Libraries are usually supposed to be quiet.

Heck, most ponies wouldn't go to one if it wasn't a quiet space. However, at this time of night, the Ponyville Library stood still within the town for an unexpected reason. Even though nothing seemed out of the ordinary outside the large hollowed-out tree, with no noises or odd occurrences to disturb anypony nearby, the inside of the library was far less than ordinary.

Within the large tree, five ponies sat in silence as they looked on at the sixth across from them, each one carrying a different look of surprise as they stared.

Twilight Sparkle, the lavender Alicorn and recent new Princess of Equestria, could barely keep her eyes open as she repeatedly blinked in confusion. Even though her mouth was slightly open, nothing was coming out of her muzzle.

Applejack, the orange Earth Pony next to Twilight, carried an almost opposite look than her friend. Her eyes were wide open and unable to blink at all. Along with the look of surprise on her face, Applejack's mouth was clenched shut, not wanting to say anything off the top of her head and offend the pony across from her.

Next to her sat Fluttershy, the buttercream-colored Pegasus with a flowing light-pink mane. She kept her head hung low in an attempt to look away. However, her blue eyes still looked ahead of her while she tried to cover her shock, blinking a couple times as she tried to comprehend the sight in front of her.

The other Pegasus, Rainbow Dash, who sported a cyan coat and technicolor mane, could barely keep herself from cracking up as she sat next to Fluttershy. Staring at the pony in front of her, Rainbow's magenta eyes were as wide-open as her muzzle, which was slightly smirking as she tried to keep her rapid breathing from becoming full-blown laughter.

And at the end of the line of ponies sat Pinkie Pie, whose look was probably the most predictable of the five. Keeping a huge grin on her bright pink muzzle, the poofy-maned mare was starting to look antsy as her body bobbed up and down in excitement. Hearing what her good friend just told them, Pinkie was just about to burst out from her pillow on the floor at any moment, wanting to immediately celebrate Rarity's big announcement.

Feeling the five pairs of eyes on her, Rarity felt less than stellar as she sat across from them on the couch. Even though she felt extremely glad to finally come clean about this, the white unicorn felt a new fear sweep through her as she realized nopony had said anything for about a minute now.

Before the unicorn could start hyperventilating in panic, Rarity felt a warm hoof gently rest on her shoulder, making her feel slightly better as she breathed out deeply. While her heart was still thundering in her chest, Rarity felt more than grateful that she wasn't alone for this moment, causing her to blush as she felt the warmth of the one next to her.

Looking at the two across from her, Applejack finally closed her eyes, keeping them clenched shut as she lifted a hoof up to rub her temple. Even though she had no idea what to say right now, Applejack knew she had to break the awkward silence if nopony else was going to.

Slowly opening her eyes, Applejack readjusted the worn-down Stetson resting on her head before breathing in, sighing slightly as she began to speak.

"Rare, wha—”

"WHOOOOPEEEEEE!!!!!!" shouted Pinkie Pie as she suddenly shot up from her pillow.

Surprised by the sudden instance of noise in the deathly silent space, the other four ponies flinched away from Pinkie as she started hopping around everypony like a freshly caffeinated bunny.

"Ohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh!!!"

Jumping around the library in glee, Pinkie didn’t seem to notice how embarrassed Rarity was while she kept leaping around the hardwood floors, making an audible (and, somehow physically possible) “boing” noise with each hop as she kept speaking in an overjoyed tone.

"I can’t believe it! I mean, I should've known something was up with how weird you were acting but I just thought you were busy with a new dress design or something but I never thought it would be something like this, oh my gosh!!! I can't believe it finally happened!! After all this time trying to find somepony you finally did it, you finally found your special somepony!!!"

Hearing that word, Rarity couldn't hold back her embarrassment anymore as her head slumped down, making the unicorn rest her face in her well-manicured hooves before she heard the distinctive voice of Rainbow Dash starting to crack up.

