Crimson and Twilight walked through the huge orchard, looking for Applejack. They heard a rather loud banging noise that seemed to repeat itself. Twilight started running towards it and Crimson followed. When they found the cause of the noise, what they saw was an orange earth pony with a blonde mane that was tied back and covered by a brown cowboy hat. "Hey there Applejack." Twilight said with a smile as she walked over. Crimson decided to go and re-introduce himself.

Before he could say anything, Applejack spoke first. "Well howdy Crimson. 'Aint seen ya in a while. How come your back here in Ponyville anyhow?"

"Long story short, my life in the valley got a little complicated. I'd tell you more, but it would be a lot to take in." Crimson said, trying to avoid telling everyone about Bleeding Heart at once. Twilight nodded in agreement, since she could tell Crimson wasn't too willing to tell his story more than once today.

"Well its mighty nice to see ya back here. Ah was just gonna head over to Sugarcube Corner since ah'm done with the apple buckin'. Ya'll wanna come with me?"

"We would be happy to. The more the merrier after all." Twilight seemed very cheerful. Crimson wasn't sure why, but he was also feeling a little happier. He considered if it was actually him being around more friends that made things seem better. He soon discarded these thoughts and started talking to the others as they walked.

"Hey Crimson, ah got a question for ya. Mind if ah ask?" Applejack asked, curiously staring at him.

"Only if you promise to stop staring at me. Its a little freaky." Crimson chuckled a little, causing Twilight to do the same.

"Alright, alright. Anyway, ya seem mighty different from how ya used to be a couple years back. What happened out in the valley?" Applejack seemed pretty serious with her question. Crimson began to wonder if he really had changed that much.

"Well I'm gonna keep this cut short. We're almost at Sugarcube Corner anyway. When I was in the valley, I was hiding a lot of things from the ponies I lived around. I was writing a lot of things in the journal in my bag. I suppose you could say I was hiding a part of myself." Crimson took the journal out and showed it to Applejack. She took the journal and began reading through it. "I eventually told them what I had been hiding and as I expected, not everyone was so accepting and forgiving. I decided I needed to move on again, so I returned to Ponyville."

"This is how ya really feel Crimson? Ah'm kinda suprised. Ya never acted this way around us. Why did ya hide all this?" Applejack stopped for a moment and put her hoof around him. "Ya don't need to hide things like that from friends. We're all the same. Everypony's got somethin' they wanna hide. Its just a part of who ya are. Promise that ya won't hide anythin' from me, please."

"I promise. My days of living behind a mask have ended. I won't hide anything from you Applejack. You have my word." Crimson smiled and hugged her and she hugged back. Crimson knew that they were going to be great friends.

They let go of each other and started heading towards Sugarcube Corner once again. The rest of the walk was filled with light conversation. Crimson felt a little guilty about promising to hide nothing from Applejack, yet concealing Bleeding Heart's existence from her. Despite this guilt, he knew it was better that way. Once they arrived, Applejack opened the door and walked in first, the other two following behind. As soon as Crimson walked in, he saw a pink blur and then found himself lying on the ground, a cheerful pink earth pony staring at him with her sparkly blue eyes.

"I remember you. You're Crimson, right? Of course I'm right. I know everypony in Ponyville. I remember the first time I saw you and because I didn't recognise you, I was really suprised. Then I found out who you were and I threw you that huge welcome party so you could make loads of new friends. I got really sad when you left but now that you're back I'm super happy again. I think I should throw you a party to welcome you back. Won't that be fun?" The pony looked like she was going to explode from excitement, but Crimson already knew of her rather eccentric behaviour.

"Its nice to see you too Pinkie Pie. Would you mind helping me up?" Crimson chuckled and held his hoof out, waiting for Pinkie give him some assistance. She helped him up and then walked over to one of the tables near the back. "Anypony want any cupcakes? I just made a fresh batch." She passed a cupcake to each of them.

Applejack ate her's in one bite. "Great as always Pinkie Pie. What's your secret?" She knew Pinkie wouldn't tell anyone what secret ingredients she puts into her cupcakes, but she always found it funny to hear her random responses.

"Well if you really must know, I always put in a dash of love. Thats the real secret to making great cupcakes." Pinkie chuckled, knowing Applejack wouldn't believe her.

Twilight and Crimson ate their cupcakes as well. Twilight enjoyed the taste, but Crimson acted as though it was the best thing he had ever had in his life. "This cupcake is fantastic. Its been so long since I've eaten anything this good. Got any more?"

