PBJFanFiction - I'll take that as a compliment

PSYCOPATH - Well alright then...

PyraohXBlaze - We all make mistakes, and as the show's taught us, she's no different. Well, in Canterlot, the three days was definitive, but here it was just as near as he could tell in his emotional stupor.

DragonLovingBrony - Lol when did it ever stop being real?

bobfromsiam99 - I wouldn't be doing a very good job as an author if you could predict where things were going to go ;)

Kyguy - That it did. Hope you brought your poncho.

xel101 - I do try my best :D

UnknownHero55 - You'll just have to read and find out if things turn out alright for our hero ;)

Mikalzilla - Lol. Will that be enough disharmony to release Discord again? We'll just have to wait and see.

KillerWoW - That she can, and this wouldn't be the first time it's gotten her in trouble.

Dragonfang20 - Well, I prefer stories that are on a schedule so I know when to look for a new chapter to come out and I don't have to wonder if the author's lost interest in the the story, so I do my best to give you guys and gals the same.

mlp brony fifer - (minor spoiler) Oh, this is still light and fluffy compared to what's coming...

A/N - Howdy everypony! I hope you're all hungry for a heaping helping of A Second Chance! In news this week, it was brought to my attention recently that this story was also posted on FIMFiction; If you see this story anywhere else, it isn't me that's posting it, and I'd like to ask that if you see it that you PM me with the details so I can check it out and take the appropriate actions. If I do ever post on another site, I'll be posting the details on here so everyone can know about it ahead of time if they want to check it out. As always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!

Twilight

Cadance had stopped by the library and tried to reason with me, but I couldn't just look past the fact that my former coltfriend was a murderer. Shining Armor had come by shortly after and said goodbye to everypony before practically dragging Cadance off to the train station to return to the Crystal Empire.

After I got Mayor Mare to call an emergency meeting in the town square and told everypony about Blake, Cadance's words started to sink in, and I began to doubt myself. The barrage of questions about why they should avoid him even though he hadn't done anything wrong since he'd been here and all the comments about how he was such a nice stallion didn't help that feeling any.

It felt like something was off, like there was something I was forgetting that I shouldn't, but I couldn't place it. I went to bed that night questioning if it was really right to shun him like that for something that had happened literally in another life.

I woke up the next morning to Spike shaking me and waving a scroll in my face. "Come on Twilight, wake up! Princess Celestia sent this for you; it looks important!" I yawned and stretched before taking the scroll in my magic and unrolling it.

My most faithful student,

My sister has told me that you have found out about the darkest part of dearest Blake's past. She has also informed me that you were not willing to listen to what he had to say on the matter. While I cannot force you to do so, I beg you to at least hear him out. Perhaps then you will understand his actions and be able to forgive them as my sister and I have. Please do not allow raw emotion to ruin a beautiful relationship.

Princess Celestia

"I-I don't understand… how could they have brought him here knowing he was so dangerous…" A part of me wanted to trust my mentor's judgment, but another part simply couldn't accept the fact that they had knowingly brought a killer here.

I knew there was nothing I could do about it, so I headed up to the loft to do some reading to get my mind off of everything, which was harder than it sounded with poor Scootaloo quietly sobbing in the room she had once shared with Blake. I sighed and pulled out a pair of earplugs I kept in the nightstand drawer for nights when Spike was snoring especially loudly and popped them in. "Ahh… that's better… now to do some reading and get my mind off all this nonsense."

I opened the book and winced as I saw the title; Ancient Races of Mythis: Separating Facts from Fiction. I noticed that it was a copy that had been updated since Blake's arrival in Equestria. I closed the book again and floated it back down to its shelf and grabbed another book with my magic. This book was titled; Pastries: What Secrets Do They Hide? With Gustave Le Grand. I opened the book and started reading. Perfect… this should get my mind off of things…

I woke up to Celestia's sun streaming in through the window. I didn't even remember falling asleep the night before, but the book I had been reading was still laying open at the end of the bed, so I surmised that I'd simply fallen asleep while reading again.