Even though she didn’t want to offend Rarity and her new… partner, Rainbow Dash wasn't able to keep herself from cracking up any longer. She bent over, almost falling on the floor as she started laughing loudly.

"Oh, man!" Dash shouted as she tried to keep herself sitting upright on her pillow. "Wow, I mean, just… WOW!!! I knew you were having trouble finding a stallion, but I didn’t expect you to do this!"

Rarity's head shot back up as she heard that last statement, outraged as she glared at the Pegasus. Despite knowing how unusual this may have looked to her friends, Rarity certainly didn’t want any of them to think she did this out of anything like desperation or lack of options.

Before Rarity could open her muzzle and deliver a verbal onslaught to the laughing mare, Twilight was quick to start speaking first.

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted as she looked at the Pegasus trying to keep herself off the floor. "You shouldn't make any rude assumptions like that! She's our friend, and doesn’t deserve to be laughed at!"

Feeling the alicorn's stare on her, Rainbow Dash tried to withdraw her laughter and started breathing heavily on her pillow. Grateful that her friend was able to stand up for her like this, Rarity felt a weak smile grow on her muzzle as the Princess continued to speak.

"Rarity was willing to inform us about something this important happening in her life, and the last thing that she needs is to hear any ridicule about it! I really think that, right now, we should show our support for Rarity and her…."

Looking back to the two on the couch across from her, Twilight's voice died out as she looked at them, thinking a little bit before she looked back to her friends with a skewed eyebrow.

"Wait," Twilight said in confusion, "what would the proper term for this be? I mean, is 'special somepony' really appropriate?"

Hearing how the Princess placed emphasis on the word 'pony' in her question, Pinkie Pie's hopping stopped in midair. Pinkie pondered the question for a few seconds before she dropped back down to the floor.

Realizing the point Twilight was trying to make, Pinkie looked back to the two on the couch with her head turned sideways, trying to figure the question out while Fluttershy began to fidget in her spot.

Almost unnoticed by everypony in the room, Fluttershy kept her feeble stance on her pillow as she opened her muzzle, luckily able to catch the attention of the other mares as her voice came out in a meager tone.

"I… I'm not really sure,” said Fluttershy as she looked over to Twilight. "I… I mean, technically, they are both equines, but..."

Even though she figured she brought up a valid point, Fluttershy's voice died back down as her head sunk back downwards in a feeble position, staring back at Rarity as she sat nervously on the couch.

Hoping to actually get her question out this time, Applejack raised a hoof in an attempt to silence her friends. As the others turned their attention back to her, Applejack breathed in again and looked at Rarity, keeping her eyes on her as she spoke in a tone of slight disbelief.

"So, let me get this straight, Rare. Are you seriously tellin’ us that you..."

Applejack pointed a hoof at the unicorn, making Rarity fidget a little on the couch as she noticed how surprised Applejack still looked.

“... You...” continued Applejack in a staggered tone of voice, "are really in a relationship with...

“ … Her?!"

Applejack then directed her hoof towards the one sitting next to Rarity on the couch, making the unicorn wince a bit as she looked over to her side.

While it was obvious Rarity still felt a tad disheveled about all of this, none of this seemed to bother Zecora one bit as she sat beside her. Even with the eyes of everypony else now upon her, the zebra kept her cool as she looked back at them, keeping a collected smile on her face as she lifted one of her forelegs and held Rarity closer.

Knowing that she'd kept herself silent up to this point, Zecora cleared her throat while keeping a hoof on Rarity's shoulder, hoping to answer for the unicorn as she addressed Applejack.

"Applejack… while this news might seem odd, and out of the blue…
I should assure all of you, that her words are indeed true."

Despite being glad that the zebra was standing up for her, Rarity still blushed deeply as her head hung slightly lower, not wanting to see the looks of surprise and confusion from her friends sitting across from her and Zecora. While she couldn't blame her friends one bit for acting this way, knowing how surprising it had to be to find out something like this, Rarity was still afraid of what her new relationship would mean to her friends.

