The morning light slowly and steadily shone through the bedroom window of Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The light, slowly rising with the sun that supplied it, hit Applejack's closed eyes. This caused her to stir from her rest. As opposed to her wife, Applejack loved to be woken up in the morning in this manner. Letting out a small groan as she stretched, she turned and wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash from behind, who was still quite dead to the world. Rainbow let out a small moan and turned her head, looking at Applejack sleepily.

"Mornin' gorgeous." Applejack said lovingly, giving Rainbow a small kiss on the tip of her nose. Rainbow giggled quietly and settled back in, scooting backward to be closer to the farm mare.

"Good morning." Rainbow replied with a sleepy rasp to her voice. "How'd you sleep?"

"Ah slept well. Tossed and turned a bit trying to get there, but once Ah was out, Ah was out." Applejack chuckled. "Maybe its the pregnancy."

"Mmmm...Yeah..." Rainbow moaned, her voice trailing off.

"Rainbow?" Applejack asked, leaning over the pegasus slightly. She discovered her wife sound asleep once more. Rainbow had been working extraordinarily hard, and deciding not to disturb her rest, Applejack got out of bed and thought about what she could surprise Rainbow Dash with for breakfast when she woke up. This thought process was interrupted when she felt a familiar burning sickness in her stomach. Suddenly, the dinner she'd eaten the previous night began to bubble up in her stomach. Applejack, who knew exactly what this sensation was, gasped and covered her mouth with a hoof. She fervently sprinted toward the bathroom the two mares shared. Rainbow Dash was awoken by this sudden shift on the bed and came to just as her wife sprinted from the room.

"AJ?" Rainbow called, confused. The sound of Applejack retching into their toilet put the movement into her as she got out of the bed and walked quickly toward the restroom to see the love of her life retch into the toilet once more.

"Ah...Ah hate..." Applejack's eyes widened and she quickly turned back to the toilet and retched once more, the vomit finally deciding to come up. "...Mornin' sickness..." Even though she knew it was a normal situation, Rainbow Dash absolutely hated seeing Applejack in this position. The pegasus got down on the floor next to Applejack and stroked her mane after flushing the toilet.

"I know, baby." Rainbow sighed. "But it's for the foal. I don't know exactly why it happens, but its for the baby." She continued to softly stroke Applejack's mane as she breathed deeply, her head hung low. Granny Smith appeared at the bathroom door and smiled down at her granddaughter and granddaughter-in-law.

"Oh, mornin' sickness." Granny said almost fondly. "Ah remember that. Good times, good times." Rainbow raised an eyebrow and smirked at her, and Applejack gave her a look of pure incredulity, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"That's rich comin' from you. You're not the one pukin' up her guts." Applejack borderline growled. Granny Smith scoffed at Applejack and shook her head.

"Girl, Ah'd give anything just for the ability to have mornin' sickness again." Granny said with a small laugh. "Back when my ovaries actually worked." Rainbow Dash burst into hearty laughter and Applejack's face turned beet red.

"Granny!" Applejack gasped.

"That was great." Rainbow giggled. Granny smiled at them and let out a small laugh herself.

"Oh Applejack, Ah said somethin' about my ovaries, not yours." The old mare stated, giving Applejack a look like she was crazy. "We're all adults here."

"Speak for yourself." Applebloom said, walking up to the bathroom herself. She looked in and cringed. "Ooh, mornin' sickness, huh? That's rough." Applejack scoffed and shook her head.

"Alright well nice town meetin', everypony. All we're missin' is Mayor Mare now." Applejack grumbled as she stood from the bathroom floor.

"What's everypony standin' here for-oh." Big Mac asked as he poked his head in, realizing it was a pregnancy thing, and pulled his head right back out. Everyone present laughed heavily, save for Applejack who lowered her brows quietly. The town meeting moved into the living room, and Granny resumed making breakfast, which smelled to be apple pancakes. Granny always included fruit with pancakes and had always insisted that anyone eating the pancakes had to eat all the fruit they were served as well. None of them minded it too terribly, save for Applebloom who, being a filly, would have preferred just the pancakes.

"But...Can Ah just let Applejack and Rainbow split my fruit, just this once?" Applebloom whined.

"Applebloom, you need that fruit for them nutrients and such. Ya won't get that from just the pancakes." Granny stated, taking a bite of flapjack.

"Ah've had just pancakes for breakfast before." The filly countered. "Ah definitely didn't waste away and die."

"Applebloom, just eat your fruit." Applejack sighed. "What's so gross about it? It's grapes, apple slices and cantaloupe. It's good!" The orange mare took a bite of cantaloupe and let out a small happy sound at the taste.

"Yeah come on, Applebloom. It'll make you-" Rainbow began.

"Big and strong?" Applebloom finished, raising an eyebrow. The pegasus gave Applejack a look that said "yikes" before continuing.

"No, actually. I was going to say that it'll make you smart." Rainbow retorted without a second of thought. Applejack raised an eyebrow at Rainbow Dash, who pretended not to notice. "I mean yeah, getting fast and strong is an obvious benefit, but where the real cool stuff is at is the smarts." Applebloom, though still trying to give off the image that she didn't believe it, couldn't help but let off a slight interest in what Rainbow was saying.

"Yeah?" Applebloom said.

"Yep. The cantaloupe has a special molecule in it that lowers the lactic acid in the muscles. Then that frees up more energy for your body to use on your brain." Rainbow explained, earning subtle but disbelieving looks from Granny and Big Mac as well at that point. "Then the grape skins have a fiber in them that strengthens the nervous system. I know that would sound like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo to just anypony, but you know what I'm talkin' about, right?" Rainbow smirked at Applebloom knowingly and the filly blushed before nodding, seemingly on instinct.

"Uh...yeah! Yeah, of course Ah know what you're talkin' about. The molecules and fibers and such." Applebloom said before taking a large bite of cantaloupe.

"Yeah," Rainbow said, smirking at the rest of the family with furrowed eyebrows. Applejack felt a small tinge of annoyance, and also significant attraction to her glib pegasus wife. "And such."

"Ah won't lie to ya, that was an impressive yarn you spun to Applebloom to get her to eat her fruit." Applejack admitted as she and Rainbow left the farmhouse. They'd decided to spend their day off together in Ponyville, and considering how tired both mares were, it was a prospect that was exciting and at the same time relaxing.

"It wasn't too hard." Rainbow replied cooly. "I just took a couple of actual scientific terms and mixed them with utter bull and yeah, fillies usually are none the wiser."

