Talking it Out
Unlike her friends, Fluttershy had enjoyed the last two days with in relative peace. After breakfast the previous day she had stayed around her cottage, feeding her animal friends and catching up on her light reading. Her mind constantly drifted back to the others, wondering if they were alright with their various troubles.
Her silent questions were soon answered by Pinkie walking up to her cottage. Seeing her, the pegasus was about to greet her friend, but paused.
Pinkie was walking, not bouncing, or skipping, or whatever cheerful word for walking you could use. She actually looked worried.
“Um, Pinkie, hello,” she said on instinct. “What can I do for you today?”
“Hey Fluttershy. Can I talk to you about something? It’s really, really important, and you’re the only one who isn’t too busy with something else.”
“Of course. Come inside. Would you like some tea?”
“No thanks, I’m not really thirsty,” the earth pony explained as her friend led her to an outside table. Fluttershy hadn’t let her into her cottage for months, knowing how she would rile up her animals.
“What’s wrong, Pinkie?”
The pink pony shifted the grass underneath her with a hoof. “Fluttershy... you remember that time we told the fillies how we all got out cutie marks?”
“Um, yeah. Why?”
She looked down, as if she were being scolded. “I... I wasn’t telling them everything,” she confessed, as if she had just committed a major breach of her friend’s trust.
Fluttershy tilted her head in curiosity. “Why was that?”
“Well... I didn’t want to talk about it... it wasn’t important to how I got my cutie mark anyway... I hadn’t even told the Cakes about it until the night we got back from the wedding.”
Fluttershy could sense this was important. “Um, what happened? Um, if you don’t mind me asking.”
Pinkie took a deep breath. “Well...”
”Surprise! You like it? It’s called a party!”
Clyde and Sue Pie just gaped at the spectacle, while their two elder daughters shifted nervously, their eyes darting back and forth between the spectacle Pinkie had laid out. For a few, long moments, none of them moved.
Then, there was finally a reaction. Clyde grimaced. He marched over to the table where his youngest had placed a cake. With a quick flick of his nose, he overturned the spread, sending cake and punch crashing to the floor.
“Wh-what?” Pinkie said, hurt. Anything further was interrupted by a yell of pain as Sue clamped her teeth down on her ear. With great force she dragged her daughter out of the silo as her husband continued to destroy the set-up, while Inkie and Blinkie looked on with fear at their younger sister’s fate.
Twilight knocked on the door Spike had barricaded himself behind. “Spike... Come, I have ice cream.”
No answer.
“I’ll sprinkle some sapphires over it,” she offered.
Still no answer.
She sighed. She pressed against the door. “Spike, I know you can hear me... listen, remember when Owlowiscious moved in? You got all jealous and mopey, and it turned out the reason you were so upset was a misunderstanding? That’s what’s going on now. You haven’t done anything that could make me stop loving you. I doubt anything could.
“Even since the day I hatched you, and you crawled up onto my back, I’ve taken care of you, and I haven’t regretted it once. I love you, and I hate seeing you unhappy. Please... for me, come out and talk.”
No answer yet again.
“Spike!” Twilight croaked. It was somewhere between a sobbing plea and a forceful command. “Please, just...please...”
No answer.
She gritted her teeth as she held back tears. She took a deep breath, trying to get some composure in her voice. "Do you really want to keep hiding in that room?" she asked.
She didn't get an answer.
She held back an angry grunt. She wanted, so bad, to just teleport inside and confront him. She knew the time for giving him a chance to talk was passing. This needed to end.
One more chance. That's all he would get. Tomorrow morning, she would get the story out of him, whether he was willing or not.
Trotting away from the door, she sighed and walked downstairs, ready to continue her work. She was surprised, then, to see Applejack sitting in her living room, glancing over a book she had left open.
"Oh, I didn't hear you come in," Twilight said, a bit alarmed. "Did Big Mac send you?"
"No he didn't. Mah brother's getting his dues for stealing that doll from yah, don't worry. But I still wanted to talk to you about it."
The unicorn shifted uncomfortably. "What's there to talk about? Your brother took my doll, and I took it back."
