Cozy, Cheerilee and I continued to have a chat as a family. Everything was alright for the most part. However, Cozy brought up something that made me a bit concerned.
ā...Pale? Iāve been having these weird dreams lately.ā
My level of anxiety went through the roof. āWhat kind of dreams, kid? I hope itās nothing dangerousā¦ā
She rubbed the back of her head. āWell...itās hard to explain. But I feel like I saw myself watching things come crashing down around me. Itās somewhat of a blur, but I remember being all alone and...gah. Itās not coming back to me.ā
āI see...well when you have more details, you can always come to Cheerilee or myself about it. Right, Cheery?ā
āAbsolutely,ā she replied with a smile, āI expect either of you to come to me if thereās ever a problem. And I intend to do the same. Thatās exactly why Iāve come to love you, Pale.ā
A blush tinged my cheeks because I didnāt really know how to respond to that. āUm...for real?ā
She nodded and continued. āIām serious. Youāre courageous, strong, yet a caring and kind stallion when it matters. You may be a bit er...brutish at times, but thatās what I like about you. Flaws and all.ā
Cozy took a moment to process what Cheerilee had stated. āWait a minute...you still love him despite some of the things heās done? Oh--n-no offense, pops!ā she looked at me with a nervous, pained visage.
āDonāt be sorry, kid. Itās true. We all have flaws and thatās kind of what makes us special. Some aspects of ourselves that canāt just be changed to altered overnight. Some things take time to work through. Look at me,ā I pointed at myself, āIām a bit callous and can make poor decisions if I donāt think things through. But even so, I still do my best to put my personal desires aside when on the job. Thatās not to say itās been completely perfect though...far from it.ā I hung my head down. āIāve done things that are often questionable even by my own standards, kid.ā
ā...so what do you do?ā she asked, āWhat do you do when you realize that youāve made a mistake that you would normally condemn somepony else for?ā
I raised my head up. āI accept whatever comes my way, and make sure I never repeat the same mistake. Only by learning from the missteps we make can we actually improve. Itās as they say: Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.ā
āWowā¦ā Cozy flapped her wings and sighed, āI wish I had known that before I got mixed up with a bunch of supervillains.ā
Cheerilee came back in. āWe have already deduced that that wasnāt your fault, dear. You were a child. Unable to form complex, nuanced thoughts and opinions beyond what you were spoonfed about the outside world. Ultimately, Pale, myself, his friends, and everyone eventually came to the conclusion that your life was--dare I say it--completely unfair and that you deserved a second chance once we knew you were mentally ready.ā
The pink pegasus sniffled, and wiped away a tear from her eye. ā...Thank you both. So much.ā
Knock-knock-knock.
My ear flicked. Now who could that be? Did Cheerilee expect someone else?
I looked at the door, then at her. āUm, Cheery? Are you--?ā
She got up with a shrug of her shoulders. āNot at all. I wasnāt expecting anyone else today. I wonder who it could beā¦ā She opened the door, and gave a greeting. āHello?ā
To my utter shock, it was Spectacle. The brownish unicorn mare had returned with eyes filled with tears. āAre you...Ms. Cheerilee? The one who is currently engaged to Pale Vestige?ā
Cheerilee hesitated, and replied with a slow nod. āI...am. Why?ā
The mare dropped to her knees with an earnest sob. āPlease...please forgive me. I never wanted to bring harm to your husband or your relationship! I foolishly made the mistake of joining up with a monster that I thought would grant me what I want. But in the end, I just made everything worse not only for myself, but for everypony elseā¦ā
Cheerileeās eye twitched. It was almost as if she had the urge to haul off on this mare, but she withheld it. The amount of restraint she displayed was powerful enough to leave several cracks within the floorboards.
āI...I understand. You were doing what you thought was best for your family. But in the future, please keep in mind that nopony in this world is going to look out for them other than yourself,ā she explained in a calm tone.
Spectacleās whimpers slowed to a stop as she stood up. āI wonāt ever make that mistake again. I promise. I-Iāll do anything to make it up to you all. He didnāt deserve what happened to him, and I want to atone for what I have done.ā
An eerie silence filled the air.
Cozy leaned over and whispered to me. āUm...pops. Is mom okay?ā
From the dining room table, we could witness an almost...dark and demonic sort of glint in Cheerileeās eyes. This was absolutely not good. Tranquil fury was among some of the scariest types of anger due to how much we feared the unknown. Part of me wanted to interject and pull Cheerilee back down to earth, but I sure as shit wasnāt about to--at least not yet.
ā...Hang on, kiddo. Letās allow this to play out for now. You never know what someone like Cheery is planning.ā
At last, she replied to the unicornās inquiry. āAnything, you say?ā
š Again, no comments. I wholeheartedly love this family dynamic!
I wish Trixie was like this after the alicorn amulet fiasco. It would sell her redemption quite well without several episodes screwing it up.
š Uh-oh.
š± UH-OH! Wrong choice of words!
10679224
Yeah if only. XD