The Tale of a Cutie Mark, part 1

Canterlot Library is widely regarded as the greatest source of knowledge in Equestria. The main hall alone is an endless maze of more than a thousand shelves, each about four stories tall and so long that one would have to walk for at least five minutes before reaching one end from the other. Yet even with shelves this huge, one shelf is rarely enough to contain even a single category of literature. There are simply too many books. A thousand lifetimes would not be enough to read even half of them. And that is only a part of the library.

For this reason, Twilight always found herself to be as excited as a schoolfilly whenever she trotted along the crevasses of the shelves in the main hall. This library was her candy land, and every book was another sugary treat for her hungry mind. She constantly carried a toothy grin with her when she searched the incredibly tall shelves one by one for whatever she was looking for, secretly hoping that she would never find it just so she could spend more time searching. But of course studying comes first, so she still tried her best to find what she was looking for.

About two stories up on a shelf labeled 'Biology A-C', filed under 'A', was a big, green book called 'Anatomy of a Pegasus'; the very book she was looking for. Twilight nodded to herself with a sense of accomplishment and proceeded to envelop the book in a magenta light, carefully pulling it out of its home on the shelf. She did not expect another book to be pulled out along with it.

It had been hiding behind the other books, this thick and wide leather-bound item that dropped to the ground, and the sound it made on impact created a series of echoes in the labyrinth of shelves. Twilight did a little jump, surprised by the book's sudden appearance and the startling noise, but she quickly returned to her curious self and grabbed the dusty old book with her magic. After blowing away the layer of dust that blocked the book's cover, she narrowed her eyes and did her best to make out what the faded gold lettering spelled out: 'Research Journal of a Cutie Mark,' by Starswirl the Bearded.

The purple unicorn's jaw dropped from her smiling face, almost unhinging itself from her skull. By complete accident, she had just found a literary work of one of the greatest scholars of the arcane arts in history. He was a scholar so great he even had a wing of the library named after him. It was a book she had never heard of before as well, and she usually took pride in her knowledge of this particular intellectual. She skipped around in excitement, chanting a little song that repeated the word 'yes' in a variety of happy tones. Finding something so rare was unbelievably lucky.

Every bit of interest she had in the anatomy of a pegasus had disappeared in an instant. As soon as she put the book she had originally intended to read back in its place on the shelf, she hasted towards the checkout counter, eager to loan this dusty old treasure and study it back at her suite in Canterlot Castle.

As soon as she reached the checkout counter she was met with the sound of shushing from an irritated librarian. The glassed, mint green earth pony shook her head slowly in disapproval of Twilight's loud demeanor when she came galloping down the aisle, making Twilight blush and grin awkwardly as soon as she realized how undignified she had just behaved. The excitement of her findings had gotten the better of her. She did the final approach on silent hooves and used her magic to hand over the book for the checkout.

The mint green mare grabbed the levitating piece of literature with her hooves and carefully placed it on the counter. She searched every corner of the book, looking for something with a puzzled face, which made Twilight raise an eyebrow and whisper, "Is everything all right?"

The mare looked up from the corners of her eyes. "Where did you find this book?" she said in a voice louder than Twilight would have thought to be allowed, but seeing as she was the librarian here, Twilight did not say anything to it.

"I found it in the biology section," she answered and pointed a hoof down the aisle she came from, "I thought it must have been misplaced."

"Well that much is certain," the mare said, back to checking the book. "What is really weird is that I can't find a stamp on it."

"Is that important?" Twilight asked with curious worry, afraid that there might be a problem that could potentially prevent her from loaning the book.

"Yes, if you want to loan it, that is," the mare replied, "That's the rule of the library, Miss Sparkle: No stamp, no book."

Twilight made a horrified face. She leaned in over the desk and put her front hooves on its surface, stretching her neck to get as close to the librarian as possible without completely invading the professional space that the desk created between them. "But I really, really want to read it. Can't you just make one exception?"

"Umm," the mint green mare began skeptically. Seeing the librarian being indecisive, Twilight tried to look as pathetic as possible to get her sympathy and push her in the right direction. She stared at her with puppy eyes and manually shook her bottom lip, begging like a small filly would for candy. It seemed to work, as the mint green mare let out a sigh of surrender, "Fine. I guess the Princess won't mind anyways since you're her pupil and all. Just make sure to return it when you're done, ok?"

