Kindness's Gift

by chibiachika

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Main 6, Romance, Original Character
Length: 10332

Fluttershy's been acting odd, and one night, she's missing. Her friends want to hear her story.

When Fluttershy doesn't return one evening, her friends go out to find her. When she shows up on Rarity's doorstep like nothing happened, a diamond hairpin catches the unicorn's attention. What has the pegasus been hiding?

This fic continues off the plot of Magic's Dawn. This story will refer to major plot elements off of that story. You may want to read it if you don't understand some things.

Published 2012-04-26 01:04:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-08-01 02:55:13 UTC

Generosity

Rarity lifted the blanket over the young purple unicorn. She had been foalsitting Twilight Sparkle while Fluttershy was out. It was odd that she went out without telling anyone what she was doing, but tonight was even more odd. Usually she would’ve picked up her child a few hours ago, but it was well past 10 pm. Sweetie Belle had been staying over already, so she put them to sleep together. She gave them both a kiss on the forehead, and hovered a blue unicorn magician plushie next to Twilight.

She paced near the entrance of the Carousel Boutique. She had already sent word to Spike, who went to find the other three of her friends to find Fluttershy. Rarity would be going out to look herself, if not for the fillies that were sleeping upstairs.

Over the next few hours, her friends had stopped by to tell Rarity what they had found, or what they didn’t. Applejack had checked the Everfree Forest. She knew that Fluttershy wouldn’t usually go in on her own, but she had gone to her house on the way to the forest, and noticed that the inside wasn’t as tidy as it was normally kept.

Rainbow Dash had taken to the air. Fluttershy didn’t normally fly too high, but it wasn’t out of the question. She searched from Ponyville to Cloudsdale, and repeated that path a few times. There was no sign of the quiet pony.

Pinkie Pie opted to lure out her missing friend, by placing her favorite sweet in various spots all over town, covered by a cardboard boxes all labeled “Fluttershy Trap.” When the Element of Kindness would walk under to get the treat, she’d hit a tripwire that would drop the box onto her. A few of the traps got tripped, but only prey they got was the party pony herself.

As Celestia’s sun rose, the four friends feared the worst. Rarity was looking at her worst, having stayed up all night. She knew she’d have to be the one to break the news to her “daughter” and it was something she absolutely feared doing. No five-year-old should have to go through something like this. She knew that Twilight wasn’t truly Fluttershy’s daughter, but had been born of her after her rebirth during what the princesses called “the Hour of Twilight.” All five of the friends were considered to be her mother, but Fluttershy was the only one she called “mommy.”

Rarity levitated two plates of breakfast food to the table as Sweetie Belle and Twilight Sparkle walked down the stairs. She didn’t dare to look at either of them. She had been crying for the last hour and she knew it showed. She had already wiped off some of her makeup that had run down her face.

“Um, Rarity? Don’t you usually put garnish on?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Oh, yes...of course...” She levitated the garnish off of the counter and haphazardly dropped it onto the two plates. Sweetie Belle looked over in confusion. A knock on the door gave Rarity a chance to leave the room without having to answer any questions.

Upon opening the door, the pastel yellow pegasus stood in front of her. “I’m sorry I’m a bit late Rarity, but I got caught up in someth...oh my, what happened?” Fluttershy asked.

“Where the hell have you been!?” Rarity furiously asked. “We’ve been trying to find you all night! Didn’t you think to send a message to me or anything!? I don’t mind keeping the dear girl here for the night, but couldn’t you have given me some warning so that I wouldn’t worry!?”

“Oh...I’m sorry...I was...um...a bit busy...” Fluttershy looked to the ground and scratched her hoof against it nervously.

“Busy? Busy!? What could you have been doing that wouldn’t allow you to contact someone!?”

“It was...um...nothing...” The scared pony turned slightly and cowered. She could feel the fires of rage burning in the fashionista.

“NOTHING!? You stay out all night, don’t tell anyone, and you’re going to claim you did NOTHING!? I’m so angry with you right now that I could...” she paused as she noticed a glint coming from the bottom of her pink mane. “Is that what I think it is?” Her horn glowed as a similar light pulled Fluttershy closer to her.

“No, no, it’s nothing...Please don’t look...”

“That’s a DIAMOND! And such a pretty gold hairpin! Where did you get something like that!?”

“Um..." Fluttershy's voice shrunk after that.

“What was that, dear?”

A slightly louder, but still indistinguishable mumble came out.

“Didn’t quite catch that.”

The shy pony whimpered. She hadn’t intended to tell anypony yet, but she probably should have taken the hairpin off if she wanted to avoid the question. “It’s from my fiancee...I was proposed to...last night...”

Rarity’s anger completely disappeared, replaced by excitement. “So who’s the lucky stallion?”

“Mare, actually...She...saved my life once...I had known her before that time, we went to school together in Cloudsdale...”

“Caught yourself a cutie of a pegasus, then?” Rarity winked at her.

“Well, no...

The yellow pegasus filly tumbled to the cloud floor once again. Fluttershy was the weakest flier in her class. The rest of her class started laughing at her. “Hey guys, Klutzershy can’t fly!” The roar of laughter made her want to dig herself into the white fluff and never come up again.

“Look at her! Maybe we should call her FlutterCRY!”

“Leave her alone!” one voice called out from the side. The young filly, her red mane draped to the side of her face, stood firmly on the cloud, a glare at the crowd.

One of the larger members of the pack floated down to her. “So, the freak wants to defend the failure?” He flicked the unicorn’s horn.

Violyre winced. She was the only unicorn in her class. This would’ve been more surprising if she wasn’t the only unicorn that lived in Cloudsdale.

“Maybe we should toss her over the edge, let’s see if her little magic will protect her!” The crowd bellowed out laughter now. “That’s right, YOU DON’T HAVE ANY!”

She cowered back slightly. It was more often than she’d prefer that they came after her. She was exactly what they described, a freak. Even the best doctors in Equestria stated that she was “scientifically impossible.”

The crowd suddenly froze. Behind them, the icy stare of the pink-maned pegasus pierced them, even if they couldn’t see it. “You know, maybe we should go practice a bit more.” the lead instigator commented, and the crowd dispersed.

Violyre held her head down in shame, not wanting to look at Fluttershy, who had returned to her normal mannerisms. “I’m sorry...You always protect me, even though I can’t do anything to help you..You’re much braver than I could ever be...”

Fluttershy placed her hoof on the purple filly’s shoulder. “You know you don’t have to be sorry. I’m not brave, not at all. You’re always trying to stand up for me. That’s why you’re my only friend here...”

