//------------------------------// // Chapter 52 - Courage // Story: Dusk Shine in pursuit of Happiness // by bigsnusnu //------------------------------// Courage After making Pinkie Pie run away, Dusk closed his eyes tightly and held his head. He had been so scared and worried while Pinkie had spoken to him that the resulting confusion didn’t let him pay attention to the true state of mind of his friend, who apparently needed him at the time. Instead of giving her support, he made her flee. And although Dusk realized his serious mistake and tried to think about his friend, a part of his mind kept torturing him about what he had discovered about himself... what Zecora had told him and that kept turning his stomach. "Maybe zebras aren't afraid of… that! But that still doesn’t mean that I’m not afraid." Dusk muttered while trying to calm himself down. "And if that wasn't enough to make me feel bad, now I feel so much worse for what I said to Pinkie Pie!" Dusk added closing his eyes in frustration. Just moments ago, Dusk had reached his maximum stress level and had yelled at Pinkie to stop worrying because her friends were hiding something from her and because they weren't inviting her to a party. Pinkie didn't know, but there was a reason behind her friends' behavior. But he had been so dizzy with his own misery that all he had done was yell at the happiest pony in the world to stop acting crazy. As Dusk continued to hate himself for what he had just done, another memory came to his mind. A conversation that happened the day before with Applejack... "When Trixie called us crazy, I remember Pinkie yelling very angrily..." Applejack had said at the party, when she remembered the only time she had seen Pinkie Pie yell at somepony. "Pinkie… what did I do!?" Dusk whispered, very concerned, thinking of the damage he could have caused his dear friend with just one word. "I need to fix this!" While Dusk ran back to the forest path to try to follow Pinkie Pie's trail, the pink pony found herself in a place where none of the ponies she met would think of looking for, the collapsed castle that remained in the middle of the Everfree Forest known commonly as 'The Old Castle of the Two Sisters'. Although, all of the running to get away from the lavender colt did little to quench the pain she was feeling. That pain was coming from her heart, making her cry non-stop. Once Pinkie reached the ruins of the castle's main hall, she fell from exhausted to the floor and covered her face while wiping her tears with her hoof. Little remained of the cheery festive mare that was the smile of Ponyville. Her eyes were a sea of ​​tears, and her mane and tail had lost all their fluffiness, making her look much sadder and desolate. She had endured the sadness of feeling excluded by her friends, then the pain of finding out that they had lied to her, and the pain of feeling betrayed. However, none of that compared to the great pain she felt when Dusk yelled at her that she was crazy. That had hurt her deeply, the word she hated most in the world, had been spoken to her by the colt she loved the most, who had sworn that he would be there for her when she needed to cry. But now she was alone, abandoned with her grief and pain while the gloomy echo of the ancient castle made her cry reverberate all around her. Hearing the echo of her own crying, for a second Pinkie Pie felt as if she was surrounded by other ponies that were crying alongside her too, but she knew that was not true, that she was completely alone there. And feeling that she was surrounded by invisible voices, Pinkie covered her ears as her greatest fear began to take hold of her. "Please... I don't want to be alone..." Pinkie Pie whispered as she cried sitting on the floor and covered her ears, then gritting her teeth as she realized that she was doing what she hated the most: talking to herself. "You're not alone." Dusk said suddenly, who was near Pinkie and was looking at her with a sad and painful look. The colt was looking at what he feared the most, his happy friend crying because of him, which made Dusk feel like garbage with himself for having caused that. "Dusk!?" PInkie Pie squeaked in surprise, turning her neck to see the colt that had appeared behind her. "W-What are you doing here?" Pinkie added, still surprised to see that Dusk found her in such a desolate place. "When you fled, I went to the main road. From there, there were only two routes: to town or to the old castle. And I know you don't want anyone to see you cry, so I figured you'd come here." Dusk said softly, slowly taking a step closer to face his friend and stretch a hoof towards her. "Pinkie… I'm sorry I made you cry. You needed me, you wanted to tell me something! But I… was so distracted that I didn't realize it. I'm really sorry." Hearing Dusk's words, Pinkie lowered her head with a confused look. She could still hear how Dusk had yelled that despicable word to her when she was extremely fragile. He had made her walk away when she was only seeking his comfort, so Pinkie would have liked to make Dusk explain why he had acted that way with her. However, the emotions inside Pinkie were in chaos, and for the first time in years she wasn't crying like she always had, hiding in her room. Pinkie only slowly rested her head on Dusk's hoof to feel the tender warmth of his skin, and she began to cry, finally venting all her accumulated grief, fear and insecurity that she had felt that day. As Pinkie settled on his hoof and cried, Dusk got closer to his friend and hugged her, without saying a word, only gently stroking Pinkie's mane so that she could vent her grief. Internally, Dusk felt like the lowest scum of ponies for having made such a sweet and tender mare cry. After several minutes, Pinkie finally calmed her crying and slowly separated herself from Dusk's hug. "You... you promised that you would be there when I needed to cry..." Pinkie Pie sniffled slowly looking at Dusk, still with tears in her eyes. "I know... I was a fool." Dusk answered with pain in his heart for having betrayed something as sacred as his friend's trust. "You were looking for comfort, and I yelled at you. I'm so sorry. I promise never to hurt you like I did!" Dusk added leaning down and closing his eyes tightly, swearing to himself that he would never make Pinkie cry again. When Pinkie saw Dusk, she saw how the colt really suffered from seeing her cry. Seeing him so sorry, Pinkie's heart told her that she should forgive him, but her brain could still hear when he yelled at her that she was 'crazy', that word that hurt and scared her so much. Then Pinkie closed her eyes and realized that Dusk knew that he had hurt her, but he still didn't know that detail, and she couldn't blame Dusk for that, because it had been she herself who had hidden from him and from her other friends that part of her past and… her future, so after thinking about it, Pinkie decided that Dusk needed to know the truth. "Dusk... There is something I need to tell you." Pinkie Pie said fearfully as her straight mane hid part of her sad face. "I ran away because you yelled at me, it's true. But... what really hurt me... was that you called me crazy..." "I'm really sorry. I don't think you're crazy. It's... it's just that I was upset and confused, and-" Dusk said, apologizing again, but Pinkie interrupted her so that he wouldn't continue speaking. "I know you don't think that of me." Pinkie said with a sad look. "But there is a reason why I hate that word..." 