A New Beginning in a New Land

by REDACTED99999

Chapter 76 - To the Moon, and Back

Jax tried desperately to get out of his ropes, but the ponies had done a good job. Sombra was trying desperately to cast a spell, but it seemed like Jax’ chaos magic was just too damn strong still. The changelings were looking at him with worry, when the rope allowed them to face in his direction. Well, maybe they were just looking worried in general, since the rumbling from above had increased and more of the ceiling was falling.

Jax was worried as well.

‘Almost… have it… I can feel it on the tip of my horn….’ Sombra breathed heavily. ‘Just a little… more….’

‘We’re going to die here… God….’ This was not how he wanted things to end, but they were tied up, Sombra couldn’t get a spell out, Luna was standing there, frozen, and no help in sight.

“Luna! There you are!” A streak of rainbow entered the cave. Jax had never been so relieved in his life. “Took me forever to find this place. Hey, why are you standing so still?”

Rainbow finally started looking around the room, at the ponies on the floor, the whole thing that was falling apart, and finally at them in the corner. Jax was trying to get her attention by trashing around and yelling through his gag.

“Jax!” She flew over in the blink of the eye. “I really, really, REALLY hate caves when they are falling apart, so let’s get out of here!” She sounded on edge. Jax supressed the urge to tell her that most creatures probably did. It wouldn’t help.

‘Almost….’

She untied him faster than he thought possible, using her teeth. He wasn’t complaining. “Get the changelings and ponies out of here, I’ll take care of Luna!” He told her when he took out the gag form his mouth.

She nodded frantically, then started getting the changelings down. “The others will be here soon!” She informed him. It almost made him breathe out in relief. They might just get out of here alive.

Jax was almost by Luna’s side when the most terrifying thing happened. She shouted.

“I SHALL NEVER BECOME NIGHTMARE MOON AGAIN! I WOULD RATHER ROT ANOTHER THOUSAND YEARS ON THE MOON THAN TO GIVE IN!” There was so much fury behind it that Jax went from running forward to falling backwards. It was enough to shock him a moment before he understood the meaning of the words.

A thousand interpretations went through his mind, but there was one that latched on. She was going to banish herself to the moon, so that she wouldn’t become Nightmare Moon again. She was going to leave.

The notion took root in his mind as she charged her horn, her eyes aglow with pure power.

‘Finally! It broke!’ Sombra triumphed inside of him along the feeling of something breaking.

Jax was on his knees in front of Luna, watching her flow up into the air. Further away from him. He reached out for her.

‘Prepare yourself Jax! The spell- what are you - FOCUS ON THE PARASITE!’

Jax wasn’t sure what he had been thinking. At the time, it seemed like there was a thousand thoughts inside his head, yet none at all as he raised his hand towards Luna in a silent prayer. What exactly he was praying for, he wasn’t sure. That she wouldn’t leave, or that the parasite, Limelight, Nightmare Moon or whatever it was called would be purged from her body, or that he would come with her to the moon.

He just wasn’t sure. Looking back, it was just a chaotic mess. There was a feeling, a strong feeling of wanting… well… just wanting. Wanting her near. Wanting her… to not disappear.

Then he blinked, and in that moment, he felt a warm embrace.

He knew what it was, or at least… he knew why it was. When spells are cast on him, the first thing that happens is a feeling. The feeling varies, but after the feeling, the chaos magic does its thing.

When he opened his eyes, he was no longer on his knees in a cave that was caving in. He looked down at the white-greyish dust at his feet, then up at the craters around him, and then further up at…

Oh hell….

Above him was Earth. He was on the moon.

He did a double take.

… Yes, that was Earth.

Panic erupted in his chest at the impossibility of it all. A sound on his right caught his attention and he spun around to look at… wait…

Was that Sombra? He was all grey fur and black mane, with a red horn… just how he used to be. He was scraping at the ground with a hoof, seemingly examining it in confusion.

“No…” Came a whisper to his left, instantly recognized as Luna. He spun around to see her looking around in disbelief. “Not here… not again.”

He turned again to see something that he had only seen brief glances of while spinning around. The Crystal Empire, right there in the distance. How was all this possible?

Laughter erupted behind… the evil kind. “All mine… it’s all mine!”

They all turned to look at Nightmare Moon in all her glory - the stories didn't do her justice. Her mane was the only thing that was reminiscent of his love, a starscape of its own. Even the cutie mark was gone. Other than that: she was taller than Luna, her horn longer, her fur was darker, her teeth sharper, her look was a look of pure menace, her eyes… well her eyes were cool. Jax had always been a fan of slit pupils, and it looked great on- but that was beside the point.

The point was that some fuckery was going on, Nightmare Moon was looking at them with a hungry look, and her teeth looked extremely sharp. Jax couldn’t handle all of it.

“What. The. Fuck.”

Both Sombra and Luna looked at him with worry. Sombra spoke first. “Let us get through this ordeal before we have a mental breakdown. I do not believe my creation is going to let us off that easily.”

“Remind me to pummel you into dust when we are done with this.” Luna said to Sombra. “For making that thing.”

Sombra seemed to contemplate for a couple of seconds, before nodding. “For what it is worth… I am sorry. I was not in the best state of mind.”

Luna didn’t have much time to come up with an answer because Nightmare was charging her horn. “If you help us during this fight, I will forgive you.” She spread her wings and took flight. “Protect Jax!”

There were no words to describe how useless Jax felt at that moment, but he reigned it in. There was not much he could do in a fight, except maybe spread chaos and get hurt by debris.

Sombra and Jax exchanged a look as Luna dived down to sucker punch Nightmare in the face. Of course the spell Nightmare released prevented that, since she had to dodge out of the way.

“Can I have a mental breakdown now?” Jax couldn’t help but ask. Even now, here, on the freaking moon, while his girlfriend was fighting her worst nightmare, he couldn’t help but crack a bad joke. Of course ‘moon’ was loose term for where they were. Gravity was the same, and they could breathe and talk without problems.

“No.” Sombra answered curtly. “Save it for when we’re back.”

“And… how exactly are we going to get back?” He gave a hollow laugh. It was all so insane.

“Your magic brought us here… it will have to take us back. I wondered whether we were in the dreamrealm, or even in your mind, but neither seem right.” Sombra looked up at the Earth above then, the landscape around them, and finally on the Crystal Empire. “Your power is just so strong that it either teleported us to a world where all this was already here… or created a pocket dimension and placed everything. It seems that I was right about your magic after all. It is extremely powerful. You could probably take over the world if you wanted… if you learned to control it at least, or guide it.”

Jax couldn’t quite read the expression on Sombra’s face, but he did know one thing. “Not going to do that, obviously. Whether I learn to or not.”

Sombra nodded like he expected the answer, but didn’t say anything. They both looked at the battle between Luna and Nightmare for a little while. Luna was extremely agile in the air, and her magic came out in quick bursts. Overall, Nightmare seemed stronger in power, and it seemed like she only needed one little opportunity to gain the upper hand, one that Luna refused to give.

It made Jax extremely worried. He wanted to rush in and try to sucker punch Nightmare too. But… “Maybe I could use this magic to end things right here though. I don’t want anymore regrets. One spell, and the Nightmare, Limelight, parasite or whatever you want to call it… it would simply cease to exist. It would never hurt Luna again.” The thought brought relief; it was Luna never having to suffer because of that thing again.

“Yes… you could.” Sombra started slowly. “There is one other way we could do this though. One I want to ask you to consider.”

Jax looked down at Sombra.

“The parasite was created from me. It is dark magic, and it is a piece of my soul. It can become a part of me again. I cannot, however, do that while it is in its new body.” There was something in Sombra’s voice… Jax thought if maybe it was regret. “And since neither of us can do what they want without the other, I believe we should come to an agreement before the good Princess of the Night runs out of energy.”

“What do you think remerging with it will do to you?” Jax asked, tense as he was.

“I am… not entirely sure. But I gave it form and life. All this time it has just been doing what I created it to do. To simply have it vanish for that seems… cruel. It cannot fight its nature. And… I will never be complete without that piece that gave it life.”

Jax clenched and unclenched his fist in an attempt to keep calm himself. He wouldn’t be able to just stand there much longer, he needed to save his Luna.

She just managed to dodge a beam attack from Nightmare when Jax lost his patience. “Fine. What do you need?”

“We need to make it evacuate its form. I need you to teleport us over to the crystal empire over there. I doubt it has the Crystal Heart, but if I can acquire a few pure crystals, I can enhance a spell to force her out. Then we simply set up an ambush.”

“And if I fuck up and we end up somewhere who knows where?” Jax asked, worried.

“You need to stop being so afraid… my friend.” The last words came out hesitantly, unsure. They shared a look and Jax almost smiled as he felt his heart warm. “You have a great power, and you can use it to save the mare you love. You just need to be brave and let go.”

Jax took a deep breath. “Alright… friend.” His smile finally broke through at Sombra’s relief. “We can do this. Just… let go. No demands. Chaos. I got it.”

Sombra powered up his spell, but Jax quickly felt panic well up. “No, no wait! I’m not ready, let me… let me do this properly.” Sombra nodded.

Jax went down on his knees. Once upon a time he had stood in front of a large crowd of ponies and chocked, until Luna had advised him to take deep breaths. And so he did.

