They Walk Among Us

"Are you sure you don't want tea? 'Cause you look like you really need it."

Twilight was pacing nonstop through the whole library and back. She was thinking about many things... Too many things, and the pacing was a physical outlet for all of it. It was the thing she could do that could relax her even the tiniest bit. Having tea would force her to stop her pacing, and she couldn't do that. Her brain might explode if she didn't keep pacing.

"Thanks, Barbara." said Twilight, shaking her head. "But I'm good."

"Could you at least tell me what you're thinking so hard about?" asked the librarian, scooting over to Twilight. "I might be able to help."

"I can't tell you how much I want to do that." said Twilight, shaking her head again. "But I can't."

"Why not?" asked Barbara, now following wherever Twilight was going.

"I just... can't." said Twilight. "It's hard to explain."

"What are you doing here, then?" asked Barbara. "If you want to think, then I think your mind would be clearer in your own room rather than in here."

"No, no..." said Twilight. "I used to live in a library, so I'm much more comfortable in one, anyway."

"You lived in a library?" asked Barbara, excited.

Twilight, however, didn't share in her excitement.

"Yeah, back in Ponyville." said Twilight.

"And I thought I was dedicated to books." said Barbara, laughing and burying her face in her palm.

Twilight didn't answer. Not that she wanted to, of course.

She had so many things to think about right then. Just so many things. Off the top of her head, though, the ones she found herself thinking about the most was: Spike, Applejack, Luna, Pinkie Pie, Discord, Cadance...

CADANCE!

"Barbara?" called Twilight.

"Yeah?" said the librarian, coming closer to her.

"Do you happen to know anything about a friend of mine?" asked Twilight. "Her name is Ca-"

"Twilight!" called a voice from behind her. "Alan told me you were looking for me?"

"Steven!" said Twilight, sighing a sigh of relief. Completely forgetting about Cadance (and a confused Barbara, for that matter), she turned back to see Steven and Rainbow Dash walking inside the library.

Twilight gulped. Did Rainbow Dash know about Applejack's feelings for her?

No, Twilight! said a tiny little voice which she made sure to keep strapped up at the deepest recesses of her head. You Pinkie Promised Applejack! She trusts you!

But Twilight needed answers. As many answers as she could get.

But this is not the way! said the little voice, who Twilight knew was right. This just isn't right.

Shut up. said Twilight to the voice. To her surprise, it did shut up.

Twilight glanced at Rainbow Dash, who was now walking over to Barbara with a yellow, hard cover book in hand.

"Steven, we have to talk." said Twilight.

"I guessed." said Steven, smiling. Why was he smiling? How could he smile at a time like this?

Oh right, he doesn't know.

"Alone." said Twilight.

Steven raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Soon later, though, he nodded.

"I'll meet you later in the Engineering Lab, at midnight." said Steven.

"Why can't we talk now?" asked Twilight.

Steven looked uneasy, as if he didn't know how to tell her the answer to that question.

"I'm sorry." said Steven, finally. "But I'll have to see you later."

"I thought the sole purpose of you coming here was to meet me?" asked Twilight.

"Again, I'm sorry." said Steven. "But if you want to talk alone, with no interruptions, then it's best that we meet in the Engineering Lab. You know the way, right?"

Twilight was pissed. There was so much to say... The burden was just too heavy. But should she tell Rainbow Dash too? Because Rainbow Dash was involved in all this after all.

No, no. Rainbow Dash has enough on her hoo... her hands right now. And Applejack had made her promise not to tell anyone, and Steven is already one too many ponies.

Oh... This is just too much...

Last chance to back out, Twilight. said the tiny voice. You're heading into a world of trouble.

Twilight knew that. She didn't need her reminding herself all the time. But there was no other choice.

"Bring Rainbow Dash." said Twilight, hating herself badly. "She needs to hear this too."

Don't do this, Twilight... Cancel it!

"I'll see you later, then?" asked Steven.

Say no... Say no...

"Okay." said Twilight, her eyes and the edges of her mouth twitching. "Bye."