The rest of them laughed while Pinkie got him another cupcake. Crimson grabbed it and wolfed it down. Twilight and Applejack couldn't stop laughing. Pinkie decided to grab the tray and put it in front of Crimson. "Go ahead and have the rest. I can make up a fresh batch in no time anyway. Its great to see that you still love my baking." Pinkie was really pleased to see Crimson again. A huge smile lit up her face and it was clear that it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Oh yeah. Mind if I ask you something Crimson?" Pinkie seemed curious about something and Crimson was pretty sure what it was. He nodded, while still munching on her cupcakes. "How come you're back here in Ponyville anyway? I thought you had a new life somewhere else. Not that I don't like it that you're back here. I'm just wondering."

Crimson raised a hoof at her, letting her know that he understood and that she could stop talking. He then looked at Twilight and pointed to his bag, in an attempt to ask her to explain his situation. He didn't think it was wise to talk with a mouth full of baked goods.

Twilight grabbed the journal from his bag and walked up to Pinkie. "Ooh what kind of book is that? It looks really important." Pinkie took the journal and started reading through it randomly.

"That book is Crimson's journal. While he was living in the valley, he hid all of his true feelings in that book. Eventually the guilt of hiding it got to him and he decided to confess to the ponies living there. Some accepted and forgave him. Others didn't. He then decided that it would be best if he just left the valley and went somewhere else. He came back here because he still knew a few ponies and thought it would be better that way."

Crimson nodded, letting them know that Twilight was correct in her explanation, while still eating the last couple of cupcakes on the tray. Pinkie continued to read through the journal and when she had finished, she dropped it and walked over to Crimson. He looked up and she instantly hugged him. "Its alright Crimson. I don't care about how you really feel. What matters is that you are still my friend. I know you care about us. Otherwise you wouldn't have come back to Ponyville. Please promise me you'll stay this time."

Crimson nodded faster, his face turning blue from how tight she was hugging him. As soon as she let go, he started gasping for breath. "Not so tight next time Pinkie. I almost fainted." She apologised and took the tray back into the kitchen.

Twilight looked at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was already 3pm. "Sorry everypony, but I need to get going. Spike is coming back from Canterlot soon and I promised to be there when he arrives." She waved to the others as she left Sugarcube Corner.

Applejack then decided that it was time for her to leave too. "Ah'm sorry Crimson but if ah don't get back to the farm soon, Big Macintosh is not gonna be happy. Ah promised to fix up the inside of the barn this afternoon. See ya'll later." She then left and started running back towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Crimson walked into the kitchen to see Pinkie Pie mixing up another batch of cupcakes. "Sorry to leave so suddenly, but I need to get going. I still have to take care of a few things around town."

She smiled at him after putting her batch in the oven. "Okie dokie lokie. I'm still throwing you that party by the way. Its gonna be so much fun. I'll be sure to invite everypony."

"I'm looking forward to it. Anyway, I'll see you later Pinkie. It was nice seeing you again." He grabbed his bag and left Sugarcube Corner. Crimson decided that it was probably best for him to go and find Rarity next. Luckily, the Carousel Boutique was only a short distance away.

As he was walking, Bleeding Heart appeared to talk to Crimson. "Do you really think it was wise for me to appear in front of Twilight and not the others?" Crimson continued walking, saying nothing at all. "Well I don't know what you were thinking, but I hope you know that if they get involved with our business, it will put them in danger."

"What could possibly happen to them? Its not like they are going to be going into my journal anytime soon. You're the only one who can bring anypony in there." Crimson tried to assure him that it was alright, but Bleeding Heart was still concerned.

"I hope you're right about this Crimson. I really do. This is something even I know very little about, which is really worrying me." Bleeding Heart faded away as they arrived at the Carousel Boutique.

Crimson wandered inside to see a white unicorn standing next to a blue pegasus pony in an elegant dress who seemed to be trying to escape. "Um, am I interrupting something here?" Crimson shyly walked up towards them.

The unicorn turned to see Crimson walking towards them. "Crimson, darling. I haven't seen you in such a long time. We should spend some time to catch up, but would you mind helping me something first?" She pointed at the pegasus pony who looked like she was about to tear her own mane out.

"Rarity, I don't think I want to help you torture Rainbow Dash. She looks like she's about to go berserk." Crimson chuckled a little, while watching Rainbow Dash almost rip the dress in half.

"Rainbow Dash! Don't you even think about ripping that dress. It took me hours to create." Rarity's anger was enough to stop Rainbow Dash from actually doing anything, apart from just sitting there. "If you don't like the dress, you should just tell me."

"I did, several times. You know I don't wanna look pretty. If I have to wear a dress, I want it to be as cool as I am. Now can I get out of this thing?" Rainbow Dash didn't wait for Rarity to answer her and just took the dress off straight away.

