//------------------------------//
// Finale: Back to the Start 
// Story: Unfamiliar Patterns 
// by TheVClaw 
//------------------------------//

With a smile on her muzzle, Twilight Sparkle kept a casual pace as she trotted over to Rarity's home. Along the way, she made sure to wave to anypony who walked past, happy to see them give a courteous wave back instead of some groveling bow.

Though she was a Princess, Twilight's status didn't seem to seriously affect how the citizens of Ponyville viewed her (except for a lot of the star-struck schoolfillies). She may be a national hero, a member of Royalty, and one of the most powerful spellcasters in all of Equestria, but she was still seen as the humble librarian that everypony had grown to know and love. And, quite frankly, Twilight couldn't have been happier about that.

After having a lovely chat with Roseluck at her stand, Twilight finally reached Carousel Boutique just as Zecora began to exit.

"Oh, hello Zecora," said Twilight with a warm smile as she walked up to her. "Another delivery for Rarity?"

The zebra looked over at Twilight with a smile of her own, looking particularly happy this morning. "Why yes, Princess. There was something I needed to do."

While she hoped it didn't show, Zecora knew that she had a light blush on her cheeks. It had only been a few days since that eventful night between her and Rarity, but she couldn't have felt happier.

Despite the madness from their fight beforehoof, Zecora couldn’t deny that, in the end, they couldn't have gotten closer as a couple. After both of them said those three perfect words to each other, they spent the next couple days to themselves, mending any wounds between them and actually talking to one another like a couple.

Zecora was especially elated as she left Rarity's Boutique. If everything went like her marefriend promised, than this would be the last time she would ever have to leave under false pretenses again.

For now, however, in order to keep Twilight from becoming suspicious about her chipper mood, Zecora held up a white paper bag in her hoof, which made the alicorn even happier as she caught the familiar scent inside.

"And her cinnamon rolls were a good incentive, too."

Twilight beamed at hearing that, seeming especially excited in anticipation of what would be served at their brunch. "Oh, great! Thanks for informing me, Zecora!"

"Not a problem, Princess," Zecora said, stepping aside from the doorway, "but I should not digress. I have many more errands today, so I must be going on my way."

"Oh, alright," Twilight said with an understanding nod. "Then I won't try to hold you back. Have a great day!"

"Thank you. Hopefully it will be."

With that, Zecora began to take her leave, but stopped before Twilight could head inside. Looking back to her, she gave Twilight a kind smile before finishing her rhyme. "Have a nice brunch with Rarity."

"I'm sure I will," Twilight said with a smile as Zecora headed off.

With the alluring promise of cinnamon rolls lingering in her mind, Twilight smelled the pleasing scent as soon as she entered the shop. Happily trotting through the Boutique, the aroma of cinnamon, pastry, and frosting was enough to make her start to salivate before she could even reach the kitchen.

"Hello, Rarity," Twilight said cheerfully as she joined her friend in the kitchen. "Cinnamon rolls again?"

Looking over at her friend, Rarity gave a light giggle before lifting up two prepared plates with her magic. "Why, of course! I'm guessing you already caught that the moment you walked in, didn’t you?"

Twilight shrugged before taking one of the plates with her own aura. "I suppose so. Plus, I happened to catch that you made a few for Zecora again."

Before Twilight could give her a coy grin, Rarity put up a hoof. "Just so you know, I talked with Zecora about everything some time ago, and there are no hard feelings from either side. I did NOT make these out of guilt. I was simply in the mood for cinnamon rolls this morning."

Noticing Rarity’s insistent stare, Twilight could tell that there was no sign of insincerity in her tone, and didn’t say a word about it. Even though Rarity did feel a slight tinge of guilt—mostly due to her heated argument with Zecora a few days ago—that really wasn't the reason for her pastries. She simply had a craving for them, and knew Zecora wouldn’t object to having a couple for the day.

Soon, the two had their usual brunch, chatting happily while they ate. Since Twilight wasn't aware of the hickey incident that occurred (something Rarity would've expected Rainbow Dash to bring up), no uncomfortable discussion interrupted their pleasantries.

When their rolls were almost finished, Twilight wiped her muzzle clean with a napkin before looking at Rarity somewhat quizzically. "Say, Rarity, would you mind if I asked you something?"

"Umm… sure." Rarity put down her cup of tea before looking back at her friend. "What is it?"

"Well…" Twilight bit her lip and looked away, waiting to think of the right words before looking back at her. "A couple days ago, Spike went by your place before that storm to get his backpack, and…"

Twilight’s expression skewed a slight bit, confusing Rarity a bit as she finished, "Did… did anything happen while he was here?"

Rarity's eyebrows rose in surprise. She began to blush in fear that Twilight discovered what had happened. "I… I don’t think so… Why do you ask?"

Twilight sighed before looking down at her plate. "Well, when he came back later that night, I think he may have caught something. I thought at first that maybe it was because of the rain, since it was coming down by the time he returned, but he really wasn't that wet. But he still had a really, and I mean really high fever!"

Rarity bit her lip and turned away, hiding her face from Twilight. "R-really?"

"Yeah," Twilight continued, "he was burning up when he came back to the library, and his face was redder than I've ever seen it! He was also incredibly dizzy when he headed straight to his bed. I tried to ask if he was alright, but he assured me he was fine. "

Hearing the description of the drake's symptoms, Rarity tried not to smile under her blush in front of Twilight. While Twilight might have been worried, Rarity knew that it was just the end result of a love-stricken dragon receiving his crush’s kiss.

In an attempt to alleviate Twilight’s worries (and also to keep her from going ballistic if she knew Rarity actually kissed him like that), Rarity kept herself from smiling too widely as she turned back to her.

"Well, I can't say that anything happened while he was at my place to cause that. We just had a friendly chat before he left. I'm sure that it's nothing to get too fretful about, darling."

While Rarity sipped at her tea, Twilight sighed and looked down at her hooves. "I certainly hope so. The poor guy went through three whole boxes of tissues that night!"

Rarity violently spat out her tea, which would've soaked her friend if she hadn’t put up a force-field spell out of reflex. Dropping her cup, the unicorn coughed a few times before blurting,  "WH-WHAT?!"

"I know!" Twilight replied in an equally surprised tone as she put her shield back down, "I was surprised too! I didn’t even know a nosebleed could get that bad!"

Rarity blinked a couple times, frozen in her seat. After a second, she loudly sighed in relief, relaxed, and closed her eyes. "Ohhhh! Thank goodness! Er—I mean…'"

Catching the confused look Twilight was giving her, Rarity changed her tone to something more sympathetic. "I mean... poor Spikey Wikey. I… I hope he's feeling better."

Rarity avoided eye contact with Twilight and pursed her lips together, hoping her embarrassment wasn’t as obvious as it felt.

Despite feeling a little confused, Twilight just sighed before shrugging her friend's reaction aside. "Oh, he's alright now. I was just curious since he came to visit you, that's all."

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing."

After breathing out calmly to settle herself, Rarity looked back at her friend with a more unsure feeling in her gut. Knowing what she had promised Zecora, her heart began to beat a little faster, secretly dreading actually going through with this. Even though she knew it was for the best for everypony, Rarity still felt more than a tad nervous. Her voice came out a little shakily as she spoke.

