Twilit Butterfly

by Jumpitydude

Rating: everyone
Tags: Romance, Slice of Life, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike
Length: 6246

A staight Twilight has to deal with a love struck Fluttershy

When Twilight turns down Fluttershy's advances, she learns that a few small assumptions can go a long way.

Although I don't have any prereaders for this, and it's my first story published here, it is not my first story, and I do have a good bit of writing experience. Don't go easy on me. Or, as we say on the internet, come at me bro!

EDIT: Okay, due to some comments, a rewrite is in progress, with some plot holes covered, and with some scenes rewritten entirely. As such, the first chapter is now the "rush" version, and a "full" version is in progress. Thank you for your opinions.

Published 2012-01-24 09:33:18 UTC
Last updated 2014-03-05 00:28:06 UTC

"Rush" version

Spike was asleep, dreaming about his princess, when Twilight came home, slamming everything around. She was about to slam him with a book, but stopped and tapped him lightly.
"Hizza, wha? Twilight, why did you wake me up? I was having the best dream ever!
Twilight couldn't look more agitated if she tried. Spike sat straight up when he realized something was wrong,
"Hey, what's wrong? Did one of your friends ditch you?"
Twilight scoffed, "One of them? Ditched? I wish. Almost all of them are against me! And the one who isn't probably thinks I hate her right now!"
Twilight let out a huge sigh as she climbed into bed, "This has been the worst day ever."
Spike climbed up next to her and stroked her mane, "Please, tell me what happened."
Twilight gave him a weak look before retelling the events of her day.

"Twilight!"
The unicorn turned around to see a familiar canary yellow Pegasus behind her. "Oh, hey Fluttershy! How are you?"
Fluttershy trotted up and started pawing at the ground. "Well, I have something to tell you." Twilight was worried about what it might be.
"I love you."
The violet mare suddenly felt like a shrinking violet. Of all the things that could have been said, she didn't expect that. Even more so, she didn't like mares like that. It was like her mind shut down on her. "I... I... no. I'm sorry. I don't go that way. I... just... I'm sorry."
Fluttershy stood there for a second, then hung her head, "Okay..." She had a tear in her eye as she turned to leave.
Twilight watched her saddened friend walk away, wondering if there was a way to soften the blow any more than she did. She turned to continue back to the library when she noticed Rarity approaching her.
"Twilight? was she crying?" Rarity asked in a concerned tone. "What was she sad about?" All of a sudden, she turned aggressive. "Did you say something mean to her?"
Before Twilight could think of a response, Rainbow Dash swooped down from the clouds. "What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO? Fluttershy was being nice, and all of a sudden, you broke her heart!"
"What in tarnation's going on here?" Twilight turned to see both of the earth ponies of the group approaching.
Twilight hoped one of them could give her some salvation.
Sadly, fate was not so kind.
"She made Fluttershy cry!" AJ's jaw dropped, while Pinkie's eyes went wide.
"WHAT!?”
"Why the hay would you do that, Twilight? Ah thought we were friends."
"Yeah, well-" Rainbow went for another blow.
"Well friends don't make friends cry, Twilight!"
"But I-" Pinkie decided to get on the blame train.
"Twilight, you are the worst friend ever! Just go away, Miss Meany-McMeanypants!"

