Applejack was coming home after a long day of selling apples in Ponyville. She had just about reached the gates of the farm when she saw a badly hurt Pegasus passed out and bleeding in front of her. Applejack was so surprised that she yelled " Big Mac hurry i need your help. There is a badly hurt Pegasus out here. By the looks of it it was stabbed."
Big Mac realizing the panic in his sister's voice ran as fast as he could to help. Over the next fifteen minutes they worked together and finally they got the Pegasus stallion in the guest room.
"Big Mac i need you to watch him while i go to the hospital and get a doctor who can help. Please make sure he doesn't die," says Applejack receiving a reassuring nod.
Half an hour later Applejack returns with a doctor at her side. After the doctor bandaged the stab wound, Relocated his front right hoof which made Applejack flinch and put both wings in a cast she signaled for Applejack to come with her. Once Applejack was in the hall the doctor says "Well i have done all i can but he isn't out of the woods yet. His injuries if you hadn't got me so soon would've killed him. I would suggest that you keep an eye on him."
"I will doctor Caring Heart. But i need to know. What are his chances? How bad is the stab wound? I need you to tell me the truth," says Applejack looking worried.
Doctor Caring Heart looked down at her hooves and says " I would say his chances of living are fifty fifty. The stab wound to the chest is the most risky. Mainly because it weakened the muscles in his heart. His wings are badly broken. However even when they heal he may never be able to fly without great pain. I am so sorry."
"He is really in that bad a condition? I wonder who or what could've happened to him," says Applejack as the doctor nods and leaves.
As Applejack returns to the guest room she sees Big Mac come out. Applejack seeing the worried look on her brothers face says "The doctor says she has done all she can. You should go get some rest now. I will watch over him. If he gets worse i will let you know."
Big mac nods as he leaves wondering what had happened.
As Applejack returns to the guest room she heard her guest say so clearly that she thought he was awake " I'm so so sorry Twilight. Please forgive me."
As Soon as she heard that she wrote a letter to Twilight saying " Dear Twilight. I thought you should know that as soon as I got to the gates of mah farm I found a Pegasus colt with a pitch black coat, blue eyes and a yellow mane. It appears he was stabbed in the ribs and both his wings are broken. His hoof was dislocated but Caring Heart relocated it. You should know that he is alright for now. Also he said the name Twilight in his sleep. I don't know if the Twilight he said was you or not but i thought you should know. Your good friend Applejack."
Once the letter was done she sealed it as Applebloom entered the room. When she saw her little sister she says " Hey Applebloom. I need you to deliver this letter to Twilight as soon as possible. It is very important that she gets it."
"Of course sis. It'll be delivered before you can say zap apple jam harvest ten times fast," says Applebloom taking the letter and runs as fast as she can to Twilight's castle. Arriving there ten minutes later.
Twilight was in her room doing what she does best studying when she heard pounding on the front door. Hurrying to see what was wrong Twilight ran to the front doors opening them. As soon as Twilight saw the look on Applebloom's face she knew something was wrong.
"Hey Applebloom. What's wrong? You are out of breath and look exhausted. Also why were you pounding on my door like a mad pony?" inquires Twilight as she helps the filly inside.
"Twilight...urgent...letter...from Applejack," answers Applebloom between breaths. Applebloom hands over the letter to Twilight and sits down to recover from the run to the castle.
Twilight takes the letter from Applebloom in her magic and reads it out loud to herself saying "Dear Twilight. I thought you should know that as soon as I got to the gates of mah farm I found a Pegasus colt with a pitch black coat, blue eyes and a yellow mane. It appears he was stabbed in the ribs and both his wings broken. His hoof was dislocated but Caring Heart relocated it. You should know that he is alright for now. Also he said the name Twilight in his sleep. I don't know if the Twilight he said was you or not but i thought you should know. Your good friend Applejack."
