//------------------------------// // The Reveal // Story: RWBY: Shadows of Our Past // by ExaltedDarkrai //------------------------------// The ponies stood mesmerized, looking at the monster they defeated over a year ago, standing a couple a feet away from them. The face that brought them such terror had suddenly reappeared. The doctor, who was still in the room with them, was frozen with fear, his words escaping him as he stared at Sombra for the first time. "What, you have nothing to say to your old friend?" Sombra said smugly staring at the with a devious smile. The ponies continued to stare, however their looks changed from fear to spite as they began to glare at the shadow pony with fury in their eyes. "You...you did this!" Twilight exclaimed hoof outstretched in Sombra's direction. Sombra just continued his smugness and looked directly at Twilight. "What gave it away?" He replied in a deep voice. "Sombra," Celestia said her eyes pointed toward the floor "what you have done is beyond the realm of redemption. You have terrorized, traumatized, injured, and...killed my ponies all over the country. You have enslaved the Crystal Empire not once but twice. You have not only been sparred both times, but have been shown the mercy of not being banished to the moon or even the sun. This time however, you will face the consequences of your actions. So I will ask this once. Stop this immediately." All eyes, who were pointed at Celestia during her speech, moved to Sombra, who was closing his eyes, his smugness fading momentarily, and breathing a low sigh. "Celestia, Celestia, Celestia. What ever happened to diplomacy and discussion? I would've thought you would want to talk about this over tea. I even brought the china." "You miserable cretin! You crossed the line of diplomacy when you started to slaughter my ponies!" The group was unfazed by Sombra's teasing. Despite the fear they should be feeling still resting inside them all they could do was stare with unspeakable anger. "I thought we blew you and your ugly mug up last year." Dash yelled at the shadowy figure. "Sombra, you coward! Why don't you come and meet us muzzle to muzzle!" Applejack commented. "I'm going to buck you into next Tuesday for what you did to me, Pinkie's family, and anypony else you ever hurt." Sombra just laughed to himself. "Aren't you a tough one." Sombra looked at the scar on Applejack's side. "I see you were introduced to one of my good friends." AJ just growled angrily. Sombra began to look closely at the pony. "Strange, you don't look any different. I wasn't expecting you to look exactly like him but I though there would be something at least." Twilight gasped at Sombra's statements while AJ was just confused and speechless as she had no idea what Sombra was talking about. "This is between you and me Sombra! If you want to harm anypony, than harm me. I will submit myself to you if you agree to end this madness." Celestia pleaded, gaining Sombra's attention once again. Sombra just smiled at Celestia. "I am going to have to politely decline my dear Celestia. The only pony I want is right here." He said, hoof outstretched in another direction. "What?" Celestia asked shocked, surprised, and scared for the other room's occupants. "Luna." The Princess of the Night's eyes widened as the King of Shadows looked up and gazed at her eyes after saying her name, hoof pointed at her. Celestia just turned to her sister in confusion. "M-me?" Luna said surprisingly timidly, causing Sombra to grin even wider. "Oh Luna, what a tragic life you live. The moon shines down on ponies at night with a low silver light. That light coming from the result of the sun, Celestia's sun, shining even from the other side of the world and reflecting it down to you ponies." Sombra began, his words strung slowly and somberly. The rest of the ponies began to wonder where Sombra was going with this. "However, the light Celestia has given you is barely enough to sustain life, barely enough to keep Equestria going and keep the ponies happy and safe. There is so much light that could be yours Luna. So much that Celestia hasn't shared with you. Things you have every right to have and know." Luna now scowled upon hearing Sombra's monologue. "I don't need to hear your lies again after 1,000 years, tyrant!" "Again?" Celestia asked herself curiously. This was the first she had heard from Luna about anything directly related to Sombra or anything he said during their battle in the Crystal Empire. "Ha-ha, you never cease to amuse me Luna. Even after 1000 years, you still refuse to see what's been in front of you the whole time. That's a long time you spent in isolation. Alone, thinking. You must have realized it by now. If you wish to remain a pawn in Celestia's game even after she banished you to the moon, leaving Equestria entirely under