"Did you ever just ask him for it back?"
"Yeah, after the Crusaders published that article about him, I found out he had it. I asked him for it back, but he just told me that I threw it out, and it was his now. I've been waiting for a chance to steal it back ever since."
"Uh-huh. And why did you never just ask me to get it back for ya?"
Twilight suddenly looked ashamed of herself. She kicked at the floor like a child being interrogated by her teacher. "Well... I mean, he is your brother. I... I guess I thought you'd take his side on the whole thing."
"What?" Applejack asked incredulously. "How... you know I don't let bein' part of mah family stop me from doin' the right thing. Twi, how could you think that?"
"I'm sorry, I just... I wanted to be careful about getting her back."
Applejack looked at her friend a moment, then she sighed. "I know what the problem is."
Twilight blinked. "What?"
"Why yer so wound up all the time. It took me awhile, but thinkin' 'bout it ever since you ran off with that doll made everythin' come together."
"...Well, what is it?"
"Twi, yer always tryin' to be a good friend. Now that's a good thing, and it's one of the things I like about you. But you do it by tryin' to solve everypony's problems all at once, and by yerself."
"Well, yeah. Isn't that was a good friend does?"
"Not the way you do it. You seem to think you need to be able to do everythin', and act a certain way, or we're not going to like you anymore."
"That's not true!" Twilight snapped.
"Oh really?" Applejack arched an eyebrow. "What about that incident with the tickets? You were all so worried we wouldn't like you if we didn't get to go."
"That was barely a week after we met! I hadn't exactly made a lot of friends by then, how was I supposed to know?"
"Well, what about when Trixie rolled into town? You thought just casting a few spells would get us to hate you. That's one of the most absurd things I ever heard. After we fought and beat NightMare Moon together, how could you think that?"
"It wasn't my proudest moment, alright?" Twilight snapped.
“And whenever th’ Princess comes to visit, you drive everypony crazy because you micromanage ‘em on getting everything ready. She’s not gonna...”
“Please,” Twilight said a bit forcefully, but there was just enough of a pleading tone to get the earth pony to stop. “The Princess and I... we talked the morning after the wedding. I... I told her I forgave her, and... I apologized to her too. I’m the only pony she has, and it hurt her every time I thought she was going to hurt me.”
Applejack smiled, putting a comforting hoof around her shoulder. “It’s the same with us. You always worry about not bein’ a good friend, but ya already are. Listen, your real problem is you’re so obsessed with helpin’ us that you end up hurtin’ yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
The cowpony pointed to the open book lying on the table. “You got a lot a’ books out for Rainbow Dash. Nearly everythin’ on the table is about them fancy laws she asked ya to look up.”
“Well, yeah. I’m doing what a friend asked me to do.”
“Somethin’ she told ya you could take your time on,” Applejack reminded sternly. “And I’m not seein’ any books out here on how young’uns think. Shouldn’t you be lookin’ up a way to deal with Spike?”
Twilight paused for a moment, looking at her friend. Then she sighed. “Look... I know Spike better than a book could ever hope to. When I first got him, I tried reading every child psychology book I could get my hooves on, but Princess Celestia advised against it. She told me that books could give an overall impression, but I should be raising Spike out of love. That’s what I do.”
“Well, can’t argue with ya there. I never look into them fancy things when raisin’ Apple Bloom. But still, what have you done about Spike?”
“I’ve been trying to get through to him,” the unicorn protested. She immediately quieted herself, glancing back to the stairs. Seeing her charge wasn’t listening, she leaned in and whispered, “Tomorrow morning is going to be the last straw. Either he tells me willingly, or I’m going to sit him down and make him tell me.”
“Good answer,” Applejack approved with a nod. “Well, I gotta admit, I was wrong on my first point, but there’s somethin’ else.”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“You’re not sleepin’ at night. Don’t think I don’t notice. You looked a mess last mornin’, and you look even worse now. How much shut-eye have you gotten since we got back?”
“...Two, maybe three hours,” Twilight admitted with a nod. “But I’m just so worried about Spike...”
