Here's the final edited chapter to The Pegasus Artist, and it will determine what's gonna happen to Vincent van Colt...

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Part 6: Forgive and Forget

Vincent groaned as he got himself out of bed. That dream he had last night with Princess Luna stuck in his mind as he went downstairs; he had plenty to think about and thought of what to do. After a quick shower and drying off, he brewed himself some tea. All this time, he hadn't said so much as one word, apart from the occasional breathing.

As he sipped his tea, Vincent heard the sound of knocking on the front door. Setting his cup down, he stood up and walked over to the door. The door had lock chain maze, and since the pin was at the starting point of the maze, Vincent easily opened the door just wide enough only to find none other than…

"Twilight? What are you doing here?"

"Erm, hi, Vincent," said Twilight, feeling slightly nervous, "I know you're probably still angry over what went on a few weeks ago, if you know what I mean, but all of us gathered here to speak with you."

Vincent raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean, 'all of us'? I only see you."

"If you open the door a bit wider, you'll see for yourself."

"Hmm..." Vincent looked away for a few seconds, and then he turned back to Twilight.

"Just hold on a minute, Twilight," he said, before closing the door. Vincent turned to the lock chain, and began shifting the peg across the maze.

"Ah, come on," he groaned in annoyance, when he got lost after a minute or two, "gotta get it replaced with something that isn't complicated…!"

At last, Vincent removed the peg, and opened the door.

"Sorry I took so long, Twilight," he said, "just had a bit of complications with my door… lock… chain…"

Vincent's mouth was agape with awe; it wasn't just Twilight who was in front of the Metrostallion House of Art – there was Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershsy, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Fictionary, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Snips, Snails, Miss Cheerilee, and even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon!

"How is it-?" he began, unable to come up with anything to say.

"It was for your own good, big brother," said Fictionary, and explained everything, "I know you might be upset, but when you got sent to the hospital, I brought our family photo album with me to tell Twilight and the others about you and your troubled past."

"You what?!"

"I didn't want to hide your secrets any longer, and like I said, for your own good."

"I see… Now how the hay did you rally up everypony here?"

"Not long after you… ahem, 'abandoned' me, quote-unquote," continued Fictionary, "I went to Golden Oak Library and told Twilight about what you were planning to do."

"The first thing I did," Twilight added, picking up where Fictionary left off, "was to tell everypony you were familiar with here in Ponyville, along with those involved in your almost-downfall, to meet up outside here."

"I see, and how did Princess Luna knew of my troubles?" asked Vincent. There was silence before Twilight spoke up again.

"Let's just say we met her in our dreams and explained everything," the light purple unicorn shrugged.

"Her duty, I presume? And before you ask, yes, she told me." Vincent paused, in case anypony else wanted to speak up. "I assume you're all here for a particular reason…"

"We just didn't know why you never told us about your secrets in the first place," said Rainbow Dash.

"Well, Rainbow, it's because I was worried about what others would think," admitted Vincent, "I did try to move on, but the memories were way too painful to ignore, and that's why I, erm, lost it."

"As we'd seen, all too well," agreed Pinkie.

"I'm sorry I got angry at you all," continued Vincent, "especially at Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and of course, Fictionary. It wasn't right of me, I see now, and I should have listened to what you were trying to tell me."

There was a pause, and then Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity walked up to Vincent, the three mares standing next to Twilight and Fictionary.

"Vincent van Colt," Rarity began, "I speak for the three us, and it is with most regret that we apologize for accusing you for making up stories about us."

"What Rarity's tryin' to say," said Applejack, "we're sorry for jumping to conclusions."

"That was really twenty percent less cooler from all three of us," said Rainbow Dash, "especially from me!"

"It's all right, you three," Vincent gave a small smile, "I get the message and I forgive you."

"And me?" Fictionary asked hopefully, "I revealed your secrets, I nearly caused you to kill yourself, and I betrayed you… sort of…"

"How can I not forgive my sister?" asked Vincent indignantly, bringing his sister closer to him, "Fictionary, you're still my only family left even if you've done crazy things and tease me about my fear of heights…"

"You're a Pegasus that's afraid of heights?" asked Spike, "That's-"

"Ironic, I know," finished Vincent, "I don't know why, but they freak me out, even if I'm only, say, ten feet in the air."

"I know what that's like," said Fluttershy.

"With me 'round, you probably won't have to fear heights anymore!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, we'll see, Dashie," Vincent scoffed, chuckling. This was met with a few giggles.

"A few of my students, too, have some apologizes to make as well," said Miss Cheerilee, giving a "hinting" look towards Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

Snips and Snails went up to Vincent. "Snails and I are sorry for being involved with spreading those lies about you," said Snips, "neither of us knew we were being used as pawns that nearly brought you down."

"But we don't look anything like chess pieces," said Snails, confused.

"He means somepony used to further the purposes of another," said Twilight.

"She's right, and of course, I understand, boys," Vincent told them, "I'm not mad at you, but I am cross with them," he added, glaring at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "I expect you won't be telling lies about me after you nearly got me to a sticky end?"

