For as long as she could remember, and that was a long time thanks to her future memories, she had always considered her home, the Golden Oak Library, to be a place of peace and relaxation. Even with the foreknowledge that Tirek had once destroyed it, which thankfully would never happen now, she still regarded the place as somewhere to be calm. And yet, calm and peace were the furthest things from her mind at this point, as she sat in the middle of a circle, made up by not only herself, but all of her closest friends. Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Trixie and Spike all sat nearby, with Celestia standing to the side, observing what was about to happen. Twilight was not looking forward to this, having to finally come clean about everything she'd been keeping from her friends. And yet, if this new chapter of her life was truly to begin in earnest, this was the first step she needed to take. Although, that knowledge made this fact no less bitter to experience. She raised her head after having stared at the ground for some time, looking into the eyes of each of the mares around her, as well as Spike. Her mind was awash with many bad possibilities of what might happen here. And yet, as she saw them patiently waiting for her, she knew she could not put if off any longer. So, letting out a deep sigh, she finally began to speak.

"Everypony...there is something...important that you don’t know about me."

The mares all looked to one another, somewhat nervous about the way in which Twilight had spoken those words. As they did this, Twilight found her heart gripped with concern. After all, while she may have confessed her transgression to Celestia at one point, this was going to be something else altogether. How would she tell them? How would anypony tell them? In the end, she simply decided to be as direct as possible about it.

"On the night before I first came to Ponyville, I had a dream...of sorts. Only...it wasn't a dream, but a spell, cast by myself from several centuries in the future. She came to me with an offer. An offer to grant me all of the memories between that day and her time, giving me all the foreknowledge and magical experience I would gain in those years in-between. I accepted that offer, and because of that, I have, since coming to Ponyville, known absolutely everything about you, both who you are as ponies, and the way your lives would play out."

Silence feel with her words, as each of the mares and Spike looked to her with the same expression, and one that spoke the exact same thing; that she was completely and irrevocably insane. Naturally, Twilight was somewhat upset that they would look at her like this, as this was, in fact, exactly what she'd been fearing since the start, that they wouldn't believe her. Some of them, most notably Rainbow Dash and Applejack, actually started to snicker with her honest words, with the former being the first to speak in response to it.

"I’m...I'm sorry, Twilight. But...is this some kind of joke?"

The young alicorn hung her head low with that question, unable to look her friend in the eye. But, as erverypony looked to her, it was here that Celestia finally took action, stepping forward and clearing her throat. Instinctively, all of them turned to look at her, after which she began to speak in that calm yet commanding voice she was always famous for.

"I'm afraid this is no jest, Rainbow. Twilight speak the truth...all of it."

Immediately, the room became as silent as the grave, as one by one, Twilight's friends slowly turned to look upon her once more. They saw the truth in her eyes, as well as the vast sadness beyond that, and in mere moments, their expressions became ones of shock. They didn't have the words to properly say how they were feeling, or even to wrap their minds around this entire concept. And in this silence, Twilight gave herself leave to continue.

"From day one...from the moment I set hoof in this town...I began my task. The task my future self wanted for me. To do things better than the way they played out the first time. I've been making changes, some small...others big. But now...now, I can no longer find myself able to keep the truth from you."

She looked to each of them, her expression one of utter seriousness.

"If you have anything you need to ask me...don't hesitate to do so."

Her friends all looked to one another, silently thinking over this massive truth that they had just been made privy to. And through it all, Spike never let his eyes stray from his adopted mother, seeing the uncomfortable way she looked right now. He knew that she was hurting, but still didn't fully understand why, only that, in his heart, he suspected that he'd find out by the end of all this. Eventually, and after much discomfort, it was Rarity who spoke first.

"Um...darling? Am I take to it that...you knew everything that was going to happen to us since you moved to Ponyville?"

Twilight nodded, prompting Rarity to continue speaking.

"Is that why you were so adamant about us not going to the Grand Galloping Gala?"

Another nod from Twilight.

"Prince Blueblood would have treated you like dirt, the animals would have all run away from Fluttershy, only one pony would have bought anything from Applejack's stand, the Wonderbolts would have completely ignored Rainbow, Pinkie would have been bored out of her mind and I'd have spent no time with Celestia whatsoever."

Hearing that explanation, the mares all gave each other surprised looks, understanding just how bad things could have been if they hadn't listened to their friend. But, it wasn't long before things took a more serious turn, as Applejack then looked to Twilight with somewhat narrowed eyes.

