Author's Notes:

Hey, look at me! I'm an Author's Note at the top!
I'm sorry this took so long, guys! I really hope it'll be sufficient. The next (and last!) one's gonna take a while too, so don't expect it any time soon!
Again, sorry!

"Hmmm...okay, I guess that makes sense," Celestia admitted

"Yes, it does sound like you genuinely got through to her," Luna agreed, nodding her head. "I do see why you let her go."

Twilight sighed in relief. "That's good. I'm glad you understand. By the way, I checked Fluttershy and Discord's emotions again last night, and they're now fully in love with one another. They're searching for a spell, too, so I'd say it'll only be a week or so until I see Fluttershy again!" the alicorn exclaimed, bouncing up and down like Pinkie Pie.

Luna acknowledged the similarity, reminding her that, "Oh, Twilight? Your friends are here to see you."

"Pardon?!"

"They're waiting downstairs."

"Okay!" She started bounding down the corridor, giggling. "This is fun!" she called right before she turned a corner.

Luna chuckled. "What?" her sister asked.

The Princess of the Night waved a hoof carelessly. "Nothing, just..." She smiled. "She's been so tense lately. It's nice to see her bouncing back into a positive demeanour - literally."

Celestia nodded. "I agree. I was worried that she would take alicornhood as a barricade from being able to enjoy herself."

"Well, it isn't the first time you've been wrong."

Twilight arrived at the top of the staircase that led down to where her friends were waiting, only slightly out of breath from her bouncing. She thought twice about bouncing down the stairs as well; she didn't want any injuries and she doubted her wings would be able to save her if she fell. Sighing, she trotted down the stair as fast as she dared then bounced into the hall at the bottom.

Her friends looked at her as soon as she entered. Pinkie's eyes followed the motion of Twilight's bouncing for a minute, then she shouted, "Applejack...I-I swear I didn't use the mirror pool. She looks nothing like me. In fact, I'd say she looks more like Twilight."

The alicorn promptly stopped bouncing. "I am Twilight. And your duplicate wouldn't have wings and a horn, anyway."

"She sounds the part, too," Pinkie added. She looked round at the three other ponies approaching her and Twilight, and the latter noticed that she did not know one of them.

"Who are you?" she inquired.

"This is Cheese Sandwich! He's the only other party planner in Equestria except he's Equestria's official, certified party pony but I'm the original party pony which evens it out and I'm his idol, and now I'm also his special somepony so we're both very happy." Pinkie beamed in a way that seemed physically impossible, and she didn't gasp for breath.

"Okay," Twilight said, mildly irritated that she hadn't been around to witness her friend finding a special somepony. "So...where are Spike and Rarity?"

"They're in the gardens, taking a walk," Rainbow explained, pointing to the door that Twilight knew led to the area Dash was referring to. She winked at Twilight, who then beamed in realisation.

"Oh, I'm so happy for them - wait, so that means three of my best friends are falling in love?!" she exclaimed.

Thankfully, nopony noticed the small blush in Rainbow's cheeks as she stuttered, "Th-th-three?"

"Oh." Twilight reassessed what she had said. "Oops." She looked down, scuffing her hoof on the ground as she figured out what to say. In the end, she decided to start with the good news. "Hey, guys? Guess what? Fluttershy's gonna come back in hopefully a few more days!" she sang, earning the wide, disbelieving eyes she had expected.

Cheese turned to Pinkie. "That's the friend the party's for, right?"

The three mares who knew what he was talking about nodded with a simultaneous 'mmm-hmmm'

They were silence core a little while longer, before each of them started celebrating in their own way. For Pinkie, it was bouncing; for Cheese, it was dancing with the boneless chicken Twilight hasn't noticed beforehoof; for Rainbow it was soaring about squealing, 'ohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh' over an over; and for Applejack it was bucking and rearing while cheering.

Since the princess had heard this information hours prior to that moment, Twilight confined her excitement to a smile. It was a wide, wide smile that was occasionally broken by uncontainable bursts of laughter.

