Twilight stood on the castle’s steps. Breathing slowly, she braced herself for the trouble that she knew would come.
Just smile, everything will be fine if you smile.
There was a cool breeze today that brought with it the scent of Canterlot’s greenery. The Castle’s courtyard was beautiful as always. Plants known to Equestria lined the outside walls, and a vast sea of the greenest grass spread out in all ways before her. A sea that was disturbed by the cobblestone walkway which led up to the secondary entrance where she stood.
It was beautiful, really. Too bad the sight was soured by the collection of ponies making their way toward her. A collection being led by Big Macintosh wearing what looked like for all intents and purposes any random junk he was able to get his hooves on.
He looked ridiculous. An old wooden barrel around his barrel, tin bowls strapped to his hooves, hockey pads around his knees, and on top of his head a sauce pan with its handle turned around out of view of his eyes. Yet he walked with his head up, two ponies in similar garb beside him, with the same amount of sureness that she had seen captains walk with. It reminded her of a book she read when she was a filly. An emperor who couldn’t see that he wasn’t wearing anything at all.
Except this Emperor and his retainers could and would throw Equestria further into chaos if she told him that he was being ridiculous. Though he wouldn’t do it on purpose.
Those reporters on the other hoof-
Just smile, and greet them. And don’t bring too much attention to your new hair style. Rarity had worked hard to get the bangs just right.
“Big Macintosh, I’m glad you could make it.” Twilight said nodding briefly to him, her eyes flickering off him as somepony else entered the courtyard. Pink and purple wings fluttered against the newcomer’s sides as she strode in from her landing.
Cadence.
Twilight felt some of the growing tension leave her. Finally somepony else that could help them. She needed time to get the wards, rune mazes, and a hundred other seals that she commissioned Zecora to make. Luna was stuck with Celestia, and considering Celestia’s rapidly deteriorating condition...
Somehow, Twilight held her smile as a shudder threaten to rake up her spine. It was going to be okay. All she needed to do was tell Cadence to temporarily take the throne. Then she could quickly fly down to the Everfree forest and grab what she needed from Zecora. It would be so much easier if Zecora could come to them but with what Luna said about spies…
No. She was not going to endanger somecreature else. She did enough damage to last a lifetime.
She was pushed back into the ‘now’ when Big Macintosh, his helmet somehow saying in place nodded to her, “Twilight. You ready to tell us the truth?”
Leave it to Big Mac not to beat around the bush. “I’m ready to discuss the effect of your militia on Equestria, and how we can reach an agreement that will satisfy both of our sides.” She said, pulling princess speak around her like armor.
Big Mac frowned at her response, “Twilight, we only want the truth. We know that there is something wrong with Celestia, an’ that there are humans in Equestria. We just want to know why you are lying to us.”
“Big Mac, I will tell you everything I can once we get inside.” She said, wishing not for the first time that she didn’t have to deal with this. One lie and Cadence was already staring at her. She needed to hold out a little longer, “Everypony please follow me inside.”
She walked through the Castle’s threshold with leaded legs. Her hooves clicked loudly on the tiled ground and she kept her head up, regal, as she led them to the Eastern Wing. Away from the brokenness of the Western Wing.
“Twilight?”
Her shoulders pulled up, and she forced her expression to be cool and in control. She need to pay attention to what was happening now. Forget about the past and move forward.
“Yes, Cadence?” She said.
Her best babysitter ever and friend, looked at her with concern and asked, “Are you okay?”
Gentle, and with an inner peace that she had practiced faking for the last few days she replied, “Of course why wouldn’t I be?”
“You’re bruised.”
Her eyes flicked back and unconsciously Twilight dipped her head throwing her bangs further over her still healing eye. She worried her lip. Rarity did try hard, putting mascara on her visible eye to distract from her hidden one. But this was Cadence, and Cadence knew that she hated having her mane hang in front of her face.
