What did I do?
To say Trailing Ivy was stupefied would be an understatement. The date had gone on without a hitch, they both had an amazing time...
Yet she had dashed off into her house, in tears.
A crushing sense of failure dulled Ivy's mind. The only mare that ever had shown interest, let alone kissed him, had just left him alone.
Maybe all those jabs from his childhood were right.
His hooves began to move on their own, taking him to a familiar place of refuge. It wasn't too long of a walk, only about fifteen minutes, but soon he bumped into the door of a familiar house.
Literally.
THUD
The door opened, and a white-blue blur tacked the pony to the ground.
“Hey Ivy!”
His stupor of mind broken, Ivy couldn't help but smile and hug his sister back.
“Hey Sparking Snow. Haven't seen you for a while.”
Letting her brother back onto his feet, Snow led them both into her home. Being one of the few pegusi who actually lived on the ground, Snow had decorated her home with enchanted cloud furniture, to imitate the in-the-clouds feel. Her light blue mane swished as she sat in a poofy couch, nodding to a large armchair.
“Well, sit down! What brings you here on such short notice?”
There was a pause, and Ivy seemed suddenly very focused on the floor.
“Well...erm....”
Snow's eyes widened.
“Sweet fireflies Ivy, did you get yourself a marefriend?”
His ears shot straight up at that question.
“Well, yes...wait what? How did you know?”
Letting out a bubbly laugh, Snow tossed a bit of cloud at Ivy's head, which poofed into oblivion on impact.
“Mare's intuition. But congratulations! I have to say, you were the LAST pony I expected to get a marefriend anytime soon!”
“Gee. Thanks for the vote of confidence sis.”
Seeing the jesting comment had hit home, Snow threw another cloud at her brother's head.
“Hey, I was just kidding. Seriously though, is she pretty?”
Ivy nodded, and his eyes unfocused slightly.
Yep. He had a marefriend for sure.
“The prettiest, in my opinion.”
“And her name is...?”
“Roseluck.”
Snow tapped the sofa with a hoof thoughtfully.
“Hmm. I think I bought some roses from her a while back. Seemed rather nice. So, what seems to be the trouble?”
Ivy related the date to his sister, blushing despite his best efforts when mentioning their kiss.
“Ok, well, did she seem shaky at all? A bit freaked out beforehand?”
Ivy shrugged slightly, searching through his memory.
“Well, she seemed a bit nervous here and there.”
“Is she as inexperienced with relationships as you are?”
Ivy just stared at his sister for a moment.
“What? I can be blunt and serious when I want to be! And your answer is-?”
“Yes. I'm her first coltfriend, as far as I know.”
A pillow of cloud then hit him in the face.
“I think I know what's going on. She's just terrified that you won't like her anymore, simply put.”
The completely stunned expression on Ivy's face was almost comical.
“But...I really like her. A lot.”
Ivy's gaze fell to his hooves as he fiddled with a bit of cloud.
“A lot more than I realize...I think.”
The chair moved suddenly, sending him out onto the floor. Thankfully he caught his footing just in time, glaring at Snow, who had sent him flying.
“Don't tell me that! Go tell her! The sooner the better!”
Ivy was about to race out the door, but stopped, first going over to his sister and wrapping her up in a hug.
“Thanks Snow, for being my sis.”
She returned the hug, then shoving him towards the door.
“Anytime bro. Go get her! You have to tell her, no matter what.”
Any faster and Snow would have thought her brother had sprouted wings.
Making it to his and Rose's house in record time, Ivy wasted no time in rapping at her door.
No answer.
He tried again, but again, no response.
'You have to tell her, no matter what.'
Well, it was all or nothing. He took a deep breath and opened the door, Snow's words echoing in his mind. Ivy heard some faint noises from the bedroom, which then resolved into a voice as he got closer, words echoing out between sobs.
“I'm such a fool. Why did I even bother? How could he like me, especially after making such a fool of myself! Alone...I'll just live my life, and probably die alone. Why-”
“That. Is not true.”
Roseluck's head snapped up at the sound of Ivy's voice. No sooner had Rose scrambled back onto her four hooves, than she felt his arms wrap tightly around her, rocking her back and forth.
“Ivy, what are you-”
A hoof on the lips stopped any further conversation, the kiss that followed even moreso.
Rose had no idea it was possible to go from being so sad, to so amazingly happy in but a few short moments. Somehow, Ivy's kiss made every doubt, every silly thought that had been hounding her, just flee and disappear.
Breaking this kiss to get a breath of air (no matter how much he wished otherwise,) Ivy brushed a few rogue strands of Rose's mane from her eyes.
“Rose. Please, never, ever think I don't like you. Ok?”
She nodded, enjoying every second his hooves pulled her close into another hug.
“Ivy, I just couldn't think straight! I was so nervous I just thought-”
Rose's simply heart melted as she saw the overwhelming compassion in Ivy's eyes. He really did care about her...
“If you ever feel like that again, please, just tell me. I really don't want to see you like that again. I just want you to be happy, ok?”
Rose closed her eyes briefly, nuzzling Ivy's fur as she took a shaky breath.
“Ok. I promise.”
Ivy didn't know how long to keep Rose wrapped up in a hug, and didn't really care. The fact a mare actually liked him, and that he could be of such value to someone had his mind in a stupor. One single thought encompassed all the joy he felt, and the desire to make this one mare happy, no matter what.
'I love her.'