Azrael looked at his sister, truly looked at her, and felt the crushing weight of a guilt that wasn't his, but one he now wore like a second skin.
He took a slow breath. "I am sorry, Celestria," he said, his voice quiet but clear. "For whatever I have done, you can curse me, beat me. I won't have a single grudge, a single complaint about it."
He met her tear-filled gaze without flinching. "Yes, I was a complete sadness in your life. I was a complete bastard. But Celestria, hear this... 'I was'."
He took a step closer, his own performance beginning, a lie woven with threads of a truth he had only read about. "I have changed. Completely. After the things I have witnessed, after seeing the outside world, the people... I know I always chose the wrong path. I even chose a wrong person."