"Ummm… Twilight?"

"Hmm?" Twilight chewed the last of her cinnamon roll before answering, "Yes?"

"I…" Taking a deep breath, Rarity knew what she needed to do.

"Twilight, I was wondering… Do you know if anything important is happening tonight? Because… There's something I want to talk with you and the girls about."

"Really?" Twilight inquired, "What is it?"

"I…" Biting her lips shut, Rarity stammered a little before replying, "I, well… I think that… Maybe it would be best if I told all of you at once…"

Twilight started to grow a bit fretful herself. "Is it something bad? Because you know that whatever it is—"

"No." Rarity put up a hoof. "It’s nothing like that, I swear. I… I just needed to talk with you and the others… Preferably tonight, if that's possible."

Rarity looked down to her hooves and rubbed them together, feeling guilty for asking something like that out of the blue.

Only a moment later, Rarity was surprised to feel a hoof gently touch her own. She glanced up to see her friend looking at her with an understanding smile on her muzzle.

"That would be perfectly fine, Rarity. If this is important, then I'll be sure to tell the girls to meet up tonight."

Rarity gave her a grateful smile. "Th… thank you."

"No problem," Twilight said, moving back into her seat. "And I don't know of anything that could prevent any of the girls from showing up, so I think we'll be fine. Would the library be alright to speak?"

"Umm… yes," Rarity said, nodding. "The library would be an excellent place. Would eight be a good time?"

Twilight nodded back and smiled. "Eight sounds fine."

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After their brunch, Twilight was careful not to pry about what Rarity wanted to tell them tonight. If it was something important to her friend, then she wasn't going to press any more than necessary.

After helping clean up and put away the dishes, Twilight left to find her other friends, hoping to learn their schedules for the day while patiently waiting for eight o'clock and Rarity's announcement.

Sighing in relief, Rarity smiled to herself after Twilight left, glad that things were going well so far. Although she didn’t want to ruin her figure, she figured that another cinnamon roll wouldn't hurt her. Knowing she still had a couple left, Rarity happily trotted over to the kitchen.

As soon as she reached the kitchen, the unicorn shrieked when she saw Rainbow Dash standing by the counter.

"Hey, Rare!" Dash greeted with a smirk, though her voice came out slightly muffled due to a large amount of frosted pastry stuffed in her muzzle.

"R-Rainbow?! How long have you been here?!"

Rainbow shrugged before taking another bite. "Like, ten minutes." After swallowing, she gave her an impressed smile and pointed at her half-eaten pastry. "These are really good, by the way!" She then popped the rest into her mouth before licking her hooves clean.

"Ten minutes?! Where were you?!"

"Outside your window," Dash said casually, pointing to the kitchen window.

Realizing that she had left it wide-open, Rarity groaned and face-hoofed, knowing that Dash must have heard what she just said to Twilight.

"Oh, and before you ask, I don't have any plans tonight either, so you won't have to worry about me not being there when you admit your secret relationship."

Rarity just sighed and rubbed her temple. "Well, thank you for telling me that bu—WHAT?!"

Rarity stared back at her friend, wide-eyed. Dash still held her disinterested gaze.

Nevertheless, a small smirk grew on the Pegasus's muzzle as she saw how flustered her friend was getting. "Oh, come on! Whaddya think I was gonna say?"

"I…Bu…I di…" Rarity tried to reply, but was barely able to muster out anything other than a couple inaudible stammers.

"Rare," Dash began in a more direct tone, "I've figured out there was someone for a while, so don't try to tell me your big announcement is anything different."

"I… I…"

Trying to keep herself from lashing out at her friend, Rarity closed her eyes and took a deep breath, waiting until she exhaled slowly before reopening her eyes. "Rainbow Dash, I really don't want to deal with this sort of thing right now, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to make assumptions about my personal life."

Fed-up with the unicorn's attitude, Rainbow groaned and rubbed her closed eyes with a hoof. "Listen, Rare, I… I kinda…"

Pursing her lips shut, Rainbow looked back at her with a slightly guilty look on her face. Fearing how Rarity would react, she put caution to the wind as she exhaled, hoping her friend wouldn't get too upset before opening her muzzle.

"The other day, after that whole… hickey thing…"

Rarity groaned painfully and closed her eyes. Dash continued speaking in a more ashamed tone.

"I… I kinda came by to see how you were doing, and…"

Rarity opened her eyes at hearing that, staring intently at her friend.

"I… I sorta saw your argument."

An audible gasp escaped Rarity before she covered her muzzle with a hoof. Shocked that she hadn’t been alone during that regretful fight, Rarity was absolutely horrified that Dash saw her act that way, let alone in a position where there was no way to deny what was going on.

"You… you WHAT?!"

"I didn’t mean to!" Rainbow Dash assured as she threw up her forehooves. "I just saw you from the window, and I didn’t hear anything you two said, I swear! But…"

Rainbow Dash lowered her head before sighing in shame. "Yeah, I… I know who you're with…"

Clenching her eyes shut, Rarity just groaned and looked away, not wanting to face her friend like this.

"But Rare," Dash began insistently as she looked back up, "I just want to say, I get why you've been keeping this a secret, alright? I mean… this IS really weird, even for me! But…but I get it, and… I'm sorry for how I've been acting."

Quickly opening her eyes in surprise, Rarity looked back at her friend and blinked a couple times. "W-what?"

"I… I'm sorry, okay?"

With an honest tone usually reserved for Applejack, Dash locked eyes with Rarity as she continued, "I… I know I shouldn’t have been so intrusive on your life. I just… I just wanted to know who you were with. I… wanted to make sure you weren't with some scumbag or anything."

Rarity huffed, slightly insulted. "Oh, and what's that supposed to mean? You don’t trust my judgment?"

"I didn’t say that," Dash said sternly. "I just wanted to know, since I figured that there had to be a reason you were so secretive about it."

Thinking it over, Dash shrugged her shoulders in new understanding. "And you know what? It totally makes sense now."

Even though she didn’t want to admit to anything, the fact that her friend witnessed her fight was good enough proof that the cat was out of the bag.

Rarity looked down to the floor between her and Rainbow Dash as she said feebly, "I… I'm sorry I didn’t tell you… I really hated lying to you and the others…"

"It’s alright," Dash assured in an understanding tone. "I'm not mad at you or anything. I swear."

After a second of silence, Rainbow chuckled a little under her breath before adding, "And... technically speaking, I guess you weren't really lying, were you? I mean, you always said you weren't with anypony, and… that was kinda true, since it really wasn't a pony, huh?"

Slumping her shoulders, Rarity looked back at her in defeat. Despite Rainbow Dash’s efforts to make her feel better, she still felt bad for hiding this so long.

"And, Rarity," Dash continued, laying a hoof on Rarity's shoulder as she gave her a sincere smile, "I'm not judging you one bit about who you're with. I mean… it's really weird, but whatever. As long as you're happy, I won't mess with you about it. You're still my friend, alright?"

Rarity gave a large smile in response before hugging her tightly. "Oh, Rainbow Dash!" The unicorn struggled not to cry in relief as she held onto her friend. "I'm really glad you told me that!"