"And then I just ran straight here."
Spike was holding her for the last part, which was obviously harder for her to tell. He would have made a joke about her saying straight, but it would have probably hurt her that he wasn't taking things seriously.
"It's like the whole lesson thing all over again, except it's the whole situation they're misjudging, and not just your reaction to it."
Twilight gave him a weak smile, before nuzzling up closer to him, "I knew there was a reason I went to you." He rested his head on hers.
At that moment, the door to the room swung open, and in walked Rarity. "Twilight, I know there was something else going on that I wasn't informed of, but the girls wouldn't let you speak. So could you please tell me why Fluttershy was crying?"
Twilight was about to talk when Spike, somehow resisting Rarity's charm, put his hand under her muzzle as a polite way of quieting her. He let out a sigh before starting, "Fluttershy said that she loved Twilight. Twilight, on the other hand..." He looked back at Twilight to make sure she was still okay.
"...Oh. I get it." Rarity was wise in the art of romance. "It was a rejection. That always breaks even the toughest of hearts."
"What does?"
As if she tried to have bad timing, Rainbow flew in through the window. "Being told you're useless? Yeah, I talked to her!"
Obviously not, because Twilight never said anything like that to Fluttershy.
Rarity called her out on it. "Rainbow! How dare you be so cruel and insensitive?" In her own way. Applejack coming in didn't help either.
Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Well, I'm not the sensitive Pegasus that needs somepony to stand up for her! Why are you protecting the jerk anyway?"
Spike ran between them. "Girls, stop. There has to be a way to-"
"WAGH!" *CRASH*
Spike spun around in time to see Applejack approaching Twilight, who was against the wall and on the ground, with startling speed.
"APPLEJACK, WAIT!"
Applejack was mid buck when the shout rang out. After hearing a crunch that she usually heard from a colt that had one too many drinks, she started to walk away proudly.
"Ow..."
Upon hearing a voice too soft to be Twilight's, she spun around to see Fluttershy sitting between them, holding her chest in pain.
AJ looked panicked, "Fluttershy? What in tarnation are you doing?"
Fluttershy shot her an uncharacteristically aggressive glare. "I told her I loved her, she told me that she doesn't love me like that. That's all that happened." Fluttershy finally softened her expression. "We're still friends, there was just a slight problem. That's all. Please don't be mad at her."
Applejack was awestruck. "Well, shoot, I thought Twi went and flat out insulted you. I'm sorry, Twilight. Can you forgive me?"
"More like, can you forgive us? I was the reason Pinkie and AJ got the wrong idea."
Twilight gave Rainbow a weak smile. "Yeah, I forgive you. And, Fluttershy? I'm sorry. I tried to be as soft as possible, but I still made you cry. Is there anything I can do to make up for hurting your feelings?"
Fluttershy gave a soft smile. "No, it's okay. I always knew there was a chance of you rejecting me. Let's just try our best to move past this, okay?"
Twilight nodded enthusiastically.
Fluttershy moved to stand, only to wince and squeak before falling on her side.
Applejack sighed guiltily, and glanced off to the side, "Two days an' five hours, at least. An' that's judging from ponies much tougher than you. I'm sorry, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy somehow kept her smile. "It's okay Applejack."
She was suddenly encased in a purple glow and lifted towards the bed. "Don’t worry, Fluttershy." Twilight reassured her. "I'll take care of you."
"Thanks, Twilight."
"Anything for a friend."

Five days later, Fluttershy was completely healed and back to normal. As they agreed, Twilight and Fluttershy went back to being close friends afterwards, perhaps even closer than before.
After accompanying Rarity on a trip to Canterlot, Twilight started receiving letters from an unknown source, though she still trusted them and seemed excited to get each letter when they came.
Fluttershy, meanwhile, started a relationship with a young mare from Cloudsdale. Though none of her earth bound friends met her, Rainbow says that the mare is,
"...as sweet as Fluttershy, as protective as I am, and as prissy as Rarity."
"Hey!"
"Well it's true!"
When asked about their love lives, Applejack and Rainbow just say, "Its fine." Pinkie, however, says she can't settle with anyone, and for some reason very insistent on anyone, not anypony, making Twilight think she tried with more than just ponies.
Rarity just claims jealousy towards Fluttershy and, for reasons Rainbow couldn't figure out, Twilight. Though one of them was insistent on ignoring a strange mark on their neck...

"Full" Version, part one

Spike got back from a week long trip to Canterlot. As he approached the library, he got a distinct impression that something was wrong, due to how dark it seemed to be inside. Cautiously, he opened the door.

"Hello? Anypony here?"

The library was dark, save for the light from the door. Suddenly, a pair of glowing white eyes appeared, causing Spike to take a defensive stance.

"Hoo."

Spike dropped his stance. "Oh, hey Owlowlisious." There was a distinct sound of wings flapping, then a moment later the lights came on.

"Woah, it looks like Twilight barely did anything in here since I left." A sound from upstairs made him freeze up.

"Is Twilight ... crying?" He decided to check, figuring that if she was, she needed him, if she wasn't, she would appreciate knowing he was home. He walked into her room, and found it was dark, but bright enough to see the outline of Twilight curled up and shivering.

