AN: If you all couldn't tell from previous chapters, I ship Yona x Sandbar and Gallus x Silverstream. Story time!
Ch 10: Day of Part 4
Starlight
Starlight Glimmer's sitting at her desk in her office in the School of Friendship. Despite it being a Saturday, she has chosen to wait here until it's time for her to meet up with Twilight and the others. The unicorn is glad she did.
When she got there, Starlight found six students hanging around (Smolder, Ocellus, Yona, Sandbar, Gallus, and Silverstream). She only knew the problems of three students, which would have made it impossible to talk to all the students and help them out without being super late for meeting with Twilight and her friends. Luckily, Sunburst had decided to wait in the school until his own personal engagement (Starlight tried not to think too much about that part). It just filled her with warmth that he offered to talk to Gallus, Ocellus, and Smolder while she talked with the other three.
That is why she has Yona and Sandbar sitting in front of her right now.
"So…what did you want to talk to us about, Miss Starlight?" asks Sandbar.
"Yeah," says Yona. "And Yona not sure why have Yona and Sandbar together."
Starlight smiles at the two. "Well…a little birdie told me you two are dating now."
The young pony and yak suddenly look terrified. "Uh…"
"Don't worry. I'm on your side. I'm happy you two are together."
"Really?" asks Yona.
"Yes, and not just because it's a win for love. Sunburst owes me ten bits."
Sandbar stares at Starlight. "You were betting on if we'd get together?"
"Not if. When."
Yona just stares for a moment. "So…Yona and Sandbar were obvious?"
"Yeah, but I wouldn't worry about it."
"Why not?" asks Sandbar. "If the public knows, we'll be outcasts."
"Do the opinions of strangers really matter?"
"Well…no."
"And I wouldn't worry about your friends. I doubt they'd object to your relationship and if any of them did have an issue, a true friendship wouldn't end because of it."
"And families?" asks Yona.
Starlight gives the two a serious look. "If your families told you to stop seeing each other, would you?"
"No!" the young pony and yak shout as one. Surprised, the two are now looking into each other's eyes with smiles.
"There you go," says Starlight.
"Thank you, Miss Starlight," says Sandbar.
"That helps," says Yona.
"I'm glad," says Starlight. "Now, unless there's something else that you two would like to discuss with me, would you mind sending in Silverstream?"
"We're good," says Sandbar.
"Yona and Sandbar get Silverstream," Yona says as the couple heads for the door.
The moment the hippogriff enters, she starts talking. "Oh! I hope the appointment goes by quickly! Not that I don't like the appointment itself, it's just that I need to get to the train station to meet with Terramar so we can enjoy the day together and—"
"Silverstream!" Sandbar interrupts her. "We get it. Also, Yona and I have something we'd like to tell you."
The yak smiles nervously. "Uh…Yona and Sandbar…dating."
The hippogriff gasps. "YAY! Finally!" She then frowns. "Aww, now I owe Ocellus ten bits."
"You were betting on us too?" asks Sandbar.
"Did you already know about Gallus and Smolder's bet?"
"No," Yona says slowly. "But…that comforts Yona."
"Yeah," says Sandbar. "So, Yona and I are going out to enjoy Hearts and Hooves Day as a couple. Good luck with Miss Starlight."
"Bye!" Silverstream shouts while waving at the departing couple. She then flies over to sit in front of Starlight's desk.
"How are things going with your brother?" asks the unicorn.
The hippogriff becomes very nervous. "Uh…good. Great! No terrible secrets!"
Starlight waits patiently for her student to come clean.
"Okay! I told Ocellus that Terramar likes her! I mean he really likes her! In the boyfriend and girlfriend way!" Silverstream groans. "Now there's three I've told. I'm the worst big sister ever."
"Don't worry. I'm not going to spread that around. And Ocellus would never use it to hurt your brother. She's a total sweetheart."
"She is."
"If she does like him back, you might have actually helped Terramar. If she doesn't, I just know Ocellus will be gentle with letting him down and encourage him to keep looking for love."