The purple unicorn grinned in excitement and nodded hastily in agreement with the conditions. She jumped all the way up on the desk, this time ignoring the professional space between them, and hugged the librarian tightly. However, she released her grip as soon as she noticed how uncomfortable the hug seemed to make the librarian and smiled at her with a blushing face, realizing she had once again acted like a foal. After sniggering awkwardly and nodding in gratitude, she grabbed the book and trotted triumphantly towards the library's exit. She was as excited about reading this journal as she could possibly be.

---

Considering the location of the café, Fluttershy was not surprised about how crowded the street was: Elegant Canterlot ponies waltzing along the esthetically cobbled road with their noses so high in the air, it was a wonder that they never collided with each other. It was especially fantastic seeing as this was the busiest time of the day, and personal space was rare on the road. All the commotion and stress made the light yellow pegasus all the more glad that she and Rarity had found such a cozy little café. Sitting outside in the sun with only a short, white hedge to separate them from the masses, the two ponies enjoyed a fine cup of tea after a long and eventful day.

If she did not know any better, Fluttershy would have thought Rarity to be a Canterlot pony, and one of the prettier ones at that. Though the white unicorn only wore a crimson hat of her own design, she still carried an aura that made her shine with dignity, emitting class and sophistication from every part of her body as she sat straight-backed on the pillow, carefully sipping her tea. With half-closed eyes she stared at Fluttershy across the table, showing an expression of thought and consideration. Fluttershy had an idea about what the white unicorn was thinking, but she wished that she would not bring it up. It was too frightening a topic. In a futile attempt to avoid talking about it, Fluttershy locked her gaze on the teacup before her to steer clear of eye contact with the white unicorn. She hoped Rarity would notice this behavior and not bring up the issue after all, but this was of course wishful thinking.

"Fluttershy, dear," Rarity said with a gentle tone of voice as she safely put down her levitating cup. Fluttershy quickly picked up her own tea with two hooves and began drinking it slowly; once again trying to avoid the issue by defending herself with her body's language. But it was not enough to stop Rarity from going on, "I simply cannot understand why you would want to be with me right now."

"Oh, don't say that, Rarity," Fluttershy said without removing the cup from her mouth, or looking up for that matter. "I always enjoy spending time with you. It's nice to go shopping together."

Rarity placed her forelegs on the table and put one hoof on top of the other, creating an arch on top of which she could rest her chin while she spoke, "And I enjoy spending time with you, but you know very well what I am really talking about here, don't you?"

She certainly did. Fluttershy looked up at Rarity through the top corners of her eyes, staring straight into the fashionista's unmoving pupils. After a hesitant moment, the light yellow pegasus swallowed a large amount of tea in one go and nodded. "Yes," she said with a voice lower than usual, finally admitting that escaping the topic was hopeless, "Yes, I know."

"Why did you not go to the library with Twilight?" The fashionista continued interrogating the pink haired pegasus.

"I wouldn't want to impose on her," Fluttershy answered with her eyes down. She was fumbling with the now empty teacup before her, hoping Rarity would buy the excuse. But this was just more wishful thinking.

"Well, that is just silly, don't you think?" the purple maned fashionista said as gently as possible, "Twilight is your friend. She would simply love to have you accompany her to the library."

"I'm afraid she might find out," Fluttershy admitted as she sank into herself. She was highly uncomfortable, thinking she would rather die than keep talking about such a personal issue. The very idea of Twilight finding out about her feelings was enough to make her sweat. She was simply too scared of what might happen if she found out about her true feelings.

"Well, wouldn't that be a good thing?" Rarity asked as if she knew what thoughts ran through Fluttershy's head. Raising an eyebrow at her yet smiling with a lot of sympathy, she shook her head slightly, telling the pink maned pegasus that her reasoning was silly. She straightened her back and enveloped her teacup in a light blue light. As she brought it to her mouth to take a sip, she frowned a little to see it empty and quickly put it back down with a sigh before continuing, "But in any case, I wouldn't worry about her finding out. Twilight is rather oblivious to things such as romance."

"I guess that's true," Fluttershy said with a soft giggle, "But it's ok, really. I'm just glad I can be together with her."

