Scarlets anger had spiked when Rhapsody chastised everypony for not seeing the "inevitable" danger of Changling Maple. Anger made worse when she alluded to her dislike of him again. He wanted 6o yell at her, to vent his frustration with her seemingly automatic downer judgements of ponies.
And yet...
Keeping a tight hold on his anger, Scarlet forced it to cool. Shoving it down and away from his thoughts so he could think straight. As the coversation continued around him, Scarlet took several steadying breaths and really thought about their current situation. About Maple and STOMP. About Changling and their history. About Cadence and Shining Armor.
About his own misgivings about Maple and why he had decided to giver a chance. Mentally counting to ten, he looked straight at Rhapsody.
"I neber said i discounted your warning, nor do i consider your the bad guy for being so skeptical. I also never said i accepted Maple wholeheartedly and without reservations, because i don't.
However. Changlings don't usually 'fess up about being Changlings. Nor do they usually care for anypony beyond what is needed to fool them into a trap. So, if Maple is planning something diabolical, she's taking a needlessly long time to follow through with it.
Does this mean that everything i've read and the little i've seen of her up to this point is proof of her innocence. No.
What it does mean, is that I am not about to condemn her outright based on what she might do, on what she could do. As i said before, until i see evidence of her nefarious nature, and i will be keeping an eye out for it. I will not pre-judge her."
"I agree with Mr. Spectrum. I'd hope all of you would keep a close eye on me when you can. While I've regained my memory of being a changeling, and have the second-hand knowledge of what happened the day I became me- I still have no idea if I'll continue to be who I was 3 days ago if any more memories come back."
Maple closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "it's why I've come to all of you with this as soon as I could, I want each of you to understand that Rhapsody is right about this... this is an unknown element for all of us, and while I don't particularly feel like starting a secret hive to replace all of you with my children -at the moment... the potential for that to be the goal of whoever I was -before I hit my head, is just something I can't risk all of you on - just by the gut feeling that I have that tells me I wouldn't do that."
Static let Maples words sink in. He tapped the edge of the table a few times, trying to tap the words in his head together into a coherent thought. Was Maple just admitting she was a threat?
"Remember..." he began haltingly, catching a breath and meeting Maples eyes, "...what I told you once...about if you ever got your memories back. You don't have to be anyone you don't want to be. Who you were in the past...it's in the past."
Static sighed wearily, taking a brief look around and judging how much he wanted to disclose in front of everyone. "Now's not the time or place to go into details. So ask later if you want the whole story." This meeting wasn't about him after all. "But I was a monster once myself. Ms. Iron could have brought the hammer down on my life so fast and she would've been right to do so."
Deep breath. "But she gave me a chance. And now...and now who I used to be...it's not who I am.
"Same with you. Whoever you were before you lost your memory...even if you do regain your memory and learn something truly ugly about yourself...it's just not who you are any more and it's not who you have to be.
"Of course we'll keep an eye on you. It would only be prudent. But I can't imagine it will be necessary. Whoever you were, you're Maplejack now."
"Overall, this is something we'll be watching. My assumption and best hope since I trust Maple is that she will still be herself. In the event that things don't work out, we'll handle that as needed. With all alerted, were there any other points of discussion before we dismiss?"
"no ma'am I think that's it for me... other than to say to Night Cap that I don't know."
And yet...
Keeping a tight hold on his anger, Scarlet forced it to cool. Shoving it down and away from his thoughts so he could think straight. As the coversation continued around him, Scarlet took several steadying breaths and really thought about their current situation. About Maple and STOMP. About Changling and their history. About Cadence and Shining Armor.
About his own misgivings about Maple and why he had decided to giver a chance. Mentally counting to ten, he looked straight at Rhapsody.
"I neber said i discounted your warning, nor do i consider your the bad guy for being so skeptical. I also never said i accepted Maple wholeheartedly and without reservations, because i don't.
However. Changlings don't usually 'fess up about being Changlings. Nor do they usually care for anypony beyond what is needed to fool them into a trap. So, if Maple is planning something diabolical, she's taking a needlessly long time to follow through with it.
Does this mean that everything i've read and the little i've seen of her up to this point is proof of her innocence. No.
What it does mean, is that I am not about to condemn her outright based on what she might do, on what she could do. As i said before, until i see evidence of her nefarious nature, and i will be keeping an eye out for it. I will not pre-judge her."
"I agree with Mr. Spectrum. I'd hope all of you would keep a close eye on me when you can. While I've regained my memory of being a changeling, and have the second-hand knowledge of what happened the day I became me- I still have no idea if I'll continue to be who I was 3 days ago if any more memories come back."
Maple closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "it's why I've come to all of you with this as soon as I could, I want each of you to understand that Rhapsody is right about this... this is an unknown element for all of us, and while I don't particularly feel like starting a secret hive to replace all of you with my children -at the moment... the potential for that to be the goal of whoever I was -before I hit my head, is just something I can't risk all of you on - just by the gut feeling that I have that tells me I wouldn't do that."
Static let Maples words sink in. He tapped the edge of the table a few times, trying to tap the words in his head together into a coherent thought. Was Maple just admitting she was a threat?
"Remember..." he began haltingly, catching a breath and meeting Maples eyes, "...what I told you once...about if you ever got your memories back. You don't have to be anyone you don't want to be. Who you were in the past...it's in the past."
Static sighed wearily, taking a brief look around and judging how much he wanted to disclose in front of everyone. "Now's not the time or place to go into details. So ask later if you want the whole story." This meeting wasn't about him after all. "But I was a monster once myself. Ms. Iron could have brought the hammer down on my life so fast and she would've been right to do so."
Deep breath. "But she gave me a chance. And now...and now who I used to be...it's not who I am.
"Same with you. Whoever you were before you lost your memory...even if you do regain your memory and learn something truly ugly about yourself...it's just not who you are any more and it's not who you have to be.
"Of course we'll keep an eye on you. It would only be prudent. But I can't imagine it will be necessary. Whoever you were, you're Maplejack now."
"Overall, this is something we'll be watching. My assumption and best hope since I trust Maple is that she will still be herself. In the event that things don't work out, we'll handle that as needed. With all alerted, were there any other points of discussion before we dismiss?"
"no ma'am I think that's it for me... other than to say to Night Cap that I don't know."