//------------------------------//
// Amends 
// Story: Foal of the Forest 
// by moguera 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 15: Amends

Apple Bloom took the arrival of Princess Celestia about as well as any sensible filly her age would.  That is to say, she froze in shock for a grand total of thirty seconds while her brain processed that Equestria's sovereign ruler had just dropped by her friend's house for dinner.  After the thirty-second mark had passed, the yellow filly sprang into motion, squealing in giddy excitement and bouncing around the library with a level of energy that would have had Pinkie Pie staring slack-jawed before coming to a halt and immediately bombarding Celestia with questions and queries on just about any topic imaginable to the fanciful filly.  Needless to say, this barrage of curiousity came at such a rapid pace that Celestia had absolutely no time to provide Apple Bloom with any answers in between them.  Instead, she weathered the storm of words with an amused smile, waiting patiently for Apple Bloom to finally wind down.
Twilight Sparkle, needless to say, was positively mortified.  It had been one thing for her to try and follow Celestia's advice and relax herself more around the alicorn.  It was another matter entirely to stand aside and watch as a pony she had allowed to join them act so rudely toward their princess.
Spike, on the other hoof, was trying his hardest to stifle a series of cackles, stuffing his claws in his mouth in a desperate, though futile attempt to keep any noise from leaking out, his entire body quaking with the urge to give in to his suppressed mirth.  He was happy to see Apple Bloom being so upbeat, but at the same time, couldn't help but want to savor Twilight's consternation.
"Apple Bloom!" shouted Twilight, igniting her horn and bringing the yellow blur of a filly to a stop, "I can't believe you'd be so rude to the Princess!"  Any further admonishment on her part died on her lips as Celestia broke down laughing until tears streamed from her eyes.
Twilight sat there in stunned confusion as Celestia fought to regain control of herself.  Apple Bloom, having forgotten her initial excitement stared at the Princess with an expression of adorable bamboozlement.
"You are hardly in a position to scold this filly," said Celestia, calming down a bit, a mischievous smirk spreading across her face, "After all, I seem to remember you doing much the same when you showed up for our first lesson together.  I even remember some of your more interesting questions."
"Eep!"  Twilight's face did its best impression of a tomato as she ducked slightly.
"Ooh, Ah bet ya have all kinds 'o stories about Miss Twilight!" exclaimed Apple Bloom.
"Indeed I do," agreed Celestia mercilessly, "Perhaps we can share a few of them over dinner."
"Oh please!  Anything but that!"  Twilight threw herself at Celestia's hooves in supplication.  Princess Celestia knew more embarrassing stories about her favorite student than her own mother did.  As one of the principle figures in raising Twilight from filly to mare, Celestia felt something of a matronly duty to embarrass the unfortunate unicorn with a candid tale to her friends every so often.
However, that would have to wait for another night.  This once, Celestia decided to cave to Twilight's request and not embarrass her in front of the younger sister of one of her best friends.  So instead, the four settled around the dinner table, with Celestia relating the events of the day in greater detail.
Twilight and Apple Bloom were shocked to learn of Applejack's initial reaction and the following accusations.  "Ah can't believe mah sister would say somethin' like that," said the filly in shock as she looked down at her plate.
"Denial is a dangerous thing," said Celestia, "Sometimes, the truth is simply something a pony would rather not bear, so they choose to ignore it rather than acknowledge it."
The conversation began to cover familiar ground, from the history of the Cult Solar to the reasoning behind their accusations.  Twilight hadn't yet gotten to share her suspicions regarding the cult's true reach with the Princess.  As a result, she ended up explaining the conversation she had with Rarity and Pinkie Pie the previous day.
"That is a troubling notion," admitted Celestia when Twilight had finished, "It worries me a great deal.  It could mean that Dawn might not be safe, even here in Ponyville."
"Well, Applejack's family is the only one we know of so far that has connections to the Cult Solar," remarked Twilight, levitating the plates into a stack now that everyone had finished eating, "But Dawn's presence isn't known to the town at large yet.  So far, only the six of us and some of our family members know about him.  As far as the rest of Ponyville is concerned, Dawn is just some colt who's been living at Fluttershy's place after saving her life.  They don't know about his Eyes yet, so it's difficult to gauge what their reaction might be."
