Chapter 1 - The end?
Twilight stared at the photo beside her hospital bed, half-listening to the quiet beeps of her pulse. The photo was an old one, dusty, and the glass was cracked. She allowed a small stream of magic to flow from her horn, and the photo lifted itself and smoothly sailed over to her.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay? You had quite a nasty fall." A voice commented beside her, and Twilight decided to ignore it momentarily. The voice persisted, "If I could have been there I -"
"But you weren't there." Twilight growled, turning to face her unfortunate conversation partner. A half-grown purple and green dragon, ordinarily Twilight's greatest friend, found himself shying away from the angry spite of the mare. Her eyes blazed with rage for a second, before she calmed herself. "I'm sorry Spike, getting mad isn't going to help anypony."
Twilight had been sitting in the hospital for a full week now, feeling unable to return to Ponyville due to what she herself had done.
A single misjudgment of arcane spell usage had destroyed her happy life forever. "So, how bad is it back home Spike? Was anypony seriously hurt?" Spike looked down with a darkened look, "Not seriously, but nopony will recover anytime soon." Twilight lowered her eyes, and turned her vision away.
Looking out the window, a dull, gray, and rainy world awaited outside. Twilight's release would be coming quite soon, as she was no longer physically injured, only mental scars remained.
Twilight began to look back on the event with pain, wondering if she would ever forgive herself. "Have you ever wished you could simply go back and redo something Spike? Everypony makes mistakes, I just..." Tears formed in her eyes as she remembered the looks of horror she had caused. Darn it... I thought I was done crying.
Spike sighed, "That's what I came for, the princess gave me this." He held a small pendant, that glowed the soft yellow of early sunrise.
Twilight turned to see what she was being wrongfully offered, considering she didn't deserve anypony's pity. Twilight's mouth dropped in surprise, "That's... no way."
She had read about this particular stone in several books about mythology, it was a magic stone imbued with great power, power that happened to allow it's user to rewrite their own history. Not directly rewriting though, but actually letting them go back and relive their entire life.
She felt her hoof inch towards it, before the image of Fluttershy cowering in fear because of Twilight's actions made her flinch in pain. "No, I can't do it. I don't deserve that kind of redemption. If anypony deserves to use it, it's Princess Celestia, so she can go back and not raise a horrible student like me."
Spike cocked his head, "Twilight, you're not a bad student. All that happened was-" "I don't want to hear about it spike! I've thought about what I've done over and over for the past week, wondering how I could have been so foolish. But that's not all! I've made so many mistakes over the years! I could have avoided so many disasters! I could have-"
Twilight stopped as she realized she was turning down an opportunity to redeem herself as a good student, by arguing that she was a bad one. Defeated by my own arguement...
She contemplated the stone for a while, then said, "But what about you? If I do this, then everything will change! You won't be the same Spike! You're entire life will most likely never occur!"
Spike pressed the stone into her hoof, smiling. "I don't mind Twilight, because I know that you won't let it be a bad life. You'll make sure that everypony is as happy as can be."
Twilight held the stone in one hoof for several seconds, before she looked up and noticed somepony at the entrance to her room, watching the whole affair.
Princess Celestia regarded Twilight with a sad smile, "I'm sorry about everything that happened Twilight." Twilight's gentle flow of tears trickled harder. "I don't deserve this stone, Princess. I'm a terrible student and I shouldn't be given a second thought, I truly don't deserve to even talk to you." Celestia sighed, "Oh not this again Twilight, we've had this conversation every time I visited you. You just made a few mistakes! The fact that you are willing to accept that already means you deserve a second chance!"
"But I shouldn't get the honor of using such a powerful stone! We all know what happened last time I used magic!" In answer, Celestia approached Twilight's bed and place a hoof around her neck, drawing her into a hug. "I am shocked that a pony as smart as you seems to think that once somepony has made a mistake, it means they will always repeat that same error."
Spike looked away, knowing that Twilight could argue about how hopeless she was for hours. Her accident had seemingly driven her into a depression she couldn't be helped out of. She had to crawl her way out herself.
"Twilight, you are the only one who can do this, if you truly don't want to use this stone, please just say so now." Twilight felt it necessary to argue some more. "Only one? You mean nopony else could go back and tell me not to do it? What about Spike! I would always listen to him! I would certainly be willing to let Spike take my place!"
Celestia was getting tired of arguing, she had been doing it twice a day for a week now. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you first, but I had this stone made by the highest elite unicorns of Canterlot, just for one use by one certain mare named Twilight."
Wait, she had it made just for me? Twilight looked back at the stone, and looked up into the eyes of her Teacher.
"So I'm the the only pony who can use it?" She looked back to the stone. "What will happen when I use it?" "You will go back to the beginnings of the happiest days of your life, right before you have the chance to make any mistakes. In this case you will go back to the day you first arrived in Ponyville. If everything turns out alright, then Nightmare Moon will be defeated once more, and this time nopony will die."
Celestia was referring to her sister Luna of course, who at least a decade ago Twilight had made her first mistake, and destroyed Luna along with the evil possessing her. It used to be a touchy subject, but a decade had already gone by, so Celestia was only slightly gloomy around night time nowadays.
"But then what am I to do? I go back, I live life, in the end, I could still make the same mistakes! Just because I'm redoing my life doesn't mean that i'll find easier or better solutions to my problems!" Celestia's ear twitched as there was a call for her somewhere else in the hospital. She turned her attentions back on Twilight. "It doesn't truly matter if you make mistakes, as long as you know when you make them, how to deal with them, and how to accept that what has happened, and that you still have time to make other choices that are correct."
A doctor entered the room, and looked confused by the appearance of Celestia in the room. "It's discharge time for one Twilight Sparkle, I may have to ask you to leave the room your highness, so that She can be escorted to her new home.
