Second Chance

by Cxcd

02 - Introduction To The Snow

It wasn’t an exaggeration to call Lyra’s life… simple. That word- simple- was adequate. It was enough to describe her present situation, the cyan Unicorn living in Ponyville.

She enjoyed her Marefriend’s company, and enjoyed the walks they shared together. She liked the fact that, as of right now, everything had settled. Right now, the calm before the storm, even if she knew that things were bound to change in the coming months, right now, everything stood still.

The past few months, nay, year, had been chaotic and unplanned. Wrenches were thrown into plans, and the couple had to skate precariously around the twists and turns of the legal system, and in the end, they had gotten what they had wanted. It would pan out, as it always does.

The sun had begun to settle, getting shallower in the sky until the bright burning yellow ball began to bathe the lands in a golden glow. All in all, a simple night sky for a simple pony. Just the way that the universe intended it to be.

As she trotted down the desolate path, her thoughts began drifting. Although her Marefriend wasn’t here right now, she still had the indescribable urge to share them with her. She would’ve probably ended up just nodding along, letting the Unicorn vent, but her absence made the walk that little bit more lonely. She watched the spot where she would’ve stood, the red bricks of the road moving past her vision.

Her thoughts drifted towards something more important.

What will I have for dinner?

Probably something in-home. Saving money had become a priority recently, as unexpected turns they had long since learned how to deal with. Usually by just chucking money at the thing until it went away. Eating out had proved to be a major drain on the finances, and particularly unhealthy for ponies with certain expectencies. She didn’t have a problem making food herself, of course, but when her Marefriend made food…

When she made food…

It was… really good.

Really, really good. As she trotted, she could practically feel her mouth begin to water as she thought intensely. Her pace picked up slightly as she began to trot quicker towards her home, where she could begin dinner with her loved one.

A few important questions still lingered in her mind, however. What if the things that she was eating was unhealthy for her… condition.The doctor had to go over this at some point. That, and the fact that when they went to the local librarian for a licensed mage to perform the complex spell, then she started droning on and on about just about every little thing. It was enough to put a pony in an insane asylum, if they dared to listen for longer than thirty seconds. Which, somehow, Bon-bon had managed to avoid while simultaneously still listening.

Suddenly, there was a sound. A mix between an incredibly fast moving objects, tree branches snapping, and eventually, a heavy thump on the ground.

Lyra ducked down preemptively, almost expecting to get hit with whatever had caused that loud noise, knowing this town. Fortunately, after huddling on the brick path for a moment or two, she realized that the sound had come from the small batch of trees to her right.

Slowly, and with shaky legs, she stood up, her ears twitching side to side. She took a cursory glance upwards, noticing that the darkening sky seemed to be completely empty, devoid of any Pegasi that could potentially drop something that large.Something had dropped, and now whatever that something was, it was staying completely still.

She gulped, curiosity gripping her tighter than her will to stay away from whatever danger lurked. She crept forwards, carefully weaving her way through the surprisingly tight forest trees. She pushed her way through the branches until she saw a split in the canopy of leaves.

What she saw on the ground made her heart stop.

Blood, feathers, and a filly.

---

It was the night of Christmas. Andrew sat stiffly on the sofa, the warm glow emitting from the fireplace. In his hands, clutched tightly until his fingernails turned white, was a letter. A simple letter with no fancy designations, postage stamps, or markings. There was no flair to what laid inside. Just a simple, plain letter.

To his side was the only person he felt comfortable sharing this knowledge with. His little sister. She sat cross-legged on the sofa, most of her body facing him as she stared up with that blank stare little kids who didn’t understand had. It was late at night. Much later than any of them had a right to be up. But she didn’t seem phased, rather quite curious.

His breathing was shallow with anticipation, his jaw working as he came to the realization that the only thing between him and the rest of his future was his own fingers.

"Well? Are you gonna open it, or just stare at it?” His little sister asked. Andrew glanced at her, nodding unsurely at her. His lip twitched, and he began fumbling with it.

