“What did you do?!” Rainbow Dash was in Discord’s face before he could say anything else.
“Excuse me, why do you automatically assume I did something?” Discord defended himself, putting a paw on his chest.
“But you just said…!”
“Yes, I know how he arrived. That doesn’t mean I brought him here.” Fluttershy was about to say something but Discord seemed to know what she was going to say. “Yes, I know you talked about him over tea, I know I should have said something sooner, but things are a bit complicated. Now, can I please explain?” He was met with silence as every man and pony present waited for him to continue. Rainbow landed again.
“Thank you. Now, allow me to start by explaining the nature of chaos magic.” He snapped his claw, and a white lab coat appeared on him, with a blackboard next to him. Actually Jax was pretty sure it was the same blackboard Pinkie had conjured from somewhere a couple days prior. “Now, as some of you know, chaos magic is always changing, and for many is unpredictable. Luckily, most of it is accumulated inside of me, so it doesn’t go around randomly changing ponies and trees… unless I will it to of course.” He quickly drew some stick figures of him walking around using magic. “Now, recently, some mistakes were made, and a certain red centaur showed me what it feels like to be stabbed in the back.” He drew what Jax assumed was the centaur that stole everyone’s magic, sucking out Discords magic. What was his name again? Tirex or something? “Now, fortunately for you ponies, he didn’t know how to use this magic properly, or Twilight’s battle might have turned out quite differently. Unfortunately, this meant that chaos magic was released in its almost pure form. Before I could do anything about it, it had changed something. That’s what chaos does after all, it changes things.” He laughed a little to himself. “Anyway, it had opened a tiny rift between dimensions. A lot could have happened. Entire cites could have been brought over.” The present ponies looked as shocked as Jax felt. “But all that happened before I could close the rift again, was that a single soul had flown through.” He looked straight into Jax’ eyes. Jax shivered against his will. It wasn’t that he had a menacing look or anything, in fact he seemed kind of apologetic. His red eyes just set him on edge for some reason.
“Now, having just learned a wonderful lesson about friendship, I couldn’t just leave the soul to wander around for eternity, so I made a new body for it based on its old one.”
“… And then you left him in the Everfree without telling anypony?” Applejack asked skeptically. “Doesn’t seem very friendly to me.”
“I was going to introduce myself! I just thought I would give him some time to… adjust. I was keeping an eye on him, I swear!” He held his arms up in front of himself. “I have saved his life plenty of times. Like that time he was transformed into a wolf because of poison joke, and ran straight into a den of timberwolves chasing a rabbit. Or that time timberwolves threw pieces of one of their pack over his bush barrier while he was sleeping, or that time-.”
“You made this body?” Jax finally asked him something. “Is that why spells behave weirdly on me?”
“Oh… that. Yes. It wasn’t my intention though, chaos magic can be unpredictable… even to me. It’s not usually used to create things.” Jax noticed Celestia was studying him closely.
“So when were you going to introduce yourself? I could have used some answers in there.”
“Well…” He hesitated before sighing. “I kept postponing it… because I was… a tad nervous about your reaction to seeing me.” He nervously put his claw and paw together. “I’m sorry.”
“How do you feel about all this Jax? It’s a lot to take in.” Celestia asked him with a kind of motherly voice.
Jax thought for a moment. “I guess now that I know, I realize it doesn’t really change much. Still… thank you.” He finally said to Discord. After the thing with magic and happiness and becoming a Giver he couldn’t get himself to care much, which was weird since he had been aching to know how he got here after… dying.
“I… you’re thanking me? But I left you in the most dangerous forest in this country.” It would seem Discord did not expect him to thank him. He seemed kind of ashamed.
“You could have done better. You could have done worse. It doesn’t really matter. You did your best and I’m grateful. So thank you.” Jax gave him a smile.
“You… you’re welcome.” Discord looked at Fluttershy who watched with a smile of her own.
“Oh!” Twilight suddenly chimed in. “Then you can tell us how to bypass it!”
“Bypass?” He looked confused.
“Yeah so we can use spells on him? So we can heal his burns faster.”