As she finished the letter she collapsed to the floor crying. Twilight was so upset she didn't notice Applebloom and Spike trying to calm her down. Twilight could only say " It can't be him. He is suppose to be in Canterlot. So it can't be him. But the description of the Pegasus sounds just like him."
Finally getting control of herself she says to Applebloom while bending down "Hey Applebloom i need you to take me to Applejack immediately. Climb on."
Applebloom climbs onto Twilight's back as she flies almost as fast as Rainbow Dash on her best day towards Sweet Apple Acres. As soon as Twilight landed she set Applebloom on the ground saying "Applebloom I want you to stay out here. Because if this Pegasus is who I think he is. I am going to be a total wreck and i don't want you to see me like that."
"Okay Twilight. I'll go play with my friends. See you later," says Applebloom running off.
Taking a deep breath Twilight walks into the house and to the guest bedroom. As Twilight approaches the room she sees Applejack standing outside the door waiting for her. Looking at the floor with tears in her eyes Twilight says "Hey Applejack. I-I-I need to see the Pegasus. From your description of him i might know him."
"Alright sugar cube. Just be quite he needs his rest. The doctor said His chances are fifty fifty at the moment and he might never fly again without extreme pain," says Applejack stepping to the side so Twilight could go inside.
Taking a deep breath she steps inside and walks to the bed. When she saw the Pegasus she says " Oh Rhyme. What happened to you. Who could've done this to you my friend." So as not to wake the sleeping Pegasus up she walks out the room and collapses into Applejack's hooves crying as she falls asleep.
An hour and a half later Twilight wakes up in the living room of Applejack's home. As twilight sits up on the couch she sees Applejack staring at her with worry and concern on her face.
As Twilight was about to apologize Applejack said " Twilight who is that Pegasus? Why were you so upset when you saw him. I have never seen you so upset before and to be honest it scared me to my very core."
"Applejack the Pegasus's name is Rhyme Script. He belongs to the ancient and noble family of bards and recorders of history. The family is known as Script. Before I came to Ponyville he was my closest friend. He was and is like a brother to me. We did everything together whether it was having lunch, doing homework, competing or just reading. As to why i was so upset is because seeing him so hurt broke my heart. Applejack imagine if Rhyme was your brother. How would you feel seeing him like that?"answers Twilight as she starts to tear up.
Applejack was about to go comfort Twilight when they heard a cry of pain followed by a scream of " Please stop dad. Please don't kill me."
Twilight recognizing the pain, worry and terrified tone of voice says to Applejack " I'm staying by his side til he wakes up. Don't try to stop me."
"Don't worry i won't stop you. But after you find out what happened to him let me know," says Applejack as Twilight goes upstairs.
Twilight entered the room and sat in the rocking chair and waited for Rhyme to wake up.
Twelve hours later Rhyme awoke with a start. After looking around at the unfamiliar room he got scared and asks "What happened? Where am i? Did-did i die?"
"Well i don't know what happened to you. What i do know is that both your wings are broken, your right forehoof was dislocated but we relocated it and you also have a very bad stab wound in your chest my old friend," says Twilight in a soft and caring voice.
"Tw-Tw-Twilight? Is that you? Where am i?" inquires Rhyme starting to tear up.
"Yes my dear Rhyme it is me. You are at Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville. You were passed out at the gates of my friends farm and were on the verge of death. Rhyme i need to know what happened to you. I thought you were suppose to be in Canterlot," answers Twilight worried for her oldest and dearest friend.
After a long silence Rhyme says" Okay Twilight . I'll tell you what happened to me. But once I'm done i need you to leave me alone for awhile. I also need your word that you won't tell anypony."