Steven raised an eyebrow, but decided not to say anything. An awkward silence followed.

Twilight could hear Rainbow Dash and Barbara chattering idly behind them about Rainbow Dash's shocking little hobby (which Rainbow Dash found to be rather offensive), but she knew that they were quickly finishing up.

"I've returned my book," said Rainbow Dash, "and I got this new one. Daring Do and the Wizards of the West.

So... Awesome!"

"Rainbow..." said Twilight. "Can you come to the Engineering Lab at midnight tonight? There are... things we have to talk about."

"Things?" asked Rainbow Dash. "What things?"

"I don't know either." said Steven. "You're being really secretive about this, Twilight."

Twilight just nodded. She was desperately trying to stop herself from telling them anything, but the burden of that information was too much to bear. Besides, Rainbow Dash needs to know about this, doesn't she? What's the harm in telling other what they need to know?

Excuses. said the small voice.

Twilight tried to force a smile, but it was clear that Steven and Rainbow Dash didn't buy it.

This is wrong. said the small voice. This is selfish. You're not selfish, Twilight!

Shut up! thought Twilight, trying to drown out the small voice. But the small voice, though very small, seemed to triumph above the screams Twilight were making inside her mind.

"See you later, guys." said Twilight, her eyes shut closed as she pushed away Steven and Twilight.

"Twilight, are you-"

"For that last time, I'm FINE." said Twilight, striding off angrily. She could just imagine the confused faces of her three friends staring out as they watched her go.

Twilight was annoyed. Of course she was fine! She's told them all so many times already. It was frustrating. Infuriating. Twilight angrily kicked off a can which was blocking her path, making it crash through a window. Twilight didn't bother looking at what she just destroyed with a single angry kick.

"AAAAAH!"

Twilight's head jerked back. She knew that scream.

Rarity!

"Fluttershy?" called Rarity. "Where are you, Fluttershy? Oh, that crash must have sent her off running somewhere again..."

"Rarity!" shouted Twilight.

"My dear Twilight!" said Rarity. "Oh, woe is me! What have I done to deserve this?"

"What's happened, Rarity?" asked Twilight.

"I don't know!" said Rarity, honestly but overdramatically. "I was just in my Boutique, designing my next beautiful outfit for my new Spring line, when all of a sudden, some ruffian broke my Boutique's window! This is terrible, dear Twilight, terrible!"

Twilight's heart fell. To the bottom of some great chasm.

"You still design dresses, Rarity?" asked Twilight.

"Not only design." said Rarity, overly frantic. "I have to stitch them up too! And now there are little cuts everywhere in the dresses that I've already made!"

It seemed like a new hole opened up in the bottom of the chasm, making her heart fall down even deeper. The things she could do when angry...

"I'll help you clean up, Rarity." said Twilight.

"Really?" asked Rarity, brightening up immediately. "You'd do that for little old me? Why, that's very generous of you, Twilight! Thank you most sincerely."

"Please..." said Twilight, grinning awkwardly. "Don't mention it."

Twilight immediately started working her magic (literally), picking up the tiny shards of glass and trying to put them together. The plan was that she would first stick together the shards on the floor, and then magically glue them to where the glass was about half a minute ago.

Because of her proficiency in magic, however, this job (for Twilight) was menial and completely brain-dead. This gave her lots of time to think.

Not that she wanted to.

She was tired of thinking now. It put on such a strain on her mind, and it made her prone to frustration and anger. But there was nothing else to do until midnight, so she might as well stay here until then.

Twilight had almost completed the glass window. There were only a few holes left, but it was pretty hard to find those tiny, transparent glass shards among everything else in the boutique. That took her mind off other things for a while, though, so she can't complain.

"What are those dresses for anyway, Rarity?" asked Twilight. "It's not like there are going to be celebrations and parties here, or anything."

"You've only been here for around two weeks, Twilight." said Rarity, her attentioon fixed to the piece of parchment on her desk. "And you spent a good portion of those two weeks unconscious. But we still have things to celebrate here, Twilight. Birthdays, Congratulations parties, Weddings..."

