The cottage sat atop a small hill, surrounded by countless burrows and birdhouses. Even though we were separated from it by a considerable distance, I could hear and see the numerous animals bustling all around the small building.
“They live there?” I asked, surprised a little.
“Yes, ever since Fluttershy moved to Sweet Apple Acres. Snails had been helping her with the animals for some time before that, and she let them stay there on the condition that they keep looking after her little friends. She still visits them whenever she can.”
I turned to look at my companion, a white unicorn mare with a pink and lavender mane. Sweetie Belle. I still couldn’t believe how lucky I was. In more than one way.
I looked away and lowered my head. “You really think I should do that?”
She put a hoof at my shoulder. “I do. You said you wanted a fresh start. A new life. This is the first step.”
“I thought talking to your friends was the first step.”
“Well, that was more of a... zero step.” She furrowed her brow a bit, and I smiled. She looked so cute when she did that. “And that went better than we expected, right? Even Scootaloo accepted you.”
My smile faltered. “She accepted me, but that’s it. She still doesn’t like me.”
“Acceptance is better than nothing. She’ll come around, I promise. But first, you must do this.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay. Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” I added after a pause.
“I don’t think it would be a good idea. It would look like...”
“Like you’re making me do this?”
“...Yes.”
“Well, you kinda are.”
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” Now she sounded concerned, and I immediately felt guilty.
“No, Sweetie, I want to do this, I really do. After all I’ve done, I owe them an apology. All of them. Even if they will not accept it. It’s just I’m... scared.”
“I know. But you’ll be fine. And hopefully, at least some of them will see that Silver Spoon is not the same mare she used to be.”
She nuzzled my neck, and I felt better. A little. I was still scared, but at least my knees stopped shaking.
“I’ll wait in the park, by the lake.” She turned to leave, smiling reassuringly. “Good luck.”
I watched my marefriend as she trotted away, until I lost sight of her. Then, with a final sigh, I readjusted my glasses and started walking towards the cottage.
The walk was much shorter than I would like it to be. Out of habit, I looked over myself, making sure I looked presentable, and knocked.
“Coming!” A voice called from the other side of the door, followed by the sound of hoofsteps. After a few seconds the door swung open, revealing an amberish-gray mare with a curly red mane and thick glasses.
“Oh. It’s you.” She said, and the smile she was wearing disappeared. Subconciously, I noticed there were still traces of lisp in her voice.
“Um, hi Twist.” I smiled awkwardly, swallowing. “Is Snails home?”
“He’s in town, watching a game with Snips.” She narrowed her eyes menacingly, and I realized how poor my choice of words was.
“Oh. I see. Do you, uh, have a moment? I wanted to talk with you.” I said quickly, afraid she will slam the door in my face. She regarded me for a moment, and I felt myself sweating. Who would think that a pony like her could have such an intimidating stare.
“Come in.” she said curtly, opening the door wider and backing inside the room.
The house was rather cozy, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact it was full of animal dwellings of all sorts. It smelled of animal food, vegetables and... peppermint?
Once we were seated at a small table, she spoke again. “So, what do you want?”
I took a deep breath, looking at the floor. Now or never. “I... I came to apologize. For... everything.” I paused for a moment, waiting for a reply. When it didn’t come, I went on. “I want to apologize for all the bullying, all the nasty things I said about you and Snails. It... it was wrong of me to do these things. I... I’m sorry.”
Silence filled the room. Finally, I could stand it no longer and looked up at Twist. She sat there, unmoving, with a mixture of surprise and disbelief on her face. Suddenly, her face hardened.
“You’re sorry?!” She yelled, slamming her front hooves on the table. “Well, good for you! You think a buckin’ ‘sorry’ will make thinks right?”
“Of... Of course not-” I began, but she didn’t let me finish.
“You and Tiara made my life a living hell in high school! The mocking, the rumors you spread! Not to mention all the blankflank crap me and my friends took from you in the elementary! Or how you told Snails you saw me making out with Snips, just after we started dating! You think I can just forget all of this?”
I was on the verge of tears, desperately trying to think of anything to say. It was worse than meeting the Crusaders. At least there I had Sweetie Belle to defend me. Here, I was alone. And as much as it hurt to admit it to myself, I was getting what I deserved.
Twist’s fury started to die down, and she just glared at me from across the table breathing heavily.
Suddenly, I was able to speak again. “I don’t expect you to forgive me. I don’t know if I would if somepony did to me what I did to others. I just... I just wanted to tell you I feel sorry for what I did. I want to put that chapter of my life behind me.” I smiled mirthlessly, looking up at the red headed mare in front of me. “I don’t sound very convincing, do I?”
She looked away, frowning. Taking the hint, I sighed and got up, turning to leave.
“Wait.”
I stopped mid-step and turned back. She was looking me in the eye, still frowning, but her face had eased up a little.
“You’re doing this because of Sweetie Belle, right?” she asked bluntly.
“Yes.” I answered simply. There was no point in denying it. By now, everypony in town knew about us. “But it doesn’t mean I don’t mean what I said.”
She watched me for a few more seconds, her expression unreadable.
“Okay. Apology accepted.”
I wasn’t prepared for that. It took me a few moments to realize I was gaping at her like a complete moron.
“I won’t forget what you did, but I will cut you some slack, for Sweetie’s sake.” She continued, now speaking more calmly. ”You came here to make her happy, even though you knew what will happen. Maybe there is some decency left in you after all.”
I ventured a small smile. “Thank you.”
“I’m not the one you should thank.”
I nodded, and turned towards the door.
“Come here tomorrow around noon. You still have to apologize to Snails.”
I winced, but nodded again. Then I left, closing the door quietly behind me.
I felt... strange. Strange, but somehow better. Like the world was making sense again. I started trotting a little bit faster.
After all, there was somepony waiting for me.