Some Secrets Are Better Left Untold 2...
Chapter 12: A series of awkward conversations...
Previous ChapterA SERIES OF AWKWARD CONVERSATIONS
A few days after the appearance of the castle, Twilight walked over to Scootaloo's house with full intent on telling them everything...
"Oh, Princess Twilight! What brings you over here? Do you have news regarding Scootaloo's mother?" The mare asked asked with wide smile.
The Alicorn took a deep breath and let it out before she spoke. "As a matter of fact, I do. May I come in?" She said calmly despite the fact that her nerves were shot.
"Yes, Yes, of course!" The mare replied and allowed the Alicorn inside.
"I think Scootaloo should be here for this as well." Twilight remarked as she sat down in the same chair she had last time.
"Oh yes, of course!" The mare exclaimed in an excited tone, turned about face and called out the filly's name.
Once Scootaloo and her parents were properly seated, the mare began or rather she would have but she was still trying to summon up the confidence to speak. "Now I know how Fluttershy feels…" The Alicorn thought to herself dismally.
"Princess Twilight?" The stallion asked with a mildly concerned expression. "This isn't bad news is it?" He asked hesitantly.
"No, No! It's just hard to talk about." The Alicorn replied and sighed once again. "Okay, so before I begin, you all must swear to me, your promise to not allow what I am about to tell you three to leave this house." The Alicorn began which caused even Scootaloo to give the Alicorn an apprehensive look.
The filly simply figured that her mom came here to tell them that she was her mother but this, as it seemed, was a whole lot more than simply telling them that.
"Very well… we promise." The mare finally said though she sounded unsure though Scootaloo and her husband nodded in agreement.
"Okay, so lets get the easiest part out of the way, I'm Scootaloo's mother." Twilight said simply but the couple's reaction was far from what she expected.
For starters, the stallion's face scrunched up moments before she burst out laughing, while the mare's expression showed one of much more restraint yet it was clear she was fighting the urge to join her husband in this bout of laughter. "S-Surely you jest, your highness." The mare managed to say despite her voice cracking a giggle or two between words.
The Alicorn however kept her face straight and serious. Once the couple realized she wasn't laughing along with her husband, the mare promptly slapped her husband over the back of the head. "Honey, she's not joking!" the mare hissed at which point the stallion immediately stopped laughing and gawked at her.
"Y-You mean, Scootaloo's…" The stallion begin only to seemingly unable to bring himself to say the obvious.
"Royalty, yes." Twilight replied calmly.
It was at this point that the couple looked at Scootaloo whom was smiling broadly. "Y-You knew?" The mare stuttered out.
"Not until recently." Twilight interjected quickly as to spare the filly being forced to answer any possible questions she may be uncomfortable with answering
"H-How… Wh-When?" was the next thing that sputtered out of the stallion's mouth without thinking.
Upon hearing this question, the Alicorn bit her lower lip with a nervous expression, took a deep breath, let it out, and began to speak. "It was many years ago, back way before my ascension to princess hood." Twilight began only to stop, take another breath and let it out before continuing.
"I was young, rather impulsive, and deeply in love with a stallion. Though our parents would never approve of such a relationship." Twilight replied, the unease and nervousness in her face so thick that it could be cut with a knife.
"I assume it was with a stallion your parents would not approve of being the father?" The mare asked curiously.
"You have no idea." Twilight replied and let out a light laugh in an effort to ease her nerves which were quickly becoming shot.
"W-Well that's why you're here, is it not? To give us an idea?" The stallion asked, as if attempting to pressure the Alicorn into telling them more. Not that she needed it, she was going to tell them everything anyways but the pressure to tell didn't make it any easier.
"Without giving too many details of that night that Scootaloo was conceived, I snuck into his bedroom after… the parents were asleep and well you know the rest." Twilight explained though she trailed off mid-sentence and beat around the bush as it were. She wasn't quite ready to drop the bombshell on the three yet.
"Yeah, you rode my dad like nothing funny, right?!" Scootaloo exclaimed with a cheesy grin only to cause Twilight's face to go redder than a cheery and the couple to shoot dirty looks at the filly.
"Scootaloo! We raised you much better than to speak such vulgar language aloud!" The mare scolded the filly before looked at Twilight with a guilty expression. "S-Sorry, not my place anymore is it?" The mare stuttered slightly with a weak smile.
"N-No, it's fine. You did after all raise her all these years and I can't begin to say how grateful I am for this." Twilight replied quickly much to the delight of the couple whom smiled at her now.
"So… and I'm sure this will not be easy for you to answer but, why did you give her up?" The mare asked after a short silence between the group.
The momentary break from the topic had helped ease the princess's nerves somewhat but it didn't make this any easier for her as she spoke. "It wasn't my choice, it was princess Celestia's." Twilight said simply which was met with gasps from the couple as they placed a hoof over their respective mouths.
