//------------------------------// // The Second Choice // Story: What a Strange Little Colt // by Lynwood //------------------------------// Monday Afternoon Every part of Luna hurt. Every bone and bit of flesh cried out in pain. It was a special pain. Just lying on her side felt like Luna had worked every muscle in her body to the point of complete exhaustion, and like she hadn't eaten in months. Her throat was a desert. Her brain ached in her skull. It hurt to move—so she didn't. It hurt to see, so she kept her eyes shut. It hurt to breathe, so she wheezed. It hurts… It felt as if she were falling apart. Her ear off the floor twitched. Shouting. It was muffled, but it sounded like it was right outside her door... Is that... Celly's voice? Luna's curiosity barely surfaced before she was dragged back into her ocean of agony. She focused on her breaths just as she had been for countless hours.  In... out.  In... out.  She missed being able to move, to walk, to eat and drink, but it was hard to remember. It was hard to even think. How had this happened? Headaches at first, then short breath, and then, who knew how many days ago, dropping to the floor, unable to get back up. Being rushed to her quarters. Her sister standing over her, looking worried. Looking scared. She never looked scared. The shouting sharply grew louder for a moment, then disappeared just as quickly. Clunk went the lock on her door. Somepony was in her room. Celly? She needed more water, and desperately. She opened her mouth to ask but only a dry whisper came out. A voice, unmuffled, clear as day. High, but distinctly male. Not Celly. Somepony else was in her room. The princess of the night struggled to open her eyes as he spoke. She couldn't quite put together his words, but he sounded... sad? And tired. Exhausted, even. The shouting on the other side of the door grew and grew. In... out.  A swimming pool of white-and-black-streaked blue filled her vision. The colors were faint and drained. She huffed as she blinked, forcing her bedroom into a blurry mimicry of focus. There, by the 'door', a tiny dark blob. She blinked some more, and slowly, painfully slowly, the blob turned into a pony she had long thought dead and gone. The foal turned away from her bedroom door and looked her in the eye. Her heart soared in her burning chest as his image grew larger. It is him. Really him. Spell worked. I did it. Oh. He is... sad? Why is he sad? Don't be sad! She mustered up all the energy in her tortured body and shifted her foreleg, doing her best to ignore the seething pain as she reached towards him. "Nuh," she rasped, "Nigh... Nighttime… Breeze..." The burning in her chest spread to her foreleg as he drew nearer and nearer and then finally sat at her bedside. Why was he looking at her like that? Was he… green? What was happening? Luna's ear twitched again as her brain finally registered the periodic thumping coming from her door. "...I'm sorry, Luna," he finally said with a slow, soft voice. "I'm not who you think I am. I’m not your friend." Luna's heart crashed down and her foreleg fell onto the bed sheets like a deep blue noodle. "Whuh?" she managed. "I think your spell was supposed to get someone else, but instead it grabbed me. I don’t know why." The room grew a little more blurry, but she could only wheeze. "You fucked up. You failed. I'm sorry." Her head spun even more and no amount of blinking could steady it. The colt before her took a deep breath. "My name's Gabriel," he said, saving her the pain of asking the question herself. "And... I come from a different world." Luna's ear twitched. Not of this world? She kept her eyes locked on his as best she could while he spoke. "My home is, um, very different from here. My people’re the only ones who live there, and, well we… We, uh..."  He trailed off, still staring at her. Then he sighed, letting his rear fall to the floor and looking at the stone-block wall. He didn't speak for a long, stretching moment. In... out. "...you know, my sister would have loved it here." His voice sounded gravelly and hollow, and his eyes narrowed. "She was the one who made me sit down and watch you guys' old show. It's her fault I even became a fan at all." Sister? Show? Luna's addled mind couldn't make sense of it. The burning tore at the edges of her consciousness, pushing—no, pulling her towards him. Not that she could move or do anything about it, though. "We'd watch you guys for hours. After school, every day. We'd get home and turn off the scary news and we'd watch you all in your little colorful world and just... wish that we could be there in the screen with you. It was insane how much we wanted that. We musta' gotten our hands on every one of those comics, too, and we'd read 'em until the battery died." He swallowed and looked at her with a soft gaze. "You were always my favorite, though." Luna's eyes widened and her breath hitched in her throat. He chuckled. "Surprising? Hah! Rachel thought so, too. We'd constantly argue over who was the best pony. She loved Fluttershy. Couldn't even understand why I wouldn't pick one of the six." Most of what he said behaved like a wrench in her cognitive gears, but Luna didn't care. She was his favorite pony? Did he prefer her over everypony else, even over Celestia?  "I think it's because I was such a night owl," he continued, his gaze drifting away. "I love the quiet nighttime, the peaceful dark. I loved stargazing, back when you could still see 'em, and I remember all that time watching under the covers, no arguing, no broadcasts, just... me and all of you." 'Gabriel' looked back at her with a smile as she scrabbled to gain purchase among so much information she didn't understand. "I especially loved it when you showed up, though, You were so honest and regal and funny and real. Not like Celestia at all." He leaned in and his smile turned to a conspiratory grin. "Just between you and me, she always seemed a little too stuck-up and stuffy," he said with a wink. Luna's world promptly turned upside-down. A pony, a real pony, who preferred her over Celestia and loved her night? It had been so long... why did nopony seem to love her night as she did? Why did nopony seem to love her instead of her sister? But wait! This colt did! It jammed her brain like a stone thrown into gears. I do not understand! How? Why?! "You weren't in very many episodes, but those were my favorites. I watched them over and over, even after we grew up. God, I musta watched that Halloween one a million times. Every time I'd see you mess up, or do something wrong, or be sad or alienated or alone, fuck, I just wanted to hold your