Violyre sniffled, and hugged the elder pony. “Will you always be my friend?” Fluttershy nodded.

“Of course I will!”

Honesty

Applejack had been short on breath, the amount of energy she spent searching for her missing friend through the night was easily more than she spent on a long day of applebucking. Fluttershy was such a kind and gentle pony, why would anyone want to hurt her? Her cottage had been less tidy than usual, even taking into consideration the indoor animals.

“If we can find her, Ah really gotta have her teach me to speak to the animals!”

As she galloped towards the Carousel Boutique to check in with Rarity, she caught the unicorn on her porch with her lost friend. She slowed to catch her breath. She wasn’t in too much of a rush to get over there, as she could see Fluttershy cowering from a furious Rarity. She had been in the pegasus’s place before, and it wasn’t a good place. Whatever Fluttershy said to her must have been bad, because not one of the group would ever consider doing something like that to Fluttershy.

What she didn’t expect was Rarity to pull Fluttershy by the mane. Applejack started to move forward, but noticed the expression on her lover’s face had changed to one of curiosity, followed by excitement. Rarity’s mood swings weren’t exactly rare, but usually they were cause for concern. As the farmmare was a few buildings away, she could hear the unicorn going into a planning mode.

“And I’ll have to make you the most gorgeous dress! Or are you the groom? No, I can’t see you as the groom...Then again, I didn’t ever see myself as a groom either...”

“Rarity, have ya completely lost your mind?” Applejack walked up to the pair, and let herself collapse to the ground. “Fluttershy, where were you? Did something happen to you?”

“Oh, no, nothing happened...nothing whatso-OW!” She winced as she was pulled by the mane towards the fallen pony.

“Our dear Fluttershy is getting married!” Rarity said with an excited squeal in her voice.

“Wait, ya were dating? And ya never told anypony else? What about your house? I went there, and it looked like trouble!”

“Oh...I was a little excited, I guess I knocked some stuff over...But I knew her back in school in Cloudsdale...” Fluttershy motioned the two of them closer. She didn’t want certain ears to hear what she was about to say. “...Twilight reintroduced us.”

“Ya’ll have managed to date that long and we never found out? How did Twilight even hear about her?”

Twilight Sparkle was sneaking through the palace. She had just moved in, having been picked as Celestia’s personal student, and she was still a bit lost around the royal grounds. It was late at night, and her stomach had rumbled for its midnight snack, one that she normally had no issues getting back at home. She had to be careful, she had watched the guards patrolling the halls, and made a mental note of their scheduled rounds. She knew just when to sneak out, and get back to her room without getting caught. The only trouble she ever worried about was that her path took her by the ceremony room where her mentor controlled the cycle of day and night.

“Did you learn anything about that little filly, doctor?” Celestia’s voice caught Twilight’s attention. She stopped, and peered into the room. Celestia was talking with an older stallion, a stethescope symbol adorned on his flank.

“I’m sorry, your majesty. It’s really odd, and that’s from a doctor who specializes in alicorn biology. I mean no offense by this, but your anatomy and biology is...simple, compared to that unicorn. By the sight of her, she looks like any other purple unicorn.”

“Purple unicorn? Are they talking about me? Is this about that burst of magic from my test? When were they even able to study me?” Twilight quietly pondered.

“I worry a bit, though. It’s not safe to keep somepony like that there.”

“I’ll send word to the guards, have some patrols set up to keep their eyes on her so that no accidents happen.” Celestia sighed. “I’d love to move her, but we can’t just take her from her parents just because she doesn’t belong.”

“They can’t be talking about me, can they...?” Twilight was upset. She had been made fun of by her peers before she was admitted to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She didn’t belong with them. But her parents loved her, didn’t they?

“I checked everything I could,” the doctor added, “she’s definitely not an alicorn. There’s nothing to hint at the possibility of wing growth.”

“Why would they even consider me an alicorn? That’s just silly! There’s only one of those in existence!” Visions of her as an alicorn entertained Twilight briefly. “As if that could ever happen!”

“And not even a little bit of magic?”

“We tried to have her use one of the most basic magic spells that most unicorns can cast on their first attempt, and all that happened was that she got a migraine.”

“I feel sorry for that little Violyre. I was sincerely hoping that we could help her. She is a bit of a mystery though, in all my years, I’ve never once heard of a unicorn that could walk on clouds.”

“Violyre...I’ll have to remember that name. Maybe one day, I can solve this mystery!” Twilight did a silent cheer as she turned around, and ran straight into one of the royal guards. “Um...hello!” She darted off to her room before the guard could react.

Laughter

Rarity pondered for a moment. “And you say she lives in Ponyville now? I’ve not seen anypony with that name. Then again, that’s more of Pinkie’s thing to know everypony’s name.” A box started to crawl up the street towards the Carousel Boutique. Pinkie Pie peeked out from under the box.

“Can I get a little help?” Rarity levitated the “Fluttershy Trap” off of Pinkie.

“I’ve had no luck in catching her! I set up these traps, and put her favorite cake under it, and then I go set up some more traps, and then I see somepony’s put a cake out into the middle of the street, and I’m all like ‘OHMYGOSH’ and I dive for it and get trapped. Who would even want to trap me!?” The party pony looked at her three friends. “Oh, hi Fluttershy! I didn’t even see you there!” She turned back to Rarity, “But yeah, I didn’t even see the slightest hint of her!” Rarity narrowed her eyes in irritation, and pointed at Fluttershy. “What? It’s just Fluttershy. Oh hey! Fluttershy, maybe you could help us find Fluttershy! She’s gone missing!” Applejack brought her hoof to her face in irritation. “What’s wrong, Applejack? We need all the help we can get! And Fluttershy would know where Fluttershy might be better than anyone else.” Pinkie paused for a second, “Ooooooohhhhhhhhh...You found her! Where were you?”

“Oh, I was nowhere important...just...um...tending the animals...Hey!” Fluttershy tried to struggle against the magic pulling her hair, but Rarity didn’t let up.

“Look at this, Pinkie!” Rarity pulled up the lock of hair with the pin on it, and Pinkie’s eyes widened and a big grin crossed her face.

“Ooo, pretty! Wait, is that...? Who is it!? I didn’t even know there was a pony dating you!”

“Her name is...Violyre...” Fluttershy lowered her head.

“Vio...lyre? Are they new? I’ve never heard of them before! Is it possible for me to have not met a pony!?” Her mane started to deflate. She never missed welcoming a new pony to town.

“No, Pinkie, you may not have lived in Ponyville at the time. She...moved here before Rainbow Dash did her first sonic rainboom. You were probably still on the rock farm.” Pinkie’s mane poofed back to normal with Fluttershy’s response.

