Daybreaker issued a bolt of magic at Jeremy, who dove out of the way again. He scrambled to his feet, glaring at the searing blast that was Daybreaker.
“Don’t do this, Celestia!” he shouted. “You don’t have to do this!”
She responded by issuing another blast of magic, but this one wobbled – and then began homing in on him. Before he could react, three more appeared, reducing the rest of the room to cinders.
What followed next could only be described by Jeremy as the second hardest fight he’d ever had. Daybreaker was relentless, not even giving him a chance to speak – she heated patches of the ground until they melted, issued unending homing columns of fiery death towards him, heated the air until he couldn’t breathe, and blinding him with the glare of her white-hot body. Occasionally he’d burn to death, the agonizing pain only relieved as he slowly came to right back where he’d started. At least nobody else is dying this time, Jeremy thought morbidly. Throughout this hell, Jeremy dodged and weaved, desperately trying to stay alive as he also tried to think of things to say to make her stop attacking him.
“We don’t need the human Elements of Harmony!” Daybreaker dismissed viciously during one such attack, fireballs bouncing around the room before exploding violently. “They’re weak. Just like you! All you humans are weak! And I do not care for weakness in my country!” Daybreaker snarled.
“And what about Luna? She was weak once, and you cared about her then!” Jeremy retorted, dodging a beam of fire only to find it exploding outward and grazing him.
“You leave my sister out of this!” Daybreaker demanded, heating the ground under Jeremy’s feet to deadly temperatures.
Luna… that’s it! That’s what she cares about! Jeremy realized. “No!” he replied, hopping off of the freshly-made pool of lava and racing across the room to avoid her next few attacks. “Would Luna want you to do this? To simply murder everything that disagreed with you? No! Because if you did… she’d be dead!” Jeremy cried aloud.
This seemed to stumble Daybreaker for a moment, and he knew had to keep going, keep talking. Keep running his mouth off in the hopes that he’d stumble upon something important enough to her to make her stop fighting altogether.
“Thinking about the consequences of your actions? Because, believe me, you’re not above the law, Celestia! If you continue like this… the only remaining threat to Equestria will be you!” Jeremy asserted.
“S…SHUT UP!” Daybreaker screamed, aiming her horn right at him. Jeremy ducked and rolled as she issued a blast of fire, which seemed… smaller? It was difficult to tell.
“You think your sister will care for you if you’re some kind of genocidal maniac? Because she will, I can tell you that!” Jeremy continued, undaunted. “She’ll care so much that she’ll be forced to stop you or die trying!”
Daybreaker stopped attacking, her eyes widening in shock. “Sh-she wouldn’t… she’d understand! She’d still love me!” Daybreaker screamed back.
“Enough to join you? After what she’s been through?” Jeremy pressed.
“She… I…” Daybreaker trailed off. Then her eyes hardened, glaring at Jeremy as they began to burn red. “ENOUGH TALKING!” the solar queen exclaimed, lighting her horn. “I might not be able to use magic directly on you, vermin. But even someone as determined as you can’t resist the might OF THE SUN!!” Daybreaker triumphantly howled. The ceiling broke around him, and Jeremy looked up to reveal a very bright sun. In fact, the sun looked like it was getting larger. Then he realized: Daybreaker had literally turned the sun into a laser, and shot it at him.
If any person who had watched My Little Pony had one fear, this would probably be it.
In the infinitesimal milliseconds as the beam loomed closer, Jeremy took a moment to remember why he was fighting. Why he’d come so far, and why he couldn’t give up now. His element began to glow…
And then he was lost amidst the blaze.
When the light cleared, all that could be seen was an exhausted Princess Celestia, her hair a simple, unwaving pink, and a single metal shield, emblazoned with a bright pink heart with four darker pink lines curving outwards from it. Celestia slumped to the ground, passing out.
Underneath the shield, cocooned by a still-cooling shell of magma, Jeremy passed out as well. The last sensation he felt was a burning heat all around, coupled with an odd sense of finality.
As he drifted in and out of consciousness, Jeremy heard things that he presumed were from his surroundings, though in his damaged state he couldn’t tell who was speaking or what the context was.
“…encased in magma? How is he alive…”
“…don’t care! Work harder!”
“Jeremy?! Can you hear me?! It’s going to be okay!”
Jeremy noted that this voice was louder than the rest. And, as soon as he did, everything faded to white.
He woke up slowly, feeling an ache all over as he opened his eyes, blearily taking in his painfully white surroundings. He was in a hospital bed, sunlight gently filtering in through the window and landing in a perfect circle around his bed, heating it up to the coziest temperature imaginable. He felt… numb, and it took him a moment to realize that he was probably doped up on a pretty heavy dose of painkillers. He couldn’t move… he couldn’t move! Panic shot through Jeremy as he attempted to move his arms and legs, only to find that they weren’t responding. He could see them still attached to him, so it wasn’t like they’d been removed entirely, but he couldn’t move! He began to blindly panic, breathing heavily as some monitors off to his right began beeping loudly. Immediately, a nurse stallion ran in, bypassing a dark shape at the door as he placed a washcloth on Jeremy’s head. He was bright orange in color, with a dark red mane, and hurt to look at. His mark seemed to be a test tube with some pink liquid in it.
“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” the nurse soothed. “You’re in the hospital, you’re okay. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Jeremy frantically tried to communicate with his eyes his predicament.
“Oh… you’re upset because you can’t move right now?” the stallion guessed, following his pointed gaze to the rest of his motionless body. “That’s just the painkillers we gave you, they’ll wear off shortly. We would have been able to use magical numbing, but… something went wrong whenever we tried. Don’t worry, you’ll be perfectly fine,” the nurse insisted.
Jeremy reluctantly stopped panicking, the monitors somewhere on his right slowly returning to their normal background noise.
“Anyway, somepony’s been… waiting for you to wake up. Would you like to see her?” the nurse asked, picking up a pen in his mouth and making a few notes on a clipboard.
Jeremy blinked once.
“Oh, right,” the stallion awkwardly remembered. “Uh… blink once if no, twice if yes.”
Jeremy blinked twice, an unamused expression on his face.
“Okay, I’ll… send her in,” the nurse stallion answered.
To Jeremy’s surprise, Chrysalis walked in. Her mane hung limply about her, and her eyes were tinged green – her equivalent of ‘bloodshot,’ Jeremy presumed. She silently approached him, looking down at his motionless figure before staring into his eyes.
“I… am so angry with you right now…” she hoarsely whispered. Climbing up on top of his form, she collapsed sobbing, hugging him tightly. Jeremy wished he could feel it, or better yet, hug her back. “You went up against that? And you didn’t tell me?” she hissed, sounding half furious and half terrified.
I’m sorry, Jeremy answered mentally. I didn’t want you to set her off beforehand.
Chrysalis glared at him, outraged. I wouldn’t have! Don’t you trust me to help you?! she sent back.
Jeremy looked away in shame. I… I should have. I’m sorry, he repeated.
