Flashback
Twilight saw many pegasi flying outside her window, helping to repair the damage to Ponyville. She even saw Marco and Fluttershy a few times.
She couldn't help but think of Princess Celestia's affectionate behavior earlier. Surely it was just her relief that Twilight had survived the attack...? But Twilight was convinced that she saw a hunger in the white alicorn's eyes that friendship nor mentorship could explain.
Moments later, all of her best friends except Fluttershy came in the room as well as Tom. Pinkie Pie try to leap onto Twilight but was stopped by Rainbow Dash's wing.
"Pinkie! Twilight's clearly beaten and exhausted from being cornered by all those Changelings." Rainbow Dash snapped. Pinkie looked slightly bummed as she took several steps away from Twilight's bed and beside her boyfriend Tom.
"Princess Celestia told us about what happened and we're so sorry that we weren't there darling." Rarity apologized. "Although, Apples here did kill at least fifty Changelings..."
"Aw shucks Rares, all it takes is a really powerful set of hooves." Applejack affectionately nuzzled her marefriend and Twilight frowned at the mention of killing.
"I never wanted our town to resort to killing to get rid of the Changelings, but it had to be done." Twilight sighed. "What's Princess Celestia doing?"
"Well thanks to her and Princess Candace, the repair is almost done! We just came here to quickly visit you before you two lovebirds rest-"
"Woah woah woah, lovebirds?!" Twilight gawked, interrupting Rarity's answer.
"I thought there was something going on between you two...?" Rarity responded with confusion. "After all, Princess Celestia has been answering your letters within seconds. Ponies only really do that when they're in love."
"No, I've only been updating Celestia on my training with Star." Twilight knew that what she said was true, but she also remembered the little things her and Celestia also talked about. Even though she technically started as Celestia's student, she always considered her to be her first friend. Even back when she hardly had any and stuck her muzzle in her books all the time. So how could the greatest being in Equestria be in love with her despite that?
And who could forget the Canterlot wedding! When Princess Celestia was upset with her, she had never seen Celestia as upset as she was then. It had devastated her at the time, even though now she was long over it.
"Well...we do have a really close relationship. But that doesn't mean we're dating! My admiration and her pride for my accomplishments doesn't go beyond a student-mentor relationship!" Twilight lied.
But then there was also Starlight's graduation, which gave her insight that Princess Celestia hadn't just heartlessly tossed Twilight to Ponyville. She had done it crying and pained at the thought of Twilight not needing her anymore. Which made Twilight wonder if Princess Celestia needed her.
"Well, it might be that way for you, but you should ask Princess Moony Eyes when she comes to visit you." Rainbow Dash laughed. "One last hug before we go get some well deserved rest?"
The four ponies leaned in and hugged Twilight before Tom and the four of them left. Princess Celestia came in moments later, and now that Rainbow Dash mentioned it, Princess Celestia did have a special look in her eyes that Twilight originally thought was full of fondness. But there was so much love there, and Twilight realized that none of her studying and reading could have prepared her for this moment.
"H-hey Celestia." Twilight's ears flattened and she gave a shy smile. "Has Ponyville's buildings been completely repaired?"
"They certainly have been." Princess Celestia moved gracefully and slowly towards her former student like a swan. "I was going to let you know that a patrol found my sister, and that she'll be spending the night here. Then she'll be going back to Ponyville and um, sadly I'll be going back too. We have too many responsibilities."
"If it were more easier, I'd stay here a few more days to make sure that Ponyville recovers from this attack properly." Celestia added. "This may be poor timing, but seeing you almost die made me realize how we could be gone at any moment. And I wanted to tell you that I'm in love with you."
"I'm...in love with you too." Twilight tried to find a more grand way of saying it, but she was at a loss for words at first. "I'm sure that Ponyville will be needing me in the next few months too, so after tonight..."
"It'll be a while before we can spend time together like this again." Celestia nuzzled Twilight's neck, allowing her multi-colored mane to rest on Twilight's shoulders. "I don't want to pressure you into anything, especially since you told me that you're not interested in anything sexual."