“But...I still don’t know the name...”

“That’s not too surprising, actually...”

Ponyville was quiet today. Twilight Sparkle, unlike any other resident of the town, worried on these days. These were the types of days that anything could happen, whether is be Pinkie’s twitchy tail, a shadowy figure causing chaos, or even an attack from a mythical beast or a god. She had seen all of those happen on a day much like this day.

Three colts were walking through the marketplace. The largest of the group complained “It was much more fun when she’d answer the door.” The second added in “Maybe we should find somepony else to try to prank!” The smallest of the group, in a different tone than the other two, said “I kind of feel sorry for her now.” The group stopped.

“Oh come on, it was fun pranking that freak!”

“You’re more of a chicken than she is!”

“But don’t you think that maybe Violyre wants to be left alone?”

“Excuse me kids, did you just say ‘Violyre?’” Twilight approached the group.

“Yeah, so?”

“Can you tell me where she lives?”

“She’s on the house at the end of the road, but don’t even bother. She won’t answer the door for anypony.” Twilight’s scientific mindset ignored the final part of the colt’s message, and she galloped down the road.

The house had seen better days. Paint was chipped, the exterior walls of the house had been vandalized, windows broken, and even the yard was far from neat. Twilight wondered how anypony could even live in a house like this. If she didn’t know any better, she’d just assume it abandoned.

She managed to clear the front path of debris and weeds, and knocked on the front door. “Hello? Is this the home of Miss Violyre?” No noise came from the house. She went to knock again, and the door creaked open. A weak crying sound could be heard down the hallway. As Twilight stepped inside, she noticed that the interior of the house may have looked just as bad as the outside. The layers of dust must have been at least a centimeter thick.

As she slowly walked down the hallway, the sobbing was coming more into focus. “Miss Violyre? Are you alright? Do you need help?” As Twilight stepped into the room, she caught eye of a scene that would stay with her.

A purple unicorn with a messy mane falling over her face, wasn’t acknowledging the presence of the new figure in the room. Her gaze was looking straight at Twilight, but it was empty. Her eyes were red and puffy, as if she had been crying for a long time. She had herself curled up against the far wall. Her ribs were showing under her fur, and she looked like she hadn’t eaten in a long time. She quivered in her spot as Twilight took careful steps towards her.

“Are you Violyre? My name is Twilight Sparkle.” she said softly, not quite sure how to approach this pony. “I used to live in Canterlot, but I moved to Ponyville recently. I heard your name once from Princess Celestia.” The frightened unicorn didn’t react to a single word. Twilight slowly reached her hoof out to comfort her, and got the first reaction she saw: A flinch. She was still a good foot away from Violyre.

Twilight thought to herself. There’s no way that she was going to be able to do anything to find out about this odd unicorn. The mare was scared. No, scared wasn’t the right word. She was “broken.” But what could have happened? Her scientific curiosity turned to sympathy.

“Violyre, I want to help you. I don’t expect you to trust me so soon, but maybe little by little, I can help you.”

Months had passed, and Twilight had only made so much progress with her ward. Violyre still cowered in her room, but had been convinced to eat meals that she was brought. Twilight was ecstatic the other day, having finally heard the broken mare talk. “Hello...” was the only word she said upon seeing her new friend. This gave Twilight an idea.

“Are...are you certain you need me? Isn’t there somepony better you could ask?”

“Fluttershy, she’s the only pony I’ve met that’s said less in months of meetings than you did when I met you. I think that having another quiet friend might break her shell a little more.”

“Well, if you think I can help...I’ll do it...”

Twilight opened the door to the house, and the two walked inside. The house was a lot cleaner, mostly due to the work of the visitor. “Hey, it’s Twilight! I brought a guest with me! I think you’ll like her!”

“Um...hello...oh, you never told me her name...”

“Her name is Vio-” Twilight paused to an unfamiliar noise in the house: Hoofsteps. “...is there someone else in here?” The red-maned pony peeked out of her room.

“Violyre!?” Fluttershy’s eyes widened.

“Fluttershy!?” Violyre ran down the hall from her room, and hugged the yellow pastel pony tightly, crying.

“I missed you...and I never got to thank you for saving my life...”

“My parents...they forced me to move to Ponyville after...after the accident...”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you...I wish it would’ve been me instead of you...”

Violyre looked Fluttershy in the eyes, watching as tears started to form. “I...I don’t regret doing it...and I would do it again for you...”

“But...why? You almost died...”

“Because...because you’re the reason I earned my cutie mark...I earned it saving you...and I did it because I love you...” Both ponies started blushing.

“You...you do...?”

“I-I’m sorry...” Violyre shrinks back slightly, but can’t run with Fluttershy holding her. “Please don’t think of me as a ‘freak’...”

“I know I promised you that we’d be friends forever, but I don’t think I can keep that promise...”

“I understand...” Violyre turns her head away, but Fluttershy turned it back, and kissed her.

“I have to break that promise because I want to be with you...I love you too...I always cared for you, for all the times you stepped up for me. but when I thought I lost you...”

“Well, I think I’ll let you two...get acquainted with each other...” Twilight’s words go unheard by the two as she quickly headed out the door.

Disloyalty

Rainbow Dash had sent a critical message to pegasus teams across Equestria: Find Fluttershy. She was always worried about her friend. Even back in school, she protected the easily-frightened pony. She would always be loyal to her friend and do anything necessary to protect her.

As she circled the skies around Ponyville, she spotted her three friends, and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash quickly flew down, and grabbed Fluttershy by the shoulders. “WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!?”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “I already asked that exact question. Now look at this.” Fluttershy flinched at the expected hair pull, but it was only lifted up to show the hairpin off. Rainbow Dash’s anger faded, and was replaced with excitement. “I did that too.” Rarity sighed.

“So who is he!? Or she?”

“Oh...you wouldn’t know her. She’s um...no pony.”

“No one? Aww, I bet I would love anypony that got together with my best pal from school!”

“Dash, please...I don’t want to talk about this...I’m tired...” Fluttershy had a slight tremble in her voice.

“Ooo, I’ll tell her!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“No, don’t!” Fluttershy’s words went unheeded as the party pony started to ramble on.

“It was someone she used to know back in Cloudsdale but she wasn’t a pegasus which is really weird, I mean we walked around there with the help of magic but this was a unicorn with no magic ability and-”

“VIOLYRE!?” Rainbow Dash’s mood changed again, much angrier than she was when she first landed.

“Oh please, don’t be mad...”

“Mad!? MAD!? I’m not mad!”

“Oh good...because you sounded-”

“I’m FURIOUS!”

