> Mirror Image
>  by Zamairiac
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Prologue


Alex Pov

I was back.

Three words so small that if uttered quietly enough they would fade in the wind. And yet it was an unmistakable truth.

I was back.

Back from the hell I had been imprisoned within. Back from the nightmare that refused to end, back from the pain and the fear.

I had escaped from it all, I was back!

…and yet I wasn't back, not really. A part of me, the part of me that still remembers that place never came back. He screams in my head over and over, but so quietly that I can barely hear it.

Until that part of me wakes up and I remember it all, every single part of the torture I endured for almost three god forsaken years!

How does someone ever recover from something like that? How does someone wake up from a nightmare like that and tell the world that he's okay?

In my case…I chose to bury the memories as deep down as possible. And now that I was no longer immune to magic, possible it was.

It took no convincing on Celestia's part for me to agree to her plan. She would use her magic to bury the memories so deep down that the pain and fear I felt with every breath I took no longer crippled me to the point of insanity. I would remember what happened, but the trauma would remain forgotten.

But…I can still hear it, that part of me that she buried with them. When it's quiet…and I am alone, truly alone with nothing but my thoughts I can hear him screaming. It's quiet and barely a whisper…but it's there, and it never stops.

For nothing can take that part of me away, nothing except maybe…

Her.

She is my everything, my love, my heart, my reason for waking up each and every day.

She is my-

"Honey…"

I open my eyes and shuffle uncomfortably against the covers surrounding me, blinking once, twice before the world came into view.

And with it came perfection…

She was looking down at me, her ears alert and twitching adorably, her eyes affectionate and kind. I could feel the soft texture of her fur as she moved against me beneath the covers, the sensation wonderfully warm against my skin. She smelled like…nothing I can compare, but something truly worth breathing in.

And as I took all of this in, her gaze remained upon my own. The love in those orbs almost more than I could take, and yet I would let her stare forever if it meant I could do the same.

I loved this Pony with all that I was, for she saved me again and again every morning I awoke and feared I was back in the nightmare.

She saved me with that silly smile, over and over again…

"I can feel it," she whispered, her eyes lidding tenderly. "Oh…I will never get tired of this, Alex."

She leaned down and I up, meeting in the middle with a soft kiss. There was no lust or desire within it, only our raw, powerful connection to the other.

"I love you," she breathed, tickling my ear ever so slightly.

"I love you too."

She giggled and all but collapsed upon me, her weight comfortable.

"I've missed you so much," she said, wiggling against me as she giggled again, sheer joy within her tone. "I never left you when you were unconscious, Alex. Never…but I've ached to hear your voice again."

She suddenly gasped and leaned up, a hoof upon her muzzle as she looked at me with shame.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to say that," she said rapidly, eyes becoming shiny. "Celestia! I am so selfish, I didn't mean to say it like that, I'm so sorry-"

I placed a hand upon her muzzle and made a soft shushing sound, eyes closing.

"I missed you too, Cadey," I soothed, eyes opening and regarding her with what I hoped was a reassuring look. "I thought about you every day I was trapped in there, you were all I had left."

Cadance's eyes teared up as she sniffed, before placing both her hooves upon my face and nuzzling my nose gently. "I'm so sorry for doing that to you," she whispered…and then she began to sob uncontrollably. "I w-was a h-horrible Pony. I k-knew something was wrong with me and I d-did nothing, and it's ALL M-MY FAULT SHE TORTURED YOU!"

She completely broke down, collapsing completely upon me as she hiccupped and sobbed and wailed. "I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING, AND I LET A MONSTER TORTURE Y-Y-YOU!"

I could nothing but hold her to me, her words were affecting me more than I could bare and to move, to say anything back would cause me to become undone…and I couldn't let that happen again.

It took time beyond comprehension for Cadance to calm herself down, her sobs lessening to quiet, almost unnoticeable hiccups.

But eventually…

"O-oh, I'm sorry honey," she said quietly, lifting her tear streaked face to look at me. "I'm such a stupid mare, I don't even know why you want to be with me."

Finally, a smile for me, to give to her.

"Because I love you, you silly mare," I said, hand reaching up to cup her cheek, thumb brushing away the lone remaining tear. "And I always will."

My wish was answered as her face broke into a watery smile, a little laugh accompanying it.

"I'm supposed to be comforting you," she giggled, leaning down and stealing a quick kiss before leaning back and shaking her head. "You sure messed that up, didn't you?"

"What can I say, I'm a sucker for rule breaking." I sat up and pulled her with me, cupping her face once more as I kissed her gently, loving the little sounds she made as I nibbled her bottom lip.

"Now then," I said as I pulled away, grinning at the flush upon her cheeks as she looked at me lovingly. "What's say we get out of our pit and go have some breakfast, yeah?"

