World of Discord 2.0 (RP)

Abigail grimaced. "Ah don't know. Ah kin only do so much with Kindness an' Deception. Ah kin make it so she don't feel no pain. Ah might heal some minor stuff. If Ah were to guess, though, it's Greedity what might be able t' take her wounds away... if th' Element o' Greed kin be redeemed inta somethin' th' way mah Element o' Dishonesty kin git turned into th' Element o' Deception. Two sides o' th' same coin. Lyin's bad, hidin' ain't, illusions ain't. Greed's bad... if Ah were t' guess, it'd be somethin' like Desire. Anypony kin Desire, but take it too far, an' it becomes Greed. Ah'd guess it'd be somethin' like 'taking' th' wounds off a' her, an' since we Six kin heal, ain't no biggie fer us."

She nodded, the orange apple shape briefly appearing on her chest again as her coat faded back to grey.

"Ah reckon it ain't time. They kin keep waitin', ain't no way Twilight's gonna change tonight."

She gave Candycane a wink, letting the red hammer-and-wrench symbol appear on her hoof for a brief moment to reassure the mare before heading back to the palace, looking for all the world like nothing had changed. The guards barely glanced in their direction as they returned, though Guru Fido raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the Queen, who merely smiled, looking directly at the grey mare.

"Have you returned to reconsider the offer, old friend?"

The grey mare nodded. "Ah don't suppose Ah'll accept it, Yer Majesty. Ah knows Ah deserve it, but y'know, it's all 'bout what a pony deserves. It ain't 'bout Kindness or nothin'. Ah ain't sorry 'bout nothin', not t' anyone, 'specially not you, Miss Sandstone." She hung her head. "Ain't nothin' Ah could'a done fer yer sisters afore, but... A-Ah wan't scared or nothin'. Wan't scared 'bout Master makin' things even worse, or wipin' out th' Farm entirely, nope."

Sandstone ran over and hugged the mare.

"Ya did what ya could, Saint Liarjack. Ah fergive ya fer anythin' ya might'a done. Ain't nobody here blame ya fer bein' scared. Hay, Ah'm still scared. Ah've seen how things're gonna go, but there's so much Ah still don't know or understand. But Ah git th' feelin', somethin' changed when ya walked outside, right? An' somethin's gonna change t'night too. A Tragedy'll return t' Friendship, an ancient friend from th' past'll finally be put t' rest. Memories'll resurface, an' lots'll git fixed - but somethin'll also git lost, or made, or re-made, somethin', or someONE. But soon, maybe not t'night, but soon, even SHE'll be fixed, an' we'll have sunshine an' rainbows!"

She didn't notice her eyes glowing as she grinned happily and the others stared in shock. Queen Cadence was the first to recover, closing Her eyes and whispering something to Herself before smiling. "We will look forward to that day then, Sandstone. And she's right, Applejack. We all forgive you; in fact, many of us already forgave you long ago."

The mare smiled thankfully at everypony around her. "Ah... Ah'm real upset 'bout all y'all still makin' me leave, after everythin'." She then looked seriously at the Queen. "But last, Ah wouldn't like some time, speakin' with Yer Majesty all out in public 'n such. It... it ain't nothin' really. Chocolate milk."

The Queen glanced at the rest of the hall, then nodded.

"I suppose most of the guests have already eaten their fill. Candycane, you were with Applejack. Who would you recommend including in this conversation?"

The Queen nodded understandingly. "Very well. Lord Thorax, honored guests, once again I humbly thank you all for attending, but I'm afraid the meal is over; I would like to invite all of you to feel free to use any of our facilities around the palace if you wish. The guards will have more information about points of interest and other events currently taking place on the grounds and in town today. I would also like to remind you all that there shall be a gala tonight at the Castle of the Two Sisters, to include a formal dinner and ball with festivities to follow, with musical accompaniment courtesy the Octavia Memorial Symphony. Thank you all, and please enjoy the rest of the day here at the Crystal Palace."

Lord Thorax bowed, and the various guests filed out of the room in short order, leaving only Sandstone, Guru Fido, Candycane, Queen Cadence, and Abigail.

"Well, now that that's settled... what is it that you wished to discuss in private, My friends?"

There was an uncomfortable silence as the group tried to process what exactly Candycane was saying for a moment, until Abigail dropped her illusion.

"Yer Majesty, mah name was Applejack, a thousand years ago. Ah helped mah sister Applebloom an' mah brother Big Macintosh, the one y'all know as King Barkintosh these days, Guru Fido, with th' Apple farm, now yer Apple-Pie Farm, Sandstone. Ah carried within me th' Element o' Dishonesty, forced to replace mah heart by Discord. Mah sister, Applebloom, guided me to th' Pool o' Truth, brought be b'fore th' Father o' Alicorns, Yer Majesty, an' He showed me th' error o' mah ways, fergave mah sins. Mah sister passed on t' me th' Element o' Kindness, an' th' Father allowed me t' keep th' Element o' Chaos, now th' Element o' Deception. Ah ain't bound t' lies no more. Ah can't be Applejack th' Honest, Ah'm sorry t' say. Ah've jes' been too hurt by Truth these last thousand years, an' b'sides, Ah spent so much time lyin', Ah'm not sure th' Element wants me neither. But Ah kin be Kind. Ah kin be that li'l bit o' light in somepony's day, a helpin' hoof t' pick 'em up. Ah don't know if Ah kin be everythin' y'all think Ah am... but Ah'll try."

Sandstone stared. "Y-ya... didn't say a single lie..."

Sandstone didn't even need to think about it. She just ran up to and hugged Candycane and Abigail. "Ah'll help too! Ah mean, Ah'm already helpin', but if y'all both 're gonna do yer best, Ah'm gonna hafta do mah best too!"

Queen Cadence and Guru Fido smiled.

"And so will We."

"The road will be difficult, but if it is within our power, we will see to it that you receive all the help you need."

The orange mare laughed softly, hugging her friends tightly. "Ah'm... Ah'm such a silly pony. Ah was so scared, scared y'all'd push me away, that Ah'd never be able t' make up fer th' things Ah did... it's why Ah hid fer so long behind that there mask o' lies. But now Ah sees all that's jes' more lies, lies Ah even fooled mahself with." She wiped tears from her eyes, looking from friend to friend with determination. "Ah can't be Applejack th' Honest no more, that went away a long, long time ago. An' Ah won't ever be Liarjack, slave o' Discord, ever again."

She held up her hoof, and for the first time since showing it to Candycane, she revealed her sister's cutie mark, glowing bright red - the Element of Kindness. "Ah was born Abigail Jacqueline, Fifth of the Fifth Line. Ah don't know how much Ah kin help or repay what Ah did... but from now on, with y'all's help... Ah'll do th' Kind thing."

Sandstone stared in awe at the glowing symbol, then grinned. "Ah bet Apple Pie's gonna have lots t' say 'bout all this when we go see her! She's got a mark jes' like that one, right after comin' back from... well, ya know. Said it showed up when she laughed in Big Banana Discord's face! An' Ah think we'll git another Element real soon too, tonight, even! So don'tcha worry, Auntie Abby! We'll git 'em all, an' show Construction Boss that Friendship is Magic!"

Guru Fido grinned.

"Truer words have never been spoken. Welcome back, Abigail."

The mare smiled. "Glad to be back, Guru."

Queen Cadence was the first to speak as they stepped back from the hug. "Well, many things have changed, and I foresee that much more will come to pass tonight. I counsel all of you to partake in whatever activities you desire here in Avalon this afternoon, for there may not be another opportunity come morning, not until this world's ending and rebirth."