monocle today.
“There he is! And he’s all alone! Oh, how perfect! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee...”
All right, Rarity, chill... chill. Breathe. Regain your composure. Smooth as buttermilk. You must enter this establishment in a calm fashion and with your absolute most refined sense of dignity.
“Fancy Pants! YOO-HOO! Over here! It’s me, Rarity!”
“Oh my word! Miss Rarity. What a lovely surprise seeing you here.” Oh, look at him! He’s smiling again already! Oh, this is going to be a sitch! “Why, I didn’t even know you were in town right now.”
“Oh, yes. Mostly just another fashion trip, need more supplies for my boutique.” Lying through your teeth, Rarity. Tsk tsk. “And well, I uh… I saw you here alone, and thought I’d… drop in and catch up with an old friend! Yes.”
“Oh. Well, that’s awfully sweet of you.” His smile dropped once more. I suppose I must’ve reminded him about why he was depressed again.
“Is everything all right? You looked a tad upset. Why isn’t Fleur with you?”
He turned away from me. “Hmm. I suppose you haven’t glanced at the tabloids recently, then. I still cannot believe those wretches put it all over…”
“What happened?”
“Well you see, Rarity… Fleur and I, we’ve recently had a bit of a falling-out. Well, actually… she broke up with me.”
“You don— WHAT!? Sweet Celestia, I had no idea!”
And that wasn’t pretending, either. I had skimmed through the story in the tabloids, but… they didn’t say anything about Fleur-de-Lis being the one who decided to call it off.
Suddenly, I began to get… well, perhaps a tad emotional.
“FANCY PANTS, MY DARLING!”
“Agh! Rarity, I— I thank you for your kind sentiments, but… could you please let go of me? I can’t necessarily breathe!”
“But how can I!? When you’ve been through so-ho-ho much? Oh, please! Tell me everything!”
Smooth as buttermilk, indeed.
Well, at least this is something that I’ve done a lot.
“So, why are we hiding in this bush, again?”
“Ssh, quiet, Scootaloo! See that couple over there?”
“Yeah?”
Sweetie put on a pair of binoculars and started watching through the leaves. “I want to watch them for a little bit so that we can maybe get some ideas from them! Get ready to start writing stuff down, Apple Bloom!”
“All right-y!”
“B-but I don’t know… isn’t this like spying on them?”
But I think they were too focused on the couple to hear me.
“Oh, I love you, honey-bunches.”
“I love you too, my snuggy-wuggy buggle-kins!”
“Blech,” Scootaloo stuck her tongue out at them.
“Write that down, Apple Bloom! Write that down!”
“Ah! Okay! Um… how do you spell ‘buggle-kins’?”
This is going to be a very long day.
“And of course, I started apologizing for everything. The opera house, the tickets, the snotty couple, the clothes, everything… But she would not hear any of it.”
As Fancy Pants told his story, I kept thinking about how a significant amount of this tale was vastly different from what the Inquirer said about his break-up with Fleur.
I suppose that’s how a tabloid works, after all. Cutting out everything but the juiciest bits. Although, a few other things, including quite vulgar comments against Fancy, make me wonder if it was actually Fleur herself who sold the story to them. At this rate… I wouldn’t be surprised.
“She grabbed all her bags… opened the door… And the last thing she said to me?”
“I don’t need your money, and I don’t need you! Good bye, Fancy Pants! Your company was once pleasurable, long ago, but those days are over. So don’t go looking for me, because I never want to see you and your repulsive mustache again!”
“That was the only time… I’d ever seen her step out into the rain without panicking over her mane.”
The tears were really starting to collect in his eyes, and honest to Celestia, I couldn’t hold them back either. I figured it wouldn’t be a pretty story, but... good gracious.
I almost completely forgot about my initial mission. At this moment… all I could think about was how much he’d been through in the past month or two.
“Fancy Pants, I… I have no idea what to say. I’m so sorry that such horrible things happened to you.”
“Oh… it’s quite alright,” For the first time since he’d started his story, I saw him start to smile again. “If truth be told, I was actually starting to grow tired of her attitude as well.”
“Really? You two seemed to get along really well when I first met you.”
“Yes, well…” He made a long sigh and brought his head down. “Relationships in Canterlot can often be very complex, Rarity. Sometimes, you don’t know whether your partner is more interested in gaining your love or your money, and they can put on the most convincing facades. Tragic for sure, but that’s how the circle of love unfortunately works.”