“Twilight.” Cadence whispered to her, the princess of love’s eyes now boring unapologetically into the side of her head, “What happened to you? Why did you lie back there?”
Cadence’s voice was so sincere, and lacked any anger or ill intent, and Twilight just wanted to speak to a friendly pony. She couldn’t, not yet. She turned back to Cadence her pace not slowing as she led rogue self-proclaimed knights, reporters, and miscellaneous others deeper in the Eastern Wing. Her immaculate mane and preened feathers caught the morning sun through beautiful stained glass windows. Her voice light and airy she replied, “Nothing happened to me, and I did not lie.”
Her mouth felt like cotton, and she knew that Cadence did not believe her.
“Twilight.”
“Princess Cadence,” she grimaced at the urgency that entered her voice, “once we get to our destination I will speak. Until then please wait like everypony else.
Their hooves echoed off the tiled floor as they neared their destination. Twilight breathed in calming herself with a breath that really didn’t fill her lungs. She turned to the ponies gathered behind her and smiled at them though it strained her face.
“My ponies, and fellow princess. Every question that you have will be answered behind these doors, as this meeting will be long I have refreshments set aside.” She said to them. “We’ve a very long day ahead of us so let's get started.”
Breathe.
She pushed the door open, and smiled at the congregation behind her, “Please take a seat.” And breathe. She sat at the head of the table her back straight as she casted a gentle eye over the reporters and knights. “I’m sure that you all have questions so let’s begin.” She looked over to Big Mac, and his cohorts, “You were the first invited so it stands to reason that you ask the first question.”
Big Mac nodded, metal clanking together at his shifting, “I want to know why you lied to us about the humans. You said that they were a myth.”
“They are a myth.” She said eyeing the reactions around the table, purposely skipping over Cadence.
Her words caused Big Mac’s cohorts to scowl and the self-proclaimed leader of the Ponyville Knights to frown, “Now Twilight I know that’s not true. Applejack wrote to me. She said that there was dangers coming to Equestria. She said that you were messing with things and monsters that you didn’t understand.”
Breathe and push back your anger, Twilight you can not show anger now.
“I know that Applejack had some concerns.” She answered, her face the perfect mask of calmness, “The myths we found would send anypony into a panic. The authors were skilled in their writings. However, everything that is known about humans, the stories that are being spread around are nothing other than that. Myths. Applejack shouldn’t have put her unfounded fears on you.”
Big Macintosh the leader of the Ponyville Knights regarded her silently, and in his low baritone spoke, “In her letter Applejack told me not to trust you because you filled your head with nonsense about how things are supposed to be. Two days ago she sang your praises saying how smart you are, and how everything was settled.” Big Mac settled his large hooves on the polished wood table. “Twilight, what happened to make my sister change her mind?”
“She saw that she had made mistakes in her judgement and wants to fix the problems she created.” Twilight said, her excuse sounded lame to even her ears and the scowls from across the table grew deeper.
“My sister is stubborn. Now I know that’s not a good thing to say about family, but it’s the truth. Even if something big happened and made her think twice about being a fool she still wouldn’t of changed this much.” Twilight forced her face neutral under Big Mac’s intense stare and the glares around the table, “Twilight, what happened to change my sister's mind?”
That wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to ask about the Humans or about Celestia or the state of Equestria. Not about Applejack. Twilight pawed at the table her hoof brushing against, and then grabbing the glass she drank from. Swirling the sweet drink she organized her thoughts. “She saw how her actions were affecting the others.” Twilight said pulling on the memory of Applejacks actions, what they did after, and how everything crumbled, “The myths caused both of us to act in ways that we normally wouldn’t. We both thought we were right, when neither of us were. Applejack is trying to fix her mistake, and I on the count of being her friend can’t tell you what that mistake was. She would want to tell you herself.”