"You're right." Silverstream sighs. "Why can't Gallus be that sweet?"
"Gallus?" Starlight asks knowingly.
The hippogriff gasps and covers her beak.
"You have feelings for your griffon friend."
Silverstream uncovers her beak. "Yeah, but I wish I didn't. Gallup is the cool type who'd think me liking him would be lame."
"That's not true. If he doesn't feel the same way as you, he'd be flattered. We all know he does care about you and the rest of your friends since he did try to sabotage Hearth's Warming to stay with all of you."
"He did." Silverstream smiles. "I'll tell him."
"Great, but don't forget you still have to pick up your brother from the train station."
The hippogriff gasps. "Oh no! The train's probably already there!"
Starlight walks around her desk to Silverstream. "This is exactly why I chose you to be the very last appointment. Since we both need to be at the station, I can just teleport us there."
"Yay! Thank you so much! Let's go!" The hippogriff is shaking with anticipation beside the headmare.
Starlight uses a spell to instantly take them to the train station. She finds that Twilight and her entourage are just exiting the train.
"Hi, Princess Twilight!" Silverstream shouts with a big wave. After the purple alicorn has waved back, the hippogriff looks around and sees her little brother's already waiting on the other side of the platform. "Terramar!" She rushes over to him.
Twilight turns back to Starlight. "So…just two of you?"
Starlight looks around and sees that only her and Fluttershy are there. "I guess so."
"Maybe they all got caught up with other things," says the yellow pegasus.
Just then, Rainbow Dash skids to a halt in front of them. "Yo."
"Overslept?" asks Twilight.
"No! Got held up by other ponies. Not surprising since I'm super rad."
"Howdy, everypony!"
Dash laughs at the new voice. "Look who finally decided to—WHOA!"
Everypony rushes over to Applejack and her wheelchair bound leg.
"Oh, Applejack," Fluttershy says with a whimper.
"Are you okay?" asks Starlight.
"What happened?" asks Twilight.
Shining Armor, Cadance, Spike, and Flash are all wondering the same things.
"Well…" Applejack starts out.
"My goodness!"
Everypony turns to see Rarity galloping to them.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash both tense up.
Rarity comes to a stop and looks at the broken leg. "How did you get such an injury?!"
"Tree fell on it," says Applejack.
A lot of cringing and sounds of sympathy follow.
"Ain't a big deal now. Takes more than a tree to keep this pony down."
After things settle down, Rarity turns to her alicorn friend. "Twilight, I believe I owe you a long overdue apology."
"Really?" Twilight asks surprised by the sudden admittance.
"You were right all along. I was overly harsh with Fancy and Fleur. They never wronged me, I wronged them. I never should have acted in such a manner towards them, especially since I never loved him."
"Is that so?" asks a new male voice.
Rarity (along with the rest) turns to find Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis are standing nearby. The white unicorn mare sighs before walking over to them. "That's right. Ever since I was but a young filly, I had set goals for my life. Be beautiful, have a respectable career, and be married to a member of Canterlot's elite. Already having the first two, I only needed the marriage to finally have everything. Fancy, I chose you because you were the only single stallion who was remotely tolerable amongst them."
Fancy stares at Rarity for a few moments. "I do wish to point out that I did offer to be your special somepony multiple times, but you refused each one."
"Because, despite what I was telling myself, I craved a deep and passionate love in my life. We had no such relationship. At least…from my point of view."
"Thinking back on it now, I admired and respected you but I realize that I did not love you either." Fancy looks over at Fleur. "Certainly not in the way I love my best friend and keeper of my heart."
The Canterlot mare blushes. "Oh, Fancy."
Rarity nods in understanding. "My anger at the two of you was an immature tantrum over my life's plans being perceived as ruined. As awful as that was, I've come to realize I have been alienating all those I love with my behavior. All because I let some poisonous words from a self-absorbed filly when I was little influence me. To think I allowed her to convince me my parents were a tarnish on my blood.
Fleur's eyes widen, recognizing that phrase. "Golden coat with white, curly mane?"