With a warm smile on her face, Rainbow hugged her back before replying, "It’s alright. I get it."

After a moment, the two let go of each other and stood back on their own hooves. While Rarity used a hoof to wipe any stray tears from her face, Rainbow kept a more chipper grin as she added, "In fact, I was kinda hoping you two would get together!"

"Wait, what?" Rarity looked at her with a skewed eyebrow.

"I mean, I'm not saying I expected it, but I'm glad you went through with it! I was thinking it would take a while for you to do anything, you know, because of the whole age difference thing, but I really think you and Spike make a cute co—"

"WHOAH!" Rarity threw her hooves up in immediate protest to halt her friend's misguided praise. "NOOOO! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO, Rainbow! You have it all wrong! Spike and I are NOT together!"

Rainbow scoffed a little, surprised that Rarity was still denying this. "Oh, come on! Seriously?! I saw you two arguing! Heck, I saw you two KISS, for crying out loud!"

"Oooohhh…"

Realizing which argument Dash had really witnessed, Rarity groaned and rubbed her eyes shut. While she could see where Dash got that idea, she was still painfully shocked that her friend actually thought that was what had been going on. "Dash, I… I am really… REALLY… not with Spike, alright?"

Dash blew a skeptical raspberry before replying in a snide, sarcastic tone, "Oh, right, Rare. You just kiss baby dragons on the lips all the time, huh?"

Now becoming legitimately angry, Rarity walked right up to the Pegasus, looking her dead in the eyes as she said in a very firm tone, "Rainbow Dash, I am not lying one bit. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, I am not in a relationship with Spike."

Rarity stared into Dash’s narrowed eyes, refusing to blink as she stood defiantly in front of her. 

Slowly, Rainbow Dash's expression began to soften as she saw how serious the unicorn was acting about this. After almost a minute of silence, Rainbow backed away from her friend, realizing that she was, in fact, not lying.

"Oh… um… Alright… I believe you…"

Happy to hear that, Rarity finally closed her eyes before sighing in relief. "Good."

Before Rarity could say anything more, Rainbow grew an even more confused look on her face, realizing something was amiss. "Wait a minute! If it's not Spike, then who?! And why the buck did you kiss him?!"

"Dash…" Exasperated, Rarity pointed a hoof at her and said sternly, "I'm really at my nerve's end right now, so I highly suggest that you wait until tonight, alright?! I will tell you and the others then!"

Though she was sick of waiting, the glare Rarity was giving her was enough to indicate that she shouldn’t push this.

Not wanting to say or do anything to warrant getting a pan thrown at her, or being forcefully clothed in a frilly dress, Dash just sighed before walking away. "Ugh, fine! I'll wait until tonight!"

Before she could make her exit, Rainbow Dash looked back at Rarity from the doorway. "Eight, right? At the library?"

Glad to see she was going along with this, Rarity smiled faintly and nodded. "That is correct."

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The skies above Ponyville began to darken, as Celestia's sun started to make its descent into the horizon in the west. The blue skies were starting to shift into the familiar warm shade of orange and pink, signifying the return of Luna's glorious night.

Despite the beauty of the upcoming dusk, Rarity was focused on something else. While Zecora walked side-by-side with her, the unicorn had a faint smile on her muzzle as she briefly explained tonight's plans.

"… And I just received the confirmation from Twilight that they'll all be able to make it. So, hopefully, this evening will move along smoothly."

Or at least, as smooth as I could expect, Rarity thought worriedly.

Zecora, seeming especially pleased about Rarity's news, carried a smile of her own. "I'm sure that they'll be happy for us, and I doubt that they will cause much fuss."

"I hope so," Rarity said with a worried sigh. "I want to stay optimistic, especially after what Rainbow Dash said earlier today, but this is still a big thing for me to admit to them."

Zecora struggled not to giggle under her breath. "Well, if your friend was alright about you with Spike, then I'm sure this is something she will also like."

"Mmmm… Maybe…"

Though she felt that Zecora's assurances were more than just wishful thinking, Rarity was still worried about how her friends would react overall. The other Elements of Harmony might be her best friends, but there was a chance that things could go awry regardless.

Before she could let her worries envelop her any more than they already had, the sight of several Pegasus ponies in the clouds nearby shook Rarity from her thoughts. Thinking back to when she and Zecora first got together, she knew that she had to do something else before her big announcement tonight. 

Rarity glanced over at Zecora and said in an insistent tone, "Zecora, I think I need to talk with somepony else before heading to the library. Could you wait here for a moment?"

Noting the tone of her marefriend's voice, Zecora knew that this was probably important. With an understanding smile, the zebra nodded before watching Rarity walk off. And as soon as she saw who the mare was heading towards, Zecora's brow rose in surprise and happy realization.

"Ohhhhh… Sooooo…"

True to her word, Zecora stayed out of sight and stood nearby one of the shops, watching as Rarity called down the Pegasus stallion she dated a couple months ago.

After the two exchanged some friendly chatter out of the zebra's earshot, Rarity led Thunderlane to an empty table outside a restaurant to talk. Although she wouldn’t be able to hear them from here, Zecora didn’t need to read lips to know what Rarity was going to tell him.

A few more minutes of happy chatter and smiling faces passed. Then, Zecora watched as her marefriend began to seem more nervous as she spoke.

At first, Thunderlane seemed to look skeptical, keeping a slight smirk on his muzzle, like he was being told some weird joke. However, as Rarity continued speaking, Thunderlane's grin slowly began to fade, and his face began to grow to a shade of confusion.

Eventually, all that Zecora could see was Thunderlane staring at Rarity, his jaw slightly agape and his eyebrows raised in obvious surprise.

Meanwhile, Rarity bit her lip as she finished, both nervous and relieved that she finally admitted everything she had to say to him. After the night the two of them shared, she knew that he deserved to know the truth before anypony else.

However, Rarity began to grow worried as she saw how perplexed the stallion looked in the silence. Unable to close his mouth completely, Thunderlane just stared at the mare for a while, blinking repeatedly while he tried to determine whether or not she was just pulling his leg.

"You… wha?"

Rarity winced a little and looked away from him, hoping that this wouldn't lead to a reaction too negative or over the top. Thunderlane just stayed in his seat in near silence, taking another moment before clarifying.

"So… Zecora?"

Biting her lip, Rarity slowly nodded before looking back at him. "Y-yes."

Thunderlane looked down at his hooves on the table, blinking a couple more times to process what he had heard. "Uhhh… Wow…"

"Yeah..." Rarity sighed before looking down at the table as well. "I… I started seeing her after our date…"

Unsure of what he could say, Thunderlane used a foreleg to prop his head upright as he leaned forward. "Well… I certainly can’t say I was expecting that to happen."

"Neither did I…" Thinking it over, Rarity chuckled under her breath as she smiled to herself nervously. "Honestly, I don't think anypony is more surprised about this whole thing than I am."

After giving a weak laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood, Rarity looked back up to Thunderlane and bit her lip. "I… I seriously never thought that this would happen."

"Yeah, I…" Thunderlane put his hoof back down before speaking in a more bewildered tone of voice. "I can kinda believe that."

Thunderlane laughed nervously, then thought it over before looking back up at Rarity. "So… Nothing happened… before we went out?"

