//------------------------------// // Double Date // Story: Mi Amore // by Dusk Quill //------------------------------// “Oh man, we bucked that up…” Shining Armor said as he swirled the cider around in his mug. Fleethoof glanced over at his friend and chuckled. The two stallions had ended up running in circles around the castle for a while before eventually crashing into one another out in the gardens again. They’d run in tandem straight from the castle down to The Copper Cannon after that. All out of fear for the reaction of one pink pony princess. “Eh, things could have been worse.” “Oh yeah? How?” “I could have screamed like you,” Fleethoof joked, earning a jab to his shoulder from his unicorn friend. The two ponies took long swigs of their drinks. The tavern had been expectedly crowded on Hearts and Hooves Day. Soldiers and civilians alike without somepony to give their time to crowded together for the atmosphere and the interaction. Pictures of ex-marefriends and coltfriends were hung on the dartboard for everypony to decimate at will. The entire mood was light-hearted, but at the same time, it was of loneliness and longing. “That was really stupid,” said Shining with a chuckle. Fleethoof shrugged. “I had fun. And hey, you’ve still got me, Shiny.” The Captain of the Guard laughed sharply and rolled his eyes. “Oh, happy day.” “Aww, don’t be that way, baby! You know I love you,” he teased, draping a hoof across Shining Armor’s shoulders. “Look at it this way, at least you don’t have to worry about breaking into my bedroom to leave me flowers.” Shining Armor nudged his elbow under Fleethoof’s ribs, making the pony recoil with a grunt and a laugh. “Can you imagine what Cadence would say if she’d seen us hanging around in her room with flowers and cards?” “I’d say ‘Are you colts coming out of the closet?’” At the sudden sound of Cadence’s voice behind them, Shining Armor yelped and fell off his bar stool, and Fleethoof shot into the air like a rocket as he jumped out of his seat, leaving a few feathers in his wake. He ended up gripping to the rafters for dear life, wings flared out and feathers ruffled again. The soldiers in the nearby vicinity laughed at the two. “Don’t do that!” Fleethoof cried out to the princess, still trembling. “C-Cadence! What are you doing here?” asked Shining Armor, getting back up again and smiling as casually as he could manage. “Well, after you two leapt out my bedroom window and ran off, I knew I had to find out what you were up to,” she said calmly, then motioned to the two roses safely tucked in her mane. “And then I figured out why when I saw these and the cards you both so sweetly left me.” Again, the ponies listening in all shouted ‘awwww’ in unison, followed by an eruption of laughter. Shining Armor’s white cheeks flushed pink. Fleethoof had rolled over to lie comfortably across the rafter. “So we give you flowers, and you give us heart attacks? What kind of trade is that?!” asked Fleethoof humorously. Cadence shot a look up at the airborne stallion. “Are you going to come down anytime soon?” “I’m quite comfortable, thank you.” “Can I join you?” Shining Armor asked, looking up at him. “No.” “He’s either going to come down, or I’m going to make him come down,” Cadence said in threat, smirking up at him. Fleethoof grinned down at the mare, his eyes narrowing, issuing his challenge. “You can’t do anything. I’m trained against torture! What do you think will make me break?” Cadence sighed and began humming a soft tune as she beat her wings and flew up beside the cat-like pegasus. Now that she was suddenly within reach, Fleethoof didn’t feel quite so invincible anymore. Without missing a beat, Cadence pressed her hooves to his sides and began rubbing vigorously through his coat. “Wha— No! NO! Hahaha! No, p-please!” Fleethoof begged in between choking gasps of laughter as she tickled him mercilessly. “N-Not fair! No! AHAHA! Please! Stop! I-I can’t— AAAHH!” He cried out as his body seized up, and his grip slipped from the beam. He went crashing down to the floor below, the ponies beneath him barely getting out of the way in time. Cadence gracefully floated back down to the ground as Shining Armor did his best to stifle his laughter. “What happened to all that resistance training?” Fleethoof brushed some dust off his coat. “Shut up…” Cadence giggled softly, then returned to the matter at hoof. “Now, why did you two run away from me?” “Because we broke into your room?” Shining gave a bashful smile. “He