//------------------------------// // XX. // Story: The Nobody's Regret // by Synthetic Soul //------------------------------// The whole room was silent. All eyes were on the mysterious figure in black, who had appeared out of nowhere. The element bearers looked at the two princesses and the strange creature, not sure what was about to happen. Celestia and Luna’s eyes were wide, their mouths agape, as the figure leaned on his weapon, head down. Roxas was silent and motionless, waiting for the verbal lashing he knew he was owed. He waited, but what he did not expect was a soft touch on his shoulder. He looked up to see Luna pressing her hoof against him. She tapped him gently a few times, trying to determine if this was an illusion or not. “Is it…is it really you?” she questioned. Roxas heard the sound of hoof steps as Celestia approached his side. “Yeah,” replied the nobody. There was silence for a few moments, before he spoke up again. “I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but-“ Before he could finish, he found himself embraced by the two princesses, in the tightest hug he’d ever felt. Tears ran down the sister’s faces as they embraced their old friend. Roxas’s eyes widened in surprise, as his Keyblade disappeared. “We thought we’d never see you again,” said Celestia. Twilight and her friends stood on the sidelines, watching the scene in confusion. “Who…what is that?” questioned Rainbow Dash. “I…I have no idea,” replied Twilight. “Whoever he is, he has an odd fashion sense. Black is so out this season,” commented Rarity. Roxas’s heart was beating rapidly. He couldn’t come to terms with what was happening. He expected them to be angry with him. He expected them to blame him for their misfortunes. But this…this was too much. “I…I don’t understand,” he muttered just loud enough for the two to hear. The sisters leaned back from the embrace, and looked at him in confusion. “Why don’t you hate me?” “Why would we ever hate you?” questioned Celestia. “Because it’s my fault,” he replied solemnly. “What was?” asked Luna. “It was my fault you turned into Nightmare Moon. I saw the signs, but I didn’t take the right action. I could’ve prevented it…but I failed.” “Roxas,” said Luna sternly. The two locked eyes. “It was no ones fault but mine, for what happened. I’m the one who let my darker emotions control me. There’s no way you could have known the extent of them, or how far I’d go. This is NOT YOUR FAULT.” The two sisters once again hugged Roxas tightly. “But-“ before Roxas could continue, Luna took the stage. “You even talked to me when I was feeling so low, and you tried to help. Roxas, there was no way you could have predicted what would happen. This is not your fault. So don’t ever say otherwise again.” Tears came flowing out of Roxas’s eyes, as he returned the sisters embrace. “I am also to blame,” said Celestia. “I failed to see how my little sister was hurting.” ‘If you knew what I knew…you wouldn’t be saying that,’ thought Roxas. The thought of telling them the whole story ran through his mind. But…something told him not to. So he obeyed his intuition. ‘But…we’re all back together again. No matter what happens…I will not allow anything to ruin this.’ After a few minutes, the three exited their embrace, and stood up. “Luna, Roxas, there are some ponies I would like you to meet,” said the princess as she led the two towards the six mares. “This is my student, Twilight Sparkle and her new friends. They are now the bearers of the elements of Harmony.” Luna looked surprised at this, while Roxas kept a strait face. “Um…hello! I’m Twilight,” said Twilight, nervously. “And these are my friends,” the ponies initiated their introductions. “I’m Applejack.” “My names Pinkie Pie!” “I am Rarity.” “Names Rainbow Dash!” “I’m…I’m Fluttershy….” “It is truly a pleasure to meet you all. I owe you so much,” said Luna gratefully. “Yes. Thank you for helping her. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see her again,” thanked Roxas. Suddenly, all attention turned to Roxas, as Twilight walked up to him, and started examining him. She grasped his hand in her hooves and started examining it. “Uhhh….” “Fascinating! You have appendages just like Spikes! But you don’t appear to have claws. Can I take off your glove for further examination?” “I…I guess?” Roxas had forgotten how much of a science freak Twilight was. The purple unicorn removed his glove and started studying his hand. Suddenly, Roxas felt something weird on the back of his head. Before he could react, Pinkie Pie appeared out of his hood. “Ooh, ooh, do you like parties?” she asked energetically. “Not really,” he replied. “Well, that’s because you’ve never been to one of MY parties!” she exclaimed. “In fact, let’s throw one when we get back to Ponyville! It can be a ‘Welcome back from the Moon, Luna/Welcome back from whatever the heck you were doing for a thousand years, Roxas,” party!” “Pinkie, I swear you can be a bit much. Give em a second to breathe why don’t ya?” said Applejack. “I think a party sounds like a wonderful idea,” said Celestia. “That is, if you are ok with that,” questioned Celestia towards Luna and Roxas. “I…I suppose so,” said Luna. “It would be nice to see new ponies. What about you, Roxas?” “Sure. Why not?” “Hurray!” cried Pinkie as she dived off of Roxas, landing on the ground. “Then let’s get to it! I’m going to make so many cakes! And cupcakes! And cookies!” Smiles came to the faces of all those gathered. Roxas looked to see Twilight still examining his hand. “You maybe want to pick this up some other time?” he asked Twilight. “CAN WE?” questioned the mare rapidly and frantically. “Uh, I mean,” stalled Roxas, realizing what he’d just done. “How about we talk about it some other time?” “Hmm…alright.” Twilight released her grip on Roxas’ hand, and returned to her friends. “Then let’s be off!” announced Celestia. The group gathered in front of the entrance to the castle. With happy demeanors the group began their trek back to Ponyville. Roxas was about to follow, when he suddenly felt a strange feeling in the back of his head. He sensed something…something unusual. Roxas turned his head to gaze at the forest behind him. His eyes widened. It was hard to make out, but in the shadows of the trees, he saw it; a darkness portal. One that he didn’t make. The second his eyes locked on to it, it disappeared. Some might have dismissed it as a trick of the eye. But Roxas knew what he saw. ‘This…that shouldn’t be...’ “Roxas, are you coming?” called Luna. Roxas quickly composed himself, and turned and ran after his friends. “Coming!” ‘I’m gonna have to keep an eye on things. Because, I have a bad feeling about this.’