"Yes," Rarity says feeling very surprised by the accurate description.
"We know who you are talking about," says Fancy Pants. "That mare is a complete social outcast. The slightest of missteps on anypony's part led to them being permanently branded as a vile piece of filth in her mind. It did not take very long for this to apply to literally everypony in Canterlot besides herself."
"She has not set hoof outside of her house in years," says Fleur de Lis. "With both parents having already passed away and no employees willing to serve her, that mare is quite alone in the world. The only reason we even know that she is still alive is because there are weekly checkups to see if she happened to die."
The story has greatly shaken Rarity. "That is horrifying."
"She brought it on herself," says Fancy.
"I'm quite happy I decided to not let her ways dictate my life anymore. I hope to be able to rebuild all of my relationships, starting with them." Rarity looks over at her friends, all of whom smile back except for Rainbow Dash. 'I still have to apologize to Dash for what I said.' "Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis, know that I shall be your top supporter from now on."
"Thank you," says Fleur.
"That will likely stop most of the public outcry," says Fancy.
The train takes off.
Fleur looks back at Rarity. "We were actually planning to spend the day here."
"Ponyville is quite a charming place," says Fancy. "Thought we should experience Hearts and Hooves Day in a friendly place."
"There is no friendlier place in all of Equestria," says Rarity. "Please, enjoy yourselves on this Hearts and Hooves Day." After the couple leaves, the white unicorn turns to Rainbow Dash. "Would you mind if we talked in private?"
The blue pegasus ignores the confused looks from the others. "Let's go."
Once the pair goes to the other side of the platform, Starlight asks a question that's been on her mind for a while. "Is going against that mare's influence why Rarity's letting her mane stick out?"
"Most likely," says Twilight.
"Spike!"
The dragon turns to find his female dragon friend waving. "Hey there, Smolder! Twilight, tell Rarity and Dash I'm spending the day with her. Bye, everypony!" He rushes off to hang out with Smolder.
Twilight, not seeing the implications of Spike's eagerness to be with Smolder like the rest, turns to her guests with a smile. "So…I hope you'll all enjoy your day in Ponyville."
"I bet we will," says Cadance. "You know, I can feel that Canterlot couple are just perfect for each other."
"Good for them," says Starlight.
"Not so much for Rarity," says Fluttershy.
"She'll be fine," says Applejack.
"Rarity's original plans wouldn't have led to real happiness," says Twilight. "I believe she realizes that now." She turns to Flash. "Today's your first time experiencing Ponyville. Do you feel excited?"
While he's been paying attention to what's been going on, Flash has been detached from it all due to keeping an eye out for trouble. Hearing Twilight's question, he puts on a smile. "I am very excited."
Starlight approaches Flash. "Thinking about it, I don't believe the rest of us were properly introduced to you."
"You're right." The Royal Guard holds out a hoof. "Flash Sentry."
"Starlight Glimmer." She shakes his hoof.
Applejack and Fluttershy soon follow.
Rainbow Dash speeds over after the yellow mare finishes. "I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest pegasus in Equestria."
Usually, Flash doesn't like to brag. However, he feels that Dash's ego should be checked. "Flash Sentry, strongest pegasus in Equestria."
The light blue pegasus mare snorts. "Can you really back that up?"
"I'm guessing you haven't met Bulk Biceps," says Fluttershy.
Flash smirks. "I have met him and strength isn't only about lifting up heavy objects. I was able to convince him to have a good-natured brawl…and I won."
"Goodness," says an approaching Rarity. "Bulk Biceps is a mountain of a pony."
"You gotta be a real tough fighter," says Applejack.
"I'm guessing that none of you've heard about how I sparred with and won against my own ancestor, Flash Magnus," says Flash Sentry.
"That was you?!" Rainbow Dash asks with a dropped jaw.
Only Cadance, Shining, and Twilight don't crowd around Flash since they already knew.
