It had been three days since the fallout Twilight had with Knuckles and she wasn't faring too well since then. She hadn't come out of her room in that time and Spike had started to get concerned about her. It eventually got so bad that he had to go to Twilight's friends in order to figure out what to do about it. After hearing about Twilight's current state, they immediately stopped what they were doing and ran over to the library to try to comfort their friend.

Spike knocked on the door and said "Twilight, could you please come out? It's been three days and I'm starting to get really worried about you. You barely eat, barely sleep, and have cried for Celestia knows how long." He had not seen her face for three days since she returned from Baltimare and he just wanted her to come out so they could talk.

Twilight didn't want to talk and yelled "Leave me alone!" She had hurt Knuckles in one of the worst ways possible and the last thing she wanted to do was talk to Spike or her friends. She feared that they would all tell her that they were right the entire time about Knuckles and she should just give up on him. She did not want to have that conversation with any of them about that.

Spike didn't back down and said "Even your friends have become worried about you. I know they weren't the biggest fan of Knuckles, but they just want to talk with you. They care about you just as much as I do." While they disapproved of Knuckles for the most part, they hated to see their friend in pain so much and they wanted to help in any way they could.

Twilight still didn't relent and said "No! All they'll tell me is that they were right about Knuckles being dangerous and I don't want to hear it! They would never understand the severity of what happened!" She buried her head further into the pillow and continued to cry.

Spike just sighed and went down the stairs. Down there were all of Twilight's friends waiting for Spike to tell them that it was clear for them to talk to her. Applejack asked "How is she?"

Spike sighed again and said "She still refuses to come out. No matter how hard I try to convince her, she continues to not budge at all."

Rainbow became frustrated and asked with anger "Why is she being so stubborn?! We are her best friends, for Celestia's sake! The last thing she would want to do is shut out her friends. She's being more stubborn than Applejack during applebucking season!" Applejack didn't like that and gave Rainbow a glare.

Spike sighed and said "She's afraid you will tell her that you were right the entire time about Knuckles and she should just stay away from him entirely. I know it seems stupid, but considering she knows how much you all were distrustful of him, she doesn't want to say anything."

Applejack sighed and said "Ahm gonna try to talk to her. The best way to help out a friend is to just listen to what they have to say before ya make judgement." She walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.

Twilight heard it and yelled "Go away! I don't want to talk!"

Applejack said "Sugarcube, it's just me. Listen, Ah know that you are afraid of us hammerin' down our judgement upon ya, but we care about ya more than ya may think and all that we want to do is listen. Nothin' else. Just talk to us and we'll listen. Ah promise."

Twilight thought about what Applejack said and began to wonder. Should she trust Applejack when she says that? Applejack is honest about situations, but sometimes she can be a bit blunt about things. However, she is acting very desperate and genuine when she says she just wants to listen. Maybe she should just trust her friend. She might get some good advice out of it. Twilight walked over to the door and unlocked it. She opened it and said to Applejack "Bring all of my friends up here and Spike too. They need to hear this story."

Applejack nodded and went down to collect the rest of the group. They went up to Twilight's room and sat down on the floor so they could listen to what Twilight had to say. Twilight took a deep breath and sighed. She said "You guys weren't wrong about something going on, but I promise it's not what you may think it is. There was a falling out between me and Knuckles, but it was entirely on me."

Rainbow interjected and said "I knew that guy's is dangerous! He will pay for hurting our friend like that!"

Rarity gave her a glare and yelled "Rainbow! Let her finish before you jump to conclusions! Continue, Twilight. We're listening."

Twilight smiled a bit and said "Thanks, Rarity. Anyway, I did not get hurt nor did he try to kill me. I accidentally stumbled upon a room that contained different memories from his younger years and I happened to find the worst one." She then went on to explain how she witnessed Knuckles and his girlfriend Maddi get into a horrible auto accident and that Maddi died at the price of Knuckles living. All of her friends were in complete shock and horror as they heard this story and they started to feel bad for Knuckles.

