Luna's hooves made no sound against the red carpet as she walked through her castle's corridors.

She realised that, for the first time in forever, she had not put her royal shoes or collar on. Without them on, she felt somewhat out of place in the castle, and yet it was relaxing for her not to bear the physical weight of superiority.

The carpet felt both rough and soft to the touch. She rarely walked like this, and even then it was only in her bedroom. The alicorn hadn't walked barehooved on this carpet in...years, really. The texture of it was a nice reminder.

She could allow her train of thought to wander wherever it wanted and dominate her centre of attention because - despite the enormous network of rooms and corridors that would easily get any other pony lost - she could navigate herself around that place with her eyes closed.

When she felt she was nearing the door, she hastened in pace and stopped just outside it. Her hoof raised to knock, and she smiled; it had been over a thousand years since she had last knocked on her sister's bedroom door.

"Luna? Is that you?"

"No, it's the other sister of yours who wants to begin the day with you." Luna beamed. Celestia laughed and opened the door moments later. "So, are you ready to manipulate Equestria's main celestial bodies?"

The white alicorn laughed again. "Come on, Luna," she said and started walking down the hallway. Her sister trotted after her.

With the moon and stars currently being the only natural light sources, the castle was dark. Though Celestia was used to waking at this time, she could never quite get used to the foggy blackness of the shadows.

Her sister, however, had the eyes of a cat. They were rather sensitive to light but thrived with vision in the darkness. When they passed the occasional window and a faint light was shed across them, Celestia could see simple delight glinting from them. The mystery of night was where she belonged, where she most felt comfortable.

This was why Celestia never lit her horn to provide light for herself, for it felt as if she was washing something precious and vital away from her sister.

Even from separate balconies, the alicorn saw the slight dismay when she lowered the moon. It hurt Celestia as well, but then the sun would appear and their faces would light up again.

They reached the balcony. Luna's horn started to glow immediately. Celestia waited the usual amount of time before igniting her own horn to move the celestial body she was assigned to.

When the sun peaked over the east horizon, Celestia slowed it down, so that the others who were fortunate enough to be awake could marvel at the display of dazzling colours now in the sky.

As soon as the sunrise was over, Luna started talking. "Sister, why did you choose to crown Twilight a princess just after one of her best friends was turned to stone?" She spoke as if this had been bothering her for a while now.

Celestia sighed; she knew this topic would find her sooner or later. "Luna, may I ask you again what you saw in your vision?"

"Fluttershy and Discord, talking to one another," Luna began tiredly, and Celestia join in for the second part, because she had heard it before, "It was clear they were in love, simply judging from the way they spoke to one another."

"Yes, I know, Luna. But what of the evil you sensed? Can you not remember anything more specific than just it being evil?"

The Princess of the Night shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid not. I know nothing more about this oncoming evil than you do."

Celestia bit her lip. "But there's still the...ahem...possibility that...that it could've been..." She gulped; Luna was touchy when it came to things like this. "Incorrect?"

To her surprise, confusion and relief, her sister laughed. "Now, that's where I know you're wrong. Discord, in all certainty, is going to fall in love with Fluttershy."

Celestia's mouth opened in vague disbelief. "But how do you -"

"Can you honestly say that you didn't think I'd search for a way for them to get out as soon as I could?" Luna raised an eyebrow. "Twilight and I found the spell a few days ago. She used a spell Cadence gave her and it showed us that it was certain."

"I never thought you wouldn't." Celestia beamed, wrapping a wing around her sister. "Which is why I crowned Twilight a princess. I know what she's going through is hard, I know I could've waited, but her magic is now better than it was when she was a unicorn. With Discord and Fluttershy gone and that evil lurking just around the corner, we need all the power we can get."

Fluttershy sipped her tea quietly, trying not to notice that Discord was staring a her.

