//------------------------------// // Twilight's Clue // Story: Forging Friendship // by flame phoenix //------------------------------// "FLUTTERSHY!" Yelled Rainbow Dash, hammering at the flimsy cottage door; "You've been in there for three WEEKS! We need you! You are the only pony who knows how Twilight died!" "Sugar-cube, ah'm sorry but we're gonna knock down your door if ya'll don' open it!" Applejack shouted through the key-hole. Fluttershy whimpered; "Please don't knock the door down, you'll scare all the small creatures in here!" Pinkie bounced up to the cottage. "Ooh! Ooh! I know! We can-" She whispered urgently to Rainbow and A.J. "I dunno, Sugar-cube, sounds a bit un-safe, ya'll know?" A.J. scratched her head. "I'll take it! This is desperate, but we ARE desperate!" Rainbow rubbed her hooves together. "YAY!" Yelled Pinkie. "On the count of cupcakes! ONE, TWO, CUPCAKES!" A pink explosion full of streamers and balloons was heard all the way in Canterlot. A lot of sparkles and pink smoke was still about after five minutes; a lot of coughing and spluttering followed. "YAY! IT WORKED!" Pinkie pie yelled happily. The flimsy cottage door was blown off it's hinges, but amazingly that was all that happened to the cottage. Fluttershy stood shivering on the door step, one foot higher than the others and wearing a straw hat similar to A.J's. Bits of cake and streamers were in Fluttershy's mane, and she looked completely zonked out. "PARTY GRENADES! Buy one get one free! Three varieties to choose from: Pineapple cake, base-ball cup-cake, or pink surprise deluxe!" Pinkie shouted. "I'm guessing that was the pink surprise?" Rainbow laughed. "Horse-apples! Are you okay, Flutters?" A.J waved her hat in front of Fluttershy; she just stared ahead without blinking. "Darn! Ah think we over did it; she's in shock!" "Never mind that, how come she's so tall? And her wings are bigger!" Rainbow stared enviously at the cream mare. "Not fair! She got a straw hat just like you, A.J! I've been wanting one of those for AGES!" Pinkie frowned. Pinkie reached for the straw hat; "Pinkie! Don't touch it, it hurts!" Fluttershy finally snapped out of her trance and slowly moved backwards. "Fluttershy! Oh, heavens ta bettsy! Thank god ya'll alright!" Applejack wiped the sweat of her brow; "No! Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie: get away from me! I'm a danger to myself, but I don't want to hurt you guys! Please!" Fluttershy kept moving backwards until she stumbled over something. The straw hat fell of her head, revealing her horn. "Okay, what the HAY is going on?!" Rainbow stared at Fluttershy. "First you close your self off from the rest of Equestria, then we see that you have a fake horn on your head, and you declare it hurts. What the buck is going on?!" Fluttershy collapsed to the floor; she was shivering as if she had a bad case of chills and tears pouring from her face. "She told me to! *sob* I had to *sob* and I didn't stop her *sobsobsob* I couldn't do it! I failed! I'm a failure!" This sudden change of emotion stunned Applejack back to her senses. "Sugar-cube, Ahm sure it wasn't yer fault." She glared at Rainbow Dash; "Pinkie, can ya get some apple juice from Big Mac? Tell him it's fer medical purposes." Pinkie, who had been mysteriously silent the whole time, hopped off without a word. Some thing told Rainbow and A.J she knew some thing they didn't. Fluttershy got up weakly; "I owe you guys an explanation. Living room, if you please." _________________________________________________________________________________________________ "So," Rainbow said slowly, "Are you telling us that a two billion year old mad mare that killed Twilight is actually the Crimson Mare? Dude, that is NOT cool." "Well, that's also why the Wenigos were up in the sky; the Mare carries a aura of hate and spite, which causes the Wendigos to take to the skies." Fluttershy nodded. "That's all mighty fine, but why didn't Twilight decide to tell us?" Applejack asked. "She said that if she did you'd do something stupid to stop her, you know, commit suicide. She-she-" Fluttershy collapsed again in tears. "Fluttershy, don't take it so hard; I heard Spitfire almost killed herself while in a dive, said something about Twilight death being her fault. Trust me, I don't have enough party equipment to do another TWO parties!" Pinkies hair had regained most of its bushiness, but her curls hung lank, as if they had given up. "Th-thanks, Pinkie." Fluttershy sniffed. "Oh, by the way, where's Rarity?" A.J, Rainbow and Pinkie exchanged dark looks. "She, um, abandoned us," Rainbow hung her head. "SHE WHAT?!" Shouted Fluttershy; "She abandoned us, Flutters." A.J answered. "I know, she even set her place up for sale!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Your kidding!" Fluttershy started shaking. "You have to be kidding!" "Sugar-cube, ahm sorry but its true!" Applejack lowered her hat. "Alright, guys, listen up: we HAVE to find Rarity! We just have to! Hasta La Vesta, girls!" Fluttershy swung on a straw sun hat and vanished in a 'poof' of pink smoke. "She could give Celestia lessons!" Rainbow shook her head. Applejack was stunned; "What in the hay just happened?" she asked her expression blank. "Wow, that was dramatic!" Pinkies eyebrows were now hidden by her mane. The flimsy cottage was silent for ten minutes before any pony finally realised they were allowed to talk. Angel face pawed; he started tugging at Applejack's hoof, then ran out of patience and tugged at her mane. "What in- oh, it's ya'll Angel." The white rabbit pointed at Applejack, then the living room door, then imitated reading. When A.J didn't respond, he just dragged her to the door. "Ya'll want me to leave, Angel?" The bunny shook his head and pointed at a piece of paper stuck to the door. Applejack gingerly tugged it off the door; Angel pointed at the piece of paper and mimed reading. Again. A.J took one look at the paper before collapsing in a faint. "Applejack!" Rainbow zoomed over, concerned. "She's fine, just fainted, don't worry. But I wonder what caused her to faint?" Pinkie gently took the note from Applejack. "WAAA?!" She tumbled over shaking like a leave. "What is it?" Rainbow snatched the note out of Pinkie's grip, just in time to notice a curly signature being drawn by a quill, suspended in mid-air. The message was not written by magic, because there was no sign of the sparkly cloud that usually encased the object being suspended. When the quill finished, it dropped to the floor, a normal quill. Dear Friends, I'm sorry, did I frighten you? Applejack looks, well... any way, straight to the point: my sources tell me that Rarity is missing, correct? Fluttershy is already on the case, as you know. Sorry for the inconvenience and the fright I gave you! By the way, you can write to me via Spike; I know he is still in hospital, but you ask him to send me one when he is better. Your good friend, Twilight Sparkle.