//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Secrets and Worries 
// Story: MLP: Two-Face Part 1 
// by DarthWill3 
//------------------------------//

Fluttershy would not stop weeping on the way to her cottage. She just kept it up as she approached the front door and ran right in. She didn’t even cease while throwing herself on the couch.
Rainbow hated to see her foalhood friend suffer like this. However, she had not always been there to comfort her; being a weather pony and training at the Wonderbolts Academy would get in the way. Other times, when she was free, she would either criticize Fluttershy for being such a meek pony or just give her time to bring herself back up. She couldn’t let her public image get tarnished by some mushy, sentimental stuff.
Right now, Rainbow saw that Fluttershy needed her more than ever. She sat opposite her friend on the coach before scooting next to her.
“Easy, Fluttershy,” she whispered, wrapping her forelegs around the trembling yellow pony’s back in a tender embrace. “It’s alright. I’m right here.”
“Oh, Rainbow,” whimpered Fluttershy. “I’m so sorry. I wish I’d told you sooner, but I was so terrified.”
“Calm down, girl.” Rainbow eased Fluttershy to sit up straight. “How long has this been happening? I thought we got rid of her.”
Fluttershy broke off from the embrace and took a deep breath before answering, “She’s hardly been making any appearances after flying camp. I didn’t let her affect my school grades, so I guess it wasn’t so bad. When Discord touched me with his corruption charm, that monster had enough time to find and plant a hoofhold in my head. I thought I could push her out with Iron Will’s advice on assertiveness, but I saw that was just becoming just as bad as she is. I was able to stop her from hurting Flitter and Cloud Chaser at the tornado event, but I don’t know how much longer I can last.”
Rainbow gulped inwardly. “You mean she’s coming out more often? That is so not cool.” Then, a thought struck her. A memory played back in her mind. The question she was forming sounded stupid, but she asked anyway. “What about that incident at the Grand Galloping Gala? Did she show up there, too?”
Fluttershy didn’t answer right away. She had to gain some measure of control in her trembling. “Yes. But I did what I could to keep her from causing any serious damage.”
That revelation really put a twinge of guilt into Rainbow’s heart. How could she be so blind? Why didn’t recognize that problem earlier?
Snap out of it, Rainbow Dash, said a voice inside her head. This is no time for crying over the past.
Fluttershy looked away from Rainbow, giving out a shaky sigh. “What am I going to do?” she asked, choking on a few sobs. “If anypony finds out what’s happening to me…”
Rainbow considered. So far, apart from Fluttershy’s psychiatrist, she was the only pony who knew about the poor meek mare’s problems. She hoped to keep it that way.
She also knew that Fluttershy was too scared to show this with their other friends. Twilight would probably report her to Princess Celestia for intensive psychiatric treatment mixed with magic; Rainbow had no idea whether Fluttershy’s mind was strong enough to endure that kind of power or not. Pinkie might slip it out in public. Applejack couldn’t bring herself to lie when asked after that first run with Discord; she was way too honest for that now. And Rarity… well, Rainbow wasn’t sure, but the drama queen would most likely panic at the last minute and call the police, blowing things out of proportion as usual.
The worst case scenario was that all four might view Fluttershy as a menace and leaver her high and dry. Rainbow highly doubted it, but she couldn’t take that risk. There was no telling how everypony would react.
Fluttershy had always looked to Rainbow as a kind of big sister who would always protect her. Rainbow, in return, viewed her best friend as the little sister she always wanted, despite being slightly a few months apart. Scootaloo may have looked to her as a big sister, but the kid wasn’t the type of filly who tended to be nervous all the time.
“Hey, don’t worry,” assured Rainbow with her trademark smile. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to keep a secret.” She winked.
Fluttershy wiped away her tears, looking a bit hopeful. “You… you promise?”
“I promise.”
“Pinkie promise?”
Rainbow stared at Fluttershy for a second. “What?” She shook her head indignantly. “No. Way. Isn’t a simple promise enough?”
Fluttershy’s ears dropped flat on her head. Her eyes went huge in sadness. She was threatening to whimper again.
Instantly regretting her refusal, Rainbow sighed. All she had to do was cross her heart, mimic the act of flapping her actual wings, and pretend to run a certain pastry into her eye—guaranteed that the lid be closed before the last part. Pinkie Pie had done this kind of thing thousands of times before; she and Applejack had never placed a hoof on her eye by accident while doing it. Twilight only did that once last year, so Fluttershy had said.
Rainbow gave a quick look at the front windows. So far, the coast was clear. Here was hoping that nopony would see, hear, or talk about her doing this.