She grinned and nodded, eyes twinkling as she stole a quick kiss and hopped of the bed, swaying her way into the bathroom. She looked behind at me and winked before she shut the door slightly, leaving just the littlest of it open as an invitation.

I stood up and…stopped as something caught my eye. I turned to my right and looked at Cadance's vanity mirror, a small benign thing.

And yet…

My pale reflection stared right back, mouth open in a silent scream as he wailed against the confinement. My entire body shuddered, suddenly wracked with a phantom pain as I doubled over and shut my eyes, breathing heavily for one…two…three…

…and then I opened them, and the reflection was only me.

What the…

"Alex, are you coming?"

I blinked and looked at Cadance, her head poking out of the bathroom door as she looked at me worriedly.

"Are you okay hon?" she asked.

I looked back at the mirror and breathed deeply, shaking my head ever so slightly before I looked back my her and smiled crookedly. "What, can't a man admire his perfect booty every once in a while?"

There's no sense in worrying her over whatever that was, it's gone in any case.

Cadance cocked an eye at me and thankfully lost her worried look, instead regarding me almost hungrily.

"Well you can, or…" she ducked her head back in the bathroom and suddenly I heard the sound of water running. Her head then poked back out and she grinned right at me. "You can leave a little bit of Alex booty for me to admire."

Grinning despite myself, it didn't take any more time for me to make my way into the shower with her.

It had been two weeks since I woke up, two weeks since I unwittingly released Princess Luna back into the word at least a decade early.

Two weeks since I learned of Luna's disturbing truth.

I didn't know it yet, but for better or worse everything was about to change for me.

And there was little I could do to stop it.

And that my friends is the little teasing prologue.

Basically, just to see whether or not this story still has people who want it. If you do, then yay. If you don't…then fuck it I'm writing it anyway, for my own curiosity if nothing else.

Cya, stay snuggly!
> Moonflower
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well here we go again, I hope you enjoy!

Begin!


Moonflower


Alex Pov

Once we'd finished up our shower, Cadance and I made our way to the dining room to join Mom for breakfast. It wasn't too far a walk, and yet as we continued on our way I felt…weird, as if the world around me was slowing down. And yet when I truly looked around, there wasn't anything different about it.

Weird…

"Hon?" Cadance's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and onto her, those all too familiar orbs gazing up at me in worry.

"I'm alright," I assured, rubbing my eyes gently. "Just a bit tired I suppose."

"Alex, don't lie-"

"I'm not lying," I said quickly, stopping and placing a quick finger upon her lips. "Please Cadance…I'm alright."

She didn't look convinced and all but glared at me, but thankfully dropped the matter, choosing instead to place a wing around my back as we walked.

A few moments later had us entering the dining room, a rather plain place all things considered but rather homely to those familiar with it. There was a lone, long table that filled out almost the entire room, and a couple of windows with an artistic design imprinted upon them. But beyond that, it was as I said rather plain, normal.

I liked it.

Sitting at the table was Mom herself, the ever busy mare flicking through what I presumed to be reports as she nibbled on some toast. Upon noticing us however, she smiled through her chewing and put the reports down, a familiar warmth greeting me as our eyes met.

"Good morning you two," she said softly, watching contently as we both sat down and began to fill up our plates. "And how are we today?"

"We're good Mo-"

"No, we're not, Alex," Cadance cut across, eying me almost apologetically before she turned to face Mom, who was watching the both of us with concern. "Alex won't tell you because he doesn't want to make you worry, but he's been really off this morning."

"I'm not off, Cadance, I'm fine," I began, already dreading where this conversation could go. I looked at Mom and smiled as confidently as possible. "Honestly, I'm just a bit tired and she's reading too much into it."

"I'm not reading too much into anything!" Cadance denied, putting a firm hoof upon my chest as she looked at me imploringly. "I know you enough to tell when something's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong, I'm just…recovering, that's all."

Cadance opened and closed her muzzle a few times before sighing and leaning into me, the sudden feeling of warmth making me shudder pleasantly.

"I hate it when you lie to me, Alex," she said quietly, looking at her empty plate. "I'm not trying to be all controlling or anything, I promise. I just want to protect you."

"Cadance…" I didn't know how to respond to that, I didn't have the slightest clue.

I wasn't lying to her, not really. I was recovering, and I was tired…but I was also terribly confused and didn't know who to speak to.

"She knew you, she knew that she locked away your memories, she knew that she had regressed you by a decade, and she said NOTHING the entire time she was mothering you!"

According to Nightmare Moon…or Luna as she was now, Celestia DID know who I really was.

I was once a man named Xander, I was once Luna's lover, and Celestia had stripped this knowledge from me, regressed me to a young teenager and sent me away…to the future apparently.

It all sounded ludicrous, impossible. I wasn't Xander, sure we shared a familiar name, but my name was Alexander. And more, the Celestia I knew would never do something like that to anyone. She could never be so cruel.

