//------------------------------//
// (6-2) Happy Ending 
// Story: The Ruler of Ponies and Men 
// by Boopy Doopy 
//------------------------------//

It was dark in my- our- head, although not completely. I could see myself, or at least, I thought I could. I couldn't tell if I was just imagining it. My body felt weightless, like a cloud, although it moved at my command. I almost thought I’d forget what it was like to have normal hands and feet after all this time, but it came naturally to me. It was like riding a bike, not something I could just forget about.
The area I was in was largely empty, except for two things. The first was a large screen. I didn’t know how to describe it, but monitor was the best word. It was a monitor that showed the real world- the real world in this case being Equestria. There was something standing in front of it, a pony, one that I could only guess to be Sombra himself. He was standing in front of what looked like a pair of binoculars, unmoving, his eyes firmly fixed into the device. I assumed he was using that to make this body laugh like it now seemed to be doing, and considered going over to inspect him before opting not to and turning to see what else there was.
The only other thing there of note was a small window that contained what looked to be my office building, the one I was in when this all happened. Taking a few steps closer showed me that it was paused at a normal-looking moment, with me sitting at my desk in what I assumed was the moment before I was brought here. It made me tear up at the sight of it, sad for what I had lost, sad for the fact that it wasn’t ever real to begin with. Touching the glass caused it to play, and I watched the normal scene play out for a few seconds before shifting to Twilight Sparkle gawking at me in what I knew was my appearance in Equestria.
“A window of memories…” I whispered to myself as I wiped my eyes. “Of course it was never real. Logically it doesn’t make sense for it to be real. Of course, I was always this pony. I hate this with my whole being…”
I sighed and looked down at my appendage for a few moments, unable to determine whether it was a hoof or a hand I was seeing. I gave it a few moments of consideration before I shook my head and went back to the window, wanting to see if there was any way I could control what memories I saw. However, I only had my attention back on it for a second before I heard Sombra’s voice.



Sombra opened his eyes and blinked a few times. It wasn’t like he was just now seeing the world for the first time, but he was, sort of. He felt… lighter. Lighter than air, like his head was finally clear. Well, not exactly, there was something else there, but this wasn’t something he was forced to share space with. This was something he could push back and ignore. Not that he had to. It seemed content to wander off on its own, leaving him be and giving him complete control over his own body for the first time in ages.
He smiled at the thought, then began to laugh, first a chuckle before growing into something loud and deep. It gave a few of the ponies around him pause, but made Fluttershy and Starlight smile happily. It wasn’t something that sounded evil, in fact, it sounded happy. Relieved was a better word. He was relieved to finally be himself again.
“Oh, thank you, Starlight!” he smiled happily. “You’ve actually done it! Alex is… well, he’s still here, but he’s not interfering with me anymore! I can’t believe you were able to do that! You’re almost as good a spellcaster as I am!”
“Oh, well, you know, I try sometimes,” the mare answered bashfully. “But he’s not gone forever. Like I said, you’ll get a few days, and then he’ll get a few days, and then he’ll, or, I guess you both, will make a decision on what should happen after that.”
"Of course, of course, I understand..."
“I’m sure I could sway his opinion,” Sombra thought to himself. “Make him see that he would be better served if he kept out of my way. And if he doesn’t agree, I can find a way to kill him off with the arsenal of spells I have.”
“You’re fucking ridiculous if you think I’ll just let you kill me off like that,” an unfamiliar voice told him, causing him to flinch slightly. The stallion was taken aback by the words, and turned behind him to see who it was, finding nopony there.
“If I want to die, it’ll be on my terms,” it told him. “Do you understand me? Do you really think I’ll just let you try and kill me off? And even if you were able to, do you really think Fluttershy and Starlight wouldn’t notice what happened? You’re an idiot if you think they wouldn’t.”
It took a minute for him to realize it was coming from inside his head, from Alex, and that realization caused him to smirk.
“On your terms?” Sombra asked, giving him a bit of a tone. “And how would you plan on stopping me? I’m the pony in control here. It wouldn’t be hard to act like you’re still in here and fool them. They’re not as smart as they make themselves out to be, you’ve seen that just as I have.”