"Have a lot of experience deceivin' fillies, now do we?" Applejack teased, making Rainbow laugh.

"Hey, without my deception, she wouldn't have eaten her fruit. Where would little AB be without her nutrients for the day?" Rainbow inquired jovially and Applejack looked at her with a serious expression.

"She would've eaten her fruit." Applejack deadpanned. "Ah'd have shoved them down her throat if you hadn't done that." Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her wife, her eyes widening slightly. Unable to keep up the facade anymore, Applejack broke into a fit of giggles, Rainbow Dash promptly joining her. They laughed together for a steady half-minute before it died down.

"For like a second I thought you were being real." Rainbow said.

"Who says Ah wasn't?" Applejack replied, lowering her voice again, bringing forth another few seconds of laughing. "Really though, Ah liked what Ah saw in there. It made me think of what it's gonna be like when we have our foal." Rainbow's heart lit up with love as Applejack said this, and she nuzzled her wife. Suddenly the winter air wasn't as cold anymore.

"It's gonna be so great." Rainbow said, the warmth in her spreading out through her body. "Just you, me and our family." Applejack let out a small giggle and pressed her body into Rainbow's as they walked.

"So...Ah'm kinda tired of Sugarcube Corner and Cafe Du Mane." Applejack said before looking at Rainbow. "What do ya say to a picnic? We could grab some bread, some veggies at the market, make ourselves some sandwiches out in the fields." Rainbow smiled widely at the suggestion and nodded.

"Sounds amazing, AJ." Rainbow beamed, before something above them caught her eye. Gaining a confused expression on her face, she nudged her spouse and pointed upward. Applejack looked up herself to see Fluttershy descending toward them. She had a perturbed look on her face, one that telegraphed the anxiety she was feeling. Rainbow Dash had a sick feeling this had something to do with a certain white unicorn pony.

"Fluttershy!" Applejack said happily, though the surprise she felt bled its way into her words as well. "What brings you around here so early?"

"Is everything okay?" Rainbow Dash asked, as Fluttershy landed before them. She looked as if she'd just finished crying.

"I'm sorry to bother you so early...I just...I don't think anything is okay right now." Fluttershy replied. Rainbow nodded slowly, understanding at least the essence of the problem. She supposed Fluttershy had tried, and failed, to spark romance with Rarity once again.

"Oh no! What's wrong, sugarcube? Can we help?" Applejack asked. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow, who returned her look with understanding, and then back at Applejack.

"Does this have to do with who I think it has to do with?" Rainbow Dash asked, making Fluttershy nod as she blushed deeply. Rainbow sighed and nodded. "Alright. Tell us what happened." Applejack switched looks between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, exceedingly confused.

"Hold up, am Ah missin' somethin'?" Applejack asked. Rainbow remembered that Applejack had absolutely no knowledge of Fluttershy and Rarity's failed romance and lowered her ears.

"Well...I may not have been entirely truthful with you last night." Rainbow said, making Applejack raise a suspicious eyebrow.

"Rainbow Dash, please don't tell me that the two of you..." Applejack said with worry, looking to Fluttershy then back to Rainbow. Both mares' eyes widened and Rainbow Dash took a step back.

"Oh, hay no!" Rainbow immediately stated, and Fluttershy blushed heavily feeling her own confusion well up. "Applejack, there's absolutely no way!" Rainbow was angry that Applejack had the thought and the farm mare became defensive in return to Rainbow's rising tone.

"Well what the hay was Ah supposed to think, when you gave me that whole confession last night, and then she shows up here, talkin' about how things aren't okay?" Applejack asked.

"Confession?" Fluttershy said quietly, to no one in particular.

"That was years ago! And you were fine with it." Rainbow almost growled. "I told you that because I felt awful about it, and you didn't seem all that bothered."

"Girls!" Fluttershy cried, making them stop their arguing, and look at her. The pegasus surely had become more assertive, or perhaps her anxiety was keeping the much more important subject at the front of her mind. "First of all, what are you two talking about?"

"Rainbow...She told me last night that after she and Ah had that bad fight a couple years ago, she got drunk, went to your house and..."

"Kissed me." Fluttershy finished for the farm mare, surprising her. She furrowed her eyebrows at this assumption, and Applejack felt her annoyance.

"Well, yeah." Applejack responded. "And Ah assumed that when you came down here, talkin' about-"

"You're wrong." Fluttershy said plainly. "Rainbow was actually very wonderful and helpful to me yesterday. There was nothing romantic going on, at least between she and I." Rainbow sighed and placed a forehoof on her head.

"Fluttershy, you didn't." Rainbow said.

"No, I didn't." Fluttershy replied, prompting Rainbow to look up at her. "But she did."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Applejack said, putting a hoof up into the air. "Can somepony please tell me what the hay is goin' on?" Applejack looked at Rainbow, who looked at Fluttershy. When Applejack turned to the pink maned pegasus, she blushed and began.

"Well, Applejack...At the beach house, Rarity and I...started up a romance." Fluttershy said, and Applejack looked at Rainbow, putting together that no critter had died. Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her, essentially asking "What are you looking at?" Fluttershy noticed this. "And don't get mad at Rainbow for not telling you, Applejack. I asked her not to. She was just being a loyal friend."

"Ah'm not mad...Just...Surprised, Ah guess. Besides, Ah thought she was datin' Fancypants." Applejack said, looking back at Fluttershy.

"She apparently figured out that their relationship wasn't going to work." Fluttershy replied. Applejack nodded, choosing not to continue to ask questions.

"Keep goin' sugarcube."

"Well, it was very back and forth for a while. It was like she couldn't decide whether she liked me like that or not. I held a torch for her for a good while, but eventually, it just didn't work out." Fluttershy explained.

"What happened after I left last night? You know, after Rarity got there?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well, we made up and it was very nice. She treated me to a visit to the spa, but right as we were leaving, she...She kissed me." Fluttershy said, making Rainbow shake her head and sit down.

"Unbelievable." Rainbow growled. "I think I have a few choice words for her. She can't just play with your heart like that. She can't-"

"Rainbow, I'm not done." Fluttershy interrupted her friend, who cleared her throat and nodded, once again resuming listening. "Well, of course what you'd said to me rang true, and it just made me angry. I...I gave it to her pretty good before I left her there..."

"Good." Rainbow said quickly.

