//------------------------------// // Interlude: Reconciliation // Story: Life isn’t done with you // by Kibat Grenbuku //------------------------------// Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. -Ephesians 4:31-32 The celebrations were short-lived. The time for bed had been surpassed by all members and though they wished to further enjoy their new family members' company, the call of sleep was too alluring. Psalms and 'Red' were shown to their shared dorm and a good night of sleep was wished upon all. That had been well over an hour ago, and sleep had proved to be elusive for 'Red'. There was no tossing or turning or nightmares to come. In fact, 'Red' had dismissed sleep entirely. He chose to lie in bed and stare at the ceiling, reminiscing on all the time he had so far spent within this equine world. In particular, his mind rarely strayed from his moment above the quarry, the moment a boulder was held directly above a blue little boy. Next to that was the time he had pinned Psalms to the ground, his horn aimed straight for his jugular, ready to wet the ground with watery iron. And finally, there was the disrespectful treatment he gave to Honey Buns on the wagon along with the dismissal of Ingot's magical lecture. Nearly the whole time he's been in ponyland, he's been nothing but one complete asshole. He nearly killed an innocent guy who's done nothing but try to help him, and he almost murdered a child. A fucking child. Real or not, he'd be damned to ever consider such a thing again. ...Things cannot continue like this... Intent on remedying his nature, it was lucky for 'Red' that Psalms had yet to slumber away, opting instead to re-examine his medallion this way and that, a small smile ever present on his face. "...Psalms..." Psalms stopped in his track, giving 'Red' his undivided attention. "...I'm sorry. I'm s-so sorry... about earlier... back at the river...I... I would never want to hurt someone... but I couldn't stop...I couldn't control myself...I would've killed you if they hadn't intervened...I can't stay here... I'm a danger to everyone and everything... I need to go home, Psalms. I'm a crazy bloodthirsty lunatic, and I need to be put away before I truly do something to regret." "Don't say that. You aren't a lunatic, you aren't crazy, and you deserve to be happy, not locked up." 'Red' shook his head fervently. "No, Psalms you're wrong. I'm a threat, a danger! I....I... I almost did something unforgivable. Unthinkable. Something beyond redemption. All for what? Just so I can convince myself that if do this horrible thing I won't need to slog through a pretty girly pony world just so I can be secure about my manhood? This whole thing is just fucked up!" Silence reigned as 'Red' regained his breath. "...You finally believe that everything around you is real?" "...I don't know man... I don't really know what to believe anymore...real or not, I won't do anything that I would forever regret. All of this could be some fucked up imaginary shit... or it could be real. I don't know about you, but I don't like fifty-fifty chances. Better safe than sorry... better safe than sorry." "Red, look at me and listen. You understand what happened in the dining room, right? Do you know what their words meant and what my symbol means? Having joined hooves with them, we are now family. Brothers. I've never had a brother, and I lost my old family coming into this world, but now I have you and we have them. Short-lived as this has been, I am not ready to lose either. This symbol? My cutie-mark? Is a promise. A promise to you, them, and everyone. A promise that I will be there for you, that I'll look out for you, through thick and thin. Whatever demons you're facing, I want to help you defeat them. Being in magical ponyland, anything is possible." "...Something is horribly wrong with me, Psalms. I've never been so violent before in life, not even when someone rightfully deserved it. It's like I'm not even me anymore..." "There's a princess in Canterlot, Princess Luna, who's undergone the exact same thing you're going through right now. She was possessed by her rage and sorrow, enough so to morph her into an entirely new being. If there's anyone in this world who can help, it'd be her." "...Maybe...maybe...but I don't want to take any chances, Psalms. If there's a possibility that I can go home, I'll take it before anything else." "Are you sure you really want to go back to Earth, Red? I'm fairly confident that we can fix you up here with all this magic at hand. Returning to Earth may not solve anything at all, assuming this is more than just a case of temporary delirium due to blood loss." "C'mon man, use your head. You more than anyone should know all the powerful magic that exists in this world. Time travel, mind control, portals to other worlds? If I learn how to do any of this stuff and I go crazy again, there may be genocide on a scale that'll make the nazis and commies blush. If what you said about alicorns being immortal is true, It'd be a matter of when and not if. I can't live with that possibility. I need to go home." "Living in constant fear is no way to live, 'Red'. Celestia could yeet the sun at the planet at any given moment, but nobody is worried that that's a possibility. I'm sure there are plenty of precautions we can take to prevent you from going coo-coo or doing too much damage. You just have to have faith in us, faith in yourself, and faith in God wouldn't hurt too... you do believe in God now, right? I don't mean to be preaching or anything, but, He's kinda the reason I'm here, so He is most definitely real, so..." "One thing at a time, ok Psalms? Even now, I'm still struggling to wrap my mind around the fact that I am a magical horse. And yes, I guess my faith hath been renewed for the Big Man in the sky...boy do I have a lot to talk about with Him." "I forgive you, Red, for what you did earlier, and like Sophia said before I was dismissed, 'The Lord is forgiving above all else.' One of these days, I'll teach you a prayer to recite before you sleep if you want. For now, though, we better get some shut-eye. Today is a big day, I can feel it. Goodnight, Red." ... ... ... "...Thomas..." Psalms cracked one eye open at the crimson alicorn. "...My name... is Thomas. Thomas Vinditti." Psalms couldn't help but smile once more as he rolled onto his side. "It's nice to finally meet you, Thomas." "A pleasure to meet me as well, ha-ha. ...Goodnight, 'brother'... that's gonna take some time to get used to." "Heh, night, bro."