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Rainbow mumbled under her breath, going over all of the movements.
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry? I didn’t quite catch that.”
Rainbow growled in frustration. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” she rushed, her voice rising to the point of cracking. “There. I said it. Are you happy now?”
At that moment, Fluttershy’s face lit up. “More than you know,” she beamed, pulling Rainbow into a hug. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash. I knew I could always count on you.”
Rainbow smiled warmly. “Hey. What are sisters for?”



Applejack walked alongside with Apple Bloom as soon as every foal in Cheerilee’s class split up for home. Neither of the sisters said a word on the way to Sweet Apple Acres. They would only exchange worrying glances every two minutes or less.
Poor Apple Bloom was probably too shocked to talk to Applejack about what happened earlier today. Applejack didn’t blame her; no filly should witness something that horrifying. Nightmare Moon, that cockatrice, and last year’s Cutie Pox incident were scary enough for her. It was unlikely that the Cutie Mark Crusaders would be gathering for another of their shenanigan searches for their special talents anytime soon this week.
Once they entered the plantation house, Applejack broke the silence as she called out, “Granny Smith! Big Macintosh! Wer home!”
“Hmm? Eh? Wha…?” Granny Smith snapped out of her usual daytime slumber on her favorite armchair and gazed at her two granddaughters. “Oh! Well, howdy, girls!” she greeted, waving her right foreleg. “Yer home early. How’d the trip go fer ya? Did them critters give you a good playin’ time?”
The two sisters looked at each other for a long moment, nervously.
“Uh… everythin’ went great, Granny!” Apple Bloom responded at last, forcing a smile. Applejack followed her lead.
“Well, darn tootin’!” exclaimed Granny Smith. “That Fluttershy darlin’ sure has a way with animals! We could use her help on the farm every now and then with the pigs, the cows, the chickens, the rooster, the sheep…”
“I think we get the picture,” cut in Applejack, motioning Apple Bloom upstairs. “Let’s go, A.B.”
They were going up so fast that they nearly bumped into Big Mac, who was just on his way day.
“Whoops!” amended Applejack, chuckling sheepishly. “Sorry, Big Mac. Didn’t see ya there.”
“Nah, that’s alright,” said the big red stallion. “Just glad ta see y’all back in time ta help me with the apple buckin’.”
“Be ‘long in a minute, big brother. No worries.”
Big Mac went down the stairs and was about to exit the house for his usual chores when he stopped and looked back to the girls. “How did Miss Fluttershy do on the field trip today? Ah’d like ta chat with her on that animal project of hers sometime. Worthy cause…”
Applejack hesitated. She looked at Apple Bloom for a second before replying to Big Mac, “Ah’ll explain when we start workin’, alright?”
Both sisters didn’t stay to hear Big Mac’s reply. They just walked straight for Apple Bloom’s room.
As they reached the door, the little filly inquired in a hushed tone, “Have y’all ever seen Fluttershy act like that before?”
Applejack looked back down memory lane before escorting Apple Bloom into the room. “Well, there was that time in the Grand Gallopin’ Gala. And Ah heard from Rarity and Pinkie Pie about her taking some assertiveness trainin’ too far. But none of those days were as bad as this.”
“Are Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon gonna be okay?” asked Apple Bloom, as Applejack shut the door behind them.
That question put Applejack in a state of utter disbelief. From what she had seen, Apple Bloom and her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders never got along with those spoiled brats they shared classes with. They were always at each other’s throats. So far, the CMC were doing their best to move on.
To hear Apple Bloom say she actually cared about the well being of her arch rivals was both startling and comforting. It showed good character.
Applejack placed a hoof under her little sister’s chin. “Don’t you worry none, lil’ sis,” she smiled. “Ah reckon they’ll be fine.”
“But Filthy Rich’ll get ready to sue Fluttershy when he finds out.”
A chill ran down Applejack’s spine. Everypony knew that Diamond Tiara’s father, Filthy Rich, was the richest pony in Ponyville. Normally, he wasn’t one to hold grudges, but he had so much money, he could probably hire one of Equestria’s best lawyers.
“Well, Ah certainly hope not,” she managed to say. It was the best truth she could come up with. She didn’t want to make promises she couldn’t keep without knowing whether or not there would be a trouble.
“What about Big Mac? Any chance of him bein’ Fluttershy’s special somepony might now be…”
“Apple Bloom,” scolded Applejack, “Ah thought we agreed not to bring that up again.”
“Ah know, A.J.,” the filly sighed heavily, hopping onto her bed. “Ah’m just… worried fer both of them. That’s all.”
