//------------------------------//
// Chapter 31 
// Story: A New Beginning in a New Land 
// by REDACTED99999 
//------------------------------//

“So what do we have so far?” Twilight asked, sounding as tired as Jax felt. They had spent the rest of the day on this. Discord had said that he could control the spell his body produced, when he explained chaos magic. He forgot to mention that you had to be very precise.
He looked down at the list they had made. “Remember to specify: What all the parts are made of, what happens when: touched, dropped - which is a completely different thing, - taken apart, what’s in the ink cartridge…“ He looked up at Luna. “Thanks for the shield on that one by the way. Who knew such a small firecracker could be so powerful.”
“No problem. I thought it might be more dangerous than it looked, and the fuse gave me time to react.” She sounded tired as well, but not as much as him and Twilight.
He looked back at the list. “…Thrown up into the air… I still think it was unnecessary to write this down, just because I threw it once doesn’t mean I’ll do it again. Lastly, and most important, what happens when it’s levitated.”
He looked at Twilight with tired eyes. “This is a lot to focus on.”
“It’s not so bad. It’s good training for you. I already have some data, I just need to make sure I understand the mechanism that allows the ink to go through the tip only when you write. So one more time?”
“Can we take a small break first? I need some air.” He asked, and Twilight nodded. She looked like she could use a break as well.
As he opened the double doors, he got a huge shock. “Having fun?” Discord sprang into his face with a huge smile. Jax almost punched him before he recognized the chaos being.
“Oh God Discord. How long have you been there?”
“Not too long. I didn’t want to disturb you, but I had a feeling you would come out soon. So?”
“So? Oh, uhm… I think fun might be the wrong word for it.”
Discord gave him a knowing look. “And that’s the problem.”
“It is?” Twilight asked from behind him. Jax was confused as well.
“Well, sort of.” He made some circular motions with his claw. “It’s more that… you’re trying to control it. Chaos magic doesn’t like to be controlled. Guided, yes. Never controlled.” He sounded excited to explain it. “Think of yourself as a guide to a group of rowdy tourists. If you’re a strict guide that forces the tourist to follow every rule you set, the tourists will try to rebel in ways you didn’t even think of. However, a happy and cheerful guide will guide their group without mentioning a single rule, yet the group will follow without causing any problems.” He looked thoughtful for a second. “I think that’s how Pinkie does it, actually.”
“Pinkie uses chaos magic?” Twilight asked while Jax said: “Chaos magic has a personality?”
“Why yes, of course.” He smiled at both of them. When they just kept looking at him he explained. “I don’t know where she got the chaos magic from though, it certainly wasn’t from me since I was encased in stone at the time. Well, a personality the same way the elements of harmony have a sense of humor. Banishing the Princess of the Night to the moon, encasing the lord of chaos in stone, turning Sombra into a shadow… They’re not alive, yet they understood what they had to do to make the punishment as ironic as possible.” His face lit up. “Understand! That’s the word, chaos magic understands that the guide is being a, as Pinkie would put it, meaney pants.” He looked thoughtful for another second. “Of course it doesn’t care if your being a meaney pants to others. It doesn’t care whether it’s being used to summon flowers or turn ponies into toasters. As long as the guide is fun.” He looked at Jax, a little worried. “Does that make any sense at all? I’m not used to explaining, and chaos magic is a quite difficult topic, but Fluttershy said to help you when you needed it. The poor dear is worried about you.”
He lifted his hand to make a ‘sort of’ motion. He understood the concept, but it sounded hard. “If it doesn’t care what it’s being used for, then why so many explosions?” He inquired.
Discord smiled. “You made a loop.” He said as if Jax was going understand that.
“A loop?”
Discord looked thoughtful. “A circle?” He tried again.
“So which is it?”
“Why not both?” Discord responded with a shrug. “For some reason you started associating chaos magic with explosions, and the more explosions you see, the more you associate it. A loop. Or circle. Possibly both.”
“Ah… Fuck.” This was more difficult than he thought it would be. Chaos magic was complicated. He looked down at the list they had spent hours making. He ripped it apart to the sound of Twilight’s gasp.