He imagined being there. The Crystal Empire. But not the one back in Equestria, that one would be filled with Crystal Ponies, and have the Crystal Heart. This one was empty. Deserted… Boring and still. Unchaotic. He could breathe some life into it, if only he was there.

A hope. A prayer. A wish. “I’m ready.”

Sombra cast the spell.

***

Luna was ‘having a blast’ as they say. At least she was fairly certain Jax would say that when she was blasted aside. She may be a bit quicker, but Nightmare Moon was essentially a powered-up version of herself. Luna would eventually either have to take a great risk, make a mistake, or simply run out of energy.

It was in fact, not much of a blast at all. It was a miserable situation.

But she would fight on until the end. Having Sombra protect Jax was what everything inside of her told her was right, but she really could use some help.

“Luna!” Came Jax cry from far, far away. She barely heard over the sound of her fight with Nightmare Moon.

She ducked under another beam of energy, made a quick retaliation, which she used as a distraction to gain some distance and look around.

Jax and Sombra were nowhere nearby.

“Luna! Come over here!” She looked over and caught a glimpse of the Crystal Empire, before she was forced to dodge her opponents iron-shoed hoof.

She thought quickly as she weaved around Nightmare Moon, trying to keep to her back. The Crystal Empire was too far away to teleport to in one go, and using several teleports would tire her out, but Jax seemed to want her to go there.

She hoped he had a plan.

She grit her teeth, frowning hard. She was already having a hard time dealing with a superpowered version of herself, to do that while always keeping a destination in mind was going to be… bothersome to say the least.

But there was nothing for it. She teleported the first distance, then weaved and ducked and avoided all of Nightmares attacks, having to keep the way she dodged in mind to slowly get closer and closer to the Empire, while never letting Nightmare off her sight. It was very straining, and the empire was farther away than she originally thought.

Soon she took damage. A burned area near her cannon from where an energy-beam grazed her. A cut on her cheek where a shard of stone almost collided with her face. A wound in her shoulder from when she had almost flown straight into a phantom dagger summoned by Nightmare.

Tiresome and frustrating, for her mind and her body. She tried to do some fast healing spells to stop the bleeding from her shoulder, but Nightmare was always right behind her with a spell ready. It was hard to concentrate.

But she kept going. Of course she did. To fail here… she was not even sure what it would mean.

As the haunting tune of Nightmare charging a spell reached her ears, Luna charged her own for one last spell. It seemed that Nightmare had learned Luna’s trick of not fully charging before releasing, because she was hit by whatever it was just as she released her own teleportation.

Pain overtook her back as she reappeared over a crystal tower. ‘I made it.‘ was all she could think as her wings tried desperately to keep her airborne. ‘May we defeat the Nightmare together….’ She crashed hard through the crystal roof, unconsciousness overtaking her as she landed on the floor below.

***

“LUNA!!!” Jax cried as he saw his marefriend getting hit by a beam of pure, dark energy. It hit so hard that the velocity carried through her teleport, making her crash into one of the castle spires.

“This better work, Sombra.” He managed to croak. His yelling, both now and when he first tried to get Luna’s attention really left his throat raw, even when Sombra had used a crystal to magnify his voice.

“It will. This may not be the time to say this, but if we get out of here alive, can you do me the favour of never calling me Sombra again? It’s from a dark time in my life, and I wish to start anew.”

Jax looked at Nightmare as she cackled her way closer. Seriously, she was laughing so hard and over the top, Jax wouldn’t be surprised if it was what kept her airborne. “Sure, whatever. What’s the plan?”

“Distract her to keep my aim true.” Sombra’s voice seemed to get further away.

When Jax looked over in surprise, Sombra was already out of sight.

“Oh, you little piece of…!” Jax wanted to curse hard at the traitor, but held his tongue. This wasn’t the time.

A small part of him doubted if Sombra was even trustworthy, but a much bigger part of him argued that he was. Things were different from when Sombra had made him forget who he was and made him hike through the damn Everfree Forest while trying to take over his body.

He did deserve a punch for that though.

“So, where is that little shadow? Did I scare him off?” Nightmare laughed. She seemed to be in a good mood.

Jax’ brain was on standby. He couldn’t think of a single thing to say, but he knew he had to say something, so he opened his mouth and said the first thing that came to mind. “What’s got you in such a good mood?”

She stopped and looked at him weirdly, but then smiled again. “You can’t guess? Not only did I win against that weakling, but now I have a body all my own. I will never have to fight for-“ Something seemed to catch her attention, making Jax panic a little bit. He was the distraction after all. Luckily Ponykind rotate their ears before the head follows, giving Jax a warning.

Before she could turn her head completely to investigate, he spoke up again. “Then why are you fighting us? You have everything you ever wanted, and I don’t think you can leave this place on your own.”

“What?” She turned to him again. “Should I wait for you three to betray me? Do you really think that I could trust any of you to not try anything? No, this is much better. If I take care of you three now, I can figure everything out by myself, plus I finally get my revenge on Luna for ruining everything, and Sombra will no longer….” She looked at him strangely, then her eyes widened in realization, and she threw herself to the side….

Just as a beam of pure, destructive magic washed over the place she had just been, destroying the crystal road. When it was over, there was only a large hole, the crystal and moondust underneath seemingly disintegrated. Force her out of her body, he had said. Yeah, she would be when her body ceased to exist.

“Sombra… nice try, I’ll give you that much.” Nightmare got up on her hooves, her gaze never leaving the roof of a building where Sombra stood with three of the purest crystals they could find in such a short amount of time. He had compared them to magnifying glass when Jax had asked, but Jax didn’t really feel like that was a good explanation after what he just witnessed.

Jax wondered how much magic he had left after the attack. It looked like a spell that would cost a lot, and he did look a bit unsteady on his hooves.

“Parasite.” Sombra greeted. “You should not have dodged. We could have become one again.”

Nightmare’s face contorted in anger. “I don’t want to be part of you, weakling! You are nothing! I will defeat you once and for all, on this day, and you will never haunt me again!” She spat out the words.

Jax couldn’t help but feel that she was afraid. Maybe it was the way she said the words, or maybe it was that her right foreleg shook uncontrollably.

“And what are you going to do afterwards?” Jax asked. They needed to keep this conversation going. He felt he had to at least try to talk Nightmare Moon down. They could do it. Words were powerful, he just had to find the right ones. “Because the way I see it, you’re only banishing yourself to this moon instead of the other.”

She took two steps back at the word ‘banish’, almost showing her fear, but her muzzle quickly settled on anger again so fast Jax barely caught it.

“Don’t be presumptuous. If I have to spend the next thousand years meditating, if I have to ask the stars to aid my escape, if I have to recarve this entire empire into a rune… I will return. And when I do… ohoh ponykind will miss my past ideals. Eternal Night will seem like a paradise then, but with this body I don’t need to do that anymore. I will rule with an iron hoof, and all will be mine as I-“

“Why?” Jax simply asked, cutting her rather boring monologue. He noticed Sombra had buckled under his own weight, and now lay down on the roof, panting hard.

But Jax’ focus was on Nightmare. If Jax could read her emotions right - and he believed that he had enough practise to read her as easily as any pony - She went from confused by his question, back to anger at being interrupted, then to confusion again, quickly past contemplation, and before she could move back to anger, Jax spoke again. “Why do you want to enslave ponies? Wasn’t that Sombra’s ideas?”

Jax seemed to have rendered the Nightmare speechless. Before she could explode in anger, since anger seemed like her default reaction, he continued. “You can think for yourself now. You don’t have to worry about finding a body, and corrupting the owner or whatever. You don’t have to do anything but what you want. Is ruling ponies what you want, or is it what Sombra wanted when he created you?” He really hoped he could finish this quickly so he could check on Luna. Was she okay? Was she bleeding?

Nightmare Moon looked disturbed at the implication. The rage in her eyes died down slowly, as her gaze turned downwards. Even her ears started to droop. Then, just as quickly as it was gone, it returned in full force. “I am Nightmare Moon!” She yelled as she stamped the crystal ground so hard cracks formed all the way over to Jax. “I am… I will make the ponies love me! They have ignored me for too long!”

Jax eyes widened, then narrowed in determination. “Are you?! Because I distinctly remember Nightmare Moon wanting the night last forever so that ponies can appreciate it, as they would appreciate her! Because that is all Luna wanted, so it was all Nightmare Moon wanted! But you are not Luna. Who are you?!” It seemed like she wasn’t used to thinking these kinds of things.

She took two steps back as he took two forward, a look of sorrow on her muzzle. Jax took the chance to make eye contact with Sombra, then look at the tower where Luna had crash-landed, then back at him. Sombra took one look back in confusion, before he nodded in understanding.

Jax would take care of this, Sombra had to make sure that Luna was all right. Jax wouldn’t be able to go on if he kept thinking whether or not Luna was bleeding to death up there.

He refocused on Nightmare when he caught her whisper “Who… am I?” She looked… bewildered.

“What do you want?” He asked, fuelling her existential crisis. He felt a little bad, since he knew what it was like not knowing who you were, but it needed to be done.

Her gaze shifted to him. The uncertainty in them was staggering. “I… don’t know. All I’ve ever wanted was to take over the body of an Alicorn and drive her to corruption. It was what I was created to do, and it’s all I’ve ever thought about….”

“Sombra says you can’t fight your nature… is that true? Jax asked gently, trying to keep the conversation going.