Her seventh lie that day. Applejack wouldn’t want anypony to know what she wanted to do on the Forsaken Islands, least of all her older brother. Big Mac caught her hesitation and looked like he was about to shout at her-
“Do you see how she talks to the great leader of the Ponyville knights!”
Twilight's ears slayed back at the sudden yell, and found that she wasn’t the only one who winched. Boisterous with a flare that she had only seen common with nobility, a knight that she did not recognized jabbed his hoof harshly at her.
The stallion glared through the strainer on his head, “Do you see how she ignores his title? How can we trust a princess that will not take us seriously?”
Twilight blinked, taken aback at the loud stallion. Squinting her eyes against the sudden onslaught of camera flashes she spoke, “And, you are?”
The stallion pointed his hoof back towards himself and holding his head up said, “I am Lord Silver Legacy, I hail from the Whinny Falls Knights. After hearing that our great leader was going to face your tyranny head on I knew what I had to do.” Silver Legacy narrowed his eyes at her, “I had to do everything in my power to make sure that you do not lock him away for defying you. Like how you locked up our dear Celestia.”
Murmurs broke out around the table, the flashes of light increased, and Cadence sent her a questioning glance.
Her attention fully taken by the loud knight and blinded by the actions of the media she quickly answered his question, “Celestia has not been locked away.”
Oh, no.
A more disastrous slip she could not have made, because while the knights and retainers looked skeptical but not willing to push the issue, for a split second Cadence looked horrified.
She couldn’t lie to her foalsitter.
“Is that so, Princess.” Silver Legacy sneered, “Then where is she?”
“Celestia is sick.” She said, her eyes barely flickering to Cadence, “At this moment she is not well enough to have visitors.” Truth. “It’s a sickness that only affects alicorns.” Lie. “We don’t know how contagious it may be to the other pony races.” Truth. “For that reason we cannot allow you to see her, or know where she is. You being around her could be detrimental to her and your own health.” Truth.
One eye flick back to Cadence, and please, please Cadence. Hear what I am saying.
Big Mac snorted, “Applejack said that we could meet with Celestia.”
“She did.” And try not to think how you feel about Applejack right now, he will pick up on it. “But that was before Celestia’s condition worsened. I will answer any questions that you have in Celestia’s stead.”
Her answer was met with the briefest of pauses before the room was filled with the shifting of papers.
“How did you first find out about the Humans?” A reporter asked fiddling with his camera, “I know about the humans because of the Knights.” Twilight strained to keep her smile as the reporter took another picture of her, “The people want to know how you found out. I not saying that there are humans, I just want to know how you found out about them.”
“The idea of humans were brought to me by the concerned ponies in this castle.” Twilight said, rolling the words in her head, “When I first heard of this myth we, the elements, were moments away from going on our diplomatic mission. I admit my mind was elsewhere. I didn’t think that these rumors would spread so far or how much damage they would cause.
One hoof stuck up into the air and Twilight was briefly reminded of her days at magic school. Eagar foals waving their hooves waiting to be called on, “One question, princess.” The mare with her hoof up spoke, a questioning look on her face, “You and the elements disappeared for a few days before you went on that ‘diplomatic mission’. Normally I would think that you all took a sick day or had things to do. Your six grown mares and I’m sure you have important things to do. Except my sources told me that you all went to visit Celestia.”
“Yes, we did.” Twilight said, “She wanted to meet with us before we left. It was a routine trip to ensure that I will properly represent Equestria.”
“Yes, routine.” A drawn faced pony said, and Twilight briefly wondered how the earth pony could still be standing. His pale brown coat did nothing to cover up the dark circles under his eyes. “We know about the short period that all ponies who have political pull go through to make sure that they do not beseech Equestria’s name. Assuming that you and the elements go through similar precautions such training would only take a couple days at most.” The prune face pony said taking a short moment to cough into a handkerchief he pulled out of his vest pocket. “You and the elements spent half a day in the castle’s library, and then five days outside of the castle grounds. Not fitting protocol at all, least of all the parameters of a routine trip.”
