//------------------------------// // Love // Story: The Workhorse // by Backburner //------------------------------// Twilight put up another paper cutout and looked around to see where she could possibly put any more decorations for Nightmare Night. Rarity’s boutique was always behind the holidays when it came to decorations, so many ponies ordered special holiday costumes Rarity found little time for anything but work. And at this time of year seeing as she was the only seamstress in town she was lucky if she found time to sleep with all the things she was making. In fact the only reason decorations were going up today was because Twilight needed something to occupy her mind. “I can’t tell you how thankful I am you came to help me darling.” Rarity said as she worked diligently on a princess outfit somepony had ordered. It was one of the last pieces Rarity would have to do before tonight, meaning she would have her first spot of free time in a little over a week. A good thing to, as Twilight was sure she’d never hear the end of it if Rarity had to spend any holiday stuck inside the boutique as ponies socialized outside her door. Twilight located a relatively (that term being used loosely) blank section of the wall and continued to work on covering it with various streamers and wall hangers as she chatted back and forth with her friend. “It’s no trouble at all Rarity. I needed something to occupy my mind today.” “You know that rather perplexes me, one would think you and your stallion would be out on the town.” Twilight knew this subject was coming from a mile away. There hadn’t been a day since Twilight and Big Mac had gotten together that Rarity hadn’t said something to her about the status of the relationship. “Actually we are planning on going somewhere later. I really didn’t think we should do anything special but Big Mac talked me into it.” “Do you happen to know what exactly you’re going to be doing? You didn’t ask me to make you a costume this year so I’m a bit curious.” Twilight rolled her eyes, Rarity didn’t know what it was like to be only a bit curious. “We’re going out to dinner, and then Big Mac wants to come over and chat. He says he has something for us to do.” Rarity froze mid stitch when Twilight said that, her magical aura keeping the needle and thread she had suspended perfectly still before a laps in concentration caused her to drop them. The noise startled Twilight and she turned toward Rarity to see the spool of thread rolling across the floor. “Twilight” Rarity started, her gaze never leaving the needle that now hung loose in the fabric before her. “How long have you and he been… together?” Her voice was light and soft, giving it a kind of fearful urgency. “Well I don’t know off the top of my head, it’s a little over a month now. Why?” Rarity turned towards Twilight with the most forced smile she had ever seen. “Oh, nothing, nothing darling.” Taking a few steps toward where Twilight was, she added. “That is, unless…” “Unless what?” Twilight said, getting just a little bit worried. Rarity was now directly in front of her and Twilight saw her friends expression change back and forth from concerned to the fake smile she was trying to present. “That is, unless he has told you he loves you. He hasn’t, has he?” The fake smile was gone and all that was left was a look of pure fright on Rarity’s face. “No, he hasn’t” Twilight said as her ears slicked back and she was almost pressed up against the wall by the still advancing Rarity. “Oh,” Rarity said as she instantaneously dropped her previous expression and fluttered her eyelashes twice with a confused look. “Really? All right then.” Rarity turned and headed back to her work, rolling up the thread as she went without another word. Twilight stood still for a moment adjusting to the sudden change of tone in the room before stepping away from the wall and making her way next to her friend. “Rarity?” “Yes darling.” The white mare was now busily sewing as if the previous conversation had never happened, a smile (this time genuine) plainly on her face as she worked. “Why does it matter if he said he loves me?” “Oh it doesn’t darling.” Rarity finished her stitch and bit the thread to cut it, heading over to a desk for more materials. Twilight followed, incredibly confused. “But it didn’t sound like nothing when you asked me a minute ago.” “Well a minute ago it meant something, but since he hasn’t told you yet theirs nothing to worry about. Well actually I wouldn’t say nothing to worry about, it is rather odd he hasn’t told you, but I’m sure he does.” Rarity took some more cloth in her magic aura and started back toward her work when Twilight stepped in front of her. “Rarity, what are you trying to say?” Rarity’s smile turned into a look of compassion as she placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Darling, I’m only looking out for one of my closest friends. Big Mac is an excellent stallion, but he is a stallion none the less, and I would hate to see somepony as innocent as you taken advantage of. Love is a very complex emotion and mares like us have to get used to how it works a stallions mind before…well let’s try not to think about that. It’s very good that he hasn’t told you he loves you yet, because before now it would simply have been to early. