"So you have nothing planned for Hearts and Hooves Day, either..."

Fluttershy and Zephyr were in her cottage together discussing the upcoming day in question, which was tomorrow. Scootaloo had gone with her friends to prepare an "extra special gift for Ms. Cheerilee" out of gratitude for everything their teacher has done for them. Their friends all had things to do that day as well.

Zephyr takes a sip of tea with a nod. "Weather duties are optional tomorrow, my band mates are doing other things, Applejack doesn't need any help... I've really got nothing going on."

"For me, outside of taking care of my animals, I'll probably just stay home. This day always makes me... w-well, shyer than usual." Fluttershy looks around in her cottage. Right now only a few animals were up and about, including a blue jay currently nestled into Zephyr's mane.

"I still think it's a shame you don't want a boyfriend. You're a very family-oriented mare and I'd think you would do wonderfully."

That made Fluttershy blush a bit before shaking her head. "I could say the same thing about you, big brother. You claim nopony would take you, but perhaps that's still trauma from your foalhood speaking?"

"Hm, perhaps. But love tends to be a more... 'advanced' form of friendship and, because of that, I guess I'm just tempering my expectations more as a result."

"I... suppose it doesn't help you're shy like me." That got a chuckle out of Zephyr. "Oh, before I forget, since Hearts and Hooves Day celebrates all love and not just romantic, I have something for you! I know it's a day early, but I figured now was a good time since you're here."

Zephyr smiled when he got a pink heart card from his sister. The day prior, Rarity thought it a good idea to teach him what the various colors of hearts mean outside of the 'passionate and romantic' red. Pink hearts meant 'genuine care and affection' and was for both romantic and platonic loves. "Thank you. Actually, I thought ahead and made you one as well."

The card Fluttershy got was also pink but had a few layers of yellow in it as well, with yellow meaning 'joy, happiness, and friendship'. She smiles warmly at the sight. "Thank you. Perhaps one day we'll both find our Special Someponies." I just hope... that if he realizes his love for Rainbow she'll be receptive. She's another pony I worry about in this regard...

"Sweetie Belle is right! Big Macintosh IS the perfect match for Ms. Cheerilee!"

The Cutie Mark Crusaders had been on a hunt for a stallion for their teacher on Hearts and Hooves Day after learning she didn't have one. They believed so innocently that she deserves one that the three of them made it their mission to find one for her.

Up until a certain point, they had no luck. Either the stallion was already taken, or had some fault that made them unappealing for some reason. It wasn't until they found out Big Mac was still single did they consider phase 1 complete.

However, Applebloom was a bit more leery about the prospect. "Ah' don't know, girls. Ah'm not sure how to feel about trying to set Ms. Cheerilee with my own brother. And that's on top of him being super shy."

Sweetie Belle didn't seem too perturbed. "Why not? He's hard working and super nice! Even if he's shy, we can always work around it!"

"By that logic... shouldn't Zephyr also be a contender? Ah' know he's weak to getting drained by Earth Ponies, but-- Scootaloo, you alright?"

The moment Zephyr was brought up, Scootaloo suddenly became super down. "Ah, sorry. It's just... I remembered what my big bro said to the Cakes a while back. He doubts anypony would take him as her very special somepony. And that's on top of him being pretty shy as well."

Both her friends grimaced at that as Applebloom shook her head. "Sorry, Scootaloo."

"NO!" Scootaloo suddenly stood as tall as she could. "I refuse to let that stand! I WILL find a special somepony for my big bro on this Hearts and Hooves Day!" Noticing the looks she was getting, she sat down with an embarrassed squee. "But... let's at least try for Ms. Cheerilee first. She's the reason we're here in the first place!"

Sweetie Belle thought about it for a minute. "As much as Zephyr could've been a nice match for her, we'll have to strike Earth Ponies from his 'potential partners' list. Applebloom, just to make sure, are you fine with Big Mac being Ms. Cheerilee's?"

