//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: A Second Chance 
// by Meteorite Shower 
//------------------------------//

Hearts and Hooves Day passed, and Ponyville spent the next few days slowly sweeping away the various decorations strewn about the town, everypony done with the holiday until next year.  Everypony except Meteorite who, now with her bottled up feelings finally free, was feeling emboldened by the joy and spirit of the holiday, and was gaily cantering down the main street of Ponyville.  She paused briefly by Rose's stand, curiously eyeing the flowers on offer.  She admittedly didn't know much about flowers to look at or, in a few moments of tempted curiosity, taste, but she picked a bouquet she thought looked nice and hopefully, Rarity would too.

Meteorite walked away with her gift, however only managing a few steps before she spotted the small purple dragon a few feet in front of her, staring back.  His large eyes flicked to the bouquet for a moment, his tiny claws fidgeting together.

"You're… off to see Rarity, aren't you?" Spike asked, his voice trying not to crack as he looked away.

Meteorite's heart sank, suddenly heavy with feelings of guilt, of feeling like a homewrecker, barging her way into what was canon.  She glanced at the bouquet nestled in the crook of her foreleg, briefly considering flat-out lying and claiming it was just a snack, but no.  It was a tired trope, and Spike didn't deserve having his intelligence insulted like that.

"Yeah…" Meteorite said quietly, "I am."

Spike nodded glumly, unable to look at Meteorite. They both stood there for a while, not knowing what to say next.  Finally, Meteorite gently placed the bouquet down on the ground and lowered herself to be face to face with Spike.

"Hey," she said softly.  "Look, if… if I for whatever reason upset Rarity, you have my permission to kick my flank all across Equestria."

Spike scoffed as he crossed his arms, but appeared to consider Meteorite's words.  He turned his head to face her, fixing her with a stern glare.  "Yeah well, that's not gonna happen, is it?  Because you're not going to upset her, right?"

Meteorite faintly smiled as she shook her head. "No, sir."

Spike still glared, but it seemed to soften slightly as his arms uncrossed, falling to his sides.  "Well… good."  His gaze drifted away for a moment.  "As long as she's happy…" he mumbled.

Meteorite swallowed before rising back to her full height.  "You're a good one, Spike.  I respect you."

"Pft, yeah," Spike scoffed lightly, "I'm still gonna hold you to that promise, you know."

I don't remember saying it was a promise but, "Of course," Meteorite said, giving a sympathetic smile, "I mean, I don't exactly want a vengeful dragon after me, after all."

A few moments after they had said their final pieces and parted ways, Meteorite watched as Spike walked off in the distance.  Her ears dropped slightly as she frowned.

"I hope he'll be okay," she said to herself.

"He'll be fine," came a voice off to the side.

Meteorite blinked as the background noise of the town was crushed beneath a sudden silence, and even the air itself seemed to halt.  She slowly turned her head to see a figure, somehow both familiar and foreign at the same time, sitting on a nearby bench, smiling serenely.  And without a moment's notice, lost memories suddenly returned to Meteorite with full force, filling in the blanks she hadn't realised were missing. Her eyes went wide with recognition, before narrowing sharply.

"Alexandra," she hissed, before her memories had finished trying to line up the facts she knew.  She momentarily hesitated.  "Wait. Wait, so… ohh.  So that was the moment Rarity was talking about."

Alexandra nodded, still smiling.  Meteorite eyed her cautiously.

"You know, I should still be mad at you."

"I know.  I'm sorry, I really am."

"S'okay…" Meteorite grumbled, "I mean…" she bit her lip, considering her next thought.  "Did you… know, me and Rarity would end up together?"

Alexandra's smile grew slightly, even though she shrugged. "I had an inkling, but nothing definite."

"An inkling."

"Well, it's like what I told Rarity; I wasn't going to interfere."  Alexandra then rolled her eyes and sighed.  "Though, the two of you damn well frustrated the hell out of me towards the end there!  I so wanted to get it through your thick skull that Rarity liked you, dammit!" She balled her hands into fists, but then held her hands up open, exhaling. "But, no.  It had to be done by you two alone.  I wasn't going to do anything about it."

Meteorite scoffed lightly, before frowning in thought. "So wait.  If you're not 'interfering', why are you here then?"

"Oh, well," Alexandra said somewhat flippantly, "I figured I might as well show up for the epilogue."

Meteorite blinked as her ears fell flat.  "Epilogue?"

"Yup!" Alexandra said cheerily, "Story's over! You got the girl- well.  Both of you got the girl," she winked, causing a slight blush on Meteorite, "and this feels like a good time to go out on."

Meteorite glanced around.  "It… does?  I mean… no offense, but I really don't think ending on you and me talking is a good way to go."

Alexandra cupped her cheek and chin with her hand, a sly grin on her face.  "Oh dear… you're right I think."

