PSYCHOPATH - To be honest, I actually considered something like that for a gag chapter early on, but it just doesn't feel right to me. So sorry, but it looks like you won't be getting any baked Apples ;)

Lord of darkness the 1st - I could tell you, but that would be spoilers...

Kyguy - HOW DARE THOU SPEAK OF MINE SISTER IN SUCH A MANNER! - "Whoa! Calm down Luna, I'm sure he didn't mean it... Right Kyguy?

Mikalzilla - That's just what Blake's messed up psyche came up with without Luna to safeguard his unconscious mind... at least as far as you know ;)

knightofstories141912 - I'm glad you enjoyed it; I thought it was high time for a bit of tension...

DragonLovingBrony - Hmm... While that would be interesting... it's just not Luna's style; I like to think of her as being more subtle than that.

xel101 - Well, she wasn't exactly in a state of mind to do her job properly, as I imagine just about anyone would be the same in her situation. Oh, don't worry, we haven't heard the last of him...

HYBRID BATTLESHIP INFINITY210 - True. He basically has to choose either to risk part of her trust in him, or have her lose all her trust in Luna for sure.

UnknownHero55 - Lol it is, though perhaps not in the way you're thinking ;)

KillerWoW - Lol who said that was Luna? Though that's not to say there wasn't an outside force involved at all ;)

RattPitt - Lol I got that a lot... Maybe, but I can't exactly say I blame her either.

KingTobi - Then I've done my job :D

killer43penguin - Not sure Luna's the only one who needs to do the forgiving...

bobfromsiam99 - I actually toned it down a bit from what it originally was, mostly because I didn't want things getting too dark. Yet...

Tornadopelt - Find out now on PonyBall Z!

A/N- Hey there everypony! Sorry for the (once again) late post; I got a new (used, but new to me) desktop, and I spent all day trying to get it up to snuff. Needless to say, I kinda lost track of time in the process. While I did make some decent headway, It's gonna be awhile before the thing is properly usable. Anywho, just thought I'd let everyone know what the deal was. On another note; next week is the one year anniversary of A Second Chance! I'm so excited for it too! Not much else to say really, so as always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!

The day of my knighting ceremony had finally come, and I could feel my heart hammering in my chest as I got myself ready for the event. Celestia had flown me to Canterlot the day before so we could practice the ceremony, though there was no sign of Luna. All of my friends were invited to stay the night in the castle, and Celestia gave me my usual room, with Derpy, Applejack and Twilight all staying with me and Scootaloo. As much as I wanted them to come, none of the other fillies could make the trip, not even Dinky.

Twilight and the others had left to help Rarity with the finishing touches for their own attire for the event, while Celestia had asked that I wear my armor. With that in mind, I spent a good deal of the morning practicing calling and dismissing it. While I was practicing, I accidentally discovered that I could actually call and dismiss individual parts of the armor if I wanted, rather than the entire thing. I could only guess that that was how I had managed to pull my gun and its spare magazine while I was wearing the suit.

While I was taking a break, I watched Rainbow Dash zip through the air above Canterlot, enjoying the freedom her wings gave her. It was then that I remembered that my armor allowed me to fly, though I hadn't figured out how just yet. I called the armor, which materialized around me in an instant, and started thinking about flying.

I started by imagining myself flying through the air, like Superman, but aside from feeling silly, I couldn't tell if anything changed or not. Over the course of the next hour or so, I tried a variety of things; from simply jumping in the air and willing myself not to come back down to more complex things, like using some of Twilight's meditation techniques to trick my mind into believing I was falling, though nothing showed any sign of working.

I was about to give up when a thought popped into my head. Deciding it was worth a shot, I called on my magic and used what Twilight had taught me about sensing magical fields to find the armor's source of magic. When I 'felt' it, I focused on my own magic, trying to connect the two; it felt like trying to force the same pole of two magnets together, the harder I pushed, the harder they pushed back. I had no idea if my plan would work, or even what would happen if something went wrong, but it made sense to at least try.

With one final push, I felt the resistance fade and my magic connected with that of the armor, a strange sensation to say the least, and I also began feeling another strange sensation at points between each of my shoulder blades and my spine. I looked behind me to see if the armor had done something when I noticed that it had indeed; there were now a pair of faintly glowing, golden wings attached to the back-plate of the armor.

