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A Second Chance

by Jay David

Chapter 115: Mending the Schism

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The local birds were tweeting happily outside the window, and a cool breeze flowed in, creating a nice and comfortable atmosphere in the room. Twilight, still somewhat tired and ragged from her recent journey, was casually sitting on the side of her large bed in her room of the Golden Oak Library. However, her bed was currently occupied by another; Spike. The young dragon was sleeping soundly, his mother watching him and counting his steady breaths, as look of both relief and worry upon her face. The Tree of Harmony had been healed, and thus, its effects were wearing off all over, and yet, her son still slumbered. He still lived, and that was something, but the fact that he remained here was nevertheless a source of concern. Fortunately for her, that moment was short-lived, as the small dragon before her began to slowly rouse, opening his eyes and giving himself a good stretch. Twilight, as one might expect, broke out into a smile of unparalleled joy as she witnessed this, almost to the point of tears, though Spike did not notice her there for the time being. However, after letting out a loud yawn, as most would after a good night's rest, he began to look around, and it wasn't long after that when he caught sight of his mother. Given what happened the last time they were together, he was naturally glad to see her, and gained a smile of his own before rushing forward and embracing her.

"Mom!"

Smiling widely, Twilight eagerly returned the embrace,

"Oh, Spike! I'm so happy you're okay!"

These two together, mother and son, holding each other close in such a loving way, was a heart-warming thing to see, and after their recent separation, neither of them wanted it to end. However, after a good few minutes, it did, and both of them wiped the tears from their faces as they parted, with Spike looking to Twilight with both worry and curiosity upon his face.

"But...but what happened? You were talking about a Tree of Harmony and..."

However, Spike was prevented from saying anything when Twilight gently placed a hoof to his lips, though still smiled down at him.

"Shhh...it’s alright, Spike. Everything turned out great. The tree is okay. Everypony's okay. You don't need to worry about anything."

Spike smiled at that, and would have probably hugged her further after hearing it. But, his recent ordeal had still left him somewhat drained, and another yawn escaped him, causing a brief giggle on Twilight's part. She looked to him, placing a hoof upon his shoulder, giving him a nurturing look. There were no words, but her message was nevertheless clear; that Spike was to continue resting until he got his strength back. Although somewhat annoyed by this, especially after having slept so long already, he gave a nod, obeying his mother's wishes and resting his head upon the nearby pillow. Smiling at this, Twilight leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss upon his forehead, before carefully hopping off the side of the bed. After giving her son another glance, and noting that he'd already fallen back to sleep, Twilight began to make her way out of the room, making sure to close the door behind her as carefully as possible, lest she make too much noise. Once out of the room, she turned, and before long, she was now looking into the face of a blue mare, Trixie. The latter looked to her with some concern, but a nod from Twilight let her know that everything was okay, causing her to sigh.

"I tell you, Twilight, I had no idea how to make him better when you were gone. I'm sorry I..."

But, she was stopped by a raised hoof from Twilight.

"You don't need to apologise, Trixie. Nopony could have fixed this problem. But, even so...thank you for looking out for him."

A smile passed between the two mares, and Twilight gave Trixie another nod before making her way past her, heading to the stairs that led to the main chamber of the library. Within a few moments afterwards, she was there, and went straight for the front door of her home. Using her magic, she opened it, and before long, she was out, taking in a deep breath of the cool air around her. Looking around, she saw that many of the ponies that had been subject to the draining effects of the tree's slow death were recovering all over. Couples were reunited, as were parents with their children. It was, obviously, a sight that brought a smile to Twilight's face, knowing that she and her friends had saved them. However, her smile faded somewhat, for she knew where she needed to go now. So, with purpose, Twilight began to trot down the main street of the town, heading for a less populous part of Ponyville, and when she arrived there, she looked on to a sight that would have shocked many of the other residents here. A procession of royal guards, and with them, Princess Celestia. The diarch of the sun turned as Twilight approached, smiling to her warmly, which the young alicorn returned. But, as she drew nearer, she noted who it was that the guards were staying close to. The one that had caused this crisis in the first place; Discord.

The ancient spirit of chaos was sitting upon the ground, looking more than a little upset at all of this, and looked especially indignant as Twilight came into view for him. But, he said nothing, for at this present moment, he was occupied with other matters. For beside him, carefully tying bandages on the scratches on one of his arms, was Fluttershy. Despite everything the draconequs had tried to do recently, the former bearer of the Element of Kindness still treated him like she would one of her animals if they were injured, with utter care and delicacy. The spirit, though annoyed at being near the one who had taken his powers from him, nevertheless looked to Fluttershy with confusion, not exactly knowing why she would be acting so nice to him. But Twilight, knowing full well the reason, namely her friend’s inherent compassion for anyone she met, gained a knowing smile on her face, which she then hid as she turned to Celestia.

