School was uneventful as always. Twilight only remembered being pushed into a locker by Hulking Mass, one of the meanest bullies at the school. He had called her a societal reject and taunted her about fitting in, the same way he always did. She wasn’t really terrified by his presence anymore if she was being honest. It was routine at this point and his threats had become stale. If she wasn’t so focused on keeping her head attached to her neck that day and laying low, she would’ve told him to get some new material.
Her suffering finally ended though when the last bell of the day rang and class was dismissed. As soon as Mrs. Honey opened the classroom door, she wasted no time in making a beeline outside and headed in the direction of Minuette’s house, which wasn’t far from the school. It was a large purple house with multiple windows sporting an hourglass symbol on the front. She glanced at the map that Shining had given her and smiled with relief upon confirming that she was in the right place. The last thing she wanted was to get lost when she had an old friend to reconnect with.
She slowly walked up to the blue door in front of her, swallowing her nervousness. She had to do this. It didn’t matter whether she was forgiven or not. At least she could say that she tried her best and that it hadn’t worked out. She had to make an effort. If not for herself, then for her BBBFF. She knocked on the door and waited for an answer.
That was when the door creaked open and the curious head of a blue unicorn poked out from behind a corner, her face brightening upon seeing Twilight standing in front of her. Minuette had always been the excitable and bubbly type, and that certainty had not changed in the years since they had last seen each other.
“Twilight Sparkle!” Minuette exclaimed happily, stepping out of her house. “You old so-and-so! What are you doing here?! I mean, I know you're here all the time, but you never come to see me!”
Twilight smiled sheepishly. “I wanted to…see if we could maybe…hang out today? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“I’d love to hang out with you!” Minuette assured her instantly. “I know we didn’t quite get along the best at first, but things are different now! You’ve changed. Plus, we’ve all been wanting to check up on you anyway. What better way than to spend the day out?”
“I guess,” replied Twilight nervously. “I guess I was worried you…wouldn’t want to talk to me after everything I did.”
Minuette waved her hoof dismissively. “Hey, don’t worry about it! We may not have always been the closest of friends, but now’s our time to change that!” She turned back in the direction of her house. “Come inside! Come inside. We can get Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine after we talk.”
Twilight nodded quickly. “Oh, um…alright.” She was happy that Minuette was being so welcoming, but at the same time, she could tell that she was hiding something. This interaction was so far too easy, and she knew it. There was no way that she simply forgot about all of the emotional and physical trauma she had endured on the night of the accident.
Nonetheless, she stepped inside of the home, closing the door behind her. She admired the simplistic decor of the living room. It was nothing fancy and the furniture was arranged in an ordinary fashion. But the way Minuette was describing it seemed like she thought her place was the fanciest home in Equestria, and she couldn’t help but be envious of how content the unicorn seemed to be with her life in contrast to the way she was feeling.
They sat on opposite sofas and talked about casual stuff for a little while, such as what subjects Twilight was studying and whether Minuette still wanted to get a degree in dentistry. But eventually, the talk shifted to why she was here and it was the moment she had been dreading all day.
“So…” Minuette asked her. “I am kinda curious. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but…you’ve never really shown interest in us before, let alone little ‘ol me. I just wanna know what changed as you were never really the friendship type. Heck, Moon Dancer can attest to that.”
Twilight sighed. “I want to apologize, Minuette. I hurt you and the others so badly all those moons ago and…I’m hoping to make it up to you.”
“Twilight-“
“And I know you’re not telling the full truth about letting the past go. You don’t just forget something like that. You don’t just forget a horrible action like what I did. You can talk to me about it. I want to hear how you really feel.”
Minuette’s face fell. Her expression turned to one of sadness. “You really want to talk about that, huh? I’m sorry, I was trying to spare your feelings by not mentioning it.”
“Don’t,” Twilight said sternly. “I need to hear it. I was a sick and deluded filly back then who thought she was the personal student of Princess Celestia. You didn’t deserve any of this. You didn’t deserve to be yelled at and crippled for something that was a lie. I’m sorry, Minuette. I want to tell you that.”
Minuette absorbed what she was being told, nodding her head and her face seemed to reflect that of somepony who had so much pain being held up inside, but didn’t know how to let it out. Finally, she looked back at the unicorn opposite her and her expression softened.