Twilight has a sudden mental image of her bodyguard standing as the victor over both Bulk and Flash Magnus. A determined and dominant fighter. The short daydream makes the alicorn's knees tremble and…her wings pop out. As she puts them back down, Twilight feels relieved that her friends are focused on Flash and he's busy dealing with all their sudden admiration.
Cadance hides her giggling. 'Oh, Twilight. It won't be much longer before you and Flash finally get a clue.'
Shining's eyes are twitching. 'Eww. I just saw my sister get aroused.' He glares at Flash. 'It's all your fault!'
Once certain her wings won't pop out again, Twilight approaches her friends. "What were you two talking about?"
"Doesn't matter," says Rainbow Dash. "We're good."
"Precisely," Rarity says before turning to Flash with a hoof raised. "Rarity. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
The Royal Guard feels panicked. 'Oh crap! The way she's holding out her hoof, common courtesy dictates I should kiss it! That just feels…wrong.' Flash unconsciously at Twilight as he thinks this. 'Wait. I got an idea!' He takes Rarity's hoof in his. "Flash Sentry. It is an honor." He leans down and places his forehead on her hoof.
"Smart move," Rarity whispers to the stallion. "Don't make her feel jealous over nothing." Before Flash can make a response out of confusion, the unicorn mare turns to the group. "Let us take our leave of this place and begin the day."
"Sure," Twilight says as everypony starts heading out. "Wish Pinkie was here with us."
"Where is she?" asks Starlight.
"I hope she's okay," says Fluttershy.
"I ain't worried bout her none," says Applejack.
"Yeah," says Rainbow Dash. "Knowing her, she'll pop in when it suits her."
Right as everypony exits the station, they all get blasted with confetti.
"WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!" Pinkie Pie shouts while she sits atop her party cannon. "Well…it doesn't really apply to Rarity, Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Starlight since they've been here the whole time. The same goes for Twilight, Shining, and Cadance since they've been here before. More of a welcome back for them. This only really applies to Flash. Eh, whatever. WELCOME!'
Only now does everypony see Flash and Twilight are on the ground, him on top of her.
The Royal Guard stands while feeling very embarrassed. "M-my apologies…P-P-Princess Twilight. I…uh…saw that c-cannon and…thought it was an attack."
Twilight pats his shoulder without looking at him. "That…that's okay. There was no way you could have known it was just…Pinkie's p-party cannon."
The two are refusing to let their minds dwell on the position they were in.
The other mares are smirking, suppressing giggles, and grinning in Pinkie's case from this development.
Shining Armor is absolutely seething. 'Sentry, you had better not try to get in that position with my sister ever again!'
Pinkie sticks the whole cannon in her mane (where it vanishes) and rushes over to Shining and Cadance. "You'll have the absolute bestest time as a wovey dovey couple here in Ponyville on Hearts and Hooves Day!" She grabs Flash's hoof and shakes it vigorously. "Hey there, Flash Sentry! I'm Pinkie Pie! Now you've been introduced to everypony!"
Once he's released, Flash turns to Twilight. "How did she know?"
"That's just Pinkie's way," says the purple alicorn. "Don't bother with trying to figure her out. You'll save yourself many headaches."
"Noted," the pegasus stallion says as they all head out.
Starlight chats with Princess Cadance about how Sunburst enjoys being Vice Headmare of the School of Friendship. She tries to not get emotional thinking of her friend out on a date with somepony. The unicorn notices Cadance giving her a look, but the alicorn doesn't say anything.
As the day goes on, many incidents occur.
Applejack runs into Tender Taps. When he hears Apple Bloom is having to rest from lack of sleep, he immediately volunteers to help the Apple family with their work. Such a quick offer from him makes the mare reevaluate Tender Taps. She tells the colt that he's always welcome at Sweet Apple Acres. As he's leaving, Applejack says to herself that he has her Granpappy's soul. She then takes a look around as if hoping to find somepony, but is very disappointed (Cadance is the only one who notices this).
While they're all passing a booth where a sculptor uses magic to make quick clay statues of couples, Fluttershy notices one of Discord. The sculptor tells her he'd made that one a few days ago after witnessing him stop a disaster. Only Cadance notices the longing look Fluttershy gives to the statue of the draconequus.
