“Something’s up with you.”
“Oh?” The muscles in Amethyst Star’s legs burned from their daily workout as she and Blossomforth walked through the Ponyville market square. As much as yoga counted as a workout, that is. Amethyst always left sweaty and red-faced while Blossomforth seemed able to twist herself into a pretzel with ease. She often wondered if flexibility was Blossomforth’s special talent, but what a flower had to do with bendability was beyond her.
Blossomforth peered at her through her bright blue eyes. “Yeah.” Her freckles wrinkled with her brow. “You’re all . . . prancy.”
“So? I’m a pony. Ponies prance!” Amethyst pranced ahead, her sights set on a stall selling ice cream. Right where it always was, and their yoga class timed to end perfectly at a lull in the market. The perks of planning ahead.
“You have not pranced once since the day I met you.”
“Ponies also change!” She stopped to the side of the ice cream stall and scanned the list of the flavours. Bubblegum, rocky road, mint chocolate chip, strawberry . . . The sun beat down on her coat and she licked her lips. “Hey, want some ice cream? My treat.”
Blossomforth’s ears perked up. “Ice cream?” Her tail swished happily behind her as they watched a pale blue mare with a neapolitan mane serve the foals in line. “It was a pretty intense class today . . .”
Everypony had their little weaknesses, and Amethyst knew Blossomforth’s like the back of her hoof. Exploiting them every few days or whenever she needed a diversion were old hat. “That’s the spirit! Rocky road?”
“Mint chocolate chip, and don’t think you can just distract me with a little ice cream.” Blossomforth prodded Amethyst’s chest. “You’re playing coy with me!”
“Oh, Blossom,” Amethyst said with a grin that may or may not have been coy. “I’m not distracting you with a little ice cream; I’m distracting you with a lot of ice cream.”
“Amyyyy,” Blossomforth whined as Amethyst skipped around her to order. Her pout melted faster than any ice cream when she accepted a double-scoop of mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone from the pink aura of Amethyst’s magic. She tried to look begrudging at the very least.
Taking her scoop of rocky road in her magic, Amethyst led the pair to their usual bench. At this time of day, it was in the shade and offered a quiet spot to ponywatch. She sat on the bench, set her saddlebags and yoga mat on the ground, and patted the spot next to her. As Blossomforth settled down beside her, she let out a content sigh. Nothing took the edge off like a familiar routine.
“Seriously, though,” Blossomforth said between licks of her double-scoop. “What’s got you so bouncy?”
Amethyst was sure from the look in her friend’s eye that she was supposed to take that question seriously. The smear of green on her muzzle, however, ruined that effect. Time to play coy, as she so eloquently put it. Waggling her ears, she said, “I need a reason to be happy when I’m with my best friend?”
“I guess not.” Blossomforth frowned and returned to her ice cream. After a couple thoughtful slurps, her frown deepened. “But something’s still up.”
“Lots of things are up. The leaves in the trees, for example.”
“Are you just going to lead me on all day?”
Amethyst’s smile showed her teeth. “Maybe.”
“Ugh, you’re impossible.” Blossomforth pouted. “I swear I only hang out with you because of all the free ice cream.”
“And because I helped shoo that pervy stallion away during our first yoga class together?”
A streak of red spread over Blossomforth’s muzzle. She harrumphed and went back to her treat.
Amethyst giggled and lathered a dollop of the melting dessert into her mouth. Why anypony bothered with anything besides rocky road baffled her. “Well,” she started in a sing-song voice. “It may have something to do with all the repairs to the bugbear attack being finished.”
“That’s one thing I’m glad I missed.” Blossomforth sighed and shook her head. “I visit my parents in Cloudsdale for a few days and some monster nopony’s ever heard of levels half the town. Again.”
“At least you didn’t miss much there!” Amethyst chirped. “It was no Ursa Minor or freaky thorn invasion from the Everfree. Princess Twilight and her friends took care of it in a jiffy. There wasn’t even much of a panic and nopony got hurt.” She paused mid-lick and tilted her head to the side. “Well, nopony except for Rainbow Dash.”
Both of Blossomforth’s eyebrows shot up behind her watermelon-coloured bangs at that. “Was it serious?”
“Nah, she just got bit. Or stung.” Amethyst shrugged. She was more than a little foggy on the details, but there were more important things going on at the time.
Images of flower arrangements, seating plans, veils, bridesmaids in pretty dresses, and a purple sea serpent in a bow tie flashed before her eyes. Her tail swished back and forth. “Either way, she complained about it until Applejack asked if she wanted her to kiss it better in front of half the town.”
“Oh dear.”
Amethyst giggled, her ears wiggling at the memory. “Rainbow was pretty quiet after that.”
“That sounds like her.” Blossomforth nodded, her brow creased. “But why would fixing stuff make you happy? Everything needs fixing or rebuilding around here every other week.”