"Twi...have y'all been lyin ta us the whole time?"

The young alicorn found her breath catching in her chest, but, with the eyes of her friends upon her, she closed her eyes and gave a single nod. This, expectedly, earned her a rather unhappy look from Applejack, as she then started to explain herself.

"I did lie to you...ALL of you. From the moment we first met...I've had to put up a mask of not knowing what was going on, when in truth...I always knew. I knew about Applejack overworking herself in applebuck season. I knew Rainbow Dash would achieve her sonic rainboom. I knew Rarity would face difficulties in her attempts to get into high society. I knew Fluttershy would struggle to overcome her fears. I knew Pinkie Pie would have a hard time looking after the Cake twins. I knew...everything."

Silence fell after that, and the mares watched as Twilight began to look down to the ground, looking more than a little solemn as she did so.

"I knew...but the whole time...I had to act like I didn't."

Each of them could see the unhappy look on her face, and thus, were hesitant to continue speaking. But, in time, it was Rainbow Dash who broke the silence yet again.

"Does...does this mean you knew about stuff like Discord? And the changelings? And Sombra?"

Looking up to her cyan friend, Twilight gave another nod before answering.

"Yes. In fact...that's among the reasons I was gone for about a month after we defeated Discord. I went around Equestria and did what I could to eliminate any threat that I knew we were going to have to face one day."

Rainbow nodded in response to that, putting on a small smile for her.

"Well...that's good, right? I mean, you going out there and making Equestria safe and all? That's pretty awesome."

Twilight returned the smile, silently thanking Rainbow's ever-present loyalty to her. But, that smile faded, as her friend's praise only began to make her feel worse about what she was going to have to admit to now.

"It's...it's not just that. I...I did other things as well. Perhaps, more than anything else...I've also changed all of you."

As one might expect, that caused all of them to look stunned. Perhaps they'd suspected this in their heart of hearts, but even so, hearing it out loud like this was quite a revelation. They looked to Twilight, silently urging her to explain things to them, and in time, she did exactly that.

"The first time...I was not the one to defeat the dragon in that mountain near Ponyville...Fluttershy was."

Immediately, the yellow mare let out her standard "eep" upon hearing that, all while everypony else looked between her and Twilight, with their expressions making it clear that they thought this was yet another joke on her part. However, when they saw the absolutely serious expression upon her face, they knew it was no jest, and so looked to Fluttershy with amazement, shocked to hear that the most timid of their number could have accomplished such a feat. With that fact now well established in the minds of her friends, Twilight then turned to Rainbow.

"Rainbow...the first time...you never stopped admiring the Wonderbolts. Even after going to their academy and finding out how bad things were, you still idolized them. You never became as critical of them as you are now."

But, in contrast to how Fluttershy had reacted, Rainbow simply let out a snort.

"That's not a bad thing, Twilight. In fact, I should probably thank you for that! The idea of still fawning over those guys...ugh!"

Twilight nodded, acknowledging her point, only for her to gain a somewhat upset look as she continued speaking.

"But...that wasn't the only thing I've changed about you. In the first timeline...you were always so sure of yourself. So confident. But now...so much of that has been lost...and you consider me more of a hero than you could ever be...even though I have no right to ever claim that title."

Rainbow looked to her, and for a brief moment, saw a flash of self-loathing in Twilight's eyes. She said nothing, for she suspected that doing so would probably result in something worse happening. Instead, she looked away from her unicorn friend, prompting the latter to move on and turn to Trixie.

"Trixie...the first time...we never really became friends. Back then...you were just pushed out of Ponyville in disgrace, and spent much of your time afterwards trying to seek revenge on us for doing it. You never learned to make friends, as you have done now."

Trixie raised an eyebrow at that, making it very clear that she was having difficulty imagining how her life could have been so different to what it was now. More importantly, she saw that Twilight still looked sad about something, though, given how much she'd apparently helped her, it was hard for her to figure out why. Still, she kept quiet as Twilight instead turned, looking to Applejack and Rarity at the same time.

"Your sisters, as well as Scootaloo, still didn't have their cutie marks by this point, nor would they for at least another year afterwards. They would struggle with every attempt to earn them, and get into all kinds of trouble along the way."

That knowledge certainly seemed to shock the two mares, as they looked to each other with equally perplexed expressions. But, as they did this, Twilight finally turned to her adopted son, to Spike. Silence fell between them as their friends all looked to the two of them. Deep down, they felt that, whatever Twilight was going to say, this time, it was going to be a big one. After letting out a sigh, and after seeing the way Spike was looking to her, she finally said what she needed to.

