Stone and Secrets

The statue of Discord stood elegantly as it basked in the moonlight. In stone, just as in flesh, Discord exhibited a certain chaotic grace; a method to the madness, if you will. His mismatched features, Twilight noticed, were still contorted into the same expression of shock and fear they had been when he had been struck by the Elements of Harmony just a few weeks ago.

She looked at the statue as if she hoped to gain some great knowledge from it. A silly exercise, she knew, but something made her want to know about him. Questions abounded in her mind as to the origins of the strange creature within that statue, but just the thought of what he had done to her friends made her shudder.

So she stayed at the edge of the area around the statue, refusing to approach as if bound by the shackles of superstition. He was harmless now, why would it matter?

Deep in the depths of her ever-frantic cranium, she was caught off guard by a figure that approached the statue from another angle. It took her a moment in the dim light, but she could identify the pony as... Celestia? But what could she be doing here?

She watched as Celestia slowly approached the statue, checking both ways as she did. She was carrying something in her mouth, but Twilight couldn't make out what it was.

But... why would she...

She then lowered her head, dropped the object onto the ground, and whispered almost inaudibly.

"I am sorry. I am so, so sorry."

A single glistening tear fell from her eyes, almost seeming to slow time itself as it fell silently to the ground.

She stayed that way for a few long moments, her head hung low, not speaking a word, not moving a muscle. Even her ever-flowing mane seemed to lose its life.

Finally, she looked up, and Twilight thought she might have heard some quiet sobbing.

"Forgive me... Please, forgive me."

She walked back the way she had come, going even slower this time, and looking utterly defeated.

Twilight, meanwhile, stood by in utter shock. The princess, crying over Discord and asking for forgiveness? And what did she leave there?

Barely managing to contain her curiosity long enough to allow the princess to be a suitable distance away, Twilight ran over to see the curious object.

She didn't know what to expect, but that left her no less surprised when she identified the item:

A single, beautiful rose.