//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: Fluttershy's Secret 
// Story: Secrets Shine Brighter 
// by MemoryLane 
//------------------------------//

        “Uh, beg yer pardon? So that’s the deal with all this here fog?” Applejack asked. Her eye had been cocked for the last fifteen minutes as Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity all explained just what was going on. It was ridiculously difficult, however, considering they did not even have the slightest idea themselves. Applejack found herself with more questions than she originally started with.

        “We haven’t completely figured everything out,” Twilight concluded. “but I have started putting a few pieces together… but not much of this is making sense.” 

        Applejack nodded, but did not say anything else. Rarity had been subtly dancing in place behind the two of them. “Ugh, no matter how many times I come to the acres, I will never get used to all of this filth!” she complained. Applejack broke her gaze with Twilight to glare at the prissy mare behind the unicorn.

        “Hey! That dirt may be filth! But it’s mah filth! Ya hear?” she called. Rarity nervously groaned, and looked to the dirt below her uneasily. After another few moments of jittering about, she found a small, desolated spot of clay. She let out a relieved sigh when she realized that she was temporarily safe.

        “Uhm… s-should we go searching for Pinkie now?” Fluttershy asked. She had remained deathly silent throughout Twilight’s explanation. She cast her gaze upwards, but upon seeing Applejack’s hooves she turned back to the ground.

        “No… she’s going through a tough time. I think that’s already been established. We’ll catch up with her later. Hopefully she’s calmer by then.” Twilight took one look at Fluttershy and felt her heart jump in its place. “Are you alright? You seem a little… off?”

        Fluttershy looked away, hiding behind her mane in a neutral effort to conceal her nervous face. Applejack nodded in agreement. “Yeah, sugarcube. Ya haven’t looked at me once since ya got ‘ere.”

        Fluttershy’s face grew a blistering red, and Twilight just could not read just what Fluttershy was feeling. “Y-Y-Yes…” She stammered. Fluttershy looked back at Twilight, completely ignoring Applejack in the progress. Twilight and Applejack stared at the pegasus, waiting for her to continue. When she did not, both mares shrugged and turned back to each other.

        “Applejack, dear, if you do not mind my asking,” Rarity piped up. She was standing on the same spot of clay from about fifteen feet away. Twilight had already discarded the question of asking her to scoot closer. “What is your secret talking about? Sadness?”

        That sparked something inside of Twilight. “I was kind of wondering the same thing. You don’t strike me as a pony that feels… sad. No offense.”


        Applejack raised a hoof. “None taken.” She tipped up her hat upwards, and shifted her gaze from pony to pony. Twilight was not sure how to feel when she watched a playful grin spread across the cowpony’s lips. “Speakin’ of which, I have no idea what that’s talkin’ about.”

        The other three glanced over at the letters behind her. They did not dim or brighten. “That’s… odd.” murmured Twilight. “Why didn’t it change…?”

        “Beats me.” said Applejack, turning around to gaze at the letters herself. “Ah’ve been tryin’ to scrub all mornin’. It ain’t gonna come off.”

        Twilight, once again, turned to Fluttershy. She silently hoped that the pegasus would utter something of relevance. She sighed when Fluttershy did not. “Yeah. It’s… been a bad day like that.” Twilight brought a hoof to her forehead. She was forming a small headache. “Nothing… nothing is making sense…”

        “It probably isn’t supposed to,” replied Applejack. “Ya never know with these types ‘a things.” Twilight cocked her head.

        “You’re… awfully calm about this. Your secret is up for everypony to read, and you couldn’t care less?” she asked. A small suspicion rose up inside of her, but after remembering who she was talking to, she tossed it aside.

        “Psh, are you kiddin’? I ain’t got any secrets.” Applejack looked to her side and nonchalantly scratched the back of her neck. “Well, none that I wouldn’t answer truthfully if ya asked. Somethings are kept secret for a reason, ya know?”

        “But that’s irrelevant!” Twilight exasperated. “Everypony’s secrets are kept hidden away for their own reasons. Your’s are no different.”

        Applejack’s gaze hardened. “I know that, Twi. I’m no better than the next pony, but that don’t mean squat.” Twilight was getting slightly antsy. She knew that whenever Applejack gets frustrated, that could only mean bad news. However, her inner irritation for the whole situation was beginning to grind her gears.

        “What are you trying to say?” she asked. Rarity opened her mouth, but nothing came out save for a soft sigh.