"Well, I wasn't interested in romance either. I think that neither of those things appeal to me...unless it's you." Twilight realized how significant their emotional bond was, so much so that it gave her feelings that she couldn't imagine having for any other pony. "I want to try this with you."
Princess Celestia pressed her lips against Twilight's, feeling a whole different kind of spark from when she had slept with her students in the past. She steadily climbed into the bed and she prodded Twilight's muscles.
"W-what're you doing?" Twilight asked in slight confusion.
"Checking to see if you're not too sore from the Changeling attack before I do anything." Celestia softly kissed Twilight on the neck and the purple alicorn appreciated the thoughtful gesture. Twilight wrapped her hooves around Celestia's back and they held their muzzles together, enjoying the moment before it escaped them.
Present day
They say when one is about to die, or that they at least think they're going to die, their life flashes before their eyes.
For Fluttershy this was true. Her mind went to her best friends and all their adventures, to her husband Marco and their beautiful foals, and to their happiest memories. All of this in the brief seconds that passed when Fluttershy was covering her eyes, expecting Jackie's talons to slice through her throat at any moment.
Instead, Fluttershy heard the sound of a hoof kicking and she looked up to see Discord with his hoof raised. His back was turned to her as Jackie was collapsed on the ground, her talons clutching her chest in pain.
"D-Discord!" Fluttershy got up and tried to stop her tall friend, but he picked Jackie up with his lion paw gripping her throat.
"Wait! She stole my boyfriend!" Jackie protested, trying to pry Discord's paw off her throat. "She destroyed our relationship, some Element of Kindness she is!"
"DO NOT SPEAK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!" Discord roared, kicking Jackie viciously in the ribs before dropping her on the ground. "Give me one reason not to dissect your body while keeping you alive through all of it."
Jackie was about to question how that was possible, but with a weird snake donkey looking thing like the creature standing before her, she believed him.
"Wait Discord." Fluttershy's eyes were full of fear, but she kept her composure as she lightly placed her hoof on her best friend's leg. "Let me talk to her."
"Very well, but I won't be moving from this spot." Discord firmly pressed his hoof into the ground and stared daggers at Jackie. "Just in case if she tries to pull something on you."
"Jackie, Marco told me that he broke up with you long before we started dating. I'm sorry that it hurts. I never want anypony to feel that kind of pain." Fluttershy assured the griffin on the ground. "Stay here Jackie. Maybe you could make some friends and find love with somepony, unless you prefer your life on Earth of course."
Jackie knew in her heart that she had nothing left on Earth. She loved skateboarding, but she had no idea what she was going to do in life. Not to mention, the girl had no true friends...
"If you need help making friends, Twilight Sparkle is the Princess of Friendship. She's a purple alicorn and that's her castle over there." Fluttershy pointed her hoof at the rock castle in the distance.
Jackie's anger was starting to subside as she realized that while she was cool and calm most of the time, thinking of Marco made her furious and worst of all, uncharacteristically vengeful. She almost killed a living being.
"...that sounds like a great idea." Jackie held Fluttershy's hoof in her talons apologetically. "Where is she?"
"Probably inside Sugarcube Corner where Pinkie's holding Star's 'Hello, Now Goodbye' party before she leaves to Canterlot." Fluttershy gestured for Jackie to follow her. Jackie could hardly believe that this pony was so quick to forgive her.
I can see why Marco loves her so much, I just wish that I was enough for him.
Fluttershy lead Jackie to a big round table with six ponies sitting there and one empty chair. Fluttershy pulled up another chair for Jackie and sat in the other empty chair next to Twilight, who looked undeniably excited.
"Twilight just told us that she's going with Princess Luna and Star to Canterlot!" Pinkie told Fluttershy.
"Oh well, I wanted to introduce all of you to Jackie. She's from Earth like Star and Marco." Fluttershy introduced the griffin to her right before turning to Twilight. "I was hoping that maybe when you come back from Canterlot, you could take Jackie here as a student?"
"Of course!" Twilight grinned and the rest of the Mane 6 and Tom exchanged confused glances, still unaware of why Twilight was so happy. Unlike Twilight, Rainbow Dash seemed to be angry, sad, and hurt at the same time where she was sitting.