It dawned upon her once more that she would have to break the truth to all of them sooner or later, and she figured it would be better to do the former rather than the latter. That way, they would all have some time to think it over and while Twilight herself had taken longer than a few days to accept it, she had pieced it together bit by bit.

Each 'bit' had seemed like it was the last and largest of the whole truth, so she had taken her time about each of them.

But they would have the whole truth from the start, meaning they could wrap their heads around all of it preferably before Fluttershy and Discord broke free. And if they didn't, then the pegasus and draconequus themselves could talk to that pony (or those ponies), namely Rainbow Dash.

Whom of which, as Twilight sadly spotted, was by far the happiest of everypony combined. The alicorn wasn't sure if she had ever seen a happier face on the pegasus, or even a happier face, period.

Rainbow wasn't one for displaying emotion. She got overly excited about her likes and interests, but things like love, pity, sadness or fear rarely showed visibly or verbally.

And though she was clearly more excited about her best friend coming back than supposedly anything else in her life, this simply translated as the love and friendship they shared.

Twilight's heart sagged in her chest. She couldn't do it. She couldn't bear to destroy something so rare, so precious.

So the princess decided that she would tell them:

Tomorrow.

The four ponies had started a bubbly conversation during Twilight's train of thought. She trotted over to see what they were discussing.

"- but she thinks it's a lost cause, all because she assumes that his feelings won't last," Rainbow finished with a knowing shake of her head.

The others copied her action in agreement. It looked to Twilight as though they were only doing it to play along with how wise Dash felt, as if she had been right all along.

"Hey, Twi?" Rainbow called to the alicorn. "What do you think's gonna become of Spike an Rarity's relationship?"

"I dunno," she replied with a shrug, "I guess that's for them to decide."

The pegasus rolled her eyes. "Uh, sugercube?" Dash turned to the Applejack. "Are ya sure Rarity's in love with Spike? Ah mean, he's a great friend and all, but...Rares? Seriously?"

Rainbow sighed, as if she was thinking deeply about what the earth mare was referring to. "Applejack, you and I both know that Rarity is a romantic. She knows love when she feels it, and even when she sees it - which is why she's so darn set on believing she and Spike will never work out. And, as they say: you can't help you love." Rainbow winked at AJ, who in response furrowed her brow at the pegasus. Dash cleared her throat and awkwardly looked away.

Twilight sighed. She knew Rainbow was just spouting all the insightful phrases and famous quotes she knew of, but it seemed at that moment that she did understand that you can't control your emotions. If she believes that, Twilight thought, then maybe she'll be more accepting of Fluttershy and Discord's relationship than I originally thought. It was rather far-fetched, but the idea gave the princess hope nonetheless.

"Wait, what?!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Rarity can tell if somepony's in love?!"

"That's what she told me," Rainbow shrugged, as if it wasn't her job to separate the truth from lies.

"Do you think she could tell if Cheesy and I are in love?" she asked, taking the stallion's hoof. "I mean, no offence Cheese, but I wanna know if this is gonna work out."

"Maybe." The pegasus shrugged again and let the room fall into a silence of seemingly deep thought - for her, at least. After a minute or two, Twilight blinked herself vigilant as a reminder went off in her brain like an alarm-clock.

She half-raised her hoof to get their attention. "I-I know a spell that can detect one's feelings towards other ponies." Pinkie and Cheese instantly looked a thousand times happier.

"Yes, please!"

"Yes, Cheese!" they said.

Twilight shrugged and approached them. She ignited her horn and scanned each of their emotions, then briefly conjured up a mirror. She announced, "As of now, you two only have what can be described as a mutual crush..."

As she paused to arrange her thoughts, Pinkie's eyes grew more and more insistent and impatient as they stared at the lavender alicorn. "But...?" she prompted.

Twilight cleared he throat. "But, from what I can tell, your relationship can potentially grow into something more than that."