“Oh… dear Twilight. The element of magic, yet you understand nothing about chaos magic. Allow me to explain a bit more.” He flipped the blackboard to reveal the backside with Pinkie’s Latin words and graph from that time she convinced him to scratch her. He knew it…
“Chaos magic actually does have rules, because not having any rules is a rule. The tricky part is that the rules change constantly. Even my magic. Sometimes I have to picture a chicken while I snap my paw, sometimes I have to concentrate really hard on muffins when I snap my claw.” He drew a chicken and some muffins.
“Uhh muffins!” Pinkie seemed to cheer up at the thought of muffins.
“There are some things that stay the same most of the time. Like I always have to snap my claw. Or paw.”
“But you just said-…”
“Yes, Twilight, but if there was a rule that stated that chaos always changed, even its rules, while there was a rule that didn’t change… that wouldn’t make any sense now would it?” He held out his arms in confirmation.
…
“Not one bit.” Pinkie agreed.
“Alright, wait. Just… just explain me then.” Jax wasn’t really in the mood for this.
“Oh, alright then. As far as I can tell, it’s like this.” He straightened the lab coat he still had on. “Every time a spell is used on you, your body reconstructs it and makes a new randomly generated spell. The new spell is chaotic in nature, meaning, amongst other things, that it won’t care how much magic was used in the original spell. If I’m correct, it won’t care whether positive, negative, or chaotic magic is used on you, it will remake them all. We could test whether that is true, but I think you had enough tests.” He laughed, but Jax didn’t find it funny. “Anyhow, there is one thing you should know. You may be able to control the resulting spell to a certain degree. By focusing on what you want, you should be able to, and have in fact already, changed the outcome.”
“What do you mean? I don’t remember changing anything.” Jax asked.
“You don’t? I quite disagree though. When Twilight used the pain reduction spell on you the first time, you were focusing very intently on making the pain go away. How it went away was up to randomness. And when Twilight used it on you the second time, you focused very intently on not hurting anypony… else”
“But that’s…” Twilight’s voice faded out.
Jax sighed. This day was… weird. Kind of depressing as well. It started out badly, but it had been pretty good after that. “So… why do magical salves still work on me?” He asked, his voice as tired as he felt. He just wanted to sleep at this point.
Discord shrugged. “It just does? Don’t get too used to that, it might switch around. Or it might stay like that. You never know.”
“Alright… I can live with this I think. Now, I’m really tired, can you… can I have some privacy?” Telling them all to get the fuck out seemed a bit rude. He looked down at his blanket as they left one by one. He could see out of the corner of his eye that some of them gave him lingering looks like they wanted to comfort him or something. In the end only one pony stayed.
Pinkie Pie.
“Pinkie…” He felt too tired to deal with the hyper pony.
“It’s just a theory you know.” He looked over at her. She had a small smile, but her very being still radiated happiness as usual.
“What is?”
“The thing Celestia talked about, silly. It sounds convincing when they lay it out like that doesn’t it? But it’s still just a theory. She even told you so.”
“But what if she’s right? What if I’m becoming… I don’t want to be like that. Not the giving part, but so… so… I don’t know. Not me. Out of control. Living for the next high… And there is almost nothing I can do about it…”
“Silly Jaxie. You don’t even know if you’re actually becoming a Giver. I mean, Rarity is generous, and she loves helping others. She’s not a Giver. I love helping others because it makes them smile. I’m not a Giver either. I think all ponies like helping others, and I think it feels good for all of them, not just you.”
“But… I don’t usually act like this. I used to hang on to my trust, keep people out. Here I just kind of… let them in. Doesn’t that say something?”
“So you made a lot of friends faster than you usually do. Twilight was a shut in most of her life before she came here, and look at her now. Princess of friendship! Friends are great! And weren’t you alone in the Everfree for a whole month? I’m sure that made you a tiny bit more eager to make friends.” He looked at her. Her smile had widened a bit, and she took a step forward. “Look, Jaxie. I know you’re unsure and scared, but don’t worry. If any meanie-pants positive magic tries to change you a little too much, I’ll be there to help you. I Pinkie promise.” She promised him, citing the lines and making the gestures for the Pinkie promise. Surprisingly… It made him feel better.
“Thanks Pinkie.” He gave her a small smile that made her own widen.
“That’s what friends are for Jaxie.”