…How many times? Chrysalis asked after a moment, looking at him sadly.
Huh? Jeremy sent back.
How many times did she kill you? the changeling queen clarified.
Jeremy thought for a moment. …Just fifteen, I think? I kinda lost track- he began, but was cut off as Chrysalis suddenly became enraged.
“JUST FIFTEEN?!” she screeched at the top of her lungs, and Jeremy’s eyes went wide at the sudden use of her voice.
Hey, hey, don’t shout it out loud! We’re trying to keep this a secret, remember?! he hurriedly sent.
Chrysalis, realizing her mistake, quickly covered her hooves with her mouth. “I just…” she whispered. “I can’t lose you again, I c-can’t… We had to dig you out of a molten chunk of stone! I was so scared when I saw how badly you’d been hurt…” she sobbed.
I’m sorry, Jeremy sent again. It seemed like it was all he could say at this point.
“I know about your… thing about dying. But what if…” she trailed off. What if every time you die, you just create an alternate timeline? What if there’s fifteen more Chrysalis’ out there who will never see you again? She finished mentally.
Jeremy reeled at the implications of this. How had he never thought of it? Had he just never stopped to consider the fact that he might have been creating dozens, hundreds even, of alternate timelines where the only difference was when he died? Were there hundreds of timelines where the four he’d worked so hard to befriend simply waited at the edge of the Barrier, mourning his death and wondering what to do?
I… I never thought of that, he sent weakly.
Chrysalis drooped her head downward, resting it just below his as she looked at him mournfully. “Is there any way you could find out?” she whispered.
Jeremy shook his eyes from left to right. No… there’s no going back. Once I load a SAVE file, anything that proceeded it is unreachable, unless I perform the exact same events again, he explained. Chrysalis sighed, and closed her eyes, pressing against him as tears began to fall onto his chest. Jeremy, partly out of the same fears she shared, and partly out of relief, began to cry with her.
Their moment was ruined, however, when a familiar white mare with pink hair poked her head through the doorway. “Was someone in here yelling?” she asked sternly.
Chrysalis whipped around to stare at her, and Nurse Redheart reared back in surprise for a moment. “We were having a moment,” Chrysalis hissed at her.
Redheart glared twice as hard, surprising Chrysalis. “Well, your moment had better not involve any more screaming,” she chided as though she were talking to a foal. “I had to spend five straight minutes in room 405A consoling a patient who gets frightened easily. Don’t do it again.” With that, she departed, firmly shutting the door behind her and leaving the two of them to stare after her in silent wonder.
She was… not afraid of you in the slightest, Jeremy noted.
That… that is a first, Chrysalis agreed.
They stayed there for a moment longer, Jeremy slowly recovering his movement. First his fingers, then his toes, the feeling in each returning in a flood of uncomfortable pins and needles. Then his arms… and his legs. Finally, what seemed like hours later, he shifted slightly in the bed, Chrysalis having long since cuddled up to him and falling asleep. He still felt numb, but it was quickly fading. The same nurse stallion from before trotted in, looking tired.
“How are you feeling? Can you move yet?” he asked, checking a few more things off the clipboard.
Jeremy waved his hand in a ‘so-so’ manner in response – he didn’t think he was able to talk quite yet.
“Well, Luna’s about to raise the moon, and Princess Twilight asked me to move you over to her castle as soon as you could… well, move,” the nurse offhandedly mentioned.
Jeremy raised an eyebrow, and the nurse shrugged back.
“No idea, sorry. Though, if you’re one of those humans that I’ve been hearing about, you probably know a lot more than I do.”
Darn it, now Jeremy really wanted to ask him what he’d been hearing about the humans. Any bit of information he could get was a worthwhile one, after all. But… he just couldn’t bring himself to try to speak. He’d seen too many videos of people just after surgery attempting the same, often to comedic results.
“Okay… can you stand up? Oh. Um…” the nurse trailed off, noticing Chrysalis still fast asleep on top of him.
Jeremy smiled, and gently moved her off of him, causing her to stir and kick out a leg. He sat up, twisting his back to either side to an artillery of accompanying cracks. The nurse winced, and Jeremy sighed in relief.
“Better,” he murmured quietly, and was surprised to find that he could indeed talk now.
He picked up Chrysalis, the latter stirring and looking up at him with sleepy eyes. “Are we going already?”
Jeremy nodded, and made to take a step forward. However, he had misjudged just how awake his feet were, and quickly tripped over himself, slamming into the door instead of opening it. Chrysalis immediately shot awake, launching herself forward to brace him as he recovered.
“Thanks,” Jeremy acknowledged as he got back to his feet, relieved that he hadn’t fallen.
“Maybe… maybe I’d better carry you,” Chrysalis thought out loud. She ducked between his legs, pushing upward and jostling him into sitting upon her carapace.
“Okay, well, you’re all checked out and good to-“ The stallion snorted as he caught sight of the two of them.
“What’s so funny?” Chrysalis asked suspiciously.
“Nothing, nothing… um… excuse me,” the stallion excused himself, ducking out of the room. They could hear his laughter after a moment, a few doors down.
“Whatever happened to ‘no loud noises?” Chrysalis grumbled, and Jeremy chuckled good-naturedly.
Chrysalis trotted down the stairs and out of the hospital, Jeremy along for the bumpy ride as ponies gawked and whispered to each other. A gentle breeze played about as fillies and colts happily ran around outside, and Jeremy realized he was wearing nothing but a hospital gown and his underwear, hurriedly drawing the gown himself in embarrassment.
Chrysalis chuckled at his expression. “They put you in that while they were… healing you,” she explained.
“Right… brrr, it’s blustery,” Jeremy noted, shivering. Immediately, the sun overhead brightened, causing Jeremy and Chrysalis to look upward in surprise.
“Uh… well, now it’s nice and warm,” Jeremy amended.
“Yeah… it’s been sunny like this for a few days. Which is weird, considering it’s fall,” Chrysalis remarked.
“Wait… a few days? Chrysalis, how long have I been asleep?” Jeremy questioned urgently.
“Just three days! Sorry, didn’t mean to make you think it was longer,” Chrysalis hastily corrected.
“Three days…” Jeremy murmured.
“I watched over you the whole time,” Chrysalis soothed him. “There were a few moments when… Twilight had to explain to me what the doctors were doing was helping you… but I made sure nothing bad happened.”
Jeremy gave a relieved half-chuckle, leaning forward to hug her neck. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” he whispered.
Chrysalis, rather shockingly, turned her head a hundred and eighty degrees to kiss him back, her neck not strained in the slightest. “Everything you’ve ever done,” she whispered back.
“Whoa. How long have you been able to do that?” Jeremy pointed out.
Chrysalis laughed. “Since I was born. It was my ‘thing’ when I was younger, none of the other changelings could do it.” Jeremy laughed louder, and Chrysalis flashed him a smile. “You think it’s cool? Ponies think it’s creepy,” she noted.
“It is creepy if you do it in a creepy way,” Jeremy retorted. “But you’re not, so it’s fine.”