'Pinkie Pie's flashback.' The young pink filly was in the room she shared with her sisters, playing a new game that she had invented herself. The game itself had such weird and convoluted rules that neither Pinkie's sisters, nor the game's creator herself, were sure they understood all the rules. But that was the least of it, after all, what mattered was having fun. It was time of day was one of the few when the sisters were completely alone in the house, and it was when they could be themselves, without follow any of the strict rules imposed on them by their parents and the rest of the ponies living in their 'Community'. Pinkie Pie's family lived in an old and very conservative community of earth ponies, which lived under strict rules of coexistence, following customs that earth ponies had used for thousands of years. Both unicorn magic and current science was shunned and highly discouraged by the inhabitants, who were quite insistent on keeping with tradition. Everypony in the closed community lived only on what the land gave them, as their ancestors had always done, with ancient clothes and complying with laws and habits of life that for most ponies in Equestria had been deprecated hundreds of years ago. That day, Pinkie was laughing with her older sister Limestone Pie, and her younger sister Marble Pie. The three sisters were very similar to each other physically, all three of similar size and with their hair smoothed and well combed, thanks to their mother's work. However, unlike her sisters, who both had their coats and manes of varying shades of gray, Pinkie had a colorful shade of pink in her fur and mane. Also, unlike Pinkie, her sisters already had their own cutie marks. Limestone had a cutie mark of one-lime with two rocks, while Marble had three rock marbles. While Pinkie's other older sister, Maud Pie, was not home that day, in fact, she had been away from home for days, for some reason unknown to little Pinkie Pie. "Hey! That's cheating!" Marble said as she clapped and jumped, just when she saw Limestone hiding a rock in her mouth as she balanced standing on just one of her hooves. "It's not cheating…! At least I think so." Limestone grumbled, but then confused, since with Pinkie Pie's crazy rules of the game, she was no longer sure if the objective of the game was to get more rocks or get rid of the rocks. "Hmm.. Yep! That’s cheating!" Pinkie replied with a cheery smile. "Unless you went around twice before and said a tongue twister. In which case, it means it's not cheating, and we all have ten seconds to catch as many rocks as we want." Hearing this, Limestone put a thoughtful look and then jumped over a pile of rocks in the middle of the room to try to grab as many as she could. "You cheated again! You didn't do anything Pinkie said!" Marble said angrily, but seeing that her sister was ignoring her, she also jumped on the pile of rocks and both began to remove stones from each other, which Pinkie Pie also did to join the fight for control of the stones. At that moment, the door of the room opened, and after it appeared the mother of the three fillies, Cloudy Quartz, who left a traveling saddlebag next to her and narrowed her eyes in disgust when she saw how her three daughters were fighting in the floor while playing a silly game. As soon as the three fillies saw that their mother had appeared in the room, the three froze and quickly rose to their hooves, static, formed side by side. "What is this!? Are thou taking advantage of the fact that neither thy father nor I are at home to make a mess?" Cloudy Quartz said, annoyed with her daughters for the mess they had caused. "Thou know how exhausted I am after coming back from mine spiritual retreat, and I come back to find all of thee struggling on the floor!" Hearing her mother scolding them, the three fillies closed their lips and looked at her silently, knowing her mother always irritated easily. Then, while silence reigned, Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to spit out a stone that she had also hidden in her mouth. As she did so, her two sisters couldn't help it and started laughing at what their sister just did. "ENOUGH!" the older mare yelled when she saw her daughters laugh. "Not but a second ago thou were fighting, and now thy are laughing!? I… I do not wish to see thee change thine attitude so easily! It irks me so! A self-respecting pony must be constant without changing emotion from one second to the next." "You mean like Maud is with her dull-as-dirt attitude?" Limestone asked, looking annoyed at her mother. Hearing the name of her other absent daughter, Cloudy Quartz glared at Limestone, who also glared back. Then the older mare turned and stormed out of the room. After their mother was gone, the three sisters returned to act as they always did when their parents were home controlling their own emotions so as not to be 'mood-swinging' ponies, since that was something that their mother seemed to irritate greatly. Limestone returned to her usual scowl, and Marble to her timid gaze. For Cloudy Quartz, her daughter Maud was an example to follow for her other sisters, at least when she was still at home. The eldest sibling was always calm and didn't show any emotion on her face, and that was something that the mare had always instilled in her daughters. However, for her other three daughters, be indifferent was something of a challenge for them. So, to avoid that 'mood-swinging' she hated, each of her daughters sought always try to keep the same mood, which had ultimately caused each to accentuate a single dominant emotion in them. In spite of that, though Limestone was irritable, and Marble was shy; in Pinkie Pie it seemed found it impossible to get a feeling that defined her and that made her mood constant. Despite her parents being present, Pinkie kept laughing if she was happy, sad if she was feeling depressed, and seemed not to be intimidated by her mother's warnings. Thusly, Cloudy Quartz was constantly irritated by her daughters changing personality. As Cloudy Quartz chatted with her husband, Igneous Rock, about her latest trip, she packed a few things in her saddlebag, ready for one last visit to somepony before she could fully rest at home. "I am going to visit Uncle Fuzzy, does anyone wish to accompany me?" Cloudy Quartz asked from the front door of the house. "I wanna go!" Pinkie Pie said immediately, who had been poking her head out of her room waiting for her mother to ask that question, since she always went to visit her brother after a spiritual retreat. For a moment, Cloudy Quartz stared at her daughter. It seemed that Pinkie Pie was the only one who was ever interested in accompanying her to visit Cloudy Quartz’s brother. If it had been up to her, she would have preferred any of her other daughters to go instead of Pinkie Pie. However, she had to agree to let Pinkie come along, since she couldn't force her other daughters to see their peculiar uncle if they didn't want to. Besides, it was always better for her brother to see that she wasn't the only one interested in visiting him and at least one of his nieces was interested in him. Pinkie and her mother proceeded to take a long walk through the entire small town of their community. All of the houses were similar to each other, with all its inhabitants wearing similar old-fashioned clothes. They then reached a small house which was quite far from the rest of the community. Once they arrived at Uncle Fuzzy's house, they were treated by a very ill-tempered mare who took them to his room. Then PInkie Pie's mother made Pinkie wait outside while she pulled out a key and walked into the room alone. "I hope it's one of those days when I can see Uncle Fuzzy." the young filly thought expectantly, knowing that there were times when her mother wouldn't let her see her uncle. "I don't know why Uncle Fuzzy is locked up if he's so funny..." A few seconds later, Cloudy Quartz opened the room door again and gave the signal for Pinkie to enter, which the pink filly did with great enthusiasm. Upon entering the room, Pinkie saw that her uncle's room was still as she remembered it, a very small room where there was almost nothing, just a bed full of small plush toys, and a small table next to the bed, but what surprised Pinkie the most was always seeing the window of the room, the one that for some reason had bars. "Hello-Hello! If it isn’t my favorite niece!?" Suddenly said a stallion with grayish-purple fur and a very fluffy orange mane. This was Fuzzy Quartz, Cloudy's older