Rainbow Dash sees Scootaloo and Rumble playing a dancing rhythm game. When it ends in a tie, they start playfully ribbing each other before Scootaloo tackles Rumble and the two foals wrestle a bit. Dash can't help but mutter to herself that it's just like her and Soarin. Once again, Cadence is the only one who catches this.
Rarity finds Sweetie Belle sitting alone on a bench. The older sister takes this opportunity to apologize, going so far as to lie down with her horn going into the ground. The display makes Sweetie Belle accept the apology just to stop the embarrassment. Rarity then notices that Button Mash is coming over with two bags of cotton candy, one of them for Sweetie Belle with the hope of making her feel better. Seeing the colt really does care about her little sister, the mare decides to invite him to have more lunches with them.
The worst incident happens just before lunch time. The group witnesses one of the owners of a stall yelling at Yona and Sandbar, telling the pair to take their 'sick perverseness away from decent society'. The entire group rushes over to defend them. The stallion gets overwhelmed by the support the inter couple has, especially from all the royals. Rarity is by far the most vocal of them, but Twilight is the sternest by reminding him inters have the legal right to be married now and he's actually the one in legal trouble for harassing the young couple and disturbing the peace (Flash only just stops his wings from popping out from Twilight's regal attitude and easy ability to quote law). The stall owner doesn't back down though, stating that he still has the right to not serve Yona and Sandbar.
Just then, Cheese Sandwich appears and fires the guy. He takes over the stall and hangs up a sign stating that inter couples are welcome.
Pinkie sighs dreamily (Only Cadance noticing yet again).
The group heads to Sugarcube Corner for lunch. Once the mares have all sat down, they're given a surprise by the stallions.
"I'd like to borrow Flash Sentry for a moment," says Shining Armor.
Cadance glares at her husband, which lets him know that she's been trying to get Flash and Twilight together.
"Oh," Twilight says while feeling a little bit disappointed at the thought of Flash not being there. "I guess that's alright. Don't be too long."
Flash is fearful of being away from his princess for even a second. "You are certain about me leaving your side, Princess Twilight?"
"Of course. You two shouldn't be gone for a ridiculous amount of time and all eight of us have dealt with danger before. We'll be fine."
"As you wish." Flash follows his superior officer out the door.
"LET'S ORDER!" Pinkie shouts before bringing Mr. Cake right over to their table.
After all of their orders have been taken, the door opens and a familiar hooded mare enters.
"It's you!" all the seated mares besides Cadance shout in shock (the pink alicorn jolts from the sudden shouting).
"Greetings to you all," says the hooded mare.
"Does everypony here know her?" asks Cadance.
"Seems like it," says Twilight. "Guess all of us have gotten fortunes from her."
"That is correct," says the hooded mare. "And in honor of Hearts and Hooves Day, all of my fortunes are free."
"Wonderful," says Cadance. "Why don't we all get our fortunes told we're waiting for our orders?"
As uncertain as the others feel about getting fortunes from the hooded mare yet again, they go along with it for Cadance's sake.
The fortune teller walks around the table, inspecting each mare's hooves one by one. After finishing with Starlight, she steps away from the table and addresses all of them. "Soon, each of you will face a dire situation. However, you will come out of it better through true love." While the others are in shock, the hooded mare grabs her pre-ordered treat and leaves.
Cadance looks around at the others. "So…have all of you been hiding special someponies from each other?" Not getting any answers, she uses a different tactic. "Exciting to think that by the next Hearts and Hooves Day, you all might be in a relationship."
"I won't," says Starlight.
"What does that mean?" asks Rainbow Dash.
"Nothing. Forget about it."
"You invited us in by saying those things in the first place," says Rarity.
Fluttershy brings her hooves together in a begging manner. "Please let us help you. We're your friends after all."
"Talking about your issue with friends can lead to a possible solution," says Twilight.
"I love Sunburst!" Starlight blurts out.
