//------------------------------// // The Hardest Confession // Story: Potions Are Serious Business // by Rough_Draft //------------------------------// Part III: The Hardest Confession Through the night-covered city, the red-hooded pegasus fled. Fear tucked her wings tight against her body. Fear kept her from looking back at her friend. She had failed again, and now she had to run before it was too late. When a wave of lavender magic sprang up in front of her, the pegasus vanished. She cried out, only to reappear inside the library, where the unicorn stood waiting. Her cheeks burned with shame as the pegasus pulled off her hood and let down her flowing mane. --- Twilight couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Fluttershy stood in the middle of the library, wearing a suspicious red cape and looking very guilty. Spike wandered in from the kitchen, wearing a chef’s hat and holding a cookbook. “What’s going on, guys?” “Nothing that concerns you, Spike.” Twilight kept her eyes fixed on Fluttershy. “Can you give us a moment alone, please?” The dragon hesitantly glanced at Fluttershy, then looked back at Twilight. He averted his eyes and ducked back into the kitchen as fast as he could. “I just can’t believe it,” said Twilight. She began to pace back and forth, brimming with fury. “I just can’t believe that one of my best friends would think it’s okay to use a… a love potion on me!” “It’s not—” “No, no excuses!” Twilight whirled on the pegasus with her horn raised aggressively. “I just want answers. I want to know why.” Fluttershy’s bottom lip quivered. Then she dropped onto the floor, drawing her red cloak around herself for protection. Her mane hid all but a single teary eye. Twilight wondered if this was all just an elaborate act, like she was supposed to feel sorry for her friend. “Well?” Twilight stamped her hooves. “I’m waiting.” “It’s not a love potion…” Twilight stared. “What do you mean? Of course it is!” “No, I… you see…” Fluttershy squealed as she lifted her head. “I asked Zecora to make me a… a courage potion so I…” When she tossed her mane out of her eyes, Twilight could see tears streaming down her face. “So that I could tell you… that I loved you…” The unicorn froze. “What?” “Oh, I’m sorry!” Fluttershy started to sob as she got back onto her hooves. She pulled up the hood of her cloak. “I’m so sorry!” “Fluttershy, wait!” But it was too late. The pegasus ran out the front door. Twilight raced after her, but her yellow friend was already up in the air, flying straight for home at incredible speed. Twilight fell back onto her haunches. She felt tears of her own beginning to form. “Oh Celestia,” she breathed. “What have I done?” --- The next morning, Twilight didn’t bother with breakfast. She barely brushed her mane. She was wandering the streets of Ponyville, lost in a fog of her own thoughts. The day before, all she could think about was Fluttershy. Imagining her betrayal and assuming that she had some diabolical scheme to make Twilight fall in love with her. And yet again, all Twilight could think about was Fluttershy, and how very sorry she was. She’d failed in her studies. Instead of keeping an open mind and acting on clear evidence, she’d let a snap judgment get the better of her. Zecora had been trying to tell her the truth. She could see that now. That knowledge burned Twilight deep inside. All she could picture now was poor Fluttershy, locked up inside her cottage and bawling her eyes out. After some more aimless trotting, she ended up near Carousel Boutique. Perhaps what she needed was a chat with Rarity to sort things out. --- “Oh, why that’s terrible! How could think such a thing about poor Fluttershy?” Twilight dropped her head on the kitchen table. “I know. I guess I was under a lot of stress. I really wanted to see how far I could get on this love research project—” “Research?” Rarity laughed as she magically set down her teacup. “Oh, no, no, dear Twilight! You can’t just quantify love! It’s enchantment! It’s magnificent! It defies all logic! I mean, you’ve been in love before, haven’t you?” Twilight shook her head. “I never bothered with that in Canterlot. I barely even had time for making friends, let alone finding romance. All I had were my studies and Spike.” “Aww, my little Spikey-wikey.” Rarity took another sip of tea, then looked at her friend with concern. “Well, try to think of love as… er…” She looked around her kitchen. Then her face brightened and she cast a spell to summon a line of ribbon. “Like this ribbon! A dress might seem fine on its own, but once you add this ribbon, it becomes all the more beautiful!” Fashion was not Twilight’s specialty, but she could appreciate what Rarity was trying to say. Fluttershy really was a gentle and caring pony who had always been a good friend to Twilight, but when she developed a crush, the timid pegasus became somepony more complex and… interesting. “Did she ever mention this to you?” Twilight gestured at herself. “How she felt about me?” Rarity blushed. “Oh, well, never out loud. But I could always read the signs. To be perfectly honest, she never was the bravest pony, but her confidence has gotten a lot stronger ever since you came to Ponyville.” Twilight frowned, trying to remember that first day in town. It was the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. She’d interrupted Fluttershy during a rehearsal of her bird choir. The pegasus had been so embarrassed that she could hardly say her own name or look Twilight in the eye. Oh, she’d brightened up once she saw the baby dragon Spike, but she’d always been skittish in social matters. But the strange thing was, Rarity was right. Twilight remembered the quest to find the dragon, the water funnel to Cloudsdale, the task of reforming Discord, and that whole fiasco with the switched-up cutie marks. Every time, she saw Fluttershy’s terrified face, but there was always an attempt at bravery when Twilight spoke to her. I can’t get her out of my head now, Twilight thought. I just want to hug her and tell her… and tell her… “Twilight?” Rarity tapped the table with her hoof. “Are you alright, dear?” The other unicorn sat up. She felt her cheeks turning red. Her pulse was racing. Her brow was a little sweaty. A moment passed before she could figure out what was wrong. “I… I wasn’t…” Twilight looked down at her hooves. She remembered what Spike had said before about falling for Rarity, how his heart beat whenever he thought about her. She had never given love a chance before. And through every twist and turn, her research kept leading her back to Fluttershy. Even now, her tear-stricken face was all she could think about. She’d gotten so mad and she felt awful about it. If it had been any other friend, Twilight reasoned, she wouldn’t have been quite so mad. She would have chalked it up to a prank by Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Rarity would never have bothered with a potion when she had her own natural charm, and Applejack was too immersed in her family farm to worry about romance (except for a little late-night reading). But Fluttershy was so sweet and innocent. It seemed so out of character—until Twilight had learned it was a courage potion she’d been after. Now she needed a little courage of her own. “I’ve been so foalish,” Twilight confessed. She looked up at Rarity. “I have to know. That red cloak she wears? Did you design that for her?” “Well, yes. A modest request, but then, one does what one can for friends—” “Great! Because I’ve got a request of my own…”