brother and Pinkie Pie's uncle, who jumped in front of Pinkie with a huge smile on his face, grabbing her between his hooves and giving her a big, loving hug. "Hi, Uncle Fuzzy!" Pinkie greeted, smiling at her uncle's big hug. "I came because I want you to finish telling me the story from the last time." "The story of the last time? Hmm … What was it…" Uncle Fuzzy said with a thoughtful look. "Was it the story of when I met those strange seaponies? Or maybe the story of when I was in the far grasslands and danced with those zebras?" "No... You already told me those stories." Pinkie said smiling. "It was the story of when you saw a rainbow and walked over it!" "Oh… yeah, that one." Fuzzy said smiling, because he knew perfectly well that this was his niece's favorite story since little Pinkie had never seen a rainbow before. "Well, let's get started. It was a beautiful day when I had begun my adventure to travel the world..." As Fuzzy told his story in great detail and with wacky gestures to amuse his young niece more, Pinkie smiled with big eyes as she used all the power of her imagination to dream of how beautiful a rainbow must be. Meanwhile, Cloudy Quartz just sat at the other end of the room, not taking her eyes off her brother as he spoke, and from time to time, she sadly lowered her gaze wistfully. Thus, the three ponies continued to spend the afternoon together until the evening light was seen through the small window of the room. Then the grumpy mare who had let them into the house told them that it was time for them to leave. Upon the warning, Cloudy Quartz stood up and took her little daughter to retire and go home. "Before I forget." Cloudy Quartz said as she was about to leave, pulling out a small bag from her saddlebag. "I brought those ‘sweets’ that thou enjoy so. But remember, thou should only eat one a day, otherwise they will run out, and they are not easy to acquire." Cloudy added, looking with a serious look at her brother. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry." Fuzzy answered smiling and then said goodbye to his sister and his beloved niece. After that day, several days passed in which Cloudy Quartz didn't visit her brother. It was rock harvest season, the busiest time of the year, so she and her husband spent all day dragging rocks so that they were impregnated with the valuable minerals that strengthened them. The demand was so great at that time of year that even their daughters were helping with the harvest, which was a cause for depression for little Pinkie Pie. Every time she had to drag rocks with her head, she became very depressed when she felt that she wanted to do so much more with her life, like going out on a world tour and seeing rainbows, as her beloved Uncle Fuzzy had done. Despite the depression that Pinkie Pie felt at that time, that particular day would change everything. While she was working, she saw a rainbow for the first time and felt an explosion of joy that ruffled both her mane and her heart in a very special way; which had led her to want to share that feeling with her family, and throw a party to celebrate. "Surprise!" Pinkie Pie had screamed with excitement when she saw her parents and sisters enter the silo where she had thrown a surprise party. At that instant, everyone's faces were one of utter surprise and confusion, mainly her mother's, who seemed to be horrified for a second. Then her husband had gently touched her shoulder to reassure her, and pointed to Pinkie Pie's flank, where her new cutie mark was shining. The normally reserved ponies both smiled when they saw the beautiful party that their daughter had thrown and that she had finally discovered her special talent, and as their parents did, Limestone and Marble also smiled seeing that their parents approved of what they saw. That it was one of the happiest moments of Pinkie Pie, where most of her family held together and laughed with her little surprise party, and only when her sisters came over to congratulate her on her cutie mark did Pinkie realize that she had it, which made her even happier than she already was. The filly that she didn't even notice the worried look her mother gave every time her little daughter didn't see her... The day after the party, Pinkie had insisted her mother go visit her uncle to show him her new cutie mark. After much insistence, Cloudy Quartz finally gave in and, after Cloudy tried in vain to smooth the her daughter's crazy mane, which had remained very fluffy and impossible to straighten after her daughter got her cutie mark; they both went back to the distant house at outside of the rustic and isolated community. "It's a shame Uncle Fuzzy couldn't make it to the party." Pinkie Pie said as she walked with her mother, just as they passed through the middle of town. "Hush thine voice, Pinkamena." Cloudy Quartz said a bit concerned as she glanced sideways. "Listen well, daughter. Yesterday was a special occasion. Thine father and I were happy to see that thou got thine cutie mark. However, parties in our community are few in number. We only celebrate certain occasions and… sobriety is the mark that characterizes our community, just as our ancestors did, who enjoyed life only with simple things." "But… I want all the ponies to have as much fun as we did yesterday." Pinkie Pie said with a shy smile. "If thine cutie mark appeared to make us all happy, then thou can make us all happy in our own way." Cloudy said smiling. "Yesterday's party was…admittedly enjoyable, but it is best to keep it secret. And for next time, thou can celebrate like we all do here in the Community." "But... the parties here are soooo boring." Pinkie Pie said, pursing her lips. "Everyone is very boring here! They should be more like Uncle Fuzzy. He’s the only one whose any fun and they have him locked up." Hearing that, Cloudy Quartz stopped in her tracks and glared at her daughter. "Thou are to behave as I instruct, Pinkamena! And throw away such notions of Uncle Fuzzy as a role model!” Cloudy Quartz said glaring at Pinkie, who just flinched in fear seeing her mother so upset. After that discussion, neither of them spoke as they continued on the way, but in Pinkie's mind, she began to feel a grudge towards her strict mother. She wasn't just telling her not to enjoy the parties, but it seemed like she didn't want anyone to have fun at the parties! And that grudge against her Uncle Fuzzy… Why did she keep the only pony that really smiled in town locked up…!? That was a question Pinkie had asked herself many times, but now, with the grudge she felt, in her mind the image of her mother was turning into a grumpy one who didn't want anyone to be happy. Finally, both ponies came to the house on the outskirts of the village, and again repeated the same ritual, with the embittered mare guiding them to the room, and Cloudy Quartz removing the key and entering first one to the room to see Fuzzy. However, unlike the previous time, this time Cloudy Quartz didn't leave the room for a long time, so Pinkie put her ear to the door, and was surprised to hear her uncle cry. At that precise moment Cloudy Quartz opened the door and closed it quickly behind her. "I am sorry, but thou will not be able to see thine uncle today." Cloudy Quartz said with a serious look. Pinkie Pie looked at her mother with disappointment and opened her mouth to reply, however her mother didn't give her the option and only took her firmly by the hoof so that they both quickly left the building. As they returned home, they both walked without saying a word to each other. With Cloudy Quartz being lost in her own grief, and Pinkie Pie feeling even more upset with her mother, who had now somehow made her beloved uncle cry. Once arrived home, Cloudy Quartz quickly joined her husband to continue helping with the rock harvest, but unlike other days, Cloudy ordered her daughter to stay indoors, as if for some reason she wasn't even able to see her at that moment. Being alone in the house, Pinkie looked resentfully at her mother from