She worked words around her drying mouth, “How do you know that we spent half a day in the castle’s library?” He shouldn't know that, no reporter should. If he was talking about the first time that they went to the library, when they weren’t sure that there was anything left to find then, “We made sure that the library was closed to the public…” And that was the wrong thing to say.
Murmurs erupted around her as the self proclaimed knights and reporters hungry for reason behind the mayhem in Equestria whispered loudly to each other. The whispers she was able to take, the stares from Cadence and Big Mac was another thing entirely. Big Mac looked less and less content with his chosen silence, and the look in Cadence’s eye meant that she was close to demanding answers herself.
The ripples of descent were broken by the scratch of rusted metal on metal as a ‘knight’ that she did not recognized raised his hoof. His wings flapped at random intervals as he tried to keep upright. “Princess, please answer his question. Did you spend time in Canterlot's Library?” The knight asked as he tried to keep his oversized helmet from crashing over his face, “It shouldn’t be t-that hard to answer. We just want the truth.”
She ignored him and the rising murmurs to train her attention back on the sickly reporter, “I would first like to know where you got that information. Those lines are supposed to be secure Mr-?”
The pony brought his hooves onto the desk the very act of sitting up seeming to tire him out. “I am Mr. Harvest. My apologies for being so forward, but you didn’t answer my question. You said yourself that humans don’t exist, it bares to reason that you wouldn’t be looking for a myth?”
“That is correct.” She answered. “We were not looking for the humans. We in that moment were just increasing our diplomacy skills in order not to bother the locals outside of Equestria. It is of the utmost importance the we, the elements, uphold our titles.”
Murmurs of agreement flowed around the conference hall. Upholding the title and expectations of peace is what the ponies of Equestria wanted from their princess. They were ponies. They were friendship, patience, love, and compassion.
Those few smiles that she got in return made her sick. Why did they have to look so proud of her? It was what she wanted but those looks she got because she was the princess and an element and would never do anything wrong-
Just smile, everything will be fine if you smile. Just answer the questions, have them leave, and talk to Cadence.
Another knight raised her hoof. Mulberry pink with a deep violet mane. The knight squinted through the self made slits in the bucket over her head. She huffed and not bothering to introduce herself spoke, “That’s fair for diplomacy, right?” She sneered, “Humans don’t exist. So you would look for ways to connect to the races that do exist. There was no need for you to look up humans, right?” The mulberry knight said, reaching behind her back and pulling out a bag of...something. A burlap sack bulging out from it’s sides and teetering dangerously in the pony’s hooves.
Twilight’s haunches raised. It wasn’t everyday that a pony tried to attack royalty and if it was any other week a mare with an unchecked bag would go without notice but, “What do you have in that bag?” Twilight asked her words coming out in a bite that had more than a few ears falling back at their venom.
One such pony who found themselves startled by Twilight spoke up. “Twilight, that is no way to act! You cannot speak to your subjects like that!”
She did not spare Cadence a glance, as she stared down the smirking knight, “What is in the bag?”
If possible the knight’s smile grew, “I don’t know princess, why don’t you tell me?” In a quick movement the knight dumped the contents of the bag. Twilight’s horn flared, and sputtered as books fell in a haphazard pile on the table.
The mulberry mare traced the cover of the book with her hoof, and read off the tomes names, “Mythic Creatures and You, Bipeds of the World, Four Hundred and One Races and Groups, The Existential Crisis of the Modern Nomad…” The mulberry knight lifted her eyes and glared at Twilight with every bit of bite that Twilight gave her, “These are the titles that you took out in your name. Organization skills, what you said was the number one necessity for everyday life. I read your dissertations on friendship, princess, you are skilled in the written word.”
With her heart thudding in her chest, the shocked stares of all the ponies that she wanted to convince crushed her as the world fell from underneath her, “Who are you?” Twilight asked the mulberry mare that somehow gained the notes that she knew that she had burned, “Where did you get that list?”
