//------------------------------// // Regrets // Story: Bitterness // by PLCTheCd //------------------------------// The streets of Canterlot were cleared of the Changelings, but the city was on a lookout for any stragglers. In mere hours, roads and structures were being repaired almost immediately, and medical staff was treating any injured ponies they came across. Equestria’s capital nearly fell and it would’ve been a victory for the Changelings, if not for Twilight Sparkle. However, the mare still felt betrayed by her friends, her mentor, and her brother For them, losing Twilight Sparkle’s trust to them was a total defeat. Back at the palace, the group were at Shining Armor’s room where Princess Cadence was being treated by the medical staff. Lucky for the bride, she was only underground for two days, and only need rest. After the staff left, the crowd was silent. Twilight’s grudge towards them was still in their minds, and they still regretted for abandoning her to her near death. Finally, Spike was the first to break the silence. “Were we that harsh to her?” He asked everyone despondently. “If only the wedding wasn’t held at the same day.” “I would have hold off the wedding if I knew the threat was at that scale,” Princess Celestia muttered sadly at the hindsight. “Until then, the wedding will be postponed.” Suddenly, Rainbow Dash took off in the air and angrily spat. “We already said we’re sorry, what’s her problem?” “Not you too…” Fluttershy whimpered. “Can’t we stop the fighting already?” “Well why not? If Twilight wants us to hate her, then fine! Let’s hate her!” Declared Rainbow Dash, she was then silent for a few seconds before she continued. “If we all knew she’s going to act up like that, then we should’ve left her!” At that moment, Fluttershy flew towards Rainbow and gave her a slap. Everyone else was shocked; even Rainbow Dash’s rage disappeared from the sudden strike. “Rainbow, how could you?!” The yellow Pegasus said sternly to her cyan counterpart. “We made Twilight miserable, and the only thing hating her will do is make things worse.” “Fluttershy…” Princess Cadence was the first to regain her composure, and got out of Shining’s bed to confront them. “If we hate her, then we’ll be no different from her.” Princess Cadence finally said, calming the Pegasus down. “It’s the Changeling Queen we should be furious at, she’s the one that made you all turn on her” The two landed on the floor after the real fiancé spoke to them, then they both looked at each other in the face. “There are times where even I need to be assertive,” Fluttershy said, calming down. “Sometimes, you have be cruel to be kind, like I’m doing to you.” Fluttershy then remembers about Twilight, and her head and ears dropped in shame. “But I think we were all too cruel to Twilight.” She finished sadly. Then Rarity walked up to Rainbow Dash and puts her hoof on her shoulder. “Rainbow dear, she wasn’t furious at us because she was right, she was mad because we left her.” Rarity corrected her. “Perhaps, our apologies were only adding salt to her wounds, no matter how sincere we were.” “Well, she could’ve at least told us, that still doesn’t excuse her for being so sullen and yell at us.” Dash muttered, with her front hooves crossed. “I still don’t like it” “None of us do, Dash.” Fluttershy said, putting her hoof where she slapped Rainbow. “But neither did the way we treated her” “But she just had to bring up Gilda,” Dash muttered, thinking about her former friend “Comparing me to her, it just made my blood boil.” “It wasn’t right for Twilight to say that,” Fluttershy agreed, “But you’re not like Gilda, she never had any remorse on what she’s done,” “Hey Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash called to her counterpart. “Thanks for knocking some sense into me.” “Twilight mentioned how we were ignoring her at first but then suddenly caring for her.” Applejack spoke, “She thinks we’re only using her.” “When did it happen?” Shining Armor asked since he was under Chrysalis’ trance at that time. “It all happens when Ah started to apologize on behalf of Everypony,” Applejack began to think back, “Twi had this look on her face as if she was thinking way back, and then she just went all at us.” “I don’t get it, was it because none of us bothered to say sorry?” Pinkie Pie finally spoke, gaining attention from everyone. “The mean and nasty Changeling Queen was with us, and