Even Rainbow Dash felt bad for him, but she was still very distrustful of him. She wanted to believe that all of that was true, but she didn't want to admit it because it would severely hurt her pride and ego if she was proven wrong about something. Twilight said "I know it might not have been the best for him to yell at me, but it wasn't really his fault. I take full blame and responsibility for this one. He let me into his home and I stepped into something I wasn't supposed to. He has every right to be angry at me for it."

Twilight then looked at Fluttershy and said "Fluttershy, you were definitely right about Knuckles experiencing years of pain. When he was yelling at me, I could see all of the pain and trauma that had happened to him throughout his lifetime in his rage filled eyes. I knew that he truly was suffering and what I had done was unleash something that I shouldn't have which made all of those memories resurface." Twilight folded her ears back and lowered her head in shame.

Rainbow was skeptical and asked "How do you know that he wasn't making all of that up? It could have been a fake memory that he had and believes that was what happened."

Twilight lifted her head back up and glared at Rainbow. She said "Do you seriously believe that Knuckles would make something like that up?! Something like that is ingrained in your head for the rest of your life! Sure, it came from a crystal, but that memory is just as real as you and me. You don't have to take my word for it, but it's still real regardless. Why do you think he has been so hostile with us all of this time?! It wasn't because he doesn't like others, it's because he's got very dark secrets and he doesn't want others to find out the truth. Does that sound made up to you?!"

Rainbow was about to say something, but then she realized that she had no answer for that. Twilight was correct that something horrific like that could never be made up because it's just not funny at all. It might have come from a magic crystal, but maybe he did that as a way to store his memories so he doesn't forget them when he gets old. She knew that Twilight was correct, but she wasn't going to say that out loud. So, she stayed quiet and didn't say anything at all.

Rarity then asked "So where do we go from here? Most of us are still distrustful of him, but after hearing about that, we are starting to have second thoughts. However, we still don't know how he is feeling right now and it could be hard to navigate."

Twilight sighed and said "I don't know. Honestly, I'm not sure if he truly means he never wants to see me again. Something like that could break you from the inside out and you might feel even more alone than you were before. I just hope he can forgive me and realize that I never tried to harm him like that."

Meanwhile in Baltimare, Knuckles wasn't doing much better. He still was up and about, but he was incredibly depressed. He looked like Batman in The Lego Batman Movie when it was announced that there would be no more crime in Gotham City because all of the criminals willingly self-incriminated themselves. His Butler Reginald tried to talk to him, but Knuckles just ignored him.

Knuckles didn't understand why he felt this way because he was alone all this time for five years, but now, he felt even more alone than he did before. It's almost as if interacting with Twilight brought something back in him that he thought was dead very long ago. Maybe seeing that memory renewed that pain and sadness he had in him when it first happened. He only saw part of the memory, but he knew how it played out in his head. It was like reliving it every day whenever he saw it.

Eventually, Reginald had enough and told him he needs to start talking. Knuckles was surprised that his butler dared to stand up to him like that after giving his butler a job and a place to stay, but Reginald stood his ground. Knuckles secretly respected that, but he figured that he had to start talking and the best way to get himself out of this depression is by talking to someone that he lives with.

So, Knuckles eventually relented and basically laid out what had happened between him and Twilight. After he was done explaining it, he said "I just don't know what to do and how to move forward from this. My privacy was violated, but I acted incredibly mean towards someone that was trying to be nice to me. What am I going to do, Reginald?" He put his hands over his face and lowered his head down in shame.

Reginald said "That is a tough one, Master Caleb. My personal opinion about it is it was wrong for you to yell at someone else like that, but at the same time, she should have respected your privacy. She simply didn't know that what she was witnessing was horrific, but sometimes, curiosity kills the cat. As to move forward, just give her time. She might not be willing to talk right now and when she is, she'll come to you. It might not be the greatest advice you have received, but it's the best I can give."