This sentence made Rarity roll her eyes and let out a slightly annoyed groan. She definitely did not agree with the yellow pegasus' logic, casting it aside with every motion of her body. "Well, I would hardly call it being together with her if all you do is avoid her," she said bluntly, "Honestly, don't you think you're being a bit foalish right now?"

Fluttershy looked to the ground, thinking the question over. "But I do spend time with her," she said quietly without looking her fashionista friend in the eyes, "As much as I can."

"If that was true you wouldn't be sitting here with me," Rarity replied without moving, still staring directly at the timid pegasus, definitely trying to force their eyes to make contact.

Fluttershy did not look up though, but instead kept watching the ground nervously, swallowing a large lump of spit. She took a moment to think her situation over: Though the pink haired pegasus sometimes had moments where she would be able to speak normally with Twilight, even moments where she could be alone with her without problems, most of the time she found herself scared to death by the purple unicorn's simple presence. Rarity was right: She was avoiding her. "I'm just not brave enough to risk her finding out," she once again admitted, her voice so low it was a wonder that Rarity could even hear her.

"Oh, come on now," Rarity said with a tone that carried a lot of irritation with the timid pegasus, but also genuine concern for her well-being, "I've seen you make an enormous dragon cry! If that's not bravery, I don't know what is."

"That's different," Fluttershy said as she looked up at Rarity, finally looking her in the eyes, "There's no way I would normally do that."

"Well, of course you were afraid back then, I can clearly remember that," Rarity replied, pointing out the obvious, "But you still stood up against it. You truly saved our flanks back then."

"Well, yes, but that's just because Twilight-," Fluttershy began explaining, but as soon as she realized what she was saying, her cheeks started burning, and she hastily moved her gaze back to her teacup. She had just accidentally mentioned one of her most intimate secrets, and she knew it would pique Rarity's curiosity.

Sure enough, the white unicorn immediately took notice of Fluttershy's statement, and she leaned in with a puzzled expression and a raised eyebrow. "What was that? Because Twilight what?" she asked in confusion, and she grinned with suspicion.

"Nevermind," Fluttershy said shyly, squeaking as she raised her shoulders all the way up to her cheeks, "It's just silly, really."

"Darling, please," Rarity began pleading. She put her hooves together and smiled at her light yellow friend, begging for her to go on. "After saying that, you can't possibly be thinking of leaving me to my own imagination, can you?"

The yellow pegasus took a deep breath and let it seep out between her lips, gathering the strength that she needed to speak. It was no use trying to keep it a secret any longer. "It's just that…" she began, taking a short break before she continued with her eyes on the teacup, "… Well, you know how scared I was back then. I would've rather run away and hide away in a cave somewhere than go up that mountain. Grown up dragons are really scary after all. But there was just something about Twilight that made it impossible for me to say no…"

There was a short silence where Fluttershy took some time to find the right words, but Rarity was a little impatient and leaned further in, gently asking, "Go on dear. What was it about Twilight?"

Fluttershy looked up from the corners of her eyes, her cheeks burning red beside her shoulders. "… I guess you could say she believed in me," she said with a weak, yet genuine smile, "I know it sounds silly, and it probably is, but there was just something about the way Twilight believed in me that made me feel like I could do anything. When she said that she knew I could do it after I convinced the dragon to go, I felt my heart skip a beat. I've never had somepony show so much faith in me before, even though she knew all about my… shy nature…" Fluttershy's eyes turned distant as she remembered that day. She was no longer focusing on her white unicorn friend, but instead on some nonexistent point behind her as she got lost in the memories of Twilight's sweet and encouraging smile. "Even though she knew I was scared, she never stopped believing that I would be able to help on that trip. Though Rainbow Dash kept saying I would get in the way, she still insisted that I would be a great help. I guess that's why I love her… She's so kind and trusting. That she can believe in me like that… It just makes me feel so confident."

"But if that's the case," Rarity began as soon as the story was over, not even taking a second to absorb what had been said, "If Twilight makes you feel so confident, how come you cannot tell her your feelings?"

Fluttershy woke up from her daydreaming at the words of her friend. She shook her head hastily, eyes wide open and somewhat panicky. "Oh no," she said with a tone that was louder than her usual one, yet still a whisper compared to other ponies, "I couldn't do that. I wouldn't know how."