"Ah' suppose. We just have to work around his shyness."

"Then let's get started! Ms. Cheerilee can ask HIM once we get them in a romantic setting! Let's do it!"

"OH, COME ON!"

Long story short, it didn't go as planned. With their tenuous grasp on romance as a whole, the fillies thought that a romantic setting would be enough to ignite a romance. Unfortunately for the three, there was no spark between Big Mac and Cheerilee.

For what it was worth, Cheerilee was unaffected since she understood the fillies meant no harm. "Well, this has been... strange."

"Eeyup!"

"Hey, Big Mac!" Zephyr touched down near the two adult ponies. When he saw the scene, he winced a bit. "Am... I interrupting something?"

Cheerilee, thankful for the out, smiled. "Not at all. You needed Big Mac for something?"

"Right. Applejack wanted you to help her take stock of unripened apple trees. It seems she's worried about stunted growth in some of the younger trees." Big Mac nodded at that and made his way back to the farm. Zephyr gives the teacher a concerned look. "Seriously, don't be afraid to blast me if I DID interrupt something."

"Truthfully, you were too late to interrupt anything. A certain group of three fillies were... I suppose trying to set me up with Big Mac, considering what day it is today."

Zephyr gave a flat look to a certain bush with bits of magenta tail sticking out. "I apologize for my little sister and her friends. I assure you they meant no harm."

That got a giggle. "I know. I'm used to it as a teacher. Anyways, I must go now, my uncle wanted to discuss something with me."

"Then don't let me keep you." As Cheerilee left, Zephyr spotted the three foals dejectedly walking back to town another way. Misinterpreting it as them having learned their lesson, Zephyr chose to leave them be and took off.

"That was a bust..." The three fillies continued to trudge along the path with an air of dejection. Sweetie Belle in particular took it hard. "And, like Ms. Cheerilee said, Zephyr showed up too late to interrupt anything."

"I really hoped you weren't going to blame him for that." Scootaloo said with a huff.

Applebloom stopped to ponder the situation. "What do you want to do now? Ah'm not sure what we could do differently..."

Sweetie Belle quickly side-steps a distracted Twilight before shaking her head. "For now, let's put Ms. Cheerilee under the 'we tried' category for now and maybe try again later. I want to help Scootaloo with her brother and we did kind of promise we'd do so after making an attempt with Ms. Cheerilee."

"The question is, who? As much as I don't want to limit his options, big bro can't be with any Earth Ponies." Scootaloo lets out a sigh.

Applebloom looks up and sees an antsy Rainbow Dash looking around warily, jumping from cloud to cloud in quick dashes. When she was out of earshot, the farm filly had an idea. "What about Rainbow Dash?"

"Huh?!" Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were shocked by the suggestion.

"Thinkin' about it more, it does make some sense that Big Mac and Ms. Cheerilee didn't work out. They never really knew each other before today, so it was hard to make a connection." Applebloom waves her hoof towards the air. "Rainbow Dash and Zephyr, on the other hoof, have worked together for a long time and even gotten through tough times. While you could argue that for my sister, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight, Rainbow Dash seems to be the closest to him outside of Fluttershy who is his sister!"

Scootaloo was about to argue when she remembered a detail. "I remember one day he came home rather upset and stressed out. I think... that was the same day Rainbow Dash was admitted to the hospital on account of a wing injury." Realizing something, she shakes her head. "But... Rainbow Dash would be too cool for something like this! Plus there's no guarantee she even LIKES anypony like that!"

Sweetie Belle looks at the distant Rainbow Dash still zipping between clouds. "I don't know, she seems pretty worried about something today of all days." An idea struck the Unicorn filly at that moment. "What if she's looking for a 'certain' somepony but is too nervous to do so?"

"What... makes you say that?" Applebloom looked curious.