Twilight sighed and slumped down, resting her chin on the table as Spike and Apple Bloom took the dishes into the kitchen to clean up.  "If only there was some way we could find out if any of the other ponies in Ponyville are connected.  Then we might be able to do something."
"What might you do?" asked Celestia.
"I don't know, arrest them maybe."
Celestia shook her head.  "You can't do that Twilight, even if you find definitive proof that somepony is a member of the Cult Solar.  Being a member has never been illegal.  I have made every effort to ensure that the Cult Solar and anypony affiliated with it are shunned and disapproved of to the maximum degree.  But I have never outlawed the Cult so long as they take no overt action to harm other ponies."
"Why not?" inquired Twilight, "After what they put Luna through, I would have thought you'd want to lock the lot of them in the deepest dungeon you could find."
Celestia gave her student a sad smile.  "Oh I wanted to alright.  In truth, I wanted to hunt them down.  I wanted to find them.  I wanted to burn them.  I wanted to scour the very names of those ponies from the history of Equestria so that they might only be remembered as a curse and a blight.  But I cannot do that.
"Following that road means stepping onto the slope to tyranny.  What would happen the next time something somepony said caused me or my sister distress?  I might be tempted to take action sooner or for less serious reasons out of fear that Luna or I could be hurt like before.  I might even eventually be tempted to be more preemptive in the measures I took to censor ponies' views and opinions.  That is something I never wanted and a risk I do not wish to take."
"But didn't you confiscate all their written works?"
Celestia shook her heads.  "Only the ones that advocated directly harming anypony.  I keep an eye out to ensure that there are no further publications of that sort anymore.  If the Cult is still producing such material, then it is in private circulation and I cannot search for or confiscate it without evidence of its existence."
Twilight was silent for a moment.  "What if we could get evidence that the Cult is still active and poses a real threat to innocent ponies."
"Then I would be free to descend upon them with the full weight of the law behind me.  But that seems to be unlikely."
The lavender unicorn hesitated before deciding to speak a little more.  "Right now, I think the best approach would be to try and amass knowledge about the Eyes of Nightmare and isolate their true cause.  If we can do that, then we can undermine the Cult Solar’s dogma against ponies like Dawn, which would erode their influence.  However, I also have another idea we might try if that doesn’t work."
Celestia leaned forward.  "Then, by all means, tell me."
The Princess listened as Twilight outlined her plan and nodded.  "That does sound like an excellent way to lure out the Cult Solar, if they really are as widespread as you believe.  However, it's obvious that this is not a course of action you can take without Dawn's consent.  Not only that, but I highly suspect that Fluttershy might very well disapprove of you putting him at risk."
Twilight nodded. "I'm aware of that.  I’m leaving it as a last resort for now.  I don’t think we’ll actually go through with it unless the Cult Solar does something drastic in the near future."
"That is probably for the best," agreed Celestia.
"I have one other thing I'd like to ask," said Twilight as Apple Bloom and Spike came out of the kitchen, having finished with the cleanup.
"And what is that?"
"Do you know about the martial arts style Dawn uses, the Gale King?"
Celestia nodded slowly.  "I do indeed.  After all, the Gale King was one of the Three Pillars of the pony tribes."
"Pillars?"
"There are three martial arts styles, one for each of the three tribes.  Each of these styles emphasized the natural magic of that particular tribe and exercised it to its limit.  The Gale King of the pegasi, the Mountain Root of the earth ponies, and the Still Way of the unicorns.  These individual styles were practiced by select few from each tribe, well before my little ponies came here and founded Equestria."
"Amazing!" gasped Twilight, having pulled out paper and quill, as she furiously scribbled down notes.
Celestia chuckled at her student's enthusiasm.  Spike and Apple Bloom seemed quite enthralled as well.  "There are numerous styles of martial arts that have been practiced by ponies.  Some were invented by their creators.  Others were borrowed and modified from the techniques practiced by some of our neighbors, such as the griffons and zebras.  But these three were unique.  Even I can't say for certain who created them or how they were invented.  But their power is unrivaled in all the known world.  It was that power that has actually kept us free from war and invasion since the beginning of this nation.  Before that, the practitioners of the Three Pillars were the keepers of the peace amongst the three tribes.  During the Pre-Equestrian Era, they were the ones who worked to keep the tensions between the three tribes from escalating into open conflict."
"How did they do that?" asked Spike, leaning forward.
