Collapse, Collide

by Zombificus

Resolution

When Diamond awoke, the comfortable weight of Copperwing’s head upon her shoulder was the first thing she noticed; the second being that they were no longer alone in the room. The hushed breaths rippling through the silence and the anxious shuffling of hooves on the floor told her that much, but what these sounds did not tell her was the most crucial fact of all: who was their mystery visitor?

She thought she had a pretty good hunch: the nervousness and lack of purposeful movement made it clear that it likely wasn’t a member of the staff - not unless something truly awful had happened to Burnished Gilding and they were reluctant to wake them and break the news, at least - and from the sound of the visitor’s quiet hoofsteps and shallow breaths, they were probably closer to Diamond’s own age than that of adult, judging by the rough idea this gave her of their size.

Carefully, she disentangled herself from Copperwing and lay the other filly’s head softly down onto her pillow, running a soothing hoof through her mane before turning to the other pony in the room. Sure enough, the moment she turned it was clear that her hunch had been right, and inevitably, inexorably, Diamond’s pale blue eyes met with their pea-green twins, a spark of mutual recognition flashing between them.

“Auburn,” said Diamond, not unpleasantly, but without the usual enthusiasm that usually comprised such a greeting.

The other filly looked down at her hooves nervously, discouraged by the emotionless welcome; and when she raised her head cautiously to once again look at Diamond, the cold gaze she received caused her to stutter a little when she finally spoke.

“H-hey, Diamond; is Copperwing awake? I need to talk to her.”

Diamond's response came as a near-growl, the anger she'd felt towards her outside the hospital returning with a vengeance, fueled by the things Copperwing had told her about previous occurrences of the same.

“Damn right you need to talk to her, Auburn – more than talk: you need to apologise to her. Properly. And not because your mum sent you, either: if you aren’t here to apologise truthfully and for Copper’s sake, not your own, you may as well leave now.”

“That’s why I’m here – to apologise, I mean – what I said to her earlier was… Well, it was horrible and I am so, so sorry for saying what I did.”

“I’m really hoping you don’t know why she’s afraid of hospitals, because if you knew and still told her to grow up, I’m not sure I can forgive you for that. I know I’ve done a lot of similar things in the past, but that is the one line I always refused to cross… Making fun of something that serious just isn’t what the Auburn Wake I know would ever do.”

This threat of alienation seemed to flick a switch in Auburn's mind and she sprung into speech with desperate fervour:

“D-Diamond! I didn’t know, I swear! If I had, I never would have even thought that stuff, let alone said it. I feel awful now mum’s told me why she’s scared – I always just thought that she was making a big deal about nothing, just messing around, you know? I didn’t realise it meant so much to her… Oh, the things I’ve said to her, all those Celestia-damned things I’ve said…”

Exasperation boiled in Diamond's lungs and she found herself unable to keep it in, releasing the verbal steam without pause for thought for their friendship in her anger.

“For buck’s sake, Auburn, I thought you were the smart one out of all of us – how did you miss the fact that she was serious about this? You’re her sister! Didn’t you ever stop to think that maybe what you were saying was hurting her?”

Auburn rushed to halt Diamond's rant before it began by biting the bit and admitting her wrongdoing openly:

“I know! I know, okay? I’ve been a terrible sister to her, especially today, but I want to try and make things better between us. I don’t really know where to start, but I’m going to give it my all.”

Whilst her vow to improve things between herself and Copperwing impressed Diamond a little, the still-fresh memory of Copper's pained writings about the years since the hospital incident forged a less than enthusiastic response.

“Better late than never, I suppose.”

“Diamond!-" she cried, desperate for some positive response from her friend, "-Please, I’m trying my best here - making amends after what I’ve done – I thought you’d appreciate that.”

“I’d appreciate that a lot more if Copper hadn’t cried in my hooves for a whole hour and ten minutes earlier, or if she hadn’t looked so ashamed of herself when she admitted she was scared of hospitals: as it is, I’m going to have a hard time appreciating it, especially as all you’ve done so far is talk to me.”

“She’s not even awake – I don’t have anypony to talk to besides you!”

Diamond sighed and ran a hoof through her mane, conceding that her friend was right about that at least and trying to put her views on the matter across less antagonistically than she had been doing. Looking Auburn in the eyes, she attempted to get her to understand her point of view in a slower, more measured tone.

