The Request Author (Ch30) - Lol lil bit, but I can understand what you mean; after all, no one should be forced to outlive their loved ones like that (Though it does suck for Lu-lu and Celly)

The Request Author (Ch31) - Oh don't worry, we're still quite a ways from finding that out...

The Request Author (Ch33) - Why thank you; I always try my best to make my story original and unpredictable

outruncone8116 (Ch48) - Kinda thought about that, but it seemed too cliche to me

outruncone8116 (Ch1) - I actually have about five chapters in reserve right now, but the reason for my late update will be explained in my A/N

RattPitt - Well if you remember, Celestia said that it was impossible for both of them to date the same being, so if Celestia does find love, it likely won't be from Blake

xel101 - Well, read and find out ;) Why didn't his armor save him? That's one of those questions that may never be answered (Or it could be as simple as he didn't have thew amulet)

Guest - People (and ponies) do crazy things when they're in love...

Guest - Lol ain't I a stinker?

WSRaptor - Oh don't worry, Blake will get to spend quality time with his girls soon enough :D

UnknownHero55 - You could say Blake took a Shot to the Heart ;) Thanks, I'll try to keep a sharper eye out for that!

KillerWoW - Umm... too bad?

killer43penguin - You'd think that, but we all do irrational things when matters of the heart are involved.

DragonLovingBrony - Could be worse... could be stabbed...

Kyguy - Lol hey, don't bring me into this...

Mikalzilla - What indeed... Guess you'll just have to see for yourself ;)

thecreator339 - Lol that's not too far off from what happened

A/N - Howdy and welcome to this week's installment of A Second Chance everypony! Sorry for the late update, a few family-related issues came up that I had to take care of, and I ended up spending most of the day out of town. Things got resolved fairly smoothly, they were just lengthy. Anywho, not much else happened this week, so I'll wrap this up here so you can all enjoy the latest chapter! As always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!

"She. Did. What?!" Rarity cried as she grabbed the edge of the chariot she was sharing with Pinkie Pie and Twilight. I had just finished telling the group what happened the previous night, and the feeling of shock seemed to be unanimous amongst my friends. "I can certainly understand her being upset, but that was clearly not your fault Darling. My suggestion is to give Princess Luna some time to cool off, then talk to her about the matter. I'm sure once she's had some time to think, she'll realize that you are not to blame for what happened. Then you can really give her a piece of your mind for what she did to you!"

The chariot lurched ever so slightly as we began our descent towards Ponyville. I turned to Twilight as we neared the town. "I don't want Scootaloo to know about this just yet. I know she likes Luna, and if she knows Luna's the one that did this to me… well, I don't know how she'll take it." She nodded.

I looked at my reflection in the polished chariot's side. The doctor had done his best, but according to both him and Twilight, while medical magic could work wonders, a certain modicum of natural healing was always required. So while my face did look significantly better, the damage was still fairly noticeable. "So… What do we tell her then?" Twilight's image appeared next to my own in the polished metal.

I heaved a sigh. "I don't know… I don't want to lie to her, but I don't want her to know the truth just yet either. I suppose we could tell her the truth about my kidnapping and blame it on one of them."

Twilight's reflection cocked its head to the side. "What good will that do? Won't she be worried?"

"Heh heh… all I have to say is 'you should see the other guy.'"

"That… that actually might work…" She put a hoof on my hand from her chariot. "Just don't let it get out of hoof. We both know Scootaloo loves you, and if she finds out you lied to her, she'll be very upset."

I patted her hoof with my other hand. "I know Twi. I'll make sure things don't go too far. If worse comes to worse, I'll tell her the truth and explain why I didn't want to tell her." We jolted slightly as the chariot touched down in the town square.

Derpy started flying off as we stepped out of the chariots. "Bye everypony! I need to check on-" We all cringed as poor Derpy smacked into the side of a building and slid down the side. "I'm ok!" She shook her head and took back off towards her house.

Fluttershy walked up next to me. "Umm… as much as I'd like to stay, I really should get back and check on my animal friends." We waved both her and Rainbow Dash off as they took off; Fluttershy to her cottage, and Dash to check in with the weather team.