Twilight was supposedly returning to Canterlot, but it was common knowledge that she would be being placed into a comfortable prison rather than her original home.
"It's your choice, now or never my student. I can't make your choice for you, but if you do make the wrong one know that i'll still hold you in the highest regards. I only wish I could have been a better teacher." Celestia trotted out the room, followed by a sad back-glancing Spike.
The doctor offered her the discharge papers, as Twilight made her choice. Her horn glowed it's normal purple, but the object that responded to it's power wasn't the pen being offered by the Doctor, but instead the glowing yellow stone. Twilight squeezed her eyes tight as the stone began to emit it's own orange light.
"Help! She's doing something weird! Help!" The Doctor charged out of the room in a panic, not wanting to be on the receiving end of one of Twilight Sparkle's spells. The spells which caused so much pain and loss. The spells that nearly overthrew the Equestrian government. The spells that were almost used to harm her friends.
When the guards charged into the room, there was only a yellow glow of magic dust floating in the room. "Search the area! She can't have teleported too far!" The head guard called out, as the rest of them followed him out of the room.
Celestia wandered into the room, smiling. "And for the first time in years, Twilight Sparkle makes the right choice. Now we have only to hope that she continues to do so.
A bright sunny day gleamed down on across the land, as Twilight shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. "you okay Twilight?" Spike asked beside her, his voice noticeably higher pitched and his body noticeably smaller sized.
Twilight stared out across the land, noticing that she felt younger and healthier. Probably because I haven't spent years secretly practicing dark magic and absorbing evil spirits for power. Don't know why I ever thought that was a good Idea.
As the gleaming gold carriage sailed towards Ponyville in the beautiful sunlight, Twilight felt herself smile for the first time in years. "Yeah Spike, I'm okay." Twilight looked backwards at Canterlot, noticing how shiny it was, and how little damage had been done to the upper parts of the city. As of today, I am a new mare. And I solemnly swear to myself, I won't let myself hurt anypony purposely anymore.
Twilight's horn glowed, and a relatively short checklist floated out to greet her eyes. Ah yes, I have to gather my friends and prepare the summer sun festival. Twilight gazed towards the quickly growing town of Ponyville, and pondered how to avoid the events that originally transpired on this night.
Chapter 2 - A new, but shaky beginning!
Twilight sat in the gleaming metal carriage, soaking up the beautiful scenery she hadn't seen for for so long, and enjoying the sunlight. To her, the sun appeared to be shining brighter than usual, but she knew that it was simply since her mentor was much more alive and cheery, and didn't have a complete failure of a student to dim her sun over as of yet. And she won't. I'm not sure that I deserve a second chance. But I owe it to her, and I owe it to my friends to give them a second chance, and to make everything right! This time I won't practice any dark magic, and this time I refuse to let my friends suffer!
Spike gazed at the rapidly approaching Ponyville and prepared to leave the carriage. "Ready Twilight? You've seemed distracted the entire trip!"
She nodded distantly, as Spike handled her saddle bags and pulled out a letter from Celestia.
"My dear Twilight... There is more to a young ponies life than studying! I'm sending you to supervise the preperations for the Summer Sun Celebration, in this years location, Ponyville!" Spike read out, as Twilight tried to remember how to act like her younger self who hadn't cared for her friends at all. As opposed to me... Who didn't care for their safety.
She put on an annoyed look, and said, "Ugh. I can't believe I'm doing this." Spike continued, "And, I have an even more important task for you to complete. Make some friends!" Twilight could barely fight the smile trying to fight the sad groan she gave, as if making friends was awful when she could be studying. Was I seriously that anti-social? Wow. Making friends really does change everything.
"Well, at least I'll be staying in a library," Twilight said hopefully, momentarily forgetting that she wasn't supposed to know this fact yet. When she did remember, she quickly added, "Or at least, I wish I was. The princess will probably have me stay somewhere in the middle of town, so I can make friends easier..."
Spike's look of surprise at Twilight's correct "Guess" was evident. "Actually, you will be staying in a Library! Did you read this without me?"
She suppressed the urge to demeanor Spike's intelligence, He's my friend! He's practically a little brother! Friends shouldn't do that kind of stuff! and announced. "Well, that's one thing good about this whole Ponyville business. I have a plan! I'll deal with the Summer Sun preparations as fast as possible, and then head to the library to learn all I can about Lu- About Nightmare Moon!"
"Wait, but that doesn't leave you any time to make friends like the Princess said!" Spike complained. Don't worry about me making friend's Spike. I plan to put a bit more effort into that this time.
The Carriage was on the verge of landing now, and the Royal guard pegasi were beginning to flutter their wings in such a way as to slow down.
"Spike, the Princess said for me to work on preparing the Summer Sun Celebration! I plan to carry out my royal duties and do just that. I'm certain that there is no possible way the fate of Equestria could possibly count on me making friends!"
The carriage landed smoothly, and slowed to a stop. Twilight's keen eyes picked up Pinkie Pie trotting over to investigate the new visitors. The Royal guard stopped with a clattering of hooves, and they gave a tired whinny. "Thank you sirs!" Twilight recalled is what she had said at this point, and watched as they gave a snort of gratitude, and sped away.
I remember them both... They were some of the first to have their wings removed... The grim thought seemed a lot darker now that there were no other voices in Twilight's head.
She shivered a little bit, then felt a warm presence as Pinkie approached.
"Maybe the ponies in Ponyville, have interesting things to talk about!" Spike noted, as Twilight turned to face her friend.
Her hair was fluffy, and far from it's memorable stringy and flat. And her coat was a shining star compared to how bright Twilight remembered it being when she last saw Pinkie.