"To put it simply," said Celestia, "They acted as deterrents.  None of you have seen what Dawn is capable of.  To be perfectly honest, there was no need for him to run away from his tormentors.  Even if an entire town were mustered, they would not be able to harm him if he did not wish it.  More importantly, if he wanted to, he could crush just about anypony who threatened him, no matter how many there might be.  And he is still only midway along the path to mastering the Gale King.
"A full master of that style, or any of the other Pillars for that matter, would seem like an almost completely different order of being.  They can make the earth shake, the skies howl and mountains crumble.  The sheer force of such power unleashed would have severe repercussions, to say nothing of what might happen if practitioners faced off against one another.  Open conflict between masters of any of the Three Pillars could very well have resulted in a disaster approaching that of what the windigos unleashed.  The various masters of those three styles, used this truth as a way to keep conflict from breaking out between the pony tribes.  However, their greatest contribution came later...


	
Scarcely a year had passed since Princess Celestia had banished Nightmare Moon.  In spite of the fact that Night Eternal had been averted, nopony was celebrating.  For the glorious success of their ruler had come a terrible price.  Celestia had withdrawn to her room, refusing to speak or listen to anypony.  She barely acknowledged the food and drink set before her chamber three times a day.  An alicorn's physiology did not simply mean that she had the power of all three tribes, but she had the needs of all three tribes as well.  Her body actually required even more sustenance than the average pony.  It seemed unlikely that she would starve to death, but without food, her strength waned rapidly.
To make matters worse, Celestia had been forced to take over the duties of her lost sister and move the moon as well as the sun.  She could take a small amount of satisfaction that this irked the members of the Cult Solar, who clearly expected her to bring about an era of eternal day.  But it was scant consolation for the loss of her sister and the new burdens thrust upon her.  As kind and benevolent as she was, Princess Celestia couldn't bring herself to forgive her little ponies for scorning her sister just yet.
And so, she remained locked away in her tower.  Without her presence, there was little reason for the nobles to hold court, so they busied themselves among their own estates and territories.  Without the nobles present, there seemed little for the palace staff to do.  The Royal Palace had become as still and silent as the grave.
Princess Luna's banishment and Celestia's seclusion had not gone unnoticed by the world outside Equestria.  In some places, few were concerned.  So long as the sun and moon rose and set, they saw little reason to interfere with the devices that kept their world alive.  Others felt sympathy for the lost princess and her grieving sister.  Others saw opportunity.
King Ironclaw, ruler of the Griffon Kingdom, was one such opportunist.  Equestria was short a Princess and the remaining one was incapacitated.  Between their ability to control the day and night, along with their other titanic powers, the Sister Princesses had been able to discourage anything that sought to threaten Equestria.  As a result, their own Royal Guard was little more than a minor force, used primarily for domestic peacekeeping.  They were not an army prepared for the outbreak of war.  Equestria was now a vulnerable nation, filled to the brim with rich, fertile lands and hard-working, not to mention tasty, ponies.
And so, Ironclaw marshaled his armies, raising a force of some twenty-thousand griffons.  Along with his soldiers, he brought siege engines and other weapons of destruction.  Equestria's fields would be his.  They would be worked by the ponies to fill griffon bellies from now on.  And anypony who wasn't useful would also go to fill griffon bellies themselves.
The army advanced on Equestria with little warning, sweeping towards the nation like a flood of feathered death.  The Royal Guard had no time to muster their strength.  And even if they had, with barely a few hundred to their name, they would have been swallowed by the tide of griffon warriors.
So it was, when Ironclaw arrived at the border of Equestria with his army, only three ponies awaited him; one from each of the three tribes.  Ironclaw laughed at the pitiful resistance to his might.  Three ponies against an army of twenty-thousand griffons was a laughable effort.  It was obvious from the very beginning that this battle would be a one-sided slaughter.
And it was.  The battle barely lasted half a day.  When it ended, over half the griffon force had been annihilated.  Ironclaw, unable to fly on his own, had to be borne away by his attendants.  The valleys and hills of the battlefield were covered by dead and dying griffons.  Their siege engines lay shattered.  The three ponies had wrought so much death that, at times, it seemed as though the sky were raining blood.
Word of King Ironclaw's army being routed by a mere three ponies spread across the world like wildfire.  And the other nations that might have tried to act on their envy for Equestria's prosperity or to take advantage of a perceived weakness quickly curtailed their plans, realizing that, in spite of the ponies' peaceful nature, they were not a force to be trifled with.  Because of this, Equestria has known peace and safety for many centuries since.