"Well, think about it. Even on the off chance she DOES have a crush on somepony, her pride in her 'coolness' will make her not want to risk a meeting in the middle of town. It's just a matter of luring her to a more remote location. Also, I'm pretty sure we can forgo any 'romantic setting' setup this time. I concede we might've over done that particular aspect with Ms. Cheerilee and Big Mac."

Scootaloo still looked torn about the situation. "You're willing to gamble on the off-chance she likes my big bro? I... I'm suddenly realizing that I don't want to set him up for failure..."

"Ah' suppose Ms. Cheerilee and my own big brother was a more 'low-risk' attempt. Still, as much as ah' can understand, this might also be a chance for the two!"

Sweetie Belle nods excitedly before adopting a thinking pose. "Now the question is... how are we going to set it up and get the two to meet? Zephyr might get suspicious if we use that gazebo again."

"I'll... be the one to tell them both." Scootaloo, though very nervous, raised her hoof. "Besides Fluttershy, I'm the connecting point for the two of them. I just hope I can be convincing enough..."

Sweetie Belle smiles. "Let's hammer something out quick before we follow through with it. We can't afford to mess this up!"

"LET'S DO IT!" The three high-hoof before running back to the clubhouse.

"Kind of strange somepony wanted some of these out-of-the-way 'errant' clouds gone..."

Zephyr had been told by Ditzy that there was a request to remove some clouds that were blocking the sky in the outskirts. While he was leery of the situation, he ultimately went with it on the off-chance it was a legitimate request by somepony who wanted clearer skies in a more private setting.

Spotting the target clouds, he noticed they were fairly close to Rainbow Dash's house. All it did was make him feel hollow for not seeing the prismatic Pegasus all day for some reason. I... often wonder what these feelings actually are... ack, focus on the job!

Shaking his head, he counted 7 clouds that were marked for removing, though there were 8 in total. While he found it strange, he's heard of stranger requests of the weather team, including one time a pony actually wanted to get rained on. With that in mind he began destroying the clouds.

"What the-- Z-Zephyr?!"

Zephyr nearly jumped out of his coat when the last cloud busted revealed a shocked Rainbow Dash. "R-Rainbow?! What are you doing here?!"

"S-Squirt asked me to hide here for a bit, thinking I needed a break! But... what are you doing here?"

"I was informed that somepony wanted these clouds cleared! I didn't know you were here! I-I'll get you another--"

"Wait!" Rainbow didn't know what exactly was going on, but her instincts told her that she needed to take advantage of the situation. If I don't at least TRY here, I'll never ever work up the courage to do so again! I... I have to go for it!

Rainbow inhaled a bit before giving Zephyr a blush-filled determined look. "Do you want to go with me to the Daring Do play going on in the plaza today?" After asking, she focused all her willpower on not bolting before he answered.

Zephyr took a second before he realized what she was asking with his own blush. "W-with me? I..." There were so many feelings swirling in his heart, but he could properly identify 2 major ones, with the lesser one being embarrassment. The primary one was great elation at the invite. Could... this actually be-- "I would l-love to!"

Just like Zephyr, Rainbow felt an immense amount of elation as she had a bright smile on her face. M-maybe there's hope for me after all! "Then let's go! I... feel bad for not sticking around for Squirt, but the play's going to begin soon!" Still sporting a blush, Rainbow grabs Zephyr by the hoof and zips off with him in tow. Thanks to being fairly speedy himself, Zephyr was able to adjust his flight so she wasn't doing all the work.

After the two were gone, a trio of fillies exited a nearby bush under the cloud the scene took place on. Two of them had beaming smiles while one wore a look of astonishment. "I... I can't believe it worked... Does this mean..?"

"Looks like both Zephyr and Rainbow Dash found their very special somepony in each other!" Sweetie Belle was ecstatic this attempt went so well. "All we can do now is hope it goes well!"

"You three certainly have been busy today." The fillies whip around to face Cheerilee, who had an unamused look, in surprise. "I was willing to let the last instance go because I was on hoof to deal with it, but there's a limit to what young fillies should do."