He laughed lightly at that. She had somehow managed to cheer him up. It was kind of amazing really. “You’re a good friend Pinkie.” Yep, another friend on his hastily growing list. He was still worried, but it wasn’t as bad now.
He had a pink pony watching over him after all.
***
He lay in his small bed. He felt really tired but he couldn’t fall asleep, maybe because it was still light out. He kept going over the events of the day. Waking up sore, being mean to Beating, being cheered up when Twilight came. Having fun with Luna while Twilight arranged stuff, revealing his surprise to Luna, having Luna hug him, seeing Luna smile… That part warmed his heart and put a smile on his face. No matter the reason, he had made her happy, and that made him happy. She deserved some happiness after all.
Then he had chilled with the elements of harmony. That had made him happy as well. It was good to have some company… God knows he had spent too much time alone in that forest. He smiled at the memory of Fluttershy pushing Rainbow forward so she could apologize. He had been among ponies for a week and he was already happier than he had been in a long time.
He missed Max and Lizza. He tried to keep them out of his thoughts, but he really missed them. Their mild bickering, their reassuring smiles. He remembered that time Max had invited him over for the weekend his parents weren't home and they had played videogames all day every day, until they had to make food, which turned out to be an adventure in itself since none of them knew how to cook. They either ended up with something edible, or they ate cereal instead. That had been so much fun, they had stayed up till late, just talking and laughing. He wondered if he could achieve something similar here.
Or that time Lizza had arranged a party for the first time, and Max got crazy drunk. Jax had kept an eye on him the whole night, making sure he didn’t do anything he would regret. It had been hard, especially cleaning up afterwards, but when Max had turned to him and told him he was the best god damn friend a man could have, it had all seemed worth it.
That had been such a long time ago. He briefly wondered what they were up to now a day, before stopping himself. That path didn’t lead to happy thoughts. He quickly dried his eyes and refocused on ponies.
They were colorful, they were happy, friendly and kind. He thought of Luna’s smile again. It had been so genuine. When was the last time he had made anyone smile like that?
Warmth spread through him again. He put a hand on his chest and enjoyed the feeling.
Either Celestia was right, and he was becoming something he didn’t want to become, or Pinkie was right and he was simply happy to make other people happy. Either way he couldn’t do anything about it. Complaining didn’t help anyone. He would stay here, that part was for sure, and until something happened, he would focus on being happy.
A knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts. He hesitated for a moment, caught between wanting to sleep, being unable to fall asleep, and curiosity.
“Come in.” He finally answered. A few seconds passed before the door opened, revealing Luna. She slowly entered, closing the door behind her.
“I apologize, I realized you said you wanted to sleep, but I could not sense you in the dream realm and I… wanted to talk with you.” It was dark because the curtains were closed, only a few fading rays of light making their way through, but he could still see that her eyes and ears were both pointed at the floor. He had known her long enough to know that that meant she was sad about something.
“It’s okay, I couldn’t fall asleep.”
She took a deep breath and straightened up. “I am sorry.” She said. Jax tilted his head at her like she sometimes did.
“For what?” He really didn’t think she had anything to be sorry for. She deflated a little.
“I am not sure. I just feel so… sorry. Like I did something to you. Maybe it is because I did not notice the magical high before, or because I did not fully enjoy the day with my sister that you so graciously arranged… or maybe it is for feeling like I am not really your friend after all.” She looked down at the floor again. “I am sorry” She added softly.
The last reason hurt. It hurt way too much. He had thought it himself, that maybe he only did what he did because of positive magic, but hearing out loud… he realized how wrong it was. Rainbow Dash, Luna and Pinkie Pie. They were all his friends, and he had a feeling that others would soon follow. Positive magic or no, they were his friends.
“Luna… Come here.” He sat up in the bed and spread out his arms. She looked up and slowly went into his embrace. For a while he just thought about how to word his feelings while enjoying the feeling of stroking her. It still felt kind of funny.
“Pinkie says we can’t be sure I’m on a magical high.” He started.
“But-!” she was about to protest but he softly shushed her.