“Look, I still like you, and I’m glad you’re trying to fix things up; but Copperwing’s my friend too, and right now she’s the one in an oxygen mask, in the place she has nightmares about, after having a joint panic and asthma attack, not you. If things were the other way around, I’d be taking your side, but they aren’t; so until you can win me back, I’m quite comfortable on hers.”

She held Auburn's gaze for a long few moments, waiting for her words to sink in and the pegasus to reply.

“I-I… I see where you’re coming from. I’m sorry, Diamond, I – Oh, she’s awake!”

Auburn made to dart to her sister's side, but Diamond held out a hoof solidly and barred her path, wary of her other friend suffering any more stress that day than she already had done.

“Don’t rush her, Auburn: I’m betting she’s got a few things to say to you before you begin, and the nurses weren’t kidding about the ‘keep it calm’ thing.-“ Diamond turned to Copperwing and, without needing to be told, retrieved the writing ring from the bedside table and returned it to its rightful place on the filly's left wing, speaking now to her instead of Auburn, “-There you go, Copper: take it easy, alright?”

“Like a stuck record, you are,” grumbled Copperwing playfully, speaking more energetically despite her still-raw throat, though her wry grin slipped a little as she made eye contact with her little sister. “Hey, Auburn; guess the nurses told you I was here?”

“Yeah, they did. We can talk more after you’re done writing, but I just wanted to say that I’m really sorry for what I said… I know why you’re afraid now, and it’s anything but dumb, or foalish, or any of the other things I’ve called you. I’ve been a terrible sister to you…”

Copperwing’s only response to this was to hum thoughtfully and fix her gaze once and for all upon her notepad, her writing-feather tracing slowly over the lined paper as she carefully inked out her thoughts onto its surface, the process tempered somewhat by her sister’s initial apology. An awkward silence fell over the other two occupants of the room as the older pegasus wrote, Auburn occasionally fixing Diamond with an apologetic glance, to which the earth filly responded stone-facedly, her eyes always flicking over to her writing friend before returning to meet Auburn’s own, her expression giving little away. After some time, Copperwing stopped writing, and Diamond quietly got up from her seat and took a few steps towards the doorway, not wanting to get in the way of the sisters’ conversation.

“I’ll let you two have a little privacy: I’ll be outside if you need me,” she said, backing away; and at her friends’ grateful looks, she turned around completely and trotted quickly from the room.

As she emerged, she noticed Nurse Snowheart glance at her and shot the medical mare a smile, which thawed her frosty appearances just enough that a small smile in return was momentarily visible. Settling herself down in one of the clinical, no-frills white chairs she had become quite familiar with over the past few hours, she lay back and wondered, not for the first time that afternoon, whether her father was worried about her. She didn’t think he’d be too worried, but with how long she’d been gone, he would almost certainly be concerned by this point: a pang of guilt shot through her as she came to this conclusion, and thought back to Nurse Snowheart’s advice from earlier – advice which she, perhaps foolishly, had not taken.

*

Filthy Rich couldn’t concentrate on his work, and this time it wasn’t just because he was bored or hungry: this time a far greater yearning than those petty reasons was drawing his mind away, and he found that he could no longer ignore its beckoning cries.

It was half past nine now, and still his daughter and her pegasus friends had not returned from the hospital: almost ten hours since they had left for the far side of Ponyville, and still no sign. Whilst he understood that at hospital visits were rarely brief events, they rarely took longer than three or four hours even with a patient as presumably badly injured as Burnished Gilding being the one receiving visitors. Something had not gone according to plan, and whilst the truth of what would surely turn out to be something minor, Rich could not stand not knowing – it was time to act, even if this work was crucial.

Pushing the papers on the desk away from him, he slid quickly from his seat and strode hurriedly out of the office without a second glance back, trotting purposefully to the staircase outside the room and making his way down it hastily in his rush to escape his lavish prison. It took mere moments (too long, entirely) for him to arrive at the front door of his empty home; and even as he called back over his shoulder to inform the staff of his soon-to-be absence, he was busy unlocking the door; removing the final obstacle in his path with urgency.

Slipping quickly out of the doorway, Rich began to canter nervously away into the town, the door slamming shut behind him. He made it as far as the other side of the square when the voice of a familiar mare stopped him in his tracks; more through the surprise of hearing her calling his name than anything else.