	
...and that's how Equestria was made!" declared Princess Celestia triumphantly.
"Wait!  What?" exclaimed Twilight.
Celestia stifled a laugh with her hoof.  "I'm sorry.  I couldn't resist."
"So what happened to the three ponies who saved Equestria?" asked Apple Bloom.
"They returned to their regular lives as though nothing had happened.  It actually took a few days for anypony to realize what had happened.  The three saviors were content to remain anonymous and pass on the secrets of their styles to their successors.  Even I never had the chance to speak with them after I learned of what they had done."
"Awesome," breathed Spike.
"It's kind of scary to think that regular ponies could hold that kind of power," muttered Twilight, setting down her writing implements.
"The implications can be frightening," admitted Celestia, "Which is why I was a little worried at first when I learned about Dawn.  That young colt holds a frightening amount of power, thanks to his training.  If, at any time, he allowed himself to give in to the anger he must feel towards the ponies who tormented him, he would be a nigh unstoppable force.  And he is still learning the Gale King Style.  Once he masters it, only myself, my sister, or my Knights, could hope to stop him if he acted on his anger."
"Are you still worried?" asked Twilight, shifting nervously.
Celestia shook her head.  "After meeting Dawn, I can say that I am not overly concerned.  Not only does he have a good heart more than capable of overcoming his hardships, but he also has the love and support of a truly wonderful pony.  Instead of becoming something to fear, I suspect that Dawn Lightwing will go on to do great things in his life."
"That's so great," said Apple Bloom, her exclamation interrupted by a drawn out yawn, "Ah didn't want him to be in trouble right after we became friends."  Realizing how tired she felt, Apple Bloom looked out the window and noticed that night had fallen.  "Ah'd better get home.  Ah bet everyone's wonderin' where Ah am."
"I'll walk you home," volunteered Spike, "We don't want anything to happen to you."
Apple Bloom had to turn her head to hide her blush.
"Um actually..."  Everyone turned to regard Princess Celestia, who favored them with a blush and a sheepish grin.  "I would like to join you two as well.  I have an...item to pick up at Sweet Apple Acres."
"Granny Smith's apple cake, right?" asked Apple Bloom, "Granny was always sayin' how ya couldn't resist it."
Twilight Sparkle's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as she was treated to the sight of her beloved mentor turning a shade of scarlet that would have put a tomato to shame.


	
Dawn stared silently at Fluttershy as she finished her tale.  "I seem to have taken up residence with some very interesting ponies."
"Ah well, we're normal ponies most of the time," replied Fluttershy softly.  Her story had taken the two of them through the afternoon and into the evening as well as all the way through dinner.  At this point, the two of them were curled up on the couch together, Fluttershy's wing gently holding Dawn against her side.  The colt seemed to have lowered his guard and was even leaning into the embrace.  Fluttershy's heart fluttered and a feeling of warmth surged through her.  For a moment, she wrestled with whether or not she should ask what she wanted to.  But the warm feeling of the young colt pressed up against her gave her the courage to ask.
"Um, Dawn?"
"Yes?"
"I've been wondering...since you're going to be staying here in Ponyville, if you would be willing to...that is...w-would you let me..."  Her voice trailed off as her nervousness once again asserted herself.  It had only been a little more than a week since Dawn had entered into her home.  His newfound sense of ease in her presence notwithstanding, Fluttershy found it easy to anticipate that Dawn might have serious reservations about entering into such a long-term relationship.  Would he really give her offer any serious consideration?
The colt showed no indication as to whether or not he had divined the purpose of Fluttershy's stammering.  He did not prod her onwards, but waited, patiently as always, while the mare tried to collect herself.
Clenching her teeth, Futtershy decided that she had to move forward.  There was no more time for hesitation.  If there was a time for her to apply the assertiveness lessons she had learned from Iron Will, this was it.  "Dawn.  Would you let me adopt you?"
Silence reigned.  The lack of a response of any kind drove Fluttershy to force her eyes shut and turn her head away.  Her memory flashed back to that day in the forest when she had first asked Dawn if he would stay with her.  Her heart beat faster with each passing second as she waited for Dawn to break the silence with a resounding negative.  He might even pull away from her or try to leave.  Fluttershy trembled at the thought of losing the colt.