After receiving a nod from Twilight Rhyme says" Twilight i know you have always wondered why i never got along with other fillies and colts. Well the reason i never got along with other fillies and colts was that i was afraid of what they would do to me. I was afraid of the fillies because i always felt like one and i was scared of how they would react. The reason i was scared of the colts was that i was never comfortable around them. The only one i felt comfortable around was you. But one day you left to find the Elements Of Harmony. After that i isolated myself and went on nightly walks. That is until one night while i was on my walk i came across an abandoned pink dress. I took it home put it on and was finally happier than i have ever been. But not completely happy. One night a couple days ago i told my mom and dad I wanted to be a filly and one day a mare. I explained why and my dad stabbed my, broke my right wing and dislocated my right forehoof. I was able to make it to the Canterlot Cliffs before my father caught up to me. Once i got to the cliffs i knew i had only two choices. The first was to stay there and be killed. Where as the second was to jump off the cliff and try to make it to the closest town for help. I chose to jump. I made it about half way before my good wing broke. i fell to the ground landing on my good Hooves getting only a few scratches. So i started to walk towards town stopping only to drink from the river. I nearly made it to the town when i passed out. The rest you know."
Rhyme looked over to Twilight and saw that she was absolutely livid.
"Rhyme i want you to tell me the truth. Do you still want to be a filly and one day mare? Please be honest."asks Twilight looking at Rhyme and finally seeing what he really was at heart.
"I do Twilight. I have always wanted to be a filly and one day a mare. It is who i am. The way i am now disgusts me. I can't even look at myself in the mirror. I have also tried to drown myself on purpose. Just so i can be free of the pain," answers Rhyme starting to cry.
Twilight upon hearing her oldest and best friend crying gives her a wing hug while saying" Rhyme why didn't you tell me sooner. I could've and would've helped you. I love you like a sister. By the way do you have a new name you like?"
"M-M-M-Morning R-R-R-Rose is my t-t-true name," says Rose through heavy tears.
"There there Rose. You are okay. You are safe. There is nothing to fear. If you want you can live here in Ponyville. They are all really kind and accepting.That is if you want to. By the way i need to go. I have something important to do. But know that i will be back," says Twilight as she calmed Rose down.
"Thank you Twilight. I think i will go to Ponyville after my wounds heal. It was wonderful to see you again my friend," says Rose as Twilight leaves.
As Twilight exits the room she sees Applejack with a worried look on her face. As she approaches Applejack she starts to cry.
Applejack holds Twilight and says while rubbing her back "Hush now Sugarcube. It's aright. There there. He will recover you'll see. He's a tough little guy."
"She A.J. not he. You see she has the mind of a mare but the body of a stallion. She's transgender. Her name use to be Rhyme Script. You remember me telling you about the Pegasus i always hung out with before i found you guys, that's her. Also don't tell anypony but when she told her parent's her father stabbed her in the chest, dislocated her hoof and broke one of her wings. If she hadn't jumped off the Canterlot Cliffs she would've been killed. Anyways I'm going to Canterlot to see Princess Celestia and tell her about this," says Twilight getting up to leave.
As Twilight reached the doors she says " Don't let her know i told you about her. I promised her I wouldn't say anything. Also until she says otherwise call her Rhyme. Don't tell her where I'm going. If she knew she would try to stop me."
After receiving a nod from A.J. she leaves to go home.
As soon as Twilight enters her castle she says to Spike who was waiting for her "Spike the Pegasus that was found by Applejack was my oldest friend from Canterlot. His name is Rhyme Script and i need you to go to Sweet Apple Acres. That way you can notify me if his condition gets worse. Mean while i have something i need to do in Canterlot immediately. So can you do that for me Spike?"
"Twilight you are like a mom to me. So of course i will. But are you okay? I mean if it was me and one of my oldest friends were in his condition i wouldn't leave their side," answers Spike looking worried about Twilight.
After chuckling for a minute Twilight says "I know Spike. I wouldn't leave his side if i didn't have to. However this is very important."
Spike gives Twilight a hug before he runs of for Sweet Apple Acres.
