//------------------------------// // Big Macintosh's Proposal Solution: Paper // Story: Proposal Problems // by PhonyPony //------------------------------// “What’s takin’ him so long?” Big Macintosh, Carrot Cake, and Braeburn waited for Caramel inside the barn. Braeburn was tired of sitting around doing nothing. “There were only 30 ponies at the party, he should be here by now! BM, just say what ya wanted to say without him!” “Nnope. We all started this; everypony has to be here.” The barn door creaked open, revealing a content Caramel. “Hey, guys. Sorry I couldn’t have gotten here faster.” “What could possibly hold you up?!” asked the yellow cowpony. “I was telling everypony to never mention the party just like you told me to Big Macintosh, but I got sucked into a chat with Derpy on the way.” “Derpy?!” Caramel’s best friends expressed shock. “Uh-huh. As it turns out, we both have a lot in common. In fact, she asked me out on a date for next week.” Carrot gave the amber stallion a congratulatory slap on the back. “Good job, Caramel! Think she’s the one?” “Oh, I hope so. I never noticed before, but she really is a great mare,” Caramel looked up, “Guys, I think I found my special somepony.” “Well, it looks like all our problems are solved,” announced Big Macintosh, “Carrot and Braeburn settled their argument and now Caramel found his special somepony.” Braeburn raised a hoof in interjection. “You’re wrong cuz, what about your problem?” “Yeah, every single proposal to Fluttershy failed,” added the lanky baker. “That’s why Ah called y’all here again,” the deep-voiced stallion placed his hoof on his chest, “Ah’ve decided to propose to Fluttershy by mahself. Thank y’all for your ideas, but Ah realize now that mah proposal should come from mah heart, not from somepony else.” Caramel stretched his foreleg in front of everypony. “I’m glad you finally decided to propose yourself. We hope for the best, Big Macintosh.” Carrot brought out his hoof. “You and Fluttershy will be an excellent married couple. We should double date sometime.” Braeburn too put his hoof in the air. “We know you can do it, Big Mac!” “Eeyup!” The four collided their hooves together, creating the greatest hoofbump in their entire lives. Nopony asked how Big Macintosh was going to propose, for they already knew that success was guaranteed. ------- Actually, he didn’t know how he was going to propose. “How should Ah do this?” Big Macintosh secluded himself in his room, determined to come up with a proposal solution. He perched himself next to his desk and thought of multiple ideas. Crumpled sheets of paper scattered themselves all over the place. Every couple of minutes, their number continued to increase. They contained written plans that the freckled pony immediately rejected, including: Skywriting from the Wonderbolts? Sounds like something for Rainbow Dash. Start Earth Pony Girth boy band with the guys and sing? Ah find it embarrassing. Got to Iron Will’s seminar? Fluttershy probably wouldn’t like that. Ask Angel for help? Nnope. “Why am Ah writing these down? Ah said that Ah would do this by mahself.” Big Macintosh formed a ball out of another sheet of paper. He aimed for the wastebasket, but the crumpled sheet slightly missed its trajectory and skewed itself onto the wooden floor. “It doesn’t matter anyway. No matter how many ideas Ah write on paper, Ah just can’t decide.” The stallion scooted from his desk and lied down on his bed. He shifted to his right and viewed one of the many sheets of paper in his room; however, this sheet remained uncrumpled. Judging by the shade of the faded white, this certain sheet of paper appeared to have been there a while. Big Macintosh smiled. He remembered this one. ------- It was an average day in Sweet Apple Acres. Apple Bloom hanged out with the crusaders while Applejack and Big Macintosh bucked apple trees. Granny Smith assigned Big Macintosh to the north field, with the south field already occupied by Applejack. With only a single buck, each tree shook with the force of a tackle by an Ursa Major. The Apple siblings never tired themselves out, but they did find the task to be occasionally boring. That day, on the other hoof, was anything but boring. As if it fell from the sky, a sheet of paper floated from above, landing on a seemingly random apple tree. BAM! The strongest stallion in all of Ponyville kicked the tree, making multiple apples and the unknown sheet plummet into a basket. “What’s this thing doin’ here?” Big Macintosh picked up the mysterious paper and began to read it. “It’s a note?” Big Macintosh, please meet me at Ponyville Park at 4:00. I would like to talk to you, unless you’re busy of course. In that case, we can meet some other time. Now that I think about it, you don’t have to go to the park at all. It’s okay if you can’t, I’ll just… On second thought, come to the park right now, if you don’t mind. And that’s