hoof and say 'Hey, it's okay. You're not alone. You've got me.'" He looked at the floor, so he didn't see Luna struggle to reach out her hoof. "It was terrible how alone I was after she left." He smiled at her again, but it wasn't a happy smile. It spoke volumes of unspeakable sadness. She wheezed. "Funny thing is, those were the good times. Before everything just... came apart at the seams. When people still had food on the table and drove their cars whenever they wanted and didn't own blackout curtains or any shit like that." He swallowed and his voice became hard. "I didn't even get to finish college. My folks worked so hard to keep me in school while they were around. Rachel gave me her fuckin’ savings and enlisted so I could go and I didn't even get to fuckin' graduate. Those jets just showed up and the world just... fell apart. Just like that. No more classes. No more school. God..." The colt's head dipped and his words got quiet. He rubbed at his eyes with a fetlock. "And that’s how it was. I just... I lost everything.”  The colt's words hung in the air for a long time. When he spoke again, his voice had become hollow and bitter. “We had to hold on anyway, of course. Going from place to place, watching things get worse and worse, fighting a hopeless war because we had no other choice. Hell, Luna, I wasn't even a real fucking solder. I didn't have tags or an actual uniform or anything. Just a scared kid with a fucking gun." He sniffled and the door made a rattling, creaking sound. That is not supposed to make that kind of noise, Luna managed to think. “...I know you don’t understand. I, ah, I think I just wanted to tell someone before I, um—” The colt swung his head to look towards the entrance, then back to her. "Shit, I’m rambling. What matters is that I’m running out of time." He huffed a little. "Those people out there, they do mean the best, but... the decision is up to me. I'm not gonna let this be on anyone else."  The colt glanced backward. “I know this is all your fault, and there’s some awfully upset ponies outside that door, but I can’t really be mad at you. How could I be? You’re the one who brought me here, to fucking Equestria! I got to see it with my own damn eyes!”  He looked into her eyes and Luna saw real fear. "I want this so bad, Luna. I want to live here. It's practically paradise... but there’s always a price, isn’t there?” The colt made a sad little chuckle. “God knows I don't belong in a place like this, but I'm gonna make it right. I’m gonna fix it.” He swallowed. “You guys'll work it out somehow. You’ll get your happy ending. I know it."  His upper lip trembled and Luna's heart ached. Even though she didn’t understand him, she wanted very badly to be able to sit up and hug the strange foal, to tell him that it was okay, but it was so hard to move, and she was so tired... No. No. The princess of the night grit her teeth and poured all of her energy into her chest, taking in as much air as she could manage.  "Will... be... okay..." The little colt tried his best to smile. "Yeah. It will be okay." The door trembled in its stone frame. Something made a tortured metal groan noise as he wiped at his muzzle. "I got to come here, make friends, see the stars again. It was good. I'm... thankful." He held a trembling hoof out to her. "...no sense putting it off anymore, I guess." The bedridden princess's confused gaze dropped to his outstretched limb. He wants me to... touch his hoof? He nodded at it.  "This'll make everything better, I promise." The door shuddered and Luna heard the slight splintering of wood. He looked back over his shoulder, then at her, studying her eyes for a moment. "Don't let go, okay? I'm... I'm scared." Luna looked back up at the colt for a moment and nodded, her eyes wide. Then she summoned the last of her strength and limply raised her foreleg off the bed, wheezing as she pushed it towards him. It felt as if it took ages, and the closer she drew, the more her hoof burned like it was in a dragon's forge, but she did it.  In... The colt only hesitated for the barest of moments before taking her hoof into his in one quick swoop. The world exploded. White-hot fire surged into her foreleg and raced up it with the power of a lake bursting through a dam. It filled her entire being, washing away the agony. She sucked in her first painless breath as the room snapped into crystalline focus and all her limbs extended at once. The princess nearly cried out as the fog that had seeped into her mind and muddled even the tiniest thought instantly dissipated. In that one miraculous moment, it all became clear. The spell failed. Luna had selected a different consciousness by accident and yanked it from who knew how far away to seal to give it a new form. She didn’t know why it had picked Gabriel, though - and she doubted she ever would. Luna had collapsed before she and Celestia had tracked her errant piece of soul down but her sister must have found him and brought him here.  Confusion washed over her as she wondered just what kind of interloper she had created but it was thrust out by wonder not a moment later. That interloper had given himself up for her, he had sacrificed himself.  Why? What had made him do that? Who was Gabriel? The 'conversation' rushed through her head. A non-pony, from a different place—no, a different world. A being who knew of them, somehow, and had enjoyed their presence. And he had said she was his favorite! A lover of the night! A being from another world! The mystery! The intrigue! Eager excitement surged through her at the possibility before her, and the possibility of finally having somepony who had reached out to her. His hoof began to slip from her grasp. Luna snapped back into the present. She clasped her hoof around his right away, locking his limp fetlock with hers, and thrust herself out of the bed that had been her prison just seconds ago. They slumped to the floor together, and Luna swept her other foreleg underneath his head, keeping it off the floor. His eyes were wide when they met hers. Such a deep brown. “Huh,” he whispered in a frail, near-silent voice, “it’s different this time.”  Then he closed his eyes. They stayed still beneath their lids. He didn't move. He didn't breathe. Luna stared, open-mouthed, shell-shocked. Sister! She gasped and lit her horn. Her bedroom doors’ deadbolt slid away with a simple flick of magic and she yanked them open, revealing a menagerie of unexpected and extremely concerned-looking ponies... plus one baby dragon. Celestia stood tall behind them, and the two locked widened eyes. "Gabe!" cried the mare in front. Rainbow Dash... an Element of Harmony.  