"But...She came to my house later that night and...and..." Tears welled up in the pegasus' eyes as she attempted to finish her sentence. "and....I think it would just be better if you saw for yourselves. Follow me." Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other in confusion before they followed their friend through the orchard. They didn't say anything to one another as they walked, their earlier tiff still fresh on their minds. After a short while of walking, Applejack sighed and looked over at her wife.

"Rainbow sweetie...Ah'm sorry for assumin' the worst." Applejack said regretfully. "Ah don't know what Ah was thinkin'."

"Well...I guess it makes sense how you could come to the conclusion. It hurt, but it does make sense." Rainbow replied, looking back at Applejack. "If it helps, I felt pretty guilty lying to you last night."

"Let's just put it behind us, okay?" Applejack asked with a small smile.

"Sounds good to me." Rainbow nuzzled her wife before remembering what they were doing. "Hey, Fluttershy where are we...going..." Rainbow dash trailed off, seeing a pony wearing a hood further down the path to the orchard. She wondered who this mystery pony was until she saw the purple mane sticking slightly out of the front of the hood.

"Hey!" Rainbow said, anger in her tone, walking toward the hooded unicorn quickly. "What is the matter with you, Rarity? Fluttershy told you she doesn't want anything like that with you. Make up your mind, already! Why are you being so self-" Rainbow stopped dead in the middle of her sentence and what she was saying when Rarity pulled her hood off to reveal the nasty bruise Fancypants had left her with. Rainbow's ears dropped and her eyes grew wide, the same happened with Applejack. Fluttershy began to cry quietly.

"Rarity...What happened?" Applejack asked, her own eyes welling up.

"Fluttershy, I assume you've told them what happened at the spa?" Rarity asked, her voice steady and stoic, despite her bruised face. Fluttershy, still subtly crying, nodded. "Fancypants happened to see me kiss Fluttershy. He verbally berated me and that I could take, because I honestly felt like I deserved it. I've been selfish."

"Rarity, you didn't deserve-" Fluttershy said.

"Fluttershy, please. I did." Rarity stated, cutting off the pegasus. "But then he insulted Sweetie Belle, called her stupid and whiny...Said I didn't take care of her...I snapped and hit him in the head with a small glass. Then he did this to me." Applejack was stunned silent. Rainbow Dash, on the other end of the spectrum, was absolutely fuming.

"Where is he?" Rainbow said, struggling to control her breathing.

"Rainbow Dash, its not that simple." Rarity replied.

"Of course it is. We find him, we break his teeth, and call it a day." Rainbow snarled, exhaling deeply through her nose.

"Dash, calm down. Ah don't think that's a realistic option. " Applejack said, remarkably coolly given the large amount of new information she'd received in the last ten minutes. The farm mare seemed to be in deep contemplation for a moment. "Rarity, did you two talk about going to the police?" Rarity nodded.

"Yes, that was the first thought we had when we woke up this morning." Rarity replied, before looking down to the side with shame. "But...I hit him first and it drew blood, so he has just as much of a case as me. In fact, if I hadn't hit him...I don't know if he would have done this."

"Did you feel unsafe?" Rainbow Dash asked, and Rarity gave her a small nod.

"He...He had me cornered when he insulted Sweetie Belle." Rarity stated somewhat quietly.

"Well there's your answer. He berated you, and insulted your sister. I beat the tar our of Amethyst Star for berating me and Applejack. You remember that, right, babe?"

"Yeah, Ah remember. But that wasn't one of your finer moments, Dash." Applejack said to her.

"Okay, sure, but my point is my point. Sometimes some ponies need to get hit." Rainbow stated, and Applejack sighed.

"Rainbow, Ah don't think...breaking his teeth would help matters much." Applejack said, looking at Rarity, who looked downward. She was clearly ashamed of her bruises, as her stoic exterior broke and she began to cry. Applejack approached her and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "Rarity, what do you think? What do you want to do?"

"I...I am...Tired." Rarity said through her tears which seemed to become tears of the angry variety. "I haven't been the best pony for the past few months..." She looked at Fluttershy through her tears, and saw that the pegasus was still crying. "The lawsuit, these bruises...I am tired of being a victim. I want to do something about this."

"Well tell us what's on your mind, Rarity." Rainbow said, approaching her as well. "We're here for you." Rarity looked at Fluttershy, who let out a small sob and ran to Rarity, wrapping her into a hug. Applejack and Rainbow Dash joined in as well, and for the first time in a month, Rarity felt alright.

Fancypants awoke in the afternoon with a massive headache. He groaned and put his hooves to his temples, rubbing them in slow circles. With a small gasp, he remembered the events that had transpired the previous night having been the reason for his headache. His eyes filled with tears at the thought that he had hit Rarity with such viciousness. It was because she'd hit him first, but he'd clearly done more damage to her than she had to him. He didn't even know if she was going to be completely okay. He'd fled the scene too quickly to be sure. He sat up and looked at the clock on his wall and sighed deeply. He still had a couple hours until his train to Canterlot left. He turned on the television in his hotel room and scoffed when he saw that it was a black and white TV.

"Of course." He growled to himself, depressed and desolate inside. He had really liked Rarity, maybe even loved her. Seeing what she'd done with that other mare, her name he'd forgotten, had driven him temporarily mad. Then their conflict came, which had lost him Rarity's affections forever. It was at that point he reminded himself that she probably never felt that way about him in the first place. Fully giving in to his depression, he went and simply sat in the shower. It crossed his mind to get himself off, but his pure apathy won out and he just sat there. Remembering Rarity's limp body, he cried for a few minutes before the dead feeling inside him took over. At that point he stared forward, focusing on the bottom left corner of a single tile. His eyes remained on that corner of the tile for a long time, until the vision around the point began to distort and the hot shower water became lukewarm.

He got out of the shower and was slightly pleased to see that it had been an hour and change. A little less than an hour and he would be at the train station, ready to leave Ponyville forever. He doubted he'd ever come back. Everything he could possibly need was in Canterlot, but he still lamented the quiet life he could have had in the small town with Rarity. Seeing no other option, he flopped into the bed, feeling the fading pain in the back of his head flare up slightly. He didn't care about that, though. At this point, he didn't feel like he could care about anything. He looked out his hotel room window and saw that night had descended fully on Ponyville. Deciding he'd just read a book at the train station while he waited, he packed up all of his belongings neatly into his suitcase. Arranging all of his possessions in such a way always gave him some degree of satisfaction, and this time was no different. Feeling slightly better, but still quite sad and apathetic, Fancypants left his hotel room.

