Bright and Breezy
"Lovey, for the third time, would you please sit still?" Magnate rubbed an ache that was growing between his eyes before pushing his glasses back into place.
Lovey huffed as she settled back down. "But, Magny! There's just so much to look at, I can't possibly enjoy it all by facing one direction all the time!"
Magnate gestured at the bowl of ice cream sitting in front of her. "Is your sundae not enough?"
"What? Of course! But I—oh my gosh that is the cutest hat! Look!" She hopped up to stand with her hindlegs in her seat and waved her forelegs. "Yoohoo! Hello! Where did you get that hat?!"
Magnate slammed a hoof on the table. "Lovey, please!" He winced and glanced around to see all eyes on them, then slumped down in his seat. "You are embarrassing me," he muttered.
Lovey blinked, slowly lowering down to sit on her haunches. "I'm what?"
"Embarrassing me," he repeated with bitter emphasis. "Could you please just act normal, at least while we're in public?"
"But I am acting normal." Her ears drooped. "I'm sorry, Magny."
"Mm." He drank the last sip of his coffee and glanced between her and the mostly untouched, partially melted sundae. "Are you ready to go, then?"
She looked down at her sundae as well, then smiled up at him. "Yup!"
They slid out of the booth and walked out of the diner after Magnate dropped bits on the table. Silence held them for only a few paces before Lovey blurted, "I always wondered how I would fall in love."
Magnate's ear flicked and he didn't look at her, instead keeping his gaze forward as they walked down the sidewalk. He had to figure out what they were going to do next. A sundae clearly wasn't enough to keep her attention on the here and now. "Oh?"
"I thought maybe it might be something oh-so-wonderful, like we bump into each other and our hooves touch and our eyes meet and my heart starts racing and I realize he's the one! Or I go shopping and he's at the register and he asks if I found everything I was looking for and our eyes meet and my heart starts racing and I realize he's the one! Or I'm travelling to track down a client's love line and I get lost and he comes up to me and asks if he can help and our eyes meet and my heart starts racing and I realize he's the one!"
Magnate just stared at her while she elaborated on the various scenarios that all ended the same. His ears pinned back against his mane and he shuffled his hooves somewhat awkwardly. "Lovey..."
She beamed at him. "Yes?"
"You do realize that none of those situations happened with us." He couldn't quite explain it, but that fact settled on his stomach like rocks. It was a heavy, uncomfortable weight.
"Oh, don't be silly! I'm perfectly happy with our story!" She bounded closer to him and brushed their sides together. "It's the real one, after all, isn't it?"
Magnate hesitated. Their story? Their story encompassed a week's time of him wanting nothing more than for her to leave him alone, and then realizing he didn't want that at the last minute. What sort of romance was that? "I suppose," was all he could commit to, but he did offer her a light smile. "As long as you're happy."
Lovey gasped and bounded forward a few steps, her wings starting to quiver. "But we should both be happy, Magny! That's the wonder and beauty of love! Love lines go both ways when they tie ponies together, after all!"
"Right, of course." He sighed, brow furrowed. "You've never really explained how love lines work, actually. It seems like nonsense to me."
"Oh!" She skidded to a halt in front of him. Her gaze darted about, ears flopping almost wildly, until she locked onto a target. "There!" She snatched Magnate's hoof and put it to her chest, sending a strange, tingling sensation along Magnate's spine. "Okay, do you see that stallion over there?" She pointed with her free hoof. "The one standing in line for coffee?"
The stallion in question seemed rather ordinary. He looked like every other businesspony in Manehattan, with a slicked-back mane, a short tail, and a no-nonsense expression. Magnate glanced between the stallion, Lovey, and his hoof clasped in hers. "Yes?"
"Close your eyes."
After a moment of reluctance, Magnate did so. "All right."
Lovey kept his hoof held to her chest and he felt her take in a slow, measured breath. Quietly, she instructed, "Now open them."
As he opened his eyes, his ear flicked at the sound of her exhaling, and his hoof twitched at the feeling of her heart suddenly fluttering. He jerked his head to the side to look at her and saw that her pupils were constricted, her gaze fixated firmly on the stallion across the street.
"Are you okay?" he asked, brow furrowed. "Your heart's racing."
When she looked up at him, her pupils dilated back to a normal size. "Yup!" She giggled. "That's part of how it works! When I focus on the stallion, I can see the glow around him. He's going to fall in love soon, and my heart says it's going to be very soon. His very special somepony-to-be is super close!"
Magnate stared at her as he tried to work it out. He felt her heartbeat start to calm down from its erratic dance, at which point he said, "I don't understand. If these... 'love lines' connect ponies fated to be together, then exactly what do you do?"
Lovey booped him on the nose with her free hoof. "Oh, don't be silly! Love lines don't decide who you'll be with. They decide who you'd be best with, but it's up to you to make the choice! I help ponies find the ends of their love lines so they can live happily ever after."