Before either of them could speak up regarding this news, the sound of Rainbow Dash's muffled snickering made everypony else turn their attention to her. Before any of the mares could say anything to make her stop, Rainbow kept her head hung low as she shook her hoof, trying to breathe normally before speaking in a tone of disbelief.

"I'm seriously trying not to laugh right now… I mean, good for you, I guess, but… this is probably the weirdest thing I've ever seen!"

Rarity huffed a little and turned away from Rainbow Dash, keeping an obvious pout on her muzzle as she avoided looking at Pegasus's poor attempts to stifle her laughter.

Even though she wanted to lecture Rainbow at that instant for acting so insensitive about this, Twilight Sparkle knew that the mare's actions weren't exactly without reason. After hearing what Rarity said, the Princess had to slightly agree with Rainbow Dash; even with everything they've all been through, seeing one of their friends in a relationship like this really was weird.

Before the discussion could get any more awkward—as if it couldn't be any worse—Twilight cleared her throat and turned her attention back to Rarity and Zecora. Noticing how the two were sitting closely to each other, Twilight bit her lip for a second as she tried to think of the right words, taking a breath before she started her question.

"So… Rarity… you're with… a zebra..."

Despite her mental restraints wanting to keep her from continuing like this, Rarity slowly turned back toward her friends as she looked at Twilight, breathing in deeply before she answered in a meek tone.

"Well… yes… I… I am."

Rarity sighed in relief as she finally said that, glad that she was able to finally be open about this. Zecora moved her foreleg further out and rested it around Rarity, a smile growing on her muzzle as she held the unicorn in warm pride. Before the zebra could say or do anything to show how happy she was for Rarity, Pinkie Pie's head popped out from between then, startling them both as she peered from behind the couch and started chattering again while looking at the two.

"Oh my gosh, tell us everything!! I want to know every little, bitty witty, cutesy-wootsie little detail about you two!! How did you meet, when did you get together, have you kissed, when did you kiss, how many times did you kiss, how much was with tongue, did it taste really weird, I mean ohmigosh!!!! I'm soooooooo excited!!! You found a special some… whatever, and we're the very first ones to find out about it!!!"

Despite how overjoyed Pinkie looked as she stared between them, Rarity suddenly looked more guilty as she struggled to keep a smile on her muzzle. Hearing Pinkie's last statement, the unicorn now looked even worse as she felt everypony's eyes on her. She started to sweat as she realized what she had to admit.

"Umm..." Rarity scooted a few inches from Pinkie Pie's gleeful face and tried to get some space, feeling herself start to blush as she looked over at her friends and began to speak in slight shame.

"Actually, I…”

Quickly realizing what Rarity was trying to muster out, the other mares' eyes widened in shock as they looked at the embarrassed unicorn.

"Wait a gosh-darn minute,” said Applejack in a slightly aggravated tone as she eyed down Rarity from her pillow. "Are ya sayin' that we ain't the first ones ya told about this?!"

Biting her lip, Rarity turned away from her friends and avoided their gazes, waiting a moment before she slowly nodded. As she heard the mares gasp, Rarity cringed a little before Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"No way!" Dash said in a more upbeat tone than Applejack's as she stared at Rarity, wide-eyed. "Who else knows about this? Sweetie Belle? Lyra? Those spa ladies you're always hanging out with?"

Even with her blush growing deeper against her white coat, Rarity was still able to shake her head at her friend's guesses before trying to speak sheepishly.

"N.. n-no…”

Before any more words could come from the unicorn's muzzle, Zecora's foreleg held onto the mare's shoulders slightly tighter, making Rarity stop speaking as the zebra spoke for her.

"Although I do feel it is right to say who…"

Zecora's gaze then slowly went past the mares in front of her and looked over to the stairway behind them, making her grow a slight grin as she finished her rhyme.

"It might be better if he said it to you…"

The other five ponies suddenly turned their heads to the stairway with wide-open eyes and stared at the purple dragon, who had been standing away from them the whole time. Seeing the five pairs of shocked eyes on him, the baby dragon's body shook a little as he tried to say anything, even though no words were coming out of his open mouth.