"T-that's because..."

"I knew the risks, even during the planning." Everypony looks at Scootaloo who looked sad again. "I was so afraid that my big bro would have his heart broken. I like Rainbow Dash a lot but even I knew how much effort she puts into her 'cool' image."

Cheerilee gives Scootaloo a raised eyebrow. "So you did know the risks, but why go through with it anyways?"

"Because more than that, I was afraid... that he'd never find anypony outside of his family who would accept him in that way. When he told the Cakes he highly doubted anypony would take him as her special somepony, he did so with an air of resignation. Like... he had already given up before even trying."

"Oh, Scootaloo..." Cheerilee shook her head. "I knew you loved your brother very much, but even this was a bit too far for you. You're lucky it worked out the way it did, but you should've talked to him first about your concerns instead of going behind his back."

Applebloom came forward a bit with a guilty look. "It was my idea. Ah' saw Rainbow Dash acting skittish today of all days and thought... maybe it was related. Ah' was the one that planted that suggestion--"

"You don't need to apologize to me. Apologize to the two adults you threw together a bit later."

Sweetie Belle beamed at her teacher. "D-does that me you'll forgive us as well?"

"For now, but I'm also keeping an eye on you fillies for the rest of the day. Both to make sure you don't get anymore ideas... and to give the other two some alone time to work things out without prying eyes." Cheerilee couldn't help but giggle at the disappointed looks the trio had.

Scootaloo quickly recovered with a grin. "That's fine. It gives us a chance to find YOU a special somepony as well!" She was quickly joined by the other two giving grins as well.

"Oh dear..."

"That was rather enjoyable, actually."

Zephyr and Rainbow had just finished watching the play based on 'Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone'. While the play didn't quite line up with how Rainbow had imagined it, she liked it none the less. "It's because that traveling troupe actually put heart into their production. While I haven't been a fan for a long time, I still appreciate the effort they put forward!"

That got a chuckle from Zephyr. He never got tired of seeing Rainbow acting so animated. "I really should get into the source material one of these days."

"Oh! Uh... w-was there anything you wanted to do t-today?" Rainbow just realized that she basically forced Zephyr into coming with her to watch something she wanted to see, so she wanted to let him do what he wanted.

"Hmm... actually, Sugar Cube Corner has dessert truffles on for today only. I wanted to try one but... with all the couples frequenting the place today, I felt super awkward going in alone..."

Rainbow wasn't the biggest on sweets, but figured if there was a chocolate version then she could bear with it for him. It also made her heart flutter over him wanting to go in as a 'couple'. "O-of course!" I really wish I knew how to do this thing better. Guess all those years of maintaining my 'cool' image has caught up with me...

Sure enough there was a dark chocolate truffle, but Zephyr felt adventurous to try the butterscotch one. When he took his first bite and got a big smile, Rainbow smirks at him. "You really love your sweets, huh?" She took a bite of hers and loved the bittersweet flavor.

"I can't help it okay? My sweet tooth can be a monster at times and-- I detect a hint of cinnamon in here..."

Mrs. Cake smiles as she walked by. "My husband figured just butterscotch would have been too rich, so he added cinnamon to bring it down a notch on top of giving it a more diverse flavor! I'm happy somepony managed to identify it!"

"Is it really that good?" Rainbow gives Zephyr's truffle a curious look as Mrs. Cake went to serve another pair of customers.

Noticing her curiosity, Zephyr scooped up more of his and held it to her. "Would you like to try? It... might be too sweet for you, but if you're willing..."

Deciding to go for it, Rainbow took the bite while blushing knowing full well what the situation looked like. It dropped from her mind when she realized she actually liked the flavor of butterscotch. "While it is sweeter than caramel, the richness helped offset it and the added cinnamon further assisted the flavor. It really is good!"

"I'm glad you like it!" Despite the joy he was feeling, Zephyr blushed when he realized what he just did. "I-if you want anymore, j-just ask!"

