Mare opened her eyes again and found herself back in the throne room of Canterlot Castle, right at the moment she was about to use the Generic MacGuffin to defeat Villain. This was the exact point where the timeline diverged and she had a chance to make things right now. A spear was pointed at her throat and she should’ve been afraid. But she wasn’t this time. She knew exactly what she needed to do, and her experiences had changed her for the better.
“I know you’re angry, Villain!” Mare told her, carefully getting to her hooves. “I understand you and I know what you’re going through! But I do know you can’t do this! I’ve seen where this leads and so have you!”
“I only know what I want!” Villain shot back. “Who knows what will really happen until I try it?!”
“I’ve seen it many times!” Mare insisted. “Things don’t turn out well in Equestria without the Magic of Friendship to guide it!”
“Ugh, what’s so special about friendship?!” demanded Villain angrily. “How is that in any way stronger than the power of the dark side?!”
“The difference is that friendship is about forming connections and making others happy!” Mare explained desperately.
“No one ever wanted to be my friend!” Villain yelled. “No matter how hard I tried growing up! HOW CAN I BE SURE THAT IT WON’T HAPPEN AGAIN?!” Tears of anger and sadness filled her eyes.
“You don’t know!” Mare admitted. She walked up to her slowly and relayed the lesson she had learned over the course of her journey. “But that’s the thing! You don’t know until you give it a try! I spent many days being alone, forced to do the bidding of someone else. But…I survived all of that! I found friends, allies who would stand by my side in battle, and be there whenever I needed help! And I know you can do that too!”
While she was saying this, Villain’s anger facade crumbled and her true vulnerable self took over. This pony understood her. She was empathizing with her. This was a feeling she had never felt throughout her entire life, and she didn’t know what to say as a rebuttal. The truth was that she didn’t have any. Mare was right, and she knew it.
“How do I know they won’t all end the same way…?” Villain asked her through tears.
“I guess it's up to you to make sure they don't.” Mare answered, offering her hoof out to her. Villain hesitated for a moment, but then grasped it anyway. The two of them embraced one another as a blast of magic headed up to the Moon and released Twilight and the others.
The doors to the throne room burst open and the Mane 6 ran in, ready to fight. Villain seemed to know what they were here for, and she walked in their direction, finally owning up to what she did. She apologized for everything she had done and that she didn’t expect them to forgive her.
Now this is normally where I would pull the cliché, “all is forgiven” redemption trope that we’re all so tired of, right? Well, not this time! This is a real story and I’m not about to bore you with that kiddie stuff. So instead, she got this.
“We’re glad that you’ve finally understood the gravity of your mistakes,” Twilight said kindly. But then her face darkened. “That being said, you still need to face the consequences of your actions.” She then yanked Villain off the floor with her magic and held her in a chokehold.
“I-WHAT?!” Villain gasped.
“We don’t forgive you!” Rainbow Dash shouted angrily.
“No no no no no no no no no no!” Villain begged, realizing what was happening to her. “Please, no-“
“ONE THOUSAND YEARS IN FRIENDSHIP PRISON!!!!” Applejack ordered. “Case closed!” She stomped her hoof on the ground like a gavel.
And so, Villain was sent away to Friendship Prison and the day was saved. Mare was made to be Twilight’s new apprentice and as her second act of showing that she was a changed pony, she even decided to spend some time with Bear back at the house because Luna knows the poor stuffed animal needs it. Snake was even invited over for a tea party, to which he happily accepted. Yay for Mare learning a lesson in basic equine decency!
And they all lived happily ever after.
Soooooo…THE END!