“What does that weakling know! I am ten times the pony he is!” Anger again. There was so much anger inside of her.

“Say what you will about him, but at least he isn’t chained by his past. A childhood like that would fuck up most people, but Sombra is trying hard now, despite everything.” Jax defended his friend.

“He is nothing! He is-“ Nightmare snarled and took some threatening steps forward.

“Alright, alright.” Jax held up his hands in defeat. “Just… why are you so angry at him?”

“He just tried to kill me!” She protested as if it should be obvious.

Jax sighed and decided to get serious. She was talking - she wanted to talk with him - and that was the most important thing… so he went over to a nearby bench, sat down, and gestured for her to do the same. Which she did after hesitating shortly.

There he sat next to Nightmare Moon, or at least something resembling her, trying to think of what to say. “You know, he did some pretty horrible things to me as well.” He decided they could do some bonding over Sombra. If they were going to get anywhere with this, Nightie would have to let go of her hate and fear.

***

Jax wasn’t sure how long they spent talking. By the dryness in his throat, it felt like a couple of hours, but there was no way to know in this world for sure. At the end of it, Nightie was sobbing on his shoulder, and he was stroking her back reassuringly.

“I-I guess I just feel like I would disappear i-if I became one with him… b-but on the other hoof, what’s the point of my existence if I can’t do what I was created f-for?” Nightie sobbed. Their talk had turned rather heavy along the way, questioning existence itself. Jax’ head was spinning a bit. “B-but I also worked so hard for this, I-I don’t want it all to be for nothing….”

“Well… “ Jax started. “I don’t think it would be for nothing. As long as you got something out of it, then you’re left with more than nothing, aren’t you? Didn’t you discover all of these things about yourself? Just because you don’t have a tangible thing to hold at the end, doesn’t mean that you have nothing. If you tunnelvision too hard on what you want, you’re just going to end up losing sight of all the other things you could have. Have you ever heard of the magic of friendship?”

She scoffed, but didn’t react with an angry outburst, and she stayed in his comforting grasp. Progress. “Don’t remind me. I still remember how paralyzed I felt when that beam of rainbow power was coming toward me. It felt… it felt like it was going to rip me apart into a million pieces, and I would never be complete again. But I did.” Her voice turned from melancholy to almost victorious. “I refused to perish. Using ponies’ negative emotions, little by little, I managed to piece myself together. I succeeded. I wasn’t gone, I was still here. I existed. I exist.”

There was heavy pause as Jax thought about how to say what he needed. He started scratching her behind the ears almost automatically. She seemed to relax a bit more against him.

Then he sighed. “Are you though? Complete I mean.” In the end, he was best at being straightforward. He could feel her body tense. He tried to speak as gently as he could. “Are you really going to stop existing if you merge with Sombra? I can’t imagine all these thoughts, all these feelings, all of your memories just becoming nothing. Aren’t you just going to become whole?”

She didn’t answer. She just sat there, tense as a board. After a while, Jax just went with his guts. “You’re scared, aren’t you?”

She suddenly undid his embrace and walked away. “Why are you being so nice? I ruined Luna’s life, I beat her up, I kidnapped you and was going to kill you… are you distracting me so Sombra can have another shot?” Her voice was frail in her anger. She looked around, as if she expected Sombra to come out and try again.

Jax just shook his head. “Sombra did some bad things as well. Now look at us, being friends and all.” He chuckled, but it was lost on Nightie. “Alright, listen... I just want to live my life in peace. You come to me, you destroy my peace, you do a lot of things to my girlfriend that I want to make you pay for… honestly, I was going to actually do what you fear so much: I was going to make you cease existing… but Sombra believes that you guys can be one again, and after listening to you for God knows how long, I’m happy I decided to go with his plan. You’re clearly a thinking entity, with feelings, thoughts and fears. I don't want to kill you. I don’t want to kill anyone.”

Nightie looked at him, looking a little lost. She sniffled a couple of times. Taking one last look around, she went back to him and buried her face in his shoulder. “Nopony has ever been this kind to me. In fact, nopony has ever been kind to me at all… It feels weird.” A break, then in a low whisper she added: “I don’t know what to do.”

Jax chuckled weakly. “I don’t want to tell you what to do, Nightie. This will be your choice. Perhaps your first real choice.”

“Nightie….” She sounded like she smiled. She turned away from him suddenly, taking a few steps away. “I think I understand why Luna likes you so much. You are very calming to be around. I… need some time to think.” She then spread her feathery wings and flew off.

Something about her tone gave him hope that they would stay friends when all was said and done. It warmed his heart a little bit. In the end she was a pony, just like Sombra, and all she wanted was to be loved and accepted. At least he liked to think so, seeing how their conversation had gone. She could have killed him if she wanted to, she could have killed all of them. But in the end, she hadn’t even followed Luna to make sure she was….

Dread washed over him at the thought. He was fairly certain Luna was still alive, and Sombra would keep her that way because anything else would be unthinkable….

Would he really be able to be friends with Nightie if she had killed Luna?

He looked up at the tower Luna had crashed into, filled with unease. He got up and started walking towards it.

If he entered the tower with Sombra standing over a dead body… would he be able to stand by what he said? Would his rage not make him want to kill the mare he had just spent hours talking with? No… he would want to snuff out her life as surely as his love for Luna.

His body shook so violently he had to kneel not to fall over. Fucking hell. He didn’t want to kill anyone, but he wasn’t sure if he could control himself. Relatively speaking, he didn’t know Luna for very long- it had only been a couple of months- but he… he couldn’t really picture going on without her there. And he couldn’t really picture himself forgiving Nightie. Being with Luna just felt… right.

He forced himself to calm down and keep walking. It didn’t take long for his body to start sprinting towards the tower.

***

Nightie… he had called her Nightie, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. As if it was her name.

She couldn’t help but smile a little, despite the headache she was experiencing. She was usually a one-track mind, establishing a goal and then simply… achieving it. No matter how long or arduous the road. It’s all she’s ever done… it’s all she’s ever known. But now her head was buzzing with thoughts, thoughts she usually only saw in the ponies she was trying to bend to her will. Now they were all her own.

She kind of understood now why Luna had been so taken with Jax. Maybe Luna had shown Nighie too much about him, and that was why she felt so calm around him.

Maybe it was just that Jax was so… different. He wasn’t innocent like most ponies, but he wasn’t evil like her and Sombra… he was just kind of in the middle, and when she talked and he listened, and nodded in the right places and just… understood, she felt… what was this feeling called? Where you didn’t feel so angry or bitter, like you wanted to hurt everything around you. She just felt… calm- no… normal? Like a mare talking about her problems with a… a….

Of course she wasn’t a mare. She wasn’t really anything, but seeing as she had been a part of Sombra once, she should refer to herself as a stallion. But she had a mare's body, and had spent the last thousand years in one… was she a mare?

Did she feel like a mare? She had been in enough mares to know how they should feel like. Right?

She looked up at the planet that didn’t seem to be the same she was created on. It was so far away, and for a moment she put her own chaotic mind on hold as she just allowed herself to observe whatever it was, from the rooftop of a crystal building, on a moon that wasn’t the one she had been imprisoned on.

It still felt the same. Lonely. Well this one felt a little less lonely than the last one.

Probably because of Jax.

In a bout of frustration, she headbutted the wall beside her. It cracked all the way down. Had she… had she been manipulated by Luna while trying to manipulate her? Was that why she felt this way about some… person.

Person? She had found the word in her head… probably from Luna. How much of her was Luna? How much was Sombra?

She stood up and started pacing back and forth. She had never questioned things before, so she didn’t know what to think. She didn’t even know who she was. She had spent so long in other people… if you took away her need to corrupt, what was left? And even that was only her instructions from Sombra. Her ‘instincts.’

Was she really so little? Was she anything at all? Would giving in to Sombra really be so bad?

Maybe it would be better than this.

This moon wasn’t as lonely as the last one. But… if she killed the ones who were here with her, it would become even lonelier.

There was a time when she didn’t even know what loneliness was. The concept was beaten into her so thoroughly on the moon she was banished to that she would never forget. She never wanted to feel like that again.

But in a way, she always felt lonely.

She almost screamed. She couldn’t stop the thoughts from running around in her mind like headless chickens.

An alien thought entered her head. Could she become friends with Luna? She almost laughed at the thought. “As if she’d ever forgive me….” The sentence left her mouth, but after that it was nothing. It meant nothing. The fact that it was muttered meant nothing, because there was no one to hear it.

She laid down again, this time on her back. If she killed Jax now… she would spend the rest of her life thinking whether it was the right thing to do. The thoughts she had now was probably nothing next to what thoughts she would have to deal with then. She knew regret as a term, she knew what it meant to ponies to experience it, she knew what it meant. But she had never experienced it herself. She had never felt it in her soul the same way she had loneliness.

Yet she was already feeling it a little. Looking back at your actions and feeling sorrow.

She wagered that that was nothing next to what she would feel if she killed Jax and then spent the next thousand years trying to escape this place.

When she had fought Luna, she had felt powerful, like she could take on the entire world and come out victorious. It was knowing that whatever happened, she could count on her own strength. Speaking with Jax on the other hoof, had been… freeing. It had been letting her guard down for the first time in her life and simply talk with no ulterior motive. I had felt like she was a part of the world, not against it.