“I didn’t say it was the bugbear attack that’s got me filled with sunshine and rainbows, just that it might have something to do with it.” Amethyst stuck her tongue out and nibbled on the corner of her cone. Delicious. “You can be so literal, Blossom.”
“Amethyst,” Blossomforth groaned. A white feather prodded Amethyst’s side, and she scrunched her muzzle up to stifle a laugh. Pegasus feathers were much too ticklish to be fair. “Quit teasing me. Out with it, already.”
“Oh, fine.” Swatting the wing away, Amethyst pouted. “Spoil sport. If you must know, it has more to do with Princess Twilight and her friends missing the ceremony because they were dealing with the bug bear. They made a big deal about apologizing for it at the reception, though.”
“Ceremony? Reception?” Blossomforth tilted her head to the side, the freckles on her face wrinkling with her brow. “What are you—oh!” Realization dawned in her eyes and she clapped a hoof over her gaping mouth. “Cranky and Matilda’s wedding! That was the same day as the bug bear attack? Did everything turn out okay?”
“Sure, sure.” Amethyst waved a hoof, dismissing her friend’s worries. “A few buildings were torn up, but it all worked out in the end. The Mayor gave the best speech. I think I even saw Princess Luna tearing up a little.”
“That’s a relief.” Easing back into the bench, Blossomforth smiled. Amethyst, meanwhile, struggled to keep her face blank. “I’m happy for them. They deserve each oth—wait.” Eyebrows tried to meet as the pegasus frowned. “You said Princess Twilight and her friends missed the ceremony?”
Now she was starting to catch on. “Yup,” Amethyst said, hiding her smile behind her ice cream.
“Including Pinkie Pie?”
“Especially Pinkie Pie. That bug bear didn’t know what hit him when she brought out her party cannon.”
“Pinkie Pie,” Blossomforth said slowly. “Who was supposed to be Matilda’s wedding planner?”
A fit of giggles bubbled up in Amethyst’s chest, but she soldiered on and fought them down. “The one and the same.”
“Then . . . who—”
“Me!” Amethyst burst out, unable to contain herself any longer. Suspending her cone in her magic, she hopped off of the bench and pranced around in a circle. Her voice rung with glee and she danced a little jig. “After the bug bear showed up, Matilda asked me to take over for Pinkie as her wedding planner! And I did!”
Blossomforth gasped, then jumped up and threw her forelegs around Amethyst’s neck. “Oh my gosh, Amy! That’s fantastic!” They hopped in place, laughing and cheering in time before a melted dollop of ice cream landed on the small of Amethyst’s back.
“Cold!” Amethyst shrieked. “Cold, cold, cold!”
“Sorry!”
Magic fizzled on Amethyst’s coat, cleaning the mess from her fur. “Don’t worry about it, Blossom,” she said, ignoring a tingling sensation rippling up and down her spine. The fur where the ice cream landed was matted down and, she suspected, sticky and sugary. A bath was in order. “We both got a little carried away there.”
Scuffing the ground, Blossomforth shifted her weight from hoof to hoof. “Yeah, well, for a good reason.” As they both climbed back on to the bench, Amethyst was regarded with warm eyes and a soft voice. “Taking over a whole wedding? That’s a pretty big deal. How did it turn out?”
Amethyst cocked a brow. “You doubt me?”
“No!” Blossomforth said quickly with an emphatic shake of her head. “You’re one of the most organized ponies I know! Anypony who can manage the Mayor’s work life is one of the best! It’s just that . . . well . . .” She bit her lip and her wings fidgeted. “Winter Wrap-Up.”
A ball of ice dropped into Amethyst’s stomach. Suddenly, she felt as if she didn’t need her ice cream to keep the heavy summer heat at bay. “Oh. I see what you mean,” she said, her ears wilting like Golden Harvest’s crops after two weeks with no rain.
“And Nightmare Night,” Blossomforth added. Her hoof brushed against Amethyst’s shoulder. “I don’t doubt you, Amy. I just worry. You know me.”
Yeah, she did. “Thanks.” Amethyst offered a half-smile. “Not that I’d blame you if you did. Those weren’t my greatest moments, huh?”
Sympathy welled up in Blossomforth’s eyes. “Maybe not, but judging from how you were prancing around town today I’d bet that Cranky and Matilda’s wedding turned out a bit better. Tell me all about it. I want to hear everything.”
The ice in her stomach melted some and Amethyst found herself fidgeting with her hooves. “There’s not too much to tell, really.” She sat on her restless hooves and lathered up a mouthful of her cone. “The bug bear showed up and started wrecking stuff. Princess Twilight and the others went to deal with it. Matilda needed somepony and grabbed me from the crowd.”