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if he told you he loved you tonight, for the very reason that now it can be received properly.” “Wait, I don’t understand, do I want him to say he loves me?” “Well I didn’t say that, I said that he might. Whether or not you want him to should depend on if you love him.” “So I should tell him I love him?” Rarity lost her compassionate expression and her eyes grew wide. “Oh no darling, a lady must never reveal her heart to a stallion before he has revealed his. You simply miss out on so many great opportunities. Even if he does say he loves you, you must decide if you love him back before you say anything.” “But, I don’t understand.” “Oh I’m sure you’ll figure it out. In fact this place looks festive enough why don’t you go get ready for your date and think about it. I need to concentrate anyway and fussing over how cute you’re going to be tonight isn’t going to help me sew this dress.” With that Rarity pushed Twilight to and out the door before shutting it inches from Twilight’s face. Leaving her to ponder the mix of emotions and thoughts she had been left with. * * * Twilight looked over her coat and mane in the mirror again, she had lost track of how many times she had done this but after what Rarity had said to her she had a strange desire to look her best. Once again she reached for her brush to go over her coat and make sure there wasn’t a single hair out of place, but before she had even reached her cutie mark with the first stroke Spike walked into her room. “I’m sorry to interrupt you Twilight, but Big Mac’s downstairs.” Twilight felt her heart race and her mind flood with all the possible scenarios this night could take. “Oh, could you tell him I’ll be a few more minutes? I still need to do my mane.” “Twilight you’ve done your mane six times already.” “Well you know what they say, seven times the charm!” She said as she decided she actually would like it flipped over the left side of her neck instead of the right and busied herself restyling it. “Twilight it looks great, I promise. Big Mac’s never going to get to see it though if you stay up here.” Twilight starred deeply at her own reflection in the mirror, her heart was beating at a pace that was almost unbelievable as she thought about Big Mac sitting downstairs waiting for her. What was he planning to do when they got back here tonight? Was he really going to tell her…? Twilight put the brush down. “I’ll be right there Spike, I promise. Just give me one more minute.” “Alright, if that’s what you want.” Spike descended the stairs and Twilight sat for a short moment looking down at her hooves. Closing her eyes tight she tried to push away all the nervous thoughts she was having. It wasn’t like this was their first date, they had gone out before, but today really was there first fancy outing. (Up until this point they had only really gone to the park and the apple orchard together.) And Twilight couldn’t help but struggle with the question of how deeply she felt for Big Mac. Did she want him to tell her he loved her tonight? Did she love him? She thought she did, at least if she had to describe what love felt like she would say it was about what she felt toward Big Mac. But how could she be sure? She had never fallen in love before. Twilight stood and took one last glance in the mirror. Without trying to feel vain, she told herself she did look incredibly pretty the way her new coat and mane had grown in. Something about it made her remember the way Big Mac had looked in the hospital bed after the fire, the warm smile and strong hug he gave her. That sure did feel like love. Twilight settled on letting her mane fall to the right like it was before and brushed it into place before heading to the stairs. * * * “Sugar Cube Corner?” Twilight said with no small amount of surprise. “I thought you said we were going out to dinner, not for sweets.” The couple stood outside the cake family shop as Twilight watched a huge grin spread over Big Mac’s face. “We are here for dinner. I talked it over with Pinkie Pie and it turns out she can make a lot more then cookies and pies, although you wouldn’t believe how many different pies she claims to know about.” Twilight was skeptical about this to say the least. There was no doubt in her mind Pinkie was an excellent baker, but she had never tried anything else made by her. In fact she highly doubted Pinkie knew how to cook lettuce the way she liked. “I’m not so sure about this Big Mac, do you really think this is a good idea?” “I’m