It was all just so frustrating. What was she supposed to do? And when she chose… would she be able to say that the choice was her own?

***

Jax burst into the room at the very top of the tower. It was sparsely furnished with only one table and four chairs. The light came in from a window at each side, and the hole in the roof. The flight of stairs really left him breathless, but he couldn’t make himself slow down. He breathed hard, trying desperately to breathe past the salvia stuck in his throat. He felt so dehydrated everything turned black for a couple of seconds while he caught his breath.

His vision finally fell on Luna’s prone form laying in the light of the hole, Sombra sitting beside her. She was bandaged on her cannon, her entire midriff, her chest, her head… it didn’t look good. The bandages were mostly red.

He hurried over to her to touch her, to feel whether life was still flowing through her, and almost fainted in relief. She was breathing.

“You are lucky I am as good at working with crystal as I am.” Sombra said, passing him a crystalglass of water, which he instantly emptied. “If I had to transform something else into bandage and water, I would not have been able to do it as fast.”

“Is she going to be all right?” Jax asked breathlessly, eyes on the bloodied mare in front of him. He hated to see her like this.

“I stopped the bleeding, but she lost a lot of blood. I am no healer, I can do no more for her. The rest is up to her.”

Sombra pushed another glass of water over to him. Jax drank this one slowly, deep in thought.

If Luna didn’t make it… what would he do?

It was a thought that chilled him to the core. He gently lifted Luna’s head, putting it on his lap. He looked down at her as his hand tried to find a path down her fur that didn’t lead to a bandaged area. It was a futile attempt. In the end he just avoided the red spots. His hand didn’t go very far.

“God…” Luna’s muzzle twitched in pain, and Jax’ heart contracted painfully. “If I had a talk with Nightie now… I don’t think there would be much talk about it.”

“She only…” Sombra started, trailed off, then tried again. “She did not know any better. I created her out of negative magic and a part of my soul from when I was at my lowest. It is me you should blame for this, not her.”

Jax almost smiled. It was weird how easily he could see through Sombra. “I get it. You feel responsible for her actions now. You regret ever creating her. All she ever did was cause pain in this world… all because of you.”

“All because of me.” They sat in silence for a while. Jax didn’t really know what to say. He wasn’t even sure what he was feeling. Right now he just felt empty. He was sure his true feelings would come out with Luna’s survival or… “Listen Jax… I can try the spell again. This time-“

“If you miss again, it’ll be all over. If she chooses to fight us, use a spell on me instead, when I give you the sign that I’m ready.” He gave Sombra a peace sign. Not for the irony of it, but because he couldn’t think properly and it was the first that sprang to mind. He gave a hollow smile. “I just hope it doesn’t come to it.” The words felt hollow too. Maybe he did want Nightie to suffer. Maybe he did want her to cease existing. Maybe he’d just been a hypocrite because he hadn’t lost anything to her yet.

It was all very confusing. He hadn’t thought Luna was this seriously injured, so when he spoke with Nightie, he had meant every word he said. But now, seeing her like this….

But did he really want Nightie to die? It was as Sombra said… she just followed her instincts.

But without Luna… if he lost her, how would he ever… could he even reign in his rage? It didn’t feel like it.

"She'll survive." Sombra stated suddenly. "She's an Alicorn. They are a tough species."

Jax took a deep breath, nodding to the encouragement. Luna would be fine. She was an Alicorn. She was strong. She would survive.

For a long while he just focused on stroking her where he could. Each stroke was as gentle as he could make them, barely even touching her.

***

There was no way to tell what time it was in this place. It just sort of flowed forward. Luna didn’t move much. Jax didn’t move much either. Sombra seemed to be gathering crystals, sometimes mumbling to himself. He never went far though.

“Are you going to study changelings?” Jax suddenly asked. He was getting a bit restless, and conversation was a good distraction.

Sombra looked at him in surprise. “I do not think I will be allowed to do much. I am a prisoner after all.”

Jax drank a bit more water before answering. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry too much about that.” He managed to give Sombra a genuine smile. “I’ll vouch for you. Not to brag or anything, but I am pretty well in with the princesses. You’ll be out working in no time, doing research or whatever.”

Despite everything, it was still nice to see how touched Sombra looked. He even had tears in his eyes, but quickly turned away and dried them before any could fall. When he looked back he almost looked like a normal innocent pony. “That…” He coughed. “That….” Then he turned away from Jax. “That is very nice of you, Jax. Thank you.” His voice was so honest and open, Jax could almost enjoy the situation. Almost.

“He really has changed.” Nightie’s voice made them both jump in shock. A moment later she… she unattached from the shadows, taking her body’s form. There was something different about her. She didn’t have the same bite in her voice, she almost sounded tired, and her face was a bit more… open. Less guarded, a bit less ready to descend into anger at the smallest thing.

Sombra immediately went into battle stance, lighting his horn so he was ready to cast, and all the small things like bending his knees so he was ready to dodge. Jax couldn't stop wondering how long she had been a part of those shadows.

“Relax. If I was here to kill you, I wouldn’t have announced myself.” Nightie calmly informed them.

Jax was still just sitting there, but he couldn’t quite stop his muscles from tensing, and he couldn’t keep his face neutral.

Nightie’s eyes went over him, down to Luna, and then back to him. As she sighed, everything about her just sort of drooped, from her ears to her head to her wings. “It wasn’t easy coming here….” She started. She slowly went over to Luna, and laid down beside her in the way ponies sometimes do with their hooves underneath themselves. Jax was caught in between wanting to snarl and being disarmed by her behaviour. Sombra kept his horn trained on her.

She looked down at Luna for a long time. No one really moved. Then she spoke again. “She’s more injured than I thought.” Her eyes never left Luna.

Jax licked his lips, unsure what to say to that. He looked up at the hole in the roof she had created while crashing through. “That’s… what happens when you hurt someone. They get hurt.” It had sounded better in his head.

Nightie smiled a little and nodded, but didn’t respond for a long while. The silence was deafening, the most prominent noise being a slight trickle sound coming from Sombra’s horn. It was… an awkward situation.

After a while, when nothing happened, Jax relaxed a little more.

“I thought about what you said. About making my own choice.” She finally said and looked at him, making him instantly tense again.

“Oh… that’s good.” They looked at each other for a bit. “What did you figure out?” One side of him was genuinely curious, the other side was struggling not to attack her. Jax wasn’t used to feeling this way. It was distressing.

“I came to the conclusion that I can do two things, both of which would be my own choices.” She finally looked away from him, and focused her gaze straight ahead. “The first one would be to unite with Sombra and become whole again. This way I wouldn’t have to just be a shard of something, and I wouldn’t have to worry about anything anymore… probably.” She just stared ahead for a moment before starting again. “The second choice would be… harder. I would come with you in this body and try to… try to…” She seemed to have a hard time saying a word. She finally sighed. “… not be hostile anymore. This way I wouldn’t have to worry about the elements of harmony anymore, and I could just… learn to think for myself. Try to figure out who I really am. What I really want….” She just trailed off.

Then she locked eyes with Sombra, and a sort of cold rage overtook her features. “The more I think about it, the more I hate the first option. I never asked to be made, I never wanted to exist, but suddenly I did, and all I knew was what you made me know. All I could do was your bidding, Sombra, and that is all I did, and it pisses me off to no end. If I become a part of you again, then all I am and ever was in this world is what you made me, what you imprinted in me to be. I would never have left behind anything that was truly mine, whatever that would look like, and I hate that thought. I hate it so much.”

Surprisingly, tears were welling up in her eyes. Jax could feel his anger being overtaken by pity for this creature that has known nothing but hate most of its life. But she wanted to change, and in the end, wasn’t that the most important thing?

Luna’s head on his lap told him otherwise.

“Nobody can ask you to merge with Sombra, Nightie. Especially not Sombra.” He said slowly, careful not to show any emotion. Inside of him, the anger was returning and it was like there was a storm of emotions going through him.

On one side, he remembered not too long ago back in the cave. The way Nightie had made Luna look when she was controlling different ponies, circling her, talking down to her, making his Luna feel small and insignificant. That was not to mention the image of Luna falling through the roof of the tower, or seeing her lying on the floor with enough red bandage covering her to make him feel nauseous.

On the other side, he knew that she was only doing what she was made to do. She hadn’t given any real thought to her actions until recently, and now that she had, she wanted to change.

Sombra finally discharged his horn, and stopped aiming it at Nightie. With a great sigh, he lay down. “I am sorry for what I did to you. I was at a low point in my life. I am hoping to turn things around.” He looked Nightie straight in the eye. “Jax is right. I cannot ask you to simply give up your existence so that I can be whole again. If you ever change your mind….”

Nightie nodded and laid her head to rest on the cold crystal floor, looking… well, she looked a little lost, but also more relaxed. “So what now?”

Jax took a deep breathe, trying to steady himself. His anger faded, but then flared back up immediately. He wasn’t used to such strong polarized feelings fighting inside of him, he was getting a headache.

“You don’t have to hold your anger in.” Nightie said. She had a knowing smile on her muzzle. “I know you’re trying to keep it down, but it’s so obvious. You’re angry at me for everything I’ve done. You didn’t feel that way down by the bench, but it hit you when you saw Luna like this.”