“I meant about the wedding, silly filly.” Blossomforth nudged her with her wing. “It’s been the talk of the town! Sassaflash and Merry May won’t stop going on about it.”
Amethyst’s ear flicked. “Really?”
“Mmhmm. At work it’s been ‘wedding this’ and ‘ceremony that.’ I just didn’t know it was the same day as the bug bear attack.”
“Really?” Amethyst asked again in a small voice. She stared off at the market, sorting through her memories of the wedding. “Well . . . I think it went okay.” Her brow creased as she recollected the details. A frown tugged on her lips. “The flowers weren’t ready for Matilda on time and the arrangements weren’t quite what she had in mind, though. And fitting a sea serpent into town hall? Ugh, forget it. He stuck his head in through a window and let a whole bunch of bugs in.”
Blossomforth giggled.
Amethyst shot her a look. Her frown deepened at the twinkling in her friend’s eyes and the impish grin on her face. “What?”
“Look at you, talking like an event organizer.”
Amethyst tilted her head to the side. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You should hear yourself! Everypony around town is talking about how great a wedding Cranky and Matilda had, and you’re the pony to thank for it! Yet here you are,” Blossomforth said, needling Amethyst’s side with a feather and drawing a choked laugh from her throat. “Hating every little detail that wasn’t perfect.”
If Amethyst had feathers, they would be somewhat ruffled. “So?”
“It shows you care.” Blossomforth’s smile was genuine. “It’s a good thing, trust me. I wish I could’ve been there to see you in your moment.”
“Oh, knock it off, Blossom,” Amethyst said, knocking the prodding wing away. There was little she could do about the giddy smile tugging at her lips or the warmth flowing from head to tail, though. “That was Cranky and Matilda’s moment.”
“Which you made possible.” With her ears wiggling, Blossomforth caught the ice cream dribbling down over the edge of her cone. “Stupid family with their stupid timing.”
“There will be other weddings.” Amethyst winked. “Guess I’ll just have to manage them all until you get to see one.”
Blossomforth grunted. “Like that’ll happen. You’d miss working for the Mayor too much. Besides, who’s going to get married anytime soon?”
Before Amethyst could respond, a pair of familiar voices carried over through the market, capturing their attention.
Raising an eyebrow, Amethyst twisted around, her gaze falling on the Sweet Apple Acres sales cart. Behind it, Applejack stood with her shoulders squared and her tail snapping from side to side. The fire burning in the farmer’s emerald green eyes shone across the market to their bench.
Applejack’s attention wasn’t on the pony across from her—Junebug, if Amethyst recalled—however, but instead on a spot just above the cart. There, a rainbow-maned pegasus with fur as blue as the sky perched on a tree branch. A cocky and challenging smirk danced over her lips as her wings furled and unfurled.
Junebug said something and stomped her hoof, but Applejack paid it no mind; her focus was trained solely on Rainbow Dash.
“You wanna run that by me again, sugarcube?” Applejack growled, her eyes narrowed to slits.
With a flap of her wings, Rainbow lifted off from her perch and alighted just out of hoof’s reach from Applejack. “What, you got apples in your ears?”
“Amy,” Blossomforth prodded, “what are we doing?”
“Hush!”
A beat passed, and she heard Blossomforth’s hoof meet her face. “You’re kidding.”
Applejack snorted. “Keep this up, and next time I won’t be so gentle when I knock your lazy rump out of my trees.”
“Please. You seeing my ‘lazy rump’ hanging out of one of your trees is the best part of your day and you know it.” Rainbow winked and swished her tail from side to side. “Bet you secretly want to inspect it like one of your apples, too. Ask nicely, and I might just let you.”
Applejack sputtered and Amethyst giggled. She could feel Blossomforth’s eyes on her, but she chose to ignore her for at least a few seconds more.
“Anyways,” Rainbow continued, her chest puffed up from Applejack’s red-faced display, “I said that I could totally rock that whole ponytail thing you got going way better than you ever could.”
“Now if that ain’t the most hooves-down ridiculous and foalish thing that’s ever come out of your mouth. And that’s sayin’ something.” Applejack shook her head and pulled her hat down over her eyes. “Don’t you have some clouds to push around or something? Unless you’re plannin’ on buying something, clear out so I can get back to these good folk here who aren’t here just to annoy me.”
“Pshaw,” Rainbow scoffed, waving a hoof at Junebug. “They don’t mind.”
Junebug’s glare could curdle milk.
“And don’t tell me you’re chickening out.” Nimble as ever, Rainbow jumped to land on the edge of the apple cart. “I’ll bet you five bits that I pull it off better than you could in your wildest dreams. Hay, I’d bet ten that I’d give you something new to dream about.”