"But darling," Rarity said with a sigh, "How will you ever find out whether or not you could have a future with her if you don't try? Surely you realize that the way it is now is less than optimal."

"Can't I just stay friends with her?" Fluttershy squeaked, and she grinned awkwardly at Rarity, who in turn gave her a disapproving look, definitely thinking that idea to be bad.

"As I said before," she said seriously, "You can't even be together with Twilight normally. How will you stay friends if it hurts to be near her?"

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but Rarity's serious and concerned expression made it impossible to think of a good reply. She knew what Rarity said was true, and that she was in an emotional limbo at the moment. With her eyes back on the teacup before her, she searched her mind for alternate options and solutions to her problem. But the longer she thought about it, the more her bottom lip vibrated as she realized the futility of her situation. She would have to take action at some point, but she was too scared to actually do that by herself.

The white unicorn took a deep breath. She shook her head slowly and leaned in over the table as far as she could, crossing her hooves while she spoke with a soft and soothing voice, "Fluttershy, dear. You can't keep doing this to yourself. You're just running away from your own feelings. That can't be good for you. Honestly, if you keep this up you're just going to hurt yourself in the end. I really think you should mare up and confess to Twilight. Ask her if she would like to be your special somepony."

"But what if she says no?" Fluttershy asked with a sorrowful whisper and a lot of anxiety.

"Then you'll at least have a no," Rarity answered, careful not to sound too harsh, "I still think that would be better than how it is now. Maybe it would give you some closure."

The pegasus took a few moments where she thought about what Rarity had just said. No matter how she went over it in her head, the white unicorn's words just seemed to make sense. In the end, she thought that it was her only viable option if she wanted to be happy, so she nodded, sniffing a single time before replying silently, "I guess you're right."

"So will you tell her?" Rarity asked. She put on her most gentle smile and looked deep into Fluttershy's eyes. The way she stared at her made Fluttershy smile back, albeit weakly, and she thought about how lucky she was to have a friend like Rarity that she could rely on.

"I'll tell her," Fluttershy said with a low voice and another nod, "I'll tell her tonight."

"Pinkie promise?" Rarity asked as a joke, but they both knew that a Pinkie promise was more or less a moral contract, silly as it may be.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Fluttershy replied, doing all the motions that came with the promise and worked as the binding seal. Her weak smile grew a little stronger, but she could feel the nervousness eat away at her body. She would rather not do this, but she knew she had to. "So I guess this will be it, huh?" she said with the same smile, "But I gotta say… I'm really, really, really nervous about this."

Rarity sat back up and tilted her head a bit to the side. She seemed proud that she had convinced Fluttershy to confess. "Well, how about a cup of tea to calm the nerves then?" she asked with a happy tone.

Fluttershy nodded. "I'd like that. But please let me pay for it as a thanks for your help."

"Nonsense," Rarity said with a relatively loud voice, at least compared to how the rest of their conversation had been, "I'll pay. Element of generosity, remember?"

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked, knowing that Rarity would not back down when it came to giving, yet feeling a little bad about accepting such a generous offer after she had just been helped so much by her.

"Of course I'm sure," Rarity replied with a smile, "It's my thanks for being such wonderful company today, even though you should have been with Twilight."

The yellow pegasus chuckled, once again feeling lucky to have such a good and helpful friend. She gave Rarity a big smile and said from the bottom of her heart: "Thank you so much, Rarity."

---

Though it was a simple feat for Princess Celestia, Twilight always felt a little bad about accepting such a huge suite for her to stay in. Decorated with fine mahogany furniture as old as the castle itself, and with a large canopy bed standing ready for the night, this room would make anypony else exhilarated. But Twilight's needs were simple: All she wished for was a source of light so she could read and a source of heat so she could be comfortable while doing so. Of course a simple place to sleep was nice as well, but she had a feeling that she would not get any sleep this particular night.

