Twilight's Secret

GoldenFeathers helped Fluttershy bury Angel, as it continued to rain.

They had him in a box, his grave right by the cottage. GoldenFeathers shoveled more dirt into the hole, as it continued to rain. His ears folded back, sadly.

Fluttershy came over, tears still in her eyes. She carried lavender flowers.

She gently set the flowers down, once GoldenFeathers finished burying the rabbit. There was a stone. It was engraved with “Rest in Peace, Angel Bunny”

It was engraved in by Twilight's magic.

“This is all my fault...”, cried Fluttershy then.

“No, baby girl, no! It's not!”, GoldenFeathers held her close, worriedly.

“I should have paid more attention to him...he must have felt so neglected”, sobbed Fluttershy. GoldenFeather's ears folded back, he held her closer, petting her mane.

“You never neglected him, Fluttershy”, he soothed her.

Inside the cottage, Twilight made hot tea for everypony, wanting to help anyway she could.

Applejack sat in the living room, a blanket around her shoulders.

“Applejack...”, Twilight approached her, worriedly. Her friend's green eyes were dark, tears still in them.

She gently placed her hoof on Applejack's shoulder. The cottage door opened, GoldenFeathers and Fluttershy came in.

Applejack looked up.

“Fluttershy...I'm so sorry. This is all my fault”, Applejack cried.

“It's not your f-fault, A-Applejack...it's mine”, Fluttershy cried, as the two hugged.

“How is it your fault?!”, cried Applejack, worriedly.

Fluttershy sobbed softly.

“All he w-want w-was a c-carrot cake!”, Fluttershy cried, feeling horrible.

“Oh Fluttershy...there, there, it's not your fault”, Applejack petted her mane, her ears folding back.

“Thank you, Twilight. For staying...you and AJ”, GoldenFeathers said, as he walked over to her.

“It's fine, GoldenFeathers. I just hope Fluttershy will be okay...”, Twilight said, worriedly.

“I know she's gonna keep blaming herself...”, GoldenFeathers sighed, worriedly.

“Is there anything else we can do?”, asked Twilight.

“Could you let Soarin know I won't be able to help out with the weather tomorrow morning? I have to stay up with her tonight, I know she won't be able to sleep”, GoldenFeathers asked.

“Of course, and if you need anything else, you know where we are”, Twilight assured him.

“Thank you, Twilight”, GoldenFeathers walked back to his wife, as she continued to sob.

“We'll come back tomorrow”, Applejack promised.

She and Twilight soon left, it was dark out already.

Fluttershy continued to sob in GoldenFeather's embrace, nonstop. He gently kissed her forehead, rubbing her swollen belly, doing all he could to calm her.

“Applejack...don't blame yourself. Please...”, Twilight cried. Applejack was walking her home, since her castle was on the way to Sweet Apple Acres.

“I...can't help it, Twi. I should have done something”, Applejack said, grimly.

“But it's not your fault! Accidents happen...we can't always prevent them”, Twilight said, softly. Applejack looked down.

They arrived at Twilight's home.

“I'll see you at Fluttershy's tomorrow, Twilight”, was all she said.

“Applejack, wait!”, cried Twilight, worriedly, but her friend was gone.

Twilight's ears folded back, worriedly. She didn't want her friend blaming herself for this.

She felt her foal kicking softly against her abdomen, sensing its mother's worry.

Twilight looked at her belly lovingly.

“It's okay, little one”, she soothed softly. She sighed worriedly, walking inside her castle.

A month soon went by, Fluttershy was naturally still grieving, but GoldenFeathers never left her side. Her friends visited as much as they could.

Rainbow Dash and Twilight were hesitant about leaving to the Daring Do Convention, but Fluttershy urged them to go, she didn't want them to miss out on it.

Soon the two arrived at the Convention.

“I gotta say, I really needed a break”, Rainbow Dash admitted.

“Are the twins driving you and Soarin crazy?”, asked Twilight.

“Actually, it's mainly Skylar. Winter is an angel. She's so...calm. But Skylar is all over the place!”, Rainbow replied.

“Babies do tend to explore..”, Twilight started.

“No, Twilight! I mean he's literally all over the place! He's FLYING already!”, Rainbow explained.

“Oh...! Already?”, asked Twilight, surprised.

“We can hardly keep a track of him. He almost flew to Canterlot once! His wings are so weirdly strong”, Rainbow Dash said.

“It'll be okay, Rainbow. You know, Pound Cake flew early too. But you're able to fly after him, the Cakes can't”, Twilight pointed out.

“I guess you're right, I just worry about him”, admitted Rainbow.

Twilight's ears folded back then, smiling at Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash frowned.

“What? What's that look?”, she asked.

“Sorry, I just never thought I'd see your soft side this much”, admitted Twilight.

Rainbow looked away, embarrassed, choosing not to comment on that. Twilight smiled softly.

The two walked through the Convention, seeing many other fans there.

