Ponyville Library: Home to Princess Celestia's prized pupil, Twilight Sparkle; her assistant, Spike the Dragon; the pets Peewee the phoenix and Owlishious the owl. However, it was daytime; Owlishious was asleep, Spike was absent as was the phoenix Peewee. There were currently four occupants in the library, and the current whereabouts of a dragon and his pet bird were the furthest thing from any of their minds. Twilight Sparkle had one mission: To correct the damage - specifically, to the mares who had found out about The Secret. Twilight's deepest, most treasured secret, which was more a part of her being than anything else in the world. It was an armor she's worn since she was a filly - one that had been completely unceremoniously ripped off her, leaving her metaphorically naked in the eyes of her friends.

Her friends present were Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. For Rarity and Rainbow Dash, the only thing on their minds was how they managed to wind up in such a complicated predicament. For Fluttershy, it was fear; simply, a completely paralyzing fear that kept her from moving a muscle. Not that she would have been able to move if she wasn't paralyzed by fear. Twilight Sparkle had made sure of that.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash stood in the center of the library, their bodies completely at the whim of whatever spell Twilight had cast upon them. Luckily, the spell, while rendering their bodies immobilized, allowed for them to move their eyes, blink, and even speak.

Fluttershy was frozen in the smallest ball she could have curled up into, her face buried in her hooves. Even though she was able to speak, there was no way to look around or see. She simply laid there, hyperventilating, waiting for the worst.

Twilight was running amuck in the library, searching - for something, though no pony knew what. She raced around, grabbing books at random off the shelves, scanning their contents and, in a manner unbecoming of a librarian such as herself, tossed the discarded and useless collections of knowledge haphazardly without care onto the wooden floor. Whenever Spike returned, he would bemoan his fate for weeks on end, as every book would be de-shelved and in random piles upon the floor. But she had bigger concerns, and the state of the library, or any of the discarded books randomly on the floor, were nowhere near a pressing issue. Her mane was completely ruined, to the point that if there weren't more pressing matters at hoof, a certain fashionista would have simply fainted from the sight. Her eyes were dilated, and sweat dripped down her face. To say she looked like a mess would be a gross understatement. The two things on her mind were 'Our Secret' and 'I can fix this'. She was muttering to herself, but it wasn't understandable. Her words were lost as soon as they escaped her mouth, as if she was simply thinking aloud, but soft enough that only she could hear.

Even though they were able to move their eyes, and were practically side by side, Rainbow and Rarity were almost completely unable to see one another's expressions. It was probably for the best, as both mares were completely enraged at one another. The had both gotten into this predicament together, but neither pony wanted the blame.

It was Rainbow Dash that broke the eerie silence that was pierced only by the incoherent ramblings of the resident librarian. "Dude, what just happened?"

"YOU happened Rainbow Dash!" Rarity exclaimed, her voice dripping with anger. "If you would have simply kept your mouth shut none of this would have happened!"

"Well excuse me, drama queen! You seemed completely fine with it at the time!" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "I might have gotten the ball rolling, but you pushed it along!"

Attempting her most rage filled glare, she tried to stare down Rainbow. "Darling, you KNOW I can't help myself when something so deliciously juicy is given to me on a silver platter. It would have been a crime to have dropped it after you blurted that out so recklessly."

Ignoring for the moment at responding to Rarity, Rainbow focused her attention upon Twilight, her eyes widening at the scene before her. "What is she doing?"

Twilight Sparkle was the most brilliant mind that had ever lived in Equestria. Even in her current state, she was observing and listening to her captive audience. "Simple!" She replied ecstatically, clapping her hooves together and rubbing them vigorously. "I can fix this! All I have to do is find a memory spell, reverse engineer it to wipe clean your memories of the past events and then Our Secret will be safe. Our Secret," she repeated, her left eye twitching. She then returned to her task, uncaring at the state she left her friends in.

"Oh darling, your secret is safe with us. We won't tell a soul, will we Rainbow Dash?" Rarity nervously laughed as the situation, as serious as it was, began to dawn upon her. Her previous anger at Rainbow's uncouth outburst set aside, she now was beginning to fear for herself and her fellow friends.

