"So I had to make up an excuse, right on the spot for why I didn't have this mare's fashion show review, when the issue was due to be printed in two days." Fancypants said, giving a hearty laugh. "I've never written a review so fast in my life, and I was hung over at the time too." He blushed for a moment and chuckled, looking to the side. "Forgive my candor." Rarity giggled before taking a sip of her sparkling water.

"Oh, believe me, I wouldn't judge you a bit." Rarity replied. "I actually happen to know how it feels and I empathize." Rarity didn't mention that the last time she'd gotten more than drunk, she had no hangover at all the next day. She'd had her fair share, but in all fairness it'd been a while.

"Well, still. I sounded a bit brazen around such a lady." He said, causing Rarity to blush and giggle.

"Oh, you flatter me." She said. "I must say, I don't think I've been this full in quite a while." During their meal, Fancypants had asked her about her situation with the lawsuit. Of course Rarity was hesitant to talk about it at first, but after repeated insistence from Fancypants, she gave in. She'd described how her court costs alone would put her in deep financial debt. Fancypants had mentioned the name of a lawyer that definitely sounded important, who was a friend of his, and would take over Rarity's case. She'd been quite tense for the first half of their date, and had wanted it to simply be a meet-up between acquaintances. But when he'd assured her of her future with the boutique, she loosened and had even had a few drinks, and more surprising to her than that, she began to see the date as something more than just acquaintances getting together. She really liked this stallion. Perhaps her longtime crush had been right on the money.

"Well, I can take you home so you can rest, if you'd like." Fancypants said, a warm smile on his face. "It's a short walk, but I'd like to go with you all the same." Rarity smiled and nodded, standing from her seat and thanking the waiter as he passed by. He smiled, and Rarity thought she had detected a moment of sympathy on his face before he departed. This had been the second time she'd had Cafe Du Mane this week, but besides Sugarcube Corner, it was the only remotely upscale eatery in Ponyville. The two ponies left the building, Fancypants having settled up and left quite the generous tip.

"It must be nice living so close to such a fine restaurant." Fancypants said, looking back at Cafe Du Mane with genuine fondness.

"It's nothing compared to the restaurants in Canterlot, I'm sure. I've only been to two or three of them and they were all much more beautiful than that place." Rarity sighed, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, after a while all the opulence of each and every one of Canterlot's restaurants gets quite boring. That place has a very welcoming atmosphere, and the staff are kind and patient, as of both times I've eaten there. It has quaint decorations that aren't excessive and compliment the overall theme of the restaurant, but don't overshadow it." He explained to her, before widening his eyes for a moment. "That's it! I'll write a review for Quill's column! I'll talk about how much I love it and ponies from Canterlot and all around will come to sample it. That alone will bring quite the money into Ponyville."

"Fancypants...I don't know what to say." Rarity said with a small laugh, as they arrived at Carousel boutique. "I mean, I agree on each of those points...And Ponyville has needed something like that for a long time!" Looking at him sideways with a smile, she giggled. "I'm quite happy you decided to take me out today."

"Well then, would you like me to take you out again?" Fancypants asked Rarity, making her heart skip a beat as she blushed deeply. "I have to go back to Canterlot today, but say...next week? Maybe Saturday or Sunday?"

"S-Sunday works." Rarity replied simply, stunned at her insane luck.

"Wonderful." He said. "I'll get back to you with some updates via letter in the interim, or if you'd prefer I could share things with you during our next date."

"Whatever you decide is fine." Rarity stated quietly as before, through a small smile on her lips. She shot her head forward and gave Fancypants a quick kiss on the lips, and the stallion smiled widely as she stepped back. Neither of them said anything for a time, the two ponies looking around awkwardly before Rarity piped up: "So next week, then?" She asked, as she opened the door to the boutique.

"Yes." Fancypants replied, also smiling.

"Alright...See you then." Rarity said before shutting the door and leaning back on it, breathing deeply. She'd just kissed Fancypants, the stallion she'd spent the better part of her life pining for. Without thinking about it, she let out a small squeal and jumped up and down for a moment. Opalescence, attracted by the noise and hungry for her late breakfast, walked into the room on Rarity mid-celebration.

