The Filly with the Purest Heart

A few hours prior to nightfall, before the tragic events that caused Fluttershy to be rushed to the hospital, a certain event was still coming to fruition in the perimeter of the Everfree Forest. Twilight Sparkle had come across a strange stallion who had requested her to leave the area, though she decided against that. Despite the feelings that she had around him, the stallion had not tried to harm her yet, but had decided to merely sit down and have a talk with her.

He had declared that he was going to tell her his name. This had intrigued Twilight, as in the back of her mind, she was certain that this pony had something to do with the mysterious energy readings that she was picking up all around town. These energy readings had been occurring for a while now, and she knew that it had to start with this pony before her.

“My name... Well just call me... The Contortionist.” said the stallion as he was now sitting on his haunches against a tree that was several feet in front of Twilight herself.

“What, Contortionist, but that is a nickname, and not your real name!” yelled Twilight who was not satisfied with the answer that the large, bearded stallion had given her.

“Well, that is the answer that I am giving, because even if I told you my real name, it would not mean much, it’s not like my real name has any value anyway.” lamented the Contortionist as he merely sat on the grass in front of the large oak tree behind him, staring at Twilight with no discernible emotion in his eyes.

“Your real name has no value, what kind of answer is that, you would have no reason to hide your name if you were innocent.” ventured Twilight as she had come up with the conclusion that this so called Contortionist must be guilty of the energy readings now.

“You can think what ever you want, Ms. Twilight Sparkle, but you think you know so much, but I assure you, I believe that you know so little after the fact.” mused the Contortionist as he began to roll around on his back slowly, still keeping his eyes locked with Twilight’s own.

“Wha... B-but... I, I thought you did not know my name?” asked Twilight as she was beginning to grow nervous and unsettled by the pony’s words and actions before her.

“Of course I know your name, you are the student of the Sun Princess for crying out loud, everypony knows your name.” said the Contortionist as he decided to stand back up on all of his hooves and slightly move toward Twilight’s location.

“Oh, I see, I guess that makes sense, but that does not mean you know anything about me on a personal level, so don’t try to act like you can manipulate me with those words of yours.” cautioned Twilight as the tip of her horn began to emit the same purple glow that many ponies had become to fear over the past years.

“Please, I could care less about your attempts to seem competent, I have nothing to loose here, and your town here, well they have everything to loose.” rebuked the Contortionist as he turned his gaze towards the location of Ponyville, that lied beyond the road behind them.

“So you are an enemy of Ponyville, and by extension, Equestria!” said Twilight as she focused the magic in her horn, causing the purple glow around it to cackle with electricity.

“No, I am not an enemy of anything, just an auditor.” insisted the Contortionist as he showed no visible signs of fear from the display that Twilight was putting on before him.

“There you go with those round-about answers again, you cannot even believe yourself, so you are just making excuses to try and sound neutral about all of the accusations that I am throwing at you.” declared Twilight as she maintained the glow of magic and electricity that surrounded her horn, almost spiraling around it like a funnel.

“Yet, these are accusations that are being made by you, only one lowly pony, and just because you might feel a certain way, it does not mean that it is necessarily the right way.” chimed the stoic stallion, who began to trot a few steps away from Twilight, though not out of fear, but out of sympathy.

“Heh, haha, you know, I rather appreciate your way of words Mr. Contortionist, you definatley sound like you had some kind of premier education in the past.” laughed Twilight as she had rarely came across another pony who composed themselves like the strange stallion that she had met this late afternoon.

“Nah, nothing like that, whatever it is you assume about me, it is most certainly not true, you don’t know me, but I know you.” countered the Contortionist as his right eye began to twitch, turning his neck at an angle that caused his head and facial expression to become demented.

“I will not tolerate this anymore!” yelled Twilight as she shot a vibrant, purple beam of magic and electricity right towards the stallion, though he retained the same expression that he held prior to.

The beam of energy collided with the stallion, destroying the trees around him, and creating a moderate sized crater in the ground from whence he once stood. Twilight seemed saddened that she had upset the land around the stallion, not wanting to harm the forest all because she wanted to silence the pony before her.

Despite this, she glanced around the area before her, only seeing the crater that she had caused and the trees around it, laying in pieces on the ground. No sign of the stallion though, and Twilight did not necessarily feel pleased about this revelation either.

“Surely that could not have been enough power to kill him, I did not want to do that!” panicked Twilight as she began to quickly trot around the landscape of the Everfree in a attempt to find the body of the stallion that she believed to be taunting her earlier.

She had noticed a similar sensation in her mind that she had felt when the stallion was in her presence earlier. This occurred to her while she was galloping down the tree line of the Everfree. She began to realize that she was not far from Fluttershy’s cottage, she seemed to be surprised by the amount of ground that she had covered so quickly.