"Of course we won't! Not going to tell a single pony! No pony at all!" Rainbow reinforced, with more enthusiasm than was needed, but it fell on uncaring ears.

"Our Secret' was the only reply to be heard from the purple mare. No other statement or acknowledgement from the librarian was issued.

"I think she's completely lost it this time, Rainbow," Rarity whispered, tears forming in her eyes as the full weight of the severity of this situation weighed heavily upon her mind.

Rainbow, in stark contrast to her usual fearless self, replied in as hushed a whisper, her broken voice uttering a single statement: "Rarity... I think we are royally bucked."

Fluttershy had long since fainted.

Just a short time ago

“Ooooh, of course! Now I get it!” Rainbow announced. “All this time, Twilight's been doing her brother!"

Twilight froze. Fear gripped her. More fear than the mare had ever felt before. More terrifying than the Queen of the Changelings taking over Canterlot. A greater fear than her friends 'leaving' her after Discord's chaos. More than facing Nightmare Moon alone. More than the entrance exam to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. A single strand of hair popped up, out of her mane. Her eyes turned to pin pricks and sweat began to form on her forehead. Her brain desperately wanted to shut down, but one thought shot though her mind, keeping her together. 'Our Secret.' Rainbow Dash had just blurted out her deepest secret that she shared with her Big Brother Best Friend Forever Shining Armor, and as of just a few days ago, Cadence as well.

"Rainbow..." Twilight said, voice soft, but firm. "That statement is simply preposterous! He is my brother. BROTHER!" Glancing around nervously, she considered herself lucky. No other pony was within earshot of this horrible conversation besides her friends. In a single moment of clear thought, she remembered Cadence, and as her mind clouded once more, thought it a perfect way to dismiss such a statement, no matter how true it might be. "And he is MARRIED!"

Rarity's mind was not clouded by any means; quite the opposite. She had grown up her entire life reading tabloids and gossip columns, even participating in 'harmless gossip' herself. Her mind was quickly fitting all the pieces together like a 4 year old's jigsaw puzzle. It was so obvious. Of COURSE it was Shining Armor. It couldn't possibly be any pony else. Rarity's eyes lit up with starlight, and her grin spread from one ear to the other. "Twilight, darling, it's so plainly obvious now, no need to hide it. You've always mentioned that you put your studies before friendships. Why, before coming to Ponyville, you had no friends at all! I can't imagine you consorting with any colt or stallion when you never even took your head out of a book! Shining Armor was the only pony you ever cared for. Of course it's him!"

Fluttershy wanted nothing to do with the conversation. It was an invasion of privacy. It was indecent. And worst of all it was in PUBLIC. The shy mare curled herself into the smallest ball she could muster, and buried her face into her hooves.

"Called it!" Rainbow Dash enthusiastically exclaimed.

They knew, they all knew. Many words could be used to describe Twilight Sparkle. Celestia's Greatest Student. Genius. Intelligent. Smart. Brilliant. None of these words could describe the poor mare at this moment. Her Secret, laid bare. Her mind was quickly shutting down. "But... Shining. Married. Cadence," the poor girl muttered, her mind quickly slipping back into her happy place, in the far corner of her mind.

"Yes, darling, you have a sexual relationship with your brother, who is married. I can't believe it! Princess Cadence is royalty! I do not condone you being a home wrecker. Shining can't hide something like this from his wife. Just think of the scandal it will cause!" Rarity beamed. Oh this was just too much.

"Yeah Twilight, you can't go around Shining Armor's back!" Rainbow added, joining Rarity in scolding the broken mare.

Rainbow's words fell on deaf ears. As soon as Rarity mentioned a scandal, whatever was remaining of Twilight's mind stopped, and retreated. As of this moment she was completely running on subconscious thoughts.

Fluttershy wasn't focused on the conversation, but she could sense the change in Twilight. She peered up from out of her hooves and looked at Twilight with as much awe as jealously. Fluttershy knew where she was: in a mental padded safe room of her own design. It was a skill she envied. Twilight could shut down when her stress overwhelmed her. Fluttershy never had such a luxury. She had to always be conscious as her fears consumed her. With as much awe she had, it was slowly being replaced with fear.