        “I ain’t try’na say anything!” Applejack stomped her hoof.

        “You’re being defensive. Why?” Twilight tried to view this from Applejack’s point of view, and was having a difficult time doing so. It was always a difficult task for her, and this time was no different.

        “Defensive? Ah already admitted it. That secret ain’t true. You’re the one who’s gettin’ all mad at me!” Applejack hollered.

        Twilight’s eye twitched, and she was moments away from saying something that she’d regret. Luckily, she caught herself. “So you’re telling me that you’re not sad in the slightest? You can say that truthfully?”

        It was Applejack’s turn to sigh. “Yeah. I’m the Element of Honesty for a reason, Twi.” Twilight almost rolled her eyes at this. “I ain’t got no secrets, alright?” The unicorn stared long and hard at Applejack. The cowpony was a horrid liar, and she had a nervous tell every time she tried. She would look left and right, and scrunch up her snout. Unfortunately, Twilight failed to see it.

        Rarity was subtling listening in on their conversation behind them. “Hmm…”

        “That’s not possible.” Twilight casted a quick glance upon the letters on the barn, which still have not gotten brighter or darker. “If you lie, the letters shine. If you tell the truth, they dim. Something’s up here, Applejack and I don’t like it.”

        Applejack took a step back, slightly hurt. Twilight wasn’t sure if it was genuine or not. “Twi, we’ve been friends for years! Ya think Ah’ve got any clue about this either? Ah’m not a liar, and ya know this.”

        Twilight frantically shook her head. “No. Applejack everything was on a perfect track up until now. The rules made sense -- or at least what we already knew about them. Then we stop over here and suddenly everything’s jumbled again. It doesn’t make sense why the rules with your secret don’t match up with ours. You’re hiding something and you need to tell us.”

        Applejack scowled, and from Rarity’s distance she almost thought she saw smoke come from the cowpony’s ears. “How am ah supposed to know? Your guess is as good as mine.”

        “Then maybe you’re not lying. Maybe you’re just twisting things around.” replied Twilight. Applejack raised an eyebrow.

        “I was thinking the same thing, Twilight.” Rarity, once again, shouted from behind them. At this point, her voice was tiring itself out, so she dealt with the squishy feeling of soil under her hooves so she wouldn’t have to put up with it any longer. At this point, she was face to face with her friends. “Think about what she said earlier.”

        Twilight was a little confused herself, and she pondered how Rarity could be onto something before her. Perhaps she just wasn’t paying enough attention. Twilight thought back to what Applejack said during their conversation, and a single phrase stuck out to her:

        “I ain’t got any secrets, Twi.”

        It took a moment for Twilight to realize that she actually said the phrase out loud. Applejack pursed her lips. “Are ya making fun of mah accent now?”

        “You aren’t lying.” Twilight took one look at the barn, and smiled as she finally figured it out. “You’re just not sad.”

        “I told ya!” Applejack spat.

        “But you are using our assumptions to lie.” 
        
        “What do ya mean?” Applejack furrowed her brow this time.

        “You’re not sad. That’s not your secret, is it?” Applejack simply stared at Twilight. Her eyes were calm and relaxed, yet at attention. Twilight almost assumed that the mare was lost in thought. “Your secret is the other one. That’s why it didn’t dim or brighten. Because it can be perceived as not only a secret, but a fact.”

        Applejack said nothing. The other mares did not know that intense amount of strategic thinking going on inside of her head. “Huh, well then…” she muttered after a few minutes. She gave them a strong shrug.

        “That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” Twilight asked. Rarity stopped for a moment and looked around. She wasn’t surprised when she realized that Fluttershy had disappeared. Fluttershy was a mare of silence, but that was suspicious even for Rarity. She quietly assumed that the mare had gone to look for Pinkie.

        “Well, it’s true. Speaking hurts, so what?” Applejack replied. For once, Twilight actually learned something new about one of her friends that didn’t completely devastate her. At least to the same degree as the others.

        “But what does it mean?” Rarity asked. Applejack’s gaze cast upon the ground, sweeping through it before it landed back on Rarity herself.

        “It ain’t much, really-” Applejack was cut off as a loud ding emitted from the letters. They began to glow a smidgen brighter. “Oh, so that’s what ya meant.” she said, remembering a small detail that Twilight had mentioned earlier. “Well… how do ah put this…” Applejack looked at the ground, and tapped her chin with her hoof. 

