Crimson walked up to the door to the study and heard a noise inside. It sounded like cackling. He opened the door to see a red pony sitting by the window. Crimson was suprised to see that it looked just like him. The only differences were that his coat was darker and his cutie mark was a black feather instead of a phoenix feather. The other pony stood up and looked straight at Crimson.

"Hello Crimson." he said as he smirked. Crimson stared at this other pony, assuming that he was the one leaving messages in his journal. "You're the one aren't you? It was you reading my journal wasn't it?!" Crimson shouted, struggling to keep his composure. "Well of course it was me. After all, you did already come to that conclusion." "What are you talking about? I came to the conclusion that it was me doing it somehow. Wait, how did you even know about what I have been thinking? Who are you anyway?!" The other pony was standing there smiling, resisting the temptation to laugh. "Haven't you figured it out yet? Surely you must know who I am by now. The answer has been staring at you in the face for two days. Whatever happened to that brain of yours? Surely you didn't leave it behind when you got seperated from your parents." Crimson was getting angry at this point. This pony was taunting him, and he did not like it one bit. "How dare you?! How dare you bring up that incident!? Don't ever talk about my past! How do you even know about that?! I never told anyone here about what happened all those years ago!"

The other pony sat down before continuing his taunting. "You know Crimson, I thought you were actually okay with what happened thirteen years ago. After all, you never had a problem telling people about it on your travels. You were alright explaining it to those two ponies who took you in for a while. I know all about you Crimson. I've been watching you from the very beginning. I know about your childhood, the kidnapping, your parents, your life on the run and your new life here. Surely you can tell me who I am now. Come on Crimson. Show me that you can at least get this one right. I don't want to have to spoil the moment for you. Where's the fun in that?"

Crimson was completely enraged now, but at the same time, he felt hopeless. This other pony was sitting there, spilling the contents of his past that he kept a locked secret and he had no idea who or what this pony was. "I don't know. Who are you? Why are you doing this? Please, tell me that much at least. The mysterious pony stood up once more. "How about another hint instead? I wrote it down in your journal." He stood aside and revealed the open journal on the table. Crimson slowly walked over and glanced down at the page. There were three words written on the page in front of him.

"I am you." Next Chapter: Into the Abyss Estimated time remaining: 12 Minutes