"Oh." He blinked. "And if they don't find the end?"
"Well, then, their love line seeks out the next pony meant for them." She giggled. "Nopony ends up alone unless they want to be, in which case they're not really alone, because that's such a sad and lonely word when they're not sad or lonely at all! Now, ponies are lonely all over Equestria, and that is really sad, but there's somepony out there for them. They just have to find them, or find somepony like me who can help them out! Of course, there's..."
Magnate's head moved to nod as though he were listening, but his mind was racing to other thoughts. If things didn't work out between them, Lovey could find somepony else. Her love line would take her to a better pony. That knowledge gave him some sense of relief.
He cleared his throat and waited for her to pause to catch her breath so he could interrupt, "Why don't we go home?" He glanced up at the sky. "I think rain is scheduled for this afternoon, and we still need to find a place for you to stay."
"Oh, right." Her ears drooped just slightly, but she perked back up as she squealed, "I'll race you there!"
"I'm not racing." Magnate frowned as he followed behind her at his usual pace.
"Then I'm going to win!"
"It's not a win if I'm not participating." He couldn't help crack a small smile despite his neutral tone.
Lovey tossed her head to stick her tongue out at him as she took to the sky, her wings spread out wide, each feather flared as if they all wanted a chance to feel the wind. He watched as she soared overhead and ignored her taunts to instead admire her physique. He never paid too much attention to pegasi, but she seemed to be in good form. Her long, flowing mane and tail whipped about as she did a barrel roll and cheered, "I'm winning!"
Magnate chuckled. "Yes, yes." He kept trotting along the sidewalk toward his apartment complex. "You're winning and losing."
"What?!" She swooped down and hovered just above him. "How can I be losing if I'm winning?"
Magnate tilted his head back to look up at her. "If you're the only pony participating, that means you're coming in first and last."
Lovey puffed out her cheeks, scrunched up her nose, and finally made a high-pitched harrumph of disdain before she dropped down. "You're a spoilsport. Magny, I swear on my honor as an ex-matchmaker that I will discover your sense of humor and reconnect the two of you! I don't know how long it will take but I will track it down!"
He did his very best not to grin. "I have a perfectly fine sense of humor."
She just stuck her tongue out at him.
"Let's focus on your situation first. You need a place to stay and a job to afford it." He started up the stairs toward his floor and his horn lit up to work the lock, but Lovey just turned the knob and let herself in. His jaw went slack. "What?"
Lovey turned to look at him, her head tilting. "What what?"
Magnate grumbled as he pulled the door shut and wiggled the knob. It was clearly, firmly locked. He cast the unlocking spell and pushed it open to peer at Lovey. "How did you unlock it?"
"The power, of course!" She beamed.
"What power?" He cautiously stepped inside, shutting the door behind him, and testing the lock once more after it clicked into place.
"The power of ardor!"
His ear flicked and he looked at her again to see her swaying from side to side, humming a little tune. Her merry expression made him smile until he realized he had forgotten what she said. The power of—"Who do?"
She jumped forward, wrapped her forelegs around his neck, and chirped, "You do!"
"Do what?"
"Remind me of my love!" She pecked a light kiss on his lips and giggled before she pulled back. "What are we doing?"
Magnate blinked a few times. "I was going to ask you the very same question." He sighed and rested his forehead to hers. "Can you just walk into anypony's home without having to unlock their door? Is this part of your love line power?"
"Huh? Oh, don't be silly!" She nuzzled their noses together. "When you unlock your door, there's a little song in the air, so I just sing it in my heart and the lock unlocks! It's like the key to your heart is in my heart, but the key to your home, which is very different but also not really if you think about it, because you love your privacy, so really, unlocking your home is quite a lot like unlocking your heart!"
After a quiet moment of trying to process this, Magnate grumbled, "This sounds like a defect in my magilock. I'll have to report it to the manufacturer immediately."
"If you say so! You would know best." She smiled. "What now?"
Magnate slipped out of her grasp and started over to the couch, his magic levitating the newspaper off the coffee table. "We see if there are any ads that strike your fancy. I suppose it wouldn't be fair to shove you into a new place without a steady income."
Just as he brought the newspaper over to read, Lovey dropped down onto the couch to sit in his lap. "Okay!"
He opened his mouth to protest, but when she nestled her back against his chest, a warm sensation that gripped his cheeks in a light blush argued otherwise. He raised his forelegs with the thought to hold her to him. They froze just as they twitched into action.
He should just hug her. She had done more than that. Tartarus, he had done more than that! They'd kissed. Hugging was much easier than that.
But this wouldn't be hugging. It would be cuddling. Was he ready for cuddling?
