Moore ran back to the library, shutting the door behind him. Panting, he looked outside, no one had seen him. He sighed and slumped against the wall. Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed the picture of him and his parents at his 16th birthday. He was in the middle, smiling, as his mother hugged him, with his father placing his arm around the both of them. He smiled, one of the last few good memories he had left of them. "John?" He heard. Looking up, he sees Twilight walking up to him, concerned. Placing the picture back, he quickly stood, at a loss for words. "John, what's the matter?" She asked again. Moore just tried to walk away, but she teleported in front of him. "John?" She asked again. Moore sighed as he sat down in a chair, placing his palm to his forehead. "It's... just some bad memories..." He said as he rubbed his forehead. Twilight placed her hoofs tenderly on his lap, looking up into his hurting eyes. "Please... you can tell me." She said with her own eyes pleading.
Moore sighed. "Remember last night, how I told you about 9/11? The time terrorists attacked my home country?" The mare nodded, showing understanding. She backed away as Moore brought his second hand to his head, bitterly reliving that day... "Well... my parents were in the building when it happened." He said, sorrow and pain in his voice. Twilight gasped quietly and brought her hoof to her mouth. Moore looked up, noticing that she had almost the exact same pain he did. Probably because she was sorry for him. Pity, another thing he was sick of. "When firefighters arrived, and started looking for survivors, they found my mom... blown in two..." Moore nearly collapsed to the ground, feeling tears gush out of his eyes, and he made soft sobbing noises. Twilight held him up, tears softly falling from her own eyes. Sniffing, Moore continued. "They did manage to find my dad, and they sent him to a hospital. I met him there when I could. They did the best they could but..."
Twilight watched as he once again almost broke down, composing himself and keeping his tears back, barely. Continuing, his voice once again trembled. "He passed away two days later... I couldn't leave his side for a whole hour... I just couldn't believe they were both gone...I was only 18 years old... and I had no parents..." John finally lost it and sobbed bitterly, quietly, but bitterly. Twilight stood there in shock. He had really lost both his mom and his dad? She couldn't imagine that happening to her, but was fearful that it may be true, she still hadn't seen them. Wiping away a few tears, she walked over and hugged the man. "I'm so sorry... I can't imagine what kind of pain you've been through..." He stopped crying, and just let Twilight hug him for a while. Sniffling, he turned, wiping away his last few tears.
Moore looked back down at Twilight, who was still standing there, looking up at him. "I vowed that day, I would become a member of the Army. And that as long as I had something to say about it, no one, would die at the hands of those kind of men." He said, fire and steadiness returning to his voice. "For them... For all the families who went through what I had..." He said. Twilight smiled. "You're doing a really good job of it. They would be proud." She said, bringing the man to his feet. Moore collected himself and grabbed his rifle. Smiling, he breathed a sigh of relief. "It feels good to get that off my chest after hiding it for so long." He said. Twilight chuckled. "Traumatic events usually aren't very good to keep locked away." She said with a matter of fact voice. "Hippie." Moore said jokingly. Twilight cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Oh right, there were never any hippies here." Moore thought to himself. Chuckling, he told her to forget about it.
Walking back outside, Moore looked around the (currently) peaceful town. He thought about what had been going on here, and could only think of 9/11. At peace for a long time, and suddenly attacked, just like America was at the time. Maybe the worlds weren't so different after all. "John!" He heard a quiet voice call. Turning, he saw what he figured the source was, Fluttershy. "Yes?" Fluttershy stopped in front of him, appearing sad. "I.. I just wanted to say sorry..." She said as she kicked a rock gently. Moore kneeled down and stared at her with caring eyes. "For what?" He asked. The pegasus frowned and had guilt in her eyes. "For making... making you sad and... and upset..." She said, growing quieter by the second. Moore smiled and moved a piece of her mane that was blocking her left eye. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm just sorry I left like that." He placed a hand on her hoof and smiled. "Can you forgive me?" He asked. Fluttershy gave him her signature shy, adorable smile. "Of course I can." She said. Moore stood and rubbed her mane. "If you're still curious, I'll gladly tell you." Fluttershy nodded, Moore was glad she was back to her old self again.
Moving to the side of the road, Moore described his parents, before they had passed. His mom had been caring, gentle, shy, and loved animals. Moore smiled, chuckling at the realization that hit him. "You remind me of her. You are almost exactly like her." Fluttershy blushed. "As for my dad, I never met a better soldier in all my life. He served in the Rangers, just like I do now. He inspired me to become one. He served for 28 years before retiring. I was 14 at the time, said he did it so he could spend more time with us, and he was out of energy." Moore chuckled. Just like his dad to make a joke. Fluttershy smiled and nodded. Almost instantly followed by a frown. Moore looked at her, concerned. "What is it?" He asked. Fluttershy looked to him and the ground several times before asking. "What happened to them?" She asked, sadness evident in her voice. Moore sighed, once again remembering the events of that day. "They uh... were killed by... some really bad people. They attacked a large building, killing hundreds, if not more innocent people. My parents included." Fluttershy gasped. Moore shook his head. "It's not a day I like to remember." Looking back up, he smiled again. "Being here with you girls has made it easier." Fluttershy once again returned her smile. "I know they would be proud of you." She said. Moore smiled.