Rays of moonlight shone between the clouds, gently falling on the trees below. Perfect for a romantic stroll on the most romantic night of the year. Bulk Buceps, however, was not interested in the ground. All the time spent at the spa had made him aware of everymare's thoughts on the perfect date. The weeks leading to Hearts Day and Hooves, had made the place a treasure-trove of information. Not a single mare had passed through without sharing her views on the matter. Nearly all considered a moonlight night to be the ideal romantic setting. Of them most pegasi preferred spending it in the clouds.
Selecting the most suitable gifts had proven more difficult. While certain elements, like a romantic card and a cute pet were pretty much shared by all, every pony seemed to have a different idea what the perfect gift would be. Clothes, paintings, jewelry, even expensive exotic foods were suggested. Ultimately, Bulk had gone with a piece of clothing relating to his marefriend's favourite activity, and made by Rarity, of course.
Pleased, the white pegasus slide a hoof through his hair. It had been a long day, but it was all here - a cute hummingbird, a unique set of moonlight hoofbands, the best Hearts and Hooves card the mail service had to offer, and the perfect place in all of Poneyville. Derpy definitely knew her clouds. The one she had suggested was so thick with rain that the moon reflected off its surface. Now the only thing remaining was to wait.
Meanwhile, in Twilight's castle, most of Poneyville had gathered in the largest hall. Twilight, after consulting a large number of magic books,, had composed a magic projection spell that allowed them to observe Bulk's date from a distance. She, of course, felt guilty about it, along with most of the other ponies, but not enough to stop doing it.
"Are you sure about this?" Fluttershy whispered. Initially she had been on the suspect list, along with Rainbow Dash and every other pegasi. However, Twilight had decided to invite all of her friends. Also, if Bulk's date didn't show up, she would know exactly who to suspect.
"That's the only way," Twilight said, her horn glowing as she maintained the spell.
"Not to mention fun!" Spike said, eating a box of popcorn.
"Spike!" Twilight snapped. "This is for important research purposes only! Not for your amusement!"
"Sure thing, miss jealous," he snorted, causing her to blush slightly.
"Hey! I'd let you know that..."
"Shhh!" Pinkie Pie hushed them. "Something is happening."
Apparently something had caught Bulk's attention. Everypony watched him straightened up, focusing on something in the sky. Since the spell was anchored a short distance from his cloud, the ponies had no idea what had caused the change in behaviour. More accurately, they had no idea who had caused it.
"Can't you turn that thing around?" Rainbow Dash grumbled.
"This is a complicated spell!"
"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow Dash waved a wing. "Just turn it around a bit."
"Look, I can't just..." Twilight began, when Bulk's face suddenly filled the entire projection square. All the noise in the room subsided, as the ponies turned towards Twilight for answers. "Err, the cloud must have moved," she smile sheepishly. Popcorn flew towards her, as shouts and boos filled the air. Nopony was pleased. They certainly hadn't come here in the middle of the night to suffer a magic projection of such low quality!
Suddenly Bulk's expression changed. A wide smile on his face, the pagasus waved. It was as if he could see the crowd. Almost instantly order was restored. Every mare knew what this meant - Bulk was waving to his marefriend, whoever she might be. His mouth began opening and closing, almost as if he were talking. The only problem was that no sound could be heard.
"What the hay?" Rainbow Dash kicked the chair she was sitting on. "Why can't we hear anything?"
"I wasn't able to get the sound spell right," Twilight apologized in a squeaky voice. "The cloud is interfering with the magic, causing..."
"Some show," Spike grumbled cutting her off. "Bad projection angle, bad lighting, no sound... Honestly, Twilight, you're really bad at this. Now how are we going to learn who Bulk's date is?"
"Calm down, everypony," Bon Bon moved to the front row. "I can lip read."
"Oh! oh! What's he saying? What's he saying?" Rainbow Dash quickly sat beside her.
"Err, it's like, err," Bon Bon began, "cool you made it. Lotus Blossom almost wouldn't let me go..." All eyes in the room turned towards Lotus Blossom.
"It's not true!" She protested "I gave him the day off!"
"Did you have any problems?" Bulk then asked, still voiced by Bon Bon. A few moments of silence followed - probably his date answering. "Rainbow Dash? You have nothing to worry about."
"Way to go Dashie!" Pinkie Pie hopped next to the pegasus, smiling mischievously. "You've made some mare jealous."
"Well, yeah," Rainbow tried to act cool, blushing ever so slightly. "Of course, 'cause I'm awesome!"
"Err, here, this is for you," Bon Bon went on. On the projection square, Bulk reached into the cloud and took out a Hearts and Hooves card. Brushing the puffy cloud fragments off, he offered it forward. An indigo hoof took the card and opened it.
"Princess Luna?!" several voices asked in shock. This was more than unexpected, this was unfathomable! Most had barely accepted the fact that Bulk had a marefriend. For her to be the princess of the night, was inconceivable.
"Didn't see that coming," Pinkie Pie said. "I always thought Luna was more into sensitive silent types. Guess you can never account for taste," she shrugged.
"No, no, no, no!" Twilight started to go into panic mode, disrupting the image quality of the protection spell. "This isn't right. Not princess Luna! It simply can't be!"
"Can't you move your spell a bit back?" Rainbow Dash asked again.
"I can't! Don't you think I'd do it if..."
"You know there is an easy way to see if it's the princess," Spike said casually. "I'll just send her a scroll and if it appears then it's her." All jaws dropped. "What? I thought it was obvious. I send scrolls all the time."
