//------------------------------//
// Moral and Physical Support 
// Story: The Mask of Despair and the Face of Hope 
// by Wings of Black Glass 
//------------------------------//

	“Oh my…  He really doesn’t have a cutie-mark?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“I’m sorry, It’s my fault we found out!”
“It's OK, Pinkie.  We would have discovered it eventually.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“None of us did…  If we hadn’t found out his secret, I don’t think any of what came after would have happened.”





Slowly and alone, I walked up to Fluttershy’s house.  The clear and bright morning sky above was a stark contrast to how I felt.  I almost wished it was still raining, at least then I would feel appropriate.  It was several long moments after I knocked before Fluttershy answered the door.
“Hello, Twilight.”  It looked like the yellow Pegasus hadn’t slept well.  I knew the feeling, I barely slept at all.
“Fluttershy, I need someone to talk to.”  Fluttershy nodded, opening the door fully and allowing me to enter.  We sat down around the table, I noted the tea and plate of food sitting before her, I must have interrupted breakfast.
“It’s about yesterday isn’t it?”
“Yes.”  I hung my head again.  Fluttershy made to say something, then considered against it, then seemed to reconsider again.
“I don’t know how I can help.”  I honestly wasn’t sure that she could, I think maybe I just needed her to listen.
“I should never have let Pinkie talk me into it.”
“The surprise?  Or the party?”
“The surprise.  Both, maybe.  I don’t know.  I just feel awful.”  I paused to consider precisely why I felt so miserable.  Was it because I broke Sable’s trust, or that we intruded on his privacy, that we found out his secret?  All those reasons?  Aren’t they all the same thing?
“You couldn’t have known.  None of us could.”  Maybe Fluttershy was right, but then again… puzzle pieces fit into place in my mind.
“I should have figured it out.  If I had just been paying more attention, all the warning signs were there.  His constantly downcast mood, his desire for privacy, his anger with Pinkie and me.  Remember how he was upset when Rarity brought up his coat?  It all makes sense now.  I never even considered it was a possibility.”
“I can’t even imagine what it must be like for him.”
“It’s not particularly rare for it to take a while to find your cutie-mark, but I’ve never heard of a full grown pony without one.”
“Really?  Never?”
“I was up late looking for answers, in all my history books there’s not a single mention of this ever happening before, even in texts directly about the subject of cutie-marks.  I don’t think it ever has.”
“Would that even help if it had?”
“Yes… maybe… I don’t know.  It would give me a hint of what to do.”  Only a few times before have I felt so lost.  I shut my eyes, unwilling to meet Fluttershy face to face.  The Pegasus took another long moment to think things over.
“Twilight.  I think you’re fixating on the wrong problem.”  She stepped around the table and puts a steadying hoof on my shoulder.  “It’s not about his cutie-mark, it doesn’t matter if he has one or not.  It’s about his feelings, he probably feels like we betrayed his trust.  I think you need to go talk to him, not to me.”
“You’re right.”  I sighed.  “I know.”  I looked up to meet Fluttershy’s eyes, recalling how she was able to sense Stardusts discomfort when Rarity brought up his coat.  “Will you please come with me?  I think you understand him in ways I don’t.”  The Pegasus stepped back, looking just as uncomfortable as the shy filly she was when I first met her.  “Please, I don’t think I can really face him alone right now.”  Fluttershy gave me a hug.
“I’m sorry Twilight.  But I think this time, you have to do this on your own.”  Somehow I knew she was going to say something like this.  “You were the one to reach out to him in the first place.  You are the only one he’s really been open with.  I think if anypony else goes along he’ll just feel like he’s being attacked again.”
“You are probably right.”  I sighed again, resigning myself to my newfound doom.  “I just hope I don’t screw this up too.”





“It wasn’t your fault, Twilight.”
“I still feel responsible.”