Once Spike was gone Twilight ran upstairs to her own privately enchanted vault and grabs her crown. After she grabs her saddle bag along with a couple books she leaves the castle deciding to fly to the train station because it was faster.
Five minutes later Twilight arrives at the train station. she speed walks to the counter and puts on her crown so the sales ticket pony knows it is important and says" Hello there. I need one express ticket to Canterlot to leave at once. I have an emergency that i need to see Princess Celestia about."
The ticket pony looks up with a look of boredom on his face. Once he realizes it was Princess Twilight he says " Of course your highness. Here's your ticket and the train is already to go."
All the way to Canterlot Twilight thought about Rose and How she could've been so dense as not to notice that her friend was always very feminine. She even remembered the hearth's warming day she got her smarty pants doll and the look of longing and fear on Rose's face. Twilight was surprised when all of a sudden the train conductor announces their arrival to Canterlot. Hurrying Twilight grabbed her bag and left the train. Normally it would take Twilight half an hour to arrive at the castle even running full out. But today she made it in ten minutes.
As she arrives at the castle a Pegasus captain comes over and says " Princess Twilight it is an honor to see you. My name is Gleaming Shield. Not to be rude but shouldn't you be in Ponyville? What are you doing in Canterlot?"
"It's nice to meet you Gleaming Shield. Your right normally i would be in Ponyville. However i have an emergency that i must talk to Celestia and Luna about at once,"answers Twilight with a worried look on her face.
Gleaming Shield noticed the look and says " Of course your highness. If you will follow me i will lead you to them at once. Also if there is anything i can do let me know."
As Twilight follows Gleaming she starts to calm down. Finally after ten minutes of walking they arrive at the doors to the throne room which is opened by a guard standing beside them.
As Twilight enters Gleaming announces " Your majesties Princess Twilight Sparkle is here to talk to you."
Celestia Upon hearing Twilight's name says "Twilight it is good to see you. Thank you Gleaming you may go."
After Gleaming gives a bow and leaves Twilight says "Celestia and Luna i have a urgently private matter to discuss with you. It's about my old friend from fillyhood."
Celestia recognizing the urgency says "Everypony you may have the rest of the day off. Have a very enjoyable day."
After everypony leaves Celestia casts a sound proofing spell on the room.
Once the spell was in effect Luna says with concern in her voice "Okay Twilight a sound proofing spell is active so nopony will hear our conversation. So Twilight what is wrong? You never request to speak to us in person. Is something wrong?"
Taking a deep breath Twilight asks " Celestia do you remember Rhyme Script?"
"Of course i Remember Rhyme. He was your only friend before i sent you to Ponyville. I used to see him wandering around town quite often. Actually i haven't seen him in the last three days," says Celestia looking confused.
Luna after taking a deep breath says " I too know of Rhyme. After all he is one of the few ponies who actually enjoy my nights and the calming effect it has on his mind. I always see him at night. However i haven't seen him for the past two nights."
"First off i need your word that you won't tell another soul what I'm about to show you. Okay,?" asks Twilight with pleading eyes.
Celestia and Luna exchange a worried look before saying together "Twilight we do so swear upon our very souls that we won't tell another soul without yours and or Rhymes permission."
"Okay here's what's going on," says Twilight casting a memory projection spell. After the memory of Rhyme's injuries and the story of what happened was finished Twilight looked at Celestia and Luna. Only to see so much anger and fury in their eyes that she got scared.
Celestia trying to calm down her fury asks " Twilight how old is this memory? Is it from years ago or is it recent?"
"The memory i showed you is less than twelve hours old. After Rose told me what happened i immediately came to see you. I don't know what else i can do for her. I needed your advice."
Luna looking concerned for Rhyme says "Twilight all you can do is be there for her. Please return to Ponyville. I shall watch over her dreams to ensure she gets enough rest."
After calming down Celestia says " My sister is right. You should return to Ponyville and keep her safe. I have a feeling her father will try to find her soon. That is if he hasn't already. There's not much that can be done without her to accuse her father. However I can assign a guard to help protect her. Is that acceptable?"