Everypony else was also glaring at the two Earth fillies (and that included Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie too).

"What's everypony staring at us for?" grumbled Diamond Tiara.

"Don't ya have anythin' to say to Fictionary's big brother?" asked Apple Bloom.

"If you say it, we'll stop staring at you," said Scootaloo.

"Even I think they mean it," Silver Spoon whispered to her friend.

Diamond Tiara sighed in annoyance before speaking again. "We're sorry that we made up those false lies about you," she said to Vincent, through her teeth.

"And we will never, ever do it again," finished Silver Spoon.

"That's what we wanted to hear," said Sweetie Belle, "and I hope you two will stick true to your word."

"Given it's only towards Vincent," Apple Bloom noted, "you know how they can be."

Vincent smiled again; although she was blunt to him, Diamond Tiara apologizing was good enough for him.

"Well, it looks like all's well that ends well," he said to the small crowd, "and it looks like it won't be necessary for me to pack out my suitcases."

"You mean…?" asked Fictionary hopefully.

For the first time in years, Vincent had a big smile on his face. "I'm staying here in Ponyville from now on!"

This was met with cheers from everypony else, apart from Diamond Tiara; even Silver Spoon quietly applauded.

"This calls for a PAR-TAY!"

Vincent flew up in surprise; Pinkie Pie had popped from out of nowhere behind him.

"That's one thing I need to get used to," he chuckled.

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Later in the day at Golden Oak Library, Vincent was writing a friendship report to Princess Celestia. Next to him was a canvas wrapped up in brown paper and strings.

"Dear Princess Celestia,

This is Vincent van Colt, a new friend to Twilight Sparkle. Over the last few months I'd been in Ponyville, I've learned three extremely important lessons in friendship; first being is that what bullies think about you doesn't matter. It's what you think about yourself that's really important.

A second lesson I also learned to put the past behind me, because, as your sister Luna put it, the more I thought about it, the more pain I felt in my heart.

The third and final friendship lesson, to me, is that you should always depend on your friends to help you even in your darkest days. I have Twilight to thank for showing me that, and without her, who knows what I'd be doing now?

Your humble subject,

Vincent van Colt.

P.S.: I've attached this letter to a package I've sent you as well. See for yourself for what it is; I bet you'll love it!"

Vincent put down the pencil he held in his hoof, and handed Spike the letter. The baby dragon scrolled up the letter and wrapped it in red ribbon with a gold button that bore the letter C for "Celestia".

"Attach this to the package, and its next stop is Canterlot castle," said Vincent proudly.

"Given your art skills," said Twilight, "I'm more than certain she'll love what you've made for her and Luna."

"Years ago, I was unappreciated for my skills," agreed Vincent, "hopefully years from now, I will be appreciated!"

Apart from Twilight, Vincent, and Spike, also inside the library were Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Fictionary. They were all glad to have a friend in Vincent (brother in Fictionary's case) and were happy he was choosing to stay in Ponyville.

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Like Vincent hoped for, his package and letter to Princess Celestia arrived at Canterlot castle. She stood at her throne room with Princess Luna at her side, and two gray unicorn guards stood in front of them. Suddenly, the doors opened, and a third guard walked up to them followed by a fourth bringing in a thin, light brown package in strings with a scroll attached.

"Your Highnesses," said the third guard, "a package from Ponyville by a Mr. Vincent van Colt."

"Let us see what he's brought us," said Princess Celestia as she took the letter, letting her sister deal with the package.

As Princess Celestia had finished reading the latest friendship report, Princess Luna had unwrapped the package and gaped in awe; it was an extremely accurate painting of her and Princess Celestia! The princesses in the painting stood on a grassy field, both smiling. Luna's side had a night sky and moon, while Celestia's had a day sky and sun. Both princesses were smiling happily at one another.

"Oh my," Princess Celestia said in delight, "Twilight's new friend Vincent does have wonderful talent!"

"It looks so like us," agreed Princess Luna, "where should we hang it, dear sister?"

Princess Celestia smiled broadly. "I think I know just the place," she replied, looking at a wall of portraits.

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Some time later, Princess Celestia thanked Vincent for the painting he done for her and Luna, and he was grateful that somepony of royalty appreciated his talents. To him, living in Liverhoof was a little dull, even with the friends he had there, and although Vincent put much of his past behind him, he was still touchy on a few certain subjects.

Fictionary has changed as well; she was quite cheeky and mischevious at times, but has matured and become wiser since her brother flipped out, and she often spends some sisterly time with Twilight. She and Vincent long to join the Mane Six on an adventure someday, but little did they know they would get their chance...

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And now we've reached the finale of the edited version of The Pegasus Artist! I feel that I've invoked the three basic emotions perfectly; anger, sadness and joy. Of course, Vincent's story is far from over, for it's only just beginning, as he said. Risky Romance is next, but before that, there will be two one-shots; one about Vincent, the other about Fictionary.

Look out for more of Royals, Friends and Lovers very soon!