broke in,” Fleethoof corrected, still lying sprawled out on the ground at her hooves. “I infiltrated your room. It’s still different.” “Uh huh… is that all?” At the princess’ question, the two stallions exchanged puzzled look. “Um, that’s not enough?” asked Shining Armor. “I mean, we snuck into your room to leave you flowers and cards and you need more of a reason?” “That’s not something to be embarrassed about.” Cadence laughed it off, still smiling warmly. “I think that’s sweet! Besides, it’s not like it’s the first time I’ve ever received gifts for Hearts and Hooves Day!” “Heh, yeah, right,” Shining said, a look of envy flashing in his cerulean eyes. “How many gifts?” “Jealously isn’t an attractive look on you, Shine,” Fleethoof muttered. “Do you wanna, ya know, join us up here?” He folded his hooves behind his head. “I came down from the ceiling. That’s my effort for the day.” “You rappelled down a castle into my bedroom,” Cadence added. Fleethoof just shrugged, looking away from her. He couldn’t look Cadence in the eye right now. He was too afraid of what his body language might give away to her. He was usually very good with his poker face, but Cadence had always had the uncanny ability to read him like a book. Shining Armor, for his part, was still trying to play it cool. If he acted like she was—like it was no big deal—maybe she wouldn’t read too much into it, and maybe he wouldn’t be called out before he was ready. “So that’s all you colts did?” Cadence asked once more, noting the nods from both stallions. “Then who left this?” Both ponies looked up to what she was holding—and Fleethoof fought every muscle in his face from dropping his jaw open in horror. The Princess of Love had his letter in her grasp. He hadn’t even noticed he’d dropped it on their escape. He risked a quick glance to Shining Armor. The pony looked confused, and something else… Concerned? Jealous? Worried? He couldn’t quite get a read on it. “Nopony? Nopony’s going to fess up?” Again, silence came from both parties involves. “Do I have to get Aunt Luna to look into your dreams again and get the answer for me?” Cadence asked, a teasing smile on her lips. “No, don’t do— Wait, what?” Shining Armor spoke quickly, then paused. “Luna can do what?” “What do you mean ‘again’?” asked Fleethoof, casting a suspicious glance at Cadence. Cadence gave Fleethoof a knowing grin and ignored his question. “Anypony have something to say now?” She gently swayed the letter in the air. “I could just read it out loud and see who reacts the worst.” Fleethoof’s stomach dropped into the pit of his stomach. An overwhelming sense of dread filled him. Several of the guards off duty roared in approval to Cadence’s idea. “Nope? Okay then.” The alicorn levitated the letter with her magic. Slowly—so agonizingly slowly—she opened the letter and cleared her throat. Some ponies actually began to lean closer to listen in. Shining Armor even looked intrigued. Fleethoof felt like he was about to be sick. This was it… “On second thought”—Cadence paused, drawing a resounding groan from their gathered audience—“I have a more fun way to find out who wrote this.” “Oh yeah?” Fleethoof asked, folding his hooves across his chest skeptically. “Does it involve any dream probing?” “Nope!” The princess smiled sweetly at Shining Armor and batting her eyelashes. “Shining, would you like to get some dinner?” Shining Armor was stunned speechless. “Uh… I… Um… Huh?” “Wonderful!” said Cadence, pushing the stallion towards the door, glancing back at Fleethoof with that sweet, alluring smile. “Fleet, if you wouldn’t mind meeting me in our spot in about an hour, I’d love that.” Now it was his turn to be stupefied. “Uh… I… O-Okay?” And then she was gone, out the door, practically dragging Shining Armor by his tail. Fleethoof blinked a few times, still trying to register what had just happened. What was she up to? He slowly picked himself up from the floor, still staring into the space where she had occupied only moments before. A nudge to his shoulder only barely caught his attention. “Hey, colt,” an older soldier called in a gruff voice, nudging him again. “It was you that wrote her that letter, wassn’it?” Fleethoof only nodded slowly. “HA! I knew it! So, tell me, lad, what did ya tell ‘er?” The pony’s lips twitched slightly, a slight smile forming on the corners of his mouth. His heart was racing inside his chest, and his mind felt like it had been wiped blank. Fleethoof’s smile slowly grew as he replied: “The truth…”