"Why would the princess do such a thing?! You were her student correct? Did she value your studies so much more than your newborn daughter, that she would deny you the right to raise your own daughter?!" The mare exclaimed, clearly pissed off with the regal sister.
Seeing the mare so pissed off filled Twilight with a sense of relief since she now knew she was not alone in being extremely pissed off with her former mentor. "It was a little more complicated than that." Twilight said simply and sighed as she looked at Scootaloo whom seemed to be taking all this information rather well, all things considered.
"Surely the father wasn't somepony who would cause harm to Scootaloo, was he?" The stallion spoke up now with a similar upset expression.
"No, No! Shin-erm I mean, he would never!" Twilight exclaimed only to nearly let the bombshell slip from her lips though she was quick to cover it up.
"Then why didn't you or the father stop her?" The mare asked her anger with the regal sister upsetting her even more now.
"We tried but she performed a memory alteration spell on the both of us. I-I can't say what happened to Scootaloo after that because the details are still really fuzzy. Suffice it to say, neither of us ever knew we ever we had a daughter." Twilight replied which was met with another round of shocked gasps from the couple and even Scootaloo who now looked just as pissed off as the couple was.
"Why would she do such a thing?! What possible reasoning could she have for making you forget you ever had Scootaloo?!" The mare asked aloud, her anger so thick with the Alicorn, Celestia herself might have choked on it if she were to walk into the house at the moment.
Here it was, the moment the Alicorn had been dreading from the moment she had started this conversation. Part of her thought it would be best to lie to the couple and Scootaloo but another part of her felt that enough problems had been caused by keeping secrets and telling lies and that they deserved to know, no matter how they may judge her.
"Becuase..." Twilight began though she trailed off, summoning every ounce of courage she had to speak the following words: "Scootaloo's father is... my brother." She said finally though her voice nearly cracked as she said the last two words of her sentence and slammed her eyes shut with a flinching reflex as if expecting them to throttle her or something.
Another round of gasps filled the room followed by a very tense silence. The mare stared at Twilight as if she had just said the unbelievable while the stallion looked as if he was about ready to retch on the spot.
The silence was the worst torture imaginable to the Alicorn, she would have rathered them sling insults of how sick and twisted she was, how she should be locked in tartarus and never released, anything but this horrible and agonizing silence.
It was not until the Alicorn felt a hoof touch her cheek and flinched only to feel no impact or pain, that she opened her eyes and looked to see who it was. Scootaloo stood next to her, her hoof running along her cheek, smiling at her.
"Don't worry, mom. No matter what anypony says about you, you'll always be my mother." Scootaloo said softly.
These words brought tears to the Alicorn's eyes as she leaned forward and embraced her daughter tightly, letting out joyfull sobs. Scootaloo had not judged her, rejected her, or hated her as she had feared she would.
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At the exact moment this conversation was taking place, Rarity sat in her bedroom with Spike sitting a few inches to her left, neither one speaking. That is until Rarity spoke. "Sp-Spike, I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am for all this. I-I used you for my own perverted sexual fantasies." Rarity said softly, though she stuttered and her voice cracked as she spoke.
"I know…" Spike replied calmly though his voice sounded hurt. "Is that all you asked me to come over for? Because if it is, I need to get back to the library and organize books." he added as he made a motion to hop down from the bed only for Rarity to stop him.
"Spike, please. Let me finish." The unicorn said quickly in hopes of keeping him sitting next to her a little longer. When he made no motion to continue leaving, she continued. "I… wasn't entirely truthful when I said that that I didn't love you." Rarity remarked softly which caused Spike to look at her with a hopeful expression.
"You mean you do love me?" he asked the excitement in his voice a little too obvious.
"Spike, please don't make assumptions." Rarity replied much to the young drake's disappointment.
"So you don't love me?" He asked, disappointment filling his voice.
"Would you let me finish?!" Rarity snapped at the drake only to sigh. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you." She apologized, took and deep breath and continued. "I-I do feel something for you but I can't say that its love…" Rarity said softly as she looked over at Spike who looked mildly confused at the moment.
"What I'm trying to say is… I want to start over." Rarity said calmly despite the nervousness in her voice.
"You mean you want to date me still?" Spike asked, the excitement and hope in his voice much more obvious than he had meant it to be.
"Y-Yes but this time, lets take things much more slowly." Rarity replied as she allowed a smile to wash over her face.
"More slowly? What do you mean?" The young drake asked. Despite Spike being only a few years younger than Twilight, it was clear to the unicorn that his youthful look said much more about him other than his looks. It spoke of inexperience and even innocence, innocence that Rarity thought she had all but stolen completely from the dragon.