Chrysalis snorted. “I’ll never understand what ponies think is creepy and isn’t…” she muttered. “It’s so random sometimes.”
As they approached the castle, Jeremy thought he saw something in one of the windows. A flash of pink, just barely visible as it stepped out of sight. Had someone been watching them? How odd.
They came upon Twilight’s castle, where a pair of Royal Guards stood waiting at the massive pair of doors, and another stood off to the side, guarding a familiar face.
“Hey, Tirek!” Jeremy called up.
Tirek looked down in surprise. “You made it,” Tirek noted. “Figured you would.”
Jeremy grinned sheepishly. “You know how it is. Hey… why aren’t you inside?” he pointed out.
Tirek shrugged. “Couldn’t fit through the door. Don’t worry, I’m fine out here,” the centaur dismissed.
“Doesn’t it get cold at night?” Chrysalis asked.
Tirek chuckled darkly. “After being chained just above a pit of lava, the breeze is nice. Trust me, I’m fine.” Jeremy and Chrysalis looked at each other, and shrugged.
“Couldn’t you just give up some of your magic and get smaller to fit through the door?” Jeremy asked.
Tirek raised an eyebrow. “And miss out on these guns?” he pointed out, striking a bodybuilder pose as Jeremy burst out laughing.
“Anyway, hurry up and go inside, you’re missing important stuff,” Tirek chastised.
“Oh! Well… alright. Take care!” Jeremy called as Chrysalis made her way up the steps. Tirek merely nodded.
Jeremy tentatively reached out a hand to knock as the Guards stepped aside wordlessly to let them pass, but the doors swung open of their own accord. Rarity stepped out, carrying a bundle of clothes, and immediately bumped into them.
“Oh! I’m sorry, deeaarrrrrr….” Rarity trailed off, looking up at Chrysalis, and Jeremy.
Chrysalis sighed. “Hi,” she greeted.
“Hello,” Rarity returned, looking up at her nervously.
“Can we go inside now?” Chrysalis asked, raising an eyebrow as the fashionista continued to just stand there.
“Oh! Yes, of course, silly me, I, ah… let me just get out of your way…” Rarity replied, hastily excusing herself.
Jeremy watched her trot hurriedly off, confused. “What’s with her?” he wondered.
“Probably scared of me. I caught a whiff of fear,” Chrysalis explained.
Jeremy sighed. “It’s never gonna be easy, is it…” he remarked sadly.
“Well, she wasn’t attacking me, that’s progress,” Chrysalis pointed out.
They came into the throne room, where everyone froze upon catching sight of them. Jeremy took a moment to take in the scene. The pony Elements of Harmony were sitting in their respective chairs, their corresponding humans making rather comedic use of ordinary wooden chairs beside them as the twelve of them studied the Cutie Map. Sombra and Nightmare Moon were in a corner, having a muted discussion with Starlight, and all three had stopped to look over at him.
“Hey, everyone,” Jeremy casually greeted. There was a moment more of silence. Then, Nightmare Moon catapulted herself over Sombra to tackle the pair of them in a hug.
“We wert so worried about thee!” she chastised, picking the two of them up and hugging them tightly to her chest.
“T-thanks?” Jeremy squeaked as he had the life crushed out of him. Everyone laughed as the tension was broken, and Nightmare Moon promptly let go once she saw the two of them turning blue (or in Chrysalis' case, blue-green) in the face.
“Sorry…” she apologized sheepishly. “Art thou alright?”
Jeremy took a moment to fill his lungs with much-needed oxygen, giving a tired grin to his platonic lover. “Yeah… exhausted, but I’m okay.”
Twilight, seeing he’d arrived, got up and approached him. What Jeremy presumed was a greeting made its way to her throat, but stopped just short of her lips. Instead, Twilight huffed a sigh. “I can’t believe Princess Celestia did all that…” she forlornly remarked. “I did some research, while you were… asleep. It was all true, every word. It was…” Twilight trailed off, seemingly looking for words to say, and promptly burst into tears.
Startled, Jeremy leaned back as Twilight bawled her eyes out, only to be gently dragged away by a worried-looking Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.
“She’s been like that ever since… well, you know,” Sam spoke up, coming to stand in front of Jeremy.
“Ah, jeez…” Jeremy began guiltily, but Sam held up a hand.
“It’s not your fault… and… it kinda makes sense. Finding out her mentor was doing stuff like that behind her back… that would be devastating to anyone,” Sam remarked glumly.
“Is Celestia okay?” Jeremy asked quietly.
“She’s… locked herself in her room. Nobody can break the enchantment, or teleport in, or anything. We don’t even know if she’s still alive,” Sam whispered.
“Don’t say that!” a new voice rang out, and Sam jumped as Princess Luna strode forward.
“Sorry,” she apologized. “I’ve been… on edge, lately. Twilight’s not the only one who was blindsided by… that.” With that, she turned to Jeremy, a pleading look in her eyes. “Can you speak with my sister? We have all tried, but… you seem to have a talent for these sorts of things, and I… do not,” she admitted, biting her lip.
“Yeah,” Jeremy instantly agreed.
No! Chrysalis mentally objected, glaring at him in outrage.
What? Why not? Jeremy asked, staring right back.
You nearly died to her! I’m not letting you anywhere near her! Chrysalis exclaimed.
…I did die, Jeremy pointed out.
…That doesn’t change anything! Chrysalis argued, looking away from him now.
Chrysalis, I have to do this. You know that as well as I do, Jeremy returned, frustrated.
“Are you two alright? You’ve been… staring at each other for… quite a while now,” Luna pointed out, and they both snapped out of their trance.
“Um. Right! Yeah, we’re fine. We’ll go talk to Celestia now,” Jeremy sheepishly answered. “Come on, Chrysalis.”
Wait, why are you bringing me? Chrysalis asked suspiciously.
I dunno… I guess I feel like I owe you a little compromise, or something, so maybe you can come with and watch over us? Jeremy remarked as Luna promptly led them up a staircase, at a speed which suggested either eagerness or impatience.
…Well… I know you can’t die… and I know I worry a lot for no reason, but… Chrysalis weakly replied, a feeling of guilt emitting from her.
I know how you feel, Jeremy reassured her. It’s the same way I feel about all of you. And I know the whole ‘SAVE’ concept is a bit… weird. But… it’ll be okay, I promise, Jeremy soothed.
I… I know that… and I know I know that… but for some reason, I’m still compelled to try and protect you, Chrysalis grumpily admitted.
It’s kind of endearing, honestly. Knowing I’m not in any real danger, and still trying to protect me… it shows how much you care, I think, Jeremy sent back, flashing a small smile at her.
Chrysalis remained silent, giving him a slight smile of her own.
Luna stopped outside a single door, in a blue hallway of identical doors. The door appeared to be unlocked, but it was probably enchanted.
“Sister? I have brought someone to speak with you again,” Luna called out.
No response.
“Sister, please. It’s him,” Luna begged, looking sad.
“Celestia?” Jeremy spoke up. “It’s me. Can I… can I come in?”