“Dashie, calm down!” Pinkie pulled the rainbow-maned pegasus back.

“I AM calm! Fluttershy, I’m not going to stand by and let you get hurt again!” Rainbow Dash snorted in her furor.

Fluttershy took a couple steps back, and turned away and broke into a full gallop, tears falling off behind her.

Miscommunication in the messages regarding rainwater collection managed to overflow the reservoirs in Cloudsdale. It was rare for something like that to happen, but quick thinking by the chiefs of the weather factory managed to control the issue. The only downside was that it meant rain inside of the city itself, as they couldn’t just push the weather onto other cities due to necessary timing for crops and harvests.

Cloudsdale Elementary decided this would be a great time to practice flying in adverse weather conditions. Everypony in the school was brought outside, including the only pony without wings.

Violyre stood next to her friend in line, holding up an umbrella over the two of them. “You’ll do fine, Fluttershy!”

“Oh, I don’t know...I’m such a bad flyer in normal weather. I wish you could come with me!”

“I wish I could too, but I’ll be waiting for you at the end! Good luck!” the red-maned unicorn hugged her friend as they reached the front of the line, and trotted towards the other side of the course.

Fluttershy took off as the whistle blew, the wind pushing hard against her. She had never flown in conditions like this, even for practice, and she knew she was taking much more time than the previous students. Winding her way through the obstacles, barely clearing the rings on the path, she started to feel a strain on her wings. She didn’t use them much because of her friend, so they weren’t very strong to begin with. The torrent of water coming from the clouds were starting to add unexpected weight as it seeped into her downy appendages. As she neared the final cloud hurdle, the pink-maned filly cringed as her wing tightened up. Her leg bent forward as it ran against the final obstacle. She flipped across it, and started to descend to the floor.

Violyre watched as her friend started to fall. She ran to the edge of the cloud, and looked up to see where Fluttershy was, and she realized that the area she would fall had started to separate, leaving a gap. If she didn’t manage to right herself, she would plummet out of Cloudsdale.

Trying to regain control, Fluttershy spread her wings out. She knew that would help distribute the extra weight, but her feathers were drenched and even spread out, she didn’t have the power to flap, and she wouldn’t be able to glide either. Looking down, she watched as the cloud floor was spreading apart under where she would land. She closed her eyes tightly as the gap grew closer. She was starting to accept her fate.

She was going to die.

Fluttershy knew miracles never happened. Even if she managed to survive, what would she find below? Were there really hundreds of dragons down there, just waiting to gobble up a useless pegasus? Was it really a terrible place where ponies struggled to survive? It was hard to tell how much of what she was told by her classmates was true, but it convinced her to never leave the safety of Cloudsdale. She felt herself being grabbed, and warm breath falling across her face, and decided that if she really was to have her life cut short, that she might as well see the beast doing it. As she opened her eyes, she looked straight into its magenta eyes, with a lock of red hair to the side.

“I promised that I would protect you, and I refuse to break that promise!”

“Violyre?” The sight of her friend holding her comforted her a bit, until she remembered the gravity of her situation, now shared by her flightless friend. “But…you…you’re risking your life! I would never, ever want you to do something like this for me!”

“I don’t care about myself…as long as you’re safe. You still have a lot to live for, and I know you’ll become something great. I’m…I’m just an earth pony with a horn living in Cloudsdale…I’ll never amount to anything.”

“Don’t say that!” It was hard to tell because of the rain, but tears started to roll down the yellow pegasus’s face.

“I’m sorry…This may be the last time we see each other…but I wanted to say that I…I…” Violyre closed her eyes tightly, and pushed Fluttershy away from her.

Fluttershy was confused by this action, until she felt something under her flank. She tumbled backwards a little, her back coming to rest against the cloud she was on. She immediately got up and ran to the side, and looked down, her eyes growing in fright as she saw her friend about to land on a cloud herself, but this wasn’t a normal cloud…

The blue pegasus stallion surveyed his handiwork. With the extra rainwater collected, the foreman of his department had been given an order to use up what they could, wherever they could. He touched the cloud, and pulled his hoof back quickly. Yes, this was probably his best work ever. Frostbite smiled, he knew that a promotion had to be incoming. He just needed to get the hail cloud back to cold storage before it defrosted. As he put his mitts on, a loud crashing sounded, and Frostbite dodged the chunks of ice that came off of his work. “What the? I swear if those jokers in the lightning division are trying to prank me again…” He flew to the top of the cloud to survey the full damage, and took a flap backwards at the purple unicorn filly, a shield mark on her flank, laying motionless on top. “Kid? Are you alright?” After watching the child’s labored breathing, he started to panic. “Someone call a paramedic!”

A Dash of History

Rainbow Dash flew towards her new school. It was a bit further than her kindergarten was, but she was excited. She was an early flyer according to her parents, and that would give her an advantage in school. Of course, she wasn’t looking forward to the whole schedule. Reading? Boring. Math? Lame. Gym class? So awesome. That was the class she’d have to do her best in if she ever wanted to be a Wonderbolt.

As she approached the front of the building, Rainbow Dash wondered where everypony was. The courtyard was surprisingly empty. It wasn’t until the school bell rang that she realized what happened: She was late. She’d forgotten to adjust to having to travel the longer distance, and she barely got to her kindergarten class on time. Hopefully they’ll let her slide just this once.

As she walked up the stairs to the building, a soft sound caught her attention. As she looked back, she noticed a pink-maned pegasus laying under a tree, crying. This girl was probably a few years older than Rainbow Dash. Why was she crying? Is she one of those nerds that love school and upset because she’s late? In her old class, she had heard stories of older students being sent back to flight kindergarten. There weren’t any in her class, but she always giggled at the thought of somepony at Cloudsdale High being in her class. The thoughts of laughing at that pony felt bad now, seeing the upset filly.

Rainbow Dash started back towards the entryway, but she just couldn’t convince herself to abandon this filly. Why was she so concerned over somepony she didn’t know? And somepony that no one else seemed to notice? She was probably uncool, someone she shouldn’t hang around with. And yet, Rainbow Dash found herself stepping towards the yellow pegasus. “Hey, are you alright?”

“Go away.”

“You know, school’s started, right?”

“I heard. Now go away.”

“Geez, lighten up. You act like you just lost your best friend.” Rainbow Dash started to turn away, but was quick to find herself being pinned against the wall of the building.

“It’s ponies like you that are the reason bad things happen to good ponies!” Fluttershy’s eyes burned with a fiery rage, and the heat from her breath was strong against Rainbow Dash’s face.

