Twilight Sparkle’s horn glowed magenta as she held the cup of tea to her lips. She took a long sip before setting the cup down. Then she let out the long sigh she’d been holding in. “I’m so sorry, Rarity, but I can’t keep doing this.”
“Darling, you mustn’t give up hope!” Rarity reached across the table and patted her on the hoof. “You deserve somepony who can make you happy. You’re a princess after all!”
“But that’s just it!” Twilight leapt up from the table. She didn’t care about the other ponies sitting outside Le Abreuvoir, one of Ponyville’s more upscale restaurants. “As Princess, it’s my responsibility to look after other ponies! I can’t just spend all my time going on dates and fancy dinners! Who in their right mind thinks that’s what royalty’s all about?”
“Erm…” Rarity had the decency to avert her eyes. Her mane whipped around to cover most of her face. “I suppose I’ve been a bit… overzealous, Twilight.”
Twilight landed back in her seat. She tucked in her wings and straightened her crown. “No. I’m the one who’s sorry, Rarity. You were only trying to help. And I’ve been difficult this whole time.”
The two ponies fell into an awkward silence. It had been a long month for both of them. It was only now—after eight dates with some of the most eligible bachelors from Ponyville to the Crystal Empire—that they’d agreed to a simple lunch at Le Abreuvoir. Rarity had even offered to cover the bill.
“But listen, darling. Please… I do understood how you’re feeling. I can only imagine how difficult your new station is. I only want to make sure that you’re also happy.” Rarity gripped Twilight’s hooves in her own pair. “I was just so positive that it might have been Flash Sentry. He’s such a gentlecolt!”
“Well, he was nice. When we weren’t in danger, I mean.”
Twilight frowned when she remembered their last date together. The two of them on a balloon ride that ended up crashing into the Everfree Forest. Two nights in the wilderness with little food, trying to find their way to Zecora’s hut while beset on all sides by dangerous predators: timber wolves and sea serpents and the deadly cockatrice. It had taken Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and a team of Wonderbolts to rescue them.
It was Pinkie Pie, of all ponies, who figured out their problem. Her Pinkie Sense went haywire around Flash Sentry. Or, as she put it: “Ooh, it’s a doozy! It goes shaky hooves, then rumbly tummy, then ear flop!”
Every time Twilight got close to him, they ran into trouble, whether it was a crashed balloon or another plot by a sinister unicorn. So they agreed to stay friends and—to Twilight’s delight—pen pals.
“But it doesn’t seem fair,” Rarity insisted. “A princess deserves her prince. Like your brother and Cadance. They’re just so…” She paused to dab her eyes with a handkerchief. “So beautiful!”
“Rarity, please don’t make a scene.” Twilight glanced nervously over her shoulder at the other ponies in the restaurant. “Everypony’s already staring at me because I’m a princess.”
“Then let’s settle this once and for all!” Rarity turned to a passing waiter in a red jacket. “Garçon! We’ll need your finest dessert wine!”
“But I don’t drink—”
“Hush! It’s my treat!”
As the waiter retreated to the kitchen, Rarity summoned an ink-tipped feather from her hat and took a clean napkin from a nearby table. The elegant white pony sitting there shot the unicorn a glare, only to stop and blush when she saw Twilight in her regalia.
“Now, then,” said Rarity, as she used her magic to write on the napkin, “let’s consider this carefully. We’ll forget about princes and famous ponies from Canterlot. Think about what you’d like most in a special somepony, Twilight.”
Twilight groaned. She’d gotten this question so many times before—and not just from Rarity, either. From Spike, Cadance, Shining Armor—even her own parents! Everypony wanted to know if she fancied anypony. For a while, Twilight had thought it was Flash Sentry. Now she wasn’t sure she was even meant to be in love with anypony.
Books were so much easier. Books and studying and the occasional party with friends. Why did she even need to bother with romance?
But Rarity had a point. Maybe it would be nice to come home to somepony special. Somepony who wasn’t a loyal assistant like Spike or Owlowiscious.
Somepony who truly understood her…
“Twilight?” Rarity waved a hoof over her friend’s muzzle. “Hello? Twilight!”
“Huh?” Twilight blinked. She grinned sheepishly. “Oh, sorry! I must’ve spaced out for a moment. You were saying?”
“I was just asking what you’d like for your special somepony.” Rarity tossed her mane and held a proud hoof to her chest. “A good matchmaker should know what suits somepony best!”
“Matchmaker. Right.” Twilight pressed a hoof to her chin and pondered the question. “Well, let me see. I guess I’d like… somepony who’s kind?”
Rarity beamed and began to furiously scribble notes onto the napkin. “Excellent! What else?”
“Um…” Twilight frantically searched the restaurant, looking at other ponies for ideas. “Well, I suppose he or she should be… good-looking?”
“Be serious, darling. What do you really want?”
“Okay…” Twilight took a breath and let it out slowly. She made a mental effort to forget about everything anypony had told her about romance—including Rarity.
“What I want,” she said suddenly, “is somepony who thinks. Somepony who’s gentle and brave and fun to be with. A strong pony with a good heart and a great mind!” She grinned. “Oh, and I guess they’d have to like books, too. I just couldn’t bear to live far from a library!”
Rarity chuckled as she continued to write. “Yes! Oh, yes, that’s more like it!”
“Somepony who likes to dance!”
The quill held by Rarity’s magic suddenly froze. “Er… maybe not somepony who likes to dance. No offense, darling, but I’ve seen you at parties and…”
“And what?” Twilight frowned. “What’s wrong with my dancing, Rarity?”
The unicorn stared blankly at her. Then she shook her head and a smile came to her face. “Never mind, darling! Never fear! We can, um, work on that later. So, you were saying you’d like a more intellectual pony, weren’t you? A nice unicorn, perhaps?”
“I guess it doesn’t matter what kind of pony.” Twilight’s wings popped up for a second. She grit her teeth and forced them back down. “I mean, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are a great couple and they’re not the same type at all.”
“Well, yes, but they’re both athletic, aren’t they? Not afraid to…” Rarity made a sour face. “To get their hooves dirty.”
Twilight shrugged and waited for Rarity to continue her notes. In the meantime, Garçon came back with a silver tray balanced on one hoof and a bottle of strawberry wine. He gracefully poured out two glasses for his guests and accepted a pair of bits from Twilight before leaving again. She didn’t have much of an income—just a stipend from Mayor Mare as Ponyville’s librarian—but she tried to spread the wealth wherever she could.
“All right. Let’s see here…” Rarity consulted her napkin full of notes and ideas. “After some careful consideration, I have examined all these possibilities and compared them to everypony I know, both here in Ponyville and all the way to Canterlot. And I believe I know the perfect pony for you, dear.” She smiled fiercely. “Somepony who’s kind and brave! A pony with a brilliant mind and a warm soul—and plenty of fun!”
“Really?” Twilight was fascinated. “Who? Who is it?”
“Why, Fluttershy, of course!”
“Fluttershy! Of course!” Twilight smiled. Then her ears flopped as the name finally registered in her brain. “Wait a minute… Fluttershy?!”