Crimson thought about it for another moment and realised that the only one who could have done all this, was himself. "Its the only logical conclusion. I don't know why I'm doing this though. Not like it matters. At least now I know that I have nothing to worry about." He picked up his journal and walked back to the study. "If there really is nopony else reading this, then I can keep writing. Besides, maybe this will help make me feel better." Crimson said to himself as he opened the book and wrote another entry with his tatty old quill.

"I don't know what is happening to me right now. Perhaps all the stress and worry is making me believe there is something to worry about. All I know is, I need to keep writing. Its the only thing keeping me calm now. If I don't pour my inner demons into this book, then who knows where they may end up. I can't let people know the truth. If they knew that I merely use them like tools, then my life would be ruined. I can't let that happen. I just hope that I don't go insane from all of this."

He closed the book after finishing his entry and put the quill back on the shelf. "Is it safe to put it back on the bookshelf?" he thought to himself for a moment. After thinking it was alright, he put it back in its usual place, assuming that it will be fine there, as long as his deductions were correct. Crimson then went downstairs and carried on with his day. He decided to keep the store closed today, which gave him more time to get his other jobs done. After dealing with his housework, he went out to get some shopping done.

While he was wandering around town, other ponies were all looking at him curiously. Crimson could hear them saying things like "Doesn't Crimson seem strange to you?" and "I sure hope he's okay. Apparently he is going through some trouble lately." He chose to ignore the idle gossip and continued with his shopping. He wandered by the local fruit stand and the vendor saw how distressed Crimson was. "You alright kid?" he asked while trying to look Crimson in the eye. Crimson looked away from him. "I'm fine. I just came down here for some more food." He started to put some food into his bag while the vendor just stood there, trying to figure out what was wrong. "Here. Keep the change." Crimson said quietly as he gave the other pony more than enough bits to pay for his food and silently walked off. "I hope that boy gets out from under those dark clouds soon."

Crimson finished up the last of his shopping while avoiding conversations with anyone around him. He came back home later to find a seemingly empty house. He put the food away, had a quick snack and walked up to his study again. He didn't know why, but he felt that there was something waiting for him there. Next Chapter: The Painful Truth Estimated time remaining: 14 Minutes