Once again, Celestia said nothing, but the door creaked open ever so slightly. Luna appeared shocked, then turned to Jeremy, an excited expression on her face as she beckoned him onward. Jeremy looked at Chrysalis, who shook her head.
I think… she just wants to talk to you. Don’t worry, I’ll go do something else, she decided, sauntering off. Luna quickly followed, leaving Jeremy alone in the blue corridor. Cautiously, he stepped inside.
The second he stepped inside, he was taken aback by the state the room was in. What was once a well-made bed had been rumpled, torn, and even stained in some places, which Jeremy really hoped weren’t tearstains, if only due to the sheer size of them. The room was strewn with tissue boxes, flung pillows, tossed regalia, and other haphazardly rearranged room decorations, looking as though a miniature hurricane had decided to throw a party with all its friends in the relatively small space. Celestia herself was lying amid a literal pile of used tissues on the bed, looking rather… small. Her hair was pink and unmoving, and she was maybe Luna’s height, if that. The feathers on her wings looked rumpled and crooked, a far cry from their usual pristine glory. She lay on the bed unmoving, a small sniffle every now and then the only indication that she was still alive.
“Celestia?” Jeremy asked quietly, unsure if he should approach her.
Celestia slowly raised her eyes to stare at him, and Jeremy noted how bloodshot they were, as well as the tear tracks running down each side of her face. She lowered her head again, and Jeremy slowly took a seat on the bed beside her, gently moving part of the pile of tissues out of the way.
“Please kill me,” she whimpered, refusing to look at him as she spoke to him for the first time since he woke up.
Jeremy, taken back, remained silent for a moment. “You know that wouldn’t fix anything,” he softly answered.
“Wouldn’t it? You’d defeat the most evil creature in Equestria. Your f-f-friends wouldn’t have to fear m-me anymore. Everyone would be h-happy,” Celestia hiccupped.
“No… they wouldn’t. And neither would I. Nobody’s happy about murder… well, at least, nobody worth knowing,” Jeremy amended.
Celestia remained silent.
“Celestia… everyone’s really worried about you out there. They all care about you so much…” Jeremy tried.
“They care about the me that they see. The one that never does anything wrong, the princess who everypony wishes to be, the… the perfect little shell of a pony I was,” Celestia angrily muttered.
“Or maybe they care about their friend, Celestia, who’s been sad lately and needs cheering up,” Jeremy retorted. “I’m willing to bet not a single person in that room, human or pony, wants to know you just because you’re a princess.”
Celestia snorted. “Fine. Everyone else loves me. You win,” she muttered.
Jeremy immediately softened his expression. “I’m sorry… I know you want to be alone right now, but I’m just going to say one last thing before I go, okay?” Celestia remained silent, and Jeremy took this as a cue to keep going. “I know things look tough right now. But I promise you, they will get better. I’m saying that from experience, I… I know what this is like. I’ve been here, I’ve felt something like what you’re feeling right now. And if you ever need someone to talk to, someone that won’t judge or treat you like a delicate, royal flower, or panic and overreact when you show signs of ‘dangerous behavior’… come find me, okay?” he pleaded.
Celestia squeezed her eyes shut, fresh tears welling up in the corners.
“Celestia?” Jeremy quietly asked, hoping he’d said something right.
To his shock, she leapt forward, pinning him to the bed as she reared her head forward to lock lips with his. Out of sheer reflex from kissing Chrysalis, Jeremy reciprocated, allowing her to kiss him before he realized what he was doing. Celestia’s eyes flew open, and her irises constricted to the size of pinpricks as she tore herself off of him.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, I – I – I – “ Celestia stammered. Jeremy, still flabbergasted from what had just occurred, remained silent. “I didn’t – mean it – please don’t be mad – “ Celestia whimpered, panicking.
Jeremy finally shook himself free of his dazed stupor, and held up a hand. “I’m not mad,” he answered with a faltering attempt at a smile. “But, um… I think I have… enough lovers… for now. N-not to imply that you’re not good enough for me! Seriously, you’re… uh… um… okay, look, to be honest, having two marefriends is already enough of a shock for me, and I genuinely don’t think I could handle a third, and it’s not because you’re objectively better or worse than they are it’s just that they came first and-“ Jeremy rambled.
He was stopped by Celestia placing a hoof to his lips. “It’s okay,” she whispered, smiling nervously back. “I understand. It was… just a foalish thought of mine. Really, I don’t blame you. Are we… are we friends?” she asked.
Jeremy slowly calmed down, taking a deep breath. “Yeah,” he answered. “’Course we are.”
Celestia looked down at the floor, still smiling slightly. “So… how’d you do it?” she asked quietly, taking a seat on the bed again.
“Do what?” Jeremy asked blankly.
“Get past… those four. And the System Defenses. And your clone, or whatever. And… me,” Celestia explained, looking glum as she whispered the last bit.
“And the old changeling King,” Jeremy added automatically.
“Yeah… so, how do you do it? How do you defeat your enemies… without ever attacking once?” Celestia asked again.
Jeremy gave a dry half-chuckle. “It’s a lot of work. Mostly dodging... and talking.” And dying, he added mentally. “Eventually I hit on something important enough to make them stop fighting, and then… I work on making them see that maybe fighting isn’t their best option.”
Celestia snorted in amusement. “Showing mercy, even on the battlefield… you really are an angel,” she muttered.
“I am not!” Jeremy retorted petulantly.
Celestia giggled. “So, Element of Love… who are you in love with?” she asked. “Queen Chrysalis, obviously, which… I’m still trying to wrap my head around. But you mentioned somepony else?” she asked curiously.
“Nightmare Moon,” Jeremy answered. “She’s… well, she’s a lot like you. Protective, caring… and really soft,” Jeremy recalled.
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Really? I… I didn’t expect that,” she mumbled to herself.
Jeremy looked down at the ground. “She says that she’s the parts of Luna that Luna hates the most. Which… makes me a little worried. Sure, Luna’s the opposite of her. She’s super determined, adapting to modern customs, and refuses to show any weakness. But… if they really embody each other’s most polarized attributes, then…” Jeremy trailed off.
“You’re worried Luna’s evil,” Celestia realized.
“…A little. Is she?” Jeremy asked, looking at Celestia forlornly.
“To my knowledge… no. She’s my little sister, she’s about as evil as you are. But… considering how I turned out…” Celestia sighed.
“Ah… it doesn’t matter if she’s evil or good. If Nightmare Moon’s the worst part of her… how bad can she really be?” Jeremy wondered.
“So… what’s Nightmare Moon like in the bedroom?” Celestia asked, blushing and looking away a second later.
Jeremy, caught off guard, laughed. “It’s not like that! We’re… platonic lovers. Love without sex, and all that.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow, seemingly genuinely shocked at this development. “You’ve never… and she’s never…”
Jeremy shook his head. “Not with either of them, actually. Nightmare Moon just wants cuddles, and Chrysalis… well, Chrysalis has her own reasons.”
