Applejack sighs and looks away from her big brother, not wanting to face him now that she'd been caught,  "How much of that did ya hear?"

"About the last part before Rainbow flew out the window,"  he steps into the room calmly, "S'you and Rainbow really are like that are ya?"  Big Macintosh asks in his trademark slow and steady way, not really showing much disdain, but certainly not excitement either.

The orange earth pony cracks a soft smile, knowing that no matter what she says or does he already knows.  There's no point in hiding or being ashamed anymore, "Yeah, yeah I guess we are... Well, we were anyway, she kinda left me,"  The smile is all fake, deep down she feels as if her heart had been kicked by the very stallion talking to her.  

"I wish you'da told me sooner, AJ,"  Big Macintosh sits down on the bed next to Applejack, causing her to sink down a few inches as the mattress buckles under his weight.

"Why?  So you could kick me out?"  The stoic mare keeps her sadness locked tightly inside of her, tossing out snippy remarks to try and keep it hidden.

"Nope...  So's I could congratulate you before anythin' went wrong,"  

"Y-you're not mad or... or ashamed or nothin'?"  Applejack feels her emotional defenses crumble the second she sees acceptance in his big green eyes.

"AJ, c'mon now who do you take me for?"  He flashes her a smile and pats her leg.  "I love mah family and only want to see you happy.  Rainbow makes ya happy, what's there to be ashamed of?"  

"I just thought that y'all didn't like f-fillyfoolers..."  Applejack begins to tear up, feeling the warmth behind her eyes grow stronger with each minute, almost as if she's ready to burst.

"Wull... We usually don't, but if two of the hardest workin', fastest, strongest, and nicest ponies in Equestria are fillyfoolers how bad could it be?"  His tendency to answer questions with other questions kept sending the subject back to Applejack, she feels more and more like she's just been stupidly running and hiding when she had no reason to be.  She lets her tears flow, not trying to hide anything else anymore.  

Big Macintosh just gently hugs her, holding the mare close and resting his head on top of hers, "Why're you afraid of yer family anyway, AJ?"  

Applejack sniffles a little and opens her eyes, trying to calm down to answer his question, "I was just afraid y'all would be ashamed to have me livin' here with you if'n I was with Rainbow..."

"Wull we ain't ashamed, I love you, Granny Smith loves you, Apple Bloom loves you, and that ain't gonna change just 'cuz you love Rainbow,"

Applejack manages to give a tearful smile, "I love all of you too," and buries her head against the big stallion, letting all of her pent up emotions flow freely, washing away doubt and shame in the tearful flow.

"Heya, Twi,"  Spike steps up into Twilight's sleeping area at the top of the library, catching her attention as she sits in her bed and scribbles into an old diary.  Surprised, the unicorn slams it shut and turns around to see the friendly dragon offering her a large bowl of salad that he undoubtedly put together for her.  

"Oh, hey Spike... Sorry, you scared me.  This for me?"  She asks, pushing the old book under her pillow and levitating the meal over to her.

"Mhm,  I haven't seen you eat anything all day so I figured I'd make you some dinner...  You don't take very good care of yourself when you're obsessing, Twilight,"

"I'm not obsessing!"  Twilight snaps indignantly, using her magic to lift a hefty forkful of salad to her mouth and munch on it angrily; she really was starving,"

"Oh please, the last time you had that look in your eyes was when you first got moved into your room at Celestia's school.  I'm willing to bet fifty bits that whatever you wrote in that diary of yours just now has the word 'Fluttershy' three times,"  

It was four, "T-that's none of your business!  How do you even remember that anyway?  You were just a baby,"

"Dragons remember every second of their waking life, Twi, well... we can remember every second anyway, we can block it out if we want to.  Either way don't change the subject, you're obsessed with Fluttershy,"

"Okay, so what if I am?"  Twilight shifts from denial to defensiveness, still eating her salad as it's the only thing she can vent her anger on.  