Applejack sat down next to her little sister and pulled her into a gentle hug. “So am Ah, A.B.,” she answered sadly. “So am Ah…”



Twilight entered the Golden Oak Library, her thoughts filled with anxiety.
“Hey, Twilight!” greeted Spike, who stood at attention to the violet-coated unicorn. “How’d it go? The field trip, I mean.”
“I’ll explain when you write down the letter, Spike.”
The baby dragon looked perplexed. “You want send a letter to the Princess about a simple field trip? Is this another friendship lesson?”
“Not exactly, but it’s important that she reads this ASAP.”
Spike didn’t need to be told on what that abbreviation meant. He just rushed over to Twilight’s desk, sat down, and got out her quill in his right claw, a piece of paper his left. The ink bottle was there, in case the quill ran out.
After a few moments’ pause, Twilight started dictating as she paced the floor.
“Princess Celestia: Something terrible has happened this morning. I thought it best that you heard about it from me before the papers spread all the way to Canterlot.
“One minute, Fluttershy was acting peacefully while accompanying Miss Cheerilee’s class on a field trip. I don’t know how to explain it, but when she thought she heard a filly insulting her—you’ve heard of Diamond Tiara and her father, right?—something inside her must have snapped. She started attacking Diamond Tiara and her friend…”
“Wait, wait… hold on a second!” interrupted Spike. “Did you just say that Fluttershy attacked Diamond Tiara? That rich filly?”
“Yes,” replied Twilight, stopping to glance at her No. 1 assistant. “I saw the whole thing.”
“But that’s not like her.”
“I know.” Twilight resumed her pacing. “Now, the letter…?”
Spike readied the quill for another word.
“I never saw so much anger and… cruelty in her before. It was much worse than when she was changed by Discord. And her voice sounded like somepony else’s. If Applejack hadn’t stopped her in time, the girls would’ve been seriously hurt. Then, Fluttershy somehow went back to her old self. She looked confused. It was as if she didn’t remember what she did.
“I was so disturbed by her behavior, that I wanted an explanation from her. So I…” Twilight paused, taking a deep breath to deal with the guilt. She knew she had to confess to her mentor, one way or another. There was no point in hiding the crime. “I… yelled at her.”
“You did what?!?” Spike stopped writing. He looked at Twilight, his face showing a mixture of alarm and disdain. “How could you… do that? You’re best friends!”
“Spike, please,” Twilight begged, her voice softening in sadness. “I’m explaining everything that I can; to you and the Princess.”
“Well, alright,” muttered Spike, his mood lightened somewhat. He got back to the paper.
“It was wrong of me, I see that now,” Twilight went on. “But watching Fluttershy assault two foals in broad daylight was too hard to ignore. I mean, it was inexcusable. When I should’ve helped her out there and tried to understand, I let my outrage get the better of me. I didn’t mean to make her… cry.”
She stopped for a moment to prevent any weeping she would be making herself. It took a lot of effort. The weight of her burden was unbearable.
“Rainbow Dash is looking after Fluttershy right now and Diamond Tiara is undoubtedly reporting today’s incident to her father. I’m not asking you to waste your time and speak on Fluttershy’s behalf, Princess, if it ever comes to a trial. I just hope Filthy Rich will listen to reason. There are witnesses who can prove that Fluttershy wasn’t in her right mind, including Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Cheerilee, and me.
“Meanwhile, to make up for my mistake, I have decided to look in the library for answers that might shed light on Fluttershy’s situation. She’s campaigning so hard to have a new animal shelter built here in Ponyville. It means so much to her and I won’t let imprisonment stop her work. Leave everything to me. I will do everything in my power to help one of my best friends in her hour of need.
“Your faithful student: Twilight Sparkle.”
After hearing Twilight finish, Spike scrolled up the letter and wrapped it with a small red ribbon, which included a gold button bearing the letter “C” for “Celestia.” He breathed magical green fire from his mouth onto the scroll before blowing its ashes into thin air. The message would arrive at Canterlot Castle in a matter of seconds.
Twilight was already searching through the psychology section of the library. At first, she planned to look in every single book she could find, even if it meant spending the whole night without sleep, but thought better of it. Everypony needed rest.
“Um, Twilight?” asked Spike, worriedly. “I don’t get it. What’s wrong with Fluttershy? Is she like… going crazy?”
Hearing the last word, the unicorn brought her reading to an abrupt halt and turned to her dragon friend. She wanted to tell him the truth, but doing so would just make him even more apprehensive. He wasn’t old enough to understand, at any case.
“There’s only one way to find out, Spike,” Twilight managed to say before ongoing her investigation.