Checking out was a relatively simple affair. He addressed the attendant cordially and made small talk for a moment. He normally detested small talk but he preferred it to discussing why he clearly looked downtrodden. He was able to tell that the mare behind the counter had noticed this. Giving a small good bye, he left the building, using his magic to roll his suitcase behind him. Most of the ponies in Ponyville had already packed up their shops and gone home for the day so it was a relatively quiet walk. He almost felt some happiness again when he was surprised by a hoof wrapping around his mouth and pulling him into a dark alley. The hoof disappeared and he wheeled around to find no one there.

"What the hay...?" He breathed to himself, his eyes wide as he looked around. A dark shape landed on a roof above the alley and he looked up to see something that shocked him deeply. "Mare-Do-Well?"

"Confess." The dark-clad mare called from the roof and his heart skipped a beat as she leapt down in front of him, landing on the ground with grace. Fancypants was astounded. He'd read about this in papers but never thought he'd see the actual Mare-Do-Well.

"Confess to what?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"You know damn well." The unknown pegasus mare said before shoving him into a wall.

"Hey!" He cried out as another Mare-Do-Well stepped from the shadows. This Mare-Do-Well was an Earth Pony and had a slightly stockier build than the other.

"Tell us what you did to her." The pegasus mare said again. "And maybe we won't break your face." With that a third Mare-Do-Well, a unicorn this time, approached as well. Fancypants was sure he recognized the voice of the pegasus, but could not place a name. The unicorn brought a tape recorder out of the darkness with her magic and held it up to him, causing him to raise an eyebrow. The "record" button was clicked down. The pegasus mare-do-well shoved him again, into the earth pony, who shoved him roughly herself. He stumbled into the wall and grunted.

"I'm telling you, I don't know what you're talking about!" He cried, knowing full well exactly what she was talking about.

"A mare you assaulted last night hired us." The pegasus stated. "And she wants a confession. The boss says she wants a confession, she gets a confession." The pegasus roughly pushed him into a magic field generated by the unicorn, who used the magic to envelop him and throw him to the ground.

"Rarity?" He gasped, standing shakily back up. He wasn't physically hurt very badly, but he was quite rattled by what was happening to him. "Oh goddesses....I'm...I'm so sorry for what I did. I really didn't mean to...I got-"

"We need to hear specifically about what you did. For the recorder." The pegasus stated, nodding at the levitating tape recorder. He looked at it, and then at the three mares surrounding him. He looked back and forth between the recorder and the three mares several times, looking slightly frantic.

"I'm sorry...I can't." He said quietly. "I'll...lose everything."

"We don't care." The pegasus Mare-Do-Well stated. "You're gonna say exactly what you did, or things aren't gonna go too well for you." Fancypants stood quickly and backed up several steps.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but I can't. I'll never come back to Ponyville again. None of you will ever see me...But I can't go to jail. I can't lose everything I've ever built." Fancypants stated, his voice trembling. "I'm going to go now." He turned and began running, and the earth pony mare blocked his path quickly. The pegasus grabbed his tail and yanked on it roughly. The unicorn held his legs with magic where they were.

"You're not taking another step until you confess what you did! You cornered her and knocked her unconscious! Confess!" Fancypants struggled against the three mares attempting to restrain him and managed to take a couple steps. He breathed heavily and quickly, his eyes darting back and forth wildly.

"I can't!" He cried. "Let go of me, and I'll leave!" The mares didn't listen to what he said, and the earth pony held fast, digging her hooves into the dirt, holding him still. His heart pounded in his chest. Everything he'd built for years was about to crumble to the ground before his eyes. He looked into the eyes of the earth pony, hidden behind the mare-do-well mask. "Please...Let me go..." He said to her, and she seemed to relent for a moment before furrowing her brows.

"No." She said simply. Crying out in anguish and feeling sweat drip down his head, Fancypants struggled greatly against his captors, breaking the magic the unicorn had on his legs and yanking his tail out of the pegasus' hooves. He pushed against the earth pony, who held him there soundly. He struggled, but simply couldn't break her hold on him.

"Let me go!" He cried. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" His cries became frantic, almost animalistic, and he continued to struggle. Without thinking, he shot a hoof out and caught the earth pony in the face, knocking her back onto her flank and breaking her hold on him.

"No!" Fancypants heard the pegasus scream as he began running. He didn't get more than four steps away before he felt the pegasus tackle him. She snarled as she pulled him back into the alleyway roughly and flipped him over. He couldn't get one word out before he felt her hoof collide straight into his face. Fiery pain shot through his head as he groaned. "Please-" Was all he could get out before she brought the hoof down again. Fancypants felt a pop in his nose accompanied by intense pain.

"Not her! Not her! You don't hit her!" He barely registered the pegasus yelling as his consciousness quickly faded. The fourth strike did it and Fancypants was out cold on the ground, his nose and mouth leaking blood.

"Alright Rainbow, that's enough." Applejack said, standing and moving toward Rainbow, removing her mare-do-well mask. Rainbow did not listen, and threw down the fifth hard punch, bringing her hoof back for yet another one. Applejack moved toward her wife. "Rainbow!...Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash, Ah said that's enough!" With the last words, Applejack wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash's midsection and threw her off of the stallion, who now lay motionless on the ground. The cyan pegasus took a small tumble, and stood, breathing deeply and heavily. Rainbow removed her mask, her eyes wide with fury.

"Applejack, he hit you!" Rainbow cried, pointing at his motionless form on the ground. Rarity removed her mask as well, tears streaming down her face.

"And Ah'm fine!" Applejack retorted. "Look at him! He's not moving! We were supposed to get a taped confession, maybe scare him a bit, and that was it! You went way too far!" Rainbow breathed deeply through her nose, realizing that Applejack was correct and choosing not to retort in any way. Fluttershy moved quickly toward them, having been hiding in a bush keeping watch.

"Did we wake anypony up?" Rarity asked Fluttershy, having composed herself. The pegasus shook her head.

"As far as I could see, nopony heard and nopony is out right now." Fluttershy stated. "Rainbow Dash, you weren't supposed to-"

"I know." Rainbow growled, still huffing her breaths. Fancypants groaned where he lay and began to move. The four mares were struck silent for a few seconds, before Applejack snapped quickly out of her stupor.

"We have to go now." Applejack uttered, looking at her friends. They fled the scene as quickly as they could, arriving at Carousel Boutique. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity removed their mare-do-well outfits quickly and threw them into a burlap sack.