        There was an awkward silence, before the cowpony groaned. “Well, ya know how ah’m the Element of Honesty?”

        “Yes?” chimed two voices in unison.

        “Well, it kinda stinks. Ah tell the truth because ah’m a terrible liar, not because it’s the right thing to do sometimes. Bein’ brutally honest just isn’t the best thing to do sometimes, and because of that ah’ve said things that ah wish ah didn’t say.” Applejack explained. Rarity nodded in understanding, however Twilight’s confusion only grew. She stayed quiet, trying her best to at least be respectful.

        “Sometimes ah wish that ah could lie, or at least be vague. Ah know it’s a horrible thing to say, but… it’s true.” she continued. “When you hurt ponies daily, it becomes a burden. It isn’t like ah mean to, either. It’s just who ah am…”

        “But, the letters on the barn say ‘physically hurt me’. What does that mean?” Twilight asked. Applejack cocked her head, and turned back towards the letters. She shrugged yet again. 

        “Ah get headaches every now and then.” she replied, slightly unsure of herself. “Dealin’ with the thought that ah could easily hurt somepony next to me… it kinda weighs me down. Sometimes, ah can’t even sleep, and sometimes ah’m like Big Mac; workin’ all day just to find some way to keep mah mouth shut. Ah know it ain’t very… dark or horrible, but it’s just ah little more truth for y’all ‘bout me.” Twilight looked past Applejack, only to see that her words were now gone. The other one was still neutral, and at this point she assumed that it was Big Macintosh’s. Of course, when she looked at one, she turned around to see another one glowing brightly in the sky.


        I HAD AN INCESTUOUS EXPERIENCE WITH MY BROTHER


        “Well, that was easy… at least this time there wasn’t any devastation or crying.” Twilight muttered. Applejack glanced at the same words that Twilight had just looked at. However, Rarity and Twilight had already explained it to her, so she didn’t think much of it.

        There was four. Four secrets out of six. Rarity and Pinkie’s must still be connected, and now Twilight’s and Applejacks were as well. Twilight couldn’t help but wonder how the connections all work, as well as why it was her secret that connected to Applejack’s, and not Pinkie or Rarity’s. She cast those questions aside for now.

        “So… does anypony have any clue as to who’s behind this?” Applejack asked nopony in particular. 

        “Trust me, we’re all wondering the same things. When somepony finally figures out who did it, that poor soul will have much more than their secret to worry about. Hmph!” Rarity huffed. Another idea popped into Twilight’s head, but after some small thinking, she deemed it irrelevant. Surely the pony who did this would not be so stupid as to let their own abode be the only one without something written on it. She made a small reminder to herself to keep an eye out.

        “I’ve been wondering, also.” said Twilight. “This fog, say it was a spell, is very difficult to pull off for this long at a time. Also, the letters and the charms are high-end as it is. We’re dealing with something powerful here.” Twilight peered at her friends. “And a spell that finds the deepest secrets of others? To be honest, I didn’t even know if a spell like that existed!” she admitted.

        The sound of soft hoofsteps rang out in the distance. Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight turned around, only to see a blur of pink and yellow. “Pinkie? Fluttershy?” Applejack asked. “Where did y’all go?”

        Fluttershy stood as far away from Applejack as she could. Pinkie Pie, however, grabbed the attention of Twilight and Rarity the fastest. She had that same smile plastered across her face. Her mane and tail was once again poofy and unkempt. She was practically bouncing in place, back to her original self. Twilight had a bad feeling about it, and she knew that whatever Pinkie was going through, a single chat wasn’t going to solve it.
        
        “Hehe! My bad! I got a little hungry so I went back to Sugarcube Corner for a little snack!” she squeaked. Twilight was extremely doubtful of this, but didn’t say anything. “But then I got lost in the fog, and Fluttershy found me and helped me find you girls! Isn’t that nice?” Pinkie’s eternal grin only grew in size.

        “Uhm… what she said…” Fluttershy muttered. She hid behind her mane in such a way that only one other pony could not see her face, as well as the other way around.

        “Pinkie, are you alright, dear?” Rarity asked. She had a tint of hesitance to her voice, as if she was speaking with a child on the verge of a tantrum.

        “Of course, silly.” she cheered. “Super-duper! Why do you ask?” Pinkie’s grin slightly drooped as she cast a quizzical glare upon Rarity, who meekly shied away.