Pinkie squashed herself down then sprung back up, and like a powerful spring she leapt up higher than even Applejack could jump. "YES!" she screamed. As gravity caught up with her, she positioned her poofy tail underneath her to cushion her fall.

She and Cheese attacked each other with a two-way lung-squeezing embrace.

"Hey, Rainbow," Applejack hissed, "Ah dare ya to get yer emotions scanned."

As coolly as she could, the blue pegasus replied, "Oh, puh-lease. I could do that any day," she boasted with a careless wave of her hoof. "How's about you do it first to prove you ain't a chicken?" This was the first time Rainbow realised how hard it was to act casual while indirectly asking for exactly what you want.

The earth pony shrugged in acceptance and Dash inwardly hoof-pumped. "Hey, Twi! Rainbow here has dared me to have mah feelin's checked!" she called, and Dash's heart thumped with anxious anticipation as Twilight walked over to the pair.

Applejack smirked and closed her eyes as Twilight's horn started to glow. Rainbow saw this, and suddenly she had a horrid suspicion that completing a challenge was actually the only reason AJ was doing this.

No. No. No, no, no, no, no no no no no no nononononononononono -

Twilight sighed. "No significant signs of conscious emotion," she reported.

"W-wow, way t-to spoil the fun...AJ," Rainbow attempted to sneer as her ears unwillingly drooped. She bit down hard on her cheeks to stop herself from bursting onto tears.

Applejack smirked at Rainbow. "It ain't over yet, sugarcube."

"Whad'you me -?" Dash began, before she remembered that now it was her go. "Oh, horseapples."

Before she could panic, however, she remembered that when the spell was cast on Pinkie and Cheese, there was no visible magical indicator as to who their feelings were directed at. Sure, it was possible that Twilight's spell had shown its user who their emotions were towards, but she had already known that.

And the worst case scenario would be that one more of her friends would be aware of who Dash (thought she) was in love with.

And her relationship with AJ would be completely unaffected.

Gulping hard, she shot a determined look at Twilight. Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut - but despite what she assumed, it wasn't out of fear. It was because Twilight's horn was glowing brighter than before, and the light was getting in the pegasus' eyes.

The red light;

Rainbow figured that this was the indicator for being in love.

Twilight didn't need a mirror this time. She stumbled back from Rainbow, and the pegasus remembered - too late - that Twilight was terrible at keeping secrets.

Sure enough, the princess gasped and poised her forehooves in front of her mouth. She stared at the pegasus with deep, sympathetic eyes as a few tears fell. Rainbow felt envious of Twilight, because she was allowed to cry while the pegasus wasn't.

"Dash, I...I'm so sorry," she whispered, and - just to top it all off - she couldn't stop herself from taking a glance at Applejack.

The farm mare caught on, needless to say. And all of a sudden, Rainbow didn't need to be envious of Twilight anymore.

She ran out of the doors into the gardens before anypony could stop her. She heard hoofsteps behind her - the kind that were used to running, used to racing. Dash hoped she could lose Applejack as she fled, because she wanted to get to the only two mares - and one dragon - that she wanted to talk to were in the gardens too.

But Applejack caught up, expertly following Dash at an increasing pace. When she grabbed hold of her rainbow tail, the pegasus knew she had no option but to face her.

"Rainbow..."

"WHAT?!" Rainbow demanded, in a voice that sounded for all the world like a whimper trying to be brave. She could feel her dampened face being observed by the mare in front of her.

"Dash, is it...Ah mean, do ya really...?"

Applejack left the question uncompleted, so Rainbow finished it for her, "Do I really what, love you? You saw the spell. You saw Twilight's reaction. Why would she look at you that way if I WASN'T IN GOSH DARN LOVE WITH YOU?!"

Applejack flinched, accidentally allowing Dash time to start running away from her again.

And she chased her. But this time, she kept her distance.

If Rainbow wanted time alone, then she would eventually give up on running and take to the skies, leaving Applejack unable to follow.