sure of it.” Big Mac pushed open the door and gestured for Twilight to enter. “Just trust me.” Twilight gave a slightly worried look, but after a few seconds under Big Mac’s gaze she caved and headed inside. The room was incredibly dark, the only light to speak of coming from the last few rays of the sun creeping in through the door around Twilight’s long shadow. All Twilight could really see was the corner of the room that housed the doorway to the kitchen, and the light stopped just barely short of allowing her to see anything beyond the door. Luckily Pinkie poked her head out from that arch with an expecting look. “Now?” she asked. “Eeyup.” Big Mac said as he stepped inside and closed the door, removing the small amount of light that Twilight was using. “Big Mac, I can’t see anything.” “That’s not going to be a problem for long.” Shortly after Big Mac said that the small flame of a candle made its way into the room from the kitchen atop an ornate silver tray balanced on Pinkie’s back. Pinkie made her way to the center of the room where a small circular table had been set up. Two chairs set facing each other just barely touching the white tablecloth that hung on it almost to the floor. In the center of the table was a small vase with maybe half a dozen roses which pinkie placed the candle near before she looked with a face much to serious for her normal self at Twilight. “Table for two?” she said in an equally serious tone. “Eeyup.” Big Mac said as he guided Twilight to one of the chairs and pulled it from the table for her. Twilight sat down and admired how much effort it must have been for Big Mac to put this together, it’s no small feet to get Pinkie to stand still much less take something seriously for this long. Big Mac took his seat and Pinkie made a polite bow, never allowing the tray she was balancing to move. “I’ll be back shortly with your menu’s” she said before trotting off to the kitchen. “Big Mac how in Equestria did you get this set up? I mean I’ve never seen Pinkie like this and I have no idea how you got Sugar Cube Corner reserved for just us on one of the biggest sugar holidays of the year!” “It wasn’t easy, I’ve had this plan in motion now for a couple days. But seeing you this excited was definitely worth it.” Twilight felt a slight blush light up her cheeks as her excited smile changed to a sweeter grin. “This is really nice of you, I…” “Now hold up, this is only the beginning of the night. Don’t go thankin’ me just yet.” Twilight, at a lose for words, made herself content to simply look into Big Mac’s eyes for a moment before Pinkie returned with two authentic looking menus. The words Sugar Cube Café in fancy Canterlot print embedded on the front. Twilight opened hers to find a huge selection of food surprisingly devoid of anything remotely sugary. In fact most of the items seemed to originate from various high-class restaurants Twilight knew of in Canterlot. “Pinkie are you sure you can make these things? I’ve never had a good seven lettuce salad anywhere” “The chef assures you she is perfectly capable of making everything on this menu.” Pinkie said with a face devoid of any emotion, yet incredible sure of itself. “Well, then I’ll have the grilled fruit bowl. I have no idea how that will turn out but it at least sounds interesting.” “What’s the biggest dish on the menu?” Big Mac asked. “That would be the supper duper salad special.” “I’ll take that then.” Pinkie collected the menus and bowed again before heading to the kitchen. Twilight was surprised when she didn’t see any light turn on, but if any pony could find what she needed and cook in the dark in that kitchen, it was Pinkie Pie. Twilight reached out and took one of the roses in her hoof, deeply inhaling its scent before biting off the flower. “This really is very romantic.” Twilight said before taking a bite of the stem. “Well I did everything I could to make sure this would be a night to remember for us. Although I have to admit I had another motive.” Big Mac gave Twilight a mischievous look that made her giggle a little. Twilight did her best to return a similar expression but she knew she was failing miserably. “Is that so? Well tell me what this other motive is since you brought it up.” “Well that would spoil the surprise. Ya wouldn’t want that would ya?” Twilight couldn’t fully explain why, but the fact that Big Mac was holding a secret from her was incredibly torturous. Especially given the fact that she was half hoping half fearing she already knew what he was going to say. “When exactly do you plan to surprise me then? Or is that giving to much away to?” Big Mac put a hoof to his chin and made it obvious he was only pretending to be weighing the options. After feigning a shift back and forth a few times, he put down his hoof and looked at Twilight. “Sometime tonight, but I won’t tell ya when.” That was not even close to an answer that would satisfy Twilight’s