“Rich!” she called again, and he turned to face the voice’s owner as she trotted over to him, a cheerful smile on her face as he caught her gaze, although it dropped a little when she saw his own bleak expression.

“Evening, Cheerilee; didn’t expect to see you out so late.”

“I could say the same thing... Hey, you looked like you were in a hurry; I’m not getting in the way of anything too important, am I?”

“Well... Auburn Wake’s mother’s in hospital, and she, her sister and Diamond aren’t back from the hospital yet. It’s been hours now, so I was going to try and find them.”

Cheerilee's ears splayed back at the news, and she slumped a little in disappointment, although her overriding expression was one of concern.

“Ah… So that’s a yes, then. I was going to ask you about that deal with Prose Print Publications, but I’ll just let you get going.” She made to turn away, but Rich held up a hoof, feeling he owed her an explanation sooner rather than later given the disappointment the news would bring.

“About that… I’m not sure I’m going to be able to pull it off. I need the papers ready for tomorrow, and half of it’s not done yet… I’d be pulling an all-nighter if it wasn’t for Diamond and her friends being missing, but with trying to find them and getting to and from the hospital I don’t think I’ll have the time. I know you were looking forward to more educational foals’ books ending up in my range, but it just doesn’t look like it’ll happen after all.”

“That doesn’t sound good, no… Say, I could find them for you if you wanted – I’m a teacher, after all, so finding foals is second nature by now – and anyway, I’d feel terrible if I didn’t help you out somehow.”

Rich frowned, bushy eyebrows knitting together in an expression of indecision, and answered hesitantly. “I don’t know, Cheerilee… They’re supposed to be my responsibility. It would be nice to get that deal done, but I’m not sure I could live with myself if the fillies are hurt. Thanks for the offer, but I’m just not sure that’d be the best thing to do.”

Whilst his answer was effectively a no, Cheerilee could see that he was tempted to accept and pushed harder for him to accept her offer, not wanting him to lose out on his deal and have to pick up the pieces on top of his concern for the fillies under his care.

“How do you think I’d feel if they’re hurt? I care about them, too, and you’ve been under too much stress already to have to choose between your business and your daughter. Let me help, Rich, please.”

He sighed heavily and conceded the conversation to his mulberry friend, grudgingly accepting the offer. “Alright, just be quick about it: I can’t concentrate, not knowing if they’re alright… I’m just scared of losing another pony I love.”

Cheerilee rested a hoof on his shoulder and looked deep into his eyes, reassuring him with firm confidence. “You aren’t losing anypony, Rich, I promise you. I’ll be back before you know I’ve gone, with the terrible trio in tow – I used to captain the cross-country team when I was younger, and I’ll be damned if I can’t still manage a good mile's run.”

With this, she turned and trotted quickly away, her strides quickening into a canter and from there into a full gallop as she raced up the long dirt path, swirling dust hovering in the air where she had trodden.

“Thank you!” Rich called after her, and she turned her head and yelled back, a playful grin momentarily breaking her serious demeanour:

“It’s called friendship, Rich, look it up!”

For a little while, Filthy Rich watched her go, but with his one excuse removed from the equation, he turned reluctantly away from his friend and her distant daughter, and returned to his own home. It still didn’t feel quite right walking away, but knowing that Cheerilee was on the job did a lot to put his mind at ease. With a sigh, he closed the front door behind him and prepared himself for the long job ahead, sending one final prayer to the princesses that the fillies under his care would prove to be unharmed.

*

Auburn reached out a nervous hoof and took the notebook from her sister, trepidation flooding her heart as she turned it the right way and brought it up so that she could read what Copperwing had to say. Part of her wished Copper would have let her explain herself fully, but she supposed that she’d lost that option when she had let her insults be the last words in their earlier conversation and resigned herself to the fact that what her sister had written may well be just as hurtful as her words had been. Taking in a shaky breath, she turned her gaze at last to the page itself and began to read.

Auburn, I have put up with your teasing about my phobia for years, but I just can’t take it anymore. I can’t do it: you’ve hurt me too much this time for me to shrug it off as just my sister doing what sisters do, and I’m not even talking about the asthma thing.