I hopped off the bed and found Spike still nestled in his little basket. After getting Scootaloo ready for school and sending her off with Applejack, I went back upstairs and roused Spike. I picked the little dragon up in my magic and carried him downstairs. "Come on Spike, there's work to do!"

We spent the day tidying up the library and rearranging all the books. Scootaloo came home from school and went straight upstairs without saying a word or even looking at me. I went upstairs to find her sitting on the balcony, staring off into nothing. "Hey there kiddo-"

"Don't call me that! Only my Papa gets to call me that!" I shrunk back at the anger in her voice.

"Scootaloo I-"

"NO! You don't get it Twilight! I was alone my whole life, but then Blake came along and became my Papa and I was happy because we love each other… and now you're trying to take him away from me!" She growled and turned to me with a look that bordered on hatred. "Just leave. Me. Alone!"

I couldn't think of anything to do or say, so I did as she asked. I felt terrible the rest of the day; Scootaloo had accused me of taking her happiness away… and she was right. I went to bed with her words still bouncing around in my mind.

I looked up from my book to see that I was lying in a small, grassy field, Celestia's sun shining pleasantly down on me. "Wasn't I just in the library…?"

"Indeed you are Twilight Sparkle. Your mind became stressed by recent events, and so you have dreamed of yourself in a calming place to relieve your mind of that stress." I looked beside me to see Princess Luna sitting barely a meter away.

"Princess Luna, what're you doing here?" I knew she could visit ponies dreams to help them with problems, but I'd never actually seen her in one of mine.

"I am here to help you remember why you fell in love with the stallion you now shun, and if necessary, to remind you of just who his father was, that you might understand Blake's actions."

I shook my head. "I… I remember he did something bad, but I can't remember what…" I looked into Luna's eyes. "But… what could be so terrible that it could justify him doing something like that?" Luna got up and took a step towards me.

My heart started hammering, and I realized I was afraid of the answer. "You know both my sister and I Twilight Sparkle, and thus you should know that neither she nor I would have allowed him to set one foot upon the face of this beautiful world if we thought for even a second that he would endanger its inhabitants."

I sighed and looked down between my hooves. "I-I know that Princess… but, it still feels wrong to me that he could do something like that to anypony, let alone his own father…"

"Tell me Twilight Sparkle; what was it about him that first caused you to become infatuated with him?"

I paused for a moment and thought. "Well… he's always been kind to everypony, he's selfless, he works hard to earn everything he has, and… and he's the bravest stallion I've ever met." I looked Princess Luna in her cobalt eyes. "But… I just don't know if I can see him the same way after this… it's just… too big."

Princess Luna let out a sigh of her own. "I see that I have little choice but to remove the spell I have placed upon you and allow you to remember what he shall never forget." She took another step and loomed over me with a concerned look. "Once the spell is broken, I cannot recast it; you will be forced to remember the terrible tragedy of Blake's past for the rest of your days. As such, I will not relinquish the spell without your consent."

I looked around the clearing nervously. My heart hammered harder as I weighed my options. Finally, my own curiosity got the better of me, and I gave Princess Luna a slight nod. "Alright Princess… I… I want to know what could drive him to that."

"Very well Twilight Sparkle. I must warn you to brace yourself; this memory is… traumatic, to say the very least." Her horn glowed. "One final thing; I shall alter this memory so that you will view the actual event instead of the recreation from his mental prison." She touched her horn to the tip of my own, and there was a dull flash.

My vision clouded for an instant and I was suddenly in a small, wooded clearing, very different from the one Luna and I had just been in. In front of me were three humans, an older stallion looming over a young filly, and a young colt off to one side. Both the young humans were tied up, though the filly was tied with her arms and legs spread in an 'X' shape while the colt was simply hogtied.

The scene felt strangely familiar, and my heart hammered still harder in my chest as I watched the event unfold. I couldn't force myself to tear my gaze away from the scene as the older stallion removed his pants, then started cutting away the filly's pants. It felt like something made me watch, almost against my will as the stallion started… raping the young filly, and I couldn't even put my hooves over my ears to block out her screams or close my eyes against the horrible scene.