Discord smiled at him. “That’s the spirit!” He then disappeared with a snap of his claw.
***
Applejack looked out across Sweet Apple Acres. She had kept postponing it, but now that fall was coming, she could finally make some plans to get to know Jax a little more. Of course she met him now and again when they all met up or when he came by her stall, but she never really had a conversation with him.
She would have to change that. She told herself she was going to get to know him, and she had meant it. After the running of the leaves she would have enough time.
***
Fluttershy was startled by the sudden appearance of her friend. “Oh, Discord. You know I prefer it when you teleport to the outside and just knock.”
“My apologies, dear Fluttershy.” Discord disappeared with a snap, and a second after there was a knock on the door. Fluttershy giggled at her friends antics. She went over and opened the door. “Oh, Discord, what a surprise. Do come in.” 
“Thank you dear.” He walked in and made himself comfortable on the couch.
“Tea?” She asked him.
“Oh, Fluttershy, you know I can’t say no to your delicious tea.”
She made the tea and brought it into her living room. “It’s always nice to have you over Discord, even if it is unexpected.”
Discord gave her a big smile. “And I enjoy coming over, but this time I actually have a reason.” He puffed out his chest proudly. “I helped Jax today.”
She clapped her hooves together. “Oh Discord, that’s wonderful. What did you help him with?”
“Oh, he was having trouble with chaos magic, and since it’s, you know, my specialty, I thought I would give him a helping claw. I’m not sure how much it did, but he seemed to get the gist of it. Chaos magic is hard to understand you know. Even I don’t understand it entirely.”
She smiled at her friend. He had come so far since she promised not to use her element on him and became his friend. “Oh, I’m sure you did wonderfully Discord. I’ll go get the cookies, then you can tell me how it felt to help another pony.”
“It felt… surprisingly good, actually.”
***
“I think that’s enough for today.” Twilight said from beside Jax.
He nodded his agreement. He had tried to do as Discord said, but it was hard do in practice. Kind of vague, actually. He wasn’t sure what to do to ‘be a good guide’, and apparently he was still associating chaos magic with explosions, cause more often than not… Well, good thing Luna and Twilight were good to make barriers right in front of him. He felt like they all got to train their reflexes, if nothing else.
“Want to go get dinner together? We can go ask Pinkie if she can help you.” Twilight asked.
“Sweets for dinner? I’m in.” He laughed. He looked at Luna, who just nodded. Was it just him, or had she not spoken as much as usual?
“No, that’s not what I meant, we aren’t going to eat at Sugarcube Corner. I meant we could have her for dinner.” Twilight clarified.
“Wow Twilight, I didn’t know you were a cannibal. And your own friend no less. Well, I am in the mood for some meat…”
Twilight turned a little green, and looked like she could be very sick.
“Too far?” He asked, worried at her expression. She nodded with a hoof over her mouth.
“Sorry.” He grimaced. 
She sat down so she could point a hoof in his direction. He took it as a ‘wait a moment’. She took some deep breaths that seemed to calm her down. “Please, don’t… don’t say stuff like that again.”
“Sure, I’ll be careful.” He said carefully. He looked over at Luna, but she seemed fine. “Let’s invite Spike as well. I’ve been meaning to spend some time with him.”
“Oh, I think he’ll like that."
***
“So, Pinkie… How do you do it?” Jax asked rather straightforward.
He, Luna, Pinkie, Twilight and Spike were gathered in the pizzeria he and Luna normally went to, ‘The Great Circle’. He was rather smitten with their pizzas by this point. They really did taste great.
“Do what?” She asked innocently, taking a giant bite of her ‘everything in one’ pizza. How she was able to eat that was… well, Pinkie was pretty weird so it didn’t surprise him.
“Control your powers.”
She looked at him with a big smile. “I have powers?” Suddenly her eyes lit up. “Oh, you mean my power to make everypony smile!”
“Well… Kinda?” Close enough?