her rule, then I guess I was wrong about you, as upset as I am to say it." "I said 1,000 years ago and I'll say it again now, we are equals and sisters! I would never betray her willingly, nor would I ever wish to take over Equestria! Whatever you did to me back then, I...!" Luna's anger fell silent, turning to a look of regret as a tear fell down her face. She looked back to her sister who was worried and confused, as was the rest of the ponies in the room. She was about to say something to her sister, but Luna turned to look at the shadow pony. His conniving smile disgusted the Princess of the Night, she glared at him as his eyes locked onto hers. She dried her tears and spoke in a low and angered voice. "I don't care what you have to say to me, tyrant. You WILL stop your assault on Equestria or else you will face the full wrath of our power. And trust me, if you remember what happened last time, consider that affair merciful, because we will show you no mercy." Sombra's face was unchanging. His expression never altering, continuing to smile and stare at Luna as she threatened the King of Shadows. After she finished, Sombra looked down and laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed. His laughter echoed around the throne room, causing Luna to adopt a shocked look and back away from the map. When he finished his cackling, he looked up at the group of ponies with his malicious grin. "Hahaha, you ponies are hilarious in your attempts of futile intimidation. After all, you barely stood a chance against one of my beasts. What hope do you have against thousands upon thousands of them?" Sombra boasted, looking past the princesses and right at the group of six friends. Twilight glared back at the king, almost unfazed. "So you are the one responsible for those monsters destroying everything?" "You ponies are so predictable. Labeling anything that conflicts with your ideas of harmony and peace as monsters. Peace can't be achieved through such a narrow lens, young one. I can only imagine how hungry Chrysalis and her subjects are after you banished them from your land and left them to rot in isolation." "Chrysalis overstepped her boundaries and imprisoned Cadence underground so she could hijack her wedding. We did what we needed to do to stop her and her Changelings from taking over Canterlot." Twilight retorted, not wanting to let Sombra criticize her home. "That may be true, but you punished an entire species for the actions of a couple hundred. You banished all of the Changeling race to isolation, including all the Changelings that had nothing to do with the invasion, even the ones that have abandoned their queen in favor of, oh what is that word you ponies use so often, oh that's right, peace." "Hey buddy that wasn't the first attack the Changelings have pulled on Equestria! It may have been awhile but they attacked a long time ago, and it was pretty much all of them trying to push against our borders and invade." Rainbow yelled back at Sombra, prompting all of her friends to give her a confused look, wondering how Rainbow of all ponies would know something like that. "What? I read." "Oh you're right. It's not like you six have done anything that hasn't effected the fate of Equestria." Sombra began giving an overdramatic apologetic expression. "Although didn't something happen very recently involving a town and cutie marks?" Sombra put his hoof to his chin in fake pondering of his own question. The six friends all adopted different expressions ranging from shocked, to angry, to confused, and turned to look at each other. "Oh now I remember! And judging by your expressions you remember quite fondly as well. Remember how you barged into a town you didn't even know existed before earlier that day, Excellent work on that one Princess, and degraded their philosophy. You even ended up running the leader of the town into a massive, almost unnavigable cave. Ponies, might I add, that were all perfectly happy with their equal life." Sombra stated, growing more and more condescending with each second. "How...how do you know about that?" Twilight said quietly, her voice failing her as the rest of the room kept the talk going. "Hey, those ponies went and held us hostage and tried to brainwash us." Applejack replied. "Only after you started snooping around and demeaning their values and beliefs." Sombra retorted dryly. "But it simply wasn't right." Rarity added. "Exactly. It wasn't right with YOUR beliefs. They were happy until you took it away from them." "Well that certainly was not what I meant. I meant that Starlight was lying to them the whole time." "Yeah, she lied about having her cutie mark." Rainbow added. "What did it matter?" Sombra once again stated laconically. Everypony turned to look at each other "And what do ya mean by that?" AJ questioned. "What damage