“I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.” Applejack lifted the brim of her hat and stepped to the side of her cart. “Sorry for keeping you waitin’, Junebug. Now, that was five red delicious and four—”
Applejack was cut off by the flapping of wings and a streak of blue that staggered her. She yelped as her mane fell over her face and around her shoulders in a curtain of gold. It reminded Amethyst of a field of wheat ready for harvest as it caught the light of the afternoon sun quite fetchingly.
A second later Rainbow Dash landed back on her tree branch, Applejack’s hair bands and stetson in hoof. With a foxlike grin, she flipped the hat on and started fiddling with her mane.
“Oooooh,” Amethyst cooed.
Blossomforth groaned behind her. “Do you think they’re finally going to stop beating around the bush?”
Amethyst turned her head with a bright smile. “Let’s find out! Maybe it won’t be so long before that next wedding after all.”
“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack growled, pushing her mane out of her face. The look on her face could cow a manticore, but Rainbow appeared unphased. “What in tarnation do you think you’re doin’?!”
“Letting the ponies decide!” Rainbow crowed as she fixed Applejack’s hair bands in her mane. Flashing her wings, she flipped her mane, letting it fall over her left shoulder in a ponytail. Her smile was dazzling and both Amethyst and Blossomforth giggled as Applejack gaped.
“Wh-why you low down, no good, thorn-in-my-side, troublemaking pegasus! Give me my hat back or so help me I’ll tie you up to one of my trees and leave you for the crows!”
“That a threat or a promise?” Rainbow waggled her eyebrows, then addressed the small crowd of onlookers. “Well, ponies? Me, or Applejack?”
Amethyst blinked and watched the gaggle of ponies. There were mutterings and noncommittal sounds of agreement from the crowd. One of the stallions in the crowd shrugged. Junebug, for her part, turned and stomped off with her nose raised.
“Eh, what do you know?” Leaping off of her branch, Rainbow lazily circled around Applejack, who stood her ground even as a multi-hued tail flicked her across the snout. “Gotta say, though, you look good with your mane down, AJ. You should wear it like that more often.”
“Um, Amy?”
“Not now, Blossom,” Amethyst said, waving her friend off. She leaned forward, almost hanging by the edge of her seat.
“But Amy—”
“Just hang on a second!”
The fire in Applejack’s eyes grew and the tension in the air was palpable, even from where Amethyst and Blossomforth sat. One more little nudge would push things over the edge. Rainbow flipped around, landed, and whispered something in Applejack’s ear.
“You’re about to lose your ice cream.”
Amethyst blinked and glanced to her left, where what was left of her scoop was about to melt right off of the cone. “Oh, shoot!”
There was a yelp, a grunt, and the sound of two ponies hitting the ground. Having righted her cone, Amethyst saw that in the seconds she looked away, Applejack had tackled Rainbow to the ground. Rainbow’s cackles and Applejack’s unintelligible shouting filled the market as they rolled around in the grass, wrestling for the hat.
“Blossom,” Amethyst whined. “You made me miss it!”
Blossomforth rolled her eyes and went back to her mint chocolate chip. “Don’t give me that. They’ll be back at it again soon enough.”
Pouting, Amethyst licked up a dollop of her ice cream. It was starting to taste thin and watery. She hummed as she watched blurs of blue and orange tumble over each other. “You think those two will ever actually ask each other out?”
“Who knows,” Blossomforth said between mouthfuls. “Celestia knows they’ve got it bad for each other. I don’t think there’s anyone in Ponyville that doesn’t know how crazy they are about each other.”
Even Blossomforth, Amethyst thought to herself. Romance and anything love-adjacent was far outside the weather pony’s field of expertise.
“Did you see how Rainbow Dash was flashing her wings?”
Amethyst gave a thoughtful slurp of her liquidating sugary treat and shook her head.
“I guess it’s more of a pegasus thing.” Blossomforth shrugged. “If you had wings you might get it, but she might as well have written in big, cloud letters ‘I like you, please date me’ overhead.”
“Wow, really? That bad?”
Blossomforth nodded. “That bad.”
And that was saying something. Amethyst frowned.
“It’s really weird, too. I always pegged Rainbow Dash as the type to march up to somepony and do away with all this dumb beating around the bush stuff. Applejack, too, but I haven’t been in Ponyville really all that long, so I could be wrong.”
Amethyst crunched into the edge of her cone. She chewed slowly, running her tongue over the roof of her mouth.
“Sassaflash says that what they need is a good push, whatever that means. I always thought they’d work it out themselves, but at the rate they’re going that could be years from now.” Blossomforth sniggered through her nose. “I guess they’re both too stubborn?”
Amethyst stared at what was left of her cone. The remaining ice cream was starting to dribble down the length of the cone and drip to the cobblestone street. “A good push, huh?”