curiosity, but trying to sway the mind of a member of the apple family was like trying to move a mountain with your hooves. Twilight decided to change the subject in an attempt to keep her mind off the surprise. “So have you been looking forward to this date as much as I have? All day long I’ve seen ponies walking down the street near the library and couldn’t wait till it would be me and you out for our holiday fun.” Big Mac’s playful tone turned soft when he replied. “Of course I’ve been look’n forward to this. Applejack wouldn’t stop talking about the date she was going on all yesterday, fuss’n over her mane and all sorts of little things ya would never think she’d care about. When she left and I finally had some time to myself she’d talked about it so much I couldn’t get you off my mind. Although I don’t think I tried very hard to think about anything else.” Twilight smiled to herself, she could possibly have a little fun with that confession. “How long today do you think you spent just thinking of me.” “Applejack left at noon, so nearly every second since then.” “That’s a long time to spend thinking about just one pony.” “Well when it comes to you I have a lot to think about.” “Like what?” “Don’t get me started on the details.” Big Mac said, his smile playful again. “I’d love to gush over ya but I’ll never be able to stop myself.” “That’s fine, I wouldn’t want you to stop if you were enjoying yourself. Besides, everypony loves compliments.” And with that Twilight awaited for her fun to begin as Big Mac offered a few lack luster excuses she was able to easily rebuff. “Well, if you really want to know. I started off by thinkin’ of little things. The little stripe in your mane that you style perfectly, how smart you are and fun to be around, the way your face lights up when you see me for the first time in a little while. Innocent little things you do that make me smile, but as the day went on and it got closer and closer to when I’d see you I started thinkin’ about other things.” Twilight tried her best to hide her anticipation. “Did ya know you always keep your eyes close a second or two after we break a kiss? I’ll open my eyes to look at you and it’s almost like ya just realized I wasn’t there.” A blush crept its way back onto Twilight’s face, but she was to busy pushing down hopes Big Mac would say three specific words to stop it. “Don’t worry, I think it’s actually very cute, I just didn’t know if ya knew you did that.” “I did, your such a soft kisser it’s hard to tell when you pull away.” “Well I’ll bet ya also know what you do with your eyes then.” Twilight arced an eyebrow. “You got me on that one, what do I do with my eyes?” “Ya don’t know? I figured that little glint you get was the reason they named you Sparkle.” “What glint?” Big Mac gave a huge smile, one worthy of Pinkie on an average day (which is pretty big.) “Whenever you’re really happy, which without braggin’ is pretty much all the time you’re around me, you get a little glint in your eyes. This little sparkle that makes me think of stars fading in and out.” Twilight looked away, the smile she was nurturing was almost as wide as Big Mac’s and she couldn’t keep starring at his loving expression for fear of completely loosing her composure. However Big Mac had other ideas it seams as he reached over and placed a hoof on her cheek to turn her back. The obvious difference in temperature between the two of them only making her blush worse. As Twilight slowly aloud herself to be forced to look up at him she became aware of how close they really were to each other, they were very, very close. Neither of them said anything for a moment, there faces close enough for Twilight to just barely feel Big Mac’s breath on the tip of her nose. “Do ya want to know what I was thinkin’ about though right before I left to go see ya?” Twilight gave the slightest nod of her head possible so as to keep Big Mac’s hoof on her cheek. “I have somethin’ I want to tell ya tonight.” Twilight mentally braced herself for what was to come. “I-” “Dinner is served!” Pinkie said as she popped up beside the table causing Big Mac and Twilight to jump back. The biggest salad Twilight had ever seen was balanced precariously on her back next to what Twilight presumed was her dish. Twilight and Big Mac gave each other a longing glance as Pinkie served the food and presented the two with silverware before bowing and heading off to the kitchen again, to do what Twilight wasn’t exactly sure. Despite the fact Pinkie had only been in the room for a little over a minute the mood had long since past and she didn’t know exactly what she should say. “Well… are you as hungry as I am?” That in truth was not very hungry at all but it was the best Twilight could come up with. “Eeyup.” Big Mac said as the pair started to eat. Twilight made a mental note as silence absorbed the room. Those fees she had waved, not even close to waved any more.