"Aww," Cadance says with a smile.
"No! It's not sweet! He's out with somepony else!"
"I'm so sorry," says Fluttershy.
"Who's this other pony and what do they have that Starlight doesn't?!" Rainbow Dash asks indignantly.
Said unicorn sets her head down onto the table. "Apparently, Sunburst's heart. It just hurt so much when he told me about his date, I left before I could find out any details."
Cadance's mild suspicion grows. "Starlight, what was going on when you found out?"
"I had just invited him to join us when he said he had…I think his exact phrase had been 'a previous engagement'."
Suddenly, Cadence laughs. Realizing this makes her seem insensitive, she forces herself to stop. "Sunburst doesn't have a date."
"What?"
"He did this all the time back in the Crystal Empire. Somepony would invite him out to an event or gathering and he'd tell them he had a 'previous engagement' to hide that he didn't think he belonged there."
Starlight just stares for a moment, then… "AAAAHHHH! Sunburst, you idiot! When I see you again, I'm giving you a piece of my mind!"
Mr. Cake, who'd just arrived with all their orders, has been made nervous by the unicorn's statement and keeps his eyes on her as he gives everypony their orders. Only during the last one does he look away and see a worrying sight. "Pinkie?"
This draws everypony's attention to the fact that the party pony's mane is flattened down.
"Are you okay?" asks Fluttershy.
"No!" Pinkie starts sobbing.
"Goodness!" shouts Rarity.
"Calm down!" shouts Rainbow Dash.
"Cheese doesn't love me! I told him I was in love and he wished me luck!"
"That's an odd response," says Starlight.
"For sure," says Applejack.
"Pinkie?" asks Cadance. "Did you specify that you were talking about him?"
"No," says Pinkie. "He still seemed fine with me being in love with not him even though it is him!"
"He may have been trying to save face."
"His face looked fine."
"No, Pinkie. What I mean is that Cheese was likely trying to be supportive even when the thought of you loving somepony else broke his heart."
Pinkie gasps. "Oh no. I need to tell him after lunch."
Mr. Cake leaves the room, confident that the party mare's usual happy disposition is about to come back.
As suspected, Pinkie's mane springs back up as she gasps again with a smile. "The fortune teller said we'd all have true love!" She gets in Rainbow Dash's face. "Who's yours?!"
The blue pegasus leans back. "Huh?! What are you talking about?!"
"You have dated a lot recently," says Twilight. "Did you meet somepony great?"
"No! I hated all of it!"
"You did?" asks Fluttershy.
"Yeah! I was so bored and they were all so lame! I'd much rather hang out with Soarin!"
"Soarin the Wonderbolt?" asks Starlight.
"You mentioned him earlier," says Cadence.
"I have a blast with him. We compete all the time. He gets a few wins, but only because I didn't give it my all. I still rule, but I like that he keeps trying." Rainbow Dash notices the other mares are staring at her with smiles (a smirk in Applejack's case). "What?"
"You must really like hanging out with him."
"Yeah I do! He's the best friend I have in the Wonderbolts! All those dumb dates, I spent them wishing I was…with…him. Wow. I'm dense."
"That ain't nothing new," says Applejack.
Dash is so in shock, she doesn't react to her friend's insult. "I love Soarin. Didn't see that coming."
"I'm surprised you of all ponies would admit that so freely," says Rarity.
Rainbow Dash shrugs. "I've found the best. I'm not going to hide that."
That convinces Rarity to completely come clean. "You're absolutely right, Dash. A pony should never hide the best when they find it. After we defeated the Storm King, the reason that I started dating Fancy Pants was because I began to have feelings for…a certain individual. Until the marriage law was passed, I could not have a fully legal relationship with him."
"An inter relationship," Fluttershy says in shock.
"No wonder you were so passionate in defending Yona and Sandbar," says Cadance.
"Capper Dapperpaws?" Twilight asks Rarity.
The white unicorn is surprised by the accurate guess. "How did you know?"
"You spent the most time around him out of all of us."