What is she doing here? Luna thought, feeling foggy and lost. She burst forward, nearly tumbling to the colt’s side. "No, no, no-no-no-no, don't do this, don't do this!" She ignored the princess and took Gabriel’s head in her forelegs. "Kid, c'mon, wake up. Wake up!" Celestia moved next, taking careful strides towards Luna. She stopped and looked down at Gabriel in silence. Luna felt as if she'd been struck in the head. She struggled to form coherent thoughts. If he were blue instead of green, he’d be just like Nighttime. "A shame..." Celestia whispered. The princess licked her lips. "Sister, what has happened? Did he…?" "Kid, come on, I know you're in there, just wake up, damn it, don’t do this to me..." Her sister swallowed. "Yes, I believe he did." Luna looked down at the little green form she held. It meant a great deal to Rainbow Dash, but now it was empty. Dead. But just moments ago it had spoken with such heart and soul. How could that be? How could that be right? It wasn't, but she understood why. Without that part of my soul, I would have surely perished. He gave himself up for me.  He… died for me.  She had brought him here, that had been her choice, her desperate, utterly moronic attempt to drag companionship from the dregs of the past, and where had it gotten her? A foal’s corpse in her grasp, a sobbing mare holding him, and a being torn from his world and made to die for no good reason at all.  Loss, plain and simple.  All because of me and that accursed magic. What possessed me to believe that I could do the impossible? She’d been so sure. She’d researched for weeks on end, pushing off sleep and staying up well into the day to make sure she got everything right. She’d set everything up perfectly. She’d been so sure she’d get him back, the only one who’d ever really and truly understood, and then she wouldn’t be so heart-crushingly alone. All she’d had to do is convince herself that she could do the impossible. The absolute, suffocating absurdity of the situation began to seep into Luna's awareness. One thousand years ago, when soul magic was not so unknown, she had led entire platoons of armored guards to put down interlopers. She knew what they looked like when they cast off their pony forms. Watching a storm of whipping tendrils and long, jagged teeth emerge from a form so familiar left something of a lasting impression, yet here had been an interloper unlike any Luna, or likely any pony, had ever known.  Familiar ponies and strangers alike had gathered in this room. Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's student, seemed at the edge of breaking down, and a nameless pegasus mare hesitated some distance away, one hoof still over her mouth and tears soaking into her muzzle. What had this interloper done to deserve such mourning from so many ponies? How had he earned the fierce loyalty of an Element of Harmony? Even now, both regents of Equestria attended his death in respectful silence. Celestia is right… “Gabriel,” Rainbow moaned, clutching the little green form close and rocking back and forth. “Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel…”  Such sorrow. And it’s all my fault. Again. That familiar, painfully cold feeling settled in her chest, squeezing her heart and pulling her down. It’s all my fault again. Just like the Nightmare. Someone is dead because of me. She blinked as she looked down at the pegasus mare holding the still-warm foal close. She looked up at her sister, who looked downright lost, an emotion she had not seen on that face for a very long time. As she looked at everypony in the room, each watching the unfolding scene with looks of guilt and regret, something sparked in her. I have done a terrible thing… Luna thought, her mind racing,  but perhaps there is a way to make this right. She lit her horn, reaching out into her quarters and grasping the bottom-right drawer in her desk. It slid free with practiced ease and drifted through the open doorway and over to her, where it slowed to a stationary hover. Then, Luna spoke.  "Move." The pegasus mare sniffled and wiped at her eyes. When they found hers, they narrowed. "You," she said in a shaky but dangerously sharp voice, “this is your fault.” "Step away, Rainbow Dash," Luna said as she stood on three legs, lifting Gabriel's form in her magic. "I will not ask you again." Her face twisted up into something near rage, but when she locked her eyes with Luna’s, something gave and the anger disappeared. Without it, the pegasus looked limp. Frail. Drained of every drop of pep and energy. She stood and backed away, still looking at the foal, and she didn't move when a tan mare walked to her and set a wing across her withers.  "Sister, what are you doing?" said Celestia. Luna ignored her. She had a job to do and very little time to do it. A folded sheet of well-used parchment leapt from the drawer first, floating before Luna and unfolding itself. Then bits of pure white, faintly glowing chalk jumped up and danced in the air before dropping to her bedroom's smooth stone floor, where they whisked about in a flurry.  Quickly. Move as quickly as you can. Luna bit her lip in careful concentration, and bit by bit, a casting circle began to appear. Anypony besides her would likely be thrown off by its strange, off-balance structure and its many seemingly extraneous features, but Luna knew exactly what she was doing. After all, she had spent countless hours designing it. While most of the occupants of the room looked confused or sorrowful, Celestia had a deep frown on her face. Luna could feel the comment coming on. Three, two, one... "Sister,  stop. I cannot condone this. Think of the risk." "Condone what you like," Luna shot back immediately, her voice hard. "I am doing what I must." It took a great deal of focus to draw so much of the circle so quickly, but she did not have the luxury of time. I only hope it is not too late. I do not know how long his interloper presence will endure. Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, her eyes wide. "Princess Luna, is this…? This is another soul magic circle." "Yes, Twilight Sparkle," she said as she frowned and used an enchanted cloth to wipe away some of the chalk, replacing it with an outwardly similar but slightly more simple pattern of lines.  