Zachary wisky (52) - Why thank you.

victor157 (52) - The thought has crossed my mind...

DragonLovingBrony (52) - Gotta admit, it was an awesome year, and I'm looking forward to the new one.

Guest (51) - Lol does that answer your question?

Jeeves (51) - Just a wee bit

Dark Inari Of The Fist (2) - Que?

PBJFanFiction (52) -Mwahahaha :) Lol I didn't think that one was too bad...

PyraohXBlaze (52) - Lol because it's fun ;) Seriously though, I enjoy the ideas you guys come up with while you speculate on what's coming next.

Kyguy (52) - Lol I honestly did not plan for my anniversary update to be clop, but I won['t complain...

Ketsuoni (52) - Why thank you :D I figured it'd be a welcome change of pace from some of the more dramatic cliffhangers I've done in the past.

Mikalzilla (52) - I'm glad you enjoyed it; I tried a different style from the scene with Luna, and I honestly wasn't sure how it would be received.

Lord of darkness the 1st (52) - Why thank you :D

xel101 (51) - I've toyed with the concept, though I have no idea if I'll actually use it or not.

DragonLovingBrony (51) - Lol looks like you already got your answers ;)

Mikalzilla (51) - Well, the fourth wall seems to be holding for now, but it is Pinkie, so who knows how long that'll last...

PBJFanFiction (51) - Lol that's another concept I've been toying with; we'll just have to see where it goes ;)

bobfromsiam99 (51) - :O How Could you?! Lol just kidding.

Kyguy (51) - They were delicious... I would guess when Luna banishes you to the moon for talking about her sister like that...

KillerWoW (51) - I have, but even then the pictures were conflicting as to what they were supposed to look like.

A/N - Hey there everypony! It was super awesome of everyone to congratulate me for the one year anniversary, and thanks to everyone who did! Here's the latest chapter of A Second Chance for all my loyal and awesome readers to enjoy! As always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!

Twilight was standing on the other side of the door with a smile on her face. "I stopped by the orchard to see if the two of you wanted to go to dinner after you were done working, but I guess you weren't quite done yet." Twi giggled and her smile turned mischievous.

"Heh heh… Y'all saw that, huh?" Applejack pulled her hat over her face.

Twi giggled again. "Well, I wouldn't have if Big Mac hadn't told me you two were in the barn. Don't worry; I'm happy you two finally took that step. And I have to admit… it was, umm… quite a show…" She blushed hard and shook her head. "Anyway, while I was there, Granny Smith gave me a little 'thank you' gift to give to Blake since she usually doesn't get to talk to him much." She went over to a table and opened its drawer, pulling out several small burlap sacks with her magic.

Applejack walked over and looked at the little baggies. "T-Twilight… These ain't…"

Twilight nodded. "They are; they're seeds from your Prime Stock. She wanted Blake to have them for his garden."

AJ's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "G-Granny Smith wouldn't give these to nopony who weren't family…"

I chuckled and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I guess that's that AJ; you're officially stuck with me!"

I nearly toppled over as Twilight hopped up and wrapped all four hooves around me, joining the hug. "She's not the only one buster!" She pecked me on the cheek. "Oh, I almost forgot; Cadance and Shining Armor want to start your lessons tomorrow morning, so I'll be heading over to Sweet Apple Acres to help Applejack after I drop Scootaloo off at school."

I set the girls down so Applejack and I could go get cleaned up. We decided to shower together, and the hot water blasting down on our bodies wasn't the only thing making things steamy.

Once we were clean and dry, we headed back downstairs to meet a blushing Twilight before heading off to pick up Scootaloo and Applebloom and have dinner at the café. Both fillies were all too happy to see me, and got even more excited when we told them we were all heading out for dinner.

The meal was fairly uneventful, save for the waiter recognizing me and trying to make the entire table's meal on the house. I managed to talk him down to only making my meal free, but it still felt wrong, like I was taking advantage of my new station.

After the meal, we went home and Scootaloo showed Applebloom her new camping gear, from the custom Wonderbolts sleeping bag, which I had had Rainbow Dash as a Wonderbolt included in the design, to the miniature cookware I had gotten her so I could teach her how to cook for herself using her own gear.