“Look, I’m sorry! I don’t even know anything that’s happened here! This is a new school for me!” Rainbow Dash was starting to cry, out of fear of the larger pegasus’s mood shift. “Pl-please don’t hurt me...”

Fluttershy’s expression went softer, and tears started to fall faster, as she realized what she was doing. She let the frightened cyan pegasus go, and started to walk back to her previous spot under the tree.

“Hey...what’s your name?”

“Fluttershy...”

“I don’t know what happened to you, Fluttershy, and it’s probably not my business, but it’s not hard to tell that you’re sad. If you want someone to talk to, I’ll listen.” The rainbow-maned pegasus sat down next to the saddened pony.

“Violyre...”

“What?”

“Her name was Violyre. She’s...gone.”

“Gone? But she’ll come back, right?” Fluttershy started sobbing harder, giving Rainbow Dash a bit of an answer. “Oh...I’m sorry...And I’m guessing she was your best friend?”

“She...she was my only friend...” She wiped her tears away. “We protected each other...And I failed to protect her..After she had protected me....”

“What happened to her?”

“Do you remember the overflow from the water collection?”

“Totally! My mom made me stay indoors! She said it wasn’t safe for me out there!”

“At school, we were learning how to fly in that kind of weather. Nopony told us that in that type of weather, you should let your wings get a bit wet before takeoff. Violyre and I were under an umbrella in line. When it was my turn, I flew up without taking a moment to even get damp. My wings started to get heavy, and...”

“You fell?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I tripped over one of the obstacles...I couldn’t regain control...And there was nothing under me to catch me. Violyre wanted to save me, so she jumped after me.”

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. “So what you’re saying is that she was also under the umbrella, so her wings were dry too?”

“Oh, no...She was a unicorn.”

“A unicorn!? In Cloudsdale!? But...but how!?”

“She was born to pegasi parents. She was completely able to walk on clouds, but she lacked any use of magic. She got called a “freak” a lot in class. I was also an outcast in the class, I was called many terrible names.”

“I’m sorry...”

Fluttershy shook her head. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

“So what happened after she jumped...?”

“She pushed me onto a cloud...she fell onto a cloud too, but, where mine was one of the white puffy clouds, she landed on one that was filled with hail.” Rainbow Dash cringed at the thought. “The vision of her laying there, not moving, even when the paramedics came...I’ve had nightmares...” Fluttershy started to cry again. “And that...that easily could’ve been me down there...”

“Does that mean she’s...?”

“I don’t know...No one will tell me...Her parents blame me for it, that’s about all I’ve heard...She must hate me if she did live...”

Rainbow Dash hugged Fluttershy. “I’m sorry you went through all that, but you still have a lot to look forward to in the future. No matter what happened, she gave you a second chance at life! Are you going to disappoint her by sitting here moping all the time!?”

“You...you’re right, kid. What did you say your name was?”

“I’m Rainbow Dash, soon to be a household name all over Equestria!”

“Come on, let’s go to class them, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy headed towards the front doors.

Fluttershy stood at the edge of the cloud, a bouquet of violets in her mouth. She made it a tradition every year to bring up the flowers that Violyre loved, and place them on the site where it all happened. This was her memorial service for the past ten years. Only one other pony knew of this tradition, and that was Rainbow Dash.

“This may be the last time you’re able to do this.” stated Rainbow Dash.

“What!? Why!?” Fluttershy sounded caught off-guard by this news.

“Cloudsale Weather executives want to expand some of the new weather projects, and they highlighted this area as their prime pick. The school’s been long gone, relocated across town. I’m sorry, Fluttershy, I know you want to have a memorial at the last place you ever saw her...but...it’s over...I’m sure Twilight has some books on where the deceased are buried that you could look up.

Tears streamed down Fluttershy’s face. She still had not convinced herself that Violyre was gone. “I don’t want to find where she’s buried...I want to find out where she’s living.”

“It’s been ten years since the accident happened, I would think by now, she would’ve sent you something. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but she’s gone, ‘shy. You’re just hurting yourself with this foolish search.’

` Fluttershy, while not wanting to accept the truth of the matter, started to break down into tears. “I guess...you’re right...She would have sent something...”

Dash put her arms around her friend. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to keep seeing you hurting like this. Even if she were still alive, what kind of friend wouldn’t send their best friend a letter that says “Hey Fluttershy, I’m living in...I dunno...Ponyville?”

“Fine...I’ll give up...*she closed her eyes, the tear drops slowing down as she stands up.

“That’s good. Now just know, I won’t let anyone ever hurt my best pal again. Got it?” Fluttershy nodded softly. “What else do you have going on today?”

“Twilight asked me if I could visit a sick pony. I’m not sure why. She said that she’s scared of everything, so she thought that maybe I might be able to break under the “shell” she’s locked herself in.

“Alright, then you go do that. I need to get back to work. Let’s meet up later tonight.” Rainbow Dash said with a smile.

Magic

Twilight Sparkle darted out the door of the Carousel Boutique. She had been helping clean up from breakfast, when she caught sight of Fluttershy running away, looking really upset. She was used to seeing her mother’s emotions, but it wasn’t everyday that she would run from her friends, and even less often that she would forget her own daughter. She had been acting odd lately anyways, often finding herself left with any of her mamas, except for Rainbow Dash. That wouldn’t be too odd in itself, it’s not easy to be a non-pegasus in Cloudsdale, but even past that, it seemed as if her mommy had been actually trying to avoid mama Dashie.

“Mommy! Wait!” called out the purple unicorn. Her call went unanswered. Twilight knew that Fluttershy could be a completely different pony, depending on her emotion. Normally, the pair could keep the same speed, but when Fluttershy is scared or upset over something, there wasn’t a chance of her catching up. "At least she’s predictable." Twilight thought, heading in the direction of their house.

As Twilight reached the road leading towards the secluded house, she heard the door slamming in the distance. She started to run faster, but was knocked over by something jumping out of the bushes. Once she recovered, she looked in the direction where she fell back from, but there was nothing there. Confused, Twilight lifted her hoof into the air around the spot. “Not a barrier...”

“Pl-pl-please...don’t hurt me...” Twilight looked in the direction of the voice, a quivering bush catching her attention. Twilight walked over to it, and brushed some of the branches out of the way. Inside the shrubbery cowered a purple unicorn, her auburn mane draping down near her right eye. her hair reaching the top of her neck, and a ponytail a little shorter than that. A silver and gold shield cutie mark adorned her flank.

“Hurt you? Why would I want to hurt you?” Twilight started to step towards her, which caused the mare to start crying.