And yet there was something deep inside me that made me doubt, that made me question as to whether Luna was telling the truth. I don't know what or why…but I felt it.

And then there was Cadance…

"I told you, when that part of my insanity was within her it was able to glance at a few memories, not all of them but enough for me to know that Cadance will never betray her mother figure."

She looked at me and smirked gleefully. "In fact, she's more like Celestia than you think, that's what I got from her memories."

More like Celestia how? Mom was kind and loved pretty much everyone. She didn't pick and choose, she just did. The only time I'd ever seen her truly angry, maybe even monstrous was in Griffonia. But even then, she was only protecting me.

So, what could have Luna seen to make her compare Cadance to the monster Celestia seemed to be.

I didn't know, and a part of me didn't want to know. Hell, I didn't even want to think about it. I'd had enough of monstrous Alicorns to last me forever.

"Alex," Mom's soothing voice easily pulled me from my thoughts and onto her, her eyes soft and kind as they looked at me. "You know that I will never try to make you say or do anything you do not want to do, but you do know that I am here if you ever want to talk, right?"

I smiled and nodded, heart dying a little as I felt guilt eat away at it. "I know, I'm…I really am alright, just give me time."

"Ok," she intoned softly, nodding once with a small smile. "Whenever you need me then."

I smiled at her again and shuffled a little closer with Cadance, grinning as I felt her hoof squeeze my hand around her stomach.

Luna couldn't be right, she couldn't be. This was just too perfect, a family that was mine and that loved me, and I them.

"Love you too, hon," Cadance whispered, smiling up at my confused expression before pecking my lips. "I can feel your affection for us, it's wonderful."

"Oh," I uttered, before smiling and kissing her back.

"You two are too cute," Mom giggled, watching the both of us contently. "Almost makes me wish for a stallion of my own."

At this Cadance perked up. "Well you know that I could help you there, Aunty."

Mom waved away her enthusiasm and chuckled lightly. "I'm joking Cadance but thank you. Truth be told I don't actually feel any desire for a mate of my own."

"Why not?" Cadance asked, ears down in a sort of confused sadness. "You're a beautiful mare, Aunty. You shouldn't have to be alone."

"I'm never alone," Mom replied, smiling at the both of us with yet another content expression. "I have you two…and now I have my sister back. What could anyone else ever give me that I don't already have?"

She looked down at her half eaten toast for a few moments before gazing back at us, her eyes suddenly watery. "I…I cannot have foals, and any stallion I meet will pass on long before myself. So, a mate has never been a reality for me."

"Couldn't you…uh, share your divinity?" I asked, the question blurting out before I had the sense to stop it.

Celestia looked at me and blinked, frowning for the slightest of moments.

"Who told you we could…ah, of course." She smiled though it seemed strained. "Luna told you, didn't she?"

Knowing I'd be obviously lying if I said otherwise, I simply nodded.

"Well…it is possible," Mom explained, moving her toast around with her hoof. "But it requires things that I simply do not believe I could give, like trust. You must completely trust who it is that you intend to share your divinity with, or it'll destroy them from inside out."

Cadance appeared to go slightly green and pushed her now full plate away, shuffling against me a touch more.

"Then there's love and a mating ritual you have to do…honestly, it's not something done on a whim, and I frankly don't trust anyone other than you two and my sister, so it's just not going to happen."

Mom looked up and suddenly smiled sheepishly. "Well, that got rather intense quickly didn't it."

She laughed and before I knew it I was chuckling alongside her, Cadance however remained slightly green as she puffed up her cheeks and frowned almost childishly.

"I'm not hungry now," Cadance said, pouting and nuzzling into the crook of my neck.

Mom cocked an eyebrow and giggled, rolling her eyes just before Cadance covered both of our faces with her wing.

"Hey, I'm still trying to eat!" I whined, batting at her wing lightly with a spoon.

"No," she denied, poking at my nose with the tip of her wing. "No food for you."

"What, I- Hey, whoa, no Cadance get your hoof out of, no, Cadance!"

Before I knew it, we were rolling on the floor, much to Mom's amusement as she merely watched and sipped her tea.

I was trying to pry Cadance's muzzle out from my rather ticklish neck when the door behind us opened, a few clopping sounds all the warning I got before I found myself looking upside down at…

"G-Good morning."

The shy, soft spoken voice was not at all what I expected and to that very moment it still surprised me to hear it, especially after everything that had happened, that she had said.

Princess Luna in all her glory was looking down at the two of us, a small, amused smile as Cadance quickly retracted her tongue from my neck and into her own muzzle. She closed her eyes slightly before walking to the seat next to Mom and sitting down beside her, Mom bending down a touch to whisper something in her ear.

A quick kiss stole my thoughts as Cadance nibbled my bottom lip, a quick wink and almost sheepish expression upon her face as she pulled me up with her.

"Um, sorry about that," I apologized, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly.