“Twi, don’t give me those horseapples. Yeah, yer worried about Spike, but that shouldn’t mean yer losin’ so much sleep.” The earth pony took a deep breath. “Twi... are you havin’ nightmares?”
There was a silence. Then Twilight put on a smile that actually impressed Applejack with how incredibly unconvincing it was. “What makes you say that?”
Applejack just arched an eyebrow. “Well, we all had nightmares after Discord, and when we walked out on you we were pretty much doin’ the same thing to ya again.”
“...No, I forgave you all, remember? It’s not still bothering me.”
“Twi.” It wasn’t shouted, but there was still force in it.
“...Please don’t be mad, Applejack. You were all so upset after the wedding, I didn’t want to make you all upset again.”
“And that’s your problem,” Applejack said finally, hanging her head solemnly. “Look, I ain’t gonna lie. Yes, I hate that you’re still in pain ‘cause I messed up, but I wanna know ‘bout it so I can fix it. You’re so worried about us you’re lettin’ yourself get hurt. You’ve always been a great friend, but you’ve never given’ us much of a chance to return the favor.”
“Sure I have...”
“Twi, please listen. You’re gettin’ more an’ more open, I see it ev’ry day. But you still don’t open up enough. Trixie, Fluttershy bein’ a model, a lot a’ things could have been avoided if you had just been more open with us. We didn’t even know you had a brother until about half a month ago. You’re tryin’ to be perfect for us ‘cause you think that’s how ta be a good friend, but you’re wrong. Part of it is lettin’ us see the real you, so we can help ya get better.”
Twilight kicked at the floor as if she were a filly again, being lightly scolded by her parents. Applejack put a foreleg around her shoulders. “You can be open with us... but I guess we didn’t help our case much when you had that breakdown... or at the weddin’. But I want to make it right. Come on, Twi, you’re always there for us... let me be there for you.”
Twilight broke down, crying. Almost immediately she flung herself at Applejack, her forelegs locking around the cowpony’s neck. Having expected this, the blonde held her back, allowing her friend to weep into her mane.
“There, there... just let it out,” she soothed, patting her head.
“I... I don’t think I’d be having them,” Twilight choked out. “But... the wedding just... it... made me think of... of Discord. I’m not mad at any of you, I swear, I just...”
Applejack squeezed her harder. “I know, sugarcube. It’s just somethin’ ya need to work through. That’s what I’m here for.”
“In... in all of them, I’m in trouble. And you all ignore me. You’re even cheering on for my death in one. I...”
She sobbed again. Applejack nuzzled her. “I’d never hate you, Twi... none of us would.”
“I know...it’s stupid to worry about...”
“No, it’s somethin’ natural to worry about after everythin’ you’ve been through. Needin’ to lean on us is nothin’ to be ashamed of. I’m just... I’m sorry we haven’t always been there...”
“Don’t start that again,” Twilight said, a little strength returning to her voice. “There’s enough drama around here lately.”
Applejack smiled. “Come on, keep talkin’. And when you’re done, let’s set you down, you need to get some rest.”
Pinkie lay on her bed, crying harder than she had ever remembered doing. Her flanks felt like they were on fire, a testament to her mother’s strength with a paddle. But the constant stinging was nothing compared to her father’s cruel words.
“This is what you get a cutie mark for? Dancing around and pursuing frivolous celebrations? I did not raise you to be so petty.”
“I... I was only trying to make you smile...” Pinkie blubbered.
“By wasting time? Bah, you’re a disgrace! No daughter of mine is going to throw her life away! Tomorrow, you’re doing double your chores! I’ll work this nonsense out of you!”
Fluttershy cupped her mouth with her hooves. “Pinkie...” she said slowly.
The earth pony was crying a bit. “I... I know. I didn’t tell the fillies because it wasn’t really important to what they wanted to know.”
Fluttershy was tearing up. “Pinkie... when I was ‘New Fluttershy’... the things I said...”
Pinkie felt a lump in her throat. “Y... yeah. It felt like he was...”
“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry,” the pegasus wept.