What I’m talking about, Auburn, is the fact that every month - almost every week - for the last four years of my life, you have made fun of me about the results of the worst day of my life, and after what you said today - and the way you looked when you said it - I’ve been forced to accept that you meant what you said. When I could just ignore them as ‘friendly teasing’ or whatever else you called it, I was able to get on with life quite happily, because I believed that you weren’t being serious about it; but when you see them as such, four years of heartfelt insults really has an impact.

You called me a lot of hurtful things - my personal favourite being: ‘the changeling-food equivalent of Sweetie Belle’s burnt toast’ – and now that I’m looking back without my rose-tinted glasses on, every single one of them hurts a million times worse than my body does right now. I just don’t understand you: you call me your sister, you claim that I’m your best friend in the world, you play with me and talk with me and do all the things I’d want in a sister, but when it comes to the most important thing in my life, you trample all over my feelings like they’re nothing and laugh. Why?

Do you simply not care enough about my feelings to accept that my fear of hospitals isn't something you can just insult me for and not hurt me badly? Is that what it is?
I don’t want to think that about you, so I’m going to let you explain yourself, but if it turns out that you knew the reasons for my phobia and still said what you did, we are through as sisters in every sense besides the blood in our veins.

I’m listening, so talk.

Auburn’s heart sank. There it was in writing: she had deeply, seriously hurt Copperwing without even realising what she was doing; and now her friendship with her own sister lay on the line, with this talk apparently being her only chance at keeping it. She’d known deep down that this would happen since her mother had helped her realise what she’d done, but to have it written down in Copper’s openly judgemental cursive was a whole new level of painful.

Putting the pad back down on the bedside table, she took a deep breath and steeled herself for the task to come: she knew she’d done wrong, and so did Copperwing; now was the time to say it aloud and accept the consequences.

“Shit, Copper, I don’t know what I can say: 'sorry' just feels empty when I think about everything I’ve said to you, but it’s the only word I can think of. So... I’m sorry, Copperwing; for all the times I’ve insulted you, or made you feel bad for being scared, and especially for what I did today, What I’ve done was unacceptable, and I can see that now… I just wish I hadn’t been so blind in the first place.

“I don’t even know why I did it, really. Mum was right: just calling it a phobia should have been enough that I understood that it was serious, but I didn’t understand at all; I just shrugged it off as meaning nothing and hurt you. You're my sister, but even that fact didn’t stop me, and the worst thing is that I think that might be why I did what I did."

“What I’m saying is that I can’t imagine doing something like that to any of my other friends, so maybe it’s because you’re my sister that I could say what I did and not feel bad about it until Mum broke whatever delusion I was under. I guess I always expected you to love me no matter what I did... That was my excuse, I think: I always thought I could get away with it without having to face the consequences… I think I liked the power it gave me – even Diamond enjoyed what she did a little bit, before it got serious… With me it never did get serious, because I never thought that I’d have to feel responsible for my actions – and that just makes the whole thing even more messed up.

“It guess it really comes down to this, then: I bastardised our relationship so I could get a power kick and never have to face up to my actions in getting it. Four years of treating you like dirt because I liked the buzz… I don’t blame you if you and Diamond don’t like me after all this, because right now I’m not sure I like myself… What sort of pony does what I’ve done? …Actually, don’t answer that; I already have an answer: Silver Spoon would do what I’ve done. I’m just another sick, sadistic little creep like her. I’m so, so sorry, Copper; I never deserved a sister like you… I’ll just go now, and I don’t blame you for not wanting me anymore – I deserve it after what I’ve done.”

Tears in her eyes, she got up from her seat and left without another word, unable to even look at her sister as she did so. Copperwing tried to say something, but Auburn was too far away to hear her quiet croaks properly and she hurried onwards, deathly afraid of her sister’s response; resulting in a frustrated whine from the elder pegasus and, a few moments later, something impacting hard into her shoulder. She turned in shock to see Copperwing gesturing furiously and, glancing down, the notepad which had hit her. Fresh ink had smeared her coat where it had hit, and it occurred to her that the throwing of the notepad might have been an attempt to communicate more than the extent of her sibling’s rightful anger.

Shaky-hooved, she retrieved the pad from its resting place under an empty gurney and flicked through its disarrayed pages to find the one which had marked her coat. Sure enough, in blurred, barely legible letters, the order “COME BACK” stared back at her, and for the first time since she’d started talking, Auburn met her sister’s gaze. There was the hurt and anger in Copperwing’s green discs that Auburn had expected, but also something else; an unnameable emotion which whispered that the most visible of Copper’s feelings were not necessarily the only ones, and which pleaded for Auburn to let her sister prove that.