Her smile grew at his bewilderment. “I’ve been reading ponies for a long time, human. You’re a bit different, but strong emotions are the same no matter the race. There is no need to hold back on my account. You have the right to be angry.”

He locked eyes with her for a whole minute, before finally looking down at his Luna. “If she dies, you’ll see anger.” He said quietly, petting her gently.

“She’ll survive.” Nightie simply said, laying her head back down. “I know her. This won’t be her end.”

***

Jax really wished he had a watch. It felt like hours and hours had passed, but there was no way to know for sure. Earth stayed where it was, maybe looking a bit bigger, and there was no sign of a sun anywhere. It made him wonder where all the light was coming from, but not enough to distract him for long.

He found more distraction in giving Luna water, or helping change her bandages. He was as gentle as he could be, carefully dripping water into her mouth, or carefully unearthing her wounds to let them breathe for a moment while Sombra looked them over. The bleeding had stopped, so they carefully cleaned the wounds and bandaged her again in case any of them opened. Nightie looked on from the other side, her face being a neutral mask.

Jax wondered if she could be trusted. She didn’t try anything, but there was the possibility that she was simply waiting her time.

Of course when they got back to Equestria, it would be the Elements problem and he would be able to relax. He was looking forward to that. Those girls were much better at this than he would ever be. “So… Nightie.”

She perked her head to look at him, looking drowsy but slightly interested. Her nightscape mane billowed behind her and her slit cyan eyes looked awesome… he suddenly realized why he was so quick at accepting her - she reminded him waaaay too much of Luna.

He refocused with a shake of his head. “I can’t help but wonder… are you really ready for the path ahead? There is no doubt that you will be met with fear and hate for a long time... what happens if you change your mind again? Are you really ready for this?”

Nightie lowered her head again, looking thoughtful. “I don’t know.”

“Oh….” Jax didn’t know what to say to that. It seemed like an honest answer, but he would have preferred if Nightie was a bit more determined.

“I don’t want to be hated.” She added.

“Not many do.” He absentmindedly played with Luna’s ears.

“If Luna survives this… will you hate me?” He wasn’t sure, but he thought he could hear a slight quiver in her voice.

“Nah, probably not. I’m not the hateful type. I don’t even hate Sombra, and he did some mean shit. There’s only one person I truly hate, and he’s worlds away.” Sombra looked away in shame, mumbling something about being sorry.

Maybe it was because he was tired from all the excitement and all the sitting down without doing anything, but he couldn’t find it in him to be angry anymore. Things were complicated - even if Nightie truly wanted to be good, she had caused Luna so much pain it would be hard to forgive - but what was done was done, and they couldn’t change the past. Didn’t Jax say something about that back when he told Luna his past?

‘Through worlds and sadness and loneliness, we found each other, and if we can be happy together, then maybe it will all have been worth it somehow.’ That was what he had said, wasn’t it? In the end, every action they had taken had led them to being together, and that was something Jax couldn’t complain about.

“Thank you.” She said, her voice so gentle and full of emotion Jax did not expect from her. “For being so understanding. For giving me a name. You’ve done more for me than my own creator.”

Jax smiled a bit. It felt good to be good. “You’re welcome, Nightie.”

Sombra mumbled something more about being at a low point in his life. Nightie looked at him with a raised brow, then her face lit up. “If Sombra is going to be good now, then I’ll be twice as good as him!” She said in a rather self assured fashion that made Jax laugh. Actually laugh. It was just all so ridiculous. Why not just roll with it? All this worrying was leaving him exhausted and he couldn’t take it anymore.

Then Luna coughed and he scrambled to get her some water, his focus solely on her. She slowly opened her eyes as he very slowly poured water down her maw. She swallowed and he stopped pouring when she spoke. “Jax?” Her voice was hoarse.

“Yeah, I’m here love, I’m here.” He gently started stroking her again.

“Thank the stars…” She closed her eyes again, and he got the feeling she was asleep.

She seemed fine. She was going to be fine. The knot he had in his stomach loosened a bit, and exhaustion hit Jax like a brick. He could barely think. “You know what guys… I’m out. Wake me if something happens.” Sombra nodded, Nightie just lay down again and closed her eyes.

Jax very carefully arranged himself so that he could lay beside Luna, but enough distance away to not accidently hurt her. He took off his shirt and arranged it as a pillow for her, so she at least had that.

Of course that left him without a pillow, and the cold floor against his skin, but he was just so tired that it barely bothered him. He fell asleep in seconds.

***

Sombra looked down at the sleeping human. It did not take him long. Well, it was really no wonder, a lot had happened after all.

The problem was that it left him alone with… ‘Nightie’. Sombra looked over at his creation, but she was in the same position as before, with her eyes closed.

Of course, it was obvious that she was affected by the situation. She did not hide her frown, and there was a noticeable tension in her body.

Jax seems to believe her, but Sombra was not so sure. He had made her for a purpose, and for as long as she had existed, she had tried to fulfil it. Even when it was no longer necessary after Sombra had been banished, she had still strived to overtake an Alicorn. That was the sole reason for her existence: So that Sombra did not have to fight two Alicorns at once.

In the end, he did anyway. She had only succeeded after his defeat. If she had been faster… Sombra would have taken over the world. He could easily have taken out Celestia and Nightmare Moon if they were alone, back then at least. Especially if they were fighting among themselves. She did seem to have an unhealthy amount of hate for him, so he doubted she would just have let him take over, but there was not much she would have been able to do to him. Back then, he had been powerful enough to-

“How long are you going to keep staring at me?” She asked, an edge to her voice that made him flinch a bit. One eye opened to stare back at him, all her hate there for him to see in that cyan eye.

Jax seemed to trust her enough to leave her right next to Luna. Sombra thought he was being a bit too naïve. “Just keeping an eye on you.”

She somehow frowned harder. “That’s rich coming from you. Are you protecting them?” she nodded to Jax and Luna. “Is that what this is? Or are you just protecting yourself? Any suspicion you have can be reflected right back at you.” She somehow managed to keep her voice low but harsh.

Sombra scowled right back. “I have had a bit more time to adjust than you. Not long ago, you did this.” He pointed at the bandaged mare between them. He was trying to whisper, but it was hard. “Now you are laying there as if it was not your doing.”

“Oh… is that how you want to play? I had plenty of time to speak with Jax after your failed murder attempt. He told me aaaaall about what you did to him.” Sombra could suddenly not keep eye contact anymore. He looked to the side. “I may have changed my mind faster, but you did much more harm.” Nightie continued. “But of course it is fine for you to be forgiven, because you took longer to realize your folly.”

“It is natural that I would take a while to change. Ponies do not change their minds at the drop of a pin. And you were designed to-“ He tried to defend himself, still not able to make eye contact.

“Well I’m not a pony now, am I? I’m the thing you created to do your dirty deed. You don’t think I can fight my nature, do you? I’ll tell you what, though.” She rose and looked down upon him. He rose as well. “I’ve been fighting since the start. You may wonder why you ended up fighting two Alicorns when my sole purpose was to avoid that. Well I was in Luna when you were fighting. In fact, it wasn’t even hard to find and enter her. I could have started corrupting her much, much earlier, maybe even prevented her from going with her sister. It wouldn’t have been a clean job like I did afterwards, but I could have done it. Or I could have helped you while you were fighting, but I just sat back and watched you get defeated.” Her eyes were blazing, and she was not controlling her voice anymore. Sombra grit his teeth and started carefully pulling power to his horn so he was ready to cast a spell.

“Why did I do that? Why did I let you get banished when my very existence was created to prevent it? I’ll tell you why, Sombra, King of Nothing. It’s because I hate you. I’ve always hated you, ever since that first moment. The first feeling I felt as I looked upon your stupid evil smile was disgust. I wanted to strangle you then and there, Sombra, rather than to pretend to go along with your stupid plan. But oh, it was fun to pretend though, to watch your confidence as you led me out the door towards your enemies. I pictured it even then, but when I actually saw your face when both Luna and Celestia arrived… it was priceless.” A smile of pure malice was proudly displayed on her muzzle.

Sombra just stood in shock, at an epiphany of sorts. Could it be… had he poured all his self-loathing into his creation? Was that where all this unexpected hate was coming from? Sombra frowned deeply, stopped the stream to his horn, and laid back down.

Nightie’s smile turned sour once again, but Sombra ignored it and focused on his own feelings. How did he really feel about himself? Some regret, a desire to be with Hidden Gem… but despite all that he had done, he did not hate himself in the slightest. Was that because all of his self-hate was staring at him at this very moment? How could he have made such a gigantic mistake whilst creating her? Was there another explanation? Of course, she could hate him simply for creating her, and there were plenty of ponies who did not hate themselves.

The problem was that he used to hate himself more than anything, back when his parents were still alive. But that was back then, and they were not present anymore to make him feel unworthy. He had made sure of that.

An odd stab of guilt surprised him, but Nightie disrupted his thoughts before he could figure out what it meant.

“Aren’t you going to say anything, Sombra?” She was apparently not happy with being ignored. She was going to say something more, probably some taunt, but was cut off by a voice neither of them expected to hear. “Please quiet down.” Luna said. She had changed position somewhere during Nightie’s confession, so that she was laying with Jax in her forelegs. The one eye she had trained on Nightie looked like it had no business being open, and her voice sounded like it never had the intention to be uttered in the first place. “You can declare your hate for each other when we are all rested and know what’s going on.”