And yet, the silence stretched on.  Rather than pulling away, Dawn remained completely motionless.  Opening her eyes, the yellow mare turned to look down at her charge.  Dawn was not looking back.  Instead, he stared straight ahead, his expression blank.  It was not the relaxed non-reaction he used when he had been dealing with Applejack, but rather the kind of blankness that results when one's mind cannot keep up with one's own thoughts.  Dawn had been shocked into a stupor by her question.
Leaning over, Futtershy gently prodded him with her muzzle.  "Dawn?"
For a second, there was no reaction.  But then, slowly, Dawn turned to look into her eyes.  "You would have me?" he asked softly, "Is this what you really want?"
"Yes," answered the mare as she swept him up in her forelegs, "Yes!  More than anything.  I told you before, that when you agreed to live here, you joined my family.  That's never going to change.  I just wanted to make it official if I could.  I love you Dawn."
Dawn turned away from her, his eyes staring off into the distance.  "The promise of a new day..."
"What's that?" asked Fluttershy, tilting her head at the strange, seeming non sequitur.
"It is what my Master told me when he gave me my name," answered Dawn softly, his mind clearly elsewhere, "It was right after he found me and took me under his wing.  I was at the lowest point in my life..."  Dawn's voice trailed off, the colt clearly still uncomfortable with relating the circumstances of his earlier life.
"Dawn brings with it the promise of a new day.  Though the day before may have been wretched beyond imagination, at the beginning of each day, the slate is wiped clear and you are free to begin anew, with the hope that a day better than the one before it will come if you have the strength to make it so.  He gave me my name to remind me of this, so that, no matter what happens to me in the now, the promise of a new day awaits at the next dawn.  I'd always thought it a foolish sentiment."
Dawn paused in his monologue and turned his eyes back to Fluttershy.  "But I know what he meant now."
She felt the colt's forelegs slowly press themselves against her.  To her amazement, Dawn pulled himself towards her, returning her embrace.  Tears spilled from the yellow pegasus's eyes as she held him even tighter, weeping for joy.
"Yes."
A wellspring of pure happiness erupted in Fluttershy's heart, rushing through her with incredible force.  She briefly wondered if this was how Pinkie Pie felt most of the time, so overflowing with joy that all she could do was open her mouth.  "Yay!"


	
Applejack stared forlornly out the window of the Apple Family farmhouse.  She hadn't said a word since she had returned from her conversation with Princess Celestia.  When dinner had come around, she had eaten silently and mechanically, hardly seeming to notice the delicious spread her grandmother had set out.  Granny Smith and Big Macintosh looked on, their expressions colored with trepidation.
Later in the evening, Apple Bloom returned home in the company of Spike and Celestia, the latter of which detoured into the kitchen with Granny Smith to pick up a very unassuming box.  She then left, saying nothing to Applejack.  Likewise, Spike went on his way after saying goodbye to Apple Bloom.  The yellow filly quickly retreated to her room for the night, once again leaving Applejack to stew in silence.
The orange mare was at a total loss about what to do.  Her conversation with Princess Celestia had shattered her view of the world.  The weight of her crimes pressed down on her mercilessly.  Even more difficult to bear, however, was the confusion she felt over what she would say to Dawn when she saw him again.  Her original plan was to go and explain herself, talk about her father and how important he had been to her.  But Granny Smith had already beaten her to the punch on that one.  Besides, from what she had seen and heard from Dawn, her efforts to explain herself would only make him angry.  She guessed that her insults, slurs, and even abuse weren't what had made him angry.  He had been dealing with that from ponies his entire life.  Applejack's words and actions were tiny drops in a vast bucket.  What had really made him angry was the way she’d accepted her father’s teachings without question, without the slightest attempt to work things out for herself.  She hadn’t tried to know Dawn, to meet him as a pony, to see for herself what he was.  Instead, from the moment she’d laid eyes on him, she’d already come to her conclusion.  That left her at a loss.  How could she apologize to the colt in a way that was truly meaningful?
"Yer lookin' like a mare that's goin' to her own funeral," commented Granny Smith, tottering over to sit next to her granddaughter.
"Ah kinda feel that way," Applejack admitted, "How in the world am Ah supposed to apologize to that colt fer what Ah did?  Everythin' Ah try to come up with just sounds damn pathetic."