Applejack nods. "He ain't my type, but I can see why you'd fall for him, Rarity."
"He certainly is charming," says Starlight.
Rarity frowns. "I may have ruined my chance with Capper. He admitted that he wants me last night, but I allowed fear to rule over me and…I sent him away."
There's a few moments of silence as the others glance at each other.
"Are you giving up on him?" asks Starlight.
"Absolutely not," says Rarity.
"Good!" shouts Rainbow Dash. "Don't be a quitter! Write a thousand letters! Head out to Klugetown! Beg for forgiveness like you did with Sweetie Belle this morning! Don't go taking no for an answer!"
Pinkie throws confetti up into the air. "STUBBORN RELENTLESS DETERMINATION FOR THE WIN!"
"Thank you all," says Rarity. "I shall get him back no matter how long it takes."
"You're so brave to admit wanting to be inter," says Fluttershy. "I should be that brave as well." Seeing the others all staring, the yellow pegasus takes a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm in love with Discord."
Unexpectedly, Rainbow Dash pumps a hoof. "HA! I WON! PAY UP, SUCKERS!"
Everypony else besides Fluttershy and Cadance groans and give bits to the blue pegasus.
"Huh?" is all Fluttershy can think to ask.
"You all had a bet on if Fluttershy loved Discord?" asks Cadance.
"No," says Twilight. "On when she'd admit it."
"And I picked today!" shouts Dash. "Do I know my oldest friend or what?!"
"Am I that obvious?" asks Fluttershy.
"As crystal!" shouts Pinkie. "Wait, that's not how the saying goes."
Seeing the yellow pegasus starting to shudder, Dash is quick to comfort her. "Whoa! Hey! Calm down! As weird and annoying as I find him, you two are good for each other!"
Fluttershy looks at Dash. "You think so?"
"We all do," says Starlight.
"I just don't think Discord could ever love me that way. It all just seems so…impossible to me."
"How could he not love you?!" shouts Pinkie. "You're adoratastic!"
Twilight smiles. "If there's anycreature Discord could fall in love with, it'd be you."
"He always looks forward to being with you for tea and he finds excuses to bring you up in conversations," says Rarity.
"And don't you forget about today," says Cadance. "Discord willingly depowered himself in order to take care of the animals for you. If that's not love of some kind, I have no right to be called the Princess of Love."
Fluttershy smiles while looking around at the others. "Thank you." She does a double take with one friend. "Applejack?"
Everypony can now see that the farm mare has a hoof covering her mouth to hide that she's practically gasping for air.
"Oh no!" Pinkie shouts as she hugs Applejack tightly. "Is it your leg, a headache, a bout of sudden onset asthma?! WHAT'S WRONG?!"
Applejack pushes Pinkie away and takes a deep breath. "Y'all know Caramel?"
"My neighbor," says Rarity.
Most of the others nod.
"Vaguely," says Cadence.
"The Apples adopted him for a few years, right?" asks Rainbow Dash.
Applejack nods. "He's been working over at Sweet Apple Acres again for some time now. Mel…blames himself for that tree falling and breaking my leg."
"Mel?" most of the others whisper among themselves. The intimate nickname is a surprise to them.
"He thinks he don't belong with the Apples. Well, we just found out he's thought that for a mighty long time."
"Why?" asks Rainbow Dash.
"I'll just say his family life before the Apples was bad and leave it at that."
"How awful," says Fluttershy.
"Is this the type of situation that makes an individual have such cripplingly low self-esteem that they believe they don't deserve to have any good things in their life?" asks Twilight.
Everypony stares at the purple alicorn.
"How'd you know?" asks Applejack.
"I've read a few psychology books," says Twilight.
"No wonder Caramel occasionally seems so depressed when I see him," says Rarity.
Applejack looks at Fluttershy. "Something you said made me figure something out."
"What was that?" asks the yellow pegasus.
"How Discord loving you seemed impossible. Before running off, Mel said being round us Apples made him dream bout things he thought were all impossible. Looked at me when he said that."