The liquid trickled down her throat like lava with a bearable temperature, warming her belly the moment it touched it. The sun was directly above her head, covering the pegasus in a coat of heat. The warmth both within and without her spread towards each other, so for a moment her body was a little too warm for her liking.

The blush in her cheeks did not help.

Fluttershy moved her legs into a different position, one in which it felt more natural to be facing away from the draconequus.

The hills around her were bright green, daffodils and daisies blowing amid the blades. The sky was blue with a perfect number of clouds flying across it, and the breeze was cool and comforting, and, and...

And the beauty of the dreamt-up nature surrounding her wasn't distracting in the slightest.

She slammed her teacup back down onto it's saucer, the sudden clang of china startling Discord. "Why are you staring at me?" she demanded.

He grinned sheepishly. "Oh, no reason. Just..." He rolled over and lay spread-eagled, on his back, staring into the pegasus' teal eyes. "Admiring how much prettier you look in natural light."

Fluttershy tried to avert his gaze, but his seemingly glowing red pupils were hard to ignore now she was staring at them.

She could feel her heart thumping with embarrassment, but knew it was pointless to voice her disagreement. As a kind of last resort, she flicked her mane down in front of her face, blowing a soft gust of cool, refreshing air into her face.

"I swear, if I got one bit for every time you did that..." Discord sighed. "I could make a fortune. You know; if I had any interest in money and I didn't already have totes amazing magic." He moved the hair aside. "Is there any particular reason why you do it or is it just 'cuz you're scared?"

Fluttershy gave a half-smile. "B-both. My hair colour reminds me of something I like, something that...that calms me down." Her grin evolved into a whole one. "You'd never guess what it is."

He raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Is that a challenge?"

"I do believe it is."

"Is it pink rabbits?" Her hair was quickly changed to a fuchsia bunny.

"No."

"Pinkie Pie?" A miniature version of her aforementioned friend appeared on her head, dancing and blowing raspberries. "No, wait; she wouldn't calm you down. Like, ever."

He stopped to think. Then, his face lit up. "AH-HA! I've got it!" Her entire head was now covered with a swarm of pink butterflies. Only her eyes were visible.

She made them wide, pleading. Fluttershy didn't want to move her head in fear that she might hurt the fragile creatures, so this was pretty much the only form of communication she was okay with using.

When Discord didn't get the message, her top lashes dropped halfway down, forming a dead-straight and unimpressed' line across her eyes.

He removed the butterflies.

"Keep trying."

His eyes lit up hopefully. "Am I close?"

"Nope."

He grumbled. "Can't you just tell me? Because, y'know, you're my friend and friends need to know important stuff about each other? Cheese?" Fluttershy guessed he actually meant 'please', but had no idea why he replaced that simple word other than for the sake of being random. To be fair, that was the reason for a lot of his actions.

She looked down at her hooves, her beaming cheeks blocking some of her vision. "Cotton candy."

There was a slight tug on her mane. She turned, already knowing that Discord had turned her hair into the fluffy substance and had started eating it.

"Oo wike cotton cangy?" he said with his mouth full. Taking a piece for herself, Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically.

He swallowed. "Awww, I wish you'd told me. There would have been no way I would've taken over Equestria, had I known back then."

Fluttershy's smile faltered and she started concentrating on moving her hoof round in small circles on the picnic blanket.

"Not to say it was your fault, of course!" he assured upon realising his mistake. When her facial expression didn't change, he placed his paw on her cheek.

She let out a small sigh, but her face still didn't change.

Discord rolled his eyes, then held the other side of her face with his claw and wrenched her head up to his.

Fluttershy was forced to look him in the eye. The tears that had initially formed in her eyes were now gone, because although his eyes were sharp and meaningful, she saw the true intention of concern as he spoke, "Now, you listen to me: I took over Equestria. I took you away from your friends, I did this. And I'm not going to let you sit in a pool of guilt that isn't your own."

The pegasus was smiling. She could tell he genuinely felt responsible for their predicament, and it was both sad and touching at the same time.

