"Princess Twilight, I can't thank you enough for scheduling time out of your busy day to talk to me," Spoiled Rich said. Both she and Twilight were sitting inside her castle, the crystal walls sparking with the help of the sun's rays.

"It's no problem, Mrs. Rich. Though, it's Spike you should be thanking. He's the one who manages my schedule for me nowadays," she said.

"Yes. Is he here by any chance? I was under the impression that he lived here alongside you," she inquired, hoping to see the drake.

"Yeah, sorry about that. He couldn't make it, he was busy helping out Rarity, a friend of mine with one of her business orders. He won't be back for a few hours," she said. Using her magic, Twilight hovered over some tea and refreshments at their shared table, to which Mrs.Rich politely refused. "I'm sorry, is the tea not to your liking?"

"No, No. Far from it. It's just a matter that I shouldn't take too long to discuss with you, Your Majesty. Besides, I'm not deserving of your kindness." she said. Twilight accepted her refusal, but still left the teacup in front of her. "Your majesty, I-

"You can just pretend it's not there but it's simply me being kind. And pls, call me Twilight." She said, taking a sip of her tea. She made a mental note to thank Rarity for the lessons in properness and regal senses, and Fluttershy for all the tea.

"Oh, of course Your Maj- uhm, Ms. Twilight."

"Just Twilight is ok. So, what did you wanna talk about?" she asked, already having a feeling what she wanted to talk about. "Alright, Twilight. You ran through the numbers. If she plans on saying anything about shortening or upfront ending Diamond Tiara's detention you send her home." she told herself. Mrs.Rich paused for a moment as Twilight smiled at her, seemingly unknowing of her words and actions during her meeting last week at the School. She inhaled deeply before closing her eyes and bowing her head at the table.

"I wanted to apologize," she finally said, her head remaining still as she spoke. Twilight gazed at her, visibly perplexed. This unexpected turn of events had not been accounted for in any of the scenarios Twilight had meticulously considered. Despite thoroughly researching her, she found that her current behavior did not align with her past actions. As Twilight mulled further, she realized that they had never spoken to each other before. Despite residing in Ponyville for an extensive period, their interactions had been few.

"Apologize?" she asked.

"Yes...Last week, I received a letter from your assistant and d-during what should have been a friendly sit-down and chat, I-I..." Mrs. Rich suddenly stopped. Her eyes became more watered by the second.

"Please, Mrs. Rich, take your time. Whatever it is you want to apologize for, it's okay. You shouldn't force it out," Twilight said, her voice filled with empathy and understanding. As she reached out to comfort her friend, she could see the turmoil in Mrs. Rich's eyes. It wasn't just the fear of admitting wrongdoing; it was the genuine sense of remorse emanating from her. Mrs. Rich's struggle to contain her emotions was evident as she desperately fought back tears, her internal conflict laid bare for Twilight to witness.

"No, I need to say it." she defended, quickly wiping away her frustration. She took one more breath before breaking her silence. "I'm sorry because I called your assistant...your pet. It was in a moment of frustration fueled by my anger against the Apple family. Specifically against Applejack's sister, Applebloom for hitting my daughter. For that, I'm deeply sorry." she finally said. Twilight already knew about the incident involving Applebloom and Diamond Tiara via Starlight. But everything that happened during the meeting itself was entirely kept under wraps. When she sent Spike to get the report from Discord, he returned with a letter written with words cut out from newspapers and magazines saying "Mission Accomplished." After reading this, Twilight asked Starlight if she could keep a closer eye on Discord for the sake of the two mares.

"I assume that's why you wanted to know if Spike was here," Twilight said calmly. Mrs. Rich slowly looked up, nodding as she wiped away the few tears she had left. She was surprised to see the princess behaving so calmly. "In that case, all's forgiven," Twilight said, finishing her tea. Mrs. Rich was completely confused at this point. Despite telling the truth, she didn't seem angered or annoyed by her presence in the slightest. Rather, she looked at her the same way as when she had walked in.