Unfortunate as it was, the time came for Applejack and 'Bloom to head home for the evening, though I promised to be there bright and early to help out like I usually did, at least until Twilight reminded me that she would be the one heading to Sweet Apple Acres, not me. The pair only left after a full round of hugs, and a few goodbye kisses on mine and AJ's parts.

Once they were gone, and since it was still fairly early, I decided to give Scoots a lesson on using some of the things in her backpack, which I had had Rarity design to be worn like a traditional backpack since the added weight would be both uncomfortable and unwieldy if it was hanging to the sides like a saddlebag.

I had made her a metal canteen for storing and boiling water at Hammer Hoof's shop, with her permission, and taught Scoots about the dangers of drinking contaminated water. I also taught her how to strike the fire steel I had made her, which Hammer hoof had been all too happy to learn how to make herself.

I was enjoying my time with my soon-to-be adopted daughter so much, that I almost missed her bedtime. I shooed the spunky filly upstairs to get ready while I packed her things up and put her backpack back in the closet next to mine. "You really seem to know your way around the woods." Twilight was standing behind me as I closed the door to the closet. "I kinda wish I could go with you, but I understand that this is time for the two of you."

I stroked her cheek and kissed the tip of her horn lovingly. "Sorry Twi… I think she and I both need this time for bonding. But there'll always be next time." I chuckled and nudged her with an elbow. "Plus, we could always really rough it and do some winter camping."

She shivered at the thought. "Brr… No thank you, that'd be way too cold for me. You can go 'winter camping' all you like; I'll stay here and snuggle up with a good book next to the nice, warm fire."

I laughed harder as we made our way up the stairs. "Aww… You're no fun Twi." I stuck my tongue out and she mock-pouted.

"I am plenty of fun mister. I'll have you know that I'm setting up a schedule with Scootaloo and her friends to teach them all kinds of things that might help them find their cutie marks." She giggled. "In fact, Scootaloo wants to call it 'Twilight Time'."

"Ok Papa, I'm ready for bed!" Well speak of the devil… Scootaloo came trotting out of the bathroom right as we reached the top of the stairs. "Will you read me a bedtime story?"

I scooped her up and slung her over my shoulder as I started rubbing her back gently. "Sure thing kiddo. You got one in mind, or should I pick?"

She 'Hmm'ed then was silent almost until we reached her new room. "Ooh ooh! I know! I wanna hear a story that came from where you're from!"

I looked over to Twilight, who just shrugged. "Well… ok. Just give me a minute to think of one you'd want to hear." The feisty filly cheered as I tucked her into bed. "Hmm…Ok, this story is about a young boy who lived in a city in the middle of a huge desert. This boy grew up poor and had to live by stealing what he could. People would get angry and call him 'Street Rat' for stealing. One day…" I told the tale of Aladdin until Scoots drifted off to sleep.

I closed the door to the sleeping filly's room quietly and we headed down the hall. "That was quite an interesting story. How much of that is true though?"

I shrugged. "None of it as far as I know, but it's a pretty ancient tale, so no one knows for sure; there isn't much in the way of recorded history from that far back."

We walked back down to the living room and I worked on starting a fire. When the house had been built, they had included enough cured wood in the attached woodshed to run both fireplaces through the winter, though there was still plenty of room for more and I intended to fill it when this winter was over. When the fire was crackling away, I sat next to Twilight on one of the new sofas I had bought and we snuggled, just watching the fire flicker and dance.

I felt Twilight's breathing slow as the mulberry mare drifted off to sleep against me. Not wanting to wake her, I used my magic to levitate a new log over to the fire and keep it going. According to the mare peacefully snuggled up to me, my studies were going quite well; I had added several new spells to my repertoire, including the light spell, the ghost sound spell, which let me create small, disembodied sounds, and a spark spell, though I couldn't light anything bigger than a candle with it.

When I felt my own eyelids grow heavy, I closed the glass doors to the fireplace and gently carried Twilight upstairs and into bed. Once she was comfortably snuggled under her blankets, I got in and snuggled up beside her.