"Well, for starters, you could take me out on a few dates and we'll see how things progress from there." Rarity said with a smile as she wrapped a hoof around the young drake and embraced him.
"So… no more sex?" Spike asked candidly which caused the both of them to blush furiously.
"Ahem! Um...erm...well…" Rarity began to say only to feel her words falter. "W-We'll see! If the mood presents itself and I'm okay with it…" Rarity began to say only to trail off. "Look, lets just take things as they come, okay darling?" Rarity finally managed to say despite feeling thoroughly flustered about the topic. What the unicorn really wanted to say was: "Are you bucking crazy?! Of course not! If you think I could go a week without your dick buried between my haunches, you're out of your little dragon mind!" though these words never left her lips as she kissed the drake affectionately on the forehead.
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Also happening at nearly the same time as Twilight's conversation was Rainbow Dash and Applejack bucking trees in the orchard. "Ya know, this whole experience really has made me really start thinkin' about things." Applejack said just before she bucked the tree really hard.
"Yeah? Like what?" Rainbow Dash asked after she bucked a tree with her hind hooves and looked at the farm pony.
"Well for starters…" Applejack said only to trail off as she bucked another Apple Tree and caused its contents to spill into the barrels below. "Ah reckon that I should have been more honest with ya. Ah should have told ya that I was worried you hadn't jumped to mah side of the fence as fast as you had." The farm mare replied as she turned to look at the cyan blue Pegasus with a guilty expression.
Upon hearing this, Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head with her right hoof and sighed. "Well, you kinda had the right idea, sorta." Rainbow Dash replied with a guilty expression of her own. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I had totally nothing to do with those stallions showing up and all but…" Rainbow Dash replied only to trail off for a few moments.
Upon hearing this, Applejack walked up to Rainbow Dash and gave her a worried look as she spoke. "But what?" she asked her voice abnormally soft and worried.
"Well, I kinda had been having second thoughts all week but not for the reasons you think. It's just that I have been wondering if this is the right thing for me." Rainbow Dash replied as she continued to rub the back of her head nervously.
"So let me get this straight, ya been having second thoughts about bein' attracted to mares?" Applejack asked though her expression looked far more confused than worried at the moment as the cyan blue Pegasus wasn't being perfectly clear in what she was saying.
"Huh? No, way! I'm totally still into mares! No way is this mare going to go into denial again!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed defensively as she sat down and comically waved her front hooves in front of her.
"Then what the hay is it, Rainbow?! Yer beatin' around the bush here!" Applejack snapped impatiently.
Once again, the cyan blue Pegasus put her right hoof behind her head and rubbed it nervously. "Its kinda been about us." She finally admitted and sighed. "I mean, I kinda rushed into this without really thinking things through." She continued and sighed once again.
"Ya have a bad habit of doin' that." Applejack replied with a mildly annoyed look before sighing herself. "Ah think we both kinda did. Ah know Ah already told ya this but Ah've been crushin' on ya for the longest time and that night when ya bared yer heart to me, Ah thought it was too good to be true. Problem is, that was just it. Ah began wonderin' if it really was 'too good to be true' and before Ah knew it, Ah found mahself doubtin' if ya really did love me." Applejack replied and sighed.
"Yeah, same here." Rainbow Dash replied softly which was followed by an awkward silence between the two.
That is until Applejack spoke. "So uh, look. Maybe we should just go back to bein' friends?" Applejack suggested uneasily.
"You mean, you wanna break up with me?" Rainbow Dash asked her facial expression looking hurt.
"Not really but ya said it yerself. We both kinda rushed into this and Ah don't know if this can really work out between us after all that's happened. I know this ain't what ya want to hear but its the honest truth." Applejack said softly, her tone anything but its usual chipper self.
Rainbow Dash looked at the farm mare as yet another awkward silence ensued between the mares before she sighed aloud. "I guess you're right." Rainbow Dash replied as a tear streaked down her cheek only to wipe it away and force a smile on her face. "But we can still be friends with benefits, right?" She asked doing her best to sound as if she was cracking a bad joke.
Upon hearing this, Applejack let out a hearty laugh much to the delight of the Pegasus who hoped her joke would get a laugh out of the farm mare and ease the depressing atmosphere between the two. "Yer hopeless, Rainbow." Applejack replied with a smirk and motioned for the mare to follow her back to the house.
"I was kinda serious, you know..."
"Lets just get back to mah house ya horny Pegasus."
"Hey, I'm serious! I really wanna know!"
"...Just shut yer trap and get into mah bedroom fore Ah change mah mind!"
"Sooo awesome!"
"Yer pushin yer luck, Rainbow Dash…"
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A FEW MONTHS LATER…
Discord paced in circles in a hospital waiting room as Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie sat in waiting room chairs.
