The diamond Bulk bought was of the "nearly flawless" type. There were no imperfections visible to the naked eye, but the overall shine was just shy of perfection. 'A joy for any mare' the jeweler had said, and for that amount of bits it definitely had to be.
The white pegasus gently took hold of the jewel's box, with his teeth, and left. Above him, hidden in a cloud, an alicorn, a dragon and two pegasi carefully watched.
"What about Blossomforth?" Rainbow Dash whispered. For the past hour she had been suggesting names of potential candidates. "She has been acting strangely lately. I bet it's because she was worried I would find out."
"We just saw her on a date with Thunderlane," Twilight sighed. The obnoxious side of Rainbow had become quite insufferable. That was one of the things wrong with the the blue pegasus - when she became obsessed with something, she really became obsessed. "If we just see where he is going we'll know soon enough. There's no point in naming every mare in Ponyville and Cloudsdale, is there?"
"Cloudsdale," Rainbow mused. "Fleetfoot likes muscular types, but I don't see her with one as slow as Bulk. Although you never know."
"Argh!" Twilight facehoofed.
"Err, maybe we should go home?" Fluttershy asked quietly. The whole experience made her feel uncomfortable. "My animal friends might need my help, and I..."
"Yes, I know, Fluttershy," Twilight said biting her lip. "We really shouldn't be doing this, but... Argh! We're talking about Bulk Biceps! I can't get the question out of my head! If we don't find out I won't be able to sleep for weeks!"
Fluttershy didn't say anything, but it was obvious she was in the same boat. After all, despite all her protests, she continued to tag along.
"Maybe..." Rainbow Dash looked up, trying to think of a name she hadn't suggested. So far she had gone through all but the extremely unlikely.
"Cloudchaser?" Spike said all of a sudden.
"Get with the program, Spike!" Rainbow Dash frowned. "I suggested Cloudchaser half an hour ago!"
"No." The dragon pointed at something in the sky. "Cloudchaser."
For a moment everypony diverted their attention from Bulk. It turned out Spike was indeed correct. Wearing a Wonderbolt cadet uniform, Cloudchaser passed nearby. Seeing a gathering of ponies looking at her from a cloud, she made a sharp turn and swooped by.
"Hey, girls," she began, but was quickly pulled out of the sky and into the cloud by Rainbow Dash.
"Shhh!" Rainbow whispered, her hoof on the other's mouth. "Quiet or he'll hear you."
Cloudchaser blinked. That sounded far too ominous for a festive day such as this. Still, if it came from Rainbow Dash, there had to be a good reason for it.
"Ignore her," Twilight said pushing Rainbow's hoof away. "We're trying to find out who Bulk Biceps' special somepony is."
"Bulk?" Cloudchaser asked confused.
"Yea," Rainbow Dash gave her an overconfident look. "The whole town is talking about it. Actually maybe more than the whole town. This morning Bulk asked to have the day off so he could spend it with his special somepony."
"That's strange..."
"Totally! I'm curious to see who fell for that loser," she laughed.
"Now, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy frowned. "That's no way to talk about a friend! He's extremely nice, and he helped us win the Equestria Games. So I suggest you treat him with the respect and kindness he deserves."
"Yeah, whatever," Rainbow looked aside, hurt. She didn't like it when she had done something thoughtless and was called out on it.
"What are you doing here, though?" Twilight asked Cloudchaser. "I thought the Wonderbolts were doing a special performance for Hearts and Hooves at Canterlot."
"Oh, they are," the other replied glancing casually at the ground below. "Just not us cadets. Since most had plans to be with somepony, they let us all go for the day. Talking of which I need to check on Flitter. That mare always manages to get in trouble somehow. Have fun with your mystery!"
With little more than a warning, Cloudchaser was off, shortly disappearing from view. Alarmingly, she was not the only one. A quick glance at the ground revealed that Bulk Biceps had vanished as well. This caused a Twilight to get slightly nervous. Teleporting to the ground, she started asking about, yet to little avail. Most of the ponies were preoccupied with other matters on this day, and their recollection of events was unreliable at best. The white pegasus was said to have gone in three completely different directions, talked with a dozen ponies and carried anything from a piano to a golf cart.
"What do we do?" Twilight asked trotting nervously in circles. "What do we do? What do we do? I can't get the question out of my mind and if we don't find out it'll be months before I'm able to sleep!"
"You know, we can always follow the diamond," Spike suggested casually. Everypony stared at him.. "What? Diamonds have smells to, gee! Sometimes I think you take me for granted!"
"Nonsense," Twilight quickly gave him a reassuring wing hug. The tiny droplets of sweat on her head, however, marked that she had Often been guilty of such behaviour..
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash agreed in with an overly wide smile. "We were just impressed with your awesome diamond smelling talents." She paused for a moment. Somehow that phrase didn't sound right.
"Ok, ok," the dragon pushed himself free. "Give me some space."
It was a simple task following the diamond. Even in a box the scent was unmistakable. Of all the gems given on Hears and Hooves Day, diamonds were the most rare. Rubies were prevalent, with emeralds being a distant second. As far as Spike could make out, there had been only three diamonds on the move - one was the unmistakable sweet aroma of Diamond Tiara's tiara - a pity such delicious stones were wasted on her, the second was a cheap diamond somepony had probably spent their live's savings on, and lastly - Bulk's purchase. As far as quality went, the white pegasus had done quite well.
