//------------------------------// // Match! // Story: Lovey Dovey and the Business Pony // by Crystal Wishes //------------------------------// When Magnate ambled out of his bedroom to offer breakfast to Lovey, the couch was empty, save for a neatly folded blanket resting on top of a pillow. He blinked. The apartment was small enough that after a glance into the kitchen and the bathroom, he confirmed she had indeed left. A frown tugged at his lips and he wandered into the kitchen, grumbling to himself, "I suppose she's decided to continue her pointless search bright and early already." To his slight surprise, his Saturday was uneventful. He stayed at the apartment to wait for her to burst in at any moment with what she claimed was a potential candidate. He was alone the whole day, however. It should have been as relaxing as he had planned for it to be, but as the day went on, he grew more and more tense with every glance at the clock. Sunday was no different, except that he went out to get groceries. He had seen pink out of the corner of his eye in the fruit aisle, but when he jerked his head to the side to look, he saw a distinctly not-Lovey stallion comparing apples. He cursed himself when he felt disappointed and continued his shopping. When he arrived back at his apartment and opened the door, he half-expected to see her sitting on the couch, just like she had been sitting on his desk when they first met. However, his couch was bare and the lights were off. The stillness and the dark was strangely more noticeable than usual. It made him feel suddenly lonely, a word that had never been something he associated with coming home, and his eyes started to widen when a thought struck him in Lovey's voice. Love is having somepony to come home to. He felt goosebumps when her voice rung in his ears and he shook his head. "Nonsense," he muttered and went into the kitchen to unload the groceries. He paused when he lifted a small container of strawberries out of one of the bags and instead of wondering why he had bought them, he found that he was smiling. "Strawberries can't make you drunk," he said in a voice mocking hers, then chuckled and put the container in the fridge. Love is having somepony there to enjoy the simple moments with. He frowned, then swatted a hoof at the air. "Rubbish. I enjoyed that moment all by myself." He rolled his eyes and put away the empty bags. "And now I'm talking to myself, aloud. We're going to stop that. No, I'm going to stop that. Agh!" He slapped his own cheek. Once he was sure that he was done talking aloud, he went to the couch and flopped onto it. He was getting the relaxing, quiet weekend he wanted, so why was he thinking about her? He frowned, rolled his head to the side, and looked at the door. It remained shut. He scowled and twisted his body to face the back cushions of the couch. The plaid fabric made up of stripes over stripes stared back at him, boring and repetitive. Love is... wonderful, never having to be alone again. He stood with a huff and went to the bedroom. He just needed to fall asleep, wake up, and go to work. Work always made him feel at peace, and he'd soon get those foalish words out of his head. The next morning in the office, however, was no comfort. A clock ticked to sound off each second. Numbers were scrawled along the papers on his desk, but he couldn't seem to focus long enough to make sense of them. Fifty-eight, fifty-nine... sixty. Another whole minute had passed and he had accomplished nothing. Shouldn't she be bursting through the door right about then, disregarding his request to leave him alone during work hours, dragging some new, innocent victim into his office? He glanced up at the door. It remained shut, just like he had always wanted it to be. He sighed and looked back at his paperwork, then glanced back up at the glass wall just to be sure. There was no sign of pink anywhere at all. At the feeling of disappointment, his heart skipped a beat, then began to pound all the way up to his ears. He was not just looking for her… no, he was desperately looking for her. He wanted to see her. "Well... ponyfeathers," he muttered, a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth. "I guess she wins." ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ In the cafe across the street from Eminence Tower, Juniper burst through the doors and hurried over to Lovey. The pink pegasus was sitting with her wings drooped nearly to the floor, staring at a barely touched, melting strawberry smoothie. "I'm so sorry, Lovey!" She dropped into the seat beside her. "I came as soon as I could, but I just got your letter yesterday. I got on the first train available." She hesitated, then asked, "Lovey, have you been here since Saturday?" "No." Lovey glanced up at her. "They close at night, so I went back to the manor, then came back here. Then I left last night and came back again this morning. I didn't know when you'd show up..." Juniper sighed. "It's okay, Lovey. Just tell me what happened. All your letter said was that you did something awful." Lovey sniffed. "I... I... I stayed at his place." She buried her face in her hooves. "And then I ran away! I made two big mistakes in a row!" Slowly, she lifted her head. "Three. Can't forget all those things I said while I was drunk. Oh, four. I got drunk." Juniper stared at her with an open mix of confusion and amusement. "Lovey..." "How could I do those things? It's so terribly unprofessional!" "Lovey." Juniper started to smile. "What if his special somepony saw us and misunderstood and now she's never going to approach him?!" She stared at Juniper with tears in her eyes. "What if he never wants to talk to me again because I acted like such a fool?" "Lovey!" Juniper reached out and clamped Lovey's mouth shut. "Stop rambling and listen to me!" Lovey blinked, the tears vanishing from surprise. She nodded. "Mmf..." "Okay, now, first question." She retracted her hoof. "Who is his special somepony?" Lovey stuck out her bottom lip. "I don't know. I haven't been able to find her at all! My heart's all messed up and every time I try to follow it, I just go in circles." Juniper pondered this a moment, then smiled