Luna merely smiled and shook her head. "It's quite alright, Alex. I…" She looked down at her plate and frowned sadly for the briefest of moments, but long enough for Mom to notice as she placed a wing around the darker mare, nuzzling her comfortingly.

The briefest feeling of…worry overtook me in that moment, no not just worry. I felt…I wanted to go to her and…

This feels weird…

Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable next to Cadance, I made my way back and sat down.

And then it happened.

I can't quite comprehend the sensation I felt when I sat down at the table. It was like I knew without looking that she was staring at me, and yet when I looked up...her eyes were closed in quiet contemplation.

I shook my head and went to reach for a slice of toast, only to feel that sensation once again. It was more powerful this time, too powerful.

"Xander..."My vision wavered violently for the slightest of moments, that voice, her voice caressing my mind, bring forth feelings too complex to understand.

Something was murmured beneath my breath, a single word ripping its way out of my mouth without control.

"Alex..." I looked up and...blinked, suddenly noticing the plates that held the various selection of breakfast were all floating in front of me.

"I..." And then they dropped back to the table with a clatter, the food scattering over it. "I'm...sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

I felt Cadance put a hoof upon my shoulder comfortingly, rubbing it. "It's not your fault honey, we just need to train you how to control it."

"Y-Yeah, I know," I agreed.

And then it came at me again, that sensation, that feeling. But this time I could feel the emotion within.

Triumph.

I looked up again and this time I caught her eyes.

And then the world slowed down around me, everything slowed down. Mom sipping her tea, Cadance grinning at me, the flickering of sunlight peeking through the windows. Everything slowed down.

Then stopped completely.

Except for one, and who else could it have been but her.

"What's happening?" I asked, looking at the frozen world around me.

"It's merely power my love." Luna's voice was closer than I expected, making me jump only for her wings, wings larger by far then Cadance to hold me steady.

The mare's otherwise meek appearance seemed to melt away, her stance, her eyes, her expression suddenly oozing power and confidence as she looked at me with wide, doe like eyes.

"I couldn't have done it without you losing control of your own magic," she explained, pawing at the floor, her ears drooping slightly. "I needed a distraction, so I had to manipulate your emotions a little. I am sorry, but it was the only way we could talk."

She gazed up at me pleadingly. "Forgive me, Xander. This is the only chance we've had since my return to do this, I couldn't let it slip us by."

Her words, her expression, her everything did something to me. I could feel it within me, twisting and turning. My heart fell at her sadness…

"Stop doing that!" I snapped, backing away from her and shaking my head, as if to rid it of everything inside. "I don't want…I don't feel…I love Cadance!"

Luna looked truly confused, and very upset as I put distance between us. "I'm not doing anything, Xander."

"N-No, you're doing what you did before, stop it!" I demanded, a well of rage building within me.

"Xander, I swear I am not doing anything," she said quickly, worried eyes looking at me, through me. "The only magic I'm using is keeping time still, nothing else."

"Stop calling me that name, I'm Alex, not Xander!"

Luna winced at my voice and backed away, the hurt and pain on her face hitting me like a punch to the gut. "I-I'm sorry, please don't be angry with me."

Another punch, another stab of guilt and suddenly my anger faded away.

"I…Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you," I said wearily, rubbing my head. "But whatever this is, whatever you're trying to talk to me about, I don't want to hear it."

Luna's eyes lidded unhappily, she took a step closer, then another.

"But, don't you remember what we spoke about before?" she asked, her voice tight with emotion. "You believed me then, or you were starting to. Don't you want to know about what Celestia did to you, to us?"

"No, I don't," I refused, her eyes widening in shock. "Look Luna, I'm happy right now. I'm truly happy with my life. I've escaped from the hell your insane ghost put me through and all I want now is to get on with my life. That means with Cadance and Celestia, whatever she did in the past doesn't matter to me."

At this she was completely silent, her head down and refusing to meet my gaze. A few more moments passed, and I was about to ask her to reverse what she'd done when she suddenly spoke.

"What about me?" she said quietly, looking up with tear filled eyes as she bit back a sob. "Does what she did to me in the past not matter to you?"

"I…"

I couldn't even begin to think the word 'no', not with the way she was looking at me, not with the way my own heart seemed to tear itself in half.

My head throbbed, and for a moment I could hear a quiet, familiar screaming inside my head…and then…

"She tore us apart, Xander," Luna wept, wiping her eyes with a hoof. "She took you away from me, she destroyed our bond, our love for each other. You d-don't even remember how it felt, how I felt when you held me…"

She looked down at the ground and sniffed, her lips forming into a trembling smile. "You used to call me your little-"

"Moonflower."

Luna stopped speaking and looked at me in shock, her eyes wide and shiny.

"X-Xander?"

I…looked…back…and…

"Look around…look at how…lucky we are…to be…"

"Alive right now," Luna finished, eyes welling with tears. "Your silly song, you remember it!"