“No, no, please don’t cry, Fluttershy, please. I forgave you for that.”
The yellow pony wiped her eyes. “I...I..."
"Fluttershy, I need you now. Please don't get sad."
"I...okay, Pinkie. Please, what else happened?”
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This is not the end of Pinkie's story! There's much more to it than this!
Hoping for more? It will come in time, trust me.
The real significance of Twilight and Applejack's talk will be apparent next chapter. I'd like some feedback on it. It's a pivotal moment, and I need to make sure I got the right point across. Also, it's not romantic. There's no Applelight, just them being friends.
Looks like you have a runaway italic there, mate.
1494494
Yikes! One missed backslash and I regret it! Thanks.
Why the sudden switch to italics? It confused me.
Twi's admission was a bit too calm I think... I expected a bigger freakout from her.
Pinkie's story is just... no words. It was pretty heavy, even though I knew that was what was coming.
Dude... that's just beyond inexcusable, what her parents did...
1.bp.blogspot.com/-AVG63Ypg7NQ/Tc1tajn3qII/AAAAAAAAAMc/YzIghQmqAok/s1600/9580%2B-%2Babsurd_res%2BAtomicGreymon%2Bemo%2Bemo_pie%2Bpie%2Bpinkamena_diane_pie%2Bpinkie%2Btransparent.png
OMG FINALLY!!!! One thing, random sections of the story stayed italic even though they shouldn't be. Thats it. ME GUSTA
1494515
Formatting mistake, already fixed it. And thanks for the critique.
1494530
Fixed already, thanks.
I love formatting stories and I can see you do, too.
1494534
It is a good story. I am enjoying it! Though the struggle between Twilight and Spike is hitting me pretty hard after another story I read where the two were steadfast feelgood life partners...
At any rate! I think AJ was the right pony to be confronting Twi about her problems. Looking forward to more!
Dang... Good stuff but I just wish there was more of it. Take it as a good sign.
Whew, this is some intense stuff. But it's about time everyone started opening up to each other and getting everything out on the table. I figured Pinkie's story would've been something like that, but it didn't stop the feels!
I really hope Twi will learn to stop holding everything in like she has been and confide in her friends. She kind of reminds me of myself in how I act whenever something's bothering me. I tend to bottle up my emotions to keep my friends and family from worrying about me until everything just bursts out all at once, so this chapter really hit home for me. 
Keep up the great work!
How terrible! Bad Pinkie's parents!
Aside from that, great chapter!
Is it normal to want to kill Pinkie's parents?
Is it wrong that as soon as I read that, I wanted to feed Pinkie's parents to Ammit, the Eater of Souls, from Egyptian mythology?
Not sure how I feel about retconning Pinkie's situation, but honestly I can see it happening. At least Twilight is making some headway.
Am I reading this scene wrong, or should it be Applejack putting her foreleg over Twilight's shoulder?
Poor Pinkie.... That's just not right.
And it's no wonder Twi's still screwed up, AJ.
After all, she only had the friends she's done so much for and her borderline mother-figure mentor completely abandon her! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/sillyfilly_Derpy_Hooves.png Oh yes, and her brother disowned her entirely! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Vinyl_shock.png Christ, Twi deserves a medal for forgiving the rest of the mane cast so easily.... dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Cheerilee.png At least Shining Armor had some excuse, he was brainwashed! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Redheart_hmph.png
Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, need I go on?
They were unworthy of their Elements right there. Even if they'd been able to reach them on the day of the changling invasion, I seriously doubt the Elements would have worked for those five. 
That last scene with Pinkie and Flutters seemed to have a bit of a dialogue problem.
1494513
No problem!
Poor Pinkie...
"I'm sorry, I just... I wanted to be careful about getting her back."
“Spike, I know you can hear me... listen, remember when Owlowiscious moved in? You got all jealous and mopey, and it turned out the reason you were so upset was a misunderstanding? That’s what’s going on now. You haven’t done anything that could make me stop loving you. I doubt anything could."
The yellow pony wiped her eyes. “I...I..."