was Starlight causing to Equestria? You didn't even know she existed half a day before you shut her town down." "He even knows her name?" Twilight thought to herself, still trying to pay attention to what was happening around her. "Hey! We...um, well." Rainbow Dash was about to make her signature snarky comeback and rub it into Sombra's face, until she realized she had nothing to say. "Oh. No snide comments from the blue one there." "That's it! When I get my hooves on you I'll..." "Rainbow, that's enough!" Twilight called out to her friend. Rainbow turned to Twilight and saw how serious she looked before taking a sigh and saying, "Fine." Celestia, during the whole conversation was staring at Luna without end. She heard all that was said but barely paid any mind. What was Luna so worked up over? What happened to Luna when she was fighting Sombra while she was unconscious. These questions nagged her every thought. "Okay Sombra, what is it you want?" Twilight asked begrudgingly. "I doubt you found a way to message us just to gloat." "Oh, forgive my absent mindedness princess. I didn't mean to waste your precious time." "Sombra, you..." Twilight began to before she was interrupted by a voice behind her. "Why?" This voice said in a low, foreboding tone. The voice belonged to a mare. Her head pointed down, face obscured by her mane. "What was that little pony? The adults are talking so if you have something you want to say you'll need to spe..." "WHY! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THIS! WHY DID YOU KILL MY FAMILY!" Sombra was cut off as the mare looked up, tears strewn across her face as she sent a look of hate at the King of Shadows and revealed herself as Pinkie. "WHY DID YOU...why did you...why?" Pinkie slowly lost the look of anger that had been plastered on her face and slowly allowed more tears to cascade from her eyes and began to look at the floor. Sombra hesitated for a moment, unprepared for such unbridled hostility. He cleared his throat and looked at the pink mare. "Well isn't that something. Aren't you the one with the bubbly expression all the time? I didn't think you had that kind of rage in you." Sombra said, not cocky and sarcastic, but low and somber. Pinkie one again looked back up from the ground and glared at Sombra again. "Stop Sombra! Stop with the games, stop with the hazing! I asked you a question and you WILL answer me, or Celestia have mercy on your soul! WHY DID YOU KILL MY PARENTS! WHY DID YOU KILL MY SISTERS!" Sombra continued his more formal tone, his face turning to a much more serious expression. "You are under false impressions child. I did not kill any singular pony with any malicious intent or hate directed at them. I released my beasts into the world and they did what they were made to do." "And what would that be?" Twilight, Pinkie unable to respond as she was choking up with tears and anger, responded. "Bring this world to the brink of ruin and fill Equestria and its ponies with the same despair I feel." Silence built up through out the room as the two groups stared at each other. Celestia had gotten out of her train of thought, yet still had the nagging question pandering her in the back of her head. "You ponies are a disease. You have infected this world and I've provided a cure. And I will not stop until everypony, especially all of you have been eradicated." "Why Sombra? Why do you hate my ponies so much?" Celestia asked, causing Sombra, for the first time, to scowl with a glare of anger. "You Celestia, OF ALL PONIES, should not be asking me that! You call yourself a noble leader? You think your ponies deserve your love? Ha! Your ponies know nothing! Neither do your ignorant sister, nor your naïve pupil! What you did to me, what you had that dragon do to me, what THOSE ponies did to me will NEVER be forgiven! And despite all I've been through, you Celestia are the one who yields the blame for this. No, EVERYTHING YOU DID TO ME is what sealed your kingdoms fate! Rot in Tartarus, Celestia! Your lies have brought about your end!" Sombra turned his back to the ponies, implying he was taking his leave. Twilight took notice and stepped forward. "Wait, Sombra!" Sombra stopped and half-turned his head back to the pony, implying he was listening. "How did you do this? Use the map like this. How did you contact us? The ponies awaited his answer, Twilights breath loud and heavy and Pinkie's small sobs in the background adding to the already present tension. "Hmph. Every crystal shares the same reflection." And with that Sombra's image disappeared in a flash of light. "No! Get back here! You will pay for what you did!" Pinkie yelled running at the map. Rainbow and AJ ran to her and held her back. Twilight wouldn't stop staring at where Sombra's image last stood, eyes unmoving. Celestia turned to see her sister staring