When I woke up, I took care of my morning ritual, including practicing with my sword, though I decided to practice in my armor to get a feel for it. I was amazed at how easy it was to move in the armor; I was expecting it to be clunky and hamper some of my movements, but I quickly found that it was almost as easy to move around in as regular clothing. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the strength-enhancing enchantment on the armor made the sword feel as light as a feather. The most difficult part of the exercise was getting used to incorporating the shield into my routine, since I was used to being able to switch between one and two-handed holds, and the shield prevented that.

I finished a set of more complex swings and thrusts, with the tip of my blade hovering over my imaginary foe's throat. "That was impressive." I turned and saw Cadance standing behind me. "Shining is still asleep, and since Twilight told me you're an early riser, I thought I'd stop by and see if you were up. Since you are, why don't we get started a little early? Oh! I mean… if you're done practicing with your sword that is."

I sheathed my sword and set it against the side of the house as I dismissed my armor. "No, that's fine; I was pretty much done for the day. So, what did you have in mind to teach me?"

She gave me a smile that made me envious of Shining Armor. "Well… I thought we'd start with the basics; figuring out exactly what forms of innate magic you have. Then we can start on how to call on them."

"Hmm… that seems like it should be all there is to it, but I have the feeling it isn't."

She nodded with another small smile. "Perceptive; innate magic works differently from a regular spell. Being able to call it is one thing, but being able to control it is something else altogether. I think it'd be easier to show you what I mean than to tell you, so why don't we get started?" Cadance's horn lit up and I felt myself tingle all over. "Hmm… it looks like you can summon a fairly powerful shield… but we already knew that… Ooh! It also looks like you have the ability to heal too; that kind of innate magic will make standard healing spells easier to use too."

She spent the next hour or so teaching me the basics of finding the special flow of magic that I would use to cast these new spells. I followed her advice, and probed around my primary magical flow for it, and eventually came across the secondary flow. It was an odd sensation; the stream of innate magic felt like it was… wrapped around my regular magic, like a string wrapped around a rope. Finding it was hard, but figuring out how to use it was even harder, especially since the more 'traditional' means that Twilight had taught me for calling on my primary magical flow didn't seem to work for the secondary.

"Hey! How's everything going?" I felt it slip away, right when I almost had my mental grasp on it. "What? Did I interrupt something?"

Cadance sighed and turned to her husband. "Shining! He was concentrating on calling the magic! You know that's the hardest part!"

For his part, Shining did look sincerely apologetic. "Oh… I umm… sorry." The poor stallion seemed to practically wither under his wife's gaze. Well… Guess I know who wears the pants in this relationship… so to speak.

Shining stood next to his wife and I tried again to unravel the special magical flow, finding it more quickly this time. Shining started whispering to Cadance; loudly enough so I could hear that he was talking, but just quietly enough so that I couldn't hear what he was saying. My mind reflexively tried to listen in on the conversation, and I felt my concentration, as well as my goal, once again slip away.

"Shining! I almost had it again!" I glowered at the white stallion, and his ears pinned against his head.

"Whoops… Sorry 'bout that big guy…" I grumbled under my breath, but turned my attention back to my efforts.

I shrugged off the distraction and reached for the magic once again. Another minute or two passed, and I managed to start unraveling that elusive foe that was my innate magical stream, until Shining Armor started clearing his throat and shuffling his hooves. I glared at the stallion, but Cadance beat me to the punch. "Shining Armor! You keep breaking his concentration!" She seemed to be just as frustrated with him as I was.

He pawed the ground nervously. "Sorry. I was, umm… getting kinda bored…" His eyes flicked between the two of us. "I'll umm… I'll just go visit Twily for awhile…"

Cadance sighed as we watched him go. "I swear… I love that stallion, but he can be so dense sometimes…"

"I think all us guys are like that from time to time. Anyway, what say we get back to it? I almost had it that time." She nodded and I went back to focusing.

I decided to try something new this time, and instead of trying to wrestle with the stubborn innate flow on its own, I reached for the larger, more stable and more familiar stream that was my primary magical flow and took ahold of it. Casting spells from this source had become second nature to me, but actually finding and linking to it directly was still a chore, like the difference between breathing and holding your breath.