Nervously, and with no small amount of trepidation, Auburn returned to her sister’s bedside. Copper smiled slightly, her eyes softening, and leaned in to speak into Auburn’s ear: her voice was raspy and pained, but nevertheless carried every ounce of meaning she needed to express.

“You are nothing like Silver Spoon. Maybe you did what you did because you liked the kick of it, but you’re not like her. She thinks she’s better than everypony and hurts everyone she meets, and she doesn’t just insult, she ruins ponies’ lives. I’ve had to deal with ponies like her, and you are so far away from them you wouldn’t believe… You hurt me a lot, and I’m still furious about what you did to me, but you’re my sister and you know that you’ve done wrong…

"Do you think Silver Spoon ever feels bad about what she’s done? I bet she doesn’t, but you’re here apologising, so what does that show about you? What I’m trying to say is: I still love you, and if you put your back into making this up to me, I can forgive you even after all the things you’ve said. They say actions speak louder than words, so stop apologising and start acting sorry instead.”

Tears falling freely now, Auburn wrapped her forelegs around her sister and hugged her tight, feeling a simultaneous pang of guilt and spark of joy when she returned the embrace without hesitation. Copperwing was shaking softly, and Auburn realised she was crying, too: with so much pent-up emotion, it was no wonder it was coming out at the resolution of the conflict which had caused it. Together, the two sisters cried into one another’s manes, and felt the hurt and anger drain away out of their eyes, bitterness and regret carried inexorably out of their battered hearts and away forever, opening them up to brighter feelings from better days to come.

After what felt like an eternity and yet no time at all, they broke apart and looked at each other with eyes as good as new, seeing at last past the acts they both put on and accepting what lay beneath, hoping for a better tomorrow for their dented sense of sisterhood and internally vowing to do their best to come out of this stronger than they had come in. Auburn gazed into her sister’s eyes and realised there was only one thing she could say after everything: it was simple, only six short words, but it was a vessel for far more than its immediate meaning. It would do.

“Thank you… I love you, too.”

Copperwing smiled, understanding for the first time in years what her sister was thinking, and nuzzled her gently by way of a response. It was only as she pulled back again that she noticed the other pony in the room: a light pink filly with tears in her eyes and a wide grin bolted to her face.

“Diamond?!” she exclaimed, mind reeling a little from her friend's unannounced arrival.

“Hey, you two,” Diamond replied, still grinning as she trotted over to them and pulled them into a hug, nuzzling first Copperwing then Auburn.

“I’m proud of you, you know, and so will your mother be when she hears you’ve made up. I only heard that last part, but I know that must have been hard on both of you: Auburn, Copper’s right, you aren’t anything like Silver Spoon and if she forgives you, then so do I... Copperwing, what you’ve just said was… Well, you were a bigger mare there than I think I would have been in the same position, so congratulations on that, I guess.”

“Thanks, Diamond,” replied Auburn, tightening her own hold on her once-and-again friend, as Copperwing smiled a little sadly and said:

“Yeah, thanks Dee-Tee; that means a lot, coming from you… Just a shame that I can’t see Mum right now: I still don’t know how she is, and it’s driving me crazy being so close but not able to talk to her.”

Diamond looked her in the eye and smiled smugly, relaying the information she'd discovered whilst out of the room to her friend.

“About that… I was talking with Nurse Snowheart outside about whether you’ll still be in hospital tomorrow, and she says that they’re going to keep you here until your father’s back, so I’ll be able to come see you after school tomorrow if you like.-" Copper's face lit up at the news, and Diamond grinned broadly at the sight, continuing onto the best news of all, "-Anyway, she says they’re going to move you to your mother’s ward so you two can be together once they’ve sorted everything out, so you might not be waiting so long after all.”

Copper's wings flicked excitedly as she pressed Diamond for more details: “How long do you think it’ll be?”

“Half an hour, maybe?-" the earth filly said, frowning slightly, "-I can go check if you want.”

The pegasus held her tight in her forelegs as she attempted to act on her offer, preventing her from leaving. She burrowed once more into Diamond's mane and squeezed her sister's shoulder with her left hoof, making it clear that she wanted both exactly where they were.