To anypony else in the room, it would look like an arcane mess of symbols and sigils, but Luna knew each and every placement by heart. It had to be perfect, or it would only bring more pain. No retrieval, no fabrication, no far-reach... I pray I am not overlooking anything. "Luna, really," Celestia said, her voice far more insistent, "consider your actions." "I have." Idle chatter did not occupy her current interests. Twilight looked to her mentor, her voice wavering. "Princess, what's she doing?" She speaks as if I am not here. Luna smothered a grimace as she put the finishing touches on her circle. The complex part was done. She needed only to maintain the simple powering spell. A thing easier said than done, she thought, remembering how poorly the first attempt had gone. "I believe she is attempting to revive him," her sister responded. "W-What?" Rainbow said, her voice tinged with disbelieving hope. "You can do that?" "Sister!" Celestia said as Luna placed her supplies back in the drawer, her voice gaining a forceful edge. "This did not work before, you rent your soul in two! You're only putting yourself in danger!" "No," Luna responded, fire in her chest. She stood in the middle of the circle and gently placed the foal's body in its middle, still holding on tight. "This time it is different." "Luna–" "It is!" Luna cried. "I am not summoning somepony who is really and truly gone, and I am not preparing a vessel! I'll split my soul properly." She fixed her gaze on her sister and softened her voice. "Please. Trust me. I will fix this wrongdoing." Celestia's face wavered. "...Luna, I can't. Not with this." Luna swallowed and spoke, her voice sharp. "Then stand back." She hesitated then, for just the barest second, acknowledging what she was about to do. There’s always a price, isn’t there? The princess began to pour as much magic as she could manage into the circle. The chalk drank it up greedily, letting it flow across its lines and intersections, mixing it, transmuting it, and channeling it into bright, flashing forms. A glow enveloped the colt's body, starting at his core and spreading up his leg and onto Luna. "Luna!" Celestia called. True alarm rang in her voice. The surprise at hearing her like that gave Luna the slightest pause.  I have not heard her like this since I returned. “Stay away!" Luna shouted. A great heat sprang to life in her very core, and then, as the magic finally filled the innermost layer of the circle, a sharp, stabbing pain. She grunted and her legs nearly gave out, but she forced herself back up, muscling through it as best she could manage. Every part of her trembled.  Be careful. Only a small piece. Just what’s needed. Just enough. Please don’t fail. Then, at the spell's most vulnerable moment, Celestia stepped into the circle. "No!" Luna cried, struggling to speak. "Celestia, don't–!"  But Celestia didn't break the circle or siphon the spell away. Instead, she placed her hoof on the foal's side. Her horn burst into light.  Luna felt some of the strain lift from her mind and the searing pain lessened. The princess of the night gaped like a fool for only a moment before she shook it off and took a deep breath. Please don’t fail. Please don’t fail. Please don’t fail. It wasn't like the last time. Instead of flickering and pulsing angrily, the circle maintained a healthy, steady glow. Across from her, Celestia's mane whipped like she stood against a hurricane. The circle, the colt, and the three ponies continued to glow, brighter and brighter and brighter until Luna's room was lit like Celestia's sun had appeared right in its middle.  Then, all at once, without any fanfare, it disappeared. A small section of the circle went poof and Luna felt her and her sister's magic flow out and back into the world. The air tasted of rust when she took a deep breath, resisting the urge to pant and gasp, and she blinked the spots from her eyes. Her mane settled down again, as did her sisters, and had somepony bothered to measure, they would have found that they hung just a little lower than they had before.  Nopony made a sound, but Luna's eyes met Celestia's.  Her sister took a deep breath before she spoke. "Did it work?" The colt gasped and coughed, nearly jerking his hoof free of her grip. Luna's eyes widened and she opened her mouth just in time to see him get enveloped in a tackle-hug. All but one limb disappeared into Rainbow Dash's forelegs in a flash, and the mare squeezed him for all he was worth.  The mystery pegasus mare followed her, though she stood a hoof-length away. Her face shifted between joy and sorrow and disbelief as she stood there, still with a hoof over her mouth. "I-I can't believe it," she said, sounding distant. "Could it really...?" said the black-and-white unicorn as he stood a little further away. Rainbow Dash finally loosened her grip, leaning back a little and tilting the colt's head up. "Hey, kid?" she said. "G-Gabe?"  It's been a long time since I last heard a pony sound so terrified and overjoyed at the same time, Luna thought.  The little green foal groaned and scrunched his muzzle. His eyes flickered open and he coughed. "Ah, fuck, ow," he groaned. "Rainbow?" The pegasus mare squealed and enveloped him in another crushing hug. He gurgled. "Urk! Rainbow!" She didn't let up for another moment for two, and when she finally did, she looked at him with red, puffy eyes. "Holy moly, Gabe, I can't believe you're okay." The foal took a few gasping breaths, looking around the room, then at his leg, His eyes followed his limb up to where it met Luna's and his eyes widened. He met her gaze and Luna made a small, cautious smile. "Hello, Gabriel." "..."  He looked back down at their hooves, still clasped together. "You didn't... oh my God, did I…?" He trailed off, leaving his mouth gaping open. The princess nodded and very slowly, very gently released his hoof. He drew it towards himself, looking at it in shock. "No. No, this isn't right." Luna's face fell immediately. She saw Rainbow pull her head back, and though her smile remained it faltered and her eyebrows drew together. "W-what?" she said as she wiped most of the snot from her muzzle with the back of her hoof. Gabriel's eyes narrowed. "This wasn't supposed to happen," he said, his voice gaining an edge. "I figured it out. I did." The tan pegasus mare stepped closer, drawing Luna's attention. "Gabriel, what do you mean?" "I figured out what I was supposed to do!" His voice gained heat with every word. "The whole reason I'm here! I fixed it!" "I brought you here by accident, little one," Luna said. "No, that's not—rrgh!" he growled, staring down at his hooves, still in Rainbow's grasp. "I'm not supposed to be here. You were dying, and I was supposed to save you and set things right. This isn't the way it's meant to—to be!"  