"Hey, you're not giving me anymore unless you intend on having some of mine!" Rainbow scooped a bit of her truffle up and presented it with a blushed 'hmph' face.

W-what is this cute creature in front of me?! Not wanting to leave her hanging, Zephyr took the bite and savored it. "Hmm, the Cakes did a good job with this! I have a harder time eating sweets with higher cocoa content due to the bitterness throwing me off, but this is a nice blend of sweet and bitter!" That got a smile out of Rainbow.

Little did the two know, Mrs. Cake was keeping an eye on the awkward date with a warm heart. I knew you'd find the pony for you! She was closer to home than you thought!

After some back-and-forth about who was going to pay, the two eventually decided to just pay for their own. Remembering what Zephyr said earlier, Rainbow got an idea. "Did... you want to try reading one of the Daring Do books? You mentioned wanting to start reading the series yourself and there's one story I've yet to read as well!"

"Oh! S-sure, but I'm a bit worried about jumping into the series at a midway point..."

"No worries! All the books are pretty disconnected from each other outside of clearly marked sequels. Makes it convenient for anypony to come in at any point to read one!"

Zephyr thought about it before nodding. "Alright. Where do you want to get or read it?"

"The one I have in mind is at my house, but we can read it on the cloud we left behind when we first started." Rainbow takes off excitedly with Zephyr following suit.

After quickly grabbing the book from her room, Rainbow saw Zephyr had already fluffed the cloud up for extended use. "Figured that, if we'll be here for a while, might as well make it as comfy as possible."

"Good thinking! Here's the book!"

After the two settled down, Rainbow opened the book and the two started reading. It was quickly discovered that Zephyr was a faster reader than Rainbow when he almost flipped the page on her. As adorable as her pout is, I won't prod any further. I'll just read what I can then wait till she flips the page.

After some time as the sky entered sunset, Rainbow let out a yawn. While she did like reading A.K. Yearling's works, she still gets tired after extended reading. "How is it so far, Zephyr? I'm sure you--"

She was cut off when Zephyr's head suddenly leaned against hers, leading to a mad blush. It was then she heard a small snore from the stallion and had to suppress a laugh. While I have seen it before, this is the closest I've ever been to Zephyr's sleeping face... Despite how late it was getting, she couldn't bring herself to wake him up yet.

Unbeknownst to her, Fluttershy's cottage was within viewing distance of the cloud. When Fluttershy exited her house to feed some of the outside animals, she saw the pair on the cloud with Zephyr sleeping against Rainbow. Oh! So they acknowledged each other's feelings? I'm so glad for both of them! While she knew she wouldn't get as much attention from Zephyr anymore, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel proud of her foalhood friend.

Eventually, Rainbow nudged Zephyr. "Wake up, sleepy head! you won't be able to sleep tonight if you keep napping like that!"

"Huh, what..?" Zephyr looked around groggily as he woke up. When he realized what he did, he panicked. "Oh no! I'm so sorry for falling asleep on you, Rainbow! You were looking forward to reading this with me too..."

Rainbow let out a laugh as she stood to stretch. "Hey don't worry about it, even I was starting to feel tired. Want to go grab something to eat?"

"Sure! I think Horte's Cafe is still open today." Neither of them realized it, but it was getting easier to interact with each other like that as they took off for the cafe.

After a filling meal, the two chose to take a walk through Ponyville. Plenty of other couples were still out and about, but the streets were beginning to empty. Yet it didn't matter because neither pony wanted that moment to end.

"Oh? Isn't this an interesting place to meet."

Zephyr froze in horror as a voice he hasn't heard in a long time rang out. With eyes as pinpricks, he turns to face a brown and black Earth Pony mare who wore a sadistic smirk on her muzzle. "Y-you. W-why are y-you here?!" Rainbow noticed she left Zephyr slightly behind and looked back to see his face.

The mare scoffed at the question. "I don't think there's a rule stating certain ponies can't come here. If it were true, you're be the first one out of here, Freak Wings!"