“Oh Celestia...I knew this was a bad idea...I shouldn’t have come out here by myself! I-i-i just wanted to show her I could do this alone...” The mare looked away, trembling. “Just...Please...Do whatever you have to do to me...” Twilight slowly reached her hoof towards the mare, who tried to cower as far down into the bush as she could.

“Shh...I won’t hurt you...” Twilight gently stroked the frightened unicorn’s neck, and smiled as the older pony looked up at her. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. What’s your name?”

“Vi-Violyre...I’m...I’m sorry...I’m just...not used to being outside...not by myself...”

“You have agoraphobia. You should be proud you made it this far!” Twilight smiled, but in her mind, she was confused. She had just met this pony, and yet, she felt like she already knew a lot about her.

Violyre nodded. “I-i suppose you’re right...Normally my fillyfriend is with me...I was...going to her house...”

“I can walk with you if you want me to! I know all the ponies that live around here! Mama Pinkie Pie introduced me to all of them! Though are you new in town? She never told me about anyone like you before.”

“I’ve...lived here for awhile. But like you said, I have a fear of the outside. Your mom is named Pinkie Pie?”

“Oh, no, she’s just mama. All of mommy’s close friends are my mamas. My mommy is named Fluttershy!”

“Flutter...shy...? Wait, you said you were Twilight Sparkle? You’re her daughter? She’s...she’s the one, my fillyfriend. Er, no...”

“My mommy is your fillyfriend!?”

“She was...”

“Aww, you seem like somepony that would be perfect for her!”

“She’s not my fillyfriend anymore...She’s my fiancée...”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and a wide smile appeared on her face. “Miss Violyre, does that mean you’ll also be my mo-” Her sentence was suddenly cut off as she laid down and clutched the area around her horn, cringing and crying in pain.

“Twilight!? What’s wrong!?” Violyre leaned down to check the filly. Twilight’s horn started to glow, and a burst of magic shot directly at the older unicorn, knocking her back. Every part of of Violyre’s body was searing with a burning pain, but she knew she had to endure it. Her soon-to-be daughter was having something happen to her, and she needed to get help. She pulled the filly onto her back, and galloped in the direction of the cottage.

Twilight’s horn glowed as she rocked the unicorn foal to sleep. “I knew that they had random magic outbursts, but I’ve never seen them that bad. Hopefully she’ll stay calm until Cadance and Shining Armour come to pick her up. Thanks for the help with catching her, girls!”

“Twi, we have a bit of a problem.” said the white unicorn.

“Problem? The baby’s safe and sleeping, what else could be wrong, Rarity?”

“What else could be wrong!? I’m Applejack!”

“Oh dear. I guess that means Rarity’s in your body then?”

“No darling, I’m over here!” Pinkie Pie’s voice sounded odd, as it was being spoken much slower than normal.

“Then where’s Pink-” Twilight got cut off as three Sonic Rainbooms shot off above the group. “That answers that question. Rainbow Dash?”

“Over here, feeling like there’s a two-ton weight on my back and I’m being punched in the gut! And Pinkie just killed any pride I ever had!” The yellow pegasus landed, unable to maintain her flight in the weaker body.

“Which means that Fluttershy must be in Applejack’s body.” She looked towards the frightened farmfilly hiding in a bush. “It’s getting late, can we just solve this issue tomorrow?”

“Yeah, it’s been a really long night. I just want to go to sleep.” Rainbow Dash yawned. “I might pass out on the way back to Cloudsdale though. Seriously Fluttershy, how do you fly with these things?”

“We should probably go back to the home of the body we’re in. Pretend to be each other, ya know?” Applejack commented. “My family might be confused if Rarity just walks out of my bedroom in the morning!”

“NO!” shouted the quivering voice from the farmmare’s body. The group waited for the usual “...that is, if you don’t mind...” from their friend, but it never came.

“Fluttershy, dear, there’s nothing to worry about.” the pinkened fashionista commented, Twilight just needs some rest before she can put us back in the right bodies.”

“No...I need to be back to normal...Th-the animals...they need...real me...”

“I think I can take care of all of your animals, Fluttershy. Don’t worry!” Rainbow Dash walked towards Fluttershy, and the earth pony form actually flinched when a hoof was put on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

Twilight was getting concerned, between Fluttershy’s outburst without apology, and seemingly being afraid of her old classmate, something was going on. “Let me talk to her for a minute. Alone.” The pink pony picked up the baby, and the group walked off to watch the pegasus Pinkie’s repeated Sonic Rainbooms, along with the agitated sounds of the body’s original owner. “Fluttershy, what’s wrong? I promise I’ll have this all sorted out by tomorrow.”

“No...Rainbow Dash can’t go back to my cottage...not right now...”

“What’s different now than any other time?”

“Vi...Violyre’s there...”

“You got her to leave her house!?”

Fluttershy nodded in response, the farmfilly’s hat slipping off of her head. “Just before you came over. I’ve been visiting her every day since you brought us together. Even with her full trust in me, she was hesitant to go outside. I didn’t force it on her, I asked her a few times though. Today, she said to me ‘I want to go outside.’ It made me so happy, I told her we’d go to my cottage since it wasn’t that far. After that was when you came to ask me to help. She was resting in my room at the time, she was exhausted after that much walking.”

“I’m sure Rainbow Dash will be fine around her.”

“NO! No, it’s out of the question! Rainbow Dash can’t find out about my relationship with Violyre!” Tears rolled down the cheeks of the tanned earth pony.

“Fluttershy...what aren’t you telling me?”

“Please...I’ll tell you later...but please, don’t let Rainbow Dash find Violyre...”

Twilight sighed. “Fine. You take everyone to the library. I’ll go see if Zecora might know, I know I don’t have anything in my magic. But you better stop at Starbits and get me some coffee.”

Loyalty

Rainbow Dash was aimlessly flying around Ponyville. She had calmed down from her rage at Fluttershy, but that didn’t change the opinion that Violyre should not have even been considered a friend of her old classmate after what she did. That unicorn didn’t even consider sending one message to tell Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash sat down on her favorite cloud to think. She had known Fluttershy since elementary school. They must’ve met shortly after Violyre disappeared. She remembered the day, how easy it was to upset her friend, how hurt she was. She was there every year for ten years as Fluttershy visited the site that the unicorn had fallen. She always wanted to tell Fluttershy to give up. That her friend was dead. The Weather Factory’s expansion forced her to say something. How did the two even reunite?

She would need to have a talk with her upset friend later. Maybe they could work something out, but Rainbow Dash knew one thing: She was NOT going to let Fluttershy ruin her life because of somepony that’s not said anything to her in years, after supposedly being “best friends.”