“Yes, well…” I paused for a minute, unsure whether I should open up my own love life to him. “I know how it feels to think you’ve found the perfect pony, only to have your heart violently broken in the end.”
“Really? Have you had an awful experience in dating, too?”
“Yes…” I looked up to the ceiling as I began to reminisce. “Ever heard of a prince named Vladimir Blueblood?”
“THE Prince Blueblood?” His eyebrows rose up in a shock. If he had his monocle on, I’m sure it would’ve flown right off of his face.
Now I’ve got him.
With a smile on my face, I turned to the waiter approaching our table. “Table for two, please.”
“Ooh! You should pick that one!”
“No, that one!”
“That one would be way cool!”
“Ah like that one best!”
“That one!”
“No, that one!”
“That one matches her eyes!”
“Yeah, but that one gleams in the sun!”
“That one has an awesome crest!”
“I am so sorry about this, Mr. Stone.”
“It’s… alright.” Diamond Stone sounded really tired today. “I get the little foals coming in here all the time, trying to help their parents pick out the perfect necklaces and what have you. You get used to it after a while.”
“Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Lookie here!” I leaned over the glass to see what gem Apple Bloom was pointing at. “This one’s all shiny and purple! You should totally get it.”
“Um, girls, if it’s alright with you, can we-- look at jewelry a little later?”
“Awwwww!”
“Oh, um… never mind, that’s okay. You can keep going if you want to.”
“Nah, you’re right! We should save picking out the jewelry for last!” said Sweetie Belle.
“Well… what should we do instead?” Scootaloo asked.
“Hmm… I know! Let’s go to Miss Roseluck’s stand and pick out flowers!”
“YEAH!”
They all high-hoofed each other and were out the door faster than any rabbit I’ve ever seen.
“Oh, dear…”
“Thank goodness,” said Mr. Stone.
“That does sound very dreadful. I’d have never taken Blueblood for such a rude character. Granted, I’ve never met him, but with all the philanthropic work he does… I just never would’ve imagined.”
“Yes, well… appearances can be very deceiving.” I finished sipping my second gin-gin mule as I reached the end of my tale. I don’t fancy myself a drinking pony, but alcohol is always able to help me recall terrible memories with a cool head.
Hmm-hmm… Cool head. With a mint-flavored gin. A little play on words there.
“Oh-ho, don’t I know that!” And then, for I believe the first time since he’d been sitting here, he managed a laugh. I was slowly bringing him out of his discomfort, and loving every second of it.
I’m… getting… so… CLOSE!
“I must say though, Rarity, I really enjoy your acquaintance. It seems every time we meet, we discover we have more in common than we imagined.”
“What do you mean?”
“For one thing, we both appear to be… well, almost cursed to fawn over whom we presume to be the sweetest, most kind pony in the world…”
“And we are thoughtlessly captivated, but in the end, all we end up with…”
“…is a broken heart!” we both finished.
Before we knew it, we had broken out into an uproar of laughter. I’m sure everypony at the place must’ve been staring at us.
PERFECT! GOOD! GOOD! GREAT! MISS! GOOD! GOOD! PERFECT! GREAT! MISS! GREAT! MISS! MISS! GREAT! GOOD!
“Huhh… huhh… huhh… can I please… take a… break… now?”
“What, are you kidding? You’ve only been on that thing for thirty minutes!”
“Yeah! You’re going to need at least two more hours of Dance Dance Pony Dance if you want to be an awesome dancer and knock Rarity out of her socks!”
“Socks? What in the hay are you talkin’ about, Sweetie Belle?”
“Ohhhhhhhhhh…”
PERFECT! MISS! GREAT! MISS! GOOD! GREAT!
Smooch.
“Oh, my Celestia!”
“Oh, my. Heh-heh, my apologies, Miss Rarity.”
“Oh, please. Not your fault. That last strand always sneaks up on you, doesn’t it?”
The awkwardness of that moment was finally broken up by the waiter as he approached our table.
“I assume the spaghetti was to your satisfaction?”
“Oh, definitely…” we both answered. Fancy Pants' cheeks flushed a brilliant crimson. ...I wonder if mine did too.
“Mm… very well, then. I’ll be back in a few minutes with your check.”
As he took the plates, Fancy Pants and I both watched him walk away… and then we did it again. Unfortunately, a few ponies probably got fed up with our random bursts of laughter at this point, and left.
“Oh, Rarity, you are simply a smash!”
“Well, that’s good, I… um… that is good, right?”