"Princess...how was everything in Canterlot?"

The sun mare let out a sigh before speaking.

"It was difficult, to say the least. Ponies collapsing in the streets, there was panic amongst the rest. We had no idea what was going on until you sent that letter of yours."

Twilight nodded at that.

"Well...I'm just glad things have turned out alright."

However, Celestia shook her head and narrowed her eyes somewhat.

"Not everything, my student. There is still the matter of him to consider."

Twilight turned, and gave a grim nod. Her mentor had a point. No matter what his reasons might have been, Discord still put all of Equestria at risk with his actions, all in an effort to gain revenge on her specifically. And while, in her heart, she did indeed feel guilty about everything she'd done to Discord, her anger at what he'd nearly caused was still fresh in her mind, as her recent threatening behaviour towards him attested to. It was a tricky situation, made all the more difficult when Fluttershy, having overheard Celestia's words, turned to her and began to meekly make her way over.

"Um...princess? I know it's not my place to say this kind of thing to you, but...please don't hurt him. He's...he's like a wounded animal, lashing out at everypony around him."

Her concern for Discord's wellbeing was clear, even if it did continue to confuse the latter, as well as slightly insulting him to be compared to animals of all things. Seeing that compassion as clear as day upon her face, Celestia's expression soon softened, and she took a step closer to the young pegasus.

"Fluttershy...I know you care for all things...but he committed a terrible crime here today. Many ponies were hurt, and they will call for justice. He cannot simply be allowed to walk free after today."

Fluttershy gained a look of clear worry after hearing that, and turned to Twilight, silently asking for her to intervene. In her heart, Twilight felt as Fluttershy did to a large expert. After all, in another time, she and Discord were friends. Not the best of friends of course, but even so, she didn't want him hurt, if indeed that was perhaps what Celestia planned for him, even in spite of the anger she’d felt for him. So, thinking hard on the matter, Twilight turned to her old teacher before speaking up.

"Princess...Discord did what he did because of what I did to him. I'm very much to blame for the actions he took here today. I ask...that you show him some measure of leniency."

Silence fell between the two mares, and Celestia regarded her student carefully, seeing genuineness there, and a real concern for Discord, even in spite of what he'd almost done. It took a few moments, and Discord himself kept on looking from one mare to the other during this time, but eventually, the elder alicorn let out a sigh before speaking up to her pupil.

"Very well. I will, for the time being, confine him to house arrest in Canterlot. He’ll be watched at all times. But...there will come a time when more conclusive action is needed, Twilight."

The young alicorn nodded at that, and soon afterwards, Celestia turned to her guards, giving them a silent gesture with her hoof. The nearby guards spotted this and gave her an immediate salute, after which they began to aim their horns in a menacing manner towards Discord. The spirit, while still nursing the spot where Fluttershy had bandaged him, nevertheless did as he was instructed, grumbling as he made his way towards the already-prepared chariots, ready to be taken to Canterlot. But, as he reached Celestia and Twilight, he stopped, and glared down at the younger alicorn. Silence fell between them for a while, until finally, he spoke, with his voice carrying a tint of anger to it.

"This...changes...nothing."

And that was all he said to her, turning from her gaze and making his way to the golden chariots before him. Twilight watched, as did Celestia, as he was led into one, at which point the pegasi guards attached to the thing gave a bow to the princess before flapping their wings. They skyrocketed upwards, with Discord being taken up with them, and Twilight kept her eyes on him as he flew higher and higher, before heading off in the direction of their great capital. She watched as he grew further and further away from her, until finally, he could no longer be seen. In her heart, she wondered if she would ever see that creature again, or if it was even wise to do so. Unfortunately, she had little time to consider that, for Celestia gained her attention with a gentle tap on her shoulder. Looking to her, the young alicorn noted that she was looking to something behind her, prompting her to turn around. There, approaching her slowly, were her friends. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie all looked to her in utter silence. Turning away from them, Twilight looked to her mentor, who gave her a quick nod before moving off to conduct her own business, or perhaps just to give her some space right now. Sighing, Twilight began to make her way over to them, and after a long silence, she finally spoke.