The purple unicorn found a spot a few yards in front of the stone-framed fireplace where she would set up her study-zone. With a spark of the horn, she ignited the pre-set stack of pyre wood in the fireplace, and it did not take long for the flames to get a firm grip, casting a shivering orange light out to the immediate area in front of the fire. She now had a steady source of heat, but the orange light was hardly enough for her eyes to properly read the words of the book. So she grabbed a wax candle, lit it with her horn, and placed it on the floor with the book on its side. As soon as everything was ready, she lay down on the floor, blocking the warm light of the fireplace with one side of her body, and turned the book to page one. It was time to get reading.

---

An introduction to my hypothesis:

I have been told by many a pony that, while most of my research is justifiable and understandable, the research I have been doing into the events in the 'Cave of Harmony', as the cave the great winter was put to an end in is commonly dubbed, is ridiculous and possibly even dangerous. While I of course generally disregard such claims, I still find it highly unusual that even the wise Princess Celestia herself has shown concern over my studies. It is clear that she does not wish for me to research the issue.

Still, it was wise of the ponies, who wrote Equestria's constitution, to appoint her as the nation's leader. Not only was she and her sister the only neutral party during the previous era of hatred, but her many years of experience as a seeker of peace has opened her eyes to the wonders of progress, and this of course includes the freedom to research for the future. So she has allowed me to continue my studies, but warned me that I might be shocked about what I find, should I find anything at all.

From this warning I can conclude that she knows more than she tells. Seeing as I know for a fact that she and her sister are the only ponies that know about the incident in my lab, which I will return to in this journal, I find her fear of my studies to be another clue that my hypothesis might be correct.

The hypothesis in question is the following: I believe that the great, heart-shaped source of magic that emitted from my dear student, Clover the Clever's, horn, was in fact not, as is commonly believed, caused by the strong feelings of friendship and harmony between the three heroes of Equestria. Instead, I believe that it was directly caused by the special talent of my dear student being provoked in the situation.

Of course this hypothesis of mine is politically controversial, since the belief that this incident occurred because of the unison of the three pony tribes was an important factor to the final alliance between the tribes, and ultimately the founding of Equestria. Seeing as the bonds of unity are relatively new, and Equestria as a nation is only a few years old at my time of writing this, the old flames of hatred could easily be ignited anew. Perhaps this is the reason for Princess Celestia's concern: That I would somehow restart the era of racism. Such a thought is not unlikely, though I feel like this is not the complete reason behind Princess Celestia's fearful behavior.

Still, I believe the truth to be important and have decided to follow through with my research. Should my results be of potential danger, I will relay them to Princess Celestia before publishing them, and hear her opinion. Though new when it comes to ruling a country, her wisdom and experience makes her opinion in this matter quite valuable.

Now before I begin my actual research, I would like to tell a story of great importance to my reasons for thinking of this hypothesis. Though I will have to break a promise I made to Princess Luna herself by telling it, I find that without knowing about this, nopony would be able to understand the content of this research journal completely. The following will therefore be a short story of the incident that led to my hypothesis.

---

Twilight's eyes were sparkling with delight, and her mouth gaped open as she swallowed every word of the journal. Though she had not expected to be disappointed, she had not expected to be this entertained either. Not only was the book's point of focus of great importance to Equestrian history. It was also extremely controversial. Starswirl the Bearded, the greatest scholar in history, was questioning one of the most commonly accepted scientific facts. Of course Twilight was a little shocked to find out that she might have been wrong her entire life, but her curious love for knowledge drowned the shock in her excitement over what could possibly be the truth. She had to read on.

But she was distracted from the curious words of the journal by the sound of soft knocking on the big wooden door that separated her room from the hallway. It was a little frustrating to stop right as she was about to read about Starswirl the Bearded's reason for his rather strange hypothesis, but she still found the will to rise from the floor and politely answer the door. She opened it just a tad with her magic, enough to be able to identify whoever was on the other side before deciding whether to let them in. Eyes on the pony; it was Fluttershy.

"Evening, Fluttershy," Twilight greeted her dear friend with a warm smile, both happy and surprised that she would visit this late in the evening. She fully opened the door, allowing the yellow pegasus entrance with a hoof gesture, "Come in, come in. Make yourself at home."

"Um, thanks," Fluttershy said timidly as she entered the room. She was as shy as ever, her voice so low that one would have to shush the hooting owls to properly hear it. But even though this was normal when it came to Fluttershy, for some reason Twilight found her to be just a little bit more tense than usual.