“Of course! If I may ask, Rarity, if you’re not busy tonight, would you… like to accompany me to a night out on the town?”
Right there, I made probably the biggest gasp of my life. …Well, second biggest. Maybe third.
“I was planning on seeing some venues, well… alone. But if you’d li—”
“Yes! YES! Of course I’ll go out with you! I mean… go out, with you. Yes. Ah-heh-heh.”
Oh… this is just getting better and better! By tonight’s end, I’ll have finally found my special somepony!
I'm not sure I can tell what they’re doing now. First they dragged me to their clubhouse and pulled a book out from one of their drawers. Then they started collecting some really weird things, like the color right off of a rainbow. I had to fetch a little tuft of cloud for them, and then they asked me for one of my feathers!
And now… I don’t know. They made some sort of pink bubbly drink and now they were just— staring at it. They kept staring at it for maybe a minute or two.
“So, uh…” I finally heard Apple Bloom say. “Am I the only one who’s thinkin’ that maybe we shouldn’t try this again?”
“Mm… yeah, I guess you’re right,” said Scootaloo.
“Agreed.”
I’m… not sure I even want to know.
Oh, what a splendid night it was. Fancy took me to see a wonderful opera, followed by an art auction held by his cousin, and just now, we were coming out of seeing a film at the Canterlot Movie Theater.
“Well, that was immensely enjoyable, wouldn't you say, Miss Rarity?”
“Oh, yes,” I agreed. “I personally think they did a fantastic job of remaining faithful to the book.”
“So, are you ready for my final treat?”
“Final treat? Oh, Fancy Pants. You’ve taken me to see Les Amants Interdits de Hayseed with box seats even, your cousin’s charity auction where we worked together to earn you that magnificent vase, and The Prince’s Speech in the fanciest cinema in Equestria! What would possibly top all of that?”
“Well, how about… that?”
He pointed off to a building in the distance. But not just any building, THE building.
“Is that th— th— the— the Grand Grazer Lorrante Canterlot Dinner Theatre!? OH MY WORD! I’ve always wanted to go there, but the tickets are so expensive!”
“Well for tonight, you can go there as my special guest!”
“You— you really mean it?”
“Of course! I was… well, my intention was to attend the amateur cellist spotlight night with Fleur, but… as you know, I’m all alone now and have an extra ticket so… what do you say?”
He’s taking me to the same places he was going to take Fleur… OH, IT’S WORKING!
“What do I say? Fancy Pants, I’d love you! Uhh— to, I mean. I’d love to. Heh-heh.”
Alright, Rarity. Your chance is coming up soon…
As soon as Fancy wasn’t looking, I took out my breath spray.
“Well, keep lookin’, girls! There’s gotta be one ‘round here somewhere!”
I had to keep ducking my head and hopping to the side to avoid books being tossed right in my face. They were tearing up the entire building looking for… I guess some book about romance ideas? I don’t know, they didn’t say.
Spike was dodging books too, and he looked really worried.
“Oh man, Twilight’s going to kill me…”
“Um, Spike… why did you let them try to find the book themselves?”
“Well, Sweetie Belle was fluttering her eyelashes at me! I HAD NO CHOICE!”
A book suddenly landed on top of him.
“Found it!” Scootaloo called.
“Great… Ow.”
I’ve met Octavia, I think a couple of times. She comes down to Ponyville very often to spend time with her long-distance… girlfriend, who she never likes to mention the name of, for whatever reason. One time, she asked for a dress for an upcoming recital. I think she remembers me, because I noticed her glancing at us a few times during the performance.
Tonight, she was wearing a dress made by somepony else. Unique Twinklette I should think, judging by the looks of it. The piece she was playing was… rather calm and soothing. She told me while I was designing her dress that her dream is to become a really famous cellist.
Well, I can certainly say she already has the quality performing skills of it. If she keeps playing her cards, or I guess I should say her cello, right, maybe she will make it big someday.
“What a lovely performance,” I remarked.
“Yes, isn’t it? I do love coming here once every two months or so. The amateur performers can sometimes create much greater performances than the well-known players out there. Undiscovered talent, is what it is. And it can be absolutely breathtaking.”
“Yes… Why, I—”
I lost my train of thought as soon as I looked over to Fancy Pants. He appeared to be… well, sweating.
I didn’t realize it was that clammy in here. Is he nervous about something?
“Fancy Pants, are you… alright?”