"Fluttershy, I need you know. Please don't get sad."
"I...okay, Pinkie. Please, what else happened?”
noticed these had missing quotation marks. I think there were two more but can't remember where they were. would be a good idea to go back through and just double check if you have quotations are where they are needed.
good chapter, just wish it was longer. I like emotional stories when they have longer chapters so i can fully immerse myself into them. Plus, with how many different stories are going on, it just makes it feel shorter.
a moment of correction here...
one too many quote marks in the middle line
and that's where it goes!
runaway apostrophe on listen
and I think one of those
s should be an 
all in all, great chapter
can't wait to see where these both go
Well Pinkie's parents are kinda old school so paddling would be in character, I guess. Still harsh. Still I wonder where she got the decorations and cake without her parents noticing.
God, I love your writing so much. I have noticed a minor spelling mistake though: ""Oh, I didn't here you come in," Twilight said, a bit alarmed. "Did Big Mac send you?"" Here should be hear. Other than that, brilliant story as always.
1494541 Anytime! But those feels
1494627
You'd love this story...
1494699 Thankyou for the recommendation.
"Oh, I didn't here you come in," Twilight said, a bit alarmed. "Did Big Mac send you?"
It should be hear. That was the only mistake I caught though. This was a powerful chapter.
So Twilight is suffering from PTSD?
973660 I like to toy with the notion that the Mane 6 in Season 2 hae been left with a 'taint' of chaos within their minds, explaining why they often acted erratically throughout the season... except for Pinkie. It just made her more random than usual.
i then tie that to my theory about Luna-NM, that being Discord planted a seed in Luna's mind before she and Celestia sealed him away, something to nourish the little speck jealousy he saw within her, and it grew into the Nightmare. That, of course, was what he was in the middle of proclaiming when he was 'stoned', one of his riddle-bound ways of declaring what he'd done without giving it completely away.
Why is over half the story in italics?
Honestly, the only thing that kept me from going down the dark path of sadness was the fact that Sh-Boom was playing, it's really hard to be sad with that song on. I still managed though.
-Sturrn
1494441
WHY YOU MAKE ME SAD SO HARD.... I mean seriously... you really hit Twi's problem on the head and Pinkie's story is so... its not depressing, but it's the appropriate amount of sad that elicits an appropriate amount of pity. You are a baus sir.
1494441 It was great but the real highlight was you FINALLY starting to explain what was troubling Pinkie Pie and having her open up about it to one of her friends.
It looks like the trouble with Spike will be over soon but in the meantime Scootaloo's parents don't seem to be getting better, they really should have been present for Twilight and Applejack's talk about how books can't prepare you for taking care of a child and that you actually have to put some effort into it.
Lastly is it wrong that I think Pinkie Pie's parents could very well be potrayed as you wrote them in the show itself, heck if it was up to me I'd make the holiday episode Pinkie Pie meeting up with her parents again and her friends helping her overcome her families issues, I'd call it "Pie Family Reunion" and here would be my synposis "Pinkie Pie is shocked to recieve a letter from her parents asking her to come back to the rock farm which brings up old memories Pinkie Pie wishes she could forget."
Why are you so good at writing stories?
Wow.
This is a pretty heavy chapter, all around.
So what, is it supposed to be conveyed in this story/universe that Pinkie got her cutie mark BEFORE she even revealed the party to her family or something else? Since not sure if it's all that clear, in your take, compared to time when she obtained it in the series. What with it not being received well and her parents being assholes about it. I'm not sure am gonna look forward to the rest of it, if gets even worse than that.
And who else besides me wants to bet (as I said in review I did last week before Honeymoon was posted, instead of earlier as intended) that Spike will be gone, after Scootaloo's heated argument with the dragon, when Twilight goes to forcefully talk to him about the matter at hoof?
Well, didn't seem all that romantic to me, even though a lot of pony shipping stories I've read do start out by hints of emotional turmoil or are pushed along by such a thing. At least, to my belief. Still, it did do a lot to explain why Twilight hasn't been honest with Applejack or the rest of their friends about why she's been trying to do everything herself, in the series sometimes and since the wedding in this universe (in regards to the Smartypants incident and Spike acting out), and build up her character and self-esteem. Hopefully, she'll be a little more better in the chapters to come, which'd be a plus, as Twilight is my favorite.
