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A Second Chance

by Jay David

Chapter 32: Rainbow Revelation

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If there's one thing I enjoy more than anything else in the world, it's moments like this. Twilight smiled as she gazed upon her current surroundings, the main chamber of the Golden Oak Library. She and her six friends were all sitting around a round table near the middle of the room, having come over for a visit. Some, like Rainbow and Pinkie, were enjoying a soda, which was gulped down vigorously. Others, like Twilight and Rarity, kept to simple cups of tea, which they partook in a more moderate fashion. As for Applejack and Fluttershy, they were busy nursing down hot cups of cocoa. Last, but not least, there was Trixie. Although the show-mare had most definitely started things off in a tense manner with her friends, lately, things seemed to have cooled off, much to Twilight's delight. She, like Twilight, was currently drinking some tea, but rather than talking with the others, she was hard at work studying a nearby open spellbook. Twilight shook her head at that. I admire dedication as much as the next mare, but even I know there's a time to relax every once in a while. However, rather than speak up such a thought, Twilight instead chose to keep the peace and go back to her drink.

The whole scene was calm and relaxing, and one which caused a sigh of contentment from Twilight. This is the life. No threats. No dangers to the world. Just me and my friends. It doesn't get better than this. However, as she took another sip of her tea, her ears perked up as she saw, to the side of the room, that they were not alone in the library today. Smiling, the young unicorn looked upon her assistant, Spike, who was currently playing a board game of some sort with Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. From the looks of things, Spike was losing.

"Now girls, be nice to him," Twilight called out.

Spike folded his arms and huffed at his carer's protectiveness, while the fillies merely turned to her with the most forced looks of innocence Twilight had ever seen, complete with halos above their heads. Hmmm...I never did ask how they ever managed to make those things. Regardless, Twilight merely shrugged her shoulders and got back to her tea, but it was here that she noticed Applejack, who leaned in closer and began to whisper to her.

"Ah reckon those kids are gettin along famously, Twi. That was a good call of addin Spike to the mix."

Twilight smiled and nodded at that.

"Thanks, Applejack. I'm glad he has a chance to play with other children for once. Don't want him overworked after all."

Applejack let out a dry laugh at that, but then her smile faded a little as she looked from Spike and then back to Twilight, speaking up in a more hushed tone.

"Just so ya know...I'll be drawin a line if he ever suggests playin Twister with em or something."

Both she and Twilight giggled at that notion, doing their best to keep the noise down, lest the youngsters notice them. Unfortunately, they did end up catching Rarity's attention, who looked at the two of them with a raised eyebrow. Stifling their laughter for the time being, Twilight and Applejack instead focused on their drinks while their unicorn friend cleared her throat.

"Well, Twilight, I must say this is a very pleasant little get together you've prepared for us."

Twilight gave a nod to that.

"Don't mention it, Rarity. I know you and the others have been doing a lot of work lately. I figured you needed a break from it all."

Rarity nodded in agreement over that, but then turned her attention to Trixie, who was still nose-deep in her book.

"I say, Trixie, you really should relax a little."

Only now did the blue unicorn look up from her book, noticing the mares around her, who were all glancing in her direction. Blushing somewhat, Trixie fumbled her words a little before getting out a coherent sentence.

"Well...Trixie didn't want to intrude on your personal time together."

Sounds genuine, Twilight thought. She really is coming a long way. Twilight smiled at that, but it was Applejack who beat her in speaking up first.

"Shoot, Trixie, Y'all are part of the group now. There's no need ta bury yerself in books all the time!"

Trixie looked at Applejack in surprise, to which Twilight could not blame her. When she first moved in here, Applejack was probably the most vocal in showing her animosity towards her. Now, it seems as if everypony is really getting along. Twilight's smile widened at that thought. Good to know my changes are having a positive effect like this. It took a few moments, but Trixie soon broke out into a smile of her own, closing her book before being dragged willingly into a conversation with Pinkie Pie. Twilight chuckled and shook her head at the sight of Trixie trying to understand all the things Pinkie was blaring at her, before taking another sip of her drink. However, after a few moments of this, she turned to see Rarity leaning over to her.

"I meant what I said before, Twilight. Thank you for arranging this. I've had so many dress orders lately, I could really do with a break like this."

Twilight nodded and patted her friend on the shoulder showing her appreciation. After the two smiled at each other, Rarity turned, getting back to a conversation she'd been having with Rainbow Dash prior to her thanks to Twilight. But, while she was looking away, Twilight's mind was awash with her words. Believe me, Rarity, your workload would be even worse if I hadn't intervened in history. Now's about the time she'd have been making those dresses for our visit to the Grand Galloping Gala. But, since we're not going this time, she gets to have some much-needed time off. However, a grimace crossed Twilight's face with that notion. I can't believe how much of a bother I was to Rarity back then. All those demands, all that micromanagement. She was under so much stress to make us happy and I didn't see it. Well, now that the Gala is no longer an option, me and the others won’t be made to sink that low again. A smile crept onto her face with that thought, and she took another sip of her tea. But, it was after that when Twilight and the other mares turned, seeing the young fillies squealing at something outside the window.

"Wow! Look at that rainbow!" Sweetie commented.

Looking as well as she could, Twilight saw that there was indeed a magnificent rainbow decorating the sky outside. It brought a smile to everypony's face, especially hers. Rainbows. Always a good thing for us. But then, a look of seriousness crossed her face. Hmmm...I wonder. All my friends and the fillies are here together. I wonder if now is the time to get some stories out? As she thought on that, she heard Rarity giggled somewhat.