Rarity lightly brushed up against me. "Well, I suppose there's nothing else for it. Shall we head to Sweet Apple Acres? I believe seeing Scootaloo and her little friends will do you some good."

I patted her shoulder. "I think you're right Rarity. C'mon, I bet those three miss us." I was feeling better at the prospect of seeing Scootaloo again, but I still couldn't get last night off my mind.

"Hey! I know what'll turn those frowns upside down!" Pinkie startled us all when she suddenly appeared between us and somehow wrapped us in a group hug. "Why not bring them down to Sugarcube Corner for some ice cream? It'll be my treat!" Before any of us could say anything, she disappeared, probably off to the confectionary to prepare.

Rarity, Applejack, Twilight and I looked at each other and laughed. "That's Pinkie for you…" Twilight smirked as we turned and headed towards the Apple family farm.

The four of us chatted as we walked the dirt path to the farm, helping speed up the trip. Before I knew it, the top of the barn came into view over the small hill, while the house the princesses had built for me lay off to the right. As the farmhouse itself came into view, I saw the three fillies we were there to see. They were running off towards the orchard, wearing their Crusader capes. "Looks like they're off to find their cutie marks again." I watched with a smirk as the three scurried off towards their clubhouse.

"I think I'll go meet them out there. Why don't you girls stay here, and I'll be back in a bit with a trio of giggly fillies."

The girls all nodded and AJ led them towards the farmhouse. I headed off in the direction of the clubhouse, which was where I would likely find the girls. The treehouse came into view, and I heard the clopping of little hooves on the wood floor of the clubhouse. An idea formed in my head, and I decided to act on it.

As I crept up to the side window to enact my plan to surprise the girls, I heard their voices floating out from inside. "But I thought Twilight said he was going to Appleloosa." That squeaky voice could only belong to Sweetie Belle.

"Ah know, but Ah saw 'im! Them ponies were takin' 'im off somewhere to tha Everfree. And with mah sister and tha others off in Appleloosa, it's up ta us ta save 'im!"

There was a *THUMP* from inside. "Yeah! We can't just sit around while my Papa's in trouble!" I had to do a mental double-take when I heard that. I…I'm Papa now…?

Sweetie piped up. "But… we don't even know where they took him! He could be anywhere in there!"

"I know, but we can't just leave him! Who knows what's happening to him, and it's up to us to help him."

"Surprise!" All three fillies yelped as I popped up into the open window. "So, planning on getting your cutie marks in tactical operations?"

"Papa!" Scootaloo launched herself at me through the window and hugged tight to my chest. "I was so worried! What happened?"

I kissed her forehead and chuckled. "So I'm Papa now, huh?"

She giggles as she hopped down. "Well… Sweetie Belle said I should try it out, and when I did, it made me feel all warm inside." She started bouncing in place. "So, tell us what happened! Did you kick anypony's flank?"

I picked the bouncy filly up and put her on my shoulders. "Well, first, I got tricked by those ponies in armor, but I managed to escape the cell they put me in and whup their butts."

"That sounds awesome! How many were there?" Sweetie Belle squeaked up from her perch in the window where she and Applebloom had been watching us.

I grinned at the three fillies. "Tell you what; why don't we head back to the farmhouse and meet your sisters, and I'll tell you three all about it over ice cream?"

I wouldn't have been surprised if everyone in Ponyville heard the trio of 'YAY's coming from the girls as Sweetie and AB clambered over each other to get out of the treehouse and follow us back.

We made our way back to the farmhouse just in time for a certain trio of mares to step through the screen door. "There y'all are; we were just about ta come out and see what was takin' ya!"

"Sorry, I decided to give these three a surprise, so I kinda waited for the right time."

Scoots giggled as I scooped her up. "Yeah, he got us good too! He popped up in the window right as we were about to go rescue him!"

Rarity gasped. "Sweetie Belle! Why would you do such a thing?! You didn't even know where he was, how could you hope to rescue him?"

"Ah saw them stallions in the armor leadin' 'im off into tha woods!"

I remembered her statement in the clubhouse. "Yeah, that reminds me; how did you see them when you were in class?"