the window, then she turned her head and saw the saddlebag her mother had left on the table. Then Pinkie had a great idea. After running to her room, and taking advantage of the fact that her sisters were working with their parents, she opened her secret hiding place, where she kept a bag full of candies, then she returned to where her mother's saddlebag was and took out the key to Uncle Fuzzy's room. Sneaking out the back door, Pinkie started running to visit her beloved uncle again. "Maybe Uncle Fuzzy is sad because he ran out of candies and grumpy ol’ mom doesn't want to give him more." The naive pink filly thought as she ran, thinking how happy her uncle would be when he saw her with a big bag of candy. Once she got to the remote house, Pinkie smiled at her luck when she saw that the door was ajar, so she wouldn't have to run into that grumpy mare. Then Pinkie walked silently until she reached her uncle's room and used her mother's key and entered. "Yay! Hiya Pinkie! How happy it makes me to see you today!" Uncle Fuzzy said with a huge smile, jumping up like he always did to greet his beloved niece. Something that surprised Pinkie a bit, since it hadn't been that long since she had heard him cry with her mother, but now her uncle was happy, not a hint of having been sad just minutes ago. "I knew you would be happy to see me!" Pinkie said with a big smile and showing her uncle the bag of candy she had brought with her. "I brought these candies so that you won't cry anymore." "Cry? Why would I cry? I am the happiest pony in the world!" Fuzzy answered confused but laughing, nonetheless. "But... I heard you cry." Pinkie Pie said confused. "Maybe... Was it because of something bad that Mom told you?" "Cloudy’s a dummy, but she would never make me cry." Fuzzy said smiling, leaving Pinkie Pie even more confused. "Tell me, do you want me to tell you another story?" Fuzzy added, noticing that for some reason his niece seemed confused. "No… I know! Let's play something!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly, deciding not to give importance to what she thought she heard earlier. "Great idea!" Fuzzy said excitedly, taking several of his plushies that he had on his bed and sitting them around the small table. "We could have a little tea party. Look! This could be your twin sister!" Fuzzy gleefully said as he took a pink plushie, which did indeed look a bit like a little Pinkie Pie. "That's a good idea, but…" Pinkie said with a mischievous smile as she used the key again to open the room door. "... it would be more fun to play outside." Seeing the open door, Fuzzy's smile froze for an instant, and then his mouth fell open in surprise. "P-Play outside?" Fuzzy said nervously with a strange face, as if trying to smile despite how nervous and fearful he was. "Yeah! It'll be fun. We never play outside." Pinkie said with a huge smile, jumping with excitement just like her uncle did every time he received her. While the door remained open, Fuzzy just stood still, as if many things came to his mind in just a second, fighting his own fear and insecurity. "O-Okay… We can play outside this time." Fuzzy finally said with a nervous smile. After her uncle agreed, he and Pinkie walked slowly out of the room, with Pinkie Pie leading the way to make sure the grumpy mare at the gate wasn't around to ruin their secret outing. Meanwhile, Fuzzy walked very slowly, as the uncertainty of whether what he was doing was right or not remained in his mind. Pinkie and Fuzzy finally left the house without being seen, and after many years, finally Fuzzy could be back on the ground and feel the wind running through his mane. The eccentric stallion had seen and felt all that years ago, while traveling the world, but since a few years ago he had deprived himself of that and locked himself in his room... for his own safety and that of everyone around him. Once outside, Pinkie touched her uncle and ran for him to catch her, then Fuzzy began to jog slowly, feeling the dirt and grass brush against his hooves, and then he began to laugh loudly and run fast while a joy that he believed forgotten returned to him. So Fuzzy caught his niece and they both kept laughing and playing tag with each other, rolling across the grass and looking up at the beautiful blue sky. "This... This is real, right?" Fuzzy asked suddenly, for a second fearing that this was all an illusion, like so many others he used to have. "Of course, it's real!" Pinkie said, not understanding why her uncle was asking such a weird question. Then Fuzzy turned quickly to see Pinkie and touched her, as if he wanted to verify something. "Thank you." Fuzzy said with a gentle smile, but quickly turned and looked away. "I just thanked her; you don't have to repeat it!" Seeing where Uncle Fuzzy was looking, Pinkie Pie was confused to see that no one was there. "Don't tell me, I know I have to go back." Fuzzy said, this time looking away, where Pinkie checked again that there was no one else there. "Uncle?" Pinkie asked confused. "No! I couldn't leave, no, no! It wouldn't be right. Cloudy has already done so much for us…ME! I mean me!" Fuzzy added angrily, looking into another empty space. "You shut up!" "Uncle! Who are you talking to?!" Pinkie yelled, feeling a bit scared at seeing that her uncle was acting strange. At Pinkie's scream, Fuzzy turned to look at her, and saw that her beloved little niece was scared… because of him. "I... I'm sorry." Fuzzy said closing his eyes tightly. "It's late... We should head back now." Fuzzy added with a pained look, walking slowly back to the place that housed him. After that, they both returned in silence to the house from which they had left. The grumpy mare had reappeared and saw with horror how Fuzzy was outside his room. So, she reprimanded Pinkie Pie, took Fuzzy for a hoof and marched him back to his room. All the while, Fuzzy only allowed himself to be guided, with a lost and sad look as he couldn't forget the scared face of his beloved niece. Without understanding much of what had happened, Pinkie Pie had to give her mother's key to the mare in charge of the place and then she returned home, happy to have spent a pleasant time with her beloved uncle. Although there was a small part of her that felt a grow sense of dread at what happened with her uncle near the end. The next day arrived, and Fuzzy was alone in his room, as usual. However, unlike the day before, this time he was staring blankly, covering his ears as he trembled and swayed from side to side. "The voices… why don't they shut up!? Leave me alone!" Fuzzy screamed in horror as he felt himself lose control of himself again. "I couldn’t hear them for so long… why am I hearing them again now!?" The frightened stallion yelled again. "Hi, Uncle." A voice that Fuzzy recognized suddenly said. Looking up, Fuzzy saw that in front of him was his niece Pinkie Pie, who had somehow entered his room despite the fact that the door was still locked. "Pinkie?! H-How did you go inside?" Fuzzy asked, shaking as the voices kept screaming in his head and he felt his emotions take over, so much so that he could hardly control them anymore. "Listen to the voices..." The image of Pinkie Pie suddenly whispered with a disturbing smile. “They just want what’s best for you. Do it for meeeeee?” "Shutupshutupshutup SHUT UP! This is your fault, you stupid filly! We were fine until you got us out of here!" Fuzzy yelled angrily, feeling his own personality split and lose to an unknown force that lived in him. Then Fuzzy's gaze changed, and nothing was left of the sparkle in his eyes, only a look full of fury as someone else took over his actions. "Yes... It's your fault…IT’S YOUR DAMN FAULT!" Fuzzy yelled, jumping on Pinkie and putting his hooves tightly on her neck. As Fuzzy forced his entire body to squeeze Pinkie tight, the stallion’s senses came back to him, and he saw in horror what he was doing. "NO!" Fuzzy yelled in fright and walking away from the pink plushie that he had been strangling. At some point