After thinking for a minute Twilight says "Celestia as much as i would like that i don't think it's a good idea. After all she has been through it would be best if me and my friends take care of her for now."
"As you wish you wish. However please take this. It is a healing potion that will heal the wound in her chest and strengthen those muscles back to normal. Also i will personally talk to her father,"says Celestia.
Twilight took the potion in her magic and puts it in her saddle bag. Before leaving she ran over to Celestia and Luna and gave them a hug.
After Twilight left Celestia turned to her sister and said "Do you think you can handle court today. I'm going to see rose's father."
Luna let out a loud laugh and said "Of course sister. Though i do feel sorry for him having angered the Princess of the Sun. Be sure to take Gleaming Shield with you. I'll be fine here."
Celestia gave her sister a nuzzle of affection and left the castle with Gleaming Shield at her side.
Meanwhile at Sweet Apple Acres Rhyme was deep in thought about whether or not to just tell Twilight's closest friends what happened to her and why. In the end Rhyme decided he owed it to them to be honest. So taking a deep breath he called out" Miss could you come in here for a minute." A moment later Applejack came in.
"Hello Rhyme. My name is Applejack. Twilight told me your name. Is there anything i can get you,?"inquires Applejack.
Taking a deep breath Rhyme says "C-C-Could you please bring me all Twilight's closest friends. I have something important to tell them."
Applejack knowing what he wanted to tell them says "Of course. Give me an hour and I'll have them here."
As Applejack turns to leave Rhyme says "Thank you Applejack for everything." As Applejack left Rhyme grabbed his bag and pulls out a book called The Mare in You and starts to read.
Applejack after leaving the house decided to go to Sugarcube Corner to find Pinkie Pie. Ten minutes later Applejack walked into Sugarcube Corner. The moment she was inside she was tackled by a pink blur.
"Hey Applejack. How are you today? Have you heard the rumor? Apparently there is a new pony in town." says the pink pony.
"Hey Pinkie. I'm good and the rumor is true. However the pony has something he wants to say to Twilight's closest friends. That means Fluttershy, Me, You, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Could you find Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and have the meet us at Sweet Apple Acres in forty minutes. It is very important,"asks Applejack.
Giggling Pinkie says "Of course i will. I know exactly where they are. We will meet at Sweet Apple Acres later."
After Pinkie jumped into a tree and vanished Applejack started walking to the carousel beautique.
Ten minutes later Applejack entered the store with a bell going off above the door signaling that someone was had just entered the store. As she entered she heard Rarity say "Hello feel free to look around. I'll be out in a second." Applejack not wanting to look around stood to the side waiting.
Rarity comes into the main part of the store and upon seeing Applejack says" Applejack it is so nice to see you. What can i help you with today?"
Applejack after giving Rarity a hug says "Actually Rarity I'm here to see you. Have you heard the rumor about a new pony in town?" After receiving a nod from Rarity Applejack continues "Well the rumor is true. It is an old friend of Twilight's and he has something important to tell all Twilight's closest friends. Which is Us, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. We are meeting at Sweet Apple Acres in half an hour."
"Give me a second to close the store and we can head out." says Rarity as she closes the store and locks it up.
Half an hour later found Rarity and Applejack waiting for Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Applejack and Rarity were talking about how their businesses were doing when they saw the others approaching.
Once they were all gathered Applejack says "Everypony as you have probably heard there is a new pony in town. His name is Rhyme Script and i found him badly hurt outside my farm a couple days ago. He's an old friend of Twilight's from Canterlot and he wants to tell us something important. So when you see him please stay calm."
After everyone agreed to stay calm Applejack leads them to the guest room knocking before entering to be polite.
Rhyme was so into the story he was reading that he jumped at the knock on the door. After taking a deep breath he calls out "Come in." As the door opened in walked Applejack and four other mares.
