Waking up at half six in the morning is a mixed blessing. On the one hand one is allowed ample time to meticulously plan the forthcoming day in excessive detail. Of course on the other hand nearly any action you do want to perform immediately must be delayed to a 'reasonable' hour. Sleep was out of the question, and she couldn't make too much noise for fear of waking up Spike. Even after dragging out her normal morning routine, carrying out each phase as slow as she could; it was still only quarter to eight. Right, so I can probably go at around ten, at the earliest. Ten is reasonable, right? I'm fairly certain Fluttershy will be awake by then. Then we can sort out this sordid situation. What does one do for two hours? Go for a walk? Ponies do that, right? Would it be normal to wander the streets of Ponyville at eight in the morning, or is that very weird?
In the end, somewhat inevitably, Twilight resigned herself to reading. Half nine rolled around and Spike was still sleeping, uttering something about banana sundaes in his slumber. Twilight didn't want to leave Spike without telling him what she was doing, but she also couldn't bring herself to awaken him, so she handed Owlowiscious a note to pass on. The sun had now fully risen, and the streets were showing a semblance of life. Twilight trotted out of her library and set off to Fluttershy's cottage, at a fairly rapid pace. After roughly half an hour Twilight found herself walking up to Fluttershy's front door, her mind still set on what confrontation she could achieve. Gently, she knocked on the door, so as not to startle the animals that Fluttershy housed, or indeed Fluttershy herself. She could hear a stirring from behind the door, which was soon followed by the door opening.
"Oh, hi Twilight, is there something you need?" The shy Pegasus inquired, politely.
"No, I just wanted to talk, that's okay, right? I haven't interrupted anything, have I?"
"Oh, no. Please, come right in, I'll get you something to drink." Fluttershy stepped aside to let her friend in, before rushing off to fetch them both some concoction that she knocked up quickly. Twilight accepted this offering graciously, before the two of them took their seat.
"So... um... about yesterday," As Twilight said this Fluttershy looked around somewhat awkwardly, before ostensibly whispering the words,
"Wh-what about yesterday, Twilight?" Fluttershy shot a fake, awkward smile to Twilight, clearly uneasy with the situation.
"Well, um, I just wanted to know what you think about, well... you know?" Fluttershy retreated into herself, as if she was trying to hide in her mane.
"I'm fine with... that." The words seemed tortured, and the last word was a barely audible squeak. There was no hint of deceit about Fluttershy's words, but she was certainly uncomfortable.
"Um... Fluttershy, are you okay, 'cause you seem kinda-"
"Oh, no, no, no! I am fine with it, honestly, its just that..." Fluttershy's voice trailed off, it was lost to her. It was with a sense of trepidation that Twilight continued.
"'Just that' what? Is something wrong, Fluttershy?" Fluttershy was nervous, visibly more so than usual.
"Um, no... well, yes- I mean... kind of." There was a prevailing sense of silence, awkwardness, fear. Twilight desperately wanted to know more, but at the same time feared whatever it was that Fluttershy had to tell her.
"Well, um, its not so much about me, but about Rainbow Dash; she's a bit... weird... about 'fillyfooling'," Fluttershy took a short pause, but whether this was to allow the proverbial dust to clear, or she was just too mentally exhausted to continue was unclear.
"'Weird'?"
"Well, yes. When we were younger she was, um, bullied a lot. The other ponies thought she was weird, 'tomboyish', and she got into fights... a lot. It wasn't long before her parents got... concerned about her. Her father didn't like that she was different to the other ponies; he thought she was a... fillyfooler. He didn't like that; he was old fashioned, and he... he kinda taught her that they were bad, immoral. I think she really started to believe him." The cottage fell silent after Fluttershy finished, even the animals didn't break the quiet. Twilight desperately wanted a way out, she would have to take in what she just learned within the privacy of her own home.
"Uh-um... thanks, Fluttershy... Is that all? I think I should go now, alright?" Twilight tried to act normally, but she knew that she was losing the battle for damage control. She could feel tears welling up in the corner of her eye and, try as she might, she couldn't suppress them. Fluttershy realized how upset she seemed to make her friend, which in turn upset Fluttershy herself. She allowed to Twilight to depart, refusing to address the growing elephant in the room.
Twilight hurried home. She didn't run; so as not to draw attention to herself, but she hurried none the less. When she finally did reach her library she swiftly dodged her assistants and locked herself in her room. Back in the safe embrace of her bed she felt free to allow the tears to flow, free, strong and unopposed.
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I know this wasn't as long as I promised, and it is very late, but the truth was either finish it here or write it Friday and hope I had another chapter left in me, as I couldn't do it tomorrow as it is training time with the Mighty Rangers. This chapter hasn't gone exactly the way I wanted; for example I feel the whole "Talk" is rushed, forced and unnatural. However it does indeed say what I need it to say, which is ultimately the end goal, to tell a story.
Once more 50 loves to the person who identifies the source for the chapter name. It was going to be Outsiders by Franz Ferdinand, but I went for this instead, because I am indeed the unpredictable rogue of the fanfiction community.