As she lazily looked at the sights down in Ponyville, her ears perked up to a loud burst of magic nearby. Looking over the edge, she spotted Twilight Sparkle a distance away from Fluttershy’s cottage, with an unfamiliar pony. Twilight was collapsing to the ground, and the other pony was picking her up. Narrowing her eyes in an attempt to see, the older purple mare was a unicorn.

Rainbow Dash assessed the situation. “That sound I heard must have been that unicorn attacking Twilight. Why would she do th-” She froze as she realized what was happening.

Twilight was being foalnapped.

Rainbow Dash quickly jumped off of her cloud, putting her hoof forward as she aimed towards the foalnapper. She wouldn’t be able to pull off Sonic Rainboom speed with the short amount of space between her cloud and the target, but she knew that even a portion of that speed would seriously injure anypony.

Violyre hobbled down the pathway. The pain she felt from the unexpected jolt of magic was nearly unbearable, but she had to endure it. For Twilight and for Fluttershy, her soon-to-be family. If she couldn’t tolerate this pain, she didn’t feel she would be worthy of either of them.

As the front of the cottage appeared over the horizon, she heard a piercing whistle getting closer to her. Violyre hastened her speed, having never heard such a sound before. As she slowed down to check the filly on her back, something slammed into her side, knocking her away, Twilight falling to the side, as she slammed into a tree. Violyre cringed a bit as she started to stand back up, only to be pushed back to the tree by her assailant, a cyan-colored pegasus with a multi-colored mane.

“Lucky you, I’ve been having a pretty lousy day and kidnapping a filly that’s like a daughter to me, you’re going to wish you hadn’t stepped outside today.” Her magenta eyes narrowed as she pulled her hoof back, prepared to let her frustrations out.

“Look, I don’t know who you are, but I need to get her back to her mom! She’s hurt!”

“Liar! The only reason she’s hurt is because you attacked her! I saw you!”

“I don’t know what you saw, but I would never hurt anypony! If you actually saw me, you’d have seen me crying in fear!” Violyre struggled against Rainbow Dash’s hold, to no avail.

“You used magic on her!”

“I have just as much magic as you do!”

“...what? WHAT!? Do you think I’m stupid!? You’re a unicorn!”

“Do you think I don’t know that!? Do you think I don’t hate my life because I’m a unicorn with no magic!? This girl’s mom, Fluttershy, is the only good thing that’s happened in my life!”

Rainbow Dash’s nostrils flared as she started to put it all together. “...you’re Violyre...”

“Yes! Now let me go so I can get that girl some help!” Violyre’s request was answered with a strong hoof across her face.

“You stay away from Fluttershy! I’m not going to let you hurt her again!”

“What’s wrong with you?” Violyre shouted at her attacker. “I would never do anything bad to her!”

“You left Cloudsdale!”

“It wasn’t my choice!”

“You didn’t try to send her a letter or something!”

“I tried!”

“LIAR!” Rainbow Dash drew her hoof back again, and Violyre turned her head. A piercing whistle was heard coming closer to the pair, and Rainbow Dash glanced towards an oncoming object just as it hit her, causing her to release Violyre and slam into a tree.

“I WON’T LET YOU HURT HER!” Her wings flared out to her sides, standing protectively in front of her frightened partner, the yellow pegasus glared at her friend.

“Fluttershy, are you crazy? I’m trying to help you! She was trying to kidnap Twilight!”

“Violyre would never attack anypony! Especially not a child!”

“But I saw the magic fire off and she’s unconscious! How can you explain that other than her being a liar?” Rainbow Dash was frightened of her friend, having not seen her this angry since the day they first met.

“She can’t use magic! I’m out here only because I heard the sound of Twilight’s magic going off!”

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash looked puzzled. “All magic sounds exactly the same!”

“I’m her mother, I think I know the sound of my own child’s magic!”

“I...I...but...what about...Fluttershy! Don’t do this! She’s just going to hurt you again, and I don’t want that to happen to you!”

A timid voice came from the trembling mare. “Fluttershy, if I did hurt you..I never meant to. I’m sorry...”

“Violyre, no. The only pony here that should be sorry...is me.” Fluttershy folded her wings inward as she started to tear up. “Nopony would ever tell me anything, whether you were dead or alive. It was my fault that you got hurt, Violyre. Your parents blamed me for it, and eventually they just told me that you were...gone.”

“I...I gave my parents my letters to give to you...at least, for the short time they still came to see me. I haven’t seen them in years. I had thought you didn’t want to be my friend anymore because of what I did!”

“What? That’s not right! How could anypony not like somepony that saved their life?” Fluttershy ran to Violyre and picked her up off the ground, pulling her into a tight hug. “Finding you again lifted a huge burden off of my heart! If Twilight hadn’t...” The pegasus’s eyes shrunk with the thought that just hit her..”Twilight!” Fluttershy stood up and ran to her daughter, looking her over, and breathing a sigh of relief. “Just a magic outburst, she’ll be fine once we can get her home and into bed. What caused it though?”

“I had just told her we were engaged...I hope that was alright...” Violyre scratched her hoof nervously on the ground. Fluttershy smiled and kissed her.

“Of course it was alright. You’ll be a parent to her soon, after all.”

“Fluttershy, why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” Rainbow Dash called over. “I’ve been your best friend since elementary school, haven’t I? Past knowing the name and some of her flaws, I never guessed you still had any feelings for somepony after all that...”

“I never stopped feeling for her. She saved my life, Dash! You can’t just forget somepony that saved you at the risk of their own life! She saved me, and now I’m saving her. If you really want to make it up, carry her back to my cottage, I’m going to take Twilight to the hospital, just to make sure nothing weird happened with that magic burst.” She laid down, and hoisted the unicorn filly onto her back, and she started flying towards the Ponyville Hospital.

Rainbow Dash stood alone with Violyre. Violyre looked down, not sure where to start the conversation.

“Rainbow Dash, was it? I’m sorry...I don’t know all of her friend’s names yet. Fluttershy talked a lot about you. I wanted to thank you for protecting her when I couldn’t...I was just hoping that I would meet you in a...less painful manner.” Violyre shied back slightly as Rainbow Dash turned towards her.

“Look, I’m sorry I attacked you. I just couldn’t take the thought of my best friend hurting herself again. The first day I met her, she was still taking the loss of you hard. First impressions are lasting, you know? And she was the pony that gave me my first impression of you.”

“I understand, and I promise I won’t hurt her. If I ever do, I won’t stop you from doing what you need to do to me.”

Rainbow Dash smiled at her new companion. “That sounds good. Next time, I’m making sure to give myself enough space for a full-powered Sonic Rainboom.”