"Twilight?"

Her head jerked up and looked at him.

"Spike?" He walked over to her and sat next to her.

"What's wrong? You can tell me."

She nuzzled up closer to him. "A few days ago was the worst day I've ever had, and I haven't been outside my room since." She couldn't keep her voice from cracking. Spike lightly pet her.

"What happened?" She looked up at him, and decided that it would be better to let it out.

"Well..."

"Twilight!"

The unicorn turned around to see a familiar canary yellow Pegasus behind her. "Oh, hey Fluttershy! How are you?"

Fluttershy trotted up and started pawing at the ground. "Well, I have something to tell you." Twilight was worried about what it might be.

"I love you."

The violet mare suddenly felt like a shrinking violet. Of all the things that could have been said, she didn't expect that. Or so bluntly. Even more so, she didn't like mares like that. It was like her mind shut down on her. "I... I... no. I'm sorry. I don't go that way. I... just... I'm sorry."

Fluttershy stood there for a second, then hung her head, "Okay..." She had a tear in her eye as she turned to leave.
Twilight watched her saddened friend walk away, wondering if there was a way to soften the blow any more than she did. She turned to continue back to the library when she noticed Rarity approaching her.

"Twilight? was she crying?" Rarity asked in a concerned tone. "What was she sad about?" All of a sudden, she turned aggressive. "Did you say something mean to her?"

Before Twilight could think of a response, Rainbow Dash swooped down from the clouds. "What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO? Fluttershy was being nice, and all of a sudden, you broke her heart!"

"What in tarnation's going on here?" Twilight turned to see both of the earth ponies of the group approaching.
Twilight hoped one of them could give her some salvation.

Sadly, fate, like Rainbow, was not so kind.

"She made Fluttershy cry!" AJ's jaw dropped, while Pinkie's eyes went wide.

"WHAT!?”

"Why the hay would you do that, Twilight? Ah thought we were friends."

"Yeah, well-" Rainbow went for another blow.

"Well friends don't make friends cry, Twilight!"

"But I-" Pinkie decided to get on the blame train.

"Twilight, you are the worst friend ever! Just go away, Miss Meany-McMeanypants!"

"... Then I just ran here." Spike listened intently.

"Don't worry, Twi. It will all work out in the end. I promise."

And it was a promise he intended to keep. As far as he could tell, he needed to find out three things; Why Fluttershy acted so quickly, how she's holding up, and what everypony saw.

He knew exactly where to start.

*Ding*

"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where every- Oh, Spike! How can I help?"

Rarity gave a quick flutter of her eyes, certain it would make him forget whatever chore Twilight sent him on.

"Stop that, Rarity. I'm doing this for me, not Twilight."

Rarity was taken aback. Not only did Spike resist her charm, he called her out on it. Rarity sighed and turned around.

"If it's about Fluttershy, I don't know any more than Twilight told you."

"Did you believe Dash?"

Rarity ts'ked. "Not for a moment. Twilight looked regretful, not aggressive. And I already knew of Fluttershy's little crush. Though if you ask me, there may be more to Rainbow's outburst then there appears."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "What, like she knew the truth but wanted to make Twilight feel bad?"

Rarity hid a smirk. "That, or she's jealous of Twilight."

Spike felt like his jaw was about to abandon him. "Jealous? You mean, as if she likes Fluttershy in that way?"

"Why else would she be jealous? I'm sorry, but that is all I can tell you."

"Why? Did you promise not to talk about the rest?"

Rarity sighed and started toward Spike. "No, it's just that I haven't seen Fluttershy or Twilight since, Pinkie and Applejack flat out refuse to talk about it, and Rainbow is insistent that Twilight was being mean. I wish you luck." She kissed him on the forehead.

"You're going to need it."

He looked at her for a moment, stunned by the kiss, before hugging her in return.

"Thank you. You've already helped me out quite a bit."

His next stop was Sweet Apple Acres, where he hoped Applejack would talk to him.

Hmmm... It's about noon on a Monday in mid-fall, so she would be... relaxing by the path to her barn.

It's not that Spike knew AJ, he just saw her. As he walked up to her, she looked right at him and frowned.