Rarity opened her muzzle, but paused as she thought it over. Though she didn’t want to say that anything had happened before her date with Thunderlane, she knew that wouldn’t exactly be true. Even if she didn’t count that drunken kiss she shared with Zecora, Rarity knew that there was still something about the zebra that intrigued her around that same time.

Knowing she couldn't lie, Rarity sighed and admitted, "I… I think… there may have…"

Before Thunderlane could slump in disappointment, Rarity quickly added, "But! I really didn't think anything was amiss when I went out with you. I mean… it may have been… subconscious or something…"

The unicorn cringed internally before shaking that feeling aside. "But I really didn't want any of that to affect me when I went out with you. I mean… It wasn't like I went out with you to try lying to myself or anything!"

Hearing the honesty in her tone, Thunderlane slowly nodded before looking back down. "Umm… sure…"

Rarity laid a hoof over his, not wanting to see him this downtrodden over something that wasn't his fault. "Thunderlane, I want you to know—and I mean this with every fiber of my being—that I had an amazing time with you that night."

Thunderlane looked back up at the mare, seeing that she was looking at him with the utmost sincerity.

"I can honestly say that you were an amazing date, Thunderlane. You're kind, courteous, funny, interesting to talk to…" A smile spreading across her muzzle, Rarity moved her hoof up so it was touching his cheek. "… And you were the perfect example of a gentlecolt."

The stallion began to smile as a heavy blush grew against his dark coat. Happy to see him starting to feel better, Rarity kept her smile as she added, "And, quite honestly, I wish there were more stallions like you."

Grateful to hear those words, Thunderlane brought up a hoof to touch hers on his cheek, holding it there as he smiled back at her. "Th… thanks, Rarity."

"No problem." Rarity then released her hoof and sat back down in her seat. "And I really didn’t start anything with Zecora until after our date, alright?"

Like, less than an hour after that date, Rarity thought to herself in shame. However, she didn’t let that show when she saw him nod in understanding.

"So…” Thunderlane tapped the table with his hoof a couple of times before he asked, "Was it because of my mane?"

"Huh?"

"My mane. You know, my mohawk? Was… was that why you went out with me? Because I'm like, the only other pony who has one aside from her."

Rarity scoffed and smiled. "Oh, come now, Thunderlane! Do you really think…”

Looking up at the stallion's mohawk, Rarity blinked a couple times in realization, now seeing that his mane really did look a lot like Zecora's. However, she shook her head before looking back at him and assuring, "No, I didn’t go out with you because of your mane! Seriously, that's just a… a slight coincidence, that's all."

"Uh-huh…" From the sly smirk on his muzzle, it was apparent that Thunderlane wasn't buying it; nevertheless, that didn't keep him from looking disappointed or even upset about this new information regarding his former date.

"I'm being serious," Rarity insisted. "You were a great date, and Zecora didn't have any effect on that. It really isn't you, Thunderlane. It's me."

Rarity's eyebrows rose as she realized what she had just said. "Wow, that was a rather clichéd statement, wasn't it?"

Both Thunderlane and Rarity laughed a little from that, the two looking a little more at ease after everything that was said.

After a moment, the stallion looked at Rarity with a more gracious smile. "Just so you know, you don't have to apologize. I mean, I have a couple gay friends, and I know something like that wasn't really a choice. You were just finding what made you happy, and I could never be upset about that. Promise."

Rarity smiled gratefully at him. "Well, thank you."

"In fact," Thunderlane continued, trying not to chuckle out loud, "thinking it over, I… I should probably be thanking you for cutting me loose."

"Thanking me? Whatever for?"

Thunderlane started to blush as his smile became more bashful. "Well… After you said you didn’t feel like going on another date, I… I was kinda sad about it…"

"Oh, Thunderlane," Rarity said, frowning, "I'm sorr—"

"Don’t be!" the stallion exclaimed with a more notable smile on his muzzle. "Seriously, after I talked with some of my coworkers about it, they took me out for some drinks to cheer me up, and…"

With his blush growing even deeper, Thunderlane looked down at his hooves, fidgeting as he declared with nervous glee, "I… I'm not single anymore…"

Rarity immediately beamed at hearing that. "Really? Well, good for you!" She gave the stallion a light slap on the shoulder to show her support, especially when she saw how happy he seemed about it. "I mean it, Thunderlane. I'm really happy that you found somepony. So… who is it?"

While Rarity waited for his answer, Thunderlane looked back at her with a cheeky smile. Even though he didn’t say anything, his eyes darted up above them. She followed his gaze curiously.

On one of the clouds above Ponyville, two identical mares with light purple coats and light blue manes were sitting side-by-side as they watched the sunset.

Rarity's eyes widened in peasant surprise before looking back at Thunderlane with a smile. "Really? You’re with one of them?"

Biting his lip, Thunderlane turned away slightly as his blush grew deeper. "Well… kinda…"

"Well, congratulations!" Rarity said with a sincere smile. "I'm really glad that you're with somepony special."

Taking another glance up at the cloud, Rarity saw the two smile and wave down at Thunderlane, who enthusiastically waved back at them with a cheeky grin.

Growing a curious smirk on her muzzle, Rarity turned back to him. "So, if you don’t mind me asking, which one of the twins are you with? Is it Flitter or Cloud Chaser?"

Even with his unmoving smile, Thunderlane appeared more nervous as he looked away from her. "Ummm…well…"

"Oh, come on," Rarity insisted as she leaned in towards him, "I'm curious! Which one is it?"

After a moment of nervous silence, the stallion glanced back at her, his face now a really deep shade of crimson. Taking a deep breath, Thunderlane exhaled slowly before he spoke in a faint tone of voice.

"Ummm… Say, Rarity… Have you ever hear of this thing, called… Polyamory?"

Although she kept smiling, Rarity's eyes widened a little. "Huh?"

"Ummm… yeah…" Rubbing the back of his neck, Thunderlane looked away sheepishly as he continued with a goofy grin, "I'm… I'm with both of them…"

Rarity's jaw slowly began to fall agape, much like Thunderlane’s had when she told him about Zecora.

As her smile fell, her eyebrows began to raise when she saw he wasn't joking. "... HUH?"

With a cheerful smile on his muzzle, Thunderlane became more giddy as he continued, "Yeah, like… The two took me out to dinner, and… They were telling me about how close they were, and… They started talking about how much they like to share…"

Unable to hold it in, the stallion began to giggle to himself like a little schoolcolt, sounding like a colt who was gushing over an awesome toy he received for his birthday. All the while, Rarity began to grow more and more shocked with each passing word from the stallion.

"And it's so… so… SO awesome! I mean, it's like Hearth's Warming Morning every day! They're so sweet, and fun to talk to, and… well…"

Thunderlane sunk his head into his hooves as he began to giggle again, obviously a bit embarrassed to talk about much more. "It's just… It's a friggin' dream come true!"

Rarity could only sit there, wide-eyed, her jaw now fully dropped as she saw how her former date was acting. Before she could ask whether or not this was just some elaborate ruse, Thunderlane looked back up at the two in their cloud and waved at them again. "Hey girls!"

