//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Magic of Love // by MysteriousStranger //------------------------------// “She did what?!” Rarity exclaimed angrily. “I… I couldn’t do anything… She caught me by surprise… Sorry…” Fluttershy was laying on her bed, very upset with the circumstances. Just when she'd gotten enough courage to confess her love, something like this had to happen. “But Pinkie Pie knows about your crush on Twilight--we all know! How could she do something like this?!” “Rarity!” Fluttershy sat up on her bed. She didn’t like it when ponies said bad things about other ponies, especially behind their backs. “Sorry, But…” “You don’t need to apologize, Fluttershy. I think I was talking too much. I'll talk to her later, but now we need to discuss what you're going to do.” Fluttershy sighed, closed her eyes, and let her head rest on the pillow again. “This is hard for me… I don’t know what to do… Tell me what to do Rarity, please! I need help!” “I’m thinking, I’m thinking!” Rarity was trying to find a way to solve her friend’s problem, but couldn’t come up with anything. She looked at her best friend with a sad look. “Sorry dear, but I can’t think of anything…” Tears began running down Fluttershy's cheeks. “That’s okay… I guess she'll never know how I feel… Maybe it's for the best…” “Don’t talk like that! You two are so meant to be, and I won’t rest until I see you two together. I promise you!” Silence filled the room. Neither of them said anything for several minutes until finally, Fluttershy got off her bed and hugged her Unicorn friend. “I… I appreciate what you're doing for me, Rarity… You're such a good friend. You were the first pony I told about my crush on Twilight and you've supported me since then.” “Oh yes, I remember that day when I found you looking at Twilight while hiding in the bushes... I'd never saw you so nervous before!” Fluttershy let out a giggle as they broke the hug. “I had to come with you to tell the others a week ago, remember? Everypony took the news very well, and Pinkie Pie hugged you so hard that she almost broke your bones!” The timid pony just kept smiling and blushing. She was grateful for having friends that supported her. They all tried to help in their own way, encouraging her to confess or even leaving them alone. But even so, she couldn’t do it; she didn’t want to ruin their friendship. Rarity was right, though. She had to do it or she would regret it when she was older. She had to tell Twilight, and the sooner, the better. All she needed now was an opportunity. She couldn’t turn back, not now that Rarity had given all of her support. “Fluttershy?” “Huh?” She didn’t realize how long she'd been thinking. Her friend's expression showed worry, and she knew why: they didn’t have a plan. But a knock at the door prevented them from thinking of one. They trotted downstairs and towards the entrance. Rarity stood behind Fluttershy as the later opened the door. They were both surprised when they saw who the visitor was. “Twilight?” The timid pony said. “Hello, Fluttershy, and Rarity! I was wondering if we could finish that walk we were on yesterday before Pinkie Pie interrupted us.” The ponies inside the house couldn’t believe their luck. There was no way she was going to ruin this opportunity. “Oh sure, Twilight, just let me get ready!” “Great! Um… Rarity? You want to come along?” Rarity hurriedly thought of an excuse. “Sorry, Twilight, but I have to see Pinkie Pie. Maybe another time," She turned and whispered to Fluttershy Good luck! And she trotted away. On the first part of the walk, Fluttershy remained silent. She had more confidence than before, but still didn’t know what to say. Luckily, Twilight spoke. “Sorry about yesterday, but Pinkie Pie wanted me to help her with a new cake she was making." ”Oh… I see…” “She said she wanted to make one for her next party, so I tried it and it was delicious; the best cake I've ever had!” “It was that good…?” “I wish you would have tried it, but she didn’t let me take a piece.” “That’s okay… I guess I'll try it at her next party… If I get invited…” “What are you talking about? You're always invited to Pinkie’s parties! Are you sure you’re okay?” Fluttershy stopped walking, looking down to hide her embarrassment. Twilight was right. She was always welcome to Pinkie’s parties, but she was so nervous about confessing that she was talking without thinking. Twilight stared at her timid friend, beginning to get really worried. Fluttershy looked at her surroundings--they'd arrived at a hill. She could see that they weren’t alone; there were couples waiting for the sunset. Twilight noticed them too, then looked back at Fluttershy. “Look at all these happy ponies... I've never really experienced it, you know.” Fluttershy raised her eyes to see her crush. She was blushing hard again and was trying to hide it. “You've never fallen in love…?” The purple unicorn looked down. “No. I was busy studying magic back in Canterlot... Other than Spike, I didn’t really have any friends until I arrived in Ponyville.” She then looked back at her friend. “What does being in love feel like?” “What?!” Fluttershy was instantly nervous. She looked at Twilight, whose face showed interest. “You know, how do you feel every time you see Big Macintosh?” The yellow pegasus let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t like Big Macintosh, I never did… I… I like somepony else…” Twilight got closer to her friend, making the pegasus even more nervous. “Really? Who? Do I know this mysterious pony?” Fluttershy nodded. “Hmm, who is it?” Fluttershy looked at her crush. She was ready; this was it and nothing couldn’t ruin it. She opened her mouth, just about to say it, when… “Twilight, there you are! I've been looking for you,” Spike appeared, running with a piece of parchment in his hand, “Celestia wrote to you, it seems important!” “What, Princess Celestia wrote?!” Twilight took the letter with her magic and read it. “I have to head back to the library... Sorry, Fluttershy, can you tell me later?” She trotted away, leaving Fluttershy alone with the happy couples. “Sure… love…” She couldn’t stand being there anymore, so she walked back to her home alone once again.