YourL1ord - But will it stay that way?
Darksroid17 - 'Interesting' is certainly one way to put it... Nope, english is it for me, though I wouldn't mind learning Japanese
KillerWoW - Lol yes really
Guest - There's always your imagination ;)
centaurus2 (Ch46) - Yeah, people (and ponies) like to gossip, it's annoying but true.
centaurus2 (Ch47) - Thought about that, but it felt too cliche for my taste. You'll just have to read and see what happens instead ;)
xel101 - Lol Pinkie gonna Pinkie
DragonLovingBrony - The real question is; what things...
Mallory Shadowielder - Can't say much without spoilers :P But yeah, I doubt even Pinkie knows how Pinkie works.
Mikalzilla - Spoilers :P
killer43penguin - Lol I can't seem to respond to half of the reviews without spoilers...
Kyguy - Well... Cake seemed a little overdone to me. besides, her cake is frosted with vanilla
bobfromsiam99 - Why thank you :D I do plan to keep it going for some time to come.
Equius Zahhak - Read and find out :P
A/N - Hey there everypony! Here we are with another installment of A Second Chance. I hope everyone else who got it is enjoying all this snow that got dumped on us... I'm glad to see Pinkie was entertaining last week, I had to lure her back to Equestria with a trail of freshly baked cupcakes, though I have no idea if she'll stay there... As Always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!
My mind screeched to a halt as it struggled to process what was happening, and I laid there as the princess of the sun kissed me. I fought to resist the blinding urge to return her kiss, filled with tender warmth and happiness as it was, and I found myself losing that battle.
What felt like hours later, but in reality was probably more like a few seconds, Celestia's eyes snapped open as she realized what she was doing. The Princess of the Day scrambled off of me, soft magenta eyes as wide as saucers. "I-I am so sorry… I don't know what came over me…"
I got to my feet and walked over to her, sitting down and wrapping her in a soft hug as she lay on the floor. "It's ok Celly." She visibly relaxed even as she gave me a questioning look. "I can't imagine how lonely your life must have been… but I do know what loneliness is like, and the extremes it can drive you to… So I don't blame you. Besides, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to kiss back."
She looked down at the floor between her pale gold slippers, and was silent for some time. Finally, she looked back to me. "Thank you for your understanding Blake, I truly mean that… but I am a ruler of Equestria, and I shouldn't have allowed my emotions to get the better of me like that. Besides that, you are my sister's beloved, and it was wrong of me to show such affection to you." She sighed and looked back down at the floor. "I… I must tell her about this… the guilt would eat away at me if I said nothing. Please Blake, will you help me convince her that I... I… No… I do not regret that kiss. I regret imposing between you and my sister, and I regret that we cannot pursue a chance at romance, but I do not regret the kiss itself."
I stood up and helped her to her hooves. "I don't know what I can say to help convince her you're sorry, but I'll definitely do what I can to help you. For now though, why don't we put it out of our minds and get some lunch? All that running around the palace worked up an appetite."
She gave me one of her beautiful, genuine smiles. "That sounds like a good idea to me. Though why don't we get out of this stuffy old place and eat in the city?" I nodded and she led the way out of the palace and into Canterlot.
After we had eaten, coincidentally at the same restaurant Luna and I had gone to on our first official date, we walked aimlessly around the city, drawing questioning looks from some of the snobbier residents of the royal city. Celestia led me to the large garden where I had showed my gun off to her and the others. "This place always brings my mind peace when im feeling troubled…" I couldn't tell if she was talking to me, or just thinking out loud.
"It is beautiful… So, any particular reason we're here, or are we just going to relax in the closest thing to nature this city has to offer?"
She looked around the garden aimlessly, her head swaying gently as she did. "No reason really… I know you have been here before, but I thought it would be nice to take a stroll together." The sinking suspicion that she was trying to make this some kind of date kept creeping into my mind as we walked.
I ignored the feeling and went along with her through the admittedly beautiful garden. I had heard that Fluttershy had an… incident involving the critters here during the Grand Galloping Gala. I had heard plenty of horror stories about the event ever since the party the princesses had thrown for me after I taught their ponies about 'modern' construction techniques.
I heard a flapping sound behind us as we walked into a small clearing rimmed with a rainbow of different flowers. I turned around and immediately ducked as a red blur swooped for my head. I turned and watched as the blu… err, bird, flapped its wings and gently landed on Celly's outstretched hoof. "Hello Philomena." Philomena cawed and flapped her wings. "Yes I know he's new to you, but he's also my friend, and I'd like you to be nice to him. Oh! Where are my manners? I should introduce you. Blake, this is Philomena; Philomena, this is Blake, a dear friend of mine."
I walked over to the two. "So, Philomena huh? What kind of bird is… she, I'm assuming?" Celestia nodded. "I don't think I've seen a bird like her before."