"I don't understand." She asked Twilight. "I just clearly admitted to insulting your assistant, yet, you're not angry," Twilight raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm not angry persay. Moreover, I'm a little confused," Twilight said, only adding to Mrs. Rich's confusion.

"I've been making it a habit lately to...correct my past faults with the ponies around me."

"Is there a reason for your change?"

"I-I don't know. It suddenly just hit me after that meeting. I don't know if you're aware of this but my daughter said something rather...unsavory about the Apple family on that day. And when we went to take our leave, I thought to myself, "Is this the kind of example I want to set for her." Ever since then, I've been trying to fix my habits and rebrand myself in both my daughters and my community's eyes. She finished. Twilight's thought immediately turned to Discord, impressed by how effective his meeting with her was to make her want to change so drastically.

"Well, that's great. The world could always use more ponies who seek betterment."

"How true. I just hate that it took me seeing my daughter with a black eye to realize this," she said, staring down into the teacup. And for a moment, she thought she saw something that tea. As she scrunched her eyes with her hooves, Twilight confused this for her wiping away more tears. Which in turn, made her recognize something. She was scared, not of her but of someone else. Twilight began to draw out the road map in her head, connecting the veils and pining the pictures of truth to the wall.

"This meeting wasn't just about getting a chance to apologize, was it?" Mrs.Rich shook her head no. Twilight hummed to herself, thinking deeply. "If you don't mind me asking, did you apologize to anyone else?"

"Of course. The first ponies I wanted to make amends with were the apples, but-

"But-" Twilight insisted, more intrigued than ever.

"Applejack didn't seem to take kindly to me when I tried. Not that I could blame her." She said.

"Wow! That's quite the shocker. That doesn't sound like her. Then again she hasn't been acting herself lately." Twilight muttered that last part to herself, thinking back to three days ago when Applejack stormed into the castle's library and took many a book before leaving without an explanation. While Twilight was reorganizing the history catalog

"What was that" Mrs.Rich asked.

"Nothing, ignore that last part. But, it sounds like you are focusing on making amends with everypony else instead of the ponies you need to speak with first," she reasoned. Mrs. Rich merely shook her head again.

"I'm afraid that's impossible. They're.......no longer reachable," she said in a depressed tone. Twilight was quick to catch on and was ready to stop the conversation altogether when she suddenly spoke again. "There's only one pony who I can have that chance with, but I doubt her reaction will be any different than her granddaughters," she said aloud unknowingly to herself. Once Twilight heard this, all the pieces began to connect. She stood up and walked over to her side, placing one of her wings around her.

"You won't know how the pony will react until you confront them," she said. Mrs. Rich looked up at Twilight, who was appearing even more regal than even Celestia at that moment. "Let me put it another way. Referring back to Spike, I've known him since I was a young unicorn. We've both heard hurtful comments being aimed at us. Him for being a dragon and me for being shy and nerdy. But after coming to Ponyville and making friends, we realized that they're just words. I realized they can only hurt you if you let them. So if you've come to apologize for those comments you made, I wonder why you're saying sorry to me." With those words, Twilight left Mrs. Rich to ponder.

Mrs. Rich thanked her for the advice and left Twilight hoping that her words had made an impact. Little did they know, someone else had been quietly listening in on their conversation. Suddenly, an eyeball popped out of the teacup that was meant for Mrs.Rich. Another one appeared, along with a pair of mismatched horns. They submerged back into the tea, only for the cup to explode, tea flying everywhere and the cup shards lying on the ground. It was Discord. He grabbed his elongated neck and ringed it like a wet towel, the tea dripping out of it onto the floor.

"Well, that was both wholesome and boring all in one. But, seeing Twilight using her brain so fast was quite the show. 7/10, jolly good show." he said, holding his phone and ending the recording. With a snap of his fingers, he disappeared, leaving the mess he left behind. When Twilight walked back into the room, seeing the broken cup and soaking wet floor, she called out for Spike.

"Oh yeah. He's at Rarity's. Wonder how he's doing."

Author's Note

The next chapter will be dropping tomorrow night or early morning. Stay tuned!