"Weddings?" asked Twilight.

"You'd be surprised how many there are so far." said Rarity. "Isn't it great, though? I don't think I've ever been to as many weddings in my life!"

"Uhuh." said Twilight, not quite as excited as Rarity about all this.

"Are you alright, darling?" asked Rarity. "You look like you're really angry about something."

Twilight immediately felt self-conscious about the huge frown she was making on her face, and immediately turned it into a bright smile.

"I'm fine!" said Twilight. "Really fine, thanks for asking!"

"Hmm..." said Rarity, deep in thought. Twilight found the fact that Rarity was staring at her to be very uncomfortable, but she couldn't move a muscle. It was as if Rarity was holding her down with those eyes of hers.

"You're not fine." said Rarity. "Why, you're not fine at all!"

"No, really!" said Twilight, smiling and shaking her head. "I'm fine. I'll just finish up your window, and I'll be on my way..."

"No, I won't allow that." said Rarity, who used her magic to slam the Boutique's door shut.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. The window was still widely cracked open.

"Stop what you're doing and come here." said Rarity.

"No, Rarity..." said Twilight. "I'm really fine."

Almost immediately, Rarity stood up. She then immediately bent down and picked something up, and then she walked to another spot and picked up something there too. This process continued until she finally walked up to the window Twilight was just fixing and dropped a small mound of shiny, small things on top of it.

"The leftover glass shards." said Twilight, her mouth dropping. "Rarity, how did you spot them?"

"You said it yourself, Twilight." said Rarity. "I have a good eye for detail. Now if you would be so kind to fix that thing up so that we can talk..."

Twilight let out a deep breath.

"Fine." said Twilight, immediately fixing the shards together and sticking the window back where it was before. After giving it a few knocks to make sure that it was stable enough, Twilight sat down in front of the waiting Rarity.

Rarity, however, was already back in front of her desk, sewing up something. Twilight was just about to slip away unnoticed, when...

"There's no need for that now, Twilight." said Rarity.

Damn her hawk-like hearing!

Rarity immediately stopped sewing and sat, cross-legged, in front of Twilight. Twilight followed suit and sat down as well, although unable to sit cross-hooved.

"Now." said Rarity. "To business."

"Rarity, please." said Twilight. "I'm fine. I'm great! I'm-"

"Troubled." said Rarity, who was making a big deal of staring into Twilight's face. "There's no denying it, my dear Twilight. I can see it in your eyes."

Twilight rolled her eyes. Why did Rarity have to be so melodramatic about this? No, why did she have to be so melodramatic all the time?"

"So." said Rarity. "Tell me. What's troubling you?"

"I really can't say, Rarity." said Twilight. "I-"

"Is it about Applejack?" asked Rarity.

Twilight's jaw dropped. She made a mental note to never underestimate Rarity's sense for potential gossip.

"It is, isn't it?" asked Rarity, in a low voice. "I thought so."

"You... thought so?" asked Twilight.

"Of course!" said Rarity. "You just went to visit her recently, you having recovered from her trying to kill you and all. It must be very emotional. Of course it's all still in your mind."

Twilight relaxed breathed a sigh of relief. So that's all she thought.

"No..." said Rarity. "That's not it, isn't it? There's something else."

Twilight's eyes shot up again, not believing it this time.

"H-How..." muttered Twilight.

"My dear Twilight..." said Rarity, chuckling and softly patting her head. "It's written all over you! Now tell little Rarity here what's on your mind."

"I..." started Twilight, but she immediately shook her head. "I can't. Sorry, Rarity."

"Okay, then." said Rarity. "Then why don't you tell me about your visit with Applejack?"

Twilight looked down at her hooves. She can't say no, or Rarity will know that something's up. But she can't say yes either, because she is bound to spill the beans. And even if she did try to lie, what would she say? And she couldn't spend too much time thinking either, or Rarity will know that she's lying.

Well, time to do what she always does in times of panic.