"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked Rainbow Dash from across the table. The rest of the Mane 6 just now realized that Rainbow Dash wasn't acting like herself.
"Oh...well, Daring Do cheated on me." Rainbow Dash answered. Twilight's smile faded and everyone gasped.
"That's simply awful! How did you find out?" Rarity asked.
"I went to her house to surprise her on Hearts and Hooves day and I opened the door to see her with another mare." Rainbow Dash growled. Jackie wanted to ask how come this 'Daring Do' didn't lock her door but she knew it was the wrong time to ask.
The blue mare was comforted by her friends, and Jackie realized that focusing on someone else's pain made her briefly forget about her own pain.
Maybe when she's alone I can talk to her.
"Star's here!" Pinkie squealed, leaping out of the chair next to her husband's. Tom remembered how much had changed. He came to Equestria to get his ex-girlfriend back and he met his wife instead.
Fate is pretty strange that way...
Tom's thoughts were interrupted when Applejack playfully nudged him.
"So is Pinkie going to be expecting soon?" Applejack asked. "Fluttershy's the only one of us with foals so far, and when me and Rarity get married in two weeks, it won't be too long before we use a potion to help us make some foals of our own."
Tom's ears flattened, remembering his disagreements with Pinkie about starting a family. Recently though, Pinkie has been planning parties for weddings including Applejack and Rarity in two weeks, Starlight Glimmer and Trixie in one month, and Apple Bloom and Tender Taps in five months. And as always, Pinkie managed every birthday and cute-ceañera in Ponyville.
So for the past few months, Tom didn't have to worry about seeing his pink wife stare longingly at families and their foals, or any other hints she would usually drop about wanting a family. But Applejack made his fear of taking care of a baby resurface.
"Uh...life has been very busy." Tom said vaguely to get Applejack off his back. "And we've only been married for a few months so we're just enjoying married life without foals for now."
Correction, he was enjoying married life without foals since Pinkie was probably still bummed that Tom was reluctant to have a family. Applejack, being the good ol' Element of Honesty, immediately caught him in his lie.
"I can't imagine Pinkie not wanting to start a family right away." Applejack stated, narrowing her eyes. Rarity put her hoof on her fiancee's hoof.
"It's none of our business Applejack." Rarity attempted to whisper, but Rainbow Dash leaned into the conversation.
"Do you not want foals?" Rainbow Dash asked Tom not-so-subtly.
"I d-do, its just..." Tom closed his mouth and got up. "I'm going to get a drink."
The demon pegasus uncomfortably left the table.
Discord joined the party after a few minutes of cooling off and talking himself out of the urge to tear the griffin that dared to hurt his beloved Fluttershy.
He winced, remembering his unrequited love and his ex-wife were both at the party. He wished his daughter was here instead of spending the day at her marefriend's house so she could reassure him that everything was going to be okay.
It's okay, maybe my therapist is here. No, I can't talk to her, she's probably having a good time and I don't want to bother her-
"Hey Discord!"
Discord looked down to see a white unicorn mare with green eyes and a beautiful, curly, mane that was pink and purple. At first he didn't recognize her, but then his eyes widened after a few moments.
"Sweetie Belle?"
"Yeah, long time no see!" Sweetie Belle grinned. "It's been so busy with Apple Bloom getting married soon and Scootaloo started dating some stallion named Rumble. So it's nice to be able to relax at a party like this, what's up with you?"
"I..." Discord was still amazed at how well Sweetie Belle has grown. She was a full grown mare now, and he knew that he had to treat her like one. "Life's gone pretty slow, but ever since Princess Celestia got on my case about inflation or something like that, I've had to earn bits with my hotel mansion instead of creating them."
"Does your hotel actually have a name? Because I haven't seen a sign on the building." Sweetie Belle asked.
"I've been working on it." Discord replied vaguely. "But you must be busy too right? I mean a pretty mare such as yourself must have a lover on the side no?"
"Nah, I've only had a bunch of blind dates that ended in disaster." Sweetie Belle laughed. "You can understand how complicated relationships can be."