Philomena glared daggers at me as I approached. "No, I don't suppose you would have. Philomena here is a phoenix." She nuzzled Philomena affectionately.
I blinked several times as I processed what I had just heard. Fortunately, I was starting to get used to seeing strange and often mythical things here, so it didn't take me long to recover. "That's… AWESOME! I've always thought phoenixes were cool." Philomena puffed out her chest proudly. "I can see why you'd have a pet like her too… being immortal and all."
Celestia scratched under her pet's chin with the tip of a feather. "Yes. Philomena has been my friend for many centuries." She smirked. "Do be careful though, she can be quite… mischievous at times. In fact, she nearly scared poor Fluttershy to death by pretending to die as she burst into flames during her last rejuvenation."
I reached out slowly, and started scritching the side of her head when she presented it to me. Celestia smiled. "It seems she likes you. Usually, she has a hard time warming up to anypony."
Philomena cooed happily as she leaned into my scritches. "I'm glad to see that. I usually get mixed results when it comes to animals, and birds in particular tend not to like me." I got a look from the fiery bird. "But then again, she's obviously smarter than any regular bird, isn't she?"
She let out a smug sounding caw. It felt odd that I could tell that kind of thing, but I didn't pay much attention to the feeling.
Philomena flapped her wings and took off into the surprisingly warm fall air. Celestia watched with a smile as she left us. "I'm honestly a little surprised it's taken this long for the two of you to meet. She usually doesn't stray far from me when I'm not attending my duties."
We left the garden and went back to the palace. When we walked through the main gates, she turned to me. "As much as I've enjoyed this time with you, I'm afraid there are things I must attend to. Please, feel free to make yourself at home here while you wait for everypony to return. When they do, please come find me; I wish to speak to my sister as soon as possible."
A tickle of fear stirred in my chest. I was not looking forward to this conversation, but I had promised Celestia that I would help her sister understand what happened, and I wasn't about to back down on that promise.
I headed to the room that was reserved just for me when I visited; this room was different from the other guest rooms in the palace in that it had a larger bed designed to fit myself and a few others, as well as a smaller bed for Scootaloo in case she came with me.
I asked a maid that I had passed on my way to the room to make sure I was awake when Celestia lowered the sun, just in case I fell asleep. I opened the door to my room and found it exactly as I had left it the last time, save for the neatly made bed. I set most of what I was carrying with me in one of the dresser drawers, took my shoes off, and lay on the bed.
I stared up at the ceiling for some time, pondering what I could say to Luna, and imagining different outcomes of the conversation. None of them were good…
The next thing I knew, I was being jolted awake by a loud knock on the door. "Excuse me, mister Marshall? Princess Celestia will be lowering the sun in ten minutes." Why does that voice sound so familiar…?
I groggily got up of the comfortable bed and went to the door. As soon as the door opened, I was tackled to the ground by a rainbow of purple, orange, and grey. "Blake! I'm so happy you're alright!"
I hugged the three mares close to me. "Of course I am Twi… You didn't really think a couple of ponies in armor could get the better of me, did you?"
"You are right; we should not have doubted you." I looked over to the doorway. Luna was standing there, wreathed in the hall's light, just as beautiful as ever. "But, you cannot blame us for worrying about you…"
I was too busy being showered in kisses from Derpy and Twilight, and too caught up in a bone-crushing hug from AJ to respond, but I could tell she knew what I wanted to say anyway.
When the girls were finally done with their shows of affection, I got up and walked over to Luna. She looked into my eyes with a soft smile as I kissed her midnight blue lips tenderly. "Thank you for trying to save me… all of you. Though, I have to wonder; why Appleloosa?"
There was a trio of embarrassed giggles from behind me as Luna gave her own embarrassed smile. "Well, that is quite a tale in and of itself; though, I believe I speak for all of us when I say that this entire ordeal has been quite taxing, and the stories of our adventures are best left for tomorrow." The others all nodded as they walked up beside me.
"That sounds like a good idea to me. Though Twilight, what about Scootaloo? You didn't take her with you… did you?"
She waved a hoof in the air dismissively. "Of course not. I told her that you had some sudden business in Appleloosa, and that we had to follow you there."
AJ Grinned. "Don't y'all worry 'bout her; she's stayin' with mah family up at Sweet Apple Acres. So is Sweetie Belle."
I turned to Derpy. "What about Dinky? Is she there too?"
She gave me a grin. "Oh, don't worry about her; she can take care of herself for awhile."
"Well that's good to hear. So, who's sleeping where tonight?" The huge grins that sprang up on everyone's faces told me everything I needed to know. "Well… that's settled. But, before we go to bed, Celestia wanted to talk about something with me and Luna."
Luna quirked an eyebrow. "Strange. What could my sister wish to discuss so soon after our return?"