"Opal, it's incredible! It finally happened! I'd been dreaming of this since my teens!" She screamed, actually scaring her cat away. "Oh, goddesses, I have to tell the girls! I have to tell-" She stopped herself mid sentence, when there came a name into her mind. A name that almost completely drained the happiness of the moment she'd been having. "Fluttershy..." Rarity almost whispered to herself, plopping her flank onto the ground and lowering her ears.

As she walked to Fluttershy's cabin, Rarity steeled herself for what was to come. She knew Fluttershy would either be aching to reconcile and continue their relationship, which sounded good to Rarity, or she'd be cold and that Rarity would have to fight just to keep the pegasus as a friend. Either way, she felt the need to talk to Fluttershy about the situation with Fancypants. Feeling intensely conflicted, Rarity wanted to be with Fluttershy, but she was also riding high on the excitement of dating the stallion she'd been enthralled by since she was an adolescent. Rarity didn't know what she'd say to her, even as she approached Fluttershy's cottage.

"Oh, goddesses, this won't be fun." Rarity said to herself.

Giving a swift triplet of knocks on Fluttershy's door, Rarity waited for a few moments before knocking again. Shortly after the second triplet, Fluttershy opened the door, looking wilted and definitely not like her normal self. The pegasus' expression hardened upon seeing Rarity. She fully opened the door and stood there, an eyebrow raised.

"Hello, dear." Rarity said with a small laugh. "How are you since the other night?

"I've been better." Fluttershy replied, devoid of her usual sweetness. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to come over and have a good talk with you." Rarity said with a small smile. "You know...See how you're feeling about...everything?" Fluttershy gave a small nod and went inside, leaving the door open, Rarity assumed for her. Fluttershy sat in the living room, and watched Rarity as she walked across the room and took a seat of her own. There was a distance between the two that made Rarity uncomfortable. Many seconds of silence passed, Fluttershy simply sitting where she was, nonplussed.

"Okay, I suppose I'll start." Rarity sighed. "I was feeling very bad after our conversation the other night outside Cafe Du Mane. I wanted to see if...you wanted...Agh I'm so bad at this." Rarity let out a small laugh.

"It's okay." Fluttershy said. "I heard you talking to Fancypants. I can tell you're more interested in him." Rarity raised her brows and blushed heavily at this new information.

"I...I didn't know you'd heard that." Rarity said, a bit stunned. "Well yes, I met him for lunch today, and he's actually quite nice. He will be helping me with the court case, which will save the boutique. We talked about going out again next week. I also came here to tell you that."

"Alright then." Fluttershy deadpanned, making Rarity's heartrate quicken.

"Well...I mean..." Rarity stammered, a droplet of sweat subtly leaking down her forehead. "What do you think about that? After our last conversation, I was convinced that you'd broken up with me...I'm trying to have a conversation with you, to see how you feel, so we can go from here."

"Okay, this is how I feel:" Fluttershy stated, not aggressively, but still in a way that made Rarity's mouth seal shut. "I feel like it didn't take you very long at all to move on from me, so I'm hurt in that vein. But, I can tell that from the start, your heart wasn't in this."

"No, Fluttershy, that's not-" Rarity began.

"Rarity, it's fine. You don't have to try to save my feelings. I know you didn't really want this in the first place, that it was you experimenting. Sometimes these experiments don't work out. It'll take a while to heal, but I'm fine with you doing what you want here. You obviously have strong feelings for Fancypants, so I won't get in the way of that." Fluttershy stated. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Rarity was slightly stunned.

"Fluttershy, it's not that I didn't want something with you...I mean, we had broken up..." Rarity said quietly.

"I wouldn't say that, that wasn't the message I was trying to convey, but I understand how you could get that feeling." Fluttershy said, surprisingly evenly for this subject which clearly held a lot of emotional weight for her. "It's fine, Rarity. Date Fancypants. Again, just being real with you, it will take a while for me to heal. But at the end of the day, it just wasn't meant to be. I was actually in the middle of making some carrot stew, if you'd like to stay to have some." Rarity shook her head subtly as she stood up.

"No thank you." Rarity said, still somewhat quietly. "I wish this could have ended less painfully."

"There's pain, sure, but also a lesson." Fluttershy replied, as she stood herself. "Are you sure you don't want to have a cup of tea at least?"

"N-No I'm alright." Rarity said, sensing that it would be better for her to leave the cottage. "I have to get back to the boutique to handle some things. Are you sure you're okay?" Fluttershy nodded.