“Twilight,” she said gently. “Would you believe me if I told you that I forgive you for that? I know it’s hard to believe, but…I don’t blame you.”
Twilight wiped a falling tear from her eye. “You don’t…?”
Minuette shook her head. “It was your illness. The constant episodes and everything you were saying…I didn’t understand it then, but I do now. My Dad actually gave me a lesson in OCPD following that night and…over the years, it became easier to forgive. You were suffering and none of this was ever really your fault. You weren’t in control.”
“I just wish I can take it all back…” Twilight replied sadly, sniffling. “I can never undo what I did, and it haunts me. Even as I’m trying to move forward. We could’ve all been best friends and I just ruined it…” She squeezed her eyes shut.
It was at that moment that Minuette stood up and walked up towards her, putting a comforting hoof around her shoulder. “Well I don’t see that sick filly anymore. I only see you now. The fact that you came here on your own accord in order to reach out to me tells me everything I need to know…”
Twilight opened her eyes again, looking back at her. “I don’t know if our friends will think the same. Especially Moon Dancer. She and I actually got along a little bit, so it might hurt more for her.”
“We’ll worry about her when the time comes,” Minuette told her kindly. “I just want you to know that I forgive you, and I’m sure Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine will too.”
“You think so?”
“I have no doubt.”
Twilight felt comforted by her presence and she smiled genuinely, feeling at peace for the first time in a long time. It was a feeling of relief that she never thought that she would ever get to experience. Minuette actually forgave her and still wanted to be her friend, even when she initially thought it was impossible. Perhaps she could do this after all. She could make things up with the rest of them. Redemption was possible in her future.
Hmm. Keep telling yourself that. As far as I’m concerned, you haven’t atoned for anything. A familiar voice spoke inside her mind. Twilight froze upon hearing it. She never wanted to hear that cursed voice again. She never thought it would come back.
You! Twilight yelled. I thought I wouldn’t ever have to deal with you again. Leave me alone already. You already got what you wanted.
Have I? Oh I don’t think so. You still think you’re a pony worth saving, that you’re some kind of hero who could hoofwave away all your problems. Well, newsflash. You can’t. You’ll always be stuck in the same place for the rest of your life. Once a sick pony, always a sick pony.
That’s not true! protested Twilight. You know nothing about me. They’ll forgive me. I just know they will. If Minuette could-
She was always an airhead anyway. What does she know about mental illness?
Twilight’s temper instantly flared. You know nothing about her! How can you say that she doesn’t know anything?! You’re always trying to put me down for no reason! Well guess what? It’s not working, and it will never work.
We shall see, Twilight Sparkle. We shall see. Don’t say I didn’t warn you when reality comes crashing down on your little fantasy.
“Enough!!” Twilight snapped out loud. At the sound of her yelling, Minuette instantly released her hoof and jumped back in fear. She noticed her do this and instantly felt bad. Here she was about to hurt one of her friends again. She couldn’t do this. “I’m sorry! It was…just my imagination.”
Minuette nodded reluctantly, though it was obvious by her expression that she wasn’t fully convinced. Her body was still tense for about a moment before the doorbell rang and she ran over to open it. Upon swinging it open, she and Twilight were greeted with the sight of two familiar ponies.
The first was a white unicorn mare with a pink mane and tail and the second pony was a yellow unicorn with a blue mane and tail. Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts. They had heard that Twilight was in town and had come over to see her.
“Lemon Hearts! Twinkleshine!” Minuette greeted them. “You made it! I thought we would have to come over and get you guys!”
“We came as fast as we could upon you telling us that Twilight was here,” Twinkleshine answered. “Any sighting from the purple nerd is an all hooves on deck moment as I always say.”
Lemon Hearts giggled at that. “Same. I dropped everything. I arranged for us to all hang out at Donut Joe’s. Wanna come?”
Minuette gasped. “Would we?!” She grinned, glancing back at Twilight. “Come on, Twilight! We’re going to eat lunch together!”
Twilight overheard her name being called and snapped to attention, getting down from the sofa and heading towards the door. She didn’t know what was going to be in her future, but she knew that she couldn’t stop now. She had to apologize to the rest of her friends no matter what. Only then would she truly be able to atone for the sins of her past.
“Let’s do this.” she stated determinedly.