"I must say, this whole, 'multiple friendship' thing does take some getting used to," said Discord, eating a chocolate-chip cookie in reverse and tossing it onto the tray.

"Yikes. I'm not touching that one," mumbled Spike.

"Don't worry Spike, I'm keepin' track for both of us," said Applejack. She carefully grabbed one of the sugar cookies that Pinkie had actually baked and handed it to the little dragon.

"Oh, there's no need to worry. His cookies are wonderful," said Fluttershy, with a soft smile.

Pinkie Pie eyed the Discorded-cookie suspiciously, then popped it in her mouth anyway. "Mmm! S'gwwd!" she exclaimed, losing a few bits of cookie in the process.

"Of course it's good. The secret ingredient is love," winked Discord.

"Oh, barf," said Rainbow Dash, making a face to match.

"Anyway," added Discord, "I am pleased to report that Treebugger and Fluttershy and I have been getting along famously. And the Smooze, as well."

"Yep, we're the best of friends. But, um, oh! Just the other day..." said Fluttershy, nervously.

"Well, we're very happy to see that you're learning," said Twilight Sparkle, interrupting Fluttershy. "To be honest, I'm kind of surprised you weren't aware of how groups of friends can work. The six of us are all very good friends."

"A-hem!" said Spike.

"She means the seven of us, no doubt," said Rarity, reaching out to pet Spike on the head.

"Yes, of course," grinned Twilight.

"Very interesting!" said Discord, his eyes widening, quite literally. "A seven-way friendship must be something to see!"

"Well, but don't you see it all the time? We're always bein' friends!" said Applejack, incredulous.

Discord rolled his eyes in their sockets, again quite literally. "Oh please. Just because I can see anything I want to doesn't make me omniscient. Besides, I've already learned that friends should keep certain things behind closed doors, and I do respect your privacy, Applejack."

"That... doesn't make any sense," said Rainbow Dash.

Twilight smiled. "Well, we're just as friendly outside as we are when we're alone, Discord!"

Discord gasped. "Fluttershy! You've been holding out on me," he accused.

"Oh my," whispered Fluttershy. "You know, I think I might have to leave early. Angel gets very fussy if he doesn't have his..."

"It's okay everpyony!" interjected Pinkie Pie. "Discord's just new to friendship and hasn't spent a lot of time around ponies. We can show him all sorts of friendship!" She then lifted a plate of cookies to her lips and slid the batch right down her throat.

"I would love to see more," said Discord with an evil look on his face, rubbing his paw and talons together. "Especially the relationship between you three and your little sisters. That one, in particular, surprised me."

"Why wouldn't we love our little sisters? They're family," said Rarity, taking a sip from her tea cup. "Granted, I didn't always get along with Sweetie Belle, but once I learned to respect her for who she is, I discovered she is one of most darling ponies to be with. In... small doses, at any rate."

"Wait a minute," said Twilight, as a look of horror began to crawl across her muzzle. "What exactly do you mean by friendship behind closed doors...?"

"Oh, you know, the usual: all of the sorts of special things friends do together when they're alone. Fluttershy, care to demonstrate?" asked Discord. Fluttershy's head was barely poking up above the level of the table.

Rarity looked confused for a moment, then her eyes opened wide. "Oh holy Celestia," she said, covering her mouth with both forehooves.

"I'm gonna need a cider. The aged kind, to be precise," said Applejack, her facial expression unchanged.
 
"Woohoo! I wanna see!!!" squealed Pinkie Pie.

"I still don't get it, what are we talking about?" said Rainbow Dash.

Spike shrugged. "Don't ask me," he said.

Pinkie leaned over and whispered to Rainbow Dash, whose wings promptly exploded open.

"WHAT?" gasped Dash. "But... but... that would mean... every week, for like, almost five months now... and now Treehugger too!?"

"Don't forget the Smoo-ooze!" added Pinkie Pie in a sing-songy voice.

Discord furrowed his brow. "How interesting! I'm guessing this might be a different sort of friendship than the one you all were referring to."

From beneath the table, Fluttershy squeaked something too softly for anypony to make out, but it's not like they were paying attention.