When she got older, she might remember this as his brother’s biggest failure, or the night that took him away from her. Whichever one it was, he wasn’t exactly sure which one he wanted the outcome to be. Everything was so uncertain… Whichever one it was, though, at least he was going to be getting closure.

Slowly, he peeled it open.

---

In an instant, the little filly was on Lyra’s back. From a distance, an observer might watch as a black silhouette galloped on a beautiful background of purple and white stars. She was making an impression on the galaxy, and in turn the galaxy lit the ground for her as she went. The ground was uneven and rocky, at first, but when she connected with level roads, she broke into a full sprint.

For a while, all she heard was the galloping of her hooves onto the road, her own panting breath, and the feeling of her hooves burning.

But soon, that wasn’t the only thing she felt. She felt a warm, sticky liquid dripping down her back as the filly’s wounds bled profusely. The feeling of warm blood made her skin crawl. It made every instinct she had yell out in panic to go faster, to get to the hospital quicker. If she was as talented as other Unicorns, there wouldn’t even be any wait. She would teleport to the hospital, and it would’ve been over. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the magical ability to do so. So, the blood pooling down her sides made her gallop quicker.

She wasn’t exactly sure when she burst through the doors of the hospital. She might’ve yelled out a ‘help!’ somewhere along the line. But she did recognize when the nurse behind the front desk spit out her coffee, and hit something that looked suspiciously like a panic button. A doctor, a stretcher, yelling…

And silence.

They were gone. And that left Lyra standing in the waiting room, looking quite confused.

Lyra still felt as if she was running. Her hooves were still burning, and her breaths were still quite ragged. She felt like collapsing, giving up right here right now. She turned around to look at herself. Her coat was completely covered in warm, sticky blood that made her stomach turn squeamish.

And then, somewhat unceremoniously, she trotted towards the bathroom with a grim look on her face.

---

"Where are you going?” A womanly voice asked. Andrew stopped, one hand on the doorknob. He looked back, towards the warm glow of the kitchen. Sitting at the dinner table, barely visible through the archway leading into the kitchen, was a woman. Surrounding her was an unhealthy amount of alchohol. Bottles, cans, wine glasses… But the back of her head was facing him. So she couldn’t see what he was about to do.

"Uh. Out.” He said, adjusting the suitcase held within his grasp. Inside, it held every valuable possesion he had. Clothes. Money. Some snacks...

"Okay. Be back before midnight.” She said, somewhat dismissively as she rubbed her forehead. Andrew nodded, and pushed the door open. The brisk night was the first thing he noticed pushing against his face. It was frigid and terribly cold, but that didn’t seem to stop him. He heaped the suitcase out of the door, and went to close it.

But he paused. There, at the end of the hallway, was his sister. Once again, like last night, she was up much later than she should’ve been. She stared with a somewhat understanding expression on her face.

Andrew knew he was leaving her. Andrew knew he was abandoning her. But if he didn’t take this opportunity now, then there was a chance he would never be able to do this again.

She knew. Somehow, she knew. She simply raised her hand and gave a small little wave. The best Andrew could do was shoot back a smile, and wave in the exact same way as the door closed. And that was the last time Andrew ever saw her.

---

Lyra pushed open the door to the bathroom. It was a simple room, with several open stalls lining one wall, with the other wall being entirely devoted towards a full-length mirror and several large sinks. She trotted forwards, coming to the mirror and stopping.

She had read horror books, of course. Pop-culture, and things like that. Blood, in her mind, was supposed to be like water. Which, to be fair, it was. What she wasn’t expecting was how sticky it was. And warm. It was incredibly warm. Almost hot, to be honest. The blood stuck to her fur and stained it like a dye would’ve. Once it dried, it creaked and cracked under her fur and on her skin, like a paint.

This isn’t my blood.

It was a weird and strange thought, which was totally true. She hadn’t, in her entire life, seen this much blood. Usually it was just whenever she had a scrape or a scratch, she would wipe it away and put a bandaid on. But this… this was something else. There was so much of it. It turned her mid section into that of a different pony, with how red her coat had become.