Rarity peered up at the cloud again, seeing that the two were waving back at him. The twin mares now had much, MUCH more sultry expressions on their muzzles as they smiled down at the stallion, both of them very obviously looking at him with lustful intent.

Utterly stunned at seeing something like that, Rarity looked back at Thunderlane, blinking a couple times before finally making a reply. "Sweet Mother of Celestia, you're not joking."

"Hehehe… I know!" Thunderlane exclaimed with overwhelming joy, looking like he was going to jump out of his chair. "It's like, the greatest thing to ever happen to me! And…"

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Thunderlane settled back down in his chair before looking at Rarity with the most grateful smile.

"Thank you, Rarity." Thunderlane held her hooves in pure gratitude. "Thank you, so… SO much!"

"Ummmm…" Unsure of how to respond to this change of events, Rarity blinked at him a couple times before reopening her muzzle. "You're… you're welcome?"

Realizing how overly excited he was getting, Thunderlane quickly let go of her hooves before looking away sheepishly. "I mean, I know this might be a little surprising to find out—"

"MIGHT be?!”

Rarity just stared at him while she tried to process what he had just told her. "A LITTLE surprising?! Thunderlane, are you aware how utterly shocking that sort of thing is?!"

Rarity expected him to catch on to her reaction and possibly apologize for his behavior. Instead, Thunderlane gave a sly smirk to her and raised a brow.

"What? Being in an alternative relationship? Because that's kinda hypocritical, coming from a mare who turned lesbian for a zebra."

Rarity gasped. "How DARE yo—"

Before she could finish, Rarity stopped herself. Blinking a couple times in recollection, she let Thunderlane's comment sink in, realizing that he had a point.

As the stallion kept his smirk on her, Rarity took a moment before sighing in defeat. She slumped back in her chair while keeping an annoyed stare on him.

"Touché."

Thunderlane just chuckled as he settled in his seat, looking rather pleased with himself.

"Alright," Rarity said with a sigh before adding in a more calm and rational tone, "well, I… I guess I shouldn’t be judging you, should I? I mean… you do look a lot happier."

"Yeah," Thunderlane replied with a cheeky grin, "believe me, I am!"

Before Rarity could involuntarily shudder at hearing that, Thunderlane brought out a hoof, placing it on hers again as he added, "And, just so you know, I'm really happy for you, too. Seriously, I mean… I wasn't expecting this, but… It's nice to see you found someone, Rarity."

Hearing the sincerity in his voice, Rarity looked up to see his warm smile. Feeling a bit better about all this, Rarity gave a kind smile back. "Th-thank you, Thunderlane."

Before she could say much more, Rarity glanced at the clock tower nearby, which indicated that it was getting close to 7:30. Rarity quickly let go of Thunderlane's hoof before getting out of her seat.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Thunderlane, but I have to see my friends tonight! I'm… sort of telling them about this, too."

Noting the worried blush on her face, Thunderlane only nodded in understanding before getting out of his seat as well. "Alright. I guess I shouldn't drag this out, then."

Before the two could depart, Thunderlane looked at her with a smile before adding, "Seriously, though. I'm really happy for you two."

Rarity gave pleased grin back at him, then replied with slight unease, "As do I, for… You… three…"

Even with the obvious look of unease on her face, Thunderlane chuckled a little. "Alright. See you later then!"

With that, Thunderlane shot up to the skies, taking a relaxed pace in flight while Flitter and Cloud Chaser followed alongside him.

As she watched the three fly off into the distance (with the twins each putting a hoof around Thunderlane's flank, much to her own discomfort), Rarity almost didn’t notice when Zecora walked back up to her with an optimistic smile.

"Sounds like you had a lot to tell," said the zebra as she noticed Rarity's distressed state. "Did Thunderlane not take it well?"

"Oh, he was fine…" Rarity looked down at the ground and let everything sink in, still confused as to how she should react right now. "I just…"

"What is it, Rarity? You know you can tell me."

After taking a second, Rarity sighed before saying in a bewildered tone, "After I told him I was in a relationship with you, I found out that Thunderlane is now in a… polyamorous relationship with two… hopefully not incestuous twins."

Zecora's eyes widened in surprise, though she looked far less shocked or mortified than Rarity had been. After realizing that Rarity wasn't kidding, the zebra gave an impressed grin and looked up to the skies.

"You mean he's with Cloud Chaser and Flitter?" Thinking it over, Zecora chuckled under her breath and shrugged. "At least you know he's no longer bitter!"

Rarity groaned. "Are you serious, Zecora? Hearing that doesn’t shock you a little?!"

"Hey," Zecora said with a smirk, "it's not as surprising as you being with me."

Rarity paused for a moment before giving a meager shrug, which prompted Zecora to smile and continue, "Besides, now he's living out every colt's fantasy!

Rarity rolled her eyes in reluctant understanding. "Ugh, I… I guess so."

"That's right…" Zecora then turned to her marefriend, giving a loving smile as she stepped in closer. "You should not worry what is going on above. He is happy, just like you, the unicorn that I love."

When she heard the last part of that rhyme, Rarity turned to the zebra with a caring smile as her heart began to melt. "Oh, Zecora… I love you, too."

Zecora then bent in to kiss the mare. Rarity quickly stepped back and held out a hoof to stop her. 

"Ah, ah, ah," Rarity said authoritatively as she motioned to the open space around her. "We're in public, you know."

Zecora's loving gaze quickly shifted to an annoyed glare, prompting Rarity to try to give a smile in retaliation. "I already told you, Zecora. I wanted to tell my friends first before anypony else, alright?"

Though she knew Rarity was right, and that she had even agreed to it, it still irked Zecora enough to keep her annoyed stare from dissipating.

Rarity bent in and whispered with a sultry smirk, "How about this… If you agree to let this slide, I'll promise to make you feel better when we're alone tonight."

Despite hating having to hide like this, Zecora knew this was hopefully the last time she would have to deal with it. So, as she gave a sly grin back to the mare, Zecora bent in and replied, "Oh, I think you know how to make me feel better…"

Zecora pressed her muzzle against the unicorn's ear as she added in a lustful whisper,  "I want to see you in that Pony Tones sweater."

Rarity gave an exasperated sigh, pulled back, and stared at her. "Are you kidding me? Again? I spend all that money on expensive lingerie, and you keep asking to see me in that!"

"I can’t help it. You look like such a cutie!" Zecora pulled her head in toward Rarity's again as she added, "Plus, it really helps show off your cute bootie."

Rarity looked away with a deep blush, only to catch Cheerilee walking up to them with a chipper smile.

Wanting to stop the zebra's flirting before Cheerilee could overhear them, Rarity shot Zecora a quick glare before looking back at the teacher. "Why, hello, Cheerilee!"

"Hello, Rarity," Cheerilee said with a smile before glancing at Zecora. "Hello, Zecora."

Reading the growing smile the teacher was giving her, Zecora didn’t need to be told why she was acting so cheerful around the two of them. "Why good evening, Miss Cheerilee." Her eyes narrowed on the mare as she added, "Did Sweetie write more about me?"

"N-nooo…" Cheerilee looked away from the zebra with a light blush, pausing for a second before turning back to Rarity. "Speaking of which, I received the… revised version of her book today."