Since his grip has loosened, she was able to move freely. Leaning forward, she planted a long, soft kiss on his cheek.

Then she lay her head down on his shoulder and whispered, "I know."

"But...I though you said friends weren't allowed to kiss friends!" Discord whined, folding his arms like a foal throwing a tantrum.

Fluttershy sighed exasperatedly. "Yes, I did say that. But I was talking about kissing on the lips, which is reserved purely for romantic relationships. Surely it can't be that hard for you to figure out which is which."

The draconequus squeezed his mouth firmly shut and waited. And waited. And waited, until he thought he was going to have to be the one to break the silence, but then, "I-I would understand, though, if it was, seeing as you've never experienced friendship before -"

He laughed. "I know the difference between signs of affection. I'm not completely uneducated in that area, you know."

"But why -"

"I just love seeing you get frustrated and then apologising for it. It's quite entertaining to watch, if you ask me."

She rolled her eyes, sipping her tea again. In her peripheral vision, she saw Discord staring at her again, but this time she didn't mind so much.

If he thought she was worth staring at, then that was nothing more than a compliment. And it was one she knew she was going to have to take.

Rarity's horn stopped glowing, and she suddenly felt a lot lighter on her hooves.

She turned to Spike. "Darling, a-are you sure you can..."

"I'll be fine, Rarity," he assured, carelessly waving a hand at her. "I'm more worried about you. I mean, I know Rainbow's an awesome pal and all, but...be careful, okay? I don't know what to expect from her and I certainly don't want her to slap you again."

The unicorn sighed, pulling him towards her. "Spikey, she needs my help. She needs a friend, and I'm not just going to sit around and wait for somepony else to be that friend."

"I know. Come back soon though, okay? There's only so much CMC I can handle on my own."

She laughed. "You're right. I'll be a few hours at the most, alright?"

"Okay."

His head rested over her shoulder as she crossed her hooves over his back, barely noticing the spines digging into them. She moved her head slightly so her muzzle was pressed against his head, breathing in his scent.

Then, without a second thought, she kissed him firmly atop his brow. He let go of her in surprise.

"Bye, darling!" Rarity sang as she closed the door behind her.

She blocked out the indefinite sound of her beating heart and looked around for the nearest cloud.

There was one a few metres away, hovering only just within jumping reach of an average pony. Rarity trotted over and leapt at it, dragging it down as much as she could.

The cloud seemed to prefer the altitude it was used to, so it fought against Rarity's grip, but she didn't let go as she hauled it across town to where Rainbow's cloud house was.

Rarity positioned herself just in front of it. With one final tug, she pulled herself onto the cloud. She half-expected to fall through, but the spell had worked and her hooves stood firm.

She nearly lost her balance when it zoomed up to the height it had originally been in. Steadily as she could, Rarity grabbed another cloud from nearby and repeated the process.

She repeated until she was within close proximity of the door. Her hooves landed neatly in front of it, and the mare promised herself that she would never, ever, do that again.

The door was open. Inside, there were countless trophies and Wonderbolt posters lining the walls and a statue of a flying pegasus in the corner.

It was welcomingly bright inside, but Rarity couldn't help but feel like she shouldn't be there. Maybe Rainbow wasn't home; maybe she was somewhere else. Rarity didn't like to think how Dash would feel about somepony inviting herself into her house.

"Rainbow Dash?" No answer.

Something made Rarity climb the stairs and open the door to Rainbow's bedroom, however. And there she was; drooping over the side of her bed.

Rainbow looked up the moment she walked in. "H-hi," Rarity stuttered.

"Hey. What's up?" came her nonchalant reply.

The unicorn sighed and looked down at her hooves. "Look, Rainbow, I...I'm sorry that I..."

"That you what, thought I didn't give a hoof about my best friend? Yeah. Figures." Rainbow covered her face with a pillow.

"I am sorry, darling. I was just...I didn't mean it. I promise I didn't really mean any of it, I was..."