"Spike...our relationship has changed most of all. The first time...I never adopted you."

The young dragon stood aghast at that, disbelieving that there could ever have been a moment when Twilight wouldn't choose to want him as her son. The alicorn mare looked away from him, feeling great pain from seeing his face like that, as she continue to explain things.

"I...I only ever saw you as a friend...and an assistant. It never even occurred to me to take you in as my child. So...when I got this opportunity...I knew I had to change that."

Spike looked to her, seeing the honesty with which she'd spoken, as well as the first signs of tears forming in her eyes, and his expression softened considerably. He took a step forward, raising a hand and gently placing it upon her, gaining her attention. She looked back to him, seeing him smile for the first time in all of this, and for a brief moment, she felt her heart lift. It was, perhaps, the one thing she was most proud of having done in this timeline. She may have done many things wrong, but at the very least, as far as Spike was concerned, she'd got something right. But, this comforting moment was interrupted shortly afterwards, as a quiet and hushed voice started to speak up. Turning, Twilight saw, as she suspected, that Fluttershy was finally starting to add her own voice to this mix.

"Um...Twilight? If...if you don't mind me saying so...this actually doesn't seem so bad. I mean...you know...it sounds like you've done a lot of good things...right?"

The young alicorn looked to her, and then to everypony else. And every single one of them seemed to share Fluttershy's sentiment, to one degree or another. Applejack was clearly sceptical about this, as was Rarity. Rainbow Dash was hard to read, and Pinkie just seemed confused by all of it. But, as Twilight looked back to Fluttershy, and the earnest look on her face, she knew that now was the time. The time to confess to what was, most likely, the deepest sin she had committed in her time here. More than her deception. More than her behind-the-scenes manipulations. More than anything else. This would be the moment that truly made her friends and loved ones understand just how deep her actions had been. So, taking a deep breath, she finally spoke.

"Guys...I've...I've killed."

Immediately, the room fell silent, as even Celestia looked to her student with shock. There were moments when Twilight could see, in her friends' eyes, a desperate hope that this was yet another joke. A sick, uncalled for joke, but a joke nevertheless. When they began to realise that she was speaking truthfully, they stood there with their mouths hanging open. As for Spike, he looked to his mother with shock, taking a step backwards as he shook his head slightly.

"Wha...what do you mean?"

It broke Twilight’s heart to see him like that, but even so, she gave him his answer.

"I'm the one...who killed the timberwolves."

There were gasps all around with that confession, as Fluttershy in particular looked on at her friend with horror. But, they had little time to let that new knowledge sink in, as Twilight continued to read out her list of crimes.

"It's true. I ventured into their lands and destroyed them, one by one...because I knew they would one day attack you, Spike, even knowing, as I did, that you would be saved from them. And I've done a lot more than that. I ventured into Tartarus itself, to meet with a creature I knew would become our enemy one day. I threw him further into that dark pit than even HE could have wanted, condemning him as if...as if I were some kind of god."

With that thought, she turned, looking upon the fresh wings upon her back, spreading them out somewhat.

"But I'm no god, despite what I look like now. This change I've gone through...it isn't a reward. It's just...a chance. To make up for everything I've done..."

She looked back to her friends, many of which were still aghast at what she'd just told them, before hanging her head low.

"...if that's even possible."

For a moment, she hesitated, as her final words caught in her throat. This, perhaps more than anything else, was what she truly wished to say to them.

"For what I've done to you, kept from you...and everything else I've done, I'm...I'm sorry."

Yet again, Twilight found that there was now silence all around her, as each of her friends was deep in thought over what they'd just learned about the mare they thought they knew. Twilight said nothing, but sat there, quietly, waiting for the inevitable response from those closest to her. After a long and agonizing wait, something finally happened, but, it was the pony that Twilight suspected least that made the move first; Fluttershy. The timid pegasus slowly walked over to her, with her eyes never straying from hers, and it was here that Twilight noted that tears were starting to grow in her. But, as before, Twilight said nothing, and simply waited for Fluttershy to say what she needed to. However, in this moment, there was no talking, no response, and no more questions from the yellow mare. Instead, to the shock of Twilight and everypony there, Fluttershy brought up her hoof swiftly and slapped Twilight on the side of her face. In this moment of shock, Twilight brought up her own hoof, feeling the spot on her cheek that still stung from her friend's blow. Looking back to her, Twilight saw the tears finally start to flow down Fluttershy's cheeks, and then, without saying a word, she started to gallop off, bursting out of the door and running down the streets, most likely to her own home. Rainbow, giving Twilight one final look, began to fly after her fillyhood friend, no doubt to try and comfort her.