“Shh… I know, it could kind of seem like I am, couldn’t it? But she has a point as well. I spent a month alone in the Everfree. You know how it feels like to be alone don’t you?” She nodded. “You get tired of it pretty quickly. I don’t think humans, or ponies for that sake, were meant to be alone. It messes with your head. Don’t tell anyone this, but I’ve actually been alone since before I came here. Four months to be exact, five in total I guess.” Luna tensed up.
“You… you did not have anypony at all?” She sounded very sad. He sighed.
“I did. I pushed them away though. At the time I thought I wanted to be alone.” He snorted at the stupidity. “I was… well I wasn’t in my best mindset. Anyway, it was the same when I first met Fluttershy. Can you believe I almost ran straight back into that hell-hole?” He laughed. “Being amongst colorful, crazy and kind ponies is the best thing that happened to me in a long time. I think that going from being alone, to being showered with kindness and trust… I think that is a big part of it as well. Maybe a little of both? Who knows…” Luna relaxed a little again. “What I do know is that you are my friend. Whether it’s because of magical high, or because I’m lonely… I don’t care. You are my friend, along with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. I will take these friendships as seriously as they deserve to be taken. Do you understand?” She nodded from his shoulder. “How about you? Do you consider me your friend?”
“Yes!” she instantly replied. “By the stars… It has only been less than a week and I already feel like I have known you for far longer. You are my friend, and I will take our relationship seriously as well.”
He smiled. This felt nice. He felt warm to his core. “Well… then there’s no problem now, is there?”
“No. Well… I am still sorry for wasting the day with my sister that you provided.”
“Ah… did you apologize?” She nodded
“I did. It was good to have that talk with her. We also talked about other things.”
“Then it wasn’t wasted.” He stated. “What did you use the rest of it on anyway?” She tensed up a bit again, he only noticed because they were so close and his hand was on her shoulder at the time.
“We… Socialized with the elements.” Her voice wasn’t exactly cold, but there was something there.
“Sounds fun enough?” He formed it as a question because he wasn’t sure how Luna felt about it. He had fun socializing with them. She sighed and moved deeper into his embrace, covering him with her wings as well.
“I felt like a third wheel. Or ninth in this instance. The only time I said anything was when Pinkie asked me about what kind of cake I like. Maybe it was my own fault though, between being busy worrying about you, not having anything to talk about, and not being with the times, my heart was not really in it.”
Warmth spread through him again, making him smile. She was worried about him. It was incredible that such a small thing could make him feel so good. If he was a cat, he would have started purring. Some of it was her wings around him as well. He just felt… safe. He contemplated getting out of bed so he could get a super-hug from her, the one where she has both her hooves and wings around him, but the pain was bad enough as it was and he didn’t feel like moving.
“Could you…” She stopped and looked behind her at the door.
“What?” He asked confused.
“I apologize, I wanted to see if I was going to get interrupted again. Could you… scratch me?”
“Sure, I don’t mind.” He shrugged.
He started scratching her behind the ears, getting a shiver from her. He started scratching her on the back with his other hand as well, getting a small moan from her. As he worked down towards her shoulder with one hand, and lower back with the other, she started breathing heavily, with the occasional moan and shiver.
Wait a minute…
As he worked he didn’t pay much attention to her responses until suddenly something clicked.
Heavy breathing? Check.
Moans? Check.
Shivering? Check.
He stopped. This snapped Luna out of it as well and she practically sprung back like a… something… spring? Like a spring or something.
She looked flustered and close to panic, confirming his suspicion somewhat.
“I… Uhm… We thank thee.” She was about to turn towards the door, but seemed to change her mind. “’Twas… uhm… pleasant. But now We art needed… We…” She took a step back, looked around the room until her eyes found the window. “We need to raise the moon! Of course... We bid thee a good night. Farewell!” She charged her horn and teleported away in a flash of light, leaving Jax stunned and confused. He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Had he really… was she really… it seemed like it. He would need to ask Beating about it. But not now. Now he needed to sleep.
Thoughts of Luna’s moans made him blush. This would take a while…
***
Deep in the Everfree forest, a creature quite literally a shadow of his former self, moved at a slow pace. The only thing driving him forward for months was the thought of revenge.
Revenge against those who stole his victory from him.
Revenge against six ponies, and their stupid, meddling dragon.