Meteorite raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "What are you up t-" Meteorite paused, suddenly hearing the sounds of hooves hitting the ground rapidly approaching in the distance.  Alexandra continued to grin.

"If only it wasn't just you and me unaffected by this!"

Meteorite turned to the fast-approaching sounds, staring into the frozen town waiting for something to happen.  Suddenly, from a nearby junction Rarity came galloping, skidding to a halt, frantically looking one way then the other, before spotting Meteorite and Alexandra looking back at her.  Wide-eyed, she ran over as fast as she could.

"Darling!"

"Rarity?" Meteorite questioned, not used to others being around while Alexandra was here.  Rarity ran up to her, and the two of them embraced in a comforting hug.

"Oh, Meteorite darling!  I was so concerned!  All of a sudden, everypony just stopped moving!  But then, I remembered that's what happened when-" Rarity glanced over, "-she was here, so I waited for her to appear but she didn't so I thought to find you and then I heard voices in the distance and so I came running!"  Rarity took a moment to compose herself, breaking the hug and clearing her throat, before facing Alexandra fully.  "Miss Alexandra."

Alexandra chuckled lightly.  "Miss Rarity," she greeted back.

Rarity glanced over at Meteorite briefly, concerned. "Darling, what's going on?"

Meteorite opened her mouth to respond, but unable to quickly think of what to say, Alexandra answered instead.

"I just wanted to thank you both."

Both ponies turned towards her.  "Thank us?"

Alexandra smiled, turning to Rarity.  "Rarity, I just wanted to say that… you've managed to do what I didn't think was possible, and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I don't know what the future holds for you two, but whatever it is, I can trust you both with it."

Alexandra then turned to Meteorite, her smile growing slightly sad, slightly confusing the pony.  "And you, Meteorite… I'm very sorry that I felt I had to interfere when it's clear now that it wasn't really helping.  I hope you can forgive me for that."

Meteorite glanced at Rarity before trying to wave it off coolly. "Pf, yeah, no worries.  It's all cool."

Rarity nodded. "Yes, no forgiveness is needed. You were only doing what you felt was the right thing to do."

"Besides," Meteorite shrugged, "you kinda helped us get together anyway by screwing up."

Alexandra blinked.  "…Huh.  Didn't think of it like that."

Meteorite giggled slightly, prompting Rarity to join in. Alexandra smiled at the pair, before standing up, catching their attention.

"Before I go," Alexandra began, "I have an offer for you Meteorite."

Meteorite frowned slightly, hooking her hoof around Rarity's.  "You're going?  What offer?"

"Yeah…" Alexandra sighed, "think it's best I go soon.  But anyway! My offer is simple.  Once I leave, things will go back to how they've been, or… you can continue remembering our meetings, like Rarity had.  Your choice."

Meteorite's breath caught in her throat as she considered the option before her.  She felt Rarity squeezing her hoof slightly, offering her support.  Looking up at Alexandra, she swallowed.

"Honestly…  I don't want to forget you ever again.  Yeah, we had our fights, but… I'd rather have that than nothing at all."

Alexandra smiled.  "Same…"  She stretched for a moment, before taking a few steps.  "Well.  Time to go. You two have a great life, you hear?"

"Will we see you again?" Rarity asked.

Alexandra paused, considering the question. "Probably not… you two don't need me around anymore," she shrugged, "not that you needed me much to begin with anyway."

She took another few steps before Meteorite called out.

"Follow up question.  Will you see us again?"

Alexandra slowed down, pausing by the junction Rarity came out of.  She turned around, her only response being a wide grin, before ducking out of view, returning the world to its former bustling activity.  Meteorite and Rarity glanced at each other.

"Figures," Meteorite snarked, rolling her eyes. Rarity laughed lightly.

"You know…" Rarity began, "it only really just occurred to me that the two of you sound very much alike."

"What?" Meteorite said disbelieving as she walked over to where she dropped her bouquet, "No we don't."

"You absolutely do!" Rarity protested, "Identical!"

"Well, if you say so," Meteorite dismissed, checking the bouquet making sure it was okay.  "I couldn't hear it."  She walked back over, with a smile on her face.  "Anyway, more importantly!  I bought these for you.  I hope they're good enough.  I don't really know flowers that well."

Rarity took the bouquet, breathing in the scent.  There was a small pause as she glanced at Meteorite before returning to the flowers, her brow furrowed.  Eventually, Rarity looked at a now slightly concerned Meteorite, her eyes lidded.

"Well, the important thing is you tried."

Meteorite's face fell, which made Rarity unable to hold her façade and broke into a reassuring smile.  "I'm kidding, darling!  I'm happy you made such a thoughtful gesture."  She caressed Meteorite's cheek with a hoof, before kissing her lightly.

"Really?" Meteorite asked, slightly breathless.

Rarity nodded, before clucking her tongue.

"Well, not entirely."  She trotted off towards Rose's cart, before turning back with a wink. "Come on, I'll show you which flowers to get next time."


~The End~