Rarity sighed, thinking that she was never going to be able to make Rainbow Dash look pretty. "Lets just move on shall we? So Crimson my dear, you never said why you were back in Ponyville. Did you miss me that much?" Rarity had a huge grin on her face, thinking that was the real reason he came back.

"Don't jump to conclusions Rarity. I did miss you guys, but that isn't the only reason I came back. Truth is, my life in the valley started getting pretty hectic about a month ago." Crimson attempted to continue to explain, but Rainbow Dash interrupted him.

"What happened? It must have been pretty bad to make you leave." Rainbow Dash looked as curious as Applejack, and gave him a similar stare.

"Rainbow Dash, do you think you could stop staring at me? Its freaking me out a little." Crimson tried to avoid looking at her.

"Sorry Crimson. I'm just really curious. You are okay with telling us, aren't you?" She looked genuinely sorry. Crimson noticed that everyone he met seemed to care about what happened in the valley. He assumed that they really did care about him.

Once again he grabbed the journal out of his bag and showed it to both of them. "I don't have any problem with showing you. Keeping things hidden from my friends is how I ended up in this situation. I hid all of those things I wrote down from my friends. The things in that journal are all my true feelings, or at least some of the darker ones. I realised that I needed to start telling the truth to my friends. When I did, there were quite a few who did not understand. After a while, I realised that I needed to move on. I hope you guys understand that I'm not completely dark on the inside."

Both of them finished reading the journal and Rarity decided to speak her mind first. "Darling, its alright. I know what its like to hide parts of who you are. I understand why you did it. You don't need to hide anything from me. Promise that you won't ever try to run away from your friends over things like this again."

Rainbow Dash interjected before Crimson could respond. "So you're a little dark inside. Big deal. You still care about your friends. I know it. I mean, you cared enough to come back to Ponyville to see us. If the stuff in that journal was all true, then you wouldn't be standing there talking to us. Promise me that you won't change. I like the real you, not the you thats inside that book."

Crimson smiled. He could tell that they really did care. He was glad to be back around ponies that truly understood him. "Thanks guys. I promise that I won't go back to the way things were before. Ever since I realised that secrets only made things worse, I have changed a lot. From now on, I'm going to leave my dark thoughts behind. I don't need them anymore."

"Glad to hear it. So how long are you gonna be here in Ponyville anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked after handing him back his journal.

"Until I feel ready to return to Canterlot and face everypony I left behind when I got seperated. It could be years though. I don't really want to go back." Crimson put the book back in his bag and looked down. He felt like he had to go back, even if he didn't want to.

"If you don't want to go back, then don't." Rarity looked Crimson right in the eyes. "Darling, don't let anypony control your life. You always were a free spirit. Its who you are. Don't go back just because your parents may have expected you to. Its your life. Live it how you want." Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement.

"Thanks again Rarity. Anyway, I should get going. I still need to find Fluttershy." Crimson said his goodbyes and head out.

He started heading home so he could drop off his bag. Crimson didn't want Fluttershy reading the journal. Although she was very understanding, she was also very sensitive. As his home came into view, he saw a yellow pegasus pony sitting outside his house. He walked up to her and when she noticed Crimson standing there, she looked up and smiled faintly. "Hi Fluttershy. Its nice to see you again." Crimson smiled as he sat down next to her.

"I-its nice to see you too C-Crimson." Fluttershy looked down. Crimson was majorly different and she felt uneasy around him, but she didn't know why.

"Is something wrong? He tried to look at her, but she kept looking away.

"No. I-I'm fine. Its just... n-nothing." Fluttershy clearly had something she wanted to say and Crimson wanted her to say it.

"Fluttershy, you know you can tell me anything. I'm your friend." Crimson smiled in an attempt to console her without making her too afraid.

"Y-you're right. Sorry. Its just that when Twilight said that you came back, I couldn't wait to see you. Then she said you'd changed and it made me worry." Crimson put his hoof around her before she said anything else.

"Its alright Fluttershy. The only change I've gone through, is that I improved my life. You don't need to worry about anything." Crimson smiled. He didn't want to worry Fluttershy with the contents of his journal. He didn't like hiding it, but he knew it was for the best.

The two of them spent the rest of the evening talking with each other. Although Crimson was good friends with all of them, he felt that he was closest with Fluttershy. Even though Fluttershy was always so timid, Crimson always seemed to be able to relax her very easily. He always looked out for Fluttershy and he would never do anything that would upset her. They continued to keep each other company until Fluttershy decided to head home. Crimson then went inside and saw that he still hadn't unpacked. He spent the rest of the evening sorting out all of his things and then went to bed, hoping that the next day would be as pleasant as this one. Next Chapter: The Abyss of Deceit Estimated time remaining: 59 Minutes