        “N...No reason…”

        “We should go and find Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said. “She doesn’t live all too close to town. Maybe she isn’t affected by all’a this?” Twilight and Fluttershy nodded, the latter more vigorously than the former. Deep inside, Fluttershy was experiencing a new sense of fear that she was not looking forward to facing. However, she hid the fact well.

        “Maybe. She lives in a cloud home. I’d like to see just how that turned out.” Twilight replied. Her migraine had only been growing worse over the last few hours, and she was almost excited to get everything over with. She had been doing a lot of thinking today. Hopefully, she would be able to figure everything out sooner rather than later.

***

        It was quite the hike to Rainbow Dash’s house. It always was. Twilight knew that the pegasus always did like the seclusion. She must have, since she had the ability to move her cloud house to wherever she’d like. It was at least a thirty minute jog, though. Nopony was thrilled about it, but it had to be done.

        Pinkie Pie was almost bouncing along the makeshift trail, back in her oblivious stupor. Twilight was silently afraid. Pinkie didn’t want to be like that -- all happy and hyperactive, but it seems that she’d shifted back into that mindset again. She almost felt bad for her, but she knew that she couldn’t really say much about it. All Twilight wanted to do was help Pinkie, but that didn’t seem likely.

        They approached Rainbow Dash’s home. Well, sort of. Rainbow’s house was at least thirty feet in the sky, and the other five simply stared up at it. It was difficult to see, but there was a blue tarp hung up on the side of her home, covering at least two of her windows. The rainbows that usually hung from her abode were gone. Usually, they would drift straight to the ground below. They were now an inky black, and smelled of mildew.

        “Rainbow Dash? Are you in there?” Rarity called. There was no answer, just a dead silence. 
        
        “Maybe she’s asleep!” shouted Pinkie, unnecessarily loud. “Sleeping in in just one of her favorite things to do!”

        “Pinkie… it’s almost one in the afternoon…” sighed Twilight. “Rainbow! Come on out!” she shouted towards the depressing, floating home. Once again, they heard nothing in response. Applejack emitted a deep sigh, and brought her hat to her chest.

        “Do ya think she’s alright?” asked Applejack. Her eyes were filled with a silent worry. Her and Rainbow may have been friends more so than rivals, but deep down Applejack had a fierce admiration for the pegasus. The last thing she wanted was for Rainbow to be hurt.

        “No idea.” Rarity replied. She turned towards the buttery pegasus to her left with an almost apologetic tone in her voice. “Dearie, would you mind…?”
        
        Fluttershy did a double take between Rarity and Rainbow’s house, before she barely nodded. “Oh, yes.” Without another word, Fluttershy batted her wings and hovered into the air. Her wings flittered quietly and daintily, and Twilight wasn’t sure if the fact that she was reminded of a butterfly was intentional, or downright convenient. She flew upwards towards the cloud home, and hesitated just before the door.

        Fluttershy let out a brittle sigh, and softly rapped on the door, three times. There was no reply.

        “Try again!” Twilight called from thirty feet below. Fluttershy reluctantly nodded, and knocked two more times. Unfortunately, there was still no reply. The pegasus was beginning to get a little curious, a part of her in which she wished she did not harbor. She landed on the cloud, and wandered over to one of the windows nearest the doors right. Fluttershy placed one hoof on the glass, and peered inside.

        It was empty.

        With another sigh, Fluttershy flapped her wings and flew back down to her awaiting friends. “Well?” Rarity asked mere moments after Fluttershy’s hooves hit the ground. The pegasus shook her head.

        “S-She’s not home…”

        “That’s… that’s just perfect. I should have seen this coming…” Twilight groaned. To her, this was just another complication. However, looking back on it, Rainbow Dash flying away was a completely realistic thought. Perhaps her secret was too much to bear. The only question that plagued her mind was where the mare was now.

        “Where do ya think she went?” Applejack asked. Pinkie opened her mouth, but Twilight was in no mood to hear anything out of her mouth. She knew that it wouldn’t be helpful anyways, and until Twilight figured a few things out, and Pinkie actually bothered to talk about her problem, she’d rather not hear it. Twilight rudely cut in.

        “She could be anywhere. Though I’m sure she isn’t far. It’s impossible to see where you’re going in the sky with this fog, assuming she flew.” Twilight thought out loud.