"Mmhm." Discord frowned.
"Not that it's your fault of course, some things just don't work hard no matter what you do." Sweetie Belle reassured him, unaware of the inner demons that constantly messed with Discord's head. "Have you dated ever since Marinette completed her classes from the Ponyville Schoolhouse?"
"Nope." These weren't topics Discord was crazy about; it only reminded him of how alone he was at this party. He couldn't confide in Fluttershy, Star, or even his daughter for she was nowhere in sight. And since Marinette got accepted into Hoofvard University for her beautiful artwork, Discord would soon be more alone than ever.
"Oh, well don't ask Apple Bloom or Scootaloo to set you up. They're responsible for most of my blind date disasters." Sweetie Belle joked, playfully elbowing his side. Discord felt more at ease knowing that Sweetie Belle was trying to make sure he was comfortable in the conversation.
"I came here by myself..." Discord admitted sheepishly. "So could I have the honor of having you keep me company?"
"Of course!" Sweetie Belle winked at the Element of Chaos. "Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are probably with their coltfriends right now anyway."
Sweetie Belle and Discord walked to the counter where several ponies were having drinks including a lavender three-eyed pegasus that Discord recognized as Pinkie's husband.
"I need a drink too." Discord heard Rainbow Dash before he saw her take a seat on the barstool next to him.
"Let me pull up some chairs for the three of you!" Pinkie bounced cheerfully with Princess Luna, Star, and Janna following her. The pink party pony stopped in her tracks when she saw two seats empty. "Where did Tom and Rainbow Dash go?"
"They went to get drinks." Applejack replied. "You might wanna talk to your boy if ya haven't already. He's all freaked out about foals and whatnot."
"I'll talk to him later." Pinkie frowned for less than a second before she regained her cheery smile and pulled up an extra chair. Princess Luna, Star, and Janna took their seats and enjoyed cake and other appetizers from the party.
Jackie saw this as a chance to ditch the table and talk to Rainbow Dash. The griffin slowly got out of the chair while the attention wasn't on her, and she made her way to an empty barstool next to Rainbow Dash.
"Exes suck." Jackie started saying to the blue pegasus downing a mug of beer. "You know, I'm here because I had my heart broken by somebody from Earth. And I almost got carried away with resentment and hate until Fluttershy talked me down."
"Fluttershy's a great mare..." Rainbow Dash whispered, placing the mug on the counter. "I asked her out back when we were barely older than fillies in Cloudsdale and she was so nice when she turned me down. I'll never be enough will I?"
"That's not true! I don't know you very well, but you seem to be a really cool pony and I want to know you." Jackie admitted.
"Ya sure about that babe?" Rainbow Dash asked warningly. The green and blonde griffin nodded and Rainbow Dash gestured a hoof to the bartender.
"Get my friend here a...what do you want?" Rainbow Dash glanced at Jackie.
"Red wine's fine."
The bartender stallion nodded and brought a bottle and a glass.
After an hour of the two talking about their lives and troubles, Rainbow Dash looked left and right before leaning in towards Jackie.
"Let's just ditch this party, ponies are leavin' anyway." Rainbow Dash's gaze seemed slightly unfocused as she got up but Jackie paid no mind. The pegasus and the griffin got up and left the party.
Princess Luna, Star, Janna, and Twilight got out of their seats and began taking their luggage. Princess Luna saw Pinkie looking bummed out and she hugged her.
"Great party as usual Pinkie, I can't wait to partake in more of your parties when I come back in two weeks." Princess Luna told her. Pinkie gave a genuine smile.
"Thanks." Pinkie replied.
The rest of the Mane 6 minus Rainbow Dash escorted the four ponies to the train station and exchanged goodbyes. Star noticed Marco's absence, and sadly told herself that it was for the best.
I need to accept that we just aren't meant to be together. Marco and Fluttershy's paths were aligned by fate, and I cannot break that if I tried.
Star refused to meet Fluttershy's eyes, worried that Marco might've told her everything. She followed the two Princesses and her marefriend onto the train, never looking back.
It was time to go to Canterlot.