"You were so mad about one tiny thing that you forgot about everything else for a moment and let every single instinctual retaliation spill out your mouth? Yeah. I get that too." She rolled over to face the unicorn. "Look, Rarity, I'm not mad at you. I can't exactly blame you for assuming that."

Rarity smiled sheepishly and scuffed her hoof on the ground.

"...Do all of you think that? Did you somehow come to an agreement that I didn't care?" The questions sounded sarcastic in the way they were spoken, but Rarity knew they were genuine so she nodded.

"Even...even Applejack?"

"Darling, Applejack was the one who first started the topic of discussion. I'd say she believed it the most."

"O-oh..." Rainbow turned away and hung her head. Maybe in shame, maybe in sadness; Rarity didn't know, but it looked more like the latter.

"W-why do you ask?"

"I just thought that...I dunno." She made eye contact once more. "Applejack's such a tough pony, like me, so I just thought that maybe...maybe she would understand, y'know? That she'd get it without me having to tell her."

"...Oh, alright. I...I'm sorry, darling, and if there's anything I can do to make it up to -"

"What?" Dash at arched a joking eyebrow. "You don't need to do anything. I already said I don't blame you for thinking that, and I've already forgiven you, anyway."

Rarity stared at her. "R-really?"

"Yeah. And plus I need to focus on writing a letter to Spitfire."

"Oh yes? Why's that?"

"She sent me a personal invite to her birthday party! Soarin's throwing it for her, and I think he's putting on a special show for her, too."

"That sounds..."

"Awesome? I know right!" Rainbow flapped into the air. "It's gonna be the best. Disco. Ever!" she squealed. "I mean, I know it's gonna be on the more romantic side of discos, since Spitfire and Soarin are dating, but I don't mind because..." She trailed off into an anxious silence, her cheeks flaring.

Rarity bit her lip. "Soarin and Spitfire? Really? Wow."

"I know!" Dash exclaimed, back to her perky demeanour. "It's awesome times a kabillion though, because I can bring you guys along too! For free!" Rainbow covered her mouth and blushed even harder, like she'd just said something absolutely dreadful. "Oh, shoot..."

"What is it?"

"Never mind. Look, I'll go get the invite right now." With that, she zoomed downstairs and left Rarity on her own.

The unicorn looked around at the room. It had a few of the same posters decorating the downstairs, and a window that had a perfect view of Ponyville and a rainbow waterfall cascading down the wall outside.

Rainbow apparently decided that the letter wasn't, in fact, downstairs and sped back into her bedroom. She rummaged around on the one an only shelf in the room, one that contained the whole Daring Do book series.

Rarity realised she had never actually been in Rainbow's bedroom before, seeing as she had never been to her house for a sleepover.

While on the train of thought of sleepovers, she looked over at Dash's bed. It had a mattress made out of cloud, and Rarity found herself rather envious of how comfortable it must be to lie on.

Edging closer, a glare of refracted light caught her eye. Rarity blinked and peered under the bed. There was an emerald-encrusted box hiding beneath it, one which was undeniably gorgeous.

It didn't take her more than a second to realise why it wasn't on display like supposedly every other one of Rainbow's possessions. A box like this wasn't really the cyan pegasus' style - or it wouldn't seem to be, from the perspective of an average onlooker.

Rarity knew she was one of the only ponies who was aware of this...private side of Dash, so she gave in to the urge to take box out from beneath the bed. If she was going to understand Rainbow, she may as well start with this.

"My goodness, darling," she started, admiring the glimmering box in the light. "Wherever did you get a box like this?" Rainbow turned round, slowly. "I must say: I'm rather envious of you right now." Rarity began to lift the lid, extremely curious about the box's content; it was so dazzling that it must have something worthwhile insi -

Rainbow tackled Rarity and grabbed the box, hauling it away from her and slamming the lid down...directly onto her hoof. The unicorn screamed briefly before Rainbow snatched it right out of her reach, wrapping all six of her limbs around it.