“Did he teleport away from my attack, and if so, why did he decide to go to Fluttershy’s house?” asked Twilight to herself in panic as she noticed that nightfall was now rapidly approaching her. Within the next fifteen or so minutes, Twilight had managed to come across the gate that led to Fluttershy’s home. The animals were all running around her cottage, playing and eating, but Twilight did not see Fluttershy herself anywhere.

“Did that Contortionist pony come here or not, I could swear that I sensed him in this direction, it was the same feeling that I had when I first met him after all.” thought Twilight to herself as she was now using the purple glow on her horn to light the darkness around her.

It was beginning to grow dark and cold outside, but Twilight could not turn herself away from the investigation that she was currently undertaking at the moment. She felt that there was still too much risk associated with that stranger pony, and the last thing that she could do right now was to calm herself down.

“You should spend less time worrying about me Ms. Sparkle, go to the hospital in Ponyville, Fluttershy needs you right now.” sneered the familiar voice of the stallion that she had believed to have killed from earlier.

“Huh, what?” asked Twilight as her eyes widened in fear, and her pupils now the size of small dots.

“I am fine, that attack was pitiful Twilight, so don’t worry about me, but as for your timid pegasus friend, well, maybe you should worry about her.” laughed the Contortionist as he appeared on the road that led from Fluttershy’s Cottage to Ponyville.

Even though he was over two-hundred feet away from Twilight at this point, she was even more afraid of him than when they were closer. He seemed to be in a distorted shape compared to earlier, as if his features had become exaggerated from before, no longer looking like an ordinary pony anymore.

“Did, did my magic from earlier do that to him, oh no, I am sorry.” said Twilight as, despite what the stallion had been telling her, she still held the notion that his current appearance was of her fault, and this still saddened her despite everything else that was occurring at the moment.

“Goodness, despite being the Element of Magic, you do have some kindness in you, maybe too much.” said the Contortionist as his distorted appearance began to settle back down into the one that Twilight was familiar with.

After this display, he vanished into thin air for a split second, before appearing much closer to Twilight than before, now being within twenty feet of the frightened unicorn mare.

“As I said before, you should head to the Ponyville Hospital right about now, your fellow Elements could use it after all.” said the stallion as he had once again withered into thin air, leaving only Twilight herself, standing outside of Fluttershy’s property, with a sick feeling in her stomach.

“Flutt...Fluttershy, what could have happened to her?” thought Twilight to herself as she disappeared in a flash of purple light, leaving only the sight of a circle of singed dirt in her wake.

Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle had approached the direction of Sugarcube Corner, after having spoken to the butler over the radio back at Rich Estates. Silver Spoon was certain that her friend would be there, as that was the spot that Diamond Tiara would usually go to when she was feeling down and out.

Sweetie Belle was merely following in suit, as she did not know much about Silver Spoon or Diamond Tiara personally, though at least it seemed that she could trust Silver Spoon at the moment.

Even though nightfall had come across Ponyville, Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle had insisted that they look in the bakery for Diamond Tiara first, before deciding to head home for the evening. They had spent the prior hours looking around other locations that Silver Spoon had found Diamond Tiara at in the past, just to be sure, before deciding to end their investigation at Sugarcube Corner itself.

“Hmm, I thought for sure that she would be at Tinsil’s Tea, you did say that she loved to go there during the evening.” said Sweetie Belle to Silver Spoon as the two fillies approached the door of the bakery, seeing the silhouettes of several ponies in the dimly-lit windows that were on both sides of the door itself.

“So did I, I have found her at Tinsil’s before, she loves to go there after a difficult day, but according to Tinsil herself, Diamond Tiara had not been there the entire day.” sighed Silver Spoon as she was hoping for Diamond to be in one of the seats of the bakery that they were just about to enter.

Upon coming into Sugarcube Corner, the feint smell of baked goods, cookies, cakes, and the like began to feel in the noses of the two fillies. Despite the worried state of mind they were both in, these pleasant smells did manage to calm them both down a bit. They then began to search for Diamond Tiara among all of the other ponies that were present at the bakery this evening.

“Hey Silver, do you see her anywhere yet, I don’t.” said Sweetie Belle as she began to feel a surge of panic rush into her mind.

“No, I don’t see her here either, maybe Pinkie Pie has seen her here earlier in the day, let’s go ring the bell at the table over there, that is where Pinkie is usually during this time.” said Silver Spoon with a hastened tone.

The two fillies approached the employee desk of the bakery, and Silver Spoon gently tapped on the bell that sat beside the cash register. A pony that Sweetie Belle knew as Mrs. Cake approached the two fillies after about thirty seconds of silence. By this time, the other customers in the bakery had began to leave out through the door. Only a handful of ponies remained in the building at this time.