Luna recoiled, pulling a hoof to her chest and feeling utterly lost. The colt was ranting now. How could he know the way things were meant to be? Unless... "Gabe, you're not making any sense!" Rainbow looked worried, now. She tried to tighten her grip on the foal like she was about to lose him again, but he pushed her hug away with both forelegs and continued, his voice rising. "No, no, none of you get it!" He pressed his hooves into the bit of pegasus fluff on his chest. "I'm not supposed to be here! I'm not one of you! I should have never met you!" he said, jabbing a hoof vaguely outward at the ponies. "I'm a violent, messed-up joke compared to you, but what matters is that me being here is wrong!"  His eyes shimmered and his voice wavered, barely holding out with his last words. Luna's open mouth slowly closed into a frown, then thinned into a line. Something about his wording, the way he spoke about himself like he posed a danger to some ideal, scratched at the back of Luna's mind. She knit her brow. "Oh... oh dear." The unnamed pegasus mare walked up to the little foal, kneeling in the used-up casting chalk. She met his gaze with her wide, soft, remarkably blue eyes. She clearly cared about him a great deal. "Gabriel, what do you mean? Can you help me understand?" "I-I, I..." he stammered, struggling to keep his voice level. "I'm not supposed to be here,” he repeated. “I'm not like you all. I don't belong." With that, his chin dropped and his forelegs drew close to his body, like he wanted to shrink until he popped into nothingness, and he spoke in a very quiet voice. "I'm just going to mess everything up even more  if I’m around." Nopony spoke. Luna's eyes widened as she recalled his then-final words to her, spoken with a heavy heart as she lay in her bed, too weak to move or even speak, dying without even realizing it.  He knew of us, she realized, somehow, he knew. He watched our past, he knew of this world before he ever set hoof here. But it does not make sense that he fears his actions may affect what he believes how this world is supposed to be, unless...  Luna started, gasping a tiny, unnoticed breath. Unless he watched our future as well... Her eyes darted to the tiny little foal sitting in Rainbow's grasp.  What does this colt know? "Gabe..." Rainbow said. With surprising gentleness, the pegasus tucked the edge of her hoof underneath the colt's chin, raising his face to meet hers. "If having you around is messing things up, then that's how I want it to be. As messed up as possible." He looked up to her, shocked once again. "W-what? Really?" "Of course," the tan mare said. "I've told you this before and I'll tell you again. Just because you've done bad things in the past, doesn't mean you don't deserve a second chance." She put her hoof on his shoulder. "And you do deserve a second chance, even if you used to look different. We're here for you, Gabriel." "But what if things go wrong?" he said, worry dripping from his voice.  Luna felt some of the uncertainty that had filled her heart upon her realization melt away. That he cares so much about our fates... Rainbow sniffed a little, still with that smile on her face. "Dude, things always go wrong. When they do, we'll handle it. Together." "And," Luna said, "if there is some way things are meant to be, then I believe that is how they shall be, regardless of your presence." Gabriel looked up at her. She saw confusion briefly, then an understanding filled his eyes. Then he looked down, blinking hard and rubbing at his face with his foreleg. "I... Okay..." he said, still sounding unsure of himself.  Then he sniffed, looked up at Rainbow Dash, and spoke with stone in his voice. "Yeah. Okay." Rainbow chuckled a little, her face still matted with dried tears. "C'mere, you." She wrapped him in another embrace, and this one he accepted leaning into her fur with the smallest smile on his lips. Luna felt her heart begin to melt at the relief of it all, right up until Rainbow looked at him in his deep brown eyes and cleared her throat. “Now you better be ready for this,” she said, raising her hoof. Gabriel had just enough time to look surprised. Clonk, went his skull. "Ah, fuck! Ow!" His hooves shot out and he tumbled onto his back. "Rainbow–!" "You little brat!" the pegasus yelled, standing up with a small puff of chalk dust. The remains of the used-up magic circle crisscrossed her rear, making patterns over her cutie mark. "What in tartarus made you come up with that stupid plan!?"  She smacked him again and he held up his forelimbs over his head. "You massive idiot! Going and getting yourself killed without even saying goodbye?! I swear to Celestia I'll make you wish you were never born!" Clonk!  The aforementioned mare took a step back, her eyes wide and slightly concerned, and Luna couldn't help but crack a tiny, relieved smile. "Gah! Rainbow, Jesus fuck! I'm sorry, I– Ow! I said I was fucking sorry!" The tan pegasus mare stepped in. "Rainbow, stop! I think he got the message." "Hmph. Fine," Rainbow Dash said, lowering her hoof. "He better have." "Yeah, no, loud and clear," Gabriel said, sitting up and rubbing his skull, his coat caked in exhausted magical chalk. "I guess I kinda deserve that." Dash rolled her eyes. "Pfft. 'Kinda.'" Still, Luna saw a smile. "Hold on," said the black-and-white unicorn, stepping forward and earning a withering glare from Rainbow and the pegasus mare. The former shifted to place herself between him and Gabriel.  "Princess, erm, Princess Celestia," he began, "how do we know that it really is him in there? Couldn't you have summoned another soul by accident?" Celestia looked down at him. "Actually, Investigator Looking Glass, I believe my sister is better qualified to answer that question." When Celestia looked to her, Luna felt her heart drop. The knowledge that allowed her to answer the stallion’s question was the same expertise she’d used to cause it all. I’ve performed a lot of very dangerous magic that was outlawed for good reason. The tension and relief drained from her body, and the cold, nervous guilt that she’d pushed to the back of her mind rushed to take its place.  Luna noticed that everypony had their eyes on her. She forced herself to speak.  "Ah, well, Investigator," Luna said, "Interlopers are normally created when something similar to a soul, but otherworldly, joins a pony's own soul, initially without changing the mind or body. It is from there the presence usually takes control.” She nodded at the colt. “From what I can tell, Gabriel here is made up of a constructed pony body, his unique presence, and a piece of my own soul," she glanced at Celestia, "as well as a piece of my sister's. All the pieces already here—there was no retrieval from the stars of any kind." "Wait!" Twilight cried, looking very alarmed. "Princess Celestia! You really put a piece of your own soul–?!" She stared at her mentor and looked utterly flabbergasted. "Yes, my little pony," Celestia said with that gentle yet knowing chuckle of hers, "a small piece, much smaller than he had before, and I believe was done properly." "And you'll be alright?" "I feel a little weakened, but yes. All three of us will be okay. With Luna's piece and mine together, I think Gabriel should be able to live perfectly normally. Luna, do you think so?" “Yes, I do.” Though I wonder if having two pieces of two different souls will yield any side effects. "Wow, um, thanks, both of you," said Gabriel, his eyes wide. "That's a really high price to pay for one person. Like, really high. I, um, I…” He shrugged. “I don't know what to say, really." Luna smiled sadly. "You saved my life, little one, from a grievous mistake that I made. You had no obligation to do so," she said, "so it was only right that I save yours." "Hmm." Gabriel stayed silent for a moment. He looked down at his hooves, flipping them over and inspecting them from every angle. "So, uh... what's next?" What’s next? Rainbow took a deep breath. It helped to keep her hooves from shaking. Helped… but didn’t stop. She looked down at her foreleg and watched it twitch.  Everything felt... off. Her fur tingled and her ears twitched, trying to find sounds that weren’t there. Her heartbeat was too slow—or was it too fast? It’s too dark in here. Not enough light.  A spark of fear leapt to life in her tired chest and she looked right back to Gabriel. He was still there, looking up at her, that unreadable expression in those eyes that managed to be sharp and soft and warm and cold and distant and close all at once.  He’s real. He’s really safe. He’s really okay.  The slowly-dying whirlwind of emotions inside her leapt up one more time and she hooked her foreleg around his withers and hugged Gabe close again, feeling his fur against her chest. He’s okay. She took another deep breath, and another. With each one, she felt a little more solid in her stance, a little more physical. A little more real. Rainbow really had no idea what would come next. But… I know what I want. She smirked a bit at the way she’d insisted Gabe would just be a temporary job, how she’d cringed when ponies had called him her kid. All those worries seemed so far away. Even when AJ and Rarity would inevitably tease her about it, Rainbow knew it’d just bounce right off after what she’d just been through. But what about Twilight? She took a moment to look away from Gabe and study Twilight. She looked like she’d fall apart at any second. There was relief there, sure, but she looked like her worries were far from over. Rainbow remembered the burning, all-consuming rage that had filled her not so long ago. She’d been ready to tear her apart—her and that scum Looking Glass—but now she just felt tired. Empty. How could Twilight do such horrible things to her own friend? Something in the back of her mind whispered that Twilight had had her reasons, as awful as they were, and in the end, Gabe was okay, and that was what mattered. On top of that, Twilight didn’t look proud, or happy, or even very relieved. Maybe it was the exhaustion, or maybe it was all the moments of friendship they had shared, but Rainbow found that, for whatever reason, she didn’t like seeing that very much. Twilight looked up at her then, and Rainbow held her eye for a second before looking away, back to Gabe. He’s okay. He’s here, she thought. Gabe’s okay, but Twilight’s going to have a lot to answer for. She doesn’t deserve it, but… maybe I’ll hear her out. Eventually. She’d better stay out of my way until I’m good and ready, though. What's next? Sandy Hills' smile faded. For the first time since she thought she'd lost her job, the world gave her a moment to think, to consider what was really going on.  So much had changed in just the past hour or so. The presence of the two rulers of her entire country standing in the room with her, scarcely a step away, hit her first. A bolt of lightning ran through her body, from the top of her skull down to the tip of her tail.  Augh! she thought. Should I be bowing? Groveling? Begging for forgiveness for standing in Princess Luna's bedroom?! She felt her heart begin to race and the telltale urge to bolt, but the counselor reminded herself to take a deep breath.  After all, the so-called 'investigator' Looking Glass stood in the room too, looking similarly dumbfounded, and if they hadn't given that snake a swift kick in the rear, well, she saw no reason to leave. The counselor's thoughts began to move forward. She had her job, still, and as far as anypony outside the freaking princess's bedroom knew, she still bore responsibility for Gabriel's care.  She relaxed a little as she considered the answers she'd finally gotten. Gabe wasn't even from Equestria. She no longer needed to worry about tracking down family or a town called Westfield, and, thankfully, the whole escapade had ejected her foal trafficker theory clear out the window. All that left was a wildly uncertain future, all wrapped up and conveniently presented in that short two-word question. The sight of Rainbow standing right next to Gabriel, still staring like she couldn't quite believe that he was really back, banished the uncertainty in Sandy's heart. My goodness, what if the princess hadn’t been able to do anything? I don’t even want to imagine what that would have done to Rainbow.  Sandy smiled, relishing the feeling that she wouldn’t need to worry about the stack of unsent foster request letters sitting on her desk. It seemed Gabriel had found a home here in Equestria.  However, that didn't mean he was ready to go it alone. No matter the age, no matter where the damage had come from, Gabriel still bore deep scars, and it was her job to help him. I may be trained as a foal counselor, but I can learn. She raised her head, confidence flowing through her like liquid sunshine. The road ahead promised a lot of work to do, but if all this hadn't stopped her, nothing could.  