The knight snarled, “Like I would tell you! You, false princess, will never know my name. You will not use your witchcraft on me and control me like you control Celestia.” The knight slammed her hoof on the table causing glass and silverware to jump, “I know that you are a liar, and are plotting to take over Equestria. You will not use your secrets to fool us.”
“That’s not true. You are making baseless accusations.”
“Am I? Because, princess, I know that when you came back from wherever you went on those five days that you were, practising your diplomacy, you went back to the library and took these books.” Mulberry grab at the spread out mess before her pushing the hardcover books in Cadence’s direction. “A princess should be outed by a princess.”
Cadence, the one she needed to trust her, held out her hooves reached for the books and read, “Carnivores and You, Snap Bite and Scratch: The Dangerous Animals of the World, Outsmarting the Thinking Predator, The Thrill of the Hunt: Understanding the Concept of Bloodlust.” Cadence, her eyes flickering down at the books laid out on the table spoke, “Twilight, what is this?”
Her voice would not come. Stares hold her in place as the self-proclaimed knights, and equestria’s reporters watch her gasp and uselessly work her mouth.
“Princess,” The mulberry knight asked her voice scratchy from her yelling, “What did you find in those five days?”
Dry, her tongue rolled in her mouth. “I-” Hard and unwavering her sister-in-law, what was supposed to be her only ally looked at her with such suspicion and disappointment. “I must inform you-” The reporters her direct connection to the ponies outside leaned into her words ready to tear them from her and twist them into their own.
“I cannot tell you at this time.”
Tension snapped and hooves found purchase on the table, around her ponies shouted at once all of them demanding to be answered at once. They spoke so fast.
“Why would you hide such dangers from your people?” “Is it true that you want to blame the attacking humans on Celestia?” “Is that why no one has seen her in months, do you really want the throne so much?”
She couldn’t answer any of them. Their shouting drowned out each other and she couldn’t pick out anypony’s voice in the unrelenting swell.
“The knights will never follow the likes of you!” “How dare you pretend to work in favour of Equestria?” “What is your real motive?”
They would not let her answer any of them. She needed them to stop and just, listen to her.
Magic coursed inside her horn.
“Stop lying to us we know the truth answer the questions, Twilight! Do. Humans. Exist?”
Stop. She wanted them to stop, but she didn’t have anything to offer to them that weren’t lies, and the mulberry knight had this smirk on her face.
“Are you listening to us princess!” Another shrill voice dug into her ears, “Where are the humans? What do you plan on doing with them.” The shrill voice demanded her to answer, and before she could the question was lost to the yelling and hoof stomping and-
Stop. They needed to stop, she had to make them stop. But she didn’t know how, and they weren’t stopping and their yelling just got louder, louder. And the pressure in her head grew.
The mulberry knight stood up in her chair her forehooves swinging as she tried to stay upright. The knight pointed a shaking hoof at her and shrieked, “This is the pony that became an alicorn. This is who is supposed to lead us!” Nearly toppling the knight glared her down, not knowing or caring that her ‘armour’ left her underbelly exposed, “Look at who abused our princess’s kindness. Look at this deceiver sitting on the throne.” The pony had worked herself up, exposed and unbalanced she shouted, “Look at this monster.”
Blank, and Twilight couldn’t hear anything.
The mulberry knight continued to yell, but Twilight couldn’t hear anything. Just that word.
Monster.
She called her a monster.
In silence that only she could hear Twilight watched as the knight shouted and pointed and fought to stay upright in her chair.
A burn started in her chest, a burn that soaked into her bones.
This is who Luna warned her about. She realized. This is the pony that helped cause Celestia’s possession. This was the pony who is working to destroy everything that she held dear.
Her teeth grounded. Her nostrils flared, and barely anypony took notice. How enraptured they were by the mulberry knight’s accusations and passions.
