Rain dripped loudly against the window of Twilight’s library. She was trying to sleep, but couldn’t. She knew that Pinkie knew where she was. She also knew that even with the Royal Guard’s protection, she was exposed. She tried to calm herself down, but nothing seemed to work. She had read books about the subject of psychology, and knew what she was suffering from, but that didn’t help her cope with it at all.
Her fearful reverie was interrupted by three muffled knocks that rang through the house. Twilight sat up with a jolt. She paused, waiting for something to happen. ‘Must be my imagination,’ Twilight said to herself as she laid her head back down on the pillow. Then the sound came again, three more quiet knocks. “Is someone there?” Twilight called, walking towards the door.
“Twilight? Can I talk with you?” A soft voice spoke through the door. Twilight was already sure who it was, but she still wasn’t taking any chances. She looked through the peephole and saw a drenched, shivering Fluttershy standing outside.
“For Celestia’s sake, get in here!” Twilight said as she undid the deadbolt and chain. “Fluttershy, why would you need to see me at an hour like this?”
“I’d like to help you, but I can’t risk getting caught; I don’t want anyone to know.” Fluttershy spoke softly but clearly.
Twilight wore a puzzled look for a moment, then shook it off and said, “I’m sorry Fluttershy, but this is too-”
Fluttershy interrupted. “Too scary? Too gruesome? I’ve seen far worse than anything Pinkie Pie could do, and after what happened, I don’t think I could live with myself if I let another one of my friends die.”
“What do you mean, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.
“The winter before you came here, during Winter Wrap-Up, since we were so unorganized, the pegasus ponies, they-” Fluttershy stopped, choking up.
“They melted the snow too early, didn’t they?”
“Yes. Oh, how those poor little woodland creatures wailed and screamed. The birds could fly, and I was glad they were safe, but all the others, there were simply too many to save.” Small tears ran down Fluttershy’s pained face. “I figured if could save just one, I would be happy. That’s how I got Angel.”
“You just wanted them to stop screaming, didn’t you… You just wanted silence.” Twilight said with a strong, solemn look.
“Please Twilight, if there’s anything I can help you with, I’d be honored to.”
“Well, there is one thing. I’m positively stumped as to the whereabouts of her hideout. I got a map of Manehattan, and a list of where the ponies that had gone missing were last seen, but I can’t figure out where she’s doing this from.”
“Well, Twilight, I can’t seem to pull anything from this either.”
“That’s okay, I’ll talk with Apple Bloom tomorrow, and I’ll start investigating the neighborhood, starting with this house.” Twilight marked a house down.
“Hm. Okay, see you later.” Fluttershy said as she walked out into the night.