Not exactly looking forward to less frequent updates, but hey, might build up anticipation more! And I'd be looking forward to seeing what sort of wackiness would go on in your TwiJack/AppleLight story. Can't wait!
And oh, last couple lines were missing an opening quotation mark, for some reason.
I needed you to know. Sounds more appropriate this way.
No, no, no, no, NO!
I want more....
The thrills, the chills, the feels, the funny stuff -- ah want it now!
Oh...oh my...wow, poor Pinkie...A little weird, how that makes more sense than the canon story.
"Oh, I didn't here you come in,"
s3.amazonaws.com/quotefully_production/photos/character/d8e0614d985d11e0904e12313b10052d_small
Owwwww right in the feels
. Glad to see this updated, any proper group of heroes/friends needs plenty of emotional conflict in order to be believable, and your stories deliver oh so nicely. Also glad to see Twilight is starting to open up, she's heading down the right path. But now Pinkie's problems are being thrown in the mix, and even Fluttershy is tearing up over her previous actions. The tension grows!!
1494664 Ah yes, the wonders of hammerspace. Pinkie's ability to defy laws of nature ftw.
Well, that explains why she's with FOSTER parents.
Wow, that's harsh, even for Pinkie's standards and this is the "true" story of how she got her cutie mark ?
Interesting conversation between Applejack and Twilight as it does highlight Twilight's problem with asking the assistance of others and letting her guard down around them.
Please do keep up the good work upon such a great tale like this one.
A little too much italicized stuff in there, methinks.
All in all, wonderfully powerful chapter. Hit me
images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120827211245/glee/images/7/76/Right_in_the_feels.gif
May the Grace of the Valar Protect You
Shire Folk
I want to give Pinkie Pie a hug and there is nothing anyone can do to stop me.
1495081 Quite so, I never said he had a good excuse, just some excuse.
Interesting, I'll have to read that. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Sweetie_happy.png
1495096 Whoever said I'd potray exactly like they are potrayed in this fic, obviously I'd make some changes.
1494779 I think she had been suffering from that since she became Celestia's Personal Studdent, is not just a title but a rank, and aparently even higher than Royal Advisor... everypony have extremely higher expectations of her and the pressure just start to built up, she is practically the direct representation of Celestia when she's unaviable to go to an event, any failure of her will represent directly as if Celestia's did it, She couldn't even being completely herself because everypony would be judging her and most if not all of those who aproach her trying to be "friends" or asking her out with her just did it for the sake of trying to get royal favors, privileges, bragging rights, or were just using her as a stepping stone to get closer to Celestia, she practically became a political figure at the age of 8!
With all of That I belive that there would have been also attempts on her life, on her family to the point to her not even give any information about if she had any siblings or if her parents are still alive, as far as she would concern, the most people assume that she orphan or not having any siblings the better, but even a lot better if they not know anything of her at all. And this bring us to the point that her only safe heavens or safe places were actually Pony Joe's (under disguise and only when there weren't many people or any people at all), The Royal Library, her tower on the royal castle, anywhere near and besides Princess Celestia.
Pile all of this with the Nightmare Moon attack, Ponyville Incidents, Discord's return, some more Ponyville Incidents and you will get a walking time bomb with the timer's countdown getting closser to the zero faster and faster while gaining somehow more explosive matterial at any seccond the more the time goes. (and considering Twilight's raw magical power, this could be actually in the most literal way possible, to the point to be considered an active walking unstable strategical nuke)
on a more directed Chapter related topic... Why do I have the dreadning feeling that Pinkie attempted to kill herself that night?
Why do you torment me with making me feel emotions and then cutting me off for extended periods of time?!
(Translation: Well-written stuff, I connect with the characters well, I want more of this)
Dude you made me feel sorry for Pinkie Pie
that is good writing
1494699 darn, beat me to it