There was an incident where the very same thing had happened before. Twilight Sparkle worried her consciousness away for fear of being tardy with a friendship report to Princess Celestia. The incident her subconscious mind had created to 'fix everything' involved her Smarty Pants doll, an overpowered and carelessly used Want-It-Need-It spell, which had turned the entire populace of the town, save her friends, into mindless minions wrought on literally worshipping a old and raggedy doll. It took the intervention of Princess Celestia herself to put everything right, and while no pony was injured, it was a serious incident indeed. The town never spoke of it again, save in hushed whispers, but her friends referred to it as 'Lesson Zero'. Suffice to say, Twilight Sparkle in a subconscious state of mind was very dangerous indeed. If Fluttershy was right, they were all in danger. With as much willpower she could muster, she let out a faint whisper simply saying, "girls..."

The faint whisper fell silent almost immediately upon leaving her mouth. No pony heard it, and at that time, Rarity and Rainbow were so enthralled with Twilight's secret coming to life, they probably didn't want to. The questions continued, words to a mare no longer qualified to answer.

"What's your brother like in bed?"

"Does Princess Cadence know anything?"

"Seriously, what's he like in bed!?!"

"What will you do if this gets out?"

"I bet he's HUGE."

"What would Princess Celestia say?"

"How many times did you do it?"

"How did you keep this from your parents? They couldn't approve."

Fluttershy saw what the others couldn't: Twilight's mane was quickly becoming a complete mess, her eye was twitching, there was a blank look in her icy cold stare. She spoke up again, increasing the volume of her voice, "girls". But it was to no avail. No pony heard her still.

"No, Really, what is he like in bed!?!"

"Rainbow Dash, a girl never kisses and tells..." Rarity scolded Dash, and continuing with her blatant hypocrisy, her grin returned in full, "Except her best friends!"

"GIRLS!" Fluttershy shouted. To be completely accurate, though, her volume was more along the lines of a normal pony's ordinary speaking voice. The tone though, was anything but. It carried a sense of profound urgency, which snapped the mare's out of their questioning rampage, and brought their attention to Fluttershy, who simply pointed a shaking hoof at Twilight.

"Um, Twilight darling... are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, you don't look so good."

Twilight Sparkle, could only utter a single, broken reply: "Our.... Secret"

Twilight was in the worst shape any pony had ever seen her in. The fact that Rarity hadn't gone all drama queen could be attributed to the fact that she had gushed it all out in the past few minutes. It could be because Twilight was obviously distraught. Even perhaps, because on a subconscious level, Rarity knew, and fear can overpower every other emotion.

"Um.... Rarity?" Rainbow said, never taking her eyes off Twilight. "Do you think we took this too far?"

Rarity kept her eyes firmly affixed to Twilight Sparkle. "I. Don't. Know." The last word came out as no more than a squeak as Twilight's horn began charging.

Fluttershy buried her face into her hooves yet again as Twilight started to laugh manically. "I can fix this... I can fix it!" It was at that moment the Star Pupil of Celestia chose to cast her spell. A blinding white light encompassed them all, and if any pony were nearby to hear, they would have heard the echo of a voice moments after the light dissipated. "I can fix EVERYTHING".

Author's Notes:

This is my very first attempt to write a story. I've never had the desire to write before, but Complicated Relations is my favorite. The cliff hanger ending bored into my mind like a drill, and implanted the thoughts of 'what happens next'. I was then compelled to create a fimfiction account for the sole purpose of writing this story. But as I've already dove into this pool headfirst, I might as well swim while I am here. I can post comments, send messages to writers I've enjoyed, complimenting them on their stories that have filled my time with pleasure and joy. I hope that this story will be at least half as good as Softy8088's, because if it is, it will be great. Thank you Softy, for giving fimfiction, and me in particular one of the greatest stories I've ever read, and while it was far too short for my taste, it doesn't take away from all the emotion you crammed into it. No piece of literature so short has taken me from the joys of laughter, to the fear of exposure. From tears of heartfelt joy to an emotional wreck (the good kind!) It was one hell of a roller coaster and I enjoyed every minute. And hey, if I ever write anything excellent on this site, its going to be because of your story, and how it drove me to start writing.