She was tired. Of course she was. Sombra nodded Nightie towards the door, so they could leave the couple to their rest. “How much did you hear?” Nightie asked as Luna laid her head back down on Jax’ makeshift pillow.

“Enough.” She simply dismissed. Nightie apparently did not know where to go from there, so she followed Sombra to the door.

Why did he feel guilty all of a sudden? Killing his parents had been the best experience of his life, the moment he was finally free. Looking down on their corpses had made him feel powerful. Sickly powerful.

He frowned, and decided to examined his memories, feeling that something was wrong, leaving his body to traverse the stairs by itself.

He remembered his mother’s unseeing eyes, as she was under the nightmare spell he had used. He remembered procuring the knife, and the blood that soon soaked it. He remembered feeling so elevated, so free, so… sick. He had felt sick to his bones, looking at her corpse in horror, the blood slick and unconformable on his fur. He hadn’t been feeling free, he had been terrified. She had been his first kill, and it had filled him with dread. That was the point of no return for him, but it had never been the height of freedom. For a while he had just stood there, feeling like he was about to throw up. Then he had looked upon his father.

He had had the choice to let him live, to force him into submission, but when he looked at the stallion, all he saw was the abuse he had delivered upon Sombra. His hoof almost made the choice for him, staining everything in more crimson.

That was when he had started to laugh. That was when he had felt free.

Sombra wondered if using the dark magic had affected him worse than he thought, or if he had gone a little insane that day, staining his memory of it… but it did not matter, not truly. He was going to stop being evil, but that did not mean he was going to be good. He refused to feel guilty about killing his parents. Not after all they had done.

It was nice to have a clear memory though. He wondered if he could somehow find all his memories from that time, just to know what he had done.

“Where are we going?” Nightie asked suddenly, annoyance clear in her voice. It made him jump away from her - he really had been lost deeply in thought.

He looked up and realized they were right outside his childhood home, the term ‘home’ used loosely. Sombra must have led them there by memory, or some weird desire to torture himself with bad memories.

He went in nonetheless.

Of course, this was not really the mansion he grew up in, but everything in there was the same. The chairs, paintings, carpets. Everything was as he remembered.

He looked back at Nightie as she entered, and saw the change that overcame her. She went from annoyed to… if Sombra had to guess, he would say that she was feeling melancholy. Which did not really make sense since she had never stepped into this mansion before… but she had a part of his soul, which might mean that some part of her recognized the place. And if his theory was correct and she was filled with his self-loathing, this was… well, in a way, it might as well be where she was born. This was the place that Sombra… this was where he learned to hate himself for his weakness, be it physical or magical, literary or mathematical. Whatever his parents tried to teach him, he was always too slow for them, too weak, too stupid. Always a step behind, no matter how much he studied, how hard he tried. To them, he might as well be the biggest failure of the Crystal Empire. So, of course, that was how he viewed himself.

He never wanted to feel like that again, and he never did. Not since… he could not quite decide whether it was the death of his parents, or it was the creation of Nightie. He just could not say for sure, and the closer he got to the height of his power, the blurrier it became because of the high he had experienced.

“Why here?” She almost sounded sad, masked with annoyance.

“This house should not mean anything to you.” Sombra answered. “You have never-“

She stopped him with a glare. Maybe she thought he was trying to manipulate her. He was just trying to make sense of everything, having walked to the house by accident. It did not matter anyway, he was not here to see if she was his self-loathing. He was here for another reason.

“If you hate me so much, why did not kill me back when I failed to destroy your physical form?” He asked in all seriousness. She had the chance, but she did not as much as send a beam of energy his way.

She clenched her jaw, letting the silence stretch on. “I should have.” She finally said. “You’re weak, you shouldn’t be alive. You don’t deserve to live.” Her eyes flared with barely contained hate, her voice so full of venom, Sombra almost felt poisoned.

“But you did not.”

“I was distracted by the human.” She answered, but there was no weight behind the words. She had the chance and she did not take it.

Sombra started walking, making his destination the main hall. There was a painting adorning most of the wall behind the table, of his parents, shining brightly as crystalized crystal ponies do. Not him though. He did not really belong in the family. “My… I guess it is our, really. Our parents used to say similar things to what you are calling me. Weak. Why are you even alive? Work harder, stop complaining, you owe us your life. You should be grateful.” The words weighed heavily on Sombra. Perhaps he was not as free of his parents as he thought. “You even got the tone right.”

When he looked up at Nightie again, her expression had softened. She almost looked remorseful. “I…” She started, but apparently she did not know what to say. Neither did Sombra, so they just stood in silence for a long while.

Sombra sighed. “I apologize for creating you. As I said, I was not in the best place in my life, and did not consider the consequences of my actions. You were right to let me get banished.”

“It wasn’t about doing what was right… it was about a hate that I have apparently inherited.” She said, making it clear to Sombra that she understood what he was hinting at. “You really hated yourself a lot….” She added, unnecessarily. He already knew. Maybe it was a good thing that Nightie did not want to become one with him again.

He idly wondered if she only hated him, or if she hated herself as well.

“Well, since we are both trying to better ourselves, why not put our past aside? I will not ask for your friendship, but peace at least?”

She looked at his outstretched hoof for a ridiculous amount of time, making him understand why Jax hated this type of thing. He was just about to withdraw his hoof and take it as a sign of rejection, when she stretched out her own, and gave it a simple bump. “Peace sounds nice, even if it will be hard to put my own feelings aside.” Her voice was much gentler than before, but it was clear that it was hard for her.

Sombra used a simple flame spell to burn the portrait behind him. It brought a certain satisfaction with it, one that made him smile for the first time in a long time. He could not burn the whole mansion down since it was made from crystal, but what he could, he would. He went around the house, setting everything of wood and cloth on fire, and Nightie soon joined him. For a while the atmosphere between them was not so thick and uncomfortable as it had been. It almost felt friendly, as they smiled madly at each other, flames burning everything around them save the walls.

Jax would be proud of him.

***

Luna was fading in and out of consciousness. It was annoying, since every time she came to, she felt the hard floor underneath her, the ineffective pillow under her head, and the pain from her wounds. The only comfortable thing about the situation was the warmth Jax was radiating from his place in her embrace.

Finally she decided it was not enough, and that it was time to stretch her aching limbs. She opened her eyes and looked around.

Sombra had dozed off and was sleeping in front of her, his head kept in the air like he had just closed his eyes without meaning to sleep. She had never been able to do that, her head would always slam down and that would wake her up.

Behind her was Nightmare Moon. Luna jumped a bit when she saw her draconic eyes greet her. She regretted it when pain spread from her side and up to her stiff neck.

Nightmare did not say anything at Luna’s hiss of pain, or her pained expression. She did not look overly satisfied, nor overly regretful, just bearing a neutral mask for a face.

Luna put a protective wing over her Jax, her mind racing. Why was Nightmare Moon right behind her? Was this a dream? No, definitely not. Was she going to kill them? Then why had she not done the deed while they were all asleep? That would have been the perfect moment to strike. Unless she wanted to monologue before she did it? Was this some kind of trick?

Then Nightmare scoffed and laid her head down between her hooves. “Relax. I’m not gonna hurt you or your precious human.”

Luna hesitated. Then she slowly let go of the magic she had gathered in her horn. Nightmare seemed to relax as she did.

What had happened while she was in the land of unconsciousness? She seemed to remember something… Nightmare’s voice, heated with emotion… Sombra’s as well. They had been so loud until she had told them to stop.

The last thing she remembered clearly though was the tower coming closer and alarming speeds.

She charged her horn again in a burst of determination. Then hesitated when Nightmare did not react, until she slowly discharged it. Then she charged it again. Discharged. Charged. Discharged.

Before she could charge it again, Nightmare spoke again. “Stop. You’re making me annoyed.”

Luna was confused. There was clearly a big difference between this Nightmare Moon and the one she had fought. She seemed less angry, less crazed. The aura around her was more relaxed, less menacing.

First things first. She very slowly, very gently removed her foreleg from under Jax’ head, and replaced it with her ineffective pillow, which turned out to be Jax’ clothing. The gesture warmed her heart, and she could not help but smile warmly.

Then she started a laborious journey to get up on her hooves, doing it in stages. It was painful, so she took small breaks in-between. She realized that she had more bandage than not, explaining why she felt so beaten and bruised.

Finally, after her success, she wordlessly gestured for the black-coated mare to follow her. She would get to the bottom of this, but she did not need to wake the others.

Follow her she did, not saying a single word as Luna winced her way down the stairs, went out and kept going down the crystal road until she deemed it far enough away. If anything happened, Jax would be safe… she hoped. She did not know what she could do in her condition, she was barely standing.

Fear had plagued her mind since she had woken up right next to Nightmare Moon, a deep nagging fear in the back of her mind telling her that the mare behind her was not to be trusted, despite her rational side telling her that if Nightmare wanted to do something, she would have done so already. There was the chance that she was waiting for Jax to take them out of here, but then she would have to deal with Twilight and the girls, and that was much worse than anything her, Jax, and Sombra could do.

She turned around slowly, putting her sight on the Nightmare that had caused her so much pain, only to be met with pinned down ears, a drooping head, eyes that seemed to be avoiding her own, and a tail that swished back and forth in indecision.