at the ground, contemplating. Rarity and Fluttershy stood motionless at the back of the group. Spike and the doctor stood beside them, eyes widened at the events that had just took place. Spike, in particular, was replaying what Sombra had just said in his head. And throughout all of this, the only sound that could be heard was Pinkie's cries. "No! Let me go! I'll make him pay for what he did to Maud! Let me go! SOMBRAAAAAAAAA! An hour had passed since the group had talked to Sombra. Dr. Blue Cross had gone to tell the mayor of what was happening, after having a quick conversation with AJ. Pinkie had passed out and was sleeping in one of the castle's many guest rooms. Rarity and Fluttershy stood outside her room as Pinkie got the rest she so desperately needed. Celestia and Luna were in their own respective rooms, processing what had happened as well. Meanwhile, Twilight sent Spike to get tea for the princesses, as well as Fluttershy and Rarity. Twilight herself was with Rainbow Dash and Applejack in her living room, also trying to unwind and process what had happened. "Well that certainly was...interesting." Rainbow said, attempting to end the mind numbing silence. It was fruitless, as both AJ and Twilight sat across from each other, each delving into their own subconscious in an attempt to understand what was happening. Applejack thought back to what Sombra had said to her. "Strange, you don't look any different. I wasn't expecting you to look exactly like him but, I thought there would be something at least." Applejack had no idea what Sombra was talking about. Why would she look any different? He wasn't referring to the scar, as he noticed and even mentioned its presence. But if he didn't mean the scar, what was he talking about. His presence was a short one. He didn't say or reveal much to the group that they didn't already know. Did he appear just to gloat? To see the look on their faces? Or was their something else he had to gain. Twilight was thinking the same thing. It didn't make any logical sense for him to just show himself. Sombra was a very calculating pony, he wouldn't give up the element of surprise just to gloat. Their were two things that Sombra mention that especially irked her. The first thing, ironically was his last words. "Every crystal shares the same reflection." What could he possibly mean by that" He must have known somehow that the map was made of a crystal-like material. Why would he just appear and tell us how doomed they were? It certainly wasn't a very smart strategic move, as he made his presence known to his greatest enemies. He did seem very interested in Luna, but that was beyond her. Whatever happened 1000 years ago was obviously past Twilight's business and she should let Celestia and Luna talk about it themselves. So that left Twilight at a stand still. She didn't know why Sombra appeared, what his words meant, or how he was able to contact them, plus still being very concerned for Pinkie. She was obviously putting on a brave face. That was another thing alluding Twilight at the moment. Why was Pinkie trying to hold back all her tears? She obviously let them flow upon her realization of what happened and when she confronted Sombra, but before she retreated to the guest bedroom, after calming down from when Sombra appeared, she hadn't cried, sobbed or said anything at all. She was frighteningly silent, and Twilight didn't know why. She would've expected her, more than anypony, to be the most emotional. Of course, mourning the death of loved ones is very expected and appropriate emotionalism. But Pinkie was as quiet as a calm Ponyville night. Speaking of which, considering the situation, it was eerily silent. She could hear a howl or growl coming from outside the barrier now and then, which she responded to by a jerk of her ears in a combination of shock and fear. She decided to cease her questions and retire to stare out her window. For what seemed like hours she just gazed outside and directed her attention at the moon. She did this until Rainbow's voice called her from her endless gazing. "Hey, Twilight, you in there?" "Huh, wha...yeah...yeah I'm here." Twilight stammered quietly. Rainbow and Applejack turned to each other with concerned looks, then quickly turned back to Twilight. "Are you sure you're okay sugarcube?" "Yeah, I'm fine Applejack. Just worried about Pinkie." "Pinkie will be fine." Rainbow assured Twilight. "She's tough. All she needs is a little time to get things straightened out in her head." "I guess you're probably right. I just cant shake the feeling that she's holding something in from us." Applejack dawned a look of deep thought and replied. "Twilight, Pinkie is one of the most outgoing and honest ponies I've met, and that says a lot coming from me. If she had something on her mind, she'd tell us." "But after everything she lost, don't you think its a little strange she hasn't said anything to any of us?" Twilight insisted, the concern visible on her face. AJ and Rainbow remained silent, not knowing what to say. Applejack in particular, had something she did want to ask the two ponies in front of her, especially Twilight. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke up. "Hey, uh, girls." She began, gaining Twilight and Rainbow's attention. "About what Sombra said. You girls...don't know anything about that do you?" Both Rainbow and Twilight jumped at the question. There faces looked worried, despite their best efforts to hide it. Rainbow looked at Twilight, causing in Twilight to look back, expressing to Rainbow through her facial expression that she had no idea what to tell her. She knew what Applejack was referring to, anypony would. When AJ was being rushed to the hospital, she began to change. Her fur, her mane, even her ears and teeth all underwent some kind of metamorphosis. But how could she tell Applejack? She's gone through enough the past day already. What good would telling her do. All it would do was add weight to Applejack's already heavy burden. Twilight was smart. She normally would know what to say in situations like these to avoid telling AJ the truth. Despite the fact she was the Element of Honesty, she wasn't immune from being lied to. All Twilight had to do was tell her she had no idea what Sombra was talking about or that nothing changed in her appearance. But instead, she stuttered, panicked, and told the most obvious lie she could have possibly told. "Wh-what did Sombra say?" her voice was weak and unconfident, gaining an immediate reaction from AJ. Applejack's face looked visibly hurt. She stared at Twilight, eyes widened at Twilight's attempt to lie to her. She then dawned a look of rage. Everyone took notice to Sombra's comment and Twilight was no different "Whadd'ya mean 'what did he say'?! We all know what he said! About me looking different! What do you know about that?!" Twilight looked terrified as Applejack walked toward her, her face filled with anger. "I-I.." "TWILIGHT!" Applejack yelled. Rainbow Dash ran over to stand in between Twilight and AJ. She locked her eyes with AJ and spoke calmly. "After you collapsed from the pain," Dash began. "you started to...change." She said, trying to remain calm Applejack stepped back from Rainbow, shock filling her face. She looked at Rainbow with widened eyes. "Whadd'ya mean...change?" she said eerily. "I..." Rainbow began, only for Twilight to step in front of her. Applejack already knew now, there was no point in holding back. "When we were taking you to the hospital, your body underwent some kind of transformation. Your fur started to lose its color, your teeth sharpened, your ears became pointed, and your mane became all scruffy and mangled. I'm not positive but, I think it was a kind of infection from the wolf creature, because...it kinda looked like you were...turning into some kind of ...wolf pony." Twilight eased her way through the explanation so she didn't freak out AJ. This was to no avail as AJ was aimlessly staring around the room, ears ringing and vision fading. She almost collapsed on the floor before Rainbow and Twilight hold her by her front legs. "AJ, are you okay?! AJ, can you hear me!" Dash yelled. AJ shook her head quickly and looked up and turned to Dash. "Yeah...yeah I'm fine Dash." she said, a little distant. "Oh thank goodness, I thought you might have..." Twilight was cut off as AJ jerked her leg out of Twilight's grasp and glared at her, anger and dissapointment filling her eyes. "Don't touch me." she said coldly. "A-Applejack?" Twilight said, worried and confused. Suddenly, Rarity and Fluttershy ran into the room looking a little worried. "We heard Rainbow Dash's screams. Is everypony..." Rarity stopped and just stared at Applejack and Twilight, the former sending death stares into the latter. "How could ya keep that from me? How could ya possibly think that I didn't deserve to know?" AJ's voice was getting significantly louder, however still not yelling yet. "I..I tho..." she tried to speak, choking on her own emotions. "Talk!" Applejack yelled. "I didn't want to tell you because you've been through so much!" Twilight yelled. The room was almost silent, the only noise being Twilight's heavy breathing after raising her voice. She then began to explain herself. "You...you have been through so much in these past hours. All day, it's been nothing but pain for all of us and other than Pinkie..." she paused. Applejack tilting her head down and to the left in sad recollection. Rainbow closed her eyes and took a breath while Fluttershy and Rarity looked somber in the doorway. "...you've received the most pain. You almost died Applejack. You...you almost *sob* you.." Twilight began to tear up. Applejack looked back up at Twilight. After slightly regaining her composure, she continued. "I just thought *sniff* that you didn't need the burden of...this adding to your stress. I just wanted you to see your family and...feel unburdened." Applejack nodded a little before looking up at Twilight, her expression unchanged. Twilight was looking at the ground, looking very clearly guilty. "When were you gonna to tell me?" "Huh?" Twilight looked up to see the face of her friend who, while not downright glaring, looked upset. "You heard me, when were you gonna to tell me?" Her face became more hardened, a harsh gaze forming. "You clearly weren't gonna tell me now. So when. When was this extremely important matter gonna be talked about? Tomorrow? Next week? Next month? When something actually happens to me? When this kills me? When Twilight!" Applejack was yelling now, her face filled with rage. Twilight just stared in awe. The words tried to leave her mouth, but remained imprisoned by fear and shock. "I could forgive you if you told me now, but after all this, after what the doc said, you still feel the need to lie and hide this from me?" AJ questioned, walking toward Twilight slowly as she spoke. Twilight just chocked on her words, only able to sadly look at Applejack as she walked closer. "This isn't something you can just brush off Twilight! You didn't know if what happened to me was a one time thing! What if I was with my family, Twilight! What if something happened! I would be clueless! But no, it was easier to just not tell me and hope, hope, nothing happens. Twilight was in despair, the words just fell out of her mouth lifelessly like dying leaf from a tree. "Bu-but the doctor said...he said you were fine." "You didn't know that until an hour ago! You let me be around my family without knowing what was wrong what was wrong with me! Even if you did tell now that doesn't change the fact you put my family in danger!" "I didn't..." "I talked with the doctor, Twilight! He said that he was given instructions, by you, to let me go and see my family if I showed signs of recovery! He was told that you wanted him to let me go and let YOU tell me what was wrong, obviously wanting to keep this hidden from me! He only showed up because he wanted to tell us that that shadow magic or whatever was in me!" Twilight looked at the ground, shame coating her expression. "But you didn't tell me nothin! You let the doctor do all the heavy lifting for you and let it all pass by!" "Applejack, no, I was going to tell you but" "But nothing!" She yelled "I asked not five minutes ago if you knew anything about what Sombra said and you lied to me! If you weren't gonna tell me then, when I could try and process this, you weren't gonna tell me ever!" "I..." Twilight didn't know what to say. She just hung her head in shame. "I can't believe you Twilight. I told you we all need to trust each other. How am I supposed to trust somepony who lies about something this important! How, Twilight?" "..." "I thought you were the Princess of Friendship. I guess honesty doesn't fit into your whole friendship business." One could almost hear Twilight's heart breaking in her chest. Her face was the definition of heartbroken as tears leaked from her eyes. "Appejack I...I" "Don't talk to me." Applejack said somberly, turning her head away from her previously close friend. Twilight, crushed, turned and ran out of the room, head down and tears trailing behind her. She ran in between Rarity and Fluttershy who were too shocked to stop her. All the ponies in the room turned to Applejack, who was still facing away from the door, only seeing Rainbow Dash to her left. She walked right beside her and began to speak. "AJ, are you ok?" "*sigh*, not really." Applejack then turned around walked right past the two ponies at the doorway without even glancing at them. As she was walking out she only murmured something under her breath before resigning to her room. "Why would you lie to me Twilight." A Little After Celestia and Luna Arrived "Oh, Hello again, Princess. What can I do for you?" "Its good to see you again Dr...." "Blue Cross, Dr. Blue Cross Your Highness." "Please, no formalities. You saved one of my friend's life after all." "I was just doing what they taught me in med school. I don't deserve any more praise than any other doctor in Equestria." "You saved one of the Elements of Harmony with almost no information of what kind of magic was used at a time of panic and stress. I'm not sure how many doctors can do that." "I just did what I had to do. Worrying about the lack of information wouldn't do much to help Miss Applejack." "I suppose not." "..." "..." "Is there anything I can help you with Princess?" "Yes...I just wanted to...see how Applejack is doing. She...she's OK right?" "Yes, she