Celestia appeared openly flabbergasted at this point, her jaw dropping. “W…wow. You must have some impressive self-restraint,” she commented.
Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Ah, yes, the male has to be thinking about nothing but sex all the time,” he commented dryly.
Celestia’s ears splayed back. “Sorry… that was sexist,” she admitted.
“It’s fine, I’m not really offended. That culture exists on our planet as well,” Jeremy laughed. “But… it’s their bodies. Not mine. I don’t get the final say on anything they do with their bodies.”
Celestia nodded, smiling. “Wise words,” she agreed.
They sat there for a moment in silence, Jeremy laying down on the bed as he stared up at the ceiling.
“Am I a good kisser?” Celestia asked, after a while.
“I dunno. My first kiss was a week ago, don’t ask me,” Jeremy answered, smirking.
“Oh…” Celestia trailed off.
“In my opinion, you were fine. A bit forceful, but that’s understandable, all things considered,” Jeremy immediately added. “Have you… not kissed anyone else?”
Celestia sighed angrily. “I have, but every time I asked them, they immediately started scraping the floor with their noses, saying things like “the best in all the land!” and “none could possibly compare to your luscious lips!” It was sickening. That’s when I decided to stop trying to find love,” she muttered.
“Did they really say that?” Jeremy wondered, chortling. “That’s so cheesy. They should have said something like ‘it felt like hot chocolate, and a warm blanket, and being curled up with all your favorite stuffed animals.’ That would be much better,” he replied, laughing.
“That’s even cheesier, you dork!” Celestia shot back, laughing herself.
Jeremy looked over, and to his delight there was an unmistakable blush on Celestia’s cheeks. “And yet, it’s working,” he pointed out smugly.
“N-no it’s not!” Celestia replied haughtily, blushing even more. Jeremy laughed uproariously, and Celestia pouted at him.
There was another moment of silence, as Jeremy slowly calmed down from his fit of mirth. “Hah… Sorry about that. I tend to flirt a lot, it’s all in good fun,” he explained.
“I can tell,” Celestia muttered, rolling her eyes even as she smiled.
They looked away for a moment, Jeremy’s smile sliding off his face as he returned to his contemplations.
“Jeremy?” Celestia asked after a moment.
“Yeah?” Jeremy answered, glancing over at her.
“I… I was just… you might think I suddenly started feeling all of this, after being… ‘Daybreaker’. The truth is… I’ve been feeling like this for a very long time now.”
Jeremy considered her for a moment. “When do you think it started?” he asked, trying hard not to imitate the detached, clinical tone of a professional counselor.
“The day I banished my own sister to the moon,” Celestia whispered, lowering her eyes. “I… I should have listened to her. There were so many things, so many things I could have done, now that I think about it. I could have been there for her. I could have talked her out of it like you did for me, I… I could even have said yes! Given her her eternal night, just to make my little Lulu happy again! But no, I had to be prideful, and foalishly insist that there had to be balance, that her noticing all the citizens liking me more was ‘just her imagination,’ and… and… I banished my own sister,” she hoarsely whispered, crying bitterly. Jeremy gently and carefully placed a hand on her mane, stroking down her sinuous neck as she cried into the bedsheets.
“We all make mistakes, Celestia. Even you, even me. Nobody’s perfect,” Jeremy sighed.
Celestia snorted angrily. “You? Make mistakes?” she questioned incredulously.
“Yeah,” Jeremy quietly affirmed. He noted the absolute silence in his head, distinct from what was normally the background noise of a thousand changelings going about their daily business. “I… I used to be evil, once upon a time. I didn’t do anything dramatic, and I didn’t kill anyone. I was just a schoolyard bully, a little kid trying to assert my dominance in a world I believed was out to get me. But… oh, hell, that lack of murder wasn’t for lack of intent. If I had had the power, my younger self would have gladly cast the entire world into fire and storms, and all the people along with it,” he sadly remembered.
“W-what?” Celestia quietly asked.
“I… I was so angry when I was younger. I don’t know why, if it was some kind of chemical imbalance or something, I just… I just don’t know. But I definitely remember wanting to kill a lot of people, for… what amounted to very minor inconveniences.”
Celestia eyed him as though sizing him up for the very first time. “What changed? What… fixed you?” she asked, sounding curious… and possibly hopeful.
Jeremy snorted. “Part of it was just growing up. Sometimes, you have those moments where you realize everything you’ve ever done is stupid and it’s time to make a change. And part of it was Sam. He’s real good at convincing people not to be idiots,” Jeremy reminisced, smiling slightly.
Celestia smiled as well. “I think I just had one of those ‘moments’,” she agreed quietly.
“The change wasn’t immediate. I didn’t just suddenly stop doing bad things. I had my relapses, my moments of rage and intentional betrayal and who knows what else. But they became fewer and fewer. I wouldn’t say they’ve stopped altogether, because that would imply that I wouldn’t be doing anything stupid from here on out, and that’s just not how humans work,” he continued somberly. “And, lately… well, before I fell into Tartarus, at any rate, I was feeling kind of… hollow,” he added.
“Hollow?” Celestia asked. She didn’t sound curious anymore – now, she sounded as though she were quite familiar with the concept.
“Hollow. Like… a machine. Performing kind actions, and saying kind words, but not because I really mean them. Just because they’re in my programming, or something like that. Being with Chrysalis and her changelings has gone a long way towards fixing that, but I’m far too familiar with apathy for my own good.”
Celestia smiled sadly. “It would seem I too have become too intimate with that feeling of hollowness,” she murmured. “I spent a thousand years… faking being a Princess. Eventually, it just became…” she trailed off.
“Routine?” Jeremy supplied knowingly.
Celestia nodded. “Routine. Like… like I was a machine, carrying out the same functions, day after day. Even when I was raising Twilight Sparkle, even when I loved her with all my heart… I could never show my real face. I could never… stop. Just like how I imprisoned everyone in Tartarus, so too had I imprisoned myself, in a prison so perfect I could not even contemplate escape.”
Jeremy nodded. “It’s pretty insidious, sometimes, isn’t it?” he agreed. “You look back, and you just… wonder how things got so bad.”
Celestia sighed. “Indeed… how did I let things get so bad?” she whispered.
Another moment of silence, a lot longer this time. Jeremy closed his eyes, trying not to fall asleep in case Celestia asked something else.
How’s it going? Chrysalis contacted him after about a half hour in.
She’s okay, he reported. She was a little shaky at first, and she’s probably going to be that way for a while. But… we’re making progress.
Chrysalis projected a feeling of suspicion. I felt her kiss you, she pointed out.
Jeremy immediately panicked, eyes jolting open as his entire body went rigid. Thankfully, Celestia was too immersed in her own thoughts to notice much of anything at the moment.
No, no, wait, it's okay! I’m not mad or anything, but… do you love her? Chrysalis asked.
N… no! I don’t, Jeremy answered, a little too quickly.
Because it’s okay if you do, Chrysalis went on, sounding confused. I’d be happy to accept her into our relationship, even platonically.