AJ glared at her sister. "This'd better be good Applebloom… Ya know how Ah feel about ya cuttin' class."

Applebloom cringed. "Ah fergot mah lunch, and Ah came back here ta get it durin' recess, and Ah saw em, honest!"

Twilight stepped up to her. "Why didn't you tell us Applebloom? We headed in completely the wrong direction."

Applebloom's bow drooped as she hung her head. "Ah didn't think nothin' of it. Blake didn't look like he was in trouble when Ah saw 'im."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "That makes sense; I thought they were police officers, so I was trying to cooperate with them. To anyone watching, it probably would have looked like I was just following them. Besides, recess is short, and she would probably have gotten in trouble with Cheerilee if she came back late." She gave me a thankful little smile.

"Well… alright. Ah s'pose Ah can't fault ya fer that. Just… if ya see anything weird like that again, make sure ya tell somepony right away. That goes fer all three a you." They all nodded and chirped out a 'Yes ma'am!'

I scooped the three fillies up. "Well, now that that's settled, what say we go for the ice cream I promised these three?" The girls squealed and wriggled around in my arms even as they giggled.

I would have said goodbye to Granny Smith on our way out, but she was fast asleep in her rocker. From the look of her, a bomb could go off outside the house and she'd never know it.

We reached the confectionary and I let the girls down. As soon as their little hooves hit dirt, they scrambled inside. I chuckled as I watched them go. "You'd think they'd never had ice cream before…"

Rarity sighed. "With as often as our parents let her have it, it's a wonder Sweetie Belle doesn't look like a beach ball."

AJ nudged the fashionista. "Y'all see how much them three young'uns run about, tryin' ta get their cutie marks. Ah say it's a wonder they ain't stick-ponies."

I opened the door and held it for the three mares, who all thanked me as they went by, with Twilight even sneaking a kiss as she went past. When we got inside, the three fillies were leaving the counter, each carrying a multicolored stack of ice cream scoops on little waffle cones, each one with a huge grin on her face.

I looked around, but didn't see any sign of Pinkie. Mrs. Cake assured us that the pink party mare had already made arrangements for the seven us though. With that in mind, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and I all ordered our own, more modest cones before taking a seat at the table the girls had chosen to sit at. The fillies noisily licked and slurped at their cones, racing to eat them before they melted and got all over their hooves. "So Papa… I been meaning… to ask…" Scoots was still busily licking away at her cone as she talked. "What happened to your face? Did that happen when you got foalnapped?"

I patted her head. "Yup. One of those stallions got in a lucky hit. Don't you worry though, your Papa got him back good though."

She grinned and went back to eating her cone in earnest. Applebloom gave me a look like she suspected something, but didn't comment. Even though the fillies' cones were easily three times as big as ours, they still managed to finish at the same time as we did. Scootaloo leaned back in her chair and patted her little tummy. "Ahh~ that really hit the spot…" The other two giggled and nodded their agreement.

I looked outside the window to see that it was starting to get late in the afternoon. "Well, as much as I enjoyed this, I'm sure everypony has other things to do. I know I'd like to order some furniture and decorations for our new house so we can hopefully move in soon."

Rarity scooted back from the table as Twilight gathered up the trash with her magic. "I'm sorry to say you're right Darling. That fiasco with your foalnapping has put me behind in my orders. I'm afraid Sweetie Belle and I really must return to the boutique so I can get started."

We left Sugarcube Corner and waved Rarity and her sister off before I gave Twilight and AJ a kiss and sent them on their way. Before she left, Twilight told me that since most ponies don't carry around the kind of bits needed to buy furniture outright, most shops accepted payment on delivery. Once they were gone, Scoots and I headed to some of the shops in town, looking for furniture that we both liked.

Scoots found a Wonderbolts themed bedroom set that she really liked, and I ordered a special bed that was designed for herding families; it was the biggest they had, and I remembered as we were leaving that our herd might have just shrunk, and I felt a pain in my chest.

