And so, I would wear this mask. Day after day, and until forever. I would be that helping hand to people... Because, indeed, I knew what it was like to experience what a lot of creatures and some ponies experience.

I didn't deserve help, even though I screamed for it. I didn't deserve that helping hand, even though my paws got shot down when I reached for it. I didn't deserve anything, even though my silence spoke much more of what I did and didn't deserve. Silence says more than words can ever, and that is the pure truth.

I was broken... And, that was the pure truth.

Were my emotions peaking through? I didn't know. I hoped not. I really didn't want anyone to see what I really was feeling. They didn't deserve it, and I didn't deserve to be cared about.

I could tell a male pony was sitting across from me... We were sitting at a table... It was just us.

"Are you okay, Shadow?" He asked. It was that same male voice... The same one that I had always known... The one that kept reoccurring in my visions..

I kept my eyes glued to the ground.. Luna forbid if I looked up, I would be met with his eyes, and I would reveal everything. That's how it worked. Or, I would just be an uncontrollable crier that would just form a mess.

"I'm f-fine. Don't worry about me." I said, quietly. I quivered at the same rehearsed line that I used with everyone. It was the same lie that everyone had thought to be true. The same lie that kept me in my comfort zone.. The same lie that hid me. The same line that I needed, day after day.

"You're not fine. That's a lie." He stated.