none of us had time for saying sorry.” The rest of the group didn’t exactly know either, until Princess Cadence asked the Cowpony, “Even then, why were you the only who bothered to apologize?” “Ah was the one who said to check on the imposter you,” Applejack assumed with a shrug. “Ah thought it was more appropriate if Ah apologize for everypony’s behalf, but Ah realized that they should clean their own messes instead of me doing for them.” A thought occurred to Princess Cadence as her eyes widen like a hungry dragon. She turned towards them, signaling her turn to talk. “I thought you were her friends,” Princess Cadence said, “Why did you side with the imposter who’s been rude to you instead of her?” But silence was all she got for a reply. “I asked you all a question,” She said, sternly this time. “Why on earth did you leave her?” “B-because…because we all thought she could handle it!” Applejack finally answered with tears forming out of her green eyes. “All of us thought about that, since Twilight could handle something like this before.” The girls followed as well, holding back their tears. “It’s pretty clear she refuses to listen to us,” Rarity added, “Let alone wanting to make peace with us.” “But we were wrong!” Pinkie wept, “Twilight doesn’t want to be friends with us anymore!” “STOP CRYING!” A voice shouted out, and everyone did exactly so. The room turned around to see where the command comes from. When everyone discovered the source, it was Spike that called them to gain his attention. He stood upwards and gained confidence, as everyone looked at him. “Instead of having self pity and beating ourselves up for it, we need to find a way for Twilight to forgive us.” Spike said with determination, “She only listened to me and Princess Cadence earlier, maybe the two can talk some sense to her.” “But how? Twilight thinks we all hate her,” Shining moped, before looking towards Cadence, ashamed at being fooled so easily. “I should’ve known the imposter from the very start, even with the wedding stress excuse, the real you would never act like that, and then I wouldn’t fall for her spell.” “I suppose you are upset at all of us as well?” Princess Celestia asked to her niece, “Just like Twilight?” The room went silent as the other ponies whom waited for Princess Cadence’s answer. “No, but I am disappointed in all of you but what’s done is done,” Princess Cadence suddenly replied, with a sigh. “We’ve all been fooled by the Changelings and Twilight was the scapegoat” “Cadence is right!” Spike declared, “It’s them we should be beating them, not ourselves.” A thought has appeared in Shining Armor’s head, as he lifted from his slump. He walked towards the bed where Cadence is standing at and puts his front hoof in her shoulder. “Is there anything you know about the Changelings?” Shining Armor asked her hopefully, “When were you abducted?” Princess Cadence thought for a while before she lifts her head as if it was her cue to speak. “All I know besides feeding on love is that the queen’s name is Chrysalis.” She informs them, “But other than that, I was abducted by her when I was looking in the mirror, and thrown in the Canterlot caves for a few days. I don’t know why Chrysalis kept me alive though, perhaps watching me wither away even after the Changelings invaded.” After her niece’s answer, Princess Celestia walks up to the window where everyone can see the palace, and after gazing it for a few seconds; she closed her eyes in shame. “I knew Twilight for years and she’s never been the type who holds a grudge.” Princess Celestia said, she then turns towards the group before continuing, “I don’t understand how or why she became so spiteful, so cynical all of the sudden.” “Could she have been bottling up her anger after all this time?” Rarity wondered, putting her hoof under her chin. “She could have been hiding her past feelings of anger.” “Well, I remember she went all firey and burning one time,” Pinkie Pie recalled, remembering about her Pinkie Sense incident. “Remember when me, Spike, her, Fluttershy, and Applejack were chased by that hydra in the Foggy Bottom Bog?” “Yeah, I do now,” Applejack remembered, “It’s when you told her that it wasn’t a doozy.” “Then, she could be repressing her anger again,” Fluttershy assumed. “That still doesn’t excuse her by acting like that.” Rainbow Dash muttered, “We seen her mad before, but not like what happened