To Magic, Or Not to Magic. . .

The next day, Fluttershy searches for her friend everywhere in Ponyville, but her results have been fruitless thus far. “Oh, Emily,” she says to herself, “Where could you be?” She eventually finds her sitting on their favorite bench, just outside the Everfree Forest; her eyes look red from crying.

“There you are, Em!” Fluttershy exclaims, relieved that her search is over, “Have you been out here all night?!”

“Of course not,” Emily says weakly, though she does not sound convincing. Fluttershy takes a seat next to Emily, and they sit in silence for a while before anypony speaks again.

“I’m sorry for how I acted last night,” Fluttershy finally apologizes, “It wasn’t right of me to overreact the way I did; it’s just – I can’t bear to see ponies who love each other arguing. Call that the element of kindness acting up or whatever you wish, but that’s how I’ve always been. I guess Cranky and Matilda breaking up hit me harder than I thought.”

“I forgive you,” Emily says gratefully, “and I understand.”

“Why did you run off last night?” Fluttershy asks her.

“Because my spell didn’t work,” Emily admits.

“What spell?” Fluttershy asks again.

“It’s a spell that’s supposed to make ponies instantly fall in love with each other again,” Emily explains, “I came across it many years ago in one of my textbooks from school. At the time, my parents had divorced, but I so desperately wanted them back together, so I spent weeks – months, even – practicing and perfecting the spell until I got it just right. When they met up with each other, I used the spell, and it was like everything was back to normal.”

“That’s incredible!” Fluttershy interjects, amazed.

“But I can’t explain why that didn’t happen last night,” Emily continues, “I could have used it at any time, but I was worried because I hadn’t used it in a long time, so I wasn’t sure of its effectiveness anymore. I’m sorry for putting the both of us through so much trouble when I could have fixed this in the blink of an eye.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Fluttershy says, “You shouldn't have to be the one to put everything right. But why didn’t you tell me about your spell?”

“Because I don’t want it to be exploited,” Emily says, “This kind of magic – it can drive a pony crazy if used improperly. I was just afraid, if you knew, then you’d be asking me to make love potions or something.”

Fluttershy smiles, "Listen, you're my best friend. I would never ask or force you to do anything that was out of your comfort zone - and I know you'd do the same for me. Besides, you should know that I'm in no rush to get a coltfriend. Remember when Rarity tried to hook me up with that stallion from Manehattan?" she adds jokingly.

Emily chuckles, "The one who ended up face-first in a stack of daffodil sandwiches?"

"Yep, that was a good one," Fluttershy says, and the two share a good laugh over the memory.

"Thank you for understanding," Emily then says as she pulls Fluttershy into a hug.

"That's what friends are for, after all," Fluttershy responds, embracing her friend back.

"Indeed!" comes a raspy voice from behind the pair of friends. They turn around to see Cranky and Matilda, holding hooves and walking up to them.

"Oh, hello Cranky and Matilda," Emily greets, "We're sorry about what happened last night."

"Don't be, dears," Matilda says warmly, "In fact, we came to thank you two!"

The mares look at each other, confused; “What do you mean?” Fluttershy asks.

“Well, after you used that spell on us last night,” Matilda explains, “I don’t know what it was, but something told us that we should come together and talk about our problems.”

“So we ended up back at our place,” Cranky continues, “and when we started talking, we didn’t discuss our problems – we could only remember the fun memories we shared together.”

“And we couldn’t be more grateful to you both for helping us remember the love we thought we lost.”

Fluttershy suddenly gasps, “Maybe your spell doesn’t make ponies fall in love, Emily,” she says, realization washing over her face, “Maybe it helps ponies remember the things that made them fall in love in the first place. . .”

“. . .and whether or not they fall back in love is up to them!” Emily finishes, putting all the pieces together, “That’s why it didn’t seem to work last night!”

“Well, we’re glad we could help,” Fluttershy says to Cranky and Matilda, “We couldn’t be happier that you’re back together.”

“Thank you dears,” Matilda says, “I’m just glad I’ve got my Cranky Doodle back,” she adds; Cranky blushes and the happy couple holding hooves walks away from the two mares.

"Wow, Em," Fluttershy says, "Looks like we knew what we were doing after all!"

Emily chuckles, "Yeah, we make a pretty good team, Shy," and they trot away, talking about their next endeavors together.