“Wow...to be honest, I expected to see more younger fans”, Twilight noticed most of them were adults.

“It's nostalgic for us, foals today really can't fully appreciate Daring Do”, Rainbow said.

“Hey! Rainbow Dash! No way!”, a familiar earth pony waved towards them.

Rainbow blinked, and her jaw dropped then.

“Quibble Pants?!”, she gawked.

“I don't believe it!”, he hurried over, and the two hugged.

“Where have you been?!”, he asked her, once the two broke apart.

“I've been really busy lately”, admitted Rainbow, happy to see her friend again.

“Oh...this is Quibble? The adventure critic?”, asked Twilight.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle! I can't believe I'm meeting you”, Quibble said, smiling.

“Yep, the adventure critic. I'm shocked you still come to these, considering this one is only for the newest books”, Rainbow admitted.

The two had formed a brother/sister relationship.

“Well...”, Quibble hesitated, biting his lip.

“The truth is...well...”, he stammered. Rainbow's eyes suddenly lit up.

“No way! You LIKE the three new books?!”, she asked, excited.

Quibble turned away, unable to admit it.

“I don't believe it! That's so awesome!”, Rainbow cried.

“Okay...fine. Her last three were...really well written”, admitted Quibble.

“Quibble! Wait up! You left me back there with that creepy Daring Do body pillow seller...”, a pony came running over.

Twilight froze, and she unknowingly blushed. It was him again.

That white Unicorn stallion, with the red and blue mane and tail.

“Hey, I wasn't gonna wait”, Quibble said back.

“You two...know each other?”, asked Twilight.

The white stallion saw her, and he instantly blushed, his ears folding back.

“Princess Twilight...we meet again”, the stallion chuckled, surprised.

“Again, indeed”, Twilight looked away.

“I never did introduce myself...my name is Firework”, the stallion revealed.

“Are you following me around or something?”, Twilight asked. She couldn't look him in the eyes. Every time she saw him, her heart skipped a beat, and she felt nervous.

The same feelings she felt...when she first met Flash.

She also could tell Firework liked her. But...she didn't want to get hurt again.

She...couldn't trust again.

“It must feel like that, but nope. I'm friends with Quibble, and we just happened to come here as well”, replied Firework.

“Well, Quibble and I have lots of catching up to do”, Rainbow spoke up then, she could clearly see them both blushing.

Twilight's heart sunk then.

“Wait, Rainbow!”, she cried, panicked. But Rainbow and Quibble had taken off, vanishing in the crowd of Daring Do cosplayers.

“So....you like Daring Do, as well?”, asked Firework. Twilight hesitated, looking away.

“Yes...I'm a long time fan”, she replied.

“Really? Same here!”, Firework said, smiling. Twilight continued to look away, her head low. Firework gave a worried smile. He knew what happened to her.

“Hey...you want to hang out a bit?”, he gently asked. Twilight glanced up at his kind smile.

She gave a small nod, and followed him.

“So, what's your favorite out of the series?”, asked Firework.

“I guess that would have to be the Griffin's Goblet”, admitted Twilight.

“A classic, it was one of her more darker novels”, Firework said.

“So...how long have you been a guard at Canterlot?”, asked Twilight.

“I'm still new to it. I was in training for a few years, but I finally got accepted”, replied Firework.

Twilight glanced at his Cutie Mark.

“That's a really unique cutie mark”, she noticed.

“I get that a lot...I have the magic to conjure limitless fireworks”, Firework's horn glowed red then, and he shot up a few.

The loud booms startled some of the other ponies.

“HEY buddy! This is an INDOOR convention! Get a grip!”, a pony yelled, angrily then.

“Yikes...sorry. Conventions aren't what they used to be”, Firework blushed, embarrassed.

Twilight blushed at him, she even smiled slightly, without realizing it.

“Guess I got a bit carried away, forgive me Princess”, Firework said then, respectfully.

Twilight's ears folded back.

“Oh, you don't have to apologize”, she assured him.

“But as a guard, I have a duty to respect all the royals of Canterlot”, Firework said.

“I'm not...all that special”, Twilight looked down.

“Are you kidding me? You did so many wonderful things! You defeated Nightmare Moon, and brought Princess Luna back. And you helped defeat King Sombra! You even stopped Tirek! And that's naming just a few!”, Firework said, smiling.

Twilight blushed again.

“My friends helped me all those times...I never did any of it alone”, she said.

“Well, you are the Princess of Friendship. You inspire so many ponies”, Firework pointed out.

Twilight's ears folded back.

“I haven't inspired many ponies”, she admitted.

“That's not true! Twilight, you have no idea how special you are”, Firework pressed, he went to place his hoof on her shoulder.

Twilight suddenly flinched, and even backed away. Firework didn't look surprised, but he did look worried.

“I'm sorry...it's not you...”, Twilight apologized, she was visibly shaking.

“It's all right”, Firework assured her gently, worried.

