"Uhh... Are you okay?"
I snap back to reality. The new look at the whole plot provides a lot of information, but how much of it is useful? Oh wait, Ivory asked me a seemingly simple question. "Uhh... No, I'm not."
"What's the matter, dear?"
That word isn't very familiar to me. "I, uhh..." I know not all hope is lost for her, but the fact she doesn't even recognize has me on the verge of tears.
"Yes? What is it?"
I threw my hooves on my head and laid on the floor, "Please stop asking me that damn question!!"
Ivory stepped back, "Well, excuse me, sir! Just trying to help some guy who crashed in on --"
"Faded Ivory, it's ME!! BLAZE!! Don't you recognize me!?"
"No, sir. No matter how much you want to believe it, you are not Blaze. And I'm not gonna keeping repeating myself either, so stop saying it. Blaze died when he was much younger."
"IVORY!!"
"I'm not going to tell you again, sir! Blaze is dead! He's been dead for a long time! And he was a very dear friend, so I'm taking a LOT of insult from your little game! So why don't you just go away!"
"But Ivory --"
"I SAID GOOO!!"
"Is everything okay in here?" Princess Celestia couldn't have picked a better time to interupt our conversation.
"No, Princess, it isn't." Ivory continued. "This imposter claims he's your dead nephew!"
Celestia looked at me with a face that said 'let me take care of this.' She sighed, "Oh, really? And what does he have to say for himself?"
I tilted my head. "Who, me?"
"Who do you think you are, trying to fool this heartbroken mare into thinking you're my sister's heir!?"
I stepped back and lowered my jaw simultaneously. "But Princess!! --"
Celestia turned her head toward Ivory now. "I know who he is, young lady," she said in her calm voice, but I noticed a very faint anger, "and I don't approve of how you treated him. Now, it is you who must be punished."
I stood up. "Wait, what?"
Celestia turned her head to me again. "Blaze, you tried your hoof at this issue already. Please allow me to play mine."
I shook my head. What kind of game is Celestia trying to play on us? Who's side is she on? Whatever it is, she's doing a good job confusing me.
"Wait, you BELIEVE HIM?" Faded Ivory backed up further, but she was getting furious. "Celestia, you know Blaze died over ten years ago! How dare you trust this imposter!?"
"First of all," the goddess was slowly approaching the sea green mare, standing straight up at an intimidating height, "you do not question me. Second, his name is Blaze, and he is my nephew; the rumor about his death just spread when we couldn't find him."
Ivory wasn't very quick to accept it, but her eyes shrunk just a little. "Yeah, okay. And why didn't you tell me about this before I cried my heart out!? Celestia, you knew I cared for him! You knew it killed me inside! And you SAW me get rid of all of the emotions forever!! Ten years of being locked up inside... ten years of being mentally sick... for NOTHING!?"
We both cringed from Ivory's confession. I can't speak for the princess, but I got a little emotional myself. She's opening up gradually, but she doesn't want to accept it, not yet. I wish I had some proof to show her to - well obviously, prove - that I truly am that energetic little colt from twelve years ago... And I realize I only have one thing.
Her diary.
I try to recall the words that the few pages I read contained. While Celestia and Ivory continued at it, I attempt to focus on last night, back at Twilight's... Unfortunately, it seems too cloudy. I fight, struggling to remember something, anything, that only we knew...
Then I got an idea. "You shoulda seen the look on your face! You were like, 'Waaahhh!' "
Both girls turn their head toward me, Celestia having a surprised face while Ivory had more of a 'wait, what?' expression.
"What did you just say?"
I begin to laugh, remembering the incident like it was yesterday. "Face it, you were in just the PERFECT spot! It was priceless!"
"It wasn't FUNNY! You embarressed the heck out of me!"
I chuckle even harder in between saying, "Well, you shouldn't've been standing there!!"
"Blaze, shut up. You're not help--"
She cut off, with her jaw slightly ajar. I look up, see the face she's wearing, and laugh just a little more before I serious up.
"Faded Ivory."
She didn't look up at me, probably because she was finally forcing out the lies.
"Ivory, look at me."
She was hesitant, but she lifted her head and stared into my eyes with a moist pair of her own. "...Blaze?"
I sigh. "...Hi."
She was taking baby steps toward me, cautious steps, every other second or so. "... ...Is... is that... you?"
I pick up the towel I threw on the ground earlier with my flame-colored magic, and levitate it in front of her. "Here, maybe you'll see me better if your eyes weren't so wet."
I wait until she grabs it before I drop the spell. She only looked at it, though. Her eyes were shifting between me and the little rag several times...
Then she tossed it across the room, then jumped forward and clamped her hooves together around my neck.
I was slow to return the embrace, but I did. The moisture from her tears brushed against my face as she ran into me, and had left me in a state of shock for a second. Faded Ivory... She's back...
"I've missed you, Ivory." I whisper.
She backed her head away just a bit, so we could make eye contact. She was hesitant to respond, but she eventually said, "I really thought you were dead..."
"Me, too."
"Where have you been all this time? And why didn't you come back?"
I bit my lip. Should I tell her about my twisted past? What will she think? Will she share her own? In the end, I succumbed and confessed;
"Back on that day, twelve years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night to a roar of a big monster thing. Shortly after, I thought I heard you, so I dashed out the window and flew after you. While I was catching up to you, I built up so much speed that I crashed through the monster and kept going. But, I didn't stop, and I slammed into this big tree. A long time later, I woke up in a village, and the elder of this village told me that I was born and raised there. I was manipulated into thinking that I lived a healthy villager's life. But the thing is, you were there, and I spent nearly every day with you. So if you weren't there, then it was nearly all a lie. Hell, I'm still trying to figure out what was true and what was false.
"But anyway, ten years later, we went fishing one night. And when we came back, the village was under attack by a huge shadow monster. All the houses but one fell, everypony I found was already dead, even our fake parents... I ended up braking my wing, and you were... ..."
She backed up a bit, but still held the embrace. "I was what?"
I closed my eyes and lowered my head a bit. "You were ripped apart..."
"Oh, my..." she shivered and drew closer. "Well, I can assure you I'm right here. I'm not gonna get ripped up by any monster any time soon, I promise." Ivory then laid her head on the side of my neck and let out a heavy sigh.
Reflexively, I extend my free foreleg onto her back to comfort her.