Twilight ran along the path from Ponyville, her mind working as she went. How was she going to get Fluttershy to remember what kind of pony she was? Once again, Twilight went over what she knew about Fluttershy: extremely shy around other ponies; is willing to help others in need despite that; likes animals; skilled at first-aid, both for her animals and for ponies; is a talented cook; can be extremely brave and protective when provoked; not a very skilled flyer.

The easiest way would be to get her to have to help some poor animal. However, there were no hurt animals as far as Twilight knew. Granted, that was a good thing, but it also meant none for Fluttershy to help. Maybe something could pretend to be hurt? Except Twilight did not have any sort of talent with animals. How could she talk one into pretending to be hurt? Even if she did, Fluttershy would probably be upset when she discovered the truth. Well... not upset. Just disappointed.

Maybe she could get Fluttershy to comfort her? She would just have to pretend to be scared, right? Just lie to a pony she looked up to and act like she was far more frightened than she actually was.

Twilight pushed that idea out. She wanted to help, but lying to do it was wrong.

"Sparkle!" a familiar voice shouted, causing Twilight to stop. Turning toward the sound, she saw the familiar form of a blue unicorn filly her own age.

"Trixie?" Twilight called out, staring in surprise as her mind tried to comprehend what she saw.

"You know something about what's going on," Trixie growled, "don't you?" Her ears pulled back as she leaned closer, nearly pressing their noses together.

"Why are you in a straight-jacket?"

The question made Trixie move back. Her ear pulled back against her head as her cheeks turned pink. The upper half of young filly was encased in the heavy canvas garment, sleeves crossing her chest to keep her forearms contained. Thick leather straps and steel buckles held Trixie in place in the outfit.

"Don't try to change the subject!" Trixie snapped. "Things are weirder than normal around here, and you know something about it. Now" -- she stomped one of her free hooves -- "tell Trixie what's going on this instant!"

Did she just refer to herself in the third pony? Twilight wondered, staring Trixie. It had to be uncomfortable to be in something like that. Having her front hooves trapped and her forelegs pinned down. She should be able to just magic her way out of the thing, right? Although, the ponies who made the things probably took that into account. There were probably ways to keep dangerous unicorns from using their magic. Was it possible to have something made into the straight-jacket that would keep magic from affecting it? It would probably be exp-

"SPARKLE!" Trixie shouted, causing Twilight to jump slightly.

"Sorry," Twilight said, shifting. "I'm...." She let out a gasp, her eyes going wide. "... sure that you could help me out."

"What?"

"Come on." Twilight moved closer to Trixie and lifted her up. "I'll explain on the way."

"What are you doing?" Trixie cried out in surprise as she found herself across Twilight's back. "Put me down and tell me what's going on."

"No time," Twilight answered as she started walking as fast as she could along the path again. "We need to help Fluttershy if they're going to save Ponyville. See, what happened was..."

Fluttershy stomped her way through her cottage, her hooves slamming against the floor with each step. She stopped in the living room, her glare scanning across everything.

For some reason or other, her animals were avoiding her. A lot of them had ran off from the cottage. The rest were hiding in their dens and burrows, barely even daring to peak out. That was fine with her. So long as they stayed out of her way, they would be no trouble.

Still, a part of her was disappointed. Why? Why should she care what a bunch of animals think? Why should she care if a bunch of useless, worthless... soft... cute... cuddly...sweet and adorable...

A jerk of her head shook those thoughts from Fluttershy's mind. Why was she thinking like that? That was not who she was. She was tough, vicious, mean. She was a pegasus that should be feared, that nopony -- no creature at all -- should cross. If they did she would... she would... Well, she was unsure what she would do, but she knew that it would be unpleasant and they would regret it.

There was a knock at the door.

"Go away!" Fluttershy bellowed.

"Fluttershy?" a voice called from the other side. "It's Twiley. I have a friend he--"

"We're not friends," another voice shouted out.

"Fine," Twilight huffed. "I have a classmate here that could use your help."

Fluttershy took a deep breath and got ready to tell them to buzz off, but stopped. Who was this filly that did not like Twilight and was in trouble? If this other pony was not friends with Twilight, then how was she able to bring her here? What kind of trouble was she in? Maybe it would be something that Fluttershy could get a laugh or two out of.