But - as AJ suspected she might be - if she even vaguely wanted to talk things out, she would keep running until she was tired out. Exhausted and drained, she wouldn't have the energy to be angry.

And - being the rodeo champion she was - Applejack would be able to speak with her properly, since she wouldn't be nearly as tired.

She could hear the raspy sniffs and sobs of Rainbow over the sound of their thundering hoofsteps. If her normal mental state wasn't enough to keep her running for long enough, then surely the sound of her best friend in pain would be.

"How about...uhhh..." Discord flicked through the book he had conjured up until he found the page he was looking for. "This one!"

Fluttershy's heart quickened in wide-eyed anticipation as he scanned the open book. She followed the movement of his pupils as they zipped across each line; left to right, left to right, left to right. She was still mildly surprised that Discord read from right to left.

"Nope, not this one."

She didn't even sigh. Fluttershy had long since lost count of how many spellbooks they'd tried, not one of them containing anything relevant to the thing they needed. It irritated her that it seemed hopeless, and she was fighting hard not to cry.

Discord noticed this. Fluttershy noticed that he noticed, and she also noticed how quickly he searched through each book they tried. She knew he was losing his patience but trying hard not to show it.

As he conjured up yet another book and began to flick through it, the mare sighed and rested her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and focused in the sound coming from beneath his ribcage.

Thump thump, thump thump, went his heartbeat, and caused Fluttershy to feel immensely tired. The soothing feeling of the simple sound of life was suddenly the best thing in the world.

Discord audibly stopped searching to look down at the pegasus. Replacing her head with her hoof, she opened lazy eyelids. The mild cluelessness of his facial expression was a beautiful thing for her to see. She smiled as one of his hands abandoned the book for her cheek and he kissed her.

She felt both of their hearts quicken, and she started giggling. He grinned and said, "I am in love with you."

Fluttershy rolled her eyes, the laugh still alive on her tongue. "I'm in love with you, too." It felt really, really odd to say that. It would definitely take some getting used to.

The draconequus looked back at his book. "To undo the effects of any Element bearers, previous or current - without using the Elements themselves -, two(or more) separate and powerful magical sources must form a strong bond between one another, a harmony stronger than that shared by the Elements of Harmony."

Fluttershy's still-not-normal heart rate promptly started doing a marathon. That was it. The spell they needed.
"Do it," she blurted, even before her brain ordered her mouth to do so. "Oh my gosh, Discord. Please, cast it now!"

She was crying, crying with joy as his claw started to glow with the yellow aura of his magic. Another light caught her eye when that one dissipated, but this one was white. It shone from the tip of her tail and was gradually spreading up the hairs.

She spotted the same thing occurring on Discord's tail, and abruptly wanted to scream with excitement. Her happiness came out in little squeaks of giggles. Maybe this was what it felt like to be Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie. That thought caused her to attack Discord with as tight a hug as she could muster. He curled his glowing white tail around hers and closed his eyes to enjoy her warmth. He was slightly reluctant to let go when she gently pushed herself free.

The draconequus furrowed his brow in the most serious expression he could form. He conjured up a card with an orange earth mare on it and held it up to Fluttershy. "Who's this?" he demanded.

"What do you mean? That's Applejack."

"Ah-huh. And what's her sister's name?"

"Apple Bloom. B -"

"And her brother's name?"

"Big Macintosh. Why?"

His eyes widened like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, we have to check you still remember everyone, don't we? Can't have you returning with no recollection of who your friends are."

She giggled. "I think I can manage. It's only been three weeks and I tend to have the memory of an elephant."

"That would explain why you have such massive ears," Discord observed, stretching out her left ear and closely inspecting it. His faux-sincerity broke down as he grinned in response to her gorgeous laughter.

Initially intending to only take a glance at her, Discord found that Fluttershy was grinning at him and couldn't help but keep on staring.

