//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Too Many Questions // Story: The Mortal Sin // by Humanarian //------------------------------// Princess Twilight was in no mental state to walk all the way to her castle. No, she could hardly take another step while keeping a calm demeanor. That's why, as soon as she was sure Apples were not watching her leave anymore, she immediately teleported to her castle. To her room, to be precise. She collapsed on her bed, panting hard and gripping her chest, allowing the mask she kept on so skillfuly finally fall and reveal the display of a pure terror that was hidden beneath. Never in her life had she faced anything so scary and dark, not even when she battled Nightmare Moon or opposed King Sombra. She shouldn't have pressed Pride for answers. She shouldn't have asked anything. She was a fool to let her curiousity get the better of her. She didn't need to know that. She didn't need to see that. But now she had. And she couldn't unsee it. She couldn't get that nightmare out of her head. She knew about Pride. And Pride knew about her. And Pride knew that she knew... "Twilight..." That wasn't going to end well. That was a mere beginning of a disaster. Her questions had ensured the doom of Equestria. "Twilight." Pride was a madness made out of shadows. Pride could be hiding in every single dark corner. Even her room wasn't safe anymore! Pride would get her. Now or later. In her wake. In her sleep. In her dreams. She was as good as... "TWILIGHT!!!" "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Twilight's magic flared out of control. Within a second, the entire room went to Tartarus: the crystal furniture rearranged chaotically, some of the items transfigured into the random things, and Twilight Sparkle herself floating in the middle of that display which would, without a doubt, make Discord proud of the Princess. Good thing Spike was floating right next to her, so he reached out and shook the terrified alicorn. "Twilight, snap out of it!" Then it happened. The magic had stopped all at once, which, obviously, lead to both pony and baby dragon helplessly fall on the floor. Good thing it wasn't much of a height to fall from. If only it wasn't for the randomly floating furniture coming crushing at those two right after that. The next few days weren't exactly eventful. Apple Bloom's wound was healing nicely, the little filly was getting much better and thus had been allowed to go for a walk every now and then. A happy smile had returned to her face as she got to spend time with her fellow Crusaders. Not really going on adventures, but still much better than sitting in her room doing nothing all day. That is if you don't count me making her company, of course... which I didn't stop doing even during her meetings with the other Crusaders in their renewed clubhouse. "You three really do make a great team," - I had finally decided to make a comment after sitting still and observing the fillies discuss the future plans for getting their cutiemarks, - "It's so nice to witness how much you care for each other, and that you don't even go crusading for as long as Apple Bloom can't join you!" "Aw, shucks..." - Apple Bloom blushed a little at my words, nothing new there. "Of course! We would never leave our fellow crusader hanging!" - Scootaloo exlaimed. She had successfully made an impression of a brave fool with a heart in the right place. I could easily underestimate her... But I won't make the same mistake again. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. Apple Bloom really needs a great company now, and you provide her just that!" - I had mirrored Scotaloo cheering attitude, adding to the general cheer atmosphere dominating the clubhouse. Both the pegasus and the unicorn had raised their forelegs in the air and clapped them together, shouting: "YEAH!" I had seen some other kids that enjoyed working in a team doing that before. But unlike them, Scotaloo and Sweetie Belle hadn't put their forelegs down. Instead, they kept them up and were looking at me, as if expecting something. I didn't know what they meant, so I did nothing. At least, not until I felt a gentle grip on my foreleg. Apple Bloom smiled at me and moved my foreleg up with her hooves, prompting me to join her friends in their activity. As my hoof touched theirs, the expecting smile was still on the faces of Crusaders, so, acting like a confused child, I said: "Ehm... Yeah?" They shared a wholehearted laugh, before exclaiming again. "YEAH!!!" Ever since the day she hatched him, Spike had proven again and again to be a great assistant in Twilight's life. He had his flaws, of course, but he was smart, he was tough and, most of all... he was wise. His level of sheer wisdom was unbelievable for the dragon of his age. And if you were to ask Twilight about it, she wouldn't be able to count exactly how many times she wished she would have listened to his advice and didn't shrug it off as the words of a child. How many times she wished she would have taken him more seriously, and how many times she kept repeating the same mistake over and over again. But that time was different. She clearly couldn't take the pressure she had on her mind, and there was nopony near to help her. No pony, indeed... but her little dragon was by her side, as always. And so she did the only wise thing... She spilled everything to him. After they climbed out of the messed up mountain of Twilight's furniture, of course. She told him everything that was on her mind... on her heart. All about what happened in Apple Family during the last few days. The reason why she was so scared. The creature she had met. The possible threat and her not having any plan for defense. Every little thing... Until she had no strength to speak anymore. And, luckily, no strength to keep her panic up. "There you are, sugarcubes!" - Applejack greeted me and Apple Bloom as we returned to the farm house. After all, it was dinner time, - "And right on time!" "Of course, Applejack. I wouldn't miss the Apple Family dinner for the world!" - I beamed at her, - "I might be just about to begin salivating, because of how delicious the flavour coming out of the door is!" "Aww, shucks, sugarcube. Ya'll flatter me," - she replied as the blush appeared on her face. But she was quick to recover and change the topic, - "Ah hope ya're ready for tomorrow, 'cause ya'll be going to school. Both of ya!" And just like that, the delicious dinner had completely left my thoughts. Spike had always been a great listener. Whenever he happened to listen to the other pony's piled up feelings, he was never getting distracted by anything and payed his utmost attention to the speaker. After they had nothing more to say, he would step in and offer a wise advice or ask just the right question. That time, however... "I... I don't know what to say, Twilight. What you