//------------------------------// // Breaking The Silence // Story: Little Keys // by Skijarama //------------------------------// “You are making a terrible mistake.” Twilight had heard that phrase many times this morning. Ever since she and Rainbow had emerged from their shared dream, Midnight was hounding her at every turn, trying to dissuade her from going through with this. Twilight did her best to ignore her. Failing that, she sought comfort in Rainbow Dash. Such as right now. The two were seated next to one another on a couch in the living room of the library. It was early in the morning, the sun having come up not long ago. Shafts of gold-hued sunlight streamed in through the drawn curtains, creating glowing beams in the drifting particles of dust that lingered in the room. Spike was next to the gently cuddling pair, his eyes heavy with sleep deprivation and his lips drawn into an irritated grimace. “I still dunno why you guys had to wake me up this early…” he grumbled drowsily, giving Rainbow his best death glare. “Told you already, Spike, this is kind of a big deal,” Rainbow shot back without missing a beat. “And we don’t wanna do it more than once. Best to get it all out of the way at once. Like ripping off a band-aid, ya know?” “Band-aids hurt, though,” Spike whined pathetically. He threw his head back in an overly dramatic display that he clearly learned from a certain unicorn before flopping into Rainbow’s side like a pool noodle. Twilight couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. They had all gotten up far sooner than they would have liked. However, according to Rainbow, they had to get this done sooner rather than later. It had taken some doing, but Spike was eventually convinced to send a collection of letters across town to their friends via his Dragonfire. Soon enough, the whole group would be assembling in the library—or, so they hoped. “For once in his life, the dragon makes a good point,” Midnight snarled in Twilight’s mind, drawing her out of the real world for a moment and sending a cold shiver down her spine. “If you follow through with this insane plan, it will only cause you pain!” Twilight gave off an outward scoff. “More painful than having to fight you all on my own? I doubt that.” “For a given definition of ‘fight,’” came the snipped response. “I would say your feeble attempts at rebuke are typically more like the ineffective jabberings of a chihuahua.”  Twilight felt her coat bristling up at the remark, but a sudden squeeze from Rainbow drew her out of the debate in her mind. She turned to see the pegasus smiling affectionately at her. “Midnight?” she asked simply, though she already knew the answer. Twilight nodded quietly. “Mhmm…” Rainbow was quiet for a moment. She then leaned in until her lips were right by Twilight’s ear. “Midnight? Do me a favor…” Spike looked up at Rainbow as the pegasus whispered something in Twilight’s ear. “Huh? What’re you saying?” he asked, pawing idly at Rainbow’s side. It was at about this time that Twilight burst into a fit of giggles, shoving Rainbow back with a playful hoof. “Oh-ho my GOSH Rainbow! That’s horrible!” she managed to stammer out between her chortles. Rainbow beamed with pride. “Tell me she doesn’t deserve it.” “I mean…” “Nahp,” Rainbow placed a hoof up to Twilight’s mouth, silencing her before she could say another word. “Nope. Nonna that. I was being sarcastic.” Twilight rolled her eyes and brushed Rainbow’s hoof away. “Heh… Thanks, Rainbow.” “You thank her now,” Midnight seethed. “But you know exactly what’s going to happen the moment you reveal my presence. You’ve seen it!” Twilight’s brow furrowed. “No. I’ve seen what you decided to show me. But you can’t see the future. There isn’t a shred of positivity in your soul. All you can see are the worst outcomes. At every turn, that’s all you’ve ever done. Maybe you had the right idea once or twice, but I will not let you make me afraid of my own friends!” “It’s not you being afraid of your friends that I’m worried about,” Midnight snapped back. “But fine. Play your stupid game. Tell them your dark secret. Reveal my presence to one and all. Advertise the threat that you represent wherever you walk to the only ponies who still trust you.” A knock came at the door, and Twilight became aware of a collection of hushed voices right outside. She went to rise, but Rainbow beat her to it. The pegasus smiled at her. “Stay put. I’ll get it. You just get yourself prepared, yeah?” “Okay…” Twilight said, offering Rainbow a smile of her own before turning her thoughts inward. As she did, she became aware of somepony appearing off to her right, fuzzy and indistinct, just at the edge of her vision.   “I will tell them,” Twilight stated with finality without turning to the mirage of her dark passenger. “And you’ll see just how wrong you are!” Midnight snorted, turning to glare at the door. “Maybe. Maybe not. Just remember… Rainbow Dash has been wrong about plenty of things before. And so has Princess Luna. Are you truly certain you want to follow their advice?” Twilight didn’t respond, ears drooping. A second later, Midnight vanished from view as the door swung open, revealing the rest of Twilight’s friends on the other side. “Heya guys!” Pinkie chirped as she bounced into the room, not even waiting for Rainbow’s go-ahead. “We got your message, darling,” Rarity said, holding up a sheet of paper in her magic. “You said that you had something important you needed to talk to us about?” Rainbow nodded, stepping aside to let them in. “Yeah. Come on in, get comfy.” “Heh. Gotta say, this feels kinda familiar,” Applejack noted as the group shuffled in. She closed the door behind her with a hind leg. “We ain’t gonna be spyin’ on anypony this time, are we?” Rainbow snorted at the memory and shook her head. “No, no. Nothing like that, AJ.” “I hope not,” Fluttershy said, getting settled on a floor cushion. She shuddered at the memory. “And I really don’t want to think about that trip right now… It’s too early in the morning.” “I mean, without that trip, you wouldn’t have met Thorax~” Pinkie teased with a knowing waggle of her eyebrows. Fluttershy squeaked, her face flushing a deep shade of red. She quickly hid her face behind her mane, mumbling out something incoherent. “Oh, leave the poor dear alone,” Rarity chastised Pinkie, tugging her down by the tail with her magic until they were seated side by side on one of the many couches in the room. “We’re here for Twilight, not to tease Fluttershy.” “Aaaw. Okay!” Pinkie whined and then chirped, turning her attention fully to the alicorn on the other side of the room. “Lay it on us, Twily!” There was a brief pause. Applejack sighed in exasperation at Pinkie’s antics before focusing on Twilight. “Were Ah a bettin’ mare, Ah’d say this has somethin’ to do with what happened yesterday… Am Ah right?” she asked carefully, her eyes boring into Twilight’s with concern. Suddenly, all of Twilight’s earlier confidence fled her system, leaving her shrinking in place with a timid nod. “...Yes,” she said quietly, dragging her hoof along the cushion beneath her. Rainbow was back at her side after a few seconds, draping a wing over her shoulders and giving her an encouraging nuzzle. “You ready?” she asked in a near-silent whisper. Twilight took a deep breath. It was now or never. Either she told them, or Rainbow did. Either way, they weren’t leaving this room without knowing the truth. She turned to Rainbow and forced herself to put on a small smile. “I think so,” she whispered back. Rainbow gave her a gentle kiss before nudging her forward. Twilight rose from the couch, stepping forward until she was standing in the middle of the room. All eyes were on her, and she could feel the oppressive weight of their expectations in the silence that filled the room. She took another deep breath, then another. The words would not come. “Stop it. You already know that you can’t stop Rainbow from telling them!” Twilight snarled in her mind. “You’re just delaying the inevitable.” “Maybe I am,” Midnight conceded, and Twilight could practically feel her shrugging. “But how many times did you believe that you were only delaying the inevitable, but went along with it anyway? The barrier you and Starlight put up over the Crystal Empire comes to mind. Both times.” “That was different. I was defending a lot more than just myself, and I was putting myself in harm’s way to do it!” Twilight countered, closing her eyes and clenching her teeth behind her lips. “Twilight?” Spike asked from the couch, his tired voice now laced with concern. “Are you okay? You’re shaking.” “Oh, my, Spike’s right. Are you feeling well?” Rarity added, rising slightly from her seat. Before anypony else could speak, Rainbow lifted a hoof. “No, stop. Everypony stay quiet and wait. This isn’t easy on her. Let her focus.” Though the others were clearly reluctant, they held their peace. Twilight gave Rainbow an appreciative glance before closing her eyes again. She tried as hard as she could to force the words out. It wasn’t even that many. Five of them. ‘Midnight is in my head.’ That was all she had to say. But nothing came through. Midnight was still blocking her every attempt with all the same power as before. “Let me talk!” “And let you shoot yourself in the wing?” Midnight scoffed. “Please.” Twilight groaned under her breath, unable to hide her growing frustration. She could hear her friends shuffling around in front of her, and the tension in the room began to build. A bead of sweat was beginning to form on her brow. She couldn’t do this, could she? Midnight was proving to be too strong. She couldn’t bring herself to say the words she knew she had to say. She wasn’t strong enough. But more than that… she was still scared. Scared of what they would think. Maybe Luna was right… or maybe she wasn’t. Doubt began to eat away at the edges of Twilight’s resolve, and her frustration began to dissolve into resignation. “Twi…” Twilight opened her eyes and looked up. Her eyes met those of Applejack. Two emerald green orbs that had, in all the time Twilight had known them, never once broken under the pressure—in this moment, they were soft and gentle. They shone with kindness and concern, with worry and encouragement. A smile spread of Applejack’s lips. “It’s just us, Sugarcube. Y’all can say it… Whatever it is, we’re here for ya.” “She’s lying,” Midnight spat the words like they were venom. And in that moment, Twilight knew. It was like a veil was lifted off of her mind. Her lips quirked up, just slightly, in victory. “No,” she thought. “I am.” “Midnight Sparkle is still in my head.” Twilight blinked. The words had come so easily. She frowned and lifted a hoof up to her throat. It was almost as if Midnight had just given up trying to hold the words back any longer. Or maybe she had just lost the ability to do so? “...Forgive me, darling,” Rarity suddenly said, her confused voice slicing through the silence like a knife through butter. “But, would you care to repeat that? I can only assume I misheard you…” Pinkie nodded. “Yeah, it kinda sounded like you said Midnight was still around. But that’s not right. She got zapped by the Tree of Harmony!” “Right…?” Fluttershy added quietly, her own eyes boring anxiously into Twilight’s. Twilight was quiet for a second. She opened her mouth to speak. “No. It’s why I’ve been so… angry, lately. Why I’ve had such a short temper. When I was turned back into Twilight, a part of Midnight stayed behind in my subconscious. She talks to me all the time. Taunting me, ridiculing me, and you. She’s trying to make me take her back… make me turn back into her…” At first, the words came out slowly, but when she realized Midnight was no longer stopping them, or even hindering them, they began to come out in a seemingly endless torrent. She began to recount in endless detail how Midnight had first begun to manifest deep within her mind, about how Luna had offered to help her, and of all of the ways Midnight had been preying on her anxieties, her frustrations, her insecurities, and using them to drive her to do things she never would have done. She went on like this for what felt like an eternity. Even when she knew she had covered everything that mattered, she could not stop herself. She just kept going, rambling on and on and on. She was sure she repeated herself at least a few times, but she didn’t care. She could finally get all of this off of her chest. She didn’t realize just how much she had been needing this, but now that she was experiencing it, she just couldn’t stop. Finally, her endless tirade was brought to an abrupt end when an orange-colored hoof pressed gently against her lips. Just like that, Twilight was made painfully aware of her friends, and the shared looks of shock, surprise, and the dawning realization that had spread across their faces. It had been Applejack to silence her, though, and in her eyes was nothing but appreciation. “...Gosh, Twi. Ah can’t even begin to imagine how hard it musta been on ya all this time. Havin’ a little devil on yer shoulder all the time… It’d drive me insane,” she said quietly. She pulled her hoof away, her smile growing. “But by Celestia, look at ya. Y’all’ve gone and carried all of this alone all this time… Ah just wish ya’d told us sooner. But Ah get it wasn’t really on option, huh?” Twilight sighed and shook her head. “No… I’m sorry. I think, in the end, I was just scared of what might happen if I spoke up.” Applejack shook her head. “Naw naw, nonna that. No apologizin’ hon. Y’all did good. Ah’m mighty proud of you,” she said, surprising Twilight by pulling her into a warm hug. “Thanks fer bein’ honest with us… and yerself.” It happened again. The pressure on Twilight’s mind lessened just as it had with Spiracle and Maud. The relief that came with the lifted weight was the last straw. Twilight’s eyes clouded over with tears as she hugged Applejack back, buried her face into the mare’s shoulder, and began to weep tears of joy. “Oh, Twilight,” Fluttershy whispered, joining the hug and nuzzling up to her foalhood friend. “I’m so sorry. If we had known what was really going on…” “We couldn’t have,” Rarity soothed, lending her own body to the growing mass. “But we do now.” Pinkie was oddly quiet as she, too, joined in on the group hug, completely enveloping Twilight in a blanket of love and affection.  