Rarity bit her lip in unease and avoided eye contact, which made Cheerilee's smirk turn more unrelenting. "I take it that you haven't been that open about your… wrestling activities?"

Rarity sighed in defeat before looking back at her. "Actually," she began in an insistent tone, "just so you know, I'm planning to talk with my friends tonight about it."

"Oh, really?" Cheerilee asked. 

"That's right," Rarity answered matter-of-factly, "it turns out that my… er… lessons… are becoming a little more serious than I thought previously. So, I… figured my friends should be aware of it."

Able to read between the lines, Cheerilee's smirk grew as she nodded in understanding. "Oh, I see what you mean, Rarity. And if you don't mind me saying, it seems like you're really enjoying your…" She looked over at the zebra and finished, "Wrestling lessons."

Rarity tried not to giggle, blushing furiously against her white coat. "Well, I… suppose I am…" She looked back over at Zecora, giving a loving smile to her as she spoke more graciously. "She's a great partner."

Zecora couldn't help but beam back at her tenderly. Knowing better than to interrupt them any longer, Cheerilee decided to make her leave. "Well, I suppose the two of you have other plans, so I'll just leave you be."

"Thank you, Cheerilee," Rarity said. "You've really been a great help."

Cheerilee merely rolled her eyes and dismissed the unicorn's statement with a hoof. "Oh, it's nothing. I told you, this really isn't a huge deal. In fact…"

Despite her magenta coat, Cheerilee's blush was still beginning to show as she looked away from the two. "To be perfectly honest, I… I'm a little jealous of you, Rarity…"

Rarity's brow raised in surprise. Before she could ask what she meant, Cheerilee looked back at Zecora before asking bashfully, "Say Zecora, do you… happen to know of any other zebras around here?"

Zecora pulled back a little, taken aback by the teacher's statement. Fortunately, after only a second of awkward silence, Zecora managed to shake her head while she tried not to blush. "N-no, I… I do not believe so… I'm the only zebra I know."

"Oh, ummm… okay…"

Cheerilee's ears slumped a little as she looked away, seeming a bit disheartened at Zecora's answer. The teacher managed to drop her sullen state enough to look back to the two, giving a kind smile and nod to them before walking off. "Well, I was just curious. Have a good night!"

Despite being a little weirded-out by the mare's question, Rarity and Zecora both smiled and waved to her as they watched her leave.

After she got out of earshot, Rarity turned back to the zebra with a surprised look on her face. "Well… that was unexpected."

"Why yes," Zecora replied in bewilderment, "I agree, and I don’t know what to think. I didn't know Cheerilee had a zebra kink."

Rarity chuckled a little, shrugging before giving a cheekier smile to Zecora. "Of course, it's not like I can’t understand why she would want a zebra like you."

While Zecora giggled a little at the unicorn's remark, Rarity looked around for a second before giving her a quick nuzzle. Happy to see her marefriend show that kind of affection, the zebra was lucky to return Rarity's nuzzle before she pulled back.

"Also," Rarity continued, trying not to laugh, "I'm glad she was wanting to find another zebra. For a moment there, I thought she was going to ask for something similar to Thunderlane's situation!"

One of Zecora's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh really? You think that's something she would do?"

Rarity just laughed a little and looked away, which made Zecora's look on her turn more mischievous as she continued, "I'm not that surprised to hear that come from you."

Rarity quickly stopped giggling as she looked back at Zecora. "And what exactly does THAT mean?"

Zecora just smirked. "I just know you can be kinky. It doesn’t surprise me much…"

Before Rarity could retort, the zebra bent in and whispered, "Oh, and by the way, you sly little mare… I found your 'toothbrush'…"

Rarity gasped in horror, which prompted Zecora to start laughing as she walked away.

While the zebra headed toward the library as planned, Rarity was left frozen for a moment before she quickly began running after her.

"Tha—that... THAT'S NOT MINE! I… I got it as a gift! It was a gag-gift from Fluttershy, I swear!"

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Per her marefriend’s request, Zecora waited patiently outside the library, making sure not to look noticeable as she idled nearby. Meanwhile, inside the hollowed-out tree, Twilight Sparkle carried a puzzled look on her face when she heard Rarity's request.

"Wait," Twilight asked, confused, "why would you need to talk with Spike alone?"

While she knew that Rarity’s announcement was supposed to be important, Twilight wasn't sure what to think of her friend’s sudden request. Knowing that the others weren't expected to arrive for another fifteen minutes, she wondered why the unicorn would want to speak with him in private.

"Well," Rarity began, looking around worriedly, "I… I really feel like I should speak with him privately. Just for a couple of minutes."

Even with the insistent look Rarity was giving her, Twilight still seemed a bit unsure about why this was necessary. "Is this about what you're going to tell us? Because it seems a little odd to want to talk with Spike first."

Rarity groaned a little and rubbed her temple with a hoof. "Twi! I…"

Closing her eyes, Rarity took a deep breath to calm herself down. Despite the fact that she really didn't want to go into much detail, she had known Twilight long enough to know this wasn't something she couldn’t just brush past her. Sighing deeply, she reopened her eyes before looking back up at her friend.

"Twilight, I… I wanted to speak with Spike alone because… because I…" Taking another breath, Rarity leaned in before finishing faintly, "I'm seeing someone right now."

Twilight's eyes widened in shock. "Really?! You mean Rainbo—"

"No." Rarity raised a hoof and said firmly, "Whatever that mare is thinking, I can assure you that it is not the case. However…"

Rarity put her hoof back down and exhaled slowly. "I… I am in a relationship, and… I really feel like I should explain this to him before the others arrive."

"Oh…" Immediately realizing why her friend wanted to do this, Twilight nodded quickly before stepping back. "Of course, Rarity, I… I understand completely. I'm sorry if I pressed you for details."

"It's alright," Rarity said with a sincere smile. "It's not a big deal. I just… need a couple minutes in private with him."

"Sure thing." Twilight made her way out of the room. “Spike is in the kitchen, so I'll just wait in there while you talk to him."

"That would be great. Thank you."

Rarity gave her an appreciative smile. However, it began to lessen when she saw Twilight stop and give her a worried look.

"Ummm… Rarity?"

"Yes?" 

"Just… Be careful, alright? I… I don’t want to see him get hurt…"

Now realizing why her friend was looking so worried, Rarity sighed before giving her a reassuring smile. "Twilight, I swear to you, the last thing I ever want to do is hurt him. I'm going to be as gentle as I can about this, I promise."

Keeping her smile, Rarity hoped that Twilight saw she was being honest. Though she felt a little bad for not being completely truthful about why she wanted to see Spike alone, she knew that none of her words were false. She really was gentle when she first talked with him about her relationship, and she made sure that he wasn't that badly hurt by any of it.

Despite some feelings that might be lingering around, Spike had really taken everything quite well. Consequently, Rarity hoped that, after this, there was no more deception or lying in her near future.

"Well… okay," Twilight said after a relieved sigh. "I'll get Spike."

After a moment of silence, Spike emerged from the kitchen after a purple wall of magic came up from the doorway, meant to keep the Princess from listening in on them. Happy to see that Twilight wasn't going to be eavesdropping, Rarity grew a rather large smile as she looked at Spike.