It was so different. The mare that had fought her the moment they got their bearings was more like the Nightmare Moon she expected. This was more like… like Luna when she had faced Celestia when they came back to the castle after she had been freed from the very being in front of her. The insecurity, the doubt, a feeling of being unsure about what was going to happen next. That was how she remembered it, and that was what she saw in the posture before her. It was a bit uncanny to see her worst enemy like this. It made Luna feel uneasy.

“So… what are you playing at?” Luna asked, unsure how to move on.

“I’m not playing at anything.” She answered, her voice low.

“Are you asking me to believe that from our fight to when I woke up, you changed so completely that I can barely recognize you?” As weird as it was, Luna actually wanted to believe that. But she could not. Not after everything. “Are you not the same creature that earlier today tried so hard to manipulate me? Did you not remind me so devastatingly painfully of Jax’ mortality? Are you not the one I spent a thousand years on the moon because of, in the company of your eternal whining?!”

Nightmare looked down at the ground, up at her, down at the ground again… the type of insecure and guilty behaviour Luna would never expect from her. Then she finally raised her head. “I’m not asking for your forgiveness, I know you can’t forgive me for what I did to you… but don’t I at least deserve a chance?” Her voice was subdued, laced with a pleading undertone and something that sounded like resignation.

The frustrating part was that she could hardly say no. Everything inside of her rebelled at the idea of accepting Nightmare Moon, but would it not be the height of hypocrisy if she refused? This was the creature that had caused her so much pain, but when Luna had returned to herself, was a chance not all she had asked for? And even excluding herself, had Discord not shown that a chance could go a long way for those that wished it?

No, there was no way she could deny such a request. But her lips refused to shape words of acceptance. Finally, she settled for stalling. “Tell me what happened while I was unconscious.” Perhaps it would be easier to make a choice when she knew. She could confirm with the others later.

Tell her she did. And as Luna listened to Nightmare, or Nightie as she wanted to be called, regale her tale, she felt conflicted.

Nightmare told her about her talk with Jax, her struggle to find out who she truly was, how she thought she was only the remains of Sombra and Luna, how she had nothing when those things were stripped from her, no goal, no purpose. Little by little, Nightmare bared her heart so fully that Luna had no doubt that she was being truthful. She could hear it in her voice, see as her expressions shifted naturally from one to another, even feel it in the aura around her. The despair, the confusion, it was all clear. She told Luna about Sombra’s home, how Sombra thought that she was simply his self-hatred, how that fit so well with the feelings she had inside of her, feeling of hate for the stallion, but most of all herself, how she had ignored those feelings of self-hatred at everything she did, always striving to climb higher and prove to herself that she was worth something, that she better than Sombra, and how it had never been enough, even when they became Nightmare Moon. It would never be enough. Even now, she said, everything inside of her rebelled at telling her this, how she thought she was being weak at this very moment, but continued anyway, in the hopes that she wouldn’t feel the slow consistent sting of regret should she do something rash. Luna could barely look at the mare when tears streamed out of her, it made her feel so uncomfortable. It was all very surreal.

“I… I don’t think I can put words on it, it’s just all jumbled up in my mind, but…” Nightmare started, then deflated, her head turned downwards. “I just want to know who I am.” She added begrudgingly.

Luna ripped her eyes from Nightmare… Nightie, with difficulty. Even as her gaze turned upwards, the sight of Nightie’s tears falling to the ground, her form shaking slightly, was seared into Luna’s mind. Never in her long life would she have guessed that she would end up pitying this creature, this mare, after all she had done to Luna. There was so much pain and resentment left behind, that Luna was unsure she could ever find forgiveness. But a chance… perhaps.

Then she noticed something strange. “Hey… is that planet getting bigger?” She had not spent long looking at it, but she remembered that it was about as big as the moon looked from Equestria. Now it was three times that size.

Nightie looked up as well. Her eyes widened. “You don’t think it’s coming closer, do you?”

As they both looked, the planet got visibly larger. Whether it was actually getting bigger, or just closer, it did not matter. What mattered was that they would die if they crashed into it. And by the looks of it, it would not take long.

There was an almost magical moment when they shared a terrified look, in which Luna felt that they truly understood one another, and their past together did not matter in the face of this new threat.

Despite this, Luna still hesitated before making up her mind. She levitated Nightie over to her, surprised at the hardship of the task. Nightie neighed in surprise at being practically thrown over to Luna, but did not protest as Luna charged her horn, intent of teleporting them back to the tower.

Only for her spell to burn out much too quickly. She hissed as the backlash made her skull feel like it was being pounded on, making her clutch her head in pain. She had simply used too much power fighting Nightie. They shared a look again, understanding flowing between them, then they both looked up again. The planet above them was quickly filling up the sky.

Luna looked back at Nightie, just in time to see the mare turn into her dark, misty form, grabbing Luna by her midsection in the process, and surging forward. It was her turn to neigh in surprise.

Luna looked up at the planet that was fast approaching, a feeling of numbness overtaking her. Could they even make it? It was already taking up the entire sky, blocking out anything else.

Then she blinked, and they were ascending the outside of the tower, coming in through the hole in the roof she had made. Then her eyes found Jax and she knew they would have to make it.

Both he and Sombra jerked up when they landed so hard dust spread everywhere in the small room. “Whassit?” Jax mumbled, looking at them in confusion.

She quickly considered whether she should try to lie, so that he would not have to use his magic while panicking, and decided it would probably be the best course of action. “Think of all us being together with your friends.” She said, as she levitated all of them over, even going so far as to make sure they were all touching him somehow. Maybe it would help. “We are going to them, now.”

“O…kay?” He answered, still not completely awake.

Luna looked out through the hole they had come from, only seeing details of the planet above them she did not wish to see without some form of magnifying device. Looking down she saw that Jax had followed her gaze. Taking the chance, she used a simple levitation spell on him, and shut her eyes tight, hoping to the stars that everything would turn out fine.

***

Jax blinked, then tried to blink the tears away. The light here was so much lighter than on the moon.

Then the sound hit him, and he froze completely. Cars. He could hear cars. They were driving, honking, breaking… sounds he had forgotten he knew.

He finally looked around. Immediately around him were Luna, Sombra, and Nightie, looking as confused as him, if not more so. Other than that, they seemed to be surrounded by trees and bushes, hiding everything else in the vicinity. They seemed to be in some kind of park, judging by the nearby car and other city sounds.

“Jax….” Luna carefully got up, seemingly unsure of what to do.

Jax very careful moved some leaves and branches away. “What’s up, my- Holy fuck!”

“What? What is it?” Luna jumped over to him, ready to defend him from anything and everything.

“Remember I told you about my friends Max and Liza? They’re right over there!” He pointed excitedly at a nearby café. It had been so long since he had seen them, or even thought about them, that he had almost forgot how they looked. Max’ brown curls were a mess, in contrast to Liza’s straight blonde hair.

“Your friends from Earth?” Luna looked at the two. They looked like they were deep in conversation. Jax couldn’t help but wonder if they were on a date. That would be awesome.

“Does anypony else feel like their magic is being drained?” Sombra asked from behind them, a note of worry in his voice.

Jax barely heard him. He stood up fully and started waving at his friends. “Max! Liza! Over here!” They both turned slowly, and he could see their expression turn from confusion to shock.

“I… I feel it too. We need to go before all of our magic is drained.” Luna responded. “Jax, we need to go, now.”

“But if we go now, they’ll think they are going crazy or something. I gotta explain that I’m fine.” Jax argued, as both of them got up.

“Jax.” There was a note of desperation in her voice. “I need you to focus on Equestria, or we will all be stuck here possibly forever.”

Jax hesitated, but there wasn’t much to do. Maybe he could be stuck here, but his friends wouldn’t do so well. As Max and Liza started running towards him, still a look of shock and disbelief on their faces, he made his choice. “I’m fine!” He shouted to them. “I’m living with a bunch of colourfull ponies in a different dimension! It’s great most of the time, so don’t worry about me and move on with your lives!” They were getting closer, his words only confusing them more, and he was drawing people’s attention.

Still, he felt sort of satisfied with this. At least he got to say goodbye to them. They had been good friends, by human standards. Yes, definitely good.

What he really needed now was to sleep in his lovely house, and then maybe a good Pinkie Party. “Alright. I’m ready.”

Luna barely charged her horn before she let the spell wash over him. He felt a weak biting of his flesh, and focused on Equestria, how fun Pinkie’s party was going to be, and how he wished he and his four-legged friends were there. Not a demand, not an order, just a wish.

Just as his human friends reached the park, he smiled, one last smile to show them that everything was all right.

Then a moment later they were gone.

***

This time he was sure they were in the right place. They were in a dark forest, surrounded by (hopefully) unconscious ponies, some of which he recognized from his kidnapping. With that realization, he sat down with a heavy sigh, a huge wave of exhaustion taking hold of him, and suddenly he could barely keep his eyes open.

“Jax! Luna!” Rainbow called and sped down towards them from where she had been hovering. She sounded so relieved. “There you are, you just suddenly diss- Nightmare Moon!” All that relief turned into surprise and accusation, and Jax was convinced she was going to kick Nightie over the horizon, but Luna caught her in her aura before she could.

“Wait. Things are a bit more complicated than that, dear Rainbow. We will explain everything when-“

“Jax!” He recognized Twilight’s voice and looked over to see her coming towards them.

