//------------------------------//
// Broken 
// Story: Duality 
// by RaijingtheClockworkPony 
//------------------------------//

	Sam was jolted awake by his alarm. He bolted up in his bed and turned to look around the room. For some reason he was full of energy and he needed to expend it in any way he can. He quickly got up and dressed at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash jealous. He rushed into the kitchen to make himself a quick breakfast and it wasn't until his third bowl of fruit loops that he remembered that Jenny was still in his bed. He walked back into the room and made sure she was tucked in and still asleep. He grabbed his briefcase and headed out the door. 

He reached the office building without so much as a single thing to ruin his mood of endless amusement. He just couldn't figure himself out. 'Why do I feel so damn good? I should be worried about the game but I'm not. All i feel is a need to shout for joy.' Needless he didn't shout inside the firm. He reached his office on the fifth floor humming 'Smile Smile Smile' and he didn't even care if anyone recognized it. He sat down and began to work when he received a memo asking him to head up to the seventh floor conference room. He already knew where this was going and he was right. He and Alex and the other two were being briefed on what to expect when they got out to New York. When the basic briefing was finished they pulled Sam aside to inform him that they trusted this to him and if it went downhill then they would only have one choice of what to do with his future in the firm. 'Great way of letting me feel no pressure. Now I have that to bog my mood, and all this before lunch. Sam returned to his office and worked on the final paperwork of the last case he had. He was so busy working that Alex had to walk into his office and knock on his desk to break him from his work. 

"Man you are just in a working mood today. What did you eat for breakfast?"

"Three bowls of cereal. Why?"

Alex let out a short laugh. "Anyways I'm heading out for lunch and I was wondering if you wanted me to pick you up anything?"

"Yeah I could use a burger. Oh and could you swing by my apartment? I forgot a file that I need. Also could you check up on Jenny? She was pretty hung over from last night."

Alex raised an eyebrow at the mention of Jenny being wasted. "I didn't peg her for a 'wasted on Sunday' kind of gal. Sure, I'll check up on her."

Sam tossed Alex his keys and set back off to work. It was another half hour before another distraction came along in the form of a text from Alex. It read: Meet me down in the quad. We need to talk. Sam had to reread it to make sure he read it correctly. He knew that Alex hated to eat outdoors and unless he missed something he knew that he didn't do anything to piss Alex off. If it was Roger, on the other hand, then he would believe it. He walked to the elevator and while he was waiting his mind raced with what the possible subject could be that Alex needed to talk to him somewhere semi-private. He reached the quad and saw Alex standing there with a strange look on his face. He looked like he was having an internal battle of some sort and by the looks of it he was about to lose. 

"Hey, what’s going on dude? Your text was all nice and cryptic, so I figure something has to be up."

Alex looked at him and then pulled out his phone. "I... I'm about to do something that I wished I would never have to do. But you need to know. You'll have every right to be mad at me when I do."

"Alex, buddy your starting to worry me. What’s going on man?"

Alex didn't answer him with words, at least not at first. He handed his phone to Sam. "First folder, just look at the pics."

Now as your narrator I feel that the contents of the pictures are best left to the imagination, however the dialog between the two should be a good indicator for the content. 

Sam was speechless. No he was beyond all such things as speechless. His mind went numb. He felt his blood run cold and he couldn't register a single thing he saw.

"When did you take these?"

Alex Stood there for a moment not wanting to answer. Sam looked on at the unmentionable photos. He flipped through them with an almost systematic approach. 

"Alex answer me. When the f*** did you take these?!"

"Less than 15 minutes ago. I was heading over to the apartment to pick up the file and I nearly walked on Jenny and that... guy."

Sam could feel the tears in his eyes but his mind failed to register it all. How could this happen? He loved her and she did this to him. Sam looked up at Alex from the nearby bench that he hadn't realized that he sat down on. That's when he heard the sneering voice that made him want to scream. 

"OOOooo, the human stages of grief. Let me guess which stage you’re on now. Um... denial. No wait, anger. Throw me a bone here Sam I'm drowning in your sorrow."

Sam looked over to his left to see Mister sitting in an all-black version of his suit. His face was an ugly parody of mourning widow. Sam felt sick to his stomach when he saw him. It must have shown because Alex put his hand on his shoulder. 

"Take the rest of the day off and deal with this. The longer you wait the more painful it will be. I'll cover for you."

Sam could only nod as he stood up. He walked past Mister who was wearing the Sam sick smile that he wore every other time. The walk to his car was the longest in his life. He thanked every holy power he could think of that Mister didn't say anything. He reached his apartment and walked up to the door and stopped. 'What if they are still in there?' 

"Kill him then. That's what you're thinking."

"Shut the hell up. Just don't."

He could almost feel the smile grow on Misters face. "No. Not unless you open that door and do what you need to."