"Spike, you are a genius!" Twilight beamed. "Take a note. 'Dear Princess Luna, how is your date?' Signed Twilight Sparkle."
The scroll was written and promptly sent it on its way. All eyes focused on the projection square. If the theory was correct, the proof would be visible any moment.
Seconds passed, then a minute, two minutes... All everypony could see was a hoof holding a card, with extremely horrendous writing on it, and Bulk Biceps smiling tensely in the background.
"Well, I guess..." Spike began then suddenly belched a scroll. Catching it swiftly, he cleared his throat then opened it, as he usually did. "Fine!" he read. "And yours?" Definitely testy. No doubt princess Luna didn't appreciate the question. That meant that at some point tomorrow Spike and Twilight would have to send a much longer scroll in means of apology. "Well, at least we know it's not her."
"Yeah!" Bon Bon's yell filled the room, making everypony jump. "It was the best card there was, and I wanted to make it really special! I also got you this!"
A small box, perfectly wrapped in dark blue Hearts and Hooves motives, was presented forward. Indigo hooves held it, while wings of the same colour started removing the wrap.
"Guess it isn't princess Celestia either," Spike said finishing the last of his popcorn. "What?" he asked, as Twilight gave him a disapproving glare. "I'm just saying!"
"Ahem!" Bon Bon said loudly. "The way you like exercising, I thought this would be useful," she continued lip reading. The mare's answer couldn't be heard, but judging by the way Bulk Biceps blushed everypony got the gist.
The box revealed a hoofband, glowing with a soft whitish yellow light. In the darkness it almost seemed as if made of moonlight.
"Oh, that's mine," Rarity said loud enough to be heard by all. "And it'll be an integral part of my next fashion line. As you can see, very suitable for nights and evenings." The murmurs of agreement indicated she had already gained a substantial number of potential customers.
"And now the very best," Bon Bon kept on reading. "I know you've been wanting one. Hold on just a sec..." Bulk started searching the cloud for something.
"Quickly!" Pinkie Pie urged. "Who do you think the lucky mare is? Winner gets a free box of free cakes from Sugarcube Corner for free!"
"We've been there already," Rainbow Dash waved a hoof. "Pretty much every pegasus fits the bill."
"Spitfire!" Spike shouted. "She's fast, she's wild, she loves to exercise a lot," he started enumerating.
"She's my personal idol..." Rainbow Dash whimpered. The notion that her future boss was dating Bulk Biceps sent shivers down her spine.
"Well, Cloudchaser did mention that the Wonderbolts were performing at Canterlot during the day," Twilight mused. "That explains why the date had to be at night - so it didn't interfere with Spitfire's schedule!"
"Twilight, not helping," Rainbow squeaked, trembling.
A loud discussion started with everypony throwing names. Most were old favourites with a few new additions. Everything was guesswork, of course, and in part that's what made it exciting. It was Bon Bon who put the discussions to an end, as the silent image of Bulk started moving its lips again.
"Ah, here he is!" she shouted as a small hummingbird appeared on the projection square.
"Hummingway!" Fluttershy said happily, just before being shushed by a dozen mares nearby.
"Glad you like him!" Bon Bon said loudly, indicating she didn't like being interrupted. She was just about to continue, when Bulk's smile faded, replaced by a look of utter horror. Everypony in the hall held their breath, waiting for the white pegasus' response.
"It's not the very best?" Bon Bon said, moving closer to the projection square.
"Dumping," Pinkie Pie whispered to Spike, who was devouring another box of popcorn, eyes not blinking, less he miss something. "I know it's a dumping."
"But why?" Bon Bon continued. "I thought everything was perfect." A small tear formed in the corner of her eye. And she wasn't the only one. The time spent speculating and following Bulk, be it brief, had got them to know him. No longer was he the weird white pegasus made of muscles, who crashed through walls and yelled "Yeah!". Right now, at the end of Hearts and Hooves Day, he was the hero of an imaginary story, the charming knight set out to win the princess. They all felt for him, they all shared his pain.
The projection square suddenly disappeared. Gasps, whispers and the occasional boo filled the hall.
"Sorry, sorry," Twilight said loudly. "My magic is drained. The spell was more exhausting than I thought. Guess that's it for tonight."
"Nonsense, darling," Rarity approached. "I might not have your skill, but I think I could give a helping hoof."
"As I said, the spell is very exhausting and complicated," Twilight stressed. "And I really need to go to bed and get some rest."
"Oh," Rarity nodded, getting the hint. "Well it is late, and we all need our beauty sleep. Lotus, can I book my usual for tomorrow morning?"
One by one the ponies left the castle. Twilight politely saw them off, then went to her room. There was much for her to think about. She could easily have seen the identity of Bulk's marefriend, his ex-marefriend, that is. However, she had lacked the courage to do so. The spell hadn't exhausted her in the least. Not only that, but she could have teleported to the location and seen for herself. There were moments in which she had been tempted to do so.
Up to today Twilight had never seen the romantic side of Bulk, she doubted anypony had, with the exception of the one. All that hope and effort on his part, only to get dumped, on Hearts and Hooves Day no less! He certainly didn't deserve that. So what if he was a little thick in the head? Did that make him any less a pony? He too needed a shoulder to cry on every now and again.
It's settled! she said to herself. The very next morning she would go to the spa and have a nice long heart to heart with Bulk! She would make sure he got back on his hooves!