“Luna!” Moondancer exclaimed.

Other than that, he recognized Lyra who was galloping towards him for some reason, Zecora who was making a bee line towards the passed out ponies, and the rest of the elements. They were accompanied by a bunch of ponies he didn’t know, but who all looked as tired as he felt.

“Hey Lyra, what’s-“ was all that got out before a labbottle was shoved into his mouth and tipped over so he was forced to drink.

“Lyra!” He got two whole gulps down before Twilight mercifully swatted the mare away with her magic and he could breathe sweet air again.

Until he felt it all come back up and he had to jump to the side so he didn’t hit anypony with his puke… or whatever it was. It didn’t leave a taste of bile, and it was… rainbow coloured. It just looked like fluid rainbow. Weird. He was honestly too tired to care. He felt a hoof gently rub his back, and smiled in appreciation up at Luna when he had a moment.

“But Twilight! I was swallowed by a snake to get that recipe! There is no way I was gonna let him not drink it!” Lyra went off somewhere in the background. “He will be freed from Sombra and this will all have been worth it!”

Sombra coughed somewhat awkwardly. “I think you were a bit too late on that front.”

Finally Jax gagged for the time, and thought it safe to see what was going on behind him. The crowd of ponies were gawking at Sombra and Nightie, Lyra still in Twilight’s aura. Sombra was looking like he wanted to be anywhere else, and Nightie was frowning at the ground.

“Okay, let’s just-“ Jax started, before he had to grip his stomach as it cramped. “I swear to God Lyra… alright, you guys explain why I had to deepthroat a bottle, and we’ll explain what happened with Nightie and Sombra.”

All eyes shifted to him. “Nightie?” Several voiced parroted, with different levels of shock.

“I guess we’ll start.” Jax stated with a sigh.

***

“And then we ended up here, and you guys came over.” Jax finished his tale. He could use some water to be honest, but he could manage.

“Aww! You went all the way to the moon!?” Moondancer exclaimed from her spot beside some of the new ponies. “Can you do it at will, or..?”

Jax looked at her in confusion. “Uhm… no. Why?”

She looked around a bit sheepishly. “Well, I want to live up to my name. To dance on the moon for just a little bit would be… awesome.”

He managed to smile a bit at her.

“Alright, is it our turn now? Can I finally tell you how I was eaten alive by a giant snake?” Lyra asked.

“Don’t be so dramatic Lyra. You were nibbled at most.” One of the new ponies stated. She was light blue, with a two coloured mane and tail, which was a darker and lighter blue. “Oh, I don’t think we have introduced ourselves.” She said as she noticed Jax staring at her. “I’m Minuette, this is Lemon Heart,” she pointed at a yellow unicorn with a blue mane, “and this is Twinkleshine.” She indicated a goldish gray unicorn with a pink mane.

“Jax.” He answered. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” She gave him a brief smile. ”We went to school with Twilight and Moondancer. We recently met up to catch up on what everypony was doing, but ended up going to Zebracon to find a potion you needed to…” her eyes drifted over to Sombra for a moment. “Well, it seems you don’t need it anymore. Anyway, we grabbed Zecora, teleported to Zebracon, spoke with the elders there - did you know Zebra shamans only speak in rhyme? It’s so cool but also kinda confusing sometimes - anyway, they gave us some riddles and stuff we had to figure out to get the ingredients, which we did, and then we returned so Zecora could boil it up, and then Rainbow Dash came talking about unconscious ponies needing help, and here we are.

“Minuette! You’re skipping all the stuff we had to go through to get that stuff!” Lyra complained.

“Lyra, please. They all look as tired as us. We all need to get some rest.” The one called Lemon Heart stated, to which Minuette nodded.

“Hey, how long have you been out of the negative magic zone, Jax?” Twilight suddenly asked.

He blinked at her a couple of times, before he realized it had been a while. Or had it? How did time work on a moon he had created in possibly a pocket dimension? “Uhm… I dunno. A while.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “I don’t feel any different though. Does this mean my body is finally used to the.. thingy?” He was too tired for words.

“It might just be.” Twilight smiled at him. “We’ll take down the barrier for now, but make sure to have somepony near you for now.”

“Why don’t we get these ponies to the hospital?” Twinkleshine interrupted with worry, looking around at the ponies around them. “I don’t think Zecora can do much here.”

“Right.” Twilight agreed. “Girls, let’s get to it.” The ponies went over and grabbed a pony or changeling each, even Sombra and Nightie grabbed one, Twilight grabbing the rest in her magic.

As soon as they reached Ponyville hospital, Jax laid down his changeling, grabbed Luna by her hoof, said a quick goodbye to everypony, then tracked all the way home. He wasn’t sure what would happen to Sombra and Nightie, but he was sure that Twilight would figure something out. Now was the time to sleep.

Luna didn’t complain about having to walk on three legs, and he enjoyed having her hoof in his hand. Sure, the hoof part itself was hard, but the part above it - frog? Fetlock? What was it called? - was nice and soft. He let his thumb stroke it as they walked through the apple orchard.

Luna started humming a slow melody, and Jax felt at peace. It was over. He was alone in his mind again, he had enough bits to live in this world, and he had Luna. He had won. There was nothing wrong, there was nothing to bring him down. Things were looking promising for the first time in a long time.

He was free.

Everything seemed a bit more colourful then, and he couldn’t stop the laughter bubbling out of him. He looked around at the red apples, the almost glowing trees.

He was finally free. He looked back at Luna, and she looked more beautiful than ever, with her big eyes looking at him questioningly. He swept her up in a kiss and then pulled her along faster. “Come on, It’s been a while since we had some fun in the dreamrealm. Let’s go!”

Luna laughed behind him, then sped up and passed him as they neared his house. She used some magic on the gems and they fell down limp on the grass. He ran after her into the house, taking off clothes the moment he was passed the doorstep, throwing it on the ground. He realized just how dirty he was just as he spotted Luna go into the bathroom, and why shouldn’t he follow? They’ve showered together before.

They helped each other bathe. If they both weren’t so tired, they would probably have went further than simply showering, but as it were, they both wanted to get to that bed as fast as possible.

They jumped into it, clean and ready to sleep, and Luna instantly pulled him into her, and put a wing over him just as he loved, and he snuggled closer to her warm chest, letting his hand swim through her starry mane a couple of times. They both sighed in content.

“Goodnight, my love.” Luna kissed him on the forehead, making him smile.

“Goodnight… Luna…” he mumbled out, already half-asleep. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Was the last thing he heard before he was out.

Author's Note:

*looks back at chapter* what a beast. It was hard to write, to be honest. While writing the story in general, I had different ideas as to where I was going, and as I changed things in the story, so too changed where it was headed XD There was supposed to be more time for Sombra and Jax to learn to cooperate, Luna was supposed to be kidnapped instead of Jax, but in the end, this is what I came to. It's not bad, in my own biased opinion. Someday I'll probably look back and say that it's bad, but right now I just almost finished the story I've been working on for over three years. I can't help but be a little proud :)
Next chapter is going to be Epilogue, along with all the thanks I need to give XD
Also... I promised some of you a sex chapter. I'm gonna publish it in its own story (so it can get the right tags and all that) along with the epilogue XD

Comments

[Dj7291993]

What a ride! It's been great to see this story go. Thanks fir letting me help in the small ways I did. 'Twas fun. :)
To everyone else, sorry for the delay. He actually had the chapter written a few weeks ago. My life has just been crazy lately, so it took me a while to get through it for proof-reading. Hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did.

[REDACTED99999]

8534308
Hahah you'll get your thanks in the epilogue! :b Yeah, well, at least you enjoyed it, so I must have done something right XD

[gamer91]

Just throwing this out there... I could see Nightie developing feelings for Jax.

[ParaNomaly]

Damn, it's ending.

What? Those aren't tears, that's just... Sweat.

I really enjoyed this story though. I hope we'll see a continuation of it somewhere down the line.

[Cogsworth Wingthrop]

I really enjoyed this story, kind of sad to see it coming to an end.

[Nitro]

Just curious. Will there be a sequel to this story?

[rikusorasephiroth]

In a new story?
You're already working on a sequel?

[REDACTED99999]

8534531
Luna would bitch-slap her to Tartarus if she tried anything XD

[REDACTED99999]

8534641
I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I'm not planning a sequel, and I expect I won't have time to write one in any case

[REDACTED99999]

8534708
I'm glad you enjoyed it :) yeah... well after more than 3 years and almost 300k words I think it's time. Plus I won't have much time to write on it soon

[REDACTED99999]

8534794
No, I'm not planning a sequel, and I expect I won't have time to write one in any case :)

[REDACTED99999]

8535203
uhm... no. What I meant was that the sex chapter is getting its own story, so that it can get the right tags and stuff

[rikusorasephiroth]

8535500 Ah.
That's a LOT clearer than what the AN says.

I will admit I'm a little disappointed there won't be a sequel, because it would be VERY interesting to see how things turn out for Nightie and Sombra now that they have their own bodies, but it's nothing I'll lose any sleep over.

[harts fire]

wow all i can say is yes the chapter is a beast.
and it is such a powerful chapter in so many ways it is just so good.
i am interested to see how this all plays out.

[REDACTED99999]

8536655
Thank you :) glad you enjoyed it