She took a paper towel from the dispenser in her magic, noting that her magic was vibrating as if she was nervous. She dampened it under the flow of a sink and began tapping at her coat. A frown became evident as she pulled the towel away, seeing it picking up exactly zero of the blood.

Then, the door to the bathroom swung open. Lyra pulled the towel further away, cancelling her aura over the trashcan and looked to the pony.

“Uhm- I’m sorry,” It was a nurse, slightly younger than Lyra. She was an Earth-pony, gray coat with a black mane. “but are you the pony who…” The nurse’s eyes expanded when she laid them onto Lyra’s backside. “O-Oh. That’s- um- that’s a lot of blood…”

Lyra glanced back.

“So it is.”

“Uhm-” The nurse cleared her throat. “I-If you’d follow me, I could help you, uh, clean up? In a patient’s room? N-Not one with a patient, or anything, but-”

“I would like that.” Lyra nodded soullessly. The nurse somewhat smiled, turning around and leading her out of the bathroom.

---

Andrew surfaced. The moment his head bobbed above the water, he took a huge breath of air. He coughed, sputtered, and began splashing wildly. The place he was in was pitch black, to a degree. Although the sky was just a variation of a dark gray. It was enough for him to realize he was surrounded, on all sides, by this infinite ocean.

"Help!” He shouted. “Help! Hey!” It took a moment of hesitation, but he chose a direction, and began swimming. “Where the fuck?!” He shouted between strokes. The water didn’t feel like water. For starters, it was completely black, although that may have been due to the absence of any and all light. It was warm- hot, even, and he got the distinct impression that it was sticky.

---

The shower ran hot. The hot water helped break up the blood, and in a few seconds, the water draining down turned into an ugly dark red.

“Uh- I know it isn’t a lot, but, uh, we have… soap? Some soap?” The nurse offered, adjusting the shower head back and forth across Lyra’s back. “It’s hospital stuff, so not, um, really good.”

“That’s fine.” Lyra said. Her head was held low, just letting the nurse to her job. There was silence as the nurse worked, letting Lyra sit and stew by herself. Her heart was constantly fluttering, and the look on her voice was completely devoid of emotion. She had to wonder whether this was what being traumatized feels like. After a moment, the nurse cleared her throat.

“I- um, I get it if you don’t want to talk about it. Er- everypony’s first time with… blood is a little… bad.” She said with an awkward laugh. “But, um, how do you know her?”

“I don’t.” Lyra said. The nurse hummed in a high tone, letting her voice break in recognition. “I just… found her. She fell from the sky, I think. There was a noise, like, if somepony dropped something. Like a bag of sand, or…”

*crack*

Lyra flinched aggressively, making the nurse take a step back.

“Sorry. I, uh…” Lyra tried to clear her throat, but found it surprisingly difficult as it began to close up. “It’s just… the noise she made when she…”

“Oh, uh, it’s alright!” The nurse said, carefully wrapping a hoof around Lyra’s shoulder uncomfortably. “Um… I-I’m not good with, uh, being comforting, but- you can tell me about it.”

“You’re really cold.” Lyra commented, reaching her hoof up and feeling the mare’s gray coat.

“Oh, hah, I get told that a lot, actually.” She let out another painfully awkward laugh. “I mean, you were just under a shower, so, uh, you’re just warm? Maybe?” She took her hoof away. “Do you care about that filly? I mean- like, I know you said you didn’t know her, but if you did? Like…”

“I do.” Lyra swallowed. “I… I’m scared. I don’t know her, but I…” The sound flashed between her ears once again. The sickening crunch. It was less than ten minutes ago, and all at once, the weight suddenly fell on her. Lyra’s knees gave out, and she suddenly laid down on the shower floor.

“Oh my- dear- uhm-” The nurse stuttered.

