A/N: I am SO SORRY for short chapters. I've never written a story like this before >3<

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She never talked about it.

No pony ever talked about it.

Twilight Sparkle was still new, and didn't know the darker secrets the quaint little town held. The scandals that were buried deep in the subconscious of those involved. The shadows no one ever spoke of, but they all knew they were there.

Twilight had never seen the whole of Rarity's home, at least, not the basement locked by a heavy lock. Who locked a basement anyway? She never thought much of it, Rarity probably kept her most valuable gems down there! It was through an innocent slip up that she discovered a secret that would haunt her forever.

December 3, Tuesday.
An Invitation for Tea

Twilight Sparkle trotted down the cobbled ponyville road that lead to Rarity's boutique. She'd been invited for tea by the fashion pony, while they looked over outfits for the Winter themed ball that the princesses were putting together. All her friends had been invited of course, the event promised to be a much better experience than the Gala they'd gone to.

She took in a deep breath of the crisp morning air, it promised to be a very cold day, frost peppered everything with it's shimmering coat, and ponies all around her were bundles up as they went about their daily business. Winter was lovely.

She could see the boutique coming into view now and picked up her pace, she was already a little late after having to bicker with Spike to get him to stay behind! She rapped on the door a few times with a hoof and stood back to wait to be allowed in. When the fashion pony opened the door with a welcoming smile, she returned it and trotted in from the cold.

Rarity's boutique was very comfortable and warm coming in from the chilly weather outside. Twilight wiped her hooves on the mat before stepping in, knowing how fussy the white unicorn could be with things being tidy. They had always shared that in common. She followed Rarity into the kitchen, passing the locked basement door on the way, "So Rarity, how has your latest fashion line been coming along?" She'd never much been into fashion herself, but it meant a lot to Rarity and she'd been stressing over it for weeks. It was only courteous to ask.

"Oh simply fabulous, dear!" She flashed one of her famous Rarity smiles as she began to arrange the table just right. She could always make even the simplest arrangements look wonderful! Twilight returned the friendly smile as she levitated her tea to her lips and sipped it.

They spent hours chatting about things going on in their lives, about juicy gossip around the town. Who was crushing on whom, who was cheating, Twilight had never been one to gossip before she came to Ponyville but found herself enjoying it for once!

Before long Twilight's duties at the library called her back and she had to leave. She thanked Rarity for the wonderful time and left for home.

The air that evening felt so much colder than it had when she'd left.