//------------------------------// // The Twilight Zone // Story: Apple Bloom’s Secret // by YourUncleFuncle //------------------------------// Sadness, pity, and tears filling up her eyes. This was all Sweetie Belle felt as she saw one of her two best friends in the entire world, Apple Bloom, running away from her at full speed to get away from her. She wanted to follow her and to try to reassure her that everything was alright, and even though she was feeling sad that day, tomorrow was a new day full of endless possibilities for happiness. But she had already tried that, not once, but now twice, ending in Apple Bloom’s painful revelation and her hasty departure. Sweetie Belle wiped the tears away from her eyes and pondered what she should do next. What could she do? She was only just a filly, barely comprehending what Apple Bloom was going through herself. She thought about going against her gut feeling and galloping after Apple Bloom because at the very least she wouldn’t have to be alone then, and she’d have somepony’s shoulder to cry on if she needed it. Sweetie Belle shook the thought away knowing that it would do little, especially since she was still just a filly herself, and if Apple Bloom didn’t want to listen to her, then maybe she would listen to an adult instead. But it would have to be somepony outside of the Apple family since she wasn’t sure if they would be accepting knowing their rather conservative beliefs. She turned around and started to walk away for the first time since she had tried to comfort her friend, and was thinking of who she should ask when she got back to Ponyville. Rarity was the first pony that came to mind, but she felt that she had already told Rarity too much, and also she would probably figure out that Diamond Tiara never said any of those things to her, which would get the unicorn filly into trouble. Next was Cheerilee, their faithful teacher, who would probably be kind and supportive to the filly, and that wasn’t what worried Sweetie Belle. What did was if Apple Bloom reacted badly as she had just done, it would become very awkward in the classroom for both ponies, which Sweetie Belle didn’t want to be the cause of. Then there was Fluttershy, a mare synonymous with kindness and understanding, more than any other pony Sweetie Belle knew. No matter how Apple Bloom felt, or anypony for that matter, Fluttershy would be there to listen, and ever since they had slept over at her cottage the three had felt a special connection to her, so she would be perfect to talk to. That is, she would be perfect if she wasn’t out of town right now to visit Tree Hugger. Sweetie Belle could feel all of her options slipping away as she thought of one final pony, one who was both mature enough and understanding enough and would know what to do in this situation. She wasn’t as close to the three fillies as Cheerilee, Fluttershy, or even Pinkie Pie to an extent, but they had definitely learned a thing or two from her over the years. Without another thought, Sweetie Belle quickened her pace and galloped in the direction of a certain castle just on the edge of Ponyville. She got to the shiny crystal castle in a few minutes, and she knocked on the door eagerly and waited for a response. After a minute or so the doors opened, revealing a small purple whose face brightened when he saw that it was Sweetie Belle. “Oh, hi Sweetie Belle! What brings you to the castle?” “Hey Spike,” Sweetie Belle greeted back, a smile gracing her face, “I need to talk to Twilight about something. Is she busy right now?” “Well, I’m pretty sure she’s studying right now, but she didn’t tell me to leave her alone for the afternoon so I think she’ll be alright to see you.” “Thanks, Spike. Do you know where she would be?” “She’s in the library,” Spike said absentmindedly. He turned to start to walk back from where he came for a few seconds before he realized something. “You don’t know how to get to the library here, do you?” The only response that he received was a sheepish smile, so he motioned for her to follow him as he led the way through the hallways of the giant castle. After a wave of silence struck them, Spike broke it by asking, “So why did you want to talk to Twilight? If you don’t mind me asking that is.” Sweetie Belle thought for a moment before responding. “It’s kind of private, but not anything bad to worry about.” That was a lie. It was pretty bad, but Sweetie Belle didn’t want Spike worrying or asking anymore questions, so she told a teeny lie. At least it wasn’t a complete lie, it was a private matter. “Alright then, we’re here,” Spike pointed a claw toward a big red door that was currently slightly ajar. “If you’ll please excuse me, I have a very important issue of Power Ponies to get back to. Have a good night.” Both dragon and pony waved at each other before Spike walked down a hallway and out of sight, becoming engulfed in the castle, while Sweetie Belle went to the door he had pointed out and lightly knocked her small hoof on it. She heard a little bit of rustling from the inside and then hoofsteps hitting the floor and growing louder and louder, stopping as the door swung open. The open door revealed a slightly tired looking Twilight Sparkle, clearly the result of one of her intense study sessions. She looked down at the filly and her face immediately brightened. “Sweetie Belle! This is a pleasant surprise!” Sweetie Belle nervously smiled up at her magic mentor, trying to think of what to say for a return response. “Hello, Twilight. I was wondering if I could talk to you about something important for a second.” “No problem, Sweetie. Come on in!” She stepped aside to let the crusader in. Sweetie Belle was trying to puzzle out how she would open up the conversation, and how she could ask Twilight for her help when it wasn’t really for her. She had no doubts in her mind that the princess would want to help, but she still wasn’t sure how Twilight would respond. “Should I just ask her to come and talk to Apple Bloom? No, she wouldn’t think it’s important. Should I tell her that I think she might be depressed? Maybe, but that would probably be a given. Should I tell her that...that she likes other fillies? I mean, I promised not to tell anypony, but it might be necessary to do it if-” “Are you okay, Sweetie Belle?” The question snapped the filly out of her thoughts, and she realized from her surroundings that she had sat down on a velvet red couch and that Twilight had done the same across from her, a coffee table in the middle. She looked up at the mare and saw a slight look of concern on her features. Sweetie Belle took a deep breath and decided