"Rainbow, what in Equestria..." Rarity trailed off as soon as she saw Rainbow's face: bright red. Not with the sort of blush one gets if somepony stumbles upon one's secrets, but the sort one gets...about somepony.

"R-Rarity, tell me someth-thing," Rainbow stuttered. She dropped the box. "Did you look inside?"

"I..."

"DID YOU LOOK INSIDE!" Dash hollered, her face mere inches away from Rarity's.

"No."

"Pinkie Promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to fly; stick a cupcake in my eye. But Rainbow, I'm just trying to understand...well, what you feel. In detail. I want to know you properly."

Silence.

"And that includes your crush."

Rainbow looked up at her, assuming she had, in fact, seen inside. But then she remembered who she was talking to. The unicorn was admirably perceptive when it came to emotions. If Rarity already partially knew, then it would be easiest if Dash just told her the whole thing.

Or...showed her.

Rainbow bit her lip. Nopony apart from her had seen the interior of the box, not even Fluttershy. Dash had told her best friend about her feelings towards the pony in question, but the box was something so personal she had never even spoken of it before.

Rarity was the most romantic of her friends. She understood and empathised with a pony's feelings more than anypony else. For the same reason Dash had ended up picking her for her earlier task, she decided Rarity would be the first other creature to see inside her precious box.

Her face still aflame, Rainbow offered it to the unicorn. The moment it was out of her hooves, she cowered to the ground, her hooves crossed over her head as if she was bracing herself for a bomb.

Then, out of the quiet, the bomb dropped. "To Rainbow Dash," Rarity read aloud, "I know this one'll look good on you. You owe me ten bits now. From your dare-partner, Applejack."

Rarity looked at Rainbow, who was scrunched up in the tightest ball she was able to be in. She stroked the pegasus' back. "Darling, are you...that is to say, is AJ your..." She gulped. "Are you in love with her?"

Rainbow peered out from under her hooves, revealing her face which was still refusing to return to cyan. "How should I know? You're the love expert; you tell me."

Rarity sighed. "So it is her. I..,I'm sorry to...what's this?!" she gasped, her eyes sparkling as she pulled out a necklace from its refuge of lilac tissue paper.

It was a single, thin band of metal, from which hung a dozen irregularly-large amethysts, each of them sporting a magenta-tinted glow from the sunlight.

"Gift from AJ," Rainbow murmured, finally deciding to sit up again, but her gaze was plastered to the floor.

"Oh, I remember this! I was so confused when Applejack asked me to help her find a -"

"You helped her?! That dirty little cheater!" Dash laughed. "I bet her ten bits she couldn't find an accessory that I think looks good on me. I gotta go ask for those bits back!"

"Darling," Rarity giggled, "I went along with Applejack to the jeweller's, but she thought every accessory I suggested was too extravagant. She was the one who picked the necklace."

Rainbow sighed happily. "I still cannot believe she found a necklace that I liked."

They went quiet for a long, long time. Rarity recalled their earlier discussions to mind, and she spotted a few hints of Rainbow's feelings that had previously been dismissed by the unicorn, including when...

"You were planning to take Applejack to Spitfire's party, weren't you?" Rarity guessed, earning a nod from the pegasus. "Darling, you can't feel obliged to take -"

"What about you?" Dash demanded, suddenly not wanting to talk about her feelings anymore. "Do you have any embarrassing topics we can discuss?"

The white mare ran a few options of response through her mind. The one she settled on was one she didn't really want to talk about, but she guessed that was exactly how Rainbow had felt about showing her the box.

And, embarrassing as it was, she owed the pegasus for pressing her into showing her the box.

"Spike," she stated simply.

"Ah, the hopeless little dragon crush. Excellent ch -"

"Not about his crush on me." Rarity began to blush, the colour in her cheeks clear against her pale coat.