is just resting after the surgery. We have extracted the magic from her system and are working on discovering its properties." "*sigh* What a relief. Thank you. Thank you so much." "You are very welcome Princess." "So...I suppose you can't tell me what was happening to her can you?" "I'm sorry Princess, but doctor-patient confidentiality seals my lips...for now. Of course, considering the nature of whats happening, we need all the information we can gather on what is going on and right now, what happened to Miss Applejack might be our best lead to do so. I'll tell you all about this after we finish our tests, but until then, she is a normal patient. So until she wakes up, you'll have to wait to hear it from her after I inform her what happened while she was unconscious. I can bring the findings from the tests we are doing on the magic used to do this to your castle after we finish." "...That was what I really wanted to talk to you about doctor." "Hm?" "When Applejack wakes up, if she is feeling alright and has gotten enough rest, please just send her home to her family. She needs to be with them right now. And I think they need her too." "With all due respect Princess, I can't just let her leave without telling her what happened. She was exposed to a dangerous, unknown kind of magic. Her body was changing rapidly. She needs...she deserves to know. We don't even know if all the negative effect of this magic are gone." "I know, but...I need to tell her what happened myself. I swear that after she spends time with her family, I'll tell her everything. Just, please don't mention anything about her transformation to her. She...she's been through to much." "Princess, I can't just..." "Please Doctor. I have to do it myself. I'm not asking you as a princess, I'm asking as a pony. Please." "..........OK. I'll tell her to go home and see her family after she wakes up, and that she should go to your castle to hear about what happened. She should wake up before we finish our tests on the magic so there isn't much more we can tell her besides the operation anyway. But after you tell her all you know, I'll make my way to the castle to deliver the results form the tests and to tell her what we found during her operation." "Thank you Dr. Blue Cross. I really appreciate this." "You're walking down a narrow path Princess. I recommend telling her this news as soon as possible. You don't want her finding all this out by herself." "Don't worry doctor, I'll tell her as soon as she's done seeing her family." "I have a bad feeling about all of this." "I'm sorry, Applejack, but I'm doing this for you." Twilight was in her room her bed wet from tears. She recollected all she did and only cried harder realizing how wrong she was about lying to her friend. The doctor was right, she did deserve to know. But, just as the doctor warned, she caught on and found out herself. Twilight still wasn't exactly sure why she didn't tell her when she asked. Was it really because she thought it was best Applejack didn't know, or was it because Twilight was just too scared to tell her? Either way, Twilight still ended up angering her friend, making her even more stressed and upset than she already was. "Why...why did I do this? Why can't I just be honest like Applejack? Why can't I be brave like Rainbow Dash? Why...why did I lie? I...I was just too afraid to tell her. Now...now everything is worse. Why do I have to mess everything up?" She was choking on her sadness and regret. She almost forgot the situation Ponyville and the rest of Equestria was in, upsetting Applejack the way she did clouding her mind. "I...I don't deserve these wings. I don't deserve this castle. I don't deserve...all that I've gotten. Even after all these years, I still can't be a good friend. I haven't learned anything." She had thought she was becoming a good princess. She thought she had finally gained enough knowledge to spread friendship around the world with the map. "How am I supposed to spread friendship through Equestria when I can't even maintain friendship in my own circle of friends?" Twilight kept crying, wondering if Applejack even wanted to see her again after what she hid from her. She tried to dry her tears and think of something else, but her conversation with Applejack had sealed itself in her head. She decided a walk around her empty, lifeless castle was the best way to clear her mind. The castle was quiet. Of course, a massive castle with only two occupants living in it would be a very quiet atmosphere. However, Twilight's saddened mood made the already imposing silence even more unbearable. She walked the empty hallways, not expecting to see anything meaningful or of any real substance. She just needed something to counter to the tears and grief. Apparently, the simplicity of movement was her escape. The