"Say, Discord? We get that you're really nervous, no need to magically create a groove in the floor to drive your point home." Twilight remarked with a smirk. She actually didn't mind him doing such a thing as she could easily fix it later and knew he was merely trying to ease his nerves.
"S-Sorry, Twilight." the draconequus replied, snapped his lion's paw, and caused the groove to disappear but continued to pace in the same circle as he had been previously.
"Say, Twi? Why isn't he back there with her? Ah'm no expert but Ah'm pretty sure the daddy's allowed to be back there with their special somepony when their givin' birth to their foal." Applejack whispered to Twilight who was sitting next to her.
"He scared that he'll get overprotective of Fluttershy and doesn't want to do anything on impulse that might endanger her or the foal. He even asked me to cast a spell on the room Fluttershy was giving birth in to make sure no sounds got out." Twilight whispered back.
"Oh. Makes sense Ah guess." Applejack whispered back though she still didn't quite get it.
A tense three hours passed and though Discord was the only one to really show how worried he was, the rest of the group was on pins and needles by the time the unicorn doctor pony opened the door to the emergency room with a wide smile on his face. "Mr. Discord?" The stallion asked curiously which caused the draconequus to look at him with a worried look. "Congratulations, its a colt!" He exclaimed happily.
"Is Fluttershy Okay?" Discord asked eagerly.
"She's just fine, you all can go see her now." The doctor replied at which point the group stood up and rushed to the door only to end up crammed and stuck in the doorway due to all rushing through it at once.
A nurse pony happened to be walking past the double doors at that moment and gave the group a worried look. "Oh dear…" she remarked as the doctor teleported next to her by magic. "Let me guess, all friends of Miss. Fluttershy?" she asked clamly.
"Uh-huh." The doctor replied simply with a stoic expression.
"All rushed through the door at the same time once they heard the news?" The nurse asked calmly.
"Yep." The doctor replied once again his expression not faltering.
"I'll get the butter." The nurse replied simply and walked down the hall.
Meanwhile, the whole group continued squirming in the doorway, all not even bothering to think about using magic to get themselves out of this predicament they had found themselves in due to the excitement of seeing Fluttershy and the newborn foal…
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"Um, why are you all covered in butter?" Fluttershy asked with a confused look at the group who had finally managed to file into the hospital room one at a time.
"Eh-heh..its a long story but anyways, congratulations you two!" Twilight exclaimed happily as Discord looked at his newborn son, beaming with pride.
"Heh, Ah don't know why but Ah somehow expected the colt to have horns like his daddy or somethin'." Applejack remarked in a whisper to Rarity whom gave her a dirty look as if she had just said something rude.
"You think the kid's gonna have the same powers as Discord when he gets older? I mean, we could have a second god of chaos and disharmony on our hooves if the kid goes ballistic." Rainbow Dash whispered to Twilight who gave a thoughtful glance upon hearing this question as Discord held his son. "Never really thought about that but I couldn't tell you really." Twilight whispered back.
"I guess we'll find out eventually." Rarity chimed in with a whisper of her own.
"Yeah, like Fluttershy's house bein' turned upside down when the colt throws a tantrum or somethin'." Applejack remarked herself at which point Discord cleared his throat at the five who looked back at him with guilty yet nervous looks.
"We can hear you all perfectly fine you know." Discord replied with a smirk.
"Oh! Well uh, sorry!" Rarity piped up with a nervous smile.
"Yeah, we didn't mean to offend you or anything." Rainbow Dash added with a nervous smile of her own.
"No hard feelin's Ah hope?" Applejack added as well sporting the same nervous look the other two had.
"Of course not, after all, that's what friends are for." Discord remarked with a smirk as his tail snapped.
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A FEW HOURS LATER...
"You just couldn't keep yer mouth shut, could ya Rainbow?" Applejack remarked with a scowl.
"Look who's talking! Your the one who said they were surprised the kid didn't have horns like Discord!" Rainbow Dash shot back.
The mares began bickering amongst each other once again only for Twilight get enough of it very quickly.
"Quiet! All of you!" Twilight exclaimed at the group who silenced themselves upon hearing her outburst. "Now, I'm sure Discord will let us out of here eventually." Twilight remarked aloud in a calm manner.
"Hope so, Ah don't think Ah could take bein' stuck here for long." Applejack remarked with a scowl.
"You are going to let them out, aren't you?" Fluttershy asked with a mildly worried look as she looked at her friends.
"Of course! After all, what kind of friend would I be if I left them like this? I'm sure a few more hours won't hurt though." Discord quipped with a smirk as he looked over at them.
Each one of the mares stared back at the draconequus from within individually packaged boxes on display for everypony in the hospital to see with their names and photographs on the front of each box with a line of bold text below the plastic on each one which read:
COLLECT THEM ALL!
As many of the hospital patients walked past, each giving them a curious look as they walked by...