“Yeah, something about somepony pushing one into confessing how they feel. That, or, um . . .” Blossomforth coughed, and Amethyst didn’t need to ask to guess what Sassaflash suggested two ponies obviously in love do with each other. “A-anyways, I try not to pay attention to that kind of locker room gossip, but between Merry May and Sassaflash it’s been impossible.”
Feeling herself nod, Amethyst said, “Somepony should do something.”
“That’s what they said.”
“Maybe they’re right.” Her eyes scanned the marketplace, absorbing nothing as the gears in her head started to churn. A coil of apprehension wrapped around her chest, making her shoulders tense and her breathing quicken.
She also felt Blossomforth’s eyes on her. “What?”
Not too far away, Applejack let out a triumphant yeehaw. Amethyst glanced her way and saw her straddling Rainbow Dash’s stomach. With her hat gripped between her teeth, she held the Wonderbolt-to-be pinned against the ground. For her part, Rainbow didn’t seem to really mind all that much.
“Amethyst,” Blossomforth said, her voice wary. “I don’t know if I like that look in your eye.”
The coil tightened a little around Amethyst’s chest before she pushed that feeling away, leaving room for a rush of excited determination to fill its place. Already, her mind started to plot out the next step and the four after that. She turned to her friend, and judging from the wide-eyed look on her face, her smile may have been more than a little manic. “They’re right, Blossom.”
“They are?” Blossomforth more squeaked than said.
“Oh, yes. Somepony should definitely do something about those two.” Amethyst leapt from the bench, tossing the last few bites of her cone into the trash. “And, luckily for them, these two ponies are going to do just that.”
“Just what?”
Amethyst turned back in time to watch Applejack let Rainbow Dash up and for Rainbow Dash to fly off, but not before flicking the farmer’s flank with her wing, painting a red streak over her face in the process.
“A push,” Amethyst said. “A quick, little push. Then you’ll get your next wedding in no time.”
Blossomforth sighed a tired sigh. “Can I at least finish my ice cream first?”
Amethyst glowered over the top of her menu at the empty table next to hers. The clinking of cutlery on plates, the chatter of ponies, and a string band filled the dining room. It was a busy night and the Silver Saddle was packed. Ponies had to make their reservations weeks in advance to get a table at the fanciest restaurant in Ponyville and it showed. There wasn’t a table without customers seated in the whole establishment.
Except for the one next to hers and Blossomforth’s.
Little white ‘reserved’ signs stood on each plate. The candles were already lit, and the first dribbles of melted wax collected in the candle holders.
They were late.
Chewing her lip, Amethyst made a whining noise in the back of her throat. The seconds ticked by, and still no Rainbow Dash or Applejack waltzed through the door.
They should have arrived what felt like ages ago, confused and mystified to find a table waiting for them. Then, their bewilderment would grow as they found that they were seated together with their meals already paid for.
A delicious meal, a bottle of their very best red wine, and a carefully orchestrated romantic atmosphere later they would be walking out, tail-in-tail, into a cloudless night and treated to one of Princess Luna’s spectacular meteor showers. If that wasn’t the perfect first date, then Amethyst didn’t know what was.
The only problem was that neither of them had arrived yet. By her clock, they were over twenty minutes late, and the staff was starting to notice. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that they would be there when she opened them.
Amethyst opened her eyes.
An empty table was set up beside her, ready for a romantic dinner.
Amethyst’s ears slicked back against her mane. The longer she stared, the more she felt her insides squirm as a dozen questions fired off in her head. Where were they? Did something happen? Did she get the time and date wrong? What if they don’t really love each other?
“Madame?”
“Gah!” Amethyst jumped, jerked back to reality. Her flailing hoof knocked her glass of water clean off the table. “Sorry—oh.” The apology tumbled off of her lips as the glass hovered in front of her, caught in the waiter’s silver magic.
“Quite alright, Miss Star,” the unicorn said. His black mane was slicked back over his dull, grey coat. With his perfectly tailored uniform and eyes as silver as his magic, some ponies might call him tall, dark, and handsome. To Amethyst, his unyielding posture, cultured accent, and stiff stride reminded her of something more mechanical. His nametag read ‘Timely Service.’
“Oh, um, thanks,” Amethyst said as he replaced the glass on the table and topped it up from a pitcher held aloft on a tray in his magic in one smooth motion. “I guess I zoned out a little.”
“No harm done,” Timely Service said in a perfectly polite voice, though his mouth twitched in what might have been a frown when he glanced to the empty table. “As I was asking your friend, are you ready to order?”
“Ordering, right. Um.” Amethyst stared blankly at the menu. “I’ll just have what Blossom’s having.”
Timely Service arched a brow but bowed his head and backed away. “Very good, your food will be ready shortly.”
As soon as he left, Amethyst’s eyes returned to where two ponies should be sitting only a few feet from where she sat. As the seconds dragged on, the more she felt as if something were coiling tight around her chest.