“You really think that, don’t you,” Alex told him, an air of annoyance in his voice. “You really think I’ll just let you kill me. You really think this whole fucking mess you and Cadance have brought on me is just something you can shrug off, but it’s not. If I want to die, I’ll die, but it most certainly won’t be by your hooves.”
“I ask again,” Sombra questioned, “how would you plan on stopping me?” He didn’t get an answer right away, but after a few seconds, he felt something flick his ear, and then felt a few pokes in his side. He knew Alex was doing it, and was made nervous because of it, but tried to laugh it off. 
“Is that it?” he asked. “You’re going to poke me to death? That’s what you’re going to do?”
“I can do more than that,” he replied. “I’m almost certain I can push you away and take control if I truly wanted to. And if you keep pushing me, I just might do it.”
“Oh, I’m sure you could,” the stallion replied sarcastically. “That’s a bluff if I ever saw one. You and I both know you can’t do anything.”
He could somehow feel Alex rolling his eyes at his sarcasm. “All you ponies are the same,” he said angrily. “All of you ponies really think you can get rid of me that easily, every single one of you. You all think you can just kill me without a second thought and be done with it. Well I’m never going away. Do you hear me? You’ve made up my mind for me. As long as this body is living, I will never ever go away.” He could feel Alex’s voice next to his ear as he suddenly yelled, “You’re just going to have to be stuck with me and deal with it!”
The stallion was about to snap at Alex when he felt something emanating from it… sadness? No, bitterness. Bitterness was what it was. Alex’s bitterness had somehow worked its way over to Sombra and made him feel bad. He pressed his ears against his head as a result.
“What’s going on, Sombra?” Starlight started to ask, but the stallion put his hoof up to silence her as he focused on the other being inhabiting his body.
“Be happy that you have Radiant Hope at least,” Alex told him. “I have nothing. Absolutely nothing. You at least have one pony who loves you with their whole heart. Everyone I loved is in my memories, memories that aren’t even real. And you don’t even know how bad it hurts.”
Alex sighed sadly, and continued, “All I want is to be happy, but that’s never going to happen because everything is against me. Not against us, against me. Everyone acts like they have some legitimate stake in what happens to me, but they don’t, because no matter what happens, I’m the one who has to suffer. It’s almost better to have you merged with me like we were a minute ago. At least then I don’t have to think about all of this. I could just shut up and rule and let you fall in love with Hope and let my pain at least be manageable, even if I hate my life. This is never going to be fixed. I’m never going to get my happy ending. You might get yours, but I won’t, and that’s a fact.”
“I’m sorry,” Sombra apologized quietly, speaking aloud as he did so, genuinely feeling bad for him and looking at his own hooves. “I didn’t mean for it to turn out like this.”
“Of course you didn’t,” Alex responded bitterly, “but it did, and now we’re here and I still hate it... Maybe once this little experiment is done, I should use that spell. What do I have to lose?”
“Please don’t do that…” he whispered, to the confusion of the ponies around him.
“Are you okay, Sombra?” Fluttershy asked with concern, Starlight taking a step closer to him.
“Why shouldn’t I?” Alex spat. “It’s not like anything will ever change for me. It’s going to suck forever, so I might as well just get it over with.
“Because I don’t want to lose Hope,” he told him, speaking in his head again. “I can’t lose Hope. That’s going to kill me. I know she means nothing to you, but she’s everything to me. I can’t lose Hope again. Please.”
“Whatever. It’ll probably just kill me anyway, and if I die trying, then this whole thing, my existence, was completely meaningless."
“I’m sorry,” Sombra apologized again. “I really, truly didn’t mean for this to happen to you.” He paused for a second before continuing, “I know I can’t make it up to you, but I could try. Was there anything you-”
“Do whatever you want,” Alex sighed, cutting him off. “Just let me have a break at least, please, for these next few days… ugh, I’m going to sleep.”
What followed was silence. No words, no presence, nothing. It was as though he went to sleep as he said he would, and Sombra couldn’t help but continue to feel bad for him as a result.
“Sombra?” Starlight asked, concerned. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” he answered with a sigh. “Alex was telling me that he wants to rest for the next few days and is going to sleep.”
“What in Equestria have I created?” he asked himself. “What have I done?”