"I will be, yes." Fluttershy replied. "Like I said, it will take a little while for me to heal, but I'll be fine. I'm an adult."Rarity nodded and walked to her now-former marefriend and gave her a hug, which Fluttershy returned.

"I'm glad we can still be friends." Rarity said, as they separated. "It would be hard not to have you in my life." Fluttershy gave a small smile, which quickly fell away.

"We always will be." Fluttershy replied, but it was a bit difficult for Rarity to believe it. There was a...stiffness between them now. There were no witty quips, there was no adoration or happiness. There were just their eyes, looking into each other's then away just as quickly. "Be safe on your way home. I'll see you sometime later."

"Yes, right." Rarity said with a small smile and a nod, moving to leave. "Thank you for understanding, Fluttershy."

"Thank you for being up front." Fluttershy replied, giving a small wave to Rarity who was a ways down her walk, and who looked at her with sorrowful eyes.

'This is what's best, right?' Rarity thought to herself, watching Fluttershy wave at her with a warm smile and heartbroken eyes. 'The boutique isn't going to go under, you're going to be dating Fancypants, things are going to work out. And like she said, she'll heal.' Rarity turned her head and her stomach churned, no matter how many justifications her mind put out.

Fluttershy closed the door, and stood at it for a minute or so, her breathing escalating. Her knees began to tremble and after a moment of that they buckled. Tears had started welling in her eyes the moment she'd closed the door, and they now were spilling down her cheeks in steady streams. Her breathing trembled as she inhaled and let out a flurry of devastated sobs.

One Month Later

Rainbow, letting out a heavy breath, spun and bucked the apple tree with all of her might. Apples rained down from the branches and fell into their buckets, making the pegasus let out a whoop in celebration. Applejack, who'd just bucked a tree herself, laughed happily. The farm mare raised an eyebrow, giving Rainbow Dash applause as she walked over to her. Rainbow sat an nuzzled her wife, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Starting tomorrow, it'll be just me out here." Rainbow said. "After eight months of zero physical labor, you're gonna have to work hard to catch up with me." Applejack ruffled Rainbow's mane, making her laugh sweetly.

"Well a few days of this morning sickness, and you'd be begging me to take the pain away. Ah'm doin' work of my own. Besides," She stood and ran up to a tree, casually giving it a buck, making all the apples fall from it. Rainbow, who'd been putting her all into each buck gawked at Applejack's casual effort. "Ah don't think Ah'll have too far to go till I get better than you at this again." Rainbow smirked wryly and stood herself.

"Well, I'll have to just work extra hard then!" Rainbow spouted, giving another tree a buck, loosing most of the apples. However, her attempt to make it look casual like Applejack's last buck had resulted in less returns.

"Yeah, good luck." Applejack chuckled. "Ah don't think it'll be so bad, it bein' just me runnin' the stand in town. Ah can catch up on some readin'."

"Ooh! Read the Daring Do books!" Rainbow said happily. "They're my favorite!"

"Well, Ah imagine Ah'll have the time." Applejack replied. "You about ready to pack it in for the day?"

"Why are you so ready to end your last day of work?" Rainbow asked, picking up an apple from the ground and tossing it into a bucket.

"Rainbow, we've been workin' for an extra hour, and we've doubled our quota for today." Applejack deadpanned. "And contrary to how easily Ah've been out-buckin' ya this whole time, Ah do tend to fatigue easier when Ah'm three months pregnant. Ah mean, Ah have an actual baby bump now." Applejack turned and Rainbow might as well have had hearts in her eyes. The confident pegasus had always turned to jelly at seeing her pregnant wife's belly, unable to handle how cute it was.

"Oh my gosh, so so cuuuute." Rainbow gushed, giving her wife a tight hug. Applejack laughed and hugged Rainbow back, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Seriously, though. Ah'm beat, and Ah think we're good to stop. Wanna go grab some food somewhere?" Applejack asked. "Ah was thinking Sugarcube Corner?" Rainbow nodded vigorously, running and lifting a bucket of apples up into the cart.

"Let's go!" Rainbow said, grunting as she lifted a second bucket. "I just now realized how hungry I am!

It didn't take very long for the two of them to load the cart down completely. Applejack hooked Rainbow Dash up to the hitch. Despite straining for a moment, Rainbow got the cart moving. She pulled it easily enough, although it wasn't with no effort.