"What do ya want?"

Twilight gets misinterpreted and now I'm a bad guy? "I want to know what happened."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Nothing happened. Twi insulted Fluttershy. That's all."

"What Twilight said was-" He was cut off by an apple hitting his head.

"I don't care what Twilight said, she was probably lying." Applejack rolled to her side, facing away from Spike. "Wouldn't blame her."

Spike frowned, before realizing a way to trick her into trusting him.

"Why would anypony be mean to Fluttershy?"

Applejack didn't respond for a second, laying there unmoving. Then she looked at him with a confused look on her face. "Because... they never met her?"

"How about they're jealous of her?"

Applejack sat up. "Jealous? Of Fluttershy? Why?"

Spike smiled. Now he had her attention. "Rarity told me that Fluttershy has a crush on somepony."

"Wha- who? Is that why Twi yelled at her?"

"Possibly."

Hook.

"Who is it?"

"I'm not going to tell you."

Line.

Applejack put her hoof to her chin. "Well, I can't just ask Fluttershy, Rainbow and Pinkie would probably just shrug me off, so that leaves Twilight and -"

"Rarity told me she was swamped with work."

Aaaaand.

"... Ya got me, Spike. Let's get to the library."

Sinker.

Spike couldn't hide his smile. He just got Applejack to listen to reason. He wanted a reward. And not just the pleasure of helping Twilight.

"Twilight?"

The library was the exact same as it was when he got back from Canterlot, which baffled Spike.

"Pretty dark in here, don't ya think."

"I was here earlier. Why would she turn the lights out?"

Spike walked up the stairs, with Applejack close behind. When he reached Twilight's room, he knocked three times. "Twilight? It's me, Spike. I'm coming in."

He opened the door and took a cautious step in. "Twilight?"

She was still in bed, and she looked like she was sleeping. Spike walked around the bed to look at her face and was shocked to see her eyes half open.

"You okay, Twi?"

She slowly looked at him.

"Spike?" She could barely speak. Spike put a claw on her forehead. It felt like it was burning.

"You look sick, Twi."

"I... I think I might die, Spike. I don't... I don't wanna d... die." She broke down crying.

"Twilight..."

"I d... please. Please don't let me die." Spike couldn't believe she was sick, let alone dying.

He took the next logical step.

"How do you feel, does anything hurt?"

"M… my stomach."

"How much have you had to eat?"

"N-nothing... since F... Fl... Flut..."

Spike and Applejack caught on quickly. They shared a knowing glance before Applejack headed off to the kitchen.

"Spike?" He looked back at her. "Who... who was that?"

"Applejack. She's going to get you something to eat."

"Why? Doesn't she hate me?"

Spike put his arms around her neck.

"Maybe. But that doesn't mean you should stop being friends."

"There, ya better?"

Twilight was finishing her fifth plate of food. Even though she was starving, she paced herself, a feat that impressed Spike.

"Just because yer upset about something doesn't mean you should starve to death."

"Yeah, thanks Applejack. Even though you're still probably mad at me."

"Yeah, but Spikes working pretty hard to find the truth."

Twilight stopped eating for a moment and looked at her plate in thought.

"Something wrong?"

"It's just... Applejack, why are you here? You didn't come to hurt me, did you?"

"What? No way! Why would I do that?"

The author cringed at the statement, knowing it is true.

"Spike told me about Fluttershy's crush, and I figured that was what you were upset at her about."

"I- wha-? Are you saying I was fighting her for her crush?"

Applejack rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I figured-"

"Applejack, I was the crush!"

Applejack was visibly shocked. "Wait, that means-"

"Fluttershy was sad I rejected her! And I was blunt about it because she was blunt in confessing."

"Wait, Fluttershy? Being blunt about that?"

"Exactly! I couldn't believe it was Fluttershy!"

"Don't worry, Twi. I haven't given up yet." The two mares looked at Spike, who, for the most part, had remained silent. "Applejack, why did you think Twilight yelled at Fluttershy?"

"After Twi ran off, I asked Rainbow what happened, and she told me that Twi yelled at Fluttershy for bothering her. Something about Twi wanting to go to sleep."

Again, the author cringed.