"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked frantically. "What's going to happen? He's going to turn us in and we're going to go to prison!" Applejack put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder reassuringly.

"Fluttershy, we're gonna be fine." Applejack said to her. "Rainbow Dash is the only one who really spoke, and he barely knows her. He only know's Rarity's voice, and she didn't say a word. Ah think we'll be okay."

"You don't know that though!" Fluttershy almost spat. Applejack couldn't blame her. The plan had gone south in a big way and even she, who was the most composed of the four, was soundly rattled.

"Well screamin' and stressin' about it isn't gonna help anything. Again, he doesn't really know any of us. Besides Rarity he's met the rest of us maybe two times." Applejack said. "Look, we can't stay congregated here like this. We need to split, and we can maybe get back together tomorrow."

"That sounds fine." Rarity said with a nod. "Thank you...All of you...It didn't go how we thought it would, but...I'm thankful that you all helped me. Fluttershy, would you like to stay here tonight? I wouldn't feel right leaving Sweetie Belle here all night alone." Fluttershy nodded quickly, and Rarity felt happiness flow through her, despite the circumstances.

"Alright, well good night." Applejack said as she and Rainbow Dash, who was still silent in distress, left the building.

The walk home for the two mares was quiet, and neither one said much of anything. Applejack made a comment about the moon, but Rainbow did not respond. The pegasus was fuming still, and Applejack became worried for her. They arrived at Sweet Apple Acres and walking under the archway, Applejack finally stopped where she was, resolute in sorting whatever this was out.

"Rainbow Dash, you're clearly not okay. Talk to me. Ah want you to be alright." Applejack said. Rainbow continued to walk past her.

"I'm fine." Rainbow stated simply and Applejack grunted, pulling Rainbow back to her by her tail.

"Bull. Rainbow Dash, it's all over. Yeah, it was stressful, but Ah don't think anything is gonna happen." Applejack said to her, putting a hoof on her shoulder.

"I said I'm fine. Can we just go home, please?" Rainbow replied, looking downward and trying to move again. Applejack held the cyan mare fast where she was and Rainbow looked up at her, tears in her eyes. "Please?"

"Rainbow..." Applejack breathed, feeling her heart break for her wife. The pegasus broke there, and her flank plopped down to the ground. Rainbow Dash wilted as she began to sob.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." She cried.

"Rainbow Dash, Ah-"

"I went too far...I know that...But when he hit you, it wasn't just that it was you that he hit...It was...."

"Our child." Applejack said, finally understanding Rainbow Dash's outburst. Rainbow let out a fresh round of sobs and Applejack pulled her wife into an embrace.

"Now we're gonna get arrested...I messed everything up...He hurt you....And...I just...I couldn't..." Rainbow sobbed. "I'm sorry, AJ...I'm so so sorry..." Applejack pulled Rainbow's head up to where she was looking into her eyes.

"Rainbow baby, Ah'm fine. Ah think my cheek's a little sore, but me and our baby are gonna be just fine." Applejack cooed, smiling at her. She gave her wife a kiss and nuzzled her cheek. "Ah love how protective you are of me...And our foal."

"But...he's gonna go to the police..." Rainbow said, and Applejack shook her head lightly.

"No sugarcube, Ah don't think he will." Applejack replied, stroking Rainbow's cheek lovingly. "Rarity's face would make it a long and drawn out legal issue and Ah doubt Fancypants is gonna want to go through alla that. He was comin' to less than a minute after you beat him, so you probably didn't buck him up too bad."

"Well...I guess you're right..." Rainbow sniffled, finally gaining control of herself after having been crying for more than five minutes. "Still...I'm sorry."

"Tell ya what, you can say that to Fluttershy and Rarity tomorrow." Applejack replied before standing up, Rainbow doing the same. "Now come on, Ah feel like that bed is gonna be pretty dang comfortable." Rainbow nodded and they walked through the orchard to their home.

"Can we go to the doctor? Tomorrow? You know, to get the baby checked?" Rainbow asked and Applejack let out a small chuckle before nodding.

"If it makes ya feel better, love."

"Are you sure you're okay? I mean, he knocked you back onto your flank."

"Oh, Ah'm fine. It was more a balance thing than anything. What, you think that dandy fop could hurt me? Seriously?" Rainbow laughed at Applejack's query. The sound, with its stark contrast to her earlier crying, brought joy to Applejack's heart.

"Just making sure." Rainbow half-laughed before looking forward once more. After a few seconds, she spoke up once more. "You know, AJ...I love how tough you are. It's honestly a real turn on." Rainbow said, her eyebrows lowering and her voice gaining a seductive lowered tone as she pushed her side into Applejack's. The pegasus gave her wife a nuzzle on her neck. Applejack looked at her and raised an eyebrow, Rainbow raising an eyebrow of her own that seemed to ask a particular question.

"Seriously? Now?" Applejack asked. Rainbow nodded eagerly and Applejack snickered. "Geez, you're somethin' else, ain't ya?"

"What can I say? I bounce back quick. Come on, we've been together for a good while now." Rainbow replied with a smirk. Applejack shook her head.

"If it's all the same to you hun, Ah'd prefer to just cuddle tonight." Applejack said, and Rainbow wilted slightly. The prospect of making love, while an attractive one, was one that Applejack was a bit too tired to fulfill at that point. Rainbow's sex drive had always been at least a bit higher than hers. But tonight, she was very very tired, and also pregnant.

"Ooohhh...okay. I guess I'll take what I can get." Rainbow said, obviously playing up her disappointment. Applejack, seeing Rainbow Dash disappointed, sighed and kissed her wife on the cheek.

"Maybe tomorrow?"

Rarity, after twenty or thirty minutes, she couldn't figure out which one, managed to calm Fluttershy down. She held the yellow pegasus on the couch as she wound down from sobbing, to normal crying, and from that to small sniffles and the occasional wiped tear. Rarity had started a fire in the fireplace to warm them from the winter cold, not to mention to burn the Mare-Do-Well outfits, and it cast a pleasing shade over the room. Fluttershy hadn't seemed to notice, or didn't care.

"I...I just hate what happened so much..." Fluttershy breathed. "If it wasn't for me..."

"No, Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was the one who took it too far. Granted, she was defending her wife and their child, but she definitely went overboard." Rarity stated with a smile. The prim white unicorn was definitely quite shaken by what had occurred and how far it had gone, but she'd regained control of herself rather quickly, especially compared to her pegasus companion.