"Where exactly-Urgh-" Rainbow strained as she pulled a wheel over a rather pronounced root. "Where's Big Mac?" Applejack, seeing the hill they were approaching, moved behind the cart and began to push, assisting her wife up the hill.

"He's got a date with Cheerilee right now." Applejack replied, her added effort making the trip uphill much less of an issue. "Ah imagine he'll be makin' up for missing today."

"Geez, he's over there so much." Rainbow said. "You'd think Cheerilee would have to teach Applebloom and Scootaloo in a wheelchair." Applejack laughed loudly, losing some strength right at the top of the hill, causing Rainbow to pull harder, her eyes widening slightly. Applejack laughed hard, steadying herself against the cart and preventing its movement. Rainbow, when she no longer had to keep the cart from rolling downhill, laughed as well.

"Oh, that was a good one, baby." Applejack breathed as she began to push again. Rainbow pulled and giggled.

"Well I am pretty funny." Rainbow said, pulling the cart into the barn. "It just flows, you know? Is it sexy?" Applejack sighed and put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder.

"You know it is." Applejack said with a raised eyebrow. "But you know what's even sexier? Modesty." Rainbow scoffed and rolled her eyes as they left the barn.

"Modesty isn't a word I understand." Rainbow replied as they entered the house.

"That's a fact, and its a wonder to me that my grandbaby still married you." Granny Smith stated. She was busy knitting in her chair, and they hadn't noticed her so her sudden remark had made Rainbow jump. "You sure can back it up, but it wouldn't kill ya to be humble once in a while, Dash." Rainbow giggled and rubbed the back of her head.

"Yeah I know, Granny." Rainbow said sheepishly.

"We're gonna go get ready and go to Sugarcube Corner." Applejack said to her grandmother. "Want us to bring ya anything back?" Granny thought for a moment, resting her head in her hoof.

"Ah'll take a cupcake. Chocolate. Been eatin' apples so much lately its like applesauce has replaced the blood in my veins." Granny Stated with a nod.

"Alright, gross. Chocolate cupcake it is." Applejack laughed, as she and her wife went to their bathroom. Rainbow, as was customary, requested a bout of intimacy in the shower. And as was usual, Applejack refused, as Granny was right in the other room. Rainbow pouted as she cleaned herself, and Applejack delighted in how adorably Rainbow Dash pouted. They promptly dried themselves off, and were leaving soon after.

"My, that was quick." Granny said as they were leaving. "Ah guess y'all decided not to-"

"Alright, thanks Granny, we'll bring you that cupcake!" Applejack said quickly, pushing a laughing Rainbow Dash out through the door. Still laughing, Rainbow began to cough for a moment, wiping her mouth when she was done.

"AJ, why are you so weird about that stuff?" Rainbow asked. "You know she knows we do it."

"Well, that ain't your granny." Applejack replied, raising an eyebrow above the other furrowed one. "Ah'm sure you can figure out why it's just a little bit weird for me."

"Hey, she's my granny in law." Rainbow said in a mock-serious tone. "It's plenty weird for me too." Applejack laughed and sighed.

"If you say so." She replied. The walk to Ponyville was calming and happy, as it usually was for Rainbow and Applejack when they walked together. Somewhere before they arrived, Rainbow got the idea of challenging her wife to a race. She thought better of it however, looking at the baby bump Applejack now sported.

"Gah, I wish that we could race or something." Rainbow said, giving off a small sigh. This made Applejack frown, and she looked at her wife. She was smiling, but a small hint of want was present in her eyes.

"Who says we can't race?" Applejack asked. "Ah ain't got any 'bump', pretty much."

"Well, you say that..." Rainbow said, before looking down at her wife's belly. It was true, Rainbow could see the bump as it was beginning to form, but anyone not looking for it probably wouldn't be able to. Applejack slapped Rainbow's shoulder, making her laugh.

"Alright, race to Sugarcube Corner." Applejack stated, very slightly offended at Rainbow's implication.

"AJ, it's like twelve-thirty." Rainbow replied. "There's gonna be a lot of ponies out and about."

"Oh, so now the prospect of a race is making you nervous." Applejack scoffed. "Ah'll just consider this you forfeiting, and it'll go down as a win for me." Rainbow chuckled and shook her head.