"Maybe that's 'cause yer thinkin' too much," answered Granny Smith, "That colt won't want explanations or excuses.  What he needs is fer ya to show him ya know how much ya've wronged him.  Ya need to go there and bare yer heart and let him know how ya feel, not how ya think."
She gently reached up and patted Applejack's shoulder.  "Go on and get to bed ya silly filly.  And once ya get up, march yer rump straight over to that boy.  When ya see him, let yer heart do the talkin'.  Ah think ya'll have no problem figurin' out what to say."
Applejack bowed her head to her grandmother's wisdom and did as she was bid.  Once she was gone, Big Macintosh looked up from the book he had been reading.  "Do ya think she'll be okay?"
Granny Smith nodded sagely.  "That's the funny thing about the truth.  Sometimes ya can mess it all up by thinkin' too hard about it.  Sometimes ya need to just open yer mouth and let it out."


	
The first light of morning stole swiftly and silently across the sleepy valley where Ponyville lay.  The sun's rays swept over the homes and pierced through windows, oftentimes illuminating eye inhabitants within.  As the day advanced, the sun's light washed gently over one home in particular, that of an especially shy pegasus, her young charge, and her menagerie of animals.
Fluttershy yawned and opened her eyes, reveling in the warmth of the dawning sun.  As consciousness returned, she realized that she had fallen asleep on the couch.  Looking down, she couldn't help but smile at the sight of Dawn Lightwing, wrapped securely in her forelegs, his head nestled up against her.  Fluttershy leaned down and planted a soft kiss on his forehead.  Very soon, she realized, He will be my son.  The thought sent a thrill of excitement through her limbs.  If any other pony had considered such a course of action, she would probably have been considered very reckless.  However, Fluttershy was a pony who thought very carefully before acting.  There was no doubt she had reached her decision after careful consideration and forethought.  I want us to be a real family.
Dawn's body gave only the faintest hint of stirring before his eyes snapped open and he looked up at her, already fully awake in spite of having been asleep mere seconds ago.  It was a trait Fluttershy envied.
"Good morning," she whispered, smiling down at the young colt.
Dawn said nothing.  Instead, he closed his eyes again and tucked his head back against her.  It appeared he decided to go back to sleep.  Fluttershy found herself marveling at how relaxed Dawn was in her presence now.  She was perfectly happy to let him go back to sleep.  Celestia knew the colt needed his rest after the ordeal he had been through.  Futtershy wished for a brief moment that she could join him.  Unfortunately, she had responsibilities of her own to tend to.  Her animals needed to be looked after.
Slowly, carefully, Fluttershy extricated herself from the embrace.  Making sure Dawn was resting comfortably on the couch, she retrieved a blanket from the closet and covered him with it.  His comfort seen to, Fluttershy turned her attention to her animals.
An hour or so of work saw Fluttershy nearly finished.  She figured that she had best get started on breakfast so that it would be ready when Dawn woke back up.  However, she was disappointed to see that he had already woken back up and was now watching her silently from his place on the couch.
"Good morning," she said again, "Are you ready to get up?  You can sleep some more if you want."
"I'm awake," said Dawn softly before yawning, "I don't think this sleeping in thing is for me though.  I'm too used to just getting up."
"That's alright, so long as you don't force yourself," answered Fluttershy, "What's important is that you get all the rest you need."
To her surprise, a wry, but genuine smile graced the colt's face.  "I actually feel that I'm getting an excess of rest actually.  It must have something to do with the pony who keeps singing those lullabies."
Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at his response.  "I'll get breakfast ready for us.  Then we can go into town and get started with the adoption process."
"Hmm."  Dawn adopted a pensive expression and turned to look at his immobilized wing.  "I don't know if I should go into town yet.  I can't do anything to defend myself like this."
Fluttershy let out a soft sigh before walking over and gently running a hoof through Dawn's mane.  "You have nothing to worry about, I promise.  But if you really don't feel like it, we can wait until you're fully healed."
The colt directed another hesitant look at his injured wing before meeting Fluttershy's gaze.  "Will it really be alright?"
The mare gave him a bright smile and nodded decisively.
"Very well then."
"Wonderful!" exclaimed Fluttershy at a volume that wouldn't have startled a sleeping mouse, "Oh it's going to be a beautiful day.  I can take you to all the great places in town.  Oh!  We should stop by the library and find some books for you to read while you're recovering.  I should also talk with Miss Cheerilee about enrolling you in school.  Oh, and if Pinkie has to hold out on her party any longer, I'm afraid she might explode...twice."