As they entered Rhyme was worried about how they would react. Once they were gathered around the bed Rhyme took a deep breath and says "Hello there and thank you for coming. My name is Rhyme Script. I'm thirteen years old and still don't have my cutie mark. I asked Applejack to bring you here because I needed to tell her closest friends something. You see i used to belong to the noble Script family of Canterlot. I was accepted into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorn's when i was five so i could better my writing of stories and histories of Celestia and Luna. F or the first few days of school i didn't get along with other fillies and colts. Mainly because i was afraid of how the fillies would treat me. As for the colts i didn't have anything in common with them. But then on the fifth day at school Twilight asked me if i wanted to be her friend. I accepted her friendship and for the next five years we did everything together. But ever since i was a foal i wanted to be a filly and one day mare. When i was with Twilight i could ignore those feelings. Then one day three years ago Twilight was sent to find the Elements of Harmony. The day she left was the day i was going to tell her my heart's desire. Unfortunately she left before i could tell her. So once more i was alone. However my feelings only got stronger. Until one day about a year after she left i was on a nightly walk when i came across a pink dress. I took it home and put it on."
Rhyme had to stop and take a deep breath to ready himself for the next part of his story. Once he was calm again he continues his story "Once i had the dress on i felt more confident and happy. Like this was the real me. Until three nights ago i told my parent's while my younger brother was asleep. My mother didn't say or do anything i the she was just stunned. My father on the other hoof stabbed me in the ribs, dislocated my right forehoof and broke one of my wings. I escaped to the Canterlot Cliffs when my father caught up to me i knew i had only two choices. The first just stand there and let him kill me. The second was to jump and try to make it to the closest town. I chose the second one. I only made it half way before my other wing broke. Luckily i was close to the ground so i didn't get to hurt. Anyways i walked the rest of the way here before i passed out in front of the gates of the farm here. I know you are friends of Twilight's but if you don't want anything more to do with me because i want to be a mare i understand."
As Rhyme finish's telling them what happened to him he starts to cry. Rhyme was so upset that he didn't notice when a yellow Pegasus mare with a pink mane came over and gave him a wing hug. After ten minutes of hard crying Rhyme started to calm down.
As he calmed down he noticed that everypony was looking at him with concern on their faces. Fluttershy was the first to speak breaking the hug "Hello Rhyme my name is Fluttershy. The Rainbow maned one is Rainbow Dash and the whit unicorn with the purple mane is Rarity. Even though i can't speak for them i can say that you didn't do anything wrong. You have the right to be who you want. I will do anything i can to help you be the mare you are. Also the pink pony is Pinkie Pie."
Rainbow Dash was the next to speak saying "Fluttershy is right. You didn't do anything wrong and if there's anything i can do you let me know. Also if i ever get my hooves on your so called father he will regret it."
Applejack just nodded in agreement as Rarity spoke up saying" Rhyme darling once your healed swing by the Carousel Beautique. i will make you a couple lovely dresses. Also i will help you in anyway i can. After all everypony deserves to be happy"
"Thank you everypony. By the way my true name is Morning Rose. It's a pleasure to meet you." says Rose as her voice gets higher and more feminine.
"Your very welcome Rose. Welcome to the group and to ponyville," says Applejack.
"Once your all healed Rose I'll throw you a Welcome to Ponyville party," says Pinkie Pie bouncing in place.
"Thank you all so much. Just so you know Pinkie I'm very shy. So please wait on the party. After all it took all my courage just to tell you all what happened. Though i would like it if we could be friends," says Rose looking scared.
"You listen to me Rose as far as I'm concerned you are already our friend and always will be," says Rainbow Dash giving Rose a hug.
"I'm starting to get tired. So I'll see you all later right,?" asks Rose starting to doze out.
"Of course Rose. We will see you later tonight or tomorrow." says everypony as they file out.