I sucked it up and decided to take Scootaloo to a toy store so she could pick out some new toys to play with. Most of them were Wonderbolts action figures, but I convinced her to find some games she could share with her friends. By the time we left the toy store, I had an armful of toys and lot less bits in my pocket. I didn't mind though, the chest at the library had plenty enough to last me for quite some time.

We headed back to the library and Twilight looked up from her tea with a warm smile. "Well hey you two. You're just in time; Spike is just about finished making dinner for everypony. Why don't I help you take all that stuff upstairs and we can eat?" She grabbed some of the bags in her magic and followed me up the stairs to our room.

After we put all the toys away in Scootaloo's part of the dresser, we headed back downstairs. Spike had brought the food out, and Scootaloo was fidgeting in her chair waiting for us.

After dinner, Scootaloo convinced us to play a few of the new games I had just gotten her. Both her and Twilight's favorite by far was a game called 'Monsters and Mazes', which seemed to be pretty similar to 'Dungeons and Dragons' from Earth. It took a bit to set up, but was fortunately fairly simple, so it wasn't long before the four of us were having fun battling monsters and looting ancient treasure. We were having so much fun in fact, that none of us even noticed how late it was getting until poor Spike fell fast asleep on the table.

Twilight giggled and carried him upstairs while Scoots and I cleaned up the game board and put everything away. Once that was done, we headed upstairs and I tucked Scootaloo in before joining Twilight in my own bed.

When I woke up, I was cold and laying on something hard. I shook my head, trying to clear the sleep from my mind. When the bleariness finally cleared and I could see, I noticed a very familiar set of iron bars on the other side of a very familiar stone room. Adrenaline flooded my system and I jolted awake as I realized that I was back in the cell in the Everfree castle.

I scrambled to my feet and tried to look down the hall, but it was still night, and the bars didn't allow me much of a view. I froze as I heard a sound; it was too faint to tell what it was from the dungeons, but something about it set me on edge. Not wanting to be trapped here again, I kicked at the lock mechanism for the cell door. The stone that the bolt was embedded in began to crumble, and eventually gave altogether.

I crept down the hall to the door leading out. I listened through the door for signs of life. When all I heard was silence for over a minute, I decided to take a chance and opened the door. The hallway beyond was dimly lit by candles, but there were no other signs of life. I froze again when the sound echoed down the hallway. With curiosity overriding caution, I headed towards the source of the sound.

I twisted and turned through the hallways, hoping I was getting closer. I heard the sound once again and my blood ran cold as I realized that it was the sound of somepony screaming. My thoughts turned to Twilight and Scootaloo and I dashed down the hall.

Eventually, I came to a door; I wanted to be cautious, but I didn't want to just leave whoever was in there. The next scream that came from the other side confirmed my fears; that scream belonged to Twilight.

I burst through the door and stopped dead in my tracks at the sight before me. Twilight was lying on her back on a table, her midsection flayed open, while Luna stood over her, humming merrily. "There there Twilight Sparkle… All will be made right in just a moment." Her voice was sickeningly sweet as she cooed in Twilight's ear.

I took a step forward, but nearly retched when I saw Twilight's condition; several of her organs looked like they had been sloppily cut out of her, leaving only jagged flesh behind. Her head flopped to the side, and her eyes locked with mine. She gurgled weakly and reached a bound hoof out to me, a pleading look in her eyes. There was a sickening *Squelch*, and her hoof fell limply to the table as her eyes clouded over. "You see Twilight? That was truly not so bad, was it? Now you get to be with all your little friends." A feeling of dread washed over me as those words registered in my mind.

A flash of light lit up the room as she spoke, and the meaning of her words became apparent. There, on the walls of the room, was every mare I knew. They had all been crucified, their hooves nailed to beams while their midsections had been cut open, much like Twilight's had; their viscera were strewn about, hung up around them like some kind of sick garland. Even Celestia, one of the most powerful beings on this world, was hung up on display; like a side of beef waiting to be butchered.

I felt Luna caress my cheek with a bloody hoof. "Greetings my love. You are early, I did not expect to see you awake so soon."

I struggled to find my voice. "Wh… What have you done?!"