Realizing why Spike wasn't acting as shocked about Rarity's announcement as the rest of them, Twilight Sparkle's eyes narrowed on her assistant as her gaze turned from surprise to slight anger.

"Spike…” Twilight asked in a deep, brooding tone, "Did you know about this?"

Spike gulped as he saw how upset Twilight was getting, making him even more worried as he tried to back away a couple steps. Seeing how the other four mares were now looking at him with a mix of surprise and disbelief from this revelation, Spike bit his lip and stood in silence for a few seconds.

Realizing what he had to say, Spike took a deep breath as he looked at the ponies staring at him. Hoping he could deal with this safely, Spike looked around the library for a moment before he suddenly looked up to the roof and pointed in shock.

"Look,” shouted the dragon, "a robot!"

Unfortunately, only Pinkie Pie looked up to the roof, while the others kept their eyes on Spike as he tried to quickly run away.

Despite what he thought would be a good plan, Spike was only able to run away two steps before he became enveloped in Twilight's aura. Keeping a tight magical grip on her assistant, Twilight dragged the dragon back to the middle of the room between everypony, making Spike start shaking even more as the other mares kept their annoyed glares on him.

The only pony who wasn't staring at the terrified dragon was Applejack, who had her attention on Pinkie Pie with a look of bemused astonishment.

"Pinkie,” said Applejack in a deadpan tone, "did ya seriously fall for that?"

Pinkie only blinked a couple times as she looked back at Applejack with a confused look on her face. “What?" she asked in a more oblivious tone of voice. "What if there was a robot?"

Shaking her head as she just groaned in response, Applejack turned her attention back to Spike, who was standing frozen in his spot as he tried to speak.

"I… I…"

Despite not wanting to get in any more trouble than he was probably already in, Spike shook with fear as he tried to muster out any legitimate response. While he really didn't want to be here right now, the dragon knew what he was getting into the moment he found about all this a long time ago. Taking a deep breath, Spike clenched his eyes shut, gripping his claws into fists before he blurted out his admission.

"Alright, alright! I knew about it, okay?! I knew about Rarity and Zecora! I knew about it the whole time! When I walked in on them, Rarity made me Pinkie Promise not to say anything, so I've been covering for them! Okay?!"

Opening his eyes after his confession, Spike started breathing loudly as he looked around, seeing Twilight and the others staring at him in wide-eyed shock. Noticing how flustered Spike looked at saying that, Rarity looked away from everypony in guilt, feeling horrible about making him keep this a secret.

Before Twilight could say anything or overcome her stunned silence, Spike looked up to her with guilty eyes. He stood in front of everypony, breathing in one more time before he spoke faintly.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Twilight. I'm really sorry about keeping this from you."

Realizing how ashamed the baby dragon looked about this, Twilight quickly lunged forward toward Spike, hugging him tightly before he could start tearing up.

"It's alright, Spike,” said Twilight as she closed her eyes, keeping her hooves around him as she spoke in a warm tone of voice. "I'm not mad at you, I swear."

Still leaning on the back of the couch during all this, Pinkie Pie quickly spoke up towards Spike as she added her input.

"I'm not mad either!” said Pinkie in a happy tone. "You were just keeping a Pinkie Promise, so I understand completely!"

As Spike pulled back from Twilight's caring hug, he saw that the other three weren't upset about it either.

"Yeah, don't cha worry none, Spike,” said Applejack with a smile on her freckled face. "You were just helpin' out a friend."

While Fluttershy just nodded in agreement, Rainbow Dash spoke up as she gave a slight smirk to the dragon.

"Yeah, it's fine, dude,” Dash said in a carefree tone. "I mean, I wish I knew about this sooner, but I can respect you for helping out Rarity like that."

Hearing their praises, Spike grew a smile on his blushing face and tried not to cry in front of them. With Rarity sitting behind him with a warm smile of gratitude of her own, Spike quickly wiped his eyes dry with a forearm as he spoke graciously.

