PBJFanFiction/Guest - One; Blake beat you to that ;) and two; because I like to see you guys and gals speculate on what's coming next... and I'm an evil bastard... :D

Anon - Indeed...

PyraohXBlaze - Yeah... as much as I like Rarity, it just didn't feel right in this story to me. Also; You are correct sir! (And I'm also a little surprised anyone remembered that, that little scene with Flash was exactly what I was hinting at.)

Guest - I only have one actually, and I've been told it's fantastic ;)

Kyguy - Yeah, neither one of those are very good...

Equius Zahhak - True, but everyone flubs up every now and again.

Lord of darkness the 1st - Oh y'know... stuff

DragonLovingBrony - The cat's pissed too, it's about to maul someone's face off

UnknownHero55 - Lol if you didn't, then I wouldn't be doing my job right ;)

knightofstories141912 - No dying is necessary, your new chapter awaits below.

KillerWoW - Talk about an understatement...

Lone The Dark Hearted Wolf - Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! ... Oh wait...

Mikalzilla - Oh, you didn't miss anything, it was only ever very vaguely hinted at. I bake them myself.

Dragonfang20 - Read on and find out ;)

mlp brony fifer - 's what I do

A/N - Howdy everypony! Hope you're all ready for a rollercoaster of a chapter! I'm a little sad no one guessed what was important about last Tuesday though :( If you had, I was gonna award you all with a bonus chapter. Ah well, that's in the past, and we must set our gaze to the future! (And today's chapter) As always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!

Twilight backed away from me, taking slow, shaky steps. "Y-you can't be…" Her eyes started to water and she squeezed them shut.

I took a step toward her, reaching out a hand to her. "Twilight, I-"

"NO!" Her harsh cry caused me to cringe back like I'd been struck. "I don't want to hear what you have to say! You're a dirty murderer and I don't want anything to do with you!"

I felt an icy, jagged knife stab through my heart at her words. I was frozen in place as she dashed off towards the house. Cadance walked slowly over to us. "Aunt Luna… is that true? Is Blake really a murderer?"

Luna gave her a resigned look. "You must understand Cadance; what Blake did, he did out of an agony neither you nor I have ever known, and neither my sister nor I condemn him for his past." She gave me the barest hint of a sad smile. "I knew of his past before he ever came to this world, yet I fell in love with him all the same."

Cadance looked between us several times, as if she couldn't decide what to think. "I… I trust you Aunt Luna; I don't think you would have brought anypony here if you thought they were da-" She was cut off by an explosion of sound followed an instant later by a bolt of pink magic slamming into my shoulder, knocking me off my feet.

"Get away from them you monster!" Shining Armor came galloping out of my house through the freshly-destroyed front doors, horn already charging for another attack.

"SHINING NO!" Cadance screamed, but it fell on deaf ears as he loosed another, deadly-looking bolt at me.

Ten meters. I could only watch as the ball of pink death streaked towards me in slow motion. Seven meters. My mind scrabbled desperately for something, anything to save me from whatever fate Shining's attack would bring. Five meters. I felt as a part of me latched onto my innate magical stream, and I pulled on it, trying to get it to do something. One meter.

The ball closed in, ready to send me back to the afterlife. There was a faint flash of light, and suddenly a blue-streaked golden barrier appeared in the path of the bolt, glowing faintly with magical energy. The bolt collided with the barrier and dissipated around it. The barrier faded away as Shining Armor glared angrily at me, Twilight pulling on his shoulder. "Shining! I didn't want you to hurt him!"

Shining, apparently ignoring her, charged another bolt. Before he could fire it, a wave of cerulean appeared in front of me, forming a wavering wall of magic. "SHINING ARMOR! YOU WILL STAND DOWN!"

The stallion's horn flickered and his magic winked out. "But princess-" I was glad the soldier in him kicked in, snapping him out of his frenzy.

Luna took a step toward him as her shield dissipated. "ENOUGH! Blake Marshall is not only my consort, but a Knight of Equestria; you know the penalty for attacking someone of his station."

