//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Two Sides of the Same Coin // by Minute Trapping //------------------------------// Twilight turned to Caramelle and blinked a few times for effect. "I did a simple empathic spell that time, and you're right; there really aren't words for that. Your descriptions weren't even close. And this happens how often?" "It's completely random." answered Caramelle. "It can be seconds or months, and I don't know it's coming until it happens. I assume there has to be some sort of pattern, but I haven't found one yet." "That's the funny thing about randomness; you can never quite be sure if something is truly random, or even if true randomness exists at all. Even if you find a pattern that perfectly describes all the data you have, there's always the possibility that more data could come along that doesn't fit the pattern. Likewise, even if something seems random, there's always the possibility that you just haven't found the pattern yet. It's pretty frustrating to the average pony, but for scientists it's exciting, because finding new patterns and fixing our old ones is what we live for. If we got everything right the first time, pretty soon we'd know everything, and then what?" "Did you say 'we'?" Caramelle asked after she had processed Twilight's monolog. The Keeper of the Element of Magic was visibly exasperated. "Yes, 'we'. Like I said before, magic has a consistent set of rules that it follows, and spells can be observed and independently replicated. My chosen field of study may be magic, but I am as much a scientist as somepony who studies chemistry or geology." "Okay, sorry. I…" Caramelle trailed off as she began to cough. "Oh dear, already?" asked Twilight, surprized. Caramelle shook her head, responding after she finished coughing. "No, I…" she cleared her throat. "No, that one was just a cough. It wouldn't've surprized me, though; I've had flips closer together than that." "…and you still managed to keep your secret all these years?" Twilight asked incredulously. Caramelle nodded. "It wasn't easy, to put things mildly. It's always been at the back of my mind, coloring every single decision I make. To be totally honest, I'm still a little nervous about this, but I'm willing to take the plunge and get it over with before I think better of it." "So… how exactly do you plan to go about doing this?" Twilight inquired inquisitively. "I want it to be public, something everypony in town hears at once. That way, I can say what I need to without worrying about my words getting distorted as they pass from pony to pony to pony to pony. The last thing I need is rumors." Twilight nodded her agreement. "So a speech, then?" "I don't know. There's not really enough to say to warrant a whole speech." This earned a shrug from Twilight. "Just speak from your heart, and answer any questions Ponyville might have. I think everypony will feel better about your announcement if you do it in pony, rather than tacking it up on a bulletin board somewhere." "Yeah, I guess. Let's go schedule a speech with the Mayor before I change my mind." Twilight took a deep breath and held it for a second. "Caramelle, you've been pussyhoofing around about this for a while now. I can help you through this, but I won't force you to do anything. Have you made up your mind?" Caramelle grimaced. "I think I might need you to force me to." she said. "I want to do it, and I agree with everything you're saying on an intellectual level, but there's still that one corner of my mind that's screaming at me to back out." Twilight nodded along in understanding. "Okay, I see. Well, then I'll go ahead and schedule the speech, while you think about what you want to say. Do you mind if I tell Mayor Mare what the speech will be about?" After several moments of thought, Caramelle answered. "I'd rather you just said its a sensitive matter that everypony should learn at once, but if you really have to, just make sure the speech is as soon as possible after that. Twilight nodded. "I'll meet you back at your house." She cantered ahead, leaving Caramelle to herself to turn back to her house to think things through. It wasn't long before she returned. "I scheduled it for tomorrow at noon. She didn't ask what it was about." Caramelle thanked the lavender mare, and Twilight turned to leave. "Twilight, wait!" Twilight stopped and turned in place, cocking her head. "You'll be there with me, right?" she asked, concernedly. "Of course I will, and I've said that before. Besides, soon everypony in Ponyville will be with you, Caramelle. Now get some rest; tomorrow is a big day." Caramelle rolled her eyes, but followed her advice nonetheless. The remaining hours whizzed past, sleeping and waking hours blurring together until she found herself standing in front of the population of Ponyville. She cleared her throat, and began. "I, uh… you're probably wondering why I decided to make this speech. Well, actually…" she nervously scraped her hoof against the wooden floor of the stage, until she caught Twilight's reassuring smile in the audience. Caramelle took a deep breath, and started over again. "All of you who know me know me as 'Toffee'. You probably also know my brother, Caramel." She braced herself; coming up was the point of no return. "Truthfully, 'Toffee' isn't my real name. My name is Caramelle, and Caramel isn't my brother. He's me." There were some muffled gasps and confused mutterings, but Caramelle continued. She explained everything, and told her whole story, covering everything Ponyville needed to hear, but not wasting their time with all of the details. As she spoke, the herd grew quieter, and eventually her speech reached its conclusion. "So I'd like to apologize to Ponyville for lying to all of you for all these years, to ask for your forgiveness, and to thank Twilight Sparkle for her steadfast support." After the briefest of silences, Ponyville echoed with the sounds of hooves hitting the ground in applause. Caramelle smiled as she felt an enormous weight be lifted from her withers. "You have no idea how good it feels to hear that. Thank you. Now I'm sure you have a lot of questions to ask, so I'll do my best to answer them. It's the least I can do." After an awkward silence, a grey-coated earth pony mare raised her hoof, and Caramelle acknowledged her. "Caramelle," called the mare, clearly getting used to the 'new' name, "what has been the best time and the worst time of your life so far?" Caramelle didn't even have to think about that one. "I'll answer the worst first. The worst moment of my life was, no question, when I lost my daughter, Nougat. I couldn't sleep for weeks after that. As far as the best moment of my life, I don't want to sound sappy or anything, but it really was just now, when all of you applauded me. My whole life I had been so worried about anypony finding out, and I was spending every waking moment trying to keep the secret. To not only have that burden removed, but to be accepted, for me, is the best feeling in the world." The stallion smiled and nodded in appreciation, and Caramelle called on the next pony, a grey-coated earth pony mare, who had been waiting with her left foreleg in the air. "If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?" "That's a really good question." said Caramelle, stalling for time as she decided on her answer. "If you'd asked me that last week, I think you know what my answer would've been. But I've come to terms with my condition, and now I have a different answer. I have a lot of trouble trusting other ponies, and I tend to see the worst in equine nature. That's not a part of me that I'm proud of anymore, and if I could just click me hooves together and become a more trusting pony, I probably would." The mare nodded, and Caramelle moved on to the next question. Do you have a question for Caramelle? If so, head on over to Ask Caramelle and get her answer. "I guess that's everypony." sighed Caramelle to herself. She then raised her voice and addressed the assembled herd. "Thank you so much for your time, and thank you again for your support. You've been nicer than I ever could've imagined!" she exclaimed, almost tearing up. Her speech concluded, Caramelle turned and left the stage. Behind and at the bottom of the steps she was greeted by Twilight Sparkle and, much to her surprize, Princess Celestia! [COMMERCIAL BREAK]