I turned and looked in the mirror above the dresser to get a better look at the new additions, and noticed that they were actually two-toned; the top parts of the wings were the same gold that made up the majority of my magical aura's color, while they faded to blue at the edges and tips of the feathers.

I tried making them flap, using the same sort of mental commands that summoned and dismissed the armor itself, but nothing happened. Then I decided to try moving them like I would an object with the levitation spell; again, nothing. While I was trying to physically move them with the spell, it occurred to me that I could actually feel the wings, as if they were a part of me, so I tried moving them like I would as if they were actual flesh-and-blood limbs. My heart jumped when they responded to me; strangely, flapping them suddenly felt as natural as if I'd always had them, though I still had no idea how to actually use them.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Rarity was standing on the other side with a bright smile; her beautiful sapphire eyes were closed. She started talking as she walked past me into the room and then turned around. "Well hello Darling. I just wanted to drop by and see if there were any last minute touch ups I could make to that magnificent… armor…" She paused and looked me up and down. "Umm… Blake, dear… is there something… different about your armor?"

I chuckled and looked back at my new wings. "I guess you could say that. I read something about the armor a few days ago, and it said I could use it to fly, so I've been in here trying to figure out how; I actually only just figured it out."

She beamed at me. "That's amazing Darling! What wonders will you uncover next?" She trotted around me. "I must say, these make a smashing addition; they really bring things to life!"

I twisted around as she trotted around me, trying to keep her in sight as she talked. "Well thanks Rarity, But I didn't really do it to make things more fashionable." She trotted back around to my front and stopped. "So, is there anything you want to do?"

She rubbed her chin. "Hmm… to be honest, I simply can't think of a thing I could do to improve your look, at least not that I could accomplish on such short notice… or without the help of a good smith…"

There was another knock on the open door. We both turned our attention to it to see a maid standing there. "Pardon me Mister Marshall… Princess Celestia has asked that I inform you that the ceremony will begin in twenty minutes. She wishes for you to meet her outside the throne room for the final preparations." Her voice was almost as sweet and demure as Fluttershy's.

I thanked the maid and turned to Rarity. "Well, I guess this is it…"

She brushed a hoof against my armored thigh. "Don't look so nervous Darling; I'm sure you'll do just fine. Even if she's there." I could practically taste the venom in her voice.

"Don't worry, I'll be alright. I trust her to be professional during the ceremony, and if everything goes well… who knows; maybe we can get things sorted out afterwards."

She sighed as we walked out of the room together. "I hope so Darling… like I said; I can understand her being upset, but what she did was simply too far."

Neither of us said anything after that until we reached the doors to the throne room. "Well, this is it… wish me luck."

She reared up and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. "Good luck Blake." The guards opened the doors and she left to take her place among our friends at the forefront of the crowd that that had gathered for the ceremony.

I turned around when she had gone through the doors, and came face-to-face with the very mare I was there to wait for. "Hello Blake. Are you ready to become Equestria's Knight-Defender?"

I sighed and looked back at the doors. "I hope so, there's no going back now, is there?"

She gave a small smile and patted my shoulder with a slippered hoof. "Don't worry, I have spoken to Luna, and she will behave during the ceremony. In fact, she wishes to speak to you afterwards." I grimaced at the prospect, worried what she would want to talk about. "She also informed me that she has no problem with my presence if that makes you more comfortable. I believe she wishes to make amends."

I took a deep breath. "Alright… though she's right, I am gonna want you to be there for it; I have no idea how things will go otherwise."

"Agreed. Now, let's head to the back entrance of the throne room, the ceremony will start soon."

I followed her around a winding hallway to a small, discreet doorway that I would never have guessed led to the throne room. It actually looked more like a broom closet than an entrance to the literal and figurative seat of power in Equestria.

I opened the door and Celestia walked through with a thankful smile. I recognized the area where we were, though we had come here from the throne room itself, not this door; I actually hadn't even noticed this door was here the last time.