earlier.” “None of us like what happened but Twilight also reminded us on how rude the imposter was to all of us,” Rarity said, “Yet, we all thought that she was just being jealous and ignored her warnings while put up with the Changeling queen’s demands.” “Is that why Twilight wanted to be hated?” The groom wondered, “Because we all bit the hoof that fed us?” “Not to mention my idea of holding a wedding on the same day despite there being an outside threat,” Princess Celestia added, ashamed from that hindsight. “It was a terrible mistake that nearly cost the lives of my subjects.” Suddenly, Shining Armor saw his parents entered, both of them looked upset. As they approached, he could see tears forming from his mother’s eyes. Although Shining was physically larger than his father, the glare from Night Light’s eyes made the young stallion shrink. After gathering enough courage to speak, he asked them. “I take it that both of you found out?” “Yes, we did,” Night Light snorted as he drew closer to his son, “We were on our way, scared witless from the invasion when we heard your sister crying in her room. She wouldn’t let anyone in, not even us thanks to her shield spell.” “Not even you two?” His son repeated, “Didn’t she undo her spell at anytime?” “That’s right, the only time that she undid her spell was to throw out a ripped dress,” The others quietly turned to Rarity, whom became rather silent over the news. “I’m so sorry about the dress Rarity,” Fluttershy whispered, “I know how much it matters to you” “It’s not about the dress for once,” Rarity answered, sadly “I can always fix it, it’s Twilight’s I’m not sure about.” The rest of the ponies then continue spectating Shining’s parents scolding their son. “When we tried calling her, she went ballistic and babbled on how you’ve kicked her out of the wedding,” His mother said, “After she calmed down, we managed to hear the whole story about you being under a trance, the invasion, and how you all left her.” Before the eldest child can answer, his father furiously grabbed his colt by the shoulders, and the two stallions were staring each other muzzle to muzzle. “What in Tartarus were you thinking?!” Night Light yelled at his son, “If this wasn’t your wedding, I ought to knock some sense into you!” “She was your sister!” Twilight Velvet wept, “How could you?!” “You would’ve done the same thing!” Shining yelled at them, both from the frustration and shame of everything that happened “She was acting possessive from the beginning and none of us know about the imposter!” But all of the sudden, Twilight Velvet slapped him so hard; there was a red mark on his cheek. The room went silent, save for quiet gasps from the girls, and Velvet’s weeping. “Not by leaving her to her own death!” His mother cried, “Did none of you bothered to check on her?” No one in the room answered, Princess Cadence looked at them, and joined her in-laws, wondering what they did the night before. Even her aunt, the ruler of Equestria was in the ranks. “My wife asked you all a question,” Night Light called out like a drill instructor, “Didn’t anyone bothered to check on my daughter?” “No,” Princess Celestia finally said, as she bows her head in remorse, “When the Changeling Queen masqueraded as my niece, she told us that she took care of Twilight and needn’t worry about her, and like gullible fools we were, we believed her.” Both Twilight Velvet and Night Light gasped, but before any of the parents speak, Princess Celestia continued. “It’s how the Changeling Queen acted when she impersonated as my niece.” Princess Celestia said. “If anything, blame me not your son.” Neither parent could believe that Princess Celestia would be capable to make such a mistake, but on the bright side, the group could see both parent settling down. “Look, I agree what your sister did wasn’t right, but neither did you abandoning her” Night Light sighed as he was calming down “Regardless of you under a mind control spell.” “That’s why we’re making amends,” Princess Celestia said, She then turned her attention to both Spike and Princess Cadence. The latter felt rejuvenated and managed to get out of bed as she walks towards her aunt. Without any words, both the assistant and the foalsitter know what to do. “Well, it’s up the two of us,” Spike said. “Twilight will sure to listen.” “Speak of the devil,” Rainbow Dash called out after peeking out of her window. “There she is…”