“Oh girls, it is so nice to see you this evening, although it is getting rather late.” said Mrs. Cake to the two fillies with a joyful expression on her face.

“Hi Mrs. Cake, we were wandering if Pinkie Pie is still around, we are trying to find Diamond Tiara, and we were wandering if anypony had seen her here today?” asked Silver Spoon to Mrs. Cake, with fear and confusion starting to form in the filly’s eyes.

“Oh my, I see, well I have not seen her today, but Pinkie, she might have, but something happened earlier today, something concerning Pinkie’s strange sense.” said Mrs. Cake who was starting to sound a little worried herself.

“Are you talking about the Pinkie Sense, if so, then I am a believer.” said Sweetie Belle, recounting the many times that she saw the proof of the strange ability in action. Although she did not believe it at first, many things that had transpired since have changed the filly’s mind greatly.

“What, Pinkie Sense?” thought Silver Spoon to herself as anything that had to do with Pinkie Pie would always surprise her.

“Yes, it was the strangest thing, she said that Fluttershy was supposed to show up earlier in the day and help her with the baking.” recalled Mrs. Cake as she tried to remember the specific words that Pinkie had told her from the night before.

“Oh yeah that is right, Fluttershy told us that yesterday, how she was supposed to help Pinkie today, that is true.” proclaimed Sweetie Belle as she had managed to remember that detail from yesterday, after the Crusader’s day of exploration had ended.

“I see, well something happened to Fluttershy while she was getting ready to help Pinkie, though I am not sure of the exact details.” continued on Mrs. Cake as she had a look of confusion on her face, the same as the two fillies before her.

“Something happened to Fluttershy, what?” asked Sweetie Belle with a saddened tone as she began to feel anxiety well up into her mind.

“What in Equestria is going on today?” asked Silver Spoon as she now had more things to worry about than just Diamond Tiara’s location.

“I don’t know the details, but Pinkie did tell me that Rainbow Dash came by around that time, and that she took Fluttershy with her to go visit Daisy’s Flower Shop,” resumed Mrs. Cake as she tried to recount all of the details that she heard from Pinkie earlier in the day.

“Okay, but where is Pinkie right now?” asked Silver Spoon as she noticed that Mrs. Cake had yet to tell them anything about the party pony herself.

“Forgive me, I forgot about that, Pinkie said that her Pinkie Sense had told her to go to the hospital, she had left about an hour and a half ago.” said Mrs. Cake as she now had an obvious look of concern about her.

“What, hospital, you don’t think this has to do with Fluttershy, do you?” asked Sweetie Belle as even more panic began to overtake her whole psyche.

“I hope not, but at least, if you find Pinkie there, then she could tell you if she saw Diamond Tiara at any point during the day.” suggested Mrs. Cake as she tried to find a way to consul the two fillies before her.

“Thanks Mrs. Cake, but what about Rarity, I heard her say that she was going to stop by and ask Fluttershy something, she told me this morning, did my sister ever come by?” asked Sweetie Belle as she had just managed to remember this detail from within the back of her mind.

“From what I know, I don’t think she did come by today, but I do not know for certain, again, Pinkie should have a clearer understanding of what is going on than I do, you two should go to the hospital and ask her.” said Mrs. Cake.

“Then we shall do that, hey who knows, maybe Diamond Tiara will be there too.” said Silver Spoon as she turned her attention to Sweetie Belle.

“That could be true, I do hope that you two find her, I would hate to think of a poor little filly out all by herself at night.” gasped Mrs. Cake as she tried to calm herself down, as to not make the two fillies become further distressed.

“Don’t worry, we will find her, and we will also find out what is going on at the hospital. Let’s go Sweetie Belle!” exclaimed Silver Spoon with a gleam of determination in her eye as she stared at the unicorn filly.

“Y-yeah, thanks Mrs. Cake, we will see you soon.” said Sweetie Belle as the two fillies quickly galloped out of the bakery.

“I hope everything is okay.” thought Mrs. Cake to herself as she began to close down Sugarcube Corner for the day.

The moon was now in the middle of the night sky, as many bright stars began to shine and twinkle all around it. Luna’s work was always a sight to behold, even if the night itself was perceived as being scary and foreboding.

These were the things that strolled through Diamond Tiara’s mind as she trotted down a lone street of Ponyville all by herself. She was doing her best to not be found by Silver Spoon at the moment, as she still felt hurt and betrayed by her friend’s actions from back at the playground.

“I can’t believe that she sided with that blank flank like that, for all we know, those were crocodile tears.” hissed Diamond to herself as she was still suspicious of Scootaloo’s display of sadness from earlier.