"But...If I hadn't had the idea...Rainbow wouldn't have gone...overboard on anypony in the first place." Fluttershy replied, sitting up and looking at Rarity. "It's all because of me." Rarity suppressed a scoff and shook her head.

"Fluttershy, I find it absolutely sweet and wonderful that you had enough thought to come up with that plan." Rarity said to her, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "And truth be told, it was a good plan. No real violence, we'd intimidate him and get his confession and get back at him the right way." Fluttershy was slightly confused at Rarity's demeanor.

"Rarity, you seem very okay with what happened out there." Fluttershy said. Rarity was hard pressed to disagree with Fluttershy on that matter. True, she hadn't wanted him to be physically harmed at first, at least not too much, and the shock of what happened shook her deeply at the time. But Rarity had gone to the bathroom since they'd returned to the boutique and her black eye and bruised face took all of the regret and worry right out of her.

"Well...It is true that I would've preferred for it to have been...less messy. But my head still hurts from when he hit me...I mean, he knocked me out cold, Fluttershy. Have you ever had that happen to you?" Rarity asked, and received a small head shake from the yellow mare. "It was awful. It was honestly traumatizing. It...sort of felt good to see him get knocked out cold himself. I guess we only needed Rainbow Dash for that, eh?" Rarity let out a small laugh, attempting to lighten up the situation.

"It was so violent..." Fluttershy breathed, looking forward.

"Fluttershy, you saw him, he was already coming to by the time we left. He's going to be alright, but I highly doubt he'll ever show his face around here again." Rarity explained. "Also, the fact that you were so intent on getting him makes me feel quite good as well." Rarity explained.

"Well, I care about you, Rarity." Fluttershy replied, looking into Rarity's eyes for a moment before shooting her eyes back forward, realizing what she was doing.

"Oh, well thank goodness. I thought after I kissed you outside the boutique, you hated me."

"Rarity I could never hate you." Fluttershy's gaze remained fixated forward.

"Speaking of which..." Rarity said, prompting Fluttershy to look at her. The pink maned pegasus knew what was going to come next. "Where exactly do we stand...on that...?" Fluttershy blushed and looked downward.

"I don't know." Fluttershy said, a slightly dejected tone coming to her voice. "I...I'm just...There's so much going on and it's hard to think about that. I just know that I can't be hurt like that again."

"Fluttershy, I know you question my intentions when it comes to the two of us and...romance. I understand completely, as well. I just have to say to you, and I already said this outside the spa but I feel the need here to reiterate..." Rarity put her hoof on Fluttershy's and the pegasus' heart fluttered in her chest. Her eyes moved from the point on the far wall of the room she was fixated on and went to their hooves. "I couldn't stand Fancypants...All I could think about every second I was with him was you. I love spending time with you...more than anypony else I've ever met. Even more than Sweetie Belle."

"Now that's hard to believe." Fluttershy said, gaining a small smile. Rarity smiled herself. This was a good sign.

"I love Sweetie Belle so incredibly much, but I don't think it's a secret that she can grate on my last nerve from time to time." Rarity replied, smiling and looking downward, her eyes filling with tears. "When I'm with you...I find it impossible to be unhappy. You bring up this joy within me that nopony else can. Every day, I want to see you, and when I don't...Let's just say it's not the best of days. I know I hurt you...more than once. I know that and I'm so, so sorry." Rarity's voice broke slightly, and she re-composed herself. "I feel as if I'm rambling but I absolutely have to tell you this..." Fluttershy's hoof went to Rarity's chin and moved her head to where they were eye-to-eye. Fluttershy's eyes were tear-filled as well.

Fluttershy kissed Rarity.

Rarity's tears flowed freely as she closed her eyes. It was a soft and tender kiss and it filled Rarity's stomach with a fluttery feeling. They continued to kiss for a few more seconds and separated, Fluttershy pressing her forehead into Rarity's, both of their ears lowered. They looked into each other's eyes and Rarity let out a small laugh before pulling Fluttershy into an embrace, kissing her again. Fluttershy fell backward onto the couch and took Rarity with her. Rarity separated from the kiss and her mind threw words out in its romantic stupor.

"I love you." She said and her eyes widened immediately, realizing what she'd just said. Fluttershy's eyes widened as well and at that point, it was time for her tears to spill over onto her cheeks. She let out a small sob.

"I....I love you too!" Fluttershy pulled Rarity down and kissed her again, the two mares passionately showing their affection for each other. Fluttershy let out a small, adorable moan into the kiss and this spurred Rarity to kiss her neck. "Rarity! Ahh! I love you..." Rarity lightly sucked on her neck and Fluttershy let out a sensual moan. Rarity's hoof ran down Fluttershy's body and ended on her groin, slightly above her marehood. Fluttershy brought a hoof up to her mouth and gasped.

"Could we..." Rarity said, stopping her loving assault to look into Fluttershy's eyes. She was blushing heavily, which was quite visible through her snow white coat, and her eyelids were lowered in a sensual and loving expression. "Make love?"

"Yes." Fluttershy almost whispered and kissed Rarity again. The unicorn needed no other indication, and began to lightly rub Fluttershy's sex. The pegasus separated from the kiss and moaned uncharacteristically loudly. Rarity shushed her and Fluttershy's eyes shot open.

"A little quieter, my sweet." Rarity breathed, giving Fluttershy's cheek a small kiss. "My sister is asleep upstairs." Fluttershy blushed heavily and nodded.

"Sorry...It's...Been a while." Fluttershy said with a sheepish smile that filled Rarity with elation and adoration.

"Oh...you are just..." Rarity gave Fluttershy another deep kiss, bringing a moan out of her lover. "So adorable."

"Yeah, I guess it's kind of my thing." Fluttershy replied, making Rarity giggle before resuming her ministrations, biting her lip with a dizzying combination of lust and love. Fluttershy moaned again, much more quietly and threw her head to the side, giving Rarity full access to her neck, which the fashionista took full advantage of. Rarity gave Fluttershy's neck a slow, deliberate lick, timing it with her rubbing. Rarity breathed into Fluttershy's ear before giving it a small nip, increasing the rate at which she pleasured her beloved. Fluttershy moaned more with each passing minute, eventually putting a hoof on Rarity's shoulder and beginning to move her hips into Rarity's hoof, almost coating it in moisture. Rarity was quite aroused by this and kissed her lover again, sliding her tongue against hers.