"Th-thanks, guys. I… I was really worried about how you would all act about this." Looking back up to see how alright the mares looked, Spike kept his smile as he blushed a little more. "Seriously, you have no idea how freaked out I was getting the past couple of months because of thi—”

"WHAT?!?!” all five shouted in unison.

Realizing what he’d accidentally blurted, Spike ran away to the side of the sofa. Fortunately, Twilight didn't try to pull him back in this time, as her attention focused on Rarity with the rest of the mares.

"MONTHS?!” shouted Twilight with a mix of anger and shock. "You had Spike keep this a secret for months?!"

"Well,” said Rarity as she tried not to wince at her friends' looks of shock, "technically, it was more like a month and a half, but—"

"How long were you going to keep this up?!" Twilight said in a more distressed tone of voice. "How long has this been going on? Why did you keep this a secret for so long?"

While Twilight kept her confused glare on Rarity, Rainbow Dash's stare amounted to just a skewed eyebrow as she intervened.

"Wait a minute,” Dash said curiously, "is that why Spike was hanging out at the Boutique so much?"

Applejack's ears perked up as she realized how much was going on, making her include her own question before Rarity could answer Rainbow's.

"Was that why you were always walkin' past my farm to the Everfree Forest?"

Pinkie quickly added a question of her own as she looked down at Rarity from the top of the sofa.

"Or why you were walking really funny that one day?"

"Of course not!" Rarity blurted as she looked up at Pinkie, wanting to clear up that answer first before anypony got any ideas. "I told you, I sprained my hindlegs after slipping on the bathroom floor!"

Rarity then turned back to the others, who were now staring at her with blushes on their faces, before she tried to confirm her statement. "I really wasn't lying about that, I swear! That had nothing to do with Zecora!"

"Oh Rarity, oh my…” Zecora said as a surly grin came up on her muzzle, "You really shouldn't lie—"

"Don't you dare say that!" snapped Rarity as she pointed a hoof to the grinning zebra in frustrated annoyance. "I don't want my friends to think anything like that is going on!"

Hearing that, Rainbow Dash tried not to giggle as she spoke up. "Yeah, that ship already sailed a while ago, Rare."

As Rarity turned back to the Pegasus to give her a particularly nasty glare, none of the ponies noticed Fluttershy try to reposition herself on the pillow, trembling a little as she opened her muzzle and attempted to speak.

"Umm… Rarity?"

Despite still wanting to give a stern stare-down to Rainbow Dash, Rarity breathed in to calm herself down before looking over to Fluttershy and asking in a more collected tone, "Yes?"

"Was… was that…" Fluttershy began blushing as she tried to muster out her question, shaking a little before she finally completed it in a sheepish tone.

"Was that why… why you had that hickie on your neck the other day?"

Rarity's hooves shot up to cover her face, which was quickly blushing to a deep red as she felt the stares of everypony now on her in shock and curiosity.

"I KNEW IT!!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she bolted up from her pillow and pointed straight at Rarity with a smug grin on her face. "I knew you were lying about that! There was no way that Swee—”

"Alright, alright already!" Rarity yelled, trying to interrupt Dash’s bragging.

Looking to her friends, Rarity started breathing hard as she realized what had to be done. After looking back to Spike, who was standing next to her beside the sofa, Rarity closed her eyes and turned back to the others, taking a breath before she spoke in a calm tone of voice.

"Okay, I understand that there are a lot of things that need to be cleared up about this."

Opening her eyes, Rarity looked around to everypony before she repositioned herself on the couch, making herself more comfortable with Zecora by her side before she continued, "I'll tell you girls as much as I can. I'll tell you about how this all started, but I greatly wish that you keep all your questions to yourselves until after I'm done."

Looking around, Rarity was pleased to see all her friends nod in agreement, making the unicorn smile a little before she rested her back against the couch. She took another calming breath before she continued to speak.

"Now… I'm not sure where the best place to start would be, but I think I have a good idea of when it all began…”