I saw the young colt stir and struggle to flip himself over. I wanted to help, to stop this, but I just couldn't bring myself to move, no matter how much I willed myself to. The colt saw what was happening and started struggling harder. "S-Sarah?! Dad, what're you doing?! Leave my sister alone!" S-Sister…?

I felt tears start pouring down my cheeks as we were both forced to helplessly watch as this evil stallion finished the vile act. When he was done, he stood up and calmly put his pants back on, then he started to… to beat his own daughter with a thick tree branch… the daughter he'd just finished raping.

He kept beating her, and I heard every crunch and crack of her bones as they broke, her sobbing screams that turned to gargled moans as she started choking on her own blood. When she was barely recognizable, he finally stopped, threw away the broken limb, and leaned over to catch his breath.

When his breathing had leveled out, he straightened up and looked at the colt, who had to be Blake. "So… did ya enjoy the show ya little shit?" Without another word, he walked up to Blake and kicked him hard, and I heard the crunch as his ribs broke. Blake's father walked out of the forest without even looking back, and my vision clouded once again as I heard Blake coughing and sputtering.

When my vision cleared, I was back in the grassy clearing with Luna, tears pouring down my face. Before I could even move, she wrapped me in a tight hug. "It is alright Twilight, those events are long past…" She kept whispering in my ear to reassure me, and held me like that until I felt myself start to wake up.

I woke up feeling groggy, like I hadn't gotten enough sleep. My eyes felt sore, like I had been crying in my sleep, which, given what Luna had showed me, was very likely. Thanks to Princess Luna, I knew what I had to so, so I stretched to work out the kinks in my back and legs and got off the bed. I noticed that Spike wasn't in his basket bed, though that wasn't entirely unusual, since he sometimes got up early to do his chores so he could go spend time with Rarity.

I rolled my puffy eyes at the thought. A mare and a dragon falling in love and having a life together is just silly; after all, Spike would outlive Rarity by centuries… I paused at that thought. But that means… he'd outlive me by centuries too…

I felt a tear roll down my cheek as the realization sunk in; Spike was going to be alive long after I was gone, and so was… "Blake…" My heart still ached from what Princess Luna had showed me.

"Did you say something Twilight?" I nearly jumped out of my fur as the little drake's voice rang out behind me.

"SPIKE! What have I told you about sneaking up on me?!"

He grinned sheepishly. "Heh heh… Sorry Twilight… I was cleaning in the other room and I thought I heard you say something."

I was about to say something about his habit of sneaking up on ponies, but I stopped. "Wait… wasn't Scootaloo in there? Why didn't you have her clean it?"

Spike's head spines swished as he shook his head. "No, nopony was in there, I just figured she'd already gone to school."

A lump formed in my throat. "Spike, it's Saturday! There isn't any school today."

I trotted outside and looked around the barrier I'd put up around the library to keep Scootaloo safe and sound. Panic started to pool in the back of my mind when I couldn't find a sign of her outside or in the library. I found Spike still cleaning the loft. "Spike, I can't find Scootaloo anywhere, I think she might have been-"

"Hey Twilight, y'all here?" Applejack's southern twang floated up from the library's main room.

I quickly trotted to the stairs. "Applejack, I'm glad you're here, I can't-"

She raised a hoof and cut me off. "Ah know what yer gonna say Twilight, and Ah can't do it no more."

"But Applejack, I-" She cut me off again.

"T'ain't fair ta none of us ta stay away from Blake like this, and Ah ain't gonna make 'I'm suffer like this."

Her interrupting me was really working my nerves. "Applejack-"

She shook her head. "Ya ain't gonna talk me outta this Twi, Ah just stopped by ta tell ya-"

"APPLEJACK!"

She wiggled a hoof around in her ear. "Ya don't hafta shout Twilight, Ah'm right here…"

I growled in frustration. "We don't have time for this! Scootaloo's missing, and we need to find her; I think she might have been foalnapped."

AJ looked at me with confusion. "Foalnapped? Have y'all gone loco in yer coco Twi? She's been playin' with 'Bloom an' Sweetie Belle at the treehouse all mornin'."