“I think it's best we don't..talk anymore”, Twilight felt a lump in her throat as she said this.

“Princess...”, Firework started.

“Please, I don't want to get hurt again...”, Twilight backed away. Her horn glowed, and she teleported outside.

“Oh Princess...”, Firework's ears folded back, worriedly.

Tears were sparkling in Twilight's eyes, as she walked away from the convention building.

“Twilight! Hey, where you going?”, Rainbow saw her, and she flew over.

“How could you do that?!”, Twilight snapped then, glaring.

“Do...what? You two were totally gushing over each other!”, Rainbow pointed out.

“Do you really think I'm ready to trust again?! After what happened?!”, Twilight cried, she was still glaring, but tears were in her eyes.

Rainbow Dash's ears folded back, a look of regret in her eyes.

“But...you were blushing!”, she cried.

“I didn't even realize I was. I...I just don't want to get hurt again”, Twilight cried.

“And...I didn't want to reject him like that. He looked devastated”, she added, feeling horrible.

“Twilight...I'm sorry. I just...”, Rainbow looked down, feeling terrible.

“I'm not mad...I just...please, don't do that again”, pleaded Twilight.

“I won't...I promise”, Rainbow assured her, worried. She noticed Twilight was still shaking.

Back in Ponyville, Applejack sat on a hill, under an apple tree. It was sunset. She still blamed herself for what happened to Angel.

Applebloom saw her older sister. The filly was in her teens now, and much bigger.

“Applejack...”, her voice sounded older as well.

Applejack's ears perked, and she looked.

“Applebloom, what are you doing up here?”, she asked. She fought back tears.

“Sis...you got to stop blaming yourself over this. It ain't your fault”, Applebloom cried, worriedly.

“But...I...”, Applejack couldn't answer.

“Mom and dad wouldn't want you blaming yourself for this...”, Applebloom said then.

Applejack looked at her little sister.

“You...saw it, sis. Didn't you...?”, Applebloom asked then.

Applejack's heart sunk, as she fought back tears.

“How did you know?”, she asked.

“Big Mac told me...you saw it. When the timber wolves killed our parents. He technically saw it too, but only the end of it...”, Applebloom replied. She gently sat beside Applejack.

“I'm just glad you were just a baby, and didn't see it...”, Applejack admitted, sniffling.

“Sis, Fluttershy doesn't blame you. You can't keep blaming yourself”, Applebloom said, softly.

“But...how?”, asked Applejack, sadly.

Applebloom thought for a moment.

“I have an idea!”, she cried then, smiling. Applejack blinked tears from her eyes, looking at her sister.

The two went to the PonyVille Animal Shelter.

“Are you sure this is a good idea...?”, asked Applejack, worriedly.

“Of course! A new pet is just what Fluttershy needs”, Applebloom replied.

Applejack blinked then, seeing some baby bunnies.

There were white ones, brown ones, gray ones, and even black ones.

She noticed one that stuck out, it was a gray baby bunny. He stuck out because, oddly, he had an eyepatch over his left eye.

“What's wrong with this one?”, Applejack asked the shelter volunteer pony.

“Oh, that's Captain Cotton Tail. Or just Captain for short. Poor little fella got his eye scratched out by a nasty cat...”, replied the pony.

“He's a really sweetie though”, she added.

Applejack looked at the bunny. The little bunny looked back up with its one eye.

“Why not?”, asked Applebloom.

The two soon arrived at Fluttershy's cottage. There were fresh flowers at Angel's grave.

Applejack hesitated, nervous. She then knocked softly.

After a few seconds, the door opened.

“Applejack? Applebloom?”, Fluttershy's eyes were red and puffy.

“Hey sugarcube...”, Applejack smiled softly.

“We brought you something”, Applebloom smiled.

“Come in”, Fluttershy let her friends in. Applejack saw a whole box of tissues by the couch.

Applebloom carried the box, with air holes in it.

“Fluttershy...truth be told, I still feel horrible about what happened to Angel...”, Applejack started.

“Applejack, it wasn't your fault”, Fluttershy cried, worriedly.

“I know...but I just...felt responsible. So...Applebloom and me, went to the animal shelter”, Applejack admitted.

Applebloom set the box down, and opened it.

Fluttershy blinked, and she then froze, seeing the bunny inside.

“We know it won't replace Angel, but...”, Applejack explained.

The gray bunny looked up at Fluttershy, and suddenly leaped into her arms, snuggling against her.

“Oh Applejack...”, Fluttershy's eyes filled with tears, but she smiled.

“Thank you so much...!”, she cried, as she cuddled the baby bunny close.

Applejack smiled in relief.

“You're right, he could never replace Angel, but...he's still a baby bunny. And he needs a momma”, Fluttershy smiled, as she cuddled the bunny close.

The bunny cuddled her back.

“We're so glad”, Applebloom said.

Applejack smiled, relieved. And also glad she could bring Fluttershy's spirits back up.