Knuckles sighed and said "Look, I understand you're trying to help in some way, but there should be no reason why she should be upset with me. She invaded MY privacy and found out the truth about an ugly secret that I have tried to bury for years. True, I may have yelled at her, but she deserved it. I knew the risks going into this and I decided to give her the chance because I thought she would honor her word, but she repaid me by going behind my back and learning about one of the worst things that happened in my lifetime! If she wants to talk at some point, that's fine, but I'm not trusting her again. She promised me something, and she used that to get to my dark secrets."

Reginald was baffled by this remark and asked "Master Caleb, are you sure that's a proper assumption to make? She only made one mistake and it was completely on accident."

Knuckles gave him a glare and said "Of course! I specifically told her not to touch anything except the library and she went into that room anyway because she got curious. She already discovered my biggest dark secret, it's only a matter of time before she finds out about the Master Diamond and that will have much bigger consequences if that happened. It's my sacred duty to keep that artifact hidden away from any outside eyes and protected from foreign enemies."

Reginald said "Don't you believe that Twilight might know how you feel after experiencing something like that?"

Knuckles scoffed at that and said "She will NEVER know what it's like to lose the best person you had in your life. My parents were never there for me nor was my older sister. All they did was talk trash about me. The only ones I had were my grandparents, David, and Maddi. That's it and all of them are gone from my life now. Three of them are dead and the other one hasn't seen me in five years, so now I have nobody except myself, you, and Malcolm. Even if Twilight experienced a little bit of that in her life, she will never REMOTELY comprehend of what happened throughout my life. I had my good times in life and now that's dead. I'll just be alone until the day I die."

Reginald gave him a deadpan stare and asked "Aren't you being a little bit overdramatic, Master Caleb?" All Knuckles seemed to talk about was how much he hated his life and he'll be forever alone until the day he dies. It was getting annoying at this point.

Knuckles was offended by that and said "Absolutely not! Do you know what it's like to have your parents despise you since birth and treat you lower than dirt while they praise your siblings' accomplishments and ignoring your own?! Where they have you do everything for them and give the others praise and gifts while they give you nothing?! To have the one person who truly loved me for who I am ripped away from you because of dangerous criminals being let out by the liberal DA's that are supposed to enforce the law instead of playing partisan politics?! NO! You have NEVER known what that is like and never will!"

Reginald tried to say something else, but Knuckles walked away before he could do so. He sighed and said to himself "Always stubborn. I have never seen a more stubborn individual in my life and I really hope he sees the error of his ways at some point. He's gonna need it."

Knuckles walked up to his bedroom and slammed the door. He sat down on the bed and growled with frustration. He didn't know what to do and how to go from here. He didn't want to push out anyone any more than he had to, but none of them could ever comprehend how much pain he went through most of his life. Only the last five years have been sort of dull where no tragedy happened to him in his life. Only the previous 24 had something like that happen at least once every day for almost two and a half decades. That is a lot of torture to go through in that amount of time.

The shadow appeared in his mirror and said "Still depressed thinking about all of this crap?"

Knuckles growled with frustration and said "Go away, you worthless piece of white trash!"

The shadow didn't take too kindly to that and said "Why would you call your own consiousness that? I am your voice of reason and you want to call me a "worthless piece of white trash?!" I thought you were better than that. Maybe then you're that worthless piece of white trash since you want to play petty with me."

Knuckles hardened his glare and said "What do you want?"

The shadow smiled a bit and said "I'm glad you asked. I know you're in a lot of stress right now, and I get it. Really I do. You are mad at Twilight for violating your privacy but at the same time, you feel kind of bad for yelling at her like that. Nothing about life is easy and we all have to make hard decisions from time to time. However, I can give you a simple solution that might end your problems entirely."

Knuckles raised a brow and asked "And what might that be, hotshot?"

The shadow gave him a devilish grin and said "Kill her."