“I—” He cleared his throat very aggressively. “Hmm, oh yes! Just fine! Umm, excuse me, can I get a glass of water, please?” He whispered to one of the waitresses.
“Certainly.”
She returned a few moments later with a glass of water for him. He didn’t waste any time in guzzling down the entire glass.
“Whew! That is a lot better! Forgive me if I’m embarrassing you, Rarity.”
“Oh no, not at all.”
“It’s just… well…” A soft smile crept up his lips. “I’m nervous because I’ve been trying to think of the most delicate way to say it…”
“Say what?”
“You see, the thing is… I’ve had such an extraordinary day with you, Rarity. Probably one of the best days I’ve had in a while. Dare I say it, I don’t think I’ve ever had such a day like this in all the time that I’d been with Fleur…”
Oh my Celestia! Is this heading where I think it’s heading?
“What I’m trying to say Rarity, I know this is probably going to sound very delirious, but… I just, I don’t know. You’ve made me feel whole for the first time in a good, long while. And once you go back to Ponyville, I fear I’ll spend the rest of my days alone once more.”
“Fancy Pants, are you—”
“Rarity, I’m about to ask you something very important, and I don't care how we make it work, whether it be long-distance or whatever, but… Rarity, would you like to be my marefriend?”
“Sweetie Belle, are you ready yet?” Scootaloo called.
“Almost! Just gotta… do a few more things!”
The girls had now dragged me to Sugarcube Corner, and asked me to sit down at a table while Sweetie Belle went into the little fillies’ room to “get ready”.
I really wish they’d tell me what they’re up to. I also wish they’d let me go home already. I don’t… like being out this late. I get really scared when it’s dark outside…
“Okay, I’m ready!” She called from inside the room. “And… watch out baby, here I come!”
I wasn’t prepared for what came out of the room. A giant purple mass on top of its head… a really scary-looking face… some strange symbol on its flank, covered in purple goop… and very scary wooden sticks attached to its legs.
I hid from the table to shield myself from the horrifying monster that was coming towards me, and was crying out for mercy.
“AAHH! Please! Go away, scary monster! Take all my bits, take whatever you want, just please don’t hurt me!”
“Huh? Fluttershy, it’s me, Sweetie Be— I mean, Rarity!”
“W-what?”
I peeked out to look at the horrifying monster once again. The purple mass on Sweetie’s head was... a wig. She had some, very messy-looking eye-shadow and mascara. The symbol taped to her flank was a crude drawing of Rarity’s Cutie Mark, covered in some of the purple dye she must have splashed over while dying her tail.
And those wooden sticks attached to her legs? Stilts.
“W-why do you look like that?”
“Because! I’m pretending to be Rarity, and we’re going to have a practice date so you can do it for real when Rarity comes back!”
“Um, are you… so sure this is a good idea?”
“Sounds like a swell one to me!” said Apple Bloom.
“I dunno,” said Scootaloo. “This seems more like a boring idea to me…”
“Don’t worry! I’ve been reading Rarity’s romance novels, and I have someone I love already, so I have plenty of experience with this!”
I tried to protest. “But… but…”
But it was too late. “Oooh, why hello, Fluttershy darling! Aren’t you looking absolutely gorgeous today? Let’s get some drinks, what do you say darling?” I… think she was trying to sound like Rarity.
“I—What?”
“Fruit punch, you say? That sounds splendid, darling! Let’s get some fruit punch, Mr. Cake!”
Mr. Cake looked very… ‘perplexed’, as Rarity likes to say. I don’t really blame him. They told me the whole plan and I was still confused.
“R-right… coming right up, miss.”
“So, Fluttershy!”
“EEP!” I couldn’t help but jump every time she turned back to me. Seriously, just… that makeup. It looked so frightening.
“Before we begin our ‘date’…” She blinked quickly a few times. I don’t know why. “Isn’t there anything you’d like to tell me, darling?”
“Tell you? Like, like what… ‘Rarity’?”
“Psst!” Apple Bloom called me over by whispering and waving her arms. “Say, ‘I love ya Rarity, and I want y’all to be my special somepony!’”
The only reason I wasn’t trying to run away right now was because I knew it would probably make the girls cry.
“Um… Rarity?”
“What is it, darling Fluttershy… darling?”
“That's, that's not how she talks."
But she was still smiling really hard. That kind of 'Come on and say yes already!' look.
"Well, you see…” I had to close my eyes. “I love you Rarity, and I want y’all—I mean you, to be my special somepony and, and-- Sweetie Belle, can we please stop? I feel very silly.”