        “Could her secret really be that bad?” Fluttershy whispered.

        “Sweetie, everypony’s secrets are considered ‘really bad’.”

        “Well she’s probably sulkin’ ‘round somewhere. We can’t just leave her.” 

        “Of course we’re not going to leave her.” Twilight interjected. “I think we should just come back later. If she is upset and wants to be alone, perhaps we should just let her. Besides, it’d be impossible to find her even if we tried.” Twilight motioned to the intense fog surrounding all of them.

        “Then what’s next on the list?” Pinkie squealed. She still had a tiny smile on her lips, despite her inner worry. Twilight did not respond. She just stared at Fluttershy. Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack followed her gaze, and put the pieces together. The four ogled their timid friend, who returned their glances with fearful eyes. The mare took a few steps back, and squeaked nervously.

        “I… I… I’m not feeling too well.” Fluttershy replied, bringing a hoof to her chest. 

        “Fluttershy, you’re the only pony left. We all explained our secrets…” Twilight explained.

        “It’s only fair.” added Rarity. Internally, she felt bad for the pegasus, but she knew deep down that there wasn’t much that they could do about it. She also knew that ‘it’s only fair’ was a terrible argument.

        “Come on, sugar-” Applejack tried to set a hoof on Fluttershy’s side, but the mare went wide eyed and took a large step back. That was the second time, and Applejack tried to keep from getting upset.

        “Why do ya keep doing that? You’ve been ignoring, and stayin’ away from me all evenin’. What’s gotten into ya?” She asked. Fluttershy took one look at Applejack and confirmed her fears: the cowpony definately wasn’t kidding.

        “It’s… I…” Fluttershy stammered. She did not have a proper response, and she almost hoped that somepony else would intervene. She let out a sigh of relief when Twilight opened her mouth.

        “Let her be.” Rarity cut in. “She’s been like that all day. Surely, it’s the stress?” Rarity asked more than said. Fluttershy nodded wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, Applejack was not amused.

        “Good. Then let’s go to Fluttershy’s.” Twilight tried not to look at the mare, who had tears forming in her eyes. After a few milliseconds of silent debating, Twilight turned to her. “We’ll make this quick, I promise.”

***

        For Fluttershy, the thirty five minute walk to her cottage was absolutely torturous. She hadn’t had that much anxiety build up inside of her in a while, and multiple times during the walk had she considered simply running away from her friends. She was not the mare that wanted to be unloyal, however her inner demons were prompting her in an irresistible fashion.

        Her mind was spinning, and that was an understatement. She had contemplated feigning her “fainting goat” pose in an effort to prolong the inevitable. Though she knew deep inside that it would only speed up the process and only end up with them hurrying to bring her home.

        Pinkie still continued to bounce merrily, very much unaware of her friend’s misfortune. Normally, Fluttershy would feel a tinge of jealousy towards Pinkie’s obliviousness. But with all she had learned within the last few hours, she quickly tossed that thought aside.

        The town was silent yet and still. The five had not seen another pony the whole trip. Everything was cold and dead, at least that’s what Fluttershy felt. The entire group had been quiet, and didn’t want to disturb the peace by asking a question she was sure that nopony would be able to answer.

        Only a few more minutes, she thought. A few more minutes until everything will be over.

        After a while, the terrain around Fluttershy began to remind her of exactly where they were. It had almost been impossible to navigate, although Rarity knew the area like the back of her hoof, so naturally she took point. Fluttershy’s heart was getting heavier and heavier upon every step she took. By the time she was only five minutes away, she felt as if she was walking on the moon.

        “I don’t want to do this…” she murmured, her head pitifully dropping towards the ground.

        “Come on, Fluttershy. It’ll be really quick, then we can go and find Dashie!” Pinkie added. Fluttershy shook her head, and stopped walking altogether.

        “Please, no. I really don’t want to do this.” Fluttershy repeated. Her friends stopped upon seeing Fluttershy stop in her tracks. “Can’t we just go back to the library? Or look around for Rainbow Dash?”

        “Fluttershy, you know we can’t do that right now…” Twilight replied with a sigh. Fluttershy tried to hold back a few frightful tears. 