Jeremy projected a feeling of immense frustration. I don’t… at least, not that much, he answered.
Is this about when you said having two marefriends was stressful? Chrysalis asked, sounding afraid.
Yes! No! I… ugh, look, humans are only supposed to have one. Two’s doable, maybe, but three is just ridiculous, Jeremy sent back.
Well, if you’re sure, Chrysalis reluctantly agreed.
“You’re very… different, than the other humans,” Celestia spoke up, ending Jeremy’s mental discussion.
“How so?” Jeremy asked.
“You’re… fearless, for one thing. No matter what I threatened you with, you never seemed… concerned for your own survival,” Celestia remarked.
Jeremy sighed. “That’s a common misconception. These past few weeks have been a near-constant state of terror and confusion.”
Celestia half-chuckled. “You’re also… really informal. Not that that’s a bad thing! All the other humans have been so polite to me, and that’s what they’re technically supposed to be doing, but… It reminds me of being at day court all the same. But you… I don’t think you even looked at the crown on my head,” Celestia wistfully recalled.
Jeremy snorted. “I think I see where you’re coming from. Every changeling in the hive either thinks I’m a perfect angel, no matter what dumb thing I do, or they remember the old King and thus are terrified when I so much as exist in their general direction.” At this point, he could hear a multitude of changelings crying out in protest already. “Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit. Usually, a few hugs and an explanation seems to clear it up, but… I dunno, they’re pretty pervasive schools of thought. Can’t really blame them, judging by how long the old King was doing his thing.”
Celestia shifted uncomfortably. “So… the old King… he and Queen Chrysalis…” she began.
“I’d rather not get into that,” Jeremy cut her off. “It’s… not my story to tell.”
Celestia shifted again, away from him this time, and some used tissues fell onto the floor. “Oh. Alright,” she agreed, awkwardly looking away.
“To be honest, even I don’t know much about it. Not sure if I even want to know the full extent of what she went through,” Jeremy explained.
“I suppose it would sour your relationship,” Celestia remarked carefully.
Jeremy sighed. “…Someday, I might work up the courage to ask her about it,” he muttered, staring at the single lamp attached to the ceiling.
“...So… you’re supposed to be the Element of Love. The secret seventh Element. I have to say… you’re quite worthy of that title. I don’t think I’ve met a person quite so interesting since Star Swirl himself,” Celestia commented.
“Heh, thanks... I think. What are we even doing, anyway? I know we seven have been sent here to… fight stuff. But is that really it? Are we just getting super-powerful for no reason?” Jeremy wondered, recalling many similar human-in-Equestria fanfics from his time spent on various websites back home.
Celestia giggled quietly. “Not quite. If you’ll recall, upon completion of your training, you seven are to return to Earth, spreading the magic of friendship – and love, I suppose – to your fellow humans.”
Jeremy frowned. “Right. Earth…” he trailed off.
“Something wrong?” Celestia asked, sounding concerned.
Jeremy huffed a sigh. “It’s just… I wasn’t expecting we’d actually be able to return to Earth. When I convinced my friends to follow me, we all assumed we were just going to… make our new lives on the surface world. Going back home was… well, I’d convinced myself it was an impossibility.”
Celestia shifted again, the bed creaking slightly to accommodate her as her expression soured. “Well, to be honest… I haven’t quite been… honest with your human friends,” Celestia admitted.
Jeremy looked over at her. “How so?” he asked carefully.
“I’ve actually been… very… impolite to them. I didn’t… I didn’t know if I could really trust them, so I acted like… well, like how I normally acted,” Celestia muttered. “I told them that the odds of them being able to return home were truly slim, and only if they mastered their powers as the Elements of Harmony would they be capable of returning home.”
Jeremy remained silent, contemplating this. “And is that… not the case?” he asked after a moment.
Celestia sniffed slightly, her voice wavering as she scrunched her eyes shut. “N-no,” she answered, sounding as though she were about to cry again. “I tried opening a portal to their world the day after they came through. I accomplished it in less than ten minutes. I… I’m a terrible, lying, manipulative-“ she began, but Jeremy put a hand under her jaw and firmly closed it, startling her into silence.
“Tell them,” he ordered, and she mutely nodded.
His gaze softened. “I understand you want to give them an impetus to succeed. But that isn’t the way to do it, and we both know that,” he quietly reminded her.
Another mute nod.
Jeremy carefully released his hand from around her muzzle, and they gazed at each other in silence.
“You know… physically handling a Princess like that could be considered an act of war,” Celestia teased, mouth quirking up in a slight smile despite the sadness in her eyes.
“Oh dear. Whatever can I do to extend the olive branch of peace?” Jeremy dramatically replied, playing along as he slapped an arm to his forehead in a dramatic pose.
“Well, there is…” Celestia began seductively, but trailed off. “Um. Right. I… already… hmm,” she awkwardly realized. Jeremy suddenly recalled the kiss they had shared at the beginning of the conversation. It felt so long ago…
“Tell you what. You… really need to get out of this room. Why don’t you go down there, and tell the other humans the truth right now?” Jeremy suggested.
Celestia stiffened. “N-now? But I’m not- I can’t- I, I, I’m not dressed for it!” Celestia stammered, casting a glance at the lone shoe of hers that was still embedded in the wall.
“Perfect, you’ll be giving an informal impression,” Jeremy dismissed.
“I’m not ready!” Celestia cried, cowering on the bed.
“Celestia,” Jeremy began, laying a hand on her withers. She tensed, closing her eyes. “You have to do this sometime, you know that as well as I do. If you wait, you’ll put it off, and this feeling will get worse. But if you do it now… I promise you it won’t be as bad. I’ll be right there to back you up. Okay?” he tried.
Celestia cringed for a moment more. “…You promise?” she asked quietly.
“On my word as your friend, I will be there for you,” Jeremy affirmed.
Celestia slowly got to her hooves, stepping off the bed. “Okay,” she murmured, swaying unsteadily as she shook her head to clear it. “I can do this.”
They exited the room, and Jeremy was immediately struck by how fresh the air was out here. Had Celestia’s room really smelled so stale that he’d become accustomed to it? He silently walked by Celestia, hand still on her withers as she nervously looked around at the hallway. The clip-clop of her hooves drowned out the gentle taps of his bare feet against the cool stone, and Jeremy was once again reminded of just how little clothing he was wearing at the moment. Maybe he could ask someone where his clothes had gone? He really hoped someone hadn’t burned them – as damaged as they were, they were his only pair of clothes. And his favorite sweater.
They came to the spiral staircase, and Celestia hesitated for a moment, hoof poised to take the first step. “A-are you sure this will go well? I… I’ve been having some second thoughts about this, and maybe it would be better to wait, make sure everyone’s ready and-“ Celestia began, but Jeremy gazed directly into her eyes.
“Celestia,” he spoke sharply, and the word sent a shiver up her back, freezing her in place.
“Y-yes?” she replied, holding his gaze.
“Take a step,” he encouraged.
“What?” Celestia asked, looking at him in confusion.