“Well, I make sure to always smile, that seems to cheer most up. If it’s something that can’t be fixed with a smile, I try to find out if I can somehow help, like paint their house, or tell them a joke.” Seemed perfectly reasonable.
“What if you tell them a joke and it backfires? Like just before we came to get you, Twilight said that we should have you for dinner-“
“-Uhh, wonder how I would taste.” She said as if she already knew where he was going with it.
“Yes, well Twilight looked like she was ready to puke all over the floor. What then?”
Pinkie pointed at him “You try again! Or you apologize. Or you distract them long enough to put on a funny costume!” She smiled that big happy smile of hers. Pinkie really was amazing. She just wanted to see her friends happy.
“And what do you do when your chaos magic makes things explode?” Better get back on track.
“You find cover of course, silly.” She giggled. Ah well, it was solid advice if not what he expected.
He looked over at Twilight but she just shrugged. Luna was looking somewhere far off, giving no indication that she had heard the conversation. Something was definitely up with Luna, but what?
“So, Spike… How’s it goin’?” He asked the young dragon.
“Ohh… you know, I spend a lot of time in the library, helping Rarity, enjoying the sun on my scales. Not much. How about you? I hear your doing well with the psychologist sessions.”
He noticed that Luna’s ears fell at that.
“Yeah, I am. Her methods are silly, but they work. In a couple of days I’ll be able stroll down the street without having to drag Luna with me.” He smiled at Spike, but kept an eye on Luna. She was looking down at the table.
She looked sad. Was she sad that he was getting better? Well… it wouldn’t surprise him. They did have a lot of fun together, in between the awkward moments. He would have to remember to tell her that they could still hang out. She was his best friend after all.
…
Of course there was the situation with the rumors… So maybe it wouldn’t be so easy. Hmm.
He took a bite of his pizza. He would have to think of something. He had a promise to keep after all.
***
Jax looked through another book. He had tried to think of some way to defuse the situation. Celestia had sent Raven Writingdesk, if the night guard was to be believed, and why wouldn’t he be? Anyway, that was a good step - fight ignorance with information. But what else? Luna was going to go back to Canterlot without him. Would that calm them down? Which rumor were they afraid of anyway? The one where he and Luna was assembling The Equestrian Villian Team, or some other stupid, villain themed rumor?
He couldn’t think of anything, so now he was looking through books for a pattern to give to Rarity, so she could sew it on his clothes. There weren’t many books with pictures, but the ones that were didn’t really speak to him.
Luna was sitting beside him, reading about Equestrian history. “You are right. There is almost no information about my time… odd.”
“Yeah, especially since there are two alicorns still alive from back then. You weren’t here, but Celestia could still have done something. Well, you are going to change that with your book.” He smiled at her. It was good that she was talking again. Maybe it was because they were alone in the library.
She nodded and went back to reading, a bit uncertainly.
He wanted to hug her until all her uncertainty evaporated.
He thought back to earlier in the day, when he had told her that everything was going to be okay. She had looked so certain after that, believing his words completely. He couldn’t help but smile at the memory of her nuzzling him. It had felt so good.
He closed his eyes and enjoyed the warm, fuzzy feeling the memory brought fourth.
***
Shadow Wing looked over at Night Guard. “Should we tell her about the Winter Moon Celebration we’ve been preparing? She’s gonna find out sooner or later anyway.”
Night Guard nodded. “On the way back. Cheer her up. Maybe.” He was still sleepy, apparently. They were finally making their way to Princess Twilight’s barracks, where they had gotten a room to share.
“I know what you mean. She didn’t look very happy at the thought of leaving.” Shadow Wing sighed. “I wish these rumors would go buck themselves.” 
Night Guard snorted.
“Why can’t we find the one who keeps spreading them every time Celestia manages to calm ponies down?” Shadow Wing was a bit angry. His princess was being mocked and he couldn’t do anything about it.
“More than one. Hard to find. Rumors not illegal.”
This time Shadow Wing snorted. “Maybe they should be…” he said under his breath.
At that moment Princess Twilight Sparkle rounded the corner. They both bowed.