"So…" Spike, surprisingly enough, seemed happy himself. "I guess you're going to tell them? Like… about Zecora?"

Rarity nodded quickly, feeling better than ever about actually speaking about this with someone who already knew. "Yes, Spike. I'm going to tell my friends. But first…"

Zecora was leaning against the side of the large tree as she waited, wondering why this was taking so long. However, the sound of the door opening caught her attention. She saw Spike motion her to come inside.

With Twilight still waiting patiently in the kitchen, Zecora was led to the door beneath the stairway that lead into the basement.

Spike, who was holding the door open for her to enter, kept a smile on his face as he said, "Just wait by the door, alright? I'll open it when Rarity says to."

Zecora nodded, glad to see how well this was going. But before she could step inside to wait behind the door, the zebra walked up to Spike with a gracious smile.

"Spike, I… don't know what to say for all that you've done…"

While Spike looked away sheepishly, Zecora tried not to tear up before bending in and hugging him.

"Thank you so much! You're… really an amazing one!"

Closing his eyes, Spike hugged Zecora back tightly, happy about how well everything had turned out for them. "It's no problem, Zecora. Seriously, I'm just glad that you two worked it out."

Zecora finally pulled back after a few moments and glanced at the dragon, seeing an honest smile on his face.

"C'mon," Spike said, motioning to the open door, "it'll only be for a little bit."

Zecora nodded in understanding before going through the doorway. When she was fully inside the stairway, Spike closed the door before turning back to Rarity.

Looking at Spike, Rarity couldn't help but sigh in relief, still feeling a little bewildered about all of this. In the past couple months, the baby dragon in front of her had proven himself to be more mature than most full-grown stallions.

Rarity gave him a warm smile as she bent down and spoke to him with the utmost sincerity.

"Spike, I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am to have a friend like you. You've been so understanding and grown-up about all of this, and… I'm eternally grateful for all the help you've given me…"

Spike looked away, blushing bashfully. Rarity giggled a little at seeing him like that before continuing, "And I want you to know, and I mean this with all my heart… That I know… I know… that there's someone out there for you, Spike."

Spike looked back up at Rarity, an obvious look of skepticism growing over his light smile.

"I mean it, Spikey," Rarity said. "You are such a kind and caring soul, that I have no doubt that you'll find someone. And when you do, you're going to make them so… so happy. They're going to love you so dearly… and you'll love them back just as much… Even more than you do for me…"

While he was unsure if that would ever happen, Spike could tell from the reassuring look on Rarity's face that she truly believed what she said.

After a deep sigh, the dragon's smile grew a little bigger before he asked, "R-really? You… you really think so?"

"Spike, I know so."

Rarity then pulled Spike in for a tight hug, holding him dearly for a moment before letting go and adding, "You just have to look for yourself, that's all."

As she thought it over, Rarity tried not to chuckle out loud. "I mean, sometimes it happens when you least expect it. Believe me, it happens."

Hearing that, Spike stifled a chuckle as well, understanding her point of view more than a little bit. "Yeah, I… I guess…"

The two shared another light bit of laughter, both of them looking a lot more at ease about everything between them.

After a moment, Rarity kept her grin and asked, "So, do you have any ideas, Spike? Surely there has to be someone you've been looking for besides me."

The drake shrugged, looking down as he pondered her question. "Eh… not really… Although..."

Shuffling his feet, Spike looked back up at Rarity with a hopeful smile and added, "I did get a couple of free movie tickets from a raffle, so I was thinking of maybe using those with somepony."

"Oh, really?" Rarity asked with a pleased smirk. "So, you're thinking of seeing a romantic movie with somepony special?"

"Nah…" Spike brushed Rarity's assumption aside with a claw as he corrected her, "I was planning on using the tickets so Sweetie Belle and I could see that new Sharkcano movie!"

Rarity's smile immediately dropped. "What?"

"I mean, I know it doesn't sound like that great of a movie for a first date, but I don’t think she would mind that much. I mean, come on! It's sharks in a volcano! How could an idea like that NOT be totally awesome?!"

"Spike," Rarity began, speaking through gritted teeth as she glared at the dragon with pure intensity, "you better hope for your safety that you are joking."

Spike took one look at Rarity's enraged glare and scrunched his face in to keep himself from cracking up. Looking away, the drake let a couple laughs escape from his pursed lips before putting up a claw. "Wow, Rare! I can’t believe you fell for that!"

At seeing him crack up in front of her, Rarity let out a relieved sigh, grateful that he was just pulling her leg. Despite wanting to scold him for making a joke that crude, she knew it was all in good spirits.

"Alright, very funny, Spike," Rarity said sarcastically. "You had your big laugh, okay?"

"Hehe… yeah…" Spike looked back up at her with a cheeky grin, looking rather pleased with himself.

Fortunately enough, that did help Rarity feel a lot less stressed. At the sound of several knocks at the front door, she jolted in surprise, not expecting her friends to arrive so early.

"Oh! Well…" Rarity glanced once more back at Spike with a nervous smile. "I… I guess this is it!"

"Yeah,” Spike said with an anxious smile of his own.

After giving him one last hug, Rarity made her way to the kitchen to get Twilight and inform her everything was ready. "Wish me luck, Spike! And remember…"

She glanced back at him and declared honestly, "You're a great dragon, Spike. And I know you'll find somepony."

Spike gave her a warm smile back, happy to hear that from her.

However, before she could turn around, Rarity put up a hoof and added sternly, "NOT Sweetie Belle!”

Spike just sighed and insisted with a smirk, "Rare, come on, I was joking!" He then put up a claw and vowed, "I'm not going to date Sweetie Belle, alright? Dragon's Honor."

Knowing how strongly Spike followed his personal code, Rarity nodded with a satisfied smirk before heading to the kitchen.

At seeing her leave, Spike began to grow a devilish grin, happy that she didn’t notice he had his other set of claws behind his back…

… With two claws crossed.

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After turning off her spell and making sure Spike was really alright, Twilight let in the rest of her friends to hear about Rarity's big news. Since there wasn't enough chairs for all of them in the main room, she arranged several pillows on the floor opposite a large couch.

Eventually, Twilight and the others took their seats on the floor, all of them facing the nervous unicorn who sat alone on the couch.

Taking a deep breath, Rarity closed her eyes before slowly exhaling, hoping that this wasn't going to be a disaster. However, after calming herself down, the mare reopened her eyes to see all of her friends looking back at her with caring smiles.

"A-alright…" After taking another breath, Rarity made sure she was comfortable before she began, "Well… I'm sure most of you are wondering why I wanted to talk with you tonight."

Aside from Twilight and Rainbow Dash, all of the mares simply nodded while Rarity continued, "Well, the truth of the matter is… I…"

Rarity closed her eyes, gathering her courage before she opened her muzzle. "I'm… in a relationship…"

Rarity then reopened her eyes, only to look down at her hooves to avoid seeing her friends’ surprised expressions.

After a couple seconds of silence, Rarity slowly looked back up at them. "I've… been seeing someone for the past couple of months, in secret. While it's fairly surprising—especially for myself—I'm quite happy with who I'm with. I've really felt a lot more at ease, I feel a lot more special, and—Rainbow Dash, wipe that smirk off your face!"

