> Just In Time! > by GeekCat > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Time for What? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow knocked on the door of Fluttershy's cottage, looking chagrined. The door opened up a crack, a sad teal eye peeking out at her. Rainbow flinched. “Uh, hi, Fluttershy,” she said. Fluttershy continued to look at her through the small crack. Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck. “Uh, did you manage to get that silly string off?” Fluttershy gave a tiny nod. “Okay, that’s good. Look, I just came to say that I'm sorry about that.” Fluttershy started to open the door a little wider. Rainbow continued, “I didn’t mean to get you with that stuff, I was aiming for Rarity.” Distracted, she started to laugh to herself a bit. “Oh man, though, can’t you just imagine how she would react to that? It would have been hilarious!” She caught herself mid-laugh, noticing Fluttershy had halfway opened the door to give her a look. She straightened up. “But,” she said, “If she didn’t find it funny, it wouldn’t have been good. But I did have Zecora's shampoo to give after! I would have given it to you, but you kinda…ran off.” She coughed. “Anyway, no hard feelings?” She held out a hoof to shake. Fluttershy gave her a soft smile, grabbing her hoof to give it a tiny shake. To her surprise, Fluttershy pulled her into the cottage by her hoof! “What the-," cried the surprised Rainbow. Fluttershy pulled her into a hug. “Oh Rainbow, I'm not mad! Besides, you came just in time!” Rainbow pulled back, asking, “Just in time for…what?” Only then could Rainbow see what Fluttershy was wearing. A pure white dress with green and gold trimming at the hemline and sleeves. It clung to her skin at the front of her body, but was puffed like a pastry in the back. Draped over her wings was a silvery-white, see-through material. Fluttershy rubbed her right forehoof against her left, blushing lightly from how Rainbow was staring. “Is that something you’re trying on for Rarity?,” asked Rainbow. Fluttershy shook her head bashfully. “Actually, um, it's…a part of why your timing is good.” A white light flashed behind Fluttershy, causing the two ponies to jump. Blinking the spots from her eyes, Rainbow watched as Fluttershy flew up to nuzzle Discord, who returned the affection with a small smile. Rainbow gagged. “Is he part of why my timing is good?,” asked Rainbow. “And why are you both all dressed up?,” she added as an afterthought. Discord was wearing a teal tuxedo with a neon green bowtie, which was loosely tied and crooked. He gasped, holding his claw up to his mouth. “Fluttershy, you didn’t tell her?,” he said in mock shock. Fluttershy blushed, replying, “Well…she only just came, dear…” Discord's tail snaked around Rainbow’s middle as he scooped Fluttershy into his arms. “Well, we can explain on the way!,” he said cheerfully. And with that, he floated off, dragging Rainbow behind him. “You know,” he started, “It's ridiculous how society expects every couple to marry.” He snorted, “But what's really ridiculous is that you apparently need a license to get married! And you have to pay for it! Actual bits! Just for the gracious honor of legally declaring that you live together, and you’re going to keep living together, and so on.” Rainbow pushed her hooves against his tail, but it had her in a vice grip. She sent a glare at the back of Discord's head. “What does that have to do with anything?,” she demanded. Discord ignored the question, giving Fluttershy a small nuzzle. She giggled. “But we found a solution, didn't we?,” he purred. He gently lowered Fluttershy down onto her hooves, while he flung Rainbow into a soft chair. Rainbow quickly recovered, bolting upright in the seat. Her jaw dropped and her eyes bulged. Discord had brought them outside Fluttershy's cottage, and they were near the edge of the forest. He and Fluttershy were standing beneath an elaborate arch covered in glowing white flowers. Between them stood Mayor Mare. Rainbow opened and closed her mouth, making several sputtering sounds. Fluttershy turned to her and grabbed her hooves. “Rainbow,” she said, “could you please be our witness?” Rainbow finally found her voice, shouting, “WHAT?!” Fluttershy jumped back in surprise. Discord chuckled. “I suppose that's on us for not telling anypony we were together.” He scratched at his chin, “Though it would have been awkward to tell all your friends about it when we first got together…” Rainbow stuttered, “H-h-how long…” “Oh, since I got out of that horrid statue,” Discord answered. Fluttershy blushed, rubbing one of her front hooves against the other. With a shaky smile forming, Rainbow continued, “You mean…after you were reformed?” Discord scoffed, “No, the first time, before that. I mean, being ‘enemies’ made it challenging, but that was also what made it so exciting!” Fluttershy hid her red face in her front hooves. Rainbow choked and made more sputtering sounds. With a small nudge from Discord, Fluttershy approached and gripped her friend's hooves between her own. “Dashie,” she started, “this would mean a lot to me. I love Discord, and I want to do this. We both want to do this, but we want to do it before we tell the others about…well, us. Please be our witness.” Rainbow stared forward blankly, her mouth wide open. Discord coughed softly into his paw, and Fluttershy fluttered back to the arch. With a nod from Discord, Mayor Mare cleared her throat and began, “Dearly beloved…” Rainbow didn’t hear. All noise was muffled to her, her vision blurry. Her eyes and thoughts could only focus on the pegasus and draconequus…standing under the arch…eloping! “WHAAAAAAAAT!?” The three under the arch jumped in surprise. Rainbow, now having their attention, glared at them, and then promptly passed out cold. Fluttershy rushed to her side, checking that she was alright. “Oh dear. Discord, wasn’t that a bit too mean?” Discord snapped away his tux and her dress. “Oh, c'mon, Fluttershy. She pulled a mean prank on you, and now you've done the same. Fair's fair.” Mayor Mare groaned and began to glow, morphing into a second Discord, wearing black-rimmed glasses. “And what if she hadn't fainted?,” he asked. “Would you continue the ‘wedding', and then be married after only a month of dating?” The original Discord scoffed. “Please. Like she wouldn’t have freaked out and stopped us at some point. Besides, you're not a licensed official, so it wouldn’t count.” Fluttershy gave him a slight glare. “Discord, I think both of us should apologize and explain to her once she wakes up. It would also be a good time to talk to all of our friends about us…being together.” Discord sighed and crossed his arms. “Fiiiiine. It was still funny, though.” Fluttershy smiled and playfully rolled her eyes, then flew up to give him a small peck on his nose. The sides of his lips curled up into a soft smile. Suddenly, his ears perked up, a lightbulb flashing over his head. Fluttershy saw this and moaned, “Oh Discord, no…” He grinned at her, eyeing Rainbow with a wild gleam in his eye. Fluttershy held a hoof to her temple and shook her head. But she couldn’t hide her small smile from him. Continuing with a teasing smirk, one that he had worn when he first proposed this plan, one that warned her of terrible things, one that she still loved to see on him, he asked her, “When she wakes up, do you think we could convince her we're having a kid?”