"But now that's out the window, with the crush and the jealousy and-."

Twilight's ears perked up at that. "Wait a second, jealousy? What jealousy?"

Applejack raised and eyebrow. Spike face palmed. "I went strait to you after talking to Rarity. She doesn't know about that yet."

"About what?"

"Rarity thinks Dash is jealous of Fluttershy."

"Now, that's not what I said at all."

The three ponies- err, two ponies and dragon- were startled by the sound of somepony else standing in the doorway.

"What I said was that Dash is jealous of Twilight, for Fluttershy. How did you get that mixed up?"

At that moment, the author hit himself on the head, decided that he fun of himself enough, and needs to stop making these messages.

"Rarity? What are you doing here? Spike said you were swamped with work!" Rarity scoffed at Applejacks statement.

"Quite the contrary, I haven't had any work as of late." Spike decided to try to dig himself out of the hole he thought he was in.

"I wanted to get somepony to talk to Twilight! She was lonely, and-"

Rarity cut him off. "And I wouldn't have talked to Applejack for that very reason, so I really cannot blame you for making such an excuse. That was very noble of you, Spike, making sure Twilight didn't get too lonely." Spike smiled, taking in every little positive thing he could.

Because from here, it would just get harder.

"Full" Version, part two

"Thank you! Come again!" Pinkie was trying to keep a positive attitude for the customers. But the problem from before still lingered in the back of her mind. The bell on the door rang. "Hello! Welcome to - Spike! How ... nice to see you!"

Spike immediately knew that she was acting. "I take it you know what I'm here to ask you about?"

Pinkies face froze in shock. She promptly tried to go back to her normal self. Especially because of the other customers. "I have no idea what you could be talking about. Maybe if you could come back tomorrow -"

"Pinkie this isn't something to joke about. We need to talk about this."

"I don't know what it is, though. Maybe tomorrow, we could go to my room and you could tell me -"

"No! We need to clear some things up before -"

*PSHOOOOOOOOOOO* Pinkies mane and tail had deflated.

"... Uhhhh, -"

"My room. Now!" She turned tail and went upstairs.

Spike looked around the room. Some of the ponies there looked worried. Others, angry. Either way, they were all looking at Spike. Except Derpy, only because she needs to be mentioned. "Ho, man. I think I'm in trouble."

Spike opened the door to Pinkies room cautiously. "Uhhh, Pinkie?"

She was sitting in the middle of the room, looking the same way that she did downstairs. "Before you say anything, I know you're siding with Twilight on this, and I cant agree with you! She made Fluttershy cry, and I cant forgive her for that! So before I change my mind and hurt you, I suggest you leave!"

"No."

Pinkie glared at him over her shoulder. "What?"

Spike stepped in, closing the door behind him. "I can't just let you stay mad at her."

"Are you asking me to hurt you?"

"If that's what it takes for you to listen."

Pinkie turned to face him, and pushed her nose against his. "I don't need to listen to anything! I know the whole story!"

"Are you sure?"

"What do you want?"

Spike thought for a moment. "How about you tell me what you know." He had been reading a lot of mystery novels lately, and, if nothing else, knew that a small lie is all it takes to unravel a story. If he could find a problem, he could probably tear her story apart.

"... Humph. Well, Dashie said -"

"Well, it looks like I've found the problem already."

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Spike smiled. "You know the story through someone else. Someone who could alter the story to put you on their side."

Pinkie cringed. He had her on that. "W-well I, um, I know she was telling the truth."

"Like how you know it was Scootaloo stole your candy on Nightmare Night?"

Pinkie went silent. Rainbow had eventually confessed that she did it, despite her saying it was the previously mentioned filly the night of the incident.

"Or how Twilight replaced your bed with cupcakes on Fluttershy's birthday?"

Pinkie looked down. It was the crusaders, looking to get a prankster cutie mark.

"Or how Dash hid all of your balloons?"

Pinkie went from sad to shocked. "What? Who did then?"

Spike knew he was on a roll. "I will tell you at the library, after you hear Twilight's side of the story." He strutted out the door. "See you there."

As soon as he was gone, Pinkie let out a hushed growl. "That little..."