during the violent struggle, the head of the plushie had popped off the rest of its body, leaving the toy in two pieces on the floor. However, the stallion’s broken mind made him see something far worse. The fluffy, white stuffing on the floor appeared as a red and sticky fluid. The head of the toy slowly morphed into the head of his beloved niece. It was then Fuzzy fully felt the realization of what he thought he did. "No! No! No! It's not real!!" Fuzzy screamed as the voices kept screaming in his head, not knowing if everything that was happening was real or not. As Fuzzy breathed heavily, he covered his eyes and ears in horror at what he had just done. Then, he looked at his hooves and could have sworn that they were stained red for a brief second. This only caused the stallion to become more distressed at his actions. What he had done was so horrible, there was nothing else he could do. "No... I can't escape... I can't escape..." Fuzzy whispered as his eyes faded again, and his broken mind made an irreversible decision. "There is only one way to escape from it all... To save you all from me..." Not far from there, the real Pinkie Pie was having breakfast with her family. She had had to tell her mother that she had stolen the key to her uncle's room, to which her mother severely punished her for. For the next week, Pinkie would be grounded to her room locked away, save for family meals and the occasional bathroom break. In addition, the filly was forbidden from talking unless spoken to or making any rambunctious noises such as laughing, lest she wanted to extend her sentence. This last part was especially disheartening to Pinkie, as she absolutely despised the complete silence. However, she finally accepted her punishment, knowing that it would have been much worse if she had told her mother that in addition to stealing the key, she had made her uncle leave his room. Suddenly, Pinkie stopped eating her breakfast when her body began to shake uncontrollably, and her eyes began to blink rapidly. "Pinkie! What's wrong?" Marble asked a bit scared, who was sitting at the table next to Pinkie. "I-I don't know, I think it's one of my strange signals." Pinkie answered a little surprised, since she knew that her body sometimes reacted mysteriously to warn her of some event. "Cease this foolishness at once, Pinkamena!" Cloudy Quartz said, reprimanding her daughter. "Remember thou are still grounded and forbidden from speaking unless spoken to." "Hmm... your tail’s going nuts too." Limestone added, unable to help but be curious to see Pinkie's tail wag uncontrollably. "It's spinning like crazy to the right." "To the right? That's new." Pinkie Pie said thoughtfully while still shaking. With the vast number of signals that Pinkie often received, she had already recognized some of the ones that followed a pattern. But this current signal: trembling body, rapid blinking, and tail turning right out of control, was new to her. "I wonder what it means..." "I said silence!" The mother of the fillies said again, with a more authoritative tone, which made everyone fall silent. After finishing her breakfast, Pinkie went to her room, but on the way, she started shaking again and her tail wagged to the right. Seeing this strange behavior, Pinkie's mother became extremely irritated and quickly approached her daughter to grab her roughly. "For the love of all, stop acting crazy, Fu…er, Pinkamena!" Cloudy Quartz cried. There was definitely still anger in her voice, but it was being quickly overcome by fear. "I-I'm sorry, I can't help it." Pinkie said sadly as she didn't stop shaking. "I don't know what this sign is… Maybe it's because Uncle Fuzzy didn't like the candy I gave him." "Wait… Did thou break into thine uncle's room yesterday!?" Cloudy Quartz asked as her fear quickly grew. "Uh... yeah... I paid him a surprise visit and we went outside to play." Pinkie Pie said timidly, since in her carelessness she had admitted that she had used the stolen key to see her uncle. Hearing that, Cloudy Quartz gave a worried look, then looked fearfully towards the door and ran out. After watching her mother run, Pinkie felt her pinkie sense intensify more, as if it was telling her that where her mother was going was where the signal she felt came from. So, taking advantage of the fact that there was no one else at home, Pinkie also ran off, chasing after her mother. As she ran, Pinkie suddenly shuddered loudly, her shaking stopped, her tail quieted, and her pinkie signal completely disappeared. That made Pinkie smile with relief when she saw that that strange signal had finally disappeared. However, for some reason, she began to feel very sad, as if her soul had known the true meaning of what those signals meant and now it was crying. After that, Pinkie kept running, not knowing that when she met her mother she would discover the truth of that mysterious sign, and that she… hadn't discovered its true meaning in time. It was two days later when the funeral for Fuzzy Quartz was held. Although, the only ponies in attendance was the Pie family. The other members of the rustic community didn’t want to be present at the funeral of a lunatic; a few of them mumbling how his twisted soul would spread a blight on their crops. After the funeral was over, Pinkie's father retired to his home with Limestone and Marble, while Cloudy Quartz stayed there, next to the grave in sad silence. Pinkie Pie also remained with her mother in silence, however her loss of words was caused by the complete confusion and sadness of what happened to her favorite uncle. "Why did Uncle Fuzzy do something so horrible...?" Pinkie whispered with a mixture of grief and confusion. "He was happy." Hearing such sad words from her daughter and seeing her lost gaze, Cloudy took advantage of the fact that they were both alone, and gently caressed her daughter. "Pinkamena, I must apologize. I had hoped that thou would never have to know about this…but I believe it’s time thou knew. Thine uncle was sick. Although he seemed happy, in truth he was in much suffering." Cloudy said sadly. "That is why he was locked in that house, so that he wouldn't do anything against others or... against himself." "He was sick? B-But he looked so well! He didn’t have any booboo or bruises when I saw him!" Pinkie said with worry. "Why didn’t he tell me? I would have tried to make him feel better!" "Sweet daughter, sometimes there are wounds that cannot be seen. And illnesses that have no cure... especially in the village where we reside..." Cloudy said sadly, with a hint of resentment in her voice. "I knew it was not right, but mine occasional spiritual retreats were nothing but a bold-face lie. In truth, I was travelling to the big city to obtain medicine which is prohibited in our community." After her mother said that, Pinkie remembered the 'candy' her mother always gave her uncle, and then she remembered that she had given him real candy, and the weight of guilt fell on her. "It's my fault! I gave him real candy!" Pinkie said starting to cry. “He ate that instead of his medicine, and…and…” "No! Tis not thine fault, Pinkamena. Thine uncle had a very serious illness and… it was a matter of time, the medicine only helped up to a point." Cloudy said, hugging her daughter. "He was always a wonderful brother, but at one point in his adulthood, he suffered a fate that also afflicted thine grandfather. He began to hear voices that didn't exist, saw phantoms that were not, and… performed actions that were not of his own. But we must remember him as the happy pony who was always with us, and who always protected us from everything..." When saying that last bit, Cloudy recalled the letter she found at the side of her brother. How that he took his life to protect his family from himself. Then Cloudy remembered when they were both young and how her brother always protected her from the ruffians who bothered her. "Thine uncle loved you very much, Pinkamena, as much as I love you." Cloudy Quartz said as tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked straight into her daughter's eyes and felt that she had already seen those sweet eyes before. "That's why it scares me to think...what could happen..." Cloudy wept, while she fearfully remembered every time she saw Pinkie so happy, having parties and saying crazy things, she saw her dear brother when he was younger. Pinkie didn't need to read her mother's mind to understand what she was feeling. For the first time, her mother embraced her with her true feelings. It was that unconditional maternal love that made her fear for the future of her beloved daughter. And Pinkie understood how terrifying the future could be. “This illness has already taken so much of mine family, Pinkamena. I do not wish to lose thou, as well.” 