'Four winged freak', maliciously shortened to 'Freak Wings', was the insult Zephyr was most subjected to during his school days. Zephyr tried to mount any sort of defense against both her and the onslaught of horrible memories that began pervading his mind. "T-that's not... not what I--"

"Ahahaha, you're as meek as always. Look at you! That brave widdle colt freak got brave enough to expose his defects for the world to--"

"I think I've heard enough of this..." Rainbow planted herself between the mare and Zephyr with a glare. Her eyes were shaking but, unlike Zephyr's pinprick eyes, hers were shaking with barely contained rage. "Do individuals like yourself get a kick out of things like this?"

"What? What are you to him anyways?"

"His girlfriend, I think that gives me more than enough clearance." That surprised Zephyr enough to help him clean some of the trauma out of his mind.

The mare laughs at the answer, earning a low, unheard growl from Rainbow. "Oh that's rich! To think there's a pony out here in the boonies with such exotic tastes. You clearly don't know what you're missing if you're taking a stallion like him!"

"Nah, I don't think I'm missing anything. I'm quite content with who I have." Rainbow's voice dripped with pure venom as her eyes began shaking more violently. "So you're one of the monsters who tortured him throughout his foalhood..."

"Monster? I was just doing my due diligence as an upstanding citizen! Besides, I was hardly the first OR last one to do so as--"

"Spare me your rhetoric. You're still part of the problem." The Element of Loyalty found the excuses so disgusting, hatred had begun overtaking her. "You're one of the ones who destroyed his ability to trust, his ability to believe in friends... and his ability to even--"

Rainbow was interrupted when Zephyr placed a hoof on her shoulder. Looking at him, she no longer saw fear or trauma in his eyes, but a determined look. "Thank you, Rainbow. I'll take it from here." He stares down the mare, who was shocked because he no longer looked meek. "I don't care what you say about who's to blame. You were one of the most caustic bullies I ever had the displeasure of meeting. Even further than that, you were especially bad because you were the one who lured me in with sweet, honeyed words before driving the knife in my back.

"But now? I'm washing my hooves of you and your 'excuses'. I found friends in this town who I could finally trust. Who were willing to take me back after I lashed out at them because of the damage you did. I only have one thing left to say to you." Zephyr gives the mare a death glare.

"Get out... NOW!"

The mare reared back a bit and quickly vacated, though she wasn't above shooting her own glare as she left. The pair made sure to keep glaring after her until she was out of sight. Once she was, Zephyr breathed a bit before turning to Rainbow. "I'm sorry that my past had to rear it's ugly head like--"

"Don't be. You had no control over it." That altercation not only showed Rainbow just how bad Zephyr's past was, but also allowed her to appreciate just how far the stallion had come since then. "Ponies like her make Discord feel pleasant to be around... and I was manipulated by him into ditching my friends!"

"Oh, certainly her kind isn't welcome here." Pinkie Pie had shown up, but it was clear she was livid. Her smile was so psychotic, her voice so deranged that Rainbow and Zephyr started hugging each other out of sheer fright. "Don't worry, Zephy, I'll make sure to fix her right properly so she'll never hurt another pony like she did you again!" With that, she starts bouncing after the mare, a creepy sense of serenity around her.

"I... think I know what true fear really is now..."

Rainbow shuddered with a nervous smile. "Y-yeah... and I got a hint of it a good while ago on 'that' day..." Zephyr noticed that she was cold with fright, so he wrapped his wings around her as best he could to warm her up.

After a bit, she felt warm enough to relax. "Want to go back to that cloud again? I... want to say something, but not in the middle of town like this." Zephyr nodded and follows her back to where their day got started.

When the two got settled, Rainbow sighed, knowing what she wanted to say. "Honestly... today has been fun. I know we see each other on a near daily basis because of our job, but... I don't think we've ever had a chance to do much of anything with just the two of us..."