I smiled, the effort it took to do so physically hurting me, the weariness pulling me down under and under and under and…

…

I blinked.

"W-What just happened?" I asked, looking up only to suddenly notice where I was.

"Hon?" I looked to my right and saw Cadance looking at me, the amused smile from before still there. "Did I knock something out of that thing?" She tapped my head twice and giggled, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

What the hell is going on?

I smiled half-heartedly and looked up at Mom and Luna, the latter of which was humming happily to herself as she dug into her porridge.

What just happened?

A faint sound echoed from…everywhere, I could hear it and feel it.

Laughter, true joyous laughter.

It sounded like…me.
> The Man In The Mirror
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, it's certainly been a while since I've updated this story. The plan was to focus on Mated For Life, but I've found myself thinking about this saga for a while now.

And seeing that the chapters are not that long, and shouldn't take me a half a day to write…

Well, here we are and here we go.

Begin!


The Man In The Mirror


Alex Pov

There was something off about that mirror.

I couldn't stop looking at it. I'm not a vain man, truly I'm not. But as I looked at my reflection, a sound, a voice…something, someone laughing filled the room.

Or perhaps just my head.

"You're not that pretty honey."

The sound of Cadance's voice snapped me out of my trance, the amused looking mare peering over her book at me. I could see the touch of a grin as I looked at her eyes.

"Oh I don't know, I think I rate pretty high," I joked, smiling as she closed the book at put it down on the table beside her chair.

"With me, oh absolutely," she agreed, grinning mischievously at the made her way over. "But I've been known to pity charity cases, so I'm somewhat biased."

Clutching at my chest, I put on my most offended looking expression. "You wound me Cadance. Oh my poor heart, how will it ever recover from such-"

Whatever I was about to say was interrupted as I was suddenly yanked down and kissed rather forcefully, though I'd be lying if I didn't also add lovingly.

"And how is that poor heart now?" she crooned, smirking at my flushed expression. "All better?"

"I don't know," I pondered, grinning somewhat cheekily at her. "It still aches, I may need more than one kiss."

Her eyes flashed and her lips quivered with amusement, her smirk widening into a grin at my words.

"Oh, I assure you that I am most happy to accommodate," she flirted, her lips but a breath away as she looked deep into my eyes. "How about you take those clothes off and I'll see what else I can kiss."

'Well, that did it.'

She looked down, her grin suddenly salacious as she looked back up, her eyes smouldering.

"If you give me a few minutes, I can come back with some whipped cream," she whispered.

"Didn't we get told off for that last time?" I asked, remembering the long line of servants Mom had to give a raise too after the jam incident.

Cadance giggled. "We're using cream this time, it's easy to get off the sheets. Now lose those clothes and pose in bed, I want a laugh when I come back."

"You wound me sometimes."

"You can't complain," she said, slapping my thigh lightly. "You laugh when I do it."

"You look like a beached whale when you try to pose." I replied, smirking as her eyes narrowed. "Nothing like one of those magazine models."

"Well they're paid to look good, where's my money?"

"You'll get it tomorrow."

"You always say that."

We looked at each other for a few moments before falling apart with laughter, leaning on each other for a minute as we tried to regain our composure.

"Al-Alright, get in that bloody bed," Cadance chuckled, wiping away a tear as she smiled at me. "I'm going to get the cream."

I opened my mouth.

"And if you make one joke about already having cream, I swear I'll ruin your orgasm."

I closed my mouth.

"Good colt," she teased, smiling. "Bed, now."

"Yes ma'am!"

I saluted and bowed, enjoying her squirming as I glanced up and winked. She hated it when anyone bowed to her, something I distinctly recalled doing often before…before…

The memory came…the memory faded as magic pushed it back…

"Bed, gotchya!" I quipped, sitting on the bed and smirking as she rolled her eyes.

"Colts, I swear…"

She gave me one more look, my smile reciprocated before she went to the door.

"You know you love me!" I yelled, enjoying myself for a moment as she looked back and narrowed her eyes. "Don't give me that look, you know you do. Come on I can see you trying not to smil- oh yeah, there it is."

Having lost the battle to keep glaring at me, my now rather amused marefriend shook her head and giggled albeit rather exasperatedly.

"Let's see who's laughing after I edge you for a few hours," she said quietly, somewhat more to herself than me as she opened the door and began to hum cheerfully.

She shut the door behind her happily as she trotted down the corridor, but the noise, the humming, her humming became nothing more than faded noise.

"Oh, I'm going to pay for that later," I mused, about to take off my top only to find my attention stolen by something just out of sight. "What the…"

The mirror on Cadance's vanity…it seemed to…to almost call…to me.

"Just ignore it, Alex," I told myself, fighting for only a moment before suddenly walking over to it. "No, try to remember. Something happened this morning, at breakfast. I…I can't remember what but…maybe this mirror…"

I looked at the mirror and took a step back.