I patted her shoulder. "You'll hafta wait to find out, it's something she only wants to talk about with the two of us for right now." The others 'Aww'ed in disappointment. "Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous, and it shouldn't take long. Well, at least I hope it's not dangerous. That whole 'Hell hath no fury' bit didn't come about for nothing…
Luna and I left the girls to get ready for bed while we made our way to Celestia's study, which experience told me was the most likely place to find her at this hour. The fear kept building in my chest until I felt like I might explode at any second. "So Blake," I nearly jumped out of my skin, but some saving grace allowed me to keep my composure. "What is it my sister wishes to discuss?"
"Well it…" I couldn't tell her now, not without Celestia there so we could help one another. "It's something she wants to talk about with both of us together."
She nodded. "I see. Well, let us not keep her waiting then." We walked in silence after that.
We turned a corner and the door to Celestia's study came into view. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest; I didn't feel like there should be anything to worry about, but I still couldn't shake the fear that things would go poorly.
Luna opened the door with her magic, and we saw Celestia lying on her large pillow, reading a book as she almost always was. I felt the fear rise in my gut as we entered the study. Celestia smiled at us. "Greetings sister. I trust your trip went well?"
"It did. Now, Blake has informed me that there is something you wish to discuss with us."
Celestia closed her book and sighed. "Yes, there is something we need to discuss…" She glanced at me, and I saw the worry in her eyes. "I don't believe it will do any good to beat around the bush, so I will just say it; I kissed Blake earlier this very day."
Luna's eyes went wide as saucers and she turned to me. I saw the hurt, the anger, and the feeling of betrayal there. "How could you?! I thought you loved me!" The next thing I saw was a streak of blue, followed by bright sparks of light, then black.
My mind screamed *PAIN!* as I came to. The first thing after the pain that I felt was that I was laying on something soft, probably a bed. The next thing that I noticed was that I was also surrounded by soft, warm bodies. I groaned quietly as I tried to sit up. I felt a soft hoof on my chest, gently pressing me back into the bed. "Hey, you're awake." Twilight's cooing whisper did a lot to soothe my aching head. "Don't worry, Princess Celestia told us what happened, and none of us blame you for it."
I felt someone else shift next to me and plant a kiss on my cheek. "That's right Sugarcube; we know y'all love us…"
"Yeah! Besides, if Princess Celestia wants to be part of the herd, that's fine with me!" Derpy's happy voice chimed in from behind me as I felt my pillow shift, and I realized I was actually resting my head on her side.
"I don't think that's the real problem here Derpy; Princess Luna thinks Blake cheated on her with her own sister, so now she's furious with him." Twilight's words brought a sharp pain to my chest.
I never wanted Luna to be angry with me, especially not over something like this. "Wh-what am I supposed to do…?" I couldn't even think straight, and talking hurt my entire face.
"Whoa now pardner, take it easy; Princess Luna did a number on ya…"
I reached up and gingerly touched my face, which exploded in pain as soon as my fingers touched the swollen flesh. I could tell right away that it'd be a miracle if nothing was broken, but I didn't really care at that moment. "Where's Luna? I have to talk to her!" I tried to get up, but two pairs of hooves gently held me down.
"That ain't a good idea right now Hon." I stopped for a second; Applejack had never used a pet name for me besides 'Sugarcube', but she called everybody that. "Princess Celestia's off talkin' to 'er right now. We need ta let her handle Princess Luna; with tha state o' mind she's in, who knows what she might do…"
"I agree with Applejack; I may not have a whole lot of experience with love, but if I were in Princess Luna's horseshoes right now, you'd probably be the last person I'd want to see." Twilight's words cut deep into my heart.
I lay back down on Derpy's warm side as I tried to will the tears not to fall. Of all the scenarios I'd thought about while I was waiting to talk with Luna, losing her was the one that I was sure would never happen, but now it looked like the outcome I dreaded most was becoming a nightmarish reality. "That didn't sound very nice Twilight." I barely heard as my pillow stood up for me.
"I-I… I'm sorry… I didn't mean it to sound like that…" She sighed and rested her head on my chest.
There was a quiet knock on my door. "I'm sorry to intrude, but I wanted to ask you girls to… oh! He's awake! I'm glad to see you are alright Blake." I didn't answer; just the sound of her voice made my blood boil.
Uhh… Princess? I don't mean to sound rude, but… I think Blake just wants to be alone with us for now…"
She sighed. "I see. I can understand that wish. Very well, I will leave you four be then."
She closed the door and I felt a tugging in my hand. "Blake? You can let go of my hoof now, it's starting to hurt."
I jerked my hand away from her hoof like it had burned me. I had been so lost in thought and anger that I hadn't even realized that I'd even grabbed her hoof, let alone started squeezing. "I-I'm sorry Twilight. I didn't mean to hurt you."
She kissed my lips gingerly. "It's alright; this is a tough time for you… I can't blame you for being upset."