This time the trail was straight as an arrow, starting at the jewelry shop and heading straight for...
"No..." Spike's heart sank, as the Carousel Boutique became visible before him. The ponies watched as all joy was sucked out of his being, turning him into a hollow shell. "Rarity..." he managed to add weakly.
"Surprising, but makes sense," Rainbow Dash said oblivious to the dragon's state. "They are both white, and he did seem to enjoy the uniforms she made for him for the Equestria Games..." Seeing the deathly glares Twilight and Fluttershy were giving her, the blue blue Pegasus promptly stopped. "But I bet Rarity doesn't see anything special in him," she added.
"That's right, Spike," Twilight said in an attempt to cheer up her assistant. "Just because Bulk thinks of her as his special somepony, doesn't mean she shares those feelings."
"Tell me about it," the dragon sighed.
"Err, what I meant to say was that you really don't have anything to worry about. These things aren't as simple as you might think."
"How would you know?" Spike snapped back. Right now he wasn't in the mood, especially since all of Twilight's information on the matter came from books.
"Oo-o-kay..." the alicorn gingerly tiptoed away from him. "Take your time. We'll just go take a peek and see how Rarity's going. In case she needs any help..."
Before Twilight could finish her sentence, the boutique door swung open and a beaming Bulk Biceps trotted out.
"And remember," Rarity said loudly from her shop. "Wash it only in running or cloud water, and never dry it in the sunlight. You do understand how important that is, right darling?"
"Yeah!" the pegasus replied in typical fashion and disappeared in the streets of Ponyville.
For a few moments Twilight and her friends just stood there, as if struck by lightning.
"Definitely have to admit," Ranbow Dash said at last. "He's fast."
"A bit too fast, maybe," Twilight said, narrowing her eyes. Something seemed to be off. Bulk's behaviors was simply too irrational. What had he come to see Rarity for? There was only one pony who knew the answer. "Let's have a word with Rarity,"
Rarity's shop was shockingly deprived of dresses. The few that remained had a "reserved" note pinned on them. Obviously Hearts and Hooves Day was great for business, if a bit tiring, judging by the exhausted state the unicorn was in. She even went as far as to yawn, discretely covering her mouth with a hoof, of course.
"Rarity," Twilight didn't waste time with greetings. "Please tell me it isn't true!"
The question shocked away any feeling of fatigue the unicorn might have had. "What... what do you mean, darling?" she asked desperately trying to find out what she was being accused of.
"Bulk Biceps!" Rainbow Dash added accusingly. "We know all about it!"
"What?" The unicorn made a step back. "No, surely, you must be mistaken..."
"Aha, so it is true!" The blue pegasus said to her face. "Admit it!"
"Well, I..." Rarity's back was against the wall. "I... That is... Oh you are right!" She broke down in tears. "I never should have done it. I feel so ashamed it's been eating me this whole time!"
Both Fluttershy and Twilight gasped at the confession. Only Rainbow seemed pleased. Winning always made her happy, regardless of the circumstances.
"Rarity!" Twilight said, hurt and concern in her voice. "How could you? I thought we were friends..."
"Trust me when I say that I deeply regret my actions," Rarity sniffed sadly. "I know that now. I was just so dazzled by the diamond I couldn't refuse. I honestly wanted you to be the ones to try my new creation... But I turned out to be far too week!" Tears of makeup started trickling down her cheeks.
"Wait, what?" Twilight blinked.
"My special moonlight fabric. I have been developing it for months. Light, stretchy, glowy... It's like you are wearing the moon itself."
"You mean to say that Bulk bought you a diamond to get a dress?!?" Rainbow shouted infuriated. "That is your big secret?"
"I know!" Rarity burst into tears. "I'm a horrible pony! Not only did I ignore my friends, but I abused Bulk's trust as well!"
"Actually, we thought you and Bulk might be an item," Twilight said.
"An... An item?"
"Well, he did go bring you a diamond. On Hearts and Hooves Day. After he asked for a day off."
"Well, we certainly aren't!" Rarity said hurt by the suggestion. "He might be an outstanding model, but I assure you I have far more refined tastes than that! I just needed a fine diamond for my soon to be greatest creation."
"Let me get this straight," Rainbow Dash flapped her way to the ceiling. "Bulk Biceps bought a diamond to give to you, so you could make him some clothes using your moonthingee fabric?"
"Ill have you know that 'moonthingee' happens to be months of work, and might become one of the most glorious discoveries the fashion world has ever seen!" Rarity said sharply. "And he didn't buy clothes, just some hoofbands."
"Booring!" Rainbow said totally disinterested. "Going now! Come on, Fluttershy."
Whispering something about the animals and Angel Bunny needing her, Fluttershy followed Rainbow Dash outside. Twilight remained, however. The mystery surrounding Bulk remained, and so far nopony was close to finding the answer. Could it be that he had lied to do some chores, or did he really have a special somepony?
"You look troubled, darling," Rarity said, concerned. "Maybe you should go relax at the spa! I hear they are booked, but I can let you use my special VIP reservation..."
"It's just Bulk!" Twilight groaned. "I cannot stop wondering whether he's just making things up or not!"
"Well, I don't know about that. But he did mention going to Sugarcube Corner. How did he put it... 'Now just Sugarcube Corner and all will be set for tonight! Yeah!'" Her impersonation was well off, but managed to convey the message to a satisfactory degree.
"Rarity," an ominous smile appeared on Twilight's face. "How would you like to help me out with something?"