“Just keep goin’!” Apple Bloom whispered.
“So, uh… I, uh… uh… I, what do you, uh… say… Rarity?”
“What do I say, what?”
“Huh?”
“Fluttershy!” Maybe I should’ve just asked Apple Bloom to pretend to be me instead. “‘Do you love me back?’”
“…Okay.” It was still hard to look at Sweetie, and not just because of the makeup. “Rarity, do you… do you love me back?”
“Well…”
Before I could say anything else, Scootaloo suddenly interrupted. “OH! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! THIS IS TAKING TOO LONG!” …Thank goodness. “Can you just get to the part where you two kiss, already?”
“WHAT!?”
“Okay, sure! Fluttershy, let us join lips to finally strengthen our bond and become very special someponies, darling!”
I could feel the sweat dripping down my face. This was utterly terrifying. “No, I… I can’t! I’m not going to—What are you—STOP!”
But she was still moving in. “Oh but Fluttershy, isn’t this what you vant, darling? You and me, marefriend and marefriend! Our hearts like two shooting stars colliding in the sky! Your arms and mine, as we hold each other so closely…”
I looked over at Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. They looked scared too.
But she was still leaning in. Very closely, until finally…
“OHH! JUST KISS ME NOW, SPIKE!”
“AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!”
SPLAT!
I wasn’t hurt, but I think both of our fruit punches splashed all over Sweetie Belle when the table flipped over, and she was knocked to the ground too. Her wig fell off and now her face was covered in dripping make-up.
“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry, Sweetie Belle!”
“No… that’s okay. My fault. Guess I got a little carried away. Heh-heh.”
“Hee-hee-hee!”
“A little?”
“Oh, Fancy Pants…”
“Oh, Rarity…”
And as quick as a swallow, like Fluttershy says sometimes, we both found ourselves leaning in. Puckering our lips. Getting ready to lay on that big, sweet, savory…
“OH, STOP! JUST STOP! I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE!”
I screamed rather loudly, thus the entire hall ceased and became dead silent, and stared at us. Even Octavia had stopped her playing.
“Uh… heh-heh, carry on.”
And so they did.
“Rarity, are you alright? I don’t understand.”
I could barely… well, bear, to look at him. He seemed so confused, so quizzically sad.
The ‘Is… she rejecting me, or what?’ look.
“Fancy Pants, I am so, so terribly sorry. I have been acting most selfish and unladylike.”
“What do you have to apologize for? You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Oh, but I have! Because you see, the thing is…” I could already feel the tears in my eyes. “I had already heard about your break-up back in Ponyville. I only ventured up here because I was hoping to be your new Fleur-de-Lis.”
“My… my new Fleur-de-Lis?”
I still couldn’t face him. I turned my chair the other way as I recounted my woes.
“I’ve been such on such a mad search for love the past few days that I—I don’t know. I’ve been setting aside my emotions and my common sense. I’ve been blinded by my frustrations, and acting so selfishly!”
I also didn’t want him to see my tears.
“I apologize deeply for putting you through all of this, Fancy. I was so excited by your break-up that I wasn’t thinking straight. I just saw you as an opportunity, and I used you. I made you want me. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m not fit to call myself your friend anymore.”
Though it pained me, I decided it would be best to leave now. “I don’t know if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, but please know, that I am sorry. I mean it. I truly am, sorry.”
As I got out of my chair to leave, I suddenly felt a hoof grab my own, holding me back.
“Rarity, wait!”
“Huh?” Finally, I turned to face him again. “Fancy Pants…?”
“You’re not the only one who has apologizing to do, Miss Rarity.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, to be very frank… as soon as you entered that restaurant, ideas started to come into my head as well.”
“You mean…”
“All of those places I took you, all of those things we did… I was hoping to entrance you, and maybe convince you to take Fleur’s place.”
“Hmm… I see.” An awkward silence followed; I guess we were both feeling pretty somber. I decided to try to lighten the mood. “I guess, as the song would say, we were searching for love in all the wrong stables.”
That made him laugh. Let it never be said that I don’t know how to at least cheer somepony up. “Ahh. Yes. I suppose in the end, we were both acting like foals.”
“I can drink to that,” I said with a smile, taking a sip of my red wine. “You know, do you think us in a relationship would probably even work anyway?”
“Probably not,” he agreed. “You’re a very good friend, Rarity. And the more I think about it, I think I couldn’t be more happy with that.”