I stopped with my mouth half-open to respond. "Wait... she's been at the orchard all day?"

Applejack shrugged. "Ah dunno 'bout all day, but she's been there since sometime this mornin' at least."

That made me stop and think. "But then… how did she get out of the barrier I put up?"

"What, ya mean that glowy bubble-thing around the library?" I nodded. "Well, there's a piece o' clay pipe layin' on tha ground outside, goin' right through it; maybe she crawled through that ta get out."

I facehoofed. "Of course! Why didn't I see that when I was outside?!"

Spike chuckled. "Probably because you were too busy running around like an old mother hen looking for Scootaloo to notice it."

I glared at him, but didn't say anything. "I'll have a talk with her about that later… just knowing she's safe is a big weight off my mind." I walked up next to Applejack. "Now, you said you were going to see Blake, right?" She nodded. "Good. I'll go with you, I need to… apologize for what I said and did…"

She gave me an apprehensive look. "Ah dunno Twi… after all that, Ah can't say fer sure he wants ta see ya, 'specially not so soon after…"

I looked down at the ground, pain building in my chest. "What am I supposed to do Applejack? I screwed up, and now I don't know how to fix it…" I felt hot tears stinging my eyes and struggled to hold them back.

I felt a reassuring hoof on my shoulder. "Why don't ya let me talk to 'im? Ah c'n tell 'im what happened, and that yer sorry, and maybe Ah c'n talk 'im inta talkin' things over."

I wrapped my forelegs around her strong neck. "Thanks Applejack… I… I just want to fix this…"

She patted my shoulder and turned to leave. "Sure thing Sugarcube. Ah'll make sure he knows that y'all still love 'im, and Ah'm sure he'll come around; y'all just wait 'n see."

AJ's attitude gave me some hope, and I felt a small smile on my lips as hope grew in my heart.

Blake

I felt better since Scootaloo had visited me, but at the same time, I also felt worse since finding out that Twilight had put up a barrier around the library to keep us apart. A part of me tried to be the voice of reason and talk me out of being angry at the bookish mare, but the rest of me screamed curses to her name so loud my blood felt like it was on fire as it rushed through my veins.

I couldn't bring myself to sit still, so I ended up pacing all over my spacious house, most of the time not even registering what room I was in at the time. I still had trouble coping with the fact that she had called a town meeting and warned the entire town to stay away from me; and what was worse, Applejack and Derpy both seemed to listen, as I hadn't seen hide nor hair of the two since.

I stopped my pacing when I heard a knock on the remains of my front door, which I had no way to repair thanks to Twilight estranging me form everypony in town that I could buy materials from. I walked downstairs to see Applejack and Derpy, the two mares I had just been thinking about, standing in the doorway.

Applejack stepped forward, pulling her hat off and holding it over her chest while Derpy looked away, shame and sadness evident in her crossed eyes and etched across her face.

Applejack cleared her throat. "Uhh… H-hiya Blake… would y'all mind if'n we came in?" I stood to one side and motioned them in. "Th-thanks pardner…" She and Derpy walked in and took a seat on separate chairs while I remained standing.

AJ sighed and looked at the expertly polished wood floor. "Look Blake… Ah'm sorry Ah haven't been by…" She looked to Derpy, who still couldn't bring herself to even look in my general direction. "When Twilight went all cuckoo on us, she made us all promise ta stay away from ya fer a few days an' think. Ah c'n tell ya, Ah didn't even need a single minute, but Ah promised… and Ah just wanted ta say Ah'm sorry fer makin ya think Ah didn't care nomore…"

Before I could move or even open my mouth to reply, Derpy launched herself out of her chair and wrapped me in a hug tighter than I would've thought anyone but an earth pony could pull off. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She started sobbing, and I caressed her mane. "I… I didn't mean to do anything wrong…" She buried her face in my chest as I hugged her back.

"Shh… It's ok Derpy… I don't blame you; you have a little sister to look after, so I don't blame you for someone else telling you I was dangerous…"

She looked up to me the best her crossed eyes would allow. "B-but… are you dangerous?" She sniffled and wiped her nose with a hoof.

