Chapter 7: Dangerous Secrets
Twilight was for once at a loss. Should she have done what she did, getting Tyro's hopes up for nothing? Did he know she wasn't serious about it? Worst of all, she worried... was he right?
Normally she would try to find a book to help, but that wasn't an option, not with Tyro still in the main part of the library. Maybe her magic could... no, that would be wrong. And besides, she didn't even know how she felt about all this. Maybe she just needed some time away from Tyro to think about what had happened.
Her decision made, Twilight teleported just outside the libr—into the main room of the library, mere feet away from Tyro himself? This didn't make sense at all. Once again, she fled, but this time past him and out the door.
Tyro blinked, then resumed his reading, Understanding Mares. "There's definitely nothing in the book about that."
Outside, Twilight had reached the middle of the town before realizing she had no idea where she was going. Maybe Applejack's good sense could help her... no, Applejack would never have put herself in this position in the first place. Suddenly, she knew what to do.
"Rainbow Dash!" Hearing her name, Rainbow Dash sped down to see what was the matter. "Rainbow Dash, I need your help, but you can't tell anyone, okay?" Twilight's request was unusual; she rarely needed secrecy, especially from her. Interested, Rainbow Dash followed her to one of Applejack's farther orchards, and landed next to her friend.
"What's wrong, Twilight? What's going on?"
"It's about Tyro." Dash grinned at this admission. "Not you, too?"
"Come on, Twilight, everypony knows. If that's all this is about, I don't see why we need to be so secretive and all."
"But that's just it, Rainbow Dash! It isn't real!" Rainbow Dash promptly crashed into a tree, muttering something under her breath as she stood up. Twilight continued, "I didn't mean any of it, and I don't know if he did, and now I have no idea what to do!"
Her answer was simple. "Well, Twilight, how do you feel about him, then? I'm just asking, because if you don't want him, I'm taking him myself."
"You stay away from my Tyro!" Twilight recoiled at her own outburst. "Umm. Thanks for your help, I guess." Rainbow Dash laughed.
It was only hours later that she was recounting the whole story at the Sugarcube Corner. "So I told her I liked him, and you should have seen the look on her face!" Everypony laughed, except Twilight, who had just come inside from the rain. Hearing Dash's words, her anger rose. "How could you?! You swore you wouldn't talk about it!" A collective gasp rose from the table, then another as Fluttershy faced Rainbow Dash.
"Some Element of Loyalty you are! Get out of here until you can learn to respect your friends!" She went on, getting progressively more aggressive, as Rainbow Dash backed towards the door a step at a time. When he reached it, he quickly turned and fled into the rainy skies.
Fluttershy turned back towards the other ponies, took a seat, and quietly returned to her pie.
"Wow, Fluttershy, that was amazing! But wasn't it maybe a little bit too much?" Rarity looked surprised.
"No, she deserved it!" Fluttershy looked shocked at her declaration. "W-what am I saying? That was a such a mean thing to do. And I was saying Rainbow Dash broke his element, but now I've done it, too! I feel terrible..." Fluttershy burst into tears.
Applejack spoke up. "Now you listen, Fluttershy, you have nothing ta be ashamed about. What you did was right, and you were right to be firm about it."
"Yeah," Pinkie Pie agreed. "She promised to keep Twilight's secret, and she told anyway! And promises are FOREVER!!!"
As the storm continued to rage, Twilight herself was now sitting in a corner, her head down. "I hate my friends fighting, but the worst part is that I can't fix it. I can't just magic all this away. In fact, it was magic that started all this in the first place! It only ever makes things worse. I hate magic!"
There was a crack of thunder, as the storm raged on. The door slammed open to reveal Tyro, standing in the doorway. As he walked into the shop, the others saw him magically dragging a struggling Rainbow Dash behind him. Kicking the door shut, he dropped the soaked pegasus before everyone else.
"I found this," he said coldly, "attempting to fly through the storm. Why?"
Everypony started pointing and yelling at each other again, only to be silenced once again by Tyro's anger. "I don't care who did what," he said, his voice no warmer than before. "What I care about is that this is one tune I have heard before, and I don't like it!" The whole room went dead silent, the only sound to be heard the beating of the rain and the angry wind.
All six ponies shrunk back a little at Tyro's anger. "I'm sure you all remember it quite well. It belongs to Discord!" At the last word his voice lashed out a little, showing a bit of the restraint he was holding on himself.
Applejack stood up, but his head still looked down in shame. "Tyro speaks the truth. We've been neglectin' the Elements we're supposed to represent, and that should shame us all. I apologize to y'all, for not speaking the truth ah didn't want to see."
Rainbow Dash looked up from the floor. "I'm sorry I betrayed my Element of Loyalty by telling Twilight's secret."
Fluttershy spoke next, quietly apologizing for her own unkindness towards her friends.
Twilight suprised everyone, however. "I have two things to apologize for. I tried to blame this on magic instead of looking for the real reason, which was wrong of me. But I'm also sorry for trying to hide my problems from you in the first place."
Tyro looked at Twilight, saying firmly, "Twilight. We'll talk later. Now I believe you all have some letters to write." With that, he went back outside, and the shamed ponies could see him walking back to the library, a magical barrier keeping him untouched by the storm.