As my reflection glared back at me.

"Who are you?" I asked. "Am I dreaming?"

My reflection did not copy my words, my movements. He merely cocked his head, eyes narrowing as he pointed at me.

"You're me?" I mumbled, frown deepening. "I don't understand...I must be hallucinating or something."

'Just stop, Alex. Go back to the bed, get ready for Cadance. This is all in your head, this isn't real. Cadance is real, I am real. This isn't…I shouldn't…'

I moved closer, peering into the mirror...only to jump back in fright as my reflection punched it on his side, cracking it.

"Jesus Christ!" I yelled, watching my stoic reflection only to suddenly realize just what I'd said. "Wait...who's Jesus Christ?"

I blinked, looking down...then up...then at my suddenly very afraid looking reflection.

To which I quite happily grinned at.

"Finally," I breathed, chuckling under my breath. "Freedom."

My reflection began to pound away at the mirror, fear in his eyes as he quickly realized that it wasn't doing a thing.

"Sorry mate," I apologized, watching somewhat amused as his eyes widened in shock. "Yeah I know, we don't have the same accent. I am you though…or rather you're me. I came first."

He shook his head furiously and looked around, but as I knew and had known for an exceptionally long time, there was no escape.

"Sorry," I said again, smiling with pity. "But I've had a very long time to think about what I'd do if I ever got out. We'll have a talk later about this, just…hang tight, okay?"

I put the mirror on its face and turned around, looking down at my body and frowning as I took it all in.

"My damn abs…God damnit," I muttered, touching my toned but unfortunately ab-less stomach sadly. "I worked for years to get them just right and he eats it all away."

'My love…'

Suddenly I clutched at my head, almost losing my balance as a face, a kind, loving, wonderful, beautiful face came to the forefront of my mind.

"Luna…" I breathed, eyes widening. "How could I forget about Luna?"

I looked down at my hands, clenching them into fists as anger took root very quickly.

"Celestia's damn spell!" I spat, grinding my teeth together as I slapped myself on the head sharply. "Agh, no time! Have to find her, I have to find Luna!"

My trivial concerns forgotten, I made to walk over to the door and nearly lost my balance as I tripped over myself.

"Okay, it's been a while since I've had to walk," I muttered, stretching my legs for a few moments before walking again, albeit slower than before. "There we go."

I opened the door and continued my slow, careful pace down the corridor…only to stop and look at the numerous rooms and stairs in disbelief.

"I'm never going to find her…" I muttered, turning around, and frowning before turning back and quickening my pace a tad. "Just ask a guard, shouldn't be unusual for me to ask where she is, right?"

Turning a corridor, I found one standing guard outside a room and smiled.

"Excuse me," I began, wincing as I tried my best to sound like…well, me.

"Sir?" he inquired, his steely gaze softening somewhat as he looked at me. "Is all well, do you require your mother?"

"My…oh. No, no good sir," I replied, trying with all my willpower not to groan as my accent peaked through. "Wait, why do you ask me that?"

The guard frowned and spoke slowly. "This is her room sir."

I looked at the room he was guarding, realization hitting me as I grasped that of course it was her room with it being the only one I'd seen with a guard outside it.

"Ah," I said, groaning internally at how dumb I sounded.

"Are you well, sir?" The guard asked, peering up at me with concern. "You don't sound quite right."

"Bit of a cold," I lied, smiling, and trying not to panic as his eyes narrowed. "In any case, you don't happen to know where Luna's room is, do you?"

The guard blinked but nodded. "She's just down the corridor sir. The last door. She requested that nopony guard it, so don't look for one sir."

"Thanks mate."

"That's…sir?"

I turned, wincing, and fighting the urge to groan at my accent as I walked rather quickly down the corridor.

'Why do they all have to sound American?'

After a minute I reached the door, suddenly very nervous as I made to knock…and stopped, looking at the door in a frozen moment.

"I'm…scared," I mumbled, looking at my trembling fist. "I…what if she doesn't think I'm me. What if she…"

But then before I could mutter another word, before I could panic and tremble with nerves that wouldn't cease.

The door opened.

And she stood there, her eyes snapping from the floor to me in surprise as she almost bumped into me.

"Alex?"

Her voice…oh, her voice.

I'd almost forgotten it, forgotten her youthful, kind, lovely, caring voice.

She still looked the same, perhaps a bit smaller than before. But she looked the same.

She was still so beautiful.

"Alex, are you okay?" she asked, looking at me with concern as I just stared at her.

"Oh…I'm uh, I'm more than okay," I replied, my eyes roaming up and down her body as if starved.

But then again, they were…I was.

And the more I looked at her, the more she looked at me as our eyes finally met and something, something clicked behind hers.

Her smile grew wide, her eyes dancing with happiness.

"Xander?" she whispered, breathing the word, the name.