That's what Sam did. He walked into his apartment to find Jenny sitting on the couch and there was no sign of anyone else in the apartment. He didn't give a chance to explain. He started to yell at her and true to form she started to yell back. Insults and pointless questions flew through the air. It was well over an hour before he finished the argument with a swift statement. 

"You better find a place to stay because if you ever step back into this apartment I'll have you arrested! You have one hour to get all your shit out of here."

That was the final nail in the coffin. She didn't try to argue or fight with him anymore. She just started grabbing her things and after an hour all that remained in that apartment that spoke of a second occupant was the sofa in the living room and the empty dresser in the bedroom. Her final act of vengeance was throwing her set of keys in his face. He didn't flinch or care. He only wanted her out of his life and gone for good. When he heard the door shut for the final time he let the tears flow without restraint. He held his head in his hands as he cried. The only person that could see him in his weakest moment was Mister, who walked over to him and handed him a box of tissues. 

"I'm truly sorry that you had to go through that. That's never easy, no matter how many time I see it happen it always makes me realize that you mortals are not as foolish as we thought. I want you to know that I never wanted this to be discovered, even after I found out."

Sam could hear the sincerity in his voice. He looked up to see that Mister was no longer smiling. He wore a look of deep depression that mirrored how Sam felt. "Why the hell didn't you tell me when you did find out?"

"Because you wouldn't believe me. If you had to find out you would need proof. Why do you think Alex took those photos? He knew that about you as well. So aside from this little... bump in the road of life, how are you enjoying Equestria?"

Sam could only scowl at him. "Why are you so eager to change the subject now? Every other time we met we only talked about what you wanted to talk about. Then when I have something you ditch it at the first chance. No, just no. Leave, I'm not in the mood to deal with you."

Sam was expecting Mister to argue or to grow mad at him but what he got was a hand on the shoulder and then he was gone. Sam sat there for what felt like an eternity. He finally got to his, pulled out his phone and sent a message to Alex and, after a short internal debate, Roger asking them both to come over to help him move Jenny's furniture out to the curb. He didn't care if they got ruined by the weather or if someone took them, he just wanted them gone. He began to move the sofa so that they would have an easier time with it but he decided that he should just wait. He felt drained all of a sudden, all the energy he had throughout the day suddenly gone. He sat down on the sofa he was about to throw out and waited for his friends. 

Alex was the first to arrive and he just walked up to Sam and hugged him. "How you holding up?"

"I'm alive. Roger will be over in a minute, and then we can throw this thing out."

The broke the hug and sat down. Alex kept apologizing to him about the whole thing and Sam kept telling him this wasn't his fault. Jenny was the one to cheat on him so it was her fault. "Alex just shut up about this whole thing. You were just the unlucky one to find out first but you did the right thing by telling me."

With that matter settled they both waited for Roger in silence. Roger arrived about ten minutes later than he said he would but neither of them cared. Roger just like Alex when it came to helping Sam out. He asked him how he was and was even willing to offer a hug. Sam turned down the hug. The three of them moved the couch out to the curb much to Roger’s disappointment. He wanted to throw it out the window. 

"No. it’s to big anyways... but the dresser isn't."

With an unceremonious crash on the street the dresser ceased to exist. Sam couldn't help but smile at the small display of vengeance the mangled pile of wood represent. Alex and Roger stayed with him until roughly 8 O'clock. They both said their good-byes and told him that if he needed to talk to call them. 'Same old shit you hear in every crappy romantic movie. They are good friends though.' Sam walked into the bedroom and removed the sheets. No sense in sleeping in sheets that Jenny betrayed him in. He rummaged around in his closet to find another set but when he found them still in their packaging he decided not to bother until the next day. He lay down on his bed and drifted off into the bliss of unconsciousness. 

*******************************

Sam opened his eyes but was only greeted by darkness. At first he thought that he hadn't opened his eyes at all but he opened and close them rapidly and noticed that he was indeed capable of opening them. with that minor discovery out of the way he sat up and realized that he woke up in the middle of the night. He tried to look around for a clock but he realized that Equestria didn't have digital clocks, so he just got up and headed for the front door. He didn't bother with grabbing his shirt or jacket; the night air would feel better that way. He pasted Applebloom's room and heard a slight whimper from within. He turned and entered without a second thought of what it could mean. He saw her tossing and turning in her bed. He walked over and laid a hand on her head. At the feeling of his touch she grew still and seemed to calm down. 'At least she won't go and break some poor colt’s heart.' He sat there with her for a minute before he stood up and continued to leave the house. He opened and closed the front door as gently as possible so not to disturb the slumber of the house. After he was certain that none of them were going to wake up and discover his little walk he strode off into the night. 

Sam reached the main road and headed south, the same direction that he came into the town two days ago. He walked refusing to let his mind wander from anything but his need to walk. He knew that if he let it wander it would go back to what happened on Earth. It still hurt, he could feel his chest hurt at the very thought of it. He looked up hoping to be distracted by the night sky and when he laid eyes on the sky he was blown away by the beauty of the night sky. It was nothing like the sky back home. There were no street lights of city buildings to toss around light pollution. He could see everything with perfect clarity. He picked out some of the constellations that he was certain had different names than the ones back home. 