I reached over and hugged her, then grabbed AJ as best I could. "Thanks girls. I don't know what I's do without you." I snuggled into Derpy to show my affection to her as best I could.
Applejack yawned next to me. Well, it's been a long day fer all of us. Ah say we hit tha hay and sort this mess out tomorrow. Ah'm sure Luna's gonna be all calmed down by then."
No matter how hard I tried, sleep wouldn't come to me. Once I was sure the girls were sound asleep, I snuck out of bed and wandered the palace halls, just trying to get my thoughts together. Before I knew it, I was out in the palace garden, wandering aimlessly along its flower-lined pathway.
I took a seat on a carved stone bench and looked up at the night sky. It looked much the same as it did any other night, but there were subtle differences that told of Luna's turmoil. I tore my gaze away from the stars and looked back at the garden I was surrounded by. It tore at my heart to see what had happened over something so small.
I heard a slight rustle from my right. I looked over to see Celestia standing on the same path I had come from. "I see I'm not the only having trouble sleeping. Mind if I join you?"
I shrugged, but didn't say anything. I wasn't angry with her anymore, but I wasn't happy either. She walked over and sat on the bench next to me. "Blake… I am truly, deeply sorry for what happened… I never meant for any of this. I don't expect your forgiveness for my actions, but I hope that you can find it within yourself not to hate Luna for her reaction." I huffed, but didn't reply. "I shall speak with her further once she has calmed down; but for the time being, it would be best if you left her be. I have arranged for carriages to take you and the others back to Ponyville in the morning."
We sat in silence for some time after that. The garden buzzed quietly with the songs of crickets and other night-dwellers as we sat there. "So what happens now?" Celestia jerked, probably startled by my breaking the silence. "If Luna hates me, how can I go about being a knight? I mean, the ceremony is only a few days away, and I can't back out now…"
"I won't force you to do it, but I would still like for you to become our knight. If, for some reason Luna can't be reasoned with, I will do my best to make sure that she is at least civil."
I hugged my knees to my chest. "Thanks… that makes me feel so much better…" I looked to her. "Why is this happening? I mean, I can understand her being upset, but this upset?"
Celestia looked away. "If I were any other mare, we would not be having this conversation right now… the problem does not lie with the fact that Luna and I are close, or even that we are sisters, but with the fact that we're both royalty. It's something that's actually never come up before, but it has long been an understanding that no two members of the royal family may court the same being, be they pony, human, or otherwise. So for us to have kissed like that…"
The pieces all fell together. "Luna sees it as a betrayal, that I'm abandoning her for you…"
Celestia gave a slight nod. "Exactly. And while you and I both know that isn't the case, she believes otherwise, and she's in no state for us to convince her of the truth."
"But… how can we convince her that you and I are just friends? I mean, you saw what happened when you told her you kissed me…" Talking was hurting my face, but it paled compared to the pain in my heart.
I felt a wing wrap around my shoulder. "Yes… and I wish that this had not happened. Before you leave tomorrow, I would like for you to see a physician, it won't do for young Scootaloo to see her father in such a state."
I groaned, remembering about Scootaloo; what was I going to tell her? "H-how bad is it? I haven't looked at myself since it happened."
Celestia got up from the bench. "Come, I know a place where you can see for yourself."
I followed her through the garden. The gently curving path soon led to a small clearing with a still pond on the opposite side. I walked over to the pond and knelt down at the bank. The face staring back at me hardly looked like mine; my eyes were both puffy and purple, most of my face was swollen and turning red with purple bruises splotched across the tight skin, and it looked like the bridge of my nose had been split open.
I let out a low whistle at the damage. "Wow, she really did do a number on me…"
I saw Celestia's face reflected in the pool as she walked up next to me. "Yes, but you are lucky; we Alicorns possess strength beyond that of even an earth pony… if she had not restrained herself, Luna could quite literally have taken your head off."
I stood up and turned back to the path. "I think I'm going to go back to my room… I think I want to spend some more time with the girls…" I walked off, leaving the Solar Princess standing in the clearing.
When the sun rose, I was still awake, though I had managed to sneak back into the room and get back into bed without waking the girls up. Once sunlight brightened the room, the girls began stirring. Applejack was, unsurprisingly, the first awake. She greeted me with a groggy smile then hopped off the bed to get ready to leave.
Twilight was the next awake, but Derpy refused to get out of bed, at least until there was a knock at the door. I walked over to the door and opened it, half hoping to see Luna on the other side. Instead, I was greeted by the sight of Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy, all standing outside the door. "Well good morning… Darling… Wh-what in Equestria happened to you?!" All four of their jaws were slack as they saw my condition, though something seemed… less genuine about Dash's expression.
I really didn't want to go over what happened again. "It's a long story… I'll tell you all what happened on the ride home."