Hyperventilate.

No, that's not right. But it looks like she was going to have to hoof it.

"Why not?" asked Twilight, trying to keep a straight face.

Rarity immediately lied down, her stomach pressed up against the floor, and looked up at Twilight, holding up her head with her little hands. Twilight thought that she was used to seeing her friends with slender bodies and tiny hands like those, but seeing Rarity this close up made her think otherwise. It was so... wierd.

"Anyway, well do I start?" asked Twilight rhetorically. "I guess I should begin from the time I came down to the dungeons."

Rarity didn't say anything. She just looked up at Twilight with expectant eyes.

"The corridor was a bit scary..."

"A bit?"

"Please don't interrupt."

"Sorry, please go on."

"The corridor was scary, so I ran all the way through to the door, where I..."

"You...?"

"Crashed into it. Anyway, I quickly came to, and I saw two guards. One of them is a pony, Lyra, and the other one was a human. His name was, um..."

"Rob?"

"Yeah, Rob. They asked me for the password, but I didn't know it." Twilight then shot Rarity with an accusing glare.

"I guess I'm sorry about that, dear. But I did spend the last few minutes trying to fix you down without ruining my hair."

"It's okay. Because Steven came down and told me the password anyway."

"Only because we told him to."

"Yes. Anyway, I went in and I immediately went to find Applejack. She was at the back of the room, right next to the wall."

"And it was a long walk there, I presume?"

"It was kinda long. Anyway, I found her, and then we hugged."

"That's great! We couldn't get her to move away from that spot of hers every time we visited."

"Really? She didn't seem at all reluctant to move when I was there."

"Maybe she was waiting."

"Waiting?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. She actually felt more relaxed, telling her story to Rarity like this. "Waiting for what?"

"For you."

"But why would she wait for me?"

"Maybe she felt guilty." said Rarity. "Maybe she made a promise to herself not to move from that spot until you came to. And if you didn't, well..."

"Then she wouldn't move from that spot at all? Because she'd hate herself too much to move?"

Rarity nodded.

Twilight swore under her breath and looked away. She was angry with herself for being unconscious for ten days. Partly because of Applejack not wanting to move... And partly because she understood why Applejack would do it.

You should've known that Applejack was going to do something like this, Twilight! she thought to herself.

Then came the hard question, the question that she wouldn't know the answer to until the time came itself.

Would she do the same for Applejack?

"Although that's all just speculation." said Rarity, noticing how Twilight got lost inside her head. "Please, continue."

Twilight snapped back to reality. It was surprising for her, really, how Rarity seemed to know so much about her friends. Perhaps it was because she had spent a much longer time with them.

"Okay, so we hugged." said Twilight, continuing the story. "We hugged, but I wanted to talk to her a bit more, well... intimately. As friends, you know. So I phased through the cell bars."

"Ha!" shouted Rarity, which surprised Twilight to the point of her jumping backwards. "Breaking the rules, aren't we, Twilight? I absolutely knew you had it in you. You just needed a little push is all."

"It doesn't matter." said Twilight, blushing. "Anyway, we hugged again, and we began to talk. We talked about Ponyville, we talked about current situations, we talked about-"

"Let me just stop you right there, Twilight." said Rarity, holding up her palm to signal stopping. "Now, when you say talk... so you mean... talk? As in the kind that involved lots of crying and embracing and emotions and the like?"

"Well..." said Twilight, pondering on what answer she was going to give. "Yes. Yes, it was like that."

Rarity giggled. Twilight immediately set on her a glare, however, and Rarity began to slow down her giggles.

"Forgive me, Twilight." said Rarity, wiping a tear off her cheek. "But would you care to... elaborate? I mean, it's fine if you don't want to... I wouldn't want to impose..."

"It's fine." said Twilight, Rarity's eyes began to gleam again. "There was lots of tears, lots of laughter, love... It was really one of the most meaningful moments I have ever had with Applejack. Ever. And the last time we met, she had almost killed me!"

"I understand." said Rarity.

