Jax stood at the edge of his little… area, looking at the Everfree. His pet Bear was in there somewhere, getting ready for winter and hibernation. When he got back, would he be able to stay with Jax or would he have to go live with Fluttershy for a while?
Before he could think more about it, something finally happened. He heard the flapping of wings, and looked over to see Luna fly full speed towards him.
“Jax!” She shouted when she was close enough, and stopped flapping her wing, angling them to slow her decent.
She still hit Jax with quite a lot of speed though. He forgave her the second she drew him close, nuzzling him all over the face.
“Luna.” He couldn’t help but smile happily, embracing her in turn. “It’s always good to see you.”
She pulled her wings around him for a super hug, and he simply enjoyed the feeling of having her there. Her warm body against his, her soft fur brushing against him, her loving cyan eyes meeting his, and finally her soft lips greeting his own… in that moment he wanted nothing else, and if all the pain he had to go through was for this… well, then it was all worth it.
He enjoyed the warmth of her presence for several long minutes where their mouths became very acquainted, before he pulled her in for another hug. “I missed you.” He whispered, enjoying the honey scent she gave off. How could she still smell of honey after that flight?
“I missed you too, my love. I always do.” The warmth in her voice made him shiver ever so slightly. He loved it. He loved her. Despite everything, he still had this.
‘You keep reminding yourself of the good you have’ Sombra observed.
‘Otherwise I’ll drown in the bad. I have to stay positive or I’ll go crazy.’ Jax explained. It wasn’t easy to be told he could only stay in this little area which was pretty much his house and a little of the land outside of it. He could leave… for some minutes, and a guard always came over in case he reverted back….
It was infuriating, and he was so tired of it. If Luna and his friends didn’t stop by regularly, he would have thrown a tantrum long ago and just stormed into the Everfree.
He allowed himself a couple of more minutes in her embrace before he chased her out of his side of the pri… area. Ponies can’t stay on his side for too long, for their own safety. The last thing he wanted was for Luna to become depressed.
***
There were limited things you could do together when you had to stay on your separate side of a barrier. You could play chess, you could drink tea and small talk, looking at each other awkwardly when the small talk ran out, and you could… play battleship. At least they could after Jax explained what it was about. Then a few more small games followed like 'TickTacToe' and such.
But finally, she raised the moon, and with it came the amazing well of stars they had in Equestria… or at least Jax assumed so, since he couldn’t see shit beside god damn gray and boring clouds.
“I guess there will be no stargazing to-“ was all he got out before Luna took off like an arrow and cleared a hole in the clouds above them, enough for them to see at least 30 percent of the sky.
“I must apologize,” Luna said when she landed with a cocky smile. “But I do not believe I caught the words thee, my dear love, was about to utter. Care to repeat them?”
Jax smiled hugely. Sometimes he forgot where he was, and what ponies were really capable of. Back… in the human world, bad weather meant ruined plans. Here, with the right company, it meant ruined weather, and that was beautiful.
“I must have misspoken, oh mighty one.” He bowed dramatically, “what I meant to say was: Hail the night princess, blessed be her name, for she is the bane of obtrusive clouds everywhere.”
As they stood there smiling at each other like love drunk teenagers, Jax decided to throw caution at the wind and spoil himself with a hug from this beautiful being.
Apparently Luna was thinking the same, ‘cause they flew at each other like magnets. While Jax simply wished for some snuggles, Luna was quick to find his lips with her own. They were entwined for a while, each taking turns having most of them on one side of the barrier or the other, until a crystal snuck up on them and bonked them hard on the head, before flying on like a cheeky little bastard.
They both rubbed their heads, looked at each other, laughed it off, and then Luna set about animating the stars that they had access to.
It was a little story about, if Jax wasn’t mistaken, the flower pony named Rose finding inspiration to make her Midnight Rose. It was short and sweet.
Afterwards, they laid head to head and just looked up at the night sky, and the surviving clouds. Once in a while a crystal hovered over them. It was nice and peaceful.
‘Jax?’ Sombra suddenly asked.
‘Yeah?’
‘Do you think I would have made a good king? In time?’
‘… Honestly? No. I don’t think so, especially not with the negative magical high thing going on. Why do you ask?’
‘Yeah… I do not believe so either. Just trying to remember why I wanted to be king in the first place. I mean, really remember the feeling of wanting it. I cannot quite seem to grasp it.’
‘Don’t you think you just wanted to… I dunno… prove your parents wrong? Show them that you were worth something… that despite them treating you like they did, you became more than they could dream of.’
‘I… no, they should not have that kind of power over me….‘ He trailed off, perhaps in thought.
“I’ve decided to go to Slow Healing by the way.” Luna suddenly informed him. “I have an appointment for tomorrow.”
“Slow Healing? The psychologist? Why?” He asked with concern.
“Because you deserve… we both deserve that I become a bit more mentally stable… these thoughts I get sometimes, while not as bad… they remind me of when I…” she clopped her hooves together nervously. “You know. I just want to… be normal.”
Jax heaved himself up on his elbows and positioned himself above her. Luna avoided his eye, so he gently put a hand on her cheek and watched as she nuzzled against it. “No matter what, I still love you. I just want you to know that.”
She blushed cutely, finally looking at him. “I know. And I love you as well.”