Fluttershy's eyes opened slightly, and Rarity's did as well, and they looked into each other's eyes with love as they moved against each other. Fluttershy brought her knee up between Rarity's legs, Rarity getting the message and grinding her sex against Fluttershy's knee. It didn't take long with this to make Fluttershy climax, the mare quickly grabbing a pillow and biting into it as she came. Her eyes fluttered upward and after her orgasm had passed, she loosed the pillow from her mouth's grip and let out a triplet of small moans as Rarity wound down her movements. Rarity, quite satisfied with what she'd done, smiled down at Fluttershy.

"Well, my dear, I am glad that-woah!" Fluttershy interrupted her by shooting a hoof between her legs. Rarity looked down at Fluttershy and breathed heavily, smiling. "I guess...Ahhn...It's...My turn?" Fluttershy nodded silently, smiling knowingly as she pushed Rarity onto her flank. Fluttershy rubbed Rarity's sex, alternating pressure and frequency and Rarity closed her eyes, letting herself fall into the pleasure. Fluttershy decided to change things up and went downward, kissing Rarity's sex unexpectedly. Rarity's body jerked at the sudden sensation.

"Fluttershy! Are you sure you....Oooohhhhh...." Rarity's face changed from surprise to pure ecstasy as Fluttershy began to lick her marehood, a smile creeping its way over the lips. Rarity moaned beautifully, spurring Fluttershy on. The pegasus sucked on the lips before tonguing Rarity's clitoris. "Oh, Fluttershy..." Rarity breathed as she moved her hips on Fluttershy's mouth. Fluttershy ran a hoof up Rarity's body, and Rarity took the hoof in hers as she rode on Fluttershy's pleasuring. It didn't take long to bring Rarity close to climax. She wouldn't have wanted to admit it as readily as Fluttershy had, but it had been a long time for her as well.

"Fluttershy! I'm so close..." Rarity ground her hips into Fluttershy's mouth and Fluttershy's eyelids lowered as she brought Rarity closer and closer to glorious orgasm. Fluttershy couldn't help but pleasure herself as she did this. She'd been waiting for this so long, and the pegasus was determined to enjoy every minute. Rarity's muscles tightened and she came, her juices leaking into Fluttershy's mouth and down her chin. Fluttershy, satisfied with what she'd done, wiped her mouth and climbed up Rarity's heaving body. The unicorn breathed heavily and kissed Fluttershy once more with fiery passion. They separated and kissed once more, just a peck.

"That was incredible...And a long time coming." Rarity sighed, making Fluttershy giggle. "Remind me to...Get a taste of you, next time..." Fluttershy raised a saucy eyebrow, and it was an eyebrow that Rarity figured she'd be seeing much more from that point on.

"We have all night...I'm not tired..." Fluttershy sat back from Rarity and spread her legs, exposing her marehood to her lover. The look on her face was lustful and confident, uncharacteristic of her usual demeanor, and it set Rarity's arousal into overdrive. A similar look came to the unicorn's face. "So why wait?" Rarity crawled forward and kissed Fluttershy deeply on the lips before moving downward. She gave Fluttershy's wet, warm sex a long, drawn out lick, extracting a saccharine moan from her lover.

The pillows on that couch were bitten into several more times that night.

"Well...It looks to me that your baby is perfectly healthy!" The OB/GYN said to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. This more or less just proved Applejack right, although Rainbow Dash was quite relieved to hear the news. She tried to play this off to Applejack, but the farm mare knew her well enough to see through her facade. "Now, if I may ask, why did you two feel the need to come in for this check-up? You weren't due back here for another two weeks." Applejack looked to Rainbow Dash for a moment before turning back to the doctor.

"Ah just had a little fall on the porch, and Dash here got all worried and such." Applejack said with a small smile. She didn't notice Rainbow Dash's small scowl. "Ah figured there was nothin' wrong, but Ah'm still happy to get the news that the foal is okay."

"Well, that actually was a good call on your part, Rainbow Dash. One fall that's a little too nasty can result in serious complications for the baby." The OB/GYN stated, raising an eyebrow. Applejack heard Rainbow Dash give off a small "hmph" but pretended not to notice it. "How about everything else? Have you noticed anything else that has worried you?"

"Nope, Ah'm feelin' fine. Well, apart from the morning sickness. Lost my breakfast before we came here, in fact." Applejack said.

"Yeah, it makes kissing her really gross." Rainbow interjected making Applejack let out a small scoff.

"Oh, shut up. Ah brush my teeth." Applejack retorted, lowering her eyebrows. "Speakin' of food, Ah'm feelin' a might peckish. Maybe we go grab some food after this?" Rainbow nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, with that, I believe we're all done here." The doctor said, standing from her rolling stool. "I'll see the both of you soon!"

"Thanks so much, doctor." Rainbow said as the two of them stood. "You've been a great help."

"Absolutely! And Applejack?" Applejack turned to look at the doctor and gave a small nod. She smiled at the farm mare warmly. "Do try to be careful." Applejack chuckled lightly and the married pair left the building.

"So....You fell? On the porch?" Rainbow scoffed at Applejack and let out a small laugh. "That was seriously the best you could come up with? I've heard Applebloom make up better lies than that." Applejack sighed.

"Can it, ya goober." Applejack retorted. "Ah hadn't thought about it till that moment, and Ah couldn't just up and tell her Ah got hit by the pony who we were tryin' to intimidate and all that other nonsense." Rainbow laughed and elbowed Applejack lightly in the ribs.

"Oh, chill. I was just teasing ya."

"Oop! Ya elbowed me! We'd better go back!" Applejack said in a mocking manner, and Rainbow laughed, shaking her head.

"Let's just go get some food, smart one." Rainbow sighed as they approached Sugarcube Corner. "How much money do you have on you?"

"Just under ten bits." Applejack replied. "You?"

"Eight."

"Well, we can't dine like hogs in the fathouse, but we can at least get a couple sandwiches."

"That's all we ever get at Sugarcube Corner."

"Well then, there ya go." Applejack said. "Ah wonder if Rarity and Fluttershy wanted to still get together today." Rainbow shrugged as they approached the sweet-covered building.