Zephyr let out a tired chuckle. "Yeah, we've always had our friends with us whenever we did anything. While that's not a bad thing at all... I really liked doing it with just the two of us."

"And... that's why..." Oh come on, Rainbow, say it or today will have been for nothing! SAY IT! "After everything we've been through... and my own delayed realization..." She looks at Zephyr. "I love you!" Zephyr's brain didn't stall with those words. Instead, he knew to an extent that they were coming... and also knew she was going to bolt and promptly pinned her down before she could. "Ack! When did you have such fast reaction speed?!"

"Heh, hanging around you certainly helped. But more than that, the time I spent with you today gave me a lot more insight into your actions and reactions." Rainbow couldn't help but pout at that, which made Zephyr look away with a blush. Seriously?! Who is this adorable creature?! "But you really think I was going to let you bolt before you heard my answer?"

"I-I think I already know your answer!"

"If you do, then you're expecting this." Zephyr leans over and kisses Rainbow on the cheek which surprised her. "I love you too. You and your friends have helped me so much throughout our time together, but it was you who I cared for... who I realized I loved as more than 'just a friend'. Honestly... me taking so long to realize what my feelings were was probably the reason you were so hesitant today and I'm sorry for that.

"But... through all our time spent together, You've shown me your 'cool' side. But you trusted me enough to show me your vulnerable side as well and, as bad as it sounds, it was what attracted me to try and support you no matter what. To top it all off, today you helped me finally bury the pain that has followed me through my life and held me back. Though you said it already when you defended me, I want to ask you properly now."

Zephyr looks rainbow square in the eyes. "Will... you be my girlfriend?"

"I'm pretty sure you already know the answer this time, but I want a stronger action than what you've shown me!" Before Zephyr could say anything, Rainbow plants a kiss on his muzzle with a blush. Closing his eyes, Zephyr pushed into it as he reciprocated.

Breaking the kiss, the two love birds watched as the sun began to set on the day, grateful for the chance the day afforded them. A noise from below broke them out of the stupor as they heard Sweetie Belle say, "Look, they're here! I told you they would come back here!"

Rainbow and Zephyr look at each other with a knowing look before flying down. Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Cheerilee were there as well, with the teacher looking tired but happy. "As much as I wanted to let you two have more time alone, these three wanted to say something." She looks at the fillies. "Go on, now!"

Lining up in front of the two adult Pegasi, the fillies bow their heads apologetically. "We're sorry!"

"I had a feeling you girls were behind this... though even with Rainbow saying she was told to wait here by Scoots, I couldn't say for certain until now."

Rainbow sighed with a knowing smile. "But... it WAS thanks to them we finally know each other's feelings so it can't be all bad!"

"Well... if they forgive you, then I'm satisfied." Cheerilee smiles at the newly-formed couple. "As much as I don't approve of pushing ponies together for romance."

Zephyr thought of something that made him smirk a bit. "I think the lesson the fillies need to learn is this, though I doubt Rarity will appreciate me saying it to Sweetie Belle." The trio looked confused before Zephyr looks at them with a serious face. "Love is like a fart. If you have to force it, it's probably crap."

Rainbow guffawed loudly, Cheerilee couldn't help but snort in laughter, and the fillies all started laughing. "Y-yeah, I doubt my sister would like me knowing or saying that!"

Applebloom had to catch her breath. "That sounds like somethin' my sister would say!"

"Oh come on, I came up with that on the spot!" Zephyr pouted a bit, but smiled at Rainbow Dash who smiled back. Neither knew what lied ahead, but they were willing to face them. Both with their friends and with each other.

Sweeite Belle suddenly grinned. "So did you two kiss?"

"SWEETIE BELLE!!!"

Author's Note

And finally, here's the payoff for all the romantic hints I've dropped in the lead-up to this chapter! I'm not entirely used to writing an awkward love/date between two people who are new to it all, so... yeah hopefully I didn't do a horrible job...