'End of Flashback.' "After a while when I left my community, I was able to learn more about that illness. The scientific term for it is Bipolar Schizophrenic Disorder. It's a mental illness that can cause hallucinations and changes in personality…" Pinkie Pie said with a mixture of fear and sadness after telling her story. "It's a non-curable disorder that usually appears in adulthood and... is hereditary." Pinkie said almost in a whisper. Dusk was speechless. One of the things that Dusk had wondered a while ago was how Pinkie recognized one of her pinkie sense signs as something dying, and now that question finally had an answer. But what surprised and scared Dusk the most was discovering why Pinkie knew so much about psychology… She had studied it because she was afraid that what happened to her uncle would one day happen to her! "That’s why you fear being alone... Do you think that talking to yourself is one of the first symptoms of..." Dusk said with a trembling voice, unable to finish his sentence, feeling that he now felt an unknown and terrifying fear for the future. "That... that won't happen to you." "It may never happen... But the truth is that no one can be sure." Pinkie replied sadly. "Now you know what my biggest fear is… It's the future. It's waking up one day being alone, without even being able to recognize my friends, or know what’s real and what’s not." Pinkie added with a terrified look. Before Pinkie's response, Dusk opened his mouth to answer, but it then slowly closed. Although his heart screamed that this misfortune would never happen to his friend, his rational mind told him that he couldn't be sure, because there were things that weren't in his control. And when he realized that there was something that could harm his friend and that he couldn't do anything to prevent it, Dusk began to breathe heavily, feeling a sense of impotence like he had never felt before. Suddenly Dusk's eyes widened as he thought about control in his mind and remembered what Zecora had told him about the illusion of control. As much as he wanted to deny it, there were things that he couldn't control, not with his friends, not… with himself. And although Zecora had revealed certain information that his mind had refused to accept, with this that Pinkie just revealed, now a new thought was beginning to break the paradigm of what he thought he understood about things. "Pinkie, you're right... There are things I can't control, but... maybe that's not so bad." Dusk said looking at the ground and then at his friend with a somewhat scared look. " I think that since you have been sincere with me, it’s fair that I also tell you why I was so upset and confused when you came to talk to me. It's… because I… saw my own death." Pinkie widened her eyes and turned pale at those last four words. "What are you talking about?" Pinkie Pie said scared. At that moment, Dusk again felt his stomach twist into knots due to the feeling he had felt since he had seen that 'nightmare', which only that day, Dusk had discovered that it wasn't a nightmare, but a vision. "The eyes of a cockatrice not only turn their prey to stone... they can make their prey see their own death, as well." Dusk said fearfully, as Pinkie remembered what happened at Fluttershy's slumber party and covered her mouth in horror. "When I got unpetrified, I didn't remember what happened well. But as the days went by, that memory has become slightly more vivid... The image I saw is still not entirely clear, but I do remember seeing a couple of terrifying and profound black eyes, a great glare and… a piercing scream. But more important than the image, is what I feel when I remember that moment... I felt my life escaping from my body, while my body froze and the pain decreased as I exhaled for the last time..." Dusk added, remembering the uncomfortable and terrible feeling that had tormented him those days when he woke up, the feeling of dying. A feeling his own mortal body rejected and made him nauseous every time he remembered it. "That… That can't be. Maybe it's just a bad nightmare!" Pinkie Pie said approaching Dusk and embraced him fearfully. "It wasn’t a nightmare, Zecora confirmed it to me... For zebras, it's not something so devastating to know. In fact, it's a ritual that their shamans do, because for them death is only part of life. But for me, it's not. It's hard to think that one day not too far away, I might just cease to exist." Dusk said feeling confused and tormented, until he realized that he had said something that he shouldn't, since Pinkie now looked at him more scared after hearing that last thing. "Yes... I forgot to mention it, but…in my vision, I... I was not an old pony..." Dusk added with a sad smile, knowing that it could scare his friends. Hearing that, Pinkie tightened the hug around the colt and began to cry. "That's not true. I won't let that happen!" Pinkie said while crying and feeling more scared than she had ever felt. Seeing his friend so scared, Dusk hugged his friend back and felt a strange feeling of astonishment. For the first time in his life, he believed he completely empathized with another pony. He was surprised to realize that one could be more scared by what can happen to a loved one than to what happens to oneself. Because he and Pinkie now knew that their futures were uncertain. However, despite the fear that everyone felt for their own destiny, what really hurt them and scarier, was the inability to do anything to help the other. "I know that fate is not set in stone... The vision may or may not be fulfilled, only time will tell." Dusk said, caressing his friend sweetly to calm her down. "It's just as it happens with you. Our futures are uncertain, but not for that-" Dusk added until he stopped when he understood something vital. Finally, Dusk understood it completely. There were situations that were beyond his control, but he couldn't live his life suffering because he couldn't control those things, he simply had to accept that they happen or didn't happen. "We simply must take advantage of our lives... without the fear of tomorrow, just live for today." Dusk said as he smiled at Pinkie, feeling as if he had woken up from a long sleep and could finally smile again as he pushed away his fears about the uncertainty of the future. "Live without the fear of tomorrow..." Pinkie repeated timidly, looking at Dusk's smiling face, with that smile that always comforted her in her moments of weakness. "That's right, just enjoy the present." Dusk said smiling and glancing around the old castle. "And if you're afraid, remember what a certain pink pony once told me right here... That together, we are stronger." Dusk added while still smiling warmly, while Pinkie opened her eyes with surprise when she saw that Dusk still remembered what she had told him that night that they defeated Nightmare Moon. Then Pinkie seemed to regain some life in her eyes, and despite the fact that her mane and tail were still straight, without a trace of her usual fluffiness, she felt a weight inside her vanish. She hugged Dusk tightly, feeling that she finally felt like she no longer had to face her biggest fear alone. Now they both kept a sad and cruel secret. Both had strong reasons to fear their