        “Please… I just… can’t…”

        “How about this, then. Ah’ll go ahead and read what’s on her cottage, so that way nopony else has to.” Applejack said. Before Fluttershy could utter any sort of rebuttal, Applejack had already barged ahead of the group. “Don’t worry, ah won’t tell anypony. When ah get back Flutterhy and ah can talk it out and meet y’all back at the Library when we’re finished!” Applejack walked into the fog with a playful smile on her face, more to keep Fluttershy calm more than anything. However, it didn’t work.

        “No! Applejack, wait!” Fluttershy softly called after her. It was too late. Applejack had already disappeared into the fog. Fluttershy quietly whimpered, and sunk lower to the ground. “Please, don’t go…”

        It was a dreadful ten minutes that passed, and a few of the ponies were growing anxious. They were only a few minutes away from Fluttershy’s cottage, but ten minutes was definately long enough. Pinkie Pie had managed to calm herself down, in the meantime, and had resorted to kicking a rock around. She had noticed by everypony else’s body language that they didn’t want her to talk. She was okay with that, if not completely used to it by now.

        Seeing as Fluttershy was not willing to talk at the moment, Rarity and Twilight had resorted to chatting between themselves. “Do you suppose that Applejack is alright?” Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow. Twilight shrugged.

        “I’m sure she’s fine. Let’s give her five more minutes before we head after her.” In the recesses of Twilight’s mind, she had a few more questions herself. Was Fluttershy’s secret really that bad that Fluttershy needs to have that much of a panic attack? Twilight looked downwards at the shivering mare, and sighed.

        About four more minutes passed by before sniffling could be heard in the distance. Rarity, Pinkie, and Twilight all perked their heads up, while Fluttershy did not move from her position. “Applejack? You there?” Twilight called into the fog.
        
        Another sniffle. “You..” a choked voice strained. Not a second later, an orange mare appeared. Her face was absolutely stained with tears, and her eyes were bloodshot. Her face was contorted into a sinister frown as she finally came into view. For some reason, she was no longer wearing her stetson hat, and it was nowhere to be found.

        “...Applejack… what happened out there? You’ve been gone for a while.” Rarity asked meekly. Applejack stopped a few feet in front of her friends. She ignored Rarity’s question entirely, and stared down at Fluttershy. Her eyes were filled with a newfound hatred that her friends had never seen before. It was apparent that the cowpony was moments away from pouncing on top of the feeble mare on the ground.

        “You… you monster. How could ya?” she choked. A few more tears ran down her cheeks, and unsurprisingly, the same happened to Fluttershy.

        “I-I can explain…” Fluttershy started. Applejack wanted none of it.

        “Ah treated ya as a good friend. How could you put me through this… mah family? Ya never even had the courage to tell me somethin’ like that? All those wasted opportunities to say somethin’... anything. It was you, Fluttershy, that put mah family through so much pain.” Applejack gritted through closed teeth.

        Fluttershy said nothing, and her friends were all too awestruck to say anything. “Yer dead to me.” Applejack concluded. Upon letting the words slip out of her mouth, Appejack’s eyes widened. Before Fluttershy could say anything, Applejack pushed through her friends in the opposite direction of which she came, headed back towards Sweet Apple Acres.

        Fluttershy was an absolute mess, and Rarity and Pinkie almost immediately rushed to her aid. Once Applejack had finally disappeared again, Fluttershy let everything out. She wailed louder than anypony had ever heard her speak, crying into her mane with no dignity or care in the world. She had lost a good friend that day, and it was all her fault.

        Twilight could only stare into the fog, and think a brand new question. What did Applejack see. “I’ll be right back…” she muttered under her breath. Luckily, none of her friends seemed to have heard her. She slowly trotted through the fog, fearing the worst. She had no idea what was written on Fluttershy’s cottage, but she was about to find out.

        Twilight’s breath was caught in her throat. The anticipation was killing her, but she had to know. Not for the sake of herself, but for the sake of the Elements of Harmony. If everypony was going to get over their secrets, there comes a first step. This was number one.

        A few minutes later, Twilight had reached the small bridge that lead to Fluttershy’s cottage. However she hadn’t need to cross it. She could already read what was written on Fluttershy’s home, but to fully understand and realize it, she had to reread it a multitude of times. She wanted her eyes to fail her badly, but they wouldn’t. What she read on her cottage was real, and she could only utter one thing:

        “Oh no…”

        On the walls of Fluttershy’s cottage read a fateful message. One that Fluttershy had been worrying about all day. Now she knew, and she wasn’t happy about it.


I AM INDIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF APPLEJACK’S PARENTS