“I concur. You’re a great friend, too.”
As our conversation finished, so did Octavia’s number. After she played the final hanging note, everypony applauded from their seats.
While the song ceased, Fancy Pants turned to me again. "I have to ask though, Rarity... why are you suddenly so desperate for companionship? You said that incident with Prince Blueblood happened at last year's Grand Galloping Gala, but this didn't seem like such a big worry of yours when you were last in Canterlot."
"...It all started with my little sister, I think. She's recently become enamored with someone of her own, and so have an increasing number of my friends, lately. It's all brought to my attention more than ever the fact that I still have yet to find a lover of my own. An entire life loveless, and betrayed."
“Well you know, if you’re this desperate to find somepony, perhaps you should've just asked me straight away. There is actually somepony I could introduce you to if you’re still going to be in Canterlot for a while.”
“Really?”
“Yes. That is to say… are you interested?”
“Hmmm… well, since my trip to Canterlot would otherwise be a waste… I suppose a long-distance relationship isn’t entirely a bad thing.” That’s supposedly how my parents started out, as a matter of fact. “Sure, Fancy. I’m willing to give it a try.”
“Great! For now, would you like me to escort you back to your hotel room?”
“That would be most pleasant. Thank you.”
We both got up from the table and started to walk towards the door.
“By the way… this pony you’re going to introduce me to?”
“Yes?”
“Stallion, I should hope?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Okay, good. Just making sure.”
Once Rarity and Fancy Pants left and she finished her curtain call, Octavia took a stage right and whispered into the stage curtain.
“Psst. They’ve left now.”
“Oh, have they?” A female voice from inside replied. “Well, what were they talking about?”
“Well, it doesn’t look like they’re actually together. In fact, Fancy Pants is apparently going to introduce her to somepony he knows, something about her ‘trying to find a companion’. She asked if he was a stallion.”
“Mm. Good, good. So he hasn’t let himself become taken so quickly after all. How perfect for me…”
- - -
I think the Crusaders had all but given up now. That pretend date must’ve been their last resort plan.
Thank goodness, too. I don’t think I could take much more of whatever else they were going to try. Once you've spend a whole day with them like that, I guess I really understand now why everypony else calls them such a handful.
Still, they try hard and they really do mean good, so it’s still a little sad to see them looking so disappointed.
“Oh, girls. You tried your hardest. I’m sorry it hasn’t been going the way you wanted.”
“Maybe we’re not meant to be matchmakers after all…” said Sweetie Belle.
“Well, thank goodness! I don’t think I would want a symbol of two ponies kissing each other on my flank anyway!”
“Hey, Fluttershy?” Apple Bloom looked up at me. “I got a question. Will ya still be able to talk to Rarity and tell her how ya feel, now?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure. She’s… she might already have somepony else to love by now…”
“Oh. …Sorry.”
Mr. Cake was still cleaning fruit punch off of the floor, the tables, and the curtain next to us.
“We’re really sorry that we made such a mess, Mr. Cake,” said Sweetie Belle.
“Ohh, that’s all right. This sort of thing happens all the time. We really don’t mind. Right, honey?”
“I guess not.” Mrs. Cake was restocking the candy on the bottom counters for tomorrow. “I just wish Pinkie were here. Do you why she’s been shirking her work so much lately?”
“Got me. She keeps asking me if she can have some time off to spend with her friends. In particular, she seems to really want to hang out with Twilight Sparkle a lot lately. I don’t get it, but then again, there’s a lot of things I don't get about Pinkie Pie.”
Just then, the bell rang and the door opened.
Lyra Heartstrings walked in and sat down on the bar stools. She looked… upset about something. She had her head down low the whole time.
“Well, hello there, Miss Heartstrings. A tall double Hot Fudge Sundae with macadamia nuts and a wild cherry for you and…?”
“No. Just a small orange whip, please.” She spoke really quietly, like she had a sore throat.
“Oh. Certainly, dear. …Coming right up.”
I had to see why she seemed so sad.
“Heartstrings?”
“Oh. Hey, Fluttershy.” She had faint trails on her face, like she had been crying a little while ago. “What’s up?”
“Are you… okay?”
“Of course I’m okay. Just fine.”
“Are you sure? You look like you’re upset about something. Did something happen?”
She stayed quiet for a while, until finally…
“Yeah. Well, sort of. The thing is…”
She looked up at me finally. Her eyes were glistening, like she was about to start crying again.
“Bon-Bon just broke up with me.”