“Don’t go yet…" she pleaded, "I want this moment to last, you know?”

Diamond chuckled and leaned into the embrace willingly, reassuring her friend with warmth in her voice: “It’s alright, we aren’t going anywhere just yet – right, Auburn?”

Grinning, Auburn followed her friend's lead and leaned in closer to her sister, backing up the earth filly's promise happily.

“Damn right, Diamond. Don’t you worry one bit, sis, we're here to stay.”

Copperwing smiled contentedly at their response and wrapped her wing around Diamond, pulling Auburn similarly closer with her foreleg and enjoying the reassuring warmth of their bodies. Diamond's lilac mane obscured her vision, but she didn't mind, staring into the purple mass as happily as if it was a blue sky on a sunny day. As her sister extended her own wings to complete their three-pony embrace, Copperwing closed her eyes and sighed, letting all the pain of the last four years slip away for a while and bathing happily in the rising tides of joy flooding her heart with warmth. Soon they’d have to leave, she was sure, but for now they were her whole world: all things considered, she thought that made her world a pretty damned good one.

*****

Author's Note:

This took altogether too long to finish, and I am sorry for that. It was tricky balancing what Auburn's done with the reactions to it, and I'm still not convinced it's quite right, but I think it's as good as I can get it for now.

Now, I'm not sure if I'm going to upload a chapter next week, since I'm away Monday evening, in hospital for nearly all of Tuesday having an operation done, Thursday's Christmas Day, so expecting to get a full day of writing done would be naive, and I'm away completely for Boxing Day and much of the day after.

With so little time, anything I did upload would probably be sub-par and rushed, so I'm contemplating writing an unrelated oneshot instead and giving you a double update to make up for it at some point in the future.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you again soon.

Comments

[dracone]

This was another emotionally charged chapter, I just hope that the chapter after the next one is a bit more lighthearted. If I end up reading more chapters like this and the last one I might just start feeling bad about myself.

[Zombificus]

5402987
Yeah, it's been crazy how serious the story's gotten these last few chapters, but it's pretty much over for now (I think). Next chapter will be tying up most of the loose ends of this one (Copper moving to her mother's ward, Diamond getting back to being friends with Auburn, Cheerilee, etc) and the one after that will be putting the story back in the usual swing of things, Dinky'll be back soon, so that's bound to brighten the mood, and the main plot points for the near future are all pretty lighthearted, so hopefully you can feel good about yourself again.

[Telaros]

Well, things sure have switched a lot throughout this fic. It's good to see Copperwing get so much screen time, from one of the older and more mature ponies out of the four, and Auburn usually being shown to be the smart silent one, these past events have really gone to expanding on the more rocky moments of Auburn and Coppers' sisterly relationship.

Safe to say those three fillies have probably grown more in the last few chapters than one would expect. Not to mention all the building up between Diamond and Copperwing. It's nice to know the older filly has such a pony she can call friend in Diamond, which have only grown tighter given the circumstances I'd imagine.

It was good to see Auburn and Copperwing's characters get some fleshing out. So much has happened since Silver left and there's still potential drama and emotional challenges out there for the fillies and their families no less. I'm still hoping something manages to bloom between Cheerilee and Filthy Rich, not sure how that'll go, as they both lead *very* busy lives I'd imagine.

I've sadly been pretty pressed for time these past couple months so I've hardly been able to comment on any of my favorites, comments may come super late, but I'm pretty sure people are still following along. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and may your New Year's be a bright one!

Here's to a New Year and hopes for a better future for all.

[superfun]

Dang...
This chapter actually made me tear up a bit... and that's saying something.
I've read a lot of stories that have had scenes that I acknowledge are emotionally powerful, and I usually end up rereading the chapters that have those kinds of scenes because of it, but for one reason or another just didn't get me to tear up.

Yet sometimes I come across one that's so powerful that it can get me to tear up.
Most of the time those scenes are part of stories about Rainbow and Scootaloo, but this is probably the first time a story about Diamond Tiara getting redeemed had a scene that managed to do it.
I think it's mostly due to how well written that part of this chapter was, but I still have to acknowledge that part of it might just be my hatred of canon!DT preventing me from tearing up at any of her scenes in this, despite sympathizing with, and actually liking, this version of her.

No matter what, though, that was still a powerful scene.
And I think I'll end up coming back to it every so often.