"How was your day with Rarity?" Twilight asked both politely and with genuine interest. She was always happy to see her friends, but especially Fluttershy always seemed to spark her interest. She was a pony more socially awkward than herself, yet so graceful, pretty and kind. Traits that are all difficult to find in a pony, all gathered in this same mare. It always brought a smile to Twilight's face when she thought about how lucky she was to have a friend like her.

"Oh, it was fine," Fluttershy said with her eyes running around the room, looking for something they could stare at so they would not meet Twilight's, "We didn't do much. Just shopped, looked at the city and talked. Nothing interesting."

"Well, it sounds interesting to me," Twilight said with a smile. She turned towards the kitchen, looked at her light yellow friend over her shoulder and asked, "Would you like some tea?"

"No, um, yes," Fluttershy said indecisively, and with an adorable stutter that made Twilight snigger, "that is… if it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all," Twilight replied with a friendly and enthusiastic tone as she trotted to the kitchen.

She grabbed a shiny silver kettle from a cabinet and filled it with water, while at the same time turning on the gas stove with her magic. She could see Fluttershy standing in the middle of the room, fidgeting with her hooves as if she was thinking of something important, and doing some breathing exercises, probably to lessen that strange nervousness she brought with her. She certainly did not come over just to talk, but had some other motive with the visit.

"Fluttershy, is something on your mind?" Twilight asked from the kitchen while she poured the hot water into the teacups.

"A-actually," the yellow pegasus stuttered, and Twilight could almost hear the blush developing on her cheeks, "I-I came to talk… talk to you about s-s-something."

"Oh?" Twilight said with a smile as she trotted back in with the teacups hovering before her in each their magenta light, "Well, what would you like to talk to me about?"

The purple unicorn placed the teacup before the yellow pegasus, who immediately grabbed it and tried to drink it all at once. It took about a thousandth of a second for Fluttershy to feel the agonizing heat, and she accidentally dropped the teacup, further burning her chest and her hooves as the boiling liquid ran down her body. Both she and Twilight were startled, Fluttershy letting out a short scream of agony and Twilight showing a horrified expression as she grabbed a towel from the kitchen with her magic. Who would have thought that Fluttershy would act so rashly?

"Oh gosh, you're not hurt are you?" Twilight asked in concern as she started wiping away the tea from Fluttershy's face, "What were you thinking, suddenly drinking such a hot thing like that?"

"I'm so sorry," Fluttershy squeaked, her eyes filled with fear and her body trembling all over, "I don't know what came over me."

"Well, as long as you're ok," Twilight said with a smile. Of course Fluttershy would apologize before thinking of herself, even though she had just spilt a scalding brew down her body. But that she would be so nervous that she actually tried to drink the tea in a single gulp, even though she is usually so careful and gentle when handling things, made it clear to Twilight that the nervousness she was feeling was not of the regular kind. Something was haunting her, and it made Twilight a little worried. "Honestly, Fluttershy," she said gently, still wiping the tea off of her dear friend's muzzle, "Are you really all right? You seem troubled by something."

As Twilight moved the towel to Fluttershy's chest, the yellow pegasus flashed deep red and she took a quick step back. Twilight instinctively followed her for a second with the towel, but she stopped when she saw the troubled look on her friend's face. She was avoiding eye contact, blushing as she looked to her hooves on the ground. Something was definitely wrong, but Twilight could not figure out what it was.

"I'm really sorry," Fluttershy said with a very low and saddened voice, "I'm just being troublesome, aren't I? I'll get out of your way now…"

"Stop being so silly," Twilight said, and she laughed a little as she moved closer to the pegasus so she could pat her on the shoulder and tell her that everything was fine. She seemed like she needed a warm smile. "It's just a cup of tea. It's not like you set the room on fire."

"Maybe not," Fluttershy continued. She sat down on the floor, her head hanging at the same height as her chest, and with a low voice she kept on degrading herself, "But I'm still nothing but a klutz… I come here and try my best to tell you something, but I get so nervous that I can't even drink a cup of tea without causing such a scene. I'm such an idiot..."