The two mares entered the confectionery and Pinkie Pie, who was dealing with a line of four separate ponies, shot them an overjoyed smile before being snapped back to her business by the customers she was dealing with. Rainbow looked at the line and then at her wife and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, chill here for a minute." Rainbow said, as Applejack turned to look at her. The pegasus ambled backward through the door. "I'll be back in a bit!" The pegasus flew off to wherever she was going to go, as she was wont to do. Applejack's wife was gone before the words, "Where are you going?" could exit her mouth. She sighed and found a table on the patio to sit at. Since it had been installed, the patio was usually where she, Rainbow Dash or their friends would sit. There was an unusual amount of business going on, even for the exceptionally popular eatery, and so Applejack was fine with not receiving service right away. She figured the Cakes were in the kitchen, dashing around the counters and trying to fulfill the orders that seemed to stream in. Pinkie Pie clearly had her hooves full with the line she faced.

"Hey, AJ! Look who I brought!" Rainbow said from behind her. Applejack turned to see Fluttershy and Rarity accompanying the pegasus. The unicorn had a pair of sunglasses on, presumably to mask her black eye.

"Hey, yall!" Applejack said with a smile, standing up from the two top she was currently at. "Come on over. Ah can move to a bigger table." It didn't take long for them to join the farm mare and they all sat together. "So...How're y'all holdin' up?" Rarity smiled at her.

"I'm...Actually better than I've been in a long time. I mean, nopony broke down my door this morning to arrest me, so I do believe we're in the clear." Rarity said, almost giddily.

"Rainbow Dash insisted we go to the doctor this mornin' to get the baby checked." Applejack said, nudging her wife with an elbow. "Turned out to be fine."

"Oh, good call, Rainbow." Fluttershy said, earning a look of mild disbelief from Applejack. The yellow pegasus noticed this. "It's usually a good idea to go get the baby looked at if the mother falls. Almost always."

"Ha!" Rainbow threw the declaration of victory Applejack's way.

"But Ah fell onto my flank! It wasn't even that hard a punch." Applejack tried to rationalize. "Ah don't even have a baby bump yet."

"Umm...Yes you do, dear." Rarity replied with a raised eyebrow. Applejack's eyes widened and she stood looking down at her side.

"Really? Y'all are tellin' me y'all can see this? Oh, goddesses." Applejack breathed, beginning to fret about her body shape. She looked up from her belly to see the three mares suppressing giggles.

"Well well, Applejack..." Rainbow said with a knowing smirk. "I didn't know you were so obsessed with your physical appearance." Applejack grumbled and sat down at the table, having been caught obsessing over exactly that.

"Oh, shut up." The mares all burst into laughter and Rarity placed a hoof on Applejack's shoulder.

"Relax dear, we're only teasing." Rarity said. "We only notice it because we're looking for it. I'd give you another month or so until it becomes truly visible."

"Yeah, come on, ease up AJ." Rainbow said with another small giggle. Applejack smiled and shook her head.

"And Fluttershy? How're you feelin' after last night?" Applejack asked.

"Oh...I was pretty scared and freaked out, but Rarity was able to calm me down." Fluttershy said, looking at Rarity appreciatively. "Should we...Umm..." Fluttershy leaned in close to Rarity and whispered something into her ear. Rarity seemed to think for a moment before nodding with a small smile.

"You two have to promise not to tell anypony about this. Not even Twilight or Pinkie Pie." Rarity said to the two married mares, who looked at each other and then nodded at the unicorn. "Fluttershy and I are going to give things another shot." Rarity said, surprising Fluttershy, who had expected to make the declaration herself. The fashionista took Fluttershy's hoof in hers, making her blush.

"That's great!" Applejack said happily. "Why do y'all not wanna tell anypony though? Rainbow and Ah are proof that y'all can get by with ponies knowin' about it."

"Yeah, I mean, not even Twilight or Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"They both interact with so many ponies every day. Something could slip, and Ponyville's a small town. Word travels fast. We definitely plan to announce it at some point. Truth is, I'm still a bit nervous about it." Rarity said before putting a hoof out. "A-And I know that you two have made a successful go of things, but I just simply don't know how a lot of my clientele would react to the news. But until then, what I know for sure is that I love her." Rarity finished before adding the last note of: "And I hope that she loves me."

"Oh, I do." Fluttershy said dreamily, blushing at Rarity.

"Hey guys!" Pinkie Pie cried, zipping up to their table. "Sorry about that wait! What can I get you?" Rarity removed her hoof from Fluttershy's, which the yellow pegasus didn't seem to mind. This hadn't escaped Rainbow Dash's attention however, and the rainbow-maned mare did in fact mind.

"Ah'll have just a fruit cup, and some yogurt." Rainbow Dash registered Applejack say as her mind drifted. It drifted to unhappy memories of Applejack looking over her shoulder. Also of relentlessly checking to see if other ponies were around before they'd even kiss, of screaming and crying. Was Rarity truly ashamed of being with Fluttershy? It certainly was true that a pony should be able to come out when they are comfortable with it, and it was certainly true that Rarity was a mare that was almost universally identified as straight. Going off of that, would the unicorn change her mind again just as quickly as she had before once she found a stallion that struck her fancy? Applejack's voice snapped her out of her mini-trance.

"Dash? Daaash?"

"Oh, uh...I'll just have a water with a lemon wedge and the daffodil sandwich. You know what? Throw some onions, peppers and provolone on there, too." Rainbow said, playing off how deep in thought she'd been pretty well. Pinkie nodded happily.

"Alrighty! You got it!" Pinkie said sweetly before bouncing off.

"Wow, Rainbow. Changin' it up a bit, huh?" Applejack said and Rainbow laughed.

"Yeah, I'm a typical case of 'if it isn't broken, don't try to fix it.' But hey, even I like to spice things up a bit." Rainbow replied and looked over to see Rarity's hoof once again on Fluttershy's. She looked at Rarity, and the sun hit the unicorn in a way that illuminated her eyes from behind the sunglasses, and within those eyes, Rainbow recognized real love. This eased her heart a bit, though some trepidation remained.

'Well...maybe I'm overthinking things.'

Author's Notes:

Now Rarity and Fluttershy are officially officially together! (With some sexytimes to boot!) I mean, yeah, Rarity's still trying to keep things on the DL, but to be fair, not everyone is as brave as Rainbow Dash. Coming out is a huge huuuuge deal. Sorry for the good while since the last update. Things are ramping up for me job-wise and I've been in a play where I've been pretty busy. I promise I will not stop updating until the story is done. And speaking of which, when all is said and done, if my outline is any indication...

It might just be longer than The Only Thing Better Than Flying

Cheers!