"Hey I didn't say it was a bad thing... She looks good on ya, just try to take it slow okay?  You're not exactly... well... smooth,"

"This coming from the doting dragon who gets rejected by Rarity every five minutes..."

"That's different!"

Twilight sticks her tongue out at Spike, teasing him back and finishing up her food, "Thank you for the dinner, Spike... You're right about me not taking great care of myself,"

"You're welcome, just try to find time to get out of your own head from time to time.  I know it must be fascinating in there but the real world is nice too,"

"When did you get so smarmy?"  

"Since I got ammo against you as revenge for all the times you tease me,"

"Fair enough...  I'll wash this bowl, Spike, you get some rest, you're looking kinda sleepy,"

"Yeah I guess I am, thanks, Twi,"  The young dragon waves Twilight off and hops back down the ladder, landing in his bed just at the right spot to send his blanket up into the air.  With an expert grab he tugs it over himself; a perfect landing.

Twilight sets the bowl down and re-opens her diary, flipping to her most recent entry and re-reading it with a smile on her face.  

Dear Diary,

Fluttershy, my close friend for well over a year now, has begun to seriously weigh on my heart.  Every single day I catch myself thinking about her, and though it's only been a few days that we've actually been together I can say with confidence that I may be falling in love.  Fluttershy is sweet, kind, and helpful, and best of all she actually understands what the hay I'm talking about most of the time!  I never thought I would catch myself falling for another mare, but I just don't feel wrong about liking her.  Everything that anypony has ever told me wouldn't support that, but to a certain degree it just doesn't matter... right?  Oh why am I asking you about Fluttershy?  You can't respond to me...  Here I am rambling...  Isn't apostrophe such a wonderful thing?  I guess I should close this entry before I break my quill, thank you for listening.  The last thing I'd like to close with is just one statement of fact:

I Love Fluttershy!

Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle, Equestria's most talented unicorn.

"Wow..." Twilight says with a quiet giggle, "I really am obsessed."

Rainbow Dash falls asleep first, snoring very quietly, just barely above the level of a whisper.  Fluttershy rests her head on the pillow and looks toward the cyan pegasus; she's so relaxed, so quiet, so unlike the usual Dash.  Fluttershy rolls onto her back and looks up at the ceiling, resting her eyes a little bit and thinking.  She's not particularly tired, and thoughts of Twilight race through the back of her mind; 'Courage' oddly enough doesn't make herself known where she normally would.  

The mare opens her eyes and stares at a fixed point on the ceiling, not moving her eyes at all.  The room darkens itself around her field of vision as she focuses, and her body relaxes against the soft pillow-top mattress.  She doesn't quite notice her descent into sleep, only feeling her thoughts envelop her consciousness and take over, driving away all perception of the world.  Her bedroom is still there, though it can't be seen, and a swirling feeling around her still body brings her to feel as if she's falling.  It's not a frightening fall however, but a slow descent into a dark, calm world.  She looks around, seeing nothing but yet feeling as if she's gazing out over Ponyville.  Soon the town does come into view, though she's already inside of her home.  She sits happily on the couch, Twilight lays comfortably across her lap, speaking incomprehensibly while the soft sound of a roaring fireplace barely teases their ears.  She looks away toward her wall, and steps through it.  She runs in the hidden daisy meadow just outside of town, Twilight Sparkle following close behind and giggling.  The summer sunlight washes over them, warming their bodies as they warm each others' hearts.  Their movement through the fields is poetry in motion, and the world is simply there to hold them up to the sky as they live their lives carefree and happy.  

Fluttershy is back in her bedroom again, gently embracing Twilight with a deep kiss.  She feels her velvety fur almost over every single square inch of her body, like being wrapped in a lovely quilt.  Her hooves rest on Twilight's hips as they finish their kiss, looking deep into each others' eyes, not having to say a word to convey their love.  Fluttershy closes her own eyes and basks in the darkness, warm and calm, shifting through gentle currents that wash over her body.  She's standing now, and opens her eyes only to see nothingness all around her.  