Shining looked to Cadance, who was also glaring death at the stallion, before sighing in defeat. "Yes princess…"

I let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Now that that's settled, can we pl-"

"No! Don't come near me!" Twilight shrunk back further behind her brother. "I don't want to see you ever again!"

I felt another icy jab to my heart at her words. Could she really hate me so much…? "Papa, I'm back! Applebloom and Swe…" She paused and looked around at what was going on. "Wh-what's wrong? Why does everypony look so upset?" A small part of my mind wondered how she didn't hear all the noise, but I hardly noticed it.

Twilight wreathed the little filly in her purple aura and started walking off. "Scootaloo, this thing isn't your father." I cringed as she spat the word 'thing' with as much venom and hate as I'd ever heard from anyone since I got here. "You're going to live with me in the library from now on."

The confused filly squirmed around in Twilight's magical grip. "What's going on?! Twilight, what're you talking about?"

I took a step towards the purple mare. "Twilight, let. Her. Go." Instead of winking out, her horn flared brighter and Scootaloo disappeared in a faint flash of purple light. "What did you do?!"

She took a defiant stance. "I sent her someplace safe from you." Without another word, her horn flared again and she too disappeared.

Cadance looked around, confusion clear on her face while Shining Armor continued to glare at me while he maintained his aggressive stance. "Wh-what just happened…?"

Shining snorted. "We found out that we've been training a scumbag. Pack your things Cadance; we're heading back to the Crystal Empire first thing in the morning." His gaze turned to Luna. "If you trust this stallion princess, I can guarantee he'll hurt someone here. I can't force you to make him leave, but when he does hurt somepony, that will be on you." He too turned to leave before any of us could muster a response.

Cadance turned towards Ponyville. "I'm going to find Twilight and talk to her, I want to know why she acted like that." With one last sympathetic look my way, she headed off towards the quiet town to find her sister-in-law.

I slumped to the ground, too overwhelmed by everything that had just happened to keep my feet under me. A hoof lightly brushed my shoulder and I looked over to see Luna looking back at me with sadness filling her beautiful cobalt eyes. "My love… I-I did not mean for this to happen…" I couldn't think of anything to say to her, so I simply stared at the ground in front of me.

She wedged her head under my arm and started lifting me up. I managed to get to my feet with her help and she led me back to my house. Once she had seated me comfortably in one of the many chairs, she brushed my cheek with a bare hoof. "I am so sorry my love…" Even though she was right in front of me, it sounded like she was miles away. "I shall return to Canterlot and discuss this with my sister; there are few who know Twilight Sparkle better than Celestia, and fewer still that she will be more willing to listen to."

She kissed me tenderly on the lips. "Know that I will always love you Blake Marshall, no matter what happens." With one final brush of my cheek, she turned and walked out the remains of the front door, leaving me alone in the desolate house.

Minutes later, Shining Armor came down the stairs carrying a pile of luggage in his magic. I hardly even noticed as the awkward pile smashed into various pieces of furniture, breaking some things and knocking others over. I also hardly noticed as the stallion scowled at me as he passed, carrying his and Cadance's things through the ruined door.

Twilight

In a flash of magical light, I appeared in the loft of the library, Scootaloo still lying on the bed where I had teleported her. My mind was still reeling from everything that had happened; I had just learned that my coltfriend, somepony I had grown to love, was nothing more than a cold-blooded killer. I looked over to Scootaloo, and when she saw me, she jumped up and crouched down low, looking very angry with me. "Twilight! What's wrong with you?! Why did you teleport me away, and why did you say those mean things about my Papa?!"

I sighed and sat on the bed next to the filly. My mind raced to find an easy way to break this to her; she loved Blake dearly, and if I didn't handle this right, who knew what it could do to her frail little mind. "Listen Scootaloo, Blake, he… he did something bad, something that makes him dangerous, and somepony like that shouldn't be a father to anypony."

She hopped off the bed and crouched back into that angry stance. "What did he do that's so bad, huh?"

I shook my head. "You're too youn-"

"NO! If you're gonna try to take my Papa away from me, you're gonna tell me why!"