I can do it. What's next? Twilight Sparkle felt her heart finally slow from the frantic pace it'd been sustaining all day. It's over. We did it. She forced herself to breathe deeply. Princess Luna was okay. They saved her—no, Gabriel had saved her—and in turn, she had saved him. It had all worked out. So why doesn't it feel like we won? Twilight already knew why. It’s because I messed up. It’s because I really messed up. It’s because I really, really messed up. Her eyes flicked over to the colt. He looked so... normal, sitting there next to Rainbow, and Twilight could hardly imagine him as the same breed of creature as those pictures she had seen in Anima Thaumaturgia. Twilight had, moments ago, watched him crumple at the idea of ruining the world he'd been forced into. She'd seen him receive a dose of righteous fury from a Rainbow so relieved she didn't quite know how to show it, but most of all, she saw somepony—no, someone unsure of what the future held. Twilight still couldn't shake the feeling that had gripped her heart when Gabriel had spoken to her at the party. What was it that he'd said? Something really bad happened to my home. A really bad disaster, I guess. I'd like to think that it'll turn out ok. And then he'd looked at her, as if he'd watched everything he loved get torn away from him right before his eyes... I doubt I'll ever forget it, but... I was more afraid of it than anything. How did I get so carried away? At least Spike is still with me. She smiled a little as she looked down at the little dragon, sidled up against her, with one arm around her foreleg. He looked up and gave her an uncertain smile. It only added to the dark, cold pit in Twilight’s stomach. I wonder, would you be so eager if it were your foal's life on the line? Or how about Spike, Twilight? The mare shivered. She’d been so sure, so positively sure of herself until that moment. Those words had sent a spike straight into her chest, and her breath had failed her. Would I be willing?  Twilight found she couldn’t quite answer that question.  A coldness permeated her body now, but she still felt hot and uncomfortable. She felt physically sick at the thought, no, the memory of what she’d been trying to do to someone willing to sacrifice themselves for a pony they’d never met. Without the desperate pressure to succeed, it all felt… wrong. Twilight looked up at Rainbow, whose mane stuck up in all sorts of odd angles and manners of cowlick. Her face looked so different from the angry, desperate, fearful sneer she'd given her as she fought the inevitable. She remembered the shocked hurt and betrayal that had filled her chest. All for trying to save Princess Luna? She forced her eyes away. No. Of course not. It was for lying to her face and for trying to take him away. Now she’d ruined her friendship, and possibly even more. What would happen when some other, real monster reared its head, and the only answer was the Elements of Harmony? What would happen then? They’d be broken, that’s what. But even the idea of failing to use the Elements paled at the prospect of permanently losing one of her closest friends. When she looked back at Rainbow, Twilight's heart fell even further at the sidelong glance Rainbow was giving her... nervous, upset, but most of all, distrustful.  I’ve been a terrible, horrible friend. She lowered her head. Now that it was all over, it seemed so... stupid. Stupid! How had she let herself get so carried away? Can I even make it up to Rainbow? Can we still be friends? Twilight pulled Spike closer. Maybe not, she thought, but I’m still going to try. What's next? Princess Celestia, for once, found herself processing the situation at the same pace as any other pony—or person—in the room, a truly rare occurrence. She let herself breathe a sigh of relief, thankful that the situation had not imploded and Gabriel had not ended up forcing her hoof. That could have been messy, but thank goodness Luna is safe. Even as well as this has turned out, I have quite a bit on my plate. Celestia glanced at her investigator, who’d seated himself the furthest from the colt. From what she understood, he’d pushed the hardest for Gabriel’s death, almost to the point of bloodthirstiness. She suspected he was the reason for her student’s willingness to go through with a surprisingly vicious plan, and that simply wouldn’t do.  I’ve worked too hard grooming Twilight to value friendship above all, and today has been something of a step backwards. She’d see to it that he be removed from the Royal Bureau of Investigation as soon as possible, and a more detailed, level-headed account of the incident would help her determine the necessity of a possible imprisonment. She certainly wouldn’t have him interact with Twilight or her friends any further. That fanatical lack of empathy is far too dangerous. I’ll have to keep a close eye on him.  However… he’d demonstrated a remarkably strong loyalty to the Crown, and, in the end, she couldn’t deny that Looking Glass had done everything he could to get his job done—the job she’d sent his way in the first place. I can think of a few tasks well-suited for a stallion of his nature. He’d certainly hijacked Twilight cleanly enough. Her student had been far too willing to burn some very important bridges on her way to fulfilling Celestia’s mission. I was aware that she thinks highly of me, but this is too much, practically blind worship. It’s good that this incident has not been far-reaching, but if she is so easily led astray… well, she’ll need help to fix that little issue of hers. A doable task, but it will take time. Thank goodness Twilight didn’t directly do anything illegal. Celestia believed that cleaning up the sizable mess she’d made would be penance enough, and coming before a court of law would only hinder things in the long run. Celestia was sure the other Elements would react in their own dramatic fashions. Learning a friend is capable of such dark deeds can do that. Yes, there would be problems, but she was confident that, between Twilight’s efforts and some healthy nudges, the friendship could be repaired with all of them… even Rainbow Dash, though that particular relationship would take much more time and effort. She glanced at Luna, who still stared, bewildered at the colt. Celestia’s shoulders fell at that. Her sister had broken down, and on top of that, she’d committed a crime and used illegal magic. That was the long and short of it. There would need to be action, but imprisonment or another banishment was out of the question. I won’t do that again. But Luna was currently unfit to rule, that much was obvious. She needed attention and help, and keeping it all under wraps would be fickle, but if Celestia wasn’t capable of keeping her little sister safe, then nopony was. And I am plenty capable. I will work something out, I’ll keep a close eye on her—and I’ll be spending much more time with Luna from now on. I won’t make that mistake a… third time. Ouch. That just left the colt of the hour.  