Despite Rarity's glare, Rainbow Dash just made her cocky grin even more obvious. "Can I at least say it?"

"NO."

"Well… I'm gonna say it anyway!"

Before she could object, Rainbow Dash jumped up, stood on top of her pillow, pointed at Rarity, and shouted triumphantly:

"I… TOTALLY CALLED IT!"

Rarity groaned and face-hoofed, trying her hardest not to smack Dash upside the head.

Luckily, before she could start doing a victory dance, Rainbow was pulled back onto her pillow by Twilight's magic halfway through her victory song.

"I totally calllllllled it! I totally calllllllllllled it! I tot—"

Umf!

Dash huffed as she looked over at Twilight, who was giving her a condescending glare before scolding, "Rainbow Dash, what have I told you about gloating?!"

"Oh, come on!" Rainbow pointed a hoof at the annoyed unicorn. "I kept on saying that I knew something was up! I think this calls for a little gloating!"

Twilight simply groaned in frustration. Although she wanted to bring up several instances where she herself could have gloated about something, but decided not to (starting with the Royal Wedding, which was hooves-down the most tempting), the alicorn wasn't able to open her muzzle before Rarity snapped at her friend.

"Rainbow, one of the biggest reasons I kept this a secret for so long was because of your attitude about it! I've always respected the privacy of my friends, including yours, so I don't think it's too much to ask that you do the same! Including now!"

Looking over at the Rarity, Dash could see that she really seemed upset about this. And after knowing her for as long as she did, Rainbow knew better than to try pushing it.

After a reluctant sigh, Rainbow Dash settled back on her pillow, muttering a feeble "Sorry,” as she looked away from Rarity.

"Thank you," Rarity said, starting to relax again. "Now, first off, before I tel—PINKIE! Do you have to put up that banner NOW?!"

All of them looked up to see Pinkie Pie standing on a ladder near the ceiling, halfway done hanging up a huge banner that read "Rarity Has A Special Somepony!"

Pinkie looked down at Rarity with a disappointed look on her face. "Awwww!!! But I made this banner years ago!"

"Can you at least wait until I tell you who it is?!"

"Ooh! Oh yeah! I have some space to write in a name, too!" Pinkie beamed and hopped off the ladder, looking as excited as if she had been given a huge present to unwrap. "So who is it Rare?! Whoisitwhoisitwhoisitwhoisit!?"

Before Rarity could answer, Pinkie hopped over and popped her head in from behind the couch. "Is it Caramel? Pokey Pierce? Braeburn? Thunderlane? OOOOOHHHHH…."

Pinkie then squished Rarity's cheeks together with her hooves as she turned towards Applejack. "Maybe it's BIG MAC!"

"It better NOT be!" Applejack snapped with instant anger.

"It—"

Unable to get any words out of her mouth while Pinkie squeezed her face shut, Rarity pulled the mare's hooves off her before looking back at Applejack. "It's not Big Macintosh, I swear!"

Seeing and hearing Rarity’s sincerity, Applejack sighed and gave a relieved smile. "Oh, thank goodness! No offense, Rare, but…"

Thinking it over, Applejack shuddered a little at the idea of her brother with one of friends. "Nuh-uh. Ain't happenin'."

"You don't have to worry."

After making sure that Applejack wasn’t acting suspicious about it, Rarity looked back at Pinkie and pointed to the pillow. While the party pony walked over to her spot, Rarity recomposed herself she spoke up again.

“Now, before I say who it is, I just want to reiterate that this wasn't something that I planned to happen. It was… Well… quite frankly, it has to be one of the most unexpected things I've ever done!"

Rarity looked down at her hooves and laughed nervously, not wanting to look at her friends as she continued, "But… it… it is someone you all know. Someone… someone I've really grown to care about… someone I'm really glad I let into my life…"

Hearing Rarity’s words through the door, Zecora tried not to tear up and smiled in the darkness.

"And… because of that… I want you all to know who it is. 

“However…"

Rarity then looked back at her friends, who were all looking at her with mixed looks of anticipation and curiosity. Nevertheless, all of them looked happy for her, which made Rarity feel even better about what she was planning to do.

"I have a feeling that if I just told you girls who it was, that… that you probably wouldn't believe me. So…

"I think it would be better if you saw who it was for yourselves."

The five mares gasped in surprise.

Pinkie Pie bolted off her pillow, hopping around the library as she looked around. "You mean he's HERE?! WHOOPEE! Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Whe—"

"Pinkie!" Twilight shouted, yanking her back onto the pillow with her magic.

After giving Pinkie a stare to silently suggest that she should stay still, Twilight watched the party pony give a sad pout before slumping back on her pillow. She then looked back at Rarity with a reassuring smile. "Alright, Rarity. You can continue."

"Thank you," Rarity said before taking a deep breath.

"Now, before I show you who I'm seeing, I would really appreciate it if you all allowed me to collect myself first, so… I want all of you to close your eyes."

"Ugh!" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Oh, come on! Are you serious?"

"Yes I am," Rarity said sternly, looking at her friend with an irritated stare. "I want this to be done right, so all that I'm asking is for you girls to let me get this ready."

Rainbow Dash wanted to protest further, but stopped herself when she the other four nod in agreement. Reluctantly, the Pegasus groaned under her breath before muttering "Fine," and crossing her hooves in disdain.

The five ponies, Rainbow Dash included, then closed their eyes.

Before Rarity could motion to Spike, Rainbow muttered, "I swear, if it turns out to be a body pillow with some guy's face taped onto it, I'm leaving."

"Rainbow!" Twilight snapped, keeping her eyes shut.

Dash just sighed before becoming silent once more.

After making sure nopony else would interrupt, Rarity looked back at Spike, who was already by the door. She gave him an approving nod, and he gave back a thumbs-up and an optimistic smile.

While the five mares sat patiently, the door opened behind them, and Zecora slowly walked out into the main room of the library. At the sound of her hoofsteps against the hardwood floor, all of the ponies' ears perked up at the new sound, anxious to discover who Rarity's special somepony was.

"No peeking!" Rarity barked, pointing a hoof at them.

Before she could reach the couch, Zecora heard a faint "Aaaawwww!" from Pinkie Pie.

The zebra then sat on the couch before looking over at her marefriend, a warm smile on her muzzle. Rarity gave a caring smile back to her.

Spike, knowing that this was probably going to get messy, walked over to the stairway leading upstairs, hoping to be out of the way and allow Rarity to handle this herself.

As her friends continued to wait, Rarity closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling her heart racing faster than it ever had before. Of all the daunting tasks she's had to confront before, the unicorn felt both surprised and anxious about this, realizing that she's never felt this nervous about anything in her life.

Rarity jolted when she felt Zecora's hoof rest against her back, gently holding her to show that it would be alright.

After taking another glance at Zecora, the zebra she cared more about than anything, Rarity gave a nervous smile back before relaxing herself.

As she faced her friends again, Rarity kept her eyes closed and exhaled, letting all her worries and troubles flow out of her with the air in her lungs.

With a satisfied smile, Rarity began to open her eyes and speak.

"… O—"

"Oh, hey, Zecora! What'cha doin’ on the couch next to Rarity?"

"PINKIE!!!"


The End