I looked around the room, trying to find some way out of this. There's no getting around this, is there? I let out a sigh of defeat. "Alright Scootaloo; you're right, you deserve to know why this is happening…" She relaxed and sat on her rump, but the angry scowl never left her face. "Do… do you know what patricide is?" She shook her head and I took a breath to steady myself. "It's when a pony takes the life of their father."

She shook her head as her angry glare turned into a confused grimace. "I don't understand Twilight, what's that got to do with Papa?"

I got up off the bed and put my hooves on her shoulders. "Scootaloo… there's no easy for me to say this… Blake took his own father's life."

Her eyes welled up with tears. "Y-you're lying!"

I shook my head. "No Scootaloo, it's true, Princess Luna said so herself."

She pulled away from me. "I don't care what he did before! He's my Papa now and I love him!" That angry scowl returned. "And if you really loved him like you said you did, you wouldn't care what he did either!" Before I could even say anything, she turned and ran down the stairs and out of the library, knocking over Spike as he opened the door. I wasn't worried though; I had erected a barrier around the library to keep her in and Blake out when I had teleported back, so she couldn't get out.

Spike picked up the small pile of books he had been carrying and walked up to me. "Sheesh, what's her problem!?"

I let out a long sigh. "It's a long story Spike, and I don't really feel like going over it again right now…" The little drake seemed to accept this, even though he gave me a concerned look even as he wandered off to put the books on the shelves.

When he was busily shelving books, I thought back to what Scootaloo had said; a part of me knew she was right, that my love for him should be able to overcome this, but another part told me that there was no forgiving what he did, no matter how justified he may have been. I sat there, battling with my emotions as the day drew on and wondering what I should do. I could faintly hear her yelling outside as she struggled to find a way out of the barrier, but I knew she wouldn't; I had used this spell before, and I had learned from my previous mistakes with it.

I looked up as I heard several sets of hoofsteps climbing the stairs. "Twilight, what in tarnation do y'all have that barrier thingy outside the library fer? Scootaloo's out there tryin ta beat the darn thing down with 'er bare hooves."

I watched silently as Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash all ascended the stairs to the loft. I shook my head. "It's terrible girls…"

They all gathered around me and leaned in. "What's the matter egghead, did somepony forget to return a book?"

I glared at my brash friend. "No Rainbow Dash, it's about Blake… he… he did something…"

Rarity took a dainty step forward. "Oh come now Darling, this is our dear friend Blake we're talking about; whatever it is, surely it can't be that bad…"

I looked at her, though she was distorted by the tears forming in my eyes. "It is that bad Rarity… he… he murdered his own father!" All three of them gasped.

"B… but why would he do such a thing?" Rarity's already pale coat seemed to pale further.

Applejack slid her hat partway over her eyes. "Rare, Ah c'n tell ya exactly why… cause that no good, lousy galoot hurt Blake in a way nopony should ever be hurt. Ah c'n tell y'all from experience that nothin' hurts more 'n losin' a family member, and ta lose one the way Blake did… It just ain't right, and Ah fer one can't say Ah blame 'im fer it."

Rainbow Dash flew in front of me. "How do you even know this Twilight? Did he come out and tell you all of a sudden or something?"

I shook my head. "It was actually Princess Luna. She didn't mean to say it, but she did, and now that I know the truth… I… I… I don't think I want to see him again; and I'm not letting Scootaloo go anywhere near him either." I straightened up a bit. "He's dangerous, and it would be a good idea if we spread the word around Ponyville to keep clear of him from now on."

"That ain't right Twilight, condemnin' somepony fer somethin' like that. Ah ain't gonna stay away from 'im."

I walked over to her. "Please Applejack… at least… give it a few days, really think about this… I mean, he took his own father's life, what's to stop him from hurting Applebloom, or Granny Smith?"

Applejack shook her head again. "Ah don't think he'd do somethin' like that Twi… but, Ah'm willin' ta give ya a few days; if'n he don't do nothin' violent, then Ah'm gonna go see 'im."

I let out a sigh. "That's all I ask for Applejack, just a few days-"

"Twilight Sparkle, you have some explaining to do!"