“It’s just a step,” Jeremy replied, taking a step of his own to demonstrate. “See? Just a simple step. Sure, every step you take, you get closer and closer to your eventual fate, and it might not always look very pleasant. But if you stop looking for the bigger picture, stop seeing things as big and important and weighty, and start seeing everything as a series of steps… life becomes so much easier! Come on. Just take this one step,” Jeremy encouraged.
Celestia reluctantly did so.
“See? Easy! Now take another one,” he continued.
Celestia took another step, smiling slightly.
“You got it!” Jeremy urged.
He led her down the stairs, taking steps faster and faster to force her to keep up. Soon they were running down the spiral staircase, Celestia openly smiling for the first time in three days as she raced down the steps. Jeremy struggled to keep up, for now that Celestia was so enthusiastic about it she was easily outpacing him by sheer virtue of having four legs – and wings. Soon, he was taking two, then four, then eight steps down at a time, thoughtlessly jumping downward just to try and keep up with Celestia’s rapidly advancing figure.
Finally, they reached the bottom, and Celestia kept right on going, heading straight for the doors with no intent of stopping.
“Celesti-!” Jeremy called, but that was as far as he got. He slipped on the floor, unused to there not being a drop under his feet, and promptly crashed to the floor, dazed.
Meanwhile, Celestia had burst into the room, whereupon she was promptly greeted by the sight of everyone else staring at her. Realization at once dawned on her face, and she promptly froze, the smile sliding off of her face faster than water as she stared back, unable to speak. Jeremy achingly picked himself up, ignoring the tightness in his chest as he walked in after her.
“Hey everyone, I’m also in the room now,” he greeted casually to try and distract everyone from Celestia’s sudden entrance. The awkward silence continued, unfortunately, with Celestia looking around and hyperventilating slightly.
“Sister? Is that… you? You look so… small,” Luna commented uncertainly.
This, apparently, was the final straw, and Celestia instantly burst into tears. Immediately, Luna and Cadance rushed over to comfort her, bringing her gently over to where they had been sitting and whispering comforting things to her. Jeremy surveyed this with some satisfaction, and went to rejoin his other friends, keeping an eye on Celestia all the while just in case she needed his assistance.
“Wow. You were up there for hours,” Sam whispered as soon as he came within earshot. Jeremy took an exhausted seat beside his best friend, slowly regaining his breath from his earlier fall and slumping onto the floor next to Sam’s chair.
“Yeah, turns out years of guilt and self-hatred really isn’t good for one’s emotional wellbeing,” he quipped quietly. “Also, does anyone know where my clothes are?” he added a moment later, a hint of exasperation in his tone as he glanced pointedly at his hospital gown.
“They’re in your room, I’ll lead you to them,” Sam answered, quietly getting up and nodding at Twilight, who nodded back, dismissing him.
As it turned out, Jeremy’s temporary room in Twilight’s castle was just a few doors down from Celestia’s room. It was an exact duplicate of her room, but without the mess, and Jeremy looked around at the sparse living space. It wasn’t nearly as cozy as his old room in the Hive, but it was somewhere to stay nonetheless. His clothes were neatly folded and laying on his bed, and there was a note on top. Jeremy picked it up and read it.
“Dear Jeremy the Human,
I noticed your clothes had become rather worn from your time in Tartarus. So, I fixed them up for you, and added some spells to make them more resistant to damage! I tried to make them look exactly like they were before, so please let me know if I missed anything.
Sincerely,
Rarity”
Jeremy smiled, and glanced over at Sam, who was already stepping out of the room. Satisfied, he set about changing, casting the hospital gown carelessly to the floor as he slipped his old, familiar sweater on. Oh, how he had missed this thing! And now it wasn’t torn, burnt, frayed or damaged – it felt new, and warm. Like it had been freshly washed. Fully clothed, he took a moment to stretch, admiring the restored clothing. He’d really have to thank Rarity somehow. It was too bad he was missing his royal cape, which had presumably been destroyed during the battle against Daybreaker. Along with the rest of the Hive. Jeremy was suddenly shaken by an overwhelming sense of guilt – his choices had led to the destruction of the Hive, a building that had presumably stood since Queen Reduuva’s time. All that history, gone forever just because he had wanted to call Celestia out on her crimes. What kind of King was he?
To his surprise, Chrysalis chimed in. Don’t you dare think like that! she chastised. We can rebuild the Hive – we’re rebuilding it right now, actually. It’ll be better than it ever was, trust me.
Hundreds of changelings immediately voiced their agreement, a chorus of happy cheers resounding in his mind until Jeremy couldn’t help but smile.
You guys… really aren’t mad that I managed to destroy everything in the Hive? he wondered.
Of course not! one changeling spoke, and Jeremy recognized the voice as none other than Hemolymph, the nursery drone who had taken care of him after his initial fight with Princess Luna.
…Are you sure? He asked again.
Yes, we’re very sure, Chrysalis answered patiently. Besides, the Hive’s been destroyed before. I think this is something like the third time? she asked, and there was a chorus of mental confirmations. Don’t worry about it, and go make sure Celestia’s getting better, Chrysalis ordered. I’ll handle things over here.
Jeremy sighed. Alright… if you say so, he reluctantly agreed.
He re-entered the main room of Twilight’s castle to find that Celestia was in the middle of her announcement to the humans, and quietly took a seat in the back.
“-and, in short… I am sorry. I will try to be a better Princess, and not be… so…” Celestia trailed off.
“Manipulative?” Pinkie suggested, and Celestia flinched.
“Pinkie!” Applejack objected.
“No, that is the correct word, Applejack,” Celestia quietly agreed.
“Hey, it’s alright… I guess,” Sam attempted to comfort the solar diarch.
“So… can we talk to our families? Let them know we’re okay?” Brayden asked.
Celestia nodded. “Of course you may. I will arrange for letters to be sent as soon as possible. I apologize, but… letters are probably the best way to do it. If your parents knew I was placing you into dangerous situations, they’d… well, they’d do what parents are supposed to do,” Celestia tried to joke, a half-smile managing to tug at her lips.
The rest of the humans chuckled good-naturedly. “Yeah, that sounds okay. So, uh… I guess we should write those now?” Sam asked, looking around.
“I’ll get the quills and paper!” Twilight called, eagerly flying away with Spike reluctantly in tow.
“Does anyone here know how to use a quill?” Jeremy asked, to general laughter.
“Oh, come on! Even I know how to use a quill,” Rainbow Dash mocked.
A few minutes later, Twilight had returned with a pile of parchment, quills and inkwells, and instructed the humans on how to use them. Jeremy was currently staring at his blank paper, wondering what to say.
“Dear Mom and Dad,” he wrote. Well, it was a start. He rubbed the feathery quill against his chin, wondering what he could possibly say.
“I’m on another planet. You might know this already, or you might not. Hard to say, really. But yes, I’m on an alien world. It’s… nice, here. I’ve made some friends. Some lovers, too – yes, yes, I know, finally. Har har.