Celestia hesitated as she weighed her options, her face outwardly calm and relieved, save for the tiny, almost unnoticeable creeping-together of her eyebrows. Perhaps it was centuries of rule instilling a healthy sense of skepticism, but the mere fact that this foal did not have otherworldly powers or magic did not entirely satisfy the small, yet persistent part of her brain that constantly whispered: 'But what if it is dangerous?'  Otherworldly knowledge, however, was an entirely different game. After she had sent her letter, Celestia had gotten a chance to speak with the colt, and the picture he’d painted of his home had not been pretty. He had spoken in a hollow voice of strange places, hard times, and very, very terrifying machines.  Though he had been vague and evasive, she had gleaned enough from his description. Some kind of terrible conflict had taken place and from it had sprung horrors that had scarred this being to his very core. Such things made Celestia concerned, to say the least. Gabriel was truly well-meaning, that she could see plain as day, and he really did deserve his second chance, but if she said that and Luna were the only reasons she helped revive the colt, well… Celestia would be lying.  She had no way of ensuring his alien knowledge wasn’t dangerous... or potentially valuable. Perhaps he carried only small things, insights and dark lessons passed to him from a life of unknown hardships—or possibly, and as Celestia suspected, he knew some things that were not so small, because of all the questions she had gently steered Gabriel into answering, the one he had not-so-subtly avoided was scale.  Without that crucial piece, Celestia found many of her assumptions about Gabriel's people and their capabilities to be nothing more than mostly-baseless conjecture, and that was no way to analyze the potential threat—or advantage—that the products of such a world could create. But that was just a possibility. The gaping hole in her knowledge of his home bothered her to no end, much like the strange way Gabriel interacted with the world around him. Why did he speak to her so casually? How did he know of dragonfire messages? Yes, these could be explained away with a brash confidence and a quick ear but they still struck her as distinctly off.  She couldn’t rid herself of the discomfort such incongruencies brought on, and over a millennium of experience had taught her not to ignore such feelings. The colt hid more than one secret, to be sure, and Celestia hated being kept out of secrets, especially ones that involved her. Unfortunately, Celestia thought to herself, There is not much that I can currently do besides observe. Up until today, Gabriel had escaped her scrutiny. From now on, she'd be more careful. She would be patient. She would work. Though it would require a special subtlety, that knowledge would come to her eventually. After all, it cost me a piece of my soul. The princess cleared her throat. "I believe that is up to you, Gabriel," said Celestia. "I do not believe we can return you to your world, but I see no problem with letting you do as you choose here." She shot Luna a sly look. "I believe my sister might even let you stay here in the palace if you ask her nicely enough."  Celly, you know me far too well, Luna thought. Gabriel screwed up his muzzle. "I thought I might be stuck here, but… that’s okay." Then he looked up, inspecting each of the ponies in the room with an even stare. His gaze landed on the nearby Rainbow, who was shifting her weight from hoof to hoof. "And... as generous as your offer is, I think I'd like to go back to Ponyville and keep on living with Rainbow. I got a big fluffy cloud bed there, and after today, it’s calling my name." Dash's face burst into a wide grin and she scooped him up into another tight hug. "Atta kid! I knew you'd make the right call." "Ack!" wheezed Gabriel, "just don't smack me up again." "Don't go dying on me and I'll consider it." Luna smiled, as did most of the rest in the room. Twilight even scooped her dragon up into her own hug. Really, the only pony who looked downright miserable was the stallion, who sat the furthest away from everypony else. I wonder why... Still, the princess felt happy for the colt, truly, and it was clear that the two ponies before her had a special bond that shouldn't be broken, but a part of her had wanted the strange foal to stay here.  It clearly wasn’t meant to be, though, and maybe that was for the best. Luna still needed to finish cleaning up her mess and face what she’d done. True, she was a princess, but she had no doubt Celestia had lost a good deal of confidence in her… confidence that Luna couldn’t claim to deserve. Her smile grew a little sad, but if an odd yet kind stranger from another world could want to be her friend, then not all hope was lost. Maybe one day in the next few years, she'd meet somepony who could see past– "Can you visit?"  Luna blinked. What?  The little green foal continued, keeping his eyes locked directly on hers. They widened a moment later if in realization of what he had just asked. "If it’s, um, y’know… possible? Maybe?" "Me?" she said dumbly, as it was all her brain could offer. That brought out an awkward chuckle. "Uh, yeah, you, the one who literally brought me back from the dead just now," he said, as if it were perfectly obvious that he would want one of the diarchs of Equestria to come to Ponyville and visit him. Going by the looks on the faces of Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and the two ponies whose names she didn't know, they didn't exactly expect this either. "Can you?" "I, ah, erm..." Luna's eyes widened. I've never gotten this far! What do normal ponies say to something like that? She shot a desperate look at a mildly-surprised Celestia, who, of course, took a moment to chuckle at her expense before nodding. Luna turned back to Gabriel still looking a little shocked. "Well, um... yes?" "Oh, great!" He gave her a wide grin. "I thought I broke ya there for a second." Then he groaned, stretching his legs one by one. "Well, uh, I don’t know about you guys, but between the storm and all of this, I am really tired." He twisted his neck with a cascade of pops and crackles. "I don’t suppose we have time to catch a train home..." "Oh, yes, please. That sounds nice," said the wilting pegasus mare, whose name remained a mystery to Luna. I really ought to ask... "Hah!" Rainbow laughed. "Whatever you want, kiddo." The two shared one more hug, and when they separated, Rainbow set a hoof on his shoulder. They shared a look that filled Luna's heart with a special kind of warmth. Gabriel looked so comfortable, so hopeful, and Rainbow, well, her smile was truly motherly. Then she smacked him again. "Ow! Fucker!" Luna couldn't help but laugh.