She wrapped a hoof around his neck to bring his head down to hers and touched their foreheads together. They could feel the rim of silver magic making its way up their necks - and see it, too, though their eyes were shut.

Fluttershy suddenly wondered what Discord was feeling. Surely, he wasn't nearly as excited as her. There wasn't anything he cared about waiting for him in Equestria, and frankly he wasn't really welcome himself.

He was only happy because she was happy. Then what was he feeling? Uncertainty? Nervousness? Worry?

Fear?

These were all the emotions Fluttershy felt on a regular basis. They were logical, and while Discord had never been a logical being that did not mean he was incapable of the instinctual feelings of any other pony.

He was part pony, after all.

Just before the magic reached their noses, Fluttershy found his hoof and held it as tightly as her fingerless appendage could.

Rarity - like most other ponies - hated awkward silences.

They were similar to birthday gifts that you disliked, but you liked the pony who gave it to you too much to throw it away or stuff it at the back of your closet and forget about it. You just have to make do and use it as much as you can, purely out of respect for that particular mare or stallion.

Awkward silences were so empty that they tended to empty out your brain as they fell on you, depriving you of logical and sensible ways to break them.

But most of all they disconnect you from the other(s) the silence is affecting. You no longer know what they are thinking, how they are feeling. And more often than not you're irrationally scared of finding out, like you've suddenly become a goldfish and cannot remember anything six seconds after they occur.

Rarity looked back down at the dragon walking beside her. For him to keep his normal pace, the unicorn had to slow herself down to a blatantly uneven rate, one of which she was uncomfortable in doing.

She cleared her throat to get him to look at her. Previously, he had been looking around at the blindingly green foliage, presumably hoping to look as though his mind was occupied. Rarity had summoned his attention for practically the same reason: to seem like she had thought of something worthwhile to say.

But - just as the dragon's charade had been - her desperation was noticeable. She looked down in shame - though she wasn't certain of why - and clamped her mouth firmly shut.

Spike sighed. "So," he began, then paused, probably to reassess his idea of speaking. "Rainbow Dash has a crush on AJ."

Rarity laughed, glad that the topic was something relatively time-consuming. "Yes, she really does, doesn't she? Poor girl."

"Poor girl," the dragon agreed, then wrinkled his nose. "Why?"

The unicorn pursed her lips, thinking of a way to word herself without being personal. "I highly doubt that her feelings are mutual."

Spike tilted his head and answered, "True, true. But then again," he added after a few seconds, "I never saw Rainbow's feelings coming in the first place. There's no way to tell whether Applejack returns the feelings or not."

She looked at him, wondering if he was speaking on a mildly personal basis as much as she was. It sounded like he was. The unicorn had to look away when he caught sight of her staring but this, for whatever reason, only caused more hope to flit around in her heart.

In looking away, she realised for the first time just how spectacular the greenery around them was. At was all so natural, with birds chirping at one another and beating their wings against the leaves as they landed on branches, causing a disturbance in the peace.

The two places in Ponyville that were truly teeming with wildlife were the Everfree Forest and Sweet Apple Acres, both of which Rarity did not like visiting. They were muddy and unnerving in ways only an admittedly fussy unicorn like herself could know.

But that side of nature was nowhere to be seen in the Canterlot Gardens. It was all so beautiful. Rarity now understood why Fluttershy adored it so much.

Coincidentally, they were approaching a junction in the path, from which one of the forks led to where that pegasus was. So, instead of continuing a straight line, she turned left and waited for Spike to follow.

She looked up at her stone friend, and scowled at the draconequus holding her. Hanging her head as her heart began to sink, she felt Spike's arm draped across her neck.

"Rarity?" Upon the calling of her name, the unicorn turned and noticed how nervous Spike suddenly looked.

"Yes, what is it darling?" she replied in a voice that held no humour or insincerity; she wanted to let him know that he could ask anything of her and she would not scoff at it - even if it included getting dirty.