Empty.
Her tail flicked and she couldn’t help but fidget in her seat. With her lip between her teeth, she gradually became aware of her heart pattering away and a droplet of sweat ran down the small of her back. When did it get so warm in here?
Blossomforth cleared her throat. “Amethyst,” she said, her voice even. “What are we doing here?”
“Enjoying a delicious dinner.” Amethyst unfolded her napkin and loosely tied it around her neck. It was fine. Everything was going to be fine. “Which reminds me, what are we having?”
“Roasted eggplant and zucchini.”
Amethyst blanched. “Okay, well one of us will be enjoying dinner. The other one will be sensible and hate it.”
A nonplussed look hovered over Blossomforth’s face. “You know that isn’t what I meant. What are we doing back here? We just ate here yesterday!”
“Yeah,” Amethyst said slowly, tilting her head to the side. “And?”
Blossomforth stared at her.
Amethyst tilted her head to the other side. “Didn’t I tell you?”
The look on Blossomforth’s face was answer enough.
“Huh. Whoops.” Amethyst scratched her shoulder, eyes flicking to the door as it swung open. A tan stallion with a dark, grey mane and bags of money adorning his flanks accompanied by a pink mare who looked like she had something foul stuck up her nose walked in. Amethyst’s heart dropped a rung or two.
“Well?”
Amethyst blinked and shook her head. “Yesterday was a trial run.”
It was Blossomforth’s turn to cock her head. “Trial run?”
“Yeah. All signs from my research suggested that this was the best place to go for a new couple’s first date. The numbers show a guaranteed second date and maybe a goodnight smooch if it goes really well.” Amethyst shrugged. “The place checked out yesterday, so I went ahead and made reservations for Rainbow Dash and Applejack and another reservation for us.”
Blossomforth nodded with her brow furrowed. “I’m just double checking, but this isn’t some elaborate set up for some kind of romantic confession from you, is it?”
Amethyst choked and nearly spat out her mouthful of water.
“Because as much as I like spending time with you,” Blossomforth continued as Amethyst gasped for air, “I think we’re only really going to be friends.” She blinked, and her frown deepened for a second. “Wait, did that make yesterday a bad date? There was definitely no smooching.”
“No! No! Research!” Amethyst gasped, coughing into her hoof. Her flailing limbs caught the attention of the other customers, and she found herself wishing she knew how to teleport.
Blossomforth cocked a brow. If she was aware of the stares they were getting, she didn’t show it. “Research?”
“Yes!” Amethyst blurted, mortified. Feeling a dozen eyes on her back, she shrank down and cleared her throat. “Yes,” she repeated in a quieter tone once she regained her composure. “I needed to make sure this would be the best place for Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Do you honestly think I’m going to set two ponies up without making sure that it was going to be the best date ever?”
A bundle of file folders levitated out of her saddlebags and floated over to Blossomforth, who curled a wing around them and began flipping through file after file. “The Silver Saddle, Sugarcube Corner, Haut-Savoir . . . wow. This looks like every restaurant in Ponyville. You even have a file for Haymaker’s in here.”
“How else would I know which one would make for the ideal first date?” Amethyst rolled her eyes, settling back into her seat, and caught another glimpse of the two ponies who walked into the restaurant.
Now she recognized them as Filthy and Spoiled Rich, two of the wealthiest and most influential ponies in town. From the look of things, they had gotten into a rather heated discussion with the maitre d’. Filthy pointed a hoof in Amethyst’s direction at the empty, reserved table and the maitre d’ shook his head. Amethyst didn’t need to hear the conversation to know what they were talking about.
Filthy huffed and he and his wife stormed off to wait for an opening, their noses held high and faces pulled back into looks of disdain. The maitre d’ looked over his shoulder at Amethyst, and she felt the fur on the back of her neck stand on end. Amethyst hid her squeak by taking a sip from her water, also working to wetten her suddenly dry mouth.
Clearing her throat again, she returned her attention to Blossomforth. “A-anyways, I dug through some newspaper archives for reviews and whipped up a couple general opinion polls. I’ve tried most of the candidates out before, but I’ve never been here until yesterday.”
“Archives? Polls?” Blossomforth eyed the stack of folders. “Amy, it’s been three days since you got this crazy idea stuck in your head.”
Amethyst shrugged. “The Mayor hasn’t given me a lot of work to do, so I’ve had time to kill.”
Blossomforth stared for another second before she broke out in a fit of giggles. “Only you, Amethyst Star.”
Amethyst pouted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Blossomforth said, poorly hiding her giggles behind a hoof. When they subsided, she pushed the folders across the table. “So, how did you manage to get two reservations tonight on such short notice?”