"So...about, what, your crush on him?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow jokingly, chuckling.

"Yes, actually. Although, it's not a crush." Her cheeks had abandoned their salmon tinge for an even clearer crimson.

Rainbow blinked at her. "You're not serious, are you?"

Rarity closed her eyes and nodded.

"You are?! What? Then why haven't you told him and, more importantly, why is this so embarrassing? He has a crush on you, so...I mean, it's not like you don't know that...right?"

Rarity opened the barrier between her eyes and the world, letting the persistent little tear inside free. "I know he has a crush on me."

"So why haven't you told him? Rarity, I'm so jealous of you right now, you know."

The unicorn bolted to her hooves and yelled, "IT'S BECAUSE HE HAS A CRUSH ON ME! A CRUSH, AND THAT'S IT!"

Rainbow tried to look as though she understood, but her lack of interest in the specific meanings of words kicked her in the flank. All she could manage was befuddlement.

Luckily, Rarity continued, "Crushing isn't the same as loving, Rainbow. It isn't as strong, nor is it as true. I know real love when I feel it, and currently I only feel it around Spike. But it's hopeless, because all he feels for me is a stupid crush." She sniffed.

Dash started to catch on. "Okay, so he's too young to love. So what? Wait a few more years; he'll come around, I'm sure."

"Oh yes, darling. How kind of you to remind me that I'm in love with someone younger than me," Rarity spat through gritted teeth. She sighed. "I'm not saying he's too young to love. He's old enough, mature enough and clever enough to be in a proper relationship. What I'm saying is that he doesn't. His feelings for me will die one day, because he doesn't love me. Unless I'm deeply mistaken, which I doubt I am."

She turned away. Rainbow frowned at her back, then smashed her hood into the ground to grab her attention. "No," she stated sharply with a curt nod of her head.
Rarity sucked on her lips, drying her eyes. She didn't reply, as she feared any words would only be choked by tears.

"I can't let you do that, Rarity," the pegasus continued, "not if there's a chance. However tiny it may be."

The unicorn blinked, her eyes wide and glassy.

Rainbow began to smirk. "Which is why, Rarity, I'm taking you both to Spitfire's birthday disco."

Rarity shook her head. "Darling, no. I co -"

"I was not finished," she interrupted, making the mare shut her mouth. "In return, you teach me how to be a gentlemare. Sound fair?"

Rarity nodded. Then, something occurred to her - the something that had gotten them in this situation in the first place. "Darling, why did you come to mine earlier on?"

Rainbow blushed, smiling sheepishly. "T-to ask for..." She laughed nervously. "For...something."

Rarity arched an eyebrow. "What sort of something?"

Gulping, Dash gave in, "A...hug."

She squeezed her eyes shut, half-expecting laughter to follow what she said. However, what she did receive was different.

It was surprising. It was unexpected. It was...exactly what she needed.

"Rainbow," Rarity said softly, tightening her embrace. "You don't need to feel embarrassed about that sort of thing. You know I would never laugh at you for wanting a comforting embrace."

"Why?"

"Because it's a sign of true affection."

Author's Notes:

*hides under baking tray*
Yes, now y'all know: I ship Appledash. I plead guilty, an' Ah'm proud of it. I just love 'em, 'kay?
OKAY?
Good.
This is a FANDOM, people. Ya can't expect yer faves to appear everywhere.
Now please: no hate fer these two.

And, as some of y'all may have noticed, I deleted the prologue.
Why?
Because it didn't work with the story. It worked at first, but then I altered the storyline. Then I altered it some more. And before you know it, Ah've got myself a completely different storyline on ma hooves.
The prologue no longer pays contribution to the story, and if it did it'd just turn out completely LAME. And don't ask what it originally was in the comments, because its really laborious and complicated and I'm lazy so...Fluttershy kissed Discord on the cheek in this chapter for consolation? No? Ah well.

And I've got exactly 5000 word in this chapter! Wooo!