Well, it went without saying that Twilight was now even more confused about what to do for Cleansing Day. On one hoof, she could certainly see the perspective of the ponies for it, but on the other, Rainbow's point almost seemed to negate their points in her mind. She hadn't stopped to consider the fact that the rest of the ponies who participated would likely have not dealt with racism on the level that Rainbow Dash did.
Needless to say, she was glad to be back at the library so that she could be done with the whole thing. If anypony came by asking for a book and wanted to participate, she'd respond, but otherwise, she was done with the whole thing.
Twilight opened the door to her library home and deeply exhaled. It was good to be back. Her initial assessment of the Ponyville folk was correct, it seemed. They were all crazy.
"Spike, I'm back," she called out as she put her saddlebag on the back of a chair. She put her box of cupcakes on the counter and eagerly sat down on the chair next to the table. It was good to be home. "I've got cupcakes if you want some."
Twilight instantly heard the pitter-patter of dragon feet as Spike ran down the stairs towards the table. He gave Twilight a greeting nod before grabbing the box and flipping it open. He grabbed two of the cupcakes and immediately shoved one into his mouth, a wide grin appearing on his face as he did. Twilight gave him a small smirk and picked up one of her own. "Glad you like them."
Spike swallowed his cupcake and was just about to respond when Twilight heard the door to the library open and the voice of the only friend she had yet to see that day float through the building. "Twilight? Are you here?"
Twilight stood up from her seat and walked into the main room of the library where Fluttershy was looking around to see where Twilight was. "Hey, Fluttershy. How are you today?"
Fluttershy turned her head to the source of Twilight's voice, and smiled when she saw her friend. "Oh I'm doing well. I'm just here because I'm looking for a book on garden pests. You see, I was growing some carrots for Angel Bunny, but they started getting eaten by some parasites, and I'm not sure how best to stop them."
Twilight returned Fluttershy's smile and walked over to one of her bookshelves. "Definitely. I have a few books like that." She levitated a dark blue book off of the shelf and floated it over to Fluttershy, who took it in her hooves. "Keep it as long as you need it."
Fluttershy nodded and flipped the book open to the table of contents and began scanning it. As she did, a little nagging thought entered Twilight's mind, and she weakly cleared her throat. "Uh, Fluttershy? What do you think about Cleansing Day?"
Fluttershy let out a little squeak, and the book dropped from her hooves. She blushed and picked it back up. "Sorry, um... I don't participate."
"Somehow I didn't think so." Twilight shrugged and walked over to her comfy chair. "I'm curious as to why, though. I mean, I've heard the perspective of the rest of our friends, but I haven't heard yours."
Fluttershy flattened her ears and let out a pained sigh. She shook her head and sat down on a chair next to Twilight. "Well, I guess it goes back to how I was raised." Fluttershy uneasily rubbed one of her forelegs. "I... I have an uncle who would... benefit from getting his angry feelings out in a healthy way." Fluttershy shook her head and glanced over at Twilight. "Because of him coming over during family get-togethers and getting drunk, I... um... I know pretty much every racial slur out there."
Twilight flattened her own ears and flinched back. "Oh. Yeah, I guess that would kind of sour you to the whole idea."
Fluttershy nodded and sighed again. "Not just for the three tribes either." Fluttershy grimaced. "'Rat wings' for Princess Luna's bat ponies, 'turkey heads' for griffins, 'shinys' for crystal ponies, 'schnangdoodles' for--"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second!" Twilight's eyes widened as she realized just what Fluttershy had said. "Do you mean to tell me that my nickname for my brother, the prince of the Crystal Empire inhabited by crystal ponies, is also a racial slur for said crystal ponies?!"
Fluttershy's ears flattened again, and she bit her lip as she looked away from Twilight. "Well, I guess when you put it that way..."
Twilight groaned and facehooved, the beginnings of a weak headache appearing at the base of her horn. "Well, I guess I can't ever call him that again," she muttered.
Fluttershy put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder and gave her a small smile. "It's not that bad, Twilight. It's not like you knew. You just have to be careful who you call him that around, that's all."
"That might work if he was anypony but the prince of the Crystal Empire!" Twilight groaned and rubbed her temples. "Any other nicknames that I've given that are racial slurs? When I call you 'Flutters,' is that a racial slur against pegasi?"
Fluttershy lightly chuckled, but shook her head. "No. Not as far as I'm aware." Her smile quickly faded "But I guess you can kinda see why I wouldn't want to participate in today." Fluttershy tilted her head in a sort of shrug. "I guess..." She hesitated for a brief moment. "I'd always see the way that my uncle would act when he was saying those things, and I never wanted to be that. To me, this day is a day where I could kinda see myself becoming that. I tried it once, and... and I remembered my uncle and how he acted, and I never did it again." Fluttershy's small smile returned. "Applejack says that it's too bad that I abstain because I'm probably the best pony in Ponyville at it."
"Which makes you uncomfortable because of your uncle."
Fluttershy nodded. "Yeah. I guess I don't do it for similar reasons to Rainbow Dash. I've had some bad experiences, and so I don't really feel comfortable participating."
Twilight nodded and leaned back in the chair. "How often do you see your uncle?"
"Every year during Hearth's Warming Eve at least once." Fluttershy uneasily rubbed the back of her neck. "Um... well, that's how I figured out about the 'shiny' slur." Fluttershy let out a quiet scoff. "Did you hear that a new breed of ponies appeared the other day? I thought those stinkin' shinys were extinct, or somethin'. Good riddance, I thought." Fluttershy grimaced again and shook her head. "I think you can guess that I didn't tell him that I was there after the Crystal Empire reappeared, and I definitely didn't tell him that the Crystal Heart turned us into crystal ponies temporarily."
"Makes sense."
Fluttershy shrugged and got to her hooves. "I don't think less of ponies for doing it, because I know they deal with it that way, but I don't really want to bother anypony by being any good at it. I know that that's the point, but I'm scared that because of my uncle I'd be too good at it." Fluttershy picked up the book and put it in her saddlebag. "I guess it's just not for me."