I sighed and looked at the ceiling. "I suppose you could say that…" I felt her tense slightly in my grasp. "Though not to any of you girls; no, you wouldn't ever have any reason to be afraid of me. Only anypony who tried to hurt you or anyone else while I was around would have a reason to be afraid of me."

She sniffled again and let go, and I let her slide gently to her hooves. "You mean any bad ponies, like that mean Prince Blueblood when he ruined your party and… and…"

I caressed her cheek, and she leaned into my touch. "Yes Derpy, those are the only kinds of ponies that would have a reason to ever be afraid of me. I would never hurt you girls or anypony who I didn't have to, and I would do my best to stop it from happening to anypony else."

Derpy looked back up at me and smiled. Her eyes went wide when a faint flash from either side of me got her attention. Instinct kicked in, and I tackled her to the ground, using my body to shield her from whatever had caused the flashes.

"Whoa there pardner, what's all that about?" I looked over to Applejack, who was standing in front of her chair with a confused look on her face. "There ain't nopony tryin ta hurt ya. Take off yer shirt, Ah'll show ya what happened." Her initial confusion melted away into a big grin as she trotted over.

I did as she asked and unbuttoned my shirt, the sun-shaped scar on my chest tingled when I pulled the fabric away from it. Applejack motioned to my arms, and I looked where she was pointing; each shoulder now sported an image of a translucent grey kite shield imposed over a golden, crystalline heart. I craned my neck to get a better look, and saw that the heart had striations coming off of it that were very similar to the ones on the scar on my chest, making it look very much like a heart-shaped sun.

I jumped as Derpy squealed next to me. "You got your cutie mark!" She flew up and gasped when she got a closer look. "I wonder what it means…"

"Heh heh… Ah c'n tell ya one thing it'll mean; four jealous Cutie Mark Crusaders." Applejack sighed and sat down. "Ah don't mean ta ruin tha moment… but, we need ta talk about Twilight…"

I felt my anger rise in my chest as the moment of happiness faded away. "What about her?" I tried my best to hold myself in check, but I couldn't keep the ice out of my voice.

Applejack cringed slightly. "Well… she realized what she did was wrong, and she wants ta make things right with ya…"

I sighed and sat in the chair Derpy had previously occupied. "I doubt she can AJ; as far as I know, the entire town is afraid of me thanks to her. I haven't even been able to go into town to buy supplies to fix my door for Christ's sake!"

Derpy shook her head. "That's not true; I-I dunno who 'Christ' is, but just about everypony still thinks you're a good stallion… they're acting that way 'cause Twilight… told 'em…"

"That I'm dangerous." Her ears drooped and I felt a little bad. I turned my attention to Applejack. "If she really wants to make amends, why didn't she come here herself?"

AJ Looked at the ground. "That'd be mah fault… Ah told 'er y'all might not want ta see 'er just yet, so she let me come by ta talk to ya for 'er…"

"I see. And just what does she plan to do to 'make things right'?"

AJ looked at the remains of the front door. "Well… fer starters, no matter what y'all decide ta do, she's gonna hold another town meetin' and let everypony know she was wrong ta tell 'em what she did, and they ain't got no reason ta be afraid o' ya." I quirked an eyebrow at her, and she must've read the 'is that all' look in my eye. "Ah bet since it was her an' her brother's fault yer door got wrecked, she'll make sure it gets fixed too!"

"Well, that's a start…" Applejack gave me a hopeful look. "If, and only if she can manage to undo all the damage she's done, including getting her brother to make peace, I'll consider talking to her; I'm not making any promises though, so make sure she understands the gravity of what she did to me."

AJ nodded and headed towards the door. "Ah'll do that Hon… Ah'm gonna go find 'er an' let 'er know what y'all said… and that this might've cost y'all yer relationship…"

When she was gone, I felt Derpy nudge my hand. "Umm… You're not mad at me, are you?"

I leaned down and hugged her. "Of course I'm not Derpy, I already told you that… Why would you even ask me that?"

She looked me in the eye with both of hers. "I-I wanted to know because… I-I wanted to know if me and Dinky could move in with you…"