Celestia turned to her left, towards the main room. "Stay here, and I will introduce you after my sister and I have addressed the crowd as we practiced; then you will come up, make a short speech, and we will knight you, ending the ceremony. And by the way, those wings are a nice touch."

She turned and headed up the small staircase that led to the dais the thrones were sitting on. I heard her begin her own speech to the crowd, but I mostly tuned it out, only listening enough to hear my name when she announced me to the crowd. My heart began pounding at the thought of making a speech in front of all those ponies.

"And now, fillies and genltecolts, the moment you've all been waiting for; I give you Equestria's new Knight-Defender; Blake Marshall!" I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and headed up the stairs and onto the dais.

Celestia and Luna were standing at the opposite edge of the dais, closer to the crowd. They both looked back to me, and I noticed the hurt look in Luna's eyes, though it looked almost… shameful. I walked between them as we had practiced and cleared my throat. "Ponies of Equestria… Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have chosen me to be your new Knight-Defender. They have told me that this honor has not been bestowed on anypony in over a millennia." They stared at me, seeming to drink in every word I said, though I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "I understand my responsibilities to you all and I swear to do everything within my power to carry out those responsibilities."

As I finished my short speech, I took two steps forward, just as practiced, and promptly turned on my heel. Celestia smiled genuinely, but I could tell Luna's was strained. "Kneel Blake Marshall." I did as she bade, drawing my blade and presenting it to her on the flats of my palms as I did so, doing my best to make it one fluid motion. She took my sword in her magic and tapped my left shoulder with the flat of the blade.

"For courage far above and beyond your station," Her booming voice reverberated around the room as she tapped my right shoulder. "For the strength and skill to single-hoofedly vanquish Nightmare Moon, one of the greatest threats Equestria has ever had to face," She tapped my left shoulder again. "For the wisdom and kindness to temper your might and treat those around you as respected equals… I bid you rise; Sir Blake Marshall!" The crowd erupted into boisterous applause as ponies cheered, whistled and stomped their hooves.

Celestia returned my sword to me and I sheathed it. I turned and scanned the crowd, quickly finding my friends at the head all the gathered ponies. They seemed to be cheering louder than anypony else, and that made my heart soar. Scootaloo was perched on Twilight's back, whooping and hollering just as loud as everyone else.

I quickly noticed several new ponies standing next to Twilight as they continued to cheer for me. Of the two on her left, one was a female; she was pink all over and seemed to have a build much like Luna's. Her hair was striped in different shades of pink, purple, and even yellow, and she had a small crown resting behind her horn. Next to her was a well-built unicorn stallion; his coat was white, and he was wearing what looked to be some sort of military dress uniform.

On Twilight's right were another stallion and mare. The stallion was blue with deep blue hair, and the mare next to him was white with purple and white striped hair, and she seemed to be glancing at the blue pony every so often. I saw Captain Flash at the far end of the room; she gave me a quick salute, then went back to standing stock-still.

With the ceremony complete, I headed back to the area behind the thrones to wait for the two princesses to conclude things and smile and wave as everypony left. My heart began hammering as I dismissed my armor; there was nothing to do now but wait…

The clopping of hooves from the leaving ponies eventually faded and died, leaving me alone in the silence to wait for Luna and Celestia. I didn't wait long after the noise died, the two princesses making their way towards me with Luna slightly behind her sister. It almost looked like she was… hiding from me.

I crossed my arms as they approached. I couldn't explain why, but I suddenly felt angry with Luna. She seemed to pick up on this and looked away as Celestia trotted up to me. She wrapped me in a hug. "That was very well done Bla- I mean, Sir Marshall." She broke the hug. "Now, I believe my sister wished to speak with you."

"After the way she slapped the fuck out of me without even giving me a chance to say anything, I'm not so sure I want to talk to her." Luna cringed at my harsh tone. I couldn't understand why I was so angry all of a sudden; before now, all I had wanted was to make up with her.

"Blake… please, I am sorry for the way I reacted… I know that what I did was wrong, but I want you to know that I regret my actions. Please, will you give me a chance to make amends?"

Celestia looked like she wanted to say something, but she held her piece. "I can't believe you had so little trust in me to even think I'd cheat on you like that… Did you even see what you did to me Luna?!" I looked to Celestia and nodded. She looked hesitant, but her horn lit up and my face tingled.