When I had a firm connection with it, I started probing for the secondary flow coiled around it. When I felt the pressure of the secondary flow, I made a conscious effort to steady the primary in an attempt to make it easier to grab the secondary. When I felt my primary flow calm down, I wrapped my mental grip around the secondary and started pulling. Almost the instant I started pulling, I felt an almost electric surge run through my body and my knees buckled out from under me.

Cadance was at my side in an instant. "Are you alright?" I nodded and she helped me back to my feet. "I'm sorry, I should have warned you that that happens the first time…"

"It's alright. At least I managed to do it. I'm going to try again."

I focused the same way as before, though this time the previously stubborn and elusive thing practically snapped into my mental grip. "Huh… Well that was easy…" A puzzling thought crossed my mind. "Wait… if it was this hard to consciously do it, how did I use this in that sparring match with Captain Flash?"

Cadance looked at the ground in thought. "Hmm… Well, if what Auntie Celestia told me is right, you probably tapped into your primary magic supply to power your innate shield spell. That would partially explain why you collapsed after using it; normally, you're not supposed to be able to use innate spells that way, though it's not unheard of. From what I know, doing it that way is heavily taxing on both your body and mind, and it can be dangerous."

I remembered what Starswirl told me about breaking the mental dam that had been blocking my magic when I first got here. "That… actually makes sense. So, now that I can access it… what do I do with it?"

She paced a circle around me. "Right. Well, first things first; now that you know how to tap into your innate magic, I need to teach you how to summon your innate spells, then I can teach you how to use your innate magic to cast those spells."

I groaned. "This is complicated. How is it so much harder than any other spells? I mean, doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of being 'innate'?"

She smiled sweetly at me. "You would think that, but once you learn how to do all this, it's actually easier to use. You felt it for yourself; the second time you reached for your secondary stream, it was almost automatic, wasn't it?" I nodded and let her continue. "Well, once you learn everything else, the whole thing will be just that easy. It'll actually be easier than casting normal spells."

"Hmm… Well in that case, let's get started." I led her over to one of the trees on the property and we made ourselves comfortable, staying on the sunward side to allow Celestia's sun to ward off the chill in the air.

"Alright, I think the first thing you should understand about innate spells is that they don't work the same way as traditional spells. I'm gonna guess Twilight already told you how normal spells work, right?"

I glanced back to the house, where Twi was visiting with her brother. "Yes and no… She taught me the basics, but we haven't gone into anything advanced about how they work. I know that they're controlled by focusing on the spell."

She nodded. "That's about as basic as it gets, but yes, that's how they work. Basically, it boils down to normal spells working by thinking about the spell, but innate spells work by feeling them… if that makes any sense."

"I umm… I think I understand. So basically, using normal spells is like flexing an individual muscle, but innate spells are like, say, reaching out to grab something; you don't really have to think about it as much."

"Hmm… Well, you're close, but that's not quite it…"

Just then, we heard a familiar voice calling out to us. We looked over to see Twilight and Shining trotting over to the tree we were sitting under. Twilight hugged both me and Cadance. "Hi there you two. Shining and I are just heading off to take Scootaloo to school then meet Applejack over at her orchard, I just wanted to say 'hi' to my favorite human and sister-in-law before we left."

"C'mon Twilight, we're gonna be late!" We all turned as the very filly Twilight had just mentioned called out from the small patio at the front of the house. Twilight and Shining trotted back to meet my impatient daughter-to-be. "Bye Papa! I'll see you later! I love you!"

I waved them off and sat back down next to Cadance when they were out of sight. I looked over to see a broad smile on her lips while her horn glowed a dull pink. "I could feel the love you share for each other… It's amazing; even though you're not the same species, and you've only known each other for a little while, she really does love you like a father. And I don't need magic to see that you love her just as much."

I sighed and looked back in the direction I had last seen her. "Yeah… She really is an amazing little filly. I can't explain how or why, but practically the moment I met her, before I found out she was an orphan even, something in my heart told me we were meant for each other." I looked back to Cadance and wiped away an unshed tear. "Now, what say we get back to business?"