"Sounds like the poor guy fell in love with you," says Starlight.
"I figured that. Ain't found him yet today. I looked in his usual hiding places and checked out his house on my way to the station. Been looking all round whole morning."
"I noticed that," says Cadance.
"Need to talk to him."
"And tell him you love him!" Pinkie shouts with glee.
Applejack at the party mare with fright. "Who said I was gonna be saying that?!"
The other mares are shocked and confused.
"So…you don't love him?" asks Fluttershy.
"Never said that neither," says Applejack.
"I don't think anypony here gets what you're trying to say," says Rainbow Dash.
"Look, Mel's family."
"You see him more like a brother?" asks Twilight.
"No."
"Cousin?" asks Starlight.
"No."
"Older nephew?" asks Pinkie.
"No."
"There's not much else he could be," Rarity points out.
"Perhaps you don't actually believe him to be family," says Cadance.
"Mel is an Apple!" Applejack shouts indignantly. "Just needs to stop leaving! It hurts!"
Knowing that everypony sees what's holding Applejack back, Cadance keeps going so that none of the others can comment and make the farm mare backtrack. "It sounds like this Caramel constantly leaving is grounds for not deserving to be called an Apple."
Applejack sends the pink alicorn an angry glare. "How dare you?! He's got problems with his confidence, but Mel's given his all for us! Ain't no sweeter stallion than him in all Equestria neither! What mare would say no to being his wife?!"
"You?" Rainbow Dash asks slyly.
"I've always wanted to be his wife!" Applejack covers her mouth.
The others comforting the farm mare as she comes to terms with this truth about herself.
Twilight turns to Cadance. "You've been getting them all to admit their love while staying subtle about it."
Cadance giggles. "Subtlety can be necessary with those afraid of their own feelings. Now, do you have somepony or somecreature that's special to you?"
"That…that was not subtle."
"You already know what I'm doing, so that's gone out the window. So…do you?"
"Uh…"
The other mares join in. They want Twilight to tell them who she loves since they have all admitted who they're in love with.
Cadance can see Twilight is shutting down, so she intervenes. "Let's stop. It's clear to me she's not ready." She turns to her sister in law. "I will suggest for you to at least take the time to ask yourself if there's an individual you are close friends with that you can see eventually turning into a romantic partner. Take as much time as you need."
Twilight looks down at the table. 'Do I have somepony like that in my life?' She's hit by a sudden rush of memories. Multiple private hangouts with Flash, so many days that she spent just watching him exercise or spar, and yesterday when Flash asked if she really believed he could be a good bodyguard for her and she'd truthfully said that she would trust him with her life any day. Twilight looks over at the door, now wishing Flash would walk back in.
"WHOA!" Pinkie shouts all of a sudden.
The others look and see that Pinkie's entire body has gone haywire. They know her Pinkie Sense has gotten something big.
Once Pinkie goes still, she has a look of horror on her face. "Ponyville's in danger."
?
The hooded pony is on a secluded hill right outside Ponyville. She's looking at an open jar with a broken unicorn horn inside. "It's time to bring you back." The mare uses a very powerful healing spell, which makes a form create itself from the horn. The hooded mare puts a ring on to her horn to become invisible and hide her magic signature before the new pony can sense her.
The new pony looks around. "Ponyville. What a symbolic start. Wonder if the wretched mares who almost completely destroyed me are here." He uses a sensing spell, smiling wickedly at what he finds. "They are. Whoever revived me isn't. That descendant of…hers. Never mind that now. You have Equestria to take over." He sees a golden band lying on the ground nearby. Using his magic to analyze it, the stallion laughs. "What a lucky day for me! This magic artifact shall be quite useful!" He puts the band on his left hoof. "Prepare yourself, Equestria. It's time for a new form of revenge from King Sombra."
AN: So much happened this chapter! Rarity finally talked things out with Fleur and Fancy, most of the mares admitted they were in love, and now the enemy has finally entered the picture. KING SOMBRA! What'll happen next?! The answer to come next time!