to just roll with the punches. “I am, but the reason why I wanted to talk with you today is that I think somepony else needs your help.” There was a little bit of silence between them before Twilight nodded her head to encourage Sweetie Belle to continue. “Well, I’m just really worried about Apple Bloom is all. She’s been down lately and it seems like it’s only getting worse as we go on. At first, it was just small, like zoning out here and there or not being as active in our meetings, but then it got more and more noticeable. Tonight, she...well, uh, said some things to me that made me realize that she wasn’t okay.” She could see Twilight’s face grow even more worried, but she just sat and thought for a minute. “Do you know why she’s so sad?” Twilight asked. Sweetie Belle panicked on the inside. This was the question she had dreaded, and she hadn’t come up with an answer to it, so all she was able to do was put her head down and lightly nod. Twilight saw the sad filly get even sadder when she did that. “Did you promise her that you wouldn’t tell anypony?” She nodded again. “Alright, well then why did you decide to come to me?” For once, Sweetie had the answer to the question prepared, having just thought about it only minutes earlier. “I thought since you know so much maybe you’d be the best pony for her to talk to.” The alicorn nodded in understanding, stood up, and smiled sweetly. “I think we should definitely go see her if you’re that worried about her.” She barely finished her sentence before Sweetie Belle ran up and jumped at her to hug her, almost like a white bowling ball trying to knock down a purple pin. “Thank you so much, Twilight! I knew you’d be able to help!” “What are friends for?” Twilight asked, hugging her back. When they released the hug together, they trotted out of the library together. “Spike! I’m going to Sweet Apple Acres for a little bit!” Twilight announced. “You’ll be fine right?” Spike uttered some sort of response that couldn’t be heard behind his closed bedroom door, but Twilight just continued to lead Sweetie Belle through the hallway and out the door, beginning the trek to the farm. The filly and the mare were getting closer to the farm now, and right about on time too, because the sun was beginning its descent, making the sky turn yellow and orange. They hadn’t said much to each other since leaving, both consumed in their thoughts. Twilight was still trying to process the information she was given, and although it wasn’t too much, it was still difficult why a cheerful filly like Apple Bloom could get as sad as Sweetie Belle said she was. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle was imagining her friend’s reaction to when she showed up less than an hour after they had seen each other last with Twilight, and a thought came to her head that hadn’t before. “What if her family sees her and gets suspicious? She mentioned that she thought she would get thrown out on the street if they found out, but they would never do that! I know the Apples, and I know that they place the importance of family above all else, and they would never just abandon one of their own, right?” “You seem worried.” Sweetie Belle looked over at Twilight and just stared blankly at her for a second before lowering her head and nodding. “I am. I really am.” “I see,” Twilight said, her voice soft and calming. “I think that you are such a good friend to try to help her as much as you possibly can, even if that requires getting somepony else, and I admire that.” Sweetie Belle’s face morphed into a small smile of gratitude for a second before changing back to being thoughtful and slightly saddened. “Twilight, do you ever feel like you don’t have all the answers?” Twilight turned to the filly and responded, “Yes, I suppose I do feel that way a lot of the time. I think that’s why I spend so much of my time studying.” “Well, even though I know the reason why she’s so sad, I don’t understand why. To me, it’s not that big of a deal, which makes me wonder why it’s such a big deal to her. I may not understand it exactly, but I do know that she is suffering from a lot of stress and depression right now, and that’s why I figured I needed somepony who was able to understand what she’s going through more.” Sweetie Belle paused for a second before continuing. “And I don’t mean that you have the same problem as her, I was just thinking that maybe you’d be able to help her through the problem better than any other pony that’s available.” “And that confirms that you’re definitely a good friend to her,” Twilight beamed brighter than the sun behind her. “I want you to know you’re doing the right thing, and whatever it is, I know that I will try my hardest to help her. For her, you, and- wait, does Scootaloo know about any of this?” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “As far as I can tell I’m the only pony she’s told, although I think Scootaloo has at least noticed a little bit.” “Would you say she would be reluctant to open up to me?” “I hate to say it, but you may have a little bit of work to do, I’m sorry.” Twilight shook off the apology with a hoof wave. “It’s nothing to be sorry about. Fillies and colts, and even mares and stallions sometimes, often have a hard time coming out of their shells when they need to share their feelings. Trust me, everypony will do it at one point or another.” “Okay,” Sweetie Belle nodded, but then a thought came to her. “Uh, Twilight? Does my sister ever try hiding her feelings like that?” Twilight giggled a little bit before answering, “Not really. She’s more of an open book if you know what I mean.” “Indeed I do darling,” Sweetie Belle said with an almost perfect imitation of her sister. The two laughed together as they got closer to the barn which was now in sight. The joke had lightened the mood a lot, but now it tensed up again when they walked along the dirt road, mere hoofsteps away from the porch. Sweetie Belle and Twilight Sparkle both took a small breath in and then out before Twilight turned to her small friend. “Ready Sweetie Belle?” “Ready for anything,” Sweetie Belle declared, but on the inside, she wasn’t sure if that was one hundred percent true. Twilight shot her friend one last smile before taking the lead up to the front door and knocking on it. “I hope you know you’re doing the right thing,” Twilight reassured the filly one last time, taking some of the anxiety Sweetie felt and replacing it with an air of confidence, before the door swung open, revealing Applejack in her typical jovial mood, enhanced when she saw her friends. “Oh, hey Twi! What brings you and Sweetie Belle here so late?”