Fluttershy came to a halt as Dawn held up a hoof.  "Let's not take on too much at once," he said gently.  The yellow mare sank down a little and gave him an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry," she whispered, before skittering off to get started on the morning meal.
Dawn took a deep breath and closed his eyes, savoring the peace of the morning.  The sounds that filled the small cottage seemed so natural a part of the setting that it might have been silent as far as he was concerned; the chirping of birds as they went about their business, the low shuffling as small rodents moved around their burrows, the sound of Angel gnawing on one of his carrots, clattering of cooking implements as Fluttershy worked on breakfast, the soft knocking at the door...
Dawn's eyes shot open as the last one registered to him.  Somepony was indeed knocking at the door.  The sound was so soft, so light, that he thought it more akin to the way Futtershy would knock.  He briefly considered calling his caretaker over from the kitchen, but thought better of it, seeing as she was already working on their breakfast.  Instead, Dawn got down off the couch and walked over to the door.  Reaching up, he turned the knob and slowly pushed it open.
Applejack was standing on the doorstep.  Dawn's initial reflex was to slam the door shut, but he stopped himself when he saw the forlorn expression on her face.  There was a little bit of surprise as well, indicating that she clearly hadn't been expecting the colt to be the one to answer.  Upon seeing Dawn, Applejack quickly averted her eyes, looking at the ground between them, the sides of the house, the blue sky, anything to avoid meeting Dawn's intense gaze.
Dawn briefly wondered if this was a completely different mare from Applejack; a mare who just happened to have the same coat, mane and tail color; the same cutie mark; and who happened to wear the same hat.  The Applejack Dawn had met had been full of anger and spite towards him and everything she thought he represented.  This other mare looked as though she could barely stand on her own hooves, her entire body sagging under an immense burden of shame and guilt.
An uncomfortable silence stretched between them as Applejack slowly scuffed the ground.  "Uh...hi."
"Hello?" answered Dawn, his tone neutral.
Applejack shivered slightly.  It was the same tone he had used when talking to her before.  There was nothing, not anger, not fear, nor anything resembling concern or confusion in his voice.  It gave nothing away.
Rubbing the back of her head, Applejack heaved a heavy sigh.  "Ah suppose it's just as well that yer the one that opened the door."  For the first time, she brought her eyes to bear on Dawn and met his own eyes squarely.  "Ah've got something to say to ya.  Could ya step outside fer a moment?"
Dawn's response was slow to come as he turned over her words in his mind.  Applejack's tone was completely different from the other day.  It was laden with a sense of fear and resignation.  No trace of hostility was to be found.
Without answering, he stepped out and shut the door behind him.  Turning around, Applejack led the colt out into the front yard before turning back to face him.  The two of them stood in silence as Dawn waited to hear what the orange mare had to say.
"Shucks," muttered Applejack as she wiped sweat from her brow, "And Granny made it sound like this would be so easy."
Dawn waited patiently as the mare wrestled with what she was going to say.
"Ah...Ah just wanna say...Ah just wanted to tell ya...oh the hay with it!"  Applejack's voice snapped with her frustration.  "Ah'm sorry Dawn!"
Dawn's eyes widened as he took an involuntary step backwards at Applejack's exclamation.  More shocking than the word "sorry" was hearing his name emerge from the country mare's lips.  She had called him many things in their brief, tempestuous acquaintance, but his own name was not one of them.  He understood the logic of that perfectly, of course.  Calling him by name would mean acknowledging him as a pony, which would undermine the image she had in her mind of him as some sort of demonic monstrosity.  Such an abrupt turnaround was unsettling to say the least.  But Applejack wasn't finished yet...
"Ya were right about everythin'.  Ah was too plain wrapped up in what Ah'd been told, what Ah'd been tellin' mahself fer so long that Ah forgot how to think fer mahself.  Ah wanted ya to be a monster 'cause it was easier than admittin' mah pappy was wrong about somethin', or worse, that he plain lied to me.  Ah just stood there on mah high horse, ignorin' everythin' ya were sayin' and everythin' mah friends were sayin' just so Ah could justify mah own foolishness."  She dropped her head, lowering her snout almost all the way to the ground.  "And worst of all, it took a visit from the Princess herself to finally  get me to see reason.  By all rights, Ah should be in prison fer what Ah did to ya.  But here Ah am, actin' as though sayin' sorry makes it all better.