"So...what happens now?"

The mares all looked to each other, not quite sure what to say or how to say it. But, in the end, Applejack went first.

"Well...we're still kinda mad at ya fer lying an manipulatin us like y'all did."

Twilight looked away with a degree of shame upon her face. But, moments later, she looked back to them as Applejack began to speak in a softer tone.

"But...despite everythin y'all did ta us...an everythin y'all did ta others...we know ya ain't bad."

The young unicorn gained a look of confusion, which deepened further when the orange mare continued.

"Ah'm sure that, whatever y'all did since movin here ta Ponyville...ya did cause ya cared about us. Ya did it ta look out fer us...even if it was a bit too far every once in a while."

Slowly, Applejack turned, looking to Rainbow, who smiled at her. No words were said to that effect, but Twilight had an inkling in this moment that Rainbow was probably quite important in getting Applejack to feel this way. But, with that said, it was then Fluttershy who began to speak up, in that quiet way she always did.

"Twilight...for many of us, it came down to one question; do we still want you in our lives? It took a while...for me especially...but the answer...was yes."

Slowly, Twilight gained a look of shock at that.

"But...my lies...my manipulation...all the things I did wrong! How...how can you possibly forgive me after all that?"

Hearing that, Applejack gained a slight frown.

"Don't get us wrong on this one, Twi. We're still angry, some of us more than others. But y'all did what ya did fer us... and that ain't a small thing. Ah asked mahself durin all this if ah’d ever go further than necessary, if it meant Apple Bloom an the rest of mah family were okay…an ah…an ah couldn’t lie…ah would."

Twilight, hearing all of this, shook her head frantically.

"No...no! I don't deserve to have you still be my friends! Not after everything I've done!"

The mares all looked to each other, knowing the clear stress and self-doubt their companion was going through, and it was here that Rarity began to speak up herself.

"Darling...you say you've known us for many years after today? Our whole lives in fact?"

Slowly, Twilight turned to her, nodding in response to her question, which led to a small smile on Rarity's part.

"Then ask yourself this simple question...given all that you know about us...about the kinds of ponies we are...do you honestly think we would ever just cut a friend out of our lives? Even for this?"

It was as if Fluttershy herself had delivered yet another slap to her face. The answer was as plain as day, and yet, for whatever reason, Twilight had never even considered it until her friend had just spelled it out for her right now. No, they wouldn't have left her. They'd have been angry. They'd have fumed. They may even have been away from her for a time. And yet, whatever hardships her friends went through over the years, either in this timeline or the other, they always came back, no matter what. Because they were friends. And friends forgive each other. Turning, she looked to the skies, and was immediately made to think of Discord. When he had been made into their friend, in that other time, he did many terrible things. He'd mocked them, sent them into crazy situations, and had even betrayed them to one of their most dangerous enemies. And yet, in spite of this great crimes, they'd still accepted him afterwards. There had been difficulty, and the scars of his betrayal were always there, but they'd nevertheless accepted him back into their lives. They'd forgiven him. Is that how her friends saw her now? All the terrible things she'd done behind their backs, all the lies, and they wanted her back, even in spite of all of that. Needless to say, this sentiment brought a tear to her eyes, but rather than bawl it all out, as she had at the Tree of Harmony, she was stopped when Applejack approached her in a more serious tone.

"But...y'all gotta remember, Twi. There's gotta be no more secrets between us. If y'all know about our lives and what's gonna happen ta us...we have a right to know."

It was a fair point, even if it would present some problems down the line, but Twilight still smiled at her orange friend, giving a nod of consent to those terms. If honesty was what her friends wanted of her for their relationship to continue, then that was exactly what she would give to them. It was, after all, the least they deserved after everything that had happened. Then, before she could react, the farm mare charged forward, embracing her warmly before she could get away. And then, much to her surprise, she found that each and every one of her other friends, even Fluttershy, now moved in to join them, creating a massive group hug. As one might expect, this brought an enormous smile to Twilight's face, and she sighed in a contented manner at the feel of her friends, now so close, just as they were always meant to be. But, as the six mares enjoyed this warm moment, Rainbow looked around before speaking in a quizzical tone.

"So...how's this gonna work? Is Twi just gonna spill all that future stuff now, or is it more a day-by-day thing?"

But Pinkie, in contrast to her usual bubbly self, looked to her cyan friend with a frown and raised a hoof to her lips.

"Shhh! Hug now, details later!"

Next Chapter: Catching Up With the Crusaders Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 23 Minutes
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