"Do you find it awkward to be around me?" he blurted. "I mean, you know I have feelings for you, and...are they irritating? Am I irritating?" This was clearly something that had been on his mind for ages but he had only just racked up the courage to say.

Rarity's expression fell. "Spikey, darling...o-of course not." She spotted tears forming in his eyes and quickly pulled him to her chest, feeling the salty substance rub from his cheek onto her fur.

"I...I'm so sorry, Rarity," the dragon whispered. "I'm sorry I like you so much and I'm not selfless enough to hide it. You're...you're amazing, Rarity. I've seen many-a-stallion gaze at you in town, and even a few other mares. It's no secret that you're beautiful on the outside.

"But you're beautiful on the inside, too. You're generous, artistic, stylish, determined, unique...the list goes on. It doesn't take a genius to identify your every strength. And your flaws, too.

"You aren't perfect. You're dramatic; you overreact; you have a strange intolerance of dirt. It's a little hard to see, but sometimes you're even a little too generous.

"And that's just why you're so brilliant; if you were perfect, you'd be boring. You wouldn't improve; you wouldn't develop; you wouldn't ever discover new things about yourself. You can't evolve when you're already top-notch. That's what everyone sees in you. Everyone who has the pleasure and privilege of knowing you is aware of how magnificent you are. I am one among hundreds.

"And I've realised that...that I may have been selfish. I've come to see that my feelings for you are keeping you from finding The One, because we're friends and you know you would hurt me if you did that. That's what happened at Spitfire's birthday.

"Even though you aren't with Rainbow, that is how I realised that...I'm not the only one who knows of your fabulosity, and I'm certainly not the only one who wants to be with you. I fear that I'm standing in the way of you finding that special somepony, since I know that that pony can never be me."

The dragon drew his head back to look at the mare he loved through salt water lenses. Her deep pools of cerulean that were surrounded by white-sanded beaches gazed down at him sadly; sincerely; sympathetically. There was a lump in his throat that he could not swallow, and a cardiological thump that he could not shatter.

He wished she would reply, and end the deathly silence. And that she did, eventually, "Spike...that might just be the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me." Only then did he realise, from the strain in her voice, that her eyes were shining with tears being fought back. As she closed them to lean forward and kiss him on the forehead, her top eyelids collected the liquid in their way down, so when they finally closed a single drop fell down each cheek.

Rarity took a few long, deep breaths to slow her racing thoughts. If there was ever a time to confess, it would be now. She had to do it, and it was what he was secretly wanting to hear. And even if her suspicions had been correct and all he felt for her was a crush, she couldn't bear to let him feel like he was an obstacle between her and her future.

"Spike," she began, and paused to regain her courage and look into his green, expectant-looking eyes. They were awfully bright, all of a sudden. Maybe it was the Sun reflecting off of them. Yes, she decided: it was definitely reflected light. Only, they were sitting in the shade. So where was it coming from?

Spike noticed it too. Since it was his own eyes the the light was catching, he had a better idea of its origin. He turned round. Rarity followed the tilt of his head, feeling a sense of déjà vu for something that she hasn't quite acknowledged yet, up to...

Fluttershy and Discord. Together. And not in stone.

"Yes, we did it!" the pegasus squealed, letting go of Discord's hand that Rarity and Spike only then realised she had been holding and flinging her hooves around his neck. He buried his snout in her mane and held her tight, clearly smiling by his raised cheeks that arched his closed eyes.

They opened again, ever so slightly, the thinnest line of sclera and pupil showing. The two dots of red suddenly moved directly onto the unicorn and dragon standing, frozen, a metre or so away.

He lifted his head up in surprise. Confused as to why the hug had ended so quickly, Fluttershy searched Discord's face for an answer. When she saw it was pointed elsewhere, she turned her own eyes to that approximate spot.

And her heart immediately did a somersault.

She zipped forwards to hug them with admirable speed for a pegasus who didn't fly much of the time or very well. It was only once one of her two icterine forehooves was wrapped around each of their necks that they were finally able to relax and get over their shock. They started talking simultaneously.