Twilight shook her head slightly as she placed her flank on the hard wooden floor, sitting only inches away from Fluttershy so she could reach out and hug her should she need it. She let out a careful sigh and shot her pegasus friend a friendly smile. "Geez, Fluttershy, you really don't give yourself enough credit," Twilight began encouraging with a low and sweet voice.

Fluttershy looked up at her through the top corners of her eyes. "I don't?"

"No you don't," Twilight said, shaking her head and looking into her friend's pretty blue eyes with a smile as she continued, "Saying you're a klutz when that's as far from the truth as possible. I mean, you're so gentle and graceful all the time. You've even been a model once, even though you didn't like that. I actually had to help you be clumsy, remember?"

The pegasus nodded and giggled a little, increasing the intensity of Twilight's smile as she went on with the encouragement, "And really, you don't have to be so nervous all the time. You're a lot stronger than you think. Remember that time you saved me from the cockatrice? Or the time with the manticore? I don't think I would even be alive today if it wasn't for you."

Fluttershy smiled, and the look in her eyes seemed even sweeter than it normally did. Twilight found herself to be mesmerized by those shaky black pupils, looking deep enough into them to actually be able to see her own reflection. For some reason, she felt at peace whenever she looked at them, making her wish she could do that more often, instead of Fluttershy always looking away when she tried.

"You really believe in me, don't you?" the yellow pegasus surprisingly said, and with a deep happiness in her little voice at that.

"Of course I do," Twilight replied, thinking that much to be obvious, "You're one of my best friends. How can I not believe in you?"

"Friends…" Fluttershy repeated, and the smile on her face faded away as she retracted into her own body, "Yeah… We're friends…"

Twilight did not care for this tone Fluttershy suddenly used. It sounded almost like she was unhappy that they were friends. "Fluttershy," she said with a slight bit of worry, "What was it you wanted to tell me?"

The yellow pegasus looked her in the eyes and took a deep breath as if she tried to strengthen herself for what she was about to say. With a sweet little voice, loaded with both nervousness and determination, she began the sentence with as much strength as she could muster, "Twilight, I…" But this was as far as her gathered strength allowed her to go. She was struggling to go on, stuttering and restarting the sentence all the time. Her eyes showed a deep fear, Twilight could see that much, but there was no way to tell what the fear was about.

"Fluttershy," Twilight said with a low voice as she moved an inch closer to her dear friend, looking her in the eyes with worry, "What's the matter? I've never seen you this nervous before."

"I…" Fluttershy squeaked. She was at a point where she could hardly use her voice, and when she did it sounded more like a squeaking toy than a pony. Twilight wanted to grab her and hug her, but since she had no idea what the problem was, she did not know whether hugging her would make it easier or harder for her dear pink haired friend. After a while, Fluttershy let out a short sigh and shook her head, biting her bottom lip as she did. "Never mind," she said with the saddest voice Twilight had ever heard, "It's not important…"

"What?" Twilight said, careful not to sound too pushy, "But Fluttershy, something's clearly bothering you. Don't you think it would be better to tell me? To let me help you?"

"I did when I first came in…" the light yellow pegasus said weakly, "But now… I don't know."

"Please, Fluttershy," Twilight said, and she finally put her hooves on her troubled friend's shoulders, making eye contact with her once more, "If there's anything I can do to help, please tell me. I'm your friend. I promise I'll help you however I can."

"Friend…" The pegasus squeaked once again. She sniffed a single time and got off her flank, making Twilight let go of her shoulders and watch her with troubled eyes as she took a few steps backwards. "I think I should go," she said all of a sudden, and Twilight raised a hoof to tell her to stay, but the yellow pegasus quickly turned around and faced the door.

"Fluttershy," Twilight whispered with worry, "Please, tell me what's wrong…"

But Fluttershy did not even face her. Her body was trembling and almost inaudible sobbing noises were coming from her. After a few seconds, the pink haired pegasus started running, out the door and down the hallway. Twilight got up to follow her, but she stopped herself at the door and simply looked down the hallway's darkness, which echoed with the sound of Fluttershy's galloping. It hurt her to see Fluttershy this terrified about something. She wanted to catch up to her, make her tell her what was wrong and comfort her as much as she could. But something held her back. For some reason she thought the situation would get even worse if she followed her. All she could do was hope Fluttershy would find the strength to come clean to her. There was no other way Twilight could help.