We sat under the tree until almost noon as Cadance taught me the difference between normal magic and innate magic. The concept seemed simple enough, but actually putting it to practice proved to be more challenging; I was so used to using the magic I already had that my mind was fighting to adapt to using this new kind.

No matter how much I floundered and struggled, Cadance stayed positive, always offering a word of encouragement or advice on how to call on the spells. No matter how hard I tried however, I couldn't bring myself to summon the spell. I had even tried summoning the levitation spell without powering it just to get a feel for it, and even that didn't seem to help.

"You look pretty stressed. Why don't we take a break for lunch then come back to it?"

I nodded, panting slightly. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'm honestly getting a headache from all this. So… café?"

She giggled. "That does seem like the only place to eat at in Ponyville, doesn't it? Hey, I know! Why don't we pay Sugarcube Corner a visit? It's always nice to see Pinkie Pie, and I never did properly thank her for planning our wedding party."

I mulled the thought over for a moment. "Sure, sounds like fun. I'm in the mood for something sweet, and there's never a dull moment when Pinkie's involved." Though that's not always a good thing… With that settled, we headed off to the confectionary.

The little silver bell above the door tinkled as we entered the sweet shop, and Pinkie smiled at us from behind the counter. "Hiya Blakie! Hiya Cady! Can I get you something yummy to eat?"

We looked at each other and shared a smirk. "Actually Pinkie, That's exactly why we're here."

The pink mare zipped around the counter faster than I could follow, leaving a Pinkie-shaped cloud in her place. She stopped on a dime right in front of us with an impossibly huge grin plastered on her face. "Oh Boy! Cady, you gotta try some of the stuff Blakie here came up with! They're super-duper tasty!"

Cadance quirked an eyebrow at me. "I didn't know you could bake."

I shrugged. "I can improvise a bit, but I mostly only know what my grandma taught me. I gave the Cakes some of the recipes, but I didn't expect them to be as big a hit as they apparently are."

Pinkie bounced around us, making that weird springing sound she always made when she did. "Oh I know! You should try a cake pop! Ooh ooh! Or how about a- Mmph!"

Cadance cut Pinkie Pie off by shoving a hoof in her mouth. "I appreciate the suggestions Pinkie, but I'd like to decide on my own." She took her hoof back and Pinkie smiled brightly.

"Okie dokie loki!" She hopped back over to the counter. "You just let ol' Pinkie Pie know what you want, and she'll make sure you get it!"

Cadance walked over to the glass counter and started browsing the fresh-baked goods the Cakes kept there to show what was available for the day. It didn't take long for her to turn back to Pinkie. "Actually, I think I will try a cake pop; and a blueberry muffin too please."

"I think I'll just have a couple of banana and chocolate chip muffins, and a tall glass of milk."

The Princess of Love perked up next to me. "Ooh! A glass of milk for me too please!"

Pinkie grinned and disappeared before we could say anything else, and reappeared just as quickly with a tray holding our order. "Here ya go! Two glasses of milk, two 'nana chip muffins, a blueberry muffin, and a cake pop!"

I took the tray from the hyperactive mare and we sat at a small table. Cadance giggled as I handed her food to her. "Pinkie's energy is refreshing, isn't it?" I nodded, though I could only half agree. "I wish there were more ponies like her… so full of love and happiness, especially in the Crystal Empire; those ponies have been through too much, and you can see it in their eyes."

I looked up from my muffin at the mention of the Crystal Empire. "What exactly happened? All I know is that it disappeared a long time ago, and only recently reappeared."

She shook her head. "It's a long, sad story. The short version is that an evil tyrant cursed the Empire when he was defeated, and its disappearance was the result of that curse." She finally took a bite of her cake pop. "Hey, this is really good! How did you learn how to make it?"

I told Cadance how my grandmother had taught me to make it and we continued to chat as we finished our meal, paid for it, and headed back to my home to continue our lessons. The entire trip, I couldn't help but think of the kind of power it would take to make an entire empire just vanish, and I couldn't hold back the twinge of fear in the back of my mind.