//------------------------------// // Coronation Part 2 // Story: Coronation of Compassion // by Echo Breeze //------------------------------// "Now, where do Ah begin?" I said once the girls were settled. “How about you start with why you called us here, Applejack?” Pinkie said, somehow dangling from the ceiling. How she managed to defy the laws of physics, I will never know. “Well, Ah went to Sunset’s apartment to check on things and do a bit of light cleaning, when I found this on the door.” I said, taking out the scrunched up note. Pinkie grabbed it, spun through the air, and landed. She read the note, her hair deflating. She passed the note to Rarity, who read it, a tear in her eye. She passed it to Fluttershy. Of all the reactions, hers was the least expected. She visibly angered, her eyes glowing with rage. I could see her clenching her fists. “Now Fluttershy. There is no reason to be-” “There is every reason to be angry!” she yelled, which took us all by surprise. "Sunset has been through enough already. She doesn't need this- this shit." she unclenched her fists, but I could see that she was still livid. Rarity put a comforting hand on Fluttershy's shoulder and looked at us all in turn. "The question is, do we tell Sunset what has transpired and when. I don't want to bother her in the middle of her coronation preparations." she said. We all nodded and murmured in assent. "Ah say, we wait until the day after her coronation. That way, we can make sure that her good mood ain't ruined by this." I said, trying to avoid another outburst from Fluttershy. The girls all nodded in agreement. "That settles it." I looked out of the window toward Sunset's Camaro. "Hope you are enjoying yourself, Sunset." We arrived at the castle to see several of the servants bustling about. I could see Celestia standing off to one side of the throne, talking to Twilight. I looked over to Snowflake, and she nodded. "Mom." I said as I approached, getting her attention. She looked at me and smiled. I returned the smile and spoke again. "Would it be possible to speak to you and Twilight alone?" She nodded and led us to a room off to one side of the throne room. "What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Twilight asked as Celestia closed the door. I didn't answer. Snowflake prodded me with a hoof, and with a gentle smile, encouraged me to tell. "Well, you see. Its actually about this." I said and lit up my horn. It flickered a light teal before turning red again. Twilight gasped. I looked over to Celestia to see a shocked expression on her face. "I have never seen this happen before." Celestia said once she could form coherent sentences again. "Me neither." Twilight said with a thoughtful look on her face. Suddenly, the thoughtful expression turned to one of glee. She grabbed my face between her hooves. "Do you know what this means?" "Research time?" I asked in a deadpan tone of voice as I stopped channeling mana through my horn. "Exactly!" Twilight yelled, letting me go and hopping around like a filly that had just been told that school was cancelled. Celestia and Snowflake giggled at the exchange. "I believe the library will have the answers we're looking for." Celestia said. She turned and led the way out of the room. "I can't believe that Crash and the rest started trusting that bitch again." I heard one of the boys say behind me. I must say, it was a bit of a shock to see Dash walking around with the she demon, and it made me angry to see her kiss the bitch. "I know." one of the others replied. "After what she did, she deserves to rot alone." That got my temper flaring. I banged my fist on the table, causing them all to jump in surprise. "I know Crash!" I yelled. "She doesn't just trust anyone." I looked down to hide the lone tear falling down my face. "Gilda. We know how you-" "No! You dont!" I yelled, getting up from the table. "I'm gonna corner the Apple girl and find out what the fuck is going on." I walked off. I had been watching the she Demon's apartment since the start of Winter Break, and I knew that Applejack came around every morning at seven A.M. since Sunset left with Dash. "Tomorrow, I'm gonna find out exactly what is going on." I whispered under my breath. Steeling my resolve, I walked out of Sugar Cube Corner with a renewed sense of purpose. A few hours later, I arrived at home to see my mother sitting on the porch, tears in her eyes. "What's wrong mom?" I asked as I approached. She wiped her eyes and gave me a watery smile. "Nothing, Gilda." she lied. She always did that. No matter how upset she seemed to be, she would always smile at me. "Are you sure?" I pressed, trying to get a straight answer from her. "I'm sure, dear." she reassured me. "Why don't you go inside? I'll have dinner ready soon." I nodded and walked in. I looked up from the book I was reading, my eyes taking a second to adjust to seeing things that were bigger than a half inch. I looked over to Twilight to see that she was flipping through a book, her speed-reading glasses on overdrive. She had a look of frustration on her face. "Uhhh. Nothing. Absolutely nothing." she said in exasperation, tossing the bok to one side. "Its okay, Twilight." I said, trying to calm her down. "No, it's not. Research is my forte, but I can't even" what she was about to say was drowned out by a sudden cry of joy from Snowflake. "Yes! I found something." we all looked over to where she was. She was holding a book that looked to be written in old Ponish. I looked at Twilight when I recognized Starswirl's hornwriting. She looked like she made the connection as well. "Uh, Snowflake. How did you read this? Its written in old Ponish. She shrugged and held the bok toward me. I took it in my crimson aura and set it on the table. Twilight and Celestia crowded behind me.