exactly what he did. The crimson stallion left Sweet Apple Acres and arrived at Ponyville Park. Only one pony was there, a beautiful pegasus mare. She had a fragile yellow body and a flowing pink mane that covered her face. Her cutie mark consisted of three butterflies, representing her affinity for animals. The mare turned around, revealing her beauty. “Hello, Big Macintosh.” So she’s the one that wrote the note. Mah hearts feels funny, a good kind of funny. Ah think she’s one of AJ’s friends. What was her name again? Oh yeah, it was… “Fluttershy?” Fluttershy’s note started a long chain of events. Originally, she had asked for a single date, but during that one date, they discovered a lot about each other’s personality. Clearly, they were both shy, but other traits were discovered as well, such as Big Macintosh’s strong will and Fluttershy’s kindness. That date eventually led to their second date, their fifth date, their first kiss, and their first ‘I love you.’ ------- “Ah’m so lucky. Ah still can’t believe it’s been a year since then.” As Big Macintosh kept on reminiscing about his relationship, he looked at his surroundings. He viewed his removed yoke, portraits of family, Smarty Pants, and paper everywhere. Paper. The perfect idea struck his head. “Paper? Paper! That’s it! One sheet of paper! That’s how Ah’ll propose tomorrow! If paper started it all, then it can end it too!” He found the proposal solution. He found it at last. “Ah’m goin’ to need a dictionary.” ------- “Where are we going, Big Macintosh? Can you please tell me?” Blindfold over her eyes, Big Macintosh led Fluttershy to their destination. The stallion chuckled. “Not yet, it’s a surprise. Besides, we’re almost there.” After five minutes of walking blindly, Fluttershy removed the blindfold and found herself at Ponyville Park. The sun shined on the grass, making it glisten. Under a tall oak tree laid a checkered blanket along with a light brown basket. “Wow, we’re going to have a picnic?!” “Eeyup, a romantic picnic at Ponyville Park, the place where our whole relationship started.” “You remembered,” sighed Fluttershy. The yellow mare sat on the ground. “What are we having?” The farmpony kneeled towards the basket and pulled out some food. “We have apple pie from Braeburn, Carrot’s carrot cake, and croissants from that fancy restaurant Caramel works at, Fine Wine to Dine.” Fluttershy licked her lips. “All of that sounds delicious.” “Eeyup, but before that,” Big Macintosh pulled out a sheet of paper and a quill from the basket, “Let’s play a game.” The mare received the two items from her coltfriend. “Um, okay. What do I have to do?” “There are two columns on that there paper. Ah’m goin’ to say 14 words. Ah want you to write the first letter of the first word Ah say on the left column and the first letter of the second word on the right column. Just keep on doin’ that, okay?” “I can do that.” Fluttershy, surprised by this game’s strangeness, tilted her head to the right. “But why do I have to play this game now?” The crimson pony raised a hoof. “Trust me; you’ll love this game when we’re finished.” “Okay, I trust you.” Big Macintosh began his list. “Warmhearted… Mesmerizing… Incomparable… Angelic… Lovely… Radiant… Luminous… Remarkable… Youthful… Yearning… Outstanding… Magnificent… Unique… Elegant.” One by one, the shy mare wrote the first letter of each word in their respective columns. “Got ‘em. Why did you pick those words?” “Ain’t it obvious?” Big Mac wrapped his foreleg around Fluttershy. “Those are all words that describe you. All those words pop into mah head whenever Ah look at you.” A bright blush emerged on Fluttershy’s face. She had never seen Big Macintosh act so sweet. “You really think about me that way?” Big Macintosh nodded. “Eeyup, no doubt about it. Now, Ah want you to read the list.” Fluttershy analyzed the list and gasped. She had never expected this to be the way this moment would happen. On the sheet of paper was the list of letters she wrote: W M I A L R L R Y Y O M U E Big Macintosh reached into the basket and revealed the gold hoof ring. “Fluttershy, ever since Ah first met you, Ah knew that there was somethin’ special about you. You’re kind, beautiful, and the greatest mare in all of Equestria. Heck, Ah probably don’t even deserve you. Ah never would have realized mah love for you if you hadn’t sent that note to me. You took the initiative that day, and now it's mah turn. Ah love you, Fluttershy, and Ah want to spend mah entire life with you. That’s why Ah want to ask…” “Will you marry me?” Big Macintosh closed his eyes and looked away, fearing another tragedy. He heard sobbing. When he looked back, he only saw Fluttershy crying tears of joy. “I love you too, Big Macintosh! Of course I’ll marry you!” Big Macintosh slipped the ring onto Fluttershy’s hoof and the two shared a long, passionate kiss. It finally happened, Big Macintosh’s Proposal Solution.