"Ah can't make what Ah did go away!  Ah can't take back what Ah said!  Ah can't even ask ya to forgive me, 'cause Ah don't deserve it."  Tears streamed from Applejack's eyes.  She was weeping openly now.  "Ah'm sorry!  Ah'm sorry!  Ah'm so sorry."
She sank all the way to the ground, repeating the phrase over and over again, unable to bear the thought of looking up at Dawn.  In her mind's eye, Applejack could see the rage building on his face at every word she said.  All she could do was lay and wait for the harsh words that were sure to come.  And she would deserve every syllable.  Fluttershy would probably object to Dawn's anger.  But Applejack couldn't fault him.
"Why?"
Okay...that was not the response she had been expecting.  Curtailing her weeping and regaining some control, although still snuffling a little, Applejack chanced to look out from under her Stetson, which had fallen over her face as she wept.
Dawn was staring at her.  His face showed no trace of that studied, patient neutrality.  But Applejack couldn't rightly describe what expression had taken its place.
"Why?" he asked again, leaning forward.  His tone seemed to carry a hint of everything; sadness, pain, anger, confusion.  "Why are you so earnest?
"You're supposed to make excuses!  You're trying to justify yourself!  Why aren't you patting yourself on the back, congratulating yourself for having seen the light?"  The volume and pitch of the colt's voice were rising rapidly.  Applejack's eyes widened in shock as she saw tears beginning to gather in his eyes.  But Dawn wasn't finished.
"Give me something!" he demanded, his voice quavering with...something, "Some hint of insincerity, some note of hypocrisy, something that I...that I can hold on to."  With that hitch in his words, the tears began to fall, like the first leaks from a breaking dam.  "Please!  Give me some reason to stay angry!  If you're like this, how am I supposed to keep hating you?"
Now Dawn was the one crying openly.  To have a pony apologize to him, to not hide behind flimsy explanations or justifications, to bare her heart in the way Applejack had, was an utterly new experience for the colt.  He had been able to ignore the jibes, the insults, the accusations, the attacks, by writing off the ponies behind them as nonentities.  They were all the same.  They didn't matter.  Nothing would ever change with them, no matter how hard he tried.  As far as Dawn was concerned, they didn't even register as ponies anymore.  It was better that way.  They couldn't hurt him that way.  But Applejack's honest apology had changed that.  Dawn couldn't ignore her anymore.  Now her barbs from the previous days actually hurt when he remembered them, because now, he couldn't help but see her as a real pony.  And it hurt to think that anypony could hate him for something he could do nothing about.
As it was, Dawn was barely conscious of the impact as Fluttershy barreled into him, sweeping the colt up into a tight embrace, tears streaming from her eyes and splashing down to mingle with his own.  She had seen Dawn and Applejack from the kitchen and had come out the front door in time  to hear the tail-end of Applejack's apology.  And, for the first time since she had met him, Fluttershy had seen Dawn cry.  Over the past days, she had been wearing down the barriers he had put around himself to protect his feelings from other ponies, trying to fill the void where his heart was meant to be.  She had made progress, but had been afraid that Dawn couldn't cry because his tears had dried up utterly.
Even as he continued to cry, Dawn found himself basking in Fluttershy's affection, lowering his guard further still.  He remembered little from the early years of his life, of the time he had spent in the home of his biological parents.  What little he could remember had dissolved into a blur of cold looks and harsh words.  Only one wretched recollection in particular stood out.  It left him feeling an emptiness even greater than that caused by the harsh words and actions he had been on the receiving end of throughout his life.  But here, in Fluttershy's gentle embrace, Dawn felt content.  Here, he could cry as much as he wanted and she would never chase him away.
"Mom?"  His voice was barely a whisper, suggesting what he was both desperate and terrified to acknowledge.
"It's alright," whispered Fluttershy as she rocked him back and forth, "I'm here Dawn.  I won't let you go."
It was enough.  The final bonds of restraint holding the colt back shattered completely.  Fluttershy did the only thing she could and held Dawn tight as he clung to her and sobbed into her chest.
He was home.



Story One: Fin
The story continues in The Promise of a New Day.