"Hey, if you want to race me for a sec, then get tired and lose, that's up to you." Rainbow said, doing a stretch. "You sure about thi-" Rainbow almost gasped when Applejack shot past her, making her mane blow in the wind for a moment. Rainbow took off after Applejack, but despite her expectations, found it difficult to close the distance. She'd gotten somewhat closer to accomplishing this as they reached Ponyville, but Applejack had beaten her by a good margin.

"Well, well, well..." Applejack laughed, shaking her head. "Looks like its time for you to recant." Applejack poked her wife in the chest, and Rainbow laughed putting a hoof up.

"Okay, okay! Fine, you're still very capable, despite your pregnancy." Rainbow said, the last bits of her laugh still coming through her words. "Happy?" Applejack gave a small nod and they approached Sugarcube Corner. They opened the door and Pinkie Pie's constantly-high-on-life voice came through instantly as she happily chatted with some pony. Rainbow looked at Applejack and raised her eyebrows.

"Sounds like she's feeling pretty hyper." Rainbow said. "You know, its not too late to go to Cafe Du Mane."

"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie's voice called, seemingly on cue. Rainbow sighed and gave a small shrug.

"We been to Cafe Du Mane a lot lately anyways." Applejack sighed before nodding at the door. Rainbow, giving a small eye-roll and entered the confectionery, followed by Applejack. Pinkie Pie had been chatting it up with Amethyst Star, who Rainbow and Applejack hadn't seen in several months. The unicorn gave a happy wave to the couple as they walked in.

"Pinkie, I'm curious, how exactly did you know it was them before the door was even open all the way?" Amethyst asked.

"Oh, I saw a glimpse of Rainbow's light blue coat! Then a bit of AJ's blonde mane." Pinkie replied.

"But the door was only open an inch or two...And you were in the middle of talking to me. Like, mid-sentence." Amethyst said.

"Amethyst, Pinkie somehow has abilities beyond any of our comprehension." Rainbow said, approaching the counter. "It's something you come to understand when you're friends with her."

"Must be a wild life." Amethyst replied, giving a small laugh and a hug to Rainbow. She did the same with Applejack. "How have you guys been?"

"Well, we've been pretty great, actually." Applejack said. "Ah'm uh...Ah'm pregnant." Amethyst's eyes widened slightly and she smiled, letting out a small laugh.

"That's...That's amazing!" She said. "Oh my goddesses, I'm so excited for you two!" She gave them another hug, and Rainbow laughed as well and looked at her wife, perhaps a bit of disbelief in there.

"Thanks!" Rainbow chirped happily. "Y'know, we're moving through life and stuff. How about you?" Amethyst blushed and she looked at the small bag she was carrying next to her, levitating with her magic.

"Well, I'm putting myself out there." Amethyst replied. "I got a treat for this stallion I'm going to see tonight. This is our...third date." Rainbow raised an eyebrow and Applejack gave a genuine smile.

"Ooh, third date, huh?" Rainbow asked, making a clear implication, earning an elbow in her ribs from Applejack. "Ow!" She grumbled and rubbed the area that was elbowed.

"Well that's very nice, Amethyst." Applejack said politely, her wife nodding in agreement.

"Thank you. We'll see where it goes." The unicorn said with a small laugh before moving to leave. "Congratulations again, guys!" She turned her head as she walked out the door.

"Dashie, Applejack, romance is in the air, and it's amazing!" The pink pony cried out, bouncing behind the counter. "You know, Rainbow, she bought her stallion the same chocolate heart you bought for AJ here." Rainbow blushed and looked at Applejack, who was struck silent herself.

"Geez, that was more than two years ago now...Well give or take a month or two." Rainbow laughed. "I'd forgotten that I got that in the first place."

"Yeah...Ah remember putting it in the fridge because...Well, Ah just couldn't bear to eat it." Applejack said as she blushed too. "Ah hope its still there."

"We can look when we get home. We've been standing around enough. Can we get a table on the porch, Pinkie?" Rainbow said, fighting through her feelings of love that had filled her mind when Pinkie had talked about the heart. Pinkie, who could clearly sense the love between them, cared nothing about the delay.

"One table for two outside. Go on and get out there so you can be all romantic and stuff." Pinkie said knowingly. "The usual for the two of you, I take it?"