Knuckles was shocked by that answer and said "Excuse me? What did you just say?"

The shadow said "I said to kill her. That would be your most prominent solution."

Knuckles didn't like that suggestion at all and said "NO! That's a horrible idea! Why the heck would I do that?! I might be angry and stubborn all the time, but I don't murder people whenever they make me mad! I only do that when they threaten my life and even then, that's self defense! Why would you ever suggest such a terrible idea?!"

The shadow rolled his eyes and said "Oh come on. Don't tell me you're that stupid. She invaded our privacy and found out the biggest dark secret that we have tried to bury for years! She could never understand the pain we went through and she must pay the penalty for doing that! Don't you want her to learn her lesson for messing with US?!"

Knuckles hardened his glare even more and said "I do want her to learn her lesson but not by committing murder. I'm not like that and that would be dishonorable to my tribe! I've had to watch families get torn apart from rampant violent crime in a Democrat run city all of my life and I ain't about to return the favor in that sense. It would only be adding fuel to the fire and I don't want that. I'm not going to do the same things those fools did that got Maddi killed. Although, my biggest secret has been revealed and Twilight could eventually find out about the Master Diamond."

The shadow smiled and said "Exactly! Now you're getting it! Like you said, one of our darkest secrets has been revealed to an Alicorn princess of Equestria and others may follow. If she ever found out about the Master Diamond, our existence would be greatly threatened or even ended because of what was brought to light. She can never find out about that artifact and it must stay hidden forever from others until we find it ourselves. So what are we going to do?"

Knuckles said with declaration "I shall keep the artifact secrets hidden from everyone and everything until I find it!"

The shadow grinned devilishly and asked "So what will you do if someone tries to find out about it?"

Knuckles glared with fury "Anyone or anything that tries to find out about it shall perish! No one can EVER find out about the greatest artifact of all time and once it's back in my possession, my tribe shall rise to power ONCE AGAIN!"

The shadow was loving it and said "YES! That's the spirit! You are the most powerful individual in the entire universe and NO ONE shall stand in our way!" The shadow disappeared and Knuckles still had that glare on his face.

After a few seconds, he went back to a neutral expression and said "I now have to find this artifact more than ever. I must do whatever I can to keep it under wraps. I have told both Reginald and Malcolm already that they must keep this sworn in secrecy and never mention anything, but this next part is something even they can't know. It's for their own good because they could never truly imagine how much power the Diamond holds."

He was about to walk out, but then he saw a picture of him and Maddi together and picked it up to stare at it. He sighed and said "I really miss you Maddi and I wish you were here to help me through this. I'm sure where you're at right now is much better than here, but it's hard living without you. I'm not the same person as I once was and I'm not who I used to be. I promise to make you proud and I hope that you are still living great even though you're no longer with me." He sat the photo down and walked out the door. Life might be tough without her, but he will still press on because she would have wanted him to. She may never see the Master Diamond, but she might one day. Knuckles just had to find it.

Author's Note

AN: Well, things are definitely heating up for sure. I apologize if this came out a little late, but life these days is busy. I wanted to release it yesterday, but I had some writer's block and I couldn't think of anything at the moment. But it's done now, so you have another chapter to read. It's been a crazy week down in Palm Beach, Florida, hasn't it? It's simply unbelievable what happened down there. If you want my personal opinion, go check out my Twitter. I'll probably get raided by the FBI by talking about this, but oh well. It's the truth and they need to be held accountable. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Next Chapter: The showdown! After Twilight tells her friends what had happened between her and Knuckles, they return to Baltimare to try to talk to him about it. Rainbow was absolutely fed up with Knuckles' behavior and she wanted to duke it out with him. When he gets no response from the others, he agrees and takes them somewhere else to properly settle this. However, things get quickly out of hand and it ends up turning for the worse. Will the Mane Six be able to mend their relationship with Knuckles or will the supernatural human force them away for good?

Until then, my fellow readers