He walked for a while and when he reached a pond he decided to stop and take a rest. He looked at the ponds surface and saw a perfect reflection of the moon. Luna's moon. His thoughts started to drift, and before he could even stop himself he was screaming. It was a primal scream, filled with rage and pain. He ran to the edge of the pool and started to gab anything he could and started to throw them into the pool. He had to break that mirror like smoothness of the pool. His mind was nothing but thoughts of breaking, and destruction. He was screaming the whole time. He didn't know how long he stayed in that state but he did know that when it ended he was sobbing on a log with his hands coated in mud and he was sweating heavily. His attention was drawn to his right when the darkness grew. It condensed into an almost solid looking sphere and then it dissipated only to be replaced with Princess Luna. She was looking at Sam with a look of pity. 

"What's going on Sam?"

Sam could only sob his way through the story. Every word was a struggle, but as he talked he felt a weight lift from him. He knew that he needed this more than anything else. She walked over to sit next to him on the log. He turned to look at her as she settled next to him.

"What kind of person does that? I helped her when she was at her lowest and she saw me at my weak points. Why would she betray me like that!?"

Sam was shouting again and he didn't care if it was aimed at Luna or if it was just at the mud, he relished the feeling of being able to scream in his rage. Luna simply sat there and let him run his course. She knew he needed to vent himself. 

"Sam I know how you feel. When I became Nightmare Moon I thought my life would be great. Ponies would finally get to praise my night, but when Celestia banished me I felt like she betrayed me. I thought she would have been the one pony that would understand how I felt. When I realized that I was going to be stuck on the moon for what I thought was going to be the rest of my life I felt nothing but rage. And when I broke free from my banishment I tried again to cover all of Equestria in eternal night. Then Twilight Sparkle and her friends freed my mind from my rage. I learned that anger is appropriate at times but we all must move on in our lives."

Sam sat there and listened to her talk. He could see that as she talked resentment about something was rising in her voice. This still hurt her.

"Now I'm the princess of the night once more. It has been slow to be accepted by my subjects but I'm patient. I have to learn from the mistakes that I have made. My nights are still over shadowed by Celestia's days but I have grown used to that as well. I used to speak in old Equestrian; it took me months to learn how to speak again."

Sam looked into her eyes and saw tears. She was opening up to him and all he could do was listen to her like she listened to him. 'No. She can't cry. I won't let that happen.'

"Your nights would be loved back on Earth. People don't get to see this kind of beauty. Hell there entire divisions of governments that dedicate their time to studying the stars and all the mysteries they contain. Tell you the truth I wish I had these kinds of nights back where I'm from."

Both of them sat there in silence as there gazes shifted to the sky above them. The stars twinkled and the moon shone in its full phased glory. Sam felt all his anger start to fade from him. He felt a calmness sweep over him.

"Did you mean what you said?"

"Yes. Humans have always had their eyes to the stars; one of mankind's greatest achievements was putting people on the moon. We wish we could understand the secrets of the universe. If you could join me on Earth you would be a celebrity in a heartbeat. But the whole pony thing wouldn't go over well." 

Both of them let out chuckles at the idea of Luna walking around on Earth, despite the fact Luna knew next to nothing about it. They both started talking about the sky. Sam talked about all the things humans knew about stars and other bodies in space. Over the course of their conversation the scooted closer to each other. They were sitting hip to hip by the time the stopped talking long enough for them to turn the gaze from the sky to the pool that he had assaulted with rocks, sticks, and mud. The water had settled to the mirror like quality. 

"Sam... I haven't really gotten to talk to anyone about how I feel about my nights. Even Celestia never really just sat down and talk to me about them. Thank you."

Sam was about to answer her when he felt a pair on lips plant a kiss on his cheek. He turned to face Luna who had a smile on her face. "No problem. Thank you for dealing with me. I hope what you saw doesn't change our friendship."

Luna put her head on his shoulder. "You needed to vent. I know how it feels to just want to scream at the world. Unfortunately for this world when I scream it’s in the Royal Canterlot voice. That's a lot harder to hide than your voice."

Sam chuckled. He looked to the horizon and saw the first rays of the sun. "I guess you need to get back to Canterlot. It was nice to have someone to talk to."

She rose from the log and strode away from him. "It was nice. If you need to talk again just look to the moon. I'll be able to find you. And Sam I would like if you didn't attack unsuspecting ponds."

The darkness swirled around her condensed until she was no more than a blur and then dispersed leaving nothing left. Sam rose from the log feeling the Sun's warmth against his bare chest. He walked back to the road and headed back to the farm. He still felt a bitterness to what had happened to him on earth but as he walked he realized that Luna had more reason to be mad than he ever would. That thought made him feel sorry for her more than he had ever felt for anyone else.