"That sounds fine, Pinkie. Can Ah get a tea as well, with a wedge of lemon? My throat's feelin' a little scratchy." Applejack asked, prompting Pinkie to nod. The two mares moved outside and took their seats. Rainbow had always preferred to sit on the outside of the porch, as the sunlight on her skin delighted her. Applejack had always chosen the table in the back-right corner of the porch for this reason, just a little thing she always did when they ate at Sugarcube Corner, because she loved her wife deeply.

"I had totally forgotten about that heart." Rainbow said through a small laugh, running a hoof through her mane. "Seems like it was so long ago, now."

"Well, it was." Applejack said. "Reminds me of a lot of things."

"Like the day I gave it to you." Rainbow sighed. "I have...mixed feelings about that day."

"Ah honestly don't like thinkin' about it." Applejack replied. "It was one of the times Ah was so needlessly cruel to you..." Rainbow put a hoof on Applejack's trying to stop the emotional train of those memories before it derailed.

"AJ, that's in the past now." Rainbow said. "We can talk about it. I know it was rough..."

"Really rough." Applejack said, her voice breaking slightly and her eyes brimming with tears. "Ah still think about your eyes that night."

"It was rough, but look at us now." Rainbow said. "The reason that bad stuff went on between us doesn't even exist anymore. We're so happy, everypony knows about us, and nothing's different. Well, things became different for a while after we came out, but we don't really have to talk about that." Applejack chuckled and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, considerin' where we are." Applejack laughed.

"Besides, I don't consider that night completely awful..." Rainbow said, leaning forward and raising an eyebrow. Without a word from the pegasus, Applejack knew exactly what her wife was referring to. "That time we had...In the barn..." Applejack laughed out loud.

"Yeah, despite what Ah said...Ah definitely think that was my unfulfilled desire for you comin' through there." Applejack blushed and rubbed the back of her head as she recalled their steamy night together. Despite the interaction having ended in a less than savory way, the tryst itself remained a fond memory.

"I like to think I fulfilled you pretty good." Rainbow said, looking at a hoof confidently, making Applejack laugh again.

"That you did, that you did." Applejack leaned over the table and kissed Rainbow Dash lovingly. Separating from the kiss, the farm mare saw something behind Rainbow that made her eyes widen slightly. "That's Fluttershy." Rainbow spun at her wife's words, and sure enough, Fluttershy was walking through Ponyville, no doubt to get groceries and go home. Neither of the mares had heard from her in weeks.

"Where's she been?" Rainbow asked, concern present in her words. "She...She looks so sad..."

"Do you...Do you think she needs help?" Applejack asked.

"If I had to guess, yeah. I mean, she's usually really polite about stuff like this, so I doubt she'd actually ask for help." Rainbow stated. "It'd probably take me asking her about it." Applejack, having had the flood of memories from the chocolate heart and their night in the barn, regarded Fluttershy's forlorn look with sorrow.

"Rainbow, you should go talk to her." Applejack said. "She's one of my best friends, but she's known you basically her whole life. Ah doubt she'd open up as much if Ah were there." Rainbow was slightly stunned by Applejack's assertion.

"AJ, we're on a date." Rainbow replied. "I mean...I don't want to just leave you."

"Rainbow we decided to come here in a bit of a spur of the moment thing. Don't worry about me." Applejack assured her. "We haven't heard from her in a couple weeks, and she's clearly not okay. Look, when we went through all that bad stuff toward the beginning, Fluttershy was there for you, wasn't she?" Rainbow looked down and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah she was." Rainbow said quietly. "At the worst of it...She was there."

"So go to her." Applejack said, rubbing Rainbow's hoof with hers, smiling warmly. "Help her...Because she helped us." Rainbow nodded and stood.

"Save my food for me, okay?" Rainbow said. "I love you."

"Ah love you too." Applejack replied before Rainbow walked out through the swinging porch gate. Watching her wife as she cantered after Fluttershy, she was filled with the warmth of devotion and love. Her bouncing, slightly-scruffy mane, her beautiful rose eyes, her confidence and desire to help others...All these things and more flooded her mind, and her stomach fluttered at the knowledge that this was a mare she was married to. "Ah love you so, so much." Applejack said to Rainbow, even though she was sure her wife couldn't hear her.