“Is that what you call what you hit me with? Definitely going to make sure that I don’t hurt her. Because that hurt me!” Violyre started to laugh.

“Well, it was, but I didn’t have enough space to get as fast as I needed to go.” Violyre promptly fainted at those words. Rainbow Dash sighed, and hoisted the unicorn onto her back, and started her trek to Fluttershy’s cottage.

Kindness

“IT’S MINE!” Rarity, much like at other weddings she’s attended, shoved other ponies out of the way to make sure she caught the bouquet. Applejack glared at her partner, and the white unicorn realized she didn’t actually have a reason to catch them anymore, and handed it back to the bride.

Violyre looked confused at the entire situation as she threw the bouquet again, this time bouncing off the head and into the hooves of an orange pegasus filly with a purple mane. The girl and her two friends, who Violyre knew were sisters to Applejack and Rarity, walked off as they wondered if there was a cutie mark for being a bride.

“Are you alright, dear?” Fluttershy smiled at Violyre, and kissed her.

“I’m alright, love. I just never thought I’d see the day I was a bride.”

“Mommy!” Twilight Sparkle ran to the couple, and hugged the tuxedoed pegasus.

“You were an adorable little flower girl, Twilight.” Violyre smiled.

“Thanks!” She let go of Fluttershy and started to hug Violyre. “Hey mommy?”

“What is it, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“Mama Dash said she wanted to talk to you two, over there.” Twilight pointed towards a side room. The couple exchanged confused glances with each other.

“How strange. I mean, she’s been with us all day for the most part.” Violyre commented.

“Yeah...I mean, she was my Best Mare after all...” Fluttershy stood up, and walked with Violyre to the room that Twilight had come from.

Unlike the reception area, which had been handled primarily by Pinkie Pie, this room was virtually untouched. Probably the most lavish item in the room was a coffee maker. Rainbow Dash sat near a window, gazing out of it.

“Rainbow, what’s wrong?” Fluttershy took a step towards her friend.

“Fluttershy, Violyre, I just want to apologize for the last several years...You two have been much kinder to me than you should be, considering what I’ve done.”

“Rainbow, we’re not upset. You have no need to apologize. We’ve told you that before.” Violyre smiled and hugged her. “You did what any good friend would, and I appreciate what you’ve done for Fluttershy.”

“What I’ve done? Other than attack her bride?”

Fluttershy joined in the hug. “You helped to fix me after I lost Violyre, which then led to me helping to fix her. And remember...you’re the reason I came down to Ponyville in the first place. If not for you, I would’ve never met Twilight, and...” Violyre cut her off.

“...never met Twilight? But...she’s your daughter!:

“Oh dear...I’m not sure if I’m allowed to share that story...” Fluttershy glanced to Rainbow Dash, who returned a quizzical look.

“It’s quite alright.” A soothing voice came from the door. The towering form of Princess Celestia walked inside, followed by the smaller Princess Luna.

“Princesses!” Violyre started to bow down.

“You don’t need to be so formal with us, Violyre.” Luna started, “Besides, it’s your big day. We’d never want to draw attention away from the true star of the show.”

“How come you two always show up right when we need help?” Rainbow Dash questioned.

“Do you think we wouldn’t be at the wedding of one of the Elements of Harmony?” Celestia smiled.

Luna coughed, attempting to draw attention to the actual topic. “Violyre, it’s important that we tell you something about your new family.”

“Do you remember how you were reunited with Fluttershy?” Celestia asked.

“Yes, she came over to visit me...”

“And do you remember what made her decide to come see you, seeing as she thought you were no longer living?” Luna stood quietly, waiting for the answer to her question.

“Someone brought her over...”

“And who was it?” Celestia looked to Violyre, noticing she was starting to stammer a bit. The yellow pegasus nuzzled her partner gently.

“It was Twilight.”

“But...what?” Violyre stood there in complete confusion.

“Twilight Sparkle was the bearer of one of the Element of Harmony, Magic. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash here are Kindness and Loyalty, respectively.” Celestia started.

“Rarity represents Generosity, Applejack is Honesty, and Pinkie Pie is Laughter.” Violyre said. “I sheltered myself from the world, but I wasn’t that sheltered.”

“I see, I suppose even the youngest of fillies and colts know the story.” Celestia smiled.

“But I thought there were only five Elements of Harmony. Where did this Magic one come in?”

“Magic is the most elusive of the Elements. The reason for this is due to the power involved. The wielder of Magic...is the next generation of Equestrian royalty.” Luna gazed towards Violyre, ready for the incoming slew of questions.”

“But aren’t the rulers of Equestria like...well, you two? Alicorns? Little Twilight is too young for that! Not to mention, she’s a unicorn! That just...doesn’t make any sense!”

“Kind of like a unicorn without magic, eh?” Rainbow Dash snickered, before Fluttershy kicked her in the shin, shooting a telling glare in her direction.

“Twilight was raised as a unicorn for several years, and once she was able to properly mature into the role, her alicorn form would awaken. There was an incident recently, one that caused Twilight’s true form to awaken prematurely. The Elements of Harmony resealed her, and she’s now being raised Fluttershy’s daughter. And now, by extension, yours.” Celestia explained.

“So why am I just learning about all this?”

“I wanted to tell you dear,” Fluttershy said, “but we were told to keep it a secret. But since the princesses told you...”

“So I’m a parent to the future ruler of Equestria...” Violyre lowered her head in thought, and lifted up with a smile. “I’ll do anything I can for her.”

“I hope so, for we fear that a prophecy may be coming forth.” Luna said with a serious tone.

“Prophecy? This isn’t like the ‘prophecy’ that led Twilight to us, is it?” Rainbow Dash question.

“The beast of pure hatred, close to the heart of the light, will corrupt the harmony within to bring forth an eternal dusk. Only the shine of dawn, three ancient stars, and two lost souls will pierce the darkness.”

“What does that even mean? This isn’t another one of those Nightmare Moon prophecies that led Twilight to us in the first place, is it? Or Discord’s riddle?” Rainbow Dash seemed confused. Celestia sighed.

“No, this one is very real. We have no idea what it means. We’re most worried about the ‘corrupt the harmony’ part.” We fear that it may be referring to the Elements of Harmony, which need to remain protected. What’s important is that you three, and the other girls need to be careful, and protect Twilight.”

“Well...that’s kind of a downer for us today...” Fluttershy replied.

“Oh, we won’t let anything happen to you today.” Luna replied. “This place is more secure than Canterlot during Cadance’s wedding. Go! Be festive!” The couple exchange glances with each other as they hear a call for the bride and groom’s first dance, and head back to the main hall.