*Knock knock knock*

"Hm?" Rarity knew that Spike would have just come in, and hadn't expected anyone else. She opened the door. "Pinkie?"

"Rarity? What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same. And what happened to your mane?"

Pinkie rubbed her hoof against her leg anxiously. "T-that's not important. Where's Twilight? I just want to get this over with."

Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Hm? What do you mean by that, dear?" Pinkie just glared at her. "She's in her room."

Pinkie trotted unhappily past her, making Rarity question if Spike was paying someone to talk to her friends for him.

"Thank you, Applejack."

"Ya aren't taking care of yourself. I can't just let ya die on me."

Twilight looked away out of disappointment. "I wasn't sure of how to take care of myself with all of my friends either against me or isolated. You girls are my life now. How am I supposed to live without you."

That was when the door opened, much to Twilight and Applejack's surprise. "Pinkie?" Said mare cringed. "What are you doing here? I thought you hated me right now."

Pinkie was trying to look at anything but Twilight. "I-I'm not here for you. I j-just need to learn something, and I can't until I listen to you."

Twilight gave a weak smile. "The fact that you will listen is all I need to smile, smile, smile."

Pinkie stared blankly for a moment, then gave a little laugh. "Okay, that was good." She then trotted up to Twilight's side with a bit of a spring to her step.

Twilight started to tell her side of the story when they heard a loud, Rarity-esqe gasp. They heard three voices from downstairs, but couldn't make them out. Soon enough, they heard two sets of hoofs and one set of claws coming up to see them, followed by the door creaking open. There was a dragon and a mare that they expected. What they didn't expect was the golden mare with them.

"Fluttershy?"

The six of them settled in for the whole exposition. (Get out your popcorn!)

"I, well, how should I start? I guess it would be that I've had some feelings for Twilight for a while now. I haven't said anything because I wasn't sure how to approach it, with love being complicated enough, and me being me. So I decided enough is enough, and went to the one pony who I felt would give me the best advice: Rainbow Dash."

"I KNEW it!" All eyes went to Rarity.

"That doesn't prove Dash sabotaged it, ya know."

"BACK to the story!"

"Thank you, Twilight. Dash told me to think of it as if she already told me she loved me."

"WHAT?"

"That- I- no."

"Okay, maybe she did sabotage it."

"I was disappointed when Twilight turned me down. I decided that the best thing to do was let things settle down with her, but I have a feeling that didn't happen."

Twilight sighed. "If only you knew."

Twilight told the rest of the story to Fluttershy. When she finished, no one looked happy. Least of all, Fluttershy.

"I can't believe that the two of you would be so... cruel." Pinkie jerked back, as if she got hit by a spitwad. Applejack looked down out of shame.

Rarity took the opportunity to ask something. "If you weren't hiding, where were you?"

Fluttershy gave her a blank look. "You didn't get my message?" Rarity was visibly confused. "Sweetie Belle?"

"Oh. I wasn't there when she got home, and mom and dad were already there to pick her up."

Fluttershy let out a sigh. "A family of foxes fell into a chasm. I got them out and had to give them my full -"

Something moved inside her tail. As Spike was about to move some of it aside, a young fox popped its head out. It leaped down, then hopped onto the bed, staring at Twilight.

"... attention. So that's where you went you silly thing!" She patted it on the head with her hoof.

Twilight watched as the fox curled up in her lap. "So you weren't avoiding me?"

"Actually, I was going to come visit tomorrow, just to make sure we're still friends."

Twilight smiled as she pet the fox. "That's what I was worried about."

Everyone was happy. Especially Pinkie, who was back to full cheer. "Yay-we're-friends-again party!" Everypony was cheering.

"Not quite yet." Everypony calmed down and looked at Spike. "There's still one pony left, and only one of us can get her." He turned to the pony they needed.

"Fluttershy, I need you to go get Rainbow Dash."

"Tell me again, why am I blindfolded?"

Fluttershy giggled. "You'll see."

"But I can't."

"Oh, you know what I mean."

Dash chuckled a bit, but was starting to get worried. Fluttershy hadn't been seen for days, and suddenly wanted to give her a surprise while acting nervous and anxious? Something was up. Should she fly off? Should she try talking it out? Should she -

"NOW!"