Blake

I lost track of time after what happened. The only word that came to mind to describe it was 'betrayal'. As near as I could tell, or even cared, it had been three days since the betrayal. I hadn't seen hide nor hair of anypony since then; not Cadance and Shining, or Luna, Applejack or Derpy. Not even any of my friends had come by to see me, not that I cared to see any of them anyway.

Since then, I hadn't eaten, I barely drank or slept, and I couldn't even motivate myself to take care of simple hygiene.

I sat on my bed, gun in hand, contemplating whether or not I should just get it over with; it was obvious that those who had claimed to care for me and love me had abandoned me. With a sigh I put the gun back in the drawer of my night stand where I kept it. If I was going to leave here, it certainly wasn't going to be through suicide.

I got up off of the bed and walked over to the window and looked out at the Everfree forest a short distance away. A plan began forming in my mind; I could survive in a wilderness setting well enough, and if everypony really did want me gone, I saw no reason to disappoint.

I headed downstairs to grab my pack from the closet, pausing when I saw Scootaloo's little pack resting against it. My mind started a war with itself, half wanted to go through with this and leave everyone in peace while the other half wanted to stay, to try and atone for my past sins and maybe, just maybe, make things right with everyone in time.

A knock where my door once stood brought my mind to a halt, and I jolted upright, listening for another knock. A second knock told me that I had in fact heard it, and it wasn't just a trick my mind was playing on me.

I peeked around the corner to see Octavia standing in the ruins of the doorway, looking around at the interior of my house. I came around the corner as she started walking in, startling her as I came into view. "Oh! Blake, I wasn't even sure you were here… Twilight said some strange things about you, and that Ponyville's townsfolk should avoid you." She shook her head. "I didn't believe it though, so I came by to find out from you if what she's saying about you is true."

I motioned her inside and she looked around. "Well, feel free to make yourself at home, I won't bite, I promise.

She looked back to me and her eyes glanced up and down my frame. "Oh, you poor dear. You look a mess… here, let me fix you something to eat." Before I could say anything, she disappeared into the kitchen and I heard the clatter of dishes and utensils as she made something.

I didn't have the will to go in and see what she was doing, so instead I just slumped into one of the comfy armchairs and waited. I felt my mind start to drift off into empty space until I was brought back by the shrill whistle of a tea kettle. A minute later, Octavia trotted back in carrying a small tray with some finger sandwiches and my tea set balanced on her head. With a practiced bob of her head, the tray jumped off her mane and landed surprisingly quietly on the coffee table between my chair and the loveseat she took a seat on.

She poured us each a cup of tea and I took it gratefully, glad she at least wasn't shunning me for hearsay. "Alright Blake, now please, tell me what happened."

She quickly lost interest in her tea and the snacks as I dove into retelling the story of my twin sister's rape and murder by our father, and how I ran across him one night at a small bar, so drunk he didn't even recognize me.

"Th-that's terrible… please, you don't need to say any more." She looked into my eyes, her own amethyst eyes shining with sympathy. "I believe I can understand why you would do such a thing now…"

I sighed and walked over to a window, staring out at the town in the distance. "The thing is… Twilight didn't just hear about it, thanks to Nightmare Moon, she had to live it." I snapped my fingers as a thought came to me. "That's it! After that happened, Luna blocked parts of our memories to help us deal with it; I bet Twilight doesn't remember what he did."

Octavia joined me by the window. "That would make sense… but, what should we do about this?"

I looked down to her. "If I write a letter to Princess Celestia telling her what I think is happening, do you think you can pass it off as your own and trick Spike into sending it? Maybe… if she remembers what happened, she can still fix things with the townsponies."

She looked around tentatively. "I-I am usually not one for deception…" She suddenly straightened up with a determined look. "But for you, I shall give it my all. And, if I should fail at that, I shall take the letter to Canterlot and deliver it with my own hooves."

I patted her shoulder lightly. "Thank you Octavia, I know this is a lot to ask."