own futures, and while that hadn't changed, they now both knew that neither of them was alone, and would fight for living their lives to the fullest without fear. After being embraced for several minutes in complete silence, just feeling the other's warmth and affection, Pinkie raised her head and saw Dusk, her beloved Dusk, who always saved her from her worst fears and who now shared a promise of life with her… "Live and enjoy life, without the fear of tomorrow..." Pinkie Pie thought as she admired the colt. Those words were burned into her, and now she had decided. She didn't want to wait any longer, she wanted to enjoy her life to the fullest, and that would only happen if HE was by her side. "Dusk..." Pinkie Pie said as a blush spread on her cheeks, knowing that she had made the final decision, the most important decision of her life, that of knowing which colt she wanted to have by her side in her life forever. "Oh no!" Dusk said suddenly, who just at that moment looked up at the sky through the destroyed roof of the castle and saw that it was late in the afternoon. "We need to get going! I almost forget it!" Dusk added, a little scared, remembering that his other friends had given him a very important mission. Although with everything that happened that day, he almost forgot it. Then Dusk broke away from the hug and looked towards the door of the old castle, but then he put a thoughtful look, he looked again at Pinkie and held out a hoof for her to take. "Come to me, I think I'll try something new." Dusk said with a smile. Seeing that she had lost her chance to declare her love, Pinkie softly sighed in frustration, then she put on a big smile, took Dusk's hoof, and launched herself to hug Dusk as hard as she could which made the colt blush. For the spell he planned to do, it was necessary for both of them to be together, but it wasn't necessary for them to be this close together. However, Dusk bit his lip and decided not to break the embrace, since the truth was that he loved being hugged by his soft and tender friend. Then Dusk closed his eyes and concentrated again. "Magic controls the aura around things, but to go further, I must understand that in reality… control doesn't exist." Dusk thought concentrating, remembering the mental exercises he had been practicing with Zecora and feeling that at last the last barrier of restriction was released, that of his own preconceptions, and he could finally see beyond what normal magic of a unicorn could achieve. "You cannot beat a river into submission; you have to surrender to its current and use its power as your own..." Dusk thought, remembering what Zecora had told him. At that moment, Dusk’s horn lit up with a huge flash, and the two ponies disappeared from the old castle in the middle of the Everfree Forest, instantly reappearing outside Sweet Apple Acres' barn. "Wow...! Did you really teleport us here from so far away!?" Pinkie said in amazement after seeing where they were. "Y-Yes..." Dusk said as he felt dizzy and exhausted, so much that he almost fell to the ground, but he was caught just in time by Pinkie Pie. "I'm sorry... It worked, but I think it wiped out all my magic reserve..." Dusk added, still dizzy, satisfied that he had broken his own limits, but also realizing that it also had its drawbacks. "Wait here, I'll find Applejack to help us get back to town." Pinkie said, a little worried at seeing Dusk so dizzy. "Don't worry, I just need to rest for a moment." Dusk said quickly, until he realized that he could take advantage of that inconvenience to achieve his plan. "Wait, actually… I think I do need a little help. Go get Applejack, I think she's in the barn." Dusk added pointing at Pinkie exactly where he wanted her to go. Pinkie quickly ran into the barn and opened the big door to call out for her friend. "SURPRISE!!" Pinkie Pie was caught completely off guard as Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash gave gigantic smiles while they threw balloons and confetti to the surprised pink pony. "W-What's going on…" Pinkie said with her eyes wide, so confused she wasn't sure what to ask first. "It's a surprise party for you, what does it look like?" Applejack cheered. "Geez! It took you a long time to bring her! I was about to go looking for you." Rainbow Dash added looking at Dusk. "Yeah, I'm sorry. There was… something that delayed us." Dusk said with a bashful smile, walking slowly behind Pinkie, as he was still a bit dizzy from his magical exhaustion. As Dusk entered the barn, Pinkie continued with her stunned eyes, looking around the barn, where her friends had beautifully adorned the barn with dozens of balloons, canvases and streamers, as well as several tables filled with food and cakes. "This... This is a party... For me?" Pinkie Pie said slowly, her mind still trying to process the surprise. "Yeah, that's why we didn't want you to have a party today." Fluttershy said with an embarrassed smile. "We even had to make up those silly excuses." "Quite right! You almost ruined the surprise." Rarity added and then took a closer look at Pinkie. "By the way, is that a new look?" the mare asked, referring to her straight mane. "You always throw parties for us, so yesterday we decided to throw you a surprise party." Dusk whispered close to Pinkie, as she saw that his friend still didn't say a word. “We just wanted a way to show you how much we appreciate you and your desire to spread happiness to everypony!” Upon discovering the truth of it all and seeing her friends so happy and concerned for her, Pinkie lowered her head and closed her eyes. "How could I ever distrust my friends..." Pinkie thought, feeling guilty, but at the same time very relieved. "They would never betray me… They… They still want to be my friends!" "Uh... Pinkie, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked worryingly, when she saw that her friend hid her face and that some tears fell to the floor. "Yes! I... I'm happier than you can imagine! Hehe!" Pinkie Pie said raising her head to see her friends. The ponies were surprised to see that her crying was not from sorrow but were in fact tears of joy. The pink mare had a huge smile and great joy in her heart to discover that her friends still loved her, a lot. Pinkie crouched down again and began to shake with excitement, then suddenly her mane and tail exploded back to how they normally were, and Pinkie jumped up with the biggest smile she had ever had in her life. "Now let’s get this party started!" Pinkie yelled with happiness. Thus, Pinkie Pie's party started in earnest, with all her best friends gathered there, just like at the party the day before. The only difference was that the members of the Apple family had also arrived a little after the party started, since the party was at their home, and Apple Bloom had also invited Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Spike and Big Mac talked animatedly among themselves, since it seemed that Spike had found out that the red stallion was a fan of a certain board game that he also loved. In another corner were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, planning some secret things between them. While in the center of everything was Dusk, who conversed with his five friends, chatting about trivial things, so as not to have to admit why he and Pinkie had taken so long to get there. Meanwhile, in another corner, was Granny Smith next to the turntable to listen to the music well, sitting on a chair and staring at Dusk Shine, smiling when she saw how the lavender colt blushed slightly every time one of his friends got too close to him. During a moment of the party, Dusk raised his head to look around and smiled at seeing how everyone smiled and laughed together as they chatted, danced and played with each other. And as he did so, unintentionally his eyes locked on Pinkie's, who inadvertently had also done the same. The pink mare wanted to keep that happy moment very well in her memory, until her eyes met those of Dusk. When their eyes