"Look at them. Every filly and colt in the world absolutely falls in love with rainbows whenever they seem them."

Twilight smiled at that. Yep...now's the time.

"You're not wrong, Rarity. Rainbows were pretty important to me as a child. Well...I say rainbows."

Rarity turned to her, raising an eyebrow and making it clear that she wanted Twilight to elaborate.

"Well...you'll never believe this, but when I was a filly, I actually got to see a sonic rainboom!"

While that statement caused looks of shock from all of the mares, Rainbow Dash had a rather more overt response, spitting out a mouthful of soda, right in Rarity's direction. Fortunately, the latter was able to duck before any of it got on her mane, and after Rainbow had given her a rather apologetic look, she turned to Twilight, looking more than a little nervous.

"Er...did you say...a sonic rainboom?"

Twilight nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. The fabled manoeuvre of the pegasi. A great ring rainbow, spreading out over the sky. I tell you, I doubt I'd be where I am today if it wasn't for that moment."

Needless to say, that earned looks of curiosity from all of them, leading to Twilight explaining herself.

"Well...I was auditioning to enrol in Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, and I was struggling with the entrance exam. But then, out of nowhere, the rainboom happened. The shock of it awakened my magical talent, with spells of all kinds darting in every direction. That got Celestia's attention immediately, and after she'd calmed me down, I became her student. Plus..."

Twilight turned, looking upon the star mark on her hind quarters.

"...it's how I got my cutie mark."

The young unicorn glanced to her side, and sure enough, the mention of cutie marks immediately got the attention of the three fillies, who looked to her with interest. Immediately, they darted off to stand beside the table, much to the annoyance of Spike, who had actually started winning the game for once. With an additional three ponies in her audience, Twilight turned to the rest of her friends before carrying on.

"That rainboom changed my life forever."

The other mares looked to each other, their faces filled with amazement and, in time, feelings of nostalgia. They looked at one another, as if daring them to be the first to speak. However, Pinkie, being oblivious to this, merely blurted out what she was thinking.

"Ooh! That's how I got my mark too!"

The others all turned to her, and Twilight feigned confusion at her words as she continued speaking.

"I was on my family's rock farm, and this huge rainbow explosion happened in the sky! It was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. After that, I got it into my head to start throwing parties, so that everypony else could be just as happy as I was!"

Afterwards, Rarity looked to her and spoke up herself.

"Now that you mention it, I swear I saw something similar when I earned my mark!"

Applejack nodded.

"And mine!"

Fluttershy, meekly, nodded in agreement.

"Um...and mine too."

Rainbow, all the while, kept on looking at them in silence, much to Twilight’s confusion. Guess she's nervous about it. I know she got really tense at the prospect of repeating the rainboom later on, so maybe she's not as eager to share this story right now. However, before Twilight could investigate that theory, she was interrupted by Trixie, who spoke up right at her.

"Trixie doesn't believe in coincidences, Twilight, Do you think it was all the same rainboom that you heard?"

Twilight nodded at that.

"I think it might have been. In fact..."

She turned her head, looking right at Rainbow.

"Rainbow. Do you know anything about this?"

The cyan pegasus looked to her as if she was about to choke. After a few false starts, she finally managed to get some words out.

"Er...me? Wha...what makes you think I'd know anything?"

Twilight raised a hoof and carefully pointed to her.

"I did some research on the rainboom after I first saw it. I couldn't get it out of my mind after that moment, so I asked around about anypony else who'd seen it. From what I'd been told, most ponies seem to think it came from around where Cloudsdale was at the time. And you told me that you and Fluttershy were from there, so...did you see anything?”

Rainbow looked around nervously, seeing that the eyes of everypony else, especially the young fillies, were on her. She swallowed a little before opening her mouth, ready to speak. But, before she got the chance, Applejack spoke first.

"Just wait a gosh-darn minute! Didn't y'all used ta say that ya did a sonic rainboom when you were a filly?"

Knowing she was now on the spot, Rainbow laughed nervously before finally speaking up.

"Um...well...kinda...yeah."

There was silence all around, and Twilight looked to each of them in turn to gauge their reactions. As she predicted, most of them were in shock over what they'd just heard. I remember that feeling from the first time around. To know my friends and I had this connection all along, years before we'd even met. It was quite something. And as for Rainbow, I always kept expecting this revelation to make her somewhat egotistical, and yet, it never did. Actually, she seemed more shocked about the whole thing than any of us. Turning, Twilight smiled as she looked down at the fillies, all of whom were utterly enraptured by what Rainbow had admitted to, especially Scootaloo. Look at them all. It’s like they've seen Celestia herself descend from the heavens. I wonder if it's this story that contributed to Scootaloo's hero-worship of Rainbow? However, as Twilight turned back to the group, it was here that the silence finally broke, as Pinkie shot forward, getting to within an inch of Rainbow's face before blurting out her next words.

"OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!!! Rainbow! You're the reason we all have cutie marks! That's super-duper awesome!"

Before Rainbow could react to that, she was taken aback by an impromptu hug from Pinkie, which threatened to squeeze the life out of her. Although amused by this display, the other mares all got out of their chairs and walked over to their pegasus friend, ready to thank her for the part she'd unknowingly played in their lives, and to go into further detail about their own personal cutie mark stories. All except Trixie, who simply sat there with a bemused look on her face. Twilight, after joining in on the group herself, couldn't help but sigh happily.

"Friends before we even knew it. Yeah...that sounds just about right."

Next Chapter: A Dragon's Hoard Estimated time remaining: 15 Hours, 26 Minutes
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