This pony wanted to rekindle hatred, she wanted to bring Equestria back to the rule of the demon king. This pony wanted to relive the atrocities that kept her up at night, the horrors that she saw all that time ago when she first found that book, the mistakes she made after she knew how to make them.
The mulberry knight pulled her eyes away from her audience and looked back at Twilight. The knights ears pinned back and she wobbled back on her chair. Gone was the joy the knight made for herself, and in it’s place a growing fear.
Twilight did not see this. The princess of magic exhausted from her never ending horrors only saw one who wanted to rip apart what little of the life she had before all this.
Her horn glowed,
-and her ears rung at the explosion of noise directly behind her.
Slowly she turned around in her seat, ears splayed hard against her head to mediate damage to her ear drums. Like all the conference rooms in the castle there were multiple entrances just in case the ponies in the room needed to leave in secrecy. It was rare, but sometimes the press snuck into the castle uninvited. Due to the need to know basis of this meeting some of the doors to this room were locked.
The echoes of the cherry wood door's impact on the wall rung out, ripping the voices from those seated at the table. She knew that the door behind her had been locked.
From her vantage point at the head of the table she had a good look at the frozen faces of the ponies that were invited. Their mouth hanged open, their eyes small pin pricks that were facing up-
No it couldn't be.
Ears still against her head she turned around, and her eyes met with Zachery's blinking blue.
The human was a giant shadow against a doorframe that was just big enough that he didn't need to duck to go through. She noted the black and blue vest he wore as one of the articles of clothing that he brought with him. His rusty brown pants were one of the few that Rarity made for him, and to finish his image he wore the only pair of shoes that he had.
He wasn't different from the last time that she saw him. Still tall, still alien to anything that anypony in Equestria has ever seen. Yet. He did not have that feeling of menace that she usually got from him whenever they spoke to each other. Which didn't make any sense.
Her eyes fell on the pale blue ribbon that pulled his long hair out of his face and into a single tail. Without his hair shadowing his face and without that near permanent snarl he looked so opened, so unthreatening.
What the hell was going on?
A bright flash of white threw her mind back into the room. She pulled her gaze off of Zachery, but not before seeing him rubbing his eyes from the brightness of the flash, a innocent frown on his face.
When I took his picture he snarled at me.
The ponies before her looked unsure of themselves, so different from when they were throwing their accusations at her. No, right now all of their gazes were on Zachery who seemed to be just fine breaking the laws of physics by not being in the room and filling it at the same time.
Cadence was the one to break the silence. "Twilight," Her sister-in-law asked her eyes wide and unblinking, "Who is that?"
Her moment of hesitation allowed for more questions, so Big Mac who would have struck an imposing figure if he didn't gape uselessly before he could form a sentence, uttered, "What, are you?"
Her back was turned to Zachery so she had the pleasure of seeing all the breath be stolen from the ponies before her when he said, "I'm a human."
She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. She wanted to hide from the eyes that now stared at her with disbelief, horror, and a thousand other emotions that she did not want to place.
In the heavy silence a reporter stood up in his chair a small card with Canterlot Times printed on it sticking up from his hat. He lifted his camera high and released a barrage of flashes. Insuring once and for all that Zachery would be on the cover of every paper across Equestria.
With each flash Twilight saw her carefully laid plans fall into more and more pieces. Zachery, the cause of her stress, the destroyer of her ability to deny, muttered, "Am I interrupting?" With his words the other reporters in the room woke from their trance, and the camera flashes became blinding.
She slumped into her chair the clicking of cameras and the gasps of ponies nearly choking on their own useless tongues put her into a sort of haze. A haze that was broken by a shadow casting over her. She looked up into bright blue eyes and a smile that was natural and unnatural. Never in the months that she knew Zachery has he ever looked at her in such an affable way.