"We talked about Sweet Apple Acres, about Black Wesa, about... Spike..."

"Spike?" asked Rarity, her ears immediately shooting up. "Did she know?"

"No, she didn't." said Twilight, giving a look of defeat.

"My poor little Spikey Wikey!" said Rarity. "Who knows where he is, how he's doing, what he must be feeling..."

"Please..." said Twilight. "Can we please not talk about Spike for now? It pains me enough to have to think about those questions too."

"Oh, I'm sorry." said Rarity, putting a hand on her shoulders and hugging Twilight. Twilight didn't react at all. Her mind was still deep in sadness. "Please, continue."

Twilight sighed.

"Anyway, I began to groom her mane-"

"With what?" asked Rarity.

"My hooves." said Twilight, distracted. "And teeth."

"Eww..." said Rarity. 'Who knows where that mane has been, Twilight? you should really be more careful with-"

If looks could kill, then Twilight would've made Rarity explode right then and there. Rarity shrunk.

"I'm sorry." said Rarity, mimicking Fluttershy. "I won't interrupt. Zip!"

She made a hand gesture as if she was zipping her mouth shut.

"Good." said Twilight. "Anyway, the topic became more, well... private. We talked about Luna, about Pinkie Pie, and finally, we talked about-"

Twilight slammed her mouth closed. It stung a bit, but it was worth it. SHe was this close to revealing Applejack's secret to Rarity. She was not going to do that. Steven and Rainbow Dash were the only two she was going to tell. No one else. She wouldn't dare.

"About...?" asked Rarity, tilting her head.

"About nothing." said Twilight, although she knew that the game was up. Rarity was onto her.

"Well it definitely isn't nothing." said Rarity, tilting an eyebrow. "Is it, Twilight?"

"Please, Rarity." said Twilight. "It's nothing."

"Now, Twilight..." said Rarity. "It certainly isn't nothing."

"No, Rarity." said Twilight. "I'm telling you, just forget about it."

"Forget about it?" asked Rarity, looking offended. "Me? Why, I won't be able to! Please tell me, Twilight. Please?"

"No, Rarity!"

"Pleasepleasepleaseplease?"

"No! I won't say anything." said Twilight, who stood up to leave.

"PleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasePLEASE?" said Rarity, holding on to one of Twilight's hooves with her hands.

"I can't, Rarity!" said Twilight. "She made me Pinkie Promise!" Twilight gasped and immediately put a hoof into her mouth.

Rarity immediately fell silent.

"Oh." said Rarity. "It's about that, huh?"

"That?" asked Twilight, her worst fears coming true.

"About... Rainbow Dash?"

"H...How did you know?" asked Twilight. No, it was more to screaming than asking.

"Well..." said Rarity. "Remember that time when we had a slumber party in your house?"

"The time when the tree fell through?"

"No, not that one." said Rarity, thinking further. "Oh, the one where Spike suddenly walked in on the three of us putting on our mud masks and thought we were... ghosts?"

Twilight couldn't forget that one. The three of them actually had to run through all of Ponyville to try and find Spike and get him back. Then again, they should have wiped the mud off their faces before trying to talk to him. It wasn't pretty.

Oh, Spike...

"Yes, I remember." said Twilight.

"Okay, so that night, you fell asleep rather fast, didn't you?'

"Of course. I was tired. We were all tired."

"Well, as soon as you fell asleep, we started talking about... our old flames."

"Why did you wait until I was asleep?"

"We didn't exactly wait until you slept. We just couldn't sleep, even after you had slept."

"Well?"

"Anyway, I very gently pressured her into telling me who she liked then, and after making me promise to not judge her, she told me."

Very gently my flank. thought Twilight.

"How did you react?" asked Twilight.

"Well, I was surprised that she was... well, a filly fooler." said Rarity. "But I couldn't judge her too harshly. In fact, I tried to encourage her to confess her feelings to Rainbow Dash, but she didn't want to. She wanted to be absolutely sure about how Rainbow Dash felt about her first before she would say anything."