“I know the chef, and she owes me a favour or three.” Amethyst winked, stuffing the folders back into her bags. “This place had a little trouble when Jullienne first opened up shop. Some problems with managing finances and securing the land lease. I had some time on my hooves then, too, and she showed up at town hall in tears.”
“Aww. That was sweet of you!” Blossomforth beamed, and Amethyst felt her lips tug up in a smile. The smile didn’t last long, though, when she caught a glimpse of the empty table across from them. “I’m sure they’ll be here soon,” the weather pony said, as if reading her thoughts.
“Yeah,” Amethyst said more to herself than to Blossomforth. “Rainbow Dash probably has some extra cloud clearance to do with the meteor shower, and you know how Applejack can get with her chores.”
Blossomforth offered an encouraging smile. It did little to settle Amethyst’s nerves. “I know you, Amy,” she said, ducking her head so that blue eyes met purple. “Celestia knows why this is so important to you, but I have a feeling it’ll work out. But I swear I’ve never seen you so nervous before.”
Amethyst nodded, looking absently out the window. The sun had set, and the blues of the sky had shifted from vanishing oranges to the darker colours of dusk. By her calculations, Rainbow and Applejack were about a half-hour late. Her tail flicked behind her. “I just want this to be perfect,” she mumbled.
“Your meals, mademoiselles,” Timely Service said, appearing at the table with two plates held in his magic. He set the plates down and bowed his head. “Enjoy.”
The smell of roasted and seasoned vegetables rose to Amethyst’s nostrils. On most days, the smell would be enough to make her mouth water and her stomach growl with hunger. Tonight, though, it made her stomach constrict upon itself as a wave of nausea rolled over her.
“Are you okay?” Blossomforth asked, drawing her out of her head and back to the restaurant. “You look like you’re about to be sick.”
Amethyst shook her head and exhaled through her nose. “Fine, I’m fine,” she said, her voice not convincing enough to wipe the look of concern off of Blossomforth’s face. Doing her best to steel her jangling nerves, she took a bite of her eggplant. It tasted rubbery in her mouth.
Blossomforth raised an eyebrow. It was unfair how much she could say without actually talking.
“I’m just a little nervous, like you said.” Amethyst relented with a grimace. She stuffed her mouth with more eggplant and zucchini, buying a few seconds to collect herself. “I’ll be fine when they get here.”
Blossomforth frowned, but didn’t push the issue.
“It’ll be fine,” Amethyst said, once again more to herself than to Blossomforth.
And again, it did little to ease her mind.
The minutes ticked by.
The minutes turned to an hour, and then that hour turned to two. Outside, dusk had long since passed. Pale moonlight blanketed the streets of Ponyville as stars twinkled overhead. Ponies in the restaurant had come and gone. Even Filthy and Spoiled Rich had gotten a table, eaten, paid, and left.
But still the reserved table was pony-less. The candles burned low, but the plates and folded napkins remained untouched, pristine.
“Maybe they’re just really, really late?” Blossomforth suggested, fidgeting with the edge of the tablecloth. They finished their dinner about an hour ago and took their time deciding and eating a dessert. Not that Amethyst had the appetite for it, but it was either that or be asked to leave. Favours with the chef can only go so far.
“No.” Amethyst swallowed, her mouth feeling like it was full of cotton. “They’re not coming.” The bottom fell out of her stomach as she said those words and she deflated.
“They could have gotten caught up in something. Maybe there was another friendship problem they needed to deal with, or some monster strolled into town again? What if they were called away by that weird map-thing in Princess Twilight’s castle?”
The clock tower rang in the distance of Ponyville square. Ten chimes, then it fell silent. The restaurant would be closing soon.
Amethyst shook her head. Her horn glowed as she pulled out enough bits to cover their food and a healthy tip. Standing up, she slipped her saddlebags around her barrel. “Let’s go, Blossom, before they kick us out.”
Her hooves carried her to the door, joined by Blossomforth’s a couple seconds later. She nodded absentmindedly to the maitre d’ as they left, heard the pegasus mutter a thank you, and stepped out into the cool evening. With her head hung, she let her thoughts wander back over everything leading up to tonight. She had made sure every detail was perfectly arranged. From the restaurant to the timing to hoof-written letters, she had agonized over everything. The files weighing down her bags were testament to that.
So, as she reconstructed the last three days, one question nagged at her thoughts: where had she gone wrong? The question made her tail wrap around her hind legs as her hooves carried her through town.
As they walked, Amethyst saw her friend’s wings twitching in the corner of her eye. Anxious, unsure, worried twitching.
“Amy,” Blossomforth said after they slowed to a stop by the darkened windows of Sugarcube Corner. It wasn’t that long a walk from The Silver Saddle to Amethyst’s house, but a gurgling in her stomach threatened a return of her fried eggplant. “Are you okay? You look like you’re about to throw up.”