“Ah, just the ponies I was looking for. Did you conclude your business?” She asked with a kind smile. She reminded Shadow Wing of Princess Celestia in that moment.
“No, princess. We will be staying at your barrack until Princess Luna is ready to leave for Canterlot with us. Shouldn’t be more than a couple of days.” Shadow Wing answered.
“You’re going to leave with Luna in a couple of days? I thought she would be staying longer…” Princess Twilight looked sad. Everypony was sad that Princess Luna was leaving. It was a good thing, it meant that she had been welcome here, even made friends. He felt pride fill his chest, before guilt took over.
“Yes Princess. We are trying to quell all the rumors regarding her and the human. The amount saying that they are trying to take over Equestria is disturbing…” Shadow explained.
“… I see. Well, I’ll leave you to it then.”
“I’m sorry Princess, but could we have a bit of your time? We are planning something called ‘The Winter Moon Celebration’ for Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia said you were good with schedules and such. Would you be interested in joining us in our efforts?” He asked hopefully. There was a lot to be done if the celebration was to become as big as they hoped. They had the time and resources to make it happen, they just needed the rest.
Princess Twilight gave them an eager smile. “Of course I’ll help! If it’s a party, we’ll have to include Pinkie though, she is the expert on the subject.”
Shadow Wing and Night Guard smiled at each other.
***
That night, like many before, Jax was hugging Luna on the big bed they still shared. Having her in his grasp still felt natural, even if it wasn’t needed anymore. It calmed him down.
“So… you’ve been quiet today, Luna. Something wrong?” He asked softly.
For a long time there was silence, before a soft whisper emerged, barely audible, and Jax only heard it because his ear was close to her muzzle.
“I do not want to be alone again.”
He strengthened his hold on her, but didn’t know what to say. She spoke again, a little louder.
“I have been on the moon for a thousand years, my only companion a crazed piece of magic, reminding me of all my mistakes. I want… I do not want… I-I-“ Her voice started shaking as it was filled with emotion.
“Shhh… shh, it’s okay.” He started stroking her mane. “I... It’ll be alright. I may not be able to be with you for a while, but if it makes you feel better, you’ll be in my thoughts.”
The Princess of the Night was silent for a while, letting him stroke her. “It is… It is not the same. That is like saying my time on the moon was less lonely because Celestia was thinking about me. It… It does not work like that, my dear Jax.”
“Alright.” He kept stroking her, a little lost to what he could say. She sounded so vulnerable, he had to think carefully of his next words, lest he upset her. “… At least you didn’t get set on fire?” He truly had a way with words. Stupid mouth.
To his surprise, he felt her shake against him in a silent laugh. “Ohh Jax… I am going to miss you and your jests.” She pulled him a bit closer with her hooves. Jax was careful to leave his lower half out of her reach.
“And I’m going to miss your beautiful mane.” He teased her lovingly. “but don’t worry, I told you I was going to do something about it, and I will.” It was just a question of what. He had no idea yet.
“Mmm…” She almost purred with a small smile. “Thank thee… We art sincerely grateful, that thou art here.” She started stroking his head with a hoof. He was a bit hesitant, but it actually felt quite nice. Her hooves weren’t as hard as he had thought.
He smiled back. “Mmm, it’s been a while since I heard you speak like that.”
“Well, the habit is almost gone by now. I think it is because of all the time we spent together just talking.” She admitted. “Soon, I might even start to contract the words.” She pulled back a bit and looked at him thoughtfully. “I’m a lucky mare. I’ll buy you a cake. You’ll love it.” She put extra emphasis on the contracted word, as if tasting them before moving on. She wrinkled her muzzle, as if it tasted badly. It was cute and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“I hope you mean that, I’m expecting cake now.”
“Verily. We shall visit Sugercube Corner in the morrow.” She went back to her old way of speaking.
“You know, I wouldn’t mind if you spoke like that all the time. It sounds cool.” He admitted.
Before he could make out her expression, she learned in to nuzzle him on the cheek. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her soft fur on his skin.
“You are sweet, my dear Jax. So very sweet.” She whispered as he slowly drifted away into sleep.