"And that didn't turned out too well, did it?" said Twilight, referring to Rainbow Dash's current relationship.

"Not at all." said Rarity, shaking her head in agreement.

"But that doesn't sound like Applejack at all!" said Twilight. "The Applejack I know would tell Rainbow Dash about her feelings straight away! She wouldn't hide under the shadows, hoping like a schoolfilly that Rainbow Dash would confess to her first.'

"You must understand, Twilight, that Applejack's family is a very traditional one." said Rarity. "Her family would not allow such 'nonsense'. It was hard for her, Twilight. I couldn't even imagine how conflicted she must have felt. How she must be feeling now..."

Twilight immediately felt guilty. She hadn't even considered her family's approval. In fact, Twilight didn't think that even her own family would accept the fact that she was a filly fooler. She quickly felt sympathy for Applejack. She just can't imagine how Applejack must be feeling, knowing that the one she loved was in love with another. She started to understand how angry Applejack must've been when she first learned about it. Her anger was almost justifiable to her.

"Wow..." said Twilight. "I never realized. I'm such a bad friend..."

"No you're not, Twilight Sparkle." said Rarity, using her hand to hold Twilight's head up. "You're a good friend. The best friend anypony could possibly have. You don't judge, you care about others and their problems and try to help... Those are what makes you a very good friend."

"Thanks, Rarity." said Twilight, touched by her words but not feeling better at all.

"So, back to business." said Rarity. "Anything else you experienced in there?"

There was... one more. But it was very trivial- so trivial that it might not even be worth saying. But then again, what's the harm in doing so? It's not like anything she didn't know was going to surface or anything. And it had been troubling her very much too.

"There is... one thing." said Twilight.

"And that is?"

"It's just a strange feeling that I feel when I talked to Applejack." said Twilight. "I couldn't explain it, and since you are the expert on emotions (I would think), I thought that you might be able to help me explain it."

"I don't know if I'm going to any help to you, you being a genius and all.' said Rarity. "But I'll be sure to try."

"Very well then." said Twilight. "Whenever I talk to Applejack- No, whenever we look at each other, something strange happens. My breathing becomes faster and shorter, my heart beats faster, I hear and think less..."

"Well, that's interesting..." said Rarity. "Any other symptoms?"

"Yes." said Twilight, glad that there was someone she could share her feelings to. "Time seems to slow down when we embrace each other, my face begins to feel hot... Oh, and I like to look at her. Unconsciously. I mean, I always catch myself looking at her for some reason. And whenever we touch, I suddenly feel something strange coursing through my body. Something exciting, ticklish. Kinda like a-"

"A spark?" offered Rarity, her eyes wide.

"Yeah." said Twilight. "What do you think that means?"

Rarity immediately stood up and looked at the back of the wall. Almost immediately, though, she looked back at Twilight, an excited expression on her face.

"Why, Twilight!" said Rarity. "I'm surprised you didn't know about this sooner!"

"Know about what?" asked Twilight, the suspense killing her.

"I guess you never truly felt it before. Even when-" Rarity paused for a moment. "Of course! It all makes perfect sense now!"

"What makes perfect sense, Rarity? Tell me!" said Twilight.

"Why you didn't want to go out again with that stallion I set you up with!" said Rarity. "Of course..."

"What does that all have to do with Applejack, Rarity?"

"It has everything to do with that, Twilight!" said Rarity. "Because you're in love with Applejack!"

"Of course I love Applejack!" said Twilight. "She's one of my best friends!"

"No, I meant in love. Not just love." said Rarity, her face very close to Twilight, her expression like she was explaining basic arithmetic to a 20 year old. "There's a difference."

"What are you talking about?" asked Twilight.

"You. Are. In. Love. With. Applejack." said Rarity. "Really, Twilight, I really couldn't make that any clearer."

"Wh-"

But realization began to dawn on Twilight. What Rarity was talking about. What she truly meant.

"Oh..." said Twilight. "OH!"

"You see?" asked Rarity. "I myself was surprised when you told me this, darling. I had always thought that you... Well... You leaned more to stallions! I wouldn't have guessed that you were... into mares."