My name.

"Moonflower," I whispered back, delighting in her gasp as her eyes filled with tears.

Before any more could be said however, she looked down both ends of the empty corridor and gestured for me to come inside, closing the door behind me when I did so.

Her room was dark, though lit with candles that showed the varied objects and large bed with surprising ease. But they were barely a thought in my mind, they were barely anything at all.

I turned and looked at Luna, tears trickling down her face as she came closer.

"How is this possible?" she asked, lips trembling as our eyes met. She shook her head before I could answer however and gave me a deliriously happy smile. "No, I don't care! Xander it's you!"

She all but jumped on me and kissed me, laughing through it as I reached around and held her to me. Her tears intermixed, the salty taste noticeable but I cared little as I returned her desperate kiss with my own.

I ignored my own tears, I couldn't bring myself to focus on anything other than her, her taste, her touch. Not even for a moment.

She drew back for a moment, an almost ludicrously happy expression on her face before she kissed me again and again, giggling through the entire thing.

"Oh, oh it's you, it's you, it's really you!" she said, half laughing, half sobbing as she held me to her. "You remembered your silly song this morning, but I didn't dare to dream that you'd come back to me so soon."

"Celestia trapped me in my own head, Luna," I said, ignoring how weak I sounded in that moment. "I…was young again, and I saw through my own eyes but I couldn't do or say anything. Not until I saw you, the real you."

"Xander…"

"The moment I realized you were there, that you were back. I knew I had to fight with everything I had, everything I was to break free. I had to come back to you."

She touched my face and nuzzled me softly, kissing away a tear trickling down my cheek.

"Every time I kissed that mare, touched her…slept with her, I felt like I was betraying you. I screamed and cried for me to stop, for him to stop but he never heard me."

"It wasn't you, Xander," she soothed, shushing me as I opened my mouth. "Her spell did more than make you young, it split you away from yourself. The you that loved that mare…Cadance, the you that loved her was never you."

"Split personality bullshit," I chuckled, getting a giggle from her in return. "Luna, let's run away."

She looked at me in shock for a moment, but a smile that danced in her gaze met me as she nodded.

"I never wanted to be a Princess again," she said, pushing her body as close to mine as she could, evidently enjoying the sensation. "I only told Celestia what she wanted to hear so I could get you back."

"Then let's run away," I said again, unable to stop myself from kissing her. "We'll go somewhere far away from here and just be together."

She nodded, smile so happy I thought she would burst. But then a frown, light but a frown still appeared on her face.

"What is it?" I asked, worried.

"I thought you'd want revenge," she admitted, looking at me strangely. "I was trapped in the moon, but you were trapped in your own body. Forced to watch as you loved another, as you grew to love Celestia as a mother. I'm just…I'm just surprised that you don't want to get some form of revenge. You've always had that mentality, Xander."

She wasn't wrong, I had always been a hit first, talk later kind of man. But…

"I hate your sister with everything I am," I said, my anger quite clear in my tone. "She trapped you in the moon, she hurt you. She changed me into a man I don't know and took me away from you. I want to hurt her, but I want to be free with you far more than that."

Her expression changed from anger for me, hurt for me, to happy for us.

"You've grown," she said, kissing me lightly on the lips.

"I've had nothing but that to think about all these years. I love you far more than I hate Celestia, you will always come before anything to do with her."

Her eyes shone, a lone tear caught, fighting to break free and fall.

"I love you, Xander," she said, looking at me with so much affection I honestly found myself speechless. "You will always come first for me too. I love you more than anything in the world."

"And I you."

We kissed again and again, my clothes rippling with magic as they were taken from me.

It was a dance we'd done before.

Clothes hit the floor, hooves and hands touched, caressed as our lips too caressed the other.

She looked at me and I her, her eyes dancing with joy, smile open and happy as we became one in that moment. We moved against the other, kissing and smiling. Noises escaping the both of us as our mutual pleasure grew and grew until it hit its peak.

I smiled as she shook beneath me, clutching at me, smiling so widely, with so much joy as I groaned and joined her in bliss.

The dance ended, the two of us breathing heavily but happily we bathed in the afterglow.

"That was incredible," she whispered, nuzzling my chest as she lay her head atop it, breathing in my scent. "You were wonderful."

"As were you," I replied, holding her close and enjoying the feel of her coat on my skin.

"I love you."

"And I you."

…

The door opened with a bang, shocking the two of us out of our respective bliss as we sat up and looked over at it.

A mare was standing there, staring at us with shock so identical I almost laughed at the silliness of it.

But then her eyes filled with tears, her ears flattening against her skull as she spoke a name with such hurt.

"A-Alex…"

I frowned, but as the last vestige of our lovemaking left me, a name, a face, one I'd watched for years through my own eyes suddenly came to me.

And then I remembered…and then I looked at her.