Luna gasped and her eyes shone with tears as she stared at the damage the spell showed her. "I-I… I am so sorry." She turned around. "I… I do not deserve your forgiveness for what I have done…" She began walking back up the stairs, her head hung low.

My anger suddenly vanished at the sight, and I followed after her. "Luna wait…" She looked back at me, tears forming in her beautiful cerulean eyes. "I'm sorry; I don't know why I was so angry. To be honest, up until just a few minutes ago, all I wanted was to make things up with you."

She shook her head. "No, you are right to be angry with me… and you are correct, I should have trusted you. Please, allow me to show you that I do trust you."

I sighed and hugged her. I felt her shudder in my grasp. "Ok Luna… But, it's going to take some time for me to forgive you completely."

She nodded into my shoulder. "I understand; my actions have caused you more than just physical pain." She pulled back and looked into my eyes. "I would also like to apologize for not monitoring your dreams… I was so distraught that I could not properly focus on my duties. I hope that your dreams did not suffer for my lack of vigilance…"

I kissed her cheek. "I did have a bit of a nightmare, but it's not the first time." Her ears drooped. "Don't forget, humans don't have a beautiful goddess to police their dreams on Earth."

She gave me a small smile. "Y-you still think I'm… beautiful?"

I gave her a peck on the lips. "Of course I do. One rough patch in our relationship isn't going to change that. Now come on, let's go meet up with the others."

The three of us headed out the small side door and back to the guest rooms where we were staying. I could hear chatter coming from the room directly across from mine; it sounded like everypony was inside, all talking at once. "Whelp, guess we know where to find them…" I reached for the door handle, but a hoof on my shoulder stopped me.

"I shall allow you to spend time with the others in peace. I know you are still upset with me, and I cannot imagine that any of them would be happy to see me at the moment."

I gave her a quick hug. "As much as I hate to admit it… you're probably right. I'll see you later Lu-Lu." She pecked me on the cheek and trotted off.

Celestia and I watched her go. "I'm glad that you decided to give her another chance, though I must ask; why were you suddenly so angry with her?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "I'm honestly not sure. I was fine during the ceremony, and right up until I saw her, I just wanted to say 'I'm sorry' and have things go back to normal… after that… I honestly don't know what happened."

She nodded. "I see. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that being 'put on the spot' opened the still-fresh wounds in your heart." She gave me a quick hug. "Now, I have a kingdom to run, you go enjoy yourself with everypony."

I waved her off and grabbed the doorknob. As an afterthought, I knocked on the door before I opened it. The room fell silent almost instantly when I did. I opened the door and peeked into the room to see that not only was everyone crammed into the room, but all eyes were on me. Twilight grinned. "Well… Get in here mister!" Before I had a chance to protest, she grabbed me with her magic and pulled me into the room, closing the door behind me.

"Twilight! That's no way to treat nobility!" I could tell Rarity was trying not to laugh. The girls all crowded around me. "So… How did it go…? Are you and Princess Luna still an item?" Straight to the point, eh Rarity?

I gulped. "Well… we managed to make up," Rarity let out a little 'squee'. "but, I did make it clear that it's going to be awhile until I feel like I can fully forgive her."

"Umm… excuse me…" I looked over to see the pink mare from the ceremony raising a slippered hoof. "What happened between you and my aunt?"

I gave her a knowing look. "You must be Princess Cadance," I turned to the only stallion in the room. "which would make you Prince Shining Armor."

Cadence grinned. "I see Aunty Celestia told you about us."

I nodded. "She did, but I wasn't expecting you to be at the ceremony."

Shining armor cleared his throat. "Well, we actually weren't going to be, but our schedules cleared up and we decided to make the trip down a little early. I wanted to get a look at Twily's coltfriend as soon as I could."

Cadence nudged him. "Now Shining… You promised to behave."

He winked at her with a smirk. "I haven't threatened him yet, have I?" He got up and looked me over with an appraising eye. "I heard you managed to put Captain Flash on the ropes awhile ago. That's not something many can honestly brag about."

I shrugged. "Well, to be fair, I did end up in the hospital for a few hours because of that fight."