again. "Well, there's a first time for everything, isn't there?" "I've had a whole lot of horrible first times this week. I nearly ruined Cocoa Brew's love line because I didn't follow it far enough to realize it didn't lead to Magnate." She paused to look over at the barista in question. A security guard from Eminence Tower was leaning against the counter and the two were gazing in each other's eyes, warmth radiating from them so strongly that it briefly brought a smile to her lips. "Or maybe I pushed them together because I was pushing her toward the wrong pony and they're actually my two thousandth match." A frown started to muddle her expression. "I don't even know! Nothing about my job makes sense to me anymore, and all I can think about is Magnate." Juniper startled her with a snort followed by laughter. "Oh, Lovey Dovey!" She clapped both of her hooves around Lovey's. "I think you need to talk to Magnate. He's the only pony who can help you in this situation." Lovey sniffed. "Really? But you've always been there for me..." "I don't think so anymore, Lovey." She smiled. "You'll figure it out." ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ Lovey paced outside Eminence Tower, becoming more and more worked up the longer she waited. Juniper was certain she had to talk to him, but about what? What could she say to him that would make her life make sense again? A half hour later, Magnate trotted out the doors and paused when he found her pacing frantically. "I was just hoping to talk to you," he said as he approached her, his tone matter-of-fact. "I found a potential special somepony." Lovey's eyes widened and she gasped, covering her mouth with both hooves. "What?! That's so wonderful, Magnate! I'm so happy for you!" Her hooves hid the fact that she wasn't smiling. Why did she feel like crying all of a sudden? "Who is she? Or he? Or they?" He acknowledged her questions with a simple raise of one brow before he shook his head. "She. I have dinner plans tonight, actually. I would appreciate it if you would come along and confirm that she is the right one with... however it is that... that works." He gestured at the whole of her with a circular wave of his hoof. "Absolutely!" She regained her composure and beamed at him. "It would be awful if you ended up with the wrong pony." He nodded. "We'll be dining at Per Se. There's a strict dress code, however, so be sure you adhere to it." "Really? What kind of dress code?" "Formal, of course." "Oh, my... Well, I suppose I have some shopping to do!" She held her head high and trotted away. Her vision started to go blurry, but she just smiled wider. "Toodles!" she called over her shoulder. ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ Lovey walked into Per Se and froze. It was completely different from the places she usually preferred, which were always lively and full of friendly faces. This one seemed to cater to the more elite citizens of Manehattan, filled with ponies preoccupied with their quiet conversation. She wore her mane up, tied in place with a ribbon encrusted in diamonds—or, rather, what looked like diamonds. She certainly didn't make enough bits to afford real diamonds! Her light blue evening gown, however, had been a little pricier than desired, but it was the only one she found that she liked. A stallion in a black jacket came over and asked her name, then gave an odd, knowing smile at her response. "Right this way, Miss Dovey," he said. "Lovey is fine," she offered lightly and followed behind him. She smiled when she saw Magnate sitting at a table in the corner. His mane was slicked back and he wore a nice suit with a startling pink tie. It took her aback to see at first, but she quickly figured that the mare in question must like pink. "I'm here!" she chirped. He glanced up at her, then hurried out of his seat to respectfully stand. "You look lovely, Lovey." "Thank you, Magnate." She giggled and started to take a seat before she noticed there were only two plates set out on the table. She changed directions to sit at one of the seats beside him without a plate, and she smiled. "This place is so very fancy!" she said with a sense of awe in her voice. "It must be expensive." Magnate gave her an odd look. "It... is." His horn lit up and the plate slid to move in front of her, but she didn't comment. She was much too busy looking around. The waiter came by and handed them menus. Lovey frowned at Magnate. "Shouldn't we wait a little while longer to order?" He was already glancing over the options. "Are you hungry?" "Well, yes, but—" "Then order." He closed his menu and stared at her. "O-Oh, okay." She blinked a few times as she opened her menu. "If you're sure." Time slipped by and their entrées were served. Lovey started to worry. Where was this mare? Was she standing Magnate up? She looked over at him and met his gaze, which was filled with a soft warmth, and her heart skipped a beat. She forced a smile. He must really care about that mare to not notice that she wasn't even there. "So," she started, twiddling her hooves. "when did you say she would arrive?" He stared at her for a quiet moment, as if waiting, then raised one brow. "She... already did." She gasped and stood up in her seat. "Really? Where is she?!" Magnate said nothing while Lovey looked around the restaurant for the pony that matched the warmth he was radiating. His special somepony just had to be nearby. She could feel it, but where was she? Her ear twitched when she heard him sigh. "I can't believe I'm doing this," Magnate muttered under his breath. He reached out and grabbed her face with both hooves, forced her to look at him, and kissed her. Lovey squirmed against him in surprise for a brief moment, then melted against his lips. When he pulled back and saw her staring at him wide-eyed, he frowned. "You are possibly the worst love guide I've ever met if you still don't understand," he grumbled. Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes and she put her hooves on top of his. Her heart fluttered in that telltale way, as it had so many times before for other ponies. She sniffled, then cooed with a bright smile, "Oh, Magny... It's a perfect match."