"Ah," I uttered, my eyes closing for a moment as I heard Luna sigh sadly behind me. "You're Cadance."

"W-What?" she replied, stammering the word. "I…of course I am. A-Alex what's…why…"

Tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Cadance," I said, honestly sorry for the mare as she all but broke down in front of me. "Alex isn't here anymore."

Her eyes widened, but then anger took root as she looked at the mare behind me.

"You!" she cried, fury wrapped in her tone. "What have you done to him?!"

The room shook a little at her voice, my heart beginning to race as I prepared myself for a fight.

"I have done nothing," Luna replied, moving from behind me and to my side, looking at Cadance sympathetically. "I told you before that I wasn't lying. There was never an Alex, only Xander."

"No!" she cried, shaking her head furiously. "You're lying! You've enchanted him, magic affects him now. You've enchanted him to be this Xander, you…you've made love to him."

Her voice teetered out as she finished, quiet tears trickling down her cheeks as she looked at the two of us.

"How could you do this?" she whimpered, my heart twisting painfully…a scream in my head. "He's my…and you…"

"Cadance," I said, drawing her attention off of Luna. "She speaks truth. I'm sorry about all of this, I truly am. But Alex…he's me, but I'm not him. My name is Xander, I came to Equestria a very long time ago."

"You don't even sound like him…" she whispered, moving closer only to move back, unable, unsure what to do. "It's a trick Alex, you can't believe it. You have to fight it. She's trying to make you someone you're not, she's trying to steal our love from us."

"I loved her long before the man you think you know, loved you," I said, ignoring the ache in my chest as she shook her head, lips trembling, eyes filled with tears. "Do not blame Luna for this. This is all on Celestia."

"That's a lie!" Cadance refuted.

"It's the truth," I countered, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, Luna quick to join me as she watched Cadance warily.

"Is it?"

The voice I knew, the voice I hated more than anything else brought with it the mare I hated above all others.

Celestia stood behind Cadance, looking at the crying mare for a bare moment before turning her attention onto Luna.

And then me.

"Alex?" she asked, clearly wincing when I returned her word with a look that could melt metal. "Alex are you still in there?"

She moved in front of Cadance and made to come closer.

Luna was out of the bed before I could stop her, standing in front of me protectively, her horn alight as she glared at her sister with more distaste than I thought possible.

"You will never tear us apart again!" she hissed, wings spread out.

"You lied to me," Celestia said sadly, looking between the both of us. "Everything you said about being a family again. It was all a lie?"

"Do not presume you have some moral high ground to stand upon, sister," Luna spat, her tone almost mocking if not for the rage behind it. "You locked me in the moon. You trapped Xander in his own body, made him a child again, made him grow up and love another as if HE DIDN'T ALREADY HAVE ME!"

"Luna please!" Celestia pleaded, eyes filling up with tears. "I've changed, I swear that I've changed. The mare I was, was a horrible disgusting, selfish creature. I'm not her anymore!"

"Then you should have reversed the spell as soon as you found him again!"

"I couldn't, magic didn't work on him then!" she cried. "So I raised him as best I could. I gave him a good life, I gave him love and he found the love of another. He was happy!"

"HE WAS MINE!" Luna screamed, the room shaking with much more force then Cadance had managed. "I am his, he is mine! You had no right to make him love another, you had no right not to tell him the truth! To tell EITHER of them the truth!"

Cadance was looking between the both of them, then finally at Celestia with what could only have been betrayal.

"Aunty?"

Celestia looked at her and frowned sadly, closing her eyes.

"Is she…is this true?"

She said nothing, Cadance's eyes widening for a moment before more tears fell down her cheeks.

"No…" she whimpered, looking at all of us, her gaze settling on me. "Please no. No, no, no, no."

'Cadance…'

I frowned…

Then looked at Luna.

Then Celestia.

Then Cadance.

…and then I blinked, staggering back and almost tripping over myself as I landed on my arse, the bed thankfully catching me.

"Xander?" Luna asked, worry in her eyes as she looked at me, said eyes widening as a second passed.

I looked at her, then Celestia, then Cadance.

The smallest mare looked at me, her own eyes widening as they met mine, recognition clear within them as the tiniest smile grew on her face.

"Alex?"

Celestia blinked, looking at me sharply.

Luna gasped, pulling away for a moment.

My breathing grew erratic, frantic, my head beginning to pound, then hurt, and hurt and hurt!

I stood up and quickly threw my pants on, before bolting past and ignoring the lot of them as they all shouted my name.

Name…names…name…

I reached my, her, mine, our…room and shut the door behind me, locking it.

Looking over at Cadance's vanity, I rushed over and lifted up the mirror that had been face down, looking at my reflection, watching, waiting…

As it looked back without motion from me, a look of surprise on the man's face.

His face.

My face.

Our face.

Who was I?

And that'll do it, enjoy nerds!

Cya, stay snuggly :D