I can’t say much more without revealing some pretty important information. So… see you when I see you.
Love,
-Jeremy”
Jeremy looked up from scratching out his letter to find everyone else staring at him.
“You looked so serious when writing…” Sombra noted.
Jeremy shrugged. “It was a pretty serious letter.”
He rolled up the parchment and placed it in front of six similar-looking rolls, Twilight looking over them in apprehension.
“So, are you going to use a variant of the spell you placed on Spike?” she asked Celestia, who nodded as a warm, familiar smile came to her face.
“Of course,” Celestia answered. “The letters will appear instantly in front of their owners, just like our letters.”
At this, Twilight’s face soured slightly, and she fell silent. Celestia, seeing this, didn’t seem to know how to respond.
“Sister, are you ready?” Luna prompted after a moment of awkward silence.
“Oh! Right, yes, of course,” Celestia hastily answered, lighting her horn.
A swirling wormhole of yellow magic opened right on top of the Cutie Map, and the scrolls of parchment were sucked through, burning in flares of yellow as they turned into magical smoke that quickly disappeared into the rift in space. Once every last trace of magic had disappeared, the wormhole neatly closed itself, leaving the humans to stare in awe.
“So… you could do that the whole time,” Avery pointed out.
Celestia put her head in her hooves, and Luna glared at Avery.
“What? Just saying,” Avery defended.
“Leave her alone, Avery,” Jeremy chastised. “She’s got enough to think about already.”
Avery grumbled something else, but reluctantly obeyed.
They spent some time just sitting in the throne room of the castle. Conversations broke out, and were just as quickly suppressed. Nobody wanted to think about the events of three days ago, it seemed. Jeremy kept giving Celestia sympathetic glances, as she went back to being surrounded by Luna, Cadance, and even Nightmare Moon, each of whom whispered comforting things to her and gave the occasional pat on the back or sympathetic nuzzle.
Jeremy, meanwhile, was contemplating. Many things were on his mind: Celestia’s reformation, his own mortality, and the ever-present thought that he had created hundreds of doomed timelines. It was a terrifying thought... so terrifying, in fact, that he couldn't even bring himself to be afraid of it properly, because it was simply too big and overwhelming to grasp. He was just... thinking about it.
Finally, Starlight Glimmer made her way over to Jeremy, taking a seat beside him.
“Hello,” she greeted quietly.
“Hi,” Jeremy answered, looking at her curiously.
“You okay? You and Celestia were up there for a while, and we… well, we thought you had started fighting again,” Starlight admitted.
Jeremy snorted, gazing over at Celestia. “Nah. We’re past that.” He shifted his position. “As for me… I’ll be fine.”
Starlight looked at him strangely. “Okay… good to know. Um… this is kind of a weird question, but… what did you do to turn Chrysalis good? And, you know, all the others?” Starlight inquired. Jeremy looked around to find that everyone had suddenly started paying attention. Of course they had – they still thought he was some kind of perfect angel. He looked at the floor, trying to find the answer there, and finally looked back at Starlight.
“I’m assuming you ask because you think I did something amazing, some kind of ‘magic bullet’ that made her want to be good suddenly. I didn’t,” he flatly denied.
Starlight cocked her head. “Then…?” she asked softly.
“She was broken, Starlight. First her husband, the old King, hidden in the shadows as he hurt her again, and again, and again. Then, her own Hive, asking where was the food, where was the happy ending she had promised them, what was she doing. Then… all of Equestria, vilifying her and all of her kind when she was just trying to survive. When I found her in Tartarus… she was broken beyond anything I’d ever seen. Her love for anything, even herself… gone. Her sanity… on its way out. All she had left were memories of her own failure, memories that were scratched on every wall as she wrote away months of her life. It was... it was terrifying, to see what she had been reduced to,” Jeremy dully explained to the silence of the room. “I’ve been trying to put her back together. One piece at a time. To make her see that there’s light in her life, and hope, and her dreams aren’t that far away from reality. And that’s all I can do,” Jeremy finished softly. “I can’t make her magically better, can’t erase the pain. I can only put a bandage over the wound, and hope that helps,” he muttered.
He looked up at Starlight again, to find that she was slowly shifting away from him, a horrified expression on her face.
“What? You all thought I was some kind of angel? Some perfect being, who only sees sunshine and rainbows everywhere he looks?” Jeremy asked, a hint of anger coming to his face. “I told you. I’m not. I can’t do the impossible – I don’t even know how I managed to get this far.” Not technically true, he mused as soon as he said it. I know exactly how I managed to get this far.
Starlight was about to say something else, but at that moment the door slammed open. Chrysalis strode inside, trotting up to Jeremy with a practiced air. Without even a single hesitation, she slammed her mouth into his, lips locking as she passionately kissed him, causing his chair to topple over backwards as she pinned him to the floor. Once she was finished, she pulled away, glaring at him.
“You might not be a perfect person,” she announced to the group at large. “But you’re the closest thing I’ve ever seen. Just because you can’t do impossible things doesn’t mean you’re not worth anything to me!”
Jeremy sighed, sitting up. “I know,” he muttered back.
Chrysalis picked him up with surprising strength, sitting the chair back upright with her magic as she climbed into his lap. “You have accomplished things that Twilight Sparkle couldn’t do. Face it, you’re amazing. Say it. Say you’re amazing!” she demanded.
“I’m amazing,” Jeremy obediently responded, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
“Now say ‘I’m never going to feel self-pity again, because I’m the last person that ever should,'” Chrysalis continued.
Jeremy chuckled slightly. “I’m never going to feel self-pity again, because I’m the last person that ever should,” he replied, smiling.
“Now say ‘Chrysalis is the most sexy, beautiful-“ Chrysalis tried, but couldn’t keep a straight face, and began laughing. The tension in the room was broken, and everyone laughed along with her, Jeremy included. As the laughter died down, Jeremy cleared his throat, looking at Chrysalis with a grin on his face.
“Chrysalis is the most sexy, beautiful changeling in existence, and I’m glad she’s my marefriend,” he finished, grinning at her. Chrysalis blushed green, and Cadance whistled in appreciation from behind Celestia. “Thank you, girl, I really needed that,” Jeremy sighed, tousling Chrysalis’ hair.
“I could tell. You need less time to yourself, if that’s where your thoughts start going,” she chided, leaning into his hand.
“Heh. I don’t think I’ve had a single real moment to myself since… well, since before I somehow landed in Equestria,” Jeremy mused.
“Really? Dude, you must be exhausted. You got tired after a few hours of interaction back home,” Sam pointed out.
Jeremy shrugged helplessly. “With all the fighting and kingly responsibility, I don’t think I’ve really had a moment to consider it. But now that you mention it… yeah, I could really use a nap.”
Chrysalis immediately laid down on the floor, which Jeremy recognized as his cue to lay down with her. Shrugging, he did so, using her belly as a pillow as he folded his hands over his chest, closing his eyes. To his surprise, nobody commented – maybe they were letting him take a nap? That was nice of them…