Fluttershy's heart was racing. She couldn't believe she was about to do it. She felt like she was betraying her friends in a way. But she had to do it. For Twilight.

Besides, if you told them, they'd all wanna go and mess it up even more. You can handle it. She told herself, taking a deep breath. They'd be thankful once she returned and told them everything was okay and they were forgiven.

But what if it doesn't happen like that? What if she doesn't forgive us? Or they get mad at me for not telling them the plan?

"Goodnight, Fluttershy!" Someone shouted, breaking her out of her bad thoughts. She realized she was staring at the sky, having left their shelter to look for Twilight.

"Huh? Oh, g-goodnight." Fluttershy whispered. She turned to see everypony settled down, their eyes closed. Rainbow was in a large tree, Rarity had insisted on staying under a cliff overhanging to stay dry from the rain that was slowly falling, Pinkie Pie was under Dash's branch, and Applejack was right beside Fluttershy, her eyes closed in a fake sleep way.

Fluttershy waited a few minutes until she heard snores from the ponies who didn't know her plan. She carefully got up and braced herself for her journey ahead. Applejack quietly stood up also.

"Applejack, you can't come, remem-"

"I'm just getting up to follow you out and make sure you start out okay. And to make sure you get some food. Who knows how long you'll be gone. I wanna make sure you will be safe."

"I'll be back by morning. If I'm not, they'll start wondering."

"Don't worry, I'll make something up." Applejack sighed. She hated lying, but it was for the better. She knew she had to do it. It was for Twilight and Fluttershy's safety. It was for their friendship. "I don't know if you'll be able to get back tonight. It's windy and it's raining, and it's coming from over in Canterlot. It'll be really bad there, so I want you to take this-" She said, handing her a few apples and a slice of bread, "-and if you aren't gonna make it back in time, I want you to find somewhere nice to stay. If you have to, try to stay with Twilight's folks, or a nice warm building. Just be safe, okay?"

"Okay, Applejack. I'll be safe." Fluttershy assured her, slowly rising into the air with her saddlebag on her back. "See you soon, okay?"

"You bet." Applejack smiled, but was terrified for the quiet, scared pegasus.

Fluttershy flew up above the trees and Applejack followed on the ground, stopping when they reached the gorge and she couldn't cross. "Be safe!"

Fluttershy smiled at how much the earth pony cared and nodded, turning to wave goodbye. A bolt of lightning went through the sky and they caught each other jump, and Applejack watched her for a moment as she hovered, not going forward. Applejack wanted to go with her, she knew the pegasus was terrified going out all alone in this weather, but she couldn't. She had to get back to the others and go back to sleep, even though she knew she'd stay awake all night worrying. Fluttershy had to do it alone.

They both nodded and the shy pony continued her flight, Applejack standing to watch her until she disappeared into the sky. She shivered and turned to head back, wishing it could have been her instead.

Sparkle's hooves could be heard clicking in the otherwise silent castle hallway. She stopped to glance out one of the large windows.

"Hmmm... Pretty rainy." She said. "I sure hope they can all get here on time." A streak of lightning crossed the sky and some thunder rumbled, making Sparkle jump. She suddenly remembered something.

Rain pounded against the windows. Twilight squeaked, pulling a pillow closer over her head as she curled up into a tighter ball. The room was lit up from lightning and went dark again as thunder shook the house. She screamed and Spike ran down the stairs over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Twilight, it's okay, just a little rain. The pegasus ponies won't make anypony get hurt."

"How do you know?" Twilight sobbed, looking up. Her eyes were wet and her face was tearstreaked.

"I know because they don't want us to die." Spike said, pushing her mane out of her face. He stared at her with a serious look. "I promise you'll be okay. The lightning can't get us in here. We have that magic rod, remember? Come on, get up." He said, pushing her into a sitting position. "You're not alone anymore."

Twilight shivered once more at the lightning, then reached over and hugged her dragon. "Thanks, Spike." He was the only one who knew she was terrified of storms and everything to do with them. She loved the sun but the darkness of the clouds and the thunder and the rain and-

Spike reached up and wrapped his arms around her neck and then let go as she released him. He wiped away her tears and smiled. "I'll go get your bed ready for you and you can take a nap."

Twilight laughed. "I'm not tired."

"I know, but you look like you could use a nice comfy blanket." Spike said, heading upstairs, then turned to make sure she wasn't curled up again. Instead, he saw Rarity and Applejack outside in the rain.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked, getting to her hooves. Spike turned to her and frowned.

"Applejack and Rarity are outside in the storm!" He said.

"Really?" Twilight jumped up and looked out the window, gasping. "You're right! You go ahead and get things ready, but prepare for three... I think they might have to stay here. There's no way they can make it home in this weather..." Spike nodded as she ran to the door.

"Applejack! Rarity!" Twilight called, standing in the doorway, making sure she wasn't crying anymore. She had to sound strong for them. Yeah, she wasn't afraid of storms... She loved rain...

She saw them look around and she called their names again. They rushed forward toward her house, dripping wet.

"Come inside girls, quick." She said, ushering them closer to her house. When they stopped on her doormat she was so happy to have someone be with her during the storm, even if they would never know the truth.

Sparkle's eyes were tearing up, she was so terrified as more lightning and thunder struck. She suddenly bolted back up the castle stairs and tried to find her way through the castle, back to the bedroom, back to Luna...