Twilight could not bring herself to blame Fluttershy for this. Animals were her life, and to learn that one of her closest friends had taken the lives of so many, even those as dangerous as the timberwolves, there was no doubt in Twilight's mind that it was simply too much for her to accept. As for the rest, once they'd recovered from that unexpected action by their usually-shy friend, they looked to each other, with no trace of emotion in their expressions. Eventually, it was Applejack who started to approach Twilight next, and when she did, she looked to her with sheer disappointment in her eyes.

"Twilight...y'all lied to us. Right from the start. Y'all...manipulated us like...like puppets on a string.”

Her expression softened, but only a little.

“Ah know y'all had yer reasons...but...right now...ah don't think ah can be near ya."

It took all of Twilight's strength not to burst into tears with those words, and so, she simply maintained her silent vigil, watching as Applejack gave her a final scathing glance, after which she slowly made her way out of the library, followed shortly by Pinkie Pie and Rarity. The young alicorn watched through the doorway as her friends moved further and further down the street, until, at last, she could no longer see them. When that was done, she turned, looking upon Trixie once more, who didn't seem to know what to think with all of this.

"I...I think I need to go and...catch up on some studies."

And with that, the blue mare started to make her way up the nearby staircase, with Twilight watching her all the way. With her student now gone form her sight, Twilight turned, and looked upon Celestia. In stark contrast to how everypony else had viewed her, the elder alicorn's expression was nothing short of sympathy, as she knew exactly the kind of pain Twilight was going through right now, and so took a few steps forward before gently placing a hoof upon her shoulder. The princess of the sun opened her mouth, perhaps to offer some advice, some words of wisdom, or maybe even something to help comfort her. Instead, she found herself stopped from doing so when Twilight raised a hoof and spoke herself.

"Princess...I know the role and title you intended for me...but...I just can't. I'm no leader...not right now. And I don't have the right to call myself a princess. Tell the ponies of Equestria that there is a new alicorn...if you have to. But...as for the rest...I just don't deserve it at the moment."

Celestia looked to her student, thinking long and hard about those words, before giving her a solemn nod, to which Twilight gave an appreciative smile to. Slowly, she watched as the elder alicorn began to move away, no doubt to give her the space she needed to try and recover from all of this. When she reached the door, she stopped, looking over her shoulder and giving Twilight a final look.

"Twilight...if you need to talk..."

She let those words hang in the air for a moment, and Twilight understood them well, nodding to acknowledge her unspoken offer. Nodding back, Celestia made her way out, using her magic to close the door behind her. With her teacher gone, Twilight turned to the rest of the library, which now seemed so empty without her friends here. Guilt and shame began to rise in her in equal measure, as the weight of what had happened began to consume her thoughts. But, there was still one person here she needed to speak to, as she slowly turned to her son, who had been standing there, quietly. It took a few false starts on her part, but Twilight finally managed to get her words out.

"Spike...if you need to be away from me for a while...I’ll understand."

But contrary to how Twilight might have expected him to react, the young dragon shook his head, approaching her and, to her shock, began to embrace her.

"I'll never leave you...not ever."

This one, genuine act of love and tenderness was all it took for Twilight to be sent over the edge, as she fell to her knees and finally let the floodgates open, with her tears now pouring from her eyes. As she sobbed uncontrollably, she held her son close, her port in the storm that was this whole mess she'd gotten herself into. The two stayed together, mother and son, in a mutual attempt to comfort the other. In this one moment, Twilight prayed to whatever force that would listen, that while she may have lost much today, at the very least, she hadn't lost HIM. She and Spike didn't know how much time had passed since they came together like this, and in truth, they didn't much care. But, eventually, they parted from one another, their eyes still red and puffy from all the crying they'd been doing. As the young alicorn did her best to wipe the tears from her face, her son looked to her, with an expression of worry upon him.

"Mom...is...is everything gonna be okay?"

Twilight stared at him in utter silence, turning her head around as best she could, to now look upon the nearby window, and through it, the path her friends had taken to walk away from her. It took some time, but she finally gave an answer, though her words were, perhaps, the most unhappy she had ever spoke in her life.

"I...I don't know, Spike. For the first time since I came to Ponyville...I truly don't know."