She giggled sweetly. "I came to a realization; I realized that our love could never be true as long as others wished to steal you away, so I made sure there were no others to steal you away." She wrapped her forelegs around me and rested her head on my shoulder, though I was too numb to really feel it. "Now, we can be together, and rule all of Equestria as King and Queen. Does this please you my love? Blake…? Blake…?"

"NOOO!" I jolted upright as I felt myself being shaken. I looked around to see that I was back in the library; I could feel cold sweat pouring down my face. Twilight's purple eyes were full of concern in the dim light. "T-Twilight…?"

I caressed her cheek with a shaking hand. "Blake… What's wrong? You were screaming in your sleep."

I felt something on my chest. I looked down to see Scootaloo hugging me tight. "Papa… I was so scared…"

I stroked her mane. "It's ok sweetheart, it was just a dream… a really, really bad dream." She snuggled into my chest.

"That's… strange… Princess Luna should have kept that from happening." I had to suppress a shudder when Twilight mentioned Luna. "Are you alright? That must have been a terrible nightmare to make you scream like that."

I kissed her on the cheek. "Don't worry Honey, I'm fine." Twilight blushed and Scootaloo stuck her tongue out. "It's not the first time I've had to deal with a nightmare like that. C'mon, let's go back to bed…"

The next morning I took Scootaloo to school before heading over to the new house to wait for the new furniture to arrive. After the delivery ponies dropped off their cargo, my pockets were about ten thousand bits lighter, but those bits almost completely furnished the mansion-like home.

I used my magic to set up as much of the furniture as I could, and even managed to concentrate on several objects at once. After I finished that, I headed over to another of Ponyville's local stores to look for camping gear. I couldn't explain why, but everything that had happened for the past few days made me realize how little time I was spending with Scoots, and I wanted to take her on a father/daughter camping trip.

After I got what I could from the store and ordered what they didn't have in stock, I dropped the gear off at the new house and headed for Hammer Hoof's smithy. Fortunately, she was very understanding of what I had gone through the past few days, and didn't hold my not being there against me.

After several hours of working, splitting my time between helping her craft her orders and showing her new forging techniques, I realized that school would be letting out soon. Hammer Hoof saw me off with a smile and a wave once I had finished teaching her how to make carbon steel that was strong but not brittle.

As I was walking to the schoolhouse, I realized that the day after tomorrow was the day of my knighting ceremony… and the day I would have to confront Luna about what happened. I shook my head to clear those thoughts from my mind; I had enough to worry about without that hanging over my head.

I got to the school house right as the bell began tolling out, signaling the end of the day. A stampede of yelling colts and fillies flooded out of the front doors. I watched them go, waiting for Scootaloo and the others so I could take them home. As I waited, I heard a familiar voce next to me. "YOU!" I looked down to see… Diamond Tiara I believed her name was, in a very angry-looking stance. "You got my daddy arrested! I'll make you pay for that!" She turned around and tried to buck my knee, but I took a step back and her legs shot out, only hitting air. Without her back legs under her, she fell flat on her belly with an 'Oof'.

Since I didn't have the patience to deal with this brat, I turned around and walked away. Scootaloo, Applebloom, Dinky and Sweetie Belle were all waiting by the front door, watching me. I held up a hand as I approached the fillies. "Not a word. Remember what I said about ignoring bullies…" They all nodded and fell into step beside me.

I dropped the others off before heading back to the library with Scootaloo. Right as we got to the door, I heard Pinkie from somewhere behind me. "Uh-oh! Ear-flop, eye-flutter, knee twitch…" I grabbed Scoots and jumped back right as the library's door slammed open, with the walking pile of books on the other side grumbling about chores as it went past.

"Well hello you two." Twilight was standing in the middle of the room, floating books around and reshelving them. She had a bright smile on her face as we walked into the library. "Aaand… There! That's the last book. I don't know about you two, but all this reshelving worked up an appetite. How about we go out to eat?"

After we got back from our dinner at the café, Twilight suggested we play another round of Monsters and Mazes. Scootaloo and Spike agreed in an instant, and we played right up until bedtime. After we had gotten ready for bed, I lay down next to Twilight, and my mind turned to thoughts of the knighting ceremony as I drifted off to sleep in her loving hooves.