She waved a hoof dismissively. "Please, don't mention it. You proved to me during Nightmare Moon's attack that whatever you may have done in the past, you're still a good stallion… and I also count you among my friends." She headed towards the door, but stopped and turned to me with a small smirk. "Besides, you're the only human on all of Mythis; I would think a one-of-a-kind being would get a bit of leniency here and there." I thanked her and grabbed a quill and parchment and began writing a letter to the princess.

Dear Celestia,

I'm sure you're aware by now of the situation in Ponyville involving Twilight's discovery of the darkest part of my past. I believe her loss of trust may be at least in part due to Luna's blocking of her memories of what happened in my mental prison. I feel if we could restore at least part of those memories to her, it might make her realize why I did what I did, and perhaps she would see reason. Please let Luna know this and ask her if she's willing to remove the spell and allow Twilight to remember the memories it's blocking. I know this may seem cruel, but I see no other options at this point.

I signed the letter and rolled it up before handing it to Octavia, who took it gingerly, using her teeth to grab the ribbon holding it. "I'll make sure Princess Celestia gets this Blake, one way or another." She gave me a hug and trotted out of my house through the broken door frame.

The rest of the day was fairly calming; with my hopes renewed thanks to Octavia, I managed to pull myself out of my slump actually started being productive, setting up several of the seeds Granny Smith had given me to start germinating for the greenhouse and then getting a good start on cleaning up the debris leftover from Shining destroying my door.

After a light dinner, I soaked in the hot tub for awhile to help ease the stress on my body and mind before heading upstairs to the master bedroom for some much needed sleep. Before I allowed myself to drift off to sleep, I reset the pocketwatch Twilight had given me using the grandfather clock on the far side of the room and wound it for the first time in three days.

Something felt odd when I came to my senses the next morning. I cracked my eyes open to see daylight filtering in through and around the curtains, which didn't surprise me given that I had been awake for three straight days before finally sleeping. I realized that that wasn't what was odd, but that it felt like something, or someone, else was in the bed with me.

I pulled back the sheets to see a shock of purple hair attached to a little orange filly cuddled against my side. I shook Scootaloo, rousing her from her sleep. "G'moring Papa…"

"What are you doing here Scootaloo?"

She yawned and stretched, all very cat-like, before looking up at me. "Twilight cast some weird spell around the library to keep me in and you out, but I managed to find a way around it."

I shook my head. "I don't mean that, I mean why are you here Scoots?"

She wrapped her little hooves around my chest. "I missed you Papa… Twilight told me what you did, but I don't care; you'll always be my Papa, no matter what!" She looked up at me with watery eyes. "I love you Papa…"

I wiped the tears from my eyes even as my vision blurred with my own. "I love you too Scootaloo." I wrapped her in a hug and we just sat there like that for some time.

Eventually though, I pulled back, gently taking her by the shoulders and pulling her away so she could look at me. "As much as I don't want you to Scootaloo, I need you to go back to the library for now."

Her eyes watered as she gave me a confused look. "Why Papa?"

I sighed and stroked her mane lovingly. "Because Scootaloo, everypony thinks something bad about me right now, and if they knew you were here… they might think I foalnapped you."

She shook her head. "But you didn't! I got out of Twilight's spell and came here on my own!"

I pulled her into a hug. "You know that and I know that Scoots, but others won't, and they might not be willing to listen to us. And if they don't… they might just do something worse than ignore me." Her questioning eyes searched my own. "I don't know what they might do, but it might mean you and I would never see each other again…"

Her eyes started watering again. "Y-you don't think they'd really do that… do you Papa?"

I squeezed the filly a little tighter. "I don't know sweetheart, but it's a risk I don't want to take. Now, will you do as I ask and go back to the library? I promise we'll see each other soon enough; I asked Princess Luna to come down and help us figure this out."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of a hoof. "O-ok Papa… if Princess Luna's gonna help, everypony'll like you again in no time!" She squeezed me one last time and hopped off the bed. "Goodbye Papa, I love you!" She gave me a wave and disappeared through the doorway to my bedroom.

I felt so much better seeing my daughter's smiling face that I drifted back to sleep in a matter of minutes, though one thought popped into my head as I slipped into dreamland. I hope Luna really can help…