"Hey!" Rainbow called as she caught up to Fluttershy quickly, startling the pegasus. She smiled as Rainbow approached, but she'd clearly been crying, as her eyes were slightly red. Rainbow decided not to mention this. "Haven't heard from you in a while. How have things been?"

"Oh, hi Rainbow." Fluttershy replied quietly giving a small, polite smile. "Things have been okay, I suppose."

"Well, I just saw you walking all alone and forlorn and stuff." Rainbow said, letting Fluttershy know that her explanation wasn't working. She looked at Rainbow, who returned with a knowing expression. The cyan mare landed next to her friend and walked beside her. "Come on, what's wrong?"

"A critter just died, that's all." Fluttershy stated. "It's not that big a deal, it happens a lot."

"Well, do you want to talk about it?" Rainbow asked, still sensing Fluttershy's fib. "You know you can tell me anything, right? I mean, you were there for me." Fluttershy nodded subtly, and she definitely seemed to want to open up.

"Well...There is...Something else..." Fluttershy said, her voice becoming even quieter. "You can...You can keep a secret, right? Even from Applejack?" Rainbow nodded immediately which gave Fluttershy some modicum of relief. She sighed and continued, looking around for any other ponies. As they were moving onto the path to the Ponyville outskirts, and by extension, her cottage, she felt more inclined to openly share.

"There...There's been...Something has happened with me...and Rarity." Fluttershy said, causing Rainbow to raise her eyebrows, stunned. Deciding not to comment yet, however, Rainbow gave Fluttershy a small nod to continue. "It started a few months ago, but that was when I first kissed her. We'd had an evening together, and I had misread some signals. I kissed her, and she didn't feel the same way at the time. But I think that sparked some feelings, and those came out at the beach house...after that party. Rarity and I had gone for a walk on the beach...That was where she kissed me for the first time."

"You mean...Oh, wow...You know, I think AJ and I might have heard you guys get back from that." Rainbow replied, making Fluttershy blush heavily.

"Do you think she..." Fluttershy uttered, becoming mortified.

"We talked about it for a moment, but it was just us suspecting. I can throw her off the scent if you want." Rainbow assured her, once again calming the pegasus.

"Thank you." Fluttershy breathed. "I don't think that'll be necessary, but that makes me feel better."

"Wait, when you guys got out of the haunted house so late..." Rainbow began, connecting dots that had been there since their vacation.

"She came back for me." Fluttershy said, smiling wistfully through tears and looking up at the sky. "I was too scared to go on...And she came back and found me..." Fluttershy's eyes lowered. Sensing that Fluttershy was teetering on the emotional edge again, Rainbow Dash furthered the conversation.

"Keep going, Flutters."

"Well...She told me that she was in...unfamiliar territory with me." Fluttershy said, striking a chord within Rainbow. "She said that she wanted to start something with me. Things went really well for a couple weeks after we got back, but she...Well she got that lawsuit so she was really stressed...It was looking like she was going to lose the boutique. We went and had dinner. Fancypants showed up and after he left, he was all she could talk about. It didn't end well and I guess she thought we were broken up, so...she started going out with Fancypants."

"Yeah, I remember her mentioning that." Rainbow said with a nod.

"She...she dropped me like nothing." Fluttershy said quietly. "She came by my cottage, and we talked about it...She ended things there, and I told her that it would be okay...That I'd heal...But so far it hasn't healed too much." Rainbow sighed and nodded, putting a hoof on her shoulder as they got to her cottage. They entered, and Angel was asleep on the couch. Fluttershy, not wanting to disturb his rest, walked to the dining room. Rainbow followed her and she sat at Fluttershy's table. Fluttershy, almost reading Rainbow's mind, put on some tea before sitting herself.

"Well, Fluttershy I see this situation just about this way:" Rainbow said to her friend. "I think the healing process is different for everypony. So as far as that goes, I would just give you more time to let that happen. Do you still want things to work out with Rarity?"

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't." Fluttershy sighed.

"Well, Flutters, I'm gonna be honest with you." Rainbow said, putting a hoof on Fluttershy's foreleg. "I think the more you hold out for this thing to happen, the less you're actually gonna heal. I'm not trying to say that Rarity has been trying to play with your heart, but I don't know if holding the torch like this is the best thing for you. She seemed really happy when she was telling me about Fancypants, though."

"Knowing that doesn't help." Fluttershy said, laying her head on the table.