But it was to no avail. She got twisted up in the many halls and rooms, and before she knew it she couldn't tell where she was. She laid down and curled up as more thunder rumbled the castle walls. She was scared, lost, and alone in this. Her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to tell herself not to cry, but it was no use. Even her 'new self' was terrified of thunderstorms.

Her eyes let loose more tears she had been holding in and sobbed. There was no Applejack or Rarity to save her now. There was no Spike to comfort her.

All alone. She was all alone.

"Twilight Sparkle?" A voice called as the unicorn shivered again. Sparkle looked up quickly and got to her hooves, trembling.

"P-Princess?" She responded, wiping her eyes with her front hoof. Her eyes were finally drying up and her face hurt terribly.

"Sparkle!"

"Where are you?"

"Sparkle?"

The unicorn's hooves carried her into another room and down a staircase, through a hallway and a greenroom. She ran faster as the voices of other ponies rang out through the castle.

"I'm here! I was lost, I'm here, don't worry, right h-Woah!" She said, stumbling as she almost fell down some stairs.

"There you are!"

Sparkle smiled and hurried down them, stopping in front of Princess Celestia, Twinkle, Moon Dancer, Minuette, and Lyra. She held in a happy shout as she looked upon their faces.

"Where were you, Twilight Sparkle?" The princess asked, smiling at her.

"Oh, I was just... exploring..." Sparkle laughed, shifting her hooves.

"I found these unicorns outside in the rain. They said you had invited them over." Princess Celestia said with a questioning look. Sparkle's ears drooped. She had forgot to ask, and after all, this wasn't her house.

"Uh, I guess I did..."

"Alright." The princess said, turning to walk away. "I'll let you take it from here. Take care girls, and don't forgot the essay that's due on Monday."

"Goodnight Princess Celestia." They said in unison, then turned to Sparkle. "You really live here?" One of them said. Sparkle nodded.

"In fact, I share a bedroom with Luna." She told them all of a sudden. She didn't know why, but she felt the need to tell them how important she was. She almost laughed at herself. Sparkle, don't you know how beautiful you are? The voice in her head said. You deserve to show off. You deserve it. You deserve all of what you're getting.

No. Don't get carried away. She pushed the voice away and smiled at the unicorns gasping.

"But we won't be staying there, don't freak out." Sparkle laughed, trotting towards the main entrance. She knew how to get to the room from there, and she didn't want to seem stupid in front of these ponies. She needed to impress them.

They followed her obediently, marveling at the walls around them. The rain kept hitting but Sparkle was no longer afraid with the others here.

"So you're sisters with Princess Cadence and Shining Armor?" Twinkle said, breaking the silence and trotting up closer to Sparkle.

"Yeah, I was actually at the wedding. I planned everything for them. Shining Armor is my-" She stopped, about to say BBBFF, but realized it sounded childish. "My brother. He's really cool. Cadence used to be my babysitter." Sparkle smiled. The others gasped, and Sparkle nodded. "She was really nice and she's going to make a great mother."

"Mother!" Minuette exclaimed.

"Yeah, she's pregnant!" Sparkle stopped, grinning. "They told me. They tell me all kinds of important information." She bragged, flipping her hair. No they don't Twilight. That was the only thing they told you and you weren't supposed to tell anyone. What's your problem? The voice in her head shouted at her. I need to stop this. "Make sure nopony finds out though, I'm trusting you guys." She said quickly.

They continued walking through the castle. Sparkle's mind kept drifting back to the voice in her head. There was the one who constantly complimented her, told her she was beautiful, told her she didn't need her old friends, and then there was the one who told her to be good, to control herself, be good old Twilight Sparkle.

Good old Twilight Sparkle. You're not her. You are Sparkle. You're new. You have nothing to do with your past. Good, smart Twilight. What fun is that?

Sparkle's eyes shut tight as she tried to block out the thought. She couldn't figure out why she kept thinking like this. Ever since she threw out her Element... The voice had never been with her before. But the more it spoke to her, the harder it got to ignore it.

Sparkle's eyes were bright once more. The guest bedroom down the hall from Luna's was lit up with candles, filling the room with a sweet scent. The unicorns' sleeping bags were laid out in the empty room. Sparkle was actually really surprised that it had no furniture at all. She expected it to be a study of some sort, but it was just an overlooked room that no pony ever remembered.

Like Sparkle was for those sad days.

The sleeping bags were in a circle and in the middle sat a large makeup and hair kit, and most of the ponies were experimenting different looks on each other, but Sparkle was trying to get back into her study habits.

Ever since she met these unicorns, she had started slacking off, and she was waking up her mind again. Just imagining all the books waiting to be read in the archives brought a smile to her face. She may not be Twilight, but she was still a bookworm, and nothing would change that.

"Excuse me, Sparkle?" One of the ponies said, and she looked up from her book on Dragon Migration Habits.

Lyra and Moondancer were standing in front of her, smiling. "Yeah?" Sparkle said.

"Can we mess with your hair? It's so pretty."

Sparkle laughed and stood up, closing the book. "Sure."

And so the night continued, and Sparkle had more fun than she had had in days.

A/N: I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed, and keep 'em coming! It makes me so happy when I see a new review is up! Someone said they were said the last one was so short, so I made this one longer, just for you!
Thank you so much everypony! I hope you keep reading and enjoying my story!