Twilight felt her body all but liquify in the embrace of so many of the most important ponies in her life. She couldn’t stop herself. She pulled them all closer with her hooves, still crying her happy tears. The relief she felt was matched only by what she had felt when she had returned the memories she had stolen. “Thank you…” she choked out between her grateful sobs. “Thank you all so much…” “Think nothin’ of it, sugarcube,” Applejack whispered, patting her on the back. “But c’mon. We were never gonna abandon ya.” Twilight couldn’t help the small, triumphant smirk that spread on her face at that. “See? What did I tell you?” Even with her eyes closed, Twilight could vividly make out the shape of Midnight as she appeared in front of her. The apparition scowled and jerked her head to one side. “I’ve said it before. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.” “Maybe so,” Twilight acknowledged. “But I’m starting to wonder which one of us is the broken one.” To that, Midnight had no retort. She growled in irritation before vanishing back into Twilight’s thoughts and going silent. The group hug lasted for what felt like forever, but all too soon, the group began to disentangle themselves. Twilight sniffled, wiping at her face and nose to clear away the last remnants of her little breakdown, a quivering smile still clinging to her lips. As her friends slowly pulled away from her, she realized that Spike and Rainbow had been hanging back at the edge of the group. Rainbow wore the usually smug, satisfied smile she had when something went exactly the way she wanted it, while Spike looked far more surprised. “Twilight… I had no idea,” he said quietly, stepping forward. “Nopony did,” Twilight consoled him. She reached out and patted him on the head. “But I should have!” he protested. “I was the first one to see you as Midnight! I should have noticed that something was still wrong and put two and two together! Maybe then-” “Slow down there, little guy,” Rainbow cut him off, coming up to his side and placing a hoof on his back to silence him. “Don’t go getting all mopey and angsty on us. You are way too young for that, and between Twilight and I, we more than meet our quota.” “Don’t even joke about that!” Pinkie protested, lightly swatting Rainbow on the shoulder. “It’s no fun when you guys get all sad and junk!” Rainbow chuckled at that, feebly fending off the now-ranting party pony. Twilight managed to give off a weak giggle at their antics before lowering herself to be at Spike’s eye level. She smiled at him and gave him a comforting nuzzle. “Don’t worry, Spike. You did wonderfully. Even without knowing about Midnight, you’ve helped take care of me at every turn. And I know that you’ll keep helping in the future. I couldn’t have asked for a better assistant. I’m proud of you.” Spike didn’t say anything. He simply hugged her tightly around the neck, an embrace she happily returned. A few moments passed before a hoof tapped lightly on the drake’s shoulder, gently breaking up the embrace. Applejack smiled down at him. “Hey, how ‘bout a picture?” “Huh? Why?” Spike asked, tilting his head. Applejack smiled at Twilight. “So that she if she ever forgets that she can be honest with us, and herself, she can look back on today and get a good ol’ fashioned reminder.” There was something odd in Applejack’s eyes as she said that, and Twilight immediately found herself nodding in agreement. “I like the sound of that.” Spike raised an eyebrow, then nodded. “Alright. Group up, everypony! Lemme find my camera!” There was a flurry of motion as the group scrambled to get into position. Twilight was briefly overwhelmed by the sudden burst of activity, especially since everypony deliberately made her the centerpiece. Just about everyone was cuddling up to her in some way, imparting their affection and reassurance. Twilight smiled wide when Spike finally returned with the camera. “How could I have ever doubted them?” she wondered. “Say cheese!” Spike called out. A bright flash of light filled the room, capturing the moment and the memory. “I won’t make that mistake again.”