"Oh, Fluttershy, darling, it's so wonderful you're -"

"I missed you so much, Flutters! I was -"

" - back! Oh, I was -"

"- so worried that -"

"- I'd never -"

"- see you -"

"- again!" the two finished together, causing them to look at one another and giggle. Fluttershy joined in the laughter and whispered, "I've missed you guys too."

"Ah, yes, but you've had a different...being to occupy yourself with, haven't you?" Rarity arched an eyebrow at Discord, who was standing awkwardly a couple of hoofsteps away.

"Oh!" Fluttershy blushed and looked at the ground. She drew circles in the dirt with her hoof as she thought about what she was going to say. Before she could, however, two pairs of thundering hooves became audible and she deliberately averted her attention to that.

As they neared, Fluttershy could make out the sound of somepony sobbing. The closer they came, the clearer the sound was and it wasn't long before the pegasus identified a sound that only she was familiar with.

Who the other pony was was revealed when she spoke, though Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike already had a sneaking suspicion of who it was. "Rainbow, stop! Don'cha know that this is the way to -"

Both Rainbow and Applejack skidded into view. The cyan pegasus had tears on her face and sweat all over her body. She wasn't used to galloping for such a long time.

Rarity guessed the situation immediately. She ran forward and hesitantly hugged the wet, sticky pegasus. "She knows," Rainbow wailed into the unicorn's shoulder.

It was then that Spike and Fluttershy caught on. "Oh, you poor, poor thing," the latter sympathised and joined in the embrace, driving Spike to follow.

"Wait, so do all of ya know?" Applejack realised aloud in disbelief. "How come..." Her eyes drifted to the impatient-looking draconequus leaning against a hedge.

He caught her looking. "I don't really know what's going on either, Applejack. Join the club."

"What in tarnation...?" she ridiculed, her mind elsewhere, then repeated. Louder. "WHAT, IN TARNATION?!"

Everyone looked at her, then followed her furious gaze to Discord. Rainbow blinked, then crouched down and snorted like a bull. She leapt at him - or, at least, she tried to but was hampered by a weight attached to her tail.

She looked down to see Fluttershy, of all ponies, with a frown on her face as she bit as hard as she could on the multihued locks. The poor mare was being dragged along by the cyan pegasus since she was not as strong as some.

When Dash realised this was because she was still straining against her friend, she muttered an 'oops' and dropped to the floor. Her tail was released, but Fluttershy had to spit out some of the hairs that had snapped off.

Everypony - and dragon, and draconequus - had their eyes on the yellow pegasus. Rarity noticed, after a few eternal seconds, that eyeing the mare was only making her cower in fear and certainly not getting her anywhere closer to speech. She stepped forward and laid a hoof on her shoulder. "Darling, it's okay. But I do believe you owe us all an explanation, don't you think?"

Fluttershy nodded and gulped, but remained silent. Her friends waited and waited, but not a single word escaped her lips.

Discord contemplated intervening. He could tell Fluttershy was in need of assistance, but he did not feel it was in his place to step in. He was the cause of her current situation, after all. Even so, he kept on taking steps forward then retracing himself, his brain working fast with indecision.

Rainbow was aware that the pressure of her eyes was quite intimidating, especially when the recipient was as timid as Fluttershy. So she had long since averted her gaze.

She felt like shouting. And crying. And destroying something. And going to bed for a thousand years. Celestia, was she tired. She spotted a lone cloud in the blue blue sky, one that wasn't too far away.

It wouldn't hurt if she left to take a nap, would it? She looked back at her best friend. Leaving would only make her go through this again when the time came round for Dash to hear what Fluttershy was still racking up the courage to say.

In the end, she just stretched her head up towards the cloud as far as it would go without taking off, her eyes flicking between Fluttershy and the cloud.

Only, after a few moments, the cloud wasn't there any more. In its place was the faintest glimmer of yellow magic, and it seemed to be making its way down to the pegasus. It curled around her frozen hooves and then suddenly turned back into a cloud, the plush surface springing up beneath her hooves.