A sudden shout threw her off just long enough for something to wrap around her wings. In an instant she took off! Or at least tried to before being painfully reminded of the fact her wings were bound to her sides. Even worse, she was so used to that option being perpetually available to her that by the time she considered her other options, they, too, were shut off. Then the blindfold was torn off, showing four angry mares.

One of whom had a fox on her head for no apparent reason.

"Uh... hi?"

"Rainbow." Hearing the gentle voice beside her made her turn her head toward her fellow Pegasus. "What were you thinking?"

Her ears drooped.

"You wanted me to humiliate myself in front of Twilight, didn't you?"

She closed her eyes and looked away.

"Why did you -"

"I'm stupid."

Everyone was shocked. Owlowlisious decided that he would never land on anything suspicious looking again, lest it also shock him.

"All of the nice colts liked Fluttershy so much more. It was always, "Look at Fluttershy," or, "Fluttershy looks so great." The only ones who gave me a second thought were jerks or dumb. For me, mixing love and Fluttershy is never a good thing. It makes me bitter." Her tears were growing more obvious, her voice completely broken. "Th-the very f-first indic-cation I ever h-had that she w-wanted anyone was T-Twilight. I-I was t-too j-jealous of her, f-for something that w-wasn't e-even h-her fault, t-to think o-of h-how, how she f-felt."

"Rainbow."

"Do any of you know what it's like? T-to want someone so badly? Only to have them w-want someone who isn't even trying?"

Rarity didn't miss a beat. "Yes. The same mare took him, actually."

Fluttershy blushed.

"I-I'm s-s-s-so s-s-sorry. I ruined it for you."

"No."

"Huh?"

"It wasn't her bluntness that ruined it. It was the fact that I'm not interested in mares like that. The big reason we brought you here is what you did afterwords."

Dash looked at Twilight blankly. "What are you talking about?"

Twilight face-hoofed. "Fluttershy left, Rarity walked up to me, then..."

"..."

"..."

"... Oh! That! Well, I felt like a jerk, and wanted to blame someone else."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... What?"

"That's it? You isolated me because you didn't want the blame?"

"You're looking at the mare that just called herself stupid. What did you expect?"

Pinkie cleared her throat. "Now can we go back to being friends?"

Rarity untied Dash. The moment she was back on her hooves, she grabbed her friends in a huge hug.

"Yeah. I'm more than ready to put this behind us.

Author's Note

As am I, Dash, but I still can't! There's one more chapter I have in the works, and given how long it took to post this chapter, this will take a while. Thankfully, my life has been a good deal less hectic than it was over the past year.

"Full" Version, part three, FINALLY!

"So, Shy, how's it working out for ya?"

Though Rainbow Dash only addressed one of her friends, the other three looked at her as well. Well, the other three that were there. Six months after the incident around Twilight and Fluttershy, Twilight was called to Canterlot for "special business" regarding... something. Truth be told, none of them remember if Twilight told them what she was going for. Over the year she was gone, very little changed. The biggest thing?

"Oh, with Moonstreak? It's incredible! She helped me find that treat I've been looking for. Angel will be so happy. He really likes her."

"That's great! I figured she'd be your type, after hearing how spoke of Twilight."

Their three friends exchanged glances. They heard Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash talk about Moonstreak often, but had never met her, making them suspect that she may not be real. After months of discussion, they finally decided to confront the pegasi about the truth.

"Fluttershy, we-"

"FLUTTERRRRRRRRRS!!!!!!!!!"

As if on cue, a violet and cyan streak collided with the golden Pegasus. Immediately her friends got up to check on her.

"Hehehe! Moonstreak, stop! Th-that tickles."

They found their friend getting nuzzled like mad by a violet Pegasus with a cyan mane, her cutie mark resembling a decorated crescent moon. Fluttershy didn't seem to mind, her hooves wrapped around the surprise mare.

"Aww, you know you like it!"

"I like it, but- eep! But my friends are right there!"

At that, the mare stopped and looked at Fluttershy's friends. "... Hi?" The mare shrunk off of Fluttershy, watching her friends like they would leap at her at any moment.

Which Pinkie did.

"NEW FRIEND!"

"EeeeeEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Before Moonstreak could run, she was pinned to the ground.

"YAY!"

"HELP ME! PLEASE!"

Fluttershy could only giggle. "How did I know this would happen?"

"Uh, 'cus this happened when you first met Pinkie?"

Applejack and Rarity could only watch, jaws hanging. "She's real?"

Dash and Fluttershy gave Rarity a blank look. "You had your doubts, didn't you?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "Incredible as she is..." Fluttershy tugged at Pinkie's mane to get her up and off of Moonstreak, who promptly rushed to Fluttershy for safety. "... she had some... issues, let's say, with other ponies, making her anti-social." Fluttershy started speaking softly into Moonstreak's ear. "It's okay. That's just how she is. She isn't bad."

Dash cleared her throat. "She has a nasty track record of causing huge scenes just because she was paranoid. Her early years at flight school were pretty nasty, and things just got worse after that."

Applejack cautiously approached the pegasi, stopping just short. Moonstreak looked her in the eye, like a foal looked at their mother's friend. Applejack gave a small smile, which Moonstreak returned after a moment. Rarity followed suit.

Pinkie should have. I'll leave it at that.

"Thanks, girls. And good job getting your cutie marks."

"Yup! No more destroying the library for us."

"Unless Scootaloo decides to crash into it."

"Or Sweetie Belle singing until it breaks."

"Or Apple Bloom painting over it."

"So nothing I'm not used to by this point."

"Hahaha!"

"Good point!"

"See you, Twilight."

"So, the girls are having a picnic on top of the hill. I bet they'll be surprised to see me. Hmm... Now whe- oh. Oh."

"And that's how Equestria was made!"

Moon opened her mouth, then let confusion cover her face.

"That's how she usually ends her stories. Don't worry about it. She's just being herself." Rarity suddenly perked up.

"Oh. That reminds me of the time when Fluttershy-"

"Hold on. Fluttershy, you said there where six of you. Where's the last-" As if on cue, an aggravated voice spoke up.

"I see how it is! I've been gone so long that you want nothing to do with me! I thought you cared about me, but I guess not!"

All of Twilight's friends looked at her panicked.

"Twilight!"

"We weren't trying to replace you!"

"We have our own lives, Twilight!"

"Please don't be mad at us."

"Hardy har har, Twi." Well, almost all of them were panicked.

Rarity turned to her friend, ticked off. "Applejack!"

"You know, I expected Dash or Pinkie to catch on before you."

All of them looked back to Twilight. "Huh?"

"I guess they're getting rusty."

Dash scratched her head. "Wait, so that was all-"

"A joke! I know you girls better than that."

Moon let out a sigh. "Nice to see you too, professor Twilight."

Everypony turned towards Moon. "Professor?"

Twilight giggled. "That's how I passed my time in Canterlot. Working as a substitute teacher. A nice way to get my mind off of things."

The girls all laughed, then went right back to their usual chatter. Except one of them quite couldn't.

About an hour later, Applejack gave Twilight a stern look. "Twi? What were you in Canterlot for?"

Everypony looked at Applejack. Dash took a shot at things. "Uh, didn't she say she was teaching?"

"That's how she passed the time, but that's not what she was there for." Their attention turned to Twilight. "So then, what was it?"

Twilight gave them a nervous look, then opened her mouth.

"Momma?"

At that moment, she felt her heart drop. She turned around to see a three month old dragon-pony hybrid behind her. His mane was green, his coat and scales a night-like purple, and his eyes looked just like Twilight's. Spike, who looked older by a good bit, stood a few yards behind, his face deprived of color. The girls let their jaws drop as Twilight saw her life flash before her eyes.

As this happened, in the colt(drake?)'s grasp, the fox writhed and nuzzled the child.

Author's Note

FINA! FRIGGIN! LY! This is over! Why did I keep putting this off? Also, short gap between the first and second scene chronologically. And yes, that's the same fox from the last chapter.

Future projects; I'm working on Psychosis at about the same rate that I worked on this (So you can expect it in a few years or so.), and I've got two crossover fics that I'm working on, one on my writing app, the other on this very site. I'm not expecting any of these to be done soon, but who knows? Maybe I'll suddenly start writing a whole lot.