met, both ponies smiled, feeling that they both thought exactly the same: "No matter what the future holds, the important thing is to treasure the moments that we have together..." The party continued and the mares again insisted on dancing with Dusk, but this time to the sound of the music. And just as in the previous party, each mare had her turn to dance with Dusk, although the dances were more awkward than those of the previous day. Every time Dusk danced with one of the mares, 'mysteriously' he would always bump into Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom, causing Dusk to get closer to his partner, which made him blush a lot. "Is something wrong, darling?" Rarity said, the mare madly blushing but trying to appear calm, after one of the fillies for the fifth time hit Dusk while they danced, causing Dusk to come dangerously close to Rarity's face. "N-Nothing is wrong." Dusk said, his face completely red having his friend so close, and even more ashamed to see that everyone saw him dancing that way. Although what he didn't see was that his other friends only saw their rival with jealous eyes, despite the fact that they had all had their moment dancing with Dusk. "Hehehe! Ain’t no difference at all…" Granny Smith laughed as she remembered something from her past when she saw poor Dusk blush every time a mare got too close to him. Suddenly the music stopped, and everyone looked towards the turntable, where Spike was staggering and pointing towards where the others were. "Stop there! Hic!" Spike yelled, pointing at a certain white mare and slowly approaching as he staggered. "What's going on? Does he think he’s drunk from drinking normal punch again?" Dusk asked, a bit annoyed. "N-Nope." Big Mac replied, hanging his head in shame as he raised his glass of punch. "He drank from my punch." "What!? Why did you give Spike a drink of your punch!?" Applejack asked in annoyance, knowing that the special cider that Big Mac drank was too strong, even for her. "He said he normally drank that kind of punch." Big Mac replied sadly. "Besides, he only took a sip." "YOU!" Spike screamed again, finally approaching his goal, taking the soft white hoof of his beloved and looking her directly into her beautiful eyes. "I… I love you!" Spike added in a cry, before kissing her beloved and falling unconscious from drunkenness. In the barn, everyone was surprised by Spike's sudden declaration, but no one was more surprised than Sweetie Belle, the mare who had just been declared, and that Spike in his drunkenness had mistaken for his older sister. "Oh… This is so embarrassing… The problems with being so beautiful." Sweetie Belle said blushing and covering her face in embarrassment. Then she glanced at Dusk and knew that her vision of seeing Spike and Dusk fighting for her love would come true. "Please Dusk, don't be mad at Spike. I… I have love for both of us!" Sweetie Belle said melodramatically, while Dusk just stared at her in confusion. Seeing that Spike had fallen unconscious again, Dusk decided to end his participation in the party and retire with Spike on his back. "See you tomorrow!" Dusk said goodbye with a smile. "Don't forget, tomorrow is a very special night." Dusk added smiling, knowing that her friends wouldn't forget the important date of the next day, after all, they had been looking forward to it for months. "I'll never have punch again... I swear..." Spike murmured on Dusk's back as they both retreated towards the library. Meanwhile, Big Mac retired sadly to his room, since he felt guilty for getting the little dragon so intoxicated. The three fillies retired to the house to chat about the shocking revelation of Spike's love towards Sweetie Belle, who continued to stroke her own ego at how scandalous the situation was. The only ones remaining in the barn were the five mares and Granny Smith, the former staying to clean everything inside the barn, while Granny Smith had only stared at Dusk with a smile as he walked away from there. "Why are you smiling so much, Granny?" Applejack asked, noticing how much the old mare was smiling throughout the party. "It's just that I hadn't noticed how similar young Dusk is to Grandpa Apple." Granny Smith answered, remembering fondly of her dear husband, who was no longer among them. "Really?" Applejack curiously asked, who hadn't gotten to know her grandfather before he had passed. "Yep! He was as shy with the mares as Dusk is, hehe." Granny Smith replied with a chuckle as she remembered her youth. "I liked your grandpa a lot, but every time I got close to him, he got more jittery than a junebug in January and ended up running for the hills, hehe…. Good times." "Wow, that sounds exactly like Dusk, he's always completely clueless to my awesomeness to do anything about it." Rainbow Dash added with a sigh, who, like her other friends, had come up to where Granny Smith was to hear her story. "Didn't matter how much I flirted with him, what gifts I gave him or what compliments I gave him. It seemed like he never realized my feelings." Granny Smith added, smiling longingly. "But then... how did you two end up together?" Rarity asked curiously, excited by that talk of love from Granny Smith. "Well... One day I just stopped him, looked at his handsome face and told him I liked him." Granny Smith answered, laughing at the memory. "There are some stallions so hardheaded that they don't realize how someone feels about them if someone don't yell at their faces, hehe." "Did you really do that!?" Fluttershy asked with a hot blush. "And what happened next?" "Next? Well, he turned all red and confessed that he was also pinning over me and he fell in love, as well. But the poor thing was so shy that he was afraid to tell me and break our friendship." Granny Smith said looking up at the sky with a smile. "It was the happiest time of my life... very happy..." Granny Smith added, falling softly asleep remembering such a happy memory. Seeing that Granny Smith had fallen asleep, Applejack indicated her friends to be quiet and they all continued to tidy up the barn while trying to make as little noise as possible. Finally, the five mares finished cleaning, said their proper goodbyes, and each took their route home: Rainbow Dash flying towards her house in the clouds, Fluttershy going to her cottage in the forest clearing, Rarity walking slowly with her little sister towards the town, while Pinkie was going ahead with her jumps to get home early, and Applejack walking to her house that was next to the barn, while Big Mac was in charge of putting Granny Smith to bed. And although the five mares were walking in different directions, without knowing it, the five mares had a goal in common, a goal that they had decided they must reach once and for all. "Tomorrow is an important day… perhaps the most important day of the year. If not tomorrow, when will it be? I... I can't wait any longer... I need to tell him!" Rarity thought determinedly. "Granny Smith is right… I can't doubt myself anymore! I already made my decision; I just lacked the right moment... And tomorrow will be that special moment!" Applejack thought decisively. "This is your chance. If I'm not firm, I can never achieve anything. I... must leave my fears behind and... And have courage! Tomorrow is the day!" Fluttershy thought, sighing and inhaling hard to pluck up her courage. "This is the most important race of my life, and I'm not going to lose it! I was waiting for this moment, finally the occasion is right and I'm ready!" Rainbow Dash thought with a look of security. "I have to live in the moment! I was going to do it today when he hugged me, but if it's not today, it'll definitely be tomorrow! At the most important party of all!" Pinkie Pie thought smiling with a determined look. And unbeknownst to them, the five mares at the same time shouted in their minds the same sentence full of determination: "TOMORROW AT THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA, I'LL DECLARE MY FEELINGS TO DUSK SHINE!" End of chapter 52