She looks to her left: nothing.  She looks to her right: nothing.  She looks down: she's not standing on anything, but feels as if her hooves are planted in Terra Firma.  She hears the clacking of horseshoes on hardwood, echoing through the abyss from some direction that doesn't seem to exist.  She turns around and sees a small speck of yellow walking toward her.

"Hey there, Co-Pilot!"  The figure calls out, and as if out of nowhere, drapes her foreleg around Fluttershy's withers,  "I think it's high time you and I had a chat, don't you?"

Fluttershy stands perfectly still, realizing who it is standing next to her.  She turns her head to see an exact clone of herself, only without any wings, smiling back at her with the same mischievous grin that Rainbow Dash gets around Applejack.  Fluttershy's clone... 'Courage' in her manifest form, uses her foreleg to pull the pegasus into a deep, unwelcome kiss.  Fluttershy is simply paralyzed, unknowing at exactly how to feel right then.  She doesn't understand this to be a dream, and is lost in a haze, but sees quite simply that she's kissing herself.  

"Ahh... I've always wanted to do that,"  'Courage' says as she pulls away, trotting in a circle around the confused mare.

"W-what are you doing here?"  She asks, finally seeing that she's talking face to face with 'Courage' from her previous conversations.  

"I should very well ask you the same thing... This is my home after all,"  Fluttershy glances around into the black void, only hearing gentle clacking of hoofsteps as 'Courage' walks around and casually performs some invisible task.  

"W-..."  She stops herself in the middle of the word, taking a breath and looking around, now scared out of her mind, or into it rather, "What is this place?"  

"I already told you, Co-pilot... This is my home, but I guess you could call it your psyche.  Quite simple really, you took a wrong turn about that point where you and Twilight were shoving each others' tongues down your throats and you ended up here.  Which is a good thing, because you and I need to talk, and I can't have you ignoring me anymore like you do on the outside,"

"W-what is it you want to talk about?"  Fluttershy shivers in her place, feeling like she's going completely insane as she watches Courage sweep an invisible floor with an invisible broom.

"Oh, Everything.  But we can't talk about everything right now... You're gonna wake up soon.  As a matter of fact, you probably won't even remember ever being here, but I'll remember.  I remember everything, Co-pilot.  Consider this a warning... You're needed down here to do a little spring cleaning, and I'm gonna bring you back here the next time you fall asleep, no squishy Fluttershy dreams before-hoof, got it?"

"Why are you d-doing this?"  Fluttershy cries a little bit; her tears fall straight down and never hit anything, simply dripping off into nothingness.

"Why?  Because you're in love Co-pilot, and we can't have you screwing that up,"  The strange earth-pony steps forward and seems to hold a newspaper in her hooves.  Fluttershy can't see the thing, but Courage goes through the motions of rolling it up and bashes her on the nose with it.  The impact is enough to break open her eyes and wake her up.  She sits up quickly with a start, gasping for air and accidentally waking up Rainbow Dash in the process.

"Nnnghh... Fluttershy, what the hay are you doing?"  The cyan pegasus rolls onto her back and rubs her amethyst eyes with her foreleg, looking over at the clock on Fluttershy's bedroom hearth and focusing her vision on it, "it's like nine in the morning, what are you doing wakin' up so dang early?"

Sure enough, sunlight pours in through the small slits in her curtains, brightening up a sliver of the room.  Fluttershy is still speechless from the encounter, barely acknowledging Rainbow's complaints as she gets out of bed.  

"I uhm... I need to go feed the animals..." Fluttershy stutters as she trots out of her room, leaving the half-sleeping, angry pegasus in her bed to grumble and pull the quilt over her face.  

Ehehehe... So you did remember it.  That's good... very good... I'll see you soon Co-pilot, have a nice day,  Courage appears for only a second, then dissipates into Fluttershy's frantic cloud of worries and thoughts pulsing through her mind.  

"Just... Just go feed the animals, Fluttershy," the pegasus tells herself as she checks her eyes in the bathroom mirror, "Just get your mind off of it, everything's gonna be alright,"