“She probably only pretended to cry, to try and rouse a reaction of remorse from me or Silver Spoon, and unfortunately, it at least worked on one of us!” bellowed Diamond Tiara to herself as she felt anger in her heart over Silver Spoon trying to defend Scootaloo.

“I mean, the Scootaloo that I know is too tough to resort to crying, she would try to fight me, not cry like a sissy.” continued on Diamond to herself quietly as she had come to the end of the street that she was trotting down at the moment.

“No point in beating on it any further, I saw Silver Spoon with another of those blank flanks from earlier, she must have thought that they were pretty slick, what with looking for me and pretending to care about me, but I managed to stay hidden from them.” thought Diamond as she made a conscious effort to not speak to herself aloud anymore, as to keep any unwanted attention off of herself.

Suddenly. Diamond Tiara saw a bright flash of purple light in the street over from the one that she currently occupied. It dazed her for a moment, but she managed to regain her senses nonetheless.

“What the hey was that, did those two get more help in trying to find me, I better figure this out, it is getting late now anyways.” thought Diamond Tiara as she trotted between a set of houses that lied in between her and the bright light she had seen from earlier.

After Diamond had quietly managed to maneuver herself between a series of houses, she found herself on the next street over, and the sight before her brought about both feelings of confusion, and panic. She saw Twilight Sparkle, standing in the middle of the street before her, and she could see a look of fear and dread on the unicorn’s eyes.

“That is Twilight, what is she doing out here this time of night, although I guess she could ask me the same question.” thought Diamond Tiara as she approached the unicorn with caution.

“Hey, excuse me, is everything alright?” asked Diamond Tiara as she trotted up to Twilight, standing right beside the unicorn.

“Huh, hey, who are... Oh it’s you.” said Twilight as she was confused to see a filly standing beside her at the moment.

“Hey, don’t act all surprised or nothing.” said Diamond with a hurt tone, as she believed that Twilight was not happy to see her.

“Aww, I’m sorry, I did not mean it like that little one, I am in a hurry that is all, one of my friends is in the hospital, and I need to get there as soon as possible.” soothed Twilight to the confused filly standing before her.

“What, one of your friends is in the hospital, who is it?” asked Diamond Tiara as all of the things that were on her mind at the moment seemed to fade away, this new revelation now taking center stage in her head.

“It’s Fluttershy, I do not know what happened to her, but I need to get to the hospital right now and find out!” urged Twilight as a look of unease filtered her voice.

“Fluttershy, wait the same pony who the Cutie Mark Crusaders went to have that treasure hunt with.” thought Diamond Tiara to herself as she turned her attention back to Twilight. “I am coming with you, if something happened to her, then what if, what if something happened to one of them too?” asked Diamond Tiara as she looked at Twilight and approached her closely.

“Wait, am I seriously worried about those blank flanks, I mean, what is wrong with me, why should I be worried.... No... enough, I need to see what happened.” thought Diamond to herself as she looked up at Twilight and awaited her answer.

“You need to get home right now little miss, it is too late to be out all by your lonesome.” demanded Twilight as she looked at Diamond Tiara with conviction in her tone, not wanting the filly to get hurt.

“No, I am coming with you whether you like it or not, that is how it’s going to be!” exclaimed Diamond Tiara with a determination that actually managed to surprise Twilight a little.

“B-but... Oh fine, but we have to hurry.” said Twilight as she did not like the idea of the filly following her, but she was too preoccupied with Fluttershy at the moment to put up any more of a fight.

“Okay, let’s go to the hospital, but I hope that everypony is okay, truly I do.” lamented Diamond Tiara to herself as she quickly galloped right behind Twilight, following her in the direction of the hospital.

“What could have possibly happened to this Fluttershy, and does it involve the Crusader’s, I know that they mentioned something about hanging out with Fluttershy as of late, but this, none of this makes any sense.” thought Diamond Tiara as she tried to comprehend the reason behind Twilight’s friend being in the hospital.

“Oh Fluttershy wait for me, I will be there soon.” said Twilight meekly to herself, as she turned her head around in order to make sure that the filly was still safe behind her.

“What is your name by the way, I may have heard it before, but it has been a while since we met, wait, I don’t think that we ever properly met!” said an exasperated Twilight as she could not recall introducing herself to the filly before.

“My name is Diamond Tiara, and no, you are not missing much, I am not a very good pony.” sighed Diamond Tiara as she felt intimidated in Twilight’s presence.

“Don’t be like that Diamond Tiara, just relax and we will be at the hospital shortly.” assured Twilight as she allowed Diamond to catch up to her. The two ponies were now galloping right beside each other, so this way, Twilight could keep a closer eye on her.

“I cannot let the Contortionist hurt any more ponies, I have to get to the bottom of this now.” thought Twilight to herself as she could now see the hospital in the distance ahead of her.