The truth came unraveled before Pound Cake, like some kind of grotesque knot that just kept unwinding no matter how hard he tried to stop it. Looking the inmate in the eyes yet again, he now understood why eye contact had felt so off-putting before.

It had felt familiar.

The piercing blue eyes looked back at him through the dimly lit bars of the cage, once again gazing into his soul. He didn't try to stop it this time. He simply continued to stare at the now-all-too-familiar inmate. Looking into those eyes, he could remember what she had looked like before. The long, straight hair that now buried her body, pulling her into a hunched position with its weight, was once curlier than one could imagine. It had looked almost exactly like cotton candy. Her coat had paled as she aged, leaving the once vibrant pink as something more akin to a pink-tinted grey. Her tail had been as curly and poofy as her mane had once been, but it now lay as straight as her mane, wrapping delicately around her hooves before trailing behind her. Her flanks were covered by her long mane, but Pound didn't need to see them to know what he'd find: three colorful balloons.

Despite the physical changes that had kept Pound from recognizing her sooner, her eyes hadn't changed. Those bright blue eyes were still just as vibrant as they were when he was a foal.

This entire transaction took only a few seconds, and the full brunt of the realization struck Pound like a lightning bolt.

He began to shake, trembling with a mix of disbelief, terror, and sorrow.

"This is why you never came back?" he finally managed to choke out a question.

"What?" questioned his old friend.

"One day, you left Sugarcube Corner to run some errands," Pound's words trembled as ferociously as his body, "and you never came back."

Tears began to well up as he spoke.

"This is why?" he asked again.

"Oh, Pound, sweetie," said the mare in the cage, sounding surprisingly similar to a consoling parent, "I never wanted to leave you. You and Pumpkin were like my own children."

"Then why?" he choked out, tears now rolling down his cheeks in a cascade.

"Why what?"

"Why did you leave us?" he screamed, pounding a hoof against the concrete floor hard enough to leave a small crack.

Locket came rushing through the door at the sound of the scream. Upon seeing Pound trembling and crying, she quickly pulled him towards the door.

"No, Locket, what are you doing?" he yelled out, trying to resist, but the guard was stronger than she looked. She easily pulled him out through the door, dropping him on the floor. He quickly turned to face the door and the inmate beyond it.

The inmate had been watching as he was pulled out the door. Once he was looking toward her again, she formed a bright, cheery, and familiar smile.

"Same time next week?" she asked innocently.

And just like that, the door was slammed shut, and his old foalsitter left his view.

Author's Note

Do you like the new cover art? Should I try a different one? Feel free to let me know!