Deciding that the indecision was a clear sign that he wasn't, he lowered his forelegs back to his sides and did everything he could to focus on the newspaper hovering in front of them.
"Let's see," he said after clearing his throat, "there are several job opportunities. You could be a grocer."
Lovey gasped and clapped her hooves. "Just like Dad!"
"What?" He inclined his head to look down at her. "Your father's a grocer? For a grocery store? As in, a normal, ordinary grocer?"
She nodded idly. "Yup! Dad's a grocer. And Dad's a weatherpony. He specializes in snowstorms!" A hoof raised to tap on the newspaper. "Ooh, hey, look! I could also be a florist! That sounds like so much fun! I could help ponies find the perfect flowers for their perfect special somepony!" She gasped, snatched the newspaper from his magic's grasp, and squealed. "Oh, oh, oh! Magny, it's perfect! I can't let this opportunity pass by!"
"What oppor—"
"Toodles!" Lovey sprung into the air and her wings buzzed into action as she zipped to the door, which she slammed shut behind her.
That meant Magnate was left alone with his frown and his confusion. "... Okay." He sighed and leaned back into the couch, lifting his gaze to the ceiling.
So her father was an ordinary stallion. A weatherpony and a grocer. Likely the former during the cold months up north, if he specialized in snowstorms, and the latter the rest of the year. It was hard to believe that Lovey had such humble roots, but perhaps she got her eccentricities from her mother.
Poor stallion. He probably never got a word in with Lovey and her mother around. But then again, if she was anything like Lovey, then Magnate could understand why the stallion put up with it. The bubbling energy was infectious... which was a good thing. His world was full of color again, and he wanted it to stay that way.
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Lol I like Lovey, but being around her must be a bit of a chore conversationaly. I think I said this before, but I will say it again, Lovey Dovey is ADD incarnate. But I can see why Magnate would not be able to live without her. Her happiness is contagious; she smiles and therefore causes others to smile. That's why I like her.
I'm a bit lost at lovely's explanation about being able to unlock the door.
LOVEY! Amazing chapter, I love Lovey's character so much
I see someone is a fan of Pan's Labyrinth lol. I have to say its always funny to see what crazyness Lovey will do next. It always makes me smile. And then poor Magnate is left wondering what in the world just happened or how does it work. its always amusing to see and read! cant wait for next chapter.
If Pinkie became an Alicorn and inhabited Cadence's body, I think the result would act and sound a lot like Lovey.
This sums up the chapter nicely. Poor Magnate. With Lovey currently not following her passion all that extra energy has nowhere to go and Magnate is the recipient of a true over 100% Pink Pony Rampage. If something isn't done soon tomorrow's headline might read, "'Over 50,000 Ponies Matched and Married' Details on Pages 3-16".
The kind that made Angelina Jolie and Zoe Deschenal shit tons of money.
Silly Magnate, different people have different normals. Can't really expect someone to change their personality for a relationship, that's just not honest.
You know, I was rather wondering about that.
C'mon, Magnate, step up. She's already sitting in your lap, cuddling is hardly some advanced step past that.
I thought it was that bit from that David Bowie movie with him as goblin king.
Lovey makes me think Cadence and Pinkie Pie did some weird fusion dance given how random Lovey is about love.
Speaking as someone who does want to be alone, it's so refreshing to read this.
Lovey runs on a form of Pinkie logic? Because that's the vibe I'm getting
...
...
...
...
Sure. Why not?
6989771 Lovey is super fun to write. And, yes, that's Magnate's conundrum! He can't live without her, but living with her might prove equally difficult.
6989822 So is Magnate!
6989843 Thanks!! I love writing her.
6989920 Close! Labyrinth starring David Bowie. Big fan of that movie! The opportunity presented itself and I could not resist.
6990015 Hah!
6990034
Darn it, you ruined the whole plot! Now I have to quickly come up with a new one!
6990121 This is true... And Magnate does come from a wealthy family... Hmm...
6990180 Magnate's total lack of experience with relationships disagrees with you! He acts "normal", so why can't Lovey? It's not like it's hard! This is absolutely not a completely relevant point to the overarching plot whatsoever.
Yeah, I thought this would be a good opportunity to explain some love line lore. Lovey knows them better than most anypony else, second only to Cadence!
6990183 It was indeed, you are correct!
6990384 I believe no one is destined to be alone if they don't want to be and are willing to try. And in magical pony land, it's true!
6990465 Hahah. Lots of people see Pinkie in Lovey. Not my intention, but I get that the pink overload and excitableness can make some parallels. Lovey's really based off an old RP character of mine, so the similarities are coincidental, but at this point I think what I intended is moot.
6991690 Lovey says it with such conviction, so how can she be wrong?
You remind me of the babe.
(What babe?)
The babe with the power.
(What power?)
The Power of voodoo.