have described is really scary. Like Mane-iac! Only with shadows..." "I know! Spike, oh, this is so terrible. We've got to do something!" - Twilight agreed with Spike's concern wholeheartedly. However, he wasn't finished. "...and not actually insane. Twilight, did he say or do anything offensive or dangerous?" That was the question Twilight didn't expect, yet her mind was in no state to think through the hidden messages. "Of course! He filled the entire room with his shadows, he stared at me with those numerous eyes, he showed me his sharp teeth and, and...!" "That's scary, yes. But not offensive. Plus, you did mention asking him to show you his true form, didn't you?" "Yes, but... But I..." - the Princess was at a loss for words, her mind simply didn't want to welcome the thought of something so scary not actually being a threat to her and all of Equestria. But the more she thought about it, the more she realised that all of her conclusions had been dictated by her fears alone, - "Spike, you're right! He did nothing offensive or dangerous. I... I've let my fears get the better of myself." Spike had offered his alicorn friend a warm hug, which had been eagerly accepted. "Oh, Spike... What would I do without you?" "Shucks, Twilight. I am not your number one assistant for nothing," - the baby dragon was certainly proud of himself. But most of all, he was really glad that Twilight talked to him before pulling herself into any unnecessary mess which could be avoided. "Spike, I'm so sorry..." - the voice of the Princess had taken a sad colour and that had caught Spike's attention. "Uh... what's wrong, Twilight?" "I'm... I'm just so sorry that I never took you seriosly. Over the years, you have proven to be a truly wise assistant of mine. You know everything about me. You keep all of my possible needs in mind, you're always there for me when I need somepony. The least I could do was repaying you by being honest and open with you all the time. Celestia knows how many times I could have avoided getting in trouble if I would have just listened to you instead of believing that I know better... And even now, who knows what I could have done if you weren't there to listen to me and help me realise that my fears were based on just that scary impression. It... it is about time I finally learn that lesson. I really owe you a big apology." Spike could not believe what he was hearing as he stared into Twilight's eyes shining with honesty and regret. That was it... That was finally the moment when Twilight was promising to take his advice seriously. To never shrug his words off like she used to. And he could not be happier... The baby dragon's thoughts were interupted by something warm and wet sliding down his cheek. Then, the same sensation repeated itself on the other cheek. He didn't even have the time to realise that he was crying. And not as a baby dragon... but as a happy and appreciated number one assistant. "School...? Me...?" - I ask like any other kid in my situation would, - "But I don't even remember what school I used to go to..." "That's alright, sugarcube. Ya'll have proven to be really smart and all that. Ah'm sure ya'll do jus' fine going to the same school with little Apple Bloom here!" - Applejack told me. "And ya'll get to spend the lunch break and the time after school with me and the Cutiemark Crustaders!" - the excited filly shouted out from behind me. I have almost forgotten she is still there. "Oh... I didn't think about that. It does sound rather cool, indeed," - I had commented, scratching the back of my head. It's a gensture I had seen other ponies do quite a few times by that moment. "So, ya'll better eat well and get prepared for tomorrow. Ya're gonna need that energy in school, after all!" - Applejack said, inviting me and Sweetie Belle to the table, where the rest of the Apple Family were already waiting for us. I smiled and eagerly accepted the invitation. After all... this family does provide the most delicious meal I've ever tasted. "So... what are you up to now?" - Spike said, entering Twillight's library. Obviously, that's where she was. "Now, that the fear is no longer in my way, I have remembered the other detail I'm really curious about. When I asked Pride about his true name, he said, and I quote: "I am Pride. The first Homunculus." But I have no idea what that "Homunculus" is... what does it even mean? There's got to be the answer... I just need to find it!" - Twilight had given her assistant a rather long answer, all while flying from one shelf to the other, picking up some books she felt she could look for the answer in. "So... you expect the answer to be in those books? But Twilight, you have already read all of them. In fact, you have read some more than once." Spike's reply had caused the alicorn to freeze mid-flight as the look of realisation had dawned upon her face. "Oh..." - was all that she said, her facial expression visibly slackening, - "Also, I had picked up and classified all of the books from the old castle too. And I had been through all of Celestia's library even before I moved to Ponyville." After thinking about it for a few more monents, the Princess of Friendship had come to the sad conclusion: "There is no information about anything called "Homunculus" in the books." Spike scratched his chin in thought. There must be something they have overlooked there... Something that was right under their noses. "Twilight, do you remember him mentioning that he's not from this world?" - he offered. "Yeah... But that only leaves more questions, and I..." - Twilight had begun a new trail of thoughts, but Spike hadn't let her finish. "What if what's called "Homunculus" in his world is called something different in ours?" A silence filled the room, leaving the last of Spike's words echoing through the library. Nothing seemed to change for the next few seconds. Nothing, except for Twilight's eyes that seemed to grow in their size with every passing moment. "Oh my gosh... " - she had finally said, beaming at the baby dragon with a grin that would make Pinkie Pie proud, - "Spike, it's official. You. Are. A GENIUS!" The number one assistant had got tackled in a warm hug before he could even say a word. Laying on the bed, I cuddled the little filly. She seemed to have grown to like it by that point, as she buried her face in my soft chest fur, no longer embarrassed by her actions. I smiled at her gently. "Somepony is really going to trade her pillow for me someday soon," - I had offered, chuckling slightly. "Aw, hush, you..." - her muffled voice was the reply I had got as she snuggled even closer. She remained silent for a few more minutes, before she had asked that question. The question I did not expect. The question, which was not meant to be asked. The innocent question, which could ruin everything... "Dark Side..." ... "...why can't Ah hear yer heartbeat?"