"Fluttershy, I'm just trying to say..." Rainbow sighed, shaking her head. "Maybe it might be good for you to go ahead and let her go." The statement brought Fluttershy's head up from the table and she looked at her daredevil friend with tears in her eyes.

"I...I don't know if..."

"I'm not here to tell you to do anything in particular, but you wanted my advice, right?" Rainbow asked, prompting Fluttershy to nod. "Well then, I think putting more energy and emotion into this is just gonna hurt you more. Rarity knows exactly how you feel about her, right?"

"Yes."

"And do you honestly think she feels the same way about you?" Rainbow asked, prompting Fluttershy to shake her head in a forlorn manner. "Then as far as I can see, there's your answer."

"What about what happened between you and Applejack a couple years ago?" Fluttershy asked. "You held the torch for Applejack...Look how that worked out." Rainbow sighed and scratched the back of her head.

"That's funny, me and AJ were just talking about that." Rainbow said. "When I was going after Applejack, I could tell she was hiding her feelings. She pushed me away, became cold out of nowhere...But the whole time, I knew she still had those feelings for me. Rarity came and spoke to you about this?"

"Yes. She came and asked me how I felt about the situation, and that she was going to stay with Fancypants." Fluttershy explained. Rainbow sighed through her nose and nodded slowly.

"See, it sounds like she was pretty up front with you about it. With AJ, it wasn't like that." Rainbow said as tears welled in Fluttershy's eyes. "It sounds to me like Rarity was just...experimenting."

"I know...That's what I thought too. I think...I think I might have pushed her away..." Fluttershy uttered, a small sob coming from the back of her throat. Rainbow stood and walked around the table, putting a foreleg around Fluttershy. "I was...I was just so excited to have her..."

"I know, Flutters. I know." Rainbow sighed, rubbing her friend's back as she cried into her chest. Rainbow felt just a small amount of anger toward Rarity. It wasn't that she thought Rarity had done this to Fluttershy on purpose, it was simply how heartbroken Fluttershy was that stirred her. "Do you think you might have pushed her away for a reason?"

"I saw her with Fancypants...and I saw how excited she was when he asked her out." Fluttershy breathed, trying not to continue sobbing. "I could tell that I was already fading to the back of her mind." Rainbow felt rather unsure about Fluttershy's reasoning. She would even say that perhaps the pink maned pegasus had overthought the situation by just a bit. Even so, it was hard to disagree that Rarity seemed much happier now.

"Well...I know you're probably feeling pretty drained." Rainbow said, giving Fluttershy a small squeeze. "But AJ and I were gonna have some of Granny's carrot stew tonight for dinner. Plus, Im pretty sure there's still some leftovers from Sugarcube Corner. There's more than enough to share." Fluttershy sat up and wiped her tears, giving Rainbow a small smile.

"Oh Rainbow, I wouldn't want to impose." Fluttershy said quietly, but with sure appreciation in her words.

"How did I know you were going to say that?" Rainbow asked, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow, bringing a small giggle out of Fluttershy. The sight made Rainbow quite happy. "Come oooonn, it'll be fun. We're gonna chow down, maybe get a few hard ciders in us..."

"I thought Applejack couldn't drink." Fluttershy said, her tone evening out as the situation became less heavy.

"Well duh. I meant for you and me. Of course Applejack can't drink." Rainbow stated in a matter of fact way, making Fluttershy laugh again. "You can even bring Angel with you. I'm sure he'd like to see Tank and Winona. Also, I'm sure he'd be welcome to a bowl of the stew."

"Well...Okay! That sounds fun." The pegasus said as she nodded happily. The tea kettle started to whistle. "Well, there's the tea! Would you want to have some before we leave?" Rainbow nodded vigorously, standing from her seat.

"Hay yeah! It's getting chilly, too." Rainbow said. Fluttershy, feeling an overwhelming amount of love for her friend, walked to her and gave her a tight, but not uncomfortable hug. Rainbow returned it, smiling warmly.

"Thank you." Fluttershy said quietly, feeling much better about the situation at hand already.

"No prob, Flutters." Rainbow replied. "But...you may wanna get that tea."

Author's Notes:

Okay, so this was originally a 12K word chapter, so I split it into two and will post the second half in a day or two, with some stuff added to it. Cheers!