He wasn’t speaking, clearly he wanted her to speak first. Clearly he had a plan or he had gone insane. She hoped it was insanity because there was no other way for her to ration why he was here now. Why did he leave his room? How did he leave his room, wasn’t there supposed to be guards watching him?
Zachery continued to stare down at her, waiting for her to speak.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, the silence from the table full of ponies echoing deep. It seemed that all of them wanted to see the interaction between the traitorous princess and the nightmare that she smuggled into Equestria.
“I got lost.” Zachery answered, his hands tapping the top of her chair. Unfortunately his nonchalant air loosened the tongues of the ponies in the room.
“See, see! I told you! I told you all!” The Mulberry knight shouted pointing a shaking hoof at Zachery, “She is conspiring to overthrow Princess Celestia with the help of humans!” The Mulberry knight once again was standing up in her chair, “My sources were right! You are under the watchful eye of some of Equestria’s finest ponies, you can’t lie to us. Tell us human, what do you want?”
“Directions back to my room.” Zachery replied barely casting the mulberry knight a glance before looking back down at her, “Hey, Twi. Do you think you can call a guard to lead me back? All the halls here look the same.”
Twi?
“Twi?” She said dumbly not believing she heard the words that came from Zachery’s mouth.
“That’s what I heard the other’s call you. Is it too weird?” Zachery said, and he actually looked concerned that he was overstepping. What the hell was going on?
And again he was left waiting for her response, “No, no that’s fine.” Her voice sounded too shaky and cracked a little in her response. She powered through stronger, “I’ll send for somepony to get you.”
She jumped at the bang that sounded across from her, more so at the cracking of wood as hooves splintered the conference table.
Big Mac stared down at the grains in the wood and the cracks he made. The two ponies closest to him shrunk away as his helmet clattered loudly to a stop on the tiled floor. The large farm-pony struggled with keeping his breath, each flare of his nostrils letting out a hissing puff of steam. Finally he raised his head, eyebrows furrowed he looked at her, “Twilight, I want him to stay.”
“Big Mac, you don’t understand-”
“What I don’t understand is why you keep lying to me!” Big Mac snapped, “All I ask is that you tell me the truth, but all you do is lie and lie!” The table shuttered again as Big Mac’s stomp widened the cracks, “Let me know that it wasn’t a mistake to trust you. Let there be at least one bit of truth in this room.”
Again her actions had caused pain. Her lies that were meant to make the ponies believe in her did the opposite of just that.
She wanted to say yes, to say that she would do everything in her power to rebuild the trust she lost, but, “Big Mac, I can’t make Zachery do something that he doesn’t want to do.”
“I don’t mind staying a little longer.” Zachery said shrugging, stepping away from her chair and pulling out a unoccupied one beside her, “All I was going to do anyway was sleep.”
His face tight with anger Big Mac asked, “Can you answer questions?”
“If I know the answer to them, sure. I would be happy to answer any questions that you have.” Zachery said, and Twilight was again unnerved by his smile. It looked real. Too real. Zachery’s statement breathed air back into the room, and with fresh lungs the shouting started as everypony at once yelled questions at the human. Zachery looked startled as he was overcome by yelling reporters and knights shaking their hooves. He looked awkward, and his attempts to quiet the ponies down were thoroughly ignored.
And it was all so fake. This wasn’t the Zachery that she knew. It couldn’t be further from his true self.
Zachery shifted in his chair. He looked so uncomfortable. Like a foal standing alone during a class presentation, sweating as his teacher refused to call off the scrutiny of his classmates.
If she didn’t know him she would have believed this front. This front that made the ponies verbally attacking him feel safe enough to do so.
He looked at her, his eyes pleading that she help him with the onslaught that he was helpless to stop.
The fight between him and the thing in Celestia’s body came back to her. He wasn’t helpless to stop them. He just couldn’t stop them in a way that wouldn’t end in bloodshed.
Icy vines of realization constricted around her gut as she called for order, and wondered just how much Zachery was faking.