I stood outside of Sugarcube Corner, Rainbow Dash’s scarf wrapped around my neck. As the snow fell lightly down and the holiday lights glittered, I noticed Pinkie Pie hopping around inside. During this time of year, the Cakes were busier than normal and needed Pinkie’s help even more now. She bounced across the room, ushering steamy platters of food and drink.
I wiped snow off my mane with my wing and waited. Rainbow promised me a romantic, festive, first date… at 7 o’clock. As the clock turned 7:14, I was losing faith. Too many times I had been stood up, forgotten, abandoned; the other ponies only agreed to go on a date with me to not hurt my feelings. I couldn’t stop the tears welling up, their warmth pouring down my cold, snowy fur.
Suddenly I saw the silhouette of a pegasus spiraling towards me. Just before crashing into the snow next to me, the pegasus swooped up, narrowly missing my head. As she landed, I recognized her as Rainbow Dash, now 15 minutes late.
“I am SO super sorry, Fluttershy! I was busy with other lame stuff. Sorry that this is a not-awesome first date. You cool?” Rainbow apologized.
I was tempted to yell at her but I couldn’t stay mad at her for long. I sighed with relief and explain how I had always been stood up, and I worried that she forgot me. She laughed and reassured that she would NEVER forget me, and then she wrapped her wing around me and walked inside the bustling bakery.
We found one of the few empty tables off to the side, to avoid Pinkie’s ever-watching eyes. The two of us picked up menus, and tried to ignore the other ponies staring at us critically. To my dismay, Pinkie Pie was our server. Not that I disliked her, but she drew attention to Rainbow and me.
She squealed “Ooh are you guys having a party tonight? Because I LOVE parties! And a party with two of my friends would be super duper fun!”
“Uh, no Pinkie,” Rainbow replied sheepishly. “We are... uhh… kinda… together.“
“OHHHH I see! You guys are DATING!” Pinkie shouted, as loud as she possibly could. Sugar Cube Corner grew silent, and Rainbow turned bright pink. Whimpering, I buried my face under my wing. Everypony was staring at us like we were some kind of freak show. From behind my feathers, I could hear a snarky remark coming from the stallion at the table across from us, and his marefriend snickered in reply.
“Rainbow, can we leave? Please? Right now?” I pleaded, my eyes welling up.
“You sure you don’t want to stay? Its my treat.” Rainbow replied.
I nodded. The hateful stares and disapproving glares burned into my soul. I couldn’t stand being the center of attention. Rainbow passed Pinkie back the menus, and led me outside. I couldn’t help it when the salty tears began streaming down my face. Rainbow put her wing around me, in a consolation attempt.
“Hey Fluttershy, I have a backup plan. But promise to close your eyes, okay?”
Sniffing, I consented. It was hard for me to not cry. Why did everypony have to be so hateful and close-minded? Rainbow wasn’t my first marefriend, but that doesn’t mean our first date wasn’t awful so far. I’m so stupid! I thought to myself. Why would such a brave and talented pony even want to go out with me? She’s probably just going to dump me at my house and forget about tonight, just like the others.
Instead, Rainbow covered my eyes with her wing and lead me somewhere. I tripped quite a few times, but she always steadied me with her athletic, lean body. After about ten minutes of blindly walking, we stopped somewhere slightly colder. Taking her wing away with a flourish, she said, “Tada! This is what I was doing earlier, and why I was late. I thought you might like it”
I opened my eyes and gasped. All around the frozen pond, Rainbow had set up lanterns wrapped with red and gold ribbon, and holiday music was playing softly from a phonograph. The lantern glow sparkled across the pond, in golden, gleaming fractals. Near the phonograph were steaming mugs of cocoa and two sets of ice skates. “R-R-Rainbow… You did this? F-for me?” I asked, astonished.
“Uh of course! I don’t have another marefriend, duh. And here, take these. They’re pink, to match your mane.” She handed me four pink ice skates, delicate but durable, and then snatched up the other four skates and put them on her hooves.
“I can’t skate very well…” I admitted sheepishly, after lacing up my skates.
“That’s okay. Take my hoof,” She extended her leg toward me, and slowly helped me onto the ice. I wobbled and nearly fell, but she caught me with her wing. After adjusting her scarf (that I was wearing), she instructed me to follow her hooves: step forward lightly, and glide back at an angle. Step, glide, step, glide. I still stumbled, but she was always right by my side. The sharp blades carved elaborate swirls into the ice, ornamental and labyrinthine.
We didn’t talk much, but we giggled when she slipped, and we hummed along to the music. Although we occasionally stopped to sip our cocoa, our skating made the minutes fly by. Our hooves were numb, and a fragile layer of ice had formed over the blades. We lost track of time, until we heard the town clock chiming ten. My necessary departure was dreaded by the both of us.
“Wow. We’ve been skating for awhile.” Rainbow commented, with a twang of sadness in her normally jovial voice. “So, uh, when are you free next? I’m not visiting anyone for Hearth’s Warming Eve, and I don’t have any major plans the next few weeks… That is, if you want to go out again…” She trailed off, and I could see her cerulean fur blush brightly.
“Want to go out again? OF COURSE!” I squealed. “This has been the best date ever! Thank you so much!” I turned and looked into her eyes, her vibrant, magenta eyes, then turned away again, blushing beet red. In an instant, a whirled my head toward her again, and kissed her. I pulled away quickly, not knowing if the gesture was welcome. To my surprise, she pulled me in closer, her warm lips pressed against mine. The kiss was brief, but her wings remained wrapped around me in a hug.
“Hearth’s Warming Eve, then?” She whispered into my mane
“Hearth’s Warming Eve.” I replied with a smile, still caught in her snug embrace.