A Shadow of a Whisper

A loud crash came from the direction of the warehouse. The three ponies in the room shot out of their chairs, the two criminals rushing towards the doors that stood between them and the warehouse.

"Bucking hell! It's Bolted!" Boot Leg said, panicking as he peeked out the door.

"Bolted? What's bolted, and why is it bad?" Twilight asked as Smuggle Run ran towards a window.

"Bolted Snow. The Snow family was sniffing around us, so we ruffled their feathers a little. Now I presume they want to return the favor." Smuggle Run calmly said, snapping open the window.

"Shit! We gotta get out, Smuggle! They made the Refinery burst!" Boot Leg called back, slamming the door shut as he ran towards the window. A small amount of the zap apple cider began seeping under the door.

"That's bad, isn't it?" Twilight flatly asked, already knowing the answer. She realised that she hadn't checked her necklace after waking up in the warehouse. Upon checking it, she saw that she had roughly five minutes left.

"Is it bad?! Is it bad?! Zap apples are fine in small quantities, but too much of it in one place causes it to behave like a strong acid!" Boot Leg shot back.

"It's much like cyanide in regular apples, a little bit will be destroyed quickly by your immune system, but too much and it becomes a serious concern." Smuggle Run replied, keeping his calm demeanor. The two ponies jumped out the window at the exact time the door to the room burst open. Twilight felt a strange, burning sensation sweeping over her. She opened her mouth to scream in agony, but instead of sound coming out, the acid rushed in. she could actually feel that her mouth and esophagus were dissolving, and once they had, she could feel the acid spread to the rest of her body cavity.

"I'm impressed! I've never seen somepony drown in acid before! I thought for sure you would dissolve before your lungs filled, but I guess you must have some thick tissue! For that, I will let you stay here as long as you would like. I'll even build you a place to assemble your clues, if you find any." The voice said. Instantly the black void became a lavish laboratory, outfitted with bulletin boards, paper, quills, ink, desks, chairs, and, curiously enough, a refrigerator.

"What's the deal with the fridge?" Twilight asked. The voice still remained bodiless.

"I thought I'd make it look roomy. There's nothing inside of it though, sorry." The time keeper answered. Twilight verified it's claim. Twilight proceeded to one of the desks, where she wrote down what she had learned about the Apple family and the Dash family.

"Wait a second, other time's I've been here, the cause of my death was visible. Shouldn't I be covered in acid burns?" Twilight asked.

"Didn't you hear what I said? The acid burns didn't kill you, the acid filling your lungs did. You can't die more when your in this place, so the acid is just sitting in your lungs right now, not burning or choking you at all." The time keeper said in a condescending tone.

"Okay, I guess I had better head back then. I can't find out anything more while I'm here." Twilight said.

Twilight Awoke in her bed, and decided to keep out of Spike's sight. Before she went to Cloudsdale, Twilight wanted to do some more exploring around Ponyville. First, Twilight headed towards Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie was always good for a laugh, and after dying three times, Twilight could use some relaxation.

Upon nearing the shop, Twilight was promptly approached by a bouncing pink blur. The blur grew ever closer to her, causing her to take several steps back off of the shop's front steps.

"Twilght! Twilight! Twilight!" The blur repeatedly squealed. The blur stopped shaking, and, after brushing aside the blur's pink mane, Twilight met the ever excited eyes of Pinkie Pie. "I've been working on something all day!"

"What is it Pinkie?" Twilight cautiously asked, attempting to hide her fear under the guise of interest. Pinkie Pie always scared Twilight slightly. Her random, overdone acts were ruining Twilight's usually peaceful life. Compared to recent events, however, Pinkie Pie was a relaxing break.

"I've been making my balloon even balloonier!" Pinkie Pie said, rushing Twilight into the shop. Twilight was faced with a wide array of desserts. Cakes lined the walls, with frosting of every color. On Twilight's right was a pyramid of cupcakes, and on her left was a massive pile of purple fabric.

"Your balloon looks the same, Pinkie." Twilight observed. Pinkie gasped and took a step back from Twilight.

"No it doesn't silly! I made it exactly nine percent bigger!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Twilight was about to ask why she chose nine percent, but thought better of it. Pinkie Pie is Pinkie Pie after all. Maybe Twilight couldn't handle Pinkie as well as she thought.

"Hey Pinkie, I'm going to go see how Fluttershy's doing, okay?" Twilight asked, beginning to leave the confectionery If she couldn't deal with Pinkie Pie, at least she could do some more searching for clues.

"Okie Dokie Lokie!" Pinkie Pie replied, turning back to her balloon.

"Fluttershy, are you in there?" Twilight quietly asked, knocking on the door of a small, beige cottage. Several birds flew out of the foliage that formed the roof.

"Oh, Twilight. I didn't know you were coming." Said a small voice from behind the door. The door opened, and the blue eyes of a yellow pegasus met Twilight's own. "I was just about to feed Angel."

"That's alright, go ahead. I wanted to talk to you about something." Twilight replied. Fluttershy knew Rainbow Dash better than anypony else in Ponyville; maybe she knew her family too.

"What is it? Is something the matter? I hope anyone's not hurt!" Fluttershy replied. Twilight followed her friend inside, closing the oak door behind her.

"Do you know anything about Rainbow Dash's family?" Twilight asked bluntly. Fluttershy froze.

"Why are you asking about them?" Fluttershy asked in response, gaining a cold, serious monotone. Twilight knew that she must know something if she was changing this drastically.

"I've just always been curious. I've never met them, and thought maybe you had." Twilight lied. Fluttershy turned around to face the unicorn. Twilight saw a mixture of fear and anger sweep across her friend's face, unlike any expression she had ever seen before. This was absolute dread.

"I've never met them." Fluttershy quickly responded. Twilight could tell that whatever Fluttershy knew, it was something important.

"Fluttershy, I know that you know something. Why won't you tell me?" Twilight goaded.

"Meet me outside Zecora's hut in one hour. She should be in town then, so it'll be private." Fluttershy replied, her face and tone returning to normal.

"Alright. You'll tell me when I get there?" Twilight asked, making a mental note.

Fluttershy went back to searching for her rabbit's food as she replied, "I'll tell you everything you want to know."