Twilight didn't answer. Despite it being her own feelings, Twilight was still shocked about just finding it out then, and having to have it pointed out by Rarity to do so. She was... a filly fooler? She had never thought of that before.

She still couldn't believe it. Not only was she a filly fooler, however... But she was in love with... Applejack? All of a sudden, Twilight began feeling very insecure about herself. She was in love with Applejack...

Slowly, however, it all began to make sense. The elevated heartbeat, the faster breathing, the desire to look at her and just keep coming closer until they can smell each other's mane... And then they would lean closer until their lips connected...

No! thought Twilight, pushing the image out of her head. What was she thinking? How could this be?

"I know it must be a shock to you, Twilight." said Rarity. "But, if it helps, I think that you and Applejack would make a good couple. As they say, opposites attract, I guess."

Twilight, the biggest nerd in all of Equestria who used to not want anything to do with other ponies other than her mentor and her family... is in love with Applejack? A simple, cheerful farm pony, a hard worker, and a pony who liked to get dirty and wild?

But it was true. It was definitely true. The more she thought about it, the more she felt foolish for not realizing it earlier. But she was still surprised at such a revelation.

She was in love with Applejack.

Twilight immediately felt giddy, cheerful, and giggly. She was on a sudden, euphoric high that made her just want to fly all the way to the Dungeons and tell Applejack. Tell Applejack, the one mare she loved, about her sudden revelation. About how she felt, and how much she wanted her, to which she would reply...

Twilight's heart fell even deeper than the chasm within a chasm. Applejack didn't like her back.

This thought struck Twilight like a lightning bolt in the middle of a very calm dribble of rain. It was so unexpected, so sudden... So... expected.

She knew that Applejack was in love with Rainbow Dash. She knew it. But still, Twilight herself was in love with Applejack. That's just great. After all this, she's just caught herself in the middle of a goddessdamn love triangle. It was depressing.

Twilight could feel the tears beginning to flow out, her emotions so strong that it could lift mountains at will.

Unrequited love. The worst, but the most beautiful type.

Applejack didn't love her. That thought would remain struck in Twilight's head, most possibly for the rest of Twilight's life.

But the feelings were just too much. She needed to let it out. But then what would she tell Applejack? No, a better question would be: 'How would Applejack react when I tell her?'

"Twilight, darling, are you okay?" asked Rarity. "Oh, poor dear! You're crying!"

"I'm fine, Rarity." said Twilight, in between sobs.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you that you are not." said Rarity. "Here, let me help you."

Rarity immediately shot off across her the Boutique and back, bringing with her a box of tissues, which she took to wipe Twilight's tears off her face. Rarity then began to comfortingly shush Twilight, gently stroking her mane.

"Ssh..." said Rarity. "I know how you feel, Twilight."

"You do?"

"Yes." said Rarity. "Remember Prince Blueblood?"

"You mean that stupid, spoiled, son of a-"

"Yes, that one." said Rarity. "I was deeply in love with him, but when I found that he didn't feel the same for me, you know, seeing how he didn't really treat me well at all, I was angry. very angry. I even attacked him. I sometimes cry myself to sleep when I think about that horrible night. And compared to that, I should say that you're handling it rather well."

Twilight tried to force a small giggle, but it was just too painful.

"I'm sorry, Rarity..." said Twilight. "I know how it must hurt to bring back those memories of yours. I'm so sorry..."

"If it helps... i know how you feel too, Twilight." said Fluttershy.

"Thanks, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy?

FLUTTERSHY?

"Fluttershy!" said Rarity, standing up all of a sudden. "How long have you been here?"

"The whole time..." said Fluttershy, bowing so low that her chin was touching the ground. She was trying to hide herself behind her hooves.

"I thought you ran off somewhere!" said Rarity.

"I didn't..." said Fluttershy, who continued talking in nothing but mumbles.

"What was that, dear?"

She began to spoke a little bit louder, but it was still too soft to hear.