“Bad eggplant.”
A white hoof gently prodded her shoulder. “You think all eggplants are bad. Come on, what’s really eating at you? Is it that they didn’t come? There will be other dates, Amy.”
“But they should have. I had it all planned out. They should be sitting here right here where we are right now, about to see what we’re about to see.”
“And what’s that supposed to—” Blossomforth gasped and fell silent.
Raising her eyes skyward, Amethyst saw a white flash streak across the night sky. Then another, and another. Soon enough, the sky was filled with colour as shooting stars shot across in every which way. Princess of the night indeed, and right on schedule. Amethyst snorted and dropped her gaze.
“Oh, wow . . .” Blossomforth mumbled. “Amy, the sky.”
“Yeah. I know,” Amethyst groused, picking up a pebble with her magic and tossing it down the empty street. No streaks of rainbow or orange came running towards them, frantically late for a date, and no sky blue wings wrapped around strong shoulders, pulling two bodies close together under the night sky.
The pebble clacking down the cobblestone street broke Blossomforth out of her state of transfixion. “Huh?” She looked at Amethyst. “You know?”
“Yup. All part of the plan.” Unfastening the clasp to her saddlebags, Amethyst pulled out a folded piece of paper and offered it to Blossomforth.
Blossomforth squinted in the dark, then her eyes widened.
“Being the Mayor’s assistant comes with a few perks, like knowing when the next big meteor shower is going to be. Apparently Princess Luna likes to surprise ponies every now and then.” She ran a hoof over her collection of folders, over three days’ worth of work. She sighed. “The perfect end to a perfect night.”
“Yeah . . . Oh, Amethyst.”
Amethyst’s knotted up insides twisted. “It’s like Winter Wrap-Up all over again.”
A moment of silence passed, punctuated by streaks of light from overhead. “Is that what this is all about?”
Amethyst sniffed as a familiar sting of disappointment made her shoulders stiffen.
“It is, isn’t it?” Blossomforth pressed a little more loudly. “Amethyst, you can’t blame yourself for all of that. Ponies make mistakes.”
“And I keep on making them, over and over and over again.” Amethyst dug her hoof into a patch of dirt, giving herself something to do. “Every time I try and do something new or different, it blows up in my face.”
“That isn’t true.” Amethyst could hear the frown in Blossomforth’s words. They were heavy and resolute.
Amethyst fixed Blossomforth with a flat stare and uttered two words. “Nightmare Night.”
Blossomforth grimaced. “Nopony blamed you for what happened with that cauldron, Amethyst. It was an honest mistake. Besides, nopony should have let them set up that pumpkin catapult so close anyways.”
“Who do you think let them?” Amethyst’s ears folded back. “And Winter Wrap-Up was even worse. Everything I touch turns bad.”
“Except for Cranky and Matilda’s wedding.”
“Except for that, yeah.” Amethyst nodded. “I thought I broke this curse or whatever it is, but I think now it was just a fluke. This,” she said, waving at everything and nothing, “is more the norm.”
Blossomforth huffed and Amethyst yelped when she found herself pulled to her hooves and steered in the direction of her house.
“B-Blossom!” Amethyst squeaked as she was gently but firmly guided down the street. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you home,” Blossomforth said, her eyes bright and piercing in the night. “And not letting you think about yourself like that. This was one date, Amy. What you need right now is sleep.”
“And then?” Amethyst asked, working her legs to keep up with Blossomforth’s sudden purposeful stride.
Blossomforth turned those burning blue eyes on her. “Then you get up and try again.” A small, sad smile softened her features. “I’m worried about you, Amy. I’ve never seen you like this.” They came to another stop as they reached Amethyst’s front door. “Did you want me to stay over?”
“No, that’s okay, I’m just—I think I need to be alone right now.”
Blossomforth frowned, but stepped out of the way of the door. Her eyes never left Amethyst as she unlocked the door and pulled it open. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Amethyst said, forcing a smile. Judging from the look on Blossomforth’s face, it must not have quite reached her eyes. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I need some sleep and things might look better in the morning.”
“Okay . . .” Blossomforth said, though she didn’t sound pleased about it. She pulled Amethyst in for a quick hug before flapping into the air. “I’ll be by tomorrow morning to check on you before work, though. Did you want me to bring anything? Maybe one of those breakfast bagels you like so much?”
“No, that’s okay. Good night, Blossom,” Amethyst said. The door clicked shut just after Blossomforth wished her a good night in return. Several minutes passed before she dragged herself upstairs to her bedroom and crawled under the covers. Through her window, she saw that the meteor shower was just beginning to peter out.
Then, all was dark as the sky stilled. As memories of Winter Wrap-Ups, Nightmare Nights, and failed setups bubbled, she wished her mind would do as much.