“Oh gosh, what are her parents going to think?” Lyra asked, covering her mouth with her hoof. “I-I didn’t even look to check, and- I just-”

“It’s fine!” The nurse raised her voice, beginning to help her shower once more. “I don’t think you have to worry… worry about that. You’ve done more than enough for her, and, um, I think she would appreciate that.” She watched as Lyra took a deep breath. “So, um, tell me about your living situation! That’s what normal ponies do, yeah?”

“Oh, uh…” Lyra took another deep breath, watching the water twirl down the drain. “I- er- live with my wife. Or- fiance, I guess. Soon to be wife. We both own a little shop, down by the town hall. She usually cooks, and I help the customers. We live in the shop, too. A big loft.” She sniffled. “Yeah…”

“And you two are… stable?” The nurse asked.

“Oh, yeah. We’ve been saving bits up for a long time, to deal with…” Lyra shuffled awkwardly on the floor. “...the new arrival.”

“The new arrival?” That peaked the nurse’s attention, accidentally letting the shower hose slip from her hooves and hit the ground. She quickly recovered, after splashing herself, holding it back up. “Are you two… you know… expecting?”

“I am.” Lyra rubbed a hoof against her cheek. “We’ve been thinking about it for a long, long time. Saving bits, too.” She sighed out. “There was… a lot of paperwork involved. Thank Celestia, literally, for sending Twilight Sparkle to Ponyville. Without her, it would’ve been even more of a headache. She’s already a licensed mage. She’s legally allowed to cast almost anything.”

“Huh.” The nurse nodded in what looked like content, still spraying Lyra with the shower head. “In these following days, uh, I’m going to have to make a few- no, a lot of hard decisions. For A- the filly. The filly. And, uh, I think you would do just fine! Raising a filly, that is.” She let out an uncomfortable laugh.

“Oh. Thank you.” Lyra said, not entirely sure if she wasn’t listening correctly, or if the nurse had lost it.

---

Suddenly, Andrew was shot out of the liquid. It was like it had completely rejected him, the watery surface turning into something that resembled concrete. At least, it felt like concrete to him, when he landed onto it with a heavy thud.

"Oufhg-” He grumbled, pushing himself up and onto his knees, looking around the void. “Holy shit… Hello? Is anybody-” He pushed himself fully up, standing tall. “Anybody there?”

Then, he turned around.

“Gah! Holy-” There, standing no less than ten feet away from him, was a shadowy figure. She was short, barely coming up to Andrew’s shoulders, but the fact that she was there at all scared Andrew. “H-Hello? Who…?”

"Are you here for me?” She asked. Being pitch black, Andrew couldn’t make out a single one of her features. But the voice was obviously coming from her. She sounded young, maybe even younger than his sister.

“I… I don’t know? I don’t even know where I am, to be honest.” Andrew cleared his throat. “Am I dreaming?”

"I don’t think so.” The little girl said. “I need you to help me.”

"Oh. Okay.” Andrew nodded. “That’s- yeah, that’s pretty ominous.”

"I need somepony more developed.” She said cryptically. “Somepony that can withstand recovery. And… maybe a little bit more.” She cocked her head to the side. “Are you the pony for that?”

"Pony?” Andrew frowned. “Well… I ain’t no pony, but, uh…” He looked around, once more at the void. “I can help, I think.”

"You’re not a pony?” She asked. Andrew shook his head. “You certainly look like one.”

"Do I?” Andrew patted his chest, moving down to his legs. “Well, I’ve got all my limbs, still. And you look like a human, so…” He shrugged.

There was an incredibly tense moment of silence as both figures stared at each other.

"Do you hear them?” The girl asked.

“Uh…” Andrew strained his ears. “No, I can’t. Am I supposed to be hearing something?”

"It sounds beautiful. Thousands of voices. An entire chorus. For me.” Andrew sighed out, looking around once more for the source of the mute voices that he couldn’t hear. “I never got your name.”

"Err- It’s Andrew.” He said. “Andrew Smith.”

The girl looked up at him, and extended her hand.

"Breeze.” She said, grabbing Andrew’s hand. “Snow Breeze.”

Suddenly, the ground returned to a liquid, and both of their heads went below the surface.