He snorted. "Yeah, only because she used magic during a hoof-to-hoof sparring match. If what Princess Celestia told me is right, you would've mopped the floor with her if she hadn't broken the rules."

I grabbed a chair and sat next to the spacious bed, while Shining took a seat next to me. "I dunno about all that, She did put up a pretty good fight even without her magic. To be honest, I think she just underestimated me… If we sparred again, I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up being the mop."

Shining punched me in the shoulder. "Now that's what I like to see; a stallion who can fight and be modest about it."

I was about to say something about how it seemed he could do with a little modesty, when a thought struck me."OH shoot! I'm sorry Princess; I forgot to answer your question."

She giggled and waved a hoof. "Its fine, Shining can be a bit… forward at times. Oh, and you can just call me Cadance."

"Alright. Well, it started shortly after I managed to free myself from imprisonment after being foalnapped…" I spent the next twenty minutes or so telling her about what had happened.

"Strange… That doesn't really sound like Aunty Celestia… but I guess I can't be too surprised, with how lonely she gets. Honestly, some of those 'Ancient Laws' seem like they were just put there to be a pain in the flank. It was lucky that Shining was already Guard Captain when we met, so we didn't have to worry about that whole 'Royalty may only court nobility' shtick."

I noticed Twilight looking at me while Cadance was talking. When she was finished, I turned to my marefriend. "Something up Twi? You've been looking at me kinda strange."

She shook her head like she was trying to get rid of a thought. "I was just wondering… Where did those amazing wings come from? And… why aren't they there now?"

Rainbow Dash flew up to me and darted around me, probably trying to find them. "Yeah! I don't remember seeing 'em before! What, did they just sprout out of you since the last time we saw you?!"

"You're actually not wrong Dash… I learned how to do it from an ancient journal Celestia and I found that was written by one of the ones who forged the armor in the first place. And to answer your question Twi, I think they're linked to the armor, so when I dismiss it, they go too."

"Well, don't just stand there, summon your armor! I wanna see 'em!"

Rarity gasped. "Rainbow Dash! That is no way to speak to nobility, and even moreso to a friend!"

Dash chuckled. "Heh heh… Sorry… guess I got carried away."

I patted her shoulder. "It's ok Dashie, I know the feeling."

The rest of the night was spent talking, laughing, and generally enjoying ourselves. Cadance, Shining Armor and I decided to start my training in Ponyville the day after tomorrow. The two of them turned in early to get some rest after the long train ride to get here and the long day they had just had.

After I managed to wiggle my way out from under my blanket o' marefriends, I checked my pocketwatch to find that while still early for most people, I was off to a relatively late start. I took care of my morning routine and headed out to the balcony to watch Luna lower the moon. No matter how many times I saw it, I couldn't wrap my head around how one being could move a celestial body. Even if that being has a heavenly body herself.

As I sat there and watched, I heard the flutter of wings and the near-silent clip-clop of hooves on the stone behind me. "Morning Luna."

There was a gasp behind me. "H-how did you know?"

I chuckled as I turned around. "C'mon Lu-Lu… Who else would be coming to visit at this hour? Besides, nopony I know can land as quietly as you."

She pawed at the ground. "I suppose you are right. Anyway, I came by to give you something." She pulled out a scroll from somewhere on her body. Seriously, how do ponies do that?

She handed me the scroll. I unrolled it to see that it was covered with intricate drawings and labels. "It is a star chart. I made it for you by hoof some time ago. I had intended to give it to you the next time you visited, but that did not turn out as either of us had hoped."

I looked over the chart silently for some time, until my eyes fell on a vaguely familiar shape. "Is that… Orion?!" The shape was off, and it was backwards, but it definitely resembled that most famous of constellations from Earth.

Luna trotted up next to me and looked where my gaze was locked. "Yes, it is indeed. I have control of most of the night sky, but that, and a few others are beyond my control… fixed points in the night sky that not even our parents could will to move."

She yelped as I wrapped her in a hug. "Thank you Luna. This really means a lot to me… I'm sorry for what I said before… I… I just want things to go back the way they were before." Her tightly returning my hug was all the response she gave, and it was all the answer I needed.