She was about to settle into her favourite, most comfortable sleeping position when she realised something and sat bolt upright. "Discord's reformed!" she declared.

"And Pinkie Pie has officially been out-psychiced," Discord commented. Fluttershy failed to stifle a giggle, earning back the eyes of her friends. She bit her lip and hung her head.

Discord sighed exhasperatedly and teleported himself around the pegasus. "Will you stop? You of all ponies," he paused for Spike and the others to notice that the dragon was now a pony, "should know how unconfident Fluttershy is." He turned to the mare in question and tucked a few loose strands of pink behind her ear. "You alright?"

She 'mmm-hmm'ed in response, then took a few shaky breaths. Facing her friends, she stood up straight and stated, "Rainbow Dash is right. Discord is reformed. He is also my boyfriend. I understand if you disapprove, and please: feel free to express it.

"But I will not change my mind about the fact that he," she stepped back and put a hoof round his neck, "he is a wonderful creature. I love..." She looked at him, then corrected herself, "I'm in love with him, and I hope that in time you'll be able to accept and support that fact."

When she finished speaking, she clearly had to control how fast her breath was, as the air she inhaled and exhaled made a distinctly loud and uneven noise as it entered her nostrils and exited her mouth.

Everybody stayed silent. Eventually, Rainbow got tired of the silence and flew up to her bestie. "Can we please have a round of applause for that admirable act of pure bravery!" She started slapping her hooves together and cheering wildly, which proved to be difficult when one of he forelegs was curved round Fluttershy's neck.

"Darn right!" Applejack yelled and stomped her hooves. Dash glanced at her with a tinge of pink in her cheeks.

"Yeah! Go Fluttershy!" Spike punched the air.
"Simply extraordinary, darling!" Rarity exclaimed.

When the whooping and clapping died down, Fluttershy stammered, "I-I thought you'd be angry."

"Me? Nah," Rainbow waved a hoof. "I mean, it's gonna take some getting used to, but I wouldn't put it past a mare like you to win the heart of The Lord of Chaos!" she roared, shaking her clenched hoof in admiration. "Oh, and by the way I'm sorry I was so unsupportive of you the first time around."

The others nodded in agreement. "You had every reason to," Discord cut in. "I was a complete jerk, I know that."

"Yeah, well so were we," Applejack laughed, then looked mock-horrified. "Oh dang, did Ah just relate with Discord?!"

Everyone burst out laughing. It died down quickly, catching Rainbow in the process of muttering, "You're so darn cute, AJ."

The words were out before she could stop herself. She looked at the ground, but drew her eyes upward again when she felt a hoof across her shoulders.

"Hey, Dashie," Applejack said comfortingly. "I'm still your friend, y'know that, don'cha? Whad'ya say Ah take ya to Fluttershy's 'Welcome Home!' party?"

Magenta irises locked on to emerald ones. "What, as a date?"

AJ nodded. "Sure."

"But the spell...you don't..." Rainbow sniffed. "You don't love me."

"Don'cha remember what Twi said? 'No significant signs of conscious emotions'. Now, Ah'm not sure, but Ah'm willin' to try." She leaned forward and softly pressed her lips against her cheek.

They flared up with heat the moment her lips touched it, causing the others to laugh.

Discord then surprised Fluttershy by attacking her with pecks on her own cheeks - and neck. She squealed with embarrassed delight and eventually had to kiss him full on the lips to get him to stop.

And all of a sudden, Rarity remembered what she had wanted to but never finished saying earlier and turned to Spike. "Darling, I..."

"I love you, Rarity," he said quickly then brought her head down to his and closed the space between them. To his relief, pleasure and surprise, she did not politely push him away. Instead, she wrapped her hooves around his neck and kissed back.

When they pulled away, she smiled down at him, so happy she was nearly crying, and said:

"I love you too, Spikey."