slow, monotonous motion got the gears in her mind, not to stop, but change direction. She just wanted to think about something other than her falling out with Applejack. She walked around her crystalline abode for what seemed like an eternity. She only stopped and realized where she was after a sound shattered the silence like a broken window. It was crying. A quiet sob that sounded like it was down the hall. Twilight, who was a little out of it, followed the noise to one of the many doors in the castle. Realizing where she was, she assessed the door as one of the many guest rooms. Beside this door were two other identical door. In front of the door directly to the right of the one right in front of her was a doormat. This particular doormat being purple with diamond shapes that match a certain mare's cutie mark along the edges and the word "Welcome" in the middle. "Well this is undoubtedly Rarity's door." Twilight said quietly to herself. She included in her letter to her friends it would be best if they stayed at the castle for the next couple of days to plan out what they were going to do and set all of them up in guest rooms. "I'm almost certain Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie's rooms were right besides each other. That's why Rarity and Fluttershy were making sure Pinkie was okay in her room. "So if this is Rarity's room, then..." She put two and two together and realized it was Pinkie who was crying. While this seemed normal, Twilight remembered something Rarity told her about two hours ago. "She was in her room sobbing for about five minutes before...before going silent. She just stopped crying and we haven't heard her sense. I hope she is okay in there, poor darling." Twilight found this strange. She had just found out her parents were killed, along with her three sisters as well. Anypony would grieve for longer periods of time then five to ten minutes. She noticed this when Pinkie showed up at the castle too. It was only a few hours after making her realization and there she was, seeming only mildly upset. She said she was okay, but something was definitely wrong. Twilight, who had seemingly forgotten her previous problem to help her friend, walked to the door. The sobs, while getting louder as she got close, were rather quiet. Taking a deep breath, Twilight entered the room. "Pinkie?" she asked sheepishly after opening the door and walking in. Pinkie was laying on her bed on top of the blankets, the side of her head connecting with the pillow, her eyes locked on a rectangular object in her hooves. Taking a good, quick glance, Twilight determined what it was almost immediately. A framed photo of her with her family. Pinkie, hearing Twilight, stopped her crying, sat up, and quickly stuffed the frame under her pillow, putting on a fake grin. "Oh, hi Twilight. I'm just...napping." Pinkie said hesitantly. "Are you...okay?" "I'm...I'm fine. Just a little tired and upset. I'll be fine." Pinkie replied, turning on her side in bed. "Pinkie, everypony is worried about you. You've been in here for almost three hours. You haven't eaten since our picnic, which was seven hours ago, and you haven't really talked to anypony since then. We...we just want to make sure you are alright." Twilight said, visibly upset. Pinkie turned to Twilight, eyes widened, glossed over with moisture as she looked at Twilight and how upset she seemed seeing her like this. "You girls are worried abou...you.......Don't worry about silly old me. I'm...fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Pinkie said, very unconvincingly. "Pinkie, you have been through so much today. We would understand if you were upset. It's natural to grieve. But you've...you've been keeping it in. You spent two hours in here, silent. Why? Especially after what happened." Pinkie couldn't look Twilight in the eyes as she spoke about what happened. She struggled to keep the tears in, her eyes closed and visibly shook attempting to contain them. "I'm fine Twilight. I'm...I'm the Element of Laughter. I...I don't get sad...I...I don't cry. I...I" Pinkie kept looking down, eyes closed, her voice getting more and more strained. "Pinkie, everyone gets upset. You need to talk about what happened." "I...I...I don't *sob* I'm....I...I can't do it anymore!" she yelled, tears cascaded from her eyes while she looked up and put her hooves around Twilight. Her crying echoed off the crystalline walls and filled Twilight's ears from every angle. Pinkie's tears dripped onto Twilight's mane and shoulder as they overflowed from the pink pony's eyes. Twilight, while surprised at first, held the embrace, patting her dear friends back. "It's okay Pinkie, it's okay. Let it aaaaall out. It's *sob* okay. Everypony's *sniff* entitled to cry." They sat there together for Celestia knows how long, crying in their embrace.