Opening the door, Fluttershy found Twilight. Across Twilight's back was a pale blue unicorn filly with silvery-white mane. For some reason, this second unicorn was wrapped up in what looked like a straight-jacket. She looked down at the ground, ears pinned back and cheeks bright red.

That was not what Fluttershy had expected. She was not really sure what she had expected, but not to find Twilight carrying another pony that was stuck in a straight-jacket.

"What happened?" Fluttershy found herself asking.

"She won't tell me," Twilight answered. "All I know is that she's stuck in it and can't get out."

"So what do you want me to do about it?"

"Help her." Twilight motioned at Trixie. "Trixie's been stuck in that thing since I found her, and I don't know how long before that. What if it cuts off the circulation to her forelegs?"

That seemed to get some of Trixie's attention. She looked up from the ground toward Twilight, raising an eyebrow.

"What if there's permanent nerve damage?" Twilight asked, causing Trixie's eyes to go wide. "Or what if the circulation is cut-off for so long they have to amputate?"

"What?!" Trixie shrieked out. "Oh, that's it. I'm getting out of here." Kicking and squirming, she worked get off of Twilight's back. After a hard twist, she slid off and landed face first into the dirt with an audible thump.

"Trixie," Twilight called out as she turned around. "Are you okay?"

"Get away from me!" Trixie snapped. Twisting her body, she managed to get her hind legs back underneath. She glared up at Twilight, blood running from her nose.

"I don't need your help." Pushing up, she got on her hind legs and stood upright. Trixie's weight forced her to take a few steps forward, but managed to stay standing upright.

"But Trixie," Twilight started.

"No!" Trixie took a step back. "I can get out of this by myself, and I will."

"Oh, really?" Fluttershy growled, taking a step forward. She placed a hoof against Trixie, and gave a gentle push.

The push caused the bound filly to stumble back several steps. A second of panic flitted across her face before she fell backwards, landing on her backside with an audible thump. After the impact, Trixie simply sagged, hunching over. Her ears drooped down as tears started to run from her eyes.

Fluttershy felt utterly horrible. So horrible, it made her literally sick to her stomach. A filly had been brought to her stuck, scared, and needing help. Now that same filly was on the ground, bleeding and crying. The bleeding was Trixie's own doing, but Fluttershy was still to blame for it, and was almost fully responsible for the crying. This was not what she wanted. The last thing she ever wanted was to hurt another pony -- or any creature really -- let alone one that was already scared and needed help. That was not who she was. She was a pony that wanted to help. Especially when it came to animals. When had she forgotten that?

"This is all your fault," Trixie yelled, glaring at Twilight who cringed and stepped back. "If it wasn't for your stupid brother chasing off Sunset Shimmer, I could be learning magic as her student. Maybe even her assistant. Instead I'm stuck here in this stupid straight-jacket."

Twilight took another step back as she was yelled out, looking like she was about to get hit. This was not her fault, not really. Yes, she had brought Trixie here, but that was it. Twilight had nothing to do with the straight-jacket. And Shining Armor had not chased off Sunset Shimmer. He simply stopped her from killing the Ursa. It had been the right thing to do, and in no way was Twilight's fault.

Unfortunately, she could not get herself to say so. The anger, the sadness, all of it being directed at her. For some reason, Twilight could not speak up. A part of her said that she should, but something else kept her from doing so.

"Now Trixie," Fluttershy said in a gentle voice, "that's enough." She took a step forward. "I understand that your upset and frightened, but lashing out and blaming Twilight isn't going to make things better."

Trixie turned to look at Fluttershy, tears still in her eyes. She then let out a sigh and looked away, just sitting there. A yellow wing wrapped around her.

"How about we go into my cottage," Fluttershy suggested, "get you cleaned up and out of this, and then we can have a nice talk over tea?"

"...and cookies?" Trixie asked, still not looking up.

"Okay," Fluttershy answered with a giggle. "And cookies."

"Okay," Trixie said, giving one last sniff.

"Come on then." Using her wing, Fluttershy gently helped Trixie up onto her hind legs and balanced the filly against her side.

"You too, Twiley," Fluttershy added. "I could use your help."

"Okay," Twilight said as she followed the other two into the cottage.