(Who do?)
You do.
(Do what?)
Remind me of the babe.
This was the bit sung in the movie.
6992507 I know the movie i just got the title wrong lol. but yes. When there is ever a chance for that, you jump on it lol
6992507
Nice try there, Crystal, but I know better than to argue with a mare once she's made up her mind about something.
I've got a number of stories on my various lists with casts like this. There's a relatively dour stallion who gets accosted by an overly vivacious mare. Of course it's the ever-popular opposites attract angle, and naturally they're pretty entertaining (especially with the mare's antics). However, things always work out well. Too well, now that I've been pondering things.
His annoyance is generally no more than flippant in the grand scheme of things. So, though it might not fit your intended story, I've recently been hoping to run across a story where he doesn't allow her to run roughshod over his personality in order to force him open. He might like her, but the constant in-his-face-ism is a deal breaker and she has to deal with running headlong into that wall. Because it's more than just getting him to open up, it's also getting her to calm down.
Anyway, enough of my idle musing. Carry on great Lovey. Here's hoping Magnate can keep up and also stay sane.
6993043 I definitely don't want to spoil anything, but I will say the following: I love happy endings, but I don't love handing them out without a caveat. I don't know if the direction will satisfy your hopes for an alternate path... But if I had to boil down my plans for this story into a single word, it would be: compromise.
Bah... how'd this sneak past me?!
Hmm, I wonder if when she said her dad twice if she doesn't have two dad's.
Well, I finally got around to reading the chapter. Magnate is so cute, he thinks he stands a chance. He's way out of his league, and unfortunately, he knows it. That little comment about her finding someone better than him will be a problem down the road...
And hey, we finally got the answer to how Lovey got her cutie mark in match making by getting her parents divorced! Gotta say, I wasn't expecting that answer, but I like it.
6995772 6996511 The phrasing about the paternal occupations is rather suspect, isn't it? Hmm hmm!
6996511
I was thinking she was just adopted by a gay couple, but your explanation would be so much funnier. Horrible, but funnier.
Am I a bad person for kind of hoping this relationship crashes and burns? I mean I don't wish misfortune on Lovey for its own sake, but she's coming on absurdly strong, and sometimes even the most promising relationships just trainwreck. She's buried so deep in her eldritch mojo that she seems to have rather little idea of how ponies work, and she seems to have no understanding whatsoever of failure as an abstract concept -- much less what to do if it happens.
7036454
Why would it be horrible? The thing you have to keep in mind is that Lovey wants one thing, and it colors almost every aspect of her life: She wants the ponies around her to be happy.
Do you really think she's the kind of pony who would use a talent if it had hurt ponies she cared about as much as her parents? Is she the type of pony who would base her entire life around a talent that she got by hurting the ponies closest to her?
If she saw her parents in a loveless marriage, one she knew they weren't happy with, what do you think she would do when she knew, beyond any doubt, that they would be happy if they were with different ponies? It wouldn't make them any less her parents, and it certainly wouldn't change how she felt about them, and it would make them happy, so why would it be a bad thing? If anything it just means that she now has twice as many parents as she did before, which, to her, would probably be a good thing.
As for her relationship with magnate, you are certainly right about her coming on strong, but I think you underestimate the thought she puts into this.
She definitely does understand that even her love lines aren't perfect, and any relationship can fail. In some of her appearances in other stories she's had to tell other ponies that a love line can fade or break if it's not taken care of; that just because two ponies are perfect together now doesn't mean that will always be the case unless they work at it.
I think part of why she may seem so... distanced from the more realistic side of a relationship is because of what those lines have done to her world view. As long as that line exists between her and Magnate, she knows, beyond any doubt whatsoever, that they're perfect for each other.
On of the biggest things, especially at the beginning of a relationship, is the fear and uncertainty of wondering whether it will all work out. Those little 'what if's and 'maybe's and self-doubts that pop up when you open yourself up to someone else that completely. You can see those in magnate, in his thoughts and hesitations.
But because of her ability to see the love lines, Lovey bypasses all of that. There's no hesitation, no doubt, no fear, because she knows that ass long as she has that line, she has nothing to worry about. It's not so much that she doesn't understand his hesitations, so much as she doesn't see them as a real problem. They're something he feels as an inevitable fact of life, and just as inevitably he'll move past them and they'll live happily ever after.
But you are certainly right that this relationship falling apart would crush her. And to a certain extent it'll happen. Magnate's little thoughts about how she would be better off with someone else are going to be a problem later on because he's falling right into one of the few things that can actually kill a love line.
Trying to keep up with Lovey is like trying to chase a rollercoaster! Or a bee that keeps stinging you with diabetes.
Either way!
Rip Magnate huehuehuehue
Golly, Lovey's powers matches pretty bloody closely with how I headcanon pegasi magic to work.